The big picture: This could have been Twitters plan all along. Earlier this year, Dorsey said their concentration in San Francisco was no longer serving them. We will strive to be a far more distributed workforce, he said. Covid-19 really only sped up the companys timeline in this sense.

Twitter was among the first batch of tech companies to send its employees home as Covid-19 containment efforts ramped up around the globe. Now, the microblogging platform is telling some staffers that they can work from home indefinitely.

In an e-mail to employees obtained by BuzzFeed on Tuesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said it was unlikely that the company would reopen its offices before September. Business travel was also off the table until at least then with very few exceptions, he added. Furthermore, all scheduled in-person events for 2020 have been canceled and the allowance for work-from-home supplies was bumped up to $1,000 for all.

The memo also notes which jobs qualify for permanent work-at-home status. Employees can then opt-in if their position is eligible.

A spokesperson for Twitter told BuzzFeed that theyll continue to be thoughtful in how they approach the work-from-home model and will continue to put the safety of their people and communities first.

Sending people home en masse to work remotely served as a giant case study thatll likely forever change how we look at the office. Cubicles are likely to enjoy a renaissance over open workspaces and as Twitter is demonstrating, many tasks can be effectively tackled remotely.

Masthead credit: fizkes, Monkey Business Images
Greece receives the first batch of French Rafale fighters

NEWS.am daily digest: 19.01.22

Azerbaijan hopes Pope to mediate in relations with Armenia

Talks between presidents of Russia and Iran start in Kremlin

Armenian FM: This is not first time Baku makes nonconstructive statements

Ombudsman: I urge not to give in to Azerbaijani manipulations, to visit Artsakh

Armenian FM: Armenia passes a package of proposals to Azerbaijan

France names the main favorite of presidential election

Garo Paylan concludes address in Turkey parliament in Armenian

Russian Foreign Ministry believes there is no risk of large-scale war in Europe

Dollar goes up in Armenia

Sharmazanov: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan did not decide to hold press conference, he did not change his mind

Blinken: Russia has plans to increase force on Ukraine borders

:       

Azerbaijani military participate in Turkish drills

Taliban say all conditions for recognizing legitimacy of government are met

Azerbaijan MFA statement distorts events of Armenian massacres in Baku 32 years ago

Karabakh ombudsmans office: Azerbaijans anti-Armenian, genocidal policy has clear chronology

US official, Barzani are photographed against backdrop of Greater Armenia and Kurdistan map

Armenia ex-defense minister, army General Staff chief, some others criminal case court hearing kicks off

FM: Most important direction continues to be international recognition of Artsakh

Armenia revenue committee chief on opening of Turkey border: Shall we live with closed borders? In fear?

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

All CSTO peacekeepers leaves Kazakhstan

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

Gold prices hardly change

American professor angers Erdogan's son-in-law

Hovhannes Khachatryan is elected Armenia Central Bank Deputy Governor

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
T he US State Department has insisted Secretary of State Mike Pompeos decision to refuse an extradition request for Harry Dunns alleged killer was final despite an Interpol Red Notice being issued.

Mr Dunn 19, died after a crash in Northamptonshire in August and US national Anne Sacoolas is suspected of causing his death by dangerous driving.

An Interpol Red Notice - a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action - has now been issued.

But a spokeswoman said the State Department maintained the position that Ms Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity from criminal jurisdiction.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A Home Office extradition request was rejected by the US in January.

On its website, Interpol states a red notice is an international wanted persons notice, but it is not an arrest warrant.

Responding to the news, the Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger said: The White House may feel that secretary Pompeos refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas was final but that does not reflect the real position.

Harry Dunn died in a hit-and-run in August 2019 / PA

In fact quite the contrary, as the US Embassy in London said in a recent letter to Andrea Leadsom, both countries recognise that the final decision will rest with the court following a judicial review.

Clearly, the White House must be preoccupied on other matters and are not keeping up with developments. Either that or they continue to mislead and gaslight which would not be a first.

The pressure for Anne Sacoolas to return increases by the day and must now be intolerable. It is time to bring the parents suffering to an end and send Anne Sacoolas back.
MONTMORENCY COUNTY, MI  Its not uncommon to find a turkey in an oven.

Its less common to find one there in the spring. Especially when said oven isnt hooked up and lives outdoors.

But Dan Liestenfeltz, a DNR conservation officer encountered just that when he received an early-morning complaint in Montmorency County in early May. According to an official DNR report, the bizarre poaching incident occurred when an individual reported seeing someone shoot a turkey from their vehicle.

A partial license plate and vehicle description was obtained. As Liestenfeltz was investigating, he was passed by a vehicle that matched the suspects vehicle description. He initiated a traffic stop and was able to obtain a partial confession.

Liestenfeltz later discovered a small amount of blood and some feathers. He began tracking the turkey and found drag marks and blood leading back to the roadway.

Liestenfeltz questioned the subject again at his home where he eventually confessed to shooting the turkey and bringing it back to his house. He placed the turkey in a plastic bag so there would be no evidence in the vehicle, according to the report.

Liestenfeltz had the subject get the turkey which was hidden in an old oven outside the subjects house and without a kill-tag attached. Evidence was seized and charges are pending with the Montmorency County Prosecutors Office.

Montmorency County is in DNR District 3 which also includes Alpena, Antrim, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, Emmet, Otsego, and Presque Isle counties.
Marriott International has announced that long-time senior executive Dave Grissen has decided to step down from his position as Group President, the Americas, towards the end of 2020 and retire from Marriott in the first quarter of 2021, after 36 years with the company.

Grissen, who has been leading the companys Americas business for the past 11 years, oversees all of the Americas lodging business comprising more than 5,640 properties and a work force of 160,000 people.

Its hard for me to picture a Marriott without Dave Grissen, someone who has been such an integral part of this company for so long, said Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International. Dave is the consummate strategist with the mind of an operator. He is as equally skilled at driving successful implementation as he is at looking over the horizon to identify that next, new idea. Perhaps his most important legacy is the work he has done to champion leadership training and the impact that had developing new leaders and driving performance at our hotels across the region. We will certainly miss Dave, but I know that the next phase of his life will be as dynamic and meaningful as his extraordinary tenure here at Marriott.

Grissen leads all aspects of the companys biggest region, the Americas, which generates over two-thirds of the companys fee revenues. Under Grissens leadership, Marriotts Americas organisation has grown from 2,928 hotels to 5,640 properties today, with another 1,800 hotels in the pipeline. Grissen also has global responsibility for one of the companys most acclaimed luxury brands, Edition. Grissen started with the company as a division controller and has held a number of positions during his tenure with Marriott including: Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Development; Senior Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Region; Executive Vice President of the Eastern Region; President of the Americas; and, Group President with responsibility for the Americas division and company-wide areas such as Global Operations.

Dave and I started talking about his potential retirement last year, and we knew we would need time to prepare for transition, said Sorenson. Dave will be fully engaged with us until he steps out of his current role, which allows us to begin the work necessary to be able to fill the void he will leave.

New North American and International Leadership

Marriott also announced plans for the companys lodging operations to be consolidated under two long-time Marriott leaders after Grissen steps down from his current role.

Under this plan, Liam Brown will take on the role of Group President, North America and Craig S. Smith will take on the role of Group President, International.

In his new role as Group President, International, Smith will oversee all non-North American operations for Marriott including the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Caribbean & Latin America (CALA) regions. Smith, a 32-year Marriott veteran, is currently Group President, Asia Pacific. Prior to his current role, Smith spent two and a half years leading the companys CALA region. Smiths experience spans work on property (he started in housekeeping), in operations and in staff roles with an international focus  27 of his 32 years with Marriott have been spent in international markets.

Brown is currently Group President, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA). A 30-year Marriott veteran, Brown has spent the majority of his career working in the US. Prior to taking over leadership of the EMEA region, Brown was President, Europe, and prior to that, President, Select Brands and Owner and Franchise Services, North America, and he remains well connected to the companys North American owners. The companys Canadian operations will remain part of the North American portfolio under Mr. Brown.

The changes we are making will help define a new era for our organisation  one that will accelerate our global aspirations, said Sorenson. We are lucky to have such a deep executive bench to draw from  both Craig and Liam are superbly talented and will bring tremendous experience to these roles.

In addition, the company is announcing that in consultation with its Board of Directors, J.W. Marriott, Jr. plans to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus in 2022. In anticipation of that event, the company expects that David Marriott, currently President, US Full Service, Managed by Marriott, will join the companys Board of Directors in 2021. David Marriott, who leads the team responsible for more than 320 full service managed hotels in the US, started in the company as a teenager washing dishes and has built his career in regional operations and sales. Should Mr. David Marriott join the Board, the company expects he will step down as an executive of the company at that time, in anticipation of assuming the position of Chairman of the Board.

David is well-suited to join our Board and I know he will bring not only his operations and sales experience but also his deep understanding of Marriotts culture to Board-level conversation and decision-making, said Sorenson. - TradeArabia News Service
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm has received ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification, becoming the first law firm headquartered in Michigan and one of the first law firms in the world to achieve the privacy management certification.

ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification is an important next step in Dickinson Wrights evolution to make sure that our information technology services and privacy information management systems are secure and efficient for our clients, said Michael Kolb, Chief Information & Security Officer. ISO certification allows us to continually improve the firms information security and privacy information management systems while streamlining our efforts to provide additional security for our clients when handling highly-sensitive matters concerning their business.

The ISO/IEC 27701 standard, published in August 2019, provides a framework for organizations to safeguard personally identifiable information (PII). Privacy regulations, such as the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), are increasing in many jurisdictions, which is causing many law firm clients to take a closer look at how their PII is being protected. By achieving ISO/IEC 27701 certification, Dickinson Wright can demonstrate to its clients that it is one of the legal industry leaders in the area of data privacy.

ISO/IEC 27701:2019 provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving the firms Privacy Information Management System (PIMS). ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification is an extension to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002 for privacy management within the context of the organization. Dickinson Wright became ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified in 2016.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 475 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has 18 offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and 11 other domestic offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canadian office is located in Toronto.

Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise, and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification and one of the only firms with ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management procedures, security controls and privacy processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.


Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Monday got embroiled in a controversy over the unceremonious transfer of a senior IAS officer who was leading the Department of Information and played a key role in dealing with the problems of migrant workers in the state amid coronavirus restrictions.

The order to replace Captain Manivannan with Maheshwar Rao, another IAS officer, came on Monday evening, and set off online campaigns on change.org to 'bring back' the captain.

Manivannan had been holding two posts principal secretary of the labour department and that of the department of information and public relations. Two months ago, even as the first virus cases were getting reported in Karnataka, he had launched a unique volunteer-based 'Corona Warriors' group through social messaging services such as Telegram.

Initially, the move was meant to fight fake news related to coronavirus as it was causing confusion and panic among the masses. Eventually, this volunteer base was utilised to work with the government and police to effectively implement the lockdown, help in distributing aid to migrant workers and those in distress.

The transfer orders come amid reports that Manivannan had been speaking up for the rights of workers at a time when several sections of the industry were trying to get labour laws relaxed on the pretext that lockdown had severely hit the manufacturing and construction sectors. A lobby had been building up to bring in the UP model on labour laws as well.

One such lobby group, the Bangalore Employers Association , apparently even wrote to the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa seeking change of 'leadership in the labour department' as the labour secretary was "instigating" workers to lodge complaints against their own employers who were not in a position to pay wages during the lockdown. The association in its letter stated that over 700 workers had lodged complaints against their employers through the labour department's portal after this effort.

However, if this was the reason for Manivannans ouster, why he divested of the Information department post is not clear.

Hours after the transfer order  without another posting came out, citizen groups started an online campaign to get the government to retain him in overall effort against Covid-19.
The seal of the F.B.I. hangs in the Flag Room at the bureau's headquarters in Washington on March 9, 2007. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Arkansas Professor Arrested, Accused of Hiding Links To Chinese Regime

A professor from the University of Arkansas has been arrested on wire fraud charges over his alleged ties to the Chinese regime.

According to court documents, the Fayetteville campus professor, 63-year-old Simon Saw-Teong Ang, allegedly received grant money from NASA, but failed to disclose his ties to the Chinese regime and Chinese companies when required to do so.

Simon Saw-Teong Ang Complaint by Andy Belt on Scribd

The Malaysia-born professor, who was the director of the universitys High Density Electronics Center, received funding from and worked for Chinese companies and the Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses to attract research specialists working overseas. Ang allegedly asked a researcher to keep his links to the CCPs program a secret, court papers state.

Not many people here know I am one of them but if this leaks out, my job here will be in deep troubles, Ang wrote last June to a Xidian University researcher, who intended to visit the University of Arkansas. After you read this email, please delete for safety sake as any email can be retrieved.

Beijing rolled out the TTP in 2008 to aggressively recruit promising science and tech researchers from foreign countries to work in Chinaa program which the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) summarized as rob, replicate, replace.

By 2017, Beijing had recruited more than 7,000 people for the program.

#BREAKING Simon Ang, a @UArkansas professor, was just charged with wire fraud. Ang allegedly had close ties to the #Chinese government, which he failed to disclose as required when receiving grant money from @NASA. More about this #FBI case here: https://t.co/dB6QE21sXg #ARnews pic.twitter.com/j1ohqhJZO1  FBI Little Rock (@FBILittleRock) May 11, 2020

Ang hid his financial arrangements, which allowed him to continue receiving grant money from NASA and other U.S. government agencies. If the professor disclosed the funding he had been receiving from the Chinese regime, he would have been unable to secure U.S. grants, according to court documents.

Over the past seven years, Ang received more than $5 million in grants from U.S. government agencies, court papers state. He had been working at the university since 1988.

These materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous wires to be sent and received that facilitated Angs scheme to defraud, a news release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) released Monday states.

The email from the researcher to Ang about his involvement in the TTP was allegedly discovered in a hard drive by a librarian at the University of Arkansas. The email had been sent to Angs personal email, however, his university email address had been copied in, court documents revealed.

Ang, who earned his bachelors degree from the University of Arkansas, was arrested on May 8, and charged on Monday with one count of wire fraud. If convicted, the electrical engineering professor faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.

The FBI is continuing to investigate the case.

The DOJ previously said that the TTP is one of the most prominent Chinese recruitment programs, which seek to lure overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing proprietary information.
A recent report suggested that a typical pharmaceutical manufacturing factory will spend approximately $40M on quality control every year.1 Meanwhile, another report highlighted that 79% of the 483 Warning Letters issued by the FDA in 2016 cited 21 CFR part 11 data integrity issues.2

An FDA 483 Warning Letter will often prompt retraining within an organisation, but this may be only one part of the solution. It could be that the worker(s) did not follow the SOP correctly, or it could be the case that manual SOPs are not robust enough to prevent the problem reoccurring in the future.

Processes which automate the quality control SOP have the potential to reduce the impact of human error on data integrity, while reducing the time needed to carry out the SOP  leading to lower costs and less technician time required.

This article examines four common quality control procedures, exploring the way in which automation can improve data integrity via reduced opportunities for human error, whilst also reducing operating costs and saving time.

These four quality control procedures form a common thread in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry:

Water quality testing

Cleanroom routine environmental monitoring

Biological cell counting and viability testing

Final injectable drug particulate testing

Introduction

Despite FDA encouragement via their 2004 PAT initiative,3 a number of the pharmaceutical industrys routine quality control (QC) test procedures are undertaken manually, making them extremely time consuming.

A study conducted by the Industrial BioDevelopment Laboratory revealed >20% variability in test results when 16 experienced QC technicians performed an identical manual SOP.4 While the manual SOP may be enhanced and the technicians in question retrained, this level of variability in results indicates that it is the manual process itself which is not robust enough to guarantee the necessary levels of quality control.

The technical specifications of similar equipment may seem equivalent, but quality control QC teams should consider the instruments level of automation when looking at ways to make QC testing more repeatable and robust.

For example, a typical cause of errors in QC testing stems from sample preparation. An instrument which is able to automate the sample preparation process of a QC test could provide considerable improvements in reproducibility and robustness.4

After the implementation of the FDA PAT initiative, users might contemplate a shift from sole reliance on QC testing in a laboratory, to the use of on-line QC instrumentation.

For example, a large number of companies make use of validated on-line water quality testing instrumentation as part of their Water for Injection (WFI) and Purified Water (PW) loops. However, these companies still rely on laborious laboratory water testing when testing product releases.

If it is possible to validate on-line instruments to meet the requirements of the pharmacopoeias, reducing the amount of laboratory testing is worthwhile, instead relying on data from on-line instruments.

As these on-line instruments are automated, this in turn makes the testing more robust (avoiding human error) while improving data integrity and simultaneously reducing QC costs.

Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Purified water and water for injection QC testing

The United States Pharmacopoeia defines TOC and conductivity as two of the four essential quality attributes defined for PW and WFI.11 It is possible to validate on-line analysis tools like the ANATEL PAT700 to be fully compliant with both of these vital quality attributes, and according to the pharmacopoeial requirements.

The FDA Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) initiative4 urged the pharmaceutical industry to invest in on-line process control equipment, instead of heavily relying on final product quality testing. This ensures better in-process quality control, as well as resulting in time and money savings.

Right-first-time quality for batch manufacturing is the most ideal outcome. Final product tests on pharmaceutical products are destructive, so 100% batch testing is not an option. At the same time however, one mistake during sampling and testing may see the whole batch facing destruction.

In order to mitigate these risks, large numbers of pharmaceutical manufacturers are connecting their on-line TOC analyzers to their factory control systems. This allows potential TOC or conductivity excursions to be detected and production halted, preventing potentially contaminated water from being mixed with valuable active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Revisions to the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) chapter on WFI now allow the production of WFI from ultra-filtration and double pass reverse osmosis (RO).12 With this in mind, TOC and conductivity monitoring of pharmaceutical water systems have become increasingly significant. This is due to the perceived risk of potential contamination break-through in the RO system, when compared to the more secure barrier afforded by a water still.

The 4 FDA water quality attributes for PW and WFI are:

Inorganic

Organic

Endotoxins

Microbial

Within the current guidance, the FDA emphasizes that the 21CFR part 11 ruling is only applicable to the data historian where electronic records are stored.10 The risk of on-line instruments with a built in, local data historian may need to meet the full requirements of the 21CFR part 11 ruling.

Tools like the PAT700 help to avoid this issue by enabling the local data historian to be disabled, therefore guaranteeing that it does not attract the full 21CFR part 11 requirement as a data archive used for electronic records.

Data from on-line TOC analyzers has been traditionally held in validated Distributed Control Systems (DCS) or Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. This not only offers process control improvements, but it also adds a substantial amount of change control.

Contemporary approaches store quality-critical data records in their own secure archive, allowing SCADA and DCS systems to be more agile, and dedicated solely to process control.

To support this, it is possible configure the PAT700 to automatically send PDF electronic records for review and batch release, transmitting these via secure FTP over Ethernet. This process meets the ALCOA requirements for electronic records to be legible, contemporaneous, original and attributable.

While laboratory water quality testing instrumentation uses reagents, necessitating manual configuration for each sample along with regular (often daily) calibration, the on-line PAT700 does not suffer from this issue, requiring no reagents and offering automated test protocols. Additionally, the equipment only needs to be calibrated annually.

Calibration and System Suitability Testing SOPs are wholly automated, meaning there is no need for manual data entry. Additionally, pass/fail reports are automatically generated, removing the need for manual calculations.

Figure 1. Closed view of the ANATEL PAT700 Total Organic Carbon Analyzer. The ANATEL PAT700 exports PDF data straight to data archive via Ethernet. The PAT700 calibration standards export certified value, lot number and expiration date via RFID. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Cleanroom routine environmental monitoring

While GMP dictates the air quality conditions for cleanrooms used in biopharmaceutical production, the real risk comes from the microbes present on the human body. Human beings shed around 30,000 skin cells every hour,5 and all of these are potentially carriers of microbes. The technology does not yet exist to detect airborne microbes in real-time, so air particle counters are currently used as a substitute.

Figure 2. Humans and microbial contamination. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Discussions with Environmental Monitoring Managers at facilities worldwide highlight an increasing trend whereby the responsibility for environmental monitoring is being shifted from QC microbiology teams to production staff.

This is occurring for two main reasons: Firstly, microbiology staff are comparatively expensive to employ in carrying out such routine roles and secondly, it means less people inside the cleanrooms themselves, reducing any potential for product contamination. Challenges arise however, because the production team do not have the same knowledge of routine environmental monitoring.

In bigger biopharmaceutical manufacturing plants, teams of 10 or more technicians are responsible for thousands of routine environmental monitoring samples every month. At each sampling location, technicians must manually type the location name into the counter before sampling begins.

Furthermore, counters should be manually configured in line with written SOPs. At the end of every day, the hard copy print outs from each sample location are photocopied  this is because the printers in the particle counters are thermal, so these print-outs will fade over time. Finally, results from every location must be manually and individually converted into an electronic format.

Table 1. Manual cleanroom routine environmental monitoring SOPs. Source: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Touch-Point

1 Touch-Point

2 Touch-Point

3 Touch-Point

4 Touch-Point

5 Ensure

correct SOP

correct SOP Read and understand

SOP Manually type

each and every

sample location name Manually configure counter: Sample time

Number of samples

Results averaging

Correct multiplier for m3 Take paper print-out

and photocopy Manually transcribe

results

Some manufacturers have optimized their particle counting instrumentation specifically for pharmaceutical QC use, as part of their efforts to improve data integrity. This has included building in the capability for preconfigured electronic SOPs into the instrument design itself, enabling the generation of 21CFR part 11 electronic records directly from the instrument.

To achieve this, the user selects the preconfigured electronic SOP before pressing the Start button. This prompts the instrument to accurately configure itself according to the SOP, before carrying out the appropriate test. Finally, an electronic test result record is automatically produced.

As well as enhancing data integrity, this automated approach has the potential to reduce costs as there is no requirement for technicians to create hard copy records and manually transfer this data into an electronic format.

Deskilling the use of air particle counters via automated SOPs allows the responsibility for cleanroom routine environmental monitoring to be shifted from qualified microbiologists to production staff, reducing costs even further.

Collapsing the routine environmental monitoring workflow with electronic SOPs

Table 2. Manual SOP. Source: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Touch-Point 1 Touch-Point 2 Touch-Point 3 Touch-Point 4 Touch-Point 5 Manual SOP Manually enter

location name Manually configure

counter Manually

transfer

data Review and

approve

Table 3. Electronic SOP. Source: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Touch-Point 1 Touch-Point 2 Select pre-configured

SOP from counter screen MET ONE 3400

Environmental Monitoring

Air Particle Counting Review and approve

results in Excel, PDF or XML

Viable cell counting

Cell therapy products, particularly homogeneous cell populations, are normally enumerated for viability and concentration based on the cells ability to exclude a supravital dye, such as Trypan Blue. This is generally accomplished manually via the use of a microscope and haemocytometer, but this method can be both prone to errors and laborious.

Initially designed for quantifying blood cells, the sample volume used in the haemocytometer method is generally only 100 nanolitres. Even minor errors using this method which are caused during sample dilution, pipetting, mixing or visual enumeration by the technician, may result in substantial errors in results. This is because the final count result is scaled up to report cell concentration in viable counts/mL.

One study undertaken of a team of 16 experienced, knowledgeable technicians using the haemocytometer method showed variances in reported cell concentration results of up to +/-20% between members.4

The USP chapter <1046>9 suggests that automated cell counting and viability instruments may offer a higher degree of accuracy alongside a more reproducible enumeration. These improvements are ideal if the sample preparation stage is automated, reducing any potential opportunities for technician errors.

Results are more likely to be reproducible and accurate where the automated cell counter is able to utilize electronic, pre-programmed cell-counting SOP libraries that match the manual, user-designed SOPs for cell counting.

Not only does this approach improve accuracy and reproducibility, automated cell counters may lower the cost of this QC test by enabling technicians to undertake other tasks while waiting for the counter to automatically complete the preparation and counting stages for each sample.

Counters which are capable of counting from 96-well plates also offer significant savings in terms of technician time, which results in a reduction of QC costs.

Automating the cell counting SOPs results in the method being more robust, generating the electronic record contemporaneously, leading to improved data integrity. Because of this, the results are attributable, legible, contemporaneously created, original and accurate, as per the FDA ALCOA guidance in the 21CFR part 11 guidance document.6

Figure 3. Automated Vi-CELL XR cell counting SOP library screen. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Injectable drug final product particulate testing

Though generally harmonized, requirements for parenteral drug particulate testing are occasionally varied between different countries and different products.

The sample volume to be analyzed and the results reporting format may vary considerably between products. For example, sampling requirements for small volume therapeutic protein products like vaccines7 are likely to be different to sampling requirements for a large volume parenteral like an intravenous drip bag.8

It is important that results are calculated and expressed in an appropriate format for the product under test, for example counts per container or counts per mL.

Figure 4. Particulate contamination reporting requirements are product dependent. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

While general-purpose liquid particle counting equipment may be suitable for the testing of particles in parenteral products, counters which are optimized for the specific application are a better option, primarily due to the varying degrees of complexity involved in the testing.

Particle counters which are suitably optimized for this testing incorporate various compendial tests, being able to calculate a pass/fail result automatically. Because QC teams will often use a product brand name to label the product sample under test, optimized particle counters simply involve the user selecting the necessary test for each sample by choosing the appropriate product by name from a drop-down menu.

Figure 5. Electronic SOP functionality in the HIAC PharmSpec software allows automated SOP test routines to be named according to the brand name of the product under test and selected by the technician via drop-down box. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Conclusion

While the industry focuses on omissions and errors in 21CFR part 11 electronic records, the fundamental issue is that retraining may not be the whole solution. Manual SOPs are simply not robust enough to prevent recurrences of data errors and omissions in the future.

QC instrumentation which automates the quality control SOP has the potential to reduce the impact of human error on data integrity issues while simultaneously reducing the time that technicians must spend carrying out the SOP, both resulting in important cost savings.

References

Managing the Cost of Compliance in Pharmaceutical Operations, Frances Bruttin and Dr. Doug Dean, IBM Business Consulting Services, Pharmaceutical Sector, Aeschenplatz 2, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland, April 2004 An Analysis of FDA Warning Letters, Barbara Unger, Unger Consulting Inc., Pharmaceutical Online Guest Column, July 14, 2017 Guidance for Industry: PAT  A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Development, Manufacturing, and Quality Assurance, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA, September 2004 Comparison of Manual versus Automated Trypan Blue Dye Exclusion Method for Cell Counting, Kristine S. Louis, Andre C. Siegel, Gary A. Levy, Industrial BioDevelopment Laboratory. Health How Stuff Works, How many skin cells do you shed every day?, by Ed Grabianowski. http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/anatomy/shed-skin-cells.htm, published July 6, 2010 Data Integrity and Compliance With CGMP, Guidance for Industry, April 2016, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA. USP<787> Subvisible Particulate Matter In Therapeutic Proteins, Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA USP<788> Particulate Matter in Injections, Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA USP<1046> Cell and Gene Therapy Products  Analytical Methodologies, Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA Guidance for Industry, Part 11, Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures  Scope and Application August 2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA United States Pharmacopoeia U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA European Pharmacopeia (Ph. Eur.) Commission press release 18th March 2016 .EDQM Expert Workshop, 24 March 2011 European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM) 7 allee Kastner, CS 30026 F -67081, Strasbourg

About Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is dedicated to empowering discovery and scientific breakthroughs. The companys global leadership and world-class service and support delivers sophisticated instrument systems, reagents and services to life science researchers in academic and commercial laboratories, enabling new discoveries in biology-based research and development.

A leader in centrifugation and flow cytometry, Beckman Coulter has long been an innovator in particle characterization and laboratory automation, and its products are used at the forefront of important areas of investigation, including genomics and proteomics.

Primary activity / Product lines

Flow Cytometry

Centrifugation

Particle Counting and Characterization

Liquid Handling and Robotics

Nucleic Acid Sample Preparation

Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.
Gov. Tom Wolf is happy to welcome anyone to Pa., including President Donald Trump, but he does have a request for anyone visiting the commonwealth as it continues a phased reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Wolf said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday that the President did not inform him of Thursdays planned stop at a Lehigh Valley medical distributor, Owens & Minor Inc., and from the sounds of it, that isnt a surprise.

That said, the Democrat has repeatedly said during this global health crisis that he cant limit intrastate travel, which certainly applies to a trip made by the Republican Commander in Chief.

Anybodys welcome to visit the state, Wolf said. I would urge anybody coming to Pennsylvania to respect our efforts to stay safe, to keep people safe and businesses, wherever he visits. I hope he does everything in his power to keep employees safe.

Plenty of attention will be paid to whether or not Trump wears a mask when visiting the facility, as face coverings are a requirement for anyone entering a businesss physical location. According to Leigh Valley Live, the purpose of the Presidents trip is to discuss coronavirus testing and efforts to build the nations stockpile of medical equipment, according to a White House official.

Pennsylvania has always been a state that welcomes visitors and we will continue to do that no matter who it is, Wolf said.

More coronavirus coverage:


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India has shown leadership in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and has been on the "front foot" in helping other countries combat the disease, the country's Consul General here has said, noting that the ingenuity and skills of its people will help the country's economy to bounce back.

Sandeep Chakravorty was speaking during a virtual discussion organised by Indian-American community leader Jagdish Sewhani here on India's response to the COVID-19.

From a policy point of view, India is very clear that we have to stop the virus and not let it spread" and the government is undertaking all efforts to contain the virus," Chakravorty, India's Consul General in New York, said.

Addressing members of the Indian-American community and organisations participating in the discussion, he said India has been on the front foot in helping other countries, including by sending shipments of essential medical supplies to various nations, including the US.

We have shown leadership in the G-20 and the SAARC countries, in efforts to fight the pandemic, he said.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Chakravorty said India's strategy for combating COVID-19 has several elements - lockdown, medical preparedness, support to those who have been affected by disruption in their lives as well as international cooperation.

He noted that though the economy will be impacted, it is really going to be our ingenuity, our skills, our ability in how quickly we can bounce back. Our priority was in saving lives, Chakravorty said, adding that the economy can rebound but lives lost once will never be able to recover.

I think the way India has tackled with the COVID-19 crisis will really provide India with leadership in the world because we can really bounce back. India is trying to see that it can relocate some of the supply chains which are getting disrupted, moving out from other geographies and coming back to India, he said.

Sewhani, President of the American India Public Affairs Committee, said that the pandemic has presented an opportunity for India to attract businesses and companies that could be looking to move out of China due to the outbreak and diversify into other markets.

The world is looking at India for investments as alternative to China. India will emerge as a global manufacturing hub in the coming years, he said, adding that the ease of doing business in India has improved substantially under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government must go out of its way and offer better personal income tax for foreigners. For a promoter-based company, this is a big big issue. No promoter will put money unless he can come to India to supervise, monitor and manage his investments, he said.

Sewhani stressed that with changes in the tax law, such visits are quite restrained and prohibitive as a foreign investor cannot stay in India for more than 180 days.

This is exactly what China has tackled well, he said, adding that in order to encourage foreign investors, China changed the tax laws to allow them to stay for six years and only if they stay in China for more than 183 days in any one of those six years, are they taxed on global income.

We must adopt something similar to encourage promoter driven companies to invest in India. Such encouragement will make a success out of Make In India' policy, helping the country become not only a five trillion dollar economy but a 10 trillion economy in future," he said.

Commenting on the massive repatriation exercise Vande Bharat' to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, Chakravorty said the government is working very hard to ensure those most in distress, such as people with serious medical conditions, are brought back home as a priority.

The government has not forgotten Indians who are stranded abroad and we will make all efforts to bring them back to India.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
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CLINTON  Republican Brendan Saunders name will appear on the ballot as a candidate for Connecticuts 33rd District State seat.

Despite his long history of civic involvement, November will be the first time Saunders is running for office, according to a press release.

The seat is now held by state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, also first selectman of the town.

He listens, Sheila Tortorigi, Colchesters registrar of voters, said in a prepared statement. His background in ministry is a huge asset. You can tell hes listening and actually cares about each persons view. He is the type of person I want representing me.

Saunders, a self-described Reagan Republican, began his involvement in local politics shortly after he graduated from high school, he said.

Ive noticed that Connecticut has become a very expensive state in which to live, Saunders told Republican leaders from across the district recently. It seems like many of our representatives in Hartford ignore us, burdening us with more taxes, fees and regulations. The result is that opportunity and freedom gets crushed. I believe government is at its best when it cultivates, not impedes, opportunity, he said in the news release.

Im running to be your voice in Hartford. Im running to ensure that our children receive a vibrant future full of opportunity, Saunders explained.

In 1992, he contacted former state senator Ed Munster, and offered to help with his congressional campaign against Sam Gejdenson. After that, he served on the committee to elect Tanya Lane Town Clerk of Westbrook, the statement added.

Saunders also worked for state Rep. Jesse MacLachlan and former state Sen. Art Linares.

Carolyn Field of Essex cited Saunders common-sense fiscal views: Connecticuts high taxes force up the cost of living and drive families and businesses out of the state. Its time for new leadership in the state Senate.

Saunders is the director of sales and marketing for the Courtyard Marriott in Cromwell. He serves on the Hospitality Advisory Board of Manchester Community College. Saunders is also an ordained baptist minister, who served as the founding pastor of Lighthouse Community Church of Westbrook from 2008-2017. He stepped down to create The Fusion Podcast, an online forum providing lighthearted conversations about life and faith for young adults, the release said.

Saunders lives in Clinton with his wife Mary (Costello) Saunders, a Deep River native and nurse at Middlesex Health. They have a 14-year-old daughter, Jorden.

The 33rd District encompasses Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, parts of Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook

Saunders hopes to earn the Republican nomination May 18 at a convention in East Haddam, the release said.
A hot potato: Elon Musk, never one for obeying authorities, thinks his latest act of defiance could land him in jail. The Tesla boss said production at the companys Fremont, California factory was restarting, going against Alameda County rules. Musk added that if anyone is arrested for this action, it should be him.

Musk yesterday tweeted that the factory was opening. I will be on the line with everyone else, he wrote in his post. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Musk has already let his displeasure with Alameda County be known, having last week announced that Tesla had filed a lawsuit against the state. The automaker has asked a court to invalidate the shelter-in-place orders stopping its factory from reopening.

While California relaxed some of its shelter-in-place orders last week, Almeda County kept its restrictions in place, with local orders taking precedence over those from the state. The situation saw Musk threaten to leave California for Texas or Nevada.

Reuters reports that in an internal email, Tesla referred to an order by Californias governor that allows manufacturers to resume operations. It also said furloughed workers were back to their regular employment status as of Sunday.

Were happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return, read the email.Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!

Alameda County health officials said they were aware that Tesla was operating beyond minimum basic operations and had notified the company that it could not operate without a plan approved by the county.

We have notified Tesla that they can only maintain Minimum Basic Operations until we have an approved plan that can be implemented in accordance with the local public health order, the department said.

We are addressing this matter using the same phased approach we use for other businesses which have violated the order in the past, and we hope that Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures, the statement continued.

Anyone violating the countys lockdown orders could face fines, imprisonment, or both.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Musk spoke out against the virus lockdown last month, calling it fascist and forcibly imprisoning people in their homes.
A comprehensive package of policy reforms, financial incentives and monetary measures is in the works to re-energise the economy by giving more fiscal space to the states, accelerating public works, easing the availability of credit and putting more cash in the hands of the people to generate demand, three people aware of the plan said.

The package is expected sooner than later, said the people, who requested anonymity. It is likely as soon as this week, they said, noting that restarting the economy, buffeted by the coronavirus crisis and the consequent lockdown, will require special efforts by all stakeholders, including the government and industry

The PM will take a final call based on feedbacks from states and key ministers and top bureaucrats, said one person, who has direct knowledge of the matter.

To be sure, an economic package has been in the works since late March. The expectation was that the government would announce it in early April.

The third phase of the lockdown, enforced on March 25, expires on May 17, it is expected to give greater freedom to economic and business activity, with some restrictions remaining in place to check the spread of Covid-19.

The pandemic spread to the Indian economy at a time when it was already vulnerable, having been hit by the double whammy of a downturn in household spending and private investment plus a credit crunch. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that growth in Asias third largest economy would slow to 1.9% in fiscal 2020-21, the slowest pace in three decades. This month, credit assessor Moodys Investors Service forecast zero growth for India in the year, down from an estimated 4.8% in 2019-20. Those numbers look optimistic when compared to securities firm Nomuras estimate of a contraction of 5.2% in GDP in 2020-21. The firm had previously estimated a contraction of 0.4%.

The people cited above outlined the broad contours of the draft stimulus package. For one thing, the Centre is in talks with state government to relax provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act so that the latter can borrow money to finance the fight against Covid-19. The FRBM Act mandates states to keep their fiscal deficit at 3% of state gross domestic product (SGDP); states want greater leeway to borrow because they are strapped for funds -- they have suffered a revenue loss from dwindling tax collections because of the lockdown.

To be sure, the exemption from the FRBM Act may not be unconditional. States will also have to commit to wide-ranging reforms in areas such as labour regulations, agricultural marketing, urban development and power distribution, a second person said.

The Centre on Friday raised its own market borrowing estimate for 2020-21 to Rs 12 lakh crore from Rs 7.80 lakh crore estimated earlier to make up for an expected shortfall in revenues. According to an economic analysis on Monday by Nomura, this suggests a FY21 fiscal deficit of over 5.5-6.0% of GDP. Nomura expects the central governments fiscal deficit to expand to 7% of GDP in FY21, double its original target.

The Centre may again raise its borrowing limit to fund a series of welfare schemes and stimulus packages, the second person said.

Nomura said the extra borrowing announced by the Centre on Friday could be enough to take care of the fiscal slippage because of economic underperformance, but not sufficient to cover the extra Covid-19 fiscal support. Thus, we see a risk of more extra-borrowing announcements in H2 FY21, as the full extent of the fiscal slip becomes evident, it said.

The proposed stimulus package will also have a component to boost demand that would include direct cash transfers to the underprivileged sections, the people said. The Centre will also prod public sector banks to transmit the benefits of policy rate cuts announced by the Reserve bank of India, they added. If required, the RBI could consider the option of quantitative easing as a mechanism to reduce cost of borrowing, the first person said.

Quantitative easing is undertaken by a central bank to increase money supply in the economy prompting commercial banks to lend aggressively and thereby raising consumer spending. It involves the central bank buying government assets, particularly government bonds with the money it creates.

According to the people, the central bank could consider reducing policy rates further to make personal and corporate loans cheaper to boost consumption and investment. On March 27, RBI slashed the policy rate by 75 basis points to 4.4% and also infused Rs 3.74 lakh crore of liquidity into the banking system. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The package will have specific schemes to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), but many policymakers believe the incentives should be routed through agencies such as banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and the Small industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), the people said. The government is also considering giving sector-specific fiscal and policy support to large industries such as airlines, hospitality and tourism that have been the worst-hit by the pandemic, they added.

They said the proposed package focuses on a Rs 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) to accelerate growth and create employment in both urban and rural areas. The NIP is already under execution as 40% of the projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore are at various stages of implementation.

To encourage industry to boost output, the government is planning production-linked incentives on the lines of those offered to large-scale electronics manufacturing, the people said. The government on April 1 notified a Rs. 40,995 crore incentive package for electronics manufacturing that would provide direct employment to over 200,000 people in five years.

Battered by the prolonged Covid-19 crisis and lockdown, industry has been awaiting a significant stimulus of about Rs 10-16 lakh crore that would create demand, infuse liquidity and support production.

Sangita Reddy, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), in a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday urged immediate support to the economy, highlighting liquidity issues.

Ficci has proposed a comprehensive stimulus package worth Rs 10 lakh crore; it also wants some immediate measures including the release of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the form of refunds and other government payments that have been stuck.

Reddy called for additional support to vulnerable communities over and above the Rs.1.7 lakh crore announced in March in relief measures to the poor, financial support to MSMEs, reinforcement of health-care infrastructure to deal effectively with the public health crisis and support for sectors that have borne the brunt of the pandemic.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said the impact of prolonged lockdown on the economy is severe and demanded a stimulus package of Rs 15 lakh crore, substantially revising its month-old estimate of Rs 4.5 lakh crore, HT reported on Friday.

By the time the third phase of the lockdown ends, the economy would have lost almost two months of output, Vikram Kirloskar, president of CII, said.

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Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, the Minister of Works and Housing, has affirmed the commitment of putting forward a proposal to Cabinet to ensure that all Ministry's infrastructural projects are undertaken by the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL).



"I will push forward a policy to ensure that at least 80 per cent of the Ministry's infrastructural works is ceded to AESL because of the company's competency to handle such projects," he said.



The Minister gave the assurance in Accra when he inaugurated 10 new pick-ups and a 4x4 land cruiser vehicle bought by AESL to enhance its operations across the regions.



Mr Atta Akyea's assurance was in response to an appeal by the Board of AESL to government to give at least 80 per cent of all government projects to the company to handle.



The Minister said it was imperative for the country to have a synergy with government institutions, where every state job that was about to be rolled out was given to AESL to help in revenue generation.



He said "Every work that a private sector can do and it is found that AESL has the competitive edge to execute the project that work should be ceded to AESL since it would go a long way to promote the company".



The Minister posited that, AESL played a crucial role in developmental agenda, describing the company as "an army of architectural designs in all facet of projects, ranging from water engineers to geo-technical engineers.



He charged management to discharge their duty in an efficient, effective and transparent manner to attract public confidence, stressing that integrity in their operations would lead to brighter future for the company.



Touching on flood situation in the country, Mr Atta Akyea advised Ghanaians to desist from disposing garbage in open drains, which caused serious health consequences and loss of lives and property anytime it rained.



The Meteorological Agency forecasted heavy rains this year and advised people to take precautionary measures to prevent disaster.



Dr Kwame Asamoah, the Board Chairman of AESL, said since assuming office, the company took pragmatic measures to improve their fortunes.



This, he said, included; human resource audit, establishment of a well-defined disciplinary policies, internal financial control system which was consistent with Public Financial Management Act and branding AESL.



"As a Board, we believe firmly that delivery of performance rests on availability of the requisite resources, tools and logistics.



We recognize the value in this investment and have taken steps to provide these resources which will play an important role in the efficiency of our work and ensuring a robust monitoring system in discharging our duties".



He commended government for the unprecedented infrastructural developments that offered the AESL the opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities.



Some of these projects included; the rehabilitation of Esipon and Babayara stadia, the construction of numerous administrative blocks and staff bungalows for the six new district Assemblies, and the construction of several classrooms for Senior High Schools, Junior High Schools and primary schools.



AESL is a firm of consulting engineers, architects and surveyors under the Ministry of Works and Housing, which provide innovative and high quality services in the design and supervision of infrastructural projects.

Source: GNA









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OAKVILLE, Ontario, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MADD Canadas newly-released federal policy report recommends new measures the Canadian government should adopt to further address the impaired driving problem and better support victims and survivors of this violent crime.



The Top 10 Report: Federal Measures to Minimize Impaired Driving and Support Victims outlines 10 key legislative and policy recommendations.

Changes implemented by the federal government in 2018 were a significant step forward in the fight to stop impaired driving, particularly mandatory alcohol screening, the new drug limits for driving and the roadside drug screening provisions, said Andrew Murie, Chief Executive Officer of MADD Canada. However, impaired driving still kills and injures thousands of Canadians each year. Our new report recommends measures that will further strengthen Canadas impaired driving laws and the rights and supports for the people so tragically impacted by this crime.

Following are brief outlines of some of the key recommendations. (For the full list of recommendations, view the full report)



Create a federal .05% blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) offence punishable by summary conviction. The creation of a federal .05% BAC offence would maximize deterrence, while helping to reduce the burden on law enforcement and court resources of the existing .08% BAC offence.





The creation of a federal .05% BAC offence would maximize deterrence, while helping to reduce the burden on law enforcement and court resources of the existing .08% BAC offence. Require any driver, or person suspected of being a driver, involved in a crash to take a mandatory alcohol screening test. The current mandatory alcohol screening law does not apply to drivers who abandon their vehicle, flee the scene of a crash or are taken to the hospital before the police arrive.





The current mandatory alcohol screening law does not apply to drivers who abandon their vehicle, flee the scene of a crash or are taken to the hospital before the police arrive. Authorize police to require the taking of a blood sample from any driver, or person suspected of being a driver, who is hospitalized after a crash and who is unable to take an approved screening device test or respond to a demand for a breath or blood sample. Few impaired drivers hospitalized following crashes are ever charged due to difficulties obtaining BAC evidence. Recent changes to the Criminal Code blood-testing provisions are unlikely to significantly increase the detection, charge or conviction rates for hospitalized impaired drivers.



Few impaired drivers hospitalized following crashes are ever charged due to difficulties obtaining BAC evidence. Recent changes to the Criminal Code blood-testing provisions are unlikely to significantly increase the detection, charge or conviction rates for hospitalized impaired drivers. Make an oral fluid drug screening test mandatory for any driver whom police have lawfully stopped, and from any driver, or any person suspected of being a driver, involved in a crash.

Police require reasonable grounds to suspect a driver has drugs in his or her body before they can demand an oral fluid screening test. Implementing mandatory drug screening for drivers will greatly increase detection, charge and conviction rates.





Police require reasonable grounds to suspect a driver has drugs in his or her body before they can demand an oral fluid screening test. Implementing mandatory drug screening for drivers will greatly increase detection, charge and conviction rates. Authorize police to require the taking of a blood sample from any driver, or person suspected of being a driver, in a crash, if that individual is unable to take an oral fluid test or is unable to respond to a demand for an oral fluid test, drug recognition evaluation or blood test. Similar to the current situation with drivers suspected of being alcohol-impaired, it is very difficult for police to gather evidence of suspected drug-impairment from drivers who are hospitalized following a crash. The proposed measure would ensure police can gather the evidence needed to determine if the driver was impaired drugs.



MADD Canada has a long history of promoting public policies that will effectively address impaired driving. Since 1998, it has been conducting regular reviews of federal laws and making recommendations for legislative and policy measures to further reduce impaired driving and assist victims. When considering such measures, MADD Canada selects those that are compatible with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are likely to have wide public support, and have the greatest potential to reduce impaired driving.

These are concrete, feasible strategies that will help reduce the devastation caused by impaired driving crashes which are entirely preventable, Mr. Murie said of the new recommendations. We will be pursuing these measures with federal government representatives and policy makers.

About MADD Canada

MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a national, charitable organization that is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime. With volunteer-driven groups in more than 100 communities across Canada, MADD Canada aims to offer support services to victims, heighten awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and save lives and prevent injuries on our roads. To learn more, visit www.madd.ca.



For more information:

Andrew Murie, MADD Canada Chief Executive Officer, 416-720-7642 or amurie@madd.ca
The Health Minister is being urged to make all outdoor areas in bars non-smoking zones when they reopen.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) has written to Simon Harris to ask him to implement the proposal.

They say pubs are planning to use these areas for social distancing when they reopen in August.

Professor Des Cox, from the RCPI, says smoking needs to be banned in that case.

"If outdoor areas are now to be used for social distancing that means that non-smokers are now going to be co-habiting these areas with smokers potentially.

"What we are asking for is that smoking should be prohibited from all areas of the pubs when they reopen while social distancing practices are in place."

Prof. Cox said that in the proposals set out by Vintners they intend to supply table service.

"If bar staff are providing table service to the customers they too will be exposed to second-hand smoke so we are asking that these areas be designated as non-smoking areas."
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus could spread via ocular or eye surfaces. This is because the receptor where the virus binds  the ACE2, is also expressed on human eyes, they note. The study titled, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are expressed on the human ocular surface, suggesting susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, was published online at the preprint server biorxiv prior to peer review.

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are expressed on the human ocular surface, suggesting susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Image Credit: photoJS / Shutterstock

What was the study about?

The researchers wrote that some patients with COVID-19 disease had shown signs and symptoms on their conjunctiva. Teardrop samples have also shown the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Researchers explained that eyes could be one of the entry points for the virus, and those who are infected may carry and transmit the virus in their eye secretions. The objective of this study was to determine whether ocular surface cells possess the key factors required for cellular susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 entry/infection, wrote the receptors.

They explained, The ocular surface could potentially serve as a portal of entry through exposure to aerosolized droplets or hand-eye contact. The team of researchers was led by Lingli Zhou of the Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.

Wang Guangfa, a Peking University, respiratory disease specialist, had speculated that he had been infected with the virus during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic because he was not wearing protective visors. At that time, China had recorded only 26 deaths due to the unknown acute respiratory distress syndrome. Wang complained of redness of eyes after his exposure and after a few days went on to develop characteristic pneumonia due to COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus or SARS CoV-2 was first discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. It caused unknown cases of pneumonia and deaths. Since then, the infection has rapidly traversed the world, and on the 11th of March this year, it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). To date, it has infected over 4.1 million people across the globe and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Because of the novel nature of the virus, much remains to be explored regarding the infective process of the virus.

What was done?

For this study, the team looked at ten whole eye specimens from deceased persons and conjunctival specimens collected after surgery. The specimens were not from any person who had COVID-19. In these eyes, they looked for the ACE2 receptor. This receptor is the key factor that is responsible for binding with the virus and allows entry of the virus into the host cell. The presence of this receptor and the cell surface protease enzyme - TMPRSS2 can allow the entry of the virus into the eyes. The ACE2 receptor, they wrote, binds to the spike protein on the virus and allows the entry of the virus into the host cell.

SARS-CoV-2 virus binding to ACE2 receptors on a human cell, the initial stage of COVID-19 infection. Illustration Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock

What was found?

The researchers found from all the specimens of eyes using immunohistochemical analysis that there was a distinct presence of the ACE2 receptor on the conjunctiva, limbus, and cornea. They noted that on the superficial conjunctiva and epithelial surfaces of the cornea, there was a prominent presence of the ACE2 receptors from the surgical specimens of the conjunctival epithelium on the superficial epithelium and the substantia propria. The eye and conjunctival specimens were also found to express the protein breaking enzyme or protease  TMPRSS2, which was also conducive to the spread of the virus through the eyes.

Next, the team conducted western blot analysis of the protein lysates found on the corneal epithelium from the refractive surgeries revealed expression of both ACE2 receptors and the protease TMPRSS2.

Authors wrote, Together, these results indicate that ocular surface cells including conjunctiva are susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2, and could, therefore, serve as a portal of entry as well as a reservoir for person-to-person transmission of this virus. They also wrote that conjunctivitis was seen in 30 percent of cases of COVID-19, and thus this theory held.

Conclusions and implications

The study shows that eye surfaces could be a portal of entry for the novel coronavirus. This could also serve as a reservoir for person-to-person transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. They called the conjunctival and corneal epithelial cells as a secondary site of infection following respiratory tract or even the initial portal of entry to an individual.

Health care workers need to wear goggles and face visors and masks to protect their eyes to explain researchers. Authors wrote that this study highlights the importance of safety practices in the general community to prevent infection and spread (hygiene, face masks) and need for extra caution among ophthalmologists.

*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

The Auditor-General Daniel Domelovo has been found guilty of contempt for failing to respond to a suit filed by the senior minister which challenging a $1m surcharge on him.

According to the court, the reason given by Mr. Domelovo that he was busy finishing up an audit report for parliament hence his failure to respond is untenable and an afterthought.

The Judge, Justice Botwe in her ruling said due to the important role the Auditor General plays, she opted to caution and discharge him rather than sentence him.

She explained that the law requiring that the Auditor General responds to appeals to his surcharge within 14 days is a good law. She also stated that evidence before the court shows that Mr. Domelovo was properly served and should have done the right thing.

Background

The Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo had indicted the Ministry of Finance and the Senior Minister for paying a UK firm, Kroll and Associates Limited, in 2017 to recover assets from identified wrongdoers, among others, without verifying outcomes.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo had said he was resorting to the courts because the evidence available shows clearly that the Auditor-General erred in law and professional procedures in the exercise of his powers regarding his audit on payments to Kroll and Associates Limited.

He also insisted that approval for the request for single-source procurement of professional services was obtained contrary to claims by the Auditor- General that they failed to seek approval from the Public Procurement Authority.
Suspected Fulani raid Christian school in Nigeria; 4 believers killed in another attack

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Suspected Fulani radicals in Nigeria reportedly attacked a Christian school in the Plateau state earlier this month, wounding the headmaster and his three family members two days after radicals killed four Christians in another attack.

Despite Nigeria being on lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus, attacks carried about by suspected predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen against farming families across several states in the countrys Middle Belt are continuing with great frequency.

According to reports, a group of about eight Fulani radicals attacked Messiah College high school in the Gana Ropp village of Barkin Ladi local government area last Tuesday night.

Although the school is currently closed due to COVID-19, the attackers stormed the on-campus home of the schools leader, Rev. Bayo James Famonure, who is also the founder of the international missions group Calvary Ministries.

The Stefanos Foundation, a nonprofit that works with persecuted Christians in Nigeria, reports that when the attackers stormed the home, they demanded money. However, the family reportedly did not have any money to give.

Famonure was shot in the head, while his wife was shot in the back and his two children were shot in the feet.

Yes, I was shot in the head, but the bullet didnt enter. Its a miracle, Famonure told Morning Star News.

He explained that his family members are all in stable condition even though his wife had to be transferred to Jos University Teaching Hospital for surgery on Wednesday.

Stefanos Foundation Program Director Mark Lipdo met the family at the hospital last week.



The Famonures however survived the various gunshots, a miraculous incident that shows the power of God over deep hatred of men, a Facebook statement from the foundation reads.

According to the nonprofit, Bayo Famonure is expected to undergo surgery on his leg. Meanwhile, his wife, Naomi, is fast recovering from her wounds.

She joyfully told Stefanos Foundation that she was able to walk a few steps around the hospital today, it said.

Lipdo told World Magazine that the bullet in Naomi Famonures back narrowly missed her spine.

Two days earlier on May 3 in the Plateau area of Miango, suspected herdsmen reportedly killed four Christians in an attack.

An area resident identified the victims in an interview with the nonprofit persecution news outlet Morning Star News.

Three victims were identified as members of the Evangelical Church Winning All denomination  26-year-old Friday Musa, 25-year-old Chohu Nyangu and 26-year-old Anta Yakubu.

One victim  24-year-old Emmanuel Kure  is said to be a member of a Baptist church.

According to the resident, the victims were ambushed while riding on their motorcycles.

They met their untimely death in Adu village when they were ambushed and shot by Fulani gunmen, the resident said. Three of them, Emmanuel Kure, Chohu Nyangu and Friday Musa, were all killed on the spot with a spray of bullets, while Anta Yakubu sustained some serious bullet injuries and later died at Enos Hospital Miango.

The two recent attacks come as scores of Christians have been killed in Nigeria this year.

According to another report from Morning Star News, at least 25 Christians were killed in several attacks across the Middle Belt carried out by suspected Fulani radicals in April.

The Anambra-based nongovernmental organization International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law, headed by Chrisitan criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi, reported that at least 50 Christians in total were killed by Fulani radicals in March and in the first two days of April.

In March, the organization also estimated that about 11,500 Christians were killed in Nigeria by Boko Haram splinter groups and Fulani radicals since June 2015.

As conflicts between farmers and herders have long existed, thousands of people from farming communities across the central part of the country have been displaced in recent years due to attacks by radical Fulani herders. While some have been able to return home, some are still displaced from their homes and farms.

Over the last year, different international advocacy groups havewarned that the plight of Christians in Nigeria has reached the standard for genocide.

Nigeria is ranked as the 12th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. The U.S. State Department lists Nigeria on its special watch list of countries that tolerate or engage in severe violations of religious freedom.
The Dallas salon owner sentenced to seven days in prison for defying Texas stay-at-home orders has slammed the government for 'confusion' over its small business loans as she reveals she got $18,000 - but had no idea where it had come from and whether to spend it.

Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon A La Mode, repeatedly refused to close her business saying she needed to stay open to 'feed her kids' during lockdown.

However Luther has since revealed that she applied for and received $18,000 from the government, under the Paycheck Protection Program set up to help struggling businesses pay staff and stay afloat amid state lockdowns.

Under the PPP scheme, Luther would not have to repay the funds as long as she used the money for its designated purpose such as to cover payroll, rent and utility costs.

She defended her actions in an interview with Fox News Tuesday morning, saying she did not learn she had been given the handout until two days before her court date when the money landed in her account without warning.

Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther has slammed the government for 'confusion' over its small business loans as she reveals she got $18,000 - but had no idea where it had come from and whether to spend it

'Yes I applied for it - two of them the EIDL and the PPP - right away the first day they were available to fill them out,' she said.

'I didn't hear anything for weeks and weeks and weeks and all of a sudden, two days before my court trial, money drops in my account and I had no idea what it was.'

Luther said she had no guidance from the government how to spend the funds and blasted the process for being 'confusing'.

'There was no email, no information, no letter, no instructions of how to spend the money so it was difficult to even know what it was or how to spend it,' she said.

'Everything is so crazy and confusing coming from the government right now.'

She said other people hard-hit economically by the pandemic have reached out to her about the uncertainty they also face at this time.

'There's still a lot of people not getting the financial help they need,' said Luther.

'Across the nation I'm getting letters and messages from people who can't get through to unemployment and it's sad.'

Luther, who was sentenced to seven days in prison for defying Texas stay-at-home orders, defended taking a PPP loan while insisting she had to stay open to feed her family in an interview with Fox news Tuesday

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Her claims of confusion over the emergency funds came after she was confronted Monday by ABC's The View host Sunny Hostin over news she had received the PPP loan while maintaining she and her stylists could not afford for the business to close.

'You applied for small business loans and unemployment, and you did receive some aid from the government,' Hostin questioned Luther. 'You received $18,000 from the government.'

'So I understand why people feel so strongly about going back to work because they feel that the government isn't doing its job and taking care of people, but in this instance, two days before you went to court, the money went into your account,' Hostin added. 'So I'm troubled by that.'

Luther replied that she didn't know what to do with the money.

'What happened was I already had the court date, and I already had been open the entire time,' the salon owner said.

'There was $18,000 dropped in my bank account with no notice of what it was. So I get no instructions.'

Luther told Fox News Tuesday her business has been 'booming' since she reopened on her release - including welcoming Senator Ted Cruz for a haircut Friday (pictured)

Luther's case has become a symbol for the divide ravaging America as protesters demand states end lockdowns while counter-protesters insist the measures are saving lives.

The salon owner has been hailed a hero by many business owners and walked out of jail Thursday to crowds of supporters who slammed the Texas judge who imprisoned her for being 'out of touch'.

Luther told Fox News Tuesday her business has been 'booming' since she reopened on her release - including welcoming Senator Ted Cruz for a haircut Friday.

Luther walked free from prison Thursday afternoon (pictured) after two days of a seevn-day sentence

The salon owner was released after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release

'Business is booming - we have people traveling from across the US to come in and get a haircut just to prove the point that they support us,' she said Tuesday.

'This for me has given people a sense of liberty back and I'm just proud to say we were happy to be part of this movement.'

She slammed the stay-at-home orders as a 'form of discrimination' as she said the decision to allow some businesses to stay open while others were forced to shutter didn't 'make sense'.

'The way of picking what is essential and non-essential doesn't sense and you cross one county line to another the rules change,' she argued.

'So how do they expect us to follow rules when you don't even know what they are when you step into another county.'

Luther walked free from prison Thursday afternoon, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order that morning removing the possibility for citizens to be imprisoned for violating stay-at-home orders, and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release.

Protesters gathered outside the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in downtown Dallas Thursday where Luther was being held

She emerged to a hero's welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release, after her imprisonment sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters

She emerged to a hero's welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release, after her imprisonment sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters.

Luther originally complied with the Texas shutdown orders when they were first handed down on March 22, but after weeks of seeing them extended again and again, she reopened her salon on April 24.

She received multiple citations for opening her business against the state orders.

Luther argued that her business needed to be open because her hairstylists need to work to provide for their families.

She also said her salon is a safe and clean environment that doesn't pose a threat in spreading COVID-19.

On April 24 she received a cease and desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

The following day at an Open Texas rally to reopen businesses in Frisco, Texas, she was seen ripping the letter into pieces before a cheering crowd.

She then received a court-issued temporary restraining order on April 28 mandating she close her business.

After her repeated defiance, State District Judge Eric Moye sentenced her last Tuesday to seven days behind bars and handed her a fine of $7,000, saying he found her in criminal and civil contempt of court.

Luther in court last Tuesday where State District Judge Eric Moye sentenced her to seven days behind bars and handed her a fine of $7,000, saying he found her in criminal and civil contempt of court

He gave her the opportunity to admit fault and offered to commute her sentence if she apologized for 'being selfish', but Luther refused to admit she did anything wrong.

'I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I am selfish because feeding my kids is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they'd rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids being fed, then please go ahead with your decision. But I'm not going to shut the salon,' she said before the judge.

Texas - along with other southern states - has been one of the first to lift restrictions, despite a growing number of cases of the deadly virus.

On Friday, hair salons, barbers and nail salons were all able to reopen for business, as long as businesses comply with social distancing guidelines.

Luther pictured being issued a citation by Dallas City officials on April 24 when she reopened in defiance of stay-at-home orders
Office workers wearing protective masks walk past the International Commerce Centre (ICC) in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Paul Yeung | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Workplace dynamics will likely be transformed by the time everyone returns to the office again after coronavirus lockdown measures are lifted or eased, experts told CNBC. "The office will not go away, but the need of the office space may reduce," said Carol Wong, director and head of workplace delivery for Asia Pacific at global commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. "People will always need physical space and they always want to meet face to face." Still, worries over hygiene will continue to top concerns as employees return to the workplace, and companies will need to take new measures to minimize the number of hand contact surfaces. Some of these steps include the introduction of infrared temperature checks as well as the use of facial recognition for identity verification, Wong added. Wong is currently working with clients in China to bring employees back to the office. She said about 10,000 companies and nearly a million workers have returned to the office so far. The country, where the earliest cases of coronavirus were reported, has been closely watched as the world looks for clues on what easing of lockdown measures would look like, and how the reopening of economies could be.

Working from home

One of the most significant changes to the workplace since the pandemic, has been the shift of employees working from home as a result of social distancing measures. "There will be a long-term adjustment in how we think about our location strategy ... the notion of putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past," Barclays CEO, Jes Staley, told reporters after the bank reported a fall in first-quarter profits. His sentiments were echoed by Mondelez CEO, Dirk Van de Put. "We are looking for efficiencies as it relates to our ways of working since the crisis has showed that we can work in different ways and maybe we don't need all the offices that we currently have around the world," Van de Put said at a recent earnings call. A Gartner survey of 317 chief financial officers and finance leaders on March 30 also showed about 3 in 4 intend to "move at least 5% of their previously on-site workforce to permanently remote positions post-COVID 19."

The office will not go away, but the need of the office space may reduce. Carol Wong Director and Head of workplace delivery for Asia Pacific, Cushman & Wakefield

"It's going to be very difficult to take the office out of people's lives," Gopal Sarma, a partner at consulting group Bain & Company, told CNBC. The "mass migration" toward working from home may not become the new norm, Sarma said, but there will be a definitive shift toward working from lower cost locations going forward. "Geography is history," Sarma said, as businesses recognize that people can now work out of a lower cost location instead of paying a premium for an office space in the central business district.

One potential glimpse of this future may be seen in Singapore, where authorities have taken steps in recent years to build satellite locations for workers that are closer to their homes in the suburbs. "I think Singapore has been doing great in the last few years where the (Urban Redevelopment Authority) has decentralized the (central business district) area," said Wong, adding that the adoption of such satellite communities is expected to accelerate in the wake of the pandemic. Furthermore, in places such as Hong Kong, people may actually desire to return to the office as the working from home environment may not always be conducive, Wong from Cushman & Wakefield added.

Implications for people management

Beyond changes in the physical spaces of the office, businesses will also need to adapt their human resources policies as the world adjusts to a new norm. "At many organisations, HR teams, policies, and programs are not prepared for the realities of the recovery," Adrian Ole, executive director of human capital consulting at Deloitte Southeast Asia, told CNBC in an email. "Some longstanding HR policies must be revised to account for the new realities of flexible ways of working, technology use, and health restrictions," Ole said. "For example, employers may wish to consider employee allowances that support the cost of working from home."

At many organisations, HR teams, policies, and programs are not prepared for the realities of the recovery. Adrian Ole Executive director of human capital consulting, Deloitte Southeast Asia
British Airways' new Airbus A380 arrives at a hanger after landing at Heathrow airport in London July 4, 2013. (Paul Hackett/File Photo/Reuters)

BA Owner Says Burning Cash, Quarantine Plan Will Make It Worse

LONDONBritish Airways owner IAG has exhausted every avenue to shore up its finances and is burning through cash, its CEO said on May 11, as the aviation industry warned of the fresh damage it would suffer if Britain quarantines international arrivals.

Willie Walsh told parliaments transport committee IAG would have to review plans to resume flying in July if the government pressed ahead with plans to introduce a quarantine on most people coming into the country by air as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus pandemic.

While Walsh said IAG was not in a position where it had to ask for a specific bailout from the government, he added the quarantine plan would add to the pressure on the group.

Weve probably exhausted every avenue that I can think of at this stage to shore up our liquidity. The cash has been reducing significantly and that will be the case as we go through May, June, and July, he said.

The announcements yesterday of a 14-day period (of quarantine) for coming into the UK, its definitely going to make it worse, he said, forecasting demand for minimal capacity under such rules.

Questioned by UK lawmakers over a British Airways plan to lay off up to 12,000 people, or 30 percent of its workforce, Walsh told lawmakers that aviation was facing the deepest crisis in its history.

The industry has changed and anybody who believes that were going back to the way things were in 2019 misunderstands the scale of the challenge that is being faced, he said.

He suggested job losses could follow at IAGs other airlines, Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Irelands Aer Lingus, saying that Iberia management would be doing everything they possibly can to right-size Iberia.

Global aviation is facing a battle to survive, with most flights grounded since March due to travel restrictions to contain the pandemic.

Britains new quarantine rules risk derailing any recovery for UK-based airlines, and the industry urged the government to come up with an alternative plan.

Heathrow Airport, which during normal times is Europes busiest airport but saw passenger numbers plunge 97% in April, called for common international standards to enable passengers to travel freely between low-risk counties once the virus is under control.

That would allow borders to be re-opened, it said.

Meanwhile, budget airline easyJet said any quarantine requirements must be short-lived and replaced by a targeted regime allowing low-risk passengers to travel easily.

Walsh said that IAG was working with regulators to implement a common system across Europe of measures to be taken at airports and onboard aircraft to stop the disease spreading.

He said that he believed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) would publish a draft document on safety measures later this week.

Calls for Clarity

Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, easyJet, and other UK carriers, said quarantine measures would lead to the industry requiring additional government support.

The industry body has already asked for Britains job retention scheme to be extended beyond June, and requested a temporary suspension of some taxes airlines pay, such as air passenger duty.

Bosses complained there was a lack of clarity over how long the new rules would last and how often they would be reviewed.

Its inevitable that consumers will be confused by the message, they will not be certain as to when they should book their holidays, Manchester Airports Group Chief Executive Charlie Cornish told BBC television.

Some destinations will be at an advantage, as travelers from France will be exempt from the quarantine rules, while airlines said the new rules wouldnt be applied to arrivals from Ireland.

Britains foreign minister Dominic Raab told BBC Radio there would be exemptions from the rules but did not give details. He said the government was aiming to bring in the quarantine from the end of the month.

Critics have asked why it was not brought in sooner and how it will be put into practice, given passengers could fly to France and then cross into Britain via ferry or train.

By Sarah Young

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
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Camila Mendes has redone the Florida residence she bought for her 55-year-old mother and the results are impressive with a dreamy gray and beige palette.

The 25-year-old Riverdale actress was seen posing inside the welcoming home alongside her look-alike mother Gisele Maia Mendes who also helped with the makeover.

The overall tone of the house - which the actress retreats to for the holidays - were white and gray.

Thanks mom: Camila Mendes has redone the Florida residence she bought for her 55-year-old mother and the results are impressive with a dreamy gray and beige palette. The 25-year-old Riverdale actress was seen posing inside the welcoming home alongside her look-alike mother Gisele Maia Mendes who also helped with the makeover

The home had quite the overall with a fresh look.

The family room has a very long sectional sofa in a soft bone color with pretty throw pillows in beige, light gray and even a faint pink. A glass coffee table with a charcoal metal frame has two levels with a bowl and vase on top.

The room was also decorated with gray silver rug with black specs. In the background was a multi colored painting.

The mother/daughter duo was helped by Pottery Barn to rethink the furniture and accents.

A good place for cocktails: The living room had a beige sofa that could fit three people with beige and gray pillows. Grey Harlow Swivel Chairs were perfect accents that went with two small tables side by side

The living room had a beige sofa that could fit three people with beige and gray pillows.

Grey Harlow Swivel Chairs were perfect accents that went with two small tables side by side.

The dining room has the Toscana Extending Dining Table with criss-crosses that easily seats a party of eight. The table was set to go with round placemats, double white plates, sea-foam green napkins and dark cutlery.

Long stem wine glasses added elegance.

Dinner for eight: The dining room has the Toscana Extending Dining Table with criss-crosses that easily seats a party of eight. The table was set to go with round placemats, double white plates, sea-foam green napkins and dark cutlery. Long stem wine glasses added elegance

Attractive accents everywhere: Mom and daughter posed next to this indent that had two books, two vases and a sculpture

In the center were hurricane candle holders and a clear vase with wild green branches.

There were white chairs that looked comfortable.

The bedroom is all white with a king-sized bed with a white bedframe, white sheets and a white throw on a large plush rug.

The nightstands were white with silver lamps and a frame with a matching vase filled with purple flowers. A white plush chair was off to the side.

The raven-haired beauty split from her Riverdale co-star Charles Melton last year.

White resting place: The bedroom is all white with a king-sized bed with a white bedframe, white sheets and a white throw on a large plush rug. The nightstands were white with silver lamps and a frame with a matching vase filled with purple flowers. A white plush chair was off to the side

Calling quits: 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.

'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.

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.'
A 19-year-old pizza delivery agent who had tested positive for COVID-19 last month in Delhi, prompting authorities to order home-quarantine for 72 families, has been discharged from the hospital, officials said Tuesday.

All 16 high-risk contacts of the delivery boy had tested negative in April. They are colleagues of the delivery agent.

"The pizza delivery agent was discharged from the hospital last week. He is doing fine now," South Delhi District Magistrate B M Mishra told PTI.

The delivery agent had tested positive for the virus on April 14 and thereafter, the district administration had decided to put 72 families he delivered pizzas to in south Delhi under home-quarantine.

The district administration had not conducted COVID-19 test on the members of these families as they had not shown any symptoms of the infection.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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A tourist in a cafe in Cork city centre had her bag with personal belongings stolen from her during the jazz festival weekend and now the culprit has been jailed for nine months.

Judge Olann Kelleher said of the victim, This was a tourist visiting Cork, I remember this case clearly.

Roy Twohig, aged 40, of no fixed address pleaded guilty to theft at Cork District Court, arising out of the theft which was carried out on Saturday, October 26, 2019.

Sergeant John Kelleher said Twohig had over 100 previous convictions related to theft, larceny and burglary and more than 100 more for other offences.

Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, said, Unfortunately, he has been in and out of custody since the age of 15 and he has just celebrated  not celebrated but marked  his 40th birthday while in prison. He has a small bit of stability in his life now with his partner who is seven months pregnant.

Judge Kelleher said the theft of this bag was an awful thing to happen for a young woman visiting a premises in Cork.

The judge imposed a nine-month jail sentence.

This jail term will not add to an overall sentence of two years imposed on Twohig recently at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for a series of offences  the most serious of which saw a woman having her wallet stolen and later being punched in the ribs by Twohig when she approached him.

That occurred at Legend Barbers in the city on March 24, 2019. Garda Lorna Healy said Twohig removed a womans wallet from the premises. The wallet contained 325. She followed him to a nearby premises where he disposed of the wallet in a trash can and he took the cash.

She approached him and she was assaulted. He punched her in the ribs a number of times causing her pain and bruising.

While the assault was admitted, the defence said he was trying to get past her at the time and did not have a history of violence.
The bonhomie between Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the last one year seems all but over as the two states brace for a fight over the Krishna river waters.

The bone of contention between the two states is an order issued by the Andhra Pradesh irrigation department (GO Ms. No. 203) on May 5 according administrative approval to a series of schemes worth over 7,000 crore aimed at drawing an additional quantity of six to eight tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water per day from Srisailam reservoir on the Krishna river.

While the Telangana government described the order as illegal, unilateral and against the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Andhra Pradesh government defended the same stating that the new schemes were well within the states rights. The AP government also accused Telangana of constructing projects like Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift scheme which was in violation of the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal.

As per the latest GO, the new schemes proposed by the AP government include construction of Rayalaseema lift scheme aimed at pumping three tmc of water from Sangameshwara into Srisailam Right Main Canal, upgradation of Pothireddypadu head regulator canal system to draw 80,000 cusecs of water from foreshore of Srisailam reservoir and other upgradation various works in existing canal system of Galeru-Nagari project to draw another 70,000 cusecs of water from Srisailam.

The Telangana chief minister, who held an emergency meeting with the irrigation department authorities late Monday night, regretted that the Jagan government had taken a unilateral decision at a time when the Telangana government was extending a friendly hand to its neighbour.

He said river waters should be utilised for the benefit of farmers in both the states setting aside all the differences and disputes of the past.

I have taken the initiative by saying there should not be any ego or water basin problems in utilizing the water. It is very painful that despite this, the AP government declared a new scheme without even consulting with the Telangana state to lift water from Srisailam project unilaterally. This dented the very spirit with which water should be utilised by the two states with mutual cooperation, he said.

KCR said the Jagan governments move was highly objectionable and asked the officials to file a complaint in the Krishna Water Management Board and also the apex council under the Union water resources ministry. He also instructed the officials to approach the Supreme Court, if necessary.

The issue is likely to figure in the meeting of Krishna River Management Board to be held on Wednesday through video-conferencing.

KCR pointed out that the AP State Reorganization Act had clearly stipulated that if new irrigation projects are planned in AP or Telangana, they should get clearance from the apex committee. But the AP government did not get any such approval. Srisailam project is a combined project of both AP and Telangana and water from this project should be utilised by both the States and AP cannot construct new projects unilaterally, he argued.

Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister P Anil Kumar, however, clarified to reporters that the AP government was proposing the new schemes only to utilise surplus waters of Krishna river and was not trespassing into the rights of Telangana.

Because of the disputes between the two states in the past, more than 800 tmc of Krishna water had gone waste into the sea. We are only trying to utilise a part of it during the flood season, he explained.

Another senior YSRC lawmaker Malladi Vishnu said it was Telangana government which had constructed new projects like Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme on Krishna waters without apex council approval. We are taking up projects well within our rights, he asserted.

Last year, both the chief ministers had proposed to take up a joint irrigation project to divert surplus Godavari waters to Krishna basin so as to bring in more area under irrigation. Both KCR and Jagan held a few rounds of talks, followed by official-level meetings, but they have not made any headway till now.
Pablo Garcia walked out of a San Diego prison last week and went to the beach for the first time in 24 years, free of a life sentence for breaking into a car. He stopped for a hamburger, french fries and a milkshake at a Wendys before arriving at his re-entry program in downtown Los Angeles.

Edwin Hutchison left San Quentin State Prison last month and boarded a nearly empty Amtrak train to Los Angeles. He had served 21 years before a judge agreed that he should not have to serve the remainder of his sentence, 30 years to life, for robbing a Taco Bell and a Dominos Pizza in Long Beach, Calif., in 1999.

On the train, Mr. Hutchison ate an orange, his first piece of fresh fruit in decades.

Both men were sentenced under Californias Three Strikes law, a 1990s-era measure that made it mandatory for anyone convicted of three felonies to serve 25 years to life as long as two of the crimes were considered serious or violent.

Now they are among an estimated 6,000 people sentenced under Three Strikes who have been freed or had their sentences reduced since 2012, when Californians first voted to soften the law. In November, the states residents will be asked to vote on whether to go in the other direction and toughen some of the measures that have made many inmates eligible to be considered for an early parole.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 announced a stimulus package totalling Rs 20 lakh crore to rescue the economy reeling under the impact of coronavirus. This amounts to nearly 10 percent of India's GDP.

The Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus includes packages worth nearly Rs 7-8 lakh crore already announced by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package while RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had announced liquidity support in two tranches in March and April amounting to over Rs 5 lakh crore.

"I am announcing an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore, which is almost 10 percent of India's GDP, to help India become a self-reliant nation," PM Modi said in his fifth address to the nation since the coronavirus outbreak.

This economic package, he said, will focus on areas like land, labour, liquidity and law.

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

While PM Modi said the details of the package will be shared in due course he said it is time for us to do our bit for the street hawkers, daily wage workers, migrant labourers, fisherman, etc. and the stimulus package has special provisions for them.

"The crisis has made the nation realise the importance of these people in the local supply chain. Time has taught us that we have to realise the importance of local traders, craftsmen, and brands," he said.

He noted that only when the people of a country realise and promote local products will they get accepted as global brands.

The government was earlier considering a measured approach to deal with the situation despite mounting pressure from industries.

However, late last week it announced a 54 percent or nearly Rs 4.2 lakh crore increase in its borrowing target for FY21 to Rs 12 lakh crore providing it more wiggle room.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The new coronavirus was circulating in Brazil in early February, weeks earlier than initially detected, and just before millions of people were partying in the streets for carnival, according to a new study.

Brazil is the Latin American country hardest hit in the pandemic, with more than 11,500 deaths and 168,000 infections so far. Experts say under-testing means the real figures are probably far higher.

The study used statistical analysis to work backwards from the number of reported COVID-19 deaths and establish the probable time-frame of the virus' early spread in Brazil and other countries, said the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the country's leading public health institute.

"The new coronavirus began spreading in Brazil around the first week of February. That is to say, more than 20 days before the first case was diagnosed in a traveler returning from Italy, on February 26... and more than 40 days before the first official confirmation of communal transmission," the institute said.

That means the local outbreak was already well under way when Brazil celebrated carnival from February 21 to 25, an event that draws millions of tourists and brings throngs of revelers into the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador and other cities.

The study, which also analyzed data from Europe and the United States, found the virus was probably also spreading locally two to four weeks before the first cases were detected in Italy, the Netherlands and the United States.

"This lengthy phase of hidden communal transmission of the new coronavirus... indicates that containment measures should be taken at least as soon as the first imported cases are detected," said the lead researcher on the study, Gonzalo Bello.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
The Paramount Chief of Mpuasu-Japekrom Traditional Area, Okatakyie Amoah Aturu Nkonkonkyia II has donated sanitary items worth over Twenty thousand Ghana Cedis(GHC20,0000) to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the Jaman South Municipality.

Among the items donated were paper tissues, carbolic soaps, hand sanitizers, and over 3000 nose-masks, etc.

At a short ceremony at his Japekrom palace, the Omanhene said providing the health needs of the inhabitants had been the utmost priority to him.

He said a lot has been done by corporate entities and some individuals, but there was more to be done to help promote proper personal hygiene practices among the people of Jaman South.

Okatakyie Amoah Aturu Nkonkonkyia II was thankful to God and the people, that so far there had not been any case of COVID- 19 in the municipality and was hopeful the items provided would help to reduce the risk of exposing inhabitants to the disease.

He, therefore, advised the people to adopt the habit of frequent hand washing to enable them to stay healthy and to avoid any kind of diseases.

The paramount chief advised that all the precautionary measures put in place by the government and the health experts must be adhered to in order to prevent the spread.

He, however, applauded government for the closure of our borders and cautioned Jaman South residents to be whistleblowers and not to be aiding aliens into the country.

A representative from the health directorate, Mr. Kennedy Obeng thanked Okatakyie Amoah Aturu Nkonkonkyia II for the gesture and indicated that the chief had set the pace for others to follow and called on other natives to come and support the community.

On his part, the Assembly Member for Pru electoral area assured that they would ensure that the items are distributed to benefit all the inhabitants.
Iran's Hardliner Watchdog Rejects Lawmaker's Accusation Of Manipulating Elections

Radio Farda May 11, 2020

In a statement on Monday, Iran's constitution and election watchdog refuted the allegations made against the clerical body and its secretary by an outspoken lawmaker.

The Guardian Council's response which was published in Sharq newspaper called Ali Motahari ill-tempered and hostile and said his allegations that the Council and its secretary Ayatollah Ali Jannati seek to manipulate elections through disqualifying candidates belonging to opposition camps are not true.

Motahari had derided the nonagenarian head of the Council in an open letter on May 9 saying he has assumed "the position of God" by abusing his powers.

In his letter to the 93-year-old Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Motahari urged him "to step down from God's position" and correct his behavior. Notorious for not mincing his words, Motahari was responding to Jannati's recent rejection of a parliament proposal to amend the country's Electoral Law.

On May 3, the parliament turned down a proposal to add the Revolutionary Guard to the authorized official entities that have a say in the fate of candidates seeking seats in different elections.

Jannati dismissed the parliament's decision as a move to undermine the procedure for weighing the record and qualifications of candidates over which the Council has full control. The Council also has the power to turn down the laws approved by the Parliament on the basis of its own interpretation of the Iranian Constitution and the sharia.

Deploring the Ayatollah's response, Motahari directly addressed Jannati on his Telegram Channel and retorted: "The Majles does not need your guidelines."

Jannati occupies two prominent positions in the clergy-dominated Iran's political scene. He is the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting the Supreme Leader, as well as the secretary of the Guardian Council.

Despite his age, Jannati has been repeatedly reinstated in as the secretary of the Council by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over nearly three decades.

Blasting Jannati for leading the Council "unbridled" for years and doing whatever he wishes under the "ambiguous" term of "approbatory supervision," Motahari has condemned the supervisory body's decisions to disqualify thousands of candidates as merciless and unfair.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-g uardian-council-rejects-motahari- harsh-criticism-/30605596.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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Deputy National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kwaku Boahen, has bemoaned the Nana Addo-leg governments approach in fighting Coronavirus.



He was emphatic that the current administration will face the wrath of God for letting cases of COVID-19 soar, a scenario he believed could have been managed well under the NDC administration led by John Dramani Mahama.



God will punish them [Nana Addo-led government]. Now the cases have increased, is this the science and data they told us about? Ghana will not end the fight against COVID-19 with this government. They are clueless, Kwaku Boahen said in an interview with Kwasi Aboagye on NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie.



4,700 COVID-19 Cases



President Nana Akufo-Addo has said but for his governments proactive manner in handling tracing, testing, and treating COVID-19 patients, Ghana would have, so far, been able to detect only 1,413 cases instead of the current 4,700.



The President noted in his Sunday address to the nation on the coronavirus situation: We must understand that the more people we test for the virus, the more persons we will discover as positive and thus, have the opportunity to isolate and treat them. If you do not test people for the virus, you will not find the persons who are positive, let alone isolate them from the population and treat them and prevent them from spreading the virus.



So, as of today, Sunday, 10 May 2020, the country has conducted a total of 160,501 tests with our total number of infections standing at 4,700; 494 recoveries, five persons being critically ill and 4, 179 persons responding to treatment.



Twenty-two persons, virtually all of them with underlying illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and chronic liver disease, have unhappily died, he gave out figures of COVID-19 cases in Ghana.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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RIO DE JANEIRO - Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

The movements of Brazilians have been completely restricted in fewer than two dozen cities scattered across the vast nation of 211 million  even though Brazils death toll stands at more than 12,000, Latin Americas highest.

While public health experts are demanding bolder action, most governors and mayors have not imposed mandatory stay-at-home orders. Their apparent reluctance comes amid Bolsonaros relentless message for Brazilians to defy regional and local public health efforts to stop the virus spread.

Stricter lockdowns are needed because Brazilian doctors are now being forced to choose who lives and dies and triage situations could generate social unrest if they increase, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazils non-profit Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials.

We need to avoid a total disaster, he said.

Lago said mandatory lockdowns across much of the country would help: It is late in terms of avoiding hospital collapse, but certainly it isnt too late to avoid a bigger catastrophe.

Brazil had more than 177,000 confirmed cases on Tuesday, with the actual figure believed to be much higher because of limited testing. Many intensive care hospital units are full and cemeteries are increasingly overwhelmed with bodies.

Bolsonaro, who called the virus a little flu, has insisted for more than a month that governors are stoking economic carnage with voluntary quarantine recommendations and urges Brazilians to go about their everyday. He reiterated criticism of governors Tuesday for ignoring his decree that gyms, barbershops and beauty salons should be treated as essential services.

Amid Bolsonaros rejection of coronavirus danger, most of the countrys 27 governors have criticized his stances but none have imposed mandatory statewide lockdown measures recommended by experts. Instead, the governors have either applied selective lockdowns in cities or deferred to mayors to make those decisions.

Governors had been hoping the virus would not spread in Brazils warm climate, but their response is also a reflection of Brazils political landscape because the governors depend on mayors to endorse re-election campaigns.

Many worry that imposing mandatory lockdowns could hurt local leaders in this years municipal election, decreasing support for incumbent governors in their 2022 campaigns, said Thiago de Aragao, director of strategy of the Arko Advice political consultancy.

But as the death toll rose from less than 7,000 to more than 10,000 last week, local authorities began adopting stricter anti-virus measures.

The riverside community of Tefe in the Amazon region was among the first, with a lockdown decree specifying criminal charges for residents leaving home except for visits to hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets. The mayor imposed it because only about half of Tefes 60,000 residents complied with an earlier recommendation by the governor of Amazonas state to take virus precautions.

Those who did not comply think theyre immortal, that they wont get it, Tefe Mayor Normando Bessa de Sa said on Facebook.

Over the next three days, the governors of the northern and northeastern states of Maranhao, Para and Ceara decreed lockdowns for their capital cities as intensive-care units filled with COVID-19 patients.

Despite the new lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo still dont have mandatory stay-at-home-orders at the state or city level  even though they are the hardest hit places in Brazil.

Lockdowns should have been imposed at least three weeks ago, when the epidemic was already increasing, but not at this speed that it is now, said Margareth Dalcolmo, a respiratory physician and researcher with the widely respected Oswaldo Cruz Foundation biological research group.

I gave that recommendation more than once, said Dalcolmo, among the experts on a COVID-19 panel that advises Rios governor.

Rio Gov. Wilson Witzel has decreed non-binding quarantine recommendations and commerce restrictions through the end of May. He pledged to make police available so the states 92 mayors can enact lockdowns, instead of imposing them himself.

In another example of Brazils scattershot local lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella on Monday prohibited non-residents from entering 11 neighbourhoods and ordered the closure of all businesses except supermarkets and pharmacies in the teeming slums called favelas.

People still havent perceived the need to avoid gatherings, stay home, Crivella complained.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms including fever and cough. The risk of death is greater for the elderly and people with other health problems.

The cities of Niteroi and Sao Goncalo near Rio on Monday authorized fines and criminal charges for violating stay-at-home orders. Niteroi police took the temperatures of those entering the city, and put a man and his two dogs inside a police van after he allegedly refused to show documents to justify being out of his home.

In Sao Paulo state, Gov. Joao Doria last month urged but did not require residents to self-quarantine while shutting down schools and most businesses. Nearly 70% of the states 44 million people initially complied, but that dropped below 50% in recent weeks, according to cellphone carrier data provided by the state.

Doria, a presidential hopeful, saw his popularity increase as he challenged Bolsonaro. But police stopped enforcing his recommendations after Bolsonaro criticized the handcuffing and detention of a middle-aged woman exercising in a park who resisted removal.

With noncompliance rising, Doria said last week that if we need to step up to a lockdown, we will not hesitate.

Sao Paulos mayor this week limited vehicles circulating in the city to 50% of the normal flow. Television images showed long lines of people entering crammed buses with standing room only in clear violation of social distancing guidelines.

Public health analysts from the Imperial College London, whose COVID-19 research has guided global policymakers, last week called Brazils anti-virus efforts partially successful.

In the absence of the introduction of further control measures that will more strongly curb transmission, Brazil faces the prospect of an epidemic that will continue to grow exponentially, they wrote.

___

Savarese reported from Sao Paulo
A hunt is underway for a man who exposed his genitals and pleasured himself in front of fellow commuter on a Melbourne tram.

The 20-year-old woman was on a service from Preston to Bundoora when an unknown man boarded the tram on Plenty Road, in Reservoir, at about 4pm on Thursday, April 9.

Transit Crime Investigation Unit detectives said the man spoke to the victim before he exposed his genitals and began to pleasure himself.

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A hunt is underway for a man who exposed his genitals and pleasured himself in front of fellow commuter on a Melbourne tram. Victoria Police released this image to assist with their investigations

The victim shouted at the man and went to the tram driver to report the offending. The man then got off the service at Bundoora.

Police have now release CCTV footage of a man dressed in pink shorts, a dark green hoodie and a Snapback hat they believe can help with their investigation.

The man, who is of a medium build, is white, has dark brown hair and a beard.

He is believed to be aged between 20 and 25 years old.

Senior Constable Andrew Levey said public safety is a priority for Victoria Police and no one should feel uncomfortable when travelling on public transport.

'This kind of behaviour is unacceptable, and we will do all we can to hold the correct person accountable,' he said.

'Police have an excellent success rate when it comes to solving sexual offences on the public transport network due to CCTV cameras and information from the public.

'This is why we encourage everyone who sees, or is victim to, an offence to come forward.'

Anyone who recognises the man or who has information is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
How could you see my listing if youre blind?

Id have to check with our insurance company to see if were covered to host guests with disabilities.

Does the dog drive?

Those are three typical responses we got from Airbnb hosts while posing as guests with disabilities for a study we conducted on the home-sharing service. Some hosts were willing to accommodate us. Some were uneasy. Some were insensitive. We effectively became Airbnbs secret shopper  even secret to Airbnb  to determine if its credo to belong anywhere implied that this service was designed with disability access and civil rights in mind.

Our results revealed that Airbnbs platform perpetuates the social exclusion of people with disabilities. We dont believe this is done intentionally, but the unregulated nature of rental listings end up subverting the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which turns 30 in July.

AP Photo/Barry Thumma

What the ADA changed

Before this landmark law, people with disabilities had a very hard time engaging in American life. Structural barriers like buildings without elevators made it difficult to use public transit and limited where people with disabilities could work. They were essentially rendered second-class citizens.

For example, people using wheelchairs had to abandon them if they needed to ride trains or buses. Grocery stores and other buildings were usually not accessible to people with disabilities, and restaurants even refused to serve them. Public schools excluded an estimated 1 million children with disabilities. And employers could legally avoid hiring someone because of his or her disability  and paid them less than their able-bodied peers with similar qualifications.

This began to change in 1990 with the passage of the ADA, which prohibits disability-based discrimination in all areas of public life. The law makes sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as those without disabilities. Particularly, Title III of the ADA covers public accommodations  including private hotels  and requires them to make appropriate changes in policies, practices and procedures, unless this would radically change how businesses operate.

Story continues

The law, however, was never designed to cover private citizens, such as Airbnb hosts. The recent rise of the largely unregulated sharing economy thus complicates whether the ADA applies to these new types of largely person-to-person transactions. Its a world in which workers are rarely employees, and businesses are often just regular people sharing their apartment with a stranger.

Traditionally, the ADA prohibits businesses like hotels from discriminating against people with disabilities. However, Airbnb is not a normal hospitality company that manages and franchises a collection of hotels and resorts. Instead, its a broker between hosts who temporarily sublet their homes and guests who seek affordable and unconventional places to stay.

To that end, listings are not hotels either. And the ADA specifically applies only to places with more than five rooms to rent and are not occupied by the homeowner as a place of residence. These conditions are seldom met on Airbnb. Therefore, many hosts are not legally prohibited from discriminating, which means that guests with disabilities are subject to pre-ADA conditions.

AP Photo/Sal Veder

Documenting discrimination

We began our study in June 2016, investigating access to nearly 4,000 Airbnb listings by requesting lodgings with the use of simulated people who had disabilities or were able-bodied. Inconspicuously, across the U.S., we solicited hosts with fake guests who experience blindness, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, dwarfism or no disability. The study concluded in November 2016, and we analyzed host responses through early 2017. Following a peer review, we published our findings in February 2019.

Discrimination against our disabled guests was evident. Those without disabilities were offered preapprovals  that is, following an initial inquiry about availability, hosts may make approval automatic once a guest requests a booking  75% of the time, whereas those with disabilities had a much harder time, depending on the disability.

Those with dwarfism were preapproved 61% of the time, while people with blindness were at 50%. Guests suffering from cerebral palsy were at 43%. And having a spinal cord injury meant a preapproval rate of just 25%.

Overall, the more extreme the disability, like using a wheelchair, the more discrimination our disabled guests endured.

How do you drive?

Through the process of seeking preapprovals, we engaged with every host in our review, which gave us insights into how they reacted to people with disabilities.

Some hosts were extremely positive and offered assistance. For example, one eagerly explained to our guest with a spinal cord injury, I can carry you and your chair up the stairs I really want you to stay.

Another kindly replied to a traveler with dwarfism, We would be glad to modify anything as needed.

But some hosts werent as accommodating. For example, one expressed concerns over cleaning costs specific to a traveler with blindness who uses a guide dog, [I]f youre willing to pay $100 for animal cleaning, I would be OK with you staying. This was on top of the locations typical cleaning fee assessed to all guests.

A second was especially disrespectful toward a traveler with blindness by replying, Um. Thats a new one. How do you drive?

And while a third was a bit more empathetic, the host was still dismissive toward a traveler with cerebral palsy, blaming an architectural constraint. Our place has a very narrow and circular stairway, so it would be too difficult for you, the host said.

Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

Airbnbs efforts to fix the problem

To Airbnbs credit, it had recognized the problem of disability access in its listing before we began our investigation and began implementing changes during the study. This allowed us to see in real time what kind of impact it had.

The company announced a nondiscrimination policy in November 2016 that explicitly banned using a guests disabilities in turning down a requested stay, in addition to other characteristics like race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation and marital status.

However, our study found that compliance didnt vary after the policy was implemented.

At the time, we felt that this was due to how nascent the policy was. However, as recently as 2019, there have been anecdotes detailing its weak enforcement. Haben Girma, a disability rights lawyer who is deaf and blind, claims she was denied lodging after disclosing that her service animal would accompany her.

The host defended himself by indicating that his rental was under construction and would be hazardous for any stay, yet the listing was successfully booked by an able-bodied colleague of Girma for the same dates.

Soon after our study, in late 2017, Airbnb purchased Accomable, a travel website focused on those with disabilities. This acquisition helped Airbnb improve its search filter by allowing hosts to list accessibility features more precisely.

It remains to be seen how effective this has been, though some guests have found the accessibility filters to be inaccurate.

Time for an ADA update

The ADA emerged from a long history of frustration of how people with disabilities were marginalized in the areas of employment and more.

Now, as the sharing economy continues to expand, we believe the law should be amended to specifically protect people from disability-based discrimination on these online platforms. While it would not be realistic or sensible to force every mom-and-pop listing on Airbnb to become ADA-compliant, there must be ways to ensure that when guests without disabilities have access to listings, those with disabilities can have access to similar ones at the same cost.

As the ADA approaches its 30th anniversary, this is an opportunity for legislators, disability rights activists, Airbnb, as well as its users to collectively and proactively ensure equal access for everyone.

[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversations email newsletter.]

<p>Este articulo se vuelve a publicar de <a href="http://theconversation.com/es?utm_source=Yahoo&utm_medium=related-link&utm_campaign=related-link0&utm_content=article-127416">The Conversation</a>, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminacion de la experticia academica.<p> <p><strong>Lee mas:</strong><br><ul><li><a href="http://theconversation.com/college-students-with-disabilities-are-too-often-excluded-105027?utm_source=Yahoo&utm_medium=related-link&utm_campaign=related-link0&utm_content=article-127416">College students with disabilities are too often excluded</a></li><li><a href="http://theconversation.com/should-i-say-disabled-person-or-person-with-a-disability-113618?utm_source=Yahoo&utm_medium=related-link&utm_campaign=related-link1&utm_content=article-127416">Should I say disabled person or person with a disability?</a></li></ul></p>

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Constable Dinesh Rane, attached to the crime branch said that his strong willpower as well as the practice of pranayam  a form of breathing exercise in yoga  helped him defeat Covid-19 within two weeks. On Monday, after he was discharged from the hospital, the 46-year-old Gorai resident was welcomed by his colleagues and family with a thunderous applause.

On April 23, Rane developed fever and cough, which were not cured despite taking medicines. So he went for a test on April 26 and the results came positive for Covid-19 two days later, following which he was admitted to Apex Hospital on the same day. It is not established yet how Rane got infected. During his stay in the hospital, his family, friends and colleagues kept him motivated. Fortunately, the constable does not have comorbidities.

I want to tell my colleagues and others who are battling the disease that they should not panic and keep a strong willpower and they will definitely get cured, he said, adding that he would consume warm water and gargle with salt water everyday while at the hospital.

Until Monday, more than 1,000 personnel of the state police department were tested positive for Covid-19, of who 900 are constables. Rane is among the 113 personnel who have recovered so far. The police department has also lost seven of its personnel to the virus.

2 lakh labourers on waiting list to leave city

On Tuesday, another 5,000 labourers from the Mumbai Polices north region jurisdiction (Goregaon East to Dahisar East) left for their native homes in north India on four trains. Three trains operated from Borivli station, while one left from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The police said around 2 lakh more migrant labourers are on the waiting list and their applications have been processed.

33 FIRs filed on Monday for lockdown violations

The Mumbai Police on Monday registered 33 first information reports (FIRs) against 48 people and arrested 22 for lockdown violations. A majority of the FIRs (21) were filed in central region, while the remaining eight in western region  both of which are badly-affected by Covid 19. The most number of FIRs (11) were filed for gathering at one place, followed by 10 against illegal vehicles, nine for not wearing masks and three against shops operating despite being non-essential services.

Woman makes video outside actors house, booked

Bandra police booked a woman for allegedly making a TikTok video of her morning walk outside Salman Khans residence in Bandstand, Bandra (West). The woman identified herself as Zara Baloch in video. The police learnt about the incident after the video was circulated on social media. I am at Bandstand. I am here for my morning walk after having my Sehri [meal] at home, the woman is seen to be saying in her video.

40-lakh gutkha smuggled

The Mumbai crime branchs unit 11 in Kandivli (West) on Monday evening intercepted a truck carrying gutka and tobacco products worth 39.65 lakh and arrested two people  Malwani resident Musahid Ahmed Shaikh, 33, and Nallasopara resident Amanullah Khan, 25  who were inside the vehicle. The police also seized the truck, worth 12 lakh. The accused had pasted a sticker of essential goods on the truck to mislead the police.

(With inputs from Jayprakash S Naidu, Suraj Ojha)
Sidewalk Labs left because Toronto is a timid, backwater nanny state that rejects innovation.

Sidewalk Labs left because they were stymied in their desire to perform nefarious acts of corporate surveillance that were always the secret core of their business model.

Neither of these are accurate assessments of why Sidewalk Labs (a subsidiary of Alphabet, nee Google) walked away from its planned development of a 14-acre lot known as Quayside, in Canadas largest city.

But the reductive prevailing narratives demonstrate how little we understand about the intersection of technology and government. And they need to be pulled apart and the truth acknowledged if were going to properly tackle the very big decisions we face right now regarding the use of technology for the public good, in the throes of a global public health crisis.

Sidewalk did not walk away because they were stifled in their innovation. It is not because they didnt have champions or because anyone was risk averse.

They walked away because they were stifled in their actual objective, which was, to put it plainly, a land grab.

The worlds biggest company was not interested in deploying its nascent subsidiary to secure a large parking lot on which they could develop condos with iPad-enabled garbage chutes. It wanted the Port Lands, an 880-acre area of Torontos eastern waterfront that currently boasts industrial activities, a bike path, a driving range, a weird nightclub and the Hearn, a decommissioned generating plant you might have gotten drunk in once during an arts festival.

The Port Lands also happens to be the largest undeveloped piece of urban real estate in North America, which will soon be ready for reinvention because all three levels of government came together to fund its very expensive flood protection and environmental remediation.

Once ready for development, the Port Lands holds exponential value  both in terms of tax uplift and accessible public space  and it should not be controversial to say that the payoff from that development should live with the lands majority owner: the people of Toronto.

Unfortunately, Alphabet understood the Quayside RFP to be a single-source hop and a jump to controlling the Port Lands and their departure from Toronto was inevitable the moment they realized (after being told again and again) that they werent just going to have it gifted to them (or be able to buy it).

This fact is important not just as a means to avoid historic revisionism.

Its important as a lesson because there is currently the potential for an even bigger land grab to occur as the result of COVID 19, as technology is positioned as the answer for everything from our educational systems to our health care to our distribution of emergency medical supplies.

The Quayside RFP was used as a Trojan Horse by one company that hoped to quietly lay claim to a larger piece of territory, both in terms of physical space and control over elements of public service. So imagine what might be accidently signed away as governments rush to make procurements and introduce solutions under their new emergency powers.

This is not to assign nefarious intention to any company or government. Sadly, the fact of the matter is generally found in this truism: Never chalk up to conspiracy what can be explained by incompetence.

I believe greatly in the potential for technology to be better utilized on behalf of the people, and agree that its adoption and deployment by government and other institutions (education, health, media) has been much too slow.

But the application of these tools must be done carefully, and many of the major issues were experiencing right now from misinformation and polarization to security breaches and fraud concerns are the result of both technology companies and governments failing to predict or meaningfully address the consequences that have been unleashed.

Right now, we are all viscerally experiencing the opportunity of technology in public life. In a world where face-to-face interactions are a threat, almost all of our mechanisms for survival, support, understanding and connection are being enabled and ensured by technology. Governments and corporations alike are quickly realizing that modernization is not a nice-to-have but an essential element of business and service continuity.

But we are also all living through an accelerated demonstration of what can go wrong when the tools arent good enough, or well thought-out, or designed for the benefit or all types of people.

We are learning about the security threats of video conferencing. That ordering everything from Amazon will leave our souls and our main streets empty. That on-line learning is not a salve, and that education needs to be more than just a series of downloaded PDFs and YouTube videos. That our ability to survive and thrive should not be dependent on the quality of our local broadband infrastructure.

The truth of the matter is that its difficult to find good technology solutions for complex problems.

And that was the other real issue with Sidewalk, when you peered behind the curtain.

Every government actor I witnessed in the Sidewalk discussions was completely open to being blown away by the innovation and brilliance of this well-resourced corporation, which had trumpeted their collection of world leading urbanists and technologists.

But the fact of the matter was that most of their ideas were either underwhelming or hopelessly naive.

Building stuff in real life is hard. Especially when it cant burn down, or cost more to build than it could recover on the market, or disproportionately benefit one demographic. Words and pretty pictures are easy; implementation is difficult.

The good news is that this global crisis has propelled real innovation. It is clear that government must quickly upskill its own staff and approach to be able to understand and deploy technology. And there is an incredible population of Canadian entrepreneurs and tech companies who want nothing more than to play a role in making things better, and who understand and embrace their ability to have an impact beyond an impressive IPO.

We are all ready now and motivated to look past the gloss and the buzz words of innovation and smart cities to whats really being offered by technological solutions, and to ask the questions that matter:

How and who will this tool help? Do we need it? Can it be made better? What are the terms, and do we understand them?

What does this solution offer us and what do we have to trade away in return?

We need to take those questions seriously right now, as people casually toss around the phrase contact tracing and opine about adding temperature checks at the doors of their office buildings while our kids spend hours online.

We all want things to improve, we all want to keep each other safe, but we must be vigilant about not trading away our collective rights or bargaining power, or privacy, or humanity or freedom of movement in the process.

There is not one big, shiny company that will solve everyones problems.

And we dont need to sell the farm to reap the benefits of technological tools.

That is the real lesson of Sidewalk Labs: that we never needed them to begin with.

That the work of modernizing government and continuing to improve neighbourhoods and public space was happening before them and will continue without them, and was always required to be a multi-stakeholder game.

Sidewalk did manage to identify some great opportunities and companies, most of which were being developed by other players, all of whom are still around and available for work.

And while we were distracted, governments in Canada and elsewhere have continued to find great partners in technology companies, and to develop solutions in real collaboration. The City of Torontos recent ShopHere initiative with a group including Shopify, Google and Facebook is a great demonstration of how private sector tools can be deployed for the greater public good.

There are so many great technology companies and leaders willing to work with government to find solutions on behalf of the public, and there are smart people in government who know just what is required to make this possible, and meaningful.

And yes, some people will continue to point fingers around Sidewalk, and offer blame and excuses. But that will be what it always has been: just talk, while the real work continues, as it always did, elsewhere.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 10:28:16|Editor: huaxia

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BUENOS AIRES, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United are among several European clubs reportedly pursuing Argentinian teenager Thiago Almada.

The Premier League giants have made an 18 million-euro offer to prise the 19-year-old away from Velez Sarsfield, according to Argentina's Ole news portal.

It added that Atletico Madrid could also make a move for the Argentina under-20 midfielder, who is understood to have a 25 million-euro release clause in his Velez contract.

Almada has made 37 first-team appearances for Velez and scored seven goals since being promoted from the club's youth academy in 2018.

Last year, he was called up to Argentina's under-20 side, for whom he has played seven matches and netted one goal. Enditem
Expanded Duyen Hai 3 Thermal Power Plant is ready to begin operation this month

The state council for acceptance testing of construction works has permitted Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to put the Expanded Duyen Hai 3 Thermal Power Plant project in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh into commercial operation.

The thermal power plant extension project at the Duyen Hai thermal power complex located in Dan Thanh commune, Duyen Hai district, includes a 600MW power unit. The unit was scheduled to supply approximately 3.9 billion kWh to southern provinces and cities. The project has a total investment capital of $986.95 million.

In 2014, Sumitomo Corporation received an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to construct a supercritical power station in the 688MW Duyen Hai 3 coal-fired thermal power station expansion project of Power Generation Corporation 1, a power subsidiary of state-run utility EVN.

The construction of the project was kicked off in December 2014 and the expanded plant was expected to go into commercial operation in 2018. However, according to the report of the National Steering Committee for Power Development, the construction of Duyen Hai 3 expanded project was behind schedule.

Sumitomo and sub-contractors weakness in management and operation capacity, in addition to the delays in supplying machinery and equipment, are the major reasons of falling behind schedule.

Especially, the fire at the construction site in March 2018, caused by the carelessness of the sub-contractor Jurong Engineering Ltd., will extend the delays in the construction of the project.

Duyen Hai 3 is one of four power projects developed at Duyen Hai Power Centre with a combined generation capacity of 4,348MW as outlined in the nations power development master plan between 2011 and 2020 with a vision towards 2030. The centre occupies a total area of 879 hectares.
A Chinese man's left lung has collapsed after he jogged for two and a half miles while wearing a face mask.

The 26-year-old resident, known by his alias Zhang Ping, was rushed to the Wuhan Central Hospital on May 7 after he became breathless and started suffering severe chest pain.

The doctors found that Mr Zhang's left lung was punctured and shrunk by 90 per cent. They believed the condition was caused by the high pressure in the man's organ due to the fact that he carried out intense exercising while wearing a mask.

A Chinese man's left lung has collapsed after he jogged for two and a half miles while wearing a face mask. The picture shows people jogging on the Hong Kong island waterfront on April 28

Chinese residents are seen wearing face masks while exercising at a park in Beijing on April 23

The jogger is now in stable condition after undergoing an operation, the hospital said in a social media post on Monday.

Mr Zhang started running about two weeks ago in the hope of improving his fitness after his hometown had been under a lockdown for more than two months, according to the Wuhan Central Hospital.

He initially jogged for three kilometres (1.86 miles) per day but increased the running distance to six kilometres (3.73 miles) after a week.

The resident insisted wearing a face mask during his exercise - despite occasionally feeling suffocating and uncomfortable  after seeing other joggers with face-coverings.

On Thursday evening, Mr Zhang started feeling breathless and slight chest pain just after he ran for 2.5 miles.

He carried on jogging for a bit longer before eventually giving up and walking home. Mr Zhang's family later rushed him to the hospital after the resident felt the pain exacerbating.

The man started running about two weeks ago in the hope of improving his fitness after his hometown Wuhan (pictured) had been under a lockdown for more than two months

The doctors found Mr Zhang's left lung, which shrunk by 90 per cent, had collapsed and even edged his heart towards the right side of his chest.

COLLAPSED LUNGS: THE FACTS A pneumothorax is when air builds up between the outside of your lung and the inside of your chest wall (ribcage). The air can come from your lung or from outside your body if there's a serious injury to the chest. A pneumothorax caused by leaks of air from the lungs is more common in people with a lung condition such as asthma or cystic fibrosis. But it can occur in people who are otherwise completely healthy. A large pneumothorax can squash the lung causing it to collapse. Because this condition is rare, it may take some time to get a diagnosis. Your doctor will need to consider other possible causes of your symptoms. You may need to have a few tests and you might need to see a specialist. The treatment of a pneumothorax depends on its size and whether it's expanding. If it's small, no treatment may be needed. If it's large, it will need to be drained using a syringe or a chest tube. Source: British Lung Foundation Advertisement

The hospital said that the resident could have been in 'life-threatening danger if he was brought in a bit later'.

Mr Zhang had undergone an operation and is now in stable condition, the hospital said yesterday.

A collapsed lung is medically known as pneumothorax, which usually occurs when the lung is punctured and air escapes into the chest cavity.

Occasionally, a lung will collapse without any direct injury to the lung or chest. This is called a spontaneous pneumothorax, which was what Mr Zhang experienced.

The condition would usually cause air-filled sacs, called blebs, to form. When one of these 'sacs' bursts, the air is released into the pleural cavity, causing the lung to collapse.

It usually occurs in people with asthma, cystic fibrosis and pneumonia, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

A spontaneous pneumothorax also can develop in people who don't have any obvious lung disease. It's most common in tall, thin men aged from 20 to 40 and smokers.

Dr Chen Baojun, a chief medic from the Wuhan hospital, suggested that the 26-year-old Chinese resident was already more susceptible to the condition as he was 'a very tall man and quite thin'.

But the mishap was directly caused by the sudden increase of pressure in Mr Zhang's lung due to intense running while wearing the face-covering, Dr Chen said.

Education authorities in China said today that they are set to ban school students from wearing face masks during PE lessons due to the health risks. A young girl is seen wearing a protective mask while playing on an exercising equipment in Shanghai on April 29

The expert warned that people should avoid wearing face masks while exercising as the face-coverings could obstruct the circulation of oxygen.

It comes as the education authorities in China said today that they are set to ban school students from wearing face masks during PE lessons due to the health risks.

Health concerns for students were raised by parents after at least three schoolboys recently died while taking their PE classes in China.

Two of them were believed to have died on the school's running track while wearing face masks.
United States Officials have revealed that the US government is planning to issue caution that there is an attempt at stealing research information regarding the development of the coronavirus vaccine by hackers which are connected to the Chinese government.

According to one of the officials who gave away the information, the warning will be issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They also added that the warning will specify the said security threat as coming from "nontraditional actors" in the form of Chinese students and researchers who are currently based in the US.

Washington Post added that the said officials leaked the information under the condition of anonimity as the information is sensitive for national security.

Based on the official's statement, a draft of the said warning which is yet to be released says, "These actors have been observed attempting to identify and obtain valuable intellectual property and public health data."

Moreover, another official said that at the moment there has been no indication that any of the attempts have been successful. He also added that the warning is expected to be released within a week.

Meanwhile, New York Times asked Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian on his views about the warning. According to Zhao, the ministry firmly opposes any kind of cyber-attack and crime conducted by hackers. He also stresses that China is currently leading the world in research related to the treatment and vaccination of COVID-19, saying that it is very immoral to throw rumors and slanders their way despite the absence of proof.

As of the moment, the DHS and FBI refused to give any comments about the said warning.

Warning may increase tension between US and China

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between China and the Us has not been great. Now, there is high possibility that the planned alert may exacerbate the tension between the two countries.

Read also: Cyber Pandemic: The Man Behind the 'Love Bug' Virus Tracked Down 20 Years Later

Moreover, the alleged planned announcement coincides with the increased efforts of US President Donald Trump to draw attention towards China. In addition, it also supports the long-running speculations of the administration that China has long been after US secrets and intellectual property which includes biomedical research, in order to gain advantage in the global economic race.

In the past few weeks, both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have released statements that suggested that SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 may have been leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Until now, the government has not been able to produce any evidence supporting said claims.

According to John Hultquist, director of the cybersecurity firm, FireEye, there is a possibility that the collection of intelligence regarding COVID-19 has begun since January. He also noted that since the pandemic threatens the existence of governments globally, it is expected that intelligence services have been aggressively collecting information from organizations involved in responding to the pandemic including medical research.

It was also stated that the joint advisory of the FBI and DHS will encourage victims of these hackers to contact them and that they will be provided resources to protect their data.

Related article: 14,000 Healthy People Volunteered to Get Coronavirus for this Noble Reason

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 12 (ANI): At least 1,100 migrant labourers belonging to Odisha, who were stranded here amid the lockdown in wake of coronavirus, have boarded buses for the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, from where they will leave for their home state in a Shramik Special train on Tuesday.

While talking to ANI, these labourers said that were employed in various factories, but became jobless after lockdown. Many of them were living in Mahul Gaon of Mumbai.

I was living here in Mahul Gaon in Mumbai. I was working here in a factory but I became jobless after lockdown. I do not have any money now, hence I am now going to my village, Saubhagy Pradhan, one of the migrants told ANI.

Another migrant, Kishan said that the authorities have conducted their medical tests, before sending them back to their states.

I was working as a helper in a factory. I was stranded here since lockdown. I was facing many problems here. I became jobless after lockdown and I am run out of money. Authorities have conducted my medical tests, I have undergone thermal screening and now I am going to my home in Odisha, said Kishan.

A senior police official, Sopanighote of RCF Police station said: We are sending around 11,00 migrant labourers from here by bus so that they can board the special train scheduled to run at 1 PM from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. They were living Mahul Gaon. We have provided them masks, sanitisers and we have asked them to maintain social distancing during the journey.

Ministry of Home Affairs has allowed Indian railways to operate Shramik Special trains to ferry stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons back to their homes. (ANI)
WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt's former senior media adviser will stand trial for two days in August as he fights a charge of indecent assault.

Ex-WA Labor adviser Stephen Kaless. Credit:Nine News Perth

Stephen Kaless, who resigned from his high-level position in the state government last year following an incident at a staff Christmas function, appeared briefly via audio-link in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday. His trial was set down for August 10-11, with a deposition hearing to be held on June 11.

He is alleged to have engaged in "inappropriate physical conduct" towards a colleague at a event held for Mr Wyatt's staff on December 13.

Within three days of the alleged offence police confirmed they had spoken to the woman at the centre of the incident and charged 44-year-old Mr Kaless.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on Monday she would limit her interactions with other people as part of a modified self-quarantine plan in case she had been exposed to the deadly coronavirus during a visit to the White House last Wednesday and meetings in Iowa with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday. 'During that time, we've learned that a member of the vice president's staff tested positive for Covid-19. This weekend I was notified that the individual was present during my visit to the White House, although I had no direct contact with her,' Reynolds said in a streamed press conference, adding that her modified plan is similar to that followed by some members of President Donald Trump's administration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on Monday she would limit her interactions with other people as part of a modified self-quarantine plan in case she had been exposed to the deadly coronavirus during a visit to the White House last Wednesday and meetings in Iowa with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday.

"During that time, we've learned that a member of the vice president's staff tested positive for Covid-19. This weekend I was notified that the individual was present during my visit to the White House, although I had no direct contact with her," Reynolds said in a streamed press conference, adding that her modified plan is similar to that followed by some members of President Donald Trump's administration.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Tina Oleszewski Appointed to Project Administrator Data Age is growing faster than ever before. Our market position continues to increase. With that being said, we will continue to find the best talent on the market to ensure the world class customer support our customers and industry have come to know us for.

Data Age Business Systems, developer of PawnMaster, the industry-leading pawn management software, is pleased to announce the onboarding of Tina Oleszewski as Project Administrator.

Tinas most recent role has been serving as Team Member Engagement, Events, and Special Projects Manager at SMART Financial. Prior to that, she served as the Executive Assistant for John Thedford, Chairman and Founder of SMART Financial. Although Tinas most recent positions have been predominantly in corporate entities, she gained her wide range of skill sets in more unconventional roles.

Tinas Journey started in New York theater as a Producers Assistant, Equity Stage Manager, and Directors Assistant. The skills she learned in that industry served her well as she transitioned into becoming an account coordinator, events planner, and executive assistant to companies such as Slater Hanft Martin Advertising (Sony Account), Bice/Kellwood Fashion Design, RHR Executive Consulting, MasterCard International, PatientPoint/HealthGrid and Therigy. In recent years, she moved to Florida and brought her talents and skills with her.

Data Age is looking forward to catering to her skill-sets as she transitions into her new role as Project Administrator. When we asked Tina what brought her to Data Age, she answered PawnMaster has been a valued vendor for SMART Financial for many years, and I have had the privilege to work closely with Len Summa and his amazing team at SMARTs annual meetings where they have trained, presented and supported our industry leaders. I admired the teamwork and culture the DataAge folks demonstrated.

Tina is most looking forward to working with the team at Data Age/PawnMaster to coordinate and implement special projects and programs that streamline processes and coordinate initiatives. I am especially looking forward to working with CEO Len Summa and CFO Vanessa Gray, leaders in their fields, to assist in any way I can, she shares.

When speaking with CEO Len Summa regarding this most recent hire, he shared Data Age is growing faster than ever before. Our market position continues to increase. With that being said, we will continue to find the best talent on the market to ensure the world class customer support our customers and industry have come to know us for.

Needless to say, Data Age is looking forward to continuing to make waves in the software development industry with hired professionals like Tina Oleszewski.
The Supreme Court, on May 11, dismissed three special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Birlas who challenged the move to make public the voting results of the annual general meetings (AGMs) of three companies.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court earlier asked the Birlas to disclose the voting results of AGMs of three MP Birla group companies.

"We are not inclined to entertain the SLP under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The SLPs are dismissed," the Supreme Court said, as quoted by the Business Standard.

Out of the three companies involved in the case, HV Lodha was reappointed as a director of two companies - Vindhya Telelinks and Birla Cable. Lodha is the chairman of the third company - Birla Corporation.

"While the SLP moved before the Supreme Court was not entertained, the court granted protection to the Birlas and directed that the results of the AGMs will be subject to the decision of the single judge," a Birla spokesperson told the publication.

The spokesperson said the apex court's decision would help the Birlas contest Priyamvada Devi Birla's will favouring the Lodhas.

SC also asked if the single-judge bench, which had passed the initial order, had jurisdiction in the case. The single-judge benchs ruling was overturned by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court.
Parliament Hill is seen in the background as people walk through Major's Hill Park in Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 9, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Spinal Atrophy a Problem When Dealing With a Tyrannical Regime

Commentary

Theres this mysterious new disease out of China with strange symptoms that poses serious risks. No, I dont mean SARS-CoV-19. I mean the one causing intermittent failure of the senses among Canadians in positions of authority.

The latest victim is our semi-self-quarantined prime minister. But it has also hit our foreign minister, health minister, minister of innovation, science and industry (thats one person), deputy MP, and a senior Canadian adviser with the World Health Organization. And although it presents as selective deafness or aphasia, specifically an inability to hear or speak the words China or Taiwan, or a chronic blind spot when it comes to Chinese government misconduct, it seems to originate in quite another body part: the spine.

At a May 8 press conference, Justin Trudeau was asked: The former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, says China is a bully, and that the way for Canada to deal with China is to stand up for it instead of backing down. Is your government standing up to China, or is it backing away from China?

Before I proceed, is there anything unclear about that question? OK, smarty-pants, the syntax is garbled. Its standing up to not for and backing down not backing away. But is the question in any way difficult to understand?

No? Good. Now lets hear the answer. My responsibility as prime minister is to make sure that we are providing for Canadians and keeping Canadians safe. Thats the job people expect me to do and that is exactly what Im doing. Were going to ensure that Canadians have the equipment, the supplies, the support they need to make it through this pandemic. Of course at the same time we will be asking difficult questions about how were making it through this pandemic, how this came to happen, how we can learn from this. There will be plenty of time for questions in the months to come. My focus, rightly, is on doing everything I can to help Canadians through this, Trudeau said. Then he walked away.

Is that answer in any way easy to understand? Of course, you might attribute the PMs lack of clarity to cunning. It might simply appear that his handlers had him memorize some anodyne incomprehensible boilerplate to be deployed in the event of an awkward question. Even the bit about it being important to ask difficult questions while dodging one, before patting himself on the back in case no one else felt inclined. But its not an isolated case.

In early April, health minister Patty Hajdu exhibited both blindness and logorrhea. She didnt just say there was no evidence that Chinese Communist Party data on COVID-19 was unreliable. She said asking about it fed conspiracy theories. And sadly she infected her colleague, Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland. When asked, in context of Hajdus puzzling performance, whether shed seen intelligence data questioning Chinese government claims, Freeland replied, we have very frequent security and intelligence conversations with the United States. A reason we are able to have those conversationswhich are very important in the crisis that the world is experiencing todayis because those conversations happen in private and so I am not able to share details of what is discussed in those conversations.

You see? A normal answer would have been Yes I have or No I havent while avoiding elaborating in ways that compromised confidentiality. Instead she either did not hear or could not say China. Whereas our foreign minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, personally thanked China on Twitter for sending us (defective) medical supplies, but not Taiwan. And when asked in Parliament last week, Will the minister now do the right thing and on behalf of Canadians, recognize the generosity of Taiwan and thank its government for that timely donation? he replied, Canada is grateful to all who have given supplies to Canada. This is a common endeavour.

It is not certain whether Champagne could not hear or could not say Taiwan. But something was characteristically wrong. As it was when Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains was asked on April 23 about defective equipment from China and did a deer-in-the-headlights response involving challenges, and building up strong domestic capacity and made-in-Canada solutions that failed to acknowledge let alone answer the bit about China or defective equipment. The exasperated CBC interviewer put the question a third time, pointing out that he had not answered it, and he failed again, stammering about challenges and domestic capacity.

Finally theres poor Bruce Aylward, a Canadian doctor with WHO whose condition is far more acute, possibly because it struck him earlier. Back in March he first could not hear a reporters question about Taiwan, then could not speak, then suffered a spasm and disconnected the call, but still couldnt hear or say it when reconnected. And now hes actually become invisible, having failed to appear before the House of Commons health committee despite two requests followed by a summons, and inaudible: He cant or wont say why. (And in its response WHO apparently couldnt even type Aylward, instead emailing the committee that Over the past weeks, we have received requests for information from several different Governments, parliamentary bodies and officials. With a view to facilitating the work of the Committee, WHO stands ready to consider any list of technical questions which may be provided in writing by the Committee.)

So eyes, ears, fingers, and tongue fail. But the core problem is atrophy of the spine. As Aristotle said millennia ago, courage is first among virtues because without it we only exercise the others when convenient, safe, and painless. Whether the PM was standing up to China or possibly even for it, backing away or up or down, he didnt dare say what he was doing or what he was thinking.

This disease has hit Western governments before. But this wave comes straight from China because its government is indeed a bully and one who thinks its moment has come. The Politburo is throwing its weight around in big ways and small, from the Belt and Road Initiative to claiming the South China Sea to threatening commercial boycotts. And from warning Western universities about loss of foreign-student revenue while undermining free speech on their campuses to that weird business where their consul-general crashed a press conference by Australias health minister. The question is, what are we going to do? And the answer must not be to pretend its not happening.

To be fair and end on a positive note, the Canadian government has finally joined the American one in pushing to include Taiwan in the World Health Organization. So theres one vertebra. And lets hope its the start of an entire spinal column because were going to need one.

The world is a dangerous place in any number of ways, from geopolitics to pandemics. And we need people in full possession of their senses to keep us as safe as possible. In the literal as well as figurative sense. And were not going to be kept safe by anyone whose nervous system has collapsed.

John Robson is a documentary filmmaker, National Post columnist, contributing editor to the Dorchester Review, and executive director of the Climate Discussion Nexus. His most recent documentary is The Environment: A True Story.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A psychic claimed to receive ghost visits from Princess Diana regularly and has penned to Prince William appealing to save his brother, Prince Harry.

Clairvoyant Simone Simmons reported to the Duke of Cambridge that the late princess was conveying a message from beyond her grave.

Princess Diana was dubbed as the "People's Princess," and there has not anybody who can replace her presence since her tragic death in 1997.

Princess Diana first met her favorite psychic back in 1993 at The Hale Clinic, an alternative medicine center located in West London. The pair reportedly had a close friendship.

According to Simmons, the People's Princess fears that her younger son is experiencing disaster following his and Meghan Markle's resolve to renounce their membership in the British royal family in January this 2020.

The letter addressed to Prince William indicated, "Diana made me promise to keep an eye on both you and Harry to make sure you're both OK, and to give you warnings of danger signs."

Simmons, who narrated that she would speak to Princess Di for up to 14 hours through the phone when she was alive, said: "It's going from bad to worse."

"Harry's been separated from everything he loves - his family and his friends, including the Army boys he loved."

She appealed to the Duke of Cambridge to listen because Markle would isolate Harry and ultimately push him to take radical, possibly very unfavorable, self-defeating decisions.

She added that if he would like to answer, he should not be dubious and they need to save Prince Harry.

Also Read: Meghan Markle Mom-Shamed by Bestselling 'Something Borrowed' Author Emily Griffin

The healer said the late princess makes regular ghost appearances at her home in London.

"Diana comes and talks to me -- I see her body and she's very animated at times. I got so fed up of it all I wrote to William, but he hasn't responded," Simmons explained.

Simmons also actually told Princess Diana of a premonition that an incident was bound to transpire that would eventually be her death prior to her car crash in Paris.

A stunning claim from her was that "Diana told me it was all going to end in disaster."

The Princess of Wales confided in her that Prince Harry is growing to be more and more isolated and it is a torturing experience for him.

The psychic described that Prince Harry was separated from things he loves -- his family and his friends, alongside the Army boys he loved.

Also, she predicted that the Duchess of Sussex was pregnant with the former royal couple's son Archie before the news was formally declared.

The claims were said to possibly infuriate Prince Harry who is very guarded regarding his relationship with his late mother.

Simmons insisted that she was so terrified she instead wrote to his brother, Prince William.

She added that she was previously told that Prince Harry and Prince William declined to engage in correspondence with their mother's friends because they had advised that they could not be trusted.

Related Article: Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton Rift: Royal Wives' Differences in Staff Treatment Sparks Disagreement

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The White House's top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Congress on Tuesday that some states are prematurely reopening businesses, risking additional outbreaks of the deadly coronavirus cases, particularly among the most vulnerable populations. Among the dangers of reopening economies too quickly without precautions in place, Fauci outlined: The risk is that reopening too soon, without widespread testing and contact tracing measures, will trigger outbreaks that governments may not be able to control.

New hot spots could lead not only to unnecessary suffering and deaths but also set back attempts to revive local economies.

Even though more than 100 potential vaccines are under development, "there's no guarantee that the vaccine is actually going to be effective," or worse could backfire and strengthen the virus. Fauci's remote testimony came as the virus continues to spread across the U.S., infecting more than 1.3 million people and killing at least 80,684 as of Tuesday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Health officials say the true number of U.S. cases and deaths is likely much higher because some infections go undetected. In the U.S., some states are beginning to reopen businesses despite projections suggesting it will lead to a steady rise in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths over the next couple of weeks. Testifying from an office while under self-quarantine, Fauci said he's worried that some states are loosening social distancing restrictions even as their Covid-19 cases continue to rise. The White House laid out a plan that allows states to gradually reopen local businesses as cases and hospitalizations decline and testing increases, among other "checkpoints."

"What I've expressed then and again is my concern that if some areas, cities, states, what have you, jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," he testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Fauci repeated his call for a vaccine as essential to stopping the pandemic. He said he is optimistic they would find a workable candidate, but warned of potential pitfalls in developing any vaccine. He also said one won't be ready for the next school year. "Even at the top speed we're going, we don't see a vaccine playing in the ability of individuals to get back to school this term," he said. Until a vaccine is ready, Fauci said, the country's "Covid-19 response currently is focused on the proven public health practices of containment and mitigation," he said in prepared testimony. Even though more than 100 potential vaccines are under development, Fauci warned: "there's no guarantee that the vaccine is actually going to be effective." Another worry among epidemiologists, Fauci said, is that the vaccine backfires and strengthens the virus. There have been at least two vaccines in the past that have produced a "suboptimal response," he said. "And when the person gets exposed, they actually have an enhanced pathogenesis of the disease, which is always worrisome. So we want to make sure that that doesn't happen. Those are the two major unknowns."

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking during the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on May 12th, 2020. CNBC

Fauci told The New York Times on Monday he planned to publicly warn states that prematurely reopening their economies will cause "needless suffering and death." "The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely," Fauci wrote in an email to Times health policy reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal," Fauci wrote. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, has previously warned state officials against reopening their economies too early. Hopes to get a vaccine to market are high, but scientists are setting expectations low for how quickly it can happen. Developing, testing and reviewing any potential vaccine is a long, complex and expensive endeavor that could take years, global health experts say. President Donald Trump has previously said there could a vaccine by the end of the year, contradicting predictions from his own U.S. health officials and scientists who say it will take a year to 18 months at the earliest.

Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies about the measles outbreak in the United States before a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington February 3, 2015. Jim Bourg | Reuters
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on May 12, 2020

2020/05/12

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend in Beijing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers' Video Conference on May 13.

State Councilor Wang will hold in-depth discussions with foreign ministers of other SCO member states over such topics as cooperation in fighting COVID-19, international and regional situation, and next-stage development of the SCO.

AFP: US President Trump said yesterday that he doesn't want to negotiate a new trade deal with China. He said that after some reports apparently mentioned the facts that China would like to negotiate a new trade deal. So has China any plan to negotiate a new trade deal with the US?

Zhao Lijian: The conclusion of the China-US phase one trade deal serves the interests of China, the US and the world. The two sides should work together to implement the agreement following the principle of equality and mutual respect.

Heads of the Chinese and US trade consultation teams had a phone conversation on May 8, agreeing to work towards creating enabling atmosphere and conditions for the implementation of the phase one trade deal and strive for more progress.

ABC Australia: Four Australian beef exporters, according to the China's General Administration of Customs, have been put on a list which will not be allowed to export beef. We don't know what are the reasons for this. Is the Foreign Ministry able to provide any clarity on the reasons for this? And given that not long ago, the Chinese ambassador to Australia mentioned that Chinese consumers may not wish to consume Australian beef as they are upset about the Australian push for an independent international review of COVID-19 sources. This has been referred to by some as China's "economic coercion". Is this linked with the restrictions on beef import?

Zhao Lijian: We have noted relevant reports. We have learned that China Customs detected repeated violations of inspection and quarantine requirements agreed by Chinese and Australian authorities in a few Australian companies' export of beef products to China. To safeguard Chinese consumers' health and safety, China has decided to suspend effective immediately, processing four Australian companies' import declarations for meat products. The relevant Australian department has been informed of this decision. The Chinese side has asked the Australian side to conduct a thorough investigation to find the cause and address the issue. You may get more specifics from the competent Chinese authorities.

As you mentioned remarks by the Chinese ambassador to Australia, I want to stress that China always develops friendly cooperation with other countries based on mutual respect and equality. I suggest you carefully read the full text of the ambassador's interview. He was talking about the concerns that the Australian side's recent erroneous words and deeds have upset the Chinese people and that they may impact bilateral relations. Is there any problem with that? How could it have anything to do with "economic coercion"?

The Australian side has been pushing for a so-called independent international review of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have repeatedly stated China's position on this. As is known by all, the issue of the origin and transmission of the virus needs to be assessed scientifically by medical professionals. Political maneuvers under the context of the pandemic will only disrupt international anti-virus cooperation and won't gain any support.

Now as the world economy is bearing the full-blown impact of COVID-19, China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with other countries, enhance mutual assistance, and contribute to the health and well-being of all mankind. We also hope other countries will join China in promoting international cooperation and mutual trust, rather than say something nice while doing the opposite.

Reuters: Joseph Wu made mention of a 2005 memorandum of understanding signed between China and WHO over the Taiwan region's participation in the organization. Media reports said that the MOU set Taiwan down as part of China. We're wondering if you could give us any more details about the said MOU and whether this still applies to Taiwan currently?

Zhao Lijian: I'd like to stress two points.

First, there is only one China in the world and the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory. There is no need for China to "set Taiwan down as part of China" by signing an MOU with any international organization.

Second, there is no secrecy at all with the MOU signed between the Chinese government and WHO in 2005. You can find it online. Based on its provisions, under the one-China principle, participation in WHO technical activities by technical experts in the Taiwan region is unimpeded. Since 2019, 16 groups of 24 medical and health experts from the region have taken part in WHO technical activities.

The Taiwan authorities are trying to hype up the MOU signed years ago in another show of political maneuvering under the pretext of the pandemic. This is nothing but a futile attempt.

The Australian: Can you disconnect very clearly that this problem with beef in China in the customs has nothing to do with Australia's interest in an independent scientific report into the origins of the coronavirus?

Zhao Lijian: I just stated very clearly the Chinese government's position.

Follow-up: You said political maneuvering under the pretext of the pandemic will not gain any support. It sounds to me that the two things were linked. Is that what you meant?

Zhao Lijian: I already stated China's position on both issues.

Xinhua News Agency: Could you talk about the work SCO member states have done in jointly fighting the COVID-19 pandemic? What are your expectations for this foreign ministers' video conference?

Zhao Lijian: In the face of the COVID-19 challenge, SCO member states, upholding the Shanghai Spirit, conducted anti-virus cooperation, contributing to the the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through concrete actions. During the crucial period in China's fight against the virus, leaders of other SCO member states expressed sympathies and support to Chinese leaders and provided aid in the form of medical supplies. China also relates to the impact of the pandemic on other member states and has offered timely assistance to the best of its capability, including through multiple video conferences for experts to share experience in prevention and control, teams of medical experts and joint working groups who held exchange and offered guidance on site, and urgently-needed medical supplies. These have given a strong boost to other member states' fight against the pandemic.

The SCO is a regional organization of significant influence. We believe all sides will build on the momentum of this conference to enhance solidarity and collaboration, deepen cooperation in various areas, and ensure that the SCO will contribute to a stronger global response to COVID-19 and to regional security and development.

CNR: Information from the Office of the President of Afghanistan reportedly said on May 11 that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah have agreed to establish a unity government. The two sides will sign a power-sharing agreement in the coming days. What is your comment?

Zhao Lijian: As we say in China, "Neighbors wish each other prosperity and security". China and Afghanistan are neighbors enjoying long-established friendship and strategic partners of cooperation. We truly want to see Afghanistan realize peace and stability at an early date. The Chinese side has noted the latest development and commends the recent positive and constructive dialogues between the Ghani and Abdullah teams. We hope that the relevant parties in Afghanistan will put their nation and people first and establish an inclusive unity government at an early date, thus contributing to the country's COVID-19 response and promoting the peace and reconciliation process.

The Australian: You just said that study of the origins of the virus requires specialists and scientists, not politics. At the moment there is a motion being put forward by the EU for the World Health Assembly, proposing an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. And the EU spokesperson said a thorough understanding of the pandemic is essential. They also said the Chinese side has not responded to their proposal. I wonder if you could explain what China's position is on their proposal? Does China support that?

Zhao Lijian: China appreciates EU's efforts in promoting global cooperation in fighting COVID-19. We are taking an active part in relevant text consultations and hope a resolution with positive content will be adopted so as to send out to the world an important message of enhancing global solidarity, mobilizing resources, sharing experience and jointly fighting the pandemic. It is also our hope that all member states will participate in the text consultations in a constructive attitude.

The Australian: The EU has been in consultation with the Australians on this. China seems to suggest there is political motivation behind Australia's push for the review but not the EU's? Why is that?

Zhao Lijian: It's not the same thing. You should not view them together from a political angle.

The Globe and Mail asked me yesterday about the number of foreign journalists in China who have been given residence permits or press cards with a validity period of less than 12 months. I checked on that. There are nearly 500 foreign journalists stationed in China, and about 98 percent of them have residence permits or press cards with a validity period of 12 months. In other words, only about 2 percent of foreign journalists in China have credentials valid for less than 12 months.

China has been providing convenience and assistance for foreign journalists in our country. Their application for extension of press cards is usually handled within 10 working days. With valid credentials, American journalists can enter and exit China multiple times without the need to apply for new visas. In last year alone, US journalists stationed in China made over 700 cross-border trips.

For a while, the US, entrenched in the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, launched one round of suppression after another against Chinese media. The US has long been carrying out discriminatory policies on the Chinese journalists' visas. Journalists of other countries and regions can get multiple-entry visas while Chinese reporters can only get single-entry ones, which obstructs them from returning to the US after visiting their families back in China. Since 2018, the US has indefinitely delayed approval and even denied application of visa for 30 US-based Chinese journalists. When applying for visas, our reporters have to provide a lot of additional materials. In December 2018, it demanded a Chinese media organization's US office to register as "foreign agent". In February 2020, the US designated five Chinese media organizations in the US as "foreign missions" and then placed a cap on the number of their staff, in effect expelling 60 Chinese journalists. Now it is resorting to discriminatory restrictive visa measures, severely disrupting Chinese media's normal reporting in the US and affecting bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchange. We deplore and oppose that.

I'd also like to point out many errors in the US DHS statement. It said nothing about the US wantonly pressuring Chinese journalists, and falsely claimed that "in 2018, the PRC effectively expelled Megha Rajagopalan, Buzzfeed News' China bureau chief". The fact is that Ms. Rajagopalan came to China in March 2017 on a J-2 visa, which only allows temporary stay, not as a resident journalist. So this means she shall leave when her visa expired.

Let me stress this once again: China's fundamental state policy of opening-up is and will remain unchanged; we welcome foreign media and journalists reporting in China, and we will continue providing them with convenience and assistance. What we oppose is ideological bias towards China, fake news in the name of press freedom, and violation of professional ethics.
While President Donald Trump claims mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and cheaters, his reelection campaign and state allies are scrambling to launch operations meant to help their voters cast ballots in the mail.

Through its partnership with the Republican National Committee, Trump's campaign is training volunteers on the ins and outs of mail-in and absentee voting and sending supporters texts and emails reminding them to send in their ballots.

In Wisconsin, where a special congressional election is scheduled on Tuesday, the Trump campaign last week blasted out a reminder via Twitter: Request an absentee ballot by 5 pm TONIGHT.

In another election, the message might have been viewed as standard get-out-the-vote work.

But in the age of the coronavirus, it points to a problem for Republicans: How do they follow Trump's lead and oppose mail-in voting without falling behind Democrats who are embracing the practice as the safest way to vote during a pandemic?



The Trump campaign's answer is to continue to promote mail voting options, even as it casts doubt on some of the ways it is practiced.

The campaign says it specifically draws a line at all-mail elections, where every voter automatically receives a ballot.

That practice is an invitation for fraud, campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh contended in a statement.

States with all-mail votes have not reported significant fraud.

While we strongly disagree with the ill-intended Democrat push for more mail-in ballots, we have an obligation to our voters to inform them of what the law is in their state and what their options are," Murtaugh said.

That position comes amid signs that Republicans may be at a disadvantage when it comes to making sure their voters who feel unsafe in a polling place have easy access to mail-in options.

Democrats ran a robust absentee ballot operation in last month's statewide election in Wisconsin, handily winning a hotly contested Supreme Court race.

The party is now looking to replicate its operations in a series of June primaries with an eye on November.

Meanwhile, several officials in Democratic areas have decided to make absentee voting easier.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced Friday that the state's 20.6 million voters will be mailed ballots before Election Day.

But battleground Wisconsin has the center of the debate.

The Republican-controlled legislature blocked switching last month's election to an all-absentee ballot contest, sparking long lines as voters waited to get into the few polling stations that could remain open in heavily Democratic Milwaukee and other cities.

Since then, Milwaukee officials decided to send absentee ballot requests to all of its registered voters.

Another Democratic-leaning city, Racine, has followed suit. GOP voters, however, are scattered in smaller communities across the state, and the state legislature hasn't approved sending absentee ballot requests statewide.

The discrepancy alarms some Republicans.

Knowing that everyone in Milwaukee is going to get a ballot, but not everyone in Brookfield is, that's a significant disadvantage, said Stephan Thompson, a veteran GOP operative, referring to a bedrock Republican suburb of Milwaukee.

A similar dynamic is playing out in Pennsylvania, another top presidential battleground.

Democratic-dominated Allegheny County, centered on Pittsburgh, is sending absentee requests to all its voters for next month's primary.

Republican-leaning counties haven't taken similar steps though the state party and its partnership with the RNC have been urging GOP voters to use absentee ballots in the primary.

John Koons, Pennsylvania director of the Trump Victory Leadership Initiative, last week tweeted a picture of the envelope his ballot arrived in.

Don't miss out on the chance to #LeadRight and request your mail in ballot at http://vote.gop! he wrote.

Still, when the state party urged its voters on Facebook to use mail ballots, it was deluged with angry comments about enabling voter fraud.

We have to be careful that we're not so critical of the process that, if that process is in place, we're potentially suppressing our own vote, warned John Brabender, a Pennsylvania-based GOP strategist running several races in states that have shifted to mail.

Polling indicates that Trump's public complaints about mail voting have turned some Republicans against the practice. An AP-NORC poll late last month found increased backing for mail balloting, but Republicans were far more likely than Democrats to oppose all-mail elections.

Does this set us back in the minds of conservative voters and Republicans? Yes, Dustin Zvonek, a Republican strategist in Colorado, who argues Republicans can benefit from mail balloting, especially in local races.

Still, the Trump campaign says it will be competitive in all forms of voting using the same tactics as four years ago.

That includes urging voters to request an absentee ballots and mail it in early as a way to bank votes early and free up resources on Election Day.

We will have a full get-out-the-vote operation designed to replicate the success we had in November of 2016, said Anna Kelly, a Trump campaign spokeswoman in Wisconsin, specifically including the tactic of absentee ballot chase.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in acts of animal abuse, including abandonment by owners over fears pets might contract COVID-19, a study reported.

Concern around the role of pet animals in the spread of the virus first emerged in late February 2020, when a dog in Hong Kong tested positive for the coronavirus.

The 17-year-old male Pomeranian's diagnosis triggered a wave of deliberate acts of abuse against animals, according to the study.

This was despite there being no significant evidence that pets can spread the novel coronavirus to humans.

A group known as the Urban Construction Administration announced it would kill any pets found outdoors.

This sentiment was echoed by some officials from China's Hunan and Zhejiang provinces.

Many pets have also been reluctantly left home alone by owners in who have been temporarily forced to evacuate  not realising how long they would be gone.

Scroll down for video

The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in acts of animal abuse, including abandonment by owners, over fears pets might contract COVID-19 (stock image)

CDC CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE FOR PET OWNERS Do not let pets interact with people or other animals outside the household.

Keep cats indoors when possible to prevent them from interacting with other animals or people.

Walk dogs on a leash, maintaining at least 6 feet from other people and animals.

Avoid dog parks or public places where a large number of people and dogs gather.

If you are sick with COVID-19 (either suspected or confirmed by a test), restrict contact with your pets and other animals, just like you would around other people.

When possible, have another member of your household care for your pets while you are sick.

Avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food or bedding.

If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wear a cloth face covering and wash your hands before and after you interact with them. Advertisement

The rise in animal abuse cases resulting from the COVID-19 crisis has led to a number of leading health and animal welfare organisations issuing statements with the aim of calming fears that their pets could represent a source of the virus.

These groups have included, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

'There is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare,' the World Organisation for Animal Health has said.

In her study, veterinary pathology consultant Nicola Parry of Midwest Veterinary Pathology in Lafayette, in the US, reviews the reported impact that COVID-19 has had on pets  specifically in Belgium and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has seen three reported cases of pets  two dogs and a cat  contracting coronavirus, while in Belgium one cat became infected.

In all cases, experts believe that the pets caught the virus from their owners, who had become infected first.

The Belgian case  which emerged in the Liege province in March 2020  was distinct from the other three in that the cat did exhibit symptoms of the virus, including breathing difficulties, diarrhoea and vomiting.

'Although the cat in Belgium had diarrhoea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing, this constellation of clinical signs isnt enough to suggest that the cat had full-blown COVID-19, or even true SARS-CoV-2 infection,' Dr Parry said.

'These clinical signs are relatively nonspecific and can arise in cats in association with various nonspecific and specific conditions.

'In fact, one confounding factor in the cats case is the fact that other coronaviruses do affect cats.'

'There is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare,' the World Organisation for Animal Health has said (stock image)

According to Dr Parry, the pandemic has had a range of impacts on animals.

Following the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the authorities evacuated many people from their homes.

According to reports, pet owners  understanding that they would only be gone for a short period  left but a few days' worth of food and water for their companions.

With many weeks having passed, however, animal welfare organisations in China have estimated that  in Hubei province  tens of thousands of reluctantly abandoned pets face starvation and death.

'While many owners fear their animals might transmit SARS-CoV-2 to them, others also now find themselves unemployed and unable to afford to care for a pet,' Dr Parry noted.

'On the positive side, with many people now finding themselves isolated at home during the pandemic, rates of pet adoptions and fosters at many shelters have also markedly risenoften cancelling out [...] the high rates of abandonment.'

'However, some experts worry that many of these pets will be returned to the shelter when life eventually returns to a new normal.'

'The unfolding of this pandemic has again highlighted the complex interrelationships that exist between animals, people, and the environment,' Dr Parry concluded.

'This paper has collated important evidence around the relationship between pets and coronavirus. This is much needed as there has been a lot of concern around animals since the pandemic started,' the RSPCA told the MailOnline.

'We hope this provides further reassurance that, to date, there is no known evidence that the virus can pass from pets to people.'

'Like many other organisations, the RSPCA advises that people take sensible precautions around their pets.'

'This means thoroughly washing hands with soap and water after interacting with them and avoid being kissed or licked and sharing food with them.'

'You should also avoid touching other animals outside your home. For more information visit www.rspca.org.uk/coronavirus.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Forensic Science International: Reports.
Credit card debt is soaring, but banks arent attracting anyone to new deals as COVID-19 proves to be less of a boon for creditors than they might have thought. Weaker personal income growth and rapid job losses are pushing Americans into more debt, while banks are simultaneously tightening lending standards to reduce risk.

A survey by CreditCards found that nearly half of U.S. adults are carrying debt on their credit cards, up from a month ago, while 1 in 4 of those already in debt have piled on more.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that with a total of $14.3 trillion, U.S. household debt rose by $155 billion in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, or 1.1%.

Alarmingly, that's also $1.6 trillion higher than the previous peak of $12.7 trillion reached in 2008.

Overall, the number of people with credit card debt has increased to 47% from 43% since early March.

At the same time, according to the recent survey by CompareCards, almost 50 million people saw their credit limits decreased or their cards canceled involuntary since early April.

In recent weeks, some banks--including as JPMorgan Chase--have increased minimum credit scores for certain types of mortgages.

But while Americans are accruing more debt on existing credit cards, there is a decrease in demand for new cards. Since early March, inquiries for new credit card applications declined by 40%.

In March, rising financial concerns stemming from an economic lockdown kept consumers from using credit, according to a report from data analytics firm The NPD Group.

Related: Video Game, Alcohol And Home Workout Gear Sales Are Exploding Even though credit cards make up 82.1% of all retail (brick-and-mortar store) transactions in the US, since January, these transactions have seen only a very modest 3.4% increase. The small increase indicates that people are still using cash almost as much as they were before the pandemic.

And thats despite the fact that cash is, well, physically dirty and can carry bacteria and viruses.

It was only a few months ago that everyone was talking about the prospect of the US going cashless, particularly with the rise in new card users. A global pandemic that could have potentially solidified cashlessness, however, is having the opposite effect.

At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, many people rushed to the banks in a frenzy and withdrew cash to have on hand for emergencies. Soon enough, ATMs were empty and the bank cashiers were only taking previously announced withdrawals.

Also, millions of people received stimulus checks, further postponing the process of turning to credit cards for help.

But the current flirtation with cash may be only temporary, according to Marshal Cohen, NPD Group chief industry advisor for retail.

Each week that goes by, you get further and further away from that stimulus money and I think youre going to see credit cards start to accelerate in usage. People are going to need to reach into the credit lines to be able to start to make some of these purchases, Cohen said on CNBC.

But there has also been pushback on the cashless trend as some lawmakers and activists argue that it excludes those who are underbanked or who don't have a bank account or credit card at all. Several cities and states have passed or are considering laws that require businesses to accept dollars and cents.

Related: U.S. Shale Faces Existential Threat As Oil Price War Rages On

Twenty-five percent of US households are unbanked or underbanked, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation survey. Those are people who either dont have a bank account, or have an account, but still use financial services outside the banking system like payday loans to make ends meet.

More than half of unbanked households cited not having enough money to keep in an account, 30% said they dont trust banks and 9 percent reported banks are in an inconvenient location

Moreover, in the last five years, 1,915 more branches in lower-income areas closed than were opened.

The bottom line is this: Cash may be a potential disease-carrying dinosaur, but when push comes to shove, a global pandemic exposes the vulnerability of anything you cant touch. People run to cash because if a major economic crisis were to cause upheaval and chaos, it cant be unplugged, even if it could be rendered worthless.

By Josh Owens for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
Police undertake a search at North Head near Manly, following the arrest - DAN HIMBRECHTS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Police in Sydney have charged a 49-year-old man over the homophobic murder of a brilliant mathematician 32 years ago, one of an estimated 80 gay killings in Australias largest city over several decades.

Scott Johnson, an American PhD student, was 27 when he died. His naked body was found at the bottom of a 60-metre cliff at North Head, Manly, in December 1988, but the death was treated as a suicide for years.

Detectives said the man was arrested at a property in Sydney's northern suburbs. He was taken to a local police station for questioning, and was later charged with murder. He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court in Parramatta on Wednesday.

Police did not identify the accused, but he was named on ABC and other media outlets as Scott Phillip White.

Three inquests were held, with the first ruling Johnsons death was suicide. The second inquest, in 2012, returned an open finding. But the third, in 2017, found that Johnson fell from the clifftop as the result of violence by an unidentified attacker who perceived him to be gay.

Police, who previously apologised for bungling the original inquiry, offered a reward of AUS $1 million (530,000) for information leading to an arrest two years ago. Johnson's family pledged to match that two months ago.

Scott Johnson who was found at the bottom of a cliff near Manly - DAN HIMBRECHTS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller phoned Johnson's brother, Steve, in Boston, US, to tell him of the arrest. Making that call is a career highlight. Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honour to be part of his fight for justice," said Mr Fuller.

Steve Johnson, a former vice president of internet giant AOL, issued a video message from the US, saying the arrest was very emotional  for me and my family, for my three kids who never got to know their uncle and admire him, not just because of his brilliance, but because he courageously lived his life the way he wanted to.

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He noted the significance of the arrest for the wider gay community, for the dozens of other gay men who lost their lives in the 1980s and 90s, in a world full of anti-gay prejudice and hatred.

I hope the friends and families of the other dozens of gay men who lost their lives find solace in what's happened today. And I hope it opens the door to resolve some of the other mysterious deaths, of men who have not yet received justice.

Mr Johnson never believed his brother took his own life. In 2007 he launched his own investigation. An internet entrepreneur who made his fortune by creating an algorithm which made the earliest form of digital media streaming possible, he hired Daniel Glick, a former Newsweek investigative journalist, to travel to Sydney.

Mr Glick told the Sydney Morning Herald: "Pretty much on day one, it became clear that the place where Scott died was a gay beat. At least some police knew about this at the time, he said, but they had told the first inquest otherwise. Gay men don't go to gay beats to commit suicide. Period.

At the third inquest three years ago, Coroner Michael Barnes at the third three years ago found Mr Johnson was the victim of a gay hate crime. He noted that there were many incidents of gangs assaulting gay men in the area.

Sue Thompson, a lawyer and former state investigator, identified 46 homophobic murders in New South Wales between 1989 and 1999 alone. Criminologist Stephen Tomsen published research in 2002 detailing approximately 50 gay-hate murders in the state between 1985 and 1995. The figures only included reported homicides, and not cases filed away as suspected suicides, misadventure or disappearances.

Ms Thompson more recently stated that there were about 80 suspected homophobic killings or disappearances, in Sydney and New South Wales, from the late 1970s to late 1990s. Thirty of them are thought to remain unsolved.

She told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2013: It was never just a wave. It is much more accurate to describe it as an epidemic.
The newly Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), otherwise known as UNIPASS, is reportedly not connected to the automated system of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

The situation, according to reports, exposes revenue leakages associated with the ICUMS platform compared to the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) operated by GCNET and West Blue Consulting.

The absence of a link between ICUMS and the DVLA has reportedly made the latter lost track of all vehicles imported into the country to enable it collect the appropriate tax on those vehicles.

The challenge means that the ICUMS platform is denying the DVLA the required data to rely on as well as revenue that would have otherwise been used by government on some other projects in the countrys developmental drive.

The non-existence of a link between the two bodies has also opened the flood gate for persons who import cars into the country through Togo and other neighbouring countries with the aim of evading tax to continue their nefarious activities and even go to the extent of registering the vehicles at DVLA since the Authority has no tracker to keep track of the origin of those vehicles.

The registration of vehicles is therefore left in the hands of certain individuals to manually decide whether those vehicles were brought into the country legally or illegally, a situation which breeds corruption.

Due to the weaknesses in the system, ICUMS could not efficiently operate its system when given the opportunity to commence operations at the Takoradi Port on April 1, 2020, thereby, making government incur two days revenue loss.

The non-functional of the ICUMS system compelled freight forwarders to resort to the use of manual valuation to clear goods.

The story at the Tema Port in the Greater Accra Region was even worse.

That of the Kotoka International Airport was also hard-hit.

The existing platforms, GCNET and West Blue were making about GH40million from the three points of entry; the Kotoka International Airport, Takoradi Port and Tema Port.

With the nonfunctional of the ICUMS platform for two day, it means the country incurred a loss of about GH80million.

What is more worrying is that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is little assurance that ICUMS could recover the two days revenue loss incurred by the government.

ICUMS is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments through one window. It encompasses five subordinate systems namely: single window system, clearance management system, cargo management system, information management system and an administrative system as well as an integrated risk management.

The new system is expected to reduce clearance cost and time in line with the World Customs Organizations Trade Facilitation Agreement.

The new system is a complete departure from the previous system where valuation and classification, risk management and payment were done by different entities.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), a state agency responsible for revenue mobilization, aware of the alarming revenue loss, have directed the new system (ICUMS) to run concurrently with the old system (GCNET and West Blue) to minimize revenue losses at the ports while it pursues measures to fully operationalize the ICUMS effective June 1, 2020.

The directive means that all transactions in respect of import and export manifest can be processed through the ICUMS or through Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) operated by GCNET and West Blue Consulting until the end of May, 2020.

For the avoidance of doubt, with effect from June 1, 2020, all new transactions, without exception in respect of import and export shall only be processed through the ICUMS, Acting GRA Commissioner-General, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah said in a statement copied to the media.

He added, All existing transactions commencing prior to May 31, 2020, for which processing have not been completed in the GCMS, before or after payment of duty, shall be processed through the ICUMS.

However, the directive has not been adhered to at the Takoradi Port and the frontier stations. This has resulted in untold hardships to Agents.

Officers and Agents are reportedly being coerced to only use the ICUMS platform, a system which keeps on failing the customers.

Despite the change from UNIPASS to ICUMS, the President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Edward Akrong, said its operational failings still persist.

According to him, the use of the platform will not inure to the benefit of the country since there are serious operational challenges that needed to be addressed.

Reports are rife that some shipping agents held a demonstration in Takoradi last week to protest the problems they are still encountering using the ICUMS Platform.

The Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade & Industry, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, addressing journalists in Parliament over the issue, said everything we had warned the government to address is happening now.

As we speak, both ports operations are in disarray because it is obvious that the takeover from GCNET and the potential incompetence from ICUMS is affecting the country. We are losing millions of revenue and businesses are losing a lot of money in the midst of this COVID-19, he noted.

He urged the citizenry to hold the President accountable for the revenue and job losses at the ports.

We warned President Akufo-Addo but he didnt listen. Why would any government risk such a major change? What are we in a rush for?, he quizzed.

Attempts to secure reactions from the DVLA and ICUMS proved futile as numerous calls to their officials Monday went unanswered.

---starrfmonline
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NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSX-V: ELY; OTCQX: ELYGF), a junior royalty company with producing and development assets in Nevada and Quebec, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Ely Gold Royalties Inc. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "ELYGF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

Trey Wasser, Ely Gold's President & CEO commented, "We are extremely pleased to have met the qualifications for the OTCQX where we will now trade with premier foreign issuers and where we will also be able to enhance our liquidity and strengthen our shareholder base. The past eighteen months has been very exciting for our team and our shareholders. We look forward to a bright future, building our royalty portfolio and generating returns for our shareholders."

Burns, Figa & Will PC acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor.

About Ely Gold Royalties Inc.

Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Nevada focused gold royalty company. Its current portfolio includes royalties at some of Nevada's largest gold mines, including Jerritt Canyon, Goldstrike and Marigold as well as the Fenelon property in Quebec, operated by Wallbridge Mining. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes several advanced projects that are scheduled for production by 2023. The Company continues to actively seek opportunities to purchase producing or near-term producing royalties. Ely Gold is also generating development royalties through property sales on projects that are located at or near producing mines. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to locate and purchase third-party royalties, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties and its gold focus, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to gold prices and low-cost access to long-term gold royalties.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

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OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

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W hen will schools reopen?

Schools will start going back when the Government decides the risk of increasing the spread of the virus is relatively low. The Government expects Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to be back in school in smaller class sizes from June. Secondary schools and further education colleges are also expected to begin some face to face contact with Year 10 and 12 pupils who have key exams next year, as well as continued remote home learning. The Governments ambition is for all primary school children to return before the summer holidays for a month if feasible. This is based on evidence that young children are the least susceptible to the virus. Denmark seems to have had a good experience in this route. But schools are unlikely to return fully until at least September.

How will school be different?

The evidence is that children are generally less affected by the virus but can carry it. Schools will therefore have to reorganise to minimise spread so as to protect teachers and not have children carrying the infection back to their families, social distancing as best they can. One approach would be to reduce the number of children in the school by dividing the intake in half and teaching one group in the morning and the other in the afternoon. This would also eliminate the need for playground breaks.

Will exams be rescheduled?

There will be no national exams in the school year ending in July. Grades will be awarded by teacher assessment. Exams were due to be available next term for pupils dissatisfied with their grades, but there are now doubts as to whether these will be held.

What impact has the closure of schools had?

Closing the schools is having a negative impact on the education of many children. Not all schools are setting carefully structured work and not all children are motivated to apply themselves at home. Where the school has adapted well to teaching online and parents have backed this up with home schooling the effect will be much less than those where children have been left to their own devices.

From Professor Alan Smithers, Centre for Education and Employment Research, the University of Buckingham, as told to Anna Davis.
India has more than 70,000 cases among its 1.3 billion population and is set to surpass China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India would provide 20 trillion rupees ($266bn) in fiscal and monetary measures to support an economy battered by weeks-long lockdown to fight the novel coronavirus.

India has more than 70,000 cases among its 1.3 billion population and is set to surpass China, the origin of the outbreak, within a week. Modi said strict stay-at-home orders would be extended beyond May 17 with a new set of rules.

In an address to the nation, he said the package was equivalent to 10 percent of Indias gross domestic product and was aimed at the multitudes out of work and the businesses reeling under the prolonged shutdown.

In March, the government said it was providing around 1.7 trillion rupees ($2.6bn) in direct cash transfers and food security measures, mainly for the poor, but was widely accused of doing too little.

Modi said details of the new package, as well as reforms of land and labour markets, would be released within days:

The package will also focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws. It will cater to various sections including cottage industry, medium and small enterprises, labourers, middle class, industries, among others.

Economists said the new package included the March allocation as well as liquidity measures announced by the central bank worth $6.5 trillion rupees ($86.3bn).

Headline announcement looks positive. Would include around 6.5 trillion rupees already done by RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and the first package. So  additional is 13.5 trillion rupees ($179.2bn), said Sandip Sabharwal, a Mumbai-based fund manager.

It doesnt match the gross borrowing details of the government, so we need to look at details. Headline number should, however, excite the markets near-term.

Last week, India increased its borrowing programme for the year to 12 trillion rupees from 7.8 trillion to fund some of the expenses.

Economy slowing, spending rising

Even before the pandemic, Indias growth was slowing, and public finances were strained because of poor tax collection and higher spending.

Last month, the ratings agency Fitch said Indias sovereign rating could come under pressure if its fiscal outlook deteriorates further as the government tries to tackle the coronavirus crisis.

Some commentators said it was too early to say how effective the package would prove to be. Very often, when the government has made these huge, very big announcements  the figures have often been fudged, Yogendra Yadav, founder of the opposition party Swaraj India, told a television channel.

What we have right now is a statement of intent. How can you quarrel with intent?

Modi said the reforms of the land and labour markets were intended to make India more competitive and a big player in global supply chains, some of which could shift away from China after the pandemic.

Business leaders say potential investors often choose Vietnam, Thailand or Bangladesh ahead of India because of the time required to buy land for factories, restrictive labour laws and higher borrowing costs.

These reforms will promote business, attract investment, and further strengthen Made in India, Modi said.

Governments and central banks around the world have unleashed unprecedented amounts of fiscal and monetary support for economies that are reeling from the pandemic.

Indias response has so far been tepid compared to other key nations, and thus the catch-up is welcome and is also the need-of-the-hour, said Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Edelweiss FX and Rates.

It needs to be seen how much will be in the form of direct budgetary support to gauge the immediate fiscal hit and the consequent funding sources.
NEW YORK, NY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday urged federal lawmakers to avoid past mistakes seen during the Great Recession and refrain from bailing out large corporations without tight regulations governing how they use the money. Specifically, he called for "Americans First" legislation that he said would protect workers by requiring companies that take bailout money to rehire the same number of workers they had before the new coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Cuomo warned companies will try to scam Americans by using the pandemic to lay off workers, then rehire fewer workers back to improve stock, dividend and profit value.

Mark my words today," Cuomo said. "No bailout boondoggles. Do not betray the American people again."

Those that do not rehire the same number of workers would have to give the money back, he said.



His call comes as federal lawmakers discuss more legislation this week. Cuomo also reiterated his claim that state governments face large budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, and that cuts loom for local governments and schools. New York needs $61 billion in federal assistance alone, he said.

"To get this economy back up and running were going to need an intelligent stimulus bill," he said.

At his daily briefing, Cuomo said hospitalizations, intubations, intensive care admissions and COVID-19-related deaths continued to trend downward. The number of new, daily COVID-hospitalizations fell to levels not seen since mid-March, he said.

Graphic courtesy of Andrew Cuomo's Office.

The number of people who died from the disease ticked up to 195 from 161 a day earlier, but still lower from the numbers seen over the weekend.

But Cuomo sounded the alarm about a possible new  and worrisome  wrinkle with the virus.

State health officials are investigating about 100 cases of what could be a COVID-19-related illness in children that leaves them with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome. This includes a fever lasting more than five days, difficulty feeding in infants or drinking fluids, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting, change in skin color such as becoming pale, patchy or blue  trouble breathing, racing heart and chest pain, decreasing urination and lethargy, irritability and confusion.

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State health officials are advising hospitals to prioritize COVID-19 testing for children with these symptoms, Cuomo said.



More than half of the cases are among children between 5 and 14 years old, he said. Three children have died.





Cuomo said three regions have met the seven metrics necessary to reopen: the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier. Long Island and the Hudson Valley satisfied five of the metrics, while New York City met four.

This article originally appeared on the Long Island Patch
May 12 : Sonam Kapoor, who is self-quarantined with husband Anand Ahuja in his Delhi house since they arrived from London in March, shared a glimpse of the quarantine life she has been leading with Anand Ahuja.

Taking to her Instagram handle, the Neerja actress shared a couple of her pictures in her bedroom, showcasing how the couple spend their days while locked indoors due to the nationwide lockdown. In one picture, we can see the couple relaxing in their bedroom. In another quarantine snapshot, we can see Sonam, who is wearing a black and white striped pyjama set, reading a book while lying down on her bed. Anand Ahuja is seen in a white kurta-pyjama, as he sits in a chair next to the bed, looking into his iPad.

Sonam also shared several other pictures on her social media, giving a sneak peek of Anand Ahujas Delhi house. From Anand Ahujas study room to the kitchen and the lush green lawn, Sonam shared snaps of every corner of the house.

Recently, Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja celebrated their second marriage anniversary amid self-quarantine. The couple got married on May 8, 2018.
Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the "inhuman and cowardly terrorist" attacks on a medical facility in Kabul and on a funeral ceremony in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.

The Foreign Office in a statement said, "These terrorist acts are particularly despicable as they take place in the holy month of Ramzan and at a time when Afghanistan is grappling with COVID-19 pandemic."



"Pakistan condemns inhuman and cowardly terrorist attacks, which resulted in the loss of precious human lives," it said, extending heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims and prayers for early recovery of those injured.

Militants attacked a maternity hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, killing 14 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses.

In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony in Nangahar province -- a hotbed of the Islamic State group, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and will continue to support a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district, taking the total cases in the district to six, an official said on Tuesday.

Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said the two new positive cases were reported from Bajrol and Palbhu villages of the Sujanpur block and both the infected persons had recently returned from Delhi.

The total number of positive cases in the Hamirpur district now stands at six and two persons had recovered earlier.

The samples of the 50-year-old man from Bajrol and 30-year-old man from Palbhu were taken by the Health department on Saturday and sent to IHBT Palampur for investigation, Meena said.

They had returned from Delhi in the same taxi on April 30 and were initially kept in home quarantine, he said.

The two were being sent to the secondary isolation facility at RCH Bhota, the deputy commissioner said.

The identity of another passenger who shared the taxi with the two positive cases is also being ascertained, he said.

Meanwhile, all the primary and secondary contacts of both the infected persons were being obtained by the health employees, Meena said.

He said Sujanpur Sub-Divisional Officer has been directed to completely seal both villages and their surrounding area to check spread of the virus.

Himachal Pradesh reported six more coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the infection tally in the state to 66, a senior health official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sixth question to American politicians: Arent you aware of what you have done?

On Mother's Day, which fell on May 10 this year, an American netizen pointed out on a social media platform that 80,040 American mothers had lost family members in the epidemic, thanks to the poor leadership qualities of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Facing complaints from the American people and doubts in the international community, U.S. officials have failed to come up with effective anti-pandemic measures or convincing evidence in blaming China.

Instead, they have insisted on holding China accountable for the pneumonia outbreak, which is absolutely absurd.

China is also a victim of the pandemic. As the international medical community and U.S. intelligence agencies have already announced, the novel coronavirus was a result of natural causes and not genetically engineered.

Despite all the science and facts, some U.S. politicians have continuously spread the rumor that the virus was made in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, just at a time when the international community is in urgent need of cooperation.

If a virus is believed to have originated in the country where it was first reported, does that mean HIV comes from America? Was the U.S. ever held responsible when HIV was spreading across the world?

In fact, one mayor in the U.S. has said that he was infected with the novel coronavirus last November. Four months before that, a fatal respiratory disease broke out in a community near the Fort Detrick lab in the U.S., as reported by the American Broadcasting Company.

However, the U.S. government has refused to publish the patients test results, which leads people to wonder whether it is afraid that the virus will turn out to have been released from the laboratory.

Meanwhile, some Americans have repeatedly accused China of covering up the pandemic, fantasizing that this will excuse them from their own incompetence.

The truth remains that China shared pandemic-related information with the U.S 30 times from Jan. 3 to Feb. 3, something that the U.S. government has never denied.

What some U.S. officials are hesitant to admit is that they dropped the ball themselves. The U.S. detected the first pneumonia case on Jan. 20, but it was only in March 13 that Trump declared a national emergency over coronavirus. One thing is for sure: some U.S. politicians severely underestimated the risks at the beginning of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the White House has been busy trying to salvage Trumps presidency, as he lives in hope that the virus will magically disappear.

The White House has on more than one occasion ignored the warnings from American intelligence agencies and Trump has repeatedly rejected proposals made by professional departments in the U.S. to implement social isolation, according to a report released by the New York Times on April 8.

It is quite clear that the seriousness of the epidemic situation in the U.S. is the result of poor governance from some officials. It is dishonest and irresponsible for some U.S. politicians to pass the buck to China.

Related reading:

First question to American politicians: Do elderly people have the right to life?

Second question to American politicians: Is this what you call human rights?

Third question to American politicians: Can lives be saved by attacking China?

Fourth question to American politicians: Why not fix your sick and twisted mind first?

Fifth question to American politicians: Arent you afraid that passing the buck to China will backfire?
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to Zafar-ul-Islam, chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission till June 22 following a plea for anticipatory bail after the police booked him for sedition for his social media posts earlier this month.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said that no coercive action should be taken against Islam till the next date of hearing (June 22) after he had moved the high court apprehending arrest in a motivated, untenable and absolutely frivolous complaint registered at the Lodhi Colony police station.

He had also pleaded that the facts and grounds demonstrate that the registration of the FIR was a gross abuse of the process of law and also establish his innocence.

On Tuesday, advocates Vrinda Grover and Soutik Banerjee, told the court that no case was being made against their client. The plea said that Islam, in his social media posts highlighted the targeting of Muslims by bigots in India and expressed his thanks to Kuwait, for expressing concern on the issue harassment of Muslims in India.

It is noteworthy that his social media posts make it evident that while acknowledging the international communitys support, he has emphatically stated that Indian Muslims do not seek or require external help in India. Despite offers of solidarity from foreign countries, he (Islam) has firmly taken the position of non-interference in Indias internal affairs, the petition said.

The court sought to know from the Delhi police about the actions taken by them on the FIR. Appearing for the city police, advocate Chaitnaya Gosain, told the court that a notice has been issued to Islam under relevant section of the CrPC. He said that Islam has submitted some documents and information as sought by them.

Grover told the court that her client is ready to cooperate in the investigation but prior notice should be given because of his age and the lockdown.

The court then directed the Delhi police to give advance notice to Islam for questioning.

The petition had contended that a substantial portion of the hate speech and attacks on the Muslim community was in the form of spreading fake and fabricated news that vilifies Muslims and portrays them as spreading coronavirus. Misinformation was spread to target Muslims as carriers and spreaders of coronavirus. Such misinformation, including that members of the Tablighi Jamaat misbehaved with doctors was refuted by the local police on more than one instance.

Sedition is a non-bailable offence under the Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and the punishment ranges from imprisonment up to three years to a life term.
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 12 May 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 57,089 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,720 pence 21.18 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,700 pence 20.93 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,715 pence 21.11 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 12 May 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 12,496 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 21.15 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 21.15 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 21.15 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 12 May 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 63,061 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 21.25 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 20.90 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 21.11 USD

PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 31.02 USD 24.93 GBP which was calculated as of 5 May 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 198,446,353 Public Shares outstanding, or 204,273,805 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 12,510,397 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

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- Shoppers on e-commerce platform Jumia will get 10% discount when they purchase essential products and pay using Mastercard

- The discount offers are available in five countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Cote dIvoire and Ghana

- The initiative is aimed at encouraging people to pay for goods using contactless payment options in a move to stem the spread of coronavirus

E-commerce giant Jumia and financial services company Mastercard have announced a partnership to incentivise the use of cashless payments platforms.

The two companies said the arrangement was aimed at encouraging people to pay for their purchases using contactless payment options in a move to stem spread of coronavirus.

READ ALSO: Reprieve for Murkomen, Kihika as political parties tribunal suspends KANU-Jubilee alliance

Shoppers on e-commerce platform Jumia will get 10% discount when they purchase essential products and pay using Mastercard. Photo: Jumia.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Rais Museveni adokezea kuwa huenda uchaguzi mkuu 2021 ukaahirishwa

Under the initiative, consumers who purchase essential products and pay using Mastercard on Jumia, will receive a 10% discount on their orders.

We are committed to keeping customers safe over this period. Through this campaign Mastercard is offering our customers a strong incentive to use cashless payments, which saves them money and keeps them safe by avoiding cash, said Jumia Kenya CEO Sam Chappatte.

READ ALSO: Nairobi: Detectives arrest 14-year-old suspect in murder of radio journalist

Jumia Kenya CEO, Sam Chappatte. Photo: Jumia.

Source: UGC

The discount offers from Mastercard and Jumia will be available in five countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Cote dIvoire and Ghana.

We are proud to partner with Mastercard as part of our social commitment and business responsiveness to the global pandemic. We are also happy to support our customers by offering them a strong incentive to use cashless payments and providing access to essential products with affordable prices during this challenging time.

This incentive will help drive more consumers to adopt JumiaPay, the safe and digital payment method, said Sami Louali, EVP Financial Services at Jumia.

Raghav Prasad who is Mastercard's Sub-Saharan Africa Division President said the move will go along way in connecting shoppers with goods of their choices from different vendors across the globe.

Prasad observed that the initiative was in line with recommendations from global and regional health authorities and governments which have urged people to avoid cash transactions after it was established banknotes can host the killer virus.

Our mission at Mastercard is to connect and power up a world beyond cash that benefits everyone, everywhere through transactions that are safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Our partnership with Jumia seeks to further encourage Mastercard consumers to stay safe by using available digital payment platforms to purchase their essential items all from the comfort of their own homes in a clean, seamless and convenient experience.

We look forward to furthering collaborations with our partners to continue delivering such relevant solutions, enabling people to staysafe, said Prasad.

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Water frogs could become regionally extinct in part of their native Turkey in a little over a decade because too many are being taken for food.

A new study, carried out in partnership with Ege University, Middle East Technical University, Stony Brook University and the Turkish government, showed the population of Anatolian water frogs had fallen by around 20 per cent each year between 2013 and 2015 in the country's Ceyhan and Seyhan deltas.

Anatolian water frogs (Pelophylax spp) form a species complex, made up of two, and possibly up to five, closely related species. The researchers predicted a 90 per cent chance they would be wiped out in the south-central Cukurova Region by 2050 - with a likely year of extinction in 2032 if harvesting trends continue.

Harvest of wild animal and plant populations globally for food, meat, medicines and pets threaten many species. Amphibians are among the most threatened animal groups, impacted by a variety of factors, including environmental contamination, habitat loss, global climate change, diseases, chemicals, invasive species and overharvesting.

Frog harvesting, an industry which has taken place in Turkey for 40 years, is worth nearly $4 million each year. The country exports more than 36 million frogs annually, with the main importers being countries in the EU and the USA. Frogs are rarely eaten domestically.

The animals are used in France for dishes such as cuisses de grenouilles a la Provencale or cuisses de grenouilles a la poulette. In China, frog legs are often eaten stir fried as a fast food product while in Indonesia they are eaten in a frog leg soup, known as swikee. And in the USA, they are either fried or grilled.

The new study has been published in Oryx -The International Journal of Conservation. Kerim Cicek, one of the authors of the paper, said: "Can you imagine a world without the chorus of frogs? Amphibians play an important role in nature both as predators and prey.

"Declining amphibian populations worldwide could have an irreversible and destructive impact on both natural ecosystems and human welfare. They are integral components of many ecosystems, often constituting the highest fraction of vertebrate biomass.

"Unfortunately, the literature on declining amphibian populations and its conservation has increased exponentially each year. We must stop the alarming decline of amphibians before it's too late."

Researchers highlighted Turkey's position in the 'extinction domino' line, pointing out that the harvest pressure could shift to, and endanger, other populations that are currently stable. When frog harvest was banned in France and Romania, they said, exports of wild frogs from India and Bangladesh increased, leading to population declines. When harvesting was subsequently banned in those countries, the pressure on frog populations was mirrored in Indonesia and China - now the largest exporters of frogs.

Mr Cicek added: "It is obvious that unsustainable harvest damages frog populations irrevocably in any part of the world. We can see this in Turkey, but it has also taken place in France, and it is now taking place in the USA, Indonesia, and so on. It is important to ban harvesting or to take other precautions."

Large-scale collections of frogs from the wild not only reduces population sizes, it also causes habitat disturbance, spreads diseases, and leads to the introduction of exotic pests and parasites. There is also a concern that frogs exported live may end up in pet shops, and in some cases become an invasive species.

To carry out their study, the researchers tagged 13,811 frogs sampled in 10 stations, including five ponds, three irrigation canals and two streams. They conducted sampling four times per season for the three-year-duration of the survey. In order to reach their conclusions, they captured and marked frogs with a visible implant, and then recorded re-captures in subsequent seasons to extrapolate population predictions.

Frog harvesting is the main livelihood for many local people in the Ceyhan and Seyhan deltas. Most harvesters have low income, no permanent job and no social benefits.

The authors of the study said that their source of income could disappear if frog populations continue to dwindle at the current rate.

Harvesters typically work at night in groups of three or four. The price-per-kilogram depends on demand, but usually varies between USD 0.60-2.60. In one night, a harvester typically captures 20-39 kg of frogs, but some manage to collect up to 60 kg. The average harvest from the Ceyhan-Seyhan region is about 327 tons each year - representing about 17 million frogs.

The authors of the study stated the population could survive if harvest rates decrease. To do this, they recommended that wild frog harvesting be banned in Turkey during the mating season, and that the hunting and export of frogs under 30 g should be totally eradicated.

In addition, they recommended obligatory training for harvesters and the introduction of quotas or the closure of harvest locations every other year to relieve the pressure on frog populations. They also suggested that the Turkish Government should encourage greater take up of frog farming to take pressure off wild populations.

###
The UK and some US states have become the latest to set out plans for easing their lockdown due to coronavirus. Ultimately, any government that attempts to ease restrictions must keep a close eye on daily infection numbers and the spread of the virus. Ideally, every new case should be traced and managed.

The problem is that most countries lack the resources to test and contact-trace enough people. But our app, which is called the COVID Symptom Study and is based on some 3.4 million users in the UK, US and Sweden logging symptoms daily, could help. In a new study, published in Nature Medicine, we show that this app can estimate whether someone has COVID-19 purely based on their symptoms  with a high degree of accuracy.

The app (formerly known as the COVID Symptom Tracker) was launched by our team at Kings College London in collaboration with the health technology company ZOE (which one of us helped co-found) in March. Users are asked to say whether they are feeling well or experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19 every day. Within 14 days, with the help of social media, we gathered 2 million users, collecting vital information on the symptoms of coronavirus infection and the spread of the disease across the UK.

Related Video: How Contact Tracing Is Being Used to Fight Against Coronavirus

For our new study, which has been peer reviewed, we analysed data gathered from just under 2.5m people in the UK who had been regularly logging their health status in the app. Around a third had logged multiple symptoms associated with COVID-19. More than 15,000 people reported having had a test for coronavirus, with nearly 6,500 testing positive. We confirmed the findings with data from around 168,000 US-based users of the app  2,736 of whom had been tested for COVID-19, with 726 testing positive. US users started participating about one week after UK ones.

Telling symptoms

We then investigated which symptoms known to be associated with COVID-19 were most likely to predict a positive test. Loss of taste and smell were particularly striking, with two thirds of users testing positive for coronavirus infection reporting them compared with just over a fifth of the participants who tested negative.

Story continues

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Next, we created a mathematical model that can predict with nearly 80% accuracy whether an individual is likely to have COVID-19 based on their age, sex and a combination of four key symptoms: loss of smell or taste, severe or persistent cough, fatigue and skipping meals.

The implications of this are huge: in the absence of widespread, reliable testing for coronavirus, symptom logging through the app is a simple, fast and cost-effective way to help people know whether or not they are likely to be infected and should take steps to self-isolate and get tested.

Were now further validating our prediction model by working together in the UK with the Department of Health and Social Cares coronavirus testing programme, offering swab testing to thousands of app users reporting new symptoms every week. In the US, we are planning studies to deploy antibody tests to see if people who reported symptoms in the past were indeed infected with the virus and if antibodies are enough to protect against another infection.

Importantly, our results suggest that loss of taste or smell is a key early warning sign of COVID-19 infection. A loss of appetite and severe fatigue also outperformed the classical symptoms like cough and fever. Focusing on just cough and fever will miss many cases. Although the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently expanded the list of symptoms, many governments like the UK have been slow to change. NHS England still lists cough and fever as main symptoms on its website.

We strongly urge governments and health authorities everywhere to broaden the range of symptoms, and advise anyone experiencing sudden loss of smell or taste to assume that they are infected and follow local self-isolation guidelines.

The detailed symptom data being collected is showing us the enormous diversity of clinical presentations of the virus, such that we are beginning to define distinct clusters over time that have different outcomes and duration. For example, multiple symptoms occurring rapidly have a better prognosis than those coming on more slowly involving fatigue and chest symptoms.

We are also finding many people with symptoms waxing and waning for over a month. Working alongside testing and contact tracing, which most governments are doing to some extent, the COVID Symptom Study app is a potential tool for getting countries out of lockdown more safely. This is especially important as testing resources will remain scarce. Gathering detailed health data from as many people as possible is an essential part of this, while also ensuring that consent and privacy are fully respected.

This data-driven approach relies on millions of people using the app to log their health on a daily basis. Even as we return to our normal lives, we need to stay vigilant - and people need to understand the full range of symptoms. We are asking people to download the app and get in the habit of spending just a minute every day checking in. The app has been endorsed and promoted by charities as well as the governments of Wales and Scotland  but not yet by NHS England.

The rapid roll-out of the COVID Symptom Study app and others like that used in Israel proves the worth of apps like this for real-time epidemiology in the immediate response to a pandemic. Theres an even larger role for the app in research.

Working together with a large team at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US and the charity Stand Up to Cancer, we are producing early data on risk factors across countries like obesity, blood pressure medication and social deprivation. We are also looking at the risk to healthcare workers. Some of this work hasnt yet been subject to peer review, the process by which experts scrutinise each others work.

The COVID Symptom Study app is available to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the UK and USA as well as Sweden. Daily research updates and data which is shared with the NHS can be found here.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Tim Spector receives funding from The Wellcome Trust, MRC, CDRF, NIHR, NIH and is a co-founder of ZOE global Ltd who developed the app pro bono. He receives royalties from his books The Diet Myth (orion 2016) and Spoon-Fed (Joathan Cape 2020)

Andrew Chan receives funding from Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness, Mark and Lisa Schwartz, the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, and Stand Up to Cancer.
Xtalks Life Science Webinars Trials that are targeting a Q3 or Q4 2020 start could accelerate the start-up period by activating all sites prior to First Person In (FPI), enabling a large proportion to start screening and enrolling simultaneously once the hold is lifted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges in clinical development. Travel restrictions, social distancing and the fear of contracting the disease are impeding conventional trial conduct. Typically, routine patient and monitoring visits to healthcare facilities are now the exception, study coordinators and site staff have increased demands on their time and, in some cases, layoffs have rendered some sites incapable of continuing as usual. To help keep patients safe and allow trials to progress, regulatory authorities worldwide have issued guidance for industry, investigators and institutional review boards. Exceptional measures are rapidly being put in place in different countries. As a consequence, we have witnessed a range of responses from sponsors on clinical trial activity, such as delaying trial starts, halting screening/enrollment in most ongoing studies and changing Investigational Medicinal Product (IMP) distribution and site visits.

Our ability to adapt our approach in this ever-changing environment is critical and as a company Covance is at the forefront of partnering with specific vendors who are able to assist us in virtual technologies. These technologies enable virtual patient visits through telemedicine and phone interviews, shipping, storage and self-administration of IMP at patients homes and remote CRA monitoring visits. Trials that are targeting a Q3 or Q4 2020 start could accelerate the start-up period by activating all sites prior to First Person In (FPI), enabling a large proportion to start screening and enrolling simultaneously once the hold is lifted. These suggestions could help trials move forward in the face of quarantine and travel limitations, clinical site closures and altered supply chains.

Join our panel of experts from Covance along with Naim Alkhouri, MD, Director, Texas Metabolic Center and Texas Liver Institute Hepatologist for an informative live discussion on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 11am EDT (4pm BST/UK).

For more information or to register for this event, visit NASH Clinical Development During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic.

ABOUT XTALKS

Xtalks, powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., is a leading provider of educational webinars to the global life science, food and medical device community. Every year thousands of industry practitioners (from life science, food and medical device companies, private & academic research institutions, healthcare centers, etc.) turn to Xtalks for access to quality content. Xtalks helps Life Science professionals stay current with industry developments, trends and regulations. Xtalks webinars also provide perspectives on key issues from top industry thought leaders and service providers.

To learn more about Xtalks visit http://xtalks.com

For information about hosting a webinar visit http://xtalks.com/why-host-a-webinar/
Photo: Tomas Del Coro/Flickr

Missed the most recent top news in Las Vegas? Read on for everything you need to know. Virus prompts businesses to rethink office spaces to enhance employee safety Read the full story on Las Vegas Weekly. NCAA leading scorer Dugan agrees to join Golden Knights Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. Coroner identifies man fatally shot after road rage incident Read the full story on Las Vegas Review-Journal. Man killed in altercation in southeast Las Vegas Read the full story on Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police shoot armed man at Las Vegas apartment complex Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.

Tom van Betten, vice president of strategic partnerships at Matter Real Estate, said theres little doubt COVID-19 will cause lasting changes in what many workspaces look like.

The NCAA's leading scorer, Jack Dugan, agreed Monday to turn pro and join the Vegas Golden Knights. Dugan was a fifth-round pick of the Golden Knights during their first draft in 2017.

Todd Szymanski, 25, died of gunshot wounds, the coroners office said. One driver had apparently cut off the other while on I-15, and police believe the driver shot Szymanski in self-defense.

Homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said officers were called to the 5500 block of Gateway Road, near Russell Road, around 5:45 p.m. Monday. A man in his late 40s or early 50s was found bleeding on the sidewalk, Spencer said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at around 8 pm on Tuesday (May 12), a day after he interacted with chief ministers on ways to contain the spread of coronavirus and also boost economic activity, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

This will be the Prime Minister's fifth address to the nation, including a video message, following the outbreak of COVID-19. Sources in the government indicated that PM Modi is likely to speak on issues related to the lockdown and the economy.

Here are some of the big announcements that PM Modi is expected to make tonight:

Prime Minister Modi is expected to thank people and corona warriors including health workers and police in the fight against coronavirus. He is likely to highlight the government's easy-plan in battling the crisis.

He is expected to discuss the extension of lockdown and also an alternative exit plan by opening economic activities.

The Prime Minister may announce a relief of Rs 10 lakh crore to the economy, besides interest waiver and tax exemptions. He is also likely to announce a relaxation in the air travel and may appeal to the industries in the nation-building.

In order to promote investments in India, the government may announce large tax benefits and tax holiday plans. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama is also expected to make an announcement in the coming days.

PM Modi is also expected to take up the migrant labourers' movement in tonight's address to the nation.

On March 24, PM Modi had announced the 21-day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the virus. In a video message on April 3, Modi had urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light lamps, candles, or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the countrys 'collective resolve' to defeat the deadly virus.

He spoke again on April 14 to extend the lockdown till May 3. On May 2, the lockdown was further extended to May 17.
An experienced art dealer can recite the cities in order, like the Stations of the Cross: January in Taipei, February in Mexico City, March in Hong Kong or Maastricht, May in New York and on down the art market Via Dolorosa to Miami Beach in December. These cities art fairs  Art Basel, Frieze, TEFAF and the rest  have become the stopovers of the global art cavalcade, bringing contemporary painting and sculpture to new audiences, clogging the local airports with private jets, and dragging along an auxiliary band of couch-surfing curators and critics.

Yet as galleries cautiously reopen in art capitals like Berlin and Beijing, the future of the art fair is far from assured. With flights grounded and large indoor gatherings barred, fairs may be out of commission until next year  and that has been a body blow for art dealers everywhere. In a report this March, the economist Clare McAndrew estimated that these bazaars accounted for $16.6 billion in sales in 2019, and that the average art gallery now earns 45 percent of its annual gross at fairs.

And so the art fair, like everything else, has migrated online. Art Basel Hong Kong, which was to have taken place in late March, was the first major fair to pivot to online viewing rooms  where galleries from around the world displayed images of their wares in virtual white cubes. (In an interview with CNN, the dealer Dominique Levy called it an interesting experiment that doesnt work.) Frieze New York, running through this Friday, has brought its whole fair online: not only art for sale from 160 galleries, but noncommercial showcases, conversations with artists and even its famed food court (in the form of links to donate to shuttered restaurants). Smaller, specialist events like the Outsider Art Fair have also launched digital initiatives.
"The story I feel a particular connection to right now is the murder of Vincent Chin," he said. "I can't help but see a parallel between his story and the tragic murder of Ahmaud Arbery. To be explicitly clear, I am not equating the African American experience to that of Asian Americans as a general rule. Our histories are very specific and worthy of respect for their own unique reasons, but seeing two young men murdered for no other reason the color of their skin, and then watching the justice system fail them, is a fresh reminder of how far we have to go as a country."
France began reopening schools on Tuesday and Russia and India started getting back to work as the top US infectious disease expert warned that relaxing coronavirus lockdowns too quickly could have serious consequences. Government immunologist Anthony Fauci's stark words fed concerns that even a cautious exit from the unprecedented global economic shutdown could trigger another outbreak of the disease which has killed more than 290,000 people around the world according to an AFP toll. In France, primary and nursery schools reopened with teachers wearing face masks and children's chairs separated to avoid spreading the virus. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer hailed the reopening of schools, which will be rolled out gradually throughout the country and include Paris schools on Thursday. Russia began easing lockdown rules even as infections surged past 232,000 -- now the second most confirmed cases in the world after the United States. Russia hit the dire landmark Tuesday after a week of reporting more than 10,000 daily infections and as it was confirmed that President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, tested positive for the virus. US Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive last week and the White House said Tuesday that Pence has decided to "keep his distance" from President Donald Trump for a few days. In testimony to US lawmakers, Fauci admitted the true number killed by the epidemic in the US is likely higher than the official toll of over 82,000 -- the world's highest. And despite Trump's evident desire to restart the economy ahead of the November election, Fauci warned that a 14-day decrease in cases was a vital first step to exiting lockdowns safely. "If a community or a state or region doesn't go by those guidelines and reopens... the consequences could be really serious," Fauci said. "There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control," he added, warning that would not only cost lives, "but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery." On Tuesday, the US registered 1,894 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours. - 'Full accounting' - In the US House of Representatives, Democrats unveiled a $3 trillion virus response package, the largest yet, to fund efforts to fight the pandemic and provide emergency payments to millions of American households. But the measure faced immediate opposition in the Republican-held Senate, where leaders have said a new round of emergency funding is not yet needed. Republican senators proposed legislation meanwhile that would empower Trump to slap sanctions on China if it does not give a "full accounting" for the coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. "The Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for the detrimental role they played in this pandemic," said Senator Jim Inhofe. "Their outright deception of the origin and spread of the virus cost the world valuable time and lives as it began to spread." In Russia, some parts of the country hummed back to life Tuesday -- the end of a "non-working" period. For those braving public transport, masks and gloves were a must in line with new anti-virus rules. "It's a necessary measure," said 25-year-old Tatiana Khan, speaking on a half-empty bus in Moscow. "If everyone had worn masks from the start, observed the precautions, I think we wouldn't have had such a spread of the epidemic," she added from behind a surgical mask. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $270 billion economic stimulus as the Asian giant's economy lumbers back to life. Its giant railway network restarted in defiance of a recent surge in infections, with 3,600 recorded on Monday, just below Sunday's record tally. The country of 1.3 billion imposed a strict shutdown in late March, which Modi's government has credited with keeping cases to a modest 70,000, with around 2,300 deaths. Iran, meanwhile, said it would reopen mosques for three nights this week, after struggling to contain the outbreak that has killed more than 6,700 people there. - Test all in Wuhan - South Korea, credited with one of the world's more successful anti-virus campaigns, said it was using mobile phone data to track Seoul nightclub visitors after a cluster of new cases. The outbreak -- which forced a delay in reopening schools -- hit gay venues and potential carriers may fear coming forward because of the stigma surrounding homosexuality. And in Britain, which has Europe's most confirmed fatal cases, the Office of National Statistics said reports from care homes for the elderly suggest a government tally of 32,692 deaths underestimates the full toll. In China, state media reported that Wuhan plans to conduct virus tests on the entire 11 million population after new cases emerged for the first time in weeks in the city where the outbreak began. Scientists believe the virus jumped from bats to humans in a Wuhan market but there have been unproven claims -- including from Trump -- that the disease somehow escaped from a Chinese lab. Economic and social lockdowns have cut a swathe through the global economy and, while many areas are now cautiously moving back to work, world markets are treading cautiously amid fears of a second wave. The Nasdaq's six-day winning streak ended on Tuesday as US stocks pulled back after Fauci's warnings about reopening the economy too quickly. One popular US attraction that will remain dark is Broadway. The Broadway trade association announced Tuesday that New York's beloved theaters will not reopen until at least early September. New York remains the US epicenter, with COVID-19 continuing to kill more than 150 people a day in the state. burs/cl/bgs/to
The government is to be grilled about the treatment of asylum seekers in Direct Provision during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Dail.

Ministers are expected to come under severe scrutiny on Wednesday as the chamber reconvenes to debate transport, education and justice, in a week after each sector has suffered considerable public attention.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is expected to hear from a number of TDs about concerns over the outbreak of Covid-19 in Direct Provision centres.

There have been at least 140 cases of confirmed Covid-19 in Direct Provision residential facilities, and recent legal guidance received by the Irish Refugee Council states that Ireland is currently failing to meet its human rights obligations to asylum seekers, due to how the accommodation system is set up.

Most people in the system cannot practice social distancing due to communal bedrooms and living spaces, which makes it impossible for residents to comply with the State's own public health guidelines, and places vulnerable people at risk.

The Green Party, as well as People Before Profit, Sinn Fein and Labour, have been highly critical of the government's response to the issue, as well as a number of human rights NGOs and asylum seeker representative groups.

In the Dail last week, Green TD Joe O'Brien told the Taoiseach it was "mind boggling" that a centre forcing people into communal bedroom situations had been opened during the pandemic.

It is widely expected that much of Wednesday's questioning will continue in the same vein.

A number of parties have also signalled their intention to flag numerous concerns surrounding the cancellation of the Leaving Certificate exam, which will be replaced by calculated grading, and usage of school data, which would see grades adjusted to bring them into line with the "expected distribution for the school", which opposition TDs have labelled as "school profiling".

On transport, TDs have also signalled that they want further clarity on the 14-day isolation period for people travelling into the country, as well as clarity on people crossing the border.

Questions are also to be raised about how the government plans to fund public transport, following reports the CIE  Ireland's Largest Public Transport Provider, could run out of funding by the end of next month.

TDs have also indicated that the readiness of airports and ports to implement safety guidelines as restrictions begin to be relaxed and passenger numbers increase is a cause for concern.
Narendra Modi Today on Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that based on the suggestions by states, information about the extension of coronavirus lockdown will be given before 18 May. We will fight Corona and we will move forward, he added.

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After reporting 1,230 fresh COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Maharashtra reached 23,401 on Monday. Along with that, the toll in the state increased to 868 after 36 more fatalities were registered, said a health official.

In addition to this, 57 more confirmed cases in Dharavi, the largest slum area in the city, took the total number of COVID-19 patients in the area to 916. The toll stood at 29.

Moreover, with 20 more deaths, the toll increased to 528, said Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai.

Of the total 23,401 COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, over 14,000 were reported in Mumbai alone. With 791 fresh cases as of Monday, the total number of infected patients in the city climbed to 14,355.

He said the $8 billion will not be enough, and additional funds will be needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough "to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone  (and) theres no one be left behind."

"We have good candidates now," Tedros said. "The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates."

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told in a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing that as per initial presumption two months ago it might take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. But he said an accelerated effort is under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organizations and banks for research, treatment and testing.

The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated.

On Monday, the Centre released advance payments of over Rs 1,276 crore to Kerala, followed by over Rs 952 crore to Himachal Pradesh and over Rs 638 crore to Punjab. Assam received Rs 631 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 491 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 423 crore, and West Bengal got Rs 417 crore.

The grant was recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, and an equal first installment of the grant was issued by the Centre to states on 14 March.

"This would provide them additional resources during the coronavirus crisis," the finance ministry said in a statement Monday.

The government released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant on Monday.

Majority of CMs were in favour of relaxation in lockdown restrictions but raised concerns over reopening of public transport.

During his fifth meeting with the chief ministers of States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at a possible extension of coronavirus lockdown. He had asked for suggestions on easing of economic activities before 15 May, CNN-News18 reported.

Initially, the Railways announced booking of tickets on the IRCTC website on Monday from 4 pm, but the website did not respond due to huge traffic of prospective passengers. The services of the portal resumed around 6 pm.

Within minutes after booking started, all tickets across the three AC classes were sold out for Mumbai Central-New Delhi special train till 18 May, The Times of India reported.

With passenger train services set to begin from Tuesday, the Indian Railways on Monday said reservations were issued to more than 54,000 passengers within three hours.

"By 9.15 pm, approximately 30,000 PNRs had been generated and reservations issued to more than 54,000 passengers," the railway ministry said.

This marking the phased restart of interstate public transport after 49 days into lockdown.

Indian Railways sold train tickets to 54,000 passengers worth about Rs 10 crore within hours of bookings for passenger trains that begin operating a limited schedule from Tuesday, reported The Economic Times .

The Indian Railways will restart passenger train operations with special trains from New Delhi connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad,Bengaluru,Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi on Tuesday.

All social distancing norms to be followed at the stations and on the trains. Only asymptomatic persons and those with confirmed tickets can travel. No wait listed tickets issued, said RD Bajpai, Railways Executive Director.

As per the Ministry of Railways, these services shall be in addition to the Shramik specials for transporting stranded migrants which started from 1 May.

The Indian Railways is resuming passenger train service from Tuesday, 12 May. The Railways had stopped the functioning of passenger trains on 22 March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 15 pairs of special trains will be running from today.

The recovery rate stood at 31.7 percent after 22,454 COVID-19 patients were cured of the infectious disease.

The figure includes 46,008 active cases, according to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 70,756 after more 3,604 individuals tested COVID-19 positive in the past 24 hours, said the health ministry on Tuesday. The COVID-19 toll reached 2,293 across the nation.

Two new COVID-19 deaths took the toll across the state to 151.

With 47 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state climbed to 4,305, said the health department.

According to the sources, his COVID-19 report has come negative.

The 87-year-old senior Congress leader was admitted to the institute at 8.45 pm Sunday. "He was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," said a senior doctor from the institute.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he complained of chest problems, is stable. He has been shifted out of the ICU and moved to a private ward of Cardio-Thoracic Sciences Centre (CTVS) unit of the institute

Of the total 4,035 confirmed cases in Rajasthan, the maximum was reported in Jaipur with 1,255 COVID-19 positive cases being identified. More than half of the total 115 deaths were reported in the city with 59 COVID-19 patients succumbing to the infectious disease.

The 22-coach train departed the Karnataka capital on 10 May and reached in Bankura after a two-day journey.

A special train from Bengaluru, carrying around 1,200 passengers, arrived in Bankura on Tuesday morning, official sources said. The passengers included patients, labourers and students, he added.

A special flight carrying more than 300 Indians will shortly depart from Chicago for Mumbai on Tuesday. The flight will land in Mumbai in the early hours of Wednesday and then head to Chennai.

The ship, in its second ferry, was scheduled to bring people to Tuticorin but destination was changed since necessary approvals from Tamil Nadu government were not received.

As part of Samudra Setu Mission, Indian navy ship INS Jalashwa will sail again from Maldives capital of Male on Friday bringing back residents of Kerala and Lakshadweep. The ship had earlier brought back 698 Indians to Kochi on Sunday.

A total of 900 people have been already evacuated from Maldives with the second ship INS Magar expected to reach Kochi on Tuesday. The ship is carrying 202 Indian nationals including 24 women and a patient.

"We are ascertaining the infection trail," Health Department's Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar said. Most of the patients are in the 20-40 age group, he said.

While nine of the patients hail from Begusarai, two are from Darbhanga, one each from Nalanda, Samastipur, Sheikhpura and Supaul districts.

Bihar reported 15 fresh cases of COVID-19, taking the state's virus tally to 761, a top health department official said on Tuesday.

An Assistant Sub-inspector of CISF deployed in Kolkata lost his life last night due to COVID-19 infection, according to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official, reports ANI.

The local unit opened at 75.89, then lost further ground and fell to 75.95 against the US dollar, down 22 paise over its previous close. It had settled at 75.73 against the US dollar on Monday.

Forex traders said the local unit opened weak against the greenback tracking gains in the US dollar. Moreover, sell-off in domestic equities and rising coronavirus cases in the country weighed on investor sentiment.

The rupee depreciated 22 paise to 75.95 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday amid strengthening American currency overseas and weak opening in domestic equities.

The driver of the car fled the spot along with the vehicle after the incident, the police said, adding that they have got inputs about the vehicle and the driver would be nabbed soon. The deceased was identified as Ashok Kumar (25) while the injured labourer was admitted to the civil hospital at Ambala Cantonment, they said.

A group of migrant labourers told the police that they were headed towards their native village in Bihar's Purnia district from Punjab's Ludhiana on foot when the incident occurred.

A migrant labourer was killed while another seriously injured when a car hit them on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway near Ambala Cantonment on Tuesday morning, police said.

The facility was opened to the public on Monday by Kundu, Haryanas Additional Chief secretary and CEO, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) along with Ashok Sangwan, IAS, Commissioner, Gurugram, Vinay Pratap Singh, IAS, MCG Commissioner, Gurugram and Amit Khatri, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram.

In order to deal with rising COVID-19 cases in Gurugram, a new COVID-19 only facility has opened up in Manesar, Gurugram. This has happened as a coming together of Medanta  The Medicity, Fortis, Artemis and Medeor.

There are many variables involved." On restarting manufacturing activities at Gurugram facility, he said "it will start, but not yet".

The facility has commenced operations on a single shift basis with up to 75 percent employees allowed currently, he added. When asked about the timeline of full-swing operations, Bhargava said that would depend on government regulations like when two shifts would be allowed, when manpower could be increased and when supply chain would become fitter.

"Production has commenced at the Manesar plant and the first car would roll out today (Tuesday)," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said it has resumed operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana after around 40 days of closure due to the coronavirus-led lockdown. Operations at both Manesar and Gurugram facilities were suspended since 22 March.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has initiated phase three of clinical trials in India on antiviral tablet Favipiravir for coronavirus treatment, becoming the first company in the country to do so, reports ANI.

Narayan Swaroop Nigam, erstwhile Transport Secretary has been appointed as Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department vice Vivek Kumar, until further order, the state government said.

So far, 45,533 bookings (PNRs) worth Rs 16.15 crore have been recorded for the special trains for the next seven days, the railways said, adding that around 82,317 passengers will travel against these bookings.

Over 80,000 passengers have booked tickets worth over Rs 16 crore on the special trains so far, the Indian Railways said on Tuesday, hours before the first such train is scheduled to depart from the New Delhi station for Bilaspur in Madhya Pradesh. The bookings for these special trains began at 6 pm on Monday.

With this, the number of active coronavirus cases stood at 349 in Odisha, while 85 people have recovered from the disease. Three persons have died of the infection in the state.

Twenty-three people tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 437, a health department official said.

With this, the total confirmed cases climbed to 164 in the state, said Kulkarni.

Two students from Jamshedpur, who recently travelled back from Kolkata, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, ANI quoted Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni as saying.

Of the 23 fresh confirmed COVID-19 cases in Odisha, 15 were reported in Balasore, while three each from Ganjam and Jajpur districts and one each from Puri and Boudh, a state health department official said on Tuesday.

Modi is likely to discuss about the possible extension of lockdown, imposed in view of coronavirus, for red zone districts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on the COVID-19 situation at 8 pm on Tuesday, tweeted the Office of the Prime Minister of India.

The employee posted at the Gurudwara Rakabganj Road building tested positive on Monday evening, he said.

"Airlines House has been sealed for Tuesday and Wednesday," an official said.

Air India has sealed its headquarters in Delhi for two days to conduct a thorough sanitisation of the building after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said on Tuesday.

Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that the Delhi government will send its proposal on easing of lockdown restrictions in the National Capital to the Centre on Thursday, PTI reported.

On Monday, PM Modi held a video conference meeting with Chief Ministers of all states to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against the novel coronavirus. He said the need was to reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19 and to increase public activity gradually while adhering to all the guidelines.

The last time the prime minister had addressed the nation was on 14 April when he had announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till 3 May.

During his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to talk about the easing of lockdown restrictions, imposed in view of the novel coronavirus.

The COVID-19 toll in the Union Territory reached 86 after 13 more fatalities were reported since yesterday, said Jain.

With 406 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Delhi in the past 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases in the National Capital climbed to 7,639, said health minister Satyendra Jain.

"383 people have been cured/discharged taking the total number of recovered cases to 2512," he further said.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the National Capital is now at 33 percent after 2,512 patients were cured.

The current doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in Delhi stands now at 11 days, said health minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday. "The doubling rate in Delhi is 11 days now. The doubling rate had once reached 3 or 4 days. If the doubling rate reaches 18, 20 or 25, then we will be more comfortable," said Jain.

While these are encouraging signs, it will be of concern to the Indian government and people that while states like Kerala are managing a remarkable 94.22 percent, states like Tamil Nadu (25.63 percent), West Bengal (24.19 percent), Maharashtra (20.45 percent) and Punjab (8.95 percent) are lagging behind not just Kerala, but the national average.

The rate of recovery from COVID-19 in India a month ago stood at a dismally low eight percent. In the 30-odd days since, the country's overall rate of curing and discharging patients has risen to over 30 percent. As noted in an earlier post, India's mortality rate is nearly the lowest among the top 20 countries (for total deaths) at 3.29 percent.

The Bench of Justices L Nageshwara Rao, Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna hinted at the same while hearing a bail application. It was observed that the matter would be taken up urgently when hearings begin on larger scale.

An observation to this effect was made by a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a bail application.

After nearly two months of hearing only "extremely urgent matters", the Supreme Court is likely to hear matters through video conferencing on a "large scale", reported Bar and Bench .

However, keeping in view the requirements of physical distancing, hearings would be conducted through video links using VIDYO app, with lawyers presenting their cases from respective chambers.

From next week onward, the Supreme Court judges will resume sitting in courtrooms to hear matters through video conferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bar and Bench reported.

Solih also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian citizens. "During the COVID-19 crisis, India has been a true friend to Maldives. Indias recent gift of essential food supplies is particularly helpful during these challenging times. Our sincere thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India for their friendship and generosity," said Solih.

The President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday appreciated the contribution of essential food supplies made by India during the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 6,037 Indian nationals have been evacuated in 31 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission, said Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday.

"The recovery rate is quite good, mortality rate is well below state and country average. In most cases we are able to trace the contact source. We should appreciate aggressive testing by local bodies," tweeted Kumar.

Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday said that there was a spurt in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the area, but most of them were asymptotic.

The COVID-19 toll in the district reached 92 after two more fatalities were registered in the past 24 hours.

After 81 more individuals tested COVID-19 positive in Indore, the total number of confirmed cases in the Madhya Pradesh district climbed to 2,016, said a health official on Tuesday.

So far there has been one recovery.

Two more Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel have tested COVID-19 positive in the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases to 159, the ITBP said in a statement.

INS Kesari delivered 580 tonnes of essential food items as a gift from India to the people of Maldives during holy month of Ramadan, All India Radio News tweeted on Tuesday.

Reports said that around 17,000 prisoners  almost 50 percent  are to be given parole in Maharashtra "in order to maintain social distancing by decongesting in prisons".

"Suddenly, quarantine facility has become a huge challenge," he said in the press conference.

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a press conference on Tuesday said that the state government didn't have the information that trains from New Delhi to Dibrugarh will be running daily for a week and were made aware of it last night.

We had never seen or heard about such a crisis ever before. This is definitely unimaginable for mankind. This was unprecedented. But humanity will not accept defeat from this virus. We have to not only protect ourselves but also move forward: PM Narendra Modi #COVID19

"I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'. The announcements made by the govt over COVID, decisions of RBI and today's package totals to Rs 20 Lakh Crores. This is 10% of India's GDP," Modi said.

We must not restrict our lives only around coronavirus, Modi said in his speech on Tuesday, and added that the fourth phase of the coronavirus lockdown in India will be completely different from the earlier three phases of the lockdown.

51 new coronavirus cases were reported in Telangana on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,326 including 472 active cases, 822 cured/discharged and 32 deaths till date.

Karnataka: Air India's special flight to Mangaluru from Dubai, landed at Mangalore International airport today. The flight carried 176 Indian nationals, under #VandeBharatMission . pic.twitter.com/0DmGmhN5uq

Air India's special flight to Mangaluru from Dubai, landed at Mangalore International airport on Tuesday. The flight carried 176 Indian nationals, under the Centre's repatriation exercise.

Hubei province and its capital Wuhan on 8 April lifted a prolonged lockdown clamped on 23 January as the disease spread through the region like wildfire.

The city has prepared a 10-day plan to test all its residents after six new coronavirus cases were reported in a residential community, official media reported on Tuesday.

Wuhan, the Chinese city where the deadly novel coronavirus emerged in December last year, has decided to test the city's entire 11 million population after new cases were reported for the first time in weeks, sparking fears of the second wave of the virus attack.

112 new coronavirus cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, taking the state's tally to 3,664.

Over the past weeks, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in collaboration with partners have carried out vulnerability assessments to identify the most needy refugee families, according to an official statement.

About 36,000 Afghan refugee families in Pakistan will receive an emergency cash assistance of Rs 12,000 each to meet their urgent needs during the coronavirus pandemic.

There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear, Fauci said.

More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound is, Fauci told the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious disease expert, warned on Tuesday that the consequences could be really serious if cities and states reopen the US economy too quickly with the coronavirus still spreading.

ASI Murlidhar Shankar Waghmare from Sewri Police Station, Mumbai lost his life to Coronavirus. May his soul rest in peace. DGP and all ranks of Maharashtra Police offer their condolences to the Waghmare family.

The developments underscore the high stakes for communities nationwide as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.

Recent figures show a surge of infections in meatpacking and poultry-processing plants. Theres been a spike of new cases among construction workers in Austin, Texas, where that sector recently returned to work. Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of Trumps valets and for Vice President Mike Pences press secretary.

Even as US president Donald Trump urges getting people back to work and reopening the economy, an Associated Press analysis shows thousands of people are getting sick from COVID-19 on the job.

Assam government said that 65 cancer patients and some attendants were brought back to the state from Mumbai.

Narendra Modi Today on Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that based on the suggestions by states, information about the extension of coronavirus lockdown will be given before 18 May. We will fight Corona and we will move forward, he added.

We must not restrict our lives only around coronavirus, Modi said in his speech on Tuesday, and added that the fourth phase of the coronavirus lockdown in India will be completely different from the earlier three phases of the lockdown.

Saying that India has been an example for progress in the last century, Modi said that the country needs to become self-reliant in the world after the coronavirus pandemic.

"When the crisis started then not even a single PPE kit was manufactured in India, only a few N95 masks were available. Today two lakh PPE kits and 2 lakh N95 masks are manufactured in India daily," he added.

Prime minister Narendra Modi started speaking on COVID-19 situation, and said the world has been battling the pandemic for over four months now. Over 3 lakh people have succumbed to the infection, he says, condoling the deaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of 16 migrants who were run over by a goods train near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Modi is set to address the nation at 8 pm.

This will be the Modi's fifth address over the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two months. PM's address comes at a time when the country has over 70,000 cases.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that as relief from the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely soon, there is a "need for a three-month plan to deal with the situation".

Mamata was also quoted as saying that people were facing problems since the imposition of the lockdown on 25 March as the move was "poorly planned", News18 reported.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday allowed the home delivery of alcohol with guidelines. According to the order issued by the government, the delivery can be made "only into the area of license, and people doing the delivery must wear mask and use sanitisers."

ANI quoted sources as saying that the second phase of the Centre's repatriation exercise, dubbed the 'Vande Bharat Mission', will be launched from 16-22 May. It will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed, the report said.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the mortality rate due to coronavirus is one of the lowest in India globally.

"In the fight against COVID-19 our mortality rate is about the lowest in the world. Today the mortality rate is around 3.2 percent, in several states it is even less than this. Global fatality rate is around 7-7.5 percent," he said.

Reports said that around 17,000 prisoners  almost 50 percent  are to be given parole in Maharashtra "in order to maintain social distancing by decongesting in prisons".

After 81 more individuals tested COVID-19 positive in Indore, the total number of confirmed cases in the Madhya Pradesh district climbed to 2,016, said a health official on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 toll in the district reached 92 after two more fatalities were registered in the past 24 hours.

As many as 6,037 Indian nationals have been evacuated in 31 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission, said Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday.

The operation began five days ago from 7 May.

After nearly two months of hearing only "extremely urgent matters", the Supreme Court is likely to hear matters through video conferencing on a "large scale", reported Bar and Bench.

An observation to this effect was made by a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a bail application.

The Bench of Justices L Nageshwara Rao, Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna hinted at the same while hearing a bail application. It was observed that the matter would be taken up urgently when hearings begin on larger scale.

The current doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in Delhi stands now at 11 days, said health minister Satyendra Jain on Tuesday. "The doubling rate in Delhi is 11 days now. The doubling rate had once reached 3 or 4 days. If the doubling rate reaches 18, 20 or 25, then we will be more comfortable," said Jain.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the National Capital is now at 33 percent after 2,512 patients were cured.

"383 people have been cured/discharged taking the total number of recovered cases to 2512," he further said.

With 406 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Delhi in the past 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases in the National Capital climbed to 7,639, said health minister Satyendra Jain.

The COVID-19 toll in the Union Territory reached 86 after 13 more fatalities were reported since yesterday, said Jain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on the COVID-19 situation at 8 pm on Tuesday, tweeted the Office of the Prime Minister of India.

Modi is likely to discuss about the possible extension of lockdown, imposed in view of coronavirus, for red zone districts.

Twenty-three people tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 437, a health department official said.

With this, the number of active coronavirus cases stood at 349 in Odisha, while 85 people have recovered from the disease. Three persons have died of the infection in the state.

The Railway Ministry in a tweet said it is compulsory for all passengers to download the Aarogya Setu app before commencing their journey. Meanwhile, an Assistant Sub-inspector of CISF deployed in Kolkata lost his life last night due to COVID-19 infection on Tuesday.

As part of Samudra Setu Mission, Indian navy ship INS Jalashwa will sail again from Maldives capital of Male on Friday bringing back residents of Kerala and Lakshadweep. The ship had earlier brought back 698 Indians to Kochi on Sunday.

The ship, in its second ferry, was scheduled to bring people to Tuticorin but destination was changed since necessary approvals from Tamil Nadu government were not received.

With 47 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state climbed to 4,305, said the health department.

Two new COVID-19 deaths took the toll across the state to 151.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 70,756 after more 3,604 individuals tested COVID-19 positive in the past 24 hours, said the health ministry on Tuesday. The COVID-19 toll reached 2,293 across the nation.

The figure includes 46,008 active cases, according to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The recovery rate stood at 31.7 percent after 22,454 COVID-19 patients were cured of the infectious disease.

With passenger train services set to begin from Tuesday, the Indian Railways on Monday said reservations were issued to more than 54,000 passengers within three hours.

Within minutes after booking started, all tickets across the three AC classes were sold out for Mumbai Central-New Delhi special train till 18 May, The Times of India reported.

The government released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant on Monday.

"This would provide them additional resources during the coronavirus crisis," the finance ministry said in a statement Monday.

The grant was recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, and an equal first installment of the grant was issued by the Centre to states on 14 March.

On Monday, the Centre released advance payments of over Rs 1,276 crore to Kerala, followed by over Rs 952 crore to Himachal Pradesh and over Rs 638 crore to Punjab. Assam received Rs 631 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 491 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 423 crore, and West Bengal got Rs 417 crore.

As India registered a record jump of 4,213 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual interaction with chief ministers said that the biggest challenge for the country will be to ensure that the infection does not spread to rural India and that the country will have to devise a "balanced strategy" to deal with the pandemic and step up the economic activities in a gradual manner.

Separately, the Union health ministry observed that some relatively large outbreaks have been noticed in particular locations and it is important to focus on containment efforts to ensure that the country does not reach the community transmission stage.

The government also said the coronavirus tracking app Aarogya Setu is secure as it was designed keeping in mind privacy of people and is playing a crucial role in India's fight against COVID-19.

Record jump in number of cases takes total infections to 67,152

In a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country,the health ministry said that a record number of 4,213 COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours ending 8 am, taking the total cases to 67,152 and death toll to 2,206.

As many as 20,917 COVID-19 patients have been cured till now, taking the recovery rate to 31.15 percent. Also 1,559 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, the highest number of recoveries in one day, the ministry said.

According to the health ministry data, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of infections (22,171) and fatalities (832) with Gujarat following with 8,194 cases and 493 deaths.

However, a PTI tally of figures reported by different states and Union Territories, as of 9.10 pm, put the nationwide tally of confirmed cases much higher at 70,480, showing an increase of more than 6,000 cases since Sunday morning. It showed 2,217 deaths and more than 22,000 recoveries so far.

Maharashtra reported 1,230 new cases, taking the state tally to 23,401, while its death toll rose to 868 after 36 more fatalities. Tamil Nadu reported 798 new cases and six more deaths on Monday. Mumbai's case count reached 14,355 with 791 new cases detected on Monday, while its death toll is 528 now with 20 more fatalities. At least 57 new cases were reported from the city's Dharavi slums.

Gujarat saw 347 fresh cases and 20 more fatalities, including 268 cases and 19 deaths in Ahmedabad itself. In the National Capital also, more than 300 new cases were detected.

Fresh cases were reported from various other states as well including Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Bihar and Odisha

Health ministry advocates strong containment measures

Asked if there has been community transmission of COVID-19 in India, joint secretary in the Union health ministry Lav Agarwal said "Some clusters have been found here (in the country), and in some cases in some particular locations relatively large outbreaks have also been noticed," adding that it was important to focus on containment measures so that the country does not reach the stage of community transmission.

Agarwal said the government's focus is on identifying pockets which have been reporting a larger number of cases so that strong containment measures can be implemented.

He also said that people who develop coronavirus symptoms should not go into hiding and come forward to report so that they get timely treatment and also do not spread the infection to their family members and others.

Ajay Sawhney, Chairman, Empowered Group 9, which deals with technology and data management, said the Aarogya Setu app has been developed to alert people before they come in contact with infected patients and to alert the health system. Information about 697 potential COVID-19 hotspots was generated through the app and it is secure,used only for health interventions and does not reveal identity of people, he said. Around 1.4 lakh Aarogya Setu users have been alerted via Bluetooth contact tracing about possible risk of infection due to proximity to infected patients, Sawhney said.

States demand greater freedom in deciding lockdown guidelines

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the fifth virtual meeting with chief ministers of states to discuss strengthening the containment strategy and gradual resumption of economic activities as the third phase of the nationwide lockdown draws to an end on 17 May.

Economic activities in India are set to "gather steam", Modi told the chief ministers, while asserting that the country will have to devise a "balanced strategy" to revive the economy and deal with COVID-19 with a sharp focus on ensuring that rural areas remain free from the pandemic, sources told PTI.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, the prime minister also asserted that the world has fundamentally changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the new way of life would be on the principle of Jan Se lekar Jag Tak, from an individual to the whole of humanity.

"Even as we look at the gradual withdrawal of the lockdown, we should constantly remember that till we do not find a vaccine or a solution, the biggest weapon with us to the fight the virus is social distancing," he said.

Modi also thanked the chief ministers for their proactive role in the countrys fight against the pandemic and asked chief ministers to share by 15 May a broad strategy on how they want to deal with lockdown regime in their states.

"I am of the firm view that the measures needed in the first phase of lockdown were not needed during the 2nd phase and similarly the measures needed in the 3rd phase are not needed in the fourth," he said.

Chief ministers of at least three states demanded that states be given greater freedom in deciding lockdown guidelines. Some chief ministers also sought measures to expand the testing infrastructure, while many of them also demanded fiscal support for the states due to the pandemic having hit hard various revenue-generating economic activities

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy backed by economic empowerment of states to save lives and secure livelihood. The decision on designating red, orange/yellow and green zones should be left to the states, which are more cognizant of the ground realities, he said.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel reiterated the demand that states be allowed to determine green, red and orange zones and the level of economic activity permissible in the state. He also demanded Rs. 30,000 crore for implementing relief and welfare schemes.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asked for the resumption of economic activities in all parts of the National Capital barring the containment zones.

Economic activities should be allowed to resume in all parts of Delhi except containment zones: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during video conference meet with PM Modi today #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/AP0AJCvGTp  ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2020

During the meeting, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said that a cautious approach must be taken while making any decision on the lockdown as the infection was expected to peak in May or June. He also demanded that central armed forces be deployed in the state as the police were under a lot of pressure and there were rising number of cases among police personnel. Thackeray also suggested that local trains be restarted for those providing essential services.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that states face different challenges and therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines. He also demanded that states be allowed to resume metro ail services in cities, apart from those in the red zones.

States face different challenges & therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines relating to the lockdown: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during video conference with PM Narendra Modi today #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Vto44faona  ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2020

However, the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Telangana opposed the resumption of train services from Tuesday and asked the Centre to push it back.

"We know from media that regular train service to Chennai (from Delhi) and from Chennai will commence from 12 May. As the positive cases in Chennai are showing an increasing trend, dont permit train service up to 31 May in my state," Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami told Modi during the virtual meeting.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on one hand, the Centre wants strict enforcement of the lockdown, on the other, it is resuming train services.

According to the statement, Modi said that the resumption of rail services was needed to rev up economic activity, but all routes will not be opened.

The Home Ministry earlier said that only asymptomatic people with confirmed tickets will be allowed to travel in 15 trains to be operational from Tuesday. Online bookings began for these trains on Monday evening, after some delay due to a technical glitch, and some routes got fully booked within ten minutes.

The Railways have been running 'migrant special' trains for ferrying migrant workers since May 1, but this will be the first time in nearly 50 days that the general public can also undertake train journeys even though flight and inter-state bus services remain suspended as of now till May 17, when the third phase of the lockdown is scheduled to end.

The first phase of the nationwide lockdown began on 25 March, which was supposed to be of 21 days, but it got extended later till 3 May and then further till 17 May with some relaxation.

With inputs from agencies
A Chinese chef was captured on surveillance footage spitting in a dish while cooking for a customer at a restaurant in China.



The incident took place on Sunday at the Sufuji Restaurant in Xi'an following the easing of lockdown.



The customer was said to have gained access to the video after finding a cigarette butt in a stew he had ordered and then complained about it to the restaurant, according to local newspaper Huashang Daily.



While watching the surveillance footage, the diner was left shocked to see the chef cooking without a face mask before spitting into his dish in the restaurant's kitchen.



You can see in the surveillance footage very clearly that the chef bent down to spit into the wok especially,' Mr Zheng said.



The restaurant claimed that the 22-year-old chef, Mr. Wang, had spat on the edge of the wok, not inside.



But the restaurant worker claimed he was experiencing tightness in the throat and spat on the ground.



He told the reporter that he had been suffering from throat inflammation. He said he was 'feeling uncomfortable in the throat' when he was making the dish.



The shopping mall, where the restaurant is situated in has ordered the store to shut down, while local market watchdog has launched an investigation into the matter and ordered the restaurant to rectify its problems, reported Beijing News.



Officials are expected to revoke the shop's business license and issue it a 100,000 yuan (11,460) fine, the report said.



In a social media statement released today, the resturant said it was 'very ashamed' of the matter and expressed its' most sincere apologies' to the public. They promised to cooperate with the investigation.

VIDEO









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The landmark Northwest hotel and brewpub chain McMenamins is reopening eight hotels and rehiring hundreds of staff members.

McMenamins laid off 3,000 people and closed nearly all its locations in mid-March as restaurants and hotels around the region shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the company has slowly started to bring back staff and reopen locations.

The company has rehired approximately 744 people, and hopes to have rehired 1,800 of the 3,000 laid off staff members by the beginning of June, a McMenamins spokesman told the Oregonian/OregonLive Monday.

Live event employees have not been rehired, and it is unclear when those employees could be asked back. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said last week that large gatherings in the state, including concerts, would likely need to be canceled or significantly modified through at least September.

McMenamins is also planning to reopen seven hotels on Friday: Elks Temple in Tacoma, Anderson School in Bothell, Old St. Francis in Bend, Crystal Hotel and Kennedy School in Portland, Grand Lodge in Forest Grove and Olympic Club in Centralia. The company has already opened the Kalama Harbor Lodge is already open for business.

The company will institute social distancing measures at the hotels. All will be operating at reduced capacity, and rooms will be left vacant for 24 hours between guests. Employees will be required to wear masks, implement enhanced cleaning procedures and maintain six feet of distance from coworkers, vendors and guests.

Bars and amenities at the hotels will remain closed. Guests will be able to order food from on-site restaurants for room service or pickup.

McMenamins has already resumed other parts of its business. In April, it reopened its pubs for takeout orders. The company is once again brewing beer at some breweries and roasting coffee, as well. The Edgefield Distillery is also open, but operating with fewer distillers. The Crystal Ballroom started live streaming concerts May 8.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Four Australian abattoirs have been suspended from exporting red meat to China as trade tensions between the two nations escalate in the wake of the coronavirus spread.

The meat suppliers - three from Queensland and one from New South Wales - sell around $1billion worth of meat to China each year, making up around a third of total beef exports to our biggest trading partner.

It comes a day after China threatened to slap an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, a move which would cripple the industry.

The Kilcoy Pastoral Company, Beef City in Toowoomba, Brisbane's Dinmore meatworks and the Northern Co-operative Meat Company at Casino, New South Wales have been temporarily blacklisted.

Four Australian abattoirs have been suspended from exporting red meat to China (stock image)

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told Daily Mail Australia the suspensions were due to 'highly technical issues' around labelling and health certification.

'My expectation is that the technical issues have all been addressed,' he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

The difficulties in the bi-lateral trade relationship followed the Australian government's call for a ban on wildlife wet markets and an inquiry into how the coronavirus originated and spread from Wuhan.

The proposed inquiry - as well as repeated suggestions that China covered up the spread of the disease - have infuriated Beijing.

Last month the Chinese Embassy called Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton 'pitiful,' 'ignorant' and a US 'parrot' after he told China to 'answer questions' about how coronavirus started.

On April 26 Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng warned that Chinese consumers may stop buying Australian products in revenge.

Statement by Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on beef bans We were notified late yesterday that four Australian meat establishments have been suspended by Chinese Authorities over issues related to labelling and health certificate requirements. We are concerned that the suspensions appear to be based on highly technical issues, which in some cases date back more than a year. We've been speaking with industry leaders, colleagues and departments overnight to formulate a comprehensive response. We will work with industry and authorities in both Australia and China to seek to find a solution that allows these businesses to resume their normal operations as soon as possible. Advertisement

'Maybe the ordinary people will think why they should drink Australian wine or eat Australian beef,' he told the AFR.

The dispute comes after a torrid year for Australia-China relations saw clashes over political interference, human rights abuses in western China and Huawei 5G equipment.

Former Australian ambassador to China Geoff Raby told Daily Mail Australia that diplomatic relations are 'at their lowest point since they began 46 years ago'.

The proposed tariffs on barley come after China's 18-month anti-dumping investigation which concludes on 19 May.

Dumping is when a country exports a product unfairly cheaply to a foreign market to undercut alternatives, with producers often subsidised by the government.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng (pictured) warned Chinese consumers may stop buying Australian products in revenge

The outbreak erupted in Wuhan, China in December. Pictured: Staff members line up as they prepare to spray disinfectant at Wuhan Railway Station in March

China has a track record of using economic sanctions for political purposes.

It includes encouraging a boycott of South Korean cars after the country deployed a US missile shield in 2017 and a ban on Norwegian salmon after Chinese rebel Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo that same year.

Australia and China have had a free trade agreement since 2015 but some exporters have still run into difficulties as relations have soured.

In 2018 Beijing imposed new customs regulations on Australian wine resulting in shipments being held up in Shanghai.

And last year - after Canberra stripped Chinese businessman Xiangmo Huang of his visa - major ports prolonged clearing times for Australian coal to at least 40 days, claiming the delay was due to 'normal' safety checks.

Jane Goolley, a professor at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, warned last month that this type of manoeuvering could resume if the federal government continues to upset the Chinese government.

But she does not believe that the proposal regarding barley is connected to COVID-19.

'If there is any kind of 'coercion' or punishment plan in Beijing's mind, I'd say it's very unlikely to work (another reason why they probably wouldn't try it), because I don't think the Australian government will back down on its inquiry demand, even if they are absolutely certain that this barley debacle is connected to it', she told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
DALLAS, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is giving back to Customers by providing an extra boost as they plan to get back to the people, businesses, and places they love most. Beginning today, May 12, the airline will support both leisure and business travelers, Rapid Rewards Members, and small businesses with extra incentives as they work to reclaim the freedom to travel.

As part of Southwest Airlines' effort to give back, Customers can take advantage of a month-long fare sale starting today, May 12 through June 12; Rapid Rewards Members will earn double Rapid Rewards points through August 31; and business travelers will receive a 20 percent discount on Anytime and Business Select fares when booked through SWABIZ. Additionally, Southwest has gifted more than 67 million Rapid Rewards points to hundreds of small businesses in order to make it easier for these businesses to travel.

"We're all eager to move again in a new chapter that feels more familiar, and Southwest is giving Customers the freedom to dream and the inspiration to confidently recapture the magic of travel," said Ryan Green, Southwest Airlines Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "And for those Customers preparing to return to the skies, our Southwest Promise is a fortified focus on supporting Customer and Employee health throughout the journey, bringing new peace of mind and comfort with the familiar warmth and value that only Southwest can provide."

The Southwest Promise implements enhanced cleaning procedures, distancing measures, and contact-free interactions. The Promise provides Employees additional protection and policies to increase their ability to safely transport Southwest Customers.

Southwest Launches Fares Sale from Today through June 12

Customers may take advantage of fares starting from $49 to $99 one-way to select nonstop continental U.S. destinations. Examples of Southwest Airlines' domestic low fares include (see fare rules below):

As low as $49 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles (LAX) and Salt Lake City

one-way nonstop between and As low as $79 one-way nonstop between Nashville and Philadelphia

one-way nonstop between and As low as $99 one-way nonstop between Dallas (DAL) and New York (LGA)

Customers may see fare rules, terms and conditions, and book travel at Southwest.com.

All Rapid Rewards Members Can Earn Double Points on Travel Nationwide

After registering for this promotion, Members have a chance to earn double Rapid Rewards points for all flights booked and flown from May 12 through August 31, 2020. Members can use Rapid Rewards points to book future travel, hotel rooms, rental cars, purchase gift cards, and more. Rapid Rewards points do not expire, and the loyalty program gives Customers the chance to pick from any available seat on any flight, regardless of the day or season. Members must register on their respective Rapid Rewards account to be eligible for the promotion. Visit Southwest.com to join the Rapid Rewards program and see the full terms and conditions.

Members will receive 12 bonus points per dollar spent on Business Select fares, 10 bonus points per dollar spent on Anytime fares, and six bonus points per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away fares. Bonus points are in addition to the standard flight points earned through Rapid Rewards.

Southwest Business Offers 20 Percent Off Fares

Today, May 12, through August 31, 2020, business travelers may receive 20 percent off Anytime and Business Select fares on SWABIZ.com to help save on upcoming travel. To receive the discount, Travelers must be a Member of the SWABIZ program and enter the code SAVE2020 during purchase, and must book and fly between May 12 and August 31. SWABIZ is a corporate booking tool that allows companies to manage and track their Southwest travel program without the fees other booking tools charge. Visit SWABIZ.com to enroll and see the full terms and conditions.

Southwest Donates over 67 Million Rapid Rewards Points to Boost Small Businesses

Southwest has gifted 100,000 Rapid Rewards points to more than 670 Southwest partner companies, giving back to businesses that have been greatly impacted during this difficult time. The airline is supporting these companies by allowing them the freedom to travel as they work to meet future business needs.

Southwest Airlines Fare Rules

A 14-day advance purchase required. Purchase from May 12 through June 12, 2020, 11:59 p.m. Central Time. Continental U.S. travel valid May 26 through August 31, 2020. Except as otherwise specified, continental U.S. travel is not valid on Fridays and Sundays. Travel to Ft. Myers/Naples, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Las Vegas and from Ft. Myers/Naples, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando to Las Vegas is valid only on Sundays through Wednesdays. Travel from Ft. Myers/Naples, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Las Vegas and from Las Vegas to Ft. Myers/Naples, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, and Orlando is valid only on Tuesdays through Fridays. Fares valid on nonstop service where indicated; if not indicated, fares are valid on single connecting service. Displayed prices include all U.S. and international government taxes and fees. Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight. Fares not available to/from continental U.S. to/from Hawaii. Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Travel is available for one-way Wanna Get Away fares. Fares may be combined with other Southwest Airlines combinable fares. If combining with other fares, the most restrictive fare's rules apply. Sale fares may be available on other days of week, but that's not guaranteed. Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines, as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Failure to cancel prior to departure will result in forfeiture of remaining funds on the reservation. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel may require an upgrade to the Anytime fare depending on Rapid Rewards tier status. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Offer applies only to published, scheduled service.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 49th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 60,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 130 million passengers in 2019. Southwest became the nation's largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries.

Southwest coined Transfarency to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and the planet. Learn more about how the carrier gives back to communities across the world by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


Nguyen Ngoc Trung from the Chemistry Faculty of the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences is the main author of an internationally published article on new material that can absorb antibiotics in medical wastewater.

Trung said he uses polymers and polystyrene sulphonates to denature aluminum oxide nanomaterial surfaces, creating a new material safe and friendly to the environment, thereby treating a water environment with antibiotic residues, especially in hospital waste water with complicated components.

Nguyen Ngoc Trung from the Chemistry Faculty of the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences





The article is the result of Trung's two-year research which started when he finished his second year study at university.



Determined to become a researcher, Trung decided to work at the laboratory of Dr Pham Tien Duc of the Chemistry Faculty.



At first, I had difficulty when reading scientific articles with many specialized words. I also felt confused when trying to answer the questions, like how to take the steps, how to design experiments, and which tools and which methods to follow, he said.



After much effort, with the support of the instructor, Trung got used to working at the laboratory.

Nguyen Ngoc Trung from the Chemistry Faculty of the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences is the main author of an internationally published article on new material that can absorb antibiotics in medical wastewater.

However, even when things improved, Trung still had difficulties. He had to carry out experiments many times, but the results were inconsistent and below expectations.



The instructor always asks to repeat experiments three times at least to obtain minimum errors, he said, adding that even minor mistakes during the experiment process will lead to big problems.



Later, the instructor encouraged Trung to develop his research and write an article to publish in an ISI journal. The teacher only acted as a mentor, while Trung had to find the ideas and present his research concisely and logically.



Each manuscript was revised 3-4 times. After the article was completed, Trung and his teacher decided to send it to Journal of Molecular Liquids (Q1, IF 4.561).



According to Dr Duc, in order to have internationally published articles, one needs to follow a methodical and long-term research path.



Most of the students in Ducs research team have internationally published articles, but most of them are co-authors of the articles. To be the main author, Trung must be the main writer and implement the experiments.



Trung is a student with great passion for scientific research and he cherishes hopes of flying high, Duc said.



Asked to talk about his strong points, Trung said he can easily adapt to new circumstances and is always curious about subjects in natural sciences. Curiosity is important for scientific researchers, he said.

Le Huyen

Scientific research: spending is high, but results are few Universities and local authorities spend big money on scientific research, but the results remain unclear.
Iraq's independence, political stability of high importance to Iran: President Rouhani

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 1:31 PM

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic attaches great importance to independence and political stability of Iraq, adding that Tehran will continue to stand by Baghdad in line with both countries' interests.

"Independence of Iraq as well as political stability, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country are very important to us," Rouhani said in a Monday phone call with new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

He added that Iran has always stood by Iraq in line with both nations' interests, adding, "We need to keep a sharp lookout for plotters who have targeted the interests of Iraq and [other] regional nations."

The Iranian president stressed the importance of establishing peace and stability in the region and said, "As we proved in the fight against [the] Daesh [terrorist group] that we stand by the Iraqi nation, we will continue to fully back this country's government to help it secure the country's stability and development."

Rouhani further called for promoting bilateral economic cooperation and cross-border trade, activating border markets and implementing previously signed agreements for the development of the two countries' joint oil pipeline and completing a railroad link in Shalamcheh region, as well as dredging Arvand River.

Iraq keen to boost all-out relations with Iran: Kadhimi

The Iraqi prime minister, for his part, described Iran as a friendly country and key player in the region and said Baghdad would never forget Tehran's help to restore security and stability to Iraq, particularly in the battle against Daesh terrorists.

Iraq calls for strengthening of relations with Iran in all fields, Kadhimi added.

He emphasized that the re-opening of land borders and resuming exchanges of goods would promote economic relations between the two countries.

In a congratulatory message to Kadhimi on Sunday, Rouhani expressed hope that during his tenure, Tehran and Baghdad would witness further expansion of relations in all areas and work more diligently to establish peace and stability in the region given the deep-rooted and historical ties between the two neighboring and Muslim nations.

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[May 12, 2020] Amazon, Apple, Beyonce, Patagonia, JP Morgan Chase, BMW Among Trademarks that are Protecting their Brand with .dealer Domains

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of the world's most recognized brands  Amazon, Apple, Beyonce - registered with top-level domain (TLD) .dealer Domains last week during the launch of its sunrise period for trademarks. Retailers and dealers across all industries recognize the need to protect, promote, and defend their brands in today's all-digital world, and .dealer instantly signals authenticity and gives online shoppers confidence they are engaging with an approved dealer or retailer. "We are thrilled with the early response to .dealer Domains among trademarks; brands like Rolex, Google, and Mercedes Benz clearly understand the value in protecting not just their own assets, but protecting their online customers as well," says Andy Macleay, co-founder of .dealer Domains. "As more businesses are forced to operate online, it creates more competition  legitimate and otherwise - which could lead to lost customers, missed revenue opportunities, and brand dilution. When consumers are looking for a brand or business online, they will easily find them and know it's legitimate with the .dealer domain." .dealer was launched with the current and future state-of-the-internet issues in mind. Today, brands rely on the dealers and retailers that sell their products  from Patagonia apparel to iPhones to Kindles - to do so with integrity. The rise in online retailers has accelerated due to the pandemic which forced more businesses to operae, almost exclusively, online, resulting in a sea spray of lookalike businesses and a muddled search experience for consumers.



Looking ahead, there will be an inevitable future categorization of the internet. Just like area codes rolled out in the last century, so too will domain names emerge across the internet to direct traffic, automate searches, and support scalability. "Consumers do much, if not all, of their research and shopping online, even for high priced goods like a timepiece or high-end kitchen appliance. It seems only logical to make that process as simple, intuitive and seamless as possible," continued Macleay. "Dealers must distinguish their brand or business among the millions of .coms."

The premium priced .dealer can be leveraged across multiple marketing platforms, from social media ads to radio to billboards. .dealer Domains is available exclusively to trademark holders until June 1, at which time registration will be open to general availability. The premium pricing model is designed to maintain the availability of desirable domains for dealers at one flat fee. About .dealer Domains

.dealer Domains is a new domain registry focused on brands who are looking to differentiate themselves among the commodity of .com's. The company will launch globally on June 24, 2020, and be available to trademark holders beginning on March 25, 2020. .dealer Domains is owned by Intercap Registry Inc., which owns and operates leading internet media businesses with a vision of building long term value, trust, and credibility. For more information or to begin your registration process, email [email protected] or visit www.get.dealer View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-apple-beyonce-patagonia-jp-morgan-chase-bmw-among-trademarks-that-are-protecting-their-brand-with-dealer-domains-301057292.html SOURCE .dealer Domains

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The house of representatives has asked the federal government to stop the relocation of almajiri kids to their home states. At Tuesdays p...





The house of representatives has asked the federal government to stop the relocation of almajiri kids to their home states.

At Tuesdays plenary session, the lower legislative chamber argued that such an action is against the fundamental rights of the children.

This followed a motion sponsored by Aishatu Dukku of Dukku and Nafada constituency in Gombe state.

Usually, between the age of four and 15 years, the almajiri kids are put in the care of Islamic teachers who instruct them on Quranic knowledge.

Most of them end up begging for alms and food in their neighbourhoods as these teachers are often unable to meet their needs.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of governors, mostly in the north, have been returning almajiri children to their home states.

The lawmakers said the governors are subjecting the children to untold hardship.

The nature and manner which they are being transported is dehumanising and has brought them pain and untold hardship, they said.

They said some of the almajiri kids face rejection from their families and are left to suffer in the face of the pandemic.

They also said in the course of transporting them to their home states, the governors have breached the inter-state ban being enforced by the federal government.

The house, therefore, asked the presidential task force on COVID-19 to direct the state governors to stop repatriating the children and provide for their basic education instead.

They also asked the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management to include the children among the beneficiaries of the palliatives being distributed to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
Press Release

12 May 2020

London, UK - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector has unveiled a range of new worldwide measures to restart the sector.

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The measures have been designed to rebuild confidence among consumers so they can travel safely once the restrictions are lifted.

The new Safe Travels protocols provide consistency to destinations and countries as well as guidance to travel providers, operators, and travellers, about the new approach to health and hygiene in the post COVID-19 world.

The health and safety of travellers and workers is put at the heart of the new global protocols, which have been drawn up by WTTC Members. Based on the best available medical evidence, following guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they also avoid the emergence of multiple standards, which would only delay the sector's recovery.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: "We have learned from the past, especially after the tragedy of 9/11, where the lack of coordination among governments and with the private sector caused long-lasting travel disruption, higher costs and a longer recovery time.

"Coordination and alignment within the Travel & Tourism sector is vital to ensure that robust global measures are put in place to help rebuild confidence and which are jointly embraced by the governments and private sector.

"We are delighted that for the first time ever, the global private sector has aligned around these new Safe Travels protocols which will create consistency across the sector. Now we are calling on governments to adopt them so that they can be implemented globally and restore much-needed confidence in order to restart the Travel & Tourism sector."

Evidence from WTTC's Crisis Readiness report, which looked at 90 different types of crises, highlights the importance of public-private cooperation to ensure that smart policies and effective communities are in place to enable a more resilient Travel & Tourism sector.

WTTC, is devising the new Safe Travels protocols following close consultation with its Members, as well as industry associations like Airports Council International (ACI), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), to bring confidence back and set clear expectations of what travellers may front in their next trip.

These will apply across the main industries within Travel & Tourism including hospitality, aviation, airports, cruise operators, retail, transportation, MICE and tour operators amongst others.

Detailed discussions are taking place with key stakeholders and organisations in each industry within the sector to ensure maximum buy-in, alignment and practical implementation, with hospitality and retail guidelines being released today.

The WTTC initiative has been backed by top CEOs and business leaders from across the Travel & Tourism sector.

Chris Nassetta, WTTC Chairman and Hilton's President & CEO, said: "We see green shoots of hope emerging as our global community turns its attention toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But we know that travellers will only venture out into the world again when they feel it is safe to do so, making it critically important that we give them the confidence and peace of mind they need.

"The global protocols WTTC has laid out are designed to align the travel and tourism industry around consistent health and safety guidelines that will help protect travellers wherever their journey takes them."

Federico J. Gonzalez, Radisson Hospitality President & CEO, said: "We need to make sure that the travel industry speaks the same language and each consumer understands what safety means in hotels, regardless of their location. Having a common worldwide protocol will allow consumers to recognise the same safety standards wherever they travel.

"The WTTC Safe Travels protocols will make this same language possible for the benefit of everybody in this industry. This is the reason why Radisson Hotel Group fully supports this initiative and is looking forward to helping expand the WTTC Safe Travels protocols as much as possible, across the globe."

Keith Barr, InterContinental Hotels Group Chief Executive, said: "As an industry, we have always made the safety and wellbeing of guests and colleagues our top priority. IHG is proud to support the WTTC in shaping this best practice guidance in areas such as cleanliness and hygiene, all underpinned by the most relevant training and preparedness for hotel teams.

"This important work illustrates how our industry can come together to provide the reassurance and confidence that will be so important as people return to travel."

Brett Tollman, Travel Corporation Chief Executive, said: "Our industry faces and existential threat. We need to define new protocols and measures to get people's confidence to travel again, for leisure and business. WTTC is best positioned to help work with us and governments to define those together.

"We believe WTTC is best suited to work with all governments, the WHO and other necessary organisations to agree how we are going to operate in the new 'abnormal'. Let's put our differences aside, come together and expeditiously with WTTC define these new protocols and measures, get them in front of governments, get them signed off and let's get out there, convincing people to travel again with all of us."

Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, said: "For us and our partners, the safety of travellers is always our top priority. We are more than happy to see that WTTC is setting global standards to ensure a safe experience and bringing confidence back to all travellers."

Alex Zozaya, Apple Leisure Group President, said: "I'm deeply concerned about the travel today all over the world, we must regain the trust on the traveller. We have to avoid the confusion and the uncertainty that prevails in the market today. The WTTC has created these universal protocols, that hopefully, as us, you will embrace happily. We thank them for their support."

Pansy Ho, Shun Tak Holdings Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director, said: "Shun Tak, being a committed investor in regional transportation, integrated hotel and destinations across Hong Kong, Macau and China, fully supports WTTC's efforts in driving the rebound of the tourism sector.

"We stand in solidarity with WTTC to embrace travel and tourism once again, under the valuable guidelines set out in the 'Global Guidance', putting safety, health, security and sustainability as priorities as we unite to revitalize our industry."

Gabriel Escarrer, Melia Hotels International Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, said: "Safe travel and health confidence are the new priorities, and are here to stay: the pandemic is a common concern for companies and destinations throughout the world.

"It is a shared responsibility for us to all work together and offer global health and safety standards against COVID-19. We therefore welcome the Global standards approved by WTTC, which belong to all of us."

Kike Sarasola, Room Mate President and Founder, said: "The WTTC is promoting very good initiatives and I really think that's the way to do it. We have to work together. We as a private sector know how to deal with our sector. Public sector should listen to us; we want to help."

Sabina Fluxa, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts Vice-Chairman and CEO, said: "This crisis has shown the importance of global coordination to overcome the vulnerability of the tourism industry and become more resilient. We cannot work with heterogeneous measures depending on each country: we must face the new scenario with global standards that guarantee the sustainability of our sector.

"It is very important to keep an eye on the medium and long term and incorporate health safety as a new pillar of global sustainability. Health and environment will be the key axes of a resilient tourism policy."

Carlos Munoz, Managing Director, Hotelbeds: "This important measure not only gives our sector greater clarity on COVID-19 response best practice, it will also give greater confidence to travellers when booking a hotel and thus help the tourism sector recover more quickly. That's why at Hotelbeds we will back this initiative and additionally are working on including information about this in our distribution for travelers to consider when reserving a hotel."

Frank Rainieri, Grupo Puntacana Chairman and Founder, said: "We have to congratulate the World Travel & Tourism Council for its leadership and publishing these global guidelines for the re-opening of our industry.

"This pandemic has done significant damage to the value of our industry and we must lead this process of recovery and ensure people that the hospitality sector is safe with the best operational guidance and protocols to make our sector unique. The WTTC will help to renew the consumer's confidence in travel which is the most important goal now to every one of us."

Shirley Tan, Rajawali Property Group CEO, said: "Tourism recovery is vital to prevent millions of people from being driven into extreme poverty. Rajawali Property Group, one of the leading hotel investment and development companies in Southeast Asia, fully supports WTTC global initiatives to bring together governments and private sectors to put in place critical global standards and protocols to ensure safe travel, accelerate global tourism recovery, and reshape travel & tourism industry for the future."

Hugo Desenzani, Libertador Hotels CEO, said: "For the first time in recent history we face a shutdown of travel as we know it. The good news is that no pandemic will take away our deeply rooted desire to explore and discover and we will travel again soon.

"Because a global problem requires a global solution, we fully support the WTTC and their initiative of consistent, global safety guidelines, which will allow our guests to travel and feel safe."

WTTC has divided the new guidance into five pillars including restarting operations; ensuring the traveller experience is safe and secure; rebuilding trust and confidence; innovation; and implementing enabling policies.

Measures being announced today include:

Hotels/Hospitality

Key measures include:

Revisit guidance for cleaning teams for all areas of the hotel with a specific focus on high-frequency touch points, such as room key cards

Ensure social distancing for guests through signage and guidelines including lifts

Retrain staff in infection control, social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures, including hand washing and the use of masks and gloves

All extraneous items should be removed throughout the hotel

Integrate technologies to enable automation, such as introducing contactless payments where possible

Offer room service using no-contact delivery methods

Have clear, consistent and enhanced communication with customers on new health and hygiene safety protocols, both digitally and physically at hotels

Safe reopening of Food and Beverage outlets and Meeting and Events spaces with specific actions to ensure social distancing, disinfection and food safety.

Retail

Key Measures include:

Deep cleaning regimes

Staff should be fully familiar and trained in the new policies, including social distancing, the use of thermal scanning and the wearing of face masks

Social distancing should be observed in stores through special visual markers

Minimise touch points by introducing digital maps, digital queue management, e-menus, virtual personal shopping and roving concierges

Promote contactless payments and email receipts wherever possible by providing complimentary WIFI to encourage take up

Hand sanitisers at shop entrances and exits, as well as at intervals inside premises and in bathrooms.

In cafes, restaurants and other food outlets, all menus to be available digitally

Special attention placed to seating and queue management in line with social distancing requirements

Capacity limits should be introduced in retail car parks to prevent overcrowding.

Additional and separate measures for the Aviation and Cruise sectors are still in development and will be announced in due course.

Both sectors, which have always had high health and safety standards, are reassessing their protocols, with new measures around hygiene, deep cleansing and social distancing being analysed.

According to WTTC'S 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.

View the reports
A 35-year-old Russian influencer got a lot of backlash after announcing her upcoming marriage to the 20-year-old stepson she helped raise for 10 years.

Marina Balmasheva, who rose to fame in Russia for documenting her weight-loss adventure online, is getting a lot of attention these days, because of her controversial new romantic relationship. Shortly after divorcing her 45-year-old husband, to whom she had been married for 1o years, the Instagram influencer announced that she was romantically involved with her 20-year-old stepson, Vladimir. The couple reportedly plan on tying the knot in the near future and having children of their own

Photo: Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash

The announcement was enough to stir up a heated debate in conservative Russi, but for some reason Balmasheva thought that it would be a good idea to post side by side photos of her and Vladimir when she was 22 and he was 7-years-old, and now, as a couple. This really upped the negative feedback up to extreme, with many calling her behavior immoral.

You never know how life will turn out and when you will meet a person who makes you smile, Marina Balmasheva wrote on Instagram. I know that some will judge us, others will support us, but we are happy and wish you to be as well.

Balmasheva and her former husband, Aleksy, had adopted five children together, plus the two boys he had from a previous marriage. Apparently she had also wanted to have children of her own, and Russian media had speculated that one of the causes for their breakup was the inability to conceive.

Ananova News reports that the womans relationship with Vladimir developed as she struggled with her weight, dropping 58 kilograms from the 132 kilograms she weighed initially. When they both realized that they shared a mutual attraction, they went public.

Many of Marinas fans reacted negatively to the announcement of her new lover and their plans to get married, and they werent the only ones. Child services have now taken away five of her adoptive children and placed them with her ex-husband. She was told that even though she can still see the children every now and then, she cant take them away for days at a time, or post photos and videos of them online.

We had some sort of agreement with the child services. I was supposed to have a deal with them and they would not make trouble for me or Aleksey (her ex-husband). They would not oppose us seeing each other, would not prohibit me taking the children. But I got played, Balmasheva told Russian reporters.

It is unclear whether Marina Balmasheva plans to appeal the decision to have her children taken away, but her relationship with Vladimir is moving forward, as are their plans for a wedding. meanwhile, they are trying to ignore all the negative feedback and crude online comments.

What shocks me most is that this boy grew up before her very eyes, one Instagram user wrote, while others made jokes about Marina trading in her older ex-husband for a newer model.
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12.05.2020 LISTEN

Indeed, we are not in normal times as the COVID-19 pandemic is raging on and spreading across the world. According to the ILO Monitor of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified and expanded across the globe. Full or partial lockdown measures have also affected almost 2.7 billion workers, representing around 81 per cent of the world's workforce. As a result, businesses across a range of industries and sectors are facing terrible losses, which threaten their operations and very existence, particularly among smaller enterprises, while millions of workers are vulnerable to income loss and layoffs. The ILO estimates that 1.25 billion workers, representing almost 38 per cent of the global workforce, are employed in sectors that are now facing a severe decline in output and a high risk of workforce displacement. Key sectors affected include airlines, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing.

There are on-going discussions among business owners and HR practitioners on the appropriate measures businesses could take to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations. Indeed, with no end of the virus in sight, the very survival of businesses is threatened. As a result of this, businesses are putting in place various mitigating measures in order to stay in business and remain as going concerns. Such mitigating measures have included extreme ones like pay cuts and layoffs.

Employee layoffs have already begun on a large scale in many countries. As a result, employment losses are rising rapidly around the world. For instance, Virgin Airline is reported to have laid off 3000 workers including 600 pilots. In Ghana, some companies in the hospitality industry, are said to have laid off some of their workers. Some private universities have also resorted to pay cuts; with some cutting pays as much as 70% and paying their workers as low as 30% of their salaries. It is obvious that if things do not improve, these institutions may lay off their workers completely. A lot more companies are contemplating to lay off some workers if things do not improve soon.

However, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA), Alex Frimpong, is said to have indicated that, the Association does not expect its members to lay off workers to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their bottom line. The Chief Executive Officer has expressed that, the last decision that businesses in the country will want to take in this crisis time is to lay off some of their workers. Indeed, I very much agree with him. In spite of this call by the GEA, the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah is reported to have said that an ongoing research by the Labour Research and Policy Institute of TUC, shows the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on jobs and livelihoods in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. He indicated that some companies have laid off casual and contract workers because they are struggling to pay their business loans, workers' salaries and social security, among other obligations. Some companies have also stopped all overtime work which has resulted in a drastic reduction of the incomes of their workers. This implies that, if things do not improve, many workers will lose their jobs; and as a result, their livelihoods.

It is clear from the foregoing that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a toll on businesses and employment. As a business owner I see the devasting effect of the pandemic first hand, and I feel its impact severely. As I write this article, my company has postponed our previously scheduled training programmes till after the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to the loss of income to the company during this period. All our recruitment activities with our clients have stalled because their businesses have been hit by the pandemic; and as a result, they are for now, no longer hiring staff. Some of our clients are also working from home and so our engagement with them have been on hold for some time now, obviously affecting our cashflow. We have closed our offices and are working from home now to cut down on our operational costs. I believe I am not alone in this. There are other micro, small and medium-sized companies that are also going through similar challenges that threaten their very survival.

As a Human Resource Professional and Consultant, however, I suggest that businesses should not be quick to lay off staff as a mitigating measure of the impact of the pandemic on their bottom line. There are other options that I believe could be explored to ensure that the impact of the pandemic is mitigated without costing employees their jobs. In fact, laying off workers should be the last resort as expressed by the CEO of the Ghana Employers Association. Before I touch on these options, let me stress that the employment relationship is governed by law and terms of contract. However, where an unforeseen circumstance like COVID-19 happens that makes the performance of the terms of contract impossible, the parties may rely on the force majeure provision within the contract for the renegotiation of the contract terms, suspension or termination of the employment. For unionised employees, the Collective Agreement (CA) may contain the relevant terms to be negotiated on during a crisis such as COVID-19. The suggestions and options I propose are however given in the context of an employment contract without a force majeure provision or CA.

Firstly, I suggest that management of businesses should have an honest conversation with their staff concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their bottom line. I think that most employees are reasonable enough to understand that their fortunes are tied to the fortunes of the companies they work for. Management of businesses should also elicit suggestions from their employees on actions that the business could take to lessen the impact of the pandemic on their bottom-line. The winning idea may come from the shop floor person who is least expected to give such an idea.

Secondly, I propose that businesses who cannot afford to keep all their staff on their full salaries should rearrange the working hours of employees by either reducing their working hours or workload; and negotiate a pay cut with them. This would allow the businesses to keep all the employees rather than laying some of them off. I believe most employees would rather prefer a cut in their salaries to an outright loss of their jobs. It is good that companies negotiate with employees on pay cuts rather than imposing it on them to avoid a backlash. I have heard stories of companies who have indicated their intention of a pay cut and have been fiercely resisted by their staff due to lack of engagement with the employees. I strongly suggest that before such decisions are taken, management of businesses should have an extensive engagement with all staff and make them understand the rationale behind that decision. I would also strongly advise employees to appreciate the enormity of the impact of the pandemic on businesses; understand management's perspective and accept a pay cut if that is what will help the company to survive in these difficult times.

Further, I propose that companies that cannot afford to keep their staff even with rearrangement of their working hours and pay cuts could consider the option of special leave without pay. This way, companies do not have to pay their staff and employees do not have to lose their jobs. Employees should be well engaged and be made to understand that if the business improves, they would be called back from their leave. I believe this will help reduce the impact of the pandemic on job losses. I would also advise employees who will go on leave without pay to use the leave period to develop themselves and their skills. They should take advantage of free online courses to improve on their skills and expertise and come back to work better.

Let me conclude by reiterating that companies should not be quick to lay off workers. Indeed, we are not in normal times; and so, both employers and employees must work together to lessen the impact of the pandemic on businesses and on employees. However, any option that an organisation chooses to adopt must be with the consent of the employee. In all these, I suggest that employers should respect the specific terms of the contract governing the employer-employee relationship, as well as the requirements and guidelines imposed by the Government of Ghana in these COVID-19 times.

The writer, Mrs Patricia Abena Kissi, is an HR and business consultant, and the CEO of SEDAT Consult Limited. SEDAT Consult provides business support in the areas of recruitment, staff and HR outsourcing, training and development, compensation and benefits management, HR advisory, and business development to meet the business, staffing and training needs of start-ups and SMEs, as well as well-established companies in the country. Our mission is to ease the business burdens of organisations through the provision of innovative, practical training, research, and human resources solutions using proven techniques to address the business needs of our clients.

You may contact us on: +233 (0) 24 4629245 / +233 (0) 50 8913333

www.sedatconsult.com.gh; [email protected]
Scientists in Senegal have started validating inexpensive, rapid test kits that could make the fight against the coronavirus in Africa a lot simpler.

The test kits would show results within 10 minutes and are expected to be available in June, Ousmane Faye, head of the virology department at Institut Pasteur de Dakar, said on Tuesday.

African countries could then afford the test kit at a low price, he said.

The test kit consists of an antigen test and an antibody test.

The antigen test can detect protein fragments of the coronavirus from nasal swabs or saliva, whereas the antibody tests use tiny blood samples to detect signs of prior viral infection.

The institute is validating the test kits, which were developed by a British company Mologic. They will be manufactured by the diaTropix disease testing facility in Senegal.

According to Mologic, the device would allow for users to test at home and provide a result within 10 minutes without the need for special training, electricity or a laboratory.

The company said this will be the first time that a diagnostic kit created in Britain would be jointly manufactured in Africa.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the lack of coronavirus tests is now one of the biggest problems on the African continent.

Kenya, for example, has only been able to test 1,000 samples a day whereas laboratories in Germany are able to test more than 150,000 a day, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

(dpa/NAN)
Chennai, May 12 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami has urged the central government not to operate regular trains to Chennai till the Covid-19 spread is controlled.

In a letter to the Centre, the state government also said the railways would initially quarantine about 1,100 passengers coming by the Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani Express on May 14.

In a statement, the state government said Palaniswami had requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal not to operate regular trains to Chennai till the Covid-19 pandemic was controlled.

The railways announced operation of the Delhi-Chennai and the Chennai-Delhi Rajdhani Express on May 14 and May 16. Barring these two trains, there will be no regular services.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Railway Minister Goyal, Palanswami said all train passengers to Chennai would have to the tested for coronavirus. As it was not possible to test around 1,000 passengers, the railways would have to quarantine them and the state government would take the samples in a day or two, it said.

Soon after the test results, the state government will take coronavirus positive persons to hospital and the others to quarantine centres.
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Israel's demolition policy sign of failure to stop resistance: Hamas

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 3:30 PM

The resistance movement Hamas says Israel's persistence in demolishing Palestinian homes is manifestation of its failure to crush the Palestinian cause.

In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian resistance movement denounced the demolition policy as "clear reflection of the Israeli occupation's failure to deter the Palestinian resistance and its fighters and prevent them from carrying out attrition operations against its settlement project in the West Bank."

The statement came hours after Israeli forces, in a dawn raid, embarked on demolishing a house belonging to the family of Palestinian prisoner Qassam al-Barghouthi in the town of Kobar in the occupied West Bank.

According to a report by the Palestinian Information Center, following the demolition, crowds gathered at the site and protested against the Israeli regime.

Israeli soldiers responded as usual in their regular manner.

They attacked the protesters with rubber bullets and a volley of tear gas and stun grenades, wounding at least one protester in his face, the report added.

The report said a military jeep caught fire when local youths threw Molotov cocktail at it during the protest.

Barghouthi was abducted by Israeli forces in September last year and since then has been exposed to harsh interrogation and physical torture, the report said, adding that he was accused of carrying out an alleged bombing operation at Ein Bubin spring near the Israeli settlement of Dolev in August 2019.

Hamas also paid tribute to the prisoner's family for their steadfastness against all punitive practices by Israel that have targeted them since the Ein Bubin operation in Ramallah.

The Gaza-based resistance movement also warned Tel Aviv that it would pay dearly for its crimes against Palestinian families and prisoners and martyrs.

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Puro Politics is a weekly podcast hosted by columnist Gilbert Garcia, covering the drama and nuance of local government issues.

Produced by Joy-Marie Scott.

Listen and subscribe on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher TuneIn & RSS All Episodes

Last week, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg submitted an op-ed to the Express-News, calling for a new round of federal aid to help U.S. cities navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nirenberg (in conjunction with 14 other Texas mayors) commended Congress for stepping up for states and cities with the $2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act in late March. The mayor noted, however, that CARES Act funding lacks the flexibility that cities will need to overcome this crisis.

Nirenbergs plea comes at a time when the city is facing a projected $200 million budgetary hole and has 270 employees who have been furloughed.

On ExpressNews.com: COVID-19 blasts $200 million hole in San Antonio city budget

The citys fiscal predicament was a topic of discussion on this weeks episode of the Express-News Puro Politics podcast.

Greg Jefferson, the Express-News business editor, pointed out that the city received $270 million in federal stimulus funds, but those funds come with a catch: Theyre supposed to address costs created by the coronavirus outbreak and cant be used to cover a budget hole.

Nominally, the stimulus funds are there to pay for medical and public health services that are brought about because of the coronavirus, Jefferson said. But beyond that its pretty wide open. There are a lot of things you could spend this money on that would fit within the parameters of the regulation.

That includes perennial local concerns such as workforce development and housing security.

If you look at the rules for the stimulus fund for cities and counties, its four pages long. That may sound long, but for a typical city contract, youre talking about dozens of pages of rules and definitions. So theres a pretty wide berth here to do what you want with that funding. But apart from not spending it on current budget problems, you also have to spend most of it, under these rules, by Dec. 30. So the City Council and city staff are going to be under a lot of pressure.

Hear this and other issues discussed on this weeks edition of Puro Politics.

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
kidsstoppress.com held by Kidsstoppress Media Pvt. Ltd today released findings from The Digital Usage of the Indian Mom Survey. kidsstoppress.com was established as a parenting platform 7 years ago and sees Marico, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson & Johnson, Kotak, ICICI, Viacom 18, P&G, Netflix, Abbott, Amazon, Google, and many other brands in the 28  45 year segment. Aiming to provide a deeper understanding about the preferences and behaviours of Indian mothers, the survey highlights the internet usage of moms when they are starting a family, with young kids and with kids under 12 years. The survey was just concluded amidst the COVID 19 a crisis where digital and online interactions and learnings were every mom's best friend and a window to the outside world.

Conducted online by Kidsstoppress.com, The Digital Usage of Indian Moms Survey assessed 2000 moms across SEC A and B moms in the age group of 24 to 45 years. The nationwide survey targeted working mothers as well as homemakers, across Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Indore, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Nagpur, Kolkata and Mumbai.

According to the survey, 36% of moms across India say that Instagram has emerged as a discovery platform for them where they are discovering new products and services. 23% of mom Google parenting tips followed by Cooking tips. 30% of moms shop online for themselves and family.

87% of moms access the web through their phones. 38% of moms feel inspired by social influencers and would use the products they recommend. TV emerged as the least favourite medium to connect after childbirth followed by Newspapers & Outdoor. On the other hand WhatsApp & Instagram emerged as a clear number 1 and 2 respectively.

55% of moms said they are less likely to share anything on social media. 32% moms believe their favourite parenting platform should be an app, while 22% said it should be social media and 18% said it must be a website.

Amazon emerged as the most used E-commerce platform at 22% and Instagram is a clear winner as most used apps by mom after Whatsapp.

53% of moms preferred to not share their kids pictures online.

33% of moms chose to passive surf on internet while 28% preferred to discover something new on the internet.

Commenting on the survey findings, Ms. Mansi Zaveri, Founder & CEO, Kidsstoppress Media Pvt. Limited said, The new age Indian mom is in a quest to give the best to her child and she is constantly searching the best products and services. Social media and trusted parenting platforms such as kidsstoppress.com have now emerged as her first circle of influence. She is spending 2 - 3 hours of her waking time on the internet and therefore it is imperative to start communicating with her through this medium. This survey will help a lot of brands rethink their brand and communication strategies. Marketers can use the survey results to plan their budgets especially in these uncertain times where traditional mediums like print, radio and outdoors have taken a massive beating. With TV except news channel being unable to produce any new content for the next 6 - 8 weeks, digital media is going to see a huge surge and understanding consumers better is your best bet to achieve higher ROI.

Kidsstoppress launches its research vertical with this survey and this will be first of the many research reports that are scheduled to be released this year.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  On a cold, gray winter day, Stephen Secor drove to the outskirts of town to catch up with some old friends. He pulled into the driveway of David and Amber Nelson, who welcomed him into their converted basement, filled with stacks of refrigerator-size, glass-doored cages. Each cage contained a massive snake. Some of the Nelsons pythons and boa constrictors were recent adoptions from Dr. Secors lab, a few miles to the west at the University of Alabama.

Dr. Secor and Mr. Nelson, a product manager at a local car parts factory, hoisted the snakes one at a time out of their cages.

Hello, Monty, hows my sweetheart? Dr. Secor asked a tan Burmese python as it slithered up his shoulders. Montys a good snake, arent you?

Oh yeah, Mr. Nelson said, as if he was referring to his toy Pomeranian upstairs. But Mr. Nelson never let his guard down, even as he let another snake flick its tongue over his eyebrow. Any of these could kill you if you let it, he said, somehow cheerfully.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

An 18-year-old man was arrested after allegedly striking an officer and two police vehicles while trying to flee in South San Francisco early Tuesday morning, according to police.

Officers had responded about 4:10 a.m. to a hotel parking lot in the 600 block of Gateway Boulevard on a report of someone looking into parked cars with a flashlight.

They contacted Moris Ruiz-Canizales sitting inside what was later determined to be a stolen 2018 Toyota Camry, and tried to arrest him, but he reversed the vehicle and struck an officer in the right hip, police said.

Ruiz-Canizales then fled from the parking lot in the Camry, hitting two police cars as he drove away. However, his vehicle then became disabled on a nearby roadway's center island and Ruiz-Canizales fled on foot, according to police.

He did not initially comply with orders to surrender and a police K-0 was used to help take him into custody. A search of the Camry also found a loaded firearm, narcotics and paraphernalia, according to police.

Ruiz-Canizales was taken to a hospital to be treated for dog bite wounds, and was later booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of felony assault on an officer, evading police, possession of a stolen vehicle, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of narcotics, police said.

The Police Department did not specify whether the officer struck in the hip required any medical attention.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
The Black Keys have canceled their 2020 tour dates, including a St. Joes Amp concert, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Grammy-winning rock band was scheduled to perform three shows in Upstate New York at the Darien Lake Amphitheater near Buffalo on Aug. 14; the St. Josephs Health Amphitheater in Syracuse on Aug. 15; and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs on Aug. 16.

Gary Clark Jr. and Yola were set to open all three shows.

We are very disappointed to let you know the U.S. Lets Rock Summer tour is no longer happening, the Black Keys said in a statement. We were looking forward to seeing you all out there, but the health and safety of our fans and crew has to take priority. We hope to see you all soon. Please stay safe!

Live Nation says ticketholders will be contacted directly about refund options.

For shows at Live Nation venues (like the St. Joes Amp), ticketholders can either receive a refund or choose to opt in to receive the refund as a 150% credit in Concert Cash towards buying future tickets. Live Nation says if you choose the latter option, the company will donate one ticket for each ticket you originally purchased towards healthcare workers through its Hero Nation program.

Its the fourth concert at the Syracuse amphitheater to be disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Zac Brown Band also canceled its May 31 concert at the Amp; Thomas Rhett rescheduled his performance for Aug. 6; and Dave Matthews Band moved a July show to next year. Two dozen other concerts are still tentatively scheduled for the Syracuse amphitheater this summer.

St. Josephs Health Amphitheater at Lakeview 2020 lineup

MORE ON CANCELED CONCERTS

How to get refunds on concert tickets: Ticketmaster, Live Nation launch relief plan

Jim Gaffigan cancels Syracuse comedy show due to coronavirus

Dropkick Murphys cancels tour with Rancid, including Western NY show

Journey cancels 2020 tour, including three Upstate NY dates
A man who wore a Ku Klux Klan-style pointed hood to a San Diego-area store this month will not be charged, the sheriff's office said Monday.

The man, who was not identified by authorities, wore the hood in a Vons grocery store in Santee, California, on May 2.

"The man expressed frustration with the coronavirus and having people tell him what he can and cannot do. He said that wearing the hood was not intended to be a racial statement. In summary, he said, 'It was a mask and it was stupid,'" the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Image: Hooded shopper (Tiam Tellez)

San Diego County health officials on May 1 required people to wear face coverings when in places where people come within 6 feet of others, such as grocery stores. The measures are aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus illness, COVID-19.

The sheriff's office said that it, the U.S. attorney's office and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office investigated and found insufficient evidence to charge the man.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The sheriff's office cited the Supreme Court in saying even hateful speech is protected.

"This incident should serve as a reminder for anyone contemplating wearing or displaying items so closely associated with hate and human suffering that our society does not hold in high regard those who do so," the sheriff's department said in the statement.

"Santee is a city of families, and the community is rightfully disgusted at this man's despicable behavior. The Sheriff's Department thoroughly investigates incidents such as these and will hold those who violate the law accountable," it said.

As of Monday, more than 68,700 cases of COVID-19 had been identified in California, with more than 2,700 deaths, according to an NBC News count and the state health department.

The incident was not the only one involving racially charged masks in the city. On Thursday, the sheriff's department was called to a disturbance at a Food 4 Less grocery store and found a man wearing a mask with a swastika symbol on it.

Story continues

The man removed the symbol when asked, the sheriff's department said.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Mayor John Minto said in a video statement Sunday that he was saddened and angered by what he called the incidents of intolerance. "The Santee City Council, its citizens and I stand resolute in our indignation of such displays," Minto said.

Santee is a city of around 58,000 northeast of San Diego.
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today BloomBoard and ExcEL Leadership Academy announced that their combined approach to professional learning using competency-based micro-credentials has been recognized by the Rhode Island Department of Education as an official endorsement pathway in the area of multilingual learners.

BloomBoard ExcEl Leadership Academy - A Tiered Approach to Micro-credentials in Career Advancement - Working with English Learners Honeycomb

Many of Rhode Island's classroom teachers and education support staff are doing their best to work with Multilingual Learners (MLLs), but they often lack the training and support that would help them  and their students  succeed. The partnership will provide better overall school outcomes in Rhode Island by preparing K-12 teachers to work with MLLs. Using a tiered, micro-credential approach that is geared toward mainstream teachers, the endorsement pathway blends effective adult learning and instruction practices for MLLs, in which teachers progress at their own rate and demonstrate their mastery of best practices.

"This competency-based, digitally-supported professional development tool provides a great opportunity for administrators, teachers and especially students to thrive," said Joseph DiMartino, a parent, educator, and school board member in Rhode Island. "Through this effort, teachers in Rhode Island will be given the chance to hone their skills at reaching and teaching the large number of English Learners we have here in Rhode Island. And, because of its availability, it provides the support necessary for all teachers to become adept at teaching all students, including English Learners."

According to Laureen Avery, ExcEL Leadership Academy Director, "This endorsement opens up a highly effective, low cost mechanism to rapidly improve the efficacy of teachers across the state, while making powerful and positive impacts on Rhode Island students."

As educators develop and demonstrate their skill for working with MLLs, some may choose to go further in their professional learning and become an MLL specialist. In Rhode Island, educators demonstrating competence in all 12 ExcEL micro-credential areas will be able to add the Multilingual Learner Endorsement to their existing RI teaching certificate.

"Our goal is to provide educators with opportunities to improve their classroom practice in ways that enhance student outcomes, and to advance in their careers and compensation in the process," said Sanford Kenyon, CEO of BloomBoard. "Partnering with ExcEL to support Multilingual Learners in Rhode Island is a perfect example of our goal in action."

About ExcEL Leadership Academy

The mission of the ExcEL Leadership Academy is to provide professional learning opportunities for all teachers to support high quality, equitable education for English Learners. We believe every teacher wants, and needs, the skills needed to ensure English Learners are successful in their classrooms. ExcEL provides personalized, collaborative, purposeful professional learning. Our main technique includes the use of a micro-credential approach to provide recognition for learning through job-embedded, portfolio-based experiences. The ExcEL Leadership Academy is partly supported by funding from the US Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition through the National Professional Development program awards #T365Z170196 and #T365Z160244.

About BloomBoard

Founded in 2010, BloomBoard is leading the shift from professional development to educator advancement via micro-certification. The company partners with states and districts to enable a unique online learning experience where educators improve their instructional practice and advance in their careers by earning micro-credentials. BloomBoard aims to help all organizations transition to meaningful, purpose-driven educator development and advancement based on measurable certification. For more information, visit bloomboard.com.

Press contact

Michael Rutkowski

[email protected]

801-850-8578

SOURCE BloomBoard

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A former Governor of Abia State, Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu has remained in Kuje Prison because the judgement of the Supreme Court does not affect him.

The Apex Court, it was learnt, did not issue any order for Kalus release because he did not file any application for such.

The judgement only covers the Appellant, Mr. Ude Jones Udeogu, who challenged the propriety of a Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Mohammed Idris to try him.

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Correctional Service Mr. Jaafar Ahmed, has also refused to release Kalu because there was no any order from the Supreme Court.

It was learnt Kalu may have to approach the Court of Appeal, where he has a pending matter, to ask for his release following the dismissal of the judgement of the Federal High Court, Lagos by the Supreme Court.

According to a copy of the judgement exclusively obtained by THE NATION, the Supreme Court clearly stated that the judgement relates only to the Appellant.

Details shortly



Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-kalu-remains-in-prison-no-order-to-release-him/
YEREVAN.  The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, underwent surgery Tuesday morning at the hospital where he was receiving inpatient treatment. We asked Viktor Soghomonyan, the head of his office, for information about the surgery and Kocharyans health condition.

"Fortunately, the surgery went well, and now President Kocharyan is feeling well," Soghomonyan said. "At the same time, I consider it necessary to record that this is already the third surgery in the past six months in connection with the same health problem, and there are clear indications that the illness that caused the president's surgery occurred during his imprisonment.

I must state that, according to specialists, Robert Kocharyan was not provided with sufficient conditions to fully restore his health. Once again, he was not allowed to fully complete his rehabilitation period in a medical facility. In fact, he was deprived of the opportunity to overcome the consequences of the illness under appropriate conditions. I don't want to say now that this is a result of intentional actions to harm the president's health, but I can't state otherwise, too. In fact, we have a situation when a person's health has deteriorated in prison, and he does not have a full opportunity to restore his health.

The doctors treating him also confirm what is said.
(Newser)  Los Angeles County has been taking steps since March to reduce the population in its jails. Sheriff's deputies are citing and releasing suspects more often, the Los Angeles Times reports, and inmates with less than 30 days left to serve are being released. On Monday, the jails that usually have 17,000 inmates instead held fewer than 12,000. The reduction may not be happening quickly enough for some inmates. The sheriff said Monday that inmates tried to infect themselves with the new coronavirus. "Somehow there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment," Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. "And that's not gonna happen."

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Surveillance videos show inmates breathing into or sniffing from a single face mask they passed around. Others took turns drinking from a container; Villanueva said they were trying to raise their body temperatures by drinking hot water before being checked by a nurse, per KABC. Within a week, the sheriff said, 21 of about 50 inmates in one module at the Castaic correctional facility had tested positive for the virus. A class-action lawsuit filed against the county calls coronavirus precautions for the inmates inadequate, per the Times, and a plaintiff's relative said more inmates should be released. The sheriff said no one has admitted to the infection scheme, though investigators have interviewed the inmates. "It's sad to think that someone deliberately tried to expose themselves to COVID-19," Villanueva said. The video footage is posted here. (Read more coronavirus stories.)
TDT | Manama

Nearly 177 Indian nationals in Bahrain are scheduled to fly home tomorrow as part of repatriation efforts organised by Indias government. It is the worlds largest-ever repatriation mission, and it begins in other countries today, with an expected 15,000 Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to be flown home.

Tomorrows flight is the first of two from Bahrain in the first week of the repatriation efforts. It is scheduled to depart at 4 pm with a total of 177 passengers, and it will fly to the city of Kochin in the coastal state of Kerala.

This group of passengers were chosen by the Indian Embassy in the Kingdom. Some of those selected visited the Embassy yesterday to collect their tickets, which were all paid for by the passengers themselves.

Each ticket costs BD84 per person. A total of 122 were collected at the Embassy yesterday with the support of Air India, with the remaining passengers expected to pick theirs up by today.

Tomorrows flight will be followed by the second this week on Monday, which will fly to the city of Kozhikode, also in Kerala. These tickets cost BD74 per passenger.

The two flights from Bahrain are within the first phase of the ambitious Vande Bharat Mission, in which Air India will operate 64 non-commercial flights to 12 countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, to name a few.

Up to 400 Indians are expected to fly out of Bahrain this first week. Apart from their tickets, all returning Indians will have to pay for a mandatory 14-day institutionalised quarantine.
WASHINGTON - States across the country are moving swiftly to reopen their economies despite failing to achieve benchmarks laid out by the White House for when social distancing restrictions could be eased to ensure the public's safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

These governors' biggest cheerleader is President Donald Trump.

A slew of states - such as Texas, Indiana, Colorado and Florida - have pushed forward with relaxing social distancing guidelines as the number of people testing positive in many states has increased in recent weeks and testing continues to lag. White House recommendations released last month encouraged states to wait to see a decline in cases over a two-week period as well as having robust testing in place for front-line workers before entering "Phase One" of a gradual comeback.

But Trump and some of his aides have backed away from their own guidelines, opting instead to hail the broad economic reopening that health experts say has started too quickly. The dichotomy comes as the White House also tried to distance itself from a draft federal government report predicting an explosion of new coronavirus cases and 3,000 daily deaths by June 1.

It underscores how an eagerness by Trump and several state governors to begin restarting normal activities after a weeks-long economic slowdown has clashed with a stubbornly high national caseload that has defied the president's predictions of a swift and safe reopening. It also marks another round of confusing guidance during the outbreak from Trump who released the guidelines with fanfare during a briefing and now shows no problem with states that ignore them.

"There's not too many states that I know of that are going up. Almost everybody is headed in the right direction," Trump said during a Fox News town hall on Sunday in which he presented a misleading and rosy assessment of the crisis. "We're on the right side of it, but we want to keep it that way, but we also want to get back to work."

About a third of states continue to see their number of new coronavirus cases increasing, compared to a few who have seen a sustained decline. A plurality of states are hovering around the same level, with neither a significant uptick nor decrease in daily cases. That mirrors the national trend, where the rate of new cases has leveled off in recent weeks but not declined.

Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard University Global Health Institute, said most governors who have decided to open up are clearly not following the letter of the White House guidelines.

"The first part of the criteria is sustained decline. And we don't see that," Jha said.

To date, 1.2 million people have been confirmed as infected by the coronavirus and more than 68,000 have died in the United States. Both figures are widely believed to undercount the actual totals.

The White House continues to support its guidelines but wants local officials to take the lead in deciding how quickly to ease restrictions, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. While individual states' decisions to move more quickly than recommended under the White House guidelines are regularly discussed during coronavirus task force meetings, those decisions are not seen as defiant toward the Trump administration, the official said.

One reason could be that Trump rarely discusses his own guidelines, instead encouraging states to move quickly to reverse the economic calamity that took hold as governors imposed stay-home orders to slow the spread of the virus. Trump has expressed support for protesters pushing their states to end the orders, and tweeted about a need to "LIBERATE" several states - including places that White House guidelines indicate should remain in a state of lockdown.

Politically, governors have come to learn they are more likely to be criticized by Trump for maintaining stay-home orders that comply with White House guidelines than they are for opening up their economies before meeting the Trump administration's own criteria for doing so.

Trump has singled out Virginia for its reluctance to quickly ease social distancing measures, telling Fox News that it was one of the states that "aren't going fast enough."

Even though Virginia continues to see its number of coronavirus cases rising, Northam announced Monday that he would begin easing the state's restrictions on May 15 - including by allowing some gatherings of more than 10 people if social distancing protocols are met.

"As you can see, our cases continue to rise," he said, before adding that the state's percentage of positive tests - another key measure in the White House guidelines - had begun to decline.

Trump's light criticism of Georgia's decision to begin opening up businesses including barbershops and bowling alleys before meeting White House benchmarks was short-lived.

While the president said on April 23 that he was "not happy" with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for the defying the guidelines, it took him a week to deny his own remarks.

"I didn't say that," Trump said Friday when his quote about Kemp, a Republican, was read back to him. "I said I didn't like the particular place - a spa, a tattoo parlor. No, no, I think it's wonderful."

As Trump leads the nation's push for a quick economic reopening, some administration officials have continued to call on states to follow the White House's detailed guidelines.

Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, has repeatedly warned governors against moving too quickly to lift restrictions, saying he was concerned that states that flout the White House guidelines could spark a resurgence of the virus.

"The guidelines are very, very explicit, and very clear," he said last week on NBC's "Today" show. "There's a lot of leeway because we give the governors the opportunity to be very flexible, but you have to have the core principles of the guidelines. You can't just leap over things and get into a situation where you're really tempting a rebound."

Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, has also called on states and localities to follow the administration's guidelines, but she has stopped short of contradicting Trump's push for governors to move as quickly as possible to return to normal.

"We made it very clear that the guidelines are based on very strong evidence and data," she said Sunday on Fox News. "We've made it clear what the gating criteria is."

Several governors have ignored the criteria.

In Texas, for instance, new cases dipped in mid-April, but have lately been on the rise, with a spike late last week to more than 1,000 daily that has brought the total to more than 32,000. Nonetheless, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, went ahead with a plan to reopen the state's stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls, limiting them to less than 25% capacity.

Lauren Ancel Meyers, a University of Texas at Austin biologist who has modeled possible trend lines in the state's capital as social distancing requirements are eased, said much will depend on how vigilant people remain with social distancing.

Models of potential transmission in Austin that she has run range from "hardly any additional hospitalizations" to "a catastrophic second wave."

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, let his stay-home order expire last week and replaced it with a less restrictive set of rules that allow restaurants, shops and fitness centers to open in nearly all parts of the state. Hair and nail salons, which were not part of the original reopening, will be allowed to begin service again this week. That's despite the fact that new cases have jumped in recent days, and now total more than 13,000.

Some public officials have been unnerved at the speed with which the reopening has happened, and the apparent disregard for guidelines set by medical experts.

"The state policymakers believe that the economic climate is more important than those guidelines," said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. "I don't see any other explanation."

But as states have defied that criteria to begin restarting business activity - from retail stores in Colorado to restaurants in Florida to elective surgeries in Ohio - they have been cheered on by Trump and his allies.

Vice President Mike Pence has hailed the 41 states that have announced or began plans for reopening.

But some of those states have pushed ahead with reopening plans that skip ahead of the White House's recommended phased approach. The recommendations call for certain testing and contract tracing capabilities to be in place before states push forward with returning to normalcy.

A lack of planning on those fronts could leave states vulnerable if there is another outbreak, said Jeffrey Shaman, one of the country's leading epidemiologists at Columbia University.

"We don't have the testing. We don't have the contract tracing. We can't detect a rebound," he said. " It's really problematic place to be. This is not where we want to be."

Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska, said the governors are clearly reacting to "shelter-in-place fatigue" as they skirt the guidelines. But he said that's a risky bet, given the danger that the virus comes roaring back.

There is widespread uncertainty about what will happen as states race to ease their restrictions on residents and businesses.

A draft government report projects that coronavirus cases will surge to about 200,000 per day by June 1, a jump that would be accompanied by more than 3,000 deaths each day.

The document predicts a sharp increase in cases and deaths beginning about May 14, according to a copy shared with The Washington Post. The forecast stops at June 1, but shows both daily cases and deaths on an upward trajectory at that point.

The White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disavowed the report, though the slides carry the CDC's logo. The creator of the model said the numbers are unfinished projections shown to the CDC as a work in progress.

He said 100,000 cases per day by the end of the month is within the realm of possibility, an indication that cases could spiral out of control at the same time that the White House has shifted focus toward reopening the economy. Much depends on political decisions being made today.

"There are reopening scenarios where it could get out of control very quickly," said Justin Lessler, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who created the model.

The Bloomberg school in a statement called the report a "preliminary" analysis that should not be used as a forecast.

The White House downplayed the figures on Monday, saying they had not yet been vetted.

"This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the task force, or data that the task force has analyzed," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

White House officials have been relying on other models to make decisions on reopening, including one from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a "cubic model" prepared by Trump adviser and economist Kevin Hassett and the Council of Economic Advisers.

People with knowledge of the "cubic model" say it shows deaths dropping precipitously in May - and plummeting to zero by May 15, where they stay throughout the summer.

Two people with knowledge of the White House task-force discussions said that they had not seen the draft government report, but that they were both fearful cases could rise with many of the states reopening.

The IHME model is now estimating that the United States will see nearly 135,000 deaths by August 1. That number is significantly higher than its estimate on April 17 - 60,308.

IHME's new higher projections "reflect the effect of premature relaxation of restrictions," said its creator, Christopher Murray. "In this era where those mandates being relaxed, people should be aware of the risk of infection is still there."

- - -

William Wan, Laurie McGinley and Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
Last week, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors announced their unanimous selection of the right-wing corporate executive Louis DeJoy as the new US postmaster general, the equivalent of a CEO for the government agency. His ascension marks another step in the direction of the privatization of USPS, a project that is accelerating with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeJoy has a long career in managing private logistics companies, financial investment groups and private universities. Born in New York and a long-time resident of North Carolina, DeJoy was most recently the president of LDJ Global Strategies, an investment firm that deals with real estate, private equity and project management.

Prior to that experience, he was the CEO of New Breed Logistics from 1983 to 2014. When New Breed was acquired by XPO Logistics for a reported $615 million, DeJoy served as CEO of XPOs supply chain business in North America until he retired from the company in 2015 and was appointed to XPOs Board of Directors.

On top of his expertise as a corporate CEO, he serves as a mega-donor for the Republican Party and President Donald Trump. He has given a total of $2.5 million in political donations since 2016, including $13,500 to the Trump campaign, $866,000 to Trump Victory, and $1.1 million to the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Since January of this year DeJoy has gifted a total of $430,000 to Trump and the RNC. He was also recently named the national finance chairman for the RNC in Charlotte, North Carolina this summer. His fundraising capacity for the Republicans was demonstrated in 2017 when he hosted a private fundraising event at his $5.9 million mansion attended by Trump, with attendees paying tens of thousands of dollars to attend.

President Trump shares a close relationship with both Louis DeJoy and his wife, Aldona Wos. At a rally held in Fayetteville, NC in September 2019, Trump referred to DeJoy directly as a friend of mine who has been with us from the beginning.

Just three months ago, Trump nominated Aldona Wos to serve as U.S. ambassador to Canada, a coveted assignment, marking a new phase in her political career as a diplomatic agent of US imperialism.

She served as U.S. Ambassador to Estonia under President George W. Bush between 2004 and 2006, and she served as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2013-2015, during which time she slashed public health care budgets. Originally from Poland, Wos also sits on the board of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and an assortment of other right wing non-profit groups.

The appointment of DeJoy to head USPS is undoubtedly aimed at accelerating the process of privatization. With his decades of experience in the semi-criminal machinations of the stock market, corporate takeovers, and the wringing out of profits for shareholders and corporate executives, DeJoy appears to be well suited to carry out the task of finally breaking up the postal service and handing it over to the financial vultures of Wall Street.

Donald Trump has made clear his intent to privatize the post office since his inauguration. In 2018, Trump issued an executive order to create a task force to investigate the operations of USPS because it was on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout." This restructuring involved a variety of measures including multiple increases in postal rates and the slashing of labor costs.

The campaign to privatize USPS has been a long-standing goal of the American ruling class dating all the way back to 1970, the year of a major nationwide strike by postal workers. Although ultimately betrayed by the unions, the workers defiance of federal anti-strike laws outraged and shook the ruling class.

After the struggle of postal workers was brought to an end, the Postal Reorganization Act transformed the Post Office as a cabinet department of the government into a public entity run like a business. The Act also established the Board of Governors to oversee expenditures, operations, compensation, and the appointment of postmaster generals.

In the 1980s, USPS was cut off from federal funding, solely relying on revenue raised through the sale of postage and other products and services. George W. Bush went further in 2006 with the signing of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which obligated USPS to fully fund retirement obligations upfront.

These measures, enacted in the course of rising competition with technological communications and private logistics corporations like Amazon, have saddled USPS with an immense amount of debt. Before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, USPS had a negative net worth of $65 billion, along with an additional $140 billion of unfunded liabilities mainly from pension and health care obligations.

The heavy cost of these measures has been placed on the backs of postal workers, whove seen a steady erosion of their pay, job security, workplace safety, and benefits. In recent months, the spread of the novel coronavirus has exposed the wretched workplace conditions faced by postal workers.

Due to the lack of protective gear, testing, and transparency from management about potential infections, there are currently an estimated 2,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases among postal workers and dozens of deaths.

Hakim, a postal worker in New York, told the World Socialist Web Site that he and his coworkers have been discussing the pandemic and the privatization of USPS. He explained that USPS is finally providing basic protective gear, but the overall response to the virus worries him: We dont have a clear plan for any of this stuff. You have politicians saying one thing and medical experts saying something completely different. [The Trump administration] wants to risk peoples lives. Its horrible. Theres no real leadership. Theres no accountability for it.

It doesnt seem good, he said of the appointment of DeJoy as the new postmaster general. If they implement all these measures to increase revenue, it doesnt mean that were going to benefit from it. Who benefitted from the stimulus package? Its not going to help us. Im still waiting on benefits from the last package from Obama in 2008.

The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has reduced the volume of mail delivery to businesses, a big share of the postal services income, further exacerbating the revenue shortfall. Congress so far has only granted USPS a $10 billion loan, which pales in comparison to the trillions handed out by the government to Wall Street. Postal service officials have appealed for at least $75 billion in emergency funding.

There is no doubt that the pandemic will be used as a justification for both the privatization of USPS and the unveiling of new attacks on postal workers, in order to pay back debts and churn out profits for the ruling class.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy joins four board members with similar backgrounds in corporate cost cutting. Board member Ron A. Bloom, for example, was the senior advisor to the secretary of the treasury from 2009 to 2011, helping the Obama administration restructure the US auto industry after the 2008 recession, which ramped up the exploitation of autoworkers internationally.

Despite the immense opposition among postal workers to the unsafe working conditions they confront with the coronavirus outbreak following decades of cuts, the four major postal unions have done nothing. They have kept workers on the job while issuing empty criticisms of the lack of government assistance and pledging to work with the US government and the USPS Board of Governors.

Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), issued a groveling statement declaring that if DeJoy can prove true to his stated commitment to the public Postal Service then he will be a welcome addition to the postal family and our proud tradition of public service. Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), said he was looking forward to working in good faith with DeJoy.

The unions, with a long history of enforcing the governments attacks on postal workers and subordination to the two parties of big business, the Democrats and Republicans, cannot be forced to carry out a fight against privatization and unsafe conditions. Postal workers must take the fight into their own hands and organize their own independent workplace committees, which should advance demands for the improvement of work and living conditions, a full emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis, and the transformation of USPS into a public utility democratically controlled by the working class.

In carrying forward this fight, postal workers must reach out to their fellow logistics workers at UPS, FedEx, Amazon, XPO and other sections of workers in the US and internationally. This must be linked to a political strategy based on socialism and directed against the subordination of social and economic life to the profit interests of Wall Street.
OTTAWANeed a federal loan to survive the crumbling pandemic economy? If youre running a large company, youll have to show youre thinking about climate change, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

Thats one of the conditions attached to the governments new bridge loans program, unveiled Monday, to help big corporations survive the COVID-19 crisis.

But what does it mean?

According to the Prime Ministers Office, companies must commit to publish information about their businesses that relates to climate change every year. This includes how their future operations will support environmental sustainability and national climate goals.

Asked to explain the climate conditions Tuesday, Trudeau said the government expects all large companies that want federal loans  including those in the fossil fuel sector  to show they are thinking about the challenges that climate change will pose to their company and ... to their future, and have a response for it.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau told the Stars Heather Scoffield on Tuesday that organizations will need to demonstrate that they are disclosing their climate footprint, and the challenges that they might face in that regard.

Morneau said the Liberal government has been pretty clear that we think the 2050 goals toward decarbonization are critically important, and this has been something that businesses across the country, across sectors, have been engaged in, and I would say, largely supportive of.

So its a way to acknowledge that as an important issue, and accelerate the process for those organizations that come to us for credit.

The 2050 goal is the Liberal promise from last years election campaign to achieve net- zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century. The Liberals also vowed to exceed Canadas current target under the global Paris Agreement to slash emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

But while its not clear whether the government will require large companies receiving federal loans to pledge to adhere to that national target, Morneaus department told the Star that companies will need to publicly report how they are contributing to achieving Canadas commitments under the Paris Agreement and goal of net-zero by 2050.

Green MP Elizabeth May, the federal partys parliamentary leader in Ottawa who declared recently that oil is dead, told the Star it makes sense to tie new government loans to climate disclosure, even if the aid goes to oil and gas companies, so more workers dont lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.

Such information brings corporate risks linked with climate change into the open and helps underscore the economic pitfalls of investing in fossil-fuel companies as the world transitions to cleaner energy, she said.

It would be rather punitive to say every worker in Canada is going to get help except if you work in the oil and gas sector, May said. As bridge financing with climate conditionality, we think thats a reasonable approach to this situation.

The initiative also aligns with a wider trend for more transparency and accurate reporting of risks climate change poses to businesses, said Isabelle Turcotte, director of federal policy with the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank.

Trudeaus office said companies would need to release information based on the Financial Stability Boards Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. That board, an international organization chaired by American business magnate Michael Bloomberg, calls on companies to report risks to their business posed by climate change and report their greenhouse gas emissions, among other things.

I think its very encouraging, said Turcotte. This program is an example of how the federal government is leveraging its support  to really rebuild that stronger more resilient economy.

Meanwhile, oil industry players like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers welcomed the loan program, even as they said Monday that they are still waiting for more details about how it will work.

Kavi Bal, spokesperson for Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage, said many companies in the sector already report and plan around environmental considerations. Government will also closely watch to ensure that Ottawas conditions do not unnecessarily impair future growth and prosperity, he wrote by email Tuesday.

With files from Heather Scoffield

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President Donald Trump on Monday repeated his claim that there could be activity taking place out of the frame of a shocking videotape of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery that may be pertinent to the case where 'nobody saw' what was going on.

Trump made the comment raising apparent doubts about the video evidence for the second time in the explosive case, even as he said he was 'disturbed' by the case, which has drawn the attention of the Justice Department as a possible hate crime.

'Well I saw the tape and when they moved left  I don't believe when they moved left, outside of the tape  nobody saw what was going on. Nobody saw,' Trump said at the White House when asked about the killing of Arbery, who is black.

'It's an empty spot on the tape, I guess. Now, do they have additional tapes, I hope?' Trump continued, speaking about the video that shows Arbery getting shot and killed at close range in his own Georgia neighborhood.

'Nobody saw what was going on,' President Trump said, pointing to a moment during a struggle on the videotape of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery

'But I will say that it's something that did, based on what I saw, doesn't look good.'

Then Trump referenced South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is black.

'Somebody that I have a lot of respect for is Senator Scott of South Carolina, you know who I'm talking about, he's a great gentleman. He's a great senator, he's a great gentleman, Tim Scott. And I called him two days ago I said to him: 'What do you think? Tell me what you think. Tell me, what do you think?' He's very disturbed by it. He's very disturbed. And I'm very disturbed also,' Trump said.

Trump said of the incident: 'I think it's horrible. And it's certainly being looked at by many people. I'm speaking to many people about it.'

'He looked  I saw the picture of him in his tuxedo. It was so beautiful. He looks like a wonderful young guy. Would have been a wonderful  just a wonderful guy. I think it's a horrible thing. I think it's a horrible thing.

'To me it's a very sad thing. I spoke to a number of people that are very much involved in it. I've been following that one very closely - it breaks your heart to watch it. Breaks your heard to watch it. Breaks your heart. And certainly the video  it was a terrible looking video to me,' Trump said.

'You have a lot of people looking at it,' Trump said. He said hopefully an answer would be arrived at 'very quickly.'

Trump was responding to a question about an earlier comment he made which also referenced something that could have happened outside the tape which might somehow undercut what is revealed.

'You know, it could be something that we didn't see on tape,' Trump said during a Fox News interview. 'There could be a lot of, if you saw things went off tape, and then back on tape, but it was troubling.'

Trump appears to be referencing a brief portion of the tape where Arbery and his suspected killers briefly move off screen during a struggle before the unarmed Arbery is shot dead.

Arbery's autopsy has revealed the 25-year-old was killed by two close-range gunshot wounds to the chest and that he was also shot in the hand when he was chased down and shot by a white father and son vigilante duo in Brunswick, Georgia, in February.

TMZ obtained Ahmaud's autopsy on Monday. The 25-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system, and was carrying two tan bandannas which were soaked with blood.

It has taken nearly three months and three different prosecutors for Travis and Gregory McMichael to be arrested and charged with his killing. Georgia's Attorney General is now investigating the handling of the case amid claims that prosecutors passed it off to protect 64-year-old Gregory, a former police detective who recently worked in the local district attorney's office.

The case has sparked outrage around the world and some say it is proof of persistent racism in the South. Over the weekend, people ran to honor what would have been Ahmaud's 26th birthday and armed protesters took to the street.

The McMichaels' defense has been that they were making a citizen's arrest after suspecting Ahmaud of breaking into and robbing homes in their neighborhood. They said Travis, 34, then exercised his stand your ground right by shooting Ahmaud, claiming the unarmed 25-year-old reached for his gun.

On Monday, DoJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said: 'The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia have been supporting and will continue fully to support and participate in the state investigation. We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,' Kupec said in a statement.'

The McMichaels have both been charged by the state of Georgia with murder and aggravated assault which carry maximum prison sentences of life.

Georgia has no hate crimes as a state but the federal charge carries a maximum prison sentence of life when the hate crime results in death. A federal prosecution would supersede a state case and could negate it if the defendants were found guilty and the need for a state prosecution reduced.

It comes as new surveillance video Arbery walking into a construction site on the day of his death, looking around the property and then leaving empty handed the day he was gunned down emerged.

But the new video obtained by News4Jax appears to undermine their shaky burglary suspect claim. It shows Ahmaud walking into an under-construction house in Brunswick, looking around and then leaving without taking anything.

In the two months before Ahmaud's killing, there were no reports of suspected burglaries in the area, and the owner of the under-construction property has spoken out to say they have no links to the McMichaels whatsoever.

Scroll down for video

Ahmaud Arbery inside the under-construction home on February 23, the day he was killed. He walked into the house then left empty handed and was later shot dead by Travis McMichael who had chased him with his father, Gregory, a former cop

Ahmaud had been out jogging when he came across the home. His family says the footage shows he was not a burglar and that he would have been guilty of trespassing at most

Another video shows Ahmaud entering the property. It was taken on a surveillance camera on a different home

Gregory (left) and Travis McMichael (right) have both been charged with murder and aggravated assault over the February 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Arbery's death has sparked nationwide outrage. A rally for the slain jogger was held Friday - the day he would have celebrated his 26th birthday

The video was shared by the property owner who said they had never had any contact with the McMichaels let alone did they call for them to investigate any break-ins.

The attorney representing Ahmaud's family says the video shows that at most, Ahmaud would have been guilty of trespassing.

It's unclear what time the video on the construction site was taken.

According to the police report into his death, Ahmaud was shot dead at 1.46pm.

A time stamp on a different surveillance camera video says he entered the construction site at 2.13pm. It's possible that camera was inaccurately running an hour fast.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it is now investigating the video along with the cellphone footage of Ahmaud's killing that went viral.

The property is owned by Larry English.

Over the weekend, he released a statement through an attorney to say he neither called for the McMichaels to go after Ahmaud, nor did he condone in any way how they killed him.

Ahmaud was killed while out jogging on February 23. It is unclear if he had come from his mother's house, which is just under two miles from where the shooting unfolded. The McMichaels said they saw him 'hauling a**' down Satilla Drive and that he'd been seen on surveillance cameras inside homes near them but it's unclear which homes they were referring to. He was shot and killed at an intersection not far from the houses

'First, and most important, the English family -- the homeowners -- want Ahmaud Arbery's parents to know that they are very sorry for the loss of their son and they are praying for them.

TIMELINE OF BOTCHED HANDLING OF THE CASE February 23: Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone out in their car with guns to chase him because they mistook him for a burglar. When they caught up to him, Travis got out of the car. Jackie Johnson recused herself because McMichael used to work in her office Greg says they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him and that he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud, 25. Late February - First prosecutor recuses herself Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, stepped down from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator. Mid-April - Second prosecutor says he won't press charges, then recuses himself George Barnhill said Ahmaud initiated the fight George Barnhill was given the case. He at first said he did not think it merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen's arrest, which is legal in Georgia. He also said that the video 'shows' Arbery reaching for Travis' gun. Barnhill recused himself because his son, also called George Barnhill, works in the office where McMichael used to The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame. When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle. Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery. He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Gregory served. May 5 - Third prosecutor passes it on to grand jury Tom Durden is the third prosecutor to have the case come across his desk. He said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice. This week, he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on. May 7 - Georgia Bureau of Investigation files charges The GBI announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7. Advertisement

'Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family -- the homeowners -- were not part of what the McMichaels did.

'The first accounts suggested a link between the McMichaels and the homeowners, but there is none.

'The English family had no relationship with the McMichaels and did not even know what had occurred until after Mr. Arbery's death was reported to them.

'After seeing Mr. Arbery's photo in news reports, Larry English did not even think Mr. Arbery was the person that appears in this video.

'Even if it had been, however, Mr. English would never have sought a vigilante response, much less one resulting in a tragic death,' his attorney, Elizabeth Graddy, told First Coast News.

Ahmaud's parents' lawyer confirmed that it is him in the video.

'This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us.

'Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period.

'Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property,' Lee Merritt said.

Last week, after growing global outrage, the case was taken out of local prosecutors' hands to be investigated by the state.

Gregory and Travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Greg McMichael had investigated Arbery before when he worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office.

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill said that his own son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

George E. Barnhill was the second DA to recuse himself in mid-April following pressure from Arbery's family. He claims he only learned of his son's link to the victim 'three or four weeks' ago.

In his letter, Barnhill added that criminal charges against the McMichaels was unwarranted, citing the criminal history of Arbery's brother and cousin.

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

PICTURED: Black Georgia man, 20, is arrested for setting up fake Facebook page in support of Ahmaud Arbery's two killers and threatening protesters who paid their respects at the spot where the 25-year-old jogger was 'lynched'

Rashawn Smith, 20, was arrested in Midway, Georgia, on Sunday after authorities alleged he created a fake Facebook account and used it to make a hoax threat against protesters demanding justice for murdered jogger Ahmaud Arbery

Georgia state investigators announced on Sunday that they have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of creating a fake Facebook account and using it to post a 'hoax' threat against protesters angry over the killing of unarmed black man 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Sunday said state police arrested Rashawn Smith and charged him with dissemination of information relating to terroristic acts.

Smith allegedly created a fake Facebook page and used it to make threats against the protesters.

He was taken into custody in Midway, a town about 50 miles north of Brunswick.

Earlier in the day, the GBI said it had 'been made aware of a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery'.

It was not immediately clear if Smith has an attorney who could comment on the charge.

Hundreds of people gathered alongside some 300 bikers in Brunswick on Saturday to honor Arbery.

The bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot on February 23 by two white men who claim they were making a citizen's arrest as they suspected him of a neighborhood burglary.

On Saturday bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot. One of the balloons left at the site reads 'Happy birthday'. Arbery would have turned 26 on Friday

Hundreds of people alongside some 300 bikers gathered in Brunswick to honor Arbery on Saturday

Some of the protesters held up signs which read 'Our lives matter too!' and 'Dear white people, when you don't call out racism you are upholding white supremacy by default!'

Several of those in attendance near the Sidney Lanier Bridge wore face masks and t-shirts with the phrase 'I run with Maud' in tribute to Arbery.

The memorial ceremony on Saturday was held just a day after protesters gathered at the same site demanding justice for Arbery on what would have been his 26th birthday.

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling of Arbery's killing.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Under Georgia law, someone who isn't a sworn police officer can arrest and detain another person only if a felony is committed in the presence of the arresting citizen.

Georgia AG asks the US Justice Department to investigate Ahmaud Arbery's shooting as it's revealed top prosecutor who recused himself said slaying by two armed white men was 'justifiable homicide'

George Barnhill, Sr (left), the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in February that the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery (right), 25, by two white men was a 'justifiable homicide'

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the investigation into the killing of Arbery.

Arbery was killed on February 23 but no arrests were made until Thursday after national outrage over the case swelled last week when video surfaced that showed the shooting which was blasted as a 'lynching'.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Attorneys for Arbery's mother and father applauded Carr for reaching out to federal officials.

'We have requested the involvement of the DOJ since we first took this case,' attorneys S. Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump and L. Chris Stewart said in a statement.

'There are far too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged in Mr. Arbery's death.'

Last week, a Justice Department spokesman said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the DOJ would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

It comes after it emerged the Georgia district attorney who recused himself from the case told investigators that the fatal shooting was a 'justifiable homicide' and that the father and son duo who killed Arbery should not be charged.

George Barnhill, Sr, the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in Glynn County on February 24  the day after the shooting  that there was insufficient evidence to charge Travis McMichael, 34, and his 64-year-old father, former police officer Greg McMichael.

The Glynn County Police Department released a statement to The Brunswick News on Saturday saying Travis and Greg McMichael were brought in for questioning at around 3.30pm on February 23.

Earlier this week, two Glynn County commissioners said that the current Brunswick District Attorney, Jackie Johnson, also blocked police from arresting the McMichaels because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

Officers investigating the scene of the fatal shooting on February 23 told Johnson's office that they had cause to arrest the father and son at the time but the DA shut them down.

Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in her office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recuse 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 Constitution.
A husband is upset that his spouse is closer to their grown sons than he is, but he also won't make as much of an effort.
San Francisco, May 12 : Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has pledged $10 million to help prisons in the US fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation is given to criminal justice advocacy group REFORM Alliance that would buy 10 million face masks and personal protective equipment (PPEs) for prisoners and other employees.

"$10mm to @REFORM Alliance to get PPE to every prison and jail in America, all towards their mission of reforming the criminal justice system," Dorsey tweeted on Monday.

"The goal is to help ensure the incarcerated population, correctional officers, healthcare workers, & personnel working state, federal, & private facilities are protected from COVID-19 exposure," he added.

The funds come from Dorsey's #startsmall initiative, which has $1 billion in total, given by Dorsey in April using equity from his mobile payment company Square.

"The criminal justice system needs to change. Covid-19 adds to the injustices and REFORM is best suited to help," said Dorsey.

Dorsey said he has funded $40 million in grants to many organisations with proven impact and efficiency in the past, mostly anonymously.

Dorsey and pop star Rihanna's non-profit organisation, The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), have also set up a joint $4.2 million grant to help domestic violence victims amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Twitter CEO and CLF each committed $2.1 million for the grant meant to help address the current crisis for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles.
Most Americans learn about the Electoral College in 8th grade or high school civics class and probably dont give it much thought afterward.

But one high school government teacher is putting his own stamp on lessons about the system set forth in Article II of the U.S. Constitution for indirect election of the president and vice president.

Micheal Baca now teaches at Chaparral High School in Las Vegas, but he was a Colorado resident during the 2016 election. His own drama-filled experience as an elector goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, along with cases involving other electors in Colorado and Washington state who were removed as electors or punished for not casting their ballots in keeping with the popular vote in their states.

I never expected that six years after getting out of high school, I would be one of 538 people electing the president of the United States, said Baca, now 28.

He was a politically active supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, becoming a Sanders delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He also volunteered for the obscure role of potential elector. Baca was chosen by the state Democratic Party for the slate of people who pledge to vote in the Electoral College for the partys presidential and vice presidential nominees if that ticket wins the states popular vote.

Hillary Clinton won Colorado and Washington state, as well as the national popular vote in the 2016 election. But with Donald Trumps electoral victory, Baca and Bret Chiafalo of Everett, Wash., hatched a plan to try to convince 37 electors in states that Trump won to vote for someone else in the Electoral College. Baca and Chiafalo believed that would send the election to the U.S. House of Representatives. The House, they hoped, would coalesce around a more moderate Republican than Trump.

The necessary 37 defectors didnt materialize, and by the time electors met in their state capitals in December 2016 to cast their Electoral College ballots, Baca and a few others in Colorado and Washington were intent on voting for someone other than Clinton just as a small form of protest.

Long story short: Baca crossed off Clintons name and wrote in then-Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich Jr., who had unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination. Colorados secretary of state, who had warned Baca and two other electors that state law required them to vote for the popular vote winner. The others ended up voting for Clinton, while officials rejected Bacas vote, removed him as an elector, and referred him for a perjury prosecution because he had signed an oath to follow state law.

It was definitely stressful, Baca said. He was never prosecuted. But he joined in a lawsuit challenging state punishments for so-called faithless electors. (Chiafalo and two others in Washington state were allowed to cast their Electoral College ballots for Colin Powell, but they were later fined $1,000 each by the state.)

The electors argue that they have a right to vote with discretion without interference or sanction by a state. Colorado and Washington contend that several provisions of the U.S. Constitution give states broad power to select and control their electors.



Since 2016, Baca worked as a flight attendant and as a political organizer before passing the PRAXIS teacher test and becoming a teacher in Las Vegas. He is finishing his second school year, and as the electors case has moved through the legal system, he has shared the story with his students in small doses.

I dont want to overemphasize it, he said. I try to get them to understand we live in a representative democracy.

The teacher said that when he discusses his desire to eliminate the Electoral College, I am speaking to them as Micheal Baca the private citizen.

He was looking forward to traveling to Washington when the arguments in Colorado Department of State v. Baca and Chiafalo v. Washington were originally scheduled for April. But the coronavirus pandemic postponed those arguments and closed the Supreme Court building to the public.

On Wednesday, the justices will hear those arguments as the last cases that are part of the unusual May telephone session.

Baca, like other teachers across the nation, has been instructing his students remotely since March. He informed his classes where they could listen to the arguments, but he didnt make it a required assignment.

Im going to have my computer up and engage with my students if they are listening and have any questions as the arguments go along, he said.

Baca said he couldnt guarantee how long he would stay in teaching.

I kind of stumbled into it, he said. My real passion is politics. Im still interested in making my mark and making the country more democratic.

Photo: Micheal Baca speaks outside the federal courthouse in Denver in December 2016 when electors were seeking clarification of Colorados requirement that they vote for the winner of the states popular vote in the presidential election that year. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
By ANI

NEW DELHI: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to assist the Government of India's response to the COVID19 epidemic, US Embassy here on Tuesday said.

"These resources will support prevention, preparedness, and response activities in India. This initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Government of India's efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology," US Embassy in India said in a release.

With 3,604 more COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases reached 70,756.

US Embassy said the funds will also be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centers of excellence that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.

FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE

"The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support India's capacity to respond not only to this pandemic but to future threats as well," the release said while adding that the scope of support will include planning for health emergency operations centers to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities.

In addition to that, the CDC India program will provide "technical assistance for the Government of India's ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts."

"Since early January, the CDC's India Office has been collaborating with sub-national and national government institutes to support the COVID-19 response in India. Collaboration efforts are focused on lab strengthening, infection prevention and control, health workforce development, emergency management, risk communication, and community engagement," the US Embassy said.

The CDC has also conducted trainings across India for healthcare administrators, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on preparedness and response, infection prevention and control, laboratory operations, and field epidemiology to equip frontline response workers with the necessary skills to collect, analyze, and interpret data, and contribute to evidence-based decisions.

The US Embassy while pointing out, that for decades, the United States has been the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health, said: "In India, U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, and other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, have provided more than $1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years."

The coronavirus cases in US have surpassed 1 million while the fatalities have crossed 80,000.
Deadly shootings are on the rise in Baltimore amid the coronavirus pandemic as two men were killed and five others injured during a 72-hour ceasefire weekend.

This year, the Baltimore Ceasefire Weekend, went virtual with the same goal as its past in-person programs: for the city to go three days without a shooting.

But within the first few hours of the ceasefire, a 29-year-old man was fatally shot in East Baltimore's Berea neighborhood around 4.30pm on Friday.

Medics rushed him to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he later succumbed to his torso wound.

Deadly shootings are on the rise in Baltimore amid the coronavirus pandemic as two men were killed and five others injured during a 72-hour ceasefire weekend. First responders at the scene of one of the weekend's shootings

Erricka Bridgeford, the founder of Baltimore Ceasefire, said the city's high crime rate should be handled like the coronavirus pandemic. Bridgeford said : 'We don't address the murder epidemic like we do the COVID-19 epidemic. If we did, we would see results'

A second man was shot dead in East Baltimore around 4.25pm on Sunday.

Witnesses told authorities that the man was approached by an unidentified suspect who opened fire on the victim.

The victim was struck multiple times but attempted to escape by running into a nearby business along E Cold Spring Lane. Authorities said the man died at the scene.

Five other people were shot and injured between Friday and Sunday.

And in the seven days ahead of the ceasefire weekend, 14 people were killed in Baltimore.

Erricka Bridgeford, the founder of Baltimore Ceasefire, said the city's high crime rate should be handled like the coronavirus pandemic.

She told the Baltimore Sun: 'We don't address the murder epidemic like we do the COVID-19 epidemic. If we did, we would see results.'

'It's been a heartbreaking weekend but a joyous weekend,' Bridgeford said. 'We were able to honor the pain and celebrate the joy at the same time.'

Baltimore Ceasefire weekends occur four times a year. The last ceasefire weekend took place in February, which was the deadliest one on record. At the time, the city recorded four shooting deaths and 15 injuries

As of Monday, there have been a total of 104 homicides in the city, just one less death than around the same time last year. Last year, Baltimore (file image) recorded more than 300 homicides for the fifth straight year

Last year, Baltimore recorded more than 300 homicides for the fifth straight year.

As of Monday, there have been a total of 104 homicides in the city, just one less death than around the same time last year.

Data from the Baltimore Sun revealed that the coronavirus pandemic appeared to slow the violence when the city went five days without a fatal shooting at the end of April.

But that quickly changed when May got off to a violent start with 16 killings in the first 10 days.

Baltimore Ceasefire weekends occur four times a year. The last ceasefire weekend took place in February, which was the deadliest one on record.

At the time, the city recorded four shooting deaths and 15 injuries.
A car parking management company has appealed a decision that Revenue is entitled to some 1.7m in VAT for fees to have cars de-clamped in private car parks in places like apartment complexes, churches, schools and hospitals.

Nationwide Controlled Parking Systems (NCPS) brought the appeal over a High Court decision last year that a Tax Appeals Commissioner was wrong to find VAT was not chargeable on the fee.

NCPS on Tuesday asked a three-judge Court of Appeal (CoA) to overturn that decision.

The Revenue Commissioners oppose the appeal and say the decision should stand.

The CoA reserved judgment.

In 2014, NCPS appealed the refusal by Revenue of a repayment claim of 1.77m for VAT paid on clamping release fees between November-December, 2009, and September-October, 2013.

Revenue had refused the repayment claim on the basis the fees were subject to VAT under EU and Irish tax law.

A Tax Appeals Commissioner, who is independent of Revenue, overturned the refusal.

The Commissioner determined clamping release fees comprise payments "in the nature of or in lieu of damages for trespass".

The fees were not a "supply of services for consideration" which are subject to VAT, she said. She also said the fees were generated in the context of enforcement of parking against "tresspassing motorists".

A motorist was considered a trespasser if they did not have a permit, pay the appropriate fee or were illegally parked.

Last July, the High Court found the Commissioner was incorrect in law.

Today , Frank Mitchell SC, for NCPS, urged the CoA to overturn that decision.

He argued the Commissioner was correct on grounds including that a motorist pays a fee as a result of "an anterior parking infraction" which meant de-clamping was not a supply of services such as would normally attract a VAT payment for the purpose of tax law.

It was a penalty payable as a result of the parking infraction, he said.

Grainne Clohessy SC, for Revenue, said clamping release fees were subject to VAT because under Irish and EU law, it was a payment for an economic activity.

Revenue also argued supply of services is a broad concept, objective in nature and applies without regard to the purpose or result of the transaction.

NCPS's argument about about whether the clamping release fee was a penalty or not was irrelevant, Revenue said.
Kenyan hospitals will be required to test admitted patients for coronavirus if new proposals by the Ministry of Health are passed.

MoH Director-General Dr.Patrick Amoth said Monday that the move will protect frontline health workers and patients admitted in hospital wards from the deadly virus.

Speaking at Afya House, Dr. Amoth said after a review of the guidelines by MoHs case management team, Kenyans seeking medical services from various hospitals will be required to undergo mandatory testing before they are admitted.

It is likely that when an asymptomatic case is admitted to the hospital, they may spread the virus to the healthcare workers or other patients in the ward, we need to be able to protect those people, Dr Amoth said.

Before you are admitted to hospital, one of the tests that you will have to undergo will be a Covid-19 test, this will protect frontline health workers and other patients whose immune system may be compromised, he added.

Dr Amoth further said the Ministry of Health will distribute coronavirus test kits to hospitals to ensure that no Kenyan would miss out on treatment because they had not tested for the coronavirus.

These test-kits will be distributed in a stepwise manner to ensure that this requirement will not be used as a basis of denying Kenyans treatment for other conditions, said Dr Amoth.

On Monday, Kenya recorded 28 more coronavirus cases bringing the countrys total to 700.

12 people were discharged bringing the total number of recoveries to 251. The number of fatalities from COVID-19 in Kenya is 33.
The litchi growers in Punjab staring at huge losses as the farmers are yet to be approached by contractors for their orchards amid a prolonged countrywide lockdown.

In the past, contractors - mostly from outside states, including Uttar Pradesh - used to visit Punjab to take litchi orchards on lease, besides reserving them by paying advances to farmers.

Last year too, litchi growers had suffered huge losses in Punjab, as many videos surfaced on social media, linking the fruit to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).

At that time, farmers reeled under losses as the litchi's price fell very low.

Arvind Kalra, owner of 85 acres of litchi orchard here, said that till today, only one person from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur has approached him on phone.

"Such a situation was once seen at the time of operation blue star when ripened fruits were not plucked. Without traders and commission agents, how can we sell our fruits which are perishable items. Lockdown situation brought the harsh situation for farmers like us," he said.

He has litchi orchards in Himachal Pradesh too but he will not be able to go there due to the lockdown.

In Punjab, mainly two varieties of litchi - Dehradun and Calcutta - is grown by nearly 1,100 farmers in few districts, including Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ropar, covering nearly 3,000 acres of lands.

Around 48 trees are grown in one acres and each tree yields approximately 50 to 100 kg of litchi according to its age, experts said.

Jatinder Singh, horticulture development officer, Pathankot, said that this year, there is a very high yield production but like last year, farmers are facing serious problem.

"The harvesting time of litchi is from June 10 to June 25and in- between, things will be under control to some extent," he noted.

Mostly Punjab's litchi is sold in main vegetables and fruit markets in Delhi and Mumbai, from where it is sent to other states and exported to countries, including UAE, he said.

"We will issue passes soon to outstation traders, middlemen and commission agents and labourers so that farmers don't face any suffering," Jatinder Singh said.

With nearly 12,500 labourers registered to be moved for their native states from Pathankot alone where orchards of litchi have spread over 1,600 acres of land, shortage of workers is another problem for the farmers.

Sukhdev Singh Randhawa of Batala said that he has 17 acres of litchi orchard in Pathankot's Madhopur.

"I am residing in Batala around 90 KM away from my orchards in Madhopur and irrigating litchi tree is very essential for bumper production, otherwise the yield gets damaged. Warden of my orchards mostly from Bihar have already registered to return back to their native village. In coming days, labour shortage will more be a problem, when harvesting time will be at its peak.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The number of daily coronanvirus-related deaths in Spain was at 176 on Tuesday, according to the latest figures from the Spanish Health Ministry. This is the fourth day in a row that Spain has recorded fewer than 200 coronavirus fatalities. The figure was 123 on Monday, 143 on Sunday, and 179 on Saturday. Indeed, Spain has reported fewer than 200 daily coronavirus-related deaths for seven of the past 12 days in May. Only three of Spains 17 regions reported more than 10 coronavirus fatalities on Tuesday  Catalonia (66), Madrid (37) and Castilla-La Mancha (25). The total number of victims in Spain now stands at 26,920.

In recent weeks, an uptick in the numbers has come to be expected on Tuesdays, given that figures tend to be underreported on weekends due to the lack of personnel. But this rise is in keeping with the overall downward trend of the outbreak.

Whats more, for the first time, three Spanish regions  the Balearic Islands, Murcia and La Rioja  as well as the exclave city of Melilla in North Africa, recorded no new coronavirus cases. Another six regions reported fewer than 10 new infections on Tuesday.

Speaking at the governments daily press conference on Tuesday, Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, said the figures were very positive, they give us hope. But he warned: Cases are still being detected and there is still the risk of transmission, which is why we cannot let our guard down.

In the past 24 hours, 426 new infections were confirmed via PCR tests, up from 373 on Monday, but below Sundays figure of 621. This brings the total number of cases since the beginning of the crisis to 228,030.

The number of coronavirus hospital admissions also confirmed the downward trend of the outbreak. Only Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid reported more than one intensive care admission, with five and 14 respectively. Since the beginning of the crisis, a total of 138,980 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the disease.

Simon also spoke about the governments decision to introduce a 14-day quarantine for international travelers. In the period when Spaniards had to be confined [to their homes], anybody who arrived had to be confined. Proposing an extra quarantine made little sense, he explained. But now that around half of Spain has moved to Phase 1 of the deescalation plan, which allows social gatherings of up to 10 people, tighter restrictions are needed, Simon argued. Imported coronavirus cases is the greatest risk to the downward trend, he said. We have to ensure prevention, at least until other countries have our same level of control.

Vox calls for national protests

The Spanish far-right group Vox has organized 52 protests against the government in all provincial capitals of Spain, as well as in the exclave cities of Melilla and Ceuta in North Africa. The demonstrations are scheduled for May 23, and will be carried out in cars in order to prevent coronavirus contagion, with protesters following a predetermined route in their vehicles.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal (l) in Congress last Wednesday. Pool (Europa Press)

Vox spokesperson Jorge Buxade said on Monday that if [the government] bans them [the protests], it will be proof that they are using the state of alarm to impose a secret state of exception, in reference to the second of three emergency situations contemplated by the Spanish Constitution: state of alarm, exception and siege.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal, announced last Wednesday in Congress, that he would present his request to organize the protests the following day, but there had been no further news of the demonstrations until now. The date of the protests coincides with the end of the current state of alarm, which is set to expire on May 24, unless it is extended again by Congress.

In recent weeks, Vox has filed a number of complaints against government ministers and public officials. The far-right party has called for three top officials from the health and finance ministry to be charged with alleged corruption in 53 contracts to purchase urgently-needed medical supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Protest in wealthy Madrid neighborhood

Residents of the wealthy Salamanca neighborhood in Madrid held a protest known as a cacerolada  where people bang pots and pans  to demonstrate against the governments management of the coronavirus crisis. The protest took place at 9pm on Sunday on Nunez de Balboa street, and coincided with an improvised street party. According to the police, up to 100 people had gathered outside a balcony that was playing the Spanish national anthem. When police came to break up the gathering, which was in violation of the coronavirus confinement measures, residents began to shout freedom and the government must resign.

Dozens of videos of the incident were shared on social media. Enrique Fernandez-Miranda, a duke and the dean of the Council of Spanish Grandees, wrote in a message on Twitter: Today in Madrid, a large cacerolada against the social-communist government  the presence of police is shocking, given that the protest was held from balconies state of alarm = police state?

Spains oldest woman survives Covid-19

Maria Branyas (r) at her home in a senior residence in Olot. EFE

Maria Branyas, the oldest woman in Spain according to the Gerontology Research Group, has recovered from Covid-19 at the age of 113. This makes her the oldest person in Spain to have survived the disease. Branyas overcame Covid-19 in her home at a senior residence in Olot in the province of Girona. She told Spanish news agency EFE that she is in good health with small problems that everyone can have, and expressed her gratitude to the care workers at the residence. The people here are very friendly, very attentive, she said. According to her daughter, Rosa Moret, Branyas is a very strong and positive woman.

Regions to provide figures on suspected cases

Regions in Spain must send updated figures on suspected and confirmed coronavirus cases to the Health Ministry every day before noon. Thats according to a new government order published Tuesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE). Under the order, regional health authorities will have to send individualized information from the past 24 hours regarding infections in both public and private healthcare facilities. Laboratories authorized to carry out PCR tests or molecular tests must also update their figures every day before noon. The aim of the measure is to provide the government with the data it needs to follow and monitor the coronavirus outbreak.

With reporting by Miguel Gonzalez.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
SALEM, Ore.  Michelle Pratt's on her first patrol shift back, and her husband, a sergeant, is tagging along.

He requested the assignment because he needs to be there as much as she needs him, a twinge of guilt still gnawing at him for what happened last May.

Jake Pratt couldn't have changed the outcome. No one could have.

But at least the Salem police officer could dictate how she returns to the line of duty after being shot four times during a traffic stop.

The wounds are long healed. It's the scars they can't see that the couple are concerned about during the first shift back on Dec. 2, 2019.

She tries to avoid possible psychological triggers as she makes that first traffic stop, pulling over a different model and make of vehicle and choosing a different location.

But still, her heart's racing.

Officer Michelle Pratt was shot four times - in her left arm, both legs, and her back - on May 14, 2019 during a traffic stop. Nearly a year later, she continues to patrol for the Salem Police Department, on May 6, 2020.

She forgets to call in the license plate number. She gets tangled in her seat belt. Her flashlight comes unclipped from her utility belt.

As she approaches the driver's side window  facing "a little old lady who doesn't have insurance"  Pratt is literally shaking.

Then the flashback comes. She hears the loud pops and feels the sting in her arm, her legs, then her back.

Jake helps her refocus and recompose, both realizing this will be her toughest hurdle. The next traffic stop goes better and so does the next.

But during each, she has a flashback.

"I was mentally exhausted," Michelle Pratt said. "That night, after the first shift, was the best night of sleep I had since the shooting. Not just because of exhaustion but being back at work."

At a small Oregon meatpacking plant: First came fear, then a plan

Corralling preschoolers, then criminals

Pratt took an unconventional route to a career in law enforcement. She didn't grow up wanting to be a cop.

She graduated from Canby High School and what is now Corban University, both in Oregon. She got married, had children and taught preschool for 18 years.

Story continues

Curiously, she finds similarities between preschoolers and criminals and how they both need to be handled.

"Same skill set, different consequences, different age group," Pratt said during a candid interview at her home just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. "You let them both know what's going on, what you expect, and what's going to happen if they don't do it."

Officer Pratt loads a less lethal beanbag shotgun before going out on patrol at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020. She has never used it on-duty.

Her introduction to Salem Police was as a volunteer advocate on the department's Domestic Violence Response Team, which provides 24-hour on-scene crisis intervention and was the first program of its kind in Oregon.

She accompanied police officers on domestic violence calls, offering emotional support to victims, explaining the law and arrest procedures, and connecting them to resources.

About the time her kids were graduating from high school, she had an epiphany: "I don't think being a preschool teacher is going to be satisfying."

Pratt was 41 when she was hired part-time as a Salem Police Community Service officer, helping assist sworn officers with complaints where enforcement or arrest powers aren't required. But to be perfectly honest, there just wasn't enough chaos. She wanted more.

At 43, she graduated from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training and was hired as a Salem Police officer. She was the oldest in her police academy class and jokes she may have been the oldest to ever graduate.

Today, she's one of 183 sworn officers in the department and one of 17 females.

"Best decision I made  even going through all of this," Pratt said.

'This isn't grandma I'm pulling over'

The eight-year veteran has done hundreds, if not thousands of traffic stops, never once feeling like she was in danger.

"I wasn't even afraid on this one," Pratt said. "But you could see all the red flags."

She had just started her graveyard shift, almost a year ago to the date. It was still daylight, and there were no calls for service waiting. She had time for what she calls "play."

She headed toward Pine Street Pub in her district of northeast Salem, where she patrolled solo, and ran the license plate of a silver 2004 Chevy Venture minivan.

It was connected to an area property theft.

Pratt pulled the driver over at around 8:30 p.m. and was prepared to take some heat.

"This isn't grandma I'm pulling over," she said.

As she began to approach the van, a passenger exited the vehicle, and she requested a second unit. She talked with the driver and passenger for about 45 seconds.

An obvious red flag was the driver never once looked at her. She initially suspected he was going to get out and fight or get out and run. He was a convicted felon and had an active warrant for his arrest for a domestic violence incident.

Then she saw him reach for something under his leg, and her instincts immediately told her to get out of the frame of the window.

"I knew the minute he moved he was going to get a gun and shoot," Pratt said.

Bulletproof: Tourniquet, ballistic vest save life of veteran Salem Police officer

The prosecutor in the trial called it an ambush.

Pratt ran toward her patrol vehicle as the driver pulled the trigger four times close range. Bullets struck her left arm, both legs and her back.

She never had time to draw her weapon, but her instincts and training kept her alive  and her ballistic vest.

"For a split second, I felt like a victim," she said. "But then, I've got stuff to do. Nobody else was on scene."

She applied a combat tourniquet on one leg as she radioed information to dispatch about her injuries and the suspect, who sped away in the van.

In the ER trauma room

Pratt reluctantly gave up control of the scene to arriving officers, but never stopped giving instructions, not even in the ambulance on the way to Salem Hospital.

She told someone to take her boots for evidence. She could see where a bullet ricocheted. She asked someone to call Jake because both of her phones were still charging in her patrol car.

"Everyone turned away," Pratt said, realizing no one wanted to break the news to her husband the sergeant. "My only regret is I should have just asked for somebody's phone."

Police officers appoint a notification person, a fellow officer who agrees to inform loved ones if something bad happens. Michelle's is Cpl. Brian Kohlmeyer, who was on her squad at the time and is a friend of the couple.

Jake Pratt was at home in the kitchen, packing his lunch for work, when his personal cellphone rang. He didn't answer because he was about to leave and figured if it was important, they'd call his work cell. Seconds later, it rang again.

It was Kohlmeyer: "Michelle's been shot, but she's going to be OK "

Salem Police Sgt. Jacob Pratt and Officer Michelle Pratt on Dec. 2, 2019, just before her first shift back on patrol after being shot four times during a traffic stop. They will have been married two years in June.

Jake hung up while Kohlmeyer was still talking. He rushed next door where a K-9 officer lives. He didn't have a patrol vehicle at home, but he had a spare set of keys to his neighbor's. Jake told him what happened and said he was taking his car, knowing lights and sirens would get him to the hospital much faster.

The neighbor convinced Jake to let him drive, and they were at the hospital barely 5 minutes after Michelle arrived.

Staff recognized Jake as he flew through the emergency room code lock, and they pointed to Trauma Room 6.

"I didn't know what I was walking into," Jake said, obviously scared.

But then he heard Michelles voice  she was talking to a doctor  and then her laugh.

She saw the look on his face as he walked in, first relief, then frustration that he wasnt there to stop what had happened.

Human side of law enforcement

The Pratts, dubbed "Pratt Squared" by one lieutenant, have been married two years in June. They're not the only married couple on the force.

Supervising a spouse is against department nepotism rules. Jake and Michelle can't work on the same squad because he outranks her.

"I'm the boss at home," she said. "He's the boss at work."

They met in the department and found they had similar approaches to the job. They treated people with respect and had empathy for people regardless of what they'd done.

They were both runners trying to lose weight  her to fit in a bridesmaid dress, him because he was taking medication for heart palpitations.

They now have a blended family, with four children ranging from age 8 to 27, and a Saint Berdoodle, a mix between a Saint Bernard and a standard poodle.

The children of Jake and Michelle Pratt, both sworn officers with Salem Police Department. Back row, left to right: Peter, Shelby and Paul. Ellie is in the front.

They also have two cows, two sheep and some chickens on their 3-acre slice of heaven in southeast Salem where they had their home built. Tractors and fences become their world, not patrol cars and jail cells.

"We don't come home and recount our workdays," Michelle said. "It's the kids, cows, chickens "

"We do a really good job," Jake added, "of putting it on a shelf."

As they speak about their lives, their jobs, and the impact the shooting had on them, it's a reminder that law enforcement officers are only human.

"One flaw most police officers have is we feel like we have to be too impersonal," Jake said. "We have a gun and badge, but we put our pants on one leg at a time like everybody else."

"We all have the same things going on in our lives  divorces, blended families, child custody," Michelle said.

Telling the children that she'd been shot was stressful and emotional, something she'll never forget.

It took several hours and assistance from the American Red Cross to contact the oldest son, who was in Air Force basic training at the time. And it was a couple of days before they talked to the youngest daughter, who had been with her other parent.

Jake and Michelle picked her up after school and waited until they were home, which she could see was full of flowers. She'd already heard from a friend at school about a police officer getting hurt.

They told her Michelle had been shot and showed her the wounds. The girl was resilient, soon after asking if she could go play outside.

It was a blessing in disguise Michelle didn't have to tell one family member  her dad, who had died two years earlier. He supported her career as a police officer but many times asked if she could pick something that didn't make him worry about her.

"This was his worst nightmare come true," she said.

Extended family feels the pain, too

When the shooter pulled the trigger, he took aim not just on Michelle and her immediate family, but her law enforcement family.

She had worked with most of the members of her squad for several years, and they were close, getting together for barbecues and socializing outside of work.

She was in Officer Sabrina Hunter's wedding, the one where she had to lose weight for the bridesmaid dress.

"It was not just me and my family affected by this," Michelle said. "My squad is recovering, too. They've had a hard time. They feel guilty, like they could have done something."

Officer Michelle Pratt gets ready for her day-shift patrol at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020.

Most of them were still at the station when they heard "Code 3" over the radio, Pratt's call for officers to use lights and sirens and get there as fast as they can.

It can be used only in certain circumstances, such as when an officer has been shot during a traffic stop, something Salem Police later said hadn't happened in at least 15 years.

Her sergeant, Garon Boyce, was among the first officers on scene.

"I know I've never driven that fast to anything," Boyce said. "To hear a call like that for anyone  and Michelle is one of mine  is a very sinking feeling."

Hunter was in line at a Starbucks drive-thru and reaching for her coffee, which she pushed back at the barista as she sped away.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, she was crying and thinking morbid thoughts, all while pushing the Dodge Charger she was driving to the limits. The speedometer was tested. The check engine light came on.

She heard Pratt talking on the radio, but that wasn't comforting enough.

"So many different times in our job, people seem OK when they get shot because they get an adrenaline dump," Hunter said. "And then they die."

Hunter was stopped just before she arrived at the scene and assigned to a perimeter position. The effort to locate the shooter was already underway. She figured it was just as good, because she wouldn't have wanted Pratt to see her such a wreck.

She sat there, in her patrol car, and cried.

"I didn't care who saw me," she said. "I wasn't going to pretend I was tough at the time."

Officer Pratt was recognized with a Purple Heart after being wounded on-duty, pictured at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020.

Pratt was lucky. None of the rounds hit an artery or required surgery. She was bruised, bloodied and shaken, but out of the hospital in three hours.

During the briefing the next evening, she FaceTimed the squad, and they passed a phone around. While she began the healing process, her squad kept working.

"We should have been told to go home," said Hunter, now a detective. "None of us slept, we were all on edge, angry, we hadn't eaten, and the next night we were on the job.

"Nobody checked on us."

The Pratts did. A few weeks later, they invited the squad to their place for a barbecue.

"We knew they were struggling," Jake said. "As good as it was for them to see how she was doing, it was very cathartic for everybody."

Hunting for justice for one of their own

While responding officers and emergency personnel tended to Pratt on the scene, the rest of the department shifted focus to catching the shooter.

Officers off duty or on vacation put on their uniforms and volunteered for whatever was needed.

"It got to the point where we ran out of patrol cars," Jake Pratt said.

One officer in the city shop having work done on his patrol car bolted so quickly he was later notified he needed to return some tools the mechanic had left under the hood.

"It's easy to laugh about it now," Jake said from their living room couch, "because she's here, and we've returned to our normal."

Officer Michelle Pratt gets ready for her day-shift patrol in the briefing room at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020.

Law enforcement agencies from around the Mid-Valley responded, too, including Keizer and Turner police departments, Oregon State Police, and Marion, Polk and Lincoln county sheriff's deputies. They all knew Salem's resources would be tapped.

More than 100 officers were actively involved in the manhunt.

The SWAT team was called out minutes after the shooting and spent most of the night doing "block search," using thermal imagers, night vision and K-9's from yard to yard in a local neighborhood.

SWAT members were sent home around 3 a.m., but called back a couple hours later after the suspect was tracked to an apartment building.

The Mobile Command Unit parked nearby , and police swarmed the building.

The Tactical Negotiation Team, coincidentally led by Jake Pratt, worked in conjunction with SWAT. He wasn't involved in the case for obvious reasons, but its members are trained in communications skills to defuse a situation and prevent hostile and/or deadly actions from escalating.

"You don't get stakes a whole lot higher than to talk someone down who just shot a police officer," said Jake, who's been with the department since 2006.

The negotiators didn't get involved until after SWAT had already used explosives to blow down the door, rescued and evacuated a neighbor, and completely isolated the suspect in his apartment with no avenue of escape.

Officer Michelle Pratt gets into her cruiser before her day-shift patrol at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020.

Gerrit Roelof, now retired, was the lead negotiator who talked him into surrendering.

"His job was to get on the phone and try to save the life of someone who just tried to kill his boss's wife," Jake said.

Michelle practically held her breath until the incident was over. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt. Jake wouldn't let her listen to the police scanner.

He was on pins and needles, too. He got the call the suspect had been found while at the pharmacy filling a prescription for Michelle.

After less than an hour of negotiations, the shooter was in handcuffs by 8:40 a.m.  12 hours after the shooting.

"We couldn't have had a better outcome than we did," Jake said, knowing the suspect would ultimately pay for what he did to his wife.

At a banquet in March, SWAT members presented Michelle a shadow box containing one of the blasting caps from the explosive. The Pratts presented the team with a "Thin Blue Line" American flag in appreciation of its work.

There wasnt a dry eye in the room.

'I didn't die that day for a reason'

A lot has changed since Pratt returned to full duty in December. The flashbacks are gone. She's on day shift now and patrols a different part of town, changes made for family reasons, not the shooting.

Neither she nor her husband ever doubted she would be back in uniform.

"I came back because I want to be in control when I retire from law enforcement and not let anyone else dictate it," Pratt said.

Last November, the company that manufactured the ballistic vest that saved her life flew her and Jake to its Florida headquarters. The Safariland factory was closed for half a day, and employees heard first-hand from Pratt and two other "saves."

Her vest remains in Salem Police evidence in case there's an appeal. The man who shot her was convicted of premeditated, attempted aggravated murder, among other charges, and sentenced to 28 years, 9 months in prison.

Sentencing: Salem man gets nearly 29 years in prison for trying to kill police officer

Deputy Chief Steve Bellshaw would like to see the vest someday displayed in the new police headquarters building.

Pratt saw it this past week  for the first time since the shooting  when the Salem Statesman Journal of the USA TODAY Network requested to see it as the one-year anniversary approached.

The bullet was still lodged in the vest when she took it off that night, but lab technicians carefully removed the .45-caliber full metal jacket round during the investigation.

The vest was wrapped in brown paper with red evidence tape when Sgt. Boyce opened it and placed it on a table. He thumbed through the dissected layers of Kevlar that protected Pratt, pointing out an area noticeably stretched from the round.

Officer Pratt holds a challenge coin she received after graduating from her police academy at the Salem Police Department on May 6, 2020. The coin was zipped into her vest when she was shot, and it's the first time she has held it since that day.

Pratt retrieved two special mementos still tucked inside a zippered pocket  the challenge coin she received when she graduated from the academy and a tiny silver St. Michael medal, synonymous with the police profession.

She paused quietly, holding them in her hands, as if each was another important piece to the closure puzzle. Then she zipped them into her new vest.

"I'm not superstitious, but I put things in my vest," she said. "I didn't die that day for a reason."

Follow Capi Lynn on Twitter: @CapiLynn

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem, Oregon, police officer Michelle Pratt reflects on being shot
Craig Moseley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Katy city council voted to accept a grant for the Katy Fire Department as part of a relief fund for COVID-19 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the May 12 meeting. The council conducted the meeting over the Zoom conferencing platform in keeping with social distancing practices.

The council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Bill Hastings to accept the grant for the relief fund.
Rome residents encouraged to seize the opportunity to visit the city's tourist-free museums.

Rome's museums are undertaking a series of anti-contagion precautionary measures as they prepare to reopen from 18 May after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The municipal museums will reopen under the new health guidelines, with limited admissions, the installation of plexiglass barriers, online ticketing and extended opening hours, reports online newspaper RomaToday.

The measures are part of a plan prepared by the capitoline superintendency in line with Italy's Phase Two of the covid-19 emergency "in total safety and according to the requirements of social distancing" according to the president of the city's culture committee Eleonora Guadagno.

Read also:

Entry to museums will only be possible by booking in advance, with tickets purchased online, and museums encouraging visitors to use apps on their phone for guided tours.

There is a pre-sale fee of 1 although there is no booking fee for holders of the MIC city museum pass.

The city is reportedly studying the installation of thermo-scanners, to check the body temperature of visitors, and all museum rooms and toilets will be sanitised on a regular basis.

Guadagno has invited Rome residents to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to rediscover the city's museums which, for now at least, will be without tourists.

Full information on the reopening of Rome's museums will be available via the city's newsletters, social networks, website and cultural hotline tel. 060608.
Bernie Sanders has said it is "very, very unlikely" he will run to be US president again.

The Vermont senator stood unsuccessfully to be the Democratic presidential candidate in both the 2016 election and the upcoming 2020 vote.

He was beaten to the Democratic nomination by Hilary Clinton in 2016 and pulled out of Novembers race after falling behind Joe Biden in the primaries.

Speaking The Washington Post this week, Mr Sanders said: I suspended the campaign, but we certainly do not suspend the movement. That grassroots movement must continue, it will continue, and we will transform this country.

Asked if he will run to be the Democratic candidate in 2024, the progressive said: I think its very, very unlikely that I will be running for president ever again.

I think next time around youre going to see another candidate carrying the progressive banner.

Although Mr Sanders did not specify any names, high profile progressives include New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar.

Asked if he was certain he would not run again, Mr Sanders replied: Lets not be a media person worried about whats going to happen four years from now.

The next election will be held in November 2024, at which point Mr Sanders will be 83 years old and Ms Ocasio-Cortez will have just turned 35, the youngest age anyone can run for president in the US.

Last month, after dropping out of the race, Mr Sanders endorsed Joe Biden for president.

Recommended Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden

In the Washington Post interview, the senator said that although they have very serious disagreements on policy, he thinks Mr Biden will be 1,000 times better than Trump on his best day.

When Mr Sanders endorsed Mr Biden in April, he urged people to vote for the former vice-president to stop president Donald Trump being elected for a second term.

I am asking all Americans, Im asking every Democrat, Im asking every independent, Im asking a lot of Republicans to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse, he said in a livestream with Mr Biden.

We have to make Trump a one-term president and we need you in the White House, he added.
Scammers are on the prowl posing as law enforcement and government agencies to solicit money.

Attorney General Ken Paxtons Office issued a news release this week warning Texans to be alert.
In the midst of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a Vietnamese private company has hit the home run with its unique product: face masks made from coffee fiber.

Vietnam Veritas Shoes Co., Ltd.s coffee face masks may be the first of its kind in the industry, at least in Vietnam.

Its director Le Thanh said his company came up with the idea for this kind of face mask at the end of last year, when air quality became a pressing concern for residents in Vietnams largest cities.

Thanh noticed wearing a face mask was becoming a habit of many citizens even before the pandemic hit.

But what kept Thanh up at night was how to develop a kind of face mask that is both effective in protecting the wearer from air particulate matter and environment-friendly in that it can decompose easily after being discarded.

We already had the technology to make shoes from coffee fiber, so I thought of using this material to make coffee face masks, Thanh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

When the COVID-19 outbreaks hit, Thanh and his co-workers knew it was a good chance they could grasp to finally put the idea into practice.

Fashion was another one of the entrepreneurs concerns.

When people wear a face mask, they not only want an anti-bacterial and environment-friendly mask but also one that is fashionable and well-designed, Thanh added.

The fashion-minded product designers at Veritas Shoes decided to use four metal rivets, similar to those found on jeans, to fix the masks straps.

It took the company many months of hard work to produce the first coffee face masks in April 2020 under the brand name AirX.

The product was immediately met by warm reception from foreign customers, with many orders for the made-in-Vietnam coffee face masks shipped overseas to Japan, Europe, and the United States in the month following its launch, Thanh said.

AirX face masks are made up of two layers and made with antibacterial technology.

The outer layer is weaved from washable coffee fiber while the inner layer, a biodegradable filter membrane, is produced with a technology utilizing silver nano and coffee, according to the firm.

Both layers can be taken apart and reassembled easily, with the inner membrane remaining functional for up to 30 days without needing to be washed.

The AirX face masks have been AATCC-certified by the Quality Assurance and Testing Center 3 (QUATEST 3), which is based in Ho Chi Minh City.

The product comes in three-layered, antibacterial packaging.

Thanh said Veritas Shoes has doubled its face mask production capacity and their production lines are operating around the clock to meet customers demand.

With an overwhelming number of orders for the coffee face masks, Thanh said he wants to focus on controlling the products quality instead of increasing output.

We will roll out coffee face masks with N95 and N99 membranes soon. We have sent them abroad to be quality-tested, Thanh said.

AirX face masks currently retail at just over VND97,000 (US$ 4.14) apiece, according to the price listed on a Vietnamese e-commerce site seen by Tuoi Tre News.

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News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
Representative Andy Biggs is accusing former President Obama of attempting to orchestrate a coup against his successor, saying the previous administration engaged in a conspiracy to undermine then President-elect Trump while investigating national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Biggs made the claim during a Fox News appearance with Representative Jim Jordan, who alleged that over several weeks in January, 2017, Obama administration officials took steps during their investigation of Flynn that amount to a conspiracy against the incoming administration.

Those three weeks in January tell us everything, and the president is exactly right, Jordan said of the timeline he outlined. If it can happen to him, imagine what they can do to you, to Andy, to me, and more importantly, to any American citizen. Thats why this is so darn wrong.

Asked whether he agreed with Jordans conclusion that Obama was personally responsible for a coordinated effort to inhibit Trump, Biggs said the effort came from the highest levels of government.

Well, I think all the evidence  Jim gave you a great timeline  but all the evidence does point to coming right out of the top from President Obama on down, said Biggs, who leads the House Freedom Caucus.

This really was a conspiracy to do something that weve not seen in American history, and that was to actually perform a coup, the Arizona Republican said. Thats really what this was. I mean, you cant get to it any more succinctly than that. This was an attempt to undermine the election of the people. Thats a coup. And they were abusing their power, abusing the process, and they were  yeah, they were using the media.

The case against the former national-security adviser arose from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia. Flynn, a retired three-star general, was fired by President Trump after the revelation that he made contradictory statements to Vice President Mike Pence about whether he had discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He pled guilty later in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI regarding his contacts with the Russian ambassador, but withdrew his guilty plea earlier this year. His February sentencing hearing was canceled.

Story continues

The Justice Department made the controversial decision to drop the case against Flynn last week.

More from National Review
On a day when COVID-19 cases soared, healthcare supplies were scarce and an anguished doctor warned he was being sent to war without bullets, a cargo plane landed at the Los Angeles International Airport, supposedly loaded with the ammo doctors and nurses were begging for: some of the first N95 medical masks to reach the US in almost six weeks.

Already healthcare workers who lacked the crucial protection had caught COVID-19 after treating patients infected with the highly contagious new coronavirus.

That very day an emergency room doctor who earlier texted a friend that he felt unsafe without protective supplies or an N95 mask, died of the infection. It was the first such death reported in the US, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians.

But the shipment arriving that night in late March wasn't going to solve the problem.

An Associated Press investigation has found those masks were counterfeits as are millions of medical masks, gloves, gowns and other supplies being used in hospitals across the country, putting lives at risk.

Before the pandemic, federal trade law enforcement agencies were focused on busting knockoffs such as luxury goods and computer software, mostly from China.

As America fell sick, the mission shifted to medical supplies. To date, Operation Stolen Promise, spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, has netted 11 arrests and 519 seizures. And yet counterfeit goods continue to pour in not just masks, but also mislabelled medicines, and fake COVID-19 tests and cures, according to the agency.

The story of how one brand of counterfeits has infiltrated America's supply chains illustrates how the lack of coordination amid massive shortages has plunged the country's medical system into chaos.

AP identified the counterfeit masks when reviewing film of the Los Angeles shipment. The telltale sign: these masks had ear loops, while authentic ones have bands that stretch across the back of the head, making for a tighter fit.

The blue and yellow boxes being unloaded in a Southern California warehouse bore the name of the Chinese factory Shanghai Dasheng. The masks inside were stamped as if approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health signifying they had been certified by the US government as safe for workers in health care settings. N95 masks filter out 95% of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by looser fitting surgical masks.

But the day before they arrived, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a very specific warning: all Shanghai Dasheng N95 masks with ear loops were counterfeit.

Ear loop masks are less expensive to manufacture because the straps are attached with glue to the face covering, while headbands on genuine N95s, also called respirators, must be stitched, stapled or soldered to establish a tighter seal over the nose and mouth.

And even if the electrocharged fibers in the fabric are the same, masks with ear loops are not as effective because tiny airborne droplets carrying the virus can get sucked through the cracks.

AP tracked other shipments of Shanghai Dasheng ear loop N95 masks as they entered the vast US medical system. Shipping labels and invoices, certified letters and interviews with more than a dozen buyers, distributors or middlemen pointed to the corporate headquarters and busy factory of Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacture Company.

The company did not respond to AP's queries about its masks. And AP could not independently verify if they are making their own counterfeits, or, as the CDC said in a published warning, someone is using Shanghai Dasheng's certification numbers without their permission."



The CDC separately told AP it has been in talks with Shanghai Dasheng about authenticity issues.

Recently, NIOSH has received reports stating there is product being obtained directly from the Shanghai Dasheng factory, labelled as NIOSH-approved, with ear loops, said agency spokeswoman Katie Shahan in an email to the AP. Shahan said Shanghai Dasheng's N95s with ear loops are counterfeit.

On their own website, Shanghai Dasheng warns: WE DON'T HAVE ANY DISTRIBUTORS, DEALERS OR BRANCH FACTORIES. BEWARE OF COUNTERFEIT!"



Florida-based importer Mark Kwoka said he believes the Shanghai Dasheng masks with ear loops that he obtained came from their factory, based on information he received from his partners in China.

This is kind of getting out of control, said Kwoka, who made a career in bridal gown design and manufacturing in China but turned to masks earlier this year.

On a recent spring day, hawkers outside the guarded gates of the factory were offering to take orders for US-approved, medical-grade N95s.

It wasn't clear whether the sellers were getting their products from inside. A security guard told a reporter that he believed the sellers were peddling counterfeits, but police at a nearby station weren't able to confirm that. The security guard ordered the journalists to leave.

Shanghai Dasheng is one of the largest manufacturers of authentic N95s in the world and one of only a handful in China certified to make NIOSH approved, US medical-grade N95s.

In normal times, Shanghai Dasheng was the gold standard for N95s, according to several brokers who work in China. But in the rush of this pandemic, several said cheaper masks are proliferating.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One of the most commonly encountered terms in the coronavirus literature these days is the new normal. It refers to the norms that societies will adopt as they gradually resume normal life. The concept draws on the notion that societies like to live in accordance with a kind of pattern or routine that ensures that day-to-day life can proceed peacefully and harmoniously in an orderly fashion with a distribution of roles for production, reproduction and consumption as one generation succeeds the next. This does not mean that it is stagnant. There will always be contradictions that will boil up in times of war, revolution or natural disaster and become disruptive. Perhaps it is a kind of law of nature or, at least nature of societies, that after being thrown out of kilter, they will regain balance but generally on a new equilibrium that emerges after some elements are added to or subtracted from what prevailed before.

To take a familiar example, there once was a time when travellers could arrive at the airport shortly before their flight, check in their luggage, proceed through passport control and board their flight. Since the onset of the age of terrorism, passengers have had to arrive several hours early, get their luggage X-rayed when entering the airport and pass through any number of metal detectors where they have to remove shoes, belts, watches and anything else that might trigger the alarm. One imagines that in the post-coronavirus age additional measures will be required for international travel. Perhaps passengers will need to obtain a health certificate conforming with WHO standards to testify that they are corona-free. Or they might have to undergo body temperature checks or maybe even a blood test for COVID-19 antibodies on arrival at the airport. International travel will still be possible, but there will be a new normal.

In our discussions in this column about how the COVID-19 crisis will leave its mark on the world, we noted how the crisis has driven already existing contradictions to the surface. After all, the tensions we see today did not emerge out of the blue. In the Middle East, the so-called Arab Spring precipitated a state of anarchy and disruption in Arab states that whetted the ambitions of non-Arab regional powers. Iran pushed westward towards Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. Turkey invaded southwards into northern Syria. Israel seized more territory in the West Bank through settlement expansion and annexation. Ethiopia encroached on the Nile by proceeding unilaterally with the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Meanwhile, the Arab states that managed to weather the storm launched extensive reform processes with visions set on 2030. Then, before the end of this decade, popular uprisings erupted in four other Arab states: Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon and Iraq. They, too, expressed a rejection of foreign intervention and pressed for a reform process centred on the Arab nation state.

The COVID-19 pandemic that kicked off this year has put all the foregoing Middle Eastern trends to the test. As we can see already, the non-Arab regional powers are emerging from the test more aggressive than before. Although Iran was particularly hard hit by the virus, it remains as meddlesome as ever in Arab domestic affairs, as though this took priority over the welfare of the Iranian people. Turkey has grown more belligerent than ever even though it is now the regional leader in COVID-19 infection rates. Instead of withdrawing from Syria to free up more resources for the battle against coronavirus at home, it has dug itself deeper into the Syrian quagmire, redeployed terrorists from Syria to Libya and embarked on a military intervention in support of a crew of terrorist groups in western Libya. Israel brazenly launched its new government with a proposal to officially annex Palestinian territory. Ethiopia refused to sign the draft agreement on GERD that Washington brokered between Addis Ababa, Cairo and Khartoum, and then encroached into territory in eastern Sudan.

As for the Arab states that embarked on reform processes before the coronavirus struck, they realised that what they have accomplished so far has given them the ability and strength not just to fight the pandemic but also to contend with the crisis of plummeting oil and gas prices and the abovementioned interventions by non-Arab regional powers.

In other words, the new normal in the Middle East is that the COVID-19 pandemic has made non-Arab regional powers fiercer in the pursuit of their expansionist drives at the expense of the Arabs. It has simultaneously shown that Arab reform countries are on the right path. Higher growth rates are of the essence for Arab states, whether or not they are oil producers. Diversification of sources of income will be more of an imperative than ever in the rapidly fluctuating world that awaits us in the post-corona era.

The current pandemic compels us to focus on another crucial pre-existing phenomenon: the regional imbalance that non-Arab powers hastened to exploit in the post-Arab Spring era. The imbalance grew even more skewed against the Arabs when the US began to withdraw from the Middle East, beginning with Syria and Iraq. Most recently, Washington signed a peace treaty with the Taliban so that the US and its NATO allies can withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, abandoning that extremist riddled country to its fate. The solution to this regional disparity is for the Arabs to press forward with their reform drives with greater speed, depth and resolve. In this regard, if COVID-19 demonstrated the resilience of the healthcare capacities in the Arab reform countries, it has also shown that healthcare is one of their most promising growth sectors. With its potential for diversification, not just in services but also in related manufactures, it could evolve into one of these countries most lucrative industrial and service sectors.

Still, if reform is to pick up pace, increase in scope and contribute to rectifying the regional imbalance, it should proceed in the framework of a vast Arab market straddling the Red Sea, a market that offers the millions of consumers and producers to meet the industrial, agricultural and food needs of its member Arab states. In other words, the Arab regional dimension must be part of the new normal in the Middle East. As long as the regional aggressors have set their crosshairs on us as Arabs, then why not respond as Arabs?

The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A mentally ill man serving life for murder, who was transferred from prison some years ago to the Central Mental Hospital, has lost his Supreme Court bid to be considered for conditional release having served some 14 years.

The man, who cannot be identified, accepted release might lead to his detention under the Mental Health Act in a psychiatric facility but said that was better than facing an indefinite life term in the CMH because of his mental illness.

The man, who had admitted murder, was transferred several times from prison to the CMH for treatment for schizophrenia. His condition appeared to regress each time he was returned to prison, for reasons including non-compliance with medication, and he has remained for several years now in the CMH.

His lawyers argued, under the current legal framework, he faced indefinite detention in the CMH with no prospect of being assessed by the Parole Board or considered for temporary release.

His detention is reviewed twice a year by the Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board and all reviews over the past eight years concluded he required in-patient treatment in the CMH and should not be returned to prison.

In a judgment today a five judge Supreme Court dismissed his appeal over the lawfulness of refusals by the Parole Board to assess him for parole and by the Minister for Justice to consider him for temporary release.

Ms Justice Iseult O'Malley said, while he remains transferred to the CMH, the relevant law means he cannot be considered for release.

The CMH is not a prison but rather a "designated centre" under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006, she said.

Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended, (empowering the Minister to make rules providing for temporary release of prisoners) was never intended to apply to prisoners transferred to the CMH, she said.

The problem here was not that the law relating to life sentences precludes the possibility of the man's release, she said.

The "real difficulty" is that his state of mental health precludes his return to prison for assessment for parole and, to date, there has been no possibility under the relevant legislation he could be released for the purpose of being transferred to another psychiatric facility for ongoing treatment.

The CMH has been designated as a centre for detention and treatment of persons transferred there under the Act but, although the Minister for Health and Children can designate other psychiatric centres, no designation had been made when this appeal was heard, she said.

The court could not say whether the man's situation will be affected by the Minister's designation earlier this year of a facility in Portrane.

As matters stand, a life prisoner who develops a serious and chronic mental illness requiring in patient treatment could, as a result, "end up indefinitely" in the high-security CMH.

That may, unfortunately, be necessary in some cases and a review board had considered this man represents a significant risk of violence outside such a setting, she said.

The judge dismissed claims of breach of the man's rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits grossly disproportionate sentences. A "whole life" sentence, one that expressly sets the prisoner's life as the term to be served, would breach Article 3 but Irish law does not provide for such a sentence, she said.

The difficulties that arose in this case were "not unique" to prisoners serving life sentences, she remarked.

They had also arisen in the case of a man made a ward of court solely for the purpose of seeking his continued detention in the CMH because there is no other psychiatric facility here that is sufficiently secure.

An argument might arise, in an appropriate case, that the current framework is unlawful because there is no prospect of release for a transferred prisoner who requires in-patient treatment and is not well enough to return to prison but who is not considered so dangerous they could not be accommodated in an appropriate hospital in the community, she said.

That issue, she stressed, did not arise in this case because it was argued purely as a basis of statutory interpretation.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and then announce its monetary policy decision, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBNZ is expected to keep its Official Cash Rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. Japan will release March numbers for current account and April figures for bank lending. The current account is expected to show a surplus of 2,210.6 billion yen, down from 3,168 billion yen in February. Bank lending in March was up 2.0 percent on year. South Korea will see unemployment figures for March; in February, the jobless rate was 2.0 percent. Australia will see May results for the consumer confidence index from Westpac Bank and Q1 numbers for wage prices. In April, the consumer confidence index score sank 17.7 percent to a reading of 75.6. Wage prices are tipped to add 0.5 percent n quarter and 2.1 percent on year after adding 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.2 percent on year in the three months prior. Malaysia will release Q1 numbers for GDP and current account. In the previous three months, GDP was up 0.6 percent on quarter and 3.6 percent on year, while the current account surplus was 7.64 billion ringgit. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
CALGARY, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Today the ITRAK 365 team announces the launch of ITRAK 365 Community Edition  a series of free Process Flows built specifically to help companies manage the changing workplace requirements around COVID-19. The spread of COVID-19 has challenged traditional models around the world and forced companies to operate in new ways. With a leading platform and the integration of best practices from the health and safety industry ITRAK 365 is rising to the challenge.

ITRAK 365 Community Edition is offered at no cost and provides access to COVID-19 Process Flows for managing your business through a time of crisis. Any company within any industry can apply for access and will be provided one administrator login for managing data, workflows and reporting, along with unlimited access for field employees and contractors via the ITRAK 365 mobile app for iOS and Android.

Version 1 of the ITRAK 365 Community Edition includes 15 pre-defined Process Flows with accompanying Business Intelligence dashboards for the most common COVID-19 related activities and will be updated as requirements evolve.

Companies that want to access the free software can do so by submitting a request on the https://itrak365.com/COVID-19/ website. ITRAK 365 Community Edition includes:

Health and Safety Incidents & Reporting  Reporting and investigation of Incidents related to Injuries, Occupational Illnesses (Exposures) and COVID-19 events.





 Reporting and investigation of Incidents related to Injuries, Occupational Illnesses (Exposures) and COVID-19 events. Managing Remote Workers  Provide remote workers with the processes to work safely and enable easy adherence to corporate policies. Monitor the status of your remote workforce while also checking on their mental well-being.





 Provide remote workers with the processes to work safely and enable easy adherence to corporate policies. Monitor the status of your remote workforce while also checking on their mental well-being. Tracking Pre-Work Assessments and Return to Work Processes  Tools to help companies manage the complex requirements of bringing workers back safely or clearing essential employees for onsite work.





 Tools to help companies manage the complex requirements of bringing workers back safely or clearing essential employees for onsite work. Managing Business Health, Safety and Compliance  Manage the growing list of health, safety and compliance activities to ensure that you are following established practices.

"Businesses are facing many challenges  cloud and mobile software can assist, and with investments from our team and Microsoft's financial support we've been able to bring specific process to help for no-cost" says Trevor Nimegeers, Managing Director of ITRAK 365.

Companies that apply will have access until at least December 31st, 2020 for up to 1000 process flows per month. Companies who also require HSE expertise will be provided access to the community of Safety professionals for best practices support. Training and support will be provided weekly free of charge every Monday from 2-3pm MST.

ITRAK 365 is a global Microsoft ISV, who is revolutionizing the QHSE software space through rich integration within the Microsoft ecosystem. For over a decade, ITRAK 365 has been enabling businesses from various industries to become more proactive with their Quality, Health, Safety and Environment compliance and reporting. The company is wholly owned by AppDirect and is Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, with a client base that span all over the world. To learn more visit www.itrak365.com

SOURCE ITRAK 365

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The Indian security forces operating in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir dealt a major blow to the Pakistan-based Islamist terror group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) by eliminating its operational commander Riyaz Naikoo in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) on May 6 in his native village Beighpora in South Kashmir.

Naikoo was a high-value target who was responsible for many cold-blooded killings of off-duty policemen and alleged police informers and was very active in trying to rebuild the HMs terrorist network in Jammu and Kashmir by recruiting young men using the social media and other online forums. He had successfully eluded the security forces for many years but finally, his luck ran out.

No complacency yet

The elimination of Naikoo is certainly a shot in the arm for the anti-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley. It would, however, be a mistake to imagine that this decapitation of HM would break the back of terrorism in Kashmir. While decapitation of terror outfits is a very important part of the strategy to crush terrorism, it is at best a necessary condition to end terrorism, not a sufficient condition to achieve that objective. The reason is simple. There is enough jihadist cannon-fodder in Pakistan and Kashmir to keep the flames of jihadist terror alive in Kashmir for the foreseeable future.

To make it sound as if Riyaz Naikoo was some kind of an Albert Einstein who became a terrorist because of India is utterly preposterous. (File photo)

Even though it is a big setback and can create some disarray in the organisation and also have an impact on morale, a slain terrorist commander is eminently replaceable. Therefore, while Naikoos ignominious end doesnt mean the end of terrorism in the Valley, there are some important takeaways from the killing. The first is that most terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir have a fairly short shelf-life. Some have been eliminated within a day or two of their taking to arms. Other have lasted a few weeks, some a few months and in rare cases a couple of years. In fact, the entire Burhan Wani gang was eliminated within a couple of years of the infamous photograph that made the gang members poster boys of the new terrorism that was unleashed in Kashmir.

Naikoo was somewhat exceptional in the sense that he survived longer than most other terrorists  around eight years after he made terrorism his full-time vocation. What is important is that the intelligence network of the security forces is robust and information about the terrorists is flowing thick and fast. This is borne out by the spate of encounters that have taken place in the last few weeks. Just in the month of April, 28 terrorists were killed in IBOs and in the first four months of the current year, 78 terrorists have been eliminated. This then is the second big takeaway.

People in Kashmir might pretend out of fear that they support the terrorists and their pernicious agenda, but behind the scenes, they are feeding information about the terrorists to the security forces. This is partly because many people abhor the violence that the terrorists perpetrate and partly because of the extortion and ruthless barbarism perpetrated by the jihadists.

Disingenuous spin

The third takeaway is that it is not only dangerous but also despicable to romanticise terrorists while they are alive and normalise, even humanise, then when they are dispatched to meet their maker. What is worse is to find excuses and come up with disingenuous explanations about why someone turned into a cold-blooded killer, and in doing so ignore what stares everyone in the face: it is the ideology, stupid!

Let us be clear. A Riyaz Naikoo was no math genius. He wasnt a contender for a Fields medal. He was at best a mediocre fellow who got a degree in math and could only get a job as a school teacher. To make it sound as if he was some kind of an Albert Einstein who became a terrorist because of India is utterly preposterous. Scoring above 90 per cent in class X or XII might earn someone the nickname of Einstein but it doesnt mean the kid was anywhere close to becoming an Einstein.

In other words, Naikoo, like others of his ilk, took to jihadist terror because it attracted them, gave them a sense of mission, purpose and was a higher calling, and not because someone was at some time slapped around by a policeman.

Fix the ecosystem

The constant search by the apologists for terrorism for that single life-changing moment  this normally only happens in movies, because real life is a little more complicated  is at best virtue-signalling and at worst, an attempt to defend a dreaded terrorist by making him appear wronged, or even a victim rather than a perpetrator of unspeakable crimes. But given the triple entente between the leftists, liberals and jihadists, it is now the new normal for the Washington Post to describe the slain ISIS chief as an austere religious scholar, for Reuters to headline the story of Naikoos killing as Indian troops kill math teacher turned rebel and for the Islamo-fascist Erdogans state-controlled media TRT World to write a glowing obituary of Naikoo.

Indian troops kill maths teacher-turned-rebel commander in Kashmir https://t.co/PctEzL7dGT pic.twitter.com/3feXXOhV8Z  Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) May 6, 2020

Even within India, liberal Twitter handles have been deafeningly quiet, almost as if they are in mourning over Naikoos death. This is part of the larger ecosystem that sustains, sponsors, supports and romanticises terrorism and silently seduces young men to take to terrorism. Unless this ecosystem is demolished the war against terrorism will always end up mowing the grass instead of uprooting it.

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read: When it comes to terrorism, its all about the money in Kashmir
Hollywood filmmakers dont just invest in college romance. They understand that love can strike a person at any age. Your heart needs to be young, thats all. Such films give the ageing stars a chance to reinvent themselves. Thanks to their acting experience, they offer a dramatic flair often missing in love stories starring teenagers. We pick five films from the last two decades that exemplify the best qualities of this sub-genre. Have fun watching them during this quarantine. Recommend them to your parents and grandparents as well.Director: Nancy MeyersCast: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Lauren Holly, Mark Feuerstein, Alan AldaNick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is a slick ad executive who thinks hes a dawg but whom every woman he meets thinks is sleazy. He comes to know this when he accidentally acquires the power to read the minds of women. While hes somewhat ashamed of his real reputation, he uses his powers to steal the idea of his immediate superior Darcy (Helen Hunt) as his own. Later, he goes about mending bridges with all his female colleagues and builds a relationship with his estranged 15-year-old daughter Alex (Ashley Johnson). He begins to fall in love with Darcy and confesses all to her later in the film. Shes angry with him but forgives him. He loses his powers after a while but they do help him gain a better understanding of the female psyche. The film was a feel-good romance which saw the transformation of a cad into a prince charming of sorts. Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt looked good together in the film and shared sparkling chemistry.Director: Nancy MeyersCast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Jon FavreauHarry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a 63-year-old playboy who as a rule only dates women under 30. Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is a 56-year-old divorced playwright whose tastes also go towards younger men. Harry is dating her daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) and suffers a heart attack while they are making out at her mothers place. The doctors would like him to be somewhere nearby so he stays at Ericas place. Erica sort of takes care of him and soon they start liking each other and even consummate their relationship. He moves out after getting an okay from the hospital and soon is back to his old ways. When Erica, who has developed feelings for him, catches him with a younger woman, they have a showdown and he has a panic attack. Later, he mends his ways and reaches out to all the women he has dated and reconnects with them. She has put him in her latest play which is a great success. They later meet in Paris, where shes wooed by a much younger man (Keanu Reeves). However, understanding they share a bond, the young lover graciously steps aside, letting them have a chance for a new beginning.Directed: Nancy MeyersCast: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John KrasinskiJane (Meryl Streep), a successful baker, begins an affair with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) who is now married to a much younger woman Agness (Lake Bell). They have been trying to make a baby but Jake keeps taking medicines which decrease the sperm count. Blacking out is one of the side effects of the medicine and he once blacks out during a rendezvous in a hotel with Jane. Shes having her house remodelled and her architect Adam (Steve Martin), recently divorced himself, begins to have feelings for her. When he finds out that she's having an affair with Jack, he tells her to choose between the two. Meanwhile, Agness too finds out about their affair and leaves Jack. Their grown-up children too arent happy with mom and dad getting back together and the duo decides to end the affair for the sake of everybody concerned. Both Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin were praised for their acting. The film proved to be a runaway hit.Director: Nicole HolofcenerCast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben FalconeEva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a divorced massage therapist with a high-school going daughter. She starts an affair with Albert (James Gandolfini), who too is divorced and has a teenaged daughter of his own. Marianne (Catherine Keener) is one of her clients who becomes her friend and Eva later discovers that Albert is Mariannes ex-husband. She doesnt tell him about her and hides the fact that shes sleeping with Albert from Marianne as well. Using her friendship as an advantage, she starts learning about all his negative points and that sours their relationship somewhat as she begins to know too much about him too soon. Later, when he learns that shes friends with his ex-wife, he angrily breaks off with Eva. However, after a cooling-off period, they decide to give their relationship another chance.Director: Ritesh BatraCast: Robert Redford, Jane FondaIt is based on the novel of the same name by Kent Haruf. Louis Waters (Robert Redford) is a widower living by himself in a sleepy Colorado town. Addie Moore (Jane Fonda), a widow, is his next-door neighbour. The two are on nodding terms but arent socially acquainted. He gets shocked at first when she suggests a sleepover. And, its just that -- a sleepover as both are lonely and have trouble sleeping. There is no sex involved. They soon develop feelings for each other. Its a small town and neighbours do gossip. Thats when she tells him to come through his front door rather than the backdoor as now everyone knows. Gene (Matthias Schoenaerts), Addie's son, whose marriage is falling apart, requests her to let her grandson Jamie (Iain Armitage) stay with her for the summer. Hes critical of her affair and wants her to let go of Louis. Later, she decides to move in with her son after he has a panic attack after a bout of drunkenness. Her affair with Louis doesnt end, however, and continues over the phone, Both Redford and Fonda were in the 80s when they did the film and sort of gave an acting masterclass through the film. Its a heart-warming tale of old-fashioned romance and really makes us believe that age is just a number when it comes to love.
Iceland Seafood International hf ("Iceland Seafood") will publish its Consolidated Interim Financial statements for Q1 2020 after closing of markets on May 18th 2020.

As announced on 28th April, Iceland Seafood will on May 19th at 8.30am hold its Extended Annual General Meeting. The agenda includes one item, where the board proposes that no dividend will be paid for the fiscal year 2019 and that net earnings for 2019 will be added to the Company's equity.

Following the Extended Annual General Meeting the management of Iceland Seafood will present and discuss the Q1 results with shareholders, investors and market participants. The meeting will be held at Iceland Seafood premises at Kollunarklettsvegur 2, 104 Reykjavik, Iceland.
On Tuesday 22 September, Boris Johnson implemented a raft of new rules around wearing face masks in England.

Speaking at the House of Commons, the prime minister announced that from Monday 28 September, people will have to wear face masks when moving around hospitality businesses, such as walking to their table or visiting the toilet. Anyone not wearing a mask where it is mandatory to do so will face a penalty fine of 200 for a first-time offence.

People were already required to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets, as well as on public transport.

Mr Johnson added that the rule will also be extended to taxis and private hire vehicles and stated that the country had reached a perilous turning point.

Despite the rules, surgical-grade masks should still be prioritised for health and care workers and members of the public urged to find alternatives like DIY masks or shop-bought.

A number of independent brands, including Rewritten, have started to manufacture their own versions, with many benefiting charities too, but theres nothing to stop you from making your own, even if you cannot sew.

The government has even published its own guide to making masks following the publication of its roadmap and strategy for the next phase of the pandemic.

Whether you're handy with a sewing machine or simply want a quick fix, you can make do with what you have around your home, from old T-shirts and tea towels to single socks

When it comes to which fabrics to use, researchers at Cambridge University found that cotton T-shirts and cotton pillowcases are the best at-home materials for making DIY face masks, due to their ability to capture small particles while remaining breathable.

Here is everything you need to know about different types of face masks and step-by-step instructions on how to make them.

The T-shirt face mask

You will need:

an old T-shirt that you do not want anymore (ideally size small or extra small)

scissors

Step 1: Cut a straight line across the width of the T-shirt (front and back) approximately 20cm from the bottom of the T-shirt.

Step 2: From a point 2cm below the top right-hand corner of the fabric, make a 15cm horizontal cut through both sides of the fabric that is parallel to the top of the rectangle.

Step 3: Cut down towards the bottom of the fabric until you reach approximately 2cm above the bottom edge. From here, make another 15cm cut that runs parallel to the bottom of the fabric to make a rectangle that can be discarded.

Step 4: To make the ties, cut open the edge of the 2 long strips of fabric. Unfold the main piece of fabric and place over the mouth and the nose. The 4 strips act as ties to hold the cloth face covering in place and should be tied behind the head and around the neck.

The sewn cloth face mask

You will need:

two 25cm x 25cm squares of cotton fabric

two 20cm pieces of elastic (or string or cloth strips)

needle and thread

scissors

Step 1: Cut out two 25cm x 25cm squares of cotton fabric. Stack the 2 squares on top of each other.

Step 2: Fold over one side by 0.75cm and hem, then repeat on the opposite side. Make 2 channels by folding the double layer of fabric over 1.5cm along each side and stitching this down.

Step 3: Run a 20cm length of elastic (or string or cloth strip) through the wider hem on each side of the face covering. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle to thread it through. Tie the ends tightly.If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the covering behind your head.

Step 4: Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem. Gather the sides of the covering on the elastic and adjust so the covering fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping. These elastic loops fit over the ears.

The bandana face mask

You will need:

bandana or handkerchief

two pieces of elastic (or hair ties)

needle and thread

scissors

Step 1: Lay the piece of fabric out flat and fold in half so that the top and bottom meet in the middle. Fold the bandana in half again so that there are now four layers of fabric.

Step 2: Use two hair ties to create ear loops. Slip one hair tie over each of the ends and move a few inches toward the centre of the folded bandana.

Step 3: Fold the ends of the bandana in to meet in the middle. The ends should overlap slightly so you can tuck one end into the other to help keep them secure.

Step 4: Gently pull on the elastic and adjust so the covering fits your face. Then place the elastic loops over the ears.

The sock face mask

You will need:

A single sock (consider the fabrics breathability)

scissors

Step 1: Fold the sock in half and cut off the toe and ankle sections.

Step 2: Open up the sock and cut down the edge opposite to the heel.

Step 3: Fold the sock in half again and cut into the heels edge by about two thirds and about 2cm from the ends.

Step 4: Open out the sock completely and trim off the corners into curves.

Step 5: Loop the cut outs around your ears and cover your nose and mouth with the rest of the sock. The heel should fit securely over your nose.

When do you need to wear a mask?

The government has made it mandatory for people to wear face masks when they are in shops, such as supermarkets and banks, when using public transport and when moving around hospitality businesses.

The guidelines state that face coverings can help reduce the risk of transmission in some circumstance. Face coverings are not intended to help the wearer, but to protect against inadvertent transmission of the disease to others if you have it asymptomatically, the advice reads.

How to make your own face mask Show all 6 1 /6 How to make your own face mask How to make your own face mask Using a T-shirt - Step 1 Cut a straight line across the width of the T-shirt (front and back) approximately 20cm from the bottom of the T-shirt. Gov.uk How to make your own face mask Steps 2 and 3 From a point 2cm below the top right-hand corner of the fabric, make a 15cm horizontal cut through both sides of the fabric that is parallel to the top of the rectangle. Cut down towards the bottom of the fabric until you reach approximately 2cm above the bottom edge. From here, make another 15cm cut that runs parallel to the bottom of the fabric to make a rectangle that can be discarded. Gov.uk How to make your own face mask Step 4 To make the ties, cut open the edge of the 2 long strips of fabric. Unfold the main piece of fabric and place over the mouth and the nose. The 4 strips act as ties to hold the cloth face covering in place and should be tied behind the head and around the neck. Gov.uk How to make your own face mask A sewn cloth face covering - Steps 1 and 2 Cut out two 25cm x 25cm squares of cotton fabric. Stack the 2 squares on top of each other. Fold over one side by 3/4 cm and hem, then repeat on the opposite side. Make 2 channels by folding the double layer of fabric over 1.5cm along each side and stitching this down. Gov.uk How to make your own face mask Step 3 Run a 20cm length of elastic (or string or cloth strip) through the wider hem on each side of the face covering. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle to thread it through. Tie the ends tightly. If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the covering behind your head. Gov.uk How to make your own face mask Step 4 Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem. Gather the sides of the covering on the elastic and adjust so the covering fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping. These elastic loops fit over the ears. Gov.uk

What is the most effective way to wear a face mask?

If you are going to wear a face mask, it is important that you know how to wear it properly, otherwise the mask is redundant.

The government states that a cloth face covering should cover your mouth and nose while allowing you to breathe comfortably.

The World Health Organisation has provided the following steps for anyone wearing a face covering:

Before you put on the mask, clean your hands with soap and water, or an alcohol based hand rub

Next, cover your nose and mouth with the mask, and make sure that there are no gaps between your face and the mask

Once you have the mask on, avoid touching it while youre wearing it - if you do touch it, clean your hands again

As soon as the mask becomes damp, replace the mask with a new one - never reuse single use masks

When removing the mask, you should take it off from behind, taking care not to touch the front of the mask, then discard it immediately, and once again, clean your hands

How often should you wash your face mask?

You should wash a cloth face covering regularly. It can go in with other laundry, using your normal detergent.

These should ideally be washed after every use in a washing machine, if possible, Dr Shoshana Ungerleider, an internal medicine physician with Sutter Health, told CBS News.

More delicate masks that are handsewn may need to be washed by hand. If so, masks should be lathered with soap and scrubbed for at least 20 seconds with warm to hot water.
MEXICO CITY, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

(All figures referenced in U.S. dollars, except where noted)

Binding letter of intent subject to negotiation of certain commercial and financial terms; anticipated to close in 60 days

Proposed amendments to commercial and shareholders agreements ensure strong alignment of interest between the joint venture partners

Proposed 20-year extension of current CPSA term

Proposed financial support for Aeromexico by PLM of US$ 100 million using intercompany loans and award ticket advance purchases, funded by PLM's cash on hand

using intercompany loans and award ticket advance purchases, funded by PLM's cash on hand Agreement in principle to grant Aeromexico a 7 year option to purchase AIMIA's stake in PLM at a 7.5x EBITDA multiple, with minimum price of $400 million USD for AIMIA's stake, subject to final agreement on certain terms and conditions.

for AIMIA's stake, subject to final agreement on certain terms and conditions. Parties agree to pursue initiatives to increase distributions to shareholders

PLM approves a $10 million USD distribution to shareholders.

Grupo Aeromexico S.A.B. de C.V. ("Aeromexico") (BMV: AEROMEX) today announced it has signed a binding Letter of Intent with AIMIA Inc. (TSX: AIM) reflecting the parties' agreement in principle to negotiate certain changes to the Shareholders Agreement between them and the commercial agreement (CPSA) between Aeromexico and PLM Premier, S.A.P.I. (PLM), the operator of the Club Premier loyalty program. These changes, which would include a 20-year extension to the CPSA, are intended to strengthen the relationship between Aeromexico and PLM, to grow and improve the program, improve corporate governance at PLM, and align PLM shareholder interests regarding PLM profitability and value.

As part of the proposed transactions, PLM will, from cash on its balance sheet, provide financial support to Aeromexico of US$100 million in the form of a $50 million loan under the existing intercompany loan facility and through advance award ticket purchases of US$ 50 million. Subject to market conditions, AIMIA and AM will explore alternatives to strengthen PLM's balance sheet and enhance distributions to shareholders.

AIMIA and Aeromexico have also agreed in principle regarding modifying the Shareholders Agreement to grant Aeromexico a 7 year option to purchase AIMIA's 48.9% equity interest in PLM at an EBITDA multiple of 7.5x, with a minimum floor of $400 million USD for AIMIA's stake, subject to final agreement on certain terms and conditions.

AIMIA Inc. Interim CEO Phil Mittleman, commented: "Today's exciting announcement represents our commitment at AIMIA to create stakeholder value and maximize the value of our existing holdings. As a result of AIMIA's refreshed and strong working relationship with Aeromexico, we look forward to documenting improvements to the CPSA between Aeromexico and PLM, as well as a long-term extension of the new agreement. We also are pleased to support PLM providing additional liquidity for our airline partner during a difficult time, thereby providing continuity and stability for Club Premier members and participants, and enhanced value for all stakeholders. Providing Aeromexico an option to purchase our 48.9% stake in PLM allows us to fully align our interests going forward. We look forward to continuing working closely with Aeromexico and PLM to continue to enhance the value of PLM for all stakeholders in the years to come."

Aeromexico's CEO, Andres Conesa, concurred by noting "Aeromexico is also committed to these transactions that reset the relationship between PLM shareholders and to taking strides on many fronts to strengthen the relationship between Aeromexico and PLM/Club Premier. We believe that, working together with our joint venture partner AIMIA and the commercial teams at Aeromexico and PLM, we can ensure a bright future for Club Premier and its members and participants. We also appreciate the financial support offered by our partners as we implement our strategy to emerge from the challenging situation currently faced by the global airline industry."

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of the Company and its management with respect to its performance, business and future events. We use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect,", "intend," "target," "estimate," "project," "predict," "forecast," "guideline," "should" and other similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but they are not the only way we identify such statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in this release. Grupo Aeromexico is under no obligation and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Grupo Aeromexico

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. is a holding company whose subsidiaries are engaged in commercial aviation in Mexico and the promotion of passenger loyalty programs. Aeromexico, Mexicos global airline, operates more than 600 daily flights and its main hub is in Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport. Its destinations network features more than 80 cities on three continents, including 42 destinations in Mexico, 18 in the United States, 16 in Latin America, 4 in Canada, 5 in Europe and 2 in Asia.

The Group's operating fleet of 119 aircraft is comprised of Boeing 787 and 737 jet airliners and next generation Embraer 170 and 190 models. In 2012, the airline announced the most significant investment strategy in aviation history in Mexico, to purchase up to 100 Boeing aircraft including 90 MAX B737 jet airliners and 10 B787-9 Dreamliner's.

As a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, Aeromexico offers customers more than 1,000 destinations in 179 countries served by the 19 SkyTeam airline partners rewarding passengers with benefits including access to 636 premium airport lounges around the world. Aeromexico also offers travel on its codeshare partner flights with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, Avianca, Copa Airlines and WestJet, with extensive connectivity in countries like the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Peru.

www.aeromexico.com

www.skyteam.com

SOURCE Grupo Aeromexico S.A.B. de C.V.

Related Links

http://www.aeromexico.com


As Michigan begins its third month of the coronavirus crisis, most of the numbers are moving in the right direction, experts agree.

On Monday, the state reported 414 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 33 new deaths -- the third consecutive day with fewer than 500 new confirmed cases. There also have been 50 or fewer deaths reported for the last three days out of four.

We are seeing cases decreasing over time, which is what we want to see, said Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease specialist for the Detroit Medical Center. The stay-at-home model is working.

Michigan confirmed its first cases of coronavirus on March 10. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shut down schools and restaurants as of March 16 and issued a stay-in-place order on March 23 as the number of new coronavirus cases was growing exponentially.

As for May 11, the state has confirmed 47,522 cases of COVID-19 and 4,584 have died of the disease.

Coronavirus appears to have peaked in Michigan during the first week of April. Here is whats happened in the month since.

1. Average number of new cases a day has plummeted.

During the last week of March and first two weeks of April -- March 22 to April 11 -- the state was averaging almost 1,100 new infections a day. That includes more than 1,500 sickened on March 30, according to state data looking at onset of illness.

The average for last week was not quite 350. Thats the lowest seven-day average since the first week of the crisis.

The below charts shows the daily reports of confirmed cases. (The chart is based on when cases were confirmed vs. onset of illness.)

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2. Deaths are down 45%.

For the week ending April 11, Michigan reported an average of 131 deaths a day from coronavirus. Last week, it was an average of 72 deaths a day, a 45% decline.

Chopra noted that deaths are a lagging indicator. Its about two weeks behind" the case numbers, she said, reflecting the typical time between the onset of coronavirus and death in situations where the patient has died.

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3. Hospitalizations are down 64% from a month ago.

As of Monday, May 11, Michigan had 1,422 coronavirus patients who were hospitalized. That compares to 3,986 on April 12, a 64% drop in the past month.

Of coronavirus patients hospitalized on April 12, 1,570 were in an intensive-care unit and 1,365 were on ventilators. That compares to 684 patients in ICU and 544 on ventilators Monday, May 11.

Incidentally, while case numbers have surged in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas in the past few weeks, hospitalizations have not kept pace.

In the past two weeks, the number of coronavirus cases went from 1,052 to 2,332 in Kent County and from 327 to 622 in Kalamazoo County. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in the states Region 6, which includes Kent County, increased from 92 to 120 during that time. Hospitalizations in Region 5, which includes Kalamazoo, actually dropped from 62 patients on April 28 to 61 on May 11.

That indicates the majority of new patients involve more mild cases, said Dr. Russell Lampen, who heads the infectious disease division at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

We have not seen a significant jump in the death rate, and hospitalizations have not mirrored the increase in the number of cases were seeing, he said.

4. Testing has almost tripled.

Last week, Michigan averaged almost 11,300 coronavirus tests a day. Thats almost triple the number a month ago, and means Michigan is now above the national average in per-capita testing.

The current goal is test 15,000 people daily. On May 7, the state tested 14,257, the highest number to date.

Testing is seen as critical to managing the pandemic going forward. Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said Monday that state is hoping to increase that to an average of 30,000 tests administered each day by mid-June.

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5. Testing is finding fewer new cases.

Even with more testing, the number of cases has declined. In the first seven days of May, Michigan had 3,754 confirmed new COVID-19 cases, compared to 7,818 during the first seven days of April, a 52% drop.

The first seven days of April, 40% of coronavirus tests performed in Michigan were positive for the virus. That compares to 8.5% percent in the first seven days of May.

Experts at the Harvard Global Health Institute recommend a minimum of 152 tests per 100,000 residents per day. That equates to about 15,140 daily tests in Michigan.

Harvard also says the percentage of positive tests should be no more than 10%, a number they say indicates the testing program is adequately capturing the infected population.

6. Michigan has fallen to 11th in per-capita coronavirus patients.

A month ago, Michigan was third in the nation in total number of coronavirus cases, lagging behind only New York and New Jersey.

There are now four additional states above Michigan: Illinois, Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania.

In cases per capita, Michigan now ranks 11th behind New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Delaware, Illinois and Maryland.

In fact, Michigan has fewer active coronavirus cases right now than Indiana and Ohio, according to the Worldometers website, which pulls coronavirus information daily from state and county websites.

The website lists Michigan as having 20,282 active cases of COVID-19 compared to 22,979 in Ohio and 21,396 in Indiana. Active cases is the total number of coronavirus cases minus the number of patients defined as recovered by state and local officials, the website says.

However, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says it may not be an apples-to-apples comparison. Recovered is not a statistic run consistently between states, Lynn Sutfin said in an email to MLive. Some dont run anything; some use different definitions. So it is difficult to use for cross state comparison.

In per capita deaths, Michigan now ranks seventh, behind New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Louisiana and District of Columbia.

7. A projection model used by the White House projects a sharp drop in Michigans coronavirus deaths in June and July.

Michigan is projected to have another 1,200 deaths during the rest of May as a result of coronavirus, but the number is expected to drop to about 400 deaths during the month of June and about 60 deaths during the month of July, according to a model operated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

In fact, the IHME predicts both Ohio and Indiana will have more coronavirus deaths in June and July than Michigan. Its forecasting about 700 deaths during that two-month period in Ohio and almost 1,400 in Indiana as states move to reopen their economies.

In all, the IHME model is predicting Michigan will have a total of 6,517 deaths by Aug. 1. Thats a 42% increase compared to the current total.

The IHME model is projecting that Ohio will see its death toll more than double from 1,360 to 2,940 by Aug. 1, and Indiana will see a 165% increase to from 1,540 to 4,091.

Nationally, the model is projecting 137,184 deaths across the U.S. by Aug. 1, a 67% increase from the current total.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

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Manitobas 100th anniversary was celebrated in a very different way than the provinces 150th birthday today  and not just because people gathered together.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobas 100th anniversary was celebrated in a very different way than the provinces 150th birthday today  and not just because people gathered together.

Five decades ago, Manitoba celebrated the 100th anniversary of its birth in Canadian Confederation by hosting Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Philip, and their eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, for six days.

DAVE JOHNSON / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, with their children Princess Anne and Prince Charles, prior to the Royal couples departure from Manitoba on July 16, 1970.

The Queen has visited Manitoba six times, the first as a princess in 1951, and the last in 2010, but the 1970 visit was the longest. While here she visited 22 communities as far north as Churchill, Thompson and The Pas, as far south as Carman, as well as visiting Brandon, Beausejour, Dauphin and CFB Shilo. During the trip the Queen designated the Winter Fair in Brandon as the Royal Winter Fair and officially opened the then named Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.

On July 15, 1970, the 100th anniversary of the day when the Manitoba Act came in force, in a reconstructed outdoor version of the Manitoba Legislative Chamber built on the south steps of the Legislative Building, and after a speech by then Premier Ed Schreyer  and a brief meeting with a 100-year-old man who was injured at age six when a Red River Cart rolled over him  the Queen herself came to the microphone to give a message to Manitobans.

"Confederation and the foundation of the new Province of Manitoba took place during the reign of my great great grandmother and so it is a very particular pleasure for me, as your Queen, to be here in Winnipeg for these centennial celebrations and to take part with you in paying tribute to the pioneers and founders of this province," she said.

"One hundred years ago this vast territory was inhabited by a few thousand Indians and Metis and by a handful of French and Scottish fur traders and their families in the little settlement of Red River. Today, Manitoba is the home of one million people enjoying a standard of living which compares favourably with any other part of the world."

During her speech, the Queen talked about the people she had met while criss-crossing the province.

"This experience has given us all a most vivid impression of the intricate racial, religious and cultural tapestry which makes up the population of the province," she said. "As in a tapestry, it is the cohesion of thread and colour which gives strength and design to the whole fabric."

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The Queen also made special mention of the provinces Indigenous population.

"I am particularly conscious of the special relationship which has existed for so long between The Crown and the Indian people, the original inhabitants of this land. I am fully confident that they will always remain an integral and vital element in the life of the province."

The Queen also made special mention that the year also marked the 300th anniversary of King Charles II granting a Royal Charter to the Hudsons Bay Company.

The Queen concluded her speech by noting that "the history of Manitoba is one of human endeavour, fed by a burning conviction in all the settlers who have come to this province, that with determination and hard work they could build a new and better life.

"Their success can be seen in the fields and farms, in the industries and mines, in the towns and cities, and particularly in their homes. They have laid a sure foundation, it will now depend upon the younger generation to take up the work and make the vision of their parents and grandparents, of a peaceful, tolerant and plentiful land, come true for all its people and for many generations."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
High Tides on Cow Bayou in Bridge City is welcoming boaters and guests again in full force after opening days before restaurant restrictions in late March.

The pier-side bar and boil house offers seafood, po boys and other sandwiches, and also has a fuel station for boaters. There are dock slips with free tie-up while customers are enjoying a meal or drink.
P rotesters started working out on the pavement outside a Florida courthouse on Monday in a call for gyms to reopen amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The group of 30 gym-goers gathered outside Pinellas County courthouse in Clearwater to protest against a statewide order that closed gyms last month because of the virus outbreak.

The protestors were seen waving flags and banners and doing push-ups on the pavement, WFLA-TV reports, but there was a distinct lack of social distancing among the group.

One person on Twitter commented: "Working out to protest that you can't work out is the most Florida thing I've seen this week."

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

Another added: "And they're trying to prove what, exactly? Open the gyms so we can do the exercises we're doing right here on the sidewalk?"

They seem to be making the point that you do not need a gym to exercise! another commentator pointed out.

The demonstration comes as protesters have taken to streets across the United States to demand the reopening of businesses, despite the number of Covid-19 deaths topping 80,000.

Hundreds protest California beach closure

Hundreds of people swarmed the streets in Huntington Beach in California earlier this month to demand an end to the lockdown.

People packed out the streets in the city south of Los Angeles, defying an order to close all of Orange County's beaches which was issued after "concerning" images emerged of large crowds of beachgoers.

In Colorado, nurses defied a demonstration by standing in front of cars carrying protesters who were urging Governor Jared Polis to lift the lockdown.

REUTERS

After social distancing guidelines expired last month, President Donald Trump announced that the federal government would not be extending the advice.

"We're heartened that the worst of the pain and suffering is going to be behind us," Mr Trump said at the time as he led a roundtable with executives from companies like Hilton and Toyota.

The president laid out a vision of a return to pre-coronavirus normalcy - "with or without" a vaccine - with packed restaurants and filled stadiums.
The number of deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa could double if the provision of healthcare to HIV sufferers is disrupted during the coronavirus crisis, the United Nations said Monday. A six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy due to the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to more than 500,000 extra deaths in the region in 2020-2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNAIDS said in a joint statement. In 2018 -- the latest figures given -- an estimated 470,000 people died of AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The two UN bodies warned of the impact if HIV services are closed, supply chains interrupted, or healthcare services overwhelmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Modelling conducted for the agencies said a six-month disruption in HIV healthcare services could turn the clock back to 2008, when more than 950,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded in the region. "The terrible prospect of half a million more people in Africa dying of AIDS-related illnesses is like stepping back into history," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The knock-on effects would see people continue to die in excess numbers over the following five years, the statement said. In sub-Saharan Africa in 2018, an estimated 25.7 million people were living with HIV, of whom 16.4 million were taking antiretroviral therapy. Tedros said some countries were already implementing measures such as ensuring people can collect bulk packs of treatment and self-testing kits. "We must also ensure that global supplies of tests and treatments continue to flow to the countries that need them," he added. - 'Needless deaths' - Five teams of modellers used different approaches to work out the effects of possible disruptions to testing, prevention and treatment services caused by COVID-19. With a six-month disruption, estimates of excess AIDS-related deaths in one year ranged from 471,000 to 673,000. Disrupted services could also reverse gains made in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the agencies said. HIV infections among children in sub-Saharan Africa have declined by 43 percent from 250,000 in 2010 to 140,000 in 2018. Curtailment of HIV services for mothers and their children could see new child HIV infections rise by as much as 37 percent in Mozambique, 78 percent in Malawi and Zimbabwe, and 104 percent in Uganda, the modelling found. "There is a risk that the hard-earned gains of the AIDS response will be sacrificed to the fight against COVID-19," said UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima. "We cannot sit by and allow hundreds of thousands of people, many of them young, to die needless deaths. "I urge governments to ensure that every man, women and child living with HIV gets regular supplies of antiretroviral therapy -- something that's literally a life-saver." Since the first cases of HIV were reported more than 35 years ago, 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses, said UNAIDS.
Two students from Jamshedpur, who had returned from Kolkata, have tested positive for Covid-19, Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said on Tuesday.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Kulkarni said that the total number of positive cases in the state is now at 164.

This comes as migrants are being brought back to their native places by special trains from across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as many as 70,756 people have tested positive for coronavirus across the country, of which 22,454 people have been cured/discharged while 2,293 have lost their lives.
As of the 15th of April 2020, South Africa had 2,415 confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest number in Africa. Although the novel coronavirus pandemic has not yet caused widespread devastation in South Africa.

There is serious concern about the countrys ability to cope with its anticipated health and economic consequences. South Africas president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been praised for his swift and decisive management of the pandemic, by announcing a 3-week total lock-down, which has subsequently been extended for a total of 5 weeks.

The economic implications of the pandemic, and measures to curb its spread, are dire for the 55% of South Africas population that live below its national poverty line, and in particular, for the 25% that already experience food poverty.

However, despite their economic impact, strict lock-down measures have been deemed essential. Large and crowded informal settlements are prone to the rampant spread of infection.

South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country in the world, which together with high rates of tuberculosis and other diseases, place people at risk for severe COVID-19 illness.

In addition, South Africas over-burdened, and often failing, public health system is expected to be overwhelmed with the demands of this crisis.

African Enterprise South Africa is grateful for your prayers and ongoing support during this difficult time. In its initial response to this crisis, AE supplied and delivered 180 food hampers to vulnerable families in the Pietermaritzburg area.

The hampers consisted of staple foods, as well as essential hygiene items, to sustain each family for a duration of 3 weeks.

In addition, homemade facemasks have been distributed in the community, in keeping with the current CDC guidelines, as well as recommendations from the South African government.

AE has been able to distribute facemasks, together with Gospel tracts, thanks to the tireless efforts of AE South Africas Chair, Rob Langley, and his wife Bridget, who have made and donated these.

The staff of AEs Ngezandla Zethu sewing project, facilitated by Ntombi Dladla, have also sewed facemasks for distribution in the area. May we also seek to help our brothers and sisters stand firm in faith and fight this pandemic in South Africa.
Delta state government has ruled out Coronavirus as the cause of death of the 67-year-old American woman who died at a hotel in Osubi, Orerokpe under Okpe Local Government Area of the state on Sunday May 10, where she was lodged with her young Nigerian boyfriend.

The late American met her Nigerian lover on the internet and she came down to Nigeria on March 10th to be with him. They lodged in the hotel until she became ill on Sunday, and she was rushed to the hospital where the doctors pronounced her dead.

The state government via its Twitter handle, has dismissed claims that she probably died of Covid-19, saying the test carried out on her showed she was negative for the virus. The boyfriend also tested negative.
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



President Moon Jae-in has stressed the need to speed up measures to strengthen the country's infectious disease management capacity ahead of a possible second wave of infections later in the year.



In this regard, he instructed his Cabinet, Tuesday, to make the necessary preparations for elevating the status of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Separating the KCDC from the health ministry and establishing the Disease Control and Prevention Administration was one of the changes announced in Moon's special address to mark the third year of his administration, Sunday.



Empowering the KCDC with the authority to take charge of its own budget and personnel affairs has been underlined in the wake of the pandemic for a swifter and more effective response.



"We have no time to waste in the face of the crisis right before our eyes. We need to urgently improve our quarantine and health management system. This is crucial in dealing with concerns from experts about a possible second wave in the fall or winter," Moon said during the Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, according to press pool reports. "In particular, the elevation of the KCDC is sooner the better. This is something that both the ruling and opposition parties had pledged while campaigning for the general election. I urge the 21st National Assembly to place priority on this."



The President also urged the Assembly to act quickly on the third extra budget bill for reviving the economy and creating jobs in the post-COVID-19 period.



He also reiterated a push for the expansion of a universal unemployment insurance system in order to assuage the rising concerns about maintaining the livelihoods of irregular workers. About 14 million people who are economically active in Korea are excluded from the insurance, including part-time and low-wage workers.



"Expanding unemployment insurance coverage for self-employed people takes a lot of time and effort. We need to establish social consensus and prepare the necessary financial measures," Moon said. "We hope that the government will come up with practical measures to lay the foundation for the national employment insurance era."


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 01:16:08|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's macro leverage ratio has increased in the first quarter as the country stepped up credit support to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the country's central bank said Tuesday.

Since 2017, the macro leverage ratio has remained generally stable, with a decline seen in 2018 and a mild increase registered in 2019. But the ratio has climbed notably in Q1 affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in an online statement.

The rise in leverage is a result of counter-cyclical policies aimed at supporting the resumption of work by companies, the statement said, adding that the increase is only temporary and will eventually trend down after companies resume operation.

The latest central bank data showed that China's new yuan-denominated loans continued to climb in April, hitting 1.7 trillion yuan (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) last month.

The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 11.1 percent year on year in April, 1 percentage point higher than that at the end of March and 2.6 percentage points higher from a year ago, showing the effect of monetary policies, the PBOC said.

By the end of April, outstanding social financing, a measurement of funds that individuals and non-financial firms receive from the financial system, increased by 12 percent year on year to the highest level since June 2018, the PBOC data showed. Enditem
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) announced four upcoming telephone town halls. The virtual, audio events will feature updates on federal, state, and local actions and include experts to answer questions on a variety of topics from the effects of the coronavirus.

Joining Dingell on May 13ths event will be a local health expert, and an unemployment and workplace safety expert from the National Employment Law Project.

The telephone town hall events are free and open to the public. Click here to sign up to receive a call to join the events.

Dingell is acutely aware of the importance of being available to her constituents, and state and local officials as we deal with ongoing issues related to the coronavirus and COVID-19. Dingell knows the importance of being available to answer questions, deal with issues, and handle casework at all times. Dingell and her staff is available at all times by telephone and email.

Dingells Dearborn office is available at 313-278-2936, and the DC office can be reached at 202-225-4071. Information is available at https://debbiedingell.house.gov/, as well as daily updates on her Facebook and Twitter.

WHAT: Dingell Telephone Town Hall Events

WHO: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell

State and Local Experts

WHEN: Wednesday, May 13 at 5:30 pm

Wednesday, May 27 at 5:30 pm

Wednesday, June 10 at 5:30 pm

Wednesday, June 24 at 5:30 pm

SIGN UP: https://debbiedingell.house.gov/live/
HARTFORD  State government officials are challenging students to come up with their own ideas for defeating the spread of the coronavirus.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz announced the launch of the Lt. Governors COVID-19 Computing Challenge: A statewide challenge to address a global concern. She was joined by Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw, Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, Motor Vehicles Commissioner Sibongile Magubane and Office of Higher Education Executive Director Tim Larson.

Due to the novel coronavirus radically disrupting the 2019-20 academic year for the states students, this computing challenge provides a valuable resource for educators who are considering ways to keep their students academically engaged in rigorous problem-solving, Bysiewicz said.

Students, from grades 3 through 12, can work individually or in teams. The ideas they come up with do not need to include functioning apps. The deadline to submit to this challenge is May 29.

Connecticut students are invited to submit ideas that could be implemented with computer technology like apps, websites or computer programs, in order to defeat the spread of the disease, aid our communities and encourage and inform the general public, Bysiewicz said. Im looking forward to seeing what our students come up with.

Cardona said the pandemic is presenting challenges unlike anything Connecticut has ever seen.

The reliance on technology to address a variety of issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is astounding, he said. This challenge allows students to continue learning while creating a solution to a real-world problem and making a positive difference in their communities and state.

Students with a basic understanding of computing technology can imagine themselves creating and implementing technology that will make a difference in their lives, and those of their family members and community members, he said.

The goal is to have students use this period of social distancing to improve their communities.

A complete submission will include demographic information of contributing team member(s), the problem the student or team addresses, the inspiration for the final idea, a description of how the app would work and an optional video.

All submissions will be posted publicly, and all Connecticut students are encouraged to vote for their favorite submissions from June 1 to June 12. Selected participants will be invited to showcase their submission.

Officials said the challenge will allow students to: gain exposure to the uses of computer technology; develop their interest in technology; be creative in using computer technology; learn how to collaborate virtually; and apply computational thinking skills.

The idea for the coding challenge was inspired by the work of the Council on Women and Girls Education and STEAM subcommittee, in partnership with its steering committee community partners.

When he took office, Gov. Ned Lamont formed the Governors Council on Women and Girls, a group that provides a state response to issues that impact the lives of women, girls, their families and the state. Bysiewicz chairs the council, and McCaw is the vice chair.

The group meets every other month to plan legislation and review government policies and practices with a goal of ending gender discrimination and supporting the needs of women. Subcommittees include: education, economic opportunity and workforce equity, leadership and health and safety.

The education and STEAM subcommittee, co-chaired by Magubane and Larson, encourages educational advancement for women and girls in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. One effort the subcommittee was planning was a coding challenge for students.

More Information How to participate Students can reference this flyer for details on how to participate. Teachers should read this flyer to learn how this challenge engages students' skills. Parents can check out out this flyer to understand the benefits of their child's participation. Email questions to computingchallenge@skills21.org. #CTHacksCOVID See More Collapse

For more information on the COVID-19 Computing Challenge, visit the Lt. Governors Covid-19 Coding Challenge.

jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com
Nadia Bartel celebrated her 35th birthday over the weekend.

And the former AFL WAG's friends have marked her special day by sharing their favourite throwback photos of Nadia from her pre-fame days on the Melbourne party scene.

Weekend Today weather presenter Lauren Phillips posted an undated photo to Instagram of the pair at a gathering years ago.

Flashback! Nadia Bartel's friends have marked her 35th birthday by sharing their favourite throwback photos of the socialite from her pre-fame days on the Melbourne party scene

In the picture, Nadia looked very different with blonde hair as she struck a pose in a yellow dress with a black belt.

Lauren wished the stylish mother-of-two a happy birthday and joked that the photo had been taken 'ten thousand years ago'.

One of Nadia's other friends, Kelly McBride, also shared a rare image of the fashion designer from the archives.

Blast from the past: Weekend Today weather presenter Lauren Phillips (centre) posted this undated photo to Instagram of the pair at a gathering years ago. Nadia is pictured right

Archives: One of Nadia's other friends, Kelly McBride (left), also shared this rare image of the fashion designer from the archives

Kelly shared a photo of herself hugging Nadia and wrote in the caption, 'Happy Birthday Coppy,' referring to Nadia's maiden name, Coppolino.

She then uploaded a second (even older) photo of the pair with another friend, Ellie Pearson, at a nightclub.

All three women had blonde hair - Nadia had bright peroxide locks - and Kelly joked in the caption they had yet to find good stylists.

'At the club': Kelly then uploaded a second (even older) photo of the pair with another friend, Ellie Pearson, at a nightclub. Nadia is pictured left with platinum blonde hair

Nadia's 35th birthday on Sunday was her first as a single mother following her split from retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel, who is the father of her sons, Aston and Henley.

She recently spoke to Stellar magazine about her marriage breakdown and adjusting to life as a single parent.

'This is never what I thought would happen. Every day is tough,' she said.

Bittersweet: Nadia's 35th birthday on Sunday was her first as a single mother following her split from retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel, who is the father of her sons, Aston and Henley

Split: Nadia and Jimmy (right) announced their separation on August 15 last year, but it's believed they actually broke up two months earlier

Nadia and Jimmy announced their separation on August 15 last year, but it's believed they actually broke up two months earlier.

The Bartels married in February 2014 in a lavish ceremony on the Bellarine Peninsula.

The former Geelong Cats star, 36, is now dating Melbourne socialite Lauren Mand.
Bismah Malik By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Reports of Donald Trump-led US government planning to temporarily suspend various guest worker visas, including H1-B visas, have caused an uncertainty in the Indian IT/ITes sector  the highest beneficiary of these visas.

According to US official data, 2,75,000 H1-B visa applications were received for FY21 alone. However, due to stricter regimes and compliance costs, the rejection rate for these visas stood at 30 per cent in the first quarter of FY20. The rejection rate for Indian IT/ ITes and consultancy firms is even higher than the US-headquartered firms. Nearly 67 per cent of fresh H1B visa applications for FY21 came from India, the data showed.

Amid a soaring unemployment rate in the US with 20.5 million jobs having been lost in April alone due to Covid-19 pandemic, four US lawmakers have written to Trump seeking suspension of guest worker visas for at least next year or until unemployment returned to normal levels. The letter mentions that given the extreme lack of jobs for American job-seekers, it defies common sense to admit more foreign workers for such limited employment.

A move to temporarily suspend the H1-B visas will be unprecedented for the Indian IT/ ITes sector who definitely rely on these visas for many of their contracts within US. The industry needs to adopt a wait-and-watch policy to see if the Republicans also vote for the legislation that bans H1-B visas. If at all such a law is passed, it will trigger a new wave of recruitment by Indian IT firms within the US in short term. For now, there is a huge uncertainty, Shailesh Shah, CEO, Strta Consulting, told TMS.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services earlier extended a grace period of 60 days for H1-B visa holders who were laid off, in a big relief to lakhs of Indian techies stranded in the US right now. Many skilled professionals from the IT industry who were laid off in the current wave of unemployment have been asked to either leave the country or find a suitable job within the period.

Any such law, if at all passed, will be only implemented next year, given the H1B visa applications process for this year has already begun. Even a temporary ban on H1-B visas is highly unlikely as Indian and global tech firms, and Silicon Valley start-ups have been hiring Indians on H1-B visas, said Pareekh Jain, founder, EIIRTRend and Pareekh Consulting.
[May 12, 2020] DataStax Astra Now Available, Bringing Apache Cassandra Performance, Reliability, and Scale to the Cloud

DataStax today announced the general availability of DataStax Astra, a database-as-a-service (DBaaS) for Apache Cassandra applications, simplifying cloud-native Cassandra application development. The DBaaS reduces deployment time from weeks to minutes, removing the biggest obstacle to using Cassandra, which is behind many of the most heavily used applications in the world. Developers can access Astra now at astra.datastax.com/register and on Google Cloud's Marketplace. Cassandra is a popular choice when applications need to support massive amounts of data with zero tolerance for downtime. According to research conducted by ClearPath Strategies, developers and operators cite the top two reasons for using Cassandra as a good hybrid solution (62 percent) and highly scalable (57 percent); however, 36 percent of practitioners cite a lack of skilled staff as the top obstacle to Cassandra adoption.1 Astra helps overcome that operational challenge by making Cassandra's masterless, scale-out architecture and linear scalability easily accessible as an on-demand cloud service. DataStax offers free workshops to help developers learn, create, and/or use Cassandra in Astra. Join the next online Cassandra Developer workshop series on May 20, 2020 by registering here. "Astra represents a breakthrough for anyone who wants to use Cassandra in the cloud," said Ed Anuff, chief product officer at DataStax. "We've been delivering products built on Cassandra to enterprises that deploy global-scale data for over a decade. Our enterprises and users have been asking for Cassandra-as-a-Service in the cloud. We're happy to offer Astra as that experience." On Google (News - Alert) Cloud, Astra deploys and manages enterprise clusters powered by Cassandra directly on top of Google Cloud's Platform infrastructure, so that data sits in the same Google Cloud global infrastructure as applications. This means users and enterprises can deliver a high-performance experience with one of the most scalable databases on Google Cloud. "At Google Cloud, we are committed to bringing the best open source technologies to our customers, and we are delighted that DataStax Astra is now available on Google Cloud. Our customers have asked for Cassandra on Google Cloud and now they can easily deploy and scale their clusters in the cloud," said Manvinder Singh, Director, Partnerships at Google Cloud. "Together, we're bringing the best of open source and Cassandra expertise to our customers." Astra users will find a consistent developer experience with open-source Cassandra tools and APIs, as well as REST and GraphQL endpoints and a browser-based CQL shell. Enterprises, users, and partners endorsing and/or using Astra: Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. Cengage leads affordable learning with digital learning platforms, college textbooks, ebooks, and an unlimited subscription to over 22,000 digital products. "Finally! An easy, straight-forward managed service for our Cassandra workloads. I have been waiting for an easy, out-of-the-box solution for our users. DataStax Astra hits all of the needs for our organization," said Michael Heinen, manager, platform operations, cloud operations at Cengage.



Cisco (News - Alert) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the internet work since 1984. "Our team has been working for the past couple of years to ensure our infrastructure is set up to scale to meet unforeseen challenges," said Maniyarasan Selvaraj, lead Cisco engineer. "Cassandra is at the center of this with its reliability, resilience, and scalability. We are looking forward to the new release of DataStax Astra that could offer us an easier, better experience for Cassandra deployment and application development in the cloud." Datical brings DevOps to the database with automation. Datical's powerful database release automation tools help companies release software faster. "Astra is hands-down the best solution for Cassandra developer productivity. It eliminates all of the overhead involved in setting up Cassandra. With Astra, developers can fully automate their CI/CD pipelines for Cassandra support. This means they can concentrate on more important tasks," said Robert Reeves, chief technology officer, of Datical.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services each year to learn more about their family history. "At FamilySearch, we have worked hard to establish a technical infrastructure that enables an always-on operation for our customers. DataStax Enterprise and Cassandra are core elements of that infrastructure, enabling us to scale the data tier for our applications to meet the demands of our patrons," said Tom Creighton, chief technology officer at FamilySearch. "DataStax Astra aligns very nicely with our overall DevOps model of automated infrastructure in the cloud. This product directly addresses one of the biggest issues surrounding the adoption of Cassandra in an enterprise - the difficulty of provisioning and managing Cassandra clusters. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DataStax and are pleased to see the continued advancement of their product, solutions, and service offerings." Kong is used by thousands of developers across the world to secure, manage, and orchestrate microservice APIs. "APIs are about powering large amounts of data in motion, which is why many of Kong's customers have chosen Apache Cassandra. We were excited when we heard that DataStax was making Astra work with Kong. This will enable our users to experience the simplicity and scale of DataStax's cloud-native service built on Apache Cassandra," said Kristian Gyorkos, senior director of alliances at Kong. Venmo is a mobile payment service owned by PayPal (News - Alert). "At a time when data limits are being tested, every business needs to be a digital business. That means your infrastructure needs to be solid," says Dipak Chandan, senior engineering manager at Venmo. "We already use Cassandra for the reliability and resilience to handle big workloads with zero downtime. The promise of Astra is a true Cassandra-as-a-Service with no ops. This will help developers work more efficiently so they can spend more time innovating." To learn more about Astra, join us for Accelerate: A NoSQL Original Series and catch the "2 Years of Transformation in 2 Months: The Data Firehose" panel on May 12, 2020. Register here. Availability Astra is available now at astra.datastax.com/register and on Google Cloud Marketplace. Astra is also available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with support for Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure expected to follow. Resources:

Blog: Welcome to DataStax Astra

Blog: Astra: The Future of Apache Cassandra is Cloud Native

Workshop: Building Applications on Astra with BetterBotz

Cassandra Workshops: www.datastax.com/company/events/cassandra-developer-workshop

Astra on Google Cloud Platform: www.datastax.com/platform/google-cloud-platform

Astra on Amazon Web Services: https://www.datastax.com/platform/amazon-web-services

Virtual conference: Accelerate 2020: A NoSQL Original Series About DataStax DataStax is the company behind the massively scalable, highly available, cloud-native NoSQL data platform built on Apache Cassandra. DataStax gives users and enterprises the freedom to run data in any cloud at global scale with zero downtime and zero lock-in. More than 450 of the world's leading enterprises including Capital One, Cisco, Comcast, Delta Airlines, eBay (News - Alert), Macy's, McDonald's, Safeway, Sony, and Walmart use DataStax to build transformational data architectures for real-world outcomes. For more, visit DataStax.com and @DataStax.  2020 DataStax, All Rights Reserved. DataStax, Titan, and TitanDB are registered trademarks of DataStax, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Apache, Apache Cassandra, and Cassandra are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation or its subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries. 1Data from a forthcoming DataStax research report. Research conducted by ClearPath Strategies who surveyed 1,404 IT professionals and executives from April 13-23, 2020. Respondent roles included Developers (30 percent), CIO/CTO (19 percent), Managers (17 percent), Operators (14 percent), Data scientists/engineers (7 percent), Architects (5 percent), and DevOps (3 percent). The survey included a mix of company sizes: 35% SME (<1K employees), 65% Enterprise (1K+), including 24% Large Enterprise (10K+). Respondents hailed from 13 geographies (Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, the UK, and the US) and took the survey in 8 languages corresponding to these geographies. While the margin of sampling error cannot technically be calculated for online panel populations where the relationship between sample and universe is unknown, the margin of sampling error for equivalent representative samples would be +/- 2.6 percent. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005295/en/

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  As the government allows more businesses to resume operations, health officials urge employers to be more considerate about their sick leave policies.

"Repasuhin natin ang mga polisiya ng kumpanya sa sick leave at gawing madali para sa mga may sakit ang tumawag na lang na walang pangamba na mayroong negative consequences," said Health Spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire on Tuesday in the Department of Health's daily online briefing.

[Translation: Let's review the company's policies on sick leaves and make it easier for employees to call in sick without worrying about negative consequences.]

The government has announced the easing of some quarantine restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including lifting work suspensions in several sectors, such as select manufacturing plants and hardware stores.

The DOH reminded companies to implement preventive measures such as social distancing, proper sanitation and disinfection in the workplace. It also told employers to ensure that workers have access to mental health services to help them cope with the situation.

"Itong mga nakaraang linggo ay isang nakakabahalang panahon para sa ating lahat, kaya't tiyakin ang inyong empleyado ay may access sa mental health services kung kinakailangan nila ito," said Vergeire.

[Translation: These past few weeks have been anxious times for us all, that is why you should ensure that your employees have access to mental health services if they need them.]

Vergeire said employers should ensure that workers have protective gear, such as face masks, and not force employees showing COVID-19 symptoms to work.

The national COVID-19 case tally has risen to 11,350, with 2,106 recoveries and 751 deaths. Authorities fear a "second wave" of cases once strict quarantine rules are lifted.
International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12 to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. She was also known as the Lady with the Lamp and the Angel of Crimea.

Florence Nightingale and her team of nurses had worked round the clock to take care of the ailing soldiers during the Crimean War in 1853-1856. The efforts by Florence Nightingale-led team had reduced the death rate in the hospital by two-thirds.

Her experience in the field of nursing and sanitation war recognised and rewarded by Queen Victoria. With the support of the Queen, Nightingale went to establish the St. Thomas Hospital and Nightingale Training School for Nurses in 1860.

Why Do We Celebrate International Nurse Day Each Year?

International Nurse Day is observed to focus on the importance of nurses and recognise their efforts. The event holds increased relevance at a time when health workers have become essential to the fight against the novel coronavirus disease.

Every year, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) comes up with a theme to honour all the nurses. For 2020, the theme for Internation Nurse Day is Nursing the world to health.

Various seminars and workshops are organised to recognise the challenges the world faces in relation to good health and the contribution of nursing in addressing these. The International Council of Nurses believes that it is essential to tell the world who the nurses are and what they do.

This year, the International Council of Nurses and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have joined hands to celebrate International Nurses Day.

They aim to laud nurses around the globe and in particular those managing an unprecedented workload by treating patients with COVID-19 while also maintaining other essential health services.
A hotel worker who was in contact with a quarantined international traveller is the latest West Australian to test positive for COVID-19.

The 47-year-old is self-isolating and WA health workers are investigating who the man came into contact with after he contracted the virus.

Premier Mark McGowan says a hotel worker at the Pan Pacific has tested positive for coronavirus. Credit:Richard Wainwright

Premier Mark McGowan said the state was not yet "out of the woods".

"There is currently contact tracing underway but what it shows is that it's extremely contagious and you never know when someone will acquire the illness," he said.
Today, China has the worlds largest population at 1.4 billion people. However, back in 1979, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping established the one-child policy in order to lessen the demand for resources like water and housing. As of 1965, the average household had six children. To suddenly cut that number down to one meant that the policy prevented up to 400 million births.

But how much do westerners know about this one-child policy? How was it enforced? What are its consequences? Hopefully the following ten facts will illuminate some of these lesser-known details.

10. History of Family Planning

"Please for the sake of your country, use birth control. Sign put up by the Chinese government to discourage couples having more than one child. Image credit: Venus/Wikimedia.org

Chinas population started outpacing available resources long before the introduction of the one-child policy. Following the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government began preaching the importance of family planning and encouraging the use of birth control as a means of managing the population. These initiatives were non-mandatory, however, and did not produce the expected results. Despite the Great Chinese Famine which killed tens of millions of people, the countrys population was still rapidly approaching one billion by the late 1970s.

9. Incentives

Zhongdian, one child poster. Image credit: Arian Zwegers/Flickr.com

Parents who complied with the one-child policy would receive a certificate which entitled them to all sorts of benefits, including access to government services, better employment opportunities, higher wages, longer maternity leave, quality childcare, and better housing. These benefits acted as incentives to make the policy seem more agreeable.

8. Punishment

Needless to say, these benefits were not available to those who did not comply with the one-child policy. If violated, parents would find themselves subjected to heavy fines and at risk of having their property seized by corrupt officials. To make matters worse, salaries were often reduced by fifteen percent and gaining access to assistance services suddenly became quite difficult. In extreme cases, women endured forced sterilization.

In regard to their own families, government officials and the countrys wealthy often ignored the policy, because they could afford to pay the fines. In fact, many offending officials were never punished at all.

7. Exceptions

Chinese rural families were allowed to have two children if the first born was a girl. Image credit: Suriya99/Shutterstock.com

The one-child policy did not apply to everyone in China. Only the Han peoplethe worlds largest ethnic groupwere expected to comply. Ethnic minorities, such as Uighurs and Tibetans, were allowed to have more than one child, and so were rural Chinese families if their firstborn was a baby girl. Another exception permitted couples to bear more offspring if they themselves were an only child. And lastly, a second kid was generally accepted if the first was born with major health issues.

6. Unregistered Children

Up to thirteen million babies were born outside the one-child policy, which means they were never officially recorded in the Chinese national household registration system. As a consequence, they do not possess a Hukou, an identifying document similar to a social security card. In other words, they technically do not exist. As ghosts, they are denied help from most government services. They will never receive formal education and healthcare, nor are they likely to hold a stable job or be able to open a bank account. For many parents unable to pay the hefty second-child fine, this might have been their only option.

5. Twins

Parents were allowed to keep both children if they had twins. In fact, those who were interested in having numerous kids but did not want to go against the governments wishes often sought out fertility medicines to increase the chances of having twins. The most popular method was the multiple baby pill, but taken incorrectly, it had serious side effects. Nonetheless, it is estimated that the number of twins born per year doubled during the one-child policy.

4. Treatment of Women

With one million part-time and full-time workers hired to ensure women were using birth control, the treatment of women was incredibly questionable at the best of times. In many cases, particularly in the early 1980s, women were forced to get abortions or, as mentioned above, to undergo sterilization if they became pregnant with a second child. One way in which the Chinese government discouraged women from violating the policy was to deny them drugs when giving birth the first time.

3. Gender Imbalance

Group of Chinese school girls squatting in their school yard in Liuyang, China. Image credit: Drevs/Shutterstock.com

Living in a male-dominated society, many Chinese families hoped for a boy as their one legally permitted child. As a result, girls were often neglected or put up for adoption to foreign parents out of disappointment. Doctors were banned from revealing the sex of unborn children, but through bribery, many parents were able to abort female fetuses before they could be reported to the government. This provided parents the opportunity to try again. It should be noted, however, that many baby girls were born to loving parents and received a better education than they normally would have with multiple siblings.

Regardless, preferential treatment has created a great gender imbalance. There is approximately 33 million more young men than women living in China today. That means millions of men will not be able to find wives. Because of this, government officials have expressed concerns about men resulting to kidnapping and the potential rise in victims of sex trafficking.

2. The Chinese Workforce

It has been over forty years since the introduction of the one-child policy and we are now beginning to feel the negative consequences of population control. For example, Chinas workforce has been shrinking rapidly over the past several years. The United Nations has predicted that the country will lose approximately 67 million workers by 2030. The two-children policy was put in place on January 1, 2016, but it might be at least two decades until it begins to mend the damage done to the Chinese economy by the one-child policy.

1. Aging Population

The aging population has been rising in China as a result of the one-child policy. Image credit: Drevs/Shutterstock.com

With a lowered birthrate, China is facing an imbalance with their aging population as well. As parents of the policy continue to retire, their one child will be burdened with supporting themand in some cases, their grandparentsall by themselves. With a dwindling workforce, there will also be too few caregivers to tend to people who never had kids, which will put a large strain on Chinese resources, like healthcare. Such a drastic age imbalance and the decrease of workers are two of the main reasons why the one-child policy was amended to two.
[May 12, 2020] Schulich Partners with City Of Toronto and E-Commerce Leaders To Launch Digital Main Street Online Store Initiative

The Schulich School of Business at York University today announced its participation in a major new initiative alongside the City of Toronto and a team of leading global technology companies to help Toronto's main street retailers survive the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the DMS ShopHERE project, 50 students from Schulich's MBA, Masters' and undergraduate programs will gain summer placements and be assigned to help Toronto's small businesses and artists move their businesses online at no cost. The students will be supported by Digital Main Street and leading technology and e-commerce firms such as Shopify, Google, Facebook, Microsoft (News - Alert), eBay and Mastercard Canada. Toronto's independent small businesses and artists can access ShopHERE to: launch their online stores with hands-on support in just a matter of days;

activate their stores across key digital marketing platforms; and

integrate with key e-commerce delivery solutions. "I want to thank the business students of the Schulich School of Business and York University for bringing their talent and energy to help us fight for Toronto's small businesses and artists," said Toronto Mayor John Tory. "Their work will help ensure our main streets survive this crisis and that the culture and lively streets we all enjoy - and the jobs - will be there when we move into the recovery period." "Schulich is proud to partner with the City of Toronto in helping local small businesses and entrepreneurs rapidly transition to selling online," said Dezso J. Horvath, Dean of the Schulich School of Business. "We're also prud to see that our students are playing an essential role in stabilizing our economy by supporting local businesses during this transformational time."



The initiative will create summer "work-integrated learning" placements for 50 Schulich students and also provide them with additional specialized training on leading digital platforms including: Shopify, Facebook (News - Alert)/Instagram, Google and more. "The time to act in support of Toronto's main street businesses is now," said Schulich Entrepreneur in Residence Chris Carder, who spearheaded the engagement for Schulich. "We know our students will work with passion, focus and creativity in this important placement opportunity and we're thrilled to team up with Digital Main Street and its powerhouse team of technology partners."

In addition to Schulich, ShopHERE is supported by a number of community and corporate partners, including: Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Shopify, Google, Mastercard, Microsoft, Facebook, eBay (News - Alert), Ritual, Trufan, eShipper, Snapchat, and Magnet. Funding for the student work placement program will be provided by the City of Toronto and Magnet, a social innovation platform with a mission to accelerate inclusive economic growth in Canada. The program's goal is to develop 3,000 online stores by the end of August. For more details on the program, please visit: https://digitalmainstreet.ca/shophere/. About Schulich Global, innovative and diverse, Schulich offers business programs year-round at its state-of-the-art complex at York University; at its Miles S. Nadal Management Centre located in the heart of the Toronto's financial district; and at its campus in Hyderabad, India. Schulich also operates a number of satellite centres in Beijing and Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; Mexico City, Mexico; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Schulich offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate business degrees that lead to rewarding careers in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and has more than 30,000 alumni working in over 90 countries. The School pioneered Canada's first International MBA and International BBA degrees, as well as North America's first ever cross-border Executive MBA degree, the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. The School has one of the largest portfolios of one-year, specialized Masters programs of any business school in North America. Schulich's Executive Education Centre provides executive development programs annually to more than 10,000 executives in Canada and abroad. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005777/en/

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Vice President Mike Pence made a nationwide call for coronavirus testing in America's 15,000 nursing homes, telling governors that he wants to see every state prioritize COVID-19 screening inside the facilities that have been hit the hardest by the new coronavirus.

"I want to say what we're urging with regard to nursing home testing is ... let's just get everybody in the homes everybody on the staff, let's get them tested," Pence said Monday.

Pence said the intense focus on nursing homes may stand as the nation's best chance to reduce the death toll from the outbreak, which has been highest in the long-term care centers that house some of the most vulnerable Americans.

Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the senior health officials helping guide the nation's response to the pandemic, said she believes "all one million nursing home residents," as well as staff, need to be tested within the next two weeks.

PHOTO: White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx listens as President Donald Trump holds a meeting about the coronavirus response with Gov. Greg Abbott in the Oval Office of the White House, May 7, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP, FILE)

"We're really asking for every governor to focus, over the next two weeks, on testing 100% of the residents and workers, then setting up routine surveillance of all of the workers," Birx said.

State data analyzed by ABC News has started to show the totality of the outbreak's deadly imprint on nursing facilities. Available data from the 35 reporting states and the District of Columbia shows that there have been at least 26,013 nursing home deaths, representing 31% of the national death toll. And when adjusted to only include death counts of those states reporting, nursing home deaths make up 40% of the nation's total number of fatalities.

In just four East Coast states -- Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- two-thirds of the 8,447 people who have succumbed to the virus lived in nursing or long-term care facilities.

MORE: Nursing homes seek $10B from feds as coronavirus cases continue to overwhelm elderly

The ambitious White House call for widespread testing inside the nursing care industry does not offer explanations for how the tests will reach so many residents and staff in such short order. Even in some states that sought universal testing earlier this month, a number of nursing homes are still reporting difficulties in obtaining access to tests.

Story continues

An official at one national nursing home chain told ABC News the company does not have sufficient tests on hand, at this point, to screen every resident. "We are still trying to get the tests we need in the states where it has been mandated," said the official, who asked not to be named so as not to jeopardize the company's relationship with state and federal officials.

Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the National Center for Assisted Living, said he hopes the federal government will back up the request for widespread testing with assistance.

"We strongly agree with the vice president and Dr. Birx's recommendation today for testing of all nursing home residents and staff and call on the federal government to help with this endeavor," Parkinson said. "Without access to more testing, long term care providers are at a severe disadvantage in identifying more of these asymptomatic residents and staff who could be contagious and an endangerment to others."

MORE: As some states race for mass testing in nursing homes, others lag behind

April Verrett, president of a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union that represents health care workers in California, said her members "describe a lack of consistent testing amongst patients and workers, leaving both further exposed to the unknown possibility of transmission."

"Many nursing home workers are parents, too, and go home to families unsure of whether they are carrying the virus," Verrett said.

Birx said obliquely that if governors "have any difficulty in doing this," the federal government will "stand beside you, to help with a federal contract to do that in partnership with you, all to just make sure that we can get 100% [of the people] tested and supported over the next two weeks."

But Dr. Danny Avula, the county health district director who oversaw the outbreak at Virginia's Canterbury nursing home where 49 people died from COVID-19, said that even if the number of tests needed to execute Pence's recommendation are accessible, he's unsure if there will be the necessary staff to administer them.

"The manpower is still a question," Avula said. "I think every health department is going to be in a similar bind where they just do not have the number of nurses and other medical staff to be able to go in and do this in all of their facilities in a two week period of time for example.

MORE: Trump downplays calls for greater testing, suggesting they're motivated by politics

Still, Richard Mollot, who heads The Long Term Care Community Coalition, said he considers the new plan "a good step in the right direction."

"We still need to quickly address the basic care and safety issues, such as ensuring that there is adequate staffing and that basic infection protocols are in place," Mollot said.

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

Mike Pence: Test all nursing home residents, staff originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Poles will not be able to replace migrant workers from Ukraine, who have long occupied their niche in Poland, amid the crisis and rising unemployment, Chairman of the Polish Union of Processors of Fruits and Vegetables Andrzej Gajowniczek has said in an interview with Ukrinform.

"It's all an illusion. Obviously not [Poles will not replace Ukrainian workers]," he said.

Gajowniczek said that his company Real SA, one of the largest processors in Poland, now needs 30-40 workers, but despite the crisis, there are as yet no people among Poles willing to find a job.

He stressed that Ukrainians working in Poland must have decent working conditions, social and financial security. According to him, Ukrainians should earn in Poland at least 12-14 zlotys (UAH 75-90) per hour.

"But it depends on the field of employment, because, for example, they earn a little more in the construction sector. Ukrainians quite often try to work more hours to earn more," Gajowniczek said.

Up to one million migrant workers from Ukraine currently stay in Poland. More than 180,000 Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine since mid-March, when restrictions on border crossings were imposed.

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The US government has donated 1,000 ventilators to South Africa to help the country respond to COVID-19.

South Africa has the most confirmed cases of the disease in Africa with more than 10,600, including 206 deaths.

The new ventilators are valued at $14 million, and with accessories, service plans and shipping, the total donation is worth $20 million, said the US embassy in a statement issued Tuesday.

The ventilators, produced in the United States, will help South Africa's hospitals treat patients in intensive care units, and the US Agency for International Development will work with the South African government to distribute the equipment across the country.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

US ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks was at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo airport on Monday to receive the shipment.

These ventilators are another example of the American spirit of generosity as we battle this virus at home in the United States and together abroad with our partner countries, said Marks, in the statement.

The donation of ventilators brings the total U.S. government financial support to South Africa's COVID-19 response to more than $41 million, according to the statement.

In addition, the US is supporting up to 5,400 community healthcare workers to assist with the South African government's community COVID-19 screening campaign and provide HIV treatment support, through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The head of U.S. Special Operations Command said Tuesday that winning the fights of the future may depend less on door-kickers and more on tech-savvy operators trained for the cyber and information battlespace.

"We still need guys who can kick down the door, that can shoot well, that can jump out of airplanes, that can fly our special operators -- we need all those men and women," Army Gen. Richard Clarke told an audience at the National Defense Industrial Association's vSOFIC 2020 conference.

"But we also need coders. We also need leaders who can apply [artificial intelligence]. ... It may no longer be that the most important person on the mission is actually the Special Forces operator who is kicking down the door, but it could be the cyber operator that the special operations team actually has to get to the environment and make sure that he or she can work his or her cyber tools into the fight."

Related: Pentagon Official: Recruiting Problems Could Alter Special Ops Mission

A major part of Special Operations Command's role in the fight against violent extremism and great power competition is the physical presence of small teams of special operations forces (SOF) around the world, Clarke said.

But it's becoming increasingly important for SOF to operate in the non-physical information space, added Clarke, who is convinced that "working in the information space can have the greatest impact in the coming years."

"When I was in Afghanistan all the way back to 2002 ... all the way through 2011, I probably, as a commander at that time, spent about 90% of my time thinking about the kinetic fight -- the raid, the mission, the kill-capture mission," he said.

But Clarke's view changed after visiting SOF leaders in Afghanistan last year.

"The commander there on the ground now spends 60% of his working [hours] in the information space ... thinking about how is he influencing the Taliban thought process, how is he involved in the Afghan population and what they are thinking, because we are going to win this through population and their support for the Afghan government," he said.

Conducting successful information operations, both locally and regionally, will be "critical to the U.S.' ability to be able to be successful in future fights," Clarke said.

The recent creation of a Joint Military Information Support Operations Web/Ops Center is a good start, but he said success in the war for influence will require sophisticated technology for operating fast enough to be relevant in the information space.

"As we look at the ability to influence and shape in this environment, we are going to [need] artificial intelligence and machine learning tools specifically for information ops that hit a very broad portfolio," Clarke said. "We are going to have to understand how the adversary is thinking, how the population is thinking and work in these spaces ... to make sure that the U.S. message and our allies and partner's message is being heard and its resonating."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Read More: After Hitting Record High, Military Heatstroke Cases May Be on the Decline
Around 2,000 migrants - men, women and children - gathered at a school in Boisar, in Maharashtras Palghar district, on Tuesday hoping to board a Shramik special train to their native place in Bihar.

These people started gathering since 6 am after hearing that a special train will run from Palghar to Patna on Tuesday afternoon. The administration, however, denied that it plans to run any such train.

The migrants assembled at the TVM (Tarapur Vidya Mandir) ground in the hope that a medical test will be conducted and buses will transport them from Boisar to Palghar station as was done on Monday morning, said senior PI Pradip Kasbe of Boisar MIDC police station.

So far, the government has no plans to start train to Patna from Palghar, he added.

On Monday afternoon, a train with 1,700 migrants had left for Jaunpur from Palghar station.

Some of the migrants had e-passes issued by the district collector while some did not so the gram sevaks of Boisar gram panchayat got down to work and issued the e-forms to them and also filled the details as they were illiterate, said Kasbe.

The policeman said that these labourers did not follow social distancing norms. It was difficult to convince the huge crowd but we managed to cool down their fiery tempers and suggested to sit apart and not over crowd, said Kasbe.

He also said that no case was filed against these labourers as they did not commit any crime but were just anxious to return home.

We are probing the source of the wrong information which made the crowd gather at the school premises, said Kasbe.

Around 1,700 migrant workers were were medically tested and taken to Palghar station from the same school ground to board a Shramik Express to Jaunpur.
Alabama, South Dakota and Texas have already begun to see an uptick in confirmed coronavirus cases since they've eased coronavirus restrictions and begun reopening nonessential businesses, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Tuesday.

Dozens of states have lifted restrictions and allowed local businesses to reopen despite failing to meet the criteria to do so set by the White House, including at least two weeks of a sustained drop in new infections, Gottlieb said. He added that the states that have not reported an uptick yet likely will in coming days.

"The bottom line is a lot of states are now reopening activity against a backdrop that doesn't meet the criteria that the White House set out in terms of when it would be safe to reopen," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We're going to see cases go up now that we're reopening."

Gottlieb said he had hoped mitigation efforts such as stay-at-home orders would have driven down the rate of infection even further by now. Even as new cases and the daily death toll have fallen substantially in the hardest-hit parts of the country such as New York and New Jersey, the national numbers have remained stubbornly high, at almost 30,000 new cases and 2,000 new deaths per day.

"Most of us assumed that by May we'd be seeing sustained decline of new cases," said Gottlieb, a CNBC contributor who sits on the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina. "We didn't think that going into May after a month of mitigation we'd be at a sort of plateau where we wouldn't be seeing steady declines of new cases, so we're in a tough spot right now."

New infections are already rising in Alabama, South Dakota and Texas, Gottlieb said. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey let the state's stay-at-home order expire on April 30, allowing retail stores to reopen at 50% capacity. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem never issued a stay-at-home order and has offered guidance to businesses and schools on how to limit capacity to practice social distancing. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the decision to reopen some businesses, including malls, on May 1.

Alabama has reported 10,164 confirmed cases and 403 deaths, according to the state Department of Health. The state says it has tested 129,444 people. South Dakota has confirmed 1,393 cases and 34 Covid-19 deaths, according to the state. Texas has reported 39,869 confirmed cases and 1,100 deaths, according to the state. It says it has performed 525,697 tests.

Tweet.

Other states, such as Georgia, which has one of the most ambitious and earliest reopening plans, have yet to report an uptick in cases. However, epidemiologists warn that the data lags anywhere from days to several weeks because the virus can take that long to develop symptoms in a person. Testing delays in less accessible parts of states could further delay the data, said Dr. Mohammed Ali, associate professor of epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta.

"We just don't know right now, so there's this very awful nervousness in the air," Ali told CNBC. "Everybody is bracing themselves for if it picks up and if it goes faster than we expect, and there is a sort of logarithmic, exponential nature to this infection. We could have a surge like we haven't had yet."

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took on the White House last month when he announced plans to begin reopening large parts of the economy, including bowling alleys, barbers and nail salons, on April 24. Open businesses are held to certain requirements such as capacity limits and screening of employees for fever.

Ali described the lifting of restrictions as a "gamble" that didn't appear to be informed by data. At the time of the announcement, daily confirmed cases were rising in Georgia. The state reported its most new cases in a single day on April 20, according to the state's data, with 922 confirmed infections.

"We didn't even meet the president's guidelines of 14 days of downward trend," he said. "And here we are doing it with three or four days of downward trend. There was a lack of transparency in making the decision."

Ali said he empathizes with the economic toll mitigation restrictions have taken on people but added that if the virus spreads unconstrained throughout the state and prompts another shutdown it will only draw out the toll.

"We may see an uptick in the coming few days. We haven't yet," he said. "And when we do, it's going to be these awful, awful hot spots in the low socioeconomic areas."
When will people understand that its difficult to have conversations or think about equity, when your race is being undermined and ignored? We are currently experiencing the unearthing of racial disparities and social gaps perpetuated by COVID-19. Black people are being ignored, even after countless race conversations and pleading to community leaders to be understood and recognized. We inch toward progress only to be knocked back miles by more prejudice.

Its agonizing to constantly juggle with losing hope and having to find new ways to regain strength. This uncanny sense of hope that Black people must retain is a requisite trait to live in America. The hope of a Black mother calling her son, trembling with anxiety and waiting for the call to be answered. The hope that my 15-year-old son, soon to be driving the streets of Indianapolis, wont get pulled over and indicted with driving-while-black. The hope that walks or jogs arent contemplations of life or death excursions.

We seek out and hold on to this hope that everything will be just fine, but then we are forced to painfully watch our people suffer, yet again. The cycle continues  we hope, then hurt, and hope some more, hurt again, and smile (more and more).

Below is an excerpt of a Paul Lawrence Dunbar poem titled We Wear the Mask:

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile



Indianapolis, masks off  we are hurt  and its not OK.

In Georgia, we watched in horror as Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down in broad daylight while jogging in a residential neighborhood. Only after the video surfaced of the crime months later, two white men  a father and a son  have been charged.

In Indianapolis, another young Black male lost his life so tragically and on live feed last week. Mayor Joe Hogsett has called for outside law enforcement help to aid in the investigations in a fair, thorough way. While details of this horrifying event remain difficult to comprehend, but the tragedy is still certain, and we are all in mourning  again.

The loss of young Black men to violence in the U.S. continues to shake our nation. My hope, one day, is that maybe events like these will actually shape our nation.

Emil Ekiyor, former Indianapolis Colts player and co-founder of Innopower, fears that if drastic measures arent taken in this moment to change a system engulfed with biases, then we will be further left behind. If we dont act swiftly to put an end to injustices and institutionalized racism, then society will return to the status quo, Ekiyor said. There is so much conversation regarding when the economy will open back up, and not enough dialogue addressing how we will open or what things will look like in the aftermath of COVID-19.

So, while the country waits to return to normal, to the status quo, Black people cringe because our normal is ravaged with code-switching and being inauthentic in the workplace. Our normal is working hard prior to becoming essential. Our normal is having to face conscious and unconscious biases daily. Our normal is health disparities, prisons and poverty. Our normal is brutality and Black Lives Matter chants. And for our vibrant and beautiful community, our normal is still of mourning, crying mothers, daughters, and sisters fearing for the lives of their fathers, sons, and brothers.

That is our normal. This is America.

Paul Lawrence Dunbar continues:

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday rejected two separate anticipatory bail pleas filed by Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of the Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) group, in the proceedings initiated against them by the enforcement directorate (ED) in connection with the Yes Bank scam and the alleged diversion of funds from two trusts in Uttar Pradesh.

A single-judge bench of justice Bharati Dangre said given the serious allegations of money laundering, with a conspiracy entered into by Wadhawans with several others, particularly Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and his family members, call for their custodial interrogation.

ED had initiated proceedings against the Wadhawans based on an first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 7, 2020 against Kapoor for conspiracy, cheating and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is alleged that between April and June 2018, Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term, non-convertible debentures of DHFL and Kapoor received Rs 600 crore as kickbacks from DHFL, in the form of loan advanced to two firms, DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Private Limited and Morgan Credits Private Limited. While Kapoors daughters hold 100 stake in DOIT, Morgan Credits is controlled by his wife.

The Wadhawans, however, maintained that these transactions were entered into regular course of business. They sought pre-arrest bail, claiming that there was no fraudulent misrepresentation and no wrongful loss was caused to the bank in the transactions.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, appearing for the ED, opposed the pleas and stated that the debentures were not yet redeemed by DHFL and Yes Bank had not received its amount back. He added that DHFL has extended a loan of Rs 600 crore to the firms controlled by Kapoors family by showing grossly overvalued properties as mortgages.

Justice Dangre accepted EDs arguments. The judge said that only the applicants can throw light on the nature of the transactions and the alleged conspiracy can be cracked only by interrogating them.

The applicants will have to be confronted with various

incriminating documents regarding the loans sanctioned by Yes Bank and further loans sanctioned by the DHFL in favour of Kapoor to unearth the multi-crore conspiracy, added the judge.

Justice Dangre also rejected anticipatory bail pleas of the Wadhawans in connection with diversion of funds from two trusts in Uttar Pradesh - Uttar Pradesh State Power Sector Employees Trust and Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Contributory Provident Fund Trust. Both trusts have received part of their funds invested in DHFL, but are yet to receive about Rs 2,268 crore.

The judge said ED was justified in seeking custodial interrogation of the accused, as the crime involved complicated financial linkages and involvement of several individuals and group of companies. Widespread business activities of the applicants call for deep search into the money trail, added the bench.
Afghan Forces Capture Key Figures From Islamic State's South Asia Branch

By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan May 11, 2020

KABUL -- Afghan security forces say they have captured three senior members of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group's South Asia branch -- including the group's regional leader for South Asia, Abu Omar Khorasani.

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry announced on May 11 that Khorasani was arrested during a recent operation in Kabul.

In a joint statement, Afghanistan's General Directorate of National Security (NDS) and the Interior Ministry said security forces also arrested the extremist group's spy chief and its public relations chief.

The statement did not specify the date of their arrests.

But a private Afghan television channel, ToloNews, quoted an unnamed NDS official as saying all three were captured after information about their whereabouts was provided by four previously detained IS militants.

The South Asia wing of IS is mainly focused on Afghanistan and has carried out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks. Several leaders of the branch also have been captured in recent months.

Afghan security forces on May 6 killed five IS militants and arrested eight others during a raid in the Shakar Dara district on the north side of Kabul.

Afghan authorities say those detained on May 6 included members of a Kabul cell grouping together IS militants and fighters from the Haqqani network, an offshoot of the Taliban.

The NDS attributes several recent terrorist attacks in Kabul to the group, including a March 25 assault on a Sikh temple that killed at least 25 worshippers.

On April 4, Afghan security forces in Kandahar captured the leader of the Khorasan branch of IS in Afghanistan, Abdullah Orakzai, along with several other militants.

With additional reporting by Reuters and ToloNews

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-forces-capture- key-figures-from-islamic-state-s-south -asia-branch/30606322.html

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

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Linkedin Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 16:12 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd784064 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,health,human-rights,May-1998-tragedy,mothers-day,women-empowerment Free

This week comes as a stark reminder for people to protect and uphold the rights of the countrys many unsung heroes amid the COVID-19 outbreak: nurses who are on the frontline treating patients, mothers who keep their households afloat and victims seeking justice after the 1998 May riots.

The pandemic has cast a pall over International Nurses Day celebrations on May 12, with nurses dying of the disease while others continue to work overtime to treat COVID-19 patients despite inadequate personal protections.

Additionally, nurses face public stigma for their constant contact with patients, with some even getting evicted by their landlords.

On the other hand, nurses have received more attention from the public during the pandemic, Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI) chairman Harif Fadhillah said on Monday.

Nurses have been overlooked for the longest time, Harif said. But during the pandemic, nurses have been on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. We hope that this [awareness] continues.

Before COVID-19, nurses had complained about the lack of appreciation afforded to them, including low wages that are disproportionate to their workloads. There were just 113 nurses to care for every 100,000 people in the country in 2016, according to Health Ministry data, a far cry from the governments target of 180 nurses per 100,000 people by 2019.

PPNI data from 2017 also showed that around 82,000 out the countrys roughly 1 million nurses worked voluntarily in state-owned health facilities without any clear work contract or status. Many of these nurses also earn well below the provincial minimum wage at privately-owned health facilities.

Last year, nurses took to the streets in Bandung, West Java and Gorontalo to demand fair pay and employment certainty. It took at least 27 protests before the government finally ratified the 2014 Nursing Law, which finally recognized the roles of nurses in the national healthcare system.

Alongside International Nurses Day, Indonesia will also commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the May 1998 riots that cost so many lives and stoked fear among the Chinese-Indonesian community that saw hundreds of shops raided and many women allegedly raped.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the May 1998 riots fact-finding team have respectively revealed their findings on the 1965 and 1998 tragedies, showing that gross human rights violations were committed, with military involvement in both cases. But there has been no punishment for the perpetrators nor any justice for the victims, survivors and their families.

However, there in significant public support for resolving these cases. A 2019 poll conducted by Kompas daily for Komnas HAM found that 82.2 percent of respondents believed that cases of past human rights violations should be resolved; however, many did not believe the government would be able to do so.

We hope that with public pressure, the country can open its eyes and awaken the political will needed to bring those cases [to court], at least to the investigation phase, said Dimas BA Saputra, the head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violences (Kontras) impunity watch division, on Monday.

Since the incident 22 years ago, survivors and families of victims of past human rights abuses have regularly participated in weekly silent protests known as Aksi Kamisan, where they call on the government to take responsibility. The movement has since shifted to social media after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The global community also celebrated Mothers Day on May 10  distinct from Indonesias own Hari Ibu  at a time when the pandemic has placed a greater burden on the shoulders of women in the country.

The threat of domestic violence haunts women forced to shelter in place, with 33 of the 97 reports of violence against women received between March 16 and April 19 in Greater Jakarta by the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH Apik) concerning domestic abuse.

The organizations coordinator for legal reforms, Ratna B. Munti, said Monday that the figure was only the tip of the iceberg, with many cases going unreported.

Women, including mothers, have long suffered from many of the countrys societal ills, with discrimination, systemic poverty and human rights abuses hitting them the hardest, activists have said.

More attention needs to be paid to how we treat mothers, who give birth to the next generation. We need to position them as full-fledged citizens who have rights, and those rights need to be protected and upheld by the state, Ratna said.
Business and Arts South Africa NPC (Basa) has received over 1,000 enquiries from practitioners in the creative sector for artists' relief.

Head of social investment at Rand Merchant Bank, Yvette Nowell

Charmaine Soobramoney, Basa chairperson, says: Right now, the world is engaged in just one conversation: the Covid-19 global pandemic. As such, the variegated stages, sound stages and canvases upon which our artists incite and ignite discourse, are currently closed to us all. For this reason, on 9 April 2020, Basa announced that the scope of its Supporting Grants programme would be extended to allow support for South African creatives infected or affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A funding campaign was also launched to enable both businesses and the public to make contributions, and over R93,000 was raised from 50 donors.I would like to express profound and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stepped up and made a donation: Aabida Davis, Alby Michaels, Annicia Manyapilo, Ashraf Johaardien, Boitumelo Tumy Motsoatsoe, CA Davids, Charlotte Gulle, Denese Fik, Fumani Mabogoane, Joyce Jacobs, Julia Fortune, June Feeke, Oupa and Herna Jacobs, Karel Jacobs, Karen Moore, Lerato Mbele, Levinia Jones, Linda Beckett, Lindiwe Lekasapa, Madeleine Selmer-Olsen, Magna Kruger, Mandie Van der Spuy, Marchelle Feeke, Marie Fricout, Marlene Davids, Michael Fortune, Nazli Johaardien, Niquita Hartley, Raymond Muller, Rochelle Singh, Ruschda Voskuil, Russell Feeke, Savannah and Ryan Feeke-Fortune, Shabnam Abdullah, Shelley Efthymiades, Siya Charles, Suzette von Broembsen, Tula Dlamini, Wilma Feeke, Zara and Julia Jacobs, several anonymous donors, as well as Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Ltd, which pledged R75,000 within days of the campaign being launched.Over 57 million people live in our beautiful South Africa. We are going through a challenging phase right now and many artists are battling to put food on the table. To make a difference, Basa will be launching the #Basa2020 Challenge, which aims to raise a further R1m in aid of our Artists Relief campaign.Commenting on RMBs contribution to Basas campaign, head of social investment at Rand Merchant Bank, Yvette Nowell says: RMB has long supported the creative economy, which contributes 2% to GDP while unlocking diverse African talent and social transformation across visual arts, dance, music and theatre. Therefore, apart from maintaining social investment support to current beneficiary organisations in this important sector, RMB has contributed R75,000 to the extended Supporting Grants programme, for South African creatives infected or affected by Covid-19. We commend Basa on this thoughtful initiative, and encourage supporters of the arts to make their contributions too.According to Basa CEO, Ashraf Johaardien, of the 800 creatives who submitted formal expressions of interest for relief grants, a longlist of 525 have been invited to submit online applications. To date, 80 artists have been offered relief grants, to the total value of just over R680,000, via Basa's Supporting Grants programme, Johaardien reports. With the current approval rate of 53%, it is projected that the number of artists and the total value of grants will double once all applications have been reviewed. The applications process is now closed, but may be reopened subject to our success with our ongoing fundraising efforts to support more artists and creatives during these challenging times, he adds.Help Basa help more artists by visiting gogetfunding.com/bizartza to make a contribution or show your support by sharing the link on your social media platforms.Basa is constituted in terms of the Companies Act. Basa is registered as a public benefit organisation (PBO) and is accountable to its stakeholders. The Basa board of directors comprises chairperson Charmaine Soobramoney, with deputy chairperson Mandie van der Spuy, and Kojo Baffoe, Kathy Berman, Devi Sankaree Govender, Ashraf Johaardien (Basa CEO), Hilton Lawler, Andre Le Roux, Khanyi Mamba, Zingisa Motloba, Dr Yacoob Omar and Mirna Wessels. For more information please visit www.basa.co.za ; to become a Basa member, click on the Join Us tab at the top of the homepage.
A father-of-two who lost the power of speech after surviving coronavirus, double pneumonia, sepsis, heart failure and two strokes before walking out of hospital will now become subject of new research study.

Omar Taylor, 31, from Essex, who is a regional director of Care UK, made a miraculous recovery at Colchester Hospital after staff had told his family to prepare for the worst.

He spent 30 days on a ventilator in the hospital's ICU and despite losing the use of his right arm and being told he would never walk again, he was able to leave hospital on foot to applause from nurses.

Although he's still unable to talk, the father is now continuing his recovery at home with wife Kaitlyn, daughter Vivienne, four, and son Harrison, two, and appeared with his family on Good Morning Britain today.

The father-of-two's case is set to be studied in a special research project by scientists who will examine his recovery to help doctors understand more about the virus to help other patients.

Omar Taylor, 31, from Essex, is recovering from coronavirus at home with wife Kaitlyn, daughter Vivienne, four, and son Harrison, two, and appeared with his family on Good Morning Britain today

Omar, pictured in wheelchair at Colchester Hospital during a visit from his wife and children after spending 30 days on a ventilator

The father-of-two lost the power of speech after surviving coronavirus, double pneumonia, sepsis, heart failure and two strokes

Wife Kaitlyn, 30, who is training to be at a nurse, said: 'We are very relieved. It's been a difficult road.

'Omar has come back a different person with many months, to years of therapy. So there's a long road of recovery.

'He's able to say maybe two or three words at once, but we have a speech and language therapists who come out everyday, and we do lots of practice'.

Omar is now receiving 12 weeks of intensive rehabilitation at home and has already recovered some of his speech, being able to speak two to three words at a time.

Omar with Vivienne, Kaitlyn and Harrison is pictured as he was discharged from Colchester hospital last week

His right arm remains paralysed but doctors are confident that with continuous treatment, there is a chance that he will make a 90 per cent recovery by the end of the year.

We didnt think he was going to make it', said Kaitlyn. 'Also, when he had a double stroke, he was told he would never walk again.

'And when he was on a ventilator, he had a tracheotomy, so we didnt know if he would ever talk again.'

Speaking of the NHS staff who cared for her husband, she added: 'They are just so amazing.

Left to right: Vivienne Taylor, four, Omar Taylor, 31, Kaitlyn Taylor, 30, and Harrison Taylor, one

'We can't thank them enough, if it wasnt for all of the staff on the front line. They go out every day and help people and they've saved Omar's life'.

Omar cant speak properly, but I know he would love to give a big thank you to everyone who has helped us, from friends to frontline staff, Mrs Taylor said.

As Omar arrived back home at Rowhedge, Colchester, in time for his son Harrison's second birthday, his neighbours lined the streets to wave Union flags and clap.

Kaitlyn told MailOnline: First we were told he was going to die, then we were told he would never be able to walk. His recovery is an absolute miracle.

It was utterly overwhelming. He was determined to get out in time for our sons second birthday and he did it.

'We're going to have a really big party, just the four of us. It was amazing seeing everyone coming together to welcome him home.

Wife Kaitlyn, 30, who is training to be at a nurse, told host Piers Morgan (pictured) : 'We are very relieved. It's been a difficult road

She told wife Susannah Reid (pictured) that Omar is now receiving 12 weeks of intensive rehabilitation at home and has already recovered some of his speech

She added: It has been so difficult, particularly with two young children,Harrison, who is two next week, didnt understand and was scared of his dad for the first couple of hours after he came back.

But Vivienne, our four-year-old, is a proper daddys girl and hasnt left his side since hes been home. Shes been helping him to the toilet and the shower and shes just so, so happy that hes home.

In total, he was away for eight weeks. Thats not so long for an adult, but for children it seems like forever. They didnt think he was ever coming back.

Omars case has been specially selected by scientists to be subject to a research project looking into the impacts of the deadly virus.

Kaitlyn told the Colchester Gazette: The doctors have asked him for his permission to research into his situation and his recovery. They think it will benefit other Covid-19 patients. Omar gave his consent so doctors will study his medical reports and the information the hospital holds.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 18:42:19|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China will recruit 105,000 college graduates to teach in impoverished rural schools of the nine-year compulsory education stage across the country's central and western regions this year, according to a notice jointly released by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance.

The move is part of a national program to enhance the rural teaching force, bridge the educational gap between urban and rural areas and boost rural revitalization through better education, according to the notice.

This year, the recruitment will not set the professional teaching certificate as a restrictive qualification, said the notice, adding that it will tilt in the favor of graduates from Hubei Province and from universities in Hubei.

Also, new teachers hired with the program will be primarily sent to schools in extremely poor areas and rural places seriously affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the notice.

The Ministry of Finance pledged to earmark special funds to subsidize the salaries for teachers recruited under the program.

The year 2020 marked the 15th anniversary of the initiation of the program. Enditem
Rumaan Baryalai has been joking with friends that their year 12 yearbook will be filled with Zoom photos.

And parents are now confronting the logistical challenge of some children returning to school while their siblings continue remote learning.

Victorian families are preparing for another upheaval caused by coronavirus as prep, grades one and two and years 11 and 12 return to classroom teaching across Victoria on May 26. Other grades will return on June 9, three weeks before the end of term two.

Year 12 student Rumaan Baryalai says there is still time to "seize the day" in his final year of school. Credit:Simon Schluter

Rumaan, a year 12 student at Minaret College in south-east Melbourne, said there was still time to make the best of his final year of school.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Kevin Jae, a member of our Emerging Fellows program checks multicultural and multiethnic populations shaped by global migrations in his fifth blog post. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the APF or its other members.

How do nations control multicultural and multiethnic populations? We need to examine the concept of the nation and nationalism in relation to this question. Control is the word that must be thought through first. The word control implies that the nation-state, through heavy-handed measures, forces upon the migratory population a standard of behaviour to which they must conform. Control can be achieved through devious, circumlocutious tactics as well. A nation can deceive a migrant population to create docile subjects for governance. In the first is governance by repression; in the second, through ideology. Both of these cases rely on an unquestioned assumption. This is the separation of the self, the national population and the other, the migrant population. The boundary between the two is much more porous than they appear. There is no eternal national body with unchanging boundaries and neither is the migrant forever an excluded outsider.

What is the nation? The nation is much more than citizenship and bureaucratic inclusion. As scholar of nationalism Benedict Anderson suggests through the title of his landmark work, the nation is an imagined community. It is imagined because it is a constructed collective that relies on an imagined bond connecting members of the nation to other imagined members who they will never interact with. It is a community because the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship as opposed to a hierarchical relationship. Nation-states are able to extend this community to migrants, and redefine the borders of national belonging. Construction does not imply invention and falsity. Even though nations and the feeling of national belonging are culturally constructed, it inspires community, belonging, and meaning for its members.

Canada is an example of one nation-state in which the definition of the national subject has changed. Canada is known for its brand of multiculturalism today. This was hardly the case in the mid-20th century, when Canadas identity was predicated on Britishness and whiteness. White Canada policies excluded non-white individuals as national subjects. However, the boundary that once existed between white Canada and the once unassimilable migrant population has disappeared in the present day.

Other nation-states are going through their own transitions. The foreign population in South Korea was roughly 40,000 in 1990 and has grown to approximately 2.5 million today. Previously, one had to have pure Korean blood to claim belonging to the Korean nation, but the growing foreign population is challenging and redefining what it means to be Korean. The South Korean state is an active participant in these redefinitions through mechanisms like multiculturalist policies.

There are several potential incoming sources of migration in the coming years. These range from pull factors, such as labour market migrations, to push factors, like climate change related migrations. How might these migrants be welcomed into the national body? Thinking about the future is always limited by the ways of thinking in the present. There has been a revival of narrow nationalist discourses in the political landscape in recent years. In these discourses, the migrant is a figure who is completely exterior to the national community. The migrant threatens traditional, eternal ways of life with a strange dress, a strange tongue, and unfamiliar mannerisms.

However, the politics of the present need not be the politics of the future. Just as the national community is constructed, it can be reconstructed anew. The story of migration is in part a story of the reinterpretation of the national community. The migrants of today can be full members of the nation tomorrow.

 Kevin Jae 2020
Is China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited (HKG:81) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations.

In this case, China Overseas Grand Oceans Group likely looks attractive to investors, given its 5.4% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. The company also bought back stock during the year, equivalent to approximately 1.1% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying China Overseas Grand Oceans Group for its dividend, and we'll go through these below.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on China Overseas Grand Oceans Group!

SEHK:81 Historical Dividend Yield May 12th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. Looking at the data, we can see that 23% of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. We'd say its dividends are thoroughly covered by earnings.

In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Unfortunately, while China Overseas Grand Oceans Group pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective.

We update our data on China Overseas Grand Oceans Group every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here.

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Dividend Volatility

One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group's dividend payments. Its dividend payments have declined on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was CN0.016 in 2010, compared to CN0.23 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 31% a year over that time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame.

China Overseas Grand Oceans Group has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see China Overseas Grand Oceans Group has grown its earnings per share at 17% per annum over the past five years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggests this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that China Overseas Grand Oceans 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 like China Overseas Grand Oceans Group's low dividend payout ratio, although we're a bit concerned that it paid out a substantially higher percentage of its free cash flow. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than China Overseas Grand Oceans Group out there.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Just as an example, we've come accross 4 warning signs for China Overseas Grand Oceans Group you should be aware of, and 2 of them are significant.

Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield above 3%.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Bhushan Kumar said T-Series is taking necessary medical precautions after a caretaker of T-Series office tested positive for coronavirus

Film producer Bhushan Kumar on Monday said his production house is taking necessary medical precautions after a caretaker of T-Series office tested positive for COVID-19, following which the building was sealed.

(Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak)

Bhushan said some of the security personnel and helpers, who have been residing within the office premises since years, did not get a chance to go back to their hometowns due to the nationwide lockdown.

"All employees of T-Series are like family and we have taken utmost care to respect this situation. While the person who has been positively infected is receiving the proper care, we have taken the government recommended medical steps to make sure that the office building is completely sanitized," Bhushan said in a statement.

The producer said all at T-Series are following the rules of lockdown and are currently working from home as directed.

"We have always taken care of each other and in these trying times, we will strive hard to make sure that each and every person of the T-Series family comes out a winner at the end of this fight against the global pandemic," he added.

Till Monday morning, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,206 in India, with cases climbing to 67,152.
Rory Kinnear has revealed that his sister has died from coronavirus, and urged the UK government to greater support those with disabilities as well as societys most vulnerable.

Writing in The Guardian, the actor and playwright explained that he and his family had said their goodbyes to Karina, 48, over FaceTime, after she was hospitalised after testing positive for the illness.

Kinner wrote that Karina had experienced severe brain damage at birth, and later paralysis from the waist down following spinal surgery as a teenager. She had previously suffered kidney damage and was hospitalised with chest infections throughout her life.

Her lung capacity was so diminished that we knew, given the reports of [Covid-19s] effects, that it was likely to prove incredibly dangerous for her, Kinnear wrote. Her conditions werent just underlying, they were life-defining, for her and for us, even if she remained unaware of their severity.

He continued: It was coronavirus that killed her. It wasnt her underlying conditions. Prior to her diagnosis, she hadnt been in hospital for 18 months.

It was a virulent, aggressive and still only partially understood virus that was responsible, a virus that is causing thousands of people, despite the unstinting bravery of the medical staff of this country, to say a distanced goodbye to relatives who would still be alive had they not contracted it.

Kinnear added that he hoped Covid-19 would spark greater recognition for those most in need of our care and compassion, as it is making their lives harder and even more fearful.

He also called upon governments to invest financially and emotionally in the lives of those who need the most support.
Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D-Santa Clarita) speaks during a session of the California Assembly last June in Sacramento. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Special elections traditionally get lower turnout than regular elections. But theres too much riding on the outcome of the special election race for 25th Congressional District, which stretches through Simi, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, for voters to sit this one out. The winning candidate will be dispatched to Washington, D.C., immediately and will be thrust into what may be the most consequential debate of his or her career: how to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voting has been going on for weeks to fill the remainder of the term left open by Democratic Rep. Katie Hills resignation last fall. As of Saturday, just 39% of registered Republicans and 25% of registered Democrats had turned in a ballot. But Tuesday is the final day to cast a vote, either by trekking to one of a dozen vote centers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties or by popping a ballot back in the mail. All voters in the district should have received one, per the order of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Ideally, voters will cast their ballot for state Assemblywoman Christy Smith, whom the editorial board has enthusiastically endorsed. Smith is a levelheaded centrist with years of relevant legislative experience, including serving two terms on the Newhall School District board and doing education policy analysis.

By contrast, her opponent, Republican Mike Garcia, is woefully unprepared. The former Navy pilot and Raytheon executive has no experience in elective or appointed office. He doesn't offer much of a platform either, and relies instead on flogging the usual conservative tropes of protecting freedom, reducing taxes and fighting the "Democrats' dangerous socialist agenda."

What Garcia does have on his side is the full support of the GOP, along with the propensity of Republican voters to turn out more reliably than Democratic ones. Republicans are desperate to take back this seat from Democrats after losing it to Hill in 2018, even if its means backing an unknown and untried candidate over the former congressman, Steve Knight of Palmdale, whom Hill unseated.

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No one seems more eager for this to happen then President Trump, who tweeted over the weekend and again Monday morning the specious accusation that Democrats are trying to steal this election. And how are they attempting this heist? In the usual way: by making it easier for people to vote.

Los Angeles County elections officials opened a vote center in Lancaster Saturday after concerns that voters in that Antelope Valley city, which has a large African American and Latino population, would be disenfranchised because the closest voter center was nine miles away. Among those requesting the new vote center was Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, a Republican who is rooting for Garcia.

We encourage voters to ignore the partisan noise and simply vote for the objectively superior candidate, Smith. And do it now.
Matt Hancock has said summer holidays abroad will 'not be possible this year' after the government announced a 14-day quarantine for all international arrivals into Britain.

Speaking to Philip Schofield on This Morning, the Health Secretary poured cold water over some Britons' plans to fly abroad this summer, as holiday companies revealed a spike in interest for trips abroad.

Asked whether 'summer was cancelled', Mr Hancock told the ITV programme: 'I think that's likely to be the case.

'It is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer. I just think that's a reality of life.'

He added: 'It is clear that we will seek to reopen some hospitality from early July if we reduce the spread.

'But social distancing is going to continue. I think it is unlikely big lavish summer holidays will be possible this year'.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since March 17, while domestic holidays are not allowed due to the Government's lockdown orders issued six days later.

Other revelations in lockdown Britain today include:

Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the Government's furlough scheme to October - and said 80 per cent of pay will still be covered

Nearly 10,000 care home residents have died from coronavirus in the UK as official figures reveal 26% of all victims are in care homes

Labour's new shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds announced she will refuse to send her six-year-old son Freddie back to school in June

Subway is reopening up to 150 of its 600 UK eateries today - but for delivery and collection customers only

Speaking on This Morning, Health Secretary Matt Hancock poured cold water over some Britons' plans to fly abroad this summer

Ryanair released a statement revealing routes it will be operating during May. All aircraft are disinfected daily, it says

COUNTRIES WHERE 14-DAY QUARANTINES ARE IN PLACE Spain will make everyone entering the country quarantine for a fortnight from this Friday. Travellers will have to self-isolate at a specific address for a fortnight under the new rules. The measure will stay in place until the end of Spain's state of the alarm. The current state of alarm ends on May 24 but Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has already said he wants to extend it a fifth time and would like to keep it in place till the end of June. Those arriving in Ireland from overseas have to restrict their movements 14 days. People travelling to Cyprus will agree to remain under quarantine for 14 days upon arrival at premises identified by the Cypriot Government. A 14-day self-isolation is mandatory for those arriving in Italy. The country only allows entry to nationals repatriating - or for serious heath or business reasons. Jordan banned all non-nationals arriving until May 21, with a 14-day self-isolation upon arrival. Malta imposes a 14-day self-isolation to those arriving from abroad. Portugal has imposed two weeks of self-isolation on those arriving. Romania also imposes 14 days of self-isolation. Advertisement

Downing Street has said that passengers entering the UK from most countries would have to self-isolate for two weeks in the battle against coronavirus.

But after talks with President Macron, it was jointly announced that France would be exempt from quarantine for the time being, and any restrictions would be 'reciprocal'.

The Republic of Ireland is also exempt from the quarantine, potentially opening up travel to the rest of the world for Britons if they go via Ireland or France.

And minister are now advising people not to book summer holidays in France as bookings surge following the news if the country's exemption.

The full Official plans for the quarantine are expected to be announced on Friday, with the quarantine possibly being implemented by next Thursday.

Holiday companies revealed a spike in interest for trips to France after the statement, but a Downing Street source insisted official advice was to not go on holiday abroad, and there was 'no end' to the guidance.

Mr Hancock's comments came just hours after Ryanair announced it will operate nearly 1,000 flights per day from July 1 subject to European countries lifting flight restrictions and 'effective public health measures' being put in place at airports.

The plan involves 90% of the airline's pre-Covid-19 route network being restored, but on reduced frequencies.

Since mid-March it has operated a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights per day between the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe.

Passengers and crew will be required to wear face masks or face coverings, and pass temperature checks.

Queuing for toilets will be banned, but 'toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request', according to the airline.

A limited range of refreshments will be sold on board, and no cash will be accepted.

This morning Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary said the 14-day isolation measures would not be 'effective'

Ryanair said all surfaces in its cabins will be disinfected every night with chemicals which are effective for more than 24 hours.

The carrier will require all passengers flying in July and August to complete a form when they check in, stating how long their visit will be and where they are staying.

What is the 14-day quarantine rule and who will it apply to? 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. Which countries will it apply to? Boris Johnson yesterday phoned French President Emmanuel Macron and agreed a mutual exemption from the measures for holidaymakers from both countries. All journeys within the common travel area - which covers the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Ireland - are be exempt from the measures. No other countries have been named. These exemptions will be in place to provide 'continued security of supply into the UK' as well as not impeding work in national security or critical infrastructure, today's report said. What will happen at the British border? People entering the UK must supply their contact details and details of their accommodation, and to self-isolate in their accommodation for 14 days, other than those on a short list of exemptions. Is this for foreign travellers only or British people returning home from holiday or living overseas? All arrivals including British nationals will be required to provide their contact information and self-isolate upon arrival, other than those on a short list of exemptions. Advertisement

This information will be provided to EU governments to 'help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights'.

Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson said: 'It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from 1 July onwards.

'Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

'After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work and restart Europe's tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.'

It comes as aviation bosses warned of the 'devastating impact on the UK aviation industry' and 'on the wider economy'.

This morning Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary said the 14-day isolation measures would not be 'effective'.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'It will have no credibility among the travelling public, but it is manageable.

'We know from our own customer feedback, there's a huge pent-up desire of families who want to get away to the beaches of Spain and Portugal, where, by the way, there will be no spread of the virus.'

He added: 'What's ineffective is these kind of idiotic measures like a 14-day quarantine, which is completely non-science-based, when you can exempt the French and you can exempt the Irish.

'It's nonsense and it has no effect in limiting the spread of Covid-19.'

Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will reportedly be exempt from quarantine measures. Freight drivers and other key workers will also not be subject to the restrictions.

Tourists and locals returned to the bars and terraces in Benidorm on Monday

One measures under consideration is allowing France a time-limited exemption from quarantine measures.

Mr O'Leary said the 'reality'was that Britain is now 'over the peak of the virus'.

British tourists could travel to Greece without restrictions as Greek government launches plan to restart tourism sector British tourists could holiday in Greece without restrictions from June 1, according to the Greek government. Last week, the EU country announced its plans to reopen its tourism sector in three stages which could see free travel to the country from the start of next month, should no further problems arise. However, the chances of British tourists being able to visit the country once again rest on whether airlines will be willing to transport them there on a regular basis. So far, Greece has managed to record 2,726 coronavirus cases within its borders, with 151 people dying due to the global pandemic. Last year, four million Britons travelled to either mainland Greece or its islands on holiday. Greece's Interior Ministry announced that the country will adopt a three-stage process to open up travel between mainland Greece and its islands. Advertisement

He said: 'What we now need is to take effective measures, and effective measures certainly in air travel will involve masks and temperature checks.

'They're not going to involve measures that have no public support like lockdown, isolation. They're utterly unimplementable anyway because you don't have the police resources to go and check the people.'

He also called for making face masks mandatory on trains, the Tube and at airport terminals.

Peak Retreats - which specialises in French mountain holidays - revealed a 43 per cent increase in web traffic yesterday, while another tour operator Abercrombie and Kent said inquiries for French holidays were up by nearly 25 per cent.

France has allowed businesses to reopen, with citizens permitted to travel 60 miles from their homes - but the border will stay closed until June 15 at least, with all those entering having to fill out a permit.

The French embassy in London says Britons should only travel there if it is 'strictly necessary', and the country's prime minister Edouard Philippe stressed that 'now is not the time for weekend trips'.

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

'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 and the economic impact on key sectors should be mitigated.'

Mr Hancock's news on foreign holidays cam during a series of ill-tempered live TV and radio interviews today where he appeared frustrated when repeatedly asked for 'clarity' on how Britain would be eased out of the coronavirus lockdown.

The Health Secretary was grilled on whether the Government's 'road map' was confusing and even appeared to roll his eyes ahead of his appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning.

UK statistics watchdog demands answers from Matt Hancock over his claim Government hit the 100k testing target The UK's statistics watchdog has criticised the 'limited detail' in the Government's coronavirus testing figures and said targets must be 'clearly defined'. UK Statistics Authority chairman Sir David Norgrove told Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the 'trustworthiness' of official figures would be helped if they were more straightforward to find and better explained. Boris Johnson has set a goal of having the capacity to carry out 200,000 tests a day by the end of May. This follows a target of 100,000 a day for the end of April set by Mr Hancock - but that was based on tests being carried out, rather than capacity. Sir David told Mr Hancock: 'I know you are a strong supporter of the proper use of statistics and data and that you will understand that for the sake of clarity and confidence it is important that the target and its context should be set out. 'It should be clear whether the target is intended to reflect: testing capacity; tests that have been administered; test results received; or the number of people tested. 'Each of these is of interest of course, whether or not they are targets. 'In reporting against this target, sole focus on the total national number of tests could mask helpful operational detail.' Advertisement

Mr Hancock's off-guard moment came as host Louise Minchin said Labour had demanded 'more clarity' on how people would return to normal life - and his look to the sky appeared to be aimed at someone behind the camera.

And then around half an hour later on BBC Radio 4 he was asked about the confusion surrounding whether people should have returned to work on Monday or Wednesday and said: 'I think that if that is the biggest complaint the Today programme has then I think things are fine', adding: 'I think we've been clear throughout'.

Mr Hancock also moaned that criticism for 'letting down' care homes was 'really unfair', despite almost 10,000 residents UK residents dying, poor testing and a lack of PPE for staff.

The Tory Health Secretary, who declined to face Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, made a series of tense appearances on the BBC and Sky News and appeared exasperated at times.

Later in an interview with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning, he denied that social distancing rules about not being able to see both parents at the same time were 'utterly bonkers', insisting it is 'common sense'. He also advised against hugging strangers until a coronavirus vaccine is found, encouraged people to make their own face masks and admitted that 'lavish international holidays' were unlikely for Britons this summer.

Boris Johnson has been accused of offering 'vague' advice and 'failing to give the public clear directions' on the way out of the crisis, but again sent one of his ministers out to defend his policies despite Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's disastrous media round yesterday.

The continuing barrage of criticism and confusion over the PM's five-step exit plan came as:

Phillip Schofield also asked Mr Hancock why Britons were being asked to 'pick a parent' by only allowed people to see one at a time.

The minister replied: 'You can see one and then the other, and that's fine. Another thing we are looking at is whether two households can come together and interact a lot more but we need to do some more science on the impact on the spread of the virus'.

Later in an interview with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning, he denied that social distancing rules about not being able to see both parents at the same time were 'utterly bonkers'

Mr Schofield said: 'So can I see my parents ten minutes apart? Don't you see that's utterly bonkers'.

Boris Johnson wants people who can't work from home to return to work from tomorrow as part of a five-step plan to lift UK out of lockdown by the Autumn.

The Health Secretary, who has faced calls to be sacked over the slow start to Britain's testing regime, also repeatedly refused to directly answer whether people have a legal right not to go to work if they do not feel safe due to coronavirus.

He was asked the question twice on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning. In response, he said: 'Well this needs to be a collaborative effort. Absolutely workplaces need to follow the guidelines on making a workplace safe for Covid, so that is very important.

'Critically, everybody who can work from home should continue to work from home.'

Asked for a second time whether people are protected by law if they felt unsafe in the workplace, Mr Hancock said: 'Well, employment law has not changed, but that isn't the point.

'The point is that businesses and employees should be working together to make the best of a very difficult situation.'

The Health Secretary said there was a 'common sense' principle as to why children can be looked after by child minders, but not other family members from outside their household.

Face away from other passengers, wear a mask, avoid rush hour, and WASH YOUR HANDS on arrival: Government issues advice for train, bus and Tube commuters as back-to-work plans are ramped up

Government has issued guidance for people who can't avoid public transport

Passengers should face away from each other if possible and wear masks

Ministers urging people to return to jobs in most sectors even if not from home

The latest tranche of documents released this morning cover transport

Commuters have been urged to wear a mask and face away from each other as the government mounts a push to get more rail and bus services up and running.

People who must use public transport should avoid rush hour and make sure they wash their hands on arrival, according to new guidance.

Paying for tickets using contactless methods, bringing tissues and hand sanitiser, and getting off at less busy stations are also recommended.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the advice would help keep travellers safe, as he renewed his call for people to walk and cycle to work where possible.

The latest tranche of documents released this morning come after Boris Johnson unveiled his 'exit strategy'.

Everyone in sectors that have not been closed down is now being urged to resume their jobs, even if they cannot work from home.

Commuters on the Tube at Canning Town in London today as the government urges people to return to work where possible

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured in Downing Street at the weekend) said the new advice would help keep travellers safe, as he renewed his call for people to walk and cycle to work where possible

Drivers warned not to linger at garages and that more cyclists will be on the roads Motorists should carry hand sanitiser and not linger at garages, guidance said today. Advice for those driving says they should avoid busy times and be aware more cyclists and pedestrians are likely to be around. 'If driving, you should anticipate more pedestrians and cyclists than usual, especially at peak times of day,' the guidance said. 'Allow other road users to maintain social distance, where possible. For example, give cyclists space at traffic lights. Public Health England recommends keeping a 2 metre distance from others, where possible.' The documents insisted people should not linger at garages and motorway services. 'Limit the time you spend at garages, petrol stations and motorway services. Try to keep your distance from other people and if possible pay by contactless. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or sanitise your hands when arriving and leaving,' it said. 'If people from different households use a vehicle (for example through a car share scheme), you should clean it between journeys using gloves and standard cleaning products. 'Make sure you clean door handles, steering wheel and other areas that people may touch.' Advertisement

Detailed guidelines were issued last night for businesses to find ways of protecting workers by maintaining social distancing, or taking other steps such as installing screens.

The transport advice published today stated: 'You should avoid using public transport where possible.

'Instead try to walk, cycle, or drive. If you do travel, thinking carefully about the times, routes and ways you travel will mean we will all have more space to stay safe.'

Those who do need to use public transport are told to take 'contactless payment card or pass', a phone, hand sanitiser, tissues and a face covering.

'Taking a less busy route and reducing the number of changes (for example between bus and train) will help you keep your distance from others,' the guidance said.

'Try to start or end your journey using a station or mode of transport you know to be quieter or more direct. For instance, walk the first or last mile of your journey, or alight at an earlier station, where this is possible.

Where it is not possible to keep two metres away from fellow passengers and staff 'you should keep the time you spend nears others as short as possible and avoid physical contact'.

'There may be situations where you can't keep a suitable distance from people, for example when boarding or alighting, on busier services, at busier times of day and when walking through interchanges,' the guidance said.

'In these cases you should avoid physical contact, try to face away from other people, and keep the time you spend near others as short as possible. If you can, wear a face covering on public transport.

'Be aware of the surfaces you touch. Be careful not to touch your face. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your elbow when coughing or sneezing.'

Mr Shapps said: 'Transport operators and staff have been working hard to ensure that people who need to get to work are able to do so, including crucial NHS workers and all those on the frontline of the fight against the virus.

'Alongside the cycling and walking revolution we are launching, and clear guidance to passengers and operators published today, we can all play our part by following the advice and reducing pressure on public transport.

A deserted Waterloo Station yesterday as people continue to avoid public transport where possible during the lockdown

'If we take these steps, all those who need to use public transport should feel confident that they can do so safely, with the space to maintain social distancing as far as possible.'

Robert Nisbet of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said: 'There will be space for as few as a tenth of the usual number of passengers so we need everyone's help to keep trains for those who really need them, so please only use the railway if you absolutely have to.

'As well as gradually increasing services from next week to support the nation during the next phase of the coronavirus response and running longer trains in some places, we will be cleaning trains and stations throughout the day, every day. We will be managing capacity on trains and in stations and increasing signage to help people get around.'

Guidance has also been updated for those driving to work. 'If driving, you should anticipate more pedestrians and cyclists than usual, especially at peak times of day,' it said.

'Allow other road users to maintain social distance, where possible. For example, give cyclists space at traffic lights. Public Health England recommends keeping a 2 metre distance from others, where possible.'

The documents insisted people should not linger at garages and motorway services.

'Limit the time you spend at garages, petrol stations and motorway services. Try to keep your distance from other people and if possible pay by contactless. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or sanitise your hands when arriving and leaving,' it said.

'If people from different households use a vehicle (for example through a car share scheme), you should clean it between journeys using gloves and standard cleaning products.

'Make sure you clean door handles, steering wheel and other areas that people may touch.'
Columbus residents will be able to celebrate Memorial Day this month, just not the way theyve been accustomed to for years.

The communitys longstanding and annual Memorial Day program put on by the areas veterans organizations (American Legion Hartman Post 84, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3704, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 20 and AMVETS Post 10) in conjunction with the City of Columbus, has been scrapped this year.

We just couldnt see a way of doing it and keeping the 6-foot radius from each other, said longtime American Legion member Dave Oppliger, the organizations second vice commander. The main thing is safety.

As part of the festivities, hundreds of residents gather in Frankfort Square (or the American Legion building when the weather doesnt permit, like last year) to pay respect to those who lost their lives serving the country. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971, according to history.com. It's meant to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Although Gov. Pete Ricketts relaxed some COVID-19 restrictions, Oppliger said organizers felt it was in everybodys best interest to be responsible and not risk a gathering of more than 10 people that the Memorial Day program would undoubtedly result in.

The decision also puts a damper on the tradition of area veterans and members of local Boy Scout troops putting American flags on display throughout town for all to see and enjoy. Oppliger said it takes a couple of hundred people to help get all of those flags up, and with so many Boy Scouts having stepped up to help with it in the past, it was the right call to not move forward with it.

Its always such a beautiful sight to see all of those flags, but its also a little sad knowing what those flags represent, Columbus City Council President Charlie Bahr said, adding that hes disappointed plans were canceled but that he understands why.

The holiday is close to Bahrs heart due to his familys connections to the military. His father and father-in-law were in the U.S. Navy and Air Force, respectively, for many years. His son spent 22 years in the Army and had six deployments, and his daughter-in-law spent 20 years in the Army and had four deployments. Additionally, his late brother died serving the country as a member of the Army in Vietnam. Bahr said he hopes people find a way to reflect on the holidays meaning while also being safe.

I would encourage everybody to social distance and go to the different services that will be in town, he said, noting he hopes some churches will still have small and safe ceremonies that day. I would encourage people to remember what those flags are for and who theyre for.

All is not completely lost despite the pandemic. Oppliger said volunteers will still put small American flags on the tombstone of every veteran who rests in city cemeteries. The ceremony itself will return next year.

It will come back, he assured. The significance of Memorial Day is to show respect for all those who have served in all the military forces and honor those who have passed away in the last year and those who gave their lives in military service.

Its a moving holiday for everybody who had a loved one in the service and all the present veterans who are still alive and their families and all those still serving in the military.

Matt Lindberg is the managing editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at matt.lindberg@lee.net.

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The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay set aside Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

In his election petition, Rathod had alleged that Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes".

Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

According to Rathod's lawyer Sharvil Majumdar, the court observed in its order that the then returning officer (RO) of Dholka constituency flouted guidelines of the Election Commission during the counting of votes, in the manner that it vitiated the entire election.

He said the court also observed that the election was materially affected by the conduct of the then RO to reject 429 postal ballots illegally, when the victory margin with which Chudasama won was 327 votes.

State Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Nitin Patel termed the order as "shocking", and said it will be challenged in the Supreme Court.

"The order to cancel election of Bhupendrasinhji is a sad Naturally, Bhupendrasinhji is seeking legal advice regarding the order and steps are being taken to appeal against it in the Supreme Court. We are confident of getting justice and a stay on this order," he said.

State Congress president Amit Chavda alleged that Chudasama won through misuse of power and government officials, but the court's order showed any such interference with the election process will be rejected.

This is the victory of truth and defeat of the manner in which BJP misused power and government officers.

The Congress candidate had then opposed this election saying the votes were rejected because they were in favour of the party candidate (Rathod). But, Chudasama was somehow declared victoroius illegally, Chavda said.

After more than two years, the high court finally rejected Chudasama's election, and this clearly shows that the BJP government has always misused power and government officials, he said.

Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil also hailed the high court's decision.

"Satyamev Jayate" (truth always wins), he tweeted.

"#Gujarats Law Minister declared to be elected unlawfully. Bhupendrasinh Chudasamas election declared illegal, null and void by Gujarat High Court. He had illegally crafted his win in 2017. #GujaratModelExposed," he said in another tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Karan Wahi has been living by himself for 16 years now. And hence, he says the lockdown has been like just another day for him. Speaking from Mumbai, he tells us, Im alone right now, with just a cook, so Im glad my food is sorted. My parents live in Delhi. Im not doing anything different, and its like how others are keeping themselves busy. Even in the normal times, when I didnt have work, Id always be at home. The only difference is none of the friends who would visit, can come now.

The 33-year-old had returned from Spain on March 6, when the Covid-19 pandemic has just started to take over in India. Wahi says he had to go through a full check-up at the airport, and was told to report if he felt any symptoms.

So, Ive been at home since March 7 itself. A few of my projects have been affected. I had something on the acting front, thats delayed indefinitely now, he continues, Then I was producing a new show, thats also on hold now. We are actually using the time to write it better, than feel sad about the fact that its not going to go on floors right now. Itll definitely take a hit.

A new project starring Wahi with actor Lara Dutta, recently went live. Happy with the response, he tells us that the cast and crew had to complete the post-production from their homes, complete with the dubbing, just to meet the release date deadline.

There were a lot of hardships for the makers, the editing, colour correction and dubbing. We had no option but to do that from homes, he says, adding, Makers wanted to come out at this time (lockdown). What might just happen after this period is over is that most of the people wouldnt want to sit at home. It was a good way, through which people will watch it at least, thats our aim. Thats your primary aim, whether they like it or not, its their call. Weve got nice feedback so far.

Using his celebrity status and fan following on social media to do his bit, the actor reveals he has managed to do relief work during this crisis through his work itself.

He explains, I dont believe in the word influencer, I dont believe Ill inspire people, because what might be right for me might not be from another perspective. People are trying to do their bit by giving money and food. But everyone has limited liquid money in hand. In hindsight, most of us are also limited with our resources, one has to think about themselves too. So I put it out there that Im open to collaborations on social media, for brands too, if they deposit money directly into the account of an NGO, I send them.
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Linkedin News Desk (Bloomberg)  Tue, May 12, 2020 13:10 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7737ad 2 World wuhan,Wuhan-coronavirus,coronavirus,coronavirus-testing,SARS-CoV-2,pandemic,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-test Free

Wuhan, where the global coronavirus epidemic first started, has ordered officials to prepare to test its entire 11 million population after the central Chinese city reported a handful of new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted, according to state media reports.

All districts in the city have been told to submit a plan which should lay out how they will prepare within ten days to conduct testing of everyone under their purview, said a document cited by local media reports as being released by Wuhans anti-virus department. The plan should prioritize the testing of vulnerable groups and areas like residential compounds, the document said.

Six locally transmitted cases, reported on May 10 and 11, were found in people already under quarantine who were asymptomatic before testing positive, according to the local government. All six cases emerged from a single residential compound and were the first new infections found in Wuhan since its lockdown was lifted on April 8.

The ambitious move to test everyone in Wuhan reflects Chinas anxiety over a resurgence of the epidemic, which it managed to stamp out through draconian restrictions that locked down hundreds of millions of people at its peak in February. Wuhan was sealed off from Jan. 23 until April 8 in a months-long ordeal that saw scores die as the local health system collapsed.

Even as its people cautiously return to normal life, the city has come under the global spotlight again after U.S. President Donald Trumps administration charged that the virus is linked to a laboratory in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. China has denied any link and the laboratorys director said that no staff have been infected, which he said disproves the theory.

Although the new cases in Wuhan are few and appear under control, they serve as a reminder of the risk China faces as it tries to reopen an economy that has seen its worst contraction since 1992.

Seven provinces reported new infections over the past 14 days, and clustered cases were continuing to increase, Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health Commission, said on Monday. China reported only one confirmed case on Tuesday, with no new infections in Wuhan.

Fears of resurgence in other parts of China were highlighted on Sunday when the northeastern city of Shulan, which borders North Korea, was partially locked down after 11 new infections were discovered. Many cities in China still dont allow cinemas and bars to operate, and heavy restrictions against social gatherings remain in place. Face masks are required for public transport and entering stores and public facilities.
As the Lehigh Valleys political leanings switch between blue and red, the reaction to news that President Donald Trump will make his first trip to the Valley this week has divided opinions as well.

Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday he wasnt told of Trumps visit to Owens & Minor Inc., a medical equipment distributor in Upper Macungie Township, but that the president was welcome to visit the Keystone State.

Trump this week in a tweet indirectly criticized Wolfs orders to keep most of the state shutdown until at least early June.

The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Dont play politics. Be safe, move quickly!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020

I would urge anybody coming to Pennsylvania to respect our efforts to stay safe, to keep people safe and businesses (safe)," Wolf said. "Wherever he visits, I hope he does everything in his power to keep employees safe, the business executives safe and any customers on site ... Pennsylvania has always been a state that welcomes visitors and will continue to do that no matter who it is.

Earlier this month, Trump visited a Honeywell mask-making plant in Arizona and was shown in photos not wearing a mask; a Honeywell spokesman said Trump was permitted to not wear a mask during the visit.

In 2016, Trump lost Lehigh County to Hillary Clinton, but picked up Northampton County. At the same time, the Lehigh Valleys representative was Republican Charlie Dent, but when he retired and the district borders were redrawn, Democrat Susan Wild took the seat.

Upper Macungie Township Supervisor Chairman Jim Brunell, a Republican, is elated Trump is coming.

Im so appreciative and grateful thats he coming to the Valley, Burnell said, adding he would like to be able to express his gratitude in person, but wasnt sure it was likely to happen because of the pandemic.

Burnell said he likes how Trump tried to debunk false claims during the ever-changing pandemic, and the balance the president has taken with the country entering an economic depression and keeping everybody safe.

I would think at his level, theres a lot of stuff to wade through to get to the truth, he said.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey also welcomed Trumps visit.

I am glad President Trump is visiting Owens & Minor in the Lehigh Valley on Thursday to highlight the great work of Pennsylvanians who are supplying the PPE needed to save lives, protect front-line workers, and facilitate the safe reopening of the economy," the senator said in a prepared statement. The president understands that Pennsylvanians are ready to regain their livelihoods, and I am thankful for the guidance his administration is providing to help us do so.

Other elected Democrats in the Lehigh Valley were not as thrilled.

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh) wrote an open letter to Trump, asking for details about a national testing strategy, plans to provide frontline healthcare workers with PPE. You can read the letter here.

If you are here to give us those answers, to alleviate our concerns and care for our citizens, we welcome you with open arms. If you are here to take pictures with workers, campaign for your re-election and attack those who disagree with you, please, go back to Washington and get back to work. My constituents are dying, they are broke, and they are desperate. This moment needs tangible solutions, not pretty pictures, Schlossberg wrote.

Other officials took to the medium Trump likes -- Twitter -- to respond to his visit.

Wild had a thread about PPE and paying teachers and firefighters during the pandemic.

Wild is seeking reelection this year for the 7th Congressional District, which covers Lehigh, Northampton and southern Monroe counties. She is uncontested in the Democratic primary, but will face a Republican challenger, either Dean Browning or Lisa Scheller, in the fall.

Pictures of the Lehigh Valley will look great in your next ad, but people arent getting sick along party lines. Its not about politics, its about policy  and youve failed them.



So when you pose with our frontline workers, wear a mask. Its literally the least you can do.  Susan Wild (@wildforcongress) May 12, 2020

State Rep. Peter Schweter was more blunt.

We dont want Trump here in Lehigh County. What we want is a president who doesnt campaign across the country for reelection during a pandemic where people are dying at an alarming rate. Dont come to Lehigh County, Donald. https://t.co/fXciLloOVr  Peter Schweyer (@peter_schweyer) May 12, 2020

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) - In these trying times, poet and filmmaker Tom Roberts said that people are just looking forward to something they can be hopeful for.

People are incredibly resilient. Sometimes, they need a glimmer of something to be hopeful for, the British poet told CNN Philippines Not Politics As Usual.

His viral poem The Great Realisation presents a hopeful view of how the coronavirus pandemic will change the world for the better.

Roberts' bedtime story-like approach on the poem caught the attention of millions of viewers around the world including Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

I think the reason why it touched many is because its a universal message that we are all looking for, he said.

If we are all surrounded by messages of fear and distrust and isolation, then that would start to affect the way we feel and look at the world. I was attempting, I was determined to find a hopeful message in the situation.

Yet, Roberts said the hope he wanted people to have is something that does not disregard the dark reality we are currently facing.

That is not to ignore how difficult the situation is right now..We can use this bad [situation] or disruption as a way of kick starting something better or desirable for many, he said.

How The Great Realisation turned into reality?

Roberts shared that spending with his family during the lockdown in the United Kingdom inspired him to write the poem.

One of the things that inspired me is the fact that this situation personally allowed me to reexamine and smooth the imbalances in my life, he said.

While his parents and older sister all work in the hospitals, Roberts acted as a second parent to his two seven-year-old siblings.

A lot of the days I spent time becoming their teacher...every night I read them bedtime stories, and these stories are always about dragons and witches, and kings and queens, and those times were very long time ago.

He added, What if the things that we found problematic in the world today, one day will become the stuff of tales and stories? So that thought inspired me to sit down and write this poem, film this poem, and share this poem.

Roberts admitted that being optimistic is difficult, yet, he believes that it is something that can be learned.

Actually, its harder to be optimistic, I think it requires less work to be pessimistic, he said.

But if you put that in work to try to look for the good within and try to force yourself to embrace optimism, then I actually think theres an excellent reason to do that because the world around you will feel brighter and lighter.

His next piece titled A Tale of Two Mindsets, which tackles optimism and pessimism, will be released tomorrow.

With the positive feedback on his poem, Roberts said he is thankful that some people find his piece useful.

The highest praise or reward you can receive is to feel that you contributed something useful.
Press Release

May 12, 2020 Senators honor late Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez THE Senate on Tuesday adopted Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan's proposed resolution to honor late communications luminary and former Secretary of the Department of Tourism Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. Jimenez was best known for putting the Philippines back in the global spotlight with his famous tourism campaign, "It's More Fun in the Philippines." "Secretary MonJ's leadership imbued Philippine tourism with a lasting strategic direction. Ang layo ng narating natin bilang Pilipino dahil napakasimple at napaka-eleganteng kampanya tungkol sa 'Kung sino tayo,'" Pangilinan said in his sponsorship speech. "Sikat na sikat ang kampanya kasi yun ang puso sa bawat Pilipino -- masayahin. And it brought about the unprecedented achievements for the Philippine tourism industry, almost doubling tourism arrivals and revenue, and creating the jobs and businesses we are now trying to save in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic," he added. In the Aquino administration, Jimenez was Tourism Secretary and Pangilinan was Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization. "His passing left many of us heartbroken, and in deep grief. I will always remember him as the man who loved and served his country well," Pangilinan said. Senate Resolution 399 noted the positive results of Jimenez's "It's More Fun in the Philippines" tourism campaign which has "redounded to the economic well-being of countless Filipinos, creating jobs and businesses, and expanding the horizon of opportunity for many of our countrymen." Jimenez is remembered as an advocate for democracy, with inclusive communications, affirming dialogue, and truth-telling as cornerstones. "Sabi niya, truth is the most powerful instrument of persuasion -- the antidote to the hate, lies, and anger of social media strategies that exploit big data, microtargeting, and algorithm bias," Pangilinan said. "He will be missed. We express our sincerest condolences to his daughters Nina and Sassa, and his many colleagues and adopted children in advertising, communications, and public service. Na-imagine ko ngayon si Sec MonJ, with his wife Abby by his side, looking down from heaven, telling all of us he left behind, 'It is even more fun in heaven,'" he added. Jimenez passed away last April 27, 2020.
 Flash

A Chinese medical team arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday to assist the southern African country's efforts in the fight against COVID-19.



The 12-member team from central China's Hunan Province also brought a consignment of medical supplies including ventilators, nucleic acid testing kits, face masks and medical protective suits.

The team includes experts from respiratory departments, infectious disease departments, and the fields of intensive medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, infection control, public health and nursing.

They will share experience in epidemic control with the Zimbabwean side and offer training for medics on the prevention, control, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

Speaking during a reception ceremony held at Robert Mugabe International Airport in capital Harare to welcome the team, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun expressed gratitude to the Hunan provincial government and leading medical institutions in the province for sending the medical team to Zimbabwe.

"I'd also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all doctors in this team for coming such a long way to Zimbabwe and to join us fight COVID-19 together," he said.

By standing together in solidarity, the battle against COVID-19 will be eventually won, Guo said.

"Our friendship dates back to the struggle of national independence of Zimbabwe, and today we are facing a common enemy, COVID-19. The only way to fight against COVID-19 is international coordination and international cooperation," Guo said.

Zhu Yimin, deputy director of Hunan provincial health commission, said China's experience in dealing with the pandemic will enhance Zimbabwe's efforts in combating COVID-19.

"We are here to exchange ideas and to share the experiences of China combating COVID-19 as China has flattened the curve of this pandemic," he said.

"I hope our mission here will help enhance the confidence in responding to COVID-19 and also cement our friendship," said Zhu.

July Moyo, Zimbabwe's Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese government for standing with Zimbabwe in its fight against COVID-19.

"These experts will interact with experts from Zimbabwe and I think by the time they leave we will have more insights, we will have more things to learn and it can assist us in our strategy to combat COVID-19," he said.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care John Mangwiro said the exchange of ideas between Zimbabwean and Chinese experts will go a long way in combating the spread of COVID-19.

"Their coming in in-person, physically to be with us, with cross-pollination, where we were making mistakes we can now be able to ask them directly. So the human factor is extremely important because now we interface, correct each other, talk medically and we can be able to do all these things," he said.

Zimbabwe has so far recorded 36 cases of COVID-19, with nine recoveries and four deaths.

Since 1985, China's Hunan Province has sent 17 groups of 166 medical workers to Zimbabwe.
The instant messaging apps are more relevant than ever before. You probably are spending more time on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Signal, Skype, WeChat, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack and more. Be it for work or for staying in touch with friends and family, messaging apps for text messages and video calls are the default mode of communication for millions around the world. Perhaps even more so, because of the social distancing requirements due to the COVID pandemic. Numbers seem to be suggesting that. Every messaging platform is gaining. Except one, which could have done much better to be default choice for video calls and instant messaging for millions of users around the world. But isnt.

After some amount of confusion, Zoom clarified and said they clocked 300 million users in April. Microsoft has said that there are more than 200 million meeting participants in a single day in April, and there were more than 4.1 billion meeting minutes generated. Teams now has more than 75 million daily active users. Houseparty, an app owned by Fortnite developer Epic Games, clocked more than two million downloads in early March, as the first stages of the lockdown around the world kicked in. Facebook says video-calling on Messenger had straight doubled since last year and that 700 million users around the world are using Messenger and WhatsApp for callsand thats before the group calling update and Messenger Rooms rolled out.

Would you really shift from whatever messaging apps you are using right now, at work and for personal use?

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What is WhatsApp Aiming For? Rule The Video Meetings Space? Be a Super App? World Domination?

In early April, Google said that 2 million new users are connecting on Google Meet every day, and they're spending over 2 billion minutes together. That might be a lot of G Suite users as well, but the positioning is working among enterprises as well. That being said, a simpler and refined communication apps ecosystem might have helped Google at this time. It is all a bit confusing. From what I can count, they have six apps that do roughly the same tasks as each other. In many cases, it is pretty evident overlap. We have Google Chat, Hangouts, Google Meet, Google Duo, Google Voice and Messages. What do they do?

Google Chat, as described by Google is, a powerful way to communicate with people in your organization. It must be accessed via a G Suite account.

Google Meet is a more powerful tool for businesses and enterprises for video meetings, letting you share desktops, presentations and more. All premium features of Google Meet are available to everyone at this time. Which begs the questionwhat is Google Chat doing? Im sure it has a purpose, but it is all very confusing. It was earlier called Hangouts Meet. In fact, Google Meet is now being integrated within Gmail, a prime location that was once occupied by Hangouts.

Then there is the consumer version called Hangouts which still retains the branding as we have known it for a long time. This is a messaging app that you can use to connect with friends, family and colleagues. You can do text messages, video calls and voice calls. Much like WhatsApp. The thing is, Hangouts is preloaded in a lot of Android phones, or you are often prompted to download it in other Android phoneswhich should have been its ticket for success. But that hasnt happened.

There is also Duo, also an app preloaded in pretty much most Android phones now. It can do video calls, group video chats and well, thats also available across a variety of platforms including desktop, Android and the iPhonejust like Hangouts.

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I am sure you would have noticed the Messages app in your Android phone. This is the default app for texting and RCS-enabled chat. It also has a desktop version, much like its siblings, and WhatsApp Web for a more recognizable reference.

One has to perhaps trace Googles attempts all the way back to 2009. That is when Google Talk graced Gmail. It was a real-time text messaging service and Voice (in some countries) for voice chats. Then came Google Wave which tried to mash together a bit of instant messaging, forums and collaboration between colleaguesit did not work, because no one really knew what it really was for.

Google attempted something with Buzz in 2010 for something which was more social networking focused, and that eventually have way to Google+ some years later. This is also when we welcomed Hangouts, the instant messenger app that exists till today. In 2013, Hangouts got SMS handling capabilities for Android phones, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) was added soon after. Finally, it seemed like the complete communications package was coming together. Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, Android's SMS app, and Google Voice rolled together into one single app. That should have been a pivotal moment.

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It wasnt. in 2016, Google added three more apps to its unplanned arsenalAllo, Duo and Spaces. Partly inspired by all the hype around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the need to feed people suggestions for what their replies should be. In dynamic conversations which hardly follow a set pattern of formalities and language, it predictably didnt have people thronging to use it. Duo survives till date, but Allo and Spaces walked into the sunset a while ago.

For a while, one could say Google was experimenting. But now it is becoming apparent that the company, which has got pretty much everything nailed down perfectly, still trips over when it comes to instant messaging. Is it already too late though? Would you really shift from whatever messaging apps you are using right now, at work and for personal use?

Things might change. But we say that with a lot of apprehension. It is being reported that Javier Soltero, VP and GM of G Suite at Google, is now taking charge of the message apps ecosystem. Straight away, it has been consolidated into one unified team. Perhaps now we will have one messaging solution for enterprise users and one for personal and informal usage. Much like how Microsoft does with Teams and Skype. Much like how Facebook is smartly playing the Messenger and WhatsApp cards. We have seen many a false dawn, so well reserve our judgement till it actually happens.
Conor McGregor has thrown down the gauntlet to lightweight rival Justin Gaethje as the Irish superstar weighed in on the American's rise to the upper echelons of the 155lbs division.

Gaethje stole the show in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday night, stopping Tony Ferguson inside five rounds with an assured performance that saw the 31-year-old clinch the interim lightweight title.

'The Highlight' is now in pole position to take on lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, with the undefeated Russian the man to beat in the division.

Conor McGregor has launched an expletive-ridden rant at UFC lightweight rival Justin Gaethje

And McGregor, who had no doubt been keeping a close eye on Saturday's proceedings, has weighed in on the latest development in the division in which he used to be champion.

Referring to Nurmagomedov's mauling style, McGregor said: 'Justin, there is no danger in a man that hugs legs, we all know. Try and dance around what the real threat is here all you want.

'I am going to f****** butcher you. Your teeth. I'm going to put them on a f****** necklace.

Gaethje stole the show at UFC 249 with a stunning win over top contender Tony Ferguson

However, McGregor hasn't taken kindly to comments made by Gaethje regarding his kids

'Speak on my skills as a father? You are f****** dead.'

There is no love lost between 'The Notorious' and Gaethje. The American has questioned the Irishman as a father and challenged him to a bout in January. McGregor went on to fight Donald Cerrone instead.

'I'll take the winner of Khabib and Tony [Ferguson] and if the little Irish f*** wants to come back I'm right here man. I'm the perfect guy to bring him back,' he said in September 2019.

'I will never stray from the truth, that's the truth. There's nothing else to it. It had nothing to do with fighting, nothing to do with wanting to get a fight.

McGregor has vowed to 'butcher' Gaethje and 'put his teeth on a necklace' when they meet

The Irishman told Gaethje to skip a title fight and face him in a lightweight showdown

'He wants to write some b*******, facts are facts. You cannot represent yourself in the public eye like that and expect your child to respect what you do.

'You are an influence, you are a hero to your children, and you are a fool if you think they're not going to follow in your footsteps.'

McGregor also unleashed on Nurmagomedov. The pair shared a toxic rivalry in 2018 in the build up to and aftermath of UFC 229, in which the Russian stopped his arch rival in the fourth round.

'Khabib you absolute embarrassment. Scurrying, hiding rat as usual. As I have said many times. As has been seen many times.

The Irishman also had strong words for Khabib Nurmagomedov, who he lost to in 2018

Nurmagomedov reminded McGregor of his dominant win at UFC 229 in October 2018

'Through the pane of glass it was confirmed what was always known. 'No comment' lol. An embarrassment to real fighting.'

Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has weighed in on McGregor's comments. The 42-year-old also manages Nurmagomedov.

Abdelaziz said. 'He had a chance to fight Justin in January, and he picked [Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone] instead. He picked the easier fight. Now, the two kings of the division will fight. Maybe Conor can fight someone in the co-main event.'
On Monday afternoon in Kyiv the body of a soldier with a gunshot wound to the head was found on the territory of a military guard exit post (A0139). Information about the death has been entered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, the press service of the Military Law Enforcement Service in the Armed Forces.

"On May 11, 2020, at about 16:00, the body of a soldier with a gunshot wound to the head was found on the territory of the exit guard post of military unit A0139. The operational response team of the Central Administration of the military police and national police worked at the scene of the incident," the military police said.

According to information, on Monday, the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations introduced a criminal offense of the death of a soldier. The investigation continues.

Unit A0139, is staffed by soldiers of 101st Separate Brigade, a unit of Ukraine's Armed Forces charged with protecting the General Staff. It reports directly to the Command in Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces. The unit is located in Kyiv on 55/2 Victory Avenue.
According to corresponding author John R. Handy Jr, MD, this trial confirms that lung cancer screening can be performed successfully and safely in a community setting and allaying concerns regarding generalizability of the original 2011 randomized controlled trial.

"Screening can be highly beneficial but can also create an illusion of benefits even when causing a net harm," notes Mayo Clinic clinical epidemiologist Chyke A. Doubeni and colleagues, in an editorial response to the Handy et al study. The "window of net benefit" depends on a number of factors in the screening and treatment process, including "quality of CT images and quality of interpretation, disease prevalence in the population, patient health status, and the timeliness, safety, and effectiveness of treatment for abnormal screening results."

Still, the authors write, "Family medicine is critical for increasing the reach of lung cancer screenings," and primary care is an "ideal setting to improve access to screenings, particularly for underserved populations." Therefore, family physicians should be engaged and equipped with guidance on best practices in lung cancer screenings and referrals.

Results of Lung Cancer Screening in the Community

John R. Handy, Jr, MD, HonD, et al

Providence Cancer Institute, Portland,Oregon

Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Implementation in Primary Care: A Call to Action

Chyke A. Doubeni, MD, MPH, et al

SOURCE Annals of Family Medicine
Dr. Andrew T. Chan, a professor at Harvard Medical School and the lead investigator on the study, said a surveillance app could help health authorities identify people at the early stage of the disease who are unknowingly spreading the virus to others.

At the moment, were mostly gathering data on the tip of the iceberg from those who are really sick and show up at the hospital. But there is a huge iceberg below of people with mild symptoms who we know are major culprits for community spread, said Dr. Chan, who is also chief of clinical and translational epidemiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. We have no ability to track these people at home and thats a real problem.

If more widely adopted, the app could provide public health authorities an inexpensive tool for detecting outbreaks in cities, states and even individual neighborhoods. Given that the loss of taste and smell appears to be an early indicator of Covid-19, the information, the researchers said, would allow health officials to prepare for a spike of infections and help guide the allocation of scarce resources like ventilators for the most seriously ill, and the personal protective gear needed by medical workers.

As local outbreaks subside, the app can also guide decisions about the easing of lockdowns and social distancing measures.

The researchers said the app did not prompt significant privacy concerns because participants are not required to provide their names and any other personal information, only their ZIP codes.

John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Childrens Hospital, said the study added to the growing body of evidence that highlights the value of smartphone apps as real-time disease surveillance tools. Dr. Brownstein, who was not involved in the coronavirus app study, has a decade of experience using crowdsource symptom apps, starting with an influenza app called Flu Near You, and more recently, Covid Near You, an app that has already drawn more than 600,000 users in the United States.

Surveillance apps, he said, can detect an outbreak well before people begin showing up at hospitals. Because we have such a lack of testing, this kind of data is going to give us insights into symptomatology, hot spots and the impact of social distancing, he said. Without this information, how are communities supposed to know were on the other side of this pandemic and whether we can reopen?
By PTI

NEW DELHI" Minorities are "flourishing" in India and have been an equal partner in development without discrimination under the Modi government, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday, dismissing allegations of Islamophobia as an attempt to defame the country.

The "Narendra Modi phobia club" has been unable to digest the inclusive growth under the prime minister and is engaged in a "nefarious campaign" in India and abroad through fake propaganda alleging "intolerance, communalism and discrimination" against minorities in India, Naqvi said.

In a blog titled "Islamophobia -- Bogey of Bogus Bashing Brigade", the minority affairs minister argued that the "Modi phobia club" is playing the "Islamophobia card" to harm the pluralistic fabric of India, but will not succeed.

Naqvi's remarks come days after a wave of angry reactions on Twitter by citizens and rights activists from various Arab countries following allegations that Muslims are being blamed for spreading COVID-19 in parts of India.

Also, the 57-member prominent international Mulim grouping, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, recently accused India of "Islamophobia".

India has dismissed all such allegations.

"Minorities in India are flourishing equally with all the citizens with a sense of equality, security and prosperity.

Misinformation against such a gracious and tolerant country and its effective leadership is nothing but the height of ignorance and mental bankruptcy," Naqvi said.

He claimed that no riot took place in last 5 years of the Modi government and it was after "nefarious preaching" by those who were irked by this that the Delhi riots happened.

Naqvi said the women who sat on protests at Shaheen Bagh cannot be termed "anti-nationals" but they had been "misguided by the bogus bashing brigade.

This brigade pushed these women on a path which had an entry gate but no exit gate, the minister said.

This was a "calculated conspiracy" by the brigade that wants to defame and disgrace Modi and India, Naqvi said.

He also argued that for the "first time since Independence", India has forged close and strong ties with nearly all Islamic nations and countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Afghanistan, Russia, Palestine, Mauritius and the Maldives have conferred Modi with their highest civilian awards.

"The United Nations has also conferred Narendra Modi with the prestigious 'Champions of the Earth Award'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's global acceptance and popularity doesn't need any certificate," Naqvi said.

The Modi government never planned development on the basis of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or on region and caste, and its priority has been the poor and deprived, Naqvi said, adding that still some people with a "prejudiced mindset" are trying to defame India by raising the bogey of Islamophobia.

There is not a single incident of discrimination against any section of the society, including minorities under the Modi government, the minister asserted.

All sections, including minorities, are strongly moving forward on the path of "development with dignity" under the Modi government, he said.

When the challenges due to the coronavirus were in initial stages across the world in early January and several countries, including Pakistan, had not taken care of their people abroad, it was the Modi government that brought back thousands of Indians stranded in Wuhan (China), Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries, Naqvi said, adding that a majority of these people were Muslims.

In the recent Vande Bharat Mission also, the Indian government is bringing back thousands of Indians from countries such as the Maldives, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and other countries which include a large number of Muslims, he pointed out.

"Strong eternal commitment of my country will defeat and demolish the fake and fabricated Islamophobia card of the 'India bashing brigade'," Naqvi said in his blog.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/11/2020



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Rachel Bear and Jon Walters are missing each other dearly amid their latest separation.Rachel and her daughter Lucy flew to England in January to visit Jon, who currently lives in Weston-super-Mare, but the reunion only lasted a couple of weeks, as Rachel returned home to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in early February.After Rachel and Jon appeared on three Season 4 episodes of TLC's : What Now? that were released online in early April, Rachel took to Instagram and posted a sweet message to her husband."I love you, Jon. I miss you so much. #90dayfiance #beforethe90days #rachelandjon #tlc #jeansarelife," Rachel, 35, captioned a photo of the pair's wedding rings on April 27.And late last week, Rachel shared a picture of a white-flower bouquet and wrote alongside it, "I just received some beautiful flowers from the hubby for my birthday today. Thank you, @jonjwalters, this was a nice surprise. I love you."Rachel revealed her trip to London had come to an end on February 2. She captioned a selfie of the couple on Instagram, "Trips to England never seem to last long enough. However, I know to enjoy every single moment. I love you so much, @jonjwalters and I'll miss you every second I'm away.""Every day is another day closer to being together again. I love you," she added. "#tripover #england #90dayfiance #beforethe90days #untilnexttime #illmissyou #iloveyou #onedayoneway #ldrmarriage #ldrsucks #smulecouple.": What Now? featured Rachel and Jon's latest reunion in London, England.Once Rachel and Lucy arrived, they were shown seeing Jon at Paddington Station, where Rachel and Jon first met, according to In Touch Weekly."It's been 210 days since I've seen Rachel and Lucy," Jon reportedly said with a smile on his face. "I can't wait because I want to see my family."And Rachel reportedly gushed that waking up next to Jon reminded her why they "are trying so hard to be together" and get Jon over to the United States."I want it every day for the rest of my life," Rachel added.However, Rachel reportedly revealed she had been let go from her job of seven years. If Rachel cannot find a way to financially support Jon in the United States until he's able to secure a job of his own, Jon's visa application would be automatically denied.The couple also discussed potentially having children together down the road. (Jon is not Lucy's biological father).When asked about their loss of income on social media, the couple told a fan, according to In Touch, "We went straight from filming into quarantine. Things are hard for a lot of people right now. But it will pass."Rachel and Jon, 36, are set to appear on : Self-Quarantined, which airs its next episode Monday night on TLC.In December 2019, Jon revealed he and Rachel had finally submitted his spousal-visa application when commenting on one of Rachel's Instagram photos."Where does his visa stand? [Were] you able to save up the $11,000 [necessary to apply]?" one follower reportedly asked Rachel.Jon then commented, "Yes we did," and added, "Our visa application is in -- it's a long wait now, but the hard part is over. Thanks for asking."Prior to Rachel's January trip, she and Jon appear to have last reunited in the UK in May 2019, where they celebrated their wedding anniversary."Happy 1 year wedding anniversary to me and my baby. I love you @jonjwalters -- It's good to be back," Rachel captioned an Instagram photo at the time. "#ivemissedyou #anniversary #oneyear #england #sand #iloveyou."Rachel was 33 years old when she became acquainted with Jon, who was 34, for the first time on a karaoke-singing app.Jon and Rachel were first introduced to fans on Season 2 of : Before the 90 Days, but the pair had already established a relationship through video chatting and phone calls.Rachel was pregnant at the time and never disclosed the biological father's identity, but Jon couldn't wait to become a part of the child's life and serve as the father figure.The pair met for the first time in England in late 2017 after getting to know each other from different countries for a year-and-a-half.: Before the 90 Days' second season documented Rachel and Jon meeting, getting engaged, and tying the knot in May 2018, but Jon's criminal past has prevented him from relocating to the United States with ease.Jon explained on : Before the 90 Days there are numerous assault charges and five convictions under his belt from younger years when he would get into physical fights with people.In October 2018, Rachel told Instagrammer John Yates in an Instagram Live session that she and Jon were working very hard to save the money needed for a K-3 or immigrant visa processing.Rachel and Jon then announced in March 2019 they had finally saved enough money to begin the visa process.When a fan asked Rachel and Jon last year in a Q&A session on Instagram Stories whether they'd ever appear on a future season of , they replied, "A happily married couple doesn't make great TV. It makes even worse TV if they are just working and saving for a visa.""Maybe in the future," they continued, "Until then, subscribe to our YouTube."Rachel and Jon added it would be "boring" for people to watch them on given there is no baby, engagement or wedding storyline to share.Want spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage!
Bandhan Bank on Tuesday said its net profit for March quarter, 2019-20 stood at Rs 517.28 crore

New Delhi: Bandhan Bank on Tuesday said its net profit for March quarter, 2019-20 stood at Rs 517.28 crore.

The Kolkata-headquartered lender said it has made special provisions related to COVID-19, during the quarter.

The bank registered a net profit of Rs 650.87 crore during January-March, 2018-19.

In view of the amalgamation with GRUH Finance, the figures for the latest quarter/fiscal are not comparable with the year-ago periods, Bandhan Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Total income in March quarter was Rs 3,346.47 crore. It was Rs 2,220.32 crore in the year-ago period, it said.

The bank made provisions for bad loans and contingencies to the tune of Rs 827.36 crore during the quarter under review, substantially higher from Rs 153.28 crore in the year-ago same period.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to 1.48 percent of the gross advances as on 31 March, 2020 from 2.04 percent by the same period of 2019.

In value terms, gross NPAs or bad loans stood at Rs 992.77 crore at the end of March 2020 as against Rs 819.55 crore by the same period of 2018-19.

Net NPAs remained static at 0.58 percent of the net advances. However, in absolute numbers, it stood at Rs 389.39 crore at the end of 2019-20, higher than Rs 228.32 crore by the end of the preceding fiscal.

For the entire 2019-20, the net profit of the bank stood at Rs 3,023.74 crore. It was Rs 1,951.50 crore in 2018-19.

Income was at Rs 12,434.69 crore during the year. It was Rs 7,706.42 crore in the preceding fiscal.

Q4FY20 has been a satisfying quarter given the challenges faced during the quarter. During the quarter, the Bank has showcased the strengths of its deposit franchise with continuously growing deposits in all the segments," Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO of Bandhan Bank said.

The bank has made additional COVID-19 related provision on standard advances amounting to Rs 690 crore, he said.

"We have taken all the necessary steps to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. We further endeavour to work with our employees and customers ensuring to be at the service in this critical time, Ghosh said.

"In view of the amalgamation(with GRUH Finance), the figures for the current quarter/year are not strictly comparable with the corresponding figures of the previous quarter/year," Bandhan Bank said.

The Committee of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on 21 October, 2019 had approved allotment of 41,69,48,659 equity shares to the eligible equity shareholders of erstwhile GRUH Finance.

Bandhan Bank stock closed 2.36 percent down at Rs 233.95 on the BSE.
In an awkward incident, a cockroach was photographed inside the White House during a press briefing this week.

The trespassing roach was captured on camera by White House correspondent Brian J Karem who posted the image on Twitter, it seems, at the expense of President Donald Trump himself.

NOW: few reporters but a nice big cockroach at the WH. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/hazUo2FWav Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) May 11, 2020

The image of the roach drew several hilarious reactions on social media, even as the mood in the US remained somber. With over 1.8 million positive COVID-19 cases and over 81,000 deaths, several parts of the US remain under lockdown, even as the economy continues to nosedive.

Amid the crisis, the photo of the roach, however, managed to bring some cheer on social media, but mostly at the expense of Trump.

Yes, we know Trump is at the White House. Leena wash your hands you detty (@LeenaLovesLife) May 11, 2020

Don Junior has entered the chat Trumpy Trumpy (parody) (@outofcontroljb) May 11, 2020

Ill vote for it Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) May 11, 2020

Not just Trump, his advisors Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller were also not spared the rep'roach'ful trolling among others.

Looks more like Stephen Miller to me. Lise Writing Rebel Horton (@lisekimhorton) May 11, 2020

The presence of roaches and smell of sulfur indicates Jared Kushner will soon be making an appearance. Halladay in Cambodia (@HalladayIn) May 11, 2020

Not a cockroach - he's the latest District Court nominee, visiting the White House to pledge his loyalty. paul takakjian (@ptakakjian) May 11, 2020

Did you score an interview with this new cabinet member? Ya know, whatever (@AliciLee) May 11, 2020

The Trump White House in a nutshell. Megan Sutherland (@megansuthe) May 11, 2020

Next chief of staff Peter the Curve Flattener (@arrogantz) May 11, 2020

Some, however, expressed sympathy. But only for the roach.

Have some respect for the roach please. brenda (@kerrylee214) May 11, 2020

This is not the first time that cockroaches have come in the news in connection to the White House. In 2017, it was widely reported that the building was heavily infested with cockroaches, rats and mice and even ants.
More than half of people infected with the coronavirus caught it from someone who wasn't showing any symptoms, a study has found.

Academics in Ireland reviewed 17 global studies to estimate how much transmission occurs in the 'presymptomatic' period.

They found between 33 and 80 per cent of cases caught the virus from people who would have had no idea they were even infected.

It takes an average of six days before a person develops the tell-tale signs of COVID-19, which includes a fever and persistent cough.

But in those days prior to symptoms, patients are infectious and can pass the deadly virus onto others.

Transmission is most likely one day before symptoms start, the team concluded, but can happen as early as three days before.

Controlling presymptomatic spread is crucial for keeping on top of the disease when lockdowns are eased, experts said.

It hinges on the success of contact tracing, which involves identifying all individuals who have been in close contact with a confirmed case.

Researchers in Dublin found more than half of people infected with the coronavirus caught it from someone who wasn't showing any symptoms. The average incubation period was 5.8 days. The majority of transmission appears to occur between three days before symptoms start and two days after (pictured)

The team said presymptomatic transmission alone can cause the virus to spread uncontrollably and 'sustain an epidemic of its own'. Pictured: Commuters in Paris on May 11

COVID-19 has now killed 286,353 people worldwide, including an estimated 40,000 in the UK, since the outbreak began in December.

Figures compiled by health authorities across the world also show 4.2million cases have been officially recorded.

But the true size of the pandemic, which has struck nearly every country across the world, will be several times higher due to a lack of widespread testing.

Scientists are urgently trying to understand how the virus, scientifically called SARS-CoV-2, spreads between people, which will help direct how to control it.

Lead author Miriam Casey, from University College Dublin, and colleagues collected data from 17 international studies.

One of the studies was carried out in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the killer virus originated. Data was also used from Hong Kong, Singapore and Italy.

The studies had looked at the incubation period - the time between exposure to the virus and appearance of the first symptoms.

The average incubation period was 5.8 days, which is similar to the figure given by the World Health Organization (WHO).

People are not infectious and capable of passing the virus on to others during this whole period, just some of it.

The Dublin team said the majority of transmission appears to occur between three days before symptoms start and two days after.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID CATCHING THE CORONAVIRUS? The government's 50-page exit plan gave official guidance on how to stay safe and avoid catching coronavirus when they are out in public. These include: 1. Keep your distance from people outside your household People in England can meet another person from outside their household as long as long as they stay two metres apart, the government has confirmed. It must be a one-on-one meeting outdoors in a public place - not in someone's house. 2. Keep your hands and face as clean as possible The new government advice says: 'Wash your hands often using soap and water, and dry them thoroughly.' And it also says you should stop touching your face, thought to be one of the main ways of catching the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 3. Work from home if you can The advice reads: 'Your employer should support you to find reasonable adjustments to do this. However, not all jobs can be done from home.' People can travel to work, if it is simply not possible to do their job from home, but they are recommended to walk or cycle - as opposed to relying on public transport. 4. Spend less time with people at work The guidance says you should 'reduce the number of people you spend time with in a work setting where you can'. The advice recommends employers change any shift patterns to match you with the same team each day. 5. Avoid crowds If you must travel by public transport, officials say avoid rush-hour. They also say businesses should take reasonable steps to avoid staff gathering in crowds at work. 6. Wash your clothes regularly Britons should wash their clothes regularly, according to the guidance, because studies have shown the virus can survive on fabrics for several days - but often dies after a few hours. 7. Keep the home and office ventilated Evidence suggests the virus is less likely to be passed on in well-ventilated buildings and outdoors. 'In good weather, try to leave windows and doors open in places where people from different households come into contact,' the guidance says. 'Use external extractor fans to keep spaces well ventilated and make sure ventilation systems are set to maximise the fresh air flow rate.' 8. Wear face coverings Brits have now been told to wear a face 'covering' - but not a surgical/medical face mask - in an enclosed space where social distancing isn't possible. 'The evidence suggests that wearing a face covering does not protect you, but it may protect others if you are infected but have not developed symptoms,' the guidance says. Advertisement

On average, people are most infectious 0.67 days before symptoms appear, results of the studies suggested.

Researchers used this information and a mathematical equation to create an estimate for how many cases are the result of presymptomatic spread.

In one study involving 137 people in Tianjin, a municipality in China, presymptomatic spread was estimated to be blamed for around 80.7 per cent of all cases.

A Wuhan study involving 12 people estimated presymptomatic spread was responsible for 33.7 per cent of cases, while it was predicted to be responsible for 36.3 per cent of all spread in a study of 240 people in Northern Italy.

Looking at all the evidence, Ms Casey and colleagues estimated 56.1 per cent of transmission was from people before they showed symptoms.

The high variation of presymptomatic spread is expected, the team said, because the path of transmission and how it affects people naturally differs between locations.

But overall, a substantial amount of presymptomatic spread is contributing to the crisis, the authors warned.

It also backs previous estimates that pre-symptomatic people are responsible for up to 80 per cent of the spread of the virus.

The team said presymptomatic transmission alone can cause the virus to spread uncontrollably and 'sustain an epidemic of its own'.

But there is still a high degree of uncertainty about the threat of presymptomatic spread because more research is needed.

The study did not analyse asymptomatic transmission, which is the spread of the virus from people who never show symptoms, otherwise known as 'silent carriers'.

It has also not been critiqued by other scientists in a peer-review process, published on the website MedRxiv.

The team wrote: 'These findings highlight the urgent need for extremely rapid and effective case detection, contact tracing and quarantine measures if strict social distancing measures are to be eased.'

Contact tracing has been proposed as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus while lifting lockdown measures.

It involves identifying anyone who has been in close proximity to someone before they were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Those people would in theory be isolated, even if they do not have symptoms, so it's not possible for them to pass the virus on to others during the presymptomatic period.

However contact tracing is a difficult task and relies on governments keeping on top of cases by interviewing them rapidly.

The UK Government is hoping that in addition to 18,000 new contact tracer employees, an NHS contact tracing app will help their endeavour to keep cases low. It is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight.
The 2014 shooting death of black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, prompted angry protests and trained a national spotlight on a perceived lack of police accountability for violent encounters with the public.

Since then, the Black Lives Matter movement  sparked by the killing of black teen Trayvon Martin by civilian George Zimmerman in Florida in 2012  has become closely associated with critiques of overly aggressive policing, particularly against black people. Heightened public awareness, enhanced by the increasing prevalence of cellphone video, has kept the issue front and center through a series of incidents that have made national headlines in recent years.

These high-profile cases  unlike most excessive force lawsuits against police that Reuters reviewed  are outliers, resulting in generous settlement offers and sometimes even criminal charges before police had any recourse to claiming qualified immunity.

Here is a summary of some of those cases and their outcomes:

MICHAEL BROWN, a black teen killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Settlement: $1.5 million. Criminal charges: None.

ERIC GARNER, a black man who died after repeatedly crying I cant breathe while placed in a chokehold by a New York City cop during an attempted 2014 arrest. Settlement: $5.9 million. Criminal charges: None.

TAMIR RICE, a 12-year-old black boy who was holding a toy gun when shot dead by a Cleveland, Ohio, police officer in 2014. Settlement: $6 million. Criminal charges: None.

FREDDIE GRAY, a black man who died from injuries he sustained while in handcuffs and leg irons after being thrown into the back of a Baltimore police van in 2015. Settlement: $6.4 million. Criminal charges: The six officers criminally charged in Grays death were acquitted or the charges were dropped.

WALTER SCOTT, an unarmed black man shot in the back while fleeing on foot from a traffic stop in North Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. Settlement: $6.5 million. Criminal charges: The officer pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

PHILANDO CASTILE, a black man shot and killed during a 2016 traffic stop in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb after telling police he had a gun in the vehicle. Settlement: Close to $3 million. Criminal charges: A jury acquitted the officer on charges of felony manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm.

JUSTINE DAMOND, an unarmed white Australian-American woman shot dead by police who were responding to her 911 call to report a possible rape in 2017. Settlement: $18 million paid to her family, and $2 million donated to gun violence prevention. Criminal charges: A jury convicted the officer of murder.

STEPHON CLARK, an unarmed black man killed by Sacramento, California, police in 2018 after they chased him into his grandmothers back yard. Settlement: Clarks two children received $1.2 million each. Claims by other family members are pending. Criminal charges: None.

ATATIANA JEFFERSON, a black woman shot dead by a Fort Worth, Texas, cop in 2019 while standing in her home with a handgun after hearing noises outside. Settlement: No lawsuit filed yet. Criminal charges: The officer, who resigned, is awaiting trial for murder.

(Edited by John Blanton and Janet Roberts.)

Topics Abuse Molestation Law Enforcement
Siegfried Fischbacher (L) and Roy Horn speak during Criss Angel's HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event at the Luxor Hotel and Casino benefiting pediatric cancer research and treatment, in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sept. 12, 2016. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Viruss Impact on the Art and Business of Magic

Commentary

Roy Horn died from coronavirus complications on May 8.

Even if you dont immediately recognize his name, you probably know it through his work with his partner, Siegfried Fischbacher. Together, they formed the team of Siegfried and Roy.

Featuring wild animals, most notably white tigers, they had one of the greatest and most spectacular magic acts of the 20th century. They did live shows, recorded videos, and had their own theater in a Las Vegas casino. They even wrote a cookbook.

Roys health had been compromised for a long time. During a show in 2003, one of the tigers bit him in the neck and dragged him offstage. He was left partially paralyzed, and the show came to an end. Siegfried and Roy performed together only one more time, at a benefit in 2010.

Roys death is the most notable blow to the art of magic caused by the coronavirus, but its not the only misfortune.

Loss of Revenue

The International Brotherhood of Magicians has about 15,000 members. Another 5,000 belong to the Society of American Magicians. Many other hobbyists and enthusiasts take part in performance-style magic without ever joining a club. Social distancing, however, has made the practice, be it a career or a hobby, quite difficult.

Magicians work in theaters, clubs, restaurants, and bars, on cruise ships, at trade-shows, or by gathering a crowd on a street corner. All such venues are now at risk. Some performers have turned to online work, but that has inherent drawbacks. You cant have an audience member pick a card, think of a number, or pull a handkerchief out of a bag.

I recently watched an online show. It was presented live via Facebook from a restaurant in Florida where the magician regularly performed. The guy was good, but without an audience, there were no eruptions of laughter or applause; no live interactions with people in the front row; and when he needed a volunteer from the audience, he had his wife come forward to the stage. Rather apologetically, he explained that he would normally select a young girl for the trick, but thatof coursewas not possible.

It was a good show, but I felt sorry for the performer. After the show, viewers could contribute to a fund for him. Hopefully many did, but I doubt that it came close to his normal income from restaurant work.

Innovative magicians, and there are many, give lectures at local magic clubs. These magicians travel from city to city (sometimes near areas where theyre also performing), and they take an evening to share their latest ideas with local hobbyists.

The locals usually pay a fee to attend the lecture, and they may also buy books, tricks, or lecture notes from the speaker. These events are fun, and the magician can usually cover expenses and make a few dollars along the way. Unfortunately, the virus has largely eliminated in-person lectures (though some are being held online).

Magic lectures and meetings are events where old and young gather to share new tricks, insights, and fellowship. Transactions, like the magic itself, are best done in person. For that reason, dealers often have tables at magic lectures, and they sell their wares. With fewer events taking place due to coronavirus, dealers are having a hard time.

Perhaps the biggest annual gathering of magicians is the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention. This year it was scheduled to be in Pittsburgh in July. It would have brought together magicians from around the world for performances, lectures, meetings, and the exchange of new ideas. There also would have been a lot of dealers, some of whom rely on the business generated at that and similar conferences to survive. Unfortunately, the convention has been cancelled due to the threat posed by the coronavirus. That may prove fatal to some businesses that are already under stress from online competition.

Intellectual Property Theft

With all of this, the magic community has every right to be angry with the Chinese Communist Party and its handling of the coronavirus in its early stages.

Beyond the commercial impact, who knows how many magicians other than Roy Horn have contracted the disease? There are still debates about the origin and causes, but theres not much debate about the Partys lack of candor and outright disinformation campaign relating to the early days of the virus. Still, these are not the only reasons for outrage in the magic community.

Magicians who travel around, like the dealers who sell in shops, online, and at events, have books, DVDs, and other items for sale. Theres a well-known understanding among magicians: When you buy a trick youre buying the secret. Thats what the inventor and marketer are selling. Moreover, its a small market. One thousand units is a good seller. Two thousand makes for a bestseller.

That small market is reflected in the price, which is also set to help keep secrets secret. Thus, a new idea marketed on a DVD might contain an hour or so of contentusually the performance, the secret, and explanation of any necessary advance work. (Spoiler alert: honest magicians admit that theyre sneaky; they dont claim actual magical powers.) A DVD like that might sell for anywhere from $20 to $60. Books are similar. If there are additional props that come with the purchase, the price may be higher.

Magicians guard their secrets, especially those that are being marketed. United States intellectual property law helps protect the secrets. Thus, a purchaser cannot buy a DVD (or download a file), copy it, and re-sell or post it online. It would violate magician codes, but it would also be against federal law.

Unfortunately, Chinese dealers do just that. They buy a $30 video, copy it, then sell unlimited copies of it for, say, $3. Sometimes these get posted on eBay, but when brought to that companys attention, eBay will remove them. Other sites, especially those based in China, dont seem to care. They continue to sell the bootleg video or pdf file. Thats because China doesnt protect the intellectual property of American goods.

This is not limited to magic. This same story could be told about music, movies, or other print material.

When the pandemic is over, and things start to return to normal, the United States will have to re-think many things, including its economic relationship with China. When that happens, respect for and an agreement to protect the intellectual property of American citizens needs to be part of the deal. Theres no room for tricks about that.

Ronald J. Rychlak is the Jamie L. Whitten chair in law and government at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of several books, including Hitler, the War, and the Pope, Disinformation (co-authored with Ion Mihai Pacepa), and The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East (co-edited with Jane Adolphe).

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
STOCKHOLM, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FINANCING AGREEMENT OF UP TO SEK 216 MILLION

PERIOD (JUL 2019-MAR 2020)

Net revenue SEK 50.5 million (15.6) *

(15.6) EBITDA SEK 34.6 million (-3.0) *

(-3.0) Operating profit (EBIT) SEK 32.7 million (-4.2) *

(-4.2) Profit after tax SEK 25.3 million (-4.7) *

(-4.7) Comprehensive income SEK 25.3 million (499.4)

(499.4) Diluted earnings per share SEK 1.35 (-0.27) *

(-0.27) Cash and cash equivalents amounted to SEK 51.6 million (919.1)

Comparative figures for the period refer to January 2019 - June 2019 (Note: 9 months vs. 6 months due to shortened financial year)

* All comparative figures refer to continuing operations

THIRD QUARTER (JAN-MAR 2020)

Net revenue SEK 0.0 million (15.6) *

EBITDA SEK -3.6 million (7.3) *

(7.3) Operating profit (EBIT) SEK -4.2 million (5.0) *

(5.0) Profit after tax SEK -3.4 million (2.9) *

(2.9) Comprehensive income SEK -3.4 million (504.5)

(504.5) Diluted earnings per share SEK -0.18 (0.26) *

(0.26) Cash and cash equivalents amounted to SEK 51.6 million (1,596.9)

Comparative figures for the third quarter refer to January 2019 - March 2019

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER (JAN-MAR 2020)

All patients in the ongoing European MOB-015 study completed their last visit in the study. The data collection was completed without any negative impact from COVID-19. The timeline remains unchanged with topline results expected by the end of Q2 2020.

Moberg Pharma entered into a convertible note agreement with Nice & Green S.A. of up to SEK 216 million for further investments in MOB-015. The agreement enables Moberg Pharma to conduct an additional clinical study, depending on the outcome of the EU study.

for further investments in MOB-015. The agreement enables Moberg Pharma to conduct an additional clinical study, depending on the outcome of the EU study. The expert evaluation confirmed the validity of the results of the phase 3 study in North America , including:

, including: i) treatment with MOB-015 results in a mycological cure that compares favorably with oral antifungal drugs with the added advantage of an earlier onset of action;

ii) the proprietary vehicle technology increases the hydration and permeability of the nail plate, enabling efficient terbinafine delivery, but it also confounds the assessment of clinical cure and complete cure

iii) a likely solution to the problem - a shorter dosing regimen with the potential to deliver superior complete cure rates at 52 weeks.

The Swedish Tax Agency declared that for the redemption of shares in Moberg Pharma for cash proceeds of SEK 46.50 per share, 60 percent the original acquisition cost will represent the redemption shares and 40 percent the remaining ordinary shares.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER

An Extraordinary General Meeting on May 28 resolved, among other things, to authorize the Board of Directors to resolve to issue convertibles and to introduce a long-term incentive program.

resolved, among other things, to authorize the Board of Directors to resolve to issue convertibles and to introduce a long-term incentive program. To date, Moberg Pharma's operation have not been significantly impacted by COVID-19.

STATEMENT FROM THE CEO

In December 2019, Moberg Pharma reported that the primary endpoint for MOB-015 had been met in the North American phase 3 study. The evaluation of the study results showed that the rapid and high cure rate for MOB-015 is world leading, but that the dosing regimen can be optimized. Based on these data, MOB-015 has the potential to become the future market leader in onychomycosis. The financing agreement signed in March of up to SEK 216 million enables Moberg Pharma to exploit this potential and conduct an additional clinical study, depending on the outcome of the EU study expected by the end of Q2 2020.

EXPERT EVALUATION CONFIRMS THE VALIDITY OF THE RESULTS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN STUDY

The North American study was conducted at 32 clinics in the U.S. and Canada and included a total of 365 patients, 246 of whom received MOB-015 and 119 patients in a control group received the vehicle. The results of the study were surprising because the high mycological cure was not followed by a correspondingly high complete cure rate.

The expert evaluation in January of this year clarified the discrepancy and confirmed the validity of the results of the phase 3 study in North America, including:

i) treatment with MOB-015 results in a mycological cure rate of 70 percent, which is substantially higher than reported for other topical treatments and compares favorably with oral antifungal drugs with the added advantage of an earlier onset of action;

ii) the proprietary vehicle technology increases the hydration and permeability of the nail plate, enabling efficient terbinafine delivery, but it also confounds the assessment of clinical cure and complete cure, since its hydrating properties also cause temporary whitening/discoloration in the nail

iii) a likely solution to the problem - a shorter dosing regimen with the potential to deliver superior complete cure rates at 52 weeks. A higher complete cure rate can probably be obtained with a shorter dosing regimen followed by maintenance dosing. This should maintain sufficiently high concentrations of terbinafine in the tissue, while allowing the hydration of the nail plate to normalize.

From a medical and commercial perspective, a regimen with daily dosing for up to three months followed by less frequent treatment is highly attractive and further improves the target product profile of MOB-015. This is further supported by U.S. market data indicating that real-life usage of current topicals on average is 3-4 months, despite being labeled for 48 weeks' daily treatment. The improved product profile with a shorter treatment period offers key competitive advantages versus oral terbinafine; if MOB-015 can show the same mycological cure rate as the oral treatment and can show a high complete cure rate, there is no medical reason to choose oral rather than topical treatment.

ALL PATIENTS HAVE COMPLETED THEIR LAST VISIT IN STUDY DESPITE COVID-19

We are now in the final phase of the European study and all patient visits have been completed without any negative impact from COVID-19 in Europe, thanks in large part to the intensive work by our medical team and our CRO partner. In the European study, 452 patients were initially randomized and 379 patients completed the study, a drop-out rate of only 16 percent. All planned patient visits were completed despite the current COVID-19 situation in Europe. After the patients completed their last visit, nail samples were sent to a central lab for mycological testing. Data base lock and statistical analysis are on schedule and will be completed by the CRO partner. The timeline remains unchanged and we expect the topline results from the study by the end of the second quarter of 2020.

FINANCING AGREEMENT OF UP TO SEK 216 MILLION FOR FURTHER INVESTMENTS IN MOB-015In March, the company entered into a convertible note agreement with Nice & Green S.A., which has committed to subscribe for convertible notes with a nominal value of up to SEK 216 million, in tranches of initially SEK 3 million per month for the first six months and thereafter, depending on market conditions, with possibility to increase to SEK 6 million per month. According to the agreement, Moberg Pharma has only committed to draw the first two tranches and can then decide if and when the remaining tranches will be drawn. This financing can cover the company's capital requirements to product registration following a positive outcome in the European phase 3 study and can secure financing for an additional study if needed before registration. The agreement provides Moberg Pharma access to flexible financing at a reasonable cost under current market conditions. The financing solution does not preclude other financing solutions, contains a profit sharing program and does not entail any fixed costs. As part of the agreement, Nice & Green will introduce Moberg Pharma to its wide network of biotech investors in Switzerland, Germany and France.

CLEAR PLAN TO CREATE THE FUTURE MARKET LEADER

To fully capitalize on MOB-015's potential, the advantages of a shorter treatment period will have to be documented in another study. The timing of such a study depends on whether the outcome of the EU study provides a basis for product registration. We and our commercial partners look forward to the topline data from the EU study by the end of the second quarter 2020 and are fully committed to creating the future market leader in onychomycosis. The earlier onset of action and exceptional ability to eliminate the fungus as well as the outlook for a shorter treatment period are very promising.

Anna Ljung, CEO of Moberg Pharma

CONFERENCE CALL - MAY 12, 2020 AT 3:00 P.M CET

CEO Anna Ljung will present the report at a telephone conference on May 12, 2020, at 3:00 p.m CET.

Dial-in: SE: +46 8 505 583 69, US: +1 833 249 84 04

ABOUT THIS INFORMATION

This information is information that Moberg Pharma AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 8.00 a.m. CET on May 12, 2020.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Anna Ljung

CEO

Phone: +46-70-766-60-30

e-mail: [email protected]

Mark Beveridge

VP Finance

Phone: +46-76-805-82-88

e-mail: [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/moberg-pharma/r/extended-fiscal-year-july-2019---december-2020-interim-report-january---march-2020,c3108826

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1662/3108826/1245771.pdf Extended fiscal year July 2019 - December 2020 Interim report January a" March 2020

SOURCE Moberg Pharma
Their lordships have evidently missed a trick or two in their officious lives

Migrant workers along with their family members walk to their villages, due to no means of transport, during the nationwide lockdown, near Anand Vihar railway station in New Delhi (PTI)

Some images and events will not easily go away from memory. These are of a kind that bring up anger, a sense of a loss of decency in those in whom we placed our trust, institutional failure, and diminishing faith in the state system as it is run at present.

The first imprinted image in this category, established in newspaper photos and television images, is of the poor walking out of our major cities the long march by hundreds of thousands to villages, their emotional home, that are hundreds of kilometres away after prime minister Narendra Modi announced the first national lockdown on March 25.

As lakhs left the cities, thousands thronged the Anand Vihar bus station on the eastern periphery of Delhi, in their innocence believing that they will find inter-state buses to take them home. Instead, they were met with crude state resistance.

The later drama of police lathis being rained on the thousands of the fraternity of the working poor at Mumbais Bandra station was also an unforgettable picture. Their fault too was that they wanted to get home quickly. In the times of pandemic, they had no wages, no money left for food or rent in surroundings that had suddenly turned alien.

Throw into this jumble of images a judicial obiter dictum which was as crude as it was galling an unsubtle variant of a police lathicharge. In disposing of a PIL filed on April 1, a three-judge Supreme Court bench asked why it was necessary for migrant workers to receive wages when they were being provided free cooked food.

(For a while the Delhi government, when the clamour for relief rose, said it had distributed 10 lakh meals to stranded workers, but acknowledged that it was hard-pressed.)

Their lordships have evidently missed a trick or two in their officious lives. They have yet to learn to stand for hours in a line for half-cooked khichri and find the treat has run out by the time its their turn.

Better still, let them stand in the doorway of five-star hotels to beg for food, savour the delicacies dished out as charity, but be deprived of their money wages. The meaning of justice might then become clearer.

Max Seydewitz, a Social Democratic Party member of the German Reichstag (Parliament) when Hitler, unleashing his Nazi stormtroopers and heavily nationalist propaganda, bulldozed his way to power in 1933, has something to say that fits our present picture somewhat.

In a standout book describing that wretched era, Civil Life in Wartime Germany: The Story of the Home Front (New York, The Viking Press, 1945), published after he had formed the Socialist Workers Party, the German politician wrote that the regime took away all liberties of workers and brought (them) nothing but exhaustion, death and ruin.

A heavily researched version offering the same sentiment is to be found in Jurgen Kuczynski, the German Communist intellectual of those times, whose 40 volumes on the conditions of the labour force under industrial capitalism are still deemed a tour de force.

In Germany: Economic and Labour Conditions Under Fascism (New York, International Publishers, 1945), he challenged the view that fascism was organic a necessary phenomenon to industrial society, and reached the conclusion that Hitlers system was a crude form of robbery (of workers dues), introducing elements of barbarism and a considerable number of characteristics of feudal and slave-owning society.

For Kuczynski, the main winner in the period he addressed was monopolistic heavy industry. This is unlikely to be the case in our own day, but it seems indubitable that the coercion of the migrant workforce in India whose pauperisation is glaring in emergency conditions imposed by a spreading pandemic, is the most noteworthy feature of our landscape.

Some barred doors had to be suddenly unlocked under perceived public pressure as the governments callous indifference toward the working class began to be noted. The government later agreed to run special trains to take stranded migrant workers home.

However, unlike the case at the start of the pandemic of Indians stuck overseas, whose rescue by air was arranged by the Centre free of charge, someone had to pay for the workers train tickets home.

The bias of the rulers was not hidden.The offer by the Congress president that her party would pay for the train tickets created a flutter and a degree of panic in certain political circles. State governments rushed forward to pick up the tab. But the government at the Centre remained unmoved.

A convoluted circular of the Union home ministry has spelled out that migrant workers, as yet unable to return home, must be held down in the cities as much as possible.

The BJP-run government in Karnataka cancelled scheduled workers trains but had to reverse that decision under criticism. It is evident that other than the labourers who managed to flee back home on foot, running away from the dreaded disease and from economic misery (and some died on the rail tracks, crushed by an incoming goods train), and the much smaller number lucky enough to find a train ride home, the rest will be coerced into remaining in the cities and rejoining the workforce.

The element of compulsion can scarcely be in doubt. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to suspend for three years practically every labour law. This is a kind of fascism, Indian style, being imposed by those who canvass for votes in the name of religion and making the country great. In the capitalist framework, the use of force against a class of people to extract obedience is a key pointer to fascism.

Now everything seems blindingly clear. When Prime Minister had imposed the lockdown at only four hours notice, he was criticised for not planning with care. But it turns out that he planned it all too carefully.

He had sought to ensure that the informal sector workers, the casual and migrant labourers, do not leave the cities and quietly accept the burden practically starve and catch the disease, if they must, because there can be no social distancing in their living spaces. And there would be no alleviating rider that the government would place some money into their accounts to kickstart demand.
ORLANDO, Fla., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army Contracting Command has selected Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a business of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), to train Afghanistan Air Force pilots under a three-year contract valued up to $145 million.

Raytheon will conduct initial flight training for the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation. The Afghanistan Air Force students will go through flight school in third-party nations in Europe and the Middle East. Raytheon will provide tailored training for the Afghanistan Air Force pilots, including classroom, fixed-wing and rotary aircraft instruction.

"Raytheon training experts help the Afghanistan Air Force develop a pipeline of skilled flyers and officers," said Bob Williams, vice president of Global Training Solutions at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. "Our program uses the latest training techniques, and a focus on individual mentorship to produce well-rounded officers that will help create a secure future for Afghanistan."

The Raytheon Afghanistan Air Force pilot training program began in 2010. The original mission for basic flight proficiency has expanded to advanced aircraft qualifications and flight techniques. Raytheon's focus on mentorship and leadership training helps the program maintain a 93 percent graduation rate with every student returned to Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Air Force Pilot Training program was awarded under the Enterprise Training Services Contract vehicle. Raytheon previously announced a related task order for the Aviation Maintenance Training program.

About Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense  the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.



Media Contact

Brad Bucher

571.250.2127

[email protected]

SOURCE Raytheon Technologies
A group of 13 attorneys general from U.S. states and territories are calling on Amazon to provide data on the number of workers who have tested positive or have died from the coronavirus.

The group, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on Tuesday requesting a state-by-state breakdown of workers who tested positive or died from the virus at companies' facilities.

So far, Amazon hasn't shared how many workers have died from the coronavirus nationwide. It has also declined to provide a total number of workers who have tested positive for the virus at its facilities.

There are four known cases of Amazon warehouse workers who have died from the virus, as well as reports of at least one Whole Foods employee who died from the disease. Amazon employees have attempted to keep an unofficial tally of confirmed and unconfirmed cases nationwide, with one employee Reddit group estimating at least 400 employees have contracted the coronavirus.

In the letter, the group acknowledges that Amazon has taken a wide range of steps to better protect workers at its facilities, but "such policies are only as effective as compliance with them" at individual sites.

"Amazon and Whole Foods are occupying a unique space during this crisis, providing millions of Americans with groceries and necessary supplies," the letter states. "It is incumbent upon Amazon and Whole Foods as businesses and employers not to worsen the emergency by failing to take every possible step to protect their employees and their customers."

An Amazon spokesperson echoed the company's previous statements on worker safety, saying the company has implemented more than 150 significant process changes at its facilities, including enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures, in addition to providing personal protective gear across its operations network.

"Safety is our top priority and we are committed to ensuring a clean and safe workplace," the spokesperson said. "We'll continue to invest in safety, pay and benefits for our teams who are playing an invaluable role in getting items to communities around the world."

Officials also urged Amazon to reinstate its unlimited unpaid time off policy and provide documentation that proves the company is in compliance with states' paid sick leave laws. The group also called on Amazon provide proof that the company is complying with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration around workplace health and safety protocols amid the pandemic.

The same group of attorneys general sent a letter to Amazon and Whole Foods in late March. In the letter, the group called on the companies to provide paid sick leave for their employees, noting that without these benefits, many employees would be forced "to choose between working sick or losing a paycheck."

Tensions have been growing between Amazon and warehouse workers nationwide, as the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths at its facilities have climbed. Warehouse workers have called for the company to put in place greater safety protections, including providing paid sick leave and closing down facilities where there are positive cases for additional cleaning.

Amazon has previously said it has gone to "great lengths" to keep facilities clean and make sure employees are following necessary precautions. In the company's latest earnings report, Amazon said it would invest its expected $4 billion second-quarter profit in coronavirus-related efforts, such as purchasing additional safety gear for workers and building out its coronavirus testing capabilities, among other things.
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...
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
Deborah Post, Chairperson, Peekskill Industrial Development Agency Appointing Deborah Post to the Peekskill IDA is exciting for the City of Peekskill, especially during these times. We're looking to continue moving the city forward and, in order to do so, we need individuals with drive, passion and skill who are ready to give our city a well deserved new beginning.

The Peekskill Industrial Development Agency (PIDA) has announced the election of Deborah Post as Chairperson. Post, who joined the organization in 2010, previously served as Secretary and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

Deborah Posts commitment to community improvement is demonstrated by over 30 years of work experience in the field of community and economic development, affordable housing development and planning. Her career has spanned the non-profit, public and private sectors.

Since 2009, Ms. Post served as Senior Director of Housing Development and Finance for Community Housing Innovations, Inc., a nonprofit housing agency that operates in Westchester County and the surrounding region. In this role, she has secured funding and approvals and completed the development and rehabilitation of emergency, transitional, and affordable permanent housing that reinforce the agencys mission to provide housing and human services that support social and economic independence. Most recently, Ms. Post took over the agencys development and communications role. Ms. Post previously worked for a for-profit affordable housing development company headquartered in Westchester County.

"Appointing Deborah Post to the Peekskill IDA is exciting for the City of Peekskill, especially during these times, said Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey. We're looking to continue moving the city forward and, in order to do so, we need individuals with drive, passion and skill, who are ready to give our city a well deserved new beginning. The PIDA is a great asset to our great city and having great people on board will result in great things happening. We look forward to the continued partnership with the IDA under her leadership and the progress of this place we all call home."

The PIDA, a corporate governmental agency constituting a public benefit corporation, was created to assist the City of Peekskill in financing projects within the city limits that would enhance the social and economic fabric of the community.

A 24-year Peekskill resident, Ms. Post was employed by the City of Peekskill in the 1990s as the City of Peekskills Director of Economic Development and Deputy Director of Planning as well as the Assistant Director of the PIDA. During her tenure with the City of Peekskill, the successful Downtown Artist Lofts Program was initiated and over 500,000 square feet of light industrial development was completed at Peekskills Charles Point Industrial Park.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, economic development efforts in Peekskill were gathering momentum, noted Ms. Post. There has been a renewed interest in Peekskill as a destination point and as a place to live. That interest, coupled with the $10 million DRI grant, puts our city in a position to hit the ground running once distancing restrictions are relaxed. We expect the PIDA and its sister agencies, the PLDC and the PFDC, will be instrumental in the implementation of the various development plans that are being considered. We at the PIDA are looking forward to being an integral part of Peekskills recovery and growth.

Deborahs economic development expertise is extensive and Peekskill is fortunate to have such an accomplished PIDA Chairperson. I particularly look forward to working with Deborah, the IDA Board and the City Council to achieve innovative and high-impact economic development projects in the coming years, said Matthew Rudikoff, Director of the Peekskill Office of Economic Development and IDA Executive Director.

Ms. Post graduated from the Yale School of Management with a Masters in Business Administration. She also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business.

The City of Peekskill is located at 840 Main Street in Peekskill, N.Y., and can be reached at 914-737-3400 or by visiting http://www.cityofpeekskill.com.

About the City of Peekskill

The City of Peekskill is a thriving, historic community located on the banks of the Hudson River. Just under one hour north of New York City, Peekskill is culturally and economically vibrant with abundant natural resources due to its location on the river and at the gateway to the Hudson Highlands. The waterfront, with over three miles of continuous parkland, is a regional destination with a variety of active and passive recreation, as well as breathtaking views of the Hudson River. While Peekskills waterfront parks, walking trails and dog park remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, guidelines for social distancing are enforced. The downtown area features an array of dining establishments currently offering take out, curbside pickup or delivery. The City recently passed a local ordinance allowing for free 15 minute parking in front of restaurants exclusively for the pick up of food and beverages. Home to a growing arts community, Peekskill is also a hub for new-generation technology and multimedia. For more information, visit http://www.cityofpeekskill.com.
Prince Harry took part in a special broadcast on Monday evening in the U.K. to highlight the efforts being made to support injured veterans.

Speaking via video link to the BBC's The One Show, he brought together two sets of veterans and their families to mark the moment that WWII ended in Europe 75 years ago.

Maggie Wilson, widow of airman Sandy Saunders  who received severe burns to his face when he crashed his Tiger Moth plane in the latter part of WWII  told Harry how Saunders had been treated by pioneering reconstructive surgeon Archibald McIndoe. She said McIndoe told her late husband, " 'You need new upper eyelids, new lower eyelids. You need a proper nose, I'll give you a mouth so you can kiss the girls!' That's what happened."

Harry smiled and said, "That's unbelievable. So when you met him, can I ask, he had a proper nose and good lips for kissing?" She answered, "Oh, definitely good lips for kissing."

"I love that," Harry replied.

RELATED: Prince Harry Says 'Life Has Changed Dramatically' in Personal Video Message About Invictus Games

As the nation was celebrating #VEDay, the Duke of Sussex took part in a special film to commemorate the bravery of veterans in various conflicts.#TheOneShow pic.twitter.com/BqbLnNjaOu  BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) May 11, 2020

Saunders was one of the men who helped form The Guinea Pig Club, which was set up for air force veterans who had been burned in their planes. The Guinea Pig Club were men who became known as "unexpected survivors," and the medical care they received served to bring about treatments for life-changing injuries in the field that are still used today. The name of the club of veterans stems from their willingness to undergo experimental treatments. Also on the call was Andy Perry, who told Harry of another ex-GPC member, his father Jack Perry.

Story continues

The GPC has inspired a modern-day version, called the CASEVAC Club, for those who were medically evacuated during the Afghanistan War. It was set up by two veterans who are close to Harry: David Wiseman and Dave Henson, who also joined the call.

Wiseman told The One Show, "There are guys from the CASEVAC Club who are walking around today, [and] it's only thanks to advances in battlefield medicine that they survived their injuries. Again, offering our bodies up...we can help advance understanding about traumatic injury and help people in the future."

Harry said, "It's so important to remember the Guinea Pig Club and to look forward to everything that the CASEVA Club is going to achieve as well. Those individuals that signed up, chose to serve and then had life-changing injuries, they don't stop there. That's why it's incredibly impressive and yet at the same time so incredibly uplifting."

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Harry was asked by the BBC show to highlight a veterans' cause to mark the VE Day anniversary. This week, Harry would have been in The Netherlands at the Invictus Games, his Paralympic-style contest for wounded, injured and service members. However, it was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Duke of Sussex called the show from his home in Los Angeles, where he is isolating along with wife Meghan Markle and son Archie, who turned 1 last week.

On Friday, Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth led the U.K. in commemorating the anniversary of the end of WWII, saying, "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 our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other."

The monarch, 94, continued, "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."

Watch the latest episode from Yahoo UK's The Royal Story
By Express News Service

KALABURAGI: A special Shramik Express carrying 1200 migrant labourers stranded in Mumbai arrived at Kalaburagi Railway Station at 2.00 am on Tuesday.

Kalaburagi MP Dr. Umesh Jadhav, Deputy Commissioner Sharat B, CEO of ZP Raja P., Deputy Commissioner of Police Kishor Babu and Kalaburagi Railway station Manager Prasad Rao were present in the Railway Station to felicitate the migrant labourers for thermal screening, stamping seal on their hands and sending them to the institutional quarantine centres nearer to their natives.

Kalaburagi district administration did not allow crowding while the passengers got down from the train. Only after arranging the migrant labourers in single bogie to go the designated bus, the passengers of other bogies were allowed to get down.

The sources said that of the 1230 passengers who came in Shramik Express, about 800 are from Chitapur taluk, 180 are from other taluks of the district and 250 labourers are from different taluks of Yadgir district.

Another Shramik Express is expected to reach Kalaburagi within a day or two.

Speaking with Express, Chittapur Tahasildar Umakant Halli said that immediately after completion of formalities like screening and stamping seal on the hands of the labourers, 800 labourers were taken to quarantine centres near Nalawar, Gundagurti, Alolli and other villages. In all, 7 institutional quarantine centres have been established especially for the labourers who have come by the train on Tuesday morning.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Yadgir Prakash Rajput told that all the 250 labourers of Yadgir district have been put in institutional quarantine near Shahapur.

The sources said that throat swab test of these migrant labourers would be carried out on the 12th day of their arrival to the quarantine center and they would be allowed to go to their homes only if the result of the test is negative.

Speaking with Express, one of the labourers, Saibanna Lambani of Nalwar said that the labourers who have come in the train belonged to different villages and were working in different parts of Mumbai. All were happy as many of them have starved for days as no one cared for them. Initially, the government and the philanthropists gave food but it was stopped later. Now we are happy that we are closer to our near and dears, we are ready to face difficulties now as we are in our motherland, he said.
In this May 4, 2020, photo, the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court's second day of arguments by phone is devoted to a new version of a case it decided seven years ago involving federal money to fight AIDS around the world. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Read more

On May 6, the Supreme Court heard arguments from the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office taking issue with the Trump administrations expanded exemptions for churches and some private businesses in covering employees birth control. The exemptions allowed more organizations to opt out of providing their workers no-cost access to birth control, due to their owners religious beliefs.

SCOTUS is now considering the case against these exemptions that was brought by Pennsylvanias attorney general and backed by New Jerseys attorney general. An attorney and a reverend debate: Should employers be allowed these exemptions?

YES: Religious freedom should beat a restrictive government mandate.

By Linda A. Kerns

Pennsylvania so desperately wants the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide free birth control as part of their employer health insurance plan, the battle ended up in the Supreme Court. Why does our commonwealth persist along this unreasonable path to compel the nuns to provide contraceptives and defy their faith?

Virtually all reasonable persons would agree that Catholic nuns, who take vows of chastity and poverty, oppose the use of birth control such that beyond refusing to use or fund it, they do not even want to be involved in passively facilitating it. Notably, some birth control includes abortion-inducing drugs, methods antithetical to Catholic teachings. The brewing dispute, however, runs deeper than birth control to confront an age-old question: If our government intrudes on religious liberties, can we really call ourselves free?

The 2010 Affordable Care Act mandated that health insurance plans provide no-cost access to birth control. This signature feature of Obamacare triggered an avalanche of lawsuits, many claiming that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 required exemptions for religious objectors like churches or religious orders. Other exemptions abounded for nonreligious reasons, such as the size of the employer or the grandfathering of long-in-existence insurance plans. Thus, many women went without employer insurance-funded free birth control and built-in workarounds. Government begrudgingly went along.

The Little Sisters, a congregation of women that minister to the poor, did not meet the definition of a church or religious order as defined by the law, and were too large an employer to qualify for secular exemption. They faced a conundrum: comply with the mandate even if it violates religious beliefs, or break the law. The Obama administration offered an accommodation: sign a form authorizing the disputed services to be provided, just not by their plan. But the Little Sisters remained steadfast: they wanted no involvement in birth control whatsoever, even via permitting someone else to handle it. The Trump administration seemingly solved the problem by expanding exemptions to include the Little Sisters.

However, Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the president and others, seeking a nationwide injunction to stop the exemption. New Jersey joined in. Why pick on the Little Sisters?

Why pick on the Little Sisters? It all comes down to fear of losing control. Linda A. Kerns

It all comes down to fear of losing control. When a government issues a mandate, it essentially commands the citizenry to take a certain action. When citizens rebuff these authoritarian exercises, the fissures in the governments stronghold of power widen. The progressives in power in Pennsylvania and New Jersey understand that expanding religious exemptions comes at a cost: the erosion of the influence that accompanies a powerful mandate.

Those cheering on religious freedom could not ask for a better media-ready plaintiff. The Little Sisters formed in 1839 and, as their name suggests, minister to the poor worldwide. Notably, they provide end-of-life care to the elderly and currently nurture senior Americans stricken with the coronavirus. If progressives want to convince the general public that birth control should be an American right funded by all employer health insurance plans, perhaps insisting that chaste and charitable nuns pay for it is not a winning strategy.

 READ MORE: Sims crossed a line with his tirade at pro-life demonstrators | Dom Giordano

At long last, the Supreme Court may finally settle this matter. Those who value liberty should be grateful the Little Sisters took up this fight. Their unflinching resolve to stay true to their religious beliefs reminds Americans to never be complacent in protecting freedoms. If government will go after the Little Sisters in pursuit of a progressive agenda, next time it might come after you.

Linda A. Kerns is an attorney and a cofounder of Broad + Liberty. lkerns@broadandliberty.com @lindakernslaw

NO: True religious freedom does not mean limiting the rights of others.

By Rev. Dr. Marvin A. Marsh

With the Trump v. Pennsylvania case, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office is up against the Trump administration attempting, once again, to further protect employers and universities that invoke religious or moral beliefs to deny birth control coverage to employees and students. How this case is decided could open the door for bosses and school administrators to restrict coverage and access to other critical health care.

I have been a Baptist pastor and faith leader for over 45 years. During that time, I have been privileged to accompany persons from both church and community through some of their most difficult moments. I know how essential affordable reproductive health care is to persons of faith as they plan if, when, and how they will become parents.

My work as a pastor is grounded in compassion. My faith leads me to defend the freedom of all persons to receive the health care they need regardless of their ability to pay. What my faith does not do is permit me to impose my beliefs on others. My Baptist heritage has long instilled in me the cherished value of religious freedom. But true religious freedom means letting people make their own decisions  about morality, religion, and health care  based on their conscience, free from employer or government interference.

Everyone has the capacity, right, and responsibility to make decisions about their reproductive lives. Rev. Dr. Marvin A. Marsh

As a person of faith, I value every person as a moral decision-maker. Everyone has the capacity, right, and responsibility to make personal decisions about their reproductive lives  guided by their own conscience, faith and beliefs, and personal circumstances.

When the government privileges the rights of one religious group over others, everyone suffers. Many religiously affiliated organizations, such as churches, schools, hospitals, and relief organizations, employ people in all sorts of roles without regard to their personal faith identification. Doctors, nurses, bookkeepers, teachers, janitors, and more should not be expected to sacrifice health-care coverage because their employer opposes personal decisions that have nothing to do with their jobs. Restricting access to contraception has devastating consequences for women and families, especially those with low incomes.

Many faith communities maintain silence around reproductive health care, including access to birth control. I believe those seeking to use religion as a cover for limiting reproductive health-care access are counting on that silence to get away with it. But we have not always been silent. In fact, beginning in the late 1920s, many Jewish and Protestant groups formally endorsed contraception access. This included rabbis from Reform and Conservative Judaism and ministers from Episcopal, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.

 READ MORE: I had an abortion during the pandemic. Reproductive health care is crucial. | Opinion

Decades later, in 2012, more than 1,000 faith leaders from dozens of states and religious traditions signed an open letter declaring that [n]o single religious voice can speak for all faith traditions on contraception, nor should government take sides on religious differences. We oppose any attempt to make specific religious doctrine concerning pregnancy, childbirth, or contraception the law of any country in the world.

It is time for people of faith and conscience once again to speak out against this cynical use of one of our most cherished liberties. Lets remind our leaders that  particularly amid a pandemic  our government should be protecting Americas workers and students, not putting their health at risk and calling it religious freedom. Religion should never be used to take away the rights of others.

Rev. Dr. Marvin A. Marsh is a retired Baptist pastor and board chair of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania. A version of this piece first appeared in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
Is it luck or just born to lead? What else can explain the prolonged stay in power by African leaders? For so long, their active participation in liberating their homelands has been the basis for clinging to the tools of power. Some of the longest-serving presidents in Africa like Yoweri Museveni, Teodoro Obiang, and Pual Biya have sparked a heated democracy debate from the rest of the world on their stay in power.

Image: wikimedia.com (modified by author)

Source: UGC

As it stands, most African presidents have, in one way or another, tried to stay in office longer than their national constitutions require. Ever wondered why do so many presidents in Africa have long terms? Well, it is simple, election law amendments. While few have managed to play a house of cards that has seen them remain in power, others like Mugabe of Zimbabwe have ended up getting uprooted in a shameful push-and-pull between them and the rest of the citizenry.

Sadly, their stay in power for longer than required is not the biggest drawback, but their underwhelming achievements over these periods. In most instances, these leaders leave the economy of the country in a far deplorable condition than those of their neighbours.

Longest-serving presidents in Africa

The list of the current longest-serving president in Africa is not necessarily concentrated in one region but distributed across the continues. Most of them ascended to power as early as in the 20th century and are still on the country's steering wheel. Here is a list and images of long served presidents of Africa:

1. Paul Biya - Cameroon (44 years)

Image: twitter.com @PR_Paul_BIYA

Source: UGC

Paul Biya was born on February 13, 1933, and has been in power longer than half his lifetime. He started as the first prime minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982 and later ascended to power as the president. His rise was rapid under the leadership of Ahmadou Ahidjo, the then president of Cameroon.

He later succeeded Ahidjo to become Africa's and Cameroon's longest-serving president. His leadership has had its pitfalls with election irregularities outstandingly marring his reign. In the 1980s, Biya was forced to introduce the multiparty democracy in the countrys political system following pressure from both foreign investors from the west and locally from the opposition.

However, for fear of his authoritarian rule, most opposition leaders have had to bow to pressure despite subsequent election irregularities all coined to help Biya remain in power. Biya is the world's longest-serving non-royal leader and the oldest president in Africa.

2. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo - Equatorial Guinea (40 years)

Image: twitter.com @PresidentObiang

Source: UGC

After ousting his uncle from power in 1979, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has remained the president of Equatorial Guinea to date. Cumulatively, he is the longest-serving president in Africa and the unchallenged ruler of the continents west. Other than leading Equatorial Guinea, he has also served in an acting capacity as the chairman of the African Union between January 31, 2011, and January 29, 2012.

Globally, Obiang is the second longest-serving non-royal leader with a consecutive term in the world and leads the second longest-running current government in Africa. Both highs and lows have characterized his tenure.

One of the most outstanding achievements in his reign is the upraising of Equatorial Guinea as a reputable oil-producing country in Africa. However, the second longest-reigning head of state has also been accused of massive corruption during his tenure, coupled with endless abuse of power and undermining the opposition.

READ ALSO: Kenyans ranked second best in English proficiency in Africa

3. Dennis Sassou Nguesso - Congo (36 years)

Image: twitter.com @SassouCG

Source: UGC

Dennis Sassou is the president of the Republic of Congo. He is serving his second term after being ousted in 1992. His earlier reign has been from 1979 to 1992, where he led the country under a single-party regime as the leader of the Congolese Party of Labor (PCT). The pressure from the international community forced him to introduce a multiparty political system in Congo.

He agreed to this in 1990 pave the way for multiparty democracy in Congo. However, this served as his first detour as he was ousted from power. During the five years, he was out of the executive, he served as the opposition leader and later contested again in 1997. He was elected the president from 1997 and has been serving as the countrys top leader.

The 2002 elections saw him win effortlessly following low participation by the opposition. He was re-elected in 2009 and got yet another advantage pass in 2015 following the promulgation of a new constitution. He was later re-elected in 2016 with a first-round majority win.

4. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni - Uganda (35 years)

Image: twitter.com @KagutaMuseveni

Source: UGC

Museveni is the president of Uganda after toppling the notorious governments led by Idi Amin (1971-1979 and Milton Obote (1980-1985). After actively participating in the rebellions that saw the ouster of these two leaders, it was Musevenis turn to have a piece of Ugandas leadership pie. Both African and western countries celebrated him as part of the new breed of revolutionary young African leaders.

Musevenis reign as president of Uganda was characterized by calm and stability. He is also applauded for his efforts to fight social calamities like the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, remaining in power for this long cannot go untainted. He is accused of massive corruption incidences and abuse of power. Recently, Museveni has been at the centre of a scuffle between him, the opposition, and the citizenry.

His military rebellion wing, the Lords Resistant Army (LRA) has been associated with a streak of malpractices, including castigating the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other conflicts in the great lakes. After succeeding in uniting the country following dictatorial leadership before him, he has also been associated with divisions through suppressing the opposition and jailing its leaders.

5. Idriss Deby - Chad (29 years)

Idriss is the president of Chad. His leadership dates to 1990 after ousting president Hissene Habre. This came after a series of rebellions and anti-government aggressions under the leadership of Idriss.

Since those who live by the gun also die by the gun, his leadership has been characterized by a series of aggressions from rebellious movements which feel he is not leading the country according to the needs of the citizenry. Despite the challenges, he won elections from 1996 and 2001, with subsequent re-elections in 2006, 2011 and 2016.

One of the most fantastic reasons behind his clinging to power for so long is mainly changes in the constitution that saw a presidential term limit lifted. Idriss Is a graduate of the Muammar Gadhafis World Revolutionary Center.

6. Paul Kagame - Rwanda (20 years)

Image: twitter.com @PaulKagame

Source: UGC

Paul Kagame is the reigning president of Rwanda, and the fourth person to rule over the fast-developing East African country. He has served as a military leader previously commanding the Rwandan patriotic front. This was a Ugandan-based rebel force that actively invaded Rwanda and later evolved to be one of the parties during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

In addition to that, he rose to power as the vice president from 1994 to 2000 where he was considered the de facto leader. During this time, he also doubled up as the minister of defence, making him one of the most influential people in the government. Following president Pasteur Bizumungus resignation in 2000, Kagame smoothly ascended to power with no one on sight to challenge his rise.

In August 2017, Kagame was re-elected to office with a massive 99% win against the next competitor. However, this has not come without criticism for how he conducted the election. His reign has been characterized by both high praises from the citizenry and the world over. He has been cited as one of the most performing and most impressive leaders in Africa.

READ ALSO: 15 most beautiful countries in Africa in 2020

7. Isaias Afwerki - Eritrea (27 years)

Image: twitter.com @AgameDictator

Source: UGC

Isaias is the first and only president of Eritrea since it gained independence in 1991. After fighting for 30 years to regain liberation through Eritrea peoples Liberation Front (EPLF), Isaias took over as the leader of the state and first president.

He is the leader of Eritreas only party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). His form of totalitarian leadership has been marred by numerous atrocities, among them diminishing press freedom and violations of human rights.

The United Nations has ranked his leadership as one that undermines the rights of the citizenry, while Amnesty International has ranked Eritrea last in press freedom for eight years running.

8. Ismail Omar Guelleh - Djibouti (20 years)

Image: twitter.com @IsmailOguelleh

Source: UGC

Ismail Guelleh is the president of Djibouti. His reign began in 1999 as a handpicked successor after his uncle Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had reigned over Djibouti since its independence in 1977. Guelleh, commonly referred to using his initials IOG has been re-elected three consecutive terms 2005, 2011, and 2016.

His term has been characterized by both good and bad. In January 2019, Guelleh was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award for safely evacuating Indians from Yemen. However, he has been termed as a dictator in the way he conducts day-to-day activities and policy administration.

9. Hage Geingob - Namibia (19 years)

Image: twitter.com @hagegeingob

Source: UGC

Hage is the third and reigning president of the Republic of Namibia. Other than being president, he also served as the prime minister from March 21, 1990, to August 28, 2002. He also served as the minister for trade and industry between March 2008 and 2012.

He has been the president of the currently ruling party, the SWAPO Party. From the time of his election, Hage has been one of the most outgoing leaders in the southern region, earning him a seat as the chairperson of the South African Development Community (SADC).

Hages first term was as prime minister and lasted 12 years. His second term as president has been running for eight years now. His reign has been characterized by better leadership with awards and honours representing his reign.

10. Faure Gnassingbe - Togo (15 years)

Image: twitter.com @FEGnassingbe

Source: UGC

Faure is the president of the Republic of Togo. Before rising as the president, he was appointed as the minister of Equipment, Mines, Posts, and Telecommunications by his father and then president of Togo. He served as Minister for two years between 2003 and 2005.

Following the demise of his father in 2005, he was elected as the president with the massive support of the countrys military and has been there since. He has been re-elected in office for three other consecutive terms in 2010, 2015, and the latest in February 2020.

Although he has emerged as the preferred leader for the Togo people, his rise to power was highly refuted by the African Union who termed it as a military coup as opposed to a clean, constitutional process. A day after the death of his father, the national assembly was instructed to dismiss the then president of the national assembly Fambare Ouattara Natchaba, and appoint Gnassingbe.

The longest-serving presidents in Africa got their power through a liberation movement or won the favour of the electorate. However, some are merely the peoples choicest option from election to election. One clear thing is that Africa is host to some of the longest-serving heads of state, who have ruled more than the conventional two terms in most democracies around the world.

READ ALSO: 10 most visited countries in Africa

Source: TUKO.co.ke
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc.s lack of a serious response to signs of abuse on its platform in Sri Lanka may have helped stoke deadly violence in the country in 2018, according to an investigation of the social networks operations there. The company released a summary of the findings Tuesday, along with other independent assessments of the services impact on human rights in Indonesia and Cambodia.

We deplore this misuse of our platform, the company said in a response to the Sri Lanka report. We recognize, and apologize for, the very real human rights impacts that resulted. Facebook also highlighted actions it has taken to address the problems, including hiring content moderators with local language skills, implementing technology that automatically detects signs of hate speech and keeps abusive content from spreading, and trying to deepen relationships with local civil society groups.

The report on Sri Lanka details Facebooks failure to respond to almost a decade of warnings about misuse of its platform from groups within the country. In 2018, a viral video falsely purporting to show a Muslim restaurateur admitting to mixing sterilization pills into the food of Sinhala-Buddhist men may have contributed to unrest and physical harm.

Facebooks poor track record on human rights in international markets has been a black mark on the company for years. As it expanded rapidly, it staffed local operations in far-off countries with skeleton crews or not at all, making it unresponsive to the specific forms of local manipulation, according to the reports. Facebooks decision to design algorithms that encourage more engagement also made it vulnerable to disinformation and incitement to violence. Human rights advocates have pushed the company to release assessments like the ones it shared Tuesday.

This is not the first Facebook apology. A 2018 assessment of its operations in Myanmar found it partly to blame for violence in that country. One response was to hire activist Miranda Sissons as the first Facebook director of human rights, last year. According to Sissons, Facebook has begun to conduct more country-by-country reviews of its performance on human rights, and will begin releasing reports regularly. She didnt lay out a timeline, and declined to say which countries the company is studying.

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The recently-released reports, which cover a similar time period as the Myanmar assessment, describe Facebooks impact as complicated. Having access to the social network often increased freedom of speech and gave marginalized communities a new way to communicate. But governments also used Facebook to identify dissidents and spread misinformation. Groups looking to stoke communal violence found the social network to be fertile ground for recruitment and incitement.

Article One Advisors LLC, the consultant that conducted the assessments into Sri Lanka and Indonesia, found significant improvement at Facebook. There has been a very big cultural shift -- a very welcome cultural shift, said Chloe Poynton, a co-founder and principal at the firm. Facebook has implemented many of the group's suggestions related to content moderation and slowing the spread of abusive messaging. It is still considering some others, like Article Ones call for the company to appoint a member of its board of directors to be specifically responsible for human rights, according to Sissons.

The company's products may still pose a challenge going forward -- particularly end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp. Viral misinformation on the messaging service has already stoked violence and deaths in India, and while Facebook has started to fight this by limiting some message forwarding, the company's inability to read encrypted messages makes it difficult to spot potentially dangerous activity.

The assessment of Cambodia was conducted by Business for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit consulting firm. It found no significant failures, but highlighted challenges Facebook faced engaging with a repressive political system. It urged Facebook to push the countrys government to pass more humane regulations for social media, and to call out issues such as surveillance.

Sissons said Facebook was grappling with its responsibilities in such situations. These are among the most difficult questions companies face, she said. We are prepared to engage with this question, but we dont have answers to signal yet.

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(Reuters) - European stocks closed lower on Monday, with banks, miners and travel stocks bearing the brunt of investor worries of a second wave of coronavirus cases as many countries emerge from lockdowns.

The pan-European STOXX 600 shed 0.4% after gaining nearly 1% at the open, when a post-holiday catch-up for UK shares supported markets.

As the session wore on, cyclical sectors - more exposed to the health of the global economy - took a hit as investors focused on news that Germany and South Korea reported an acceleration in new coronavirus infections after steps to ease their restrictions.

That dented optimism as France tiptoed out of one of Europes strictest lockdowns, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a cautious plan to get Britain back to work.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said markets were realising the end of lockdown would be quite gradual and the V-shaped recovery will not be as fast as expected.

Indications that countries like Germany and South Korea are seeing an increase in infections is likely to give markets some pause for thought, he added.

Europes mining index led losses as shares in the worlds largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, slumped 16.2% after Moodys downgraded its rating to Ba1 as the credit rating agency expects economic conditions to materially worsen in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Returning from a holiday-extended weekend, Britains FTSE 100 closed flat and mid-cap shares rose 0.1%, catching up with a global rally on Friday on easing U.S.-China tensions. [.L]

However, shares in Britains low-cost carrier easyJet fell 6% and British Airways-owner IAG dropped 3% as the British government said it would introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad.

French stocks took a hit as Airbus SE dropped 2.8% after Australias Qantas Airways said it did not expect to take delivery of any new planes in the near term as it grapples with a plunge in demand due to the pandemic.

Aircraft engines maker Safran dropped 3.2%.

Despite a feeble start to the month, European shares have recovered more than 26% since mid-March lows as investors pinned their hopes on a swift economic recovery after countries started to ease lockdowns and policymakers support to ailing economies.

That helped markets look past a staggering 20.5 million U.S. job losses in April, while Germanys Ifo institute said that many industries were cutting jobs, noting that 39% of automotive companies, 50% of hotels, 58% of restaurants and 43% of travel agencies had shed staff in April.

Among gainers, German payments company Wirecard jumped 8.3% after announcing a reshuffle of its management board amid allegations including accounting irregularities and disclosure violations, which it denied.

Frankfurt-listed real estate firm LEG Immobilien gained 3.8% after it confirmed its earnings forecast for 2020 after reporting first-quarter results.

Italian lenders bucked the gloom in Europes banking sector with a 0.6% rise, on relief that Moodys spared the country of a rating downgrade on Friday.
As we discover the depths to which the Obama operatives and holdovers went to skewer the Trump campaign/administration from 2016-20, I find myself wondering just what the Nixon operatives were up to, back in the bad old Watergate 1970s.

Back in the day the eeevil Republican Richard Nixon thought he needed to spy on the opposition in the run-up to the 1972 election. So he set up a nongovernmental Special Investigations Unit to go a-burgling.

Just the day before yesterday the noble Democrat Barack Obama -- or his henchmen -- wanted to spy on the opposition presidential campaign. So they went to their pals at the FBI and Main Justice and the intelligence community and got them to go a-spying.

Just yesterday the patriotic Obama holdovers in the Trump administration spent three years trying to trip up President Trump based on fake accusations that we now know -- because said holdovers didnt want to risk lying under oath -- that they knew were fake.

So why did President Nixon start the plumbers unit that eventually burgled the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate back in 1972?

According to George Will writing in 2014 it all started in 1968 when Candidate Nixon used Chinese-American Anna Chennault in a backdoor negotiation with the South Vietnamese ambassador. Naughty boy, because Nixon was a private citizen at the time. But of course, the FBI found out about it because they had a wiretap on the South Vietnamese embassy.

On Nov. 2 [1968] at 8:34 p.m., a teleprinter at [President] Johnsons ranch delivered an FBI report on the embassy wiretap: Mrs. Chennault had told South Vietnams ambassador she had received a message from her boss (not further identified) She said the message was that the ambassador is to hold on, we are gonna win. The Logan Act of 1799 makes it a crime for a private U.S. citizen, which Mr. Nixon then was, to interfere with U.S. government diplomatic negotiations.

Well, bust my buttons: The Logan Act! Back then!

In 1971, right after the publication in the New York Times of the Pentagon Papers, President Nixon, cranking up for reelection, was worried who knew about the Chennault connection. So he created the Special Investigations Unit that eventually went a-burgling at the Watergate.

So here we are, nearly 50 years later. Only notice the difference between the early 1970s and the mid-2010s.

Back in the 1970s the Nixon people wanted to know what the deep state knew about them. What to do? Well, they had to create their own spy operation. Not good.

The Obama administration was interested in what was going on in the Trump campaign. What to do? Set up an extra-governmental spying operation like Nixon? Dear me, no. The FBIs were perfectly happy to spy on the Trump campaign. Logan Act? No problem, the FBI was perfectly happy to work up a Logan Act violation in respect of LTG Michael Flynn. And the lovebirds at the FBI were glad to help in time-outs from their love-birding.

After the end of the Obama administration someone was interested in continuing anti-Trump operations. Whether that was a defensive operation, to protect the guilty that had used the government to spy without proper predicates, or an offensive operation to destroy the Trump administration, I leave you to decide. What to do? Set up an extra-governmental lawfare operation? Lean on political friends in the right places? Dear me, no! The very people who ran the anti-Trump operation in the FBI and DoJ during 2016 continued to spy and harass for years the Trump administration from inside the government.

But Nancy Pelosi is shocked, shocked, that the Justice Department should ease up on a man who had once pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI when his head was in a vice! Plus, Flynn doesnt have a $24,000 side-by-side refrigerator, darling. And Rep. Schiff (D-CA) is unrepentant too.

As lawyer Joseph Welch said to Joseph McCarthy: At long last, have you left no sense of decency? He means you, Nance and Adam.

Back in the day, Dorothy Sayers in The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club sent the miscreant to the club library with a revolver and a stiff whisky to do the decent thing. Thats your military honor code.

But honor among liberals is different, because all liberals are the good guys bending the arc of history towards justice. Thus, its okay to break the law and violate procedures and use government power to oppress the opposition. Liberals are the good guys, and they are on the right side of history. So when liberal government functionaries break the law its not really breaking the law, because its all in the good cause of bending the arc of history towards justice.

Worse than Watergate? You be the judge.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.
Scientists in Massachusetts are doing some critical research on the future of the pandemic.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, social distancing has become our guiding principal toward getting to a "new normal." But now two research papers, including one done by the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, suggest the public may need to keep elements of social distancing, until 2021 or even 2022.



And in the absence of treatment or vaccine, it could take up to 12 to 18 months to build enough immunity in the population to free us from that, said Dr. Stephen Kissler, postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Chan School of Public Health.



Kissler was surprised by his team at Harvard's findings, especially by the length of time the model showed social distancing would be required to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.



It won't necessarily be this widespread social disruption-social distancing, but I could imagine that people will get a lot more familiar with wearing masks, with sort of keeping their distance from each other in public especially during the winter months, Kissler said.



The other paper done by researchers at the University of Minnesota looked at three possible scenarios for the future of the pandemic:
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.
Amid coronavirus lockdown severely impacting businesses, India Inc is hoping for an extension of moratorium on payment of term loan instalments for another three months until August 31. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-issued moratorium facility is going to end this month. "The finance ministry has consulted the industry bodies and some senior industrialists for taking their feedback on whether the facility should be continued," said industry sources. The government is convinced about the importance of the scheme and ready to urge the RBI to extend the facility, they added.

However, there are concerns of the industry misusing the scheme. "The government is unhappy with the way some of the corporates are making use of the scheme to preserve their liquidity, though they don't have any cash flow crisis. It is not clear how the government and RBI will be able to tweak it to avoid exploitation of the scheme," said a Mumbai-based industrialist. The RBI had, on March 27, allowed commercial banks, co-operative banks, financial institutions, and non-banking finance corporations (NBFCs) to offer moratorium on payment of instalments of all term loans outstanding as on 1 March to help alleviate hardship of borrowers.

A total of 3.2 crore account holders in state-owned banks availed the moratorium on loans, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's office tweeted recently. In another tweet, Sitharaman's office said that during March and April, the public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore for more than 41.81 lakh accounts, adding that these borrowers belong to the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), retail, agriculture and corporate sectors. Loans worth Rs 77,833 crore have been sanctioned to the NBFCs and housing finance corporations (HFCs).

The microfinance sector has been completely shattered because of the lockdown and about 75 per cent of the borrowers from the sector --- like Kirana owners, workshop owners, roadside vendors, tailors and weavers in urban and semi-urban pockets--- sought moratorium on loan repayments as their livelihood has been blocked. Though just 30 per cent of the micro loan borrowers had sought moratorium until the first week of April, the ratio jumped to about 75 per cent, according to the data compiled by microfinance industry associations.

As many as 328 companies, including well-known industrial firms, have sought moratorium on loan repayment, said rating agency ICRA last month. Tata Power Renewable Energy, JSW Paints, JSW Steel, Kalyan Jewellers, MRPL, Piramal Enterprises, TV Sundaram Iyengar, Centrum Financial Services, Air India Express, GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ, Hindustan Copper, Jindal Power, and Jindal Steel & Power are among the companies that sought moratorium on loan repayment, ICRA said.

If RBI extends the moratorium for another three months, the banks will see more companies queueing up for availing it as the situation has become worse, say industry sources. The extension will also help the banks as they don't need to take action against loan defaults and count the loans as non-performing assets (NPAs).

Also read: Economic Stimulus Package

Also read: 93% employees fear health risks on returning to office: Survey
A 19-year-old woman was arrested Saturday after damaging a vehicle during a road rage incident in a Whataburger drive-thru, according to an arrest affidavit.

On April 15, a woman said the driver of a white Nissan hit and damaged her car while trying to cut in front of her in the drive-thru of the South Side fast food restaurant. The driver of the Nissan was later identified as Anderea Santarelly.

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After the initial incident, Santarelly then got out of her car and began banging on the victim's windows and yelling at her, "You hit my car... all for Whataburger. Well, I'm going to return the favor," the affidavit continued. Santarelly allegedly scraped a belt buckle along the top and rear of the car, the affidavit said.

The woman inside the car said she couldn't drive off because she was in the drive-thru and didn't get out of the car because she was afraid Santarelly would physically assault her.

Santarelly left the scene before police arrived.

The victim was able to write down Santarelly's license plate number, and when police questioned her about the incident, she said that she had gotten angry because she thought the two lanes were supposed to merge into the drive-thru, the affidavit said.

The damages to the victim's car cost more than $2,000.

Santarelly was charged with criminal mischief totaling $750 to $2,500. Her bail was set at $1,000.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for mySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-mews.net | @TaylorPettaway
Kim Kardashian West shared a striking side-by-side of herself and four-year-old son Saint looking like doubles on Monday.

'My twin in every way,' the 39-year-old reality star gushed over a throwback of her little boy wearing a Marlington Dukes T-Shirt via Instagram Story.

In the images, the KKW Beauty founder and her mini-me sport nearly identically expressions, as she also looked off in the distance.

Twins: Kim Kardashian West shared two striking side-by-side pictures of herself and four-year-old son Saint looking like doubles on Monday

The young photo of Kim features her looking extra adorable in a pair of pastel pink overalls and matching ribbons in the same shade at a similar age as her preschooler.

In September 2018, the mother-of-four first posted the snap of Saint, who also posed with a lifelike mask of her husband Kanye West.

'Guess who,' she captioned the shot of her second-born child behind a cutout of her rapper husband, who she also shares North, six, Chicago, two, and one-year-old Psalm.

Sentimental: In September 2018, the mother-of-four first posted the snap of Saint, who also posed with a lifelike mask of her husband Kanye West

'Guess who,' she captioned the snap of her second-born child behind a cutout of her rapper husband, who she also shares North, six, Chicago, two, and one-year-old Psalm; pictured in 2018

Her sweet post comes two weeks after the Stronger hitmaker, 42, whisked their youngsters on a three-day trip to Wyoming, so Kardashian could get some alone time.

'They have been taking turns caring for the kids,' a source told People last month. 'It's a huge chaos with all the kids at home. Kanye normally escapes to his office for work breaks.'

The candid mom has also been vocal over the perils of homeschooling and struggling to keep her big brood entertained under quarantine.

Doting mom: The candid mom has also been vocal over the perils of homeschooling and struggling to keep her big brood entertained under quarantine

In addition to filming herself decorating cookies and playing in their backyard for fun, she and her kids have been enjoying family movie nights.

'[The theater room] is the place that has gotten the most use lately,' Calabasas socialite said in the June/July edition of Vogue.

'The whole family has spent the last few nights in there after the kids made it into a fort, with, like, different beds all over the floor. My daughter [North] is the fort police. If you move out of your bed that she designated for you, it's a problem.'
Google has unveiled software capable of scanning handwriting and turning it into chunks of digital text.

Users of the search engine's Google Lens app simply need to copy the text and paste it into a document to complete the transition to screen.

The move could prove revolutionary - with teachers, managers and politicians all finally able to decipher each other's scrawl.

Users of Google Lens will simply need to scan their handwriting to transform it into beautiful computer text. It is hoped this will save time transcribing words

Google announced the change on its blog page, stating it offers an easy way to 'get things done while working and learning from home'.

'This is great for quickly copying handwritten notes (if you write neatly!) and pasting it on your laptop,' said Google's product manager Lou Wang.

The app is available for most Android phone users, while those with an Apple device can access it on the Google app.

Handwriting came to centre stage in the UK in 2006 when George Osborne criticised then-chancellor Gordon Brown for his notes, and claimed the chancellor's judgement was flawed.

Brown, who became prime minister, was forced to apologise for his poor handwriting and misspelling after he mis-spelt the name of a dead soldier in a letter to his mother in 2009.

The feature was placed on Google Lens to help people 'get things done while working and learning from home'

Can I download the Google Lens app? Most Android users will be able to download Google Lens. Apple users will be able to access the feature on standard Google apps. Advertisement

His words had been written to the family of Grenadier Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, who died in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan.

London hosts a school for deciphering handwriting, called the London College of Graphology, where experts claim to learn how to determine a character from strokes of the pen.

Beethoven, Ghandi and Donald Trump all famously have difficult-to-read handwriting.
Ms. Krumrine, with godchildren Nicholas Zobor and Laura Zobor, loved Philadelphia, and she delighted in showing it to her friends, said a friend. Read more

People Weve Lost Jane Krumrine

82 years old

Lived in Merion

She worked in communications for an insurance brokerage firm More Memorials

Jane Krumrine was known for throwing fabulous parties at her Main Line home, especially on Christmas Eve, Easter, and the Fourth of July. But they werent pompous affairs. Sometimes the guests wore funny hats.

She was a blue-blood bankers daughter who made her career in the tough corporate world of Manhattan. But she cherished Philadelphia, its museums and orchestra, its cheesesteaks and Phillies.

She loved Philadelphia, and she delighted in showing it to her friends, said Kerry Zobor, a longtime friend.

People from all over the world flocked to her home in Merion. It was like a little United Nations, Zobor said. "There might be an exchange student from England  or friends shed met on a trip to Italy, or the parents of someone she knew, visiting from Salzburg.

Ms. Krumrine, 82, retired vice president of communications for Johnson & Higgins, once one of the largest insurance brokerages in the world, died Friday, April 17, of COVID-19 at Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square.

She moved to the retirement community home in 2018 after her lifelong friend Susy Brandt told her she planned to live there. The two had been chums since they were toddlers living a few houses apart in Merion.

She had a wonderful sense of humor and a great loving soul, Brandt said. "She was the ultimate hostess.

She loved to travel, especially to Italy. And in retirement, the two visited Scotland, London, Paris, Italy, Mexico, Egypt, East Africa, Israel, and New Zealand.

Ms. Krumrine was the only child of Jane Gilfillan and Charles Sidney Krumrine. She was a graduate of the Baldwin School and the University of Pennsylvania, and earned an MBA from Harvard/Radcliffe.

She began her career in public relations at Methodist and Hahnemann hospitals before moving to Johnson & Higgins. She retired in 1996.

Known for her philanthropy, she was a member of the Junior League and was among the first women to join the Union League.

At Overbrook Presbyterian Church, a former pastor said, she was a Main Line Republican who found her home in a multicultural, urban church full of Democrats.

Ms. Krumrine is survived by several cousins and many friends. Burial will be private.

 Valerie Russ, vruss@inquirer.com
To say South Africa is tired of the lockdown would be a gross understatement.

Officials acknowledge the effect that a curfew and limitations on movement are having on the populations financial and mental health, but say they are holding firm against a bigger health threat: that of a virus that has killed 3.2% of those known to be infected in the World Health Organizations African region.

The global death rate is about 7%, according to WHO statistics.

The head of the opposition Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, told the ruling African National Congress, We are no longer dealing, with a COVID-19 crisis. We are dealing with a lockdown crisis. An ANC lockdown crisis, to be precise. Let me be very clear about this: There is no longer a justification to keep this hard lockdown in place. Government cannot even produce this justification. They cannot show us the modeling they use to decide when to ease and when to tighten restrictions. They cannot do this, because they dont seem to know for sure themselves.

The initial five-week hard lockdown, which has now been replaced by slightly loosened restrictions, was aimed at buying the health system time to prepare for an inevitable wave of infections. Critics argue that that time is up, and that the harm done to livelihoods outweighs the risks faced by easing the restrictions.

Most of the country is currently under what is known as Phase 4 of the eased lockdown, with a nighttime curfew and reduced shopping hours in place. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes remains illegal. Although several key sectors of the economy have gone back to work, many South Africans remain at home, unable to do so.

Shabir Madhi, professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, urged more targeted testing and screening, and huge improvements to water and sanitation. Lockdowns, he said, arent enough.

And if we cant do that, unfortunately, we're setting up ourselves for, irrespective of what policy government has, if we're not able to abide by those sort of conditions, if we cant create an environment for people to actually practice those sort of interventions, we're going to have a much quicker rate of transmission of the virus, Madhi said. And we're trying to get a surge much sooner, and the peak with this wave probably will be much greater than we expect, if those non-pharmaceutical interventions don't work.

At this time, the government is holding firm in its positions. Over the weekend, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize noted an alarming rise in new infections in the Western Cape, and threatened that the nation may see a return to a total lockdown, or heightened interventions of various forms in some areas where transmission is high. Steenhuisen opposes that.

The real tragedy playing out here is no longer the coronavirus, but the lockdown itself, Steenhuisen said. Because this lockdown is going to cost many more lives than it can possibly save.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has yet to say publicly when the restrictions might end; but, in his Monday newsletter, the president said the nation was stepping up its testing, screening and treatment regime. He noted, The transition to the next phase of the coronavirus response, that of recovery, will be more difficult than the present one.
It was a day billed as a grand sort-of reopening for Ontario retailers. But for Alison Fletcher, Monday felt like almost any other day over the last six weeks.

Fletcher was busy wrapping up packages customers of her Roncesvalles cookware store Cookery had ordered online or by phone for curbside pickup. Theyd give her a quick call when they got close to the store, shed go to the front door, place the bag on the ground, then retreat into the store. Only then would the customer pick up their bag.

Weve been doing this since late March. We had a couple of visits from bylaw inspectors. They told us that people had complained Cookerys open when theyre not supposed to be. They saw the way were doing things and said youre just fine,  said Fletcher, who has been shuttling back and forth between Roncesvalles Avenue and her store near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.

On Monday, non-essential retailers with a street-front door were officially allowed by the Ontario government to offer curbside pickup for the first time since being closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many, like Fletcher, had been doing curbside business anyway. Others decided not to open at all Monday and others who did open werent convinced it would make much of a difference.

Small retailers arent exactly jumping for joy just yet said Ryan Mallough, Ontario regional director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, of the curbside pickup expansion.

No-ones under the impression this is going to save their year, said Mallough. Its a step in the right direction, but its not as good as hearing you can open, or its now safe for customers to shop like they did before. But I think everyone recognized something like this would be the first step.

Kristen Voisey, owner of mixology haven Cocktail Emporium, on Queen Street West, like Fletcher, has been doing curbside pick up for weeks. But she did noticed an uptick in orders for cocktail shakers, bitters, glassware and other items.

Its been great. We took a lot more orders yesterday for pickup today than weve been doing, said Voisey.

Weve been doing curbside pickup for a while now. Some bylaw guys came by to check it out, and they said it was fine. I think even they were confused by what the rules were, Voisey said.

Even with the uptick in orders, Voisey said its still just a fraction of what her three locations  the original on Queen Street West, a second shop in Kensington Market, and a small kiosk in the Union Station shopping concourse  would be bringing in.

Weve only got one of our three locations open, so its nowhere close to normal. Its a ghost town at Union, so it really wouldnt make any sense to have that open right now, said Voisey.

While its not quite like trying on a new suit or dress, browsing for cocktail equipment is still something that most customers would like to do in person, Voisey said.

When youre getting glassware, or shakers, people want to be able to see it and hold it. And we normally have sample stations for all the bitters, said Voisey, whose shops have cocktail ingredients from around the world. Hundreds of bitters, tinctures and syrups line the shelves.

Dog groomer Andrew Bullochs store near Yonge Street and York Mills Road also remained open for curbside pickup of pet supplies. But the threat of a $100,000 fine made the decision to not accept any furry clients easy.

Not a chance. Im not risking it, said Bulloch of resuming grooming services. Probably 90 per cent of my revenue is usually grooming though, so this isnt really doing much, Bulloch said.

Mallough said that many retailers have been doing curbside pick up adding it was likely against the law.

Thats certainly been our understanding of it. But now theyre not risking a fine, he said, adding the animal grooming is one exception.

We checked with the province on that, and theyve been pretty clear that groomers arent part of it yet, said Mullough.

Essential service retailers such as hardware stores and home improvement centres, which had been allowed to offer curbside pickup throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this past weekend were allowed to let customers back inside.

At the Canadian Tire in Leaside Monday, Graham Cho was happy to walk out with a full cart of CO2 canisters for his SodaStream, a few bottles of hand sanitizer, and some paint.

You cant really tell exactly what the colour is online, said Cho as he returned to his car in the crowded parking lot.
The head of Australia's peak body for travel agents has told an online seminar that A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw "needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face" over the program's reporting of a travel industry refund scandal.

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Jayson Westbury made the comments while addressing the group's stakeholders last Friday about how negative publicity about the industry was being addressed.

Jayson Westbury. Credit:Luise Ascui

"I wont ever be watching it (Channel 9's ACA) again. I think that Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face, and I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldnt want to invoke (sic) any violence on anyone."

"But, I mean, some of the behaviour and some of the language thats being used on that program is just outrageous," he said.
Hong Kong's leader is pushing ahead with politically divisive policies that may prompt new protests against China's influence over the city, even as she tries to revive the city's once-vibrant economy that's been battered by unrest and the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday a controversial law making it illegal to disrespect China's national anthem would get priority in the city's legislature, and that she would also forge on with school curriculum reforms that would foster a "national identity," moves that could prompt further protests in the Asian financial hub.

Lam, whose government has punished teachers for speaking out on the city's pro-democracy protests, also said she was awaiting a task force report on education reforms.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a press conference on Tuesday. Credit:Bloomberg

"I'm not afraid of other's criticism or smearing," she said at a press conference ahead of a meeting of her advisory Executive Council. "Education is about character building and I hope that everyone who works in education can uphold that spirit."
An Arlington man was killed Saturday in a head-on collision when another motorist crossed the median of Interstate 95, Virginia State Police said.

John D. Bonfield, 54, was struck about 7 p.m. Saturday in the Ladysmith area of Caroline County when a northbound vehicle crossed into the southbound lanes, police said. Bonfields car then struck a third vehicle, police said.
Help India!

Naazish Hussain, TwoCircles.net

MALEGAON: A sitting BJP Member of Parliament (MP) from Dhule constituency has stirred up controversy after making discriminatory remarks in a video statement against shifting of COVID-19 patients from Malegaon Central, which is predominantly Muslim, to Dhule and Nashik.

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Dr Subhas Bhambre is a sitting BJP MP from Dhule. In BJPs first tenure (2014 to 2019), he was Minister of State for Defence for 3 years.

Malegaon, which falls in the Nashik district of Maharashtra has seen a surge in the number of COVID-19 positive cases. On May 11, Malegaon reported 534 corona positive cases. Owing to the insufficient medical infrastructure the city has struggled with the increasing number of COVID-19 patients. The administration decided to shift patients from Malegaon to Nashik for treatment.

However, BJP leaders were opposed to this decision. The opposition by BJP leaders enraged the people from Malegaon. In response to the outrage, sitting BJP MP Dr Bhambre issued a video statement on May 10 saying, He did not oppose shifting of COVID-19 patients from Malegaon to Dhule. His resistance is only against shifting of Malegaon central patients.

In the video, the BJP MP says that the infections were brought to Malegaon Central people by Tablighi Jamaat.

Malegaon town has two assembly constituencies. Malegaon central has a predominantly Muslim population, while the Malegaon outer is Hindu majority area.

The MP had earlier called for CRPF, central team deployment in Malegaon to maintain order and review the situation in the city. He blamed Malegaon central people of defying police owing to their special habits and way of life. The MP called the Hindu majority Malegaon outer citizens as his family.

The discriminatory remark made by the MP has garnered criticism on social media. Many took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction and called out the discrimination by the sitting MP.

The association of Tablighi Jamaat  a Muslim missionary organization with the rise of COVID-19 cases in India has drawn sharp criticism from national and international human rights bodies.

In another instant on April 8, four people were found to be COVID-19 positive in Malegaon. Local media quoted the Dr Kishore Dange, Health Officer of Malegaon as saying that the four positive cases of COVID-19 belonged to Tablighi Jamaat.

Denying the association, a freelance journalist Mubasshir Mushtaq took to social media saying that on his detailed verification it was revealed that none of them were members of Tablighi Jamaat, neither they are affiliated with day-to-day activities of the organization.

Mushtaq said that even if the patients were from a certain religious organization, Dr Dange, as a member of the medical fraternity, has shown disregard to humanity and let down the medical profession, adding, Why is he, as a doctor, concerned with the religious and sectarian affiliation of people recovering from COVID-19?

Mushtaq also accused the health officer of flouting an advisory issued by the Central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 8, 2020, addressing the social stigma associated with COVID-19.
The cost of building a skilled nursing facility in the last 10 years ranged from $223 to $361 per square foot, according to data based on an index of 100 cities compiled by the National Investment Center for seniors and Housing Care, one of the main data service providers for the elder care industry.

So far, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of nursing homes in the United States are set up this way. This smaller-is-better approach arose out of a concern for residents privacy and dignity, but evidence is emerging that it may also be helping with infection control.

A private room or even an entire household can be closed off more easily, keeping out or confining viruses. Staff members who are focused on a small number of residents may be more likely to pick up on warning signs, such as a lack of appetite, that someone is sick. The preparation of food and laundry in a household  rather than in central facilities and then distributed  also eliminates a few of the ways diseases can infiltrate.

No design, without accompanying operational measures, is a bulwark against disease, and studies have yet to be done comparing the number of cases and deaths at small-house nursing homes and those at conventional ones. But anecdotal reports suggest that private rooms may be having more success at keeping the coronavirus at bay.

That is the conviction of the Green House Project, a nonprofit organization that oversees 266 small-house nursing homes. Of the 243 projects that supplied data in early May, eight reported having cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and there were no deaths, said Susan Ryan, the organizations senior director.

From a design perspective, this has only reinforced what we thought was a good idea, she added.

The Department of Veterans Affairs began embracing a small-house model in 2011; now, 13 of its 134 nursing homes are organized around communities of 10 to 14 residents. In these settings, only a single veteran has tested positive for Covid-19, Christina Noel, a V.A. spokeswoman, said in a statement.
The attorney general of the Navajo nation, Doreen McPaul has described the generosity of Irish people as amazing following numerous donations to a fund set up to support her community which has been devastated by Covid-19.

Ms McPaul, who has Irish grandfathers, told RTE radios Morning Ireland that it was just really heart-warming when she learned of the many donations from Irish people.

It made me want to follow up more.

Both of her paternal grandfathers were Irish and her father has dual citizenship, she said.

Ms McPaul has visited Ireland twice as her sister lived in Ireland while she studied international human rights.

Her sister subsequently married an Irish man, from Newmarket-on-Fergus in Co Clare and they visit Ireland every summer along with her parents.

The funds raised will be used to help members of the Navajo nation which is spread across three states  Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

To date 132 people have died from the pandemic.

Communities have found coping with the virus problematic because of the infrastructure with many living in remote areas.

It was also difficult to separate an ill person from the remainder of the family as they live in multi generational households and it was not part of the Navajo culture not to care for someone.

There were also challenges with a lack of water and access to disinfectant.

Ms McPaul said she first became aware of the generosity of the Irish when the treasurer of the fund shared with her some of the comments of Irish donors.

She had already been aware of the Choctaw story and of the sculpture in Ireland.

It is beyond amazing, the outpouring of support from Ireland is amazing.
A Kosovan man who came here legally as a teenager and now runs a take-away restaurant business has won his appeal over being refused citizenship on the basis he was not of "good character" arising from having committed road traffic offences.

The Minister for Justice must reconsider the man's application in line with the three-judge Court of Appeal's findings.

Giving the judgment today, Mr Justice Robert Haughton said the man came here in 2002 aged 14 and later married another Kosovan with whom he has two Dublin-born children. He operates a take-away restaurant, having previously been employed as a chef by an older brother.

In 2011, he paid a fine of 380 for a speeding offence after claiming he had not received the relevant fixed penalty notice.

Later that year, he was convicted of driving without insurance and paid a fine of 400 but was not disqualified and his licence was not endorsed.

The man had said he was driving one of his brother's cars and believed he was covered by insurance as he routinely drove his brother's cars.

An insurance company said he was a named driver on a policy of his brother but he was not in fact insured on the car he was driving.

He applied for naturalisation in July 2013 and, in light of the 2011 road traffic matters, incorrectly answered "no" to questions concerning whether he had convictions.

When queried about this, his solicitors outlined his explanations and said he had paid fines concerning both matters. They described the first offence as a "routine speeding offence".

While the driving without insurance offence could potentially be viewed as "more serious", they said that was due to a genuine mistake and it appeared the relevant District Court accepted the man's explanation for how that occurred.

In a later response to an "interim Garda vetting report" dated May 2016 enclosed by the immigration service (INIS), the solicitors confirmed certain other charges, including failure to produce a driving licence/learner permit, were struck out.

The man had produced the relevant documents but for some reason that was not recorded at the relevant Garda station, they said.

The solicitors also asked that another "unfortunate episode" arising from the man's brother having failed to renew an insurance policy due to an oversight, which was "immediately rectified", should not negatively affect the man's citizenship application.

In February 2018, the Minister, through the Director General of his department, refused naturalisation because he was not satisfied of the man's "good character".

The decision referred to an INIS submission concerning the application which referred to motoring offences and described the man as having "a history of non-compliance" with the laws of the State.

After the High Court dismissed the man's challenge to the refusal, he appealed

Allowing the appeal, Mr Justice Haughton said he was not satisfied the Minister, before refusing naturalisation, had considered and weighed all relevant considerations, including the man's explanations for the motoring offences.

The High Court erred in finding there was "no reason to believe" the complete application file, including submissions made by or on behalf of the man, were considered by the Minister, he said.

The COA was left with the impression the file presented to the Director General, with the INIS submission and a Garda report on top, were the only documents and information considered before the decision was made, he said.

The refusal decision should also be quashed because the Minister failed in all the circumstances to give reasons for it, and in particular, failed to express his rationale for deciding the "nature of the offences" meant the man was not of good character, he ruled.
The nationwide lockdown has not permanently derailed India's growth trajectory, according to JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal.

"It (India) will continue to see a long-term structural growth, which will drive demand for steel to support industrialisation, infrastructure-build and urbanisation," Jindal said as per a report by Hindu BusinessLine.

India is currently in a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown has forced many offices and factories to halt operations to maintain social distancing.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the COVID-19 pandemic

According to Jindal, the second half of the year might see strong demand.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

"The start of this fiscal has been turbulent globally, but I am optimistic and believe that the economy will be on a V-Shaped trajectory with a strong demand in the second half of this year," he said as per the report.

Jindal added that government policies should support infrastructure projects and provide stimuli packages for growth.

He also said there is strong export-driven demand for steel, particularly in South-East Asia, China and West Asia.

The JSW Group Chairman also spoke about the impact of the lockdown on migrant workers, and the consequent impact on businesses.

"As economic activity resumes, I believe a strong plan involving India Inc, the government and labour representatives will assure migrant workers of economic and personal safety," he said.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here
The Maharashtra government has decided to release on temporary parole 17,000 of the total 35,000 inmates lodged across jails in the state to contain the spread of the COVID-19, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Tuesday.

Of these, 5,000 undertrial inmates have already been released.

The governments decision comes close on the heels of 185 inmates at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai contracting the viral disease, Deshmukh said.

Earlier, a high-powered committee appointed by the Maharashtra government decided to temporarily release around 50 per cent of the total prisoners to decongest jails across the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a video message on Twitter, Deshmukh said, 185 inmates at the Arthur Road Jail contracted COVID-19. They are being treated at present.

The state government has now decided to release on temporary parole 17,000 of the 35,000 inmates in jails across Maharashtra to prevent spread of the disease in other jails.

He said that 5,000 undertrial inmates have already been released.

Deshmukh said 3,000 and 9,000 inmates -- imprisoned for up to seven years and above, respectively, will also be released.

He, however, clarified that those convicted in serious cases like that of rape, big financial and bank scams and under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), among others, will not be released.

The minister reiterated that the government has already "locked down" eight prisons where no entry or exit is being allowed till the coronavirus-induced curbs are in force.

Meanwhile, the government-appointed committee took the decision to temporarily release prisoners to decongest jails across the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The panel, while taking the decision on Monday, said prisoners convicted or booked on serious charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and stringent law provisions like the MCOCA, UAPA and PMLA will not be released on temporary bail or parole.

The committee, comprising Bombay High Court judge Justice A A Sayed, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Chahande and Maharashtra Director General Prisons S N Pandey, was set up after the Supreme Court in March called for decongestion of prisons across the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

The panel rejected a representation filed by advocate S B Talekar, claiming that the decision to not release prisoners charged or convicted under the special Acts was discriminatory and arbitrary.

It noted that the Supreme Court had left it to the absolute discretion of the committee to determine which class/category of prisoners can be released on temporary bail or parole, depending not only upon the severity of the offence but also the nature of the offence.

The committee said prisoners who are not entitled to temporary bail or parole will have to seek regular bail from the courts concerned.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 15:15:32

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PICKERING, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE:RFR)(OTC PINK:RFHRF)(WKN - A2H9TN) ("Renforth" or the "Company") is pleased to provide shareholders with a pit constrained gold Mineral Resource Estimate for Renforth's wholly owned New Alger Property, located on the Cadillac Break, in Cadillac, Quebec, contiguous to the historic O'Brien Mine and the LaRonde Mine. This Mineral Resource Estimate has been calculated by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, with an effective date of April 30th, 2020, using only assay data from between 2007 and the first hole (of four in that program) drilled by Renforth at New Alger earlier this year. Renforth has in its possession all the core from 2007 to date."Delivering this pit constrained Mineral Resource Estimate for our wholly owned New Alger Gold property to Renforth's shareholders is again done with a great deal of satisfaction. Renforth is pleased to now have updated pit constrained Mineral Resource Estimates in place at both New Alger and Parbec. With these in place Renforth has established a new level, one which we will build on, at our pace. We look forward to resuming work on our New Alger property, with our efforts focused on a mini-bulk sample from the Discovery Veins" states Nicole Brewster, President and CEO of Renforth.New Alger 2020 Pit Constrained Mineral Resource EstimateThe engineered open pit geometry has a maximum depth of 215 m and a maximum length of 1,400 m, whereas mineralization at New Alger reaches a maximum depth of 416m and is present the length of the Cadillac Break on the Property, ~1.4km.Renforth can use the new 3D model generated with this Mineral Resource to plan future drilling at New Alger relative to the constraining pit shell.Assay composite results used, those obtained between 2007 and 2019, were capped at 15 g/t Au in this model. Renforth has determined that there is a nugget effect present at New Alger which could impact future development, capping of the composite grade within the constraining pit shell is a prudent and conservative approach.The Mineral Resource Estimate totals 62,600 oz of gold in 1,035,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.88 g/t Au in the Indicated classification and 188,000 oz of gold in 3,226,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.81 g/t Au in the Inferred classification as follows;New Alger Mineral Resource Estimate (1-6)AreaClassificationCut-off Au(g/t)Tonnes(k)Au(g/t)Au(koz)Pit ConstrainedIndicated0.321,0161.8861.5Inferred0.322,3221.65123.3Out-of-PitIndicated1.44191.811.1Inferred1.449042.2364.7TotalIndicated0.32 + 1.441,0351.8862.6Inferred0.32 + 1.443,2261.81188.01) Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.2) The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.3) The Mineral Resources in this report were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.4) Historically mined areas were depleted from the Mineral Resource model.5.) The pit constrained Au cut-off grade of 0.32 g/t Au was derived from US$1,450/oz Au price, 0.75 US$/C$ exchange rate, 95% process recovery, C$17/t process cost and C$2/t G&A cost. The constraining pit optimization parameters were C$2.50/t mineralized mining cost, $2/t waste mining cost, $1.50/t overburden mining cost and 50 degree pit slopes.6.) The out of pit Au cut-off grade of 1.44 g/t Au was derived from US$1,450/oz Au price, 0.75 US$/C$ exchange rate, 95% process recovery, C$66/t mining cost, C$17/t process cost and C$2/t G&A cost. The out of pit Mineral Resource grade blocks were quantified above the 1.44 g/t Au cut-off, below the constraining pit shell and within the constraining mineralized wireframes. Additionally, only groups of blocks that exhibited continuity and reasonable potential stope geometry were included. All orphaned blocks and narrow strings of blocks were excluded. The longhole stoping with backfill method was assumed for the out of pit Mineral Resource Estimate calculation.Renforth would like to offer readers of this press release an understanding of the meaning of the Indicated and the Inferred Mineral Resource classifications. In both instances the gold ounces stated are verified to the satisfaction of the Qualified Person who authored the Mineral Resource Estimate. The difference is the level of confidence the author of the Mineral Resource Estimate has regarding the likelihood of mining, as stated in bullet #2 above the level of confidence is lower in the Inferred classification than the Indicated, it is reasonable to expect that with some amount of additional exploration Inferred ounces can be mined, whereas the Indicated ounces do not require any additional exploration, in the opinion of the Qualified Person.New Alg
Rising temperature and death of at least 8 migrant workers in the past 20 days have driven Madhya Pradesh government to lift restrictions on the MP-Maharashtra border for labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, officials said.

The influx of migrant labourers, about 25,000 per day on an average, has caused worries to the administration. These labourers are covering hundreds of kilometres travelling or walking through the state up to the UP border. Screening such a large number of workers, including the elderly, women and children, is practically not possible, officials said. Hence, this is an immediate casualty but the administration cant stop them as they become aggressive leading to law and order problems, the officials added.

Also read: Migrant worker walking back to Bihar run over by SUV on Ambala highway, killed

Bijasan and Khetia on MP-Maharashtra border are two entry points for people coming from the Maharashtra side. However, more than 90% of labourers enter the state via Bijasan to get to the Agra-Mumbai highway.

Bijasan saw stone-pelting by agitated labourers when they were stopped by the local police on May 3. Many got injured, including at least three police personnel including a sub-inspector. Later, the police lodged an FIR against unidentified 400 migrant labourers for indulging in violence. There have been confrontations between the two sides several times in the past two weeks or so.

Bijasan temple trust and the district administration have arranged food and water for the labourers at the temple premises. The village panchayats, which are situated on either side of Agra-Mumbai highway, have been instructed to set up a tent and also arrange food and water for people travelling or trekking through their areas, the officials said.

An administrative official, who didnt want to be named, said, The restrictions were lifted as pressure was mounting with streams of labourers coming from Maharashtra side including labourers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana too. Whenever we try to stop them they become aggressive and there is a law and order problem. Its unmanageable when thousands of workers in trucks, mini trucks, loading auto, auto-rickshaws, bicycles and even on foot converge at the border.

The officer said, Another problem is when we try to stop the labourers they take different routes through the hilly areas and this result in dehydration and deaths in certain cases. Two labourers died on Saturday. In this scenario, proper screening of labourers for coronavirus is almost impossible. In the beginning, when we quarantined people they became aggressive and caused a lot of problems.

Sub-divisional magistrate at Sendhwa Ghanshyam Dhangar said, The major problem that we are facing is the health of labourers affected by dehydration. Eight people died during the past 20 days. Sendhwa has hilly areas. There is a large number of labourers who trek or pedal bicycles for hundreds of kilometres braving about 40 degree Celsius temperature in Maharashtra itself. By the time they reach the border here they get dehydrated. Its Ramzan time. There have been at least three deaths when labourers didnt have water the whole day and continued to walk or pedal bicycles. This led to dehydration and they died.

The SDM said, So far, we have arranged for labourers, who are walking, to be accommodated in trucks, buses and other vehicles carrying other labourers to Uttar Pradesh. But now we have decided to send such other states labourers in our buses to Dewas from where they would be taken to Guna and from there they would be taken to the UP border.

Superintendent of Police, Barwani district DR Teniwar said, For four to five days we have allowed entry of people given their huge number. About 25,000 people are coming every day.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan issued instructions to district collectors to extend all possible facilities to the labourers like food, water and stay, among others.

Chouhan instructed officials, While trying to understand with full sensitivity the problem of a large number of people travelling on foot, they should be welcomed as guests in the districts and necessary facilities should be provided to them. These kinds of opportunities of service come occasionally in the history of human civilisation. These helpless labourers of other states should be welcomed with an open heart in the heartland of the country.

However, unlike the MP-Maharashtra border, the MP-Gujarat border in Jhabua has not been witnessing an influx of people from Gujarat after more than 25,000 workers on Dahod side, who wanted the border to be opened, were forced by the Gujarat administration to get back to their places on the assurance that they would be sent back to their destinations in trains.

Collector, Jhabua district Prabal Sepaha said, None are coming from the Gujarat side now. As far as people of Madhya Pradesh are concerned, about 1.5 lakh labourers hailing from different parts of Madhya Pradesh have come so far.

However, an administrative official who didnt want to be named said, Still there are labourers, though not in a large number, who enter the district through agriculture fields to find their way to Uttar Pradesh via Shivpuri or Datia.

Collector, Shivpuri district Anugraha P said, About 5,000 people pass through the district on the highway to UP daily. The UP government opens its border at intervals to allow the labourers to enter the state.

Those who are coming from Maharashtra take different routes to UP. While a section of them head to UP via Shivpuri and Datia close to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. There are groups of workers who prefer entering Uttar Pradesh via Sagar, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh districts in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.

Superintendent of Police, Chhatarpur district Kumar Saurabh said, We have made all the arrangements for labourers like food and water. We send those labourers who are walking in buses up to the UP border.

(With input from Anupam Pateriya in Sagar)
Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrested a South Dakota man after a pursuit Sunday in Keith County.

About 2:15 p.m. MDT Sunday, a trooper saw a BMW speeding near mile marker 132 on Interstate 80. The trooper stopped the vehicle, but the driver provided a fake name, according to a press release from the patrol. As the trooper was attempting to verify the drivers identity, the driver accelerated and fled at high speed. The trooper initiated a pursuit, but lost sight of the vehicle as it fled south of Ogallala.

A short time later, an Ogallala police officer located the vehicle and initiated a pursuit, which traveled on county roads and eventually returned to I-80 eastbound. As the pursuit reached I-80, the State Patrol took over as primary in the pursuit. The BMW reached speeds of up to 120 mph, both on I-80 and on county roads.

About 3:45 p.m. MDT, the driver stopped near mile marker 131. The driver, a 20-year-old Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man, was quickly taken into custody without further incident.

The man was jailed in Keith County on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, no operators license, willful reckless driving, criminal impersonation, and possession of marijuana  less than one ounce.
Fake: Centre has not designated Guwahati as a red zone

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: There is a claim on the social media that the Ministry of Home Affairs has decreed Guwahati as a red zone.

The message says that MHA has declared Guwahati as a red zone. The state government has not issued any official statement as yet though, the message further states.

Fake: Central Govt employees not to face pay cut of 30 per cent

However, this claim is fake as there are no red zone districts in Assam as of now. Further, it is the Ministry of Health Affairs that decides on the zones and not the Ministry of Home Affairs.

During last week's briefing, the Health Ministry had said that it was coordinating with the states on the re-classification of zones. The new list would out soon, the ministry had also said. Moreover, during the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers on Monday, there was an appeal made by some of the CMs to let states decide on the zones. The Centre is yet to take a call on the same.
Collaboration has been critical in our successful strategy to address the coronavirus and keep Iowans healthy. At the start of the health crisis, our systems came together to advise elected leaders with on-the-ground intelligence and response plans. This work includes sharing of predictive modeling, consistent regional surge planning to increase our capacity, working regionally to resume elective procedures, and sharing needed supplies like ventilators.

In addition to collaborating regularly to determine supply chain constraints, we are innovating and joining forces on projects to defeat the virus. Our health systems collaborated with the Iowa Department of Public Health as well as local emergency management teams to create regional plans to meet the need of an anticipated increase of COVID-19 patients and are continuing to work together to monitor and implement strategies to meet the needs of the communities. UnityPoint Health partnered with the University of Iowa's Protostudios engineers to mass produce face shields. In Central Iowa, MercyOne, UnityPoint Health and Polk County Public Health collaborate on a regular basis to help ensure their communities are informed. University of Iowa Health Care serves as triage location for high-risk patients from our hospitals and is working on potential COVID-19 treatments. We've held a joint state legislative town hall to address Iowans' questions, and we are in frequent, unified communication with local, state and federal officials.
Weather Alert

.An arctic cold front will move across the region on Wednesday, causing rain to change to snow Wednesday afternoon and evening. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of one to two inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southern Illinois. * WHEN...From 4 PM Wednesday to 6 AM CST Thursday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute, especially along the Ohio River. The transition from rain to a wintry mix and snow may not occur closer to the Tennessee border areas until after 7 PM CST. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The combination of gusty winds, falling temperatures and wind chills, and falling snow will cause hazardous travel. Freezing of residual moisture on roads from rain earlier Wednesday could also cause some icing of roadways. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. &&
District attorneys in New York City are vowing not to prosecute social distancing arrests, neutering the NYPD's effort to crack down on crowds that refuse to disperse.

Prosecutors in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens each announced their decision after a week of violent confrontations between cops and New Yorkers - and following the publications of statistics showing the enforcement is disproportionately affecting minorities.

Staten Island has no pending arrests, and the local district attorney has not said how he will handle potential cases.

'Nobody wants a health crisis to fuel a criminal justice crisis,' said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. She said she respects the challenges officers face with policing during the pandemic, but added, 'We are committed to nondiscriminatory and even-handed enforcement' of the laws.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark was more blunt in an interview with CBS 2 New York, arguing 'Why should somebody get a criminal record for this?'

District attorneys in New York City boroughs Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens are vowing to not prosecute social distancing arrests

This comes after a week of violent confrontations between cops and New Yorkers have been caught on video

Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the district attorneys' decisions not to prosecute means officers are wasting their time enforcing social distancing and should stand down.

'There is absolutely no reason for police officers to be involved in social distancing enforcement, especially if district attorneys won't prosecute these cases,' Lynch told DailyMail.com. 'We're not just wasting our time we're unnecessarily jeopardizing our health and careers. The NYPD brass has to stop this charade and let cops focus on our core public safety mission,' Lynch said.

However, there are some indications police have already begun easing up on enforcement.

The mayor's office and NYPD did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Late Monday, the NYPD released figures showing that just 10 summonses were issued the previous day. No new arrests were announced.

Last week, the NYPD released figures showing that between March 16 and May 5, police issued nearly 400 summonses for social-distancing violations. At least 120 people were arrested during the same period.

After the district attorneys declared they would not prosecute these cases, the NYPD on Tuesday claimed the arrests were 'not social distancing arrests,' but were merely 'COVID-19 related' and involved offenses such as resisting arrest, drug possession and altercations caused by jumping a line while waiting to enter a supermarket.

'The crimes are characterized as COVID-19 related due to the circumstances of occurrence, remarks made by the arrestee at the time of the alleged crime or afterward, or statements made by a victim,' the NYPD stated.

The department also released updated statistics Tuesday stating there have been a total of 125 arrests through May 10. The racial breakdown was 66.4% black, 24% Hispanic, 7.2% white and 2.4% Asian.

The mayor was asked about the summonses during a press conference on Tuesday. He called it 'a very small number of summonses in the course of the core of this crisis,' and said that going forward, 'We would love them to be used very sparingly.'

He did not address whether the NYPD would continue to make the arrests.

Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the district attorneys' decisions not to prosecute means officers are wasting their time enforcing social distancing and should stand down

Enforcement efforts increased late last month after thousands of people gathered for the funeral of a rabbi in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Several violent confrontations followed and videos of the encounters went viral on social media, showing cops struggling with crowds in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan

Enforcement efforts increased late last month after thousands of people gathered for the funeral of a rabbi in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Mayor Bill de Blasio angrily denounced the gathering and called for the NYPD to start issuing summonses and even arrest people who don't follow orders to disperse.

Several violent confrontations followed and videos of the encounters went viral on social media, showing cops struggling with crowds in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan.

Following demands from politicians and community activists, police released figures late last week revealing that nearly 68% of those arrested were black, 24% were Latino and just under 7% were white.

Of the 374 summonses, 52% were given to black people and 30% to Latinos.

The mayor called those statistics an indication that 'something's wrong we need to fix,' and said the enforcement protocol needs to be clarified. He also said the city will more than double the number of civilian 'social distancing ambassadors' to do community outreach.

But he said NYPD enforcement will still be needed.
No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Vietnam on Sunday afternoon, marking 24 days without community transmission in the country, according to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Doctors from four leading hospitals across Viet Nam attended the consultation meeting Sunday morning.  Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

The countrys tally remains at 288, 148 out of which were imported cases that have been quarantined upon arrival.

A total of 11,130 people, who either returned from abroad or have come into close contact with confirmed cases, are being quarantined and have their health closely observed.

A total of 241 patients have recovered, six patients have tested negative once for SARS-CoV-2, while another 14 cases tested negative more than twice for the virus.

Vietnam continues to record no deaths from COVID-19 since the first case was reported in the country on January 23.

Meanwhile, a British pilot remains in critical condition while leading Vietnamese doctors from top hospitals in the country held a telemedicine conference on Sunday morning to find optimal ways to conduct a lung transplant for the patient.

The 43-year-old male patient remains the most difficult COVID-19 case in Viet Nam, with a complicated disease progression since he was hospitalised in mid-March at HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. He tested negative for the coronavirus many times during treatment duration only to relapse again a few days later.

The doctors noted that the patient is 1.83m tall and weighs 100kg, resulting in a body mass index (BMI) of 30.1, i.e. slightly obese, which might be a considerable risk factor for severe COVID-19 according to international studies.

The patient constantly suffers from high fever, respiratory problems, and recently, serious blood clots and multiple organ failures due to "cytokine storm" syndrome  an over-reactive immune response where the immune system starts attacking even healthy cells and organs besides the infected part.

The patient was also resistant to all of the coagulant drugs currently being used in the country, and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health had to order rare drugs from abroad for his treatment.

X-ray scans show extensive damage on both sides of the patients lungs.

During 53 days in treatment, he needed to be placed on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for 34 days and currently cannot breathe unassisted.

The latest nasal swab on Saturday morning showed the patient remained positive for SARS-CoV-2 after five consecutive tests were negative in previous days.

The telehealth conference drew the participation of leading Vietnamese doctors, including Professor Nguyen Gia Binh, an expert on intensive care, Professor Tran Binh Giang, director of Viet Nam-Germany Friendship Hospital, and Professor Nguyen Huu Uoc, an expert on heart and lung transplants also from the hospital.

Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, said that the professional consultation discussed the patients situation, set out criteria for an appropriate lung to be transplanted, and prepared for surgery as soon as the conditions are met.

Khue said that due to the patients weight, finding a suitable organ is not easy, as the difference between the height and weight of the donor and the recipient, or the size of the donated organ with the original counterpart should not exceed 20 per cent, not to mention immunity or other biochemical factors.

The Ministry of Health assigned the Viet Nam National Coordinating Centre for Human Organ Transplantation to act as the focal point for the whole transplant operation, acting in collaboration with 103 Hospital, 108 Hospital, and Viet Nam-Germany Hospital  medical facilities that have successfully performed lung transplants on either live or dead donors, as well as Cho Ray Hospital, HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Central Lung Hospital.

The patient is recommended by the experts to be moved to Cho Ray Hospital for further intensive care and potential transplant operation.

Khue told Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper that the Vietnamese Government is currently covering the treatment costs and will soon speak with the British embassy in Viet Nam on the issue.

The newspaper estimated that the treatment costs for the British pilot since the day of hospitalisation has now totalled nearly VN5 billion (US$216,400).

Regarding Patient 19, another critical case under treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ha Noi, the treatment subcommittee of the National Steering Committee said that the patient is being placed on non-invasive oxygen ventilator and shows encouraging signs of progress.

She is not suffering from fever, while blood pressure remains stable. She can converse well with doctors and nurses, can eat meals and drink water on her own.

Patient 19 is the one undergoing the longest treatment in Viet Nam since she was admitted to the hospital on March 3. During more than two months of treatment, her condition has at multiple times declined into a critical state. Medical reports said her cardiovascular activities nearly came to a complete halt three times and she needed to be put on ECMO for survival.

However, thanks to the frequent consultations from the leading doctors all over the country and the attentive care from the Tropical Hospitals medical staff, she has overcome the critical state and is well on the path to recovery.  VNS
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The CIS Council of Foreign Ministers is holding its session in a video conference mode, Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said on Facebook.

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus the session of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council is being held in a remote format, the spokesperson said.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19.

According to the data of the World Health Organization, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 212 countries and territories.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Identification cards for migrant farm workers issued by the local health unit have raised eyebrows in Haldimand-Norfolk, but the chief medical officer says theres nothing nefarious at play.

The card includes fields for the workers name, address and arrival date to Canada, along with their farm or employers name and phone number.

The workers photograph does not appear on the card.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said the ID cards are not mandatory and are meant as a convenient form of alternate identification.

These identification cards are not filled out by public health staff. Theyre filled out by the migrant worker themselves, or the farmer, Nesathurai said. Theyre voluntary. Theyre in no way required.

He said some workers might prefer to carry a small ID card around instead of their passport, adding that the cards could be especially useful in case of emergency for workers who dont speak English and spend their two weeks of mandatory self-isolation off the farm.

Since the card includes their date of arrival, Nesathurai said it could also help workers keep track of their own 14-day quarantine period and allow health unit inspectors to easily verify that it has ended.

If the person doesnt speak English, they could perhaps present the card. I dont think it would be used in any other way, he said.

Farmer Dusty Zamecnik can think of one other way the ID cards could be used  to discriminate against Norfolks 4,500 migrant workers, who mostly hail from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico.

We have a massive human rights issue on our hands (in terms) of profiling, Zamecnik said.

If Im a person of colour walking in Simcoe, youre telling me a bylaw officer can ask, Can I see your card? What if Ive been living here for 20 years?

Nesathurai downplayed the potential for racial profiling.

I dont think that will be the case. All were trying to do is provide support for migrant farm workers in every way we can, he said.

We at the public health service are particularly sensitive to issues of stigma, and we do our very best to minimize stigma to all populations we serve. People who come as migrant workers are entitled to all the civil liberties and rights of every other person who lives in this district.

The health unit did not consult with Norfolk OPP regarding the ID cards, Nesathurai confirmed. He noted that by provincial statute during the pandemic, everyone has to identify themselves if asked by a bylaw official or police officer, so the ID card is one way to do that.

However, he stressed that migrant workers are under no obligation to carry it.

The ID card issue is set against an ongoing dispute between the health unit and some local farmers who are chafing against what they see as Nesathurais heavy-handed response to the pandemic.

Zamecnik, who chairs Norfolks agricultural advisory board, said issuing the ID cards implies that the health unit doesnt trust farmers to ensure their workers respect the quarantine period upon arrival to Canada.

Effectively, theyre assuming that farmers are guilty until proven innocent, Zamecnik said. That were not listening to federal, provincial and municipal quarantine acts. That were not doing our part. And that we dont care about our communitys health, our neighbours health, and our own. It doesnt add up.

Zamecnik said he has no plans to give ID cards to the migrant workers at his Langton berry farm.

I really love outdoor cooking and I will be starting my fire with these cards, he said.
HARTFORD  Gov. Ned Lamont has issued an executive order on ballot access that reduces the number of signatures needed to primary in a state, district or municipal office, extends the time to file them by two days and allows electronic signatures.

The Libertarian Party has brought a suit in federal court and New Haven attorney Alex Taubes has also filed one that would make it easier for himself and Jason Bartlett to get into the primary for the two state Senate seats in New Haven, while also benefitting other potential candidates seeking an office.

Taubes, after reviewing the executive order, said it doesnt do enough. He had an appointment to talk with the attorney generals office later on Monday and would possibly update his suit on Tuesday.

The Libertarian Party has asked that more than 20 of its candidates be put on the November election ballot without requiring signatures.

The executive order by Lamont would change the rules given the dangers of door-to-door petitioning in the middle of a pandemic when people are told to stay home and practice social distancing.

Currently, a primary petitioner must submit signatures equal to 5 percent of the enrolled party members in a town or district. That would be cut by 30 percent. Taubes had asked for an 80 percent cut.

Also, while a candidate currently has from May 26 to June 9 to file, the executive order extends that to June 11. Taubes has proposed changing the two-week window to June 9 to July 15.

Signatures will not need the attestation of the circulator if the registered voter signs a petition containing only his or her signature, sends it to the candidate and then to the town clerk or secretary of the state; or sends a signature scanned or photographed electronically, along with the copy of the email, to the town clerk or secretary of the state. The voter would need to attest to his or her identity and qualification as a voter and put his signature on it.

The order says:

Now, therefore, I, Ned Lamont, Governor of the State of Connecticut, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Connecticut, do hereby Order And Direct for purposes of primary and general elections conducted in 2020:

1. Changes to the Petitioning Process for Ballot Access for Petitioning Candidates and Candidates Petitioning Under Party Designation under sections 9-453 to 9453u. For candidates seeking ballot access as a petitioning candidate or a candidate petitioning using a party designation, including a party designation for an existing minor party, the following provisions shall apply:

a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-453d of the General Statutes, the number of signatures required under section 9-453d of the General Statutes shall be reduced by thirty percent.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-453i, the deadline for filing such petitions shall be extended by two days.

c. Notwithstanding sections 9-453a to 9-453o of the General Statutes, a petitioning signature shall be accepted as valid without attestation of the circulator or acknowledgment otherwise required if: (i) a registered voter signs a petition containing only his or her signature that is returned by U.S. mail to the candidate and later to the town clerk of the municipality or the Secretary of the State by the applicable deadline, or (ii) a registered voter signs a petition containing only his or her signature, which signature may be scanned or photographed electronically, and returned to the candidate by electronic mail and later to the town clerk of the municipality or the Secretary of the State by the applicable deadline along with a copy of the email demonstrating the electronic transmission of the petition by the registered voter. Any petition submitted in accordance with subdivisions (i) or (ii) of this subsection shall contain the information required under sections 9-453a, 9-453f and 9-453g of the General Statutes and shall include a statement by the registered voter attesting to his or her identity, and qualification as an elector and shall be signed under the penalties of false statement. If more than one signature is on a petition page, all the requirements of 9-453a to 9-453o of the General Statutes must be satisfied, provided that any existing Executive Orders governing remote notarizations may be utilized. Nothing in this Order shall preclude petitioning by any other means set forth in section 9-453a to 9-453o of the General Statutes.

2. Changes to the Petitioning Process for Ballot Access for Major Parties. For a candidate for nomination of a political party to a state, district, or municipal office who has filed a single candidate committee statement under section 9-604(a) of the General Statutes or a certification under 9-604(b) of the General Statutes with the State Elections Enforcement Commission by 4:00 p.m. on May 26, 2020:

a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9-400 and 9-406 of the General Statutes, the number of signatures obtained by circulated petition otherwise required of a candidate for nomination by a political party to a state, district or municipal office shall be reduced by thirty percent.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9-400, 9-404a, and 9-409 of the General Statutes, the deadline for filing such petitions shall be extended by two days.

c. Notwithstanding sections 9-404b and 9-410 of the General Statutes, a petitioning signature shall be accepted as valid without attestation of the circulator or acknowledgment otherwise required by sections 9-404b and 9410 of the General Statutes if: (i) an enrolled party member signs a petition containing only his or her signature that is mailed by U.S. mail to the candidate and later to the registrar of the municipality by the applicable deadline; or (ii) an enrolled party member signs a petition containing only his or her signature, which signature may be scanned or photographed electronically and sent by electronic mail to the candidate and later to the registrar of the municipality by the applicable deadline along with a copy of the email demonstrating the electronic transmission of the petition by the enrolled party member. Any petition submitted in accordance with subdivisions (i) or (ii) of this subsection shall contain the information required under sections 9-404a through 9-404c, and 9-406, 9-409 and 9-410 of the General Statutes and shall include a statement by the enrolled party member attesting to his or her identity, qualification as an elector and enrolled party member and shall be signed under the penalties of false statement. If more than one signature is on a petition page, all the requirements of sections 9-404b and 9-410 of the General Statutes must be satisfied, provided that any existing Executive Orders governing remote notarizations may be utilized. Nothing in this Order shall preclude petitioning by any other means set forth in sections 9-404a through 9-404c of the General Statutes.

Unless otherwise specified herein, this order shall take effect immediately and remain in effect for the duration of the public health and civil preparedness emergency, unless earlier modified, extended or terminated. Dated at Hartford, Connecticut, this 11th day of May, 2020.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com
[May 12, 2020] COVID-19 Sterilizing Violeds Technology Succeeded in Perfect Clean Washing with Removing Odors and Sterilizing

Seoul Viosys (KOSDAQ: 092190), the world's first compound semiconductor for short wavelength solutions provider, announced that products with Violeds technology for perfectly clean laundry have been mass-produced and supplied to both Chinese two major makers, Hisense (News - Alert) and Haier, which lead household washing machine products. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005367/en/ (Left) Laundry tank from below (Right) Germs found in washing machines (Graphic: Business Wire) The level of contamination in the washing machine is approximately five times higher than in the toilet. The laundry tank, is something we can pass by without knowing, that is invisible from the outside. However, after washing, the water in the gap remains with foreign substances, which in turn causes odors, various germs and molds in the washing machine to breed. The two companies that lead washing machine technology in China solved the problem of laundry tank steriization and deodorization by applying Violeds technology from Seoul Viosys. With high satisfaction, it will be expanded from high-end to low-end models.



Violeds technology, which is an optical semiconductor, is new concept of clean technology developed by Seoul Viosys since 2005 with SETi in the U.S. It is the Seoul Viosys' 4,000 patented technology brands that prevent bacteria from occurring and proliferating with photons. More than 1,000 patents for application of Violeds have been secured and verified, and the company has succeeded in extending its life span to 50,000 hours. The company has started to supply air conditioner for air purification and water sterilization products such as water supply and water purifiers. Meanwhile, Seoul Viosys obtained results from a research center at Korea University last month that Violeds technology sterilizes the coronavirus 99.9 percent. Seoul Viosys will launch a portable personal product within this month to prevent transmission through the air and the spread of viruses on various surfaces, including facial masks and will provide temporarily with its own brand until corona situation is resolved so that it can be used to quickly save people from the pandemics of world.

Executive vice president Chae Hon Kim, who leads the UV business at Seoul Viosys, said "There have been many difficulties in developing and mass-producing ultraviolet semiconductor UV LEDs for the first time in the world. We have been working with SETi, a U.S. venture company, since 2005, and we are happy that developed as a technology even to sterilize COVID-19 to help the world." About Seoul Viosys Seoul Viosys is a full-line solution provider for UV LED, VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), the next-generation light source for 3D sensor and laser, and a single-pixel RGB "Micro Clean Pixel" for displays. Established in 2002 as a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor, it captured No. 1 market share in the UV LED industry (LEDinside, 2018). Seoul Viosys has an extensive UV LED portfolio with all wavelengths range (200nm to 1600nm) including ultraviolet rays (UV), visible rays and infrared rays. It holds more than 4,000 patents related to UV LED technology. Violeds, its flagship UV LED technology, provides a wide range of industries with optimal solutions for strong sterilization and disinfection (UVC), skin regeneration (UVB), water/air purification and effective cultivation for horticulture. In 2018, Seoul Viosys acquired RayCan, a leading optoelectronic specialist, to add the advanced VCSEL technology which supports smartphone facial recognition and autonomous driving, and has started its mass production. In January 2020, it introduced a disruptive "Micro Clean Pixel" that has the potential to be a game-changer in the display market. To learn more, visit http://www.seoulviosys.com/en/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005367/en/

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Predictmedix Bolsters its Advisory Board with Key Technology Director Kapil Raval

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Predictmedix Inc. (CSE:PMED) (OTCQB:PMEDF) ("Predictmedix" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Kapil Raval as the Chairman of the Advisory Board. Kapil is currently a director at Microsoft, driving Business Development for AI solutions for different industries globally. Kapil will chair the Advisory Board and will provide guidance to the company on AI technology development and deployment along with business development.

"I am delighted to join an amazingly talented team at Predictmedix. The most interesting part is that Predictmedix focuses on AI solutions to problems that matter to all of us.", said Kapil Raval.

"It is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Kapil Raval as the chairman to the Advisory Board of Predictmedix. Kapil's experience, technical expertise, understanding of the AI markets, and business development strategy, make him an ideal person to provide guidance to the Company's team; adding strength to our organization and the future development of the Company. Kapil is a widely respected visionary and technology leader in AI. His insights and direction will be invaluable as we head into the next phase of our growth," noted Dr. Rahul Kushwah, COO of Predictmedix.

Kapil Raval is a Global Business Leader, with 25+ years of experience in the field of IT services and solutions. Kapil is currently a director at Microsoft, driving business development for AI solutions for different industries globally. Having worked for global organizations like Philips, DEC, Compaq and HPE and Microsoft in Americas, Middle East and APJ, Kapil brings understanding of global cultural and market nuances, passion for new technology, financial acumen, inventiveness and problem-solving skills with hands-on experience in strategy building, delivery, consultative sales, support, marketing, operations, account management, sales management, customer negotiations and P&L management. Continually focused and interested in emerging technologies, he likes to blog when time permits.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Kapil led a global sales team before successfully driving end-to-end business on a stable and predictable growth trajectory for a Telecom solutions business unit in Americas and APJ regions. Kapil also led turnaround of Consulting & Integration business for HP Canada, successfully transforming it and tripled its business in two years with 200% of target margin. As a Client Principal and then Client Business Manager, Kapil led a team of senior account managers, sales specialists and solution architects to rebuild relationships and grow HP product and services business at Bell. Kapil successfully set up from scratch Professional Services and Support services businesses in the Middle East, covering eleven countries, with special focus on Public Sector, Telecom and Finance verticals. Kapil also set up competency centers in India and China and turned them into self-funded units with favorable residual. Kapil's solution experience includes Systems Integration, Digital Transformation projects, Data Centre solutions, Security, Cloud Computing, CRM, Subscriber Data Management, Big-Data Analytics, IoT, Mediation, Policy Management, SaaS, Virtualization and custom support solutions.

For more details on this release please click on the following video interview;

https://youtu.be/9anA6m0PdXE

About Predictmedix Inc.

Predictmedix Inc. is an artificial intelligence ("AI") company developing disruptive tools for impairment testing and healthcare. It is intended that the Company's cannabis and alcohol impairment detection tools will be used across various workplaces and by law enforcement agents. Its technology uses facial and voice recognition to identify both cannabis and alcohol impairment by utilizing multiple features along with numerous different data points. Testing does not require any body fluids or human intervention, thereby helping to remove human error and the potential for discrimination and prejudice. The Company has partnered with Tech Mahindra and Hindalco to help expedite the launch of its impairment technology, as well as the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology.

The Company is also developing AI based screening for the healthcare industry. The recent advent of COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented stress on the global economy and highlights the need for tools to help screen mass populations for infectious diseases, with the hope of preventing pandemics in the future. In turn, Predictmedix Inc. is expanding its proprietary AI technology to screen for infectious diseases such as influenza and coronaviruses (COVID-19). Our current partners along with advisory board members have played a key role in gathering data pertaining to COVID-19, which has allowed us to develop a predictive mass screening tool for COVID-19. The technology is for mass screening and is to be used to predict and identify individuals who have the highest likelihood of being infected with COVID-19.

Additionally, psychiatric disorders such as depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease can carry a significant burden and early identification is the key to better management. To help address this, the Company is also expanding its proprietary AI technology to screen for psychiatric and/or brain disorders such as depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. To find out more visit us at www.predictmedix.com

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Rahul Kushwah, Chief Operating Officer

Tel: 647 889-6916

Email: rahul@predictmedix.com

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED NOR DOES IT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results of the Company. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. We assume no responsibility to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The Company's securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulations under the U.S. Securities Act, absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein, such as, but not limited to dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; the ability to obtain intellectual property rights related to its technology; limited operating history; general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties, and in particular, uncertainties related to COVID-19; risks related to factors beyond the control of the company, including risks related to COVID-19; risks related to the Company's shares, including price volatility due to events that may or may not be within such party's control; reliance on management; and the emergency of additional competitors in the industry.

All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

SOURCE: PredictMedix Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589442/Predictmedix-Inc-Announces-Appointment-of-Microsoft-Director-of-Business-Development-for-AI-Solutions-as-the-Chairman-of-the-Advisory-Board
100 Years Ago  1920: C.L. Gilliland, treasurer of the Aberfoyle Manufacturing Company, writes to the Times under date of yesterday as follows: Editors Chester Times: Gentlemen: I subscribe most heartily to the resolution referred to in your issue of today, endorsing Gov. William C. Sproul for the nomination for President of the United States. The recent attack on the private life of Gov. Sproul has emanated from such a source that I am positive the effect will be the opposite of that intended.

75 Years Ago  1945: Chesters only official observance of V-E Day will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, when men and women of all churches and creeds will gather at the Pennsylvania Military College Stadium to pay homage to the men who brought that victory. The attendance of churches congregations will be urged Sunday morning by many clergymen throughout the city. Among them, Rabbi Naphtali Frishberg has already sent out notices to his parishioners that the synagogues special V-E Day service on Sunday, starting at 4 p.m., will conclude promptly at 5 p.m. in order to give the members an opportunity to reach the stadium in time.

50 Years Ago  1970: The Chester Education Association gave its president and negotiating team Monday the power to call a strike against the school district Friday. CEA President William J. Dodds told the membership the negotiating team would make one more attempt to resume stalled talks with the school board. About 350 teachers who thronged to PMC Colleges Alumni Auditorium unanimously sanctioned the action outlined by Dodds to take strong action and call the Friday strike if bargaining does not resume by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

25 Years Ago  1995: The state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has named a Pittsburgh consulting firm Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott is charged with coming up with a plan for Chesters financial recovery, according to DCA Secretary William C. Bostic. DCA spokesman Fred Reddig said the key reason Chester was declared financial distressed was a five-year trend of deficits, culminating in a $4.5 million deficit at the end of last year.

10 Years Ago  2010: At a special meeting last week, Aldan Borough Council unanimously approved a five-year lease agreement between the borough and Aldan Swim Club Inc. The borough purchased the 7.7-acre swim club property on North Elm Avenue in March for an agreed-upon $290,000 to save it from development. Its one of the last remaining large tracts of open land in Aldan. Acquisition gives the borough control over the property, should the swim club sink in the future.

 COLIN AINSWORTH
Businesses could be allowed to trade on the Gold Coast's iconic beaches as part of an ambitious plan to give the region an economic boost during the coronavirus crisis.

Destination Gold Coast Chairman Paul Donovan said he wanted the region to 're-engineer' itself and emulate the commercialised nature of beaches in Bali, which offer massages and souvenirs to tourists.

'My view is  and it upsets people  we need to have commercialisation of the beaches like Bali,' he told reporters on Monday.

The move could mean sunbeds are made available for hire and DJ booths set up to entertain revellers.

Former Bachelor star Noni Janur sits on a sun lounger on a Bali beach. The Gold Coast's beaches could soon be commercialised like those on the Indonesian island under new plans

Revellers at Finns Beach Club in Bali. DJ booths and sunbeds could be brought to Gold Coast beaches but the region's mayor said any plan would need to have 'class'

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said opening up beaches to traders could work, but would need to have 'class and good service'.

'I don't want to be lying there and someone comes up, like in Bali, going "massage, massage,'' he said on Tuesday.

Cr Tate suggested working with the city's Star Casino to improve services on the beach strip.

'I'm happy to work with them to see if we can do commercialisation on the beach-side there so you can have your services, you can have your umbrella,' he said.

'It's away from other people but it's still open to the public.'

Mr Donovan also suggested The Spit - the northern end of Main Beach which overlooks the Gold Coast skyline - could be turned into a restaurant hub.

Pictured: View of the Gold Coast's famous long beaches. The region's mayor said any commercialisation on the beach would need to have 'class and good service'

An open seating area in Bali. Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate suggested working with the city's Star Casino to improve services on the beach strip

Beachgoers lie on an almost deserted beach at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast on April 7. Tourism chiefs hope the plan could boost the region during the coronavirus crisis

He added the Gold Coast region should be opening up its big walks, like Tasmania and New Zealand have done.

He bemoaned the amount of time it has taken in the past to achieve any progress on environmentally-focused tourism developments.

He said he had spent years pushing projects like a forest cable-way up to Springbrook.

'I've got a finite term in my life to keep pushing this stuff, but I won't stop because it's important.'
Cardston, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - American Creek Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AMK) ("the Corporation") ("American Creek") today announced that it has executed an agreement with Tudor Gold Corp. ("Tudor") whereby Tudor is buying out the Corporation's 40% interest in the Electrum Project Joint Venture located near Stewart, British Columbia.

Tudor will pay American Creek $250,000 cash and issue 1,400,000 Tudor shares upon the transaction closing. The shares are subject to a standard four month hold period and a voluntary eight month hold as well.

This transaction is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Darren Blaney, American Creek CEO stated: "We think this transaction makes sense for American Creek and its shareholders as we are trading a minority interest in the Electrum property for non-dilutive operating cash as well as a substantial share position in Tudor which gives us more exposure to the upcoming Treaty Creek developments which we believe will be very significant."

About American Creek

American Creek holds a strong portfolio of gold and silver properties in British Columbia.

Three of those properties are located in the prolific "Golden Triangle"; the Treaty Creek and Electrum joint venture projects with Tudor (Walter Storm) as well as the 100% owned past producing Dunwell Mine.

The Corporation also holds the Gold Hill, Austruck-Bonanza, Ample Goldmax, Silver Side, and Glitter King properties located in other prospective areas of the province.

For further information please contact Kelvin Burton at: Phone: 403 752-4040 or Email: info@americancreek.com. Information relating to the Corporation is available on its website at www.americancreek.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55732
ZipLine today announced its compliance and affirmation with the Payment Card Industrys Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), the most thorough and stringent security standard in the payment card industry. As a PCI-DSS Level 1 Service Provider, ZipLine continues to provide its private label debit, mobile payment, rewards and gift card offerings in a way that maintains security of consumer information, reduces fraud and provides secure online services.

The PCI DSS standard governs best practices between vendors, the major card brands and financial clearinghouses, including MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express to name a few. There are 12 key requirements such as maintaining information security policies, securing networks and systems, maintaining a vulnerability management program, and implementation of strong access controls. In addition to the major card brands, these requirements are applied to ZipLine private label offerings as well.

ZipLine is a leading provider of mobile and private label debit transactions in the convenience industry with more than three million members that rely on the company to securely manage data on its payments and rewards platforms.

For years we have taken pride in our Security First posture, so this is not new. However, the official designation continues to fortify our position as a market leader in private label debit and mobile payment integration, said Stephen Goodrich, ZipLines CEO. Its a valuable, independent affirmation, as we remain dedicated to investing in our customers privacy and security.

ZipLine partnered with TrustNet, an authorized Qualified Security Assessor. TrustNet helps businesses build trusted relationships with their customers, partners, and employees by providing cybersecurity and compliance services. (http://www.trustnetinc.com)

Were proud to work with Zipline and play our part in assessing the security of their private label debit, rewards and mobile payment solutions, said Trevor Horwitz, Chief Information Security Officer at TrustNet.

Additional information about PCI-DSS can be found at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org.

About ZipLine

ZipLine helps merchants build consumer loyalty and market share with custom, private label debit and other payments, rewards, mobile technology and gift card programs. With a single platform for personalized rewards and merchant branded debit payments, ZipLines clients strengthen their consumer relationships while saving on interchange fees. ZipLines clients include top brands like Circle K, Speedway, Irving, Big Y, Lord + Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Chicos. The company has locations in Portland, Maine, and Deerfield Beach, Florida.
More Than 200 Pro-Democracy Protesters Arrested in Hong Kong

By VOA News May 11, 2020

More than 200 pro-democracy protesters were arrested in Hong Kong Sunday night after staging a sit-in at a shopping mall in the city's Mong Kok district.

Authorities say about 230 protesters between the ages of 12 and 65 were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, failure to produce proof of identity and various other violations.

The protest was one of several smaller demonstrations held in multiple shopping malls in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, with participants singing, chanting and holding signs in defiance of authorities after they were denied permission to hold a Mother's Day march.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray on the demonstrators to break up the protests.

Political tensions have escalated in Hong Kong after Beijing's top representative office in the city said it was not bound by a law that restricts interference by other mainland Chinese agencies.

In recent weeks, Hong Kong's law enforcement authorities arrested 15 pro-democracy activists, including Martin Lee, 81, a move the U.S. condemned.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Hong Kong was engulfed by several months of massive anti-government protests last year, initially sparked by a controversial extradition bill. The protests evolved into a demand for greater democracy.

Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the concept of "one country, two systems," since Britain handed the territory back to Beijijng in 1997. But many Hong Kongers fear that autonomy is steadily being eroded by a central government that is increasingly meddling in its affairs.

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Kurtis Whaley, 24, from Manly Vale from northern Sydney pretended to be a 16-year-old girl as he coerced boys

A catfisher who posed as a 16-year-old girl to get boys as young as eight to send him explicit photos has been jailed for six years and four months.

Kurtis Whaley, 24, from Manly Vale in Sydney's northern beaches, pretended to be a 16-year-old girl as he coerced boys aged from eight to 15 from June 2014 until his arrest in February 2019.

Whaley would screenshot temporary Snapchat and Instagram photos and record Skype and Omegle livestreams of the naked children aged eight to 15, collecting 700 videos and images of 49 victims.

He was jailed on Tuesday for nine years and six months with a non-parole period of six years and four months, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Judge Ian Bourke SC said Whaley enjoyed 'sadistic victimisation and the exercise of power' and that his actions were 'cruel and merciless'.

Whaley apologised in a letter to the court for the pain he caused his victims, claiming he was struggling to come to terms with his sexuality at the time.

'A lot of victims begged me not to do what I did  thinking back on it now it makes me feel sick,' he said.

'I am so ashamed that I have let my family down.

'I was not raised to be like this.'

He said he was open to rehabilitation after a doctor diagnosed him with sexual perversion, depression and anxiety.

Whaley would go under the name of Beth and ignored the pleas from his victims to leave them alone.

He would threaten to expose their nude photos and videos if they didn't comply with his demands, Crown prosecutor Sophie Callan said last week.

He was jailed on Tuesday for nine years and six months with a non-parole period of six years and four months

Whaley would threaten to expose their nude photos and videos to their photos if they didn't comply with his demands

The friend of a 13-year-old victim messaged Whaley on Instagram after receiving a nude picture pointing out that he didn't appear 'concerned about becoming a sex offender or going to jail for, like, five years'

Whaley sent explicit images of a boy to the victim's mother and nine-year-old sister, court documents read.

In the texts revealed in court, Whaley would say if they didn't comply it 'will only make things worse'.

In another set of texts a victim's father told Whaley to 'f*** off' and that he'd notified police.

Whaley brushed off the threat and replied, 'that's what you said last time' and that they will 'soon see that I'm not joking'.

Some of the victims would also attempt to stand up for themselves pointing out that Whaley would be a sex offender if he didn't leave them alone.

The friend of a 13-year-old victim messaged Whaley on Instagram after receiving a nude picture pointing out that he didn't appear 'concerned about becoming a sex offender or going to jail for, like, five years'.

'Mate I've been doing this long enough. What can the police do? Honestly,' Whaley replied.

Another one of his victims asked Whaley, 'why are you doing this?' to which he responded, 'because I can'.

Whaley pleaded guilty in January.
Chennai, May 12 : The unique Arumbavur wood carving on Tuesday was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, said a senior official of Geographical Indications Registry.

"The Arumbavur wood carving was awarded the GI tags," Chinnaraja G Naidu, Deputy Registrar, Geographical Indications told IANS.

Arumbavur is part of Perambalur District in Tamil Nadu.

The application for GI was made by the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (Poompuhar), Arumbavur Wood Carvers' Handicrafts lndustrial Cooperative Society Ltd, and the Arumbavur Temple Car and Woodcarving Artisans Welfare Society.

As per the filing with the registry, the Arumbavur wood carvings are primarily made out of the wooden logs of Indian siris (Poo Vaagai, Albizia lebbeck), Mango (Mangifera indica), Lingam tree (Mavilangam), Indian Ash fiee (Othiyan - Odina wodier), Rosewood, Neem tree (Vembu - Azadirachta indica) are used for making sculptures.

The unique aspect of the Arambavur wood carvings is that it is often inspired by architectural details on temple sculptures and carvings.

The dimensions of the wood blocks used depend on the wooden sculpture to be carved.

The descriptions and designs which inspire the work lie in temple architecture indigenous to the region. Usually, the statues are crafted at a size range from 1 to 12 feet.

The art form also draws inspiration from mythology and mythical deities.

Presently, the Arumbavur wood carvings revolve around idols and deities, temple chariots and temple cars, door panels of houses, pooja rooms and temples, decorative figures, pooja mandapam.

Arumbavur is famous for its wood carving tradition which is of a religious nature and its community of wood carvers have their origin in Madurai.

The artisans (predominantly the Boyar community) used to go to the particular place where the temple car has to be made and stay in that temple for a period of upto four years and complete the work.

Then they migrate to another place, where a new temple car has to be made. Like this, artisans led the nomad life and later a cluster of people settled in Arumbavur around 250 years ago and did temple cars, other wooden statues, house utility products, carpentry works, the filing said.
D-Day Through the Eyes of a Nine-Year Old Blounts Creek Patriot

The impressions of our youth are indelibly branded in our hearts and minds. As I think of June 6, 1944 (D Day) it always seems that it was my war. I was nine years old. My world had been one of listening to the radio since the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor broke into "Jack Armstrong, The All American Boy" as I sat in my daddy's chair with my pajamas on. I could not fully understand at that moment how big this was but I have never forgotten the feeling and the very moment that I heard the announcement.



Our family owned a general store in Blount's Creek that sold everything from groceries to horse collars. The Army asked to put an Air Plane Observation Post in our front yard and my Dad without hesitation said, yes.



From then on I played Army instead of Cowboys and learned to identify airplanes by their silhouette. Soldiers came on a regular basis and I thought I was enlisted.



Sugar, Gas, Tires, Shoes and Lard were rationed and you needed a coupon to buy them. Products came in bulk and my job in the store was to weigh beans and paddle lard into smaller containers. We got up early and stayed open late.



Some people did not have transportation and because of rationing travel was difficult. My Granddaddy came up with idea of going house to house with groceries and supplies in a covered truck. It became "Latham's Store at Your Door" which turned out to be a blessing for many older people and families left behind. I guess he learned to improvise before the Marines did.



My buddies and I bought ten cent saving stamps and saved tin-foil for the war effort. Our news came in the movies from news-reels and the Red Cross would pass around a box for donations after the showing. Once they showed scenes from the Bataan Death March. I had saved seventeen dollars. It was all the money that I had. It went into the box.



We had one of the few telephones for about a 10 mile radius because of the observation post. Many of the boys from our community gave that phone number when they filled out their personal information. If they were reported missing in action or dead my mother would get the phone call from Western Union in Washington ahead of the paper copy the next day. She would go to the families and deliver the message. Sometimes she stayed with them all night.



I watched young men leave for war that I had seen come into our store and saw some of the fellows that worked for us drafted into service. Some did not come back. Some came back leaving part of their bodies in battle.



I hated the enemy.



We did not have anti war demonstrations in Blounts Creek. We wrote letters, sent Christmas Cards, sold war bonds, mailed care packages, conserved our resources, went to church and prayed for those in harm's way. We were all Americans and we were at war.



I grieve for those lost but I thank God for the patriotism that this experience instilled into my very being.


Charleston's top tourism leader testified before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday about her "great concern" for the industry's future.

Helen Hill, CEO at Explore Charleston, was one of six witnesses to address members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The session was centered on the issue of liability as businesses start to reopen and the spread of COVID-19 continues. Hill argued in favor of passing policy that would shield businesses from coronavirus-related litigation if they are following health guidelines and "acting in good faith."

During the hearing, Hill said there is "really great fear, particularly from small businesses" in Charleston about the possibility of getting sued by employees or customers who contract coronavirus.

Restrictions on South Carolina's restaurants and retail stores have already been lifted, but Hill said additional protections are needed to give some businesses "the confidence that they can move forward and reopen their doors."

In her testimony, Hill listed a series of figures to show how the U.S. travel sector has been "rocked to its core." So far, 8 million travel-related jobs have been lost, and declines in travel spending are expected to add up to about half a trillion dollars by the end of the year.

Charleston's own tourism economy has declined 70 percent, Hill said.

"Travel businesses of all sizes closed or emptied in the interest of public health, with small travel businesses bearing the brunt of the economic losses," she said in her testimony. "These are the small businesses that we all know and love, the backbone of our communities: the mom and pop restaurants, the quaint hotels, the independent walking tour guides and the historic attractions."

About half of South Carolina's 1,200 hotels closed temporarily because of the health crisis. Many have reopened, but about 200 still remained closed at the end of last week.

Multiple independently owned restaurants in the state have closed permanently because of losses incurred during the pandemic, most recently downtown Charleston's oldest family-owned restaurant.

In addition to being CEO of Explore Charleston, Hill serves on the U.S. Travel Association's board and chairs the board that oversees Charleston International Airport. She is also a member of accelerateSC, a group assembled by Gov. Henry McMaster to strategize the state's COVID-19 response.

Hill referenced a letter sent to Congressional leaders Monday by a coalition of travel associations and business groups. The signers, which include the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association and the South Carolina Retail Association asked for a "targeted and limited safe harbor from liability."

The letter called out "legal uncertainty" caused by the "evolving information" coming from local, state and federal guidelines.

All six witnesses called on at Tuesday's hearing agreed that businesses need clearer, science-based directions to follow as they try to safely reopen, but some did not support the argument that additional liability protections are necessary.

Anthony Perrone, for example, who leads the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, a labor group that represents workers across a number of industries, including retail, meatpacking and hospitality, cautioned against providing a "blanket of immunity" to businesses.

"This is not about being anti-business; this is about being pro-safety," he said.

In his closing closing remarks for the hearing, Graham said that the "big hole in the puzzle now" is the standards for businesses to follow when they reopen.

"There's no rules about how to protect yourself from coronavirus in a uniform way  the same for a convenience store, the same for a tourist shop," Graham said.
BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua)-- China is mulling over supporting foreign banks to gain access to fund custody service in the Chinese market, in a move to further open up the financial sector, according to a draft revision of fund custody rules issued by the country's top securities regulator.

Eligible domestic branches of foreign banks would be able to apply for the permit for fund custody business, said the draft rules disclosed to solicit public opinions by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Besides general entry requirements, applicant branches for the permit should have been in operation for at least three years with good performance and asset quality, as well as enough working capital to match with the scale of the planned fund custody business, according to the draft revision.

As for financial performance requirements such as net assets, which were revised down to 20 billion yuan (about 2.82 billion U.S. dollars) in the new version, the draft suggested using performance indicators of the applicants' headquarters overseas.

The draft also improved regulatory measures over fund custodian banks to stem risks through ways including having headquarters of foreign banks bear civil liability for their Chinese branches, as well as specifying requirements on cross-border information system deployment and cross-border flow of data.

The revision marks a further step in China's financial opening-up to further boost foreign banks' participation in the Chinese securities and fund market, Shanghai Securities News reported, citing remarks from HSBC Bank (China), which is looking forward to gaining access to the fund custody business in the domestic market.

Liao Zhiming, an analyst with Tianfeng Securities, said the move is unlikely to impact on the domestic banking sector but to encourage benign competition and bring in more funds to the capital market.
*US Judge grants Request To Access Bank Records of former president Goodluck Jonathan & Others



The Nigerian government's request for a subpoena on 10 US banks for information needed to prosecute government officials allegedly connected to British Virgin Island engineering firm, Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) alleged bribery scheme and subsequent $9.6 billion arbitral claim has been granted by a US Judge.



The filings were done by Alexander Pencu, a partner of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, attorneys for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.



The affected banks were listed as follows; Citibank, N.A. (Citibank) , Allied Irish Banks plc (Allied Irish), HSBC Bank USA (HSBC), Standard New York, Inc. (Standard New York), Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas (Deutsche Bank), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPMorgan), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Bank of Cyprus, Fortis Private Banking Singapore Limited (Fortis), and Standard Chartered International (USA) Ltd. (Standard Chartered).



New York federal judge, Lorna Schofield who granted the request asked the affected banks to allow the Nigerian government access the information they need to prove their case.



Former political office holders whose accounts are expected to be accessed by the Nigerian government include former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience Faka Jonathan; former oil minister who is now late, Rilwanu Lukman; Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former petroleum minister during the tenure of Mr Jonathan; and Allison Amaechina Madueke; former attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke.



Others named in the subpoena are Taofiq Tijani; Grace Taiga; Mohammad Kuchazi; one Michael Quinn, who died in 2014; James Nolan; Adam Quinn; and Ibrahim Dikko.



It is also speculated that some officials of the banks might testify in the case. Nigerias chances of overturning the $9.6 billion arbitration award lie on proving the 2010 gas supply arrangement was a sham designed to fail by P&ID and government officials.



This is however coming after former President Goodluck Jonathan denied having an account or property abroad.





Source: LIB









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Syracuse, N.Y.  After two months of rationing coronavirus tests to only the sick and other populations of concern, Onondaga County on Monday threw open the doors to allow anyone to get a test who wants one.

In fact, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon is encouraging anyone whos willing to get one this week in support of reopening sectors of the local economy on Friday.

RELATED: Onondaga Co. coronavirus: 6 more deaths, now 75; testing opens to all as state demands more

The Syracuse Community Health Center, 819 S. Salina St., has capacity to do 600 tests a day this week, McMahon said. People dont have to be sick or meet any other criteria to qualify for one, he said.

The tests are free, but those with health insurance should bring their card.

Come on in, show on up, show your ID, well log it, and get your test, McMahon said.

The remarkable change in strategy comes as New York state is pressuring counties to test more people in order to begin reopening for business this Friday.

McMahon has touted the countys test kit stockpile for weeks, but had preferred to use the tests in a targeted approach that he hoped could root out pockets of COVID-19 in the community. Early in the crisis, state and federal rules allowed testing for only those who had symptoms or people in contact with an infected person.

Locally, testing grew from there to proactive testing in senior living facilities, among workers and residents.

Now, though, the countys goal is simply to test as many people as possible. That comes in response to the states ruling Monday that Central New York was not testing enough people to restart on Friday.

The state rule is 30 tests a month per 1,000 residents. Locally, that amounts to 775 tests a day across Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison, Oswego and Cortland counties. The governor said Monday were only doing 647 tests per day, as a region.

McMahon expressed disappointment Monday at the states ruling in several ways:

He argued that recent efforts have already ramped up testing to exceed the state mandate. The states ruling was based on old data, he said, noting that it can take several days for the state to compile all of its testing numbers.

Hes unsure where the states number  647 tests a day  came from. McMahon said hed gotten yet a different testing number from the state during a conference call earlier.

A different state mandate will force the county to meet its testing goal, anyway. The state is ordering nursing home employees to get tested twice a week, citing the pandemics catastrophic toll on older people in care facilities. In Onondaga Countys case, thats 5,000 employees who need to be tested twice a week, for a total of 10,000 tests a week. That by itself is enough to fulfill the states testing mandate, McMahon noted.

Given Central New Yorks relatively low rate of coronavirus infections, McMahon said that the states testing mandate doesnt make a lot of sense, though he promised to comply to allow the local economy to reopen.

In addition to the Syracuse Community Health Center site, the county will open a mobile testing site Thursday and Friday on the citys Near West Side.

The testing site will be at the former Nojaims Brothers supermarket parking lot, 307 Gifford St. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days.

While that is planned as a site targeting people in the neighborhood, anyone can show up for a test with ID, McMahon said.

Whats not clear is how many people will take advantage of coronavirus tests, now that the restrictions have been lifted. While lots of people want to know their COVID-19 status, many others dont, McMahon noted.

The county executive acknowledged that he doesnt do well with nasal swabs  the method used for the traditional coronavirus test  and said hed only be getting tested if he shows symptoms.

But McMahon also tried to downplay the invasive nature of the test, noting that he was now encouraging anyone who wanted one to get tested.

The county executive made it no secret that opening up testing was a direct response to the state mandate. According to the state, testing is the only thing holding Central New York from beginning its phased reopening on Friday.

McMahon said his goal was to get enough Onondaga County residents tested this week to satisfy the entire regions numbers.

Testings not going to hold this county, this region, up from restart, he vowed.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Another way coronavirus kills: blood clots. Central NY dad, 57, dies at home

Cuomo says parts of NY are ready to reopen as May 15 coronavirus shutdown end nears

Syracuse company develops coronavirus-killing drone for arenas and stadiums

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
(Getty Images)

The federal government is promising more money to help seniors who are struggling to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic.

Anyone that qualifies for Old Age Security (OAS) will get a $300 one-time payment. Those that also qualify for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) get an additional $200.

Ottawa says 6.7 million seniors will get $300 and 2.2 million will get $500, at a cost of $2.5 billion.

Theres no question that COVID-19 has been taking its toll on seniors, both emotionally and financially, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during his daily COVID-19 update.

And with todays announcement, our government is taking action to alleviate some of the stress they may be feeling, but theres a lot more work to be done. Not only to find short term fixes, but long-term solutions.

A date wasnt announced, but Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said since legislation is not required he he hopes payments will be distributed quickly.

The Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP) says the supports are welcome, but arent a solution beyond the short term.

Seniors have been impacted by an increase in the cost of living, Marissa Lennox, CARPs Chief Policy Officer, in a statement.

Many low-income seniors depend on a variety of community support services, including food banks and volunteer tax preparation programs, many of which have closed their doors due to the virus. Its unclear how long this will last.

CARP is calling on the federal government to eliminate withholding tax on RRSP withdrawals for the 2020 tax year and allow two years to repay tax owing, as well as follow through with pre-election commitment to increase OAS and CPP.

Tax changes were also announced. The federal government will temporarily suspend GIS and allowance payments if seniors cant pay taxes on time. The deadline to file to receive the GIS was pushed to October 1st.

Previously announced measures for seniors include a GST top up, and the ability to receive the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while still receiving benefits.

Story continues

The minimum RRSP mandatory withdrawal was reduced to 25 per cent and further changes could be coming.

Well be watching the market well be watching our economy and seeing how the recovery unfolds and I can assure you will be looking at all of these options as we move forward said Deb Schulte, Minister of Seniors, during a news conference.

CARP wants Ottawa to to waive mandatory RRIF withdrawals in 2020.

An additional $20 million will be spent on the New Horizons for Seniors program for community programs to help avoid isolation.

A lot of people, especially single seniors are feeling really lonely right now, said Trudeau.

So call your grandparents ask them how their day is going, how theyre doing and how you can help.

Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains.

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Its a race to complete tasks, unlock power ups via an all-new Relics system , and level up as fast as possible to earn rewards and become top of the League.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2020) - Innocan Pharma Corporation (CNSX: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (the "Company" or "Innocan") is pleased to announce that it has filed and been receipted for a preliminary short form prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in all provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in connection with a marketed public offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company ("Units") for gross proceeds of up to $10,000,000. The Offering is being led by Mackie Research Capital Corporation, as sole bookrunner, and Canaccord Genuity Corp. as co-lead agents (the "Lead Agents"), together with Haywood Securities Inc. and PI Financial Corp. (together with the Lead Agents, the "Agents").

Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and an amount of Common Share purchase warrant of the Company to be determined in the context of the market (each whole Common Share purchase warrant being a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price to be determined in the context of the market.

The final pricing of each Unit, the exercise price of each Warrant, the amount of Warrant to be included in each Unit, and the term of each Warrant will be determined in the context of the market prior to the filing of the final short form prospects in respect of the Offering.

The Company has granted the Agents an option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to cover over-allotments and for market stabilization purposes, exercisable in whole or in part at the sole discretion of the Agents, at any time up to 30 days from the closing of the Offering, to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% of the number of Units (and/or the components thereof) sold pursuant to the Offering, on the same terms and conditions of the Offering.

The net proceeds raised under the Offering will be used for research and product development expenses, sales and marketing expenses, operating expenses and general and administrative expenses as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Story continues

The closing of the Offering is currently expected to be on or about the week of May 28, 2020 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to the execution of an agency agreement and the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "Exchange").

The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to list the Common Shares, and the Warrant Shares on the Exchange, subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the Exchange.

The Units are to be sold on a "best efforts" basis through the Agent by way of short form prospectus to be filed in each of the provinces of Canada except Quebec and in other jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States on an exempt basis in accordance with applicable securities laws. The securities described in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or to, or for the account or benefit of, a U.S. person (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except pursuant to transactions exempt from registration under the U.S. Securities Act and under the securities laws of any applicable state. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities in the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.

About Innocan

The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Innocan Pharma Ltd. ("Innocan Pharma Israel"), is a pharmaceutical tech company that focuses on the development of several drug delivery platforms combining cannabidiol ("CBD") with other pharmaceutical ingredients. Innocan and Ramot at Tel Aviv University are collaborating on the development of a new exosome-based technology that targets both central nervous system indications and the COVID-19 coronavirus. CBD-loaded exosomes may hold the potential to provide a highly synergistic effect of anti-inflammatory properties and help in the recovery of infected lung cells. This product, which is expected to be administrated by inhalation, will be tested against a variety of lung infections.

Innocan Pharma Israel has entered into a worldwide exclusive research and license agreement with Yissum Research and Development Company, the commercial arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to develop a CBD drug delivery platform based on a unique-controlled release liposome to be administrated by injection. The Company, together with Prof. Berenholtz, Head of the Laboratory of Membrane and Liposome Research of the Hebrew University, plans to test the liposome platform on several potential indications. The Company is also working on a dermal product integrating CBD with other pharmaceutical ingredients as well as the development and sale of CBD-integrated pharmaceuticals, including, but not limited to, topical treatments for relief of psoriasis symptoms as well as the treatment of muscle pain and rheumatic pain. The founders and officers of Innocan have commercially successful track records in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors in Israel and globally.

For further information, please contact:

Innocan Pharma Corporation

Iris Bincovich, CEO

+972-54-3012842

info@innocanpharma.com

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding the markets, requisite regulatory approvals and the anticipated timing for market entry, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Innocan's control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Innocan, including expectations and assumptions regarding the terms, timing and potential completion of the Offering, satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions, distribution arrangements and the use of proceeds from the Offering.

Forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: general global and local (national) economic, market and business conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities; and relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, business partners and competitors. There are also risks that are inherent in the nature of product distribution, including failure to obtain any required regulatory and other approvals (or to do so in a timely manner) and availability in each market of product inputs and finished products. The anticipated timeline for entry to markets may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary regulatory requirements, or the need for additional time to conclude and/or satisfy the manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this news release concerning the timing of launch of product distribution. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Innocan can also be found in the short form prospectus filed in respect of the Offering and the documents incorporated by reference therein which are available under Innocan's profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. Innocan Pharma does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward-looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55684
DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Trade Management Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global trade management market size reached US$ 665 Million in 2019. Looking forward, the market is expected to reach a value of US$ 1,067 Million by 2025, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.2% during 2020-2025.



The emerging trend of digitization, along with rapid industrialization across the globe, represent as the key factors driving the growth of the market.



Widespread adoption of the software solutions by traders to reduce their manual and back-office operations and optimize their business processes and trade activities is further contributing to the market growth. Moreover, increasing public and private investments in various logistics infrastructural projects, especially in emerging economies, for import and export management, is providing a boost to the market growth.



In line with this, the development of technologically advanced solutions that aid in improving supply chain agility, along with minimizing operational time and reducing distribution costs, is acting as another growth-inducing factor. These software solutions offer customizable process management platforms that enable the staff to micro-manage the entire supply chain network operations.



Other factors, including the implementation of favorable government policies promoting international trade activities, along with extensive research and development (R&D), are projected to drive the market further.



The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined with some of the key players being Amber Road Inc., Integration Point Inc., Livingston International Inc., Oracle Corporation, QAD Inc., QuestaWeb Inc., SAP SE, etc.



Key Questions Answered

How has the global trade management market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the component?

what is the breakup of the market based on the functionality?

what is the breakup of the market based on the deployment type?

what is the breakup of the market based on the enterprise size?

what is the breakup of the market based on the end-use sector?

What is the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global trade management market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Trade Management Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Component

6.1 Solutions

6.2 Services



7 Market Breakup by Functionality

7.1 Trade Function

7.2 Trade Compliance

7.3 Trade Finance

7.4 Trade Consulting

7.5 Others



8 Market Breakup by Deployment Type

8.1 Cloud-based

8.2 On-premises



9 Market Breakup by Deployment

9.1 Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

9.2 Large Enterprises



10 Market Breakup by End-Use Sector

10.1 Retail and Consumer Goods

10.2 Transportation and Logistics

10.3 Aerospace and Defense

10.4 Healthcare

10.5 Manufacturing

10.6 Others



11 Market Breakup by Region

11.1 North America

11.2 Asia Pacific

11.3 Europe

11.4 Latin America

11.5 Middle East and Africa



12 SWOT Analysis

12.1 Overview

12.2 Strengths

12.3 Weaknesses

12.4 Opportunities

12.5 Threats



13 Value Chain Analysis



14 Porters Five Forces Analysis

14.1 Overview

14.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers

14.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

14.4 Degree of Competition

14.5 Threat of New Entrants

14.6 Threat of Substitutes



15 Price Indicators



16 Competitive Landscape

16.1 Market Structure

16.2 Key Players

16.3 Profiles of Key Players



Amber Road Inc.

Integration Point Inc.

Livingston International Inc.

Oracle Corporation

QAD Inc.

QuestaWeb Inc.

SAP SE

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/yfk1qj

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


(Newser)  Once again, thousands of former Justice Department employees are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign. This time, they're peeved at the DOJ's dismissal of the Michael Flynn case, CNN and the Washington Post report. The nonprofit Protect Democracy, which previously organized an open letter signed by more than 2,600 former Justice Department officials calling on Barr to resign over his handling of the Roger Stone case, also organized this open letter, so far signed by more than 2,100 so-called "DOJ Alumni" who have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

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They say Barr "once again assaulted the rule of law" to, essentially, do President Trump's bidding. "Make no mistake: The Departments action is extraordinarily rare, if not unprecedented," the letter reads. "If any of us, or anyone reading this statement who is not a friend of the President, were to lie to federal investigators in the course of a properly predicated counterintelligence investigation, and admit we did so under oath, we would be prosecuted for it." The Post notes "several high-profile Republican appointees" have signed the letter, which calls on Barr to resign while acknowledging there is little chance he will do so. (Read more William Barr stories.)
"When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn't it obvious? What's happening now? A total nut job!"

- President Trump, in a tweet, May 12, 2020

- - -

The sun had not been up for an hour when the president of the United States, in his ninth tweet of the day, said MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough might be a murderer.

It's an old claim, debunked by The Washington Post in 2017. Trump often smears those who challenge him. He has a long-running feud with the "Morning Joe" husband-and-wife team of Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

Yet it remains astounding to see the president make a thinly veiled murder accusation devoid of evidence. Many of the 18,000 false and misleading claims in our Trump database feature overheated rhetoric. Few of them rise to these vicious heights.

- - -

"Morning Joe" airs on MSNBC from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET on weekdays. The hosts have been hammering the administration's dysfunction in the face of the covid-19 pandemic, with Scarborough often taking Trump to task for "a blizzard of lies."

This morning, the hosts also zeroed in on Trump's contentious exchange with a CBS News reporter at a news conference on Monday. Brzezinski and Scarborough both called Trump's remarks "racist." They ran a segment criticizing the Justice Department's unusual move to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn, a former Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. They interviewed Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who said of Trump: "He can't handle women, particularly strong women, and we know that Trump is xenophobic, and it comes out time and again."

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the White House, Trump was firing off tweets accusing Scarborough of possibly having murdered an aide in 2001.

Trump first lobbed this conspiratorial charge at Scarborough in November 2017. The president is referring to the 2001 death of Lori Klausutis, a 28-year-old aide who worked for Scarborough when he was a Republican member of Congress representing Florida's 1st district.

The circumstances of Klausutis's death have spawned conspiracy theories, but authorities never suspected foul play. Her death is not an unsolved mystery or a cold case waiting for answers. Klausutis' death on July 20, 2001, was ruled accidental and the police concluded there was no reason to further investigate. A police investigator told The Washington Post in 2017 that authorities had left "no stone unturned." PolitiFact has given Trump's claim its worst rating, "Pants on Fire."

The medical examiner, Dr. Michael Berkland, determined that an abnormal heart rhythm caused Klausutis to lose consciousness and fall, fatally striking her head. She was discovered in Scarborough's office in Fort Walton Beach, lying on her back with her head near a desk, according to a police report.

The Fort Walton Beach police report from Aug. 6, 2001, noted that the medical examiner had determined that Klausutis died as a result of an acute subdural hematoma, or blood clot. The police report cited a letter from Berkland, stating that the injury was the result of trauma from a fall as she lost consciousness from "a probable cardiac arrhythmia secondary to valvular heart disease." The day before she was found dead, Klausutis told a colleague she was not feeling well, according to the police report. She also told a mail carrier she was not feeling well.

Trump in his tweet asked why Scarborough had left Congress so "quickly and quietly," implying a connection between Klausutis' death and Scarborough's resignation. In fact, the death occurred almost two months after Scarborough announced his resignation. Klausutis was looking for a new job when she died, and Scarborough was in Washington.

In a previous tweet from April 30, Trump said, "Then you have Psycho Joe 'What Ever Happened To Your Girlfriend?' Scarborough, another of the low I.Q. individuals!"

No one alleges, and no evidence shows, that Scarborough was romantically involved with Klausutis, who was married.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

- - -

Four Pinocchios. We wish we had more to give.
Some would complain that other restaurants are not that strict, said Mr. Liu, who named his restaurant Chunli Jia, after his wife. But we have to keep telling them that we want to make sure our restaurants are safe.

Like many other restaurant owners across China, Mr. Liu requires employees to attach a card to every order with the names of the people who prepared, wrapped and delivered the meal along with their body temperatures. Mr. Liu also does not want his workers to socialize too much. He asks his 14 cooks and servers to stay in the dormitories he has long rented for them.

I told them if they really want to go out to have some fun, they can come to my house to play mahjong, said Mr. Liu, 30.

Chinas gig economy workers have to take their own precautions, often dictated by their de facto bosses.

In Beijing, Niu Baosui, 31, a driver for Didi Chuxing, the Chinese version of Uber, must upload a video to Didis internal platform each morning to show that he has sanitized his car and share his temperature before he sets out to work. On his own, Mr. Niu has taken to wiping down his car between orders, which these days is often much longer than it used to be. He also wears a mask and gloves.
San Francisco, May 12 : Google has rolled out support links for businesses to post directly to their Business Profiles on Google.

The new feature has been rolled out in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

"Local businesses are core to our communities, but the impact of COVID-19 has been tough on business owners," Google said in a statement late Monday.

"With this new feature, merchants will be able to add a donation link, gift card link or both to their profile," the search engine giant added.

They can also share a personal message in their post to inform customers how funds will be put to use. These support links will be visible to consumers later this month.

"At launch, we've partnered with PayPal and GoFundMe for donations. For gift cards, merchants can link directly to the relevant page on their website or to their gift card offerings with one of our eligible partners, which includes Square, Toast, Clover and Vagaro," informed Google.

While Google is not charging merchants or consumers any fees, there may be partner processing fees associated with campaigns.

According to the company, the initial launch will begin with a subset of businesses to protect against misuse, with plans to expand to more countries, merchants, and partners in a safe and responsible way over the coming weeks.

Over the past few months, the company has added tools and features to make it easier for businesses to keep customers informed, including the ability to add dining options and updated hours to Business Profiles.
State and municipal authorities have held up construction of the Victorian Arts Centre's giant $27 million second stage.

Construction of the Victorian Arts Centre's giant $27 million second stage is held up.

First published in The Age on May 14, 1974

Permission to build the project has been withheld by the Melbourne City Council and South Melbourne City Council.

They will not issue building permits until new or amended plans are submitted and approved for the complex  which includes the 465 ft. spire.

The Victorian Arts Centre building committee already has appealed to the Uniform Building Regulations Committee, the State's final arbiter on building permits.

But the committee fully endorsed the council's decision to refuse building permits.

In a determination dated April 18, the committee mid: "There is doubt ... as to the type of failure which will occur at the end of the structural life span and such doubt is a valid reason for refusing to issue a building permit."
America is grounded on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos of thousands of airliners crammed onto unused runways and any available tarmac space take place in our national lockdowns gallery of eerie images. Domestic passenger traffic numbers are down about 95 percent from a year earlier. Airlines have canceled most flights as they lose tens of millions of dollars a day, and there is little indication that demand for air travel will pick up anytime soon. The federal government did step in to provide the industry with $25 billion in emergency grants and loans to preserve the nations circulatory system and prevent a total collapseaid conditioned upon the airlines continuing to serve all their domestic markets and avoiding any layoffs until September.

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Against this backdrop, Future Tense editorial director Andres Martinez invited three aviation experts to talk on Slack about when, and how, Americans might take flight again. Seth Kaplan is the transportation analyst for NPRs Here & Now, the author of Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed From Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era , and co-host of the Airlines Confidential podcast.* Benet Wilson is the credit card editor for the Points Guy. Shes a veteran aviation journalist who has written for such publications as USA Today and Aviation Daily and is known among her peers as the aviation queen. Christopher Schaberg is the Dorothy Harrell Brown distinguished professor of English at Loyola UniversityNew Orleans and the author of The End of Airports.

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On May 21 at 4 p.m. Eastern, Future Tense will host an online event asking, Will We Ever Fly Again? RSVP now.

Andres Martinez: Seth, let me start with you on an, um, easy question: When do you think we will get back to 2019 levels (or those of January, for that matter, when we saw a 5 percent increase in passenger traffic of air travel)?

Seth Kaplan: Weve never seen anything like this. In fact, not only is this worse than each of the prior crises (9/11, SARS, the Great Recession, etc.)its worse than all of them combined. The answer to when we will return to something resembling normal really depends on the course of the pandemic itself, when there will be a vaccine, etc. If you could tell me the answer to that, I could tell you what will happen with aviation. But its difficult to imagine a nearly normal year before 2022, if not 2023.

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Benet Wilson: Another big thing is airlines winning the trust of travelers by ensuring that planes are clean enough and there are enough proper social distancing protocols in place, from the time people enter the airport to the time theyre on board in their seats. Thats going to be a challenge.

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Christopher Schaberg: Yes, Benet has hit on a key issue: Theres public health, and then theres personal risk. Both of these collide intensely at airports and on airplanes.

Andres: In recent years, we all entered into a pact with airlines: Cram however many of us as you need to onto the back of those planes to keep fares low. Thats been the basis of the democratization of flight (though we still complain about being crammed in). Benet, is the current crisis going to result in the end of that bargain? Do you think we are going to see flying again become an elite pursuit, with lowest fares to fly across the country starting at a couple grand to accommodate social distancing concerns? Or will all this pass?

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Benet: Im old enough to have flown regularly on airlines in the pre-deregulation age. My father was an Air Force officer, and we traveled the world back then, when air travel was mostly for the rich. I can envision a scenario where fares will go up, making air travel less accessible. Airlines need to keep butts in seats and their balance books in the black. Frontier had to walk back charging travelers for an empty middle seat. But when you squeeze, that toothpaste is coming out, one way or another.

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Andres: Chris, you recently wrote a moving ode to empty airports. We always assumed there was an inevitability about the continued expansion of travel and shrinking of the world. But did your ruminations about empty airports make youshould they make usquestion those assumptions?

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Christopher: The unknowns right now are so wildly beyond anyones calculations or control. Its hard to say. But we are now realizing just how much faith we hadfor so long!in the ongoingness of air travel basically as a static enterprise. Now were suddenly faced with a wide range of possibilities, from back to the status quo on the one side to a near-total wind-down of commercial flight on the other. And it really seems like anything in between could occur.

I think we may have reachedor even crosseda threshold of growth that is (and has been, frankly) unsustainable. For several decades it seemed like unlimited growth was entirely possible and inevitable (speaking of commercial flight specifically, here), and now were having to reassess the assumptions that made such growth believable and possible. Its hard for me to see how well simply return to the level of flights from a few months agoand keep growingbecause COVID-19 has given a jolt to the systema jolt that is also connected (if not directly) to broader environmental issues surrounding flight, which are not going away but are only foregrounded now with cleaner and quieter skies, etc.

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Andres: True, flight shaming due to climate was starting to be a bit of a thing pre-pandemic, especially in Europe. Seth, do you think airlines have been worried about this environmental concern as a long-term threat to their business?

Seth: It had certainly moved from the back of their minds to the forefront. An existential threat? I dont think most of them considered it that. But a long-term threat to one degree or another? Absolutely. Until Greta Thunbergs journey, I dont think very many people viewed global travel by air as anything other than aspirationala force for good. If its becoming socially unacceptable among any meaningful number of peoplesomething to be ashamed ofthats unhelpful for airlines. Its a question of degree, and I think the best bet now is a measurable but not overwhelming avoidance of flying by some people.

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Christopher: It seems like weve kind of moved from flight shame to flight fear, but these two things might become increasingly conflatedand equally existentially dangerous for airlines.

Benet: Last week I drove from Baltimore to my family home in San Antonio. I dropped off the car at San Antonio International Airport and looked at everything with the coronavirus lens. Will I use those water bottle fill stations? How will we social distance at TSA checkpoints? How will bins and checkpoint areas be cleaned? How will eateries and retail handle passengers? So many questions that need to be answered.

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Andres: You brought up the Frontier Airlines episode from this week. They wanted to charge passengers $39 to block middle seats; there was an outcry; they backtracked. That reminded me of an interesting story Richard Aboulafia wrote for Future Tense on how the industry has always had an unwritten rule that thou shalt not compete on safety grounds. But in a pandemic environment, its going to be hard to distinguish between marketing for comfort and for safety. Is that business class pod just a way to get a nice sleep on your way to London or a means of preserving your life?

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Benet: Im looking at that JetBlue Mint seat with the door I flew on in a whole new light. Same with other airlines that have pods. I feel sorry for the airlines having to walk that fine line between comfort and safety. I fear there will be a few more stumbles of this sort before we settle into a new normal.

Seth: Whats interesting is that a few airlines around the world have, for several years, allowed customers to bid to be seated next to any empty seats, and of course there was no outcry when it was only a question of comfort, not hoping to avoid a deadly virus. Now, granted, the middle seat on Frontier is only 18 inches wide, not 6 feet, so its reasonable to say its selling only a false sense of security, not true security, anyway. But to Aboulafias point, if it had already been offering to block middle seats for $39 prior to all this, that would be different. To the larger point: Decades ago, if you asked fliers what they cared about when they chose an airline, they would mention safety alongside price and schedule. In recent years, they wouldnt, not because they didnt care about safety but because they took for granted that all airlines were basically quite safe. Now we see airlines sort of competing, however cordially, for which one provides the most social distance in an environment not designed for social distancing. At some point, maybe after theres a vaccine, that will start to fade again as a marketing tool, so to speak, but just the fact that were there, however temporarily it might be, is remarkable.

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Andres: Beyond the issue of fares needing to match supply and demand, which we alluded to above, do you guys think this crisis will accelerate other trends we were already seeing in aviation?

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Seth: I think consolidation is somewhat back in play, because regulators are more likely to approve a merger or acquisition if companies can argue that absent it, one company (if not both) would go out of business anyway. U.S. airlines couldnt, with a straight face, in recent years, claim to face any existential threats. Now they can. Im not saying its going to happen, but its more likely because of that.

Christopher: It seems like one thing we could see (this is a bit dystopian, perhaps), is a stark two-cabin model where $$$ first-class seats have even more space between them, and then in back (after a severe dividing wall) there are the standing chairs (remember those?) for steerage. This probably wont happen, but Ill bet at least one airline is looking into it.

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Benet: I remember how airlines pulled back on free meals after 9/11, going toward a buy- on-board model. Were already seeing airlines taking away that option, along with alcohol too.

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Seth: Yes, I think we can forget about some of the modest amenities U.S. airlines have restored in economy in recent years. The stroopwafels might have gone away on health grounds (to minimize nonessential interactions between flight attendants and customers), but I dont think theyll come back the moment its safe. These airlines are back to trying to get through the day, focusing on needs and not wants.

Andres: I do miss those stroopwafels, Uniteds great innovation of the past decade.

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Christopher: I too remember after 9/11 when all that free food went away. I was working at an airport at the time and used to live on all the extra boxed meals wed unload at the end of the day. Then, suddenly, they were just gone.

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Andres: To Seths earlier point, we take for granted now how safe flying really has been.  We can reasonably assume planes dont fall out of the air. But occasionally other concerns pop up, such as terrorism post- 9/11, which led to the creation of TSA, the end of being able to meet loved ones at gates, the ritual of taking off shoes and dispensing with liquids at security. Now our safety concerns are shifting and I see TSA relaxing liquids rules and allowing expired drivers licenses to go through! (Imagine that on 9/12!)

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Christopher: I know, all those new 12-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer let through! Really?!?

Seth: Every crisis changes the industry, so its reasonable to think the biggest crisis will change the industry in big ways. But typically, theres an (understandably) big reaction to a crisis, and then things get ratcheted back. Flying became a lot more of a hassle after 9/11, but eventually we got PreCheck and so forth.

Christopher: Or its possible that all the empty planes flying overhead right now will be seen as the most ridiculous last grasp at keeping this enterprise called commercial flight alive.

Andres: So I want to pin you guys down a bit more. Its 2030  what is it like to fly? Dont answer, It depends on the pandemic.

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Benet: I must resist the temptation to predict well all be in those flying cars weve been waiting for since the 1950s 

Seth: Ill start with an easy one: We are all becoming permanently more germophobic, and we will forever see some number of people, even if just a few, wearing masks on flightsincluding just domestic flights in the U.S.even after theres a vaccine and theres no specific, immediate threat.

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Christopher: I have a hope: that in 2030 commercial flight takes place at a fraction of what 2019s levels were and people understand that flying is for special, essential travel. And airlines have adjusted and contracted to meet this demand. But the more cynical side of me thinks that in 2030 it will look a lot like 2019 but even worse, and yet climate change and other environmental disasters will be making life harder for those living in the poorest nations and hardest parts of the world.

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Andres: You dont believe its beneficial travel has become more accessible and commonplace in recent years?

Christopher: The accessibility of flight was beneficial, to a pointbut then it metastasized so quickly.

Andres: The real explosion in traffic has been overseas, with the rise of the global middle class. Isnt it hard to tell people elsewhere they cant enjoy our way of life because they are late to the party?

Christopher: It is a real tension, for sure. But the party metaphor is apt: The party can only go on for so long before everyone is throwing up.

Seth: This is why many people feel a true global price on carbon, which includes aviation, is the way forward. The idea is, you let people make their own choices, but pricing in the impact of those choices.

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Benet: I see a global contraction, with a governmental organization overseeing the airline industry as the Civil [Aeronautics] Board once did.

It will regulate fleets and schedules, eliminating competition. Fares will be higher, and not everyone will be able to afford to fly. But it will insulate the industry from future chaos, where Sir Richard Branson is offering Necker Island as collateral to save Virgin Atlantic and the Italian government has swooped in to nationalize Alitalia.

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Seth: I hesitate to disagree with the Aviation Queen (being that Im not even a prince), but I expect more incremental change than what Benet said.

Andres: Seth, if you have enough frequent flyer points, we can upgrade you to Aviation Czar.

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Benet: Its all good. I was looking way into the futureand who will check me in 2030?

Seth: Absent some big, unimaginable, external forcewhich weve all seen is a dangerous game to play, to try to ignore that!I think we know a lot of what will happen, because airports and airplanes are designed with such longtime horizons. We know, more or less, what kinds of airplanes airlines will be flying in 2030, and theyre not so different from the ones theyre flying today. Theyll be more carbon-friendlythats goodbut if their efficiency means less money spent on fuel, the benefits of that could flow more to consumers than to the environment (if flying continues becoming cheaper and thus more people do it). The pace of densification, as airlines call it ramming more seats on planeswill actually slow, even absent any COVID-related sensitivities, because many airlines are up against the regulatory limits of how many seats you can put on an airplane.

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Andres: Its so interesting  to think about the clamor for de-densification that will be such a staple of life, right? On planes, and elsewhere.

Seth: Definitely.

Andres: I mean, no offense, but I dont want to get on an elevator with any of you.

Seth: A full dance floor used to be the sign of a great party! What are weddings going to look like now? And so forth.

Christopher: Yes, we are completely reorienting our senses of space: personal space, social space, and psychic space. And airports and airplanes are places where senses of space are felt (and monetized) intensely. Theres no marketing scheme or loyalty campaign that can really mitigate this reality. And regardless of our personal decisions, when it comes to risk, we are going to see a lot of professions reining in travelif not directly for safety reasons, for cost-saving reasons. Because they now realize they can. People are used to Zoom and all the other telecommuting technologies.

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Andres: Benet, you may be the Aviation Queen, but you have a broad view of the travel ecosystem beyond airlines. Do you see demand for travel going down because of factors other than flying  such as what might happen with hotels and credit cards, and attractions like Disney World?

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Benet: I just published a story on the Points Guy about my stay in a hotel last week. Think about all the surfaces and that the coronavirus can last five-plus days on. Housekeepers will have to be retrained. Rooms will take longer to clean. Rates will go upand thats even if you can convince guests that youre cleaning properly. Were already seeing credit cardsespecially travel-branded onesbeing forced to offer credits and allowing more points or miles per dollar spent on categories such as dining and groceries.

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Andres: Before we finish here Id like each of you to tell me: When are you next getting on a plane, and why?

Christopher: I have no plans to fly right now. I hope to travel in the fall or spring to give a university talk that got canceled at the end of March. But thats my only real idea or tentative plan, at this point. Im certainly not going to rush it.

Seth: I havent been on a flight since January and have no current plans, other than a flight I booked for October because it was practically free (figuring I can take it or not, depending on the situation). I do hope to fly before thenjust no specific plans, as I wait to see when it seems safe. The first place my family and I will go will certainly be Florida, to see our families whom we didnt get to see over Passover (when we last planned to visit them).

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Benet: Im the Aviation Queenand I drove from Baltimore to San Antonio, so that tells you something. I love to travel, but I dont see myself getting on a plane before November. Im a germophobe. (Ive always traveled with Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer.)

Andres: Thanks to you all. This has been fun, if sobering. I hope to meet all of you in person sometime soonjust not in a middle seat next to me.

Correction, May 12, 2020: Due to an editing error, this article misspelled the name of Seth Kaplans podcast. It is Airlines Confidential. The article was also updated to include Kaplans book, Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed From Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era .

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Call centres which have implemented working from home during the pandemic will have to look at factors such as elevator management if they embark on bringing staff back, it's been claimed.

Contact Centre Network NI, which represents call centres, has said many have enabled staff to work from home with buildings estimated to be just 20% full.

And while some companies will own their buildings, others will pay rent which will still be due, even if the building is not being fully occupied.

Where staff have chosen to continue to come into work, network director Jayne Davies said measures had already been put in place.

It's estimated around 18,000 people here work in call centres for businesses such as outsourcing companies, banks, IT companies, utilities companies and insurance firms.

Ms Davies said: "Although we cannot speak for the whole of the industry, best practice included operating at a two-metre distance, bays and desks closed, marking floors, altering shift patterns and deep cleaning after every shift rotation."

Canteens have also been closed and lift usage monitored at some companies.

"Some limited lifts to one or two people depending on capacity and with floor markings or a one-way system on stairs," the network director said.

"In addition to everything listed above they are exploring PPE and ensuring their buildings are safe and they have deep cleaning process in place."

Simon Campbell, managing director of Portview Fit-Out, said lift management could become a key element of managing social distancing, particularly in tall buildings.

"You could halve the maximum number of people allowed in a lift from, say, 10 to five," he said.

Ms Davies said call centres would also be considering the needs of those struggling with working from home. "This will need to be weighed against the safety of people," she explained.

"An example would be if someone is struggling with their mental health from being isolated, how easily can they get back to the office? Do they need public transport? Do they have any underlying conditions?"

She said that having made the adjustment, companies were seeing benefits such as reduced absence and increased productivity.

"For the most there is no immediate need for mobilisation to get everyone straight back in to work and any decisions will need to be inclusive and changes made with people," she said.

"We think that home working will be here to some degree for the foreseeable future and companies will be reviewing their needs in line with this."

But she added the need for home working had caused initial problems for some firms who didn't have enough laptops for staff.

"With regards to our members, some are still working from offices but none seem to be above 20% capacity in their buildings," she said.

Brian Lavery, managing director of commercial property agency CBRE, said he believed offices will still be sought-after.

"Companies will have had very different experiences and levels of success utilising home working," he said. "We must also remember the majority will be operating in a very reduced marketplace so performance is extremely difficult to judge.

"In my opinion, the majority of companies will wish for a return to their offices and resume collaboration between teams and individuals.

"They may well adopt a more flexible approach to office working hours, and increased working from home, but they will still require collaborative space that just doesn't happen online.

"Workplaces and offices will be changed by this pandemic, but the demand for office space will, in my opinion, be far more influenced by how the Northern Ireland and world economy recovers."

BT said the majority of its office staff were still working from home, including most call centre workers.

"We introduced safety measures in our buildings and we're closely following guidance from Government and public health authorities on cleaning, social distancing and safeguarding our people," it said.
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Aureus, Inc. (OTC PINK:ARSN), a food brand development company focused on acquiring and growing well-established food brands, announced today that Yuengling's Ice Cream ("Yuengling's") is now available at Boyer's Food Markets ("Boyer's"). Yuengling's will utilize the distribution services of SuperValu, which is owned by United Natural Foods ("UNFI").

Boyer's is a family and employee-owned group of retail grocery stores with 18 locations in eastern Pennsylvania. Boyer's store footprint is smaller than the large chain stores but are located in prime locations in smaller cities and towns. Boyer's maintains the exceptional customer service and feel one would expect from a small-town, traditional grocery store. And, as their slogan states, "Shop Fast and Save Money", Boyer's makes shopping easy with very competitive prices. Boyer's initially is selling seven of Yuengling's Pint flavors. These include Vanilla, Black & Tan, Butterbeer, Espresso Chip, Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies & Cream, and Cherry Vanilla Chunk.

"Yuengling's is excited to be working with SuperValu, a wholly owned subsidiary of UNFI. SuperValu/UNFI ships more than 600 million cases annually, through 60 distribution centers/warehouses, and serves thousands of retailers throughout the United States and Canada. We hope this relationship will help us expand our sales in the future," said Everett Dickson, Aureus' President.

About Aureus, Inc.

Management and ownership recently changed hands. The new focus is on acquiring specific assets in and related to the food industry, with a focus on ice cream. Aureus owns the assets and trademarks of the Yuengling's Ice Cream brand, and the exclusive right to market and sell the products of the brand. The goal of Aureus in the operation to consolidate all factors that are positive for the Yuengling's brand into a synergistic success for Aureus shareholders as well as the next generation of Yuengling's consumers.

About Yuengling's Ice Cream

Developed by American businessman, Frank D. Yuengling, as a dairy business to help support the Yuengling family brewery during Prohibition (1920-1933), Yuengling's Ice Cream has a strong tradition of making exceptional super-premium ice cream products in central Pennsylvania. David Yuengling and Rob Bohorad revived the brand in 2014 and an American classic was reborn. The fan-favorite brand continues advancing its legacy and its renowned dairy quality, by using locally sourced dairy ingredients that contain no added hormones. Yuengling's Ice Cream is a super-premium ice cream, which means it has a butterfat content of 14% or greater. In addition to having high butterfat, Yuengling's also has low overrun (or a lower amount of air). This makes the ice cream less whipped and much more dense. Yuengling's also is constantly working to keep its product as "clean" as possible, by using as few ingredients as necessary, and those that are used are of a very high quality. The brands Yuengling's is most similar to are Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's.

The Yuengling's Ice Cream Corporation- as it's been since 1935- is stand alone, and separately owned and run companies from D. G. Yuengling and Sons, Inc Brewery

Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of US Highland, Inc and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based.

Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

For More Information:

Contact & Media Inquiries:

Aureus.now@gmail.com

404.885.6045

AureusNow.com

SOURCE: Aureus Incorporated

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589483/Yuenglings-Ice-Cream-Expands-Footprint-with-Boyers-Markets-through-SuperValu-Distributors
PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a virtual Plenary Public session on Tuesday.



The Public meeting is a continuation of the meeting which was adjourned on March 20, 2020. The meeting will be reconvened on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at 15.00 hrs. The Minister of General Affairs and the Minister of Finance will be present.

The agenda points are:

1. Financial situation of the airport and the funding for the reconstruction

2. The resignation of the airport CFO

(IS/605/2019-2020 dated February 24, 2020)



This meeting was requested by MP C.T. Emmanuel, MP C.A. Buncamper, and MP A.E. Arrindell. Due to measures taken to mitigate the coronavirus (COVID-19), the House of Parliament is currently closed to the general public until further notice.

The parliamentary session will be held virtually and will be carried out live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1 www.pearlfmradio.sx, via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, and Parliaments Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that state will move further into its reopening process, allowing some offices, malls and outdoor museums to resume operations with modifications.

Newsom said that offices in the state that can't telework will be allowed to reopen with health safety modifications and shopping malls, strip malls and outlets will be allowed to offer curbside pickup. It wasn't immediately made clear when the order would take effect.

Car washes, pet grooming and dog walking will also be allowed to resume statewide, he said. Newsom added that the state has now conducted over 1 million tests for the coronavirus and can perform approximately 35,000 per day.

"The worst mistake we can make is to just throw those face coverings off" and think the virus has gone away or is on vacation, Newsom said. He added that the state has now conducted over 1 million tests for Covid-19 and can perform approximately 35,000 per day.

"It's not. It's still virulent. It's still deeply, deeply deadly," he said.

twitter

However, Newsom said it's still up to local governments to determine whether they're ready to move further into the next step.

Both the Bay Area and Los Angeles have issued their own stay-at-home orders. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County department of public health, said on Tuesday that some form of stay-at-home restrictions will likely remain in place in the county through August, according to reports from NBC Los Angeles.

The Golden State governor also issued new guidelines for counties that have been approved to reopen dine-in restaurants. The guidelines advise restaurants to offer disposable menus, reusable dinnerware, physical barriers and to require diners to wait in their cars, among other guidelines. Employees and patrons will also be required to remain 6 feet apart.

Only two of the state's counties  Butte and El Dorado  have so far met the requirements to move further into the state's reopening plan, including opening dine-in rest Newsom said.

A county can begin reopening more businesses if they can prove adequate testing and contact tracing, protection of essential workers and no deaths related to Covid-19 for two weeks, among other guidelines, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services, said on Thursday.

Last week, Newsom outlined various health procedures retailers and other businesses that were allowed to resume operations must adopt to ensure the safety of their workers and customers.

He previously granted retailers, like those that sell clothing, books and sporting goods, to begin offering curbside pick-up as the state moves deeper into "stage 2" of its reopening plan, although malls weren't allowed in the initial order.

Manufactures and warehouses that support these retailers were also be allowed to reopen with modifications.
Supreme Court Justice nominee, Yonny Kulendi is advocating for the abolishment of death penalty from Ghanas laws.

He believes that to the extent that humans are fallible and prone to wrong judgments, it will be best to do away with the death penalty.

Answering questions during his vetting before Parliaments Appointments Committee on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Yonny Kulendi said: patterns of my value system and faith do not subscribe to death penalty unless it behoves on me as a judge so to do because the law provides for it.

The private legal practitioner said in instances where a convict is executed and it is found later that the judgment was erroneous, the victim cannot be brought back to life but if other forms of punishment are imposed, the victim can at least be compensated should it be found that the judgment was wrong.

Judges, courts and processes and other endeavours are things done by men. Men are fallible and the processes we drive are fallible. I believe that life is sacred and men should not make it their place to take life[Court processes are] prone to error. If you impose a death penalty and then you understand that the processes erred, [that life lost] is irretrievable, he said.

Yonny Kulendi added that a legislative change will be needed to abolish the death penalty from the countrys laws.

I dont subscribe to it even though currently it is the state of the law and I think that for the purposes of reform, and also so we can be known to the committee of civilized nations where across the world it has been agreed that this is the most extreme, I think it is a progressive recommendation for legislative change, he said.

The last time Ghana carried out an execution was in 1993.

The countrys laws retain capital punishment for some crimes including treason and murder.

In 2018, 12 people were sentenced to death and have since been kept on death row.

While Ghana has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2000, it is yet to ratify its Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (ICCPR-OP2).

---citinewsroom
(Natural News) The second wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections is starting to hit Germany just as the countrys leaders loosened lockdown and social distancing restrictions.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a German federal agency and research center for disease control and prevention, stated that the number of people that COVID-19 patients were infecting  known as the reproduction rate  has risen to 1.1 on May 9 and 1.13 on May 10. This means that the number of coronavirus infections in Germany is growing.

Germanys coronavirus reproduction rate began increasing as lockdown restrictions were loosened

A potential second wave of coronavirus cases in Germany were reported after the country began to ease its lockdown, prompting global alarm https://t.co/NEvxxSmjK1 pic.twitter.com/PbW2RbGGzM  Reuters (@Reuters) May 12, 2020

The RKI has repeatedly stressed the need to keep the reproduction rate below one in order for the countrys outbreak to eventually subside. At the beginning of May, the reproduction number was between 0.7 and 0.8 for several days. On the day German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a gradual easing of lockdown and social distancing restrictions, the reproduction rate stood at 0.65.

When the coronavirus pandemic first started taking over Europe, Germany was one of the countries that had a better handle on the outbreak. This allowed them to keep their reproduction rate below one  meaning that COVID-19 was dying out in Germany.

It has to be expected that [the reproduction rate] will go over one and we will return to exponential growth, wrote Karl Lauterbach, a member of Germanys Bundestag or lower house, and professor of epidemiology, on a post in his Twitter account.

The loosening measures were far too poorly prepared.

Despite the growing fears over a second wave of coronavirus infections, the RKI stated in a bulletin issued on May 9 that it may be too early to infer whether the number of new infections will increase or decrease, adding that the countrys reproduction rate is still subject to statistical uncertainty and that the current increase in the countrys rate necessitates further research and a close monitoring of the situation.

Chancellor Merkel establishes rules for gradual reopening of Germany

But as Germanys outbreak didnt strike fear in the populace the way it did in Italy or Spain, the countrys politicians have been struggling to convince the public that the countrys social distancing and lockdown protocols needed to stay in place for a little while longer. This phenomenon is known as the prevention paradox, and it forced the hand of Merkel, who bowed to political pressure to begin relaxing the countrys coronavirus protocols. (Related: German Chancellor Merkel warns 70 percent of Germany now at risk of being infected by the coronavirus.)

On May 6, Merkel announced a set of ground rules for the countrys 16 federal states that were planning to begin easing coronavirus restrictions. Some of these states had already announced unilateral reopening plans  Merkels rules are designed to rein in the more overenthusiastic states.

These new rules have allowed states to begin breathing life back into their stalled economies. But they also allow Merkel to activate an emergency mechanism.

This mechanism would put municipalities back under a strict lockdown if hospitals and care homes registered more than 50 new COVID-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a single week. It should be noted that epidemiologists have complained that this number is too high.

Merkel seemingly had to bow to pressure from multiple state governments  as well as protesters all over Germany  to relax lockdown and social distancing measures. However, this emergency mechanism protocol will allow the federal government to re-exert control if coronavirus infections pick back up.

We have to be careful that this thing doesnt slip from our grasp, said Merkel.

https://twitter.com/PndmcSurvivors/status/1259216352117694471

Under the countrys lockdown exit strategy, shops, including shopping malls and department stores, schools and nurseries will be allowed to reopen. The countrys bars and restaurants will also go through a phased reopening under state discretion, provided that they follow new hygiene protocols, beginning on May 22.

States will also be allowed to reopen hotels, cinemas, theaters and concert halls if they so choose, provided that they also follow new hygiene rules.

Three municipalities, in the states of Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, respectively, have triggered the emergency mechanisms. In Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, the coronavirus broke out among workers at meat processing plants.

As of May 11, Germany has 169,575 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 7,417 deaths. It is still too early to tell whether the countrys number of coronavirus cases will shoot up again. However, if current trends hold, the countrys reproduction rate will probably continue to increase and a second wave of coronavirus infections will begin hitting Germany while its guard has been lowered.

Sources include:

News.Trust.org

CBSNews.com

TheGuardian.com 1

WHO.int 1

TheGuardian.com 2

WHO.int 2 [PDF]
The missouri River has been slowly running dry since the 1950s, and could be on the verge of triggering a new era of drought across the midwest.

According to a report from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the drying trend began in the 1950s and reached its worst point in the decade between 2000 and 2010, when the Missouri River ran lower than at any point in the last 1,200 years.

The team linked the phenomenon to declines in snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains, which feeds the Upper Missouri River Basin and accounts for around 30 percent of the river's total water flow.

Parts of the Missouri River have been steadily drying out since the 1950s, according to new research that says the river reached its lowest levels in 1,200 years in the early 2000s

'In the [Upper Missouri River Basin], what were really worried about is a future of snow droughts,' University of North Carolina's Erika Wise told The Washington Post. 'Snowpack in the Rocky Mountains is very sensitive to warming temperatures.'

'Snow provides the water for stream flow to the Upper Missouri, and weve designed our agriculture and infrastructure around expectations that this water will be provided at a certain pace over a certain part of the year.'

The Missouri River is the longest in the US, spanning 2,342 miles between Brower's Spring, Montana and Spanish Lake near St. Louis, Missouri, where it joins the Mississippi River.

The Missouri River is a critical water source for the midwest, according to the researchers, 'supporting megafarms, hydropower, tourism and healthy ecosystems.'

The researchers worry that the continuing drought could mirror the effects of a similar regional aridity sweeping across the west, 'contributing to drier soil, widespread tree death, and more severe wildfires.'

The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States, spanning 2,342 miles between Montana and Missouri, where it joins the Mississippi near St. Louis

The major drying has been caused by less seasonal snow falling in the Rocky Mountains, meaning less meltwater in the spring to fill the Upper Missouri River Basin, which is responsible for around 30 percent of the river's total water flow

To document the full historical context for the Missouri's River's water levels, the team looked at tree rings from various test sites along its banks.

Tree ring data recorded relative water levels in the river dating as far back as 800AD, with wider rings pointing to wetter years and narrower rings indicating dry years.

The team found the recent drying trend first appeared in the 1950s in the Upper Missouri River Basin and has gradually been getting worse each decade.

The driest years on record occurred between 2000 and 2010, but the team cautions that even more intense drying could occur in the future.

The researchers fear the severe drying could trigger a new megadrought in the midwest that could affect the region's megafarms, hydropower stations, and complex ecosystems

In the worst cases, the team fears the midwest could experience its own megadrought, similar to what other researchers have predicted will devastate the American southwest in 2030.

'We dont tend to think of the upper Missouri region as being as drought-threatened as a region like the Southwest United States, ' Wise said.

'These findings show that the upper Missouri Basin is reflecting some of the same changes that we see elsewhere across North America, including the increased occurrence of hot drought.'
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to help in the fight against Covid-19 epidemic, reports ANI. The agency quoted the US Embassy to say that the assistance was being offered for prevention, preparedness and response activities undertaken as countrys coronavirus containment efforts.

On 30th April, the United States had announced to hand over aid worth $3 million to the PAHAL project (Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and Longevity) to help India fund its fight against the contagion.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has given $5.9 million to India so far to fight the outbreak, care for the affected, containment efforts including public health messaging, case detection and surveillance.

The US government on April 16 had pledged to provide $3 million in aid to India through the USAID for the PAHAL project.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

The US government, through USAID and department of health and human services agencies, including the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, has provided more than $1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.

In addition to assistance from the US, France has pledged a financial aid of up to 200 million euros to support vulnerable sections of society in India during the Covid-19 outbreak. The aid to be extended through the French Development Agency to boost social welfare systems and to protect vulnerable populations in India, French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain had said last week.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

World Bank, too, has approved $1 billion under India Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project to help New Delhi prevent, detect and respond to the pandemic and strengthen its public health preparedness.
Tension is simmering along the India-China border with troops of the two countries maintaining a close watch on each other in the Pangong Tso lake area in Eastern Ladakh, days after nearly 250 soldiers from both sides were engaged in a violent face-off that left many of them injured, sources have confirmed.

At least a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border in the area after the fierce face-off on May 5 following which a fleet of Sukhoi-30 jets of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties there, the sources said.

The troops on both sides held on to their respective positions and even reinforcements were brought in an apprehension of further escalation in tension, the sources said when asked about the face-off.

They said tension was still prevailing in the area, though both sides agreed to disengage during a meeting of local commanders on May 6.

"The situation remains tense," said a source adding some troops are being kept by both sides in the area following the face-off.

When asked, an Army spokesperson said: "Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Patrols disengage after local level interaction and dialogue. Temporary and short duration face-offs occur as boundary is not resolved."



"I clarify that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake. There is no build-up of armed troops in the area," he said.

The sources said the spotting of Chinese helicopters in the area was nothing unusual as India too flies a fleet of military choppers in the area from three bases in the region.

IAF sources said a range of its aircraft, which also comprises Sukhoi-30 jets, have been carrying out routine sorties in the region including on May 6, adding there was no violation of Indian airspace in the area by the Chinese side. The IAF conducts routine sorties in the region from Leh and Thoise airbases.

On May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting, sources said, adding a number of soldiers on both sides sustained injuries in the incident.

In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.

In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding.

Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening bilateral ties.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scalias letter followed a letter to him earlier in the day from Larry Kudlow, the director of the White Houses National Economic Council, and national security adviser Robert C. OBrien in which they said we believe the Board should cease implementation immediately.

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The letters, which were first reported by Fox Business, state in the most explicit terms to date that the Trump administrations opposition to the planned change is at least in part motivated by Chinas role in the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to previously stated national-security-related concerns about TSP money being invested in some Chinese companies, the letter from Kudlow and OBrien says the Chinese government concealed critical information from the United States and the rest of the world regarding the coronavirus.

These events dramatically increase the risk that Chinese companies could be subject to sanctions or boycotts that jeopardize their business and profitability and strongly militate against the Board making a significant investment of federal workers retirement funds in Chinese companies at this time, they wrote.

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The boards response could come as soon as Wednesday at a regular monthly meeting that had been scheduled in advance of the letters.

The board previously has resisted calls to stop the planned change. TSP spokeswoman Kim Weaver said in a phone interview Tuesday that, under the law, the board is responsible for investment policy.

Underlying Scalias letter is an assertion that the TSP board is subject to outside authority, an assertion that never has been tested in the programs 30-year existence.

The TSP is structured like a corporation, directed by a five-member board of financial and investment experts who serve part time, and organizationally is not under the Labor Department or any other agency. And it does not draw appropriated money from Congress, operating instead on fees it charges to account holders.

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At issue is an investment fund called the I Fund, which tracks international stock markets and is one of the five basic funds the TSP offers to its 5.9 million account holders. The fund holds about $41 billion in investor assets out of a total of some $557 billion in the TSP as of the end of March.

Currently, the fund reflects stock markets in 21 developed countries, mostly in Europe. The board first decided in 2017 to switch to a broader index that also includes two dozen emerging-market countries, one of which is China, on the recommendation of a consultant.

The consultant found that the broader index is commonly available in other large 401(k)-type programs and has higher potential for returns. In addition, the consultants report said the broader index better meets a mandate in law that the I Fund be a reasonably complete representation of non-U.S. stock markets, reflecting 99 percent of those markets compared with the current indexs 58 percent. China stocks account for about a tenth of the broader index.

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After bills were introduced in Congress to stop the change, the board had the consultant perform a second study last year, and it reached the same conclusions.

The second report found that the 401(k)s of all 10 of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, all 10 of the top federal contractors, all 20 of the largest state pension plans and all six of the largest target-date mutual-fund providers invest in emerging markets including China.

The board then voted to reaffirm its decision and defended it in a letter to members of Congress who opposed the change.

The board cited the two studies, noted that investments in the I Fund are voluntary for account holders and said that walling off investments in companies from China or any other country is a decision for the Treasury Department. An advisory council of a dozen federal employee organizations has taken the same positions.

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However, the issue flared up again recently as the changeover in indexes approached.

Trump and some top aides  including trade adviser Peter Navarro, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and chief of staff Mark Meadows  want to take action against the Chinese. They have been encouraged by China critics outside the administration, including former Trump campaign strategist Stephen K. Bannon and other conservative activists.

Trump last week nominated replacements for the three board seats under his control  the other two are chosen by leaders of the House and Senate  on the expectation that they would reverse the decision. The regular terms of all five have expired, and they are continuing to serve in holdover status.

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The Monday letters amount to a preemptory move by the White House to prevent the changeover, which is set to occur in the coming months, from happening before those nominees could be confirmed by the Senate. However, they also raise for the first time issues of whether the TSP is subject to outside control.

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The Presidents principal economic and national security advisors wrote to the Secretary expressing those concerns  and the Secretary communicated the Presidents direction to the Board  because the Department of Labor has broad investigative and audit authority over the activities of the TSP Board of Directors and other plan fiduciaries who make investments and operate the plan, the Labor Department said in an emailed statement.

The Labor Department conducts program audits of the TSP similar to its oversight of other 401(k)-type plans, looking at areas such as information technology security, the processing of loan and withdrawal requests and other administrative matters  but not investment policies.

However, the TSPs Weaver cited law that says that the TSP board shall develop investment policies with no provision for a role by anyone else.
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Almost two million government-approved antibody tests imported into Australia and sold to GPs, hospitals and aged care clinics are so inaccurate they should not be used to diagnose COVID-19.

Testing at the Doherty Institute this week has found the tests, designed to tell if a person has already been infected by and recovered from coronavirus, are about as accurate at picking up COVID-19 antibodies as flipping a coin.

The government's fingerprick tests have been found not to work well enough. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed on Tuesday that the federal government has received official advice that the 1 million antibody tests it purchased are not fit for purpose. The government has repeatedly refused to say how much it paid for the tests, or who they were purchased from.

The government also tried to purchase 500,000 tests manufactured by Chinese company Wondfo  the same company that supplied tests to the UK government which are now embroiled in scandal.

Wondfo denied problems with its tests following a report by the New York Times that the UK government had concluded they did not work.

The Wondfo test, and the two analysed by the Doherty Institute, are among 32 antibody tests approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The Wondfo test was approved three times  the last approval coming on April 17, a day after the New York Times report.

Unusually, the regulator did not do its own independent studies to check if those tests were accurate before approving them.

Read the full story here.
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Linkedin Arindam Basu (The Jakarta Post) -  Tue, May 12, 2020 10:49 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd768518 3 Health COVID-19,pandemic,herd-immunity,coronavirus,apa-itu-herd-immunity,The-Conversation Free

As most of the world tries to suppress the coronavirus spread, some countries are going it alone - trying to manage the pandemic through so-called herd immunity.

Herd immunity means letting a large number of people catch a disease, and hence develop immunity to it, to stop the virus spreading.

The Netherlands reportedly plans to use herd immunity to combat the coronavirus epidemic, just as Britain retreats from such plans after warnings it could lead to 250,000 deaths.

A herd immunity strategy has been criticized by the World Health Organisation, which said far greater action is required. Other health experts say the approach is experimental at best, and dangerous at worst.

So can herd immunity protect us from the coronavirus, and are countries wise to adopt it?

First, lets understand immunity

Our bodies fight infectious diseases such as coronavirus through our immune systems. The body produces antibodies in response to intruder organisms to fight and remove them.

Once the body has fought off a disease, it retains a memory of the germ, and how to fight it better and faster next time.

Once a person has developed immunity to a virus, they probably wont catch it again. The theory behind herd immunity is that once a lot of people develop immunity to a virus, it will eventually stop spreading to people who havent yet caught it.

Number-crunching on herd immunity

Herd immunity is essentially a numbers game.

It all rests on the basic reproduction rate - in other words, how many new infections each case will generate.

A rate with a value of 1 would mean that one person can pass it on to at least one other person. The higher this number, the more infections from that one case. So to end the spread, this number will need to drop below 1.

The reproduction rate for coronavirus is between 2 and 3.

As infection spreads, the pool of susceptible people shrinks as more develop immunity. Herd immunity aims to lower the number of susceptible people to the point where the reproduction rate drops below 1 and the spread of infection stops.

In the case of measles, 95 percent of people need to be immune for infection to cease. For coronavirus, I calculate this figure is around 40%, based on a reproduction rate of 2.6. So, if about 60 percent of people are immune to the infection, this is sufficient herd immunity to stop coronavirus spreading.

(There have been a few reports of people becoming infected with coronavirus twice, but they havent been substantiated in peer-reviewed research, so can be discounted for now.)

So is herd immunity a good plan?

On the face of it, a herd immunity strategy might seem wise. But the absence of a coronavirus vaccine means it is very high-risk.

The best way to rapidly develop herd immunity is through vaccination. A vaccine delivers a small amount of a virus into the body, and the immune system learns how to fight it off without having to get sick. But we do not yet have a vaccine for coronavirus.

If vaccines are not available and the infection spreads, some people will develop a mild version of the disease and recover. But it is dangerous and unethical to rely on this method to combat the disease.

First, the intermediate and longer term consequences of coronavirus are not yet known. And second, while some people are not badly affected by the disease, under a herd immunity strategy they could still pass the virus to elderly people who are at high risk of dying from it.

One expert analysis found that creating herd immunity in the UK would require more than 47 million people to be infected. With a 2.3 percent fatality rate and a 19 percent rate of severe disease, this could result in more than a million people dying and a further eight million needing critical care.

What should we be doing?

Lets say Australia and New Zealand relied on herd immunity. Now lets assume, conservatively, that 10 percent of the population were infected  thats 500,000 New Zealanders and 2.5 million Australians. Over a short period, those numbers would disastrously overwhelm the nations health systems.

The safest public health strategy is to prevent the onset of coronavirus at all costs. This would buy the health system time, flattening the curve so hospitals were not inundated with cases all at once.

This is why its so important to control movement across our borders, impose self-isolation, restrict public gatherings, trace the contacts of existing cases and isolate those with the virus. Australia and New Zealand are both now essentially following these measures. It might also be wise to screen passengers in departure terminals for signs of the virus, and test where necessary.

Also critical is educating the public on safe hygiene and ensuring supply of disinfectants, hand sanitizers, safe food, soap, and water, as well as access to services when needed. Now is also the time to take extra care of our elderly.

With these measures in place, we give ourselves the best chance of putting the coronavirus genie back in the bottle sooner rather than later, and minimizing the number of deaths.

***

Arindam Basu is Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University of Canterbury.

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.
Ex-PGO chief Shokin asks Zelensky to react to unwillingness of law enforcers in investigation against illegal acts by Biden

KYIV. May 12 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokhin has appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the guarantor of the Constitution with a request to ensure the response of law enforcement agencies to allegations of unlawful acts by former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.

At the Interfax-Ukraine agency's press conference on Tuesday, Shokin's lawyer Oleksandr Teleshetsky noted that the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) have not complied with a number of court decisions on the registration and investigation of the crimes that Shokin alleges.

Teleshetsky said more than three months passed after Shokin appealed to law enforcement authorities about the commission of criminal acts against him, but no investigative actions were carried out.

According to him, SBI investigators sent Shokin's statement to the National Police, and then the crime statement returned to the SBI, where it was ignored. According to Shokin's complaint, the court had ordered the SBI investigators to enter information about the allegations to the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations, something that was not done.

"Shokin again went to court and on April 14 received a relung, which obliges the PGO to open proceedings on the fact that SBI officials did not comply with the court decision," the lawyer said, adding that this decision also remains unfulfilled.

"In connection with another failure to comply with the court decision ... Shokin was forced to appeal again to the court with a corresponding complaint about inaction," the lawyer said.

According to him, Shokin was never questioned either as a victim, or even as a witness, and no other investigative actions were carried out either.

"Obviously, the investigator and the prosecutor were given the task ... to block and ignore this case," the lawyer said.

Teleshetsky said proceedings on Shokin's statement about Biden's criminal actions are in the investigative department of the National Police, but investigators there are not taking any steps to investigate.

This is why Shokin is appealing to Zelensky, the lawyer said.

"Shokin prepared an appeal to the president with a request to ensure the protection of the rights and interests as a citizen of Ukraine in this criminal proceeding and bring those responsible to justice for the systematic failure to execute court decisions in criminal proceedings according to his statements," the lawyer said.

He also added that there is every reason to provide Shokin with protection in connection with the information published by him about Biden's pressure.

"Shokin's life could be in danger. The Ukrainian state should initiate protection through law enforcement agencies. We believe that today there are enough grounds for this," the lawyer said.

As reported, on February 27, the SBI registered a criminal proceeding about pressure on Shokhin by former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden. The reason for the pressure was the investigation by the PGO of serious crimes in the field of international corruption related to the activities of ex-Minister of Ecology of Ukraine Mykola Zlochevsky and the leaders of the Burisma company. The case was opened under Part 2 of Article 343.

The lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump Rudolf Giuliani in a number of interviews announced the intervention of the former vice president in Ukrainian politics and participation in corruption cases. In particular, he claims that Shokin was fired at the request of Biden - ostensibly for his knowledge of Burisma's ties with his son Hunter Biden.

At the end of January 2020, Shokin stated that he had been poisoned with mercury five months ago during his stay in Greece, after which he underwent a long period of treatment.

"I dont have any obvious enemies whom I can blame for this. Of course, one of the versions, but this version requires investigation, is that Biden was somehow involved in some way in these issues. I officially addressed the Greek law enforcement authorities on this and asked them to investigate... Officially, I havent received an answer yet, although I contacted them quite a while back about opening criminal proceedings in connection a premeditated attempt to murder me," Shokin said.
The Delhi High Court has come to the aid of a lab assistant under the Delhi State Health Mission, which did not extend his contract, by directing his job will not be terminated till August 13 as his services would be required during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Justice Prathiba M Singh passed the interim order while issuing notice to the Centre and the Delhi government seeking their stand on the lab assistant's plea challenging non-extension of his contract during the ongoing pandemic.

The petitioner, Bharat Arya, said he was employed as a laboratory assistant with the with the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDDCP) by the Delhi government under the Delhi State Health Mission.

His plea said he was working in that position since March 27, 2010 and due to the lockdown, further extension has not been granted to him.

Instead, an e-mail was sent to Arya on March 31 telling him not to attend office, his petition claimed.

Arya's lawyer told the court that as per March 18, 2020 directive issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, all employees who are working in various health missions have to be extended their employment.

Central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, appearing for the Centre, told the court that considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Arya's services would be required and he ought not to be terminated.

"After hearing counsels for the parties and considering the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that the petitioner is employed in the Health Mission as a lab assistant, whose services would be required during the ongoing pandemic, it is directed that the services of the petitioner shall not be terminated till the next date," the court said.

It listed the matter for further hearing on August 13.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Blindfolded civilians with their hands tied behind their backs are transported on a Myanmar naval vessel to Sittwe, capital of western Myanmar's Rakhine state, April 27, 2020.

Men dressed in plainclothes believed to be government soldiers punched and kicked five blindfolded Rakhine men detained on a Myanmar Navy vessel in war-ravaged northern Rakhine state, according to a video of the assaults obtained by RFA and relatives who identified the victims.

The five men, whose hands are tied behind their backs, were forced to confess to being rebel Arakan Army fighters, some family members of the men told RFA on condition of anonymity after the video went viral inside Myanmar. Some of the detainees have blood on their noses and mouths in the video.

Its not clear who shot or posted the video that emerged on Sunday. Relatives and friends of the five men say they remain in military custody.

The military says it is investigating the video and has arrested six men who are members or have connections to the AA, which the government declared in March to be an illegal association and a terrorist organization.

But family members and local villagers said the men in the video are innocent civilians, not conspirators of the ethnic armed group.





The relatives also said that three of the detainees are from Kyauk Seik village in Rakhines Ponnagyun township, and that they were apprehended days after Myanmar forces shelled the community with 120-millimeter mortars on April 13. The attack left eight civilians dead and injured more than a dozen others.

The fourth man is also from Ponnagyun township, and the fifth is from Mrauk-U township, family members and friends of the detainees told RFA on Monday.

Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun tsaid that authorities are looking into the video, but that soldiers always act according to law when they arrest and interrogate suspects.

We are still investigating the video that went viral on social media, he said. We released statements on the issue yesterday, and I have told RFA about that. We have arrested three AA members and three others who have connections to the AA.

We even got the ID numbers of three AA soldiers, he added. The three others are confirmed to have connections to the AA.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said the video is proof that Myanmar forces abuse detained civilians.

This is totally wrong, he said. This is clear proof of military troops using torture and inhumane methods to get the answers they want during interrogations.

This is not the first time that they have arrested innocent civilians accused of being AA members and tortured them during interrogation, he added. Its happened many times in the past.

Clashes between government soldiers and the AA, which seeks greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhine people in the state, took place near Kyauk Seik village around mid-April.

Ponnagyun township has seen fierce fighting between the warring sides during the 16-month armed conflict and is one of nine townships in the conflict zone where the government has imposed a mobile internet blackout as a security measure.

Both Myanmar forces and the AA routinely detain and interrogate civilians and local government employees whom they believe may be assisting the enemy.

The relatives of the five men and local lawmakers have demanded justice.

A family elder from Kyauk Seik village, who requested anonymity out of fear for his safety, said it was traumatic to see his son-in-law being tortured in the video.

I watched the video this morning, he told RFA. He is the one in white tank top. His hands were tied behind his back.

I saw him getting beaten and having his hair pulled out, the elder said. I am pretty sure the man in the white tank top is my son-in-law. I feel shocked and find it to be traumatic. I know he didnt commit any wrongdoing. I want him released from captivity.



Tortured on way to Sittwe

A local resident who declined to be named for the same reason identified two of the detainees in the video as friends from Kyauk Seik village.

I have watched the video on Facebook, he told RFA. Two of the five [detainees] in the video are my friends. They are the one wearing a white tank top and the one beside him who is wearing a green shirt.

The one beside him in a white checkered shirt is also from our village, he added. Of the two other men, one is from Ponnagyun [towns] Ywa Haung area, and the other is from Mrauk-Us Zeepingyi village, though he lives temporarily in Sittwe.

The resident identified the three men from Kyauk Seik village as Nyi Nyi Aung, Myo Lin Oo, and Maung Chae, and said that Myanmar forces captured all five near the Guwa pagoda on the edge of Ponnagyun town.

They were being tortured on the naval vessel on their way to the No. 1 naval base in Sittwe, he said.

Kyauk Seik villagers told RFA in a previous report that Myanmar Army Battalion No. 550 based in Ponnagyun fired the artillery shells on their community on April 13, though the military denied the attack.

Six days after the shelling, soldiers detained 38 villagers for questioning over possible ties to the AA, but released 33 of them the next day. The remaining five had been sent by naval vessel to the Sittwe Myoma Police Station for interrogation. On May 7, they were sent back to the Ponnagyun Myoma Police Station.

The men told their family members that the beatings and other forms of assault in the video took place during a day and a night as they were being transported by boat to Sittwe.

Authorities have not given the men any specific reasons for their continued detention, their family members said.

Khin Maung Latt, an upper house lawmaker who represents Rakhine states No. 2 constituency, told RFA that the government should take action to ensure that such brutality against civilian detainees does not occur again.

The family and relatives of the victims confirmed that the men in the video are related to them, he said. We have seen many cruelties. This is unacceptable. The government should act according to legal mechanisms to take action against the abusers so that we can avoid other incidents like this in future.

This is not good for the state, he added. It damages the image of the government and its ability to maintain the rule of law. The international community is also watching, so the government should take more action for [the sake of] the rule of law.



Medics transfer a civilian injured by heavy shelling in Kyauk Seik village to a hospital in Ponnagyun township, western Myanmar's Rakhine state, April 13, 2020. RFA video screenshot Three officials charged

The beatings of the five Rakhine men on board the naval boat is the latest in an ongoing string of incidents targeting ethnic Rakhine civilians amid the larger conflict between Myanmar and Arakan forces.

Police in Rakhines Taungup township on Monday charged three local officials under Section 50(a) of Myanmars Counter-Terrorism Law and remanded them to court, though details of their arrests remain unclear, said the defendants attorney Tin Nyo.

Zeya Kyaw, chairman of the Taungup township municipal committee; San Wai, former municipal committee chairman; and Wai Thaung, vice chairman of the township's Arakan National Party executive committee have been charged, he said. They face sentences of 10 years to life in prison if found guilty.

The three men were arrested over the past three days, Tin Nyo added.

They were [charged] this morning, Zeya Kyaw said Monday. Three of them have been remanded at court today.

Han Su, wife of Zeya Kyaw, told RFA that her husband said that the trio will be held for 15 days.

He told me not to worry, she said. He said that the authorities havent found any evidence against him so far. They remanded him so that they could proceed with their investigation.

Han Su also said that the three men were taken to Yangon after their court appearance on Monday, though RFA could not confirm this.

The family of Zeya Kyaw, who has been working with local authorities to control the spread of the coronavirus, said that authorities have not stated their reasons for charging the men.

RFA was unable to reach Hla Tin from the Taungup Township Police Force for comment.

Attorney Tin Nyo said Zeya Kyaw has been accused of influencing public opinion on social media.

San Wai said he has been accused unfairly by those who want to sabotage his township development activities.

On May 7, the Taungup Township Court remanded five other individuals, charging them Monday under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.



Calls for nationwide truce

Myanmar political analysts, meanwhile, say the government military should issue a nationwide unilateral cease-fire and focus on containing the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

The Myanmar military announced a partial truce on May 10, but excluded the AA amid the current armed conflict in northern Rakhine state.

On May 3, the AA and two other ethnic armies that comprise the Brotherhood Alliance announced the extension of their unilateral cease-fire for another month while the government focuses on fighting the spread of COVID-19.

They also requested that the government army not exclude Rakhine state from its unilateral cease-fire from May 10 to Aug. 31.

Myanmar political analyst Maung Maung Soe said that the AA, which is included on the list of organizations participating in COVID-19 eradication activities, will not be able to assist in the effort without a temporary cessation of hostilities.

To the extent that the government is calling on the AA to participate in the eradication of the coronavirus, it is not possible without a cease-fire from the Myanmar Armys side, he said.

In our view, only with a nationwide cease-fire agreed to by both the army and all ethnic armed groups can we fight COVID-19, he added.

Aung Myo, a retired Myanmar Army officer and political analyst, said the two sides will have no choice but to stop fighting in Rakhine if the virus spreads there. So far, the state has reported no confirmed COVID-19 cases.

If it spreads into this area, and especially into the villages, both sides will stop fighting, he said. Right now, we havent reached that stage yet. [But] if there is an outbreak in the villages, both the AA and the army will stop fighting.

Nyi Ran, the liaison officer for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Myanmar's largest non-state military, said a nationwide truce would allow all ethnic armies to join in the efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Because it is an infectious disease, we have to fight against it together, he told RFA. We welcome the armys cease-fire announcement, but if it were a nationwide truce, then it would be perfect.

Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said the military excluded AA and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which operates in Rakhine state, because they both have been declared terrorist organizations.

We excluded two terrorist organizations  ARSA and the AA  from the cease-fire, he said.

It is in the publics interest not to declare a cease-fire when the other side is planting mines along public roads, attacking security forces, and blocking food supplies, he said, referring to the AA.

On the other hand, the army has sent a letter about coronavirus prevention to the AA under a government-proposed virus cooperation plan, he added.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Arrested by the police for demanding political reform in a letter posted on WeChat. The academic upheld the coronavirus underscored inadequacies of the Chinese government system, denounced the crackdown on society, and called on the National People's Assembly to write a modern constitution.

Shanghai (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Constitutionalist and human rights lawyer Zhang Xuezhong was freed by the police yesterday evening and returned home. He was detained March 10, after he posted a harsh attack on the Communist Party regime on WeChat (Chinese Twitter), calling for political reforms for the country.

In a new post published just after his release, Zhang, 44, said he was doing well and thanked everyone who supported him. In his open letter, immediately removed by censors, he states that the explosion and spread of Covid-19 highlighted the inadequacies of the Chinese government system, in turn the result of the lack of a modern Constitution.

The pandemic spread from Wuhan (Hubei) around the world. Since the end of December, there have been 84450 cases of contagion in China and 4643 deaths. Globally, the infected are over 4 million; more than 282 thousand dead.

Zhang notes that the persecution of people who reported the outbreak in December, including Wuhan Li Wenliang, a doctor who later died of the coronavirus, reveals how harsh and arbitrary the crackdown on Chinese society is.

The academician also asks the National People's Assembly, which will open its works on May 22 for its annual session, to transform itself into a "transitional authority", vested with the power to write a new Constitution in accordance with "modern political principles".

It is not the first time that Zhang has been targeted by the authorities. In 2013, again for his criticisms of the constitutional system, he had lost his chair at the East China University of Shanghai. Zhang is known in the news for defending some members of the New Citizens' Movement, founded by colleague and activist Xu Zhiyong, one of the many intellectuals currently in prison for criticizing the regime.
Rally organizer Kenneth Tung addresses demonstrators gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver on June 9, 2019, to protest against a controversial extradition law proposed by Hong Kongs pro-Beijing government to ease extraditions to China. (Don MacKinnon/AFP via Getty Images)

Harassment of China Human Rights Defenders in Canada Ramping Up: Report

Chinese-Canadian democracy activist and author Sheng Xue says she receives messages about friends missing or arrested in China nearly every day.

Though she says she feels both lucky and guilty to live in a free country like Canada, having left China after the Tiananmen Square massacre, it has not sheltered her from the wrath of Beijing. And as the vice-president of the Federation for a Democratic China and an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), she is a natural target.

Over the past 30 years of her advocacy work, Sheng has been subjected to every type of harassment and intimidation the CCP has become known for, she says.

This includes being barred from visiting family in China, regular attacks in Beijing-controlled media, coordinated attacks and bullying online, insults and threats against her family and friends, a lawsuit, widespread defamation, her personal information released online, and more.

Sheng made the comments at an online press conference on May 12 to announce a new report showing that Beijing-sponsored harassment and intimidation of human rights activists in Canada is on the rise.

Sheng Xue in a file photo. (Helena Zhu/The Epoch Times)

Prepared by a coalition that includes Amnesty International Canada, the report covers how Chinese authorities have exerted influence in Canadaincluding in the Chinese communityon elected officials, in Chinese-Canadian media outlets, through social media, and in academic institutions.

The main targets for harassment are members of five groups or entities that the Chinese Communist Party targets the most for repression and persecutionTaiwan, Tibetans, Uighurs, Falun Gong adherents, and pro-democracy movements, says the report.

Human rights defenders active with these groups in Canada have experienced a growing pattern of abuse, says Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.

There has been a deeply disturbing intensification of threats, intimidation, and interference against individual activists and communities in Canada. These abuses are felt by all communities and groups concerned about human rights in China, he said.

The unmistakable intent has been to disrupt and shut down activities in Canada that seek to draw attention to Chinas human rights record. The impact has ranged from inconvenience and frustration to intense levels of fear, anxiety, and distress.

Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, speaks at a really across from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa on July 19, 2017 to call for an end to the persecution campaign against Falun Gong in China. (The Epoch Times)

The report, titled Harassment & Intimidation of Individuals in Canada Working on China-Related Human Rights Concerns, notes that Beijing-backed Chinese actors appear to have become emboldened in their efforts to deter human rights activists in Canada by the inadequate response from Canadian officials.

The result is an unacceptable chilling effect on the exercise of free expression, civil liberties and fundamental freedoms in Canada, the authors warn.

The Canadian government must treat this issue with increased urgency, as it has resulted in insecurity and fear for human rights defenders in Canada, the report says.

At his daily news conference on May 12, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped a question about what his government is doing to stop Chinas intimidation tactics in Canada.

The Canadian government has always highlighted concerns about human rights and respect for basic human democracies and liberties with every country that we engage with around the world, including China, he said. We are strong supporters and defenders of free speech and the right to protest.

Systemic Abuse

The Chinese Communist Party has a well-documented history of pursuing political and cultural influence abroad, in part by mobilizing overseas Chinese to act as agents of Chinas political interests, with the goal of suppressing dissidents and voices critical of Beijing.

In Canada, Tibetan-Canadians, Uighur-Canadians, Falun Gong practitioners, Hong Kong Canadians, pro democracy activists, and other individuals working on China-related human rights issues have long reported a campaign of harassment and intimidation against them at the hands of Chinese authorities.

The Lennon Wall in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong at the Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., on July 30, 2019. (Courtesy of SFU Hong Kong Society)

The coalitions report released this week expands on their earlier findings published in 2017, noting there has been no improvement since then: the abuse is wide-ranging, pervasive, and consistent with allegations of a systemic campaign.

There have been continued incidents of digital attacks, phone harassment, in-person monitoring of individuals in Canada, harassment and intimidation at demonstrations, harassment of family members in China, and interference with freedom of assembly and media, it reads.

For example, the report cites a number of protests organized by Hong Kong democracy supporters in Canada that were met by pro-Beijing counter-protesters who used aggressive, confrontational tactics and who expert observers believe may be directed or organized by Chinese state authorities.

Another example is prominent Tibetan-Canadian student leader Chemi Lhamo, who has been the victim of aggressive online abuse, death threats, phone harassment, and monitoring by Chinese students possibly linked to the Chinese consulate.

There have been a number of incidents across Canada involving threats, bullying, and harassment of practitioners of Falun Gong. And Uighur individuals living in Canada have faced threats of retaliation against their relatives in Xinjiang as a result of their activism.

The report also highlights some emerging trends, particularly the increased incidence of interference, harassment, and intimidation on university campuses, with a noticeable mobilization of Chinese international students.

This may take the form of pro-Beijing protests or counter-protests believed to be organized by Chinese officials or consulates, and other means of harassment and intimidation against activists carried out by groups of provocateurs believed to be Chinese international students organized or incentivized by Chinese officials or pro-Beijing front groups.

Canadas Response Lacking

The report concludes that Canadian authorities need a renewed sense of urgency and coordinated, comprehensive approach to address these human rights concerns, noting their response so far has been piecemeal at best.

In many cases, individuals avoided reporting abuses to authorities because they believed it wouldnt help the situation, or would actually make it worse if the Chinese regime found out.

Neve says these worrying trends are a clear indication its time for Canadian authorities to take concerted action.

There can be no excuse for a half-hearted or scattered approach to addressing human rights violations here in Canada linked directly or indirectly to the Chinese government, he said.

Some of the reports recommendations include appointing a centralized front-line contact within government to report specific incidents, coordinating a response across government departments and agencies, and ensuring appropriate action is taken on individual complaints.

The coalition further recommends law reforms as well as an independent public inquiry into interference specific to the education sector.

With files from the Canadian Press
I am writing in response to Maggie Koesters op-ed (May 5, Coronavirus lawsuit is irresponsible, selfish, and unethical) wherein she questions both my motivation and the ethical underpinnings of my decision to sue Gov. Ned Lamont for his authoritarian overreach in requiring all citizens to carry and wear some sort of mask.

My first reaction was sadness  is it merely a sign of the times that a second-year law student studying to protect and defend the ultimate law of our land, would fail to see how it is, in times of crisis like these, that we must be most vigilant in protecting the rights guaranteed us by the most beautiful blueprint for self-governance in recorded history? Or can I simply chalk it up to her status as just another entitled millennial? I dont know her personally so I cant know for sure, but she has a lot to learn in the next year before she is called upon to swear an oath to support the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Connecticut

On what planet does this law student think its OK for our governor to pick and choose what people can earn a living and provide for their family? How is it acceptable for Governor Lamont to add these new, draconian mask requirements when we are already past the virus peak? Has she forgotten that the whole shutdown was sold to us as the only way to flatten the curve so that people didnt die in overrun hospital parking lots? Perhaps this young lady would think differently if she knew that the science shows, unequivocally, that these porous surgical and cloth masks do nothing to block the microscopic SARS-CoV-2 particles; or that wearing these useless masks actually does harm, as the wearers will be touching their faces constantly with their hands to put them on, adjust them, and take them off.

That we have already succeeded in flattening the curve, in conjunction with the fact that these masks do not stop the spread of the virus, begs some real questions: Are Governor Lamonts continued and additional edicts merely gratuitous attempts to see how much we the people will endure? Is the governor, along with his fellow consortium of communist governors in the Northeast, intent on purposely extending the duration of this pandemic into the fall, winter and even into 2021? Are we being conditioned to accept a mandatory vaccine, created outside of normal safety protocols, even though scientists have never, ever been able to create a safe coronavirus vaccine after decades of trying?

One only has to think about the Patriot Act and how most of us take for granted that our phone calls are being overheard and our emails being monitored, to be reminded how our right to privacy was decimated in the aftermath of our last great tragedy, the 9/11 attacks. And the governmental overreach in response to this SARS-CoV-2 epidemic is far worse, as its the first time in our history that we are quarantining healthy people.

Lastly, I cant understand why anyone  other than the governor and his cohorts  is concerned about my lawsuit. If I am wrong, my suit will be dismissed and everyone can go on their merry way breathing in their own carbon dioxide and following whatever other whim comes from the tip of King Lamonts pen. And if I prevail, the ultimate law of our land will have been vindicated, in which case every red-blooded American should rejoice.

Lindy R. Urso of Cos Cob has a law practice in Stamford.
Disney cruise ship to dock Cozumel with repatriated Mexican passengers

Cozumel, Q.R.  A Disney cruise ship is scheduled to dock at the Punta Langosta pier of Cozumel carrying Mexican passengers who will leave the island and be flown back to their places of origin.

Cozumel mayor Pedro Joaquin Delbouis announced on Thursday, the Disney Fantasy cruise ship will arrive at the Punta Langosta pier with 68 Mexican passengers, 15 of whom are from Quintana Roo. He says those on board the Disney Cruise line were repatriated in the face of the global health pandemic.

He made it clear that the ship, nor its passengers, represent any health risk for the population of Cozumel since the Mexicans repatriated on the cruise are free of coronavirus and their landing will take place without public interaction.

I want to make it clear that the Disney Fantasy cruise ship will not arrive with tourists. It is about Mexican workers, all of them healthy, who work for the Disney Cruise Line and who, at the moment, were left without their source of employment due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

He also pointed out that as the President of the Republic Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, one cannot act in isolation or reject requests for humanitarian aide, noting that all sanitary protocols will be applied.

Pedro Joaquin indicated that the docking will be supervised by international health personnel who will monitor the medical log of each passenger before the arrival of the ship, which will be shared with the Municipal Health Committee to guarantee the security of the operation.

He noted that agents of the National Institute of Migration (INM) will also be there to ensure document verification protocols.

Once the process is complete, those on board will descend from the cruise ship to board a ferry bound for Playa del Carmen, where they will be flown to their places of origin. Pedro Joaquin says those aboard the cruise ship will not have any interaction with the people of Cozumel.

The acceptance was made in coordination with the federal and state governments because these people are Mexican and these moments are of great solidarity and support among all Mexicans, he stated.

The announcement of the arrival of the ship comes on the same day Pedro Joaquin announced day 12 without additional positive cases or deaths of coronavirus for the island.
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San Francisco, 12 May 2020: The Report Latin America Detergent Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Laundry, Household & Kitchen), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), By Country, and Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

The Latin America detergent market size is anticipated to reach USD 28.08 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period. Rising demand for washing machines in developing countries in Latin America, coupled with surging demand for powder detergents from rural areas of developing economies, is expected to drive the market.

Powder detergents are witnessing rising competition from liquid detergents. Adoption of liquid detergent in developing economies is experiencing a sharp rise owing to its ease of use and it being pre-dissolved. Application of liquid detergent on stains as compared to powder detergents is much more convenient for consumers.

The market is governed by presence of various regulations that specify safe use of raw materials used to manufacture detergents. In addition, since the demand for biodegradable and environment-friendly detergents is on a rise, this has encouraged manufacturers to spend on research & development and launch innovative products to cater to consumer demand.

The market for household & kitchen detergent is estimated to expand at a steady pace in Latin America over the forecast period.With the population in Latin America increasing, it is important to maintain cleanliness around households and commercial spaces to avoid threats of diseases and infections. These trends are likely to impact the demand for the product over the forecast period.

The commercial application sector is projected to be a lucrative segment on account of increasing investments being made in Latin America. Soaring need for proper sanitation and hygiene in hospitals and commercial spaces is fueling the demand for floor cleaners in the region. Since these spaces see an influx of people on a daily basis, it is important to maintain proper cleanliness for overall safety of the people.

Access Research Report of Latin America Detergent Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/latin-america-detergent-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

In terms of revenue, the laundry detergent product segment is anticipated to reach USD 12.59 billion by 2025, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.8% from 2018 to 2025

The residential application segment dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2017. It is expected to represent about 60.0% of the market by 2025, owing to increasing awareness regarding importance of hygiene in households

The Colombia laundry detergent market is estimated to exceed USD 2.74 billion by 2025 owing to presence of various national brands and private label detergent manufacturers in the country

The market for Latin America laundry detergents is competitive with presence of a number of global, medium, and small scale companies catering to the regional demand

Some of the key companies present in the market are Productos Quimicos Panamericanos SA (PQP), Procter & Gamble, California Cleaning Supply LLC, Detergentes Y Jabones Sasil S.A., and Biocloro S.R. The companies in the market use the strategy of mergers & acquisitions to expand their market reach and product portfolios.

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/bulk-chemicals

Grand View Research has segmented the Latin America detergent market on the basis of product, application, and country.

Detergent Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

Laundry Detergent Powder Liquid Fabric Softener Tablets Others

Household & Kitchen Detergent All-purpose Cleaners Powder Liquid Others

Others

Detergent Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

Detergent Country Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

Colombia

Haiti

Dominican Republic

Access Press Release of Latin America Detergent Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/latin-america-detergent-market-analysis

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
Alabama opened in ways Monday, tentative and halting and with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

At the Fish Market in downtown Birmingham, where George Sarris has held court for 37 years, the restaurant opened for lunch, but served only about a dozen customers in the first two hours, he said.

They ate off plastic plates, with individually wrapped condiments, on tables clean but far apart. It was dining out, but he admitted it lacked the typical vibe.

Is it worth it? Is it worth opening at all to serve at 50 percent capacity, to a worried clientele and a world that may or may not be ready to gamble on its new normal?

To tell you the truth, no, Sarris said. But you have to jump in the ocean sometimes to test the water.

Thats what people and businesses did from Tennessee to the Gulf on Monday. They tested the waters, with varying degrees of comfort.

Activity in downtown Birmingham remained sparse, as it has for weeks. Birminghams Railroad Park, in normal times a beehive, was all but empty Monday morning, save for a personal trainer, an athlete running cones and a few joggers, most of them unmasked.

Jefferson County was an early hotspot for the virus, and initiated restrictions to flatten the curve and limit the spread of coronavirus. As of Monday it had recorded 1,123 confirmed cases, and 61 known deaths. Health officials there cautioned against backsliding, and recommended limiting gatherings of more than 10 people for another two weeks.

Mobile County  with few identified cases early in the pandemic  has surged past Jefferson in both confirmed cases and deaths. By Monday, it had reported 1,465 cases and 90 deaths, by far the most in the state.

Residents and business owners there were both hopeful and cautious this week, eager to hop back into a sense of normalcy, but worried about financial viability under regulations that exclude half of occupancy. Some restaurants, including the renowned Wintzells, are not ready to open at all. Others approached Monday with one eye on the balance sheet and one on the virus itself.

Nobody is taking this thing lightly, restaurateur Pete Blohme -- he is known as Panini Pete in South Alabama and owns four restaurants in Mobile and Baldwin counties -- said in a video he posted on Facebook to talk about the reopening.

The coronavirus hasnt gone away, he said. Its not something we need to fear. Its something we need to respect.

Restaurants are able to control their environments much easier than other retail venues, he said. They can control where patrons sit and how far apart they remain, among other things. These days Blohme will serve them with minimal staff and limited ingredients.

Were going to keep the crew safe, the public safe as we move to a new phase, he said.

The mood in North Alabama, which has largely been spared from epidemic, was a little less cautious, but not exactly carefree. Madison County has confirmed a total of 247 cases and only four deaths from coronavirus  a 10th of those in far-smaller Tallapoosa County in south-central Alabama.

Many residents in Madison County seemed eager to shop and to dine out, but even there it was unclear if they are so ready that they will embrace reopening in large numbers. Redstone Arsenal remained largely shut down, so it is all but impossible for the rest of Huntsville to reopen.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle has urged personal responsibility, and encouraged residents to stay home if they dont feel comfortable. He warned a few days ago that reopening will likely be a slow build.

Pressure to reopen the economy, as the politicians have come to call it, has grown steadily in recent weeks, even as the 14-day moving average of coronavirus cases in Alabama has largely trended upward. The number of cases on May 7  a day before Gov. Kay Ivey loosened the restrictions  was the highest day yet for coronavirus confirmations.

The state has now passed 400 deaths from coronavirus, and is poised to cross the 10,000 count for infections.

In Birmingham, Sarris will do all he can. He continues to serve the diners who want to eat in, and still offers curbside pickup. He wishes, though, that Alabama had waited another week before leaping into the water.

I told somebody its like were on the Titanic and we are going down and the government has all the life jackets, he said. They keep telling us Well give them to you soon.

It makes it hard to step right back in, because every level of government has given assurances and orders, and most have quickly changed them.

The West Wing has the virus and doesnt wear masks, but tells us to wear masks, he said. It is crazy. I feel like were doing all this by the seat of our pants.

Thats what bothers him most as Alabama tries to rush toward reopening. He doesnt know who to believe, and he doesnt think the politicians know either. Few of us do. So facing financial or public health catastrophe, we rush to save ourselves. Or  depending on who you trust -- just the opposite.

Half of us belong in an asylum, he said. Im just not sure which half.
Nimesh Chandan Head  Investments, Equities, Canara Robeco MF, said the coronavirus pandemic is a Black Swan event, considering that it was not predicted, and has an extremely high impact on economies and markets. He added that uncertainty over how long will it take for things to return to normal has led to fear and ultimately to sharp selloff in the market.

Edited excerpts:

A: Markets dont like uncertainty and hence undergo a correction. At this point in time, it is difficult to estimate how much the coronavirus infections would spread and by when we will return to business as usual. Most market participants are struggling to price in the impact on the earnings growth of companies.

The uncertainty has led to fear and ultimately to a sharp selloff. Once the contagion rate (the pace of infection spreading) reduces and the recovery rate (patient discharges from hospitals) improves, investors will be able to forecast the end of the pandemic and price the companies with a much clearer view of the impact.

An important point to note is that markets may not wait for the economic situation to normalise again. It is possible that markets start discounting the normalcy a bit early, once there are discernible signs of improvement.

A: The coronavirus pandemic is a Black Swan event considering that it was not predicted, and it has an extremely high impact on economies and markets. There may not be a way to anticipate Black Swan events, but there are ways to navigate them and use them to our advantage.A: At Canara Robeco, we are deploying cash in companies that have a strong business model, a good management team, limited capital requirement, healthy cash flows and a huge runway to grow profitably.

We believe, as a basket, these businesses will be worth much more in future and will create wealth. We analyse how the current crises will impact their business too and select companies that have strong, unleveraged balance sheets.

We like companies that are less impacted by this crises like FMCG, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, utilities, telecom, etc.

We prefer companies that can experience pent up demand or that can have higher market share when the situation normalizes.

We are also looking at companies that are affected by the crises, but the market has discounted the bear case scenarios and are trading much below their intrinsic value.

A: Markets dont like uncertainty and hence undergo a correction. At this point in time, it is difficult to estimate how much the coronavirus infections would spread and by when we will return to business as usual. Most market participants are struggling to price in the impact on the earnings growth of companies.

The uncertainty has led to fear and ultimately to a sharp selloff. Once the contagion rate (the pace of infection spreading) reduces and the recovery rate (patient discharges from hospitals) improves, investors will be able to forecast the end of the pandemic and price the companies with a much clearer view of the impact.

An important point to note is that markets may not wait for the economic situation to normalise again. It is possible that markets start discounting the normalcy a bit early, once there are discernible signs of improvement.

A: The coronavirus pandemic is a Black Swan event considering that it was not predicted, and it has an extremely high impact on economies and markets. There may not be a way to anticipate Black Swan events, but there are ways to navigate them and use them to our advantage.A: At Canara Robeco, we are deploying cash in companies that have a strong business model, a good management team, limited capital requirement, healthy cash flows and a huge runway to grow profitably.

We believe, as a basket, these businesses will be worth much more in future and will create wealth. We analyse how the current crises will impact their business too and select companies that have strong, unleveraged balance sheets.

We like companies that are less impacted by this crises like FMCG, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, utilities, telecom, etc.

We prefer companies that can experience pent up demand or that can have higher market share when the situation normalizes.

We are also looking at companies that are affected by the crises, but the market has discounted the bear case scenarios and are trading much below their intrinsic value.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - HEYBRYAN MEDIA INC. (CSE: HEY) (OTCQB: HEYBF) (FSE: 9HB) ("HeyBryan" or the "Company"), the creator of HeyBryan, the app that connects people with experts to complete small home maintenance tasks, is excited to announce the availability of plexiglass installation services, for business owners looking to quickly comply with 'back to work' guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.





HeyBryan Media Inc. (CSE:HEY) (OTCQB:HEYBF) (FSE:9HB)



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6572/55679_handyman.jpg

Most provincial governments have developed specific guidelines to ensure a slow and steady path for businesses to start reopening amidst the pandemic, including physical distancing measures, engineering controls (like plexiglass barriers for example), administrative controls, and the use of personal protective equipment. The HeyBryan app has hundreds of vetted handyman experts in the GTA, BC's Lower Mainland, and the city of Calgary, ready and available to help businesses comply with these new guidelines.

"Not only does HeyBryan connect homeowners with experts to complete small household tasks, it's also here to help businesses in the retail or restaurant space with necessary enhancements or repairs," said Lance Montgomery, CEO of HeyBryan. "We wanted to let business owners know HeyBryan is here if they're looking for qualified handymen to help install plexiglass barriers or make other physical changes to their workplace."

HeyBryan is free to download and is available on both Apple and Android devices.

About HeyBryan Media Inc.:

HeyBryan Media (CSE: HEY) is a peer-to-peer marketplace app offering a friendly and seamless way for customers to connect with trusted and vetted Experts for everyday home-maintenance needs. Founded in 2018, the app is named after Canadian HGTV personality and one of the country's most trusted contractors, Bryan Baeumler.

Payments are processed through the HeyBryan app, eliminating the need for any in-person money exchange. Every Expert is background checked and credit checked to ensure a safe and secure experience for consumers. Typical tasks booked include handyman services, mounting or installation, furniture assembly, plumbing, painting, cleaning, lawn and yard maintenance, and more. HeyBryan accommodates busy schedules by allowing the independent workforce and consumers to communicate and work together. It's about real experts doing real work for real people.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates, forecasts, beliefs and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to: risks related to the development, testing, licensing, intellectual property protection, and sale of, and demand for, the HeyBryan App and the services offered thereby, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals where applicable, and the state of the capital markets. HeyBryan cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements provided by HeyBryan, as such forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future results or performance and actual results may differ materially. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and HeyBryan expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor Relations Contacts:

Lance Montgomery, President & CEO

778-928-7708

lance@heybryan.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55679
An accused gunman charged over the shooting death of his acquaintance 'accidentally' pulled the trigger, his girlfriend has alleged.

Blake Wynne, 22, was taken into custody after the shooting at Calrossie Close at Endeavour Hills, in south-east Melbourne, on Monday night.

Mr Wynne's girlfriend Melissa Middleton alleged her partner pulled the trigger but said it wasn't intentional.

Witnesses heard a woman scream 'why did you do that?' after the gunshot rang out, the Herald Sun reported.

Blake Wynne (right), 22, was arrested over the shooting at Calrossie Close at Endeavour Hills, in south-east Melbourne, on Monday night

Ms Middleton and Mr Wynne have been in a relationship since late last year

The body of the victim - who is yet to be formally identified - was found by police slumped inside a parked car on the street.

Mr Wynne and a 19-year-old Wantirna man were both charged with one count of murder and were remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Ms Middleton - a mother-of-three - was seen leaving her Calrossie Close home in a car with two other women, trailed by detectives in a second car.

Ms Middleton and Mr Wynne have been in a relationship since late last year.

The crime scene is located right next to a park frequently used to make drug deals, locals claimed.

'The park is used for deals. The number of characters that walk through the park is ridiculous,' one resident said.

Another neighbour said different cars regularly drive up and down the street.

'Cars come day and night. It's like a drive through bottle shop,' one said.

Detectives bagged numerous items as evidence after searching the drains, park and rubbish bins.

Police questioning will be delayed due to Mr Wynne's medical episode.

They do not believe it was a random attack and say there is no ongoing risk to the community.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested after another man was allegedly shot dead before 8pm on Monday. Pictured: Officers and detectives investigating the crime scene
WASHINGTON, D. C. - Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday warned the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee against prematurely reopening the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that failure to abide by federally released guidelines for reopening could result in really serious consequences.

There is no doubt, even in the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear, Fauci told Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

Its the ability and the capability of responding to those cases with good identification, isolation, and contact tracing will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen America. So, its not only doing it at the appropriate time with the appropriate constraints, but having in place the capability of responding when the inevitable return of infections occur.

Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, and other witnesses at the hearing warned its unlikely that a vaccine will be available to prevent infections when students are scheduled to return to school in the fall, although they said the ability for more widespread testing will improve.

Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Brett Giroir predicted some universities will adopt a surveillance strategy, where different students are tested at different times to assure that the disease isnt present, and said it might be possible to test wastewater in particular areas to gauge the presence of infection.

Many of the U.S. senators who participated in the hearing did so through a computer link, as did all the witnesses, who were self-quarantined because they came into contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for the virus.. None of Ohios senators are on the HELP Committee, but Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman said he watched portions of the testimony.

It sounds like theyre getting a lot of good information, said Portman. Dr. Fauci is someone who feels strongly that the reopening can occur, but only if its safe and youre following the White House guidelines and he reiterated that again and I think thats true.

"In Ohio, we have, fortunately, this ramp-up in testing, more PPE (personal protective equipment) and the start of more antiviral medication coming, but well need more of all three.

People want to go back to work but we have to make sure its safe, added a statement from Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. "Dr. Fauci is right, we need to remain cautious and reopen slowly so we arent back in this situation in a month. For the economy to reopen safely, we need a huge increase in testing, intensive contact tracing, effective isolation and quarantine measures, and we must have enforceable safety protections for all workers.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a physician who recovered from an asymptomatic coronavirus case, noted that mortality from the disease is quite low in people under age 45, and said rural states like Kentucky have had less deaths from COVID-19 than they experience during typical flu seasons. He said it would be a huge mistake to not open schools in the fall.

I hope that people who are predicting doom and gloom and saying, oh, we cant do this, theres going to be a surge, will admit that they were wrong if there isnt a surge, because I think thats whats going to happen, he said.

Fauci responded that some children diagnosed with COVID-19 experience a strange inflammation similar to Kawasaki syndrome, so it shouldnt be assumed that that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.

He told Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders its likely that the real number of people who have died from COVID-19 is probably higher than official statistics because they died at home without having been hospitalized.

Sanders sought assurances from the witnesses that regardless of income, every American will be able to gain access to the vaccine when it comes.

I will certainly advocate that everyone is able to receive the vaccine, regardless of income or any other circumstance, Giroir told Sanders.

Fauci said there are at least eight potential COVID-19 vaccines in clinical development, and finding one that works could take a year to 18 months.

We have many candidates and hope to have multiple winners, said Fauci. In other words, its multiple shots on goal. This will be important because this will be good for global availability if we have more than one successful candidate.

More coverage:

Rep. Marcia Fudge proposes coronavirus-inspired voting change

Ohio hospitals to get remdesivir to fight coronavirus, says Sen. Rob Portman

What Obamacare cancellation would mean to Ohio

Rep. Jim Jordan to serve on coronavirus oversight committee he argued against creating

Gun sales soar in Ohio during coronavirus pandemic

Is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio the most conservative Congress member of all time?

Ohio Congress members want people who lack internet access to be able to track their coronavirus stimulus checks

Ohio hospitals want Medicare to forgive coronavirus loans

Rep. Jim Jordan wants probe of FBIs Michael Flynn investigation

Trump administration to probe whether imported transformer parts threaten Cleveland Cliffs subsidiary AK Steel

Groups pushing to reopen after coronavirus give Gov. Mike DeWines efforts a C

Sen. Sherrod Brown wants child care bailout in next coronavirus bill

Sen. Rob Portman asks Treasury Department to make coronavirus loans available to small business owners with criminal records

Ford Motor Company will require that workers wear face masks and have their temperatures taken when it reopens U.S. plants

Coronavirus drains Ohio municipal treasuries; Mayors seek federal aid to avoid cuts

Christina Hagan on track to challenge Rep. Tim Ryan: See who won Ohios congressional primaries
In an effort to support the COVID-19 outbreak response, Star India and Disney+ Hotstar have partnered with Project Mumbai to provide over 200,000 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits to the health workers at BMC and an additional 10,000 khakhi coloured kits for the Mumbai Police. Mumbai being the most hit by the pandemic, the support will aid the ongoing efforts in meeting the demand for PPE kits for almost four weeks. Showcasing solidarity with the numerous medical, health, and protection warriors, the initiative seeks to equip the selfless people who are at the front line battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the introduction of innovative digital applications in a number of business sectors. Real-estate firms, for example, are now showing properties to customers through virtual tours, while all transactions are being carried out electronically.

Due to social-distancing measures, global production has declined drastically, with many sectors taking steps to adapt to "the new normal." The real-estate industry has responded to the crisis by conducting sales and rentals through virtual tours.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005034/en/

Antalya Homes has successfully sold 12 properties through remote property selling methodology TeleProperty. (Photo: Business Wire)

Within the last month, Antalya Homes, the real-estate company preferred by foreigners wishing to buy property in Turkey, has successfully sold 12 properties worth a total of $1 million through remote property selling methodology TeleProperty, amid rising demand from European countries. The exchange rates have also created a perfect opportunity to buy real estate in Turkey as upon the pandemic, foreign currencies have gained 15% against the Turkish lira in a month's time.

Online real-estate sales through TeleProperty

"We have adapted to new conditions by developing innovative solutions for those who want to buy property in Turkey. TeleProperty lets us provide customers with all property details, such as title deed information, floorplans, prices, availability, and licensing. Customers can also take online viewing tours to examine properties in detail," Antalya Homes Chairman Bayram Tekce explained.

"We negotiate with the seller on behalf of the buyer to determine price and conditions. We then deliver the final contract and all necessary documents to the customer, both online and by mail. Through TeleProperty, we have sold 12 homes (in Istanbul, Antalya, and Alanya) to German, Swedish, and British citizens within the last month alone." Tekce added.

Locals bought 30,000 properties by online title transfer system

"Last year, 45,000 properties were sold to foreigners in Turkey, which is known for its touristic attractions and its unique investment opportunities," said Tekce, who also serves as vice-president of Turkey's Real Estate International Promotion Association (GIGDER).

He added: "Real-estate companies have broken new ground in the use of technology in Turkey, which ranks among the top three countries preferred by foreign property buyers.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have launched WebTapu, an online platform for title deed transactions following the coronavirus outbreak. Between March 18 and 31, a total of 29.748 homes were sold to buyers of all kinds by this application."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005034/en/

Contacts:

Aysun Tekce

www.antalyahomes.com

aysun.tekce@tekce.com

+90 532 212 45 90
A tourist enjoys the sunset on Ha Long Bay, a famous destination in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

The event will take place at the FLC Ha Long International Convention Centre.

The main event in Ha Long city is accompanied by a cultural and culinary week in Mong Cai, Co To, and Uong Bi district. A number of tourism promotion initiatives will be put in place, including free admission to Ha Long Bay in May and a buy one get one free ticket campaign in June and July, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

A week-long fair will begin in Quang Ninh province on May 15 featuring Vietnams specialties and trade promotion sessions.

Quang Ninh expects to welcome up to 4.9 million visitors in 2020.

Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism. It has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and more than 2,000 islands and islets which account for two-thirds of the total number in Vietnam.

It is home to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands.




File photo

A Federal High Court in Abuja has given an order of interim forfeiture of N510million contained in an account belonging to a company  Elioenai International College, allegedly owned by former Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Uko Etim Ebong.

TheNation reported that Justice Ahmed Mohammed granted the order in a ruling on Monday on an ex-parte application filed and argued by lawyer to the Economic and Finanacial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ekele Iheanacho.

The EFCC claimed that the money formed part of the N731million allegedly paid to AVM Ebong, through a company with which he allegedly has a link  Magnificent 5 Ventures Limited, from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) without any contractual agreement.

According to the EFCC, AVM Ebong was the Commander PAF between 2013 and July 2015.

In the ruling on Monday, Justice Mohammed said he was convinced that the EFCC has made out a case to warrant the grant of the interim forfeiture order.

The judge said: An order is hereby made for the interim forfeiture of the sum of N510,000,000 in Sterling Bank account No: 0029581583 recovered by the applicant, which funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

Justice Mohammed further ordered the EFCC to publicise the said order and for anyone who is interested in the funds in respect of which the order was made, to appear before the court and show cause, within 14 days, why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Marx Tejaswi By

Express News Service

SHIVAMOGGA: Shivamogga district reported Covid-19 cases for the first time since the outbreak. A total of eight people, who had returned from Ahmedabad, have tested positive. District Minister K S Eshwarappa told reporters that of the nine men that came on a bus from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, eight have tested positive.



Of the eight, seven are from Shikaripura while one person hails from Thirthahalli. All patients have been treated at McGann Hospital. Travel histories of those who returned from Ahmedabad is being gathered, he said.

Eshwarappa said that no one, except doctors and nurses, will be allowed in isolation wards. Doctors and nurses will also be made to stay at the hospital itself. Once these patients are cured, they will again be kept under quarantine for another 14 days. Doctors and nurses who treated the patients will also be kept under observation at a hotel for 14 days, he said.

Eshwarappa also said that a total of 289 people have returned to the district from various states after passes were issued. All these people have been quarantined and their throat swab samples have been tested. However, results of many samples are awaited. The minister said Shivamogga will continue to be a green zone.



The patients did not contract the disease here. Citizens should be cautious and should continue to abide by the governments instructions, Eshwarappa said.
The deadly coronavirus has infected residents and staff at four other local nursing homes in addition to the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where a previous outbreak killed 19 people.

With hundreds of tests still pending at labs, Metro Health confirmed at least five infections of residents and staff at Advanced Rehab Live Oak; 17 at Rio at Mission Trails on the South Side; nine at Pecan Valley Nursing Home on the South Side; and eight at Legend Oaks West.

No one has died from the new infections, and the majority of patients have not been hospitalized, officials said.

All COVID-19-positive nursing home residents have been transferred to the River City Care Center facility to allow them to recover in isolation from other residents, or if necessary, to a hospital for treatment, Metro Health Director Dawn Emerick said. There are no known positive residents or staff that are currently at these facilities  theyve all been moved.

River City volunteered last month to care for COVID-positive residents of any nursing home in the region, a health care strategy known as co-horting. Under a local control order, public health officials can inspect River City, on the East Side, at any time.

Of the 39 total new infections, more than half  23  were found in residents and staff who showed no symptoms, underscoring the prevalence of the virus even in those who dont know theyre sick. Most of the patients with no symptoms were residents, not staff.

A similar trend was seen at Southeast, where 75 percent of residents who tested positive had no symptoms.

Thats likely because elderly people already have weakened immune systems, said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director at Metro Health.

We know from infections like the flu that people who are older have an atypical presentation, Woo said. Their immune systems, because they are weaker  some of the things that we think of symptoms are the immune symptom response.

Local health officials began conducting widespread testing at nursing homes with confirmed infections weeks ago. They released the results for the first time on Tuesday, a day after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the testing of all nursing home residents and staff in the state.

Abbotts order came on the heels of a recommendation from Vice President Mike Pence that governors in all states ramp up testing in nursing homes.

Officials said the city will begin to include testing results from nursing homes in its daily data postings.

The concern is very much because you have a high density of extremely vulnerable populations in those nursing home facilities, Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger said. So if even one person has COVID-19 in the nursing home, you see that spread very quickly to other individuals throughout the facility. We want to make sure there is no risk that COVID-19 can get into those facilities.

Statewide, infections at nursing homes have been difficult to confirm because the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has kept its records secret. Nearly half of COVID-19 deaths in Texas have occurred at nursing homes or assisted living centers, records show, and about one-third of all coronavirus deaths in the country are nursing home residents or workers.

One of the deadliest outbreaks was at Southeast, where 18 residents and one employee were killed by the virus and more than 70 residents and 25 workers were infected. Officials warned last month that employees at Southeast also worked jobs at Advanced Rehab Live Oak and Rio at Mission Trails and might have infected residents at those facilities.

Last month, Mayor Ron Nirenberg prohibited nursing home employees from working at multiple locations.

Even before the deadly virus engulfed the world this year, state health officials had cited all five of the local nursing homes for failing to maintain infection-control programs, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

At Advanced Rehab Live Oak, a 2018 health inspection found a worker at the facility did not change gloves while cleaning a residents wound, among other violations. The facility is owned by Arlington-based Advanced Healthcare Solutions, the same company that runs Southeast.

At Rio at Mission Trails, a health inspection last year found that a worker did not sanitize her hands while providing catheter care. At Pecan Valley Nursing Home, a 2018 inspection found that workers failed to wash and sanitize their hands. And at Legend Oaks West, an inspection last year found that a worker did not wash or sanitize hands while providing wound care.

Woo said local officials have worked with nursing homes to ensure they are using proper health protocols.

We went around to all of the zero star and one star facilities initially  to provide technical assistance, resources, including not only about infection control, but also advanced care planning, she said.

The prevalence of infectious patients with no symptoms at all makes controlling the virus especially difficult in closed environments, Woo said. Nonetheless, a nursing homes ability to contain a potential outbreak of the virus is a reflection of its general health practices, Bridger acknowledged.

I think thats a fair thing to say, Bridger said, because we have had situations where we have had one person, one patient, for example, who tests positive in a nursing facility, and their infection control practices are such that nobody else tests positive. And then weve had the opposite end where weve had one person test positive and then we have 50 patients test positive.

She added, I think thats the perfect litmus test for their infection control practices.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group brought space tourism company Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) public in the fall of 2019. Now, Branson's company is planning to sell 12% of its stake in the venture to help support its other travel and tourism related businesses as impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic hit the industry particularly hard, the Wall Street Journal reports.

British airline Virgin Atlantic -- 51% owned by Branson and 49% by Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) -- recently announced it was laying off 3,150 employees in an effort to emerge from the crisis successfully. Branson had also recently asked the UK government for 500 million (approximately $620 million) in aid to help save the airline.

Virgin Group will sell 25 million shares of its Virgin Galactic investment, according to the report, valued at approximately $486 million as of the market open today, May 12. Other Virgin Group holdings include a 10% stake in Virgin Australia, which filed for bankruptcy last month, as well as a new cruise line business and a hotel group. Branson is also in talks with private investors, seeking another $500 million for Virgin Atlantic, according to the report.

Virgin Galactic calls itself the "world's first commercial spaceline," and aims to operate reusable aircraft for regularly scheduled spaceflights for individuals and researchers. It plans to bring people to the edge of space to experience zero gravity, eventually catering to the demands of a "growing space-user community." Virgin Galactic stock is up about 64% year-to-date.
Eurovision host Graham Norton said he was upset the singing competition was cancelled this year, but added that safety has to come first.

The TV star, who usually commentates on the contest, will host the BBCs replacement coverage, Eurovision: Come Together on BBC One, after the event in Rotterdam was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Norton, 57, said he had thought this year would have been a special one for the UK and entrant James Newman.

May still means #Eurovision! With programmes across TV, Radio and a special night of @Eurovision on May 16th.



 Eurovision: Come Together - 6.30pm @BBCOne

 Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light - 8pm @BBCOne

 The A-Z of Eurovision - 10pm @BBCTwo



 https://t.co/xant2lkbs7 pic.twitter.com/pAOvI6VYW1  BBC Eurovision (@bbceurovision) May 1, 2020

Talking about the cancellation, he said: I was very upset, we all were, but peoples safety has to come first of course. I always enjoy arriving in the host city and getting the chance to fully immerse myself in the excitement of the competition, theres always a Eurovision fever that has taken over.

Im disappointed for the artists too and the teams that work behind them. They all work for so long to make this wonderful night of TV happen so its sad that the songwriters will also miss out on their time to showcase their songs to the audience.

He tipped Iceland and those iconic jumpers as an act he had been looking forward to seeing.

He added: It was also going to be a really special one for the UK as its the first time in a while that weve worked with a label, so it would have been fun to see the reaction to James performance.

Expand Close This years UK entry James Newman (Victor Frankowski/BBC/PA) PA / Facebook

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The presenter said he hoped the alternative coverage would still feel like event TV.

He explained: I have to admit that theres something nice about looking back at all the greatest Eurovision moments with my slippers and a glass of vino to hand.

I cant say Ill miss the little hut where I normally commentate from, but Ill certainly miss sharing gossip with my fellow commentators and getting to witness all the performances live.

He added that they were going make Come Together as live as possible so it will still feel like event TV hopefully.

He said: Its a big celebration of Eurovision where the UK can for the first time ever choose its favourite song of all time  thats not been done before so thats pretty exciting.

Eurovision: Come Together will feature interviews and guests, and see viewers vote for their favourite Eurovision performance from an eclectic shortlist.

Norton suggested the contest offered real escapism from life under lockdown.

He said: I think Eurovision offers a real escapism for people, which is something we need more than ever throughout these times. This year I think Come Together will be a fantastic way for people at home to celebrate the amazing spirit of the event and hopefully give them a chance to take their minds off the current situation for a few hours.

Newman, who was due to fly the UK flag in The Netherlands in 2020, will be a guest on the show.

It will be followed by the live show announced by Eurovision bosses as a replacement for the contest.

Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light features the performers who would have competed in the 2020 contest, singing from their home countries in a non-competitive format.

Eurovision: Come Together airs at 6.25pm on BBC One on May 16.
The repatriation flights extended from March 25 to May 10 and flew citizens flew citizens back from London, Warsaw, Moscow, Yerevan, Riyadh, Manama, Dubai, Doha, Amman, Istanbul, Alexandria, Cairo, Najaf, Tehran, Tbilisi and Sarajevo.

Cargo operations

Since the suspension of commercial flights from and to Kuwait International Airport on March 13, 2020, Jazeera Airways continued to serve companies and institutions with its cargo services ensuring businesses continue to trade goods and equipment without interruption.

23 cargo flights have already been operated with a total of 253.7 tons in cargo from and to Kuwait International Airport, flying to destinations located at a six-hour flight radius from the country.

Certified by Kuwaits Directorate General for Civil Aviation, Jazeera Airways operates a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft and has a capacity to carry up to 18 tons in cargo in its cabin and aircraft hold combined. Destination airports is subject to regulatory approvals from the host country.

Special expatriation flights

The airline is also operating expatriation flights that have been scheduled under the directive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by request from local embassies.

Strict precautionary measures

The airline performs an anti-viral disinfection program in which it sprays the cabins after each flight, as well as fumigates them using anti-viral high pressure disinfection sprays on seats and throughout the cabin. Disinfectant chemicals used are internationally approved and safe for all passengers. The aircrafts air filters in on-board filtration systems are also replaced frequently, removing dust, allergens, bacteria, viruses and other irritating particles. Constant airflow ensures that the cabin air is refreshed every 90 minutes throughout the flight.

Jazeera Airways crew full protective gear which is disinfected before boarding flights. A second disinfection is performed when disembarking.

Passengers are mandated to wear medical face masks and gloves at all times. Supported by Kuwaiti non-profit organizations, passengers receive a hygiene pack and pre-packed closed food bags to avoid risk of contamination.

Kuwait Passenger Reception Centre (KPRC)

In support of Government efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, Jazeera Airways built the Kuwait Passenger Reception Centre (KPRC) where blood tests are performed on all passengers before proceeding to institutional or house quarantine.

KPRC was managed by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior and was also designed in coordination with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Interior and Kuwait Fire Service Directorate.
A 113-year-old woman, the oldest person living in Spain, has now become the oldest reported survivor of the coronavirus.

Maria Branyas, a mother-of-three, survived COVID-19 whilst in the Santa Maria del Tura care home where she lives in the city of Olot, eastern Spain.

Branyas was originally born in San Fransisco in the United States on March 4, 1907 and lived through the Spanish flu pandemic that swept the world in 1918 and 1919, killing an estimated 50 million people.

Maria is considered the oldest person in Spain by the Gerontology Research Group, a global group of researchers in various fields which verifies and tracks supercentenarians - people who have reached the age of 110.

Maria Branyas, 113, is likely to be the world's oldest person to have survived the coronavirus after catching it in April and later testing negative

While other people over the age of 100 have survived the coronavirus, Branyas is likely the only supercentenarian to have done so.

Seventeen people at the nursing home have reportedly died from the coronavirus, and despite precautions being taken to ensure Branyas did not also catch it, she was diagnosed in April.

She was isolated in her room in the care home as she fought the disease before finally testing negative.

Anyone over the age of 70 is considered to be at particular risk from the coronavirus, as is anyone with any underlying health conditions, making Branyas' recovery even more remarkable.

Branyas has lived in a care home in Olot (pictured celebrating her birthday in the care home), in the eastern Spanish province of Girona in the Catalonia region for two decades

She reportedly said the pandemic is very sad but is not aware where it comes from or how it arrived in Spain. Maria says her health is fine, adding that she suffers small pains like everybody else and thanked the care home staff for their support.

Her daughter Rosa Moret told reporters that her mother is a strong and positive person who suffered a urine infection whilst infected with COVID-19, but the virus itself was symptomless.

The daughter said her mother was bored of being isolated in her room, receiving her last visit on her 113th birthday before visits were prohibited.

Her daughter, who opened a Twitter account for her, said that 'now she is fine, she is willing to talk, to explain, to think, she is herself again'.

Maria's father was a journalist from Pamplona, in the northern Spanish region of Navarra who had gone to America for work after spending some time in Mexico. He was responsible for the the American magazine 'Mercurio'.

After some time in New Orleans, she returned to Spain in 1915 aboard a boat as her father was suffering from tuberculosis, but he passed away on-board and his body was thrown into the sea.

She also lived through World War I (1914 - 1918) and World War II (1939 - 1945), as well as the Spanish civil war between 1936 and 1939.

Branyas has had three children, 11 grandchildren (one of whom is 70 years old) and 13 great-grandchildren. Pictured: Branyas in her care home in Olot speaking to a carer wearing PPE

Maria says her health is fine, adding that she suffers small pains like everybody else and thanked the care home staff for their support

She then lived in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Banyoles, Girona, Calonge i Sant Antoni and Palol de Revardit (all of them in the Catalonia region), and has been a resident in the care home for two decades.

Maria says 'having good health' is the key for a long life, adding that she never smoked but only ever went for walks with friends as a form of sport.

She married doctor Joan Moret in 1931 and had three children, 11 grandchildren (one of whom is 70 years old) and 13 great-grandchildren.

Her family are looking forward to being allowed to visit her again.

Other people over the age of 100 to have survived the disease include a 107-year-old Dutch Woman, Cornelia Ras, who lives in a nursing home in which twelve people died, and a 104-year-old American, Bill Lapschies.

Zhang Guangfen, a 103-year-old woman from Wuhan where the virus is said to have originated from, is also a survivor.

According to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University, Spain has registered 227,436 cases of COVID-19 and 26,744 deaths.

It was revealed in April that nearly half of the deaths in Europe resulting from the coronavirus were in care homes.

The WHO's European director Hans Kluge revealed the staggering figureduring an April press conference, during which he labelled the deaths an 'unimaginable human tragedy'.

Kluge said even 'frail' older people have a 'good chance of recovery if they are well-cared for' but warned that staff were lacking equipment and were often 'overstretched and underpaid'.

Nursing home deaths are often missed out of official statistics because a shortage of tests means that residents were not confirmed to have the virus before they died.
For Subscribers Aberdeen filmmakers release trailer for latest work called 'Homebody'

The group is currently crowdfunding and hopes to begin production of the film in late spring.
Dr. Anthony Fauci

If president Trump wants to stake his re-election on "Obamagate," he should have a ready description of what he calls "the biggest political crime in American history."

He'll have to do much better than what he said on May 11.

"Obamagate. Its been going on for a long time. Its been going on from before I even got elected, and its a disgrace that it happened, and if you look at whats gone on, and if you look at now, all this information thats being releasedand from what I understand, thats only the beginningsome terrible things happened, and it should never be allowed to happen in our country again. And youll be seeing whats going on over the next, over the coming weeks but I, and I wish youd write honestly about it but unfortunately you choose not to do so."

Trump said the Obama's crime "is very obvious to everybody" and Fox News' Brian Kilmeade predicted the upcoming election campaign is going to be about Obama against Trump.

My hunch is that Democrats would welcome that political matchup.

It would be a battle between a guy who steered America through the financial meltdown and saved the auto industry to boot vs. a guy who twiddled his thumbs while COVID-19 spread in the US and killed more than 80K Americans so far.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has skillfully shot down the president's magical thinking that COVID-19 might just disappear.

He told the May 12 Senate hearing that COVID-19 isn't going to simply vanish because it "is such a highly transmissible virus."

In fact, Fauci worries that the premature opening up of the economy may trigger "a rebound, a second wave in the fall."

As a member of the science-denying Trump administration, Fauci hopes that if a second wave happens, "We will be able to deal with it very effectively, to prevent it from becoming an outbreak, not only worse than now but much, much less."

That's not a ringing vote of confidence.

Sen. Rand Paul, a charter member of the Republican science-denying caucus, rapped Fauci, saying he isn't the "end-all" for COVID-19 decisions. And Paul isn't exactly the "end-all" when he comes to political statesmen.

Kentucky's Senator graciously said he's willing to listen to the advice by Fauci, one of America's top experts on infectious disease, but there are other people who think the economy is ready to be reopened. That's comparing apples with oranges.

Fauci hit it out of the park, responding to Paul: "I'm a scientist, a physician and a public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence."

A Pew Research poll released May 7 finds a majority of Americans side with Fauci and science when it comes to reopening the economy.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of Americans fear that states will lift COVID-19 restrictions too quickly, vs. 31 percent who say states aren't acting fast enough to restart their economies.

America should pray every night to ask God to grant Fauci the strength to ride out the Trump presidency.
NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that the government will spend more than $260 billion, the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country's GDP, on a coronavirus economic relief package designed to make the world's second most populous nation more self-reliant.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the BRICS Business Council prior to the 11th edition of the BRICS Summit, in Brasilia, Brazil. Modi announced Tuesday, May 12, 2020, that the government will spend the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country's GDP on a coronavirus virus economic relief package designed to make the world's second most populous nation more self reliant. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that the government will spend more than $260 billion, the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country's GDP, on a coronavirus economic relief package designed to make the world's second most populous nation more self-reliant.

The packages main aim is to build a self-reliant India, Modi said in a televised speech, adding that it will help the country compete globally.

India entered its sixth week of a stringent nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, pushing an economy already enfeebled before the pandemic to the brink of collapse.

Indians watch a televised address to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Modi announced Tuesday that the government will spend the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country's GDP on a coronavirus virus economic relief package designed to make the world's second most populous nation more self reliant. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)

Modi said the details of the package would be disclosed in the coming days.

Responding to the announcement of the relief package, the main opposition Congress partys spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Modi had given the country and the media a headline.

India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity & failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers, Surjewala tweeted while referring to Modi.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The lockdown that began March 25 prompted an exodus of workers to their ancestral homes in the countryside. Economists say unemployment reached 24.7% this week.

Last week some restrictions on manufacturing and self-employment were lifted to ease the burden on the poor. Social distancing norms officially remained in effect, but some passenger rail service resumed on Tuesday from New Delhi and Mumbai, with trains allowed to run at full capacity.

A new phase in the lockdown will begin May 18, when the current phase is set to end, Modi said.

Coronavirus is going to be part of our lives for a long time. But we cant let our lives revolve around it, he said.

Modi gave the oft-repeated promise that this century will belong to India, pointing to the country quickly ramping up production of personal protective equipment, ventilators and other supplies in response to the pandemic.

The crisis has shown the importance of a self-dependent India. This is the only way, he said.
TEL AVIV, Israel, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IRP Systems, the leading provider of innovative electric powertrain products for e-mobility, announced today that it has raised $17M in Series B funding. The round was led by Chinese VC Fosun RZ capital, with additional funds provided by JAL ventures, previous investor Entree Capital, Tal Capital, Union Tech Ventures, Cendana Capital and Allied Group subsidiary Champion Motors, the Israeli direct importer and distributor of Volkswagen Group.

IRP Systems is revolutionizing the e-mobility sector, providing high-performance, cost-effective powertrain products to the electric vehicle market. Its TrueDrive portfolio of electric motors and controllers offers an unprecedented level of powertrain efficiency, range and performance while minimizing total powertrain costs. The company's global customer base includes top automotive and micro-mobility manufacturers.

"We are confident that our technology will enable the electric vehicle market to overcome its biggest hurdle: cost. Using innovative techniques rooted in the aerospace industry, we've developed electric powertrain products that are truly high-performance and cost-effective so they can be scaled quickly to accelerate mass-market adoption of EVs of all kinds," said Moran Price, CEO and Co-Founder of IRP Systems. "We are excited to partner with Fosun RZ Capital, whose strong support will significantly help advance our efforts in APAC, the largest and fastest-growing market for electric vehicles."

"We were deeply impressed by IRP's team and technology and we believe that their ability to reduce cost and significantly improve efficiency in a fast-growing industry will enable them to become a very large company. We are proud to partner with them and help increase their footprint in the Chinese market," said Danny Hadar, Israel Managing Director at Fosun RZ Capital.

"Electrical mobility is clearly the future and IRP, with its breakthrough powertrain technology, is in pole position to benefit from and contribute to the growth of this market. We are excited to partner with this excellent team of entrepreneurs and investors," said Joshua Levinberg, Co-Founder and General Partner at JAL Ventures.

IRP Systems was originally founded as an aerospace powertrain company by Paul and Moran Price. The company developed and perfected unique systems designed to meet the stringent standards of the aerospace industry. The company made the strategic decision to redirect its versatile products and software to address the rapidly growing demand in the automotive sector.

"In these uniquely challenging times, we are extremely grateful to have such a committed team that tirelessly pushes the limits and works to overcome every challenge. We are also very fortunate to again have by our side Entree Capital, who have supported us and led the financing effort," said Paul Price, CTO and Co-Founder of IRP Systems.

About IRP Systems

IRP Systems specializes in high-performance electric powertrain systems for a variety of e-mobility platforms, enabling powerful and affordable electric vehicles. Leveraging its unique powertrain design and control algorithms, the company's breakthrough TrueDrive product portfolio reaches an unprecedented level of efficiency. TrueDrive offers a high-performance, unique driving experience and advanced functionality, while still being cost-effective and ready for mass production. IRP Systems is removing the last barriers of electric vehicle adoption by making electric mobility technology affordable for the mass market and accelerating its adoption worldwide. The company has customers in Asia Pacific, the EU and Israel and has headquarters in Ness Ziona, Israel.

For more information visit https://www.irpsystems.com

About Fosun RZ Capital

Fosun RZ Capital was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Beijing. As an affiliate of Fosun Group, RZ Capital is an independent fund with strategic resources, quickly establishing global footprints. Fosun RZ Capital has billions of RMB AUM. As one of the most globalized venture capital platforms in China, RZ Capital is committed to investing in high-growth, high-tech companies in major economic growth regions and has fostered innovation ecosystems around the world, with 7 offices in China, United States, India and Israel.

For more information visit http://www.frzcapital.cn/

Press Contact

Sarah Small

Headline Media

[email protected]

+1-929-255-1449

SOURCE IRP Systems

Related Links

https://www.irpsystems.com/


Police in Ky Son District in the central province of Nghe An announced on Saturday they have arrested three men for allegedly trafficking 20 bricks of heroin, 60kg of methamphetamine and 4kg of ketamine.

Three suspected drug traffickers from Bac Kan Province were arrested in Nghe An for trafficking a large amount of narcotics.  Photo courtesy from Nghe An newspaper

The suspects  30-year-old Hoang Van Hai, 28-year-old Trang A Vu and 28-year-old Thao A Su  all reside in Nam am Hamlet, Cao Tan Commune, Pac Nam District in the northern province of Bac Kan.

They were arrested late on Saturday evening at Khe Nan Bridge. They admitted to the police that they were hired by a Lao national to travel from Bac Kan to a forest in Na Ngoi Commune in Nghe An to get the drugs.

They were arrested when carrying the narcotics out of the forest.

According to Nghe An police, from early Match, Ky Son District Police detected a drug ring operated by non-native people and they usually trafficked drugs from the central province to sell in northern provinces. Since then, investigations carried out and helped police catch the three suspects.

Meanwhile, in the southern province of An Giang, the provinces border guards arrested two suspects for involvement in the trafficking of 40kg of methamphetamine from Cambodia to Vietnam.

The arrest was also part of ongoing investigations into traffickers who allegedly brought drugs from Cambodia to the province. Police were informed the traffickers received drugs in Cambodia on May 5 and hired a 7-seater car to travel to HCM City. The An Giang Border Guard Command asked for relevant agencies co-operation to catch the traffickers.

The traffickers travelled by boat on Binh Ghi River late on the evening of May 5. When police and border guards stopped them, the three suspects escaped on two waiting motorbikes before transferring to a car.

Police caught two of the suspects, named as An Ngoc Ha, 35 years old from Ha Nam Province and Nguyen Van Tai, 30 years old from Hai Phong City, and found 40 bags of methamphetamine weighing about 40kg.

Ha and Tai admitted to the police that they travelled by ferry to Cambodia on May 6 and got paid VND50 million (US$2,140) and VND15 million ($642), respectively, to transport the drugs to Vietnam. VNS

Drug smugglers turning to sea transportation Maritime smuggling is becoming more common among heroin traffickers according to an expert.
DETROIT, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM), (NYSE: AXL) will participate in the 2020 Bank of America Auto Summit on May 15, which will be held virtually. AAM is scheduled to present at 1:10 p.m. ET.

A live audio webcast will be accessible through the Investor Relations page on AAM's website (www.aam.com). A replay of the webcast will be available following the event.

About AAM

AAM (NYSE:AXL) delivers POWER that moves the world. As a leading global tier 1 automotive supplier, AAM designs, engineers and manufactures driveline and metal forming technologies that are making the next generation of vehicles smarter, lighter, safer and more efficient. Headquartered in Detroit, AAM has over 20,000 associates operating at nearly 80 facilities in 17 countries to support our customers on global and regional platforms with a focus on quality, operational excellence and technology leadership. To learn more, visit aam.com.

Our presentation may contain "forward-looking" statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties described in our most recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and actual results may differ materially. Our presentation also may include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information regarding these non-GAAP measures, as well as a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP financial information, is available on AAM's website (www.aam.com).

For more information:

Investor Contact:

Jason P. Parsons

Director, Investor Relations

(313) 758-2404

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Christopher M. Son

Vice President, Marketing & Communications

(313) 758-4814

[email protected]

Or visit the AAM website at www.aam.com.

SOURCE American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc.

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Ukraine's Boryspil Airport among Eastern Europe's TOP 5 airports

13:40, 12.05.20 4297

The airport is fourth in Skytrax ranking.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 07:30:04

CGG Announces its 2020 First Quarter Results

Solid First Quarter

Adjusting to an Unprecedented Crisis

PARIS, France  May 12, 2020  CGG (ISIN: FR0013181864), a world leader in Geoscience, announced today its 2020 First Quarter unaudited results.

Commenting on these results, Sophie Zurquiyah, CGG CEO, said:

As we are navigating through this unprecedented industry crisis, created by the combined results of oversupply and reduction in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our priority remains on the health and safety of our employees and all our stakeholders, along with the continuity of our business to meet our clients needs. With our new asset light business profile, and our business segments positioned around reservoir evaluation and production optimization, including our data library, which is focused on proven or mature sedimentary basins, we expect CGG to be much more resilient than in the past. While the duration of this severe crisis is uncertain, we are focusing on what we can control: managing our liquidity, implementing the required capex and cash cost reductions and adjusting the organization as necessary while maintaining our R&D efforts. With $624m of cash on hand after a solid Q1 and no bond debt to reimburse before April 2023, I am confident that our asset light strategy based on high-end technology, services, data and products positions us the best for these challenging market conditions .





Q1 2020 Positive cash generation







IFRS figures: revenue at $253m, OPINC at $(40)m

Segment revenue at $271m, down 4% year-on-year, with solid multi-client revenue and lower equipment sales

Segment EBITDAs at $123m, up 3% year-on-year, a 45% margin

Segment operating income at $(31)m, including $(70)m impairments mainly related to multi-client library, and at $39m, a 14% margin, before them

Segment Free Cash Flow at $44m

Net Cash Flow was positive at $17m

Net loss of $(98)m, including $(27)m loss from Discontinued Operations and $(70)m impairments

Net debt at $540m before IFRS 16 and $705m after IFRS 16

Segment leverage at 0.8x Net Debt/LTM EBITDAs (excluding IFRS 16 impact) Adjusting to an unprecedented crisis: focus on cost control and cash preservation



2020 Cash Capex around $300 million, down $(75) million vs. previous guidance of March 6, 2020:

2020 Multi-client cash capex, down $(60) million, at around $225 million at 75% prefunding rate

2020 Industrial and development costs cash capex around $75 million

Cash costs reduction of around $(110) million annualized and around $(35) million year on year.

Key Figures - First Quarter 2020

In million $ First Quarter

2019 First Quarter 2020 Group revenue 271.4 252.7 Operating income 19.6 (39.8) Equity from investments 0.1 0.3 Net cost of financial debt (32.9) (32.9) Other financial income (loss) 0.9 5.7 Income taxes (2.9) (4.8) Net income / (loss) from continuing operations (15.2) (71.5) Net income / (loss) from discontinued operations (15.3) (26.9) Group net income / (loss) (30.5) (98.4) Operating Cash Flow 203.8 145.2 Net Cash Flow 44.0 17.2 Net debt 868.3 705.0 Net debt before IFRS 16 656.4 540.3 Capital employed 2,518.6 2,201.5

Key Segment Figures - First Quarter 2020

In million $ First Quarter

2019 First Quarter

2020 Segment revenue 282.4 270.8 Segment EBITDAs 119.3 122.7 Group EBITDAs margin 42.2% 45.3% Segment operating income 10.8 (31.0) Opinc margin 3.8% (11.4)% Non-recurring charges (NRC) - - IFRS 15 adjustment 8.8 (8.8) IFRS operating income 19.6 (39.8) Segment Operating Cash Flow 203.8 145.2 Segment Net Cash Flow 44.0 17.2

Key figures bridge: Segment to IFRS - First Quarter 2020

Q1 2020 P&L items







In million $ Segment figures IFRS 15 adjustments IFRS figures Total Revenue 270.8 (18.1) 252.7 Operating Income (31.0) (8.8) (39.8)





Q1 2020 Cash Flow Statement items







In million $ Segment figures IFRS 15 adjustments IFRS figures EBITDAs 122.7 (18.1) 104.6 Change in Working Capital & Provisions 20.7 18.1 38.8 Cash Flow from Operations 145.2 - 145.2





Multi-Client Data Library NBV

In million $ Segment figures IFRS 15 adjustments IFRS figures Opening Balance Sheet  Jan. 1st 2020 375.8 155.2 531.0 Closing Balance Sheet  March 31st 2020 317.8 157.2 475.0

First Quarter 2020 Segment Financial Results

Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir (GGR)

GGR











In million $ First Quarter

2019 First Quarter

2020 Variation

Year-on-year Segment revenue 180.1 197.4 10% Geoscience (SIR) 91.3 93.3 2% Multi-Client 88.8 104.1 17% Prefunding 42.2 57.0 35% After-Sales 46.6 47.1 1% Segment EBITDAs 105.0 122.8 17% Margin 58.3% 62.2% +390 bps Segment operating income 5.2 (22.4) - Margin 2.9% (11.4)% - Equity from investments 0.1 0.3 - Capital employed (in billion $) 2.0 1.7 (15)% Other key metrics Multi-Client cash capex ($m) (39.7) (66.8) 68% Multi-Client cash prefunding rate (%) 106% 86% -200 bps

GGR segment revenue was $197 million, up 10% year-on-year.

Geoscience revenue was $93 million, up 2% year-on-year.

Geoscience performance in Q1 was solid driven by 11% increase in imaging business revenue year-on-year. We managed to maintain our business continuity in March with the majority of our people working from home due to the excellent support of our IT organization.

Multi-Client revenue was $104 million this quarter, up 17% year on year.

Prefunding revenue of our multi-client projects reached $57 million this quarter, up from $42 million in the first quarter of 2019, mainly due to higher multi-client capex this quarter, up to $67 million from $40 million in Q1 2019.

We had four ongoing multi-client projects this quarter, including two Land surveys  Bayou Boeuf and Central Basin Platform  in the US, one Marine streamer survey  Nebula  in Brazil, one Marine streamer survey  Gippsland 2020  in Australia, and started one Nodes survey in the UK North Sea in the Cornerstone area at the end of March. Prefunding rate in Q1 2020 was solid at 86%.

After-sales were $47 million this quarter, stable year on year and solid across all regions.

In Q1 2020, we performed the impairment test of our multi-client library triggered by current low oil price environment, which resulted in non-cash charges of $(69) million.

The segment library Net Book Value was $318 million ($475 million after IFRS 15 adjustments) at the end of March 2020, split 85% offshore and 15% onshore.

GGR segment EBITDAs was $123 million, up 17% with 62% margin.

GGR segment operating income was $(22) million, including $(69) million impairment of the multi-client library.

GGR capital employed was down to $1.7 billion at the end of March 2020.

Equipment

Equipment











In million $ First Quarter

2019 First Quarter

2020 Variation

Year-on-year Segment revenue 105.2 74.5 (29)% Land 84.7 52.5 (38)% Marine 12.9 13.0 1% Downhole gauges 5.2 7.0 35% Non Oil&Gas 2.4 2.0 (17)% Segment EBITDAs 23.0 7.8 (66)% Margin 21.9% 10.5% - Segment operating income 14.9 0.1 (100)% Margin 14.2% 0.1% - Capital employed (in billion $) 0.5 0.5 -

Equipment segment revenue was $75 million, down 29% year-on-year. External sales were $73 million, down 28% year-on-year.

Land equipment sales represented 71% of total sales, as we delivered over 80 thousand 508XT channels in Q1, mainly in North Africa, India and Russia

Sercel was awarded significant orders for heavy duty Nomad90 vibrators for North Africa and for 35 thousand channels for Middle East

Marine equipment sales represented 17% of total sales. Activity in the streamer market remains low with mostly sales of spares for Sentinel sections

Downhole equipment sales were $7 million.

Equipment segment EBITDAs was $8 million, a 11% margin.

Equipment segment operating income was $0 million.

Equipment capital employed was stable at $0.5 billion at the end of March 2020.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Five Injured in a Blast in Peshawar, Pakistan

Sputnik News

07:01 GMT 11.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Pakistan's government had released a threat alert on 9 May, citing the targeting of public places by anti-state elements. In March, at least nine people were injured in a blast in the city of Chaman, in Balochistan province. Seven people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Quetta, Balochistan in February.

At least three people including two traffic police officers on Monday sustained severe wounds in a blast at Rampura Gate on Peshawar's Ashraf Road. The blast took place in the business centre of the city. The injured have been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital for treatment.

According to Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Shafqat Malik, 2kg improvised explosive device was placed along the road side. Security forces have reached the blast site and cordoned off the area.

There are also reports of two people killed in the blast but it hasn't been confirmed by the officials yet.

On 9 May, Pakistan's interior ministry had released a threat alert to police and administration about the targeting of the public places by anti-state elements.

A Sputnik

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I would just suggest to all of them that they are putting the patrons of their businesses and the people who live in their counties or in their cities in danger when they simply break the rules, break the law in fact, and they decide that they want to go it alone," Pritzker said.
(Photo : Markus Spiske/Unsplash) closeup photo of turned on computer monitor (Photo : Clint Patterson/Unsplash) flat screen computer monitor photo

Microsoft and Intel are collaborating on a new approach to classify malware - by visualizing it.

They are currently working on STAMINA (Static Malware-as-Image Network Analysis), which turns rogue code into grayscale images allowing a deep learning system to study them. This converts the input file into a simple picture with varying dimensions depending on aspects like file size.

ALSO READ: Chinese Rocket is Failing and Falling Back to Earth After Just a Week in Orbit

According to a report by ZDNet, this uses a trained artificial intelligence (AI) to determine whether a file has been infected. It is trained to trace a huge amount of data Microsoft has collected from Windows Defenders installations. The technology does not require full-size and pixel recreations of viruses, translating large malware to gigantic pictures.

Currently, STAMINA works effectively with small files with as much as 99% accuracy in classifying malware and about 2.6% false-positive rate, according to a report in Engadget. However, it struggles with larger files, although it could be very useful with further enhancement.

How STAMINA works

Most malware detection relies on extracting binary signatures, but the steep number of signatures makes the method impractical. This could help anti-malware tools effectively keep up and reduce the chances of security threats slipping past defenses.

The entire process is simple. First, an input file is taken and converted to its binary form into a stream of raw pixel data.

Researchers would then take convert this one-dimensional pixel stream into a 2D photo so that normal image analysis algorithms can analyze it.

The width of the image is based on the input file's size, while the height is dynamic, resulting from dividing the raw pixel stream by the chosen width value.

After assembling the raw pixel stream into a normal-looking 2D image, researchers then resized the resulting photo to a smaller dimension.

Resizing the raw image does not "negatively impact the classification result," which was necessary so computational resources will not have to work with billions of pixels that will slow down the process.

These images were then fed into a deep neural network (DNN) that is trained to scan the 2D representation of the malware strain and classified it as clean or infected. For the training, Microsoft has provided 2.2 million samples of infected Portable Executable files as a research basis.

Researchers used 60% of the known malware samples to train the original DNN algorithm, 20% of the files to validate the DNN and the other 20% for the actual testing process.

The research team said STAMINA achieved an accuracy of 99.07% in identifying and classifying malware samples, with a false positives rate of 2.58%.

ALSO READ: [HACKERS] Millions of PCs with Intel Thunderbolt Flaws are Vulnerable to Hacking; Thunderspy Attack Takes Only Five Minutes

"The results certainly encourage the use of deep transfer learning for malware classification," said Jugal Parikh and Marc Marino, the two Microsoft Threat Protection Intelligence Team researchers who participated in the study.

The Microsoft advantage

Earlier this month, Tanmay Ganacharya, Director for Security Research of Microsoft Threat Protection, told ZDNet that the tech giant now counts on machine learning for detecting malware. This is the same software deployed on customer systems or Microsoft servers.

Overall, STAMINA is one of those ML modules that be implemented soon at Microsoft to spot malware.

Ganacharya said that while anybody can build a model, the quality and quantity of labeled data define how effective the model will be.

"[We], at Microsoft, have that as an advantage because we do have sensors that are bringing us lots of interesting signals through email, through identity, through the endpoint, and being able to combine them," Ganacharya said.

Read Also: Millions of PCs are Vulnerable to Hands-On Hacking Because of Intel's Thunderbolt Flaws

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd on Tuesday said it has entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc that will grant it the right to register, manufacture and sell the latter's investigational drug, remdesivir, a potential therapy for COVID-19, in 127 countries including India.

The agreement has been signed between Jubilant Life Sciences' subsidiary Jubilant Generics Ltd and Gilead, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Under the licensing agreement, Jubilant will have the right to receive technology transfer of Gilead manufacturing process to scale up production to enable expedited access of the medicine to COVID-19 patients upon approvals by regulatory authorities in respective countries.

These countries consist of nearly all low-income and lower middle-income countries, as well as several upper- middle and high-income countries that face significant obstacles to healthcare access, it added.

Commenting on the partnership,Jubilant Life Sciences Chairman Shyam S Bhartia and Co-Chairman & Managing Director Hari S. Bhartia said that based on initial data, remdesivir shows promise to be a potential therapy for COVID-19, a pandemic creating unprecedented health and economic crisis globally.

"We will be monitoring the clinical trials and regulatory approvals very closely and would be ready to launch the drug shortly after the required regulatory approvals," they said.

The company also plans to produce the drug's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in-house, helping its cost effectiveness and consistent availability, they added.

Remdesivir, an investigational antiviral therapy developed by Gilead, received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by USFDA to treat COVID-19.

The EUA will facilitate broader use of remdesivir to treat hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 disease, the filing said.

The EUA is based on available data from two global clinical trials -- US National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases' placebo-controlled Phase 3 study in patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19, and Gilead's global Phase 3 study evaluating remdesivir in patients with severe disease.

"Multiple additional clinical trials are ongoing to generate more data on the safety and efficacy of remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19," the filing said.

However, remdesivir remains an investigational drug and has not been approved by USFDA, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bois Locker Room and the crisis of our society in its current breakdown have a lot to say about each other. Both of them tell us that we have reached the limits of the system we live in. If the way out is together, then we need an education on what it means to do that.

In 1984, Delhis St. Stephens college was in the news for a time-honoured tradition: chick charts. Tradition is such a flexible word  making a practice sound unchangeable. In fact the college started admitting women students only in 1975 (it had been co-ed in the past, from 1928-1949). The nine years that women had been attending the college, was enough to term tradition, the frequent posting on the official college notice board, of Top 10 charts, made by male students, rating women on their breasts, butts, legs, mouths  and sometimes maybe, smiles. Smiles were what most women apparently used to mask the discomfort of the back-handed humiliation. When women are a minority, granted entrance to the worlds of men, going along with such behaviour, or being called a bad sport are often the perceived choices.

That year, the college was closed as Delhi witnessed harrowing anti-Sikh violence. Shortly after it re-opened, a Sardines Chick Chart came up on the notice board, sardines being slang for sardarnis. The most striking quality of quotidian violence is its wild-eyed avidity. The instinct to further leer at the women of a community that has recently been brutalised puts the violence in sex like masala films can but dream of.

The incident however, broke the uneasy acceptance of the tradition, and grew over time to become a protest that made it to the newspapers. Consequently, as the filmmaker Saba Dewan has recounted on Kafila, women students had men hissing fuck off at them as they walked the corridors. The Girls Common Room was vandalised and students bras and panties were strewn everywhere, including furled from the college turret, just like victory flags of war. A Hen Chart was put up, making the cliched connection between feminists and frumps, naming the most vocal members of the protest. The administration never held any men accountable, but did call in the womens parents to complain about them.

At around the same time, the filmmaker Bela Negi was studying in Sherwood College, a posh boarding school in Nainital, which too had only recently begun to admit women. I was the head-girl. I was a bit of a goody two-shoes so I would take my job somewhat seriously, and the boys didnt like that, Negi said to me. On one occasion, she had checked a boy over something. A few days later, when I went out in a short skirt, a group of about 25 boys pounced on her and gave her bumps on a pile of horse dung. Given how things were, I knew it was no use complaining to the administration. I got up and walked away, refusing to give them the pleasure of knowing theyd humiliated me.

The similarity to the Bois Locker Room incident  an Instagram group where schoolboys aged 14 to 18, rated schoolgirls body parts, shared their Instagram posts without consent, morphing their heads onto naked bodies  does not require over-articulation here. Theres no real difference. Bonding in private rooms, competing to trash talk women, dismembering women metaphorically, into body parts. Threatening to assault actually or metaphorically through public shaming, when called out. Traditions are what keep a society going, no?

One of the unexpected discoveries I made while writing this essay was that the niece of a close friend was one of the minors discussed in the Bois Locker Room. I had heard over the last year that she and her mother had had several conflicts over her posting very sexualised images on Instagram. Why do you think she does it? Id asked my friend then. Its the only way for girls to be popular in their schools. Its a tricky path, when popularity is equal to being an aspirational object, often leading to violent responses that youre a bitch if you arent attainable, and a whore if you are. Eventually you find yourself beheaded via app and discover the dehumanisations that gives these currencies of attractiveness their power  for all genders.

St. Stephens and Sherwood College are among the countrys elite educational institutions, grooming the rich and powerful for generations, a tradition being carried forward by the growing number of private schools today. Many students who were part of the incidents described above, as participants, or as uneasy bystanders, doubtless occupy positions of influence today  in politics, in civil services, in media, in academia, in corporate life. Many would be considered liberal leading lights. None of them, until today, have managed to create structures that naturally incorporate the point of view of anyone except elite heterosexual men  that we know of. Many of them might run the kind of organisations that yielded a bunch of #MeToo stories. Maybe on jolly social occasions, they say to women who object to their wife jokes, yaar stop being such a feminist. Youre too serious. Well, theyre just good students. They were groomed to decide what is serious and what is not on other peoples behalf. Someone married them, not expecting, or simply going along with, becoming a wife joke. Perhaps their kids go to the good South Delhi schools everyone keeps mentioning when they express shock at the Bois Locker Room case.

Its such a sleight of hand, good schools, good families, that conflates virtue with privilege. How can an educated person do this? people exclaim. It is precisely an educated person who does these things. Elite education is designed as it always was, barring a few cool accessories, to train elite men to dominate other people and express that domination in a variety of ways.

Education is structured to underline the importance of material success and competition at all cost, including the cost of understanding your own pleasures, relationships and emotions, which are considered distractions to be quelled, a source of weakness. Parents focus mostly on whether you are studying, when they think of your future, not about nourishing your inner life. They might notice an issue with your inner life only if you dont do well at school. Everyone else is your competition. Everything you do requires fitting in but still, having an edge over others. The limit of learning is the exam  not the idea that you will keep learning from life. Exams are war and everyone must be an exam warrior. When we are trained to always go to war, what can we possibly know about how to go to peace?

As you go up the ladder, the self-congratulatory declarations  its just business, Im just being practical  all mean that empathy and emotion have been successfully numbed, enough, that you can defend the scrapping of labour laws and can go to the government and say, Do not send migrant labourers home. We may need them for our (just) business.

The making of chick charts, the rating of girls, the slurs against queer and Dalit colleagues  these are all social reminders that elite, straight men are the ones entitled to define these structures, who get to grant approval and make decisions, in schools and colleges, and later in offices, governments, the internet. Your continued presence is contingent on fitting into this system and not objecting to its just fun traditions. They are the foam in a double shot cappuccino of privilege.

25 years after the incident in school, Bela Negi ran into one of her classmates at a school reunion. He said to me remember how we gave you bumps, ha ha. I said, I cant believe that as a grown up youre laughing and bragging about it instead of feeling remorse or embarrassment. Other male classmates looked uneasy when she brought it up. Women at the party told her forget it, now its in the past.

But its not in the past, is it? It is firmly with us in the present  the sexual language used to attack women in a political disagreement online. The baying for sexual violation of Muslim and sickular women by right wing men. The number of liberal men named in #MeToo accounts. The calling Safoora Zargar, the arrested member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, prostitute and saying give her a condom because she is pregnant  and Muslim and politically active. It is so much with us, that the day the hashtag #boislockerroom started trending I didnt pay attention because I thought, it must be some new web series.

A lot goes into maintaining the illusion that elite men are not sexually violent on a casual and intensified basis all the time. Part of this is the reigning discourse around sexual violence, which privileges the safety of women  elite women  over their freedom. The public space is painted as a dangerous one for women, where they are under threat of being attacked by other men  read, lower caste or class, men. If elite men bother to talk about women, it is only to hold them up as emblems of purity or achievement, or to school other men for not knowing how to respect women. (In other words they dont seem to know how to talk to women, but thats another discussion).

Being a bro who stands up for feminism is an elite pastime across the political spectrum  sometimes they are scolding creeps in a music video, sometimes they are killing your boyfriend on Valentines Day. This discussion about others is like a curtain. Behind it is the private behaviour of men  and that is never to be discussed. A man who does it is weak. A woman who brings matters private into public light, risks marginalisation and vilification. We have seen that, through domestic violence scandals and sexual harassment cases.

That is why the first responses to many such incidents is to blame women  #girlslockerroom  and then to clamp down on the freedom of women or blame them for acting as if they lived in a world where mens violence against them is not a given. Boys will be boys, goes the platitude. As if this is an immutable condition and we must all tiptoe around them, which we are constantly, daily being trained to do, lest we provoke their boys-will-be-boys-ism.

The other response is to demand strong punitive action against perpetrators  we dont mind if boys are boys as long as their privilege does not expose itself through an act of criminal violence. Then, we must teach them a lesson. One sometimes wants to say, but this is the lesson you have been teaching them: of supremacy. All other lessons are sitting in the pocket of that lesson.

***

Interviewed by media, one school principal expressed bewilderment that their students could be involved in the Bois Locker Room because the school has regularly provided inputs on gender.

At every school and college where I, or my colleagues at Agents of Ishq have done a talk or workshop, in the last two years, young women have come up to discuss, exactly the same experience of the Bois Locker Room case. They dont know how to counter the distasteful misogyny that the cool, edgy filmmakers and forthcoming media sensations of the future subject them to. Why dont you say something? I ask. Because I dont feel like being rude to a friend. Because they call me a prude or they might think Im un-cool. Why do you care what they think? I asked a young woman. She kept quiet. She knows in theory, that she need not care, but the world has not reshaped itself enough to make this automatic and there is very little conversation to help her figure out the way to do this positively, not negatively as a victim or an aggressor.

If you are a woman working in a cool corporate job, media, art films and so on, you will recognise this experience. In elite worlds where cool is a very necessary currency, you try to hold on to it tenuously, timorously. To not accept the banal misogyny and poor humour of men, marks you as un-cool. Despite being a grown woman, you must carry out an adolescent exhibitionism while talking about sex, to show you are blase, so you may be accepted as one of the guys  and its simply a different version of young schoolgirls posing in particular ways, to gain importance in this world. Even my gay friends have called me a prude (and consider, I run a platform about sex) when I tell them not to bore me with misogynistic TikTok clips. If you dont talk about sex the way men have been trained to talk about it, then you are a prude and simply not cool enough for school.

The workshops might not be useless. But they are not the real answer to finding our way out of this dystopia. Education, like patriarchy, is a structure. Just dropping new content into it doesnt change what it does. In the structure of competitive education, those gender and sexuality workshops too can become one more competitive module you learn to ace  because your basic purpose has not altered. The same boys who are in Bois Locker Room, might easily be acing the Model UN and debating circuits, the social media conversations, saying all the right things about gender bias, toxic masculinity and inter-sectionality.

Liberal parents often show off their childrens by-rote sensitive (but not always good) writings  the passionate awareness of being a victim of gender discrimination, the performative pain of class inequity. It is not so different from saying uncle ko poem sunao.

The same by-rote politics will manifest later in women-centric films made by men  liberal men castigating others for not knowing how to treat women. The right gestures will be made  like putting your mothers first name as the middle name for the entire crew, in a sudden burst of born-again feminist consciousness. The catechism or rights-based discourse will be read out. And the performative mea culpas and ritualistic discussion of toxic masculinity will follow.

In a world where life is an exam  where you have to know the poem, not become it  everyone learns the right things to say, in order to win approval. And in the same way, everyone also knows what to hide.

Education and all the resources we put into it are about succeeding in public life  to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet, as TS Eliot wrote. We do not value the private sphere enough to put thought into an education for that, mostly hidden, part of life. We can be depressed but not surprised at the inability of young men to stand up for more humane relationships with women, sexuality, desire, because that has never been part of the syllabus anywhere. They have no language for it. Young women dont have the means to recognise it  they still imagine that a man with the right terminology will also be decent. They have only been taught to think of men in terms of public attributes, not private ones. It would be hard to find the profile of a successful man in the Indian media, which mentions what kind of friend or partner he is, or asks what he feels about the world of love and emotion.

Sex is even more separated from the discussion. It is never discussed as part of life. It is a place of secrecy, shame, embarrassment and judgment, only made public through lewd jokes or lectures about violence. The only sources of sexual knowledge  in an experiential and not clinical sense  is mainstream pornography, which fragments sex into discrete acts and bodies into body parts  and online frat house culture. Mixed with a cultural universe and an educational system that emphasises hierarchy, disconnection and competitiveness, this gives us a recipe for self-hate. It leaves young people of all genders with a complete lack of resources to manage the world of desire that surges within them. Its like they are all competing with each other for one-upmanship said my friend whose niece had appeared as one of the girls discussed in Bois Locker Room. The boys are competing for who can say dirtier things. The girls for how many people think they are hot. When it comes out then its victims and villains. Its all so mechanical and about projection rather than being. The only language young people have is a second-hand one, and how can you find your own self, when you are always speaking in someones given language?

At the very least, Bois Locker Room may remind us that we need sex-education, which is age-appropriate  a curriculum that grows in scope along with the child  and that it should be comprehensive: looking at how health, desire, orientation, emotion, politics and culture intersect to create a sexual world.

But the task before is a more radical and political one. If education enslaves us, compelling us to be part of herds, gangs, clubs and cliques, then what does an education that liberates us look like? If education fragments us, keeping our minds, bodies and hearts separated like Science, Arts and Commerce, what is the education that integrates all these different aspects of being a person look like?

The bandying of phrases like toxic masculinity and that most Brahmanical of words, problematic, is not the road to discovering this education and this existence. The idea that boys have to be fixed is itself a violence that does not acknowledge that every one of us lives in the patriarchy, is shaped by it and is also wounded by it. Such an attacking language only serves to harden the divisions and make the conversation inimical. It creates an untenable and dead-ended situation where the way to be for women, is to be against men rather than finding a way to break free from the gridlock of interactions we are in, all the more in a time of social media.

Three years ago I went to a town in Uttar Pradesh to do a workshop in a programme on masculinity. It was an all-mens group and it was exhausting. They trotted out the politically correct self-analysis about masculinity. But probed to speak beyond it, about their emotions and relationships, about areas of doubt and experience, they congealed together into a sticky mass of resistance. They made jokes, sometimes demeaning each other and challenged the trainers by trivialising each question.

But when we recorded their narratives individually, very different behaviours emerged. There was a small percentage of absolutely intractable men I have come to categorise as Sententious Lecturers and Eternally Wounded. One kind speaks in lofty proclamations that mean very little. The other refuses to let their wound of rejection or hurt heal, and turns it into a justification for seeing numbness as strength and love and emotion as weakness. Now I only use girls, one said. If I like a girl, I dont sleep with her, because I wont be able to give her the love she expects. The world of emotion is expressed as an impossibility. But the majority of other men spanned the range. Some were tentative about their relationships, some confessing to hurt and inadequacy, even depression. Some laughed at their own sentimentality or discussed wanting more confidence, more love, less pressure.

Detached from the herd, and spoken to as individuals, about their emotions, they were quite different from each other and did not adhere to a fixed identity of gender and its associated behaviours. They did not have the confidence in themselves as individuals, to be themselves in front of a larger group of men.

In that they were reminiscent of the young women, who approached me in distress about the demeaning way their male friends discussed women, their conflict between seeing distasteful aspects of a friend you liked otherwise. These young women also did not have enough language to think through these contradictions.

In contrast, when we have done mixed gender workshops, especially those focused on expressing and articulating ones own experience, not an externalised understanding of politics, weve found that it creates a bridge of empathy between the genders and people  in political terms, where they see how identity shapes their choices. And in individual terms where they see each other as people.

Put very simply, we dont give young people the means to see themselves as complex individuals  nor each other. Political language is important to identify structural issues, but in its current form where it essentially only knows how to describe a problem, it is insufficient to enable journeys of transformation and spark imaginations of change.

Education helps you to fit in with the herd to serve the larger power structures in a society. If you are very elite, you can learn the double speak of benefitting from this system, while also critiquing the system for your US college application essay.

An education which grants you immunity from the herd has to give you belief in your inner life. It has to grant importance to emotions, to desires, to pleasure, to poetry  to the ill-defined idea of personal life, an inner life  alongside the public.

I know it sounds utopian, but I dont believe it is impossible. What it does ask from us, is to abandon the old system of report cards, to discard the traditional indicators of success and impact, and undertake a time of understanding things differently to build new models and ways of being.

At Agents of Ishq, once we liberated ourselves from the logic of just garnering numbers for content or even working with a fixed curriculum, we began a journey that has constantly shown us new aspects of what young people need to strengthen their personal lives  they need information, they need conversation, they need a new language which fluidly incorporates love, sex, desire, attraction, lust, queerness, consent, gender identity, affection, friendship, rejection, relationality  not a language which puts all these in silos. Think of it as literacy in intimacy. Knowledge of how to relate with others on their own terms.

Perhaps all of education needs to be reimagined the way sexuality education has been reimagined. Perhaps our inner lives and our inter-dependence have to lead the way more, in redefining education. As we confront disconnection in myriad ways with pandemic isolation, we can see that we need a politics, a philosophy, a practice of relationality with others. Where the understanding that sexualness is mutually exchanged, not simply conquered and captured, is interwined with understanding that our emotional and personal worlds can be places of sustenance not weakness, to be attacked or guarded. And that is also intertwined with being able to see that resources are something to be shared for mutual survival, not hoarded, and grudgingly given or strategically taken away.

The Bois Locker Room and the crisis of our society in its current breakdown have a lot to say about each other. Both of them tell us that we have reached the limits of the system we live in. If the way out is together, then we need an education on what it means to do that.

Paromita Vohra is a filmmaker, writer and founder of Agents of Ishq.
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe rejected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's request that the tribe remove coronavirus traffic checkpoints from state and U.S. highways. Noem on Friday sent letters to both the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe demanding the checkpoints be taken down within 48 hours or they would face legal action.

"We are strongest when we work together; this includes our battle against COVID-19," Noem said Friday. "I request that the tribes immediately cease interfering with or regulating traffic on U.S. and State Highways and remove all travel checkpoints."

The letters sent to the tribes claimed they had violated the terms of a memo sent by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on April 8, which said the tribes could close roads, "after the Tribe has consulted and reached an agreement addressing the parameters of the temporary road closure or restrictions."

"At a minimum, this should include identifying points of contact for each road owner, who is allowed in, as well as ensuring that emergency and other essential services can access affected areas," the memo continued.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier responded to the governor with a statement, saying, "The English definition of consultation is "a meeting with an expert or professional, such as a medical doctor, in order to seek advice." In the Lakota language, woglakA means "to speak about something." In meeting with county commissioners, municipal, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Public schools and Federal agencies we have met the definition of consultation in both of our languages."

"We have not stopped any state or commercial functions as you claim in your request," Frazier added in the statement.

"I absolutely agree that we need to work together during this time of crisis, however you continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation," the statement said. "Ignorant statements and fiery rhetoric encourage individuals already under stress from this situation to carry out irrational actions."

Story continues

"The purpose of our actions is to, 'save lives rather than save face,'" Frazier concluded.

Banks rake in hefty fees by granting small business loans to big companies

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Cuomo says coronavirus hospitalizations at the same rate as the day shutdown order began
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov took advantage of the online meeting of the foreign ministers of CIS countries to attack Armenia.

The Armenian side is posing new threats to stability and security in the region, Mammadyarov said, reports Sputnik.

The realities in the world today require effective cooperation. However, the unresolved conflicts in the territory of the CIS dont allow for effective cooperation. The recent statements by the leadership of Armenia show that the Armenian side is doing everything it can to hinder the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict, posing threats to security and stability in the region, he said.

Azerbaijan supports a speedy political settlement of the conflict. The negotiations cant go on forever, the Azerbaijani minister added.

He recalled that, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Paris Charter and the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, Azerbaijan is entitled to restore territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders of the country.
A house in Treme is boarded up amid the coronavirus outbreak in New Orleans, Monday, April 20.
MONTREAL, May 12, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Several leaders in information technology and artificial intelligence development joined forces to enhance automated public chatbot service Chloe for COVID-19 to support Canadians in the fight against the coronavirus.

The system aims to facilitate citizens' rapid access to relevant information, and to enable healthcare system professionals to focus on tasks that require their expertise, while protecting the public and avoiding misinformation. This open source project is available on covid19.dialogue.co and will be finalized in June.

The objective is to create a chatbot system that supports the public by providing current and verified information about COVID-19, providing clear answers to specific questions on the subject, assessing the symptoms, assisting individuals with questions about the testing phase, and monitoring people in self-isolation to keep track of their condition.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada, information has been changing day by day, and sometimes even hourly. Anxiety is growing in the population and the number of people in need of medical advice or assistance is growing. 811 lines across the country are often overflowing, and an increasing number of people are turning to telemedicine for information or to consult a healthcare professional, while complying with containment guidelines. Therefore, it is essential to automate as many steps as possible in the patient's journey, to provide a safe service and truthful, current and accurate information to patients, while optimizing the work of health professionals and the functioning of the healthcare system.

Here is the list of AI community partners who are contributing to this open source project:

Amazon Web Services - cloud computing services - aws.amazon.com

Dataperformers - data clustering - dataperformers.com

Dialogue Technologies - adaptation of the chatbot Chloe for COVID-19 - dialogue.co

Google - data translation, augmentation and semantic matching - google.com

John Hopkins University - COVID-19 tweet collection - www.jhu.edu

Mila - expertise in artificial intelligence - mila.quebec

Nu Echo - intelligent conversational automation solution - nuecho.com

Samasource - data annotation - samasource.com

Scale AI - financial partner of the project - scaleai.ca

SOURCE ACJ Communication

For further information: Jean-Christophe de Le Rue - Dialogue Technologies, [email protected], 613-806-0671; Vincent Martineau - Mila, [email protected], 514-914-5757; Stephane Seguin - Nu Echo Inc., [email protected], 514-861-3246 ext. 4259; Maggie Philbin - Samasource, [email protected], 203-394-1818; Isabelle Turcotte - Scale AI, [email protected], 514-772-0736; Tania Cusson-Alvarez - Dataperformers, [email protected], 514-603-1856; Google, [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.acjcommunication.com


Since the early days of the pandemic, the Trump administration has relied primarily on rapid coronavirus tests manufactured by Abbott Laboratories to test its staff members. One of the those devices  called ID Now  was used until the end of August or early September, when the White House switched to another quick test called BinaxNOW.

ID Now, shown below, produces a result in less than 15 minutes but has been found to sometimes miss infections.

When someone is tested, first, a sample is collected with a swab. It can be a simple swipe of the nose or throat, but for more reliable results, the swab must be inserted deep into the cavity between the nose and mouth.

Nasal cavity Swab Throat Nasal cavity Swab Throat Illustration by Guilbert Gates

(The White House would not comment on whether its staffers are tested with a deep swab or a less invasive one.)

After sample collection, the swab is then taken to the testing unit for processing.

The unit, called ID Now and produced by Abbott Laboratories, is about the size of a toaster. The process starts by placing two disposable plastic pieces under the lid: an orange test base and a blue sample receiver. The machine then begins warming up, heating elements like acids and detergents that help break apart the coronavirus. Three minutes later, a foil seal is removed from the blue sample receiver, and the swab is swirled around for 10 seconds, mixing the sample with liquid inside. A transfer cartridge is then used to move the sample to the orange test base. After the lid of the unit is closed, it immediately begins running the test. If coronavirus is present in the sample, liquid in the test base amplifies a segment of the viruss RNA. In five to 13 minutes, the unit displays a result.

A new study from New York University, which has not yet been reviewed by other scientists, found that the ID Now machines missed more than 48 percent of positive cases when using dry nasal swabs.

These results are not consistent with other studies of the test, said Scott Stoffel, a vice president of public affairs at Abbott Laboratories. Its unclear if the samples were tested correctly in this study.

In April, hospitals and researchers found that if a swab were stored in a liquid solution before testing, the sample could become diluted, producing a negative result for someone who was infected. Abbott later revised its instructions, recommending that once a sample was collected, to place the dry swab directly into the ID Now unit.

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for ID Now devices to be used for coronavirus testing in late March. There are 18,000 ID Now testing units in the United States, according to Abbott, and the company says it has produced more than 1.8 million of the kits required for the machine to test for the virus.
33 mins and 1,485 words: PM Modi's fifth speech on Tuesday

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

New Delhi, May 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his third speech to the nation on Tuesday has announced Rs 20 lakh crore package as an aid for the crisis and emphasised on self-reliance. The Prime Minister said that it is the only way forward to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The third speech of the PM consisted of 1,485 words and it went for 33 minutes. While PM's second speech had 1,812 words.

Full text of PM Modis address to the nation

In the address to the nation, PM Modi said, "This crisis is unprecedented, unimaginable but trying, losing is not acceptable to the human race. While staying vigilant, we need to save the world and move forward."

"We had never seen or heard about such a crisis ever before. This is definitely unimaginable for mankind. This was unprecedented. But humanity will not accept defeat from this virus. We have to not only protect ourselves but also move forward," said PM Modi.

"Today when the entire world is in crisis, we will have to further firm our resolve," he added.

PM Modi addresses nation: Five key takeaways from his speech

"We have heard that the 21st century will be India's. Our resolve is much bigger than the crises. We have to save ourselves and continue our fight. We will not give up or accept defeat," Modi said.
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By CHUKS EKE

One person was confirmed dead, while five others were seriously injured yesterday when a gas tanker driver lost control of the vehicle as a result of sudden brake failure and rammed into on-coming vehicles.

The incident, according to eyewitnesses, occured when the tanker laden with cooking gas with Registration No. Lagos AKD 246 XW heading towards the direction of Obosi was descending a slope at Nkpor junction and the brake suddenly developed a fault.

According to the source, a long vehicle with a container body coming from Obosi direction had broken down at the scene since Friday last week and blocked one side of the narrow road linking Obosi and Nkpor.

It was furthered that as a result, all vehicles coming from Obosi direction had to queue behind the broken down long vehicle and wait for those heading to Obosi to pass before they could move.

The situation led to a temporary traffic jam within the scene and as other vehicles and tricycles queued up behind the broken down long vehicle waiting fir the tanker to to drive past, the tanker suddenly developed brake fault, forcing the driver to lose control as the vehicle rammed into the tricycles and other smaller vehicles, pushing all of them into a deep side drainage.

While the tanker was dragging the vehicles into the drainage, one of the tricycle passengers, a woman fell off and was crushed by another tricycle which ripped open her lower abdomen and she died 30 minutes after shouting for help, while other passengers, with various degrees of injuries were struggling to come out from the smashed vehicles inside the drainage. as at the time of filing this report .

Some of the witnesses who spoke to newsmen at the scene, said nobody rushed the dying woman to the hospital because her condition was so critical that they knew she would not survive as it would amount to unnecessary expenses to take her to the hospital.

Both policemen, fire service personnel and Federal Road Safety officials were seen battling to remove the carnage on the scene, including the broken down long vehicle and efforts to hear from the uniformed men proved abortive as they maintained sealed lips while struggling to clear the road.
Federal authorities are a court order away from taking control of a huge, unfinished mansion west of San Antonio that they say was built with drug money.

The U.S. attorney's office in Houston has filed a forfeiture complaint against the property in a U.S. district court in Houston.

"It's humongous," Bandera County sheriff's Deputy Mike Bolton told the San Antonio Express-News for a story in Friday's editions.

"It's got an indoor swimming pool, a theater room and domed ceilings. When it's complete, it's going to be worth $8 (million) or $9 million," he said.

The Casa Grande Villa Ranch and its mansion now are appraised at $1.96 million, officials said. It is located in Tarpley, about 48 miles west of San Antonio, on FM 470.

Nancy Herrera of the U.S. attorney's office said the court forfeited any interest held by Luis Castro, a Houston cocaine trafficker linked to the palatial residence in western Bandera County. Prosecutors contend Castro funded the $300,000 ranch purchase in 1999 by Donato Alvarenga.

"Defendant property was purchased and improved with illegal drug proceeds," the forfeiture complaint states. It continues: "Castro was present at the closing and described himself as Alvarenga's adviser. Castro had the existing residence bulldozed and then began construction of  a 17,000-square-foot main house, 2,000-square-foot guest house and several barns."

Alvarenga submitted no evidence of ownership of the 120-acre ranch by Feb. 14, the deadline set by the court, Herrera said.

The Nov. 4 forfeiture complaint said Castro was sentenced Nov. 1 in Harris County to eight years in prison term for a July drug arrest. The complaint states Castro declared an average income of less than $22,000 a year on tax returns filed between 1995 and 2001 but offered the arresting officer at the raid a $400,000 bribe.

About 30 federal agents, some in assault gear, raided the ranch on Nov. 7 with assistance from local officers. Federal authorities declined to reveal what was sought or found in the raid.

The seller, Vincent Caldarola, was stunned to learn Thursday that his 1,800-square-foot home had been replaced by a mansion.

"What?" the San Antonio physician exclaimed when contacted by the Express-News. "I'd like to see if I can buy it back for $300,000."

He said the buyer was referred to as a doctor from El Salvador.

A telephone call to Alvarenga from The Associated Press was not answered Friday morning. The Express-News said its efforts to reach Alvarenga or his attorneys were unsuccessful.

Information from: San Antonio Express-News
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:26:03|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Treasurer has been tested for coronavirus hours after suffering a coughing fit in Parliament.

Josh Frydenberg was delivering a ministerial statement on the economic impact of COVID-19 in the lower house of Parliament, the House of Representatives, on Tuesday afternoon when he started coughing.

In a statement released on Tuesday evening he said he was getting tested for the virus as a precaution.

"Today while delivering my ministerial statement I had a dry mouth and a cough," Frydenberg said.

"After question time I sought the advice of the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO).

"The DCMO advised me that out of an abundance of caution it was prudent I be tested for COVID-19.

"Following the receipt of his advice I immediately left Parliament House to be tested and will await the result in isolation."

He said he expects to receive the results of the test on Wednesday.

Parliament resumed on Tuesday after being suspended indefinitely early in April to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Frydenberg was 15 minutes into his speech when he began coughing, a key symptom of the virus, into his hand, which is against the government's official medical advice.

He took several sips of water and finished the 30-minute address, which outlined the "sobering" economic fallout from the global pandemic.

It is the second time that Frydenberg has been tested for COVID-19.

He was previously tested in March after developing cold-like symptoms after returning to Australia from Saudi Arabia.

That test came back negative.

Several federal politicians have been confirmed of infecting the virus, including Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and government Senators Susan McDonald and Andrew Bragg, but all have recovered. Enditem
The Bihar government has now shifted its attention on vegetable sellers after migrants to check the possible spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state.

The health departments instructions to all the district magistrates (DMs) to sample vegetable sellers in the markets came on a day when chief minister Nitish Kumar discussed the states strategy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cope with rising numbers of the Sars-Cov-2, the virus which causes the coronavirus disease.

In separate letters, principal secretary of the health department Sanjay Kumar on Monday directed DMs of all the 38 districts to collect samples of vegetable sellers, mostly in urban markets, and test them for Covid-19.

Kumar cited the examples of Chennai and Delhi and said that vegetable sellers, who have remained unsampled in the state, were found to be the super spreaders in those places.

In view of the risen in the number of Covid-19 cases among the migrants, who arrived in the state during the lockdown, the principal secretary directed DMs to sample migrants, high-risk people and vegetable sellers from Tuesday.

The DMs have, however, been told to restrict the sampling to 50 so that their testing could be processed in 24 hours.

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On Wednesday, May 6, Sal Hadwan, a nurse at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, was fired for speaking out against understaffing and unsafe working conditions at the hospital during the coronavirus health crisis that has so far claimed the lives of 1,184 city residents.

Hadwan posted a Facebook video of himself while being walked out of the hospital and showed a copy of his termination letter that alleged he leaked a photo of bodies stored in vacant hospital rooms to CNN.

Everybody knows I didnt do it; I didnt take the photo. He says in the video, I feel like I got retaliated against because I stood up and spoke up for what is right.  They fired me during the pandemic from a place I loved working at.

He also said the hospital human resources department did not provide any details or proof of an investigation into the leak. HR didnt want to explain nothing, but they decided to terminate me because they think I leaked the photos to CNN.

On Sunday, April 5, Hadwan and six other nurses were sent home after refusing to work under unsafe conditions at Sinai-Grace Hospital, one of six facilities operated by Detroit Medical Center (DMC), a property of Tenet Healthcare. At that time, he livestreamed the group of nurses leaving the hospital to his Facebook page that went viral and made national news, exposing the dire conditions nurses are forced to work under during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic rips through the global population, medical professionals are being victimized for speaking out against terrible working conditions that are putting their lives and the lives of their patients at risk. In addition to battling the virus, nurses are fighting against hospital owners and administrations that are indifferent or downright hostile to their workers.

I feel that DMC and Tenet let Sal go because he stood up for his beliefs and the integrity of nursing. They are using him as a scapegoat instead of making conditions better at the hospital, a Sinai-Grace nurse told the WSWS.

Tenets major concern is not patient care but making money. Why fire Sal? They want to strike fear into the hearts of other nurses from saying anything, especially under conditions where huge cuts are now taking place throughout the industry.

Stories like Sals are be repeated across the country. Kenisa Barkai, a Sinai nurse, was fired on March 27 after raising the alarm about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and critical staff shortages and threatening to organize a union. The official pretext for her firing was as flimsy as the one given to Sal, a 10-second video on Facebook showing her PPE, which the company said violated their social media policy.

It breaks my heart that it has come to this. I have been a nurse for 11 years. We are in a critical need of nurses right now, and to fire me when I have experience and professionalism is wrong. She told the Metro Times, My coworkers are in there battling not just for their patients lives, but for their own lives. Just knowing Im not there during this is heartbreaking.

Justin Howe, a nurse at Hackley Hospital in Muskegon, Michigan, went public about the lack of PPE at his hospital and the administration forcing employees to throw away donated PPE. On May 1, he was fired on spurious grounds.

Dawn Kulach, a nurse from Virtua Voorhees hospital in New Jersey, brought her own PPE to work as she was recovering from pneumonia and the masks provided by the hospital were not sufficient. When she refused to throw her PPE away, she was fired.

The response of Americas ruling class and its for-profit health system to the pandemic has been marked by incompetence and callous indifference. Remarkably, in April, 1.4 million jobs were cut in health care. This reserve army of unemployed will be used as a cudgel against health care workers who risk their jobs to speak out for their own safety.

The WSWS has received several reports from health care workers of dangerous working conditions. In addition to fearing infection, they fear being victimized if they are caught speaking out.

A worker at the Henry Ford Healthcare system in Detroit reported being forced to disinfect areas of the hospital without PPE and facing resistance from the administration. Many of us were outright refused any type of PPE when told to come to a COVID area and clean after patients were discharged, the worker said. The director is completely out of control. The supervisors are completely clueless, and no one is being held responsible.

A nurse in Long Island, New York, reported being given one gown per shift, even when treating patients with and without COVID. They were directed to spray their gowns with Virex between patients to disinfect, which caused chemical burns on the nurses hands, arms and eyes. They later found Virex is a pesticide, not to be used on humans or animals.

Ive yet to see anyone from administration go into a patient room during this crisis. Supervisors dont even wear scrubs for their shift, she reported to the WSWS. Well continue to wear garbage bags over our scrubs and isolation gowns until that runs out. Someone started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for additional PPE but were told to take it down by administration.

A nurse at a Tenet hospital in Arizona who was victimized by her administration spoke with the WSWS. Health care should not be run by people making six-figure incomes in the private sector that dont give two shits about us. I think we should have a nationwide strike. I think health care should leave the hands of assholes getting $1.25 million in bonuses annually for killing us on the front lines.

She added, I wanted to help people, but I have come to hate my job. I hate hospital administrators, I hate the machine, I hate the red tape, bureaucracy, and the disgusting way we are offered up as lambs to slaughter and tossed aside for speaking up for ourselves and our patients.

The fate of Sal Hadwan and others should be a warning to health care professionals everywhere. The ruling class is abandoning any serious coordinated effort to fight the pandemic, even as the number of cases continues to rise rapidly and states are forcing people back into the workplace.

The owners and administrators of the US health care system are more concerned with profits, executive salaries and public image and will fire any worker who tries to bring attention to the deadly conditions in their hospitals.

The World Socialist Web Site encourages health care workers who would like to share their story to contact us today.
Super 30 founder and mathematician Anand Kumar has been invited for a virtual session with the University of California, Berkeley students in a bid to boost their morale in view of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic which has killed over 80,000 people in the US.

Executive vice-president of Berkeley India Speaker Series Shubham Parekh extended the invitation to Kumar for the virtual session on May 16, according to a statement issued on Monday.

The objective is to pep up students, many of whom face depression and anxiety due to the fatal impact of the pandemic and growing uncertainty about how long it would last and at what cost, it said.

UC Barkley engages speakers from India in the political, social activism and cultural spheres and eminent names from varied fields have spoken there.

"As someone who has grown up in India and witnessed the dire situation of the public system, I have realised the importance of your contribution to the upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society through Your work in the sector has been awarded, praised across the globe and we would like the students of UC Berkeley to gain your invaluable advice," said the invite to Kumar.

Kumar, globally acclaimed for his pioneering 'Super 30' initiative which has a phenomenal success rate of grooming students from the underprivileged sections for India's highly competitive IIT entrance exams, said that he was looking forward to the opportunity.

"In the difficult times, as we are in today, there is a need to hold on to our nerves and be positive. I will tell the students the success stories of my own students who never gave up despite seemingly insurmountable odds to make a mark for themselves. Challenges always come with opportunities. All that is required is to recognise them," Kumar added.

The US has recorded 830 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 80,352, according to Johns Hopkins University on Monday. More than 1,300,000 people have been infected.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rishi Sunak could signal the beginning of the end for the government's massive coronavirus bailout today as he overhauls the furlough scheme.

The Chancellor is expected to extend the multi-billion pound subsidy - which currently covers 80 per cent of wages up to a ceiling of 2,500 a month - to September.

But speculation has been mounting that he will cut the proportion of pay to 60 per cent after the existing end date of July, as ministers urge people to return to work and loosen the lockdown strangling the economy.

With concerns the scheme is costing 14billion a month - roughly equivalent to the NHS budget - Mr Sunak is also set to tell the Commons that it will be available for workers who go back part-time, in a bid to 'wean' businesses off the support.

He could also reduce the threshold for the separate self-employed scheme - with anyone making over 30,000-a-year profits barred, down from the current 50,000.

Former Bank of England governor Lord King warned this morning that the scaling down of the furlough arrangements should be linked to the state of the economy, not any particular timeframe.

'The furlough scheme ought to be linked to the performance of the economy and not to a particular calendar timetable,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will make a major announcement on the multi-billion-pound furlough scheme today

A construction worker in site in Guildford, Surrey yesterday. The government is urging everyone to return to their jobs, even if they cannot work from home

The Treasury is known to be looking at ways to cut back the scheme that is paying up to 80 per cent of wages, up to a maximum of 2,500 per month.

But some workers in sectors facing months more of uncertainty could reportedly receive supplements if they cannot return to work, or only return part-time.

Mr Sunak has insisted there will be no 'cliff edge' to the support, but admitted the scale of the bailouts are not 'sustainable'.

Lord King urged him to keep the proportion of wages covered at 80 per cent.

'I don't think it makes sense to regard this as the major cost of the Covid-19 crisis in economic terms,' he said.

'These payments under Government schemes are transfers from taxpayers in general to businesses, it will lead to an increase in national debt (but) we can finance that over a long period, particularly given the very low level of long-term real interest rates.

'The real cost of this shutdown is not measured by the impact on the public finances but by the lost incomes and outputs in the economy, a cost which is likely to end up as an order of magnitude (though no one can really know this) of several hundred billion pounds. That's an enormous cost.'

Boris Johnson's roadmap for releasing the lockdown, published yesterday, suggested that hospitality businesses and others like hairdressers and gyms, face being closed until July at the earliest.

Taking questions from MPs, Mr Johnson said: 'I do think that the furloughing scheme has been one of the most remarkable features of the Government's response and it is unlike anything seen internationally.

'Six-and-a-half million people currently are being supported. It is absolutely right that we should do it.

'I don't want to anticipate what (Mr Sunak) is going to say but the House will hear more about that tomorrow.'

Boris Johnson was in Downing Street today with dog Dilyn. The roadmap for releasing the lockdown, published yesterday, suggested that hospitality businesses and others like hairdressers and gyms, face being closed until July at the earliest

The current version of the scheme is due to expire at the end of June, with firms able to claim 80 per cent of a furloughed worker's wages up to a monthly cap of 2,500.

First announced in March, the move was opened for three months, backdated from March 1 to the end of May, and was later extended by a month until the end of June.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner told Today the furlough cover should continue 'as long as we need it'.

Ms Rayner added: 'We can't afford not to do it correctly. I think it is really important the Chancellor continues with the good practice of making sure that furlough scheme is in place and doesn't try and reduce it too soon, because that will cost us in the longer term.

'Many families wouldn't be able to survive right now if it wasn't for things like the furlough scheme, it is absolutely right the Government has stepped in but they can't now pull the rug from underneath people's feet - they have to continue to support people throughout this crisis.

'We will have to look at how the economy recovers, but it is not going to recover quickly enough if we pull the rug from people now and people end up destitute and we end up having that R rate spiking again and back in lockdown.'

Asked about the continuation of the furlough scheme, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News: 'We have said that shouldn't be a cliff-edge in the furlough scheme, but at the same time, we do need to try to get the economy back to something more like normal.'
The global commons are under assault in cyberspace. Ransomware attacks, including North Koreas WannaCry and Russias NotPetya, have disrupted vital medical services and global transportation systems, costing billions of dollars. Iran and China have engaged in similar actions.

These cyberattacks are carried out by states and nonstate actors that seek to undermine global connectivity for their own interests. But like a pandemic, these attacks affect all of society. The world needs a new approach to combating how nations use cyberspace to advance their interests at the expense of people around the world.

The U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission was formed by Congress in 2018 to develop a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace. It provided a road map for establishing cooperation and accountability in cyberspace. The commission consisted of four federal legislators, the deputies of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Justice, and six private-sector experts. One of us, Benjamin Jensen, served as the commissions senior research director.

The commissioners and staff conducted more than 400 interviews with cybersecurity professionals, researchers and officials in the private sector, academia and foreign governments. The commissions final report, released in March, lays out a comprehensive plan of action based on a new strategy: layered cyber deterrence.

Layered cyber deterrence

The proposed strategy breaks new ground in two ways. First, it asserts that contrary to conventional wisdom, it is possible to deter cyberattacks. Second, the strategy calls for coordinating activities in three layers to secure cyberspace. This wont eliminate all bad behavior in cyberspace any more than traditional law enforcement has completely banished crime in the physical world. But it will improve how the U.S. government and the private sector respond to cyberthreats.

Story continues

The first layer calls for the U.S. government to shape behavior in cyberspace through diplomacy and establishing new norms. Too many states quietly condone hacking to steal, spy and threaten their rivals. These attacks rely on illicit marketplaces for malware. The key is promoting responsible behavior in cyberspace and assigning specific expectations for the roles and responsibilities of governments and the private sector.

The second layer calls for the U.S. government to make cyberattacks less effective by promoting national resilience. This approach requires securing critical networks in collaboration with the private sector. It also requires being able to conclusively identify the perpetrators of malicious actions in cyberspace. And it requires increasing the security of the cyber ecosystem. Actions in this layer include working to create more transparency in cyber insurance markets and ensuring economic continuity in the event of a catastrophic cyber incident.

The third layer calls for the U.S. government to impose proportional costs to malicious actions in cyberspace. This requires the U.S., in collaboration with allies, to maintain the capability and credibility needed to retaliate against nations and organizations that target the U.S. in and through cyberspace. The means to retaliate include legal, financial, diplomatic and cyber powers that, applied in combination, assure compelling and unavoidable consequences for transgressors.

Early action with diverse responses

The U.S. Department of Defense defend forward policy, laid out in its 2018 strategy, calls for detecting and responding to threats as early as possible. Early action increases effectiveness and minimizes disruption. The commission report calls for this emphasis on early detection and action to be extended to the use of all government powers. It also calls for collaborating with an international coalition that lends strength and legitimacy when responding to cyber attacks.

The three components of this proposed strategy are defined as layers because they need to be applied in combination rather than as separate remedies. In this manner the strategy brings together a diverse array of private and public capabilities, resources and authorities.

The commissions report includes 80 recommendations for implementing the strategy. For the recommendations that require changes in law, the commission drafted legislative language to assist Congress. The recommendations set the stage for a series of public hearings and outreach to the public. Implementing the strategy will involve changes in procedure, authority, law and ultimately in the behavior of cyberspace stakeholders.

While the commission has transitioned its role to one of advocacy for the reports recommendations, the work of transforming perceived costs and benefits in cyberspace lies ahead. It will require the work of governments, the private sector and citizens. If the strategy is implemented successfully, nations that contemplate aggression in cyberspace will get the message: if you want to beat one of us, youll have to deal with all of us.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

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Benjamin Jensen holds a dual appointment as a Professor at the Marine Corps University and as a Scholar-in-Residence at American University. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and serves as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served as the Senior Research Director for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission. The views expressed are his own.

Chris Inglis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya



Uikey has asked Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to take a policy decision to prevent alcohol-related crimes during the COVID-19 lockdown in the state, an official said on Tuesday.

In a letter to Baghel, the governor raised concerns about incidents of drunk people misbehaving with journalists, officials, health personnel and sanitation workers during the lockdown, a release issued by the Raj Bhavan said.

"At a time when the administration and police machinery were battling the COVID-19 pandemic, such acts by drunk people with criminal tendencies, weaken the morale of corona warriors and common people," she said in the letter.

Apart from this, incidents of domestic violence due to alcoholism have also increased and this needs to be checked effectively, she added.

The governor urged the Chief Minister to take an appropriate policy decision to prevent such offences, the release stated.

Notably, in a memorandum to the governor, the opposition BJP on Monday had urged her to direct the state government to ban the sale of liquor in the state and withdraw its decision facilitating home delivery of alcohol.

Liquor outlets, which were shut since March when the lockdown was imposed, were reopened on May 4 everywhere, except in COVID-19 containments zones in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On May 4, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments by phone - and let the world listen in via live stream (and just two days later, this innovation rang in the court's first audible toilet flush). What's more, the court is moving to have advocates file motions and briefs online. Prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, these firsts have been startling from an institution that has never allowed its arguments to be broadcast and has long resisted any change.

But the state courts got there first, responding quickly to the coronavirus threat by offering innovative and remote access to justice. Almost one month before the Supreme Court's audio broadcast, the North Dakota Supreme Court offered live broadcasts of oral arguments held on video. In early April, the Texas Supreme Court followed suit. On the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court first announced it would stream its remote oral arguments, the Michigan Supreme Court held its first oral arguments remotely, broadcast live on YouTube.

Don't be surprised. Our research finds that state judges often launch innovations. That's because they don't have life tenure, making them quicker to respond to public demands.

State courts have the motivation to innovate. The U.S. Supreme Court does not.

As the novel coronavirus began to spread in the United States, many state chief justices and their courts issued numerous orders canceling jury trials, postponing deadlines for fees and filings, and delivering numerous guidelines for ensuring that the judiciary and criminal justice systems could continue to function. As of this writing, the Texas Supreme Court has issued 14 such orders; the Michigan Supreme Court, 13; and the North Dakota Supreme Court, nine. Every state high court has issued numerous and often significant orders. On March 20, Chief Justice Mike McGrath of the Montana Supreme Court asked his state's lower-court judges to "review your jail rosters and release, without bond, as many prisoners as you are able, especially those being held for non-violent offenses."

Why are state courts so innovative while the U.S. Supreme Court is so stodgy? The Constitution guarantees Supreme Court justices a job for life. But most state judges need either voters' or state officials' approval if they're to stay in office. Our previous research has looked at what state supreme court judges post on Twitter and at how they write their legal opinions. There we've found that these judges work at projecting a positive image, not only to the state's legal community but also to the broader public.

In other words, state judges pay attention to what political scientists call "retention audiences," while Supreme Court justices don't. "Retention audiences" means the group responsible for renewing someone's term of office. For elected state supreme court judges, that's the voters; for appointed judges, that's the governor or legislature. These retention audiences connect judges with the public, either directly or indirectly, making the judiciary not only a legal institution but a representative one.

The Supreme Court's lack of leadership on the pandemic is causing chaos in lower federal courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court's chief justice is also the chief administrator of the federal courts. So far, Chief Justice John Roberts and the Judicial Conference of the United States have issued only two declarations. The first authorized remote proceedings; the second required courts to offer public access to those proceedings. But nearly all other policies are determined at the federal judiciary's lower levels - and U.S. courts of appeals are taking very different approaches to the pandemic.

Only the 1st Circuit has made no changes regarding oral arguments. Every other circuit has made accommodations, but with significant variations. The 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th circuits are all requiring telephonic hearings, like the U.S. Supreme Court, though the 6th does not have live audio, with recordings posted to its website within 24 hours. In the 3rd Circuit, in-person oral arguments continue, though parties may request a hearing by telephone. The remaining circuits have decided to move forward by giving the parties the choice of having their case decided by brief, postponing oral arguments or doing them remotely. In other words, the federal courts' policies vary by region.

State high courts have responded more quickly, bringing each state's courts into more uniformity. To be sure, the circuits are in very different regions, which could explain the federal courts' decision to allow these decisions to be made locally. But every state (minus Nebraska) has taken a top-down leadership role, leading to uniformity in judicial practice across the state.

When it comes to judicial leadership, incentives matter.

Each Supreme Court justice has reached the highest judicial position in the United States. Since they are in no danger of losing it, justices have no need to cater to specific audiences, unless they personally want some group's approval. But unlike Roberts, state supreme court chief justices do risk losing their jobs - and that's a major motivating factor in their behavior.

So why are the U.S. courts of appeals' chief judges also responding to the crisis even though they, too, have life tenure? Because these judges do also keep an eye on an audience - particularly if they hope for a promotion to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As a result, while the U.S. Supreme Court's audio live stream may well stop when the pandemic's threat has passed, state courts' changes probably will outlive the crisis, continuing to reduce costs, increase transparency and improve access to the judicial system into the future.

- - -

Curry is an associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at El Paso and author, with Romano, of "Creating the Law: State Supreme Court Opinions and The Effect of Audience."

Fix is an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University whose forthcoming book is "U.S. Supreme Court Doctrine in the State High Courts."

Romano is an associate professor of political science at Shenandoah University.

Salamone is an associate professor of political science at Washington State University and author of "Perceptions of a Polarized Court: How Division Among Justices Shapes the Supreme Court's Public Image." For other analysis and commentary from The Monkey Cage, an independent blog anchored by political scientists from universities around the country, see www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage.
A military flyover to honor health care workers, first responders, and other essential personnel on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic will occur on Wednesday in Burlington and Camden counties.

The 514th Air Mobility Wing out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County has scheduled a flyover of six sites in the latest of air salutes to healthcare workers and communities. The flyovers are scheduled between 1 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

The route will include Virtua Willingboro Hospital, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, Freedom Park, Medford, Virtua-Marlton Hospital, Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills section of Pemberton.

The Air National Guard unit will be flying a C-17 and a KC-10 aerial refueling aircraft. The flights required no additional funding and are part of mandatory training requirements, officials said.

Heads up Burlington County and Camden County Government! The Freedom Wing is flying high bringing our support through... Posted by 514th Air Mobility Wing on Tuesday, May 12, 2020

The flyover will be the second this week and third this month. The 177th Fighter Wing of the state Air National Guard was planning to fly over 14 sites around the state Tuesday from Sea Girt to Bergen County and other nearby sites, then south through Cherry Hill in Camden County and as far as the U.S. Coast Guard training center in Cape May County before concluding the flyover in Atlantic City.

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels also held a flyover earlier this month in which 12 military jets crossed the state to salute health care workers. The flights passed by five cities in four statesNewark, New York City, Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington.

As of Tuesday morning, 9,340 people in New Jersey have died from coronavirus and the total number of cases in the state was at more than 139,900, according to state officials and Johns Hopkins University.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com.
STORY LINK Pound Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) Exchange Rate Plummets as Norway Lays Groundwork for Emergence From the Crisis

Pound Sterling Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) Exchange Rate Falls by Over 1%

The Norwegian economy has suffered its most severe setback ever in peacetime. However, the government is laying the groundwork for Norways emergence from the crisis.

Oil Prices Buoy the Norwegian Krone (NOK)

The market is obviously far from certain that the additional cuts announced yesterday will be able to drive the oil price materially higher. But, today, the conclusion is that yes, the additional cuts are naturally positive on the margin.

Sterling (GBP) Plummets as UKs Lockdown Easing Plan Faces Criticism

From a political point of view in the UK, there really hasnt been anything particularly positive and the criticism of the government is just highlighting a government which appears to be badly organised.

Im extending the scheme because I won't give up on the people who rely on it. Our message today is simple: we stood behind Britain's workers and businesses as we came into this crisis, and we will stand behind them as we come through the other side.

Pound Norwegian Krone Outlook: GDP and Oil Prices in Focus

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The Pound Sterling Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) exchange rate plummeted by around -1.3%, leaving the pairing trading at around 12.5313Kr.Reports revealed that for the first time in more than a decade, Norway will exceed a self-imposed cap on spending from its sovereign wealth fund in an attempt to help the economy which has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.In a statement, the countrys finance ministry said:Meanwhile, data revealed that mainland Norways economy contracted by -2.1% in March, while growth in the first quarter shrunk by -6.9%.This followed the ministrys prediction the countrys economy would shrink by -4% before rebounding in 2021.Meanwhile, the Norwegian Krone was offered support after oil prices rose higher on Tuesday after a commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts.In order to help drain the supply glut built up by the coronavirus crisis, Saudi Arabia promised to deepen supply cuts by another 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from June.Added to this, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also committed to cut an extra 180,000 bpd in total.Commenting on this, SEB Banks chief commodities analyst, Bjarne Schieldrop noted:The Pound suffered steep losses against the Norwegian Krone as markets were left confused after Britains government announced its plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown.According to Rabobanks head of FX strategy, Jane Foley:Meanwhile, this afternoon, British Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced that the UKs furlough scheme would be extended to October.The chancellor confirmed that employees would continue to receive 80% of their wages up to 2,500. Although, he noted the government will ask companies to start sharing the cost of this from August.Around a quarter of workers in the country are covered by the scheme, Sunak said the scheme would continue to support all sectors and regions but offered greater flexibility to support the transition back into work.Employers will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time. Speaking in Parliament, Rishi Sunak said:Looking ahead, the Pound (GBP) could suffer further losses against the Norwegian Krone (NOK) following the release of UK GDP data.If data reveals that Britains economy has shrunk at a faster rate than expected, it will send Sterling lower.Meanwhile, if oil prices continue to rise as market sentiment improves on promised oil production cuts.If oil prices edge higher on Wednesday, it will send the Pound Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) exchange rate lower.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

TAGS: Pound Norwegian Krone Forecasts
More than 80,000 people have died from coronavirus-related illness in the US, but nearly every state is rolling out plans for phased reopenings, under immense pressure from lawmakers and businesses desperate to reboot the nation's economy while millions out-of-work Americans struggle for benefits.

Health officials say it could be months or more than a year before a vaccine is developed and treatment options are widely available, but scientists stress that expanded testing and tracking the contacts of people who had the virus are crucial to map the safety of "reopening".

Some states have seen a plateau in new cases. Others have seen a decrease. But experts say that neither can determine the scope of the virus without adequate testing capacity.

Though states may see a low death rate, they also are experiencing relatively little testing, despite Donald Trump's assurances that "anyone" can access a test, let alone a network of contact tracing to determine the scale of the virus in each state.

The president's guidelines for "Opening Up America Again"  a three-phase set of non-binding rules for states to meet certain criteria before businesses can reopen  say that states and local governments must have a "downward trajectory" of flu-like illnesses and Covid-19 symptoms or documented coronavirus cases within a two-week period before they can move from the first phase and into the next.

Most states' current daily testing numbers are far below their recommended targets, according to analysis from the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Among the more than a dozen states that have lifted or have imminent plans to lift their stay-at-home orders, several have seen a bump in new cases, without any clear rubric for rolling back openings if they fall short of the criteria within 14 days of their reopenings.

Epidemiologists warn that it could take weeks to see the number of cases reflected in the data on which states rely to move to move into their next phase, if states are even equipped to test and trace those cases.

The rates of new positive cases continue to grow throughout the US, when cases from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are removed from the data.

Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC that reopening states that have yet to report an uptick likely will in coming days.

"The bottom line is a lot of states are now reopening activity against a backdrop that doesn't meet the criteria that the White House set out in terms of when it would be safe to reopen," he said. "We're going to see cases go up now that we're reopening."

White House officials have also warned states about the dangers of reopening too early without meeting the phase-by-phase criteria.

Recommended Americans risk their lives or face losing healthcare and unemployment

Dr Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Senate committee on Tuesday that if local governments "jump over those various checkpoints" without accompanying healthcare capacity, those areas could see spikes "that might turn into outbreaks" that "you may not be able to control".

Outbreaks will not only lead to "some suffering and death that could be avoided" but will set back any efforts towards economic stability.

Governors in more than a dozen states have lifted their stay-at-home orders, while Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota never had a stay-at-home order on the state or local levels.

This week, several other states have imminent plans to lift their stay-at-home orders or begin easing some restrictions, including Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington DC, New Mexico and Wyoming, allowing residents to visit bars and restaurants and other retailers.

But several cities and states are extending their orders through the end of May, or June, or indefinitely.

Here's a look at 13 states that lifted their stay-at-home mandates:

Alabama

Population: 4.9 million

Cases by 12 May: 10,260

Deaths by 12 May: 428

When the state's order expired on 30 April, it was replaced with a "safer-at-home" measure that allowed restaurants, bars, beaches, gyms, beaches, hair salons and other retailers to reopen in limited capacity. Nightclubs, theatres, bowling alleys and casinos remain closed under the order.

Within the first two weeks of the stay-at-home order being lifted, the state saw a spike of more than 3,000 cases, including more than 400 deaths. Health officials say another 3,000 people have recovered.

Alaska

Population: 737,000

Cases by 12 May: 383

Deaths by 12 May: 10

Alaska entered the second phase of its reopening on 8 May, allowing statewide reopenings of bars, gyms, movie theatres and other retailers that have been closed since March following statewide orders to close nonessential business. Businesses can also expand their capacity from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said the largely rural, expansive state is able to reopen based on "epidemiology, based on our health care capacity and based on our public health capacity."

"We are green-lit in all of those areas, with the exception of personal protective equipment, and that's mostly due to uncertainty about what supply lines look like," he said.

The rate of new cases appears to be slowing. State health officials said more than 300 residents have recovered from the virus, which has led to the deaths of 10 others.

Florida

Population: 21.5 million

Cases by 12 May: 41,923

Deaths by 12 May: 1,779

Under a plan from Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, most counties except for hard-hit areas in South Florida, were allowed to reopen in limited capacity. The state's stay-at-home order expired on 30 April.

As Florida entered the second week of its reopening, with nearly 42,000 cases identified in the state, health officials confirmed more than a dozen new deaths, with a statewide death toll reaching nearly 1,800 people.

One day after reopening some counties at the beginning of the month, the state reported a one-day death record high with 113 Covid-19-related deaths.

But the figures reported from the state's Department of Health don't match the toll from the state Medical Examiners Commission  the health department's count is higher, as controversy builds over allegations of underreporting in a bid to pressure the state to meet certain guidelines.

Georgia

Population: 10.6 million

Cases by 12 May: 34,737

Deaths by 12 May: 1,465

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, among one of the first governors to announce a reopening plan, allowed some businesses to begin reopening as early as 24 April, including barbers, nail salons and bowling alleys, with some capacity restrictions, though critics warn that the decision was not informed by any epidemiological data.

Just days earlier, on 20 April, the state reported 922 new infections, the most recorded in a single day, falling well outside the bounds of the president's 14-day guidelines.

Movie theatres and restaurants were allowed to reopen on 27 April with some restrictions. A statewide stay-at-home order expired on 30 April.

Indiana

Population: 6.7 million

Cases by 12 May: 25,127

Deaths by 12 May: 1,444

Indiana's stay-at-home order expired on 1 May, and Governor Eric Holcomb's five-stage plan for reopening parts of the state entered its second phase, allowing easing capacity restrictions in restaurants and malls, with appointment-only visits to barbers and salons.

The rate of new cases has remained largely the same, meaning growth has stalled or a lack of widespread testing hasn't captured the scale.

Kansas

Population: 2.9 million

Cases by 12 May: 7,116

Deaths by 12 May: 158

Governor Laura Kelly's stay-at-home order expired on 4 May. Restaurants, libraries, child care services, campgrounds, drive-in movie theatres can open with physical distancing requirements, and gyms, malls and other retailers can open at 50 per cent capacity.

The rate of new cases in the state has also remained largely the same, but an overnight jump in more than 200 new cases on 9 May was the 10th highest spike since the state began reporting cases in March.

Mississippi

Population: 2.9 million

Cases by 12 May: 9,908

Deaths by 12 May: 457

Republican Governor Tate Reeves's stay-at-home order expired on 11 May, allowing restaurants to reopen at 50 per cent capacity, followed by barbers, nail salons and other retailers in the poorest state in the US with one of the worst health outcomes.

But on 5 May, three days before the new guidance was issued, the state recorded the highest daily cases and deaths, spiking by more than 300 cases and 32 deaths.

Missouri

Population: 6.2 million

Cases by 12 May: 10,006

Deaths by 12 May: 524

Governor Mike Parson's stay-at-home order expired on 3 May, allowing some businesses to reopen, with physical distancing restrictions in place at 25 per cent capacity.

But the state has struggled to receive adequate testing and has sought assistance from the federal government to boost its capacity, despite White House guidelines urging states to have testing at hand while entering the first phase of reopening plans.

St Louis, however, will continue its stay-at-home order indefinitely, as new cases have yet to trend downward.

But new cases in the rest of the state have to significantly plunge -- in the first half of April, the state saw an average of 235 daily cases. The following weeks have seen an average of 200 daily cases.

Montana

Population: 1.1 million

Cases by 12 May: 461

Deaths by 12 May: 16

The largely rural and spread-out state began a phased reopening on 27 April, with bars and restaurants allowed to reopen on 4 May. With a less-dense population, the state is also able to test more people per day than health guidelines suggest.

Governor Steve Bullock has also allowed schools to begin reopening this month, though most school districts have turned down the offer. Some schools in less populous parts of the state are opening in limited capacity.

South Carolina

Population: 5.2 million

Cases by 12 May: 7,927

Deaths by 12 May: 355

Governor Henry McMaster allowed some retailers to reopen on 20 April, among one of the earliest states to begin lifting restrictions. A "work-from-home" order also expired this month, and restaurants are allowed to reopen in limited capacity, along with barbers, gyms and public pools.

But the state has not seen a decrease in cases in that time, and state health officials suggest thousands of residents have likely contracted the virus without being tested.

The department plans to double its testing capacity by the end of May, though less than 2 per cent of the state's population has been tested thus far. Health officials also are ramping up contact tracing, boosting staff from 20 to 400 with 1,400 contact tracers from private companies added to the ranks.

Tennessee

Population: 6.8 million

Cases by 12 May: 16,110

Deaths by 12 May: 264

The state's stay-at-home order expired on 30 April. On 1 May, the state reported more than 1,200 cases, its highest-ever single-day count of new cases.

Daily counts have since dropped, though two counties in the state have some of the highest infection rates in the US, largely due to prison populations.

The state is also testing more than 8,000 people a day, well above recommended targets for reopening.

Texas

Population: 29 million

Cases by 12 May: 41,408

Deaths by 12 May: 1,133

Governor Greg Abbott lifted a stay-at-home order that lasted barely a month. His controversial reopening plan allowed many businesses to reopen on 1 May, with some restrictions, as cases plateaued at more than 1,000 new daily cases.

He also was caught on a phone call with state lawmakers admitting that reopening would most definitely lead to an increase in cases  not just from expanding testing but from spreading of the disease among groups.

Utah

Population: 3.2 million

Cases as of 12 May: 6,432

Deaths as of 12 May: 73

Utah is among only a handful of states that have met testing guidelines to "safely" reopen this month, with more than 3,000 tests performed daily. Governor Gary Herbert said that the state isn't "returning to business as usual yet" though it can "now cautiously relax some requirements, and allow businesses that were closed to operate with safety measures in place" for bars, restaurants, gyms and other retailers on 1 May.

But as the state prepared to reopen, the Utah Department of Health reported the highest average daily increase in new cases since the outbreak was first identified in the state.

Since 26 April, the state's average of new daily cases reached roughly 154. The health department also reported the largest one-day jump in positive tests in more than a month, bringing the total number of cases in the state past 5,000.

Five states that never instituted stay-at-home orders on state or local levels:

Arkansas

Population: 3 million

Cases by 12 May: 4,164

Deaths by 12 May: 95

Iowa

Population: 3.1 million

Cases by 12 May: 12,912

Deaths by 12 May: 289

Nebraska

Population: 1.9 million

Cases by 12 May: 8,572

Deaths by 12 May: 100

North Dakota

Population: 762,000

Cases by 12 May: 1,571

Deaths by 12 May: 38

South Dakota

Population: 884,000

Cases by 12 May: 3,663

Deaths by 12 May: 39
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The United States has said that hackers tied to the Chinese government are trying to steal the research on developing a vaccine against coronacvirus disease Covid-19.

According to reports in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are planning to release a warning about the Chinese hacking.

The hackers are also targeting information and intellectual property on treatments and testing for Covid-19, the reports further said.

But the Chinese officials have rejected these allegations. We are leading the world in Covid-19 treatment and vaccine research. It is immoral to target China with rumours and slanders in the absence of any evidence, Chinese foreign affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

Last week in a joint message Britain and the United States warned of a rise in cyber attacks against health professionals involved in the coronavirus response by organised criminals often linked with other state actors.

Days ago, China had issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 preposterous allegations by some leading US politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak.

A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the ministry website on Saturday night repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the press briefings.

Another foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the US accused China of not informing them about the pandemic on time, and of not doing enough but weve repeatedly stated our position on these. However, since the US kept repeating these lies, we must strive to help the world see the truth through facts time and again.

The spokesperson further sharpened the attack on the US, saying it did not act fast enough.
The Taliban released video of Gen Abdul Jalil Bakhtawar after his defection in Farah province, south west Afghanistan

A former Afghan police chief has switched sides to join the Taliban in what is thought to be one of the most senior defections to the insurgents yet.

Gen Abdul Jalil Bakhtawar joined his former enemies in a move which has split him from his son who remains a senior local government official.

Film of the former police chief of Farah province in south West Afghanistan joining the Taliban was released as he was congratulated by militants. Surrounded by flags, Gen Bakhtawar said: This is a very happy occasion, and God willing, others will also be encouraged, the New York Times reported.

The country's ministry of interior said it regretted the general's decision to join the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan, and that he had chosen violence over a life of dignity, said Tariq Aryan, the spokesman for Afghanistans interior ministry. The country's vice president, Amrullah Saleh, called him a thug and self-proclaimed general.

The militants constantly seek to coax government forces into their ranks and often have success getting lowly-paid troops to switch sides from checkpoints and isolated bases in contested territory.

Gen Bakhtawar's defection represents a coup because he not only fought the Taliban for years, but also leads a prominent political family in Farah. One of his sons, Massoud Bakhtawar, is the deputy governor of Farah province. Another son, Farid Bakhtawar, was head of the provincial council until he was killed in a helicopter crash 18 months ago.

Meanwhile, the Afghan security forces arrested three senior South Asia Islamic State members including the group's regional leader, the Afghan government said on Monday.

The militant group's head of South Asia, Abu Omar Khorasani, was arrested in Kabul alongside the group's spy chief and public relations officer, the Afghan security agency said.
TORONTO, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomson Reuters (TSX/NYSE: TRI) today announced the pricing of its offering of C$1.4 billion (approximately US$1 billion) principal amount of 2.239% notes due 2025. The offering is expected to close on May 14, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. Thomson Reuters plans to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, to repay existing indebtedness under its credit facility and commercial paper program.

Thomson Reuters plans to enter into an agency agreement with a syndicate of Canadian investment dealers. The notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of such notes and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the world's most global news service  Reuters. For more information on Thomson Reuters, visit tr.com and for the latest world news, reuters.com.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including Thomson Reuters expectations about the proposed offering, the expected closing date of the offering and the planned use of proceeds of the offering. There can be no assurance that the offering will be completed. While the company believes that it has a reasonable basis for making forward-looking statements in this news release, they are not a guarantee of future performance or outcomes and there is no assurance that events described in any forward-looking statement will materialize. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including other factors discussed in materials that Thomson Reuters from time to time files with, or furnishes to, the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions are beyond our company's control and the effects of them can be difficult to predict. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect expectations only as of the date of this news release. Except as may be required by applicable law, Thomson Reuters disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS

MEDIA David Crundwell Head of Corporate Affairs +44 79 0989 8605 [email protected] INVESTORS Frank J. Golden Head of Investor Relations +1 646 223 5288 [email protected]

SOURCE Thomson Reuters
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A prisoner and several human rights organizations have filed a constitutional challenge against the federal government over the safety of inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sean Johnston and the organizations that include the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Prison Law Association are trying to compel the government to take proactive steps to ensure prisoners' safety.

They say they'd like to see the timely release of federal prisoners, especially for older inmates or those who have underlying health conditions.

The suit alleges Correctional Service Canada cannot keep prisoners safe because it cannot ensure the proper physical distancing measures without reducing the prison population.

Johnston is serving a life sentence in an Ontario prison for murder and says many inmates remain in cells with bunkbeds.

As of Monday, more than 200 federal prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 and two inmates have died of the disease.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

The leading drivers and restraints operating on the Orthodontic Supplies Market Analysis Research Report  Global Forecast till 2023 are also profiled in the report to illustrate the extent of their impact on the market.

The rising popularity of dental tourism is one of the primary factors driving the global orthodontic supplies market. Apart from that, increasing demand for premium services from consumers is observed, thanks to a rise in the disposable income, contributing to the mounting orthodontic supplies market. For example, Ormco Corporation, in 2018, introduced a line of premium orthodontic instruments used to assist specialists in all dental procedures.

Key Industry Manufacturers

Some of the key players in the global Orthodontic Supplies Market t are 3M, Align Technology, American Orthodontics, Danaher, DB Orthodontics, Dental Morelli, Dentaurum, Dentsply Sirona, G&H Orthodontics, Great Lakes Orthodontics, Henry Schein, Rocky Mountain Orthodontics, Straumann Holding AG, TP Orthodontics, Ultradent Products, and others.

Detailed Regional Analysis

The global orthodontic supplies market is studied for various regional segments such as the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas dominated the global orthodontic supplies market at the beginning of the forecast period. This market dictation can be owed to the presence of many significant market players in the region and the augmentation of the reimbursement procedures in the region.

Europe held the second-largest share in the global orthodontic supplies market in the base year. Growth in the region can be causative to the fast-paced technological advancements and rising investments in the research and development activities.

Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Mounting awareness about dental tourism is anticipated to drive the orthodontic supplies market in Asia Pacific. Owing to the lower prices of dental care in the region, Thailand is observed to be a trending location for dental tourism for many international dental tourists. For instance, dental veneers can cost around USD 180 in the US, which costs around USD 250 in Thailand.

The Middle East & Africa is expected to hold the smallest share in the global orthodontic supplies market during the assessment period. This can be accredited to the poor economic development, especially in Africa.

Table of Content

Chapter 3. Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

Chapter 4. Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restraints

4.3 Opportunities

4.4 Macroeconomic Indicators

4.5 Trends & Assessment

Continued

Get Orthodontic Supplies Market Research Report: By Product (Fixed Braces (Brackets & Others)), Removable Braces, Adhesives & Accessories), Patient (Children and Teenagers & Adults), (End User (Hospitals, Clinics & others)  Global Forecast Till 2023 For more information on our market research, please visit https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/orthodontic-supplies-market-7364

Which includes the Market Segmentation, Market Trends, Competitive Landscapes inclusive of Sample Tables, Charts and Graphs.

Industry Update

April 2019: Engineers, dentists, and biologists from the University of Pennsylvania came together to develop microscopic robots that are capable of cleaning tooth plaque. Two types of robotic systems are designed. One to work on the surfaces and one to operate inside confined spaces. These microscopic robots can easily destroy biofilms and bacteria, reducing the risk of tooth decay.

Related news

Hepatitis Test Solution Diagnosis Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023

Medical Vacuum Systems Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023

About Market Research Future:

MRFR team has supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country-level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions

Contact:

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Gain access to our on-demand pitch beginning on May 14, 2020 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time (2:00 PM Pacific), along with those of others from our cohort.

Join the live event on Zoom at 7:00 PM Eastern Time (4:00 PM Pacific) to learn what we've been doing to build our business lately, and have the chance to ask your questions live!

During this Zoom gathering, Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics will be joining us to discuss the state of innovation in the Department of Defense. Warren Katz and Dr. Roper will kick off a special fireside chat at 7:00pm ET sharp, so please make sure to sign on a couple of minutes before.

We hope you can join the celebration!

About MSBAI

MSBAI is a privately held small business located in Los Angeles, CA, developing the cognitive AI assistant for engineering: GURU.

About the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars

Kicking off in 2018, the inaugural Techstars Autonomous Technology Accelerator with the U.S. Air Force, which renamed and expanded in 2019 to the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars, was an experiment by the Air Force in establishing closer ties to innovative early-stage startups with commercially viable products and making it easier to do business with the Air Force. AFWERX, the sponsoring agency, determined that the pace of innovation in the private sector is accelerating away from the military. To maintain dominance, the Air Force needs to engage startups that otherwise avoid DoD bureaucracy, by making it as easy to do business with the Air Force as it is to do business with any commercial entity, rather than trying to train small businesses to be defense contractors. Of our 20 alumni companies, 19 have gone on to win a collective $20+ million in Department of Defense contracts from AFWERX/AFRL's newly re-designed Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) "Open Topic" program. Many of these companies are also executing proof-of-concept projects from commercial entities and have raised significant private investment as well. Selecting the 2020 class of the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars has been the most competitive to date, yielding a group of stellar technologies with both large commercial markets and clear warfighter use cases.

Contact:

Allan Grosvenor, CEO

[email protected]

310-954-2049

SOURCE MSBAI

Related Links

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The President of the Venezuelan Bishops Conference, calls on the government to tend to the suffering of its citizens amid the pandemic.

By Vatican News

In an interview for Venezuelan news channel Telesur, the President of the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela, Archbishop Jose Luis Azuaje has appealed for the alleviation of the suffering of Venezuelans.

The Archbishops concerns

The Archbishops concerns revolve around the lockdown situation in the country that has now lasted for eight weeks. He pointed out that the country is not able to extend the period of isolation because the current crisis has already created countless difficulties, especially in the field of public services. Besides this, there is the shortage of fuel and the excessive increase in consumer prices.

The prelate also announced that the bishops would meet to discuss the 1 May foiled escape attempt of prisoners during a revolt in the Los Llanos prison in Guanare, Portuguesa state. During that revolt, at least forty detainees reportedly lost their lives and some prison guards were wounded.

Appeal by Caritas

Caritas Internationalis recently appealed to the international community to suspend the economic sanctions against Venezuela and some other countries to allow the importation of medicine and medical equipment. This will also allow the government to allocate funds to support vulnerable communities during this period.
India continues to be the second highest requestor for user data from Facebook, according to its bi-annual Transparency Report, which revealed government requests for user data in the second half of 2019.

"Of the total volume, the US continues to submit the largest number of requests, followed by India, the UK, Germany and France," said Chris Sonderby, VP & Deputy General Counsel at in a Newsroom post on Tuesday.

India made 26,698 requests for user data from in the six months ended December 2019, a marginal increase from the 22,684 requests it made in the first half of year.

Of the total requests made by India, produced some data for 15,206 accounts.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 impact: Govt holds back April CPI citing data collection issues

The US made the highest number of legal process requests at 47,958, followed by India with 24,944 legal process requests. In India, Facebook produced data for nearly 14,345 of these legal requests.

"As always, we scrutinize every government request we receive to make sure it is legally valid, no matter which government makes the request. If a request appears deficient or overly broad, we push back, and will fight in court, if necessary.

We do not provide governments with back doors to peoples information," added Sonderby in the post.

Facebook also released its latest Community Standards Enforcement Report and said it removed about 4.7 million pieces of content globally on the platform connected to organized hate, an increase of over 3 million pieces of content from the previous quarter.

The report provides metrics on how well Facebook and enforced their policies from October 2019 through March 2020.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: World's biggest package, says BJP; Congress disappointed

"Weve spent the last few years building tools, teams and technologies to help protect elections from interference, prevent misinformation from spreading on our apps and keep people safe from harmful content," said Guy Rosen, VP Integrity in a post.

Facebook claimed that it is now able to proactively find almost 90 per cent of hate speech that is taken down from the platform, compared to 24 per cent in 2018. This was made possible because Facebook expanded its proactive detection technology to more languages.

The company also increased its proactive detection rate, which is the content it removes on its own before someone reports it, for organized hate, to 96.7 per cent in Q1 2020 from 89.6 per cent in Q4 2019.

On Instagram, the proactive detection rate increased from 57.6 per cent to 68.9 per cent, 175,000 pieces of content were removed in Q1 2020, up from 139,800 the previous quarter.

Sharing enforcement data for bullying on for the first time in this report, the Menlo Park-based firm including taking action on 1.5 million pieces of content in both Q4 2019 and Q1 2020.

ALSO READ: IT firms form teams to chase revenue streams emerging from Covid-19 crisis

"On Instagram, we made improvements to our text and image matching technology to help us find more suicide and self-injury content. As a result, we increased the amount of content we took action on by 40 per cent and increased our proactive detection rate by more than 12 points since the last report," said Rosen.

As part of this report, Facebook has added new data on hate speech, adult nudity and sexual activity, violent and graphic content, and bullying and harassment for Instagram, and organized hate on Facebook and

The Community Standards report does not reflect the full impact of how Facebook tackled misinformation during the pandemic, because it includes data only through March 2020.
TURKMENABAT, Turkmenistan -- Activists in Turkmenistan say authorities are preventing the distribution of aid they've collected from foreign sources to give to residents of the country's storm-ravaged eastern regions.



The activists say the blocked aid was donated by Turkmen citizens in other countries to help residents in the regions of Lebap and Mary who are not receiving government assistance.



The activists told RFE/RL that security officials have detained aid workers who were trying to identify people in the east who need aid.



Ashgabat has been silent about the devastating storm that hit the area on April 27 and was followed by heavy rains, leaving scores of people with damaged houses and ruined livestock shelters.



One of the activists, who took part in the fundraising program, told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that a group of Turkmen in the United States raised $5,000 for residents of the Lebap region, who desperately need help, but that money never reached them.



"The group in the United States also found a way to transfer that amount to Turkmenistan, but security officials somehow found out who exactly received the money, summoned them, and warned them that they would be jailed if they distributed even a single dollar from America among people in Turkmenistan," the activist said.



Human rights groups have criticized Turkmen authorities for ignoring the needs of people affected by the storm and heavy rains and detaining residents for filming the damage caused.

RFE/RL correspondents said they counted at least 30 people, including many children, killed by the storms in the Lebap region.



The Independent Turkmen News website quoted a medical official in Turkmenabat as saying that, in the regional capital alone, the storms killed 300 people.

Videos that circulated on the Internet showed roofless buildings and private homes that had been destroyed inside.
Japan voices support for Taiwan's attendance as WHA observer

ROC Central News Agency

05/11/2020 05:12 PM

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Japan on Monday voiced support for Taiwan's inclusion in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Our country will continue its strong support for Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer," the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA), which represents Japan's interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties, said in a Facebook post.

JTEA added that Taiwan has done a remarkable job in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, and as such Taipei's participation at the WHA would allow other countries to learn from its experience.

There should be no geographic gaps in terms of disease prevention, the association said.

In the post, the JTEA also shared a video made by Taiwanese Youtuber Ray Du (), who, along with graphic designer Aaron Nieh (), launched the crowdfunding campaign for the "Taiwan can Help" ad published in the New York Times on April 14.

The video is an open letter addressed to the WHO and emphasizes the importance of Taiwan's inclusion in the organization.

According to a report in the Canadian Press on Saturday, Japan was one of the countries that called for Taiwan to receive observer status at the WHA during a recent meeting with senior WHO executives.

Ambassadors from Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom jointly advocated for Taiwan to be admitted as an observer at the upcoming WHA, the report said, citing a senior Canadian government official.

The WHA is scheduled to hold its 73rd session from May 18-19 virtually, due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2009-2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei, amid better relations with China during the then-Kuomintang administration.

Since 2017, however, China has persuaded the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing's hardline stance on cross-strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen () of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016.

(By Chiang Yi-ching)

Enditem/AW

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NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanit , the company behind the most advanced smart baby monitor and sleep tracker, today announced the completion of $21 million in financing, even as COVID-19 has developed into a global pandemic. Led by existing investors Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Upfront Ventures , RRE Ventures , and Rho Capital Partners, this funding brings the company's total capital raised to $50 million. Nanit will use the proceeds for the next phase of its product development and to further grow its global footprint.

Nanit's consumer success has been driven by its ability to keep families connected. Nanit parents are able to loop friends and families into the parenting team, so everyone can feel together even if they can't be there in person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this has become an essential feature for families with grandparents, aunts, uncles and others making up 20% of Nanit's active users - demonstrating how important the solution is for families separated by a few blocks or even countries.

Sarah Dorsett, CEO of Nanit said, "The company has experienced incredible growth from 2018, and our recent funding points to the confidence and demand in the marketplace for innovative consumer products. Having a baby is one of the most significant life moments not only for parents but for the entire family. We are so fortunate to be able to use our technology to keep families connected and sharing in this precious new journey, no matter where they are."

"We've increased our commitment to Nanit as we believe the Company is strongly positioned to take advantage of the rapid growth in the connected nursery industry. Nanit uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to truly revolutionize the sleep category; a crucial dimension of the wellness industry. The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated once again how important technology is for families to stay connected," said Erel Margalit, Founder, and Chairman of JVP. "We are sure the unique solution and advanced technology will be further expanded into new and exciting product lines."

Over the past year, Nanit's exponential growth can be attributed to numerous factors:

The NPD Group recognized Nanit for the top increase in North American Market Share in the smart baby monitor category with its Consumer Electronics Industry Performance Award . The company has extended its distribution through national partners including Target.com, Best Buy, and its own direct to consumer channel.

. The company has extended its through national partners including Target.com, Best Buy, and its own direct to consumer channel. New product expansion with the introduction of Breathing Wear , a line of custom-designed cotton wearables that allow parents to track their infant's breathing motion by reading the pattern printed on the fabric without putting sensors on their skin. Since launch, customers have purchased nearly two pieces of Breathing Wear for every Nanit camera sold, greatly improving the company's LTV.

with the introduction of , a line of custom-designed cotton wearables that allow parents to track their infant's breathing motion by reading the pattern printed on the fabric without putting sensors on their skin. Since launch, customers have purchased nearly two pieces of Breathing Wear for every Nanit camera sold, greatly improving the company's LTV. International expansion with the retail launch of Nanit products in Canada and most recently in the United Kingdom .

with the retail launch of Nanit products in and most recently in the . Named by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies of 2019 in Data Science, Nanit has tracked more than 86 million hours of sleep. Its computer vision technology is being applied in research environments through partnerships with leading institutions like Cornell-Weill, Yale and HSS to expand its sleep research and further support the wellbeing of families. With this research, Nanit is offering an unprecedented look into babies' sleep, expanding the company beyond its consumer capabilities, and providing valuable data for the health and wellness community, as witnessed in Nanit's first State of Sleep report issued in March.

"Nanit has solved the age-old problem of teaching your baby to fall asleep. The company's products are expanding our understanding of "life in the crib" and giving families more ways to share in the joy of parenting. The company has achieved incredible product-market fit and we believe Nanit is well-positioned to address a wide range of health and wellness questions for families and physicians," said Will Porteous, General Partner, RRE Ventures.

About Nanit

Named to CNBC's Upstart 100 list of most promising startups, Nanit is on a mission to support the journey of parenting. Since launching in 2016, Nanit has tracked over 86 million hours of sleep, 20 million parental visits, and over 8 million morning wakeups. From the AI-powered Nanit Plus camera that tracks and analyzes a baby's sleep, to real-time breathing motion monitoring with Breathing Wear , to capturing amazing memories with Membook , Nanit helps parents see and understand everything happening in and around the crib. Nanit's award-winning products are available internationally at Nanit.com and at retailers including buybuy BABY, Best Buy, Target.com, Amazon, and Pottery Barn Kids, among others. For more information, please visit www.nanit.com and follow Nanit on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

Media Contact:

Jaime Cassavechia

EJ Media Group

646-701-7041

[email protected]

SOURCE Nanit

Related Links

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 21:49:56|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- George Obara's fascination with Chinese culture dates back three decades ago when he studied computer engineering in the Asian country at a time when it was a rare honor to pursue education in a foreign land.

The middle-aged father of three has nostalgic memories of his six-year study tour in China, where he was exposed to the marvels of an ancient civilization, whose soft power is felt in Kenya and other parts of the African continent.

Obara returned to Kenya in the middle 1990s and immediately realized that something needed to be done to boost understanding between his compatriots and the Chinese people.

"When I came back to Kenya in 1994, I found a cultural gap between Kenyans and the Chinese people," Obara told Xinhua during a recent interview.

He participated in the Chinese television drama series, "Hunting," which has a setting in Kenya and just finished broadcasting last week, and whose theme revolves around Chinese police officers going overseas, tracking suspects accused of economic crimes.

Obara said it was an honor for him to play a role in the series when it was shot in Nairobi metropolitan region.

"We covered Nairobi extensively mainly because of logistics and light," said Obara.

He said the filming covered coffee farms in central Kenyan county of Kiambu that neighbors Nairobi as well a police station on the outskirts of the capital, an open air market and a suburban home.

"The movie exposed Chinese actors to what is happening on the ground here in Kenya. It exposed our strong points, it helped Chinese understand our culture and other facets of life," said Obara, who played the role of scouting for sites during the shooting of the drama series.

He said that his company called "Loving Africa" has enabled him to forge robust ties with Chinese filmmakers, adding that the television drama provided a new platform to promote China-Kenya cultural understanding and friendship.

Nearly 30 Kenyan actors played roles during the shooting of the Chinese television drama series from September 27 to October 8 in 2019.

Charles Ageng'o, a videographer involved in shooting of the television series, said that it provided an ample opportunity for local and Chinese actors to bond, share professional expertise and forge lasting friendships.

"We shared our professional experience, interacted and also spent time together during snacks and lunch breaks. On the plus side, we also got to learn some bit of technical knowhow from each other," said Ageng'o.

Ageng'o said that the presence of translators eased communication between Kenyan and Chinese crew who participated in the shooting of the drama series that cemented friendship between the two peoples.

The youthful videographer said that the film and TV industry could provide a viable platform to promote cultural diplomacy between Kenya and China while unleashing new revenue streams.

"Kenya and China could benefit from each other through promoting films made by both in their markets," said Ageng'o.

He said that an enhanced cultural cooperation between Kenya and China will spur growth of local film industry through training and sharing of best practices.

Yahya Chavanga, a Nairobi-based veteran filmmaker who was a member of the local cast, said the television series marked a milestone in China-Kenya cultural cooperation.

"The Chinese filmmakers created a platform for interaction between us and the Chinese people," said Chavanga. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  Is the government airing another so-called "pro-China propaganda" amid the pandemic? At least some Filipino netizens think so.

A cultural-feature program called "Wow China," aired by the state-owned AM radio station Radyo Pilipinas, has been making the rounds on social media since Monday.

The segment has been running weekly since 2018, with its most recent broadcast aired on Facebook last Sunday. The program opened with a spiel urging the public to "get to know our Chinese brothers" to form "better ties" with them.

A portion of the program, hosted by Nimfa Asuncion and Ernest Wang, offered Mandarin lessons in partnership with the University of the Philippines' The Confucius Institute.

Senator Risa Hontiveros called out the Presidential Communications Operations Office for "allowing a program that promotes China and its state ideology" funded by Filipinos' taxes.

"Filipino taxpayers should be indignant that we are essentially paying for a radio show that promotes China's policies," Hontiveros said in a statement, calling for the program's immediate cancellation.

"It is also very hypocritical how the government is critical of alleged foreign ownership of other Filipino-owned media entities, but is aiding and abetting this clear foreign encroachment in our own," she added.

As of Tuesday, the program earned more than 600,000 views, 14,000 shares, and 16,000 angry reactions on Facebook.

"Daming time para sa China!!! Talagang amidst pandemic pa. Wow China talaga!!!! (So much time for China, even amid the pandemic. It makes you really say wow, China!!) " Facebook user Jean Paula Alferez wrote.

"Using Filipino taxpayer's money to promote a foreign country in a government owned station and frequency. Wow China indeed," Twitter user @charles7537242 wrote. "This propaganda is non-sense in times of pandemic. Such a waste of people's funds. This is treason!"

Some netizens questioned the irony behind the airing of a "pro-China" segment even after the Philippine government recently ordered the shutdown of broadcast network ABS-CBN.

"Baka makalimutan ko na nasa Pinas tayo. Pinashutdown ABS-CBN pero may slot for Wow China?" said @sjrizzle.

[Translation: I might forget we are in the Philippines. They shut down ABS-CBN but there's a slot for Wow China?]

"Why do we need a segment dedicated to promote China? Philippines, what clownery is this? They closed ABS-CBN a Filipino owned broadcasting station and giving radio frequencies for this b*****t of a show?" said @chipikon.

Some others also pointed out that the program continues to expose the government's friendly ties with China despite controversies surrounding national sovereignty and security.

"'Wow China,' The PH Govt has been blatant in its love for China and it has no intention of hiding it whatsoever," said @eguic2430.

"Isama mo pa yung West Philippine Sea, Covid-19 response, POGOs, etc - minsan mapapaisip ka talaga kung priority pa ba ang Pilipino sa sarili nating bansa," he added.

[Translation: If you add the issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea, COVID-19 response, POGOs, it makes you wonder if Filipinos are still the priority of this government.]

When asked for a response to the public backlash, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque only shrugged off the issue and quickly shifted to another topic during his media briefing.

"That's part of the free marketplce of ideas. Hayaan nating bumuo sila ng sariling opinyon (Let them make their own opinion)," Roque said.

On Tuesday, the state-run Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), which operates Radyo Pilipinas, expressed their side on the issue, saying that the "Wow China" program "in no way whatsoever does it espouse or promote a particular political view or cause."

"The said program is a result of multiple bilateral media and communications agreement between China and the Philippines meant to enhance cultural relations, information exchange, and to strengthen our technical capability in broadcast and in publishing," the statement read.

Just last month, a music video titled "Iisang Dagat" released by the Chinese Embassy to extol the Philippines and China's so-called partnership amid the pandemic was met with huge backlash online. Netizens questioned the intent of its message amid China's assertion of its rights to the West Philippine Sea  areas Manila claims and occupies in the South China Sea.

President Rodrigo Duterte has nurtured ties with China, despite Beijing's continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine government also recently faced criticisms after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Philippine offshore gaming operators may resume work partially amid the Luzon-wide lockdown. Most of the employees of POGOs are Chinese nationals and there were complaints the foreigners were being given priority over Filipinos who also want to return to work.

Roque previously insisted that POGOs are part of the business process outsourcing industry and that the government can collect as much as P600 million in monthly revenues, which can be used to help in the country's fight against the pandemic.

A leading BPO association, however, rejected the claim that POGOs are part of their industry. Several lawmakers have also criticized POGOs for their unpaid taxes.
BETHEL, Alaska - An Alaska fish purchasing and processing company plans to open this season while reducing interaction with members of the public during the coronavirus pandemic.

KwikPak Fisheries LLC says it will operate its Yukon River facility in Emmonak this summer, KYUK-AM reported Sunday.

The company worked with Emmonak and state officials and health care providers at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation to devise an operation plan in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

KwikPak staff will undergo a quarantine in Anchorage before arriving in Emmonak at the end of the month. The quarantine will include testing to ensure staff members are free of the coronavirus before taking chartered flights to the village.

After landing in Emmonak, staff will transfer directly to the salmon processing plant and remain there until the fishing season ends.

We have the necessary equipment and will keep our distance, with no contact with locals, said Darren Swain, KwikPak medical and safety director.

Fishermen will deliver salmon to Kiwkpaks tender boats as they have in the past, but crews receiving the fish will wear gloves to winch the haul on board and unload the fish.

There is usually at least 6 feet (1.83 metres) or more between staff on the larger tender boat and the fishermen in skiffs, but this year jumping between boats will not be permitted.

How to pay fishermen without making contact is a detail still being worked out, the company said.

The company plans to isolate any workers who contract COVID-19 before medivacing them to a medical facility.

KwikPak has community support behind it, or else this wouldnt be happening, General Manager Jack Schultheis said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
(Natural News) Health officials in Arizona have reportedly been told to halt all modeling and projections for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) because their data conflicts with Governor Doug Duceys plans to reopen the state economy.

Just hours after Gov. Ducey announced that Arizona was headed in the right direction, his administration is said to have told a team of experts to cease their work, which had predicted an infection peak several weeks later.

Weve been asked by Department leadership to pause all current work on projections and modeling, wrote Steven Bailey, the bureau chief for public health statistics at the Arizona Department of Health Services, in an email to his modeling team, which includes researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Arizona.

Instead of relying on these local epidemiologists, which were painting a dire picture for Arizonas future, state officials are instead opting for real-time information in the now, as well as modeling conducted by federal agencies, none of which is released publicly.

President Donald Trump, who donated his salary to fight the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), also paid a visit to Arizona right around the time when this decision was made, during which he admitted that some people will be affected badly by the decision to reopen Arizona for business.

The approach seems to be, Shoot the messenger  and quick,' stated Josiah Rich, an epidemiologist from Brown University who disagrees with Gov. Duceys approach to the situation.

In that same email from Bailey, it was stated that the Arizona Department of Health Services is pulling back the special data sets which have been shared under this public health emergency effort. Six weeks ago, however, the state had actually requested more expert input, which Bailey said would give him and other modelers full, unfettered access to confidential  data from the Department.

This is a situation that is unprecedented in living memory, and it is going to become rapidly more dire in the coming days, Bailey wrote alarmingly in a previous email. I cannot, therefore, overemphasize the importance of what we are requesting here.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, declares that now is the time to end the lockdowns and initiate the takedowns:

Democrat lawmaker expresses outrage over Arizonas decision to open back up its economy

Besides these epidemiologists, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat lawmaker from Arizona, has spoken out against Gov. Duceys decision. She stated, We cant just remove scientific data and bury facts when it contradicts an agenda or narrative.

Will Humble, a former health director in Arizona, expressed similar sentiments. He told the media that he is concerned about the timing of this abrupt suspension, especially since it occurred just hours after Gov. Ducey had announced that he would be easing restrictions on restaurants, salons, barbershops, and other retailers.

The optics dont look good, Humble is quoted as saying.

According to Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for the governor, the decision had nothing to do with either President Trumps recent travel to Arizona or Gov. Duceys decision to phase-in the reopening of Arizonas economy. Instead, he says, the decision was made after reviewing all of the data.

In the future, Arizona will use modeling developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because this data ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation, this being the original stated purpose of the lockdowns before the goal posts were later moved.

Ptak says that Arizona is currently in the process of determining whether or not Arizona-specific projections on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) can be made public.

More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheHour.com

NaturalNews.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  A public school teacher whose online post offered a 50 million reward to anyone who would kill President Rodrigo Duterte is now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities on Tuesday said Ronnel Mas, 25, was arrested a day earlier in Barangay North Poblacion, Sta. Cruz, Zambales after posting on Twitter that I will give 50 Million reward kung sino makakapatay kay Duterte (to anyone who can kill Duterte)."

The NBI said Officer-In-Charge Eric Distor immediately ordered its Dagupan District Office to track down and arrest Mas, a social sciences teacher at Taltal National High School.

"Operatives of DADO then began to track subject MAS' whereabouts by tracing the links of the comments on his post. After determining his possible location, operatives of DADO lost no time and rushed to Barangay Poblacion North in Sta. Cruz, Zambales and coordinated with barangay officials resulting in the arrest of [the] subject," the NBI said in a statement.

Mas was brought to the NBI head office in Manila where he is set to face inquest proceedings for inciting to sedition in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and for violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.

Mas has since apologized for his tweet against the President, but Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said this does not mean he can escape criminal responsibility.

"Apology is not one of the grounds for extinguishing criminal liability. I cannot feloniously injure another and get away with it by merely saying 'sorry'," Guevarra said in a statement.

The NBI said it is "serious in carrying out its mandate to pursue cases involving threats to security or assaults against the person of the President," as well as other government officials.
Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen may extend an olive branch to the mainland when she is sworn in for a second term next week, but analysts said it would do little to ease tensions with Beijing.

They said while Tsai was expected to call for stability and peaceful development of cross-strait ties during her speech on May 20, Beijing would continue its pressure and military intimidation of the self-ruled island for as long as she refused to accept the one-China principle.

Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, won the January election in a landslide with over 8 million votes  3 million more than her main rival Han Kuo-yu of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang, who was believed to be Beijings preferred candidate.

Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that must return to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. Tsais refusal to accept the one-China principle since she became president in 2016 has angered Beijing, and it has tried to squeeze the island by stopping official exchanges with Taiwan, staging war games nearby and poaching seven of its diplomatic allies.

Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang (centre) was widely believed to be Beijings preferred presidential candidate in the January election. Photo: Bloomberg

Some in the hardline pro-independence camp have suggested Tsais decisive victory gives her a strong mandate to reject integration with the mainland and have called on the president to speak more firmly about the islands independent status in her inaugural speech.

But presidential spokesman Ting Yun-kung on Monday said Tsai would set out a steady and consistent cross-strait policy for her next four-year term.

The presidents inaugural speech is still being drafted, and in terms of the cross-strait policy, it is expected to be stable and consistent with what is in place, Ting said, referring to a relatively moderate policy for maintaining the peaceful development of relations.

He said the coronavirus pandemic was likely to be the starting point for Tsai to discuss her long-term policy.

According to analysts, even if Tsai took a more moderate stance towards the mainland in her speech, it would not improve ties with Beijing, which was still irate over her rejection of the one-China principle and perceived pro-independence moves made by the president and her ruling party.

Story continues

A cross-strait war might not happen during her next term, but inevitably tensions between the two sides will flare due to Tsais reluctance to accept the one-China principle and her attempt to use the islands deepened engagement with the United States to counter Beijing, said Wang Kung-yi, a political science professor at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

He said Tsai had built up anti-mainland sentiment in Taiwan and it was key to her election win, making it impossible for her to suddenly change her policy.

Beijing is well aware of this, so it has no expectations for her at all, Wang said.

Lin Ying-yu, a strategic studies and international relations professor at National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan, said Beijing had been upset by what it saw as Taipei using the Covid-19 pandemic to boost its international profile.

In response, it has used war games to try to intimidate Taiwan while at the same time distract the attention of the Chinese public over the Chinese governments handling of the outbreak, he said, adding that he expected tensions to rise in Tsais next term.

Taiwan has been widely praised for its success in containing the outbreak  it has reported just 440 cases and seven deaths  and has received support for taking part in the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organisations decision-making body, as an observer next week. That has irked Beijing, which says Taiwan is part of China and has no right to join international bodies.

Wang said the initial approval of a DPP lawmakers proposal to amend legislation to remove mention of cross-strait unification would further infuriate Beijing.

Lawmaker Tsai Yi-yu on Friday proposed that the phrase before the unification between Taiwan and China be taken out of the text of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. The sensitive proposal passed the first reading and needs to go through two more readings.

In Beijing, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the mainlands State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, on Saturday warned against such a move, saying it was dangerous for cross-strait ties.

Taiwans policymaking body the Mainland Affairs Council said the governments cross-strait policy was maintained in line with the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwans official name.

Tsai Ing-wen will take the oath at the presidential office in Taipei on May 20. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tsai Ing-wens swearing-in ceremony next week will be kept simple given the coronavirus pandemic, according to her spokesman. She will take the oath at the presidential office and give a speech at the Taipei Guest House attended by foreign envoys stationed in Taiwan. Unlike previous inaugurations, there would be no other events and no foreign dignitaries had been invited, Ting said.

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Tens of thousands of people have booked out seats on Indian trains that are due to restart on Tuesday after a near seven-week lockdown, raising concerns of spreading the coronavirus in the absence of social distancing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is starting to pull back from one of the world's tightest lockdowns of 1.3 billion people that has left millions out of work and stranded in cities far from home while infections keep rising.

State-run railways restarted services from New Delhi to 12 cities including Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, and within an hour of opening, all seats were booked out online, a spokesman said.

"The trains will run full. Reservations have been made for 54,000 passengers," said another official.

Tuesday will only be a small opening for the notoriously overcrowded rail system that in normal times moves more than 20 million people a day.

Passengers will have to wear masks throughout the journey and will be screened before they board the train, the railway ministry said. They also have to sign up for a government-backed contact tracing app on their phones, the ministry said.

The move comes as India's coronavirus infections reached 70,756, adding 3,604 over the previous day. At the current rate, India is set to surpass the number of infections in China in less than a week. China's case toll now stands at 82,918.

Deaths from COVID-19 stood at 2,293 for India and 4,633 for China.

India's numbers are still small compared to those of the United States, United Kingdom and Italy, but many state leaders are wary of opening up rail, road and air networks for fear of an exponential rise in infections that would overwhelm the limited medical facilities.

During a video conference with Modi to decide the way out of the lockdown that has battered the economy, the chief minister of eastern Bihar state, Nitish Kumar, said restarting rail services was a "mistake".

His state was already seeing a surge in infections as migrant workers from India's big cities such as Mumbai and Delhi reached home, he told the meeting, according to a state official.

The chief minister of the southern state of Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao, said restarting trains from Delhi, one of the coronavirus hotspots, was risky.

"It will not be possible to conduct tests on everyone. It is also difficult to put all those who travelled by train under quarantine, he said.

But pressure has been building on Modi to ease restrictions from political leaders, businesses and people whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the shutdown.

Modi is due to address the nation later in the day.
" " Sarah Forbes Bonetta, by French photographer Camille-Leon-Louis Silvy (18341910), in a photo taken on Sept. 15. 1862. Wikimedia Commons

In episode 17 of the British historical television drama, "Victoria," titled "Comfort and Joy," the King of Dahomey "gifts" Queen Victoria an African princess by the name of Sarah. Even for 1846, the gesture is disturbing to say the least, but as many fictionalized versions of the Queen's life have suggested, Sarah grew to be more than a possession; she endeared herself to the monarch and even became her goddaughter. While the story may sound sweet, and even suggest some sort of overcoming of institutionalized racism, it's mostly just that  a story. Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies was a real person, and she really did have a close connection to Queen Victoria, but it may not have been quite the feel-good tale it's been spun into over the last century and a half.

According to author and historian Helen Rappaport, the facts presented onscreen and in numerous retellings of the relationship between Victoria and Sarah are a bit muddled. And complicating the true history further is the fact that there is very little primary source material on Sarah, "which has led to a certain amount of unverified hagiography about her story," says Rappaport.

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Captured and Gifted to England's Queen Victoria

But what we do know about Sarah is that she was a West African Yoruba girl who was captured by the King of Dahomey in 1848 during a "slave-hunt" war that killed her parents. In 1850, when Sarah was about 8 years old, Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy visited Dahomey on a special mission and convinced King Ghezo of Dahomey to let Sarah go back to Britain with him. It's reported that he told the leader, "she would be a present from the King of the Blacks to the Queen of the Whites."

Taking on the name of Forbes and his ship, the Bonetta, Sarah (whose original African name is thought to have been Aina) returned to England with the captain and was presented to Queen Victoria. According to an article written by Rappaport, Sarah was positively received by the Queen who had "always had a fascination for her black and colonial subjects at a time when such interest was rare among the white aristocracy." Victoria nicknamed her Sally and continued to invite her back to Windsor for regular visits.

"What I find most interesting about her story is the way in which Queen Victoria took Sarah under her wing," Rappaport says via email. "Extraordinarily for her time, the Queen was not racially prejudiced and did her best for Sarah within the limitations of Victorian attitudes to race that then prevailed."

" " Sarah Forbes Bonetta with her husband James Pinson Labulo Davies on Sept. 15. 1862. Camille Silvy/Getty Images

While Sarah did pay several visits to the Queen during her first year in England and even became particularly close with her daughter, Princess Alice, her poor health prompted Victoria to send her back to Africa in May 1851. Victoria believed the damp English climate was worsening Sarah's condition, and she paid for the girl's education at a mission school in Sierra Leone. Over the next four years, however, Sarah grew increasingly unhappy back in Africa and in 1855, Victoria commanded her return to England.

"What I most admire about Sarah is that she was not afraid to speak out and write and tell the Queen of her unhappiness when she was sent back to Africa in May 1851," Rappaport says. "The Queen had her brought back to England in 1855 as soon as she heard."

When she returned in December, Victoria wrote in her journal, "Saw Sally Forbes, the negro girl whom I have had educated: she is immensely grown and has a lovely figure."

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An Overblown Tale

But while Sarah clearly held a special place in Victoria's heart, she wasn't the surrogate daughter many dramatized accounts have made her out to be. "Victoria did not consider Sarah as 'family'  this a myth perpetuated by people who want to invest more significance in the relationship than there really was," Rappaport says. "The queen certainly was fond of and indulged Sarah but she did not take her into the bosom of the royal family and she did not live with the royal family at Windsor as some sources suggest (notably the ITV "Victoria" series). A lot of the official correspondence relating to Sarah's care was carried out by Mrs. Harriet Phipps, the wife of the Queen's Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Charles Phipps, who would have dealt with any monies paid to support Sarah's upkeep, etc. There is virtually nothing relating to firsthand exchanges between the Queen and Sarah directly, though it is known that Sarah did write to her."

"Sarah seemed very close to the Queen and probably did look upon her as a parental figure, but the real surrogate parents were Captain Forbes, who rescued her in Dahomey, and his wife," Rapport says. "Sadly, Forbes died not long after  in 1852  and his widow had several children and could not take Sarah in."

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Sarah Marries James Pinson Labulo Davies

In 1862, Sarah married a West African businessman, James Pinson Labulo Davies, and their wedding made headlines across England. "The press made a lot of her wedding in 1862  but again, it was the curiosity value of two black people having a society wedding in Brighton which was an extraordinary event as far as the public were concerned," Rappaport says. "I really don't think we can say that she had any influence or significance in her own lifetime or even in the years after her death  bar the obvious 'curiosity value' of having been a captive sent as a gift to the Queen. Any 'influence' Sarah has is very retrospective and comes much later with the rediscovery of her story in the 1980s and 1990s."

Soon after marrying Davies, Sarah gave birth to her first child, and named her daughter Victoria, in honor of the Queen who agreed to serve as the girl's godmother. While there may not be any evidence of any direct correspondence between Davies and the Queen, Rappaport says the young girl was likely welcome to visit the royal residence on a regular basis.

" " The gravestone of Sarah Forbes Bonetta at the English Cemetery in Funchal, Madeira, a Portuguese island in the Atlantic ocean, where she died. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

"It is suggested that Sarah did, however, visit Windsor regularly, upon invitation, and the Queen mentions seeing her once or twice in her journals, as well as Sarah's daughter Victoria who was the Queen's godchild." Rappaport emphasizes this point, and for good reason, as it is often misreported that Sarah was Queen Victoria's godchild, rather than Sarah's daughter, Victoria. "Sarah is said to have formed a friendship with Princess Alice, the queen's second daughter, but sadly there are no surviving letters or documents to confirm this. I personally would have so liked to prove this was the case."

Queen Victoria recorded Sarah's 1867 visit to England in her journal, writing, "Saw Sally, now Mrs. Davies & her dear little child, far blacker than herself, called Victoria & aged 4, a lively intelligent child, with big melancholy eyes." In 1880, Sarah died of tuberculosis at the age of 37, on the day Victoria had been expecting a visit from her godchild. The Queen wrote in her journal of the girl, "I shall give her an annuity," and she continued to pay for her education at Cheltenham Ladies College from 1881 to 1883.

"Sarah's story is clearly an inspiring and touching one, but we have to be careful about investing it with greater significance after the event than it had at the time," Rappaport says. "She died at the age of only 37, and after her marriage in 1862 and her departure for Sierra Leone, she was never mentioned again in the British press. The queen was fond of her, but bar the passing mention of Sarah and her daughter Victoria in her journals, Sarah did not figure in the queen's life and most biographies only make the most passing reference to her. Sarah sadly left no diaries and only a few letters written in the 1850s, so we don't know her full side of the story."

Reflecting upon his decision to accept Sarah as a "gift" from King Ghezo to Queen Victoria, Forbes wrote in his journal that to refuse her would have been to sign "her death-warrant." While he was opposed to the slave trade, Forbes believed that, "in consideration of the nature of the service I had performed, the government would consider her as the property of the Crown," and therefore take responsibility for her care.

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Originally Published: May 12, 2020
And although it feels as if the current pandemic has been going on for a long time, we are in fact not far enough in yet to see what the effect on the fetus might be of infection during the first trimester of pregnancy. But Dr. Baud was one of the doctors who described the establishment of an international registry for pregnancies affected by Covid-19 in an article published this month in the Lancet.

Even when mothers test positive for Covid-19 at delivery, their infants have tended to be negative, Dr. Ratner said, as long as the mothers and babies are kept separate (or well protected by personal protective equipment) after the birth, suggesting that the virus is not being transmitted in utero or at delivery  which was also found to be the case in China.

Dr. Ratner said he had taken care of a number of children with the virus, and most of them have very mild disease. But some have required intensive care and ventilatory support, so there is a wide range, even if most of the cases are OK.

Some infants become critically ill, but in preschool and school-age children, we have been saying that Covid-19 tends to be very mild. Children with immunodeficiencies or children who have had chemotherapy are at higher risk for serious illness, but, Dr. Ratner said, we have seen kids without prior medical problems at all whove needed admission, whove needed intensive care. This is also the age group where the new multisystem disease is being noted, possibly sometimes as a post-infectious hyperinflammatory process.

Many of the symptoms of this recently described syndrome resemble those of a rare childhood illness called Kawasaki disease. Dr. Jane Newburger, the director of the Kawasaki program at Boston Childrens Hospital, said, Were seeing a wave of a syndrome that can include shock or extreme inflammation. Shock is what happens when the bodys organs dont get sufficient blood supply, and some of these children have poor heart function.

Kawasaki disease itself is a clinical diagnosis; there is no single lab test that can detect it, and the cause is not known. Dr. Newburger described it as an acute illness of children that strikes generally children who were previously healthy  high fever for at least four days with red eyes, redness of lips, tongue, throat, a rash, swollen hands and feet, sometimes red palms and soles. Its treated with IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin, a blood product prepared from the serum of many donors with the intent of preventing the rare but serious enlargement of the coronary arteries, which is the most dangerous complication.

Dr. Newburger said that the Covid-19-related cases are a multisystem severe inflammatory syndrome modulated by the immune system, which many people think may appear a few weeks after the initial encounter with the coronavirus. The children come in with high fevers, with dysfunction in one or more body organs, and with lab tests suggesting inflammation.
Dear Premium Times Reader,

I hope this note meets you and yours in good health. We face a myriad of challenges both physical and economic and as we attempt to navigate these together, we at Premium Times are committed to remaining your trusted source of news. We have made immense efforts to bring you journalism that clarifies the truth from misinformation, holds those in power to account, and, at times, provides relief and escape from the grimness of the global realities. I hope we have been able to play an important role in your lives these past weeks and have helped to increase your general knowledge of the pandemic and its impacts on our society. I also hope our reporting has helped in some ways to help you make informed decisions in some aspects of your lives. As we rush through news these days, I thought I should take a moment to highlight some of our stories you may have missed recently.

After over a month of restriction on movement in the Federal Capital Territory, Ogun, and Lagos States, President Muhammadu Buhari announced a gradual relaxation of the lockdown from Monday, May 4 despite a spike in coronavirus cases the preceding week. The lockdown disproportionately affected low-income workers and importantly, the nations agriculture value chains. Our investigation illustrated how the poultry value chain, in particular, was affected. We also reported how the pandemic has forced Nigerias multi billion naira wedding industry to its knees, shattering the dreams of many would-be couples across the country.

Selected businesses have been allowed to reopen provided they have decontaminated their offices, compulsory use of facial masks, enable social distancing, provision of thermometers to check temperatures, and provision of hand sanitizers. A nationwide curfew from 8 pm to 6 am was also enforced. Federal and state governments have also intensified the building of isolation centres and equipping of existing health facilities. Some hospitals have been given more ventilators after we reported that the country had 350 ICU beds for its about 200 million people.

But Monday saw Nigerian Banks besieged with crowds that could set back four weeks of flattening the curve. Customers rushed to the banks on the first day of the partial lifting of lockdown because of failed transactions, cash deposits and cash withdrawals for those who do not have debit cards. Many banks envisaged that this would happen, as such, they took extra precautions to ensure the banking halls were not packed and this explains why so many people were standing outside the banks. Cases increased 74 percent in the one week of eased lockdowns.

But while Nigerias banking sector may still be struggling to effectively digitize, Nigerias Nollywoodmovie and music industriescontinues to innovate and grow. Obi Emelonye, a Nigerian filmmaker, found a way around physical distancing restrictions to shoot his latest movie titled Heart to Heart as the coronavirus shuts down film, TV productions, and cinemas around the world. The storyline depicts two young lovers, whose wedding was affected by the coronavirus. The movie was shot on mobile phones and directed remotely with zoom.

Meanwhile, Nigerias social media space went agog with suspicions that the legislature intended to pass a bill mandating all Nigerians to take an untested Coronavirus vaccine, stoking fears that Africans will be used as guinea pigs for the vaccine testing. Premium Times breaks down what the bill does include in this story. Hint: it makes vaccination a requirement for travel in and out of Nigeria, just like the Yellow Fever cards popular when travelling around Africa.

In other stories, Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group, sustains its operation through international trade in smoked fish and red peppers. The investigation showed how the group charges fishing rights of farmers around Lake Chad. The insurgents continue to make big breaks as often as they overrun towns and military bases to stock their weapons, supplies and, of course, abduct for ransom.

As Nigeria battles coronavirus, the government has been called upon to review its assets recovery programme and make it transparent. Prosecutors in Milan charged Eni, Shell, and other parties three years ago. The trial, from which Nigeria hopes to reap a huge financial reward in damages, has now been slowed down by coronavirus.

Also, in a recent exclusive report, we also told you the Nigerian government has demanded the records of 60 companies and individuals from 10 banks in the United States as part of its efforts to overturn the controversial $9.6 billion P&ID fine awarded against it by an arbitration court in the United Kingdom. Among the individuals whose bank records were sought are a former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience. Find full list HERE.

Finally, may I invite you to partner us in our reporting. Send us news tips and suggestions by simply replying to this email. Your feedback is important, so keep it coming.

Please continue to stay safe. Wash your hands regularly. Use face masks and observe physical distancing protocols. Like the public health challenges that confronted humanity in the past, this pandemic too shall pass away.

Best Regards,

Musikilu Mojeed

Editor-in-Chief
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Indonesia, Nigeria, Ireland and Russia. These are some of the countries that Air India will fly to in the second leg of Vande Bharat Mission.

Interestingly, the national airline doesn't have commercial flights to these countries.

In total, Air India and its unit Air India Express may operate 149 flights in the second leg - more than twice of the 64 flights that were flown in the first part of the repatriation exercise.

These Indians were stranded after a nation-wide lockdown was announced in March, and domestic and international flights were suspended.

In total, the two airlines will fly to 31 countries, again more than twice the number in the first phase. The highest number of services will be deployed to cities in the US, which will see 13 flights from India. Other countries include Canada, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Georgia.

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

Also Read | Resuming flight services: No hand luggage, no meals on-board, age limits on flying could be new norms

The second phase will begin from May 16, and may last a week, executives from the industry said.

In the first phase, which is on at the moment, about 15,000 Indians will come back to India. In total, about 1.9 lakh Indians have registered in their local consulates to get back home.

Also Read | Repatriation flights to India: Track daily updates

These flights will also fly non-resident Indians who are stuck here.

Among the states, Kerala will have 31 flights, followed by Delhi with 22 and Karnataka with 17. Interestingly, Mumbai has just one flight, to Japan.

It is not yet known if private airlines will be part of the exercise, even though Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had mentioned that these carriers would be involved as the numbers ramp up.

The government had also pointed out that passengers will have to pay for the tickets.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
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A swimmer whose toes have curled up like 'alligator feet' has life-changing surgery in My Feet Are Killing Me!

In tonight's episode of the Quest Red show, Jefferson, from Atlanta, who is an enthusiastic swimmer, reveals he has to wear socks while he's in the pool to hide his feet, which, as he admits, have caused him pain and embarrassment ever since he was child.

'My feet are a mess,' he explains. 'They're ugly, they're dry, they're all over just bad. Every time I go swimming at a swimming pool, I always put socks on. I've been doing it since I was a little kid.'

Even Jefferson's loving girlfriend LaShai reveals that he reluctant to show her his feet at first.

Jefferson, from Atlanta, whose toes have curled up like 'alligator feet' has life-changing surgery in tonight's episode of My Feet Are Killing Me! Pictured, with his girlfriend LaShai

The keen swimmer says he has to wear socks while he's in the pool to hide his feet (pictured) - because they embarrass him and cause him pain

'He told me that I had to fall in love with him first in order to see his feet,' she says. 'But now I completely understand why. Jefferson's feet look kind of like alligator feet!'

While a great source of embarrassment for Jefferson, his hammertoes are also incredibly painful to stand on and make walking difficult.

'I'm walking on my toe nails because my middle toes all curl over, so the nail curls over with them,' he says. 'If you try to pull it up and cut it then it bleeds sometimes. It's so painful that I just leave them.'

Finally looking to do something about his feet, Jefferson flies with LaShai from his hometown of Atlanta to New Jersey see foot surgeon Dr Brad Shaeffer at his clinic.

Speaking of his feet (pictured), Jefferson says: 'My feet are a mess. They're ugly, they're dry, they're all over just bad'

As he slips off Jefferson's socks, the expert unveils the swimmer's dry, curled up toes in one of the worst cases of 'Mallet toe' he's ever seen.

WHAT IS HAMMER TOE? Toes become deformed when the pressure on the toe is stronger than their joints can resist. Hammer toe occurs when one or both joints of the lesser toes bend abnormally, pointing upwards. This bending puts pressure on the toes when wearing shoes, causing problems to develop. In the early stages the affected toe will still be flexible, and can be straightened when pressure is applied to the bend. As time passes the toe can become permanently bent and rigid. Corns and calluses form and these can become very painful. What causes it? People can be born with this condition, but it is usually caused by a muscle and/or tendon imbalance, which leads to a bending of the toe as a result of structural changes that occur in the foot. It can also be or brought about by pressure from adjoining toes caused by arthritis, bunions etc. Hammer toes are made worse by wearing ill fitting shoes and in some cases inappropriate footwear can contribute to the cause of hammer toe Source: NHS Foundation Trust Advertisement

'From this angle I can't even see the front of your toes,' he says. 'His toes basically look like he was walking on amputations, I mean that's how curled up they were. It's pretty shocking.'

But Jefferson's toes aren't the only problem, as Dr Shaeffer notes that the overall condition of Jefferson's feet is appalling.

'He had athletes foot all over his feet, he had maceration in-between each toe, basically like if you go into a pool for too long. He had that times 10!' he said.

For Dr Schaeffer, while many of the issues can be solved with creams ointments, the only hope of correcting Jefferson's misshapen toes is through surgery.

Using a diagram, he calmly talks Jefferson through what he proposes to do in surgery, essentially snipping and releasing the tendon in his foot like a spring, placing in pins, and straightening out his toes.

But it'll be a long road to recovery, and Dr Shaeffer won't be able to correct both feet in one operation.

On the day of surgery, Dr Shaeffer pops in to see his patient before the operation.

Understandably, Jefferson is nervous but eager to get the surgery done.

'We're going to get him fixed up, but it's going to take some work,' Dr Shaeffer says confidently.

Soon, the foot surgeon gets to work, slicing into the curl of Jefferson's toes, and slowly resetting them.

Before surgery, the foot surgeon explains to Jefferson he plans on essentially snipping and releasing the tendon in his foot like a spring, placing in pins, and straightening out his toes. Pictured, Jefferson's feet

During the operation, Dr Shaeffer makes an incision in the flexor tendon before placing metal pins in Jefferson's toes, allowing them to straighten out. Pictured, during surgery

Dissecting down to the bone, he then removes the head of the bones in each of Jefferson's toes, sawing away at them expertly.

Afterwards, Dr Shaeffer makes an incision in the flexor tendon before placing metal pins in his toes, allowing them to straighten out.

Fast forward six weeks after Jefferson's surgery, and he's back for his follow up appointment.

Whipping off Jefferson's shoes and socks, Dr Shaeffer can see an immense difference  his toe are straight.

'I was just super happy about the result,' the expert explains. 'Going from a hammertoe to as straight as they are!'

Jefferson himself is delighted, and is ready to get back in the poolwithout wearing any socks!

My Feet Are Killing Me airs at 10pm on Tuesdays exclusively on Quest Red and dplay
B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth conducted a second long-range strategic Bomber Task Force mission in the European Theater Monday that included key interactions with U.S. assets as well as Danish and Polish forces.

The nearly 24-hour, non-stop mission covered over 9,400 nautical miles and included integration and interoperability training with Danish F-16s overflying Bornholm Island, Denmark, and Polish F-16s and MiG-29s teaming up to overfly Warsaw, Poland, as well as overflights of Latvia and Lithuania.

Bomber Task Force operations like this provide tremendous opportunities for our B-1 aircrew to work and train with our allies and partners to enable seamless operations, said Col. David Doss, 28th Bomb Wing commander. This mission is a testament to the long range strike capability of our nations bomber fleet regardless of conditions or basing location.

A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England, provided key air refueling support that ensured Ellsworth successfully accomplished the mission.

This is the fourth time in just over four weeks that B-1 aircrews from South Dakota conducted long duration sorties that included operations in the Pacific and European theaters.

Despite the outbreak of COVID-19, officials noted that missions like this reaffirm America is committed to its mission in all domains (air, sea, land, space, cyber), and to the readiness of our allies and partners.

The health of our team has been a top priority from the start of our COVID response and is key to sustaining missions like the Bomber Task Force, said U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian. Although mitigation efforts created challenges to overcome, our allies, partners and adversaries should make no mistake that we are ready, able and willing to deter and defend when called upon.

Col. Chad Heyen, 28th Maintenance Group commander, noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for base aircraft maintainers, they have adjusted their operations and remain very capable of accomplishing their mission.

Raider maintainers are some of the best maintainers the Air Force has to offer, Heyen remarked. No matter how bad the weather conditions are, whether it is day or night, or where the B-1 needs to go, Raider maintainers will move heaven and earth to ensure mission success.

He added that B-1 maintainers are more strategic-minded than many of their counterparts on other airframes because they understand the powerful message of having a B-1 overhead. It lets our allies know we will be there if they need us, and lets our enemies know we can hold any target at risk  anytime, anywhere, he added. Raider maintainers make that happen. I could not be more proud of them and the work they do.

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Chandigarh, May 12 : Fourteen Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel are among Punjab's 37 new coronavirus cases, according to the state health bulletin, here on Tuesday.

With the new cases, Punjab's Covid-19 tally increased to 1,914. Of this, 89 per cent (1,711) cases are active. The coronavirus toll is 32.

The 14 RPF personnel were among Ludhiana's total 16 cases. The two others were pilgrims, who returned from the Hazur Sahib in Nanded (Maharashtra).

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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They gathered not because they desperately needed haircuts but to rail against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers approach to fighting the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan, one of the nations worst hot spots. They were channeling President Trumps support of such protests, but some also were taking aim at the states Republicans, who they say have not done enough to liberate the state from safety measures that have ground life to a halt.

Michelle Gregoire, a 29-year-old school bus driver from Battle Creek who is running as a Republican for a seat in the state House, waved a yellow Dont tread on me flag at passing traffic. She derided Whitmer as a tyrant. But she also urged Republicans to get in line and get it together.

The protest and others like it  including two last month that included demonstrators with swastikas, Confederate flags and some with long guns inside the capitol  have alarmed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. But after Trump appeared to urge the militia members on, tweeting that they are very good people who want their lives back again, they have forced Michigans Republican lawmakers to strike a delicate balance, managing a deadly virus while also being careful not to contradict Trump or alienate their conservative supporters.

Though the coronavirus has infected more than 48,000 people in Michigan and has killed 4,674 as of Tuesday  the fourth-highest total in the nation  many of the protesters live in areas that have barely been touched by the virus but have been struggling with economic collapse because of it. GOP state lawmakers, who hold narrow margins in both the state House and Senate, have tried distancing themselves from the most vocal protesters while being careful not to appear to hew too closely to Whitmers shutdown policies.

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The less partisan we can be through this entire process, the sooner well get out of it, said Lee Chatfield (R), the 31-year-old speaker of the House who was working on the floor to adopt some of the governors restrictions when armed militiamen entered the capitol building. There are people who want to take covid-19 seriously but believe the governors approach is the wrong call for our state, he said, referring to the disease caused by the virus.

Protests spread, fueled by economic woes and Internet subcultures

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has garnered both positive and negative attention on a national level for her states handling of the coronavirus. (The Washington Post)

Generally, residents of Michigan agree with Whitmers approach, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll released Tuesday, in which 72 percent approve of her handling of the outbreak, and 25 percent disapprove. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) got the highest marks  86 percent approval  but in general, Republican governors did not fare well in the poll, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who moved to open the state early, getting an approval rating of just 39 percent.

Whitmer said in an interview Tuesday that she worries Republican state lawmakers, who have said she does not have the authority to continue her coronavirus executive order, are pushing people to violate it.

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They are feeding a lot into the behavior, Whitmer said. We would be so much better off if everyone with a platform focused on the science and less about politics.

Protesters in Michigan have sought a radical turnabout in the states response to the pandemic, with some demanding that Whitmer lift all restrictions. Many come from fringe movements and harbor deep suspicion of health officials and their warnings; the activists insist that the government has inflated the death toll and blown the dangers out of proportion. The events main organizer, Ryan Kelley, a real estate agent from outside Grand Rapids, said he invited members of a local militia to the protests in Lansing as security.

Chatfield, who appeared onstage with Trump at a rally in Battle Creek in December, said he disagrees with protesters who believe the death toll reported by the state is inflated. He worries that the activists are making it difficult for Republicans pitching more pragmatic reopening plans to be heard.

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Those voices are getting drowned by those who are being over the line and derogatory, Chatfield said.

Mike Shirkey (R), the state Senates majority leader, was more direct, condemning protesters who used threats of violence to stir up fear and rancor. Some lawmakers, frightened by the heavily armed demonstrators, wore bulletproof vests during the protests April 30.

They do not represent Senate Republicans, Shirkey said in a statement. At best, those so-called protesters are a bunch of jackasses.

Kelley, the organizer of the protest, said he was disappointed that many Republican lawmakers did not want to lift all restrictions immediately.

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Youre elected to serve the people, he said. Youre not elected to serve yourself.

NaN eftward shift

The coronavirus response debate in recent days here encapsulates the states political dynamics, which traditionally have gravitated toward the center, with moderates on both sides.

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While Trump won the state by 10,700 votes in 2016, there are signs Michigan is shifting to the left as it again stands to be a major battleground in 2020. That shift is apparent in Kent County, which encompasses the late president Gerald R. Fords hometown, Grand Rapids. The county has the fourth-highest number of virus cases in the state and is the epicenter of the outbreak in western Michigan, where Trump performed well in 2016. Two years after Trump beat Hillary Clinton by three points in Kent County, Whitmer bested Republican Bill Schuette, who had been the states attorney general, by four percentage points.

Moderate Democrats also won two congressional seats that had been occupied by Republicans in 2018.

Now, some see signs that Trumps attacks on Whitmer  and his support of hard-line protesters  could further endanger his prospects. Trump has railed against the first-term governor on Twitter and on television, at one point calling her  Half Whitmer in a tweet. At a news briefing in late March, after Whitmer criticized the federal response as inadequate, Trump insinuated that Whitmer was ungrateful and said he had instructed Vice President Pence not to call her. He did not use her name, referring to her as the woman in Michigan.

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Rep. Fred Upton, a moderate Republican who represents a slice of western Michigan and faces a tough reelection challenge, has been working nearly round-the-clock from the side porch at his home in St. Joseph, helping constituents affected by the pandemic. He declined to comment on Trumps attacks on Whitmer, with whom he communicates regularly via text message.

Im focused on what my people want me to do, and that is continue to solve problems, Upton said. Thats where my focus has been, rather than point fingers. Thats just not my style.

Shortly before Trumps attacks began, Michigans entire congressional delegation  including six Republicans  had written a letter to the vice president pressing him to give the state more personal protective equipment. What the state had received, they wrote, was inadequate given the circumstances.

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We urge you to immediately approve Michigans pending requests for PPE and testing materials to the extent feasible, they wrote in the March 25 letter, which was first reported by the Michigan Advance.

Whitmer has capitalized on the attention drawn from the attacks, steadfastly backing her cautious approach to the virus and reveling in being seen as anti-Trump. She wore a T-shirt emblazoned with That woman from Michigan on an interview with the The Daily Shows Trevor Noah on April 1. Her response to the pandemic has aided her rise and has put her in contention to be a possible running mate for Joe Biden.

Anita Kruschinska, a 46-year-old who owns a rabbit-and-

poultry farm in northern Michigan, voted for Trump in 2016 and for Whitmers Republican opponent, Schuette, in 2018. But she supports Whitmers approach to the pandemic and wishes the governor would have extended restrictions that discouraged city dwellers from heading to vacation homes in her part of the state. She has an autoimmune disorder, and she believes the virus could be a death sentence for her.

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She was critical of the Trump administrations handling of the pandemic and said it could influence how she will vote this year.

They downplayed it too much, Kruschinska said. She was waiting to see how it all plays out before she decides.

NaN Accelerated' politics

Several leaders, including Whitmer, have expressed fear that the protests endanger efforts to curtail the virus, in part because they involve large crowds of people who are disregarding recommendations to socially distance. Sandy Baruah, who heads the Detroit Regional Chamber and previously led the U.S. Small Business Administration under President George W. Bush, said those who disobey the restrictions could spread the virus.

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Its something were concerned about because it has really accelerated the political dynamic in what really is a public health emergency, Baruah said. The governor and the legislative leaders have not found a way to work together during this crisis.

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Baruah worries that the growing partisan rancor could become its own public health emergency. State lawmakers began challenging the governors authority to extend her emergency declaration at the end of April and last week sued the governor. Activists saw an opening, and some groups began urging members to reopen their businesses.

State Rep. Mark Huizenga (R), whose district includes Kent County, said he did not want business owners to defy the governors orders, even though he backed the lawsuit challenging her authority, saying that he is operating under the direction that this is the law.

But at the barbershop in Owosso, the local sheriff has said he will not enforce Whitmers orders. Republican lawmakers have not backed Whitmers efforts to get businesses to comply. Chatfields spokesman, Gideon DAssandro, called Whitmers orders legally questionable at best.

The conflict has left business owners such as Bill Mansfield, who owns a lavender farm that draws tourists from around the world during the summer season, in a tough spot. Mansfield said he wants more clarity on when restrictions for public gatherings might change. The farm rents out its finished barn for concerts, parties and weddings, and he is unsure what to tell his customers.

We have brides and their families who are calling and saying: Whats the story here? Whats the refund policy?  he said. Were prepared to move forward with whatever rules, but we just dont know what the rules are.

Mansfield, a Republican, said his views also do not align with protesters who want to see the state reopen immediately. He worries what that could mean for his staff who interact with the public, selling lavender face masks and cookies at the gift shop, and giving tours of the farm.

I love my employees, he said. Im not interested in the crazy side of that, where I just want to open up no matter the cost.
Zagreb, May 13 : European defence ministers exchanged views on the actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic via a videoconference on Tuesday, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) said in a statement.

Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, chaired the videoconference that included defense ministers of EU member states, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and officials from the United Nations and European Commission, Xinhua reported.

The theme of the videoconference was the strategic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of security and defence, including existing defence initiatives and the implementation of European Union missions and operations.

The ministers welcomed the establishment of a task force led by the EU Military Staff to better exchange information and share best practices among EU member states on the contribution of the armed forces in dealing with the pandemic.

Croatian State Secretary Zdravko Jakop, who represented the Croatian Defence Ministry after the minister here resigned last week, said that solidarity and coordination between member states are the key criteria in successfully dealing with the pandemic.

Jakop said security risks have not disappeared with the pandemic. He noted that it is necessary to continue EU defense initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and the European Defence Fund (EDF). These initiatives are a good platform for improving cooperation and developing operational capabilities for a rapid and effective response to the crisis, he said.
Crowds gather around a display of an F-15C Eagle fighter jet during a California Air National Guard open house in 2017 in Fresno. (Staff Sgt. Christian Jadot / 144th Fighter Wing)

A sky-high salute will honor California's workers on the front lines in the battle against the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.

Taking off from Fresno, four California Air National Guard F-15C Eagle fighter jets will soar over swaths of the state as part of a nationwide show of support for healthcare workers, first responders and other essential personnel.

The jets, assigned to the 144th Fighter Wing, will launch about 10 a.m. and head north to Sacramento before banking west over the San Francisco Bay Area.

As part of a nationwide salute to health care workers, first responders and essential personnel, four F-15C Eagle... Posted by 144th Fighter Wing on Tuesday, May 12, 2020

From there, they will head south to Los Angeles before turning around near Santa Ana and heading back to base.

During their journey  which is expected to take a little more than two hours  the jets will fly over numerous medical centers and hospitals, law enforcement offices, fire stations and government buildings, including the state Capitol.
Just two months ago, Alabama had its highest amount of money ever in the Department of Labors unemployment fund.

Then came the pandemic, and almost half a million Alabamians have filed for aid since. So how healthy is the fund now?

Well, the short answer is theres nothing to worry about in the near future. Lets recap.

Through February, Alabama recorded a 2.7 percent unemployment rate, its best percentage ever. At that time, Alabama had roughly $700 million in its unemployment fund.

The coming of strict lockdown measures to stem the COVID-19 outbreak descended in mid-March, and unemployment compensation claims in Alabama, as with the rest of the nation, began to shoot into the stratosphere. As of last week, 447,990 Alabamians had filed for unemployment, according to Alabama Department of Labor statistics.

When the outbreak started, Alabamians received a maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $275 for 14 weeks, with an option to add more if in qualified training. One of the provisions of the federal $2.2 trillion CARES Act, signed into law by President Trump in March, added another $600 on top of the weekly amount.

Last week, the Alabama Department of Labor announced it had paid out more than $503 million in COVID-19 related unemployment compensation benefits. That amount included all three programs under the CARES Act: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or FPUC, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

Of that, the state has paid out $503,011,424 to 206,694 claimants from March 16 through May 1, 2020.

Roughly $247 million were FPUC funds, or the $600 stimulus benefit added to weekly unemployment benefits. Another $5.2 million are PUA funds, which go to those unable to work because of a COVID-19-related reason but who are not eligible for regular or extended unemployment benefits. Another $826,734 were PEUC funds, which go to applicants unable to look for work because of the pandemic, including quarantine, movement restriction or illness.

ADOL says it has issued payments to 84 percent of those filing COVID-19 related active claims since March 16.

But how much money is left in the unemployment fund? Not to worry.

Alabama Department of Labors spokeswoman Tara Hutchinson said, as of last Friday, the balance in the states unemployment fund is $587 million, as all of the three pandemic funds are 100 percent federally funded.

Alabamas last seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for March was 3.5 percent and is certain to rise once Aprils figures are released.
Jerusalem, May 12 : Israel will loan $228 million to the Palestinian Authority to offset losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

Officials from Israel and Palestine have agreed on terms of the rare loan, which aims at making up for losses of tax revenues during the pandemic, an official with the Israeli Finance Ministry told Xinhua news agency on Monday.

The Hebrew-language Ha'aretz newspaper reported that under the agreement signed on Sunday night, the first cash transfer will be made at the end of May, followed by three additional consecutive monthly payments.

The Palestinian Authority did not immediately comment on the deal.

Last month, Palestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara said that government revenues were expected to decline by 60 to 70 per cent because of the health crisis.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Ilkin Seyfaddini  Trend:

A charter flight of Uzbekistan Airways with medical supplies from South Korea worth about $192,000 arrived in Tashkent May 10, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.

It includes multifunctional medical beds, antiseptic and disinfectants, medical masks, food additives to strengthen immunity.

The humanitarian cargo was formed with the support of a number of South Korean companies, as well as Uzbeks engaged in temporary labor activity in this country, and Uzbek students studying here. The cargo was handed over to the Ministry of Health.

Citizens of Uzbekistan engaged in temporary labor activity in South Korea are actively involved in providing assistance to families affected by the natural disaster at Sardobin water reservoir in Syrdarya region on May 1, 2020.

In particular, more than $18,500 collected on their initiative on May 4 were transferred with the assistance of the Embassy to the current account of the public fund "Mercy and Health of Uzbekistan" - to provide assistance to families affected by the floods, the message said.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
More Pennsylvania Counties Say They Wont Enforce Governors Stay-at-Home Order

District attorneys in a growing number of Pennsylvania counties say they wont prosecute those who defy stay-at-home measures put in place by Gov. Tom Wolf to curb the transmission of the CCP virus.

It comes as Wolf on May 11 threatened to block federal aid to Pennsylvania counties that violate state measures by allowing non-life-sustaining businesses to reopen, warning that those jurisdictions could face consequences.

I wont sit back and watch residents who live in counties under Stay at Home orders get sick because local leaders cannot see the risks of #COVID19 and push to reopen prematurely. Today I am announcing consequences for counties that do not abide by the law to remain closed.  Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 11, 2020

I wont sit back and watch residents who live in counties under Stay-at-Home orders get sick because local leaders cannot see the risks of COVID-19 and push to reopen prematurely, he wrote on Twitter. Today I am announcing consequences for counties that do not abide by the law to remain closed.

Non-compliant counties wont be eligible for federal stimulus discretionary funds. Instead, those funds will be allocated to counties working to stop the spread of COVID-19, Wolf added.

Dine-in restaurants that open in counties that have not been authorized to reopen will risk receiving a citation. These citations can ultimately lead to the loss of a restaurants liquor license.

Under the federal emergency relief law signed by President Donald Trump in late March, Pennsylvania was allotted about $4 billion in aid. Wolf, for now, has pledged to work with the Republican-controlled legislature on how to spend it.

Fran Chardo, the district attorney for Dauphin County, said May 9 that the countys office would only prosecute in extraordinary circumstances.

People are being smart, wearing masks, and maintaining social distance. Using criminal sanctions would not be helpful, Chardo said in a statement. The criminal law is a blunt instrument and is not ordinarily used for enforcement of a governors decree.

My reopening plan for Pennsylvania is gradual and prioritizes health and public safety. The politicians who are encouraging counties to reopen prematurely are putting all of us at risk of resurgence. Here is our measured approach to reopening, advised by health experts.  pic.twitter.com/iyBOOlh725  Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 11, 2020

Wolf last week extended the states stay-at-home order for all red phase countiesincluding Dauphinuntil June 4. Wolfs office said that these counties may be able to move out of the red classification before that date if the situation improves. Under this phase, residents are under orders to stay home, with all non-life-sustaining businesses ordered to close.

Under Wolfs reopening plan for the state, regions and counties will move from red to yellow, and then, eventually, to green, under which all pandemic restrictions will be lifted, aside from any federal or state health guidelines that remain in effect.

Dauphin County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jeff Haste on May 8 said the county would defy Wolfs order, and demanded Wolf return our state to the people (as prescribed by our Constitution) and not run it as a dictatorship.

Elsewhere, the Lancaster County district attorneys office said May 10 it wont prosecute those who violate Wolfs stay-at-home order. The county said it would it will move out of the red phase on May 15 and into yellow with or without Wolfs permission.

The COVID-19 pandemic and administrative orders from our state officials have placed law enforcement all across Pennsylvania in uncharted waters, District Attorney Heather Adams said. Our interpretation of existing law in balance with the constantly shifting definitions of what is and is not allowed, per these orders, brought us to this informed decision: we will not prosecute.

The Pennsylvania counties of Lebanon and York have also adopted similar positions.

As of May 12, Pennsylvania had at least 57,900 cases of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, with more than 3,800 deaths, according to government data.

Nearly 70 percent of CCP virus fatalities in the state have occurred in nursing homes, personal care homes, and assisted living residences, Mike Turzai, the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, said in a letter last week to chamber members, citing data from the secretary of health.

The average age of those who had died as of May 6 was 79 years old, Turzai said, while 61 percent of those who died had hypertension, 54 percent had heart disease, 37 percent had diabetes, and 30 percent had chronic pulmonary disease.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce the extension to the furlough scheme that subsidises the wages of workers temporarily laid off due to the coronavirus.

At least 6.3 million people are currently having up to 80 per cent of their salaries paid under the governments job retention scheme, costing at least 8bn since it was introduced in mid-April.

Mr Sunak is expected to tell the House of Commons on Tuesday that the programme will continue to September  although the rate of support could be cut to 60 per cent, according to reports.

However, the former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King warned the chancellor against reducing the scheme to 60 per cent of earnings until the economy has recovered further.

Lord King told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Indeed, keep it at 80 per cent. I dont think it makes sense to regard this as the major cost of the Covid-19 crisis in economic terms.

The chancellor has previously said he was preparing to wean workers and businesses off the programme, which currently runs until the end of June.

Although he warned last week that the furlough scheme was not sustainable at its current rate, Mr Sunak promised there would be no cliff edge cut-off.

There has been speculation that the chancellor is preparing to lower the 2,500 cap on monthly payments as well as cutting the rate of subsidy.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank and an early advocate of the furlough scheme, said it should only be phased out gradually.

Moving too quickly could spark a huge second surge in job losses at a time when unemployment already looks set to be at the highest level for a quarter of a century, he said.

This policy has made a huge difference in this crisis. It now needs careful and gradual change to ensure the benefits it has provided are secured rather than squandered.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak in Downing Street (EPA)

Meanwhile, the managing director of the UKs largest leisure operator GLL Mark Sesnan has suggested any tapering should be looked at on a sector-by-sector basis since pubs, cafes restaurants and hotels have been particularly hard hit by the lockdown.

Industries such as leisure and hospitality [should be] protected. This is because, in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, we will have to operate at a significantly reduced capacity, said Mr Sesnan. In turn, this will have a major impact on the number of staff able to return to work fully.

On Monday Boris Johnson told the Downing Street briefing that the furlough scheme has been one of the most remarkable features of the governments response and claimed it was unlike anything seen internationally.

His ministers are also to set out guidance today on how commuters can travel safely on public transport as the coronavirus lockdown begins to ease.

Some transport unions have called for rail services to be shut down if the two metre rule cannot be met.

The TUC, meanwhile, has welcomed the publication of government guidance on how workplaces can be made Covid-secure as they re-open. Employers, including factories and construction sites, will be required to carry out a risk assessment before they can resume.

This followed criticism by unions that the prime minister had issued his return-to-work call in his broadcast on Sunday without explaining how it could be safely achieved.
Robert Greenwood This is a great honor for not just myself, but for the entire Regency Team. Working alongside Christies for the past 15 years, I have been able to share the depth at which Christie's operates within the world fine art and luxury real estate with so many of our clients.

Christies International Real Estate announced the 2020 Masters Circle Members. The Masters Circle is a group of the of top-performing agents within the Christies International Real Estate global invitation-only network. The 2020 Masters Circle membership represents luxury home listings in the areas of market expertise ranging from waterfront, equestrian, mountain, and ski to vineyards, development, urban, suburban, private islands among others.

Dan Conn, Christies International Real Estate Chief Operating Officer, said: We are excited to welcome this group of luxury real estate specialists operating at the top level in their respective regions. Members gain access to an invaluable network to discuss industry trends and establish leadership in their particular areas of specialty, and promote their listings to other Masters Circle luxury real estate specialists. This elite group will further enhance the ability for the Christies International Real Estate network to serve buyers and sellers of fine properties worldwide.

Masters Circle members are chosen based on their success and expertise at the high end of the market and based on their specialization in different property types. Their ability to deliver the highest level of service to sophisticated clients around the world sets them apart in the industry and makes them a perfect fit for the specialist universe that is unique to Christies.

Robert Greenwood was quoted as saying: This is a great honor for not just myself, but for the entire Regency Team. Working alongside Christies for the past 15 years I have been able to share the depth at which Christie's operates within the world fine art, and luxury real estate with so many of my clients. To be a part of the prestigious Masters Circle will undoubtedly help the growth of our company, and the destination of the Turks and Caicos Islands. All of which will enable us to better serve our clients from across the world.

About Christies International Real Estate

Christies International Real Estate has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its New York City brokerage and invitation-only Affiliate network spanning 49 countries and territories, Christies International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market. The company has offices in London, New York City, Hong Kong, Moscow, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Palm Beach, and its affiliated brokerages have recorded approximately US$500 billion of real estate transactions over the last five years. (Data as of March 31, 2020). For additional information, please visit christiesrealestate.com.

About Regency-Christies International Real Estate

Regency International Estates is the exclusive affiliates of Christie's International Real Estate for the Turks and Caicos Islands providing unparalleled knowledge, trust and confidence to our clients. Our goal is to provide exceptional service and a complete understanding of offshore investments. With over 30 years of experience in the Turks and Caicos and having brokers from all over the world as part of the company allows us to communicate with clients from various points of view. We work directly with developers, architects, attorneys, and banks to ensure our clients get a great team behind them. We dont believe in Island Time when it comes to our clients.
Rachel Riley has called out Eamonn Holmes for sharing an unsubstantiated coronavirus conspiracy theory.

Holmes came under fire last month for suggesting that people should not dismiss a baseless theory linking coronavirus to the rollout of 5G as false because they dont know its not true.

Speaking about the spread of fake news, Countdown presenter Riley told the Radio Times that it hadnt been the first time shed fallen out with Holmes for amplifying conspiracy theories.

There are a lot of people trying to make money by spreading lies about coronavirus, whether its quack remedies or stupid conspiracy theories about 5G, Riley said. Its dangerous, especially when these things get repeated on shows that youre expected to trust.

She continued: Ive fallen out with Eamonn Holmes before when he had David Icke on his radio show, but you dont expect to see ridiculous theories about 5G being repeated on This Morning.

Holmes refused to apologise for his comments on This Morning, but did say that his words had been misinterpreted and that there was "no scientific evidence to substantiate any 5G theories".

He found himself being the butt of a joke on last weeks Have I Got News For You, with David Tennant suggesting that the Irish presenter lived in a tin foil bungalow.
Well before the tragic killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man, in Glynn County, Ga., on Feb. 23, I had a conversation with a very close white friend of mine. She wanted to exercise outside. I preferred the treadmill. I told her that I find it easier to walk or jog on the treadmill. She insisted the air is better for me. Again, I protested. Yet, I had not disclosed the whole truth.

You see, we live in a predominantly white neighborhood in Georgia. And while Ive not experienced any overt in-person racial incidents here, I often remind myself that Georgia seceded from the Union in 1861. Being here, I often forget. And while I love Georgias beautiful flora and weather, my enjoyment of it is always muted by the persistent reminders  in the form of plantations, antebellum architecture and Confederate flags  of the states brutal past.

My white friend had no knowledge that Sam Hose, who was accused of killing a white man and sexually assaulting his wife and child (the last two accusations being false), was lynched in 1899 in Coweta County, Ga. According to reports, Hoses fingers, ears and genitals were cut off, as was the skin from his face as some 2,000 white spectators watched. He was eventually burned to death and his body parts were sold. My friend didnt have to deal with the knowledge of the lynching, in Lowndes County, Ga., in 1918 of innocent Mary Turner, a young black woman, who was eight months pregnant. Turner was hung by her ankles as her body was burned and as she cried out. After her cloths burned off, a white man cut her baby from her abdomen as onlookers watched the baby fall to the ground. A white man crushed its tiny form under his boot. You see, Georgia is stained with the blood of black bodies.

My friends reality as a white person prevented her from understanding my reality. It never occurred to her that walking through white neighborhoods in the South was an act I experienced through the lens of a murderous history that filled me with fear and a sense of deep trepidation. So I made it clear: I dont want white people stereotyping or profiling me. This can easily lead to my death. Look, for many white people, when they see me, they see danger, an outsider, a criminal, a sub-person. So I refuse to walk or jog!
China's CanSino Biologics Inc, the company behind one of the few coronavirus vaccine candidates already in clinical trials, is collaborating with Canada's National Research Council to "pave the way" for future trials in Canada, the research council said on Tuesday.

The NRC said it would scale up a production process for CanSino's vaccine candidate at a government facility in Montreal, and that CanSino was preparing a clinical trial application for Health Canada, the country's drug regulator.

The CanSino vaccine is in early trials, and there is no way to know whether it will work. But if it does, the collaboration could help ensure that Canadians have access to it. Local trial data could reassure Health Canada that the vaccine is safe, and local manufacturing could ensure some doses are at hand.

A vaccine that protects people from the coronavirus could eventually end the pandemic, but finding one that works and manufacturing enough doses is a huge challenge.

CanSino's vaccine is produced using a cell line that was developed at the NRC, the agency said, and the two organizations have worked together since 2013. The company used the same cell line to develop an Ebola vaccine.

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

NRC and Health Canada did not immediately respond to questions about whether the collaboration would make it possible for Health Canada to consider trial data gathered in China in eventually evaluating the vaccine.

Shares of Tianjin-based, Hong Kong-listed CanSino rose on April 26 after the company said Health Canada had agreed to meet to discuss a clinical trial application.
An 18-day-old boy has been



admitted in a hospital in Indore with novel coronavirus infection, a doctor said on Tuesday.

The boy was admitted on Sunday along with his mother, said Dr Swathi Mulye, Head of Department of Paediatrics at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS).

"Mother and child are undergoing treatment and are in good condition now. The child's four-year-old brother and maternal grandparents are also COVID-19 patients," Dr Mulye told PTI.

Doctor Trupti Katdare of the health department, who was part of the team that sent the newborn and his mother to the hospital, said, "Mother's Day was being celebrated all over the world when we admitted this newborn with his mother to the hospital on Sunday. It was an emotional moment for us to get the mother-child in an ambulance and send them to the hospital."



Meanwhile, an official said 49 patients were discharged from four hospitals in the district on Tuesday, including a one-year-old girl and a 79-year-old man.

The number of people discharged so far in Indore stands at 988, he added.

The rate of patients recovering from COVID-19 in the district was at 49 percent as on Tuesday evening.

Indore is one of the worst-hit districts in the country with 2,016 patients, 92 of whom have died of the infection.

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

Justice BN Srikrishna raises concern over absence of a data regulator to oversee deal

Relies on two respective companies being good citizens and not violating privacy

Says lack of regulation of data deals a big issue without a law in place

Strategic investment intended to further business interest of investee as well as investor

Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms for a 9.99 per cent stake

Facebook says has independent view (from Reliance) on topics, data localisation one of them

Chief architect of India's data privacy law Justice BN Srikrishna has raised a red flag over the lack of a data regulator to oversee privacy concerns emanating from Reliance Jio-Facebook deal. Srikrishna says such a data deal happened 'precisely because there is no law'. Raising concern over the long-term strategy of the deal, Justice B N Srikrishna says, "It is a strategic investment. A strategic investment by definition means it is an investment intended to further the business interest of the investee as well as the investor".

Also read: BT BUZZ: Don't be naive! Reliance Jio-Facebook deal is a partnership of unequals

The concern being raised around privacy also emanates from the current policy stand point of the company. Though on Jio's website the privacy policy states "We do not sell or rent personal information to any third party entities", it also states certain exceptions. The policy says it limits the disclosure of personal information such as name, phone number, address, photographs and proof of identity documents such as PAN Card, Passport etc., in certain circumstances which includes scenario such as a mergers or acquisitions that affects the company and also to its partners. According to the policy, exceptions to sharing with 'Partners' include vendors, consultants, contractors and companies or affiliates who provide a host of services including contact information verification, payment processing, customer service, website hosting, data analysis, infrastructure provision, IT services, and other similar services.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms scores hat-trick; bags Rs 11,367 cr investment from Vista after FB, Silver Lake

The Jio-Facebook deal could place Facebook in the category of 'Partner'. A questionnaire to Reliance Jio is yet to elicit a response. The article will be updated once a response is received.

Justice Srikrishna also pointed out that Jio-FB deal raises two important issues. One around competition law, the other around data. Pointing out that existence of Competition Law in India ensures that a regulator is in place who, upon a compliant being made will investigate facts, will look into various aspects of the deal following due process of law and finally come out with a conclusion. However, with data, he says, "Without the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Act coming into force, where is the regulator?"

"Data regulation becomes a big issue there, because of absence of regulator. And the regulator is not there because there is no law in place," he says. He was speaking at a webinar hosted by Daksha fellowship on Data Governance and Democratic Ethos.

Concurring with Justice Srikrishna's view, Rahul Matthan, Partner, Trilegal says that though privacy concerns around the deal have still not been flagged, this is perhaps one of the reasons why the country desperately needs privacy laws. Stressing on the need for supervision around data deals, Mathan says, "These deals will happen and without a regulator, we are relying on the two respective companies being good citizens and not violating the terms of their own privacy policy".

Also read: Silver Lake to invest Rs 5,655 cr in Jio Platforms at higher valuation than Facebook deal

Earlier in April this year, Facebook made an equity investment of approximately $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms for a 9.99 percent stake with an early focus on leveraging the latter's e-commerce platform JioMart. In an interview to Business Today, Ajit Mohan, VP and Managing Director, Facebook India had said that the company continues to have an independent view (from Reliance) on a number of topics and data localisation is one of them. "But we also believe that unrestricted free flow of data is the bedrock of an open market, which has greatly contributed to India's technology boom so far. We hope the future data protection regime protects consumers and also boosts the ease of doing business in India," Mohan told BusinessToday.In.

Also read: BT Buzz: Mukesh Ambani, Mark Zuckerberg and the $700 billion kirana puzzle
By partnering with Osano, were offering our customers a best-in-class cookie consent management tool to drive privacy compliance. Shailesh Alawani, VP, Product Management, CENTRL

CENTRL, a leading provider of Privacy Program Compliance and Third-Party Risk Management software, announced a partnership with Osano, an industry-leading cookie consent management and vendor monitoring provider.

Pairing Osanos cookie-consent technology with CENTRLs powerful Privacy Program Management platform, this integration will allow websites to instantly comply with all major data privacy laws, spanning more than 40 countries and 34 languages.

Complying with visitor consent laws is a harrowing task, as more than 40 countries have their own nuanced version of what constitutes consent, said CENTRLs Vice President of Product Management, Shailesh Alawani. By partnering with Osano, were offering our customers a best-in-class cookie consent management tool to drive privacy compliance.

Our partnership with CENTRL will help many businesses to quickly get up to speed with myriad data privacy laws across the globe. We expect businesses to be especially attracted to the ease of implementation that this partnership provides, said Osano Co-Founder and CEO, Arlo Gilbert. The timing of this partnership couldnt be any better. California will begin enforcing the CCPA in two months, so time is running short for websites to add cookie consent management.

As part of CENTRLs Privacy Program Management platform, Privacy360, Osano's Consent Management module provides an end-to-end enterprise-ready solution to demonstrate compliance with an individual's preferences under GDPR, LGPD, CCPA, and more. CENTRL allows you to record granular preferences for an organization's consent-based activities, keeping a company in sync with powerful integrations and reports, publish a brandable consumer-facing preference portal, and track every change in a robust audit trail.

ABOUT CENTRL

CENTRL is an enterprise-grade privacy management solution, and its Privacy360 is flexible and scalable for evolving global privacy management requirements, including compliance requirements for the GDPR, LGPD, CCPA, and future U.S. and international regulations. The CENTRL platform is flexible for companies of all sizes to get up and running with minimal configuration and implementation effort. CENTRL's solution has a full suite of modules for privacy compliance, as well as other initiatives - data subject access requests, consent management, assessments, and data mapping - while including complete third party and vendor risk management capabilities - complementing an enterprise's privacy management needs. For more information, please visit http://www.oncentrl.com or visit us at https://www.oncentrl.com/request-demo to schedule a demo.

ABOUT Osano

Osano is an easy-to-use, complete data privacy platform that quickly helps businesses to become compliant with virtually all privacy legislation around the globe. Platform features include consent management, data subject access requests, GDPR representative services, and vendor monitoring. Its cookie consent management software is the most widely used in the world. More than 750k websites trust Osano to ensure more than 2 billion monthly visitors comply with data privacy legislation. https://www.osano.com/
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health arrives for the daily CCP virus task force briefing with President Donald Trump at the White House on April 22, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Fauci Concerned About Speed of Reopening in Some States

Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that hes worried that some states or regions are reopening too quickly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci cited guidelines published by the White House on reopening, with criteria involving a downward trajectory of CCP virus cases, a decreasing number of influenza-like illnesses, and the ability to treat all patients without crisis cases.

The dynamics of an outbreak in a state, city, or region would really determine the speed and the pace with which one does reenter or reopen, Fauci told U.S. senators during a hearing in Washington.

I get concerned if you have a situation where the dynamics of an outbreak in an area are such that you are not seeing the gradual, over-14-day decrease that would allow you to go to phase one, and then if you pass the checkpoints of phase one, go to phase two and phase three, Fauci said, referencing the recommended phased reopening.

Federal officials told states that phase one should only include the reopening of some businesses and activities before broadening further in phases two and three.

My concern is that if some areascities, states, what have youjump over those various checkpoints, and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks, Fauci said.

A pedestrian walks past a closed Artisan House restaurant in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

The doctor, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was speaking via video link from his home in Maryland.

The consequences for not following the guidelines, Fauci said, could be really serious, even as many states are reopening at an appropriate pace.

There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear, Fauci said.

Its the ability and capability of responding to those cases with good identification, isolation, and contact tracing [that] will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen America. So its not only doing it at the appropriate time with the appropriate constraints but having the capability of responding when the inevitable return of infections occurs.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in a frame grab from a video feed as he testifies remotely from his home during a Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on the CCP virus in Washington on May 12, 2020. (Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee/Handout via Reuters)

The vast majority of states in the United States have started reopening, with some letting nearly all businesses welcome back customers.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters later in the day that President Donald Trump has also asked states to follow the federal guidelines.

He has encouraged states to follow the guidelines; thats still consistently our recommendation today, that you should follow the phased approach to reopening, McEnany said.

But there are some issues with continuing to stay locked down, for example, a 1,000 percent increase in calls to a hotline dealing with substance abuse and mental health.

There are consequences to us staying closed, she said.
Earlier this year, the Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle Survey revealed that 63% of respondents experience stress due to their current financial situation.

There are several reasons why military families are stressed about money, including child care costs, housing expenses that exceed the Basic Allowance for Housing and debt.

In some military families, the responsibility for managing finances falls solely, and squarely, on the military spouse. Now, the Defense Department has a financial readiness resource specifically tailored to those spouses.

The Milspouse Money Mission strives "to educate and empower military spouses to elevate their families by making smart money moves," according to the mission statement on the website. And they're doing this by providing a variety of resources for military spouses at all stages of financial readiness and military life.

Money Ready

In the five-step Money Ready program, military spouses can start the process with learning the basics of personal finance and the importance of setting financial goals. For spouses who have already mastered the topics of creating a budget, understanding credit and managing debt -- the subjects covered in Money Ready 101 -- there are three additional levels of information available.

As you move through the levels, you'll learn about saving and investing, planning for retirement and planning your estate. Not sure where you are in the process? Take the Financial Readiness Quiz and find out.

Adjusting the Plan

With each twist and turn of military life comes the opportunity and responsibility of reviewing your financial plan. Sometimes, this can be hard to explain to someone who doesn't know the military lifestyle. The financial professionals who built this resource know the ins and outs of military life, because they have lived it.

What do you need to do to prepare for your first PCS or your first child? There are four financial considerations listed in this area, as well as a reminder to check your service member's Leave and Earnings Statement for any allowances that may change when you have a child. For example, when you are receiving a cost-of-living adjustment the amount is per dependent, so that amount should change on the LES.

Deployment can mean a big change to your family's financial situation. There are so many things that make it confusing, and this is one area where it's really helpful to have a budget and someone who has been through it before helping you out. The same can be said for redeployment. While finances may go back to the way they were before, they could change yet again.

Resources for Everyone

Some people love videos, while others like checklists or reading blog posts. There's something for everyone on Milspouse Money Mission. Videos on what it was like for one spouse when they added a baby to their household can give you an idea of what you can plan for. A blog post on financial goals and how to stay on track with them may be exactly what another spouse needs to read.

The first step to financial success begins with figuring out where you are. The website can help you do that and help you lead your family to a stable and thriving financial future.

Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life

For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox.

--Rebecca Alwine can be reached at rebecca.alwine@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebecca_alwine.
The experts from the Australian lifestyle company Bed Threads have revealed the importance of applying moisturiser every night before bed and the best products to use for glowing skin.

While there is no limit to how much skincare you can apply, a moisturiser is often applied last in a daily night time regime in order to have the most impact.

'Put your moisturiser on as one of the final steps of your skincare routine and softly massage it into your face,' they said.

'This soothing ritual will not only help the product absorb better, but it will destress you before bed.'

While there is no limit on how much skincare you can apply, a moisturiser is often applied last in a daily night time regime in order to have the most impact

During the day, skincare acts as a protective barrier to shield your face from harmful pollutants and environmental factors found in the air.

Whereas at night the skincare works 'extra hard' to treat, rejuvenate and soothe the skin while you sleep.

The experts said as you sleep moisturisers and other beneficial skincare products help support the body while it heals and reproduces cells.

As you sleep, moisturisers and other beneficial skincare products help support the body while it heals and reproduces cells

'It's important to choose the right products, and apply them in the right order, to ensure that you get the most out of your night time skincare routine,' they experts said

They also said you should approach your evening beauty regime in a 'considered and careful manner'.

In what order should you apply your skincare? 1. Cleanser 2. Toner 3. Serums 4. Eye cream 5. Spot treatments 6. Moisturiser 7. Retinol 8. Face oil Source: Cosmopolitan Advertisement

'It's important to choose the right products, and apply them in the right order, to ensure that you get the most out of your night time skincare routine,' they said.

They revealed it's completely 'up to you' to decide how you would like to 'build your routine' and what products work best for your skin type.

Some suggestions included using night serums for specific skin concerns, anti-aging products such as retinol, overnight masks and eye creams to target the delicate, thin skin under the eye.

'If you organise your routine correctly, each of the products will have time to sink in and be absorbed while you sleep,' they said.

It's recommended to complete your skincare routine at least an hour before going to bed to ensure the products have enough time to absorb into your skin.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday, dragged lower by top buyer India's import restrictions on the refined product and as the market maintained a cautious stance ahead of official data.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 22 ringgit, or 1.09%, to 1,998 ringgit ($459.73) per tonne during 0300 GMT.

Palm oil climbed 4% in the previous session on hopes of a revival in demand as countries begin to ease coronavirus-led restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board is scheduled to release its April supply and demand data later in the day.

FUNDAMENTALS

* India has suspended 39 licenses to import refined palm oil after a surge in duty-free imports from neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh which are not key producers of palm oil, government and trade sources told Reuters.

* "The suspension is adding some pressure on the contract as it affects firms importing from Nepal and Bangladesh only," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

* European Union palm oil imports in the 2019/20 season that started last July stood at 4.78 million tonnes by May 10, down 15% from a year-ago period, official EU data showed on Monday.

* Malaysia palm oil exports in May 1-10 rose between 7.8% and 11.9% from the previous month, according to cargo surveyors.

* Indonesia is likely to delay plans to raise bio-content in palm oil-based biodiesel to 40%, and keep going with an already ambitious 30% content, a senior official said on Friday, amid speculation that low crude prices could force a government re-think.

* Oil futures rose on an unexpected commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts in June to help drain the glut in the global market that has grown as the pandemic crushed fuel demand.

* Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.98%, while its palm oil contract was down 1.08%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were also trading down 0.91%.

Story continues

* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Palm oil may rise into a range of 2,043-2,072 ringgit per tonne, as it has broken a resistance at 2,014 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian equities and oil prices were set to slip on Tuesday amid growing investor worries about a second wave of coronavirus infections after the Chinese city where the pandemic originated reported its first new cases since its lockdown was lifted.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0130 China PPI, CPI YY April

1200 India Industrial Output YY March

1230 US CPI MM, SA April

($1 = 4.3460 ringgit)

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
More behind the cutVP Pence is self isolation because Vampire Millers wife Katie, who is Pence press secretary, tested positive for virus. WH staffers and press are afraid to go to work. Everybody else is supposed to get back to work but the WH themselves are contaminated, and theyre not adhering to their own guidelines. They dont wear masks, they dont socially distance. Sunny rattles off a long list of WH or WH-adjacent people who have tested positive. 80K people have died but T45 is speed-tweeting every day all day about Obamagate. Meghan says things. Whoopi explains the United flight that was packed, they were all doctors who were on they way back to their states, who had been in NY helping. Joy clarifies Chris Cuomo was still on his own property, not roaming about, when he had a tiff with a neighbor.Salon Lady is a Tr/mper who claims to not understand the difference between her salon vs other businesses considered essential. She had originally claimed she had to `feed her kids` but she lied. She received PPP, then reopened anyway, defying state order, then refused to apologize to avoid jail time. Her excuse about having already received $18K PPP but still defying state order anyway was the stupidest thing ever. [The application for the money explained what the money was to be used for bloop].Wanda Cooper Jones was joined with her attorney. WCJ explains the sequence of events and how she found out. She was told he was involved in a burglary, and was confronted by the homeowner [all of which was a lie]. She believed it at first, didnt think shed be lied to by the investigator. Initially the perpetrators werent arrested because it allegedly fell under GA Citizens Arrest statute [also a lie]. They talk about the video, everything was retroactive to justify their actions. The backlash didnt occur until the video went viral. The defense attorney thought the violent video would exonerate his clients. The video was taken by a neighbor, a friend of the perpetrators, and hes also under investigation by GBI and expected to be arrested this week. Neighbor claimed he was randomly out driving around, also a lie. WCJ has a sense of hope now that the two main perpetrators were arrested and the GBI [and FBI*] are involved.A second video prior to the confrontation [tame no violence] released over the weekend, shows a man who looks like Arbery approach the property under construction, have a look around, then leave empty-handed. Racists think it justifies Arbery being chased and murdered, but it backfired too, because the actual homeowner didnt have a problem and never complained. Atty says its a beachfront home, a common jogging route, people check out the properties under construction all the time with no incident. WCJ says shes appreciative of the outpouring of support. Atty talks about more details regarding the charges, including the third suspect who took the video.Whew. RIP Little Richard, Andre Harrell, Betty Wright, Roy Horn, Jerry Stiller. So many icons of their respective fields. Also Whoopis daughters birthday and there was a twerking contest and no parent should ever watch their child do that. Plus Happy Mothers Day. Joy talks about her family day. Sunny talks about her day. Upcoming mom Meghan watched a RHOA reunion and it was amazing. Lol.Source links are below each video or section
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Priorities Michigan recently held a phone meeting to highlight what it sees as failed leadership by President Donald Trump in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and a misguided push to reopen the country.

More specifically, the call featured a panel of three Michigan senior citizens, including a Dearborn resident, who spoke against Trump and his handling of the coronavirus.

Priorities Michigan was launched in 2019 by Priorities USA, which is a Democratic super PAC that was created in 2011. Priorities USA has funded recent ads attacking Trumps response to COVID-19.

Trump recently signed a proclamation declaring May as Older Americans Month.

Older Americans are cherished and invaluable members of our society, deserving our utmost respect, gratitude, and admiration, Trump said in the proclamation. During Older Americans Month, we pause to draw upon the wisdom, spirit, and experience older adults bring to our families, our communities, and our nation.

Joan Raeburn, a 67-year-old registered nurse from Dearborn, was one of the three speakers invited on Friday by Priorities Michigan. She was joined by John Hutchinson, a 73-year-old retired attorney from Coldwater and Dr. Barbara A. Conley, a 67-year-old medical oncologist from Northport.

As a registered nurse Ive been trained to use science and data to make an informed decision, Raeburn said. Its clear that Trump obviously doesnt do that. He refuses to listen to experts and continues to make decisions and gives advice that endangers the health and well-being of all of us.

Raeburn said that the nation needs proper testing and more data on the spread of the virus before restrictions are lifted and people get back to normal.

We all want to reopen the economy but addressing the spread is far more important at this point and I know Im not alone in that belief, the Dearborn resident said. Trump continues to push to reopen the economy no matter how many more lives it may claim, he doesnt seem to care at this point.

She pointed out that Wayne County has been hit particularly hard by the virus.

As of Monday, May 11, the county had 18,194 confirmed cases and 2,105 deaths. The state of Michigan had a total of 47,552 cases of COVID-19 and 4,584 deaths from the virus. There were 414 new cases and 33 new deaths reported on Monday.

The losses, I feel, could have been prevented if our country had been better prepared to deal with the pandemic, Raeburn said. The same confusion and lack of a consistent message that Trump created at the beginning of the outbreak has undoubtedly made it much worse than it needed to and continues to put other lives at risk.
A New York federal judge has ruled that Nigeria can subpoena 10 banks in the United States for information needed to prosecute government officials allegedly connected to a British Virgin Island engineering firms alleged bribery scheme and subsequent $9.6 billion arbitral claim.

According to a May 8 report in legal website law360.com, District Judge Lorna Schofield, who gave the ruling, ordered the banks to allow the Nigerian government have access to sundry account details of officials listed in its subpoena request.

The move, the judge ruled, would enable the Nigerian government prove its claim that the $9.6 billion arbitration was obtained by Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) by fraud.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Nigerian government is demanding records of 60 companies and individuals from 10 banks in the United States as part of its efforts to overturn the controversial $9.6 billion P&ID fine.

Among the individuals whose bank records are being sought are a former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan; his wife, Patience Jonathan; among others.

Mr Jonathan has denied owning any foreign accounts.

Subpoena

Nigeria is seeking documents from banks, including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., in a bid to overturn a $9.6 billion arbitration award.

Nigeria asked the federal court in New York for permission to subpoena information about transactions involving government officials, including Mr Jonathan and his wife. The politicians were in office when the state signed a contract with Process & Industrial Developments Ltd., and later became involved in a costly dispute with the company.

There is good reason to believe that ministers at the highest level were involved in a corrupt scheme to steal money from Nigeria, Attorney General Abubakar Malami said in court filings submitted on March 24.

Nigerias chances of annulling the giant penalty lie on proving the 2010 gas supply arrangement was a sham designed to fail by P&ID and government officials.

The saga became a full-blown crisis for Nigeria last August when a U.K. judge ruled P&ID could enforce an arbitration tribunals 2017 ruling, now totaling $9.6 billion including interest, which found the country breached the agreement.

The filings were done by Alexander Pencu, a partner of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, attorneys for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.

Mr Pencu listed the banks involved to include Citibank, N.A. (Citibank) , Allied Irish Banks plc (Allied Irish), HSBC Bank USA (HSBC), Standard New York, Inc. (Standard New York), Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas (Deutsche Bank), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPMorgan), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Bank of Cyprus, Fortis Private Banking Singapore Limited (Fortis), and Standard Chartered International (USA) Ltd. (Standard Chartered).

Details of the information being sought are meant for use in ongoing foreign criminal investigations and criminal proceedings in the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the Nigerian Proceedings), the filing, dated March 25, reads in part.

The requested discovery will assist Applicants in the Nigerian Proceedings to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities that participated in, and were enriched by, P&IDs fraudulent scheme, it added.

In the testimony of the subpoena filing addressed to Citibank, for instance, the applicant sought the intervention of the bank or any of its officers to testify in the case.

Individuals

PREMIUM TIMES obtained documents showing the names and identities of the people whose names were included in the subpoena filling.

Among the politically-exposed persons named in the subpoena are a former oil minister who is now late, Rilwanu Lukman; Mr Jonathan and his wife, Patience Faka Jonathan; Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former petroleum minister during the tenure of Mr Jonathan; and Allison Amaechina Madueke.

Others named in the subpoena are Taofiq Tijani; Grace Taiga; Mohammad Kuchazi; one Michael Quinn, who died in 2014; James Nolan; Adam Quinn; and Ibrahim Dikko.

Also listed is Nigerias former attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

In its report last month, Bloomberg quoted a spokesman for P&ID as denying wrongdoing, arguing that Mr Malami has manufactured a claim of fraud and bribery to evade the states legal obligation to pay what amounts to about 30% of the countrys foreign reserves. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the case, while JPMorgan and UBA didnt respond to emails and calls.

In his reaction to the development, Mr Jonathan said that he has no account or property abroad.

He has no accounts in the United States of America, and encourages US authorities to cooperate fully with the Federal Government of Nigerias subpoena, a statement, signed by Ikechukwu Eze, spokesman to Mr Jonathan, said.

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Rotunda Rumblings

Sike: Gov. Mike DeWines expected announcement about the re-opening timeline and protocol for day care centers is on hold, not coming as expected on Monday. As cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias writes, DeWine didnt share any specifics, other than to say theyre still working on a plan and want to make sure they get it right. Meanwhile, parents are dealing with the uncertainty as many other business segments in Ohio are re-opening in coming days.

Early arrival: Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said Monday that coronavirus showed up in the state as early as Jan. 7, cleveland.coms Laura Johnston reports. All told, Miami, Montgomery, Richland, Summit and Warren counties all had cases of the disease at the beginning of the year, much earlier than Ohios first confirmed case in March. Acton previously said the earliest onsets were in February.

Antibody study: In coming weeks, the state will find 1,200 volunteers representing urban and rural Ohio and test them for coronavirus antibodies, cleveland.coms Laura Hancock reports. This will help officials determine the prevalence of coronavirus in the larger population.

Nursing home testing: DeWine said Monday its unlikely the state will be able to follow a strong recommendation from the White House to test all Ohio nursing home residents and staff. Per Tobias, state officials and health-care experts said practical limitations, including Ohios limited testing capacity and the limitations of the tests themselves, have led the DeWine administration to favor more targeted testing at nursing homes where possible outbreaks have been identified.

Special guest: DeWine noted Monday that his near daily coronavirus press briefings have featured experts of all kinds, but not anyone who has contracted the disease. As cleveland.coms Mary Kilpatrick reports, that changed when Travis McDonald, a University Hospitals ER nurse, Skyped in to talk with the governor and Acton about his experience having coronavirus.

Mail time: A group of 22 elected Democrats  mostly younger officials holding positions in local government  wrote state officials on Monday, calling for changes to prepare Ohio for the November election, Tobias writes. They say their aim is to increase the percentage of Ohioans who vote early from one-third to closer to one-half. Some of the changes, like allowing voters to apply online for a mail-in ballot, also are backed by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Dorm strain: Universities are starting to come up with plans for how to reopen for the fall semester. Both Xavier and Miami universities are devising plans for students to return to campus, the Cincinnati Enquirers Max Londberg reports. Meanwhile, the University of Toledo released its return plan Monday, per the Toledo Blades Brion Whiteside.

Space case: A new poll of Ohio voters found a slim majority were comfortable with the idea of going out to restaurants with proper spacing requirements, cleveland.coms Seth Richardson reports. The same poll showed some good news for Republican President Donald Trump as well, who bested Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup.

Boozy bucks: Bars and restaurants in the state will be eligible for a $500 rebate on liquor, Johnston reports. The cash is meant to spur liquor sales as the industry reopens.

Raw data: At least 1,357 Ohioans have died from coronavirus and nearly 25,000 have contracted it, Hancock reports. Gov. Mike DeWine, during his daily briefing, reminded the state that Tuesday is when retail shops can reopen.

Holding steady: Several coronavirus indicators for Ohio have been holding steady, with the latest data showing 391 patients in ICU units across the state, and day-over-day increases of just 1.2% for deaths and 2.9% for cases, cleveland.coms Rich Exner reports. Increased testing could have resulted in sharp increases in known cases, but that hasnt happened. There were 54,863 tests in the last week vs. 34,899 the week before.

Behind bars: Among the list of deaths in Ohio prisons  a nationwide hotspot  was an inmate who was protesting for his innocence, the Associated Press Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports. Carlos Ridley was convicted of a triple homicide but was hoping a court ruling this month would exonerate him through DNA testing.

Live bets: The Washington Posts editorial board weighed in on the scattershot policies of states reopening around the country, including Ohio, calling it a potentially deadly game of trial and error. The Post noted DeWines demeanor as he announced reopenings last week: No doubt he knows the peril posed by the hodgepodge of state decisions to reopen quickly, gradually or not at all yet  the product of an absence of leadership from President Trump, who has ignored the White Houses own guidance to states on reopening.

Margin of error: Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown imparted his wisdom for presidential hopeful Joe Biden on how to win Ohio, per the Daily Beasts Michael Tomasky. As other Democrats have said, the recipe is fairly simple: win in the urban and college counties and dont get blown out in the rurals.

Fait accompli: Following an Ashland County judges belated decision to postpone what would have likely been the first coronavirus-era trial in the nation, the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an earlier request to delay the case. As cleveland.coms Jeremy Pelzer writes, Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Ronald Forsthoefel agreed to pause Seth Whiteds trial after Whited was hospitalized with coronavirus-like symptoms.

Recession proof: While other businesses are struggling, the Cincinnati sex toy industry has been very resilient to the coronavirus pandemic, the Cincinnati Enquirers Hannah Sparling reports. Other businesses are laying off workers and scaling back production, but Cincinnati-based Pure Romance is reporting increases in year-over-year sales of 88% in March and 41% in April.

Full Disclosure

Five things we learned from the Feb. 18 financial disclosure form of state Rep. Craig Riedel, a Defiance Republican.

1. Aside from his legislative salary, Riedel reported earning up to $1,998 in dividends, capital gains and interest income from Nucor Corp. and State Bank and Trust, and $10,000 to $24,999 from dividends and capital gains from Edward Jones.

2. Riedel reported investments of stock in Nucor, Apple through the Fort Defiance Investment Club, a mutual fund with Edward Jones and a retirement fund through the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System.

3. At some point in 2019, Riedel owed at least $1,000 to US Bank.

4. The Ohio House of Representatives reimbursed Riedel $4,873.44 for mileage.

5. Friends of Householder gave Riedel a gift worth more than $75. The House Republican Campaign Committee and Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee gave Riedel meals, food and beverage worth more than $100.

On the Move

The Ohio College Republican Federation announced its new executive team and board members. The new team is:

-Chairman David Kalk of Ohio State University

-Vice Chairman Taylor Armstrong of Miami University

-Executive Director Brooke Bihlman of the University of Akron

-Treasurer Lilly Dunning of the College of Wooster

-Secretary Morgan Schultz of Cleveland State University

-Communications Director Jason Sponaugle of the University of Cincinnati

Birthdays

Kenny Horsley, mail clerk, Gov. Mike DeWines office

Nick Muccio, Ohio House Democrats policy director

Straight From The Source

I understand why theyre doing things, but the stigma is its like a bunch of bikers, gang members and prisoners. We are like highly trained artists that put health above everything else.

-Rich Griggs, owner of Assassin Tattoo Studio and Black tooth Studio in Akron, quoted in the Columbus Dispatch on the uncertainty tattoo artists face regarding reopening. Gov. Mike DeWine has announced reopening dates for most sectors of the economy, with tattoo parlors being a notable exception. Making matters worse is most tattoo artists are independent contractors, meaning their finances are even less stable than regular salaried employees.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
The boss of BT has urged customers to 'be on your guard' after cyber criminals launched a wave of scams targeting customers staying at home.

In a shameless bid to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis, criminals are offering fake testing kits, posing as government representatives and even fraudulently claiming they are collecting donations on behalf of charities.

Philip Jansen, the telecoms group's chief executive, said his company already protected customers from more than 4,000 cyber attacks per day but that there had been a spike in extra activity in recent weeks.

Stay alert: BT boss Philip Jansen said his company already protected customers from more than 4,000 cyber attacks per day

His comments come after spy agency GCHQ warned that foreign states  believed to include China, Russia and Iran  have launched opportunistic cyber attacks on Britain's research and medical institutions during the coronavirus pandemic in a bid to steal information.

Jansen, 53, told the Mail: 'Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis has created a new currency for cyber criminals and they are not shy in taking advantage of it in a really sad way.'

He appealed to customers 'to be on your guard, because these guys are smart'.

Jansen added: 'They will telephone and they will send you official-looking emails that no one can stop  BT cannot stop those activities  because they involve physical people sending them.'

So-called 'phishing' attacks are when criminals try to obtain your personal information, like usernames, passwords or credit card details, by disguising themselves as a trustworthy person or business.

New ones being circulated by cyber criminals, by phone and by email, attempt to entice people with the promise of 'free coronavirus test kits' and 'government insurance'.

Others try to intimidate the receiver by claiming to be a healthcare provider and demanding payment for treatment that a relative has received for coronavirus.

A BT spokesman added: 'Common scams include pretending to be your employer, the Government, energy companies, broadband providers, banks and even the NHS.'

Hallmarks of scam emails include those with 'URGENT' in the subject line, spelling errors or unusual spellings of words in email addresses, attachments that you do not recognise, phone numbers that do not match those on a company's website and email addresses that change when you hover your mouse cursor over them.

If emails look suspicious, they can be forwarded to the National Cyber Security Centre's new service report@phishing.gov.uk.
Kenneth Huewitt has worked at Texas Southern University for the past three years, overseeing the Houston colleges financial functions as its chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration.

But this year, he stepped into another role during a time of rapid change for the historically black university.

Appointed interim president after the controversial exit of former president Austin Lane, Huewitt will help lead Texas Southern through an accreditation process, a global pandemic, a search for a new permanent president and a restructuring. Its a challenge hes willing to take on, he says.

I didnt plan for any of this, Huewitt said. But Im a prayerful person. Im here for the right reason. I dont ever question where I am. This is a time like no other, obviously not just higher education but in our society and the world. Im finding a lot about myself, how I navigate through this, and Im welcoming this opportunity to grow.

In January, the Texas Southern University board of regents named Huewitt acting president after placing Lane on paid leave. Lanes departure came in February, leaving Huewitt at the helm, and shortly thereafter came the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many Texas colleges, including TSU, to close campuses and resume education online.

In April, the board named Huewitt TSUs interim president via a telephone conference  an appointment that gives Huewitt full presidential powers until a new president is appointed, which is likely next year, university officials have said.

TSU INVESTIGATION: New bombshells revealed in Texas Southern University admissions scandal.

We are fortunate as a university to have someone with the skills and background of Mr. Huewitt during these critical times that TSU faces, board chair Albert Myres Sr. wrote in a statement. The board looks forward to working with Mr. Huewitt, his administrative team, as well as the faculty, staff, students and alumni, to keep TSU moving forward and doing great things.

A vision for TSU

Although things are constantly in flux, Huewitt said he has a vision for the university, one that includes collaboration, communication and compliance.

Huewitt said the colleges five priorities  student success and completion, academic program quality and research, culture, partnerships, and finance  will remain as he works closely with TSUs board of regents, a governing group that has experienced some shifts itself. Since Lanes departure, three members have resigned from TSUs board and one has been censured.

Huewitt said the school has established an Office of Compliance  a strategy that will put eyes and ears on practices within various departments and colleges to ensure they are being compliant  an issue that arose earlier this year when an ongoing investigation showed that students were fraudulently admitted to TSUs law school.

If youre compliant, you shouldnt worry about anyone coming around asking questions, said Huewitt, adding that there are also plans to realign some of the structure of the universitys different colleges and where and how they report  a strategy that will implement more checks and balances and protect ourselves from ourselves, Huewitt said.

TSU BOARD: TSU regents censure member after sordid comments caught on recording

Huewitt said the goal of a new presidents council is to better communicate with the university community so they dont have to wait until board meetings to express themselves and to build relationships with the business and philanthropic communities. Huewitt said hell also focus on TSUs fundraising efforts.

We cant do this alone just on the campus of TSU, and were seeing that support of COVID-19. People want to give to help our students with emergency needs. Theres a willingness there, Huewitt said. But I believe you dont only create relationships when you need something.

Being better together

Like most colleges in the state, TSU is also thinking about the effects of the coronavirus on finances, on research, and how the university operates as a whole, Huewitt said

One of the things we always talk about .. at TSU is being better together and were having to do it now, albeit, remotely, Huewitt said.

The college resumed classes online earlier this year  a feat Huewitt said hes proud of, despite some of the fatigue the campus community likely feels with Zoom and telephone meetings.

Im not saying everybody was 100 percent on board, but the situation presented itself and they rose to the occasion, Huewitt said of the TSU community.

Moving forward, Huewitt said TSU will follow the guidelines of the government, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other local officials, and he will continue brainstorming with and building his own network of college presidents from around the country, which will help assesses a successful return in the fall.

Theres a lot of different ways to do it but the virus is going to dictate how we can come back, and we always want to make sure that safetys first, said Huewitt, who has floated the option of hosting a hybrid of online learning and face-to-face classes. We miss each other. Were social people, but we want to come back and be responsible to one another and not cause a panic.

Whether Huewitt is interested in a permanent role as president is uncertain. He said hes taking it one step at a time.

With everything thats going on and being thrown at me right now  and Im welcoming it  I dont have that answer, Huewitt said. Too soon.

Before his tenure at TSU Huewitt worked within the Houston Independent School District for more than a decade, serving first on the finance team. During his time there, he served as controller, focusing on budgets, payroll, treasury, and accounting, then as CFO. Within his last three years within HISD, he served as deputy superintendent and interim superintendent where he oversaw a $1.8 million general operating budget and developed strategic plans, policies and programs that impacted more than 200,000 students on 283 campuses.

Huewitt began his career as an auditor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments Office of Inspector General, and has since served as an audit specialist and a regional director of finance for a Fortune 1000 company that provides residential and commercial services.

brittany.britto@chron.com
The Ryzen 9 4900U has appeared on 3DMark again, this time sporting a 4.3 GHz boost clock. Running on an "AMD Majolica-RN" motherboard, the Ryzen 9 4900U supports SMT across its 8 cores. Previously seen on UserBenchmark and advertised with the Yoga Slim 7, AMD is yet to confirm the existence of the Ryzen 9 Renoir APU.

Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here

The Ryzen 9 4900U will not go away. Despite not being formally announced, the Ryzen 9 4900U has been benchmarked on 3DMark. Published by @TUM_APISAK, 3DMark reports the Ryzen 9 4900U installed on an "AMD Majolica-RN" motherboard rather than the "AMD Ted3-RN" that UserBenchmark showed last month. Lenovo has been caught stating that the Yoga Slim 7 would support up to an "AMD Ryzen 9 4900U" too, although it has since reverted its UK product listing to up to "AMD Ryzen 7" processors.

According to this new 3DMark listing, the Ryzen 9 4900U has a maximum boost clock of 4.3 GHz, or 100 MHz higher than the Ryzen 7 4800U. Unsurprisingly, the 8 core processor also supports SMT, allowing it to execute up to 16 threads simultaneously. 3DMark reports that the Ryzen 9 4900U has a 1.8 GHz base clock too, but offers no details about TDP or the type of Radeon Graphics with which it has been paired.
Spygate has a new name under the trending Twitter hashtag #ObamaGate. It is being revealed to the public in a slow but systematic fashion, a treasonous plot to undermine a presidential election and subsequent presidency. When that failed, the plot twisted to destroying a duly elected president through leaks, innuendo, and outright lies.

This was not simply a few rogue FBI or DOJ agents taking justice into their own hands. Instead a plot of this magnitude had the blessing of the big boss, the capo di tutti capi, as the Mafia like to say, the boss of all bosses, President Barack Hussein Obama. Hence the name ObamaGate.

It seems that the Obama administration was spying not only on candidate Donald Trump, but a host of other political opponents using NSA about queries. These unauthorized searches of the NSAs database of all electronic communications numbered in the thousands and were carried out by intelligence contractors until NSA director Admiral Mike Rogers shut it all down. Conservative Treehouse has a detailed description and timeline of this nefarious activity.

18 U.S. Code  2384 , If two or more persons in any State or Territoryconspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States. Failing to prevent the election of the inevitable Hillary Clinton, Obama and his goon squad set out to destroy Trumps presidency. One might call this a seditious conspiracy, which describes , If two or more persons in any State or Territoryconspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States.

Trump goes one further and suggests the T-word, treason, which implies activity on behalf of a foreign entity, although the legal distinctions between treason and sedition are subtle and may ultimately be decided by either a military tribunal or 9 black-robed justices.

When unfettered access to the NSA database was eliminated, Obama and company went to plan B, the manufactured and fictious Steele Dossier. This led to FISA warrants on Trump campaign associates to both continue illegally spying on Trump but also to give cover to previous illegal spying via the NSA. Perhaps this was the mysterious insurance policy discussed by Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

Yet Trumps people were in the way, namely former AG Jeff Sessions and incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. These were the only two individuals in the new Trump administration with the understanding and ability to shut down SpyGate and it was imperative that they be rendered impotent.

Recently released Flynn documents show how he was set up, entrapped, then coerced into pleading guilty to avoid financial ruin for him and his family. An orchestrated series of media leaks and media pressure led to Jeff Sessionss recusal, leaving Trumps fate in the hands of deep state snakes like Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and his own goon squad.

The only remaining question is will there be a reckoning? Will the seditious conspirators be held to account? Or will they continue wandering in cornfields, tweeting their dismay over the DOJ losing its way? Will they continue to make the rounds on their co-conspirator networks like CNN or MSNBC or are there sealed indictments with US Attorney John Durhams signature at the bottom, waiting for the right moment of delivery?

One explainer and interpreter of deep state machinations is the enigmatic Q group. We are told to trust the plan and that pain is coming. But are we being sold a bill of goods or are we impatient, not knowing how the movie plays out or ends?

Screen shot

Lets see what todays capo di tutti capi, President Trump, has to say about the reckoning. Start with a speech little known to the public, but likely well known to readers of American Thinker, from October 13, 2016. A few weeks before the election he lays out what is at stake and provides a roadmap for Q, who began posting an insiders preview of the coming reckoning.

For those who like coincidences, Qs first post was October 28, 2017, the same day Jeff Sessions appointed John Durham as interim US Attorney. Funny that.

In Trumps speech he told us what he and his supporters were up against.

There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.

For them, it is a war  and for them, nothing is out of bounds. This is a struggle for the survival of our nation.

Their financial resources are unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unlimited. And, most importantly, the depths of their immorality [are] unlimited.

But I take all of these slings and arrows for you. I take them for our movement, so that we can have our country back.

This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization.

This election is about every man, woman and child in our country who deserves to live in safety, prosperity and peace.

We will rise above the lies, the smears, and the ludicrous slanders from ludicrous reporters.

That was almost four years ago. What does the President say now? From an interview last week on Fox and Friends,

Really most people knew from the beginning, and they knew it was just a total hoax. It was a made-up story, a disgrace to our nation.

These are dirty politicians and dirty cops and some horrible people.

They tried to take down the president of the United States, a sitting, duly elected president of the United States before I even won.

And other people around President Obama were totally involved. And you'll see more and more things come out I think because like I know how it works.

We are draining the swamp like nobody's ever drained the swamp.

One can argue over who in the ObamaGate conspiracy wears a black hat or a white hat. One can also complain about nothing happening, no indictments or perp walks. The deep state has been the king in Washington DC for decades. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, When you strike at a king, you must kill him.

Trump and his team have one shot at this and will take the kill shot on their terms and timing. For those who believe that the guilty will walk, or that Trump will turn into one of the two former President Bushs, I wont be able to and will not try to convince you otherwise. I do know that Trump keeps his promises.

Have faith. The forces against Trump are huge  the DC establishment, media, Hollywood, academia, and even members of his own party. Dont listen to the naysayers. Listen to the man himself who last November told the White House press corps, "I caught the swamp. I caught them all. Let's see what happens. Nobody else could have done that but me."

Behind the cable news headlines there is panic in DC. Enjoy the show.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a Denver based physician and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in American Thinker, Daily Caller, Rasmussen Reports, and other publications. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and QuodVerum.
The French would never conceive of blending two of its countrys most notable varietals, Chenin Blanc and Viognier. Leave it to Gary Andrus, the founder of Napa Valleys Pine Ridge Vineyards, to marry the two in the creation of what is one of the winerys most popular bottlings, a white blend titled simply Chenin Blanc + Viognier.

Originally crafted 25 years ago as an experimental bottling and sold only in small quantities in the winerys Stags Leap District tasting room, the blend has become one of Pine Ridges most beloved and popular wines. The unique combo unites the crisp, honeyed fruit of Chenin Blanc with the plush body and juicy stone fruit notes of Viognier for a wine that is surprisingly sophisticated.

Its creation was the result of serendipity. The legend goes that Gary was a huge Francophile and he used to make a straight Chenin Blanc from the Valley, says Pine Ridge assistant winemaker Colleen FitzGerald. The night before he was going to bottle the Chenin Blanc, he opened a bottle of Viognier with dinner. He then had the idea that a blend of Chenin Blanc and Viognier would make delicious wine. The next day when he went into work, he gave each of his cellar crew money and sent them to buy every bottle of Viognier they could find. They uncorked all the bottles and dumped them into the bottle-ready Chenin Blanc. The blend ended up being around 80/20 and became the first vintage of CB+V.

Colleen FitzGerald

The wine's Viognier grapes hail from Lodi, CA which has a classic Mediterranean climate, and the Chenin Blanc is from the maritime-influenced Clarksburg, CA appellation, known as the 'Gem of the Delta,' where FitzGerald works with growers in making decisions about pruning, vine management, and harvest timing. FitzGerald earned a biochemistry degree at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and spent several years working harvests in New Zealand, Paso Robles, and Napa before joining the Pine Ridge Vineyards team full-time in 2015.

The affordable white blend is aromatic, boasting a bouquet of honeysuckle and orange blossoms along with tropical fruits like lychee and pineapple. With its low ABV of 12.5 percent, lively flavor and accessibility in numerous markets, CB+V is perfect for any occasion. Extremely food friendly, the wine pairs well with light salads, seafood, and most notably with foods that contain a hint of spiciness. The wines subtle sweetness provides balance alongside a touch of heat.

The blend is also sold as a bright and fresh sparkling wine.

Photos courtesy of Pine Ridge Vineyards

Pine Ridge Vineyards
Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Montgomery County Commissioners again extended its disaster declaration another 30 days amid the COVID-19 crisis Tuesday to ensure county officials can continue to purchase needed personal protection equipment.

However, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Executive Director Jason Millsaps told the court it should plan to continue to extend the declaration through the end of the year to avoid having to go through a bid process for the PPEs which, he added, would slow the county down in providing county courts, the Montgomery County Jail, law enforcement and first responders with the equipment including mask, gloves and hand sanitizer.
New Delhi: Chinese smartphone maker Honor launched the much awaited Honor 9X Pro in India on Tuesday.

The phone wil will be available on Flipkart from May 21. The Honor 9X Pro has been priced at Rs 17,999 but the company said that early birds can get the phone at just Rs 14,999.

Honor India tweeted:

The #HONOR9XPro has arrived! Are you #UpForXtraordinary rewards? Register for early access to the HONOR 9X Pro for amazing offers & win exciting goodies from HONOR.

Early Access bookings Live Now on @Flipkart.

Register here https://t.co/HNN5qqKDPL pic.twitter.com/hY93wCacab  Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) May 12, 2020

Customers will also get one time screen replacement as part of launch offers.

The smartphone features a 6.59-inch display with 1080x2340 pixels resolution at a pixel density of 391 pixels per inch (ppi). Under the hood, the phone possesses an octa-core Kirin 810 processor coupled with 8GB RAM.

The device houses a 48MP primary camera, a second 2MP camera and a third 8MP camera. It also has a 16MP motorised pop-up front camera for selfies.

The phone comes with 128GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable via a microSD card slot up to 512GB.

Running the Android Pie OS, the phone houses a 4,000mAh battery.
In doing this, the Peru-headquartered company - owned by Canada-based Sierra Metals - aims to maintain contracts with employees while also being exempt from paying wages, as per a governmental decree to regulate labor relations during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets understands.

Corona did not disclose how many workers will be furloughed, nor for how long. The temporary suspension of labor contracts may be...
People should prepare to cancel their summer holidays, Matt Hancock has warned, saying: I think thats a reality of life.

Asked if summer would be effectively cancelled for the first time since the Second World War, the health secretary replied: I think thats likely to be the case.

Its unlikely that big lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer, he told ITVs This Morning programme.

No final decision had been taken on whether social-distancing rules would have to be maintained in this country.

We will seek to reopen hospitality, some hospitality, from early July if we keep successfully reducing the spread of this virus. But social distancing of some kind is going to continue, Mr Hancock said.

Until now, some ministers have only said that they, personally, are not making any holiday plans, without setting out what the impact on the public is likely to be.

Under the cautious lockdown easing, hospitality must wait for the third phase  no earlier than 4 July  to learn if it can return to some kind of normality.

But Boris Johnson made clear it would only happen if coronavirus cases continued to be driven down and there was no evidence of a the much-feared second peak.

Meanwhile, the UK  and Spain, amongst other countries  are planning strict quarantine rules for international arrivals. It is feared the restrictions will cripple the tourism industry.

Airlines and tour operators were hoping that Project Lift-off would get under way in late June, in time for the two main holiday months of July and August.

But the UK governments proposed quarantine measures are likely to deter millions of British holidaymakers, as they will require 14 days of self-isolation for most people returning to the UK.

In addition, a tangle of other restrictions apply abroad  with Spain abruptly announcing a temporary two-week quarantine rule for arriving visitors from Friday.

The comments come after Mr Hancock drew criticism for arguing efforts to defeat Covid-19 in care homes had been a success, compared with other countries.

He also dismissed claims that the public was confused by the shambolic announcement of the lockdown changes on Sunday evening.

Downing Street said Mr Hancock was reflecting advice from the Foreign Office to travel abroad only for essential reasons.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 20-year-old Cleveland man is in federal custody after authorities say he planned to place a fake 911 call in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to ambush the park rangers who responded, steal their weapons and start an armed uprising, according to prosecutors.

Christian Ferguson, who authorities believe was trying to form a militia, is charged with attempted kidnapping. He has been in custody since May 8 and made his initial appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen B. Burke.

The Cleveland FBI became aware of Ferguson in March, after a tipster informed them about violent and extremist social media postings Ferguson made on Discord, a communication app that allows users to communicate directly or in groups via text message, voice or video, according to a release. The app became an essential communication tool for far-right groups and white supremacists, including in the run-up to the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the messages, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by an FBI agent, Ferguson discussed his plan to ambush cops and said to shoot to kill because they will, and discussed ripping communication gear from cars.

Its too risky to take the cruisers so throw the bodies in and light em up, he wrote, an apparent reference to putting dead officers in their police cars and setting them on fire to destroy the evidence, the complaint said.

Ferguson posted the messages under a username that the complaint does not disclose due to ongoing investigation.

Investigators tied the screen name to Ferguson in part because police stopped him in 2019 outside Valparaiso, Indiana, in a car that had a vanity license plate number that matched the name, the complaint said. He fled the traffic stop and led police on a chase that ended in a crash and his arrest. He faced a felony charge of resisting arrest. The complaint does not include a disposition in the case.

The FBI sent a confidential human source to join Discord chat rooms and communicate with Ferguson, the complaint said. In the weeks that followed, Ferguson honed the details of his plan, which included using a woman to call the police and report a domestic violence incident in a remote area, the complaint said. He said the attackers should clean off their bullets to remove fingerprints from the casings, and discussed throwing ammonia and bleech [sic] at police.

When you shoot go for the arms and legs but if they pose a lethal threat go for the head, he wrote, the complaint says.

Ferguson referenced the 75th Spartans, which investigators believe is the name of a militia that Ferguson either had formed or was in the process of creating to carry out the attack and the subsequent uprising, the complaint said. Ferguson, in another message, referenced leaving a calling card with the Spartans name at the scene of a first small claim with the cops, the complaint said.

Once the media gets a hold of our card, well spread like wildfire and other militias will get up, the complaint said.

The appropriation of Spartan imagery is commonplace among many alt-right groups, including The Oath Keepers militia, which, in 2018 created so-called Spartan Training Groups to combat antifa and the far left.

Ferguson and the confidential informant also communicated with another Discord user whose identity the FBI agent said is known but was not disclosed in the complaint.

Ferguson suggested using homemade mustard gas and pipe bombs during an attack, but said the group would need money from a sponsor before they could buy high-grade, military-style ammunition because he barely has enough money to buy a pistol, the complaint said.

Ferguson also discussed using the attack to recruit members of his militia. He said that killing police officers and letting one live "with our calling card may be necessary to get media coverage of the attack from outlets including Fox News, the complaint said.

We still are building numbers but this will get patriots and future Spartans interested, he wrote, the complaint said.

The two FBI sources and Ferguson agreed to meet up on May 2 at the Camp Belden Wildlife Area in Lorain County to practice drills and exercises to prepare for the attack, according to the complaint. Ferguson brought an AR-15 rifle and ammunition to the meeting, which was recorded by one of the FBI informants on a video camera, the complaint said.

The group agreed to meet again on May 8 in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to carry out a dry-run, and hiked into the woods to discuss the plan, according to the complaint. The informant wore an audio recording device that captured the conversations, the complaint said.

Ferguson said that once the officers respond and his militia ambushes them, they give police 10 seconds to drop their weapons, the complaint said. Once they dropped the weapons, the militia members should point guns at each officers head while they take their gear, starting with the bullet-proof vests, the complaint said.

[I]f they try anything, anything, one in the head  there are 29 more right for you and another goes down, and another, for any movement below the nipple, Ferguson said, according to the complaint. [B]ut leave one to limp home and tell law enforcement that the Spartans are out here hunting us.

The group then placed a hoax 911 call as they hid behind tree stumps to gauge the response time, the complaint said. Four park rangers showed up and left after a few minutes of looking around, the complaint said.

The group walked back to their cars, and Ferguson said that if that many officers were to respond to the ambush, then they would have to kill them all, the complaint said.

FBI agents and Park Rangers then arrested Ferguson.

Ferguson admitted to investigators after his arrest that he was planning an attack to kidnap and rob police, but denied ever wanting to kill them, the complaint said. He eventually said that he would be willing to kill the officers if he had to, the complaint said.

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The virus has been particularly hard on Manaus, a hot, humid and remote metropolis of two million in the Amazon rainforest. The city recorded about 2,800 deaths in April, about three times as many as its historical average for the month. The increase is comparable to what Madrid experienced at the peak of its epidemic, from mid-March to mid-April, according to The Times analysis.

The outbreak in Manaus laid bare the consequences of Brazils deep economic inequality and polarized politics. Manaus has struggled to obtain the medical equipment it needs, said its mayor, Arthur Virgilio Neto.

We suffer from the absence of federal government, said Mr. Virgilio, choking back tears. He has blamed the populations lax compliance with the lockdown on Mr. Bolsonaros public disdain toward social distancing.

The delivery of supplies has been further complicated by logistics, since the region has few access roads and must rely on river or air transport to meet its needs, he said.

In the citys overcrowded cemeteries, gravediggers last month stacked coffins three layers deep in wide mass graves to meet the demand for burials. As hospitals collapsed under a deluge of patients, bodies filled their hallways. Around town, ambulances struggled to collect all of those who never made it to the hospital and died at home.

Manauss crisis is also raising concern for the hundreds of Indigenous groups living in the surrounding forest. They often have little or no access to health care, and may be exposed to the virus as they flock to cities to get emergency cash transfers offered by the government or during encounters with illegal miners and loggers who enter their land.
President Sisi said efforts by nurses in Egypt in this 'difficult period proves their competence and their devotion to the nation and its people'

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi praised on Tuesday the role played by the countrys nursing staff in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, as the virus continues to infect medical staff in the populous country.

Speaking for myself and the Egyptian people, I express appreciation and respect to the nursing staff who have made sacrifices for a noble humanitarian mission, which they are carrying out honorably, El-Sisi said in a Facebook post to mark International Nurses Day, which falls on 12 May.

The president said that the efforts by nurses in Egypt in this difficult period proves their competence and their devotion to the nation and its people.

The presidents statements came hours after Egypts Nursing Syndicate announced that a sixth nurse has died from coronavirus.

Egypt fears the virus will strain its medical capabilities, as a rise in infections among medical staff has been reported over the past few weeks.

The World Health Organisation said last April that infections among medical staff represent around 13 percent of the total infections in Egypt.

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TORONTO, May 12 (Reuters) - China's CanSino Biologics Inc , the company behind one of the few coronavirus vaccine candidates already in clinical trials, is collaborating with Canada's National Research Council to "pave the way" for future trials in Canada, the research council said on Tuesday.

The NRC said it would scale up a production process for CanSino's vaccine candidate at a government facility in Montreal, and that CanSino was preparing a clinical trial application for Health Canada, the country's drug regulator.

The CanSino vaccine is in early trials, and there is no way to know whether it will work. But if it does, the collaboration could help ensure that Canadians have access to it. Local trial data could reassure Health Canada that the vaccine is safe, and local manufacturing could ensure some doses are at hand.

A vaccine that protects people from the coronavirus could eventually end the pandemic, but finding one that works and manufacturing enough doses is a huge challenge.

CanSino's vaccine is produced using a cell line that was developed at the NRC, the agency said, and the two organizations have worked together since 2013. The company used the same cell line to develop an Ebola vaccine.

NRC and Health Canada did not immediately respond to questions about whether the collaboration would make it possible for Health Canada to consider trial data gathered in China in eventually evaluating the vaccine.

Shares of Tianjin-based, Hong Kong-listed CanSino rose on April 26 after the company said Health Canada had agreed to meet to discuss a clinical trial application. (Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by Dan Grebler)
As if there wasnt enough bad news already around COVID-19, doctors describe a troubling condition sometimes seen in patients recovering from the coronavirus in a hospital.

Its been dubbed the COVID cliff. What it refers to are patients who seem to be on the mend  or are at least somewhat stable  who all at once get very sick very quickly and have to be rushed to the intensive care unit.

No, we dont know what causes it, said Dr. Diego Maselli, medical director of respiratory therapy with University Health System.

What we are observing are patients who are doing relatively OK for several days and suddenly, they experience a surge of inflammation in the body, he said. Weve seen patients who are stable for up to a week  even two weeks  and within 24 to 48 hours they deteriorate quickly.

Its a chicken-or-the-egg quandary, Maselli said: Does the COVID cliff cause the inflamed tissue in the body, or does the inflammation cause the cliff?

In the hospital, he said, nurses and doctors closely track a coronavirus patients blood, looking for signs of inflammation.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio slowly emerges from COVID crisis

A patient who has been smoldering for days or weeks with basic symptoms, such as intermittent fevers or coughs, will show an abrupt peak of inflammation, which indicates serious trouble, Maselli said.

Within hours, they will suddenly need much greater help, such as being placed on a ventilator, he said.

Maselli said other infections, such as MRSA, caused by a type of staph bacteria, can also show cliffs associated with inflammation. But with that particular disease, the inflammation can take days to develop. Whether COVID-19 is more prone to this alarming phenomenon remains a question, he said.

We may be seeing it more because were looking for it more, he said. Maselli estimated that 20 to 30 percent of patients he sees at University Hospital may end up in the ICU because of the COVID cliff.

Its hard to say whether those who experience the cliff are at higher risk of death, he said.

Youre automatically at higher risk of complications and dying when you go to ICU, Maselli said. But there are emerging studies that suggest that patients who have surges of inflammation are at higher risk of dying.

On ExpressNews.com: These ZIP codes have the most  and least  cases

He said the higher rate of COVID-19 patients who develop blood clots could be related to the inflammatory surge.

Now, we screen COVID-19 patients for clots with things like ultrasound and blood tests, so were finding more, he said. Are we finding more (clots) because were looking for them, or is it happening more often because of the disease? I think its probably the latter.

Maselli reiterated that the patients he sees are in the hospital.

Most people who have the illness do not need to be hospitalized. He said those recovering from COVID-19 at home who begin experiencing increasing shortness of breath and fevers over a short period of time should call their doctor or go to a hospital emergency room.

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news, cultural trends and interesting people and goings-on around San Antonio and Bexar County, as well as all across South Texas. To read more from Melissa , become a subscriber. mstoeltje@express-news.net | Twitter: @mstoeltje
Governments across Europe lifted confinement measures yesterday, reopening schools and businesses and returning millions of workers across the continent to their workplaces as the deadly coronavirus continued to spread. The end to lockdown is proceeding even as new reports emerge of an uptick in cases in areas where its spread had been brought under control and lockdown restrictions had since been eased.

In France, where roughly 2,800 people remain under ventilation in hospitals and where 70 people died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of dead to 26,380, the eight-week lockdown that began on March 17 ended yesterday. Schools reopened for the youngest students, and non-essential businesses resumed, with the hospitality sector restricted to running take-out services.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered an end to the lockdown last Wednesday, with schools and businesses reopening. Restaurants have already begun dine-in service in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Non-essential businesses also opened in Austria, and final-year students had already returned to school last week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered a national televised address on Sunday evening, calling for construction and manufacturing workers and others who cannot work from home to return to work. Yesterday, data from the UK Office of National Statistics showed that construction and other low-skilled elementary workers were among the most likely to die from the disease, with a mortality rate of 21.4 per 100,000 people as of April 20, along with social caring workers and machine operators.

Johnson also called for schools to prepare to reopen, declaring that all students should be in school for at least one month before summer. The UKs coronavirus official, vastly underestimated death toll grew by another 268 yesterday to 32,065, with almost 4,000 new reported cases.

Belgium, which has the highest per capita death rate from the coronavirus in the world, with more than 53,000 confirmed cases and 8,707 deaths out of a population of just over 11 million people, reopened schools and stores yesterday. In Italy, where statistical analysis of the national mortality rate indicates that the real coronavirus death toll is more than 50,000, all non-essential businesses have been reopened since last Monday.

In Spain, people living in many areas of the country have been allowed to go to restaurants, visit family members and attend gatherings of up to 10 people since yesterday. The Socialist Party and pseudo-left Podemos government is implementing an end to confinement even as the countrys military predicts that its policies will lead to a second wave of the virus in the country where it has already killed 26,744 people.

In Denmark, secondary schools are due to open next week, while shopping centres opened yesterday. In Norway, all classes resumed today after classes had already been opened for those aged 610. Schools will reopen on May 14 in Finland. Final-year school students already returned last week in the Netherlands. All stores opened in Greece yesterday.

The mass return to work underway across Europe is in line with the criminal policy being pursued by the Trump administration in the United States. It is being carried out hand-in-glove with the trade unions in every country, who are enforcing the return to work and suppressing any struggle by workers against the deconfinement.

The European ruling class, like its American counterparts, is not seeking to carry out a struggle against the spread of the coronavirus. Its policies are driven by the requirement to force workers back into their workplace, regardless of the risk to their lives and those of their loved ones, to continue pumping out profits.

The reopening of classrooms, exposing children, teachers and their families to the disease, underscores the criminality of this policy. Children are being sent to school so that their parents can be freed to work, while scientists continue to issue warnings that schools function as propagation vectors for virus transmission and that children may develop a rare and potentially fatal syndrome, Kawasaki Disease, as a result of the coronavirus.

Even as the return to work is underway, evidence is already emerging that it is leading to a renewed uptick in cases. In Germany, where a systematic campaign has been underway in the media and by the political establishment to minimise the danger of the virus, the Robert Koch Institute reported yesterday that the virus reproduction rate had increased above unity, indicating exponential spread.

In France, two new clusters were detected over the weekend, in Dordogne and Vienne. The cluster in Vienne, in central France, occurred at a school because the teachers had had to come into the building to make preparations for the return of students. The French education minister Olivier Blanquer nonetheless declared in an interview with the Journal de Dimanche the same day that every child in France should be in school at least one day this month.

The criminal character of the ruling class policy is epitomized by the Macron administration. For weeks, it declared that it would only order an end to confinement once it had sufficient capacity to conduct mass testing and contact tracing to contain the spread of the virus. It estimated this would mean at least 700,000 tests per week, which it declared would be ready by the time deconfinement was ordered. The director of health Jerome Salomon had included daily test numbers as part of the governments briefing.

As the deconfinement deadline approached, this promise was quietly dropped. While the government provides no central tally of the number of tests in the country, an analysis published by the investigative wing of Radio France published yesterday, which tabulated various local sources, concluded that approximately 149,000 tests were conducted in the week from April 27 to May 3, less than a quarter of the governments supposed required threshold for a deconfinement.

In other words, the deconfinement had nothing to do with satisfying the conditions for a preconceived scientific plan for the combating the virus, but was determined by the governments economic policy, with a suitable lying pretext invented, and then dropped when even this facade could not be maintained.

From the outset of the pandemic, the European ruling class, like its counterparts internationally, has responded to the pandemic not as a healthcare emergency, but as a market event. It has been engaged not in a fight to save lives, but to protect corporate profits.

While national governments have initiated multi-hundred-billion-euro bailout packages for large corporations, the European Central Bank voted in March to carry out a 750 billion euro asset-purchasing program throughout 2020, buying bonds from both corporations and national governments in order to prop up share markets. The asset purchases have since been raised to 1.1 trillion euros. While the corporate and financial elite has been protected from any losses to their wealth, hundreds of billions of euros in worthless assets are being transferred directly from the books of corporations and banks on to the ledgers of central banks, for which the ruling class will seek to make the working class pay through brutal austerity against its jobs and living conditions.

The lifting of lockdowns across Europe signifies that the ruling class is carrying out policies that will, and that it knows will, lead to the deaths of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people.
A 113-year-old Spanish woman is believed to have become the oldest person in the world to recover from coronavirus.

Maria Branyas, the oldest person in Spain, confirmed she had tested positive for Covid-19 last month despite showing no symptoms.

An update on her Twitter account, run by her daughter, on Friday announced the supercentenarian had overcome the disease.

Ms Branyas, who was born on 4 March 1907, thanked people for their well wishes in a further tweet on Tuesday.

However, the mother-of-three, who also lived through the Spanish flu pandemic, also used her message to criticise the treatment of elderly people during the coronavirus outbreak.

She said: Thank you very much for your congratulations and encouragement, and although I would have preferred not to have to live this unfortunate situation of nonsense in the treatment of the elderly in the country, I thank you.

"And a lot of strength to all the grandmothers and grandparents who are still struggling.

She continued: It is very sad all that this pandemic has exposed. Older people do not deserve the forgetfulness they have received.

They fought and sacrificed time and dreams for you to have an identity and a quality of life today.

They dont deserve to leave the world that way.

Ms Branyas was born in San Francisco, in the United States, where her father had travelled for work, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

She has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

She currently lives at Santa Maria del Tura care home in the Catalonian city of Olot.

The home reportedly confirmed 17 coronavirus-related deaths among elderly residents last month, according to British expat newspaper The Olive Press.
A San Antonio companys planned expansion, bolstered by a new financing deal, is looking to offer some of the benefits of solar power to households and businesses in other Texas cities and Southwestern states  without having to install panels on their rooftops.

Go Smart Solar is pilot-testing a project in San Antonio, installing solar panels at commercial parking lots and a truck dealership. The panels are located away from residential areas, but homeowners and businesses buy the remote panels and claim rebates from CPS Energy that can cover all or part of their electric bill.

Officials at the community solar company said they are discussing similar projects with three utilities in Texas and other Southwestern states. If all three agreements come through, theyd entail debt and equity investments totaling $150 million.

The financing would largely come from DSD, a renewable energy company started by General Electric. Its current majority owner is BlackRock Inc., the worlds largest money manager.

Go Smarts program in San Antonio, called Big Sun Community Solar, strings together large numbers of solar panels, mainly at office-park parking lots, essentially creating huge covered carports. The solar panels are owned by the homeowners and businesses participating in the program.

DSD officials said they will provide a combination of loans and equity to Go Smart Solar on a project by project basis. However, they declined to detail the finance packages or say whether they could potentially total the $150 million that Go Smart would need if it wins the bids on all three solar projects.

Go Smart Solars development expertise, combined with our extensive project execution track record and capital financing capabilities, will enable successful programs in other communities,said Cameron Bard, DSDs senior director of distribution level development in a statement.

DSD has built solar roofed carports across the United in retail shopping centers, private companies, casinos and health care facilities.

But the partnership with Go Smart would be a new way for DSD to deliver solar because of the participation of residents and business paying for the solar panels. DSD would manage construction of the solar car roofs while Go Smart is expected to continue to sell the solar panels to participants in the roofless solar program.

Go Smart Solar CEO Robert Miggins said the San Antonio pilot project is version 1.0. of what the company plans to do.

Weve got a bank loan and some other capital, but it is more of a bootstrapped approach, he said of the San Antonio pilot.

So far in San Antonio, 241 homeowners, condo owners, apartment residents and businesses have signed up for the one-year-old roofless Big Sun Community Solar program. The company has installed about 600 covered solar-paneled parking roofs at four office parks and at a Rush Enterprises truck dealership.

By the end of this year, Big Sun Community Solar plans to have installed solar panels atop 2,000 San Antonio parking spaces at more than a dozen locations.

The 3 megawatts of solar power generated  which could increase to 5 megawatts in coming months  go into CPS Energys power grid. The city-owned utility then credits the community solar customers on their bills during the next 25 years.

Participating in the project isnt cheap.

Lissa Martinez, a retired engineer, and her husband Brian Hughes, a entrepreneur who serves on the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys board of trustees, paid $23,000 to participate in the community solar program for their home in Castle Hills late last year. They receive a 30 percent federal tax credit, which helped make the expense easier to take.

The upfront costs cover their electrical bill for the next 25 years, which averaged around $100 a month.

I wanted to put my money where my mouth is, said Martinez who had served as a member of the SA Climate Ready Advisory Committee, the group thats monitoring the city initiative to deal with climate change.

Miggins said the residents in the program cant install their own solar panels for a variety of reasons. Maybe their houses are poorly positioned to collect sunlight or they live in an apartment building.

Big Sun Community Solar builds the solar roof carports at no cost to participating commercial property owners, and charges a monthly fee for each space. In turn, office park tenants pay the owners an extra fee for shaded parking spots.

Big Sun Community Solar built 391 solar car ports at four office complexes managed by San Antonio commercial real estate company Worth & Associates late last year and in early 2020.

Its a lot more comfortable getting into your car in the summer when its parked under a shaded space, said Clint Worth, president of development and brokerage. He said shaded parking is an amenity tenants will pay for in the San Antonio summer heat.

Big Sun is the second community solar progrma offered by CPS Energy. The first offered a similar deal to 250 homeowners in 2016, but the panels were located at a solar farm.

The programs are a small part of CPS Energys alternative energy initiative. About 20 percent of the utilitys generation comes comes solar and wind farms, an output that environmentalists have pressed the utility company to expand.

Go Smart Solar employs around a dozen people. Miggins, who has worked in the solar industry for six years, partnered with Jason Pittman, an engineer who serves as the firms president.

Miggins said expansion to other cities is critical to growing the company. But he acknowledged that Go Smarts growth could be slowed by utility companies dealing with coronavirus-related issues.

I think the virus has put a question mark around the timing of these things, but we are hopeful that will have some announcements later this year, he said.

Randy Diamond covers aviation, energy and manufacturing in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Randy, become a subscriber. randy.diamond@express-news.net
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Alliance Mining Corp. (TSXV:ALM) ("Alliance" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has made the final two payments of $250,000.00 each by issuing 10 million common shares of its capital to Tiberius Gold Corp. Alliance has now completed all payments to acquire 100 per cent of Tiberius's property located in the Bissett Gold mine camp in Manitoba. Under the agreement, Alliance earned a 100-per-cent interest in the property by making certain staged cash payments and/or share payments of common shares in the capital of Alliance to Tiberius over a four-year period equal to a total of $1.25million as follows: (i) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before 90 days of the TSX Venture Exchange's approval of the transaction; (ii) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the first anniversary of the approval date; (iii) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the second anniversary of the approval date; $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the third anniversary of the approval date; and $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the fourth anniversary of the approval date.Alliance Mining has now purchased 100 per cent interest in the Red Rice Lake property located in the Bissett gold camp in Manitoba. The property is located close to the town of Bissett, Man., and just four kilometres south of the True North gold mine which its current owner 1911 Gold Corp ( Formerly Klondex Mines) has just recommenced operations reprocessing tailings..The Red Rice Lake gold property claims are located within the Archean Rice Lake greenstone belt in southeastern Manitoba. This belt forms part of the Uchi sub province that includes the Red Lake and Pickle Lake belts in Northwestern OntarioON BEHALF OF THE BOARDAllan BeatonDirectorFOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:Alliance Mining Corp.(604) 488-3900Investor Relations: 604-488-3900E-mail: ir@ alliancemining.com This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements arebased on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Alliance Mining Corp.888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4SOURCE: Alliance Mining Corp.
Authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan plan to test all 11 million residents for covid-19 by the end of next week, in a massive push to extinguish any remnants of the coronavirus from the original epicenter of the global pandemic.

The all-encompassing mission - announced Monday and paid for by district governments - contrasts with shortages of testing kits in some other countries, including the United States, where people have complained about not being able to get a test despite having coronavirus symptoms.

But the scope of the endeavor underscores official sensitivities about any new flare-up in Wuhan, where the virus emerged in a market late last year. It comes after officials reported six new coronavirus cases in two days, confounding health experts after a 35-day streak without infections.

"It is important to realize that a decisive result does not equal a decisive victory, lowering the emergency response level does not equal lowering defenses," said Wang Zhonglin, a top official in the Communist Party in Wuhan, according to the state-run Changjiang Daily. "We must not be careless or lax," he told a video conference of officials called to respond to a sudden spate of cases in the city.

Local health authorities reported that five people in one residential compound in Wuhan had been diagnosed with coronavirus Sunday, all of them linked to an elderly man who had been confirmed as infected the previous day.

They all lived in the Sanmin compound in the East West Lake district of Wuhan, which Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited in March during his first trip to the city since the outbreak began.

The infections were the first found in Wuhan since the city emerged from its stringent 11-week lockdown on April 8.

After the cluster was discovered, all 5,000 residents of the Sanmin compound - where 20 people had tested positive for coronavirus during the lockdown - were ordered to undergo nucleic acid tests to screen for coronavirus.

But Wuhan authorities decided to go further. The city's epidemic prevention and control headquarters issued an emergency notice Monday ordering all district management units to submit plans by Tuesday for completing nucleic acid testing of all residents in their jurisdiction within 10 days.

This "10-day battle" would focus first of all on vulnerable groups like the elderly and infirm, and on densely populated communities, including those with a concentrated migrant population, the notice said.

More than one million residents had been tested so far, the Yicai financial news site reported, quoting an unnamed Wuhan epidemic response command center official as saying that the local government realized it had to further expand the scope of testing to prevent a new wave of outbreaks.

The Wuhan cluster has been traced to an 89-year-old man who developed a fever on March 17 but recovered at home within 10 days without seeing a doctor.

But he started to have health issues again last month, and was last week confirmed as having coronavirus. His wife and then two other elderly couples in the compound also tested positive for the virus.

There had been other prolonged cases similar to the man's one, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Actually, there is more than one such case in Wuhan: the course of disease could last 30 to 50 days for some patients," Wu said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV. "The virus could take longer to manifest itself in patients with weak immunity, who are also prone to 'ons' and 'offs' of symptoms."

Asked if it is necessary to test the entire population in Wuhan, Wu said it could be targeted to areas of known infections and that there was no need to do it in residential areas free of cases.

The cluster in Wuhan coincided with a spate of cases of community transmission in northeast Jilin Province, prompting concerns about a new surge in infections. Shulan city in Jilin is now in "wartime mode" to stamp out the virus, according to city authorities, with all public places and public transportation off limits.

But Chinese medical experts tried to reassure people that this was not a new wave of the pandemic.

"There will not be a new minor peak," Wu said. "We have had the epidemic under control after more than three months of efforts and accumulated considerable experience in both diagnosis and [epidemic] notification. Therefore, we will not allow scattered cases to develop into massive outbreaks."

Others agreed.

"Considering the complexity of covid-19, which has an unclear incubation period and is sometimes asymptomatic, such kinds of sporadic cases are quite normal," Wang Peiyu, deputy head of Peking University's School of Public Health, told the Communist Party-linked Global Times tabloid.

- - -

The Washington Post's Liu Yang and Lyric Li in Beijing contributed to this report.
The group of military planes flew past New Jersey landmarks in seconds, leaving trails of smoke in the skies and gaping onlookers below.

From the Jersey Shore, Camden, Bergen County and a litany of landmarks in between, the state Air National Guard saluted frontline workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic with a spectacular flyover Tuesday afternoon, passing by 14 sites in total.

The aircraft included three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Scroll below to see some of the photos of the flyover and the groups that gathered to watch.

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Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst flyover Ocean City to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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A crowd on the beach in Sea Girt watches a N.J. State Police helicopter land here minutes before three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard flew over to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)

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The New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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Spectators wait on the Ocean City Boardwalk for three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst to conduct a flyover to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst flyover University Hospital and a Rutgers medical facility in Newark as part of the New Jersey event on Tuesday to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

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New Jersey Air National Guard conducts a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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Spectators atop the Sea Girt Pavilion and Sea Girt Lighthouse watch as four warplanes perform a flyover over Sea Girt to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)

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Spectators atop the Sea Girt Pavilion and Sea Girt Lighthouse watch as three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard fly over Sea Girt to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)

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Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst flyover Ocean City to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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The New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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People stand on the roof of the Atlantic City Convention Center to watch as the New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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New Jersey Air National Guard conducts a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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A couple stands and watches as the New Jersey Air National Guard conduct a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst flyover Ocean City to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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The 177th fighter wing New Jersey Air National Guard and the 108th wing take part in a flyover to honor frontline workers in the battle against the Coronavirus. (George McNish | For NJ Advance Media)

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The New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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A KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst flies over Sea Girt to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)

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People stand on the roof of the Atlantic City Convention Center to watch as the New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard fly over Sea Girt to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media)

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Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst flyover Ocean City to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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New Jersey Air National Guard conducts a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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New Jersey Air National Guard conducts a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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A spectator stands in the parking lot of Cherry Hill West High School awaiting a flyover by the New Jersey Air National Guard honoring health care workers at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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New Jersey Air National Guard conducts a flyover at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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The New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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The New Jersey Air National Guard does a flyover in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing partnered in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover event. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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Spectators look to the sky as a flyover is conducted by New Jersey Air National Guard at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital honoring the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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Employees of Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital pose for a picture as they wait for the New Jersey Air National Guard to flyover over the hospital honoring the frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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A spectator stands holds an American flag as he sits in the parking lot of Cherry Hill West High School while awaiting a flyover by the New Jersey Air National Guard honoring health care workers at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media)

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On Eggerts Crossing Road in Lawrence Township, spectators wait for flyover of The New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing, which were partnering in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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At Lawrence Township municipal baseball fields, spectators wait for flyover of The New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing and 108th Wing, which were partnering in the nationwide Air Force Salutes Flyover on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Courtesy of Julien's AuctionsA new video featuring former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman chatting about the various collectibles he's putting up for bid at a September 12-13 auction in Beverly Hills, California, has been posted at the Julien's Auctions YouTube channel.

As previously reported, the sale will feature more than 1,000 items from the large archive of musical instruments and memorabilia that Wyman collected during his 30-plus years with The Rolling Stones.

In the video, the 83-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer explains, "I started collecting Stones stuff right from the beginning because I wanted my [then-eight-month-old] sonto know that I was once in a band and we made a record and we were on TV once or we were played on the radio twice, or something, because that's all we thought it would be in those days."

The item expected to bring in the most cash is an orange 1969 Fender Mustang bass that Wyman used on tour in 1969 and 1970. It's estimated to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000.

"It was the only Fender I could play because it was a bit smaller than the rest of them," Bill explains. "And also, I understand now that it was one of the very last Fender basses that were ever made by Leo Fender himself."

Also being auctioned is a historic 1962 VOX AC30 bass amplifier, which Wyman used when he auditioned for The Stones.

"It's a very big part of the Stones history," Bill says of the amp, "that Keith [Richards] said he went down on his knees and prayed [to]."

Leading up to the auction, which will raise money select charities, an exhibit of Wyman's artifacts will be displayed at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills from August 31 to September 11.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
BRIDGEPORT  A new executive order issued by Mayor Joe Ganim will temporarily make it easier for city restaurants to seek permission to offer outdoor dining.

Were getting calls off the hook, Ganim said Monday about Gov. Ned Lamonts stated goal to allow dining establishments  which have been limited to take-out and delivery service during the COVID-19 pandemic  to begin serving patrons outside May 20.

The mayor said his order would help bypass a lot of what would be the time constraints on getting through zoning and so on.

But city officials still have final say over whether individual proposals are workable and meet necessary health requirements.

Currently, applicants must provide a professionally drafted site plan to the zoning department that also requires the sign-off of the Fire Marshal. And those restaurants that want to sell liquor have the additional burden of seeking approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, which means scheduling and attending a public hearing.

Ganims executive order waives the need for a professional site plan  although restaurants still need to present their al fresco dining options to the zoning department. The order also does away with the public hearing for outdoor liquor service. Applicants still need permission of the state Department of Consumer Protection.

Its a pretty easy process with us, said Lora Rae Anderson, spokesperson for the DCP. She said restaurants that have a Connecticut liquor permit but have never served it outside before should contact the state after getting local authorization.

Basically, you need to apply to have a patio as part of your (state liquor) permit, Anderson said. Theyre not separate permits. And it doesnt cost anything to add it.

Applicants, per Ganims executive order, also will not have to pay Bridgeport the $695 worth of municipal permitting fees  $100 for the outdoor permit and $595 for the outdoor liquor permit.

Beyond those changes, the mayor is also encouraging flexibility when the zoning department is judging requests. For example, restaurants can ask to set up tables and chairs in a parking area if they do not have a patio or have limited sidewalk space.

The Downtown Special Services District, which markets that neighborhood, has suggested that some metered parking spaces be temporarily set aside for restaurants to use if necessary.

As has been the case, the outdoor dining space shall not constitute a nuisance to neighbors or the area, according to current regulations, and can be revoked.

And any plans must meet Connectiuts COVID-related health guidelines, such as adequate separation of patrons to continue the social-distancing policies imposed to try and prevent the viruss spread.

The issues people are going to run into are do they have enough room in the parking lot? Enough room to adhere to state guidelines? said Rowena White, Ganims communications director. Everybodys trying to do what they can to maintain public safety at large.

Some dining establishments may decide the economics of providing outdoor table service are not worth it, Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, told Hearst Media last week.

His group has been unsuccessfully urging Lamont to reconsider and allow indoor dining.

Our local restaurant industry knows that things cannot return to normal right away, but as malls and hair salons and others are allowed to gradually begin indoor service, as they should be, its illogical that restaurants would be constricted to outdoor-only service for so long, Dolch said over the weekend.

And while its true that a mask must be removed to eat, its also true that in a restaurant, patrons stay in one place for almost their entire visit as opposed to browsing or circulating about, and that the area they use is cleaned and sanitized after every use, he said.
Kolkata, May 12 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the Covid-19 red zones across the state would be divided into three categories -- A, B and C -- giving partial relaxations to resume normalcy in the third phase of the nationwide lockdown.

Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna, Bnerjee said: "We have decided to divide all the red zones into three categories -- A, B and C. There will be partial relaxations in both 'B' and 'C' category, while strict guidelines will be maintained in the 'A' category." She said that her government has maintained a humane face towards the residents of Bengal. "We understand their problems and that is why we are taking a bunch of actions to ease out the lockdown phase by giving partial relaxations. No one should worry. Even our government is taking necessary measures to bring back the migrant labourers stranded in various parts of India," the Chief Minister said, adding that everyone would be brought back to Bengal.

Banerjee said that about one lakh migrant workers had already returned to Bengal and there would be 100 more such trains to bring back the others.

She said that some relaxations will be given to a few particular sectors such as manufacturing, construction and fisheries. The famous cottage industry of the state will also be given some boost.

"Our government is giving free food grains to all ration card holders and this will continue for the next three months," Banerjee said, as she attacked the Centre for not paying out its dues to Bengal.

"We are asking for our dues from the Centre. Every time we ask for the amount, we have to return empty-handed. We are not begging for anything from the Central government. We are just demanding the Rs 52,000 crore that we are supposed to receive from the Centre," the Chief Minister said, appealing to every resident of Bengal to stand by her state government at the time of the Covid-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 death toll in Bengal climbed to 126 on Tuesday, up by 8, with 110 new cases getting reported in the last 24-hours. With this, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state reached 2,173, of which 1,363 are active currently.

"The discharge rate is about 28 per cent in Bengal. We have stepped up sample testing. Till date, 52,622 samples have been tested," said state Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay.
President Assad has dismissed Talal al-Barazi, and replaced him with Atef al-Nadaf, who was previously governor of Suweida writes Alsouria Net.

On Monday, the Syrian president issued Legislative Decree No. 22 for 2020, dismissing Atef al-Nadaf, Minister of Local Trade and Consumer Protection, and succeeding him with Talal al-Barazi.

Barazi previously served as governor of Homs, in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 256 for 2013, after working as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Damascus International for Artistic Production, in addition to being a member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce and the Damascus Countryside Chamber of Industry in the film and television production sector.

A Syrian businessman, Talal al-Barazi is considered a management and public relations consultant for the Sharjah airports free zone. He founded the Talal al-Barazi International Foundation in 1997, which includes Damascus International for Artistic Production, and is a member of the Syrian Cinema and Television Industry Committee. He founded the Talal al-Barazi Foundation for Exhibitions and Conferences, and the al-Barazi Foundation for Contracting. He is a member of the Syrian Contractors UnionQuneitra. He is partner and director of Arab relations in the National Agency for Public Relations and Communications. He is a founding partner in a number of companies working in the education sector, medical services, tourism investment and real estate development. He also contributed to founding the al-Bawadi Contracting and Real Estate Development Company in 2012.

Barazi also has relations with the Lebanese Hezbollah. The group honored him in 2018 in Lebanons Hermel region for his role in taking care of Lebanese people inside Syrian territory.

Atef al-Nadaf, the former Minister of Local Trade and Consumer Protection, was appointed to that position in late 2018 by a legislative decree. Previously, he was Deputy of Administrative Affairs at Damascus Universitys Faculty of Dentistry, as well as head of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He was governor of Idleb from 2005-2009, then governor of Tartous until 2012, when he became governor of Suweida as well as being elected to the Peoples Council of Syria until 2016. He was then named Minister of Higher Education.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Sneeze guards, masks, disinfectant spray, sanitizer, and gloves are some of the non-traditional voting items county election officials plan to order ahead of the July 14 special election in Alabama.

Shifting polling places could also come next as officials look to avoid bringing voters to places at or near nursing homes and senior citizen centers. And they may have to scramble to find other  younger - poll workers too.

The logistical decisions could be coming in a matter of weeks as election officials begin returning to work in preparation for an election that is just slightly more than two months away.

Alabamas county election officials have until June 14 to submit application for reimbursement on expenses related to the runoff election with hopes of receiving reimbursements from the federal CARES Act.

Most counties are just now getting everyone back into the courthouse, said Sonny Brasfield, executive director with the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. We are just now putting everyone back into a place where they can communicate with each other. Were in a different time and place  things appropriate now were not on anyones radar than two months ago.

At a loss

While most county officials have yet to meet to determine specifics, Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis is sounding early alarms about small polling locations, a potential lack of poll workers and that 75% of those who worked during the March 3 primary were age 65 and older. Thats higher than the national average of 58% of poll workers being ages 61 and older, according to the Pew Research Center.

He wrote a May 4 letter to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill expressing those concerns and more ahead of an election, which he says hes at a loss over how it will be run while adhering to the Centers of Disease Control and Preventions social distancing guidelines.

Davis, on Monday, requested the Mobile County Commission to authorize the purchase of 600 to 1,000 sneeze guards made out of polycarbonate from Mobile-based AL-FLA Plastics. The cost is not yet determined, but it could reach $94,355 if 600 are purchased. Commissioners OKd the plan.

Davis said his office is planning on 1,000 sneeze guards that will be utilized during the runoff and during the Nov. 3 general election.

Merrill, in an interview with AL.com on Monday, said a reimbursement of the sneeze guard purchases and other items associated with the runoff election will be considered by his office. Merrill said his office has $8.1 million it can spend on the states 67 counties related to safeguarding the election. Each application submitted to his office will be reviewed to make sure the costs are reasonable and allowable.

At least one of Davis concerns was addressed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Public Health within the latest health order. Released on Friday, the latest order allows probate judges to determine if fewer precinct election officials or poll workers are needed than those who worked during the primary election.

Davis, in his May 4 letter, said that Mobile County cannot accommodate the same number of election officials who worked at the same poll locations during the March 3 primary at 46 of its 88 poll sites. In addition, Davis said 10 other poll sites were too small to accommodate the number of election officials who worked during the primary. And at poll sites large enough to accommodate the same number of poll workers as the primary, only a handful of voters can be within the site at the same time while being in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions social distancing guidelines.

I am at a loss to determine how I will be able to discharge my legal responsibilities relation to the runoff election that is compliant with state and federal election law and also compliant with the CDCs recommended social distancing guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis wrote.

Mobile County concerns

Merrill, in an interview with AL.com Monday, said Davis is the only probate judge to contact him about the concerns. In March, Merrill said his office wasnt going to further delay the July 14 runoff election that was originally scheduled for March 31. His office has since pushed for absentee balloting and is encouraging voters to mail the ballots in any time before July 13, the eve of the election.

We communicated with all probate judges in March to indicate that they need to identify alternative polling workers and alternative polling places so they dont come in a week before (the election with revised plans), Merrill said. His office sent a letter to probate judges on March 13, encouraging them to recruit backup poll workers and to activate student poll worker interns to make sure they have adequate help.

Davis, in his letter to Merrill, said at least 75% of the election officials that served Mobile Countys primary election were 65 years and old, noting that these persons are considered to have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

A subsequent letter from Merrills Chief of Staff David Brewer confirmed there is not maximum/minimum number of poll workers required at each poll site. Brewer said there are four duties required to be performed at each site: Inspector, registration list clerk, poll list clerk and ballot clerk.

Mark Erwin, chief clerk with the Mobile County Probate Office, said the office is re-evaluating staffing at each poll site and adjusting it where we can. He said that the possibility to merge and consolidate precincts into a single location also exists so that a precincts voting site can be located within one larger venue where social distancing guidelines can be met.

He said the probate office is awaiting on feedback from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshalls Office on whether it can proceed with the election with fewer poll workers than during the primary, as outlined in the latest health order.

Mike Lewis, a spokesman for Marshall, said that Iveys office alone decides what action to take regarding the conduct of elections during a state of emergency.

Said Erwin, We are going to work as diligently as we can to ensure that we have a safe and efficient election day on July 14 as we can possibly conduct under the current circumstances to ensure everyone has the opportunity to cast a vote and to do it in a safe manner and that our workers are allowed to work the elections under conditions that provide safety.

Erwin also said that, so far, he feels confident that Mobile County will have enough poll workers on July 14. Logistically, though, some changes are afoot: At least two Baptist churches in the county have been tapped to take over the poll site duties from a high school and a senior citizens center in Citronelle.

The CDC, in a March 27 update, encouraged election officials throughout the country to relocate polling sites away from facilities that house older people who are generally more at risk to suffering serious health problems associated with coronavirus.

Fluid situation

Elsewhere in Alabama, some counties havent dived into the logistical questions about the election. Jefferson County election officials are expected to meet next week to discuss them, while Tuscaloosa County officials plan to meet later this week.

Robert Garris, election manager in Lee County, said discussions about purchasing sneeze guards have been mentioned, but that no final decisions have taken place.

Shelby Wallace, election administrator in Madison County, said officials have ordered disinfectant, sanitizer, masks and gloves for election workers. She said final plans are underway to determine what social distancing looks like at the countys polling sites.

That is a big concern for our election workers, said Wallace. We are putting that together and are getting feedback. We are getting feedback from our election inspectors.

Darryl Parker, elections director in Montgomery County, said all 49 precincts will be supplied with ample personal protective equipment during the runoff. But for those who show up to vote in person, there will be an extra requirement: They will need to enter the polling site wearing a face covering.

Those who fail to have a mask, well have some on hand to hand out, said Parker.

In addition, Parker said that voters will be required to wear a glove while they check in on the electronic poll books.

Parker said other changes could be coming once Montgomery County commissioners weigh in on the contingency plans.

The situation is fluid, said Parker. As you know, it might change in the coming weeks.

Sessions or Tuberville; who benefits most from Alabama runoff reset?

How do you apply for an absentee ballot? Primary runoff election is July 14
WAPELLO  It will apparently take more consultations with state and other officials before Louisa County reopens most of its offices to the public.

The board of supervisors agreed during its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday to table any courthouse reopening decision until it meets next week. A discussion and possible action to reopen the courthouse, which, along with most other county offices, has been closed to the public since March 16 because of COVID-19, was on the agenda for Tuesdays meeting.

However, supervisor Randy Griffin said a chart he had recently seen showing infections convinced him any reopening would be premature.

Per capita, we are the highest county in the state of Iowa, so I think we need to proceed with caution here, he said.

Supervisor Brad Quigley agreed, explaining there had not been any directions provided to the elected officials yet by either Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds or public health workers.

Id like to wait until we get direction from the governor and see what her plans are, he said.
Waluscha De Sousa has been keeping herself productive during lockdown even as she quarantines with friends from the industry at Salman Khans Panvel farmhouse. We are keeping ourselves busy with meditation, yoga and other exercise. We are so close to nature that there are so many naturally grown fruits and vegetables, so its a good time to appreciate the little things. Salman loves to paint so I have been trying to do that but I have realised I am not good at it (laughs), she says.

While she agrees that she is fortunate enough to be there at a time like this, but she is constantly thinking about people who are close to her. My mother is in Germany and my sister is in Amsterdam and I am constantly concerned about them. At the same time, we all are doing our bit to help whoever we can. I am making sure that my house help and other people who need me right now are provided with the daily essentials and other things that they need. I think we are all going to come out of this lockdown being more aware and conscious and how we can survive with bare minimum, she says.

De Sousa adds that Khan is trying to come out with different ways to reach out to as many people as possible. She adds, Salman has been helping the daily wage workers and then he decided to provide a few essentials to the people of the neighbouring villages. He keeps a tab on everything. He has been the biggest motivating factor for all of us. We all have our good and bad days but he is there to encourage us.

The Fan (2016) actor was recently seen interviewing Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez for a song that was completely shot at the farm house during the lockdown. It was Salmans idea. He is always trying to find out new ways to reach out to his audience. When he writes the lyrics he makes us all involved. For instance, in this video, I was in charge of the setting, someone else was in charge of the camera and then there is direction which he also does. So, somewhere he makes sure that we all come out learning something, she signs off.
Yousuf Kushk, Chairman, Pakistan Academy of Letters on Monday has expressed his sorrow over the death of Athar Shah Khan Jedi, a prominent Urdu poet, playwright, filmmaker and television actor

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th May, 2020 ) :Yousuf Kushk, Chairman, Pakistan academy of Letters on Monday has expressed his sorrow over the death of Athar Shah Khan Jedi, a prominent urdu poet, playwright, filmmaker and television actor.

In his condolence message, the chairman prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.With his demise, Urdu literature has lost an important playwright and a good comic poet,he stated.
In 2004, 60 Minutes in the US aired a segment on what it called "virus hunters", scientists searching for bugs that can leap from animals to humans and cause pandemics. "What worries me the most is that we are going to miss the next emerging disease," said a scientist named Dr Peter Daszak, describing his fear of a coronavirus "that moves from one part of the planet to another, wiping out people as it moves along".

In the intervening years, Dr Daszak became president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit research organisation focused on emerging pandemics. EcoHealth worked with China's Wuhan Institute of Virology to study coronaviruses in bats that could infect humans, and, as Science magazine put it, "to develop tools that could help researchers create diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for human outbreaks". Since 2014, the EcoHealth Alliance has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health, until its funding was abruptly cut two weeks ago.

The Trump administration's contempt for science has undermined America's coronavirus response. Credit:AP

The reason, as 60 Minutes reported on Sunday evening, was a conspiracy theory spread by Florida Republican Representative, Matt Gaetz, who in March wore a gas mask on the House floor to mock concern about the new coronavirus. On April 14, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show and claimed that the NIH grant went to the Wuhan Institute, which Gaetz intimated might have been the source of the virus  the institute may have "birthed a monster," in his words.

The first of Gaetz's claims was flatly false, and the second unlikely; the CIA has reportedly found no evidence of a link between the virus and the Wuhan lab. But at a White House briefing a few days later, a reporter from right-wing website Newsmax told US President Donald Trump that under the former president, Barack Obama, the NIH gave the Wuhan lab a $US3.7 ($A5.7) million grant. "Why would the US give a grant like that to China?" she asked.
A 2017 wildfire survivor sought to persuade PG&E Corp.s bankruptcy judge on Tuesday to make a key attorney in the case provide a better disclosure about his ties to Wall Street financiers.

San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts, who represents thousands of fire victims, has admitted that two financial firms connected to the PG&E bankruptcy also had stakes in a $100 million loan he took out for his law practice. Watts told his clients about the issue at town halls in December, but Will Abrams, who lost his Santa Rosa home in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, has pushed for more.

Abrams wants tens of thousands of fire victims to receive a written disclosure about the financial issues raised by Watts to provide them with enough information to vote  or change their vote  on PG&Es plan to exit bankruptcy. A 2018 Camp Fire survivor sided with Abrams in court through her attorneys.

The efforts threaten to greatly complicate the high-stakes voting on PG&Es bankruptcy plan that is supposed to conclude on Friday. PG&E is also trying to resolve the whole case by June 30, its state-mandated deadline to access what is essentially a new form of corporate wildfire insurance.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali did not rule on Abrams request at a telephonic hearing on Tuesday but said he would address the matter as quickly as possible.

The short-term interests of investors have clearly taken precedence over the safety and security interests of victims and the public, Abrams said at the hearing.

He said Watts connection to the financial firms, Apollo Global Management and Centerbridge Partners, had profoundly affected the case and the $13.5 billion settlement deal that fire victims are considering as they vote. To bolster that claim, Abrams pointed to Watts admission that he chose to negotiate with other investors after he learned that Apollo and Centerbridge had stakes in his law firm loan.

Watts has insisted he did nothing wrong and that the two investors have no control over his legal decisions. Apollo holds more than $600 million of PG&E debt and insurance claims against the company, while Centerbridge held about $496 million of PG&E debt and insurance claims as of late last year, according to court papers. Centerbridge is also a PG&E shareholder.

But they were bit players in the negotiation, Watts said at the hearing. He also stressed that many other lawyers who represent fire victims were involved in negotiations over the settlement deal.

This was not Mikal Watts meeting in a secret room, he said.

Watts said his connection to Apollo and Centerbridge posed no conflict and described his critics as trying to garner media attention to slow down the vote. Apollo previously said it cant influence what Watts decides is best for his clients, and Centerbridge declined to comment on the matter.

But Montali, the bankruptcy judge, indicated that his primary concern is whether Watts made an appropriate disclosure of the issue when he discussed it at a town hall and then disseminated that conversation to his clients electronically.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

The issue isnt the nature of how he borrowed money, Montali said. The question is, does Mr. Watts put himself in a position where he at least needs to tell his clients that there is this relationship?

Abrams isnt the only one who continues to raise concerns about the PG&E bankruptcy as it approaches its targeted conclusion.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and a coalition of more than 200 other local government officials sent a letter dated Monday to the California Public Utilities Commission citing serious concerns about a proposed decision that would have the regulators approve PG&Es bankruptcy plan. The letter said the plan would saddle PG&E with too much debt and urged the commission to condition its approval on the company securing more equity commitments.

Liccardo and the other officials have proposed turning PG&E into a customer-owned cooperative similar to a credit union. But their idea, which has no committed financing, has so far not gained traction in court or with regulators.

PG&E said in a statement that the letter contains many inaccuracies that the company would address to the commission directly. The company said it is positioned to be financially healthy after the bankruptcy concludes.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
At the time of the initial investigation, police failed to take the case seriously and decided that Johnson had killed himself, even though he had shown no signs of depression, had not left a suicide note and his wallet was missing.

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Johnsons brother, Steve Johnson, began a three-decade campaign to persuade authorities to reopen the case.

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Today, Sydney has a thriving and prominent gay community. Police officers march in the citys annual Mardi Gras parade.

In the 1980s, however, packs of young men roamed popular meeting places for gay men, intending to beat and rob them. Gay men were told to carry whistles to call for help if they were attacked.

As hate crime laws expand, who to exclude as victims?

Victims were often too scared to complain to police. The officers sent to examine Johnsons body did not have backgrounds in homicide investigations. They refused to believe that the top of the cliff above where Johnson was found, known for panoramic views of Sydney Harbor, could be a gay beat.

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It was pretty horrendous at that time, said Nicolas Parkhill, chief executive of the states largest gay and lesbian health organization, ACON.

You had the HIV epidemic and certain politicians were calling for gay men to be quarantined, Parkhill said. Australian culture was still very homophobic.

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Faced with pressure from the Johnson family and evidence that police had ignored endemic violence against Sydneys gay community for years, in 2018 the New South Wales police force offered a reward of 1 million Australian dollars (about $650,000 at todays exchange rates) for information about Johnsons death.

Two months ago, Steve Johnson, a former vice president at Internet pioneer AOL, matched the offer.

On Tuesday, in the prosperous Sydney suburb of Lane Cove, police officers from a task force set up to investigate the killing arrested a 49-year-old man and later charged him with murder. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday. Police have not disclosed his name.

Steve Johnson told The Washington Post that last week the states head of police, Mick Fuller, personally called him to say the arrest was imminent. The police commissioner followed up once it was all over on Tuesday  a phone call Fuller later described as a career highlight.

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The two men met for dinner in March of last year in Boston, where Steve Johnson, who had hired his own private detective, outlined leads in the case he believed the police had missed, according to a detailed account published by Business Insider.

On the day of the arrest, the Johnson family gathered for an impromptu celebration and champagne in Cambridge, Mass., although Steve Johnsons oldest daughter, who was born a few months before her uncle died, had to join by Zoom because of covid-19 restrictions, he said.

Everyone was crying, Steve Johnson said in a telephone interview. I dont have any doubts in my mind that they have the right man.

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He said that he now hoped to learn about the details of his brothers death. Was it intentional? he said. Did they know each other beforehand, or was it a chance encounter?

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I was so close to my brother that being able to imagine or visualize what he went through has always been very important to me.

Gay and lesbian advocates give the Johnson family credit for the shift in official attitudes, including a 2016 decision by the police to review the deaths of 88 men and transgender women killed between 1976 and 2000  including Scott Johnson  to determine whether their deaths were hate crimes.

They have kept the issue of hate crimes against the LGBTI community on the agenda this whole time, said Nicole Asquith, a spokeswoman for the Australian Hate Crime Network.

Its an amazing moment to see one of those homicides come to the point where it can result in the arrest of an offender.

Are hate crime hoaxes on the rise along with real hate crimes?

As hate crime laws expand, who to exclude as victims?

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
The Belgian government has drawn up a brochure summarising marine plans for 2020-2026 which includes new zones for offshore wind energy.







The Federal government publishes a MSP every six years to tackle shared usage of the Belgian North Sea for nature conservation, green energy, shipping, fishing, sand extraction, defence and so many more activities.







The new plan for 2020-2026 came into force on 20th March 2020 and includes:

a second zone for offshore energy

an extra nature reserve on the Dutch border

three new search zones for soil protection measures

five specific zones within which commercial and industrial activities can be developed





Three new areas have been designated in the 2020-2026 plan for offshore wind development: Fairybank; Noordhinder North; Noordhinder South. These new zones cover a total area of 285 km and have been named wind zones Princess Elisabeth. Belgium is due to meet its target of 2.3 GW of offshore wind capacity in 2020 and the new zones will add a further 1.7 GW with the Minister of the North Sea, Philippe De Backer expecting to launch tenders in 2023.







Philippe De Backer: Belgium was a pioneer with an initial marine spatial plan and we are now also the first to review this plan. It has been a long but fascinating process in which the balance between economy, ecology and safety was central. I would therefore like to thank all stakeholders, citizens and organizations for their constructive contribution to this process and I am satisfied that with this new marine spatial plan the North Sea can further develop in the field of blue economy, with respect for the marine environment and the protected Natura. 2000 nature reserves. 





For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide,

click here

.
The latest:

Canada is looking to strengthen surveillance at U.S. border crossings as discussions continue between the two countries about when and how to reopen the border to nonessential travel.

We are looking at stronger measures to make sure that were following up appropriately on people who come over, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a press conference in Ottawa Tuesday.

The Canadian government is looking at administering questionnaires, contact tracking apps, temperature and medical history checks.

Were going to be very, very careful about reopening any international travel, including the United States before we feel that it is time, Trudeau said.



Trump administration temporarily amending visa requirements for foreign workers

The Trump administration will make it easier for certain seasonal workers who are "essential to the U.S. food supply chain" to remain in the country by temporarily amending visa requirements.

The regulation, set to publish in the Federal Register on Thursday, applies to H-2B visas intended for seasonal workers and is designed to help U.S. employers who rely on foreign workers. Qualified employers who are concerned workers will be unable to enter the U.S. due to travel restrictions prompted by the coronavirus outbreak can employ those already in the U.S. with a certain visa status.

Workers already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay longer without first returning to their home countries and can start right away without waiting for full approval, making it easier for employers who can't employ workers from overseas to pick from the pool in the country.

In April, the Department of Homeland Security made similar changes for foreign workers directly working in the agriculture industry.



New evidence of earlier spread emerges as Fauci, other health officials, testify



As leading medical experts testified to senators Tuesday for the first time since March about government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, more evidence is emerging that the virus was in the country earlier than initially thought.

The onset of five COVID-19 cases in five separate counties in Ohio happened as early as January, state Health Director Dr. Amy Acton has said, citing results of antibody testing.

"I think we'll see a lot more of this. I also think there are a lot of deaths and coroner reports yet to be seen, so I think as time goes on, we will learn more and more about history with this virus," Acton said Monday.

That meshes with a growing body of research suggesting the virus was spreading in the United States and elsewhere at least weeks, if not months, before official case counts started picking up in February and March.

Ohio will soon conduct 1,200 voluntary antibody tests to help it understand how many people already were infected without knowing it, Acton said. Some state and county governments, including Illinois' Cook County, have said they're reviewing deaths as far back as late last year to see whether they could be connected to the virus.

Senators hear from top health officials

On Tuesday morning, the nation's top infectious disease expert warned senators of serious consequences for states reducing social distancing restrictions ahead of federally suggested milestones, even with the pandemic already having claimed more than 80,000 lives in the U.S.

Those milestones, which the White House recommended in mid-April, include a downward trajectory in virus cases for 14 days and a robust testing program in place for at-risk health care workers.

"If some areas, cities, states or what have you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," Fauci told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.

The hearing was Democrats' first chance in weeks to question leading medical experts -- including Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield -- about the Trump administration's response to the pandemic.

"What we need to hear from him is, how careful should we be?" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN's "New Day" Tuesday before the hearing. "And he seems to indicate ... we have to be very careful. They (the Trump administration) don't have adequate testing (set up)."

Some other developments from Tuesday's Senate panel hearing:

 Don't expect a vaccine in time for the start of the school year in the fall, Fauci said. That goes with what he's said previously about a vaccine: Maybe January at the earliest, and even that's pushing it. So, schools will have to rely on testing to help students feel safe enough to return, Fauci said.

 School reopenings will vary from region to region because "dynamics of the outbreak are different in different regions," Fauci said.

 The nation's actual death toll is likely higher than reported, Fauci said. He cited New York City, where the health care system was overwhelmed. "There may have been people who died at home (in that city) who did have ... Covid who are not counted as Covid because they never really got to the hospital," Fauci said.

 The US should have the capacity to produce, distribute and apply "at least 40 (million) to 50 million tests per month" by September, Adm. Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said.

The federal government has been under fire for the pace of the country's production of coronavirus tests. Public health experts say regular testing is critical to understanding the spread of the virus and to control it.

Last month, the Rockefeller Foundation argued the US should expand testing capacity to 3 million tests per week within the next two months, and expand capacity to 30 million tests per week over the next six months.

Pelosi unveils $3 trillion coronavirus aid package for Friday vote

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, providing nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, hazard pay for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals.

The House is expected to vote on the package as soon as Friday, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there is no urgency. The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to act.

The so-called Heroes Act is built around nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs, focused chiefly on $375 billion for smaller suburban and rural municipalities largely left out of earlier rounds of aid.



It will offer a fresh round of $1,200 direct cash aid to individuals, increased to up to $6,000 per household, and launches a $175 billion housing assistance fund to help pay rents and mortgages. There is $75 billion more for virus testing.

Virus may have contributed to more NYC deaths than official count shows, CDC says

Two new reports released by the CDC paint a harrowing picture of the grip and spread of coronavirus in parts of the U.S.

Monday's reports home in on New York City's death toll and California airports' screening for the virus.

In New York City, the virus may have directly or indirectly killed far more people than the city's official death toll shows, according to one of the two reports.

Researchers found that while the city reported 24,172 more deaths since mid-March compared to what would normally be expected, only about 19,000 of them were directly linked to the virus.

And while it's hard to track why the other 5,000 deaths occurred, the report says one reason may be that "social distancing practices, the demand on hospitals and health care providers, and public fear related to COVID-19 might lead to delays in seeking or obtaining lifesaving care."

Those findings add to a growing body of evidence highlighting how the pandemic may be killing Americans without ever infecting them. For example, experts have also said that a decline in reported heart attacks and strokes across the country is likely the result of people avoiding emergency rooms.

In the second report, researchers say airport screening of travelers from China and Iran failed to prevent the spread of the virus, at least in California.

More than 11,500 travelers were screened and monitored but just three ended up testing positive, according to a team from the California Department of Public Health.

The program's effectiveness was limited by "incomplete traveler information received by federal officials and transmitted to states, the number of travelers needing follow-up, and the potential for presymptomatic and asymptomatic transmission," the report said.
WHO-China MOU a hurdle to Taiwan's WHA participation: FM

ROC Central News Agency

05/11/2020 02:19 PM

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Foreign Minister Joseph Wu () on Monday cited a secret memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between China and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 as directly impacting the country's participation at the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) and in related WHO events.

Given the existence of the secret memorandum, which Taiwan first learned about in 2007, the country needs greater international support in its push to attend the WHA and participate in WHO-related events in order to increase pressure on the WHO secretariat and Beijing, Wu told lawmakers during a legislative session in Taipei.

"In order to overcome the hurdle represented by the 2005 MOU, we need stronger support from the international community and so far this year, the atmosphere around the globe has been increasingly in favor of Taiwan," Wu said.

Despite growing support for Taiwan's WHA bid, Wu admitted it will be "extremely difficult" for Taiwan to secure an invitation to the annual meeting of the decision making body of the WHO to be held later this month.

"But we will not stop our efforts just because it is difficult to achieve," the minister stressed.

Wu was referring to an MOU signed by China and the WHO Secretariat in July 2005.

Though the content of the MOU was never made public, according to Taiwan's government, which received details on the document in 2007, it stipulates that the country has to apply for WHO technical assistance through China and that all exchanges between Taiwan and the WHO have to be approved by Beijing.

Neither China nor the WHO Secretariat consulted Taiwan over the content of the memorandum before it was signed, in which Taiwan is treated as part of China, referred to as "Taiwan, China."

Taiwan's government has repeatedly protested to the WHA over the MOU as denigrating its national status but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Wu also said the United States and other like-minded countries have decided to adopt the measures they considered "most appropriate" to aid Taiwan's bid to attend the WHA this year.

"If they consider (making official proposals at the WHA) is not appropriate, it could have a negative effect if we continue to push them to do so," Wu told an opposition lawmaker during the same session.

Wu made the comments when asked by opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman and Legislator Chiang Chi-chen () why the U.S. has not made an official proposal to discuss Taiwan's participation as an observer at this year's WHA.

Instead, Taiwan is asking its 15 diplomatic allies to make such requests.

The WHO said last week that two of its members already formally proposed that member states consider Taiwan's participation as an observer at this year's WHA, without naming the two.

Taiwan's foreign ministry later said the two countries are diplomatic allies of Taiwan and more would join the efforts but also declined to name them.

The WHA is scheduled to hold its 73rd session from May 18-19, which will be conducted virtually due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a WHO provisional agenda shows.

From 2009-2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name "Chinese Taipei" amid better relations with China during the then-Kuomintang administration.

However, since 2017 China has persuaded the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing's hardline stance on cross-strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen () of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW

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Schools across Europe have begun to reopen, but that leaves many parents with a difficult decision  whether to allow their children to attend.

Parents say they do not have enough information about safety measures and transmission of the virus.

Al Jazeeras Laurence Lee reports.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India on Tuesday said its employees have contributed their one-day salary to combat coronavirus pandemic.

The company's employees, supported by the labour unions in Pune and Aurangabad, have contributed a day's salary to raise over Rs 1.2 crore, the automaker said in a statement.

The collected amount will fund 15 full featured ventilators, 15 monitors and 3,750 PPE kits for COVID-19 hospitals in Mumbai, Pune and Aurangabad, it added.

The amount raised by the employees is inaddition to Rs 1 crore, which was donated by the company earlier.

The company said it has distributed 21 tonnes of dry ration to needy families in Khed and Bhosari villages in Maharashtra and has also donated additional essential medicines to Sassoon General Hospital (Pune) worth Rs 22.34 lakhs.

The company's engineers are closely working with global expertsto manufacture continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, automatic AMBU (artificial manual breathing unit) bags, intubation boxes and retro fitted filtered oxygen masks to aid healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
HELENA  The rate at which Montanans are diagnosed with COVID-19 continues to decline as the state begins its third week in which retailers have been able to reopen and the second week that bars and restaurants could offer dine-in options with limited capacity.

There were two positive tests results from Saturday through Monday, the state health department said. The state reported five positive tests in the last week, compared to six during the previous seven days. Three weeks ago, Montana had 14 positive tests in seven days.

Two of the new cases announced last week involved members of a family from West Yellowstone who were believed to have been infected while traveling out of state. Gallatin County health officer Matt Kelley said it seemed like they laid low after becoming symptomatic, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

"We think we avoided massive exposure there," Kelly said Friday. The county will continue to monitor the situation.

One of the new cases reported over the weekend involved a Gallatin County girl who is 9 or younger. On Monday the state said a Jefferson County man in his 50's tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Officials say Montana has 459 people who tested positive for COVID-19, four people remain hospitalized, and 16 people have died. The state has 20 known active cases, including seven in Toole County, where an outbreak tied to a nursing home is believed to be contained, state health officials said.

Gov. Steve Bullock announced Monday that the state had received 19,500 swabs and transport medium for 9,000 tests as it looks to ramp up COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and on reservations.

Last week, state health officials worked with nursing homes and assisted living facilities on the logistics for testing that it hopes to schedule over the next several weeks, the governor's office said.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

In other coronavirus-related developments:

 Insurance companies have notified the state auditor's office they will be refunding at least $20.7 million to residents, with most of the savings coming from personal auto policies because vehicle travel has declined with stay-at-home orders. Auditor Matt Rosendale said dozens of insurers have notified his office they will be providing refunds, premium relief, premium credits and other savings on 500,000 policies. Some savings are also coming from other types of policies including commercial auto, homeowners, liability and medical malpractice.
WILLIAMSPORT  A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit that alleges instructions given by a government flight controller were a factor in a 2015 airplane crash that killed a Sunbury attorney, his wife and her father.

U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Monday denied the governments motion for summary judgment finding a jury could determine controller Kendall Garland was negligent and his actions breached his duty to care.

The government claims pilot negligence caused the Sept. 7, 2015, crash of the single engine Beach A36 Bonanza near Kernersville, North Carolina, killing Michael M. Apflebaum, his wife Christine and Clarence Imgrund.

The estates of the three victims in November 2017 filed a wrongful death suit claiming controllers did not recognize Apfelbaums disorientation as an emergency or correct his navigational reading.

In denying the governments summary judgment motion, Brann pointed out he could not at this stage of the proceedings determine the credibility of the plaintiffs expert witnesses who place the crash blame on the controller.

The government contends Apfelbaum did not have sufficient training to fly the plane in instrument weather conditions, was advised not to make the flight and then lost control when the autopilot unexpectedly disengaged.

After the autopilot disengaged, the altitude became erratic. The plane banked at angles in excess of 50 degrees, stalled and spun to the ground, Brann noted in his opinion.

Apflebaum was instrument-rated but the government points out Bonanza was larger, more powerful and faster than what he had flown previously.

Apfelbaum was attempting an instrument landing at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro when the crash occurred.

The National Transportation Safety Board found the cause of the crash was deficient Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control training on recognition and handling of emergencies and Apfelbaums spatial disorientation.

Spatial disorientation is the inability to correctly determine position in space.

In denying the motion for summary judgment, Brann ruled the plaintiffs have established Garlands instructions could have been the reason for Apfelbaum losing control of the plane.

Several pages of the opinion contain transcripts of radio transmissions between controllers and Apfelbaum.

The judge also found the government had failed to show, as it alleges, the autopilot disengagement resulted from Apfelbaums wrongful conduct.

The three victims and Paul Gilbert, a friend who owned a similar type plane, left Shamokin on Sept. 4, 2015, two days after a flight instructor signed off on a solo flight to Florida for Apflebaum.

The instructor cautioned Apfelbaum to fly in only visual weather conditions until he gained more experience with the plane, court documents state.

On Sept. 7, Apfelbaum and his wife left St. Petersburg, Florida, stopped in Sarasota to pick up Imgrund and then headed north to Greensboro. Gilbert did not make the return trip.

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The Cannes Film Festival has been derailed a handful of times since the inaugural edition was postponed because of World War II. For the most part, the show has gone on since 1946, but not this year. The 73rd iteration, scheduled to start May 12, is no more. Instead, in June, the festival will release a list of movies that had been chosen for this year, anointing them with the coveted Cannes label. Our critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott and our awards season columnist, Kyle Buchanan, all festival veterans, reflect on what makes this event so essential for movie lovers.

KYLE BUCHANAN So much for the victory lap. After a superlative 2019 edition of Cannes that launched Bong Joon Hos Parasite  the first Palme dOr winner in 64 years to also take the best-picture Oscar  expectations were sky high for this years festival, which was meant to begin in mid-May. But as a pandemic continues to hold the world hostage, it became unthinkable to proceed with a two-week gathering that draws film glitterati from all over the globe and hurls them into a couture-clad mosh pit.

So, Cannes is effectively canceled, with organizers hoping to regroup somewhere down the line. Manohla and Tony, you both know your way around the worlds most prestigious film festival. What is lost when Cannes is stricken from the calendar?

A.O. SCOTT Unlike the three major fall festivals  Venice, Telluride and Toronto  Cannes stands off to the side of the American Oscar season. Which isnt to say that it lacks hype, but rather that its hype is more self-contained and self-regarding. It doesnt need the academy, though it happily embraces Hollywood. For 11 or 12 days, the festival becomes a cinematic universe in its own right. When youre inside it, the rest of the world seems unreal. From outside, it looks like a strange snow globe full of movie stars.
Karnatakas labour secretary P Manivannan transferred without new posting

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Bengaluru, May 12: Senior IAS officer, and principal secretary, in the labour department of Karnataka, P Manivannan was transferred late on Monday evening. He also held the post of secretary, information department.

While being relieved without any posting, Maheshwar Rao was posted in his place. It may be recalled that Manivannan had established the Corona Warriors team. Many persons were working in this team and they have expressed shock over the decision of the government. They have also started an online campaign called BringBackManivannan.

Karnataka permits bars, restaurants to clear liquor stock

The announcement comes at a time when the Karnataka government is considering relaxing labour laws that govern minimum wages, increase overtime working hours and easing compliance with key legislation to help industries.

Manivannan earned praise for being responsive to the public. He was active on social media platforms and initiated a Telegram group for the public to raise queries about the coronavirus outbreak. This group currently has over 27,000 users.

Manivannan had recently said that the government would issue notices to employers who were not paying workers during the lockdown. He said that he had received over 700 complaints in 24 hours regarding the issue.
Millions of people in the United States have long known what it is like not to be able to buy food, or soap, or toilet paper. Some because they came here from much poorer places, others because they are among the 140 million poor or low-income people living in the country today.

Now, millions more of us are experiencing this scarcity for ourselves due to the COVID-19 crisis, as panic-buying cleans out supermarket shelves, healthcare workers plead for masks and gloves, and hospitals and states are forced to bid against each other for scant supplies of ventilators.

We are learning what it feels like not to be able to get what we need. In the process, maybe we can develop some empathy for others in the world for whom scarcity, much more far-reaching than our own, has long been a common reality  and especially where our own government is responsible for much of their suffering.

Unfortunately, alongside its self-aggrandising and inept handling of the pandemic at home, the Trump administration is escalating policies globally that are designed to make things even harder for those facing the pandemic in countries already devastated by US-imposed economic sanctions.

Like wars, climate change, and economic disruption of all kinds, sanctions do tremendous damage to vulnerable people. The difference is that economic sanctions are designed to make peoples lives unbearable. The goal of US sanctions  in Iran, in Venezuela, and beyond  is precisely to destroy the lives of ordinary people, in hopes they will rise up in favour of whatever regime change Washington is looking for.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and long before Washington cancelled its funding of the World Health Organization (WHO), these US sanctions were already violating human rights and international law. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) determined that economic sanctions can have far-reaching implications for human rights, including on the right to life, the rights to health and medical care, the right to freedom from hunger, and the right to an adequate standard of living, food, education, work and housing. UNHRC noted, in particular, its alarm at the disproportionate and indiscriminate human costs of unilateral sanctions and their negative effects on the civilian population, in particular women and children.

Along with violating international law, economic sanctions do not even work for the purpose they are ostensibly imposed. There is no historical example of US economic sanctions persuading a local population to rise up and overthrow their government in response.

Not in Iraq, where 12 years of crippling US-led sanctions led to the deaths of more than 500,000 children in between Washingtons two Iraq wars. Not in North Korea, where decades of US sanctions and other pressures helped keep the country isolated and impoverished. Certainly not in Cuba, where decades of blockade have not prevented Cuban medical missions from travelling the world to assist in crisis response work, while providing some of the best healthcare in the hemisphere for its own people.

And yet, despite those years of failure, Washington continues to impose sanctions that destroy the lives of tens of millions  even as the coronavirus wreaks new levels of havoc on the lives of the poorest and most disenfranchised among them.

Pressuring Iran

US sanctions are the key weapon in Trumps maximum pressure campaign against Iran. They have been tightened repeatedly.

Those sanctions have been in place for decades. Before the Obama administration signed the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, they had already caused great suffering among ordinary people. In 2012, then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported that the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran have had significant effects on the general population, including food and medicine shortages.

The nuclear deal led to the lifting of some of those sanctions. But when Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, they were slapped back on again, along with devastating new sanctions since.

Officially, humanitarian items like medicine are exempted. But in practice, trade restrictions  and banks fear of retribution if they fulfil any financial transactions with Iranian companies  make those official exemptions a bad joke. That leads to huge price increases for essential goods and severe shortages of crucial medicines. The sanctions also limit oil production and exports, severely reducing access to the levels of foreign currency required to satisfy the populations food and medical needs.

And all of that was before the pandemic erupted.

Now, Iran remains one of the worst hotspots as the disease speeds across the globe. Tens of thousands of Iranians have tested positive for COVID-19, and thousands have already died. Meanwhile, as The New York Times reports, secondary sanctions on financial institutions and companies that do business with Iran have made it nearly impossible for Iran to buy items like ventilators to treat patients.

Human Rights Watch, dozens of US senators and congress members, and a group of influential former US and international officials have all urged the Trump administration to allow a humanitarian suspension of sanctions. Instead, they are being tightened.

In mid-March, just as the virus was wreaking human havoc across Iran, Washington imposed new sanctions that were certain to worsen the civilian suffering and orchestrated behind the scenes the International Monetary Funds denial of Irans desperate five-billion-dollar loan request to strengthen its shattered healthcare system. At the same time, it hypocritically dangled an offer of medical assistance, knowing Tehran would reject such aid from the government responsible for its suffering.

Meanwhile, the US Navy sent two entire aircraft carrier groups  accompanied by a B-52 bomber  to patrol the Gulf. Its an ominous development, with the administration deliberately provoking and seemingly threatening the pandemic-ravaged country not only with economic devastation, but all-out war.

And then Venezuela

The US has been imposing severe political punishments on Venezuela for years. As Venezuelan sociologist and fellow of the Transnational Institute Edgardo Lander enumerated:

Successive US administrations have confronted the Bolivarian process in Venezuela from day one, backing the most right wing sectors of the opposition both financially and politically. George W Bush backed the coup detat of 2002. Congress enacted the Venezuelan Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society act of 2014 which requires the President to impose sanctions such as blocking assets and visa restrictions on Venezuelan government officials judged to be responsible for violations of human rights. In 2015 Barack Obama issued and later renewed a new Executive Order (EO) declaring a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Venezuela.

This executive order further prepared the groundwork for economic sanctions. Sanctions against Venezuela have thus been a bipartisan policy, but it was the Trump administration that started imposing direct financial, trade and economic sanctions against Venezuela, starting in August 2017 with the express purpose of producing regime change. This has significantly contributed to deepening the current economic crisis.

Now, as the Trump administration has accelerated regime change operations against the country  even officially recognising an opposition leader, Juan Guiado, as the countrys president  Venezuelas sanctions-driven pain has grown profoundly worse. Regime change through economic measures likely to lead to the denial of basic human rights, and indeed possibly to starvation, has never been an accepted practice of international relations, warned Idriss Jazairy, the UN special rapporteur responsible for economic sanctions. Real concerns and serious political differences between governments must never be resolved by precipitating economic and humanitarian disasters.

Things were dire in Venezuela already. Then the coronavirus crisis hit.

In an urgent April 9 op-ed for The Inter-American Dialogue, three politically diverse Venezuelan activists wrote that like those in Italy, Spain, and New York, Venezuelan hospitals lack adequate testing kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment for staff. Unlike those hospitals, they also frequently lack electricity, soap, and clean water. Thousands of doctors and nurses are among the millions who have fled the country in recent years, and many citizens who remain cannot afford to isolate at home.

The authors are academics and human rights activists, critical of both the government and the Guaido-led opposition, and one is also a former deputy foreign minister and chief of staff to President Nicolas Maduro. They are part of a larger diverse group urging all political sides in the country to come together to combat the urgent threat of the coronavirus.

The problem they face is the US. The Trump administration, rather than supporting such a move, or at the very least standing aside to allow steps towards a national agreement, has instead indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, issued concrete demands for a change of regime in the country, and tightened sanctions further.

The three Venezuelan activists warn this is a disastrous course. The substantial political will needed to forge an agreement to unify the country against the COVID-19 threat will be much more difficult to find with the US standing in the way, they warn. The recent indictments against Maduro and his aides on narco-terrorism and other charges are a worrying sign that threatens to undermine any emerging momentum toward a humanitarian truce.

And yet, as in Iran, the Trump administration has only escalated the military threat alongside its sanctions, deploying Navy ships off the Venezuelan coast. As The New York Times described it, Washington is seizing on Venezuelas economic pain and the coronavirus threat  once again deploying pain as foreign policy amid a global pandemic.

The world we want to live in?

Crises like these raise the most important questions of all.

What world do we want to live in? Do we want a world of increasing arms and fear and hatred of others, or a world mobilising mutual aid against a virus that does not distinguish between any of us?

Fortunately, across the world, people are choosing to build ties of human solidarity. In the US, despite its government, people are joining mutual aid committees, working to support healthcare workers and first responders, and mobilising to demand government support for our most impacted communities.

What all this makes clear, however, is we cannot stop at home. In response to a pandemic of this scale, that work must also take up the demand to end the economic sanctions that our government is imposing on people already facing devastating health, economic, climate and in too many cases political emergencies.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Sea turtles create decoy nests on the same beach where they have laid their eggs to make it harder for predators to discover the vulnerable eggs.

They spend long periods of time after forming their nest laying these false trails by scattering sand across the beach.

Scientists have long puzzled over why sea turtles spend so much time and energy doing this, with its function remaining a mystery.

New research has now found it is intended to make it harder for predators to find the real nest and doesn't disguise or camouflage the eggs.

Scroll down for video

Pictured, a leatherback turtle nesting on the beach of Tobago. A team of researchers from the University of Glasgow watched hawksbill turtles and leatherback turtles laying their nests over several years on the island to see why they spread sand around after creating their nest

How sea turtles build a nest Dr Malcolm Kennedy from the University of Glasgow told MailOnline how sea turtles go about making their nests. 'First, they move up to a good nesting part of the beach, sweep sand and prepare their position for digging a nest cavity,' he explains. 'Second, they dig a flask-shaped cavity in the sand with their rear flippers. 'Third, they lay their eggs into the cavity. 'Fourth, they fill in the nest hole, pressing the sand down so that it forms a firm layer over the eggs, and sweep sand. 'Then they move away a little way, scatter sand and make flipper movements like they did when they finished the nest, move to another position and repeat the sand scattering and flipper movements, and keep repeating, gradually moving further away from the nest itself.' Advertisement

A team of researchers from the University of Glasgow watched hawksbill and leatherback turtles nesting over several years on the island of Tobago.

The researchers explain that there are five stages to the creation of sea turtle nests.

First, they locate a good spot for a nest on the sand, the they dig a flask-shaped hole with their flippers where they then they lay their eggs before covering the eggs up with sand and compacting it.

After this, they slowly move away from the nest, making occasional stops to flick their flippers in the same way them did when finishing the nest. This is repeated several times before the mother return to the sea.

The final stage is what the researchers focused on, which has, until now, remained unexplained.

Dr Malcolm Kennedy, lead researcher of the study from the University of Glasgow, told MailOnline: 'They rarely if ever come near the nest when they are performing this.

'So, they are not merely disguising or camouflaging the nest because they are no longer near it.

'They are doing something more complex, for all the world like they are making a series of decoy, or fake nests that will confuse a predator trying to find the real nest with its eggs.

'This last stage of nesting can take longer than any of the previous stages, yet they do not rush back to the safety of the sea.

'So this decoy nest creation phase must be extremely important to their breeding success such that the females are putting themselves at risk by staying.

'The researchers saw that although movements at each station were similar, each animal performed the sand scattering ritual very differently.

Sea turtles create decoy nests on the same beach where they have laid their eggs o reduce the likelihood of their eggs being discovered and eaten. Pictured, a leatherback making a decoy nest

The behaviour is seen in both species of sea turtle studied in the experiment, but did vary slightly.

For example, hawksbills stopped between one and 14 times, while leatherbacks stop at up to 24 different locations to spread sand, laying decoy nest.

The distances between the scattering stations also ranged dramatically, from two inches to 57 inches for hawksbills and from eight inches to 125 inches for leatherbacks.



'It seems likely that the primary function of this behaviour, in leatherback and hawksbill turtles at least, is to leave behind a series of nest-like decoy disturbances in the sand,' the researchers write in their study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

'These decoys, while making the general nesting area more obvious, may confuse predators as to the exact position of a nest and increase the search and excavation effort required to find it.

'Increased search and excavation costs have been shown to alter nest predator foraging behaviour and predation risk.'

The decoys are likely to be more effective against nest raiders that search for eggs using clues left behind by an adult turtle after laying a nest.

'For example, it may function better against predation by Asian mongooses, that predate most hawksbill nests soon after laying, than ghost crabs that predate most loggerhead turtle nests when eggs are hatching,' the researchers explain.
Shops selling essential items



will reopen from May 15 on certain conditions in Ahmedabad which has been under a complete lockdown since May 7, the state government said on Tuesday.

Civic authorities had on May 6 ordered the complete closure of all shops in the city, except those selling milk and medicines, for a week from May 7 in a bid tocheck the spread of coronavirus.

In a release, Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Gupta, who is overseeing works related to COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, said shops selling essential items such as grocery, vegetables and fruits, will be allowed to remain open between 8 am and 3 pm from May 15 provided they follow certain conditions.

He said all "superspreaders" like vegetable and fruit vendors and owners of grocery and milk shops will have to procure "health cards" after undergoing screening for coronavirus.

Other conditions include that vendors can sell essential commodities only at a specific area within a municipal ward and that no business activity will be allowed beyond 3 pm.

Shop owners and vendors will have to follow social distancing norms and that they should also try to make transactions digitally, though it is not mandatory.

To accept cash, they should keep a separate tray to avoid direct contact with customers, said the release.

Vendors and shop keepers will also have to compulsorily wear face mask, hand gloves, and use hand sanitisers, it said.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had on Monday decided to ban the cash-on-delivery option for grocery and food items to homes after May 15, saying the deadly coronavirus also spreads through currency notes, and made digital payment mandatory.

The time for cashless home delivery will be between 10 am and 5 pm, the release said.

Worst-hit by COVID pandemic, Ahmedabad reported 6,086 cases and 400 deaths by May 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Travel writer Alex Baackes, a 2007 Shaker High School graduate, is spending her coronavirus pandemic quarantine on Koh Tao, a tiny and remote island off Thailand with a population of about 3,000.

Its a little slice of paradise, but with a downside.

There is no wandering these days for the author of the popular travel blog Alex in Wanderland and creator of an Instagram feed of the same name with more than 79,000 followers.

It feels a bit like were stranded on a desert island in some strange Hollywood movie, said Baackes, 30. In hindsight, I think I made the right decision to stay here, but there were some gut-wrenching moments.

Although there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the island, Baackes faces an existential fear of possibly contracting the disease and the specter of being stuck on Koh Tao (Turtle Island) without a hospital or advanced medical care.

There were moments of anxiety because we rely totally on the mainland for food and access to the outside world, she said. In my scary moments I called friends who owned speedboats and made them promise they would get me off the island if I was starving or had an emergency. 

The other option beside hunkering down was to attempt an arduous 12-hour trip by ferry boat and bus to the international airport in Bangkok  where outgoing flights are sporadic and often canceled  as the countrys travel restrictions tightened and a state of emergency was declared on March 25.

She follows updates on the devastating toll of COVID-19 deaths across New York state and the U.S. I feel lucky being here because everyone is taking the situation very seriously and obeys the rules, she said, including cancellation of all celebrations of Songkran, the Thai New Years national holiday, on April 13 that normally includes a weeklong revelry of epic proportions.

A saving grace of lockdown was that the islands beaches and hiking trails remained open. It helps our mental health, she said.

Baackes weighed ominous email updates from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok with an all-caps warning: RETURN TO THE U.S. IMMEDIATELY OR PREPARE TO STAY INDEFINITELY.

Baackes has earned the title of bad-ass woman, crisscrossing continents solo for a decade, navigating difficult and sometimes dangerous situations, improvising constantly while documenting adventures and building a business around her wanderlust.

The notion of stasis is foreign. Baackes is stuck now on the 13-mile long island, in a lockdown of sorts. It's a shelter-in-place scenario that includes a private swimming pool, pristine white-sand beaches and world-class scuba diving.

Im very fortunate because I feel safe here, I have a lot of friends on the island and it feels like a home away from home, Baackes said.

She has been visiting Koh Tao for the past eight years. It has been a base of operations during her years as an entrepreneurial travel blogger, yoga instructor and scuba diving leader. She built Alex in Wanderland into a viable business with two part-time employees and various revenue streams from branded content sponsors, hotel recommendations and travel articles for tourism boards.

Last year, she launched a spin-off business, Wander Women Retreats, that offers weeklong gatherings in exotic locales that empower women and forge friendships through adventure activities including yoga, diving, photography and sustainability practices. Baackes welcomed 14 women from the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Canada to Koh Tao for a retreat on March 14-21 just as COVID-19 was locking down Thailand.

We were very careful and I felt comfortable running the retreat. The lockdown door hit our women on the way out and everything shut down four days after we finished, Baackes said.

The pandemic forced Baackes to postpone a trip to Sudan and Jordan as well as two retreats in Israel in May. She is hopeful that a womens retreat planned for Key Largo in Florida in mid-July can proceed.

Koh Tao has been economically crippled without tourism, its lifeblood. Baackes is assisting with donated food distribution efforts even as her business suffered a severe financial hit. Web traffic to travel sites is way down, hotels are closed, flights are limited, affiliate programs have been rolled back and my income streams are drying up, she said.

Baackes pivoted to an online format and held a virtual retreat for 56 women from several countries the first week of May with daily yoga, meditation, workshops and activities like making smoothies and creating coloring books. She charged $150 per person and paid the workshop hosts and her two part-time staffers who were desperate for income.

It was a sampling of what we offer in our retreats, she said.

Baackes chose Koh Tao as a place to recover and recharge after the death of her mother, Kathryn Allen, of Albany, who died on Oct. 2, 2019 at age 64 after a long battle with brain cancer. Baackes unplugged from her frenetic schedule to live with her mom and serve as her caretaker through her end-of-life journey.

Her mother encouraged her love of international travel, of exploring new cultures and chronicling her experiences through words and images.

It was really hard on Mothers Day, she said. I get homesick, but this is temporary shared pain for all of us. I share my feelings on my blog and it can be cathartic. My readers have responded very positively. They see the authentic me. Its not all pina coladas on the beach.

Baackes praised the early and decisive response by Thai officials to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. The nation of 70 million has reported 3,015 coronavirus cases, with 98 percent of the patients recovered, and 56 deaths since the outbreak began in January. The Thai government early on began widespread testing and health screenings and strong quarantine restrictions.

Some international observers considered Thailand a model in its rapid response.

I appreciate how proactive the government has been, Baackes said, although she chafes at a high level of government censorship and the chilling effect it has on free speech and press freedom.

She spoke to me via Zoom at 7:30 a.m. her time (8:30 p.m. here). Im drenched in sweat already, she said. It was 90 degrees and 75 percent humidity and Baackes swatted tropical bugs as she sat on a veranda hoping to catch the slightest puff of a breeze and a decent internet connection.

The lockdown meant no throngs of dive tourists or fishing pressure. Marine life has flourished.

Baackes took a two-mile swim the day before and saw an amazing variety of tropical fish and normally reclusive blacktip reef sharks.

As she floated in the warm water, she could forget there was a pandemic.

It all felt right in paradise.

Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com
In 2018 it was reported Jones had "again dropped the n-word" on air. Loading "I'm not going to yield to people who tell us that certain words in the language are forbidden," he fulminated. An advertising backlash later, he did, and apologised on air. Advertisers were starting to desert him. Times had changed, and it was a problem. That was not Jones' first dalliance with bigotry.

In 2009 the NSW Administrative Appeals Tribunal found Jones had "incited hatred, serious contempt and severe ridicule of Lebanese Muslims" during on-air comments in April 2005, the lead-up to the Cronulla riots. The decision was upheld on appeal. Jones called Lebanese Australians "vermin" who "rape and pillage a nation that's taken them in". He read out on air the infamous "call to arms" text message which brought the thugs down to the beach: "Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge. This Sunday every Aussie in the shire get down to North Cronulla to support the Leb and wog bashing day". In 2011, I was working in the Canberra press gallery when the campaign to "axe the tax"  the Gillard government's carbon price  was picking up steam. Jones travelled to Canberra to address the "Convoy of No Confidence"  a ragtag collection of truckers who had driven to Canberra to protest against the "carbon tax".

They settled on the lawn outside Parliament House. In fact, the rally was a bit of a fizzer  not nearly as many people showed up as had been promised, and claims they had been stopped at the ACT border turned out to be wrong, or fabricated. But it served as an excellent platform for Jones to rage against his hated carbon tax, and Coalition politician after Coalition politician showed up on stage to join him, notably then-Opposition leader Tony Abbott. Then opposition leader Tony Abbott is embraced by broadcaster Alan Jones after he addressed the 'no-confidence' rally outside Parliament House in Canberra. Credit:Andrew Meares The atmosphere was hostile. After observing for a while, I walked over to Jones, who was at the back of the stage listening as someone else addressed the crowd, and asked him if he had been paid to emcee the rally. He was instantly enraged. He called me a "grub" as he leaned over me, face reddening, asking how I could look myself in the mirror. Soon he reclaimed the microphone and used it to shout my name, and that of my press gallery colleague, David Lipson, to the crowd. The crowd started yelling and booing at us, and demanded we come on stage to defend ourselves.

We were not in any danger, but I still remember how fast my pulse beat as we fled to the refuge of Parliament House. I had received an in-person version of the routine countless politicians and public figures had received on air. Jones knew how to unleash a crowd in the direction he wanted. In the aftermath, several MPs contacted me privately, asking if I was all right and expressing their sympathy. That was nice of them.

But I found it interesting that none of them would ever speak against Jones publicly, and one or two prefaced their sympathies with "I get along quite well with Alan myself but " They were scared stiff of him, and desperate to keep his favour. Even some then-Labor government members whose constituencies could barely have crossed over with his listener base. And therein lay Jones' power, which far superseded his ratings, although they have been consistently the best. Former prime minister John Howard with Alan Jones at a fundraiser in 2007. Credit:Dallas Kilponen Jones is a brilliant broadcaster. No one can communicate like him. His connection with his listeners is visceral, deeply grounded in the strong emotion he brings to the airwaves.

He knows just when to sympathise and when to thunder. Loading His commitment to replying to what must have been an enormous correspondence from his listeners was incredible. He donated his time and a small fortune of his own money to charities. The problem has never really been Alan Jones, who was always going to go on being Alan Jones - how could he not, when he was so good at it?

The problem was the politicians and other public figures who genuflected to him and re-directed public policy based on his heady hatreds. There is no real way of arguing that without Jones' interventions, we would have effective climate policy now, better NSW state planning decisions, or a tax system which doesn't grossly favour Baby Boomers. Or that fewer prime ministers would have been dispatched in recent years. In a democracy, no one person is that powerful. But Jones' heft was always factored into the realpolitik calculations of major political decisions, particularly at NSW state level. Maybe these politicians will feel liberated now.
YouTube CPAC

UPDATE 8:50 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will be very cautious when it comes to reopening international travel.

He would not say whether he expects the Canada-U.S. border to reopen when a mutual ban on non-essential travel expires next week.

But rather he says preventing transmission of COVID-19 into Canada from other countries will be an essential part of preventing a second wave of the outbreak.

He says Canada will need to see a decrease in the number of new cases in the country, and will need to have the ability to detect and track new cases.

UPDATE 8:22 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed serious flaws in how Canada cares for seniors that governments will need to fix.

Long-term care homes have seen devastating outbreaks of the respiratory illness, including hundreds of deaths across the country.

Trudeau says the federal government will help provinces improve nursing-home care in a lasting way, once the immediate COVID-19 emergency is over.

Long-term care is a provincial responsibility.

Some advocates have called for including it in the Canada Health Act, which would likely mean big infusions of federal money in exchange for provinces' meeting federal standards.

ORIGINAL 7:59 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau provides an update from outside his home in Ottawa on the federal government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau is expected to announce he is sending seniors a one-time payment of up to $500 as part of new COVID-19 aid package.

Any senior who is eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension will receive a $300 payment, and an additional $200 is being sent to seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

The federal government estimates there are currently 6.7 million seniors who are eligible for the OAS pension and 2.2 million who are eligible for the GIS.

-with files from the Canadian Press
A 22-year-old man has been arrested over the shooting death of a resident in a quiet suburban neighbourhood.

Police were called to Calrossie Close at Endeavour Hills, in south-east Melbourne, about 7.50pm on Monday after reports that a man had been critically injured.

On arrival they found a dead man.

A 22-year-old man was arrested by police a short time later.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested after another man was allegedly shot dead before 8pm on Monday. Pictured: Officers and detectives investigating the crime scene

Police were called to the scene on reports that a man was critically injured only to find him dead. Pictured is the crime scene last night

He was taken to hospital under police guard following a medical episode.

The homicide squad remains at the scene and is investigating.

Police are investigating reports that a gunshot was heard in the vicinity before the incident.

They do not believe this is a random attack and say there is no ongoing risk to the community.

The 22-year-old man arrested by police suffered a medical episode and was taken to hospital under guard. Pictured a park close to where the victim was allegedly fatally shot

Resident Chris Newby told The Age he heard what sounded like a gunshot before police arrived.

'It wasn't a huge noise, it was like a combination of a pop and a bang,' he said.

'I went out the back and had a look then sat back inside for 10 minutes, then heard a heap of [police] car doors slamming.'

Police are investigating reports that a gunshot was heard in the vicinity before the incident. Pictured: Police investigating a crime scene near the alleged shooting

Mr Newby, who has lived in the area for 25 years, said there have been other shooting incidents in previous years.

He noted there were several ice and heroin dealers in the area along a house that had frequent domestic incidents.

'There's a few characters. [The drug dealing] is common knowledge among people who've been here for a while,' he said.
NEW YORK, NY, May 12, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Top-level domain (TLD) .Cloud announces the release of over 100,000 premium domain names with a new pricing structure to their worldwide partner network. These premium domain names are considered highly valuable for branding and marketing purposes and opens new opportunities for businesses to create modern branding and memorable websites.Released on May 6, 2020 at 16:00 UTC, the inventory totaling 103,395 domains is available for immediate purchase from hundreds of domain name registrars and thousands of their resellers. The inventory has been released within a simple new pricing structure with nine tiers, and one renewal price across all tiers. The lowest tier is expected to retail for under USD200.The inventory includes excellent choices for startup companies, their products, and enterprises launching digital services. Hundreds of choices in hot industry sectors such as cloud computing, business and finance, internet of things (IoT) and gaming are available.Mou Mukherjee, .Cloud's Head of Registry Services said, "Our premium domain release includes many short and memorable domains such as atom.cloud, pix.cloud, vid.cloud, simply.cloud and financial.cloud. These prized domains could serve as an enterprise's key brand asset."By 2023 IDC predicts the global economy will finally reach "digital supremacy" with more than half of all GDP worldwide driven by products and services from digitally transformed enterprises. Since the pandemic, businesses have accelerated their digital transformation and innovation projects. Many businesses were forced to digitize their services. Cloud is no longer nice to have but a critical part of a company's operations. As technology leaders invest billions of dollars into fast-tracking cloud services, focus on the digital economy has never been stronger.Ms. Mukherjee continued, "Cloud has become more relevant today than ever and companies can stand out in the digital economy with a .cloud premium domain. Our new affordable pricing will appeal to diverse businesses with all kinds of budgets. We're thrilled that businesses now have better access to excellent, premium .cloud domains."For more information please visit: http://get.cloud.Cloud Domain RegistryThe .Cloud top-level domain helps businesses create a modern digital identity with domain names ending in .cloud. It has secured over 180,000 registrations in 180 countries and can be purchased from the most popular domain name registrars..Cloud is operated by Aruba S.p.A. Founded in 1994, it is the leading company in Italy for data centers, web hosting, email, certified email (PEC) and domain registration services. Aruba is also active in key European markets including France, the UK and Germany. The company has extensive experience in the management of data centers, with its European network capable of hosting over 200,000 servers. Aruba manages 2.7 million domains, 8.6 million email accounts, 6.7 million certified email (PEC) accounts, 130,000 physical and virtual servers, for a total of approximately 5.4 million customers.Source: .Cloud Domain RegistryCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Child's Play star Aubrey Plaza wore a CDC-recommended COVID-19 mask to pick up supplies and food for her two rescue dogs, Frankie and Stevie, at a Los Angeles pet store on Monday.

The Delaware-born 35-year-old slipped her 5ft6in figure into a red cinched blouse and blue skinny jeans for her essential errands amid the fast-spreading global pandemic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at home order was extended through Friday due to the 32,263 confirmed coronavirus cases in LA County, which has led to 1,570 deaths as of Monday.

Stocking up! Child's Play star Aubrey Plaza wore a CDC-recommended mask to pick up supplies for her two rescue dogs, Frankie and Stevie, at a Los Angeles pet store on Monday

Frankie and Stevie are Aubrey's fur-babies with her live-in love - Horse Girl filmmaker Jeff Baena - whom she met on the 2011 set of Mark Webber's fatherhood drama The End of Love.

The 42-year-old Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee has since directed Plaza in three of his movies - Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), and The Little Hours (2017).

'I've been in every one of Jeff's films,' the Independent Spirit Awards host told IndieWire back in 2017.

'I've been there from the beginning of every idea because we're together. We're working on it even when we're not working on it.'

Tie-dye: The Delaware-born 35-year-old slipped her 5ft6in figure into a red cinched blouse and blue skinny jeans for her essential errands amid the fast-spreading global pandemic

Break from quarantine: Frankie and Stevie are Aubrey's fur-babies with her live-in love - Horse Girl filmmaker Jeff Baena - whom she met on the 2011 set of Mark Webber's fatherhood drama The End of Love

Valentines: The 42-year-old Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee (R) has since directed Plaza in three of his movies - Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), and The Little Hours (2017)

Aubrey last made headlines reuniting with her Parks and Recreation castmates for an April 30 special, which raised over $4M for Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund.

Plaza portrayed deadpan April Roberta Ludgate-Dwyer, who went from apathetic college intern to deputy director of Animal Control over seven seasons of the NBC sitcom spanning 2009-2015.

The Legion actress next voices the Devil's (Danny DeVito) babymama in FX Networks' new cartoon Little Demon created by Seth Kirschner, Darcy Fowler, and Kieran Valla.

Production began 'two weeks ago' on the half-hour animated comedy centered on a mother-daughter duo 'thwarting monstrous forces' in suburban Delaware, according to Deadline.

'The power of Pawnee!' The Independent Spirit Awards host last made headlines reuniting with her Parks and Recreation castmates for an April 30 special, which raised over $4M for Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund
Two voting rights advocates have filed a complaint with the Dallas County district attorney, alleging Attorney General Ken Paxton committed voter fraud in each of the states 254 counties by contradicting a judge's order expanding the availability of mail-in voting during the pandemic.

Attorney General Ken Paxtons letter intentionally misled Texas elections officials about eligibility to vote by mail, said Kendall Scudder, one of the complainants. Mail-in ballots arent where the election fraud is happening, its happening in the office of our indicted attorney general.

UH SURVEY: Poll workers willing to show up amid pandemic; voters reaction mixed

Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak on April 17 issued a temporary injunction stating that any voter concerned about exposure to the coronavirus can avoid in-person voting and request a mail-in ballot by claiming a disability.

Paxton, a Republican who has argued disability claims should be reserved only for those who currently fall under that category, wrote in a filing that same day that Sulaks order was automatically stayed when he filed an appeal.

Further, Paxton threatened to criminally prosecute local elections officials who use Sulaks order to justify an expansion of mail-in voting. Paxton himself is under criminal indictment for securities fraud and has been awaiting a trial for almost five years; he was re-elected in November 2018.

This complaint is an outrageous effort by those who would mislead the public about Texas voting law in order to advance their own political agenda, said Marc Rylander, spokesman for the AG. In fulfilling its responsibility under the Constitution and laws of Texas, the Office of Attorney General will continue to safeguard the integrity of Texas elections by providing clear guidance to election officials and the public about the textually correct meaning of Texas election law.

Two attorneys reached by Hearst Newspapers agreed with Paxtons assessment that the April 17 order was stayed when Paxton appealed.

Any appeal of an order that grants a temporary injunction or denies a plea to the jurisdiction, both of which occurred in this case, places an immediate stay on that order, said Dallas appellate lawyer Chad Ruback. On top of that, the Attorney Generals office noted in its appeal that governmental entities are entitled to automatic stays in this situation, under Texas law.

In the Dallas County case, complainants Scudder and Woot Lervisit, who live and vote in the county, say that under the Texas election code, their complaint should trigger a criminal investigation of Paxtons conduct.

Scudder was a nominee for the Texas Senate in District 2 in 2018 and serves on the State Democratic Executive Committee. Lervisit, a Dallas attorney, is CEO of Our Ballot Institute, a non-partisan nonprofit organization created during the pandemic to promote voter participation and educate Americans about voting.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Texas is one of the few states where voters younger than 65 must have an excuse to cast a ballot by mail. In 2018, fewer than 7 percent of Texas voters mailed in their ballots.

Voting-related lawsuits launched by Democrats and civic organizations have been ramping up in the months leading to the general election. The suits had been multiplying quickly even before the pandemic, as Democrats press to reverse voting restrictions established by Republicans who say they are concerned about voter fraud.
The man who wore a pointed white hood resembling a Ku Klux Klan mask while grocery shopping in the San Diego area won't be charged, according to a local sheriff's office.

The man wore the hood while shopping at a Vons grocery store in Santee. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said the man wouldn't be charged for wearing the hood.

"The man expressed frustration with the coronavirus and having people tell him what he can and cannot do. He said that wearing the hood was not intended to be a racial statement. In summary, he said 'It was a mask and it was stupid,'" the statement said.

An investigation by the US Attorney's Office and San Diego County District Attorney's Office determined there wasn't enough evidence to charge the man with a crime.

"An analysis of all relevant criminal statutes was undertaken. As a result, it was determined there was insufficient evidence to charge the man who wore the Ku Klux Klan hood inside the store," the press statement said.

The sheriff's office warned that while his speech was protected from the law, it doesn't mean he's going to be treated well by the public.

"The incident should serve as a reminder for anyone contemplating wearing or displaying items so closely associated with hate and human suffering that our society does not hold in high regard those who do so," the sheriff's department said. "Santee is a city of families, and the community is rightfully disgusted at this man's despicable behaviour. The Sheriff's Department thoroughly investigates incidents such as these and will hold those who violate the law accountable."

Less than a week later, another man wearing a racially insensitive mask entered another Santee grocery store.

A man wearing a Swastika mask at a Food 4 Less in Santee was asked by sheriff's deputies to remove it after other shoppers complained.

The sheriff's department said the matter was still being investigated.
The coronavirus crisis has forced the issue of teleworking in Spain. In a bid to slow the outbreak, millions of people were sent from their offices to work at home. Now, as the lockdown eases, companies are already preparing for the future despite the lack of specific regulations. Experts, however, are convinced that it will take a long time for the office to return to the way it was before the pandemic, if indeed it ever does. In their opinion, workers will return to the office in stages, and by September at the earliest, depending on the health crisis.

Consultants and architectural firms are currently drawing up protocols on the return of the workforce. They agree that stages with concrete measures must be established to allow the gradual re-incorporation of employees. Almost all our clients are analyzing the return to the office and how to guarantee the distance between workers, says Alejandro Pocina, president of furniture company Steelcase in Spain. We are helping them to come up with a structured strategy for the short, medium and long term, although nobody knows how long this will last.

People want to come back to the office  not full time, but to see each other and be part of a group and a project Oscar Fernandez, from real estate company Cushman & Wakefield

As everything depends on the evolution of the virus, there is no date for the phases, but there are guidelines. The plans we are preparing reduce capacity by 35% to 50%, says Guzman de Yarza, head of property investor JLLs workplace strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Offices are going to work strangely  the first to return will be the essential employees, normally those at higher levels. After that, shifts will be organized.

Workspaces will also be highly regulated. In the transition phase, we are going to have new rules, says Inaki Lozano, founder and executive director of the Business Innovation Consultancy Group (BICG). What well have to do is establish distances, seating limits, ways of moving around and easier access.

To a degree, these changes have already taken place in sectors such as banking, which has remained operational during the pandemic. We have a disinfection protocol when we enter to put on our mask and gloves, says Pedro Martinez, an employee at a bank in the southern city of Mallorca. The staff alternates on a weekly basis so that only three people are in the office at any one time. And there is no question of having a coffee with a colleague in the middle of the morning. Now breaks are taken alone in the managers office  the manager has moved to a desk in the main area to avoid two people being in his small office at the same time.

Office rules

The buildings and offices will have signs with diagrams and instructions explaining how to use the space and how to move around inside, says Leyre Octavio de Toledo, executive director of architecture at property company Savills Aguirre Newman. Large-scale refurbishment in the face of what promises to be the steepest economic recession in recent history has been ruled out for the moment. No one is going to get involved in big projects, says Oscar Fernandez, director of business development at real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. Its more about adapting existing spaces to the new regulations.

But there is no sense of urgency. Teleworking has maintained productivity in the office sector, says De Yarza. It has been shown that similar levels [of productivity] can be achieved so managers are not in a hurry.

The offices of Spanish bank BBVA in Madrid.

Curiously, it is often the workers themselves who are most keen to get back to their desks. The workspace design and manufacturing company Actiu recently conducted a survey involving 400 professionals. Only 16% said they would prefer to continue to work from home. A similar conclusion was reached by surveys carried out by Cushman & Wakefield.

Fernandez admits to being surprised by the results. People want to come back to the office  not full time, but to see each other and be part of a group and a project. When teleworking happens on one-off occasions, you still get that feeling, but that is not the case in this situation.

Working remotely will definitely be more common than before the pandemic, when, according to Lozano, there were lots of cultural barriers. This will make working in an office a more attractive option, says Pocina. [Offices] will continue to be a fundamental business asset, he explains. All experts consulted agree that technology will play a key role, especially developments that help reduce contact and facilitate mobility and access.

A September start

Experts agree that workers will return to the office in stages, as the central government has recommended. Jose Maria Alvarez, the president of the Spanish Association of Offices (AEO), believes that teleworking will continue until at least the end of summer. A hasty return to the office could endanger the health of workers.

In the absence of an effective treatment against Covid-19, businesses will need to make a considerable investment in redesigning the available space if they want to return to the same number of in-house staff as before the crisis. By the fall or the end of the year, companies will start coming up with a more stable plan, depending on the information available to them, says Alvarez.

A man works from home during the coronavirus lockdown in Spain. PACO PUENTES

Tomas Higuero, managing director of air purification and ventilation company Aire Limpio, believes this could take longer. It is logical that in the short term  January or February 2021  or until there is a vaccine, teleworking will prevail, he says. However, he also believes that office culture will gradually return with the office as the heart of the operation even as remote working continues.

Elevators

The return to the office is fraught with problems. In addition to space and mobility and health and safety protocols, elevators are critical, according to Alvarez.

Another executive, who prefers to remain anonymous, explains the magnitude of the problem: at his firms headquarters in New York they have calculated if elevator capacity was restricted, it would take the whole working day to get everyone to their desks.

Maybe we should consider walking up the first floors, says Fernandez. This idea is endorsed by Octavio de Toledo, of property consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman, who adds that the lines for the elevator will need to be controlled and use restricted.

Solutions range from basic to sophisticated  Octavio de Toledo mentions that in some cases, we will see elevators being automatically disinfected as they empty out by means of ozone and ultraviolet rays.

But the investment needed for the more sophisticated solutions is something of a stumbling block. As Alvarez points out, many offices are located in residential buildings making the transformation of basic elements more challenging.

It is small- and medium-sized companies that dominate the Spanish business world, and while these outfits are more agile at decision taking, experts add they can also find implementing solutions that require significant investment somewhat harder.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Tara Reades Attorney Demands Biden Immediately Open Up Archives

An attorney for Tara Reade, a former staff member for Joe Biden who has accused him of a 1993 sexual assault, has demanded the former vice president immediately open up his archives at the University of Delaware and hand over any documents that may contain records related to the case.

Reades attorney Douglas Wigdor, in a letter (pdf) to Biden on Monday, requested he immediately open up his archives at the University of Delaware and authorize a search to determine whether they contain any records related to Ms. Reade, including, but not limited to, Ms. Reades request for counseling and/or documents related thereto.

Given that you have repeatedly made a blanket denial of any knowledge of any complaint made by Ms. Reade against you, I am sure you would agree that we all deserve to know whether there are, in fact, any records that corroborate Ms. Reades allegations in your archives, particularly in light of the secretarys present obstinacy, the letter continued.

To be frank, we cannot see any legitimate basis to preclude a simple search of the archives for documents related to Ms. Reade, and see no reason why an efficient, diligent, and fair search of the archives cannot be completed in short order.

Reade filed a report with police on April 9, 2020 in which she said she was a victim of sexual assault, but did not name Biden. The court filing stated, Subject-1 disclosed that she was the victim of a sexual assault which was committed by Subject-2 in 1993.

She told The Associated Press that the former vice president and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee pushed her against a wall in the basement of an office building on Capitol Hill in 1993 before sexually assaulting her. At the time of the incident, Reade was working for Biden while he was a U.S. senator representing Delaware, his home state.

Reade said she wrote and submitted accusations of workplace discrimination and harassment by Biden as part of a request for counseling form at the time, and believes her complaint is in Bidens Senate records, housed at the University of Delaware, The Hill reported.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski on May 1, 2020. (MSNBCs Morning Joe via AP)

Biden said in an interview with MSNBC last week that he would not authorize the release of his Senate records or allow them to be searched for mentions of Reades name as they could be taken out of context. The university has also said that it will not release the records until two years after Biden has retired from public life.

In a separate letter (pdf) on Monday, Wigdor urged the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Senate to reconsider its decision not to release personnel records due to confidentiality concerns after Reade previously asked.

To put it simply, there is no basis, either in law, equity or common sense, for the secretary to refuse to reproduce a copy of Ms. Reades Request for Counseling to her. As such, we respectfully renew Ms. Reades request for the immediate production of a copy of her 1993 Request for Counseling filed with OSFEP, the attorney wrote.

Earlier this month, Biden himself asked the secretary of the Senate to take or direct whatever steps are necessary to establish the location of the records of this office, and once they have been located, to direct a search for the alleged complaint and to make public the results of this search.

But as Wigdor noted in his letter on Monday, Bidens request was disingenuous and sent knowing full well that the Senate (as it has) would defer to antiquated and vague rules procedures to keep the content of Ms. Reades Request hidden from the public eye, and protects a former, over 30-year Senate member.

Reade is one of several women who came forward in early 2019 to accuse Biden of inappropriate touching, hugging, or kissing. In April last year, Biden collectively addressed the allegations from the seven women in a Twitter post in which he pledged to be more respectful of peoples personal space, but he has remained silent on Reades claims.
Morning Consult, data intelligence company, announced today that it raised $31M in its first round of institutional financing to give the company a valuation of $306M. James Murdoch's Lupa Systems and Advance Venture Partners were the top investors.

Launched with $30K in 2014, Morning Consult is on target for $50M in revenues this year.

The company, which counts more than half of the Fortune 500 as clients, uses propriety technology to deliver thousands of daily global interviews to provide insight into what people think.

For decades, legacy market research firms have failed to evolve, creating a critically unmet need for innovation, said Michael Ramlet, co-founder and CEO of Morning Consult.

He said the financing will enable Morning Consult to more aggressively address that unmet need in the communications, marketing, insights, and strategy functions.

The company's flagship product, Morning Consult Brand Intelligence, features daily tracking of key brand metrics for nearly 4,000 brands in 15 countries.
A Terrytown man is behind bars after admitting he fired his gun during a triple shooting that killed a 3-year-old boy in Algiers on Monday night, and investigators are on the hunt for his alleged accomplices, New Orleans police said Tuesday.

Ronjae Stedman, 19, faces a count of principal to second-degree murder in the slayings of the toddler and a 23-year-old man who were gunned down in a drive-by which also injured a 48-year-old woman.

Authorities didnt release the victims names, but sources with knowledge of the shooting identified the child as Isiah  or Isaiah  Adams and the man as James Estem.

Despite the 20-year age difference between the slain victims, multiple social media posts described them both as sons of the woman who was shot, and requested prayers.

We really need a breakthrough in our community, one of the messages read.

According to criminal court records, someone in a white GMC pickup truck pulled up to several people in the 2400 block of Leboeuf Street and began firing bullets. The toddler, his adult brother, and the pair's mother were all struck while others there ran for their lives, police wrote in the records, citing surveillance video which they reviewed.

The man died at the scene. The boy died after being taken to a hospital. Details on the womans condition werent available, but police said she was struck in her right leg as she scooped up her mortally wounded child and scrambled for cover, according to police.

The GMC fled, but police said they soon pinpointed it with the help of street surveillance cameras. An officer who encountered the pickup as it sped down nearby General Meyer Avenue tried to pull it over. But the driver  later identified as Steadman  took off and only stopped after colliding with a light pole at the corner of Holiday Drive, police said.

Steadman allegedly emerged from the truck while wielding a .45-caliber pistol and ran off. As many as three other men also bailed from the GMC and fled as well.

The officer then watched as Steadman pointed the gun at a motorist who happened to be stopped nearby, according to police. Steadman and one of his companions allegedly forced their way into the back of the motorists car. The officer tailed the vehicle until it pulled into the parking lot of a store in the 6400 block of General Meyer, roughly two blocks away, police said.

There, Steadman and the other man got out and began running, police said. The officer pursued Steadman, who by then had wrapped his shirt around his head.

The officer caught up to Steadman and drew his service pistol, police said. At that point, Steadman dropped his handgun, surrendered, and faced an interrogation, the court records recount.

Police allege that Steadman explained how he had bought his pistol on the street for protection, and he confessed to firing the weapon at the scene of the slayings earlier in the night.

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Man jailed following triple shooting in Algiers that killed 3-year-old boy New Orleans police have arrested a 19-year-old man following a triple shooting in Algiers that killed a toddler and a 23-year-old man Monday night.

Detectives said the pistols caliber matched a bullet casing that investigators recovered at the crime scene on Leboeuf. Investigators also said they found gunshot residue on Steadman when they tested him for it, corroborating his claim that he had fired his pistol.

Besides principal to second-degree murder, Steadman was booked with illicitly possessing stolen things, illegally carrying a weapon and resisting police.

Orleans Parish Magistrate Court Commissioner Albert Thibodeaux set Steadman's bail at $520,000 on Tuesday afternoon. He remained in custody later in the day.

The fact that Steadman was accused of being a principal to murder means police believe he played a key role in the killings but may not have fired the fatal bullets. Nonetheless, that distinction is meaningless under Louisiana law, and he would receive mandatory life imprisonment  the same punishment for murder  if ultimately charged and convicted as booked.

Police didnt discuss a possible motive in the killings. They added that they were looking for more potential suspects in the case but didnt publicly name any.

Relatives of Estem and Adams couldnt be reached for comment Tuesday.

Two small memorials honoring them took root overnight at the corner where they had been killed.

One included roses and a stuffed bear seated on the curb, in front of a spot where blood pooled hours earlier but was now covered by a sheet.

The other memorial sat a few paces back in the middle of a lawn. It had roses and a smaller bear as well as a balloon and other stuffed animals.

RIP James & Isiah was written in purple chalk on the street.

WWL-TVs Danny Monteverde contributed to this report.
Tyler, Texas-based Paramount General Agency, a licensed program administrator with a focus on the long-haul trucking industry, has launched an online platform offering a multi-line suite of insurance products for its broker and carrier clients.

Paramount provides commercial auto liability, cargo, and physical damage coverage as well as general liability, wholesale markets and premium financing to trucking businesses in Texas. The companys online platform utilizes proprietary AI technology and data analytics coupled with a superior user experience, that allows brokers to quote and bind insurance for their clients within minutes.

In addition to its wholesale insurance programs comprising PD & Cargo, Trailer Interchange, Commercial Auto and Non-trucking Liability (Bobtail), Paramounts online platform also features two recently introduced exclusive programs that include auto liability catered to trucking and transportation companies hauling NAFTA-related goods to and from the trade zones, and a domestic liability program for trucking and transportation companies hauling goods for hire within a long haul, intermediate or local radius.

Paramount is a subsidiary of Integrated Specialty Coverages LLC (ISC), a program administrator that builds end-to-end insurance products utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology and data analytics. Paramount was acquired by ISC in 2019.

ISC is backed by Sightway Capital LP, Two Sigmas private equity business.

Source: Integrated Specialty Coverages

Topics Texas Georgia Data Driven Trucking
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV:ELY) (OTCQX: ELGYF) (FSE: A2JSL0) ("Ely Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Ely Gold upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Ely Gold begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "ELYGF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

Trey Wasser, Ely Gold's President & CEO commented, "We are extremely pleased to have met the qualifications for the OTCQX where we will now trade with premier foreign issuers and where we will also be able to enhance our liquidity and strengthen our shareholder base. The past eighteen months has been very exciting for our team and our shareholders. We look forward to a bright future, building our royalty portfolio and generating returns for our shareholders".

Burns, Figa & Will PC acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor.

About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold is a Nevada focused gold royalty company. Its current portfolio includes royalties at some of Nevada's largest gold mines, including Jerritt Canyon, Goldstrike and Marigold as well as the Fenelon property in Quebec, operated by Wallbridge Mining. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes several advanced projects that are scheduled for production by 2023. The Company continues to actively seek opportunities to purchase producing or near-term producing royalties. Ely Gold is also generating development royalties through property sales on projects that are located at or near producing mines. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to locate and purchase third-party royalties, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties and its gold focus, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to gold prices and low-cost access to long-term gold royalties.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed "Trey Wasser"

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

trey@elygoldinc.com

972-803-3087

Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer

jjobin@elygoldinc.com

647 964 0292

Forward-Looking Caution: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the timing and size of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds, the required TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the Offering, the future exercise of options on the Company's properties, the ability of the Company to generate and acquire new royalty interests, the Company's prospects for future revenue generation, management's assessment of the risks associated with the Company's business and stated plans for further near-term exploration and development of the Company's properties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration, development and extraction operations, the risk that its partners will encounter unanticipated geological factors, or the possibility that they may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out their stated plans for the Company's properties, the Company's inability to secure the required Exchange acceptance required for the Offering, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effect.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55701
screenshot of Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York talking about his plan to "reimagine education" with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Dear Governor Cuomo,

Since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I have turned to your press conferences for fact-based recommendations, empathy and encouragement. I have expressed my pride in being a New Yorker as people from around the world tune into your press briefings. Until last week.

Last week, you talked about reimagining education. At first, I was hopeful. I thought, maybe he will address the mental health needs of our students. The harsh disparities that exist between the haves and the have-nots. The focus on common core standards and teaching to the test.

Holding a briefing with updates on #Coronavirus. Watch Live: https://t.co/HUbR89h7mF  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 5, 2020

Related: Download The Mighty app to connect in real time with people who can relate to what you're going through.

Instead, you proceeded to talk about how amazing the transition to online learning went. That anyone could wonder why the old normal even exists anymore. You implied that the solutions to all problems are to just shift it online. You announced a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to take the steps to do this. A few days later, your secretary, Melissa DeRosa, backtracked given the backlash you received. However, I truly dont think you understand just how wrong your statements were.

On March 13, we walked out of our school building, tables and boards prepped for next weeks lesson. Little did we know we wouldnt return. In the days that followed, we would shift education and counseling online. We would work countless hours learning new technology. We would make copies, distribute food and contact every family by phone to check on our families.

Story continues

We listened to stories about parents losing jobs, essential workers trying to educate their children while they were still working, students with no internet access so they are trying to read through packets. Added onto this were parents who never got a high school diploma, who do not know how to read and cannot support their children through the work.

Related: 4 Ways to Help Kids Who Are Afraid to Go Outside During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We learned of students sobbing, of teens sinking into a deeper depression, of students who were already behind and falling even further because they couldnt access the education. Because they were surviving.

Governor, do you know what it is like to live in trauma? How about to learn in trauma? It can be impossible. So many children live in homes that are unsafe. They depend on school for food, heat and shelter. They depend on school for the one hug they get each day. For love. As a school staff member, we know those children  we see them scan the crowds as they walk in, looking for that staff member they gravitate toward. We feel them cling to us just a little bit longer when they reach us. For these children, school is their safe place.

We are so much more than four walls. We are so much more than the curriculum we deliver. That is something you will never be able to reimagine.

Related: My COVID Concerns as the Mom of an Adult Daughter With Down Syndrome

For more on the coronavirus, check out the following stories from our community:

Read more stories like this on The Mighty:

5 Ways to Motivate Kids During COVID-19 Distance Learning

How COVID-19 Symptoms May Present in Kids

When You Actually Need Alone Time for Your Mental Health During Social Distancing

8 Tips for Managing Chronic Pain During the Coronavirus Pandemic
An open letter to the people of Alabama:

I was the first to endorse President Trump, even when many thought I was nuts to do so. I helped Trump win and traveled the country with him, embedded in his campaign. I am one of the architects of his agenda, and I was pushing his agenda even before he ran for office.

I have remained faithful to the President and his agenda. I have always stood up for him, and I never backed down, not even for one moment. My convictions are immovable, built on rock, not sand.

As the world knows, the President disagreed with me on recusal, but I did what the law required me to do. I was a central figure in the campaign and was also a subject of and witness in the investigation and could obviously not legally be involved in investigating myself. If I had ignored and broken the law, the Democrats would have used that to severely damage the President.

Some have asked, why take the job as Attorney General if I knew I would have to recuse myself from the investigation? I knew no such thing. I wasnt informed of Comeys secret investigation until after I became Attorney General, and the investigation wasnt publicly confirmed by the FBI until weeks after my recusal.

Knowing of the Presidents disagreement with my decision, I tendered my resignation in writing the morning after Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel. But President Trump chose not to accept it, and he asked me to continue to serve as his Attorney General and to help him Make America Great Again.

The investigation was a disruptive and prolonged fiasco for America and especially for President Trump, and a massive waste of money chasing the deepstate myth of Russian collusion. Recently disclosed documents also reveal the extent of former FBI Director James Comeys underhanded efforts to undermine our President.

One thing you may not know is that I advised from the beginning of the administration that Comey should be removed and the FBI given a fresh start. I concluded that Comey was driven by ego, lacked self-discipline, and lacked the judgement necessary to lead an agency as critical as the FBI, as was evidenced by the completely improper way he declined to prosecute Hillary Clinton.

The end result of the Mueller investigation is that the President (and I) were fully exonerated, so much so that the subsequent Ukraine impeachment witch hunt did not even mention the phony Russian collusion idea.

My principles, like my faith, are immovable and non-negotiable. I believe it is always right to do the right thing. My opponent, Tommy Tuberville, calls that weakness, which reveals his true lack of integrity.

True strength and courage are found in the determination to do the right thing, even when you know the consequences may be painful. You can always count on me to do my best to do the right thing, for you, for the state of Alabama, and for the United States of America. I will never go wobbly on you.

I believe President Trump is a great President who is steadily making progress for America, despite relentless opposition. My support for his agenda is not about me, or even about him. Its about doing the right thing for the country I so love. I have given my entire life to the support of our conservative ideals and to stopping the radical left from their attempts to redefine, and thereby destroy, America. I always have, I always will.

I endorsed President Trump because he had the incredible strength of will and the guts to stand up for the right things, for ending illegal immigration, for protecting American workers, and for stopping endless wars. Im glad I did.

After the President dismissed me as Attorney General, I did not say a cross word about him, as I thought that would be dishonorable.

The great people of Alabama support the President enthusiastically, and we also make our own decisions on who to send to the US Senate.

This just means we are strong, and no one tells us what to do or how to vote. Were Alabama, its just who we are. After all, its our vote, not Washingtons.

Mr. Tuberville is an opportunist who isnt from here. He stopped here for work for a while, and moved on, eventually retiring in Florida. He doesnt know the first thing about Alabama. He says the President is wrong on China, says we must import foreign workers to take American jobs, and up until a few months ago, he said he favors amnesty for illegal immigrants. If you dont like his position on an issue, just wait a few weeks and he will change it. His house is built on sand.

Alabamians have long resisted pressure from people in Washington telling them how to vote. In fact, Alabamas motto is  We Dare Defend Our Rights.

The folks in Washington have been wrong about Alabama before, every time. We make our own decisions.

We will vote overwhelmingly to give President Trump a second term, and we will choose who we send to the Senate. The people of Alabama do not have to choose between voting for the President and voting for me, they can do both.

When I return to the Senate, I look forward to helping the President build the wall, protect American workers, and fundamentally reset our relationship with Communist China.

Respectfully,

Jeff Sessions
Captain Bob Touhey, a Vietnam veteran and graduate of the US Naval Academy with over 550 combat missions flying both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and over thirty years of field experience in investigative intelligence work, has completed his new book Seawolf, Where You From? A Warriors Tales: a gripping and potent autobiographical memoir of service and sacrifice.

The author shares, This book is the story of how I got to Vietnam and what I did there. It is the true story of the officers and men of Helicopter Attack Squadron Three (HA[L]-3), the combat unit to which I was attached from December 1968 into December 1969. It tells how we protected Navy SEALS, Mobile Strike Forces (Green Beret B-Teams), US Navy PBRs, the Chinese Nung airboat pilots, and a host of other allies in the fight. HA(L)-3 was one of the most decorated Navy Squadrons in the Vietnam War. I wasand am to this dayproud to claim membership among them.

Additionally, Bob includes previously unpublished information that came from his investigative intelligence work regarding the attack in Bengazi.

Bob is a lifetime member of the UDT-SEAL Association, Ancient Order of Quiet Birdmen, Naval War College Foundation, and the International Society of Experimental Test Pilots among other elite organizations.

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Captain Bob Touheys engrossing book is a must-read for anyone interested in the personal perspective of a legendary Vietnam-era helicopter attack squadron.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchaseSeawolf, Where You From? A Warriors Tales at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional New York-based, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not overwhelmed with logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of accomplished authors and publishing professionals allows writers to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Teachers are divided on the merits of returning to schools before the end of term two, but hope the past month of remote learning will trigger a shift towards more online teaching in Victoria.

Students will begin to return to schools on May 26, beginning with students in prep, grades 1 and 2, year 11 and year 12. Students in all other year levels will return on June 9.

Secondary school teacher Steven Kolber. Credit:Joe Armao

Special schools will reopen in full on May 26. The 36,000 year 10 students who are doing VCE subjects will also be among the first to return to schools, for those classes.

Tuesday's announcement means all states and territories have now outlined a plan to return to classes in term two, after hastily vacating school buildings as the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the community rose in March.
Dear Reader,

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The Italian mafioso wanted to use Maria Troskovas contacts.

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When the Sme daily wrote in late May 2019 that the Italian investigators found hundreds of phone calls between Maria Troskova, who served as an assistant to former PM Robert Fico (Smer), and Italian mafioso Antonito Vadala, sentenced for drug smuggling by the Italian courts, also from the time she had been working at the Governments Office, Fico wanted the daily to apologise to Troskova.

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He claimed that the relationship between the two was publicly known and that he was not interested in their private communication.

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Related article How the Kuciak case changed Slovakia (overview) Read more

The messages found by the Slovak police officers in Vadalas phone during the investigation of the murders of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova suggest that Troskova, who also acted as state advisor, had not only been discussing private affairs with Vadala, Sme reported.

The information from the investigation of Kuciaks and Kusnirovas murder were obtained by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which make it accessible to Slovak media.

Friends despite the break-up
Technology company Altium says it is unlikely to reach its $US200 million revenue target for the year with the continuing impact of COVID-19 in its key markets expected to hit the software group's traditionally strong fourth-quarter sales.

In an ASX update on Tuesday, Altium said prolonged COVID restrictions and lockdowns in the United States and Europe were likely triggering cash pressures for its small to medium business customers. Altium, which develops software that designs the electronic circuitry at the heart of a growing range of everyday goods being connected to the internet, said this was expected to affect sales during its traditionally strong months of May and June.

Altium's products help engineers design printed circuit boards. Credit:Craig Sillitoe

"While engineers are actively doing prototype designs and the electronics industry is holding up relatively well, the cash preservation priorities of small to medium sized businesses are likely to affect the timing of closing sales in our typically strongest months," chief executive Aram Mirkazemi said.

The company said it was now unlikely to meet its goal of $US200 million ($310 million) for the current financial year ending June 30. Our long-term aspirational goal of $US200 million revenue for the full year will require our typically strong months of May and June to be unaffected and have the usual strong finish, Altium's chief financial officer Joe Bedewi said.
Fishing boats in Thailand seek 50,000 workers as virus spurs migrants to leave

May 12,2020 | Source: Xinhua

Despite adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailands 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 Employments 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 Thailands 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.

 2020 Khaosod English

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Fewer Los Angeles kids have been vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

In January and February, the number of immunizations in L.A. County were about the same as in 2019. In March, kids ages 0 to 18 received 55% of the number of vaccine doses as the previous year. By April, it was down to 39%.

Health care providers report vaccine doses to the California Immunization Registry, and the California Department of Public Health provided the numbers to LAist.

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"We know from a lot of history on this that if enough people don't vaccinate, the diseases will rise up," said Dr. Ken Saul, a Thousand Oaks pediatrician.

Unvaccinated kids aren't the only ones at risk. Some people are unable to get vaccines because of their age or weakened immune systems.

'WE'RE NOT GOING TO WAIT'

The number of vaccines ordered nationwide has plummeted since the coronavirus lockdowns that started in mid-March.

The AltaMed pediatric clinic at Children's Hospital L.A. went from seeing about 350 patients a day in person to fewer than 50, said medical director Liza Mackintosh.

"We recognize that people are scared, so we're not going to wait for them to call us," Mackintosh said.

Instead, the clinic's staff are calling families scheduled for routine vaccine visits and offering a new option -- a drive-up clinic.

Families can receive services in tents outside. Doctors wear masks and face shields to see healthy patients and add a gown when seeing sick patients.

Mackintosh said in-person visits are starting to increase again, though the majority of visits occur via phone or video chat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, California Department of Public Health and the L.A. County Department of Health say doctors should continue to provide vaccinations for young children.

Saul is encouraging his families to show up, in person, for young children's regularly scheduled visits.

"Pediatricians are all about being proactive and preventing disaster rather than dealing retroactively with disaster," Saul said.

For example, a routine part of an infant check-up is measuring their head. One recent patient's head was growing way too fast, and it turned out to be a cyst in the brain.

"There were no symptoms whatsoever," Saul said. "There's no way you could have picked that up in a telemedicine visit, but in person, we were able to get the cyst removed and the child was fine."

To ensure patient safety, Saul and his staff wear masks and separate well and sick child visits by times of day.

MORE ON VACCINATIONS:
New Delhi, May 12 : Technology companies have a key role to play in developing solutions for testing, treatment and containment of COVID-19, Intel India Country Head Nivruti Rai said on Tuesday.

Intel India is working with India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) to deploy Intel client and server solutions to help achieve faster and less expensive COVID-19 testing and coronavirus genome sequencing to understand epidemiology and AI-based risk stratification for patients with comorbidities.

"I believe technology is crucial in combating COVID-19 and our ability to help save and enrich lives through Intel technology has never been more vital," Rai, who is also Vice President, Data Platforms Group, Intel Corporation, said in a statement.

"The need of the hour is to collaborate with the government, academia, research community and the larger ecosystem and work together to develop solutions for testing, treatment and containment of COVID-19," she said.

Intel's initiatives include working with the government, industry and academia on technology solutions to combat COVID-19, commitment of Rs 5 crores towards key central and state government relief funds and research initiatives, and supporting affected communities through non-governmental organisations and employee volunteering efforts.

"I am also very proud of Intel India employees who have whole-heartedly pledged contributions from their salaries towards government funds for COVID-19 relief. Employees are also volunteering in their local communities distributing food kits, face masks and conducting online classes," she added.

Intel is also collaborating with IT industry body Nasscom to build an application ecosystem and multi-cloud backend infrastructure to enable population-scale COVID-19 diagnostics, to predict outbreaks and to improve medical care management and administration.

An end-to-end COVID-19 platform developed by Nasscom's taskforce was delivered to the Telangana government recently.

"During these challenging times, Intel's top priority is protecting the health and well-being of employees while keeping the business running for our customers and supporting the communities we operate in," Rai said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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.




A Christmas Island man has been jailed for more than four years after he took indecent photographs of a child he regularly babysat, then tried to claim he had been 'stitched up' after his arrest.

Police found thousands of images of children as young as three months being sexually exploited when they raided his marital home last year and examined a mobile phone and laptop.

Indecent images of the victim sleeping and being sexually interfered with were among them.

A Christmas Island man has been jailed for more than four years after he took indecent photographs of a child he regularly babysat, then tried to claim he had been 'stitched up' after his arrest (stock image)

The man's lawyer conceded a term of immediate imprisonment was appropriate, saying the offending was aggravated by the breach of trust.

He said his client had given no insight to the author of a pre-sentence report about why he did it.

'It's probably because he's a paedophile,' District Court of WA Judge Simon Stone said.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty but also told a psychologist he had been stitched up, claiming to believe the victim had previously been sexually abused, and he was attempting to gather evidence to prove it.

'Your attempts to avoid the consequences of your actions in what you told the psychologist is complete rubbish,' Judge Stone said.

He described the child exploitation material as horrendous, saying it was among the worst he'd seen as a judge, with some of the images involving animals.

'It was sick, disgusting and he was babysitting a child,' Judge Stone said.

'I had to unfortunately view that material. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else.'

He told the man he should be disgusted and ashamed of himself.

The man was sentenced to four years and four months in jail.

He will be eligible for parole after serving two years and four months.
New Delhi, May 12 : While researchers are grappling with the varying fatality rates due to coronavirus, BofA Research has found that the most vulnerable set is older people with pre-existing health conditions, who live in colder countries that do not have a BCG vaccination policy.

Among EM (emerging market) countries, Turkey, Lebanon, and Hungary may be vulnerable to drawdowns in case of a second wave of infections, unless there is prompt policy action, while India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China may be able to weather a similar storm with less damage.

Covid-19 has so far infected 4.1 mn people worldwide, claiming more than 280,000 lives - a heavy blow to the hubris of modern civilisation. The high contagion rate of the virus and its varied impact on countries has left policymakers grappling as they struggle to strike a balance between controlling its spread and shutting off economies. Researchers are puzzled by a high variation in the fatality rate across countries.

The research tested 14 variables covering a wide range of themes - demographics, health profiles, healthcare infrastructure, social structure, climatic conditions, globalisation, and policy response - for 85 countries (31 advanced and 54 emerging/developing economies as per IMF classification) with GDP above $50bn and population above 1 million.

While 8 of the 14 factors can each explain the variation in the casualty rate of the countries to some extent, the combination of proportion of older population (65+ years), obesity rate, DHL Global Connectedness Index, timing of lockdown, and BCG vaccination policy can together account for 64 per cent of the variation in death rates.

Adding the other three explanatory variables (average temperature, urbanisation and prevalence of asthma) to this list did not improve the results incrementally, the research said.

"There is no denying that sheer luck can be a factor - but there is no way to quantify it. Surprisingly, some of the usual suspects such as population density, average household size and number of hospital beds are not of much assistance," it said.

There has been a conundrum of significantly worse outcome for the Developed Markets (DMs) as compared with Emerging Markets (EMs).

EMs are younger (average proportion of 65+ year olds of 8 per cent vs 19 per cent for DMs) with warmer climes and lesser urbanization (64 per cent urbanisation rate vs 80 per cent for DMs).

Further, unlike the western world, most of them have an active mandatory BCG vaccination policy, and were quick to act on shutting their economies down. Even the bane of poor connectedness to the rest of the global ecosystem has turned out to be a boon during the pandemic, providing an automatic distancing with other nations, the note said.

The variables also help to explain why two countries with apparently similar characteristics can have very different casualty rates. Japan and Italy both are old, developed countries that are well connected with the rest of the world. But a significantly lower incidence of obesity for the Japanese (4 per cent vs 20 per cent for Italy), in conjunction with an active BCG vaccination policy (compared to a non-existent one in Italy) can partially explain the wide divergence between their casualty rates (8.4 persons per million in Japan versus 148 persons in Italy).

"There is ample speculation that Covid-19 could follow the patterns of the Spanish flu with a more devastating second wave and yet another third wave. While we do not have an answer to that, we think it would be prudent to be prepared for all scenarios," it said.

"Granted that the opportunity cost of shutting down economies is arguable, but a lid on the death toll, even at the cost of short-term economic pains, deserves prioritization in our view," BofA Research said.

Special attention must be provided to older people with pre-existing health conditions, who live in colder countries that do not have a BCG vaccination policy, as they are the most vulnerable cohort, it said.
Scientists and health officials may find a vaccine that is effective in preventing Covid-19 by the end of this year "if we're lucky," billionaire philanthropist and former tech executive Melinda Gates told CNBC on Tuesday.

Producing a usable vaccine is a long process that requires extensive study of viable vaccine candidates, Gates told CNBC's Sara Eisen during an interview that aired on "Closing Bell."

"Then to make sure, okay, when we put it in our bodies, it's not gonna create more harm," said Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has donated $100 million to coronavirus vaccine and treatment efforts. "So yes, we may get one of those candidates if we're lucky by the end of the year."

Even if scientists do find a vaccine in record time, they would still need to make millions and eventually billions of doses of the vaccine for the general public, Gates said. There are more than 7.6 billion people in the world, and some of the vaccines under development require more than one dose.

"We have never, never as a globe made a vaccine of this type before nor of this scale before ever. So this is not a quick nor swift process," she said.

There are no proven treatments for Covid-19, and U.S. health officials have repeatedly said producing a vaccine will take a year to 18 months at the earliest. More than 100 vaccines are in development globally as of April 30, according to the World Health Organization, with at least eight vaccine candidates already in human trials. Global health experts say only a portion of those vaccines are likely to be successful.

Gates' comments come hours after White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told members of Congress that he is optimistic scientists will be able to find a workable vaccine candidate but also warned that "there's no guarantee that the vaccine is actually going to be effective."

"You can have everything you think that's in place and you don't induce the kind of immune response that turns out to be protective and durably protective," Fauci said of vaccines during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

He continued, "So one of the big unknowns is, will it be effective? Given the way the body responds to viruses of this type, I'm cautiously optimistic that we will with one of the candidates get an efficacy signal."

Another worry among epidemiologists, Fauci said, is that the vaccine backfires and strengthens the virus.

There have been at least two vaccines in the past that have produced a "suboptimal response," he said. "And when the person gets exposed, they actually have an enhanced pathogenesis of the disease, which is always worrisome. So we want to make sure that that doesn't happen. Those are the two major unknowns."

Gates said she is following "closely" advancements from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford University, which are each producing a potential vaccine to fight the coronavirus. The virus has infected more than 1.3 million people in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Last month, researchers from Oxford said they are hopeful a vaccine will be available by September, even before trials prove it is successful.

"There are some good signs of light and hope," Gates said. "But we all have to remember as Americans, there is, you know, this is a process."

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.
Bengaluru, May 12 : The second evacuation flight to Karnataka landed in this tech city on Tuesday from Singapore with 177 returnees, an official said.

"The Boeing 737-8HG of Air-India Express (IX-485/485) landed at the city international airport at 8:56 p.m., with 177 passengers and three infants from Singapore," the official told IANS here.

Of the 177 passengers, 42 alighted from the aircraft through the aero-bridge, while the remaining 135 evacuees were seated for onward journey to Kochi in the neighbouring state of Kerala.

The foreign returnees were stranded overseas for about 50 days due to the suspension of international air services by the government since March 23 and the extended lockdown since March 25 to contain the coronavirus spread across the country.

"The 42 passengers to the southern state included women, senior citizens, students, tourists and professionals, who were held up in Singapore and South East Asia during the lockdown, as no overseas and domestic commercial flights were operated since March 23," said the official.

The passengers were received by the state health department and the state-run A-I subsidiary officials at the arrival terminal.

The returnees were given new masks to wear and sanitiser to wash their hands and were told to maintain social distancing till they exit the airport.

"As per the standard operating procedure and protocols to be observed by all foreign returnees, the passengers will be screened and tested to ensure that they are asymptomatic and free from the Covid-19 virus," a state official told IANS.

After completing the formalities, which is expected to take at least 2 hours, the passengers will be ferried in state-run chartered buses in batches for the mandatory 14-day quarantine in star hotels booked for them in the city.

Passengers who did not have an Indian mobile connection were given a new Sim card by the local operators and got it activated to download the mandatory quarantine apps, the Aarogya Setu and Apthamitra, before leaving the airport.

As part of the government's evacuation programme 'Vande Bharat Mission', three more repatriation A-I flights are due to land in Bengaluru from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, San Francisco in the US and Singapore on May 13-15 with over 600 state citizens.

"One more A-I Express flight from Dubai with 177 passengers landed at the Mangaluru airport on the state's west coast at 10:04 p.m. on Tuesday night," the official added.
[May 12, 2020] CloudMD Announces $10 Million Bought Deal Public Offering

/THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES./ VANCOUVER, May 12, 2020 /CNW/ - CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (CSE: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH) (the "Company" or "CloudMD"), a telemedicine company revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare to patients, is excited to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Beacon Securities Limited (the "Underwriters"). The Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis pursuant to the filing of a short form prospectus, an aggregate of 14,286,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.70 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately C$10 million (the "Offering"). Each Unit shall consist of one common share (each a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company for a period of 24 months from closing of the transaction at an exercise price of C$1.00 per Warrant. The Company has granted the Underwriters an option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to purchase up to an additional 2,142,900 Units at a price of C$0.70 per Unit, exercisable at any time, for a period of 30 days after and including the ClosingDate, which would result in additional proceeds of approximately C$1.5 million. The Over-Allotment Option is exercisable to acquire Units, Common Shares and/or Warrants (or any combination thereof) at the discretion of the Underwriters.



The Units will be offered by way of a short form prospectus to be filed in all provinces of Canada except Quebec. The Offering is expected to close on June 2, 2020 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals, including the approval of the CSE (as defined below) and the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The Company will use best efforts to obtain the necessary approvals to list the Common Shares, Warrants and the Common Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants on the Canadian Stock Exchange ("CSE").

CloudMD intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for potential M&A activities to support the Company's strategic growth plans and general corporate purposes. About CloudMD Software & Services CloudMD is digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing patients access to all points of their care from their phone, tablet or desktop computer. The Company offers SAAS based health technology solutions to medical clinics across Canada and has developed proprietary technology that delivers quality healthcare through the combination of connected primary care clinics, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD currently provides service to a combined ecosystem of 376 clinics, over 3000 licensed practitioners and almost 3 million patient charts across its servers. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Dr. Essam Hamza, MD"

Chief Executive Officer Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on CloudMD's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to its business plans. Although CloudMD believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and CloudMD undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE CloudMD Software & Services Inc.

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A high-powered committee appointed by the Maharashtra government has decided to temporarily release around 50 per cent prisoners to decongest jails across the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has, however, not specified any time frame for the jail authorities to release the prisoners.

The panel, while taking the decision on Monday, also said that prisoners convicted or booked on serious charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and stringent law provisions like the MCOCA, UAPA and PMLA will not be released on temporary bail or parole.

The committee, comprising Bombay High Court Justice A A Sayed, Additional Chief Secretary of state Home department Sanjay Chahande and Maharashtra Director General Prisons S N Pandey, was set up after the Supreme Court in March called for decongestion of prisons across the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

It took a decision on Monday to release around 50 per cent of the prisoners from jails across the state on temporary bail or parole.

While the committee did not specify any time frame for the release, it said the jail authorities shall follow due process of law before releasing prisoners.

"This would substantially decongest jails and about 50 per cent of prisoners out of the prisons' population of 35,239 are now expected to be released, the committee said.

The decision comes after over 100 inmates and staff members of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19. A 54-year-old inmate of the Byculla women's jail also tested positive for coronavirus last week.

The panel in its decision said only those prisoners who are convicted or facing trial for offences which are punishable up to seven years' imprisonment shall be entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole.

Prisoners convicted or booked on serious charges under the IPC and special Acts, like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), will not be released on temporary bail or parole.

The panel also rejected a representation filed by advocate S B Talekar, claiming that the decision to not release prisoners charged or convicted under the special Acts was discriminatory and arbitrary.

It noted that the Supreme Court had left it to the absolute discretion of the committee to determine which class/category of prisoners can be released on temporary bail or parole, depending not only upon the severity of the offence but also the nature of the offence.

The committee said prisoners who are not entitled to temporary bail or parole will have to seek regular bail from the courts concerned.

"It would be necessary to look at the facts on case to case basis by a judicial mind before releasing such prisoners, after considering the likelihood of them absconding and/or tampering with evidence or witnesses, the panel said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Repeats story from earlier with no changes to headline or text)

By Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is "turbocharging" an initiative to remove global industrial supply chains from China as it weighs new tariffs to punish Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to officials familiar with U.S. planning.

President Donald Trump, who has stepped up recent attacks on China ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas.

Now, economic destruction and the massive U.S. coronavirus death toll are driving a government-wide push to move U.S. production and supply chain dependency away from China, even if it goes to other more friendly nations instead, current and former senior U.S. administration officials said.

"Weve been working on [reducing the reliance of our supply chains in China] over the last few years but we are now turbo-charging that initiative," Keith Krach, undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment at the U.S. State Department told Reuters.

"I think it is essential to understand where the critical areas are and where critical bottlenecks exist," Krach said, adding that the matter was key to U.S. security and one the government could announce new action on soon.

The U.S. Commerce Department, State and other agencies are looking for ways to push companies to move both sourcing and manufacturing out of China. Tax incentives and potential re-shoring subsidies are among measures being considered to spur changes, the current and former officials told Reuters.

There is a whole of government push on this, said one. Agencies are probing which manufacturing should be deemed "essential" and how to produce these goods outside of China.

Trump's China policy has been defined by behind-the-scenes tussles between pro-trade advisers and China hawks; now the latter say their time has come.

Story continues

"This moment is a perfect storm; the pandemic has crystallized all the worries that people have had about doing business with China," said another senior U.S. official.

"All the money that people think they made by making deals with China before, now theyve been eclipsed many fold by the economic damage" from the coronavirus, the official said.

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY NETWORK

Trump has said repeatedly that he could put new tariffs on top of the up to 25% tax on $370 billion in Chinese goods currently in place.

U.S. companies, which pay the tariffs, are already groaning https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tariffs/trumps-tariffs-add-to-pandemic-induced-turmoil-of-u-s-manufacturers-idUSKBN22C1MY under the existing ones, especially as sales plummet during coronavirus lockdowns.

But that does not mean Trump will balk at new ones, officials say. Other ways to punish China may include sanctions on officials or companies, and closer relations with Taiwan, the self-governing island China considers a province.

But discussions about moving supply chains are concrete, robust, and, unusually for the Trump administration, multi-lateral.

The United States is pushing to create an alliance of "trusted partners" dubbed the "Economic Prosperity Network," one official said. It would include companies and civil society groups operating under the same set of standards on everything from digital business, energy and infrastructure to research, trade, education and commerce, he said.

The U.S. government is working with Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam to "move the global economy forward," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said April 29.

These discussions include how we restructure ... supply chains to prevent something like this from ever happening again," Pompeo said.

Latin America may play a role, too.

Colombian Ambassador Francisco Santos last month said he was in discussions with the White House, National Security Council, U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. Chamber of Commerce about a drive to encourage U.S. companies to move some supply chains out of China and bring them closer to home.

China overtook the United States as the world's top manufacturing country in 2010, and was responsible for 28% of global output in 2018, according to United Nations data.

The pandemic has highlighted China's key role in the supply chain for generic drugs https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pharmaceuticals-ap/chinas-coronavirus-induced-supply-chain-woes-fan-concerns-of-possible-drug-shortages-idUSKBN20Y1C7 that account for the majority of prescriptions in the United States. It has also shown China's dominance in goods like https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-amazon-com-cameras/exclusive-amazon-turns-to-chinese-firm-on-u-s-blacklist-to-meet-thermal-camera-needs-idUSKBN22B1AL the thermal cameras needed to test workers for fevers, and its importance in food supplies.

HARD SELL FOR COMPANIES

Many U.S. companies have invested heavily in Chinese manufacturing and rely on China's 1.4 billion people for a big chunk of their sales.

"Diversification and some redundancy in supply chains will make sense given the level of risk that the pandemic has uncovered," said Doug Barry, spokesman for the U.S.-China Business Council. "But we dont see a wholesale rush for the exits by companies doing business in China."

John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that U.S. manufacturers already meet 70% of current pharmaceutical demand.

Building new facilities in the United States could take five to eight years, he said. "We're concerned that officials need to get the right fact sets before they start looking at alternatives," Murphy said.

Trump White House pledges to punish China have not always been followed by action.

A move to block global exports of chips to blacklisted Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, for example, favored by hawks in the administration and under consideration since November, has not yet been finalized. (Additional reporting by Alex Alper, David Lawder, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom Writing by Heather Timmons; Editing by Tom Brown)
Jaunpur:

A policeman was today killed after being run over by alleged cattle smugglers while trying to intercept their vehicle at a checkpoint in Kotwali area here.

Triloki Tiwari, posted as head constable, sustained serious injuries after he was crushed by the van carrying cattle at Badlapur check point in the wee hours, police said.

Tiwari was rushed to the district hospital and later reffered to Varanasi, where doctors declared him brought dead, they said.

Superintendent of Police Atul Saxena said Tiwari, hailing from Kaimur district in Bihar, was posted at Saraipokhta outpost for several years.

He said that a wireless message was received this morning around 3 AM that smugglers were transporting cattle in two vehicles. The SP said the smugglers escaped from the spot after the incident.

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Linkedin Asip Hasani (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya  Wed, May 13 2020

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has decided to extend large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Greater Surabaya for another 14 days to May 25, vowing to enforce the rules with a repressive approach if necessary.

Greater Surabaya consists of Surabaya and satellite regencies Sidoarjo and Gresik.

Obedience and discipline are key factor in the success of the PSBB policy and curbing the spread of COVID-19, she told reporters on Saturday after meeting with Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, Sidoarjo acting regent Nur Ahmad Saifuddin and Gresik Deputy Regent Mohammad Qosim, who agreed on the extension.

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In Russia, emergency crews rushed to a St. Petersburg hospital on May 12 where a fire reportedly killed five COVID-19 patients. The Interfax news agency reported that a faulty ventilator had caught fire "right before the doctor's eyes."
Online Chinese Brands Day underway

By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-05-12 17:05

May 10 is the annual Chinese Brands Day. This year, due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the holiday is being celebrated on the internet from May 10 to 12.

Themed aroundsharing Chinese brands with the world to improve life quality and combat the pandemic, this years event has attracted 40 brands, many of which are industry leaders such as China Literature, White Rabbit and Sense Time. These brands are presented in different forms such as a VR experience hall, short videosand graphic introductions. For instance, the White Rabbit company created a VR animation environment with the lovely white rabbit within touchingdistance.

To promote the online consumption of the brandedproducts, hot topics have beenlaunched in various online platforms such as Tencent, Bilibili, Tik Tok and Tmall.

A game named Cloud visiting Shanghaiwas also launched for the first timeatthis years event. Through interaction on a virtual Shanghai map, customers can have a deeper understanding of the brands.
DALLAS, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Government agencies will have a better handle on the healthcare supply and economic effects of COVID-19, thanks to a new agreement Esri and Infogroup announced today.

Infogroup, a longtime Esri partner, is now providing Points of Interest business data that will help businesses and communities better evaluate, respond and recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. The data covers 7 million businesses nationwide and includes attributes like business type, ownership, and estimated number of employees. This will allow government agencies and decision-makers supporting COVID-19 response efforts to make informed decisions as they support business continuity and recovery within their respective communities and/or organizations.

"Infogroup has been a valued partner for many years and we are delighted that we can continue relying on this partnership as the nation moves to the next stage of response to this unprecedented health and economic emergency," said Helen Thompson, global marketing strategy manager for real estate, banking, and insurance at Esri. "Combining Infogroup's data with Esri's technologies and capabilities, provides actionable insight and decision-making for communities and people that need them most."

Infogroup's data will be available in Esri's Disaster Response Hub to support different needs including:

Identification and location of essential businesses

Analysis of neighborhood business clusters and types to quantify economic impact

Modeling COVID-19 testing sites based on community demand and access

Estimating local economic impacts, tax revenues, unemployment and sectors at risk

Assessing changes to business categories, consumer spending and business vitality

"At a time when the reality for small and enterprise businesses alike is changing every day, we're pleased to help communities get a more accurate picture of what's needed on the ground at a hyperlocal level," said Infogroup CEO and Chairman Michael Iaccarino. "Even during this time of disruption, Infogroup continues to update our business database in real time to supply our partners and customers with more accurate and reliable information."

About Infogroup and Data Axle

Infogroup is a leading provider of data and real-time business intelligence solutions for enterprise, small business, nonprofit and political organizations. The company's solutions enable clients to acquire and retain customers, and enhance their user experiences through proprietary business and consumer data, artificial intelligence/machine learning models, innovative software applications and expert professional services. Infogroup's cloud-based Data Axle platform delivers data and data updates in real-time via APIs, CRM integrations, SaaS, and managed services. Infogroup has 45+ years of experience helping organizations exceed their goals. For more information, visit www.infogroup.com.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the U.S., as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the U.S. Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at www.esri.com.

SOURCE Infogroup

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Did you see this? I said to my wife. Now we have to worry about bears!

From the next room I heard the sound of someone breathing hard, and I feared that my loved one was spiraling again.

But no: This time, they were laughing.



The more we talked about the crisis bed situation, the more restless we all became about it. Because yes, it would be a good thing to get treatment. But at the same time, that is a situation where social distancing would be harder to maintain. Am I going to be safe there? my loved one wondered. We were assured that the crisis bed would be safe. But some variation on this question is now the one were all asking ourselves.

Are we safe anywhere? What does it mean to be safe?



On Saturday afternoon, May 2, after more consultation with doctors and counselors, our loved ones medication was changed. This, along with the knowledge that there was a plan of action for making things better, helped them find the calm that had eluded them. The ongoing condition has not been cured  the definition of what a cure would mean is not even all that clear.

But the storm had passed. The crisis center advised that it made more sense for them to stay at home for now. There werent any more bear sightings, either.

That night I made deep-dish pizza in a springform pan  I call my variation on it Dank Dish. We watched The Two Towers on TV. If you didnt know better, youd think the five of us didnt have a care in the world.

But we knew better.



I asked my loved one what message theyd like to give people at this time. Everyone is struggling, they said. People should know they dont have to do this alone and that what theyre feeling will not last forever. Many other people are feeling what youre feeling. This is not your fault.



The sun came out at the end of the day on Saturday, and some of the leaves on the trees seemed poised to finally open.
An image from Ryanair's video explaining new safety measures on flights, including a limited food-and-drink offering.

Ryanair

Ryanair plans to restart 40% of its flights in July and says it's introducing new measures, such as requiring passengers to ask permission to use the bathroom.

Ryanair, one of the world's largest carriers, has severely limited its flights in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

It says it will not be allowing people to line up for the bathroom or to pay for drinks and snacks with cash. Masks will be compulsory.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Ryanair plans to restart 40% of its flights in July while introducing a host of social-distancing measures, including making people ask permission to use the bathroom mid-flight.

The Irish airline, which flies primarily in Europe, is the world's largest by number of routes. In 2019 it ranked as the world's fifth-biggest airline by number of seats.

But like many airlines, its operations have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. It usually operates 2,500 flights a day  but flew only 600 scheduled flights in all of April.

A Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS taking off in Riga, Latvia, in March.

Reuters

It now says it plans to restore 40% of its schedule starting in July, making 90% of its network available again.

And in a new video, it outlined a host of new measures for passengers, including passengers not being able to line up to use the bathroom. Passengers will be able to the plane's toilets "upon request," The Guardian reported.

Passengers will also have limited in-flight service and will be able to buy only prepackaged snacks and drinks on the plane. They will be able to pay only using contactless payment methods.

You can watch the video here:

Ryanair says the measures are meant "to protect the health of our guests and our people, and prevent the spread of COVID-19."

It also asks passengers to check in online before their flight and to download their boarding passes onto their phones.

The airline says passengers should take their temperature before traveling and said temperatures "may also be checked at the airport." Recording too high a temperature could cause passengers to be denied boarding.

Story continues

Ryanair's video says lining up for the bathroom will not be allowed.

Ryanair

Ryanair says face masks should be worn at all times in airports and aboard flights.

It also asks passengers to use automated, self-service bag machines for checked luggage and advises to bring hand luggage whenever possible.

It also asks passengers to socially distance throughout airports and to not line up when boarding the plane.

"Be assured that all Ryanair aircraft are professionally cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis, which is effective for more than 24 hours," the video said.

It also said all Ryanair planes were fitted with HEPA air filters "which operate to hospital standards."

Ryanair pledged daily professional cleaning of aircraft.

Ryanair

Despite the new measures, Ryanair has previously voiced opposition to one post-COVID-19 proposal: that airlines keep the middle seats on planes empty.

CEO Michael O'Leary said in April that the step would be "entirely ineffective," making it impossible for the airline to make money. He also argued passengers would still be too close for effective social distancing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
In his meeting with the chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi  for the first time  spoke about the crisis of migrant workers that has engulfed the country since the lockdown was imposed. He said that the government had urged the workers to stay where they were, but it was human nature to want to go home. But the PM, correctly, flagged two major challenges that will now crop up. The first is for states which the migrant workers have left. As economic activity resumes, there will be a severe shortage of labour in these regions. The second is for the home states, to which workers are returning. These regions, the PM acknowledged, did not have enough jobs  which is why migration had happened in the first place. They will now have to create opportunities. These states also will have to ensure that the return of workers does not lead to the spread of the disease, particularly in rural areas.

What the PM underlined is a hugely significant moment in the political economy of labour markets in India. There is a view that these are unusual times; and workers who have gone home or are now returning will eventually come back, given economic compulsions. This may be true. But what is undeniable is that the past month has been a scarring experience for millions of workers. The relationship between businesses and workers has broken down  with the latter resentful about how employers did not provide requisite food and cash to help them tide over the crisis. The relationship between the State and workers has also got undermined  with the latter losing faith in the ability of governments to provide them a social safety net at a time of crisis. In this backdrop, all that they feel they can rely on are their families and community networks back home. They may live with less, but getting them back to cities will not be smooth.

There is a clear geographical dimension to this too. It is southern and western states which have been the recipients of the workers in larger numbers. And it is the northern and eastern states which have sent these workers. This, in a way, is the key economic faultline in India, for the northern and eastern states have more exploitative agrarian relations, low industrial growth, and absence of opportunities. While this is a crisis, the north and east must use this as an opportunity to rebuild their economies even as the south and the west find new innovative ways to grow.
Market forces rained on the parade of Wynn Macau, Limited (HKG:1128) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business. Shares are up 6.6% to US$14.28 in the past week. We'd be curious to see if the downgrade is enough to reverse investor sentiment on the business.

Following the downgrade, the most recent consensus for Wynn Macau from its 19 analysts is for revenues of US$21b in 2020 which, if met, would be a substantial 428% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Following this this downgrade, earnings are now expected to tip over into loss-making territory, with the analysts forecasting losses of US$0.55 per share in 2020. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$24b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.068 in 2020. There looks to have been a major change in sentiment regarding Wynn Macau's prospects, with a substantial drop in revenues and the analysts now forecasting a loss instead of a profit.

See our latest analysis for Wynn Macau

SEHK:1128 Past and Future Earnings May 12th 2020

The consensus price target was broadly unchanged at HK$16.31, perhaps implicitly signalling that the weaker earnings outlook is not expected to have a long-term impact on the valuation. 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 Wynn Macau analyst has a price target of HK$23.56 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at HK$10.50. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. The analysts are definitely expecting Wynn Macau'sgrowth to accelerate, with the forecast 4x growth ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 14% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 12% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Wynn Macau is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

The biggest low-light for us was that the forecasts for Wynn Macau dropped from profits to a loss this year. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. We're also surprised to see that the price target went unchanged. Still, deteriorating business conditions (assuming accurate forecasts!) can be a leading indicator for the stock price, so we wouldn't blame investors for being more cautious on Wynn Macau after the downgrade.

There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards Wynn Macau, like its declining profit margins. For more information, you can click here to discover this and the 2 other concerns we've identified.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Police have seized suspected Class A and B drugs and a large quantity of contraband cigarettes during searches in the Magheraveely area of Co Fermanagh.

The operation took place on Sunday, May 10.



A PSNI spokesman said the seizure included a quantity of suspected herbal cannabis, almost 14,000 contraband cigarettes and a sum of cash.
Presidential politics move fast. What we're watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:



Days to general election: 176



The Narrative



President Donald Trump's reelection is facing growing headwinds less than six months before Election Day.



Coronavirus has breached the White House walls. The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 90-year high. And the death toll in the U.S. has surged past 80,000, far more than the Republican president's projections. Meanwhile, medical experts are warning of a major second wave of infections as states begin to reopen portions of their economies with Trump's blessing.



Democrat Joe Biden has political challenges of his own, but no incumbent president has faced anything like this in almost a century.



The Big Questions



Has the U.S. economy hit bottom?



Just a few short months ago, Trump planned to campaign for reelection 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%, the highest since the Great Depression.



Economists suggest the genuine unemployment number is much higher. Trump is encouraging states to reopen their economies to help reverse the slide, even as health experts warn that reopening too soon could lead to a second wave that would wreak greater economic devastation.

The president needs things to start turning around quickly.



Can Biden's campaign compete with the Death Star?



High-profile Democrats have begun voicing public concerns over the direction of Biden's presidential campaign as Trump enjoys major organizational advantages.



Trump has more money, a more sophisticated digital operation and a big staffing advantage. Last week, former Obama strategists David Axelrod and David Plouffe, in addition to Pete Buttigieg strategist Lis Smith, wrote separate op-eds offering their own suggestions for Biden's political strategy.



At the same time, the Trump campaign is unleashing a $10 million anti-Biden advertising blitz. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said the massive round of attack ads represents the first major shot for what he called a juggernaut "Death Star" campaign. Biden's team is supremely confident in his ability to compete, yet Democrats are decidedly playing catch-up.



Will voters hold Trump accountable for the rising death toll?



Trump and his allies have repeatedly declared success in the fight against the coronavirus, even as the U.S. death toll blows past his own projections.



As recently as April 20 Trump predicted during his daily press briefing that between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans would ultimately die as a result of COVID-19. The number of deaths has already exceeded 80,000. Trump has been forced to adjust his projections on the fly. He told a Fox News audience over the weekend that the final tally could reach 100,000 deaths. It's uncomfortable to think about the political ramifications of such horror, but the death toll represents one of the few pieces of quantitative evidence of Trump's job performance.



Are the Obamas back?



Former President Barack Obama called Trump's handling of the coronavirus an "absolute chaotic disaster" in a Friday conference call in which he encouraged his former team to embrace Biden's presidential bid.



It was Obama's latest step into the 2020 contest, albeit a modest one, having maintained regular private contact with Biden and other Democratic candidates in recent months.



Yet the former president's 2020 political star, at least for now, may be overshadowed by former first lady Michelle Obama, who starred in a Netflix documentary released last week exploring her life and rise in politics.



Coinciding with the release, a new group emerged to encourage the former first lady to embrace a role as Biden's running mate. Michelle Obama has sent strong signals that she has no interest in returning to the White House. But even if she stands firm, the Obamas are reminding the political world that they still hold tremendous political power.



How do Democrats recalibrate their convention?



Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. But the process of making it official is anything but settled.



First, it's far from clear whether host site Milwaukee will be open for even a scaled-down convention, said Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.



"We are really just in a place where the disease sets the timeline," Baldauff said. "Everyone would love to have the convention here in Milwaukee, even if it's in a limited capacity. But from our perspective, it's too soon to tell."



A month ago, the state Supreme Court overruled Evers' order to reschedule the primary election, despite a shortage of election workers in Milwaukee that forced officials to slash the city's 180 polling places to just five.



At least 67 Wisconsin residents were diagnosed with COVID-19 after voting in person or working at the polls April 7, though it wasn't clear how many of the infections were direct results of the election, state officials said.



An important next step in the altered nominating process comes Tuesday, when the Democratic National Committee's powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee meets  virtually, of course  to discuss granting waivers to states that missed deadlines by postponing their primaries due to the pandemic.



The Final Thought



His campaign has massive organizational advantages, but they may not matter much if Trump cannot effectively govern the nation when it matters most. The death toll, unemployment and public confidence in his administration is moving in the wrong direction. Congress has passed multiple economic rescue packages already, but the president has yet to offer or execute a clear, comprehensive nationwide plan to take control of the health crisis.
[May 12, 2020] Samsung Unveils Innovative Storage Technology at OCP Virtual Global Summit

Samsung (News - Alert) announced today in an OCP Virtual Summit keynote that it has developed a solid state drive (PM9A3 SSD) with a SNIA-based* E1.S form factor and full PCIe Gen 4 support to harness the production efficiencies of the company's sixth-generation (1xx-layer), three-bit V-NAND. At the same time, the company said that it has introduced a comprehensive reference design for its E1.S-based storage system. The keynote, in addition to announcing the PM9A3, highlighted a new approach to open source multi-industry storage collaboration that spotlighted the development of an open-source platform (OSP) fundamentally tied to cloud-scale infrastructure deployments. It was presented by Jongyoul Lee, senior vice president of Samsung's Memory Software Development Team at the Open Compute Project Virtual Global Summit. "Offering the most 1U server-optimized form-factor, the PM9A3 will improve space utilization, add PCIe Gen4 speeds, enable increased capacity and more," said Mr. Lee. "We see it eventually becoming the most sought-after storage solution on the market for tier one and tier two cloud datacenter servers, and one of the more cost-effective," he added. The E1.S drive form-factor combines major benefits of 2.5-inch U.2 SSDs, with what is widely considered the optimal storage design for 1U servers today. For M.2 SSD users, the E1.S SSD will expand the SSD power budget, accommodate PCIe Gen 4, and allow datacenter managers to add more SSDs per rack-unit. The newly announced PM9A3 drive, to be available in three versions**, is expected to feature a PCIe Gen 4 (x4) interface for more than twice the sequential read performance of PCIe Gen 3 (3200MB/s), and include dedicated hardware accelerators for nearly twice the random writes (180,000 IOPs) of the previous generation. Capacities will range from 960 GB to 7.68 TB. The PM9A3 SSD's E1.S design with an industry-standard EDSFF connector is set to enhance the industry's most popular SSD lineup, one that includes the leading SSD for datacenter applications (PM983). For datacenters now using U.2 SSDs, the E1.S form factor will allow hardware engineers to add more SSDs per server, freeing up additional 1U space and lowering the total cost of ownership. Open-source Platform Reference Design Samsung is also providing a collaborative server reference design to assist datacenter managers in quickly adopting and deploying its E1.S-based storage system. The reference design, made by Inspur, is now available. About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com. Footnotes: * Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) SFF-TA-1006 ** Form Factor and Speed Table







Samsung PM9A3 Speeds Random Reads Random Writes Sequential Reads Sequential Writes E1.S 900,000 IOPS 180,000 IOPS Up to 6500 MB/s Up to 3500 MB/s U.2 900,000 IOPS 180,000 IOPS Up to 6500 MB/s Up to 3500 MB/s M.2 550,000 IOPS 70,000 IOPS Up to 3500 MB/s Up to 1750 MB/s

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005183/en/

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Former President Barack Obama speaks to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 29, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Grassley Wants Answers About What Obama, Biden Knew of Flynn Case

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called for answers on when former President Barack Obama and ex-Vice President Joe Biden learned details of the case against President Donald Trumps incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Recently declassified documents showed that Obama knew of details from wiretapped phone calls between Flynn and a Russian ambassador.

Obama met with Biden, FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and national security adviser Susan Rice on Jan. 5, 2017, the same day FBI agent Peter Strzok rushed to keep the FBI from closing its probe into Flynn.

Its unclear to what extent they discussed the details of the investigation amongst each other, but given all that we know now regarding the fake foundation to the inquiry, its time we asked. What did Obama and Biden know? And when did they know it? Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on the Senate floor on Monday.

Biden, speaking during an appearance on ABCs Good Morning America on Tuesday, said that he know[s] nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn.

When the host pointed out the meeting, noting Biden was there, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee added: I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted.

Im sorry. I was aware that there wasthat they had asked for an investigation. But thats all I know about it and I dont think anything else, Biden added.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during a Senate Judiciary hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 22, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Then-President Barack Obama together with then-Vice President Joe Biden addresses, for the first time publicly, the shock election of President Donald Trump as his successor, at the White House in Washington, on Nov. 9, 2016. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Grassley on the Senate floor referenced an unusual email that Rice sent herself on Obamas last day in office later in January. Rice claimed that Obama wanted everything done by the book.

One week later, someone in the Obama administration leaked details of the Flynn phone calls to the media, setting off a firestorm that led to Flynns ouster.

Flynn was hounded by the FBI before pleading guilty to one count of lying to investigators. The Department of Justice recently dropped the case after a slew of newly released documents severely undercut the prosecution, including documents showing how Strzok moved to keep the probe open even though officials wanted to close it because they couldnt find derogatory information on Flynn.

Strzok and another agent went to interview Flynn on Jan. 24, 2017. Comey said in an interview later that he wouldnt have sent agents to interview a high-level official from an incoming administration in a normal scenario. It was something I probably wouldnt have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized investigation, Comey told reporters in 2018.

Now, I referred to an email that said the president wanted to do this by the book. Well, what I just described to you is hardly by the book, Grassley said.

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)

FBI agent Peter Strzok during testimony before Congress in Washington on July 12, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Grassley also challenged Obamas recent remark that the rule of law is at risk with the governments motion to dismiss the case against Flynn.

The rule of law is at risk if the federal government can get away with violating the Constitution to do what they did to Lieutenant General Flynn, Grassley said.

Obama hasnt commented about the Department of Justices inspector general finding that Andrew McCabe, a top FBI official, lied to federal investigators multiple times, or how the Department of Justice prosecutors falsely told a judge they produced all Brady material to Flynn, the senator continued.

He has also not discussed how the federal government surveiled an American citizen connected to the Trump campaign without probable cause.

The Office of Obama and Michelle Obama didnt respond to a request for comment.

Obama told former members of his administration in a recent call that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free.

Flynn was charged with making false statements to the FBI, not perjury.

The dropping of the case against Flynn is an example of something that has Obama worried that our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk, he said, adding, And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places.
Jeff Sessions talks with the media after voting in Alabamas state primary in Mobile, Ala., on March 3, 2020. (Vasha Hunt/AP Photo)

Sessions Breaks Silence About Decision to Recuse Himself From Russia Inquiries

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a public statement on May 12 with an extensive explanation about his decision to recuse himself from any investigations into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Sessions wrote that he was not aware of the FBIs investigation of the Trump campaign when he accepted the nomination for attorney general. He also revealed that he pushed to fire then-FBI Director James Comey during the early days of the Trump administration.

As the world knows, the President disagreed with me on recusal, but I did what the law required me to do. I was a central figure in the campaign and was also a subject of and witness in the investigation and could obviously not legally be involved in investigating myself, Sessions wrote.

If I had ignored and broken the law, the Democrats would have used that to severely damage the President.

Sessions recused himself on March 2, 2017, more than two weeks before Comey formally confirmed that the FBI was investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The former attorney general pointed out that he offered to resign from his post on the morning after the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.

But President Trump chose not to accept it, and he asked me to continue to serve as his Attorney General and to help him Make America Great Again,' Sessions wrote.

Trump has on many occasions publicly criticized Sessions for the decision to recuse. Due to the recusal, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversaw the special counsels Russia investigation.

Sessions resigned from his post on Nov. 7, 2018, triggering a handoff of the reigns on the Russia investigation to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

The former attorney general is running for his former U.S. Senate seat in Alabama. In March, Trump endorsed Sessions primary opponent in the race, Tommy Tuberville. The Republican primary election runoff in Alabama will take place on July 14.

Despite the heavy blow from Trumps endorsement of Tuberville, Sessions says he still supports the president and his agenda.

I believe President Trump is a great President who is steadily making progress for America, despite relentless opposition. My support for his agenda is not about me, or even about him. Its about doing the right thing for the country I so love, Sessions wrote.

Mueller concluded his investigation last year having found insufficient evidence to establish that anyone on the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
SPRINGFIELD  The attorney representing two Republican lawmakers in separate cases challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzkers emergency powers has three new clients: a hair salon owner and a restaurateur with two establishments.

Thomas DeVore, in the five cases, argues the governor has neither constitutional nor statutory power to implement consecutive 30-day COVID-19 state of emergency orders. If the governor doesnt have that power, DeVore argues, he cannot extend stay-at-home orders.

DeVore also alleges the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments  not the governor  have supreme authority to enforce stay-at-home and business closure orders, and the procedure outlined in law should therefore be followed.

Pritzker on April 29 called the cases filed by Republican representatives Darren Bailey, of Xenia, and John Cabello, of Machesney Park, irresponsible.

Were in the business here of keeping people safe and healthy. Thats what the stay-at-home order has been about, he said. And I just think (Cabellos) lawsuit is just another attempt at grandstanding.

DeVore, in an interview, disagreed with Pritzkers assessment. The suits, he said, aim to get whats right for residents of this state.

I would respectfully say that his unilateral actions as executive officer are irresponsible, because thats not how these types of situations are to be handled, DeVore said. Its irresponsible to suggest that a lone executive at any level of government  local, state, federal  wields that kind of power over people.

All three of DeVores most recent filings against the state are nearly identical. According to the documents, the establishments owners have no doubts Pritzker will at some point come before (a judge) with reams of paper, and a team of attorneys, proclaiming he was doing what was necessary to protect the people of this state.

But that has absolutely no consequence whatsoever because, the lawsuits allege, the governor does not have the authority to order businesses closed. That power rests with the Illinois Department of Public Health, DeVore argues.

Those cases were filed by Sonja Harrison, owner of the Clay County-based Visible Changes Hair Salon, and Kevin Promenschenkel, who owns Poopys Pub & Grub in Carroll County and Dookies Pub & Grub in Clinton County.

DeVore said he received a letter from a states attorney addressed to one of his clients that said Pritzker is closing businesses using powers granted to him by six provisions of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.

While that law allows the governor to prevent people from coming to or leaving the state, and frees up financial resources to cope with a disaster and hinder price gouging, it does not expressly allow him to shutter businesses, DeVore argues in court documents.

Even though Pritzker may desperately attempt to glean some semblance of a shred of delegated authority under that act, it would not supersede the express supreme authority of IDPH.

A directive on IDPHs letterhead asserts it and local health departments have the power to close businesses and can enforce Pritzkers related orders. DeVore said it is ridiculous the state is trying to square those two positions.

This system is becoming so bureaucratic that your good, normal people are just cogs in a wheel, he said.

According to the lawsuits, DeVores clients agree IDPH may shutter businesses if a public health risk exists. To do so, the owner must consent or a judge must sign off within 48 hours.

The burden of proof to obtain a court order is significant  among other things, the department would need to prove that the communitys health is significantly endangered by the business it seeks to close.

Harrison and Promenschenkel allege they never received a formal notice that their businesses would be forcibly closed or what due process rights they had. That would be a violation of the procedure outlined by the Illinois Department of Public Health Act, if a judge agrees with their assessment those steps should be followed by the state.

They are asking judges in three counties to agree that the businesses were shuttered without an avenue to appeal, that the Emergency Management Agency Act cannot afford Pritzker the power to close businesses, and that the steps outlined in the IDPH law should be followed.

DeVore said a hearing is scheduled in the Dookies Pub case on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Clinton County. He did not say whether similar hearings were scheduled in the other two new cases.

Sauk Valley Media on Monday reported that Poopys, which was issued a cease-and-desist order for allowing customers to eat and drink on picnic tables on premises, has solved the problem by moving the picnic tables off premises to a wooded site behind the building that also belongs to Poopys owner.

Poopys, a popular biker bar and eatery in Savanna, began curbside service May 1, allowing patrons to eat on its patio on tables spaced 10 feet apart.

Also on Monday, the Illinois Supreme Court denied the attorney generals request to consider arguments in Baileys case. It therefore remains in the Clay County Circuit Court.

A Clay County judge on April 27 granted a temporary restraining order that exempted Bailey, and only Bailey, from the governors stay-at-home order. At Baileys request, an appeals court undid that order and sent the case back to Clay County court. Attorney General Kwame Raoul had asked the Illinois Supreme Court to weigh in on the case before any further ruling in Clay County.

Empty classrooms, churches, bars and stores: Southern Illinois COVID-19 impact, in photos
After the scuffle between the Chinese People's Liberation Army troops and Indian troops along the LAC in North Sikkim which led to injuries on both sides, China appears to be continuing on the path of belligerence towards India, this time along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

In what appears to be a multi-front deliberate ploy by China to keep India on its toes the Indian Air Force was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the Line of Actual Control. This incident happened last week, around the same ...
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 01:33:22|Editor: huaxia

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A woman flies a kite at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cairo, Egypt, on May 11, 2020. Egypt witnessed a daily increase of 346 COVID-19 infections, as the tally of confirmed cases in the country rose to 9,746. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Egypt reported on Monday 346 new COVID-19 infections, as the tally of coronavirus infections in the country nears 10,000.

The number of confirmed cases in Egypt climbed to 9,746 while the death toll rose to 533 after eight more fatalities were recorded on Monday, Khaled Megahed, spokesman for Egyptian Health Ministry, said in a statement.

Megahed said that 97 more patients left hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the number of the recoveries to 2,172.

He emphasized that all COVID-19 cases in Egypt receive necessary medical care "based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization."

Egypt extended a nationwide night-time curfew for another 15 days until the end of the ongoing 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 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.
Alison Roman said shes deeply sorry to Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo for disparaging their brands in a recent interview. Roman, a best-selling cookbook author and New York Times columnist, called her comments stupid, careless and insensitive in a lengthy statement on Monday. Teigen acknowledged the apology.

I used their names disparagingly to try and distinguish myself, which I absolutely do not have an excuse for, Roman wrote. I need to learn, and respect, the difference between being unfiltered and honest vs. being uneducated and flippant.

Alison Roman issues formal apology to Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo for disparaging their businesses. (Photo: Getty Images)

When talking recently with New Consumer, Roman said the way Teigen runs her businesses horrifies her.

Like, what Chrissy Teigen has done is so crazy to me. 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, she said. That horrifies me and it's not something that I ever want to do. I don't aspire to that. But like, who's laughing now? Because she's making a ton of f****** money.

As for the Tidying Up With Marie Kondo star, Roman declared she capitalized on her fame and make stuff that you can buy, that is completely antithetical to everything shes ever taught you Im like, damn, b****, you f****** just sold out immediately! Someones like you should make stuff, and shes like, okay, slap my name on it, I dont give a s***!

In her apology, Roman said shes learning from her mistake but is deeply sorry it came at Chrissy and Maries expense.

Theyve worked extremely hard to get to where they are and both deserve better than my tone deaf remarks, she wrote. Roman explained she asked herself a lot over the weekend why she said what she said.

Why couldnt I express myself without tearing someone down?  Im embarrassed I didnt, she continued. Among the many uncomfortable things Ive begun processing is the knowledge that my comments were rooted in my own insecurity. My inability to appreciate my own success without comparing myself to and knocking down others  in this case two accomplished women  is something I recognize I most definitely struggle with, and am working to fix. I dont want to be a person like that.

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Roman added shes not playing the victim card and that her insecurities dont excuse this behavior. She also acknowledged her white privilege.

Im a white woman who has and will continue to benefit from white privilege and I recognize that makes what I said even more inexcusable and hurtful, she said. The fact that it didnt occur to me that I had singled out two Asian women is one hundred percent a function of my privilege (being blind to racial insensitivities is a discriminatory luxury). I know that our culture frequently goes after women, especially women of color, and Im ashamed to have contributed to that. I want to lift up and support women of color, my actions indicated the opposite.

Roman noted that the incident is part of a broader, related discourse about cultural appropriation in the food world, and who gets to be successful in this space.

The writer, who said shes listening and is sorry, said shes not putting this behind me in hopes that it goes away. I need to learn from this, and Im going to use it as motivation to do and be better.

Roman set up an email account for readers to share knowledge, guidance, or opinions about how she can more responsibly navigate these areas. She promised to read all feedback, even if people express their anger.

My apologies again to Marie and Chrissy. Im deeply embarrassed and Im sorry to everyone I hurt with my insensitivity, she concluded.

Shortly after, Teigen, who took a break from Twitter over the drama, thanked Roman for the apology. She said she never expected Roman to apologize for what you genuinely thought.

thank u for this, @alisoneroman. To be clear, it never once crossed my mind for u to apologize for what you genuinely thought! The comments stung, but they moreso stung because they came from u! It wasnt my usual news break of some random person hating everything about me!  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 12, 2020

Teigen went on to say she still thinks Roman is incredibly talented and said she feels that in an industry that doesnt really lend itself to supporting more than a handful of people at a time, I feel like all we have are each other!

I still think you are incredibly talented. And in an industry that doesnt really lend itself to supporting more than a handful of people at a time, I feel like all we have are each other!  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 12, 2020

Teigen also praised wise Kondo for keeping quiet during the high-profile spat and demonstrating that less is more.

After Romans interview made headlines on Friday, Teigen called the comments a huge bummer and said it hit [her] hard. The Cravings author announced over the weekend she was taking a Twitter break after the drama.

This is what always happens. The first day, a ton of support, then the next, 1 million reasons as to why you deserved this. It never fails, Teigen wrote.

I really hate what this drama has caused this week, she added. Calling my kids Petri dish babies or making up flight manifests with my name on them to Epstein island, to justify someone else's disdain with me seems gross to me so I'm gonna take a little break.

Read Romans full apology below.

Ive thought a lot this weekend about my interview and the things I said. I know this is a lengthy note (succinctness has never been my strong suit). I appreciate you taking the time to read. pic.twitter.com/3iGAyN3c9d  alison roman (@alisoneroman) May 11, 2020

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
The bodies of two men have been discovered in Daraa province, as the region continues its steady decline in security reports Jesr.

Residents in Daraa province found the bodies of a killed military security forces member and a taxi driver.

Daraa 24 reported that the first body belonged to Alaa Ghassan, also known as Abu Shihab, who was found dead in the Chiyah Farms south of Daraa al-Balad. He is from Daraa city, and became a member of the Mustafa al-Masalmeh group that works with military security forces, after undergoing a reconciliation and settlement agreement [with the government] alongside other local factions.

Meanwhile, another body was found near the Libyan Company in the village of Jileen west of Daraa. The body was later revealed to be that of Sufian al-Abdulllah, who works as a taxi driver and was kidnapped days before by unknown gunmen on the outskirts of the western Daraa town of Tel Shihab.

Kidnappings and killings have been widespread in Daraa governorate recently, targeting many members and leaders of the reconciliations and settlements, as well as the regimes army and security forces. Even civilians have not been spared, as assailants seek ransom money, amid an unprecedented state of security chaos in the governorate.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Tuned In

The Ethiopiques series of CDs is a cornerstone of many a music collection, largely responsible for introducing the music of Ethiopia (and especially its gritty and groovy sounds of the e_SSRq60s and  70s) to people around the world.



The well-annotated series even helped Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen rediscover the music of his youth (his parents are from Ethiopia and played records of many of those artists in their Texas home). After a move to Boston to study ethnomusicology at Harvard, he dove in fully, immersing himself in the music, getting inspired, and eventually creating Debo Band.



The 11-piece Boston group, which records for Sub Pop and is an NPR fave, plays Ethiopian music, but is not an Ethiopiques cover band. They perform original compositions as well as Golden Age songs, with vocalist Bruck Tesfaye as part of an orchestral lineup of instruments that includes accordion, violin, electric guitar and a large brass/woodwind section complete with tuba.



Debo Bands self-titled 2012 debut has been highly lauded. The group plays the Iron Horse in Northampton tonight at 7 p.m.



Boston-based roots-rock band Jo Henley and special guest Ashley Jordan appear at Mocha Mayas in Shelburne Falls tonight at 7:30 p.m.







Trailer Park has a recipe for the dance floor, and itll take that blues-soul-funk-groove gumbo to the Arts Block Cafe in Greenfield tonight at 8 p.m.







Antigone Rising, an all-female New York City-based rock band celebrating its 20th year, plays the Northampton Pride Festival at the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton Saturday at 3:45 p.m.



Jim K and Co (bassist Rudi Weeks and drummer Dave Nelson) performs at the Arts Block Cafe Saturday at 8 p.m. Ray Mason opens.



The Mary Jane Jones celebrates the release of its new 7-song EP, Shake, with a show at Bishops Lounge in Northampton Saturday at 10 p.m. Down To Fox (from New Jersey) starts off the night.







Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band return to the Valley for a show with a little something extra: every ticket includes a download of Ritters new album, The Beast In Its Tracks. The Felice Brothers, headliners in their own right, open the show at the Calvin in Northampton Thursday at 8 p.m.







The Z Three: An Organ Trio Tribute to the Music of Frank Zappa  Hammond man Beau Sasser, guitarist Tim Palmieri and drummer Bill Carbone  has for years been impressing crowds at venues large and small with its spirited versions of the composers vast catalog of tunes. The group returns to the Iron Horse Thursday at 10 p.m.







Local punk/post-hardcore band Powerblessings, Young Adults (from Boston) and local punk rock quartet Blessed State will be at the Sierra Grille Thursday at 10 p.m.



Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band return to the Valley for a show with a little something extra: every ticket includes a download of Ritters new album, The Beast In Its Tracks. The Felice Brothers, headliners in their own right, open the show at the Calvin in Northampton Thursday at 8 p.m.







The Z Three: An Organ Trio Tribute to the Music of Frank Zappa  Hammond man Beau Sasser, guitarist Tim Palmieri and drummer Bill Carbone  has for years been impressing crowds at venues large and small with its spirited versions of the composers vast catalog of tunes. The group returns to the Iron Horse Thursday at 10 p.m.










(L-R) National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Assistant HHS Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testify on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 26, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Top US Health Authorities to Testify in Senate on CCP Virus and Reopening of Economy

WASHINGTONTop U.S. health authorities will testify on May 12 to a Senate committee looking into plans for reopening the nations businesses, schools, and other sectors of the economy closed because of the CCP virus pandemic, as experts recommend doing so cautiously.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn are scheduled to testify before the panel.

Fauci, Redfield, and Hahn have been taking self-quarantine steps after announcements they had come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Each of the witnesses will be testifying remotely at Tuesdays hearing, according to a committee aide.

(L-R) National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Assistant HHS Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testify on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 26, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander is also self-quarantining in his home state of Tennessee for 14 days after a member of his staff tested positive for COVID-19. He will chair the hearing virtually, his office said on Sunday.

The shuttering of businesses to combat the spread of the CCP virus has led to mass layoffs of workers, sparking the greatest economic disruption to the United States since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.

President Donald Trump, who previously made the strength of the economy central to his pitch for his November reelection bid, has encouraged states to reopen businesses that had been deemed non-essential amid the pandemic.

So far, his administration has largely left it to states to decide whether and how to reopen. State governors are taking varying approaches, with a growing number relaxing tough restrictions enacted to slow the outbreak.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the CCP virus as President Donald Trump listens, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on April 17, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Worker Safety

But Trump and his task force coordinating Washingtons response to the CCP virus have faced questions on how U.S. workers will be kept safe during reopening, especially after two staffers working within the White House tested positive for the CCP virus.

One of the staffers is Vice President Mike Pences press secretary Katie Miller, the wife of senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The other is a valet to the president.

So far, the CCP virus has killed more than 80,000 people in the United States, the highest death toll of any country. Some experts say testing for the CCP virus in most parts of the country continues to fall short of what would be needed to safely reopen.

Vice President Mike Pence (C) visits a patient who survived the CCP virus and was going to give blood during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on April 28, 2020. (Jim Mone/AP Photo)

Senate Democrats, including Patty Murray, her partys senior member on the Senate health committee, called on Trump to allocate $25 billion in funding to ramp up testing.

Faucis appearance at the Senate committee comes after the White House blocked the 79-year-old infectious disease expert from testifying to a House of Representatives panel, calling it counterproductive.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to unveil a sweeping CCP virus-response bill, possibly this week, that would likely provide more funding for testing, new state and local government aid, and another round of direct payments to people to help them meet their daily living costs. Congress has already passed trillions of dollars in emergency relief.

By Makini Brice and Richard Cowan

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
This Mother's Day Diplo confirmed that he has recently welcomed a child with Trinidadian model Jevon King.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, the producer thanked his own mother and the mothers of his three children - Kathryn Lockhart and Jevon King.

Sons Lockett and Lazer are from a previous relationship with Lockhart while newborn Pace was conceived with King.
WASHINGTON - Anthony Fauci is the nation's top infectious disease expert, and as such, he's become the most prominent voice warning about how serious the coronavirus is. In a hearing Tuesday in the Senate, for example, he warned that states and localities opening up before their cases are on a downward trajectory could lead to spikes in the virus.

But there are some, largely on the right of the political spectrum, who conflate Fauci's warnings about the virus with the economic and societal damage that's resulted from the response to it. As millions of people lost their jobs this spring, a segment of the population focused their ire on Fauci, then a fixture of daily White House coronavirus task force briefings, and started a social media campaign to fire him that Trump eventually retweeted.

On Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., gave voice to those critics of Fauci. And Fauci, for really the first time so publicly, fought back. Here's what happened.

Paul expressed what many of the protesters of stay-at-home orders have been expressing: in rural states at least, all of this shutting down seems unnecessary: "We never really reached any sort of pandemic levels in Kentucky and other states. We have less deaths in Kentucky than we have an in an average flu season."

He indicated that as Kentucky and a majority of states begin to reopen, Fauci was going to regret such a strict initial reaction to the virus. He cited data that Sweden kept people in school and yet the mortality rate per capita is not relatively high.

"There have been more people wrong with modeling than right," Paul said. "We're opening up a lot of economies around the around the U.S. And I hope that people who are predicting doom and gloom and saying, oh, we can't do this is going to be surge. We'll admit that they were wrong. If there isn't a surge, because I think that's what's going to happen in rural states."

He went on: "So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for the economy. And as much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end-all. I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision. We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying there's not going to be a survey and that we can safely open the economy and the facts will bear this out."

Paul, a physician who is the only member of the Senate to have tested positive for covid-19, used up all of his allotted time with those assessments, but Fauci was granted a few minutes to give Paul a twofold response:

First, he said, he isn't the reason the economy is closed. "I don't give advice about economic things," Fauci said. "I don't give advice about anything other than public health."

Fauci hasn't disputed reporting that in February he was among those urging President Donald Trump to prepare Americans for social distancing to mitigate the spread of the virus, which we now know was already in the country and spreading largely undetected. But his point Tuesday was that social distancing was necessary to save lives - millions, based on some models - and that's what he advocated. It was the job of someone else (like Trump) to decide whether and when to do it, and the job of still more people (like members of Congress) to figure out how to prop up the economy as a result.

"I'm a scientist, a physician and a public health official," Fauci said. "I give advice according to the best scientific evidence. There are a number of other people who come into that and give advice that are more related to the things that you spoke about, about the need to get the country back open again and economically."

Second, he agreed with Paul that he's not the be-all, end-all expert on the virus, and that's precisely why America should be careful in reopening schools and businesses. "I have never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice in this," he said, adding later: "We don't know everything about this virus. And we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children."

That's because the more and more we learn about this virus, the more there is to learn, Fauci said. "We're seeing things about what this virus can do that we didn't see from the studies in China or in Europe," like a strange, potentially deadly inflammatory syndrome that some infected children are coming down with.

Later, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., asked Fauci to weigh in on whether it's fair to keep children from school for potentially another year. Fauci underscored that he's not in the business of how to handle such a tough choice: "I don't have an easy answer to that. I just don't," he said. "You have to see on a step-by-step basis as we get into a period of time in the fall about reopening the schools."

In an interview with reporters later, Paul said he still isn't convinced schools should be closed and rural states like Kentucky should be keeping up social distancing. Three children in New York have died of the inflammatory syndrome linked to the virus, he said, comparing it to the flu.

He again repeated his criticism of Fauci. "I think that we shouldn't give anyone's words disproportionate weight," he said. " . . . I think that Dr. Fauci is a respected scientist. He's not the end-all. I mean, we should take multiple opinions, and I think he's actually overly cautious."

Paul didn't get much backing among his colleagues for his critical view of Fauci. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said after the hearing that Fauci has "earned my trust," saying: "In terms of Dr. Fauci, I still consider him to be the gold standard."

Fauci showed he's fully aware of the economic and societal upheaval fighting this virus has caused, but he isn't accepting blame for every decision about the response to it.

- - -

The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis contributed to this report
Brandon Ferguson, 24, of Northeast Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday, May 12, 2020, and charged with shooting four people on a city bus last month. Read more

An off-duty University of Pennsylvania security guard who said he acted in self-defense when he shot three teenagers on a SEPTA bus last month was caught on a surveillance camera starting the fight and has been charged with assault, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office said Tuesday.

Brandon Ferguson, 24, of Northeast Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday morning in the 2800 block of Levick Street in Mayfair. In the April 16 shooting of the teens and the injuring of a female passenger, he was charged with four counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person.

The charges stem from an early morning fight on the Route 58 bus that was captured on video as the bus traveled through the Castor section of the city about 1 a.m.

Ferguson gave a statement to the District Attorneys Office saying he used his licensed gun to shoot the three boys in self-defense when they attacked him. A 16-year-old was shot in his left thigh, a 15-year-old was shot in the right thigh and right buttocks, and a 17-year-old was shot in his right knee. All are recovering.

A woman who was on the bus suffered a graze wound, said Jane Roh, spokesperson for the office.

Ferguson, who has a permit to carry his gun, was sitting in the back of the bus when the three teens approached him and an argument ensued, a Police Department spokesman said after the shootings.

At the request of the District Attorneys Office, Ferguson was released on $250,000 unsecured bail under the condition that he turn over to police his firearms, which included an AR-15 rifle and two handguns, and ammunition, Roh said.

After the shooting, Ferguson was put on leave by his employer, Allied Universal Security Solutions. A spokesperson referred a call for comment about his employment status to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was last assigned. A call to the university was not returned.
GCC ethylene glycol (EG) imports into India may be severely hurt as a result of an ongoing anti-dumping investigation targeting imports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE and Singapore, according to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the regional trade body representing the common interests of the chemical and allied industries in the Arabian Gulf.

The inconsistent investigative practices by Indian authorities on anti-dumping regulations raise serious concerns under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and threaten to severely hurt GCC economies, jeopardising $543 million worth of mono ethylene glycol (MEG) imports, which is equivalent to 20 per cent of total chemical imports from the region into India, according to GPCA analysis.

India is the second largest importer of GCC chemicals and accounts for over a third of total GCC export volume together with China.

On 6 April 2020, Indian authorities terminated the investigation for the sole imports from Saudi Arabia, and continued the investigation into imports from Kuwait, Oman and the UAE. This partial termination of the investigation is inconsistent with Indian anti-dumping rules.

GPCA is therefore urging the fair treatment of GCC MEG producers and calling upon Indian authorities to terminate the partial investigation into MEG imports from the remaining GCC states, in order to restore a level playing field for all producers and allow for the continuation of exports of MEG from the GCC to India in the future.

MEG is an essential raw material for the production of various end user products ranging from clothing and other textiles, through packaging to kitchenware, engine coolants and antifreeze. Polyester and fleece fabrics, upholstery, carpets and pillows, as well as light and sturdy PET drink and food containers originate from ethylene glycol.

Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: As the regional body for the Arabian Gulf chemical industry, GPCA calls for the immediate termination of the partial anti-dumping investigation into regional MEG imports into India. This detrimental and ill-advised measure is having a harmful impact not just on GCC economies but also on bilateral trade, threatening to disrupt Indias domestic market and damage long-standing friendly relations between the nations.

He added: This is the latest in a series of trade-restrictive practices introduced by Indian authorities that GCC chemical exports have been confronted with over the years. GPCA is working closely with GCC authorities to advocate for the immediate termination of the investigation in line with Indias international obligations and the fair treatment of all WTO member states. At a time of pandemic, the uninterrupted supply of chemical raw materials is essential to addressing the global health crisis and we call upon authorities to work together to ensure we maintain the materials needed in factories across the globe today to ensure no shortage of essential raw materials.

Echoing this sentiment, the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), of which GPCA is a member, recently wrote to the G20 leaders as well as trade ministries in various states, to commend their statement on easing supply chain constraints. ICCA further called upon world leaders to coordinate with the industry for the removal of trade barriers and commit to stopping trade distorting practices, particularly for materials and products, including those made from chemicals and petrochemicals, deemed essential in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As a member of the G20, India must act now to roll back any applied or future measures that contradict its G20 commitments. TradeArabia News Service
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I mean, everybody says, you know, Bidens hiding,  he continued. Well let me tell you something: Were doing very well. Were following the guidelines of the medical profession.

Biden declined to put a timeline on when he might begin holding live events.

Biden virtual Tampa rally runs into glitches, awkwardness and blank screens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned against mass gatherings during the pandemic, as have stay-at-home orders in many states. Even so, Trump and his allies have sought to paint Bidens decision to campaign from his house in a negative light.

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The former vice president has been participating in live-streamed discussions, interviews and other videos from cameras set up in his home, where he has remained as the coronavirus has swept across the country. He appeared in the ABC interview remotely from his converted basement studio.

Biden pointed to public opinion polls showing him beating Trump, disputing any notion that his lack of travel has hurt him politically. I reject the premise that somehow this is hurting us. Theres no evidence of that. Im following the rules, he said.

Of Trump, Biden said, The president should follow the rules instead of showing up at places without masks. Trump appeared at a White House news conference Monday without a mask, even as everyone around him wore them.

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The president has started leaving the White House, traveling recently to Camp David in Maryland and to Arizona.

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In Tuesday's interview, Biden was pressed on other topics, including former Senate aide Tara Reades accusations that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden has repeatedly denied the allegation.

What do you say to Americans who believe Tara Reade and wont vote for you because of it? ABCs George Stephanopoulos asked him.

Well, thats their right, Biden said. I think women should be believed. They should have an opportunity to have their case and state it just forthrightly, what their case is. Then its the responsibility of responsible journalists like you and everyone else to go out and investigate those.

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He once again denied the claim, saying: This never happened. I assure you. Thats the truth.

Biden also weighed in on Michael T. Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, who had faced charges that were dropped by the Justice Department last week. Flynn had previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

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What did you know about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn and was there anything improper done? Stephanopoulos asked.

I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn, Biden said. He accused Trump of trying to divert attention from the coronavirus crisis.

Stephanopoulos followed up, pressing Biden on his reported presence at a January 2017 meeting where he and President Barack Obama were briefed on the FBIs plan to question Flynn.

I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted. Im sorry, Biden responded. I was aware that there was  that there had asked for an investigation. But thats all I know about it.

Asked whether the Justice Department was right to drop the charges, Biden was critical of the agency, but added, I dont know the detail of where we are right now.
A Gold Coast man who allegedly threw a woman off a balcony will no longer have to wear an electronic tracking device while on bail.

Jayden Daniel Moorea, 46, is accused of murdering 21-year-old Breeana Robinson, who died after she plunged from the 11th floor of a luxury Southport apartment in 2013.

Moorea's bail was varied on Tuesday, with Brisbane Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan saying the device had little ability to reduce the risk of him committing similar crimes to those which he is charged.

He said it only really reduced the risk of the former cruise ship worker from skipping a court appearance.

Jayden Daniel Moorea (right), 46, is accused of murdering 21-year-old Breeana Robinson (left), who died after she plunged from the 11th floor of a luxury Southport apartment in 2013

Shearin (right) will no longer have to wear an electronic tracking device while on bail

Moorea, who was known as Dan Shearin before he changed his name to that of a French Polynesian island that was his favourite cruise ship destination, is also accused of terrorising nine women over 15 years.

The allegations came to light during investigations into Ms Robinson's sudden death.

Police allege Moorea sent the women threatening, abusive and degrading text messages from fake social media accounts while sitting in his car outside their homes.

Moorea denies the allegations, as he does killing Ms Robinson, who was initially thought to have taken her own life.

It was a finding rejected by her family, who have relentlessly campaigned for justice.

Police charged Moorea with murder in 2019 after biomechanics experts determined Ms Robinson was thrown from the balcony.

He has also been charged with damaging evidence, stemming from an allegation he deleted text messages about what occurred during a domestic incident on the night Ms Robinson died.

Ms Robinson, 21, died after falling 11 storeys from the balcony of the luxury apartment she shared with Shearin at Southport, on the Gold Coast

Moorea was granted bail in 2019 with strict conditions, including a social media ban, a 8pm-5am curfew, being made to surrender his passport and reporting to police six days a week

Moorea was granted bail in 2019 with strict conditions, including a social media ban, a 8pm-5am curfew, being made to surrender his passport and reporting to police six days a week.

He also has to tell police if wants to start a sexual relationship after prosecutors strenuously objected to his release - saying he had a problem with women, could re-offend or interfere with witnesses.

The Crown did not object to the removal of the electronic tracking device.

Moorea will be tried at a date to be fixed.
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Linkedin Cecile Feuillatre and Maria Elena Bucheli (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Tue, May 12, 2020 09:15 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd75fa57 2 World France,coronavirus,COVID-19,virus-corona,SARS-CoV-2,pandemic,COVID-19-lockdown,COVID-19-quarantine,reopening Free

French sidewalks came to life Monday and roads filled with traffic for the first time in two months as officials began lifting the coronavirus lockdown, though daily life looked very different for those returning cautiously to shops and offices.

"I'm a little stressed out," Fatma Chouria, a daycare center cook, told AFP at the Gare Saint-Lazare railway and metro station in Paris.

"I'm happy to be going back to work, but we're not in a rush, we're trying to stay calm and crossing our fingers," she said from behind a face mask, now compulsory on public transport across France.

Others avoided mass transit and the roads bustled with drivers and cyclists taking advantage of new dedicated lanes in many cities to encourage bike use.

"It's true that we're a little nervous about public transport, so I prefer to take my bike, even though the weather isn't helping," said David, riding under stormy skies in Paris.

Hairdressers, stationery shops and other businesses reopened after an eight-week shutdown that took a heavy economic toll but is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives by braking the spread of the coronavirus.

But it was hardly business as usual.

Masks were everywhere and floors marked with tape indicated the safe social distance between people, including spots showing where to stand on trains and buses, with roughly half of seats marked as off-limits.

Many stores have arrows on the floor showing one-way itineraries for clients, and larger retailers posted security guards to limit the number of people allowed inside.

"I've been waiting for a while now," Maureen, 21, said outside a Zara fashion store in Marseille, southern France.

"I've missed shopping -- I don't need anything in particular, I'll just buy if I see something I like," she said.

'Only two sales'

France's Liberation newspaper summed up the wary mood with the headline "De-confinement: Back to Abnormal" over a red-and-green front page illustrating the country's split into safe regions and those -- including Paris -- where COVID-19 risks remain too high to lift the lockdown completely.

In office buildings, employees who cannot work from home are now kept far apart from colleagues, bottles of hand sanitizer are everywhere, with doors propped open so people do not have to touch them.

Amid the skyscrapers at the La Defense business district west of Paris, resident Marie-France Navarro said she had expected the usual pre-crisis crush of commuters, but instead there were just a handful of people.

"I'm really surprised there's nobody here, it's really strange, this is a business district after all," said Navarro. "It feels like the lockdown is still under way."

Cafes, bars, restaurants and cinemas remain closed nationwide, and gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited.

Markets can start reopening this week, but grocery stores and other businesses must strictly limit how many clients can be inside at once.

On Paris' usually buzzing Champs-Elyseesa handful of clients waited outside a Sephora cosmetics store shortly before opening.

"It's a little unreal, everyone is wearing masks, it's really strange," said one young woman, Irina.

Farther up the avenue, sales people at Chanel swiped counters with disinfectant wipes, their white masks contrasting their chic black pantsuits.

"The recovery is going to be very gradual," said Edouard Lefebvre of the Champs-Elysees business alliance, noting tourists usually make up a third of store traffic.

At one central Paris shoe store, doors were open but hopes of a surge in business were dim.

"Since this morning we've had a few people come in, look around, but so far we've made only two sales," said Alexandre, the manager, wearing a mask and gloves.

At primary schools, where youngsters will return in staggered openings, teachers separated desks and taped up posters explaining strict new social distancing protocols that will apply when doors reopen later this week.

"You shouldn't think this is going to be 'back to school'," said Sarah Rodriguez, a principal in one Paris school.

"There are so many sanitary constraints -- no games, no recess, the distances -- that I don't really know how teachers are going to manage," she said.

On the banks of the Seine River, teenagers Iris and Paul, their high school not yet reopened, embrace.

"It's the first time in two months that we see each other," said the young man.
The alleged victim of a multimillion-dollar Melbourne gold heist has been charged over the case.

Daniel Ede is charged alongside Karl Kachami with stealing $3.9 million in gold bullion, cash and other valuables from the Melbourne Gold Company on April 27 in what is considered one of the largest heists in Victoria's history.

Kachami, 48, was earlier this month accused of robbing Ede at gunpoint and falsely imprisoning him.

Now Ede, 37, is charged with seven offences including knowingly making a false statement about the incident.
The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam has proposed the expansion of a key expressway linking it with neighboring Ho Chi Minh City from four to 10-12 lanes as the road has been plagued by congestion due to a high volume of traffic.

The expansion is part of Dong Nai's propositions submitted to the prime minister regarding multiple key traffic projects in the province.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway links the southern metropolis with Long Thanh and Thong Nhat Districts in Dong Nai Province.

There are currently two main routes connecting the two localities, namely the expressway and National Highway No. 51, both of which have been overloaded, especially during rush hour and holidays.

Expanding the expressway is necessary to resolve the issue, as well as to prepare for the inauguration of Long Thang megaairport in the near future, according to the Dong Nai administration.

Stretching over 55 kilometers, the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway was finished in February 2015 with a total of four lanes and two hard shoulders.

The road has helped shortened journeys between Ho Chi Minh City and such provinces as Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Rau, and those in the Central Highlands.

However, the volume of traffic along the route has been climbing rapidly, resulting in frequent congestion and creating an inconvenience for commuters.

A traffic jam along a road leading to the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway in southern Vietnam. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

According to Nguyen Thi Hien, who travels between Ho Chi Minh City and Long Thanh District for work every day, her daily commute usually takes 40 minutes one way.

However, Hien said her commute will take three times as long if a traffic jam occurs along the expressway, adding that taking the longer National Highway No. 51 does not help her avoid congestion either.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Dong Nai expressway has a maximum speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour, but vehicles are forced to travel at a snails pace at times due to congestion, said Le Van Kiet, a driver from District 9, Ho Chi Minh City.

The Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway is currently one of the busiest roads in southern Vietnam, said the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC).

The route served ten million vehicles in 2015, VEC reported, adding that the number increased to 16.5 million in 2019.

Most traffic jams occur along a 20-kilometer section near Ho Chi Minh City, it added.

Statistics from the Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering JSC (VEC E), which manages the expressway, showed that the number of vehicles along the road on the weekend averages about 40,000-43,000.

Up to 60,000 vehicles fill the road on holidays, VEC E added.

Tu Nam Thanh, director of the Dong Nai Department of Transport, stated that the agency had proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway be expanded to 10-12 lanes.

The Ministry of Transport has also ordered relevant agencies to determine the most viable approach to widening the road.

Expressing the same opinion, Bui Van Quan, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Freight Transport Association, believed that regular congestion on the expressway has caused considerable damage to the local transport businesses.

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The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is spending GH44.7 million to ensure reliable power supply in the Ashanti Region.



Of this, it would in the short term spend GH15.2 million to conduct extension and intensification power projects in the region.



In the medium term, plans are far advanced to use the remaining GH29.5 million to construct a sub-station at Agogo to help improve power supply in Konongo, Ejisu, Kumawu and nearby areas.



Part of the GH29.5 million will also go into the construction of a power switching station at Adansi Asokwa aimed at helping to improve service delivery of the ECG so that customers will be better served.



Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu, addressing journalists in Kumasi, stated that his outfit was determined to improve power supply in the Ashanti Region and make the frequent power cuts a thing of the past.



To help achieve its target, he announced that the ECG had decided to spend more to improve power supply so that customers would no longer complain about power cuts, with its attendant problems.



Our prime aim is to correct all the faults that have been detected in the system, which usually leads to frequent power cuts, and that is why we have decided to spend this amount to make sure that our customers feel good, he said.



The ECG MD, who was in Kumasi on Friday with some other officials of the company, said ECG cherishes its customers and very soon their services would see massive improvement.



Old Transformers



He said ECG had realized that most of its transformers in the Ashanti Region were old and could not perform well so plans are in place to replace them with new ones.



Mr. Agyeman-Budu also said faulty cables, insulators and other ageing equipment in the Ashanti Region, which were obstructing effective power supply, would be replaced without delay.



New Machines



According to him, the ECG had secured a new technology called VIT to easily detect faults, isolate and fix them without plunging an entire area into darkness.



He said ECG staff would henceforth use conductors to repair faults.



Mr. Agyeman-Budu stated that it was never the intention of the ECG to frequently plunge its customers into darkness, lamenting that the ECG even lost a lot of money whenever power supply was cut.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Stage company embezzlement case expected to resume in June

 RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov

17:23 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI) - The Seventh Studio embezzlement case involving the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov is expected to resume on June 1, RAPSI was told in the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow on Tuesday.

The case was again adjourned because of absence of one of the defendants.

The court has repeatedly postponed the case reopening since February 18 because of various reasons including unfinished examination, epidemiological situation and health condition of the accused persons.

Earlier, Moscows Meshchansky District Court decided that the trial is to be conducted in the ordinary course, without the use of videoconference, despite the quarantine restrictions.

In late 2019, the court commissioned the third complex financial and economic, and art valuation examination. A previous evaluation in 2018 failed to establish a fact of embezzlement.

Defendants in the case along with Serebrennikov are producer Alexey Malobrodsky, ex-head of Seventh Studio stage company Yury Itin, ex-official of Russias Culture Ministry and current director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum.

Ex-chief accountant of Seventh Studio Nina Maslyayava is tried separately. She admitted guilt in full.

Other defendants pleaded not guilty calling charges against them pointless and absurd. Moreover, Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky lay the blame on Maslyayeva.

One more defendant, producer Yekaterina Voronova has been put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.

According to investigators, defendants in the case stole 133 of 214 million rubles ($3.3 million) of budget funds allocated to the Seventh Studio company in 2011-2014 for development and popularization of contemporary art in Russia as part of the project Platforma.

Serebrennikov was arrested in late August 2017 and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($5,300), over 60,000, and $4,000.

Investigators believe that he was an organizer of the budget money embezzlement. He allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize Platforma project for promotion of art and called alleged accomplices into the organization.




Thousands of migrants are on the move, trying to reach their native places during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. And they are leaving in droves from Mumbai, one of the biggest Covid-19 hostspots in the country.

Helping them in their endeavours are autorickshaw drivers from Mumbai who are taking the migrant workers to as far as Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The Mumbai-Agra Road that touches Indore through a bypass road, is seeing a steady stream of autorickshaws from the countrys commercial capital.

Officials and eye-witnesses put the number of these three-wheelers from Mumbai crossing the Indore Bypass Road at 50 every hour.

Mumbai has the highest number of Covid-19 cases for any city in the country and a strict lockdown since late March has taken thousands of autorickshaws and black-and-yellow taxis off the roads there, leaving thousands of drivers and their kin jobless and without adequate cash in hand.

I have been driving an autorickshaw in Mumbai for the past 12 years. But everything is closed there now. I spent two months digging into my savings but that, too, has run out. I have no choice but to return to my village, 54-year-old Baleshwar Yadav, who is returning to his native village in Jharkhand, told news agency PTI. He had eight people, including two women and three children, crammed into his three-wheeler.

Many of them are not sure when they will return to Mumbai. There was no food in Mumbai due to lack of work. We will think of returning to the city later, said Ajay Yadav (36), hailing from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Umakant Chaudhary said autorickshaws were being allowed to pass only after those inside are subjected to medical screening when they enter the border of Madhya Pradesh.

We have been seeing a sizeable number of autorickshaws from Mumbai on the Indore Bypass Road over the last one week. We have also received information that some drivers are charging people to transport them to their native places in other states, the officer said.

The migrants are also riding back home on their bicycles. And some of them live as far as Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh or Kalahandi in Odisha.

Traveling by a truck packed with people will cost me over Rs 3,500, bus journey will cost twice as much. And I have only Rs 700 in my pocket, said 27-year-old Ramjeevan Nishad, who left Nallasopara to reach Vaisand after a journey of 80 kilometres.

He is part of a group of dozen whose destination is Gorakhpur, which is 1,600 km away.
McDonalds has announced its phased return to business with the planned opening of six Dublin branches from May 20.

The Dublin restaurants will begin serving customers by drive-thru and are opened on a pilot basis.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed welcomed the move.

He said: "McDonalds is a valued key purchaser of Irish produce and an employer of a large number of people throughout Ireland.

"I therefore welcome todays announcement that McDonalds restaurants will begin a cautious reopening in Ireland from May 20th with a small number of restaurants opening as Drive Thru only at first."

As a key purchaser of Irish produce and a significant employer, I warmly welcome todays announcement that @McDonaldsIRL restaurants will begin a cautious reopening in Ireland from May 20th. Little steps of encouragement for suppliers, staff and customers alike!  Michael Creed TD (@creedcnw) May 12, 2020

Describing the previous economic and social conditions of Ireland during lockdown as "undoubtedly tough," the Minister said the phased reopening of the country offers "hope for the brighter days ahead."

In a statement, Chief Executive of McDonald's UK and Ireland, Paul Pomroy, said perspex screens at the Drive-thru windows will be fitted and staff will wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

He said there will be fewer staff working in kitchens and service areas and additional training on hygiene practises will also be introduced especially for contact areas.

Customers are encouraged to pay by contactless payments wherever possible and an order cap of 30 will be in place.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Outpatient services, including the boroughs only inpatient detoxification, at Staten Island University Hospitals (SIUH) Princes Bay campus will be moved to its Ocean Breeze facility, citing state requirements.

Some of the outpatient services will remain temporarily closed while others will permanently close at the Princes Bay campus in order to treat medical and surgical patients in a COVID-free environment, a SIUH spokesperson told the Advance/SILive.com.

The Medical, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Coumadin clinics will be co-located with their counterparts in the Ocean Breeze hospital.

The spokesperson told the Advance that no layoffs are being made as a result of the move.

Some inpatient staff roles have changed and some inpatient staff have been reassigned to other areas where their skills can be best utilized, the spokesperson said.

At the North site everyone will be treated as in the past outside of the main hospital in our outpatient clinics. Plans are being finalized to create COVID-contained areas within the North site main hospital building as well, the hospital said in a statement.

DETOX PATIENTS TO BE TREATED AT SIUH NORTH

A SIUH spokesperson told the Advance the decision to close the inpatient substance use and rehabilitation and detoxification units is to ensure the main hospital is able to keep 30% of its beds at open capacity per a mandate by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the hospital prepares for a potential COVID-related surge in patients later this year.

Patients needing detoxification will now be admitted to medical floors where they will have constant medical supervision. No one requiring detoxification will go without a bed, the spokesperson said when asked if the move will reduce the number of detox beds available.

The hospital said its created a specialist team, which includes experts in addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine, to deliver care to those patients while they are in the hospital as a consultation service.

The treatment model, the hospital said, is an evidence-based standard and is used throughout the New York region.

The spokesman said plans were already in the works to move the chemical dependency program to undergo much-needed renovations, however, plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

STATE GRANT TO CREATE CHILD, ADOLESCENT TREATMENT CENTER

In February, SIUH was awarded $7.2 million from the state Department of Health to create a child and adolescent psychiatric and substance abuse treatment programs at its Princes Bay hospital, as well as renovations to its building at 392 Seguine Ave., which houses its chemical dependency programs.

The new program will incorporate a family treatment component, as well an integrated medical program with primary care and other specialties.

A pilot will incorporate after school programs, hopefully expanding to a Department of Education (DOE) High School extension program offering weekly individual and group treatment.

Suboxone will be offered for opiate dependence, as well as alcohol and other treatments.

We hold dear to our commitment to the well-being of the Staten Island community, said Dr. Timothy Sullivan, Chair of the Behavioral Science at SIUH. It is with great pride and gratitude that we thank our legislators and the State of New York for this magnificent and generous grant, which will allow us to expand opportunities for treatment, recovery and prevention of illness, for the most vulnerable  the children and adolescents of Staten Island.

Construction of the new program is anticipated to begin in 2021.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
A Communications team member of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Anim Piesie, has called on authorities responsible for funds disbursed by government to feed citizens during the 3-week partial lockdown to account for it and reimburse Ghanaians.



When the lockdown was announced by President Akufo-Addo in March, the Gender Ministry announced measures to feed the vulnerable.



The government began to distribute free meals to over 400,000 Ghanaians in locked-down areas.



Some people also had foods like rice, yam in its raw state and it helped to ease the economic hardship that comes with COVID-19.



However, the NDC Communicator on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' newspaper discussion segment lamented that, "the amount and quality of cooked foods distributed during the partial lockdown days will not amount to the allocated 40 million Ghana cedis, neither will the uncooked foods shared to citizens will amount to the same money allocated by government, so all we expect from government is to find means of retrieving the balance. Definitely there must be a balance".



Listen to him in the video below





The Finance Committee of Parliament approved for the government to access GHC1.2billion from the Contingency Fund to finance the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP). The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta presented the policy document on CAP to Parliament seeking approval to spend GHC1.2 billion.This came after the Minority in Parliament asked the government to give details of the funding requested by the Minister to tackle coronavirus and its impact on the economy.The Minister explained that GHC280 million will be used for food packages and hot meals while GHC40 million will go to the National Buffer Stock Company.Meanwhile, GHC 200 million will be used to pay for bills on water and sanitation, GHC241 million will cover tax waiver for health personnel.He added that GHC 80 million will be spent on the allowance for health staff, GHC2 million will go into the transportation for health workers GHC600 million will be disbursed as soft loans to businesses.The Communications Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) says Government is spending GH2 million a day on the hot meals being provided for Ghanaians in the lockdown areas in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.According to him, the state spends GH5 on each pack of food to feed over 400,000 under the social intervention program.The Minority Leader Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South is demanding an independent audit and full disclosure of monies spent in the distribution of food during the three week Covid-19 partial lockdown by Government."Claims by NADMO of spending GHS2 million a day on feeding an opaque number of Ghanaians during the lockdown would not be allowed to pass. May we serve notice that we shall insist on full transparency and a thorough audit of all funds received."He made this known during a press conference in Parliament dubbed, "Ghanas Worsening Covid-19 Situation and National response to the Pandemic."

Source: Elizabeth Semiheva/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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Just because you can do something doesnt mean you should do it.

At least, thats the advice my mother used to dispense.

I was thinking about that axiom as I watched men carrying rifles descend on state capitols across the nation to protest shelter-in-place orders.

The states where they did this have open carry laws. So, the protesters point out they are just exercising their rights.

Having spent much of my life working in the Illinois statehouse, I cant help but roll my eyes. Do they really think these sorts of antics are going to help their cause?

If anything, they have marginalized their concerns and alienated themselves from lawmakers and much of the public.

A rather agitated acquaintance of mine demanded to know if I thought this was such a bad idea, just what I would do.

The right to petition our government for a redress of grievances is one of the most fundamental of rights.

And since I was asked, here is what I would do: Leave the guns at home, put on a shirt and tie and contact my lawmakers and share my concerns. Id peacefully assemble in front of the statehouse  keeping six feet apart  and speak out.

And I sure as hell wouldnt show up at the rally with signs calling Gov. J.B. Pritzker a Nazi as protesters in Chicago and Springfield did this week. Name-calling is never productive and it is particularly offensive to use this slur against a Jewish person who helped create the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

Its hard to assess how well, or poorly, the governor is handling the states response to the pandemic. Have we flattened the virus curve sufficiently? How well have the states economic needs been balanced with the states health needs?

One thing is certain. There is a lot of suffering.

A nursing home not far from my home has 70% of its residents infected with the disease and 10 have died. On the other hand, in the working-class community where I live, hunger is stalking the families of barbers, waitresses, cooks and other ordinary folks who have never experienced unemployment before.

There are no easy solutions. But everyone is sacrificing.

Well, almost everyone.

One cant help but ask: Are there different rules for the rulers than the ruled?

For example, The New York Times reported Ivanka Trump, President Trumps eldest daughter, traveled with her three kids from Washington to New Jersey to celebrate the first night of Passover with family. They did this despite a non-essential travel ban in Washington, D.C., where they live and work. And they did this despite the senior White House advisers public statements for people to stay home.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot went to her hairstylist for a trim despite a state order closing down all salons.

And according to The Patch, Pritzkers wife and children traveled from Chicago to their $12 million Florida horse farm, despite the governors order barring non-essential travel.

When questioned by a reporter, Pritzker said, My official duties have nothing to do with my family, so Im just not going to answer that question. Its inappropriate, and I find it reprehensible, honestly, that that reporter wrote a story about it.

Gosh, that doesnt sound like the governor is denying the accuracy of the story. It just sounds like he is angry that it was written.

Well, governor, there is a lot of anger out there. Folks are angry that they are out of work, angry that their loved ones are dying and angry that they cant leave their homes.

We may not have the epidemic or economic data that the White House, governors and mayors use in their decision making.

But one thing we can do is smell a hypocrite a mile away  even with our masks on.

Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist and a freelance reporter. He can be reached at ScottReeder1965@gmail.com.
- Company Secures Approval of All Requests at its "First Day" Hearing, Supporting Ongoing Operations

- Avianca Customer Programs Continuing and Customers Can Arrange Travel and Fly with Avianca As They Always Have; Avianca Committed to Continue Serving Customers with Safe, Reliable Air Travel as COVID-19 Travel Restrictions are Gradually Lifted

BOGOTA, Colombia, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avianca Holdings S.A. (NYSE: AVH, BVC: PFAVH) (the "Company" or "Avianca") today announced that all "first day" motions related to the Company's voluntary reorganization proceedings initiated on May 10, 2020 have been approved on an interim or final basis by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Collectively, the orders granted by the Court at the hearing will help ensure that Avianca continues normal business operations throughout the reorganization process.

Anko van der Werff, Chief Executive Officer of Avianca, said, "We are very pleased with the prompt approval by the Court of our "first day" motions related to employees, customers, travel agency partners and suppliers, among others. This was an important and positive step forward in our reorganization and supports Avianca continuing to operate through this process."

"We are committed to maintaining connectivity for people, families and businesses and we look forward to gradually resuming our passenger flights as travel restrictions are lifted. Our customers, including our valued LifeMiles members, can be confident that they can continue to arrange travel and fly with Avianca in the same way they always have," Mr. Van der Werff continued.

"The Chapter 11 process is a responsible way for Avianca to protect and preserve the Company as we navigate the severe impact of COVID-19 on the airline and travel industries. We are continuing our government discussions, and with their support, we are confident that we will emerge as a better, more efficient airline that continues to serve customers and provide essential air travel across Colombia and Latin America. We are grateful for the support of our business partners and recognize our continuing relationships will also be important to a successful outcome of this process," Mr. Van der Werff added.

Among other things, the Court approved motions that will allow Avianca to protect employees and suppliers while also continuing to serve customers. Avianca received authorization to:

Pay certain employee wages, compensation and benefit obligations owed from before the filing date, as well as to continue paying wages and honoring employee benefit programs in the normal course of business during its Chapter 11 cases;

Maintain its network of customer programs throughout this process. Customers can continue to arrange travel and fly with Avianca in the same way they always have. Additionally, Avianca customers will continue to accrue miles when they fly with Avianca, and can continue to redeem miles earned through LifeMiles to purchase tickets with Avianca during this process; and,

Honor various obligations owed to certain of its travel agency partners, vendors and suppliers from before the filing date. The Company will also continue to pay vendors and suppliers, as well as travel agency partners, in the ordinary course for goods and services provided on or after May 10, 2020 .

The success of Avianca's "first day" hearing marks the first significant milestone of the Company's Chapter 11 case, and will allow it to both issue various critical payments and maintain operational continuity throughout its reorganization. With its requested relief granted, the Company can look forward to productively engaging with key stakeholders and other interested parties. Notably, the next Court hearing is currently scheduled for June 11, 2020, where Avianca hopes to secure approval of all interim orders on a final basis.

Ongoing Government Discussions

As previously announced, Avianca - like many other airlines around the world, including in the United States, the European Union, and Asia as well as in Latin America - is seeking financial support from the governments of the countries where it provides essential services. Avianca continues to be engaged in discussions with the government of Colombia, as well as those of its other key markets, regarding financing structures that would provide critical additional liquidity to support the Company during the Chapter 11 process and play a vital role in ensuring that the Company emerges from its court-supervised reorganization as a highly competitive and successful carrier in the Americas. In the interim, while these discussions are ongoing, the Company intends to utilize its cash on hand, combined with funds generated from its ongoing operations (such as cargo), to support the business during the court-supervised reorganization process.

Peru Operations

In parallel to its Chapter 11 filing in the U.S., as previously announced, Avianca is commencing a liquidation of its operations in Peru pursuant to local laws, which will allow Avianca to renew its focus on core markets upon emergence from its court-supervised reorganization.

Additional Resources

Additional resources for customers and other stakeholders, and other information on Avianca's filings, can be accessed by visiting the Company's Reorganization website at aviancawillkeeponflying.com. Court filings and other documents related to the Chapter 11 process in the U.S. are available on a separate website administered by Avianca's claims agent, Kurtzman Carson Consultants, at www.kccllc.net/avianca. Information is also available by calling (866) 967-1780 (U.S./Canada) or +1 (310) 751-2680 (International), as well as by email at www.kccllc.net/avianca/inquiry.

About Avianca Holdings S.A. (NYSE: AVH) (BVC: PFAVH)

Avianca is the commercial brand for the collection of passenger airlines and cargo airlines under the umbrella company Avianca Holdings S.A. Avianca has been flying uninterrupted for 100 years. With a fleet of 158 aircraft, Avianca serves 76 destinations in 27 countries within the Americas and Europe. With more than 21,000 employees, Avianca Holdings had revenues of US$4.6 billion in 2019 and transported 30.5 million passengers. On February 22, 2019, Avianca Holdings announced its corporate transformation plan consisting of four key pillars: 1) the improvement of operational indicators, 2) fleet adjustments, 3) the optimization of operational profitability and 4) repositioning of non-strategic assets. On May 24, 2019, control of Avianca Holdings was assumed by Kingsland Holdings Limited, an independent third party of United Airlines.

Contacts

Investor Contact

Avianca:

Luca Pfeifer, Head of Investor Relations

ir@avianca.com

(571) (5877700)

U.S. and Europe Media Contact

Avianca:

Adriana Paulinne Sanchez, Corporate Communications

Adriana.sanchez@avianca.com

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher:

Leigh Parrish

lparrish@joelefrank.com

+1 212 355 4449



Central America Media Contacts

Avianca:

Adriana Paulinne Sanchez, Corporate Communications

Adriana.sanchez@avianca.com

LLYC:

Alejandra Aljure, Director

aaljure@llorenteycuenca.com

Colombia and South America Media Contact

Avianca:

Viviana Escobar, Corporate Communications

viviana.escobar@avianca.com
Indiana-based banks have made more than 70,000 emergency Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling nearly $10 billion to help small businesses struggling through the coronavirus public health crisis.

The U.S. Small Business Administration said Indiana businesses have received 71,614 emergency loans meant to keep staff on payroll through May 8 with funds still remaining in the federal program. The popular pandemic relief program initially ran out of $350 billion in funding after just 13 days, but Congress added another $300 billion, and SBA-affiliated banks resumed making the loans on April 27.

Thus far, Indiana banks have lent Hoosier businesses $9.6 billion to help them with cash flow when people have been sheltered at home during the COVID-19 outbreak and little revenue is coming through the door.

"Tax-paying depository banks and savings and loans in Indiana and throughout the nation continue to do the lions share in helping small businesses apply for much-needed funding," said Amber Van Til, president and CEO of the Indiana Bankers Association. "Paycheck Protection Program loans help small business remain open, preventing layoffs and saving jobs."
Rare blue dragons have been washing up on a shore in Texas and bewildering beachgoers.

Visitors to the Padre Island National Seashore have spotted the creatures during their trips, sharing photos of the unique creatures online.

The dragons are a type of sea slug and are very small in size, usually only measuring up to 3cm, according to the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS).

The sea creatures get their vivid blue colour from their food sources, which include Portuguese man-of-war and blue button jellyfish, according to a past edition of the Padre Post newspaper shared with KSAT.

When the dragons eat Portuguese man o' wars they store their prey's stinging cells in their "fingers" for their own use.

According to PINS due to the dragon's ability to concentrate the stinging cells in their tiny fingers they are able to inflict an even greater sting than the original man o' war would have been able to.

So, if you see a dragon in the park, be amazed as they are a rare find, but also keep your distance! warns the agency.

One of the people to spot the creatures on the beach was 7-year-old Hunter Lane from Mesa Arizona, whose family were vacationing in the area.

Hunter loves sea creatures and thought he had found a blue button jellyfish, Trey Lane, Hunter's father, told CNN.

After they picked it up in a beach toy he proclaimed to me that he had discovered a new species!

Hunter's mother, Leah Lane, told KSAT that the family spotted four within the space of the afternoon, but luckily the family avoided being stung throughout their encounters.

Hunter really wanted to touch it, I dont blame him, I did too, as they look very soft and squishy. But we discussed that since we have no clue what they are we better not, she said.

After thinking about it he even said he might be like the poison dart frog mom, he is kind of brightly coloured, which is a warning.' Smart kid.

Jamie Kennedy, a spokesperson for the park told CNN that sightings of the dragons on the seashore have seemingly spiked.

A lot of people are finding them lately. That will often happen with animals that a bunch will wash up at the same time, a spokesperson for PINS told KSAT.
The Supreme Court on Monday seemed divided over how broadly religious institutions including schools, hospitals, and social service centers should be shielded from job discrimination lawsuits by employees.

The court heard arguments by telephone, with the audio available live, for a second week because of the coronavirus pandemic. The court has two days left of scheduled telephone arguments. Tuesdays arguments are high-profile fights over President Donald Trumps financial records.

On Monday, the high court heard a case stemming from a unanimous 2012 Supreme Court decision in which the justices said the Constitution prevents ministers from suing their churches for employment discrimination. But the court didnt rigidly define who counts as a minister.

Lawyer Eric Rassbach, representing two Catholic schools sued by former fifth grade teachers who taught religion among other subjects, told the justices that the women count as ministers exempt from suing.

If separation of church and state means anything at all, it must mean that government cannot interfere with the churchs decisions about who is authorized to teach its religion, Rassbach told the justices.

But the court struggled Monday with who should count as a minister, with the courts four more liberal members expressing concern about broadening the current exception.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a member of the courts liberal wing, told Rassbach that he was seeking an exception that was broader than is necessary to protect the church.

Justice Elena Kagan, meanwhile, asked whether a series of people working for religious institutions would count as a minister, including: a math teacher who begins class with a prayer, a nurse who prays with patients, a church organist, and a cook who is not Jewish but prepares kosher meals. No, yes, yes, and no, Rassbach answered.

Whats the connection, what are we supposed to draw from this? Kagan asked, expressing concern about how the court should draw the line between who counts as a minister and who does not.

The courts conservatives, including Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed more comfortable giving broad latitude to religious institutions in defining who is a minister.

Thomas, one of several justices who went to Catholic schools growing up, suggested courts should stay out of the issue, asking: How exactly would ... a secular court go about, determining whether an employees duties and functions are religious or whether theyre important?

Five of the justices are Catholic, three are Jewish and Gorsuch attended Catholic schools but now attends a Protestant church.

The case before the justices Monday involves two schools in Southern California. Kristen Biel taught at St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Agnes Morrissey-Berru at Our Lady of Guadalupe in nearby Hermosa Beach. Morrissey-Berrus teaching contract wasnt renewed in 2015, when she was in her 60s, after shed taught more than 15 years at the school. And Biels contract wasnt renewed after she disclosed she had breast cancer and would need time off.

Both sued their former employers, with Morrissey-Berru alleging age discrimination and Biel alleging disability discrimination. A lower court said both lawsuits could go forward, but the schools appealed and have the support of the Trump administration.

Biel died last year at age 54 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. Her husband has represented her side in her place.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been treated for cancer four times, suggested shed side with Morrissey-Berru and Biel.

What I find very disturbing in all this, Ginsburg said at one point, is that the person can be fired or refused to be hired for a reason that has absolutely nothing to do with religion, like needing to take care of chemotherapy.

The court also heard arguments by phone Monday in an appeal by a Native American man who claims state courts have no authority to try him for a crime committed on reservation land that belongs to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

The justices considered a case involving the same question a year ago, but Gorsuch didnt participate because he took part in the case when he served on the appeals court in Denver before becoming a justice in 2017. With only eight justices, the court was apparently evenly divided and so the justices took up a different case so the full group of nine could rule. On Monday, Gorsuch appeared to be a pivotal vote for the view that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation.

Associated Press reporter Mark Sherman contributed to this story.
SAN FRANCISCO - The fight between Tesla and local officials regarding the reopening of a manufacturing plant escalated Monday after chief executive Elon Musk tweeted his plans and mentioned the potential for arrests.

"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," Musk wrote on Twitter. "I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

It is one of the most prominent examples of a powerful public figure defying local health orders amid the novel-coronavirus response. Tesla on Saturday filed suit against Alameda County, where its Fremont, California, factory is located, seeking an injunction against orders it stay closed. The suit alleged violations of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

Neetu Balram, a spokeswoman for Alameda County, said the county hoped to work with Tesla to avoid escalation of the issue.

"We are addressing this matter using the same phased approach we use for other businesses which have violated the Order in the past, and we hope that Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures," she said in a statement, adding that the county learned Monday that the company was conducting business beyond minimum basic operations.

She said Tesla was expected to submit a plan late Monday detailing its reopening plans. "We look forward to reviewing Tesla's plan and coming to agreement on protocol and a timeline to reopen safely," she added.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk's aggressive push to reopen has gained the tacit support of conservatives aligned with the president, and drawn the ire of liberals, including a California state assemblywoman who punctuated her displeasure of the billionaire with an expletive over the weekend.

Eric Trump, the president's son, liked Musk's tweet Monday.

As the coronavirus shutdowns have dragged on, some states have moved more quickly to reopen, and protesters have demanded an end to the shutdown orders. In Silicon Valley, which has had some of the most restrictive orders in place for the longest time, a handful of tech elites have echoed and promoted Musk's concerns.

California loosened restrictions this month, allowing some commerce and manufacturing to resume, but stricter county orders supersede the state rules.

The company said in a blog post Saturday that it planned to reopen, and laid out an argument for how it could safely do so. Earlier that day, Musk tweeted that he was considering relocating Tesla's Palo Alto headquarters, located in another California county, to Texas or Nevada, and lambasted Alameda County's response.

Musk has repeatedly played down the seriousness of the coronavirus, at one point calling the panic "dumb." On the company's earnings call late last month he called the quarantine measures "fascist" and used expletives to describe what he saw as "forcibly imprisoning" people in their homes against their constitutional rights.

Musk's erratic behavior continued this month when he tweeted that Tesla's stock price was "too high," sending shares plummeting during trading on May 1. Since then he has consistently complained of the stay-home orders, saying Tesla has been unfairly singled out among large automakers and railing against California officials.

He took aim at the county's interim public health officer, Erica Pan, whom he derided over the weekend as "an unelected county official"; he said she "illegally" overrode the state orders - despite county officials' ability to supersede state orders.

Musk also tried to keep the factory open at the beginning of the crisis in mid-March, when the Bay Area became the first major region to order residents to stay home. The county at the time told Tesla that it did not count as essential business.
Vietnams government on Tuesday encouraged the nations fishermen to keep operating around the disputed Paracel Islands, despite Chinas unilaterally imposed fishing ban in the South China Sea, and directed provincial authorities to support Vietnamese fishermen at sea.

That statement of defiance from Hanoi, calling the ban invalid, came as an oil exploration ship contracted by another South China Sea claimant, Malaysia, ended a survey farther south, off the Malaysian coast. The ship has been shadowed by Chinese ships for the past month.

The two developments highlighted the differing approaches of Vietnam and Malaysia in handling their maritime disputes with China. Beijing has been pressuring both nations as it looks to assert to sweeping claims over contested islands and ocean.

Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed provinces and cities to encourage fishermen to continue with their activities within Vietnams territorial waters.

It told local authorities to strengthen the management and supervision of fishing activities and monitor departures during the period of the ban, according to Vietnamese news outlet VNExpress. The ministry also directed provincial authorities to support fishermen at sea and said an emergency hotline would be set up with the Department of Fisheries Control.

Satellite imagery on Tuesday showed Vietnamese fishing boats continuing to operate in the area covered by the fishing ban.

China announced its annual summer fishing ban on May 1, outlawing all fishing activity in an area north of the 12th parallel of the South China Sea that it claims to have jurisdiction over. Fisheries associations from Vietnam and the Philippines immediately protested Chinas ban.

Last week, Vietnams Foreign Ministry also rebuked China over the measure.

China responded Monday, saying it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters in the South China Sea. It contended that the fishing ban was lawful, even over areas in dispute.

Vietnam has no right to make unwarranted accusations against China, not to mention encouraging its fishermen to infringe upon Chinas rights and interests and undermining the sustainable development of fishery resources in the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian said at a news briefing.

Despite Chinas claim that the ban is about environmental sustainability, satellite imagery and ship-tracking software indicates a large Chinese fishing fleet south of the 12th parallel. Thats in an area not covered by the fishing ban.

The area is also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Satellite imagery over Union Banks in the Spratly Islands shows Chinese fishing boats in an area not covered by the countrys annual summer ban, May 10, 2020. [Planet Labs Inc.]

Among the claimants in the South China Sea, China and Vietnam probably have the most visible rivalry, notwithstanding a measure of fraternal relations between their respective ruling parties.

In early April, a Vietnamese fishing boat sank during a confrontation with a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship near the Paracels, prompting a strong protest from Hanoi and stiff criticism from the United States, which accused China of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.

China claims that the Vietnamese boat sank itself after ramming a CCG ship.

Farther south, Malaysia has taken a lower-key approach to its own slow-burning, standoff-at-sea with China.

The West Capella, a drillship contracted by Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas, has been operating in Malaysian waters for five months. Since April 15, a Chinese survey ship, Hai Yang Di Zhi 8, with CCG and maritime militia escort ships has been in the same area, conducting its own survey within Malaysias exclusive economic zone.

Thats been widely viewed as an attempt to pressure Malaysia to stop oil exploration in waters China claims. It prompted the U.S. and Australia to conduct naval exercises in that area, although no confrontation ensued.

On Tuesday, Seadrill, the company that operates the West Capella, said the drillship was leaving the region. The West Capella has finished its planned work and has left the area, Ian Cracknell, the companys communications director, said by e-mail.

The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative had previously reported that the West Capella drillship was contracted by Petronas to search for resources until May 20.

The Malaysian government has yet to comment about the departure of the West Capella. On April 22, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that he was consulting privately with both the U.S. and China, and urged all parties to refrain from sending more warships and coast guard ships to the area, as it may affect peace, security and stability in the region.

Ship-tracking software showed that as of Tuesday, the Chinese ship Hai Yang Di Zhi 8 and its escorts remained in place, continuing its survey activities as the West Capella was ending its mission.
OTTAWA  A majority of Winnipeggers say public transit needs a federal bailout to get through COVID-19, even if theyre less likely than other Canadians to describe bus service as critical.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  A majority of Winnipeggers say public transit needs a federal bailout to get through COVID-19, even if theyre less likely than other Canadians to describe bus service as critical.

In a national poll by Probe Research, some 71 per cent of Winnipeggers said transit is "a critical service," compared with 77 per cent of residents in 10 other major cities.

And while 91 per cent of Canadians say people working essential jobs during the pandemic need public-transit access, 87 per cent of Winnipeggers feel the same.

The Amalgamated Transit Union commissioned the polling and shared the results with the Free Press.

Of the dozen cities polled, Winnipeg residents tied with Edmonton as most likely to say their transit system is underfunded; 45 per cent of respondents felt that way, compared with an average of 36 per cent across Canada.

The ATU will make the results public Tuesday morning. The union argues that Ottawa should give transit systems $5 billion to make up for lost fare revenue.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The poll found four-fifths of respondents support such a move, both in Winnipeg and across the 12 cities.

Probe Researched surveyed 1,501 Canadians online between May 1 and 6, including 100 Winnipeggers.

While online polls do not have margins of errors, Probe says such a sample size would have an MOE of 2.8 percentage points nationally, and 9.8 points for the Winnipeg respondents.

Last month, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities asked the Trudeau government to give cities $10 billion to maintain essential services, because of a drop in revenue from things like transit fares and parking fees.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Northern Ireland business and politicians have welcomed the extension of the furlough scheme until the end of October.

The scheme - which pays 80% of a worker's salary up to a 2,500 monthly cap - will remain unchanged until the end of July and then continue with employers expected to start footing some of the multi-billion pound bill.

First Minister Arlene Foster said the Chancellor's announcement was "very much welcome".

She added: "We will of course look at the detail, but at first glance it will give help and certainty to employers around Northern Ireland."

Ann McGregor, chief executive of the NI Chamber, said the extension was a welcome move.

"Over the coming months, the Government should continue to listen to business and evolve the scheme in line with what's happening within the business environment," she said.

"Further support may yet be needed for companies who are unable to operate for an extended period, or those who face reduced capacity or demand due to ongoing restrictions."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that from August there will be greater flexibility to allow furloughed staff to begin returning to work.

"Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time," he said. "And we will ask employers to start sharing with the Government the cost of paying people's salaries."

Under the scheme - which has already cost the taxpayer 10bn - staff will continue to receive the current level of support through a combination of state and employer contributions.

Details will be announced at the end of the month following consultations with business, but officials have acknowledged the state will continue to make the largest contribution.

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said: "It will be a relief to many of our members and the wider business community that the Chancellor has extended the scheme."

Stressing the need for flexibility, South Belfast MP Claire Hanna said: "While we await more detail, it is very welcome that workers will continue to receive 80%, at minimum, of their salary.

"While this is a very positive announcement and will provide clarity and relief to many across Northern Ireland, it is important that the UK government will be flexible with people and businesses, and to reflect the 'phasing back' and part time working that many businesses will require, to ensure they we don't face a new cliff edge in October."

Alliance MP Stephen Farry said further detail was needed on how it will operate from the summer.

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak has said he is "looking at the best thing to do" with the coronavirus self-employment income support scheme.

He was asked in a BBC interview if he would extend the scheme enabling the self-employed to claim a taxable grant of 80% of their average monthly trading profits, up to a cap.

He said: "We're looking at the best thing to do but ... the reason for that is slightly different in that many of those self-employed people are not in sectors which are necessarily closed or have an employer who has reduced their hours.

"It is a slightly different scheme which I was clear about at the beginning, but what I would say to those people, millions of those people who are eligible, ahead of schedule the scheme is now open, they can apply this week, they'll be getting the emails and they will have the same amount of support based on their historical earnings ... by the end of the month."
The U.S. Supreme is hearing arguments today on three cases that could have a major impact on the November presidential election. Each involves efforts to force the release of President Trumps financial records, including his tax returns.

When, four years ago, then-candidate Trump declined to disclose his tax returns, he deviated from a practice that most major-party presidential candidates had followed for many years. While Trumps position sparked predictable criticism from Democrats and the mainstream media, his eventual victory over Hillary Clinton suggested that it wasnt a big deal with voters. Trumps election didnt stop his opponents from continuing their calls for his tax returns, however, nor did it change his adamance about not releasing them.

During the 2018 congressional campaign, Republicans warned that a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives would mean endless investigations of Trump, a bevy of consequent subpoenas, and a likely effort to impeach him. All of those warnings proved well-founded. In fact, two of the cases being heard today involve subpoenas issued by Democrat-controlled congressional committees.

Fishing expedition

In Trump v. Mazars USA, the subpoena was issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in April of last year. Served on Trumps accounting firm, it demands production of Trumps personal and business records. While the committee claims that its purpose is to reevaluate the effectiveness of various federal ethics laws, Trump is undoubtedly correct in assessing it as a politically-motivated fishing expedition.

The second case, Trump v. Deutsche Bank, has been consolidated with the Mazars suit for Supreme Court review. It involves subpoenas issued by the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Served on Deutsch Bank and Capital One, and extremely broad in scope, they, too, demand Trumps personal and business financial records as well as those of various family members. Here, too, the committees claim a legitimate purpose, specifically their desire to investigate possible interference in American elections by foreign powers. Trump, however, casts them as a politically-motivated witch hunt.

Separation of powers

Since congressional subpoena power is broad, an argument can certainly be made in support of enforcing the subpoenas. However, Trumps objections raise legitimate legal issues too, and they go beyond the president and his business affairs. For if Democrats are coopting legitimate legal processes for raw political ends, a ruling in their favor would have enormous implications for the Presidency as an institution.

Thats why the Supreme Court could very well see these cases as involving strictly political activity, partisan contests between separate but equal branches of government. If so, instead of ruling for either Trump or the congressional committees, the justices might opt to stay out of the controversy altogether. Such a nonruling would diminish the spotlight on the court in this contentious matter, even as it would leave the respective sides wondering what to do next.

The third case, Trump v. Vance, involves a subpoena engineered by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, another Democratic opponent of the President, as part of a grand jury investigation he devised into potential violations of New York law. Served upon Mazars, the once-again sweepingly broad subpoena seeks voluminous financial records of Trump, including his tax returns.

Endless harassment

Trump objects to its enforcement, noting that Vance has refused to disclaim targeting him for criminal prosecution, and asserting that a president must be immune from state prosecutions while in office. Otherwise, he argues, any president could be endlessly harassed by local prosecutors across the country seeking only to make names for themselves.

Its been suggested that a ruling against Trump in the Vance matter would likely have no impact on the November elections both because of the time factor and the confidentiality of grand jury proceedings. That, however, is wishful thinking. If Vance manages to get his hands on these records, anything negative to Trump is a lock to surface before the election in the New York Times, the Washington Post and other media organs unabashedly hostile to Trump.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has declined to recuse herself from these cases even though her openly-declared disdain for Trump unquestionably requires it. She did, after all, call candidate Trump a fakir, theorize having to move to another country if he was elected, and, to boot, wonder aloud how he had gotten away without releasing his income tax returns. Predictably, the mainstream media has remained stone-cold silent on the matter, even though Ginsburgs ethical violation is crystal clear and truly egregious.

Rulings on all three cases are expected by late June.

Daniel Leddys column On the Law appears weekly. Follow him on Twitter. His email address is column@danielleddylaw.com.
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Take care of the earth, because there is no planet B. Thats the leading sentiment  and movement  of Madrid-based clothing and accessory company Ecoalf, that exclusively works with 100 percent recycled materials.

Offering a conscious alternative with no compromise, Ecoalf develops fabrics in partnerships with specialist manufacturers located worldwide, ultimately working to process waste into high-quality fabric with recycled content, using materials such as discarded fishing nets, PET plastic bottles, used tires, coffee and post-industrial cottons and wool to transform into yarns and components for clothing, accessories and footwear.

More from WWD

Also on the fabric front, textile performance technology firm Burlington said it continues playing a strong role in the mission to provide PPE  namely its reusable and cost-effective Maxima and Xalttm collections that provide proven protection, performance, comfort and durability  to the health-care community. The firm operates its own on site institutional grade medical laundry, inclusive of steam sterilization equipment, allowing for thorough evaluation prior to leaving its manufacturing facility.

Nelson Bebo, vice president sales at Burlington, said, The current COVID-19 crisis has shown that supplies of disposable products are not sufficient. The solution is fairly simple when you look at how to more quickly increase supply. One reusable garment equals, on average, 75 disposable garments and the supply of reusable PPE can be more quickly replenished through increased laundering.

Bebo added, The durability of Burlingtons medical fabrics also allows the life of the garment to be extended past its original use. For example, a fabric certified for level two protection through 75 launderings can be tested at the end of that time and still meet certification for level one protection, extending its life cycle and useful protection.

Story continues

And data company Edited released a report that analyzed global retail trends focused on whats selling well, and seven hues to leverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Its report recommends promoting essential items such as underwear and loungewear, and notes that stockkeeping unit sellouts for lingerie have increased year-over-year across all regions, barring the U.S., Spain and Italy. Sleepwear sellouts has increased year-over-year across all regions.

According to its data, bright colors retailers should currently leverage to connect with consumers include coral, and juicy reds; shades of blue, with many brands using pastels or bolder hues; the full spectrum of springy green hues; juicy tangerine-hued oranges, and yellows, ranging from lemon to marigold, and shocking pinks.

As far as anticipated post-lockdown trends, Edited recommends that retailers refrain from over discounting going out-assortments  especially voluminous dresses and Seventies-inspired nostalgia.

For more Business news from WWD, see:

Outdoor Brands Talk Coronavirus Impacts

Brick-and-Mortar, Digital Retailers Adjust Strategies in Wake of Coronavirus

Field Notes: How Fabric Is Helping Save the Planet
Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the undemarcated border between India and China in Eastern Ladakh after around 250 soldiers of both sides were engaged in a fierce face-off near Pangong Lake in the area last week, official sources said.

The situation in the area remained tense after the violent clashes between the troops on Tuesday evening, they said.

The next day, both sides agreed to end the face-off at a meeting of local commanders.

The helicopters were seen flying close to the Line of Actual Control on at least a couple of occasions following the clashes after which a fleet of Su-30 fighters of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties in the area, the sources said.

There was no official word on whether the Su-30 jets were rushed in to carry out the sorties in the wake of the face-off and aggressive Chinese posturing in the area.

Following the fracas, both sides brought in additional troops.

The sources said Chinese military helicopters routinely carry out sorties on the Chinese side of the border while helicopters also fly in the area.

In the face-off on May 5, scores of Indian and personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake and even resorted to stone-pelting.

A number of soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

It was the first case of troops from the two sides exchanging blows after a similar incident around the Pangong Lake in August 2017.

In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.

In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding.

Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening the bilateral ties.
The United States has logged a second consecutive day of fewer than 900 coronavirus deaths, as the World Health Organization hailed global progress but warned of the need for "extreme vigilance" against a second wave. Optimism was tempered by the increasingly dire economic situation, with France showing a huge fall in activity last month and a warning that a major US airline would likely go under because of the pandemic, as jobs vanish and businesses go to the wall. The virus has now killed more than 285,000 people, according to a tally compiled by AFP. The number of infections has surpassed 4.1 million. Infection rates in many countries have started to slow, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted, with weeks of lockdown paying dividends. "The good news is that there has been a great deal of success in slowing the virus and ultimately saving lives," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing. But the global health body warned of a second wave of transmission, with emergencies chief Michael Ryan lamenting that some governments were choosing to "drive through this blind" by not ramping up capacity to test and trace. Swathes of the US have opened up in recent days, despite warnings that the virus is not fully under control in the world's worst-hit country. There was some qualified good news for Americans on Monday, with a tally showing 830 deaths in 24 hours -- a second consecutive day of fewer than 900. Nevertheless, more than 80,000 people are known to have died from the disease since it hit America's shores. The true human cost could be much higher. In a study, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of dead in worst-hit New York could be around 30 percent more than the official toll. - White House fears - The virus appeared to have gained a foothold in the White House over the weekend, with a second confirmed case in the West Wing. Staff there were told Monday they had to wear masks at work, and Donald Trump said he might limit contact with his deputy after an aide to Vice President Mike Pence tested positive. Trump, who is desperately seeking to reboot the economy ahead of the November election, said the US was making "tremendous strides" in ramping up testing and the number of virus infections is "coming down very rapidly." He said it was essential to get the country reopened. "The people want our country open," the president said. But Trump's top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, was set to warn the Senate Tuesday of "needless suffering and death" if that re-opening happens too quickly, according to the New York Times. "We risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal," he told the paper. In California, which retains many of the restrictions dispensed with by other states, Tesla's outspoken boss Elon Musk said he would defy local rules and get his plant back in action. "Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," Musk said in a tweet. "I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me." Musk's impatience -- reflected in anti- lockdown protests throughout the US -- comes as new figures showed the pain being felt all around the world. On Tuesday, France reported a 27 percent plunge in economic activity for April compared with pre-pandemic forecasts. Japanese auto giant Toyota said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in annual operating profit this fiscal year, calling the effect of the virus "wide-ranging, significant and serious." Industry chiefs say the business landscape could look very different in the future. "It's most likely," Boeing CEO David Calhoun told a reporter when asked if a major US airline could go bust over the coming months. "You know something will happen in September," Calhoun said. "Traffic levels will not be back to 100 percent, they won't even be back to 25." - 'Very emotional' - In Europe, where infection rates and death tolls have significantly tailed off, millions of people have begun emerging from lockdown. Spaniards revelled in being able to visit outdoor terraces and cafes after months under one of the world's toughest lockdowns, although virus hotspots such as Madrid and Barcelona remain under wraps. "It's very emotional, almost as if we were opening for the first time," said a smiling Raffa Olivier after setting up tables outside his ice-cream parlour in the seaside town of Tarragona. Shopping strips were once again populated in Greece, while in other parts of Europe -- from the Netherlands to Switzerland and Croatia -- youngsters headed back to the classroom after weeks at home. In Asia, normal life was also getting back on track with trains restarting in India later Tuesday. Shanghai Disneyland reopened at the start of the week, and many workers returned to offices in Hong Kong. There was also light at the end of the tunnel for sports fans. Italian football's Serie A clubs are set to return to team training from May 18, and Germany's Bundesliga will kick off on Saturday -- but without fans. "It's a good feeling. We are now looking forward to being able to resume playing," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. It is "an important and wonderful signal for the Bundesliga." burs-axn/hg
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 16:46:35|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Eleven militants of Taliban outfit were killed in an overnight airstrike in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, the countrys Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.

Armed Taliban tried to destroy a road by excavator in Palas Poosh area, Balkh district, Balkh province Monday night, the ministry said in a statement.

The Afghan Air Force conducted the strike based on a tip off and within the active defense status, killing 11 militants and wounding 10 others, the statement said.

Earlier this month, Taliban militants reportedly destroyed an asphalted road in southern Helmand province.

Taliban militant group has not responded to the report so far. Enditem
The global COVID-19 total has topped 4 million cases, taking 12 days for the pandemic total to jump from 3 million to 4 million, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The worldwide total stands at over 4,100,000, with over 282,000 people having died from their infections, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.

Within the U.S, the same dashboard shows over 1,300,000 confirmed cases and over 80,000 deaths.



In related news, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter that antibody testing in 1,300 New York City transit workers has found a 14.2% positive rate, MLO reported.
To cover the cost of social-distancing measures, those North American airlines would have to raise average fares by 43 percent, to $289 from $202 last year, according to the association.

Eliminating the middle seat will raise costs, Alexandre de Juniac, the association's chief executive, said this month. If that can be offset with higher fares, the era of affordable travel will come to an end.

Still, airlines are facing growing pressure to do something about packed flights as they start to see the beginnings of a tepid and choppy recovery.

This month, Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington and Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrats on the congressional transportation committees, separately called on the Trump administration and airlines to limit capacity on flights.

As air travelers gradually return, they must feel confident that they will be safe from the coronavirus, Ms. Cantwell wrote in a letter on Monday urging the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, to formalize guidelines for airlines.

Are airlines doing anything to keep passengers safe?

While airlines are not yet uniformly keeping passengers six feet apart, they have been trying to put travelers at ease by requiring masks, frequently disinfecting planes and boarding planes back to front to limit interactions among passengers.

In an effort to show customers that its taking the pandemic seriously, United said this week that it was teaming up with Clorox and the Cleveland Clinic: Clorox will consult on the airlines disinfection practices and provide amenities to travelers at some locations, while the Cleveland Clinic will offer advice and keep the airline updated on the latest best practices.
Gardai will be given the power to check up on passengers arriving in Ireland from overseas under new Covid-19 restrictions being considered by the Government.

Gardai may call to the addresses of passengers to ensure they are adhering to self-isolation for two weeks after arrival in this country.

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Strict new regulations are being drafted to make it a legal requirement for anyone arriving in Ireland to self-isolate and give the authorities details of where they will be staying.

Currently everyone arriving in Ireland is being asked to voluntarily self-isolate for two weeks.

But after figures showed a third of those arriving in Dublin Airport were not signing passenger location forms, the Government ramped up plans to make it mandatory to declare where visitors are staying when they arrive.

The move comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that Irish and French people arriving in England would be exempt from UK rules requiring passengers to quarantine for two weeks.

The announcement caught the Government here by surprise, but senior figures insisted a similar exemption will not be reciprocated for those arriving from England.

There are also serious concerns in Government at the speed with which Mr Johnson is easing restrictions, despite more than 31,000 deaths from the virus in the UK.

Using emergency legislation to allow gardai to police the new rules for people travelling to Ireland is a key proposal in the plans being discussed by senior ministers.

The regulations are being drafted across several departments, but are being led by Tanaiste Simon Coveney and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

It comes after it emerged last week that a third of people arriving in Ireland over a six-day period refused to hand over details of where they were staying to allow authorities confirm they were self- isolating.

The Irish Independent also revealed figures which showed hundreds of people who flew in to Dublin Airport during that time did not fill in forms detailing where they would be staying.

In total, 1,950 people - mainly Irish - flew in to Dublin Airport during that period, and 1,279 have signed forms detailing where they will be staying and how they can be contacted.

Those involved in drafting the new rules for passengers say the focus of the debate is ensuring they are properly enforced.

There is some discussion over whether gardai or the Border Management Unit (BMU), which is under the aegis of the Department of Justice, should be tasked with policing the new rules.

There is a push from some ministers to ensure gardai are given the power to enforce the new self-isolation regulations.

At present, passengers are asked by the BMU in Dublin Airport to give details of where they will be staying for the two weeks after they arrive.

The BMU follows up with phone calls to a select number of individuals to ensure they are self-isolating at the address they have given.

However, once the rules become mandatory, stricter enforcement will be possible.

Sources involved in the negotiations say gardai should be given the powers to ensure passengers are staying at the addresses provided.

This would include calling to a person's home to ensure they are not breaching the regulations.

"We are not intending that everyone gets a call, but if there's suspicion or a concern there should be the power there to ensure people are staying in the address they have listed in the passenger location form," a source said.

The proposals for the new regulations are due before Cabinet in the next two weeks.

The Department of Health, Department of Justice and Department of Transport are also involved in drafting the new rules with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the easing of travel restrictions continues to cause disquiet.

Wales' first minister yesterday warned people living in England against travelling to Wales for exercise.

Mark Drakeford said "in Wales it is Welsh law that applies" following concerns that traffic from England could increase after Prime Minister Boris Johnson relaxed travel restrictions there.

Mr Drakeford said police had reported a "distinct increase in activity" in Wales over the weekend, including alcohol-related violence and increased traffic, following reports the lockdown in England might be eased.

"Travelling to Wales to exercise is not to exercise locally. We will use whatever means are available to convey this message."

Continued from Page 1
New Delhi, May 12 : A Delhi court has denied interim bail to a prisoner who sought bail on the grounds of tying a knot with another prisoner at an Arya Samaj Mandir.

The woman had moved the bail in Delhi's Rohini court asserting that she is of marriageable age and has fixed her wedding for May 16 with one Nitin Kumar at the Arya Samaj Mandir in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district amid lockdown.

Opposing the same, Investigating Officer Rakesh Kumar told the court that the person with whom the accused plans to tie the knot is also in custody and is also planning to move a bail application.

Kumar also submitted that the allegations against the accused are serious in nature and hence she should not be released on bail.

During the course of proceedings, Additional Public Prosecutor, Kumar Sanjay, representing the state, also told the court that marriage is not urgent and can be postponed.

After perusal of the bail plea and the contentions, Judge Jagdish Kumar in an order dated May 8 stated, "I am not inclined to admit the accused on interim bail at this stage." The court also said that it will not comment upon how the accused and the person with whom she wants to marry has fixed the marriage.
Agreeing on a multi-billion euro National Economic Plan aimed at rescuing the economy will be the focus of government formation talks on Wednesday.

Officials from the departments of finance and public expenditure are to brief negotiators from Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also set to brief TDs.

But according to sources, the primary aim of the talks is to develop, if possible, just how a national recovery plan would work and deliver the pathway back to good-quality jobs and income growth.

There is likely to be a discussion about how EU resources can be tapped to develop the plan.

Sources have said the plan will include a prioritisation of capital investment, which is to be funded by borrowing, if necessary, to stimulate demand domestically, grow employment, respond to social need; and improve our national health, transport, education and housing infrastructure.

The teams will also discuss the need to develop a series of sector-specific responses through the National Economic Plan - retail, tourism, hospitality, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

Wednesday's talks will follow a day-long discussion on housing which, according to sources, focused in on increasing the powers of the Land Development Agency.

Sources say it was a good discussion with much progress made but given the scale of the issues at play, not everything was reached and further discussion on housing and addressing homelessness will be needed.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has dismissed concerns that some members of his party are waiting in the long grass to replace him. It doesnt faze me, thats not part of my calculations, he told Newstalks Pat Kenny show.

Mr Martin also refused to be drawn on who will be the first Taoiseach of the new government. Both parties agree it has to be a genuine partnership, that is accepted from Day One irrespective of who is Taoiseach.

It is still early days on negotiations, he said. We will know a lot more at the end of this week.

A new government needs to be formed soon because of the significant challenges ahead for Irish society and the economy. The country needs a government that is able to make decisions for the long term without too much short-termism.

Mr Martin warned that Covid-19 is going to have an impact on emissions which can no longer just be a Green Party issue. Climate change is no longer just an existential crisis, he said. We have to deal with it.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have both committed to a 7% reduction in emissions. There is work to be done, we need to go through sector by sector.

Mr Martin added that lessons will have been learned because of the Covid crisis and that concepts such as remote working are just one of changes that might come about because of the impact on congestion and energy use.

He acknowledged it will be a challenge to meet the 7% target, but he said actions speak louder than words and politicians will have to show commitment not just intent.

I think there is an appetite for this. There is a lot of common ground.

The Green Party are not anti-rural Ireland, he said. They hate that stereotype.

The Programme for Government is what will bind all the political parties together, he said.

Mr Martin said that Fianna Fail will have to hold a postal ballot about any agreement on entering coalition.

The partys rules specify that a special ard fheis would need to be held, but that cannot happen now so a postal ballot will be held.
(This May 13 story corrects to remove reference to University of Kentucky trial in penultimate paragraph)

By Rocky Swift and Christine Soares

TOKYO (Reuters) - In the global hunt for coronavirus treatments, a Japanese antiviral medicine known as Avigan has won plaudits from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and $128 million in government funding.

But it's not the only game in town.

Camostat, a 35-year old pancreatitis drug made by Osaka-based Ono Pharmaceutical Co, has captured the interest of scientists in Japan and overseas with little fanfare or state assistance.

The two compounds are among dozens undergoing testing around the globe and illustrate how the race to develop treatments and vaccines is still wide open despite politicians such as Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump promoting the potential benefits of certain drugs.

Gilead Science Inc's remdesivir has pulled into the lead after promising early trial results prompted emergency approval in the United States and Japan. While remdesivir has shown promise in reducing recovery times of hospitalised patients, the search continues for additional treatment options.

Interest in Avigan soared in March after a Chinese official said that it appeared to help patients recover from COVID-19, the flu-like infection caused by the coronavirus. It is now the subject of at least 14 clinical trials. Amidst a global rout in stocks, shares in Fujifilm have shot to record highs.

Abe has called for Avigan to be approved for use by the end of this month if these trials are effective  unprecedented speed, particularly for a drug known to cause birth defects.

Abe's administration has pledged to give away free supplies of the drug, with some 43 countries making formal requests. Fujifilm chairman Shigetaka Komori is a longtime backer of Abe, though the cabinet has denied there is any connection between their relationship and the government's promotion of Avigan.

The use of Avigan is decided by doctors and its approval will depend on medical and scientific evaluation in due course, said Fujifilm spokeswoman Kana Matsumoto.

Story continues

"The use of Avigan has nothing to do with the relationship between the Prime Minister and any particular company," she said.

DESTRUCTIVE TO FETUSES

Avigan, known generically as favipiravir, was developed in the late 1990s by a company that was later purchased by Fujifilm as part of its transition from photo businesses to healthcare. The drug works by short-circuiting the reproduction mechanism of certain RNA viruses such as influenza.

Avigan can be taken as a pill, which would make it more accessible than Gilead's remdesivir, currently administered only as an intravenous infusion. But the mechanism that makes Avigan effective against viruses also makes it destructive to the rapid cell growth of fetuses.

After being tested against a range of viruses, Avigan was finally approved in Japan in 2014, but only for emergency use against flu epidemics, and it was licensed in China where it has since gone off patent.

Also clinically unproven is a camostat mesylate. Developed by Ono Pharmaceutical, most famous for its blockbuster Opdivo cancer drug, camostat is a protease inhibitor that has been used primarily to treat pancreatitis and some types of cancer.

But past laboratory and animal tests against SARS-CoV-1 showed it has antiviral functions, and it can be safely administered in high enough doses to match the concentrations that were effective in the lab.

A study published in the scientific journal Cell in March found that camostat blocks an enzyme essential for the entry of the coronavirus into the lungs, drawing researchers' interest. One of them was Dr. Joseph Vinetz, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, who is ready to launch a clinical trial of camostat.

"It's got a 35-year track record, so it seemed to be a very safe drug," he said. "I said we've got to try it. I'm a physician and we're desperate for anything we can give to people."

Vinetz is still trying to raise money for the trial.

"I'm 100% certain that we needed to start this trial a month ago. And we can have a definitive result in a month."

Ono launched camostat, known commercially in Japan as Foipan, as a treatment for chronic pancreatitis in 1985 and postoperative reflux esophagitis in 1994. The company is now supplying the drug for COVID-19 studies in Japan and overseas, according to spokesman Yukio Tani.

Itzchak Levy at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel launched a self-funded camostat trial in April. "Up to now we recruited 14 patients and look forward to further recruitment," Levy said.

Other clinical trials are testing whether camostat can inhibit the virus's preferred pathway into human cells, and with hydroxychloroquine  the malaria drug touted by Trump - also block the back door, boosting the treatment's effectiveness.

Existing science behind camostat's mechanism of action and tolerance in patients "is why we were enthusiastic about its potential," said Elijah Kakani, who is conducting a clinical trial on camostat alone at the University of Kentucky. "However, at this point we need to temper our enthusiasm and be objective in our evaluation of this medication for the problem at hand."

(Additional reporting by Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Editing by Elyse Tanouye and Carmel Crimmins)
Montevideo Uruguay In this report, we consider a selection of our top-recommended destinations through an LGBTQ+ friendly lens to shed some light on specific communities that demonstrate particular welcome.

All around the world, communities exist where the culture is one of acceptance and friendliness toward LGBTQ+ individuals and issues and where legal protections exist. Our correspondents based in Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia highlight a selection of them, which includes destinations like Montevideo, Uruguay; Madrid, Spain; and Hanoi, Vietnam.

The same attributes that make a place attractive to any prospective expatthings like warm weather, a low cost of living, natural beauty, sound healthcare, and plenty to dothese come into important play, no matter what. But in this report, we consider a selection of our top-recommended destinations through an LGBTQ+ friendly lens to shed some light on specific communities that demonstrate particular welcome.

In all, International Living correspondents have highlighted 13 gay-friendly destinationsin Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asiaideal for vacation or retirement. Five of the best include:

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is considered one of the most progressive countries in Central America  embracing green initiatives, welcoming different belief systems, and, as of May 2020, officially the first in the region legalizing same-sex marriage, says Kathleen Evans, IL Costa Rica Correspondent.

That includes national legislation that offers domestic partner benefits. Same-sex partners are covered as dependents for the healthcare system in the country, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, or simply known as the Caja (which is available to all, once residency is approved).

LGBTQ+ rights have so vastly improved over the last decade that there are more hotels, tour groups and events targeting the North American market and beyond for gaycations.

The biggest LGBTQ+ population is easily found in the capital city of San Jose and its suburbs; offering locals and visitors a plethora of choices from gay real estate specialists to bars, hotels, events, and bath houses. Although in the report, Kathleen identifies many other areas for consideration.

Vietnam

Vietnam has the most progressive laws in Southeast Asia for LGBTQ people, says Wendy Justice, IL Southeast Asia Correspondent. There are no laws prohibiting same-sex relations and there never have been. Gay marriages are legal in Vietnam, though they dont carry all the protections that opposite-sex marriages have. Vietnam also allows gender-reassigned individuals to change their gender on their official documents. Gay characters appear in mainstream television shows and films, and most Vietnamese people, especially in urban areas, are quite acceptinga live-and-let-live attitude.

The former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius, lived with his husband and children for four years in Hanoi and was instrumental in shaping the countrys liberal attitudes toward its LGBTQ community. Aside from Taiwan, which has recently legalized same-sex marriage, Vietnam is the most accepting nation in Asia for LGBTQ individuals.

Gay Pride parades were first held in Hanoi, but now take place in cities across the country. The largest turnouts are in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), where thousands of participants come to take part in the festivities.

Spain

Spain is openly gay-friendly. In fact, it hosts Europes biggest Pride Parade.

After suffering years of oppression under the Franco dictatorship, Spain threw its arms wide open to LGBTQ+ citizens, travelers, and expats, says Marsha Scarbrough, IL Spain Correspondent who lives in Madrid. Same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples were legalized in 2005.

A 2013 poll by Pew Research Center showed that 88% of Spanish citizens accept homosexuality, making it the most gay-friendly of 39 countries polled. Madrid and Barcelona appear on many lists of the most gay-friendly cities. Gran Canaria, the largest of Spains Canary Islands, is a world-renowned LGBTQ+ travel destination.

In the report, Scarbrough lists areas of particular interestpride season typically kicks off in May in Spain, thoughas everywherecelebrations are on hold this year for social distancing.

Uruguay

Whats the most LGBT-friendly country in Latin America? asks David Hammond, IL Uruguay Correspondent.

Many say its Uruguay where you a find culture that values tolerance and inclusiveness, and an LGBT legislative history that echos those values.

Uruguay was the first country in Latin America to offer same-sex civil unions, which provide most of the same legal rights as marriage. Any adult couple (same-sex or heterosexual) whove been together for five years or longer can apply for a civil union at the Civil Registry.

While you find expats, including LGBT expats, living in various parts of Uruguay, most live in Montevideo, Uruguays capital and home to half the countrys population. Montevideo sits on the north bank of the Rio de la Plata, a sea-like estuary notched out of South Americas Atlantic coast.

The LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Business of Uruguay website provides a calendar of LGBT-related events, connections, a list of member businesses, and even offers a diversity-branded debit card.

France

France is often cited as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world, says Tuula Rampont, IL France Correspondent. In 2013, it became the thirteenth country to legalize gay marriage and several laws have been passed in recent years which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In 2001, Paris became the first European capital to elect an openly gay mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, and the city maintains its status as the most welcoming city in France for the LGBTQ+ community.

Keeping in pace with its northern neighbor, the Cote dAzur city of Nice has proclaimed itself the Gay Capital of the French Riviera, and for good reason. A rainbow flag, or a rainbow sticker, has been placed in the windows of cafes, restaurants, and shops after these establishments have completely a training course administered by the city of Nice  in order to be recognized as LGBTQ+ friendly.

Several other, larger cities, like Lyon and Montepellier, are known for their gay-friendly climates. Over 20 French towns, including Tours, Marseille, and Aix-en-Provence, organize annual pride events.

The full report on 13 Best Gay Friendly Countries to Move to can be found, here: Best Gay Friendly Countries to Retire/Move to.

Editor's Note: Members of the media have permission to republish the article linked above once credit is given to Internationalliving.com

Further information, as well as interviews with expert authors for radio, TV or print, is available on request. Photos are also available.

For information about InternationalLiving.com content republishing, source material or to book an interview with one of our experts, contact PR Managing Editor, Marita Kelly, +001 667 312 3532, mkelly@internationalliving.com.

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About International Living

Since 1979, InternationalLiving.com has been the leading authority for anyone looking for global retirement or relocation opportunities. Through its monthly magazine and related e-letters, extensive website, podcasts, online bookstore, and events held around the world, InternationalLiving.com provides information and services to help its readers live better, travel farther, have more fun, save more money, and find better business opportunities when they expand their world beyond their own shores. InternationalLiving.com has contributors traveling the globe, investigating the best opportunities for travel, retirement, real estate, and investment.
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Targeting Cookies

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 00:53:54|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts at an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed efforts to complete building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and ride on the momentum to write a new chapter in socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province.

Xi called for efforts to overcome the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic and make greater strides in high-quality transformation and development to ensure that the target of poverty eradication is reached and the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects is completed.

During the tour from Monday to Tuesday, Xi inspected work on coordinating the regular epidemic response with economic and social development, and on consolidating the poverty eradication results.

While visiting an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou, Datong City, on Monday, Xi said what he cares about the most after poverty eradication is how to consolidate the achievements, prevent people from falling back into poverty, and make sure rural people's incomes rise steadily.

He said an important benchmark to evaluate an official's job performance is to see the amount of good and concrete services he or she has delivered to the people.

When visiting a community of relocated villagers, Xi said relocation is not only about better living conditions but also about chances to get rich. He called for follow-up support to residents with tailor-made rural business projects to ensure sustainable development.

Highlighting that whether the people can benefit shall be a top concern, Xi demanded more supporting policies be put in place in terms of industrial development, financing, agricultural insurance, among others.

Xi applauded the strenuous efforts made by primary-level officials on helping people fight poverty.

At the home of villager Bai Gaoshan, Xi chatted with Bai's family as they sat on a "kang" -- a bed-stove made out of clay or bricks in north China.

Xi said the CPC wholeheartedly seeks happiness for the Chinese people, having stopped collecting agricultural taxes and fees, helping the impoverished rural residents with housing and medical service, training them with skills, and finding ways for them to live a prosperous life.

"I believe our villagers will enjoy better days ahead," Xi said.

On top of that, he called for consolidating achievements in poverty alleviation, and then focusing on rural vitalization to ensure a better life for rural residents.

He then went on to visit the 1,500-year Yungang Grottoes, a "treasure house" of artifacts featuring elements blending Chinese and foreign cultures, as well as cultures of China's ethnic minorities and the Central Plains.

Xi stressed that historical and cultural heritages are irreplaceable precious resources, and protecting them should always be put in the first place in tourism development.

Noting that tourism should not be over-commercialized, Xi said tourism should become a way for the Chinese to understand and appreciate the culture of the nation and enhance their cultural confidence.

The historical implications of communication and integration behind the Yungang Grottoes should be further explored to enhance the sense of community for the Chinese nation, said Xi.

During a research tour in a stainless steel manufacturer in the provincial capital Taiyuan on Tuesday morning, Xi said products and technology are the lifeline of businesses, calling for more efforts in technological innovation to make a greater contribution to the development of advanced manufacturing.

He also called on businesses to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures to ensure the safety and health of their workers, while promoting the resumption of work and production to make up for the time lost.

Later on, Xi went to check the ecological protection work of the Fenhe River in the city, and urged the incorporation of environment protection, energy revolution, green development, and economic transformation.
A young woman activist with the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been attacked by an unknown assailant, bringing to 16 the number targeted since mid-2019 and prompting condemnation from the opposition Tuesday over what they allege is a campaign of intimidation by authorities.

Eang Maryna said a male suspect wearing a helmet with a face mask to conceal his identity beat her, leaving her unconscious with a severe head wound, after she left her home on Monday to buy food in what she described as a normally quiet neighborhood in the capital Phnom Penh.

First, he hit me with a rock causing me to black out and then he hit me a second time, she told RFAs Khmer Service as she recovered on Tuesday.

Then he pointed his finger at me and threatened me, telling me to watch out.

Eang Maryna said that she had earlier posted a video to her Facebook page in which she criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including pushing through a new law authorizing a state of emergency to contain the outbreak critics have said could be used by the government to maintain his grip on power and quash dissent.

After posting the video, she said she had been attacked in comments on Facebook by police and members of the military who threatened to harm her and arrest her.

Eang Maryna said she had not filed a complaint about the attack with authorities because she had been summoned for questioning over her social media posts in the past by her local police station, but she vowed to continue speaking out about government injustice.

I will continue to criticize [the government] because I want a leader who runs the country democratically, she said.

RFA was unable to reach National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun for comment Tuesday.

Speaking to RFA from self-imposed exile in Thailand, where he lives out of fear for his security, former CNRP chief of Phnom Penh Morn Phalla said Tuesdays attack was orchestrated by the government to intimidate the opposition, which is also why he believes no suspect has been arrested.

This is nothing out of the ordinaryI think the assault was organized, he said.

The Phnom Penh authorities use violent methods against CNRP activists and supporters to weaken their spirits because they dare speak the truth about what has happened in society.

In August, Sam Rainsy, the acting president of the CNRP, said he would return home on Nov. 9 to lead a restoration of democracy in the country through peaceful protests, but was blocked from doing so and forced to return to Paris, where he has lived since 2015 to avoid a string of charges and convictions he says are politically motivated.

Since the announcement, 16 CNRP activists and supporters have been targeted in attacks that opposition officials said amount to a campaign orchestrated by the CPP to sow fear within the community. Police have yet to arrest any suspects in the cases, although National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun has said investigations are ongoing.

Soeung Sengkaruna, spokesman for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA that the authorities need to take legal action to apprehend the suspects to avoid criticism that they are engaged in political discrimination [against the opposition] and apply a double standard.

Eang Maryna receiving treatment for the head wound she suffered during an assault, May 11, 2020. Photo courtesy of Eang Maryna Establish a new party

Also on Tuesday, CPP spokesman Sok Ey San said the ruling party wont negotiate with the opposition unless it establishes a new party, after a Cambodian youth leader based in South Korea recently established a political front that could serve as an arena for a variety of stakeholders working to restore democracy in Cambodia.

While the front is not a political party, Sok Ey San said it consists of CNRP members who are still banned from taking part in elections because of the Supreme Court ruling of 2017.

The only option for CNPR members is to establish a new party in order to compete in the next election, he said.

Sam Rainsy on Tuesday welcomed the establishment of the political front however he said CNRP must lead the movement.

The CNRP is a vital toolit was very hard to establish, so we must maintain and work to strengthen it, he told RFA.

We cant disregard the party. This is what I have been working on for the past 20-30 years.

Political analyst Em Sovannara told RFA it is a good idea to establish a movement to restore democracy in Cambodia, but said it is crucial for the movement to convince the CPP to trust it.

He said that the current political situation is at a stalemate because the CNRP and CPP dont trust one another.

The political crisis in Cambodia cannot be resolved by Cambodian politicians because neither side trusts the other, he said, adding that only the international community can help to resolve it.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Egypt's Permanent Representative to the UN's Geneva headquarters Ambassador Alaa Youssef on Tuesday was handed over the presidency of the African Group meant to defend African countries' interests at the UN and other international institutions in Geneva.

During a meeting of the group, which comprises ambassadors of the African Union (AU) member states, Youssef said that Egypt supports all efforts exerted by African states to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On that score, he asserted that the African Group should intensify its activities during the coming period in support of efforts exerted by AU members states to deal with the coronavirus health repercussions.

The Egyptian diplomat called on the African Group to focus on a number of issues in its talks with international organizations during the forthcoming period, including getting access to medical supplies and external debt relief, in addition to providing necessary support for migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-of-a-kind, collaborative, virtual solutions workshop, NewSpace New Mexico hosted the State of the Space Industrial Base 2020 from May 4-7, as a follow-up to the 2019 in-person meeting. The virtual workshop brought together over 150 industry stakeholders to identify actions necessary to develop and sustain the United States' economic and military leadership in space.

Industry leaders, representatives from the Executive Office of the President, Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, and academia virtually gathered to develop recommendations.

"In a difficult time when our nation is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, this virtual workshop attracted participants from across all areas of space to develop recommendations critical to the nation's security," said Casey DeRaad, CEO of NewSpace New Mexico. "I am proud of the NewSpace New Mexico team for organizing such a productive and nationally important engagement."

NewSpace New Mexico partnered with the U.S. Space Force, Defense Innovation Unit, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, to develop strategies to strengthen the space innovation base. Workshop teams focused on the areas of information services, transportation, logistics, space power, human presence, space manufacturing, resource extraction, policy and finance.

Key recommendations workshop included:

1) the U.S. should promulgate a "north-star" top-level vision and strategy for space industrial development and establish a Presidential Task force to execute it

2) the DoD should develop plans to protect and support commerce in space

3) the U.S. government should work to economically stimulate the industry, including space bonds and a Space Commodities Exchange and by executing $1B of existing DoD and NASA funding through the Exchange

4) develop a framework for creating wealth and security with allies and partners that share our common norms and values

5) supply the workforce necessary to fill 10,000+ STEM jobs; and

6) the U.S. Space Force should work closely with space industry entrepreneurs to develop government-commercial technology partnerships that support U.S. commerce and national security in space

More information can be found at: https://newspacenm.org/state-of-space-agenda. A full report will be available in four weeks.

NewSpace New Mexico is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity established to support and grow the nations' space innovation base and to educate leaders and develop strategies to leverage the government's substantial intellectual & infrastructure investments.

SOURCE NewSpace New Mexico
A new film is set to show how Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, left their royal duties behind and began a new life overseas.

The film, tentatively entitled "Harry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace", is being developed by Lifetime and will be the studio's third movie about the royal couple, TVLine reported.

It will show "the couples controversial conscious uncoupling from the crown, after the birth of their son Archie," according to the official synopsis.

"The movie details the struggles of the new parents and unique challenges of being part of the royal family, which ultimately led Harry and Meghan to give up their royal ties to forge a new life on their own terms," the synopsis continued.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle / Reuters

No release date or budget has been confirmed.

The film will be released straight to television, like the first two films "Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance" and "Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal".

The first movie tracked the start of the couple's relationship and the second showed the period before and after their wedding in 2018.

Harry and Meghan said that they would step back from royal duties in January 2020 and work to become financially independent.

Meghan Markle and baby Archie / PA

Other members of the royal family were said to be "disappointed" and "hurt" by the news.

The royal couple first left the UK for Vancouver with their baby son Archie, who recently turned one. They then moved to Los Angeles, where the Duchess of Sussex was brought up.
Actors Vicky Kaushal and Alia Bhatt on Monday took to Istagram to celebrate the completion of two years of their film, Raazi. Vicky also thanked the director Meghna Gulzar and producer Karan Johar for making him a part of the action-spy drama.

Sharing a picture of himself from Raazi, he wrote, #2yearsofRaazi .Thank You @meghnagulzar @karanjohar for making me a part of this beautiful story! The post on the photo-sharing platform garnered thousands of likes. Stars like Vikrant Massey, Richa Chadha also liked the post along with fans of the star.

Earlier in the day, Karan Johar took to social media to celebrate two years of the incredible true story, by sharing a motion poster comprising stills from the movie. The video featured the background score of Ae Watan song from the movie, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. Alia too took to Instagram stories to feature the video clips, shared by Karan.

The Meghna Gulzar-directorial earned approximately Rs 207 crore worldwide.

The films story is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war in 1971, where an Indian girl Sehmat (played by Alia Bhatt) marries a Pakistani Army officer (Vicky Kaushal) to spy for her country. The film was based on a book by Harinder Sikka called Calling Sehmat.

Also read: Sonam Kapoor offers glimpse inside lavish home, shares snapshots during quarantine with Anand Ahuja

Talking about the film, Vicky had told IANS earlier, Since the film is based on a true life incident, there was a certain amount of responsibility on all of us to get the story right. Whether it is me, Alia Bhatt or anyone who was a part of the film...We were conscious about not to tamper with anything.

His character is called Iqbal in the film. The character has many shades -- of a patriot, of a son, a husband and an individual who is dealing with so many complex situations. I think it was a huge responsibility for director Meghna Gulzar as well and she treated the story very sincerely.

(With HT inputs)

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The Indian Navy said its ship INS Kesari reached Male on Tuesday with 580 tonnes of food provisions for Maldives as part of Mission Sagar that began amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"In view of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region and social distancing norms, an online handing over ceremony (for the food cargo) was held on May 12, 2020," the Navy said in its press release.

The ceremony was attended by Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi and High Commissioner of India to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir.

Mission Sagar follows closely on the heels of Operation Samudra Setu, which is aimed at repatriation of Indian citizens from overseas.

"The government of India is providing assistance to friendly foreign countries and towards this INS Kesari was carrying 580 tonnes of food provisions for people of Maldives," the Navy stated.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 70,000 people and killed around 2,290 people in the country till now.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended for the lockdown period.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Clarksburg Holding Off on School Choice Decisions

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  The School Committee is holding off on approving school choice slots for this coming fall because of the uncertainty of what the school year will look like.

"As much as our schools are benefit from school choice and the funds that are received from it, we really have to be careful this year about how much school choice we accept," said John Franzoni, superintendent of the Northern Berkshire School Union at last week's meeting.

He noted that the phase one merger study last year by Public Research Group found the average classroom in the state had 22.5 students and that Clarksburg was low enough to consider taking in more school-choice children.

But during the novel coronavirus pandemic, it would behoove the school to be more conservative if the buildings are allowed to reopen in the fall, he said, and administrative team has discussed numbers at 14 or 15 to ensure children can be spread out.

"When we come back, it's not going to be the same," Franzoni said. "We still don't know, obviously, but we know we have to make some plans and arrangements to keep everyone safe."

Last year, the committee agreed to a school choice window in June and a second in August.

Principal Tara Barnes said the classroom numbers haven't changed since April, with the two bubble classes of Grades 2 and 6 moving up to 3 and 7 in the fall.

So far, there are about 15 children expected for kindergarten although there is the possibility of more being signed up this summer.

"My advice, at this point I think, is that we would be conservative about opening up, and not opening up slots in this June window and waiting to see what happens over the summer," she said in case families move into the community.

One case in point is a family building a home in Clarksburg but whose home won't be completed until December because delays caused by the pandemic. The committee voted to allow their son to start kindergarten in the fall since the school had received documentation confirming the build.

On the other hand, three families have or are moving out of Clarksburg. The school's policy is the children can continue out the year but would have to apply for a school choice slot in the fall, if any are open.

Barnes and Franzoni recommended waiting until August to determine if any school choice slots should open. The committee agreed.

"I know I personally feel like it makes sense to wait, because we don't know what the beginning of the school year even looks like at this time," said committee member Cynthia Brule.

Franzoni said the district has also developed a fiscal 2021 spending plan and was able to keep within a 2 percent increase as requested by the town through the use of school-choice funds.

"I think as you know we've done a diligent job working together with Principal Barnes and actually to cut the budget down to where it should be a passable budget," he said.

The town's Finance Committee is expected to review the budget on Monday.

The district also sent out "reduction in force" letters to teaching assistants paraprofessionals, hourly employees and non-professional status teachers. Franzoni said this was on the recommendation of the legal counsel for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents in light of the uncertainty of Chapter 70 school aid.

The Legislature is in the process of rebuilding the state's fiscal 2021 spending plan that was ravaged by novel coronavirus. With a projected shortfall of upwards of $5 billion in revenue, state school aid and aid to local governments is expected to take hit.

Franzoni said the letter made clear that the impact was for fiscal 2021.

"Now our goal will be to try to call them all back at some point when we get more financial information from the state how about how the revised state budget will impact Chapter 70 funding and the towns, which of course impacts our school funding," he said. "Teachers are on a contract so we are required to call anybody that's being called back before the end of June.

"Now for the teaching assistants and hourly, we don't have a union contract to go by, but we're going do our best to try to inform them by the end of June, if we will be able to call them back, or not, but we're hopeful that we can."

The district had planned to again submit a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The matter had been discussed at an earlier meeting with the volunteer repair committee and the decision was made to try to get back in the pipeline with the potential of a modified building plan.

An attempt at a renovation and addition project was defeated several years ago because of cost but voters did approve a half-million in borrowing to tackle some projects.

"The original plan was to submit in 2021 anyway, because we know that we need to do more beyond what the debt exclusion funds are allowing us to do," Franzoni said, adding he had informed the Select Board that the SOI would not be submitted.

The school had been invited to have a representative on the building committee for Greylock Elementary in North Adams "to keep our options open," Franzoni said, but that project is now being put on hold until at least Sept. 1 because of the changing financial environment.

Jennifer Macksey, assistant superintendent of operations and finance, reported she had been working with other school districts to amend the bus contract with Dufour Tours. The bus company had agreed to a 50 percent reduction from March 13 to the end of the school year.

Berkshire schools had initially closed on March 13 but their was a chance they might reopen until the governor shut down the rest of the school year on April 21.
Ontario health officials said Monday that a downward trend of new daily cases in the last week to 10 days was encouraging, but the data needed further exploration before the province could enter the next phase of the recovery.

Test results continue to go in a good direction, said Dr. David Williams, the provinces chief medical officer of health, as confirmed new cases hovered around the 300 mark Sunday and Monday.

People are staying with the aspects of doing the distancing, said Williams. But he said there are more challenges now as retailers begin curbside delivery, which will require more planning, including calling ahead to arrange pickup.

The four charts below show new trends in the latest data on COVID-19.

Testing goes up, testing positive goes down

Data released by the province shows that the proportion of positive tests for COVID-19 in Ontario has fallen from a daily high of nine per cent a month ago to 3.7 per cent on May 10.

The measure is referred to as per cent positivity and it is one of the many indicators that epidemiologists look at to gauge the spread of a virus.

Although the current data suggests a reduction of cases in the community, Todd Coleman an epidemiologist and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, says its important to know who is getting tested.

Early on, those with symptoms were more likely to be tested, which means that the per cent positivity would be relatively high, said Coleman. More recently, if testing has been expanded to groups of individuals who are not in the symptomatic or high risk group (a higher number of negative people included in the tests, despite the base number of positive cases going up), then the per cent positivity would naturally go down.

At present, the provincial government says testing volumes are roughly 25 to 30 per cent from assessment centres, 40 to 50 per cent from long-term care homes and retirement homes, and the remaining tests are coming from hospitals or other surveillance activity, according to David Jensen, a spokesperson for the ministry of health.

Additionally, the government has changed the way it originally reported the data, now publishing the total number of positive tests instead of the number of people who test positive.

Without knowing the actual number of people being tested (some individuals may get a test to confirm disease, then one or two more to confirm whether virus is still present in their system), we dont know if the lower per cent positivity is just a function of the recovered individuals who no longer have virus present, said Coleman.

Two provinces hardest hit begin to reopen

As Quebec begins to ease restrictions  with schools outside of Greater Montreal reopened as of Monday  a new report by Quebecs national health institute warns the consequences could be dire.

The report, released Friday, estimates that if social distancing measures are lifted, cases could soar to 10,000 a day in Montreal by June, according to media reports, and deaths could reach 150 a day by July.

In Ontario, new daily cases have hovered between 300 and 400 in the last few days.

Deaths continue to pile up in key cities

Deaths continue to climb in Toronto as well as in Montreal, where nearly 2,000 people have died from the virus, accounting for about a third of all deaths in Quebec.

On three of the last 10 days, deaths hovered around 100 in Montreal, the highest they have ever been.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was worried for the citys residents as well as for people across the country in his daily briefing on Saturday.

Meanwhile, deaths in Toronto were highest on May 4, when 51 people died from the virus, but that number has so far, never been repeated.

More women are dying than men

An early study of more than 40,000 cases of the virus in China showed that more men contracted the virus and slightly more men died. Thats not the case in Ontario.

Women account for 57 per cent of cases, according to provincial data from May 11, which translates to about 3,000 more cases.

The difference may be attributable to the high number of health care workers infected  3,407  in a predominantly female workforce, and a much higher proportion of women living into their 90s.

Women accounted for more than two-thirds of people in that age group in the province in 2019, according to Statistics Canada data.

"Women live on average longer, meaning there would be more women in this older group who would be vulnerable to death, said Coleman.

"Usually, to try to compare two groups (men and women, for example), we would conduct something called age-standardized rates for men and women, he said, which eliminates the fact that there might a difference in the age distribution between the two groups. But its difficult to do this when the data are changing so quickly every day.
What I dont understand is the obsession to oppose the motions of the Catholicos, the former Prime Ministers of Armenia and all other peoples motions to release second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan. These people are stating that the trial over the case of the ex-president needs to be held in observance of presumption of innocence. This is what leader of the Union for National Self-Determination political party Paruyr Hayrikyan told reporters today.

Even if you are 100% certain that a particular person is a serious criminal, the court is the one that makes the final decision. Each person needs to be viewed as innocent as long as there is no court decision. Even a convicted person can be innocent, especially a person who isnt convicted, Hayrikyan said.

According to him, the ex-Prime Ministers have filed a motion to change the pre-trial measure by maintaining the presumption of innocence, not to suspend the trial. Since Robert Kocharyan hasnt escaped and there is no proof that he has had an impact on the preliminary investigation, the trial can continue while he is in liberty, he said, adding that courts are under pressure.

On May 8, ex-Prime Ministers of Armenia Vazgen Manukyan, Khosrov Harutyunyan and Karen Karapetyan and ex-Prime Minister of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Anushavan Danielyan submitted a letter of personal pledge to change the pre-trial measure for second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan. After listening to all parties, the judge left for the consultation room to render a decision, which will be announced on May 13.
Lagos State has recorded another death from coronavirus infection on Monday, an official has said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said the deceased is one of the Nigerians evacuated from Dubai by the federal government.

Mr Abayomi said the 32-year-old male patient returned from Dubai with severe underlying health condition and died from COVID-19 infection on Monday.

Total deaths from coronavirus infection in Lagos now stands at 34.

Giving the updates of COVID-19 in the state, the commissioner said 88 new cases of COVID-19 Infection were confirmed in Lagos and the total number of confirmed cases is now 1949.

Additional 33 COVID-19 patients; 9 females & 24 males have been discharged following full recovery. Total number of discharged COVID-19 patients in Lagos now stands at 502.

Another COVID-19 infection related death involving 32-year-old male has been recorded.

The deceased recently returned from Dubai with severe underlying health condition, following evacuation of Nigerians in foreign countries by @DigiCommsNG, Mr Abayomi wrote.

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As of Monday, Lagos had 1949 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 1395 active, 502 discharged and 34 deaths.

Mr Abayomi urged Lagosians to remain committed to the rules guiding COVID-19 infection prevention despite the easing of lockdown in the state.

He appealed to Lagos residents to report all COVID-19 related issues to the ministry through the toll-free line; 08000CORONA  08000267662.
The way cattle are sold is changing, with more and more marts responding to the Covid restrictions .

Lockdown I referenced the fact more marts were by going online. going online last week as more adapted to the constraints of trying to keep their business viable during this Covid lockdown. That number has further increased with marts such as Delvin in West Meath, New Ross in Wexford and Carrigallen have joined the list, while Gortatlea is planning to do so this week.

The logic for marts choosing to do so is simple:

The technology is available and appears reliable.

The costs are not prohibitive.

With the restrictions likely to operate forfar longer than first thought quite some time, its vital to find an efficient method to move meaningful numbers of stock through the system.

The tendering system worked, but it has too many drawbacks. The physical and mental effort to make it work plus the time requiredto make the system work is felt by many to beis just not sustainable, I have been repeatedly told. The number of stock you can move on a given day does not justify all the time and labour required.

Fundamentally it comes down to numbers and money.

Numbers equals a meaningful commission take, and in the current situation, online selling ticks that very important box for the marts. Not to the same extent that the traditional system does, but its a long way ahead of any other option.

Everyone Ive spoken to Judging by conversations Ive had with those currently using the system all appear more thansees online selling as a positive, and feels it will be with us in some form when the Covid crisis has past.

One notable effect mentioned by those using the online system is that not only are their numbers up but so too are their average prices are up as well as numbers.

Shortly after the lockdown began one mart manager in the west said to me, never have factory prices been so relevant to those buying  when negotiations were happening on a one-to-one basis, the reference point for price was anchored firmly by the buyer to that weeks factory quote.

The seller was in effect operating in an enclosed bubble. He could take what was being offered or face the prospect of going through the whole tendering process again at a later date in the hope of doing better.

The online system eliminates that issue, opening the bidding up to any number of potential buyers.

Returning to those improved prices: as April slipped into May there was an increase as buyers frustrated with limited access to numbers pushed price boundaries in an effort to take out the opposition in their quest to get numbers.

Jim Bushe was one of A number of managers I spoke with over the weekend reckon prices across the board have risen by around 100-120/hd over the last three weeks.

My mini mart reports bear this out, with lighter 350-450kg continental store bullocks now trading from 2.40-2.70/kg and more on occasion.

However, Aberdeen Angus and Herefords bullocks were reported by Maurice Brosnan in Gortatlea to be up 20c/kg to between 2.00-2.15/kg while your good Friesian store is now operating from 1.60-1.75/kg.

The improvement in factory quotes towards the end of last has also obviously helped the trade with 600kg+ bullocks in both Delvin and Kilkenny for example selling from 2.05/kg to 2.27/kg.

I do have one question in relation to online selling: prices. In the spring prices often move rapidly upwards as those with grass to graze push on, but how well would the system work in a falling market or on a cold wet day in November?

Mart reports

Kilkenny

Numbers were improved, with the trade for this tender sale also slightly stronger especially compared tothan a week ago.

600kg+ bullocks sold from 1.70-2.10/kg, with forward 500-600kg types also starting at 1.70/kg but seeing a top of 2.45/kg. Lighter bullocks sold from 1.45-2.65/kg.

Beef heifers made 1.90-2.35/kg, with forward heifers averaging 1.70-2.35/kg. Light heifers made 1.50-2.60/kg.

The market for cull cows saw Friesians selling from 1.05-1.41/kg, with continentals making up to 1.79/kg.





Gortatlea

Maurice Brosnan continues to put serious numbers through his hands, but starting this week Gortatlea will also be going live online. Well see how it goes, Maurice told me.

Prices for Hereford and Angus type bullocks and heifers at present in this area are averaging 2.00-2.15/kg, up 20c/kg Maurice tells me in the last couple of weeks.

Weanlings are also tending stronger, as evidenced by six 260kg Charolais bulls that sold for 2.88/kg  750/hd.





Ennis

Last Thursday, Clare Marts held a tendering sale that specifically catered for cull cows and aged bulls.

A good entry of continental-type store cows saw prices top out at 1.94/kg, as in the case of a 655kg Charolais with other prices of note including. A 690kg Limousin made 1.88/kg and a 555kg Angus sold for 1.71/kg.

Among the Friesian culls prices ranged from 1.12-1.31/kg, with that top price going to a pair averaging 697kg/hd. Aged bulls sold from 1,140-1,540/hd.





Kanturk

Seamus OKeeffe reported a strong demand for yearling Hereford and Angus bullocks and heifers, with prices for those from 300kg averaging 1.80-2.00/kg, and 2.05/kg achievable if they were the real gear buyers had a bit more in the tank .

On the calf side lighter Friesian types sold from 30-60/hd, with stronger farmer types making 80-120/hd. Hereford and Angus bulls averaged 250-300/hd, with heifers making 150-250/hd.

Friesian bullocks sold from 1.40-1.60/hd.





Listowel

Barney OConnell noted that pPrices for Friesian bullocks have started to edge upwards, with last weeks sale seeing store types selling from 1.50-1.65/kg.

Prices being offered from feedlot customers also trended stronger last week, with Barney OConnell noting that 1.90/kg was now being freely offered for both Hereford and Angus bullocks and heifers.

Cull cow numbers had been badly hit by the lockdown but they also showed signs of recovery here last week.





New Ross

Auctioneer Jim Bushe was delighted with a switch to online selling. We limited our first sale to a smaller number but we will be going full steam ahead from next week, he told me.

On the prices side Jim said, youd be ate alive for light continental bullocks as their prices averaged 2.40-2.94/kg. A good trade for stronger cattle saw their prices top out at 2.27/kg, while 400-440kg heifers sold from 2.27-2.37/kg.

Well-finished Friesian cull cows were in demand and averaged 1.53/kg.





Delvin

Thomas Potterton took the decision to moved from a tendering system to online last week, and it the result? went a dream Thomas told me.

Prices too were also in dreamland as store bullocks under 400kg sold from 1.90/kg to a top of 2.94/kg, as in the case the 350kg Belgian Blue at 1,030.

Prices for forward bullocks were also strong, with samples including 545kg Anguses at 2.15/kg and 550kg Limousins up to 2.27/kg.

The good selection of heavy cattle included a 640kg Charolais that sold for 2.26/kg and a 775kg Limousin who made 2.06/kg.





Pick of the prices

2.94/kg

Was paid for a 350kg Belgian Blue bullock at Devlin





2.88/kg

Average price paid for six 260kg Charolais bull weanlings at Gortatlea





Mart reports





Kilkenny

Numbers were improved, with the trade for this tender sale also slightly stronger than a week ago.

600kg+ bullocks sold from 1.70-2.10/kg, with forward 500-600kg types also starting at 1.70/kg but seeing a top of 2.45/kg. Lighter bullocks sold from 1.45-2.65/kg.

Beef heifers made 1.90-2.35/kg, with forward heifers averaging 1.70-2.35/kg. Light heifers made 1.50-2.60/kg.

The market for cull cows saw Friesians selling from 1.05-1.41/kg, with continentals making up to 1.79/kg.

Gortatlea

Maurice Brosnan continues to put serious numbers through his hands, but starting this week Gortatlea will also be going live online. Well see how it goes, Maurice told me.

Prices for Hereford and Angus type bullocks and heifers are averaging 2.00-2.15/kg, up 20c/kg in the last couple of weeks.

Weanlings are also tending stronger, as evidenced by six 260kg Charolais bulls that sold for 2.88/kg  750/hd.

Ennis

Last Thursday, Clare Marts held a tendering sale that specifically catered for cull cows and aged bulls.

A good entry of continental-type store cows saw prices top out at 1.94/kg, as in the case of a 655kg Charolais. A 690kg Limousin made 1.88/kg and a 555kg Angus sold for 1.71/kg.

Among the Friesian culls prices ranged from 1.12-1.31/kg, with that top price going to a pair averaging 697kg/hd. Aged bulls sold from 1,140-1,540/hd.

Kanturk

Seamus OKeeffe reported a strong demand for yearling Hereford and Angus bullocks and heifers, with prices for those from 300kg averaging 1.80-2.00/kg, and 2.05/kg achievable if they were the real gear .

On the calf side lighter Friesian types sold from 30-60/hd, with stronger farmer types making 80-120/hd. Hereford and Angus bulls averaged 250-300/hd, with heifers making 150-250/hd.

Friesian bullocks sold from 1.40-1.60/hd.

Listowel

Prices for Friesian bullocks have started to edge upwards, with last weeks sale seeing store types selling from 1.50-1.65/kg.

Prices being offered from feedlot customers also trended stronger last week, with Barney OConnell noting that 1.90/kg was now being freely offered for both Hereford and Angus bullocks and heifers.

Cull cow numbers had been badly hit by the lockdown but they also showed signs of recovery.

New Ross

Auctioneer Jim Bushe was delighted with a switch to online selling. We limited our first sale to a smaller number but we will be going full steam ahead from next week, he told me.

On the prices side Jim said, youd be ate alive for light continental bullocks as their prices averaged 2.40-2.94/kg. A good trade for stronger cattle saw their prices top out at 2.27/kg, while 400-440kg heifers sold from 2.27-2.37/kg.

Well-finished Friesian cull cows were in demand and averaged 1.53/kg.

Delvin

Thomas Potterton moved from a tendering system to online last week, and it went a dream.

Prices too were also in dreamland as store bullocks under 400kg sold from 1.90/kg to a top of 2.94/kg, as in the case the 350kg Belgian Blue at 1,030.

Prices for forward bullocks were also strong, with samples including 545kg Anguses at 2.15/kg and 550kg Limousins up to 2.27/kg.

The good selection of heavy cattle included a 640kg Charolais that sold for 2.26/kg and a 775kg Limousin who made 2.06/kg.




Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  Our lives are all changing in ways that were unimaginable just a week ago, read the beginning of New York City mayor Bill de Blasios statement to the public, released on the evening of March 15. With the city marked as the epicenter for COVID-19 in the United States, de Blasio announced that he would be signing an Executive Order the next day, which would limit the operations of dining establishments to takeout and delivery services exclusively, effective March 17.

To say that this declaration sent the citys food and beverage industry into a state of unrest is an understatement. Restaurants make up New York Citys DNA, and a change as big, and as drastic, as this meant immediately dismantling well-fueled supply chains. With a little more than a day to come up with a plan of action, establishments had to make the difficult decision of either remaining open and operating with no dine-in options, or shuttering their shops indefinitely (in some cases, permanently).

One of the restaurants quick to react to this sudden change was Junzi Kitchen, a vegetable-forward fast casual Chinese restaurant (with four shops around the city, and one in Connecticut), whose kitchen is headed by Hong Kong-raised Lucas Sin. Their Instagram post, which came up on the eve of the city-wide closure, listed what could be expected from Junzi in the days to follow: family-sized meals, and a condensed menu to assure freshness and minimize food waste in the process.

LJ Almendras, Junzis Filipino food designer  whose work involves scaling the restaurants recipes to be top quality and cost-efficient across all shops  shares that one of the things they wanted to address was how to stay connected, all while apart from each other. Making sure diners are nourished is top priority, of course, says Almendras, which is why they offered family- and solo-sized meals to begin with. But our support team also wanted to create something that could allow the Junzi experience to go beyond the store, and right into the homes of our diners.

The second volume of Junzi Kitchen's Distance Dining featured Filipino-Chinese cuisine. In photo, chicken confit arroz caldo. Photo by JENN CHENG/JUNZI KITCHEN

The Filipino-Chinese menu consisted of pancit palabok, chicken confit arroz caldo, and bilo-blio. Photo by JENN CHENG/JUNZI KITCHEN

A little more than a week after implementing takeout-only orders, Junzi introduced the Distance Dining series: a once-a-week tasting menu whose themes changes on a weekly basis, designed to be assembled and eaten safely at home. Almendras shares a thought imparted by Sin to his team about this dining experience, "Just because theres a crisis, doesnt mean we cant be creative." Junzi refers to this as their crisis pop-up.

When news of the COVID-19 virus broke, and the world got wind of its origins being at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, Chinese restaurants became the major target as far as the viruss initial impact on the food and beverage industry was concerned. An Eater article details that in the month of February in New York, Chinese restaurants share of daily restaurant connections  things like phone calls, website clicks, delivery orders, and reviews  dropped about 20 percent.

There was, and still remains to be, a sinophobic paranoia that has surged over many individuals. Chinese restaurants have been suffering because of fears over the outbreak, from New York, to Manila, Australia, Canada, and beyond. This is something that Junzi isnt exempt from, having experienced this even before the start of New Yorks lockdown, albeit quietly, seen through the sudden change in their number of daily diners.

In the creation of the Distance Dining series, Almendras shares that, as a restaurant, their assumed responsibility is to feed and provide a semblance of comfort. Diners can book a ticket on the Junzi website, meals arrive that Friday along with a printed menu, note from the team, and reheating instructions. To further the experience, Sin and his team take to Instagram Live in order to show plating instructions and talk a little bit more about the menu.

The Filipino-Chinese menu was developed by chef Lucas Sin and Junzi Kitchen's food designer LJ Almendras, who is Filipino. Photo by JENN CHENG/JUNZI KITCHEN

As a restaurant built on a cuisine with such rich heritage, which is now being threatened, there was also a sense of duty to educate their diners. The inaugural Distance Dining menu was entitled, Chinese Food Is Good For You. On Junzis Instagram post about it, Sin wrote that the meal is something that his dad would probably have put together: Healing Chicken Broth to soothe the lungs, a traditional Shanghainese meatball called the Red-Cooked Lions Head Meatball to tonify the stomach, and a Yam and Osmanthus dessert to calm the spirit. This would set the tone for the menus in the weeks to follow. We always go back to figuring out how we want Chinese food to be seen, says Almendras, of the three-person team that assembles these weekly tastings.

At its most basic, cuisines can be classified based on their countries of origin. The Philippines has Filipino food, Italy has Italian food, China has Chinese food, and so on. But bigger curiosities allow for deeper extensions: though French in origin, haute cuisine refers to luxurious dishes with extravagant presentations; molecular gastronomy is a cuisine of science, with a technical backbone to understand the build and varied ways ingredients can be manipulated. Then there is crossroads cooking, which involves identifying particular aspects of general cuisines, and finding the traits they share with the cookery of other countries.

Arguably, the impact that Chinese food innovations have had on other countries is second to none. This is what Junzis Distance Dining series reflects on: how Chinese cuisine has an undeniable influence over major culinary identities. The second volume  a collaboration between Almendras and Sin  puts Filipino-Chinese food in the spotlight, with their own versions of pancit, arroz caldo, and bilo-bilo. Chinese-Puerto Rican formed the third volume, Chinese-Japanese the next, and Chinese-Thai in the week after. As of writing this, a New American-Chinese menu is scheduled for the week. To commemorate Asian American Heritage month in the U.S. this May, a Chinese-Malaysian tasting menu is in the works. Think of each collaboration as a cross-cultural discussion, made edible.

The third volume of Distance Dining featured Chinese-Puerto Rican cuisine: red braised empanadas, barb-b-q ribs and salchicha fried rice, and coconut budin. Photo by BYRON J. WU/JUNZI KITCHEN

The Chinese-Puerto Rican menu was by chef Lucas Sin and culinary director Anthony Nichols ("the Puerto Rican guy") and was inspired by the Chinese restaurants in Puerto Rico, which began when Chinese people immigrated in the U.S. territory. Photo by YUCHEN YE/JUNZI KITCHEN

On top of this, Junzi gives diners the chance to buy a meal for those at the frontline of their partner hospitals. Almost 4,000 rice bowls have been shared with healthcare workers, first responders, and hospital staff that are themselves getting through COVID-19.

Restaurants remaining open during this turmoil, and finding solutions through city closures, is already commendable. It takes a certain kind of courage and creativity, however, to think up a way to not only stay open and create meals, but also to challenge misconceptions brought about by this pandemic.

Its difficult to see what restaurant culture will be like beyond this time, especially since no one can say for sure how long this will go on. Even in this time of COVID-19, food has a role to play. It is there for sustenance  but it can also dispel fears, create normalcy, and bring people together. It still can very much be a social endeavor, in a time where social distancing is becoming the standard.
International Nurses Day 2020: Politicians extend gratitude to nation's 'unsung heroes'

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 12: Several top politicians such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi and many others on Tuesday extended their gratitude towards the nurses' community on the occasion of International Nurses Day.

Taking to Twitter, Home Minister Amit Shah said that nurses are the backbone of the medical sector and their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is "remarkable".

Coronavirus lockdown: 4 migrants, headed home, killed in accidents

"On #InternationalNursesDay, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts," Shah's tweet read.

On #InternationalNursesDay, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 12, 2020

On the other side, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described nurses as "the unsung heroes" and said that they are the first line of defence in the battle against the ongoing pandemic. He also thanked the nurses for working tirelessly to save lives.

Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid19 virus.



On #InternationalNursesDay I thank & salute each & every one of them for their hard work & dedication.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 12, 2020

West Bengal Chief Minister also took to Twitter and said that nurses are playing an important role in the fight against the coronavirus.

Coronavirus crisis: TMC, BJP indulge in war of words during PM Modi's meeting with CMs

Today is #InternationalNursesDay. Nurses are playing an important role in our fight against the coronavirus. We salute all those nurses who are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis, putting themselves and their own families at risk.  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 12, 2020

"Today is #InternationalNursesDay. Nurses are playing an important role in our fight against the coronavirus. We salute all those nurses who are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis, putting themselves and their own families at risk," Mamata Banerjee said.
The latest Global Energy Alert report on 'How To Profit From The Oil Market Crash' is an absolute must-read for everyone from crude oil traders to energy investors. Sign up for your risk-free trial today and get the report for free.

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- Production from U.S. coal-fired power plants fell to 966,000 GWh in 2019, the lowest level since 1976. The 16 percent decline was also the largest in percentage terms in history.

- The EIA attributes the decline largely to increased output from natural gas and wind turbines.

- Coal-fired capacity fell to 229 GW in 2019, down from a peak of 318 GW in 2011.

Market Movers

- Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) posted an $855 million loss for the first quarter, including a $1.3 billion impairment. The pipeline company said it would cut capex by another $400 million.

- California Resources (NYSE: CRC) said in an SEC filing that absent a debt restructuring, there is substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern.

- Weatherford International (OTCMKTS: WFTLF) reported a net loss of $966 million in the first quarter. The company emerged from bankruptcy in late 2019.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Oil prices rose strongly on Tuesday, following promised cuts from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait. Ongoing supply curtailments around the world are boosting sentiment, raising hopes that the storage crisis could potentially be averted.

Saudi Arabia to cut an additional 1 mb/d. Saudi Arabia said it would cut by another 1 mb/d on Monday, lowering production to about 7.5 mb/d in June. The cuts are made in an effort to support the stability of global oil markets, the Kingdoms said. But the additional Saudi cuts could simply create more room for U.S. shale to rebound. A depressing thought for OPEC+ must be that side-lined production in the magnitude of 3.5-4.5m bl/day in the US and Canada will be the first to reap the rewards of the production cuts by OPEC+, SEB said in a statement.

Related: Could Brent Crude Oil Prices Ever Fall Into Negative Territory?

Oklahoma punts on oil production cuts. Just a week after Texas killed the idea of mandatory production cuts, regulators in Oklahoma decided against taking similar action on Monday.

Chesapeake Energy posts $8.3 billion loss. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)posted an $8.3 billion loss in the first quarter, including an $8.5 billion write-down on its assets in Texas, Wyoming, and Louisiana. The company is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Canadian oil faces an existential crisis. Canada has already shut in 644,000 bpd of production and debt is mounting, even for some of the countrys larger producers. The balance sheets of some very good companies are not as strong as they should be, Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told Reuters.

Petroleum engineer graduates losing industry offers. With hiring down, some job and internship offers are being rescinded, putting newly graduated petroleum engineers in a bind. The human capital losses to the oil and gas industry could be significant, and fewer and fewer young people will move into the business.

Continental cuts output by 70 percent. Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) says it shut down 70 percent of its production. Another producer, Callon Petroleum (NYSE: CPE), also announced on Monday it had further reduced activity, including the suspension of all completion activity in April and moving to one active drilling rig by mid-May.

BP sees possible peak demand. BP (NYSE: BP) boss Bernard Looney said that the global pandemic was only adding to the challenges of oil in the years ahead, potentially leading to peak demand. Its not going to make oil more in demand. Its gotten more likely [oil will] be less in demand, Looney said in an FT interview. Could it be peak oil? Possibly. Possibly. I would not write that off, he added.

Refiners produce diesel glut. Facing a tidal wave of gasoline, refiners switched over to producing relatively more diesel, where margins were better. Now, there is a glut of diesel too.

Montana judge upholds decision canceling Keystone XL permit. A federal judge in Montana upheld a recent ruling that canceled an environmental permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. More importantly, the decision also canceled the Nationwide Permit 12 program, a fast-track permitting process for thousands of energy projects across the United States.

Aramco profits plunge; still most profitable company. Saudi Aramcos (TADAWUL: 2222) said its first-quarter profits declined 25 percent to $16.7 billion, and the company said it would also cut spending to between $25 and $30 billion, down from $32.8 billion previously. Aramco retained the claim of the worlds most profitable company. However, the second quarter will be much worse, as Aramcos average sale price for its oil was $50 per barrel in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Saudi government imposed a series of austerity measures, including a tripling of the VAT and cuts to benefits for government workers.

IHS Markit: Oil demand will bounce back. IHS Markit says the road to recovery for oil demand will be rocky, but could bounce back by the end of 2021, potentially leading to a supply shortage. Related: Shale's Decline Will Make Way For The Next Big Thing in Oil

Second wave risks depression. Mark Zandi of Moodys Analytics warned against reopening economies too fast. If we get a second wave, it will be a depression, Zandi told CNBCs Trading Nation on Friday. We may not shut down again, but certainly it will scare people and spook people and weigh on the economy.

Gasoline demand rebounding. With fears over the coronavirus hitting public transit, car use could see a comeback, and with it, gasoline demand. People are using more their cars because they are afraid to use public transportation, Patrick Pouyanne, the chief executive of French oil giant Total (NYSE: TOT), said. UK road traffic is back up, FT reports.

V-shaped recovery not likely. A couple months ago I was optimistic, I was hopeful, that maybe we would have a V-shaped recovery - shut things down, clamp down on the virus, and then have a quick recovery, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said in an interview on the PBS Newshour. But with a vaccine potentially a year or two away, we are in for unfortunately a slow, long recovery from devastating job losses, Kashkari said.

JPMorgan income down 70 percent on bad energy loans. Net income was down 69 percent, predominantly driven by an increase in the provision for credit losses across the Firm reflecting deterioration in the macroeconomic environment as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued pressure on oil prices, JPMorgan Chase said last week.

By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his Government will not pay for nearly eight million substandard medical grade masks that were sourced from China.

These N95 masks were part of a consignment of 11 million, of which only one million were found to meet Canadian standards while another 1.6 million are still undergoing testing.

During a media briefing, Trudeau was categorical on the Federal Government refusing to pay for substandard personal protective equipment, as he said the country will not be paying for masks that do not match the standards and quality we want for our front-line workers.

This matter has further hampered relations between Canada and China, which also suffered after a senior executive of the Chinese company Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, was taken into custody by authorities in Vancouver in late 2018, and China retaliated by arresting two Canadians including a diplomat.

Trudeau may have further irked China by openly thanking Taiwan for its generous donation of 500,000 masks to Canada. Canada is also part of a group of nations, led by the United States and Japan, seeking observer status for Taiwan at the World Health Organisation, a move strongly opposed by China, which does not recognise the existence of Taiwan as a separate nation.

Trudeau also said discussions with respect to the defective masks were in progress with the Montreal-based supplier, which has not been identified. We will not be burdened with masks that do not fit our stringent requirements, he said.

This is not the first time that Canada has faced problems with such masks from China. Last month, a million such masks imported from China were found to be faulty.

Early last month, the countrys largest city, Toronto, returned nearly 62,000 masks, to a Chinese vendor. At that time, the Mayors office noted in a statement, After reports of ripping and tearing, further inspection of the masks determined that the masks ordered did not meet the citys standard and specifications. The masks are being returned, and the vendor has committed to a full refund.

Canadian officials have privately told the media in the country that Chinese vendors, backed by Beijing, have indulged in price gouging in a competitive market for such protective equipment, inflating the prices to five times the rate prior to the pandemic.
Pakistan has reduced the quarantine period before COVID-19 tests for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to the earliest possible, a move aimed at bringing home more citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.

Following Prime Minister Imran Khan's directive to bring stranded citizens back home, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), in coordination with the provinces and health professionals, reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to earliest possible, Dawn newspaper reported.

According to the paper, passengers will be transported to quarantine centres and will stay there until the return of tests results, after which they may be quarantined or instructed to self-isolate at home as per the provincial health authorities' directions.

This strategy will allow to raise the weekly cap for inbound passengers from 7,000-8,000 to 11,000-12,000 under the current policy, it said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Moeed Yusuf announced the new policy during on Monday and said the authorities were working day and night to resolve problems of stranded Pakistanis.

Inbound passengers will be allowed a preference between two modes of quarantine, free of cost government quarantine centers or paid government regulated hotels/facilities, he said.

Testing will be conducted as soon as possible after arrival at a quarantine facility. The passengers with negative results to be sent home with guidelines on home isolation for completion of 14-day period, it said, adding that symptomatic patients will be treated as per prescribed health protocols.

Positive cases will not be returned to home province until completion of quarantine period.

The total number of passengers planned from May 11 to 21 is approximately 11,000, with stranded passengers being repatriated from at least 22 countries. Countries from which majority flights are incoming are the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the US and Oman.

We have been able to repatriate about 23,000 Pakistanis so far, with a total of about 100,000 Pakistanis still registered as stranded across the globe, Yusuf said.

On Monday, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) special flight carrying 179 passengers arrived at Islamabad International Airport from Washington after US granted permission to operate chartered flights for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from America.

All passengers and crew members were subjected to thermal scanning test by the health authorities. However, no suspected case of coronavirus was detected.

The United States Department of Transportation has granted permission to PIA to operate 12 round-trip or one-way chartered flights to evacuate citizens stranded in both countries.

The coronavirus has killed 723 people and infected 32,673 others in Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A federal agency has sided with North Dakota and Montana in a dispute over a new Washington state law that places restrictions on shipments of oil by rail in an attempt to boost safety.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued the decision Monday, nearly 10 months after North Dakota and Montana petitioned the agency to overturn the law, arguing that it amounted to a de facto ban on Bakken crude.

The Washington Legislature passed a bill last spring requiring that oil unloaded from trains have a vapor pressure under 9 pounds per square inch. The limit falls below North Dakotas cap, 13.7 psi, which is based on an industry standard.

PHMSA Chief Counsel Paul Roberti wrote in the decision that federal law and regulation surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials preempts the vapor pressure limit that Washington set.

He said Washingtons limit, if it were to stand, would set an alarming precedent.

Other State and local jurisdictions would be encouraged to enact their own vapor pressure limits for crude oil, he said. The resultant multiple and conflicting requirements will undermine the uniform Federal regulatory scheme.

Roberti said the Washington law creates a new class of crude oil that differs from federal regulation and establishes different rules for handling oil. He added that Washingtons new requirement is an obstacle to accomplishing and carrying out federal law.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement that he was pleased with the PHMSA decision.

An independent study of Bakken crude oil determined that vapor pressure is not a statistically significant factor in improving rail transportation safety, he said. The studys results did not support a need for creating a distinction for crude oils based on vapor pressure.

The study he referenced was completed by Sandia National Laboratories last summer. It concluded that vapor pressure is not a statistically significant factor in determining the fiery characteristics of oil train crashes.

Supporters of Washingtons law argued that it would help reduce the risk posed by the volatility of Bakken oil as trains criss-cross the continent carrying it from North Dakota to refineries. Oil trains have come under scrutiny in recent years following derailments, including a crash in 2013 that resulted in an explosion and killed 47 people in Quebec.

A spokeswoman for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told The Associated Press state officials were disappointed with the decision.

Washingtons law helps protect the public from the inherent risks of transporting oil by rail by decreasing explosion risk in the event of an oil train derailment," Tara Lee said. Public health remains our top priority and we are considering our options."

North Dakota's congressional delegation, including Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven, as well as Rep. Kelly Armstrong, all Republicans, issued a joint statement thanking the Trump administration for doing the right thing by putting sound, scientific evidence above partisan politics.

Gov. Doug Burgum in a statement thanked PHMSA for "basing this decision on sound science and preserving our states constitutionally protected right to interstate commerce.

Washington states law was based on an unsupported, erroneous assumption that Bakken crude oil poses a higher transport risk than other crude oils, when in fact it is shipped in a manner thats even safer than what federal standards require," he said.

Reducing oils vapor pressure involves a process known as oil conditioning, in which oil is heated -- often at the well pad -- to remove certain amounts of propane and butane before its shipped by train. Reducing Bakken crudes vapor pressure to 9 psi would involve a more complicated and expensive process to remove even more components, North Dakota and Montana argued in their petition to PHMSA.

PHMSA did not issue a decision on a separate aspect of the states petition seeking to overturn a requirement that refineries receiving oil must provide advance notice to the state with information such as the route a train will take to the facility, the vapor pressure and the volume of oil. Roberti wrote that the administrative record is insufficient to make a determination on that part of the petition.

Washington or another entity could seek to overturn the decision PHMSA issued Monday, either by asking the agency to reconsider or by filing an appeal in federal court.

Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com.

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More than 3.3 million people globally have downloaded the app and are using it to report daily on their health status, whether they feel well or have any new symptoms such as persistent cough, fever, fatigue and loss of taste or smell (anosmia).In this study, the researchers analysed data gathered from just under 2.5 million people in the UK and US who had been regularly logging their health status in the app, around a third of whom had logged symptoms associated with COVID-19. Of these, 18,374 reported having had a test for coronavirus, with 7,178 people testing positive.The research team investigated which symptoms known to be associated with COVID-19 were most likely to be associated with a positive test. They found a wide range of symptoms compared to cold and flu, and warn against focusing only on fever and cough. Indeed, they found loss of taste and smell (anosmia) was particularly striking, with two thirds of users testing positive for coronavirus infection reporting this symptom compared with just over a fifth of the participants who tested negative.The findings suggest that anosmia is a stronger predictor of COVID-19 than fever, supporting anecdotal reports of loss of smell and taste as a common symptom of the disease.The researchers then created a mathematical model that predicted with nearly 80% accuracy whether an individual is likely to have COVID-19 based on their age, sex and a combination of four key symptoms: loss of smell or taste, severe or persistent cough, fatigue and skipping meals.Applying this model to the entire group of over 800,000 app users experiencing symptoms predicted that just under a fifth of those who were unwell (17.42%) were likely to have COVID-19 at that time.The research team suggests that combining this AI prediction with widespread adoption of the app could help to identify those who are likely to be infectious as soon as the earliest symptoms start to appear, focusing tracking and testing efforts where they are most needed.Professor Tim Spector from King's College London said:Source: Eurekalert
Dyno Therapeutics Announces Ocular Collaboration with Novartis to Develop Improved Gene Therapies with AAV Vectors based on AI Technology

Details Category: DNA RNA and Cells Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2020 10:33 Hits: 1262

- Collaboration focuses on gene therapies for serious eye diseases and leverages Dynos CapsidMap artificial intelligence platform to design AAV vectors -

- Financial terms include upfront consideration, research funding, license fees, clinical and sales milestone payments, and royalties to develop AAV vectors to address an extensive range of ophthalmic gene therapies -

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I May 11, 2020 I Dyno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company applying artificial intelligence (AI) to gene therapy, today announced a collaboration with Novartis to develop improved Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors for research, development, and commercialization of gene therapies for ocular diseases. The partnership will allow the parties to utilize Dynos CapsidMap artificial intelligence platform along with Novartis expertise in gene therapy development and global commercialization to deliver innovative gene therapies to patients with serious diseases of the eye.

We are delighted to be collaborating with Novartis, stated Eric D. Kelsic, Ph.D., CEO and Cofounder of Dyno Therapeutics. Many eye diseases are ideally suited to being treated with gene therapies, and more opportunities can be opened with new and improved AAV vectors. With their extensive ophthalmologic expertise, Novartis is an ideal partner to leverage Dynos platform to design AI-powered vectors to expand the impact of gene therapies for ocular diseases. This collaboration is a major step forward in our plan to realize the potential of Dynos CapsidMap platform for gene therapies to improve patient health.

Under the terms of the agreement, Dyno will be responsible for using AI technology and its suite of machine learning and experimental tools for the design and discovery of novel AAV capsids, the cell-targeting protein shell of viral vectors, with improved functional properties for gene therapy. Novartis will be responsible for conducting preclinical, clinical, and commercialization activities for the gene therapy product candidates created with the novel AAV capsids. Dyno will receive upfront consideration plus committed research funding and license fees. Additionally, Dyno will be eligible to receive clinical, regulatory and sales milestone payments. Dyno will also receive royalties on worldwide net sales of any commercial products developed through the partnership.

About CapsidMap for Designing AAV Gene Therapies

By designing capsids that confer improved functional properties to Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors, Dynos proprietary CapsidMap platform overcomes the limitations of todays gene therapies on the market and in development. Todays treatments are primarily confined to a small number of naturally occurring AAV vectors that are limited by delivery, immunity, packaging size, and manufacturing challenges. CapsidMap uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the design of novel capsids, the cell-targeting protein shell of viral vectors. The CapsidMap platform applies leading-edge DNA library synthesis and next generation DNA sequencing to measure in vivo gene delivery properties in high throughput. At the core of CapsidMap are advanced search algorithms leveraging machine learning and Dynos massive quantities of experimental data, that together build a comprehensive map of sequence space and thereby accelerate the discovery and optimization of synthetic AAV capsids.

Dynos technology platform builds on certain intellectual property developed in the lab of George Church, Ph.D., who is Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School (HMS), a Core Faculty member at Harvards Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and a co-founder of Dyno. Several of the technical breakthroughs that enabled Dynos approach to optimize synthetic AAV capsid engineering were described in a November 2019 publication in the journal Science, based on work conducted by Dyno founders and members of the Church Lab at HMS and the Wyss Institute. Dyno has an exclusive option to enter into a license agreement with Harvard University for this technology.

About Dyno Therapeutics

Dyno Therapeutics is a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence (AI) and quantitative high-throughput in vivo experimentation to gene therapy. The companys proprietary CapsidMap platform is designed to rapidly discover and systematically optimize superior Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) capsid vectors with delivery properties that significantly improve upon current approaches to gene therapy and expand the range of diseases treatable with gene therapies. Dyno was founded in 2018 by experienced biotech entrepreneurs and leading scientists in the fields of gene therapy and machine learning. The company is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visit www.dynotx.com for additional information.

SOURCE: Dyno Therapeutics
The Nigeria High Commission in Canada said it is set to evacuate Nigerians stranded in that country due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

In a statement on Monday, the mission said it had received no fewer than 200 requests for evacuation.

To this end, it stated that a Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Air Peace had been specially arranged to fly the intending returnees home this Thursday.

The high commission noted that it could be the only special evacuation flight for Nigerian nationals stranded in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic.



It said the plane would pick the prospective passengers from two locations in Canada, namely Toronto and Alberta.

According to the flight schedule, the aircraft is expected to pick the first set from the Pearson International Airport, Toronto.

From there it will fly to the Calgary International Airport, Alberta, a distance of 2,915 k.m., to load the second set of passengers.

The aircraft will depart Alberta for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where the evacuees would be moved into isolation for 14 days.

The one-way flight will cost each prospective evacuee between 1,130 dollars (N452,000) and 2,000 dollars (N800,000) depending on the class.

The special evacuation exercise began on Wednesday with the return of 265 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates.

On Friday, 253 were brought back from the United Kingdom, followed by 160 from the United States on Sunday.

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RED DEER, AB / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Gamehost Inc. (TSX:GH) Management and Directors of Gamehost Inc. (the "Company", "Our") present results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 (the "Quarter").

On March 17, 2020 the Government of Alberta declared a state of public emergency resulting in the closure of all provincial Casino's including the Company's three casinos. Travel restrictions and other measures recommended and imposed by governments at the advice of health authorities produced dramatic changes in consumer behavior. Accordingly, the Company chose to close hotel operations at Calgary's Deerfoot Inn on March 25, 2020. Our two remaining hotels in Grande Prairie continue to operate with health and safety protocols as mandated and recommended by Alberta's Minister of Health in conjunction with Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health.

The Company had been working diligently prior to the mandated closures to plan for such an eventuality. On March 16, 2020, the board of directors met and agreed to temporarily suspend the regular monthly dividend. The board further agreed that all remuneration to the board and to executive management under management contracts be deferred until further resolution from the board. Amounts ultimately payable under two of the most significant management contracts stipulate fees based on gross revenue and/or Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") thus regardless will be substantially reduced.

At the operational and administrative levels, approximately 90 percent of the Company's workforce has been placed on temporary layoff. The Company is maintaining benefit programs for all affected staff and providing regular communication and assistance to team members attempting to access individual provincial and federal relief programs. Senior operational management have completed their work with vendors to secure suspensions or deferrals of normal operating expenses and continue to monitor shuttered operations and develop plans for reopening while on reduced salaries. Our Corporate offices have completed their work with lenders and significant agreements to secure suspensions and deferrals of larger cash outflows. The Company is now active in making submissions to various federal and provincial subsidy programs for which We qualify.

On March 31, 2020, the Company had a cash balance of $8.7 million and $13.6 million in available credit on our revolving credit facility. Management has been in discussions with our lender regarding covenant requirements. Our lender has temporarily waived certain covenants which will be evaluated at the end of the calendar year through their annual diligence review. Additional liquidity, if required, has been assured.

At the end of February, the Company was on pace for single digit growth in operating revenue and double-digit growth in EBITDA. Operating revenue finished down $3.1 million or 18% to $13.9 million for the Quarter. EBITDA that is attributable to shareholders of the Company ("EBITDA to Shareholders") finished down $2.1 million or 33% to $4.2 million for the Quarter. EBITDA to Shareholders margin for the Quarter deteriorated to 31.6% from 38.7%. Net income to shareholders amounted to $0.09 per share versus $0.14 per share for the same quarter in 2019.

On April 27, 2020 a local state of emergency was issued in Fort McMurray as the area's river systems began flooding. The downtown and surrounding low lying areas were evacuated bringing back painful memories of a wildfire in 2016. Flood waters have now begun to recede, but in excess of 1,200 structures have incurred extensive damage. The Company's Boomtown Casino was not directly affected.

The ongoing pandemic and the reduction it is imposing on oil demand and prices will have an extended adverse impact on Alberta's economy. An oil supply glut exacerbated by disagreements within OPEC has further destabilized the resource. Recent news of Canadian east coast refineries displacing foreign oil by increasing their supply of Alberta oil via marine tanker suggest that a nationalist Canada first ethos could form part of a broader economic recovery plan.

The Premier has announced a three-stage relaunch plan for the Alberta economy. Casino reopening's, though not specifically mentioned, will fall into the third stage of the plan which will unfold as ongoing virus infection numbers dictate. While we do not know the date casinos will reopen nor do we know what a reopening might look like, we are planning for that eventuality. In the meantime, Gamehost has a solid balance sheet, with minimal debt and the confidence of our lender to step in with further liquidly if required. The Company's rate of cash burn has been reduced to a level sustainable for the anticipated period of casino closure and beyond. Management is using this downtime to re-examine all facets of administration and operations. We can and will find further efficiencies for when operations resume.

Management continues to advance two modest expansion projects where good opportunity exists for immediate revenue appreciation. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC") and the City of Calgary have both approved a development permit application for a 7,500 square foot expansion to gaming and non-gaming amenities at the Deerfoot Casino. Construction will commence as the pandemic dictates later in the year. The Company is also finalizing plans for an expansion to non-gaming amenities at Boomtown Casino in Fort McMurray. Management is working with the AGLC and municipal authorities for the necessary approvals to proceed. Capital costs for the Boomtown project will be funded by the landlord and paid for over the term of a new lease presently being negotiated.

Management has been active in repurchasing shares under its current normal course issuer bid. Since the start of the year and more heavily following announcement of the casino closures, the company has repurchased 270,451 shares at prices averaging $4.44 per share for an aggregate $1.2 million.

Gamehost Inc. Financial Highlights Unaudited - Canadian dollars (millions except per share figures) three months ended March 31 2020 2019 % Change Operating revenue $ 13.9 $ 17.0 (18.2%) Cost of sales Other (8.1) (9.7) Depreciation (0.8) (0.8) (8.9) (10.5) Gross profit 5.0 6.5 (23.1%) Administrative expenses Other (0.7) (0.8) Depreciation (0.3) (0.3) (1.0) (1.1) Profit from operating activities 4.0 5.4 (25.9%) Fair value adjustment (0.6) - Net finance costs (0.4) (0.5) Profit before income tax 3.0 4.9 Income tax expense (0.7) (1.3) Profit 2.3 3.6 (36.1%) Profit attributable to: Shareholders 2.1 3.3 (36.4%) Non-controlling interest 0.2 0.3 2.3 3.6 Earnings per share Basic and fully diluted $ 0.09 $ 0.14 (35.7%) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding Basic 24.2 24.3 Fully diluted 24.2 24.3 EBITDA to Shareholders $ 4.2 $ 6.3 (33.3%) EBITDA to Shareholders % 31.6% 38.7% March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash 8.7 15.4 (43.5%) Total assets 167.1 176.2 (5.2%) Total debt 40.8 45.6 (10.5%)

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" or statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation and may contain words such as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "expects", "indicates", "plans", "withstand", "further" or other similar expressions that suggest future outcomes or events. Forward-looking information is based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions that were made by the Company in light of its historical trends and other factors. All information or statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information including any statements that address expectations related to future economic outcomes or the Company's dividend. Forward-looking statements reflect reasonable assumptions made on the basis of management's current beliefs with information known by management at the time of writing. Many factors could cause actual results to differ from the results discussed in forward-looking statements. Actual results may not be consistent with these forward-looking statements.

The Company has included non-International Financial Reporting Standards ("non-IFRS") measures in this press release. EBITDA to Shareholders, as defined by the Company, means earnings before interest and financing costs, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and foreign exchange gain. The Company believes EBITDA is a useful measure because it provides information to management and investors about the Company's performance in generating operating cash flow to fund working capital needs, service debt obligations, fund future capital expenditures and support dividend policy. Readers are cautioned that non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and should not be taken as alternatives to net earnings measured in accordance with IFRS. The Company's method of calculating non-IFRS measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other reporting entities. Dividend pay-out ratio, means EBITDA less all scheduled principal payments on debt, interest expense, and income tax expense. The Company believes this measure to be useful to management and investors because it provides insight into the sustainability of the Company's dividend.

Gamehost is a corporation established under the laws of the Province of Alberta. The Company's operations are all located in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Operations of the Company include the Boomtown Casino in Ft. McMurray, the Great Northern Casino, Service Plus Inns & Suites hotel, Encore Suites hotel and a strip mall all located in Grande Prairie. The Company also holds a 91% ownership position in Deerfoot Inn & Casino Inc. in Calgary.

These condensed interim consolidated financial results include the accounts of Gamehost Inc. and its subsidiaries; however, they do not include all disclosures normally provided in annual consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the 2019 annual consolidated financial statements. Further, while the financial figures included in this announcement have been computed in accordance with IFRS applicable to annual periods, this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim or annual financial report. The company will file an interim financial report for the three months ended March 31, 2020. This report will be filed in its entirety, along with historical financial reports on the Company's website at www.gamehost.ca and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com along with the Company's other continuous disclosure documents, when they are available.

Gamehost common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol GH. For more information, contact:

Craig M. Thomas or Darcy J. Will

P (877) 703-4545

F (403) 340-0683

E info@gamehost.ca

SOURCE: Gamehost Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589587/Gamehost-Announces-First-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results
A staggering 20 million Americans still haven't received their $1,200 stimulus check, as the Internal Revenue Service warns that Wednesday is the deadline for taxpayers to apply for the coronavirus relief online.

The IRS said Friday it has dished out 130 million checks worth a total of $200 billion since the payments started being made on April 15.

But this leaves around 20 million of the 150 million eligible people still waiting for the much-needed funds - around the same number of people who lost their jobs in April as the pandemic battered the economy.

The IRS has now issued a deadline of 12 p.m. ET Wednesday May 13 for eligible taxpayers to provide their banking details via the online portal.

Anyone who misses the deadline or cannot enter bank details online, for example because they don't have access to a bank account, will simply have to wait in hope that the IRS deems them eligible and sends a check out to them in the mail.

A staggering 20 million Americans still haven't received their $1,200 stimulus check, and the Internal Revenue Service has warned desperate taxpayers hard-hit by the economic toll of the pandemic they could be waiting until June or later to get the handout

'After noon Wednesday, the IRS will begin preparing millions of files to send to [the Bureau of Fiscal Services] for paper checks that will begin arriving through late May and into June,' the IRS said last week.

Americans who set up a direct deposit should receive the checks quicker than those who don't, the IRS has said, although even then they could be waiting until June or later to get the handout.

Those who miss the deadline fall to the bottom of the list, meaning they may not receive a dime until after June.

Last month, the Associated Press reported that it could even take up until late August for all the checks to reach American citizens.

Newly-unemployed Americans continue to air their frustrations over the scheme on social media - as they still await the payment almost a month after its launch and have no idea if or when to expect it.

'I entered my bank info on the app when it first came online and I'm still waiting for my stimulus check!!' one person posted on Twitter Tuesday.

'How do I know when my deposit will be made. The faq has no info in regards to payment schedule, and the reported window I slot into by AGI was last Friday.'

Others asked for clarity over the delays, with one person tweeting: 'Can u explain hold-ups?'

Newly-unemployed Americans continue to air their frustrations over the scheme on social media - as they still await the payment almost a month after its launch

The federal stimulus has been plagued with issues since it was launched last month.

The Get My Payment portal launched on April 15 and within hours had gone into meltdown.

The system crashed and frustrated taxpayers had flooded social media with complaints of error messages saying the system couldn't find any of their details.

Several complained of getting a message saying: 'Payment Status Not Available. According to information that we have on file, we cannot determine your eligibility for a payment at this time.'

The message sparked concerns that some people are being missed out of the stimulus package or may have been incorrectly deemed ineligible.

Parents of young children reported missing out on the $500 check for their dependent children.

Others told how the payments were sent to the wrong bank accounts - often accounts that didn't even belong to them.

Yet, while many despaired at their accounts sitting empty, bereaved relatives were traumatized by blunders that meant checks were sent to people who have been dead for years.

The error message many taxpayers got last month. The system has been plagued with issues since its launch . The IRS has now issued a deadline of 12 p.m. ET Wednesday for eligible taxpayers to provide their banking details via the online portal

People living in some states have received their payments faster than others, according to a CBS MoneyWatch analysis of IRS data and the number of taxpayers in each state.

Almost all eligible taxpayers in West Virginia have received their checks already, whereas over in New Jersey, only around seven in 10 have so far got the funds.

This is largely because the IRS is first sending checks to lower- and middle-income households over high-income households, and there are key differences in income levels between the two states.

New Jersey's median annual household income is almost $82,000, almost double West Virginia's of $44,000, meaning many households in the latter state are ranked a higher priority.

The IRS has downplayed the issues throughout the process, although in a rare admission of teething problems it said Monday it had rolled out 'significant enhancements' to the portal to 'deliver an improved and smoother experience.'

It is not clear what the improvements are.

Stark figures from the Labor Department last week (above) showed the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent in April and the US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs

The funds provide a much-needed boost to American households as unemployment has soared thanks to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Stark figures from the Labor Department last week showed the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent in April and the US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs.

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 case marks the latest strike by the Justice Department against what national security officials say is a problem at some American universities: professors and researchers hiding their financial and professional arrangements with Chinese entities, in violation of ethics rules for federal grant money.

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In January, the FBI arrested the chair of Harvard Universitys chemistry department on charges that he lied about his work for a Chinese university. At the time, John Demers, the head of the Justice Departments national security division, said American universities should take this threat seriously and continue to take actions to confront it.

FBI arrests Harvard chemist

Ang, 63, is the director of the High Density Electronics Center in the University of Arkansass department of electrical engineering. He has worked at the school for decades.

Since 2013, Angs work received more than $5 million in federal grant money from NASA and other agencies, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

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Officials said the Ang investigation began when a university staffer examined a hard drive in the librarys lost-and-found bin, trying to see whether they could identify the devices owner.

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The drive contained emails apparently from Ang, including one that said there are things that are becoming very difficult for me recently because of the political climate. You can search the Chinese website regarding what the US will do to Thousand Talent Scholars. Not many people here know I am one of them but if this leaks out, my job here will be in deep troubles. I have to be very careful or else I may be out of my job from this university.

China runs a number of talent programs, designed to attract accomplished scientists and experts from around the world to provide expertise to Chinas own research and development programs.

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The criminal complaint filed against Ang charges that the professor in 2014 disclosed to the University of Arkansas his participation in Chinas Thousand Talent Scholars program but did not reveal his involvement in other such programs from 2012 to 2018.

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Ang obviously knew about the requirement to disclose such conflicts of interest and deliberately kept all such conflicts of interest from the University of Arkansas and NASA, the complaint said.

A University of Arkansas spokeswoman said Ang has been suspended without pay from his responsibilities at the university and the university is actively cooperating with federal authorities in the investigation.
Ciner Resources LP (NYSE:CINR)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Welcome to Ciner Resources First Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. Hosting the call today from Ciner Resources is Mr. Oguz Erkan, Chief Executive Officer. He is joined by Mr. Ed Freydel, Vice President of Finance. Today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Ed Freydel, you may begin.

Eduard Freydel -- Vice President, Supply Chain and Finance

Thank you, Laurie. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that the comments included in today's conference call constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws including forward-looking statements relating to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. These are based on our beliefs as well as certain assumptions and information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from the results suggested by these comments for a number of reasons, which are discussed in more detail in the company's SEC filings. Certain financial measures discussed during this call including adjusted EBITDA, distributable cash flow, and distribution coverage ratio are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of those non-GAAP financial measures can be found in our earnings press release. I will now turn the call over to Oguz.

Oguz Erkan -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Ed and good morning everyone. Welcome to Ciner Resources first quarter 2020 earnings call. Our results for the first quarter of 2020 mark a solid start to the year despite numerous evolving challenges associated with the global coronavirus outbreak. The health and safety of our workforce, their families, and everyone involved directly or indirectly with our business remains our foremost concern at this time. Companywide prevention efforts have helped ensure a safe working environment and continuity of our operations as we take proactive measures to minimize disruption to our production. I'm happy to report that our plant has not experienced any shutdown events and operations are running smoothly.

Our team remains steadfast in their commitment to operational stability and performed admirably in implementing the comprehensive COVID-19 mitigation plan developed in the early stage of the outbreak. New procedures include frequent extensive sanitation and measures to reduce person-to-person interaction such as staggering shift changes and tighter control of outside contractor movements. The plan also outlines protocol for self-reporting, contact tracing in the event of positive cases, and contingency plans for maintaining operations during various employee absence scenarios. As we continue to refine these plans, we are using data rather than firm dates to guide a measured return to normalcy.

As demand expectations develop, we will tailor our production profile to match expected consumption. We are confident in the flexibility of our operations to optimize on-stream time and productions costs while managing rapidly evolving customer needs. Moreover, we are optimizing product storage on-site and across our supply chain including use of terminal storage en route to our end customers to ensure consistent delivery and balance inventories with demand. We are also managing our production schedule in line with maintenance activities in order to efficiently address maintenance projects during plant outages. The goal is to optimize our maintenance program and associated outage time with any perceived production demand imbalance and do more work in-house as we may have flexibility to extend that downtime.

In terms of first quarter results, we have achieved another strong production quarter with 680,000 short tons produced eclipsing the previous first quarter record set last year. However, supply surplus and lower demand led to a weakened pricing environment and lower volumes sold. Results for the quarter included $114 million in net sales, net income of $14 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $22.4 million, marks we consider favorable in light of current volatile market conditions. Highlighting our steady results over a more normalized period, we have averaged well above $20 million of net income and $30 million of quarterly adjusted EBITDA over the last eight quarters on a consolidated basis.

Turning to sales, we are working proactively with customers to manage expectations for consumption and demand. Demand in several of our domestic end markets has been affected by the sudden slowdown of economic activity. Flat glass production has been especially strained due to stalled automotive manufacturing and declining architectural glass demand and we have seen some plants temporarily idle their operations. Container glass on the other hand has remained quite stable thus far and in some cases is exceeding historical demand due to a lack of colored [Phonetic] availability.

On the international side, we are facing declining demand in many geographies and end markets most notably flat glass as architectural and automotive activity in Asia has been vastly curtailed. Container glass demand has been more resilient although the impact of cuts to delivery output in Mexico have yet to be defined. Soaps and detergents have largely been considered essential business, which we hope will bolster demand for those end users.

Lithium carbonate production has taken a hit due to Argentina suspending production. However, Chile has not mandated shutdowns for lithium producers who maintain a stable production outlook due to a backlog of orders from battery manufacturers. I will note that much of the COVID induced-demand degradation [Phonetic] did not take hold until late in the quarter. So we did not experience a material impact to our results in Q1. However, we do expect to see considerable pressure on demand in the overall international market persist for the time being especially since the pace of economic recovery is highly uncertain at this point. This shows in our April 2020 production results as we experienced an approximately 20% greater than normal decline in the production. Overall, as we look at our customer base on a more long-term basis, we anticipate geographical diversification, stability in inelastic products like detergents and container glass, and long-term growth potential in markets like lithium and flat glass support a favorable revenue mix and outlook.

From a financial planning standpoint, we have taken steps to bolster our liquidity and cash position in the interest of near-term financial flexibility. Despite created market turmoil, in March, we successfully closed a $30 million term loan at a favorable fixed rate. Our capital position remains strong and we believe we have ample liquidity as we face a COVID induced period of economic contraction and uncertain time line to recovery. I will now turn the call over to Ed who will discuss our financial results for the quarter in more detail.

Eduard Freydel -- Vice President, Supply Chain and Finance

Thanks, Oguz and thank you everyone for joining our call and for your continued interest in Ciner Resources. Today, I'll provide some detail around our first quarter performance, the major financial drivers from the quarter, and some key metrics we use to evaluate our business. Like Oguz mentioned, production volume for the first quarter of 2020 was a record 680,000 short tons as we continue to execute on our operational reliability initiatives and prioritize production stability. Total volumes sold during the first quarter of 2020 was 664,000 short tons, which is a 2% decrease from the first quarter of 2019. The 16,000 ton delta between production and sales volume reflects reduced demand in the first quarter due primarily to an oversupply in the international market.

Domestic volumes sold in the quarter increased by 6% year-over-year to 237,000 short tons. Total international volumes sold in the first quarter of 2020 was 426,000 short tons, a 6% decrease over the 453,000 short tons sold in Q1 2019. After shifting considerable volume in 2019 to the export market to take advantage of favorable international pricing, we increased sales volumes domestically in 2020 as we continually evaluate and optimize our sales mix. Average domestic price in the first quarter of 2020 declined 1.4% from the prior year quarter versus a drop of 18.9% in international prices evidencing the near-term benefit of proactively increasing domestic volume and what we believe to be the relative stability of domestic sales. Overall pricing was down 10.5% in the quarter driven primarily by higher global inventory levels and the resulting supply demand imbalance. Lower net pricing combined with a decrease of 13,000 tons sold from Q1 2019 resulted in first quarter net sales of $114 million or a decline of 12.3%.

Cost of products sold including freight in the first quarter of 2020 fell 4% to $87 million compared to the same period in 2019 primarily due to decreased variable costs because of lower net sales. SG&A expenses decreased by 22% from Q1 2019 to $5.8 million in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of lower employee benefit expenses, professional fees, and contracted services. Cash provided by operations of $16.7 million in the first quarter of 2020 increased 198% from Q1 of 2019 primarily due to an $8.8 million decrease in affiliate receivables principally due to timing of collections and lower export sales. These cash receipts resulted in a total increase to working capital of $4.4 million in Q1 2020 as compared to the $26.2 million increase in the first quarter of last year. From a balance sheet perspective, we continue to maintain a conservative capital structure ending the first quarter with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.0 times.

Next, let's turn to discuss how these results translate into two of the key non-GAAP metrics we continue to monitor as an MLP: adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow. In the first quarter of 2020, we recorded $22.4 million of adjusted EBITDA compared to $33.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. Distributable cash flow attributable to Ciner Resources was $9.0 million for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $15.6 million in the first quarter of 2019. At a $0.34 per unit distribution, our distribution coverage ratio was 1.32 times for the first quarter of 2020.

We remain committed to maintaining a conservative and flexible balance sheet as we continue to embark on our growth plans. With that in mind, we maintained our first quarter 2020 distribution given our financial performance in the quarter. Going forward, we will continue to closely monitor our cash flows as we determine the most prudent distribution strategy in these uncertain times. Now, I'll turn the call back over to Oguz to provide more commentary on our recent performance and growth strategy.

Oguz Erkan -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Ed. First, I would like to thank our entire Ciner team for their resilience and overall job well done in the first quarter. It wasn't easy acclimating to the unprecedented measures implemented as part of the coronavirus pandemic, but our team faced the challenge proactively and responsibly. We have learned a lot during this period and much of what we have put in practice will provide a guide for safety protocol going forward. The management team has earnestly developed and continues to refine comprehensive business strategies for navigating near-term market uncertainty. Our first quarter financial performance was encouraging and starting the year on a good footing was an important milestone in the current economic climate.

As it stands, we believe our business is well equipped to endure the many variables outside of our control and for those we do control, we remain focused on successful execution. One of the primary focal points for our business is our Green River expansion project, which we expect will increase our plant capacity to approximately 3.5 million short tons per year. We believe this project still represents an attractive investment opportunity as it significantly increases our production rate capabilities while also improving our operating margins. We continue with preliminary design and engineering, which is largely a desktop study at this time. As of now, we are proceeding as planned, but we are continually evaluating our timing in the context of our current economic climate.

We're confident in the underlying economics and need for new supply in the soda ash market over the long-term. Our strong capital structure, cash generation capability, and low operating cost position us to fund the capex economically and maximize long-term return to our unit holders. In tandem with our expansion project plan, we also continue to develop our strategy and structure for our exit from ANSAC. Post ANSAC, we believe that marketing our product jointly with our parent company's Turkish production will offer the most advantaged source of supply to our customers in growing markets abroad. We expect that geographic diversification along with Ciner Group's existing distribution network will allow us to realize logistics savings through supply chain optimization.

In closing, as we navigate a challenged economic landscape and unprecedented social distancing measures, we expect our financial strength and resources will allow us to weather macroeconomic and soda ash specific challenges that may lie ahead, but above all, it is our talented people working for Ciner that will drive our success through the near-term volatility, our major growth stage and beyond. Thank you for your continued interest in Ciner Resources. This concludes our prepared remarks.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Questions and Answers:

Duration: 17 minutes

Call participants:

Eduard Freydel -- Vice President, Supply Chain and Finance

Oguz Erkan -- President and Chief Executive Officer

More CINR analysis

All earnings call transcripts
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Why conservatives cant handle the truth of a Pulitzer and 401 years of U.S. racism

If only Ida B. Wells had lived to see this. Wells, born into slavery in 1862, won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize last week for her courageous anti-lynching journalism at the turn of the 20th Century. Fittingly, her citation was awarded on the same day that the New York Times Nikole Hannah-Jones  who pays tribute on Twitter by calling herself Ida Bae Wells (and launched a foundation in honor of the real Wells)  took home the 2020 Pulitzer for commentary on the same day, for her searing essay that launched the New York Times 1619 Project.

I couldnt agree more with the judges who found Hannah-Jones piece challenged readers to think about U.S. history in a radically new way  to see the arrival of the first slave ship on American soil as foundational to who we are today as what happened here in Philadelphia in 1776 or 1787. Yet remarkably, there were a lot of conservative and right-wing commentators and even some pols who  in a week with coronavirus deaths soaring toward 80,000 and the highest U.S. unemployment rate ever recorded  found no more important project than trying to take The 1619 Project down.

I wont even address some of the more extremist types who weighed in, but comes now the more respectable, bow-tied George Will, whos expanded his fan base with the stunning realization that President Trump might not be ticketed for Mt. Rushmore and who himself won the commentary Pulitzer in 1977. Yet Will, too, seems convinced that swatting at tiny gnats will somehow take down the elephant in the room: That a strain of white supremacy has infected too much of what we do as a nation, and still does.

Will asserts factual errors in the 1619 essay but yet what he comes up with is a) a question of timing of when Abraham Lincolns sharp shift in his views on emancipation occurred and b) a different opinion (i.e., not a factual error) on the role that whites have played in black liberation movements.

Then theres c) another difference of opinion in whether Hannah-Jones went too far in asserting fears of British liberalization on slavery motivated some 1775 revolutionaries. Here, even Hannah-Jones and her editors found some merit to those arguments and appended a clarification. Re-calibrating ideas is something that great and even good opinion writers do; only hacks wont listen to criticism. None of this comes close to negating the main point: Racism influenced our Constitution, undid the brief progress of post-Civil War Reconstruction, and animates todays conservative backlash.

George Orwell wrote: Who controls the past controls the future, and who controls the present controls the past. Will and the likes of Ted Cruz or Newt Gingrich couldnt care less about the nits theyre trying, lamely, to pick in Hannah-Jones journalism, but theyre desperate to control a future in which America finally addresses 400 years of racial inequity.

Even more fitting than Ida B. Wells and Ida Bae Wells winning on the same day was  tragically  that by weeks end America had gone to the videotape on a 21st century version of the lynchings that Wells covered 125 years ago. In another parallel, right-wingers who wanted the cold-blooded pursuit and killing of unarmed Ahmaud Arbery by two white vigilantes to disappear picked at their own nits, insisting there were unsolved burglaries in the neighborhood (there werent) or making much ado of Arbery checking out a home construction site (something I and most white folks I know have done without fear of summary execution).

In fact, as the coronavirus festers, youd have to be blind to ignore the impact of 401 years of racism in America, whether its cops in Brooklyn targeting non-whites for 95 percent of social distancing arrests, or Mondays Times report that African-Americans with COVID-19 symptoms were six times more likely to be turned away from health care, or simply the gross social disparities that have helped the coronavirus ravage the black community.

Crisis brings opportunity: A future of universal health care, free higher education, living wages and better working conditions, and a belated redemption for Americas sins, is possible. No wonder the forces of reaction like George Will are frantically, unsuccessfully trying to win back the past.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  The number of patients who have survived COVID-19 has now surpassed 2,000 as the Department of Health recorded 107 new recoveries on Tuesday.

The total number of recovered patients is now at 2,106.

Meanwhile, 264 new infections have been recorded by the DOH, as the countrys total rises to 11,350.

Metro Manila remains to have the most number of new infections daily, with 165 being registered in the latest data by the Health department. This is followed by Central Visayas with 74 new cases, while 25 more have been recorded in other regions nationwide.

The Health department also announced 25 more fatalities, bringing the death toll to 751.

Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire in a media briefing online said that the surge in the tally of confirmed cases is due to the country's increased testing capacity.

She reiterated that the basis to determine if the spread of the virus has slowed is the positivity rate. This is the ratio of those who test positive for COVID-19 out of the total number of tests performed.

Vergeire added that starting Wednesday, the DOH will make available to the public a real-time positivity trend chart to show whether or not the rate of infections has been slowing.

READ: Rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases vs. individuals tested drops by 7 percent in May

According to DOH data, the majority of COVID-19 patients in the country exhibit mild symptoms, and the average hospital length of stay for recovered patients is at 15 days. Around 55 percent of deaths also had known comorbidities, with the top two being hypertension and diabetes.

Modified ECQ

Amid the continued rise in COVID-19 cases in certain high-risk areas, the government on Tuesday afternoon placed Metro Manila, Laguna province, and Cebu City under "modified" enhanced community quarantine from May 16 to May 31.

Under the modified ECQ, authorities will allow limited movement for obtaining essential services and work, 50 percent operation of selected manufacturing and processing plants, and limited transportation for essential goods and services.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque described the modified lockdown as a "transition phase" from a strict enhanced community quarantine to a relaxed general community quarantine.

READ: LIST: What daily life would be like in areas under modified ECQ, GCQ, and no quarantine

According to COVID-19 Response Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez, this gradual transition to GCQ is important because of the blow of the coronavirus crisis to the country's economy.

Citing the need for more aggressive testing to immediately identify and isolate those infected, Galvez also earlier announced the governments plan to operate a total of 78 accredited COVID-19 testing centers by the end of May, to augment the countrys daily testing capacity to 30,000.

To date, only 28 laboratories across the country have been licensed by the DOH to perform real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for coronavirus.

Cases among Filipinos overseas

Meanwhile, 38 more Filipinos abroad have been infected with the viral disease, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases among Filipinos overseas to 2,233.

The latest data also registered 25 new recoveries, with the total now at 669, which is nearly 30 percent of confirmed cases. One more died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 261, the DFA added.

Filipino COVID-19 cases have been reported in 46 countries or regions worldwide. Europe has the highest number with 668 cases. Next are the 643 cases in the Middle East/Africa, 529 in the Americas, and 393 in Asia Pacific.

As the whole world transitions into a new normal, health officials continue to remind the public to adhere to health protocols and exercise preventive measures. These include proper hygiene, wearing of face masks, physical distancing, cough etiquette, and regular disinfection of frequently used items.

Globally, over 4.2 million people have so far been infected with the viral illness. Around 290,000 of these cases resulted in death, while more than 1.4 million patients have already recovered.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar By

Online Desk

With the countrys energy and resources currently occupied in battling COVID-19, those already infected with the big three -- AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- are suffering due to limited access to medicines amid the unprecedented lockdown.

However, health workers from Plan India under the project 'Ahana' are providing a helping hand. To prevent mother-to-child transmission of AIDS, they have been relentlessly braving the lockdown to ensure antiretrovirals are delivered to mothers in need.

When her turn arrives to deliver medicines to HIV-positive mothers in Uttar Pradeshs Moradabad, Saifi doesnt think twice before leaving her two minor sons behind. I have to be extra careful because I have two minor boys at home. I wear masks, gloves and use sanitizers while venturing out. Working in the red zones makes our work a little difficult as now a 10-minute journey takes over 30 minutes, she said.

When asked why she took the big risk, she said, Ma hoon ghar ka, sab ka khayal rakhna padta hai aur zarurat pade toh desh ka bhi (As a mother, it is required of me to take care of the house, family and when necessary, the country too).

In India, as of 2018, over 21.4 lakh people were suffering from the deadly HIV. While the number of parent-to-child transmissions has fallen by around 40 per cent in the last eight years, girls still account for two-thirds of all adolescent HIV infections. The Centres goal to eradicate mother-to-child transmission by 2020 has been hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

Plan Indias project Ahana is a national programme working in tandem with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to prevent parent-to-child transmission among women in most marginalized communities in India. A community of 358 field staff and volunteers have so far reached out to 12530 families in need.

For 28-year-old Muhammad Khalid, the most important part of his job is to maintain the confidentiality of women suffering from HIV. Since people arent stepping out much due to the lockdown, the presence of anyone outside draws a lot of attention. For us, the most important thing is to deliver the medicines safely and clandestinely, he said.

The project began in 2015 and is now spread across 14 states in the north and northeast of India to serve as a bridge between HIV patients and HIV drugs during this crisis. The health workers collect medicines that will last for a month from the centre and deliver them to mothers in need so that they dont have to step out at all. The NGO has over the months gone out of its way to help lactating mothers and their newborns.

We help expecting mothers infected with HIV in whatever way we can. We have helped with deliveries as well as taking care of the newborns. We also help HIV patients who cant step out of their houses due to the lockdown, said Roopkatha Chakraborty, a health worker from Assams Karimganj.

Roopkatha has been helping expecting mothers in two districts of her state. We are health workers. No matter how bad the situation gets outside, we have to serve those in need, she asserts.

As the frontline health workers continue to be a part of the nation's fight against HIV in such troubled times, they are also at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. The foot soldiers health is also crucial for us. Ergo, we are providing them with adequate PPEs and sanitisers. We have also covered COVID-19 under the health insurance, the NGO maintains.
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig



(Retd) Dr B D Mishra on Tuesday asked state Agriculture Minister Tage Taki to encourage youths to become entrepreneurs in agriculture and allied sectors for economic sustenance of the state.

The governor's suggestion came when the minister called on him at Raj Bhawan and discussed ways to make the state self-sustaining through agriculture and allied sectors.

Mishra asked Taki to motivate field officers of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, veterinary, dairy development and fisheries departments to go for out of the box approach in their fields of duties, an official communique said.

The governor also asked the minister to strengthen research farms in districts so that at the time of need, people can procure required foodstuff from such institutes.

He advised the minister to create a system for support of growing, tending and marketing big cardamom so that the farmers' income can increase.

The government should also explore more ways to directly purchase farmers' produce and sell them, Mishra said.

Taki briefed the governor about the initiatives taken by the state government in the field of agriculture and allied sectors, the communique added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
My insurance company told me that if I would have had an active [COVID-19] case, then they would have paid, Kathy Donelan, the owner of a child care center in Highland Heights, KY, told The Enquirer.

Donelan added that she does not know if her child care center had a COVID-19 case because of limited testing.

At the onset of the pandemics spread, Kentucky medical officials prioritized the testing of vulnerable groups - such as elderly patients  over others due to limited supplies. Now that the state has been placed into shutdown, businesses such as Donelan can no longer arrange for testing.

Another child care center operator, Melanie Barker of ABC Childrens Academy in Bowling Green, KY, explained that it is impossible to know if her facility had an active case.

There was no testing in January, February and March, Barker said. ...So how can they deny us coverage when our governor made us close and there was no testing available?

Donelan and Barker are among the over 60 center owners in Kentucky who have approached personal injury and insurance lawyer Gary Logsdon. While Logsdon said that no formal attorney-client relationship had been established yet, he is of the opinion that the child care centers should be covered.

...the usual denials from insurance companies must be corrected and the REAL DAMAGED [emphasis in original] persons and their businesses compensated, the attorney said in an email statement to The Enquirer.
Glamorous Australian model Ellie Gonsalves lived on the streets for 10 days for SBS' reality series Filthy Rich And Homeless.

And on Tuesday, the social media sensation opened up about the experience after she was forced to sleep in a park, crisis accommodation and a boarding house.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Ellie said: 'I think the one thing that helped me connect in those situations was my dad committed suicide five years ago.'

'The thing that helped me connect was my dad committed suicide': Ellie Gonsalves (pictured) has spoken candidly about living homeless for SBS' Filthy Rich and Homeless reality series

'A lot of people on the show had to deal with the trauma of losing someone close to them. But the difference was, I had a support network, and family,' she added.

She went on to say it was extremely difficult not being able to communicate with her family and friends throughout the experiment.

Ellie said the experience did however 'give me a new found gratitude for everything I have in my life'.

Tragic: She revealed the thing that helped her connect with others was dealing with trauma after her dad committed suicide five years ago

'Small things like security, and being able to sleep safely in a home, having running water and privacy. All the little things all of us take for granted,' she added.

The upcoming season of the hit reality TV series will feature five celebrities, including doctor Andrew Rochford, Melbourne Deputy Mayor Arron Wood, broadcaster Ciaran Lyons and restaurateur Pauline Nguyen.

In the show, the will each spend 10 nights on the streets of Sydney to gain an insight into the issue of homelessness.

Lonely: She went on to say it was extremely difficult not being able to communicate with her family and friends throughout the experiment

Meanwhile, season two of Filthy Rich and Homeless in 2018 rated well on its opening night, drawing an average of 387,000 viewers across five capital cities in Australia.

The series starred Alli Simpson, Cameron Daddo, Alex Greenwich, David Leckie and Skye Leckie.

The latest figures show that there are 116,000 people homeless across the nation.
Latest updates on coronavirus lockdown in India : The Supreme Court (SC) will reopen its court premises and resume work from the courtrooms from next week. However, the lawyers will argue cases from their chamber, said sources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 5th nationwide address on Tuesday may announce a graded lockdown exit with both the lives and livelihoods in focus. He will address the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday after his marathon meetings with state CMs on Monday. PM Modi's address comes at a time when India is grappling with the increasing number of coronavirus cases. The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped to 70,756 on Tuesday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes, 46,008 active cases, 22,454 recoveries, and 2,293 deaths.

Also Read: PM Modi Speech Live Updates: Prime Minister begins his address to nation on coronavirus

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi announces economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore; 10% of GDP

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown: PM Modi to address teh nation at 8 pm tonight; what to expect

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi to address nation today; when and where to watch live streaming

Also read: Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases jump to 70,756 ; check state-wise tally, deaths

Check out all the latest updates on coronavirus cases in India and across the world on BusinessToday.In live blog

9.16 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus cases

Gautam Buddh Nagar district reported 6 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total count of coronavirus positive cases to 230, including 3 deaths.

9.05 pm: Himachal Pradesh coronavirus cases

Police station sealed in Kangra after a cop tested COVID-19 positive on Tuesday. The total count of novel coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh rose to 66 with 64 fresh cases in Kangra and 2 in Hamirpur.

9.00 pm: Coronavirus updates worldwide: COVID-19 may never be found, cautions UK PM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has cautioned that the mass vaccine for coronavirus may be over a year away, or may never be found. He said in his foreward to the government's new 50-page guidance on a step-by-step relaxation of lockdown rules to curb the spread of coronavirus.

8.54 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases: 5 more test COVID-19 positive

5 more field workers tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in North Delhi's MCD area on Tuesday. The total count of infected staff members in North Delhi MCD stands at 39, out of which 31 are hospital employees and 8 are field staff.

8.49 pm: Maharashtra lockdown latest updates

A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from Tuesday.

Maharashtra: A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from today. pic.twitter.com/da79wbc8M2 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.39 pm: Meghalaya lockdown latest updates

Meghalaya Police said on Tuesday that restaurants, cafe, food outlets, and tea shops are allowed to operate, but only for home delivery and take away services.

Operation of restaurants, caf, food outlets, tea shops is permitted, only for home delivery and take away services: Meghalaya Police #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/jCUWuxHQOi - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.33 pm: Gujarat coronavirus cases: 362 more people tested positive in 24 hours

Gujarat recorded 362 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 8,904, including 3,246 cured/discharged and 537 deaths, said the state health department.

In the last 24 hours, 362 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Gujarat. The total number of cases stands at 8904 now, including 3246 cured/discharged and 537 deaths: Gujarat Health Department pic.twitter.com/HzbJMWl60O - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.23 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: Increasing count of COVID-19 cases in Chittoor, districts linked to Koyambedu market in Chennai

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed the officials to be on high alert following fresh COVID-19 cases reported from Chittoor, Nellore, and East Godavari district. All these cases were linked to the Koyambedu market of Chennai.

8.14 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus cases

716 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, out which 510 were registered in Chennai. With 8 new deaths on Tuesday, the death toll in the state stands at 61 now. Here the details: -

716 people test positive in the state.

83 cured and discharged on Tuesday.

6,530 active cases in the state.

510 cases in Chennai alone. 4,882 cases in Chennai.

8,718 total positive cases reported in Tamil Nadu.

8.06 pm: Ghaziabad coronavirus lockdown updates

Ghaziabad DM in Uttar Pradesh said on Tuesday that some relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown will be given in the district.

8.00 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates

A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier on Tuesday. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from Tuesday.

Maharashtra: A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from today. pic.twitter.com/da79wbc8M2 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.56 pm: Coronaviru live updates

The Supreme Court (SC) will reopen its court premises and resume work from the courtrooms from next week. However, the lawyers will argue cases from their chamber, said sources.

7.46 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases: 110 fresh cases reported on Tuesday

With 110 new COVID-19 cases, the total count of coronavirus cases in West Bengal has climbed to 2,173, including 1,363 active cases and 126 deaths. Meanwhile, 72 deaths also occurred due to co-morbidity, said the state health department.

110 #COVID19 cases confirmed in West Bengal today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 2173, including 1363 active cases and 126 deaths. 72 deaths also occurred due to comorbidity: State health Department pic.twitter.com/UmlcQA8xuF - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.39 pm: India coronavirus news

An Assistant Sub-Inspector from Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) tested COVID-19 positive on Tuesday.

7.33 pm: Jammu and Kashmir coronavirus cases

J&K reported 55 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, out which 13 cases are from Jammu division and 42 from Kashmir division. The total count of COVI-19 cases in the union territory stands at 934 now, comprising 469 active cases, 455 recovered and 10 deaths, said the J&K government.

55 more #COVID19 cases reported in Jammu & Kashmir - 13 from Jammu division & 42 from Kashmir division. Total number of cases in the Union Territory is now at 934, including 469 active cases, 455 recovered & 10 deaths: J&K Government pic.twitter.com/acbC34eyFA - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.23 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Civil Aviation Ministry issues guidelines for airlines and airport operators before flights resume

Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday issued draft SOP to all aviation stakeholders including airlines and airport operators before flight resumption. Passengers and staff showing any symptom, Aarogya Setu app not showing "green" are not to be allowed to enter the airport terminal building. People above 80 years of age to be restricted from travel in phase I of flight resumption. No cabin baggage in initial phase, checked-in baggage to be only one piece.

7:15 PM: India can do 1 lakh tests daily, says Health Minister

India can now do one lakh COVID-19 tests per day, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday. He also said that the country's COVID-19 mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world with 3.2 per cent.

7:10 PM Modi approves ex gratia of Rs 2 Lakh for kin of migrants run over by train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of 16 migrants who were run over by a goods train near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

7:05 PM: NHRC issues notices over alleged negligence in Delhi Police constable's treatment

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi and Union Home Secretary after taking suo motu cognizance of a complaint accompanied by a media report alleging negligence in the treatment of Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar who died due to COVID-19. They have been asked to submit a report within four weeks.

7:00 PM: Andhra CM YS Jagan's against blanket lockdown extension

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi's address to the nation, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has suggested progressive and pragmatic outlook towards the future of the state and the country post May 17 when lockdown ends.

6:55 PM: 6 new positive cases of COVID19 reported in Himachal Pradesh

As many as have been 6 new positive cases of coronavirus reported in the state today. Total number of positive cases rise to 65 including 24 active, 35 recovered and 2 deaths: Himachal Pradesh Health Department.

6.11 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Recovery rate getting better every day, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday that India's COVID-19 mortality is among the lowest in the world at nearly 3.2%. He added that the country's recovery rate is getting better every day and is currently at 31.7%.

In the fight against #COVID19 our mortality rate is about the lowest in the world. Today the mortality rate is around 3.2%, in several states it is even less than this. Global fatality rate is around 7-7.5%: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan https://t.co/rpJP0vyMIa - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

5.58 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases

The state recorded 110 fresh novel coronavirus cases and 8 deaths on Tuesday. Total active positive cases have jumped to 1,363 in the state now, said West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay. (ANI reports)

5.47 pm: West Bengal lockdown news

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that lockdown will continue in the state. She added that the red zones will be further broken into 3 categories- A, B, C which will be figured out by the police. She further said that there will be no change in containment areas.

Red zones will be further broken into three categories - a,b,c. Police will figure it out. No change in containment zones: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/EMVySEDhBT - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

5.40 pm: Kerala coronavirus cases

5 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, including 3 from Malappuram, and 1 each from Pathanmthitta and Kottayam.

5.35 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases

925 cases confirmed in the state, including 31 deaths and 433 recoveries.

5.27 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases

Karnataka recorded 925 COVID-19 cases as of 5 pm on May 12 including 31 deaths and 433 discharges, and 1 death due to coronavirus infection, said the state health department. (ANI reports)

5.17 pm: Maharashtra lockdown latest updates

Maharashtra government has decided to do the home deliver of liquor to avoid over crowding at alcohol shops in thes state. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with total count of confirmed COVID-18 cases at 23,401 along with 868 deaths, as per the Union Home Ministry.

5.07 pm: Coronavirus vaccine: What's happening in India

The race to find a vaccine and cure for COVID-19 has quickened as countries and companies across the world pacing up in the wake of increasing coronavirus cases.

India- Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the central government told India TV that India is well on course to find a vaccine for COVID-19. He added in the interview that if all goes well, India is very likely to has a corona vaccine the next 8 months.

Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) has joined hands with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to develop a coronavirus vaccine. A vaccine called CoroFlu is already being tested by the biotech firm. BBIL is also working with the University of Wisconsin to develop the vaccine. ICMR also said that it has transferred the virus strain isolated at NIV, Pune to BBIL.

Additionally, the Serum Institute of India said that it is planning to manufacture 6 crore of potential corona doses of the vaccine that is under clinical trial in the UK. University of Oxford is conducting trials for its vaccine.

4.59 pm: Punjab coronavirus latest updates

The Sixth Special train carrying 1201 migrant workers left for Chhapra in Bihar from the SAS Nagar Mohali railway station on Tuesday.

Punjab: The Sixth Special train carrying 1201 migrant workers left for Chhapra in Bihar from the SAS Nagar Mohali railway station today. #COVID19Lockdown pic.twitter.com/q2hd3BNf13 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.49 pm: India coronavirus live updates

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday that as of date, 17,59,579 samples have been tested in India.

4.38 pm: Lockdown extension live updates: What after May 17?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 5th nationwide address on Tuesday may announce a graded lockdown exit with both the lives and livelihoods in focus. In his meeting with state CMs on Monday, he asked the states to send the Centre their reports by May 15 leaving the onus of deciding on easing the norms on them. While the economic revival in the country will be the focus of the Modi government, lockdown is likely to stay but with more relaxations.

4.29 pm: Coronavirus in India latest updates

The second phase of Vande Bharat Mission will be launched from 16-22 May. It will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed, according to sources.

The second phase of #VandeBharatMission will be launched from 16-22 May. It will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed: Sources pic.twitter.com/SJYwCCpcBI - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.19 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus news

Nurses at Government Medical College Omandurar, Chennai paid tribute to Florence Nightingale on International Nurses Day on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar also visited the hospital & expressed his gratitude to the nurses and nursing staff there.

Tamil Nadu: Nurses at Government Medical College Omandurar, Chennai paid tribute to Florence Nightingale on #InternationalNursesDay today. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar also visited the hospital & expressed his gratitude to the nurses and nursing staff there. pic.twitter.com/y5UYnNSbWi - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.14 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases

Delhi records 2 fresh COVID-19 cases.

4.07 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus latest updates: 2.81 lakh migrant workers brough back to the state

UP's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said on Tuesday that 233 trains have brought 2,81,408 migrant workers to UP so far. He added, "Today 13 trains have arrived till now and more will come in the coming days. All the passengers will be screened and medical check-ups will be conducted."

3.59 pm: Coronavirus in India latest updates: FIFA to be held in the country between Feb 17 to March 7, 2021

The new dates for the FIFA, which will be held in India, will be held between February 17 to March 7, 2021, tweeted Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge), Kiren Rijiju.

The new dates for the FIFA #U17WWC to be held in India between Feb 17 to Mar 7, 2021 is announced. I assure full coperation and support to make it a grand success. https://t.co/ONtZD3oKLP - Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 12, 2020

3.52 pm: Coronavirus latest updates

Indians queue at Muscat International Airport in Oman to board the 2nd repatriation flight from Muscat to Chennai, scheduled for today, under Vande Bharat Mission.

Oman: Indians queue at Muscat International Airport to board the 2nd repatriation flight from Muscat to Chennai, scheduled for today, under #VandeBharatMission. pic.twitter.com/y6D3n3vI4W - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

3.41 pm: Coronavirus cases in armed forces

9 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Border Security Force (BSF) in the last 24 hours. 6 are from Delhi, 1 from Kolkata, and 2 from Tripura. All of them are under treatment at designated health care hospitals, said the Border Security Force. (ANI reports)

3.37 pm: Coronavirus map live updates: Check BusinessToday.In tracker to get state-wise tally of COVID-19 cases

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graph.

3.29 pm: Coronavirus latest updates: 2 more ITBP jawans test positive in one day

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said on Tuesday that 2 more jawans of ITBP have tested COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours adding that there are a total of 159 positive cases and 1 recovery in the state. (ANI reports)

3.23 pm: India coronavirus live updates

Indians at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia to board special Air India repatriation flight to Mumbai under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Malaysia: Indians at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to board special Air India repatriation flight to Mumbai under the #VandeBharatMission. pic.twitter.com/A516w8SSWK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

3.17 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Over 6,000 Indians brought back by Air India, says Aviation Ministry

As many as 6,037 Indians have been flown back to India by 31 flights operated by Air India and Air India Express as a part of the central government's Vande Bharat Mission in the last 5 days, ANI reported quoting the Civil Aviation Ministry.

3.09 pm: PM Modi address today at 8 pm

Prime Minister Modi's last 4 speeches lowdown

1. March 19- In his first nationwide address PM Modi asked the citizens to self-impose of Janata Curfew (people's curfes) on March 22 from 7 am to 9 pm.

2. March 24- In his address on this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the countrywide lockdown to extend for 21 days (three weeks) beginning March 25.

3. April 3- PM Modi appealed to citizens to switch off all lights and light diyas and candles at 9 pm on April 5 to mark coronavirus fight.

4. April 14: PM Modi announced the lockdown extension till May 3.

3.00 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

21 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Rajasthan on Tuesday till 2 pm taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 4,056. Active cases stand at 1563 with deaths at 115, said Rajasthan Health Department. (Inputs from ANI)

2.55 pm: Chandigarh corona latest updates

Vegetable and Fruit market of Sector 26, near the Bapu Dham Colony, has been shifted temporarily to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Sector 17. Total 150 active cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Bapu Dham Colony till now.

Chandigarh: Vegetable and Fruit market of Sector 26, near the Bapu Dham Colony, has been shifted temporarily to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Sector 17. Total 150 active cases of #COVID19 have been reported in the Bapu Dham Colony till now. pic.twitter.com/ELag6KzNG5 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.49 pm: Gujarat corona latest updates: COVID-19 cases past 6,000 in Ahmedabad, state count- 8,541

The total count of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad climbed to 6,086 on Monday, with the death toll in the city inching towards the 400-mark. Gujarat's tally has jumped to 8,541 with death toll at 513 as it is the second worst-hit state in India.

2.44 pm: Delhi coronavirus latest updates

Watch: Passengers onboard special train that will leave for Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh shortly from New Delhi Railway Station, as train services resume on Tuesday.

#WATCH Delhi: Passengers onboard special train that will leave for Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh shortly from New Delhi Railway Station, as train services resume today. pic.twitter.com/wg2V5lG4DK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.39 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: German national leaves Delhi airport transit after being stranded for 55 days

A German citizen, who was stranded at Delhi airport transit area for the last 55 days due to coronavirus induced lockdown, left early morning on Tuesday for Amsterdam. He was permitted to board the flight after he tested COVID-19 negative. The German man, named Edgar Zeibat had landed in Delhi on March 18 from Thailand. He was supposed to leave for Istanbul on the day when the flights got suspended. He had been living in Delhi airport's transit area since then. He was also not permitted to go out the Delhi airport as he did not have an Indian visa.

2.29 pm: Uttarakhand coronavirus cases

No new COVID-19 cases has been reported in Uttarakhand on Tuesday. Total number of positive cases stands at 68 including 21 active cases and 46 recovered, said the state health department.

No new case of #COVID19 reported in Uttarakhand today. Total number of positive cases stands at 68 including 21 active cases and 46 recovered: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/yBwmY1PzsX - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.22 pm: Delhi corona latest updates: Doubling rate has gone up to 11 days, says Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday that the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the national capital has risen to 11 days after climbing to an alarming rate 3.4 days earlier. He added that if the doubling rate reached 18, 20 or 25, "then we will be more comfortable.

2.16: PM Modi live at 8 pm today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with state chief minister on Monday asked them to prepare notes about the following points: -

Opening up industries.

What places can be opened

How to go for opening the services, and what will be closed.

What should be done to keep red areas under control.

2.10 pm: Lockdown Extension in Telangana Latest Updates

Telangana government has already extended the lockdown till May 29. State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made the announcement on May 6 urging the citizens to cooperate with the decision of the government. The state government has also decided to continue night curfew in all 33 districts.

2.05 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus news

A Maharashtra government panel has taken the decision to release nearly 50% prisoners lodged in jails across the state to decongest prisons, in the wake of coronavirus spread fear: officials cited by PTI as saying.

2.00 pm: Lockdown Extension in Mumbai Latest Updates

The lockdown is likely to be extended in hotspots such as Mumbai and Pune in the state of Maharashtra which is the worst-hit state in India. Both Mumbai and Pune are the worst-hit cities in the state with coronavirus cases in both these zones inching past 15,000. In view of this Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray convened an all-party meeting with state leaders on Thursday to assess the ongoing situation. (ANI report)

1.55 pm: Lockdown Extension in West Bengal Latest Updates

There is no clarity on whether the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will extend the lockdown or not. Amid her ongoing fight with the central government, she demanded during state CMs meeting with PM Modi on Monday that the respective Chief Ministers be consulted before the Centre takes the decision to extend lockdown beyond May 17. Central government has in the past alleged that she failed miserably in containing coronavirus.

1.50 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases

13 deaths and 406 new positive cases were reported in Delhi in 24 hours till midnight yesterday, taking the total number of cases to 7639 and deaths to 86, said Delhi Health Department.

13 deaths and 406 new positive cases were reported in Delhi in 24 hours till midnight yesterday, taking the total number of cases to 7639 and deaths to 86: Delhi Health Department pic.twitter.com/wmPcyofwAK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.45 pm: Lockdown Extension in Punjab Latest Updates

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday urged PM Modi to extend the lockdown beyond May 17, but with carefully constructed plan supported by economic and fiscal empowerment of states in order to save lives as well as secure livelihood.

1.35 pm: Lockdown Extension in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his meeting with PM Modi on Monday asked the Prime Minister to show a precise direction on the lockdown, adding that it should be extended beyond May 17. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with the highest number of coronavirus cases at 23,401 along with 868 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry.

1.29 pm: PM Modi address at 8 pm today: When and where to watch live streaming

You can all PM Modi's address live on BusinessToday.In live blog.

IndiaToday.In and AajTak.In will also run live blogs on the PM Modi's speech nationwide speech on today..

India Today TV and Aaj Tak will also telecast live address of the Prime Minister at 8 PM.

1.20 pm: Coronavirus India live updates

Watch: Indian Naval Ship Kesari docks at Male port in Maldives, the first destination under Mission Sagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items here.

#WATCH Indian Naval Ship Kesari docks at Mal port in Maldives, the first destination under #MissionSagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items here pic.twitter.com/SUtPGVhIY7 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.15 pm: Modi on coronavirus

PM Modi in his 5th address to the nation on Tuesday could give an idea of how the lockdown restrictions will be eased as coronavirus cases continue to rise steeply across the nation over the past few weeks. In his meeting with the state CMs, PM Modi spoke of a "balanced strategy" to reopen states, but in a staggered manner as the pressure on economy continues to rise.

1.10 pm: Modi on lockdown

PM Modi's address on Tuesday is crucial as it comes at a time when the country is grappling with a double whammy- to extend lockdown 3.0 in the wake of increasing coronavirus cases or to focus on economy. The Prime Minister is likely to speak on how state may go ahead with lockdown easing strategies post May 17.

1.05 pm: Coronavirus India live updates

Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS, Delhi on medical advice, said an AIIMS official.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been discharged from AIIMS, Delhi on medical advice: AIIMS official pic.twitter.com/hcJSbGDVrT - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.00 pm: PM Modi live at 8 pm today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday after his marathon meetings with state CMs on Monday. The central government has asked states to send it suggestions on their respective lockdown exit strategies. He also hinted that the government could ease lockdown restrictions significantly post May 17.

12.56 pm: Kejriwal on lockdown extension in Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday invited suggestions from citizens on how much the lockdown 3.0 should be eased post May 17. He has asked people to send him suggestions on WhatsApp, email or on call. He added that all state CMs have been asked by the central government to send it a report on their lockdown exit plans. CM Kejriwal tweeted, "Should the lockdown in Delhi be relaxed after May 17? How much should be relaxed? Please WhatsApp me on your suggestion 8800007722 by 5 pm tomorrow, or call 1031 to record your suggestion." He also asked the citizens to email their suggestions at delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com during his video address on Tuesday.

17 ? ? 8800007722 5 whatsapp , 1031 https://t.co/VfFEyoux6b - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 12, 2020

12.52 pm: Himachal Pradesh coronavirus latest updates

Three new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh taking the total number of cases in state to 62 including 21 active cases. Of 3 new cases one is police head constable and one has travel history to Jalandhar, Punjab, said Nipun Jindal, State Special Secretary (Health). (ANI reports)

12.49 pm: Lockdown extension live updates in Jammu and Kashmir

A 'Shramik Special Train' carrying around 1000 migrants, that departed from Chikkabanavara railway station in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 10th May reached Udhampur on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir: A 'Shramik Special Train' carrying around 1000 migrants, that departed from Chikkabanavara railway station in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 10th May reached Udhampur today. pic.twitter.com/fb5hNnPVJz - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

12.45 pm: PM at 8 pm: Inside track of PM Modi's 5th address

PM Modi is worried regarding the migrant crisis, may raise the issue during his nationwide address.

May speak on state governments suggestions after his meeting with the CMs.

Lockdown may be extended but with ease in restrictions in certain areas.

12.39 pm: PM Modi address at 8 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the migrant worker crisis, may speak on state governments' suggestions on lockdown situation and the economic crisis in the wake of coronavirus induced lockdown.

12.29 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus news

33 new COVID-19 cases reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours; the total number of positive cases in the state is now 2051, said the state health department. (ANI reports)

12.16 PM: PM Modi to address nation at 8 PM this evening
A retired couple who scooped $9million in the lottery only discovered their win two days later after noting down the wrong numbers when the results were announced.

The couple from Townsville had bought the only Powerball division one-winning ticket worth $8,948,153.83 from a newsagent in the northern Queensland city.

The ticket was unregistered so officials had no way of contacting the husband and wife when they mistakenly thought their lotto bid had been unsuccessful.

A retired couple scooped $9million in the lottery but only discovered their win two days later

The winning woman said she could not comprehend her and her husband's sudden good fortune.

'When the numbers came up on the telly, my husband went to write them down,' she said.

'But by the time he got the biro, he only caught a few and I think he wrote them down wrong.

'We got hold of the right numbers this morning and checked our ticket again. That's when we saw we had all the numbers.

'We just looked at each other and I started crying.'

The Townsville couple said they already know what they will do with the money - including helping family members and donating to charities.

The winning couple won the $8,948,153.83 prize after buying a ticket from newsXpress (pictured) in the Townsville suburb of Garbutt

'We can start helping some family members. It will be awesome,' she said.

'It will make such a big difference to our family.

'We also want to make a donation to some charities that matter to us.

'I'd also love a nice diamond ring  something that will be a family heirloom. It's something I've wanted for a long time. Not sure what my husband wants yet. He's still thinking about it!'

The winning numbers 12, 9, 16, 23, 26, 35, 29 and Powerball number 10 were announced during Powerball's Draw No. 1251 on Thursday night

Across Australia, there was only one division one winning entry in Powerball draw 1251, meaning the Queensland ticket holder can claim the prize all for themselves (stock image)

The winning numbers were 12, 9, 16, 23, 26, 35, 29.

NewsXpress Garbutt Central owners Ken and Lyn Ivers had said they do not remember who exactly the winner was but were excited for them to claim their prize.

'What wonderful news for the customer and for the region. It's just fabulous. I can only imagine how excited they will be when they find out,' Lyn said.

'We are encouraging all of our players to check their tickets! Hopefully we can unite this winner with their prize soon,' Ken added.

'In 2018, we sold a $15million Oz Lotto entry and in 2015 we sold a Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto entry worth $1million. We feel like we are on a roll. We are a bit of a lucky store.'
A set of bagpipes recovered from the body of a hero piper gunned down at the Battle of the Somme has come to light more than 100 years later.

The poignant memento is believed to have belonged to Private William Alexander Scott who went 'over the top' on July 1, 1916 armed only with his musical instrument.

His job was to provide morale to his fellow soldiers of the 21st Battalion Tyneside Scottish, Northumberland Fusiliers.

The poignant memento, pictured, is believed to have belonged to Private William Alexander Scott who went 'over the top' on July 1, 1916 armed only with his musical instrument

The young piper made it all the way to the German front line before he was shot and killed still carrying his pipes on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

The traditional Scottish instrument was later recovered from the battlefield and returned to Pte Scott's family.

His family always believed the pipes were passed down to Pte Scott by his father Alexander Scott, who was also a piper in the same regiment at the turn of the century.

They remained in the Scott family until they were recently sold to a private collector of militaria.

They have now been consigned for sale with auctioneers Lockdales of Ipswich, Suffolk.

Private William Alexander Scott, pictured left, died on July 1st, 1916 - the first day of the Battle of the Somme. His pipes, passed down to him by his father, Alexander Scott, pictured right, were recovered from the battlefield and returned to the family

The pipes are in a worn condition and come in a contemporary leather case.

There is also some research documents including a newspaper cutting which states how Pte Scott died leading his fellow soldiers into action unarmed.

He was in one of four 'Pals Battalions' from Newcastle which attacked at 7.30am in roughly the centre of the British line opposite the fortified village of La Boisselle.

It is reported that Pte Scott made it to the German trench where he was killed, still holding his pipes.

The Tyneside Scottish suffered the worst losses of any brigade on that day, losing between 2,288 and 2,438 men and all four battalion commanders dead.

Another solider described Pte Scott as a 'good pal and faithful friend' at the time.

The pipers, pictured, will be sold in an online auction tomorrow and have an estimate of 800

Piper George Griffiths said: 'He was well liked by officers and men of this battalion. He died a hero for he played the men into action and cheered them up to victory'.

Pte Scott's body was never found and his name was added to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

Chris Elmy from Lockdales Auctioneers said: 'The bagpipes were brought to one of our valuation day roadshows.

'The owner is a private collector who bought them from the Scott family, the bagpipes have never been up for auction before.

'The family had always believed they belonged to a relative who was killed at the Somme.

Private Scott's job was to provide morale to his fellow soldiers of the 21st Battalion Tyneside Scottish, Northumberland Fusiliers

'It is believed the pipes were passed down from Alexander Scott, who was a piper with the Tyneside Scottish in the late 19th/early 20th century, to his son William Alexander Scott, who also piped for the Tyneside Scottish and who was sadly killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

'The tartan is correct for the regiment and the fact that a set of damaged pipes was kept and treasured leads us strongly to believe they were recovered from the person of William Alexander Scott. Family tradition holds that they were his.

'It is very unusual to see such an evocative item as this go up for auction.

'The music of the pipes was used to raise the morale of the soldiers, and also to drown-out the sounds of the battle going on around them.'

The bagpipes will be sold in an online auction tomorrow and have an estimate of 800.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. health authorities will testify on Tuesday to a Senate committee looking into plans for reopening the nations businesses, schools and other sectors of the economy closed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, as experts recommend doing so cautiously.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci plans to warn against the risks of reopening the economy too soon, saying states that forge ahead without meeting administration guidelines for declining cases first will risk lives and economic recovery, the New York Times reported.

If we skip over the checkpoints ... we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country, Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, told the news outlet. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn are also scheduled to testify before the panel.

Each of the witnesses will testify remotely at Tuesdays hearing, according to a committee aide. The virus is shaking the nations capital, with two known cases of infection emerging inside the White House and leading top U.S. health officials to isolate themselves as a precaution.

Fauci, Redfield and Hahn have been taking self-quarantine steps after announcements they had come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, which causes the highly contagious respiratory disease COVID-19.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander is also self-quarantining in his home state of Tennessee for 14 days after a member of his staff tested positive. He will chair the hearing virtually, his office said on Sunday.

The shuttering of businesses to combat the spread of the coronavirus has led to mass layoffs of workers, sparking the greatest economic disruption to the United States since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.

Republican President Donald Trump, who previously made the strength of the economy central to his pitch for his November re-election bid, has encouraged states to reopen businesses that had been deemed non-essential amid the pandemic.

So far, his administration has largely left it to states to decide whether and how to reopen. State governors are taking varying approaches, with a growing number relaxing tough restrictions enacted to slow the outbreak, even as opinion polls show most Americans are concerned about reopening too fast.

WORKER SAFETY

But Trump and his task force coordinating Washingtons response to the coronavirus have faced questions on how U.S. workers will be kept safe during reopening, especially after two staffers working within the White House tested positive for the virus.

One of the staffers is Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, the wife of senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The other is a valet to the president.

So far, the coronavirus has killed more than 80,000 people in the United States, the highest death toll of any country. Some experts say testing for the virus in most parts of the country continues to fall short of what would be needed to safely reopen.

Senate Democrats, including Patty Murray, her partys senior member on the Senate health committee, called on Trump to allocate $25 billion in funding to ramp up testing.

Faucis appearance at the Republican-controlled Senate committee comes after the White House blocked the 79-year-old infectious disease expert from testifying to a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives panel, calling it counterproductive.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to unveil a sweeping coronavirus-response bill, possibly this week, that would likely provide more funding for testing, new state and local government aid and another round of direct payments to people to help them meet their daily living costs.

Congress has already passed trillions of dollars in emergency relief. Senate Republicans, some of whom have expressed doubts about the need for more federal aid, are scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House later on Tuesday.
Young Venezuelan girls wait at a care centre for refugees and migrants in La Paz, Bolivia.  UNHCR/ UNHCR/Javier Di Benedictis

With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening the safety and future of millions of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and their host communities, more than 150 organizations working across 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are appealing to the international community for an urgent increase in support.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Venezuelan refugees and migrants are now faced with a myriad of challenges, including the loss of livelihoods, evictions as well as increasing stigmatization. Many are often unable to access basic health and hygiene facilities and to comply with physical distancing measures. Those living in an irregular situation and without documentation also risk being left out of national health and social welfare programmes.

Coronavirus is pressuring our societies in ways we could have never imagined. For Venezuelan refugees and migrants, the pandemic exposes them to even greater hardship as many are now struggling to survive, away from home, said Eduardo Stein, Joint UNHCR-IOM Special Representative for refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

Venezuelans across the region are now faced with hunger, a lack of access to medical care, the prospects of homelessness and xenophobia.

Increasingly vulnerable, many are also at risk of exposure to gender-based violence, stigmatization, exploitation and abuse.

In response, humanitarian organizations revised the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP), launched in November 2019. This US$1.35 billion regional plan prioritized activities to address the most pressing protection, lifesaving and integration needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. The updated requirements of the RMRP now amount to US$1.41 billion, around one third of which are for COVID-19-specific activities.

The main increases will support refugees and migrants in extremely precarious situations, especially those in urgent need of food, shelter and health services. It will also cover the provision of personal protective equipment and activities aimed at providing vital information on the pandemic and available services.

The Response Plan complements the tremendous efforts governments in the region have put in place to alleviate the needs of host communities. The inclusion of refugees and migrants in national responses and programmes  ranging from the delivery of basic goods and food packages, social welfare efforts, and the efforts aimed at halting evictions  has been and continues to be vital.

Given the quarantine measures in place across the region, the delivery of many activities in the Response Plan have been adjusted to provide assistance through remote modalities, including through enhanced cash-based assistance.

Other prioritized activities include the establishment of mobile health facilities for the testing and referral of COVID-19 cases and the upgrading of shelters with adequate physical spacing and improved sanitary conditions.

This is in addition to the provision of technical support to national authorities to complement their efforts in the COVID-19 response and the establishment of early warning systems and rapid response mechanisms to contain the spread of the pandemic among refugees and migrants. Crucially, refugees and migrants, irrespective of their status, need to be included in national health responses.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to reach its peak in Latin America, overstretched public health services will continue to be challenged over the coming months. We urge the international community to generously provide support through this revised response plan, Stein said.

The regional response plan for Venezuelans remains dangerously underfunded. To date, only four per cent of the required funds have been met. To support the largely underfunded work of the 151 organizations who are part of the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform (R4V) response, a virtual Pledging Conference will be convened towards the end of the month.

The coordination of the humanitarian, protection and integration response for refugees and migrants from Venezuela is conducted through the R4V. Within this framework and in a coordinated effort, the RMRP forms part of the updated COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, issued by the UN Secretary-General earlier this month.

More information on the revised response plan is available here: https://r4v.info/es/documents/download/76210.

For more information, please contact:

In Panama:

In Geneva:
After pouring time and money into his biker bar, Poopys, for 24 years, Kevin Promenschenkel faced a coronavirus reckoning: If he wasnt able to reopen for his annual Memorial Day concert and summer kickoff, his business would not survive.

So the western Illinois bar owner hired lawyer Tom DeVore to file a lawsuit on his behalf Monday against Gov. J.B. Pritzker because of the executive order he signed, effectively shuttering some nonessential businesses starting March 21.

The St. Louis-area lawyer has become the go-to guy for businesses in the south and west parts of the state chafing at the stay-at-home rules. He also filed suits on behalf of a hairdresser and two Republican elected officials, and is representing about 80 other small businesses.

When he hasnt filed suit, DeVore has written letters notifying local authorities that each of the businesses intended to reopen despite the stay-at-home-order. Most of the businesses that dont require special state licenses have already reopened, seemingly daring local or state officials to do something about it.

In answer to questions Tuesday partly about Promenschenkel as well as local counties and cities wanting to reopen before the state rolls back its order, Pritzker said they should wait and are not relying on science in any way whatsoever to make their decisions.

I would just suggest to all of them that they are putting the patrons of their businesses and the people who live in their counties or in their cities in danger when they simply break the rules, break the law in fact, and they decide that they want to go it alone," Pritzker said.

But Promenschenkel says he takes COVID-19 seriously and said his heart goes out to those whove lost loved ones to it, including friends of his. He believes anyone who is at heightened risk should make choices to protect themselves as best they can.

I know people are worried about the virus. Im not in a position to be that person anymore because my business is as important to me as my life," he said. For those of us that are (suing), everythings at stake. We have no fallback -- this is it for us

The bar owner decided to put his trust in DeVore after a friend on social media recently called Promenschenkels attention to the St. Louis-area attorneys work and he and DeVore spoke.

Were putting our faith into it, thats for sure, Promenschenkel said by phone Tuesday from Poopys in Savanna, a small town in Carroll County on the Mississippi River north of the Quad Cities. Thats my target, Ive got to have that weekend. If I miss Memorial weekend, you know, unless some miracle happens, were done.

As the biggest destination biker bar in the state, he said, Poopys makes money seasonally, employing about 80 people in the summer. Three businesses in Savanna already have permanently closed as a result of the stay-at-home order, Promenschenkel said. Other businesses -- such as hotels and gas stations -- rely on the bikers who visit Poopys from all over the Midwest.

This was my dream, and I always put everything we made back into the business, maybe that was a mistake. At this point even if we survive the summer, we wont survive the winter. We cant do this forever, he said.

DeVore also filed a lawsuit this week for an 800-square-foot dive bar called Dookie Set in the Clinton County town of Carlyle, which also has about 3,000 residents. DeVore said because bars require a liquor license and the hair salon a cosmetology license, a lawsuit was more fitting because Pritzker has repeatedly made clear hes dangling their licenses in front of them, threatening to take them away, DeVore alleges.

Pritzker doesnt have the authority to close businesses under his order, according to the lawsuits. If anyone does, its health officials, and they have to follow state law and regulations to shut down businesses.

Both reflect in a different lens exactly the measures being taken by the executive office to enforce this order that businesses and local entities are beginning to question, he said.

DeVore first started attracting attention in late April when he filed a lawsuit on behalf of state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, alleging Bailey had been irreparably harmed by the stay-at-home order. A Clay County judge issued a temporary order freeing Bailey from Pritzkers directive. The state later appealed the decision and Bailey recently began following the order again, saying he wants the restraining order vacated so he can present new information and keep the case in Clay County.

Days later, DeVore helped a second politician, Rep. John Cabello, a Machesney Park Republican and Rockford police officer, who filed his own suit in Winnebago County, saying he seeks broader results -- Baileys exemption only applied to himself. Along with the two politicians and two bars that are suing, DeVore represents Sonja Harrison, owner of Visible Changes hair salon in Louisville, also in Clay County.

As word spread about the lawsuits, DeVores phone started ringing off the hook, and he had to more than double his team, bringing on three more attorneys to process the influx of inquiries from business owners.

For about 80 other businesses, DeVores Greenville firm has used a different tactic.

DeVore has advised the businesses to write letters to their local health boards, citing a portion of a directive from Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the Illinois public health director, that accompanied Pritzkers order. The directive says health officials have the authority to shut down businesses that violate Pritzkers order if theyre determined to be public health risks. The letters go on to tell local health authorities that because the owners believe their businesses arent public health risks, they will reopen within 48 hours.

The letters then demand if authorities want the business closed, officials should seek a court order to close the business.

We havent heard back from them objecting in a single case, DeVore said.

A spokesperson for Pritzker wasnt immediately available to comment.

Slideshow: The unique sports names of Central Illinois
Chandigarh, May 12 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday demanded the registration of an FIR either against Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh or against the ministers on allegations of conflict of interest in the liquor 'loot' in the state.

He said the people of the state must know the real issue behind the head-on collision among the Chief Secretary and the ministers and Congress leaders, accusing the senior officer of being "corrupt and arrogant".

"Instead of making a laughing stock of the high constitutional institutions of the Cabinet and of the Chief Secretary, time has come for taking a concrete legal view and penal follow up on allegations of liquor loot being exchanged freely in full public view," Sukhbir Badal told the media here.

He alleged when the world and the country were engaged in a life and death war against coronavirus, the ministers were fighting only on lootfrom liquor.

"That is why the debate in the country is about home delivery of food and essential goods, the Punjab ministers are debating home delivery of liquor." Sukhbir Badal said the Congress leaders are trying to "legalise" the illegal home delivery of liquor which has been going on through the lockdown.

He said it was surprising that the state has not held a single Cabinet meeting on fulfilling the needs of the farmers, labourers, shopkeepers, employees, business, trade and industry.

"The only Cabinet meetings it had held are on liquor policy. That shows the priorities of the government," he said.

The SAD chief said that the Congress government should stop making fools of the people by demanding the removal of the Chief Secretary.

"If the Chief Secretary is guilty, then it cannot stop merely at his removal from office. Then, the government must dare to dismiss him, and book him under the relevant provisions of law.

"But if, conversely, the ministers are angry with him because he is opposing their corruption, then the minister or ministers must be sacked immediately, booked and tried in a court of law.

"It is not a family affair that things can be sorted by someone refusing to sit with someone or the other. Only a legal course can remove confusion and deliver justice to the people and end this ugly drama," said the former Deputy Chief Minister.

A 'tug of war' between Cabinet ministers and the Chief Minister's 'blue-eyed' Chief Secretary over the liquor policy intensified with the straightforward Finance Minister Manpreet Badal on Monday announcing that he won't attend a meeting where the bureaucrat was present.
The facility manager at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Jacob Arthur Quarm is confident that the 100-bed infectious disease isolation and treatment facility being constructed at the Ga East Hospital will meet international certification requirements.



Mr. Quarm was speaking during a visit to the project site to discuss and develop concepts for laboratories within the facility.



The virologist, who has been working at the Noguchi Institute at the University of Ghana since 1991, indicated that he was astonished by the scale of the project and the speed at which it is being constructed. He said he is overwhelmed with joy because with the facility, Ghana will at long last get its first infectious diseases centre.



I was a little bit surprised when I heard that it was being built and I'm waking up to the fact that it is actually physically here and it gives me a lot of joy to know that in this time and era we are waking up to the challenges of health and trying to separate the different types of challenges and making infrastructural provisions to be able to achieve safe healthcare for everybody, he said.



He congratulated the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund for the initiative which is delivering Ghanas first infectious disease isolation and treatment facility.



They've done a very good job and it is very timely and the pace at which the contractors are working is also very good," he stressed.



The first infectious disease isolation and treatment centre in Ghana is scheduled to be ready for use by the end of May. It is being built under the auspices of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund with donations from corporate organisations and individuals. It will initially be used to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients and when the pandemic has blown over, it will also be used to isolate and treat people suffering from other infectious diseases.



The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund is seeking more funding to be able to construct similar facilities in Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale in the foreseeable future.



The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative by private business people who set it up with a seed fund of One Million Ghana Cedis, while campaigning to raise at least One Hundred Million Ghana Cedis from local and international businesses as well as the general public to aid the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana.

Source: ghanacovid19fund.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Its been 19 years since it first aired, but the episode of Lizzie McGuire titled Between a Rock and a Bra Place still holds up!

Fans of the early-aughts Disney Channel series will never forget the heavy dose of cringeworthy relatability and hilarity that came from watching BFFs Lizzie (Hilary Duff) and Miranda (Lalaine) go on their first bra-shopping adventure at the tender age of 13. And thanks to a surprise video reunion, those fans can relive the same middle school laughs with the now-30-something stars  and the rest of the classic cast.

On Monday night, Duff shared a table read of that unforgettable season one script on Instagram TV, which featured both her and Lalaine, as well as Jake Thomas (who played Lizzies brother, Matt), Adam Lamberg (better known as Gordo), Ashlie Brillault (Kate), Davida Williams (Claire) and Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine (aka Lizzies mom and dad).

The episode focused on Lizzie and Mirandas quest for popularity and support in the form of the perfect transformative undergarment, but when the gals hit the lingerie department, they werent really ready for all the letters and numbers of bra math.

And as it turned out, the network wasnt ready for all that bra talk back in the day.

It was sort of a thing where it was like, Could we do this? Could we write about bras on the Disney Channel?' Nina Bargiel recalled thinking when she and her co-writer brother joined the chat.

When the network asked us about that, there were raised eyebrows, Jeremy Bargiel said. They were like, OK, well, we're going to throw down the gauntlet. You can say the word twice. You cant ever show one. But it was definitely something they thought would just go away.

But keeping it real was a vital element of the tween sitcom.

I was going through a lot of the same things, Duff explained during a 2018 interview with TODAY. And the writers would pull a lot of things that were happening in my life and kind of, like, write them into the show. So drama with friends or having to go bra shopping with my mom, kind of being uncomfortable and klutzy in my own skin and falling down or, you know, whatever kind of was happening. Not that they took all of my life things, but it was very similar what was happening in my life and what was happening in her life."

Story continues

She added, "I definitely think that the bra episode is one that stands out in my brain as being like, first of all, really wanting it, because I thought a bra was cool, and then second of all, being like, How am I going to get that? I have to talk to my parents about that. That's going to be the worst thing ever.

That sense of authenticity is why, in February, Duff voiced her hopes that a previously planned Lizzie McGuire reboot could go to Hulu rather than Disney+  if it ever airs at all.

Was incredibly excited to launch Lizzie on D+ and my passion remains! However, I feel a huge responsibility to honor the fans relationship with LIZZIE who, like me, grew up seeing themselves in her, she wrote. Id be doing a disservice to everyone by limiting the realities of a 30 year olds journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating. Its important to me that just as her experiences as a preteen/teenager navigating life were authentic, her next chapters are equally as real and relatable.
You also may receive a dependent allowance in addition to your benefit amount if you have a dependent child under the age of 18 or a nonworking spouse. You can claim one or the other, and additional children will not increase your benefits. Payment for a dependent spouse can be between $15 and $93, while a child allowance can be between $26 and $185, according to the states website.
As the coronavirus pandemic rages around the world and Americans remain divided on reopening the economy, lawmakers in the United States seem united on one issue: an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives agrees that the conventional arms embargo on Iran, due to expire in October, should be renewed. Foreign Policy reports in its article To Stop a U.S.-Iran War, Finlandize Iraq that U.S. President Donald Trumps administrations so-called maximum-pressure campaign carries a bigger danger: The United States could get caught in another war of choice in the Middle East.

By exerting pressure, supporting regime change, and working to cut off the regimes access to resources without providing positive inducements or signals that compliance would be rewarded by the United States, there is a greater chance of Iran lashing out by directly attacking U.S. forces (such as the retaliation that came in the months after the assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani) or of inadvertent escalation (such as in April, when Iranian speedboats came within a few yards of U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, and Trump tweeted the U.S. Navy should shoot down and destroy any Iranian ships harassing U.S. vessels).

The United States and Iran could avoid such confrontations, which could easily spiral into war, by agreeing to Finlandize Iraq. Iraq would become a neutral state, like Finland during the Cold Wara sphere of restraint that would not serve as an arena of competition for influence, nor would it attempt to dominate others as it did during former Iraqi President Saddam Husseins reign.

It is likely that the Trump administration fears Iran will distribute new weapons to its proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and rearm itself while restarting its atomic weapons program. A conventionally well-armed, nuclear Iran could be unstoppable in its quest to dominate the Middle East. However, Irans economy has been weakened by sanctions and low oil prices. Even if the embargo is lifted, Iran cannot afford tons of new weapons. Moreover, not only is Iran far away from having a nuclear weapon, but, as demonstrated by its recent space launch, it does not currently possess the capability to attach a nuclear warhead to a ballistic missile, either.

U.S.-Iranian relations have been bad for several years, but tensions began to escalate after Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and inaugurated a new policy known as maximum pressure. Tensions worsened after the U.S. assassination of Suleimani in early January 2020. This inaugurated a dramatic escalation between U.S. forces and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

The best way to de-escalate tensions now is to Finlandize Iraq. Shortly after World War II began, the Soviet Union demanded that Finland cede a large amount of its territory in order to protect Leningrad. However, the Finns refused and preferred to fight rather than capitulate. The Soviets invaded Finland in what became known as the Winter War.

The conflict lasted a little more than three months, and the Soviets incurred large numbers of casualties. They also significantly lowered their demands at the peace table in 1940. Finlandization, described as active and principled neutrality, was later inaugurated in 1948. The Finns and the Soviets agreed that Finland would not join any alliance with a power hostile to Moscow, in exchange for the Soviets respecting Finlands autonomy and democracy.Under this arrangement, Finland avoided becoming a puppet state and the Soviets avoided having a hostile neighbor.

Similarly, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France reached a similar arrangement when they agreed to withdraw from Austria in the Austrian State Treaty in 1955. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev remarked at the time, Is there any stronger proof necessary to show that the Soviet Union does not want to seize Europe to carry on any sort of war?  Who would evacuate troops if he wanted to attack? Shortly after the last Allied troops left Austria in October 1955, the Austrian Parliament passed a measure declaring the countrys neutrality.

In other words, the United States and Iran could agree to treat Iraq as a sphere of restraint or neutral zone, much like the U.S. and the Soviet governments agreed to treat states such as Finland and Austria during the Cold War. Such arrangements have worked well for those countries, as well as for Switzerland and Sweden. Scholars have proposed implementing similar agreements in places from Taiwan to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Democrats Unveil $3 Trillion CCP Virus Aid Package

House Democrats on May 12 released a $3 trillion bill that includes another direct payment to each American as well as nearly $1 trillion for state and local governments that would help those struggling with unbalanced budgets amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill (pdf) would provide $540 billion to states, territories, and tribal governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the public health emergency with respect to the pandemic.

Another $375 billion would go to cities, counties, and other local governments for the same.

The package includes $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service, a $45 billion infusion for the small business loan program thats been tapped by companies across the nation, and $100 billion for emergency rental assistance. And $90 billion is designated for the Department of Education to disperse through a state fiscal stabilization fund, while $75 billion is designated for homeowner assistance.

Billions would go to a slew of agencies and programs, including top health agencies for producing vaccines, therapeutics, and other measures; to states for preparing for elections; and for an Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund.

Homeless assistance programs, struggling public transit systems, utility assistance programs, rental assistance specifically for tenants, and training and employment services would also receive billions of dollars.

Congress has already passed four bills to address the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. The largest bill totaled $2.2 trillion.

The new bill is called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act.

People wear masks as they walk on the street in New York City on April 4, 2020. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)

Democrats plan to convene on May 15 for a vote following a prolonged break after representatives went to their homes from Washington last month.

The new legislation quickly drew criticism from conservatives.

This bill is a partisan wish list full of outrageously unrelated items. As a country we must stay focused on reopening safely, enabling American society to rise up again and drive the economic recovery, Romina Boccia, a budget scholar at the Heritage Foundation, said in a statement.

Its got so much unrelated to the coronavirus, its dead on arrival here in terms of a viable idea, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that the bill was not something designed to deal with reality, but designed to deal with aspirations.

Democratic leaders in Congress have pushed a fifth bill for weeks, saying state and local governments require funds, and other programs could use more money, including the food stamp program.

To those who would suggest a pause, I would say the hunger doesnt take a pause, the rent doesnt take a pause, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during an appearance on MSNBC on May 11. We have a big need. Its monumental.

But Republican leaders and White House officials have said they want to take things slow, saying they dont see an immediate need for funds.

McConnell said lawmakers were assessing the effectiveness of what was passed in the previous packages.

Im in discussion, we all are, with the administration. If we reach the decision, along with the administration, to move to another phase, thatll be the time to interact with the Democrats, he said.

McConnell said earlier that he and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are spearheading their own package, which will focus on liability reforms that protect businesses from COVID-related lawsuits.
WASHINGTON  On a day when COVID-19 cases soared, healthcare supplies were scarce and an anguished doctor warned he was being sent to war without bullets, a cargo plane landed at the Los Angeles International Airport, supposedly loaded with the ammo doctors and nurses were begging for: some of the first N95 medical masks to reach the U.S. in almost six weeks.

Already healthcare workers who lacked the crucial protection had caught COVID-19 after treating patients infected with the highly contagious new coronavirus. That very day an emergency room doctor who earlier texted a friend that he felt unsafe without protective supplies or an N95 mask, died of the infection. It was the first such death reported in the U.S., according to the American College of Emergency Physicians.

But the shipment arriving that night in late March wasnt going to solve the problem. An Associated Press investigation has found those masks were counterfeits  as are millions of medical masks, gloves, gowns and other supplies being used in hospitals across the country, putting lives at risk.

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EDITORS NOTE  This story is part of an ongoing investigation by The Associated Press, the PBS series FRONTLINE and the Global Reporting Centre that examines the deadly consequences of the fragmented worldwide medical supply chain.

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Before the pandemic, federal trade law enforcement agencies were focused on busting knockoffs such as luxury goods and computer software, mostly from China. As America fell sick, the mission shifted to medical supplies. To date, Operation Stolen Promise, spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations, has netted 11 arrests and 519 seizures. And yet counterfeit goods continue to pour in  not just masks, but also mislabeled medicines, and fake COVID-19 tests and cures, according to the agency.

Its just unprecedented, said Steve Francis, HSIs assistant director for global trade investigations. These are really bad times for people who are out there trying to do the right thing and be helpful, and they end up being exploited.

The story of how one brand of counterfeits has infiltrated Americas supply chains illustrates how the lack of coordination amid massive shortages has plunged the countrys medical system into chaos.

___

EAR LOOPS

AP identified the counterfeit masks when reviewing film of the Los Angeles shipment. The telltale sign: these masks had ear loops, while authentic ones have bands that stretch across the back of the head, making for a tighter fit.

The blue and yellow boxes being unloaded in a Southern California warehouse bore the name of the Chinese factory Shanghai Dasheng. The masks inside were stamped as if approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health  signifying they had been certified by the U.S. government as safe for workers in health care settings. N95 masks filter out 95% of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by looser fitting surgical masks.

But the day before they arrived, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a very specific warning: all Shanghai Dasheng N95 masks with ear loops were counterfeit.

Ear loop masks are less expensive to manufacture because the straps are attached with glue to the face covering, while headbands on genuine N95s, also called respirators, must be stitched, stapled or soldered to establish a tighter seal over the nose and mouth.

And even if the electrocharged fibers in the fabric are the same, masks with ear loops are not as effective because tiny airborne droplets carrying the virus can get sucked through the cracks.

Fluid follows the path of least resistance: If someone is breathing and the respirator doesnt have a good fit, it will just go around, said infectious disease expert Shawn Gibbs, the dean of Texas A&M Universitys school of public health.

AP tracked other shipments of Shanghai Dasheng ear loop N95 masks as they entered the vast U.S. medical system. Shipping labels and invoices, certified letters and interviews with more than a dozen buyers, distributors or middlemen pointed to the corporate headquarters and busy factory of Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacture Company.

The company did not respond to APs queries about its masks. And AP could not independently verify if they are making their own counterfeits, or, as the CDC said in a published warning, someone is using Shanghai Dashengs certification numbers without their permission.

The CDC separately told AP it has been in talks with Shanghai Dasheng about authenticity issues.

Recently, NIOSH has received reports stating there is product being obtained directly from the Shanghai Dasheng factory, labeled as NIOSH-approved, with ear loops, said agency spokeswoman Katie Shahan in an email to the AP. Shahan said Shanghai Dashengs N95s with ear loops are counterfeit.

On their own website, Shanghai Dasheng warns: WE DONT HAVE ANY DISTRIBUTORS, DEALERS OR BRANCH FACTORIES. BEWARE OF COUNTERFEIT!

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday that the country has provided a robust and high quality supply of medical items for global pandemic prevention and control.

So far, only a few of the exported products have encountered quality or standard problems, said the ministry.

Florida-based importer Mark Kwoka said he believes the Shanghai Dasheng masks with ear loops that he obtained came from their factory, based on information he received from his partners in China.

This is kind of getting out of control, said Kwoka, who made a career in bridal gown design and manufacturing in China but turned to masks earlier this year.

On a recent spring day, hawkers outside the guarded gates of the factory were offering to take orders for U.S.-approved, medical-grade N95s. It wasnt clear whether the sellers were getting their products from inside. A security guard told a reporter that he believed the sellers were peddling counterfeits, but police at a nearby station werent able to confirm that. The security guard ordered the journalists to leave.

Shanghai Dasheng is one of the largest manufacturers of authentic N95s in the world and one of only a handful in China certified to make NIOSH approved, U.S. medical-grade N95s.

In normal times, Shanghai Dasheng was the gold standard for N95s, according to several brokers who work in China. But in the rush of this pandemic, several said cheaper masks are proliferating.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Dasheng is holding itself up as a vital part of the pandemic response.

Just days into a weeklong New Year celebration in January, company chairman Wu Shengrong called back employees and then joined cleaners, cooks and a skeleton crew of workers for long days and nights on assembly lines. Eleven days into the manufacturing blitz, Shengrong invited in a group of journalists and said his company had bumped daily mask production from 40,000 to 70,000, and aimed for 200,000 once back at full strength.

I am not a learned man, Shengrong said at the time, but as a Communist Party member and army veteran, I am a patriot and Dasheng is just a drop of water in Chinas ocean of private enterprises.

___

THE FRONT LINES

One recipient of the Shanghai Dasheng ear loop masks was Direct Relief, an international humanitarian aid organization in Southern California.

Like other buyers AP contacted, Direct Relief at first thought the factory inadvertently sent the wrong mask model and set aside the entire shipment. But after reading the CDCs warnings, CEO Thomas Tighe said they had come to believe they were counterfeit and reported them to the federal government.

Its a little scary that it had gone through what we understood was an aggressive customs investigation for export, and an aggressive customs import by the U.S. and still got through, Tighe said. Its been a real lesson.

Direct Relief has since caught even more poorly constructed masks donated to their warehouse.

Even for those looking out for fakes, it has been difficult to keep up with changing federal guidelines for medical-grade masks.

Citing an acute shortage of N95 masks, government officials relaxed standards in March. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that other, unapproved medical masks with ear loops were appropriate for COVID-19 care.

But government testing of newly arrived models found most were substandard, and on May 7 the agency banned mask imports from 65 Chinese factories.

Shanghai Dasheng is among 14 that remain on the approved list.

For more than four weeks, millions of masks now considered inadequate for medical protection entered the U.S. and are now in use.

Meanwhile state and local governments, hospitals, private caregivers and well-wishers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the flawed masks. Before the pandemic, N95 masks sold for about 60 cents each. Today theyre priced as high as $6 apiece.

Its terrible, just terrible, said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nursing Association.

He said Lawrence General Hospital, which had solicited mask donations online, handed out ear loop Shanghai Dasheng-labeled masks to as many as 40 nurses in a COVID-19 unit before someone noticed.

In West Virginia, the state passed the masks to thousands of paramedics and firefighters, prison guards and hospital workers. State officials knew of the CDC warnings about Shanghai Dashengs ear loops, but dismissed concerns saying that, with a proper fit, they would be safe.

In a letter to first responders, Jeff Sandy, the states secretary for Military Affairs and Public Safety, said he reviewed the packaging and the masks, checked with the vendor, the importer, the Chinese exporter and  through a lawyer  Shanghai Dasheng itself. He wrote he is certain the 50,000 N95 masks with ear loops that the state provided are genuine products that provide adequate protection.

Some first responders disagree.

While trusting the equipment to protect them, our members may have unknowingly placed themselves in situations that put them at further risk, said West Virginia State Firemens Association President Jerry Loudin.

Some of the masks were purchased by charities or well-intentioned community members who held online fundraisers.

One Southern California marketing consultant, frustrated with reports that frontline medical workers didnt have N95 masks, had a client who makes custom, re-keyable locks in China. That client said he had sources who could get legitimate N95s, and so she launched a fundraiser, and within weeks delivered a shipment of the Shanghai Dasheng ear loop masks to caregivers.

The consultant, Wendy Chou Le, said the nurses she gave them to near Los Angeles have been grateful and didnt raise concerns.

Tyler Alvare, a pediatric physicians assistant in Alexandria, Virginia, had run his own fit tests on the masks when they arrived. But after talking to the AP and reviewing the federal warnings, he said he grabbed all the Shanghai Dasheng ear loop masks he had left and notified everyone he gave them to.

He said the government should have taken responsibility for providing enough protective equipment as soon as the shortage of masks became apparent instead of having every medical provider figure it out themselves.

Its really outside of our area of expertise, he said.

But even experts were caught off guard.

Franco Sagliocca, Mount Sinai procurement director, was working 18-hour days, seven days a week, to keep enough safety supplies in the hospital systems ERs and ICUS as COVID-19 overwhelmed New York. He was searching, ordering and hustling for N95s, and was planning to buy from Shanghai Dasheng.

Our sourcing lead said, Wait a minute guys, this is something we dont want,' Sagliocca said.

___

Associated Press writers Erika Kinetz in Rieti, Italy, Anthony Izaguirre in Charleston, West Virginia, Dake Kang in Beijing, and AP researcher Si Chen in Shanghai contributed to this story.

___

Contact APs Global Investigative Team at Investigative@ap.org

___

Contact the reporters on Twitter at @mendozamartha and @JulietLinderman
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The nation's largest publicly traded auto retailers are optimistic U.S. vehicle sales will continue to recover after plummeting double digits since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm comfortable sitting here today and declaring the automotive recovery is underway," AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said Monday during CNBC's "Squawk Box." AutoNation, the nation's largest new-vehicle retailer, reported a net loss of $232.3 million for the first quarter earlier in the day. That compares to net income of $92 million during the first three months of 2019. Revenue for the company fell 6.3% to $4.7 billion compared to a year earlier. AutoNation is the latest dealer group to report Covid-19 devastated earnings and sales. Sonic Automotive, after writing down the value of its franchised dealership business by $268 million, reported a net loss of $199.3 million for the first quarter. Sonic CEO David Smith told investors during a quarterly earnings call on April 30 that the company has "the financial resources in place to manage these near-term challenges, and to quickly recover when normal commerce resumes, as early as the third quarter of this year." Shares of Sonic are down about 29% in 2020. AutoNation's stock, after increasing roughly 3% Monday, remains down about 19% this year.

Other publicly traded dealer groups such as Penske Automotive, Group 1 Automotive and Asbury Automotive all reported significant declines in earnings but managed to remain in the black. Penske Automotive Chairman and CEO Roger Penske, in a statement on April 25, said he was "optimistic about the remainder of the year." The company reporting an 8% decline in net income to $99.2 million for the first quarter. Shares of Penske, the country's second-largest vehicle retailer, are down about 29% this year, while Group 1 and Asbury shares have slid more than 40% in 2020.

Shelter in place

AutoNation's Jackson as well as other executives have said their operations were hurt by "shelter in place" or "stay at home" orders, which urged consumers to remain in their homes to prevent the spread of coronavirus. "Shelter in place was not in any of our business plans" Jackson told CNBC. "We had the most rapid decline in business, far exceeding the Great Recession or anything else, where the business collapsed and literally, in a matter of days, we were down 50% on vehicle sales." As of Friday, stores that represent about 51% of AutoNation's revenue were in states that remain under such orders, according to the company. Its largest markets are Florida, Texas and California. J.D. Power reported last week that 25 states, which represent 43% of 2019 retail sales, were allowing dealerships to remain open. The other half of states, which represent 56% of retail sales, are allowing only online or remote sales.

Saving cash, cutting jobs

The drastic decline in sales forced dealer groups into survival mode. To cut costs, they furloughed or laid off tens of thousands of workers, ceased or reduced capital spending and cut executive pay, amid other actions. Penske Automotive furloughed approximately 15,000 people, or 57% of its worldwide workforce, and initiated pay cuts for executives. Penske told investors last week that the company believes the actions will save the company at least $8 million or $9 million a month "coming out" of the crisis. "I think there's $75 million to $100 million worth of cost saves that we'll have, as we come out of this which would be on an annualized basis," Penske said. AutoNation furloughed 7,000 employees, slashed executive pay and postponed more than $50 million of capital spending. "We had to take action to protect the company to assure that we would be on the other side of the crisis," Jackson said.
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...
Media Out Russian In Alleged Plot To Poison Czech Officials With Ricin

By RFE/RL May 11, 2020

PRAGUE -- Czech media have identified the man they say is the undercover Russian diplomat who entered the country nearly two months ago with a suitcase containing ricin as part of an alleged plot to poison as many as three Prague officials who had taken actions that angered the Kremlin.

In a report aired on May 10, the Czech public TV program 168 Hours quoted unnamed security sources as saying Andrei Konchakov flew to Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport two months ago with the toxin and was driven to the Russian Embassy compound in the Czech capital, long considered a nerve center of Russian espionage activities.

Konchakov, 34, rejected the allegations in comments to the Czech news site Seznam Zpravy, saying the suitcase contained "disinfectant, and candies."

"It must be some mistake," Konchakov told the news site, declining to answer further questions, saying he would need clearance from Moscow first.

Moscow, which has been accused of targeting its critics abroad, including the novichok poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018, has also denied the allegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it "looked like a canard," while other Russian officials have called the story part of an anti-Russian campaign.

According to local media, Konchakov is suspected by Czech intelligence of working as a Russian spy. Several attempts to contact the Czech counterintelligence agency BIS to confirm those allegations were unsuccessful.

Disputing History

The allegations of the ricin plot were first broken by the Czech investigative weekly Respekt on April 26 and came amid reports of suspected Russia-backed hacker attacks on key Czech infrastructure. It said the targets of the alleged ricin attack were Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib as well as two of the city's district mayors, Ondrej Kolar and Pavel Novotny.

Hrib backed a move to rename the square in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague after slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

Kolar supported the removal of a statue in his Prague 6 district of a World War II Soviet general, a move Russia condemned and said it was investigating as a violation of a 1993 friendship treaty between Russia and the Czech Republic.

The statue had been a source of irritation for Moscow since 2018, when a new explanatory text on the monument was unveiled. It described Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev's leading role in crushing the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in Hungary, his contribution to the construction of the Berlin Wall ,and the preparation of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia that crushed liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring.

Afterward, Czechoslovakia was taken over by a hard-line communist regime loyal to Moscow that lasted until 1989, when it was ousted in the anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

Novotny irritated Moscow when late last year he approved the construction of a monument in his Prague district to the Vlasov Army, Soviet Army defectors who fought with the Nazis but in the final days of World War II are credited with helping liberate Prague.

All three officials are now reported to be under round-the-clock police protection and Prime Minister Andrej Babis has said the Czech Republic would not tolerate "any world power" trying to interfere in its internal affairs, although few officials have publicly addressed the charges.

According to the report on 168 Hours, Koncharov arrived at Prague's airport on March 14 -- much earlier than first reports said -- with the ricin in his baggage, which, as a diplomat, he would not be obligated under standard protocol to have checked by Czech customs officials.

Seznam Zpravy said that Konchakov was picked up by a Russian Embassy driver -- identified in the report as Alexandr A. -- who is suspected by Czech intelligence of being an agent of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and is allegedly tasked with picking up Russian diplomats and taking care not only of their physical security but also any secret documents or other items they may be carrying.

Shadowy Figure

Konchakov is believed to have been born in Moscow in 1986, but other public details on him are few, unclear, and even apparently contradictory. According to The Insider, a Moscow-based investigative website, Konchakov graduated from the Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute (MIFI).

According to public records, it is unclear when he graduated. The Insider says Konchakov began working in Prague for Rossotrudnichestvo, a state-run agency tasked with overseeing the well-being of Russians living abroad.

He is also listed as the director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Prague since December 2017. The center's website lists MIFI as the institute where Konchakov studied, but identifies it as the National Research Nuclear University, whose acronym is MEPhI. Further confusing the issue, it lists Konchakov's area of study as international relations.

According to Seznam Zpravy, Konchakov has lived in the Czech Republic for several years, but only gained diplomatic status last year.

The head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Yelena Mitrofanova, called the reports an "unsubstantiated provocation."

With additional reporting by Merhat Sharipzhan

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/media- out-russian-in-alleged-plot -to-poison-czech-officials -with-ricin/30606089.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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Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector-General of Police, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of the police escorts attached to the Chairman of Five Star Group, Emeka Okonkwo aka E-Money.

According to media reports, the spokesperson of the Lagos state command says an order came from the Inspector General of Polices office for the immediate withdrawal of the police escorts attached to E-Money.

Yes I can confirm that police men have been withdrawn from him. Bala said

On what could have led to such a decision, the police spokesperson said he would not be able to comment but can authoritatively confirm that the police escorts have been withdrawn.

There are media reports that E-Money might have gotten the police authority angry over his alleged abuse of the privilege of having police escorts. A police source said the authorities accused him of using his police escorts like they were his domestic servants with some of them posing in photos as they opened the doors of his cars for him, hold his umbrella and many unofficial duties.

The Lagos state police command has also been given a matching order to investigate his sources of income. The Five star general is yet to comment on this development.

Source  LIB
A group of 37 Italian literary agencies have formed ADALI, the Association of Italian Literary Agents. The intent is to safeguard "the dignity of the profession of literary agent" as well as "to establish an independent representative and self-governing body" that can speak on behalf of the profession with government, literary, and other affiliated organizations.

"Literary agents are in a pivotal position in the publishing industry and we would like to contribute towards the future of books," said Maria Gabriella Ambrosioni, who is serving as ADALI's president. "Everybody in the publishing industry is so concerned about this, especially in this moment of emergency, when we forecast huge financial losses."

Other members of the board include Roberta Oliva, who serves as secretary, Alessandra Mele, Loredana Rotundo, and Anna Spadolini. To qualify for the organization, 50% of an agencies clients must be from Italy.

One of the items on the organization's agenda is to establish professional standards and best practices for those seeking to represent authors and creators, as well as to promote a code of ethics.

Ambrosioni said that the association has an ambitious agenda, including fostering stronger business relationships with streaming media services like Netflix and Amazon Prime; partnering with schools and teachers to offer lower priced e-books for students; teaming up with the Italian tourism and transportation industries to promote books; as well as developing a grant program to support translation to and from Italian.

Ultimately, Abrosioni said that the goal of establishing the group is simply to promote reading. "Literary agents are professionals who connect authors, publishers, producers and booksellers," she said,. "By means of our association we can share our expertise and knowledge and join forces with publishers in order to expand the readership and find a better future for books in our society."
Taliban Attack Kills 6 Afghan Army Men

By Ayesha Tanzeem May 11, 2020

At least six members of Afghan National Army were killed, and five others wounded in a Taliban attack in Laghman province in eastern Afghanistan Sunday night, according to Afghan ministry of defense.

However, a government source who did not want to be named said the number killed was 10 while seven were wounded, and local residents say 11 ANA members were killed and nine wounded.

The defense ministry statement said Afghan forces repulsed the attack in Alishing district and caused the Taliban heavy casualties, but the government source said at least 10 Afghan army Humvees were also destroyed in the attack.

Locals say the army was putting up a new post in village. The Taliban attacked after the army had spent the night constructing the post and deploying new forces.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the attack in a statement to journalists.

Meanwhile, the capital Kabul experienced at least six explosions, two Sunday night, without casualties, and four Monday morning.

Ferduz Farmurz, a spokesman for the Kabul police, told journalists four civilians including a child were slightly wounded in the morning explosions.

At least one of the morning explosions targeted an Afghan security forces convoy. The last explosion happened when security forces were already at the scene investigating.

The violence happened days after a high-level United States team led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the man responsible for negotiating a deal with Taliban, toured the region and met both the Taliban in Doha and Pakistan's army chief in Islamabad to push for reduction in violence.

"Lengthy meeting overnight with Mullah Baradar & his team in Doha. We sought progress on a range of topics: a reduction in violence, humanitarian ceasefire as demanded by the international community to allow for better cooperation on managing COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan..." Khalilzad Tweeted on May 7.

A day later, after meeting Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, he issued a statement saying he "sought Pakistan's support in pressing for a reduction in violence" as well as Pakistan's "assistance in helping obtain the freedom of American Mark Frerichs."

In a message to Associated Press news agency Sunday, Taliban spokesman in Doha Suhail Shaheen said the militant group is not holding the American contractor, who disappeared in Afghanistan in January.

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FLICC-Poster - a successful collaboration between klimafakten and SkS

Posted on 12 May 2020 by BaerbelW

We already have the FLICC-taxonomy and its history, but now we also have the FLICC-Poster!

This poster is the result of a successful collaboration between us and our German language partnersite klimafakten.de. Our partnership goes back to 2011 when Klimafakten started out with German translations of several of our rebuttals and this short announcement tells the story: Klimafakten.de - Leveraging Skeptical Science content. Since then, Klimafakten has added many more fact checks to their site and we have leveraged this by simply cross-linking from many of our translated rebuttal "stubs" to their German versions.

Collaboration

Over the years, there were many other opportunities for us to stay in touch and to work together on various topics and publications related to climate science communication. Most of the necessary back and forth about these projects happened between Toralf Staud and myself.

When Toralf and I met in Karlsruhe at last year's K3 conference in Karlsruhe in September he briefly floated the idea to create a poster based on the FLICC taxonomy. By November plans were getting more concrete and we approached John Cook to get his feedback about the idea to create a poster based on his taxonomy but in German. To nobody's surprise - well at least not to mine! - John liked the idea and Toralf set things in motion on Klimafakten's side of things.

A couple of months went by and in March 2020 a first rough draft of the poster - put together by graphic designer Marie-Pascale Gafinen - had taken shape and it looked great. Echoing my initial impression, John reacted with this when he saw the draft:

"Wow, that poster is fantastic! Do they have any intent to make it available in English?"

So, not only did John like the poster, the seed to create an English version had also been planted! We however decided to shelve this idea until after the German version had been completed.

During April and over several iterations between Toralf, the graphic designer and myself we slowly but surely ironed out all the typos in the German version getting it ready for publication which happened on April 28. In parallel, we started to work on the English version for which we could leverage John's definitions listed in his FLICC-history blog post as far as the descriptive texts were concerned.

Getting creative

But, the texts were not everything, as some of the techniques have different names in English and German, like for example "Rosinenpickerei" (picking raisins) in German which is "Cherry Picking" in English. In addition to the text, the graphics needed to be adapted as well:

In the German version of the poster the logical fallacy of "misrepresentation" was creatively depicted as flipping an "M" to a "W" to turn "Mut" (courage) into "Wut" (rage). It proved to be quite a challenge to find a good and equally creative equivalent in English, so Toralf and I enlisted the help of our respective teams at Klimafakten and Skeptical Science. In the end we settled on "plucking" the "D" from "Danger" to turn it into "anger":

Since getting involved with Skeptical Science more than ten years ago I have been working on many translations into German, several of which involved translating play on words or challenges like fitting the often long-winded translation into the available space. Working on this translation of the poster for sure added some creative challenges to the mix!

Links to resources on klimafakten.de:

F-L-I-C-C: The most common disinformation tricks of science deniers

You can download the infographics from klimafakten.de: in pdf format (approx. 1.3MB), in jpg format (approx. 1MB) and in png format (approx. 1MB). It can also be ordered free of charge from Klimafakten's editorial office as a coloured poster in A2 format. Like all klimafakten.de content, the graphic may be distributed and used  provided the source is cited (CC BY-ND 4.0).

Note:



If you'd like to translate the FLICC poster into another language or help with a translation currently in progress, please contact us by selecting "Enquiry about translations" from the contact form's dropdown menu. We'll then get in touch with additional information.
Moon Knight explained - meet the many faces of Oscar Isaac's strange new Marvel hero

Moon Knight is one of Marvel's most mysterious and varied heroes, with a whole host of personalities and personas under his mask
Rising tensions between Australia and China are on the verge of erupting into a full-blown trade war that could land a crushing blow to our $153billion export market.

China suspended imports from four major Australian beef suppliers on Tuesday, a day after Beijing threatened to impose an 80 per cent tariff on barley imports, which peaked at nearly $1.5billion in 2017.

There are fears other industries could be the next casualties as diplomatic tensions continue to escalate since Australia called for a global, independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

China has suspended imports from four major beef supplier, which affects one third of Australia's meat exports to China. Pictured is Melbourne butcher George Vourvahakis hard at work at his Yarraville store on Tuesday

The dairy industry has called for an urgent meeting with Agriculture Minister David Littleproud.

Dairy Connect chief executive Shaughn Morgan said 'any threat to export markets is of deep concern to an agricultural industry'.

'We call on the federal government to do all in its power to ensure that doesn't happen,' Mr Morgan told The Age.

The Chinese-government-owned Global Times has described its country's relationship with Australia as 'lowest point in decades'.

Perth USAsia Centre research director Jeffrey Wilson believes Australia is now embroiled in a 'trade war' with its biggest trading partner and the world's second biggest economy.

'This is unquestionably political retribution,' Dr Wilson said. 'This is not about technical issues and arguments over trade policy. This is about diplomatic signalling and making a point,' he told The Australian.

Dr Wilson believes more trade sanctions will follow.

'Traditionally you would've expected sanctions on tourists and students, because that is something the Chinese government can manage through exit visas,' he said.

'But with the coronavirus, there are no tourists or students. So we are seeing agricultural sectors being hit.'

The wine, seafood and resources sectors also fear they may take a hit if China issues further retaliation.

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene said: 'We are absolutely worried, and would like to see a quick resolution to these issues.'

The beef ban a day after Beijing threatened to impose a 80 per cent tariff on barley imports. Pictured is a barley farmer in central west NSW

On Tuesday night, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian slammed Australia's pursuit of the coronavirus inquiry for 'political reasons'.

'Mutual respect should be the basis of good relations,' he told reporters in Beijing.

Zhao warned against 'using the epidemic to engage in political manipulation'.

'As to the Australian-launched inquiry into the virus, as is known by all, the origin of the virus requires the assessment of specialists and scientistsm,' he said.

'Using the virus for political manoeuvre will only disrupt the epidemic co-operation. This will only be an unpopular move. China always believes that mutual respect and equality should be the basis for the development of bilateral relations.'

He said the beef ban was due to quarantine violations.

'Chinese customs has continuously found that multiple batches of beef products exported to China by individual Australian companies have violated the inspection and quarantine requirements,' he said.

But he denied any connection between the beef ban and a potential inquiry into how coronavirus started.

'They are two different things,' Zhao insisted.

The dairy industry fears it could be next in China's in China's retaliation plans. Pictured are Mitch Brown and his mother Julie Brown milking dairy cows in Tamworth in regional NSW

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has rejected fears of a trade war but has requested for a phone call from Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan in a desperate bid to resolve diplomatic tensions.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye hinted at a boycott last month if Australia continued its push for a global conronavirus inquiry.

'It is up to the people to decide. Maybe the ordinary people will say 'Why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?' he told the Australian Financial Review.

The beef ban affects one third of Australia's meat exports worth an annual $1billion to China.

Three of the affected meat suppliers are from Queensland while the other is from New South Wales.

'It's a bastard act,' federal Liberal-Nationals backbencher George Christensen told news.com.au.

'It's just wrong. China has just gone into full, bullying, threatening, coercion mode.'

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters the beef ban is due to quarantine violations and isn't related to Australia's calls for an inquiry into coronavirus

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Christensen called on Australia to stand up to China's threats.

'With more than 36 per cent of our exports being sold to China, representing 7.9 per cent of our GDP, it's clear we have put too many eggs in the one basket,' he told Parliament.

'Being so entangled with an authoritarian regime has left our nation open to economic blackmail and boycotts like that mooted by China's ambassador and the actions against our barley and beef exports.'

'It is time to speak up on China's economic infiltration and economic blackmail against our country.

'Enough is enough, we must take a stand for our national sovereignty.'

One Liberal backbencher described the ban as a bastard act. Pictured is Australian rump for sale at a Melbourne butchery on Tuesday

Mr Christensen also urged Australia to use the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin as a bargaining chip.

It follows Liberal MP Andrew Hastie's recent calls Australia to take back control of the port, calling the lease 'strategically naive'.

The beef ban comes a day after China's Ministry of Commerce has threatened to slap an 80 per cent import tariff on barley imports as Australia refuses to retract its demand for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.

The proposal would be a major blow to the drought-stricken industry, which once exported more than $1.5 billion to China.

Australia was China's biggest supplier of barley in 2017 before exports were halved when Beijing launched its ongoing anti-dumping investigation into the industry.

Barley exports to China plummeted from $1.5billion in 2018 to just $600million the following year.

It's understood China's Ministry of Commerce will reveal its anti-dumping investigation findings into Australian barley exports by May 19.

Barley exporters and the federal government will have 10 days to respond.

Grain Producers Australia released a statement declaring barley exporters will continue to co-operate with the Chinese government and work closely with the Australian government.

The beef ban comes a day after China threatened to impose a 80 per cent export tax on Australian barley. Pictured are barley crops at a farm in Parkes in central west NSW

But Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann admits the proposed tariffs are 'absolutely a massive kick in the guts'.

'It would stop trade between the two countries based on current market values of barley, it would be unjustifiable to trade into China,' Mr Weidemann told the ABC.

'In the last six months we know there's been shipments and there's been indications of further business required, so this decision came unexpectedly given we felt we had answered all of the questions as an industry back to China.

'We also know that China really does want our barley, they've been a substantial buyer of our barley for a long time, so this also will cause damage to their own industry.'

Statement by Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on beef bans We were notified late yesterday that four Australian meat establishments have been suspended by Chinese Authorities over issues related to labelling and health certificate requirements. We are concerned that the suspensions appear to be based on highly technical issues, which in some cases date back more than a year. We've been speaking with industry leaders, colleagues and departments overnight to formulate a comprehensive response. We will work with industry and authorities in both Australia and China to seek to find a solution that allows these businesses to resume their normal operations as soon as possible. Advertisement

Scott Morrison denies Chinese plans for new tariffs on Australian grain are revenge for his coronavirus inquiry push - after Barnaby Joyce said they were 'payback'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not believe Chinese plans for tariffs on Australian grain are connected to his push for a coronavirus inquiry.

China's Ministry of Commerce has threatened to slap an 80 per cent import tariff on barley after an 18-month anti-dumping investigation.

The plan would seriously harm Australian barley farmers who send half their produce to China in a trade worth $150billion.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured today) does not believe Chinese plans for tariffs on Australian grain are connected to his push for a coronavirus inquiry

China has threatened to impose a 80 per cent export tax on Australian barley. Pictured are barley crops at a farm in Parkes in central west NSW

The proposal comes just two weeks after the Chinese ambassador in Canberra threatened economic sanctions in response to the Morrison government's call for an investigation into the origins of coronavirus.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce told the Seven Network on Monday: 'This is a case of payback.'

But Mr Morrison said China had not linked barley tariffs to a COVID-19 inquiry or anything else.

He said it would be 'extremely disappointing' if tariffs were used as an act of retribution.

'It's an anti-dumping issue from their perspective. They certainly haven't raised it as connected to other issues. I would be extremely disappointed if it was,' he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

Australia was once China's biggest barley supplier before Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation. Pictured is a worker sweeping barley at the Riordan Group grain depot near Geelong in Victoria

'There's no reason for me to think based on the way that they're approaching it that I could draw that conclusion.'

Dumping is when a country exports a product unfairly cheaply to permeate a foreign market, with producers often subsidised by the government.

China is due to conclude its anti-dumping investigation into Australian barley by May 19 when producers and the federal government will have 10 days to reply.

'We contest quite clearly that we do not subsidise and we have not dumped barley into China,' Agriculture Minister David Littleproud told ABC radio.

'We expect to be able to demonstrate that to Chinese officials and have been trying to do that for some 18 months and will continue to work with them.'

Australia is prepared to take China to the World Trade Organisation to fight against the tariffs.

'That's what the umpire is there for and that's what we would test if we feel aggrieved that our position hasn't been properly accepted or understood,' Mr Littleproud said.

Grain Producers Australia described the proposed tariffs as an 'absolutely a massive kick in the guts'. Pictured is a barley farmer in central west NSW

Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the government needed to get the matter under control.

'We are getting a taste now of what it is like when we mismanage our relationship with our largest trading partner. This issue of barley goes back 18 months, it predates COVID-19,' Mr Fitzgibbon said.

'This is what happens when you put populist policies in place, making big statements, beating your chest without thinking about potential economic consequences for Australia, and also our farmers.'

The federal government's calls for a ban on wet markets and an inquiry into the virus origins - as well as repeated suggestions that China covered up the spread - have infuriated Beijing.

Last month the Chinese Embassy called Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton 'pitiful,' 'ignorant' and a US 'parrot' after he told China to 'answer questions' about how coronavirus started.

On April 26 Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng warned that Chinese consumers may stop buying Australian products in revenge.

The dispute comes after a torrid year for Australia-China relations saw clashes over political interference, human rights abuses in western China and Huawei 5G equipment.

Former Australian ambassador to China Geoff Raby told Daily Mail Australia that diplomatic relations are 'at their lowest point since they began 46 years ago'.
An interior designer who featured in Channel 4 show The Secret Millionaire should walk away with a lump sum of 60million following the breakdown of her marriage to a super-rich businessman, a High Court judge ruled today.

Simrin Choudhrie and her multi-millionaire private equity firm boss husband Bhanu Choudhrie had fought over tens of millions of pounds at hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

The 41-year-old, who was represented by a top divorce lawyer, the so-called 'Steel Magnolia' Fiona Shackleton, had wanted a lump sum of 100million, but this was reduced by 40 percent in a ruling by Mr Justice Cohen.

Simrin Choudhrie and her multi-millionaire private equity firm boss husband Bhanu Choudhrie (they are seen together on the left) had fought over tens of millions of pounds at hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London. Mrs Choudhrie is seen arriving at the High Court for an earlier hearing with Baroness Fiona Shackleton

Mr Choudhrie is the founder of Westminster-based global private equity firm C&C Alpha Group and hails from one of the wealthiest families in India, which has a rumoured net worth of 1.6billion.

He was represented by solicitor Ayesha Vardag, who is famed for her 2010 Supreme Court victory that strengthened the status of prenuptial agreements in English law, plus barristers Richard Todd QC, Nicholas Yates QC and Ben Wooldridge.

On Mrs Choudhrie's side, Baroness Shackleton led a team that included barristers Stewart Leech QC, Daniel Bentham and Amy Kisser.

Journalists were allowed to attend hearings but the judge placed strict limits on what could be revealed in media reports. He said the pair could be named, and the approximate size of Mrs Choudhrie's lump sum reported.

Mrs Choudhrie appeared on Secret Millionaire in 2011, where she posed as a penniless pregnant woman to give 100,000 to a centre for vulnerable people in Sheffield

Mrs Choudhrie appeared on Secret Millionaire in 2011, where she posed as a penniless pregnant woman to give 100,000 to a centre for vulnerable people in Sheffield.

Her estranged husband is the son of Sudhir Choudrie, 69  who has donated more than 1.5 million to the Lib Dems since 2004.

The couple shared a 20million, six-storey Belgravia home, which they extended in 2015 by adding a two-storey basement including a cinema, pool and spa complex - all accessed by a lift.

Neighbours of the grade II-listed property complained the plans were 'grotesque' and would lead to lorries charging up and down the street as they carried out the work.
Just like the rest of the world in home quarantine, Prince William and Kate Middleton have finally found more time for their family in the past few weeks.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have been staying at their Norfolk country home since the coronavirus lockdown restriction took place.

Prince William and Kate have also paused their hectic royal engagements and found time for each other. Because of this, a royal expert believes that this quality time may result in another royal baby or a baby number 4 for William and Kate.

Speaking to New Idea, royal commentator Phil Dampier said he is convinced that it will only be a matter of time before the Duke and Duchess jumped on the coronavirus baby boom this year.

"I've thought for some time Kate wants a fourth child, and I think the lockdown has increased the chances of it happening," Dampier said.

"I've always thought the lockdown will result in a baby boom generally, so it wouldn't surprise me if the Cambridges join the club!"

The expert thinks that the 38-year-old Duchess looks happier than usual after spending much time with the family at their Anmer Hall unit.

"She loves it there, and it's the closest they get to a normal family life, so spending time there together will make her more broody," Dampier said.

Baby Sister Or Baby Brother?

The royal commentator's statement came after the Duchess of Cambridge showed some signs of wanting another baby in a recent virtual call with parents of a newborn child.

To celebrate the United Kingdom's Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, Kate made a surprise video call to new parents Rebecca and John, who just welcomed their newborn son at a London Hospital.

During the call, the mother-of-three congratulated the couple and made a comment that the baby looked so sweet, which Dampier believes to be an indication that she also wants one of her own.

The royal expert noted how Kate looked very maternal while talking to the new mom, which could well be her new motivation to convince Prince William to try for a fourth child.

If his predictions were to come true, Dampier thinks that the Duchess will be looking forward to having a baby girl so that Princess Charlotte would have a sister.

More Baby No.4 Clues

Earlier this year, Kate addressed the possibility of having baby number four. During the couple's visit at the Bradford City Hall in West Yorkshire, England, Kate said that she would unlikely become a mother of four anytime soon.

But instead of simply shutting down the idea, Kate casually passed the ball to her 37-year-old husband.

"I don't think William wants any more," Kate said.

Meanwhile, during William and Kate's visit to Northern Ireland in February 2019, Kate admitted feeling a little "broody" after meeting a 5-month-old baby.

Kate could not resist gushing over the little boy and even told the baby's father: "He's gorgeous. It makes me feel broody."
Impala Asset Management has become the second investor in a month to go public about efforts to pressure Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd. into ousting its long-standing CEO.

The Connecticut firm, founded by industry veteran Bob Bishop, said it sent a letter to Tecks board Feb. 28, excerpts of which it provided to Bloomberg.

The letter criticizes Tecks chief executive officer, Don Lindsay, for what the firm calls destruction of shareholder value while saying he received one of the biggest paycheques in the industry. In 2019, Lindsays total compensation was $9.2 million, including $1.64 million in salary.

Doug Brown, Tecks director of public affairs, said Monday that Lindsay has shareholder backing and that the companys shares are down largely because underlying commodity prices have fallen.

At our recent annual meeting, shareholders voted 98 per cent in support of Don and the board, indicating the strong level of support of Tecks shareholders for the companys strategy, Brown said by phone.

Impalas letter alleges four projects  the 2008 acquisition of Fording Canadian Coal Trust, the Neptune terminal expansion in British Columbia, and two ventures in Canadas oilsands  have destroyed over $12 billion in value.

Its been nothing but poor investment decisions over the last 10 or 12 years, Bishop said in a phone interview Monday. The companys paying top dollar for underperformance.

Impalas letter was accompanied by a slide deck that referred to Lindsays strategy as lacking clear direction or coherence, and echoed many of the valuation concerns recently made public by Tribeca Investment Partners earlier this month.

Impala faces entrenched ownership and management in its battle with Vancouver-based Teck, Canadas biggest diversified mining company. The Keevil family controls Teck through dual-class shares, and has been involved with the firm for more than six decades.

As for Tecks investment in the Fort Hills oilsands project in Alberta, Brown said: We have been very clear that if we cant see the value reflected in our share price, we will not hesitate to pursue other options for realizing value, including divestment at the appropriate time.

Impala owned 1.9 per cent of Class B shares outstanding at the end of 2019, making it a top-10 shareholder, according to Bloomberg data.

The share structure is a major impediment to change, Bishop said.

The dual-class share structure was originally meant to protect the Class B shareholders if there was a lowball bid for the company, Bishop said. Instead, it has allowed bad decision-making to occur without any repercussions.

Chair Meeting

In March, Bishop says he and another Impala representative met with Tecks chair, Sheila Murray, and vice-chair Norman Keevil III, to follow up on their letter but came away with little conviction things will change. These have been poor investment decisions by this CEO, approved by mostly this board, and were expecting the same people who got us into this mess to get us out of this mess.

Bishop, who worked as chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management before founding Impala, said his views are broadly aligned with those of Tribeca, although he puts more value on Tecks zinc and copper assets. He also said hes less optimistic about how much the miner could get from the sale of its metallurgical coal division.

Both investors think the stock is dramatically undervalued, with Bishop estimating they could at least triple under the right management.

If they did the right thing tomorrow I think the stock price would go up 40 per cent in one day, he said.

Tribeca Demands

Tribeca Investments partner Ben Cleary sent a letter to Teck this month demanding the mining giant overhaul its management team while divesting its coal and oil operations to attract green-conscious investors.

He said Impala was just one of many peers with similar views on how to change Teck and boost its share price. Sydney-based Tribeca has spoken to investors representing over 20 per cent of the Class B shares since the campaign began, with all being broadly supportive of its goals, he added.

Cleary expects Tecks directors to split the demands into one of two buckets: the deliverable and undeliverable.

If you were an independent director then management change, divestment of assets, dividend policies and ESG are all in the deliverable camp, he said.

The shareholding structure is probably in the undeliverable so the focus to me is on the first few in the short term.
A landowner whose property was used to grow trees for the Christmas market is entitled to a hearing in relation to part of a bank's claim for judgment over a guarantee on a loan advanced to harvest the trees, the High Court has ruled.

AIB sought judgment for 210,000 against Peter Porter, Fiona Porter and Joseph Michael Redmond, of Ballingate, Carnew, Co Wicklow, over a 2010 guarantee on loan to a company called Porter Tree Care (PTC) which was involved in harvesting trees for the Christmas market.

Mr Porter was 99 per cent owner of PTC and Mr Redmond had a one per cent share.

Today Mr Justice Michael MacGrath granted judgment in relation to 135,441 of the 210,000 judgment sought which was the limit of a security guarantee on the loan to PTC.

However, he said a dispute over a payment of 74,559 by Mr Porter in relation to the judgment sum was one which might benefit from further and more detailed legal argument and evidence at a hearing.

Earlier, the judge said Mr Redmond, who has long since resigned as director of the firm, had as part of the deal with Mr Porter allowed 46 acres of his land at Ballingate to be used for tree harvesting.

He allowed his land be used as his security guarantee for the loan which he said was to be discharged from the sale of some 200,000 trees planted on the land.

When repayments were not made, a receiver was appointed over Mr Redmond's land.

Mr Porter was allowed to continue harvesting trees on the land but by 2017 Mr Power blockaded his property.

Mr Porter, supported by the bank and receiver, obtained an injunction preventing him from doing so.

Some 74,559 was paid to the receiver by Mr Porter from the 2017 Christmas tree sales. The receiver disputed the assertion that this money was to go towards discharging Mr Redmond's guarantee on the loan and said it was the intention of all parties the money should go to the credit of Porter Tree Care.

Mr Redmond argued any liability on foot of the guarantee must be reduced from the sale of the trees. He also claimed the receiver was negligent in not checking how much exactly came from the sales.

Mr Justice MacGrath was not satisfied there are arguable grounds for contending the receiver committed any act of negligence. The receivers involvement occurred in the context of Mr. Porters application to stop Mr Redmond's blockade and in relation to an undertaking from Porter to pay him (receiver) the proceeds of the tree sales.

While Mr. Porter did not honour that undertaking, that did not, in the judge's view, give rise to an arguable basis on which to contend that the receiver was negligent either in respect of his dealings with Mr. Redmond or with Mr. Porter.

There remained the question of whether the payment of 74,559 made to the receiver reduced the liability of Mr Redmond as guarantor.

In the circumstances of this case, the judge was unable to conclude Mr Redmond has not discharged the low burden placed upon him to establish he has an arguable case in relation to that.

So, insofar as the 74,559 received by the receiver from Mr Porter was concerned, he directed that matter should be transferred for plenary hearing. Judgment should be granted in favour of AIB in relation to the remaining sum of 135,441.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, Monday called on the international community to play a key role to ensure the sustainability of the progress made on the paths for dialogue between Libyan parties
The document condemns the practice of imprisoning political opponents, journalists, civil society and religious activists.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has prepared a resolution calling for sanctions against Russia over human rights abuse.

The document was sponsored by chairman of the committee, a Democrat from New York, Eliot Engel and his deputy, a Republican from Texas, Michael McCaul, Ukraine's online outlet nv.ua reported.

Read alsoZelensky's chief of staff: EU, U.S. sanctions against Russia over Ukraine should continue (Video)

The resolution condemns, among other things, the practice of imprisoning political opponents, journalists, civil society and religious activists.

"[The House of Representatives is] condemning the practice of politically motivated imprisonment and calling for the immediate release of political prisoners in the Russian Federation and urging action by the United States Government to impose sanctions with respect to persons responsible for that form of human rights abuse," it says.

The House of Representatives also calls on the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to use their authority under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and other applicable U.S. statutory authorities to designate officials of the Government of the Russian Federation who are responsible for human rights abuses in the form of politically motivated imprisonment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 18:12:53|Editor: huaxia

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Relocated from inhospitable mountainous areas, people of the ethnic minority of Yao move into new houses and embrace better lives in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou is one of China's least developed provinces and is at the forefront of China's campaign to eradicate absolute poverty in 2020. Statistics show that Guizhou relocated 1.88 million people from inhospitable areas in 2019.
(Natural News) Many awake conservatives seem to be well aware of the fact that Facebook is corrupt and exists and operates largely outside of the law. But did you know that Facebook also has its own supreme court that decides which content is permissible on the platform and which content has to be censored?

This so-called Oversight Board is stacked with 20 semi-independent people who, upon closer look, are mostly far-left activists with their own axes to grind. For example, one is a human rights expert and former editor-in-chief of The Guardian (United Kingdom) who just so happens to also be a member of the George Soros Open Society project.

There is also Alan Rusbridger, another former editor-in-chief of The Guardian  really?  and far-leftist who has been criticized by various Conservative Party MPs (members of parliament) in the U.K. for his liberal bias on various matters. Back in 2017, Rusbridger expressed public support for Robert Muellers obstruction of justice investigation against President Trump.

Facebooks supreme court is so stacked, in fact, that Conservative MP Damian Green, a member of the U.K. Parliaments committee on Culture, Media, and Sport, went on record in stating that Facebook fails miserably to provide confidence in its political balance.

Globally, Facebook is much more important than any newspaper or broadcaster, so it has a consequent responsibility to demonstrate it is open to a range of views, he went on to add.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how social media censorship, which includes censorship of coronavirus content, is a direct assault of the freedom to think:

There is nothing fair or balanced about Facebooks Oversight Board, which is almost all leftists

Other prominent members of Facebooks supreme court include:

 Nicolas Suzor, a law professor who once said that he loved an article comparing President Trump to Adolph Hitler

 Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former Prime Minister of Denmark for the left-wing Social Democrat party

 Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei, another human rights expert connected to George Soros Open Society network

 Pamela Karlan, a former member of Barack Obamas Justice Department in the civil rights division

 Evelyn Aswad, a former member of Hillary Clintons state department in the human rights division

Aswad, by the way, is a strong proponent of online censorship of hate speech, which we know encompasses all speech that leftists find offensive or merely bothersome.

One of the only halfway decent members of Facebooks supreme court is Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, a well-known liberal academic who was one of the Democrats expert witnesses during the Trump impeachment hearings. Feldman, as you may recall, penned a letter last year suggesting that impeachment is a process, not a vote, which basically invalidated the Democrats impeachment hoax.

Feldman is not a conservative, nor does he support President Trump. And the reason why this even matters is because nobody on Facebooks supreme court holds conservative viewpoints, the closest being John Samples, the current vice president of the Koch-funded Cato Institute, which is also largely anti-Trump.

Samples, according to Breitbart, would seem to be a Never Trumper who has stated in the past that the president is engaging in an assault on American institutions. Samples has also accused Trump of appearing to oppose basic ideals underpinning liberal democracy, both of these being prominent liberal talking points.

Facebook and (Mark) Zuckerberg support free speech only when it comes from the left-wing, wrote one Breitbart commenter. When it comes from moderate or right-wing sources, not at all.

To keep up with the latest news about the online censorship, be sure to check out Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
Sofia Coppola is developing an adaptation of Edith Whartons The Custom of the Country for Apple TV+.

Whartons novel, first published in 1913, is described as a scathing story of ambition that follows Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City society. The adaptation will be written and directed by Coppola and is being eyed for a limited series pickup.

Undine Spragg is my favorite literary anti-heroine and Im excited to bring her to the screen for the first time, Coppola said in a statement.

Also Read: 'Defending Jacob' Showrunner on Capturing Suburban Boston Through Chris Evans' Eyes

Scarlett Johannson was previously set to star in and executive produce an eight-episode adaptation of The Custom of the Country from Dangerous Liaisons writer Christopher Hampton, but that project ultimately did not move forward to series.

The new project marks an extension of Coppolas existing relationship with Apple TV+ following her next film, On the Rocks. Led by Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, the movie follows a young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York and was announced as part of Apples movie output deal with A24 last year.

Read original story Sofia Coppola to Adapt Edith Whartons Custom of the Country for Apple At TheWrap
China reported one new coronavirus case and 15 asymptomatic infections, a day after a fresh COVID-19 cluster emerged in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged. China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Tuesday said one imported case was recorded in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday while no local infections were reported.

Chinese experts are reassuring the public over concerns regarding a potential second wave of the epidemic, after clustered infections of COVID-19 have re-emerged in two provinces, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday. The experts called such sporadic cases as normal for major infectious diseases.

Despite the increasing number of new infection cases, Chinese medical experts said that clustered infections in Wuhan, Hubei Province and Shulan, Jilin Province are sporadic and don't imply a second wave is looming. After the clustered infections emerged, officials from both Jilin and Hubei provinces are ramping up efforts to trace close contacts while adopting lockdown measures to contain the infection from spreading to wider regions, the report said.

Since Sunday, Wuhan has reported a total of six new cases of COVID-19, all of which are from the same local community. The ruling Communist Party of China has sacked a local official on Monday for negligence. Shulan city in Jilin Province bordering North Korea on Sunday imposed martial law after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases. The city reported 11 cases on Saturday and three more on Sunday.

Also on Monday, 15 new asymptomatic cases were reported in the country taking the total number of cases to 760, the NHC said. In Wuhan, 606 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, the local health commission said on Tuesday. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

The death toll from coronavirus in China remains at 4,633 with fatalities last reported on Monday, while the total number of cases increased to 82,919, including 115 patients still undergoing treatment in hospital.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: PM Modi to address nation at 8 PM today

Also read: Coronavirus in China: Wuhan reports first COVID-19 cluster since lifting of lockdown
Designer Emily Cunningham was fired from Amazon in April after speaking out

One of the sacked Amazon whistleblowers has said staff are at continued risk of COVID-19 because it is impossible for them to socially distance in warehouses.

Tech worker Emily Cunningham was fired last month for 'repeatedly violating internal policies' after she spoke out about the company's pandemic working conditions.

Speaking to the DailyMail.com she slammed the 'culture of silencing' that comes from the very top of the retail giant and argued even CEO Jeff Bezos failed to socially distance on his recent visit to a warehouse in Dallas.

Cunningham was one of a number of employees fired after criticizing Amazon. Maren Costa, Bashir Mohamed and Christian Smalls were all also let go after raising health and safety concerns.

Amazon say Mohamed was fired because he refused to speak to a supervisor. They said Smalls came to its Staten Island warehouse for a demonstration in violation of his paid quarantine.

Speaking Tuesday Cunningham said the delivery of non essential items - like rubber chickens and ping pong balls - are being prioritized over the safety of workers.

DailyMail.com has contacted Amazon for comment.

Speaking to the DailyMail.com she slammed the 'culture of silencing' that comes from the very top of the retail giant and argued even CEO Jeff Bezos failed to socially distance on his recent visit to a warehouse in Dallas, pictured

'The warehouse workers came to us telling us they feel very scared and unsafe', Cunningham says.

A group of 13 U.S. attorneys general asked Amazon on Tuesday to provide data on coronavirus-linked infections and deaths among its workforce, along with evidence of the companys compliance with paid sick leave laws.

Cunningham said that workers have told her socially distancing is not being enforced correctly; some say it is being weaponized as a reason fire certain workers.

The designer, who began working for the online retailer in 2013, told DailyMail.com: 'I cant go to funeral, go to a wedding and yet there are thousands of workers fulfilling non essential orders?

'Putting their lives on the line for ping pong balls and rubber chickens?

'I've heard from workers who say social distancing is enforced on their breaks with sticks being held out to measure it out, but when the products come down the belt social distancing goes out the window.'

Emily Cunningham, center, had worked as a user experience designer at Amazon since 2013

Cunningham was one of a number of employees fired after criticizing Amazon. Maren Costa, left, and Christian Smalls, right, were all also let go after raising health and safety concerns

U.S. attorneys general ask Amazon for data on COVID-19-linked worker deaths A group of 13 U.S. attorneys general asked Amazon.com on Tuesday to provide data on coronavirus-linked infections and deaths among its workforce, along with evidence of the companys compliance with paid sick leave laws. In a letter on Tuesday, the officials asked for a state-by-state breakdown of the number of Amazon workers, including those at Whole Foods, who have been infected with and died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The letter was led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and joined by states including Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The same group of attorneys general had written to the company in March asking it to improve its paid-leave policy. On Tuesday, they asked for assurance that Amazon would not retaliate against workers for raising concerns about health and safety issues with management, the media, co-workers or relevant government agencies. In recent weeks, Amazon has fired at least four workers for raising concerns about workplace safety. The company has previously said the workers were let go for violating internal company protocol. Advertisement

She added: 'Bezos visiting the warehouse was not six feet away - he is walking towards to people. If he is not able to keep social distancing then is is obviously a very real danger.

'All those fired were fired were ethnic min and or women. Systemic racism is in operation at Amazon. It is appalling and needs to be condemned full stop.'

Video released by Amazon on April 10 shows Bezos visiting a fufilment center and a nearby Whole Foods. The billionaire appears to come within six feet of workers at several points.

Cunningham, who lives in Seattle, home of Amazon headquarters, says 'products are being being put before people'.

She added: 'This is all part of their attempts to silence us. But they cant own conversations of life and death.

Cunningham believes both she and Costa were fired after becoming one of the most visible the faces of the global climate strike.

She said: 'We were pressuring the company on climate change.

'But Amazon didn't go after us immediately after the climate strike, they waited until October. Both Maren and I were spoken to by HR who said we had violated a newly updated communication policy.

'Maren was sent an email in November saying she faced termination if she continued to speak out.'

'I would do this a million over, I do not regret it all', she adds, 'this pandemic is disproportionately harming the most vulnerable among us.

'How Amazon chose to respond this pandemic would be a blue print for how it would respond, who it would protect, who it would value going forward.'

Cunningham adds: 'I think that the public will remember their companies who did not treat their workers well during this time and I think it is very clear that profits are driving their response to the pandemic.'

Amazon workers protest during the coronavirus pandemic on May 1 in Hawthorne, California
B oots is seeking to recruit an army of hundreds of unpaid volunteers to test people for coronavirus.

An advert on the high street pharmacist's website said it is looking for 1,000 current staff and volunteers to work at least 32 hours a week as Covid-19 swab testers across the UK.

The advert sparked criticism with unions saying it took the "notion of volunteering way too far".

It emerged as coronavirus testing dropped below the Government's key 100,000 a day target, despite hitting it again on Sunday.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma told the daily Downing Street press briefing on Tuesday that 85,293 tests had been carried out on Monday, falling from 100,490 the previous day.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the goal is to have a testing capacity of 200,000 a day by the end of the month.

The volunteer Covid-19 tester adverts, posted on Boots' website, said that more support with testing was required because of the "significant" amount of screening required to combat the virus.

It said it was working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to set up and staff a number of test stations across the country.

Volunteers should be able to work at least 32 hours a week and full training and NHS-standard protective equipment would be provided, it said.

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It added: "Screening is currently taking place, however the volumes required to combat the virus are significant and it is clear more support is required for testing.

"We have been asked to support the country's efforts to understand infection rates and help with workforce demands to allow the NHS to continue caring for patients.

"We are seeking to recruit up to 1,000 Boots colleagues and volunteers to work as part of a team of test operatives nationally undertaking Covid-19 swab testing in locations across the UK.

"These colleagues will work alongside both Boots teams and other partners in the project in groups currently of up to five in designated locations with each site have a designated site manager."

But Unison said that, unless Boots was offering its services for free to the Government, it should not expect volunteers to do so as well.

Its head of health Sara Gorton said: "Many people want to give their spare time to the NHS to help it through the Covid crisis, but this ad takes the notion of volunteering way too far.

"Unless Boots is offering its services to the Government for free, it's difficult to understand why it's expecting anyone to do such important work for zero pence.

"Having a comprehensive test, track and trace programme in place is crucial if we are to beat the virus.

"So rather than work with private companies seeking to take advantage of people's good nature, the Government would be better placed utilising the experience of NHS staff returning from retirement, or the healthcare students in their final years, to help expand the UK's testing capacity."

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The advert said that applicants must be under 70, in general good health, not classified in any of the coronavirus high-risk groups and have no long-term conditions.

They must also be willing to work outside and mobile enough to reach into vehicles to take swab tests from the nose and throat at "potentially awkward angles", it added.

Volunteers are also warned to consider the risk to their family members in their household.

A DHSC spokesperson said: "The speed at which we have increased our testing capacity is unprecedented and a real success made possible by fantastic teamwork between the Government, key private companies and amazing volunteers.

"Meeting the 100,000 target was a fantastic achievement but it isn't the end of the goal, it's just the beginning.

"We will continue to expand our testing capacity, with thousands more tests becoming available every day.

"This will be done with more test centres opening, more mobile testing units, and rapidly increasing the numbers of home testing kits becoming available."

Boots has been approached for comment.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has condemned what he described as raging hypocritical voices of righteous indignation over the recent demolition of two hotels in Rivers State by the state governor, Nyesom Wike.

He queried the rationale behind such outrage on the demolition of only two structures whereas there was silence while buildings were being pulled down during the reign of the Kaduna State governor, Nasiru El-rufai as FCT minister.

In a statement from IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, titled, Wike Hotel Demolition & all the Furious Sanctimonious Humbug, Kanu argued that the current FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello and his predecessor, El-Rufai demolished far more expensive buildings in Abuja belonging to Biafrans than that destroyed in Igweocha by Wike.

He however explained that Wikes overreactions was not to be applauded, stressing that operators of the establishment risked the lives of thousands of people in the State and beyond.

He said, When El-Rufai the midget Islamic terror mastermind was busy terrorising and pauperising thousands of Biafran businessmen by demolishing their hotels, bars, restaurants and homes in Abuja, some of the raging hypocritical voices of righteous indignation we are hearing today were never heard.

They never uttered a word, nor made a sound because they were and still are afraid of the murderous tendencies of their Fulani masters who are still demolishing legitimate Igbo businesses in Abuja.

In fact, El-Rufai went on to become the governor of Kaduna State from where he openly admitted to paying his fellow killer Fulani terrorists that decimated the non-Fulani populations of Southern Kaduna. Today he is being touted as the next president of the #Zoo by the same people condemning Gov. Nyesom Wike.

Current FCT Minister Bello Mohammed has simply carried on from where his predecessor El-Rufai stopped and has been busy demolishing far more expensive buildings in Abuja belonging to Biafrans than that destroyed in Igweocha by Wike.

Does it mean I condone or excuse Wikes administrative overreach? Of course NOT! I do not condone it because he went too far. But we must understand that operators of that very establishment risked the lives of thousands of people in Rivers State and beyond.

Potentially, they could have brought infections and death to thousands of people, either through Coronavirus infected Alimajiri or by inadvertently providing accommodation to Fulani killers streaming into our towns and villages from the God forsaken North.

Either way, the proprietors of the hotel placed thousands of lives at risk, whereas the Igbo businessmen and families whose livelihoods were taken away by El-Rufai and Bello Mohammed in Abuja committed no offence known to law.
Joseph Galloway and Marvin J. Wolf are the authors of They Were Soldiers: The Sacrifices and Contributions of Our Vietnam Veterans.

In 1967, Ted Gostas arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, as a replacement. He was not happy to see his name in the Army Times under the heading "Army Intelligence" with the announcement, "Capt. Theodore Gostas assigned to Vietnam."

His next stop in-country was Saigon. After going to sleep one night, he was awakened by North Vietnamese rockets. When his commanding officer gave him a choice of remaining in Saigon or going north to Hue, where he'd be nearer the action, he decided to go to Hue. He didn't want to stay and do menial tasks.

His commanding officer pulled out a manila folder with pictures of Gostas's wife and kids. "Still want to go north?"

Gostas replied, "I love my family, but a lot of guys love their families and they go north, sir."

In April 1967, using a cover name in a clandestine unit that was part of the 135th MI Battalion, Gostas set up shop in Hue with a small crew.

On the last day of January 1968, Gostas was writing to his wife when he heard the unmistakable sound of an AC-47 Spooky gunship firing its miniguns. One round in five is a tracer. "It looked like one solid stream of red, so I knew the rate of fire was incredible," he said. "The sun was just going down. I saw the fire hitting an area to the southeast."

Gostas called headquarters. "I got a man on the phone and told him we were under attack. I said that we were in trouble. He said, 'Well, we are too. We're being hit --' And then the enemy cut the phone lines."

It was the beginning of the Tet Offensive.

Immediately, Gostas began burning his files -- and accidentally set his house on fire. "I sent my men next door to a cement building. As we went out the front door, we passed North Vietnamese troops carrying supplies to set up a perimeter around the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) compound two blocks away.

"We hunkered down and watched thousands of NVA going toward the MACV compound. One of my men took a rifle and crawled outside and killed five NVA.

"They returned fire by shooting through a slit in the cement and hit him in the neck. He died soon after," Gostas said.

"That night I stood guard in that room and about a hundred rounds of rifle fire came through the slit. How they all missed me, I'll never know," he recalled. Then he went to look out the window. One of his men came to warn him against exposing himself and was killed by a sniper. "I've always wondered why it wasn't me the sniper killed. He had a bead on me for more than half an hour."

A few minutes later, a U.S. Marine unit led by a jeep and followed by an M-48 tank came down Highway One. "We had no radio, but all of us tried to wave them off. They probably thought we were welcoming them, but we were trying to warn them that the enemy was everywhere. The NVA had an antitank weapon concealed near a street corner. Its first round blew the Jeep and everyone in it to smithereens," Gostas recalled. "The second round missed the tank, and the M-48 started backing up. With another man, I went to help what was left of the marines caught in the ambush.

"We got out to the sidewalk, and the tankers thought we were the enemy and fired off a round. It exploded just above our heads -- we were both covered with plaster. We realized that they'd kill us before we had a chance to identify ourselves, so we ran back upstairs, and the tank fired again and blew off part of our building. The blast also destroyed the staircase. On the second or third day, the enemy realized that someone in our house had killed five of their troops. They fired a B-40 rocket, an RPG, at us at about 0600.

"I had my arm around a dying man. He was twenty-five years old and in a flak jacket, and he was on top of me, with my arms around him, when the B-40 came through the roof and exploded. He took most of the shrapnel in his back and I took some in my foot.

"We had been blown into the ceiling and it came down on our heads. I crawled out of the place and he crawled out behind me. The back of his flak jacket had been shredded by the B-40, and you could see part of his spine. He turned over and died.

"After a short firefight, we ran out of what little ammunition we had, and we knew our goose was cooked. We ran out of the building. I knew the Vietnamese stop signs said Dung Lai, so I yelled, 'Dung lai! Dung lai!'

"Then we worked our way down the twisted staircase. When we got downstairs, they tied our arms behind our backs with piano wire and took us across the street. We had to step over the bodies of five hundred dead marines."

Afterward, Gostas was held in solitary confinement for four and a half years in a room about the size of a fat man's coffin. His only friends were a praying mantis and a white rat. He was given perhaps four ounces of water a day and often had to drink his own urine. He was tortured and interrogated constantly. "I said, 'I'm a clerk typist. I don't have any idea of what you're asking,'" he recalled. "They treated me as though I was Nixon's right-hand man."

Taken from "They Were Soldiers" by Joseph L. Galloway and Marvin J. Wolf. Copyright  2020 by Joseph L. Galloway and Marvin J. Wolf. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.TheyWereSoldiersBook.com

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
LIMERICK City and County Council is taking advantage of the lower traffic in the city by bringing in new road covering on its streets.

Workmen have been spotted relaying tarmac on Catherine Street.

A spokesman for the local authority confirmed essential works and critical road infrastructure is also happening elsewhere.

As well as Catherine Street, other locations include Mulgrave Street, Clare Street, and Lord Edward Street.

Works are also taking place on the final stretch of the Ennis Road outbound to Coonagh Cross and Kileely Road to the border with Clare.

Fine Gael councillor Dan McSweeney, a member of the influential travel and transportation committee has welcomed this.

Theres a lot of work to be done in the city, with the roads quieter and with workmen able to cause less disruption, I think its good, he said.

He feels once the city re-opens for business next week, roadworks like this should be off the table.

Once were back open, its important its ready, and not to be going in when businesses are trying to re-open to do work which is going to cause congestion. Limerick City has one shot at bringing the city back to where it is before the pandemic, he told the Limerick Leader.

Theyre doing a lot of work on the revitalisation of the city centre. We have a good opportunity to do it, but its important we approach with caution and bring the retailers along with us..

A lot of businesses in the centre are small businesses. They are important for the local economy, they provide employment. There are ambitious plans, and its a great opportunity to drive the city centre, Cllr McSweeney concluded.

Last month, council contractors also carried out a deep clean of some streets.
The Morrison government's food minister Richard Colbeck has defended a delay in rolling out new pregnancy warning labels on alcohol bottles, saying he remains committed to making them mandatory - but echoed industry concerns about cost.

Senator Colbeck told Parliament on Tuesday that a reason for failing to roll out a recommended label with red warning text was that it would not be noticeable enough on a red bottle, prompting incredulity from public health advocates.

FSANZ recommended this new label warning of the risks of drinking during pregnancy, but industry is lobbying heath and food ministers to reject it.

"The importance of pregnancy labelling is such that it needs to be visible on a label ... a red symbol on a red label won't work," Senator Colbeck said during question time.

The alcohol lobby is fighting against the mandatory use of red and black warning text, which Food Standards Australia and New Zealand in February recommended be used to display the message: "HEALTH WARNING: Any amount of alcohol can harm your baby", after market research found this design was the most effective in conveying the dangers of drinking while pregnant.
A vote in Nebraska is among a trio of elections being held across the US on Tuesday despite the pandemic.

Voters in the state of Nebraska on Tuesday participated in the first in-person primary in the United States since a heavily criticised election in Wisconsin five weeks ago in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Polling places in the state capital of Omaha appeared largely quiet, in part because of the huge number of absentee ballots mailed into election offices. Officials had encouraged people to vote by mail, though Republican Governor Pete Ricketts and Secretary of State Bob Evnen both pledged to forge ahead with an in-person primary even though many other states have rescheduled theirs or switched to all-mail voting.

Polling sites in the Omaha suburb of Papillion reported lower in-person turnout than normal on Tuesday morning.

The vote in Nebraska was among a trio of elections being held in different parts of the US on Tuesday despite the pandemic.

A special election in a rural Wisconsin district President Donald Trump carried by 20 points pits a Trump-aligned state senator, Tom Tiffany, against a school board president, Tricia Zunker, who is hoping to become the first Native American elected to US Congress from that state.

The Wisconsin election is being billed as a barometer of Republican enthusiasm in a deeply conservative part of the state just over a month after a liberal-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate won a statewide race over a Trump-backed candidate.

The winner in Wisconsins 7th District will replace Republican Sean Duffy, a former star on MTVs Real World who held the seat since 2011 and remains a vocal Trump backer.

It is the second time voters in Wisconsin left their homes in five weeks to cast ballots in the middle of a stay-at-home order. Wisconsin held its presidential primary election on April 7.

Also being closely watched was a special election in a district north of Los Angeles seen as another early bellwether for President Trump.

Trump has sought to bring his influence to the fight between Republican Mike Garcia and Democrat Christy Smith for Californias 25th District, which cuts through a hilly stretch of suburbs and small ranches that includes the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Remember, get out and Vote for Mike Garcia in CA25. A really big deal for our Country!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020

The results are unlikely to be known for at least for several days, however, due in part to Californias unusual vote-counting rules.

The district was long in Republican hands before Democrat Katie Hill captured it in an upset in 2018; she resigned last year amid a House ethics probe over an inappropriate relationship she had with a member of her staff.

When Hill won, it was the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. It also includes a slice of Ventura County.

The race is widely considered a toss-up. The outcome will not affect the balance of power in the US House of Representatives, but the race has taken on outsized importance as the only competitive House race in the country in the middle of the coronavirus crisis.
New Jersey has now lost 9,310 lives to the coronavirus outbreak as the total number of cases continued to climb to 139,945, according to the latest update from state health officials on Monday.

The totals include 59 new deaths and more than 1,453 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, though officials have cautioned about lags in reporting particularly over the weekend.

Gov. Phil Murphy has continued to say that the near-lockdown orders in place for several weeks have slowed the outbreak with the number of new daily cases trending downward.

The number of new cases has shown continuing moderation, Murphy said, noting slower rates of spread across the state.

Heres a roundup of coronavirus news:

N.J. lawmakers urge Murphy to increase staffing to handle unemployment backlog

The leaders of the state Senate on Monday released a letter urging the governor to devote more state employees and resources to reduce the backlog of New Jersey workers suffering while waiting for unemployment benefits.

N.J. coronavirus death toll climbs to 9,310 with 139,945 total cases

New Jerseys hospitals have reported decreasing number of patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases since a peak around mid-April. The state was missing data for two of 71 hospitals as of Sunday night, making comparisons to previous days incomplete. At least 4,100 patients remain hospitalized with around 1,000 on ventilators.

Stop leaving feces, bottles of urine at reopened N.J. parks!, cops say

The second weekend of New Jerseys county and state parks being reopened after weeks of coronavirus closures was met with an unexpectedly foul problem as visitors left urine-filled bottles and feces behind, officials said Monday.

There is a zero tolerance for that, Col. Patrick Callahan, the superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said at the daily coronavirus press conference in Trenton.

Cant reach N.J. unemployment? Labor Dept. launches new tool.

The Department of Labor launched a chat bot on Friday designed to help the deluge of workers who havent been able to get in touch with the agency about their unemployment benefits since the coronavirus crisis started.

Sweeney plan to partially furlough 100K N.J. public workers passes committee

A plan to partially furlough state and local public workers to cut government costs during the pandemic was approved by an Assembly legislative committee Monday.

The proposal aims to save state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars by cutting employees hours and pay, while allowing state and federal unemployment benefits to make up for their lost wages.

Drive-by wave parades dont violate coronavirus rules if you stay in cars, dont congregate, NJSP clarifies

The head of the State Police clarified on Monday that graduation, birthday and other drive-by wave parades are permitted under New Jerseys coronavirus outbreak lockdown rules, but schools cant organize central meeting points where people may get out of cars.

Expect hard dates on N.J. reopening from coronavirus lockdown soon, Gov. Murphy says

New Jersey residents could get hard dates later this week on when the state can begin to reopen from near-lockdown restrictions in place for several weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

Cant reach N.J. unemployment? Labor Dept. launches new tool to help.

The Department of Labor launched a chat bot on Friday designed to help the deluge of workers who havent been able to get in touch with the agency about their unemployment benefits since the coronavirus crisis started.

NJ Transit expanding coronavirus testing for its workers with site in South Jersey

NJ Transit employees will get a South Jersey location to be tested for the coronavirus, following through on a pledge made last week.

Want a job as N.J. coronavirus contact tracer? Heres how to apply online.

New Jersey has put out a call seeking to hire coronavirus contact tracers, a key component of Gov. Phil Murphys plan to slowly scale back some the near-lockdown restrictions that have been in place for months.

NJ Advance Media staff reporters Matt Arco, Larry Higgs, Samantha Marcus, Karin Price Mueller, Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)

TORONTO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV:SGI) announced today its financial and operating results for the first quarter 2020. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2020. These documents will be posted on the Company's website at www.superior-gold.com and SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

First Quarter Highlights:

Remained at full production whilst operating under COVID-19 restrictions

Produced 16,351 ounces of gold at a record average realized gold price of $1,570 /oz

/oz Sold 16,850 ounces of gold at total cash costs 1 of $1,291 per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs 1 of $1,416 per ounce sold

of per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of per ounce sold Net loss for the period of $0.04 per share and adjusted net loss of $0.00 per share

per share and adjusted net loss of per share Exploration results of up to 27.9 g Au/t over 4.10 metres continued to demonstrate the potential to expand mineralization at Plutonic with step out drill results between the Indian and Baltic Zones

Chris Bradbrook, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are pleased to have exceeded our first quarter production guidance despite a number of one time unexpected events that impacted the Plutonic Gold operations during the quarter (detailed in the press release dated March 13, 2020).

We remain focused on continued improvements from underground including grade and development rates. As previously indicated, we are forecasting a steady increase in underground production rates on a quarterly basis over the course of the year. We anticipate that the second quarter of 2020 will be an improvement over the first quarter and expect production of 16,500 to 18,500 ounces.

We remain fully committed to the health and safety of our employees and communities and we are pleased to report that there have been no incidences of infection from COVID-19 ("COVID") at either our operations or corporate offices. We are operating normally at Plutonic. We will continue to monitor the supply chain and work to ensure the ongoing availability of critical supplies.

In order to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID, to date we have only allowed site access to employees, contractors and suppliers that are deemed essential. Consequently, access for the contractors required for open pit development has been delayed. We are now targeting the commencement of production from the open pits in the second half of 2020. As a result, the lower end of our production guidance is likely to be at the higher end of production for the year.

We continue to be excited by our ongoing underground exploration results. On February 10, 2020, we announced intersections of up to 27.9 g Au/t over 4.10 metres and 22.2 g Au/t over 2.60 metres in an area over a strike length of more than 150 metres and a vertical extent of more than 100 metres between the Indian and Baltic Zones. We believe these results illustrate the potential to connect the Indian and Baltic Zones, which are key components of our Life of Mine plan.

The decrease in cash and cash equivalents at quarter end relative to year end 2019 was the result of a combination of the effect of foreign exchange movements, the timing of payables relative to quarter end and repayment of a portion of the ounces sold forward to Auramet.

Finally, as a result of progress made with the Global Resource calculation, the Company has decided to include it as part of its 2019 Year End Reserves and Resources Estimate. This will be available later in the second quarter, together with details of the plans for the open pit operations."

Summary of Financial and Operational Results:



Three months ended

March 31, 2020 All amounts in $ millions except where noted

Financial

Revenue 26.5 Cost of sales 23.7 General and administrative 1.0 Operating income (loss) 1.1 Income (loss) before taxes (3.8) Net income (loss) (3.8) Earnings (loss) per share - basic and diluted (0.04) Adjusted net income (loss)1 (0.1) Adjusted net income (loss) per share - basic1 (0.00) Cash flow from operations (0.9) Cash and cash equivalents 16.3 Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (basic) 97,065,989



Operational

Gold produced (ounces) 16,351 Gold sold (ounces) 16,850 Total cash costs ($/ounce)1 1,291 All-in sustaining costs ($/ounce)1 1,416 Average realized price1 ($/ounce) 1,570 Total underground material mined (Kt) 181 Total material milled (Kt) 366 Grade milled (g/t gold) 1.7 Recovery (%) 82

Plutonic Gold Operations

The Plutonic Gold Operations produced and sold 16,351 and 16,850 ounces of gold, respectively, for the first quarter of 2020. Total cash costs1 of $1,291/ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of $1,416/ounce were below the realized gold price1 of $1,570/ounce for the three-month period ending March 31, 2020. In comparison, 22,474 and 22,504 ounces of gold were produced and sold, respectively for the first quarter of 2019. Total cash costs1 of $1,145/ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of $1,246/ounce were below the realized gold price1 of $1,305/ounce for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019.

Total cash costs and all-in sustaining cash costs increased over the prior period primarily as a result of no contribution of tonnages milled from the Hermes Gold Mine for the period (the Company ceased mining operations at the Hermes Gold Mine in May 2019) and slightly lower underground tonnes milled, partially offset by an increase in underground grade and from the processing of other low grade stockpiles. The lower underground tonnage resulted from the limitations imposed as a result of power outages and heavy rains. The variance from prior period for underground grade was the result of the Company targeting higher grade areas of the underground mine where available.

Higher general and administrative costs were due to higher compensation costs in 2019 which stemmed from the addition of the Company's Chief Operating Officer.

The Company used net cash in operations after working capital changes of $863,000 for the three months ending March 31, 2020.

Exploration Activities

During the first quarter, the Company operated three underground diamond drilling rigs with 20,396 metres completed. Of the total, 10,229 metres were drilled for grade control and stope design while 10,167 metres were for reserve and resource expansion.

The quarter consisted of drilling new mining fronts in the Caspian, Indian, Pacific and Baltic areas. On February 10, 2020, the Company announced high grade drill results that were located 150m northwest of known mineralization at the Indian Zone which included 27.9 g/t gold over 4.10 metres, 22.2 g/t gold over 2.60 metres, and 57.7 g/t over 0.75 metres. Further results from other zones are pending.

Generative exploration focused on targeting areas with geological similarities to the current mine including the presence of the mine mafic and mineralized structures. A particular focus was on detailed 3D modelling of the mine mafic and interbedded sediments in the gap between Baltic and Timor.

Surface sampling programs included programs on the Bryah Basin Joint Venture Jones tenement and around the Plutonic mine. On the Jones tenement, assays from soil sampling suggest two northeast trends; one 500m long and the other 800m long both with significant geochemical anomalies. More soil samples are planned. Around the Plutonic mine, the focus area was the contact between the overthrust mafic and hangingwall ultramafic. Significant geochemical anomalies are present south of the Perch waste dump where no historical drilling has been conducted.

Outlook

The Company intends to focus on establishing the Plutonic Gold Operations as a stable gold producer capable of producing up to 100,000 ounces of gold annually. To achieve this goal, the Company intends to focus on its growth strategy, which aims to:

Optimize the underground grade

Improve mining practices to lower costs and increase production

Increase operational efficiencies

Analyze and, where appropriate, advance open pit opportunities close to the mill

Accelerate exploration activities in 2020

With the Company's cash position and the ongoing cash from operations, the Company will continue towards executing on these growth and exploration objectives.

Conference Call

Management will host a conference call and webcast on Tuesday May 12, 2020 at 10:00AM ET to discuss the first quarter 2020 financial and operating results.

Conference Call and Webcast Date: Tuesday May 12, 2020 10:00AM ET Toll-free North America: (888) 231-8191 Local or International: 647) 427-7450 Webcast: https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1309009&tp_key=9f22797741



Conference Call Replay Toll-free North America: (855) 859-2056 Local or International: (416) 849-0833 Passcode: 3351989

The conference call replay will be available from 1:00PM ET on May 12, 2020 until 23:59PM ET on May 26, 2020.

The presentation will be available on the Company's website at www.superior-gold.com.

____________________________ (1) Refer to the Non-IFRS Performance Measures disclosure included in this MD&A for a description and calculation of these measures.

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Keith Boyle, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer of the Company, who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101).

About Superior Gold

Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine and central mill, the Hermes open pit projects and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, and statements regarding exploration results and exploration plans.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 15, 2017 and the Company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis for a discussion of these risks, both filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Management cannot accurately predict what impact the novel coronavirus will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company.

The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Superior Gold

Related Links

https://www.superior-gold.com/


Wuhan, May 12 : Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province where the COVID-19 pandemic emerged last December, was drawing up plans to test the city's entire population of 11 million people for the deadly disease, state media reported on Tuesday.

According to a report by China's digital media outlet The Paper, quoting a widely circulated internal document, every district in the city has been asked to draw up a 10-day testing plan by noon on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

Each district is responsible for coming up with its own plan based on the size of their population and whether or not there is currently an active outbreak in the district.

The document, which refers to the test plan as the "10-day battle", also says that older people and densely populated communities should be prioritised when it comes to testing.

However several senior health officials quoted by the state-run Global Times newspaper indicated that testing the entire city would be unfeasible and costly.

Peng Zhiyong, director of the intensive care unit of the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, instead that testing was instead likely to be targeted at medical workers, vulnerable people and those who had had close contacts with a case.

Another Wuhan University director suggested that a large percentage of the city's population - around 3-5 million - had already been tested, and it was "capable" of testing the remaining 6-8 million in a 10-days period.

This development comes after Wuhan recorded six new cases over the weekend, the BBC reported.

Prior to this, it had seen no new cases at all since April 3.

As of Tuesday, China reported 84,011 COVID-19 cases, with 4,637 deaths.
W ork is underway on up to eight leading candidates for a vaccine to combat the coronavirus, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief on Monday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing that two months ago it was thought that developing a vaccine could take up to 12 to 18 months.

But he said an accelerated effort was under way and now there are more than a hundred candidates with around eight top ones.

World leaders from 40 countries, organisations and banks for research, treatment and testing have helped to accelerate efforts to develop a vaccine by pledging 6.4 billion a week ago.

Dr Tedros said additional funds would be required to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone  (and) theres no one be left behind.

We have good candidates now, said the Director General. The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there are more than a hundred candidates for a vaccine / AFP via Getty Images

We are focusing on the few candidates we have which can bring probably better results and accelerating those candidates with better potential.

Dr Tedros did not identify the top candidates.

Since January, he said, the WHO had been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development from developing animal models to clinical trial designs and everything in between.

Boris Johnson: UK at forefront of finding Covid-19 vaccine

Dr Tedros said there was also a consortium of more than 400 scientists involved in vaccine development and diagnostics.

The WHO chief stressed Covid-19 was very contagious and its a killer, with more than four million cases now reported to WHO and some 280,000 lives lost.

While new cases were declining in Western Europe, they were increasing in Eastern Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and other regions, he said.

Dr Tedros explained that as the response to the coronavirus continues, nations must also lay the foundations for a healthy, safer and fairer world.

Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures 1 /9 Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures Coronavirus infecting a cell EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA The SARS-COV-2 virus begin the infection process of cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA Tthe SARS-COV-2 virus particles after infection and viral replication inside the cell (white circle in the left corner) EPA A series of dark spots, which are viral particles of the SARS-COV-2 virus, trying to infect the cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA An arrow pointing to a novel coronavirus particle attached to cell membranes, displaying its typical glycoprotein spike 'corona' on the viral surface (issued 02 April 2020), seen in an electron microscope image, the first black and white portrait of the SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (purple) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA

The world spends around $7.5 trillion (6.1 trillion) on health care each year, almost 10 per cent of global GDP, but the best investments are in promoting health and in preventing disease at the primary health care level which will save lives and save money, Dr Tedros said.

The head of the International Labor Organisation, Guy Ryder, said the UN agency estimated the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs would be lost around the world in the second quarter of this year, ending on June 30.

Mr Ryder said by comparison, only 22 million full-time jobs were lost immediately when the financial crisis hit in 2008-2009, so you can see were in an entirely different place.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the briefing all nations were in it together but the immediate priority must be the most vulnerable countries and communities.

She called for a new debt relief program for vulnerable countries so their economies can recover.

And she said measures to protect and stimulate the economy, from cash transfers to credits and loans must be targeted at women who make up the majority of those in the hardest-hit informal economy, and who are at the forefront of the community response.
A host of Brisbane City Council projects have been delayed or held up due to coronavirus pandemic impacts, the council's latest quarterly progress report shows.

Tabled in the council meeting on Tuesday, the March 2020 annual operational plan progress report reported on changes in spending across City Hall's key project areas.

Some playground upgrades across Brisbane have been delayed due to coronavirus impacts. Credit:Darren England/AAP

Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner noted the delays in finalising the council election results and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic meant only the quarterly report, without the financial details usually provided every three months, was available at Tuesday's meeting.

The impact of coronavirus was cited as the reason why infrastructure projects such as environmental restoration and rehabilitation works were "not proceeding for the remainder of 2019-2020".
One of the most experienced journalists in Ghana, Mr Cameron Duodu, has urged the Government to set up an enquiry to establish the facts on exactly how one person was able to infect 533 others with the COVID-19 virus at a fish processing plant at Tema.

Mr Duodu, in a press statement, said he is shocked at the implications of the mishap and feels strongly that it should be used to educate the business community and the public at large on the importance of strictly abiding by the guidelines issued by the Government for containing the pestilence.

If one person was able to infect 533 others, just extrapolate that to embrace each of the 533 persons also infecting ten persons each. That would give us 5,330 persons, and if that were to occur, we would be in the territory of an exponential rate of infections. Mr Duodu said.

So we need to establish exactly how the one person was able to infect 533; how the infection was detected; and how long it took for tests to be carried out at the factory; and why. A public examination of the behaviour of all the personnel involved at each stage of the process of detecting the infection, and trying to contain it, will be of immense importance in educating the rest of the public about what not to do, as we confront the disastrous COVID-19 pestilence, Mr Duodu added."This is not a matter whose deadly implications we can mask with our usual complacent and lackadaisical attitude."

Cameron Duodu

Former Editor, Daily Graphic; Drum Magazine; News Division, Radio Ghana; BBC ACCRA CORRESPONDENT

TEL. 0556973422

EMAIL: [email protected]
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Black Tusk Resources Inc. ("Black Tusk" or the "Company) (CSE:TUSK)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(Frankfurt:0NB) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a permit to conduct diamond drilling on the McKenzie East Gold Project, located 30 kilometres north of Val d'Or, Quebec.

The McKenzie East drill permit will allow for the construction of 18 drill pads with supporting water supply stations and access trails. Black Tusk plans to conduct the drill program during the Summer 2020 exploration season.

Prior to conducting diamond drilling on the McKenzie Gold Property, Black Tusk plans to undertake surface prospecting, mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling. Black Tusk's exploration team, based in the Val d'Or area, is expected to begin that exploration work this month. Areas of interest were determined from the results of the company's drone-supported magnetic survey over the property completed earlier this year, combined with the results from historic exploration work.

Black Tusk Resources' McKenzie East gold project is located approximately two kilometres east of Monarch Gold's McKenzie Break Project. At the McKenzie break, gold mineralization is reported as visually distinctive white quartz-carbonate ribbon veins and sheeted veinlet complexes in places containing free gold. Shear zones hosting the veins range from two metres to 10 metres in thickness. A Monarch Gold news release dated Feb. 26, 2020, states that drill hole MK-18-205 returned 20.12 g/t Au over 2.6 metres, with the hole being extended in 2019. Hole extension MK-18-205ext continued to intersect mineralization at depth, returning 32.3 g/t Au over 7.1 metres, including 142.8 g/t Au over 1.2 metres, 26.97 g/t Au over 1.3 metres and 24.6 g/t Au over 0.7 metre. This high-grade intersection is considered one of the best on the property to date. The reader is cautioned that results obtained from McKenzie Break Gold Project is not necessarily indicative of potential on the Black Tusk-McKenzie East Gold Project.

'Now that the Quebec Government has given the green light for exploration companies to go back to work, Black Tusk Resources is extremely excited to commence our exploration season at the McKenzie East Gold Project in Val-d'Or.' Stated CEO, Richard Penn.

About Black Tusk Resources Inc.

Black Tusk Resources is gold-focused Canadian exploration company with operations primarily based in the world class Abitibi Greenstone-belt region of Quebec. Black Tusk currently holds 100% ownership in 5 separate Gold and Palladium projects in Canada.

Perry Grunenberg, P.Geo, a "Qualified Person" as that term is defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Grunenberg is also a director of the Company.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Richard Penn

CEO

(778) 384-8923

Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement

Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for the Company as described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedar.com.

The CSE and Information Service Provider have not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

SOURCE: Black Tusk Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589443/Black-Tusk-Resources-Inc-Receives-Drill-Permit-for-the-Mckenzie-East-Gold-Project-Val-Dor-Quebec
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This week, British health-tech company Ultromics and Mayo Clinic in the US will use AI software, EchoGo Core, to analyze echocardiograms of COVID-19 victims, for clues about how the virus affects the human cardiovascular system.

Their findings will produce, for the first time, a map of the 'novel cardiac features' of COVID-19 and help physicians rapidly triage and treat high-risk patients, potentially saving countless lives.

CEO of Ultromics, Ross Upton said: "To date, there is no way of linking the impact of the virus to predicted patient outcomes. By applying our technology to the evaluation of COVID associated echocardiograms, we can help understand the characteristics of cardiac involvement. We hope that by discovering a way to do this, patient management can be optimized  this is incredibly important where resources are scarce. Most importantly, we can give physicians the gift of time to treat those most in danger."

Mayo Clinic is one of the world's leading centers of cardiology and its extensive cardiac knowledge will assist Ultromics in the development of an image analysis application to help clinicians in the fight against COVID-19. The collaboration will be led by Gary Woodward, CTO of Ultromics and Patricia A. Pellikka, M.D., cardiologist, and clinical researcher at Mayo Clinic.

The COVID-19 coronavirus has considerable potential for cardiovascular impact including COVID induced microvascular disease and myocarditis, and side-effects from some treatments, known as therapy-associated cardiotoxicity.

The multi-site study will look at 500 COVID-19 positive men and women, aged between 18 and 89. These participants will have undergone a clinically indicated echocardiography exam during a three-month period. The primary objective is the assessment of automated cardiac measurements, ejection fraction and Global Longitudinal Strain, for the classification of COVID-19 patient outcomes.



EchoGo Core can provide physicians with an alternative streamlined solution for monitoring and identifying heart disease, enabling healthcare providers, no matter what experience level, to perform analysis with ease. This could be hugely important in giving physicians freed time to provide high quality, patient-centric care.

Echocardiograms have a proven role in the identification and assessment of virtually all cardiac disease entities. The non-invasive method is cost-effective and widely available, ideal for bedside assessment of patients with suspected cardiac complications of COVID-19.

About EchoGo Core:

EchoGo Core applies artificial intelligence to automate the analysis on echocardiograms. The system has been validated with the NHS in the UK, in one of the largest echo studies of its kind, with over 8,000 patients in over 30 sites. It is a fully automated, zero-click system which has zero variability, so it allows physicians, regardless of skill level, to make an efficient and accurate diagnosis.

EchoGo Core is FDA-cleared for use in the United States, not CE Marked for use in the European Union

About Ultromics

Ultromics is a UK-based health technology firm, focused on bringing the benets of AI to support clinicians in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. Founded in 2017, Ultromics applies artificial intelligence to develop echo-based tools in cardiovascular imaging, by combining deep clinical insight with machine learning and some of the largest echo datasets in the world. The revolutionary platform assists clinicians in their decision-making, without disrupting clinical workow, to drive diagnostic quality and patient care.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one global killer, causing an estimated 17 million deaths. Ultromics' mission is to enable earlier detection of cardiovascular disease and improve patient outcomes. For more information about Ultromics visit. http://www.ultromics.com/

SOURCE Ultromics

Related Links

http://www.ultromics.com


The innumerous, pretty food packages for the poor were carefully set around the shrine of the founder of Iran's Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to highlight support for people left in need by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

But those images filling Iranian news sites led to a sudden flood of criticism from people shocked by the stark contrast between Khomeini's glittery shrine and the thought of the uncountable thousands of Iranians that need such handouts to survive.

"Forty years after the revolution of Imam Khomeini, people were not supposed to be in need of rice, oil, and macaroni, which have been displayed at such an aristocratic place!" tweeted Ghasem Mohammadi, who describes himself as a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and a supporter of detained opposition figure Mir Hossein Musavi.

Another Twitter user, Majid, noted that "the imam of the poor is buried in a palace" while being surrounded by food packages for the poor that are likely to last its needy recipients a mere week.

Journalist and political activist Mehdi Mahmudian went so far as to call on Khomeini's grandson, Hassan Khomeini, to apologize to the people for the controversial images of food packages at the mausoleum of Khomeini, who, according to his supporters, led an ascetic life.

"The existence of each family that is dependent on these [food] packages is a shame for everyone, particularly for your family," Mahmudian, who was imprisoned in 2009 for his role in documenting prison rapes, tweeted. "These [packages are nothing to be proud of], it is shameful."

Many Iranians are struggling to make ends meet due to a poor economy under pressure from crippling U.S. sanctions as well as alleged mismanagement and corruption.

Many people's situations have been worsened by the coronavirus pandemic that has severely impacted the economy, with a lockdown shutting down businesses and putting people out of work.

A poll published in April by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) found that the coronavirus outbreak has hurt the income of some 50 percent of those surveyed. Nearly 42 percent said their businesses were shut as a result of the virus.

The packages are being distributed to the poor -- particularly those affected by the coronavirus pandemic -- by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which has put them on display in religious shrines and other places around the country.

The charitable acts played up in the media appear to be part of efforts by the IRGC to improve its image, especially following a deadly November 2019 crackdown on anti-government protesters that killed hundreds, as well as the January downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed all 176 people on board.

WATCH: Iranians Turn To Good Deeds In Dark Times

The IRGC admitted to the "unintentional" shooting down of the plane three days after the incident, a delay that resulted in widespread outrage from Iranians.

No IRGC official has thus far resigned over the tragic incident that occurred as Iranian forces were on high alert after missile attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq made in retaliation for the U.S. assassination days earlier of top IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad.

The IRGC has also tried to portray itself as a major player in Irans battle against the pandemic that has killed more than 6,700 Iranians and infected nearly 110,000, according to official figures released by the Health Ministry on May 12.

Real numbers are believed to be significantly higher. Research by RFE/RL's Radio Farda showed that at least two to three times more people had been infected with the coronavirus and died from its disease than officials were reporting.
Southport Library on the Gold Coast, Australia, in September 2018 (Google Maps Street View) and a sign listing the Tourism Confucius Institute at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus, on Dec. 27, 2018. (Richard Szabo/The Epoch Times)

Australian Universities Are Not Registering Confucius Institutes With Government Watchdog

Thirteen Australian universities with Confucius Institutes tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are under increasing pressure to register with the federal governments Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS).

The Confucius Institutes (CIs) are touted as a means of cultural exchange, however, CIs have been under increasing scrutiny for their potential as a trojan horse for the CCPs soft power propaganda push in the west.

Liberal Senator James Paterson said in The Daily Telegraph on May 9, Any organisation funded by the overseas propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party should at an absolute bare minimum be on the foreign influence register, and it is of great concern they have thus far failed to comply.

Continuing his commentary on Facebook, Paterson wrote on May 9 that he was deeply concerned by the universitys refusal to register with the scheme given they have been banned in Sweden and are being closed at some campuses in the United States.

Created and implemented in 2018, the FITS provides Australia with visibility on the nature, level, and extent of foreign influence on Australias government and politics.

Overseen by the Attorney-Generals department, FITS initially required organisations in Australia to register if they were lawfully acting on behalf of a foreign government or entity to complete activities for political influence.

Included in those activities (pdf) are political or parliamentary lobbying, communication activitiesincluding publishing or disseminating information that could gain political influenceor the distribution of funds for political influence.

However, Attorney-General Christian Porter signalled that FITS would be seeing some changes in the future.

Speaking on 6PR with Gareth Parker on March 4, the attorney-general said that this year the federal government would be looking at people and organisations where we might have had a reasonable expectation that they would register and starting to pursue answers to questions as to why they havent.

Continuing Porter noted: Ive made some pretty substantial changes to the team and the way they operate and the way that they develop their briefs around who it is that they should be inquiring of as to why they havent registered.

The Sydney Morning Herald on March 7 reported that the Attorney-General had created a specific team to target Chinese government-funded language and culture institutes operating at Australian universities.

According to the newspaper, the new unit will focus on groups seeking to harm Australias critical infrastructure and look into community groups with ties to Beijings propaganda departments.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Porter said that universities need to be aware of who it is that is seeking to influence their decision-making, their structure, their expenditure, their outcomes.

Universities need to be mindful of about who those people are working on behalf of, Porter said.

Currently, the FITS transparency registrar has only two academic organisations listed as being engaged by the CCP for lobbying and communication activities. The Australian Institute of International Affairs and the Australian Academy of Science have both been engaged by the Chinese regime for political lobbying and communication activities.

Australia currently has Confucius Institutes at the Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, the University of Queensland, the University of New South Wales, University of Newcastle, and the University of Sydney.

Charles Darwin University operates one in the Northern Territory, and there are institutes at the University of Adelaide, Victoria University, La Trobe University, RMIT, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Western Australia.
(Los Angeles Times)

Elon Musk is a billionaire who will, on occasion, tweet ridiculous things, act impulsively, display a prodigious ego and act as if the law doesn't apply to him. And now he's throwing a tantrum that threatens the state's ability to move safely and smartly out its current lockdown.

It would be great if we could just ignore Musk as he broadcast his sometimes trenchant, sometimes bizarre musings to 34 million Twitter followers. ("I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.") But he's also the leader of Tesla and Space X, which employ thousands of people.

On Monday, Musk defied Alameda County health department orders and reopened Tesla's electric car manufacturing plant in Fremont, tweeting Monday afternoon, "I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me." Insisting that Gov. Gavin Newsom had given "essential" businesses permission to reopen, the company said on its website Saturday that it would restart the Fremont factory in keeping with a plan developed in consultation with county officials and modeled after its "smooth and healthy" operations in Shanghai.

The problem is that Alameda County hasn't signed off on that plan. Instead, county health officials have said they'd like Tesla to hold off for a few days until they see results from the county's first steps to ease its shelter-in-place order. That delay seems reasonable, given how volatile the pandemic has been. Nevertheless, it was too much for Musk; on Saturday, he tweeted that he was "moving Tesla's headquarters and future programs" to Texas or Nevada "immediately," and the company sued the county for allegedly violating its constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law.

We get it, it's hard out here for an entrepreneur! And for everybody else. Unemployment is skyrocketing and the economy is in free-fall, largely because of the restrictions that were designed to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming the healthcare system.

But getting back to the pre-coronavirus status quo won't be easy, given the risk that the pandemic will flare up again and force more lockdowns. That's why the decisions on which businesses and activities resume when need to be made by people who are accountable to the public, not billionaire CEOs who threaten to pull up stakes when they don't get their way. Or any business owners who, like Musk, consider themselves better judges of the public good than the government.

Newsom's May 4 executive order explicitly gives local governments the authority to adopt more restrictive COVID-19 measures than the state's orders where necessary. Alameda County's steps need to be reasonable, and it needs to get businesses open as soon as it is safe to do so. But that's the county's call to make, not Musk's.
YEREVAN -- Armenian ex-President Robert Kocharian, who is currently in pretrial detention, has undergone surgery for the second time in seven months.

Kocharian's office did not reveal what medical condition the ex-president had, but said he was now in a "satisfactory" state.

Kocharian underwent surgery at Yerevans Izmirlian Medical Center in October 2019 and was taken to the private hospital again in late April for what one of his lawyers described as a "postoperative checkup."

Earlier this spring, Kocharian spent more than three weeks in another hospital after suffering from fluctuating blood pressure.

Kocharian, who ruled Armenia from 1998 to 2008, is currently on trial on charges stemming from his alleged role in a 2008 postelection crackdown on the opposition, as well as for taking bribes. He rejects the charges as politically motivated.

A Yerevan court resumed the high-profile trial on May 8, with Kocharians lawyers reiterating their demand to release their client from pretrial custody on health grounds. They argued the 65-year-old is at high risk from coronavirus given his age and health problems.

The presiding judge, Anna Danibekian, is set to respond to the petition on May 13.

Kocharian is standing trial along with three other former officials.
TUCSON, Ariz., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New Arizona requirements for auto insurance coverage take effect on July 1, as a result of Arizona Senate Bill 1087. This legislation increases the required auto insurance coverage limits to $25,000/$50,000/$15,000. Arizona limits are presently set at $15,000/$30,000/$10,000.

A coverage increase was needed to help ensure that Arizona drivers have adequate protection, particularly considering the rising costs of medical care, automotive repairs and litigation. However, this increased protection comes at a price, and may result in sticker shock when policies come up for renewal.

"In the past, drivers carried insurance with a combined limit of $55,000. Now, the combined limit is $90,000. That's 40 percent more coverage and in some cases, drivers could see a 40 percent premium increase from their carriers as a result," explains RightSure President, Jeffery Arnold.

With those projections in mind, drivers who pay $100 per month now, could pay $140 per month when their policies renew after July 1. This change applies to all insurance companies that sell insurance in Arizona.

RightSure is spreading the word, encouraging all Arizona drivers to plan ahead. "Don't stick your head in the sand and wait until the last minute to discover that you can no longer afford your auto insurance," Arnold says. "Investigate your options now, long before your rates skyrocket on July 1. It could save you a lot of money in the long run," he adds.

Auto insurance rates vary by carrier and state, so shopping with multiple insurers is key to saving money. It doesn't have to be a time-consuming process. RightSure offers a free service that does all the work for drivers. Their automated quote engine will shop rates from more than 40 insurance carriers and let drivers know their top three auto insurance options. With that knowledge, drivers can make a smart decision to either keep their existing auto insurance or ask RightSure to move them to a new carrier.

About RightSure Insurance Group

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, RightSure Insurance Group is a full-service independent insurance agency providing insurance products to families and businesses in 42 states. By using a unique, client-centered approach combined with superior technology, RightSure presents clients with a wide range of insurance options and a seamless purchasing process. To learn more and see if you can save money, visit https://www.rightsure.com or call 520-777-1125.

Media Contact:

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Queensland's opposition has asked the state's corruption watchdog to determine whether Education Minister Grace Grace played any part in the appointment of a school principal at a new high school at Dutton Park.

Former deputy premier Jackie Trad resigned from the frontbench at the weekend after the Crime and Corruption Commission launched a formal investigation into her alleged interference in the appointment of the principal at the new Inner City South State Secondary College in her South Brisbane electorate.

The opposition believes the CCC should also investigate whether Education Minister Grace Grace knew of alleged meetings organised by senior bureaucrats for Ms Trad and the candidates for the principal position. Credit:AAP/Darren England

Ms Trad denies any wrongdoing and Ms Grace said neither her, nor her office, were involved in the selection proccess.

A senior Education Department executive was stood aside on Monday night in relation to the matter.
Its one of Dan Johnsons favorite stories to share.

A few years back, a young man in the Philomath school system developed a new level of academic confidence while utilizing the alternative education program. When his name was called at graduation, the teen accepted his diploma, took a look at it and responded in the moment by giving Johnson the biggest hug hes ever had.

The student told him, Thank you, Dr. Johnson, for believing in me before I did.

Thats one of the things that alternative education does  its a chance for students to discover whats inside them, Johnson told the Philomath School Board during a May 4 meeting. We all know it is inside them, but they have to find it maybe in a different manner.

Now, thanks to a unanimous vote by the school board, the local districts alternative education program will expand with the establishment of the Philomath Academy. Students at the new school will work cooperatively with instructors and be empowered to take ownership in their education.

Set to launch this coming academic year alongside the traditional school, the Philomath Academy will provide complete course offerings for students in grades K-12, a mentor-based support system, standards-based curriculum, open class hours for individual instruction and help, and an on-site summer credit recovery program for students wishing to retake a course or accelerate their learning.

I am really passionate about alternative education and the advantages that go with it, Johnson said. It allows students flexible scheduling, it allows alternative ways of gaining and gathering information and learning.

Johnsons affinity to alternative education developed through the years in part because of experiences with his own children. A son found success in an environment beyond the mainstream that allowed him to learn differently and ultimately advance through trade school to become a mechanic.

Back when an alternative program in Philomath was in its early years, another one of Johnsons children had a positive outcome. In fact, Johnson said his child without the alternative program would not have received a diploma ... thats just a flat-out way of putting it.

Years ago, the typical students found at alternative schools were those that had troubles fitting into the traditional educational environment. Thats no longer the case with enrollees including those in accelerated programs or students needing to work around jobs that must be maintained to help their families.

Its not necessarily just a discipline school  there are times when it is or has been, Johnson said. But then you go to the complete opposite extreme. There are some students that want to accelerate through with a potential opportunity for the student to earn a high school diploma and an associates degree at graduation.

For now, the Philomath Academys building or campus is located inside the high school library. The alt education program had been utilizing a computer lab inside the library in past years. But that classroom space is expanding to include not only the media center, but an adjacent location where reference books were once shelved.

Philomath Academys staff will include Johnson, presumably as the principal, a full-time grades 6-12 teacher and a part-time K-8 teacher. Four other teachers for grades 6-12 will work up to five hours per week in the specific areas of math, science, language arts and social studies. The academy also foresees the hiring of two instructional assistants.

Johnson said that he will begin contacting families to set up meetings explaining the new school. As a result, he anticipates the academy growing and even regaining some students that had left the district to attend classes elsewhere. Its this expected increase in student membership that Johnson believes will offset any startup costs.

Johnsons goal for the 2020-21 school year would be to enroll 20 full-time students that are not currently receiving their educational services from the Philomath School District. Those would be in addition to students already in the system.

The school district first launched an alternative education program during the 2009-10 academic year to provide basic courses in conjunction with Linn-Benton Community College for students pursuing a GED. In the following years, the program  known as the Philomath Alternative Education Academy, or AEA  slowly branched out into a fully functioning K-12 online education option for students.

By making it now from a program into a school, it allows us the opportunity to attract more people as it continues to grow, Johnson said. It allows us to meet the needs of students in the alternative setting more than you can in just a couple of periods in a day program.

The academy will set its own hours with a Monday through Thursday classroom schedule. Fridays will be used for consultations with families and getting caught up on paperwork.

Alternative education had expanded under previous superintendents but the idea to take it to the next level as an independent school moved along under Buzz Brazeau, who stepped into the position less than a year ago.

Talks about the alternative school between Johnson and Brazeau began in earnest last year during a conference in San Diego and led up to a presentation for the school board in March.

The new school will be paid for through the states per-student allocation, a distribution formula based on enrollment.

From a budgetary standpoint for next year, there will be no increase to the district costs as we go into this  its flat funding and were hoping to show a little more money for the district as it grows, Johnson said. The more students we bring into the school or the more students we can retain within our boundaries, that will help offset any of the costs with the program.

Johnson said hes shooting for 75 next year based upon numbers from the (online) program that may go into the school, Johnson said. But I can take up to 350, 400.

As the program grows, a new location will be necessary. Johnson had an idea to bring in modulars but that was not workable. Buying a piece of property could be an option at some point down the road.

At the school board meeting last week, the idea was thrown out to eventually house the Philomath Academy in the building where the school district office is now located.

With that, theres space, theres parking lots, and we could bring in all of those other pieces that go with it  segregate it a little bit better by age and as that need becomes more prevalent, we will make adjustments," Johnson said.

That option, however, would mean the district office would need to find a new location.

The staff will be adjusted over time as well.

Once we start getting the enrollment, well be able to make a better determination as to what we need, Johnson said when asked about teaching staff.

To begin, the Philomath Academy will be open only to school district students but Johnson said an option is on the table to eventually expand offerings into the community. The cost would basically be based on what it takes to offer the course.

That is a piece that I think is an important extension into the community, Johnson said. Besides being just a K-12 program, it becomes a community outreach program that allows the opportunity for people to brush up on their skills.

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The city of Baraboo recently settled a lawsuit against Alliant Energy Corporation and Vannguard Utilities Partners of DeForest, recovering the cost of medical expenses for a city employee who was injured.

In a complaint and summons filed in late February by the city and Cities & Villages Mutual Insurance against Alliant, Vannguard and an unnamed insurance company, the city alleged negligence on the part of both companies.

According to the complaint, city Utility Superintendent Wade Peterson was operating machinery during a construction project in March 2017 at 100 South Boulevard when he struck an unforeseen power line belonging to Alliant. At the time, Peterson was searching for a sewer lateral, according to court documents. He was injured as a result of hitting the buried power line.

The line belonged to Alliant, but Vannguard was included in the lawsuit because the company had been hired by the city to locate all underground power lines as part of the project.

Matthew Granitz, the attorney representing the city and CVMIC with Borgelt, Powell, Peterson and Frauen of Madison, alleged negligence against all defendants in regard to the placement, maintenance and notification of workers of the location of the power line.
Key Companies Profiled are Robert Bosch GmbH, Stanley, Black & Decker, Inc., Hilti Corporation, Atlas Copco Ltd., Makita Corporation, Emerson Electric Co., Hitachi Koki Ltd., Danaher Corporation, DeWALT Industrial Tools, Actuant Corporation, SKF, AMES Companies, among others.

PUNE, India, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global power tools market size is projected to reach USD 33.46 by the end of 2026. The increasing demand for the product across diverse industry verticals will aid the growth of the overall market in the coming years. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled "Power Tools Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Mode of Operation (Electric, Pneumatic, Others), By Tool Type (Frilling & Fastening Tools, Material Removal Tools, Sawing and Cutting Tools, Demolition Tools, Others), By Application (DIY, Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026," the market was worthUSD 24.55 billion in 2018 and will exhibit a CAGR of 4.0% during the forecast period, 2019-2026.

Power tools are used across numerous construction activities for purposes such as sawing, cutting, polishing, and similar activities. The product is widely used across diverse industry verticals. The increasing investment in the research and development of the product by major companies across the world will open up a huge potential for market growth. Technological advancements have played a huge role in the development of the products and huge investments in technological interventions have yielded a few exceptional products in recent years. The advent of devices powered by batteries, coupled with the increasing adoption of cordless equipment will contribute to the growing adoption of the product across the world. The presence of several large scale companies will constitute an increase in the power tools market size in the foreseeable future. The development of multi-purpose products, coupled with the flexibility offered by modern power tolls will aid the growth of the market in the forthcoming years.

Get Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/power-tools-market-101444

An Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on this Market:

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/power-tools-market-101444



Increasing Number of product Launches Will Aid Market Growth

The report includes several factors that have contributed to the growth of the market in recent years. It highlighted major products and key companies that have had a massive impact on the growth of the market in recent years. It further highlights the strategies adopted by major companies in a bid to establishing a stronghold in the market and gauges their impact on the growth of the market in recent years. Due to the high demand for the product across the world, several companies are looking to develop products that will help them attract a wider audience. In July 2019, Bosch India announced the launch of a new driller that will be equipped with sensor-based technologies. The company introduced GSB18V-535C 18V EC Brushless Compact, a product that will be integrated with advanced features such as Smart Bluetooth. Bosch's latest product will not just benefit the company will also have a positive influence on the growth of the overall market in the forthcoming years.



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Asia Pacific Dominates the Market; Growing Industrialization Will Aid Growth

The report analyzes the ongoing power tools market trends across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe. Among these regions, the market in Asia Pacific currently holds the largest power tools market share. The increasing industrialization will create several growth opportunities for the companies operating in the market. The demand for improved infrastructure in countries such as India, Japan, and China will emerge in favor of the growth of the regional market. As of 2018, the market in Asia Pacific was worth USD 8.44 billion and this value is projected to rise at a considerable growth in the coming years. The market in the Middle East and Africa will witness moderate growth due to the rising oil and gas sector across the region. The market in Europe and North America will rise at a steady growth in the coming years.

List of Key Companies Operating in the Power Tools Market are:

Robert Bosch GmbH

Stanley, Black & Decker, Inc.

Hilti Corporation

Atlas Copco Ltd.

Makita Corporation

Emerson Electric Co.

Hitachi Koki Ltd.

Danaher Corporation

DeWALT Industrial Tools

Actuant Corporation

SKF

AMES Companies

Industry Developments:

July 2019: Bosch India announced the launch of a new driller that will be equipped with sensor-based technologies. The device will be integrated with Smart Bluetooth.



Quick Buy - Power Tools Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101444

Detailed Table of Content

Introduction

Definition, By Segment



Research Approach



Sources

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics

Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities



Emerging Trends of Market

Key Insights

Macro and Micro Economic Factors



Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players



Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Global Power Tools Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026

Key Findings / Summary



Market Sizing Estimations and Forecasts - By Mode of Operation (Value)



Electric





Pneumatic





Others (Hydraulic, etc.)



Market Sizing Estimations and Forecasts - By Tool Type (Value)



Drilling & Fastening Tools





Material Removal Tools





Sawing and Cutting tools





Demolition Tools





Others (Routing Tools etc.)



Market Sizing Estimations and Forecasts - By Application (Value)



DIY





Industrial



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Region (Value)



North America





Europe





Asia Pacific





Middle East and Africa

and



Latin America

TOC Continued..!!!

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Have a Look at Related Research Insights:

Grinding Machines Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (CNC (Cylindrical, Surface & Others (Centerless, Gear), Conventional), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

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Nearly half of people now believe the worst of the coronavirus crisis is over as it emerged public health experts are certain to give the green light to begin the easing of the lockdown from next week.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "I am hopeful in terms of the track of the disease and it is giving us encouragement. My expectation is that we might be in a position to make a recommendation on the easing of restrictions later this week."

However, commenting on Department of Health survey findings showing 43pc of people think the country is over the worst he cautioned that the work is still not done.

"The virus is still circulating, the risk is still there in our communities," he said.

"The health service will continue to prepare and respond to the virus, the public are asked to stay the course and keep up the progress we have made."

The loosening of restrictions will come with a new set of guidelines, including advice on wearing of face coverings in public places like public transport or in shops.

However, face coverings will be not mandatory and a matter for the individual.

He was speaking as another 15 patients died from the virus, increasing the toll to 1,467.

A further 139 new cases of the virus were diagnosed. It means 23,135 have been infected so far.

David Walsh, HSE national director of community operations, said the average time for a test result is now five days but this will be reduced to four days as the process is improved. The system is being automated to allow for people who test negative to be notified by text.

Dr Holohan said the turnaround time should improve and it would not hamper the decision to start the easing of lockdown.

Other indicators such as the numbers of patients in intensive care, which have fallen to 71, would be part of the assessment.

The outbreaks of the coronavirus in long-term residential centres continue to be brought under control.

Meanwhile, the Mental Health Commission, the watchdog overseeing mental health services, said it is concerned testing in acute admission units is still on the basis of symptoms, despite the fact many of the residents of these units are either elderly or have underlying medical conditions. Chief executive John Farrelly said they have been notified of a total of 16 deaths of residents of mental health services .

"Our risk assessment shows that every acute in-patient unit includes either residents over 60, or those with underlying medical conditions. In addition, they are high-physical contact environments, and have higher numbers of admissions," he said.

"It is our view that we must see working evidence of a comprehensive and efficient testing and results delivery mechanism for our most vulnerable - including those that care for them - before we begin the process of fully unlocking the rest of society and extending these systems out to the wider population."

Enda Egan of Inclusion Ireland, the intellectual disability support group, said it is gravely concerned about the education of children with intellectual disabilities and autism during the crisis.

In the past week it conducted a survey of parents of children with disabilities who are trying to home educate. Children with intellectual disabilities and autism are missing school a lot. For children with complex behaviour and medical needs home education is difficult or non-existent.
A US boyfriend flew to Germany and tried to sneak past border police to visit his girlfriend amid lockdown but was caught and sent straight back to Washington.

The 20-year-old American tried dressing up as a cleaner to cheat coronavirus border controls in Germany so he could see his girlfriend, police said today.

After arriving at Frankfurt airport from Washington on Sunday, he donned a high-visibility vest and picked up two bags of rubbish.

Pictured: People don face masks at border control in Frankfurt Airport as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts travel into Germany

Pictured: A member of staff at Frankfurt Airport dons a face mask during the coronavirus crisis

'He then tried to convince security staff that he was a cleaner and was supposed to empty the bins behind the security area,' federal police said in a statement.

However, his plan was foiled when a member of staff noticed he was not wearing a security pass and couldn't speak German.

He confessed at a police station that he was desperate to see his girlfriend and couldn't think of another way of entering the country.

Even if he had managed to reach the bins, the man would still have been in the airport's transit area, police said - meaning he would still have faced more border controls.

A man wearing a face mask is pictured passing through Frankfurt Airport in Germany

After being questioned, the young romantic was sent back to Washington on Monday.

Germany has imposed tough border controls to try to stop the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 170,000 people in the country.

Along with France, Spain and others, the country imposed travel restrictions on March 17.

Although the new rules were only meant to last for 30 days, the EU recommended an extension on April 15 and Germany continued to enforce restrictions. Under the rules, tourists are not allowed to travel to Germany because their travel is not deemed essential.
MURMANSK, Russia -- Until recently, the massive Kola Yard project in the town of Belokamenka on the western shore of the Kola Bay was best known as a flagship of Russias effort to develop the Far North and open the Arctic region for economic exploitation.



Under development for six years now, this project by natural-gas firm Novatek will build gas platforms that can be towed out into the relatively shallow waters along Russias Arctic coast. The goal is to boost Novateks liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to some 34 million tons a year, with much of it being exported via the Northern Sea Route to customers in East Asia.

In recent weeks, however, Belokamenka -- which reported a population of just 84 people in the 2010 census -- has acquired a new renown as a major hotspot in Russias ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The construction site, which employs 9,000-11,000 workers from across Russia and the former Soviet Union, has officially registered more than 2,000 cases of the coronavirus. And the figures continue to rise by at least 100 each day.

As of May 11, Murmansk Oblast had officially registered 2,416 coronavirus infections, 2,045 of them in Belokamenka. The region had registered five deaths from COVID-19 -- but there is evidence that official fatality figures across Russia may be substantially lower than the real toll.

The same day, President Vladimir Putin ordered the Emergency Situations Ministry to send a second mobile hospital to Belokamenka by May 20.

Belokamenka is just one of many remote Murmansk region settlements straining to cope with the coronavirus crisis with political, economic, and social infrastructures dominated by a single employer whose priorities -- even in the best of times -- do not always coincide with those of local residents.

No Comment

Information from the project is hard to come by. Novatek declined to comment for this story.

My husband has been given a respirator mask, Tatyana, who did not want her last name published for fear of repercussions, told RFE/RL by telephone from the southern Russian city of Krymsk. But far from everyone there has one. As far as I know, there has been no disinfection there and it is impossible to practice social distancing. There are no sanitizers and no gloves. They do haphazard testing. No one on my husbands team has been tested at all.

Tatyana said her husbands two-month shift at the site has officially ended, but she has no idea when he will be able to return to his family. Workers at the site generally work one- or two-month shifts and then return home for one month of rest.

My husband was supposed to be evacuated from the site, she said. There were 38 of them ready to go. They were packed and put on a bus, but they were turned back at the gate. They thought theyd be able to leave the next day, but they couldnt. Im worried that if they dont evacuate the healthy people, then all of them will be infected. Who knows how the disease will develop?

As a rule, workers at Kola Yard are housed in modified shipping containers, with eight workers living in a space 2.5 meters by 8 meters.

What precautions can be taken there? asked a worker who wished to be identified only as Nikolai.

Mobile Hospital

Patient Zero at Belokamenka is believed to have been a migrant worker from Kyrgyzstan who arrived at the site in late February and soon tested positive. It is unknown where or how he became infected.

On March 31, authorities imposed a quarantine on Belokamenka, although work on the site was not discontinued. On April 1, the Murmansk office of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny posted assertions from workers at the site that new workers coming into Kola Yard were being held in quarantine, but are being released after 5-6 days.

The first official reports of coronavirus infection at Kola Yard came on April 12, although no numbers or details were provided.

A video posted on April 15 appeared to show workers at the site lined up outside a kiosk without protective gear and ignoring social-distancing protocols.

The same day, Murmansk Oblast Governor Andrei Chibis reported, a first mobile hospital with 500 beds was set up on the site.

On May 1, the local coronavirus information portal reported that a female worker at the site had died after testing positive for the coronavirus. That initial report was later removed and replaced by one saying that she had tested negative.

On May 9, state media reported that a 55-year-old driver at the Belokamenka project had died of double pneumonia after testing positive for the coronavirus.

A leading contractor at the site, Velesstroi, reported on April 23 that it was evacuating some of its personnel from the construction site because of the outbreak. Media reports said the workers were briefly kept at a hotel in Murmansk before being put on charter flights to Moscow and two other big cities further south, Samara and Yekaterinburg.

Spreading Southward

Health experts fear, however, that Belokamenka is not only a hotspot for the virus but potentially also a source for spreading it across the country.

At least four of the Belokamenka workers tested positive for the coronavirus after reaching Yekaterinburg, local media reported on May 11. That news came after at least 11 Kola Yard workers tested positive in Yekaterinburg after arriving from Murmansk in late April. Nonetheless, officials in Murmansk insist that all workers are quarantined for two weeks and must test negative for the virus before being allowed to leave the construction site.

According to Novaya gazeta, a worker named Vitaly, who said he has tested positive for the coronavirus although he has no symptoms, was told on April 24 that he could continue working at Kola Yard on a voluntary basis. In an interview with RFE/RL, Velesstroi human-resources director Maksim Glotov said workers themselves were insisting they wanted to stay on the job.

We have here people with positive and with negative test results living together, Glotov said. It doesnt hamper their work. In this situation, it is even better than being shut up in a closed space. And the initiative came from the people themselves, who asked if it is possible not to cancel their tour. And that is people who are positive and who are negative. The main thing is that they dont have a fever or other symptoms. Before starting work, they all have their temperatures taken.

A worker who asked to be identified as Nikolai told RFE/RL that workers are only allowed into the site cafeteria in groups of 10. However, he said, while those small groups are eating, crowds of workers stand around outside the building waiting their turn.

During the two or three hours that meals are served, people are spending 30 or 40 minutes waiting in line, Nikolai said.

In a conversation with Putin on April 28, regional governor Chibis said the outbreak of the virus at Belokamenka has been localized -- suggesting that it had been contained and was under control. At the time, the settlement had 922 confirmed infections.

Written by RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson and based on reporting from Murmansk by correspondents Aleksandr Andreyevsky and Anton Nekayev of the North Desk of RFE/RLs Russian Service
P olice have issued a litter warning after visitors flocking to newly reopened beaches in Florida left more than 6,000 kilograms of rubbish.

The problem has been mounting since the sandy beaches of Cocoa Beach reopened following the coronavirus lockdown, according to non-profit organisation Keep Brevard Beautiful.

Two weeks ago, volunteers collected 297 bags of waste over three days - 33 on Friday, 122 on Saturday and 142 on Sunday.

Another 305 bags of rubbish were collected last weekend, the group 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

"People will come from out of town and leave an umbrella, a tent or chairs because it's a onetime use," Bryan Bobbitt, Keep Brevard Beautiful executive director, told CNN. "Chip bags, plastic straw wrappers and anything can get blown into the dunes."

On average, volunteers collect 30 to 40 bags a day during this time of year, Mr Bobbitt said.

The group worry about what the rubbish will do to the marine life and compared the last two weekends to the sights seen on Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekends.

"When we see something that can be a choking hazard to marine life, we make it a point to get that stuff as well," Mr Bobbitt said.

Beach parking reopened on May 8 / AP

"If we don't pick it up, it gets blown into the water. We've all seen the photo of the straw stuck in a sea turtle's nose or a six-pack ring around a bird's neck."

Amid the surge in rubbish, Cocoa Beach Police warned visitors that they could be hit with a $250 (202) fine for littering.

The force said officers and beach rangers will also be working to educate the public and "mitigate this repulsive and disrespectful behaviour".

"As restrictions are becoming more relaxed during this pandemic, the City of Cocoa Beach is beginning to see an influx of day-trippers to our beaches, along with piles of unlawfully discarded trash in their wake," a statement said.

Visitors have flocked to the beaches after they reopened a few weeks ago / AP

"This will not be tolerated."

Chief Scott Rosenfeld added: "Our community works very hard to be stewards of environmental sustainability.

"If I need to reallocate critical resources during our peak season to combat litterers, we are no longer asking our visitors to comply with our litter laws, we expect it, and there will be consequences for offenders."
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Alliance Mining Corp. (TSXV:ALM) ("Alliance" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has made the final two payments of $250,000.00 each by issuing 10 million common shares of its capital to Tiberius Gold Corp. Alliance has now completed all payments to acquire 100 per cent of Tiberius's property located in the Bissett Gold mine camp in Manitoba. Under the agreement, Alliance earned a 100-per-cent interest in the property by making certain staged cash payments and/or share payments of common shares in the capital of Alliance to Tiberius over a four-year period equal to a total of $1.25million as follows: (i) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before 90 days of the TSX Venture Exchange's approval of the transaction; (ii) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the first anniversary of the approval date; (iii) $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the second anniversary of the approval date; $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the third anniversary of the approval date; and $250,000 in cash and/or common shares on or before the fourth anniversary of the approval date.

Alliance Mining has now purchased 100 per cent interest in the Red Rice Lake property located in the Bissett gold camp in Manitoba. The property is located close to the town of Bissett, Man., and just four kilometres south of the True North gold mine which its current owner 1911 Gold Corp ( Formerly Klondex Mines) has just recommenced operations reprocessing tailings..

The Red Rice Lake gold property claims are located within the Archean Rice Lake greenstone belt in southeastern Manitoba. This belt forms part of the Uchi sub province that includes the Red Lake and Pickle Lake belts in Northwestern Ontario

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Allan Beaton

Director

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Alliance Mining Corp.

(604) 488-3900

Investor Relations: 604-488-3900

E-mail: ir@alliancemining.com

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are

based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Alliance Mining Corp.

888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4

SOURCE: Alliance Mining Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589393/Alliance-Mining-Purchases-100-Ownership-Tiberius-Gold-Corp-Bissett-Gold-Mine-Camp-Manitoba
Filipino teacher Ronnel Mas reacts to being taken into custody by National Bureau of Investigation agents in Santa Cruz, Philippines, on May 12, 2020.

A public school teacher who allegedly posted on Twitter that he would pay anyone who could kill Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte almost U.S. $1 million has been arrested, authorities said Tuesday.

Ronnel Mas, 25, was picked up by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents from his residence in Santa Cruz, a town in northwestern Zambales province. Television footage showed a handcuffed Mas being taken into custody.

I will give a 50 million peso reward to whoever will kill Duterte, his tweet said.

Mas later begged for forgiveness and said he had written the offensive message to get attention. The post, he said, was not intentional.

That tweet is just my sentiment and it was being ignored so I did that. It was a wrong move, he told reporters as he was presented for inquest proceedings at the justice department.

The NBI filed a criminal complaint against Mas on charges of inciting sedition, which is punishable by up to six years in prison, and cybercrimes law violations, according to justice officials.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Mas apology was welcome, but it would not spare him from prosecution.

In any case, the rights of the person arrested will be respected at all times, including his right to counsel, Guevarra said. An apology is not one of the grounds for extinguishing criminal liability. One cannot feloniously injure another and get away with it by merely saying sorry.

Despite the justice secretarys statement, critics and analysts have said that since Duterte became president in 2016, free speech and freedom of the press have been under attack. The Philippine leader has complained about the media, which has reported critically about his war on narcotics that has left about 6,000 people dead during the past four years, according to government figures.

Duterte has openly expressed disdain at reporters for questioning the drug war. At one point he even appeared to endorse violence against them, saying that journalists were not exempted from assassination.

The government last week shut down ABS-CBN Corp., the countrys largest network, after it failed to secure a new franchise from Congress. The networks free TV and radio frequencies are off the air while the case is under appeal, but its cable channel, which is not a subject of the franchise renewal process, continues to broadcast.

Duterte also has gone after the popular online new site Rappler, which like ABS-CBN, has highlighted wrongful deaths in the war on drugs.
Tesla has reopened its only US electric car plant in California, despite local orders against manufacturing.

On Monday, the company's chief executive Elon Musk tweeted that production had restarted and he would be "on the line with everyone else".

US states and local governments are trying to determine the best way to open up after lockdown.

Mr Musk previously vowed to move the firm's headquarters out of California if the plant was not allowed to reopen.

He has been vocal about the lockdown orders in recent weeks.

Mr Musk recently celebrated plans to relax restrictions across the country, writing on Twitter: "FREE AMERICA NOW". He has also dismissed as "dumb" concerns about the coronavirus.

While the state has eased restrictions to allow manufacturing, Alameda County, where the Fremont plant is located, has not. The town is about one hour south of San Francisco.

On Saturday, Elon Musk said that Tesla had filed a lawsuit against the county asking a court to remove the order that prevents the carmaker from resuming production.

Rather than wait for a ruling, Mr Musk announced on Twitter on Monday that the plant would reopen.

The local police department said that it was aware of the situation, but that it would act at the discretion of county health officials.

The Alameda County Public Health Department said on Monday it was "actively communicating" with Tesla about reopening plans and that it was taking the same approach it had taken with other business that had violated lockdown orders.

In an email seen by Reuters, Tesla also reportedly told workers the decision to reopen was in line with California guidelines

Mr Musk wrote on Twitter that Tesla had been "singled out", saying that other US carmakers were allowed to restart production.

Other carmakers had planned to resume production in May but some have had to delay this in states like Michigan where non-essential business operations are limited.

Pictures of the Tesla car park on Monday showed it mostly full. The plant has been closed to all but limited essential operations since 26 March.

Outside California

Tesla opened a plant in Shanghai last year and it is building another outside of Berlin, but Fremont is home to Tesla's headquarters and its primary manufacturing facility.

On Saturday, Mr Musk said he would relocate the US plant to another state if necessary to restart production.

Officials from Texas, Utah, Georgia and Nevada, where Tesla already has a battery assembly plant, had contacted it offering incentives to move to their jurisdictions.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday California "should prioritize" helping Tesla reopen because it was one of the biggest manufacturing employers in the state.

The state's governor, Gavin Newsom, said that he had spoken with Mr Musk last week and that his concerns were part of the reason California decided to phase in manufacturing as it slowly lifts lockdown measures.





: bbc.com
You are here: World

 Flash

Six people were shot Sunday night in the Houston area in U.S. state of Texas, during a shooting possibly between two families, local media reported Monday.

The shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. Sunday in Bonners Park, around 43 km west of Houston.

Harris County Sheriff's Office Captain Joe Ambriz told local TV station KPRC that a man grabbed a shotgun and fired birdshot. Then another man pulled out a pistol and shot back. Six people were shot, including a five-year-old girl.

KPRC quoted Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez as saying "very preliminary info: members from two families possibly open fire on one another."

The victims, in unknown condition, were transported to hospital.
A counter attack on the side of some bold residents of Manso Datano in the Ashanti Region, on Sunday, May 10, forced a gang of robbers to abandon their expedition to rob a filling station.



The gang of four, armed with Pump Action guns and a hammer left behind their hammer, sensing danger and fled into a nearby bush.



Police Chief Inspector Christian O. Amartey, Station Officer of Manso Datano, who told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, said police had mounted a search for the gang.



He said on Sunday, May 10, at about 0710 hours, the Police received a distress call from one William Lumor, Manager of Stephen Filling Station located at Manso Afraso, that robbers were attacking it.



He said a team of personnel went to the scene but found that they had left following the boot for boot defence put up by some residents of the Town who were also armed with guns.



Chief Inspector Amartey said while two of the robbers were shooting at the Station's safe to get it opened, the rest shot indiscriminately into the air to ward off people.



He said notwithstanding that, the Townsfolks, armed with cutlasses and guns faced them and the robbers took to their heels sensing danger.



The Station officer said the gang managed to take away proceeds of GH1,100.00 from a pump attendant.



He said the case was still under investigations.

Source: GNA









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YEREVAN.  We don't think that this vetting process has failed; yes, we think that it would have been better to act a little faster in many matters. Lilit Makunts, head of the majority My Step faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, stated this in a talk with journalists in the NA on Tuesday, referring to the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice on Monday.

"We do not consider everything to be perfect in our actions, but we try to do our best to address judicial reforms more comprehensively," she said. "We positively assess the strategy developed by the Ministry of Justice; we just have to manifest consistency and implement them.

Makunts added: "As for vetting, during the meeting with the Prime Minister yesterday, the Minister [of Justice] touched upon them in detail. We believe that the series of laws related to vetting can have a very positive effect in practice, and we hope that all bodies will do their best within their powers."

And asked whether they are going to amend the Constitution in order to allow carrying out a vetting, the parliament majority leader responded: "The working group on constitutional amendments has already been formed. (...). I am convinced that if, as a result of the discussion, it is decided by general consensus that some direction is important and useful for the Republic of Armenia and the establishment of the rule of law, I am sure that it will be so.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 03:01:02

SmartStream Strengthens Its Presence in Asia With the Senior Appointment of Victoria Harverson

Regional HQ

Lisa Susanto

Senior Marketing Manager Apac

SmartStream

Tel: +65-6224 7689 / +65-81867120

Email: lisa.susanto@smartstream-stp.com

Company HQ

Nathan Gee

Marketing Director

SmartStream

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7898 0630 / +44 (0)7966 160 115

Email: nathan.gee@smartstream-stp.com

SmartStream Technologies, the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) solutions provider, strengthens its presence in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong with the appointment of Victoria Harverson. In her leadership role she joins the sales team in the regional head office based in Singapore, and reports to Radha Pillay, Head of Sales Apac.

With the advancement of SmartStreams artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, and the availability of fast onboarding of new solutions as managed services or in the cloud - customers in the region can start to realise the benefits this brings to their middle- and back-office operations. Victoria will be working with the local team to implement account management best practices as well as being responsible for driving and nurturing new opportunities in the adoption of digital strategies within the Asian customer base.

Victoria joins SmartStream from Duco where she served as Business Development Director and Head of Sales Apac. With over 10 years experience delivering enterprise solutions to major banks and buy-side institutions across the globe, Victoria brings with her a wealth of experience and existing relationships within many of the worlds leading financial institutions.

Commenting on Victorias hiring, Radha Pillay, Head of Sales Apac, stated, SmartStream is recognised as being a highly innovative firm, and as with all our solutions, we are committed to ensuring we are here to help our customers in their digitisation and automation journeys. Victoria is a seasoned sales professional and with all her expertise, she will be a great addition to our team.

Victoria added, I am pleased to be joining such an experienced team that have a deep understanding of operations technology within financial services alongside such a wide range of enterprise grade solutions to support them. In a rapidly changing world, it will be more important than ever to adopt and innovate on top of the most trusted and scalable solutions. I look forward to helping SmartStream build on its market-leading position and taking it to the next level with its clients.

Ends

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005
Veteran Nollywood actor, Kayode Odumosu has been laid to rest in Ogun state. The late Yoruba actor, who died on March 1, at the age of ...

The late Yoruba actor, who died on March 1, at the age of 66, was buried in a low-key event attended by very few close relatives due to governments directives on large gatherings amid the COVID-19 outbreak.The funeral was held on Monday at the St. John Anglican Church Cemetery in Kobape, Abeokuta.Foluke Daramola who first broke the news of Odumosus death, also shared photos from the burial on her Instagram page.Finally Pa Kasumu is laid to rest. RIP to a dear veteran Olukayode Odumosu. aka Pa kasunmu, she wrote.Odumosus ill health was first reported l in 2013 when he suffered a partial stroke that affected his eyes and memory.In an interview, he stated that his sickness was spiritual.For now, I dont need any help. All I need is prayer. All I can say about my sickness is that it is spiritual. Thats why I said it requires prayer. Im currently at a church camp for its annual congress. God should take care of me.Born in 1953, the Ogun state indigene had started his acting career at the age of 15 and featured in several home movies.Pa Kasumus burial comes less than a week after Victor Olaiya, late Nigerian highlife musician, was buried in Lagos.
New Delhi, May 12 : At the end of the third phase of lockdown, India has now started to slowly cradle towards normalcy and as part of a small step towards it, the Indian Railways on Tuesday restored the functioning of three more trains having their origin from the national capital.

With three new trains leaving from New Delhi, a total eight trains of the Indian Railways have resumed operations, slowly bringing the service of the passenger division of the Railways back on track.

The three trains from New Delhi will head to Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Dibrugarh (Assam) and Bengaluru with a total of 3,461 passengers.

"As many as 741 PNRs were generated for 1,177 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train; 442 PNRs were generated for 1,122 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train, while 804 PNRs were generated for 1,162 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Bengaluru special train," the Indian Railways said in a statement.

Five other trains, which are being operated from other parts of the country, will have the national capital as their final destination. They will originate from Howrah, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, Rajendranagar and Bengaluru.

Earlier in the day, a Railways official had said that by 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, a total of 542 Shramik Special trains have been operationalised from various states across the country, of which 448 trains had reached their destinations while 94 trains were in transit.

He said that these 448 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh (1), Bihar (117), Chattisgarh (1), Himachal Pradesh (1), Jharkhand (27), Karnataka (1), Madhya Pradesh (38), Maharashtra (3), Odisha (29), Rajasthan(4), Tamil Nadu (1), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (221) and West Bengal (2).

The Railways had started running Shramik Special trains from May 1.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
THE ARAB WINTER

A Tragedy

By Noah Feldman

During the early days of the Arab Spring in 2011, there was an indefinable moment when the street protests became something larger than a mass of people chanting slogans and holding up signs. A whole nation seemed to rise up as one and find its voice. For those of us who were in Cairos Tahrir Square, there was something thrillingly archaic about it  like being thrown back to the era of Michelet and Rousseau, when the People were spoken of as a single entity. The trademark chant of the protests  the people want the fall of the regime  seemed to well up from the seething crowd itself rather than any individual author.

It did not take long for this spectacle of passionate unity to dissolve like fireworks in a night sky. Still, something happened in Tahrir Square that should not be entirely erased by the tragedies that followed. In The Arab Winter, Noah Feldman  a Harvard law professor with significant experience in the Arab world  takes as his subject the deep political meaning of the Arab Spring and its consequences. He argues that the uprisings are in danger of being dismissed as a meaningless experience, not just because of the chaos and terror that followed them, but because of the widespread sense that they have left no real political residue apart from Tunisias fragile success at building a democracy.

Feldman wants to rescue the Arab Spring from this verdict of implicit nonexistence. He believes the uprisings signaled a new, unprecedented phase in Arab political experience, in which participants engaged in collective action for self-determination that was not conceived primarily in relation to imperial power. To understand why this matters, one has to recall that most of the Arab world has been under the sway of one empire or another for the past two millenniums, from the Romans to the Mamluks to the Ottomans to the European colonialists. Even after the Arab countries achieved independence in the mid-20th century, their politics were largely subsumed by superpower rivalries and agendas.

[ Read an excerpt from The Arab Winter. ]

In other words, in 2011 the Arabs finally cast off their historic subservience. The people spoke. Feldman concedes the difficulty of equating a chaotic series of street protests with a nation of (in Egypts case) almost 100 million people. But he says this kind of revolutionary speech was meaningful because the old regimes  in Egypt and elsewhere  were so transparently not representative of the peoples will. Drawing on the writings of Hannah Arendt, he argues that the people who took to the protest squares in 2011 acted as agents of their own political future.
TRENTON  Call him the King of the Road.

The capital citys braggart mayor held a self-congratulatory news conference Monday to celebrate the reopening of crater central.

Angry motorists nicknamed a rumble-strip stretch of Warren and West State streets because they had to navigate through tons of misplaced bricks.

Now thats all fixed.

Mayor Reed Gusciora said public works took advantage of decreased traffic in the area because of Gov. Phil Murphys stay at home order during the coronavirus pandemic.

The construction, performed by Sea Coast Construction, was in the works for the last seven years, the mayor said.

It was supposed to take six weeks but got done in 19 days, he said. Trenton shelled out more than $247K for the project.

Gusciora and public works director Wally Onitiri pounded their chests at an afternoon news conference.

Its where commerce meets government, Gusciora told The Trentonian.

Not everyone was impressed by the small feat.

Former mayoral candidate and community activist Darren Freedom Green said projects like these should be the expected not championed by city officials as a big triumphant moment.

Do you got any other city and see them celebrating what should be the norm? he wrote on Facebook. I am not knocking the mayor and respect that he did what should have been done.  Its almost as bad as people celebrating community cleanups.

Trenton officials are known for making big to-dos in the financially distressed capital city out of what may be considered not a big deal in other places.

Former Mayor Eric Jackson once represented the downtown Starbucks as a huge economic boon for Trenton.
The RBNZ is due to meet on Wednesday morning and is likely to remain on hold.

NZD investors will be looking for any mention of its view on further rate cuts or even negative rates.

New Zealand has eased its lockdown measures to level 2 this week which suggests more easing is unlikely, but the bank may keep the door open should they need it.

Markets are quiet but remain bullish in Tuesdays European session. Stocks and oil are grinding higher and the US dollar is slightly lower. Now that much of the March crash has been recovered, there has been a noticeable dip in volatility as conflicting forces act against a clear trend. On one hand, the global economy is in tatters and the amount of debt taken on by central banks is overwhelming. On the other, the virus spread has been controlled and restrictions are easing giving hope that economies can bounce back.

The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar remain best placed to benefit from any bullish moves in the market as they have managed to contain the virus and open up relatively quickly. They also have not-too dovish central banks, at least compared to the likes of the Fed, the ECB and the BoJ. The RBNZ is due to meet on Wednesday morning and while it is almost certain to remain on hold, the message it sends could send the NZD in either direction.

RBNZ Preview

New Zealand has managed to deal with the coronavirus crisis more effectively than other regions and is in a better position to open up. On Monday PM Jacinda Ardern unveiled a transition to a Level 2 lockdown which means cafes open from Thursday, schools from Monday and bars in 10 days.

Yet this is unlikely to translate into any change in central bank policy. Indeed, markets are pricing in an end of year rate of only 19bp, 6bp below the official cash rate. This implies it expects rates to remain under pressure and even expects further cuts. After all, the RBNZ still has room to cut to zero, or even negative rates. This potential could start to weigh on the New Zealand dollar now that it has started to run out of upside momentum.

But just how likely is a further rate cut? This might be answered in Wednesdays meeting or at least the probabilities could shift in either direction.

The arguments in favour of such a change in policy boil down to Governor Adrian Orr's open-minded attitude to all manner of policy responses.

He has said that he will not rule out negative rates. He has also said that he would not totally dismiss direct monetisation of the deficit. Markets seem to be viewing this as a signal of policy direction, noted ING in a recent report.

Central banks have sent a unified message that they stand ready to do more if more is needed. This has given the markets added confidence but doesnt necessarily mean it will be forthcoming. Only a very weak recovery and more economic woe would now force the RBNZ to cut again. As ING point out,

given that the macro outlook has clearly improved, the macroeconomic rationale for adopting either negative rates or direct monetisation looks extremely weak.

The RBA have already ruled out negative rates and the Fed are likely to mention that is not their goal either when Chair Powell speaks on Thursday. If it did not work for Japan or Europe then it seems unlikely other will follow. If Orr does happen to rule them out then the NZD could strengthen, at least short-term.

Longer-term, much now depends on how the economy fares over the rest of the year. The potential for a second wave also looms large and will limit further progression of the NZD over the coming months. NZDUSD could still rally to test 0.62 and the 2019 low but calling higher looks premature.
Fresh doubts have arisen over Ireland's Covid-19 testing and contact tracing system.

Those who test positive for Covid-19 are supposed to be contacted by someone from Public Health to inform them of their result, and to begin contact tracing.

However, concerns have been raised previously over the speed of Public Health's tracing, with some GPs saying they received test results before their patients.

Now reports are emerging that GPs and patients alike are waiting days to be informed of their results, even in priority cases.

A concerned daughter has told the Irish Examiner how her mother, a cancer patient, waited 12 days for a result and was never contacted by Public Health.

Aoife O'Donoghue says her mother, who lives in Monaghan, was referred by her GP for a test on April 24.

Her mother was tested later on that day at Cloghan testing centre.

"She was told she'd have her results in three to seven days and her GP would be in contact," says Aoife.

However, Aoife says her mother only received a positive result after family members made contact with the National Virus Reference Laboratory themselves.

"Mam rang her GP on April 29, and (the GP) hadn't heard anything back from the lab at that stage.

"Dad and my sister rang the National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL) a couple of times over the weekend but couldn't get through. Dad eventually got through to the NVRL on Monday afternoon (May 4).

"So Dad obviously explained the situation to them, that they had received no results after 12 days. They located her test results for him and they told him that she had tested positive for the virus.

"They said that her number must have been taken down incorrectly at the testing centre, as they had tried to contact her a few days earlier."

Aoife says she is not sure when her mother's results were processed, but it seemed like someone should have gotten in touch sooner.

"(The GP) didn't know about the results until my mother rang her, after she got the diagnosis. She's a good GP who knows Mam really well, and she would have contacted her straight away if it was her responsibility."

Aoife says she was shocked that it took so long for her mother's results to be obtained.

"I was thinking that if it was taking so long to get results back they must be negative. I thought as a high risk person, she would have gotten results quickly.

"It's also hard when she's going through chemotherapy to know what are side effects and what aren't, so we weren't sure what to think."

However, Aoife is currently living in Galway, and she wasn't seeing the day to day reality. "My Dad, my sister and her husband and their two kids, who are two years old and four weeks old, live in the house.

"They could see that she was really sick, which is why they started putting the pressure on to hunt down the results.

It's very scary for them at home because it's difficult to self-isolate while caring for children and a sick parent. We're angry about the situation too, and feel let down by the system.

As for her mother, Aoife says she was relieved to have finally gotten an answer. "I think she has so much to think about at the minute that she's trying to keep the frustration at bay, but it has definitely annoyed her. It's also left her in a very uncertain place with regards to her upcoming treatment.

"She's going to ask to postpone the treatment until she builds her strength up a bit again."

After the result turned out to be positive, the rest of the family members living in the house were tested.

"My sister rang the HSE helpline [on Wednesday May 6] and they were horrified at the situation and are trying to help them now as much as they can. My sister says she's helping them do the contact tracing.

Dr Nick Flynn of MyCorkGP

A Cork-city based GP has raised similar concerns about contact tracing.

Dr Nick Flynn of MyCorkGP says he referred a nurse for testing and after five days, he tracked down the results himself as he was concerned the process was taking too long.

"I referred a patient for testing on Tuesday April 28. I flagged it as urgent as she was a nurse. She was tested after lunch time that Thursday in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, so that was a 48 hour delay already."

After hearing nothing over the weekend, Dr Flynn logged into his computer system on Monday May 4 to see if the results had been made available to him. "I could see other results coming in, from people who had been tested on the same day."

On Tuesday May 5, Dr Flynn tried to ring the National Virus Reference Laboratory's results line, but was left on hold as too many people were trying to get through. "It was very frustrating. There is no queuing system, you just have to keep ringing."

Dr Flynn kept ringing the NVRL number and got through to a Covid-19 call centre. "The person on the other end of the phone was very pleasant, but totally unable to help me. I asked if they knew where the test was, but they could not see where it was taken to be [analysed]. They said they could see it was received on April 28, but that was when I referred my patient for testing, not when the testing had been done."

Dr Flynn asked could he augment the situation to a critical incident as the patient was a nurse. "I asked if I could speak to a supervisor, but they didn't know who their supervisor was. They told me I'd get a call back."

Dr Flynn assumed the results were in a lab close to where the test occurred, and he eventually tracked them down in Cork University Hospital's microbiology unit. "They told me they had passed the result onto Public Health on Friday May 1. This was now Tuesday afternoon, May 5."

Dr Flynn rang his patient immediately to inform her of her result. Public Health had not yet been in contact when he rang.

Dr Flynn says he got a call back from the National Virus Reference Laboratory on Tuesday afternoon, after he had found his patient's results.

They told him the number he rang that morning connected to a Covid-19 volunteer call centre, and the NVRL did not have governance over it. "But they had access to [some] of their data."

He was also told that there are now many labs processing coronavirus tests and it was not possible to see which lab each swab is sent to.

Dr Flynn says for the easing of restrictions to work, the testing and contact tracing system needs to be efficient, robust and deliver next day results.

"[Situations like these] are not common, but it is worrying it is happening at all. We receive up to ten results a day. We are sometimes the first person to contact the patient when their results come in."

Mr Flynn believes that GPs receive the test results electronically, while Public Health contact tracers have to print off a list and work their way through it daily, leading to potential delays.

"We are not there yet in terms of contact tracing. There is no agency or department which has oversight over all of the tests. No one I spoke to was able to say 'ring this number and they will get you the test results'.

"I don't even know who to go to, to make sure this doesn't happen again."

In a statement, the HSE said they were now using 43 laboratories to process Covid-19 tests. 38 are hospital labs and five are community diagnostic testing laboratories.

The HSE said they were awaiting a response on whether contact tracers can see which lab each swab is sent to.

"All contact tracing would normally be carried out by Public Health (PH) departments, but given the scale of the challenge presented by Covid-19, the HSE has established a number of contact tracing centres, to support the PH departments.

"Contact tracing can be routine or complex. The complex cases, such as residential care settings, healthcare workers and outbreaks are managed by PH departments. The routine cases are managed by the contact tracing centres.

"The length of time to notify a person of a positive result varies, but for routine cases it will usually occur within 24 to 36 hours of receipt of the lab result. Each person will receive five phone calls each, one hour apart, with the fifth call being the next day in the attempt to contact the person.

"There are a number of cases where the lab result does not have a valid contact number. The HSE uses a number of different techniques to try and source the number, and is successful most of the time, but this does slow the process of notification.

"Where a valid number does not exist, but there is a valid address a letter is sent to the person asking them to contact their PH department.

"GPs will usually be notified of the test result before the HSE can notify the person tested. The notification to the GP happens at the same time the HSE is notified of the lab result. "The HSE then has to manually review the file and clean the data before it can be uploaded onto the Covid Care Tracker, for contact tracing to commence."
Tesla Inc. vehicles are parked at the company's assembly plant in Fremont, California, U.S., on Monday, May 11, 2020.

Tesla employees returned to work this week at the company's car plant in Fremont, California, as CEO Elon Musk reopened the facility in defiance of local Covid-19 health orders, bolstered by expressions of support from President Donald Trump and others.

According to internal correspondence, some production lines were running more slowly than usual. But at least some shifts were working as early as Sunday, and Models 3, Y, S and X were all being produced at Tesla this week by Tuesday. Workers also described measures like staggered shift times and surgical masks to help stem the spread of Covid-19, and said that Musk showed up on the floor and worked during part of a shift on Monday.

Meanwhile, local health officials in Alameda County, where the factory is located, are not backing down. On Monday, they sent a letter to Tesla ordering the company to wind back down to minimum basic operations at the plant.

Among other things, the county wants Tesla to create a better plan for screening the workers for Covid-19. Tesla employees commute to the facility from Fremont and reaches far beyond, including by shuttles and public transit.

Alameda County District Supervisor Scott Haggerty said in press interviews that the county and Fremont district had previously devised a plan to allow Tesla to fully reopen by May 18. Musk was not satisfied and wanted to resume vehicle production sooner.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news conference on Monday that he was a longtime advocate and supporter of the company, and an early adopter of its technology. "I have great expectations that we can work through at the county level the issue with this particular county, and this company, in the next number of days."
Well before beginning- and leveled-readers grew into the broad category they are now, a series of learn-to-read books starring a friendly, lanky, purple monster became a sensation with students and teachers in the 1970s and 80s. The Monster titlesamong them Monster Comes to the City and Monster Looks for a Friendwere created by educators and literacy experts Ellen Blance and Ann Cook, in collaboration with New York City schoolchildren, and illustrated by a then-rising British artist named Quentin Blake.

Long out of print in their original format from educational publisher Bowmar/Noble, the Monster stories are back in a new hardcover compilation entitled Meet Monster: The First Big Monster Book (New York Review Childrens Collection). Initially planned as a May release buoyed by an author tour, the pub date was bumped up to March in light of the Covid-19 crisis to keep stock moving out of from the warehouse.

The authors first met in London in the late 1960s, when both were involved in education and literacy research. It was a period where English primary schools were seen as the example that American schools should look at, Cook recalled. British primary schools were being praised for their progressive and child-centered approach to education, and American foundations were funding trips for teachers to go and observe them firsthand. Cook and her husband were asked to go, and during one of their early research missions they visited a school in a very poor section of Camberwell where Blance, an England native, was teaching.

It was just light-years better than anything we had going on in New York, Cook said, citing the Americans reliance on basal readers at the time. [Ellens] became a school that a lot of groups of American educators visited, she added. When Cook later established a teacher center back home, Blance came over to New York and worked with her there. The pair formed a trans-Atlantic informational pipeline of sorts and both would travel back and forth to London at various times. It was just a very exciting time in education, Blance said. Particularly in teaching reading.

Drawing from their classroom experience and research, both Blance and Cook were fans of the Breakthrough to Literacy materials that teachers were using to teach reading in U.K. schools. They were small books put together by several English educators working with a government group called the Schools Council, Cook said. They came up with dozens of little books and a word-card tool that allowed kids to structure their own sentences.

Blance and Cook brought the Breakthrough projects concepts and its books to the New York City schools where they were working, and the items were a huge hit. But they soon noticed that they didnt have enough stories for the children to build on as they progressed. Thats when we said, Lets see if we can develop some,  Cook said. All kids play monster games, Blance noted. Thats what hooked us on to Monster. Thus the idea for their book series was hatched.

The two educators put together a few stories with a friendly monster protagonist and noticed that kids really gravitated toward that character. They then enlisted one of their education students at Sarah Lawrence to do some drawings. At that point, their collaboration with kids took root. Blance and Cook asked their elementary students to describe what was happening in the artwork featuring Monster. By studying the vocabulary and cadence of those conversations, Cook said, she and Blance rewrote their texts in language that would appeal to beginning readers.

Armed with those first Monster stories, Cook traveled to London and showed them to the team behind the Breakthrough to Literacy program, including David Mackay at the Reading and Language Centre and Mark Cohen at Longman, the original publisher of the Breakthrough books. As Cook remembered it, both men further encouraged the publishing endeavor. Mark picked up the phone and called Quentin [Blake] who had been one of the up-and-coming artists he recruited from art school, and he became the illustrator. On a subsequent trip to London, Blance said, I went to Longmans office and met Quentin Blake. We talked about what Monster should look like and even what color he should be. And thats where it all started. Quentin was at the beginning of his career. It was fascinating.

The first 12 Monster books by Blance, Cook, and Blake published by educational press Bowmar/Noble, were very successful in U.S. schools, and Cook noted that she and her fellow creators were asked to do a second dozen. After we did 24, Quentin became the illustrator for Roald Dahl, which was a fulltime job, Cook said. We did six more Monster books with illustrator Irene Trivas, who adapted Quentins style very well. Altogether there were 30 Monster titles and they were published in several languages around the world into the 1980s. At the height of the books popularity, Cook said she received a call from Cohen at Longman in London. He said, Well, youve arrived. A teacher has phoned us and said that some kid had carved spagan on a desk. Thats Monster in Gaelic. Youve made it. 

Both authors shared many heartfelt anecdotes about how the Monster books have been well loved by kids, parents, and teachers. Over the years, these books never actually went away, Blance said, mentioning numerous sweet notes and letters she received, begging for the out-of-print books. She still gets requests to read the books at schools and did so not long ago at a Harlem elementary school. When I got to the school, the teacher met me at the door and said, My God, youre like a rock star!, Blance said with a laugh. When I got inside, there were a lot of old people there. Not only parents, but a few grandparents, and even the custodian was there. They had to see the person whod written the book they read when they were kids. Cook has had similar experiences. People would ask us all the time how they could get copies, she said. They went out of print and were on eBay for ridiculous sums of money.

Monsters Return to Print

Getting Monster back onto bookshelves has been a bit of a long game, but something Blance and Cook always hoped would happen. In early 2011 Marshall Cavendish released a compilation entitled Meet Monster: Six Stories About the Worlds Friendliest Monster and was planning to do more, but then the company was purchased by Amazon later that year and the project fell through. The rights reverted to the authors and they decided to approach New York Review Books Classics. I noticed they had a very appealing collection of childrens books [the New York Review Childrens Collection series], with titles by people I admire, like Remy Charlip and Maira Kalman, Cook said. She wrote to NYRB editorial director Edwin Frank and dropped off some books for him to look at in the summer of 2018. He liked them well enough to give them to [senior editor] Susan Barba, and she got very excited about it, Cook said.

Edwin shared the books with me and of course anything illustrated by Quentin Blake is impossible to resist, but in this case the text was the arts equal: wonderfully voiced, funny, immediate, Barba recalled. I had the pleasure of meeting Ann and Ellen soon afterwards and we agreed a collected edition of the first six stories would be perfect for the NYR Childrens Collection.

According to Barba, one of the things she believes sets the Monster titles apart is that even after many years, they feel fresh in their category. Early readers, because they depend on repetition for their pedagogical aims, can be tedious, she explained. The Monster books are rare exceptions. Ann and Ellen realized that repetition doesnt have to be monotonous. Children love to repeat things. The Monster stories are told in a childs voice and so the repetition is utterly natural, and even betterfunny.

Cook agreed, noting that Monster is again coming into his own. There arent many books like this out there, that use childrens language, to help kids become readers, and write stories inspired by the stories theyre reading, she said. Weve got a new generation, its true, but we still have some of the people around who remember the books and who are excited by the fact that theyre out again.

Blake offered his take upon seeing the new NYRB volume, saying, I am delighted that Monster is out and about again as lively and beautifully colored as ever, and making lots of new friends of all kinds.

Though a planned tour with the authors has been canceled because of the current pandemic, NYRB is finding new ways to promote Meet Monsters release. Among those are a YouTube video of a NYRB colleagues daughter reading from the book, and participation in distributor Penguin Random Houses Open License Online Storytime and Classroom Read-Aloud Videos and live events.

Going forward, Barba hopes the second six Level One Monster stories as well as a set of 12 more advanced Level 2 readers will be published, though no official plans for those projects have been announced.
Theres one commonality among President Trumps base  the inability or reluctance to parse his words for their true meaning.

When he said John McCain wasnt a war hero because he was captured, I like those who werent captured, it tacitly revealed he cannot differentiate between a soldier throwing down his weapon and surrendering, and a Navy pilot shot out of the sky. McCain ejected and landed in a lake, breaking both arms and a knee. He was captured and tortured for years.

Both are simply captured to Trump.

He recently asked health experts why the COVID-19 virus couldnt be killed by using commercial chemicals inside the body, like they are used outside the body (on a doorknob, for example). It shows an inability to comprehend that a virus invading human organisms doesnt sit somewhere (like on an elbow), waiting to be wiped away with a cleaning product.

After the retaliatory Iran missile attack on our troops, who were hunkered underground on a base in Iraq, Trump said there were no casualties except a few with headaches. Subsequently 100 soldiers were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries; 29 were awarded purple hearts for those injuries.

On Feb. 9 Trump said the COVID-19 virus was totally under control with only 15 U.S. cases. Today there are 1.4 million cases and 82,000 deaths.

Of concern to everyone in this world, including his loyalists, is that a person with this imbecilic mentality carries the nuclear codes that could destroy the world if used, maybe ... just to teach our enemies a lesson.

Ron Pizarie

East Allen Township
It took twenty-two days for Bsharri, nestled on the slopes of the Holy Qadisha Valley some 1,500 meters above sea level, to earn the reputation of a model town in the fight against coronavirus. Bsharri, the only locality in Lebanon to have adopted total self-imposed isolation, is now cautiously moving towards gradual deconfinement.

Since the detection of the first case of Covid-19 in the country on February 21, the municipality of Bsharri has reacted swiftly, taking drastic preventive measures. A crisis management office was immediately created by the union of municipalities, and checkpoints were set up at the entrance of each village in the region where cars were sterilized and temperature checks carried out on passengers whose names and addresses were registered.

Despite the speedy response of the local authorities, the pandemic did not spare this caza (district) in northern Lebanon. After the first case of contamination was reported on March 24, the numbers started to climb rapidly. For a town with 5,000 inhabitants in winter time, the emergence of seventy infections caused some fears and raised many questions. The local authorities then had to resort to a drastic solution: isolate the locality from the rest of the caza, and consequently, from the rest of the country.

Less than a month after the isolation plan was implemented, about twenty-five cases of total recovery were recorded, and about fifteen people infected with the virus are waiting to be tested a second time in order to confirm their recovery, after having been tested negative the first time. During this period, only two new cases were registered (among the medical staff), as well as one death (a nonagenarian man who was already suffering from several illnesses). Eddy Lozom, the director of the governmental hospital of Bsharri, told L'Orient-Le Jour that he expects no new cases in the locality from now until the end of May.





Complete Isolation

Bsharri was therefore completely isolated from April 12 to May 2. Silence prevailed in this locality, where checkpoints were erected at its entrances and fewer cars were crossing.

The only ones who ventured out were sick people who had to be treated at the governmental hospital, the only medical facility in the whole caza. But they were asked to coordinate in advance with the municipality so to grant them immediate permission at the checkpoint, unless it was an emergency. Food suppliers were among those allowed to enter the village. Their vehicles had to deliver the merchandise in garages transformed into warehouses. Once disinfected, the products were distributed to stores and supermarkets.

Inside Bsharri, traffic dropped to almost zero. The residents stayed home and did not have to rush to supermarkets; their cupboards filled with food supplies like most inhabitants of the Lebanese villages. For Lina Stephan, isolation has changed the life of her children who could no longer play outside with the neighbors. "We rarely go out ... most of the time to the fruits and vegetable vendors or to get bread from the grocery store," she said.

The square of the Saint-Saba (the village intercessor) Church remained deserted. The church, built in the heart of Bsharri, not far from the souk which was once crowded and bustling, was no longer receiving the faithful. "Of all the changes that have shaken the lives of the inhabitants, it is the empty churches that affected them the most," said Mayor Freddy Keyrouz.

To Peter Jabbour, returning to the land was a pastime and a moment of unwinding. "My wife and I haven't left Bsharri for more than two months," he said. "The last visit we paid to my in-laws who live in Sabtiyeh (Metn), seems to have taken place a long time ago! Despite the complete isolation, residents of Bsharri say they are lucky to be living in a place where it is still possible to breathe clean air, even in the most difficult situations and the most uncertain times.





A well thought-out Model

For Keyrouz and Lozom, there is no secret ingredient that allowed Bsharri to deal with the virus. Rather, it is an established model where everything was well thought-out. "Isolation alone is not enough to curb the virus, just as doing a lot of PCR testing alone is also not a solution," said Lozom.

In Bsharri, out of a population of 5,000, more than a thousand PCR tests were carried out. According to Lozom, screening is successful not only thanks to the number of tests done, but above all, due to the tracing of people suspected of carrying the virus.

"When the Ministry of Health carried out 250 random tests, no one tested positive," said Lozom. "On the other hand, out of the hundred tests that the local authorities carried out regularly, dozens of people were found to be carriers of the virus." According to the director of the Bsharri governmental hospital, it is crucial to have the "right people" tested; those who are most at risk of getting infected by the virus. "According to the tracing strategy, the people tested are those who were in contact with carriers of the virus, and therefore suspected of carrying it themselves," he added. These measures have enabled local authorities to place buildings, where contaminated people reside, in quarantine, so to limit as much as possible the spread of the virus within the locality.

The management of the city has also changed. Even the system of garbage collection was modified. According to Keyrouz, special bins have been installed in neighborhoods affected by the epidemic, and garbage was collected from infected peoples homes in separate dump trucks.

For a week now, Bsharri has been cautiously easing its restrictions and deconfinement has been underway. But in a locality where siblings live in the same building, and where families never eat alone, the residents are learning, as best they can, to respect social distancing.





(This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 9th of May)


[May 12, 2020] Top Insurance Recovery Attorney Scott P. DeVries Strengthens Hunton Andrews Kurth's California Coverage Practice

Scott P. DeVries, an insurance coverage trial lawyer with more than three decades of experience handling high value complex disputes for policyholders, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a special counsel in the firm's insurance coverage practice. Based in San Francisco, DeVries joins Hunton Andrews Kurth from Winston & Strawn LLP, where he served as chair of that firm's insurance recovery practice and represented insured companies faced with major business litigation involving contracts, insurance rights and recovery, environmental claims, and toxic torts/class actions. "Scott is a widely respected attorney who has tried some of the largest insurance, mass tort and class action cases in the country in addition to securing landmark insurance decisions in the California Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit," said Walter Andrews, head of Hunton Andrews Kurth's insurance coverage practice. "His experience and insight are a perfect complement to the firm's robust insurance coverage practice and his addition enhances our presence on the West Coast and nationally." DeVries' nationwide trial and appellate practice runs the gamut of insurance issues, including coverage for major property damage and business interruption losses, advertising-related liabilities, errors and omissions claim, director and officer claims, product liability claims, employment liability, fiduciary liability such as ERISA, False Claims Act liabilities, theft and other criminal-related claims, environmental and mass tort matters, and personal injury claims such as right to privacy and false imprisonment.



Some of DeVries' notable appellate representations include: Aerojet-General Corp v. Superior Court , 211 Cal App. 3 rd 216 (environmental cleanup costs are "damages" and recoverable under CGL policies)

, 211 Cal App. 3 216 (environmental cleanup costs are "damages" and recoverable under CGL policies) Aerojet-General Corp v. Transport et. al., 17 Cal 4 th 38 ((i) duty to defend includes RI/FS and other investigatory expense so long as a purpose of the expense was to further the defense, and (ii) where a loss triggers multiple policy periods, each insurer is severally and independently liable to provide a complete defense and may not seek contribution from a "self-insured")

17 Cal 4 38 ((i) duty to defend includes RI/FS and other investigatory expense so long as a purpose of the expense was to further the defense, and (ii) where a loss triggers multiple policy periods, each insurer is severally and independently liable to provide a complete defense and may not seek contribution from a "self-insured") Tosoh SET v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co ., 2007 Cal. App. Unpub. Lexis 3452) (advertising injury coverage includes direct as well as indirect forms of disparagement)

., 2007 Cal. App. Unpub. Lexis 3452) (advertising injury coverage includes direct as well as indirect forms of disparagement) Hyundai Motor America v. National Fire Ins. Co., 600 F. 3 rd 1062 (9th. Cir.) (advertising injury coverage includes allegations of patent infringement concerning website design)

600 F. 3 1062 (9th. Cir.) (advertising injury coverage includes allegations of patent infringement concerning website design) Nucor Corp. v. Employers of Ins. Co. of Wausau, 296 P. 3rd 74 (settling Arizona law on numerous issues relative to the company's insurance claims) His trial court practice includes multi-month jury trials involving insurance recovery. DeVries also frequently counsels companies on a wide range of insurance issues, from the placement of insurance through the submission of claims and securing of a defense. In addition, his mass tort/class action practice includes several of the only mass tort actions to be tried before a jury, as well as successful handling of a Daubert proceeding striking plaintiffs' experts on the ground they would be testifying to "junk science."

A graduate of The College of William & Mary and University of California, Hastings College of Law, DeVries is a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel. Hunton Andrews Kurth's insurance coverage practice has decades of experience helping clients maximize insurance recoveries through insurance program reviews, claims presentation and negotiation, litigation, alternate dispute resolution, trials and appeals. With offices in Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, London and other key commercial centers, the team has advised policyholders with traditional and emerging insurance products in virtually every sector of the economy, including financial services, utilities, energy, natural resources, health care, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, telecommunications, technology, e-commerce, manufacturing and more. About Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. For more information, visit HuntonAK.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005213/en/

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WILL THE KANSAS CITY COVID-19 REOPEN INSPIRE A RETURN TO ECONOMIC WINNING OR SIMPLY ENDANGER MORE PEOPLE?!?

IS KANSAS CITY READY TO START ENJOYING NIGHT LIFE & RESTAURANT FUN TIMES AMID AN ONGOING PANDEMIC!?!

Kansas City Reopen Timeline Finally Revealed

REOPEN KC: When and how parts of the Kansas City metro area will reopen KELLY: AFTER SIX WEEKS OF BUSINESSES SHUTDOWN, THE THREE LARGEST COUNTIES IN THE METRO ARE BACK OPEN. GOOD AFTERNOON, I'M KELLY ECKERMANN. STAY AT HOME ORDERS ARE BEIN EASED IN JOHNSON AND WYANDOTTE COUNTIES IN KANSAS, PLUS EASTERN JACKSON COUNTY IN MISSOURI. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL RULES AND GUIDELINES IN PLACE.

Food Fight For Rights

Kansas City restaurants react to mayor's re-opening guidelines KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Kansas City is getting closer to giving non-essential businesses the green light to reopen their doors. That means restaurants will be able to reopen their dining rooms, but not without a new set of rules. There is a lot that goes into Kansas City restaurants reopening their dining rooms on Friday.

Coronavirus Confusion Reigns In Kansas City

Why The Kansas City Region's Gradual Reopening Is So Confusing With rules varying from city to city, metro leaders fear the confusion around reopening will result in a lack of compliance.

Curbside Comeback In KC

Jackson, Wyandotte, Johnson counties begin reopening JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. - Some businesses in Jackson, Wyandotte and Johnson counties were allowed to reopen Monday. In Jackson County, child care services, non-emergency medical services, restaurants, retail and libraries can open but must follow social distancing guidelines. Restaurants in Jackson County are allowed to offer dine-in services, but curbside and pick up are encouraged.

Delay In The Dotte

Wyandotte County restaurants won't open for dine-in customers for another two weeks KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Restaurants, bars and other retailers are still limited to pick up or delivery only in Wyandotte County, as stay-at-home restrictions have been eased for only a few businesses.Wyandotte County has had more coronavirus cases than anyplace else in the metro. And as a result restaurants aren't slated to seat customers again [...]

Fine Dining First

Restauranteur uses soft opening in Leawood as blueprint for KCMO Rye in Mission Farms held its first dinner service in nearly two months on Monday. The owners hope to use the lessons learned during the soft opening across the state line when they reopen the doors at their Country Club Plaza location on Friday.

Pool Party Contemplation

With summer around the corner, will city pools be open? LEAWOOD, KS (KCTV) - It may not feel like it, but summer is just around the corner, and the coronavirus pandemic is already putting a damper on all kinds of activities including swimming. "I grew up going to the pool as a kid every day, so it's kind of what you think of summer," Leawood, Kansas resident Caroline Lynn said.

Local Eat Out Excitement

Some eager to dine out in Jackson County as restaurants reopen Some restaurants reopened in Jackson County Monday to patrons eager to dine out for a change.

Tracking Reopen & Pandemic

As Wyandotte County re-opens, businesses still take COVID-19 precautions KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) - The Wyandotte County Health Department has a website listing any place with five or more cases. KCTV5 News has told you about the nursing homes and churches, but it's not just them on the list.

Golden Ghetto Takes It Slow

Johnson County slowly reopening as shoppers, businesses take precautions OLATHE, Kan. - Johnson County, Kansas, businesses are beginning to reopen, but not all of them are choosing to do so. It's certainly feeling like a slow start to the county's reopening process. While some of the essential businesses like grocery and hardware stores remain really busy, at nonessential stores now allowed to reopen, many still seem rather cautious.

Biz Adapts To Pandemic

Metro area owners, customers slowly getting back to business LEE'S SUMMIT, MO (KCTV) - Life is starting to return to normal on both sides of the state line as certain businesses began letting people back into their storefronts Monday under Johnson, Jackson and Wyandotte County reopening plans. While business owners and employees are excited to get back to work, they are also having to adapt to some new changes.

Parks Almost Reopen

Johnson County, Kansas, parks will reopen in 4 phases KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Johnson County, Kansas, Parks and Recreation Department announced Monday it will reopen in four phases. Phase 1 includes includes park shelters and restrooms opening, but with restrictions. Park visitors can use the shelters, but there is a limit of 10 people per activity zone when social distancing is not possible, according to the parks department's website.

Kansas City New Normal Now

Here's what we can expect when stores open their doors Friday KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Some retail stores across the metro have been closed more than 50 days to stop the spread of COVID-19. On Friday, some retail stores have the green light to open again. However, it's up to store owners and managers to figure out how they want to reopen.

The new rules are in place, the time is set and now the biggest medical experiment in Kansas City history is soon underway.And so we ask our blog community for their expert insight an analysis . . .In this town we notice much of the same right-wing push back to regulations from First Amendment Civil Libertarian Activists but theresistance to new rules came from the restaurant and biz lobby; they were much more successful in overturning the rules than armed protesters and online pundits.And so we wonder . . .A strange contradiction: Many of the opponents of the regulations on cowtown good times aren't exactly denizens of local clubs or connoisseurs of fine dining. It's easy to understand the complaints of service workers wanting to return to their jobs. However,fighting or his right to party and dance the night away in the P&L District is a tougher sell.Still, after the jump, this morning we've gathered more than a dozenstories on the topic of the great Kansas City reopening to further the conversation and provide more info so that TKC READERS can make up their own minds . . .You decide . . .
Jharkhand Finance Minister



Rameshwar Oraon on Tuesday said that more special trains were required to ferry migrant workers from faraway states as it was difficult to transport the stranded labourers in buses.

The Jharkhand government, he said, was trying to bring back labourers stranded across the country.

"But we cant bring lakhs of migrant workers from various places such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in buses. So the Union government has to run more special trains," Oraon said in a statement here.

Stressing on the importance of jivan (life) and jivika (livelihood) amid the coronavirus pandemic, Oraon said that efforts were on to speed up economic activities.

The minister also said, there will be no difficulty in green zone and "not much of a problem" in orange zone areas "but complete relaxation cannot be given in red zones and containment zones".

Chief Minister Hemant Soren had said on May 3 that a "total" lockdown will continue in Jharkhand for the next two weeks and the Centre's relaxation guidelines will not be applicable in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is being asked by several U.S. states to provide information about health and safety measures following the death of a number of workers from coronavirus-related illnesses.

Led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, 13 states on Tuesday sent a letter to the company expressing concern about recent media reports of inadequate safety measures and sick leave policies, insufficient data about infections and deaths among their workers, and retaliation against workers who call attention to unsafe workplace conditions.

The states ask Amazon and its Whole Foods subsidiary to provide details of health and safety measures they have adopted, compliance with state paid sick leave laws and data about worker infections and deaths. The same states sent a letter to Amazon in March urging it to improve its sick leave policies.

While the company hasnt disclosed how many workers have tested positive for Covid-19, news outlets have reported at least seven coronavirus deaths of Amazon employees, including workers in its warehouses and at Whole Foods stores.

Amazon and Whole Foods must take every possible step to protect their employees and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Healey said in a statement. We again call on these companies to provide assurances that they are complying with state laws and federal guidance aimed at keeping essential workers safe during this crisis.

Amazon is hiring 175,000 workers to keep up with booming demand from shoppers forced online by stay-at-home orders. At the same time, employees have staged demonstrations over allegedly unsafe working conditions at the companys facilities. The company has said it is checking employee temperatures at the beginning of shifts, cleaning facilities, increasing space between workers and taking other safety measures.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos last month said the company would spend $4 billion on logistics during the outbreak, including to keep workers safe.

Story continues

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President Muhammadu Buharis request to borrow N850bn from the domestic capital market to finance projects in the 2020 budget has been approved by the House of Representatives.

His request was approved barely a week after the Senate gave accelerated approval to the loan.

The Senate however mandated its that the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed should liaise with its committees on finance, appropriation, Domestic and Foreign Debt and National Planning.

More details later.

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[May 12, 2020] Savi Teams with Department of Defense Leaders & Partners to Equip First Responders for Success

Savi, an innovator in supply chain visibility software and sensor technology, today announced that it has successfully delivered the first of two multi-million dollar orders of the Savi Portable Deployment Kit (PDK) III to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to help first responders deployed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Coming amidst this major public health crisis and consequent widespread supply chain disruptions, completing this order required considerable flexibility, ingenuity and coordination between Savi, its suppliers, and the DoD. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005082/en/ Captain Adam Hever of Army National Guard Bureau (NGB) Headquarters, Savi Technology's Doug Schreffler and Chris Macek of First Source (News - Alert) Electronics (FSE), a division of Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., inspect order of 221 Savi Portable Deployment Kit (PDK) III units at FSE's Maryland location. (Photo: Business Wire) This order from the Army National Guard for 221 Savi PDK III units for $3.2 million and another from the Army Reserve for 354 units for $5.1 million are the first large-scale purchases of the newly released Savi PDK III. Replacing obsolete equipment with state-of-the-art technology, the Savi PDK III enables warfighters and first responders to have a lighter and leaner logistics footprint in even the most austere, hostile environments. Using funding available to the Army National Guard and Army Reserve for equipment modernization, the purchases enable Guard and Reserve units o maintain in-transit visibility capabilities during deployments. As first responders to the coronavirus crisis in the U.S., such capabilities are critical for both the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. The orders are part of the active RFID (aRFID) IV contract to provide U.S. government agencies and allied partners with state-of-the-art hardware, software and integration services for worldwide asset tracking and in-transit visibility. Savi is currently the sole provider for the aRFID-IV contract, which has a $102 million ceiling, is in its final option year and is managed by Product Lead Automated Movement and Identification Solutions (PL AMIS (News - Alert)).



As international coronavirus response caused unprecedented supply chain disruptions, PL AMIS and Savi jointly cooperated to identify creative solutions to overcome transportation limitations, plant closures, and other obstacles to ensure on-time delivery to the Army National Guard. Savi worked closely with PL AMIS and various suppliers to overcome those obstacles and complete the order. Savi, with its suppliers, negotiated exemptions to manufacturing plant shutdowns to produce and ship critical components in time to support the DoD's mission readiness. Likewise, the Army National Guard Bureau (NGB) customer agreed to a change in normal inspection procedure to expedite the acceptance process, traveling to the Maryland location of First Source Electronics (FSE), a division of Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., to inspect and accept the kits.

"This successful delivery represents the best of private/public partnerships. Savi, together with its suppliers and partners, worked with PL AMIS to realize its vision for delivery of cutting-edge, essential technology in a timely manner, despite serious obstacles," said Rosemary Johnston, Savi's Senior Vice President of Operations. "For over 30 years, Savi has been proud to support the U.S. Department of Defense's complex and critical logistics needs and we are humbled to have had a small role in helping pandemic response." "FSE is proud to support first responders in combating this unprecedented public health crisis. We appreciate Governor Hogan's partnership in granting us an exemption to continue manufacturing these vitally needed kits and the Army National Guard Bureau for their flexibility in conducting an onsite inspection at FSE's facility, which saved valuable time in our country's crisis management," said Kevin Popielarczyk, VP/Managing Director of First Source Electronics, a division of Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. ABOUT SAVI An innovator in supply chain visibility and sensor technology, Savi provides real-time information about the location, condition and security of in-transit goods and assets. Using big data and analytics, Savi gives shippers, carriers, 3PLs and governments actionable insights to optimize supply chains before, during and after transit, reducing costs and inventory while improving service. Some of the world's largest and most complex supply chain networks - including pharma, chemicals, electronics and heavy machinery manufacturers and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and government agencies - trust Savi to support their supply chains. To learn more, visit www.savi.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005082/en/

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Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Four patients infected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) were Monday declared completely cured after the results of second tests for each sample came out negative, the Libyan national center of fight against disease said
Twiggy has said she doesnt think the high fashion industry will ever go completely away from slimness.

In a new interview with the Guardian, the 70-year-old, whose real name is Lesley Lawson, opened up about her experience as a model and how fashion has changed over the years.

Lawson, who picked up the nickname Twiggy for her petite figure and androgynous appearance, began modelling in the 1960s and quickly earned global fame after posing on the covers of Vogue and Tatler.

When asked if the fashion industry needs to change and focus more on different shapes and sizes Lawson, who has been associated with extreme thinness throughout her career, said that while she believes improvements are being made she doesnt the use of thin models will ever change.

Well, it has, hasnt it, there are so many more ads now. Its the same with older models, theyre using middle-aged and older women in commercials, she said.

I dont think the high fashion industry will ever go completely away from slimness but I think other parts of the industry have started to use different shapes and sizes, and I think they should.

Lawson went on to point out that her clothing range for high street stalwart Marks & Spencer was designed for women who wear sizes eight to 22.

The former model has previously spoken out about her body image, stating that while she was a very, very skinny model, that was her natural frame.

I ate. I always said I ate, and I looked like my dad who was very skinny, so I think thats genetic. I think most models fall into that category: if you are 17 years old and you are 5-foot-11, the chances are youre going to be thin, she previously told Huffington Post.

But we do know that there are girls pushed to not eating and to losing weight and that is not good because you have tragedies with girls being ill or even worse. Theres no doubt that there are some models who are too thin.

In 2017, two luxury French fashion powerhouses joined forces to stop using size zero (UK size four) models on the runway.

LVMH and Kering, who between them own Gucci, Saint Laurent, Vuitton and Dior, unveiled a charter to ensure the wellbeing of models which also banned the use of girls under the age of 16 for photoshoots or fashion shows where theyd be representing adults.

Earlier that year, France banned the use of unhealthily thin models as part of a new law targeting unrealistic body images and eating disorders by asking models to provide a doctors certificate attesting to their overall health and proving their body mass index (BMI) sits within a healthy range in order to work.

If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: mind.org.uk, beateatingdisorders.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk, samaritans.org.
An electricity sector expert, as well as operators, on Monday reacted to the decision by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to approve the reappointment of the 12-member Dispute Resolution Panel for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NSI).

On Monday, the electricity sector regulatory authority named a former Director General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Bolanle Onagoruwa, among members of the reconstituted panel.

Others included Olufunmilayo Roberts, Adeyemi Akisanya, Augustine Mamedu, Adeyemi Oyedele, Hussaini Mohammed, Okechukwu Chiazor, Ajagbe Oyetunde, Ezekiel Osarieme, Batholomew Onyejekwe, Nnena Ejekam, and Sadiku Folorunsho.

NERCs Assistant General Manager, Government, External and Industry Relations, Michael Faloseyi, said the appointment of the panel was in line with Section 42.1.3 of the Electricity Market Rules, which empowers it to constitute the panel.

Mr Faloseyi said Section 42.3.8(c) of the Rule also permits the Commission to reappoint members for a second term.

He said Section 42.3.7 of the Rule stipulates the functions of the panel to include the arbitration and settlement of disputes between market participants in the Nigerian electricity market, including the System Operator (SO), the Market Operator (MO), and the Transmission Service Provider.

The panel is mandated to handle the resolution of disputes among the operations and the Grid Code between and amongst market participants, specifically the Distribution Companies (DISCOs), Generating Companies (GENCOs), and other licensees engaged in the trading of electricity.

Under the marker rules, all participants are licensed by NERC to build, operate and maintain facilities for the purpose of providing electricity services of various kinds in Nigeria.

In reconstituting the panel, Mr Faloseyi said the Commission urged market participants to take advantage of the channel of alternative dispute resolution to resolve disputes in the electricity industry in line with the provisions of the electricity market rules.

Reactions

However, while former Commissioner (Market Competition & Rates) of NERC, Eyo Ekpo, described the reappointment of the panel as an interesting move, the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) Joy Ogaji, faulted the decision.

I hope this is a sign of more and better things to come (to the power sector), Mr Ekpo, currently an independent consultant, said in reaction to the reconstituted panel.

This is part of a series of actions to ensure there is actually a Transition Stage Electricity Market in which the Dispute Resolution Panel can function as it ought to. I think this is potentially a very good development because NERC, perhaps inadvertently, is beginning to do things that will compel the sector to think and hopefully come back together, he said.

But, Mrs Ogaji wondered why NERC took the decision to reappoint the panel which, she said, performed poorly, as it never handled any matter in their first tenure.

The market just kept paying members of the panel without any justification. No contract is effective. Yet, this is one of the pre-conditions for setting up the panel. Before being reappointed, did NERC take time to evaluate their past performance?

Did anyone analyze why the electricity market never recourse to them for the settlement of any dispute? Could it have been that because they had no faith in their capability, in terms of residual knowledge of the market? Or could it be that the market is not sensitized enough about the panels role? Could it be the cost implications of their existence? Mrs Ogaji asked.

She described the reappointment of the panel as a waste of the countrys commonwealth without the requisite evaluation and setting up of structures for monitoring performance to enhance value for money.

The spokesperson of the umbrella body of all the electricity generation companies (GENCOs) noted that in other climes, critical analysis, such as cost -of such is always conducted before approval is given for extension of the mandate of such panels.

She said the NERC should always go beyond mere ticking or checking the boxes to review real performance and relevance of panels like this to the electricity market.

Lets analyse the existing institutional framework and shed the excess luggage. If NERC has reappointed the panel, the questions that arise are: What else will NERC be doing? Have these actions been discussed and agreed with stakeholders and licensees. What is the sequence in which these actions are to be executed, by whom, when and with what outcomes expected? Mrs Ogaji asked.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has established a dispute resolution mechanism for the settlement of disputes in the electricity industry.

The reappointment of the panel by NERC is a step taken ahead of the planned evolution of the Nigerian electricity supply industry to a contracts and rules-based electricity trading market.
This COVID-19 does not hinder Latino families from celebrating special events especially if it is a "quinceanera" celebration. Kristie Rodriguez, a mother who adapted this major event amid the stay-at-home and social distancing orders said, they "tried to put as many of the traditions" as they could.

Rodriguez spent so much time planning her teenage daughter, Xochitl's quinceanera celebration for her 15th birthday. The 45-year-old mother added every Hispanic girl is dreaming about her wedding and her quinceanera-the two big events of her life.

But then, COVID-19 occurred, and the stay-at-home orders left them reimagining the much-venerated Latino tradition in such a unique manner.

It took Rodriguez and Jimmy, her husband, some work and creativity but they were able to surprise their daughter on April 21 with a simpler yet unforgettable version of her special day dubbed as "A Drive-by quinceanera."

On this special event, Xochitl was able to share memorable moments with her closest friends and family, at the so-called "safe distance.

Preparing for quinceanera

Widely celebrated in Latin America, the quinceanera marks a very important milestone in every Latina girl's life. It is a celebration via partly a birthday party, partly a rite of passage, and it symbolizes a girl's entry into womanhood as she turns 15.

More so, quinceanera showcases a teenage woman's purity and her readiness for marriage. However, it has been Americanized, as well, and the increasingly extravagant celebrations mirror Latinos' changing landscape in the United States.

Typically, a Mass is held during quinceanera, where, according to Rodriguez, the priests bless the celebrator and prepares her for "transition from being a young girl to turning into a woman."

Latino Families' Creative Ways of Celebrating

Jason Vasquez, a Puerto Rican Father from Indiana specifically in Kokomo, held a quinceanera too, for her daughter, Alivyia, outside his residence as friends and family watched from a safe distance, with some, even watching from inside their vehicles.

On the teenage girl's birthday on May 5, the father and daughter danced Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl." The birthday celebrator could not stop smiling while she talked about her simple yet meaningful celebration.

Until now, this 36-year-old dad said, his daughter is still talking about her excitement, and how glad she was that her dad "was able to pull something for her."

It was quite different, said Rodriguez, since the Latino culture is known to be much more "about physical affection like kissing, touching, and hugging." And, it was so hard, she continued, to see their loved ones and unable to touch them.

However, the Latino mother said, no matter how hard things are at present, their daughter will always remember her birthday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, whether this was what they wanted or planned for (or not), Rodriguez happily shared they were able to put off as many of the Latin American traditions as they could.

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A suspended Baton Rouge justice of the peace accused last year of brutally abusing his now ex-girlfriend and her children over a decade is back in jail after being hospitalized with the coronavirus, his attorney said Monday.

Moses Evans Jr., 56, was being held without bail at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison when the novel coronavirus outbreak hit.

The former Baton Rouge police officer is charged with domestic abuse battery by burning, second-degree battery and aggravated second-degree battery, and cruelty to juveniles and second-degree cruelty to juveniles. He has pleaded not guilty.

Baton Rouge justice of the peace, a former BRPD officer, facing horrific domestic abuse accusations A local justice of the peace and former Baton Rouge police officer was arrested Friday and accused of brutally abusing his now ex-girlfriend a

Evans' attorney, Martin Regan, filed a motion in mid-April citing the coronavirus outbreak and asking state District Judge Beau Higginbotham to reduce Evans' bail or put him on home incarceration.

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson had sent a memo to state judges in early April calling on them to thin the inmate populations in Louisiana's jails and prisons where possible to avoid coronavirus outbreaks there.

East Baton Rouge Parish Assistant District Attorney Melanie Fields wrote in an April 20 court filing that Regan phoned her April 17 and stated Evans had been transferred to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center with severe symptoms related to the coronavirus.

Fields requested that Higginbotham reduce Evans' bond while he was hospitalized but asked the judge to reconsider the original "without bond" order upon Evans regaining his health and his potential release from the hospital. State District Judge Bonnie Jackson had issued the no bail order.

Bail denied for Baton Rouge justice of the peace accused of horrific domestic abuse A Baton Rouge judge on Friday denied bail for the local justice of the peace and former Baton Rouge police officer facing allegations of horri

Regan had asked for a hearing on his bail reduction motion, but Higginbotham denied that request as moot on April 22 and reduced Evans' bail to $400,000.

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Regan said Monday he still wants a bond hearing so he can argue home incarceration for Evans.

"We're waiting to get back in the courtroom," Regan said. "We're trying to get a hearing on the bond."

District Attorney Hillar Moore III said he's glad Evans is doing well but stressed that his office will oppose any further bail reduction.

"Based on the defendant's current health status and his return to prison , the State's position is that, if the Court grants another hearing on bond, the State will fully oppose and relitigate including testimony and evidence  asking that he, again, be held without bond," Moore wrote in an email.

Evans' next scheduled court date is a July 24 sanity hearing. Last October, a judge ordered three doctors to determine whether Evans is competent to stand trial and if he is capable of assisting his attorney. State District Judge Don Johnson also asked the doctors to issue reports on Evans' competency at the time of the alleged offenses.

Mental eval ordered for suspended Baton Rouge justice of the peace accused of domestic abuse A judge has ordered three doctors to determine whether a suspended Baton Rouge justice of the peace who is accused of brutally abusing his ex-

The aggravated second-degree battery counts allege Evans used guns, tools, cables, belts and pipes as weapons, according to a bill of information filed by Fields last September.

Evans, who served 11 years with the Baton Rouge Police Department before retiring and who was first elected justice of the peace in 2008, was disqualified by the Louisiana Supreme Court last summer from performing judicial functions while the current criminal case is open. The high court acted on a recommendation from the state's Judiciary Commission.
NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi Arabia Life Insurance: Key trends and Opportunities to 2023



Summary



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05890925/?utm_source=PRN



'Saudi Arabia Life Insurance: Key Trends and Opportunities to 2023' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Saudi Arabian life insurance segment.



'Saudi Arabia Life Insurance: Key Trends and Opportunities to 2023' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Saudi Arabian life insurance segment.



It provides values for key performance indicators such as gross written premium, gross claims, penetration and incurred loss during the review period (2014-2018) and forecast period (2018-2023).



The report gives a comprehensive overview of the Saudi Arabian economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.



The report brings together research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



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This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the life insurance segment in Saudi Arabia -

- It provides historical values for the Saudi Arabian life insurance segment for the report's 2014-2018 review period, and projected figures for the 2018-2023 forecast period.

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Smoke pours out over Osage Avenue after police dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto the roof of the MOVE house in West Philadelphia  and firefighters were ordered to let the fire burn. Six adults and five children died in the confrontation that day, May 13, 1985, and 61 surrounding homes were destroyed. Read more

I was a senior in high school when the City of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on the MOVE compound.

I lived in North Philly, and Osage Avenue was West Philadelphia. It might as well have been the other side of the world. I knew that 11 lives were lost. I knew some of them were children, but I was a teenager  so caught up in my own life that I couldnt spare the mental space to think deeply about someone elses.

Back then I was less than a month from graduating Northeast High School, and I didnt grasp the gravity of the moment. Now, 35 years later, the City of Philadelphia is reckoning with the possibility of apologizing for bombing a home, killing 11 people, and destroying 61 houses. And I am struggling with the fact that it has taken them this long to arrive at this point.

Philadelphia owes an apology to its people  and not just for dropping a bomb that killed 11 people on May 13, 1985. Philadelphia also owes an apology to its citizens for allowing years of bitterness and anger to boil over into an action that put the lives of Philadelphians in the crosshairs of a law enforcement system hellbent on revenge.

The events of May 13, 1985, didnt start that day. They started in 1978, when bullets flew during a violent confrontation between MOVE and police officers after MOVE refused the citys order to vacate a compound at 33rd and Pearl Streets.

When the smoke cleared, Police Officer James Ramp lay dead in the street. Sixteen other police and firefighters were injured. When MOVE member Delbert Africa emerged from the house, police beat him mercilessly. When the group moved to Osage Avenue, where neighbors complained about constant noise and other issues, the city moved in once more to remove them, and the city came with military force.

Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., the citys first black mayor, sent the police and fire department to handle the removal of MOVE members from their Osage Avenue compound, but rather than using battering rams, police dropped a bomb, firefighters allowed the resultant fire to burn, and 11 people lost their lives.

Goode has since apologized for his role in that tragedy. Now Goode, along with activists and others, is calling for the city to apologize, as well.

Eric Grimes, an activist and talk show host at Philadelphias WURD radio, initiated the process that brought Goode and others to this point. Grimes believes its about much more than an apology. He believes it is primarily about justice.

I dont think there has been resolution and justice around what happened in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985, and the other issues before that, Grimes told me. Part of the thing that limits our ability to pursue justice is our sole focus on Mayor Goode. And I believe Mayor Goode has a lot to be accountable for and to atone for. But we have to understand that that day was bigger than him. It was a local, state, and federal action that we need to understand happened on that day. The apology is a start and an initiation to ignite a city to reexamine itself based on that event that day.

The city has to acknowledge that as a system, their intention was wrong because they intended to kill people on that day, he told me.

Believing that there were those in the police and fire departments who wanted to kill Philadelphians is a hard pill to swallow, but I think Grimes is right.

Thats why the city must apologize. City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents the West Philadelphia district where the incident took place, has been working with a group of activists to make the apology happen.

They include Grimes, Ulysses Slaughter, Mike Africa Jr., Gabriel Bryant, and Pauline Thompson. The group drafted an apology that Gauthier will introduce as a resolution after the coronavirus lockdown ends.

For now, she plans to issue a public statement as a prelude to the legislation.

Our city dropped a bomb on a house and killed people, including children, Gauthier told me. Thats a horrible, horrible thing. And I think we all have that realization. I dont think anybody you talk to would say we didnt commit a great wrong.

Its been a black mark on our city for years and years and years, she continued. This is a great opportunity to admit accountability and offer the genuine citywide apology that should have been given a long time ago and, hopefully, to move toward greater healing.
Two terrorists who killed three CRPF jawans at a security checkpost in Handwara last week are linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a senior police officer said on Tuesday. The officer said one of them was a Pakistani national Usman. The other was a Kashmiri.

The two shot dead three jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force who were at a security checkpoint when they were distracted by some movement at the orchard along the road at Handwaras Wangam. The terrorists had taken away the rifles of the soldiers after cutting the sling before escaping from the spot.

A 14-year-old was killed in the crossfire.

The ambush in Kupwara district had taken place just a day after five security personnel including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma and Major Anuj Sood laid down their lives in an encounter near Handwaras Rajbhar forest in an overnight gunbattle. Two Lashkar terrorists including one Pakistani national Haider were also killed in this incident.

We are looking at the possibility that the two terrorists who killed the CRPF jawans may have had a role to play in the gunbattle that cost the security forces five lives, a senior police officer said.

It is not certain what kind of a role these two terrorists may have played. Whether they were in the house when the security forces mounted the operation to secure the family being held hostage or had left by then. the officer said.

A top security official had told Hindustan Times after the 13-hour Handwara gunbattle that the agencies would keep an open mind on the number of terrorists involved in the encounter. We will be led by the evidence that we find, he said on Tuesday.

Handwara falls along the route for terrorists infiltrating from the Leepa Valley, the route that has been much in use by terrorists coming into the Keran sector from Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Intelligence agencies have cautioned that north Kashmirs Handwara, Baramulla and Sopore triangle could be the hotbed of terror activity this summer as Pakistans deep state looks to escalate the violence here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shishir Gupta Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel. ...view detail
Victoria's Supreme Court is looking at ways to resume jury trials with social distancing, a judge has revealed.

Justice Paul Coghlan says "it won't be easy" but there is no reason to assume criminals trials cannot be back under way by August.

Jury trials could be back on in a few months. Credit:Vince Caligiuri

Trials have not been running because of coronavirus, prompting an increase in people seeking release on bail.

Biannca Edmunds, who is accused of murder, applied for release on Tuesday.
If the Golden Boy had been shorter  and not so modern looking  he might have found a place on the provinces coat of arms.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the Golden Boy had been shorter  and not so modern looking  he might have found a place on the provinces coat of arms.

Instead, the idea of the Golden Boy was discarded and the coat of arms, the heraldic symbol for Manitoba, stayed with the well-known provincial motif of the buffalo along with beaver, unicorn and horse symbols.

Don Leitch knows that because, as the clerk of executive council during the Gary Filmon government, he was there when talk first came up of replacing the provinces original arms  only on a shield at the time  with the full ornate coat of arms we have today, and helped guide the process.

"The Golden Boy came up in our conversations, but the heraldic advice we got was it is more a modern symbol," Leitch said Monday, one day before Manitoba celebrates the 150th anniversary of when the federal government passed the act to make it a province.

"It also would have been hard to put a long tall Golden Boy on something shaped like a coat of arms. We were told you have to be careful not to confuse the coat of arms with other modern symbols.

"The Golden Boy is a phenomenal symbol and it sits on top of the (legislature) building. A coat of arms is intended to be looking forward, but with a look back at the past."

The provinces original coat of arms, a green shield with the red and white Cross of St. George on top and a buffalo standing on a rock, was officially granted by King Edward VII, Queen Victorias son, and the current Queens great-grandfather, in 1905.

Leitch said the discussion of creating a new coat of arms was suggested by the Governor Generals office as something provinces without one could do to help celebrate the countrys 125th anniversary of Confederation in 1992.

Leitch said he brought the Governor Generals request to Premier Filmon who brought it to cabinet where the idea was approved.

Then a committee, with Leitch heading it, began working on ideas while getting input and feedback from the Chief of Heraldry with the Governor Generals office.

"It was ultimately a very smooth process," he said.

"It wasnt a two-month job  it extended for about a year."

Leitch said the motto, Latin words meaning glorious and free, was taken from a line in the national anthem O Canada, while the word glorious is also in the lyrics of God Save the Queen.

"Glory is a good feeling," he said. "Its positive and forward looking. Alberta, representing that province, went with strong and free from the national anthem."

Leitch said when the coat of arms was completed he recalls having to explain to members of cabinet what all of the symbolism meant because they knew it was the question that would be asked of them by their constituents.

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"There is a lot in there," he said.

"One minister, who I wont name, said Ive got to go back to taking history again."

In 1992, during a ceremony at the Manitoba Legislature, Filmon and Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn, the new coat of arms was officially put in place.

"It has been in place nearly 30 years," Leitch said. "I think it will stand the test of time.

"You dont change these things lightly."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Seal Beach has reopened its shores to active use during daylight hours Monday through Thursday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County is just days away from unveiling a possible road map for lifting some coronavirus-related restrictions, a top health official said this week.

Clayton Chau, director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he would "submit to you a comprehensive plan on reopening and how to do that" on Thursday.

Those guidelines, which Chau did not detail, would be presented to the board "so you can make your decision" as to whether to adopt them, he added.

Chau's pledge comes as county supervisors, and dozens of residents who turned out to lobby them, are itching to relax restrictions that were imposed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to reopen businesses and public spaces.

Given the economic havoc wreaked by such regulations  particularly California's stay-at-home order  critics say it's vital to loosen the rules and get the economy moving again. That's especially true, some say, given how the coronavirus situation has unfolded in Orange County.

"I think its time to open up," said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel. "Maybe it's too late. Its going to be very tough to catch up."

As of Wednesday, the county has confirmed 3,749 COVID-19 cases and 80 deaths. Officials also reported a new high for coronavirus hospitalizations, saying there are 248 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the county.

Of those who have tested positive for the virus, 400 were in skilled nursing homes and 322 are Orange County jail inmates, according to county data .

When adjusted per 100,000 residents, the county's documented infection rate is notably lower than that of neighboring urban counties, according to The Times' coronavirus tracker.

Orange County's observed mortality rate associated with COVID-19, roughly 2.1%, also is well below the statewide rate of about 4%.

"People really want to get back to work. Businesses want to open up again," said Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. "And we need to have a plan thats driven by public health and safety protocols so that our public feels safe."

Story continues

That's not to say the county is "going to just continue moving forward and have a huge spike of COVID-19," she said. "Were going to act responsibly."

Supervisors also unanimously signed off sending a proposed letter that  should their counterparts in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties agree  would request a joint meeting with the governor "to identify strategies for achieving a safe, reasonable and sustainable reopening of our economy in coordination with the state."

"I think there is strength in numbers, and I hope the governor will listen to this clarion call  which is, 'Do the right thing, move ahead cautiously but open up the economy,'" said Supervisor Andrew Do. "Dont wait until the time when people are so desperate and so angry that youll have full-scale insurrection."

While Newsom has outlined criteria counties must meet if they want to reopen faster than the state, Orange County officials said some of those thresholds are onerous, if not unreachable, for more urban areas.

A Times data analysis last week found that 95% of Californians live in counties that dont meet just two criteria: the cessation of COVID-19 deaths in the previous 14 days, and no more than one case per 10,000 residents in that same time period.

Given the differences between urban and rural reaches of the state, Orange County officials said, it makes sense to craft criteria that are regionally specific.

"We are doing this because, even though the governor has said one size doesn't fit all, he is very much imposing a one-size-fits-all response," said Supervisor Don Wagner.

Times staff writer Priscella Vega contributed to this report.
HOUSTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) has been awarded a technology contract by Valmet AB for the engineering and supply of an Ash Re-Crystallization plant for LD Cellulose S.A.'s 500,000 ton/year pulp mill project located in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Under this contract, KBR will provide the license, engineering design and proprietary equipment using its leading Ecoplanning crystallization technology for the new mill. The start-up of this mill is planned for 2022.

"I am proud to announce this contract that further expands KBR's strategic partnership with Valmet," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology Solutions. "KBR together with Valmet offers its proprietary Ecoplanning technology for ash-crystallization for the pulp and paper industry with a specific edge in recovery of useful chemicals and lowering operating costs."

KBR has more than 70 years of experience in inorganics, including processes and technology solutions for crystallization, evaporation and the concentration and purification of strong inorganic acids.

About KBR, Inc.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses:

Government Solutions, serving government customers globally, including capabilities that cover the full lifecycle of defense, space, aviation and other government programs and missions from research and development, through systems engineering, test and evaluation, program management, to operations, maintenance, and field logistics

Technology Solutions, featuring proprietary technology, equipment, catalysts, digital solutions and related technical services for the monetization of hydrocarbons, including refining, petrochemicals, ammonia and specialty chemicals, as well as inorganics

Energy Solutions, including onshore oil and gas; LNG (liquefaction and regasification)/GTL; oil refining; petrochemicals; chemicals; fertilizers; differentiated EPC; maintenance services (Brown & Root Industrial Services); offshore oil and gas (shallow-water, deep-water, subsea); floating solutions (FPU, FPSO, FLNG & FSRU); program management and consulting services

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, integrated EPC delivery and long term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visit www.kbr.com

Forward Looking Statement

The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the outcome of and the publicity surrounding audits and investigations by domestic and foreign government agencies and legislative bodies; potential adverse proceedings by such agencies and potential adverse results and consequences from such proceedings; the scope and enforceability of the company's indemnities from its former parent; changes in capital spending by the company's customers; the company's ability to obtain contracts from existing and new customers and perform under those contracts; structural changes in the industries in which the company operates; escalating costs associated with and the performance of fixed-fee projects and the company's ability to control its cost under its contracts; claims negotiations and contract disputes with the company's customers; changes in the demand for or price of oil and/or natural gas; protection of intellectual property rights; compliance with environmental laws; changes in government regulations and regulatory requirements; compliance with laws related to income taxes; unsettled political conditions, war and the effects of terrorism; foreign operations and foreign exchange rates and controls; the development and installation of financial systems; increased competition for employees; the ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions; and operations of joint ventures, including joint ventures that are not controlled by the company.

KBR's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that KBR has identified that may affect the business, results of operations and financial condition. Except as required by law, KBR undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

SOURCE KBR, Inc.

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President Barack Hussein Obama says the DoJs decision to drop all charges against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn upends the rule of law, something members of his administration, presumably under his instructions, routinely violated, in particularly by illegally unmasking and disseminating Flynns name to the press and the world, setting him up in the first place for persecution and prosecution. What they did is a felony that must be punished. And they did it with Obama's knowledge and consent.

We know Obama was calling the shots. We knew it from the text messages between disgraced FBI agents and lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page saying that POTUS wanted to know everything they were doing. This matter began as a supposed counterintelligence investigation and such investigations are always conducted for the benefit of and with the approval of the President of the United States.

We know Obama was calling shots from the Jan. 5, 2017 White House meeting between former FBI Director James Comey, himself a serial leaker and liar, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and Obama:

Newly released documents indicate former FBI Director James Comey kept his superior at the Justice Department in the dark about the bureau's investigation into retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told special counsel Robert Muellers team that she first learned the FBI possessed and was investigating recordings of Flynns late 2016 conversations with a Russian envoy following a Jan. 5, 2017, national security meeting at the White House. It wasn't Comey who told her, but former President Barack Obama. Yates, who was briefly the acting attorney general during the early days of the Trump administration before getting fired, also laid out how in the ensuing days, Comey kept the FBI's actions cloaked in secrecy and repeatedly rebuffed her suggestions that the incoming Trump team be made aware of the Flynn recordings "It was not clear... where the President first received the information," Yates said, adding that she did not recall Comeys response to the Presidents question about how to treat Flynn.

Yates was surprised Obama knew that the call between incoming National Security Adviser Flynn and the Russian ambassador, a totally appropriate contact, had been monitored and taped. She shouldnt have been. Again, counter-intelligence investigations are launched only for and with the approval of the President. And, as we now know, Obama was leading the anti-Trump coup in which then-CIA Director John Brennan and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were key participants. Also attending the meeting was then-Vice President Joe Biden, who has much to answer for.

Despite multiple investigations of alleged Russian collusion dating back to Trumps election, the only crimes we know of have been committed by Team Obama, including the leaking of classified information starting with the illegal unmasking of Michael Flynn.

Flynn was an outspoken critic of President Obamas Middle East policy, which included the betrayal of Iraq and the American lives lost there, precipitating the rise of ISIS, which Obama willfully ignored. Now we are learning the unprecedented scope of the illegal unmasking in intelligence reports of Team Trump members by unqualified members of the Obama administration for the political purpose of first derailing the election of President Trump and then undermining his administration.

As Catherine Herridge, then with Fox News, reported on July 27, 2017:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has questioned whether Obama officials improperly sought the names of Trump transition members in this way -- and, in the letter obtained by Fox News, Nunes provided new details about what his investigators have found. [T]his Committee has learned that one official, whose position has no apparent intelligence-related function, made hundreds of unmasking requests during the final year of the Obama Administration, he wrote to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Only one request, Nunes wrote, offered a justification that was not boilerplate and articulated why the identity was needed for official duties.

This was nothing less than an attempted coup under Obamas auspices, sedition against the government of the United States by officials and a President sworn to uphold the Constitution. The sheer volume of unmasking requests by people such as Samantha Power who have no legitimate reason to make such requests speaks volumes about their political purpose.

As much as Flynn has taken fire as being an architect of unspecified collusion with the Russians, Susan Rice had been like the iceberg that sank the Titanic -- barely visible above water but dangerous enough maybe to sink the Trump administrations ship of state.

As reported by Circa News, Rice, while serving as Obamas National Security Adviser, requested the unmasking of the names of Team Trump officials mentioned in the so-called incidental surveillance of the Trump transition team:

Computer logs that former President Obamas team left behind in the White House indicate his national security adviser Susan Rice accessed numerous intelligence reports during Obama's last seven months in office that contained National Security Agency intercepts involving Donald Trump and his associates, Circa has learned. Intelligence sources said the logs discovered by National Security Council staff suggested Rices interest in the NSA materials, some of which included unmasked Americans' identities, appeared to begin last July around the time Trump secured the GOP nomination and accelerated after Trumps election in November launched a transition that continued through January. The intelligence reports included some intercepts of Americans talking to foreigners and many more involving foreign leaders talking about the future president, his campaign associates or his transition... Most if not all had nothing to do with the Russian election interference scandal, the sources said, speaking only on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the materials.

How do we know Obama called the shots on the whole Russian collusion/Steele Dossier hoax and Flynns entrapment was also on his orders. James Clapper said so? In the search for the answer as to how the whole Mueller collusion probe and spying on Team Trump originated, one does not have to look far. One need only to revisit the interview deep state conspirator and perjurer James Clapper gave with CNNs Anderson Cooper. He points his finger directly at Obama as leader of the coup against Donald Trump:

Former Obama administration director of national intelligence James Clapper admitted that former president Barack Obama gave the order to Peter Strzok to kick off his Operation Crossfire Hurricane targeting of President Donald Trump. Obama -- who also gave a stand-down order on stopping alleged Russian hacking -- was personally implicated in the plot according to Peter Strzok and Lisa Pages texts. Clapper confirms the obvious If it werent for President Obama we might not have done the intelligence community assessment that we did that set up a whole sequence of events which are still unfolding today, notably Special Counsel Muellers investigation. President Obama is responsible for that. It was he who tasked us to do that intelligence community assessment in the first place, Clapper said in his Anderson Cooper interview.

In any criminal investigation where the suspect is not immediately known, the first question usually asked is who would have the most to gain? As we follow the bread crumbs of the text messages of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and await release of the House Intelligence Committees memo regarding the collusion between the DNC, the Hillary Clinton campaign, the DoJ and FBI to ensure the election of Hillary and the defeat or impeachment of Donald Trump, the answer to that question is clear: Barack Obama.

Can it be believed that as key players in the Obama administration like Strzok and Page, as well as FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, number four at Justice Bruce Ohr, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and many others were liked in a vast criminal conspiracy to keep Hillary Clinton out of prison and Donald Trump out of the White House, Obama was blissfully unaware of all this? Rather, it can be plausibly argued that he was orchestrating it.

Perhaps not directly or by explicit orders, but rather by discussing the threat to his legacy Trump represented with his progressive minions and then simply saying, as crime bosses throughout history have done, You know what needs to be done. Do it.

This scandal did not occur in a vacuum, no more than did the weaponizing of the IRS to target the Tea Party and other conservative groups before Obamas 2012 reelection campaign occur in a vacuum. The agencies under Obamas control have been politicized before and used to intimidate and destroy his political opponents.

Obama gave the marching orders to James Comey et. al. to keep Hillary out of prison and Trump out of the White House. He was so sure both would happen he once joked about it on late night television:

Appearing on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' in late 2016, Obama read out some tweets from Trump, including one that read:"President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States!" Obama offered a potential response: Dear @realDonaldTrump. At least I will go down in history as a President. Ha ha.

I argued that Comey, under Obamas orders, had the fix in for Hillary, and we now know that he began writing his exoneration memo significantly before interviewing Hillary and other key witnesses. That memo underwent key edits in which Strzok, who interviewed Hillary and those witnesses, was involved. But now, as the layers of this rotting onion are peeled away, it has become clearer that Comey did not act on his own initiative. He was doing what Obama told him to do.

The same is true of the persecution and prosecution off Michael Flynn. Obama pulled the strings. Obama gave the marching orders. This fish is rotting from the head.

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.
The supreme court has affirmed Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra south in the upper chamber of the national assembly. In a ...

The supreme court has affirmed Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra south in the upper chamber of the national assembly.

In a unanimous decision on Tuesday, a five-man panel of the apex court led by Sylvester Ngwuta dismissed the appeals brought by Chris Uba, 2019 senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Obinna Uzor, challenging the election of Ubah.

The apex court held that FCT high court lacked territorial jurisdiction to determine a matter that arose from primary election conducted in Anambra state.

Ngwuta said the case ought to have been heard in Anambra where the cause of action emanated from and not the FCT.

Bello Kawu, judge of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Kubwa, had voided Ubahs election on January 17, 2020, on the grounds that he presented a forged National Examination Council (NECO) certificate to INEC.

Dissatisfied the senator appealed the judgment of the high court.

Stephen Adah, who led a three-man panel of the appellate court, held that the judgment of the lower court was done without jurisdiction.

Adah also agreed that originating summons which birthed the judgment was not signed by any counsel as required by law.

Aggrieved with the decision of the appellate court, Uba and Uzor approached the apex court seeking an upturn of the judgment.

However, the supreme court in its decision quashed the appellants application and upheld the judgment of the court of appeal.

Reacting to the judgment, Ubah said he can now focus on his official duties.

I thank the Justices of the Supreme Court for standing for truth and justice. This has once again shown that our justices cannot be intimidated. It is time to settle down to deliver quality representation to my constituents, he said.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The country could be forgiven if its citizens didn't feel like smiling much these days; after all, people are sick and dying from a mysterious contagious disease and are prohibited from getting too close to each other, and unemployment is at record levels. Yet it is because we find ourselves in this dire situation that it is more important than ever to smile at one another  even from six-feet apart  says Barry Shore, who is known as The Ambassador of Joy.

Barry Shore

Shore will be celebrating National Smile Day on May 31 and wants everyone else to join him by starting the day with a big smile on their faces. Certainly, if there is anyone who knows how to smile through adversity it is Shore, a successful serial entrepreneur with three patents who in 2004 became a quadriplegic overnight from a rare disease. During the 16 years that followed, Shore has pushed himself to regain much of his functioning even as he inspires other people to see the joy in their lives. He has even become an avid swimmer post-injury, for the past 12 years he has accumulated more than 7,603 miles.

In an interview, Shore can share:

11 strategies for living in joy

Why he encourages everyone to go MAD during times like these

Why stress kills but joy heals

Shore can also talk about his Keep Smiling Movement which he co-founded with well-known celebrity photographer Ken Rochon and runs with the assistance of National Director Andrea Miller. Rochon has photographed thousands of people with "Keep Smiling" cards as an advocate for The Keep Smiling Movement. Participants are also encouraged to send a selfie with a "Keep Smiling Card" to [email protected] and can receive the free cards by clicking here. Each week, a lucky participant is randomly chosen to receive a $25 gift card.

Praise for Shore

"Barry Shore lives and spreads joy  everywhere he goes. While his story is inspiring, his actions of reaching hundreds of thousands with his messages are what is creating real change. We need his words of positivity now more than ever and our actions."  Jess Todtfeld, former producer with ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS

"Barry Shore is that unique individual that not only believes in impact over income, but has also dedicated his life to it. Barry is committed to reminding people that this world is fantastic and 'we need to look for the good, and we will find it.' His body does a lot to slow him down, however, his will to squeeze the juice out of life every day is unmatched  so he greets the day, every day, with gratitude and excitement." Greg Jacobson international #1 best-selling author, speaker and trainer

"There is none like the remarkable Barry Shore. Intelligence plus heart is hard to find. Barry has it all and wants more than anything to share. The world is a better place because of Barry Shore!"  Kathy Karkula, development director, Special Olympics of Minnesota

About Barry Shore

Barry Shore is a motivational, keynote speaker and the host of the weekly radio show-podcast "The Joy of Living." He is the founder of the JOY of Living Institute. He has been featured on CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and in O Magazine, Forbes, Daily Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, MarketWatch and more. His podcast has been downloaded nearly two million times in 16 months. His upcoming book is Stress Kills  Joy Heals.

Contact: Barry Shore, (310) 770-4685; [email protected]; www.barryshore.com

SOURCE Barry Shore

Related Links

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There is an audition ritual of sorts, however, and for Democratic nominee-in-waiting Joe Biden, who has already declared that his choice will be a woman, that process is well underway.

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Three of his former rivals for the nomination  Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kamala D. Harris (Calif.)  are making their interest known, by helping Biden raise money and by recruiting allies to make the case on their behalf. Former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams has rarely missed an opportunity to declare her interest as she makes the rounds of television interviews.

Black women are the Democrats most reliable voting bloc. Heres how seven prominent black female activists and media figures say Joe Biden can win them over. (The Washington Post)

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Also certain to get a look are governors such as Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (N.M.). During the coronavirus pandemic, state leaders are enjoying a surge in approval. Whitmer, in particular, has also been a target of President Trump, which has won her a growing fan base among Democrats. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) could also be in the mix.

The quality that is likely to matter this year, even more than it normally does, is experience.

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Bidens resume was, in no small part, why he himself landed on the ticket of a first-term senator from Illinois in 2008. Particularly when it came to foreign policy, Biden offered an answer to qualms about whether Barack Obama was prepared to handle an international emergency.

In 2020, experience is crucial for a different reason. While Biden would arguably be the most qualified person to assume the Oval Office since George H.W. Bush in 1989, he would also be, at the age of 78, the oldest.

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Biden has spoken of himself as a transition candidate, and he has not discouraged the notion that, if elected, he would serve only one term. Whoever Biden picks must not only be a partner in governing but also prepared to take over on her own.

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His pick will have another, more political dimension: She will have a head start on becoming the first female president and on setting the Democratic Partys direction. Even if Biden loses in November, his running mate will be in a position to help shape the agenda ahead and move it in either a more progressive or centrist direction.

Of the names most frequently mentioned at this point, Klobuchar and Harris would seem to have an edge. Both are senators who have held executive office. And both, by virtue of having run for the 2020 nomination, also have presidential campaign experience and relatively high national profiles. While Warren is a fundraising powerhouse who might excite the progressive wing of the party, Biden would have to balance that against the danger Warren would potentially alienate a large swath of the electorate in a general election.

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Speaking last month, Clyburn suggested that Biden should weigh a number of factors: I think that he should be informed in this decision by the vetting and the polling. And I think he should be guided by his head and his heart.

His heart, some of those who are close to Biden believe, might draw him toward Klobuchar, with whom he shares a relatively moderate philosophy and the friendly sensibility of Klobuchars Midwest.

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Klobuchars endorsement of Biden was also well-timed: She dropped out of the presidential race and threw her support to him right before her home state held its primary on Super Tuesday, which consolidated moderate support for Biden there, and quashed the possibility that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) might regain momentum.

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The good news for Biden is that there is no reason to rush his pick. And he shouldnt. The ramifications are likely to be felt far beyond November.

Read more:

Paul Waldman: How to think about Bidens choice of vice president

Joe Biden: How the White House coronavirus response presents us with a false choice

Greg Sargent: Can Joe Biden rise to this historic moment?

Jonathan Capehart: Biden needs a black woman as his vice president

Karen Tumulty: How Joe Biden can turn his biggest crisis into an opportunity
(Newser)  Two brothers who were told to leave a Target in California because they weren't wearing face masks started a fight with security guards instead. The men were being escorted out of the Van Nuys store by the employees on May 1 when the struggle began, the Los Angeles Times reports. "As they approached the exit, one of the suspects suddenly and without provocation turned and punched the store employee, causing him and the suspect to fall to the floor," a police spokesman says. The other suspect joined in, as two other employees tried to subdue the brothers. One employee was treated at a hospital for a broken arm.

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The brothers, 31 and 29, fled the store but were arrested later that day on felony battery charges, per KCBS, and bail was set at $50,000 for each of them. The men are homeless, police said. Los Angeles and Los Angeles County put rules in effect last month requiring shoppers to wear masks when in a store. Police said the Target brawl was the fourth fight in Van Nuys over the mask requirement since it took effect, per KABC. Surveillance video of the fight can be seen here. (A security guard at a store in Detroit was killed after enforcing the mask rule.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:25:49|Editor: huaxia

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LUANDA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Part of the 380 tons of diverse bio safety materials coming from China has arrived in Angola Monday to reinforce efforts against COVID-19.

Speaking to the press, Angolan Minister of Health Silvia Lutucuta said the materials purchased from China by the Angolan state will be distributed to all COVID-19 reference treatment and diagnosis units in the country's 18 provinces.

According to the minister, the first batch which has arrived in the country Monday comprised of 70 tons of diverse bio-safety materials.

The official declared that the country acquired 380 ventilators, diagnostic laboratory equipment for COVID-19, over fifty thousand test kits for the disease, eight million surgical masks, one million commonly used masks, plus 100,000 bio-safety suits and glasses, two testing equipment and millions of gowns and gloves.

The equipment also included infrared thermometers, collection materials for test samples, and other materials essential for the handling and treatment of COVID-19.

According to the minister, five flights are scheduled, until next week, to transport the materials from China to Angola.

Angola has registered 45 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, of which 13 have recovered and two succumbed to the disease. Enditem
Iranian Navy reports accident during military drill

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 11, IRNA -- The Iranian Navy has reported an accident during a military drill in the country's southern waters.

According to the Public Relations of the 1st Maritime District of Navy of Iranian Army in Bandar Abbas, one Iranian was martyred and a number of others injured during a military drill in Iran's territorial waters on Sunday.

The statement said that the accident happened to the "Konarak" vessel in this area within the waters of Jask Port in southern Iran.

An investigation has been launched to explore the cause of the accident by experts.

More details of the accident will follow, the statement said.

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Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector-General of Police, has reportedly ordered an investigation on the Five Star Group boss, Emeka Okonkwo alias E-Money.

It was gathered that the probe was instructed due to the business moguls exorbitant lifestyle and inordinate abuse of police escorts.

Okonkwo was said to have also incurred the wrath of Adamu for treating policemen like domestic servants.

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Consequently, the six policemen assigned to the record label boss have been withdrawn and will be interrogated.

Read Also: I Rejected N8m To Promote Bleaching Brand  BBNaija Star, Khafi Kareem

An associate of E-Money, Chidozie Dike, who was contacted about the police order, said he was not aware of the development and he believed it was not true.
OTTAWADeputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada and the U.S. are working on plans to deal with what she calls an inevitable increase in cross-border traffic as economies in both countries emerge from their pandemic-induced comas.

Freeland says traffic over the shared border is bound to increase as states and provinces reopen shuttered businesses and ease restrictions on personal mobility, even if the current Canada-U.S. ban on non-essential travel remains unchanged.

That agreement, which has allowed essential workers and trade shipments to continue to move back and forth between the two countries, was first imposed in March and is set to expire on May 21.

Freeland says discussions about when and how to begin easing those restrictions are ongoing, both between Canada and the U.S. and between the federal government and the provinces.

She says Canada will adhere to the same prudent and sensible approach that has guided it throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

And she says the premiers by and large share the same cautious view as the federal government.

Inevitably, as our economies start to open up ... even absent a single change in Canadas border restrictions, we will see more travel across the border  well see more Canadians choosing to go back and forth, and well see more business activity, which will mean more essential travel, Freeland said.

That does mean that the federal government will need to do even more at all of our borders to keep Canadians safe and well, and that is something that we are working on right now, and were very focused on.

On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford made crystal clear how he feels about the prospect of allowing visitors to Ontario from the U.S., where COVID-19 has exacted a brutal toll: more than a million active cases and 81,000 deaths to date.

I do not want those borders open, Ford said, noting that his counterparts in Quebec and B.C. feel the same way.

Screening at airports and border crossings will need to increase tenfold once the restrictions are lifted, he added.

British Columbia health officials also said they have concerns about opening the borders to visitors.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there is some leeway to look at family reunification but broad reopenings of the borders is not in our best interest.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix echoed Henry.

The premier has repeatedly made this point to the prime minister, he said.

It is our view that the border should not open for visitors at this time. It would make no sense to have visitors travelling either from Canada to the U.S. and returning.
[May 12, 2020] Sinorbis offers education providers free access to its digital marketing solution for China

SYDNEY, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital marketing technology company Sinorbis is giving education providers free access to their software, including their newly developed webinar integration capability. The offer is available for international education providers who are struggling to stay connected to Chinese students during the COVID-19 crisis. The announcement comes less than a month after an IIE survey found that more than 20% of universities and colleges have not made alternative plans for their Chinese international student recruitment and engagement. This is despite the fact that travel restrictions throughout the world are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future and will impact traditional offline activities. China remains the largest source country for international students in the US, UK, Canada and Australia and a lack of engagement plan for this market could lead to major enrolment drops for future intake periods. "The international education sector has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19," says Sinorbis CEO, Nicolas Chu. "Across the globe, we're now starting to see a new normal emerge where all student engagement and recruitment happens through digital channels. This is a tough shift to manage in any market." "By giving unversities, schools and colleges free access to our platform, we are wanting to make a small contribution to help the industry get through this difficult time."



Sinorbis' digital marketing platform was launched in July 2017 and has been designed to help organisations overcome the technical challenges of creating and managing a digital presence in China. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the company has enabled an integration with Zoom's webinar solution, so that education providers can facilitate virtual face-to-face interactions with current and future students. "The ability to run webinars has been one of the most frequently requested features by our education clients since the beginning of the spread in late January," says Chu.

"Webinars are a great way to make students feel more connected with your institution and provide clarity and reassurance in these uncertain times." With the free access to the Sinorbis platform, education providers will be able to run end-to-end webinar and information campaigns in China. More details about getting free access to the platform can be requested on this page. About Sinorbis Sinorbis is an all-in-one digital marketing platform that makes it easier for education marketers and international student recruiters to reach Chinese students online. We provide universities, schools and education service providers with the tools they need to engage with Chinese international students and their parents at every stage of their application journey  and beyond. The platform offers: Accelerated speed to market - launch your digital presence within weeks without having to jump the usual administrative hurdles.

Reduced cost - set up and manage digital marketing initiatives at a fraction of the investment previously required.

Increased control - get an integrated view of all digital initiatives in China. Since its launch in 2017, Sinorbis has been adopted by many prominent Education institutions and associated organisations: The University of Sydney, The University of NSW, The University of Michigan, LaTrobe University, Oxford Brookes University, Santiago Canyon College, The University of Queensland, Scape Living, MPower Financing, The University of Otago and many more. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200512/2801263-1-LOGO SOURCE Sinorbis

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Children have started heading back to school, offices are beginning to reopen, and trains are back to running on schedule in the country as France finally lifts lockdown rules after almost two months. Health authorities said the deadly coronavirus is still active and efforts to slow down the pandemic must be continued. But for people cooped up inside their homes for such a long time, we'll take what we can get. Here's a look at some photos:


Bhopal, May 13 : Three harrowing stories of the travails of migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh through the lock down were vying for media space almost simultaneously during the weekend in the national and international media. The common refrain is that the government could have planned the migration better to save many lives of the class that remains neglected in emerging India.

How deep they have shaken the collective conscience of the people at large is anybody's guess. The frequency of such incidents seems to have numbed the sensitivities of a large section. The trivialisation of the migrant labourers has already become a talking point in the social media with twitterati launching #MeTooMigrant that kept trending through the weekend.

The story of a goods train ploughing through 16 migrant labourers in Aurangabad district from shook the world. They were from Shahdol, in Madhya Pradesh. It will take quite some time to get over the shock of seeing pieces of 16 bodies sewn up for burial, instead of cremation. The possible need for inquest over the causes of death may have forced the authorities to bury them. Nine of the 16 were from one village, Atauli.

Ashok, the grandfather of an 18-month-old child, had just a while ago cremated his only son Deepak, when officials from the district headquarters offered him a transfer order for the ex-gratia amount announced by the government. It took quite some time for them to convince him to accept the amount.

He said, "Deepak would not come back now. But if you could arrange to educate his son and get him a job and ensure he doesn't have to be going around looking for jobs you will have done a greater service than offering us money." There are other officers offering help too. With passage of time they will back out. Ashok owns two acres of land that prevents him from acquiring him a ration card Another story of hardship began in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh and ended in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh on a happier note on Monday. This was about a 26-year-old woman, had been marching for days from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh along with dozen other workers. She was eight and a half months pregnant when she set out on the journey. After covering 520 km in about a week the group took a short break to prepare some food.

It is then that she developed labour pains, and in the absence of any hospital nearby, she delivered a baby girl under a roadside tree with the assistance of other women.

Thankfully, the head of Balabehat village learned about it and sent a medical team that provided immediate medical aid to the mother and the new-born. The two were shifted to Primary Health Centre. Both are safe and have been sent to their destination in an ambulance," said the health department authorities.

A third accident was reported from Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh where six persons were killed when the mango-laden truck in which they were travelling overturned. Twelve persons were injured. 20 labourers from Jhansi and Etah towns in UP were travelling from Hyderabad without acquiring the mandatory passes.

The truck overturned near Narsinghpur. While all the injured were being treated in a hospital one of them escaped. Superintendent of Police in Narsinghpur, Dr Gurukaran Singh said the labourers were sitting on crates of mangoes. They were crushed under the crates when the truck overturned.

Badwani and Sendhwa are key points for the movement of migrants coming from Maharashtra and heading towards UP and Bihar. They are forced to pay up to Rs 35,000 for a loading autorickshaw to cross the MP and UP borders. The labourers are often dropped midway through the route if there is a threat of police checking. Gorakhpur resident Sudesh Sharma said the policemen often extort money from the vehicle operators.

Official estimates show 125.000 migrant labourers have arrived from different states to Madhya Pradesh. And just as many, who arrived from other states, are awaiting departure.
Hyderabad/Vijayawada, May 12 : Carrying children and bundles of essentials on their shoulders, scores of migrant workers from Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continue to head home on their foot.

One can find groups of men and women on the national highways heading to their home states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha.

With Shramik trains too inadequate to cater to lakhs of migrant workers and with no hopes of any alternate transport arrangements, they have set on a 700-1000 km journey by walk.

With no money in hand, braving scorching heat, hunger and the perils that wait ahead -- of meeting with accidents or falling ill -- they are not ready to spare those thoughts. These motley crowds just keep walking, all in the hope that they will finally make it to their home.

"It may take 15-20 days but at least we will reach home. How long we can wait here," said Sujit Kumar, a migrant worker from Jharkhand, who along with 15 others set out on the long journey, fully aware of the risks they face.

They were evicted from temporary shelter by a construction company in Hyderabad after they refused to work. As the government has relaxed lockdown norms to allow construction activity, work has resumed at some sites in the city.

However, the majority of the migrant workers, who constitute over 70 per cent of the labour force in the construction sector, want to go home.

"It has been nearly two months without work and wages. We are worried about our families in Jharkhand and want to be with them. The company asked us to either resume work or leave the shelter. They have not paid wages for one-and-half months. We had no other option but to walk," the worker said.

Telangana has 7.5 lakh migrant workers and majority of them are employed in construction sector, small and medium industries and hotels in and around Hyderabad. The migrants in other districts are working in brick kilns, granite industry, agriculture fields, irrigation and electricity projects.

In perhaps the most tragic incident, an eight-year-old girl working in chilli farms in Telangana died last month after she walked for three days with few others to reach her home in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.

The fate of many others who undertook a similar journey to states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and even Uttar Pradesh is not known.

The workers are desperate to return home. Some are resorting to protests, demanding the authorities to make transport arrangements for them while many are suffering in silence by walking towards home.

Trade union leaders said the repeated extensions of lockdowns, no wages for two months and lack of communication from the families back home have added to their desperation.

Though officials have asked the workers to register their names with the nearest police station so that they can be informed about the transport arrangements, they admit that the limited number of Shramik trains being run can't cater to the requirement.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had announced 40 special trains every day for migrant workers but he too admitted that there are limitations as the state has to seek consent of other states before sending the workers.

Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has also seen a series of protests by migrant workers wanting to return home. There were protests by hundreds of workers working at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Mangalagiri near Vijayawada and also at Polavaram projects.

Dozens of migrant workers can be seen walking along the national highway near Vijayawada. Many were coming from Chennai and heading to Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam in north coast Andhra or to Odisha and Jharkhand.

A group of migrant workers walked for six days from Chennai to reach Vijayawada. They had covered only 450 km and still have a very long journey ahead of them. "What can we do? We ran out of money and were not even getting food in Chennai. It is better to fight by walking instead of dying of hunger there," a worker said.

It was not a journey only through the highway. They were walking off the highway at a few points to avoid the police check posts. They knew that if intercepted by police they will be either sent back or will be sent to quarantine centres.
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A non-cognisable case has been filed against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Sambit Patra in Kalyan over a tweet.

General secretary of Maharashtra Youth Congress, Brijkishore Dutta, lodged a complaint at Mahatma Phule Police station in Kalyan on Tuesday.

Patra has tweeted that had the coronavirus outbreak happened during the Congress rule, there would have been many scams. The complaint said that Patras tweet has defamed the Congress.

Dutt said, I filed a complaint against the BJP spokesperson for using derogatory and defamatory language against our former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi. His tweet said that if coronavirus outbreak would have taken place during Congresss rule, there would have been a lot of scams.

Senior police inspector of Mahatma Phule N Bankar said, We have registered a non-cognisable offence.

Shashikant Kamble, BJP Kalyan district president, said, One of the ruling parties in Maharashtra is the Congress. Their leaders are not leaving any chance to harass us by filing police complaint against BJP leaders.
The first week back at school for students in Vietnam coincides with the first hot weather spell in the northern part of the country. Early warnings of stagnant air-conditioned spaces being an environment for viruses,

in particular the novel coronavirus to inhabit and develop, have prompted many teachers and parents not to use air-conditioners, even when outside temperatures reach as high as 38-40 degrees Celsius.

Illustrative image.  Photo : Vietnamnet

"You can use air conditioners when it gets too hot," said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam in his daily briefing from the National Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. "After school and early in the morning, you'll have to open the doors and windows to get fresh air into the classrooms and then use air conditioners accordingly."

The government's decision to send students back to school was widely welcomed by parents, teachers and above all, the students themselves.

"Nhat quy, nhi ma, thu ba hoc tro," or the devils rank first, then come the ghosts and third school students, is a popular Vietnamese saying. It means that the school kids are mischievous who never stop trying to drive their parents and teachers up the wall.

Kids are famous for making great excuses to skip class.

But now as Vietnam has applied strict social distancing due to the new coronavirus, students have been staying at home for three months.

The threat of coronavirus has managed to do what educators and parents have been trying for years: make kids want to go to school.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of students in Hanoi went back to school wearing face masks, armed with hand sanitiser to clean their tables, seats and lockers.

When I dropped off my kids at the gate on Monday morning, I was touched to see another mother holding a basket of flowers in her hand with a poster that said "Welcome back to school".

Before the children were reunited with their teachers and friends, parents had an online meeting with a check list of things to do.

They decided their children should wear face masks while they are in school, and carry some spare ones in case of need. They should also carry hand sanitiser at all times and maintain a 1-metre distance with friends and teachers.

At public schools, all the canteens have been closed. Students have to bring their own meals. They're not allowed to order food and are not advised to share food and drinks with friends.

All extracurricular activities, including sport, music, dance and cooking, have been suspended.

At my children's schools, there are 50 clubs and many students work hard to get a place at the school just because they want to be in their dream clubs.

At Hanoi's private Marie Curie School, the principal took to the stage to welcome students back.

But children being children, it's really hard to make them remember the new rules they should be following so they become a habit. I keep repeating to my children: "No more sharing food when you or anyone else has touched it. No more having a sip of tea from your friends' mugs, or offering them your mug."

This week marks another scorching summer in Hanoi, with temperatures forecast to be 36-40 degrees Celsius. "You're not supposed to use air-conditioners," has been a common guideline for schools to employ. But the classrooms have been empty for three months, and they have been cleaned, polished and sanitised. Kids and the teachers need to stay cool to study and teach.

Prior to the back-to-school decision, Vietnam has had three weeks of no new cases in the community in the whole country. But when the kids go back to schools, concerns still worry parents.

Usually the months of May and June are the hottest in Hanoi and the north, while in the south it's starting to be the cooler rainy season.

Pictures of the first day back at school show small children in primary schools wearing face masks inside face shields. The protective gear, donated to a class in Da Nang by a wealthy parent, cost VND32 million (US$1,500).

"What on earth were they thinking?" asked a netizen after seeing primary school children in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City wearing face masks and shields in 35-plus degree Celsius heat in no air-conditioned classrooms. "You adults need to try wearing them yourselves sitting in a classroom for four hours!"

An ophthalmologist added that face shields made of clear plastic would damage small children's vision if they wore them for too long.

The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Wednesday clarified that students were not required to wear face masks in classrooms but were advised to wear them during breaks and to avoid contact with friends in other classes.

After many delays, students in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are finally back at school.

Public school teachers have been paid for teaching online, but private school teachers, especially in kindergartens and primary schools, have really suffered.

"It's impossible to teach small children online when hands-on caring and training are a must," said a private kindergarten teacher.

Secondary, high school and college students have been learning online, but only for some subjects and to some extent. They need actual academic training and Q&As.

"All the main subjects including maths, Vietnamese, physics and chemistry should be taught in class in the morning," said a high school teacher during our online meeting. "Other subjects can be taught online in the afternoon," she said.

Due to classroom distancing, one class must be divided into two so teachers are having to work twice as hard. That's why online classrooms are still needed.

"Mum, I'm so excited I cannot sleep!" whispered my six grader. "Tomorrow, I finally get to wear my new school bag and shoes. They've been waiting for more than 100 days now since Lunar New Year holiday!"

I then texted a message to the class teacher-parent group: "Wishing you all a happy time at school." VNS

Nguyen My Ha

Kindergarten, primary school pupils head back to school in Hanoi Thousands of pupils returned to kindergartens and primary schools throughout Hanoi on May 11 following their long closure as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Students start returning to school in low-risk provinces after months off The northern province of Thai Binh and Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau were the two first localities in Vietnam to let students return to schools on Monday after an extended closure due to COVID-19.
Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.

In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. The Taliban, Afghanistan's main Islamist insurgency group which says it has halted attacks on cities under a US troop withdrawal deal, denied involvement in both.

The Islamic State militant group operates in Nangahar and has carried out a number of high-profile attacks in Kabul in recent months. On Monday security forces arrested its regional leader in the capital.

The violence, as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, risks derailing momentum towards US-brokered peace talks between the Taliban and an Afghan government long sceptical of the insurgents' renunciation of attacks.

"If the Taliban cannot control the violence, or their sponsors have now subcontracted their terror to other entities - which was one of our primary concerns from the beginning - then there seems little point in continuing to engage Taliban in 'peace talks," tweeted Hamdullah Mohib, the government's national security advisor.

MOTHERS, CHILDREN, NURSES

The Kabul attack began in the morning when at least three gunmen wearing police uniforms entered the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said. Security forces had killed the attackers by the afternoon.

"The attackers were shooting at anyone in this hospital without any reason. It's a government hospital, and a lot of people bring in their women and children for treatment," said Ramazan Ali, a vendor nearby who saw the start of the attack.

The 100-bed government-run hospital hosted a maternity clinic run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

MSF confirmed in a tweet that the hospital had been attacked. Just hours before it had tweeted a photo of a newborn at the clinic in his mother's arms after being delivered safely by emergency caesarean section.

Interior and health ministry officials said that mothers, nurses and children were among the dead and wounded.

Photos from the Ministry of Interior showed two young children lying dead inside the hospital. Soldiers ferried infants out of the compound, some wrapped in blood-stained blankets. Officials said 100 people in total were rescued, including three foreign nationals.

The neighbourhood is home to many members of Afghanistan's Hazara community, a mostly Shia Muslim minority that has been attacked by Sunni militants from Islamic State in the past, including at a Kabul ceremony commemorating the death of one of its leaders in March.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned both attacks.

"The unconscionable war crimes in Afghanistan today, targeting a maternity hospital and a funeral, must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face," the group tweeted. "There must be accountability for these grave crimes."

Foreign powers including the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan released statements condemning the violence.

Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an Islamic State cell that authorities said was responsible for several attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March. A roadside blast in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, was claimed by the group.

Afghanistan is also facing violence around the country from the Taliban, even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the militants. The Taliban say they are holding back from attacking urban centres and their operations are aimed at government security forces.
Iran has been under various arms embargoes since the 1980s and has become quite proficient at taking older vehicles and weapons and adapting them to new, and often unexpected, uses. Iran is not alone in this sort of improvisation and they encourage their allies to do the same. Iranian technical advisors are sent to pass on the knowledge, often with some tools and components brought in as well. A recent example of this was a picture of Iran-backed Shia rebels in Yemen using a captured American hummer vehicle with a BMP-1 turret and its 73mm cannon added to the top of the vehicle.

The BMP-1 is a 1960s era design. It is 13 ton armored vehicle with a cramped one-man turret armed with a 73mm low-recoil cannon and four ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles). This turned the BMP-1 into the first IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). This BMP-1 turret was always a source of user complaints but, when that turret was mounted on a truck or similar vehicle, those complaints went away. While the turret was not all that bulletproof it did offer some protection and was better at stopping shell fragments and similar debris flying around during combat. When not on a BMP the one-man turret did not require the vehicle commander, who often stuck his head and shoulders out of the turret to get a better view, to duck down inside the turret to operate the 73mm gun, which had a range of 4,500 meters and was pretty accurate, especially when using high-explosive shells.

The turret alone weighs about a ton and the usual armament, a 73mm gun, weighs 115 kg (253 pounds). The turret rotation uses 24-volt electric motors for traversing and raising and lowering the gun barrel. It is possible to improvise a slower manual rotation and gun movement system. While the cramped and thinly armored BMP vehicle was never very popular, the turret and its 73mm gun were. That 73mm gun was designed as an anti-armor weapon but by the early 1970s the Russians realized that it was more often used for infantry support and provided high-explosive rounds. These were a little heavier (4.5 kg/10 pounds) but much more effective against troops or structures. The 73mm gun had a 40 round magazine below the turret which provided ample ammo for combat.

There were other ways to improve the BMP-1 turret. In 2016 a Ukrainian firm modified its Shkval RWS (remote weapons station) to be used on older BMP-1s. That sort of thing takes these older vehicles that are still in service and makes them useful again. Since the 1990s Ukraine has prospered by providing refurbishment and upgrades for these older vehicles. One popular upgrade was the Shkval RWS, which was introduced in 2012 for more recent wheeled armored vehicles. Putting it on BMP-1s seemed like a good idea and it was. While Shkval weighs 1.9 tons, it allows the operator to sit below the turret and more easily handle the many weapons packed into Shkval. These include a 30m autocannon (with 225 rounds ready to fire), a coaxial 7.62mm machine-gun (with 2,500 rounds), a 30mm grenade launcher (with 29 rounds), two modern ATGMs and six smoke grenade launchers (using grenades generating a mist that confuses laser-guided missiles). Shkval uses a modern computerized fire control system that includes a weapon stabilizer. The operator has a thermal sight available as well as a laser rangefinder.

No one has yet tried to mount a Shkval on a hummer but that is an option because the hummer has used lighter RWS turrets that the U.S. Army bought with hummers in mind.
The brainwashing information that would be flowing into everyones mind via phones and television has made the people to live in a world of complete suppression with the global masters and manipulators living free.





by Zulkifli Nazim





Many thought that the new world order proclaimed by George Bush was the promise of 1945 fulfilled. A world in which international institutions, led by the United Nations, guaranteed international peace and security with the active support of the world's major powers.













The New World Order is a chimera - A grotesque product of the imagination. It requires a centralized rule-making authority, a hierarchy of institutions, and universal membership. Equally to the point, efforts to create such an order have failed. And the manipulation of the Corona Virus Pandemic succeeded in establishing a centralized rule-making authority.





Assuming that it was something used by the world governments to control the population in a way of panic it would be doing a good job; something that is a little bit more potent to catch them - the flu - and as people stocking up on water, food and other utilities. They are also not going to be able to leave their house for months and the first thing you would want in the apocalypse, once all the food and water runs out and everyone is clawing at each other to survive.





If this was something used to control the people in a state of panic it would mean that the media is also in on all the panic that is happening, to work with some sort of world power to spread fear and make everyone become a hermit who is afraid to go outside. Why would the world powers work together to spread fear as the sickness spreads and peoples panic grows? It could be, because, the opportunity for all the world government to initiate a state of emergency allowing them to put people on lockdown and control entire countries over the course of just a few months once everyone is forced to stay in their homes. Curfews are set across several countries and martial law has been initiated on how every government would have a stranglehold on their people.





They would be forcefully imprisoned and the information spewed out to them now would be controlled by the government and even the once free internet will be policed depicting a doomsday scenario with no one having any free will whatsoever.





The brainwashing information that would be flowing into everyones mind via phones and television has made the people to live in a world of complete suppression with the global masters and manipulators living free. The majority of the people of the world would be delivered controlled levels of rations to their residence and they would be expected to survive, while the rich, the powerful and the influential would be living lavishly more extravagant than they ever have been because now they have to share even less than 1%. They would now have more control over their finances than ever while the 99% stuck away in their homes with nowhere to turn to they wouldnt know who they could trust. You talk to the wrong person about the wrong thing and you would end up under arrest thrown away in a work camp or quarantine zone never to be seen again.





There would be no need for explanation by the police or the military and the government would just use the excuse of COVID 19. Every time someone questioned the powers-that-be they would go missing.





Speculating on another angle  What we have to consider here is the manipulation to store billions of barrels of oil, crude and refined, in the storage tanks of the so called world powers and their allies.





Globally, the lockdown of public transport, trains, buses and private vehicles together with the lockdown on international flights means, that all the countries will not need replenishment of their fuel stocks.





The lockdown of factories all over the world, also will not need to refill their fuel tanks. The result is not a drop of oil, whether crude or refined will be shipped to any country anywhere in the world. The prices of oil will hit rock bottom and the super  powers that be and their allies will lap up billions, may be trillions of barrels at these rock bottom prices.





They will need this oil for their Aircraft Carriers, battleships, destroyers, guided missile destroyers, fighter jets and other aircraft, and Ocean going vessels, without which, world domination is impossible. The entire network of mints, central banks, and governments that make up the global monetary system will be under the thumb of those possessing these trillions and trillions of barrels of fuel in their storage tanks. Consequently, the entire world will be under their supreme control.





So the New world Order proclaimed by George Bush, is going to be a reality.





All the media, electronic, print, audio visual and the social Media have not missed a heartbeat, when they keep on promulgating and propagating that our country will not be the same as it was prior to the March 22nd  the date of the advent of the Corona Virus - Psychologically, conditioning the minds of the people the world over.





In conclusion, if you are under the impression that the so-called super-powers and their allies are feeling sympathetic towards you and your country and your people, and that your interests are paramount, let us take a leaf from the pages of history  A case in point - Ezra Weston Loomis Pound popularly known as Ezra Pound. Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho, on October 30, 1885.In 1924 and he moved to Italy; during this period of voluntary exile, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement.





To cut a very long story short Ezra Pound really knew how the freemasons exercised control over the American systems, which he hoped to liberate by warning the people of the danger which threatened to engulf them and by suggesting an alternative of life and government in his courageous broadcasts from Italy, midway during the Second World War (WWII). But he was foolhardy enough not to realise the degree of control the freemasons were wielding.





When the American forces reached that part of Italy where Pound was, he was immediately and in a subtle manner taken into custody. At that point Ezra Pound imagined that his broadcasts had been heard and he has received a positive response, in that he was going to be taken to America to advise the government as to how to best adopt and implement the Confucian mode which he had been suggesting into the American way of life.





The basis of this mode echoed the resolve of the original founding fathers of America, in that interest in any form or guise should not be charged on any kind of debt or loan.





Pound's subsequent treatment soon demonstrated that he was sadly mistaken in his belief and showed how inimical the controlling elite of America were to any suggestions which threatened their chief source of revenue and control, that is the creation of debts and the charging of interest thereon, so that the debtors had no choice but to work continuously in their producer consumer process, in order to raise the money to pay off the old debts, whilst at the same time incurring fresh ones.





The takeover had already been virtually completed in America, and accordingly as far as the ruling elite of America was concerned, Ezra Pound was public enemy number one.





Soon after his arrest, Ezra Pound was taken to Pisa, where he was put in solitary confinement in an iron cage which stood in the middle of a military compound, and which provided no shelter from the sun by day, neither from the cold of night, nor from the wind and the dust and the rain. No one was allowed to hold a conversation with him. Eventually he became so ill that he had to be put inside a tent in order that he be kept alive. After several weeks he was transported to America, still suffering from exposure and ill health.





On arrival in America Ezra Pound was given no time to recover, but was immediately brought before a judge and charged with treason, the very charge which he had been levelling at the freemasons, since in his opinion they were destroying and corrupting the America in which he personally believed - the America which the original founding fathers had envisaged - and were, through their manipulation control techniques, busy establishing the America which in fact exists today.













Ezra Pound was not permitted to have the defence lawyer of his own choosing. Instead he was allocated a lawyer who was himself a freemason, as was the judge who presided over the judicial proceedings, and as were the medical experts who were appointed both by the prosecution and the defence lawyers.





It was important that Pound neither should he be given the opportunity to give evidence, nor indeed come to trial, since this would mean that his knowledge of the takeover would become known to all those who followed the trial, and might become too well publicised, even though the main media systems in America - as in Europe - were, and still are, controlled by the freemasons.





Accordingly Pound's lawyer advised him that the best course of action was to avoid the danger of his being convicted for treason, which is an offence carrying the death penalty, by maintaining that he was unfit to stand trial by reason of insanity.





In order for this stratagem to succeed, it was necessary that Pound did not speak a word in court. Pound, who was already ageing and, because of the treatment which he had just received, a sick man, submitted to the pressure exerted by his lawyer and by his wife, agreed to adopt this approach.





Pound appeared before the judge and a grand jury on his arraignment. His lawyer made the submission that Pound was unfit to stand trial, and the judge ordered a medical enquiry to be undertaken by medical experts who were to be selected by both the prosecution and the defence lawyers.





It is usual in such cases for the medical experts to disagree sharply, since they are only usually selected by the respective sides in the case because their opinion is going to support and strengthen the arguments put forward by the lawyer who chose them. It came as no surprise that the prosecution medical experts - who like the defence medical expert, all the lawyers concerned and the judge, in fact agreed completely with the defence medical expert. Everyone concurred in unison. Once the necessary but unnecessary rigmarole of due observation, examination and psychiatric tests had been performed, that Pound was indeed 'insane' and therefore unable to stand trial.





This decision was of course portrayed by the freemasonic controlled media as an example of the humane treatment which an insane person, who could not really be held responsible for what he said or did, could expect to receive from a just and understanding legal system.





Once the medical experts had come to their inevitable conclusion, and once that conclusion had been given weight by voicing it in the correct Judicial setting, Pound's committal to an insane asylum for an indefinite period was a mere formality. As a result of the skilful and polished use and combination of their medical and legal systems, had succeeded in silencing one of their most eloquent and knowledgeable opponents with utmost ease, and all with the appearance of complete what is called legality and due judicial process. The Pound pantomime, the play acting, had been a resounding success: The audience were satisfied and unaware of what had really been going on.





Ezra Pound spent the next fifteen years in an insane asylum





Finally, after fifteen years, when Pound was no longer capable of being a threat to simply because he was old and worn out and preparing for death, he was released from the insane asylum. He returned to Italy, where he subsequently died.





If you ask anyone today who Ezra Pound was, they will probably tell you, a famous poet; but slightly insane with fascist inclinations. Hardly anyone knows his real story, simply because it is very well hidden in the US information retrieval systems, and not available for all and sundry. The way in which Pound was effectively silenced was only possible because of the efficient interlink which existed, and continues to exist, between the American governmental, legal, medical and media systems, an interlink which was and is made possible by virtue of the control exercised by those interested parties.
WASHINGTON  Under heat for its initial distribution of the only drug approved to fight coronavirus, federal officials have finally sent 30 cases of remdesivir to Connecticut.

Although Connecticut is a coronavirus hot spot, the state was not among those to receive the first shipments of the drug  other than vials sent for use in clinical trials. The amount of drug the state is receiving will treat only a limited number of patients.

Produced by Gilead Sciences, Inc., remdesivir was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be given to COVID-19 patients on an emergency basis, even though clinical trials of the drug, initially produced to combat Ebola, have not been completed on COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir does not cure COVID-19, but has been found to shorten the average duration of infection, on average, from 14 to 11 days. The FDA set guidelines allowing remdesivir to be given to patients with blood oxygen levels of 94% or lower, or otherwise requiring supplemental oxygen.

The Department of Health and Human Services was criticized last week for declining to specify which hospitals and states had received the first shipment of remdesivir for emergency use. On Saturday, HHS confirmed that nearly 23,000 vials had initially been being shipped to New York, nearly 5,000 to Massachusetts, 4,000 to New Jersey, and smaller allotments to Indiana, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.

Its not clear which hospitals in Connecticut will receive the drug in the second shipment. The Connecticut Department of Public Health, which has been tasked by HHS with distributing resdemivir in the state, would not comment.

State health departments will distribute the doses to appropriate hospitals in their states because state and local health departments have the greatest insight into community-level needs in the COVID-19 response, HHS said in a statement.

University of Connecticuts John Dempsey Hospital said it has received 32 doses of remdesivir and expects to treat three to five patients with it.

Trinity Health Of New England said it received 160 vials of remdesivir this weekend through the Connecticut Hospital Association. Trinity said the supply is specifically for its Connecticut hospitals  Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Marys Hospital, and Johnson Memorial Hospital.

We have begun administering the medication to patients, St. Francis Hospital spokesperson Kaitlin Rocheleau said.

Gilead says the suggested dose for adults and children who weigh at least 40 kilograms is 200 milligrams, or two vials, infused intravenously on Day 1 followed by once-daily maintenance doses of 100 milligrams, or one vial, infused for the next nine days.

Each case contains 40 vials of the drug, so the amount Connecticut has been allocated, 1,200 vials, will treat about 100 patients.

The HHS announcement made no mention of AmerisourceBergen, the drug distributor that had worked with Gilead last week to distribute remdesivir to hospitals.

Doctors and public health officials have called for the federal government to create a transparent system for distributing remdesivir.

Under the new plan, Connecticut was allotted 30 cases of the drug, Illinois 140 cases, Iowa 10 cases, Maryland 30 cases, Michigan 40 cases and New Jersey 110 cases.

Gilead says it will donate a total of 607,000 vials of remdesivir to treat roughly 78,000 patients in the next six weeks, HHS said.
A man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after being shot in Etobicoke on Monday night.

Toronto police tweeted just after 10 p.m. that its officers were responding to a shooting at Kipling Avenue and John Garland Boulevard, near Albion Road, in Rexdale.

Police said there were reports of a man shot multiple times, possibly in a parking lot. Officers arrived on scene and found a man suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. Toronto paramedics rushed the man to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A witness reported seeing three men flee the scene in a grey or silver vehicle.

No suspect information has been released.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2222, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or online at 222tips.com.
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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which was devised to protect jobs during the socio-economic crisis caused by Covid-19, till the end of October.



The chancellor announced on Tuesday that workers will continue to receive 80 percent of their current salary, upto GBP 2,500, under the furlough scheme.



Furloughed workers are expected to return to work part-time from the start of August and employers are asked to pay a percentage towards their salaries.



The employer payments will substitute the contribution the government is currently making, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80 percent of their salary.



'Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has protected millions of jobs and businesses across the UK during the outbreak - and I've been clear that I want to avoid a cliff edge and get people back to work in a measured way,' Sunak said.



'This extension and the changes we are making to the scheme will give flexibility to businesses while protecting the livelihoods of the British people and our future economic prospects.'



Official figures released on Tuesday showed that the job retention scheme protected 7.5 million workers and almost 1 million businesses, the chancellor said.



The government expects to add more flexibility to the scheme from the start of August. Further, official figures showed that businesses benefited from over GBP 14 billion in loans and guarantees to support their cashflow during the crisis.



This includes 268,000 Bounce Back Loans worth GBP 8.3 billion, 36,000 loans worth over GBP 6 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and GBP 359 million through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the HM Treasury said.



Groups representing UK businesses such as FSB, BCC and CBI welcome the extension of the Job Retention Scheme.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Moscow, May 12 : Five people have been killed in a fire that broke out in a hospital in Russia's St. Petersburg city, an emergency services source said on Tuesday.

"Five patients put on artificial ventilation machines (in the St. George Hospital) were killed in the fire," the source told the TASS News Agency.

The fire has been contained.

"Its area reached 10 square meters," the Russian Emergencies Ministry's press service told TASS, adding that 150 people have been evacuated.

The fire may have been caused due to one of the ventilation machines short circuiting, according to a source in the emergency services.

Since mid-March, St. George Hospital has been re-equipped to treat COVID-19 patients.
(TNS)  For decades, Californians watched, analyzed, criticized and voted for Edmund G. Brown Jr. And for all that, he remains one of the most captivating, bewildering, inspiring and infuriating figures in the state's history. He may also be the most quintessentially Californian, embodying an admixture of contemplation, activism and self-contradiction at the heart of a nation-state with a population bigger than Canada's.Jim Newton has been preoccupied with and fascinated by Jerry Brown for a lifetime, and his new biography, "Man of Tomorrow," is a thoughtful look at the governor who shaped the state that has always reached the American future before the rest of the country.Brown left his footprints on the cities, suburbs, coasts, rugged uplands and arid deserts of California during a lifetime in public office. So much of his story is known  so much of it has been chronicled in these pages  that the story Newton lays out may seem familiar. But it is the play of this man of the mind against the experience of a veteran newsman  once the editorial page editor of the, now affiliated with UCLA  that makes this volume a formidable contribution to the history of both the state and the country.Newton, who has published biographies of Dwight Eisenhower and Earl Warren, writes with verve, grace and the advantage over past Brown biographers of covering the finished product, rather than a work in progress.Let's start at the beginning, for it helps us understand where Brown and California end up. Drawn to the confines of the seminary, Brown intended to become a Jesuit priest  trying, as he put it, "to overcome the self-indulgent, weak part of human nature." This would turn out to be a lifelong goal. He picked grapes and picked over the Bible, thinking he had picked the right way to traverse the world: through "abnegation and continuous mortification."These would be his watchwords and guideposts, making him, as Newton puts it, "subservient to God and mindful of nature and its immutable commands."The rhythms and nostrums of the seminary appealed to Brown, shaped him, motivated him. Newton portrays him as an oddity in American civic life, "a pragmatic liberal deeply committed to faith." He came of age in a cassock but lived for a cause.He and his father, Gov. Pat Brown, had an affectionate but uneasy relationship that Newton sketches with skill, and in his comparisons between father and son he sets the younger Brown in sharp relief: "His son would ... never, once he reached power, be accused of glad-handing  dealmaking, yes, but out of pragmatism, not out of uncertainty."Making a decision that haunted him as much as it defined him, Brown left the Jesuits. But they didn't leave him, even as Zen teachings followed  "a fresh dogma-free alternative" to Catholicism, Newton says, freighted with "a familiar grammar, imbued with a fresh vocabulary."In the early life of Jerry Brown, as in the early pages of this book, Newton sets out his central theme:"Over time, the sturdy rope that ran from Saint Ignatius to Zen shaped Brown's appetite for the great ideas of politics  notions otherwise as disparate as capital punishment, nuclear weapons and climate change  all of which had in common a necessary humility before fearsome powers such as death, destruction, the earth itself." All the rest, as a sage from the Jewish faith tradition put it centuries ago, is commentary.And there is plenty of commentary in these 448 pages, and people too: Willie Brown, Henry Waxman, Richard Nixon, Alan Cranston, Mario Savio, Warren Christopher, Joan Didion, Ken Kesey, Charles Manson, Linda Ronstadt, Cesar Chavez, Patty Hearst, Harvey Milk, Jim Jones and the medfly. Newton has produced a history of California as much as a biography of Brown.But the reader comes back to the 34th and 39th governor of California, and to the result of Newton's deep examination of a man whose 16 years as governor were the longest reign in the state:"[H]e walked a path of tradition while also inviting discovery. That tension  contradiction, some might say  helped reinforce his detachment from the currents of the day. He could seem to outsiders so utterly modern, with his youth and girlfriends and talk of space exploration and technology, yet he was not and never would be a modernist. While others plotted political strategy and reveled in showing Reagan the door, Jerry Brown read Wittgenstein and sat quietly in monasteries, rising early, saying little, thinking deeply."It wasn't only Wittgenstein. Newton plumbs the Brown mind, finding traces of E.F. Schumacher, Ivan Illich and Michel Foucault and unearthing the concept of "subsidiarity," which translates in the political realm to decentralization  the delegation of solutions to those localities (or even families) most affected by the problem.When Brown returned to the governor's chair in 2011 after stints as mayor of Oakland and state attorney general, he was in a different period in his life  and California was in a different place too. Brown had gone from wise guy to wise man, from skinflint to a bit of a spendthrift; the bullet train caught his eye and his imagination, though it also courted controversy. "It's not always easy," Newton concludes, "to be a man of tomorrow."It was not always easy to live down Brown's yesterdays either. "I'm 79, John,'' he told Sen. John McCain, who was then 80. "I don't have to bull anymore."He didn't. I had a half-hour with him, there in the state Capitol, in his last hours as governor. He spoke a little Latin, maybe just for fun or for show, and of course he ranged from the Austro-Hungarian empire to the way Costco packages its milk, with a slight digression into the philosophy of Carl Jung. But nestled among his layer cakes of dependent clauses was a clear-eyed assessment of what he had accomplished and left unaccomplished  and what was left for others to do.Newton saw that too. "As Brown left office, he left a California of great wealth but of shocking poverty and glaring inequality as well," he writes. "And yet the standard of successful leadership is not the elimination of all problems but rather proof of progress. By that measure, Brown was undeniably successful." In the end Newton calls Brown "a gift to history." So is his book.
State Rep. April Weaver, a Republican who represents parts of Bibb, Chilton, and Shelby counties, announced on Facebook that she has resigned her House seat to take a job with the Trump administration.

Weaver said she gave House Speaker Mac McCutcheon the news today. Weaver, who is a health care administrator and registered nurse, did not say what her new job would be and said that announcement would come from the White House. Weaver was elected to the House in 2010 and was in her third term.

Serving in the Alabama House of Representatives has been one of the greatest experiences of my life and it has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve for the past ten years, Weaver said. "I will always be thankful to the people of House District 49 for allowing me to serve in this capacity and for the trust and confidence they have placed in me as their Representative.

Weaver is a former chair of the House Health Committee.

I am also deeply honored to have been chosen to join the Trump Administration, she said. I am excited to be able to use my skills and experience at a national level during this unprecedented time and I look forward to supporting President Trumps initiatives and serving the people of our nation. The White House will be making an announcement about my new role soon.

Gov. Kay Ivey will announce dates for a special election to fill the vacant seat.
Coalition for Environmental Justice in India Public Statement :

11 May 2020

Vishakapatnam LG Plant Was a Disaster waiting to Happen

Environmental and Regulatory authorities complicit in such disasters

The early morning leak of a deadly gas from L G Polymers plant located west of Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on 7atha May, is frighteningly reminiscent of the disastrous gas leak in Bhopal from the Union Carbide/Dow Chemicalas plant on the night of 2-3arda December 1984. Video footage and ground reports reveal thousands have been horribly impacted in their sleep and this resulted in the death of at least a dozen. It is because of the courageous intervention of local youth, local police and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, who acted with urgency at enormous risk to their lives, that hundreds were saved from the worst consequences.

Quite unnecessarily and typically, Andhra Pradeshas Director General of Police Mr.Damodar Goutam Sawang, IPS, appears to have uncritically and rather quickly rushed to the companyas defense that it was astrictly following all protocolsa , when there was no way to ascertaining if they did, within hours of the accident. chief minister Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has also stated the company is areputeda , in away explaining for the company. This when the company has admitted in an affidavit that it had expanded operations without due consent from State and central regulatory authorities.

Hours before the LG incident, at least 7 workers fell sick after being exposed to noxious fumes at the Shakti Paper Mill in Raigarh, Chattisgarh. At least 8 workers were seriously injured and scalded, later in the day, when a boiler exploded at Neyveli Lignite Corporation in Tamilnadu. These three incidents within hours of each other, in different parts of India, are indicative of the dangers latent to opening up industrial production, several weeks after being forced to suddenly shut systems down due to a lockdown enforced across India and without any prior planning or chance for preparedness.

In a situation where review and enforcement of environmental, health, risk and social safeguards by regulatory agencies are sloppy, these incidents expose, once again, text book cases of criminal complicity between regulatory agencies, environmental authorities, land use clearance agencies and corporate bodies involved in causing such disasters. Such corrupt systems are repeatedly exposing workers and the public to totally unacceptable risks due to industrial accidents and release of toxic materials, often with irreversible consequences. If corrective measures are not adopted immediately, such instance could recur, and with greater regularity, as industrial production and energy generation reopens post-lockdown.

A disaster waiting to happen from a company philosophical about statutory compliance:

The quality of application for environmental clearance for expansion of the LG India Pvt. Ltd. facility at Vizag filed by Mr. P Chandramohan Rao, Director (Operations) is indicative of the lackadaisical approach adopted by the company in conforming to statutory public safety and environmental norms. In response to a question if hazardous chemicals used in the plant would impact local people, the application claims aNo sensitive receptors are present in the immediate vicinity of the site. The project shall not have any significant impact on vulnerable groups of peoplea (Item3.4). Mr. Rao further claims that aall the hazardous materials will be stored in MSdrums, in a covered shed and no contamination of soil is expected. aSame philosophy will be followed for the after expansiona.a (Item 7.1, emphasis supplied)Clearly, MoEF&CC and APPCB officials and experts have ritually reviewed the application and obviously have not found anything wrong with a company that relies on aphilosophya regarding critical safety functions.

This aaccidenta was waiting to happen and is the direct outcome of a very serious breach of safety protocol in handling toxic and hazardous chemicals. As is now reported, LG opened the plant for production without sufficient strength of technically qualified personnel and supportive staff present who are critical to dealing with any and all exigencies. aProfit-making and cost-cutting appears to have clearly gained priority over public safety and environmental compliance. This is clearly indefensible.

What has also become evident is that the company was not in any state of readiness to handle the emergency once the accident occurred. Preliminary accounts reveal LG had not instituted any of the mechanisms essential per the ChemicalAccidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996 and Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2016. This is clearly evident from the fact that local youth and police were the first respondents to the emergency.

State and Central Regulatory agencies complicit in this disaster:

Records reveal that L G Polymers was operating the plant claiming it as anaessentiala industry, though all it produces is polystyrene pellets used in making plastic, as in childrenas toys. As Mr. EAS Sarma IAS (Retd.), who retired as PowerSecretary of India, has stated, the company possibly benefited from complicity of Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and land use planning authorities, who accorded the aRed Categorya project approval to continue operating in a densely populated region of Vishakapatnam in gross violation of all applicable norms and standards. The company possibly expanded production, and admittedly applied for apost-factoa clearance from Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). This application ought to have been rejected at the very instance of filing and action initiated against this rogue company.

Needless to state, officials and experts involved in approving the LG plant, be they from AP State Planning Board, Industry Department, APPCB, MoEF&CC, and such other approval and regulatory authorities, are complicit of criminal malfeasance in this disaster. While the owners and managers must be held accountable for this crime, officials and experts who were aware of the lack of compliance of standards by the company must similarly be held accountable for this heinous crime. Officials are particularly guilty of allowing this RED Category industry to continue to operate in a densely crowded neighbourhood of a major metropolis, when this has been absolutely prohibited. What is worse is that they approved the reopening of this factory during the lockdown (even though it is a non-essential industry) and without reviewing if safeguards were in place.

In a Press Conference held jointly by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, UnionMinistry of Health and the National Disaster Management Authority, a few hours after the LG plant disaster, the leak of styrene was confirmed. But agencies have not, as yet, shared test results to confirm if it was only styrene vapours that leaked, or there were deadlier releases. [1] Besides, it is also not clear if sufficient quality1controlled samples were collected from within and around the impact zone to ensure appropriate legal action can be initiated against the company.

Taking into consideration the above, we demand:

In the case of LG facility:

1. The entire factory and the impacted region must be secured immediately, and taken out of the control of the owners. The facility must be monitored and managed, and steps initiated to shut it down immediately. All workers employed in the facility must be absorbed into other operations of the company.

2. Every one impacted must be provided the best care and treatment to full recovery at no cost at all to the victims, whatever be the duration of their treatment and recovery, guided by the Principle of Inter-generational Equity, as the chemicals leaked are known to be carcinogenic and neurotoxic, and there could be inter-generational consequences. The cost involved in taking care of victims must be recovered from LG India Pvt. Ltd. as per Polluter PaysPrinciple.

3. We hope serum prolactin and urine tests have been undertaken on anyone exposed to the toxic gas to determine the extent of exposure and the degree of damage caused.

4. The compensation package announced for the victims of the disaster by the chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is welcome. But this must be considered as merely aex gratiaa and appropriate compensation must be determined through judicial review.

5. All families affected by the disaster must be immediately compensated financially without any delay. As has been demanded by trade unions, at least one member of the family of the deceased and of those with critically injured should be provided tenured employment at the cost of LG India Pvt. Ltd.

6. Every neighbourhood and village impacted must be comprehensively reviewed for damage caused, and victims must be rehabilitated. The LocalCrisis Management Group, if not constituted, must immediately be organized under the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness andResponse) Rules, 1996, to guide this process. Due enquiry must be initiated why such Groups were not organized before, and action initiated against such dereliction of obligatory duties.

7. A highly competent team of experts drawn from National DisasterManagement Authority, Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Institute of toxicology Research, National Institute for Research in Environmental Health, and Non-Governmental Toxicology and Public Health experts, awith half of the members not from within any government agencya, must be constituted to comprehensively investigate this incident and produce a report to the public at large a(no secrecy)a within two weeks. This Committee may also be tasked to instruct precautions essential in re-opening industrial operations in the state. This Committee must be headed by a retired Judge of the High Court and it must follow due process as per the Principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent so that public trust and confidence in its findings - directly related to the transparency and fairness with which it conducts its proceedings, is secured. Consequently, the High Powered Committee set up by Andhra Pradesh Government to investigate the incident, and which is populated by the very officers who are complicit in this disaster, must be scrapped forthwith.

8. Two Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station are supposed to be working within the LG plant area as per clearance conditions. The aforesaid committee must investigate if these stations were working and all documentation from these must be secured. The Committee must also verify if fresh uncontaminated samples of air have been taken to analyse beyond any doubt the nature of chemicals that escaped into the impact zone. Similarly, soil and water samples from multiple locations must be taken and analysed to establish the nature and cause of the contamination and damage.

9. The Honable High Court of Andhra Pradesh has taken asuo-motoa cognizance of this aaccidenta. The Government of Andhra Pradesh must file an affidavit before the Court praying the case must be dealt with in accordance with the Honable Supreme Courtas decision in Oleum Gas Leak Case [2], wherein such 2 instances the Principle of Absolute Liability was found necessary. A similar affidavit must also be filed before the Central Bench of the Honable NationalGreen Tribunal which has also taken asuo-motoa cognizance of the disaster but merely under the Principle of Strict Liability.

10. The Managing Director of LG India Pvt. Ltd. and senior managers of the company must be immediately arrested for this ghastly crime. They must not be allowed to escape, as has happened in the Bhopal Gas Crime.

11. Each and every official and expert of MoEFCC, Industries Department, Landuse planning authority and APPCB who handled LGas applications for clearances and permissions, must be held guilty of omission and commission in carrying out due diligence, and necessary criminal and civil action initiated against them as per law.

12. The company that conducted the EIA for the LG India Pvt. Ltd., and also the auditor who extended the ISO certification, must be immediately blacklisted.

Action necessary across India before reopening industrial production:

13. The Government of India must immediately stop any and all measures underway in welcoming polluting industries from China and elsewhere which it announced recently is a measure to help revive the post-COVID economy. From Bhopal to Vizag, India has been a site of some of the most devastating industrial disasters, and MoEF&CC and Industries Ministry has shown no seriousness whatsoever in dealing with the risks and consequences. This lackadaisical approach must end now.

14. All efforts promoting the dilution of environmental regulatory standards of India, being aggressively promoted by Mr. Prakash Javdekar - at once the Indian Minister for Environment and also of Heavy Industries, obviously involving conflict of interest, must end. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modimust at least now appreciate the critical importance of having a minister with uncontestable competence heading MoEF&Cc.

15. The Vizag situation is a clear and present indicator of the devastation of this aprofit first a nature and human rights latera attitude. The aaprinciple of utmost good faithaa in the investor/industrialist relied upon by the TSR Subramanian Committee set up by Prime Minister Modi, and which promoted dilutions of environmental and social impact review and regulations, must be immediately abandoned.

16. All three industrial disasters has exposed the callousness on the part of operators of hazardous processes and their pursuit of profits. Complicit in such illegalities are incompetent regulatory agencies and policymakers who have permitted industries to violate applicable standards and the law, inclusive of and not limited to the Environment Impact AssessmentNotification. Rather than visit violators with stringent corrective action, they are rewarding them with aex post factoa clearances, resulting in disasters. All pending applications for aex post factoa clearances should thereby be rejected forthwith. Any grant of such permissions must be reviewed by a committee comprised of independent experts.

17. Revamp all State Pollution Control Boards by including citizens and independent experts and reducing membership of industry and state representatives, so that the body can play its role as state in law to ensure public interest is prime in its decision making.

18. All industrial areas must be immediately monitored by local environment monitoring committees involving local residents, so that they can be true wardens of public health, safety and the environment. Similarly, local and district Crisis Management Groups must be established, and they must oversee necessary safety protocols in and around industrial processes involving hazardous chemicals, and especially before opening up production following lifting of lockdown, as is necessary per the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996 and Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2016.

19. All precautions necessary for industrial production as per Factories Act must be in place. Regulatory authorities must ensure strict conformance with compliance essential in hazardous processes as per Chapter IVA of the Act.

20. Regulatory agencies, particularly Pollution Control Boards and Environment Ministries, must immediately verify existence and viability of on-site and off site emergency Plans and their compliance with standards demanded in Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996.

Released on behalf of CEJI by Environment Support Group, Bangalore.

Endorsed by:

Organisations:

1.All India Forum of Forest Movements

2.Bargi Bandh Visthapit and Prabhavit Sangh

3.Centre for Financial Accountability

4.Centre for Financial Accountability, New Delhi - CFA

5.Chipko-Appiko Movement, Karnataka

6.Chutka Parmanu Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti

7.Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, Chennai6

8.Environment Support Group - ESG

9.Focus on the Global South

10.Gamana Mahila Samuha, Bangalore

11.Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh

12.Jharkhand Mining Area Coordination Committee

13.Madhya Pradesh Jansangharsh Samanvay Samiti

14.Mahengi Bijali Abhiyan, Madhya Pradesh

15.Mines, Mineral & People

16.NAPM, Madhya Pradesh

17.National Fishworkers Forum

18.Peoples Watch

19.SETU Centre for Social Knowledge and Action

Individuals:

1.Anil T Varghese, Delhi Solidarity Group

2.Aruna Rodrigues, Lead Petitioner in Supreme Court for a moratorium on GMOs

3.Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh

4.Ashok Shrimali, SETU Centre for Social Knowledge and Action

5.Bhargavi Rao, ESG/CFA6.Dharmesh Shah

7.Dr. Laifungbam Debabrata Roy, Centre for Organisation Research &Education (CORE), Manipur

8.Gautam Mody, General Secretary, New Trade Union Initiative

9.Harish Vasudevan, Lawyer, High Court of Kerala

10.Himanshu Thakkar, Coordinator, South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers &People (SANDRP)

11.K Ramnarayan, Uttarakhand

12.Leo F. Saldanha, Environment Support Group, Bangalore

13.Madhu Bhushan, Bangalore

14.Malika Virdi, Uttarakhand

15.Mamata Dash

16.Mari Marcel Thekaekara

17.Nandini

18.Narasimha Reddy Dhonti, Hyderabad

19.Niraj Bhatt, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, Chennai

20.Nityanand Jayaraman, Chennai Solidarity Group, Chennai

21.Pandurang Hegde, Chipko-Appiko Movement, Karnataka

22.Prof. Babu Mathew, Centre for Public Policy, National Law School of India University

23.Ravi Rebbapragada, Samata

24.Rohit Prajapati, Environment Activist, Gujarat

25.Sahana, Bangalore26.Shripad Dharmadhikary, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Pune

27.Soumya Dutta, South Asian Peoples Action on Climate Crisis (SAPACC) & Movement for Advancing Understanding on Sustainability And Mutuality(MAUSAM)7

28.Sudhir Vombatkere, FOcus on the Global South

29.Suprabha Seshan, Conservationist, Ashoka Fellow

30.Tara Murali, Chennai

31.Vandana Shiva, Navdanya, New Delhi

32.Vijayan MJ, Pakistan India Peoples Form for Peace & Democracy (IndiaChapter)

33.Vinay K Sreenivasa, Advocate, Bangalore

34.Wilfred Dacosta, Indian Social Action Forum -INSAF

Address for contacta:

Environment Support Group, 1572 Ring Road, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore 560070. Tel: +91-80-26713559 60 Web: awww.esgindia.org

Queries and further information, please direct them through asana[at]esgindia.org.Cella: 98699 419678
The director Josh Trank was hailed as a Hollywood wunderkind upon the 2012 release of his debut, Chronicle, a sleeper hit about a group of telekinetic teens. Sometimes a movie arrives out of the blue that announces the arrival of considerable new talents, the critic Roger Ebert wrote of Trank, then just 27, and his collaborators, including the screenplay writer Max Landis and the actor Michael B. Jordan. Chronicle earned $126 million globally, more than 10 times its production budget, and landed Trank some plum rewards: the chance to direct a reboot of the Marvel property Fantastic Four and a planned Star Wars stand-alone movie about the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Fantastic Four, however, proved catastrophic. During production, Trank lost creative control of the Fox superhero film  there were reshoots, and the final cut was not his  and subsequent press accounts said that he behaved erratically on set. He said those reports misrepresented the shoot. What isnt in question is that Trank publicly disavowed Fantastic Four on the eve of its 2015 release, saying in a quickly deleted but much talked-about tweet that hed made a fantastic version of the film that audiences would probably never see. The movie, with a reported budget of $120 million, opened to a measly $25.7 million domestically and got brutal reviews.

As for that never-made Star Wars movie, he wound up exiting, he said, before he could be fired because of the Fantastic Four reports.
As promised, the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is now officially available for purchase in Germany. The device is now a generation old, but it has been freshened up with the official version of Android 10 with full Google services support.

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Love or hate Huawei, you have to give the company credit for persistence. The embattled Chinese smartphone and telecoms giant has rehashed the P30 Pro 2019 flagship for a third time with new P30 Pro New Edition. A key selling point for the device is, along with the still strong Kirin 980 SoC and camera performance, is that it ships out of the box with an official version Google Android 10 with full Google services onboard.

Unless youve been hiding under a rock (which is possible given all the COVID-19 craziness), you will know that Huawei is banned from shipping devices with Googles official version of Android complete with Google services. The P30 Pro New Edition skirts this US government ban by retaining the same design features and components as the original P30 Pro which was the last device that shipped before Huawei found its way on to the US Government Entity List.

What exactly is new about the New Edition? Nothing other than the new Silver Frost color that joins the Black and Aurora colors. For a limited period, it will also come with bonus Huawei FreeBuds 3 (which really are free in this instance, but you will only get one pair) and a Huawei Mini Speaker if you pre-order before it ships on May 31. Similarly, an order before May 31 will give you access to a Huawei Watch GT2 for just 99 Euro on top of the 749 Euro asking price -- 250 less than its launch pricing.
MUMBAI: While the nation is struggling to contain the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the farmers in Maharashtra have one more reason to worry. The tomato growers in parts of Maharashtra are seriously worried about an unidentified disease that is causing early ripening of their crops, leading to huge financial losses to them.

According to reports, the farmers across Maharashtra are attributing this disease to Tiranga virus, which they claim is damaging the tomato crop to a massive extent in the state. This unidentified disease or Tiranga virus has decimated about 60 per cent of the crop in Ahmednagar, Pune and Nashik districts in the last 10 days, as per reports.

Ramesh Vakle, a local tomato farmer, confirmed that the disease has done massive damage to the crops in Maharashtra.

''The plant leaves are drying up fast and the tomatoes are developing irregular shapes and colour and ripening prematurely. The crop ready for harvesting has been lost to this unidentified disease. Due to this, we are not getting buyers for our tomatoes,'' he said.

Though experts are trying to identify the disease, it still remains unidentified. Also, due to the lockdown, the samples of the diseased tomatoes are not reaching national laboratories for further scientific analysis

Farmers fear that if this viral attack is not controlled then it could spread to other crops. They also want advice on what precautionary steps to be taken before replanting the crop so that the crops are not affected all over again.

Tomatoes are widely used across cuisines all over the country. Due to the massive demand, the crop is planted and harvested throughout the year. The plant is ready for harvest after two months of sowing and the tomatoes can be plucked up to four times a year.

It is grown mainly in irrigated areas of Satara, Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik. The summer tomato is a prized crop that helps farmers in these regions earn well as they are exported to Bangladesh and Dubai.

Farmers normally start preparation of the crop in February with the first picking commencing late April. The crop normally feeds the market till July, after which the second or Kharif crop takes over.
On April 19, even as the pandemic disrupted Europe, it was reported that Russia had intercepted a U.S. Navy aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea. The U.S. and Russian governments issued conflicting statements on the incident. Washington stated that the Russians had flown in an unsafe and unprofessional manner when intercepting the Navy plane. The Russians denied this, claiming that they were simply escorting the aircraft.

It is difficult to reconcile Moscows explanation with the Russians behavior in a separate incident just the previous week, when a Russian plane attempted a high-speed maneuver in close proximity to another U.S. aircraft. While these aircraft maneuvers are not in themselves a warning of imminent military aggression, they show that Russias belligerence toward NATO and the West has not been softened by COVID-19.

As countries have not yet entered into a phase of economic recovery from the virus, it is still too early to accurately predict how the spread of the virus will change NATO. Nevertheless, it is possible that Russia will try to exploit the impact of the crisis on NATO members to undermine the alliance and the West. The economies of Western Europe have suffered depression-level damages from the viruss impact on workers and industries thus far -- not to mention death tolls in the hundreds of thousands -- and the cumulative effect is all but certain to permanently alter national psyches.

It is probable that the foremost priority for our European allies will be economic recovery for the next several years. The deterrence of Russian aggression seems likely to be demoted to a secondary priority, politically if not also financially. This would set the stage for an increased security threat from Russia in Ukraine, the Baltics, and Poland.

Soft security threats from Russia have already emerged and spread alongside the novel coronavirus. Europe has caught on to various themes of disinformation about the origins of COVID-19 coming from pro-Kremlin sources. In mid-March, a document produced by the EUs European External Action Service reported that Russian media had waged a significant disinformation campaign to undermine public trust in EU member-state governments and healthcare systems. One false narrative pushes the claim that EU countries responses to the virus have been completely botched, and that as a result, the European Union itself is teetering on the verge of collapse. Others claim that COVID-19 was a biological weapon engineered by China, the United States, or the United Kingdom; that it was caused by migrants; or that it is a complete hoax.



As was the case in recent European elections and the Brexit referendum, Moscow is attempting to throw the value of the European Union and NATO into question. Such campaigns will become more dangerous in the future, as the publics of countries that have had particularly high death tolls from the virus, such as Spain and Italy, remain vulnerable while the process the staggering trauma of their losses.

The United States may be increasingly seen as a prime target as the number of its cases and its death toll continue to climb. One pro-Kremlin media source has already framed the virus as a biological weapon developed by the United States and disseminated by U.S. special forces in China.

2020 being an election year also increases the United States appeal as a Russian target for disinformation, as Americans endure the uncertainty and confusion of an upended economy and way of life, and simultaneously decide whether to re-elect President Donald Trump in November.

An increase in the number of these campaigns would likely stem from the desire to distract from the Russian governments own imperfect pandemic responses. Initially, Russia would have been able to contrast its number of confirmed cases and deaths, which for weeks remained extremely low, with those of countries like Spain and Italy. Cases in Russia at first seemed so low, in fact, that its government was suspected by the international community of concealing the real numbers. (The World Health Organization refuted these allegations, as did the Kremlin.)

Cases in Russia have now passed the 100,000 mark, though Moscow will not refrain from pushing anti-Western rhetoric while it manages the spread of the virus. What seems certain is that the Kremlin will continue to spin the pandemic to stoke nationalistic sentiment, to the political advantage of President Vladimir Putin.

Putin may soon be looking for any advantage he can find: An April 29 public opinion poll in Russia showed that less than 30 percent of respondents identified their president as a trustworthy figure, the lowest approval numbers he has had in 14 years.

While these numbers are low for Putin, a drop in his popularity was foreseeable: The Russian economy was slowing even before the pandemic. His governments response to the virus has been lackluster after authoritative responses in the initial stages -- shutting Russias border with China and implementing screening at airports. Since then, Putin has had the rest of it taken off his hands, delegating much of the responsibility for additional containment measures to regional governors.

Clearly, this response is seen as insufficient. If Russians are losing trust in their own institutions in these uncertain times, dependable messaging strategies will be necessary. Before the virus recedes, Putins government may look to restore some of its credibility through a vigorous targeting of the usual scapegoats.

Sarah White is a research associate at the Lexington Institute. The views expressed are the author's own.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Onondaga County announced four more deaths from the coronavirus overnight, all in local hospitals (not in nursing homes).

There have now been 79 total deaths from COVID-19: 55 in hospitals and 24 in nursing homes. The latest victims were two women, one in her 60s and one in her 70s, and two men, one in his 60s and one in his 80s.

The loss of life continues, County Executive Ryan McMahon said at the start of his daily news conference.

McMahon then launched into statistics related to regional testing: the final hurdle before the local economy can begin to reopen Friday.

The county executive said he received assurances Tuesday afternoon that the state will not wait for private labs to count their number of tests before certifying that the tests were taken. That process, of getting information from the labs, can take days. Instead, the state will use numbers from local municipalities and testing sites to count up tests taken.

That means that testing this week can put Central New York over the threshold to begin reopening on Friday.

As of now, the state says the CNY region is still falling short in doing enough tests, though the regions official numbers went up overnight. McMahon said the states testing numbers are still being tabulated the old way, waiting for the private labs to receive samples and then send their numbers to the state.

McMahon said the region will be strongly positioned after several days of massive testing to make the state mandate before Friday. Had the state left it to private labs to count the tests  a lag time of several days  there might not have been enough time to increase official testing totals in time, McMahon has said.

RELATED: Syracuse site sees tremendous demand on first day of asyptomatic testing

But hes confident now that the new guidance from the state  allowing tests to be counted more quickly  will allow a restart on Friday.

In fact, McMahon promised, the region will have done enough testing to meet the state mandate by Wednesday.

The Syracuse community site, which opened Tuesday to anyone who wanted to be tested, was so busy that city police had to be called upon for traffic control, McMahon said.

RELATED: How to get a coronavirus test in Syracuse: Locations, hours, cost, what to bring

In other good news, the number of new infections identified from the community at large  the random spread of the virus  remained relatively low Tuesday, at 11 new infections. The four-day average for new community spread cases is 13.5 a day, a number that McMahon said was encouraging.

There were nine new cases found among household contacts of known infections, as well as 11 more in senior living facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living and independent living. The state is testing nursing home residents, while the county is testing other senior living facilities.

Overall, there were 31 new infections found from among 789 tests returned overnight. McMahon noted the number of tests returned overnight in Onondaga County was enough to satisfy the states mandate of 775 a day. And the state requires that number over a five-county area, not just in Onondaga County.

But the toll of the virus remains as bad as its ever been.

There were 54 people in the hospital, while 14 remained in critical condition. Those critical patients are the ones most likely to need life-saving ventilators.

The past two weeks have shown just how deadly the virus has become locally: there have been at least 26 deaths in the past 10 days.

This virus is deadly, McMahon said, noting the number of hospitalizations and life-threatening cases. This information just reflects that.

The county executive took numerous questions Tuesday about which businesses can open, and under which phase of the state plan. McMahon expressed support for the states phased reopening, but acknowledged that its unclear which specific businesses reopen when.

Where do gyms fit in? Non-essential doctors and dentist offices?

And then theres the enforcement question: hHw will the county regulate the reopening? Businesses will be required to certify that theyll follow the rules. What happens if someone ignores their responsibilities? McMahon said hes still trying to figure all of that out.

Were going to have to put the airplane together in the air on this one, McMahon said.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Plans for reopening take shape in CNY: Heres what we know so far

In scandal of Green Empire Farms outbreak, theres 1 death youve never heard about

Onondaga County will now test anyone, sick or not, for coronavirus: Just bring ID

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 14:14 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd776ab2 1 National East-Nusa-Tenggara,internet-connection,digital-divide Free

Authorities of Wolo Klibang village in West Adonara district, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, had to travel 1 kilometer from their village and climb a tree in search of an internet connection to be able to attend a virtual meeting with the East Flores regent on Friday.

What can we do? If we did not climb the tree, we would not be able to get an internet connection and would not be able to attend the meeting, head of Wolo Klibang village Anselmus Sili said Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

The meeting, which discussed the handling and prevention of the COVID-19 outbreak in the region, lasted for two hours.

Read also: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/05/09/university-student-in-sulawesi-dies-after-falling-while-searching-for-internet-signal.html" target="_blank">University student in Sulawesi dies after falling while searching for internet signal

Anselmus said his village did not have access to the internet, which meant residents had to walk or drive around 1 km away to get a signal.

East Flores Regent Agus Boli said his administration had sent a letter to the Communications and Information Ministry asking for more base transceiver stations (BTS) to be installed in the regency, as there were still some areas without an internet signal.

Hopefully, we will get a response to our request in the near future, Agus said, adding that the existing telecommunication network was often disrupted due to a weak signal. (iwa)
 Flash

The translation and interpreting (T&I) community has supported the battle against the COVID-19 with their expertise in translation, interpreting and language technologies, according to an industrial webinar held on Monday.

The webinar was co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Translation and Interpreting Forum (APTIF) and the Translators Association of China (TAC). T&I professionals from Iraq, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, South Korea and China, as well as international industrial organizations, reviewed the contributions the T&I community has made in the combat against COVID-19, while iterating their responsibilities in the global fight.

Kevin Quirk, president of the International Federation of Translators (FIT), gave the keynote speech. "Our job as translators and interpreters is to bridge the language gap and promote mutual understanding," he said. "We are in the business of communication, and it is essential that we also communicate the importance of the work we do, in case others forget it."



Participants of the webinar reviewed the community's contributions in the coronavirus fight, and released an initiative to pool the strength of the Asia-Pacific T&I community toward the continuing efforts against the pandemic.

Contributing to the global fight

Valuable experiences and outcomes on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 have been extensively communicated worldwide, after being translated into different languages, according to Gao Anming, chair of the APTIF Joint Committee and vice president and editor-in-chief of China International Publishing Group.

During the outbreak, TAC compiled "Keywords to Understand China: The Fight Against COVID-19" and "A Handbook of 2019-nCov Pneumonia Control and Prevention," providing guidance on global efforts against the pandemic.

Moreover, many interpreters worked on the frontlines alongside healthcare and security professionals, in order to facilitate doctor-patient communication and assist in prevention and control efforts at airports and other transportation hubs.

According to Qassim Al-Asadi, president of Iraqi Translators Association, translators and interpreters in Iraq are working closely with the authorities and medical professionals to provide accurate information, translate medical instructions, and help to communicate findings and information to foreign citizens there who do not speak Arabic.

The work of the T&I community has gone even beyond spoken and written words. According to Quirk, the persistence of translator and interpreter associations in Europe have been essential in ensuring that sign language interpreters are present during press briefings on the spread of COVID-19, in order to communicate information to people with hearing disabilities.

In addition, Quirk said that the European T&I community has contributed toward the health data representation of minority groups, such as Somali refugees in Norway who don't speak the local language. They helped inform authorities of the importance of good translation of information in all language communities.

Impact on the T&I community

Despite their essential role, the community is calling for attention on the impact the pandemic has had on the T&I industry, due to a decrease of businesses as conferences and meetings are cancelled throughout the world.

A "European Language Industry Survey" was recently conducted among 1,036 independent language professionals from 29 European countries and 18 other countries. According to the results, 58.1% of respondents reported their business had "fallen off a cliff," and 38.7% of respondents said business was "slow" for them. In other words, a staggering 96.8% of respondents had been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

The initiative released at Monday's webinar was in part a response to these circumstances. "It is our common choice to devote ourselves to fighting COVID-19, and it is our shared responsibility to increase exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations," the initiative says. It calls on all translators and interpreters to accomplish their mission, bridge the language gap, promote mutual understanding, and help promote people-to-people connectivity.

"As a profession, I think that we're a bit more prepared for this sudden transformation than most." FIT Vice President Alison Rodriguez said. "The Asia-Pacific has the resources to deal with challenges because it has effective, energetic people who are dedicated and skilled, especially with the field of technology."

In early March, FIT pooled its resources to issue a joint statement together with the International Association of Conference Interpreters and the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters to highlight the economic effects on the profession and call on authorities worldwide to consider the economic implications of the coronavirus on independent interpreters and translators.

The FIT vice president said at the webinar, "By helping to build relationships and fostering cooperation among countries, the translation industry itself can address joint problems, and share knowledge and best practices, while helping the global community to solve common global challenges that extend beyond national borders."
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellar IT Solutions, Inc. (Stellar) announces its acquisition of StanSource, Inc., an information technology services and solutions provider based in Dulles, Virginia. StanSource will continue to operate under its own name as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stellar. Further, the newly created Stellar iDea Labs, an in-house technology incubator, encourages product innovations and solutions by fostering start-ups and fast-tracking them through a highly collaborative process.

Stellar delivers technology solutions from a global talent pool tailored to IT consulting services by leveraging a proprietary recruitment process enabling rapid scalability. With the StanSource purchase, Stellar now employs over 150 employees and consultants.

"Stellar serves as a main source of talent for our clients, and the acquisition of StanSource allows us to expand our talent footprint in the Washington, DC, area," says Dipak Thakker, CEO and president of Stellar. "This, in turn, allows us to respond quickly to the talent needs of diverse clients."

The recently launched Stellar iDea Labs focuses on technology gaps in the private and public sectors, using proprietary artificial intelligence/machine learning solutions. The incubator program is currently exploring technology solutions in hospitality, the opioid crisis, contact centers, financial regulation, e-commerce, among other areas.

"At Stellar, we are constantly looking at technology gaps and market opportunities. The incubator enables us to seek solutions," says Joshua Sircus, COO. "Stellar iDea Labs is unique in that it allows all employees and consultants to bring their ideas in-house using company resources."

Stellar is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, with offices in Virginia and Ohio, as well as international offices in India. For more information on Stellar IT Solutions, visit www.stellarit.com.

About Stellar IT Solutions, Inc.

Stellar IT Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, is an IT design, development, product solutions, and management company. Stellar is a certified MBE | DBE | SBE consulting firm and has successfully implemented several systems in support of Knowledge Management and Big Data Analytics. In 2016, Dipak Thakker, owner of Stellar IT Solutions, formed Prayag Technologies, Inc., as a government and commercial talent management company. Subsequently, Prayag acquired two other talent management companies, KSIT Consulting, Inc., and Stellar Software Network, Inc. Shortly after, the combined companies were branded under the name Stellar IT Solutions, Inc.

Contact: Joshua Sircus

Stellar IT Solutions, Inc.

Phone: 240-774-0001

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Stellar IT Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.stellarit.com


Photo credit: Harry Crowder

From ELLE Decoration

In our quest to express individualism in our homes, art often feels like the missing piece of the puzzle. And its quite the puzzle. Factor in formidable galleries, the balancing act of budgets and alienating phrasing like diversify your portfolio and its no wonder were baffled by what to hang on our walls. At the other end of the spectrum, vast online e-tailers have given the art worlds staid image a serious shake-up, but their never-ending catalogues can be equally muddling for those without direction  or days to spend browsing.

So whats the middle way? A new generation of curated, personalised platforms, impeccably edited by insiders with a network of emerging artists (and the know-how to prowl the grad shows). Here, weve picked four figures at the forefront of the accessible art revolution...

The Consultant: Georgia Spray

Photo credit: Harry Crowder

When friends furnishing their first properties came to Georgia Spray for advice on sourcing affordable contemporary art, it came as a surprise to all that she found herself stumped. She was, after all, a history of art graduate who had then spent six years honing her knowledge at a roll call of Londons most lauded institutions, from White Cube to Christies auction house.

At the time, I was working for an art dealer called Ivor Braka who deals in the likes of your Lucian Freuds and Francis Bacons. It was an amazing experience, but I was becoming ever more interested in emerging artists and realised that I didnt really have a place that I could confidently refer people to.

Photo credit: Hester Finch

Launching Partnership Editions in 2017, Spray envisaged a curated and affordable platform that worked collaboratively with artists to produce limited-edition prints and original works. Now, many of the sites rotating roster of names  bright young artists like Fee Greening and Emily Forgot  are flourishing, with sizable Instagram followings as testament to their talent and a shift in the way we access art.

Story continues

Instagram is the most incredible tool, says Spray, quick to defend a platform often demonised as devaluing art. It allows people to follow from a distance yet still feel connected. If someone purchases a piece, they can watch the trajectory of the artist and how theyre growing, which is such a rewarding experience.



Its this readiness to embrace an art world in flux that has seen swift success for Partnership Editions, which champions expressive, figurative works by a majority of female artists  not a conscious decision, but an organic one. But the rate at which the business is growing poses some tricky questions pertaining to the platforms very ethos. As the company develops, how do we retain that edited feel? The balance of expansion and curation is something I always question, says Spray.

An exhibition series in new London retail destination Islington Square at the end of last year was partly driven by a desire to reconnect with the customers beyond the screen, while life-drawing classes, led by artists such as the platforms breakout star Alexandria Coe, are one of Partnership Editions most popular exports. Classes grant our customers a much greater understanding of the way the artists think. It adds value to the artworks, too  people really appreciate how difficult it is! partnershipeditions.com

Photo credit: Alexandria Coe

Georgias Top Tips

Give a specialist a try: Were not here to add steps or make things more expensive, but to help open up the conversation. Theres a mistrust of consultants, but as long as were being honest, were here to guide you.

Be open about your budget: People are often scared to talk about the money side of buying art  its not theBritish way  but you can start a collection with 50.Theres no harm in saying, this is my budget, this is what I like, and seeing what they have to say.

Collect art for its own sake: Try not to get bogged down in buying for a specific space. Its not about filling a gap, but finding something that will move house with you. Shuffle things around every so often  a new context can make you look at a piece in another way.

The Publicist: Harriet Mathias

Photo credit: Kirk Truman

Modern Muse Art founder Harriet Mathias pulls no punches when questioned on the challenges facing artists today. London is such an amazing city for art, but it can be really lonely for artists. The fairs are incredible, but you can become lost as an identity among the competitiveness. As a former PR manager for Cartier and Prada, she was well versed in communicating the appeal of brands with artistry in their DNA, but had a vision for an accessible art platform that would provide artists with a community and collectors with an emotional connection to the pieces they buy.

Photo credit: Natasha Briefel

In December 2018, the art history graduate began building up contacts as an art consultant  encouraged by the constant requests for advice from family and friends  and the Modern Muse website went live exactly a year later. I realised I could actually do something with my knowledge, says Mathias. I was confident in the artists that I had on my books, and the gap in the market for a tailored platform that puts the artist first.

Its a quip that captures the crux of what separates the site from competitors  Modern Muse is not a tradeable art marketplace, but a place to profile artists in depth, where potential buyers can, as Mathias puts it, be alone with their thoughts without the fear of entering a traditional white cube gallery.



Shes keen to connect as many artists and collectors face to face as possible, and perhaps Mathias masterstroke is the upcoming physical space, born from a house purchase that became an integral part of the project (I had a eureka moment, she says). Modern Mews  wittily named for the Notting Hill townhouse it calls home  is a versatile new venture that will provide a gallery area, plus a backdrop for events, talks and client dinners. Though Mathias envisions it as appointment-only, shes firm on the fact that artists will be able to come and go as they please. The artist is the muse. modernmuseart.com

Photo credit: Marco Rea

Harriets Top Tips

Train your eye: We have an incredible selection of galleries in the UK, so make the most of them  go to a range of exhibitions and really work out what you love.

Find parallels with emerging artists: Look for those references in the Old Masters or contemporary artworks that you cant afford and then find commonalities within pieces by new artists. Youre going to have the artwork on your wall  you have to love it.

Dont disregard the importance of framing: Skimping on a quality frame is never worth it  its a tool to showcase the art. Factor the frame into the budget of your whole purchase, so that you dont end up buying a piece that you cant then do justice.

The Auctioneer: Tom Best

Photo credit: Toby Keane

Theres a reason why auctions are one of the oldest trading models in history, says The Auction Collective founder Tom Best. Hes a fierce advocate of the format, which helped him shift sacks of fruit and veg with his dad in the local village hall as well as multi-million-pound works as a contemporary art specialist at illustrious auction house Christies (at 25, Best was its youngest auctioneer in recent record, though he is keen to point out its 250-year history).

After a stint working for a charity in Syria at the peak of the civil war, he returned to London to find friends were starting to become, as he puts it, house proud. They wanted to create a home with real art and real objects, but that world is such a foreign concept to a lot of people. Meanwhile, his network of rising artists was looking for ways to kickstart their careers, and auctions provided a unique platform to test the value of their artwork with the heady thrill of no upper limit.

Photo credit: Toby Keane

The first pop-up auctions, in 2017, were a cheerfully unpolished affair: Id get a group of artists together, invite a bunch of friends, rent a room in Shoreditch, and take an auction standing on a table.There were three key ingredients to those early events: an Instagram account to act as a catalogue, a card reader and a gavel. When punters kept badgering him about the next one  people love an experience, he offers  The Auction Collective was born.

With curator Francesca Wilson and art advisor Nick Yau in tow, Best began dismantling the barriers that he felt were impeding transparency in the industry, ditching the complicated onboarding process, incorporating the buyers commission, VAT and artists resale fee into the price. He also introduced the worlds first downloadable bidding paddle, which is as simple as an online train ticket. Pre-auction exhibitions, which are scanned with VR technology for online perusal, are costly but essential. People are drawn to pieces as soon as they walk into the room.



Friends in the traditional art world were convinced  they deal with fine art every day, but its got three more zeroes on the end than they can afford  as were crowds of curious first-timers, many of whom now return for each seasonal and special sale. Bests go-to mantra? Buy with your eyes, not your ears, he says. If you cant stop thinking about it, if you have some weird teenage crush on it... youve got to go for it. Who cares what anyone else thinks? theauctioncollective.com

Photo credit: Toby Keane

Toms Top Tips

Tell the auction team its your first time: Theyre on your side and want you to have a fun experience. The auctioneer will look out for you  they might slow down during the auction and make sure you know whats going on.

Decide on your maximum bid before the auction: Especially if youre splitting the cost with a partner who isnt there! Weve witnessed a few apologetic conversations when someone bids above what they agreed. Although its always fine in the end, you dont want to get caught up in the excitement of bidding and go too far.

Dont be afraid to sneeze or scratch your nose: People have these wonderful ideas that youll suddenly have to buy something for a million pounds, but trust me the auctioneer only wants to take your bid if youre going to pay for it.

The Artist: Simi Launay

Photo credit: Simi Launay

The difficulty of securing gallery representation is well documented, but experiencing it first hand proved a catalyst for Simi Launay, founder of online platform Ungalleried. A move from the UK to Portugal left the former headhunter with a window of free time, which she filled by painting. When sharing her works on social media led to a joint exhibition in an arts space in a bar, confidence followed though it was swiftly curbed when she was rejected by local galleries.I didnt have a traditional art background. I studied economics, she laughs. I thought there must be so many artists out there like me.

A stint in Asia exploring the emerging scene and connecting with curators provided fresh inspiration, and the idea for Ungalleried which nods to the artists who lack representation and the notion of selling outside a gallery space  was hashed out on her return. By this point, galleries were revealing the industrys struggles to Launay, citing the overheads of the bricks-and-mortar model.

Photo credit: Andrej Julher

Launays business-honed brain, meanwhile, atoned for her lack of experience. I started from a strategic standpoint, she explains. I wanted this to be an international gallery, so I began building a global network of curators. Now, she has representatives in Serbia, Berlin, Rome and Texas, who source artworks under 10,000 across Europe, plus pockets of excellence in the US and South America. Sub-Saharan Africa is next, with physical pop-ups in European cities coming soon.

Its an ambitious project to realise within a year (the site now hosts165 creatives across the globe), but Launay isnt stopping there. Having just secured her first interior design commission, she plans for Ungalleried to morph into a gallery concept store. Speaking to Launay about her fledgling endeavour, you get the sense that the old corporate gig is a fading memory. This could be a powerful vehicle for these artists to express themselves and tell stories that you dont hear on the news. Its given me that raison detre. ungalleried.com

Photo credit: Aleksandra Brankovic

Simis Top Tips

Take a leap: Definitely seek advice from a gallery or curator, but dont wait to find the confidence to buy a piece if you love it. Remember that you can always sell art!

Form a relationship with the artist: Every contemporary master  your Damien Hirsts and so on  started somewhere. Someone was the first person who invested in them and that gave them the confidence to goon to become the great artists they are today.

Follow your passions: The art world is so diverse and different pieces speak to different people. One of Ungallerieds taglines is buy future classics, sell future classics, and its really about that  seeing an emerging artist today as producing a future classic.

This article appeared in ELLE Decoration May 2020

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[May 11, 2020] Intrusion Inc. Announces Financial Release Date and Conference Call

RICHARDSON, Texas, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intrusion Inc. (OTCQB: INTZ), (Intrusion) will announce first quarter 2020 financial results on Thursday, May 14, 2020. The press release will be published over the wire services after the market closes. The release will also be available on the companys web site at www.intrusion.com. Intrusion management will review the Companys financial and operational progress for the first quarter 2020 during a conference call later that day at4:00 P.M., CDT.



Interested investors can access the call by calling 1-833-360-0880 at 4:00 P.M., CDT. For those unable to participate in the live conference call, a replay will be accessible beginning May 14, 2020 at approximately 7:00 P.M., CDT until May 21, 2020 by calling 1-855-859-2056. At the replay prompt, enter conference identification number 7278964. In addition, a live and archived audio webcast of the conference call will be available at www.intrusion.com. About Intrusion Inc.

Intrusion Inc. is a global provider of entity identification, high speed data mining, cybercrime and advanced persistent threat detection products. Intrusions product families include TraceCop for identity discovery and disclosure, and Savant for network data mining and advanced persistent threat detection. Intrusions products help protect critical information assets by quickly detecting, protecting, analyzing and reporting attacks or misuse of classified, private and regulated information for government and enterprise networks. For more information, please visit www.intrusion.com. Contact Michael L. Paxton 972.301.3658, [email protected]

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:01:19|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed slightly lower Tuesday in a day of choppy trade, with buying on expectations for Japan partially reopening its economy on a regional basis offset by concerns over a possible second wave of virus infections.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 24.18 points, or 0.12 percent, from Monday to close the day at 20,366.48.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 3.90 points, or 0.26 percent, to finish at 1,476.72.

Local brokers said trade was largely directionless, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index swinging in and out of positive and negative territory as investors bet on mixed cues.

Hopes for Japan potentially easing its coronavirus-related restrictions later this week in a number of prefectures, allowing businesses to restart activities, bolstered sentiment to a degree, market analysts here said.

But the impetus to buy on expectations of a partial yet prominent economic restart here, was offset by concerns over the virus' reemergence in some countries who had largely seen new cases drop to zero or extremely low for consistently long period of time, strategists here highlighted.

"The uncertain prospects of the pandemic kept investors from making one-sided bets," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying on the renewed concerns.

His sentiment was echoed by Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, who said that, "It is better to brace for another bout of dips in summer as a second wave of infections is possible after economic restarts in the United States and Europe."

Other analysts said that possible further delays to global economic restarts, including Japan's, and the dire state the pandemic has left some companies in, in terms of their earnings reports and outlooks, could reignite negative sentiment towards riskier assets like stocks, and see global markets' volatility increase.

"When you think of earnings outlook and dire economic conditions, it is hard to expect the market to rise further from here," Takuya Hozumi, global investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said.

One point in case was Toyota announcing it expects a near 80 percent drop in its operating profit for the current business year, while opting not to disclose its net earnings forecast for this year. The automaker skidded down 2.0 percent on the news.

Honda, meanwhile, fell 3.5 percent, with the company announcing after the closing bell that its full-year net profit had fallen more than 25 percent in the business year ended March.

Similarly, Bridgestone dropped 4.0 percent, after saying its January-March net profit had slumped 65 percent on year.

Retailers also came under selling pressure owing to consumer demand being hit by the pandemic, with department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings losing 8.7 percent, after reporting a net loss for the business year ended March, with fellow department store operators Takashimaya and Marui Group losing 4.5 percent and 4.9 recent respectively.

Some tech shares bucked the downward trend however, aided by their U.S. peers' rise overnight, with Sony adding 0.16 percent and Nintendo ending the day 2.7 percent higher.

By the close of play, marine transportation, rubber product and air transportation issues comprised those that declined the most, and issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,244 to 840 on the First Section, while 87 ended the day unchanged.

On the main section on Tuesday, 1.241 billion shares changed hands, dropping from Monday's volume of 1.313 billion shares.

The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2.087 trillion yen (19.425 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
With the entire country under lockdown, authorities, every now and then, are taking to social media to share various advisory messages to urge people to stay indoors. Many are also taking various references from Bollywood movies to drive home various important messages. Nagpur Police too joined the trend to put forth this essential advisory for people.

Taking to Twitter, the department shared an image which shows the character Majnu from the film Welcome. A caption on the image reads, Aye tum log bhi chalo mere sath (You guys come with me too).

In the caption, the department wrote that even a single person can do the essential shopping. Nagpur Police then advised people not to be a Majnu for their friends.

When even a single person can do the essential shopping...



Don't be a 'Majnu' for your friends: pic.twitter.com/dF3onr0ILE  Nagpur City Police (@NagpurPolice) May 12, 2020

The witty advisory post sparked all sorts of reactions online with many praising the department.

We have the coolest police, wrote a Twitter user. Nailed it, expressed another. Kya baat hai, said another.

What do you think of Nagpur Polices tweet?
An employee at Zupans Markets has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Portland-based company announced on Monday.

Someone who worked at the companys West Burnside location tested positive after last working at the store May 4, according to a news release from the company. Store executives said the employee is now recovering at home. The company said the infected employee did not spend long amounts of time inside the store or handle or package food.

The store has informed all of its employees about the positive test and asked them to self-monitor for symptoms. The company said three other employees have been tested so far, with negative results. All employees who were in direct contact with the infected employee have been asked to stay at home, and will be paid for a period of self-quarantine, the company said.

The company said it has been deep-cleaning the store for the past six weeks, and did so again after finding out that an employee had tested positive.

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

Most major grocery chains in the Portland area have now had at least one employee test positive for coronavirus: Fred Meyer in Northeast Portland, Safeway in King City and WinCo Foods stores in Tigard and Oregon City have all had employees sickened with the virus.

A Whole Foods employee from the stores Pearl District store died last month from coronavirus complications, and another who worked at the Hollywood location in Northeast Portland tested positive for COVID-19.

Many area stores have modified their operations during the pandemic, such as reserving hours for senior and immunocompromised shoppers. Others, such as Fred Meyer, offered temporary pay boosts for employees working during the pandemic.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is appealing to be released from prison after an inmate in her unit tested positive for coronavirus.

Van Houten, 70, was 19-years-old when she and other cult members stabbed to death wealthy Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in 1969.

Her attorney Rich Pfeiffer told Fox 5: 'Today I learned that an inmate in Ms. Van Houten's housing unit tested positive for COVID 19 and she is presently being quarantined.'

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, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

Pfeiffer added: 'Due to her advanced age, this puts Ms. Van Houten at a high risk.

'Ms. Van Houten is not opposed to home confinement and she can arrange for all costs outside of prison.'

She is understood to be held at the California Institute for Women in Corona.

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is appealing to released from prison after an inmate in her unit tested positive for coronavirus. She is pictured in 2017

Susan Denise Atkins, (left), Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten,(right), laugh after receiving the death sentence for their part in the Tate-LaBianca killing at the order of Manson

Manson, who died in prison in 2017 at age 83, directed his mostly young and female devotees to murder seven people, including actress Tate, in August 1969 in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war

At the time of the slayings Van Houten said they carved up Leno LaBianca's body and smeared the couple's blood on the walls. The words 'Death to Pigs,' and 'Healter Skelter' - a misspelled reference to a Beatles song - were found scrawled in the victims' blood on the walls and refrigerator.

The killings came the day after other Manson followers, not including Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in violence that spread fear throughout Los Angeles and riveted the nation.

No one who took part in the Tate-LaBianca murders has been released from prison.

Manson, who died in prison in 2017 at age 83, directed his mostly young and female devotees to murder seven people, including actress Tate, in August 1969 in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war.

Although Manson, one of the 20th century's most notorious criminals, did not personally kill any of the seven victims, he was found guilty of ordering their murders.

He was also convicted later of ordering the killings of two others during that summer - music teacher Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald 'Shorty' Shea.

In June last year California Gov. Gavin Newsom overruled a parole board's decision to free Van Houten. It marked the third time a governor has stopped the release of the youngest member of Manson's murderous cult.

Newsom said she was still a threat, though she has spent nearly half a century behind bars and received reports of good behavior and testimonials about her rehabilitation.

'While I commend Ms. Van Houten for her efforts at rehabilitation and acknowledge her youth at the time of the crimes, I am concerned about her role in these killings and her potential for future violence,' he wrote in his decision.

'Ms. Van Houten was an eager participant in the killing of the LaBiancas and played a significant role.'

Van Houten, 70, was 19-years-old when she and other cult members stabbed to death wealthy Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca, left, and his wife, Rosemary, right, in 1969

The killings came the day after other Manson followers, not including Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate, pictured, and four others in violence that spread fear throughout Los Angeles and riveted the nation

It was the first time Newsom rejected parole for Van Houten, while former Gov. Jerry Brown denied her release twice saying she still laid too much blame on Manson for the stabbing deaths.

In his decision in January 2018, Brown acknowledged Van Houten's youth at the time of the crime, more than four decades of good behavior as a prisoner and her abuse at the hands of Manson.

'Nobody wants to put their name on her release, but when they're speaking honestly or off the record, everyone wants her to go home,' Pfeiffer said at the time of the decision.

In one hearing Van Houten described a troubled childhood. She said she was devastated when her parents divorced when she was 14.

Soon after, she said, she began hanging out with her school's outcast crowd and using drugs. When she was 17, she and her boyfriend ran away to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District during the city's Summer of Love in 1967.

She was traveling up and down the California coast when acquaintances led her to Manson.

He was holed up at an abandoned movie ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles where he had recruited what he called a 'family' to survive what he insisted would be a race war he would launch by committing a series of random, horrifying, terrifying murders.

Leslie Van Houten pictured in 1971. In June last year California Gov. Gavin Newsom overruled a parole board's decision to free Van Houten. It marked the third time a governor has stopped the release of the youngest member of Manson's murderous cult

Leslie Van Houten pictured in 2016. In one hearing Van Houten described a troubled childhood. She said she was devastated when her parents divorced when she was 14

Brown rejected parole for Van Houten in 2017 because he said she still blamed the cult leader too much for the murders. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge upheld Brown's decision last year, finding that Van Houten posed 'an unreasonable risk of danger to society.'

Manson and his followers were sentenced to death in 1971, though those punishments were commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972.

Van Houten's case was overturned on appeal and she was later convicted and sentenced to seven years to life in prison.

Tate's sister, Debra Tate, has routinely shown up to parole and court hearings to oppose the release of any Manson follower. Even though Van Houten didn't take part in her sister's murder, Tate said she didn't deserve release under any circumstances.

Supporters of Van Houten said she had been a model prisoner who mentored dozens of inmates and helped them come to terms with their crimes.

Manson died in 2017 of natural causes at a California hospital while serving a life sentence.
By PTI

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat on Tuesday reported 362 new COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths, including 21 in worst-hit Ahmedabad, taking the total case count to 8,904 and the fatalities to 537, a Health department official said.

With 466 more people being discharged from hospitals, their overall number rose to 3,246 across the state, which is a steep rise, said Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi.

The discharged patients included 15-month-old twins from Ahmedabad who were on ventilators, she said.

"Of the 24 deaths, 21 deaths were reported from Ahmedabad and one each from Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara," Ravi said.

With 267 new cases, Ahmedabad district's overall tally mounted to 6,353 and the number of fatalities to 421, the official said, adding that 392 of the 466 patients discharged on Tuesday were from Ahmedabad.

Among the 17 districts that reported new cases were Vadodara (27) and Surat (30).

"The discharge rate now stands at 36.5 per cent, which has seen a steep increase. The revised discharge guideline has been framed based on research conducted abroad which says that coronavirus shows no growth after seven days," she said.

Ravi said the state has so far tested 1,19,537 samples, including 3,066 in the last 24 hours.

ALSO READ | COVID-19: Essential shops to reopen from May 15 in Ahmedabad after week

Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 8,904, new cases 362, deaths 537, discharged patients 3,246, active cases 5,121 and people tested so far 1,19,537.

Meanwhile, the state government announced on Tuesday that industrial activities will be allowed to resume in Rajkot city from May 14 as coronavirus pandemic is under control in the area.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a video conference with district officers and secretaries involved in the fight against coronavirus and discussed various measures suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting with chief ministers the day before.

"Rajkot was already in the orange zone. But the state government had taken a decision not to allow lifting of curbs in the city," said secretary to the chief minister Ashwani Kumar.

"However, as coronavirus situation is under control in the city the government has decided to start industrial and commercial activities as per norms in orange zone from May 14," he added.

Rajkot has so far reported 97 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths.

Out of 97, 46 people have been discharged.

No new case was reported in the city in the last three days.

ALSO READ | Vande Bharat Mission: 139 Indian students stranded in Philippines arrive in Ahmedabad

During the video conference, the chief minister informed that life in municipal corporations of Jamnagar and Junagadh and as many as 156 Nagar Palika along with rural areas is coming back to normalcy in terms of activities related to farming, trade and commerce, and employment.

Four municipal corporations -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Bhavnagar -- and six municipalities are in the red zone in Gujarat, where strict lockdown is being enforced.

In orange and green zones lockdown has been relaxed as per the central government's guidelines.
By Nicholas West

The move toward using robots in law enforcement, private security, and even to scare away the homeless, has been a decade-long trend that is now becoming much more prevalent in everyday life in the wake of COVID-19. Where people were once appalled that drones went from search and rescue duties to surveillance, the Overton window has quickly moved to pandemic drones that can use thermal imaging to scan the publics temperature readings.

The same move toward even more dystopian use of A.I. robots can be seen on the ground as well. RoboCops have been launched coast to coast in 16 states. As Aaron Kesel reported:

The robots are able to scan anyone walking on the sidewalks, record license plates, use infrared vision, and one of the scariest uses of this technology is the capability to detect cellphone serial numbers within a designated patrolling area.

Apparently, those uses could seem quaint if we take the latest news from Singapore as a sign of things to come.

A Boston Dynamics/DARPA-funded robot named Spot is now being seen in parks barking orders at passersby to maintain their distance.

Singapore also happens to be the first place to have tested what is now taking over the daily news cycle: contact tracing. As you can see in the video above, Spot has an array of cameras and sensors which undoubtedly could also assist in this task.

Boston Dynamics is of course an American company funded by the Pentagons research division, so it would be unwise to assume that these robots will never make it to the streets of America.

But, wait, they already have.

As Elias Marat wrote for The Mind Unleashed, Massachusetts police have tested Spot for use as part of the bomb squad. As youll see below, Spot has been modified to open doors:

A company called YouBionic has gone a step further and created a modification for Spot that would appear to give even more human-like flexibility for performing tasks.

As Ive questioned in previous articles about robodogs: Didnt anyone see that episode of Black Mirror  Metalhead?

Spoiler alert: it didnt have a happy ending.

As we see each area of the world adopting the most draconian policies and technologies soon after they are introduced, is it really far-fetched anymore to be concerned that these robodogs will be used not only for contact tracing and social distancing police, but also as quarantine enforcement and extraction? As Spiro Skouras has reported, home extraction of COVID suspects who are unable to properly quarantine at home has been discussed in California.

We have entered very strange times where warnings of dystopian outcomes from misuse of robotics and artificial intelligence are instead cheered on by major media outlets like NBC with this headline: Robot Dog Helping Keep People Safe in Singapore.

And it cant happen here?

Nicholas West writes for Activist Post. Support us at Patreon for as little as $1 per month. Follow us on Minds, Steemit, SoMee, BitChute, Facebook and Twitter. Ready for solutions? Subscribe to our premium newsletter Counter Markets.

Top image: The Mind Unleashed
More snow on the way in Pennsylvania; here's how much to expect
Fifty years ago the Abortion Caravan came to Ottawa as part of the decades-long sexual rights movement that changed the country  and eventually led to the decriminalization of abortion.

Today, as standard-bearers for that same movement, were marking the important anniversary of this historic event  and reflecting on how far we have to go, at a time when disparities in health care access across the country are becoming clearer in the face of a global health crisis.

In the spring of 1970, a group of feminists left Vancouver to travel across the country to Ottawa with one goal: safe abortion care for everyone. On the way, the caravan stopped in towns, held meetings, and gathered more followers.

The group knew they had to find a way to be heard. Pregnant women across Canada were dying because of lack of access to safe abortions. The laws, put in place by Pierre Trudeau in 1969, had made it harder, not easier, for women to access abortions. There would be no compromise. Abortion would be decriminalized because of these women and their legacy.

Once in Ottawa, the activists delivered a coffin to 24 Sussex Drive  but Prime Minister Trudeau was not home. The caravan then staged a decoy protest on Parliament Hill, while a smaller group of respectably dressed women entered the House of Commons during Question Period. Using bike locks, they chained themselves to their seats. One by one they rose, shouting for abortion rights.

For the first time ever, the House was shut down by an act of resistance. And the message was clear  women everywhere would not be silenced by politicians, nor wait for them to hand down laws, when womens lives were on the line.

After that day, feminists demanded access to safe abortion care, and openly flouted the laws that prevented it. Dr. Henry Morgentaler and the women he worked with to open abortion clinics across Canadian cities were a legacy of this movement. Organizations like Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and the National Abortion Federation Canada, alongside all the grassroots activists we work with, are also among the direct descendants of the Caravan movement builders.

In the 50 years since, we have made significant progress, but today abortion access across Canada is still unequal and uneven. COVID-19 has made this even more clear, with the most marginalized people facing the most disproportionate barriers.

For many pregnant people, accessing care remains a challenge. Many cities and smaller communities in Canada do not offer abortion care  that forces thousands of people to leave their homes and communities, at their own costs, to access a basic, essential health care service.

Under a tenet of universality, the Canada Health Act requires that everyone is entitled to the same level of health care, but we know  especially during COVID-19  that we are far from reaching this goal. Many parts of Canada (including the Maritimes, Nunavut and northern parts of most provinces) only provide abortion care to limited gestational age. Whether a person can access an abortion when they need it largely depends on what part of Canada they live in  and where they can travel.

And the reality is, accessing an abortion anywhere in Canada beyond 24 weeks is almost impossible. Women who need this critical care must travel to the United States. When international and provincial borders close, these gaps in services become even more apparent.

All levels of government, provincial or territorial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, health authorities, regulators and hospital administrations, and health care schools must work together to address these barriers. The solutions are known, but the political will to enact them is sorely lacking.

Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons often regulate abortion care in non-hospital settings  and they must review their regulations and ensure they are evidence-informed and patient-centred. Health authorities, regulators, and hospital administrations must work to break down barriers to providing abortion care, while supporting their departments that provide care by ensuring sufficient funding structures and mid-career and on-going education are available, and by treating abortion as the essential service it is. Health schools need to ensure that abortion care is a part of their curricula, including easy access to hands-on learning.

The federal and provincial governments must urgently take several concrete steps to proactively ensure that abortion is not only legal, but accessible. Especially in the context of a health crisis that impacts vulnerable people first.

Today we are celebrating the brave activist success of the Abortion Caravan 50 years ago. We also know it is long past time for those with power to do more to ensure that pregnant people can access the abortion care they need. As we stay at home to flatten the curve, we can also raise our proverbial bike locks and call for change.
A recent audit shows that Oregon State Police lack "basic cybersecurity safeguards" and have frequently failed to secure their devices, network and data due to lack of proper staffing and resources.The report from the Oregon Secretary of State's auditing division was published last week and recommends that the agency take "immediate action" to address the findings.Many cybersecurity policies appear disorganized or inconsistent, as the police agency does not monitor authorized use of devices or audit device activity logs, vulnerability assessments are conducted on an "ad hoc" basis, and the agency does not "appropriately manage all users who have significant, high level access to important systems and data," according to the report.The audit, which sourced metrics from the Center for Internet Security, is one of several audits that the same office has conducted recently, said Kip Memmott, audits division director."The idea is that we go in and get a pulse on cybersecurity for these major state agencies," said Memmott, speaking withTeresa Furnish, IT audit manager, said the office had conducted a number of audits in recent years and found similar results. None of those findings have been good, but with OSP there's a particular danger, she said."The difference with OSP is that they are the keepers of the criminal justice information system for the state of Oregon ... we would've expected to find them to be a strong example of cybersecurity controls and that's not what we found," Furnish said.Looking ahead, officials with the Oregon Department of Enterprise Information Services (EIS) said that the State Police should continue to collaborate with the EIS' Cyber Security Services division on security policy. Enterprise Information Services oversees cybersecurity strategy for all state agencies."The [Secretary of State] audits serve as a reminder and is another opportunity to continue to improve the cybersecurity posture for the state overall," Joe Wells, EIS communications manager, said in an email. "OSP and all state agencies should continue to partner with Cyber Security Services to mitigate any [Secretary of State] findings or other cybersecurity concerns as appropriate."According to the report, a lot of the deficiencies in OSP policy may have to do with insufficent staffing and leadership. The OSP has had three CIOs and three interim CIOs since 2014  a leadership environment that may have undermined the agency's ability to develop consistent policies and procedures, the audit asserts.EIS may have partially contributed to this leadership void. According to the findings, a 2017 state IT consolidation project saw top cybersecurity officials from numerous agencies reassigned to work out of the Cyber Security Services office. In exchange, Cyber Security Services was supposed to send trained officials back to the agencies. However, the division never assigned an official to OSP, despite multiple requests for such an assignment, the audit states."Cyber Security Services will continue to partner with OSP based on need/skillset," said Wells, in reference to the agencies' partnership. "Cyber Security Services partners with all state agencies to improve our security posture with the resources we have currently."As Furnish notes, this kind of leadership turnover is not uncommon in public-sector technology. Due to the nature of the job and the industry, IT leadership in many public agencies sees a high turnover rate, and state police are no different, she said.Despite the negative findings the OSP has been extremely responsive to the report and its suggestions, Furnish and Memmott said.Indeed, the police force plans to use the audit as an opportunity to better its practices, said Capt. Tim Fox, OSP public information officer."OSP is devoted to not only fixing the issues identified but expanding to long-term planning and action going forward. This audit will serve as a baseline for future audits to track the future of OSP's security management and compliance program," said Fox. The statement also thanked the Secretary of State's Audits Division for its effort.However, some of these changes may be difficult given the state's current preoccupation with the COVID-19 crisis and the expected budgetary shortfalls in the coming years. Recent reports show that Oregon state agencies have been told to expect spending cuts of as much as 8.5 percent for the current budget cycle.OSP recently hired a new CIO and is looking to hire two new people to address risk abatement but its unclear whether the money will be there given the budgetary constraints, said Furnish.
Like many neighboring businesses in downtown Wayne, Matador restaurant tries to attract customers for take-out with window signs on Monday. Read more

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday threatened to pull funding from counties or municipalities that defy his shutdown order, saying politicians who push to reopen before the restrictions are lifted would be jeopardizing the lives of their citizens.

Pushing back against what has been a rising chorus for restarting the states economy, Wolfs office said he could withhold federal funds earmarked for counties with fewer than 500,000 residents as part of Congress coronavirus aid package.

The funding we have put aside to help with fighting this crisis will go to the folks who are doing their part, Wolf said. To the politicians urging businesses to risk their lives, and to risk the lives of their customers or employees, by opening prematurely, you need to understand that they are engaging in behavior that is both selfish and unsafe.

His comments came as officials across the state and region reported steady but not sharp decreases in the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths, and as a growing number of county leaders, Pennsylvania Republicans, and business owners intensified pressure for the state to lift the stay-at-home order or at least provide a timeline for when they might reopen.

And with rumors swirling that he might visit Pennsylvania this week, President Donald Trump joined the debate, tweeting that "the great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes.

 READ MORE: Trump says Pennsylvanians want their freedom now as potential Pa. visit looms this week

Two dozen Pennsylvania counties have moved into the yellow zone of Wolfs three-phase plan, and 13 more will follow, mostly in the states north and west. Wolf last week extended the stay-at-home order to June 4.

Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, said county officials had pressed the administration over the weekend for a timeline to reopen. Ideally, Ellis-Marseglia said, the county would move to the yellow phase this week, but at the very least should partially reopen before the June 2 primary election.

The dialogue with Harrisburg occurred after Bucks officials, like their counterparts in Delaware County, asked the state to exclude coronavirus cases in long-term-care facilities from the overall counts, a figure that is being used as a benchmark for reopening.

While officials have said they would not exclude care-home cases entirely, the governor said his administration will use some subjectivity in all reopening decisions.

Health Secretary Rachel Levine on Monday described the conversations with Bucks officials as a very good discussion and said talks were continuing between the state and the hard-hit Philadelphia region.

Were going to be working with  all the [southeastern counties] on a plan for what metrics well be using and how well be looking at the southeast eventually going from red to yellow, Levine said.

 READ MORE: Can Gov. Wolf withhold coronavirus recovery money from counties that defy shutdown orders? Yes, experts say, but expect pushback.

Pennsylvania on Monday announced 543 additional coronavirus cases, for a total of 57,154, and 24 new deaths, for a total of 3,731. It was too early to say whether there was a downward trend or simply fewer infections reported due to the weekend or Mothers Day, Levine said.

But with the surge in cases and concern surrounding long-term-care facilities in Pennsylvania  at least 11,801 residents and 1,655 workers have been sickened by coronavirus  she said state officials would release more detailed, facility-specific data by the weeks end.

In New Jersey, the pace of infection was showing continual moderation, indicating slow improvement, Gov. Phil Murphy said, and hospitalizations across the state continue to drop.

The governor said he was nearing a decision about when the state may begin to reopen. Murphy said he would release detailed plans on Tuesday for how New Jersey will expand testing and bolster contact tracing efforts to prepare for a return to a normal life.

We are getting data that is making us more comfortable and confident that we will soon have some hard dates as to when we could truly begin our road back through restart and recovering, he said.

Philadelphia also reported progress, citing a nearly 20% drop in coronavirus hospitalizations from the citys peak, the latest sign that the pandemic is easing. Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said there were 822 patients with COVID-19 in city hospitals on Monday, and 102 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the overall tally to 18,313.

While Philadelphia is heading in the right direction, Farley said it was too soon to say when the city may reopen. But, he said, we can start to prepare.

And while other counties might have been angling for a quicker reopening, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he agreed with Wolfs approach.

Theres nothing worse than jumping the gun and opening up too soon, and falling back with a surge that will kill more people and take us longer to recover, Kenney said. "I trust the medical advice, I trust the scientific advice, and were just going to have to take it day by day.

Wolfs threat to withhold federal funds wouldnt extend to Philadelphia and its surrounding counties: Counties and municipalities with more than half a million people were automatically granted funds to be used for expenses including testing supplies and personal protective equipment.

But commissioners in at least six smaller counties have threatened to defy Wolfs orders by opening despite their red zone status, and top Pennsylvania Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Turzai, have railed against the economic harm of the shutdown. Some district attorneys have said they wont prosecute violations of the stay-at-home order.

In Chester County, some residents have asked the commissioners to allow a faster reopening, citing their relatively low number of cases  about 1,900.

We care deeply about everyone in Chester County and we will make what we believe to be the right decision in starting to reopen, the statement said. Reopening Chester County is our priority  but we will only begin the stages of reopening when it is truly safe and right to do so.

In Montgomery County, Commissioner Kenneth Lawrence said he had tested positive for the virus. He said he has not noticed any symptoms and will continue to work from home while self-isolating. This is an example that we need more community testing and that also asymptomatic people can be positive and never know, Lawrence said during Mondays county briefing.

Val Arkoosh, chair of the county commissioners, said those who have been in close contact with Lawrence have been tested. The group of public officials will base our next steps on the results of those tests, she said.

Commissioner Joe Gale, the lone Republican commissioner and one who has called for the county to reopen despite not reaching the states public health benchmarks for doing so, said he would not be tested. Testing will not reopen Montgomery County, said Gale. We will never have zero cases.

Brian Zidek, a Democrat who chairs the Delaware County Council, said he understands businesses feel ready to reopen, but urged them to not violate lawfully executed orders put in place for the sake of public health, particularly in light of Wolfs announcement of consequences for businesses that flout the orders.

We are a nation of laws, and we dont get to pick and choose those that we want to follow just because we may disagree with them, he said. "It became even clearer today thats not a good plan to follow.

Staff writers Erin McCarthy, Pranshu Verma, Sean Collins Walsh, and Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article.
Faulty vehicle lifts in Northern Ireland did thousands more MOT tests than manufacturers recommended, an independent report said.

New equipment was purchased after cracks discovered in 52 out of 55 of the existing machines led to large numbers of roadworthiness checks being cancelled.

The defects were caused by fatigue, engineers said.

Another report found that the overall standard of record management observed within the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) was less than satisfactory.

A review said: The lifts have clearly undertaken significantly more than the 22,000 design load cycles.

Inspections have been undertaken every six months.

Use of the lifts equated to approximately 150,000-160,000 cycles since their installation in 2011/2012, a report said.

The manufacturers operating instructions said its standard version was designed for 22,000.

It said the maximum period of normal use in relation to the possible product life expectancy should be evaluated and scheduled by a qualified person during the annual safety inspection.

The engineering company behind the review added: WYG would recommend that all lifts exhibiting signs of fatigue are taken out of service and replaced.

We would not advocate any short-term localised repairs due to the presence of fatigue in the scissor legs around the pivot.

In many instances, remedial works in the form of steel plates had been welded onto the lifts, preventing a thorough inspection.

Another recently-published report from the Civil Services internal audit team identified several instances where key discussions and decisions were not formally documented.

We consider that, although the standard of record management in certain areas such as fault logging / H&S (health and safety) was of a good standard, the overall standard of record management observed was generally less than satisfactory.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said the review raised important questions around DVAs approach to some aspects of its lift maintenance and inspection regime, including in relation to setting target dates and timescales.

She added: They need careful attention so that lessons are learned and to prevent such disruption to the public from ever happening again.

It is also concerning that the report finds that the overall standard of record management observed within DVA was less than satisfactory.

That is not acceptable, not least given the recent focus on the importance of good record keeping.

The new lifts are now ready for installation on a phased basis but all MOT centres were offered to the NHS for use as Covid-19 testing centres, the minister said.

She warned: This has meant that the replacement programme requires very careful management and new lifts will only be installed in those centres that the Department of Health and the Trusts have confirmed will not be required as part of our Covid-19 response.

If, at some later point after lifts have been installed, those centres are needed I have assured the health minister and our health care workers that the offer still stands and that they will have priority use of our MOT centres for the duration of this crisis.
Reliance Partners announced the addition of Thom Albrecht as chief financial officer and chief revenue officer. Mr. Albrecht is a 32-year veteran of the transportation space and served most recently as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Financial Officer with Celadon Group. Prior to Celadon, Mr. Albrechts experience included transportation consulting, equity research, and M&A. He previously served as president of Sword & Sea Transport as well as managing director at BB&T Capital Markets.

During the course of his career, Mr. Albrecht has worked closely with motor carriers, freight brokers, freight forwarders, shippers and equipment companies. He is widely considered one of the leading analysts in the sector. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The Journal of Commerce, FreightWaves, Logistics Management, and Transport Topics. Mr. Albrecht has been recognized as a Wall Street Journal All-Star among the publications analyst rankings and he was also recognized by Institutional Investor as the top analyst in his space among regional and boutique firms, both on multiple occasions.

I have known Thom for several years and he has an amazing reputation in the logistics world, said Reliance President, Chad Eichelberger. His expertise and experience will allow us to continue to grow our presence of the commercial transportation insurance space.

Thom has personally been involved with over 40 IPOs and secondary offerings during his career, said Reliance CEO Andrew Ladebauche. His knowledge and relationships are spread throughout the industry. We are excited to welcome him to the team.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday that she'll be pursuing legal action against two tribes to gain "clarity" on checkpoints being used to screen travelers coming onto reservations.

However, Noem didn't answer questions during a press conference on Monday about when she'll file a federal lawsuit against the tribes.

The Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux tribes set up checkpoints on roads traveling through the reservations at the beginning of April to curb the spread of COVID-19 onto the reservations.

Noem notified Cheyenne River Chairman Harold Frazier and Oglala President Julian Bear Runner on Friday that she would take legal action in federal court if the two tribes didn't remove their checkpoints by Sunday.

She said Monday that she's been discussing the checkpoints with the tribes for about a month, but they remain an issue and Friday's notification wasn't the start of the situation. She said she still hopes to see a resolution as a result of discussions between the state and tribes.

Noem said she understands the intent behind the checkpoints. She said she's also concerned about populations vulnerable to the coronavirus on the reservations, and the state has helped Indian Health Services prepare for the pandemic with supplies and personnel.

"It's a big concern for me and always has been," she said.

However, Noem said she's heard that emergency and essential services aren't able to get through the checkpoints and ranchers can't get through to reach their property. She said tribal leaders have given her a list of who is allowed through, but it differs from the actions she's heard about. She declined to give details of any specific incidents.

The tribes can implement checkpoints on tribal roads, but the issue is the checkpoints on state and U.S. highways, Noem said.

"I don't think checkpoints are a good idea on state and federal highways," Noem said.

Story continues

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is in a lockdown until noon on Wednesday after the first two COVID-19 cases were reported on Monday, according to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, one of the tribes at odds with Noem. The lockdown is intended to give contact tracers time to track the the cases and slow community spread of the coronavirus on the reservation.

During the lockdown, residents aren't allowed to leave their homes except for medical emergencies and critical service employees can go to and from work, according to an executive order signed by Oglala President Julian Bear Runner.

Legislators urge a 'better approach'

However, 17 legislators are arguing that Noem can't legally tell two tribes to remove checkpoints on their reservation borders as part of their coronavirus response.

The lawmakers, most of whom represent legislative districts that include a reservation, sent a letter to Noem on Saturday asking her to meet with legislators and the Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux tribal leaders to find a resolution instead of heading to federal court.

The legislators pointed out that they could have helped her discuss the checkpoints with Frazier and Bear Runner.

"We think a better approach is communication rather than confrontation, cooperation rather than constitutional crisis and discussion rather than demands," the legislators' letter states.

Noem said she appreciates the legislators' concern about the situation. She noted that she's had discussions with the tribes about the checkpoints for the past month.

How we got here

The Cheyenne River and Oglala tribes posted checkpoints at the beginning of April to screen travelers coming onto the reservations out of concern that an outbreak on the reservation could overwhelm health care facilities. The Oglala has four ventilators for more than 46,000 enrolled tribal members on its reservation, according to Bear Runner.

The checkpoints are part of a coronavirus response on reservations in South Dakota that has included lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders.

Cheyenne River Chairman Harold Frazier, second from the right, stands with tribal law enforcement at a checkpoint on Friday.

The legislators warned Noem that she isn't correct when she says tribal governments can't establish checkpoints within reservation boundaries.

"We do not wish to be party of another lawsuit that will ultimately cost the people of South Dakota more money," the legislators wrote.

The Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 gave tribes jurisdictional powers, and an appeals court determined in the 1990 court case Rosebud v. state of South Dakota that the state doesn't have any jurisdiction over highways running through Native American land without tribal consent, according to the legislators' letter. South Dakota doesn't have any state laws regarding checkpoints, and the state doesn't have authority to enforce state law on a reservation, the letter states.

Tribes are within their right to manage traffic on tribal roads, but the state has a clear role on state and U.S. highways, according to Maggie Seidel, Noem's senior policy advisor. Tribes are letting tribal members come and go, but aren't doing the same for non-tribal members.

Seidel said the 1990 court case doesn't apply to the current situation because it's about the ability of tribes to interrupt the flow of non-tribal traffic on state and U.S. highways. The tribes' checkpoints on state and U.S. highways aren't legal, Seidel said.

Tribes: Checkpoints are staying

Frazier and Bear Runner have made it clear since Friday that they won't be removing the checkpoints, and they've received growing support.

Frazier said the tribe hasn't stopped any state or commercial functions with its checkpoints and has worked with county and city leaders to ensure all issues have been addressed. The virus doesn't differentiate between tribal members and non-members, and he is obligated to protect everyone on the reservation.

"We will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death," Frazier stated.

Bear Runner alleged that Noem is forcing the tribe to drop its checkpoints to open the economy as she chose to do in the state a couple weeks ago. The tribe has the right to create its own laws, and the law is on the tribe's side, he said.

"The Oglala band is ready to stand against foreign intrusion into our daily lives," he said. "We will not sacrifice our loved ones for their greed."

BIA: Tribes need state's approval

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a memorandum on April 8 outlining that tribes can temporarily close or restrict access to tribe-owned roads during the COVID-19 pandemic, but tribes need to reach an agreement to temporarily close or restrict access to roads owned by other government entities that cross tribal land.

Bear Runner said on Saturday that he believes the Oglala is in full compliance with the BIA's memorandum because the tribe hasn't closed any state or U.S. highways. The checkpoints' purpose is to tell travelers about the shelter-in-place order and advise them to travel through the reservation without stopping. He said the BIA hasn't issued a letter or notice to the tribe stating that it is out of compliance with its checkpoints.

Bear Runner said he has notified the state about its border monitoring plan on several occasions, including an April 16 conference call with several state department leaders and the Governor's Office and a May 1 call with the state attorney general. No objections were raised. He said the first objection he heard about the checkpoints was Noem's May 8 letter threatening legal action, which he heard about via news stories and social media.

BIA Director Darryl LaCounte sent a letter to Frazier on April 24 stating that a checkpoint on U.S. Highway 212 was unauthorized and needed to be removed. The tribe needs to reach an agreement about the checkpoint on the highway, which is under the state's jurisdiction, according to the letter.

Frazier responded that the tribe has had regular discussions with Noem about the pandemic, and the state Department of Transportation gave assistance and input about setting up the checkpoint.

Noem said on April 24 she had talked with Frazier about ensuring emergency personnel, grocery store vendors and state transportation personnel can get through. She also said her administration has been speaking with the BIA and the U.S. Department of Justice about the situation. The state's role was facilitating information flow and ensuring the tribe's actions work for everyone, she said.

"The state of South Dakota does not have jurisdiction in this area, but the federal government does," she said.

During an April 27 press conference, Noem said the Cheyenne River tribe didn't consult with the state before it set up the checkpoints. She said she was sending a letter to the tribe to let them know the state is "willing to be part of the solution" on the checkpoints.

"We stand there ready to have conversations, but that is not something the tribe has engaged in," she said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Coronavirus crisis: SD governor, tribes clash over highway checkpoints
A 16-year-old boy has been charged after allegedly bringing a gel blaster pistol and a knife to school.

Police were called to Willeton Senior High School in Perth, Western Australia on Monday and say the weapons were allegedly found in the student's bag, The West Australian reported.

It was also reported the Year 11 student was showing off the weapons - which he kept in his backpack - to other students.

Western Australian police have charged a 16-year-old schoolboy after he allegedly brought a gel blaster pistol and small knife to the Willeton Senior High School (pictured)

A short time later an anonymous call was made to Crime Stoppers and police arrived at the school at 2.30pm.

The teen was later charged with being armed in a way that could cause fear and for threatening to injure, endanger or harm a person.

A Year 12 student said she was 'frightened' to return to the school after the incident.

'It's just scary knowing he brought a gun and knife to school, even if the gun turns out to be fake, the fact he had that in his backpack is unsettling,' she said.

Another student told Nine News she didn't things like this happened in Australia.

'You think it's save, that guns are illegal and we are not at risk,' she said.

'But the reality is anyone anyone could get access to a gun ... anyone could be hurt by it, anyone could be threatened, it is really unsettling.'

Principal Trevor Hunter sent an email to families informing them of the situation and assured parents no other students were 'impacted' and he was available for any discussions.

An Education Department spokeswoman said the incident was handled as well as could be expected.

'No other students were impacted and the situation was well managed. As this was a police matter and they were on site, they would have advised the school if they needed to go into lockdown,' she said.

The teenager will appear in Perth Children's Court on Tuesday.
Google Earth

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)  Five people were shot and wounded during a party at a Texas park that drew about 600 people despite local guidelines discouraging large gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic, police said.

The shootings happened Sunday night at Village Creek Park in Fort Worth, police said. Fort Worth Officer Buddy Calzada said fireworks were set off, and then witnesses reporting hearing about 30 rounds of gunfire, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
WASHINGTON  The governments $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon. Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects like the rebuilding of the nations arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the sudden burst of deficit spending to prop up a damaged economy is bringing the Pentagon closer to a point where it will have to shed older weapons faster and tighten its belt.

It has accelerated this day of reckoning, Esper said in an Associated Press interview.

It also sets up confrontations with Congress over how that reckoning will be achieved. Past efforts to eliminate older weapons and to make other cost-saving moves like closing under-used military bases met resistance. This being a presidential election year, much of this struggle may slip to 2021. If presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins, the pace of defense cuts could speed up, if he follows the traditional Democratic path to put less emphasis on defense buildups.

After Congress passed four programs to sustain the economy through the virus shock, the budget deficit  the gap between what the government spends and what it collects in taxes  will hit a record $3.7 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. By the time the budget year ends in September, the governments debt  its accumulated annual deficits  will equal 101% of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says defense budgets were strained even before this years unplanned burst of deficit spending.

Theres no question that budgetary pressure will only increase now for all segments of our federal budget, including defense, Calvert said.

For military leaders, the money crunch poses an economic threat that could undermine what they see as spending crucial to U.S. security.

One prominent example is the Trump administrations plan  inherited from the Obama administration  to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into replacing every major element of the nuclear weapons complex, from some of the warheads designed and built by the Energy Department to the bombers, submarines and land-based missiles that would deliver the warheads in combat.

Until now there has been a consensus in Congress supporting this nuclear modernization program, which includes replacing the aged communications systems that command and control nuclear weapons. Some House Democrats sought last year to block funding for the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, to replace the Minuteman 3, but they gave in and the project survived.

Nuclear modernization is a fat target for budget cutters. Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, foresees the possibility of calls by some in Congress to reduce the planned fleet of Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines from 12 to perhaps nine. The Navy has estimated the total cost of this program at about $110 billion, with each boat costing $6.6 billion.

The Navy several years ago accepted a two-year delay in the Columbia program, and according to a Congressional Research Service report last month, the first sub is now scheduled to enter service in 2031 and the number of subs in the fleet will drop to 10 for most of the 2030s as the current fleet of Ohio-class subs is retired.

Esper says nuclear modernization, at a price approaching $1 trillion, is too important to put off, even in an economic crisis.

Were not going to risk the strategic deterrent, he told a Pentagon news conference May 5, referring to the overall nuclear arsenal, whose stated purpose is to deter a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies. My inclination is not to risk any of the modernization programs. Its to go back and pull out more of the legacy programs.

But others, including supporters of nuclear modernization, say its an obvious target for reductions. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the first 10 years of the modernization plan will cost nearly $500 billion, and that over a 30-year span the total would hit $1.2 trillion, including the cost of sustaining the current force.

In all, the administrations proposed nuclear weapons budget for 2021 would approach $46 billion.

Theres going to be a temptation to cut crucial programs like this because of the trillions and trillions of dollars that are being borrowed for the coronavirus stimulus, said Fred Fleitz, president of the Center for Security Policy. He supports fully rebuilding the nuclear weapons complex.

If Esper succeeds in shielding nuclear modernization, he likely will have to overcome obstacles to accelerating the elimination of older weapons programs, all of which have political constituencies.

Even the oldest of the Air Forces aircraft have their strong defenders on Capitol Hill. For example, Sen. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican and former Air Force pilot, has already reminded Air Force leaders she will fight reductions in A-10 Warthog planes. She said the Pentagons 2021 budget proposal would prematurely phase out 44 of those planes, which are used for supporting ground troops and first entered service in the 1970s.

Among other candidates for a faster phasing out or retirement are the B-1 non-nuclear bomber and the Air Forces MQ-9 Reaper attack drone. The Reaper is vulnerable to modern air defenses. Other candidates are the Armys Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which may give way to a new-generation combat vehicle, and some older Navy warships.

In the face of these pressures, many in Congress are already brushing off the idea that the coronavirus crisis should force a spending slowdown. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican whose state is home to a major shipbuilding facility at Pascagoula, advocates for a $20 billion boost to the Pentagon budget.

In terms of the $3 trillion weve spent on our economy, it strikes me its a relative bargain to try to come up with $20 billion, only $20 billion, to get us back where we need to be where the top military leaders in our country tell us will keep us safe, Wicker said at a hearing last week.
Speeding SUV saves biker from getting crushed by JCB; Wishes pour in for Anand Mahindra

Will be risking economic hara-kiri if lockdown is further extended: Anand Mahindra

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: Leading industrialist Anand Mahindra on Monday said that if lockdown is extended for much longer duration then the country will be "risking economic hara-kiri".

The Mahindra Group chairman said that while the lockdown has been able to save lakhs of lives, its further extension could lead to severe difficulties for weaker sections of the society.

We must all plan for new reality, follow 'Jan se lekar jag tak' principle: PM Modi

"The number of new cases has risen, despite flattening the previous few days. With higher testing, a continuing rise is inevitable given the low absolute number of cases relative to our population & the rest of the world. We shouldn't expect a swift flattening of the curve," Mahindra said in a tweet.

But this doesn't mean the lockdown hasn't helped, he added.

"India's avoided lakhs of potential deaths in its collective fight. India's death rate per million is currently 1.4 compared to the global average at 35 & the US at 228. We've also bought time to enhance medical infrastructure," Mahindra noted.

But if the lockdown is extended for much longer, the country will be risking economic hara-kiri, he tweeted.

"A functioning & growing economy is like an immune system for livelihoods. A lockdown weakens that immune system and most hurts the impoverished in our society," he said.

Mahindra said that the country's goal should be to continue preventing avoidable deaths.

The country needs to rapidly build field hospitals equipped with oxygen lines, deploy widespread testing and tracing, he tweeted.

COVID-19: PM Modi indicates longer lockdown, asks CMs to come up with blueprint

Besides, the focus should be on containment not through zones but at sub pin code levels, he added.

And finally, effort should be made to protect the elderly and the medically vulnerable sections of the society, Mahindra said.

"We have to live with the virus. It's not here on a tourist visa with an expiry date," Mahindra tweeted quoting a colleague.
The Georgia attorney general on Monday appointed a black female prosecutor to oversee the case of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old African-American man who was shot dead by two white men while he was reportedly out jogging on February 23.

The prosecutor, Joyette M. Holmes, is from Cobb County in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where she is the first African-American to serve as district attorney.

She will be overseeing the prosecution of Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, who were charged with murder and aggravated assault after a video of them pursuing Arbery in a pick up truck and then shooting him dead in a Brunswick, Georgia street surfaced online last week.

The US Department of Justice is considering whether to also pursue federal hate crime charges against the McMichaels, officials confirmed Monday.

Holmes becomes the fourth prosecutor to take the case, superseding Tom Durden, who reportedly requested to be replaced by a prosecutor with a larger staff citing the case's growth 'in size and magnitude.'

'District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge,' state Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, said in a statement. 'And the Cobb County District Attorney's office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.'

The prosecutor, Joyette M. Holmes, is from Cobb County in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where she is the first African-American to serve as district attorney

Gregory (left) and Travis McMichael (right) have both been charged with murder and aggravated assault over the February 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Arbery's death has sparked nationwide outrage. A rally for the slain jogger was held Friday - the day he would have celebrated his 26th birthday

Holmes served four years a magistrate judge in suburban Cobb County before Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to fill the vacant district attorney's position last July. According to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Holmes is one of only seven black district attorneys in the state.

An attorney for Arberys father, Marcus Arbery, applauded the appointment of a new lead prosecutor.

'In order for justice to be carried out both effectively and appropriately in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is imperative that the special prosecutor has no affiliation with the Southeast Georgia legal or law enforcement communities,' attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. He asked that Holmes 'be zealous in her search for justice.'

Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts, according to an autopsy report released Monday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. One shot grazed his right wrist, and the other two struck him in the chest.

The 25-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system, and was carrying two tan bandannas which were soaked with blood.

It has taken nearly three months and several different prosecutors for Travis and Gregory McMichael to be arrested and charged with his killing. Georgia's Attorney General is now investigating the handling of the case amid claims that prosecutors passed it off to protect 64-year-old Gregory, a former police detective who recently worked in the local district attorney's office.

The case was first assigned to Jackie Johnson in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, who recused herself because Gregory McMichael was previously an investigator in her office. It was then handed to George E. Barnhill, district attorney for Georgias Waycross Judicial Circuit, who recused himself under pressure from Arberys mother amid claims Barnhills son used to work with Gregory McMichael in the Brunswick district attorneys office.

Durden then took over the reins, and said last week he planned to present the investigation to a grand jury before a video of the incident leaked and the GBI was assigned to the case. The McMichaels weren't arrested until after the video became public.

The case has sparked outrage around the world and some say it is proof of persistent racism in the South. Over the weekend, people ran to honor what would have been Ahmaud's 26th birthday and armed protesters took to the street.

The McMichaels' defense has been that they were making a citizen's arrest after suspecting Ahmaud of breaking into and robbing homes in their neighborhood. They said Travis, 34, then exercised his stand your ground right by shooting Ahmaud, claiming the unarmed 25-year-old reached for his gun.

Scroll down for video

Ahmaud Arbery inside the under-construction home on February 23, the day he was killed. He walked into the house then left empty handed and was later shot dead by Travis McMichael who had chased him with his father, Gregory, a former cop

Ahmaud had been out jogging when he came across the home. His family says the footage shows he was not a burglar and that he would have been guilty of trespassing at most

Another video shows Ahmaud entering the property. It was taken on a surveillance camera on a different home

On Monday, DoJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said: 'The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia have been supporting and will continue fully to support and participate in the state investigation. We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,' Kupec said in a statement.'

The McMichaels have both been charged by the state of Georgia with murder and aggravated assault which carry maximum prison sentences of life.

Georgia has no hate crimes as a state but the federal charge carries a maximum prison sentence of life when the hate crime results in death. A federal prosecution would supersede a state case and could negate it if the defendants were found guilty and the need for a state prosecution reduced.

It comes as new surveillance video Arbery walking into a construction site on the day of his death, looking around the property and then leaving empty handed the day he was gunned down emerged.

But the new video obtained by News4Jax appears to undermine their shaky burglary suspect claim. It shows Ahmaud walking into an under-construction house in Brunswick, looking around and then leaving without taking anything.

In the two months before Ahmaud's killing, there were no reports of suspected burglaries in the area, and the owner of the under-construction property has spoken out to say they have no links to the McMichaels whatsoever.

The video was shared by the property owner who said they had never had any contact with the McMichaels let alone did they call for them to investigate any break-ins.

The attorney representing Ahmaud's family says the video shows that at most, Ahmaud would have been guilty of trespassing.

It's unclear what time the video on the construction site was taken.

According to the police report into his death, Ahmaud was shot dead at 1.46pm.

A time stamp on a different surveillance camera video says he entered the construction site at 2.13pm. It's possible that camera was inaccurately running an hour fast.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it is now investigating the video along with the cellphone footage of Ahmaud's killing that went viral.

The property is owned by Larry English.

Over the weekend, he released a statement through an attorney to say he neither called for the McMichaels to go after Ahmaud, nor did he condone in any way how they killed him.

Ahmaud was killed while out jogging on February 23. It is unclear if he had come from his mother's house, which is just under two miles from where the shooting unfolded. The McMichaels said they saw him 'hauling a**' down Satilla Drive and that he'd been seen on surveillance cameras inside homes near them but it's unclear which homes they were referring to. He was shot and killed at an intersection not far from the houses

'First, and most important, the English family -- the homeowners -- want Ahmaud Arbery's parents to know that they are very sorry for the loss of their son and they are praying for them.

TIMELINE OF BOTCHED HANDLING OF THE CASE February 23: Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone out in their car with guns to chase him because they mistook him for a burglar. When they caught up to him, Travis got out of the car. Jackie Johnson recused herself because McMichael used to work in her office Greg says they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him and that he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud, 25. Late February - First prosecutor recuses herself Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, stepped down from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator. Mid-April - Second prosecutor says he won't press charges, then recuses himself George Barnhill said Ahmaud initiated the fight George Barnhill was given the case. He at first said he did not think it merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen's arrest, which is legal in Georgia. He also said that the video 'shows' Arbery reaching for Travis' gun. Barnhill recused himself because his son, also called George Barnhill, works in the office where McMichael used to The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame. When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle. Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery. He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Gregory served. May 5 - Third prosecutor passes it on to grand jury Tom Durden is the third prosecutor to have the case come across his desk. He said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice. This week, he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on. May 7 - Georgia Bureau of Investigation files charges The GBI announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7. Advertisement

'Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family -- the homeowners -- were not part of what the McMichaels did.

'The first accounts suggested a link between the McMichaels and the homeowners, but there is none.

'The English family had no relationship with the McMichaels and did not even know what had occurred until after Mr. Arbery's death was reported to them.

'After seeing Mr. Arbery's photo in news reports, Larry English did not even think Mr. Arbery was the person that appears in this video.

'Even if it had been, however, Mr. English would never have sought a vigilante response, much less one resulting in a tragic death,' his attorney, Elizabeth Graddy, told First Coast News.

Ahmaud's parents' lawyer confirmed that it is him in the video.

'This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us.

'Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period.

'Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property,' Lee Merritt said.

Last week, after growing global outrage, the case was taken out of local prosecutors' hands to be investigated by the state.

Gregory and Travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Greg McMichael had investigated Arbery before when he worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office.

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill said that his own son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

George E. Barnhill was the second DA to recuse himself in mid-April following pressure from Arbery's family. He claims he only learned of his son's link to the victim 'three or four weeks' ago.

In his letter, Barnhill added that criminal charges against the McMichaels was unwarranted, citing the criminal history of Arbery's brother and cousin.

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

PICTURED: Black Georgia man, 20, is arrested for setting up fake Facebook page in support of Ahmaud Arbery's two killers and threatening protesters who paid their respects at the spot where the 25-year-old jogger was 'lynched'

Rashawn Smith, 20, was arrested in Midway, Georgia, on Sunday after authorities alleged he created a fake Facebook account and used it to make a hoax threat against protesters demanding justice for murdered jogger Ahmaud Arbery

Georgia state investigators announced on Sunday that they have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of creating a fake Facebook account and using it to post a 'hoax' threat against protesters angry over the killing of unarmed black man 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Sunday said state police arrested Rashawn Smith and charged him with dissemination of information relating to terroristic acts.

Smith allegedly created a fake Facebook page and used it to make threats against the protesters.

He was taken into custody in Midway, a town about 50 miles north of Brunswick.

Earlier in the day, the GBI said it had 'been made aware of a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery'.

It was not immediately clear if Smith has an attorney who could comment on the charge.

Hundreds of people gathered alongside some 300 bikers in Brunswick on Saturday to honor Arbery.

The bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot on February 23 by two white men who claim they were making a citizen's arrest as they suspected him of a neighborhood burglary.

On Saturday bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot. One of the balloons left at the site reads 'Happy birthday'. Arbery would have turned 26 on Friday

Hundreds of people alongside some 300 bikers gathered in Brunswick to honor Arbery on Saturday

Some of the protesters held up signs which read 'Our lives matter too!' and 'Dear white people, when you don't call out racism you are upholding white supremacy by default!'

Several of those in attendance near the Sidney Lanier Bridge wore face masks and t-shirts with the phrase I run with Maud in tribute to Arbery.

The memorial ceremony on Saturday was held just a day after protesters gathered at the same site demanding justice for Arbery on what would have been his 26th birthday.

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling of Arbery's killing.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Under Georgia law, someone who isn't a sworn police officer can arrest and detain another person only if a felony is committed in the presence of the arresting citizen.

Georgia AG asks the US Justice Department to investigate Ahmaud Arbery's shooting as it's revealed top prosecutor who recused himself said slaying by two armed white men was 'justifiable homicide'

George Barnhill, Sr (left), the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in February that the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery (right), 25, by two white men was a 'justifiable homicide'

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the investigation into the killing of Arbery.

Arbery was killed on February 23 but no arrests were made until Thursday after national outrage over the case swelled last week when video surfaced that showed the shooting which was blasted as a 'lynching'.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Attorneys for Arbery's mother and father applauded Carr for reaching out to federal officials.

'We have requested the involvement of the DOJ since we first took this case,' attorneys S. Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump and L. Chris Stewart said in a statement.

'There are far too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged in Mr. Arbery's death.'

Last week, a Justice Department spokesman said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the DOJ would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

It comes after it emerged the Georgia district attorney who recused himself from the case told investigators that the fatal shooting was a 'justifiable homicide' and that the father and son duo who killed Arbery should not be charged.

George Barnhill, Sr, the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in Glynn County on February 24  the day after the shooting  that there was insufficient evidence to charge Travis McMichael, 34, and his 64-year-old father, former police officer Greg McMichael.

The Glynn County Police Department released a statement to The Brunswick News on Saturday saying Travis and Greg McMichael were brought in for questioning at around 3.30pm on February 23.

Earlier this week, two Glynn County commissioners said that the current Brunswick District Attorney, Jackie Johnson, also blocked police from arresting the McMichaels because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

Officers investigating the scene of the fatal shooting on February 23 told Johnson's office that they had cause to arrest the father and son at the time but the DA shut them down.

Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in her office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recuse 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 Constitution.
Sir Richard Branson's son Sam has called it 'an honour' to take part in Sarah Ferguson's Fergie and Friends storytime series.

The father-of-two, 35, shared a short video on his Instagram page as he picked up a guitar and strummed along while reading I Am Human by Susan Verde for the royal's YouTube channel.

Dressed in a simple white t-shirt with several beaded bracelets, Sam looked relaxed as he settled down with his instrument and read aloud from a laptop covered in stickers.

Posting the clip, he commented: 'It was an honour to share this beautiful story about what it is to be human, for Storytime Series. I thought Id accompany it with my guitar to help bring the message to life.'

Sir Richard Branson's son Sam called it 'an honour' to take part in Sarah Ferguson's Fergie and Friends as he shared a clip reading I Am Human by Susan Verde aloud

Sharing the clip online, he said: 'I hope you and your children enjoy! All love, Sam.'

I Am Human: A Book of Empathy, illustrated by Peter Reynolds, offers a meditation on all the great (and challenging) parts of being human, with messages about mistakes and the importance of saying 'I'm sorry.'

His reading won praise from his followers including Cressida Bonas, who comment on his post with an applauding emoji.

Meanwhile author Susan Verde said she was also blown away by his performance, commenting: 'Thank you for sharing my book. So incredibly beautiful. My heart is full. I am truly honored.'

The Duchess of York, 60, has kept herself busy sharing daily videos of her and special 'guests' reading children's books to bring 'magic' to little ones during lockdown

It is not known where Sam, who is married to Cressida Bonas' sister Bellie, is currently isolating.

Sam married society blonde Bellie in a glamorous ceremony on Sir Richards game reserve Ulusaba in South Africa in March 2013.

He remains close to Fergie's family, having been friends with Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice for years.

He co-founded the Big Change Charity with Princess Beatrice, 31, alongside five other friends in 2010 to identify and support charitable projects throughout the UK which will improve the lives of young people.

Sam strummed his guitar as he read the storybook from a laptop covered in stickers in an unknown locations

Sir Richard's son has long been family friends with the Duchess of York, having founded the Big Change charity with Princess Beatrice, 31, in 2010 (pictured together)

Earlier this year, the organisation announced it is set to launch several new projects that will focus of the well-being of those in education.

The Duchess of York, 60, has kept herself busy sharing daily videos of her and special 'guests' reading children's books to bring 'magic' to little ones during lockdown.

Sarah, who has recently signed a publishing deal for seven new books, is already the author of more than 25 books, including the Budgie The Little Helicopter and the Little Red series.

Sam's appearance in the series comes after Prince Harry's ex girlfriend Cressida Bonas and Fergie's daughter Princess Eugenie, 30, read stories for the YouTube channel.

He's not the first guest to join Fergie in the series, with Prince Harry's ex girlfriend Cressida reading a story aloud last month for the YouTube channel

Last month, Winchester-born actress and model Cressida, 31, read The Night Parade by Lily Roscoe from her home.

Meanwhile Princess Eugenie joined in by reading Guess How Much I Love You, written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram - her favourite children's story.

The 1994 sweet story follows two hares: Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare, as the pair, thought to be a father and son duo, try to find new ways to measure how much they love each other.
UPDATE: The suspect was taken into custody shortly before 11 p.m. after holding police at bay for more than four hours.

EARLIER: Two people, including a toddler, were shot Monday evening in the North Birmingham neighborhood.

The shooting happened shortly before 6:30 p.m. at a house in the 2300 block of 34th Avenue North. Birmingham police Sgt. Rod Mauldin said the man and a 1-year-old girl were injured in the gunfire.

Both were taken to area hospitals with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Authorities believe the pair were shot while they were on the front porch of a home, which is across the street from the barricaded suspect.

As of 7 p.m., Birmingham police had a large perimeter roped off and a house surrounded. Officers had their rifles out, and were trying to talk to the possible suspect over a bullhorn. It is believed that at some point, the suspect had been in some kind of communication with officers.

By 8 p.m., media and bystanders had been moved back and residents asked to stay in their homes. "Of course we want the people in the area to stay clear so they can remain safe while were doing out job,'' Mauldin said.

The Birmingham Police Departments tactical team is on the scene.

Mauldin said they do believe the suspect is in the home and alive. "We have heard movement coming from the home, so thats our indication,'' he said. Right now were working on trying to talk that person out peacefully.

He said their information obtained so far indicates the suspect is a mentally disturbed person. Right now time is on our side,'' Mauldin said. Were being patient, trying to talk this person out peacefully.

This is the second time in less than 48 hours that a child has been shot in the city. On Saturday night, a 32-year-old man was killed and his 7-year-old son injured in a shooting at their Wylam home. Birmingham police on Sunday identified the victim as Roderick Smith. He was 32, a father of three and lived in the Wylam home where he was slain. His 7-year-old son was also injured in the gunfire but is expected to be OK.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
[caption id="attachment_2616639" align="alignnone" ] India provided assurance to its neighbouring Island country Maldives that it will continue to send essential supplies of rice, wheat flour and sugar despite the coronavirus lockdowns and logistical difficulties. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616647" align="alignnone" ] Reportedly, India will 580 tonnes of food supplies to the Maldives as assistance in the fight against COVID-19. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616651" align="alignnone" ] India -- as part of the Mission Sagar -- will send 600 tonnes of food items to the Maldives via Indian Naval Ship Kesari amid the coronavirus crisis.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616633" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616643" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616645" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616635" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being transported to the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616641" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616649" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2616653" align="alignnone" ] Food supplies to the Maldives are being loaded at the Tuticorin Port in India. (Image: Special Arrangement)[/caption]
Only two new COVID cases recorded nationally, no deaths

THAILAND: The government today (May 12) reported two new coronavirus cases, bringing the total in Thailand to 3,017 since the outbreak of the virus. No additional deaths were reported, leaving the accumulated toll at 56.

CoronavirusCOVID-19healthdeathSafety

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 12 May 2020, 12:51PM

Social distancing is imposed at the Siam station of the BTS skytrain in Bangkok. Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut.

Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said one new case was a 19-year-old Thai woman in Bangkok who was in close contact with three previous patients - her elder sister, brother-in-law and niece - in the same house. She fell sick with a fever and diarrhoea on May 5 and then tested positive for the disease.

The other new patient is a Thai woman, 51, in the southern border province of Narathiwat. She was the minder of a previously infected six-year-old boy. She had mild symptoms and was detected with a pre-emptive test.

The two new cases are a very low number, said Dr Taweesilp. I feel happy along with Thai people nationwide. But the number has not dropped to zero yet. So we cannot be reckless. I am very grateful for peoples cooperation.

The number of provinces without a new COVID-19 case in the past 28 days rose by four to 50. Newly included in the list were Loei, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phangnga and Satun, the spokesman said. The number of provinces that reported new cases in the past 28 days now stands at 18.

Two previously infected patients were discharged, raising the total number of recovered cases to 2,798, while 163 patients remained at hospitals.

Of the 3,017 accumulated cases, Bangkok had the most (1,703) followed by 726 in the South, 383 in the Central Plains, 111 in the Northeast and 94 in the North.

In the past two weeks, the largest number of new cases, 23, was detected among quarantined people, followed by 18 found with pre-emptive tests, 16 people who had been in close contact with previous patients, 12 returnees and three visitors to crowded places.

There were no new reported infections or deaths in Phuket today.

Global COVID-19 cases now numbered 4.25 million with 287,293 deaths, Dr Taweesilp said. The United States had the most cases at 1.38 million and the most deaths at 81,795.
The coronavirus related death fatalities in Canada crossed the 5,000-mark on Monday. However, Quebec, the province worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, has started reopening several schools and has also eased some restrictions as the overall caseload appeared to be tapering in the country.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, however, has warned that moving too quickly on trying to return to some normalcy could force the country back into confinement this summer.

Canada recorded 5,100 deaths by Monday evening, as the tally of those infected also closed in on 70,000. A significant portion of the death toll was in the province of Quebec, at over 3,000. But on Monday, some students were back in their classrooms in elementary schools with class sizes being limited to a maximum of 15. That, though, was outside the Montreal area, as that city remains under severe restrictions being the epicentre of the coronavirus crisis in Quebec.

Other provinces like Ontario have also taken to gradual easing, with more businesses allowed to reopen, though the province will maintain emergency measures till June 2.

These moves come as the situation seemed to be improving in the country. In a statement, Canadas chief public health officer Dr Theresa Tam said, We have come a long way in a short time since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and our efforts have undoubtedly prevented wider spread of the virus across the country.

However, Trudeau has warned against a rush to ease restrictions. During a media briefing, he said, We are still in the emergency phase, adding that the vast majority of Canadians will continue to need to be very careful.
Duflo, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , and Director, J Abdul Latif Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), made her remarks in the first session of a three-part webinar series titled Leaders with Purpose co-hosted by Samhita Social Ventures and IDFC Institute

Esther Duflo, 2019 Nobel laureate, on Monday said that it is essential for government, business, and NGO stakeholders to focus on cash transfers to economically vulnerable populations to avoid entering into a 'society-wide poverty trap in India. Duflo said this is something business should be keenly interested in and very much behind it, not just because its the right thing to do morally, but also because I think it is the most responsible thing to do economically...self-interested business should be very much lobbying for this cash transfer.

Duflo, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , and Director, J Abdul Latif Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), made her remarks in the first session of a three-part webinar series titled Leaders with Purpose co-hosted by Samhita Social Ventures and IDFC Institute, to discuss how to balance human, health, and economic factors when formulating responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mondays panel comprised of Duflo along with along with a number of corporate and civil society leaders. Panelists included Hindustan Unilever (HUL) Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta, Godrej Consumer Products Chairperson Nisaba Godrej, Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA) National Coordinator Renana Jhabvala, and Pratham CEO . Rukmini Banerji. The panel was moderated by Nachiket Mor, who is currently serving as a Visiting Scientist at the Banyan Academy for Leadership in Mental Health, and is the former India Country Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

We have-both Abhijit Banerjee and I-really insisted on the need for the government to act quickly and swiftly to prevent a lot of people who are not ultra-poor but merely poor, or maybe not even poorto avoid those people to completely collapse back in a situation where it would be much harder to get out, Duflo said of her own and fellow Nobel laureates views. That in a sense is something that would affect them personally - an individual poverty trap - but can also create society-wide poverty traps.

Samhita Social Ventures has facilitated and launched two alliancesthe India Workers Alliance (IWA) and India Protectors Alliance (IPA)to support migrant and informal sector workers who have been economically affected by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as frontline workers such as health workers and law enforcement. The alliances are collective CSR funds working with corporates, social enterprises, non-profits and government agencies to deliver the support to the 'right person quickly'.

Mondays webinar session saw all panelists collectively stressing the importance of effective multi-stakeholder collaboration and cooperation to ensure last-mile service delivery to those most at risk. Nisaba Godrej and Sanjiv Mehta remarked on the importance of business leaders considering the safety and security of workers in manufacturing and distribution networks, and working with NGOs to identify and deliver support to the most vulnerable communities. Renana Jhabvala reiterated Duflos recommendation of direct cash transfers as an effective way to promote well-being and resilience in low-income communities, and remarked on the importance of strengthening the systems through which the funds can be accessed.
Digital Business Ireland (DBI), the representative body for online businesses, has today called for the party leaders of the next government to prioritise the provision of a senior cabinet post for digital affairs.

The organisation contends that Ireland needs to be fully equipped to embrace "a new digital culture" in order to position itself in a new world order. Set up in 2019, DBI has membership footprint across a wide range of digital businesses to include retail, hospitality, technology, professional services, travel, transport, education, leisure, agri-business and property.

The DBI has warned that the pandemic has accelerated Irelands digital development and the Government must be ready to embrace the possibilities now presented.

Speaking this week, Founder of DBI, Lorraine Higgins said, "Given the increased dependency on technology and online it is clear that we desperately need a department to house all matters relating to it so there is a streamlined approach and that the burden isnt spread across a range of departments. Ireland can no longer afford to have a piecemeal approach to issues affecting the digital world as this will have long standing ramifications for the future of this country and our ability to attract investment."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
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Word-obsessed, "continually questioning" Esme is a literary heroine with an idiosyncratic appeal that rivals Jo March. Her mother died in childbirth, so her role model and constant companion is her lexicographer father, now amiably wedded to the dictionary. Their companionable relationship of equals is one of this novel's great pleasures: in a wonderful observed detail, he is that rare kind of man who rinses his own cup at the sink.

Like Simon Winchester in his non-fiction bestseller, The Surgeon of Crowthorne, Williams takes a thread of the dictionary's history as her inspiration  but her purpose is less to illuminate the men behind it than to restore the voices of the women largely written out of its story.

Esme spends her childhood under the table in the Scriptorium, the grandly named shed in editor James Murray's backyard where he and his assistants are assembling the dictionary at an enviably meticulous pace. The building blocks are masses of words on slips of paper, sent in by volunteers from around the world. "We have embarked on the verb go," says an editor at one point. "And I suspect it will consume me for months.

Credit:

This novel values the kind of quiet, dedicated behind-the-scenes work epitomised by this statement, and Esme is a perfect peripheral narrator of her time and place. She observes not just from the sidelines of the dictionary, but of conventional middle-class femininity (her female role models are the Murrays' indentured maid, Lizzie, and an intellectual family friend, Ditte, who believes "convention has never done any woman any good") and of the burgeoning suffragette movement (she gloriously befriends an actress who takes centre stage).

But Esme also longs to contribute something meaningful. As a child, she compulsively steals words  because she's conscientious, words that she calculates are "superfluous to need"  and stashes them in her own secret suitcase, under Lizzie's bed. One of them is the word "bondmaid", later discovered absent from the dictionary's first edition.

(This real-life mysterious absence is the historical detail that Williams took as her starting inspiration for the novel, along with the character Ditte is based on  a historian, Edith Thompson, who significantly contributed to the dictionary from its early days.)
Zareen Khan says people still assume Salman Khan helps her find work: "I cannot be a monkey on his back"
'Why So Afraid of Chinese Media?' Beijing Blasts US Over Tightening of Visa Regime for Journalists

Sputnik News

15:35 GMT 11.05.2020

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tightened visa guidelines for Chinese journalists on Saturday, stating that the move was a 'response' to China's recent treatment of American media.

China abhors the United States' move to tighten visa restrictions on Chinese journalists, and will retaliate if the measure isn't scrapped, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has warned.

"We are resolutely opposed and strongly dissatisfied with this [measure]," Zhao said, speaking at a press briefing Monday. "We require the US to immediately correct its mistake, or China will have no choice but to take countermeasures," he added.

Calling the DHS's May 9 decision to tighten entry visa guidelines an escalation of recent moves to suppress Chinese media, Zhao accused the Trump administration of being stuck in a Cold War mentality. "Now, they're using visas to take discriminatory limitations, severely disrupting the Chinese media's ability to report normally in the US, severely disrupting people-to-people relations between our two countries," he said.

Zhao also pointed out that unlike the new restrictions against Chinese journalists in the US, including the condition that journalists can stay in the country for no more than 90 days, American journalists in China are granted press cards and residence permits that are valid for one year.

"Is there any reciprocity in this?...The United States prides itself on press freedom and media transparency, but why is it so afraid of Chinese media's reports," he asked.

The escalating tit-for-tat media conflict between the US and China began in December 2018, after the Justice Department ordered CGTN America to register as a 'foreign agent'. In the past two years, the US has denied visa applications to over 20 US-based Chinese journalists, according to Zhao.

In March 2020, the US further restricted the number of visas for employees of Chinese media outlets, prompting Beijing to expel Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post journalists from the country. In February, China expelled three more WSJ journalists after the publication of an opinion piece painting Beijing as the "Real Sick Man of Asia" in its response to the coronavirus crisis. Authorities blasted the characterization as racist, and suggested that similar phraseology was used by Western imperial powers in the 19th century to exploit and demean China.

A Sputnik

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New Zealands foreign minister on Tuesday said the country has to stand up for itself after China warned its backing of Taiwans participation at the World Health Organization (WHO) could damage bilateral ties.

Taiwan, with the strong support of the United States, has stepped up its lobbying to be allowed to take part as an observer at next weeks World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHOs decision-making body - a move which has angered China.

Taiwan is excluded from the WHO due to the objections of China, which views the island as one of its provinces.

Senior ministers in New Zealand last week said Taiwan should be allowed to join the WHO as an observer given its success in limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus, drawing Chinas ire which asked the Pacific country to stop making wrong statements.

We have got to stand up for ourselves, Winston Peters, New Zealands foreign minister, said at a news conference when asked about Chinas response to New Zealands position on Taiwan.

And true friendship is based on equality. Its based on the ability in this friendship to nevertheless disagree.

Peters said he did not think the issue would harm diplomatic ties with China, which is New Zealands biggest trading partner.

Taiwan has reported only 440 coronavirus cases and seven related deaths, relatively low figures attributed to early and effective disease prevention and control work.

Peters praised Taiwans response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and said there was a lot for other countries to learn from.

New Zealands position on Taiwan is about its tremendous success against COVID-19, Peters said.

When asked about Chinas response later in the day, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealands position on Taiwan was only related to its health response to COVID-19.

We have always taken a One China policy, and that continues to be the case, Ardern said.

Ties between neighbouring Australia and China have frayed in recent months after Canberra called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

China has dismissed such a probe as groundless, saying the country has been open and transparent about the outbreak.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
The first and deputy first minister have offered their sympathies to the family of Luciana Viviana da Silva, a worker at Moy Park's Dungannon processing plant who died after contracting Covid-19.

Arlene Foster said in the Assembly that she was "shocked" to hear of the death of 58-year-old Ms da Silva, who was from East Timor.

"We do send our sympathy to the family of Ms da Silva. I was very shocked to hear that it had happened in Dungannon and that she had lost her life in that way."

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said there would be a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms da Silva's death.

"Obviously there will have to be a full investigation into what happened in her own circumstance and I would encourage that between both the employer and the HSE. But I would say very clearly to all workers out there that nobody should be working in unsafe practice," she said, speaking on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Moy Park said earlier on Tuesday that the poultry giant had worked with the Public Health Agency, DAERA and the Health and Safety Executive to adhere to their coronavirus advice and protocols.

Speaking in the Assembly, Sinn Fein MLA Colm Gildernew raised concerns about the Executive's ability to reach certain members of the community with information on the virus.

"I was very saddened today to hear of the death of a foreign national worker in Dungannon, some of our most valuable workers," he said.

"We know from testing in the south of Ireland that there are particular clusters emerging in the food processing sectors, largely due to the fact that the people working are living in multiple occupancy housing, they have language issues."

Earlier on Tuesday, poultry giant Moy Park said the health and wellbeing of their workforce is their most important consideration as they sent condolences to the family of Ms da Silva.

They issued the statement after Unite the Union wrote to the first and deputy first ministers on Monday to demand testing for workers in the poultry and meatpacking sector.

The union said urgent action is needed by Stormont after reports of clusters of infection at a growing number of sites.

It said Moy Park's plant in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, should be shut down to allow the workforce and their families to be tested if necessary - and for the Health and Safety Executive (HSENI) to conduct physical inspections of meat processing sites to assess infection controls.

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A spokesperson for Moy Park said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of our team members. Our thoughts are with Lucianas family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

"As we have consistently stated, the health, wellbeing and safety of our Moy Park team members is always our most important consideration. It is all the more disappointing therefore to have to respond to these inaccurate claims made by Unite the Union."

Unite has been approached for a comment.

The spokesperson said Moy Park worked quickly with all key parties, including government and industry bodies as well as workers and unions as the coronavirus crisis unfolded.

They said the firm implemented bespoke solutions which are now considered to have led the way for food processors, including installation of perspex screens, social distancing on their various sites, enhanced cleaning and incentive payments to site-based team members.

The firm is also introducing thermal temperature scanning for all team members as they arrive at work, the spokesperson said.

"These measures have been in place for some time at all our sites and are stringently followed. These are also exactly the type of measures that government guidance is now calling for as other industries return to work.

We continue to consult, evolve and review our measures to ensure rigorous safety," they said.

"We reiterate, Moy Park follows all government guidelines and works closely with the Public Health Agency, DAERA and the Health and Safety Executive, adhering strictly to their advice and protocols.

"We have received positive feedback following a recent unannounced inspection by the HSE that was conducted at one of our other sites, which has the same measures in place to those at Dungannon.

"The inspection focused solely on the controls which we have in place to ensure employee safety in relation to COVID-19. We will continue to update our procedures in line with their guidance."

On Monday, Unite said it was aware of a number of cases among workers at Linden Foods in Dungannon, as well as the death of Ms da Silva.

Regional Secretary at Unite Jackie Pollock said: "We need to see immediate action in light of this news and the emerging Covid-19 clusters which are emerging at poultry and meatpacking sites.

Mr Pollock said Unite is concerned that workers are still contracting the virus. He claimed current guidance and enforcement measures are not going far enough to protect their health and safety.

On Monday, a HSENI spokesperson said discussions are currently ongoing with Moy Park to understand the circumstances around Ms da Silva's death.

"We can confirm that a recent unannounced inspection was carried out at a Moy Park meat processing plant. A few minor issues were found but the overall compliance with the PHA COVID-19 guidance was found to be of a high standard. This approach will continue."
New York, May 12 : A total of 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the US in 2019, hitting the highest annual tally in over four decades, a New York City-based Jewish civil rights group reported on Tuesday.

Out of the counted anti-Semitic attacks, 61 were physical assault cases, 1,127 were harassment instances and 919 were acts of vandalism, Xinhua news agency quoted the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said.

The 2019 data increased by 12 per cent from the 2018 record of 1,879 cases, the report said.

The severe attacks in 2019 listed by the ADL include a fatal shooting in California by a white supremacist on April 27, a fatal shooting at a supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey on December 10, 2019,and stabbings at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York, on December 28, 2019.

Last year's record high of anti-Semitic incidents was due to a normalization of anti-Semitic tropes, the politics of the day and social media, ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt was quoted as saying.

Calling anti-Semitism "a virus" and "like a disease", he also said the COVID-19 pandemic this year is fuelling anti-Semitic theories.

The ADL started to count the anti-Semitic incidents in 1979.

According to an ADL survey on Jewish encounters with anti-Semitism in the US released on April 21, nearly two-thirds of American Jews believe that they are less safe today than they were a decade ago.
Another COVID-19 patient died while 41 new cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday as the total number of fatalities due to the pandemic rose to 81 and the state's coronavirus tally reached 3,614, said an official.

"A total of 3,614 cases have been reported so far from 74 (out of total 75) districts. Of the 3,614 cases, 1,759 people have been treated and discharged. The number of active cases are 1,774 and the deaths so far are 81," Principal Secretary Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.

For the first time on Monday, the number of cured patients was 1,758 which was more than the number of active patients -- 1735.

Of the total fatalities, the maximum number of 24 deaths were reported from Agra, followed by Meerut (13), Moradabad (7), Kanpur Nagar (6), Firozabad and Mathura (4 each), Aligarh (3), Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar (two each).

Prasad said there are 53,459 isolation beds and 21,569 quarantine beds besides 1,260 beds with ventilator facility in the state.

"A total of 9,515 people have been kept in facility quarantine in the state," he said.

Those who have tested positive in the state include 8.1 per cent from 60 plus age group, 25.5 per cent between 40-60 years of age, 48.7 per cent between 20 and 40 years and 17.7 per cent are below the age of 20, he had said.

Among the total patients 21.5 per cent are women, he said, adding the state government was effectively using Aarogya Setu app and also making calls to alert people.

"Of the total 2,722 calls made to Aarogya Setu users, from where alerts were generated, 10 have been found positive till now and are being treated," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MAUMELLE, Arkansas, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BEI Precision today announced it won a Gold Tier Award for exceptional performance and contributions to supply chain success in 2019 for BAE Systems' Electronic Systems sector. BEI Precision was selected from a pool of more than 2,200 suppliers that worked with the sector in 2019.

"This is an excellent achievement for our team," said BEI Precision President and CEO Mark Mirelez. "We are honored to partner with BAE Systems to support the development of mission critical applications and appreciate this recognition of our efforts."

BAE Systems' Partner 2 Win program is designed to achieve operational excellence and eliminate defects in its supply chain by raising the bar of performance expectations to meet the demand of current and future customers. As part of the program, BAE Systems meets regularly with its suppliers at their locations to transfer best practices to ensure that the components and materials that compose BAE Systems products meet the highest quality standards.

"We are proud to partner with companies  including BEI Precision  committed to delivering the highest quality products on-time, every time," said Kim Cadorette, vice president of Operations for BAE Systems' Electronic Systems sector. "We look forward to continued collaboration and success."

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems provides some of the world's most advanced, technology-led defense, aerospace, and security solutions. The company employs a skilled workforce of more than 83,000 employees worldwide and operations in 30 U.S. states. Working with customers and local partners, BAE Systems develops, engineers, manufactures, and supports products and systems to deliver military capability, protect national security and people, and keep critical information and infrastructure secure.

About BEI Precision

BEI Precision, a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & company, is a leader in high-accuracy positioning sensor technologies, providing advanced design, manufacturing and testing for reliable and resilient products and systems. The Company's core product lines, which are used primarily in mission-critical defense and space applications, include optical encoder-based positioning systems, scanners for situational awareness requirements and precision accelerometers.

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Peter Alexander, Just Jeans and Smiggle will reopen their doors on Friday after they were forced to shut amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier Investments, which owns the brands along with retailers Portmans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E and Dotti, closed stores on March 26 and stood down 9,000 employees.

The company, which is owned by billionaire tycoon Solomon Lew, says in-store sales were down 99 per cent for the six weeks to May 6 compared with the same period in 2019.

But total online sales within the company's stores doubled during the same period.

E-commerce sales at luxury pyjama brand Peter Alexander surged by 295 per cent  more than last year's total sales across its 122-store network and online combined.

Smiggle is one of the stores that will reopen in Australia on Friday after it was shut due to coronavirus

'Prior to the global health crisis, customers were already increasingly electing to shop online,' Premier Investments said on Tuesday.

'The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased that existing trend and could hasten the substantial retail restructure already underway.'

The company said that close to 70 per cent of Premier Retails stores in Australia and New Zealand are either in holdover or have leases expiring in 2020, giving the company 'maximum flexibility' over possible store closures.

Premier Investments also noted its online business had a significantly higher profit margin than its physical store network, hinting it could follow other Australian retailers who have flagged closing up to 20 per cent of their stores.

Peter Alexander has seen online sales rise in Australia by 295 per cent since coronavirus

Crowds stormed shopping centres after stores slowly started to reopen in Australia

Shoe retailer Accent Group  which owns Platypus, The Athlete's Foot, Hype DC and Skechers - has already revealed it will shut as many as 100 of its 522 stores in Australia to focus on digital markets.

If Premier Investments were to follow the same model it could mean as many as 22 store closures and 1,800 workers left jobless.

'There's been a seismic shift to behaviour, which we feel will be prolonged and instilled in the way people shop,' Accent Group chief executive Daniel Agostinelli told The Age.

'We will definitely be reviewing the whole structure [of the business], and we will be redeploying good people from our retail business to digital while increasing our digital capability overall.

Others stores that closed such as General Pants and Michael Hill have also reopened their doors, but haven't made any announcements.

Department stores like David Jones have reopened and Myer has opened stores in Queensland on a trial basis.

Luxury high-end fashion brands like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vutton have opened along with Apple and Big W.
Park Jun-Yong, a South Korean lawyer from Linden Investment Co., Ltd. predicted, We will see more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than before because of market restructuring, not just because prices will go down.

The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted supply chains, causing the closure of several manufacturing facilities worldwide and the restructuring of many industries. Clearly, decision-makers have no test playbook to navigate the unprecedented global health and financial crisis, pushing them into action quickly to survive the crisis and accelerate the eventual recovery. For companies with strong balance sheets, M&A will play a major role during that time.

According to data from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first four months of this year, 32.9 per cent of overseas investment, reaching $2.48 billion, was in capital contributions and shares purchased by foreign investors. This included around 100 cases of capital contribution and share purchase by the Chinese. Meanwhile, Thai and Japanese backers also made an impact with a number of deals.

Truong Thanh Duc, a lawyer from Basico Law Firm, said that the data only reflects the tip of the iceberg, as the number of actual deals could be higher, and there are more to come. He also predicted that some local companies may reduce in value significantly during the pandemic, allowing large-cap buyers to quickly buy in. He went on to say that for 2020, in terms of M&A attraction, real estate will continue to be a big magnet for investors. In addition, other industries and fields such as industrial production, services, construction, and energy are also attractive for M&A deals thanks to the relocation of production from abroad into Vietnam and the high demand.

The increasing domestic demand due to rapid population growth and urbanisation has had a big impact on M&A in the services and consumer goods sectors. The private equity industry, which is sitting on billions of US dollars, may be one beneficiary of the drastic de-rating across markets, but they will also have their hands full managing existing portfolios.

South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Japan should be willing to take up the opportunity, and competition among these powerful buyers will be fierce, thereby creating more opportunities for Vietnamese companies with a proven track record.

Michael Han, head of South Korean-backed SK Groups representative office in Vietnam spoke to VIR. The attractiveness of Vietnam and its tremendous growth potential is not new, he said. Singapore, Thailand, and China have been the traditional powerhouse investors in Vietnam, with South Korea and Japan being the relative newcomers. We have seen increasing competition in certain sectors and I would not be surprised if more deals are sold via an auction process.

Warrick Cleine, chairman and CEO of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia said that the types of investors looking at Vietnam are private equity funds and multinational corporations, especially from Japan and South Korea. They are more familiar with short-term economic shocks, and invest for the longer term. Vietnamese companies seeking foreign partners need to be realistic about valuation and flexible about the timing and process. It is a much more difficult market than it was three months ago, Cleine said.

While there will be winners and losers, observers are concerned that panic will lead to a raft of opportunistic M&A activity in the short term as smaller businesses struggle to survive. There is a valid concern that others may take advantage of market volatility to profit.

Global consulting firm FTI suggested in its COVID-19 M&A report that companies should also prepare for a potential unwanted approach by understanding the factors that make them vulnerable to such overtures. Beyond the financial incentive offered by a premium, shareholders may view the lack of a viable strategy or a reliable management team as good reasons to sell the company, it noted.

Amid the new situation, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry submitted various proposals to the prime minister late last week, in which it requested the government should delay M&A deals during the crisis in order to avoid leaving local businesses vulnerable to hostile takeover bids from foreign investors. The proposal is said to be necessary and urgent at this time while many other countries are seeking tighter scrutiny of acquisitions.

Duc from Basico Law Firm warned that Vietnam could face punitive tariffs, origin fraud, and illegal transshipment if they fail to regulate businesses activities after M&A deals are completed.

Some of Europes biggest economies have announced intentions to protect domestic companies by increasing scrutiny of foreign investments. These tactics typically involve tighter regulations at the deal screening level, including closer attention to industry-specific transactions, and relaxed thresholds for blocking cross-border investments entirely.

Some measures have been implemented in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but others are the result of long-planned reforms.
Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex will 'step up' and take on more public duties in the Queen's absence, a royal insider has claimed.

At the weekend it emerged the 94-year-old monarch will remain at Windsor Castle indefinitely, with all her public engagements on hold until the threat from coronavirus clears.

In the meantime senior aides have put together a programme dubbed the Royal Task Force, aimed at extending The Firm's public presence, reports The Mirror.

Edward, 56, and his wife Sophie, 55, are set to play a key role, while Her Majesty is said to be in constant contact with Prince Charles and Prince William.

Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex (pictured in Mersea Island, Essex in March) will 'step up' and take on more public duties in the Queen's absence, a royal source has claimed

A royal source told the publication: 'There is going to be a lot more interaction between the family members while the crisis is ongoing.

'Her Majesty has given instructions that, after a turbulent period for the family last year, now is the time to heal and have a united front and get back to the basics of what the monarchy is for  her sole belief is that it goes back to the basics of duty.'

They added that the Queen is 'more determined than ever to return when the time is right'.

In recent weeks, Prince Charles, 71, and the Wessexes have opened the NHS Nightingale Hospitals via video link, while Sophie has shared home schooling tips with parents via Instagram to help boost morale.

At the weekend it emerged the 94-year-old monarch will remain at Windsor Castle indefinitely, with all her public engagements on hold until the threat from coronavirus clears

Previously described as the Royal Family's 'secret weapon' by royal journalist and author Victoria Murphy, last month it emerged Sophie, mother to Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, has been working secretly as a volunteer making lunches for NHS staff during the pandemic.

She also joined a video call with the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, of which she is patron, to congratulate them on their work with the NHS during the crisis, and has helped publicise advice from the children's charity NSPCC and the National Autistic Society.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, currently isolating at their home in Bagshot Park, Surrey, and the Princess Royal also video-called several veterans who flew Lancaster Bombers and raised a glass on VE Day to learn about their experiences in the war.

Previously described as the Royal Family's 'secret weapon' by royal journalist and author Victoria Murphy, last month it emerged the Countess, mother to Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, has been working secretly as a volunteer making lunches for NHS staff during the pandemic

A palace insider told The Mirror Sophie is 'one of the nicest people you could ever meet', adding: 'She's incredibly hard working, no nonsense and she really cares about people and the causes she works on.

'The public has seen that as well and through the crisis she has been seen more and more. That can only be a good thing for everyone involved.'

Last week Ingrid Seward claimed the Countess, 55, approaches her role in The Firm in an 'unfussy way' and said she 'gets on with things regardless of the attention'.

Since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit as senior members of the Royal Family earlier this year, The Firm has rallied together to ensure its charitable organisations are well supported.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are currently isolating at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, have held regular Zoom meetings with frontline NHS workers and school staff and pupils of key workers, as well as various charities.

Prince William, 37, and Kate, 38, also spoke to World War II veterans ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day last week.

It is believed this will be the monarch's longest absence from her official duties in her 68 year reign, with her schedule not expected to resume until into the autumn at the earliest.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said the Queen continues to be 'busy', conducting a weekly audience with the Prime Minister by phone and receiving her daily red boxes of Government papers.

They added that Her Majesty will 'follow appropriate advice on engagements' and is keeping in touch with her family by phone and video calls.
McDonalds is to reopen its first 30 drive-through restaurants as early as next week as it pushes forward with its reopening plans.

It comes as fast food rival Subway reopens more than 600 of its UK stores on Tuesday for delivery and takeaway as it serves customers for the first time since the lockdown.

McDonalds will open its first 15 pilot restaurants from 11am on Wednesday for deliveries only.

The fast food chain said it intends to begin the next phase of its reopening plans next week by opening 30 sites in the UK and Ireland for drive-through customers only on Wednesday May 20.

Tomorrow we will offer delivery via Uber Eats from 15 restaurants in the South East of England, next week we will start to reopen our Drive Thrus as we get ready to reopen restaurants across the UK and Ireland. pic.twitter.com/us3wM2fJYc  McDonald's UK (@McDonaldsUK) May 12, 2020

It said it plans to reopen all of its drive-through sites by early June, in line with Government guidelines.

McDonalds said it will cap the amount customers can spend to 25 per car and will ask customers to use contactless payment.

This will take place alongside safety measures the chain already announced, such as contactless thermometers for staff, Perspex screens and protective equipment.

The company called for customers to be patient and supportive of staff as sites reopen, warning that service will not be as quick as you might be used to as workers adjust to the changes.

Paul Pomroy, McDonalds chief executive officer for UK and Ireland, said: There has been an incredible response to news of our reopening and we know many of you are eager for us to extend our reopening plans at a faster pace.

The wellbeing of our employees, suppliers and delivery partners couriers is my top priority and we will only extend our plans at a pace that enables us to create a safe working environment for our teams.

As we get accustomed to the new processes and procedures, we will look to reopen more restaurants, for longer hours and reintroduce more menu items.

But only when I am confident we can do so whilst maintaining the new procedures we have introduced for the protection of our people.

Meanwhile, Subway said it has reopened more than 600 stores on Tuesday in the first phase of its reopening programme.

Expand Close A Subway store in Wakefield, which features signage and protective screens that have been installed to support social distancing (Anthony Devlin/PA) PA / Facebook

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It said the sites have reopened with new operational and social distancing safety measures to protect customers and staff.

The chain said customers will be able to have food from these sites delivered via Just Eat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

Colin Hughes, country director for Subway UK & Ireland, said: Everybody in our Subway family and the wider communities they serve, has shown great resilience in adapting to these challenging times that we currently find ourselves in.

We are extremely grateful for their ongoing support in anticipation of this next phase of our gradual reopening, which will enable us to continue to serve our communities and frontline workers, who have helped us all so much in recent weeks.

The weeks and months ahead will continue to be challenging for everyone and Subway will play its part in supporting the new normal whatever that may look and feel like.
The Delhi government has provided free ration to more than 20 lakh poor people who do not have a ration card since the lockdown came into effect, according to officials.

The Aam Aadmi Party government has also provided free ration to 39.18 lakh National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries till May 9, Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain tweeted on Monday.

As many as 20.92 lakh people who are not covered under NFSA got free ration till May 9.

There are around 30 lakh people in Delhi who do not have ration cards.
Two videos showing witnesses recounting how they were threatened and passports confiscated allegedly at the behest of daimantaire Nirav Modi and his associates were played in the Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday as part of Indias extradition case.

Judge Samuel Mark Gozee viewed the videos in which the witnesses narrated in Hindi and English how they were intimidated, insisting that they were not under any duress to make the statements. The videos are part of Indias evidence submitted to the court against Modi.

The CBI has earlier filed supplementary chargesheets in an Indian court that Modi threatened to kill one of the directors of his company, Ashish Mohanbhai Lad, if he expressed a desire to return to India from Cairo.

According to CBI, Lad had fled from Dubai to Cairo to avoid arrest and in June 2018, when he planned to return to India from Cairo, he was contacted Modis behalf by his brother, Nehal Modi, and threatened.

The second day of the extradition trial began with Modis lawyer, Claire Montgomery, who appeared for businessman Vijay Mallya in his extradition case, set out broadly similar objections to Modis extradition.

According to her, there is no prima facie case against Modi; he faced risk to his human rights in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai; and he may not receive a fair trial if extradited. Modi appeared in court via video-link from the Wandsworth jail.

Under the UK-India extradition treaty, the country requesting the extradition needs to establish in the requested countrys court that there is a prima facie case against the person  not a conviction  based on charges that would amount to offences in law in both countries.

Montgomery blamed incompetence of the Punjab National Bank for the way in which credit and loans were extended to Modi and his companies. She quoted extensively from bank documents from 2004, and at one stage accused PNB of misleading the Reserve Bank of India on lending.

Raising objections to documents submitted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer Helen Malcolm, Montgomery claimed that many are inadmissible in court, she told judge Samuel Mark Goozee. There is no underlying evidence in Indias case, she added.

She said the witness statements submitted by India had the same defect as in the Mallya case: that they were copy and paste examples, which raised doubts about their provenance and the ways in which theyw re secured under Section 161 of Indias Code of Criminal Procedure.

The sovereign assurance given by the ministry of home affairs that Modis human rights would be protected in the Mumbai jail, she said, is inadequate, raising concerns about over-crowding, conditions, availability of medical facilities, and reminding the court that Modi faced serious mental health issues.

Modi is now the subject of two extradition requests; one processed by the CBI and the other by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI case relates to large-scale fraud upon PNB, through the fraudulent obtaining of Letters of Understanding (LOUs/loan agreements); the ED case relates to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

The additional offences relate to allegations that Modi interfered with the CBI investigation by causing disappearance of evidence and intimidating witnesses (criminal intimidation to cause death). They have not been joined to the CBI case, but will be dealt with at a separate later hearing likely in September.

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New Delhi: Atal Pension Yojana (APY), the flagship social security scheme of the government has completed five years of successful implementation.

Launched on May 9, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the APY aims at delivering old age income security particularly to the workers in the unorganised sector.

As per official data, over these five the total enrolment under the APY scheme stood at 2,23,54,028.

During the first two years of its launch, almost 50 lakh subscribers were enrolled which doubled to 100 lakh in the third year and the milestone of 1.50 crore was achieved in the 4th year. In the last financial year, almost 70 lacs subscribers were enrolled under the scheme.

Here is all you need to know about the Atal Pension Yojana

Who can subscribe to Atal Pension Yojana?

APY can be subscribed by any Indian citizen in the age group of 18-40 years having a bank account. APY is a government scheme administered by PFRDA through NPS architecture. The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. Therefore, minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more.

What benefits does Atal Pension Yojana provide?

First, it provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age. Secondly the amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to spouse on death of the subscriber. Third, in the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.

What are the pension benefits under Atal Pension Yojana?

APY has pre-defined monthly contributions. Under the APY, the subscribers would receive the fixed pension of Rs. 1000 per month, Rs. 2000 per month, Rs. 3000 per month, Rs. 4000 per month, Rs. 5000 per month, at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which itself would vary on the age of joining the APY.

What is the Government contribution under Atal Pension Yojana?

Under APY, the Central Government would co-contribute 50 percent of the subscribers contribution or Rs 1000 per annum (whichever is lower) to each eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5 years, i.e., from 2015-16 to 2019-20, who join the NPS before 31st December, 2015.

What are the income tax benefits under Atal Pension Yojana?

APY subscribers would enjoy tax benefits on their own contributions as well as their employers contribution under Section 80 CCD and 80 CCE.
(Natural News) Obesity, which is defined as an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat, is considered a global epidemic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity has tripled worldwide since 1975. In 2016 alone, 1.9 billion adults (18 years and above) were considered overweight, and 650 million were obese.

Research has also found that obesity is twice as common in adolescents now as it was three decades ago. In the U.S., the rate of obesity, particularly among adolescents, has increased dramatically. For instance, among adolescent females, its prevalence jumped from 10 percent to 21 percent between the 1980s and 2014. This is alarming to health experts, as obesity is known to increase a persons risk of developing metabolic, psychological and reproductive health problems.

In a bid to find a suitable and effective strategy against adolescent obesity, researchers at Sehan University and Ewha Womans University in South Korea examined the effects of auricular acupressure on obese adolescents. They found that this non-invasive form of acupuncture can improve the lipid profile of obese adolescents, which decreases their risk of heart disease. The researchers discussed their findings in an article published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

The benefits of auricular acupuncture for obese adolescents

To test how auricular acupressure can help with adolescent obesity, the researchers recruited 58 obese adolescents and divided them into two groups: the experimental group, which had 32 participants, and the control group, which had 26 participants.

The experimental group received auricular acupressure using vaccaria (cowherb) seeds instead of acupuncture needles, while the control group received a placebo auricular acupressure. The intervention lasted for eight weeks.

The researchers considered the following as outcome measures: body weight, abdominal circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio, body-mass index, body-fat mass, body-fat percentage, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum glucose and leptin.

They reported that, at the end of the intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. This means that auricular acupressure can improve the heart health of obese adolescents. High cholesterol levels, especially bad LDL cholesterol, increases a persons risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that auricular acupressure using vaccaria seeds can benefit obese adolescents by improving their lipid profile and reducing their risk of heart disease and fatal cardiac events.

Other health benefits of auricular acupressure

Auricular acupressure is a type of acupuncture that involves stimulating certain points along the external surface of the ear called the auricle. Like acupuncture, auricular acupressure is used to balance yin and yang and regulate organ function. Auricular acupressure can also be used to increase the bodys resistance to pathogenic factors.

According to studies, this healing art can improve sleep quality and daytime dysfunction in people with insomnia. Auricular acupressure is also commonly used to relieve headaches related to menstruation and improve blood circulation. Here are some other health benefits associated with auricular acupressure:

Increases heart rate variability

Helps combat addiction

Reduces withdrawal symptoms

Alleviates stress

Reduces mood swings

Helps with smoking cessation

Lowers blood pressure

Prevents weight gain by suppressing the appetite

Helps manage anxiety

Improves sleep quality

Relieves pain

As an alternative medicine, auricular acupressure has also been used for the following conditions:

Allergies

Arthritis

Chronic pain

Constipation

Fibromyalgia

Irritable bowel syndrome

Low back pain

Migraines

Auricular acupressure is an effective remedy for various ailments. It also involves a lower risk of infection and bleeding than acupuncture since it makes use of vaccaria seeds instead of needles. Auricular acupressure is considered generally safe but is not for recommended for children and pregnant women. To ensure your safety, consult with a trusted natural health practitioner before trying this therapy.

Sources include:

Science.news

WHO.int

MSDManuals.com

ACOG.org

ScienceDirect.com

HealthGrades.com

TrialsJournal.BiomedCentral.com

AMCollege.edu

VeryWellHealth.com

Healthline.com
Actor Aishwarya Rai has been as successful a Bollywood star as she has been a showstopper. While her modelling work has significantly come down over the years, in her younger days, the work was pretty exhaustive. Some days ago, top designer Ashley Rebello shared a bunch of pictures of a young Aishwarya from a 15-year old calendar photo shoot. Ace photographer Atul Kasbekar shot the pictures

Two of the three pictures feature Aishwarya in combination of white and gold while a third one sees her in an all-gold ensemble with a matching hoodie.

Sharing one of the pictures, Ashley had written: The beauty at her early years, 15 years back with @aishwaryaraibachchan_arb . All 3 styled and designed by me. This picture features Aishwarya as a Roman beauty as we see her posing in front of, what appears to be, a relief of Romes Pantheon.

The second picture features her in a golden space-age dress. Sharing it, Ashley wrote: Major throw back Alert !!Relief work on cement with 6 different looks. A calendar shoot with gorgeous @aishwaryaraibachchan_arb very stylish and futuristic.

Sharing the third picture is where Aishwarya is dressed as an Indian celestial beauty, an apsara, Ashley wrote: This was a shoot that I did with gorgeous @aishwaryaraibachchan_arb many years ago. #ashleyreballo #aishwaryarai #photoshoot @atulkasbekar. The relief here features, what appears to be, the sculpted walls of a temple.

Also read: Sonam Kapoor offers glimpse inside lavish home, shares snapshots during quarantine with Anand Ahuja

Aishwarya, meanwhile, has been staying home with her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan, husband Abhishek Bachchan, father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, sister-in-law Shweta Bachchan Nanda and niece, Navya Naveli Nanda through the lockdown. Her Instagram posts have been rare but she did take to the photo-sharing platform to express her grief at the passing away of two stalwarts of Hindi films, Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, in April this year. She also shared how they took part in the Janta curfew and other campaigns, called by PM Modi, through the lockdown put in place for coronavirus pandemic.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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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
For many New Yorkers, the COVID-19 quarantine has prompted stocking up and hunkering down.

But some intrepid Samaritans have sprung into action to aid vast numbers of people who can no longer fill the fridge or put food on the table.

All this week, THE CITY is profiling some of the grassroots volunteers feeding those at risk of going hungry, one neighbor at a time.

The Queens Mutual Aid Network, which connects people across the borough in need of groceries or other help with volunteers on their block, sprung into action in March as the coronavirus crisis grew.

By early April, the groups leaders extended their focus to preparing for Ramadan, Islams holy month.

We were anticipating that this was gonna be a time where people were gonna have a lot of need, said Rima Begum, who is among the six women who lead the network.

Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset each day during the entire month of Ramadan, which began on April 23 this year. It is meant to be a time of spiritual discipline, self-reflection and increased charity.

The faithful eat twice a day, starting with suhur, a hearty pre-dawn meal to hold them over until they break their fast at sundown, when family and friends gather for iftar  kicked off with a light meal or snack, traditionally dates  followed by prayer. Many Muslims are hosting virtual iftars this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group prepared supplemental kits, delivered weekly, with Ramadan-friendly foods including rice, oil, besam (chickpea flour), chai, energy bars, three different types of channa and, of course, dates.

Almost 100 Queens families, most in Jackson Heights and Jamaica, home to two of the boroughs largest Muslim communities, received their Ramadan kits before the holiday started, according to Begum.

Two weeks later, deliveries had tripled.

Culturally Appropriate Fare

The project has given Begum, a 29-year-old tenant organizer, a renewed sense of purpose amid the devastation brought on by the pandemic, which has hit Queens hard, with working-class, immigrant communities bearing the brunt.

Were committed to providing culturally appropriate foods, said Begum, who has made several deliveries in Jamaica, where she lives. Weve heard from families who go to schools to pick up their meals, and the only halal options are PB&J sandwiches. Thats not acceptable.

Since its inception in mid-March, more than 250 people have volunteered with the Queens Mutual Aid Network, purchasing and delivering groceries for their neighbors in need, from Astoria to the Rockaways.

The group  which receives around 45 delivery requests a day  uses social media to connect people needing a delivery with a volunteer who lives nearby. Volunteers are reimbursed for grocery purchases, using money pooled from an online fundraiser, but some insist on donating the goods, Begum said.

Not counting the Ramadan kits, the network has completed more than 830 regular grocery deliveries since March 25 to Queens residents of all backgrounds.

Sometimes, people hadnt even talked to their neighbors before, and now theyre making connections because of their mutual aid work, Begum said. With the pandemic, a lot of people who are able to are looking for ways to help, and this is one way to literally give back to the community.

Do you have a neighbor helping your New York City community during the coronavirus crisis? Tell us about them at coronavirus@thecity.nyc.

Want to republish this story? See our republication guidelines.

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Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday applauded nurses for their role in keeping people healthy, saying the country is grateful to them for their "great work" in the fight against novel coronavirus.

PM Modi"International Day of the Nurse is a special day to express gratitude to the phenomenal nurses working round the clock to keep our planet healthy. Presently, they are doing great work towards defeating Covid-19," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

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"We are extremely grateful to the nurses and their families," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi"Today, we also reiterate our commitment to keep working for welfare of nurses and devote greater attention to opportunities in this field so that there is no shortage of caregivers," he said.

According to the World Health Organisation, the International Day of the Nurse is observed on the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing. This year marks her 200th birth anniversary.
CHARLESTON  Seventeen additional Coles County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and several cases have been reported at a Charleston nursing home.

The Coles County Health Department announced the additional cases on Monday, the largest one-day number of cases in the county since the coronavirus outbreak began.

It also said a second county resident has died because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

A news release from the department said the recent death was a resident of Charleston Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center and 21 of the county's cases have been associated with the nursing home.

That followed announcements over the weekend of the first seven confirmed cases in the county since April 22. The county's first death from the disease was also announced last month.

Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center begins drive-through coronvirus testing Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center is now offering coronavirus drive-through tests, available via pre-registration and by registering onsite.

Monday's news release said there have been a total of 46 COVID-19 cases in the county. Three people are hospitalized, 22 have recovered and 19 are recovering, it said.

With COVID-19 cases at long-term care facilities, the Illinois Department of Public Health requires steps to be taken at the facility and with residents, the news release said.

The health department has been in ongoing communications with county long-term care facilities and is also helping Charleston Rehabilitation and Health Care Center communicate with the community and residents' families, it also said.

When the positive cases were identified, the health department started contact tracing and ensured that confirmed disease and those who've been in contact with people with the disease conduct proper isolation practices, the release said.

The news release included a statement from the nursing home, located at 716 18th St. in Charleston, that said the facility is working closely with health officials to prevent the spread of the virus.

"We have taken extraordinary steps in all facets of our daily operations to keep our residents safe and we have done everything in our power to educate all our staff on the best ways to remain safe," the statement said.

Actions by the facility and its management company, Petersen Health Care, included visitors restrictions as soon as the virus outbreak occurred, the statement said.

The nursing home also implemented enhanced infection control protocols, increased training and cancelled all internal and external events that could put residents or staff at risk of exposure, according to the statement.

The release also said more information about the coronavirus outbreak in Illinois is available by contacting the Illinois Department of Public Health hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or by email atDPH.SICK@ILLINOIS.GOV.

It said information is also available online at www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus.

Monday updates: Coronavirus and Central Illinois
DUBLIN, May 11 (Reuters) - The number of people claiming emergency coronavirus-related unemployment payments in Ireland fell on a weekly basis for the first time on Monday, although a greater number of people signed up to a separate government wage-subsidy scheme.

The number of recipients of the higher, temporary payment introduced in March edged down to 589,000 from 598,000, an official from the prime minister's office told a news conference. When including these recipients, Ireland's unemployment rate hit a record 28.2% in April.

The adjusted unemployment rate does not include 456,200 people on the subsidy scheme for impacted companies, where the state agreed to pay 70% of wages up to a maximum of 410 euros a week until at least June. That was up from 427,400 a week ago as the economy prepares to gradually reopen from next week. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The US government has donated 1,000 ventilators to South Africa to help the country respond to COVID-19.

South Africa has the most confirmed cases of the disease in Africa with more than 10,600, including 206 deaths.

The new ventilators are valued at $14 million, and with accessories, service plans and shipping, the total donation is worth $20 million, said the U.S. embassy in a statement issued Tuesday.

The ventilators, produced in the United States, will help South Africa's hospitals treat patients in intensive care units, and the U.S. Agency for International Development will work with the South African government to distribute the equipment across the country.

U.S. ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks was at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo airport on Monday to receive the shipment.

These ventilators are another example of the American spirit of generosity as we battle this virus at home in the United States and together abroad with our partner countries, said Marks, in the statement.

The donation of ventilators brings the total U.S. government financial support to South Africa's COVID-19 response to more than $41 million, according to the statement.

In addition, the U.S. is supporting up to 5,400 community healthcare workers to assist with the South African government's community COVID-19 screening campaign and provide HIV treatment support, through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shelley Davies waits for her delivery at Plants and Friends./Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate

LATEST May 12, 9:41 p.m. Here's a rundown of new cases and deaths reported in the Bay Area on Tuesday. This list will be updated as more announcements are made.

 Sonoma County announced 11 additional cases for a total of 333. The death toll remains four.

 Santa Clara County announced 28 additional cases for a total of 2,364. The county also announced one new death, bringing the death toll to 130.

 Marin County announced six additional cases for a total of 271. The death toll remains 14.

 Napa County reported two new cases for a total of 81. The death toll remains three.

 Solano County announced nine new cases for a total of 388. The county also announced one new death, bringing the death toll to 11.

 Alameda County reported 32 new cases Tuesday for a total of 2,133. The county also announced three additional deaths, bringing the toll to 74.

 Contra Costa County announced 18 new cases for a total of 1,066. The death toll remains 32.

 San Mateo County announced 33 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 1,497. The death toll remains 65.

 San Francisco reported 23 new cases to increase its total to 1,977. The death toll remains 35.

May 12, 2:20 p.m. The California State University campuses will move all scheduled in-person classes to near-total virtual instruction this fall, CSU Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday. Exceptions will be made for students in nursing programs and other lab settings.

The change will affect the entire 23-university CSU system, including its four Bay Area schools: San Francisco State, Cal State East Bay, San Jose State and Sonoma State.

Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis, White said. That approach, sadly, just isnt in the cards now as I have described. Read more on CSU closures from SFGATE Editor Alyssa Pereira.

May 12, 1:30 p.m. With many counties in California ready to move deeper into stage two of Gov. Gavin Newsom's four-phase plane, the governor announced Tuesday new guidelines for offices, shopping malls, outdoor museums and select services such as dog grooming and car washes.

These sectors of the economy can open under physical-distancing guidelines outlined by the state. Newsom noted that while some counties are ready for this next step, other regions, such as some counties in the Bay Area, may move at a slower pace.

Newsom said only offices where teleworking isn't possible will be allowed to reopen (see guidelines for offices), but working from home is highly encouraged. Shopping malls, strip malls and outlet malls can resume business for curbside pickup only.

If specific measures are met, certain services will also be allowed to restart operations including dog grooming, car washes, dog walking, cleaning services, dry cleaning, auto repair and landscaping.

Restaurants were another big topic of discussion at the Tuesday press briefing and Newsom released guidelines for reopening restaurants in counties that receive approval from the state to move more quickly into stage two. Read about the new guidelines in a story by Amy Graff on SFGATE.

At the press briefing, Newsom said the state is in conversation with 27 counties seeking regional variances; Butte and El Dorado counties are the first two to be given approval to move farther into stage two. In the Bay Area, none of the counties have made official announcements about plans to reopen restaurants as of yet.

May 12, 1:10 p.m. Los Angeles County, the epicenter of California's coronavirus outbreak, is almost certain to extend its stay-at-home mandate until August. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the quarantine order will "with all certainty" be in effect through the next two and a half months.

Read the full story here from SFGATE Editor Katie Dowd.

May 12, 12:40 p.m. Here's a rundown of new cases and deaths reported in the Bay Area on Tuesday. This list will be updated as more announcements are made.

 Alameda County reported 32 new cases Tuesday for a total of 2,133. The county also announced three additional deaths, bringing the toll to 74.

 Contra Costa County announced 18 new cases for a total of 1,066. The death toll remains 32.

 San Mateo County announced 33 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 1,497. The death toll remains 65.

 San Francisco reported 23 new cases to increase its total to 1,977. The death toll remains 35.

May 12, 12:15 p.m. BART and other transit agencies nationwide are pushing for more federal funding due to decreases in ridership caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We can't afford to be reactive," said BART General Manager Bob Powers in a virtual joint press conference Tuesday. "We must be up and fully functioning to deliver ... We must keep our greatest assets  our employees  safe. We must operate a thoroughly clean and disinfected transit system and we must put out frequent service."

Read more from SFGATE editor Alyssa Pereira.

May 12, 12:00 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Tuesday press conference the state has administered more than 1 million COVID-19 tests.

Newsom acknowledged that when the virus first arrived in the United States that testing across the nation and in the state was inadequate.

It was a month or so ago, we were averaging 2,000 tests a day, Newsom said. In a state as large as ours that was completely unacceptable.

A goal was set for the state to reach 25,000 tests a day by the end of May, and Newsom said the state is now way ahead of that goal and averaging 35,000 tests a day.

The next goal is to reach 60,000 to 80,000 tests a day.

Six new state-managed sites have opened in the state "to go even deeper in rural California" and the states COVID-19 test sites "are free.''

There are also some pop-up sites are that state that charge insurance or ask for out-of-pocket payment.

Testing is part of the roadmap to reopening, Newsom said.

For information on testing sites near you, visit testing.covid19.ca.gov.

May 12, 9:50 a.m. Here's a rundown of new cases and deaths reported in the Bay Area on Tuesday. This list will be updated as more announcements are made.

San Francisco reported 23 new cases to increase its total to 1,977. The death toll remains 35.

San Mateo announced nine new deaths and 33 new cases, bringing its death toll to 65 and its case total to 1,497. This is the highest number of deaths reported in the county in a single day since April 22 when 11 deaths were reported.

May 12, 7:30 a.m. President Donald Trump showed support Tuesday for Tesla CEO Elon Musk restarting operations at his Fremont plant even though it violates Alameda County's shelter-in-place order.

"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," the president tweeted. "It can be done Fast & Safely!" Read the full story by Amy Graff on SFGATE.

May 12, 7 a.m. At his regular Tuesday press briefing, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to release official guidelines for restaurants to open their doors and invite customers to dine inside.

While Newsom gave retail across the state the green light to resume business on May 8, the governor has yet to allow for the widespread reopening of restaurants. But he is permitting counties that both have low infection rates and are meeting certain requirements to request regional variances to open restaurants.

Six counties in the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara) are following a slower timeline for reopening than the state. Retail in these counties isn't expected to open until later this month. Newsom has said counties don't need to comply with the California shelter-in-place order if their requirements are more strict than the state's.

Newsom has provided clues into what the requirements for restaurants might look like. For example, they may be required to operate with fewer tables to provide physical distancing between diners. Servers could be wearing masks and gloves and may offer diners disposable menus, but the state has yet to release any official guidelines.

You can watch the governor's briefing on Tuesday at noon on Facebook.

Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases):

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 2,133 confirmed cases, 74 deaths

For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 1,066 confirmed cases, 32 deaths

For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website.

LAKE COUNTY: 8 confirmed cases

For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 271 confirmed cases, 14 deaths

Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website.

MONTEREY COUNTY: 286 confirmed cases, 6 deaths

For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 81 cases, 3 deaths

For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 56 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,977 confirmed cases, 35 deaths

For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,497 confirmed cases, 65 deaths

For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,364 confirmed cases, 130 deaths

Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 146 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website.

SOLANO COUNTY: 388 confirmed cases, 11 deaths

For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 333 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website.



CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Projections show California coronavirus cases and deaths rising more than expected

SF confirms it's giving drugs to homeless in hotels in 'limited quantities'

San Francisco officials outline 5 goals before reopening businesses

WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA REOPEN?

Every Bay Area county's projected date for Stage 2 reopening

6 Bay Area counties say retail not opening Friday

Newsom details 4 stages to reopen California businesses

Editor: This article initially misstated the number of coronavirus cases in San Francisco. That number has been corrected.
Pizza is the original carryout comfort food, a business seemingly equipped to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Pizza clearly is a great takeout item. Its good for the whole family, it travels well, I think it lends itself to comfort," Buddys CEO Burton Heiss told MLive in a recent video interview. "I know for me, an eight square Detroiter certainly fits the bill.

Paul Visingardi, owner of Vizzys Pizza Palace in Westland, says sales have increased in the wake of the pandemic, and hes had to hire more staff.

But unlike Vizzys, which has always offered only takeout and delivery, restaurants like Buddys are feeling the pinch without dine-in customers. Dine-in services have been closed in Michigan since March 16 under an executive order from Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Heiss says dine-in customers normally account for 70 percent of sales at Buddys.

He says Buddys saw its lowest sales in the first two weeks of the pandemic, but sales have mostly grown week-over-week since then. Buddys has also had to hire staff, but thats mainly because some workers have self-selected to take temporary leaves of absence for various reasons.

Vitales Pizza in Comstock Park also depends on dine-in sales for 70 percent of its business, in regular times at least. Our takeout sales have doubled, but that still doesnt equal the sales that we lost in our restaurant dining, says owner Agostino Vitale.

Vitale says he has had to lay off staff.

Buddys, Vitales and Vizzys have all implemented social distancing procedures for workers, and contactless delivery and pickup options for customers.

Visingardi says even when things get back to normal, Vizzys will continue its no-touch delivery and no-touch curbside pickup. People like it, its convenient. Its like we have a drive-up window, he said.

Like a lot of Michigan restaurants, Buddys and Vitales are making plans for social distancing in the dining room once customers can return. At Buddys, plans are in the works for closing certain tables, and having customers wait in their cars until their tables are ready.

Heiss is hopeful the dining business in Michigan will come back strong. We may have some new operating procedures, we may do things a little bit differently. But fundamentally I think well rebound and it will be as strong as it ever was," he said.

Watch the three videos in this post for more on Buddys, Vitales Pizza and Vizzys Pizza Palace.

Lori Chapman is a producer with MLives video team.
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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 19:41 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd794032 1 Politics COVID-19,coronavirus,Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati,house-of-representatives,Perppu Free

The House of Representatives has passed an executive order that will expand the government's authority to allocate emergency coronavirus spending despite mounting public pressure to drop the regulation due to concerns of budget misappropriation and embezzlement.

Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 1/2020 allows the government to extend the state budget deficit beyond the normal 3-percent-of-GDP limit and allocate extra spending to the COVID-19 response, while protecting officials from any legal charges as long as they act "in good faith and according to the law".

"Eight political party factions have agreed [to pass the regulation], while one faction, the PKS [Prosperous Justice Party] raised objections," House Speaker Puan Maharani said at the House's plenary session on Tuesday.

Under the Perppu the central government is allowed to allocate more funds for coronavirus aid in this year's state budget through a presidential regulation (Perpres), which does not require House approval.

The government seeks to disburse Rp 405.1 trillion (US$24.6 billion) for COVID-19 measures, most of which would be allocated to support the economic recovery rather than health care.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in the plenary session that, in such a critical situation, all countries in the world should take extraordinary measures in accordance with their fiscal capabilities.

Read also: Indonesia will emerge out of pandemic highly indebted. Every rupiah counts

"Countries that are fiscally prudent are now forced to widen their deficits," Sri Mulyani said, adding that the government would maintain a debt-to-GDP ratio of below 60 percent.

Two party factions from the government coalition, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Gerindra Party, previously voiced objections to the executive order, saying that it infringed the House's right to deliberate the state budget and gave officials excessive power over the matter.

However, both factions eventually agreed to endorse the Perppu in Tuesdays plenary session following a House budget committee hearing with Sri Mulyani on May 4, in which lawmakers and the government agreed to pass the 2021 and 2022 state budgets through the normal process, not through a Perpres as in the case of the revised 2020 budget.

The Perppu, however, has prompted a chorus of criticism from activists and civil society groups lambasting what they deem an absence of government oversight in the regulation that might lead to corruption.

The objections revolve particularly around Article 27 of the regulation, which stipulates that the funds spent by the government to counter the economic impacts of the pandemic are considered to be "economic costs" rather than state losses.

The article also shields officials responsible for fiscal and monetary policies from any legal charges behind the argument that they have acted in good faith.

The Center for Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia (PSHTN FHUI), noted that the regulation had the potential to restore excessive power for the president, citing Article 12 of the Perppu that allows the state budget to be determined through a Perpres.

Read also: COVID-19: Govt to allow people under 45 to work outside to prevent more layoffs

Such [provisions] will certainly give the president space to have absolute power in the state budget without the Houses approval" PSHTN FHUI chairman Mustafa Fakhri said.

The Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the controversial provisions in the Perppu under a petition filed by a group of anticorruption activists, who argued that Article 27 violated the 1945 Constitution and several prevailing laws, including the 2003 law on state finances and the 2006 law on the Supreme Audit Agency.

Boyamin Saiman from the Indonesian Anticorruption Community (MAKI), one of the plaintiffs challenging the Perppu, said they would immediately withdraw their petition from the Constitutional Court and submit a new one to demand that the court scrap Article 27.

"We are happy that the House has passed the Perppu into law. Our petition will be more solid, because we are now facing two parties, the government and the House," he said.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, however, asserted on Tuesday that the Perppu would not give officials impunity from graft charges if any of them were found to have committed corruption, saying that Article 27 only meant to ensure that the government could make swift decisions during the health crisis.

"Corruption at the time of a disaster can be punished with the death sentence, Yasonna said, citing a provision of the 2001 Corruption Law that stipulates that those committing corruption or self-enrichment that cause state losses during a national disaster may face capital punishment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 11:05:24|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Yungang Grottoes to learn about historical and cultural heritage protection efforts in north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed the protection of Yungang Grottoes as they are the "treasure of human civilization."

Xi made the remarks on Monday during his inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province.

While visiting the cave art site in the city of Datong to learn about historical and cultural heritage protection, Xi carefully viewed sculptures and wall paintings and inquired about the history, artistic style and protection of the grottoes.

The Yungang Grottoes represent the characteristics of Chinese culture and the history of cultural exchanges between China and other countries, Xi said.

Lauding the Yungang Grottoes as the "treasure of human civilization," Xi said protection of the site should be the top priority, and its research and utilization should be based on good protection. Enditem
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 16:56:03

Opening a company in Switzerland and hiring Thierry Martin as managing partner to lead the region's activities are the highlights.

Leading Brazilian Information Security Specialist Kryptus Expands Its Activities in the EMEA Region

Thierry Martin

+41 79 932 19 23

thierry.martin@kryptus.com

Seeking to consolidate its presence and develop new businesses in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Brazilian Kryptus, specialized in cryptography and information security, announces the expansion of its international activities with the opening of a new unit of the company in Switzerland. The initiative is focused on offering technical support in the region, as well as develop the market, regional channel partners, and respond to local requirements. The move includes the announcement of Thierry Martin as the new director for EMEA and the head of the Swiss branch.

With a strong cybersecurity background, Martin is an engineer who has led several different technology companies in Europe and Brazil. The executive has also been a member of the Kryptus board in 2016 and 2017.

Currently providing solutions to financial institutions, private companies, and governments around the globe, Kryptus aims through this expansion to reach more customers with its competitive and unique product portfolio. The offerings include kNET, its high-performance HSM with unbreakable encryption, and Commguard, its flexible line of link encryptors.

"Kryptus can deliver world-class, trustworthy, and secure cryptography solutions for critical applications. Our presence in the region allows the optimization of services for customized or custom-developed products, providing a strong value proposition in the EMEA region," says Thierry Martin.

According to Roberto Gallo, founder & CEO of Kryptus, expanding to the EMEA region strengthens the company's position as a strategic provider of cyberdefense for governments and enterprises. "Kryptus can now extend its technology offering to Europe, Middle East, and Africa, based on relevant certifications and high performance," he points out.

With its Headquarter in Campinas, Kryptus was founded in 2003 and counts among its customers companies like BSH (a BOSCH Gmbh subsidiary), Claro Brasil (America Movil Group), Certisign (exclusive Verisign partner in Brazil), Iron Mountain, iFood and Embraer. Granted the status of Strategic Defense Company (EED) by the Brazilian Defense Council, Kryptus has gained the trust - as a supplier from a neutral country - of several government agencies to protect their sovereignty. Among such customers with the highest security requirements, Kryptus delivered government-grade solutions to the Peruvian Navy, the Colombian Army and the Brazilian Army, Air Force, Navy, Intelligence Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Superior Electoral Court, as well as to several other governments.

About Thierry Martin

Thierry Martin was born in Switzerland where he studied Electronics and Computer Science. He has professional experience in various areas of technology, among them Digital TV, Cyber Security, Electronics, and Telecommunications. Along his career he has lived and worked in Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, as well as worked extensively with the United States and Asia. He has held executive positions in companies like Nagra, Kudelski Security, Selectron Systems AG, and Mouvent AG.

About Kryptus

Kryptus is a provider of solutions in Information Security. With 17 years of history and HQ in Campinas (SP), Kryptus SA is an independent Brazilian company that has been growing consistently for the past 10 years, focusing on long term actions, scientific and technological plans, and understanding the mission of its clients in the business lines it develops. Kryptus is a partner of the Kudelski Group. Kryptus is a Brazilian Strategic Defense Company (EED), a status granted by the Brazilian Defense Council.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005
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A Georgia doctor, who had her medical residency in Connecticut, was found dead in a ditch Thursday morning and police believe she may have been killed by a pack of wild dogs.

Dr. Nancy Shaw was found by a Lyons, Ga., police officer around 3 a.m. Thursday, The Associated Press reported. Shaw practiced internal medicine at the Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia.
Watch Romeo + Juliet with Lockdown Theatre Club on Tuesday 12 May. Romeo + Juliet is available to rent on Prime. At 8pm everyone presses play and watches together. You can tweet along (#LockdownTheatreClub) or just enjoy the film knowing were all part of an audience together.

What is Romeo + Juliet? Baz Luhrmanns audaciously inventive 1996 film reimagines Shakespeares tragedy in Verona Beach a contemporary Miami-like city, where the Montagues and Capulets are feuding property tycoons. Claire Danes (only 16 when the film was made) and Leonardo DiCaprio play the star-crossed lovers.

Who else is involved? British acting legends: Miriam Margolyes as the nurse and Pete Postlethwaite a herb-nurturing friar. Also Harold Perrineau (Mercutio), John Leguizamo (Tybalt) and a young Paul Rudd as Paris.

Watch out for? Catherine Martins design (she is Luhrmanns partner in life and work) is typically eye-popping. Wonderfully styled, her design is stippled with cheeky references to Shakespeare  like the billboard ad for Propsero Whiskey.

Trailer

The lovers element: Hester Lees-Jeffries on Romeo + Juliet

Baz Luhrmanns film is often discussed in terms of MTV and music videos, and those influences are very clear in the fast editing, the montages, slow motion and high speed sequences, and of course in the soundtrack (RIP Prince).

Whereas Franco Zeffirellis film, for all its 1960s fetishisation of youth, had bid for classic status in its finely detailed Renaissance realism, one of the taglines for the Luhrmann film was the classic love story set in our time, we being my generation and younger, born from the late 1970wards and brought up not just on music videos but on American television, especially gritty police dramas like NYPD Blue and Law and Order, marked by hand-held camera work and street realism (RIP Brian Dennehy), and the glamour and narcissism of Beverly Hills 90210 (the original series). Theres a gesture, too, at the high-school screen musicals of the 1970s and 80s, in the vivid evocation of intense friendships and rivalries, the centrality of music, the certainty of teen rebellion, and really cool cars. Of course many of those features, and those musicals and TV series looked back to Romeo and Juliet itself, via West Side Story.

In introducing Romeo, Luhrmann nods at Zeffirellis languorously teasing long-shot as he mixes the familiar televisual device of the conversation in the back of a car with the first glimpses of the lovely Leo. Its not just that Romeo is teasingly back-lit in gold, however, in contrast to the chilly blue of the limousine, but the switching between different cinematographic aesthetics. The sense of the lovers having their own editing style and their own look (with digitally-heightened colours) continues throughout the film, and their time and place is made in the editing suite. When Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time, its through a fish-tank in a bathroom the likes of which none of us will ever see. The brightly-coloured fish continue the hallucinogenic aesthetic of the party, but they move slowly, dreamily. The mundane space of the bathroom is transformed into a place of magic and beauty, aided by the soundtrack. And here water is introduced as the lovers element, a motif which Luhrmann develops throughout the film; it gives them a place, and a space, apart.

When Romeo and Juliet finally meet (not through an aquarium) they share a sonnet, as we all know. On stage, its like a sonnet-shaped spotlight: poetry-readers in an Elizabethan audience would get it, would get the intimacy and sexiness of sharing a sonnet, a stanza, literally getting a room But how to translate this textual intimacy to the stage, let alone to film? Luhrmann uses the vocabulary of film to reinforce the ecstasy of Romeo and Juliet finding each other: they hurtle into a lift, which carries them up and away, and he introduces into that tiny, confined space a glorious shot which tracks around their embracing bodies in an exuberant spiral, which makes the tiny lift seem enormous.

That sense of apartness achieved in the sonnet, and the lift, is revisited in the balcony (or rather pool) scene, where its not simply the water itself, but the slow patterns of reflections, clothes, hair, and bubbles that make it so dreamy. True, bringing the lovers together in the pool removes the tension of the distance between them, although perhaps the very overt dynamic of surveillance offsets this a little. But the splash as they fall (yet again) into the pool sounds like a gunshot, and it anticipates the scene of Tybalts death.

The final image of the films closing montage is that dreamy underwater shot, but the whole aesthetic of the tomb scene recalls the vivid colours, especially the electric blue, of the aquarium. The water makes visual and sensually palpable the craving of these lovers, any lovers, for a space and time apart; it suggests a connection between melancholy Romeo hanging out on the beach, looking out to sea, and the woman who promises him that her bounty is as boundless as the sea, her love as deep. And to show water in motion is a classic assertion of being a film, not a still photograph, and not theatre either. Apart from the ostentatiously ruined beach theatre, scene of Romeos sunrise mooching, theres no residual sense of the stage in Luhrmanns film at all; its coolly and utterly confident in its own medium.

The second time I saw Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet in the cinema, when it had been re-released to capitalise on the success of Titanic, the closing scenes were accompanied by sobs from the teenage girls in the row behind. Understandable enough, but what they were wailing wasnt Romeo, Romeo, or even Leo, Leo, but Jack, Jack. Perhaps they too had been moved by these watery connections

Hester Lees-Jeffries is a Fellow of St Catharines College, Cambridge. She is writing a new introduction for the New Cambridge Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet and in 2018 wrote Starcrossed, a line-by-line daily blog about the play. Follow her @starcrossed2018
Kyle Sandilands has slammed his longtime rival Ben Fordham, after he was announced as Alan Jones' replacement on 2GB on Tuesday morning.

Speaking on his KIIS FM radio show, the 48-year-old claimed the Channel Nine star was 'a phony' and would be a 'disaster' for the radio network.

'Oh, what a disaster. That's what happens when a television station runs a radio network. That's a massive mistake. Good luck, Ben Fordham,' he said.

Feud: Kyle Sandilands (left) has slammed his longtime rival Ben Fordham (right), after he was announced as Alan Jones' replacement on 2GB on Tuesday morning

'If you want to be yelled at by someone who knows nothing, Ben Fordham's your man. Friend of mine, but now a mortal enemy to the death,' he added.

Kyle went on to say he 'doesn't mind Ben as a person but he's a bit of a phony'.

'I'm just being honest here. Nice enough, I don't know him well, but you can just tell this is a huge money-saving exercise over at 2GB,' he said.

Kyle also pointed out that Ben was 'not a star' at Channel Nine, which is owned by the same company as 2GB.

'He's not the Channel Nine star, he's never been a star in Channel Nine's eyes. He'd fill in for Karl [Stefanovic on the Today show] when Karl was away, and that's it,' he said.

Kyle went on to recount an interview with Ben in which the journalist had 'pretended' to be shocked by a joke Kyle had made.

'He made me eat a pie, a sponsor's pie. And I said, "This thing's as limp as an old man's penis,"' he said, adding that Ben's reaction had been 'over the top'.

'It's fake. If you're going to be a presenter, you've got to be the real you. He's not really outraged that I said "limp penis",' Kyle said.

Saying goodbye: On Tuesday, Alan announced his retirement from radio after 35 years on the airwaves. He will step away from the microphone at the end of the month

Kyle also got snappy when one of his colleagues was a little too effusive in their praise for Alan Jones.

The self-proclaimed 'Radio King' turned on newsreader Brooklyn Ross for saying how 'intelligent' the veteran broadcaster was on his 2GB show.

'I don't always agree with Alan, but he's so intelligent and I think we'll miss that,' said Brooklyn.

Kyle scoffed: 'What are you talking about? We don't even hear him. We're on at the same time.'

Despite his irritable response, Kyle did acknowledge 'what a great run' Alan had had in the competitive breakfast radio market.

He also revealed that 2GB had once tried to hire him as a presenter, but he told them he 'wouldn't be seen dead over at the grandma station'.

'What a disaster': Kyle claimed that Ben (pictured) was 'a phony' and would be a 'disaster' for the radio network

On Tuesday, Alan announced his retirement from radio after 35 years on the airwaves. He will step away from the microphone at the end of the month.

He made the shock announcement to his 2GB listeners, telling them he had been told by doctors it was becoming detrimental to his health.

He will be replaced on the breakfast shift by Fordham, who is currently the drive host. It was long expected he would be succeeded by 2GB morning host Ray Hadley.

'I have listened to the experts and I am taking this opportunity to indicate to my radio family that I will be retiring from radio at the end of this month,' he said.

'We are living in the world of coronavirus. The most repeated statement we hear is 'we must listen to the expert', well, the experts are telling me in no uncertain terms, and not for the first time I might add, 'continuing with the present workload is seriously detrimental to your health'.

Job: Kyle also revealed that 2GB had once tried to hire him as a presenter, but he told them he 'wouldn't be seen dead over at the grandma station'

'I have taken on extra load in television and print media but if I am to be serious about reducing the workload and listen to the experts then I've decided that the bulk of my workload is dominated by radio.

'I guess after 35 years the full stop has to go in somewhere. I have listened to the experts and I am taking this opportunity to indicate to my radio family that I will be retiring from radio at the end of this month.

'I am not retiring, I am just retiring from radio.'

Alan told listeners that he will still be writing columns in The Australian and making regular appearances on Sky News.
BEIJING, May 12 -- The official website of the Maritime Safety Administration of the Peoples Republic of China on May 11 released a notice on military exercises to be held in the waters of the Jingtang Harbour District, Tangshan Port, north China's Hebei Province.

According to the notice, during the period from midnight of May 14 to midnight of July 31, all irrelevant vessels and personnel should be evacuated to safe areas ahead of schedule and would be forbidden from entering a safety control sea area. The sea area is a circular sector with a radius of 25 kilometers, centered on position 3925N, 11910E, oriented to the due Eand limited by the bearings 90and 186.
CENTREVILLE, Va., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The shutdowns due to COVID-19 have changed the way American companies have done business, and as with many other industries, car dealerships are adapting to changing circumstances. Dealers across the country offer everything from appointment-only showroom shopping to online buying that includes a white glove driveway delivery. Currently, dealers in all 50 states can now either have customers in their showroom or can offer consumers a remote way to buy a car.

It's a different world now for car shoppers, so here are some tips to help make sure you still get the right car at the right price:

Do your homework on the vehicles you're considering. All vehicles listed on CARFAX.com come with a free CARFAX Vehicle History Report. It provides better understanding of their service history and any possible damage. You can also visit CARFAX.com to purchase a history report if the seller isn't offering you one.

Ask the dealer to be your eyes and ears on the lot. Request photos and videos of any car you're thinking about. If there are features you care most about, ask them to take videos for you demonstrating that they work properly.

Research the car's value to make sure you aren't overpaying. The free CARFAX History-Based Value is based on several factors including where you live, the VIN-specific history of that vehicle, and current market conditions.

Check for open recalls. They're noted on the CARFAX Vehicle History Report and you can use our free recall check to make sure any recall work is completed before you buy.

Take the car for a test drive. It's still important to perform your due diligence when it comes to how the vehicle drives and if there are any apparent issues. Make sure you take steps to properly disinfect any surfaces before touching them.

Inquire about whether the seller has a return policy. Allow for time to have an independent mechanic inspect the car  they can see areas you can't  and negotiate a several day return window if there are issues. And remember, service bays are open all over the country that can perform these inspections.

"We see our customers who are still looking to buy vehicles," said Delleney Love, Vice President at Love Chevrolet in Columbia, South Carolina. "We're trying to do anything we can to make that experience safe and comfortable. We live in a virtual world, and we're comfortable connecting through screens. We know it's an unprecedented time, but there are plenty of resources and tools available to make the digital car buying experience a successful one. Our goal is to make researching a vehicle and its history easier than ever, so our customers can make confident decisions."

About CARFAX

CARFAX, part of IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, service and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by CARFAX vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, CARFAX provides exclusive services like CARFAX Used Car Listings, CARFAX Car Care, CARFAX History-Based Value and the flagship CARFAX Vehicle History Report to consumers and the automotive industry. CARFAX owns the world's largest vehicle history database and is nationally recognized as a top workplace by The Washington Post and Glassdoor.com. Shop, Buy, Service, Sell  Show me the CARFAX. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

SOURCE CARFAX
A 39-year-old former investment manager in Georgia was already facing federal federal charges that he robbed hundreds of retirees of their savings through a Ponzi scheme when the rapid spread of COVID-19 presented an opportunity.

Christopher A Parris started pitching himself as a broker of surgical masks amid the nationwide scramble for protective equipment in those first desperate weeks of the outbreak, federal authorities said.

Within weeks, Parris was making millions of dollars on sales orders. Except there were no masks.

Law enforcement officials say Parris is part of what they are calling a wave of fraud tied to the outbreak.

Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is leading a nationwide crackdown.

It has opened over 370 cases and so far arrested 11 people, as part of Operation Stolen Promise, according to Matthew Albence, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It's incredibly rampant and it's growing by the day, Albence said.

We're just scratching the surface of this criminal activity.

Parris was on pretrial release for the alleged Ponzi scheme when he was arrested last month in what federal authorities say was an attempt to secure an order for more than USD 750 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs for 125 million face masks and other equipment.

He was trying to sell something he didn't even have, said Jere T Miles, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans office of Homeland Security Investigations, which worked the case with the VA Office of Inspector General.

That's just outright, blatant fraud. Parris has not yet entered a plea to fraud charges and his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Nationwide, investigators have turned up more than false purveyors of PPE.

They have uncovered an array of counterfeit or adulterated products, from COVID-19 tests kits and treatments to masks and cleaning products.

Steve Francis, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which is overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says authorities have tracked counterfeits flowing into the US from 20 countries and for sale through thousands of websites.

There are people popping up who have never been in the business of securing equipment on a large scale, Francis said. Enter Parris.

From his home outside Atlanta, he claimed to represent a company, the Encore Health Group, that had 3M respiratory masks and other protective equipment. At the time, there was a mad scramble for supplies that pitted state and local governments against each other.

As outlined in court documents and interviews, his pitch reached a company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that had previously done business with the state and was trying to help government agencies buy PPE.

In late March, it contacted the VA, which was then dealing with a critical shortage of protective equipment.

The VA was suspicious of the price, about 15 times what it was paying amid the shortage, and alerted its inspector general, which brought in Homeland Security. That resulted in a sting that led to Parris.

He had no means of producing any PPE, Albence said. It was just a scam. But it had some takers.

Federal authorities say a Parris-controlled bank account received more than USD7.4 million, with most appearing to come from unidentified entities trying to buy safety gear in March and April, according to court documents.

He wired some of the money to accounts overseas, including more than USD1.1 million to a Swiss company's bank that authorities may be a shell corporation.

The U.S. government seized more than USD3.2 million from his accounts.

The Ponzi scheme was unrelated to the alleged attempt to defraud the VA but is sufficiently similar to the conduct in this case that it is relevant to his plan, intent, and modus operandi, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Miles said a person running a Ponzi scheme is a special kind of criminal to begin with, but a person that will run a completely fraudulent scheme in the middle of a pandemic ... that rises to a whole other level of special criminal."



In the earlier case, Parris and his business partners are accused of defrauding about 1,000 people out of at least USD115 million from January 2012 to June 2018 by persuading them to turn over their savings for what turned out to be nonexistent investments, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Another member of the partnership, Perry Santillo, pleaded guilty to fraud in November.

As part of the alleged scheme, Parris and the others bought the businesses of investment advisers who were retiring and leveraged the trust those advisers had built up over the years to pitch bogus investments, with relatively modest returns, to their newly acquired clients.

Florida attorney Scott Silver, who represented some investors who sought to get their money back after the SEC shut down the operation, said Parris and the others spent most of it and there was little left to recover.

He wasn't surprised that Parris had been arrested in the COVID fraud case. He's already facing 20 years in prison, he said.

What's he worried about? Parris, who was charged in the case in January, grew up in Rochester, New York, and worked as an insurance agent, owned a dry cleaner and got involved in local politics.

He ran unsuccessfully for city council and said he was vice president of a local African American Republican committee.

So many people that know me, you know, trust me, Parris said in a 2015 hearing with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which later suspended his broker license.

One of Parris' alleged victims in the Ponzi scheme, Jane Naylon, said she took guitar lessons from Parris' father, a reverend at a local church and lost USD150,000 in the fraud.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Albuquerque Journal and KOAT-TV Action 7 News are teaming up to present a candidate forum for the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary.

The hourlong forum will air on KOAT-TV at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17.

For the first time in KOATs history, the forum will be conducted virtually, in line with the governors social distancing guidelines.

The 3rd Congressional District seat is being left open by incumbent Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, who is running for election in the U.S. Senate.

After Lujan announced his decision, the 3rd District Democratic primary attracted the largest field of candidates of any of the states congressional races, and all seven candidates have been invited to participate in the forum.

They are John Blair of Santa Fe, Teresa Leger Fernandez of Santa Fe, Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya of Rio Rancho, Valerie Plame of Santa Fe, state Rep. Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde, 1st Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna of Santa Fe and Kyle Tisdel of Taos.

The district covers northern New Mexico, including Santa Fe, much of Sandoval County and runs down the states eastern border through Curry County.

The forum will be moderated by KOAT news anchor Doug Fernandez and Journal senior editor Kent Walz.

After the broadcast, the forum will be posted on both the television station and newspapers websites: KOAT.com and ABQJournal.com.
TDT | Manama

The Bahrain Chamber, in collaboration with National Bank of Bahrain and Bahrain Islamic Bank, is holding a virtual forum themed Digital Banking and E-Payment. The forum, which will be conducted in Arabic, is scheduled for tomorrow from 10 pm to 11 pm via the Zoom application.

In this regard, CEO Shaker Al Shater commented: Top experts will speak at the event and deliberate about current issues in light of the coronavirus pandemic, including financial transformation, the performance of Islamic and conventional banks, and trends and insights.

He extended an invitation to the business community to join the forum and explained that the link to join is available on the Chambers official website bahrainchamber.bh. Al Shater reaffirmed the Chambers keenness on liaising with its members and keeping them informed and vowed to hold more events.
Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Sen. Rand Paul's comments were 'cavalier,' after the Kentucky Republican said schools should reopen in the fall because the 'low mortality' of COVID-19 in children.

During Tuesday's Senate hearing, Paul launched into speech about how a national approach to deal with the coronavirus is the wrong way to go, explaining that 'outside of New England, we've had a relatively benign course for this virus nationwide' and schools should decide to open on a district-level.

'And as much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end all - I don't think you're the one person who gets to make a decision,' Paul said to Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a prominent member of the White House's coronavirus taskforce.

Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Sen. Rand Paul was being 'cavalier' after the Kentucky Republican argued that the 'low mortality' rate COVID-19 has in children means the U.S. should be sending children back to school

Sen. Rand Paul launched into a speech at Tuesday's hearing about how schools needed to reopen in the fall. In the process, he told Dr. Anthony Fauci that he wasn't the 'end all' and said the coronavirus was 'relatively benign' outside of New England

Sen. Rand Paul (center right) is seen listening Dr. Anthony Fauci (top right). During his five minute Q&A period, Paul said Fauci wasn't the 'end all' and argued more people should get to be decision-makers because experts have made 'wrong prediction, after wrong prediction'

Dr. Anthony Fauci (right) argued to Sen. Rand Paul (left) that while child deaths are low 'we really better be very careful particularly when it comes to children,' pointing to instances of children being diagnosed with an inflammatory disease possibly linked to COVID-19

Paul started what would eventually become a dig at Fauci by suggesting the country should at least be looking at the mortality the virus has on children.

The Kentucky Republican, who's an eye doctor by trade, said it's so low it 'approaches zero.'

'We need to observe with an open mind what went on in Sweden where the kids kept going to school,' Paul continued, explaining that the death count in Sweden is lower than some European countries that practiced better social distancing. 'But basically I don't think there's anybody arguing what happened in Sweden is an unacceptable result, I think people are intrigued by it.'

Paul then turned to models on disease spread, saying he believed that 'there have been more people wrong with modeling than right.'

'We are opening a lot of economies around the U.S. and I hope people who are predicting doom and gloom ... will admit that they're wrong if there isn't a surge, because I think that's what's going to happen,' the prominent libertarian said.

He said in rural states, like Kentucky, 'we never really reached any sort of pandemic levels.'

'And I think the one-size-fits-all that we're going to have a national strategy and nobody is going to go to school is kind of ridiculous,' Paul continued. 'We really should be doing it school district by school district.'

'And the power needs to be disbursed because people make wrong predictions,' he added, blaming British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson for starting the trend of 'wrong prediction, after wrong prediction, after wrong prediction.'

'So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for the economy,' Paul said.

He then commented to Fauci that he didn't believe the doctor was the 'end all.'

'We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side who say there's not going to be a surge and we can safely reopen the economy. And the facts will bear this out,' Paul said.

Paul said closing schools for another year would only hurt the 'poor and under-privileged kids.'

'And I think we ought to look at the Swedish model and we ought to let our kids get back to school, I think it's a huge mistake if we don't answer our schools in the fall,' the senator suggested.

Fauci asked Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander if he could respond, getting the green light.

'First of all Senator Paul, and thank you for your comments, I have never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice in this. I'm a scientist, physician and public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence,' the doctor said.

Fauci added, 'I don't give advice on economic things. I don't give advice on anything other than public health.'

'The second thing, is that you used the word we should be humble about what we don't know and I think that falls under the fact that we don't know everything about this virus,' Fauci continued. 'And we really better be very careful particularly when it comes to children.'

The government doctor explained how physicians are seeing problems in children in the United States that weren't seen in early studies out of China and Europe.

'For example right now, children presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a strange inflammatory syndrome,' Fauci said, explaining it was similar to Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki patients' blood vessels become inflamed.



On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a total of 52 children have been diagnosed with this inflammatory syndrome, which is possibly linked to COVID-19. Another 10 cases are pending, while one child has died.

'I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects,' Fauci told Paul at the hearing.

'So again you're right in the numbers that children, in general, do much, much better than adults and the elderly and particularly those with underlying conditions,' Fauci said. 'But I am very careful and hopefully humble in knowing that I don't know everying about this disease and that's why I'm very reserved in making broad predictions.'

Paul, who previously contracted COVID-19 and thus refuses to wear a mask on Capitol Hill, left the hearing room after the back-and-forth.

On his way out, according to a Politico reporter, Paul floated the idea that months of social distancing didn't have an impact on the coronavirus' spread.

'Here's the other question and this is unprovable,' the senator said. 'I think New York would have lost the same amount of people whether we did anything or not.'

'A lot of what happens with the virus is independent of what government does,' Paul concluded.

Afterward, Sen. Bill Cassidy asked Fauci to try to weigh what would be worse: the chance of exposing children to the Kawasaki-like disease or starving them from learning in a classroom setting.

'If I think of children in particular the risk-benefit ratio of a child being a home, potentially away from enhanced nutrition, without the parent able to work because school provides daycare, without the monitoring that sometimes occurs for incidences such as child abuse, but perhaps most importantly for all children the opportunity cost of a brain which is forming not having access to the information that will help that brain form optimally,' Cassidy began.

'Now has there been any kind of risk-benefit ratio for the child? Yes, they are at risk for Kawasaki's, but they are at particular risk for missing out on a year of education, particularly for those from less than rich backgrounds,' Cassidy pointed out.

Fauci said he didn't have 'an easy answer' to deal with the 'unintended consequences' of the social distancing policies put in place to slow the spread of the virus.

'We just have to see on a step-by-step basis as we get into the period of time with the fall about reopening the schools exactly where we'll be and the dynamics of the outbreak,' Fauci said.

Fauci didn't discount Paul's earlier comments that school openings could be decided on a community basis.

'It's not going to be universally or homogenous,' Fauci said.

'I don't have a good explanation or a solution of the problem of what happens when you close schools and it triggers a cascade of events,' the doctor added.
Researchers have developed an AI tool to predict whether someone is likely to have COVID-19 based on their symptoms alone, an advance which they say can help make better estimates of the disease spread in areas with limited testing.

The artificial intelligence (AI) model, described in the journal Nature Medicine, uses data from the COVID Symptom Study app to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection by comparing people's symptoms and the results of diagnostic tests.

The study noted that more than 3.3 million people globally have downloaded the COVID Symptom Study app, and are using it to report daily on their health status, whether they feel well, or have any new symptoms such as persistent cough, fever, fatigue, and loss of taste or smell.

According to the scientists, including those from King's College London in the UK, the model may provide help for populations where access to testing is limited.

In the current study, the researchers analysed data gathered from just under 2.5 million people in the UK and US who had been regularly logging their health status in the app.

The scientists said around a third of the users had logged symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Of these, more than 18,000 reported having had a test for coronavirus, with 7,178 people testing positive, the study reported.

The researchers attempted to understand which symptoms linked to COVID-19 were most likely to be associated with a positive test.

They found a wide range of symptoms compared to cold and flu, and warned against focusing only on fever and cough.

Loss of taste and smell was particularly striking, the scientists said, with two thirds of users testing positive for coronavirus infection reporting these symptoms, compared with just over a fifth of the participants who tested negative.

Based on the findings, the researchers suggested that the loss of sense of smell (anosmia) is a stronger predictor of COVID-19 than fever.

Using a new mathematical model which they created, the scientists then predicted with nearly 80 per cent accuracy whether an individual is likely to have COVID-19 based on their age, sex, and a combination of four key symptoms.

These symptoms were disruption of sense of smell or taste, severe or persistent cough, fatigue, and the loss of appetite, the study noted.

By applying this model to the entire group of over 8,00,000 app users experiencing symptoms, the scientists predicted that just under a fifth of those who were unwell were likely to have COVID-19 at that time.

Combining this AI prediction with widespread adoption of the app can help in identifying those who are likely to be infectious as soon as the earliest symptoms start to appear, the scientists said.

They added that this would help in focussing tracking and testing efforts where they are most needed.

Citing the limitations of the study, the researchers said the prediction is based on self-reported nature of the included data, which they said cannot replace physiological assessments of smell and taste function, or testing people's samples for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material.

Another drawback in the study, cited by the researchers, was that the volunteers using the app are a self-selected group who might not be fully representative of the general population.

"We strongly urge governments and health authorities everywhere to make this information more widely known, and advise anyone experiencing sudden loss of smell or taste to assume that they are infected and follow local self-isolation guidelines," said study co-author Tim Spector from King's College London.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Since the arrival of COVID-19 from China to Americas shores, political pundits have been obsessed with President Trumps polls, along with speculation about whether this international crisis will help or hurt his reelection prospects. But these analysts havent always provided much history or data. My students and I researched both, showing that our theories on presidents, polls and world crises need a lot of improvement.

This semester my students have looked at the diversionary theory of conflict in my international politics class. Scholars studying this theory assume that presidents wage conflict to boost their approval ratings. And academics also claim that theres a Rally round the flag effect, where the American people provide a patriotic boost in the polls which applies whether the presidents crisis response is successful or not.

In prior years, my students examined crisis cases from Carter to Trump. Theyve published columns on the subject, and presented the data at academic conferences. And when we couldnt do our Model UN with local schools, they agreed to analyze 21 earlier cases, from President Lyndon B. Johnson to President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford.

Our students gathered Gallup polling data on 21 cases. But they also learned a little history in the process, as I had them explain what happened in U.S. foreign policy from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s. My students learned about the cruelty of the North Korean communist regime, which shot down (unprovoked) an EC-121 plane in the Sea of Japan, and had its cadres slaughter American GIs who had permission to cut down trees in the Demilitarized Zone.

Unlike most studies on the diversionary theory and rally effect, we didnt just look at conflicts, thanks to a suggestion from a undergraduate last year. Our students and I also covered tense superpower summits with the Soviet Union, and negotiation attempts to end to the Vietnam War.

We found that in 21 cases, presidents declined in the polls in 11 of them, with five of them representing big declines of six or more points. The capture of the USS Pueblo, the Tet Offensive, the Christmas Bombings of North Vietnam in 1972 (after peace talks broke down), and negotiations with the USSR in Vladivostok and Helsinki, where summits failed or accepted the status quo. Failure is not an option for U.S. citizens, who punish presidents at the polls, a finding at odds with some scholars who anticipate a boost for presidents in the wake of a crisis.

But among the 10 bumps in approval ratings (six of six points or more), we found these occurred with the successful Dominican Republic mission that ended a civil war and led to democracy, the measured responses to North Korean militarism, the SALT I Treaty with the Soviets, and the eventual conclusion of the Vietnam War. Even the failures of Mayaguez were welcomed, perhaps because American sailors were released, and the aggressive response to Cambodias belligerent actions offset the tragic loss of lives of our U.S. servicemen in that rescue attempt. Americans are more willing to reward presidents who get the job done, even if done imperfectly.

In contrast to the scholarship in the field, we found that not all diversionary attempts involve conflict, and not even half of all crises produce a nationalistic rally. And even such bumps in approval ratings from international crises are temporary, as Ford found after Mayaguez, when his 11-point jump inched back down to pre-crisis levels in just a few weeks. This is valuable information for studies of President Trump and evaluations of his response to the coronavirus.

Theres more to analyze over the summer and fall, but theres another lesson my students learned. Its about the value of data collection and historical research, which can be adapted to an online format even as COVID-19 robbed us of in-person interactions. These class activities have been cited by our graduates who go on to the private sector, government, law school or graduate school as helping them prepare for the challenges beyond college.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His fellow researchers were Caleb Tyler, Len Spivey, Sam Shaw, Errick Strum, Sam Rogers, Jalen Morgan, Brennan Oates, Zac Hill, Andrue Davis, Jalen Trice, Shedrick Lindsey, Madison Demkowski, Nia Johnson, Jessica Moore, Jacob Jeffords, Shawn Bailey, Jake Thrailkill, Tamino Schoeffer, and Austin Garner, all from LaGrange College.
Boris Johnson's 'dangerous' coronavirus strategy will lead to more outbreaks and lockdowns, an 'alternative SAGE' panel of experts warned today.

The independent scientists say the PM's aim of flattening infections and ensuring the NHS is not overwhelmed until a vaccine is ready is 'foolish'.

This is because GPs and councils have no idea how many people in their community have the illness, due to the Government's 'top down' centralised approach, they say.

They are calling for local public health officials to be given the powers and resources to trace, test and isolate patients and prevent more waves of the virus.

The Independent SAGE group, led by former chief scientific adviser Sir David King, also slammed the new 'stay alert' message, saying it is ambiguous and confusing.

It has drafted a scathing report containing 19 detailed recommendations for the Government moving forward.

In it, the 13-strong group of experts addressed the Government's failings throughout the epidemic. They include:

The Government's decision to stop testing and contract tracing in March and 'allow epidemic to spread and build herd immunity';

Ministers' new 'stay alert' and 'control the virus' messaging, which the group says is too ambiguous and confusing;

Mathematical modelling of the critical 'R' reproduction rate, which is 'three to four weeks out of date' and could miss new waves of the virus;

The Government's daily coronavirus statistics, which are 'inaccurate, incomplete and selective';

Ministers' decision to abandon hand-washing and hygiene awareness campaigns, which are 'critical' to suppressing the virus;

The disproportionate impact of the virus on older people and BAME communities;

Public Health England's 'top down' centralised approach to testing, which relies on private firms and leaves GPs and councils in the dark;

The Prime Minister's strategy, which banks on a vaccine being ready within a year.

Sir David King, a former Government chief scientific adviser, led a press conference with his Independent Sage group today, slamming the Government's 'dangerous' coronavirus strategy

Speaking at a virtual conference this afternoon, Sir David said: 'Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, the government has told us they are 'following the science'.

'However, in the weeks and months that have followed, it has become increasingly apparent that this is simply not the case.

WHAT IS THE 'INDEPENDENT SAGE' GROUP? Decisions on the timing of the loosening of social distancing rules will be informed by advice provided by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). But SAGE is increasingly under fire not only over its approach to transparency but also over the advice it is providing. Sir David King, the former government chief scientific adviser, has set up his own 'independent' panel of experts - an 'alternative SAGE' He said the group was necessary because he feared government experts are deferring to ministers and are not 'speaking their minds'. Asked if that meant they were not free to speak out against the Government, Sir David told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'I believe that's the case, yes. 'I think there's a very big difference between the situation today and the situation as it was in 2010-11, that is quite simply the permission to speak in the public domain has been changed. 'I think the main point I'm making is that an independent science advisory group really needs to be dominated by people whose income is not determined by the fact they are working for the government.' As well as Sir David, the group's members include: The members of the Independent Sage committee include:  Professor Gabriel Scally, President of Epidemiology & Public Health section, Royal Society of Medicine; current advisor to the government of Ireland  Professor Allyson Pollock, co-director of the Newcastle University Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science  Professor Anthony Costello, Director of the Institute for Global Health, University College London; former Director at WHO  Professor Karl Friston FRS, computational modeller and neuroscientist at UCL in charge of developing a generative SEIR COVID-19 model  Professor Susan Michie, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, member of SPI(B), SAGE sub-committee  Professor Deenan Pillay, Professor of Virology UCL, former SAGE member  Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care & Diabetes, University of Leicester  Professor Christina Pagel, mathematician and professor of operational research, UCL  Dr Zubaida Haque, Deputy Director Runnymede Trust. Commissioner on the Women's Budget Group Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts  Professor Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine  Dr Alison Pittard, Dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine Advertisement

'We detect ambivalence in the government's strategic response, with some advisers promoting the idea of simply 'flattening the curve' or ensuring the NHS is not overwhelmed.

'We find this attitude counter-productive and potentially dangerous. Without suppression, we shall inevitably see a more rapid return of local epidemics and face the prospect of further partial or national lockdowns,'

'It would be foolish to bank on a vaccine soon - the Government must prepare to invest now in decentralised local healthcare systems.'

The report will be sent to the prime minister, the current scientific adviser, and the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The report urges the Government to give local healthcare systems the power to run test, trace and isolate policies amid criticism of Public Health England's 'control-freak' centralised approach.

Professor Allyson Pollock, former director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, told the conference today: 'It's a puzzle as to why contact tracing stopped on March 12.

'We were given two reasons - that it wasn't effective and there weren't sufficient resources.

'Contact tracing is the bread and butter of public health and it needs to be done locally by local communities.

'It's a great disappointment the Government hasn't rebuilt [a team of tracers]. It's not difficult to do contact tracing, but we'll need tens of thousands of workers.'

'There needs to be, as we move out of lockdown, a way to bring testing into settings where there can be an immediate, local response,' said Deenan Pillay, a professor of virology at University College London and a member of King's group. 'This cannot be done centrally. You need your local GPs and local healthcare workers and all the rest of it in play.'

He added: 'This is is moving from the national top-down testing we have now to something much more responsive and flexible. Infections come and go, that's how they work. You monitor for a signal locally, perhaps a few people in a care home, and then you take a local decision with the public health team to go and test more.'

Public Health England (PHE) had fewer than 300 staff to do contact tracing operating out of just nine regional hubs covering 151 top-tier local authorities.

By 12 March, when all community testing and contact tracing was stopped, PHE had only contacted 3,500 people of whom around 125 were confirmed positive on testing.

The Government should rapidly invest in measures to stop the virus from spreading in high-risk settings, the experts say.

These include care homes and hospitals, prisons, migrant detention centres and homes that are overcrowded.

The report also slams ministers for their new 'confusing' messaging, in particular the stay alert slogan.

'It is not clear what people are meant to be alert for, nor indeed what they should do if they are alerted to something,' the report says.

REPORT CALLS FOR STRICT CONTACT TRACING TO BE RE-INTRODUCED The Independent SAGE paper urges the Government to give local healthcare systems the power to run test, trace and isolate policies instead of being 'bypassed' in favour of private firms. It comes after Public Health England was accused of having a 'control-freak' centralised approach. Professor Allyson Pollock, former director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, and member of Independent SAGE, told the conference today: 'It's a puzzle as to why contact tracing stopped on March 12. 'We were given two reasons - that it wasn't effective and there weren't sufficient resources. 'Contact tracing is the bread and butter of public health and it needs to be done locally by local communities. 'It's a great disappointment the Government hasn't rebuilt [a team of tracers]. It's not difficut to do contact tracing, but well need tens of thousands of workers.' Public Health England (PHE) had fewer than 300 staff to do contact tracing operating out of just nine regional hubs covering 151 top-tier local authorities. By 12 March, when all community testing and contact tracing was stopped, PHE had only contacted 3,500 people of whom around 125 were confirmed positive on testing. Advertisement

GOVERNMENT USING 'OUTDATED' R VALUE MODELLING, CLAIMS INDEPENDENT SAGE The report also notes the risk of basing decisions on whether to lift lockdown on an 'R number'. R represents the average number of people an infected person infects. Independent SAGE says the current modelling has a three to four week time lag. The group say if another outbreak was to occur, it could be a month before the Government finds out and can react - during which time, thousands of lives could be lost. Ministers have insisted that keeping the R below 1 is the most important of five tests that must be passed before returning to normal life. If no social restrictions were in place, the virus would have an R value of between three and four. Anything below 1 means the virus is petering out, but anything above means it is still spreading. Experts believe the R is between 0.5 and 1 now. Advertisement

Similarly, 'control the virus' is an empty slogan without an indication of how to do this. 'Save lives' is uncontroversial but without context in the rest of the message is likely to have little impact.'

Zubaida Haque, deputy director of the Runnymede Trust and one of the Independent SAGE group members, called for low income and housing benefits to be raised to protect impoverished people, who are twice as likely to die from the virus.

She said many low-income workers are forced to continue going to work to 'put food on the table and feed their family', while high income employees are able to work from home.

Decisions on the timing of the loosening of social distancing rules are being informed by advice provided by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

But SAGE is increasingly under fire not only over its approach to transparency but also over the advice it is providing.

Sir David set up his own 'independent' panel of experts to make their recommendations public and transparent.

He said the group was necessary because he feared government experts are deferring to ministers and are not 'speaking their minds'.

Asked if that meant they were not free to speak out against the Government, Sir David told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'I believe that's the case, yes.

'I think there's a very big difference between the situation today and the situation as it was in 2010-11, that is quite simply the permission to speak in the public domain has been changed.

'I think the main point I'm making is that an independent science advisory group really needs to be dominated by people whose income is not determined by the fact they are working for the government.'

As well as Sir David, the group's members include Professor Anthony Costello, a former director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Professor Allyson Pollock and Professor Gabriel Scally, a pre-eminent epidemiologist at the University of Bristol.

The panel have called for the Government to address why poor people are expected to risk their lives 'to get the economy going whilst wealthier people stay in the safety of their homes'.

It says the government should continue the furlough scheme in its current form for workers who cannot be guaranteed safe working conditions and transport.

The report also notes the risk of basing decisions on whether to lift lockdown on an 'R number' (the average number of people an infected person infects) based on data which it says has a four week time lag.

Ministers have insisted that keeping the R below 1 is the most important of five tests that must be passed before returning to normal life.

But Independent SAGE say officials are using a model which can only predict the R value a month ago, which means the true infection rate is a mystery.

The group say if another outbreak was to occur, it could be four weeks before the Government finds out and can react - during which time thousands of lives could be lost.

Boris Johnson was confronted with public frustration over his lockdown exit strategy announced on Sunday night.

The 13-minute televised speech aimed to set out the Government's exit strategy from the lockdown which has been in place since March 23, but there was no mention of when people can visit their family and friends.

There was also no guidance on whether people should wear face masks and how Britons can go to work in sectors such as construction when schools are still closed and there are no childcare facilities in place.

Other remaining questions include how employers can encourage people to go back to work so soon without having seen the proposed new workplace guidance and having had time to introduce new measures.

There are further concerns over whether workers will be allowed to refuse to go to their workplace if they believe it is unsafe, and why the Government believes a quarantine for UK arrivals will be effective now.

Meanwhile questions remain over whether people will have to cram on to packed trains, buses and Tubes to get to work if they do not have a car or live within walking or cycling distance.

The Prime Minister said that more details of the road map would be published today in Parliament, but here is an analysis of ten queries the public may still have as they enter week eight of lockdown:

When can people visit family and friends?

Boris Johnson mentioned nothing in the speech about when people could see their friends and relatives. Britons have had to avoid meeting up with friends since March 16, a week before the full lockdown came in on March 23.

But there are now signs that things may be about to change. Asked if someone could meet up with their parents in a park, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC today: 'Well, you could if there's two metres apart.'

He added: 'If, for example, you are going to the park, and you want to - and you can stay two metres apart - you could meet up with another member of your own household.'

But Mr Raab spread confusion today by suggesting that people can meet two relatives such as parents in parks while maintaining social distancing, sending Downing Street scrambling to say that is not in fact the case.

Mr Raab had said that, under the new lockdown rules, people can meet different family members separately on the same day while maintaining social distancing.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'If you're out in the park and you're two metres apart, we're saying now, and use some common sense and you socially distance, you can meet up with other people.

Boris Johnson used this graphic during his briefing, with Step 1 for this week, Step 2 planned for June and Step 3 for July

'The key thing is people want to get outdoors, particularly with this weather, particularly I think for mental health and, frankly, the frustration people feel if they're cooped up for too long for protracted periods.

'We want to make sure that that people can enjoy the outdoors more. But people must stay alert because the more we do some of the things that we want to do, the more we need to just be careful about this social distancing.'

Asked if someone could meet their mother in the morning and their father in the afternoon, he said: 'Outside in the outdoors, staying two metres apart, yes.'

Mr Raab spread more confusion by suggesting that people can meet two relatives such as parents in parks while maintaining social distancing, sending Downing Street scrambling to say that is not in fact the case.

Should we wear face masks?

While the Prime Minister has insisted that social distancing 'must be maintained', he did not mention the use of face coverings during his address to the nation last night.

But workplaces are expected to be given new guidance on how to become 'covid secure', which is likely to include new rules on social distancing, wearing face masks, temperature checks and maintaining hygiene.

Dominic Raab told ITV News that makeshift face coverings 'don't really have much of an impact' in protecting the wearer, but they can 'provide an incremental mitigation'.

He added: 'From Wednesday, in areas where you are worried you might be in enclosed spaces with other people that we will encourage people in those circumstances to use a face covering.'

He insisted medical-grade masks should be kept for health and care workers.

One academic who has backed the use of face coverings for the general public, said that the use of masks - alongside hand-washing - could help the public ease out of lockdown more safely.

Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, said: 'The Government has yet to take a positive stance on face coverings, which - in addition to continuing handwashing - is probably the one public health measure that could enable us to ease out of lockdown more safely.'

Babak Javid, a consultant in infectious diseases at Cambridge University hospitals, added: 'As more workers will be returning to employment, measures that reduce transmission such as use of face coverings or masks when commuting to, and at work, especially work indoors under conditions that physical distancing may be difficult would be welcome.

'To have substantial impact, the majority of the population would need to comply in mask usage.'

Mr Johnson said last night that fines for breaching the rules would increase, adding: 'You must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them.'

The PM has dropped the 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives' slogan in favour of a 'stay alert' version - which notably has green edging instead of red

How can people go to work when schools are still closed and there are no childcare facilities?

Construction and manufacturing employees are now being 'actively encouraged' to return to work from Wednesday, although they will be expected to travel by car or bicycle rather than using public transport.

However, children are not expected to start returning to school in England from June 1 - while the majority of secondary school pupils will not attend class until September at the earliest.

This therefore presents major challenges for parents who are not key workers. Schools and colleges closed their doors to the majority of pupils, apart from the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters, from March 23.

Boris Johnson said the start of June was the earliest possible date to consider the phased reopening of schools, beginning with some of the youngest pupils in reception classes, year one and year six.

The Prime Minister said that by June 1 'we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year One and Year Six'.

Questions have also been asked over whether someone who has been furloughed, and now cannot return to work due to childcare issues, will still be supported by the Government.

Which other employees, aside from those in manufacturing and construction, are expected to return to work?

The Prime Minister said last night that anyone who cannot work from home, perhaps those in construction and manufacturing, 'should be actively encouraged to go to work'

Mr Johnson also said that the Government has been establishing new guidance for employers to make workplaces 'Covid-secure'.

But there was no guidance on when those in other industries are expected to go back to work, with the Government saying people should continue to work from home if they can.

Workers in some elements of the hospitality sector, including cinemas, park cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating, might be allowed to go back to work if their businesses reopen in July along with churches and mosques.

But Mr Johnson said these moves would risk an explosion in the virus if taken now  and warned that the second and third phases could be delayed even by months.

Mr Raab was asked today if the Government's new 'stay alert' slogan meant stay at home as much as possible, and he told BBC Radio 4: 'Yes, but, for example ... if you can work from home you should continue to do so.

'But, there are vital sectors of the economy, like manufacturing and construction where people can't do their job from home.

'We now need to stress that anyone who can't work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.'

How can employers encourage people to go back to work so soon without having seen the guidance and having had time to introduce new measures?

Boris Johnson called for all those in the manufacturing and construction industries to go back to work this week, but there are concerns for employees' safety if social distancing is not maintained.

Union leaders have said all employers should have to draw up and publish risk assessments and state what measures they have taken to make work safe for their employees.

They have also demanded sanctions be imposed on rogue employers and call for government investment in health and safety inspections.

Business leaders have said their practical questions must be answered to restart the economy - and whether the Government programme to pay the wages of workers under furloughing will be extended beyond the end of June.

Mr Johnson is expected to reveal new new guidance in Parliament tomorrow for employers to make workplaces 'Covid-secure' - but it is unclear what this means and how it will be set out.

There are also concerns over how any subsequent increase in Covid-19 cases in workplaces will be monitored.

And questions have been asked over whether the Health and Safety Executive will be given more resources to check on the health and safety of workers.

Are workers allowed to refuse to go to their workplace if they believe it is unsafe, and will they be protected from being disciplined or sacked?

The Prime Minister told Britain to 'stay alert, control the virus and save lives' as he outlined his 'road map' to a new normality during an address to the nation yesterday.

But the UK's biggest trade unions told him that they will not recommend their millions of members return to work unless the Government guarantees 'the right policies and practices are in place to make workplaces safe'.

This has also raised questions over whether workers will be protected if they fear going back to their workplace due to a perceived lack of safety

Leaders of Unite, Unison, the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers said significant numbers of their members have died while in essential work during the pandemic.

They wrote in a letter: 'After years of cuts, the government must boost funding for pro-active monitoring and health and safety enforcement. And we need a public information campaign so rogue bosses face sanctions.

'The trade union movement wants to be able to recommend the government's back-to-work plans. But for us to do that we need to ensure that ministers have listened and that we stay safe and save lives at work too.'

It is not yet clear whether Mr Johnson believes workers and unions should be consulted before any return to work.

There are also questions over whether someone who works in manufacturing or construction is shielding should continue with this shielding - and whether they be supported.

Restrictions can ease when the transmission rate - 'R' - is well below 1 (left). It is currently between 0.5 and 0.9. The alert level graphic (right) rates the severity of the pandemic, with the level having been at 4 in recent months but now moving towards 3

Will people have to cram on to packed trains, buses and tubes to get to work if they do not have a car or live within walking or cycling distance?

Workers in sectors like construction and manufacturing are now being 'actively encouraged' to return to work, although they will be expected to travel by car or bicycle rather than crowding on to public transport.

However there was no guidance from Boris Johnson on whether people who don't have a car or live within walking or cycling distance from their work will have to get onto public transport.

There are fears that the rail network, especially the London Underground, will quickly become overcrowded if a reduced level of service continues at the same time as workers begin to go back into the office.

Passengers at Canning Town station in East London this morning as commuters travel on the London Underground network

Will people be stopped from getting on to public transport because of the two-metre social distancing rules - and how will it be monitored?

Boris Johnson has said people who cannot work from home will shortly be actively encouraged to go to work instead of being told to only go if they must. But they should avoid public transport if at all possible.

However, there was nothing in Mr Johnson's announcement last night about what those who do end up taking public transport will face in terms of upgraded social distancing measures.

These could include strict queuing systems in place outside stations to ensure trains do not become too busy and commuters are able to keep their distance from one another.

There have also been calls for hand sanitiser dispensers at all stations and for all commuters to wear face masks. But it is not clear how any of this will be policed - and what will happen, if anything, to people who flout new rules.

Some transport networks may follow policies put in place by UK supermarkets which have introduced queuing systems and one-way aisles to limit the interaction customers and staff have with one another.

There are also concerns over how social distancing on public transport will be monitored, although the Oyster and contactless card readers at Tube stations will give Transport for London accurate figures on Underground usage.

How the government's DefCon style five stage alert system for the UK's coronavirus outbreak could work

Why does the Government believe a quarantine for UK arrivals will be effective now, when they did not bring in such a measure before?

The Prime Minister has said it will 'soon be the time' to bring in a period of quarantine in order to stave off Covid-19 infection from abroad - but there are questions over why this has not been done sooner.

Addressing the nation, Mr Johnson said: 'To prevent reinfection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time, with transmission significantly lower, to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.

'And it is because of your efforts to get the R down and the number of infections down here, that this measure will now be effective.'

Mr Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed quarantine measures would not apply between France and the UK 'at this stage', according to a joint statement.

But consumer group Which? Travel has warned an imposed quarantine on people flying into the UK will add to the confusion of Britons trying to figure out their future travel plans. The situation has been described as 'chaotic'.

Mr Johnson did not mention arrivals by sea, and he did not make clear whether it would include passengers on internal UK flights or on flights from the Republic of Ireland.

However, The Times has previously reported that travellers from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will be exempt from the quarantine.

It has also been reported that the plan is to impose a quarantine of 14 days, and Airlines UK said it had been told by the Government that the plan will be in place by the end of the month or early June.

A Government official said quarantine is 'a few weeks away from happening yet', adding: 'What the scientific advice tells you is that when domestic transmission is high, imported cases represent a small amount of the overall total and make no significant difference to the epidemic.

'However, this can change when the domestic transmission rate of infection is low and people are arriving from countries with a higher rate of infection.'

How and when will the Government get to the stage when it can ensure that hundreds of thousands of people are being tested every day?

Boris Johnson said last night that Britain was making great progess on testing, saying: 'If we are to control this virus, then we must have a world-beating system for testing potential victims, and for tracing their contacts.

'So that  all told  we are testing literally hundreds of thousands of people every day. We have made fast progress on testing, but there is so much more to do now, and we can.'

But there are questions over how the Government will check the level of testing, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock having missed his 100,000 testing target for every day for the last week.

Although Mr Hancock did meet the target on the deadline of April 30, his officials are suspected of boosting the figures that day by including tens of thousands of unused home tests.

It comes as Ministers admitted they had to send 50,000 coronavirus tests to America for processing following a glitch at one of the large British laboratories.

The samples are understood to have been airlifted to a facility in a southern US state last week after a 'temporary failure' in a UK lab.

When will the courts system get back to normal?

Boris Johnson's only reference to the criminal justice system was that people 'must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them'.

He did not mention jury trials, but it emerged today that these will be resumed in England and Wales from next week, nearly two months after being put on hold amid the lockdown measures.

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett has decided new jury trials will be allowed to go ahead in a few courts from next week - with special arrangements in place to maintain social distancing and other safety measures.

All new jury trials were suspended on March 23 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and work has been under way since then to investigate options for conducting trials in a safe manner.

The first courts where new juries will be sworn in include the Old Bailey in London and Cardiff Crown Court.

Public Health England and Public Health Wales have been involved in the detailed arrangements following recommendations from the Jury Trials Working Group, chaired by Mr Justice Edis, which has representatives from the legal profession and across the criminal justice system.

Other courts around the UK are being assessed with the aim of gradually increasing the number of cases when it is safe to do so, with the facilities at each location being 'carefully considered' in line with safety guidelines.
- The employee had been working in the factory with his colleagues who have also tested positive for the virus

- President Nana Akufo-Addo said the 533 from the factory were part of a backlog of 927 new cases confirmed

- The West African country has reported 4,700 cases of COVID-19 with 22 people having succumbed

Out of 4,700 COVID-19 infections in Ghana, 533 of the cases originated from one person.

According to President Nana Akufo-Addo, the 533 who work in a fish processing factory were all infected by their colleague while working in the factory.

READ ALSO: Emotional Murkomen accuses Uhuru of political conmanship as Senate confirms leadership changes

President Nana Akufo-Addo during a past press conference in Accra. Photo: CNN

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nairobi: Detectives arrest 14-year-old suspect in murder of radio journalist

Addressing Ghanaians on Sunday, May 10, the head of state said the West African country had recorded 921 new cases from were from backlog samples collected for testing dating back to April 26th.

"It is important to stress that five hundred and thirty-three (533) out of the nine hundred and twenty-one (921) new cases recorded between last Wednesday and Thursday are factory workers from a fish processing factory located in Tema.

"All five hundred and thirty-three (533) persons were infected by one (1) person," said Akufo-Addo in a statement.

READ ALSO: Murkomen, Kihika walikuwa wamevalia ngozi ya kondoo katika Jubilee - Seneta Irungu Kang'ata

The mass infection at the facility brought the total number of confirmed cases in the West African nation to 4,700 with 22 people having succumbed to coronavirus-related illnesses since the outbreak was reported in the country in March.

The head of state attributed the high number of confirmed cases to the increase in mass testing that has helped detect the patients in a timely manner.

He also lifted ban a three-week lockdown in its key cities, saying its coronavirus testing had improved and also to reduce the effect of the restrictions on the country's poor.

READ ALSO: Samuel Poghisio: Illustrious political, academic profile of new Senate majority leader that spans over 30 years

So far, Ghana has carried out more than 160,000 tests and it has added seven more testing centers to speed up turnaround time.

The head of state extended the existing ban on public gatherings and said schools and borders across the country would remain closed.

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.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - State officials are re-evaluating whether to kick workers off unemployment benefits if they dont return during the pandemic, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kimberly Hall said.

No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a persons decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy," Hall said on Monday.

Halls announcement comes after news first reported by Vice on Friday that a hacker developed code to muck up a section of the Ohio unemployment system in which employers were to report workers who didnt return to work during the pandemic.

The anonymous hacker released code to allow anyone to submit fake information to the states site, which was then simplified by a software engineer to make it easier for people to use. Vice reports that the hacker said his goal was to overwhelm the system with incorrect information, which would make it harder for the state to weed out the legitimate submissions and deny people benefits.

Despite the release of the code, state security measures were able to thwart the false reports, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Bret Crow said.

As a result of this incident, ODJFS implemented additional security measures to address this issue," Crow said in an email. This attack is considered a distributed denial-of-service attack, one that attempts to disrupt traffic of a targeted network. Based on the form generation and validation process, this attack was a low risk to disrupt traffic. No false claims were processed by ODJFS.

Crow said the state is required by law to ensure unemployment benefits are given to people who are truly eligible.

We continue to encourage employers to engage in dialogue with an employee who expresses reluctance to return to work about the measures that employers are taking to help employees feel safe, he said.

On May 1, the state sent emails to employers, urging them to out their workers who havent returned, even though there isnt widespread testing available to anyone who wants it, and schools and daycares remained closed.

Policy Matters Ohio and the Ohio Poverty Law Center sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine shortly after, saying that the states policy was too narrow and that many people have real, justifiable reasons for not returning to work.

Over 1.1 million Ohioans have filed unemployment claims in the past seven weeks of the pandemic hitting Ohio and businesses starting to close. Thats just the number of people who have been able to successfully submit claims. Some people cant get confirmation numbers from the states system, which is overwhelmed.

As of Monday, at least 1,357 people in Ohio have died with coronavirus. Its infected at least 24,777 people.

More coverage:

Amid coronavirus, state encouraging companies to report workers who dont return, may be kicked off unemployment

Ohio unemployment claims filed during coronavirus crisis exceed total from last three years

Coronavirus claims 1,357 Ohioans: Gov. Mike DeWines Monday briefing

New court filing says Ohio State University paying $40.9 million to settle with Dr. Richard Strauss sexual abuse victims

State to randomly test 1,200 Ohioans for coronavirus antibodies
President Donald Trump has claimed that he and Mike Pence need to be careful amid the coronavirus pandemic, so that House speaker Nancy Pelosi does not become acting US president.

On Friday it was revealed that Mr Pences press secretary, Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The White House confirmed that both the president and the vice president tested negative, after they underwent tests over the weekend.

On Monday, Mr Trump told reporters that he had not seen Mr Pence or Ms Miller, since she received the negative result.

I have not seen him since then, he said, and added that they could talk on the phone.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump replied to a tweet that said: Pelosi would be third in line to serve as president if Trump, Pence become incapacitated by COVID-19, and said that Ms Pelosi, a Democrat, would be a disaster as US president.

Then we must be very careful. Crazy Nancy would be a total disaster, and the USA will never be a Communist Country! he tweeted.

According to audio obtained by CNNs Betsy Klein, Mr Pence told governors during a call on Monday that he has been taking extra precautions since Ms Miller tested positive for Covid-19.

He told the governors that he was In a separate room on my own, while Dr Deborah Birx, who is a part of the coronavirus task force, was in a situation room with some staff.

Recommended Pence staffer becomes second White House aide to catch coronavirus

The president dismissed claims on Monday that Ms Miller tested positive for Covid-19, because coronavirus procedures were not followed properly in the White House.

Just about everybody Ive seen today has worn a mask, he said, and added: I dont think the system broke down at all. One person tested positive, surprisingly, because the previous day, tested negative.

It can happen. Its the hidden enemy, remember that. Its the hidden enemy. So, things happen.

Last week, Mr Pence caused controversy after he was filmed not wearing a face mask on a visit to the Mayo Clinic.

The vice president told reporters after the visit that because he has tested negative for the virus, he does not need to wear a face mask.

As Vice President of the United States Im tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus, he said.

And since I dont have the coronavirus, I thought itd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you, he added.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.3 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 80,897.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
"That's when I finally was able to put calls out to all my students and say, 'OK, it's time for people to volunteer to take animals,' " he said. He arranged a drop off for students to get the animals without touching one another.
Algeria will extend measures aimed at restricting movement by 15 days until May 29 to cope with rising cases of infections with the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerrad said on Tuesday.

The government last month decided to extend until May 14 restrictions on movement including a nationwide night curfew and closures of universities, schools and mosques. Public transport and air travel are still suspended.

The authorities this month ordered the closure of businesses including shops for clothing, shoes and pastry just days after being reopened for not observing social distancing.

"Some behaviour that may take us back are to be avoided," Djerrad said.

The North African country has reported 5,891 confirmed infections, with 507 deaths and 2,841 recoveries.

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Friendly Fire Incident Kills 19 In Iranian Navy Drill

May 11, 2020

The Iranian Navy says one of its own missiles has struck a support ship in a friendly fire incident during a training exercise in the Sea of Oman, killing 19 and injuring another 15.

The navy said in a statement on May 11 that the incident involving a Konarak light vessel occurred a day earlier near the Iranian port city of Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic.

The death toll was a sharp revision from what was reported just hours earlier, when state media said at least one sailor was killed.

The semiofficial ISNA news agency reported that the Konarak vessel, a Hendijan-class support ship, has been transferred to a pier in the region.

It was not clear how many crew members were on board the vessel at the time of the accident.

Earlier, state-controlled television said in a report on its website that the Konarak vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target.

Some reports said the Konarak had been hit in the tail by a missile fired from the Jamaran frigate.

The navy said that, until a "thorough" investigation into the incident had been conducted, "speculation" should be avoided.

The incident follows the January downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which admitted to the "unintentional" shooting down of the plane, saying it came as Iran's air defenses were on high alert after the firing of missiles at U.S. troops based in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of IRGC top general, Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike days earlier.

The May 10 friendly fire incident comes amid tensions between Tehran and Washington, including in the Persian Gulf where U.S. authorities have accused Iranian vessels of "dangerous and harassing" approaches by U.S. ships.

"This really showed that the situation with Iran is still dangerous because accidents and miscalculations can happen," Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iran's military at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

"It doesn't give confidence about the stability of the Persian Gulf," Hinz added.

On April 22, U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly tweeted that he had instructed the U.S. Navy "to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea."

Tensions have heightened between the two sides following Trump's withdrawal of the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal and the reimposition of sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

With reporting by ISNA, Tasnim, Reuters, and The New York Times

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-missile- strikes-own-vessel-killing-one-and- wounding-15/30605160.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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For Adithya Shetty, getting a seat on the first evacuation flight from London to Bengaluru was a massive relief after a desperate wait for a month. I feel very happy to be here. Bengaluru feels so much safer, with even the lockdown getting eased, he told DH on arrival at the Kempegowda International Airport early Monday morning.

I had booked a flight in March itself before this sudden lockdown got me stuck there, recalled the student of MS in International Business Management, who paid a hefty fare for the ticket. It was getting pretty expensive back in London for him, bearing hostel bills and more.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

Shetty was among four people, all of whom were headed to a three-star hotel in Whitefield for the 14-day quarantine. But unlike him, it was a mixed feeling for Priyanka Dasari, a pregnant software engineer who had to return without her husband. I was supposed to return with my husband Anil Kumar, who has a job in London. He could not be accommodated on the flight as the first preference was given to pregnant women and elderly people, she said.

The high cost of accommodation in London was what forced Chirag M G, a student of astronautics to take the first flight home. It was not sustainable. Now that I am here, I feel India is much safer. Quarantine is fine with me, he said.

In the words of Pawan, an engineer who found a place on the flight just in time with his wife and child, the pandemic is spinning out of control in London. Nobody is following any restrictions.
2. Montana has many issues our citizens are facing right here that should be the attorney general's focus. The coal industry has provided substantial revenue and jobs. Nonetheless, it is not a wise use of state resources to fight legal challenges in other states. Having examined and set the state budget for the last eight years, I know how precious every tax dollar is. They should be utilized first to provide essential services. This lawsuit is not for essential services and I would not have intervened as Fox did. Other investments need to be made leading to high-paying, sustainable jobs.
Laws compelling infectious disease testing for anyone who exposes Western Australian police officers to bodily fluids may be expanded to include COVID-19.

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson at a COVID-10 press briefing in Perth. Credit:Lauren Pilat

Current laws allow for offenders to be compulsorily tested for blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C if their bodily fluids transfer to officers during an arrest or assault.

Under legislative amendments to be introduced to state parliament this week, coronavirus will be added to the list of diseases.

Mucous, saliva and respiratory secretions will be taken from the offender then tested.
BIOGRAPHY

Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader

Madeleine Chapman

Nero, $34.99

"Can we swap for her?" It's a question Australians often pose when they watch Jacinda Ardern on the world stage, her sincerity and competence contrasting with the boorish ineptitude of so many antipodean politicians. In this new biography, Kiwi journalist Madeleine Chapman both reinforces and challenges perceptions of Ardern as fundamentally different from her contemporaries.

Jacinda Ardern's two worlds collided in 2004 and she chose the NZ Labour party. Credit:Hagen Hopkins

Born in the tiny North Island forestry town of Murupara, Ardern grew up in nearby Morrinsville, a dairy farming community that, Chapman notes, "proudly claims to have the most cows per hectare in the world". Ardern showed her political bent early, joining the Human Rights Action Group and forming Students Against Driving Drunk in high school. In her final year, her peers voted her Most Likely to Become Prime Minister.

Yet, says Chapman, while the young Ardern staffed the Friday night shift at a fish and chip shop ("the most Kiwi of jobs imaginable"), she never once worked as an adult outside of politics. In that sense, her early life  a succession of staffing and advisory roles in the Labour Party  resembles most modern career politicians.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has extended Britain's Job Retention Scheme - known as furloughing - until the end of October

The Chancellor has extended the furlough scheme until the end of October and said Britain will continue to cover 80 per cent of workers' wages during the coronavirus crisis.

Rishi Sunak revealed today that 7.5million British workers now have the state picking up the bill for 80 per cent of their salary up to 2,500 a month, or 30,000 a year.

We explain why the scheme has been extended and what it means for you.

What's changing with the furlough scheme?

Furloughing workers is currently an all or nothing affair. A business that furloughs a member of staff is not meant to ask them to do any work whatsoever.

Until the end of July, the scheme will not change at all from this current status, but after that companies will be able to try to phase workers back in.

Firms will be expected to pick up some of the tab when they do this, easing the cost of furloughing for the taxpayer.

Mr Sunak said: 'From August to October, the scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the UK but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

'Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

'And we we will ask employers to start sharing with the Government the cost of paying people's salaries. Full details will follow by the end of May.'

A gap in the scheme will also be plugged, with workers who started jobs and were paid under PAYE tax between 28 February and 19 March now covered by the scheme.

Why has the furlough scheme been extended?

The furlough scheme was initially due to run until the end of May and this has already been extended once to the end of June.

Today's announcement provides further clarity for businesses and workers that they will contiunue to be supported through summer and early autumn and that the job retention scheme will pay 80 per cent of wages until the end of October.

It followed the Government's coronavirus lockdown exit plan, which was published yesterday, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's speech on Sunday night, enocouraging more people to go back to work.

However, both the exit plan and speech lacked concrete details of when lockdown would be eased and instead relied on a measure of the coronavirus threat.

With the furlough scheme due to end in six weeks, businesses were concerned that they would not need all their staff if the country was still only in the early stages oif emerging from lockdown, and employees were worried they would soon lose their jobs.

A mass wave of redundancies would deliver a double whammy blow to the economy, as people found themselves struggling to find another job in lockdown and unable to pay mortgages, rent and bills.

My employer wants to end my furlough early can it make me come back to work?

The minimum length of time that someone can be furloughed is three weeks and the employee must agree to the furloughing.

Companies can theoretically call people back from furlough early, if business has picked up and they have work for them to do. They should have agreed this with the employee in their initial furlough agreement though.

Specialist HR law firm, Lewis Silkin, explains: 'Employers are likely to want to reserve the right to call employees back from furlough if trading.'

If such an agreement was made and employee refuses to come back to work, they could be sacked. If there was no agreement, they may be able to claim they were unfairly dismissed.

Can my employer make me return to work part-time?

The details of how the furlough scheme will change to allow part-time working have not been released yet and won't be known until the end of the month.

While furloughed you remain an employee and it is likely that you could be asked to return part-time.

Subject to existing employment rights, it is possible that an employer could make a furloughed employee come back part-time, even if they do not agree to a permanent change in their hours.

The Money Advice Service explains that staff can be asked to do 'short-time working', which involves reducing their hours each week, or 'lay-offs', where there is not enough work for them so they are asked to not come in or take unpaid leave.

However, it adds that employees contracts must permit this and not all do.

The Money Advice Services says: 'Your employer can only lay you off or require you to go on reduced hours if your contract of employment allows it.

'If not, your employer will have to negotiate a change to your contract. Typically, this will involve many members of staff and they or their union will have to agree to the new arrangement.

'You should also check if your contract allows you to take on another paid job while you're on reduced hours.'

Businesses, staff and unions will be keen to see such issues tackled in detail when the Chancellor reveals further information by the end of May, or there could be the risk of a wave of employment disputes.

I'm coping financially but worried Jenny Mannion, 27, works at gym group London Hussle as a sales manager and has been told she will be on furlough until gyms can open again. Jenny Mannion, 27, has been furloughed from her sales job with a gym chain She says it means that she can pay her rent and bills, but is worried about paying off her credit card debt and has asked for a payment holiday to help her on that. She said: 'We haven't had an update on today's news but get updates every Friday, so I assume we will be told something then. I believe gyms will be one of the last places to open, so am not hopeful I will be returning anytime soon, part-time or otherwise. 'I am slightly concerned about my finances because I have a credit card to pay off but other than that I can afford to pay for rent and food etc, which is all I need right now 'I have applied for a holiday on my credit card to be safe but ideally I want to start working at Hussle. 'I am exercising now twice a day and have started running. To boost my skills at work I have started a level 4 Strength and Conditioning course, but other than that I have just used the time to relax, as I don't think we will ever have this time again.

Can I be furloughed if I'm sick?

If you're fallen ill and in the meantime your employer has had to shut down, you should first get statutory sick pay first, but can be furloughed after this.

Those who are self-isolating because of coronavirus can also be placed on furlough.

People who are 'shielding' and are vulnerable to potential severe illness caused by the coronavirus, can also be placed on furlough.

At the moment, employees can be furloughed from a minimum of three weeks up to three months, although the Government may look to extend that if needed.

I've no idea what will happen next Lauren Williams found out she was being furloughed on 1 April, and says it took two emails for her to realise it wasn't a joke. Lauren Williams says she can afford her rent and food but not much else The 23-year-old, originally from Auckland, New Zealand, works in Asia-Pacific sales for the legal research company The Legal 500, and had moved to London only last year. Since being furloughed, she has tried to join various volunteering efforts but some were not taking volunteers and she was unable to help with others as she does not have a car. She has been taking online classes to try and fill up her days, including doing a lot of exercising. She is also spending a lot of time painting and reading books. The 23-year-old said: 'This has impacted me financially as this is a job based on commission, and the base rate is rather low. I can still afford to pay rent and bills but have very little left for food and other activities. Luckily, I'm stuck at home so there are no travel costs in my life. 'I am looking for a second temporary job just to feel a bit of security, as I have no idea what will happen to my job after the furlough ends.'

What is furloughing?

The furlough scheme - officially known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - involves workers agreeing to be furloughed by their employer.

What is the point of the furlough scheme? The Government wants the economy to have the best possible chance of picking up when lockdown lifts and sees keeping people in their jobs as the best way of doing this. Mr Sunak said: 'Nobody who is on the furlough scheme wants to be on this scheme. 'People up and down this country believe in the dignity of their work, going to work, providing for their families, it's not their fault their business has been asked to close or asked to stay at home.' Despite the spiralling bill, extending the furlough scheme is seen as essential to this.

At this point they are not meant to work and the taxpayer picks up 80 per cent of their salary, up to a maximum of 2,500 a month.

The scheme was rushed in as Britain went into the coronavirus lockdown and the consumer economy was paused, with people told to stay home and businesses told to get staff to work from home or close their doors, unless they were deemed essential.

Companies could apply to the Government to take part in the job retention scheme and it has proved far more popular than expected, with some 7.5million employees now furloughed by almost a million businesses.

Employees need to agree to be put on furlough by their employer, who can then apply for the money to the Government. They cannot apply for it themselves.

Employers can choose to pay the remaining 20 per cent of people's wages, although they are not obliged to do so.

Likewise, for those on more than 2,500 a month, they can choose to 'top-up' what they get to match or get closer to their salary.

People must continue to pay income tax and national insurance contributions while on furlough. Employers are not allowed to ask them to do any work though.

EasyJet and rival airlines have grounded planes during the coronavirus lockdown, meaning that staff have either lost their jobs or been furloughed

I have been furloughed, can I go and find a temporary job to earn extra money elsewhere?

You can do other work to earn extra money while furloughed but you should check with your employer first.

There may be something in your contract that says you cannot do this, or that you have to officially ask if you can and they could say no. If you are struggling financially, make sure that you mention this in your request.

The official Government line is that if your existing employment contract allows then you are free to seek another job while on furlough and your 80 per cent furlough pay will not be affected.

Obviously, if your employer is topping up your furlough pay, then asking if you can do work elsewhere to earn extra money is a tricky issue.

How much is furlough costing? The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that extending the furlough scheme until the end of July in its current format would cost another 10billion. This would take the total cost for the job retention scheme as it stands to an estimated 60billion. The IFS said that the cost of the extension from July to October, allowing part-time working, with employers picking up some of the bill, would only be known then full details were revealed. Paul Johnson, of the IFS, tweeted that the cost could hit 100billion

Can I be furloughed if I'm on a zero-hour contract?

You can be furloughed on a zero-hour contract and also if you're on a flexible contract, or are employed by an agency.

If you are on a zero-hour contract, which means you don't necessarily earn the same amount each month, your employer should give you the 80 per cent of your average monthly salary since you started working.

That also applies to workers who have been employed for less than a year.

If you've worked for your employer for a year or more, you should receive 80 per cent of your average monthly salary, or 80 per cent of what you earned in the same month during the previous year - whichever is highest.
On Monday, Senator Bernie Sanders gave an online interview with Washington Post reporter Robert Costa. Costa posed a broad range of questions, including on foreign policy, Joe Bidens vice presidential candidate and cabinet appointments, and the way forward for Sanders supporters in the 2020 elections.

Sanders repeated his standard calls for Medicare for All and an economy that works for everyone, while regurgitating the official Democratic Party line on nearly every question and reaffirming his uncritical support for Biden.

Bernie Sanders

Sanders rhetoric was markedly toned down compared to his presidential campaign. He largely glossed over the unfolding health and economic catastrophe facing millions of workers amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, and made no mention of the corporate bailouts for which he has voted in the Senate.

The purpose of the event, as with all of Sanders' appearances since ending his campaign, was to tamp down the expectations of his supporters and browbeat them into supporting Biden and the Democratic Party.

In the course of the interview, Sanders solidarized himself with the anti-China campaign being whipped up by both the Democrats and the Republicans. He stated that in terms of the coronavirus, Chinas record was very, very problematic, to say the least, and very wrong. These comments follow a viciously right-wing campaign ad released by Biden in late April in which Biden attacks Trump for rolling over to Chinese President Xi and covering up his governments supposed responsibility for allowing the virus to spread to the United States and other countries.

The Biden ad is a clear indication that the Democratic Party, should it win the election in November, will use the worsening health crisis to escalate military tensions with China. The anti-China narrative is aimed at diverting attention away from the criminally negligent response of the Trump administration and the political establishment as a whole to the coronavirus outbreak.

From the outset, the American ruling class and its political servants were focused on the threat the virus posed not to the American people, but to the stock market. Once the multi-trillion-dollar bailout dubbed the CARES Act was enacted in late March, stanching the market plunge and triggering a record surge over the past six weeks, the official drive began to force workers back to work without any protection from the virus. Any pretense of a coordinated effort to contain the pandemic was largely dropped.

Sanders' support for the concocted anti-China narrative, which has no basis in fact, is highly significant though unsurprising. Sanders has a long record of support for US imperialism in general and for economic nationalism and trade war against China in particular. Throughout his presidential bid, he alternated between overtures of support for Trumps trade war measures with China and attacks on Trump and even fellow Democrats for not committing sufficiently to a conflict with China.

There is no doubt that should Biden win the election, Sanders would play a critical role in whipping up left support for a military escalation against China.

The second notable aspect of the interview was Sanders comments on what progressive measures his supporters should expect from a Biden presidency. Costa asked him about his plan to pressure Biden on health care to pursue more than a private option. After first reassuring Costa that he was strongly supporting Joe, he gave a sense of what he envisioned in terms of moving Biden to the left on health care.

Medicare for All is the direction we have to go, he said. I am going to do my best to move Joe in that direction... I think one way we can move in that direction is to lower the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 down to 55. Sanders concluded by saying he hoped Biden would move in that direction.

This mild reform, which has yet to be adopted by the Biden campaign, hardly amounts even to a pretense of a progressive policy. To put this proposal in perspective, in 2016 Hillary Clinton was floating a proposal to lower the Medicare age to 50.

In other words, Sanders version of a successful campaign to pull Joe Biden to the left consists of a progressive concession that is even more timid than what the Democratic Party nominee proposed four years ago. And, as Sanders well knows, there is no chance that an administration headed by the veteran Democratic Party operative and vice president in an administration that rejected even the fig leaf of a public option as part of its signature pro-market, cost-cutting Affordable Care Act would enact such a measure.

On the contrary, the massive government debt incurred in the corporate bailout being carried out under the cover of the pandemic crisis will inevitably be imposed on the backs of the working class in the form of brutal cuts in health care and other essential services, whichever party wins in November. This is a matter of fundamental class policy for the corporate-financial oligarchy that controls both parties.

In the course of the interview, Sanders sought to obscure his rightward course by repeating some of his boilerplate demagogic slogans. At one point he declared that now is the time to tell the billionaire class that this economy is going to change and it cannot be based on greed and selfishness. After capitulating in 2016 to the right-wing Clinton and doing the same in 2020 to the right-wing Bidenunder conditions of a far greater crisis and a growing movement of opposition and support for socialism in the working class both in the US and internationallysuch hollow words from the windbag Sanders are wearing extremely thin.

It is worth reviewing Sanders' political trajectory since the onset of the pandemic. He ended his campaign and called for unity behind Biden at exactly the moment when the coronavirus began exposing before millions the class character of the Democratic Party and the irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the working class and the ruling class.

His last act before suspending his campaign was to vote for the bailout of Wall Street and the corporations that passed with the unanimous support of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. Since then he has pledged his full support for his good friend Joe. He has not placed a single demand on the Biden campaign or put forward any significant criticism of his policies.

When Costa asked Sanders to weigh in on who would be best as Bidens running mate and which progressive politicians Sanders would encourage Biden to appoint to his cabinet, Sanders refused to answer. He justified this by saying that the vice presidential choice was a personal and not ideological one. In regards to the cabinet positions, he referred Costa to the Democratic Party Progressive Caucus website.

The culmination of the Sanders experience, and, in particular, his actions throughout the pandemic, have revealed the absolute bankruptcy of his so-called political revolution. More fundamentally, it has exposed once again the futility of the strategy of reforming the Democratic Party peddled by Sanders and the organizations in his orbit, such as the Democratic Socialists of America. In the end, his campaign does not even rise to the level of a movement for significant reform.

There are no doubt many sincere workers and youth who are increasingly disgusted by what Sanders has done and are looking for a more radical and genuinely anti-capitalist alternative.

The only campaign that is seeking to develop a real socialist movement is the campaign of the Socialist Equality Party and its candidates for president and vice president, Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz. The SEP campaign does not seek to pressure the Democratic Party or reform the capitalist system. It seeks rather to build a movement of the working class independent of the capitalist parties to put an end to capitalism. It fights for the radical, socialist restructuring of the economy on the basis of social equality and the satisfaction of the needs of the working population, rather than the insatiable greed of the corporate-financial aristocracy.

We call on all workers and young people to join this campaign and support this fight.

To support and get involved in the SEP election campaign, visit socialism 2020. org.
Mr. White allowed for the possibility of exceptions. If health and safety precautions permit, clinical classes in the nursing program could be held in person, he said, as could certain science labs and other essential instruction.

Experts said Cal States decision could have a significant impact.

Cal State is an extraordinarily large and important university system and an awful lot of other institutions will watch this development carefully, said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, a trade association of college presidents.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has been keeping a running tally of what American colleges are planning to do for the fall. Only a handful of schools, mostly small ones, have said they are leaning toward online-only classes, including Wayne State University in Detroit, a virus hot spot, and Sierra College outside Sacramento. A few say they are planning a hybrid model. But the vast majority say they are planning for in-person classes.

Brown Universitys president, Christina Paxson, said in a New York Times Op-Ed late last month that reopening campuses this fall should be a national priority.

Size, location and population density could play a big role in what universities decide, Mr. Hartle said.

On Monday, Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., population 111,000, announced its commitment to resume on-campus classes for about 5,000 students in the fall, saying, The midsize of Bradley and the small-city setting of Peoria make it easier for students to maintain safe distances and avoid unnecessary exposure to potentially dangerous germs.

Californias other four-year university system, the University of California, with nearly 300,000 students on 10 campuses, has not announced whether its fall classes will be held online, in-person or a mix. But faculty members there say plans are being drawn up for all three contingencies. The Board of Regents is expected to discuss systemwide plans at a meeting next week.
A former commander of the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) has temporarily forfeited N510 million to the federal government.

Uko Obong, an air vice marshal, headed the PAF between 2013 and 2015, mainly during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The forfeiture was granted by Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, according to a statement from the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

The EFCC said its intelligence scooped the money stashed in Sterling Bank and discreet investigation revealed it was a proceed of unlawful activities, traced to AVM Obong.

Read the full EFCC statement below.

Justice A.R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, May 11, 2020, ordered the interim forfeiture of N510 million, belonging to Vice Air Marshal Uko Etim Obong, in an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The Commissions application for interim forfeiture was pursuant to Section 44 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

EFCCs intelligence scooped the money stashed in Sterling Bank and discreet investigation revealed it was a proceed of unlawful activities, traced to AVM Obong.

READ ALSO:

It could be recalled that AVM Obong was the Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet between 2013 and 2015, and allegedly enriched himself corruptly while serving in that capacity.

The former Air Chief was alleged to have used some of his cronies and companies, such as Magnificent 5 Ventures Ltd; Tripple Kay Company Nigeria Ltd, and Elionenai International College, as conduits to drain public funds while concealing his identity.

Justice Mohammed, thereafter, granted the prayers of the EFCC and ordered the interim forfeiture of the said sum and adjourned the matter to May 26, 2020 for hearing.

Dele Oyewale

Head, Media & Publicity

12/05/2020.
Valencia port reaches 2019 environmental targets Navigation companies adhere with energy, water consumption cuts

(ANSAmed) - NAPLES, MAY 12 - The port authority of Valencia has implemented all its objectives under the Ecoport II protocol planned to improve the environmental state of the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia. The initiatives directly involved maritime companies that adhered to the program, according to local press reports. Five transport companies increased by 9% the volume of recycled waste, reaching an additional 800 kilograms, while six companies pledged to cut down water consumption by 17%, or some 1,500 liters. Thirteen navigation companies implemented the measures to cut by about 1% the consumption of fuel, saving about 19% by the end of the year, while 15 companies favored the reduction of electrical consumption by 9.5%. Two enterprises increased the use of alternative energy, reaching 50% of the set target.



Overall, 18 companies participated in the initiative and 70% of the firms' employees attended training courses on environmental targets. (ANSAmed)
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac;NYSE: AGM and AGM.A), the nation's secondary market provider that increases the availability and affordability of credit for the benefit of rural America, today announced that Amy H. Gales and W. David Hemingway have been elected as the newest members of the company's board of directors. They replace Thomas W. Hill and Clark B. Maxwell on Farmer Mac's board, both of whom chose not to stand for reelection.

"We welcome Amy and David to Farmer Mac's board of directors. Their service will complement our other board members' experience and insight as we respond to the challenges of COVID-19 from a position of financial strength while remaining focused on our important mission of supporting farmers, ranchers and rural communities," said LaJuana S. Wilcher, Farmer Mac's Board Chair. "We also offer our sincere gratitude to Tom and Clark for their significant contributions to Farmer Mac during their many years of service on the board."

Ms. Gales brings significant business experience in the agricultural finance and banking industries from a career that spanned nearly four decades. She most recently served as an Executive Vice President and member of the management executive committee of CoBank, ACB and previously held leadership positions at two commercial banks. Ms. Gales was raised on a family farm in Southern Minnesota and led a diversified grain marketing and farm supply cooperative from 1997 to 1999. Ms. Gales has also served on several boards during her career, including Farm Credit Leasing and the Food Bank of the Rockies. Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Gales stated, "I am thankful for the opportunity to serve on Farmer Mac's board during a time when its mission to serve farmers, ranchers, and rural America is especially important."

Mr. Hemingway spent his entire 42-year career in banking at Zions Bancorporation and its affiliates, where he focused on investments, capital markets, and public finance and served as an executive officer from 1984 to 2015. Mr. Hemingway also has significant experience serving as a board member for other institutions with a national scope, including previously serving as a member of Farmer Mac's board from 1996 to 2004. He served on the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle during that same time period and also previously served as Chairman of the Utah Bankers Association. Mr. Hemingway added, "It's a privilege to rejoin Farmer Mac's board. I have always appreciated the importance of the company's mission and am pleased to see the company performing so well as it has increased its focus on mission fulfillment through the years."

Mr. Hemingway joins four other board members elected each year by holders of Class A voting common stock (NYSE: AGM.A), and Ms. Gales joins four other board members elected each year by holders of Class B voting common stock (not listed on any exchange). An additional five board members are appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.

More information about both newly elected directors and the other members of Farmer Mac's board is included in Farmer Mac's 2020 proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 6, 2020, which is available in the "Investors" section of Farmer Mac's website at www.farmermac.com.

About Farmer Mac

Farmer Mac is a vital part of the agricultural credit markets and was created to increase access to and reduce the cost of capital for the benefit of American agricultural and rural communities. As the nation's secondary market for agricultural credit, we provide financial solutions to a broad spectrum of the agricultural community, including agricultural lenders, agribusinesses, and other institutions that can benefit from access to flexible, low-cost financing and risk management tools. Farmer Mac's customers benefit from our low cost of funds, low overhead costs, and high operational efficiency. Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer Mac's website at www.farmermac.com.

SOURCE Farmer Mac

Related Links

http://www.farmermac.com


Laos Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is registering information about Lao citizens who lost their jobs due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the first step in what the workers hope will be a government response to help them get through tough times, sources in Laos told RFA.

At present, the ministry is registering [Lao citizen] workers, both abroad and inside the country, who have been affected by COVID-19, an official of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, who requested anonymity, told RFAs Lao Service Monday.

We will report it to the government so that the government can help them find work, the official said.

According to the official there are approximately 140,000 Lao workers abroad, mostly in Thailand, and thousands of jobless at home.

The Lao government is ready to allow workers to return to Thailand and other countries, or allow them to apply for jobs available in Laos, the official said.

Meanwhile in Thailand, the government has begun easing restrictions to allow some businesses to reopen. Many Laotians who returned to Laos during the onset of the pandemic in Thailand are looking forward to getting back to work.

Im waiting. I cant wait for the border to reopen, a young Laotian, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA.

The young Laotian had been working at a restaurant near Bangkok before becoming unemployed due to the deadly virus.

I have work to do over there. Its the same job. The restaurant is also waiting for me. Weve been in contact over the phone. As soon as the border is open, Im going, the young Laotian said.

But according to the same Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare official, opening the border will not be a simple process.

The workers must wait for the reopening of the border. They have to wait for an order from the prime minister, the official said, adding that this was not a decision the prime minster can make unilaterally.

He has to check with the destination country [in this case, Thailand] first, before he can allow the workers to go back there, the official said.

The Thai government is scheduled to ease restrictions for a second time on May 15, which will allow more restaurants, shopping malls and beauty shops to reopen, but the international border is expected to remain closed.

Lao migrants return illegally

Despite an easing of restrictions in Thailand, there are many Lao citizens who are out of work, but who are unable to return to Laos because the border is closed.

Many of the stranded Laotians have attempted to return to Laos illegally.

In one such case on May 4, 29 Lao migrants rode in a private boat across the Mekong river to their villages on the other side of the river, near the Lao capital Vientiane.

Those were local people. They rode a relatives boat through a traditional border point. At first they stayed on an island, but were able to sneak across to their villages at night, a member of the Vientiane Task Force Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, who requested anonymity, told RFA.

But the village authorities found them, picked them up and sent them to the quarantine center, where they must remain for 14 days, the task force member said.

Another group of 349 Lao migrants who were waiting in Thailands Nongkhai city for days, were allowed to cross the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge into Laos on May 9.

According to the task force member, all the workers who returned, either legally or illegally have been sent to a quarantine center in Vientiane.

The branch of the task force in Savannakhet province is under a similar situation.

We have released some from quarantine and taken in some newcomers, a member of the task force there told RFA Monday.

A lot of workers are still coming because they have no jobs in Thailand, the Savannakhet task force member said.

In Champassak province, 322 Lao migrants were allowed to return home through a border gate on May 9.

On their arrival they were sent to three [quarantine] centers, an official who processed the migrants paperwork told RFA.

A Lao migrant stranded in Thailand, who requested anonymity to speak freely, hopes the border can be reopened soon.

Here in Thailand, I have no job. I want the governments to reopen the border as soon as possible. I want to go home, and when the situation improves Ill come back, he said.

Food shortages

Many of the quarantine centers that house the Lao migrants when they return from Thailand are running out of food supplies as they take on more internees.

The two largest centers are occupied by more than 50 migrants each, and they are running out of food, a health worker in Pakse, Champassak province, told RFA on Tuesday.

We are requesting food donations from social organizations, private donors and the government, but thats still not enough, the health worker said.

A food shortage has affected the quarantine centers in Vientiane also.

We receive some food donations, including instant noodles, canned fish and other dry food, and we distribute them to over 50 quarantined migrants, but these donations are not sufficient, a member of the local branch of the COVID-19 task force told RFA.

The quarantine centers in Oudomxay province did not report food shortages thanks to a 50,000 kip (U.S. $5.50) food allowance provided by local authorities.

Bun in Savannakhet province, all the quarantine centers have been closed, with the migrants released.

The Ministry of Health has called on the private sector to provide assistance to the quarantine centers.

[Migrants] are still coming into the [quarantine] centers that are facing shortages of food, water and other necessities. [The public] can contact the task force in the capital to donate food, Lao's health minister told RFA on Monday.

There are 60 quarantine centers in total in Laos, housing 1,616 migrants. One quarantine center in Vientiane is currently housing 374 migrants who recently returned to Laos from Thailand.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
At third spot, TN overtakes Delhi in number of COVID-19 cases

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 12: Tamil Nadu has recorded its highest-ever single day increase, with almost 800 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The state also outstripped Delhi to take the third position in caseload of novel coronavirus in the country. According to the health Ministry, the southern state has now 8,002 confirmed cases.

Now, only Maharashtra and Gujarat have more confirmed cases than Tamil Nadu, which has seen its numbers rise rapidly in the last few days. The numbers increased rapidly after the discovery of the Koyambedu market cluster in Tamil Nadu's Chennai which contributed more than 2,000 cases so far.

Coronavirus outbreak: India breaches 70,000-mark, records 87 new deaths due to COVID-19

On Monday, Tamil Nadu also reported six deaths which is also the highest the state had ever reported on a single day.

India discovered a total of 3,596 new cases on Monday, which was 774 less than the previous day's tally. The number of confirmed cases in the country also crossed 70,000-mark and stood at 70,744.

Explained: How your travel by rail and air will change in COVID-19 times

In Maharashtra, as many as 1,230 new cases were registered on Monday, about 700 less than what it was on Sunday when it almost touched the 2,000 figure mark. Meanwhile, it can be seen that Maharashtra's daily numbers have been fluctuating, anywhere between 400 and 1,900.

In Gujarat, the numbers are at a much more sedate rate. In the last 13 days, it has reported between 300 and 400 cases every day, except on May 5 when it added 441, its highest so far.
Parents adopt a variety of disciplinary measures when their children misbehave. When one Ohio mother decided her son needed to be on timeout to reflect on his unacceptable behavior, she didnt expect the familys dog would join his little owner.

Jillian Marie Smith sentenced her 3-year-old son, Peyton, to timeout in January 2020 after he got into a fight with his 5-year-old sister Ryleigh and hit her. Smith had originally given Peyton two options: either to stay in his room or have a timeout. He chose the latter.

However, when Peyton was serving his timeout, the familys dog, Dash, came over to join him, reported Good Morning America (GMA). As if appreciating his furry friends gesture to accompany him during the timeout, the little boy put an arm over the dog.

Smith happened to chance upon this heartwarming scene and quickly snapped a photo.

I just happened to have my phone on me at the time he was in timeout and took the picture, she told GMA.

The photo was then uploaded to her Facebook page with the caption, When youre in time out but your best pal wont [sic] let you serve your time alone.

Smith said that their English mastiff dog might have sensed that Peyton was lonely.

I couldnt be mad long because it was just so cute how Peyton wrapped his arm around Dash, Smith told The Dodo. When Peyton had to go to time-out, I think Dash knew he needed his buddy.

Apparently, Dash was not the first dog who decided to join his best friend in timeout. Many pet lovers commented on Smiths photo, which has now been shared more than 51,000 times, that their dogs have done the same thing as well.

I have a little Beagle that wont let my one 8 year old [sic] twin do time out alone, wrote a user.

Another wrote that their pit bull does the same when they make their kids stand in the corner with the only difference being the dog would face the wall with them; its the most adorable thing ever, dogs are so sweet! the social media user added.

Smith told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that Dash has been by Peytons side since the little boy was 3 months old and that the furry companion has brought a lot of joy to the family, especially to Peyton.

When Peyton needed to go out, he would tell Dash, Dont worry, Ill be back soon. Dont be sad. And upon his return, Peyton would immediately inform his best buddy, saying, Bro, Im back! I miss you so much!

Smith, who lives in Norfolk, revealed to TODAY Parents that her son often plays dress up games with their 230-pound (approx. 104-kilogram) heavy gentle giant, Dash.

Peyton dresses Dash up in superhero costumes and they act out fight scenes, Smith said. I dont think Dash understands whats happening, but he allows Peyton to do whatever.

Smith added that both of them are always together and she just needs to find out their dogs location if she cant find her son.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Shmyhal hopes Germany during its presidency in EU Council will give signal about European future of Ukraine

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel held their first virtual meeting. Among the issues raised during the discussion were bilateral relations of the two states, cooperation in the economic and energy sectors.

"I hope that Germany, during its EU Council's presidency in the second half of 2020, will give a clear signal about Ukraine's European future," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the government's press service following the conference.

Shmyhal also raised an issue of the possibility of obtaining an industrial visa-free regime with the European Union, as well as Ukraine's accession to NATO's Enhanced Opportunities Partnership (EOP).

The parties tackled the economic situation, in particular, overcoming the consequences of coronavirus pandemics.

"During the online conference, the sides also raised the issue of the transformation of coal regions. In particular, a possibility to render assistance in the implementation of a pilot project at one of the Ukrainian mines. The Chancellor assured that Germany would be happy to take part in such a project," the message reads.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister of Ukraine expressed hope that cooperation with the IMF under the Stand-by program currently being discussed would allow getting $ 5 billion, of which $ 3.5 billion to replenish 2020 State Budget reserves. Shmyhal expressed hope that the Memorandum of Cooperation with the IMF would be signed by the end of May.
The number of reported coronavirus cases in India rose nearly 12.5 percent over the past two days to 70,756, data from the morning update of the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) showed. This is slightly higher than the rate of increase compared to the previous 48 hours, when the reported case count rose 11.7 percent to 62,939.

After tapering last month, Indias coronavirus trajectory has picked up this month, with new infections and deaths rising faster in India than in most other countries.





Indias case count has now roughly doubled since the beginning of May. This is a much slower rate compared to early-April, when cases were doubling every four days. Deaths have also seen slower rise compared to the trend in early-April but have picked up pace over the past couple of weeks. Indias death toll from covid-19 as of Monday morning was 2,293, roughly double what it was eleven days ago.

At the current rate of compounded daily growth, the number of cases could rise to 100,000 in the next six days. The continuing rise in cases pose a severe challenge for Indias strained medical capacity and overburdened health system.

At 17,747, Maharashtra leads in terms of the number of active cases, according to the health ministry update this morning. Active cases exclude deaths and recoveries from the list of confirmed cases.

The number of active cases in the second worst-hit state, Tamil Nadu, jumped 15% in a single day to reach 5,898. The next state of the list, Gujarat, has 5,248 active cases, followed by 5,031 in Delhi and 1,817 in Madhya Pradesh. The top five states together account for 77 percent of the active cases nationally, and the top ten states account for 94 percent of all cases.

Nationally, the active case count was 46,008 as of today morning. The numbers are yet to peak and the state-wise distribution could change in the coming days as testing gets ramped up across states.

View Full Image Source: MoHFW

Over the past seven days, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Punjab have seen the highest spike in cases among the top ten states with most cases. These three states account for 77 percent of all the new active cases in this period. Over the same period, fatalities have surged the most in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. These three states account for 34 percent of all covid-related deaths over the past seven days.

Among top ten states with most active cases, the case fatality rates are the highest in West Bengal (9.2%), Gujarat (6%), and Madhya Pradesh (5.8%). Indias case fatality rate now stands at 3.2%. Among all states, the case fatality rates are lowest in Tamil Nadu (0.7%), Odisha (0.7%), and Kerala (0.8%).

Over the past two days, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Thane districts have seen the biggest spike in confirmed cases nationally. These five districts account for 56 percent of new cases over this period, data compiled by howindialives.com last evening shows. Other districts that have seen a sharp spike over the past two days are Indore, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu.

View Full Image Source: MoHFW

View Full Image Source: NDMA





So far, 539 districts have confirmed cases in the country. Mumbai (14,473 cases) has reported the most number of cases nationally among all districts, followed by Ahmedabad (6,086) in Gujarat. Chennai (4,378) in Tamil Nadu, Pune (2,929) in Maharashtra, and Thane (2,592) in Maharashtra are the other leading districts. These top five districts now account for 48 percent of confirmed cases in the country.

Indore (1,935) in Madhya Pradesh, Jaipur (1,233) in Rajasthan, Kolkata (1,029) in West Bengal, Surat (914) in Gujarat, and Jodhpur (911) in Rajasthan are the other high-burden districts which figure in the list of top ten districts. The top ten districts account for 57 percent of all the confirmed cases nationally. District-wise data for Delhi are unavailable and hence not part of this list.

Most of Indias hotspots so far have been urban affluent districts, with richer states hit harder than the rest.

Meanwhile, the global coronavirus case count is approaching 4.2 million even as some badly hit countries begin to relax lockdown measures after over a month.

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At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps as many as one-third of the Los Angeles Unified School District's students lacked both a personal computer and broadband internet at home -- a major problem if the best way to deliver lessons is online.

But on Monday, LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said a $100 million district initiative has secured laptops and internet connections for enough students that he's ready to declare the problem "solved."

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In his weekly video update, Beutner announced that the district's final phase of distributing these devices is largely complete: Nearly 96% of LAUSD elementary students now have both a laptop and internet connection and a confirmed ability to log into the websites that contain their assignments.

LAUSD high school students were the first to receive access to devices back in March, followed by middle school students. In secondary schools, LAUSD counts 98% of students as "connected."

"Just about every one of the students in all of our schools," Beutner said in his video update, "will be part of an online learning community."

A student receives a laptop computer for remote learning in front of L.A. Unified's Bell High School. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

MISSED CONNECTIONS

To be clear, Beutner said LAUSD will continue distributing devices. He encouraged any LAUSD family still in need of a laptop or internet connection to call the district's hotline: (213) 443-1300.

And though it's hard to know how many, anecdotal evidence suggests some families either missed LAUSD's device distribution, or were passed over by the LAUSD officials distributing the devices.

Stephanie Montalbo filled out a form on Dodson Middle School's website asking for a loaner laptop in April. Last week, Montalbo said her eighth-grade daughter is still borrowing a computer from a neighbor.

"I never got a call or anything," she told us in an interview, adding: "My daughter still needs help."

Soon after the LAUSD board approved an emergency declaration in March, district officials began purchasing devices.

"It took a procurement team working around the clock to scour the globe and find devices and a technology team to make sure the devices had the proper software installed and every student was connected to the Internet," Beutner said in his speech.

But with worldwide supply chains tied up, some families have still waited for weeks.

This weekend, L.A. Times columnist Robin Abcarian profiled two brothers in Watts who've been sharing their mom's Android phone to do their homework. Abcarian reported the two boys' LAUSD school is supposed to begin distributing devices this week.

Last week, L.A. Daily News reporter Ariella Plachta shared video of a long line at an LAUSD device pickup in Koreatown:

The line outside Koreatown's Hobart Boulevard Elementary school this morning stretches around the block. Parents and their students are picking up iPads pic.twitter.com/hoRo2Cqnpi  Ari Plachta (@AriPlachta) May 8, 2020

STILL 'AN ENORMOUS ACHIEVEMENT'

But in a district of LAUSD's size, Beutner contended there will always be anecdotal examples of families who aren't connected -- some of them for reasons beyond school officials' control.

"I'd consider it an enormous achievement," Beutner told us in an interview. "We're almost there ... It's time to focus on the 98% ... who are connected and how they're beginning to learn in a different way. We'll continue to be responsive to anyone who tells us their child isn't connected."

Beutner also contrasted LAUSD's progress with the response in districts like Seattle, where public school officials initially resisted moving instruction online, citing concerns that disconnected families might have trouble accessing their lessons. Still, local media pointed to LAUSD's device distribution effort as a model -- and since then, Amazon has donated more than 8,200 laptops to Seattle students.

LAUSD's Bond Oversight Committee has greenlit the use of more than $77 million in bond funds to pay for the district's technology effort -- albeit with some strings attached.

That, in itself, is remarkable. Within the last decade, LAUSD's use of bond funds was a source of criticism for the district's ill-fated iPad program.

Since then, the Bond Oversight Committee has consistently blocked LAUSD efforts to use bond funds for tech projects. Members of the oversight panel have consistently said that because devices break easily and must be replaced frequently, tech initiatives generally shouldn't be allotted bond dollars meant for instrastructure improvemeents.

But practically overnight, LAUSD has transformed into a "one-to-one" district.

"This is a forever thing to make sure that students have a working device," Beutner said.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS WEEK'S UPDATE

Here are some other updates of note:

The coming budget storm. Last week, state officials released figures showing the pandemic has blown a hole in California's budget -- potentially putting some $18 billion in state education funding in jeopardy. This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom is due to release a revised spending plan based on those numbers. Beutner urged state and federal officials to find ways to avoid cuts to schools, which he warned "will have a direct impact on young girls and boys and the life they will have. Children will suffer the harm most directly, as will society as a whole over the long term.

Special education plans being done virtually. Every year, the parents and teachers of students with identified disabilities meet to negotiate an individualized education plan, or IEP. This document, protected by federal law, is key to granting the student access to special services or accommodations in school. But the pandemic put these meetings on hold, leaving the parents of LAUSD's 70,000 students with disabilities in limbo. But on Monday, Beutner announced the district was making progress: more than 1,000 of these IEPs have been negotiated via Zoom. He said LAUSD officials were prioritizing meetings for students who were moving into new schools -- for example, incoming kindergartners -- and that virtual IEP meetings would likely continue into the summer.

Every year, the parents and teachers of students with identified disabilities meet to negotiate an individualized education plan, or IEP. This document, protected by federal law, is key to granting the student access to special services or accommodations in school. But the pandemic put these meetings on hold, leaving the parents of LAUSD's 70,000 students with disabilities in limbo. But on Monday, Beutner announced the district was making progress: more than 1,000 of these IEPs have been negotiated via Zoom. He said LAUSD officials were prioritizing meetings for students who were moving into new schools -- for example, incoming kindergartners -- and that virtual IEP meetings would likely continue into the summer. Meals. "Sometime this week," Beutner said, "Los Angeles Unified will have provided more than 20 million meals to children and adults in need."

"Sometime this week," Beutner said, "Los Angeles Unified will have provided more than 20 million meals to children and adults in need." More summer school plans. Beutner also added more details to last week's announcement about summer school plans, announcing a series of summer enrichment opportunities on his Twitter account

Correction: A previous version of this story listed the incorrect LAUSD device hotline. LAist regrets the error.
WEST SPRINGFIELD  An adult male eagle who was helping to feed a nest of chicks was injured Tuesday morning after being struck by a truck on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The eagle has no feeling in his legs and is now being treated at the South Deerfield Veterinary Clinic. Wildlife Birds of Prey rehabilitator Thomas Ricardi, who is now caring for the bird, said he is hoping the raptor is suffering a muscle pull, but he could have a broken back.

By the mess on his beak we can tell he is feeding some young, he said. Its a problem because now we only have mom feeding the young.

Other than his injuries, the eagle is healthy and strong. The bird was found near mile marker 44 on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which is close to the Connecticut River and a common spot for eagle nests, Ricardi said.

State Police Trooper Peter Mullin found the eagle at about 7:10 a.m. on the eastbound side of the highway in a travel lane near the median strip, after responding to reports from motorists who saw the injured bird, Police officials said.

Police said the eagle may have been struck while trying to eat roadkill on the highway.

Mullin wrapped the injured eagle in his department-issued rain jacket so he could pick it up safely. He then placed the raptor in his cruiser and brought him to the Westfield Barracks and contacted Ricardi, police said.

The female will continue feeding the chicks but it is difficult for one parent to handle a nest alone, Ricardi said.

They will do it, but it will be tough. If she has one or two chicks it should be OK, but if she has three there is a possibility one might not make it, he said.

A few days earlier Ricardi said he took in an osprey that was on Interstate-91 in the same area. In that case, both of the birds wings were broken and it had to be euthanized.

Ricardi said he has also started receiving baby owls and hawks that people have found and believe were abandoned. He said people should not try to rescue a baby bird unless they see one for at least two days in the same spot because parents may be nearby but not visible. He advises people to call before the remove a bird.
Inside Georges River Council. Credit:Illustration: John Shakespeare

Three cheers for Local Government Minister Shelley Hancocks senior policy adviser Troy Wilkie who has put his time to good use devising social tiles (online thank you cards) for Coalition MPs to demonstrate appreciation for council staff.

The attached social tiles give thanks to the thousands of councils (sic) employees who continue to ensure that the essential services we rely on every day are delivered to our communities," Wilkie told MPs on Tuesday.

Thank you ... for stepping up to the challenge and serving your community during COVID-19, the tiles read.

Inevitably, that returns us to the subject of Georges River, the local council which sprawls across Hurstville and Kogarah and is overseen by former Labor racing minister Kevin Greene. It appears this council spends more time slowly sorting through allegations of misconduct and conflict-of-interest than most others. Hard to believe, but true.
NEW BRITAIN  With the looming May 20 target date to reopen some non-essential businesses, Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday announced he removed the states top public health official, whose tenure was marked by controversy over school vaccinations and struggles to stem the coronavirus devastating impact on nursing homes.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell had served for about a year. Deidre Gifford, the commissioner of the state Department of Social Services, took over in an acting capacity, said Lamont.

The surge in deaths in Connecticuts nursing homes was exacerbated by the lack of a plan after the March fatalities in Washington state elderly centers showed that COVID-19 could devastate similar populations, administration sources said. Nursing home residents became nearly half of Connecticuts more than 3,000 fatalities.

A top veteran deputy of the department resigned and momentum toward firing Coleman-Mitchell can be traced to spring 2019, when she declined to release school vaccination data amid a raging debate on parental rights versus public health in the State Capitol.

I wanted to make an organizational change, Lamont said Tuesday morning under a barrage of reporters questions at a warehouse here where millions of dollars in personal protective equipment has arrived for distribution to front line workers and small Connecticut businesses.

I can tell that May 20 was always a pivot point for us, Lamont said. I thought this was a good time to make a change.

Lamont backed away from direct answers to questions from reporters about her leadership. I dont think this is where I want to go right now. She has a chance to tell you what she thinks about this change. I thought wed be better positioned as a state going forward and make sure our public health has been closely coordinated. I thought about the reorganization for months, more broadly speaking.

In a statement, Coleman-Mitchell said she was told the governors decision to move the Department of Public Health in a different direction was not related to job performance. I take them at their word. There was no mention in the statement of a lawsuit.

I am proud of the work of the Department of Public Health during this time of unprecedented turmoil and threat to the public health. Our coordinated response to the COVID-19 public health crisis earned praise from public health experts around the country, Coleman-Mitchell said in a statement. I am most proud of my role in promoting and implementing creation of COVID recovery facilities, which will help make our retirement and elderly community populations safer and less susceptible to the indiscriminate suffering that the virus causes. Indeed, our plan was praised by David Grabowski, a professor of public health care policy at Harvard Medical School who told NBC News in an interview this week that it is really the safest approach. 

Sources say Coleman-Mitchells tenure was stressful, with growing tension between the DPH and Lamonts office.

Information and data on nursing home illnesses and deaths was a regular complaint about the DPHs handling of the issue. About 40 percent of the more than 3,000 COVID-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes.

Close cooperation between public health and social services made a lot of sense, Lamont said. I think the job has changed. Lets put it that way. I think in terms of public health, long-term, I want closer cooperation between our departments, starting with social services. Obviously nursing homes are managed by DSS, managed by Public Health. I wanted closer coordination there. When it comes to contact tracing, testing protocols, all the other initiatives that are going to be under our health care strrategy, I know how important public health is under that overall plan.

Lamont said he wanted the states pandemic response to be more unified. Ive always found that state government operates by silos, he said, stressing that the states Emergency Operations Center has forced agencies to work as a team. I wanted really close coordination when it came to our health care effort and public health effort, and thats why I thought DSS and DPH, even more closely aligned, made a lot of sense with the next stage that were going through.

Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff, speaking with reporters after Lamonts review of about 6.7 million new pieces of PPE, echoed his bosss belief that it was time for a change. Well immediately start a new search for a commissioner of DPH, Mounds said, adding that there could be more personnel changes at the agency.

May 20 is a good date to do a full evaluation of everybody, Mounds said. Based upon not only things that occurred during the COVID crisis, but issues that occurred before it, it was time for a change at the top, and also a change as it goes with the leadership team.

In March month, Susan Roman, one of Coleman-Mitchells top deputies resigned, exposing management tension and morale problems in the agency, writing that working for Coleman-Mitchell had been an incredible disappointment.

On May 3, 2019, the department published its first school-by-school assessments of child immunization rates, showing scores of schools with kindergarten immunization rates below the 95 percent threshold that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is necessary to provide herd immunity for a community.

Coleman-Mitchell, who has masters in public health from Yale University and 25 years of experience as a health administrator, annoyed Democratic lawmakers by refusing for months after the data was published to offer a professional opinion on whether the exemptions posed a public health threat.

While state commissioners usually advocate for or against issues before their departments, in August of last year Coleman-Mitchell shied away. I am not able, nor should I weigh in on anything thats public legislation that comes about as a result of any of the work we do, she said. Thats not in the purview of my role.

The same month, she said she would not release updated school-by-school vaccinations rates that had been recalculated after errors were found.

Coleman-Mitchell was publicly overruled a day later by the governor, who ordered the release of the school-by-school data. A month later, she joined the governor in a news conference in his office to unequivocally urge legislators to repeal Connecticuts religious exemption from required vaccinations for children entering school.

That issue, which was the impetus for two major demonstrations at the Capitol in early 2020 by parents opposed to mandatory vaccinations, was shelved after March 11, when the Capitol was first closed for a deep weekend-long cleaning. That shutdown was ultimately extended after the General Assemblys constitutional deadline occurred at midnight May 6.

Even as the pandemic in Fairfield and New Haven counties subsides, it is unlikely that vaccination legislation would be included in any special session this spring or summer.

Mark Pazniokas of the CT Mirror contributed to this report.
Those fluffy feathers can sometimes become grimy. So Brianne bathes her birds. It's a four-step process. First, the hens soak in plain water, then they take a plunge in a bucket of suds, then back in the plain water for a final rinse. Since silkies are especially susceptible to cold, Brianne blow-dries them. Her husband, Chris, sometimes helps with the blow-drying. There's video to prove it.
Mr. Vartanian became an MSA director in 2017 and was elected President and Chief Executive Officer in May, 2018. He will continue in his role as MSA's President and CEO.

"I want to thank and recognize Bill Lambert for his leadership, integrity and governance over many years, as well as his longstanding commitment to the business and mission of MSA," Mr. Vartanian said. Mr. Lambert, who joined the company in 1981 as a design engineer, became a Director of MSA in 2007 and was elected Chairman in 2015. Mr. Lambert served as MSA's Chief Executive Officer from to 2008 up until his retirement in 2018.

As Chairman, President and CEO, Mr. Vartanian will continue to drive the future performance of the company and its focus on pioneering innovation in safety product technologies. "Our strategic vision is built on leveraging our talent and product portfolio to achieve leadership positions in key geographies and market segments around the world," Mr. Vartanian said.

"Over the years, our team has strengthened MSA's global brand as a leader in the development of game-changing technologies that enhance worker safety. I am grateful for the Board's confidence and am extremely proud to have the opportunity to help continue that legacy," he said.

Mr. Vartanian joined MSA in 1985 as a sales intern and shortly thereafter moved into a sales position working in the Atlanta, Ga., area. Over his 35-year career with the company, Mr. Vartanian has served in a variety of capacities, including U.S. National Sales Manager; Director of North America Commercial Sales and Distribution; Vice President and Global Business Leader for MSA's Fixed Gas and Flame Detection business; Vice President of MSA North America; and Senior Vice President and President, MSA Americas.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mr. Vartanian received a bachelor's degree in business management in 1983. In addition to his MSA responsibilities, Mr. Vartanian serves on the Board of Trustees for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), the Board of Trustees for the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Foundation, and the Board of Trustees of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development (ACCD), chairing the Infrastructure Committee.

Robert A. Bruggeworth, the Board's lead independent director, commented, "Nish has done an excellent job in guiding the company over the past two years, and particularly so through this challenging COVID-19 environment. We wish to thank Bill for his outstanding leadership as Chairman, and in Nish, we have an experienced and dynamic leader in whom our entire Board has full confidence."

About MSA

Established in 1914, MSA Safety Incorporated is the global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures. Many MSA products integrate a combination of electronics, mechanical systems and advanced materials to protect users against hazardous or life-threatening situations. The company's comprehensive product line is used by workers around the world in a broad range of markets, including the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, the fire service, the construction industry, mining and the military. MSA's core products include self-contained breathing apparatus, fixed gas and flame detection systems, portable gas detection instruments, industrial head protection products, firefighter helmets and protective apparel, and fall protection devices. With 2019 revenues of $1.4 billion, MSA employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered north of Pittsburgh in Cranberry Township, Pa., and has manufacturing operations in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. With more than 40 international locations, MSA realizes approximately half of its revenue from outside North America. For more information visit MSA's web site at www.MSAsafety.com.

SOURCE MSA Safety

Related Links

https://www.msasafety.com


One of the lies of Satan is to get you to believe that if God isnt doing something fast enough in your life, its your fault. If the train rolls off the tracks, its your fault. Have you ever asked the question why me or what did I do to deserve this? Many times, the answer is nothing. However, I am not talking about people who choose to willfully live in sin, thats a whole different conversation.

I want to give you hard truth. We live in a sinful, fallen world. There will be things that will happen simply because of this fact. This reality will sometimes leave questions that may never get answered on this side of eternity. If and when these things happen, dont blame yourself. If you are walking with God and obeying his word, even then life will happen. We have to understand that as believers our hope is not just for this life. All of Gods goodness will not be experienced in this life. He has even more planned for you. Stop blaming yourself when something unexpected happens. Remember that its not your fault and recognize the best is yet to come.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

4. You Have to Believe and Trust

Lets face it, the Christian walk is a walk of faith and trust. There is no way around it. 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us of this truth:

For we live by faith, not by sight.

The hard part about faith is that many times the circumstances dont always align. Where you are going doesnt always match where you are. If you remember Josephs story, he was headed to the palace yet he had to go through prison before he got there. This is where faith and trust come into play. Faith says I dont know what you are doing but I know you are working it out for my good. Because I believe that, then I can trust you.

Just like we often group grace and mercy together, faith and trust are necessary if you are going to understand what God is doing in your life.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Aaron Amat
Government has congratulated nurses on the occasion of International Nurses day today May 12.

This year's celebration is on the theme Nursing the World to Health.

Addressing Tuesday's Press Briefing in Accra, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the sacrifices and efforts made by nurses in nation-building cannot be underemphasized.

The commemoration of the day comes at a time when the role of the nurse needs no further highlighting. As you are aware, we are in the mix of a pandemic and the nurse is an instrumental figure in this fight. From contact tracing, triaging hospitals to care for the sick and follow up on those who have even recovered, the Ghanaian nurse has been a strong soldier in this battle, he said

He added that: government was dedicating Tuesday's Press Briefing to the celebration of the thousands of nurses nationwide who continue to serve as part of the frontline health workers in our battle against COVID-19.

Mr. Nkrumah also assured nurses of the continuous support from government in the provision of basic health equipment to make sure nurses are fully equipped in the delivery of health services to Ghanaians.

Your effort, your sacrifice and your dedication is immeasurable. The President, the government and the people of Ghana very much appreciate your hard work and will continue to provide the support that we can to make your burden lighter. It is our expectation that as you continue with your hard work, you will support the other frontline health workers to nurse the Ghanaian population and few who have tested positive he added. Celebration worldwide

The 2020 celebration of the International Day of the Nurse marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

The WHO said nurses have always been at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics by providing high quality and respectful treatment and care.

Globally, nurses account for more than half of all the world's health workers, however, the WHO says there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide with 5.9 million more nurses needed especially in low- and middle-income countries.

To celebrate nurses this year, the WHO is calling for

the occupational safety and health of nurses and all health workers, including notably, unhindered access to personal protective equipment so they can safely provide care and reduce infections in health care settings.

nurses and all health care workers have access to mental health support, timely pay, sick leave and insurance; as well as access to the most up-to-date knowledge and guidance required to respond to all health needs, including outbreaks.

nurses are given the financial support and other resources required to help respond to and control COVID-19 and future outbreaks.

---citinewsroom
Virgin flight attendant Sarah-Rose Sharp still parks at the airport for work but nowadays she doesnt venture past the departure gate.

Ms Sharp was one of tens of thousands of flight attendants and aviation staff stood down during the jobs bloodbath that occurred in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Former Virgin flight attendants Sarah-Rose Sharp and Warren Lock with former Qantas flight attendant Meagan Wise outside Perth Airport. Credit:Hamish Hastie

She was heartbroken when she got her notice, but within days was caught up in BHPs 1500-job pandemic recruitment drive and found herself back at Perth airport screening FIFO workers heading to the Pilbara.

We went from high heels to high-vis in a day, Ms Sharp said.
An Phat Holdings was the first Vietnamese enterprise to produce 100 per cent compostable products

Many businesses are eager to catch up with the emerging green consumption trend. However, not every business has strong financial capabilities and technology to produce compostable products in line with the international standards.

Indeed, there are many businesses producing compostable plastic products in Vietnam and in the world. However, given the lack of proper technology, many of these products still release microplastics into the environment.

Clearly, it is not easy to make 100 per cent compostable products that meet several strict international standards such as ASTM D6400 (US), EN 13432 (EU), EL 724 (KOR), ISO 17088, TUV OK Compost INDUSTRIAL (evaluation criteria for the "industrial composting" label) as well as TUV OK Compost HOME (evaluation criteria for the "home composting" label).

Among the thousands of Vietnamese plastic producers, An Phat Holdings (APH) has become the first enterprise to successfully produce 100 per cent compostable products. APH has made its AnEco compostable product series from corn-starch-based PLA (polylactic acid) biological materials along with other compostable materials.

AnEco compostable products are safe and eco-friendly with outstanding advantages such as short decomposition time from six to 12 months, without releasing any microplastics. The products also meet some compostability standards such as the TUV OK Compost INDUSTRIAL and TUV OK Compost HOME.

It is quite costly to develop eco-friendly products, so last year APH invested in a firm in South Korea to reduce expenses. The South Korean firm is among the few enterprises in the world holding the copyright for compostable materials. APH has gained a competitive edge in producing compostable products.

At present, APH is planning to build a factory manufacturing compostable materials at Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Zone in Haiphong. The factory is designed with a capacity of over 20,000 tonnes per year. Slated to be completed by the end of 2021, the factory will help APH to reduce the production costs.

An Phat Holdings is ramping up the development of a new factory to reduce the expenses of compostable materials

The AnEco compostable product series, such as bags and gloves, are certified with the TUV OK Compost INDUSTRIAL and TUV OK Compost HOME standards. The product line has been awarded some other certificates such as BPI Compostable of the US, DIN Certo Compostable, and Biobased 50  85 per cent of Germany. Therefore, APH has holded a significant competitive edge in exporting its compostable products to several large foreign markets such as France, Romania, Italy, Australia, and the US.

APH has enormous potential and considerable opportunities in the packaging industry given that not many enterprises globally can manufacture these compostable products. According to the latest recent report, only four in the 10 leading companies can develop such products in France, Germany, Italy, and China. APH is the only enterprises in Vietnam as well as one of the five representatives in Asia which are members to the European Bioplastics Association.

Besides connecting with Korean partners, APH is drawing up a strategic plan to export its products to the US and North America. In the coming time, the group will expand its business portfolio into different sectors like agriculture, fisheries alongside consumer goods.

To reduce product price, APH is building a new factory to manufacture compostable products with a closed-loop production process.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) holds a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 5, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Schumer: Bidens Defense of Sexual Assault Claim Sufficient

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Bidens defense against a sexual assault allegation was sufficient.

Before the MeToo movement, women were not listened to who were telling what had happened to them. Since MeToo, women are listened to, Schumer told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

Now, Ive heard Joe Bidens explanation. I think its sufficient. I think he will be a great candidate, I think he will be a great president, and I think he will help us take back the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) showed early support for Biden, saying last month she was satisfied with the response the Biden campaign put out after former staffer Tara Reade elevated a previous complaint to a sexual assault claim.

Biden responded to the claim during a television appearance on May 1, insisting it wasnt true.

After the appearance, Pelosi said, I believe him when he says it didnt happen.

She said she wouldnt answer any further questions about the matter.

Tara Reade in a recent interview. (Courtesy of Rich Mchuch/Megyn Kelly via Reuters)

Biden has received near-uniform support from Democrats in Congress after being accused of sexual assault.

Reade says Biden assaulted her at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in 1993. Multiple people recounted being told by her within the next few years about the alleged incident, including her husband and a neighbor.

Schumers remarks came after Reades attorney demanded the former vice president open up his Senate archives, which were gifted to the University of Delaware in 2012.

The university last year pushed back the scheduled release date and has said workers are busy curating the documents and electronic records, with no definite date of release at this time.

Given that you have repeatedly made a blanket denial of any knowledge of any complaint made by Ms. Reade against you, I am sure you would agree that we all deserve to know whether there are, in fact, any records that corroborate Ms. Reades allegations in your archives, particularly in light of the secretarys present obstinacy, Douglas Wigdor, the attorney, said in a letter to Biden.

Biden earlier in May declined to call for a search in the records of Reades name, claiming the collection doesnt include personnel records.

Senate lawyers, meanwhile, quashed the release of any records housed in the Senate involving Reades time working for Biden.
The dairy industry has called a snap meeting with the federal government as fears grow of a third trade strike from Beijing in retaliation for Australia's pursuit of a global inquiry into the coronavirus.

China on Tuesday launched its second trade investigation in as many days, hitting four of Australia's largest abattoirs for technical infringements and putting $200 million a month in trade and thousands of jobs under threat.

The move followed an anti-dumping investigation on Monday which could see $600 million worth of Australian barley hit with tariffs of up to 80 per cent.

China has suspended imports from four Australian beef processors. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has asked for a phone call from his Chinese counterpart, Zhong Shan, to resolve the situation as relations between the two countries sour. Australia will push for a global independent probe into the origins of COVID-19 at the World Health Assembly this week.
About 36,000 Afghan refugee families in Pakistan will receive an emergency cash assistance of Rs 12,000 each to meet their urgent needs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past weeks, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in collaboration with partners have carried out vulnerability assessments to identify the most needy refugee families, according to an official statement.

The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), the UNHCR and the Pakistan Post on Tuesday announced the joint initiative, which aims at benefiting the most vulnerable refugee families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, it said.

UNHCR Deputy Representative in Pakistan Iain Hall and Director General of Pakistan Post Akhlaque Rana signed an agreement in Islamabad for the disbursement of the emergency cash grants.

Hall said the UNHCR will initially target 36,000 refugee families, and if additional donor funds are secured, the humanitarian support will be expanded to many more needy families.

"UNHCR is very concerned by the growing destitution of refugee families who solely depend on daily wages. We hope that this emergency assistance will help the most vulnerable get through this health pandemic," he said.

Those eligible for the emergency assistance include refugees with disabilities or serious medical conditions, as well as single parents.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some Lehigh Valley high school students are taking graduation into their own hands.

With the coronavirus pandemic still an insurmountable obstacle in the way of holding nearly all in-person events, the status of high school graduations has been up in the air for roughly two months. Students across the region are finding ways to deal with their new reality, but missing out on a graduation ceremony after four years of hard work is a tough pill to swallow.

Governor Tom Wolfs state shutdown included in-person schooling, but the potential for a real graduation ceremony was left to individual school districts to decide.

So some are trying to be part of any change. Literally, through Change.org.

Dubbed the worlds platform for change," the popular website allows for the creation of a petition to be signed virtually in hopes of inciting some sort of change. In the Lehigh Valley and across the country, its become a way for students to ask their school districts not to cancel an in-person graduation ceremony.

The website shared a spreadsheet of schools that have created a petition to prevent the cancellation of graduation, sorted by state, and Pennsylvania is behind only California in number of petitions created, having just under 30 participating schools. Clearly, seniors in the Keystone state want to celebrate.

A few of those petitions are in support of Lehigh Valley schools. All three are asking their respective school board to postpone graduation for when its safe to do so, rather than cancel outright or find some sort of alternative.

Whitehall High Schools petition is currently closed, having reached 1,236 total supporters. Unfortunately, its not clear from the webpage whether or not the petition was successful. The Whitehall-Coplay school district has been asked for comment.

The other two Lehigh Valley petitions are currently still racking up signatures. At the time of this writing, Northampton Area High Schools petition only needs 10 more names to reach its goal of 1,500. Saucon Valley students are 301 signatures of the way towards their 500-signature goal, imploring the school board to wait on graduation until its safe to do in person.

Who knows how effective the petitions will be, but theyre at least planting the seed in the school districts collective mind  maybe graduation can wait until its safe.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
PENSACOLA, Fla., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pianokids announces its at-home piano lesson program for 3-5 year-olds is now available for pre-order. Founder and creator Angela Grace says, "We're pre-selling Pianokids membership plans at a significant discount to our early supporters."

Pianokids is the first online piano school of its kind. We offer a piano program exclusively for preschoolers. Research shows that preschoolers, when exposed to music at an early age, have increased cognitive and language skills. Plus, by teaching preschoolers piano at an early age, they can focus on learning before the activities of school take over. We believe that every child should have access to piano lessons without a prohibitive cost, which is why Pianokids preschool piano program is priced significantly less than traditional piano programs.

By purchasing our Pianokids preschool program, you'll receive our entire curriculum, including our Lesson Books, which are the heart of the program. Here you will find all of the information you need to get started, as well as tips to make the learning fun and engaging. You'll also learn about the concepts so you can be the teacher. You'll also receive a lot of interactive learning devices and fun activities to keep your child engaged and learning. From drawing and coloring to entertaining stories and flashcards, your child will learn at an incredible rate. Soon, your child will be playing all of the songs they know and love. In addition, your child will receive a squeeze ball in order to help them develop the strength they will need as they continue playing.

There are three levels of our Pianokids program for purchase. You can just purchase the program, which includes the curriculum only. Or you can purchase the program plus our monthly piano studio subscription. This second option is a more traditional approach to piano teaching, that includes a virtual teacher for each lesson in the curriculum, an interactive Pianokids Lesson Book and music your child will enjoy, an interactive piano log where your child can earn prizes sent directly to their door (who doesn't like mail?), and more interactive games for practice and fun. The third option is to make a donation. By donating, Pianokids is able to give our preschool program to children who otherwise could not afford it. This is a great option for those who no longer have preschoolers at home but still want to help.

Music has the power to transform lives. It forges connections in young people's brains that will serve them well throughout their learning years, but more importantly, it brings kids and adults together and helps to form connections with others. You'll be amazed at how your child will grow and learn in just a few short months. Consider helping children experience the beauty, power, and magic of music by pre-ordering our at-home piano program for preschoolers today.

About Pianokids

Pianokids is the brainchild of founder, Angela Grace. She has been playing the piano since the age of eight, growing and learning in practice, performance, and methodology. She has been teaching students of all ages to play the piano for over thirty-five years. It was during this time that she discovered her love for teaching children at a very young age. Gradually, with a very successful piano school in Florida with multiple locations, she began to focus on offering her proven program online to preschoolers. By pre-ordering our preschool piano program today, you'll be helping us with the cost of the last stages of development. To purchase and learn more, visit https://www.pianokids.com/ .

Contact:

Angela Grace

6847 North 9th Avenue

Suite A, #329

Pensacola, FL 32504

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 844.55.PIANO (844.557.4266)

SOURCE Pianokids

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New Delhi, May 12 : The Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha coalition government in Jharkhand has set aside its differences after intervention from the AICC to fight Covid-19 pandemic. The AICC asked its state unit to cooperate with the government.

The Congress is handling crucial health ministry in the state.

Speaking to IANS, Jharkhand in-charge of the Congress and former Union Minister R.P.N. Singh said, "After I came to know about some problems, I asked the state leaders to keep their differences aside and requested our ministers, office bearers in the party that the first priority at the moment is to fight Covid-19 in the state." "The Government in the state has come up with standard operating procedure where they have daily meetings and inter ministerial group has been formed to oversee issues on regular basis. If I get any complaint, I ask the ministers and state president to look into it," Singh added.

Earlier, the Congress had objected to the large scale transfers of officials which led to friction with the alliance partner, the JMM.

The party in-charge said Jharkhand is basically a state where a vast majority of people are tribals and the state has ensured that no body coming to or going from the state will have to pay anything. The state was the first to bring back migrants and students from other states.

The state is also trying to bring other stranded migrants who want to come back to the state and nodal officers have been instructed for the same.

The Congress leader said nobody expected this type of pandemic though the state has very less number of cases.

He lashed out at the centre for not providing guidelines on migrants. "Now when the centre has started trains they want online system. How is it possible for a labourer to have access to online system of ticketing." "The Congress-JMM government will finish its tenure of five years and I do not forsee any Madhya Pradesh type of coup in the state," Singh claimed.

While the Congress leader claimed that the state is doing fine, the leader of opposition Babulal Marandi told IANS recently that the Jharkhand government has failed on all fronts - be it the issue of migrant labourers or providing relief to the needy.
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM, have announced that they will collaborate, jointly host, and organise the fourth annual FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, FinTech Abu Dhabi, which will be held from November 24 to 26, 2020.

Bringing together international and local thought leaders and policy-makers, financial and technology institutions, FinTech startups, unicorns, investors, academia and innovators, the event promises a deep-dive into trending topics and business issues that will shape the digital economy of the future.

The event will be held in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, a WAM report said.

As CBUAE continues to play a critical role in shaping the future of financial services and innovations in the UAE, the FinTech Abu Dhabi partnership between CBUAE and ADGM reinforces the ongoing national focus and efforts in the financial sector and further accelerates the introduction of financial innovations and related technologies to better serve the UAE and the wider Mena region.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Abdulhamid Saeed, CBUAE Governor, said: "We are pleased to collaborate with ADGM to co-host FinTech Abu Dhabi 2020. ADGMs goals are in line with the UAE Central Bank efforts solidifying our position as the regulatory body responsible for promoting healthy development of the financial services sector and market behaviour."

He added: "Through the establishment of the CBUAE FinTech Office, we aim to create an enabling and tech-friendly environment to facilitate financial technology innovations in the UAE, while continuing to enhance the concept of financial innovation. We look forward to working with ADGM and other strategic partners to achieve our common goals of advancing technological innovation and raising the level of customer experience and financial inclusion in the UAE."

To help build a mature FinTech ecosystem in the UAE, CBUAE has developed a FinTech Strategy and Roadmap which comprises five key pillars.

The pillars include: research and the application of potential FinTech solutions to address the needs of the financial services sector; development of an effective regulatory interface between market participants and regulatory functions of the CBUAE; and the establishment of a liaison platform to facilitate exchange of FinTech ideas and joint projects among key authorities and stakeholders.

Also, formulation of a FinTech Talent Development Programme; and building a cross-border partnership model with key overseas regulatory authorities and stakeholders.

Commenting on the partnership, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of ADGM, said: "We are honoured to co-host and organise the much- anticipated FinTech Abu Dhabi this year, alongside our partner, the UAE Central Bank. CBUAE plays an instrumental and significant role in the development of the financial services industry and the successful growth of the UAE economy. Together, we can better support FinTech innovation and strengthen the robustness of the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE and the wider Mena region."

Since its inception in 2017, FinTech Abu Dhabi has introduced transformational initiatives that support the growth of start-ups, innovations and financial services in Abu Dhabi and the wider region. -- Tradearabia News Service
In a significant relaxation of rules on the deployment of labour, the Haryana government has decided to allow select companies to operate factories in multiple shifts and utilise 100 per cent of their workforce. Auto component major Sona Comstar, which earlier could deploy only half of its workers, has been allowed to bring in its entire workforce at its four plants  three in Gurugram and one in Manesar.

It is also planning to initially increase the number of shifts from one to two. ALSO READ: Record fall in March as IIP crashes to 16.7%, FY20 growth squeezed to 0.7% The ...
Peter Obi, former Anambra state governor, says he supports President Muhammadu Buharis decision on Madagascars COVID-19 herbal drug, Covid...





Peter Obi, former Anambra state governor, says he supports President Muhammadu Buharis decision on Madagascars COVID-19 herbal drug, Covid-Organics.Obi expressed his support for the presidents decision in a tweet on Tuesday.The tweet read: I firmly support the authorisation of @MBuhari for importation and subjection of the Madagascar #COVID19 Syrup to standard validation process for pharmaceuticals, and possibly for use in the cure of this virus.Similar authorisation and encouragement should be given to local inventions. This will save us scarce forex and will give confidence to domestic researchers and inventors.

I firmly support the authorisation of @MBuhari for importation and subjection of the Madagascar #COVID19 Syrup to standard validation process for pharmaceuticals, and possibly for use in the cure of this virus.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 12, 2020

Some African countries such as Tanzania, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal have demanded Madagascars herbal drug.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, said at the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 media briefing on Monday, that the president directed the task force to pick up the herbal drug.Mustapha said Madagascar donated some of the products to Nigeria, and that arrangements were being made to pick them up.He also said Buhari ordered that the products be subjected to analysis after they have been picked up.The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Covid-Organics is an unproven drug for COVID-19 and warned against adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy.
The Egyptian health ministers assistant for medical insurance affairs and the head of the ministers technical office Dr. Niven El-Nahas has tested positive for the coronavirus and has been taken to Abu Khalifa quarantine hospital in Ismailia, the hospital said on Monday.

El-Nahas was already in self-isolation at home after showing COVID-19 symptoms when she tested positive.

Abu Khalifa hospital stated that her condition is stable and she is currently receiving treatment in the VIP section of the hospital.

Egypt has recorded 9,746 cases of coronavirus so far, including 2,172 fully recovered patients and 533 fatalities.

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Two pilgrims who had returned from Majnu-Ka-Tilla in Delhi were among the 16 fresh cases detected in Ludhiana on Monday. The rest are railway protection force (RPF) personnel who had been sent to the district for crowd management at railway station as migrants return to their home states on special trains.

The districts tally has now gone up to 135. As the RPF personnel do not belong to Ludhiana, they wont be counted in our tally, civil surgeon Rajesh Bagga said.

He added that reports of 109 samples were received on Monday evening, out of which 16 were found positive.

As per railway officials, a special team of 40 RPF personnel had come to the city this month. Out of these, two RPF were showing symptoms of Covid-19 and subsequently tested positive. Following this, the 38 other personnel were sent into quarantine and their samples taken for testing. The samples of 14 men came back positive. The 14 personnel were also deputed at the Ludhiana railway station for managing the rush of migrant labourers, who was returning to their home states through special trains.

DMO, HER DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAW RECOVER

District mandi officer (DMO) Jasbir Kaur, her daughter Navdeep Kaur, who is a block development and panchayat officer, and Navdeeps husband Prabhjot Singh, a food supply official, have been cured of the virus. The DMO had tested positive on April 16, following which her daughter and son-in-law had also tested positive.
Twitter said Monday it will begin labeling coronavirus-related tweets that contain potentially misleading information but that don't clearly violate company misinformation policies.

Why it matters: The move comes as it and other platforms such as Facebook and YouTube struggle with a flood of misinformation, as highlighted in Monday's Axios Login.

Twitter said that it may issue warning labels on tweets that post misleading information or disputed claims, though it will still remove posts with false information and a severe likelihood of causing harm.

"These warnings will inform people that the information in the Tweet conflicts with public health experts guidance before they view it," Twitter said in a blog post.

Of note: Asked if the policy would apply to President Trump if he posts "harmful misleading information," Twitter said: "These labels will apply to anyone sharing misleading information that meets the requirements of our policy, including world leaders."

When it comes to removing posts entirely, Twitter has a policy of allowing some tweets that would otherwise violate the rules to remain up, with a note.

Between the lines: The move is similar to one Twitter has put in place for synthetic and manipulated media, as well as to a rarely used option Twitter has to label posts from elected officials and world leaders that would otherwise be taken down for violating the site's rules.

Meanwhile: Michigan's governor called on Facebook to take stronger action against threats being made against her, some in private groups, ahead of planned armed rally in Lansing.
Breonna Taylor was working as an EMT in Louisville, Kentucky, when the novel-coronavirus pandemic hit the country, helping to save lives while trying to protect her own.

On March 13, the 26-year-old aspiring nurse was killed in her apartment, shot at least eight times by Louisville police officers who officials have said were executing a drug warrant, according to a lawsuit filed by the family, accusing officers of wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence.

"Not one person has talked to me. Not one person has explained anything to me," Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, said in an interview. "I want justice for her. I want them to say her name. There's no reason Breonna should be dead at all."

According to the lawsuit, filed April 27, Louisville police executed a search warrant at Taylor's home, looking for a man who did not live in Taylor's apartment complex and had already been detained when officers came to Taylor's apartment after midnight. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was also in the apartment and, according to the lawsuit, shot at officers when they attempted to enter without announcing themselves. The lawsuit alleges that police fired more than 20 rounds of ammunition into the apartment.

Taylor's death is the kind that could have drawn national headlines in the Black Lives Matter era, like the deaths of Sandra Bland and Atatiana Jefferson, but has gotten little attention amid news of the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic headlines were partly to blame in drowning out news of Taylor's death, but so, too, is gender bias, said attorney Ben Crump, who has risen to prominence in recent years as the lawyer for several high-profile cases involving black men killed by police and neighborhood vigilantes.

None of the officers involved have been charged in connection with the shooting. Walker, a licensed gun owner who was not injured in the incident, was arrested and faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer.

Louisville Metro Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Halladay declined to comment on the case and said in a statement, "There is an ongoing public integrity investigation into this case and therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time."

Crump, hired Monday to represent Taylor's family, also represents the family of Ahmaud Arbery - whose killing in southern Georgia while jogging was recorded by another man, video that sparked a movement among black runners and gained public attention that resulted in the arrest of the two white men accused of shooting him nearly 80 days ago.

"They're killing our sisters just like they're killing our brothers, but for whatever reason, we have not given our sisters the same attention that we have given to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, Terence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald," Crump said. "Breonna's name should be known by everybody in America who said those other names, because she was in her own home, doing absolutely nothing wrong."

A phone call in the middle of the night was the first sign something was wrong for Palmer, Taylor's mother, she said in an interview with The 19th.

When Palmer answered, her daughter's boyfriend was on the other end, saying someone was trying to break into the couple's apartment. Still shaking off the fog of sleep, Palmer jumped out of the bed at Kenneth Walker's next words: "I think they shot Breonna."

Palmer got dressed and left home for what would be an hours-long ordeal. She drove to her daughter's apartment, to the hospital and then back to the apartment as the sun rose. She said officers gave her little information and asked whether she had any enemies or whether she and her boyfriend were having problems.

Finally, Palmer figured out that her daughter was dead.

Palmer gets emotional when she considers that she was more concerned with her daughter's safety as a health-care worker than she was about her being safe in her own home.

"She was an essential worker. She had to go to work," Palmer said. "She didn't have a problem with that. . . . To not be able to sleep in her own bed without someone busting down her door and taking her life . . . I was just like, 'Make sure you wash your hands!' "

The Black Lives Matter movement caught on in 2014, sparked by social media campaigns and public outrage, drawing attention to the killing of unarmed black Americans by police officers and sometimes leading to the arrest, prosecutions and, in rare cases, convictions of the shooters. While many of the headlines and hashtags are often for men - the primary victims of such shootings - black women are also affected.

Taylor's sister Ju'Niyah Palmer has been on social media daily, posting pictures of the two of them with hashtags such as #JusticeForBre to remind people that she was a victim and not a suspect in a crime. Breonna Taylor did not have a criminal record.

"I'm just getting awareness for my sister, for people to know who she is, what her name is," said Ju'Niyah Palmer, 20, who lived with Taylor but was not at home at the time of the incident. "It is literally just as equal. There's no difference."

Photos and videos of runners with hashtags such as #RunWithMaud and #AhmaudArbery were trending in recent days, including Friday, which would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. Crump is now calling for the same attention for Taylor.

"If you ran for Ahmaud, you need to stand for Bre," he said.

- - -

This story is part of a collaboration between The Washington Post and The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics and policy.
ATLANTA - One of Georgias largest school districts wont be hiring the former leader of school systems in New York City and Miami after board members were faced with complaints about his past record.

DeKalb County school board members on Monday voted 4-3 to reject a contract for Rudy Crew to lead the suburban Atlanta district. The board of the 99,000-student district had voted in April to make Crew its sole finalist for the job. School boards have to wait 14 days between naming finalists and voting to hire them in Georgia, but hiring is usually assured when a board named only one finalist.

That wasnt the case this time, though, with three board members who supported Crew becoming a finalist ultimately voting against him. One of these three, Joyce Mosley, said she never had wanted to hire an outsider and still supports short-term Superintendent Ramona Tyson continuing in the position. Tyson is retiring at the end of June.

Crew experienced success in improving student performance in New York and Florida, but was dogged by complaints about his leadership style and misspending. Some had endorsed his arrival in DeKalb, including the Georgia Federation of Teachers, the smallest of Georgias three main teacher groups. Others had fought against his hiring, including some of the districts most persistent critics.

The 69-year-old Crew led New York City schools from 1995 to 2000. He earlier led school systems in Sacramento, California, and Tacoma, Washington.

Those who supported Crew said none of the issues raised by critics in the past two weeks were surprises, and indeed that DeKalb board members had discussed most of them with Crew and had been satisfied before naming him a finalist.

Dr. Crew received rave reviews. We understood that as high-profile and longtime leader, he had a controversial past, said board member Allyson Gevertz. But the past was fully vetted through background searches, confidential interviews and pointed questions.

Board Chair Marshall Orson said he had supported Crew because he had gotten results which speak for themselves.

There was very little discussion that he was not good at the critical part of the job, which was getting children educated and ensuring that they had opportunity, Orson said.

A statement from the board after the vote said members will now look for an interim leader to begin serving July 1.

Crew was known as the other Rudy when he led the nations largest public school system under then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The two clashed over school vouchers, which New Yorks mayor advocated but Crew opposed.

Crew was credited with reforms that helped failing schools improve, but his tenure was marred by a 1997 report that accused school administrators of delaying the report of a rape of a 14-year-old girl at a city high school. Crew accused the independent investigator of producing exaggerated reports into alleged corruption and misconduct.

He led Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida from 2004 to 2008, a time during which he helped more schools achieve A ratings under Floridas system and built 29 new schools. But Crew had a rough relationship with school board members and fought with a teachers union over frozen wages. The gigantic districts financial reserves were near zero when he was forced out.

Crew served a year as Oregons chief education officer but was unable to persuade lawmakers to pay for his plans to overhaul instruction and teacher training and was criticized for huge travel bills. He has been president of Medgar Evers College in New York since 2013.

Tyson has been leading DeKalb County since Superintendent Steve Green announced he would not seek a contract extension. The board later decided Green should leave immediately before the end of this year.

___

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
Today, on International Nurses Day, Fresenius Medical Care, the worlds leading provider of dialysis products and services, is celebrating the extraordinary contribution that its nurses make to the organization and wider community  every day, and particularly in the face of our current global health challenge.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005990/en/

Fresenius Kidney Care nurses volunteered to care for dialysis patients who contracted COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak first took place. (Photo: Business Wire)

Throughout the world, International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May, the birthday of Florence Nightingale: founder of modern nursing and infection control. This year, the day is particularly noteworthy, as it marks the 200-year anniversary of Nightingales birth with 2020 declared as the World Health Organizations (WHO) International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. It is also very fitting that 2020 will be remembered as the year that the COVID-19 pandemic shook healthcare systems to their core and where, more than ever before, nurses rose to the challenge of caring for patients on the frontline.

Stories of Strength by Fresenius Kidney Care nurses

At Fresenius Kidney Care, the dialysis care services division of Fresenius Medical Care, nurses have demonstrated the critical role of nurses during the pandemic. Some of them volunteered to care for dialysis patients who contracted COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak first took place. Qun Xiao, who was one of the first nurses to treat infected dialysis patients, recalls that she initially felt anxious about her role, but those feelings disappeared when she saw her patients, many of whom had been not received their life-sustaining dialysis treatment for days. Their faces simply lit up when they saw us. We were their hope, she recalls.

Liangju Jiao, who has been a dialysis nurse for 20 years, says that her role was like nothing she had ever done before, with exhausting shifts spent in full personal protective equipment (PPE). At first, I was worried about getting infected. But when I saw patients getting help and being cared for, I felt that it was all worth it. Some even called us life-saving angels, Liangju reflected.

Supporting Fresenius Kidney Care nurses during the global pandemic

Practical support on the ground has been vital for nurses during the global pandemic. Fresenius Medical Care employees have been quick to provide infection prevention and control guidance, and have often gone to remarkable lengths to secure PPE for nurses. The companys human resources departments across Asia Pacific are working together to provide access to counselling services for ongoing support. Office-based employees have delivered Share that you care video messages to nurses, as a personal way of acknowledging and thanking nurses for all that they do.

Hearts for Hearts campaign

Throughout the year, and specifically on International Nurses Day, Fresenius Kidney Care hosts special events to recognize and engage with nurses. This year, the organization has created a nurse engagement campaign Hearts for Hearts. The campaigns name stems from nurses being the heart of Fresenius Kidney Care and having big hearts for their patients  who show their love and respect for nurses in return. Additionally, everyone in the organization has a heart for our nurses.

At the core of the Hearts for Hearts campaign is a dedicated online hub for the companys nurses, providing a place to celebrate the joys and acknowledge the challenges of being a dialysis nurse in the 21st Century. The site includes information, resources and practical tools to help nurses navigate the challenges of their profession  from stories that showcase nurse heroes like Qun Xia and Liangju Jiao, to hand care tips through to simple yoga and meditation practices and extending support to the nurses families.

All of our nurses are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work in these extraordinary times, said Harry de Wit, President and CEO of Fresenius Medical Care, Asia Pacific. International Nurses Day is always an important day for us. This year, it has become a momentous occasion where we are able to both celebrate and support our nurses and their families for the ways in which they have gone above and beyond to care for our patients in such challenging times  a time where they are truly nursing the world back to health  as the official theme of this years International Nurses Day states.

More Stories of Strength of Fresenius Kidney Care healthcare heroes can be found on our LinkedIn:

Qun Xiaos story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6658922704344887297

Liangju Jiaos story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6656737662566785024

Mingxia Xus story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6653909576041234432

Dr. Angel Zhang and Rose Xus story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6661093178508226560

For further information, please contact: Dr Alexandra Villar: [email protected]

ABOUT FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE

Fresenius Medical Care is the world's leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases of which around 3.5 million patients worldwide regularly undergo dialysis treatment. Through its network of 4,002 dialysis clinics, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatments for 348,703 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the leading provider of dialysis products such as dialysis machines or dialyzers. Along with the core business, the company focuses on expanding the range of related medical services in the field of Care Coordination. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME) and on the New York Stock Exchange (FMS).

For more information visit the companys website at www.freseniusmedicalcare.asia

DISCLAIMER

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, legal changes, regulatory approvals, results of clinical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005990/en/
WHO chief said lifting restrictions were complex and difficult and the slow, steady lifting of lockdowns is key to protecting lives and livelihoods.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that extreme vigilance was needed as countries begin to exit from lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, amid global concerns about a second wave of infections.

Germany earlier reported an acceleration in new coronavirus infections after it took early steps to ease its lockdown. South Korea, another country that had succeeded in limiting virus infections, has seen a new outbreak in nightclubs.

Now we are seeing some hope as many countries exit these so-called lockdowns, Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHOs emergencies programme, told an online news briefing. But he added that extreme vigilance is required.

If the disease persists at a low level without the capacity to investigate clusters, theres always the risk that the virus takes off again, he said.

Governments around the world are struggling with the question of how to reopen their economies while still containing COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Ryan said he was hopeful that Germany and South Korea would be able to suppress new clusters and praised their surveillance, which he said was key to avoiding large second waves.

Its really important that we hold up examples of countries who are willing to open their eyes and willing to keep their eyes open, he said. In contrast, he said other countries, without naming them, were trying to drive through this blindly.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the same briefing that lifting restrictions were complex and difficult and that the slow, steady lifting of lockdowns was key to protecting lives and livelihoods.

Tedros said that Germany, South Korea and China, which has reported a new cluster in its original epicentre, Wuhan, all had systems in place to respond to any resurgence in cases.

Until there is a vaccine, the comprehensive package of measures is our most effective set of tools to tackle the virus, Tedros said.

In the briefing, WHO officials stressed that early studies point to lower-than-expected antibody levels against the disease within the general population, meaning that most people remain susceptible.

There seems to be a consistent pattern so far that a low proportion of people so far have these antibodies, said Maria van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist.

Given that, Ryan warned countries that have lax measures in place against counting on herd immunity to halt the spread of COVID-19.

This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation, he said.
Dublin, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Online Food Delivery Services Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Growth and Change" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.





This report provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global online food delivery services market.



The global online food delivery services market is expected to grow from $107.44 billion in 2019 and to $111.32 billion in 2020 at a growth rate of 3.61%. The slow growth in 2020 is mainly due to the economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is then expected to grow and reach $154.34 billion in 2023 at CAGR of 11.51%.



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Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 12+ geographies.

Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates.

Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis.

Identify growth segments for investment.

Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market.

Understand customers based on the latest market research findings.

Benchmark performance against key competitors.

Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing.

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Report will be updated with the latest data and delivered to you within 3 working days of order.

Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the online food delivery services? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The Online Food Delivery Services market global report answers all these questions and many more.



The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider online food delivery services market, and compares it with other markets.

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The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.

The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID- 19 virus and forecasting its recovery.

Market segmentations break down market into sub markets.

The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers the impact and recovery trajectory of COVID- 19 for all regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets.

Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.

The trends and strategies section highlights the likely future developments in the market and suggests approaches companies can take to exploit this.

The online food delivery services market section of the report gives context. It compares the online food delivery services market with other segments of the online food delivery services market by size and growth, historic and forecast. It analyses GDP proportion, expenditure per capita, online food delivery services indicators comparison.

Major players in the online food delivery services market are takeaway.com, Doordash, Deliveroo, Uber eats, Zomato, Swiggy, Domino's pizza, Grubhub, foodpanda, and Just eat.



The online food delivery services market consists of sales of online food delivery services and related services primarily for household consumption. The online food delivery services market includes all companies involved in distributing the packages received from hospitality establishments and have an online portal or an application for their sales. The food can be either ready-to-eat food or food that has to be specially prepared for direct consumption. Online food delivery service has two segments, restaurant-to-consumer delivery includes delivery of order directly by the concerned restaurant, whereas, Platform-to-consumer segment involves online delivery services that deliver orders of partner restaurants.



The Asia Pacific was the largest region in the online food delivery services market in 2019. North America was the second largest region in the online food delivery services market in 2019.



In January 2020, Zomato, an Indian food delivery services company, has acquired Indian operations of Uber Eats for $350 million in an all-stock transaction. The combined entity of Zomato and Uber Eats India is expected to corner more than a 50-55% market share in terms of the number and value of orders. Uber Eats is an online food delivery services vertical of Uber, a US-based ride-hailing company.



An increase in smartphone users has given a boost to online food delivery services worldwide. Smartphone users are the primary online shoppers for the F&B industry and an increase in the number of smartphone users reflects a potential increase in online shopping for food and beverages. The world F&B e-commerce users reached 1.5 billion in 2019 and are expected to grow by 800 million, with an average of 25% y-o-y growth, by 2024. Indian food delivery platform, Zomato, has 80 million monthly active users and has set targets of reaching 20 million over the next few years. Hence increase in smartphone users and internet penetration is driving growth in online food delivery services.



Upgradation of the distribution network to a more decentralized system, Distribution 4.0, is trending in the food delivery services market. In Distribution 4.0, suppliers partner with multiple players for the best market coverage between urban and rural markets, focusing their efforts on marketing, branding, and in-store merchandising to create best-in-class shopper experience. They are likely to partner with aggregators, e-comm delivery companies, rural distribution companies, and distribution arms of modern trade to drive coverage. E-commerce aggregator Amazon, has announced plans to team with many small scale businesses, retail outlets, and rural supermarkets, to increase their last-mile connectivity. Therefore, the trend of Distribution 4.0 is envisioned to bring in some positive effects on the online food delivery services.



Cost of supply chain and logistics will be the key restraint for the online food delivery services market. This cost includes the cost incurred for order fulfillment, delivery cost, adjusting business resources to dynamic market demand and last-mile connectivity. Besides, there are costs of cardboard boxes for packaging, gas, mileage and the cost for hiring a driver. The supply chain and logistics has to be in place in order to avoid the spoilage of products with limited shelf life. According to the report by Capgemini, in 2019, the retailers could lose up to 26% of their profit if they fail to upgrade their logistics system to ensure on-time delivery despite the increased online grocery system. Therefore, the costs incurred by the supplier side may restrain the growth of the online food delivery services market.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Online Food Delivery Services Market Characteristics



3. Online Food Delivery Services Market Size And Growth

3.1. Global Online Food Delivery Services Historic Market, 2015 - 2019, $ Billion

3.1.1. Drivers Of The Market

3.1.2. Restraints On The Market

3.2. Global Online Food Delivery Services Forecast Market, 2019 - 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

3.2.1. Drivers Of The Market

3.2.2. Restraints On the Market



4. Online Food Delivery Services Market Segmentation

4.1. Global Online Food Delivery Services Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

4.2. Global Online Food Delivery Services Market, Segmentation By Channel Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

4.3. Global Online Food Delivery Services Market, Segmentation By Payment Method, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion



5. Online Food Delivery Services Market Regional And Country Analysis

5.1. Global Online Food Delivery Services Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

5.2. Global Online Food Delivery Services Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion



6. Asia-Pacific Online Food Delivery Services Market



7. China Online Food Delivery Services Market



8. India Online Food Delivery Services Market



9. Japan Online Food Delivery Services Market



10. Australia Online Food Delivery Services Market



11. Indonesia Online Food Delivery Services Market



12. South Korea Online Food Delivery Services Market



13. Western Europe Online Food Delivery Services Market



14. UK Online Food Delivery Services Market



15. Germany Online Food Delivery Services Market



16. France Online Food Delivery Services Market



17. Eastern Europe Online Food Delivery Services Market



18. Russia Online Food Delivery Services Market



19. North America Online Food Delivery Services Market



20. USA Online Food Delivery Services Market



21. South America Online Food Delivery Services Market



22. Brazil Online Food Delivery Services Market



23. Middle East Online Food Delivery Services Market



24. Africa Online Food Delivery Services Market



25. Online Food Delivery Services Market Competitive Landscape And Company Profiles

25.1. Online Food Delivery Services Market Competitive Landscape

25.2. Online Food Delivery Services Market Company Profiles



26. Key Mergers And Acquisitions In The Online Food Delivery Services Market



27. Online Food Delivery Services Market Trends And Strategies



28. Online Food Delivery Services Market Future Outlook and Potential Analysis



29. Appendix



Companies Mentioned



takeaway.com

Doordash

Deliveroo

Uber eats

Zomato

Swiggy

Domino's pizza

Grubhub

foodpanda

Just eat

Postmates

Meituan Waimai

Delivery.com

Pizza hut

Dunzo

Faasos

Eatfit

Seamless

Scootsy

roundmenu

PedidosYo

ifood

Rappi

Jumiafood

Orderin

Mr. D

Yandex

OLO

Snapfinger

DeliveryClub

Maishoku



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A head constable of the Delhi Police was killed after being allegedly hit by a speeding truck near Azadpur Mandi in northwest Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as H C Ajab Singh, was posted at the Badarpur Police Station. He had been working for the Delhi police for more than 15 years, police said.

The incident took place on May 9 when Singh was on his way for night duty when a speeding truck loaded with industrial equipment hit him, they said.

Singh (45) was rushed to a private hospital and later shifted to RML hospital where he died during treatment the next day, police said.

The truck driver has been arrested, police added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sometimes, you get what you pay for. Outfitting your computer with useful software doesnt have to cost a dime, as our roundup of the best free software for your PC proves. But paying up for programs often gets you perks you wont find with freeware, from smoother interfaces to more plentiful features, or even customer support if you need help. Some of the most useful software is available only in premium form. Freebies tend to get the headlines, but today, lets shine a light on some programs and services that are actually worth paying for, drawing on both our extensive testing archives and a few personal picks. Break out your wallet, you wont regret it. [ Further reading: The best free software for your PC ] Groupy Before we dive into better-known categories, I want to recommend a program thats completely changed the way I work and play: Stardocks Groupy, which costs $5, or comes as part of Stardocks $30 Object Desktop Suite. Groupy lets you group your various open windows and programs in a single window, essentially treating them like browser tabs. That makes it easy-peasy to manage the far-flung files associated with a given project. I like to have a singled Groupyd window open with my most-used work programsSlack, Chrome, Outlook, etcas well as windows dedicated to a given task, such as having a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, and PDFs related to a specific graphics card review. Groupy even lets you keep multiple instances of Windows 10s File Explorer open in a single window. Hallelujah! I cant recommend Groupy strongly enough. It keeps me from drowning in open windows. Better yet, it has a 30-day free trial available if you want to try before you buy. Stardock tends to make software worth buying in general, and its Object Desktopbilled as a powerful suite of desktop enhancements that transforms your Windows experiencegathers the heaviest hitters together under one roof. Check that out too while youre at it. Lastpass LastPass

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Sweden-based Mullvad is like the Swiss Bank account of VPNs, we said. Instead of attaching your account to an email address, the company auto-generates an account number for you, which is all thats required to log in. Mullvad now offers a much improved and user-friendly interface, its speeds are good, and the company takes privacy very seriously. Picking a best VPN isnt easy, though. Some are better at privacy, while others offer faster speeds or a slicker interface. Mullvads our top overall pick, but several other sterling choices exist. Check out our guide to the best VPNs if you want to dig deeper. A lot of homes rely solely on cable or streaming video services for their TV fix, but if youre the more hands-on type, dont sleep on Plex DVR or Cyberlinks PowerDVD 20 Ultra. These programs give video enthusiasts some extraordinary tools, each with a different focus. Plex Plex DVR Plex DVR revolves around recording and streaming over-the-air television broadcasts, then distributing the video to your various devices. For power users who dont mind fiddling with their cord-cutting setups, Plexs combination of video and audio quality, granular recording controls, and extensibility is as good as it gets, we said in our review. Using the DVR functionality requires a Plex Pass subscription, which costs $5 a month, $40 a year, or $120 for a lifetime account. Cyberlink Cyberlinks PowerDVD 20 PowerDVD 20 Ultra, on the other hand, reigns supreme as a high-quality video player. Its the first choice for those seeking every last ounce of video quality, and of course those that want to play commercial DVD, Blu-Ray, and Ultra Blu-ray discs using a PC, we said. If youre an image snob, its worth splurging the $100 on PowerDVD 20 Ultra rather than relying on (admittedly also excellent) freebies like VLC. Norton 360 Deluxe Now were getting into the more discretionary picks. You can get by pretty well with free antivirus solutions, which rely on the same underlying protection as their paid-for siblings. The Windows Security app built into Windows 10 delivers solid protection as well. But free antivirus is very basic, offering few helpful features beyond simple scanning, and usually no customer support whatsoever. IDG Norton 360 Deluxes dashboard. Paying for antivirus gets you a fully backed, more comprehensive security solution that protects you against much more than just malware. Features like browser protection, email protection, and phishing protection come standard in premium antivirus suites, often bundled with extras like password managers and cloud storage. In a pinch, you can contact customer support for help if youre paying for a product. That alone is worth a premium for many people.

Mentioned in this article Norton 360 Deluxe Read our review Best Prices Today:

Weve evaluated well over two dozen different paid security suites for our guide to the best antivirus for Windows PCs, and Norton 360 Deluxe has led the pack for years running. The latest version earning 4 out of 5 stars and our Editors Choice award. Norton 360 is a very good suite with a good price, we said. If youre looking for excellent antivirus protection that wont get in your way with a good amount of features then Norton 360 Deluxe is the suite to buy. It also offers helpful features to back up data, clean out your temporary Internet files, securely erase stubborn data, manage your passwords, and more. Norton isnt the cheapest, though. While youll only pay $50 to protect up to 10 devices during your first year, the price doubles after that. Its worth it for the excellent protection and abundant features Norton offers, but if you want to shop around, be sure to check out our guide to the best antivirus for Windows PCs. Adobe Acrobat Pro Michael Ansaldo/IDG Adobe Acrobat Pro DC has three views: Home, Tools, and Document. Reading PDFs is easy. Even Adobe offers its Acrobat PDF Viewer for free. But if you want to start editing PDFs, youll need to pay up, especially if you need more advanced features. Once again, Adobes software stands heads-and-shoulders above the crowd.

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Adobe Acrobat Pro DC remains the industry standard for good reason, we said in our guide to the best PDF editors. Its rich combination of creation, editing, reviewing, and security features are what the best alternative options are built on, but we feel Acrobat still does it best. Its recent interface redesign makes it much easier to navigate its robust toolset than the nested menus of yore. Acrobat Pro earned a flawless rating and our coveted Editors Choice award, but the gold standard comes at a gold priceit costs $15 per month via a $180 annual subscription, or $25 per month without one. If thats a bit too rich for your budget, PDF Architect Professional is our favorite budget PDF editor, packing much of the power of Acrobat for $69 per year. Nice. Backup services and software Backing up your precious data is the most important computer maintenance you can perform, but once again, you dont have to pay to do it. Windows 10 comes loaded with various backups tools, though their far-flung nature means relying on them is more of a cobbled-together solution than anything else. And you could always just drag your most critical files over to an external drive. But premium backup tools can make backing up your data easier, or offer more robust options, or both. Michael Homnick/IDG No matter how you do it, back up your data!

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If you want to set it and forget it with minimal hassle, an online backup service is a great option, and storing your backups offsite can be a benefit if your home ever suffers from disaster. Once you get an online backup service up and running, it does all the busywork in the background with little to no input required from you. Our favorite is iDrive, which costs $69.50 for a year of backups, or $99.50 for two years. iDrive has you covered six ways to Sunday when it comes to backup, we said in our review. Online, local, sync, snapshots, shipping hard drives to you for quicker recovery You name it, the company does it. Not the cheapest service, but easily the most comprehensive. IDG True Image also includes a number of auxiliary tools that are very useful. If youd rather keep your data in your own hands, the venerable Acronis True Image remains our favorite Windows backup software. True Image is one of the very best for good reason, we said. Its capable and flexible, and rock-solid reliable. Acroniss software has more features than you can shake a stick at, and granular backup options galore. From our True Image 2020 review:

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In the lower left corner of this photograph, researchers prepare a submersible device. Together with our collaborators in the Maldives, we are designing, testing, building, and deploying submersible devices that, based simply on their geometry in relationship to the ocean waves and currents, promote sand accumulation in specific areas, says associate professor Skylar Tibbits. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Many island nations, including the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, are facing an existential threat as a result of a rising sea level induced by global climate change. A group of MIT researchers led by Skylar Tibbits, an associate professor of design research in the Department of Architecture, is testing ways of harnessing nature's own forces to help maintain and rebuild threatened islands and coastlines.

Some 40 percent of the world's population lives in coastal areas that are threated by sea level rise over the coming decades, yet there are few proven measures for countering the threat. Some suggest building barrier walls, dredging coastlines to rebuild beaches, or building floating cities to escape the inevitable, but the search for better approaches continues.

The MIT group was invited by Invena, a group in the Maldives who had seen the researchers' work on self-assembly and self-organization and wanted to collaborate on solutions to address sea-level rise. The resulting project has now shown promising initial results, with a foot and a half of localized sand accumulation deposited in just four months. MIT News asked Tibbits to describe the new approach and its potential.

Q: People have been trying to modify and control the movement of sand for centuries. What was the inspiration for this new and different approach to rebuilding beaches and shorelines?

A: When we first visited the Maldives, we were taken to a local sandbar that had just formed. It was incredible to see the size of the sandbar, about 100 meters long and 20 meters wide, and the quantity of sand, over 1 meter deep, that was built completely on its own, in just a matter of months. We came to understand that these sandbars appear and disappear at different times of the year based on the forces of the ocean and underwater bathymetry. Local historians told us about how they would collaborate with the ocean, growing vegetation to expand their islands or morph their shape. These natural and collaborative approaches to growing land mass through sand self-organization came in stark contrast to the human dredging of sand from the deep ocean, which is also used for island reclamation. In the same amount of time that it takes to dredge an island, which takes months, we watched three different sandbars form themselves, through satellite imagery.

We started to realize that the amount of energy, time, money, labor, and destruction of the marine environment that is caused by dredging could likely be stopped if we could understand why sandbars form naturally and tap into this natural phenomenon of self-organization. The goal of our lab and field experiments is to test hypotheses on why sandbars form, and translate those into mechanisms for promoting their accumulation in strategic locations.

By collaborating with the natural forces of the ocean we believe we can promote the self-organization of sand structures to grow islands and rebuild beaches. We believe this is a sustainable approach to the problem that can eventually be scaled to many coastal areas around the world, just as forest management is used to help strengthen and protect forests from uncontrolled fires or overgrowth.

The resulting project has now shown promising initial results, with a foot and a half of localized sand accumulation deposited in just four months. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Q: Can you describe how this system works, and how it harnesses the energy of the waves to build up the sand in the places where it's needed?

A: Together with our collaborators in the Maldives, we are designing, testing, building, and deploying submersible devices that, based simply on their geometry in relationship to the ocean waves and currents, promote sand accumulation in specific areas. In our first field experiment we built bladders out of heavy-duty canvas, sewn together into the precise ramp geometries. With our second field experiment, we took the best designs from hundreds of lab experiments and had them fabricated from a geotextile membrane. In both experiments we filled the bladders with sand to weigh them down and then submerged them underwater. For our next field experiment we are building bladders that have internal chambers that act like a ballast in a submarine, allowing the bladder to sink or float and to be quickly moved or deployed. Each experiment is attempting to make the fabrication and installation process as simple and scalable as possible.

The simplest mechanism that we are testing is a ramp-like geometry that sits on the ocean floor and rises vertically to the surface of the water. To the best of our understanding, what we are seeing is that as the water flows over the top of the ramp it creates turbulence on the other side, mixing the sand and water and then creating sediment transport. The sand begins to accumulate on the backside of the ramp, continually piling on top of itself. We have tested many other geometries that attempt to minimize wrap-around effects, or focus the accumulation in specific areas, and we are continuing to search for optimal geometries. In many ways, these behave like natural depth variations, reef structures, or volcanic formations and may function similarly in promoting sand accumulation. Our goal is to create adaptable versions of these geometries which can be easily moved, reoriented, or deployed whenever seasons change or storms are increasing.

Since 2018 we have been conducting experiments in our lab at MIT in collaboration with Taylor Perron in [the Department of] Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. We have built two wave tanks where we are testing a variety of wave conditions, sand behaviors, and geometries to promote accumulation. The goal is to align our lab experiments and models with real-world conditions specific to the two predominant seasons in the Maldives. We have done hundreds of tank experiments so far and are using these studies to gain intuition and insight into what mechanisms result in the greatest sand accumulation. The best of these lab experiments is then translated to field experiments twice a year.

Q: How were you able to detect and quantify the effects of your experiment, and what are your plans for continuing and expanding this project?

A: We have collected satellite imagery, drone footage, and physical measurements ever since installing our first field experiment in February 2019 and our second field experiment in October / November 2019. The satellite images and drone footage give us a visual indication of sand accumulation; however, it is challenging to quantify the amount of sand from those images. So we rely heavily on physical depth measurements. We have a series of coordinates that we send to our collaborators in the Maldives who then take a boat or jet ski out to those coordinates and take depth measurements. We then compare these measurements with our previous measurements, considering the day/time and relationship to the tide height.

With our latest field experiment, we have been collecting imagery and physical measurements to analyze the sand accumulation. We are now seeing roughly a half meter (about 20 inches) of new sand accumulation over an area of approximately 20 meters by 30 meters, since November. That is about 300 cubic meters of sand accumulation, in roughly four months. We see these as promising early results that are part of a much longer-term initiative where we aim to continue to test these approaches in the Maldives and various other locations around the world.

We have recently been awarded a National Geographic Exploration grant and plan to go back to the Maldives for two more field installations later this year and in 2021. Our long-term goal is to create a system of submersible structures that can adapt to the dynamic weather conditions to naturally grow and rebuild coastlines. We aim to scale this approach and tailor it to many locations around the world to help rebuild and stabilize heavily populated coastlines and vulnerable island nations.

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel Wednesday. This would have been normal news if announced a couple of months ago. But in the days of coronavirus, this is unquestionably something to take note of. Most US State Department employees are working from home. And international flights have completely stopped, with a Level 4 Do not travel warning.

The State Departments deputy chief medical officer for operations, William Walters, said, this is a tightly controlled movement in a highly screened environment that we feel is very, very safe. Walters stated that those who will travel with Americas top diplomat will test for coronavirus one day before getting on board.

Any individual Pompeo interacts with in Israel, will be screened as well. Pompeos physician will be on hand at all times and  based on the guidance of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention  masks will be used. Finally, Walters announced that Pompeo will return to Washington as soon as he finishes his meetings with Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partner and Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz.

Coronavirus and Iran are the topics on Pompeos agenda, the State Department announced. But is difficult to ignore a third issue: Israels anticipated annexation of the West Bank by 1 July. Netanyahu and Gantz recently agreed on forming a new coalition in Israel after roughly a year-long political deadlock. Both leaders, in their deal, decided to claim sovereignty over the whole West Bank two months from now. They are also willing to move forward with the controversial peace plan that was drafted by US President Donald Trumps administration.

Netanyahu believes annexation would be a historic moment in the history of Zionism. But recent days showed that things will not go smoothly amid escalatory moves and discourse by the European Union, the Arab League and the Palestinians themselves. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul-Gheit sent a message to UN Chief Antonio Guterres in which he described Israels plans as igniting tensions in the region and exploiting the worlds preoccupation with the novel coronavirus to impose a new reality on the ground.

A troika, including Oman, the Arab League and Palestinian officials, argued that Israels actions are severely violating the Palestinian peoples rights and destroying the viability of the two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders. The European Union issued more than one statement about the illegality of all colonisation and annexation measures by Israel in Occupied Palestine. The situation reached a point at which Israel responded through its foreign minister, Israel Katz, to say that its unfortunate that the EU prefers to see relations between Israel and the EU through the prism of the [COVID-19] pandemic and the status of territories.

Meanwhile, on 10 May, Fatah Spokesperson Osama Al-Qawasmi warned that the Palestinians will choose resistance, strife and rejecting suspicious plots if Israel and the United States move forward with any annexation plans, warning to halt all prior agreements. Even The Elders, a group of former state leaders, foreign ministers and internationally-renowned rights activists, believe that annexation risks plunging the region into deeper turmoil.

Last week, Daniel Serwer, an ex-US State Department official and scholar at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Al-Ahram Weekly that he doubts European-Arab opposition will stop the implementation of Trumps peace plan. He argued that the maximum escalation that European states  including Germany, France and Britain  could undertake, in order to avoid one more source of friction in the trans-Atlantic relationship, is to denounce the plan and refuse to recognise it.

The Palestinians have long demanded the implementation of the two-state solution that is based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. They have refused to negotiate with Israel through American mediation since Trump revealed his vision of a settlement, which he dubbed the Deal of the Century. Trump moved the US Embassy in Jerusalem, stopped funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), and developed a peace plan that recognises Jerusalem as Israels eternal and undivided capital. It also gives Israel absolute security control over the occupied Palestinian territories and a Palestinian capital in only East Jerusalems northern and eastern areas.

The results of Pompeos meetings in Israel, as well as the Palestinian response to them, is something to be watched this week.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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VICTORIABritish Columbia reported fewer than two dozen cases of COVID-19 over 48 hours, but the provincial health minister cautions that it would still be easy for the new coronavirus to reboot.

Adrian Dix said during a news conference Monday that its tempting to think that B.C. has made some advances against COVID-19.

The province reported 23 new cases of the virus since Saturday and another death. That raises the total cases in B.C. to 2,353 with 130 deaths. The number of people recovered from the virus is 1,719 and there are no new community outbreaks.

We cant let up. In B.C., COVID-19 is not on the run. Its still here, its still here in every health authority, looking for chances to take a greater hold again and we cant give it a chance, Dix warned.

The risks are too high. Rebooting this virus now or a second wave later in the year will put all our surgical, social and economic renewal plans at risk.

The provincial government is allowing a partial reopening of the B.C. economy starting May 19, the day after the Victoria Day holiday.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry urged patience while inching towards the long weekend.

The Vancouver Parks Board said spaces will remain closed in the coming days as a result of a decrease in public compliance with physical distancing over the past weekend. Many residents got outside as temperatures soared into the mid-20s, breaking several heat records around the province.

Park board staff had tentatively planned to reopen lots at beaches and parks this week but will not proceed with that plan, it said in a news release.

Henry said the next week will be the beginning of Phase 2 of the reopening plan, but people need to be patient and calm, and take the time to think about how they are going to adapt to activities in what seems to be the new normal.

A steady stream will be far more successful than a rushing river that can damage things in its path, she said.

Be patient. Thats my word for the day, patience.

She also said health officials are watching for a resurgence of the virus as economies around the world reopen in places like New Zealand, Norway and some of the Scandinavian countries, as well as Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

The parameters used around the 1918 flu pandemic cannot be applied to this novel coronavirus because its not influenza, Henry said.

So, we are learning as we go. And absolutely, we are watching Germany and they are very similar to the approach we are taking and there has been a slight increase and it has been a little bit hard to know exactly why.

Henry said the plans for B.C. to reopen are based on evidence theyve gathered from around the world.

There are ways that we can sustainably open up our economy, social connections, without tipping over into that place where we might get rapid increase in cases again.

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While the media continue to be obsessed with the New York virus, which they believe is the cudgel they need to destroy Trump's reelection chances, Trump is signaling the end of the three-year drama that was the Russia Hoax, from its first appearance in January 2017, all the way through a frustrated Robert Mueller's inability to find a smidgen of evidence showing that Trump or anyone else on his team had colluded with Russia to win the election.

All the while, Trump's supporters, and those who are not Trump's supporters but who still believe in the rule of law, have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. The other shoe is to expose those who tried to steal an election and then wage a coup against a duly elected president. It would be even better to have those people arrested (preferably at 3 A.M., by a huge FBI team, with cameras rolling), tried, and imprisoned, but that may be a hope too great.

On Saturday, it appears that Trump dropped that other shoe, for that's when he retweeted Jesse Watters's comprehensive breakdown of the Obama team's wrongdoing, in reliance upon a slew of newly released documents from the House Intelligence Committee:

On Sunday, Trump went on a Twitter binge revolving around one very important word: OBAMAGATE. Indeed, he sent out a post containing only that neologism:

Trump then retweeted others who used that neologism.

Trump tweeted out a significant phrase in connection with Obamagate: "He [Obama] got caught." For Trump to make that assertive a statement almost certainly means that this week will reveal evidence showing Obama's fingerprints all over the Deep State's conspiracy:

In several more tweets, Trump doubled down on the idea that a president was involved in a serious crime:

OBAMAGATE makes Watergate look small time!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020

In one of his many Obamagate tweets, Trump had an answer to the question in Margot Cleveland's article entitled "Why Did Obama Tell the FBI to Hide Its Activities from Trump?"

Because it was OBAMAGATE, and he and Sleepy Joe led the charge. The most corrupt administration in U.S. history! https://t.co/PTzFvvITh3  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020

I hope you caught the way Trump implicated Biden there.

Trump next tweeted out Sean Hannity's and Tucker Carlson's #Obamagate episodes, both of which are replete with damning videos:

Thanks to Trump's focus on the word "Obamagate," at one point on Monday, the hashtag #Obamagate was trending with 2.4 million retweets:

Also on Monday, news broke that Richard Grenell, the interim director of National Intelligence and one of the most pivotal people in the search for truth, was able to have declassified a list of Obama officials who were part of illegally unmasking General Flynn. Between this news and Trump's "Obamagate" tweets, if you don't have popcorn, you might want to buy some. The upcoming political show is about to get exciting.
[May 12, 2020] Inc. Magazine Reveals Annual List Of Best Workplaces For 2020 LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ServiceTitan has been named to Inc. magazine's annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2020. Hitting newsstands May 12 in the May/June 2020 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. ServiceTitan was founded by Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan in 2012 to provide an all-in-one software solution for the home and commercial service industries, which have traditionally been underserved by technology. With more than 700 employees in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Yerevan, Armenia, the company makes a direct, positive impact on the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs and their extended teams by with a platform that includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, field solutions for technicians and more. ServiceTitan provides an extensive benefits package to each salaried employee, which includes a completely paid-for health plan and flexible paid time off. Onsite, employees enjoy an open seating layout, free daily lunch and communal kitchens, access to frequent office events and  most importantly  a culture rooted in approachability and transparency. Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this year's list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then we ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work.

The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most huan elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of "fun." "Our team members make a measurable difference in the lives of countless hard-working men and women in the skilled trades every day with their innovation, reliability and unparalleled service," said Mahdessian, CEO and co-founder of ServiceTitan. "Our mission is to identify and connect with the top talent to build the ServiceTitan family and ensure that they feel supported and equipped to deliver their best to our users." "Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership," says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever." While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes:

100 percent provide health insurance.

50 percent allow employees to bring pets to work.

62 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge.

20 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service. About ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan is a software company built to accelerate the home and commercial service industries. The company's end-to-end software suite includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, marketing automation, a mobile solution for field techs, and accounting integrations with Sage Intacct and QuickBooks. The company raised the largest venture round of a SaaS company in the history of Southern California ($165 million Series D) led by Index Ventures, with participation from Dragoneer and T. Rowe Price and existing investors Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and ICONIQ Capital. ServiceTitan brings a fully operational modern SaaS infrastructure to an industry traditionally underserved by software, making a direct and positive impact on the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs and their extended teams. For more information about ServiceTitan, visit https://servicetitan.com/. About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com. About Quantum Workplace

Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com. MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

hripley@ripleypr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inc-magazine-reveals-annual-list-of-best-workplaces-for-2020-301057210.html SOURCE ServiceTitan

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There is simmering tension within the camp of one of the country's leading political parties, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).



The CPP's Acting General Secretary, James Kwabena Bomfeh has accused the Chairman of the party's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Bright Akwetey of masterminding what he describes as a coup d'etat within the party.



In February this year, Bright Akwetey and Mr Yaw Asamoah, another member of the CPP, dragged the party, its Acting National Chairman and James Kwabena Bomfeh to court to stop the two officers of the party from proceeding to organise National Congress and National Delegates Congress.



They also prayed the court to declare the party's Central Committee constituted by the two national officers as an illegal entity not recognized by the constitution of the party.



An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Mariama Sammo, on Saturday, April 30, 2020, granted the application and restrained the Acting National Chairman and Acting General Secretary or any of their assigns from holding the National Congress and National Delegates Congress of the party.



But speaking to host kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' on Monday, James Kwabena Bomfeh, also called Kabilla, accused Bright Akwetey who is also a former CPP flag bearer aspirant of contravening the court's orders.



He revealed that Mr. Akwetey and Yaw Asamoah together with two other members held an ''illegal'' meeting last Friday to seemingly plot and overthrow the leadership of the party.



Accoridng to Kabilla, Mr. Akwetey is living under a wrong impression that the party's Acting National Chairperson, Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim Haruna, is not performing her duties effectively and so needs to abdicate.



He further accused them of acting on the blind side of the party to convene a Central Committee meeting to discuss matters relating to the partys National Congress, in complete disregard of the court injunction which Mr. Akwetey, himself, secured against the party.



''It's a coup d'etat by Bright Akwetey, Yaw Asamoah, Frimponmaa Sarpong Kumakuma and Joe Agyapong...What they're doing is unlawful'', he exclaimed.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has allowed candidates who have joined their allotted college of Round 1 to resign from their seat till 18 May (by 5 pm)

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has allowed candidates who have joined their allotted college of Round 1 to resign from their seat till 18 May (by 5 pm). The decision has been taken in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Candidate who want to leave their seat are required to inform the allotted college via email or visiting physically. The respective college will have to resign the seat online on www.intramcc.nic.in within the stipulated time. The colleges will also have to send the resignation letters to candidates on mail.

These resigned seats will be on offer in Round 2 of the counselling.

The announcement by the MCC would come as a relief to PG medical aspirants in Maharashtra as they were worried about having to surrender their all India quota (AIQ) seat without being assured of the release of the state seat allocation list.

As per the report, PG medical aspirants who have already bagged a seat through AIQ can either stick to the institute they have been allotted or release it for another institute. At present, the status of the first Commen Entrance Test (CET) cell list is uncertain as authorities are still reworking seat matrix.

The MCC earlier this month extended the last date of resignation of seats for the candidates to 8 May due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Before that, the last date for resigning the allotted seat had been pushed to 4 May.
Normally bustling Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach, Florida, is seen nearly empty on May 8, with most businesses closed due efforts to contain Covid-19. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida residents are growing increasingly frustrated by the state's lag in paying unemployment benefits  a drama unfolding as home and rental evictions may soon begin anew. States have struggled to process an avalanche of jobless claims over the past two months. More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March as states shut down broad swaths of their economies to halt the coronavirus pandemic. Florida has emerged as one of the country's worst offenders when it comes to paying benefits slowly.

The Sunshine State has paid just 28% of the total 1.9 million unemployment applicants since March 15, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity. Some claims may be duplicates, the DEO said. Not everyone who applies is necessarily eligible for benefits.

Unemployment 'purgatory'

However, many residents who submitted applications two months ago are still awaiting an update. "They have been waiting for eight weeks now," said Anna Eskamani, a member of the Florida House of Representatives. "They're in this purgatory." The delay in unemployment benefits comes as the state's moratorium on evictions due to late mortgage and rent payments is scheduled to end May 17.

Gov. Ron DeSantis imposed a 45-day eviction moratorium on April 2.

It appears some landlords and creditors are already gearing up to kick people out. "I have people with eviction notices who can't pay for their medications," said Laurie Yadoff, an attorney at Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida. "They're living off credit cards, those that have them. "They're in dire straits." she said. More from Personal Finance:

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Here's how travel will look after the pandemic Yadoff said she has helped around 60 clients file for unemployment benefits in the state, some dating back to early March. None have gotten paid. Many received stimulus checks from the federal government as part of the recent coronavirus relief package. Almost everyone used that money to pay their landlords, Yadoff said. Individuals were eligible for up to $1,200. "People need to have this [unemployment] money," Yadoff said.

Stats are through May 21's weekly jobless claims report.

The governor could extend the eviction moratorium. Some banks and landlords may establish lenient policies to help Florida residents. Federal lawmakers imposed a national eviction moratorium through July 25 that supersedes state orders. However, it only covers properties with federally backed mortgages and public housing, among other properties. But many are already struggling under the weight of their current financial obligations. Late housing payments could come due in one fell swoop, stressing an already challenging situation. "Floridians aren't in a place to pay their bills right now," said Eskamani, a Democrat.

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"We are continuing to be stuck in this super frustrating, stressful place and there's nothing people can do except wait," she said. Spokespeople for the governor and DEO didn't respond to requests for comment.

Feeling short-changed

The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief law enacted in late March expanded unemployment benefits. It raised weekly jobless pay, increased the duration of benefits and extended them to previously ineligible groups like the self-employed.

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The law, the CARES Act, boosted pay by providing a $600-a-week supplement, funded by the federal government, through July. That's in addition to a recipient's state benefit. The law allows states to make those payments retroactively to the end of March. But even some residents who have received benefits feel they've been short-changed. Sandra Speier, a Miami resident, waited more than a month for her unemployment application to be processed. She applied online on March 23 and was approved April 25. Speier, a self-employed personal trainer, is getting $128 a week and received back pay for that amount dating to April 4. She also received one $600 payment, on April 28  but hasn't received any retroactive payments for that supplement.

They have been waiting for eight weeks now. They're in this purgatory. Anna Eskamani Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives

Speier is afraid the little money she is getting will soon run out. That's because while the CARES Act allows jobless workers to get an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits, Florida has yet to implement that increase. That leaves recipients with up to just 12 weeks of benefits  tied with North Carolina for the shortest duration, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. By comparison, other states are paying up to 39 weeks of unemployment, which is more than triple Florida's duration.
A Naas man suspected of smashing up three shopfronts and a car in Cork city on Monday night was held by eyewitnesses until gardai arrived.

Garda Shane Coakley gave this evidence at Cork District Court yesterday in the case against Mark Hallahan, aged 36, whose present address was given as St Vincents hostel, Anglesea Terrace, Cork.

Garda Coakley charged Mr Hallahan with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour and being drunk and a source of danger. He also charged him with causing criminal damage to Lavish on Washington St, Subway on South Main St, and Burger Shack on South Main St as well as to a car parked in the area on Monday night, May 11.

The alleged incidents occurred after 10pm when damage was caused to the front window of Lavish, the front window of Subway, the front door of Burger Shack and to the back window and boot of the parked car.

Garda Coakley told Judge Olann Kelleher that the cost of the damage was not yet known as it only happened so recently. The guard said there were eyewitnesses to the criminal damage as well as CCTV evidence to it being carried out.

Eyewitnesses followed and held him for the gardai, Garda Coakley said.

Eddie Burke, solicitor, applied for bail for the defendant. He is 36 years old and from Naas. He studied in CIT and has been here since 2008.

Mr Hallahan also gave evidence in his bail application. Regards to the night, I cannot remember a thing. It is as if someone hit me on the side and I fell down. Like I was hit over the head and I dont remember. I woke up this morning and I didnt know where I was, he said.

Asked by Sergeant John Kelleher if would appear in court if granted bail. Hallahan replied, I will definitely turn up.

He also denied the offences, saying, I definitely did not smash up anything. If there is CCTV coverage it would not be me.

Judge Kelleher asked the accused if he was on medication or had any health concerns and he said he did not.

The judge said, You are not taking any medication, you are not a bit concerned you cannot remember anything, you are not concerned you might have something that should be looked at.

The accused replied, No, definitely not.

The judge refused bail and said he was concerned about Mr Hallahans health. He remanded him in custody for one week.
India on Tuesday condemned the terrorist attack at a maternity clinic in Kabul that killed 16 people including 11 mothers and 2 babies. An external ministry statement described the attack as barbaric.

A group of terrorists had stormed a maternity hospital in western part of Kabul and opened fire. A gunfight with security forces ensued. When it ended several hours later, officials confirmed that 16 people had died and an equal number were injured.

Counter-terror officials Kabul said 11 mothers and at least two newborn babies were among the dead.

Such reprehensible attacks, including on mothers, newly-born children, nurses and mourning families are appalling and constitute crimes against humanity, the external affairs ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday evening.

The perpetrators of such heinous acts and their sponsors and supporters should be held accountable and brought to justice. They should be forced to eradicate safe havens and sanctuaries that have abetted terrorism in the region for decades and caused immense miseries to untold number of people in the region, New Delhi said in an unusually sharp reaction, that one official said, matches the brutality of the terror strike.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians.

The Taliban denied they were involved.

Counter-terror officials in Delhi and Kabul signalled they would let the investigators complete the probe before arriving at any conclusions. The Taliban had denied involvement in the March 25 Kabul gurdwara attack also. But the Afghan security forces last week busted a module being jointly run by the ISKP and the Taliban-linked Haqqani Network that has strong ties to Pakistans deep state. This joint module was responsible for the March 25 gurdwara attack, the Afghan forces had said.

Tuesdays attack provoked Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani to deliver a televised address to the nation that ordered security forces to end their active defence position and return to offensive postures, and resume their operations against the enemy.

Also Read: What the Afghan peace deal means | Opinion

While the firefight at Kabuls Dasht-e-Barchi hospital was underway, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony in Nangahar province - a hotbed of the Islamic State group - killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. There was a third attack on an Army check post in Laghman province.

Tuesdays terror attacks could jeopardise a tottering peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February. But the pact has not stopped attacks on Afghan security personnel and other civilian targets.

In its statement, New Delhi said the holy month of Ramzan should be a period of fasting, prayer and reflection. We call for an immediate cessation of terrorist violence and cooperation to deal with the humanitarian situation arising from the spread of coronavirus in Afghanistan, the external affairs ministry said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shishir Gupta Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel. ...view detail
On March 24th, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on the bloc to stand ready for a struggle for influence in a global battle of narratives. He referred to the millions of masks and test kits sent across the world by China, labeling the effort as politics of generosity. The warning may sound paranoid as so many call for global cooperation in fighting the coronavirus. Even so, China manipulates the narrative, exploiting the pandemic to refurbish a false image of a responsible superpower and promote its model of authoritarianism.

China first detected Covid-19 in November, but officials hid the outbreak for weeks, punishing doctors who raised alarms. Kurt M. Campbell and Rush Doshi warned in March that China controlled information, shunned assistance from the CDC [US Centers for Disease Control], limited World Health Organization travel to Wuhan, likely undercounted infections and deaths.

Nonetheless, China has distributed supplies to nearly 80 countries, shifting the coronavirus narrative in Beijings favor. Beijing transformed from a troublemaker to hero. Launching an offensive against the United States, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserted that the US Army could have brought the virus to Wuhan. The Chinese embassy to France alleged over Twitter that the US government covered up a coronavirus outbreak last year as flu cases. Others claimed that China had bought time for the world, time otherwise wasted by a complacent West.

China aspires to use the opportunity to expand influence. In a call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Chinas President Xi Jinping discussed building a Health Silk Road  alluding to its Belt and Road Initiative. In an essay for African newspapers, Chinas ambassador to Nigeria Zhou Pingjian elaborated: China has given full play to the advantages of its system China is protecting not only its people, but also the rest of the world.

Such a Health Silk Road entails two implications. First, China is promoting the superiority of authoritarianism in responding to crises, hoping to export Chinas model  the Beijing Consensus. According to Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, Chinas signature strength, efficiency and speed in this fight has been widely acclaimed. Granted, Beijing demonstrated astounding speed and flexibility once it did respond, controlling population movement and implementing a nationwide quarantine and mass surveillance to track infections. Under Chinas system, such draconian measures do not require democratic consensus.

Chinese state media and officials proactively advocate this model while criticizing irresponsibility and incompetence of Washington. After all, while Donald Trump contemplated using wartime powers to build ventilators, Chinese factories already had orders keeping them at full capacity until May. Simultaneously, China helps illiberal leaders gain technology and knowhow to monitor individuals who challenge official government narratives.

Second, China seeks to prove it is more reliable than Western powers. Beijings state media described the US health care system as bungling the initial response, compounded by missteps from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control. Equally importantly, Washington resists leading a global effort to fight the pandemic. The Trump administration banned export of N95 masks to neighbor and longstanding ally Canada and allegedly sought to monopolize a German pharmaceutical companys vaccine under development.

Meanwhile, the EU clashes over coronabonds, with Germany and the Netherlands opposing common debt instruments advocated by Italy and Spain. The bloc faces internal criticism for abandoning Italy. In contrast, China sent medical equipment and personnel to Europe and held a videoconference to share information with central and eastern European states. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed how many poor European nations feel: I believe in my brother and friend Xi Jinping and European solidarity is a fairytale.

One might argue that China, the worlds second largest economy, should step in to fill the vacuum, providing global public service. Yet, the Chinese Communist Party imposes costs. There are ample precedents of Beijing exploiting seemingly innocuous infrastructure projects to set up debt traps along the Belt and Road. China has leveraged its financial contribution to the World Health Organization to exclude Taiwan, despite that governments remarkable success in containing the coronavirus.

China already appears set to translate the global narrative through investment deals. Huawei, facing allegations of espionage, runs a donation spree in Europe. It provided 800,000 masks to the Netherlands, which initially reported few confirmed Covid-19 cases, as the Dutch government wavers on including Huawei in a June auction of 5G mobile licenses. China has long tied aid to foreign policy favorable to Beijing, such as severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan or turning a blind eye on concentration camps in Xinjiang. Related: Video Game, Alcohol And Home Workout Gear Sales Are Exploding

In the long run, China will promote medical authoritarianism, exporting health surveillance technologies purportedly to prevent another epidemic outbreak, a steppingstone for universal surveillance. For strongmen seeking power centralization, Beijings facial recognition software already offers allure. Hungary, consolidating its top-down management model, moves closer with China. So-called smart cities in the Middle East and North Africa and safe cities in Pakistan increasingly display sophisticated Chinese-made CCTVs.

The West must respond to this battle of narratives by rejecting Chinese conspiracy theories as the communist party tries to sow confusion among any who blame China and reject authoritarian superiority. As demonstrated in Wuhan, autocratic governments are less likely to receive information critical to slow crises because local officials fear the repercussions of sharing bad news. A parallel is found in the disastrous Great Leap Forward between 1956 and1962, during which the communist party continued grain exports despite devastating shortages. With information control crucial to regime legitimacy, authoritarian leaders are less likely to share accurate data with other countries or permit international observers. As David Shullman of the Center for a New American Security argues, the West must underscore successes of democracies such as Taiwan and South Korea.

On a substantial level, liberal democracies should forge closer partnerships among themselves and with the world. Neighbors failed to support Italy, a member of EU and NATO. The West should promptly support Italy and other nations with materials and knowhow, removing export restrictions.

At the same time, the West should not burn bridges with China. Chinas attempt to influence the coronavirus narrative partly stems from Xis desire to tighten his control by boosting Chinas global prestige. The West should give Beijing room to maneuver, encouraging cooperation with the rest of the world. The Trump administrations use of the term Wuhan virus is unproductive. The priority should be on preventing China from deceptively winning hearts and minds rather than humiliating the regime to undermine domestic legitimacy. Areas for potential cooperation include vaccine research, clinical trials, fiscal stimulus, data-sharing and more. Related: Demand For Battery Metals To Surge By 500%

So far, the United States has failed in leading the world against Covid-19 by imposing a travel ban from Europe without prior notification or blocking a joint statement of G7 foreign ministers because there was no support for the term Wuhan virus. The country has led during pandemics. George W, Bush established a global coalition to address the AIDS crisis in Africa, mobilizing more than 50 countries and raising $80 billion. Barack Obama rallied more than 60 countries to combat Ebola in West Africa.

In the short term, the United States should build an international coalition that coordinates with the WHO, UN, and Global Health Security Agenda to establish a common screening standard, mobilize global resources and gather scientific data in search of a vaccine. In the long term, the nation should invest in medical infrastructure to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks. The Trump administrations Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy pledged to invest more than $500 million per year on health, basic education and Food for Peace  vital bulwarks against epidemics. The United States should build on this initiative, moving beyond its narrow focus on traditional security issues.

In the same vein, the United States should rebuild domestic medical capacities, bolstering the Strategic National Stockpile and preparing testing capacity and protective gear for medical workers. On an economic level, the country must consider reducing reliance on China for vital drug ingredients and supplies such as masks and gloves. Steel imports from the EU and Canada do not create strategic vulnerabilities; medical imports from China do.

The West is not completely failing in this struggle for influence. Trump promised to send ventilators to Europe. The Federal Reserve opened dollar-swap lines that kept the world economy from freezing. France and Germany combined donated more masks to Italy than China. German hospitals care for patients from Italy. However, the West must go beyond securing the home turf. A new normal will emerge, hinging on how nations respond to Chinas coronavirus narrative. The world seeks strong, intelligent authority and China will take advantage of this trend. Defeating Covid-19 requires apolitical, universal cooperation. Securing a liberal post-Covid-19 future requires skepticism and vigilance.

By Taehwa Hong via YaleGlobal Online

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
Chinese authorities will test all 11 million residents of Wuhan for coronavirus by the end of the week after claiming the city has seen just six new cases after a 35-day streak of no reported infections.

It is important to realize that a decisive result does not equal a decisive victory, lowering the emergency response level does not equal lowering defenses, Wang Zhonglin, a top official in the Communist Party in Wuhan, told the state-run outlet Changjiang Daily on Monday.

In a teleconference with officials, he warned that we must not be careless or lax. Zhonglin said in March that the citys residents should undergo gratitude education to learn how to thank the communist party, listen to the partys words, follow the partys way, and create strong positive energy.

U.S. intelligence believes that mid-level bureaucrats in Wuhan have been lying about the number of cases, with some experts estimating that the total caseload in China could be close to three million, way above the official count of over 82,000 officially confirmed cases.

On Sunday, the city said it had discovered five new cases in the same residential complex that were all linked to elderly man who tested positive on Saturday. Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the developments would not result in a new minor peak.

We have had the epidemic under control after more than three months of efforts and accumulated considerable experience in both diagnosis and notification, he stated. Therefore, we will not allow scattered cases to develop into massive outbreaks.

Wuhan lifted its lockdown last month, despite city doctors warning that tens of thousands of asymptomatic cases could exist, in comments that were subsequently removed from publication by the government. The Chinese Communist Party then revised its reported death count in Wuhan by exactly 50 percent, an attempt to improve the credibility of the government.

More from National Review
The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu



on Tuesday opposed the amendments to certain labour laws in BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh, and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in ensuring all such laws were duly followed.

Party President M K Stalin wanted the states to withdraw the changes, which he termed as 'anti-labour.'



BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have decided to stay labour laws for three years and also announced a series of changes to give a boost to investments hit by COVID-19.

Joining the league, Gujarat had eased some labour laws and also increased working hours from 8 to 12 hours.

"The Prime Minister should issue a special advisory to all state Governments, at least in his capacity as Chairperson of National Disaster Management Authority, that factories must abide by all labour laws and that no state government should disregard any of them," Stalin said in a statement.

Calling the amendments by the respective states "anti- worker and anti-people autocratic measures," he said they have extended the 8-hour workday to 12 hours and denied the workers their rights and protection.

"From the beginning, the BJP government refused to accept that workers are the backbone of the economy. They are now siding with the employers to exploit the hardwork of the workers," Stalin said.

Already, the BJP-government at the Centre pushed the workers to the brink of despair during the COVID-19 lockdown leaving the stranded migrant workers to walk home for several miles, while their family members underwent abject poverty, he said.

"Dispensing with the labour laws only reveals the dangerous ulterior motive of the BJP governments," Stalin added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Little Traverse Bay Humane Society hires training and behavior specialist

Sarah Schertel will serve the training needs of Little Traverse Bay Humane Society, in addition to offering classes to the public.
The leader of a controversial church in New Zealand plans to host services for his congregation despite Jacinda Ardern's restrictions on large gatherings.

Destiny Church bishop Brian Tamaki wrote an opinion piece on Tuesday in protest of the level two coronavirus restrictions on churches throughout New Zealand.

Ms Ardern has limited gatherings to ten people, which will be reviewed in two weeks and leaves many churches unable to operate.

Mr Tamaki plans to defy Ms Ardern's ban and host a congregation at his South Auckland church on Sunday, calling the government leaders 'overly controlling parents'.

'A church can act as responsibly as a cinema when it comes to health precautions and physical distancing,' Mr Tamaki wrote.

Destiny Church Leader Brian Tamaki (pictured with wife Hannah) is planning a service in Auckland on Sunday despite Jacinda Ardern's restrictions on large gatherings

'Our rights as churches under The New Zealand Bill of Rights are being violated, particularly section 15 regarding the freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance practise and teaching either publicly or privately.

'In the Bill of Rights the Government must act fairly when making decisions about religious groups and it isn't doing so in allowing businesses to have more than 10 people on their premises but not churches.

'This will be no surprise to this government. They know they are violating our rights.'

Mr Tamaki noted that government action has often disregarded the advice of New Zealand Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and made their own 'nanny-state' decisions.

He finished his statement with a call to arms for churches in New Zealand to fight for their rights.

'I invite all churches in New Zealand to act according to your rights and to not allow this government to treat us as non-essential or as an afterthought at the bottom of the heap,' he wrote.

Mr Tamaki (pictured at a service) urged other New Zealand churches to fight for their rights

Prime Minister Ardern announced a loosening of the screws from level three to level-two restrictions this week after 52 days in lockdown.

Coronavirus case numbers have nosedived over the past fortnight, with less than 100 kiwis hospitalised in total throughout the pandemic.

Ms Ardern congratulated her countrymen for obeying virus sanctions to put them in the position to start moving back into normal life.

'None of it has been through luck, but rather through hard work,' she said.

'We are ready to move to level two, to open up the economy, but to do it as safely as possible.'

From Thursday May 14, retail businesses, hairdressers, cafes, gyms, cinemas, malls and playgrounds will be free to open, and New Zealanders will be allowed to socialise with friends and family outside their household 'bubbles' once more.

From Monday May 18, schools and early learning centres will resume classes as usual.

Bars will be the last public venues allowed to return, opening on May 21, with Ms Ardern's government taking heed of an experience from South Korea where a cluster of 40 cases has formed from a newly re-opened bar.

Jacinda Ardern announced a downgrade to level two coronavirus restrictions from Thursday

But there will be no mingling between groups or dance floors as physical distancing measures remain in place.

Social groupings - whether at a restaurant, a dinner party, a wedding or funeral - will be limited to 10 people.

Professional sport can also recommence, with New Zealand Rugby immediately announcing plans for a domestic Super Rugby season to begin from next month.

After suffering at the hands of a lockdown more brutal than Australia's for the past seven weeks, New Zealanders will be allowed to travel around the country once more, to the delight of under-pressure tourism operators.

Ms Ardern said she was pleased to see restrictions eased 'sooner than many other countries around the world'.

'We went hard and we went early. We got control of the virus,' she said.

'And now we're in a position where we can safely step out of those controls and open our economy back up.'
Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Prime Minister Vietnam carries out a strategy with two objectives at once: fighting against the pandemic and maintaining manufacturing to guarantee growth. The internal capacity of the economy and businesses is huge. Numerous businesses have managed to retain growth, and many stock codes are rising high despite the downtrend of the general stock market. This comes from the sustainable development of businesses. During social distancing and the compulsory reining in of businesses, the economy is like a coiled spring just waiting to bounce back. Vietnams reputation and position have been improved significantly, so it is a good time for businesses to seize valuable opportunities in overseas markets. There are numerous local businesses reaching out to global markets, but they are still not listed in the Fortune Global 500 companies. I have some recommendations to business associations. They should love the country, respect the law, and adopt the spirit of sharing. I highly appreciate businesses  even household ones  that support each other and the people during the pandemic. Enterprises should unite to hone their strengths, and not be discouraged or give up. We need to encourage a dynamic and assertive mindset, and let go of passive hesitation which costs chances at every step. We need to be ready to continuously innovate and remain confident. Nguyen Chi Dung - Minister of Planning and Investment Vietnam has pushed back the coronavirus outbreak and kept the pandemic under control. As a result, social and economic life has gradually been resuming. Vietnam now stays in the forefront of fresh development opportunities. The online meeting of the prime minister with the business community today aimed to promote the inner strength and creativity, creating synergies and laying the bedrock to spur business development and economic growth. However, the situation remains complicated globally, especially with Vietnams major trading partners. One of the biggest questions for all of us now is what we must do to find remedy for the caused damage to the economy, revive it, and thrive again. One truth shines bright throughout our countrys history: Vietnam always has the capacity to create miracles, even in the most challenging times. We have gained growing praise in the international arena for the achievements in the current fight against COVID-19. This is the time for us to improve Vietnams image as a safe investment destination ready to attract capital into the country. With the full commitment from the government, the prime minister, and the entire political system, as well as tremendous efforts from entrepreneurs and the business community, I am sure that the country will overcome this tough time. Adam Sitkoff - Executive director, American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi The pandemic has completely upended lives and economies across the planet, restricting movement, shutting schools, forcing people to work from home, and jeopardising employment for millions. The US business community is thankful that Vietnams leadership has taken serious and appropriate steps to mitigate the damage from this terrible virus. Success is not just about case numbers. It is about creating a sense of security so that people feel comfortable that the person serving their food, or working next to them, is not a danger. In Vietnam, that feeling of security is coming back and it is something all of us are grateful for. Decisions by government leaders on when and how to reopen, what level of movement and activity is safe, and how to reactivate important sectors like travel, tourism, and hospitality, are some the most difficult policy decisions people have faced in our lifetimes. We are all looking for the safest way to get back to business but should make no mistake as opening the economy involves risks. We also encourage the government to look at the effectiveness of different support initiatives and hopes that decision-makers can address those standards quickly as more diversified supply chains could help Vietnam be seen as an attractive investment destination in the future. Nicolas Audier - Chairman, European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam This meeting showed that the government is dedicated to tackling the health impacts of COVID-19 and its effects on business operations and economic growth. It also demonstrated, once again, that Vietnams leadership is open and receptive to the perspectives of foreign business communities. Our members welcome the swift and effective actions that the government has taken to tackle the spread of this pandemic. In particular, we applaud the healthcare measures which have helped to ensure that the country is one of the international success stories in this global fight. These steps, such as suspending international arrivals and large public gatherings, have had an inevitable impact on business operations. However, the government has been proactive in reaching out to international business so that, together, we can find solutions to the challenges and maintain normal business operations wherever it is safe to do so. Our members have also welcomed the governments financial package. Our latest Business Climate Index found strong support for measures such as delaying tax payments and a temporary suspension of social insurance contributions for impacted businesses. However, despite the decisive actions of the government, we are not out of the woods yet as long-term impacts of the pandemic on international trade and investment remain unpredictable. Therefore, more steps could be required and we will share our insights with the government and ministries at events and through other dialogues. Nguyen Thi Nga - Chairwoman, BRG Group Since the beginning of the pandemic, BRG Group has incurred heavy consequences in core business lines like hospitality, services, and import-export. We have taken measures to adapt to the new situation, shifting our focus from difficult areas such as tourism and services into fields with brighter prospects such as retail, agriculture, face masks, and pharmaceuticals. The current pandemic might lead to a restructuring of the global economy. Local companies and policymakers, therefore, need to make preparations right now to be able to avail of the opportunities once the pandemic is over. Businesses need support to go through the legal setup stage, paving the way to kick-off construction, laying the groundwork and motivating economic development, particularly regarding the projects whose developers have a proven strong financial capacity. Ali Zunan - CEO, Astra Visteon Vietnam We are part of a global group producing speedometers. Over the years, Astra Visteon Vietnam has gotten its components from many countries, and finished products have been supplied to Honda Vietnam and exported to European partners who wish to make use of tax benefits. However, regulations stipulate that 80 per cent of the main components such as electronic components, LCD displays, and plastic parts must come from inside Vietnam. Its difficult for us to fully follow these requirements because these parts have not been produced in Vietnam yet so we must purchase such components from overseas suppliers. We hope that the Vietnamese government could further promote the development of supporting industries in this country. In the case that we cannot develop it, imported materials should be subject to reduced tax. Laurent Genet - General director, Audi Vietnam It is a challenging year for all automotive companies in Vietnam, with Fitch Ratings forecasting a 21.8 per cent drop in car sales in Vietnam for the full year. Because the supply chain is disrupted, customers in Vietnam will experience shortages of some car models as most global automakers factories closed in March-April. Lockdowns abroad also further limited warehouse operations for crucial parts, and air and sea transport has been reduced. It will take time for customers to regain confidence and start spending again. Until Vietnam recovers, we suggest the Ministry of Finance reallows partial clearance at customs by reauthorising bonded warehouses for new completely-built-up imported vehicles until December. Such customs clearance extension should provide the necessary time for importers to recover financially and pay taxes gradually. Dang Van Thanh - Chairman, Thanh Thanh Cong Group The business community and entrepreneurs need to stay calm as the government and the city managements are doing their best to support business development as well as local people. Many business associations have come up with programmes to confront the pandemic. Input and output restructuring must be soon taken to minimise reliance on foreign sources. Businesses also need to strengthen their presence. For instance, amid the implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement in the sugar industry, we have trust that the domestic sugar industry could stay firm in material growing areas and provide what the market needs. Additionally, businesses must modernise operation. Business leaders also need to consider what sort of technology they want to invest in and when in order to boost their competitiveness. Guido Romagnoli - Founder and director, Inxtead Consulting COVID-19 is only temporarily slowing down business as both governments and companies are busy mitigating the health risks for citizens and employees. Small companies like ours will benefit from practical policies like tax relief and fiscal deferrals, VAT reduction on specific items, extension of visas and working permits, and simplification of bureaucracy, especially when dealing with staff flexibility. Vietnam has the unique opportunity to accelerate its international standing and multilateral visibility even further as the world could appreciate and learn from its efficiency and success. Long-term policies that can position Vietnam as one of the clear winners after this crisis will be the continuous development of infrastructure, healthcare, and financial services to attract foreign investment and accelerate education for the young generation. Frederick Burke - Managing partner, Baker McKenzie Vietnam The Vietnamese government has already introduced some beneficial tax measures that somewhat help, but further relief in terms of suspending payroll taxes would help ensure that workers can keep their jobs through this troubling time. Waivers or deferrals of corporate income tax (CIT) are of no use when there is no profit to tax, so one idea that seems to appeal to many enterprises is to allow for a loss carry-backward; in other words, reducing or refunding 2019 CIT with losses from the 2020 tax year. The financial system also has a role to play. There are some unrealistic expectations for low- or no-interest loans from commercial banks, who after all must survive too, but the Vietnamese government can play a strong role in backing up many small business loans, provided the paperwork is kept simple and the decision-making is carried out in a transparent manner. Larry Madge - General director, Sun Life Vietnam At Sun Life, our top priorities have been to provide a safe work environment for employees and to ensure our existing clients are well treated. There are competing forces when analysing the pandemics impact on insurance demand. The pandemic makes each of us more aware of risk, and this could lead to more people being open to discuss the role of insurance and the impact to their familys earning power. Moreover, the pandemic has also interrupted economic growth, and for some people that could mean that insurance is harder to finance. Social distancing has also made it more difficult for us to interact with potential clients. So, these factors are opposing forces in the demand for insurance in the short and medium term. In the long term, the growth trends that have been driving the insurance market over the last several years are likely to prevail. Marco Perea - Director of credit risk and lending, Fidelity National Information Services The need for physical distance has reverberated across global economies. Asia, having faced this crisis first, has felt the tremendous impact on consumer spending and travel. Given that many Asian economies are primarily retail-driven either through discretionary spending or tourism, the restrictions on physical movement have had an immediate effect on bank balance sheets. Specifically, the moratorium on debt payments imposed by many central banks and governments has caused banks to rethink how they allocate cash flow. There is a delicate balance between meeting mandates to support retail consumers and small- and medium-sized enterprises while at the same time maintaining adequate liquidity and provisions. Notably, central banks have lowered rates to ease this funding burden on banks. Nonetheless, going forward, timely stress testing in relation to liquidity scenarios will take on a greater focus. Aleksandrs Parfjonovs - Head of Vietnam operations, Grindeks JSC The Vietnamese government has handled the crisis very well compared to other countries. Other than working distantly and making use of online software, there is no disruption in both of our representative offices in Vietnam. The main issue we are facing is the delay of the pharmaceutical policy approval, such as Circular No.32/2018/TT-BYT on marketing authorisation of drugs and medicinal ingredients and tender rules introduced in Circular No.15/2019/TT-BYT providing guidance on bidding for supply of drugs for public health facilities. We hope that there would be a fast approval for drugs in shortage or on the list of essential ones. Also, it is very crucial that the government approves pending pharmaceutical applications, so that we could introduce new generics to the market. If the changes above are addressed, we would be able to not only continue operations but also expand them locally. Vu Hai Bang - General director, Woodsland JSC Wood businesses in general are facing many difficulties. Currently, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association has 124 exporters, but the pandemic has forced 80 per cent to suspend or cancel their orders. Besides this, the domestic demand also dropped sharply. So far, 51 per cent of wood businesses in the whole country have partially stopped production, and 7 per cent have completely stopped. In this context, we recommend that the government implements early support packages and does not wait until businesses are practically dead. We thank the government for the decision to extend businesses debts, but we still hope that the social insurance payments for workers will be on hold too. A wood enterprise can have up to 2,000 or 3,000 workers, with insurance fees quite large. Wood enterprises need to be supported with specific policies to extend the time of insurance payments.
The sea trials of the Suffren, the first Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine, go on with first helicopter hoist training. They will enable the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the French Navy to test the performances of the submarine at sea before her delivery later this year. A total of six Barracuda-class vessels will be added to the French Navys fleet by 2030.

The sea trials of the Suffren, the first Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine, go on with first helicopter hoist training. They will enable the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the French Navy to test the performances of the submarine at sea before her delivery later this year. A total of six Barracuda-class vessels will be added to the French Navys fleet by 2030.

SNA Suffren along with NH90 helicopter naval version (Picture source: Marine Nationale)

These sea trials, which started a month late due to the health crisis, began with a static dive, allowing the vessel to be weighed and balanced before the ship headed for the Atlantic for the trials platform. They will then continue in the Mediterranean for the testing of the weapons system.

Led by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), these sea trials, which will last around three months, will confirm "the robustness and efficiency of the submarine before its delivery to the French Navy" in the current of the year, explained the press release from the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

In accordance with the commitments of the military programming law (LPM) 2019-2025, the six SNA Barracuda are all ordered. The first four will be delivered by 2025. With the Suffren, the Duguay Trouin, Tourville, De Grasse, Rubis and Casabianca, currently at different stages of construction, will allow the gradual withdrawal of the first generation ANS.

First sea trials of Suffren Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine for the French Navy (Picture source: Naval Group)

About the SNA Suffren:

The Barracuda class (or Suffren class) is a nuclear attack submarine, designed by the French shipbuilder Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS and DCN) for the French Navy. It is intended to replace the Rubis-class submarines. It is powered by a nuclear propulsion system using a new hybrid design that provides electric propulsion for economical cruise speeds and turbo-mechanical propulsion for higher speeds.

The armament of the Suffren-class submarine includes with four 533mm torpedo tubes and 20 storage racks for various weapons including F21 Artemis heavy torpedoes, Exocet SM.39 Block 2 anti-ship missiles with a range of 50 km, SCALP naval cruise missiles with a range of over 1 000 km, and FG29 mines. Two mines can be carried per weapon rack.

A French Marine Nationale NHIndustries NH90 NFH helicopter assigned to the frigate Provence (D652) lands on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54), not visible, during a bilateral exercise in the Bay of Bengal (Picture source: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David Flewellyn)

About the NH90 Helicopters:

The NH90 is a twin-engine, medium-size helicopter program managed by the joint venture NHIndustries, a Company owned by Leonardo Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters and GKN Fokker. The NH90 helicopter programme is the largest ever launched in Europe. It has been developed to meet the needs of military operators worldwide. It encompasses Tactical Transport and Naval versions, distinguished by the presence of specialised on-board mission systems.

The Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) variant is designed for high manoeuvrability and survivability in Nap of the Earth (NOE) operations and is ideal for tactical transport (16 to 20 troops or material), Special Operations, Search & Rescue, Medical Evacuation (with 12 stretchers), Counterterrorism, Command and Control, Parachuting, VVIP transport and Disaster Relief support.
WESTBURY, N.Y., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, RXVIP Concierge launched their first telehealth & remote patient monitoring residency program and APPE rotations for PharmD students in partnership with Diasyst.

As part of its PharmD Concierge APPE rotations & residency efforts, RXVIP now collaborates with leading pharmacy schools to accept all members from the Class of 2021 so that they can enter the profession to assist in COVID-19 testing and care for patients with chronic health care issues. The company has partnered with a leading national lab, healthcare organizations, and technology vendors to educate the next generation of PharmD healthcare providers.

"Our partnership with Diasyst will help RXVIP Concierge in our mission to develop a new standard in patient engagement that will enhance the role that Pharmacists play in the health care continuum. As the medication experts and clinical support team for the physicians we collaborate with, as a team, we are able to increase patient outcomes while delivering increased reimbursements for the practice," said Crystal Cruz, PharmD, Executive Vice President and Chief Operation Officer, RXVIP Concierge.

The first six-week rotation started Monday with seven students from Chicago State University's and NSU Florida's Colleges of Pharmacy, who will be receiving clinical, technical, and administrative training on all things telehealth and remote patient monitoring, including hands-on experience providing these services to patients at the office of Michael Goodman, MD, in Bellmore, New York, under supervision of senior concierge clinical pharmacists at RXVIP.

"Delivering the medication expertise of the Pharmacist, now including needed remote patient monitoring components that high-risk diabetic patients need, makes the RXVIP Concierge approach with Diasyst a natural addition for our practice. The model that RXVIP has created in healthcare with this collaboration is something I have supported since its inception," said Michael Goodman, MD

Embedded in the Diasyst curriculum will be to show students how to enroll patients into a virtual diabetes care program, as well as best practices for successfully monitoring and engaging patients in between office visits as part of a collaborative environment with physicians.

"RXVIP Concierge's program recruits and trains an incredible workforce of pharmacists into the front lines of this major diabetes epidemic that has been spiraling out of control over the last few decades. By equipping them with modern approaches, such as Diasyst and our partners' technologies, we are excited to partner with RXVIP to educate the next generation of healthcare providers, who will make a difference for thousands of patients, improving outcomes amid rapid policy and reimbursement changes in virtual patient care," said Chun Yong, Chief Executive Officer, Diasyst

RXVIP continues to actively engage with pharmacy programs across the country to recruit more students and residents into its programs. By placing pharmacists in the physician's office as an extension of the medical team, the PharmDs are able to deliver an incredible suite of services that achieve quality and drive revenue for the practices, including, but not limited to:

Annual Wellness Visits (AWV)

Chronic Care Management (CCM)

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Medication Therapy Management (MTM)

Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Alcohol, Obesity, CVD, and a variety of other counseling

"As the first APPE student to study on a rotation at RXVIP when I was a student at Creighton University, I knew that the innovative concierge approach I saw would someday become a reality. RXVIP's passion for the profession and their commitment to students to help guide them on a pathway to provider status always inspired me as well. I look forward to sharing my experiences from my residency training and careers as both a teacher and pharmacist to support Crystal as she educates and serves as a mentor for these bright students of pharmacy," said Bethany Abrahams, PharmD

Beyond providing real-world experiences for PharmD students and residents, RXVIP and Diasyst are both also advocates of provider statuses for the pharmacy profession, helping champion federal and state agencies to allow pharmacists to get reimbursed for a growing number of virtual services now covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers.

About RXVIP Concierge

RXVIP Concierge is a network of Pharmacists, PharmDs, and Students of Pharmacy who are committed to enhancing their roles as healthcare providers. By working collaboratively with other healthcare providers, RXVIP is able to deliver a suite of value-based services at the point of care. These services increase reimbursements and enhance quality measures with the innovative PharmD Concierge program that is setting a new standard of patient engagement. The program includes training for PharmDs, PharmD interns, physicians, and their staff at no cost to those team members. RXVIP Concierge seamlessly integrates these offerings with zero out-of-pocket expense for healthcare practitioners looking to add a trained PharmD to serve as their medication expert via telehealth or in the office. To learn more, visit: www.RXVIPconcierge.com.

RXVIP Concierge is proud to offer remote experiential education solutions to students attending the following affiliates, including;

Long Island University

St. John's University

The Touro College and University System

University at Buffalo

Shenandoah University

Howard University

Wilkes University

Chicago State University

South University

West Virginia University

NOVA Southeastern University

Mercer University

University of Pittsburg

University of Arizona

Colorado State University

University of Southern California

Manchester University College of Pharmacy

MCPHS University

For information on adding your school to our growing group of advanced learning institutions, please email: [email protected]

About Diasyst:

Diasyst provides the best-of-breed technologies to empower healthcare organizations to monitor and manage their chronically ill patients. Coming from decades of research out of the diabetes clinical research team from Emory University/Healthcare and the Atlanta VA Medical Center, Diasyst specializes in developing tools that reduce clinical inertia and translate modern approaches to chronic disease management. By combining the latest monitoring devices and pharmacotherapy management guidelines into its powerful software platform, Diasyst collaborates with organizations like RxVIP Concierge to streamline new clinical services that improve patient care and generate additional revenues.

SOURCE RXVIP Concierge

Related Links

http://www.RXVIPconcierge.com


Is Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme (EBR:BNB) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful.

A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme!

ENXTBR:BNB Historical Dividend Yield May 12th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. 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. Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme paid out 7.4% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. With a low payout ratio, it looks like the dividend is comprehensively covered by earnings.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health.

Dividend Volatility

Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. During this period the dividend has been stable, which could imply the business could have relatively consistent earnings power. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was 126 in 2010, compared to 138 last year. Its dividends have grown at less than 1% per annum over this time frame.

Story continues

Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think is seriously impressive.

Dividend Growth Potential

Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Over the past five years, it looks as though Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme's EPS have declined at around 4.7% a year. A modest decline in earnings per share is not great to see, but it doesn't automatically make a dividend unsustainable. Still, we'd vastly prefer to see EPS growth when researching dividend stocks.

Conclusion

Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. We're glad to see Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme has a low payout ratio, as this suggests earnings are being reinvested in the business. Moreover, earnings have been shrinking. While the dividends have been fairly steady, we'd wonder for how much longer this will be sustainable if earnings continue to decline. Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme might not be a bad business, but it doesn't show all of the characteristics we look for in a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Banque nationale de Belgique Societe anonyme that investors should take into consideration.

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.
WASHINGTON - The highly anticipated Supreme Court arguments Tuesday over President Donald Trump's efforts to block disclosure of his income tax returns and private financial records suggested the possibility of a mixed outcome.

Moreover, several justices suggested there might be more work for lower courts to do, which could delay any turnover of the documents being sought by congressional Democrats and Manhattan's district attorney until after November's election.

In more than three hours of teleconferenced hearings, broadcast to all who wanted to listen in, the justices debated presidential authority and accountability from all angles, and now they will meet in private to try to reach consensus.

A few themes emerged.

In general, the justices seemed more troubled by subpoenas issued by three House committees than with the ones coming from New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. None indicated they agreed with the assertion from Trump's private lawyer Jay Sekulow that the president enjoyed immunity from investigation while in office. There was no discussion of whether the court lacked authority to decide the merits of the dispute, even though the justices themselves had requested briefing on the subject.

The court's previous major decisions involving presidential authority were unanimous: Richard M. Nixon was ordered to turn over White House tape recordings, and Bill Clinton was required to respond to a sexual harassment suit filed by Paula Jones.

A 9-to-0 ruling did not seem a possibility after Tuesday's proceedings. But some, led by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., seemed to be looking for middle ground that would avoid a deeply split decision in a highly charged political atmosphere.

In the congressional case, for instance, Roberts said Trump's lawyers recognized Congress has at least some right to issue subpoenas, and lawyers for Congress acknowledged there were limits.

"So it sounds like at the end of the day this is just another case where the courts are balancing the competing interests on either side," Roberts said.

Trump's two choices for the court, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, asked neutral-sounding questions of both sides. In the case involving Congress, Kavanaugh tried to frame the court's mission.

The question "boils down to, how can we both protect the House's interest in obtaining information it needs to legislate but also protect the presidency?" Kavanaugh asked. "How can the court balance those interests?"

Justice Elena Kagan displayed some agreement with both sides. On the one hand, she suggested the president's lawyers were asking for too much.

"What it seems to me you're asking us to do is to put a kind of 10-ton weight on the scales between the president and Congress and essentially to make it impossible for Congress to perform oversight and to carry out its functions where the president is concerned, Kagan, one of the court's liberal justices, said.

But later she suggested one of the congressional subpoenas was perhaps too much. "When the Congress doesn't seem to be looking into the president, but in a much broader topic, might there not be some heightened need for Congress to say why it is that they're focusing on presidential records for that purpose?"

Likewise, at times Kagan's fellow liberal Justice Stephen Breyer seemed to think the court's past decisions settled the matter. But he expressed concern, as he had more than two decades ago in Clinton v. Jones, that courts needed to be mindful of the demands placed on the president.

"My problem is there may be burdens," he said, adding that the requests from Congress go "way, way, way beyond just tax returns."

The congressional committee cases - Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutsche Bank - involve attempts by three different House committees to get the president's business records from his accounting firm and financial institutions.

The congressional subpoenas followed testimony from Trump's former fixer, attorney Michael Cohen, who told lawmakers that Trump had exaggerated his wealth to seek loans. Two committees subpoenaed Capital One and Deutsche Bank as part of their investigation into Russian money laundering and potential foreign influence involving Trump.

Boston lawyer Patrick Strawbridge said the congressional demands were "unprecedented," and pose "an obvious problem with respect to harassment and infringement upon the ability of the executive to discharge his duties 24 hours a day."

Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, representing the Justice Department, picked up on the theme. "The potential to harass and undermine the president and the presidency is plain," he said. "It's not much to ask that before the House delves into the president's personal life, it explain in some meaningful way what laws it is considering and why it needs the president's documents in particular."

House General Counsel Douglas Letter said the House has explained how its investigation into Trump could inform legislation, but the justices did not seem satisfied.

"Your test is not really much of a test. It's not really a limit," Roberts told Letter.

In fact, added Justice Samuel Alito Jr., one of the court's conservatives, it is "no protection at all."

The court's liberal justices seemed more accommodating to Congress' position that it has an important job to do in investigating potential wrongdoing and then proposing legislation to correct it.

"For example, the Ethics in Government Act, Congress may decide that it needs to beef up that legislation," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "It may also decide that for financial disclosure purposes, there should be disclosure of tax returns . . . Investigate to see if you need legislation of that sort."

Ginsburg noted that only Trump has withheld his tax returns; every other president since Jimmy Carter has disclosed voluntarily.

In the third case, Trump v. Vance, the district attorney is also seeking records from the Mazars firm as part of an investigation into whether Trump business records were falsified to cover up a hush-money scheme just before the 2016 election to silence two women - adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who alleged that they had affairs with Trump. Trump has denied their claims.

Justices on both sides found less to criticize when Carey Dunne, general counsel for Vance's office, spoke.

Sekulow made the bold claim of the president's immunity in that part of the argument. He warned of 2,300 district attorneys across the country with political agendas who would be emboldened to investigate Trump.

But Ginsburg pressed Sekulow about whether the president was the one person exempt from the grand jury's right to "every man's evidence" even when the information it's seeking is not confidential or privileged.

Courts have long recognized that "the president is not to be treated as an ordinary citizen," Sekulow said. "He has responsibilities. He is himself a branch of government. He is the only individual that is a branch of government in our federal system."

That prompted a follow up from Kagan: "But it's also true and, indeed, a fundamental precept of our constitutional order that a president isn't above the law."

Solicitor General Noel Francisco took a more nuanced position in his defense of Trump.

Because the president is not an ordinary citizen while in office, prosecutors must demonstrate a "heightened showing of need" to subpoena the president's private records, Francisco said.

In a brief to the court, the Justice Department said some factors include a showing that the information is "directly relevant to issues that are expected to be central to the trial" and that the evidence is "not available from any other source."

Dunne generally agreed there should be higher standards, but said his office essentially had already met them. A federal judge in New York has determined there is no burden on the official duties of the president because the subpoenas are directed at his accounting firm, and that "our investigation is well-founded and brought in good faith."

Dunne said the court's decision in the Clinton case means a president cannot be shielded from every sort of private distraction, including some forms of legal process.

Adopting the Justice Department's standard, he said, would just mean more delay and give the president the temporary immunity he is seeking.

Investigators examining the conduct of other people and businesses beyond the president risk losing evidence as memories fade and witnesses become unavailable.

"We've already lost nine months of time in this investigation due to this lawsuit," Dunne said.

Responding to Sekulow, Dunne said there was no reason to question the integrity of district attorneys.

"There's no historical support for this claim, which flies in the face of federalism," Dunne said. "The supposed floodgates have been open for generations and there's never been a flood."

The court heard the three landmark constitutional cases by conference call because of the coronavirus pandemic, making it possible for the public to listen to the justices' questions in real time.

The timing of the hearings means the high court's rulings will probably land this summer in the midst of the 2020 presidential election campaign.

- - -

The Washington Post's Jonathan O'Connell, David A. Fahrenthold and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.




Four Zimbabweans have been arrested for smuggling alcohol into South Africa.





The quartet separately crossed into South Africa with bottles of whisky through the Beitbridge port, but after a tip-off.





Smuggling has reportedly worsened in Beitbridge after a boundary fence was vandalised by criminals. The latest arrests followed South Africas recent ban on alcohol sales to curb Covid-19.





According to the South African Police Services (SAPS), the suspects will face charges relating to contravention of the Covid-19 regulations in the neighbouring country.





The Covid-19 operations which were conducted in the Musina and Makhado policing areas yielded positive results for arresting three Zimbabwean nationals after they were found trying to smuggle alcohol into the Republic of South Africa through Beitbridge Port of entry, SAPS said in a statement.





The law enforcement agencies vowed that there will be no stone that will be left unturned. After receiving the information about the smuggled alcohol, the Makhado Cluster Crime Intelligence with the assistance of SAPS Makhado and Musina put in place a sting joint operation that led to the arrest of these suspects while travelling in a Mercedes Benz which was abruptly stopped, searched and alcohol to the value of R6 000 was recovered and confiscated and the vehicle was impounded.





In another incident, a woman was arrested at the same place after being found in possession of alcohol worth R6 000 which was also to be smuggled into South Africa.





The alcohol was confiscated.





Large numbers of people continue to cross the border at Beitbridge despite the erection of a 40 kilometre stretch of fence.





The fence has cost R37 million so far and is aimed at stopping criminals and Zimbabweans from crossing to South Africa.





According to media reports, smugglers on foot and using donkey carts brave the murky and crocodile-infested Limpopo River to illegally take goods across the border.





Some of them are as young as 12-years-old. They operate from an informal settlement near the banks of the river.





SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo was quoted on Saturday, saying they informed their Zimbabwean counterparts about such activities.





During the joint operations they detected people trying to cross the river from Zimbabwe coming into South Africa, he said.





As a result of this, seven people were arrested. They are currently in police custody. We are busy processing them. There were others who escaped back into Zimbabwe and the authorities in Zimbabwe have been alerted.




Big number: 880 acres, the size of the Port Lands, an area roughly equivalent to Torontos downtown core, from Bathurst Street to Parliament Street, and Queens Quay to Dundas Street.

After two-and-a-half years, dozens of community meetings and the presentation of a proposal longer than the longest Harry Potter book, Sidewalk Labs made it official last week: the company  a corporate sibling to Google  is calling it quits. Their proposal for Torontos waterfront is gone.

But the waterfront isnt.

I know what youre thinking: duh. But its worth pointing out that the demise of Sidewalks effort is not the end of Torontos dream of having a great waterfront. Whatever your opinion was on the particulars of the Sidewalk plan, everyone should acknowledge that a partnership with a global technology conglomerate is not a necessary component of realizing a waterfront development strategy. Theres no guidebook to lakeside development that starts with step 1: email Google.

The opportunity is still massive, and still achievable. Quayside, the core of the Sidewalk plan at the foot of Parliament Street, remains a prime 12-acre piece of land next to developments that have managed to move forward without the controversy of the Sidewalk plan. Give it a bit of time and Waterfront Toronto should not have a lot of trouble finding a replacement plan. But the real prize, as Sidewalk often pointed out in their planning documents, is a bit further east: the Port Lands. There, the total land, including developable area, existing greenspace and current industrial uses, totals about 880 acres.

To put that in context, thats the same amount of land as an area spanning from Bathurst Street to Parliament Street, and Queens Quay to Dundas Street. Its another potential downtown, within walking distance of Torontos current downtown.

Few other world cities have such an opportunity, concluded a 2012 planning report on the Port Lands. The scale and location of the Port Lands are such that they can accommodate effectively a new waterfront city within a city.

The economic downturn caused by COVID-19 need not be a deterrent to the development of this city within a city. In fact, COVID-19 should accelerate things. History is filled with examples of governments using major infrastructure projects as a way to build up their economy after major downturns. The Port Lands could be the modern Canadian equivalent of the Tennessee Valley Authority during the Great Depression  a chance to juice an economy that will be thirsty for a while.

Not only will waterfront development in this area create thousands of construction jobs, there are also a bunch of other long-lasting economic and social benefits. The city has been looking for publicly owned land to build affordable rental housing  the waterfront has a whole lot of it. And a lot of room too. A 2017 report estimated a fully built out Port Lands could be home to up to 31,000 people and 30,000 jobs, most of whom would be in a great position to bike, walk or take transit to get around.

And, at a time when the city is starting to feel pretty cramped, dont forget about the greenspace. The city is looking at adding an additional 160 acres of parkland in the Port Lands  thats on top whats already provided in the area at Cherry Beach and along Leslie Spit.

The best part: much of the groundwork has been laid to build and even accelerate this work. Community meetings before and during the Sidewalk saga have given planners knowledge of what people want. Construction work is ongoing to floodproof areas of the Port Lands, creating a brand new island ready for residents and jobs. And just last month, Waterfront Torontos Design Review Panel saw the latest design revisions from landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates for the promenade of parks that will line the re-naturalized Don River. They look spectacular.

It is a shame that over the last two-and-a-half years all this astounding potential and significant progress got buried under a prolonged debate about technology, privacy and corporate involvement in city building. But its time now for all levels of government to refocus and see Torontos waterfront development as an ideal economic stimulus opportunity in a post-pandemic age.

Sidewalk Labs proposal is gone. But our waterfront, and all its potential, remains.

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[May 12, 2020] Global eCommerce Retail Sales Up 209 Percent in April, ACI Worldwide Research Reveals

The COVID-19 crisis continued to drive global eCommerce sales in April, with the general retail sector experiencing 209 percent growth compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of eCommerce transactions from global online retailers. Following general retail, the gaming segment saw the biggest bump, up 126 percent in April. The sustained increase in eCommerce transaction volume reflects a full month of wide-ranging restrictions on in-store retail activity and other COVID-19-related measures, evidenced by average transaction volume growth of 23.5 percent in April versus the same period last year. By comparison, there was a 5.3 percent increase in March 2020, when lockdowns first came into effect. "Trends in eCommerce purchasing behaviors that we began to see in March have continued in April, as hundreds of millions of consumers around the world adapt to the restrictions put in place to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus," said Debbie Guerra, executive vice president, ACI Worldwide (News - Alert). "Consumers are increasingly making use of click-and-collect options because of convenience and safety-but these changing patterns also attract fraudsters, resulting in a significant uptick in attempted fraud." Fraud attempt rates reached 4.3 percent in April, slightly down from 5.3 percent in March, but still up from 3.8 percent compared to this time last year. Attempted fraud is focused on segments that have seen high sales growth, such as consumer electronics, with the average ticket price of attempted fraud up $26. Click-and-collect-or buy online, pick up in store-also accounted for a rise in attempted fraud. The transactional value of attempted fraud rose by 9.9 percent, reflecting fraudsters' continued emphasis on popular high-value items including laptops and TVs. "Fraudsters continue to use the disruption to the status quo to target unsuspecting consumers and unprepared businesses," continued Guerra. "While vigilance is paramount, merchants also need to ensure that they are scrutinizing their fraud strategies to quickly adapt to a highly dynamic new retail environment." Key Findings: Online retail sectors with rising transaction volumes in April 2020 (compared to April 2019): General Retail: +209 percent (74% in March), Gaming: +126 percent (97.3% in March), Digital downloads: +26 percent (5.4% in March), Liquor online sales (Australia-specific): +208 percent (85% in March) Online retail sectors with declining transaction volumes in the same period: Ticketing: -99 percent, Travel: -91 percent, Online dating: -5 percent Transaction volume trends January-April 2020 (compared to same period in 2019): Digital downloads: +17 percent, Gaming: +60, Retail: +24 percent Fraud Trends: Chargebacks for non-fraudulent reasons (i.e., "friendly fraud") have risen by 25 percent through the end of March as merchants face challenges in processing refunds, staffing call centers or delivering services. Note that merchants are aggressively working to lower chargeback volumes and related costs as they also try to improve the dispute experience for consumers.

Average fraudulent attempted purchase value increased by $26 in April, driven by electronic purchases and increases in click-and-collect; this corresponds to a raudulent attempted transactional value increase of 9.9 percent. Average value of genuine purchases sank by $21.

Fraud attempt rate rose 1.6 percentage points in April 2020 to reach 5.3 percent, up from 3.7 percent in April 2019.



Tips for Consumers to protect identity and personal information during the COVID-19 crisis:

Beware of online requests for personal information. Coronavirus-themed emails seeking personal information are likely to be phishing scams. Legitimate government agencies won't ask for that information. Delete the email.

Coronavirus-themed emails seeking personal information are likely to be phishing scams. Legitimate government agencies won't ask for that information. Delete the email. Check the email address or link. Inspect a link by hovering the mouse over the URL to see where it leads. Sometimes it's obvious the web address is not legitimate. But keep in mind phishers can create links that closely resemble legitimate addresses. Delete the email.

Inspect a link by hovering the mouse over the URL to see where it leads. Sometimes it's obvious the web address is not legitimate. But keep in mind phishers can create links that closely resemble legitimate addresses. Delete the email. Watch for spelling and grammatical mistakes. If an email includes spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, it's likely a sign of a phishing email. Delete the email.

If an email includes spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, it's likely a sign of a phishing email. Delete the email. Look for generic greetings. Phishing emails are unlikely to use a person's name. Greetings like "Dear sir or madam" often signal an email is not legitimate.

Phishing emails are unlikely to use a person's name. Greetings like "Dear sir or madam" often signal an email is not legitimate. Avoid emails that insist acting now. Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency or demand immediate action. Delete the email. Tips for Merchants to maintain security and deliver to customers during the COVID-19 crisis: Maintain security and deliver a great customer experience , as consumer purchasing behavior-both genuine and fraudulent-has changed. For example: Express shipment and buy online, pick up in store delivery methods continue to grow , making transaction decision speed and accuracy critical. Use customer profiling and time-on-file techniques to maintain the customer experience for valued customers and ensure good transactions are still accepted.

, as consumer purchasing behavior-both genuine and fraudulent-has changed. Expect an increase in "friendly fraud" chargebacks as a result of growing financial difficulties among consumers. Friendly fraud occurs when a cardholder receives goods but denies making a purchase or a family member makes purchase without cardholder approval. Monitor systems and update as necessary. Business intelligence tools and real-time monitoring lead to immediate decisions and responses. Employ rapid access to fraud intelligence to inform rules changes in real time. Engage frequently with web and mobile site security management. Give these teams the tools, techniques and procedures to detect, contain and mitigate botnets. And considering the presence of both good and bad bots, put business policies in place to address this issue with clarity for both teams.

as a result of growing financial difficulties among consumers. Friendly fraud occurs when a cardholder receives goods but denies making a purchase or a family member makes purchase without cardholder approval. About ACI Worldwide ACI Worldwide, the Universal Payments (UP) company, powers electronic payments for more than 6,000 organizations around the world. More than 1,000 of the largest financial institutions and intermediaries, as well as thousands of global merchants, rely on ACI to execute $14 trillion each day in payments and securities. In addition, myriad organizations utilize our electronic bill presentment and payment services. Through our comprehensive suite of software solutions delivered on customers' premises or through ACI's private cloud, we provide real-time, immediate payments capabilities and enable the industry's most complete omni-channel payments experience. To learn more about ACI, please visit www.aciworldwide.com. You can also find us on Twitter (News - Alert) @ACI_Worldwide.  Copyright ACI Worldwide, Inc. 2020 ACI, ACI Worldwide, the ACI logo, ACI Universal Payments, UP, the UP logo and all ACI product/solution names are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACI Worldwide, Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States, other countries or both. Other parties' trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005666/en/

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Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha disclosed that President Buhari has directed the presidential task force on COVID-19 to pick up the COVID-19 Syrup from Madagascar that has been reported to have plant-based remedy for Coronavirus.

Boss Mustapha while addressing newsmen at the daily briefing of the taskforce in Abuja today, said Madagascar has donated some of the products to Nigeria through Guinea-Bissau, and arrangements were being made to pick them up.

He, however, said that the syrup will be subjected to the standard validation process for pharmaceuticals
Korean American actors Ralph and Philip Ahn (middle) and their sister Susan Anh Cuddy, the first female gunnery officer to serve in the U.S. Navy, are among the diverse Asian Americans featured in PBS' five-part series "Asian Americans." (Courtesy of Flip Cuddy)

Like many immigrant children, Daniel Dae Kim didn't learn of the hard-won American Dream that brought his parents to the United States until later in life. He was a teenager when they finally told him their story, one that resembled those chronicled in PBS' five-part docuseries "Asian Americans," a landmark program spanning 150 years that couldn't arrive at a more timely moment.

They described how, when he was 1 year old, they'd come to the U.S. from South Korea with just $200. Eventually, the family put down roots in Pennsylvania. From that they built a whole life for themselves and raised three happy, healthy children, one of whom who is fortunate enough to speak to you right now," said Kim, known for his roles on "Lost" and "Hawaii 5-0."

Tamlyn Tomita was a junior high student in the San Fernando Valley when she learned that America had incarcerated 120,000 persons of Japanese descent, including U.S.-born Japanese American citizens, during World War II. The "Joy Luck Club" actress would later launch her career with "The Karate Kid Part II" and help tell stories of internment on screen. On that day she went home and asked her father, an LAPD officer: Did this happen to you?

He said, Yes,  Tomita remembered. I said, Why didnt you tell me?

Larry Itliong, arriving at an AWOC meeting in California's Central Valley in the early 1960s, in PBS' "Asian Americans." (George Ballis / Take Stock / TopFoto)

As long as Asians have been in the United States they've helped shape its history but have often been left out of the lessons taught in schools. At home, family histories often go unspoken by older generations who strove through xenophobia, racist legislation, migratory waves, societal shifts, wars and their aftermaths in the pursuit of happiness.

"Asian Americans," premiering Monday, aims to rewrite that history in vibrant detail. Narrated by Kim and Tomita, it highlights milestones in the history of the country's fastest-growing demographic  a sprawling group in itself, comprising diverse origin countries, languages and histories  with the help of Asian American scholars, historians and artists like Hari Kondabolu, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Randall Park as well as the descendants of subjects who fought to be seen as more than foreigners in the country they called home.

Story continues

"Weve tried to do an Asian American history series for years and years," said Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and UCLA professor Renee Tajima-Pena ("Who Killed Vincent Chin?"), the producer of "Asian Americans." Airing during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the series has taken on even greater urgency amid rising anti-Asian sentiment in America because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Asian Americans are really galvanized and the series is blurring into the conversation of 'Where do we go next? What does this moment mean?' " said Tajima-Pena, who assembled a filmmaking team that included S. Leo Chiang ("A Village Called Versailles"), Geeta Gandbhir ("Why We Hate") and Grace Lee ("American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs") to condense an ambitious overview of Asian Americana into five hourlong segments.

"It doesnt feel like were finished with the series," she said. "It feels like were starting this whole new conversation." In addition to validating the experiences of Asian Americans throughout history, she said, it was important to draw connections between Asian Americans and other communities throughout the series.

That's why the series finds parallels between the murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was mistaken for Japanese and beaten to death by white men in Detroit in 1982, and the 1991 killing of 15-year-old African American girl Latasha Harlins by a Korean store owner in Los Angeles, which preceded the Rodney King verdict and exacerbated tensions between the black and Korean communities during the 1992 L.A. Riots.

Tajima-Pena, Oscar-nominated for her 1987 documentary about Chin's murder, says the recent killing of 25-year-old Georgia man Ahmaud Arbery deserves to be met with the same public outrage by all communities who have been victimized by scapegoating, racism and violence.

"For Asian Americans, the Vincent Chin story is often this touchstone, but you cant invoke the name and the story of Vincent Chin when there are Ahmaud Arberys happening to black and brown people," said Tajima-Pena. "For Asian Americans, if we stand up for Vincent Chin, we have to stand up for the Michael Browns, the Eric Garners, and the Ahmaud Arberys. But we dont always do that."

"Asian Americans" also feels timely to Kim. In March, actor, producer and director went public with his COVID-19 diagnosis as incidents of anti-Asian violence and harassment were on the rise, targeting Asians as scapegoats for the virus. Being Asian American "has been the source of some of my greatest pride, and greatest pain," he said in an email. "It means having the benefits of two amazing cultures, and at times, feeling like youre a true member of neither.

"The story I feel a particular connection to right now is the murder of Vincent Chin," he said. "I cant help but see a parallel between his story and the tragic murder of Ahmaud Arbery. To be explicitly clear, I am not equating the African American experience to that of Asian Americans as a general rule. Our histories are very specific and worthy of respect for their own unique reasons, but seeing two young men murdered for no other reason than the color of their skin, and then watching the justice system fail them, is a fresh reminder of how far we have to go as a country.""

Moving from the 19th century to the present, "Asian Americans" relates the remarkable stories of notable early Asian migrants. Antero Cabrera, brought from the Philippines to be displayed in a replica Igorot "village" at the 1904 World's Fair, is remembered by his granddaughter, who notes how he found agency amid the ordeal and started a family in the U.S.

Other figures highlighted include Indian American writer Bhagat Singh Thind, who fought for the United States in World War I and was denied citizenship twice because he was not white; the Chinese laborers who gave their sweat and sometimes lives to building America's railroads but were largely erased from photographs of its completion; and Moksad Ali, a Bengali Muslim trader who arrived in the 1800s and married an African American woman named Ella Blackman in New Orleans, where his modern-day descendants revisit their multiracial roots on screen.

Bhagat Singh Thind, pictured circa 1918. (Courtesy of the Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind Spiritual Science Foundation)

In subsequent episodes, the series tracks the American-born generations whose lives were upturned by a country that questioned their loyalty; the model minority myth that pitted "good" Asian Americans against other communities of color; the emergence of new alliances and political heroes in the civil rights, farm worker and ethnic studies movements; and the later arrivals of new immigrants and refugees who carved out their own spaces in the changing American landscape.

Tomita, of Japanese and Filipina descent, narrates a chapter about the impact of WWII on the Uno family, divided by war and incarceration; Tule Lake-born activist Satsuki Ina, now a prominent voice in the fight to end child detention; and Korean American siblings Philip and Susan Ahn, who fought the Japanese empire by serving in Hollywood and the military, respectively. She thought back to the day she learned of her own father's story and how that lesson informed her own lasting awareness.

"It was my first awakening to this wrong chapter, the wrong acts committed to our government  how it makes you feel hate and shame," she said. "That sparked my interest in knowing what happened to my father and to my fathers family and other families of Japanese descent and then other families who now continue to be incarcerated and imprisoned in what they call migrant detention centers.

"The intergenerational trauma that we still witness, I still feel it. I hope I dont pass it along to my nieces and nephews, but I need to pass along this story so they know it happened and to ensure that it wont happen again."

Finding fascinating threads of the Asian American tapestry was easy, said Tajima-Pena. Bringing those stories to life in a visual medium was another story.

"It was really a bear to find archival materials because for the most part Asian Americans were not pictured," she said. "Ive seen so many films about, for example, the strikes at San Francisco State and Berkeley. You never see Asians in these films. I used to wonder because I knew people who were there who were a part of the strikes. I thought, Did they cut out the Asians, or did they not even film them?"

To find footage of Patsy Mink, the Hawaii-born politician who became the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress in 1964, the team sought out footage from the 1960 Democratic National Convention where, according to a contemporary newspaper account, she had given a rousing speech that helped persuade the party to stay the course in the fight for civil rights.

"We knew parts of the convention were televised, so we kept on looking," Tajima-Pena said. "I said, 'Find out the day and specifically who was white and speaking around the same time. Look for them, and look through the footage to see if you spot her'  and thats how they found her."

The filmmakers tapped specialty community collections from the Japanese American National Museum and the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, before part of its vast archive was damaged in a fire in January. They also asked people to look in their basements for private troves of home videos, photographs and media that they dusted off, digitized, and preserved as part of the project.

They turned to authors like Vivek Bald, who chronicled the story of Moksad Ali in his book "Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America" and whose work has been vital in establishing the recorded histories of individuals across the spectrum of the Asian American experience. "We knew that Asian Americans are not just East Asian, and we couldnt do the series without telling those stories," said Tajima-Pena.

"Asian Americans" chronicles the story of the Uno family, torn apart by WWII and Japanese American incarceration, as surviving relatives piece together painful memories. (Asian Americans)

And they invited Asian American figures like Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Nguyen, whose family arrived in the United States in 1975 as refugees from the Vietnam War, to share their own personal histories. The Sympathizer author grew up in San Jose, where his parents opened a grocery store and, he remembered, anti-Vietnamese signs posted around their neighborhood sent a stark message to people like him.

My parents worked 12- to 14-hour days in this store almost every day of the year. My parents were shot in that store on Christmas Eve, he says in the docuseries, becoming visibly emotional. I swore one day that I would have an opportunity to rewrite that sign  to write another story.

Learning about the battles waged and won by predecessors in the Asian American community as well as his own industry, like trailblazing actors Sessue Hayakawa, Anna May Wong and Bruce Lee, is a source of inspiration and encouragement, says Kim.

"Knowing they charted a path where there was none fuels the fire for me to believe in whats possible," he said. "The challenges they faced to pave the way for people like me should never be forgotten. After all, you have to know where you started to know how far youve come. Im sure thats on a fortune cookie somewhere  another Asian American creation, by the way."

Asian Americans

Where: KOCE



When: 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Tuesday



Rated: TV-14-L (may be unsuitable for children under age 14 with an advisory for coarse language)
UT Austins College of Fine Arts design department will partner with Cockrell School of Engineering to build a program in product design. UT alumnus Mike Reese, a Houston native, has pledged $1 million to create the Reese Foundation Excellence Fund for Product Innovation Endowment to benefit the School of Design and Creative Technologies.

The two colleges will develop programs and classes around industrial design and product innovation.

Growing our curriculum to include product innovation and industrial design allows us to maintain our competitive stature while growing the mission of our department, Doreen Lorenzo, assistant dean for the School of Design and Creative Technologies said in a statement. The gift will support professional development for faculty who have expertise in industrial design, new courses and scholarships; Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, IDSA, has joined the faculty as associate professor of Practice in Design.

The university has the potential to reshape industrial and product design in the state of Texas, and my hope is that my gift inspires other donors to invest in the future of this program, Reese said. The Reese Foundation, created in 1998 by Mike and Pamela Reese, has provided philanthropic support to the visual arts, education and the environment.

Reese received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at UT Austin in 1970. He went on to earn a degree in product design from the Art Center College of Design. He launched Reese International in 1976, best known for innovative aircraft interior designs. Reese achieved an international reputation in customized design of private luxury aircraft

My education and experiences at UT provided me with a firm foundation that prepared me to eventually create a successful design business and rewarding career, Reese said. I hope that my gift to UTs Department of Design will help empower todays and tomorrows students to have successful careers as well.
Everyone knows that Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Devdas is one of the most adapted novels in the history of Indian cinema. But other works of this Bengalis novelist have been adapted as well by our filmmakers. More often than not they told a simple tale about the complexities of the heart. Heres presenting a list of some of the best Bollywood adaptations of his seminal works down the ages. Hope it adds to your viewing pleasure this quarantine.Director: Bimal RoyCast: Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen, VyjayanthimalaBimal Roy was the cameraman for PC Barua directed Devdas (1936) and was itching to make his own version. He chose Dilip Kumar as the tragic lover and such was Kumars dedication to the role that its said he had to consult shrinks to get out of the character. It's also said that Vyjayanthimala, who was renowned as a dancer, was taken seriously as a dramatic actor after the release of this film. Roy took cinematic liberties from both the original and Sharat Chandra Chatterjees novel. There is no scene where Paro and Chandramukhi meet both in the novel and the original film but here they fleetingly see each other and guess each others identity. Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, known for her natural ease in front of the camera was introduced to Hindi film audiences through this film as Parvati, while Vyjayanthimala played the nautch girl with a heart of gold, Chandramukhi.Director: Sanjay Leela BhansaliCast: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai BachchanShah Rukh Khan plays Devdas, a wealthy law graduate who returns from London and finds himself in love with his next-door neighbour Paro (Aishwarya). However, because of the class difference between them, his family doesnt consent to their marriage. Devdas becomes heartbroken and becomes an alcoholic because of the pain of separation from his childhood sweetheart. Paros mother marries her into a family which is richer than Devdas family. She marries a widower with children who has no interest in her. Devdas finds succour in the arms of a courtesan Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit). He just cant reconcile himself with the separation and his health deteriorates. In the end, he takes his last breath at the gate of Paros new home. She can only watch helplessly from afar as he dies. Bhansali took several liberties with the original source material while making this film. The chief among them being the song Dola re dola, where Parvati and Chandramukhi were seen dancing together.Director: Bimal RoyCast: Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, ManoramaBased on Saratbabus 1914 novel of the same name Parineeta takes you to a world where a glance was enough to convey a thousand words. Lalita (Meena Kumari) is an orphaned niece of an impoverished clerk named Gurucharan (Nazir Hussain). Shekhar (Ashok Kumar), is the son of their rich landlord neighbour. Lalita has always liked Shekhar. She likes to tend to his room, keeps his cupboard tidy and likes to keep his mom company. One day, on a moonlit night, the two even exchange garlands. For Lalita, thats enough. She begins to think of herself as Shekhars wife. Gurucharan is indebted to Shekhars father, who is after their property. When a stranger Girin (Asit Baran) pays off the loan out of the goodness of his heart, it gets implied that Gurucharan has sold his daughter to Girin. To save Lalitas reputation, shes to be married off to Girin. An angry Shekhar too agrees to get married. This emotional storm gets weathered by some quick thinking on the part of Girin.Director: Pradeep SarkarCast: Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Saif Ali KhanSarkar, who himself was making his directorial debut with the film, took a risk casting newbie Vidya Balan in a love triangle where she was pitted against established stars like Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan. Belying all expectations, she made this period romance her own. She became the reason people watched the film. She looked like a heroine from the 60s in the film and justified Sarkars confidence in her. Being a Vidu Vinod Chopra production, this version of Parineeta was more lavish than the Bimal Roy version. It was more melodramatic as well, though the spirit of the novel was maintained in the film.Director: Bimal RoyCast: Kamini Kaushal, Abhi Bhattacharya, PranIts based on Sarat Chandra Chatterjees novel Biraj Bou. Biraj (Kamini Kaushal) is married off to Nilambar Chakraborty (Abhi Bhattacharya) when she was a little girl. The couple is childless. Nilambar is a good-natured unemployed man who likes to spend his time doing kirtans and helping people during funerals. His brother is a cunning man and creates a partition between them and even buys off their joint property by false means. Biraj makes toys out of clay and sells them to make ends meet. Even at this stage, Nilamber doesnt get worldly-wise. Hes still up to his old pursuits and doesnt get employed. Their situation worsens. At this juncture, shes abducted by a local contractor who is enamoured of her beauty. However, shes able to run away from her captor. The end is pretty melodramatic as she dies at her husbands feet. Looking back, the film may look like a huge tearjerker but at the time of its release, the film was largely appreciated. Kamini Kaushal even won a Filmfare for her portrayal.Director: Hrishikesh MukherjeeCast: Meena Kumari, DharmendraIts based on the Bengali language story, Mejdidi (Middle Sister) by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Hemangini is the chhoti bahu, the wife of Bipin (Dharmendra), the younger of two wealthy brothers who own a large village shop. Bipins elder brother Naveen (Bipin Gupta) and Bipins shrewish wife Kadambari (Lalita Pawar) dont much like her because shes an educated, modern girl who speaks her mind. Their relations get further soured when Hem bears witness against her brother-in-law in a court case. In such a scenario, comes Kishan (Sachin), Kadambaris stepbrother. His mother has died and he has nowhere to go. Kadambari treats him just like a servant but its Hem who takes care of him. A bond develops between the little boy and her. He begins to see her as a foster mother. Both Sachin and Meena Kumari were heads and shoulders above everyone else in the film. They came across as real people and not caricatures and some of their scenes together did bring tears to your eyes.Director: KB TilakCast: Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Nirupa RoyIts based on the novel Bindur Chhele written by Saratchandra Chatterjee. Radha (Sharmila Tagore) is the only daughter of a rich merchant. She has epilepsy. Her marriage is fixed to a doctor, Madhu (Rajesh Khanna) who accepts her even after knowing her condition. When its seen that her condition goes away when she plays with the newborn son of Madhus elder brother Shriram (Tarun Bose), he and his wife Sita (Nirupa Roy), let her bring the kid up. Trouble starts when Madhu and Rams sister Paro (Shashikala) comes to live with them. She cannot tolerate the harmony between Radha and Sita and wants to end it. She keeps filling Sitas mind against Radha and even tries to turn the child away from his foster mother. Finally, she tells the child that Radha would die if he goes near her. Radha falls ill, but thankfully, her health comes back when Gopi (Sarika) comes back to her.Director: GulzarCast: Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Sharmila TagoreThe film was based on the novel Panditmashai by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Kusum (Hema Malini) and Vrindavan (Jeetendra) are two children living in a small village. They are married off as children. But later on, a misunderstanding occurs between their families and Kusum isnt accepted as the daughter-in-law. Vrindavan grows up to be a doctor and marries a child widow Lakhi (Sharmila Tagore). They have a son Charan (Master Raju). Lakhi dies and Vrindavan co-incidentally comes to look after a patient in Kusums village. She recognises him but he doesnt. They invariably come close and she even becomes fond of his young son. But she hasnt forgotten the humiliation bestowed on her and because of that misunderstandings occur between them. How Vrindavan wins her back forms the crux of the story.Director: Basu ChatterjeeCast: Shabana Azmi, Vikram, Girish Karnad, Utpal DuttThe film was adapted from a Sarat Chandra novel of the same name. Saudamini Mini (Shabana Azmi) has grown up idolising her forward-thinking uncle (Utpal Dutt). Like him, she loves to read Western literature, likes Western philosophers and is an atheist at heart. Her god-fearing mother doesnt like her growing intimacy with the neighbourhood boy Naren (Vikram), who is smitten by her beauty as well as her intellect but takes a tremendously long time to make his intentions clear. Mini gets married off to a wealthy wheat trader Ghanshyam (Girish Karnad). Hes the epitome of patience and doesnt react to her tantrums and mood swings. In her mind, she has become a prisoner in her husbands house and wants to break free. But its only when she takes the actual step does she begin to realise her foolishness. She understands the largeness of heart of her husband and the last scene, where he asks her to come back home, completes her transformation from a rebellious girl to a wife. While Utpal Dutt and Girish Karnad shone in their individual ways, the film belonged to Shabana Azmi. Her quicksilver expressions carried the day.Director: Basu ChatterjeeCast: Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Girish Karnad, Utpal DuttThe film is based on Sarat Chandras novel Nishkriti. Utpal Dutt, a senior advocate based in Kolkata dotes on his younger cousin, Chander (Amol Palekar). Chander is a bit of a slacker, not interested in taking a permanent job and is only interested in music. His wife, Sheela (Shabana Azmi), practically runs the household and is considered quite strict. The advocates wife Siddheswari (Ashalata) too likes them both. Everything is fine till Utpal Dutts younger brother Haish (Girish Karnad) lands up with his wife Naintara (Bharti Achrekar). Naintaras gets jealous of Sheelas hold on the household and plots against her. She gets Sheela and Chander thrown out of the house with her husbands help. Harish also files a suit against them. Suddenly, life is on a downward spiral for them. Its only on the intervention of the elder brother that things smooth up once more. The rivalries and politics of a joint family are amply brought out in the film.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Georgia's primary election is just around the corner, and it will look much different this year.

The Georgia secretary of states office mailed out 6.9 million absentee ballot requests for the June 9 vote in light of the coronavirus pandemic to help voters make their voice heard.

While the office anticipates voter turnout to be typical, officials expect more of the votes to come through the mail, about 50%.

We were looking for about 2 million people voting, and right now were over 1.3 million 1.4 million requests, said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. So, we actually may hit that number of two million its just going to be a totally different dynamic than we really were expecting obviously this time its going to be well over 50%.

For comparison, in past general primary elections, there were fewer than 40,000 absentee ballots.

Raffensperger says officials are confident in the security of the election with multiple verification points, locks and cameras at drop off locations. Additionally, he says they have added high-speed ballot scanners for these absentee votes.

While they expect voters to use this option more than in previous years, in person voting is still an option with early voting beginning in just a week. Raffensperger says the process will be socially distanced, they recommend wearing masks and will have sanitation ready. He is confident in what they have done to prepare.

I feel really good about it, Raffensperger said. Obviously, this is a once in a multi-generational, once every 100-year event and so whatever we do here 100 years from now will maybe have much better ways of doing it, but this is where we are right now. And so, we feel comfortable that we really made that unprecedented step to reach out and mail those applications and then we waited for the voters to respond and theyve positively responded.

Raffenspeger officials are getting last-minute equipment and sharing their message with counties, but will be ready for election day on June 9. They are still looking for poll workers and say if you are interested you can sign up online.
The amygdala-projecting thalamic cells (green) are located outside of the auditory thalamic territory and express a protein called calretinin (red). Credit: Akos Babiczky and Ferenc Matyas, RCNS, Budapest, Hungary.

Researchers at the Research Center for Natural Sciences and other institutes in Hungary have recently carried out a study investigating the involvement of brain regions other than the amygdalamore specifically, the lateral thalamus in controlling fear behavior. Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, presents interesting results that could better explain the connections between neutral stimuli and the automatic responses developed by animals in conditioning experiments from a neuroscientific standpoint.

"In our everyday life, we perceive a large amount of information; however, we only store memory of things that have meaning for us, a value that attracts, motivates us or causes us discomfort," Matyas Ferenc, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Medical Xpress. "In classical conditioning experiments first conducted by Ivan Petrovics Pavlov (1897), a previously meaningless sound of a bell was presented to a dog along with food; after a few repetitions, the dog started to salivate immediately when it heard the same bell sound, even without food."

Pavlov's experiments revealed that if an animal is repeatedly given food immediately after he hears the sound of a bell, it typically learns to associate the sound with the arrival of food and starts salivating when the bell rings, regardless of whether food arrives or not. This phenomenon, dubbed "conditioning," entails three different processes: learning, memory formation and recall.

Years after the introduction of the classical conditioning paradigm, neuroscientists identified the amygdala as the brain region that plays the most prominent role in an animal's formation and retrieval of associative memories, as observed in Pavlov's experiments. Despite the growing evidence highlighting the importance of the amygdala in associative learning and conditioning processes, some researchers have found that other brain regions could also be involved, including the thalamus.

Nonetheless, so far, there has been no definitive scientific evidence of signal association in the thalamus that could reflect conditioning processes. In addition, although some have suggested that the thalamic area, particularly the auditory thalamus, could be connected to the amygdala, researchers have been unable to confirm this connection or identify neuronal pathways that connect these two brain regions.

"All of the unanswered questions and contradictions arising from past neuroscience studies prompted us to re-investigate the signaling pathways involved in a classical fear conditioning paradigm and directly terminated in the amygdala," Ferenc explained. "In this paradigm, a neutral tone (called conditioned stimulus, CS) is associated with an affective signal (called unconditioned stimulus, US; foot shock) during the conditioning phase. The next day, the same tone alone elicited the similar defensive behavior (freezing) of mice without US delivery."

In their study, Ferenc and his colleagues performed complex anatomical and functional investigations aimed at mapping all the brain regions that could quickly transmit signals to the amygdala. They genetically identified a lateral thalamic cell population located outside of the auditory thalamus brain region that fulfills all the requirements for completing this particular action.

"The cell population we identified (1) receives brainstem (direct) multisensory inputs shown by monosynaptic Rabies tracing; (2) it shows the largest activation when two signals (tone and foot-shock) were paired while we recorded from identified amygdala-projecting lateral thalamic neurons; and (3) it controls the stimulus-evoked activations of the connected amygdala neurons tested by optogenetic inhibition of thalamic inputs while we monitored the firing pattern of the amygdala cells," Ferenc said.

Optogenetic inhibition of the thalamic input in the amygdala prevents fear memory recall. A control, non-conditioned (non-shocked) mouse (left) does not show any defense behavior (freezing), while a control, conditioned mouse does (indicated by immobility; middle). In contrast, a conditioned mouse with thalamic inhibition does not show freezing behavior (right). Credit: Boglarka Barsy and Kinga Kocsis , RCNS, Budapest, Hungary.

Ferenc and his colleagues identified a new inhibitory neuronal subgroup, part of the GABAergic cell population, that had been overlooked in previous studies. This unique cell population appears to contribute greatly to the transfer of signals from the thalamus to the entire amygdala brain region. The researchers used optogenetic inhibition techniques during fear conditioning experiments on mice to investigate the potential role of this thalamic cell type in controlling conditioned fear behavior.

"Animals for which the thalamic inputs within the amygdala were silenced during the presentation of the tone and foot-shock stimuli did not show freezing behaviour, while control mice (without optogenetic silencing) did," Ferenc said. "Our investigations thus highlighted thatin contrast to the well-accepted concept of signal association in the amygdalathe lateral thalamus can integrate these signals and send associative information in the amygdala, shaping defense behavior."

In addition to unveiling the presence of associative signaling in the thalamus, Ferenc and his colleagues found that the pairing of a tone and foot-shock in mice during their conditioning experiment changed the firing pattern of the animals' lateral thalamic cells. This suggests that these thalamic cells' activity is plastic, or in other words that it can be shaped over time by relevant environmental signals. Interestingly, the researchers also found that the optogenetic inhibition of thalamic inputs prevented the animals from recalling fear memories.

In 1994, a renowned neuroscientist called Joseph LeDoux introduced the idea that the thalamus provides two sensory routes to the amygdala. The first is a quick and unprocessed pathway that directly leads to rapid behavioral responses, while the second is an 'indirect' and slower pathway that passes through cortical regions associated with a specific behavior. Remarkably, Ferenc and his colleagues identified the thalamic region that could be involved in these two processes, as well as a single cell population that drives both of these pathways to the amygdala.

"Our results prove that the amygdala is not the only place in the brain with the capability of pairing CS and US signals: CS-US association is occurred at the level of the (calretinin-expressing) lateral thalamic cells which then, convey this information to the amygdala and cortex," Ferenc said. "The signal association drives thalamic plasticity which is accompanied with memory storage about the conditioning event."

Past research, including a study conducted by Kay Tye in 2008, introduced the idea that the same thalamic pathway identified by Ferenc and his colleagues could be involved in reward learning. The findings gathered by the researchers provide new evidence suggesting that the specific cell population they studied does not merely relay sensory information to the amygdala, but that it can also generally encode environmental information related to behavioral responses.

By unveiling another distinct cell population that may play a role in associative learning, the recent study conducted by Ferenc and his colleagues could open up new possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of numerous mental disorders, particularly those characterized by unhelpful associative learning. In the future, their work could inspire further studies investigating the potential presence of thalamic dysfunctions in people with mental health disorders linked with maladaptive associative learning.

"To examine this, first, the evolutionarily converse nature of this lateral thalamo-amygdala routes must be revealed and the precise location of its thalamic element should be identified in the human brain, to provide exact coordinates for future functional investigation," Ferenc said. "If abnormal thalamic functioning will be found in patients, future research on these thalamic cells, especially focusing on their molecular and genetic links to behavioral deficits, may identify a selective tool that allows us to fine tune their activity and thus, temper symptoms."

Explore further Researchers discover new pathways in brain's amygdala

More information: Boglarka Barsy et al. Associative and plastic thalamic signaling to the lateral amygdala controls fear behavior, Nature Neuroscience (2020). Journal information: Nature Neuroscience Boglarka Barsy et al. Associative and plastic thalamic signaling to the lateral amygdala controls fear behavior,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0620-z

 2020 Science X Network
Tourism:Tunisia announces safety protocol to relaunch sector Country shows relatively reassuring data on coronavirus

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 12 - Tunisia wants to relaunch tourism, a key sector for the country's economy, given the relatively reassuring data on the coronavirus emergency (no new cases have been registered for two consecutive days).



Although it is unclear when it will be possible to return to Tunisia, in this perspective the ministry of tourism and craftsmanship is publishing a protocol of agreement which abides by new sanitary measures to organize hotels.



A hotel will be allowed to use only 50% of its facilities and each structure will have a nurse and hygienist. Access to swimming pools will be limited with no more than a person every three square meters and restaurants will need to guarantee social distancing for customers.



Hotel personnel will be obliged to communicate to directors if they see a client with symptoms that could be linked to COVID-19. Measures will also be adopted at airports as well as in all venues used by holidaymakers in Tunisia. The objective is to reopen the sector after the coronavirus crisis and to guarantee adequate conditions for tourists at hosting facilities. Tourism Minister Mohamed Ali Toumi stressed in a speech to operators of the sector the need to develop, within the current economic situation, local tourism ''always abiding by recommendations of the healthcare protocol'' as well as promote new areas of the country that are not visited enough.



Over 9.4 million people have visited the country in 2019, up 13.6% on the previous year. (ANSAmed)
As the Bexar County Sheriff's Office continues testing inmates in the county jail, the number of positive COVID-19 cases has declined, Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a news conference.

About a third of the total inmate population  around 800 people  have been tested, resulting in 310 positive cases.

Officials focused on testing those in the jail's COVID-19 "hot spots" first, Salazar said.

READ MORE: The latest news and features about coronavirus in San Antonio

"The reason we had such a steep climb in our positive numbers at first is because we tested those units first," Salazar said. "Our testing hasn't slowed but our (positive) numbers are starting to level off because we are now testing the units were we didn't expect to see a lot of those numbers."

As of Tuesday, 227 inmates have active COVID-19 cases, but most are asymptomatic and quarantined together, Salazar said. Forty-six inmates have recovered from the virus and are back in the general population, and 18 inmates are in the recovery unit.

In addition, 15 inmates have been released from the jail with positive or pending tests.

Upon release, deputies give instruction for any action inmates need to take, as well as notify Metro Health about those individuals, according to the sheriff.

"We are hoping to see this thing start to slope downward," Salazar said.

Only three female inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, which Salazar credits to the jail's early efforts to separate populations, sanitize facilities and provide everyone with masks daily. Those inmates are separated from the general population.

On Express-News: Texas prison food takes turn for the worse during pandemic

Female and male inmates are housed in separate buildings, and deputies have been keeping the females in smaller groups to avoid potential spread. Salazar said they don't know how the virus got into female housing.

"We went several weeks before we had any of our females test positive" Salazar said. "We will never have the perfect setting for this, but with the hard work we are doing of cleaning and testing I think we are doing a good job."

"It is hard to pinpoint exactly who is patient zero in that case per say because, try as we might, we can't completely social distance as much as we would be on the outside," he added.

Most of the detention deputies have been tested for coronavirus, with the exception of a few who had days off during testing, Salazar said.

Forty deputies of the 63 total cases are still actively positive with COVID-19, and 67 total deputies have tested negative as of Tuesday.

"In all categories, our negative counts have far outweighed our positives with the extent of the mass testing that we are doing," Salazar said. "So that is very good news."

On Express-News: Metro Health expands testing to include those who don't show symptoms

"In my opinion, in the jail, we are like a microcosm of society," he added. "Our numbers are so high because we are testing so much, and to be doing what we are doing in the jail is groundbreaking because we are the only jail who is testing everyone."

One patrol deputy has tested positive for COVID-19 and made a full recovery. The department plans to start testing patrol deputies next.

The jail is preparing for the possibility of another spike in cases. There are currently 12 empty beds, but the detention center has prepared additional empty areas for potential infirmary patients.

Salazar said the department is also looking ahead to post-pandemic procedures, including temperature checks at building entrances, updated ventilation and requiring deputies to carry gloves, face masks and have a primary care physician.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:






The institutional heads have been asked to conserve the unused blank answer scripts of Class 11 for the council to collect.

West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has asked institutions to promote all students of Class 11 to Class 12 for the current academic year.

A notice, sent to the heads of the institutions, mentions that the announcement has been made as declared by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and as per the instructions of State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee.

The council has asked institutions to send the marks of completed examinations of Class 11 within 22 June. The marks should be sent to the WBCHSE regional office either via post or by e-mail at wbhsexam@gmail.com.

The institutional heads have been asked to conserve the unused blank answer scripts of Class 11 for the council to collect.

As per a report by The Telegraph, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said last month that the remaining papers of the Bengal higher secondary exams will be held in June and all Class 11 students of the schools following the higher secondary curriculum will be promoted to Class 12.

Around 10 lakh candidates appeared for the Class 11 exams in the state.

Three papers were suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdown. The first lockdown in the country came into effect on 25 March.
The coronavirus pandemic led a federal judge Tuesday to temporarily allow the Oregon State Hospital to exceed the seven-day deadline for admitting people facing criminal charges who cannot assist in their own defense.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman said he was impressed by the steps the states psychiatric hospital has taken to try to reduce health risks to its patients and staff, although the steps have meant defendants must wait in jail well beyond the seven-day hospital admission deadline.

As of Monday, 56 people remained in jails in 19 counties around the state, waiting to enter the hospital for treatment as ordered by a judge so they can eventually aid in their defense.

Of those, 16 people have been waiting 20 days or more and six have been waiting 30 days or more. A Clackamas County defendant and a Coos County defendant each have been waiting 34 days, the longest, according to the state.

It is of course a troubling and concerning issue about a very vulnerable population in a difficult time, Mosman said. I think its necessary in light of the pandemic to modify the injunction.''

Mosman ordered the state hospital to report back to him every three weeks on the status of its admissions and instructed the state to work toward meeting the seven-day deadline as quickly and humanely possible.

The modification of the court-ordered deadline will last until the next court hearing on Aug. 3.

A 2002 court order requires the state to admit defendants found unable to assist in their own defense to the states psychiatric hospital in Salem within seven days of a judges commitment order.

Lawyers from Disability Rights Oregon had urged the judge to require the state hospital to either transfer defendants to community treatment as they await hospital admission or move other patients at the hospital to community-based treatment as appropriate.

As of Monday, the list of defendants declared unable to aid in their own defense and ordered to be treated at the state hospital. The chart shows the date they were ordered to be admitted and the number of days each has waited to be admitted.

Sheila Potter, an Oregon Department of Justice attorney representing the state hospital, asked the court to allow the hospital to continue its quarantine process, bolstered by COVID-19 testing, to protect its patient population.

Between quarantine, observation and testing the hospital believes it can strike an appropriate balance of moving patients into the hospital without risking an outbreak within the hospital, Potter and fellow Justice Department lawyer Carla Scott wrote to the court.

The 14-day quarantining of newly admitted patients is partly causing the delay in admission to the hospital, according to Potter. The hospital plans to open a third admissions unit in June and anticipates accepting 98 new patients that month, more than ever committed to the hospital in a single month, Potter told the judge.

We should be caught up in June unless we get a flood of new commitment orders from county courts, Potter added, which would be beyond the hospitals control.

The hospital is admitting patients into specialized units, quarantining them for up to 14 days, monitoring them for any virus symptoms and then testing them before moving them into their home units at the hospital.

The hospital received 40 COVID-19 test kits on May 6 and the states emergency operations center has committed to providing the hospital with 40 kits every week until further notice.

The hospital contends that it has had fewer patients in recent months to move to community treatment because it has fewer eligible patients "with solely misdemeanor charges.''

Since March 16, hospital officials said they have discharged nine patients for community treatment and are working closely with community mental health providers to discharge another 15 patients to community care.

Attorney Emily Cooper, representing Disability Rights Oregon, said the state should have done more to move people to community-based care to make room.

The state should have used its emergency power and funding to expand community-based mental health programs as an alternative, a step state lawmakers recognized as a "promising practice,'' Cooper argued. Such community treatment programs are available in only six of Oregons 36 counties.

"Why cant that be expanded? We still dont have an answer to that,'' she told the judge.

The hospital plans to open a third admissions unit by June 1, which will allow it to increase the number of new patients admitted, according to the state hospital.

Potter also said the hospital hasnt been able to rely on coronavirus tests and quarantining in jails.

According to the state hospital, jails have had a difficult time, for example, even taking "such vital signs as temperature necessary to assist us in determining which unit (quarantine versus isolation) is most appropriate for admission.''

As a result, the hospital worked with the state emergency operations center to have "no touch, infrared thermometers,'' shipped to jails in Oregon this week, according to court filings.

"I cannot testify with absolute certainty as to when OSH will be able to return to admitting patients within seven days,'' wrote Derek Wehr, the hospitals deputy superintendent, to the court.

If the hospital meets its goal of admitting 200 new patients, from April 13 through the end of June, it "should bring us back to a seven-day wait by or before then,'' according to Wehr.

It will all depend on the number of new commitment orders and new patients added to the admission list during that time, the number of patients who can be returned to county jails at the completion of their restoration to competency and the steps needed to monitor new admissions "if it appears that COVID may have taken hold in any new group of admitted patients,'' Wehr wrote.

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

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Aisha Romano, formerly known as Silvia, converted to Islam while held in captivity by al-Shabab in Somalia.

An Italian aid worker has become the focus of a far-right hate campaign after returning home this weekend having been freed from 18 months of captivity by al-Shabab in Somalia.

Silvia Romano converted to Islam while being held for ransom, with her family confirming the 24-year-old had changed her name to Aisha.

Islamic and happy. Silvia the ungrateful, read the front-page headline of right-wing daily Il Giornale on Monday.

A politician from the province of Treviso posted on Facebook that Romano should be hanged. The post was swiftly removed.





Romano was working as a volunteer in an orphanage in a village in southeast Kenya when she was seized by gunmen in November 2018. She was smuggled across the border into Somalia, where she was believed to have been detained by the armed group al-Shabab that advocates a fringe interpretation of Islam.

The group she was working with, Africa Milele, aims to provide food and clothing to children in Kenya. Welcome back Silvia, we all have been waiting for you, said a statement on their website.

Ransom

Italy is predominantly Roman Catholic and the Church warmly welcomed Romanos safe return. At this time, we all feel her to be our own daughter, said Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti.

Italian media reported that Rome paid a ransom of some 1.5 million euros ($1.6m) to secure Romanos release. As always in such cases, the government declined to comment.

Imagine the Islamic terrorists: They have brought home the money, committing a criminal act, and won the cultural battle in the name of the Islamic veil and conversion, said Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right opposition League party.

Magistrates have opened an investigation into the abuse to see if charges of aggravated criminal threat can be laid against some of the senders, sources told Reuters.

Newspapers quoted Romano as telling officials that she had chosen to become a Muslim of her own free will after reading the Quran, and had not been abused by her captors.

Alessandro Sallusti, head of the Il Giornale newspaper, which is owned by the brother of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, tweeted: Silvia is back, and well. But it was like seeing a concentration camp prisoner proudly dressed as a Nazi. I dont understand, I will never understand.

In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, a spokesman for al-Shabab, named as Ali Dehere, confirmed a ransom had been paid, but declined to say how much.

Some will be used to buy weapons, which we need more and more of to fight jihad (holy war). The rest will be used to run the country: to pay for schools, to buy the food and medicine we distribute to our people, to train the policemen who maintain order and enforce the laws of the Quran, he said.

The spokesman said Romano had converted voluntarily because she clearly saw with her own eyes a better world than she knew before.
Press Release

May 12, 2020 Senate honors late Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez The Senate on Tuesday paid tribute to the late Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez by adopting a resolution honoring him for his contributions to tourism and the advertising and communications industry. Jimenez passed away last April 27 at the age of 64. Senate Resolution No. 399 was adopted in consideration with Senate Resolution No. 402. The resolutions were introduced by Senators Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Leila De Lima respectively. According to Pangilinan, Jimenez had "many golden nuggets of wisdom," but what he remembered most was the latter telling him that "our love ones keep us in check." He said Jimenez' golden lessons were always anchored in democracy and the voices of the small people. "During the social media boom after 2010, particularly of micro-blogging site twitter, the word fun and the Philippines were frequently seen twitted together. Sec. Mon took advantage of this social media insight and eight years ago, on January 6, 2012, the 'It's more fun in the Philippines' tourism campaign was launched. After a while, the slogan became a meme and thousands of Filipinos started using it in various media platform," Pangilinan said. He said the popular slogan remains a reminder of what can be achieved with creativity and foresight, bringing unprecedented achievements for the tourism industry, almost doubling tourism arrivals and revenues during Jimenez term as the secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and raising global awareness for the Philippines as a top tourism destination. "Such achievements redounded to the economic well-being of countless Filipinos, creating jobs and businesses, and expanding the horizon of opportunity for many of our countrymen. The success of his tenure as tourism chief strengthened values that contribute greatly to nation-building, deepening our people's sense of national pride," Pangilinan said. He said Jimenez was recognized not only his formidable talents as a communicator but his integrity and incorruptibility, humility, fairness, and love of country. For her part, De Lima said the Philippines' tourism competitiveness rose by 20 places from 94th in 2011 to 74th in 2015 under Jimenez's guidance. She said Jimenez was also a key contributor in tourism policies that helped shaped the National Tourism Development Program (NTDP) for 2016 to 2022. "The World Bank also praised Sec. Jimenez by stating that he was able to transform the DOT "into a primary selling unit whose main goal is not only to improve statistics but to ensure that every tourism success would include and benefit as many Filipinos as possible," De Lima said.
It may come as no consolation to those who waited an hour or more at Ambeli Greek Taverna in Cranford for Mothers Day takeout orders, but they didnt have the worst of it. Restaurant goers around the state complained of 'insane wait times  some as long as four hours  with overworked, overstressed restaurant employees hanging up phones when customers tried to order.

You can chalk some of that up to Mothers Day, traditionally one of the biggest dining-out days of the year, but this is the new reality of the New Jersey dining scene: long waits and canceled orders, with much-reduced restaurant staffs dealing with a sudden onslaught of takeout orders.

Several comments on Jersey Eats Facebook page

A member of the Jersey Eats Facebook page said she called Keyport Fishery "200 times'' yesterday before giving up and going home. Another member chimed in: "The parking lot was INSANE. I drove past and couldnt believe it.'''

"Insane'' was also the word used by Karen Garcia-Rubinson to describe her experience at a P.F. Changs on Friday. She placed an order at 3 p.m. for a 6 p.m. pickup but by 7:30 p.m. her son was still waiting on the order.

A super nice'' manager at P.F. Changs did apologize for her experience. "Unfortunately this is not the first restaurant we have experienced a crazy delay,'' she explained. "While we understand restaurants are having to make adjustments with this new way of serving their customers one would think by this time they would figure out a system that works.''.

Easier said than done. On a normal day shift, the REO Diner in Woodbridge employs three line cooks, one saute cook, one chef, one prep person, two dishwashers, eight waitresses, two managers and a host. Total staffing on the day shift now consists of one cook and one waitress, the latter "taking orders, filling orders, doing the register, answering the phone,'' according to Christina Kontos, daughter of diner co-owner Manny Kontos. On Mothers Day, there were five staffers in all, and they processed 175 orders.

Restaurants have added DoorDash and other apps to help them deal with increasing takeout demand, but those delivery services eat into whatever thin margins restaurants are enjoying.

'Theyre taking anywhere from 15 to 30 percent (of an order cost) for commissions,'' Kontos explained. Thats killing us.''

Another challenge is inadequate staffing. Some restaurants say employees are declining to report back to work due to safety concerns or because unemployment pays them more than their usual wage.

When we reopened, only half of my staff was willing to return,'' said Victoria Lutz Feehan, owner of Victorias Bagel Bistro in Mt. Laurel. So we arent necessarily taking longer to complete orders, but we are forced to accept less orders. Only what we can accommodate in a relatively timely fashion. It stinks.''

Still, many N.J. restaurant goers apparently expect better, quicker service, no matter the conditions.

"I appreciate (restaurants in general) are open at all and doing their best,'' one commenter said on Jersey Eats. "But its not ok to make people wait 1 hour + beyond pickup times. Be realistic and honest and people will understand. Just stop wasting peoples time.''

Show some "compassion,'' another Jersey Eats member urged.

Post on Jersey Eats Facebook page

"Compassion'' apparently isnt in some diners vocabulary. "Hands down the worst business I have ever dealt with in my life,'' a West Deptford resident complained about a local pizzeria. "Stay far away. After waiting 90 minutes for my order, I call to find out theyre backed up and orders are taking over two hours! You kidding me? Either stop taking orders or at a minimum let people know. This isnt the first time either. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place more than the pandemic.''

For every gripe, there may be a corresponding 'job well done.

"The restaurants Ive ordered from are doing a great job,'' Diane Krewer reported on Jersey Eats. "We just ordered Chinese from our beloved local Chinese takeout the first day they reopened up and the owner personally delivered the food because he missed us and wanted to say hello. Other places call you when your order is ready, so youre not waiting in front of the restaurant for too long.''

Jacks Lobster Shack in Cresskill did an absolutely stellar job'' on Mothers Day even though they were slammed, short staffed and working their tails off,'' Ryan Peene reported.

Richard Grossman had a different experience at the P.F. Changs in Hackensack. His pickup order was for 4:45 p.m., but he said he didnt receive it until 7:25 p.m. "Customers were waiting longer than me,'' he added.

'I can truly say that this has been the single most challenging thing that Ive ever had to do,' said Victor Carnicelli, owner of Romeos Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria in Plainsboro. "Trying to keep everything clean and sanitized practically at all times while dealing with much higher takeout business and keeping somewhat of a social distance going on. Friday and Saturday nights it gets crazy and everyone is running back and forth so it makes it much harder. It is a tough time for any restaurant owner because on top of everything at the store we also have families at home that we put at risk every time we go to work.''

Employees at Capricci Pizzeria Ristorante in Howell have been so overwhelmed the owner decided to close this week to let them "recharge.''

"We have been open 7 days a week with limited staff since the state closed,'' according to the restaurants Facebook page. "It was important to me to give my staff some time off to recharge as they (have) been working tirelessly to serve such a great community. We will be back in action Sunday 5-17 and back to our COVID operating hours.''

Spanos Ristorante Italiano in Point Pleasant Beach, where orders can be placed by phone only, urged customers to exercise patience. "Our phones have been extremely busy,'' reads a message on the restaurants Facebook page. "If you get the recording it means we are currently on both lines, please keep trying!''

Ambeli Greek Taverna, on my list of the states best Greek restaurants, had a parting message in their online apology: "We pride ourselves in our service and it is disappointing when we fail to meet our standards even on a single order. We are slowly adapting to the new normal and we will use last night as a learning experience going forward.''

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

Peter Genovese may be reached at email@njadvancemedia.com.
Photo credit: DARPA via C4ISRNet

From Popular Mechanics

DARPA is working with the U.S. Navy to create a class of ships that would be completely unmanned.



If successful, it would represent a ten year leap over the current pace of technological development.

The Navy is still working on a separate project to develop optionally, or lightly manned warships.

The U.S. Navy is teaming up with DARPA to develop autonomous, robotic ships that are completely human free. The NOMARS (No Mariners Required Ship) concept, if successful, would be a huge leap over current unmanned surface vessel development efforts. The result could be a warship able to do the tedious, dangerous, and dirty jobs all by itself, keeping human-crewed ships safe from harmand boredom.

The Navy, struggling to grow the fleet on a flat defense budget, is making a big push into unmanned surface vessels, or USVs. The Navy plans to build ten Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle ships , 200 to 300 foot long vessels displacing 2,000 tons, in five years. LUSV would act as a scout, sailing ahead of the fleet to detect threats early, or floating magazine, carrying a large load of missiles. LUSV would ideally be autonomous, or optionally manned with a small crew.

NOMARS is a separate, parallel effort to develop an entirely autonomous ship. While LUSV is based on existing ship designs and will have built-in accommodations for humans, NOMARS will be an unmanned ship from the ground up. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) told C4ISRNet that the project will take what the Navy wants to do with the ship, hull size requirements, and other factors and try to make a ship out of it.

NOMARS promises to be a totally different breed of ship. NOMARS would likely be much smaller than a similarly capable human crewed vessel, as designers could strip out everything related to human habitation. The ships bridge, combat information center, living accommodations, mess, recreation room, bathrooms, and even hallways would all become redundant, shrinking the size of the ship dramatically. LUSV, based on small ships used to resupply offshore oil rigs, will still have all of these features but with hardly anyone to use them.

Story continues

An artists depiction of NOMARS shows the sharp difference between a completely unmanned ship and an optionally manned one. The NOMARS concept ship sits low in the water with a high mast for sensors and communications. The robo-ship has what looks like four angled launchers for missiles, possibly reloaded from within the hull. The ship lacks windows, rails, walkways, or anything supporting a human crew.



DARPA admits that taking people completely off ships may not even be possible but if it is, NOMARS would be a huge asset to the Navy of the future. A robotic ship could dutifully do the boring work of sailing and down the coastline of countries such as North Korea, eavesdropping on radar, radio, and cell phone communications. In wartime it could use its missile launchers to enhance the firepower of the U.S. fleet or outmaneuver an enemy fleet, presenting a threat from a different direction. It could even electronically impersonate warships such as cruisers or even aircraft carriers, luring incoming anti-ship missiles away from manned warships.

A NOMARS-type ship is inevitable. Until recently, the primary driver to build an unmanned warship was to build an inexpensive ship that did not require an expensive human crew. Now the COVID-19 coronavirus has given the Navy another reason to go unmanned: humans get sick. The coronavirus sickened sailors on more than two dozen warships, including more than a thousand on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. The virus sidelined the Roosevelt and several others while the Navy struggled to take care of its sailors.

An unmanned warship does not get sidelined by illness and would be unaffected by a pandemic. In 30 years when robo-warships ply the seas for the U.S. Navy, a virus will partially be responsible.

Source: C4ISRNet

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Overnight reports from Jacksonville police:

 A woman told police she was delivering newspapers in the vicinity of Cherry Street about 4:19 a.m. Tuesday when a man aimed a handgun at her car.

 Shawn M. Johnson, 39, of 916 S. Prairie St., Jerseyville, was arrested at 10:40 p.m. Monday on a possession of a controlled substance charge after being stopped at East Douglas Avenue and Brown Street.

 Kimberly D. Carlin, 26, of 800 Hoagland Blvd., Apt. 101, was arrested on a theft charge at 3:12 p.m. Monday after being accused of taking someones clothing from a laundry machine.

 Someone went into a car in the 200 block of South Main Street at 10:09 p.m. Monday, but nothing appeared to be missing.

 Someone went into a car in the 600 block of North Church Street overnight Monday, but nothing appeared to have been taken, according to a report filed at 6:28 a.m. Monday.

 A bicycle worth about $200 was stolen overnight Monday from inside an apartment building in the 500 block of West State Street, according to a report filed at 6:39 a.m. Monday.

 Two purses were stolen during the weekend from a car parked in the 2300 block of Mound Road, according to a report filed at 8:39 a.m. Monday.

 A laptop was stolen between March 20 and Monday from a warehouse in the 200 block of Capitol Way, according to a report filed at 9:47 a.m. Monday.

 Two windows were damaged at a residence in the 800 block of Hardin Avenue between 10 a.m. May 4 and 10 a.m. Monday, according to a report filed at 10:07 a.m. Monday.

 Change was taken from inside a car parked overnight Monday in the 600 block of North Church Street, according to a report filed at 10:11 a.m. Monday.

 A generator was stolen from a garage in the 1200 block of King Street between 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:15 p.m. Monday, according to a report filed at 2:38 p.m. Monday.

 Two bicycles were taken from a house in the 1000 block of East Morton Avenue between May 4 and 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to a report filed at 4:23 a.m. Monday.

 David C.L. Bauer
A new partnership between Irish company Hybrid Technology Partners and global company Priority Software is to create 20 jobs with 75 new jobs projected over the next three years.

Hybrid Technology Partners, a technology solutions provider headquartered in Limerick, and global ERP software company, Priority Software, have announced a new partnership which will see the creation of 20 jobs over the next 12 months.

Hybrid Technology Partners have been announced as the authorised Irish reseller for Priority Software, who provide fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions, both cloud-based and on-premise. Priority ERP provides tools to effectively manage organisations end-to-end business operations, whilst facilitating remote working through its cloud-based solution. It is used across a wide range of industries, from manufacturing and wholesale distribution, to Biomedical and the wider healthcare industries, amongst others.

This new partnership will result in the creation of 20 new jobs over the coming 12 months, with a view to increasing this to 75 jobs over the next three years. The roles include IT and Senior IT Managers, as well as ERP Implementation Managers.

Speaking at the announcement today was Paul Browne, CEO and Founder of Hybrid Technology Partners, who said: Were delighted to have been announced as Irelands authorised Priority Software reseller. Priority Software are a leading global provider of comprehensive ERP solutions, with reliable cloud and mobile ERP applications. Now, more than ever, businesses need software that will allow them to continue delivering their products and services, as well as adapting to the recent surge in remote working. As such, the Irish market is now primed and ready to implement digital transformation, and were pleased to be able to offer this to Irish businesses.

The partnership is an important development for the growth of Hybrid Technology Partners, with the creation of 20 new roles in the IT sector, and we hope to expand this growth further over the next three years. Since we started in Limerick almost 20 years ago, weve expanded the business to include offices in Dublin, and this new business partnership is an important milestone for us. Were excited to be recruiting at a time when the economy is facing significant challenges in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and are proud to be able to play our part to support the IT and business sector, Browne added.

Also speaking at the launch was David Greenlees, Managing Director, UK and Ireland at Priority Software, who commented: We are proud to welcome Hybrid to our global partner network. This initiative is an integral part of our strategic expansion in the region, and furthers our commitment to Irish companies contemplating the move to ERP to grow their business. Hybrids skilled and experienced team, matched with its local customer support and service capabilities, and our shared vision of right-sized ERP, will fuel new and exciting opportunities for both our companies.

Customers who have implemented Priority ERP have benefited from improved production capacity and cost control, better supply chain management, stronger cashflow, longer and more profitable customer base, and many other demonstrable elements. Were looking forward to bringing these benefits to the Irish market.

The partnership was launched this week with a virtual event. Minister of State for Trade, Business and Employment, Pat Breen, officially launched the partnership and announced the creation of the new jobs stating that: The Covid-19 challenge has accelerated our insights and thinking on new ways of working and working remotely, which is a major policy emphasis of my Departments regionalisation strategy. The Covid-19 pandemic is seeing businesses being asked to adapt to new ways of working, so it is great to see innovative software like Prioritys being brought to an Irish market in partnership with a trusted IT services provider like Hybrid Technology Partners.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13)  State weather agency PAGASA announced on Tuesday night that Tropical Depression "Ambo has intensified into a tropical storm, as it approaches the Eastern Visayas-Bicol Region area.

"Ang ating bagyo pong si Ambo ay bahagya pong lumakas at isa na po syang tropical storm," PAGASA weather specialist Meno Mendoza said in an online media briefing.

[Translation: Typhoon Ambo has intensified and it is now a tropical storm.]

As of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, PAGASA said the weather disturbance was last seen 455 kilometers east northeast of Surigao City in Surigao Del Norte or 400 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Ambo is carrying winds of up to 65 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of 80 kph, the state weather agency added.

PAGASA said "Ambo" will bring scattered light to moderate with at times heavy rains, during thunderstorms, over Mindanao and Eastern Visayas tomorrow.

Ambo will also bring moderate to heavy rains over Eastern Visayas, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate.

The weather bureau warned of possible flooding and rain-induced landslides in "highly to very highly susceptible areas."

PAGASA also warned that Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal #1 may be raised over Eastern Samar and the eastern portion of Northern Samar in the next six to 12 hours, in anticipation of strong winds associated with the approaching tropical storm.

By Wednesday evening, PAGASA said the country's first storm of the year will gain more strength as it will be located 375 kilometers east of Catarman, Northern Samar.

On Thursday evening, PAGASA expects Ambo to be located 30 kilometers east of Catarman, Northern Samar.

By Friday night, the tropical storm is expected to be in the vicinity of Mabitac, Laguna.

The storm is seen to reach 45 kilometers west northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte by Saturday morning, before it travels 175 kilometers north northeast of Basco, Batanes on Sunday.

"Inaasahan natin na posibleng Lunes pa ito tuluyang lalabas ng Philippine area of responsibility, said Mendoza.

[Translation: We are expecting the storm to leave the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday.]

PAGASA said it will continuously monitor "Ambo" until it exits the Philippine area of responsibility.
Edgard Ziebart, a German national who had been living in Delhi airports transit area for the past 55 days, on Tuesday morning left for Amsterdam in a relief flight of KLM Airlines. Ziebart was scanned for coronavirus infection before he got on to the flight around 3 am with 291 other passengers and was found to be healthy. In his self-reporting form Ziebart mentioned T3 as his house and Indira Gandhi International airport as the place of his stay in India, officials said.

HT reported on Monday that Ziebart had been living in the airport since March 18, after he arrived in New Delhi from Hanoi as a transit passenger on his way to Istanbul. March 18 was the day India banned all flights to Turkey to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Four days later, India banned all international flights. Stranded, Ziebart could neither exit India, nor the airports transit area because he does not have an Indian visa.

An airport official indicated that Ziebart, who has not applied for an Indian visa, was unlikely to get one even if he did because of a prior criminal record in Germany.

A senior officer from the Delhi airport, who wished not to be named, said Ziebart had told them on Monday that he will leave India soon as a flight is available. Around 3 am, he boarded a flight KL872. There were total 292 passengers on-board that flight. It was a special flight being operated from Delhi to Amsterdam. Because he was eligible to go to Europe, he was allowed to leave. His tickets cost him around Rs 43,000. He paid for his tickets on his own, the officer said.

In his self reporting form, that has been mandated by the ministry of health and family welfare for all international passengers, Ziebart mentioned Terminal 3 as his house and Delhis IGI airport as his place of stay in India. He told the medical staff that he was not feeling fever, coughing or any respiratory disorder, officer added.

The Indian authorities had recently served a Leave India Notice to Ziebart and he had assured them that he will leave the country soon as a flight is made available, officer said.

Last week, Indian authorities had tried to accommodate Ziebart on a relief flight to Ankara, but Turkish authorities refused to accept him on-board since the flight was only for their citizens or permanent card holders.

When German embassy officials contacted him and offered him a passage back to his home country, he had declined their offer, a spokesman for the German embassy in New Delhi told HT on Monday.
U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris thanked the Korean government on Monday for sending 2 million face masks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Our alliance and friendship are as vital and ironclad today as it was 70 years ago," Harris tweeted.

The Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the government provided the masks to support an "ally."

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the telephone on March 24 and discussed the need for a joint response to the coronavirus epidemic, according to the ministry.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Planful Inc. (formerly Host Analytics), a leading financial planning and analysis (FP&A) cloud platform provider, announced today that Steve Welsh has joined the company as Vice President (VP) of Solutions Consulting. An industry veteran in the cloud FP&A space, Welsh has more than 15 years of experience driving results in solutions consulting and a strong track record of building high-performance teams.

"Steve has devoted his career to solving problems and creating value in the FP&A sector, and we're thrilled to welcome him to Planful," said Planful Chief Executive Officer Grant Halloran. "Steve's background as a career FP&A professional gives him a balanced perspective and his success in building teams for fast-growing companies makes Steve a great fit in helping Planful achieve our growth goals."

Before joining Planful, Welsh served in leadership roles at Vena Solutions, most recently as VP of Solutions Consulting. Prior to that, he spent time at IBM, having joined after playing a major role in driving growth at an IBM-acquired company, Clarity Systems. He began his career as a finance professional at the National Australia Bank in Melbourne, coming on board as Senior Financial Analyst.

"The quality of the people attracted me to the opportunity at Planful, along with the clarity of the company vision," Welsh commented. "I've always had a strong drive to make customers' lives better while adding value to the organization, so I'm thrilled to be working with the Planful team to help finance professionals deliver long-term business value with a Continuous Planning approach."

Planful's cloud-based Continuous Planning platform accelerates FP&A processes by seamlessly unifying financial planning, financial close and consolidation, reporting, and visual analytics to help Finance leaders drive faster, and more collaborative, planning and decision-making cycles in all areas of the business.

About Planful

Planful is a leading financial planning and analysis (FP&A) cloud platform. Planful delivers a vision of Continuous Planning by accelerating the end-to-end FP&A process and fostering business-wide participation in agile planning and decision-making. More than 800 customers including Bose, Boston Red Sox, Del Monte, TGI Friday's, and 23andMe rely on Planful for financial planning and budgeting, dynamic operational planning, financial consolidations, reporting, and visual analytics. Planful is a private company backed by Vector Capital, a leading global private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses. Learn more at www.planful.com .

Additional Resources

Join the FP&A Community on Slack

View FP&A Resources to Navigate an Uncertain World

Learn more about Planful customers

Join the conversation on social media: LinkedIn , Twitter , or Facebook .

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Planful

Related Links

http://www.planful.com


Revenue from the telecom sector in the Maldives is limited by the relatively small local population, though it is supported by a considerable influx of tourists, reports Research & Markets.

The vibrant tourist sector helps to account for the unusually high mobile penetration rate, though multiple SIM card use is also widely adopted. In, addition a large number of expatriate workers require SIM cards on a semi-temporary basis. Steady growth in recent years has attracted international investment, including the Qatar-based Ooredoo Group.

The two licensed operators, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun (Dhiraagu) and Ooredoo Maldives, have both invested in HSPA and LTE infrastructure, providing national coverage with both technologies following substantial investment. This development has encouraged the take-up of mobile broadband services among subscribers. In late 2018 Dhiraagu trialled 5G technology, though commercial services have not yet been considered given the existing capabilities of LTE.

Both Dhiraagu and Ooredoo Maldives also provide fixed-line services and have greatly expanded the reach of their respective fibre networks.

The country has given priority to telecom infrastructure upgrades, with considerable success. There is a well-developed national network, and in recent years investment has been extended to outlying islands, following a period when commercial considerations focussed such investment in the capital Male as well as in tourist resorts.

The submarine cable connection to Sri Lanka improved international bandwidth and helped reduce access pricing for end-users. A second submarine cable linked the archipelago to India in 2006. Additional cables linking the main atolls has substantially strengthened domestic connectivity.
ATOMIC SPY

The Dark Lives of Klaus Fuchs

By Nancy Thorndike Greenspan

The physicist Klaus Fuchs (1911-88) is well known as the atomic spy who gave details of everything he worked on at the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union. In this enthralling and riveting account, Nancy Thorndike Greenspan, the author of a biography of the physicist Max Born, has brought together new material that rounds out Fuchss life, from his college days in Weimar Germany to his move to Communist East Germany in June 1959 following his release from prison in Britain. He had served nine years of a 30-year sentence for espionage.

There have been several previous books on Fuchs and also on the other spies working on the atomic bomb. Atomic Spy covers a lot of familiar ground, but where it is particularly thorough and revealing is when it deals with Fuchss youth in Germany. Greenspan shows him becoming a militant and dedicated Communist once he perceived the threat to democracy posed by Adolf Hitler and his storm troopers. Fuchs had originally been a member of the Socialist Party, but by 1932 he had come to believe that the harsh reality of the Nazis demanded a more militant stance. As a Communist he became a leader of many of the partys youth organizations, including the Red Spark, an agitprop theater group.

After Hitler took power in 1933, and just hours before the Gestapo planned to arrest Fuchs, he fled, first to France and then to Britain. He graduated three short years later from the University of Bristol, and began work in theoretical physics at the University of Edinburgh. Unfortunately for Fuchs, the British government, fearing Nazi infiltration, rounded up all German refugees, and in 1940 sent them first to an internment camp in Britain and then to a freshly built camp in Quebec.

When he was released in January 1941, Fuchs started working on Britains atomic bomb project  innocently called Tube Alloys. By August of that year, he began to hand over the data he was working on to one Alexander, the code name for Simon Kremer, a Soviet agent. Although Fuchs signed the Official Secrets Act, he violated its terms and decided to aid the Soviet Union in whatever manner he could.
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar along with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Business Minister Heather Humphreys met the chief executives of the five retail banks yesterday for what was described as a wide-ranging discussion.

The senior members of Cabinet held the face-to-face talks with the heads of AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB and KBC, and Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) chief Brian Hayes, a former Fine Gael TD and MEP.

It is understood the discussions, held at the Government's request, focused on the banks' role in supporting reopening of the economy by ensuring the flow of credit to businesses.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Huseyn Safarov  Trend:

Azerbaijan has shown by example of how to rather efficiently cope with such a threat as the coronavirus pandemic, Turkish political analyst, leading representative of the Ankara-Moscow expert and analytical network Engin Ozer told Trend.

According to him, the pandemic consequences are affecting not only the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), but also practically all developed and emerging economies.

All countries should think about the post-pandemic future. It's not so important where the virus came from and who benefits from it. Now we must think about how the global economic system will change after the pandemic, how we can turn its development into a positive direction."

According to the analyst, after the coronavirus pandemic, the global economic impact of China will decrease drastically.

"There is a gradual outflow of foreign investments from the Chinese market. Moreover, it is possible that the US and UK will impose sanctions on China and demand financial compensation, accusing its government of concealing information on the coronavirus, noted Ozer.

The US administration is developing a long-term action plan against China, which may include new sanctions. Washington considers Beijing guilty for the coronavirus pandemic. Among the measures under consideration by the US are sanctions, the cancellation of its debt commitments, and the development of a new trade policy, said the analyst.

After the pandemic, the US influence will dominate the global economy. Accordingly, China will produce more goods for the domestic market, he said. In this context, the Non-Aligned Movement can benefit from the situation and increase its market share in China in terms of export and import of manufactured products. Therefore, we can say that the coronavirus pandemic offers some opportunities for this organization, as well."

The political analyst also noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN and some other organizations discredited themselves.

We have witnessed that between the countries there is no single idea and plan for overcoming the crisis. The Non-Aligned Movement could undertake such responsibility, he said.

Azerbaijan can efficiently benefit from its chairmanship in NAM. The post-coronavirus period will open great opportunities for the country. The 120 member countries of the NAM can make a common decision to keep the spread of infection under control," Ozer said.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @C8NTINENT
TORONTO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited ("De Havilland Canada") announced today that Transport Canada has approved the conversion of Dash 8-100/200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft into Simplified Package Freighters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 748 Air Services (K) Ltd, a well-known provider of passenger and cargo services to humanitarian, natural resources and government sectors in Africa, has ordered the Service Bulletin and conversion kits for their four Dash 8-100 aircraft and globally, will be the first operator for the Dash 8-100 Simplified Package Freighter. 748 Air Services (K) Ltd has also ordered the Simplified Package Freighter Service Bulletin and conversion kits for their three Dash 8-400 aircraft.

Headquartered at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, 748 Air Services (K) Ltd distinguishes itself as an innovative and solution oriented company that effectively responds to demands presented within the industry.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with many challenges including broad government mandates that restrict the movements of both passengers and cargo for an indefinite duration. Movement has been limited to humanitarian cargo only. We have responded with Air Cargo solutions to support the humanitarian, natural resources and government sectors, who will benefit from the conversion of our four Dash 8-100 aircraft and three of our Dash 8-400 (Q400) aircraft into Simplified Package Freighters. We are extremely grateful to De Havilland Canada and Transport Canada for providing these solutions quickly," said Moses Mwangi, Managing Director, 748 Air Services (K) Ltd.

"We're delighted to announce 748 Air Services (K) Ltd as the first customer for the Dash 8-100 Simplified Package Freighter and thank them for their order which also includes conversion kits for their three Dash 8-400 aircraft. We commend them as they reconfigure some aircraft in their fleet to continue their excellent work delivering essential passenger and cargo services in the eastern and central regions of Africa," said Todd Young, Chief Operating Officer, De Havilland Canada. "De Havilland Canada continues to be highly focused on providing solutions to our operators as they seek mechanisms to redeploy their fleets in response to COVID-19. It is gratifying to know that we are succeeding in creating opportunities for our operators in these challenging times."

Approved by Transport Canada, De Havilland Canada's Service Bulletins allow Dash 8-100/200, Dash 8-300 and Dash 8-400 aircraft to be quickly converted into Simplified Package Freighters by the removal of seats and seat track covers in the passenger cabins. The converted Dash 8-100/200, Dash 8-300 and Dash 8-400 aircraft provide total potential cargo capacities of up to 6,500 lb, up to 9,625 lb and up to 17,960 lb respectively.

About De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited

With its acquisition of the Dash 8 aircraft program, Longview Aviation Capital has proudly relaunched De Havilland Canada, one of Canada's most iconic brands. De Havilland Canada's portfolio includes support to the worldwide fleet of Dash 8-100/200/300/400 aircraft, as well as production and sales of the Dash 8-400 aircraft. With its low carbon footprint and operating costs, industry-leading passenger experience and jet-like performance, the Dash 8-400 aircraft, which seats up to 90 passengers, is the environmentally responsible choice for operators seeking optimal performance on regional routes. https://dehavilland.com

Images relating to this release will be available at https://dehavilland.com/en/media

De Havilland, Dash 8, Dash 8-100/200/300 and Dash 8-400 are trademarks of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1167027/De_Havilland_Aircraft_of_Canada_De_Havilland_Canada_Launches_Sim.jpg

SOURCE De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited
Qatar Airways offers 100,000 free flights. Source: Getty

Qatar Airways will offer 100,000 free return tickets to frontline healthcare professionals to thank them for their efforts in battling the coronavirus crisis.

The giveaway marks National Nurses Day, and registrations for the offer will run from today until Monday 18 May. Each healthcare professional will receive two complimentary economy class return tickets - one for them and one for a companion.

Each country will receive a daily allocation of tickets depending on its population size, and the release of tickets will be staggered over the coming seven days. The daily allocation will be released at 00:01 AM Doha time (07:01 AM AEST) throughout the campaign period.

Healthcare professionals - that is, doctors medical practitioners, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, lab technicians and clinical researchers - who register and receive a promotion code must use that code to book flights before 26 November, with travel valid until 10 December 2020.

We at Qatar Airways are incredibly grateful for the commitment and hard work of healthcare professionals around the world who looked after people in these times of uncertainty, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said.

Their heroic display of kindness, dedication, and professionalism has saved hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.

Now it is our turn to give something back to those on the healthcare frontline. There are no words or gestures that are enough to repay these brave men and women but we hope that our small offer of a complimentary return flight on Qatar Airways will allow them to enjoy a well-deserved holiday, visit family and friends or explore a destination they have always dreamed of, as travel restrictions start to ease.

Qatar Airways has begun a phased approach to expanding its network, and aims to rebuild to 52 destinations by the end of May, and 80 by June.

Yahoo Finance Breakfast Club.

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In a May 19, 2008 file photo Billy Tauzin, former Louisiana congressman, speaks to a group at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

Mandatory Aarogya Setu app, no cabin baggage: Rules ready for resuming flights

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, May 12: Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued SOP to all aviation stakeholders including airlines & airport operators before restarting commercial air passenger services in the country, which remain suspended since March 25 in the wake of the lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.

Green status on Aarogya Setu app, web check-in, and temperature checks for all domestic departing and arriving passengers have also been proposed.

Aarogya data for health purposes to be deleted in 180 days

People above 80 years of age will be restricted from travel in phase I of flight resumption. No cabin baggage in the initial phase, checked-in baggage to be only one piece weighing less than 20kg.

Not just for passengers, the draft SOP has suggested measures that could be followed by security agencies as well as airport operators, including doing away with identity card checks at airport entry gates and ensuring social distancing requirements.

Another suggestion is to keep three rows of an aircraft vacant for isolating any passenger who has a medical emergency onboard.

The draft SOP was prepared after discussions with stakeholders, including airlines and airport operators. Comments have been sought from the stakeholders on it, according to sources.

Notably, the draft document is silent on leaving the middle seat of the aircraft vacant for maintaining social distancing. Aviation regulator DGCA had made a suggestion about leaving middle seat vacant, prior to suspension of commercial flight services in March.

"A questionnaire to be circulated to the passenger and filled up by them in advance about their past history related to COVID-19 and quarantine, if any, in last one month.

"Any passenger who has undergone quarantine in the last one month to be sent for security at the isolated security check unit only," as per the document.

Aarogya Setu now mandatory for railway travel

According to the document, passengers should be advised to familiarise themselves about the new procedures at the airport, especially about social distancing norms and ensuring minimum touching of various surfaces.

They should also be familiar with baggage limitations, COVID-19 questionnaire, need to register on Aarogya Setu app, possibly slower processes at airports and use of authorised taxis to reach airport, it said.

The ministry has proposed that passengers should reach the airport at least two hours before a flight and do away with passenger identity checks at airport entry gates to minimise rush at the entry points.

Passengers can do web check-in and carrying cabin baggage should not be allowed in the initial phase of operations, as per the document.

Further, the ministry has suggested that passengers denied travel due to high temperature or age should be permitted to change their date of travel without penalty and airlines would have to maintain their records.

Airports should have an isolation zone in the terminal building as well as the airside for passengers showing symptoms and state governments should provide requisite help with medical infrastructure in case an airport does not have an APHO (Airport Health Organisation) set-up, it noted.

Airports would have to put in place distance markings, disinfecting all common areas like lifts, escalators, chairs in seating areas, food and beverages, and retail outlets. Availability of moveable hand wash cart or alcohol-based hand sanitisers within the terminal should be ensured, the ministry has proposed.
We must all plan for new reality, follow 'Jan se lekar jag tak' principle: PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for a balanced strategy to tackle the COVID-19 crisis and also mentioned efforts needed to address 'jan se jag tak' - from people to world, adding that the world will change after the coronavirus crisis, as it did after the two World Wars.

PM Modi said that after Covid-19 the way of life will become 'Jan se jag tak' or 'from an individual to whole of humanity'. "As the world changed after World War I and II, things will change post-Covid-19 too."

The Prime Minister conveyed to the Chief Ministers that a "balanced strategy will have to be adopted for the road ahead, and what path and the direction the country" should adopt could be determined on the basis of the suggestions by the states.

Fake: Govt not mulling religion based mapping of coronavirus

The "problems" have increased wherever the social distancing norms were not followed or there has been laxity in implementation of the lockdown guidelines, Modi told the Chief Ministers.

It was essential to make best efforts to ensure that people stay where they were during the lockdown, the Prime Minister said. However, in times like these people wish to go home and therefore, a change in decision had to be made, he added.

The 54-day nationwide lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus is scheduled to end on May 17.
Glanbia has cut its milk price for the second month in a row, cutting 1c/L off its price for April milk supplies.

It announced today that it will its member milk suppliers 28.42c/L (inc VAT) for April creamery milk supplies at 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein.

Glanbia Ireland (GI) will pay a base milk price for April of 28c/L (inc VAT) for creamery milk at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein. This is a reduction of 1c/L from the March base price. Last month it announced a 2c/L cut for March supplies.

Today, it announced that farmer members will also receive a 0.42c/L (inc VAT) payment from Glanbia Co-op on all milk supplied this month as their Share of GI Profit.

Glanbia Chairman Martin Keane said dairy markets continue to be impacted by Covid-19 and the current returns from its basket of products unfortunately require an adjustment in milk price.

"The pace of recovery in consumer activity, as well as global milk supply trends, will be key factors driving dairy market movements in the months ahead.

Coronavirus impact

It also said that all Glanbia Ireland milk processing facilities continue to operate to their planned capacity levels for this time of year.

Most processors cut milk prices by 2c/L for March deliveries on the back of a sharp slide in commodity values when food sector demand across Europe, Asia and North America collapsed as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

And while European dairy markets have settled over the past fortnight, and demand from China has improved, industry sources claimed that farm-gate milk prices were still 2-3c/L above what the returns from the markets could currently justify.

Processors also pointed to the high levels of product they were being forced to hold because of the fall-off in demand.

Richard Scheper of Rabobank said there was more positive sentiment around the dairy sector at the moment, with the lifting of some lockdown restrictions in Europe and improved demand from China helping to steady markets.

However, although Rabobank in their latest global review expect Chinese dairy demand to normalise in the second half of the year, import requirements are forecast to decline 19pc on 2019.

Butter prices on the Dutch spot market improved by 40/t to 2,610/t last week, while SMP and WMP were steady at 1,900/t and 2,550/t respectively.

But Mr Scheper warned of further difficulties for the dairy sector should the lockdown restrictions remain in place into the second half of the year. He said increased stockpiles of EU dairy commodities were a further cause for concern.

Even if most of the lockdown restrictions will be removed in the months going forward we will probably still have some year-on-year losses in the food-service sector for most of the rest of the year. Furthermore, we do expect to see losses in export volumes in quarter one and quarter three, while the EU is close to its seasonal peak in milk production, Mr Schepers said.

He predicted that farm-gate milk prices were likely to fall across the EU in the second and third quarters due to the continued uncertainty in markets.
A German national who was stranded at Delhi Airport for the past 55 days due to the international travel ban has departed in the morning on Tuesday to Amsterdam. His tests came out to be negative prior to his departure. German national Edgard Ziebat had been living in the international transit area at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for almost 54 days after he got stuck due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the country.

Ziebat had said that he came from Vietnam on March 18 by Vietjet airline and had a connecting flight to Istanbul in Turkey. But there were no flights available for Istanbul as India had suspended all commercial flight services due to COVID-19, he told the authorities.

Later on, the airport authorities had also asked the 40-year-old German national to board a special flight to Germany, which was operated under the Germany Embassy in Delhi, but neither the embassy nor the airlines agreed to take him on board. Turkish Airlines also refused to take him on board because he was not carrying a Turkish passport.

READ | PM Modi To Address Nation At 8 Pm On Tuesday Evening, Day After Covid-19 Meeting With CMs

READ | After Vizag Gas Leak, Company LG Polymers Evacuating 13,000 Tonnes Styrene To South Korea

At March-end, German nationals stranded in India due to lockdown and the travel ban were evacuated in a special flight bound for Frankfurt in Germany.

According to reports, the Ministry of Tourism has said the process of repatriation of foreigners who were stranded in India is almost complete now. As per their estimates, around 30,000 international visitors stranded in various parts of the country, have returned to their home countries by now through several rescue flights operating from key airports.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, around a thousand international visitors were stranded in India, confined to their hotel rooms since they could not afford the rescue flights, which were quite expensive. However, they were being provided with the essential supplies and medical care by the administration. Some of the foreigners asked for an extension of their visa since they felt safer in India as compared to their home countries including the USA, the UK and Australia.

READ | Women SHGs Add 10 Cr Masks, 3 Lakh Litres Sanitiser As India Achieves 2.06 Lakh Daily PPEs

READ | Quarantine On A Field & exclusion For Migrant Workers Who Walked From Mumbai To MP's Gonda
Helena Bonham Carter stepped our for supplies in Hampstead, north London, on Tuesday after revealing Harvey Weinstein made a pass at her.

The Harry Potter actress, 51, told Louis Theroux on his Grounded podcast, which aired on Monday, that the disgraced Hollywood producer tried to give her a neck massage and she escaped by running away.

Helena stepped out on Tuesday after the harrowing revelation to stock up on supplies at local shops in Hampstead.

Stepping out: Helena Bonham Carter stepped our for supplies in Hampstead, north London, on Tuesday after revealing Harvey Weinstein made a pass at her

The actress wore a colourful floral skirt, purple cardigan and a large white flower in her hair.

Helena abided social distancing regulations during lockdown as she queued 2m (6ft 6in) apart from other shoppers.

The actress was seen stocking up on fresh fruit and vegetables at her local shops on Tuesday.

Speaking on Louis Theroux's Grounded podcast on Monday, Helena said Weinstein began touching her inappropriately - causing her to flee across a room.

Brave: The Harry Potter actress, 51, told Louis Theroux on his Grounded podcast, which aired on Monday, that the disgraced Hollywood producer tried to give her a neck massage and she escaped by running away

'He's a bully': Speaking on Louis Theroux's Grounded podcast on Monday, Helena said Weinstein began touching her inappropriately - causing her to flee across a room (pictured at The King's Speech premiere in London in 2010)

Upsetting: Helena stepped out on Tuesday after the harrowing revelation to stock up on supplies at local shops in Hampstead

'I wasn't aware of him pursuing people against their will, I wasn't aware certainly of rape,' she said of the movie mogul, who is serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in his landmark #MeToo case.

'I was aware that he would make passes at people and he did make a pass at me and I just said no and that was the end of it.

'He was also a bully and he obviously molested people - it was partly I think sociopathic.'

Helena continued: 'I saw him treat some people so badly and there was no compassion there, that was what disturbed me.'

Social distancing: Helena abided social distancing regulations during lockdown as she queued 2m (6ft 6in) apart from other shoppers

Stocking up: The star was seen stocking up on fruits and vegetables at her local stores

Speaking about the incident, the actress said: 'He literally laid a hand on me, that's all, he was trying to give me a massage of my neck and I knew this wasn't going well so I ran and said no, or got to the other side of the room.

'I haven't really spoken up about it because I kind of feel everything has been said about him.'

In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Helena described another incident with Weinstein on the set of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious TS Spivet, about a 10-year-old prodigy who embarks on a solo cross-country journey.

'Harvey wanted me to tell Jeunet to change it,' she recalled . 'There is a scene in which he hitchhikes and Harvey said as soon as that kid gets into a truck everyone will think the truck driver is a child molester and all the kids in America will be freaked out.'

Shamed: Weinstein (pictured in February) is serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in his landmark #MeToo case

I said: 'I don't think you're right, and I'm not going to tell Jean-Pierre Jeunet I know better than him.'

According to the actress, Weinstein's response was 'you've got to tell that arrogant a**hole he's being a s**t, he doesn't know the American market like I do', to which Helena added: 'I found it revolting.'

She said she believed she could stand up to Weinstein, 'because I already had a career. Other people were employing me. I wasn't reliant on him.'

Speaking to Theroux, Helena also criticised the late British director Michael Winner, who passed away in 2013 aged 77, calling him 'a shocker.'

'I was sixteen and auditioning he wanted me to take my coat off so he could see my shape,' she recalled.
The last time U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Jerusalem, in October, the Trump Plan for the West Bank was an unhatched egg, Benjamin Netanyahu was a caretaker prime minister facing an uncertain political future - and Corona was nothing but a beer.

Now there is both more certainty and a greater sense of urgency. While Pompeo comes in part to initiate contact with a new Israeli coalition government and support a controversial change in U.S. policy toward the region, he also wants something of Israel in return.

As Pompeo returns to Israel Wednesday for a quick visit, he will encounter a greatly changed situation. Netanyahu is now ensconced as the prime minister of a broad coalition government, created partly in response to the coronavirus pandemic. He has managed the crisis almost single-handedly, using his health and finance ministers more as aides than co-authors of the policy, and won wide support.

A recent poll shows that 74% of the public approve of Netanyahu's performance. Even more impressive, 58% of those who define themselves as left-wingers give him high marks.

Another change is the much-delayed birth of the Trump plan, which provides for the Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley and Jewish towns and villages in the West Bank. It marks an epochal shift in American foreign policy and Israeli politics. Benny Gantz, who ran for prime minister as a center-left opponent of Netanyahu's, signed off on the new policy, a decision that allowed him to bring his Blue and White party into the government. He will serve as defense minister and alternate prime minister. If the coalition deal works as planned, he will replace Netanyahu in 18 months.

Pompeo barely knows Gantz, and a good part of the trip will be devoted to taking his measure. A former chief of staff, Gantz is known for his equanimity and middle-of-the-road politics. He does not speak "Republican," as Bibi does, and will not be a GOP campaign asset in the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign. But his presence in the Netanyahu government means that he can't be used by U.S. Democrats to fight the Trump plan.

One of Pompeo's other objectives will be, as the State Department agenda alludes, to focus on regional security issues related to Iran's "malign influence." There is no distance between Israel and the U.S. on Iran. Netanyahu is a supporter, not to say co-author, of the U.S. "maximum pressure" policy, and Gantz is an Iran hard-liner. Both leaders are happy with the U.S. decision to block Iran's recent request to the International Monetary Fund for a $5 billion loan; and American intervention to cut the size, and limit the terms, of a World Bank loan to the Iranian regime.

In the last few weeks, the Israeli air force has stepped up attacks on Iranian forces and interests in Syria and Lebanon (without, it has been noted by Israeli intelligence, any Russian protest). Once, American secretaries of state traveled to Israel to counsel moderation in such matters. Pompeo comes not as a mediator but a wartime ally. As the State Department communique put it, "The United States and Israel will face threats to the security and prosperity of our peoples together."

But solidarity works both ways. "We stand by our friends and our friends stand by us," the State Department communique concludes. I have added the italics, which is the way the statement was read in Jerusalem.

In Pompeo's visit last October, he made it clear that the U.S. considers China an enemy every bit as "malign" as Iran, and called upon Israel to rethink its infrastructure and high-tech cooperation with Beijing. Netanyahu listened politely and established a committee to look into the matter. As far as anyone knows, it is still looking.

But since October, tensions between the U.S. and China have escalated into something approaching a Sino-American Cold War and the U.S. wants to know if its friends in Jerusalem are standing with them.

A test is coming soon. In two weeks, a Chinese-connected company, Hutchison Water International, will be one of two finalists bidding to construct what will be Israel's largest desalination plant. The facility is located in a strategic area, not far from a major Israeli air force base, a ballistic missile testing site and a nuclear research facility.

Israel would love to stay friends with both China and the U.S. But if pushed, there is little doubt that both Netanyahu and Gantz will put America first.

- - -

Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books. He was a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report Magazine.
In a significant move by the state, a high-powered committee headed by justice AA Sayed, along with additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Chahande and director general of prisons SN Pandey, on Monday decided to release 50% of the total 35,239 inmates lodged in various prisons across the state.

A senior IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, who did not wish to be named, said, Of the 50% of prisoners, 9,000 are convicts who will be granted parole. The remaining are undertrials. We plan to decongest the jails within eight to 10 days.

But inmates who are facing trial will have to follow the due process of law. The prisoners will have to get bail. This means that the due process of law will have to be followed, said Sanjay Chahande, additional chief secretary (home). Prisoners who are eligible for a temporary bail will have to move the courts concerned and obtain an order. A parole leave, however, can be secured at prison level, Chahande added. The order, which comes a week after at least 184 positive cases were reported at the Arthur Road prison, does not give a time frame on when the prisoners will be released, nor does it state the category of prisoners who would be released.

However, none of the prisoners who are charged or convicted under the provisions of special statutes, such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), 1999; the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act; the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) or the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will be released on temporary bail in view of the outbreak.

The committee on Monday also rejected a representation by advocate SB Talekar, contending that the decision to not release prisoners who are charged or convicted under special statutes was discriminatory. Talekar argued that the blanket exclusion of prisoners charged for offences under the special Acts was arbitrary and defeated the thrust of the Supreme Court (SC) order, dated March 23, to decongest prisons in the wake of the outbreak.

In any event, the prisoners charged under the special Acts cannot claim to be released from prison as of right.The offences under MPID Act are against victims who are mostly poor depositors, and whose interests are required to be safeguarded and recoveries made from properties. The MPID Act is enacted to protect the interest of the depositors and the prisoners charged for offences under the MPID Act cannot be treated as belonging to the same class of prisoners who are to be released on interim bail or parole, it said.

However, Talekars representation was rejected on the grounds that the SC in a subsequent order on April 13 left it to the discretion of the high-powered panel to determine which category of prisoners can be released, depending upon the severity and nature of offence.

Justice BN Srikrishna, former SC judge, said, If this is what the high-powered committee has stated then its absurd. If prisoners have to follow the due process of law, then why was the high-powered committee made? How can the committee distinguish between prisoners booked for special Acts and others. It is like distinguishing between the rich and the poor prisoners. If this is how it is, the Supreme Court has done nothing to fight the pandemic.
When L.A. schools reopen, they'll have catching up to do, says Supt. Austin Beutner. And that will take renewed investment. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Schools have been closed for about two months, and its time to start asking about what comes next. But returning to school will require far more than simply spreading out desks and making new rules for recess.

COVID-19 has highlighted fundamental gaps in the public education system caused by woefully underfunded budgets.

Ninety percent of public-school funding in California comes from the state  and schools have long been underfunded, especially when matched against the outsize expectations placed on them. Private schools in Southern California invest about $50,000 a year in each student; New York public schools, $30,000. In Los Angeles, we are asked to make do with $17,000 per student.

And now, with the state budget in crisis, I worry that schools will get hung out to dry. This past week, the State Department of Finance estimated cuts as deep as 20% to funding for public education.

Public education has always been the great equalizer in society, providing a path out of poverty. Thats particularly important for students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where 80% of students are living in poverty.

We cannot fall victim to the notion that spreading budget cuts evenly, across all the things the state funds, spreads pain equitably. The consequence of a child not learning to read is vastly different than reduced hours at the zoo or a pothole going unfilled. A good education is the path out of poverty for many of the students we serve and the promise of a better future for all of them.

A child who is not a capable reader by third grade is four times more likely to drop out and more likely to be incarcerated as an adult. How we as a society spend our dollars reflects our values  and there is no greater value than investing in children to help them realize their talent and their potential.

That is particularly important now. Many school districts across the country did not try to keep school going during this period of social distancing and have simply canceled the rest of the school year altogether, but Los Angeles Unified has helped students and teachers move online.

Story continues

We made a massive effort to ensure that nearly half a million students have remained connected to their school communities. We have worked to provide laptops, tablets and internet access to every K-12 student who needed it, an extraordinary milestone that we will reach this week.

Because of this, learning has continued, and its happening in creative and wonderful ways. But its far from perfect, and we cannot pretend that online learning at the kitchen table can replace the magic that occurs in a classroom led by a great teacher.

We dont yet know whether the new school year, which begins Aug. 18, will mean a full return to in-person classes or not. But whenever our campuses finally reopen, we will have catching up to do. And we will have additional needs. Custodial staffs, for example, already cut to the bone, will be overwhelmed by the cleaning necessary to safely reopen schools. There will also be a need for much more mental health support in schools to help students recover from the disruption this is causing in their lives.

To prevent our current health crisis from become a crisis in education that lasts a lifetime for the children in our schools, we need to ensure three things.

The first is adequate funding.

The second is that the investments being made now to bridge the digital divide continue to pay lifelong dividends for students.

Mastery of digital technology is essential to the jobs of tomorrow at innovators like Amazon, Illumination, Snap Inc., Verizon and YouTube  companies working closely with our schools. But many students in LAUSD didnt have ready access to technology outside the classroom. Because of our recent efforts, they now do, and we need to build on that and make it a positive outcome of this stressful and, to some, devastating time. Our investments in the future need to include making sure all students continue to have internet access.

Technology enables new ways to explore ideas, and we are getting great support to help students with that. Guitar maker Fender is working with teachers to offer online music classes. Illumination is collaborating with teachers on a class in drawing, animation and storytelling. And director James Cameron is helping teachers create a class exploring the voyage of the Titanic.

That brings me to our third need: community support. Nothing is possible without active participation from the broader community.

When I speak to civic groups made up of people on whom fortune has smiled, I start by asking how many public school graduates are in the crowd. Most hands shoot up. A great public education provided the foundation for most successful Angelenos. And we all must be committed to ensuring that same opportunity for todays children. Public education is the common ground on which we all stand.

Celebrities and business leaders often speak at graduations to dispense advice. Graduation ceremonies will be different this year, so I invite these same individuals to show  not tell  students what a life of purpose means. Thousands of donors already have helped provide millions of dollars to support the immediate needs of students and families during the pandemic. Organizations as diverse as Creative Artists Agency and the Teamsters have provided expertise and resources.

Their support has been vital. And we need those who can to keep supporting students by staying involved in our schools. This crisis has shined a light on the challenges in public education. The need wont end with a coronavirus vaccine.

Austin Beutner is superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and former publisher of the Los Angeles Times.




CALGARY - Alberta's Opposition NDP, along with union leaders, is calling on the province to shut down a Cargill meat-packing plant so it can be determined whether the company is meeting legal obligations to involve workers in safety concerns.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Cargill beef plant in High River, Alta., is shown on Thursday, April 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Alberta's Opposition NDP, along with union leaders, is calling on the province to shut down a Cargill meat-packing plant so it can be determined whether the company is meeting legal obligations to involve workers in safety concerns.

An Occupational Health and Safety report says Cargill didn't include workers in an internal review last month of circumstances that led to about 950 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in employees at the plant in High River, Alta.

The department has given the plant, which has 2,000 workers, a week to make that happen.

The Alberta government announced Monday that a second employee at Cargill had died of COVID-19.

"Unfortunately, one death reported over the weekend was an employee from Cargill who fell ill last month," said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health.

"Although we are speaking about this today, the individual was hospitalized about a month ago."

The union said more employee involvement is needed to make sure the slaughterhouse is safe.

"If workers aren't in the process of determining if the workplace is safe, they're not going to feel safe in returning to work. It's a matter of not just procedure and law, but also of the perception among our members as to whether or not the plant is safe," said Michael Hughes of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401.

Hughes said the union has been asking to be involved in a review of the plant since the outbreak began.

"We don't know how the plant can be open today if a proper investigation has not been carried out. Thus far, it appears that Cargill is going to do what Cargill is going to do. And really we're kind of like a voice in the wilderness."

Christina Gray, labour critic for the NDP, told a news conference it's frustrating that the United Conservative government hasn't guaranteed the safety of Cargill workers.

"This is not a safe work environment. We believe the government is responsible and the employer is responsible and there must be a public inquiry after the emergency has ended, but that will be a ways away," she said.

"If Cargill can't follow the law, they shouldn't remain open. Full stop."

The plant processes about 4,500 head of cattle a day  more than one-third of Canadas beef-packing capacity.

It shut down for two weeks in April over the outbreak, but reopened last week.

The province said Monday there are 36 active cases among workers from the plant, and 911 have recovered.

On Sunday, another Cargill plant south of Montreal announced it will temporarily close its doors after at least 64 workers there tested positive for COVID-19.

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A statement from Cargill said the OHS has given the company more time to complete its investigation into the High River plant and to further involve the facility's joint health and safety committee.

"It is common during an investigation for OHS officers to direct the employer to consider additional information as part of the investigation," the statement said.

"Cargill fully intends on co-operating with the OHS officer's direction and will consider further recommendations from the committee, if any."

Cargill said Occupational Health and Safety would be required by law to issue a stop-work order if the plant were found to be unsafe, and that hasn't happened.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2020

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom detailed requirements restaurants will have to comply with to open for dine-in service, as some counties receive state approval to move deeper into stage two of the governor's four-phase plan.

The guidelines are posted on the COVID19.ca website with 12 pages of requirements and recommendations, including employees and customers wearing face coverings, frequent hand-washing, providing disposable menus, suspending use of shared food items such as condiment bottles, prioritizing outdoor seating, asking customers to fill their own takeout containers, and temperature checks for employees.

Perhaps most notably, the guidelines say establishments can consider screening guests for symptoms of COVID-19, though no details are provided on how that would be done.

Restaurants will need to reconfigure seating to make tables at least six feet apart  though unlike the requirements released by many other states, there isn't a capacity cap for the number of dinners allowed inside.

The governor worked in the restaurant business for many years, starting as a busboy, and he emphasized that he recognizes restaurants will need to adapt to the new guidelines on an individual basis.

"One thing I recognize is one size doesn't fit all," Newsom said of the guidelines. "Each restaurant is different and distinct and as a consequence the guidelines we put out provide flexibility."

MORE: Every Bay Area county's projected date for joining rest of state in Stage 2 reopening

While Newsom gave retail across the state the green light to resume business on May 8, the governor has yet to permit widespread reopening of restaurants and he didn't provide a date for when that will happen. Currently, he is allowing counties that meet certain requirements, such as low infection rates, to request permission from the state to open restaurants.

At the press briefing, Newsom said the state is in conversation with 27 counties seeking regional variances in the roll out. Butte and El Dorado counties are the first two to be given approval to move more quickly into Stage 2. In the Bay Area, none of the counties have made official announcements about plans to reopen restaurants as of yet.

Reopening restaurants is likely to be a disjointed process, with those in rural areas opening first, and eateries in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other urban areas likely to remain closed longer.

Restaurants across the state were forced to shutter for dine-in service and only remain open for takeout on March 19 when the governor issued a shelter-in-place order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. In the Bay Area, a mandatory mandate went into effect on March 17.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing the Rs 20 lakh special economic package to revive the COVID-hit economy, describing it as the world's most holistic COVID-19 relief package.

It is the world's most holistic COVID-19 relief package, said Khattar, adding that it will increase efficiency of all sectors.

He said in a statement here that in this hour of crisis, the need was to give a boost to the development of the country thereby making the nation self-reliant, strong and confident.

The chief minister said that despite the fact that pandemic has shaken up even strong economies worldwide India which is being proactive under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going ahead with reforms for a resilient future.

The motto of prime minister that self-reliant India is the way ahead will be followed by Haryana in letter and spirit, Khattar said.

Khattar said that the package will benefit farmers, labourers and industrial sector focusing especially on small and cottage industries.

In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said the special economic package will amount to Rs 20 lakh crore, which is nearly 10 per cent of GDP.

Modi also said that the goal of the country will be to become self-reliant, and identified economy and infrastructure as key drivers for it.

He further said that details about fourth phase of the lockdown will be made known before May 18, adding it will be different from the earlier phases. The third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kabul, Afghanistan: Militants stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police and killing 16 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses, Afghan officials said.

While the battle was under way, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, according to images shared by the Interior Ministry.

Smokes rises from a hospital after an attack by militants in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit:AP

But the day's spasm of violence extended beyond Kabul. A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province  a hotbed of the Islamic State group  targeted a funeral ceremony, killing 21 people and wounding 55. And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February, which envisages the start of talks among key Afghan figures, including government representatives, and the Taliban. Relentless, near-daily attacks have also left Afghan authorities ill-prepared to face the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 4900 people in the country and killed at least 127.
At least five police personnel were injured in clashes with mobs during the ongoing COVID-19-induced-lockdown at two places in West Bengal on Tuesday, officials said.

Seven locals also suffered injuries during the violence in Hooghly and South 24 Parganas districts, they said, adding that police vehicles were damaged and shops were ransacked.

At least 72 people were arrested from these two areas, the officials said.

Claiming that hooligans sheltered by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) were behind the incidents, a delegation of opposition BJP called on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to apprise him of the situation in the state.

The governor expressed "serious concern at the incidents".

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, lashed out at the saffron party for allegedly instigating communal clashes in the state amid the lockdown.

Four police personnel and seven local people were injured and several shops were ransacked during a clash between two groups during the lockdown at Telinipara in Hooghly district, an officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate told PTI.

Members belonging to two groups, which had clashed near a jute mill there on Sunday night, engaged in another fight hurling bombs at each other and set shops on fire.

"Policemen were also injured when they tried to control the situation. We have so far arrested 54 people in connection with the clash," he said, adding that the situation is now under control.

Clashes erupted in Telinipara on Sunday after members of one group were allegedly addressed as "corona" by locals belonging to another group.

Internet services will remain suspended in Chandannagar and Srerampore sub-division of Hoogly district till 6 pm of May 17, officials said.

In the other incident at Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas district, a sub-inspector and four civic volunteers were beaten up by a mob when they asked people who had gathered near a tea stall to maintain social distancing, officials said.

The mob also damaged a police vehicle.

Eighteen people have been arrested for attacking police personnel, they said.

Policemen seeking to maintain social distancing were also attacked at Tikiapara in Howrah district last moonth.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, after meeting the group of BJP leaders including Locket Chatterjee, Arjun Singh and Mukul Roy at the Raj Bhawan, expressed "serious concern at the incidents".

Dhankhar called upon the people to observe utmost restraint and maintain communal harmony at all costs, a statement released by the governor's office read.

He urged police and administration to be extremely watchful so that the situation is contained.

"We informed the governor of the situation at Telinipara and similar incidents in Malda. People are already under stress in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Now they and their properties are attacked by a certain group," Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee said.

Alleging that police did not allow her to visit the area, Chatterjee said she will inform the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lok Sabha Speaker about this.

"Police is not taking action against the hooligans at the behest of local TMC leaders. However, they are stopping elected representatives to visit the affected people," she alleged while talking to reporters after meeting the governor.

BJP MP Khagen Murmu was not allowed by police to visit a village of Harishchandrapur in Malda district on Tuesday.

On Sunday, people of two villages of Harishchandrapur clashed after residents of one erected barricades to seal the locality saying people tested positive for coronavirus in the other.

BJP leader Mukul Roy, who was a member of the delegation that met the governor, said Dhankhar was also apprised of the attack on police at Baruipur which, he alleged, showed how hooligans sheltered by the ruling party are creating lawlessness in the state.

"This government has been engaged in vote bank politics and not performing its administrative role properly. For this very reason, they shunted out an efficient bureaucrat like Vivek Kumar to hide the failure of the chief minister who looks after the health department," Roy claimed.

Days after a row over the state's COVID-19 data, Health Secretary Vivek Kumar was on Tuesday shifted to the environment department.

Roy alleged that the TMC government is hiding COVID-19 figures and not keen on bringing back migrant labourers who are stranded outside the state because of the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jammu and Kashmir administration restored 2G internet connectivity across the Union Territory on Tuesday, six days after the service was snapped during an operation by security forces that resulted in the killing of militant commander Riyaz Naikoo.

Last week, internet connectivity and prepaid mobile phone services across Kashmir were snapped during a gun battle in which Naikoo, the operations commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, and his aide were killed at Beighpora Gulzarpora village in South Kashmirs Pulwama district.

Prepaid mobile phone services were restored on Friday, but mobile internet connectivity remained suspended till May 11, or the 17th day of the holy month of Ramzan, due to apprehensions about possible militant attacks.

Principal secretary (home) Shaleen Kabra issued an order for restoring mobile internet services across Kashmir.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had refused to order the restoration of 4G services on mobile devices in Jammu and Kashmir, but issued directions for forming a special committee to address issues raised by petitioners who had challenged the snapping of internet connectivity in the region.

All internet services were snapped in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 4 last year, hours before the Centre announced its decision to bifurcate the state into the union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since then, whenever there is a major attack by militants or a gun battle in any part of Kashmir, the government snaps mobile internet services as officials fear these developments could trigger fresh protests. For many people, the frequent disruption of internet connectivity has become a headache.

Its now a big problem. First, we were barred from using high speed internet and now even 2G is being snapped frequently, said a local resident who declined to be named.

Officials were anticipating attacks on security forces across Kashmir on the 17th day of Ramzan, or the day of Badr, when a few hundred Muslims led by Prophet Mohammed took on their powerful opponents in Arabia and won. There was speculation about an attack as militants have targeted security forces in the Kashmir Valley on this day in the past. Last year, there were similar reports about possible attacks on the 17th day of Ramzan.

However, authorities decided last week to restore 2G internet connectivity after the 17th of Ramzan passed off peacefully. As there were no incidents on the day, officials restored mobile internet services with slow speed on Tuesday morning.
Malaga airport's most important airline, Ryanair, has announced that it will resume flying to the Costa del Sol on 1 July.

The company has confirmed that it will start with 40 per cent of its flights and will focus on maintaining a wide diversity of routes but with reduced frequency to cover as much demand as possible.

The Irish 'low cost' airline has pointed out, "These measures are subject to the governments' lifting of flight restrictions within Europe and the application of the efficient public health measures planned for airports."

For its return, Ryanair has scheduled nearly 1,000 daily flights around Europe, where before the crisis it operated 2,400. Its aim is to recover 90 per cent of its pre-coronavirus routes.

"Ryanair will fly again from the majority of its 80 European bases. There will be fewer daily/weekly frequencies on trunk routes, as Ryanair works to restore some services on the widest number of routes, rather than operating high frequency services on a small number," said the company in a statement. Malaga Airport is one of its main hubs in Spain.

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said: It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from 1 July onwards.

Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work and restart Europes tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.

Safety measures

Wilson also said, "Ryanair will work closely with public health authorities to ensure that these flights comply, where possible, with effective measures to limit the spread of Covid-19. As already shown in Asia, temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the most effective way to achieve this on short haul (one hour) within Europe's single market."

In order to resume activity the company has established a series of measures to guarantee the safety of passengers and crews. These include online check-in and downloading boarding passes on mobile phones, as well as advising passengers to check their temperature before leaving home, pointing out that this may also be done at the airport before boarding. Face masks or coverings must be worn at all times in the airport and on board the plane, advises the airline.

"All our aircraft are fitted with state-of-the-art air filtration systems which operate to hospital standards," said the airline, adding that the planes will be disinfected on a daily basis with products that are effective for 24 hours.

A limited refreshment service will be available selling wrapped snacks and drinks with no cash payments accepted. Queueing for the toilets will not be allowed, although passengers can request to use the toilet.

Ryanair encourages passengers to wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitisers available at airports.

More details of routes, flights, times and fares are now available at www.ryanair.com.
they called him "Slavery Avery, the man with a Discus at the place where a heart should be." No, not the direction of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which decided a few days ago, to remove the bust of Avery Brundage from the Foyer of the Museum. The man, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1952 to 1972, had a sense for art, and he collected, then donated works to the Museum in the vicinity of the city hall of the city on the Pacific ocean.

Director Jay Xu said, had become the full extent of Brundage's racist behavior only in 2016, aware of the Image of the Patron Saint, the "for racist and anti-Semitic world views came in had to disappear,". They wanted to make the history of your own house.

Back to Slavery Avery, the man with the Discus in place of the heart: the journalists of the "Sports Illustrated described him" at 30. January  1956. In fact, Brundage from his view of the world has made no secret, not in the light of his enthusiasm for the games of the Nazis in 1936, not after. And the IOC? 2018 produced a documentary film on the Olympics to the exclusion of the apartheid state of South Africa in 1968  not to mention on which side to be President Brundage's stand. The racist throws his long shadow until today.

Updated Date: 29 June 2020, 08:19
Gojo & Company, Inc. (Gojo) is pleased to announce the successful first close of its ongoing Series D financing with USD 22 million in growth capital secured by March 2020. The final close is expected to be announced by July 2020. To be able to raise significant capital in a complicated macro environment marred by COVID-19 is a testament of its unique business model and potential to scale rapidly.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006251/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Series D first closing

Continuing from the USD 40 million Series C round announced in October 2019, the newly raised funds will be mainly used for further growth of its existing group companies in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India apart from future expansion to new markets in Asia and Africa.

Seven Bank, Credit Saison, SBI Group and several individual investors including existing shareholders joined this financing round. Follow-on investment from the existing shareholders shows their confidence in Gojos market potential and its operational capabilities, even under the current market turmoil.

Follow-on investment in its Partners

Gojo has been continuously injecting fresh equity into its partners. Additionally, Gojo also provides inter-company loans backed by Japanese lenders. In the last quarter, Gojo has invested over USD 15 million in its partners.

Satya MicroCapital: With imminent approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shore up its ownership in Satya, Gojo has invested USD 5 million with a commitment to invest an additional USD 10 million on the closure of all approval formalities.

Winner of the best MFI Award last year, Satya is one of the most promising microfinance institutions in India, delivering the fastest growth in terms of AUM and the number of borrowers in the industry history in India while maintaining robust credit quality. Since its inception in September 2016, Satya has disbursed microloans totaling over USD 250 million across 380,000 women borrowers as of February 2020.

Aviom India Housing Finance: Earlier in February 2020, Aviom received approval from RBI to allow Gojo to increase its ownership in the Company. As a result of this, Gojo invested an additional USD 3.7 million in Aviom in March 2020. Aviom is an Affordable Housing Finance Company facilitating families in mostly semi-urban areas in realizing their dream of owning their first home. The funds will enable Aviom to create an impact at the grass-root level and generate multiple growth opportunities for everyone, especially with a strong focus on women, thereby promoting gender equality.

Maxima Microfinance: Gojo also strengthened its Cambodia operations through an inter-company loan of USD 5 million to Maxima Microfinance. Maxima will use the funds for micro and individual loans mostly to women borrowers and also for the expansion of its small ticket digital loans through the agent banking model.

Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth: To consolidate its ownership and support the Companys ongoing expansion plans, Gojo further invested USD 1.55 million in Ananya. Ananya is a wholesale lender to small and mid-sized microfinance institutions in India apart from lending to agri-companies and impact enterprises.

Impact of COVID-19 on business

Similar to the global situation, the spread of the new coronavirus is beginning to affect our businesses as well. Much of our businesses have seen a freeze in new disbursements and slowdown in collections. As a group, Gojo places the highest priority on the safety of clients and employees. Thus we took immediate actions such as conducting remote-working style and extending some moratorium to our borrowers without additional interest payments and penalties. Apart from this, as described above, the capital infusion in our partner companies has given them enough liquidity to battle through this period of global crisis.

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world beginning with the developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalization and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100+ million unserved and underserved people in 50+ countries by 2030. Five and half years since our establishment, we work in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India with 3,400+ employees, serving more than 570,000 women who are also mothers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507006251/en/
Coronavirus crisis: TMC, BJP indulge in war of words during PM Modi's meeting with CMs

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 12: After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Centre during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with CMs, a war of words between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP intensified.

It can be seen that the TMC began to target PM Modi for an ill-planned lockdown and late response to the COVID-19 situation while the BJP slammed at the state government for not doing enough during the coronavirus outbreak and "a collapse of the administration."

Govt starts district-level testing to study coronavirus trends

In a video clip released by TMC, Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC youth wing chief said, "The PM held no meeting with the chief ministers before announcing the lockdown. The centre thought they could handle the situation in 15 days and would then alone take the credit of it all. The meetings with chief ministers are being held before announcing the second and third phase lockdown because the situation is not in control. Why didn't they think of and plan for the migrant workers before announcing the lockdown?"

Also, Mamata Banerjee slammed the Centre during the video-conference, alleging it was trying to gain political mileage at the expense of the state government.

COVID-19 super-spreaders found in Gujarat

Meanwhile, on Monday evening, the BJP leaders targeted the state government of minority appeasement, mismanagement over bringing migrant workers back, implementing a lax lockdown and failure in managing the public distribution system.

Reacting to this, BJP's state unit president Dilip Ghosh said, "The Centre is not playing politics. The Centre had to intervene because the state was failing its people. The state played hide and seek with data and the real COVID-19 scenario, let the lockdown be easily violated, corrupted the public distribution system and also wanted to leave the migrant workers at lurch."

Random COVID-19 tests on the anvil for community surveillance

However, several senior leaders of the West Bengal BJP unit, including Union Ministers Babul Supriyo and Debasree Chaudhuri and members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, took digs at the Mamata Banerjee government for utmost failure.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 22:40:16|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- As Finnish schools are preparing to reopen this week, after nearly two months of closure to curb the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Li Andersson said on Tuesday that special arrangements are made to ensure the safety of students, and schools could be closed again once infections appear in a school.

Most primary and lower secondary schools in Finland, which have switched to remote learning since March 18, will reopen on May 14.

"According to experts, the impact of reopening schools in the epidemic will be small, but the benefits to children will be great," said Andersson at a press conference.

Andersson, however, emphasized that when returning to contact education, the safety of children will be ensured by, among other things, more spacious facilities, staggered classes and meal hours and improving hygiene.

The minister said that the government is closely following the impacts of the epidemic. If infections appear in a school, decisions will be made according to the Infectious Diseases Act. Municipal officials will make decisions on tracing infections, possible school closures and quarantines.

She added that a decision to close a school could be made very quickly if needed, even in one day.

The minister also disclosed that the Ministry of Education and Culture is working on a temporary amendment to the constitution that would make it possible for students to alternate between distance and contact learning next autumn, if the epidemic surges again.

Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Director General of the National Board of Education, emphasized at the press conference that currently all children should return to school for contact education, and distance learning is no longer provided except in exceptional cases.

Otto Helve, pediatric infectious diseases physician from the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, said that children's role as a source of infection seems to be small, adding that health authorities will closely monitor the impact of school opening on the COVID-19 epidemic.

While lifting restrictions on basic education, the Finnish government recommends that high school and vocational students, as well as university students, continue their distance learning until the end of the school year.

As of Tuesday, Finland had reported 6,003 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 275 deaths. According to a preliminary estimate, at least 4,300 people have recovered from the disease, said Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Enditem
(Photo : EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA on Reuters ) [BREAKING] Five COVID-19 Patients Died Due to Overloaded Ventilator Explosion (Photo : Handout on Reuters ) [BREAKING] Five COVID-19 Patients Died Due to Overloaded Ventilator Explosion

Five coronavirus patients assigned to be treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) were recently found dead in a Russian hospital due to an alleged fire explosion of an overloaded ventilator unit. Russia's emergency ministry confirmed the deaths of the patients, and 150 people were evacuated in the hospital to protect the staff inside.

Overloaded ventilator kills five COVID-19 patients in ICU

As first reported via Reuters, a hospital in the city of St. Petersburg in the country reported a fire explosion on Tuesday, May 12.

The fire killed five COVID-19 patients that were located in the hospital's ICU. Local reports said that an overloaded ventilator might have caused the fire. But investigations are still undergoing, as of today.

"Ventilators are at their limit. According to preliminary data, there was an overload, and the machine ignited, which caused the fire," one source told the Interfax news agency.

The Russian government did not confirm the official count of deaths due to the explosion but said that about 150 patients and staff were evacuated away from the hospital.





ALSO READ: NHS to Conduct a Virtual Reality Trial with Hi-Tech Headset to Tackle Patients' Worst Phobias

Russia has older versions of ventilators

Reuters also reported this week that the Russian government has a 'plentiful' number of medical ventilators approximately 27 ventilators per 100,000 patients-- compared to other countries lacking for this equipment like the United States with only more than 18 ventilators per 100,000 citizens.

However, this doesn't mean that they are already completely ready for the pandemic. The report says that most of Russia's ventilators were old or even broken.

Most of the ventilators were made in the year 1990s and lack of functionality with the newer models like screens that give the picture of the patient's breathing process.

"In Moscow, many (hospitals) may follow the best Western standards, and in some regions little has changed since the 1990s or the late Soviet times," Alexander Baunov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank, wrote on Twitter on May 3.

The number of new cases of the coronavirus in Russia rose by 11,656, as of Monday, a record daily increase, bringing the official total to 221,344.

Moscow care home also reported fire

A day before the St. Petersburg fire incident, another fire in Moscow killed nine people at a care home located in the country.

The fire broke out in the private hospice in Krasnogorsk on Sunday night and was extinguished within an hour, emergency services said.

The patients that died ages from 66 to 90 were killed due to carbon monoxide poisoning after the fire broke out.

Though the fire was said to be small, staff were unable to carry all the elderly patients outside the facility. This was the reason why the hospital director has been detained for questioning.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As globalisation has grown, local epidemics tend to spread faster across the world. We are seeing this in the case of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). While the poor are generally the hardest hit, this time it is the developed countries which have been most affected. In India, the poorer states have not been affected as much as initially believed. The spread of the virus, while not insignificant, has been relatively less in Bihar. Bihar also faces periodic challenges from other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, kala-azar and encephalitis. Given this, it must deal with the current pandemic at five levels: Historical, financial, infrastructural, issues related to migrant labour, and the revival of the economy.

Historically, Bihar was part of the Bengal presidency. The quality of governance in this region was poor because of the inefficient zamindari system. A memorandum submitted by the then state government to the Simon Commission in 1930 rued the fact that per capita expenditure on health was much lower in the Bengal presidency when compared with the Bombay and Madras presidencies. Even within the Bengal presidency, expenditure on health was the lowest in Bihar, compared to other regions. Unfortunately, even after Independence, this trend continued.

The total public expenditure on health in Bihar is budgeted at Rs 8,788 crore (2020-21), which is 4.1% of the total budget. In per capita terms, public expenditure on health in Bihar is only Rs 690. In contrast, the corresponding figure in Kerala is three times that, at Rs 2,092. Health care infrastructure in Bihar is only one-fifth of the national average, measured in terms of hospital beds per 1,000 people. Bihar has not had any major infusion of funds to create the necessary health infrastructure for almost two decades.

Since the corporate sector is all but absent in Bihar, the responsibility for infrastructure development is mainly with the state government. But the state government can do little if its finances are chronically weak.

During the lockdown, there has been virtually no economic activity in Bihar, and the state government has not been able to generate enough revenue from taxes. Also, the state government has limited borrowing space, thanks to the 3% restriction of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), as prescribed under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003. The states share in the central pool of taxes has been routinely reduced. This reduction amounted to Rs 14,796 crore in 2019-20. Under such severe financial constraints, the only source of funds is the Consolidated Sinking Fund (CSF) which was created in 2008. Due to the financial stress caused by the lockdown, the state government has had to withdraw Rs 1,000 crore from the fund. The current financial capacity of the state government is too limited to allocate adequate funds to strengthen infrastructure.

Another important aspect of Covid-19 is the problems faced by its migrant workers. It is estimated that around three million workers have gone to other states for work. The pandemic has left them stranded, without jobs or the wherewithal to return home. After considerable delay, the central government has now arranged for special trains, helping them to return to their homes. But once the lockdown is over, employing these migrant workers, either at home or their earlier places of migration, will be a serious challenge for the state government.

Finally, to face the challenges thrown up by the virus, the state government has to revive its economy. Although the economy has registered steady growth in the recent past, it is still weak because of the absence of a corporate or industrial sector on the one hand, and the dependence of a large majority of its workers on the low-productivity agricultural sector on the other.

The state government has to take the lead role in getting the economy back on track. The first component will be to provide purchasing power to the people, particularly the poor. Employment-oriented welfare programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are an obvious choice here, but there could be other programmes as well. Second, the state government has to provide substantial relief to kick start the micro, small and medium enterprises sector in Bihar, which has been badly affected by the lockdown.

Apart from tax concessions, such relief could also include input subsidies. This will put pressure on the finances of the state government. But the state government should not hesitate to borrow, even if it implies crossing the limit of 3% of the GSDP, as prescribed by the FRBM Act. Reaching out to nations such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand, which share a cultural bond with Bihar because of Gaya and the Buddhist legacy, should be encouraged.

The economy is facing an unprecedented situation and, as such, demands an unprecedented response. Bihar can meet this challenge but it will need all the support it can get from the central government.

Shaibal Gupta is member secretary, Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna

The views expressed are personal
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that some treatments appear to be limiting the severity or length of the COVID-19 disease and that it was focusing on learning more about four or five of the most promising ones.

The Geneva-based WHO is leading a global initiative to develop safe and effective vaccines, tests and drugs to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19. The respiratory illness has infected 4.19 million people around the world, according to a Reuters tally.

"We do have some treatments that seem to be in very early studies limiting the severity or the length of the illness but we do not have anything that can kill or stop the virus," spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a briefing, referring to the body's so-called Solidarity Trial of drugs against the disease.

"We do have potentially positive data coming out but we need to see more data to be 100% confident that we can say this treatment over that one," she added, saying more research was needed and planned.

Harris did not name the treatments. Gilead Science Inc GILD.O says its antiviral drug remdesivir has helped improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients.

The WHO official sounded a note of caution around expectations for a vaccine, however, saying coronaviruses in general are "very tricky viruses" that are "difficult to produce vaccines against".

More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are being developed, including several in clinical trials. The WHO said in April a vaccine would take at least 12 months.

Harris said that the Americas were the current "centre" of the pandemic, although she also noted rising cases in Africa. However, she said the continent had a "big advantage" over other countries with little experience of infectious disease outbreaks.

"They often have very good contact tracing infrastructure and a deep, deep, deep memory and understanding of why we take a new pathogen very, very seriously," she said, singling out South Africa for its effective testing and contact tracing.

Asked about the reasons for high case loads in the United States and Brazil, Harris said: "Around the world we have seen that the warnings we put out right from the start, very, very early on, were not seen as warnings about a very serious, lethal disease."

She restated that the WHO, which has come under criticism especially from the United States for its handling of the pandemic, would conduct an "after-action" review that would include a "free and frank" discussion on its performance.

U.S. President Donald Trump is working to reopen the economy quickly against recommendations from health experts to move cautiously to avoid a resurgence of the virus that has so far killed more than 80,000 people in the United States, the highest death toll in the world. He said he acted early to prevent the spread of the disease.

Brazil has registered a total of 168,331 confirmed cases of the virus and 11,519 deaths, the most deadly outbreak in an emerging market nation.

The biggest threat to Brazil's ability to combat the spread of the coronavirus is President Jair Bolsonaro, according to British medical journal The Lancet.

In an editorial, the Lancet said his disregard for and flouting of lockdown measures was sowing confusion across Brazil. Bolsonaro's press office declined to comment on the Lancet editorial.

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(Newser)  The reopening of Shasta County, California has been delayed because thousands of residents attended a rodeo before the coronavirus had been corralled. Authorities say the county had met the state's criteria for a Stage 2 reopeningwhich would have allowed retail stores, dine-in restaurants, and other businesses to reopenbefore the Cottonwood Mother's Day Rodeo went ahead Sunday despite the ban on mass gatherings. The event attracted around 2,000 people, many of whom did not wear face coverings or adhere to social distancing guidelines. County Health and Human Services Agency spokeswoman Kerri Schuette tells the Redding Record Searchlight that the reopening was postponed after Gov. Gavin Newsom found out about the rodeo.

story continues below

California has banned gatherings like the rodeo until Stage 4 of reopening, which could be many months away. The county says the rodeo organizer refused to cancel the event. "Were all frustrated," says Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom. "It was inappropriate and it put the community at risk of disease transmission among attendees and the people they are in contact with, which could include vulnerable people who did not attend." Rodeo attendees said they felt it was safe to go to the rodeo after being "cooped up for months" and they believed they had support from local law enforcement. "We have constitutional rights. We have inalienable rights given to us by God," rodeogoer Don Johnson told KRCR. (Read more California stories.)
The bulls helped the Nifty recoup some of its losses in the last hour of the trade on May 12 but not enough to push the index back in the green. The S&P BSE Sensex recovered more than 500 points from the days low and the Nifty closed a shade below 9,200.

The announcement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address to the nation at 8 pm led to short covering in the last hour of the trade, say experts.

It raised hopes of a fiscal package to help the economy that has been wrecked by the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown which will complete 50 days on May 13.

The final tally on D-Street: the S&P BSE Sensex fell 190 points to 31,371 while the Nifty ended 42 points lower at 9,196.

Sectorally, profit-taking was seen in sectors like energy, oil & gas, capital goods, as well as healthcare stocks, while value-buying was seen in telecom, power, metals and IT stocks.

On the broader markets front, the BSE Midcap index fell 0.75 percent while the S&P BSE Smallcap index was down 0.58 percent.

Tuesday recovery can be attributed to the short-covering ahead of the Prime Minister's address, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist  Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in, told Moneycontrol.

Failure of todays intraday breakdown is hinting that market might have chalked out a new reading range between 9,4009,100 kinds of levels with its price behaviour in the last five trading sessions, he said.

Top Nifty gainers included Bharti Airtel, ITC, NTPC, and Vedanta.

Top Nifty losers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, followed by Cipla, Asian Paints, GAIL India and RIL.

Technically, the Nifty has rebounded after breaching the 9,140 level. This bounce could take it up towards 9,380 in the near term, said Deepak Jasani, Head, Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

Hopes of the announcement of a fiscal package in or after the 8 pm address by the PM today raised hopes among market participants, he said.

Stocks & Sectors

Sectorally, the S&P BSE Telecom index rose 4.2 percent followed by the S&P BSE Power index rose 2.3 percent and the S&P BSE Metal index was up 1.3 percent.

Profit-taking was seen in the S&P BSE Energy index which fell 5 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index that was down 2.6 percent and the S&P BSE Capital Goods index fell 0.75 percent.

A volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in stocks like UPL, Sun TV, Exide Industries, Bandhan Bank, Vedanta, Ramco Cements and NCC.

Long Buildup was seen in stocks like Exide Industries, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto, and Bajaj Finserv.

Short Buildup was seen in stocks like Bandhan Bank, RIL, Nestle India, Tata Steel, and Kotak Bank.

Top companies that will report their results for the March quarter on May 13 include ABB Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Mphasis and Siemens.

More than 130 stocks dropped to a 52-week low. It includes GE Power, AU Small Finance Bank, SBI, Quess Corp, DCB Bank, IIFL Holdings, DB Corp, and India Hotels.

Stocks in news

IRCTC | Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp (IRCTC) share price ended at 5 percent upper circuit after online bookings for passenger train services opened a day earlier.

Asian Paints | The stock was down almost 3 percent on growth worries. Goldman Sachs also downgraded the stock to sell with a target at Rs 1,111 per share.

Bandhan Bank | The share price was down over a percent with the bank reporting a 20 percent decline in Q4 profit to Rs 517 crore on additional COVID-19 provisions.

Piramal Enterprises | The share shed more than 3 percent after the company reported a net loss of Rs 1,702.59 crore in the quarter ended March 31, mainly on the back of additional provisioning for challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

IndusInd Bank | The stock was up 3 percent on reports that Japanese insurance major Nippon Life was in discussion with the bank for a strategic investment.

Reliance Industries | The share price was down over 6 percent on profit booking. The stock will turn ex-rights on May 13. The company has fixed May 14 as the record date.

Technical View

The Nifty formed a Doji kind of indecisive formation, as it smartly recoiled from an intraday low

The key technical development, which has gone in favour of bears, from price action can be the breach of 200-day simple moving average placed at 9,240.

A close below 9,100 could trigger a fresh bout of selling, with bigger targets close to 8,500.

Considering the current volatile phase, traders are advised to remain neutral on the index, whereas fresh selling opportunity can be considered on a close below 9,100, say experts.
There is currently confusion surrounding the custody of the four suspects linked with the murder of Olufunke Olakunrin, daughter of the 94-year-old leader of Afenifere, Reuben Fasoranti.

This is because the Nigerian Correctional Services has reportedly refused to admit them into custody based on the order of the court remanding them pending their trial.

The suspects were arrested by the police in April after several months of investigations by the security agency.

They are Lawal Mazaje from the Felele area of Kogi State, Adamu Adamu from Jada area of Adamawa State, Mohammed Usman from Illela area of Sokoto State, and Auwal Abubakar from Shinkafi area of Zamfara State.

Mrs Olakunrin was murdered in July last year in Ondo State by a gang of marauding gunmen.

Although they were said to be eight in number, only four of them were arrested and were on April 24, arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

They were promptly remanded in prison by the court at the Owo Correctional Centre, pending their trial but had to be tested for COVID-19.

The Ondo State Disease Control team carried out the test and one of them, Adamu Adamu, who tested positive for the virus.

He was isolated for treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Akure where he was reported to have attempted an escape, but was prevented by the police.

Although he had been treated and along with his three accomplices, ready for a return to the correctional centre in Owo, prison officials have reportedly rejected them over COVID-19 fears.

Angry governor

The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, during his weekly COVID-19 briefing on Monday, expressed his fears on the refusal of the service to admit the suspects to remand after certifying they were free of the virus.

Perhaps it is also important at this juncture to bring an update on the case of the four individuals who are suspects in the murder case of Mrs Funke Olakunri, the daughter of elder statesman, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, he said.

Upon the insistence by the Nigerian Correctional Services, the four suspects were presented for testing.

Out of the four suspects, one immediately tested positive while three were held in quarantine pending the result of their tests. Eventually, the three tested negative to the two approved tests.

The implication is that they were fit to be re-admitted into the correctional facility in furtherance of their trial.

READ ALSO:

I have been briefed by the Hon Attorney General of the difficulty in having the authorities of the Nigerian Correctional Services take them into custody despite a court order to that effect.

The implications of leaving murder suspects who are not under medical treatment at large can be better imagined.

I hereby call on the authorities of the Nigeria Correctional Services to immediately receive the suspects into custody as directed by the law court.

Despite the call by the governor, PREMIUM TIMES reliably gathered that the NCS is not in a hurry to admit the suspects immediately into the facility until clearance is received from the headquarters.

Sources close to the service indicates that an earlier order issued by the Ministry of Interior, cautioning against further taking into custody of inmates in the wake of the pandemic is the reason the Controller of the Ondo facility is hesitant.

It was also gathered that there are fears the bringing in of the suspects could expose the facility to the dreaded virus.

Evasive

When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the Controller of NCS is Ondo State, Suanu Kenane, on the phone, he refused to answer any question.

In a WhatsApp message to Mr Kenane, he was asked by the reporter to confirm the rejection of the suspects and give his reasons, but his response was a terse, Is that so. Thanks and God bless.

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When further pressed to respond and told that the governor had already raised the issue, he said, Is that so. Good night.

Meanwhile, the police in Ondo State said they would keep the suspects until the NCS is prepared to remand them.

Tee Leo-Ikoro, the police public relations officer, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that it was the forces responsibility to protect everyone and the suspects as well.

He said there was no major challenge in keeping them and they would be prepared to make them available when required.
Abdulahad Mahsum was a prominent Uyghur religious figure who died in 2018 while detained at one of the vast system of internment camps in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017. He had been placed in the camp in 2017 at the age of 87, reportedly for refusing to host a Han Chinese relative, who Muslimand particularly Uyghurfamilies in the XUAR have been required to invite into their homes and provide with information about their lives and political views, while also being subjected to political indoctrination. Mahsum, who was also known as Abdulahad Hajim because he had traveled to the holy Muslim site of Mecca, was well-known for his involvement in religious work and reportedly rode a bicycle from village to village in his home prefecture of Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian), teaching children.

The 2017 detention marked Mahsums fifth, and his Istanbul-based relatives recently published a verdict issued on April 12, 2004 by the Hotan Prefectural Intermediate Peoples Court stemming from his fourth arrest in January that year, sentencing him to five years in prison for publishing illegal religious teaching materials and storing Arabic books at home for the sake of inciting his family. He had also been detained at the age of four or five, along with his entire family, which included his uncle Muhammad Imin Bughraa well-known historical figure and a national leaderand his father, Barat Damollam, who was executed in prison by authorities during the 1933-44 rule of Xinjiang by Chinese warlord Sheng Shicai. Additionally, Mahsum was sentenced to 12 years in prison for religious crimes in 1958 and placed in a labor camp for two years because an official in his home village in Hotans Qaraqash (Moyu) county) wouldnt allow him to return following his release.

RFAs Uyghur Service recently spoke about Mahsum with several of his former students and friends who are living in exile around the world, as well as members of his family who acknowledged that he had lived a difficult life but said he chose this path for himself.

A relative in Turkey who declined to be named:

Hajim was the type of person who gave love to everyone he knew, who was close with everyone. He was the type of person who treated people well no matter what people needed, who took on their pain  Hajim said it all in his own journals; we know it from there. [He] was a lifeline for the religious and national existence of our homeland. Losing him has been an attack on our people.

Abduhelil Turan of the Teklimakan Uyghur Publishing House (Teklimakan Uyghur Neshriyati) in Turkey:

After he got out of prison [in the 1970s], he still wasnt able to live a peaceful life. One of the things that made him special was that he was so well known among the people of Hotan and [the XUAR] for being one of the greatest religious scholars, for making a great number of contributions to [religious] education. He was also engaged in translation and writing, as well. We could say that he was one of the greatest religious scholars of his time.

Abdurehim Dolet, a Ph.D. student in history at Selcuk University in Turkey:

I think the reason they detained Abdulahad Hajim again in 2017 was this: If we look at the way that he lived his life, Mahsum Hajim had become a spiritual symbol, particularly among the people in Hotan. He had become a spiritual leader. In my opinion, the reason for Chinas oppression since 2013 has been to completely cut the Uyghurs off from their spiritual life. And so first, they had to destroy and disappear the people that Uyghurs most respectthe people that they most respect in their hearts, the people who symbolized somethingin order to bring about an end to our entire people, spiritually speaking. They want to completely demoralize us. They want to make us feel hopeless.

Sirajidin Eziz, a student in Saudi Arabia:

Abdulahad Mahsums life in the homeland was completely different from the life of a regular religious scholar, a regular person. No matter whether in his studies, his teaching, or his regular work, he did so much of his work under the oppression of the Chinese colonizers, under 24/7 surveillance  He taught the children of the people around him, he taught the descendants in his family, he spread the faith to people around him, he explained the truth, he [told people about] the things that were happening in their homeland at the time and about his uncle Muhammad Imin Bughras movement for independence [of the Uyghur homeland].

At the same time  he was also good at understanding peoples problems and arming them with all sorts of knowledge, like how to be level-headed, how to do good work, how to avoid making mistakes or being too emotional by being aware of social trends and the political situation, how not to do harm. He taught many people of [our] nation and gave them important knowledge, whether from the perspective of religion or nationhood or human morality. He put everything into this. We could say that he was a remarkable figure.

Reported by Nuriman for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Elise Anderson. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 21:47:53|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest developments on COVID-19 in China:

-- The Chinese mainland reported one new imported case of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,691.

The new case was reported in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Of the total imported cases, 1,611 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 80 remained hospitalized with three in severe conditions.

-- Chinese health authority said Tuesday that no new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported on the Chinese mainland on Monday.

-- A total of 27 patients of COVID-19 were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland Monday.

Altogether 78,171 patients had been cured and discharged from hospitals by the end of Monday.

-- A group of 12 Chinese medical experts have returned to China after aiding the fight against COVID-19 in Ethiopia and Djibouti.

-- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has donated a batch of medical supplies to the Flying Tiger Historical Organization in the United States to aid its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Enditem
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced the categorisation of the states red zones in a bid to revive the economy.

Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee said, The three categories would be A, B, and C. Nothing will be allowed in areas that fall under A category. In the B and C zones (outside containment area) there will be measured relaxations following guidelines. I have asked police to prepare a ground-report to work in these three zones.

She said plans are afoot to open some establishments (between 12pm to 6pm) like mobile stores, jewellery shops, food joints (except restaurants) electrical and paint shops. The CM said only takeaways would be allowed in food shops, while all gathering would remain banned at tea stalls.

State-run units of Khadi Bazar, Biswa Bangla Haat, PHE, PWD, Fisheries, Horticulture and Irrigation have also been asked to start operations.

Regarding the Centres decision on extension of lockdown, Banerjee said there was lack of planning in its implementation which affected migrant workers and poor people badly.

There should have been short term, mid-term and long-term strategies before announcing the lockdown. On Monday, during the video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have urged him to release the funds worth Rs 52,000 crore which we are supposed to get from the Centre. We told him that states must be given liberty to work and deal with the situation, she added.

Banerjee then showed an empty saucer in an apparent jibe at not having received any funds from the Centre.

When asked about opening of transport services, she said buses and taxi services will only be allowed in green zones, but restricted within the district.

We have received a request for 100 more trains but we are not in a hurry without getting a clear picture of screening of passengers. To sustain the rural economy, 100-days work will resume slowly. We have given Kishan credit cards cover to 11 lakhs farmers so that they should not deprive of crop insurance, she said.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also hit out at the BJP for politicising the COVID-19 pandemic. She said there are some people who are misleading people with wrong facts and figures and indulging in communal provocation.

It is unfortunate that migrant workers from Bengal are facing acute problems in other states. They are not getting food and they dont

have shelter in places like Bengaluru, Surat, Delhi... Why should this happen? I would like to urge all the other states to help our people who are stuck in their respective states. In Bengal, we are taking good care of migrant workers who are stuck here.

Regarding a recent incident of communal disharmony in Hooghly district, she said, Those who indulge in such acts will be dealt with strictly.
Egypt: ISIS beheads three youths in Sinai, sources Terror group abducts three others from main local tribe

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MAY 12 - ISIS terrorists ''have beheaded three youths and kidnapped three others from the tribe of the Terabin, one of Sinai's largest'' local sources said Tuesday.



The heads of the three victims ''were found on the main road'', the sources added, without providing further details but attributing the crime to the so-called Islamic State 'Daesh' terror group.



A low-intensity conflict has been ongoing over the past six years, mainly in the north-east of the Egyptian peninsula,a between security forces and the Egyptian branch of ISIS with a high number of victims from both sides. Local tribes are also targeted by terrorists when they cooperate with security forces, providing information. In 2015, ten men were beheaded and their murder was filmed. Earlier this month, 18 terrorists were killed in an operation carried out by Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai.



The killing took place two days after ten soldiers were ''killed or wounded'' in a dynamite attack against a military vehicle near Bir al Abd, according to an official toll provided by military authorities. (ANSAmed)
Sports 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
On April 30, Alechia Reese packed up the Brooklyn apartment she's lived in for the past five years with her 10-year-old daughter and sister and began the trek to her mother's home in Florida.

It wasn't something Reese envisioned doing even two months ago, but the 33-year-old's business  she owns a marketing and branding firm  has slowed down considerably since the coronavirus began ravaging the U.S. She and her sister could no longer afford their $4,200 monthly rent.

As soon as she started losing clients in March, Reese tried talking to her landlord about her situation, but he wasn't receptive to a compromise. Now, Reese plans to break her lease, which isn't up until September, regardless of the possible legal ramifications. The unemployment she might qualify for doesn't cover the total rent, let alone groceries and other essentials for her and her daughter, and she wants to help her mother out.

"I felt bad about him not getting his rent for [May], so I told him he could keep the deposit, but I can't snap my fingers and have it materialize," Reese tells CNBC Make It. "This isn't something that anyone planned, so we have to all pivot."

Brittiany Taylor is in a similar spot with her lease. Though the 33-year-old audience development manager is still employed, she left New York City for her father's condo in Washington D.C. over a month ago to be closer to her family. She has called and emailed her management company continuously over the past few weeks in order to break her lease, but they haven't responded to her. She hopes withholding May rent will get their attention.

"It doesn't feel right or fair, and I understand it's their business, but I don't feel good paying for a place I'm not using," Taylor tells CNBC Make It about the management company ignoring her calls and emails. "I'm going to be upset if I pay rent on the first and then I get laid off on the fourth."

Reese and Taylor are far from the only ones dealing with frustrating housing situations. While those with mortgages, including landlords, are getting some form of aid from the federal government, that has not been extended to the nation's 40 million-plus renters. And with some landlords being inflexible with repayment plans, that's left many  especially those who are out of work completely or have had their hours reduced  with one option: Breaking their leases.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy. Morning high of 30F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 9F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Despite being Mumbais frontliners in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, at least 9,000 medical students and post-graduate resident doctors across the city havent received their stipend for the past three months. The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) said the issue will be resolved in two-three days.

Resident medical officers (RMO) account for almost 80% of the staff strength in Covid treatment facilities. Around 5,500 postgraduate resident doctors, along with senior medical officers, havent received their stipend in the past one-and-a-half months. On an average, they get around 54,000 for their service, but the amount differs between BMC and government medical colleges. They received their last stipend on March 15. So far 25 RMOs have contracted the infection on duty at different civic-run hospitals, while hundreds have been quarantined.

After getting their MBBS degree, medical students are given internships in different hospitals. Currently, there are 3,300 such MBBS graduates in Mumbai. These doctors at government medical colleges get 11,000, while students studying in medical institutes under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) get 6,000 for their service. We are directly involved in the treatment of Covid patients. Senior doctors hardly stay in isolation rooms. They just come and check the reports. We work around-the-clock for the patients, said a doctor from King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital.

The students are now demanding 30,000 as monthly stipend. We have been working for eight -12 hours a day. Earlier, we were responsible for screening passengers at the airport. Now, we are assigned duties in Covid care centres under category 1 and 2. We also conduct contact tracing of patients kin and identify symptomatic patients, said a student intern posted in SevenHills Hospital.

We have spoken to the students. We are working on it and the issue will be resolved within 2-3 days, said Dr TP Lahane, director of DMER.

Dr Abhijit More, co-convenor, Jan Aarogya Abhiyan, said, At a time of pandemic, these students should be the first priority of the government. All other politicians are getting their salaries in time then why should these doctors, who are at the greatest risk of getting exposed to the virus, suffer?
Harry was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base last year - PA

Interpol have issued a red notice for the wife of a US diplomat charged with killing Harry Dunn, as police told his parents she was wanted internationally.

British prosecutors charged Anne Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving after a car crash that knocked the 19-year-old off his motorbike outside a US military base in Northamptonshire last year.

It is alleged the 42-year-old suspect had been driving on the wrong side of the road before the crash.

Ms Sacoolas is the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton and claimed diplomatic immunity to allow her to return to America, sparking an international row.

An extradition request submitted by the Home Office was rejected by the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January.

In a significant escalation of Britains stance on the issue, it emerged on Monday that Interpol had issued a request to police forces worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest Ms Sacoolas if she crossed their borders.

Number 10 said the refusal by the US to extradite Ms Sacoolas, who was charged in December, amounted to a denial of justice.

Red notices are issued by the international policing organisation - of which both the UK and US are members - at the request of a member country.

They are distinct, however, from an international arrest warrant and Interpol cannot compel police in any country to arrest someone who is the subject of a red notice.

In an email sent by Northamptonshire Police, the 19-year-old's parents were told the suspect is "wanted internationally" and "should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted".

Reacting to the development, Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles said: "It's been a terrible time for us.

"We are utterly bereft and heartbroken and miss our Harry every minute of every single day.

"This is important news that (our spokesman) has just passed on to us and we are in pieces.

Story continues

"I just want to urge Mrs Sacoolas to come back to the UK and do the right thing. Face justice and maybe then our two families can come together after the tragedy and build a bridge."

A spokeswoman for the US state Department last reiterated its position on April 30, saying that, at the time of the accident and for the duration of her time in the UK, the driver had immunity from criminal jurisdiction.

Mr Dunns parents had separately written to Donald Trump, the US President, asking him to review the decision to block the extradition request.

News of the Interpol notice came just hours after the head of the armed forces told the grieving family that he will make representations to his US colleagues about setting up a meeting after claims of "near misses" involving American military staff.

General Sir Nick Carter penned a letter to Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn promising to raise the matter - saying "I am very supportive of positive engagement between you and the US base commander".

His parents had issued a plea to arrange a meeting with the base following claims of three near misses involving their staff since the teenagers death.
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It could be last call for good for the historic Mount Royal Inn, after the New Jersey attorney generals office filed a petition to have its liquor license revoked.

The inn violated Gov. Phil Murphys executive order twice, allowing patrons to eat and drink inside the restaurant despite a ban in that type of service, the petition alleges.

The Mount Royal Inn, in East Greenwich, Gloucester County, is an historic site. The establishment dates to 1762, and was briefly used as an Army headquarters following the Civil War.

Owner Byron Driscol declined to comment when reached by phone Monday evening.

Officials say the first executive order violation occurred on March 21, five days after restrictions on dine-in service went into place, when the bar allegedly allowed customers to eat and drink in the dining room. The inn was issued a warning from local police on that day, officials said.

Two weeks later, on April 4, the inn was cited again for allowing customers to drink inside the building.

A notice of charges seeking revocation of the liquor license also alleges that the inn failed to have a license or list of employees on premise when inspectors visited on April 7.

The presumptive penalty for all four alleged violations is a 32-day license suspension, but the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control called for a revocation, citing the total circumstances and aggravating factors of the pandemic.

The inn has 30 days to enter a plea; otherwise, itll be found guilty by default.

Restaurants and bars were given waivers to allow for carry-out alcohol the same day restrictions were put in place. Mount Royal Inn has remained open for delivery and take out during the shutdown.

This is the second bar facing the loss of its liquor license for alleged coronavirus ban violations. The Post Time Pub in Blairstown was similarly cited twice before the state sought to revoke its license in early April.

Several other bars face fines and temporary license suspensions for reportedly violating the regulations.

Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com.

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It has, however, not specified any time frame for the jail authorities to release the prisoners.

A high-powered committee appointed by the Maharashtra government has decided to temporarily release around 50 percent prisoners to decongest jails across the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has, however, not specified any time frame for the jail authorities to release the prisoners.

The panel, while taking the decision on Monday, also said that prisoners convicted or booked on serious charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and stringent law provisions like the MCOCA, UAPA and PMLA will not be released on temporary bail or parole.

The committee, comprising Bombay High Court Justice AA Sayed, Additional Chief Secretary of state Home department Sanjay Chahande and Maharashtra Director General Prisons SN Pandey, was set up after the Supreme Court in March called for decongestion of prisons across the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

It took a decision on Monday to release around 50 percent of the prisoners from jails across the state on temporary bail or parole. While the committee did not specify any time frame for the release, it said the jail authorities shall follow due process of law before releasing prisoners.

"This would substantially decongest jails and about 50 per cent of prisoners out of the prisons' population of 35,239 are now expected to be released," the committee said.

Follow LIVE updates on Coronavirus Outbreak here

The decision comes after over 100 inmates and staff members of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19. A 54-year-old inmate of the Byculla women's jail also tested positive for coronavirus last week.

The panel in its decision said only those prisoners who are convicted or facing trial for offences which are punishable up to seven years' imprisonment shall be entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole.

Prisoners convicted or booked on serious charges under the IPC and special Acts, like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), will not be released on temporary bail or parole.

The panel also rejected a representation filed by advocate SB Talekar, claiming that the decision to not release prisoners charged or convicted under the special Acts was discriminatory and arbitrary.

It noted that the Supreme Court had left it to the absolute discretion of the committee to determine which class/category of prisoners can be released on temporary bail or parole, depending not only upon the severity of the offence but also the nature of the offence.

The committee said prisoners who are not entitled to temporary bail or parole will have to seek regular bail from the courts concerned.

"It would be necessary to look at the facts on case to case basis by a judicial mind before releasing such prisoners, after considering the likelihood of them absconding and/or tampering with evidence or witnesses," the panel said.
Photo: (Photo : pexels.com)

During these trying times, experts want high-performing teens to stop trying to grind their success and give themselves a break instead. They also want to instill a reminder that a national pause to everyone's hustle does not equate to failure.





Difficulty in transitioning

To make sure that students have enough resources for virtual learning during the pandemic, school districts, and institutions across different states in the country are implementing different kinds of measures. However, the transition from traditional classrooms to virtual education seems to be in no way a smooth one; teens are especially having a difficult time regarding this new prescribed learning method of theirs.

Many schools have opted to a pass/fail grading system for the remainder of the school year 2019-2020, to at least be able to lessen the burden or stress that students are already feeling. For many who struggle to keep up with their course work at home, this is a great relief. Nevertheless, those who worked hard in maintaining their strong GPA were left to wonder what this means for their future.

College dilemma

When applying in most colleges and universities, having a high GPA is the number one priority for many students. Students use their good standing in school as a way to have an edge among other applicants. That is why the sudden change in the grading system has left many teens in a panic about their plans for getting into their dream schools. However, experts have an answer for their dilemmas; stop worrying!

Kate Irving, a College Counselor in McLean, Virginia, explained that students should do what they can in the context of their own reality. After all, no one is expecting them to be perfect during these unprecedented times. She also added that admissions officers will look for reasons to admit each student, and not by what their grades were while in quarantine. Irving emphasized that they are more than their GPA and test scores and that colleges see that.

Parental help in relaxing

Just like their parents, it is time for teens to prioritize self-care and emotional health. Stressing about their grades and academic standing is not the road to good mental health when the world is in crisis.

For parents who have teens who strive for straight A's every semester, dropping the behavior of grade perfectionism will not be like flipping off a switch. It will take time and self-compassion, which as parents, you can help instill.

You need to remind your teens to be kind to themselves, treat themselves with compassion, and cut themselves some slack. You can model these behaviors and let your teens know that it is okay to chill and loosen the reins on their studies a little and take care of themselves.

An effective way to be able to get through this is for teens and parents to first understand that they cannot do everything. It is time to let go of their grind and their hustle. It is time to relax and lose their perfectionist behaviors even for a little while.

These are unprecedented and trying times. It is okay to just do and be okay, and not try to excel.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - Tudor Gold Corp. (TSXV: TUD) (FSE: TUC) (the "Company" or "Tudor Gold") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the "Property Purchase Agreement") with American Creek Resources Ltd. ("American Creek") to purchase the remaining 40% legal and beneficial right, title and interest in and to certain properties and mineral rights known as the "Electrum Claims" in the Skeena Mining Division, located in British Columbia (the "Remaining Interest") for: (i) the issuance of 1,400,000 common shares of the Company (the "Payment Shares"), subject to an 8-month contractual escrow period; and (ii) $250,000 in cash, each issuable or payable at the time of closing (the "Proposed Transaction").

The Company currently holds a 60% interest in the Electrum Claims and the Company and American Creek are party to a joint venture agreement, dated May 10, 2016, which will be terminated with closing of the Proposed Transaction.

The Proposed Transaction is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The property comprises 8 claims totaling 650 acres, of which six claims are subject to a 2% net smelter royalty ("NSR") which can be purchased at any time for $1,000,000.

About Electrum Claims:

The "Golden Triangle" is one of the most important mineral districts of north-western British Columbia. The pertinent 650-hectare Electrum property is located between the past producing Silbak Premier mine (approx. 25 Km to the south) and Pretium Resource's Valley of the Kings deposit (approx. 20 Km to the north). The Electrum property hosts the historic East Gold mine, known for the intermittent small-scale production of bonanza grade gold and silver between the years of 1939 and 1965. A total of 3,816 oz of gold and 2,442 oz of silver were produced in that time.

American Creek Resources undertook exploration between 2006 and 2007, with a total of 66 diamond drill holes comprising 15,369 meters. In 2016, the Joint-Venture partners, Tudor Gold and American Creek, completed nineteen drill holes totalling 1,406 meters.

Nearby infrastructure:

The property is connected by road to an all-season, deep-water port at Stewart, BC (approx. 40 km away) as well as to a local gravel airstrip along Highway 37. Electrical power lines extend to within 18 km of the property and could be extended along the existing haul road to the site.

The Electrum property has exceptional potential for the outlining of a high-grade zone of epithermal gold-silver breccia-veins with geological similarities to the Premier and Brucejack projects.

Qualified Person

The Qualified Person for this news release for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 is the Company's Vice President of Project Development, Ken Konkin, P.Geo. He has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this news release.

About Tudor Gold

Tudor Gold is a precious and base metals explorer with properties in British Columbia's Golden Triangle, an area that hosts producing and past-producing mines and several large deposits that are approaching potential development. The 17,913 hectare Treaty Creek project (in which Tudor Gold has a 60% interest) borders Seabridge Gold Inc.'s KSM property to the southwest and borders Pretium Resources Inc.'s Brucejack property to the southeast. The Company also has earn in options and 100% interests in other prospective projects located in the Golden Triangle area.

"Walter Storm"

Walter Storm

President and Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.tudor-gold.com or contact:

Catalin Kilofliski

Director Corporate Development and Communications

Tel. 604-559-8092

E-Mail: catalin@tudor-gold.com

or

Carsten Ringler

Manager Investor Relations

Phone: +49 1726918274

E-Mail: carsten.ringler@tudor-gold.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including completion of the Proposed Transaction on the terms described herein and receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval of the Proposed Transaction. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connation thereof.

Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the Company will be able to complete the Proposed Transaction as currently contemplated and that the Company be granted approval from the TSX Venture Exchange for the Proposed Transaction. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.

There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include risks relating to market or business conditions; regulatory changes; timeliness of government or regulatory approvals; and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55744
[May 12, 2020] Inflectra's Agile Testing & DevOps Conference - InflectraCon - Goes Virtual

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inflectra Corporation has announced that its global conference on Agile Software Testing & DevOps: InflectraCon will move forward as a fully virtual event on September 29 - October 2, 2020. The annual conference is a 4-day, multi-track event, bringing together world-class keynote speakers and cutting-edge tutorials for mastering Inflectra's software QA, test management, program management and test automation platforms. "In 2020, InflectraCon is geared toward highlighting a particularly strong offering Inflectra has for the healthcare and biotech industries. Our systems support software testing, validation and compliance with HIPAA and FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 to ensure that, in the rush to provide lifesaving treatment for COVID-19, complex and shifting regulatory and public safety needs are effectively managed," said Adam Sandman, the Director of Technology at Inflectra. Due to COVID 19, Inflectra chose to cancel the real-life InflectraCon 2020 event, originally planned to take place in the fall in the nation's capital. However, the company plans to harnessthe full power of digital conferencing platforms to deliver the most impactful InflectraCon yet. Indeed, with the move to virtual, InflectraCon 2020 can be delivered to Inflectra's massive user-base across the globe and can be accessed by those who would otherwise be unable to travel to the US to attend the conference.



About Inflectra

Founded in 2006, Inflectra is a market leader in software test management, test automation and application lifecycle management space. The company is headquartered in the USA with offices in over a dozen countries. Known globally for its legendary customer support, Inflectra makes turn-key solutions that address many challenges in software test management and QA, test automation and product lifecycle management. Its methodology agnostic software tools are used in many industries where portfolio management, requirements traceability, release planning, resource management, document workflow and enterprise risk analysis are required. The company uses a concurrent pricing model for all its tools with unlimited products, projects, sprints, tests, API calls, included in a single price. All Inflectra products have a 30-day free trial. www.inflectra.com Contact Person: Adam Sandman

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 202 558 6885

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inflectras-agile-testing--devops-conference---inflectracon---goes-virtual-301057497.html SOURCE Inflectra Corporation

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Sir Richard Branson is selling a 400m stake in his space exploration business to prop up the rest of his ailing empire.

The billionaire, who has already been slammed for seeking taxpayer support to save struggling airline Virgin Atlantic, plans to sell 25m shares or 12 per cent of New York-listed Virgin Galactic.

His company Virgin Group said it would use the proceeds 'to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of Covid-19'.

The final frontier: Sir Richard Branson has already been slammed for seeking taxpayer support to save struggling airline Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic, in which Branson owns a 51 per cent stake, is fighting for survival after the coronavirus pandemic caused it to cancel thousands of flights.

It has already cut 3,150 jobs and announced it will end its presence at Gatwick Airport, while its sister airline Virgin Australia has gone bust.

Branson was hoping to secure a 500m government-backed loan for Virgin Atlantic and had even offered to put his luxury Caribbean retreat Necker Island up as security against the loan.

Though talks with the Government are ongoing, the chance of securing a bailout seemed slim after Chancellor Rishi Sunak wrote to airlines and airports in March saying the taxpayer would only step in 'as a last resort'.

A rescue package for the airline would have been politically toxic given its super-wealthy backer has not paid personal tax in the UK for 14 years after moving to the British Virgin Islands - a well-known tax haven.

Other potential investors include private equity firms Greybull Capital, which came under scrutiny for overseeing the collapse of troubled airline Monarch and British Steel, and Apollo Global Management.

Critics had called for Branson, who is estimated to be worth around 4 billion, to put in some of his own money.

His Virgin Group empire owns stakes in a slew of companies, from Virgin Wines and Virgin Money to social media giants such as Twitter and Pinterest.

Yesterday's announcement that it would offload part of its stake in Virgin Galactic indicated Branson had succumbed to the pressure.

But it will mean that the entrepreneur loses his controlling stake in the space exploration company, with his ownership falling below 43 per cent.

Virgin Galactic was founded by Branson in 2004 and had initially hoped to launch tourist flights into space by 2009.

But the mission has been beset by a series of delays, not least the death of copilot Michael Alsbury during a disastrous test flight of the VSS Enterprise craft in 2014.

Tickets for the space flights first went on sale in 2004 for $200,000 each and the price was later raised to $250,000 (200,000).

Branson owns 115m shares in Virgin Galactic, or 55 per cent, worth around 1.9 billion before he announced his intention to sell.

Shares slid 3.7 per cent yesterday. Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 per cent owned by America's Delta Air Lines, has lined up insolvency experts Alvarez & Marsal in case rescue talks fall through.

The airline believes it needs 750m of funding, which could be met with a mixture of private investment and cash raised by Virgin Group.
Jerry Baker/Freelance

More Houston-area retailers are slated to open their doors over the coming weeks, including Nordstrom, Burlington and Gap stores, the companies announced this week.

Nordstrom plans to open its Houston-area stores on Tuesday, the company said in a news release. Burlington Stores plans to open its shops in the Houston area on Friday, while those owned by Gap, Inc.  including Banana Republic, Athleta, Old Navy and Intermix  are scheduled to open this month.
New psychology research from the University of Konstanz reveals that stress changes the way we deal with risky information - results that shed light on how stressful events, such as a global crisis, can influence how information and misinformation about health risks spreads in social networks.

"The global coronavirus crisis, and the pandemic of misinformation that has spread in its wake, underscores the importance of understanding how people process and share information about health risks under stressful times," says Professor Wolfgang Gaissmaier, Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Konstanz, and senior author on the study. "Our results uncovered a complex web in which various strands of endocrine stress, subjective stress, risk perception, and the sharing of information are interwoven."

The study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, brings together psychologists from the DFG Cluster of Excellence "Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour" at the University of Konstanz: Gaissmaier, an expert in risk dynamics, and Professor Jens Pruessner, who studies the effects of stress on the brain. The study also includes Nathalie Popovic, first author on the study and a former graduate student at the University of Konstanz, Ulrike Bentele, also a Konstanz graduate student, and Mehdi Moussaid from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

In our hyper-connected world, information flows rapidly from person to person. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how risk information - such as about dangers to our health - can spread through social networks and influence people's perception of the threat, with severe repercussions on public health efforts. However, whether or not stress influences this has never been studied.

"Since we are often under acute stress even in normal times and particularly so during the current health pandemic, it seems highly relevant not only to understand how sober minds process this kind of information and share it in their social networks, but also how stressed minds do," says Pruessner, a Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology working at the Reichenau Centre of Psychiatry, which is also an academic teaching hospital of the University of Konstanz.

To do this, researchers had participants read articles about a controversial chemical substance, then report their risk perception of the substance before and after reading the articles, and say what information they would pass on to others. Just prior to this task, half of the group was exposed to acute social stress, which involved public speaking and mental arithmetic in front of an audience, while the other half completed a control task.

The results showed that experiencing a stressful event drastically changes how we process and share risk information. Stressed participants were less influenced by the articles and chose to share concerning information to a significantly smaller degree. Notably, this dampened amplification of risk was a direct function of elevated cortisol levels indicative of an endocrine-level stress response. In contrast, participants who reported subjective feelings of stress did show higher concern and more alarming risk communication.

"On the one hand, the endocrine stress reaction may thus contribute to underestimating risks when risk information is exchanged in social contexts, whereas feeling stressed may contribute to overestimating risks, and both effects can be harmful," says Popovic. "Underestimating risks can increase incautious actions such as risky driving or practising unsafe sex. Overestimating risks can lead to unnecessary anxieties and dangerous behaviours, such as not getting vaccinated."

By revealing the differential effects of stress on the social dynamics of risk perception, the Konstanz study shines light on the relevance of such work not only from an individual, but also from a policy perspective. "Coming back to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it highlights that we do not only need to understand its virology and epidemiology, but also the psychological mechanisms that determine how we feel and think about the virus, and how we spread those feelings and thoughts in our social networks," says Gaissmaier.

###

Wolfgang Gaissmaier has written a blog post about the study, which is published at the Behind the Paper channel from Nature: https://socialsciences.nature.com/channels/1745-behind-the-paper

Facts:

University of Konstanz psychologists publish study examining how stress, a widespread afflictive condition, influences social dynamics of risk perception.

Study finds that feeling stressed can amplify risk perception whereas endocrine stress reaction can attenuate risk perception. - Original publication: Nathalie F. Popovic, Ulrike U. Bentele, Mehdi Moussaid, Wolfgang Gaissmaier. Acute Stress Reduces the Social Amplification of Risk Perception. Scientific Reports 10, 7845, 12 May 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62399-9

Authors include Wolfgang Gaissmaier, a Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Konstanz; Jens Pruessner, a Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Konstanz; Nathalie Popovic, a former graduate student at the University of Konstanz; Ulrike Bentele, also a Konstanz graduate student, and Mehdi Moussaid from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

Wolfgang Gaissmaier and Jens Pruessner are also Principal Investigators at the University of Konstanz?s Cluster of Excellence "Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour", which has been funded in the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments since 2019.

Note to editors:

You can download a photo here: https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2020/Bilder/acute_stress.jpg

Image: University of Konstanz

Contact:

University of Konstanz

Communications and Marketing

Phone: +49 151 27671919

Email: julia.wandt@uni.kn
Some members of the Pennsylvania legislature are suggesting that now is the time to freeze property taxes. This is absolutely possible, but first lawmakers must fund their mandates.

Public schools have been defunded by a slow, steady move by state legislators to take away funds by forcing districts to spend the money on programs other than education.

First, transportation. Public school districts are forced to pay to transport private school and charter school students 10 miles beyond the district borders. Why? We do not allow our public school students to be bused out of their districts. Why are taxpayers funding this trip for private school students?

This is an easy fix. Unless a student is protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, the district should not be forced to pay to transport outside its borders.

In fact, the cost of busing outside districts is putting student health and safety at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, and a Pennsylvania legislative report agrees, that high school should not start before 8:30 am. But many school officials say they will not change start times because of the increased cost that would be forced on them due to requirement to transport students to out-of-district private schools.

Second, standardized testing. These tests cost money. And they have not been proven to improve education outcomes. Our teachers and students are stressed. These tests take away time from instruction and force teachers to teach to the test.

Schools could easily transition to a curated final exam. The state Department of Education would receive a sample of tests to review, and a minimum passing grade would be set. We can add peer review so teachers help teachers.

Third, school construction. Two schools in Phoenixville built with geothermal systems save taxpayers $70,000 per year in energy costs. We can do this everywhere with the added benefit of creating good jobs.

Also, the Phoenixville School District moved to use in-district companies first where possible. This too would help local economies and returns funds to local taxpayers. The state can mandate or prioritize reimbursement of school construction that utilizes sustainable materials, local companies and renewable energy.

Fourth is IDEA funding. Congress must act immediately to increase the budget caps now in place and increase IDEA funding by 5%. Currently districts receive approximately 17% of the promised 40% funding. If districts received their full funding they could pay for other programs without raising property taxes.

In one district the estimate shortfall due to IDEA funding was $3.5 million. The tax increase in the same year was about $1 million. Clearly having this funding would allow districts to balance the budget without an increase.

There are many other areas we need to consider changing as well for our schools to reopen.

Cafeterias will be a thing of the past. We must create small group eating spaces.

Class sizes may need to be lowered. We need to have better ventilation to comply with CDC recommendations, outdoor classes, courtyards and more time for students to be outside. Longer classes on alternate days will ease congestion and assist with social distance for our students. We need to include teachers, staff, parents and students in these conversations about how to reopen.

School boards must have public meetings and engage staff and families. Ongoing policy discussion around equity, sustainability and community tax rebate programs must continue and be prioritized.

Yes, we can freeze property taxes, but first we need to tell the legislature to fund their mandates or remove them.

Lisa Longo is a member of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Property Tax Reform Task Force and former president of the Phoenixville School Board.
Animal foods increase the production of an atherosclerosis-inducing substance called Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO).(Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Beijings Meat Ban Might Mean Trade War With Australia

China has suspended imports from four Australian abattoirs in an escalation of trade tensions between the two nations.

The suspension comes days after China announced plans to slap an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley.

China is Australias number one market for beef, with exports worth more than $3 billion a year.

The Australian Meat Industry Council has put the suspension down to labelling issues.

While not desirable, we have dealt with issues of this nature before and are working closely with the commonwealth, chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said.

This is a trade and market access issue that is being led by the commonwealth.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham was blindsided by the ban.

Its disappointing that no notification was given prior to that suspension taking effect today, he told reporters.

The minister is working with the meat processors involved to rectify the labelling issues and get their permits reinstated.

We are concerned that the suspensions appear to be based on highly technical issues, which in some cases date back more than a year, he said.

Ive been speaking with industry leaders, colleagues and departments overnight to formulate a comprehensive response.

We will work with industry and authorities in both Australia and China to seek to find a solution that allows these businesses to resume their normal operations as soon as possible.

Diplomatic relations between Australia and China have rapidly deteriorated after Prime Minister Scott Morrison began pushing for a global inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19.

Earlier this month, Beijings ambassador warned Chinese people would reconsider buying Australian beef if Morrison continued calling for the investigation.

The four meatworks involved  JBS Dinmore, JBS Beef City, Kilcoy and Northern Cooperative Meat Company  account for roughly 35 percent of Australian beef exports.

Coalition backbencher George Christensen wants to summon the Chinese ambassador to answer questions about the threatened trade boycott from a parliamentary committee.

Christensen said Australia was at a crossroads and had clearly put too many eggs in one basket with China.

Being so entangled with an authoritarian regime has left our nation open to economic blackmail and boycotts like that mooted by Chinas ambassador, he told parliament.

It is time to speak up on Chinas economic infiltration and economic blackmail against our country.

Enough is enough, we must take a stand for our national sovereignty.

By Daniel McCulloch
The jute sector has incurred an



estimated loss of Rs 1,250 crore in the wake of the lockdown which brought livelihood of workers and farmers of the golden fibre at stake, an official of the industry body said on Tuesday.

The sector is very crucial for the West Bengal's economy as 40 lakh farmers and three lakh workers at the jute mills are associated with the industry which contributes Rs 6,500 crore to the state GDP, he said.

"Around 1.5 lakh tonne of jute goods production with an estimated value of Rs 1,250 crore has already been lost. Some mills have managed to reopen but are functioning with 5- 10 per cent of their workforce," Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Raghavendra Gupta told PTI.

With dwindling cash flow, jute mills are facing hardship and will have "no alternative but to close units", if this situation continues, he said.

Jute industry's loss has been seen as gain to the plastic sector, he said, adding that dilution of mandatory jute packaging has taken place during the lockdown.

"About 3 lakh bales of jute bag orders have been diverted to the plastic industry and several states have asked mills to stop production," IJMA officials told PTI.

If the lockdown is extended further, more dilution of the mandatory jute packaging cannot be ruled out, they said.

"Prices of raw jute have come down as most mills remained closed. The jute fibre price for TDN3 grade has fallen below the minimum support price of Rs 4,225 per quintal," he said.

The carry-over raw jute is now expected to be over 22 lakh bales by end of the 2019-20 crop year.

Gupta said the jute industry has prepared a standard operating procedure to run mills during the lockdown while strictly adhering to social distancing and health safety norms.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The coronavirus has claimed the life of a British railway worker allegedly spat on by a man earlier this year.

Now, Belly Mujingas family is demanding justice and raising poignant questions about the safety of essential employees during the pandemic.

Mujinga, 47, was working on the concourse at Victoria Station in London on March 22 when she and a colleague were assaulted by a man who claimed to have the coronavirus, according to The Guardian. The man reportedly spat and coughed in their faces before taking off.

Belly Mujinga died of coronavirus weeks after she was allegedly spat on by a man claiming he was sick with the virus.

Within days, both women fell sick with the virus.

British Transport Police have since launched an investigation to find the accused spitter, BBC News reported.

After Lansing prison guards death, family says COVID-19 must be taken seriously

The victims husband, Lusamba Gode Katalay, told the outlet that his wife and her co-worker were approached by the man who demanded to know what they were doing and why they were there.

[Mujinga] told him she was working, and the man said he had the virus and spat on her, Katalay said.

Mujinga, who had underlying health issues, was hospitalized at Barnet Hospital on April 2, according to BBC News. She was placed on a ventilator but died three days later on April 5.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) union confirmed the ticket workers death and reported the alleged incident to the Railway Inspectorate for further investigation, The Guardian reported. The general secretary for the union, Manual Cortes, said he was shocked and devastated by news of Mujingas death.

She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus, Cortes said.

Relatives allege Mujingas employer, Govia Thameslink Railway, was aware of her respiratory issues but sent her out on the concourse anyway. In a statement to BBC News, Angie Doll, the managing director of GTR subsidiary Southern Railway and Gatwick Express, said it takes any allegations extremely seriously, and we are investigating these claims.

Story continues

The incident has raised concerns about worker safety amid the pandemic that, as of Tuesday, has infected more than 227,000 across the United Kingdom and 4 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. Mujingas family told the UK outlet Sky News that she and her colleague begged not to be sent to work with the masses.

They wished to remain in the ticket office but were denied. Relatives said it didnt help that Mujinga and other workers werent provided personal protective equipment, putting them at increased risk of contracting the virus.

They werent given masks, or gloves, so they were exposed to everyone, her husband told Sky News.

Essential workers like me need real protections

Mujingas cousin Agnes Ntumba echoed these same concerns to The Guardian, arguing her loved one shouldve never been sent to work on the concourse without protective equipment.

We want justice for Belly, Ntumba told the newspaper. They need to find the person who did it. And the company should compensate the family.

Doll of GTR told the BBC that the safety of our customers and staff, who are key workers themselves, continues to be front of mind at all times and we follow the latest government advice.

Katalay and and the couples 11-year-old daughter, Ingrid, were among just 10 people who attended Majingas funeral, according to the Guardian.

She was a good person, a good mother, and a good wife, Majingas husband told BBC News. She was a caring person and would take care of everybody.
CoreoGraft Study Approved by the Superintendent of Health of the National Health Council of Paraguay

IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc. (HJLI), a developer of medical devices that restore cardiac and vascular health, today announced that the Company has received approval from the Superintendent of Health of the National Health Counsel for the Republic of Paraguay to conduct a first-in-human study for its CoreoGraft bioprosthetic graft.

The first-in-human study will initially consist of five patients who will receive CoreoGrafts as part of their coronary artery bypass graft ("CABG") surgeries. The CoreoGraft patients will be monitored for a one-year period post CoreoGraft surgery, with interim results reported at 30, 90, 180, and 365 days. Enrollment for the first-in-human study will begin as soon as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted in Paraguay.

The primary investigator for the first-in-human trial will be Dr. Adrian Ebner, a specialist in Cardiovascular Surgery and Endovascular Interventional Cardiology and the Chairman of the Board of Clinical Research and Cardiovascular Clinical Studies at the Italian Hospital Asuncion in Paraguay. Dr. Ebner has been involved in more than 70 first-in-human studies for products that have gone on to receive CE Marking, FDA approvals, or that have been acquired by large medical device companies. The CoreoGraft surgeries will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Marc H. Glickman, Hancock Jaffe's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Glickman stated, "I have previously worked with Dr. Ebner and am excited to collaborate with him on our CoreoGraft first-in-human trial. Much like we have done with our VenoValve first-in-human study, we will apply what we learn from the CoreoGraft study to enhance our surgical technique and improve the product, all in preparation for seeking U.S. regulatory approval for the CoreoGraft."

In January of 2020, HJLI released positive results from its six (6) month CoreoGraft animal feasibility study. At thirty (30), ninety (90), and one hundred and eighty (180) days post CoreoGraft bypass surgeries, all grafts we patent (open), when the implantations went smoothly and there were no technical errors. At the conclusion of the study, pathology examinations of the grafts and surrounding tissue showed no signs of thrombosis, infection, aneurysmal degeneration, changes in the lumen, or other problems that are known to plague saphenous vein grafts ("SVGs"). In addition, the pathology examinations indicated a thin layer of endothelial cells in the CoreoGrafts that were implanted for 90 days, and more complete endothelization was observed for grafts implanted for 180 days both throughout the CoreoGrafts and into the left anterior descending arteries. Endothelialization is thought to be a critical step in establishing the long-term biocompatibility of cardiovascular devices.

Story continues

For patients with suitable veins, the current standard of care for most CABG surgeries is to harvest the saphenous vein from the leg of the patient, dissect the SVGs into multiple grafts, and to use the dissected grafts to revascularize the heart. In addition to the vein harvest procedure being invasive, painful, and subject to its own complications for the patient, SVGs are also known to have high short term and long-term failure rates when used as grafts around the heart. Studies indicate that up to 40% of SVGs fail within one year of CABG surgeries, with a significant percentage failing within the first 30 days. Eight to ten years after surgery, SVG failure rates are known to be as high as 75%. Eventually, the CoreoGraft could become a viable alternative to using SVGs.

Approximately 200,000 CABG surgeries are performed each year in the U.S., representing more than 55% of all cardiac surgeries and accounting for between $15 Billion and $25 Billion in annual expenditures. With an average of three grafts used per surgery, HJLI estimates the potential U.S. addressable market for the CoreoGraft to be more than $2 Billion per year. There are currently no FDA approved prosthetic grafts for CABG surgeries.

About Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc.

HJLI specializes in developing and manufacturing bioprosthetic (tissue based) medical devices to establish improved standards of care for treating cardiac and vascular diseases. HJLI currently has two lead product candidates: the VenoValveO, a porcine based valve which is intended to be surgically implanted in the deep venous system of the leg to treat reflux associated with Chronic Venous Insufficiency; and the CoreoGraftO, a bovine tissue based off the shelf conduit intended to be used for coronary artery bypass surgery. For more information, please visit HancockJaffe.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and any statements of stockholders, directors, employees, representatives and partners of Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc. (the "Company") related thereto contain, or may contain, among other things, certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results (including, without limitation, with respect to our first-in-human VenoValve study) may differ significantly from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future presentations or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

HJLI Press Contacts:

Amy Carmer

Tel: 949-261-2900

Email: ACarmer@HancockJaffe.com



SOURCE: Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/589460/Hancock-Jaffe-Announces-Plans-for-CoreoGraft-First-in-Human-Study




New Delhi, May 12 : A Mumbai-based lawyer, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has moved a plea in the Supreme Court seeking directions to ensure transportation of migrants from Mumbai to their native places in Uttar Pradesh. The lawyer has offered Rs 25 lakh towards the cost of travel of the migrants belonging to districts Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

Advocate Sagheer Ahmed Khan moved the plea through advocate-on-record Ejaz Maqbool. The petitioner said that he is well conversant with the plight of the migrants who are left to fend for themselves in this national crisis. The petitioner sought directions from the apex court to ensure immediate and safe evacuation of migrant workers to their hometowns free from any technicality and under its supervision.

Khan, who is a native of Sant Kabir Nagar, contended in the plea that he first tried to help the migrants by approaching the Centre and the Maharashtra government. He moved the apex court after the authorities concerned failed to address the plight of the migrants.

"The petitioner is approaching this court seeking to exercise its jurisdiction vested in it under Article 32 of the Constitution to save the lives of the migrants who are caught between the inactions of the Respondents (Centre and state government)", said the plea.

The petitioner argued he has moved the top court, as the migrant workers in Mumbai who have no source of livelihood due to the lockdown are constrained to leave Mumbai and are forced to travel to their hometowns in inhuman conditions. "While some migrant workers are undertaking the journey on foot, the others are resorting to truck journeys where at least 100-120 persons are traveling in one truck. It is submitted while some migrant workers are dying of exhaustion and starvation, others are suffocating while undertaking this tedious journey", said the plea.

The petitioner said this is a clear violation of the right to life of these workers who have suddenly found themselves helpless in the midst of the nationwide lockdown.

"The repeated attempts of the petitioner to contact the nodal officer appointed by the state of Uttar Pradesh to ensure safe return of migrants from Maharashtra have failed as the telephone lines are continuously busy and the emails have not been answered", said the plea.

The plea urged the top court to direct the authorities concerned to provide the migrants, who are on their way, safe and secure means and mode of travel to their destination.
President Hassan Rouhani sacked his minister of industry, mine and trade at one of the most chaotic moments for the countrys industry, particularly in the automotive sector. The Iranian auto industry has been on a downward path in the past two months with prices of domestic products soaring by up to 60%.

Yet no mention of that turbulence was made in the official explanations and exchanges on Reza Rahmanis dismissal. In a public letter, he said he respected the presidents decision while attempting to disclose the covert power play inside the Iranian executive branch. Rahmani named Mahmoud Vaezi, chief of the presidential staff, as the man who forced his departure. As one of the presidents closest allies, Vaezi is believed to be the powerful figure micromanaging Rouhanis moves.

The sacked ministers letter hinted at what appeared to be severe infighting over a contentious bill the Rouhani government has been persistently advancing. If passed by the Iranian Parliament, the bill will lead to an official divorce for a new Ministry of Trade. The inner clash was further revealed in a statement from the presidential office in response to Rahmanis letter. The statement noted that the ministers dismissal was triggered by his failure to curb three lawmakers who have been attempting to kill the bill.

Rahmanis replacement is one of his deputies, Hossein Modarres Khiabani, who will serve as a caretaker before the president officially proposes a new minister to parliament for a vote of confidence. Rahmani became the seventh minister departing from Rouhanis 18-member cabinet. Two more ministerial dismissals or resignations could effectively thrust the Rouhani government into a crisis of legitimacy. Under the Iranian Constitution, the president will then have to put the entire list of his ministers to a fresh vote of confidence from the incoming parliament, which is packed with hard-liners.

While the two letters made it clear that Rouhanis decision was no rebuke of the minister over the failing auto industry, leading media outlets still found links. Pro-Reformist paper Aftab-e-Yazd has published a chain of editorials against the sacked ministers incompetence in handling not only the car market but a turbulent paper industry. Rouhanis move, according to Aftab-e-Yazd, reflected the peoples voice but was belated. Similarly, ultraconservative Javan reported, The Pride dropped off the minister, referencing an Iranian budget car that has earned notoriety for its low safety standards and disproportionate prices. The domestic product is a version of a Kia Motors subcompact car that was discontinued by the South Korean firm in 2000. Despite undergoing nearly no safety or cosmetic upgrades, the Iranian Pride has enjoyed an overall price leap of 10 times in the course of one decade.

Years of US sanctions, banking restrictions, limited supplies and rampant corruption are now pushing Irans two major state-owned carmakers, Iran Khodro and Saipa, toward collapse. To avoid bankruptcy, the two companies are now pressing a government regulatory body to approve 40% hikes in their prices.

According to official statistics, the two manufacturers production dropped by some 50% in the past two months with thousands of incomplete cars stranded in large factory parking lots due to a scarcity of sanctioned supply parts. The situation has worsened amid weeks of closures imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Whether or not Rouhanis dismissal of his industry minister had to do with the auto industry is currently a topic of heated debate across Irans political circles. Even among the presidents supporters, there is a growing argument that the removal was more political than about tackling inflation in the auto market.

To escape accountability for his own incompetence, Rouhani will continue to blame others, reported Reformist paper Seday-e-Eslahat, predicting that the president will take more such steps as he approaches the end of his term.
Current smokers and those with a type of lung disease are at an increased risk of suffering severe complications and dying from coronavirus, new research suggests.

Over the past several months, numerous controversial studies have claimed that cigarettes may be protective, potentially due to nicotine.

But researchers from University College London in the UK found the COVID-19 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of diseases caused by smoking, are at a two-fold risk of becoming severely and at an increased risk of dying.

What's more, smokers were 1.45 times more likely to have severe complications compared to former smokers and those who had never smoked before.

Severely ill coronavirus patients with COPD, which is mostly caused by smoking, had a 63% risk of suffering from complications compared to 33.4% of those without COPD (file image)

Patients with COPD also had a 5% greater risk of dying from the virus compared to those without COPD.

Current smokers were 1.45 times more likely to have serious complications in comparison with former smokers and people who have never smoked. Pictured: Nurses and doctors clear the area before defibrillating a patient with COVID-19 who went into cardiac arrest at St Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, NY, April 20

For the study, published in PLOS One, the team looked through research on the characteristics and features of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and the prevalence of COPD in COVID-19 patients.

The papers were narrowed down to 15 that included 2 473 coronavirus patients, 2.3 percent of whom had COPD and nine percent were smokers.

COPD is a group of diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that block the airways and cause breathing problems.

Early stages usually show few to no symptoms, but later stages include symptoms such as a lingering cough, shortness of breath and wheezing.

Additionally, glucose, which is normally pumped into the bloodstream to fight infections, leaks into the airways. This leads to infections by providing food for bacteria.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 16 million US adults have been diagnosed with COPD - with nearly 40 percent being current smokers.

There is currently no cure, so physicians recommend lifestyle changes and treatments such as medication and supplemental oxygen.

Results showed that critically ill coronavirus patients without COPD had a 33.4 percent risk of suffering complications such as low oxygen levels and needing mechanical ventilation.

But those with COPD had a 63 percent risk - nearly double the risk.

Patients without the lung disease had a 55 percent risk of dying, but those with COPD had a slightly increased risk at 60 percent.

Additionally, current smokers were 1.45 times more likely to have severe complications in comparison with former smokers and people who have never smoked.

'Despite the low prevalence of COPD and smoking in COVID-19 cases, COPD and current smokers were associated with greater COVID-19 severity and mortality,' the authors concluded.

Over the past few weeks, several controversial studies have suggested that smokers may be protected from coronavirus.

One French study found that only 4.4 percent of 350 coronavirus patients hospitalized were regular smokers and 5.3 percent of 130 homebound patients smoked,

This pales in comparison with at least 25 percent of the general French population that smokes.

Researchers theorized nicotine could prevent the virus from infecting cells or that nicotine was preventing the immune system from overreacting to the virus.

In addition, an Italian study found that fewer than five percent of 441 COVID-19 patients who needed to be admitted to a hospital were smokers.

The scientists described it as a 'very low' number, given that a quarter of the general population are known to be hooked on cigarettes.

But health officials in both the US and the UK say they do not advocate that anyone start smoking because cigarettes have fatal health risks.

What's more these studies were published pre-peer review and have not yet been subject to scrutiny by other scientists.
Kerala Chief Minister



Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday sought more stoppages at all major stations in the state for the special Rajdhani trains and preferred non air conditioned trains to prevent spread of COVID-19 infection during travel.

"We have requested the Railways to provide more stoppagesin the state for the special Rajdhanitrains as per the stopspermitted for the regular Rajdhani Express", he told reporters here.

The state also wantedthe stoppages in otherstates to be avoided toreduce the risk of exposure to passengers and run the trains as non stop services till it enters Kerala.

Only three stops -- Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram -- have been allottedto up/down trains to the state.

This, Vijayan said, would create immense difficulties for the passengers, especially in Kasaragod and Kannur, as they would have to get down at Mangaluruin Karnataka and travel inter-state.

Kerala has also requested Non air conditioned trains to ferry passengersas there was a possiblity of the infection spreading during the journey in AC trains.

Elaborate testing arrangements are being set up at the railway stations, Vijayan said, adding that there would be mandatory 14 days quarantine for those coming by trains.

As per the state government guidelines, those having a valid railway ticket for the journey to Kerala should apply for entry pass to the state in the COVID-19 jagratha portal.

Those not having it would be moved to institutional quarantine from the station itself.

At the entry station, there should be provision for health check up cubicles adhering to COVID-19 containment protocol, all luggagehas to be disinfected at the stations and all officials should use prescribed PPEs and sanitisers.

Temperature checking must be carried out with Infra red flash thermometer.

Those coming by road should also have entry pass and they can choose the checkpost and day of travel according to the availablity of slots through the portal.

The government has also made it clear that those reaching the checkpost without the pass would not be allowed to enter the state.

So farover 33,000 people from other states have come to Kerala by road and 19,000 have reached the state from districts under red zones, Vijayan said.

Of the 1.33 lakh peope who have applied for passes, over 72,000 are from red zones, he said, adding 89,950 passes have been issued so far.

Since seven people who had come from abroad on May 7 have tested postive, all the passengers who had travelled in the flight have been put under surveillance, Vijayan said.

DIG A Akbar has been appointed to oversee the security checking of those arriving by trainsand SP rank officers as Special officers at all major railway stations.

At least 29,366 guest workers have left Kerala for their respective states in 16 trains,including nine to Bihar alone.

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

The government has announced the easing of epidemic restriction measures. Therefore the offices of the dioceses informed the priests, religious and the faithful about the "normalization of religious activities". In each parish, the priest will celebrate the liturgy and the hour of daily prayer in the church and organize catechism lessons and pilgrimages.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - Last week, May 4, the appeal of Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, president of the High Committee for Fraternity, was translated into Vietnamese and sent to all the dioceses and parishes of the country.

The invitation who invited "everyone everywhere, all believers of religions around the world, on May 14 to do good deeds, to fast, pray and beg Almighty God to end this pandemic".

The High Committee for Human Fraternity was created on February 4, 2019 by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayyeb. It is made up of religious leaders, scholars and exponents of culture from all over the world, Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, president of the Episcopal Council of Vietnam, has published a letter and informed the Christian community that "even in the past there have been many signs of mature faith such as the appreciation of the Eucharist, the desire to receive the Eucharist, communion with Pope Francis and the whole Church so that God will save humanity early from this pandemic ".

In addition, many Catholic individuals and associations have participated in emergency assistance programs for those who have suffered and had difficulty living in the epidemic. At the same time, Vietnamese Catholics have been made more aware of the protection of life, the natural environment, society and the spiritual environment."

Meanwhile, on May 5, the Prime Minister's Office published press release 11 / TB-VPCP on the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Government Committee on Religious Affairs has also sent letters to religious leaders on reducing social distancing. Based on these warnings from the government and the governmental committee for religious affairs, the offices of dioceses have informed priests, religious and faithful about the "normalization of religious activities" in Vietnam.

Therefore, from May 9, all 28 dioceses, parishes, religious communities and all religious activities have returned to normal pastoral activities. In each parish, the priest will celebrate the liturgy and the hour of daily prayer in the church and organize catechism lessons and pilgrimages.

Father Ignatius Ho Van Xuan, vicar general of the diocese of Saigon, vicar of the Notre Dame cathedral, announced to the whole diocese: "In thanks to God, the Episcopal Office would like to inform priests, religious and nuns of these special good news, Priests, please reorganize pastoral activities and celebrate the community liturgy in parishes, Catholic communities or mission centers from Saturday 9 May. However, we ask the priests, all the faithful, the whole of society, to prevent diseases with measures such as disinfection and cure hygiene in housing areas, increase disinfections in the church area, wear masks etc. "

Peter Nguyen spoke with local Catholic media in Ho Chi Minh City, I am a member of the King Jesus choir of Notre Dame Cathedral. This morning, after the Holy Mass online, the Episcopal Office of Ho Chi Minh City announced that from today, 9 May, we will return to the "normal Holy Mass". When I heard this announcement, I felt something very close to me. I am also very happy because I will be present at daily Mass. Yet before [the pandemic] I did not pay attention to this "problem".

Today - said Joseph, an elderly man - we are going to Notre Dame to attend live Mass. After 42 days (6 weeks) in which we only attended online Mass, we rejoice and thank God for meeting the community today. We meet God again in this Easter season. We receive the sacrament of holiness. Although in the last 6 weeks we have not been present at a Mass and we have not received the Eucharist, we have listened to the Word of God. Like other parishioners, we waited to go to church to pray. Today we go to church to participate in the Mass in person. We have received the grace of the Holy Spirit strongly and deeply in our soul. We received the grace of God and brought the Good News home."
Despite the difficulty and hardship of the current situation, the pandemic and lockdown have resulted in a shift across the the country, and indeed the world.

Rarely have relationships and connections with others been more valued.

While we may be forced to conduct them from a distance and virtually, many of us are treasuring not only our personal friends and family, but our wider community, especially our NHS and frontline workers.

Rarely have relationships and connections with others been more valued

Many of us are treasuring not only our personal friends and family, but our wider community, especially our front line workers

Dating app Badoo, which has helped thousands find love, has seen this national sentiment echoed amoung their users.

Why is Badoo different? Badoo is the online dating app where people date honestly. As the largest dating app in the world, they celebrate uniqueness and have created an inclusive environment where people are free of self-doubt and can connect with others on a more genuine level. Members must sign an honesty pledge when they join, meaning the community is honest about who they are, what they have to offer, and what they are looking for.

Boasting nearly 500 million users, and championing honest dating to help people find meaningful connections, the app found that the majority of their community revealed the recent circumstances had caused a change in their behaviors.

These changes mainly reflect the increased desire to feel connected to others. Badoo's research reveals 61% of users have said their dating behaviour has changed during these times. Of these, 49% of singles are engaging in longer conversations, while a further 47% are now less concerned with looks, prioritising personality over physicality.

Recognising this change and the mood of the nation at large, Badoo asked users for messages of love, support and admiration for NHS and frontline workers.

Since launching on Monday 11th May, thousands of messages have already been collected on social media and displayed, resulting in over 11, 051 alrea raised

They have been inundated with thousands of messages, which are now being broadcast live at Piccadilly Circus.

Write your love letter Submit your messages to join the digital tapestry via Badoo's Instagram @BadooUK and Facebook page until Sunday 17th May.

The notes of affection have been pulled together during lockdown to create a 'digital love letter' to frontline workers displayed on the iconic Piccadilly Circus billboard, to thank them for their continued services.

For every message received on the dating app, Badoo will be donating 1 - with all funds going directly to NHS Covid-19 Appeal, raising up to 20,000.

Since launching on Monday 11th May, thousands of messages have already been collected on social media and displayed, already resulting in 11, 051 raised.

Badoo asked users for messages of love for NHS and frontline workers and were inundated with thousands of messages, which are now being broadcast live at Piccadilly Circus

Members of the public have the chance to write a letter of love and thanks to anyone who is helping to keep the country going in these unprecedented times.

You can submit your messages to join the digital tapestry via Badoo's Instagram @BadooUK and Facebook page until Sunday 17th May.

In addition, Badoo will be donating 1 for every message received, with all funds going directly to NHS Covid-19 Appeal.

Every statement of warmth and thanks will be displayed on the giant boards above Piccadilly Circus for the entire nation to see.

The thousands of messages of support and a livestream from Piccadilly will be available for the public to view on the The Truth, Badoo's blog.

'We're here because you're there on the frontline', says Thomas, his message, sent from Cardiff, flashing in huge lights in central London.

Messages from the public will be shown on the iconic London landmark; the billboards of Piccadilly, and each one represents 1 given to the NHS Covid-19 Appeal

'Not all heroes wear capes, thank you!' , says Hollie from Croydon, while Emily in Brighton sent in the heart-warming: 'A million billion thanks for all your selfless care, help and support  you're all amazingly brilliant!'.

Sylvia Rose, Great Yarmouth writes: 'Thank you to all the NHS staff, carers, shop assistants, bin men, teachers, bus drivers, youre all doing an amazing job.'

'We will get through this pandemic as a country. Thank you NHS for everything you are doing,' is the hopeful message sent in by Shareen Meah, London.

Natasha Briefel, UK Brand Marketing Director at Badoo said: 'We have been seeing incredible acts of kindness, love and support taking place across the country in recent weeks, which inspired us to do our bit to raise the spirits of the amazing NHS and frontline workers who are putting their lives on the line, day in day out.

Every message is available to view on The Truth, Badoo's blog and you can still submit your messages until Sunday to help raise spirits - and money for the NHS

'We knew that if we asked our wonderful community for support they would come through in droves  and from the minute we put the call out within our app, we were inundated with messages.

'Thanks to their input, we've been able to use our advertising space to broadcast some of these incredible messages of thanks and admiration for our frontline workers, while also trying to raise as much money as possible to support the NHS Covid-19 Appeal.'
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man arrived at a local hospital Monday evening with gunshots in both feet, city police said.

Syracuse police responded to St. Josephs Hospital Health Center at 7:20 p.m. after the shooting victim arrived in a private vehicle, police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Malinowski said.

The 25-year-old victim would not tell officers what street he was shot on or any other details about the shooting, police said.

His injuries were not life-threatening, Malinowski said.

Syracuse police are continuing to investigate and ask anyone with information about the shooting to call them at (315) 442-5222.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call (315) 470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
12.05.2020 LISTEN

Mr. Mathias Tulasi, the Chief Executive Officer of Literacy Ambassadors Ghana (LAG), a non-governmentmal literacy organisation, passionate about promoting literacy in reacting to a statement issued by the Electoral Commission has said, the Electoral Commission of Ghana as an official body responsible for all public elections as guaranteed by the 1992 constitution must protect its integrity in order to build confidence among Ghanaians.

He said as Ghana started battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) was in dire need of personal protective equipment (PPE) for their Frontline Medical Personnel.

The security agencies, Immigration, Police and Military personnel assigned to enforce the President's directives in locked-down areas all cried for PPE.

Many CHPS Compounds, Polyclinics, and Hospitals across the country at the time were equally without PPE which made some personnel even threatened to abandon their posts should the situation not seen an improvement.

Mr. Mathias Tulasi said the entire country became very worried about the inadequacy of PPE to our gallant health workers when we woke up to news indicating that the Electoral Commission was given enough PPE by government.

Dr. Serebuor Quaiccoe, Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission of Ghana indicated on Joynews television program, Newsfile on the 18th of April 2020 that EC has received enough PPE.

"The Electoral Commission has received enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the government to enable it to carry out the New Voter Registration Exercise," he said.

According to Mr. Mathias Tulasi, it is sanctimonious by the Electoral Commission to come out with a release in response to a statement made by Hon Haruna Iddrisu that EC has received personal protective equipment from the government by saying "The Electoral Commission has not stated anywhere that it has received Personal Protective Equipment from the government".

Mr. Mathias Tulasi said, there is the need for the Electoral Commission to do the cleansing as well as learning to always be factual since it is only a liar that keeps changing what has been said earlier.

"The Electoral Commission must act in a professional manner in order to build public confidence, respect, and trust for the commission" he added.

He also urged fellow Ghanaians to take the precautionary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic seriously as the confirmed cases keep escalating.
Ramadan television series The Choice, currently being shown on Egyptian TV, accurately depicts what is at stake in the ongoing war on terrorism in Egypt

The Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliate in Sinai known as the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis have not spared a chance to remind the Egyptian people of the inhuman nature of their members. This was manifested one more time during the first week of the Holy Month of Ramadan, after the attack on a check point in North Sinai killing 10 soldiers before Iftar.

The terrorist attack once again reminded the nation of the brutal character of these terrorists who claim to be fighting for freedom and democracy. Following the attack, the Egyptian police and army led a massive retaliation campaign against the hideouts of the terrorists, killing 146 in the days that followed and destroying 22 hideouts.

Despite the massive victories over the Muslim Brotherhood and the destruction of its organisational infrastructure across the country over the past seven years, there are still those who follow the hallucinations of this cult. This takes place through their following the teachings of founder Hassan Al-Banna or the godfather of modern terrorism Sayed Qotb or the radical clerics who promote bloodbaths. While the vast majority of the Egyptian population has made it their choice to uphold the tenets of this great nation, there are still those who are willing to sell those tenets cheaply to hostile regimes and even fight on their side against their own countrymen.

A Ramadan TV drama has come as a pleasant surprise to Egyptian and Arabic-speaking viewers in the Middle East. Ikhtiyar (The Choice) is the first TV series that accurately depicts the ferocious war on terrorism that has been going on in Egypt since 2011. The marvelous production standards of the show help to present at a near realistic level the kind of military operations that have hardly been seen before in any Egyptian TV drama and equal to the best global cinematic standards.

The Choice stars talented actor Amir Karara, who delivers the performance of a lifetime along with an assortment of some of Egypts most talented veteran and young actors. Many box-office stars and veteran actors were happy to appear as guest stars or even in cameo roles in the series in order to contribute to the resounding success it has been enjoying. But the amazing performances and overall production would not have been possible without the flawless work of the young and talented Egyptian director Peter Mimi, who has presented artistic work befitting a world-class director.

The TV series commemorates the life of Egyptian army officer colonel Ahmed Al-Mansi, who commanded the 103rd unit of the Thunderbolt Forces in North Sinai. He died heroically in July 2017 in a suicide bombing that targeted his unit, having attained legendary status during his years in service through hundreds of successful raids and special operations against terrorists and paving the way to the destruction of the bulk of the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and other terrorists allied to the Islamic State (IS) group in Sinai.

The series also depicts the life of disgraced former army officer Hisham Ashmawi, played by Ahmed Al-Awadi, who joined Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis before forming his own terrorist group. Ashmawi was captured in Libya and extradited to Egypt and was later executed for high treason in March this year.

The Choice depicts the patriotic choices made by millions of Egyptian soldiers whether in the army or the police to serve their countrys security in the face of traitors such as Ashmawi who walked the path of treachery by committing atrocities against their own country and countrymen in the name of jihad.

Its episodes are seamless and utilise both real and cinematic footage. It presents some harsh realities and exposes the existence of a fifth column within society that has been working in the service of the Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist factions.

The choice that the Egyptian people made in the 30 June 2013 Revolution to oust treacherous former president Mohamed Morsi is depicted in the TV series, with this being a clear message from the people that Egypt will never be turned into a theologically governed country under any circumstances such as has been the case of Iran. The secular nature of the Egyptian republic, which the Islamists are trying to bury with the help of a few foolish politicians, clergymen, media anchors and others, remains the cornerstone of keeping Egypt away from the clutches of the Islamists in the future.

It is time to recognise the fact that thousands of Egyptian soldiers and citizens have paid with their lives in order to uphold that patriotic choice, and this stands as testimony to the strength of the countrys foundations. However, there should be no mistake in declaring a victory over terrorism and Islamism too soon, as the war continues, and the recent attack on the North Sinai outpost serves as a reminder that the war on terrorism is not over despite the victories that have been attained.

While the TV series serves as a commemoration of the lives and deaths of the nations heroes, a real commemoration would be to honour their memories by not falling into the traps and mistakes of the past by dancing to the Islamists tunes, something that is still the case among a tiny minority of the younger generation.

Furthermore, the exposure of the Islamists and their fifth column must also take place in the West, where the Islamists are still seeking protection They still maintain diplomatic relations with countries where Muslim Brotherhood members form part of the government.

The Choice is a sound reminder that Political Islam or Islamism must be rooted out from every corner of Egypt and eventually from every corner of the globe as well. It is an existential threat to human civilisation like the current coronavirus pandemic.

The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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[May 12, 2020] Forge and SharesPost Join Forces to Create Powerhouse Global Private Securities Marketplace

Forge Global and SharesPost, Inc, preeminent private securities marketplaces, announced today they have signed an agreement to merge, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Together, the two companies will create one of the largest global private securities marketplaces, bringing liquidity and transparency at scale to pre-IPO companies and investors. Combined the two companies have facilitated thousands of transactions, resulting in more than $6 billion in private market transaction volume, for hundreds of private companies. Together, the companies have a combined customer base of more than 1 million and will strengthen their comprehensive and scalable technology platform, furthering the combined entity's position as a leading source of historical private market trade data. "We see a world of rapidly evolving capital solutions that keep pace with the evolutionary magnitude that innovation companies are driving in the global economy," said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. "SharesPost has been a trailblazer in the industry; joining forces will greatly benefit our customers, as well as accelerate and expand our capabilties as the operating system for private market transactions. Ultimately, we will deliver more mission critical infrastructure for our customers than any other private market operator in the world."



With this deal, the combined company will be strongly positioned to serve the unique needs of both Retail and Institutional investors across the globe. The combined platforms will provide buyers and sellers with deeper insight on private company trends, as well as bid, offer, and pricing data that provides transparency to clients and partners to better understand and engage in the private markets. "We launched SharesPost a decade ago with the mission of creating a far more efficient, more liquid capital market to support entrepreneurs and their companies," said Greg Brogger, Founder and CEO of SharesPost. "By combining these two companies, we believe we create a leader in the private markets and complete our mission."

Rodriques will continue as CEO of the combined entity under Forge Global, Inc. SharesPost founder and CEO Greg Brogger will step down from his current role, but will continue to advise the combined company as a member of the Forge Board of Directors. Forge will maintain offices in San Francisco, New York, San Carlos, South Dakota and Hong Kong. SharesPost's investment advisor and certain other subsidiaries will be excluded from the transaction and will continue to operate independent of the combined companies. Financial Technology Partners ("FT Partners") served as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Forge and it's Board of Directors in this transaction. About Forge As private market innovators, Forge serves the complex and emerging needs of the private market ecosystem by forging new connections through our technology, data and expertise. Founded in 2014, the firm empowers investors and shareholders by enabling liquidity in the private markets. Forge was founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by top Silicon Valley investors and large, global institutions including Peter Thiel, Draper Associates, Munich Re, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Borse and TD Ameritrade. About SharesPost, Inc. SharesPost launched the first secondary market for private tech company shares in 2009 and built the leading platform for secondary transactions. SharesPost provides the private growth asset class with a suite of trading solutions and investment solutions to facilitate shareholder liquidity. SharesPost has trading operations in San Francisco and New York City. SharesPost Financial Corporation, an SEC (News - Alert) registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and SIPC, and SP Investments Management, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser, are wholly owned subsidiaries of SharesPost Inc. Certain affiliates of these entities may act as principals in such transactions. Investing in private company securities is appropriate only for those investors who can tolerate a high degree of risk and do not require a liquid investment. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005322/en/

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In the land of the Taliban? Yes  Afghanistan is historically part of the Persianate world (Dari, the official language, is a Persian dialect), and metaphor-filled erotic poetry has a thousand-year history in Persian literature. Hundreds of young writers have lately been posting their amorous verse on social media, and while there has certainly been backlash, theres no censorship by the Afghan government.  The Guardian
Egyptian actor Hesham Selim raised eyebrows when he disclosed in a TV interview broadcast on Al-Kahera Wal Nas Channel May 3 that his daughter, Noura, was undergoing gender transition.

My daughter Noura is now my son Nour; it is God's will, the actor said. He added that he was not surprised when Nour came out as a transgender person at the age of 18. The first time I held Noura after she was born, I could see that she looked more like a boy than a girl. I always had doubts about her gender identity.

Eight years ago, Nour told his father he did not feel in harmony with his body. It was very brave of him to speak out as we live in a society where such issues are taboo, Selim told the show's presenter.

In the conservative patriarchal society, few dare talk openly about gender transition because of the stigma attached to gender nonconformity. Selim nevertheless, expressed support for his son's decision, saying, As his father, I can only encourage him to live the life he has chosen.

Nour, who has yet to complete his transition, is facing challenges in changing his gender designation on his national identity card, Selim said in the interview. Things are extremely difficult for people like my son. I deeply sympathize with families that are going through such an ordeal, he noted.

While Selim's revelation sent shock waves across the country, it earned him more praise than criticism on social media. Many activists commended his courage and expressed their support for him and his son.

One Twitter user expressed doubt, however, that Selim would have gotten the same level of support had he announced that the transition was from male to female. Acknowledging Selim's bravery, the activist added, He has thrown a stone into still waters, causing ripples. His disclosure may lead people to rethink their attitudes toward transgender people.

Members of Egypt's transgender community celebrated Selim's announcement as a step toward reversing the widespread antipathy toward transgender people.

This is a remarkable step forward and a marked change signaling greater social acceptance and a more supportive environment for transgender people, Malak el-Kashif, an outspoken transgender woman and rights activist, wrote on her Facebook page May 3.

Like many fellow members of Egypt's LGBTQ community, Kashif has suffered discrimination, abuse and even persecution. The 20-year-old, who was registered as a boy at birth, got approval from the Egyptian Medical Syndicate to change her gender three years ago and has since performed several gender reassignment surgeries.

Kashif has gained a massive following chronicling her transition on social media and also advocates for transgenders' rights in her articles published on the Transatsite, an Arabic-language portal dedicated to gender identity issues.

But Kashif has paid a price for her visibility, as she has been arrested three times in what she told Al-Monitor were attempts by the authorities to silence me. She recalled, On one occasion in 2018, I was arrested at a checkpoint on my way to [the town of] Dahab, after the officer who searched my bag found my medical records and some dresses. I was taken into custody on the accusation of traveling with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.

In March 2019, Kashif was arrested again  this time over a Facebook post calling for demonstrations to protest a deadly Cairo train crash that had taken place some days earlier.

I was clearly being punished for my activism and was forced to undergo a humiliating anal examination at a public hospital, Kashif said.

Such examinations have been denounced by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms as a flagrant violation of privacy and human dignity and tantamount to "torture." Kashif, who has yet to change her gender designation on her ID card, was held for four months in solitary confinement in an all-male prison on charges including aiding a terrorist organization and misusing social media by spreading false news on Facebook.

After her release in July 2019 pending further investigations, she filed a legal complaint demanding separate cells for transgender inmates in police stations and prisons.

Those who have not completed their transition should be separated from other prisoners to avert the risk of sexual assault at the hands of other inmates, she said.

There has been no verdict in the case so far as the court proceedings have been postponed several times. Kashif expects yet another postponement on May 30, the scheduled date for the next court session.

Gender reassignment surgeries are legal in Egypt. In 2013, the Medical Syndicate issued a Code of Ethics recognizing gender identity disorder (GID) as a medical condition, thus paving the way for transgender patients who have GID to undergo sex change surgeries. But these surgeries were being performed in Egypt long before then. In January 1988, in a much publicized case, Sayyid Abdallah, a then-19 year-old medical student at Al-Azhar University, underwent gender reassignment surgery, transitioning to Sally. The case stirred a great deal of controversy and Sally was reportedly punished by the then-dean of the Medical Faculty who refused to admit her for the final exam or have her transferred to the Medical Faculty for girls. The Medical Syndicate accused the surgeon who performed the operation of committing a grave error.

Today  more than three decades later  perceptions of gender transition have not changed much  the procedure is still largely frowned upon as sinful and tampering with God's creation. That perception may have been shaped by the Islamic hadith citing that God has cursed effeminate men who imitate women. Former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, however, affirmed in a 2014 TV interview broadcast on the Egyptian CBC channel that it is a duty for transgender persons  and their families  to correct their gender to end their state of confusion."

The surgery is only permissible for hermaphrodites (those with male and female reproductive organs), Gomaa said, adding that it is forbidden in cases of a person choosing to behave or look like the opposite sex but only has the traits of his or her birth gender.

Gomaa's view was reiterated by Dar al-Iftaa, the authority that issues religious edicts, in response to a question by Al-Monitor (via its hotline) on whether such surgeries are halal (permissible). If a medical specialist decides that the surgery is in the patients interest and is necessary to protect him or her from harm, then it is permissible. But it is forbidden in cases where there are no medical grounds and a man simply desires to become a woman or vice versa, an Iftaa cleric said.

Up until 2016, transgender people were able to undergo gender reassignment surgeries at public hospitals without charge. This is no longer the case and permits for such surgeries are now harder to obtain, Hashem Bahary, a professor of psychiatry at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview.

A sex correction committee  made up of a psychiatrist, a medical expert from the Medical Syndicate and a cleric from the Ministry of Endowments  had met periodically to review requests for gender transitions and approve or reject them on a case-by-case basis. But the committee has not convened since early 2016, leaving those wishing to change their gender with no option but to turn to private hospitals and clinics.

Many private clinics take advantage of trans patients desperation, charging exorbitant fees  sometimes for botched surgeries, Mozn Hassan, a women's rights activist and founder of Nazra for Feminist Studies, told Al-Monitor.

A gender reassignment surgery costs in the range of 25,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,600), according to Bahary, who said that the surgeries are beyond the means of the average Egyptian. Al-Azhars Psychiatric Center, which had offered transgender patients psychological support for nearly two decades, was shut down in 2017 at the behest of Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, according to Bahary, who said he continues to offer his LGBTQ patients free mental health services at his private clinic.

Transition is a complex and tedious process in Egypt, often taking several years to complete. It involves two years of psychological treatment, medical tests and approvals by religious authorities and medical specialists.

After completion of the transition, a report is submitted by forensic experts to the Interior Ministry requesting permission for the change in gender designation on ID cards, Bahary said.

Waad Mohamed Ahmed (nicknamed Cinderella ), a 28-year-old Alexandria-based lawyer, has been more fortunate than most. Identified as a boy at birth, she performed her first gender reassignment surgery five years ago at a private hospital at her own expense. She then underwent a second surgery at Kasr el-Eini public hospital in Cairo. It took several months to change her gender status on her ID card after approval from forensic experts. The worst time for me was before the transition. I was ostracized by my family and was persistently sexually harassed on the street, she told Al-Monitor.

Her biggest concern today is finding a suitable marriage partner. When men who are attracted to me learn about my past, they shy away, she said.

In a society with little tolerance for gender variance, the biggest challenge for transgender Egyptians is gaining societal acceptance.

Selim's disclosure about his son's transition is a milestone in transgender Egyptians' fight for recognition and respect, Hassan said. Not only has he broken a longstanding taboo, but he has also brought to public attention the dire need to integrate this marginalized minority group into the mainstream.
[May 12, 2020] Free tax clinics go virtual

OTTAWA, May 12, 2020 /CNW/ - Free tax clinics are important to communities throughout Canada. Due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, many community organizations had to close, postpone, or scale back on the free tax clinics they offer. Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, announced that virtual clinics will be held on an interim basis to help those that rely on this service while still following physical distancing guidelines. Clinics will have new flexibility to receive and authenticate documents in a variety of ways, including allowing the use of video communication. These free tax clinics, where eligible people can have community volunteers file their taxes, will be offered by local organizations, in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) and the joint CRA and Revenu Quebec Income Tax Assistance  Volunteer Program. We hope that by going virtual, community organizations will have the opportunity to host clinics before the June 1, 2020 filing deadline and beyond. Quotes "By filing a tax return, Canadians can get benefits and credits that can significantly improve their quality of life. I am reassured to see that tax clinics will now be able to provide virtual services to continue supporting vulnerable Canadians. I want to thank the community organizations and their volunteers for their work in helping others during this difficult time." -The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue "The Income Tax Assistance  Volunteer Program has a major impact on the lives of thousands of low-income individuals in Quebec. The measures announced today will make it possible to help taxpayers through online and telephone tax clinics."



 Eric Girard, Quebec Minister of Finance Quick Facts

The tax filing season has been extended from April 30 to June 1, 2020 as part of the Government of Canada's measures to help Canadians facing hardship as a result of COVID-19. Penalties and interest will not be charged if payments are made by the extended deadline of September 1, 2020 .

as part of the Government of measures to help Canadians facing hardship as a result of COVID-19. Penalties and interest will not be charged if payments are made by the extended deadline of . CRA is working with partner organizations to make sure these virtual clinics are safe and secure and that private information is protected.

Volunteer tax programs help people with low and modest incomes and a simple tax situation who are looking for support during tax season.

Trained volunteers prepare income tax and benefit returns free of charge. For virtual clinics, this can be done by videoconference or by phone.

During the 2018-2019 CVITP program year alone, more than 19,240 volunteers and 3,560 community organizations filed over 835,200 tax returns for individuals across Canada , and helped over 741,400 individuals. Associated Links

Covid-19: Free virtual tax clinics Stay connected

To receive updates when new information is added to our website, you can: Follow the CRA on Facebook

Follow the CRA on Twitter  @CanRevAgency

Follow the CRA on LinkedIn

Subscribe to a CRA electronic mailing list

Add our RSS feeds to your feed reader

You can also watch our tax-related videos on YouTube SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Apple is working on a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that support 5G networks, according to a technology analyst familiar with the tech giant.

The AR glasses, simply called Apple Glasses, are not sunglasses but normal prescription glasses that display an interface on the inside of the lens.

Anyone facing an Apple Glasses-wearing user will not be able to see the AR display, which will overlay digital images over the users real-life surroundings.

Leaker and technology analyst Jon Prosser said he saw two prototypes of the Apple Glasses at the companys premises  one white and one black.

Both models, which are described as clean and slick in appearance, will be 5G-compatible, he said.

The product, which could be announced as soon as next year, would work in tandem with Apples first ever 5G-ready iPhone, which is due to be revealed this autumn.

Apple has increasingly moved into augmented reality technology. In 2017, it launched AR Kit, an augmented reality platform for developers to create apps and other software using the tech

Its really cool. From the front end, if youre looking at someone thats wearing Apple Glasses, and its displaying something on the screen, you cant see it, Prosser told the technology podcast Gadget Cast.

They look like glasses  they dont look like heavy machinery on your face, almost exactly what you would expect from Apple.

Apple Glasses will have its own operating system called Starboard according to Prosser, who is described as an Apple leaker 'with sources throughout the company and supply chain' by Apple Insider.

Either an iPhone or Apple Watch will be needed to set up a pair of Apple Glasses and also help extract sensor data.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AR AND VR? Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation of an environment or situation It immerses the user by making them feel like they are in the simulated reality through images and sounds For example, in VR, you could feel like you're climbing a mountain while you're at home In contrast, augmented reality layers computer-generated images on top of an existing reality AR is developed into apps to bring digital components into the real world

For example, in the Pokemon Go app, the characters seem to appear in real world scenarios Advertisement

Apple Glasses will have sensors in them, but just for more accurate calibration between CGI and the real world.

They will be able to take advantage of sensors in Apple Watch and iPhone, but will still work without either in close proximity, according to Prosser.

Apple Glasses are not sunglasses  meaning they could be marketed specifically towards glasses-wearers unless they come in a version with clear glass instead of prescription lenses.

The idea behind this is that they will act as a back-up device that people are less likely to forget when they leave their house, either as a style accessory or, more vitally, to be able to see.

The tech giant has long been rumoured to be developing its own pair of smart glasses, following the lead of products such as Microsoft Hololens 2 and Snapchats line of Spectacles.

But making Apple Glasses look more like normal glasses instead of a clunky headset could make them more appealing to the consumer market.

Apple is planning to announce the new specs at an event in March or June 2021, Prosser claims.

This would follow the launch of the companys first 5G iPhone, the iPhone 12, which is expected to be revealed this October.

Apple is reportedly pushing back the production of its flagship 2020 iPhones about a month. The tech giant has experienced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic that closed its factories in China earlier this year

Apple is reportedly pushing back the production of its flagship 2020 iPhones by about a month due to the coronavirus pandemic that closed its factories in China earlier this year.

Apple has increasingly moved into AR, although it is yet to release consumer hardware dedicated to the technology.

In 2017, it launched AR Kit, an AR platform for developers to create apps and other software using the tech

According to an earlier report from The Information that cites sources within Apple, the company is working on two separate pieces of hardware  both an AR headset and a pair of AR glasses.

The headset will toggle between AR and a more immersive virtual reality (VR) and be a similar shape to the Facebook-owned Oculus VR headset.

The Information report backs up Prossers claims that the glasses will resemble high end eyewear, adding that they will have thicker frames capable of housing key technology.

Apple has long been rumoured to be developing its own pair of AR glasses. The tech giant has filed a patent (pictured above) this year that gives a glimpse into what it may be developing behind closed doors

Apple is reportedly considering technology that would darken the glasses lenses when using AR  a feature that would alert those around you that the device's AR is engaged.

The company is also reportedly considering making its App Store accessible through both sets of hardware.

A recent patent application from the company suggests Apple is considering technology described as a 'Display Device' that uses a 'reflective holographic combiner.

This holographic technology could more seamlessly blend objects rendered in the headset's display, increasing the depth-of-field and reducing the resulting eyestrain and nausea often associated with AR and VR.
CORRECTION: Because of incorrect information provided to the newspaper, an arrest reported May 12, 2020, for William S. Adamovich, 32, of Ashland was incorrect. He was not cited or charged with any crime, according to the Pike County Sheriff's Department.

--

Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Three men were cited Sunday after being accused of showing up at an East Water Street residence to start a fight.

Samuel G. Brinkley, 26, of 1007 W. Monroe St. in Auburn, William H. Pierce, 21, of 15850 Downing Road in Waverly and Steve E. Tieman, 20, of 26271 Hunter Road in Hettick were cited on disorderly conduct-fighting charges at 8:26 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of East Water Street, police said.

Tieman was arrested on a charge of criminal damage to property after police said he drove a vehicle into a fence at the property, according to a police report.



Pike County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Megan L. Watty, 30, of Bradenton, Florida, was arrested at 8:55 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

 James L. Roden, 23, of Lebanon, Missouri, was arrested at 8:55 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

 Kevin L. Gress, 51, of Hamburg was arrested at 7:02 p.m. Saturday on charges of driving under the influence, driving while license is suspended or revoked, illegal transportation of alcohol by a driver and aggravated fleeing to elude.

 Austin S. Crowder, 25, of Nebo was arrested at 9:53 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of driving under the influence.

Compiled by David C.L. Bauer
KABUL - Militants stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police and killing 16 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses, Afghan officials said.

While the battle was underway, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, according to images shared by the Interior Ministry. The clinic is supported by the aid group Doctors Without Borders, according to UNICEF, the U.N. childrens agency.

But the days spasm of violence extended beyond Kabul. A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province  a hotbed of the Islamic State group  targeted a funeral ceremony, killing 24 people and wounding 68. And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February, which envisages the start of talks among key Afghan figures, including government representatives, and the Taliban. Relentless, near-daily attacks have also left Afghan authorities ill-prepared to face the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 4,900 people in the country and killed at least 127.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and the IS frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved.

But in a televised speech hours after the attacks, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that Afghan security forces would no longer operate in the defensive posture taken in the wake of the peace agreement. Instead, he called on security forces to launch attacks against Taliban insurgents.

The Taliban have not given up fighting and killing Afghans, instead they have increased their attacks on our countrymen and public places, despite repeated calls for a cease-fire, Ghani said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement condemned the attacks, and noted that the Taliban denied responsibility and also condemned both attacks.

The Taliban and the Afghan government should co-operate to bring the perpetrators to justice, Pompeo said. As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress towards a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism.

Soon after the Kabul attack started, black smoke rose into the sky over the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighbourhood that has been the site of many past attacks by Islamic State militants. The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building before it was over.

Arian said 15 others, including women, men and children were wounded in the attack. Three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, he said, without elaborating. It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targeted  an attack Arian said was an act against humanity and a war crime.

Photos shared by the Interior Ministry during the Kabul attack show newborn babies and their mothers being carried out of the hospital by Afghan security forces.

By mid-afternoon, the ministry issued a statement saying three attackers had stormed the hospital and that one was shot and killed while the other two were still resisting arrest. The first floor of the clinic was cleared but the operation was ongoing to secure the rest of the building, the statement said.

A few hours later, the ministry released another statement, saying all three attackers were dead and that the operation was over.

In the evening hours, husbands, fathers and family members of the hospitals patients gathered around the site in Dashti Barchi, desperate for news of their loved ones. A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

In the Nangarhar attack, the suicide bomber targeted the funeral in Khewa district of a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack Monday night, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The Interior Ministry said the final casualty toll included 24 killed and 68 wounded. The casualties were brought to the Nangarhar provincial hospital, said hospital spokesman Gulzada Sangar. Khogyani added that the dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded in the attack.

According to Zabihullah Zemarai, another provincial council member, dozens of people, including, lawmakers, provincial council members and locals had gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, the militia commander. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that the Taliban were not involved in the attack.

Associated Press writers Tameem Akhgar in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.

___

Associated Press writers Tameem Akhgar in Kabul, Afghanistan, Kathy Gannon in Islamabad and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) will host virtual open days throughout May and June to help the Leaving Certificate class of 2020 progress to the next stage of their education.

The open days, consisting of live Q&A sessions taking place on social media and through LITs website, will cover over 120 programmes across the institutions campuses in Limerick, Tipperary and Clare.

The virtual learning hub will provide support and guidance to prospective LIT students and their parents as the CAO process comes to a close.

Registrar at LIT, Marian Duggan, said: While our campuses across the Midwest are physically closed to the public, we continue to engage with students, parents and guidance counsellors, through our virtual hub and our website, lit.ie. We welcome this interaction as it allows us to address any questions or concerns Leaving Cert students might have about beginning their journey into higher education in these unprecedented times.

I would encourage all students, parents, guardians, guidance councillors and teachers to available of LITs online services and continue to interact with us through our website, our open days and our social media channels. We are here to help, and look forward to welcoming our new First Year students to LIT when the next semester begins.

President of LIT, Professor Vincent Cunnane said: LIT graduates are among some of the most sought after in the country. The soon to be published HEA Graduate Outcome Survey will show that 94% of LIT Graduates in the labour market, are either in employment or further study, with almost three quarters of 2018s graduates working in the Munster region.

Flexibility in responding to regional industry needs with work ready graduates is among LITs core strengths. We work closely with multinational and indigenous companies based in the Mid West to ensure we reach these goals year on year, and this strategy is benefiting both our students and the regional economy. Never has this relationship been more important than now, as we guide our students in their future careers while working with industry to reawaken our economy and stay connected with our community as we adapt to a new way of living.

The virtual open days will allow students the chance to communicate directly with heads of department and other staff members across a wide range of faculties and subjects across all campuses, including: business & financial services; electrical & electronic engineering; information technology; applied science; sports; culinary & hospitality and creative technologies.

Further features of the virtual CAO hub include further advice for students on exam tips, as well as looking after their mental and physical health at this uncertain time.

A full schedule of the virtual events, beginning on Tuesday 12th May and running until Friday, 12th June, is available at: www.lit.ie/virtual-open-days
As you and Nicole describe in your article, this isnt just a U.S.-China thing: Countries all over the world appear to be deploying government hackers to intercept information about other nations virus responses. Is it just me, or is there a distinct lack of global cooperation here? What is causing that?

There is a distinct lack of cooperation, and when historians and political scientists look back at this moment they may well see a further fracturing of the post-Cold War era. In the years since 1945, its usually the United States that has taken the lead in helping nations find a global cure for some of the worlds worst diseases. It was only a few years ago that President Obama sent American troops to Africa to help mitigate the spread of Ebola. Part of that was a humanitarian effort. But part of it was a recognition that in a global economy in which people leap on and off airplanes, no disease stays out of the United States for long. So far, we have seen the United States announce that it is suspending aid to the World Health Organization; decline to join a communique from the G7 because it didnt like the wording; and accuse China of hampering the investigation into the origins of the virus. Dont get me wrong  China did everything it could to cover up what was happening. But there is a vacuum now in which China is acting selfishly, the United States is withdrawing, and no one is stepping in to play an organizing role in helping nations attack what they all call a common enemy.

In terms of the United States decision to publicly accuse China, how much of this is really about Chinese hacking, and how much of it is about the Trump administrations desire to portray China as the leading American adversary  and as the country most responsible for the pandemic  as we head into a presidential campaign?

Look, I have no doubt that the Chinese are attempting to pry out American medical advances. But the timing is also politically convenient, at a moment when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed there is enormous evidence that the virus may have begun in a government laboratory in Wuhan, a charge he had to reel back in a few days ago. Trump wants to look tough on China and portray Joe Biden as soft. But remember, it was also Trump who in January praised how Xi Jinping was handling the crisis, and thanked him for his transparency. You might have already seen his words of praise for China running on some Biden ads.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Gold Springs Resource Corp. (GRC.TO)(GRCAF) (the "Company), reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations ("MD&A"). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

As at March 31, 2020, the Company has a working capital of $3.63 million, including $3.29 million in cash.

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company reported a net loss of $0.36 million ($0.00 loss per share) compared with net earnings of $0.10 million ($0.00 earnings per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The primary driver in the change in results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 was the non-cash gain of $0.40 million recorded in the 2019 period for changes in the fair value of the arbitration award asset, Class B shares and other arbitration award liabilities.

During the quarter, the Company continued to manage and maintain its costs structure which resulted in general and administrative expenses (excluding non-cash share-based payments) of $0.22 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $0.25 million for the same period in 2019.

Exploration spending during the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.20 million, comprising expenditures incurred solely for Gold Springs. Principal activities revolved around target development, including rock-chip surface sampling of new and existing drill target areas, as well as structural and geological mapping of those areas. The Company also made the project ready for the re-start of drilling later this year.

The Company has deferred certain activities of its 2020 exploration plan, including the 2020 drill program, due to the social and economic disruption caused by the COVID 19 outbreak and its impact on our industry and capital markets. The Company continues to monitor this situation and will assess its decision in the future, in light of the market conditions at that time. For the time being, the Company decided it will be updating its resource estimate for the Gold Springs project during Q2 2020, to include the results of the 2017 and 2019 drill programs, which are not yet included.

Story continues

Outlook

The Company's focus for 2020 is on the exploration and expansion of the mineral resources at its Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, USA.

About Gold Springs Resource Corp.

Gold Springs Resource Corp. (GRC.TO) and (GRCAF) is a growth-focused gold exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, U.S.A. Management has extensive experience in global exploration and the mining industry.

Gold Springs Resource Corp. Contact:

Matias Herrero

Chief Executive Officer

info@goldspringsresource.com

+1 (778) 801-1667

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "creating", "view of", "intended", "plan", "believe", "vision", "would", "continue", "will", "estimate", "promising", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources, grade, recovery rates, metal prices, capital and operating costs, and the application of taxes; availability of sufficient financing to fund planned or further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters, including water requirements for operations, as plans continue to be refined; regulatory, environmental and other risks of the mining industry more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form and continuous disclosure documents, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada and Utah; the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for Gold Springs, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this press release describe the Company's expectations as of the date hereof.

SOURCE: Gold Springs Resources Corporation





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/589432/Gold-Springs-Resource-files-Q1-2020-Financial-Statements-and-MDA




New Delhi, May 12 : Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday that it has initiated phase - three clinical trials on antiviral Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India.

COVID-19 patients from over 10 leading government and private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study.

The trial completion and study results are expected by July-August this year. Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given an approval by the regulator to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials in India on Favipiravir antiviral tablets for COVID -19 patients.

Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.

Clinical trials have commenced and over 10 leading government & private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. Glenmark estimates study completion by July/August 2020.

Glenmark has successfully developed the API and the formulations for the product through its inhouse R&D team.

Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses and has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections. The molecule if commercialized, will be marketed under the brand name 'FabiFluA' in India.

Commenting on this development, Monika Tandon, Vice President & Head, Clinical Development, Global Specialty/Branded Portfolio, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said, "Several health and medical experts, both in and outside of Glenmark are eager to see the effect that Favipiravir has on COVID-19 cases. We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus." She added, "The data we get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to COVID-19 treatment and management." Sujesh Vasudevan, President, India Formulations, Middle East and Africa, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. mentioned "Our effort is to launch a treatment for COVID-19 patients as soon as possible and control the spread of the pandemic. We will do all it takes to ensure accessibility of the product across the country if the clinical trials are successful." Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given an approval by the regulator to start the trial on COVID-19 patients in India.

As per the approved clinical trial protocol, 150 subjects with mild to moderate COVID-19 will be randomized in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care. Treatment duration is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum of 28 days from randomization.
She's a Rebel with a cause!

With the help of HGTV stars Drew and Jonathan Scott, Rebel Wilson is giving her "first American friend" the dream backyard oasis she's always wanted on Monday night's episode of HGTV's Celebrity IOU.

"I chose Nicole because shes my first American friend ever," the Pitch Perfect star tells the brothers in the opening clip of the episode. "I just remember thinking, 'Oh, wow. This girl is like really nice. Just really chilled, normal compared to all the other crazies that walk around here.'"

"She saved up all her money to buy this house and she has nothing left for the outside," Wilson explained. "And to give back to her in this way is just incredible."

RELATED: Viola Davis Tears Up Revealing Surprise Home Makeover to Longtime Friend Who Beat Cancer

HGTV

Nicole and Wilson met about eight years ago, when the Australian actress had first moved to California to pursue a career in Hollywood, right before she landed a role in Bridesmaids.

"She came to me to get her hair and makeup done and I was told that she was an Australian comedian, and immediately I thought that she was going to be so mean to me," Nicole told the Scotts. "I was so frightened to meet her and she was the kindest person."

HGTV Rebel Wilson and friend Nicole

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Wilson admitted that while it was a little "weird to go from like hairdresser and client to friends," but the duo became steadfast pals after Nicole came with her on her Pitch Perfect press tour in Australia.

"She took me to Australia with her and I got to meet her family and I just knew that she was just a solid, normal individual and just so kind to people and our friendship just flourished after that," Nicole said of Wilson. "Shes more family than a friend... and even as much stardom as shes gone through over the years shes still the same person."

Story continues

RELATED: Watch Michael Buble Fulfill Grandfathers Last Wish in Emotional Moment on Celebrity IOU

"Shes so genuine and heartfelt and when she gives me advice it's from the heart," Wilson added of Nicole. "She doesnt have any vested interest in my career. Shes just an awesome person."

Once Nicole was whisked away, Drew, Jonathan and Wilson got to work, completely renovating the concrete slab that was once her backyard into a gorgeous space equipped with an outdoor kitchen, dining area, a lounge with a TV and a mini pool with a fireplace. They even touched up the front lawn with some grass and a new driveway.

HGTV Rebel Wilson and the Property Brothers

"To have her whole backyard and front lawn done for her, I'm sure, it's like a huge relief off her mind," Wilson said. "Now, instead of worrying about that kind of stuff, she can just enjoy it and enjoy her weekends and have a lot of fun out there."

When Nicole finally got to see the surprise renovation, she was brought to tears at the sight of her new space.

"This is incredible. I cant believe this. Its better than what I could have even imagined," said Nicole through tears. "There was nothing in the backyard and for years I had to just look at concrete and this is beyond what I would have even, could have even imagined. The memories that Im going to be able to have back here with family and friends is just really special."

"You work so hard and then you can come here at the end of the day and chill," Wilson said.

Celebrity IOU airs Mondays at 9pm ET on HGTV.
The killing of Ahmaud Arbery was an injustice and a direct assault on our humanity. The known facts alone tell us he should not be dead. He was an unarmed man, confronted by two armed men who chased him down.

Whatever happened before or thereafter is all but immaterial. Arbery did not provoke the encounter. Arbery was not armed. Arbery is dead. There is no justification that fits those facts.

To be a black American is to be justly weary and enraged at what has happened, yet again. Every American should feel the same.

That rage boils up not simply from the fact that two white men, a father and a son, apparently decided it was their duty to get into a pickup truck and cut off Arbery as he went for a jog. It rises not just from the fact that it was their actions, not his, that led to his death.

No, the deep rage draws from the way our justice system reacted after Travis McMichael brandished a shotgun and he and his father Gregory, armed with a .357-caliber pistol, ordered Arbery to stop on a two-lane street. One of them then fired what appears to have been a warning shot. When Arbery defended himself with his bare hands, Travis McMichaels shotgun ended his life.

Arbery was shot dead on Feb. 23, in the early afternoon. It wasnt until late on the evening of May 7  after the emergence of a shocking video of his killing  that the McMichaels were charged with murder.

And there is reason enough to believe that, absent the insistence of Arberys mother, those charges never would have been filed.

In fact, we know that as early as Feb. 24  one day after Arbery was killed  the district attorney in Glynn County, Georgia, had determined there were no grounds for arrest.

One day.

An unarmed man dead in the road.

One day.

How do we know that? Because District Attorney George E. Barnhill explained as much in a letter to the Glynn County Police Department. In the letter, Barnhill dismissed the results of Arberys autopsy and the evidence on a recording of the killing. He said they simply confirmed an opinion drawn on Feb. 24 that the McMichaels had acted in accordance with Georgia law.

Everything about Barnhills conclusions in the case gives every allowance to the McMichaels and none to Arbery. He is all but presumed guilty in his death.

In the letter, Barnhill expresses frustration that Arberys mother had the temerity to insist that Barnhill recuse himself. She sees a conflict in that my son works in the Brunswick District Attorneys Office where Greg McMichael retired some time ago.

We can only imagine her rage, her grief and her sense of both mission and helplessness.

That sense is shared among black Americans and among anyone who believes justice should be universally applied when a system, through all of its actions, appears hostile to fairness and to the blindness to race it promises.

If not for the video that emerged in the public eye, would the McMichaels be charged today? There is too much history of injustice to dismiss the question, and there are enough facts in this case to reasonably believe only public pressure compelled the authorities to pursue justice.

Georgia authorities must make clear what happened here. Why did it take more than two months to bring charges in this case? Why was the initial reaction to brush aside what appears so plain?

All Americans should share in the anger about this killing. We should all be shocked at the small value given Ahmaud Arberys life.

And we all should emerge from it with a deeper understanding of how damaging it is when the authorities, those who are supposed to enforce justice, are willing to callously look away.

 Dallas Morning News
How do people who meet as part of movements navigate desire, love and heartbreak? Friendship as Social Justice Activism: Critical Solidarities in a Global Perspective offers similar conversations.

The Queer Bookshelf is your fortnightly date with books about queer lives and loves from India and elsewhere

***

The beauty of queer relationships is that the heterosexual binary of potential lover or potential brother isnt the only framework we use to make meaning of the people we cherish in our lives. I hope that, in the next couple of days, we both make our feelings known to each other and move to a place of connection that we find generative, beautiful and non-threatening. This is an excerpt from a love letter I wrote earlier this year. Luckily, I saved a copy for myself and could go right back to it when a book I just finished reading  Friendship as Social Justice Activism: Critical Solidarities in a Global Perspective  reminded me of that beautiful person.

This volume, published by Seagull Books in 2018, features writing by academics and activists in a variety of genres, styles and registers. The connecting thread is that they all examine how living with friends and political organising within friendship circles can offer new ways of dreaming and struggling for social justice. The book has been edited by Niharika Banerjea, Debanuj Dasgupta, Rohit K Dasgupta and Jaime M Grant. Their collective expertise comes from disciplines such as geography, media studies, sociology, gender and sexuality studies, and they have been involved in grassroots activism as well as policy-making apart from producing scholarship and teaching.

Why did this book remind me of my love letter? Well, this is what I wrote in it: You are someone whose presence I really enjoy, someone I respect for the work they do in the world, someone I want to be friends with for a long long time, someone I might be falling in love with. I know you rejoice in our shared politics and the values they embody, and care about me, but I dont know how you feel about me and about us. A collaborative piece by Mary Adkins-Cartee and Karni Pal Bhati, which features in this book, explores the role of attraction in friendships and the possibility of conceiving alternative ways of being. This involves taking the risk to be led by ones heart, to be drawn to someones intellect or idealism, and to resist being guided by reason when it comes to relationships.

In their introduction to the book, the editors lay out the scope of this unique publication. They are interested in how building a life structured around friendships can disrupt the heteronormative codes of family and marriage. They wish to document how unconventional forms of kinship inform social justice work and how people who meet as part of movements navigate desire, love and heartbreak. They are keen to show how misfits, imposters and border-crossers survive and thrive by claiming the fierce power of friendship in their lives. It isnt all hunky-dory; it does get messy. Read the book to find out.

Lets go back to that love letter I was sharing about. What I find absolutely adorable is that, when I think of you, its the splendour of your being that lights up my heart. And I havent encountered, even once, the desire to make you mine in a way that would somehow shrink you into a scripted way of relating to me...I just want you to know that I love you, and the meaning of that is something Im happy to discover with you. Leaning into uncertainty with acceptance, even poise at times, is a gift that queerness has given me. Queer folx know what it means to be rejected not only by potential lovers and beloveds but by family, employers, colleagues, once-upon-a-time friends and society at large. Victimhood bleeds into resilience.

In an untitled piece that features in this book, Alexis Pauline Gumbs reminds us that the black feminist lesbian warrior poet Audre Lorde used to send small gifts, especially from her tax returns, to her sister and brother comrades to support their literary and activist pursuits. Gumbs has been fortunate to enjoy the friendship of many people who have supported her in similar ways, and this support has meant more than monetary assistance. She writes, These are people whose existence helps me to love the revolutionary parts of myself and whose very presence on the planet is a cause of joy and celebration for me.

In these times when mental health mantras about self-care and boundary-setting are flying thick and fast not only in intimate conversations but also on social media, we need to pause and think about whether these practices help us recognise our interconnectedness or if they simply push us to build walls. Does disconnecting for a while help us replenish our energies, or does it only make us consume mindlessly because we are slaves to capitalism? Are we afraid to share our emotional lives with people we seek political alliances with?

This book includes a collaborative essay titled Con Vivere: Friendship as the Means to Live Fully written by Nila Kamol Krishnan Gupta and Shamira A Meghani, who celebrate the act of cooking for friends and sharing food they prepared together around big tables usually in the privacy of someones home. Being in company with other queer folx of colour who were scholars, activists and allies not only helped them rediscover inherited tastes and flavours but also got them to talk about how this inheritance sat in relation to their commitments to animal rights and environmental food politics. The domestic setting of the kitchen also became a space to strategise about initiatives to challenge patriarchal violence and racial injustice.

Since friendship as a concept is so fluid, expansive and ambiguously defined, it is wonderful to see each writer in this book spell out what they mean by it. Susan Raffo, in an essay titled What Happens in My Body When I Choose You, writes, Friendship isnt a single state  its a continuum, a process, a biological reality. My neighbours cousin who friended me on Facebook because she likes craniosacral therapy is a friend in the light sense: there is some kind of intimacy exchanged, a feeling of connection that is meaningful to her...she reached out with a virtual tap and we are connected.

This friendship is simply based on mutual interests and there is much less at stake than with the friends that Raffo does not hide from  the tiny number of people she depends on for having her back in the long term. She relies on them to remember her family story and refer to it. These are people for whom her life and her existence matters  no matter how shitty I am, no matter how many mistakes I make, no matter how pissed off they get at me, she says. This kind of friendship means staying in for the hard work and not leaving unless it is dangerous to your body to remain, and it happens when, at the most cellular level, I become part of you and you of me.

Do you have such friends? How does this level of closeness make you feel? I imagine that the sort of friendship Raffo has described here could evoke a range of responses. There are people who yearn for this quality of connection, and there are people who find it extremely unhealthy. Of course, these are not the only two responses. My point is that, instead of judging people for what they seek in friendships, we can learn how different people have different needs. If you are someone who makes a strict distinction between the personal and the professional, the idea of dating a colleague might sound like a complete no-no. However, it is helpful to know that there are people who produce their best work only in spaces where they are surrounded by friends who are also lovers, thought partners and political comrades.

This book consists of 27 chapters, excluding the introduction, so it is impossible to share the beauty and brilliance that I witnessed while engaging with each piece of writing. However, I want to make a few special mentions. Alok Vaid-Menons piece titled My Summer in Cape Town offers a rich commentary on how the researcher-subject dichotomy produced by American academic settings, with its pretensions of professionalism and ethics, can foreclose possibilities of friendship. Debanuj Dasguptas first-person narrative The Unruly Grammar of Friendship, presented as a queer epistolary exchange, highlights how friendships can be vital to recovery from addiction, especially in a country where most drugs-related offenders are white but most people imprisoned for drug offenses are not.

Before I conclude, I would love for you to think about whether all queer spaces are nurturing for all queer people. I do not think they are. In the essay Enqueerying Friendships: Radical Ramblings, Paramita Banerjee writes, Bisexuals are variously labelled as being greedy/opportunistic and/or confused even within queer circles. She feels more accepted by heterosexual friends who have not changed their opinion of her after they got to know of her sexual orientation. Queer people, like other human beings, find several ways to discriminate, exclude and make others miserable even when they have the capacity to understand each others suffering.

Chintan Girish Modi is a writer-researcher working at the intersection of peace education, gender equality and queer rights
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A major independent review has confirmed freshwater flows are vital to maintaining the health of the Murray River's lower lakes, striking a blow to demands by New South Wales that seawater flow in.

The review, released today, was led by the CSIRO and commissioned by the Murray Darling Basin Authority. It examined hundreds of scientific studies into the lower lakes region of South Australia, through which the Murray River flows before reaching the ocean.

The review recommends managing the lakes with freshwater, not seawater. More importantly, it highlights how climate change and upstream farming is reducing the flow of water for the environment in the lower lakes.

These findings are critically important. They show the severe health threat still facing the river system and its internationally important wetlands. They also cast doubt on whether the A$13 billion basin plan can achieve all its aims.

A barrage of criticism

The Murray Darling river system runs from Queensland, through NSW, the ACT and Victoria. In South Australia the River Murray discharges into two large lakes, Alexandrina and Albert, before flowing into the 130 kilometre-long Coorong lagoon, through the Murray Mouth and into the ocean.

Since 1940 five low dams, or barrages, have stopped seawater flowing into the lakes from the Murray Mouth and Coorong, and raised the lakes' water level.

NSW wants the barrages lifted to allow seawater back into Lake Alexandrina, to free up freshwater for agriculture upstream.

In December 2019, NSW Nationals John Barilaro said: "I refuse to let regional communities die while we wash productive water into the Great Australian Bite (sic), 1000km away." Irrigation advocates have backed his calls.

Victoria has also questioned whether the lower lakes can continue to be kept fresh, given the water scarcity plaguing the entire river system.

But today's review confirmed the lower lakes were largely a freshwater ecosystem prior to European occupation. It said removing the barrages would cause significant ecological and socioeconomic harm, and would not lead to water savings if the basin plan targets are to be met.

The Murray Mouth is choking

The review cited research we published this month, which concluded it was impossible to achieve the basin plan target to keep the Murray Mouth open 95% of the time.

This is because Murray Darling Basin Authority modelling did not factor in the power of the Southern Ocean to move sand into the Murray Mouth, which is now choked. Dredging will be required most of the time to keep the Murray Mouth open and maintain the ecology of the Coorong.

The Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert are a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The review found removing the barrages would significantly change the freshwater character of the site, which we have an international obligation to maintain for the sake of waterbirds, fisheries and threatened species.

This is becoming harder during periods when freshwater inflows are scarce. In the Millennium Drought for example, lake levels fell exposing highly acidic mudflats. In other areas, the waters became more salty.

After the basin plan was adopted in 2012, the condition of the lower lakes improved when the Millennium Drought broke and environmental flows were delivered, sustaining the system in the current drought. But very little of those flows enter the sea, except during floods.

The system of barrages in the lower lakes consist of 593 gates. Using official data, we calculate that for 70% of the time since 2007, fewer than ten gates have been open to the sea. For one-third of the time, none were open, indicating there is insufficient water to sustain fisheries and flush salt to the ocean.

Our research concludes that without the barrages the sand banks will reduce the volume of water flowing through the Murray Mouth. The tides would not be strong enough to keep the lakes flushed so water quality would decline. No barrages means lower lake levels and exposed mudflats, generating sulphuric acid.

An uncertain future

The review reinforces the South Australian government's position that the lakes should be maintained with freshwater. It also obliges the federal government to implement the basin plan in its current form, despite NSW's demands for changes.

The final report also highlighted how climate change will make management of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth "increasingly challenging" and said adaptation options were needed for the entire river system.

By the end of this century, rising seas may flow over the barrages. Maintaining freshwater inflows and the barrages buys us time, but we need a serious national conversation about how to manage this challenge.

The federal and South Australian governments recently announced a Coorong Partnership to enable local communities and groups participate in programs to improve management of the lagoon. This is timely and should be expanded to cover the broader Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth regions.

Freshwater flowing from the headwaters to the sea is vital for the health of the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole. Today's report should be the start of the national discussion on shoring up the health of Australia's most important river system in the face of an uncertain future.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Official White House Photo by Andrea HanksBy LIBBY CATHEY, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has downplayed the need for widespread access to novel coronavirus testing in his push to reopen the U.S. economy, contrary to recommendations from health experts that much greater testing and contact tracing are essential for a safe return to normalcy.



He's insisted, over objections from some governors, that there is enough testing for states to reopen, even as the White House instituted increased testing and required staffers in the West Wing to wear masks over fears that the virus has invaded the cramped offices close to the Oval Office.



On Friday, when Trump identified Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary and wife to top Trump aide, Katie Miller, as the most recent White House aide to test positive for the novel virus, after one of the president's valet attendants also tested positive, he used Miller as an example of why testing may not be necessary.



"This is why the whole concept of tests aren't necessarily great. The tests are perfect but something can happen between the test where it's good and then something happens and, all of a sudden, she was tested very recently and tested negative. And then today, I guess, for some reason she tested positive," Trump said Friday.



During an interview with Fox News Friday morning, the president ticked through the current testing figures, continuing to tout the U.S. as having "the best tests." When asked about the positive test result for one of his valets, the president offered the same argument.



"This is why testing isn't necessary. We have the best testing in the world, but testing's not necessarily the answer because they were testing them," Trump told Fox.



"I will tell you, you look at some cases, some people think they're doing it for politics," Trump continued, suggesting some Democratic governors are moving slowly to undercut him politically. "Here we go again. But they think they're doing it because it will hurt me the longer it takes to -- to hurt me in the election, the longer it takes to open up."



"Because some of these people are being unrealistic -- they're being ridiculous. I've looked at a couple of states that are being absolutely ridiculous. But ultimately, the people are forcing it," Trump said Friday, before doubling down on his criticism of Democratic governors, like Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday.



Many Democratic governors and public health experts, meanwhile, say testing combined with contact tracing, which involves tracking down others with whom the infected person had contact, is the most effective way to slow the spread until a vaccine is available.



With additional measures being considered this week at the White House, critics of the administration also question when widespread testing, contact tracing and protective equipment will be available to all everyday Americans returning to work.



According to the COVID Tracking Project, testing for the coronavirus in the U.S. has steadily improved to around 264,000 tests a day -- nearly nine million tests total as of Monday -- but the U.S. is still below proposed benchmarks from several experts.



Researchers at the Harvard University, for example, calculated that the U.S. would need to do approximately 500,000 tests per day, as a bare minimum, by May 1 -- a figure they have since revised to 900,000 for May 15 as more states ease restrictions.



Trump and his political allies, however, have touted the total number of coronavirus tests conducted in the U.S., though the country still lags behind countries like Italy and Denmark in per capita tests performed.



Despite the reality that there still aren't enough tests for every American who wants to return to work to get one, Trump denied any issues in an interview last week with ABC News' World News Tonight Anchor David Muir. When asked whether "any worker who's nervous about going back" would have access to both diagnostic tests for the virus and antibody, or serological tests, "right now," Trump replied, "There should be no problem."



The same day Adm. Brett Giroir, who is in charge of the government's testing efforts, told Time that "there is absolutely no way on Earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even five million tests a day."



Trump continued his conflicting messaging the following day, insisting in the Oval Office that he had "never said" the U.S. would hit the five-million-per-day benchmark -- but in the same breath said, "I think we will."



And with the average American hearing less from prominent and trusted coronavirus task force members like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, their comments on the state of testing in the U.S. have flickered across sporadic media interviews in the last week.



With Fauci in "modified quarantine" himself, it's unclear if they'll be in attendance at Thursday's briefing or speak candidly at it -- though Trump and Fauci have publicly disagreed on testing before.



After Fauci told Time in late April that he was "not overly confident" with the county's testing capacity and said, "We absolutely need to significantly ramp up, not only the number of tests but the capacity to actually perform them," Trump dismissed the doctor's comments.



"I don't agree with him on that, no, I think we're doing a great job on testing," Trump said in the White House briefing room, though Fauci was not present to defend himself.



More recently, Fauci emphasized the need for testing to National Geographic last week, and unlike comments the president has made, Fauci said, "I don't think there's a chance that this virus is just going to disappear."



"Shame on us if we don't have enough tests by the time this so-called return might occur in the fall and winter," he said, suggesting that the U.S. needs to make sure there's an adequate supply of tests and a system for getting those tests to the people who most need them before a second wave of the virus hits. "It's going to be around, and if given the opportunity, it will resurge."



Birx, often diplomatic and hesitant to criticize the White House, did break from a suggestion Trump made last week that the U.S. should conduct less testing because its make the country's case count higher.



"The media likes to say we have the most [coronavirus] cases, but we do, by far, the most testing. If we did very little testing, we wouldn't have the most cases. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad," Trump said last Wednesday.



Though Birx didn't directly contradict the president, she stressed that testing efforts are essential and should be ramped up when asked about his comments.



"I've been very encouraged about two parts of the testing," Birx told CNN last Thursday. "One, the dramatic increase in the number of tests we're doing per week. We hope this week to get close or over eight million (total). We're going up."



She estimated that about 2.5 percent of all Americans have been tested, adding that the number is increasing by half a percent every week. As with many experts, she said testing and contact tracing are proven to be critical to helping identify cases locally and contain the spread.



Birx also stressed the importance of "being proactive about testing," and monitoring high-risk places with vulnerable populations such as prisons, long-term care center and inner city communities.



During a White House meeting with Republican House lawmakers last week, Trump repeated his widely discredited prediction that the pandemic will disappear on its own, and extended his downplaying of testing to vaccines.



"I feel about vaccines like I feel about tests. This is going to go away without a vaccine," Trump said Friday. "It's going to go away and it's, we're not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time. You may have some, some flare-ups," in the fall.



"They die, too," he claimed of viruses, contrary to his own scientists.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic) 3D printed coronavirus model and Google logo are placed near an Apple Macbook Pro in this illustration taken April 12, 2020.

As the pandemic crashes the economy worldwide, more businesses file for bankruptcy. The pandemic hard hits the tourism industry. While Google vowed to help these enterprises, travel CEOs claim the help is not enough.

About two months ago, Google promised to extend an $800 million package to help companies ailing because of the pandemic, allocating $340 million for advertising credits for small and medium-sized businesses with active Google Ads accounts. These credits must be redeemed before the end of the year.

ALSO READ: [BREAKING] Five COVID-19 Patients Died Due to Overloaded Ventilator Explosion

However, tourism agency Walks CEO Stephen Oddo has seen his sales vanish as his daily guided tours in Milan and Italy were shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thus, the Texas-based company looked for ways to cut costs. Walks reached out to Google, where it spends around $1 million a year on ads.

As the two parties did not reach an agreement, Oddo laid off more than half his staff, reducing his team to about 45 people from over 100.

"Everyone is still kind of in shock," said Oddo. "The wind gets knocked out of you."

ALSO READ: Doctors Say Inflammation Might be the Root of COVID-19 Along with Other Diseases Such as Cancer and Dementia

Google cash rebates

Travel CEOs aired the same sentiments as Odd's saying Google's aid is not enough. Other CEOs ask for cash rebates for first-quarter advertising, which did not yield much after people canceled their trips.

A Google spokesman said in an email that they acknowledge the "unprecedented challenges" the travel industry faces, but it did not discuss specific requests from travel CEOs. "We treat payment terms with our customers or partners as confidential, and we're not able to disclose details," he said.

The relationship between Google and the travel industry is mutual. Google's normal advertising operation slumped in the first quarter because of the disappearance of travel ads. Nevertheless, Google's well-oiled ad machine managed to beat revenue expectations.

Still, the search giant reported that revenue dropped sharply in March as the coronavirus crisis began to take hold while it warned of a "difficult" second quarter. Google has also slowed hiring for the rest of the year and reportedly slashed its marketing budget by as much as half for the second part of 2020.

Meanwhile, Expedia spends $5 billion a year in ads, but this year, its capital outlay may not even reach 1 billion years. Last week, Airbnb confirmed it was laying off its 1,900 employees.

For smaller companies like Walks, the situation is tighter. Essentially, the spending for the first quarter was wasted. "That money was essentially burned," said Oddo.

"The best antidote we have is to restart the economic engine," said Oddo. "Revenue will breathe life into the industry again."

Just a fair request

Helping out the travel industry and providing more flexible terms could be good business for Google, said Professor V.G. Narayanan of the Harvard Business School, who studies financial incentives and management.

Since a lot of travel is postponed, they might attract new customers if they say no payment is due for six months. Thus, Google should also consider giving rebates to select companies.

"If they believe, as they have said, that they would like to do no evil, this is a moment to bring people together," Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, said.

"A rebate is a reasonable request. If I were Google, I'd be thinking about the long-term outcome."

Read Also: Viral Video: Fire That Mysteriously Sweep Park Left Trees and Grass Untouched

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Afghan security security officers are seen through the shattered window of a maternity hospital after gunmen attacked, in Kabul, Afghanistan, son Tuesday. Gunmen stormed the hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off a shootout with the police and killing several people. Read more

KABUL - The woman, unmoving, lay slouched against the wall of a hospital room, blood splattered on her face mask. In her arms: a tiny, swaddled baby.

The scene was one of many such images to emerge Tuesday from a busy Doctors Without Borders maternity ward in Kabul after gunmen stormed in and battled security forces for nearly four hours. Sixteen people, including two newborns, were killed.

The same day, in the country's east, a suicide bomber killed 24 people at a funeral.

The attacks cap a deadly six-week period since the Taliban and the United States signed a deal that leaders hoped would lead to a reduction in violence and the start of intra-Afghan talks. Instead, a spike in attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups such as the Islamic State have put the fragile chance for peace in jeopardy.

The Taliban denied responsibility for Tuesday's bloodshed, but Afghan officials appeared to connect the two attacks with rising Taliban violence in other parts of the country. Hours after the siege at the hospital ended, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered his armed forces to resume offensive operations against the Taliban.

"This is not peace, nor its beginnings," Afghanistan's national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib said in a post on Twitter, referring to Tuesday's violence. He said that the Taliban "subcontracted their terror to other entities" and that there is "little point in continuing to engage Taliban in 'peace talks.' "

Those peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government were supposed to begin more than two months ago but have been plagued by delays. Key negotiations over a controversial prisoner swap collapsed in April, and while both sides have continued to release prisoners unilaterally, they don't appear any closer to direct talks.

In a statement Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the hospital attack as "an act of sheer evil" and urged both sides to find a solution to the political crisis.

"The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement read. "As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress toward a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism."

The public text of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal does not include a commitment from the Taliban to reduce attacks against Afghan forces, but U.S. officials have said all sides verbally agreed to bring overall violence down by as much as 80 percent.

Pentagon spokesperson Army Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell said Tuesday that the U.S. military would continue to conduct airstrikes in defense of Afghan forces despite the resumption of offensive operations.

"As the secretary of defense stated recently, this is going to be a windy, bumpy road," Campbell said, adding that a political agreement "is the best way to end the war."

The Taliban released a statement condemning Tuesday's attacks and calling Ghani's announcement a "declaration of war."

"The Kabul regime will be responsible for an increase in the violence," said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He accused the Afghan government of delaying talks and "creating hurdles in the peace process," specifically over prisoner releases.

Any escalation in violence in Afghanistan also will complicate the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Increased clashes will make it more difficult for aid groups to deliver relief, as lockdowns have caused unemployment to soar and put millions at risk of hunger. Previous appeals from the United Nations for a humanitarian cease-fire have been ignored.

The future of armed groups such as the Islamic State in Afghanistan was a critical element of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in the lead-up to the signing of the agreement in February. U.S. negotiators demanded assurances from the Taliban that terrorist organizations with aims of attacking the West would not be allowed to operate in territory under their control.

Ahead of the peace deal, U.S., Afghan and Taliban military pressure on the Islamic State crippled the group's territorial hold and led to a sharp drop in large-scale attacks in Afghan cities. (In the Taliban's statement Tuesday, Mujahid highlighted the role that Taliban fighters played in the military operations, a contribution that even U.S. officials assessed as "significant.")

But recent deadly shootings in Kabul suggest some of the extremist group's networks and cells remain intact.

In March, Islamic State gunmen killed 32 at an ethnic Hazara and Shiite gathering, and later that month gunmen stormed a Sikh temple, killing 25. Like the previous attacks, the hospital targeted Tuesday serves a minority community of mainly Hazara and Shiite Afghans.

And on Tuesday, the Islamic State asserted responsibility for a suicide bombing at the funeral of a prominent local security official in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing two dozen and wounding 68, according to the provincial governor's office.

The funeral was attended by government officials, including a member of parliament. A member of the provincial council was among the dead, according to two local officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media. Nangahar was the focus of the months-long military push against the Islamic State last year.

Similar to previous attacks, the gunmen in the hospital Tuesday held off Afghan security forces for hours. More than 100 patients, family members, doctors and nurses were evacuated from the hospital during the attack. About four hours after the siege began, Afghan forces declared the building cleared.

The head of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, Shaharzad Akbar, condemned the brutality of an attack targeting newborns. She wrote in a post on Twitter, "Among their first experiences [is] being targeted in a war they & their mothers had no part in."

Abdul Habib Faizy, the hospital's nursing manager, said he could hear the gunmen changing their weapons' magazines outside the safe room where he hid.

"It was a horrific situation," he said. "We were waiting to die every moment. Who would kill mothers who had just given birth and their newborn babies?

They are the enemies of humanity.
He has insisted his new blond hair is all natural.

And Richard Madeley showed off his luscious locks as he went to the butchers while wearing a face mask in north London on Monday.

The TV personality, 63, cut a casual figure in a padded green jacket, jeans and boots as he picked up some essentials during his lockdown outing.

New look: Richard Madeley stepped out on Monday showcasing his new blond locks while wearing a face mask

The Good Morning Britain presenter tucked a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses into his t-shirt and carried a bag over his shoulder.

The star was taking extra precautions and did not take off his white face mask during the shop.

Richard then returned to his Jaguar to make the journey home from the Hampstead butchers.

Lockdown look: The Good Morning Britain presenter tucked a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses into his t-shirt and carried a bag over his shoulder

Cautious: The star was taking extra precautions and did not take off his white face mask during the shop

Richard has been sporting a luscious head of golden locks of late, and recently claimed that his hair colour is all natural.

He confirmed once and for all that his blond locks were 'completely natural' following speculation that he had bleached them for his TV return.

When speaking to The Mirror, Richard said: 'It is completely natural, nothing to do with a bottle. You don't have to believe me, but it's true. If I was dyeing my hair I'm sure it would go green, I wouldn't know how to do it.'

Richard also revealed that reading is what's kept him and his wife Judy Finnigan, 71, from getting 'snappy' during the coronavirus lockdown.

Lockdown outing: Richard cut a casual figure in a padded green jacket, jeans and boots as he picked up some essentials

Nice ride: Richard then returned to his Jaguar to make the journey home from the Hampstead butchers

The couple recently made a surprise return to TV screens to host their new book show, Keep Reading and Carry on.

The couple have established themselves as credible critics with book fans thanks to their longstanding book club.

When asked by the publication why reading plays an important role in the marriage, Richard said the timeout it provides stops them getting 'snappy' with one another.

He shared: 'In all marriages, things can occasionally get tense, and you can get a bit snappy with each other, especially if you're together 24/7.'

However, the broadcaster shared that they work so well together because they're so comfortable with each other.

Iconic duo: Richard also revealed that reading is what's kept him and his wife Judy Finnigan, 71, from getting 'snappy' during the coronavirus lockdown.

The husband and wife duo fronted This Morning between 1988 and 2001 and returned to the ITV breakfast show earlier this year to fill in for Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.

There return was met with praise from viewers who clearly see how at ease they are presenting together.

When describing his wife, Richard shared: 'For my money, Judy's still the best female presenter in the UK, she is so able and versatile. But of all the presenters I know she was always the most reluctant one, she didn't enjoy the fame thing at all.'

He also said he is not worried about the lockdown restrictions forcing Judy to isolate longer than him due to being over 70 as it should, in his opinion, fall to the individual to make their own choices.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Clinton Maurice Tucker II with engaging in fraud and acting as an unregistered broker in connection with the sale of numerous microcap securities.

According to the SEC's complaint, from at least May 2015 until May 2019, Tucker worked in several boiler-room-like operations to enable shareholders who owned large blocks of illiquid microcap securities to dump their shares without causing the price of the shares to crash. As alleged, Tucker cold-called prospective investors and convinced them to purchase shares of the microcap companies that his selling clients wanted to liquidate. The complaint alleges that Tucker would determine the amount of shares that the prospective investors wanted to purchase and the prices at which they would buy. Tucker allegedly then relayed that information to the selling shareholders, who entered sell orders at the coordinated prices and volumes, making it highly likely that their sell orders and the solicited investors' buy orders would match. Through this alleged matched trading, the selling shareholders were able to offload their shares into a market that Tucker had helped create. In addition to working as a sales agent in the matched-trading scheme, Tucker allegedly pitched fictitious investment opportunities to particularly vulnerable investors whom he identified while working in the boiler rooms. Instead of investing the funds he obtained from these investors as he had represented he would, Tucker allegedly spent the funds on personal expenses.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges Tucker with violating the broker-dealer registration provisions of Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The SEC seeks injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties against Tucker.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by James Thibodeau and Laurie Abbott, was assisted by David Whipple, and was supervised by Daniel Wadley, Regional Director of the Salt Lake Regional Office.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued an Investor Alert to encourage investors to check the background of anyone selling or offering them an investment using the free and simple search tool on Investor.gov.
Riley Breakell, a Starbucks barista in Connecticut, was reassured in mid-March when the company sent a letter announcing expanded catastrophe pay for those absent because of the pandemic. Even though she couldnt live on the roughly $250 per week she received from Starbucks while her store was closed for a month and a half, she appreciated the companys effort to do right by its employees.

But after the company said those provisions would cease for those who were able but unwilling to work as stores reopened last week, Breakell became increasingly frustrated, questioning her managers over the risks that workers would encounter.

The first letter they sent said you should not have to choose between your health and a job, and now theyre like, Well, if you dont want to go back, you have to quit, she said last week, shortly before her first day back. Im very anxious.

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, workers like Breakell spoke up and staged protests to demand that employers provide protective equipment, limit customer traffic or even shut down in the interest of safety. But as many companies return to business, workers are pursuing a new goal: that employers not prematurely roll back measures they put in place.

Employees of Target, some of whom walked off their jobs on May 1 over working conditions, have raised concerns about the companys decision to resume accepting returns from customers, a service that had been suspended to reduce potential virus exposure.

Some workers at Amazon, who also joined the May Day protests, said they were upset over the end of the companys policy of unlimited unpaid time off, which many had used to avoid exposure inside warehouses.

And workers at Costco and Whole Foods Markets, which is owned by Amazon, have expressed alarm that their employers appear to be relaxing limits on the number of customers in their stores. Workers at three Whole Foods locations in California said their stores had significantly more customers than usual on some days in the past two weeks.

Over the Mothers Day holiday weekend, it seemed that we had nobody monitoring the door, said Kai Lattomus, a Whole Foods worker in Laguna Niguel. We had lines that went all the way back to the end of the aisle.

A Whole Foods spokeswoman said that the companys social distancing and crowd control measures remained in place, and that the number of customers in a store could vary because of local ordinances and staffing.

Richard Galanti, Costcos chief financial officer, said that all workers and customers, known as members, must wear face coverings and that the company had expanded store hours to help reduce crowds.

We continue to make sure the number of members is at safe levels and that they are properly distanced, he said. The concerns at Costco were reported earlier by BuzzFeed.

The workers speaking out say they are pressing for many of the measures they have pushed for since the pandemic began: more generous and accessible sick leave policies, more protective equipment and better hazard pay.

Breakell, the Starbucks worker in Connecticut, said workers had been trained to handle mobile ordering procedures that the store had adopted for its reopening, which she acknowledged would be safer than having customers order and pay inside. But she said it was difficult for workers to keep a distance from one another and expressed concern that the ordering policy might not last, citing conversations with supervisors.

A Starbucks spokeswoman said the company was taking several steps to ensure that only healthy employees went to work, such as temperature checks and paid leave for those who may be ill. (Others can apply for unpaid leave.) Workers are required  and customers are asked  to wear facial coverings, she said, and the company is trying to adjust schedules with social distancing in mind.

The company has no plans to allow customers to linger in stores, according to the spokeswoman, who forwarded a number of internal messages from employees expressing gratitude and excitement that their stores were reopening.

The frustrations among workers at various companies have motivated some to begin coordinating their protests.

Nationally, participants in the May Day protests said they had communicated through a group on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that brought together workers and organizers at Instacart, Whole Foods, Amazon and FedEx. Among them was Christian Smalls, who was fired from his job at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island after leading a protest there in late March. Amazon said Smalls had violated its social distancing rules.

But there appear to be tactical differences among workers, even at the same company. A Chicago-based group of Amazon workers, DCH1 Amazonians United, released a statement that questioned whether the May Day walkout was the best approach.

Calling for a general strike is easy  organizing one is not, the statement said. Before taking action weve got to get organized.

The anxiety among workers appears to be tied partly to broader policy approaches by political leaders in their cities and states. Willy Solis, a shopper and organizer in the Dallas area for Shipt, a delivery service owned by Target, said he was concerned by the increase in crowds he had observed since Gov. Greg Abbott lifted a stay-at-home order on May 1.

Thats a fear of mine for sure, said Solis, who took part in the May Day walkout. The opening up of businesses to the general public will create an environment where the coronavirus can rear its ugly head, spread further.

Solis said he had greatly reduced his hours since the pandemics onset because of an autoimmune disorder. He said that Shipt had agreed to provide workers with masks but that many, including him, could not obtain them consistently.

Im afraid I wouldnt make it if I caught this virus, said Solis, 41.

A Shipt spokeswoman said that workers could pick up masks at any Target location and that the company had sent kits including gloves and hand sanitizer to workers who requested them. Solis said that masks were not available at every Target he checked and that some locations said the masks were intended only for Target employees, not Shipt workers.

By contrast, in Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker has moved to tighten some safety protocols in the past two weeks  for example, by requiring a face covering in indoor public spaces  workers and labour leaders said they felt most large employers were taking safety concerns seriously.

Bob OToole, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546 in Chicago, which represents about 19,000 grocery, meatpacking and food-processing workers, said his union had been meeting regularly with regional grocery stores and asking them to make additional protective equipment available and to install plastic shields around cashiers.

Our retailers have been cooperative  theyve been responsive, OToole said, a reaction he attributed partly to the tone set by Pritzker and the state government.

Marc Perrone, the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International, said the union planned to begin advocating for the interests of nonunion workers as well as its more than one million members.

The last four, five, six, seven weeks, weve been focusing on making sure our folks had personal protective equipment, that people were getting their pay, that we were addressing those issues legislatively, he said. Were going to do the same thing on their behalf, to put some weight behind them.

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A minor girl and a boy allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well in Tonk district of Rajasthan, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in the area falling under the Nagar Fort police station on Monday night, they said.

Police said the girl was around 16 years of age while the boy was 23-year-old.

Primary investigation revealed that they were in a relationship. They lived in the same village, police said, adding that the bodies have been handed over to family members after a post-mortem.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu Constituency, John Abdulai Jinapor, has said that the failure of Supreme Court nominee, Justice Clemence Honyenuga to secure the unanimous approval of the Appointments Committee of Parliament was resultant of his own mistakes.



According to him, even if Justice Honyenuga is later approved as a Supreme Court judge despite the questions, there will be a permanent tag to his name as a partisan judge whenever his ruling causes dissatisfaction to a faction.



While contributing to a panel discussion on 'Good Morning Ghana', the former deputy Energy Minister said not only is Justice Honyenugas situation a historical happening, but also a dent on his image as judge in the country.



This will be the first time that the two sides of the House have not unanimously agreed on the approval of a nominee of the President . . . it is usually not the case that a Supreme Court nominee would face such resistance and such level of questioning . . . on this very occasion youd realize that the nominee brought this upon himself. First of all, Chiefs are not even supposed to endorse politicians even more grievous is that of an Appeals Court Judge John Jinapor noted.



John Jinapor indicated that Justice Honyenugas fate of ever becoming a Supreme Court judge will have to be decided after plenary discussions and subsequent vote because the integrity of the entire Judicial Service is at stake.



Justice Clemence Honyenuga who endorsed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a durbar of Chiefs and people of the Afajato South District was one of the four Appeals Court judges who were nominated by the President for further consideration.



He is quoted to have said during the durbar that, With the vision of the President and the gains made in his first term, Ghanaians may consider giving him another four years".



But while answering questions about his speech during the durbar at his vetting, he denied ever explicitly declaring his support for the President. Adding that, he read the speech in question on behalf of the people and Chiefs in Afadjato and not per his personal inclinations.



Justice Honyenuga told the Appointments Committee that, In reading that statement, we didnt intend endorsing the President. Our understanding was that we were wishing him well . . . If out of political dissatisfaction some people are unhappy with whatever I am supposed to have said then I am sorry, he said.



Reacting to Justice Honyenugas apology, John Jinapor maintained that as an Appeals Court judge, he should have known better and created a window of opportunity for an escape but the way and manner which he went about it further implicated him and was most unfortunate.



If he hasnt done anything wrong, why should he apologize?... I dare say that in some jurisdictions he will not be nominated . . . this is not political, the facts are the facts, Mr Jinapor emphasized.

Source: Ghanaweb









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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Kannalmozhi Kabilan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Human beings are, in part, defined by their wants and needs. Apart from life-sustaining needs and the never-ending list of wants, for most of us, everyday life comes down to the simple things  a hug, a conversation, a touch of empathy, a sense of purpose. Aarti Madhusudans Call A Girl Child initiative began on this premise  that there is a lot to be gained from five minutes of honest, human connection. A mere couple of weeks into the project, she has hundreds of women signing up to volunteer their time for a phone call with children supported by seven NGOs in the city. And this is just getting started.

Reaching out



It all began with a post and an application form on Facebook. After she put out a call for Tamizh-speaking women with access to a phone and time for a conversation, Aarti  who works with NGOs on building stronger boards  was flooded with requests from volunteers, overnight.

This was not a pre-planned project, there was no strategy to it. I just wanted to reach out to women at home (during the lockdown) and see if they will be willing to spend a little bit of time talking to young girls. Not the deep stuff like counselling or mentoring; just a conversation about what you like, what she likes, whats happening in each others lives and the like. And let that evolve into something if there is a scope for it after the first phone call, she narrates. As off-the-cuff as the plan may have been, Aarti shares that there were two objectives to this project. One was to see if we can give people a taste of volunteering? We do not volunteer enough; maybe we do in the religious circles but not in the social sector.

The second aim was to see if there is an opportunity for young girls to talk to a stranger and develop some level of confidence in being able to hold themselves in the conversation, she explains. Once the credibility of the women was confirmed and the childrens consent was in place, then each volunteer was randomly paired with one girl and given a time for a phone date.

Forging friendships



Despite all the apprehensions that came naturally, between the curiosity of the young girls and the eagerness of the volunteering women, the project took a life of its own. After her turn at the call, Archana Naik declares that this is just something nice to do in a day.



It was something out of the ordinary. For people who like to chat, you dont plan a good conversation. You just talk to somebody and it turns out to be a nice conversation. It was just one of those conversations with her, she recounts.



The girl assigned to Archana was just stepping to class 9 and was quite proud of her academic prowess. She took great joy in detailing her outstanding performance in school over the years, the extra time she gets for her many projects, and her big plan of one day becoming a doctor. Encouraged by this tete-a-tete, the girls mother too shared the conversation  telling Archana about how good a daughter she has been blessed with. For Dr Lakshmi, who usually has trouble talking to someone over the phone without being able to put a face to the person, the child  who turned out to be quite talkative  came to the rescue. A shared love for dogs also came in handy, she says.

She wants to take up veterinary medicine as a career because she loves animals. But she is still young and so we generally talked about animals. When she told me about a woman next door who rescues animals, I suggested that she work with her. Then, she says she is scared of dogs! recalls Lakshmi. When the girl expressed interest in learning music, Lakshmi arranged for her own teenage daughter to pass on the lessons she was taking. Dharshini, after speaking with Lakshmi, remembers it as something very new for her. For someone who dreams of becoming a veterinarian, she received a lot of motivation and encouragement from her new-found friend.

Even my parents have not asked me about my plans. She was very nice to talk to. During this lockdown, when I have not even been able to talk to my friends, she spoke to me like someone in my family, she shares. Though the first call began with some level of hesitation, they have had several conversations since. And she is looking forward to more; including the music lessons.In her conversation, Akila received help on ways to go about her lawyer dreams. While the idea was still in the nascent stage, her conversation partner gave her some direction, she says.

Engaging further



Coordinating the project with the kids in Arunodhaya, its executive director Virgil D Sami is happy to have a constructive means of engagement for the children during the lockdown. We started the initiative with women talking to girls. Women from various fields of expertise volunteered  teachers, musicians, IT professionals, journalists and more. Around 40 girls agreed to participate. And both parties have been happy with the interactions. One girl expressed interest in learning English and her caller has now arranged for WhatsApp classes (audio and video lessons and simple exercises) for a few girls. One callers daughter is handling music classes for another girl. Some have offered career guidance, she details. With such success in the first run, she says they are likely to extend the programme far beyond the lockdown and include boys into the fold as well.

Aarti, on her part, wants to extend the project and call for Hindi-speaking women to cater to the next set of kids. But, her faith in the initiative goes far beyond what she can accomplish with this. The need will always be very high. Every child, including my own, would love to speak to somebody else. The important thing is to check if the child (and his/her parents) wants that. Such background work is going with several organisations across the country. But every NGO can do this on their own; they dont need you or me for it, she suggests.

And so the conversations continue  about interests in cooking, making true the late fathers dream of a big house, the physical exercise you get out of Bharatanatyam, the last test scores, the universality of the term akka, and more. Perhaps, you can join in.
The Grand Night (El Leila El Kebira) has received the support of MIFA, an initiative embracing films in their first stages of development

Giraffics, the producer of The Grand Night (El Leila El Kebira) announced that the film will participate in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (France) for the MIFA Pitches.

Held annually every June, the MIFA (Marche international du film d'animation, which translates to 'International market of animated films') is an initiative held as part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with the aim of supporting "original projects, in their first stages of development and looking for producers, distributors and funding," the festival's website reveals. The chosen animated films are then presented during the official ceremony at the Mifa Pitch sessions.

El Leila El Kebira is the first animated feature film produced in Egypt which touches on the topic of the known operetta and Egyptian folkloric traditions.

The producer of the film announced the news on Facebook, saying that: The Grand Night is originally the name of a famous Egyptian operetta that was created in the 1960s. It portrays the atmosphere of Al-Moulid, a traditional folkloric festival in which Egyptian families get together to chant songs, watch shows, play games, enjoy street food and more. With modernised features, relatable struggles and an original plot, the movie revives the popular characters and songs of the operetta, along with other folkloric figures in Egyptian culture."

According to producer Ahmed Hamouda, "the movie follows the story of 10-year-old Laila, who takes pride in her 'pretending' abilities and avoids her friends bullying by hiding her passion for storytelling with her grandfathers puppets. One night, Laila curiously peeks into her grandfathers old bioscope and ends up on a journey of self-discovery, in the world of her favorite puppets. Now, they count on her to confront and defeat Ghoula, a brainwashing villain."

The moral behind The Grand Night is to appreciate ones identity, which goes in perfect harmony with our personal story behind the project. It all started when we realized that there is a gap in the animation industry when it comes to the representation of Egyptian culture and that it is time we tell our own folkloric stories in a way that the world can relate to and understand but has never seen before. We are opening a door, entering an untapped world and inviting the world to join, Hamouda adds.

The 1hr 20 mins long film will be based on 2D technology and is directed by Ahmed Gamal and Ahmed Teilab.



The script is written by Karim Dalil and Eman Askar, the graphic designer is Noha Abdelnasser, and the music is by Khaled Kammar.

Produced by Giraffics company, Ahmed Hamouda, Axeer and Abdulrahman Khedr, the film is planned for release in 2022.

Since the 1980s, the MIFA Pitches take place as part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (launched in 1960) attracting producers, distributors and potential funders to get acquainted with the projects of animated films presented in four categories: feature films, short films, TV series and specials and digital experiences.

This year, the festival will take place between 16 and 19 June.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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By Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith

SEOUL, May 12 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities were combing through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage on Tuesday to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital's biggest novel coronavirus clusters.

More than 100 new cases linked to the nightclubs have brought fears of a second wave of infections in a country held up as a coronavirus mitigation success story.

Health authorities have tracked and tested thousands of people linked to the nightclubs and bars in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife neighbourhood, but want to find others who they have not been able to identify.

Authorities fear that the fact some of the establishments were known as gay bars might be putting people off coming forward for testing in a conservative country where homosexuality if still taboo.

"We are using telecom station information and credit card transactions from the nightclubs to identify 1,982 of those who are not available," health ministry official Yoon Tae-ho told a briefing.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) on Tuesday said at least 102 people have tested positive in connection with the cases linked to nightclubs and bars.

Seoul mayor Park Won-soon put the total at 101 confirmed cases and said 7,272 people had been tested in connection with the cluster, including family members or coworkers of clubgoers.

Officials had identified 10,905 people who were in the Itaewon area when the cluster of cases is believed to have got going this month, based on cell tower information, and another 494 who used credit cards, Park said.

Media outlets have identified the nightclubs the first patient visited as gay clubs, sparking concern that the disclosures and media coverage could out lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people against their will or lead to discrimination.

'ANONYMOUS TESTING'

Human rights group Amnesty International said some media outlets were making the authorities' prevention and disinfection measures more difficult by pointing fingers at a certain group of patients.

Story continues

"Amnesty International Korea Branch urges the authorities and media to take concrete and selective measures to prevent discrimination and stigmatization," the group said.

Given the sensitivity, authorities have introduced what they call "anonymous testing", with people only needing to provide a phone number and not a name.

Park said the number of people getting tested had doubled as a result of the new service.

But he also said another 20-year-old man who had visited a different club had tested positive, raising concern that the outbreak may not be limited to the venues initially identified.

South Korea has been widely praised for its prompt action on its epidemic with massive testing and aggressive contact-tracing, significantly reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks to fewer than 10 cases a day before this new outbreak.

Officials reported 27 new coronavirus infections across the country as of midnight on Monday, the fifth day of double-digit cases after the first case at the nightclubs was revealed last week.

In all, South Korea has had 10,936 cases of the coronavirus and 258 deaths.

President Moon Jae-in called for a prompt action to empower the KCDC to fight the pandemic.

"We cannot afford to hesitate while looking at a crisis in front of us," he said. "We need to urgently reinforce the quarantine and health system." (Reporting by Sangmi Cha Editing by Josh Smith and Robert Birsel)
Statistically speaking, long term investing is a profitable endeavour. But that doesn't mean long term investors can avoid big losses. To wit, the The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZSE:NZR) share price managed to fall 65% over five long years. We certainly feel for shareholders who bought near the top. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 57% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 45% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

See our latest analysis for New Zealand Refining

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 imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the five years over which the share price declined, New Zealand Refining's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 16% each year. Notably, the share price has fallen at 19% per year, fairly close to the change in the EPS. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

NZSE:NZR Past and Future Earnings May 12th 2020

This free interactive report on New Zealand Refining's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between New Zealand Refining's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. New Zealand Refining's TSR of was a loss of 55% for the 5 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Investors in New Zealand Refining had a tough year, with a total loss of 57%, against a market gain of about 3.5%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 15% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand New Zealand Refining better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that New Zealand Refining is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: New Zealand Refining 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 NZ 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.
Al Mazaya Holding, a leading real estate development company in Kuwait, said one of its UAE-based subsidiaries has signed an agreement for the sale of a property in Dubai for Dh77 million ($20.9 million).

A major player in the region, Al Mazaya provides a wide spectrum of real estate products and services - from purchasing, apportionment and developing of large areas in select zones to offering ready-to-use residential and commercial spaces. It is listed on both the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Boursa Kuwait.

The deal will be implemented in both cash and kind, where the cash sum amounts to Dh40 million ($10.8 million) and the payment-in-kind to Dh37 million ($10.1 million), said the company in a statement.

The transaction will be settled by transferring other income-generating real estate units, from the buyer and registered through their fair value (FV) as per the International Standards for Financial Reports (ISFRs), it added.-TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON  The FBI inadvertently revealed one of the U.S. governments most sensitive secrets about the Sept. 11 terror attacks: the identity of a mysterious Saudi Embassy official in Washington who agents suspected had directed crucial support to two of the al-Qaida hijackers.

The disclosure came in a new declaration filed in federal court by a senior FBI official in response to a lawsuit brought by families of 9/11 victims that accuses the Saudi government of complicity in the terrorist attacks.

The declaration was filed last month but unsealed late last week. According to a spokesman for the 9/11 victims families, it represents a major breakthrough in the long-running case, providing for the first time an apparent confirmation that FBI agents investigating the attacks believed they had uncovered a link between the hijackers and the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Its unclear just how strong the evidence is against the former Saudi Embassy official  its been a subject of sharp dispute within the FBI for years. But the disclosure, which a senior U.S. government official confirmed was made in error, seems likely to revive questions about potential Saudi links to the 9/11 plot.

It also shines a light on the extraordinary efforts by top Trump administration officials in recent months to prevent internal documents about the issue from ever becoming public.

This shows there is a complete government cover-up of the Saudi involvement, said Brett Eagleson, a spokesman for the 9/11 families whose father was killed in the attacks. It demonstrates there was a hierarchy of command thats coming from the Saudi Embassy to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs [in Los Angeles] to the hijackers.

Still, Eagleson acknowledged he was flabbergasted by the bureaus slip-up in identifying the Saudi Embassy official in a public filing. Although Justice Department lawyers had last September notified lawyers for the 9/11 families of the officials identity, they had done so under a protective order that forbade the family members from publicly disclosing it.

Story continues

Now, the bureau itself has named the Saudi official. This is a giant screwup, Eagleson said.

Brett Eagleson and his mother, Gail Eagleson, with Donald and Melania Trump. (Brett Eagleson)

After being contacted by Yahoo News on Monday, Justice Department officials notified the court and withdrew the FBIs declaration from the public docket. The document was incorrectly filed in this case, the docket now reads.

But FBI and Justice Department officials declined to comment on how the erroneous disclosure had been made. A Saudi government spokesman, meanwhile, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The Saudi government has consistently denied any connection to the 9/11 hijackers, telling the New York Times and ProPublica in January: Saudi Arabia is and has always been a close and critical ally of the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.

Ironically, the declaration identifying the Saudi official in question was intended to support recent filings by Attorney General William Barr and acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell barring the public release of the Saudi officials name and all related documents, concluding they are state secrets that, if disclosed, could cause significant harm to the national security.

The declaration was filed by Jill Sanborn, the assistant director of the FBIs counterterrorism division. Her declaration fleshes out some of the assertions Barr and Grenell have used in their filings, arguing that publicly disclosing internal FBI files  including interview reports, telephone and bank records, source reporting documents and foreign government information  would reveal intelligence sources and methods of collection and would hamper the willingness of foreign governments to assist the FBI on sensitive cases.

But while Sanborns 40-page declaration blacks out the Saudi officials name in most instances, in one it failed to do so  a discrepancy first noted this week by a Yahoo News reporter.

In a portion describing the material sought by lawyers for the 9/11 families, Sanborn refers to a partially declassified 2012 FBI report about an investigation into possible links between the al-Qaida terrorists and Saudi government officials. That probe, the existence of which has only become public in the past few years, initially focused on two individuals: Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi Islamic Affairs official and radical cleric who served as the imam of the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles and Omar al-Bayoumi, a suspected Saudi government agent who assisted two terrorists, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who participated in the hijacking of the American Airlines plane that flew into the Pentagon, killing 125.

After the two hijackers flew to Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2000, al-Bayoumi found them an apartment, lent them money and set them up with bank accounts.

A redacted copy of a three-and-a-half page October 2012 FBI update about the investigation stated that FBI agents had uncovered evidence that Thumairy and Bayoumi had been tasked to assist the hijackers by yet another individual whose name was blacked out, prompting lawyers for the families to refer to this person as the third man in what they argue is a Saudi-orchestrated conspiracy.

Describing the request by lawyers for the 9/11 families to depose that individual under oath, Sanborns declaration says in one instance that it involves any and all records referring to or relating to Jarrah.

The reference is to Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah, a mid-level Saudi Foreign Ministry official who was assigned to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 1999 and 2000. His duties apparently included overseeing the activities of Ministry of Islamic Affairs employees at Saudi-funded mosques and Islamic centers within the United States.

Relatively little is known about Jarrah, but according to former embassy employees, he reported to the Saudi ambassador in the United States (at the time Prince Bandar), and that he was later reassigned to the Saudi missions in Malaysia and Morocco, where he is believed to have served as recently as last year.

Jarrah has been on the radar screen of the lawyers for the 9/11 families for some time and is among nine current or former Saudi officials who they suspect have important information about the case and have sought to either question them or get access to FBI documents that mention them.

The families have also tapped former agents to help investigate the activities of the potential witnesses, including Jarrah.

Jarrah was responsible for the placement of Ministry of Islamic Affairs employees known as guides and propagators posted to the United States, including Fahad Al Thumairy, according to a separate declaration by Catherine Hunt, a former FBI agent based in Los Angeles who has been assisting the families in the case.

Hunt conducted her own investigation into the support provided to the hijackers in Southern California. The FBI believed that al-Jarrah was supporting and maintaining al-Thumairy during the 9/11 investigation, she said in her declaration.

The Sanborn declaration represents the first public confirmation that the so-called third man referred to in the 2012 report was in fact an accredited Saudi diplomat. But all of the FBI evidence the agents had gathered about Jarrah and his communications about the hijackers remain under seal.

Elsewhere in her declaration, Sanborn asserts that the contention that Jarrah tasked Thumairy and Bayoumi with assisting the hijackers was more a theory of the agents working the case rather than a conclusion based on hard evidence.

One former bureau official familiar with the FBI investigation into the matter, and who asked to speak confidentially, says that agents had developed strong evidence of meetings and communications among Jarrah, Thumairy and Bayoumi in which assistance to Mihdhar and Hazmi, the two hijackers, was believed to have been discussed.

But the agents were unable to prove that Jarrah, who the agents found had flown to Los Angeles to meet with Thumairy, knew that Mihdhar and Hazmi were members of al-Qaida and were plotting the attacks on U.S. soil, resulting in bitter divisions within the bureau about what to make of the contacts the agents had uncovered.

We just didnt have enough evidence to move the case forward, said the former official.

Complicating the question is whether FBI agents would ever get an opportunity to question and potentially confront Jarrah. There was no reason to believe the Saudis would ever give us access to him, said the former official.

Over time, with the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 and 2015, senior bureau officials grew weary of the issue and reassigned most of the top counterterrorism agents working on the case to what were viewed as more pressing priorities.

There were definitely people at FBI headquarters who wanted this closed, the former official said.

Suspicions about a possible Saudi role in 9/11 are as old as the attacks themselves. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, investigators quickly concluded that 15 of the 19 hijackers were of Saudi origin.

The 9/11 commission, which extensively investigated the question, ultimately concluded that, while Saudi Arabia had long been viewed as the primary source of al-Qaida funding, we have found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization.

But the 9/11 commission also acknowledged there were significant gaps in the record, especially relating to a critical two-week period after Mihdhar and Hazmi flew into Los Angeles in January 2000 after attending an al-Qaida planning summit in Kuala Lumpur that the CIA had monitored.

Moreover, the panels investigators had deep suspicions about the role of Thumairy, a radical cleric known for delivering anti-Western sermons, who they believed had lied to them about ever having met the hijackers or even knowing Bayoumi, who did provide extensive support to the hijackers. Thumairy told agents he did not know Bayoumi despite phone records showing the two of them had been in frequent contact.

The lingering questions about the Saudi role prompted the FBI in the mid-2000s to quietly initiate a subfile investigation  whose code name, Operation Encore, was first revealed by the New York Times and ProPublica in January  that focused on the activities of Mihdhar and Hazmi in Southern California and their interactions with Thumairy, Bayoumi and others.

The agents working the case reinterviewed key witnesses and uncovered phone records and other material that the 9/11 commission had never seen. One of the former agents now assisting the 9/11 families, Steven Moore, a former assistant special agent in Los Angeles, wrote in a 2017 declaration for the families that Thumairy was the primary point of contact for Hazmi and Mihdhar in Los Angeles, was aware in advance of their travel to the United States and even invited Hazmi, the future hijacker, to lead prayers at the King Fahd mosque.

Moores conclusion: Based on evidence we gathered during the course of our investigation, I concluded that diplomatic and intelligence personnel of the Kingdom of the Saudi Arabia knowingly provided material support to the two 9/11 hijackers and facilitated the 9/11 plot. My colleagues in our investigation shared that conclusion.

But even while the agents hit a roadblock when they were unable to persuade FBI headquarters about the strength of their evidence, the 9/11 families who wanted to hold the Saudi government accountable got a huge break in 2016, when Congress overrode a veto by then-President Obama and passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allowed them to bring a lawsuit against the kingdom in federal court.

The fight for access to key documents and evidence has dragged on ever since, with repeated battles between the lawyers for the families on one side, and lawyers for the FBI, the Justice Department and the Saudi government on the other.

Last Sept. 11, a group of the families, their lawyers and two of the former agents helping them met with President Trump at the White House and raised their concerns about their lack of access to the material they were seeking.

We told him, Please, Mr. President, help us, please declassify the documents. Our government has been covering up the Saudi role, said Eagleson.

Trump was receptive and even got energized after being told that among those who had resisted disclosure in the past were former FBI directors Robert Mueller and James Comey. Trump at one point said they were scum and vowed to help the families.

Hey Melania, Trump said at one point, referring to the first lady, who attended the meeting and posed for photos with the family members along with the president, according to one of the former agents present who asked not to be identified. Listen to these guys  the same scum that is fighting me is now fighting the 9/11 families.

Trump vowed to help, according to those in the meetings. He shook all of our hands and said, Dont worry, Im going to help you guys, said Eagleson.

We left that meeting feeling elated, he said. We were finally going to see the documents.

The White House did not respond to Yahoo News request for comment.

The very next day, on Sept. 12, Justice Department lawyers gave the families the identity of the third man  but under the condition that they couldnt publicly disclose it. That same day, Barr filed his first motion with the court declaring all the material being sought by the families as state secrets that could not be shared.

We felt we had been stabbed in the back, said Eagleson.

_____

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:
An accident that injured two people Monday resulted in the arrest of one of the drivers on a DUI charge.

According to a police report, Mercedes T. Murray, 29, of 722 N. Clay Ave. was going east on West Morton Avenue at 3:43 p.m. when her car hit the rear of a car being driven by Deborah L. Green, 54, of Roodhouse, who was stopped at a traffic signal at Westgate Avenue.
Doctors are concerned more people are turning to alcohol, sedatives and illegal drugs as they deal with stress caused by the isolation and upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is warning that substance abuse, including heavier drinking at home and during the day, is becoming more pronounced.

There are reports people with anxiety are increasingly using prescription drugs such as diazepam to manage distress and social isolation, as Australians deal with shock unemployment, loss of support networks and arguments with their family.

Meanwhile, those who use street drugs including methamphetamines are still able to find a ready supply.
[May 12, 2020] Jacobs Selected by Radioactive Waste Management Ltd to Study Radioactivity in Graphite Nuclear Reactor Cores

DALLAS, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by Radioactive Waste Management Ltd (RWM), a subsidiary of the U.K. Government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, to study the release of radioactivity from irradiated graphite sampled from reactor cores at the U.K.'s nuclear power stations. This research will support RWM in their analysis of graphite behavior and the options for graphite waste management in the future. "We're combining our leading graphite knowledge from our Integrated Waste Management team at Harwell, our role as designer and architect engineer of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) and Magnox reactors, and our work on operational support and life extension," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions Senior Vice President Clive White. "Our Technology and Innovation Centre at Birchwood Park, Warrington, is applying this graphite knowledge to work through options for safe and timely characterization, retrieval, treatment and storage solutions to meet the growing global decommissioning market." RWM has commissioned Jacobs to measure and characterize releases of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 and compare it with releases from irradiated graphite in earlier reactor types, including the U.K.'s first generation of Magnox civil nuclear power stations. This research will have a significant bearing on the safe management and disposal of graphite wastes arising from the decommisioning of 14 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR), which generate nearly 20% of the country's electricity but are due to be phased out over the next 10 years.



The contract has an initial duration of two years. Subject to experimental program results, it may be extended by an additional two years. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jacobs-selected-by-radioactive-waste-management-ltd-to-study-radioactivity-in-graphite-nuclear-reactor-cores-301057280.html SOURCE Jacobs

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One of Britain's top counter-terror officials will take control of the country's new biosecurity centre which will monitor the coronavirus threat level.

Tom Hurd, 54, director-general at the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, will set up the new Joint Biosecurity Centre which will run the Covid-19 alert system.

The UK is currently at level four of the five-tier system, just below the 'most critical' threat - the kind that would have seen the NHS swamped by virus cases.

Tom Hurd, 54, is currently director-general at the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism

Mr Hurd, who is the son of former Conservative foreign secretary Douglas Hurd, 90, is also in the running to be the next chief of MI6, reported the Financial Times.

He has been in charge of counter-terrorism strategy since 2016 and is a potential candidate to replace Alex Younger when he steps down from MI6 later this year.

One Whitehall official told the FT of Mr Hurd: 'He's a very, very senior civil servant and it's significant that someone of his calibre has been brought in.'

His current role within the Home Office means he is responsible for the Government's strategy, policy and legislative response to the threats of terrorism.

Another Government official added: 'Given his expertise he is the best person in government to set this work up, but he will be returning to the Home Office.'

The UK is currently at level four of the five-tier system, just below the 'most critical' threat

Former investment banker Mr Hurd is an expert on the Middle East and is also a former member of the UK team attached to the United Nations security team.

In addition he was a former contemporary of Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Eton College and Oxford University, where he studied Middle Eastern affairs.

Before joining the Foreign Office in 1992 he worked for Credit Suisse First Boston.

However his life was hit by tragedy in May 2011 when his wife Catherine, 46, plunged four storeys to her death from the roof of her home in New York City.

Police said at the time that she was found 'unresponsive with severe trauma' on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but her death was not treated as suspicious.

Mr Hurd is the son of former Conservative foreign secretary Douglas Hurd (pictured in 2014)

On Sunday, Mr Johnson used his landmark address to the nation to suggest the country was now edging towards level three of the coronavirus threat level.

The further down the Covid alert level ladder the country goes, the more lockdown measures could be eased.

The Prime Minister said: 'We are establishing a new Covid alert system run by a new Joint Biosecurity Centre. And that Covid alert level will be determined primarily by R and the number of coronavirus cases.

'And in turn that Covid alert level will tell us how tough we have to be in our social-distancing measures - the lower the level, the fewer the measures. The higher the level, the tougher and stricter we will have to be. There will be five alert levels.

'Level one means the disease is no longer present in the UK and level five is the most critical - the kind of situation we could have had if the NHS had been overwhelmed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the UK from 10 Downing Street in London on Sunday

'Over the period of the lockdown, we have been in level four, and it is thanks to your sacrifice we are now in a position to begin to move in steps to level three.'

Speaking about what data the new hub may use, Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline today: 'It all depends on who they employ and what approaches they use to define the risk and what its actual remit turns out to be.

'I am not sure someone whose background is in terrorism would have sufficient subject specific knowledge to fully understand many of the scientific and medical issues. But that may not be necessary for the head of the hub, if he is able to work with subject specific experts.

'To me the main questions are around how independent is the hub going to be of both government and the existing scientific advisory system.

'Is the unit to be staffed with civil servants or include scientists and epidemiologists from outside of government?

Mr Hurd is a potential candidate to replace Alex Younger (pictured during an interview in December 2018) when he steps down as chief of MI6 later this year

'Are the main people contributing to this going to be the same people currently advising Sage (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies)?

'In which case why do we need the hub? Is the hub going to be apart from that group and able to make its decisions fully independently? Will the hub be focusing on watching a very restricted range of indicators or taking a broad view of the available evidence?

'Is its job solely going to be setting the alert level or will it be able to comment more widely on the epidemic and its management? What would happen if its opinions and assessments differed from those of Sage?

'There are pros and cons around many of these key decisions. For example, if independent of current structures it could serve as really vital check on the existing procedures - but significant conflict of opinion could lead to more unease.

'Until we know more, it is impossible to say whether or not the hub will be a valuable contribution to the control of this crisis.'
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Abubakar Adamu, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of all policemen attached to Lagos businessman, Emeka Okonkwo popularly known as E-money and another Lagos socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest.

NEWS DIRECT gathered that the IGP ordered the withdrawal over the ostentatious display of policemen by the two social media celebrities.

It was also gathered that the IGP has ordered for a comprehensive search for all those who engage in such show of police escorts and the immediate withdrawal of the policemen.

The Police is yet to issue a statement on this development as at the time of filing this report. It is also yet to be known if these celebrities will be pardoned if they change their ways.

Meanwhile,
Metro Detroit residents looked to the sky to watch as U.S. Navy demonstration squadron the Blue Angels performed a flyover Tuesday.

The flyover is part of the America Strong flyover tour, which honors healthcare workers, first responders, military, and other frontline personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seven F/A-18 hornets  six performing planes and a solo trail plane  started in Ann Arbor before flying Michigan Avenue toward downtown Detroit. They then zig-zagged toward area hospitals, then followed the Lake St. Clair and Detroit River shorelines.

After Detroit, the Blue Angels headed to Chicago then to Indianapolis.

Below are photos taken by MLive.com photographer Mike Mulholland from Belle Isle in Detroit.

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Blue Angels perform a flyover near downtown Detroit in Detroit, to pay tribute to healthcare workers and frontline workers, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

The Powering Positivity campaign by MLive Media Group highlights how Michiganders are supporting one another during the coronavirus pandemic. It is sponsored by The MediLodge Group.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar said that the Goa government should order a judicial probe into the deaths in the COVID-19 isolation wards at Goa Medical College

Panaji: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar on Tuesday said that the Goa government should order a judicial probe into the deaths in the COVID-19 isolation wards at Goa Medical College (GMC).

"The Goa government should stop the farce of internal enquiry on the death of two-time Congress MLA Jitendra Deshprabhu and immediately initiate judicial probe by a retired judge to bring out the truth behind mysterious deaths in COVID isolation wards along with other aspects," Chodankar said in a release.

"Nothing has changed in GMC as another death was reported there yesterday which was similar to Jitendra Deshprabhu's death. The government must immediately order impartial judicial enquiry to investigate the mysterious deaths of some patients in the COVID-19 isolation ward since lockdown was announced. How GMC can make enquires about itself?" questioned Chodankar.

He further said that the state government should also stop any attempts being made to save a doctor related to a BJP leader's family who is facing inquiry for negligence in duty. "The impartial inquiry will give justice to the common man who suffers at GMC and other government hospitals. Our purpose is to have a better system in place at GMC and other government hospitals," the GPCC President said.

"The Chief Minister and the Health Minister must come clean on whether all the protocols and globally laid down procedures on the death of COVID-19 suspects had been conducted in Goa," he added.

"GMC authorities ought to explain as to why so many people with respiratory illness are mysteriously dying soon after they are brought to GMC and should spell out the treatment and services they are offering to such patients," he said.
C hancellor Rishi Sunak is today expected to make an announcement on the Governments multi-billion-pound furlough scheme.

It has been reported the programme, which subsidises wages of workers temporarily laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic, will continue to September, although the rate of support will be cut.

At least 6.3 million people are currently having up to 80 per cent of their salaries paid by the taxpayer under the furlough system at a cost of some 8 billion.

Mr Sunak has previously said he was preparing to "wean" workers and businesses off the programme - which currently runs until the end of June - but calls have been made for it to be prolonged.

Rishi Sunak: There will be no cliff-edge to furlough scheme

It comes after the Evening Standard last week revealed the Chancellor had begun detailed planning to taper back furloughing.

Meanwhile, ministers are to set out guidance on how people can travel safely on public transport as the coronavirus lockdown begins to ease.

The death toll from coronavirus in the UK stood at more than 32,000 as the Prime Minister said he wants those who cannot work from home to start returning to their workplaces from Wednesday.

Mr Sunak last week warned the furlough scheme was not "sustainable" at its current rate although he promised there would be no "cliff edge" cut-off.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank and an early advocate of the scheme, said it should be phased out gradually.

"Moving too quickly could spark a huge second surge in job losses at a time when unemployment already looks set to be at the highest level for a quarter of a century," he said.

"This policy has made a huge difference in this crisis. It now needs careful and gradual change to ensure the benefits it has provided are secured rather than squandered."

Meanwhile, the managing director of leisure operator GLL Mark Sesnan has suggested any tapering should be looked at on a sector-by-sector basis.

He said: "Industries such as leisure and hospitality (should be) protected.

"This is because, in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, we will have to operate at a significantly reduced capacity.

"In turn, this will have a major impact on the number of staff able to return to work fully."

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Mr Johnson has said he does not expect a sudden "flood" of people heading back to work following Monday's publication of the Government's "road map" for lifting the restrictions.

But this prompted a barrage of questions as to how it could be achieved amid warnings the Government is watering down its clear "stay home" message.

Speaking at the daily No 10 press briefing on Monday, Mr Johnson said the measures - including allowing unlimited outdoor exercise - were mere "baby steps".

He warned the Government stood ready to reimpose controls if there was any sign of the transmission rate of the virus picking up again.

The TUC, meanwhile, has welcomed the publication of Government guidance on how workplaces can be made "Covid-secure" as they re-open.

Employers - including factories and construction sites - will be required to carry out a risk assessment before they can resume.

This followed criticism by unions that Mr Johnson had issued his return-to-work call in his broadcast on Sunday without explaining how it could be safely achieved.
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Global Custom Dry Ingredients Blends Market Report

The latest business intelligence study by FMI suggests that the global market size of Custom Dry Ingredients Blends reached US$ 11.9 Bn Mn/Bn in 2019 (Base Year) and is anticipated to register US$ ~27,018 Mn by the end of 2029 with a CAGR of 8.5% from 2019 to 2029 (Forecast period).The research study focuses on the drivers, restraints, opportunities and trends impacting the Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market.

All the relevant vendors running in the Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market are examined based on market share and product footprint. Key players include JES Foods, Blendex Company, H T Griffin Food Ingredients, Pacific Blends Ltd, and Stewart Ingredient Systems Inc. The data associated with each market player includes:

Company Profile

Main Business Information

SWOT Analysis

Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin

Purchase reports by today to avail discount offer!!!

Download Sample Copy@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-9784

End Use Application-wise Segmentation Assessment:

Sauce Mixes

Seasoning Blends/Mix

Soups & Bouillons Mixes

Salad Dressing Spice Mixes

Bakery Mixes Bread/Batter Mixes Cake Mixes Pancakes (Hotcakes) Mixes Pastry Mixes Muffins Mixes Donuts Mixes Brownie Mixes Cookie Mixes

Cereal Mixes

Drink Mixes

Meat and Meat Products Mixes

Dehydrated Fruit/Vegetable Blend

Blended Flours

Food Service Industry

Download Segment-wise Analysis@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-9784

Nature-wise Segmentation Assessment:

Organic

Conventional

Form-wise Segmentation Assessment:

Flake

Flour

Bran

Whole Form

Regional Analysis

North America

Latin America

Western Europe

North & Eastern Europe

APEC

China

MEA

The Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market research also takes into account the important countries that hold significant share in the respective regions, such as China, India, ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, among others.

COVID -19: Impact Analysis @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/covid19/rep-gb-9784

What does the Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market research holds for the readers?

Market segmentation assessment, including qualitative and quantitative research depicting the impact of economic and non-economic factors.

Breakdown of each Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market player as per mergers & acquisitions, R&D projects, and product launches.

Leading regions holding significant share in the global Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market along with the key countries.

One to one company profile of prominent stakeholders.

Critical study of each Custom Dry Ingredients Blends manufacturer, such as market share, regional footprint, and product innovations.

The Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market research clears away the following queries:

Why region holds the largest share in the Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market over the forecast period? Why are stakeholders shifting away from conventional methods for manufacturing Custom Dry Ingredients Blends? In which year, the global Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market has the lowest Y-o-Y growth rate? At what rate has the global Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market been growing throughout the historic period 2014-2018? By end use segment, which segment currently leads the global Custom Dry Ingredients Blends market?

And many more
Dr Anthony Fauci will today warn Senators that opening the US economy too soon will lead to 'needless suffering and death.'

Fauci, America's top infectious diseases expert, and four other senior government doctors will testify remotely before the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his main intention was to get across 'the danger of trying to open the country prematurely.'

He added: 'If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: "Open America Again," then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.'

It will be Fauci's first appearance before Congress - and it is a chance for him to address lawmakers and the public without Donald Trump at his side.

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has urged Fauci to 'let it rip' when he testifies, calling it an opportunity for the American people to hear 'the unvarnished truth without the president lurking over his shoulder.'

Dr Anthony Fauci will today warn Senators that opening the US economy too soon will lead to 'needless suffering and death.'

It will be Fauci's first appearance before Congress - and it is a chance for him to address lawmakers and the public without President Trump by his side.

Schumer said yesterday: 'Until now, we've mostly heard from the members of the coronavirus task force through the distorted lens of the White House press conference where the president often prevents them from answering fully, interrupts their response, or even contradicts their fact-based evidence.'

Fauci has been largely out of public view in the last week since the President put a pause on the coronavirus task force briefings.

The doctor has also been self-isolating after possible exposure to the disease. Fauci, 79, has tested negative but is working from home after Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller, wife of Trump aide Stephen Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday.

In his comments, Fauci referred to a three-phase White House plan 'Open America Again,' which guides states wishing to reopen their economies.

The recommendations include that states should have a 'downward trajectory of positive tests' or 'documented cases' over a 14-day period.

States also need to conduct robust contact tracing, and 'sentinel surveillance' testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations.

Many states have started to reopen their economies without meeting the White House threshold.

It comes as the US has recorded more than 1.38 million infections and more than 81,000 deaths, while the worldwide the number is nearly 4.2 million infections and more than 285,000 deaths.

'We're not reopening based on science,' Dr Thomas R. Frieden, a former director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Times. 'We're reopening based on politics, ideology and public pressure. And I think it's going to end badly.'

Experts have said that rather than a second wave striking in the fall, America could be seized upon by a series of wavelets - acute eruptions of the virus in communities throughout the country which will be impossible to predict.

Trump's efforts to project a confident front in setting out his 'Open America Again' strategy have been hampered by the virus hitting the West Wing.

As well as Fauci, Dr Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, and Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have both gone into two weeks of self-isolation.

Two White House staffers tested positive, Miller the Pence spokeswoman, and a US Navy officer serving as one of Trump's valets.

The President was 'spooked' by one of his most personal staff - who serves him food without a mask on - having contracted the disease, a source told The Times.

The Associated Press have reported that Trump is unwilling to wear a mask because it will 'send the wrong message' and impact his re-election chances.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner told Fox News the United States had crossed 9.30 million virus tests, with more than 394,00 done on Monday.

The rise in infections has put pressure on efforts to boost testing capacity with health officials, including Fauci, having flagged the challenge of testing those in greatest need.
CHICAGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Corvus Janitorial Systems ("Corvus"), a national franchisor of office and commercial cleaning businesses, announces today its growing partnership with current multi-state Master Franchisee Chad Weaver. Mr. Weaver, who has been with Corvus as a Master Franchisee for a decade, has purchased the rights to expand the brand through franchising in Orlando and its surrounding area.

Weaver comes from an entrepreneurial background. He grew up with exposure to the successes and struggles that come with business ownership through the multiple business ventures of his father. After earning an accounting degree from Lambuth University (now part of the University of Memphis), he worked in insurance for several years. Because of his years in the insurance industry, Weaver was attracted to a business model built on recurring revenue, and saw great potential in janitorial services, ultimately beginning his journey in franchise janitorial services in 2002. After researching the model, he moved his family to Louisville, Kent. and went all-in into the commercial cleaning industry as a Master Franchisee. He quickly found success and expanded his business to Lexington, Kent. and Indianapolis.

Weaver met Justin Douglas, founder and CEO of Corvus, early in their careers, and that friendship evolved towards business partnership. "We had multiple conversations about me joining Corvus as a Master Franchisee, and bringing in my three territories. Justin and I had both started out doing a lot of cleanings ourselves, and I greatly respected the business he had built and the processes and systems the franchise had in place. I wanted to be a part of it, and bring the same opportunity to others looking to go into business for themselves," said Weaver.

The two joined forces in 2010 when Weaver officially signed on as a Master Franchisee, and converted his franchises in Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis to the Corvus brand. Since then, he has added Evansville, Ind. and Raleigh-Durham to his stable of territories and grown Corvus' presence in his territories to more than 200 local franchisees.

Now, Weaver and Corvus are looking to expand the franchise opportunity throughout Orlando. "With so much uncertainty in the job market right now, we are seeing more and more people want to be their own boss," said Weaver. The opportunity for prospective entrepreneurs to grow with Corvus in Orlando and control their own financial destiny is unprecedented as commercial cleaning is expected to see a surge when offices begin reopening in the coming months.

"Chad and the franchisees he supports in Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina have seen tremendous success with Corvus over the years," said Douglas. "We are confident in his ability to continue to lead development of the Corvus brand in Orlando, and we are eager to see the continued success of him and Franchisees in his new market."

For more information regarding Corvus, please visit www.corvusjanitorial.com.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people's lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

Media Contact: Tanja LeMotte, (312) 477-8102, [email protected]

SOURCE Corvus Janitorial Systems

Related Links

https://corvusjanitorial.com


India has a reported nearly 25,000 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past week, a look at Union health ministry data suggests.

Last Tuesday, on May 5, the Ministry of Health in its morning update notified the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country at 46,433. As per the health ministry data on the morning of May 5, there were 32,138 active coronavirus cases in the country, 12,726 patients had been cured or discharged while 1,568 people had died from the deadly contagion.

A week later, today morning, the ministry announced that the national Covid-19 tally has breached the 70,000 mark. There are 70,756 coronavirus cases in the country, 24,323 more as compared to last Tuesdays figure (46,433). There are 46,008 active coronavirus cases in the country while 22,454 patients have been cured or discharged. More than 2,000 people in India (2,293 to be precise) have died from the deadly contagion till date.

Also read: India has 8th highest active cases of coronavirus in the world

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state when it comes to coronavirus cases. The Covid-19 tally in the state has breached the 23,000-mark. There are 23,401 Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and 868 fatalities. The number of patients who have recovered from the disease or have been discharged from the hospital have climbed to 4,786 in Maharashtra.

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi are the states with the highest incidence of Covid-19 infection.

Gujarat is second in terms of number of Covid-19 cases while Tamil Nadu stands on the third spot. The Covid-19 tally in Gujarat, as per the Ministry of Health, stands at 8,541. Five hundred and thirteen people have died due to the coronavirus disease here. Gujarat has seen 2780 Covid-19 recoveries so far.

In Tamil Nadu, Covid-19 cases have soared to 8,002 while the national capital has reported 7,233 coronavirus cases till date.
Terrorists Storm Maternity Clinic in Afghan Capital, Kill 14

KABUL, AfghanistanTerrorists stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police and killing 14 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers, and an unspecified number of nurses, Afghan officials said.

While the battle was underway, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, according to images shared by the Interior Ministry.

Afghan and foreign security personnel stand guard in front of a hospital after gunmen attacked, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2020. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

But the days spasm of violence extended beyond Kabul. A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar provincea hotbed of the ISIS terrorist grouptargeted a funeral ceremony, killing 21 people and wounding 55. And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February, which envisages the start of talks among key Afghan figures, including government representatives, and the Taliban. Relentless, near-daily attacks have also left Afghan authorities ill-prepared to face the onset of the CCP virus pandemic, which has infected more than 4,900 people in the country and killed at least 127.

Soon after the Kabul attack started, black smoke rose into the sky over the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighborhood that has been the site of many past attacks by ISIS terrorists. The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building before it was over.

Arian said 15 others, including men, women, and children were wounded in the attack. Three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, he said, without elaborating. It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targetedan attack Arian said was an act against humanity and a war crime.

Afghan security personnel arrive at the site where gunmen attacked, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2020. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and the ISIS frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved.

Photos shared by the Interior Ministry during the Kabul attack show newborn babies and their mothers being carried out of the hospital by Afghan security forces.

The forces are trying to eliminate the terrorists and bring the situation under control, said Arian while the battle was ongoing.

By mid-afternoon, the ministry issued a statement saying three attackers had stormed the hospital and that one was shot and killed while the other two were still resisting arrest. The first floor of the clinic was cleared but the operation was ongoing to secure the rest of the building, the statement said.

A few hours later, the ministry released another statement, saying all three attackers were dead and that the operation was over.

In the evening hours, husbands, fathers and family members of the hospitals patients gathered around the site in Dashti Barchi, desperate for news of their loved ones. A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

In the suicide bombing in the eastern Nangarhar province, the attacker targeted the funeral in Khewa district of a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack on Monday night, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The bomber struck as mourners gathered, killing at least 21 people and wounding 55. The casualties were brought to the Nangarhar provincial hospital, said hospital spokesman Gulzada Sangar. Khogyani added that the dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded in the attack.

An Afghan police officer arrives at the site where gunmen attacked, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2020. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

According to Zabihullah Zemarai, another provincial council member, dozens of people, including, lawmakers, provincial council members, and locals had gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, the militia commander. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid wrote in a tweet that the Taliban was not involved in the attack.

Also, no group claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost, which killed a child and wounded 10 people. The bomb was placed in a cart at a local market and remotely detonated, said Adil Haidari, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

ISIS, meanwhile, claimed it was behind a spate of attacks on Monday in Kabul when four bombs, one placed under a garbage bin and the other three by the roadside, went off in the northern part of the city, wounding four civilians, including a child.

The Afghan intelligence service said in a statement late Monday that the agency has arrested an ISIS leader in the region, Zia-ul Haq, also known as Shaikh Abu Omer Al-Khorasani.

By Rahim Faiez Epoch Times staff contributed to this report
Britain extended its job retention scheme -- the centrepiece of its attempts to cushion the coronavirus hit to the economy -- by four months on Tuesday but told employers they would have to help meet its huge cost from August.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak said 7.5 million temporarily laid off employees -- almost one in every four British workers -- were now on the scheme.

He said they could rest assured that they would continue to get 80% of their wages -- up to 2,500 pounds ($3,089) a month -- until the end of October.

But Sunak said the scheme was expensive and could not continue indefinitely.

"We have stretched and strained to be as generous as possible to businesses and workers," he told parliament.

"This scheme is expensive. It is the right thing to do -- the cost of not acting would have been far higher -- but it is not something that can continue indefinitely into the future."

The programme is designed to stop an expected sharp rise in unemployment from turning into the kind of surge seen in the United States.

But at about 8 billion pounds a month, its cost is around two-thirds of what Britain spends on public health services.

Sunak said that from August, employers currently using the scheme would be allowed to bring furloughed employees back part-time, something business groups had been calling for, to allow them to slowly get back up to speed.

But he also told companies they would have to start sharing the cost of the scheme from August.

The United Kingdom is racking up new debt at a furious pace: it is due to issue 180 billion pounds of government debt between May and July, more than previously planned for the entire financial year.

Its debt mountain exceeds $2.5 trillion and its public sector net borrowing could reach 14% of gross domestic product this year, the biggest single-year deficit since World War Two.

An employers' group welcomed the inclusion of part-time working in the furlough scheme but said it needed more information on how businesses, many of which are shuttered under the government's coronavirus lockdown, will have to pay.

"Many firms that would normally be on a strong footing are still in dire straits," said Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors. Sunak said he would give further details by the end of May.

An economic think-tank said extending the furlough scheme would prevent companies from readjusting to the changed economy, potentially causing a rise in joblessness after the lockdown.

"It would have been better to spell out much more clearly what the government intends now, rather than delaying the detail," Len Shackleton, a research fellow at the Institute for Economic Affairs, said.

But a group representing manufacturers said the extension meant jobs had been saved.

Steve Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming, said a recent survey of the group's roughly 200 member firms showed they feared having to lay off up to 30% of their workforce if the support was taken away.

Britain's finance ministry also said on Tuesday that its new, 100% state-backed loan programme had met with strong demand from small companies, with 268,000 Bounce Back Loans worth 8.3 billion issued since its launch on May 4.

It said 36,000 loans worth over 6 billion pounds had been made through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which carries 80% state guarantees and has made slow progress since it was announced in March.
Teachers have their hands full, and this is a tailored turnkey program that requires minimal additional work on the educators part, yet sets students up for success when school recommences for school year 20/21.

The Curriculum Engine, Walch Educations innovative curriculum customization and delivery platform, announces the availability of tailored, aligned mathematics resources to help current and rising high school students prepare for next school year.

Schools were abruptly and sadly shut down this year, and many educators and students struggled to maintain teaching and learning in a remote environment, said Al Noyes, Walchs CEO. Walchs Curriculum Engine seamlessly supports teacher-directed personalized learning and allows for rapid customization and delivery of digital and print resources. Educators and students have lost time and are at different places in their math curricula. Achievement gaps have widened. We can help them pick up where they left off and get back on track.

Walch works closely with school districts across the United States where the one-size-fits-all digital and print resources offered by traditional publishers fall short of meeting the needs of their teachers and students. The Curriculum Engines patent pending object-oriented framework and robust, aligned courses put educators in control.

The Summer Math Initiative is comprised of 6 weekly segments, starting at the appropriate place for each student. Each segment will deliver 46 hours of aligned and sequential asynchronous instruction, with ample additional resources available to each student. Digital, print, and hybrid options are available to enhance equity and access.

The highly affordable Summer Math Initiative is available on a first-come-first-served basis, and in light of Walchs commitment to fully support schools in getting up and running quickly, there is limited availability.

We have a number of districts in the queue, and its critical that we give them the support they need to succeed, Joanne Whitley, Walchs Senior Director of Product and Professional Development noted. Teachers have their hands full, and this is a tailored turnkey program that requires minimal additional work on the educators part, yet sets students up for success when school recommences for school year 20/21." For more information, please visit http://www.curriculumengine.com.

About Walch Education

Walch is a leading developer and publisher of tailored high school math curriculum. Adapted to fit the needs of each state and district partner, Walchs proven solutions give teachers everything they need to extend and enhance student learning. The companys patent-pending Curriculum Engine is leading the way in the new category of Curriculum as a Service offerings, helping teachers teach more effectively so that students can succeed. The Curriculum Engine is a unique turnkey solution, enabling school districts to rapidly support a seamless transition from classwork to remote work, and back again. For more information, please visit http://www.curriculumengine.com or call 207-772-2846.
Ms Jennifer Fane, PhD candidate, Flinders University, South Australia Credit: Flinders University

Social and community disruptions caused by the COVID-19 restrictions could have a lasting effect on child wellbeing, Flinders University researchers warn.

While health, safety and education responses are the focus of restrictions, the needs of childhood independence, self-determination and play are less acknowledged, Flinders University experts explain in a new publication.

"Play is a key aspect of children's wellbeing from their perspectives," says lead author Jennifer Fane. "The closure of playgrounds, schools and the fear and worry associated with being in public spaces has likely had significant impacts on children during this time.

"As children return to school, and life starts to resume as it did pre-COVID-19, focus and attention to children's opportunities for playand their ability to exercise reasonable 'agency' during this time of significant transitionare two key aspects that can support their wellbeing during this difficult time."

While everyone's freedoms have been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, children's agency, or ability to make choices and decisions within adult-imposed constraints, has never been more apparent.

"Young children interviewed in the study told us of the importance to their lives of trying new things and having a say about play," says Flinders Professor of Public Health Colin MacDougall, a co-author on the Child Indicators Research paper.

"As the world takes baby steps to ease these life-saving restrictions, and move into an uncertain future, we must take the time to think about very young children.

"This research can be used to help chart a course for the multiple transitions these children are undergoing."

Ms Fane, whose Ph.D. at Flinders focused on communicating with preschoolers, says these perspectives can support child wellbeing in future, including as government restrictions on people's boundaries affects where children play and how much they can have a say.

Explore further Prioritizing children's freedom to play with friends to ease stress of lockdown

More information: Jennifer Fane et al, Preschool Aged Children's Accounts of their Own Wellbeing: are Current Wellbeing Indicators Applicable to Young Children?, Child Indicators Research (2020). Jennifer Fane et al, Preschool Aged Children's Accounts of their Own Wellbeing: are Current Wellbeing Indicators Applicable to Young Children?,(2020). DOI: 10.1007/s12187-020-09735-7
Piers Morgan has blasted Miriam Margolyes for saying she had wanted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to die from coronavirus.

Miriam made the outrageous statement on Channel 4 show, The Last Leg last month when she was asked how she felt the Government had handled the virus crisis so far.

The presenter, 55, slammed the actress, 78, on Tuesday's episode of Good Morning Britain, saying: 'Shame on you Miriam Margolyes. Shame on you.

Fury: Piers Morgan has blasted Miriam Margolyes for saying she had wanted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to die from coronavirus

'If someone said on this show "I wished hed died", Id have ripped him, but no one said anything.

'Its not funny what Boris went through personally on that ICU.'

Ofcom has so far received 402 complaints after Miriam's outburst.

A spokesman for Ofcom confirmed the figure to MailOnline on Tuesday and the media watchdog have been urged to investigate Channel 4.

Shocking: Miriam made the outrageous statement on Channel 4 show, The Last Leg last month when she was asked how she felt the Government had handled the virus crisis so far

One Tory MP previously said Ofcom should investigate and demand an apology from Channel 4.

Another Conservative MP expressed disbelief at how Left-wing luvvies felt this type of remark was acceptable.

The row was sparked when presenter of the show Adam Hills asked Miss Margolyes how she felt the Government had handled the virus crisis so far.

Speaking from her home through a video link, the Harry Potter star replied: Appallingly, of course, appallingly. Its a disgrace, its a scandal. I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die.

Awful: The presenter, 55, slammed the actress, 78, on Tuesday's episode of Good Morning Britain, saying: 'Shame on you Miriam Margolyes. Shame on you

Then I thought that will reflect badly on me... so then I wanted him to get better.

There were concerns yesterday at the way the presenters  Mr Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker  had failed to step in during the conversation with the Harry Potter actress.

When asked if it would be apologising to Mr Johnson, a Channel 4 spokesman said the programme was live and unexpected comments can happen.

It added that the actress had gone on to say she wanted Mr Johnson to get better.

Not on: He added: 'If someone said on this show "I wished hed died", Id have ripped him, but no one said anything. 'Its not funny what Boris went through personally on that ICU.

Shocking: Boris left St Thomas's hospital in central London last month after a week-long stay due to the coronavirus and spent some time in intensive care - he could have lost his life

Worrying time: Boris and Carrie Symonds anounced they had welcomed their first son together on Instagram on May 1

But there was fury from the Conservatives about the comments from the long-time Labour supporter.

Bill Cash, the Tory MP for Stone, said: It is an outrageous comment to make and completely in flagrant breach of the broadcasting act. I believe Ofcom should look into it and demand an apology.

Carrie's tribute to NHS heroes who 'saved Boris's life' Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds have named their son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in a tribute to their grandfathers and the doctors who helped save the Prime Minister's life. The third name is a reference to Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart, who Ms Symonds referred to as 'the two doctors that saved Boris' life last month'. Nicholas Price graduated from University of Birmingham's medical school in 1991. He has specialist training in infectious diseases, general medicine tuberculosis, tropical medicine and infection prevention and control. He was previously awarded a MRC Clinical Training Fellowship for research into tuberculosis at The Hammersmith Hospital. Dr Price became a consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' in 2005. In 2009, he was promoted to the Trust's Director of Infection and joint Director of Infection Prevention and Control. Nicholas Hart graduated from University of London's medical school in 1993. His area of expertise include weaning, rehabilitation and home mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic respiratory failure. He has been awarded nine Local Clinical Excellence Award points. Dr Hart became the director of the Lane Fox Respiratory Service, the largest rehabilitation and home ventilation service in the UK, in 2012. He is also a Professor at King's College London and Director of Research and Development Delivery at Guy's and St Thomas'. Source: NHS Advertisement

And fellow Tory MP Andrew Bridgen added: You really have to wonder what world these Left-wing luvvies inhabit and who they talk to that they think these sorts of comments are acceptable.

Channel 4 has already suffered difficult relations with the Conservatives after a series of incidents including its decision to replace Mr Johnson on a debate with an ice sculpture.

And the broadcasters former news and current affairs chief described him as a known liar.

Boris left St Thomas's hospital in central London last month after a week-long stay due to the coronavirus and spent some time in intensive care.

He later revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death in case he lost his coronavirus battle, admitting he was 'a lucky man'.

As his chances of survival balanced on a knife-edge, he said he was given 'litres and litres' of oxygen as medics fought to keep him alive in intensive care.

In his first interview since recovering from Covid-19 - and the birth of his son Wilfred - the PM recalled his frustration that he could not seem to shake the virus.

But Mr Johnson described how the sobering experience allowed him to see the 'fantastic' care offered by the NHS, his voice cracking as he reflected on the rollercoaster past few weeks.

'I realised it was getting pretty serious', he told the Sun on Sunday,

'And I remember saying to myself, ''How am I going to get out of this?'''

He added: 'To be honest, the doctors had all sorts of plans for what to do if things went badly wrong.

'I was not in particularly brilliant shape because the oxygen levels in my blood kept going down.

'But it was thanks to some wonderful, wonderful nursing that I made it. They really did it and they made a huge difference.'

Mr Johnson's personal rollercoaster month saw him bed-ridden with coronavirus before a dramatic recovery and return to work, and then rushing back to hospital as fiancee Carrie Symonds, 32, gave birth to his son.

Wilfred Johnson was unveiled to the world by his mother in a social media photo on May 1.
A man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in a public toilet has faced court.

Beau Seeby, 23, allegedly followed the child into the bathroom of a community club in the Riverland region of South Australia, at about 11pm on Sunday October 6, 2019.

Seeby was arrested the day later and charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of indecent assault.

His identity was revealed on Tuesday as he faced Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link from jail, The Advertiser reported.

Beau Seeby allegedly followed the child into the bathroom of a community club in Riverdale, a region of South Australia, at about 11pm on Sunday October 6, 2019

Prosecutors told the court they would move forward with the charges.

Seeby has not yet entered his plea and his counsel said they are waiting for forensic analysis of evidence.

It's hoped the completed results will be available by July 18.

Seeby was remanded by Magistrate Greg Fisher and will return to court on July 21.

The release of Seeby's identity comes after South Australia announced they would dump automatic suppression orders on the identities of alleged sex offenders.

State parliament passed laws in March scrapping the statutory suppressions which protected the identity of alleged offenders until they pleaded guilty or were committed for trial. The changes came into effect last week.

Seeby's identity was revealed on Tuesday as he faced Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link from jail

Attorney-General, Vickie Chapman said the changes will increase transparency and support the public's right to know who has been accused of serious sexual offending.

'South Australia is one of the few jurisdictions that still automatically imposes a suppression order when an individual accused of a sex offence first appears before the courts,' Ms Chapman said in March.

'A defendant's identity is not automatically suppressed for any other type of offence, and this provision effectively stymies the public right to know who has been charged with offences that may very well be relevant to the broader community.'

The provisions still protect the identity of victims and will allow for suppressions to be imposed on the names of alleged offenders in certain circumstances, such as when publication may reveal the identity of a victim or if investigations are ongoing.
The last residential design of Tony Grunsfeld, a name well-known to architecture enthusiasts in and around Chicago, is now on the market in Glencoe, IL. The price for this modern marvel was recently reduced from $2.89 million to $2,475,000.

The listing agent, Susan Maman of @properties Winnetka, says Grunsfelds residential designs "were always known for drawing the outside in, with floor-to-ceiling windows and huge, open spaces. Theyre just very clean-lined. After decades designing over 130 residences in the Chicago area, Grunsfeld died in 2011.

This 4,738-square-foot-home stands outin a good wayin this tiny-but-tony suburb 25 miles north of downtown Chicago and hugging Lake Michigan.

"We dont have tons of contemporary homes in Glencoe," says Maman, citing the city's mix of traditional, transitional, and contemporary housing stock. Its median list price is around $1.1 million.

Built in 2010, the four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom residence has had only one owner, who commissioned the custom design from Grunsfeld. While many modern homes in the region date back to the 1960s through 1980s, this one is move-in ready. It's only 10 years oldand is not in need of any improvements.

Inside, the open floor plan extends to an eat-in, chef-grade kitchen with a large island, walk-in pantry, and stainless-steel appliances. Just off the kitchen and living room (note the custom built-ins in the denlike nook) is access to the yard, with its brick-paver patio.

The master-bedroom suite overlooks the yard and has a walk-in closet and en suite bathroom with heated floors (ideal for chilly winters). Two of the bedrooms also have en suite bathrooms, ideal for overnight guests.

Exterior realtor.com

Living room realtor.com

Kitchen and dining room realtor.com

One of the bedrooms realtor.com

One of the bathrooms realtor.com

Another bathroom realtor.com

For families with kids still at homeor who would appreciate a man cave or home officethe lower level features an abundance of storage, a rec-room-type space, plus a fourth bedroom with an additional bath.

Gorgeously landscaped, the property is set on nearly an acre and features an outdoor swimming pool. The changing room and half-bathroom on one side of the house, which has a separate entrance, make pool-time cleanup a breeze.

The homeabout a mile from Lake Michigans shorelinehas curb appeal night and day, with nice, outdoor lighting thats kind of dramatic, says Maman.

With only 9,000 or so residents, Glencoe draws residents for its excellent schools and proximity to Chicago. A 27-minute Metra ride whisks locals to downtown Chicago.

Its close-knit, says Maman, of Glencoe. Its a warm, supportive community, a charming village.

Due to the small-town setting, all kids attend the same elementary, middle, and high schools. This home is within walking distance of two of those schools.

Maman notes that, in Glencoe, you can never have a home thats walking distance to all three."

Despite the great schools, Maman thinks a buyer without kids will be enticed to make an offer.

Chances are, it will be an empty-nester home or for a downsizer, says Maman. But some of the showings have been to those with young kids.

Back of house realtor.com

Lower level realtor.com

The post Gorgeous in Glencoe: Must-See Modern Illinois Home Designed by Tony Grunsfeld appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for discounting the development of homegrown remedies only to seek solution from Madagascar even when our nation brims with curative resources against ailments such as COVID-19.

The party said that while it has nothing against any genuine effort to secure therapeutics for COVID-19, it holds that such solutions as developed by Madagascar abound in Nigeria but had remained untapped because of the failure of the Buhari administration to heed to wise counsel to look inwards for answers.

The PDP said that it had been urging President Buhari to acknowledge the indigenous potentials and mobilize homegrown solutions, given the abundant curative flora, globally recognized healing traditions as well as experienced researchers and experts in various institutions across the country, but to no avail.

The party said: Instead, the Buhari Presidency and its inept Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 sat on our national potentials to wait for foreign solutions, while other African leaders are busy looking inwards for remedies.

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It is indeed despicable and shameful that instead of leading other African countries for solutions, as the Giant of Africa, President Buharis incompetent, lethargic, indolent and aimless administration is going to Madagascar to purchase remedies that abound in our country.

The Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration had continued to snub entreaties by Nigerians to mobilize our abounding indigenous manufacturers and researchers for production of therapeutics, including ventilators, kits and medicines just like Madagascar and Senegal.

If the leaders of Madagascar did not lead from the front and looked inwards to produce the CovidOrganics, would President Buhari be running to them for solution?
The Repairer Foundation, a foundation that aims at empowering women and the youth by way of improving their standard of living in the areas of health, sanitation, education, and entrepreneurship, has donated personal care logistics to major health facilities in the Tamale Central constituency.

The donations which were made on Mother's Day was the Foundation's way of celebrating mothers on their special day.

Sanitary pads, detergents, and face masks were donated to mothers on admission at the Tamale West Hospital, the Tamale Central hospital, and the SDA hospital.

Both the recipients and the managers of those health facilities thanked the Repairer Foundation for remembering sick mothers on Mother's Day and prayed for the success of the Foundation.

Speaking in an interview with The Voiceless Media after the donation, the Chief Executive Officer of the Repairer Foundation, Dr. Anyars Imoro Ibrahim also known as Dr. Barhama, disclosed that the presentation of those logistics to women on admissions in hospitals in the Tamale Central constituency was the way the foundation sought to celebrate Mothers.

Dr. Imoro Ibrahim Anyars, who is also the NPP PC for the Tamale Central Constituency, hinted that the foundation will go into other ventures that would empower the youth and women in the Tamale Central constituency.
A nominee for the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Clemence Honyenuga has explained that one of the greatest mistakes he made as judge was to sentence an armed robber who victimized a wife and three children whose husband had traveled abroad and robbed them of their foreign exchange by shooting at them into 65 years imprisonment.

However, his experience with conditions in the country's prisons as result of the Justice For All Programme made him to become a changed person and now advocate of softer punishment for offences against the law.

I used to be a very hard judge when I was at the high court, but since I took over the Justice for All Programme and have seen the conditions at the prisons in which my fellow human being (prisoners) live in, in terms of the food they eat, the suffering and humiliation that has changed my heart.

Responding to questions at the vetting Justice Honyenuga explained that the Justice for All Programme has been beneficial in terms of access to justice and helping to decongest various prisons in the country.

He said at the inception of the programme in 2007, the prison population at the time was over 14,000 and remand prisoners were about 40 percent of the entire prison population.

He said as at 2019, the remand population has reduced to 13 percent of the total prison population.

He said during court pre-sittings in the prisons, the inmates were provided free legal aid because most of them were poor and indigent who could not afford the services of a lawyer.

Justice Honyenuga also emphasized that the programme had helped to reduce the workload of the courts because during the sittings at the prisons they were able to dispose of some pending cases.

He said in 2015 as result of the releases of some remand prisoners, the country saved GHC250, 000 which should have used for the inmates.

He said but for the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme would have been decentralized to the regions so that the Supervising High Court Judge would be in charge of the programme.

Responding to a question from Mr Sampson Ahi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bodi whether the numbers of Ghana's Supreme Court Justices were not too much compared to that of United States (US), which had nine judges with a population of over 300 million, Justice Honyenuga answered that the US is federal state and that their Supreme Court (SC) sit once a while unlike Ghana where every appeal could be referred to the SC, where they sit every day of the week.

He suggested that instead of appeal cases going all the way to the Supreme Court, certain interlocutory appeals should be made to end at the Court of Appeal so that the workload of the SC could be reduced.

Answering to a question from Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minority Chief whether a chief could banish a person for breaking custom of traditional area, Justice Honyenuga also explained that no chief had the power to banish any individual from particular area for flouting the custom of the place, which he said would be an infringement of the 1992 Constitution and the fundamental human right of the person.

I think that would be an infringement of the 1992 Constitution because nobody has the power to banish any person because of an old custom I remember in 1993, when I was in practice a similar thing happened in another traditional area and I advised the victim to report the matter CHRAJ and he did and the matter was gone into and the chief was reprimanded

---GNA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 05:08:53|Editor: huaxia

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People order at a restaurant in Geneva, Switzerland, May 11, 2020. Switzerland implemented the second phase of the easing measures on May 11 to allow restaurants, museums and ordinary shops to resume business. (Xinhua/Nie Xiaoyang)

GENEVA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland on Monday entered the second phase of relaxation measures as part of a three-phase plan to get back to normal life.

In accordance with the decision of the Swiss Federal Council, from Monday restaurants, shopping malls, markets, museums and libraries were allowed to reopen, and primary and junior middle schools were able to resume their classes.

However, according to the government rules, with the exception of families with children, no more than four persons may be served at each dining table in restaurants and the tables should be spaced at least two meters apart. In the resumed classroom, students are required to keep more than two meters away from the teacher.

Also on Monday, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) resumed most of its operations. The passengers are advised to avoid rush hour travel and wear masks if they cannot maintain a safe distance. The Geneva bus company also decided to distribute masks to passengers during rush hours.

Along with the recovering public transport is the further eased entry restrictions at the country's borders. According to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, of the 130 border crossings closed during the pandemic, 20 have now been reopened.

Daniel Koch, the Federal Office of Public Health's Special delegate for the new coronavirus pandemic, told a press conference on Monday that the situation continued to improve in Switzerland, a trend that could be maintained if more efforts were made in contact tracing.

"We hope that the trend will continue like this," he said, "for this, it is important that anyone with flu-like symptoms, severe or mild, get tested. The chains of transmission can thus be traced and the curve continue to decrease."

As of Monday, Switzerland has reported a total of 30,344 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,543 deaths. Enditem
The paychecks of about 54,000 people are still being shorted to repay past-due student loans, despite a federal moratorium that has been in place for six weeks, according to court documents filed late Monday by the Trump administration.

But while consumer advocates view the revelation as an indictment of the administration's failings, the Education Department says it shows the federal agency is doing everything within its power to help borrowers.

The Trump administration in March imposed a 60-day moratorium on the collection of defaulted student loans by the federal government during the pandemic, which Congress codified in the stimulus package and extended through Sept. 30.

Despite the order, people have complained of their wages still being garnished. A group of borrowers filed a class-action lawsuit in April against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Education Department for allegedly mismanaging the moratorium. A federal judge in the case requested the department produce a report on its progress in suspending garnishments.

In the court report, the Education Department said 390,000 people were subject to involuntary collection as of March 13, a much higher number than the 285,000 previously reported. Of those borrowers, nearly 14 percent were still having money withheld from their paychecks as of May 7.

Justice Department attorneys representing DeVos and the Education Department said in the report the agency is "continuing to endeavor to halt all wage garnishments," but did not elaborate on what's holding up the process.

The Education Department has suggested the problem lies with employers. Although the department instructs employers to cease garnishment, companies must take action to end involuntary collection. The department said it has called and emailed employers to stop garnishing wages, but some have continued.

Advocates have accused the Education Department of slow-walking the moratorium by failing to promptly mail out notices to employers. People familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly, previously told The Washington Post that most of the emails the department sent remained unopened. And they questioned why the agency failed to deploy all methods of communication from the outset.

"For borrowers already worried about affording rent, groceries, and medication, losing part of each paycheck to an unlawful garnishment is enough to push them into truly dire circumstances," said Alex Elson, an attorney at the National Student Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit representing borrowers in the lawsuit.

On Monday, the department mailed letters to nearly 37,500 employers who have continued to garnish wages, with a list of employees whose wages they should stop garnishing. Department staff are also making additional calls to employers to confirm they've been notified and will cease withholding money on the government's behalf.

"The Department has notified employers of defaulted borrowers to stop garnishing wages," said Angela Morabito, a spokeswoman for the Education Department. "Because some employers have continued to improperly garnish wages, we have taken additional steps to get employers to comply."

Morabito said the department has also mailed letters to 83,500 defaulted borrowers explaining that their employers should stop garnishing wages and assuring that federal agency will quickly refund the money. The federal agency is also trying to contact another 4,400 people who did not have valid addresses on file. The department encourages borrowers to provide the letter to their employers as evidence their wages should not be reduced.

The number of letters sent to borrowers is much higher than the 54,000 figure the department reported to the court, but the agency did not provide an explanation for the discrepancy.
70 Proposals for funding in Vaccines, Diagnostics, Therapeutics and other Technologies

To urgently develop safe and effective Biomedical solutions against SARS CoV-2, Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) had invited applications for COVID-19 Research Consortium. In addition, BIRAC has also created a provision to fund COVID-19 solutions that are ready for immediate deployment under a Fast Track Review Process.

Under the research consortium, DBT and BIRAC have continuously been evaluating applications with an intent to support Industry/ Academia and Jointly Academia & Industry for developing Diagnostics, Vaccines, Novel Therapeutics, Repurposing of Drugs or any other intervention for control of COVID-19.

Through a rolling multitiered review mechanism, 70 proposals of devices, diagnostics, vaccine candidates, therapeutics and other interventions have been recommended for receiving financial support. The shortlisted proposals includes 10 Vaccines candidates, 34 Diagnostics products or scale-up facilities, 10 Therapeutics options, 02 proposals on Drug Repurposing and 14 projects which are categorised as preventive interventions

To be able to provide an accelerator approach for vaccine development, DBT has identified institutes which will provide animal models for testing pre-clinical efficacy and also make available neutralization assays. IIT Indore will produce Pseudovirus SARS CoV-2 which can be used for development of in-vitro assays. Enzene biosciences limited will make available Spike protein and Receptor Binding Domain protein in large quantities to vaccine and diagnostic companies as a reagent. The portfolio of vaccine candidates has further been enhanced by providing support for development of Next-generation mRNA vaccine candidate by Gennova and also separately to CMC, Vellore for a lipid encapsulated mRNA based vaccine.

Early development work for developing an Intranasal vaccine candidate for COVID-19 has also been awarded to Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.

University Delhi South Campus has initiated work towards discovering neutralizing antibodies from an existing phage display based library and are being supported under National Biopharma Mission of DBT.

To ensure complete indigenization of COVID diagnostics, support has already been provided to AMTZ and other companies to scale-up production of RT PCR kits. In addition anticipating long term need for diagnostics, DBT/ BIRAC have also committed support for different types of diagnostics platforms like: Fluorescence and Electrochemistry Mediated Rapid Detection of SARS-Cov-2 Nucleic Acid from Bennett University, Greater Noida; portable microfluidics embedded on chip rRT-PCR and microelectrode array coupled point-of care optoelectronic device for large scale screening: JNU, Delhi; Development and evaluation of aptamer based lateral flow assay kit for detection of SARS-CoV2 detection to IIT Delhi and CRISPER based diagnosis of Covid-19 using paper microfluidics form IIT Guwahati. Other companies to get funding support are Denovo, Biolabs, ShineBiotech, Prantae, Proma Therapeutics, Achira. In total, 34 companies and academic institutes will receive financial support for ensuring there is no shortage of indigenous diagnostic kits in the near future.

Department of Biotechnology has also launched a National Biomedical Resource Indigenization Consortium (NBRIC) in a Public Private Partnership model to foster indigenous innovation focused on developing reagents and resources for diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for COVID19 which is in partnership with ABLE and CII and is being hosted by C-CAMP.

Under its Fast Track Review Process Process BIRAC has created a provision to fund COVID solutions that are ready for immediate deployment. Through this initiative Startups with PPE solutions have been approved for supporting manufacturing of Full body coverage suits to Aarna Biomedical Products and for Face Shields to Alpha Corpusles Pvt Ltd. Automoted Sanitizer to MicroGO, Remote patient monitoring Stasis Health Pvt Ltd. Turtle Shell for DOZEE a sleep monitoring device, Monitra for remote monitoring of patients, Perisodhana for N-95 Masks and Remidio for Ambu bags.
Airlines are looking at significantly lower profits for years to come as a combination of health concerns and a deepening recession is predicted to keep many travelers off airplanes until 2022 and beyond. And carriers will have to use more of that profit to pay off loans taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry refuted rumors about the alleged leak of personal data from the Diia digital ID mobile application introduced earlier this year.

Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has said the SBU Security Service of Ukraine launched a probe into the leak of personal data of millions of Ukrainians through the Telegram chatbot.

After the chatbot had been launched on Telegram trading in personal data of Ukrainian citizens, fake reports emerged claiming that the leak was related to the Diia mobile application, Fedorov says.

Read alsoUkraine's digital transformation ministry denies massive leak rumors

"This is impossible even theoretically! First, and most important, Diia has no own database and neither does it accumulate such information. Second, the amount of information that is available in the specified chatbot is much, tens, or even hundreds of times, greater than that with which Diia operates. Third, a preliminary analysis of the chatbot's data indicates the use of old databases that have for years been available on Darknet. In particular, this is the PrivatBank database (for the bank's pre-nationalization period), as well as other private (non-state) databases. For example, passwords from VKontakte and LinkedIn are available," the minister said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry refuted rumors about the alleged leak of personal data from the Diia digital ID mobile application introduced earlier this year.
U S President Donald Trump has backed Tesla chief executive Elon Musk in his fight with California authorities to reopen the companys car factory in California.

"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"

Tesla had announced it intends to defy Alameda county laws and restart limited operations, returning around 30 per cent of its 10,000 employees to the Fremont factory.

The company began operations on Monday.

Mr Musk tweeted that he would be there as it reopened, saying: If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

Alameda county officials said Tesla was only permitted to resume minimum basic operations, but said the company had gone beyond that.

They added that they hoped there would not need to be further enforcement measures.

Mr Musk has previously heavily criticised state and local stay-at-home orders meant to curb the spread of coronavirus, calling them "fascist" and a violation of the Constitution.

California Governor Gavin Newsom allowed some retail and manufacturing businesses to open last Friday.

Only essential businesses were previously allowed to be open.

Mr Newsom said in a video press conference on Monday that he expected Tesla to start-up operations by next week.

"My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations," Newsom the Governor said. "My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week, they will be able to resume."

However, he added that local governments may choose to maintain stricter rules, which Alameda and several other Bay Area counties in the Bay Area have done.

Mr Musk announced on Saturday that he intends to file a lawsuit against Alameda county over the restrictions, describing them as contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!

The billionaire and Tesla and SpaceX CEO has also threatened to move Teslas factory and headquarters from California to Nevada or Texas because of the row.

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.

As many as 68,000 Californians are confirmed to have caught Covid-19, and the state has recorded 2,770 deaths from the disease. Alameda county has 2,101 cases and 71 virus deaths.
Children, teens, and young adults are at greater risk for severe complications from COVID-19 than previously thought, according to a study which says those with underlying health conditions are at even greater risk.

"The idea that COVID-19 is sparing of young people is just false," said study coauthor Lawrence Kleinman from Rutgers University in the US.

According to the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, children are more likely to get very sick if they have other chronic conditions like obesity.

"It is also important to note that children without chronic illness are also at risk. Parents need to continue to take the virus seriously," Kleinman cautioned.

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, is the first to describe the characteristics of seriously ill pediatric COVID-19 patients in North America.

In the research, the scientists assessed 48 children and young adults -- from newborns to 21 years old -- who were admitted to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the US and Canada for COVID-19 in March and April.

The study noted that more than 80 per cent of the children had chronic underlying conditions, such as immune suppression, obesity, diabetes, seizures, or chronic lung disease.

Of these children, 40 per cent depended on technological support due to developmental delays or genetic anomalies, the researchers said.

More than 20 per cent experienced failure of two or more organ systems due to COVID-19, they said, adding that nearly 40 per cent required a breathing tube and ventilator.

At the end of the follow-up period, about 33 percent of the children were still hospitalised due to COVID-19, the scientists reported in the study.

Three of the children still required ventilator support and one of them was still on life support.

The study also noted that two of the children admitted during the three-week study period died.

"This study provides a baseline understanding of the early disease burden of COVID-19 in pediatric patients," said Hariprem Rajasekhar, a pediatric intensivist involved in conducting the study at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Department of Pediatrics.

Compared with mortality rates of up to 62 per cent among adults admitted to ICUs for COVID-19, the study noted that the mortality rate for PICU patients is 4.2 per cent.

"This early study shows that COVID-19 can result in a significant disease burden in children but confirms that severe illness is less frequent, and early hospital outcomes in children are better than in adults," the scientists wrote in the study.

According to Kleinman, doctors are also seeing a new COVID-related syndrome in children.

Citing earlier reports, he said children with COVID-19 may be at risk of heart failure, and a condition termed pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome.

"Although our data collection for this study has ended, we continue to develop collaborations with colleagues in our region and across the country to try to understand these more severe complications," Kleinman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WA has emerged as the front line in a new China trade dispute, with the state's billion-dollar barley industry at risk over Beijing's threat to tax Australian imports and experts warning the West needs to look elsewhere for its future prosperity.

China has threatened an 80 per cent tariff on imports of the grain from Australia, accusing growers of dumping product on the international market.

About 88 per cent of Australia's barley exports to China come from WA.

Last month, the regime's ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye warned beef, wine, tourism and education exports could also be subject to a consumer boycott if Canberra persisted with a push for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Juan Francisco Medrano got his start as a Philly businessman in 2004 when he owned the Family Grocery at the corner of 35th Street and Allegheny Avenue. He began building relationships with local business owners while also developing a career in broadcast media here, just like he did in his native Valverde, a province in the northern region of the Dominican Republic.

After running the bodega for three years, Medrano in 2009 started Actualidad Informativa, a live daily radio show for La Unika 1680AM. In 2015, the show became a weekly venture and is televised locally through NBCUniversals Telemundo 62.

Medrano, who uses the first name Franklin, worked as the assistant program coordinator for the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce between 2011 and 2016. He would help Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs to obtain loans and other resources.

In 2014, Medrano had a conversation with Luis Mora, the founder and president of the nonprofit lending institution Finanta, about creating a chamber of commerce for Dominican business owners. In 2018, Medrano and his wife, Angie Millan, originally from Cali, Colombia, sought a 501(c)(3) exemption to develop a nonprofit to serve the community of small-business owners in the Latino community.

On March 20, the couple was notified that the Dominican-American Chamber of Commerce had been officially approved, in the midst of a pandemic that has created financial stress in all business sectors. Since then, five volunteers have helped Medrano, 50, and Millan, 42, with guidance and resources as well as technical and language assistance for the more than 22,500 Latino businesses in Philadelphia, the nearby Pennsylvania suburbs, northern Delaware, and South Jersey.

In a recent interview, Medrano spoke about how the chamber is focused on immediately helping business owners  more than 500 have signed up so far  while also working on establishing the formal structure and mission statement for the nonprofit.

How has it been to start operating a chamber of commerce when Latino business owners are experiencing such financial stress?

Its been hands-on from the very beginning. Weve focused on helping the business community with access to information on a personalized level, and with the support needed to apply for the relief programs, so we are working a regular operation, but we have no structure yet. I laugh at myself sometimes when I think we have submitted applications for 106 businesses [through April 30], and 33 of those have received approvals for the PPP loans, and we dont have an approved mission statement by our board members. [laughs] Dont get me wrong, we have met with our board members and worked out some of the basic structuring of the chamber, but weve focused on learning what the business owners need right now to be able to help. We dont have a website yet. We havent officially launched the chamber. But, we work until 5 a.m. some days.

Why create a chamber for the Dominican business owners?

After years working as a liaison between the business owners and the resources, we have learned through the CPAs who work with our business community that there is a vast group of Dominicans running businesses in the Delaware Valley. Not too long ago, we had pretty solid entities like the Bodegueros and Grocery Store Owners Association and the Dominican Merchants Association, that had a strong reputation and influence in the city. That leadership has diminished, and so has our organizing as a community.

So, we saw the need to organize, again, and to present numbers of our presence. There are no exact numbers of how many Latino-owned business we have in our area, not with the city or with any chamber of commerce. We need to change that in order to have officials engage with our needs and recognize our efforts, develop resources and programs that are tailored to our specific business structures. Yes, its called the Dominican Chamber, but we dont discriminate. Its for all the Latino businesswomen and men who need support, representation, and an entity that can really advocates for their interests.

What is the chamber trying to accomplish and how will it do so?

One of the challenges is to create a register of the Latino-owned businesses in the Delaware Valley, especially the ones owned by Dominicans. Weve started this with a no-cost membership base that owners can apply for by filling out a form we send via WhatsApp. This way we learn the owners nationality and background, the business address, size, and industry sector, among other details. The owners became part of this large database we use to connect with them on a personal basis via chat apps, phone, or email, to share information about opportunities and to send out videos we produce that explain how to access resources. So far, there are 516 members in our register.

On the other hand, we want the chamber to be the liaison, a communication vehicle, for the business owners, the Small Business Administration, and everything in between. The pandemic has made evident this huge disparity that Latino businesses have when having access to capital, the language proficiency, and the use of technologies. Angie, who is the brain of all our operations, is working with the volunteers to connect business owners with grant opportunities and lenders, benefits and resources that the city has been providing for years and most didnt know about, webinars about business and marketing strategies and has been assisting with the filling of applications and the gathering of documentation. Im just the bullhorn here!

There are many chambers to work with in the Delaware Valley, even one for the Hispanic communities. What will the Dominican-American chamber do differently?

You know, Philadelphia is a place that breathes a sense of community, and once one has established themselves here, you dont want to leave the city. We want to provide that to the Latino business owner: a community that supports them while they establish and helps them stay that way. A business owner in Philadelphia, Camden, North Delaware, anywhere should have someone to call when that person needs assistance opening an email [message]. We are here to call that person, and speak in their native language. We are also here to serve as watchdogs for the businesspersons best interest, keeping an eye on the next legislation being passed by City Council, ready to advocate for policies that dont hurt or over-police Latino businesses.

What can you tell us about the chambers members and the organizations that are supporting the chambers work so far?

The majority of businesses on our newly created database are owned by Dominicans, followed by Colombians, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Brazilians in sectors like bodegas, multiservice businesses, beauty salons, taxi companies, barber shops, restaurants, and construction firms. We are working with other nonprofits dedicated to the Latino business sector, such as Finanta, Community First Fund, and Widener Universitys Small Business Development Center. We also look forward to connecting with the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Nueva Esperanza.

Are you worried that others might consider this a rough start for a nonprofit?

Being entirely honest, I do. We are not structured, we arent, and this [Inquirer interview] is a huge exposure. But, work is what keeps us up at night. The joy of doing it, too. In the past days, Angie and I were speaking with a client on FaceTime, trying to guide him to configure his email account on his phone. To make the story short, the client opened the inbox message and it was the approval for a PPP loan. We were jumping with excitement. It all became a virtual party after that.

Once the storm caused by the pandemic calms down, what are the plans for the chamber?

We need to get back to the structure of the chamber and finish that. We plan to work with a grant-based budget, at least for the next two years, because the time isnt right for [membership fees]. This will give us time to create a work history. How many business owners have we have helped and what are the benefits we have brought to the community [over the next two years]?

Representatives for the Dominican-American Chamber of Commerce can be contacted at dominicanchamber@gmail.com
Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter, Navya Naveli, has launched Aara Health, a platform where women can discuss health related issues. Aara Health's Instagram page stated that its mission is to encourage empowered and educated decision making among women, when it comes to their health. Navya's mother, Shweta Nanda Bachchan, uncle Abhishek Bachchan, and other celebrities congratulated her for her enterprise.

Aara Health's mission is stated as, 'Encouraging women to make empowered and educated health choices using Aara's safe, confidential, and scientifically reliable products, tools and services.'

Aara Health's Instagram page also described themselves as 'a virtual healthcare platform for women that aims to empower, educate and diagnose in a confidential, safe and reliable manner'.

Abhishek Bachchan, proud of his niece, commented, "Well done Navya. Proud of you." Her mother, Shweta wrote, "Congratulations Navya." Navya's rumoured boyfriend, Meezan, son of actor Jaaved Jaafrey commented, "Go follow @aarahealth Congratulations Navya Nanda."

Navya graduated from college just a few days back, but she could not attend her graduation ceremony in New York, because of the Coronavirus crisis. However, she did not miss out on the opportunity to go through this rite of passage, and celebrated her graduation at home in Mumbai.

Navya's grandpa Amitabh took to his social media to post pictures of Navya posing in a DIY graduation robe and cap. He wrote how Navya wanted to celebrate her graduation at home, and so her gown and cap were stitched by staff.

ALSO READ: Navya Naveli Gets DIY Graduation Ceremony; Amitabh And Abhishek Bachchan Congratulate Her

ALSO READ: Abhishek Bachchan's Cute Birthday Wish For Niece Navya Naveli: Mamu Loves You Very Much


The result is a fair-minded and thorough, if somewhat bloodless, compendium that, by design, contains little likely to surprise informed readers. Condensing so much complexity into a lucid 400 pages is no small accomplishment, but its easy to wonder whether more colorful prose or probing analysis might have better fulfilled Haasss goal of inspiring interest in his subject.

Haasss restrained approach does not mean that the book lacks big takeaways. Above all, he underscores the growing disarray that has beset the world since the end of the Cold War. He acknowledges positive trends that have played out in the last few decades, including a fall in the proportion of world population living in extreme poverty from more than one-third 30 years ago to less than one-tenth today. But Haass mostly emphasizes grim developments like declining support for democratic institutions, rapidly growing global inequality and the resurgence of great power rivalries as China and Russia assert themselves. Its hard to argue with his prediction of accelerating global disorder in the years ahead.

Another big theme is the widening gap between the desire of governments to guard their sovereign prerogatives and the inescapability of global problems that can be addressed only through shared sacrifice and the empowerment of international institutions. The Vegas rule  what happens in a single nation stays there  does not apply in todays global world, he quips. Greenhouse gases, economic downturns and extremist ideologies, to name just three examples, respect no borders and defy the best efforts of nations to insulate themselves.

The same goes for epidemic diseases. Haass does not mention the coronavirus, which erupted well after he sent his book off to the publisher, and touches on pandemics only in passing. Still, he provides a helpful frame within which to think about a crisis that simultaneously underscores the need for global cooperation against threats that transcend national borders and encourages nations to barricade themselves against dangers from abroad. If Haass had gone to press a few months later, Covid-19 might well have been Exhibit A for the conflicting trends at the very heart of his analysis.

The World proceeds in the style of a reference book. In the first few chapters, Haass takes a historical approach, recounting the broad flow of international relations since 1648, when a peace settlement among the European powers enshrined the notion of sovereign nation-states independent of any higher authority. Marching through modern diplomatic history, Haass demonstrates the potential for beneficial balances of power but more often the dangers of disunity and violence in a world organized in this way. Missing from his analysis is any detailed exploration of the historical roles played by companies, religious movements, activist groups and international organizations in shaping the behavior of nations.
NBFCs have received Rs 1.18 lakh crore from these banks during the period between 1 March and 8 May.

New Delhi: Public sector banks (PSBs) have sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore in the last two months to various sectors, including MSME, agriculture and corporate, hit hard by COVID-19-induced nationwide lockdown.

PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore for more than 46.74 lakh accounts from the MSME, Retail, Agriculture & Corporate sectors between March 1 and May 8, 2020. Total financing worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore was provided to NBFCs. @FinMinIndia @DFS_India @RBI @PIB_India  NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) May 12, 2020

Non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) have received Rs 1.18 lakh crore from these banks during the period between 1 March and 8 May.

PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore for more than 46.74 lakh accounts from the MSME, Retail, Agriculture & Corporate sectors between March 1 and May 8, 2020. Total financing worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore was provided to NBFCs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet on Tuesday.

With the lockdown coming into effect from 25 March, state-owned banks opened an additional line of credit of 10 percent of the existing fund based on working capital limits, subject to a maximum of Rs 200 crore.

Between 20 March - 8 May, public sector banks contacted 97 percent of borrowers eligible for emergency credit lines & working capital enhancements and sanctioned loans worth Rs 65,879 crore, up from the Rs 26,500 crore sanctioned as of 4 May, Sitharaman said in another tweet.

The central government had imposed a 21-day lockdown from 25 March to check the spread of coronavirus.

The lockdown has been extended till 17 May with some relaxations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to address the nation later today that may give direction to future course of action to deal with the pandemic.
The Kwesimintsim Police Command in the Western Region has arrested their colleague Sergeant Nuhu Mohammed for shooting sporadically at the residence of his girlfriend at Lagos town, a suburb in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality of the Western Region.

The lady, identified by the police as Sylvestina Arthur, according to sources, demanded one thousand Ghana cedis from her police boyfriend, now in custody, to seek medical attention but did not attend the hospital after receiving the said money.

Instead, Sylvestina Arthur went to another male friends house and spent the night there.

A police source who briefed Empire News Emmanuel Ohene-Gyan revealed that Sergeant Nuhu Mohammed who was at the girl friends house could not believe she had left for another mans residence.

Infuriated by the action, Sergeant Mohammed gave multiple shots and destroyed some personal belongings to show his displeasure about the raw deal handed to him. The two were arrested while investigations continue but the lady has been granted bail while Sergeant Nuhu Mohammed is still in custody.

Meanwhile, the Kwesimintsim Police Commander Supt Peter Lennox Aidoo declined to comment on the matter when contacted.

---starrfmonline
LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven Deliveries Inc. (the "Company" or "Driven") (OTCQB: DRVD), California's fastest growing online cannabis retailer and direct-to-consumer logistics company, announced today that the Company has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Mozen Inc, a California based cannabis lifestyle brand. The Company and Mozen will begin due diligence for the all stock transaction and the execution of a definitive merger agreement is expected to close during the third quarter of 2020.

The Company's online retail divisions, Ganjarunner and Budee , have been carrying Mozen products for over a year with a high degree of success and consumer demand. The target audience is professionals between the ages of 30 and 55 who are looking at the benefits of cannabis, but have not been active users. The branding provides an easy understanding of the product effects and strengths which provides clarity in a rather confusing market full of buzzwords and ingredients.

Mozen currently offers 4 different disposable vaporizer SKU's; Power Up , Seize the Day, Rest and Chil l and Good Night . "The simplicity of the product positioning and packaging is unique and very well received by consumers," said, Christian Schenk, CEO Driven Deliveries Inc. "Disposable vape pens is the 4th highest volume category on our menus. By owning the brand and the supply chain we will be better positioned to capture a higher margin for a leading product base among our customer base. The volume growth trend for vape products is continuing with increased demand."

Driven plans to expand the portfolio of products as well as the distribution not only across the State of California, but out of State as well, where legally permissible.

"We evaluated several suitors during the first quarter of 2020 and Driven provided the most value for our loyal customers," said Mark Davis, President, Mozen Inc. "We have always believed that a best-in-class delivery platform is the preferred method for adult professionals, parents and active retirees to purchase cannabis. We are really excited to work with the Driven team to expand the Mozen brand with more innovative products and new categories and execute our shared vision for creating a high growth Cannabis business. Our customers have had nothing but great experiences with Driven's retail brands, ganjarunner and Budee and we have greatly benefited from their continued success. We look forward to working towards entering into a merger agreement with Driven," added Davis.

About Mozen

Mozen, which means "Balance" in Hebrew, is a lifestyle brand offering customers a smart, simple and safe way to enjoy cannabis and find balance. Founded by brothers Mark and Brian Davis in Los Angeles, Mozen products use unique cannabis oil blends conveniently packed into all-in-one, disposable vape pens. The current Mozen vape product line includes four strain options ranging from the indica-dominant "Good Night" and "Rest and Chill" for those looking to find relief and unwind, to the sativa-dominant, feel-good blends "Power Up" and "Seize the Day".

About Driven:

Driven Deliveries, Inc., is the first publicly traded cannabis delivery service operating within the United States. Founded by experienced technology and cannabis executives, the company provides e-commerce solutions, online sales, and on-demand cannabis delivery, in select cities where allowed by law. Driven offers legal cannabis consumers the ability to purchase and receive their marijuana in a fast and convenient manner. By 2020, legitimate cannabis revenue in the U.S. market is projected to hit $23 billion. By leveraging consumer trends, and offering a proprietary, turnkey delivery system to its customers, management believes it is uniquely positioned to best serve the needs of the emerging cannabis industry and capture notable market share within the sector. For more information, please visit www.DRVD.com and review Driven's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-looking Statements:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations, and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that we will achieve these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions. The Company and Mozen have not yet entered into a definitive agreement and there cannot be any assurance that the Company will execute a definitive merger agreement with Mozen or that the merger will be completed. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Contact:

KCSA Strategic Communications

Valter Pinto or Elizabeth Barker

+1 212-896-1254 or +1 212-896-1203

[email protected]

SOURCE Driven Deliveries, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.drvd.com


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 10:21:55|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Italian government said on Monday it would allow local authorities to decide when to lift the restrictions imposed in March to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported.

The province of Alto Adige became the first to reopen restaurants, bars and libraries on Monday, the Local Italy reported.

On March 9, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the whole of Italy would be placed under lockdown from March 10.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 30,739 lives in Italy, according to the latest data released by the country's Civil Protection Department on Monday. Enditem
As the number of coronavirus disease cases rise in Pakistan, Opposition parties slammed the Imran Khan government for mishandling the crisis. The Opposition questioned the governments move to ease lockdown.

The criticism was led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former defence minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly.

The current situation that we are in is due to the approximately two months-long negligence showed by the government. When we had fewer deaths, the entire country was completely shut down. Now that we are seeing a dangerous spike in cases, they are easing lockdown restrictions, he said on Monday.

The National Assembly convened after a gap of nearly two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaker Asad Qaiser is among those who contracted the virus and is under recovery.

Two weeks ago, we were told that our testing capacity will be increased to 50,000. But now we are being told that it is only 20,000, said Asif.

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the federal government was impeding efforts of the Sindh government to address the coronavirus crisis. He said that an ordinance prepared by the provincial government was not allowed by the governor.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi defended the governments handling of the pandemic, saying the situation of Covid-19 in Pakistan was different as compared to Europe and the United States.

Our death and infection rate is 2.17 per cent. Across the world this percentage is 6.8. So we have been largely spared from the larger consequences of this pandemic, he said.

Qureshi also claimed that Pakistan was ahead of other South Asian countries in handling the coronavirus crisis.

Minister of Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said hunger was as much a threat to Pakistan as the coronavirus itself. Ours is not a western developed country where people can sit home and eat. We have to balance hunger and poverty with the virus, he said in the National Assembly.

He said that if the government continued with the lockdown, 20 million people would go below the poverty line.

The number of Covid-19 cases jumped to 31,684 in Pakistan. Out of these, Punjab registered 11,568 cases, Sindh 12,017, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 4,875, Balochistan 2,017, Islamabad 679, Gilgit-Baltistan 442 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 86 patients.

A total of 28 more people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of Covid-19 deaths in Pakistan to 667. Another 8,212 recovered so far.
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S ir Keir Starmer is currently more popular with British people than Boris Johnson, a new poll suggests.

A YouGov survey carried out over the weekend found that 40 per cent of Brits believe the Labour leader is doing either "fairly well" or "very well" and 17 per cent think he is performing "fairly badly" or "very badly".

The Prime Minister is more divisive  57 per cent think he is doing "fairly well" or "very well," while 35 per cent think he is doing "fairly badly" or "very badly", the survey found.

This gives Sir Keir, who became Labour leader in April, a one-point lead over Mr Johnson.

Boris Johnson in London / Getty Images

Forty-four per cent of respondents said they didn't know how Sir Keir was performing, while just seven per cent said the same about Mr Johnson.

The PM's poll ratings have dropped since April, when 66 per cent of respondents said that he was performing well and 26 per cent that he was doing badly.

Sir Keir's performances in the House of Commons have been praised as "forensic" and his debate with Mr Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions likened to "a quietly terrifying force".

The Labour leader has vowed to work "constructively" with the Prime Minister but has asked for "clarity and reassurance" on his new plans for easing the coronavirus lockdown.

Leading pollster Sir John Curtice told the Express: Its very early days, and Starmer is not terribly well-known, and one of the basic jobs is to get better known, and obviously the circumstances in which he has got the leadership make that difficult, but the indication so far is that is more likely to be regarded as prime ministerial than was Corbyn, which is not bad for a start.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 15:29:02

Andesat Peru launches #TeConectamosPeru to expand life-changing cellular and internet coverage to remote areas of Latin America

Intelsat and Andesat bring Mobile Broadband to Rural Communities in Peru

Meghan Macdonald: meghan.macdonald@intelsat.com; +1 (703) 559-7372

Pilar Bonilla: pilar.bonilla@intelsat.com; +1 (786) 206-4037

Intelsat (NYSE: I) and Andesat are partnering to bring end-to-end mobile broadband (3G) service to remote communities across Peru. The two companies have developed a new model that will quickly and efficiently bring life-changing 3G access to 154 rural Peruvian communities in 2020, and as many as 400 remote sites in Peru over the next 18 months.

"It will help us solve many things, being aware of diseases, access to knowledge. We no longer feel left behind. We now have what other villages and cities do, said newly connected Peruvian paramedic Carlos Rengifo, who is featured in the #TeConectamosPeru campaign that Andesat launched last week to promote the initiative.

Research shows that connectivity can have life-changing impacts for unconnected remote communities. The World Bank estimates that for every 10 percent increase in high-speed Internet connections, a countrys gross domestic product rises approximately by 1.4 percent.

With internet connectivity, those living in remote areas can participate in e-banking, use telemedicine resources and access potentially life-saving weather reports. Internet access also brings medium and long-term effects to remote areas, expanding access to educational and vocational resources, helping businesses operate more efficiently and ultimately, strengthening the areas foundation for future economic growth.

Until now, bringing connectivity to the remote regions of Peru has been deemed too risky for any one mobile network operator (MNO) or communications service provider to tackle alone. The innovative and cooperative model pioneered by Andesat and Intelsat enables the companies to share infrastructure- and network-build expenses as well as revenues. In turn, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) only pay for the traffic that their end-users consume.

The collaborative model holds the potential to be replicated throughout Latin America and help MNOs connect end-users in remote and rural areas. The Peruvian government alone has identified over 16,000 rural sites of National Interest in need of connectivity.

Andesat is using its Rural Mobile Infrastructure Operator license (OIMR) to connect remote sites in Peru, sourcing tower sites, designing and building towers and taking point on equipment for the connectivity initiative. Intelsat is leveraging its scale, infrastructure and expertise to assist Andesat in building out the integrated land-space, mobile broadband (3G) infrastructure, bandwidth capacity and service operations to meet evolving end-user demand.

This initiative is going to change lives in a fundamental way, said Andesat Group CEO Pablo Rasore. In addition to enabling the people of the remote regions of Peru to communicate, its going to enable Peruvians, not only to reach the world in a new and different way for the first time, but to be protagonists in building their own future.

One of Perus regional Mobile Network Operators (MNO) is currently leveraging the Intelsat-Andesat model to bring voice and data services to new local subscribers, helping to cement its service-delivery reputation in the region and benefitting a potential universe of 60,000 towns and villages and a total of more than three million people.

Intelsat and Andesat have long enjoyed a partnership in providing communication services to individuals, communities and businesses across Latin America, said Intelsat Regional Vice President of Latin America, Juan Pablo Cofino. Were thrilled to extend our partnership through this innovative model and bring affordable, reliable connectivity to thousands of people throughout Peru. For more than 50 years, Intelsat has connected the unconnected and reliably delivered content and connectivity to people wherever they need it, even the most remote areas on earth.

For additional information on Andesats #TeConectamosPeru initiative, please visit www.teconectamosperu.com.

About Intelsat:

As the foundational architects of satellite technology, Intelsat operates the worlds largest and most advanced satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure. We apply our unparalleled expertise and global scale to connect people, businesses and communities, no matter how difficult the challenge. Intelsat is uniquely positioned to help our customers turn possibilities into reality  transformation happens when businesses, governments and communities use Intelsats next-generation global network and managed services to build their connected future. Learn more at Intelsat.com.

About Andesat:

Andesat is a Group of Companies that operates in the Andean Region of Latin America, specialized in providing Corporate Value-added Services to different verticals since the year 2010. With three Teleports and 6 Satellites, we cover all of the Andean Region and provide connectivity to remote areas, with a main objective of expanding cellular networks in rural areas. We are committed to reach a little bit further every day, and to keep working towards a country accessible to everyone. We have no limits. The possibilities are infinite. Learn more about the Andesat Group at www.grupoandesat.com/eng and www.andesat.com.pe/en/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005
British historian and TV presenter Michael Wood has said he is delighted to see that his newly released documentary about Du Fu, a prolific Chinese poet in Tang dynasty, has helped boost cultural understanding between different cultures especially during the novel coronavirus lockdown when mutual appreciation is particularly important.

Cultural connection vital

The one-hour documentary Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet, was recently aired on the BBC. From the Yellow River to the Yangtze Gorges, Wood traveled in the footsteps of Du Fu, conjuring up the extraordinary life, times and words of one of China's most-loved poets who lived some 1,300 years ago.

In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Wood said this film, in which Du Fu was first introduced to the Western world in documentary form, has drawn lots of attention in Britain.

"A lot of the audience were saying this was a good time to do it because it helps understanding and it's about human feelings and ideas," he said, "We also got a lot of people in Britain saying it had opened their eyes to an aspect of Chinese culture that they were unaware of. They don't know China has the oldest living continuous tradition of poetry in the world."

He added that some people have shown keen interest in China and Chinese poetry after watching the documentary.

"We've got quite a few letters from people saying they've been inspired to order translations of Du Fu's poems. You know, we're in the lockdown here and they want to get deeper and look further," he said.

This kind of cultural connection is vital, especially at a time when COVID-19 outbreak poses global challenge and is damaging cultural relations among different countries, noted Wood, who is also professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and president of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU).

China-bashing concern

The professor also expressed his grave concern over the damage that unfounded China-bashing could do to cultural exchanges.

"It is a bit worried, especially when you hear the noises...and there is prejudice that Chinese people do not in any way deserve," he told Xinhua.

The professor warned the COVID-19-related damage to cultural links could exit in all sorts of ways. He took his hometown Manchester as an example, to stress the importance of keeping connections with China and fighting against the prejudices floating around at the moment.

"Manchester always has a big connection with China and the University of Manchester has the biggest Chinese student population, not only in the UK, but in whole Europe. So Chinese culture, Chinese everything, is a big thing in Manchester. But we are very worried now that the COVID-19 outbreak will affect those kind of cultural exchanges as well," he said.

He expressed hope that things could take a turn for the better and "we hope that Chinese students will still want to come on study in Manchester, in Britain. Because it is through these links that you make a better world for everybody."
The Haryana government on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it had requested the additional chief secretary of the home department of the Delhi government to issue special passes to the employees working with the Delhi government to facilitate their commute to and from Delhi. However, to date, no reply has been received from the Delhi government.

A senior official in the chief ministers office said, We havent received any letter from Haryana government.

Stating that about 56% of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the national capital region districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Jhajjar and Sonepat had Delhi connections, the Haryana government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court they would allow the movement of medical professionals from Delhi only on the basis of passes. Gurugram and Faridabad, on Tuesday, did allow medical professionals, health workers and sanitation personnel to cross the borders from Delhi, said the police, nearly two weeks after Haryana government curbed the movement of people from the Capital. Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner (DC), Gurugram, said, The borders connecting Delhi have now been de-sealed for people associated with emergency services and for medical professionals. We will monitor the situation closely and changes will be made only after the situation has been brought under control. Unregulated movement at the Gurugram-Delhi borders will not be allowed.

Hearing a public interest litigation, the Delhi HC on May 8 had said that orders of Sonepat district magistrate (DM) obstructing the movement of doctors, nurses, court officials and trucks from Delhi to Sonepat constituted an infringement of the constitutional provisions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 1 asked the states to ensure that interstate movement of medical professionals, nurses, paramedics is facilitated. The directions came after the issue of restrictions being imposed by some states including Haryana was flagged during a meeting of the cabinet secretary and state governments on Sunday.  Ensuring unhindered movement of medical professionals is essential for meeting public health requirements and saving precious human lives, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in his communication to the state governments.

Haryanas additional advocate general (AAG) Anil Grover who appeared for the state government on Monday told the court that in furtherance of May 11 directions of the MHA, the state government has evolved a procedure of movement passes (e-passes) which will be given to medical professionals without any hassle. Today we have provided about 55 passes to medical professionals living in Haryanas NCR districts and working in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to facilitate their interstate movement around the national capital, Grover said.

The neighbouring state told the court that they since the majority of cases till May 9 in the bordering districts of Haryana are mainly due to their Delhi connection, it became imperative in the interest of the public to impose stricter restrictions on the movement of people.

The HC, however, asked the Central government to convince the state government not to press for movement passes and resolve the issue. A bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Sanjeev Narula also asked the Haryana government for an additional affidavit detailing the situation on the ground and posted the matter for May 14.

The AAG said that the argument is centred around the fact that the majority of Covid-19 cases in four districts were an outcome of the daily commute of passengers from Haryanas NCR districts to the national capital. He also stated that the movement of doctors, nurses and paramedics is not being halted on the borders.

The movement restriction orders are not Delhi-centric. They applied to interdistrict travel within Haryana as well as to the movement of commuters to Uttar Pradesh, the AAG said.  The entire endeavour is to ensure that the pandemic does not enter the rural areas of Haryana because there will be havoc if it does, Grover told the HC.

In an affidavit filed before the court, the state government said that the April 30 orders of Sonepat district magistrate had exempted the movement of ambulances, ATM cash vans, LPG, oil containers, tankers from Delhi. Besides, the movement of grains, milk, poultry, cereals, lentils and other eatables, excluding fruits and vegetables from Delhi, green and dry fodder, medicines and medical equipment and transit logistics movement of essential and non-essential goods was allowed by the Sonepat administration.

The Haryana government, in the affidavit, also told the Court that on April 24, the deputy commissioner, Sonepat, had written to the Delhi government stating that the e- passes for the government employees would not only help in the regulation of movement but also have prevented people from Delhi, claiming to be on official duty.
Oregon State University hopes to have faculty and students return to campus for the fall term, according to a Monday statement posted online.

Reopening the Corvallis and Bend campuses would first depend on state approval, but the university has drafted a Pandemic Resumption Plan to give its student community an outline of what to expect. The plan is modeled after guidance from the Oregon Health Authority. Similar to the states framework for reopening, the university has a 3-phased plan, with the best-case scenario being a reopening for the fall term.

Elements of the plan to return to in-person instruction include classes with physical distancing, modified extension programming, and hybrid instruction. Remote technology would still be used to reduce classroom density.

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

While there is uncertainty ahead for all of us, we want everyone to know that OSU is here for them, said Edward Feser, Oregon States provost and executive vice president, in a statement.

We will accommodate the uncertainty together and support students on their path to graduation and success in life, career and community. And we will continue our efforts to solve the worlds most pressing problems through our research and innovation and to advance the prosperity of all Oregonians and their communities through the work of the OSU Extension Service.

The plan is still flexible and open to revision. The university invited students and staff to offer their feedback on how to best go about resuming on-campus curriculum while ensuring everyones health and safety. Comments or questions can be sent to: osuresumption@oregonstate.edu.

This article was originally published by KOIN (6)  one of more than a dozen news organizations throughout the state sharing their coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak to help inform Oregonians about this evolving heath issue.
Top expert will tell Senate that reopening economy too soon may result in needless suffering and death, report says.

A senior health official set to testify before the US Senate will warn legislators about the risks of reopening the economy too soon, saying it could lead to needless suffering and death, according to the New York Times.

Mondays report about the warning from Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the White Houses coronavirus taskforce, came as President Donald Trump pressed states to lift lockdown measures, saying people are dying in the lockdown position, too.

Fauci, who will appear before Congress remotely on Tuesday, told the New York Times healthcare and COVID-19 reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg in an email that his main message to legislators would be on the danger of trying to open the country prematurely.

If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to Open America Again, then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country, Fauci said. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.

The top infectious disease expert was referring to a White House plan that lays out guidelines for state officials considering reopening their economies. The recommendations include registering a sustained decrease in coronavirus infections and implementing robust testing and contact-tracing programmes.

Economic pressure to ease

But spurred on by record job losses, about half of US states have begun easing restrictions without meeting those guidelines. The US is the country hardest-hit by the coronavirus, with some 80,000 known deaths and at least 1.3 million confirmed cases.





Were not reopening based on science, Dr Thomas R Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying by the New York Times. Were reopening based on politics, ideology and public pressure. And I think its going to end badly.

Meanwhile, Trump in a Twitter post complained that Democratic governors were being too slow in lifting restrictions in their states.

The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails, the Republican president tweeted. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Dont play politics. Be safe, move quickly!

Trump was scheduled to travel to the state on Thursday, according to advisories from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Decisions about the pace of reopening are being made with the November general election less than six months away, and Trump is facing the poll in the midst of a public health and economic crisis.

If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I dont think theres a considerable risk, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on the Fox News Sunday television programme.

Matter of fact, I think theres a considerable risk of not reopening. Youre talking about what would be permanent economic damage to the American public.

Government figures on Friday showed a record 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also showed the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7 percent last month  the highest since the Great Depression.

Still, a poll by the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found expansive support for coronavirus-related restrictions.

The survey, published on Monday, found that 71 percent of people in the US favour requiring people to stay in their homes except for essential errands. However, the poll indicates support for such measures has dipped slightly, down from 80 percent two weeks earlier.

Similarly, 67 percent now say they favour requiring bars and restaurants to close, down from 76 percent in the earlier poll.

The poll also suggested declining support for requiring Americans to limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer (from 82 percent to 75 percent) and requiring postponement of non-essential medical care (from 68 percent to 57 percent).
Thousands of auto parts workers returned to factories in Michigan and other states on Monday, a week before production is scheduled to start at the giant assembly plants operated by General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. After a seven-week shutdown, forced by the walkout of workers in infected factories, the Detroit-based auto companies plan to recall thousands of workers to their North American plants on May 18, despite the continuing spread of the deadly virus.

Warren Truck workers before a wave of walkouts shut the industry in mid-March. At least four workers from the suburban Detroit plant have died from COVID-19

According to reports in the local Detroit newspapers, American Axle, Nexteer, BorgWarner, Flex-N-Gate, Magna and other suppliers reopened plants on Monday, while Lear Corp. will restart next week. Last week Michigans Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said manufacturing companies could resume operations on Monday, May 11, even as she extended her stay-at-home order through May 28.

Michigan has 47,552 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,584 fatalities, ranking the fourth highest nationally for deaths behind New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Detroit alone has 2,100 deaths, and the three counties that make up the Detroit metropolitan areaWayne, Oakland and Macombhave a fatality rate of 11.6 percent, 10.9 percent and 11.5 percent respectively, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys Coronavirus Resource Center.

Were apprehensive and scared because it is too early to open the plants, Tonya, a Fiat Chrysler worker at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, told the World Socialist Web Site. The vast majority believe its too soon. We know if we go back people are going to get sick and die. The company and the union are lying to us about the plants being safe. They are trying to pacify us to get us back. We have no faith in them.

Our plant is a city inside a city. There are supposed to be thermal imaging cameras at the turnstiles on the east and west parking lots, and we are supposed to fill out a questionnaire, saying we are healthy and havent come in contact with anybody who is infected. But you might not have a temperature or chills, and you can spread it around half the plant without anyone having a clue, and then you could drop dead from COVID-19.

Last week plants were opened by BMW (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Hyundai (Montgomery, Alabama) and Kia (West Point, Georgia). On Monday, Toyota opened 14 North American plants, including in San Antonio, Texas, Georgetown, Kentucky, Woodstock, Canada and Tijuana and Guanajuato, Mexico. Volvo Cars USA also opened its Ridgeville, South Carolina plant Monday.

On Monday skilled trades workers and team leaders were called back to General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler plants in the US. GM plans to bring back 49,000 hourly workers in the US, 16,000 in Mexico and 3,800 in Canada, and an unknown number of salaried workers by May 18. Ford is calling back an estimated 59,300 hourly and salaried workers in the US, 5,300 in Canada and 6,775 in Mexico next Monday. Fiat Chrysler will call back 44,000 hourly workers in the US, 11,000 in Mexico and 9,000 in Canada, in addition to salaried employees who cannot work from home.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), Unifor in Canada and the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) have all given their blessings to reopen the plants, despite the deadly danger to workers.

Tonya commented, People are asking the union stewards what about childcare. The schools are closed, and you cant take children to day care centers because its not safe. If we stay home with our kids, are we going to lose our jobs? If we go to work, we can bring this home to our spouses and children.

Theyre using economic pressure to get us back. Why are they asking nonessential workers to come back anyway? Its all about making money, not our well-being. They dont care about our lives. They dont want to spend the money on testing, but thats the only way to find out who has it.

Notice from UAW on mandatory testing of union officials at Solidarity House headquarters and joint training centers

Tonya responded to the revelation that top UAW officials were being tested before they returned to the unions Solidarity House headquarters in Detroit and the joint training centers run by the companies and the union. Its outrageous, the UAW officials are getting tested before they return to work while they send us back to the plants without tests, to get sick and die. Its just like Trump and the White House staff. Theyre getting tested to protect themselves, but theyre telling workers they dont have enough tests to make sure were all right. And some of the tests we are getting are no good.

One worker posted the following message on a local Facebook page for Jefferson workers: I have been tested 3 different times for COVID-19, and each time came back negative, but the hospital said I have all the symptoms. I just dont know. Its too soon for work because imagine someone saying they tested negative three times but still got sick. This is scary as hell.

Commenting on Michigan Governor Whitmers decision to allow the resumption of manufacturing, which employed 623,000 state workers in March, Tonya said, If youre going to send the multitudes back into the plants, its no different than reopening the whole state. Whitmer talked a good game, acting like she was not going to get bullied and would defend the lives of Michiganders. But when the auto companies said reopen the plants, she caved.

But she didnt close the plants in the first place. If it hadnt been for the workers walking out on our own, we would have been in the plants for the whole pandemic, Tonya said, pointing to the wave of wildcat strikes and job actions in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Windsor, Ontario that forced the closure of the North American auto industry. These actions were in defiance of the UAW, which sided with management, and the delay cost the lives of at least 27 FCA, Ford and GM workers, along with dozens of parts workers employed in the maquiladora sweatshops across the border in Mexico.

Pointing to the growing resistance of workers all over the world, including demands by GM workers in Silao, Mexico for a joint struggle against the reopening of the plants, Tonya said, All over the world, workers are fed up. We pay union dues, and the unions do nothing for you. The union says, We got trucks to build! But ultimately, it is up to the workers to refuse to work if there is going to be any outcome in our favor. We are going to have to fight for ourselves.

Rank-and-file safety committees, independent of the UAW, is what we need. These committees would create an avenue for workers to get answers and demand safe working conditions, without being bullied and strong-armed by management and the union, she said.

Workers are being rushed back to work, regardless of the danger to their lives, to finance the massive bailout of Wall Street and the superrich carried out by the Trump administration with the full backing of the Congressional Democrats.

In opposition to that, the Socialist Equality Party calls for the rejection of the demand for a return to work until the spread of the pandemic is stopped, and safe and healthy conditions, overseen by rank-and-file safety committees, are established in all workplaces.

At the same time workers must be provided with a monthly income, sufficient to guarantee a decent standard of living for their families until a safe return to work is possible. In opposition to the government bailout, the SEP calls for the expropriation of all large financial and corporate institutions, their conversion into democratically-controlled public utilities, and a massive increase of the tax rate to at least 90 percent on salaries and all unearned income derived from speculative activities of the richest five percent of the population.

These demands are needed, Tonya said, A 90 percent tax on the rich would be right. They say they dont have money to provide for testing and safe workplaces, but they have trillions for the rich. What happened to the billions in profits we made for Chrysler?
Highlights Xiaomi could launch new smartphones in China soon.

The Redmi K30i with a 5G enabled Dimensity 800 chip is expected to launch.

Xiaomi could offer the Redmi K30i as its cheapest 5G smartphone.

Xiaomi keeps on launching a countless number of phones throughout the year, especially under the Redmi series. Yesterday, the Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition was announced as a more powerful version of the K30 5G with just a slight increase in price. However, Redmi has more devices ready for launch and one of them could be its cheapest 5G smartphone, joining the K series of phones. This could also be the first time Redmi may use a MediaTek chip for its K series phone.

According to a recent report from MyDrivers, Xiaomi is planning to announce a couple of new devices and one of them could be the cheapest 5G smartphone from Xiaomi this year. There have been rumours of a cheaper version of the K30 5G phone, mostly under the name of the Redmi K30i. Unlike the K series smartphones, the Redmi K30i is said to be using the MediaTek Dimensity 800 chip, which is one of the few 5G chips in the smartphone market right now.

What is more certain is that Xiaomi may end up launching a phone with the Dimensity 800 chipset. What's uncertain is the device itself. Chances are that Xiaomi could end up launching a completely different phone with this chipset.

If the Redmi K30i ends up launching soon, then it could replace the Redmi K30 4G, the same phone that launched as the Poco X2 in India. Earlier this year, Xiaomi hinted its push to 5G networks in China and hence, it wanted to launch only 5G devices in the country. For the rest of the global markets where 5G is still a distant dream, like India, Xiaomi is designing 4G-only smartphones.

Redmi K30i render

The original Redmi K30 4G variant did not comply with Xiaomi's vision of a 5G-only lineup for China and hence, there were reports of the company working on a scaled-down variant of the Redmi K30 5G. This scaled-down model could use the Dimensity 800 5G chip, a 48-megapixel main rear camera, a single front camera and probably a standard 60Hz LCD display.

On the other hand, there are rumours of Xiaomi launching the Redmi Note 9 series with 5G upgrades. It is speculated that the Redmi Note 9 Pro could end up with the Dimensity 800 chip, thereby offering high levels of performance with support for 5G networks. These 5G models would, however, not make it to India or other global markets.
(Newser)  The attorney who represented George Zimmerman in the fatal 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., now has the opposite case. Mark O'Mara is representing the family of a black teen who was fatally shot before 2am on May 5 as he allegedly attempted to burglarize a vehicle, per the Orlando Sentinel. Sanford Police and the Seminole County State's Attorney Office say there's no plan to bring criminal charges against the unidentified Sanford homeowner who was on a 911 call when he fired two shots from his front door, striking 17-year-old Adrein Green in the back, as state law permits the use of deadly force to prevent "the imminent commission of a forcible felony" and to protect one's home. Officials say the gated yard in which Green was killed is an extension of the home.

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O'Mara, however, argues deadly force is only warranted in a burglary against a person. "Breaking into a car should not lead to a death sentence," he tells the Sentinel. "The statute is quite clear, when you're looking at a life versus propertyand a car is propertylife always should win out." He adds the self-defense argument doesn't apply since "this guy had already called 911, he was in his house, armed with a gun." While the homeowner said he was scared for his wife and newborn, per CNN, he also said he had "busted the shots to scare him off," per WKMG. "You can't shoot at someone to scare them away," O'Mara tells the Sentinel. "You can only shoot at someone when you're in immediate or imminent threat of great bodily injury." He's requesting that the case be presented to a grand jury. (Read more fatal shooting stories.)
The Electoral Commission (EC) has assured Ghanaians that arrangements are advanced for the compilation of a new voters' register.

The register would be hinged upon 'a new Voter Management System for the upcoming 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections' information, which comes on the heels of a heightened agenda by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) against the election management body.

EC Rebuttal

The assurance was contained in a rebuttal of the NDC Minority whose incessant attacks on the capability of the commission to hold a credible election in December was in full flight when Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, addressed the media recently.

In its most scathing reaction yet to the NDC, the EC made reference to the Minority Leader's 7th May 2020 press conference, when he sought to attack the integrity and mandate of the Electoral Commission, as well as the creation of an erroneous impression in the minds of the general public on its attitude as far as the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned.

PPE Propaganda

The commission described as false the disclosure by the NDC that it has received personal protective equipment (PPE) from government as claimed by Haruna Iddrisu, adding the commission finds it troubling that the leader of the Minority party in Parliament will put out information of this nature without substantiating its authenticity.

The EC has since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic taken concrete steps to adhere to the laid-out protocols by the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health and therefore not violated any safety protocols in the discharge of its duties.

The commission takes collective decisions on all electoral processes in conformity with the country's Republican Constitution. It is, therefore, equally worrying that a statement will be made to suggest otherwise with the ultimate goal of tarnishing the image of key officials of the commission.

No Control

The EC reminded the Minority and for that matter the NDC that it would not be subjected to the direction or control of any person or authority in the performance of its functions, except as provided for in the Constitution or any other law consistent with it.

The commission has asked the public to disregard the so-called fictitious election timetable and other letters circulating on social media, purporting to have emanated from the commission.

NDC Agenda

An agenda of calumny against the newly constituted EC began as soon as it took office with the exit of their darling Charlotte Osei who was sacked for abusing her office.

In recent times, however, the attacks have been heightened and consistent with the contents of the leaked agenda of the opposition NDC to pile pressure on the election management body, inter alia.

One of the key components of the discourse of NDC Chairman Ofosu-Ampofo with communication officers of the party is to ensure constant attacks on the person of the EC chairperson and possibly physically occupy the commission's premises.

The NDC is not only seeking to present to Ghanaians a commission which is indifferent to the health of Ghanaians by insisting on going ahead with a new voters' register, it has also sought to create an impression that even within its offices, the protocols are not being observed.

NDC Hoodlums

Last week, the Minority Leader in yet another effort to run down the EC demanded that the commission make an appearance before the House to brief members about what it has been doing, a suggestion that officials of the election management body have been idle.

Earlier, a meeting of the EC in strict compliance with the existing protocols was nearly disrupted when a gang of NDC hoodlums, with Sam George MP for Ningo-Prampram leading the charge, descended upon the venue demanding that they stop the meeting.

It took a squad of police officers to disperse them from the scene.

Haruna Iddrisu mordantly remarked that it is only in Ghana that the exact roll to be used for the elections is unknown with the exercise scheduled to take place in December, another irony from the NDC in their no-love-lost relationship with the EC.

---Daily Guide
Two separate Covid-19 outbreaks in China, including one in Wuhan, have heightened fears of a fresh wave of infections across the country.

Shulan, a city in Chinas northeastern Jilin province, went into wartime mode after a rise in local cases over the weekend, while an official was sacked in Wuhan, where the disease first emerged, for his handling of the situation.

Shulan has reported 14 cases over the past two days, all of which were linked to a 45-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Thursday.

Mayor Jin Hua said the city will adopt strict containment measures, which include tests for large numbers of residents and all people coming back from aboard.

Other containment measures include stopping the sale of fever medication and sending all suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients to designated hospitals.

The woman at the centre of the outbreak worked in the city polices laundry department and the authorities have been trying to trace her recent contacts. However, it is not known how she became infected.

According to Gao Cailin, the provinces deputy party secretary, the Jilin authorities have screened a total of 2,005 people so far, while 290 people have been quarantined as a result of contact tracing.

Shulan was only classified as high risk on Monday, but the disease may already have spread beyond the city.

Late last month one registered Shulan resident who was wanted by police on the other side of the country was found to be infected after he arrived in Sichuan province.

On April 28 the 30-year-old, identified only by his surname Ming, was detained in Yanji, another city in Jilin near the border with Russia and North Korea, where had been working in a car repair plant.

The following day he arrived in Gulin county in Sichuan and was tested by police.

Ming had not displayed any symptoms and was held overnight in a cell with nine other inmates but returned a positive test on April 30. Police have not said what crime he was wanted for.

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Meanwhile in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei, six new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the Sanmin residential community on Saturday and Sunday.

They were the first cases in the city since its strict lockdown conditions were lifted a month ago.

The city government said an official had been sacked for his poor control of the disease in the community.

The official, named Zhang Yuxin, was removed from his post as secretary of the local branch of the Communist Party.

One of the new cases had been a close contact of another case that was reported on Saturday, the citys health commission said, and the other four confirmed cases had been asymptomatic.

The Sanmin communitys roughly 5,000 residents will be given tests and those who come back negative will be given a green code that will allow them to leave the community to go to work, news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Monday.

At present, Wuhan is still facing huge pressure to control the pandemic, the health commission said. We need to always bear in mind that we have to control both imported cases as well as local cases, and resolutely keep the resurgence of Covid-19 at bay.

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This article New Chinese Covid-19 cases raise fears of fresh wave of infections as disease returns to Wuhan first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
ATLANTA, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pope McGlamry, P.C., a premier civil litigation firm in Georgia, is proud to announce that shareholder Mike McGlamry has been appointed as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs in In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, Multi-District Litigation (MDL) No. 2924, by the Honorable Robin L. Rosenberg. In light of the continuing Coronavirus pandemic, the Court took unprecedented steps to ensure all applicants were heard by conducting two full days of leadership applicant interviews via a Zoom hearing attended by almost 100 attorneys. Judge Rosenberg heard from and questioned more than 60 applicants prior to making her appointments. While giving opening remarks on Day 1, Judge Rosenberg indicated her interest in all aspects of diversity and welcomed the applicants' thoughts on how diversity may play a role in leadership. During Mike McGlamry's interview, he suggested to the Court he would like to see a diverse Plaintiffs' Leadership group, one made up equally of men and women. And indeed, Judge Rosenberg created a Plaintiffs' Steering Committee comprised of 10 men and 10 women. The Court went even further in creating a Leadership Development Committee, a novel and innovative idea to allow younger attorneys in the mass tort world to gain leadership experience.

Mike will serve as Co-Lead Counsel alongside Bobby Gilbert (Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert), Tracy Finken (Anapol Weiss), and Adam Pulaski (Pulaski Kherkher). The order appointing Plaintiffs' Leadership can be seen on the Pope McGlamry website. Prior to his appointment as Co-Lead, Mike was appointed by Judge Rosenberg to serve on the Initial Census Team and April Deliverables Team. The Initial Census Team was created by Judge Rosenberg to design and implement an initial census and registry process. While gathering data through an initial census has become a trend in recent MDLs, the census and registry process Judge Rosenberg has implemented in this litigation is unprecedented, and one both Plaintiffs and Defendants believe will be of great benefit. Mike was also appointed to the April Deliverables Team, where he was responsible for filings and submissions, discovery efforts and continued implementation of the census on behalf of the Plaintiffs. Pope McGlamry attorneys Kirk Pope, Courtney Mohammadi, and Caroline McGlamry will be assisting Mike with the Zantac litigation.

The Zantac MDL is based in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and will join defective drug liability cases from all over the country against the makers and distributors of Zantac including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi. Cases in the MDL seek to provide compensation for individuals that have developed cancer as a result of taking Zantac or Ranitidine.

Zantac/Ranitidine is an antacid and antihistamine that was commonly used to treat and prevent heartburn, as well as stomach ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and conditions that cause too much stomach acid. On April 1, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recall requesting that all manufacturers immediately withdraw prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) Zantac/Ranitidine products due to excess levels of NDMA, a probable human carcinogen in the drug that has also been found in rocket fuel. The FDA noted that its ongoing investigation of Zantac/Ranitidine determined that levels of NDMA increase over time and when the drug is stored at higher-than-normal temperatures. Consumers have been advised to stop taking any Zantac/Ranitidine tablets or liquid medications. To read more about Zantac/Ranitidine, please visit our website at https://www.pmkm.com/practice-areas/defective-drugs/zantac-ranitidine-lawsuit/.

If you or a loved one took Zantac/Ranitidine for at least 6 months and were subsequently diagnosed with cancer, you may have a legal claim for compensation. Contact our experienced attorneys to discuss your potential case.

Pope McGlamry, P.C. maintains offices in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia. The firm specializes in mass tort, class action, products liability and commercial litigation. Pope McGlamry, P.C. also represents individuals in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

Contact:

Amala Sarvepalli

404-523-7706

[email protected]

SOURCE Pope McGlamry

Related Links

http://www.popemcglamry.com


RIDGEFIELD, Conn., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With many New York City residents considering relocation after COVID-19, one Connecticut real estate team offers a simple calculation to validate moving. The backyard barometer of 'People per Acre' (PPA) seems to provide the final justification needed by those transitioning from citywide to countryside living.

Consider www.PeoplePerAcre.com When Moving from New York City to Fairfield County, Connecticut and Contact www.CarissaAndDouglas.com Please Contact Carissa and Douglas Properties at www.CarissaAndDouglas.com if you are considering moving to Connecticut from New York City

"90% of our showings this month have been to clients planning a move out of the city," says Carissa McMahon, partner at Carissa & Douglas Properties and Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Specialist (NY-CT) for nearly 20 years. "Being only a stone's throw from Manhattan gives Lower Fairfield County unparalleled positioning for the spring and summer markets."

With 2020 hindsight, neighborhood population density has become increasingly relevant. Perhaps there are times in life when the best place to be is where nobody is?

Fellow partner, Douglas Jones, suggests integrating this renewed appreciation for distancing into property valuations. As a Fairfield County resident for almost 40 years, Jones has always considered towns such as Wilton, Ridgefield, Redding, New Canaan, and Greenwich to be rural respites, affording families the comfort of country living with the convenience of city life.

"The concept of 'People per Acre' helps potential buyers quantify their quality of life in the suburbs," says Jones. "As this example reveals, PPA certainly makes a strong case for a place with some space."

Single Family Home in Redding, CT (www.ThePeakRetreat.com)

4 PEOPLE per family / 2.69 ACRE lot =

1.49 PPA

Single Bedroom Apartment in Manhattan (at similar price point)

2500 PEOPLE per block / 5.45 ACRE block =

458.72 PPA

So, for those seeking a little more breathing space, with the need to rationalize buying their own city block in the country, consider using PPA. As of late, it's simple math.

For complete illustrative representations and detailed explanations of PPA, please visit:

www.PeoplePerAcre.com

Examples of properties for sale in the Connecticut market:

www.RidgewoodBlossoms.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6b_-8cJVqk

www.ThePeakRetreat.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd5tIVT5fAM

www.NestledElms.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP_sYdXCAHU

Carissa & Douglas Properties serves enthusiastic buyers, motivated sellers, and seasoned investors in Lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. Utilizing exceptional multimedia production and online marketing, Carissa & Douglas deliver creative storybook solutions to "Selling Your House by Sharing Your Story," appealing to the most discerning of clientele.

Contact: Carissa McMahon & Douglas Jones

Company Name: Carissa & Douglas Properties

Contact Phone Number: 203-442-4159

Contact Email: [email protected]

Website URL: www.CarissaAndDouglas.com

SOURCE Carissa & Douglas Properties
Australia is still shipping livestock across the world despite the coronavirus lockdown, with demand for meat holding despite the shutdown of restaurants worldwide and the shuttering of the global economy.

And the sector is hopeful that exports to some countries will grow with Vietnam, which has started winding back virus restrictions and is a growing market for Australian beef, a possible opportunity as well as Middle Eastern countries that buy Australian sheep.

The controversial market is worth around $2 billion annually. More than one million cattle and more than two million sheep are sent overseas each year for slaughter, primary to Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Japan and as breeding stock, chiefly to Qatar, the UAE and Jordan.

About half of Australia's live cattle exports are to Indonesia and according to Troy Setter, the chief executive of one Australia's largest live exporters, the Consolidated Pastoral Company, business has been affected by the coronavirus - but the situation could be a lot worse.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks advanced on Tuesday, with upbeat earnings updates from the likes of Vodafone and Kingfisher as well as optimism over lockdown easing plans helping underpin investor sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 rose by 34 points, or 0.58 percent, to 5,974 after finishing marginally higher in the previous session. Vodafone shares jumped as much as 9 percent. The world's second-largest mobile operator maintained its dividend payout after meeting full-year expectations with a 2.6 percent rise in core earnings. Home improvement chain Kingfisher surged 4.6 percent. The company said underlying sales turned positive in the first week of May as more of its stores re-opened from coronavirus lockdowns. Morrison Supermarkets rallied 3.2 percent as it reported sales growth in the first quarter despite 'highly volatile' trading and a worse-than-expected Easter due to the ongoing lockdown in the U.K. Property developer Land Securities plunged 13 percent after reporting a big annual pretax loss. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Irans oil minister said Tuesday that stockpiling gasoline in his country has reached an unprecedented historic level due to falling demand.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, speaking at a meeting of oil industry officials in Tehran, explained that both foreign and domestic demand has fallen as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sanctions imposed by the United States have also substantially reduced Irans crude oil and other exports. Except a limited amount of gasoline unofficially going to neighboring countries, Iran cannot hope to have large-scale exports.

Zanganeh also spoke of falling profits for refineries and the postponement of oil projects in the country. Apparently as a result of less oil production, petrochemical plants receive 40 percent less oil by-products needed for their own production.

Last year, the average daily consumption of gasoline in Iran was 97 million liters or around 25.5 million gallons. But after the start of the pandemic, consumption has fallen to 65 million liters a day in the last two months.

The pandemic has hit fossil fuel prices hard, with oil trading at half the price of three months ago. Iran was counting on reasonably high gasoline prices this year to make hard currency by exporting it to regional countries.
II-VI Incorporated Reports Fiscal 2020 Third Quarter Results Achieves Record Bookings and Backlog

Record Bookings of $840 million and Record Backlog at $893 million

Quarterly Revenue of $627.0 million

Quarterly GAAP Operating Income of $69.0 million

Quarterly Non-GAAP Operating Income of $86.5 million

Quarterly GAAP EPS of $0.06

Quarterly Non-GAAP EPS of $0.47

PITTSBURGH, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- II-VI Incorporated (IIVI) ("II-VI," We or the "Company") today reported results for its fiscal 2020 third quarter ended March 31, 2020.

"In this second full quarter of II-VI operations with Finisar included, we successfully continued our integration activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Vincent D. (Chuck) Mattera, Jr., Chief Executive Officer. "Our mandate and priorities during the pandemic have been clear with respect to our response to this crisis:

Ensure the safety of the II-VI workforce;

Ensure the hygiene and security of our worldwide facilities; and

Maintain full compliance with all government laws, orders and policies that apply to us."

"Our focus on these priorities mitigated the impact of COVID-19 and delivered a great quarter. Despite significant operating challenges, the extraordinary commitment of our employees allowed us to address the steep ramps requested by our customers, and to exceed the high end of our revenue and EPS guidance with record bookings at 22% above our forecast."

"Our global business continuity team supported our operations to deliver these results, and they are a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our global workforce of over 22,000 employees. Our substantial progress at integrating the Finisar acquisition after only two quarters is a result of our experience in assessing markets and acquiring complementary companies with great technology and potential."

Dr. Mattera continued, "Demand in the communications market accelerated considerably throughout the quarter. It was strong across all aspects of our telecom and datacom offerings driven by the acceleration of the build out of the 5G deployments and network infrastructure upgrades. This was most evident in our Transceiver business where bookings far exceeded our expectations during the quarter and customer enthusiasm remained high. We had a second consecutive quarter of record 3D sensing shipments from our Warren, NJ and Easton, PA, operations. We also successfully completed the qualification of our Sherman, TX facility as planned, and we have begun to ship production units as we continue our manufacturing ramp. We look forward to completing the year on a strong note."

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Table 1 Financial Metrics $ Millions, except per share amounts and % (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, 2020 2019 2019 2020 2019 Revenues $ 627.0 $ 666.3 $ 342.4 $ 1,633.8 $ 999.7 GAAP Gross Profit (1) $ 245.9 $ 148.3 $ 127.3 $ 517.4 $ 382.7 Non-GAAP Gross Profit (2) $ 240.4 $ 241.3 $ 128.2 $ 605.8 $ 385.1 GAAP Operating Income (Loss) (1) $ 69.0 $ (78.5 ) $ 31.1 $ (28.0 ) $ 108.0 Non-GAAP Operating Income (2) $ 86.5 $ 73.6 $ 47.3 $ 209.2 $ 152.8 GAAP Net Earnings (Loss) $ 5.9 $ (98.2 ) $ 24.6 $ (118.3 ) $ 79.5 Non-GAAP Net Earnings (2) $ 44.1 $ 37.2 $ 39.7 $ 116.9 $ 124.6 GAAP Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ 0.06 $ (1.08 ) $ 0.38 $ (1.43 ) $ 1.21 Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share (2) $ 0.47 $ 0.40 $ 0.60 $ 1.38 $ 1.89 Other Selected Financial Metrics GAAP Gross margin 39.2% 22.3% 37.2% 31.7% 38.3% Non-GAAP gross margin (2) 38.3% 36.2% 37.4% 37.1% 38.5% GAAP Operating margin 11.0% -11.8% 9.1% -1.7% 10.8% Non-GAAP operating margin (2) 13.8% 11.0% 13.8% 12.8% 15.3% GAAP Return on sales 0.9% -14.7% 7.2% -7.2% 8.0% Non-GAAP return on sales (2) 7.0% 5.6% 11.6% 7.2% 12.5%

GAAP Operating income (loss) is defined as earnings (loss) before income taxes, interest expense and other expense or income, net. All non-GAAP amounts exclude certain adjustments for share-based compensation, acquired intangible amortization expense, certain one-time transaction expenses, fair value measurement period adjustments and restructuring and related items. See Table 4 for the Reconciliation of GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures.





Outlook

The outlook for the fourth fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2020 is revenue of $650.0 million to $700.0 million and earnings per diluted share on a non-GAAP basis of $0.50 to $0.70. This is at todays exchange rate and todays estimated tax impact of negative 12%. Both of these are subject to variability. The non-GAAP earnings per share include the pre-tax amounts of $20.1 million in amortization, $16.4 million in share-based compensation, and $8.2 million in other costs, including costs to facilitate the integration. Non-GAAP adjustments are by their nature highly volatile and we have low visibility as to the range that may be incurred in the future.

Conference Call & Webcast Information

The Company will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, May 11, 2020 to discuss these results. Individuals wishing to participate in the webcast can access the event at the Companys web site by visiting www.ii-vi.com or via https://tinyurl.com/IIVIQ3FY20Earnings . If you wish to participate in the conference call, please dial +1 (877) 316-5288 for calls from the U.S. and +1 (734) 385-4977 for calls from outside the U.S. To join the conference call, please enter ID# 8589772, then provide your name and company affiliation.

The conference call will be recorded, and a replay will be available to interested parties who are unable to attend the live call. This service will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 15, 2020, by dialing +1 (855) 859-2056 for calls from the U.S. and +1 (404) 537-3406 for calls from outside the U.S., and entering ID# 8589772.

About II-VI Incorporated

II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in communications, materials processing, aerospace & defense, semiconductor capital equipment, life sciences, consumer electronics, and automotive markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., the Company has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. The Company produces a wide variety of application-specific photonic and electronic materials and components, and deploys them in various forms, including integrated with advanced software to support our customers. For more information, please visit us at www.ii-vi.com .

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to future events and expectations that are based on certain assumptions and contingencies. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and relate to the Companys performance on a going-forward basis. The forward-looking statements in this press release involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results, performance or trends to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements herein or in previous disclosures.

The Company believes that all forward-looking statements made by it in this release have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that managements expectations, beliefs or projections as expressed in the forward-looking statements will actually occur or prove to be correct. In addition to general industry and global economic conditions, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) the failure of any one or more of the assumptions stated above to prove to be correct; (ii) the risks relating to forward-looking statements and other Risk Factors discussed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 and in the Companys other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; (iii) the purchasing patterns of customers and end-users; (iv) the timely release of new products, and acceptance of such new products by the market; (v) the introduction of new products by competitors and other competitive responses; (vi) the Companys ability to assimilate recently acquired businesses, and risks, costs and uncertainties associated with such acquisitions; (vii) the Companys ability to devise and execute strategies to respond to market conditions; and/or (viii) the risks of business and economic disruption related to the currently ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and any other worldwide health epidemics and outbreaks that may arise. The Company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or developments, or otherwise.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has disclosed financial measurements in this press release that present financial information considered to be non-GAAP financial measures. These measurements are not a substitute for GAAP measurements, although the Company's management uses these measurements as an aid in monitoring the Company's on-going financial performance. The non-GAAP net earnings, the non-GAAP earnings per share, the non-GAAP operating income, the non-GAAP gross profit, the non-GAAP internal research and development, the non-GAAP selling, general and administration, the non-GAAP interest and other (income) expense, and the non-GAAP income tax (benefit), measure earnings and operating income (loss), respectively, excluding non-recurring or unusual items that are considered by management to be outside the Companys standard operation and excluding certain non-cash items. EBITDA is an adjusted non-GAAP financial measurement that is considered by management to be useful in measuring the profitability between companies within the industry by reflecting operating results of the Company excluding non-operating factors. There are limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures, including that such measures may not be entirely comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, due to potential differences among calculation methodologies. Thus, there can be no assurance whether (i) items excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures will occur in the future or (ii) there will be cash costs associated with items excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures. The Company compensates for these limitations by using these non-GAAP financial measures as supplements to GAAP financial measures and by providing the reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measures. Investors should consider adjusted measures in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial performance measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.









II-VI Incorporated and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) (Unaudited) ($000 except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2020 2019 2019 Revenues $ 627,041 $ 666,331 $ 342,496 Costs, Expenses & Other Expense (Income) Cost of goods sold 381,108 517,991 215,212 Internal research and development 94,764 107,700 36,026 Selling, general and administrative 82,133 119,218 60,128 Interest expense 28,530 28,390 5,647 Other expense (income), net 7,168 487 (1,532 ) Total Costs, Expenses, & Other Expense (Income) 593,703 773,786 315,481 Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes 33,338 (107,455 ) 27,015 Income Taxes 27,417 (9,242 ) 2,377 Net Earnings (Loss) $ 5,921 $ (98,213 ) $ 24,638 Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ 0.06 $ (1.08 ) $ 0.38 Basic Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ 0.07 $ (1.08 ) $ 0.39 Average Shares Outstanding - Diluted 93,435 90,886 65,701 Average Shares Outstanding - Basic 91,081 90,886 63,612









II-VI Incorporated and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) (Unaudited) ($000 except per share data) Nine Months Ended March 31, March 31, 2020 2019 Revenues $ 1,633,781 $ 999,768 Costs, Expenses & Other Expense (Income) Cost of goods sold 1,116,368 617,071 Internal research and development 238,584 102,961 Selling, general and administrative 306,846 171,787 Interest expense 63,888 16,811 Other expense (income), net 12,734 (2,946 ) Total Costs, Expenses, & Other Expense (Income) 1,738,420 905,684 Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes (104,639 ) 94,084 Income Taxes 13,651 14,595 Net Earnings (Loss) $ (118,290 ) $ 79,489 Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ (1.43 ) $ 1.21 Basic Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ (1.43 ) $ 1.25 Average Shares Outstanding - Diluted 82,615 65,844 Average Shares Outstanding - Basic 82,615 63,539









II-VI Incorporated and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) ($000) March 31, June 30, 2020 2019 Assets Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 388,107 $ 204,872 Accounts receivable 496,427 269,642 Inventories 628,028 296,282 Prepaid and refundable income taxes 8,324 11,778 Prepaid and other current assets 70,202 30,337 Total Current Assets 1,591,088 812,911 Property, plant & equipment, net 1,247,167 582,790 Goodwill 1,281,762 319,778 Other intangible assets, net 763,456 139,324 Investments 73,618 76,208 Deferred income taxes 19,855 8,524 Other assets 129,877 14,238 Total Assets $ 5,106,823 $ 1,953,773 Liabilities and Shareholders Equity Current Liabilities Current portion of long-term debt $ 69,250 $ 23,834 Accounts payable 208,623 104,462 Operating lease current liabilities 22,433  Accruals and other current liabilities 268,865 142,267 Total Current Liabilities 569,171 270,563 Long-term debt 2,213,175 443,163 Deferred income taxes 54,699 23,913 Operating lease liabilities 91,771  Other liabilities 160,100 82,925 Total Liabilities 3,088,916 820,564 Total Shareholders' Equity 2,017,907 1,133,209 Total Liabilities and Shareholders Equity $ 5,106,823 $ 1,953,773









II-VI Incorporated and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) ($000) Nine Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net cash provided by operating activities $ 120,492 $ 114,392 Cash Flows from Investing Activities Additions to property, plant & equipment (107,975 ) (108,170 ) Purchases of businesses, net of cash acquired (1,036,609 ) (83,867 ) Purchases of equity investment  (4,480 ) Other investing activities (3,042 ) 118 Net cash used in investing activities (1,147,626 ) (196,399 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities Proceeds from borrowings of Term A Facility 1,241,000  Proceeds from borrowings of Term B Facility 720,000  Proceeds from borrowings of Revolving Credit Facility 160,000  Proceeds from borrowings under prior Credit Facility 10,000 150,000 Payments on Finisar Notes (560,112 )  Payments on borrowings under prior Term Loan, Credit Facility and other loans (176,596 ) (90,000 ) Payments on borrowings under Term A Facility (31,026 )  Payments on borrowings under Term B Facility (3,600 )  Payments on borrowings under Revolving Credit Facility (70,000 )  Debt issuance costs (63,510 )  Proceeds from exercises of stock options 5,056 7,507 Common stock repurchase (1,625 )  Payments in satisfaction of employees' minimum tax obligations (15,680 ) (7,100 ) Other financing activities (2,010 ) (3,540 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 1,211,897 56,867 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (1,528 ) (688 ) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 183,235 (25,828 ) Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Period 204,872 247,038 Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Period $ 388,107 $ 221,210









Table 2 Segment Revenues, GAAP Operating Income (Loss) & Margins, and Non-GAAP Operating Income (Loss) & Margins* $ Millions, except % (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, 2020 2019 2019 2020 2019 Revenues: Photonic Solutions $ 417.7 $ 460.4 $ 166.5 $ 1,019.5 $ 461.3 Compound Semiconductors 209.3 205.9 175.9 592.2 538.4 Unallocated and Other    22.1  Consolidated $ 627.0 $ 666.3 $ 342.4 $ 1,633.8 $ 999.7 GAAP Operating Income (Loss): Photonic Solutions $ 48.7 $ (60.9 ) $ 20.7 $ 0.8 $ 59.7 Compound Semiconductors 24.9 (8.8 ) 14.3 42.6 59.3 Unallocated and Other (4.6 ) (8.8 ) (3.9 ) (71.4 ) (11.0 ) Consolidated $ 69.0 $ (78.5 ) $ 31.1 $ (28.0 ) $ 108.0 Non-GAAP Operating Income (Loss): Photonic Solutions $ 55.9 $ 63.5 $ 27.0 $ 137.5 $ 78.4 Compound Semiconductors 30.6 10.1 20.3 71.9 74.4 Unallocated and Other    (0.2 )  Consolidated $ 86.5 $ 73.6 $ 47.3 $ 209.2 $ 152.8 GAAP Operating Margin: Photonic Solutions 11.7% -13.2% 12.4% 0.1% 12.9% Compound Semiconductors 11.9% -4.3% 8.1% 7.2% 11.0% Unallocated and Other NA NA NA NA NA Consolidated 11.0% -11.8% 9.1% -1.7% 10.8% Non-GAAP Operating Margin: Photonic Solutions 13.4% 13.8% 16.2% 13.5% 17.0% Compound Semiconductors 14.6% 4.9% 11.5% 12.1% 13.8% Unallocated and Other NA NA NA NA NA Consolidated 13.8% 11.0% 13.8% 12.8% 15.3%

* During the three months ended March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, Unallocated and Other primarily includes continuing transaction costs related to the Finisar acquisition. Finisar results have been consolidated into the Photonic Solutions and Compound Semiconductors segments during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. See Table 3 for the reconciliation of segment non-GAAP operating income (loss) to segment GAAP operating income (loss).








President Trump has made an apt analogy indicating that we are fighting a war against an invisible enemy. My service on the Governors Coronavirus Work Group has given me an opportunity to see Idahos invisible army from behind the scenes. I refer to the amazing men and women who serve in our states Department of Health and Welfare and local public health departments.

I refer to them as an invisible army because most Idahoans dont know who they are or what they do, and are unlikely to interact with them directly. These are incredibly dedicated and passionate experts in their fields who work at our state laboratory, who work as epidemiologists, who trace the contacts of those who become infected, who track disease activity and statistics, who coordinate our responses to public health threats, and who help educate and advise the public and our health care professionals.

These individuals often turn down more lucrative opportunities in the private sector because of their passion for the work of public health and their commitment to being public servants.

I have been amazed at the experience and expertise we have here in Idaho. I cannot tell you how fortunate we are to have these talented individuals who dedicate their careers to promoting the health of Idahoans. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

David Pate, M.D.

Boise

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[May 12, 2020] Old Navy Donates Over $30 Million of Clothing to American Families in Need

Old Navy has been clothing American families since 1994, and recognizes that the need to serve families has never been greater. The COVID-19 crisis has left many Americans struggling to provide basic necessities for their families. In response, Old Navy is donating over $30 million of clothing to American families in need. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005221/en/ Old Navy Donates Over $30 Million of Clothing to American Families in Need (Photo: Business Wire) Old Navy is working with a number of partners to distribute the goods to vulnerable families including nonprofit organizations Good360 and Baby2Baby as well as transportation partner Penske Logistics.



To announce the donation, Old Navy has released a video depicting a unique portrait of the American family by Richmond, Virginia, artist Noah Scalin. Known for creating large-scale art installations out of everyday items, Scalin constructs a portrait of a mother and her two daughters, formed entirely out of Old Navy clothing. The portrait is revealed as a timelapse video, taking the viewer through the journey of apparel transforming into art. In addition to the clothing donation, Old Navy is also donating 50,000 non-medical-grade reusable masks to longtime partner Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Many of their clubhouses have remained open and operational throughout the crisis as a safe place for kids and families in underserved communities.

Old Navy has been assisting in COVID-19 response efforts under parent company Gap Inc. which has leveraged its expansive supply chain to connect hospital networks with millions of critical PPE (personal protective equipment), including N95 masks, for frontline healthcare workers. Separately, the Gap Foundation previously announced a $1 million donation to local, state, national and international non-profit organizations to support underserved families during the coronavirus crisis. About Old Navy Old Navy is a global apparel and accessories brand that makes current American essentials accessible to every family. Originated in 1994, the brand celebrates the democracy of style through on-trend, playfully optimistic, affordable and high-quality products. A division of San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Old Navy brings a fun, energizing shopping environment to its customers in more than 1,100 stores around the world. For more information, please visit www.oldnavy.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005221/en/

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Two children killed last month in an apparent murder-suicide after police said their mother lost custody of them were identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office.

Robert Deitering, 3, and his sister Clara, 5, were found dead with their mother, Karina Kleberovna Sornoza Deitering, and grandmother Galina Tenzeyevna Taypina on April 27 at the Sedona Ranch apartments, 17655 Henderson Pass.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13)  Philippine National Police Chief Archie Gamboa defended on Tuesday the head of the National Capital Region Police Office against criticisms that his birthday celebration last week breached physical distancing protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic.

NCRPO chief Debold Sinas celebrated his birthday, together with other members of the regional police force, last Friday at their office. The policemen surprised Sinas with an early morning serenade or mananita that day.

Una, walang partyng nangyari ang sabi ni Gen. [Debold] Sinas. Probably nagkaroon ng mananita pero doon sa mananita ang sabi ni Gen. Sinas is that inobserve pa rin nila yong mga social distancing. Now, I don't think na meron namang violation ito, said Gamboa in his virtual presser yesterday.

[Translation: First, Gen. Sinas said there was no party that happened. Probably they had mananita but Gen. Sinas said they observed social distancing. Now, I dont think it is a violation.]

Gamboa stressed that even top police officers are not exempted from following the law.

Alam naman natin napakahirap nong trabaho niya sa NCRPO but nevertheless it is not an excuse for him not to follow simple health protocols, he said.

[Translation: We know that he has a hard job to do in NCRPO, but nevertheless, it is not an excuse for him not to follow simple health protocols.]

Photos posted by NCRPO Public Information Office on its Facebook page drew flak from netizens after showing many policemen attended the birthday celebration of Sinas.

Some police officers were seen giving Sinas roses and cakes, while the Metro Manilas top cop was seen mingling with other people seated at different tables and lining up to get meals.

The photos have since been deleted by the NCRPO Public Information Office on their social media accounts.

As of posting, Sinas has not yet issued any statement about this matter.

Last Monday, Sinas placed Camp Karingal in Quezon City under a three-day lockdown after 14 members of the Quezon City Police District tested positive of the virus.

Ten of the 14 infected QCPD personnel are assigned inside Camp Karingal while the other four are assigned in QCPD community precincts.

To date, the PNP has 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases, along with four deaths and 52 recoveries. The police force is also monitoring 595 probable and 389 suspect COVID-19 cases.

The World Health Organization prescribed at least one meter or three feet distance in promoting physical distancing as a precautionary measure against the virus.
Recently, a metropolitan hospital system was assessing the impact of COVID-19 on its effectiveness in delivering care as well as on its business aspect. The patterns were pretty clear in terms of how healthcare had been delivered during the outbreak, and how it needs to change going forward to improve patient outcomes, for pandemic and nonpandemic health events.

They found that information sharing around changing patterns of effective treatment of the virus was difficult, considering the reactive thinking around patient care for most hospitals at times when the emergency centers were stressed. The sharing of information around evolution of treatments was more passive than it should have been.

They also noticed that patients with more traditional ailments, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer, pushed off seeking treatment due to fears of the virus or not being able to gain access to clinicians who were focused on coronavirus. This will obviously result in some increase in mortality beyond the pandemic.

Their third finding was that business fell off tremendously. Many states banned elective procedures, hospitals postponed many of them due to the pandemic, or patients feared having a procedure done at a hospital that was also treating COVID-19. In many healthcare systems this revenue is used to offset less profitable treatments and its lack has sent many hospital systems into the red quickly.

How can cloud computing help?

Information sharing is the topic that most providers want to tackle first. In the heat of a pandemic, sharing vital information about treatments and outcomes needs to be automated and proactive.

As systems monitor diagnostics, treatments, and outcomes, trends emerge as to effective therapeutics. That information needs to be available in real time to clinicians. Having the best information possible raises the likelihood of making effective and life-saving treatment recommendations.

Of course, cloud computing is the best platform to accomplish information sharing, with the ability to provision the data storage and integration needed. These can occur on centralized systems that drive a single or many healthcare systems, and can optimize sharing of data and abstract calculations of the data. Many healthcare systems are moving forward with this strategy and leveraging cloud computing as a force multiplier.

The other two issues can be solved using distribution of point-of-care providers. It no longer should be a requirement that most elective and nonelective procedures, diagnostics, and treatments, including major surgery, occur in hospitals.

Distribution of care is made possible by cloud-based medical information systems, including diagnostics systems, that are now ubiquitous. While the assumption is that the centralization of information, diagnostics, and treatment is a good thing, postpandemic we now understand that patients going to locations that are closer to their homes, with fewer humans, means fewer chances of infection. Moreover, the same or better standard of care will lead to better outcomes for traditional health issues, that in many cases are lost in the panic of a crisis.

The same approaches and technology apply to those needing elective procedures as well. As somebody who recently had a shoulder replaced, I realize that although it was elective, I was in unbearable pain. While we can point to cosmetic surgery as an elective procedure as well, most elective procedures solve problems that lower your quality of life quickly.

In essence, cloud-based systems, along with emerging bandwidth availability such as 5G, means that we no longer should face compromises in level of care. Indeed, telemedicine connected with distributed diagnostics centers and lower latency of diagnostics to treatments means that there will be a rise in survivability, and this should come at a reduced cost to payers and patients. The time to move in these directions is now.
Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu launched the cleaning work of the N-Choe in Phase 9, Mohali, which flows into the district from Chandigarh, on Tuesday.

He said the work will be given utmost priority as monsoons are approaching, which could turn N-Choe into a breeding ground for mosquitoes and lead to unhygienic conditions, especially in view of the Covid-19 crisis

Sidhu said the work will be completed within two months at a cost of  13.58 lakh.

The minister also handed over personal protection equipment (PPE) kits to sanitation workers at the MC Bhawan. Muncipal commissioner Kamal Garg was present on the occasion. He praised sanitation workers for their contributions during the crisis and described them as corona warriors.
A leading member of Keir Starmers shadow cabinet has said she would not feel happy sending her child back to school on 1 June unless ministers provide more evidence that it is safe.

The recovery strategy set out by Boris Johnson on Monday envisages primary schools reopening their doors to pupils as early as the start of next month, with reception classes, year one and year six the first to return.

But shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said that the government has not yet shown parents that they can allow their children back into classrooms without risking spreading coronavirus.

Asked whether she would allow her own six-year-old son back, the Oxford East MP told BBC Radio 4s Womens Hour: I would be more than happy to send my own child to school if I knew that by doing so I would not be potentially harming others. Thats the critical issue for me.

And we dont have that evidence, I feel, currently.

Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Show all 30 1 /30 Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Shoppers observe a minute's silence in Tescos in Shoreham Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Firefighters outside Godstone fire station PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute's silence at University College Hospital in London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A school children's poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A man holds a placard that reads "People's health before profit" outside St Thomas hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus University College Hospital, London Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute's silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London An NHS worker observes a minute's silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London AFP via Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Belfast, Northern Ireland NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Plymouth NHS workers hold a minute's silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Mater Infirmorum Hospital People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Waterloo Station, London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy's Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Royal Derby Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Leicester, NHS workers during a minute's silence outside Glenfield Hospital Getty

Presenter Jane Garvey pressed her: So thats a No?

Ms Dodds replied: Well, I dont feel that I have that evidence now. If government was able to provide that, particularly to publish the scientific information underlying its decisions, we could be in a different situation.

As I say, its not really about my family. Its about whether we are spreading this disease more broadly. We dont have that evidence in front of us now.

Schools across the UK have been closed to most pupils since 20 March because of fears they would become a route for Covid-19 infection, though facilities have remained available for vulnerable children and the sons and daughters of key workers who are unable to secure alternative childcare arrangements.

Under Mr Johnsons plans, a staggered reopening of primary schools would see all under-12s get at least a months education before the summer holidays. Secondary pupils in years 10 and 12 would be provided with face-to-face time with teachers ahead of the summer break, but other secondary classes will not return before September.

The announcement has caused concern among teachers, some of whom have raised questions about whether it will be possible to keep primary-age children socially distanced in classrooms and playgrounds.

One teacher called Natasha, from Richmond, confronted Mr Johnson when he took questions from the public on TV on Monday evening, asking him: "How is it logical that I as a primary school teacher can mix with many returning children, but seeing my relatives is still not allowed?"
The Licensed Vintners Association says it is completely opposed to all outdoor pub areas becoming non-smoking zones when they reopen.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland want the outdoor areas to be tobacco-free because of the need to maintain social distancing and to protect customers and staff.

The RCPI's policy group on tobacco has written to the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, urging him to implement their proposal as part of the country's reopening strategy.

The group's chair, Prof Des Cox, said customers seated in the outdoor areas of bars to facilitate social distancing should not be exposed to second-hand smoke.

We would be completely opposed to any measure along these lines which would further hit an industry that is already on its knees, said Donall O'Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA.

Mr O'Keeffe said the existing smoking ban had worked well and there had been a high level of compliance by both businesses and customers.

The head of the representative body for Dublin publicans said measures like the one proposed by the RCPI would require new legislation but a new government would also be required for that to happen.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland, the trade organisation for pubs outside of the Dublin area, said they had yet to meet with government to discuss protocols for reopening on August 10.

Right now, we require guidance from government about what social distancing will entail so publicans can start to renovate their pubs in time for August 10, a VFI spokesperson said.

There were huge challenges ahead for the trade, including the stark reality that for many publicans it would not be economically viable to open under social distancing guidelines.

If there are too few people allowed into your pub, there is no ability to trade profitably, said the spokesperson.

Publicans will operate under whatever legislation is in place at the time. Public health is our number one priority and, as always, we will be guided by what the Chief Medical Officer decides.

Prof Cox, a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, said the outdoor areas of most public houses were currently designated smoking areas.

If outdoor areas are to be used to facilitate social distancing when bars open up again, then smoking should be prohibited from all areas of all pubs when they reopen, he said.
INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, SUSTAINABLE REAL ESTATE AND ONTARIO GREEN BONDS

TORONTO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OPTrust, one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans, released its 2019 Responsible Investing (RI) Report, Looking to the Future. The report details the Plan's RI results and philosophy, as well as the introduction of the new Sustainable Investing and Innovation (SII) team that will build on OPTrust's record of responsible investing. Highlights of the report and OPTrust's 2019 RI results include:

Received an A+ rating for the Fund's strategy and governance approach to responsible investing from the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Expanded OPTrust's Green Bond holdings with a $100 million investment in Ontario government Green Bonds

investment in government Green Bonds Awarded top ranking in the GRESB 2019 Global Sustainable Index for portfolio company Globalvia

Maintained an active ownership program, including voting at more than 2,000 company meetings in over 50 countries

Partnered with the Investor Leadership Network, and committed to accelerating progress on gender diversity issues in the companies and other partners in which OPTrust invests

Strengthened reporting in accordance with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

"We are focused on sustainability, of the Plan and of the planet," said OPTrust President and CEO, Peter Lindley. "This is reflected in our commitment to overcome the unique challenges we face as long-term investors for the financial benefit of our members and society."

The report details OPTrust's progress in measuring total fund exposure to climate risk. In 2019, OPTrust worked with an external partner to conduct their first bottom-up climate risk assessment on a near-total fund basis. This includes beginning to measure and disclose portfolio emissions and establishing a baseline.

"As a pension plan, we are long-term investors and our role is to look far ahead at challenges and opportunities that could affect our members' retirement security across multiple generations," said OPTrust CIO, James Davis. "The world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, but our approach to responsible investing embraces that change and recognizes challenges also bring opportunities."

OPTrust reached another milestone in 2019 through the introduction of the Sustainable Investing and Innovation team. The team will focus on managing long-term sustainability issues through a capital allocation mandate. With an initial focus on innovations arising from climate change, the SII team will enable OPTrust to more proactively identify and act on emerging climate risks and opportunities.

ABOUT OPTRUST

With net assets of almost $22 billion, OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada's largest pension funds and administers the OPSEU Pension Plan (including OPTrust Select), a defined benefit plan with over 96,000 members. OPTrust was established to give plan members and the Government of Ontario an equal voice in the administration of the Plan and the investment of its assets through joint trusteeship. OPTrust is governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees, five of whom are appointed by OPSEU and five by the Government of Ontario.

MEDIA CONTACT: Claire Prashaw, OPTrust, Director, Public Affairs, 1- 416-681-3617, cprashaw@optrust.com

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Egypt is pushing back against Addis Ababas plans to the filling of the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) this summer. Government officials say they have to take seriously the statements made by Ethiopian officials that the filling process will be initiated during this rainy season, with or without an agreement with Egypt and Sudan.



We cannot ignore the fact that they could start the filling. Regardless of the amount of water they extract from the Blue Nile, it would be a violation of [existing] legal agreements, and an indication that Ethiopia was never serious about reaching an agreement to get the dam up and running in a way that does not harm Egypt and Sudan, said an informed government official.



Under construction since 2011, GERD is a gravity mega dam with a reservoir capable of storing 74 billion m3. It will be the largest hydrological dam on the continent, designed to generate 6,450 megawatts.



This week, Egyptian sources estimated that the dam is close to 85 per cent complete, which means it is technically possible to store water in the reservoir.



On Monday the Ethiopian News Agency quoted Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Sileshi Bekele saying that Addis Ababa is determined to start the filling in July and that it will not succumb to pressure from downstream states to reverse its plans.



There was no immediate response from either Cairo or Khartoum to this statement though Egyptian officials speaking off the record said it revealed the extent to which Ethiopia had been playing games during the past five years of negotiations. Addis Ababa, said one official, had only been pretending to look for a consensual agreement.



In March 2015 Egypt signed the Declaration of Principles with Ethiopia and Sudan under which the completion and operation of the dam was made dependent on a comprehensive agreement being reached between the three states.



Last year, following more than four years of inconclusive negotiations, Cairo requested the mediation of the US and the World Bank. The talks that began in Washington last autumn produced a text that Egypt initialed. Sudan declined to sign in the absence of Ethiopia, which had absented itself from the final negotiations hosted by the US.



Egypt had hoped the US would put enough pressure on Ethiopia that it would sign the deal. By last month, however, Egyptian authorities realised that was not happening, and the US administrations attention was focused elsewhere.



The US repeatedly promised to pressure Ethiopia to honour the outcome of the Washington negotiation process but this did not happen. Ethiopian officials are now saying they will start the filling this summer with or without an agreement, said one Cairo source.



The source argued that there seems to be a split in the US administration: while the US Treasury Department, which co-facilitated the talks with the World Bank, seems to have a good understanding of Egypts legitimate concerns regarding possible severe water shortages, the US State Department seems to be more aligned with Ethiopia. The State Departments view is that it is important to stand by Abiy Ahmed who is facing internal political opposition and needs to move ahead with GERD to be able to defy his opponents.



It was concern that an effective US intervention would not materialise, the same source said, that prompted Cairo to seek political support from the UN Security Council.



Egypt must now use the next few weeks to build enough international pressure to get Ethiopia to return to the negotiating table and commit to the Washington treaty, or at the very least suspend its plans to start filling the reservoir without an agreement.



Earlier this month Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri sent a letter to Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, the current chair of the UN Security Council (UNSC), demanding that the body responsible for world peace and security ensures that Addis Ababa makes good on its 2015 commitment not to start filling the dam in the absence of an agreement. Ethiopian officials promptly leaked a copy of the letter to the Ethiopian press.



The letter and its annexed aide memoire detailed the long process of negotiations that led to the drafting of the text of a treaty in Washington earlier this year, before Ethiopia opted to walk out on the deal.



The letter emerged after Egypt and Sudan declined an offer made by Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed in April, to engage in a new round of negotiations over an interim agreement on the first filling of the reservoir.



According to Egyptian diplomatic sources, in his talks with Reinsalu and other foreign ministers Shoukri explained that Egypt is losing faith in the intentions of Ethiopia which seems determined to maintain an open-ended negotiating process without taking any of the steps needed to reach an agreement.



Hani Raslan, a Nile affairs specialist at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), says the refusal of Ahmeds offer to negotiate an interim agreement and the sending of a letter to the UNSC reflect Cairos realisation that a prompt and effective US intervention is unlikely to be forthcoming.



It is significant that Egypt is now taking the matter to the highest possible political forum in anticipation of an Ethiopian decision to start filling the dam this summer, and any subsequent reaction from Cairo will match the grave threat such an Ethiopian move would constitute.



Egyptian officials say the letter to the UNSC is the opening salvo in an intense political move Cairo is planning for the coming weeks as it seeks to persuade the international community to get Ethiopia to abandon its plans to start filling the reservoir this summer.



According to Raslan, it was important for Egypt to explain its position to the international community to counter the misleading Ethiopian narrative that suggests Egypt is seeking to monopolise the water of the Nile.



Ethiopia has announced that it is drafting a reply to the Egyptian letter, to be sent to the current chair of the UNSC. It promised its reply would refute Egyptian claims that the filling and operation of GERD would cause significant harm to downstream countries.



Raslan says Ethiopia will find it difficult to convince the international community that Egypt is trying to block Ethiopian development.



In its letter to the chair of the UNSC Egypt states clearly it has no objections to the filling and operation of the dam. What it wants are solid reassurances that this filling and operation will not cause severe water shortages in Egypt.



If the diplomatic offensive fails to persuade Ethiopia to pursue a consensual agreement, Raslan says it will then be up to Egypt to consider its choices in light of the support it is building in the international community.



Ayman Abdel-Wahab, an expert on the management of water resources at the ACPSS, argues that the time is ripe for Egypt to expand its Nile focus beyond GERD.



I think that what Egypt needs to do now is pursue a far more comprehensive vision of the management of the Nile and its resources by all the riparian states, he says.



In 2010 Egypt suspended its membership of the Nile Basin Initiative in protest at an agreement that several Nile Basin countries were promoting to rework Egypts share of Nile water. Egypt refused the argument being made by these states that existing agreements specifying Egypts water share were void given that they were concluded when most of the Nile Basin countries were under colonial occupation. Instead, Cairo argued the historic agreements remained legally binding.



Egyptian officials agree that Ethiopia is not the only country with plans to build barrages on the Nile. Nor is GERD likely to be the last dam Ethiopia seeks to build on the Nile.



Egypt faces growing water scarcity. The Nile provides over 90 per cent of Egypts water. Cairos worst fear is that Ethiopia plans not only to use GERD to generate electricity  its stated aim  but intends to withhold water for agricultural purposes.



This scenario, say Egyptian officials, explains why Addis Ababa is so resistant to agreeing a resolution mechanism for disputes arising from the amounts of water held by GERD. It is a clear indication, they say, that Ethiopia has other plans for its mega dam beyond the generation of electricity.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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G Janardhana Rao By

Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Residents of RR Venkatapuram, Venkatapuram, Venkatadri Colony, Padmanabhapuram, Nandamuri Nagar and SC/ BC colony who left their homes after gas leak at LG Polymers plant have started returning to their homes Monday afternoon.

Till evening, only a few people arrived in the villages and most of those returned were who took shelter either in their relatives houses or friends houses after the incident.

Those returned early have been facing problems such as pungent smell emanating from their houses as they were locked for five days. They found all food items, including vegetables and groceries spoiled, and unfit for consumption. Housewives were seen cleaning the utensils which were left unwashed and other family members started cleaning the house.

Speaking to TNIE, Kunda Ganesh, who is a contractor of LG Polymers, said he returned home in the afternoon after his neighbour informed him that they can return now. He said his son, who was working in the dockyard, alerted them around 3 am about the gas leak as he was on night duty. They came out of their house and reached a safe place. However, later the gas intensity increased and the same was felt when they opened their house.

Cops helping a woman, who fell unconscious, while

cleaning her house at Venkatapuram on Monday. (Photo | G Satyanarayana, EPS)

Ramalakshmi, a housewife, fell unconscious while cleaning her house at Venkatapuram. She was immediately taken to a police camp and her husband contacted doctors for treatment. Her husband said he was clearing the house outside, while Ramalakshmi was cleaning the kitchen and hall. He said he rushed to her when she said she was feeling uneasy.

E Ramu Naidu, village vice-president, said they returned home only to find all food items and groceries spoiled. They were throwing away rice and vegetables as they were unfit for consumption. He said it will take a week or so to return to normal.Many people were still coming by four-wheelers and two-wheelers and some are heading for their homes walking from the main road. Meanwhile, a couple of grocery shops and medical shops were opened here and there.

In-charge administrator of ward secretariat Naidu said they were facing problems in enumeration of houses due to shortage of volunteers in the village. Six of 21 volunteers fell sick due to gas leak and some left for their friends homes. They were left with only six volunteers to do enumeration and will complete it in a couple of days. Ministers Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Botsa Satyanarayana and K Kanna Babu, Collector Vinay Chand and other officials visited the area to inspect sanitisation. They said as per the CMs directive, they will spend the night in the villages to boost the morale of people
PICKERING, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE:RFR)(OTC PINK:RFHRF)(WKN - A2H9TN) ("Renforth" or the "Company") is pleased to provide shareholders with a pit constrained gold Mineral Resource Estimate for Renforth's wholly owned New Alger Property, located on the Cadillac Break, in Cadillac, Quebec, contiguous to the historic O'Brien Mine and the LaRonde Mine. This Mineral Resource Estimate has been calculated by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, with an effective date of April 30th, 2020, using only assay data from between 2007 and the first hole (of four in that program) drilled by Renforth at New Alger earlier this year. Renforth has in its possession all the core from 2007 to date.

"Delivering this pit constrained Mineral Resource Estimate for our wholly owned New Alger Gold property to Renforth's shareholders is again done with a great deal of satisfaction. Renforth is pleased to now have updated pit constrained Mineral Resource Estimates in place at both New Alger and Parbec. With these in place Renforth has established a new level, one which we will build on, at our pace. We look forward to resuming work on our New Alger property, with our efforts focused on a mini-bulk sample from the Discovery Veins" states Nicole Brewster, President and CEO of Renforth.

New Alger 2020 Pit Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate

The engineered open pit geometry has a maximum depth of 215 m and a maximum length of 1,400 m, whereas mineralization at New Alger reaches a maximum depth of 416m and is present the length of the Cadillac Break on the Property, ~1.4km.

Renforth can use the new 3D model generated with this Mineral Resource to plan future drilling at New Alger relative to the constraining pit shell.

Assay composite results used, those obtained between 2007 and 2019, were capped at 15 g/t Au in this model. Renforth has determined that there is a nugget effect present at New Alger which could impact future development, capping of the composite grade within the constraining pit shell is a prudent and conservative approach.

The Mineral Resource Estimate totals 62,600 oz of gold in 1,035,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.88 g/t Au in the Indicated classification and 188,000 oz of gold in 3,226,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.81 g/t Au in the Inferred classification as follows;

New Alger Mineral Resource Estimate (1-6) Area Classification Cut-off Au

(g/t) Tonnes

(k) Au

(g/t) Au

(koz) Pit Constrained Indicated 0.32 1,016 1.88 61.5 Inferred 0.32 2,322 1.65 123.3 Out-of-Pit Indicated 1.44 19 1.81 1.1 Inferred 1.44 904 2.23 64.7 Total Indicated 0.32 + 1.44 1,035 1.88 62.6 Inferred 0.32 + 1.44 3,226 1.81 188.0

1) Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

2) The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.

3) The Mineral Resources in this report were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.

4) Historically mined areas were depleted from the Mineral Resource model.

5.) The pit constrained Au cut-off grade of 0.32 g/t Au was derived from US$1,450/oz Au price, 0.75 US$/C$ exchange rate, 95% process recovery, C$17/t process cost and C$2/t G&A cost. The constraining pit optimization parameters were C$2.50/t mineralized mining cost, $2/t waste mining cost, $1.50/t overburden mining cost and 50 degree pit slopes.

6.) The out of pit Au cut-off grade of 1.44 g/t Au was derived from US$1,450/oz Au price, 0.75 US$/C$ exchange rate, 95% process recovery, C$66/t mining cost, C$17/t process cost and C$2/t G&A cost. The out of pit Mineral Resource grade blocks were quantified above the 1.44 g/t Au cut-off, below the constraining pit shell and within the constraining mineralized wireframes. Additionally, only groups of blocks that exhibited continuity and reasonable potential stope geometry were included. All orphaned blocks and narrow strings of blocks were excluded. The longhole stoping with backfill method was assumed for the out of pit Mineral Resource Estimate calculation.

Renforth would like to offer readers of this press release an understanding of the meaning of the Indicated and the Inferred Mineral Resource classifications. In both instances the gold ounces stated are verified to the satisfaction of the Qualified Person who authored the Mineral Resource Estimate. The difference is the level of confidence the author of the Mineral Resource Estimate has regarding the likelihood of mining, as stated in bullet #2 above the level of confidence is lower in the Inferred classification than the Indicated, it is reasonable to expect that with some amount of additional exploration Inferred ounces can be mined, whereas the Indicated ounces do not require any additional exploration, in the opinion of the Qualified Person.

New Alger Mineral Resource Gold Price and Cut-Off Grade Sensitivity

The tonnes, gold grade and contained ounces within and outside of the engineered pit shell are sensitive to an increase or decrease in their respective numbers based upon the price of gold used in the economic calculations which constrain the pit shell. In the same way a change in the price of gold used can lower or increases the gold cut-off grade used in the calculation for the Mineral Resource Estimate sensitivity, as shown below.

Sensitivity of New Alger Pit Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate Classification Cut-off Au

(g/t) Au Price*

US$/oz Tonnes

(k) Au

(g/t) Au

(koz) Indicated 0.36 1,300 968 1.93 60.2 0.34 1,375 988 1.91 60.7 0.32 1,450 1,016 1.88 61.5 0.30 1,525 1,040 1.86 62.0 0.29 1,600 1,058 1.84 62.5 Inferred 0.36 1,300 2,176 1.68 117.6 0.34 1,375 2,244 1.67 120.2 0.32 1,450 2,322 1.65 123.3 0.30 1,525 2,381 1.64 125.3 0.29 1,600 2,461 1.62 128.2

*Au price used to determine Au cut-off grade for Resource Estimate sensitivity analysis.

Sensitivity of New Alger Out of Pit Mineral Resource Estimate Classification Cut-off Au

(g/t) Au Price*

US$/oz Tonnes

(k) Au

(g/t) Au

(koz) Indicated 1.61 1,300 14 2.04 0.9 1.52 1,375 18 1.91 1.1 1.44 1,450 19 1.81 1.1 1.37 1,525 21 1.78 1.2 1.31 1,600 21 1.76 1.2 Inferred 1.61 1,300 744 2.43 58.1 1.52 1,375 834 2.32 62.1 1.44 1,450 904 2.23 64.7 1.37 1,525 942 2.18 66.1 1.31 1,600 961 2.15 66.4

*Au price used to determine Au cut-off grade for Resource Estimate sensitivity analysis

This Mineral Resource Estimate has been prepared as a result of a continuous disclosure review, at the request of Staff of the OSC, and supersedes the previous, 2014, Mineral Resource Estimate. This Mineral Resource Estimate, unlike the prior estimate, has been prepared on the basis of a constraining open pit shell.

Technical information in this press release was reviewed and approved by Eugene Puritch P.Eng, FEC, CET, President of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and an independent "Qualified Person" pursuant to the requirements specified in NI 43-101.

For further information please contact:

Renforth Resources Inc.

Nicole Brewster

President and Chief Executive Officer

T:416-818-1393

E: nicole@renforthresources.com

#269 - 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering ON L1V 1B5

ABOUT RENFORTH

Renforth Resources Inc. is a Toronto-based gold exploration company with five wholly owned surface gold bearing properties located in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada.

In Quebec Renforth holds the New Alger and Parbec Properties, in the Cadillac and Malartic gold camps respectively, with gold present at surface and to some depth, located on the Cadillac Break. In both instances' additional gold bearing structures, other than the Cadillac Break, have been found on each property and require additional exploration. Renforth also holds Malartic West, contiguous to the western boundary of the Canadian Malartic Mine Property, located in the Pontiac Sediments, this property is gold bearing and was the recent site of a copper discovery. In addition to this Renforth has optioned the wholly owned Denain-Pershing gold bearing property, located near Louvicourt, Quebec, to O3 Mining Inc.

In Ontario, Renforth holds the Nixon-Bartleman surface gold occurrence west of Timmins, Ontario, drilled, channeled and sampled over 500m - this historic property also requires additional exploration to define the extent of the mineralization.

No securities regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'expect', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'intend' and similar words referring to future events and results. Such statements and information are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the risks of obtaining necessary approvals, licenses and permits and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in the Company's securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and the reader is cautioned against placing undue reliance thereon. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is provided and the Company assumes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Renforth Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589416/Renforth-Releases-New-Alger-Gold-Mineral-Resource-Estimate
Nirav Modi's legal team on Tuesday told a UK court hearing the fugitive diamond merchant's five-day extradition trial that the case of fraud and money laundering against him is not backed up with the underlying evidence that proves his dishonesty.

Modi's legal team made the remarks a day after Crown Prosecution Service barrister Helen Malcolm, appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, told the court that Modi acquired eye watering amounts of money fraudulently from the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The 49-year-old jeweller is wanted in India on charges of defrauding PNB by deceitfully obtaining letters of undertaking (LoUs), or bank guarantees, and then laundering the proceeds of the funds through a complex set of worldwide transactions using dummy companies.

The five-day extradition trial had opened at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Monday, when the CPS argued on behalf of the Indian authorities to lay out the estimated USD 2-billion fraud and money laundering case against Modi.

CPS barrister Malcolm told the court that between 2011 and 2018, Modi had stolen eye-watering sums of money under the pretext of importing pearls into India.

"The difficulty is that none of this is proved. There is a lot of detail but the government of India's case is very long on assertion but very short on proof, said Modi's barrister Clare Montgomery, as the defence began its counter-arguments in the case on Tuesday.

Modi has been following the court proceedings via videolink from a room at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, where he has been lodged since his arrest in March last year. Dressed in formals, he has been listening intently and can be seen occasionally making notes as he refers to a large folder on a desk.

The court has heard repeated references as precedence from liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya's extradition case, which now awaits a Supreme Court level appeal approval.

Modi is expected to be lodged in the same Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where Mallya is to be held following extradition in relation to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' unpaid loans to Indian banks.

While the CPS referred to the video and other assurances related to the prison cell already provided as sufficient proof of prison conditions in India meeting international human rights requirements, Modi's lawyer indicated that they would be presenting a witness to prove that it lacked any provisions in relation to Modi's fragile mental health condition.

District Judge Samuel Goozee is presiding over the hearing, which is expected to conclude on Friday and is being conducted partly in a remote format to abide by the social distancing norms in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. While some of the legal counsels are physically present in court, the others are accessing the proceedings via videolink or through conference call.

On Monday, Malcolm appeared via videolink to lay out the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against Modi co-conspiring with bankers at PNB to misuse at least 150 bank guarantees in 2017.

She also laid out details of how the diamond merchant and his brother then went on to intimidate witnesses, even threatening them with death, to try and cover up the fraud.

Modi has made repeated attempts at bail but remains behind bars as he is deemed a flight risk. The jeweller was arrested on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges of fraud and money laundering brought by the Indian government and certified by the UK Home Office.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A total of 785 rooms in 11



star-rated hotels in and around Kolkata have been identified to accommodate people returning from abroad, who will stay there in isolation, a hoteliers' association said on Tuesday.

The state government has approached the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Eastern India for rooms where foreign returnees will be quarantined, HRAEI president Suresh Poddar said.

"The association has been able to identify 785 rooms in 11 hotels belonging to four and five-star categories for the purpose. However, no bookings have been made as no repatriation flight has reached here," Poddar told PTI.

The hotels will charge between Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000 per room per day including all meals and evening tea, Poddar said.

"The bills at the hotels will have to be cleared by the passengers. We have arranged for discounts up to 60 per cent", he said.

To help Indians stranded abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, the central government has initiated repatriation flights as a part of 'Vande Bharat' mission to bring them back.

Such repatriation flights have already landed in Kochi, Chennai and Hyderabad.

"Those disembarking from such flights will be screened at the airport and then transferred to the isolation rooms in the hotels earmarked for quarantine purposes," he said.

If the state government requires more such rooms, that can be arranged, Poddar said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The court of appeal in Owerri has dismissed an appeal filed by Ndutimi Alaibe challenging the emergence of Douye Diri as the winner of the ...





The court of appeal in Owerri has dismissed an appeal filed by Ndutimi Alaibe challenging the emergence of Douye Diri as the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election in Bayelsa.

Alaibe, who was also a governorship aspirant of the PDP for the 2019 election, had instituted a suit against the party, Diri and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the federal high court in Owerri.

On March 10, Tijjani Ringim, a high court judge, in his judgment, dismissed Alaibes suit for lacking merit.

Evidence available to me indicates that the process leading to the emergence of Diri as the candidate of the PDP in the September 3 governorship primaries in Bayelsa was legitimate, the judge held.

I hereby dismiss this suit for lack of merit.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the federal high court, Alaibe proceeded to the court of appeal.

The court on Tuesday affirmed the judgment of the lower court and dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

On February 13, Diri was pronounced as Bayelsa state governor after the supreme court sacked David Lyon less than 24 hours before his inauguration as governor of the state.

The apex court hinged its decision on the grounds that Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, his running mate, submitted forged credentials to INEC.
CBI Director General, Carolyn Fairbairn: 'The Chancellor is confronting a challenging balancing act deftly.' (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

Business groups have greeted an extension to the governments furlough scheme but called for more clarity on changes due to take place from July.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday announced that the governments job retention scheme would be extended until October. The scheme, which had been due to end in June, sees the state pay up to 80% of furloughed staffs wages to a maximum of 2,500 per month.

The scheme aims to avoid widespread layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Some 6.8 million people have been placed on furlough under the scheme since its launch, at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of 8bn ($9.8bn).

Business groups had been lobbying for an extension and roundly cheered Wednesdays announcement.

The extension of the Job Retention Scheme will come as a huge help and a huge relief for businesses across the UK, said Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC).

Read more: Pressure growing on government to extend furlough scheme

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: The chancellor is confronting a challenging balancing act deftly.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson made clear on Sunday night that much of the UK would stay locked down until July and Fairbairn said the furlough extension would protect millions of jobs by avoid[ing] a June cliff-edge.

As well as extending the scheme, the chancellor said rules would be loosened to allow staff to begin to take part-time work while still on furlough.

Richard Burge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the change would give companies vital breathing space as the economy reopens.

Mike Cherry, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said the changes would protect thousands of livelihoods over the months ahead.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak makes a statement in the House of Commons on the government's economic package in response to the coronavirus outbreak. (PA)

However, Sunak also said employers would be asked to provide more support to the scheme from July. He promised further details later this month.

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Firms will, of course, want more detail on how they will contribute to the scheme in the future and will work with government to get this right, Fairbairn said.

Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, said: "We now need further clarity around employers' contributions. Many firms that would normally be on strong footing are still in dire straits.

Read more: UK furlough scheme extended to October with part-time work allowed

Mel Stride MP, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said Wednesdays announcement was welcome but the devil though will be in the detail.

The Treasury Committee looks forward to carefully scrutinising these changes, Stride said.

Business groups urged the chancellor to continue to be nimble and flexible when it came to offering state support.

There is no silver bullet to any of this and both government and industry are going to have to be adaptive, creative and flexible through what is likely to be a bumpy and turbulent flight into the future from now on, said Stephen Phipson, chief executive of manufacturers union Make UK.
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Hamilton County children will hopefully be back in school in August if the countys plan comes to fruition. Superintendent Bryan Johnson held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, and he introduced the two men who will lead reopening efforts along with a Task Force.

LTC. William Brooks has experience when it comes to working with JRTOC programs across Hamilton County, and has been a senior army instructor and professor at Grambling State.

The other man in charge of reopening county schools is Keith Fogleman, whose credentials include being an HR consultant in both America and Japan, and leading recovery efforts in the aftermath of Japans 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

LTC Brooks said, Weve got a lot of work ahead of us, and weve identified four areas of focus.

Were going to mitigate risks for teachers and students who may have underlying health issues. One of the things we know is that the work ahead of us involves a lot of people.

He said that the once schools reopen, one area of focus for Hamilton County will be taking into account which students do and do not have internet access at home. Superintendent Johnson echoed this sentiment.

Reopening ours schools is about getting our students back into engaging and learning, said LTC. Brooks. Were going to take into consideration who does and does not have internet. Were going to take into account different learning styles.

One of the things weve learned over the last two months is how important our schools are to the community, said Mr. Fogleman. Our schools provide safety and stability, and we feed students and continue to do that. Theres lessons learned from this that we can utilize when reopening schools. Its one key important thing, and thats that we have effective health and safety measures as we move forward. Be sure that our community can trust us to support our students and staff.

Dr. Johnson emphasized the fact that the plan laid out today is a rough one, and that it may be changed in the future. He said a priority is ensuring the supply chain works when it comes to getting masks and disinfectants to schools.

We also need to be prepared to ensure what infrastructure needs we need to meet, said the superintendent. Over the last month, weve had discussions about our budget. We need to be prepared for any challenges that may face us as we reopen.

Superintendent Johnson emphasized that there will be constant communication with parents during the process and before schools reopen.

There will be several structured modalities in which parents can share information with us, said the superintendent. There will be a website set up. We were one of a few school districts in the country that will have technical support around us. There will be virtual focus groups and setting up some parent Zoom calls.

Superintendent Johnson said that while opening in August is the main priority, being prepared for future setbacks or situations is also of the utmost importance. He said the county has a soft target for the end of June or early July for having a plan in place to reopen schools.

That gives everybody, schools and parents, a month to wrap their head around what the implications of this are. But we are not beholden to that timeline. Like Ive said, this is extremely fluid.

We need to prepare for not just August, but beyond, he added.

Mr. Fogleman and Lt. Col. Brooks will work with staff, parents, students, business leaders, health professionals, and the community to formulate the plan for schools reopening and children once again learning in the classrooms.

Officials said, "Hamilton County Schools is committed to the health and safety of our students and staff as we seek to immerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and return to classrooms. This unprecedented time for our world has created many significant hurdles for our community. Just as businesses and organizations looking for the best way to resume operation, the school district will examine all processes and procedures as we seek to bring students back to school campuses in the fall. The district recognizes that our school reopening plans have a significant effect on our community. As the task force moves forward with their work, the district will provide regular updates to ensure staff, families, and the community are prepared for what the next school year may look like at our local schools."



There will be four main areas of focus as plans are developed for the reopening of schools. The Task Force will seek to minimize risks to public health, address impacts on student learning and well-being, recognize the importance of the local public school to the community, and they will seek to optimize operational readiness.


The government has introduced legislation into Parliament designed to allay privacy fears around COVIDSafe. But the solution to privacy concerns lies not in laws but in a major makeover to keep personal data private. Such a makeover would also fix the major flaw that has marred the app from the start.

Australias coronavirus contact tracing app was unleashed over the Anzac weekend despite a known, major problem for iPhone users. It doesnt work properly unless phones are unlocked at all times.

The Apple security feature, originally designed to protect users from unwanted Bluetooth advertising, renders COVIDSafe useless for around 50 per cent of us.

To address this flaw, Apple has partnered with Google to develop a more effective contact tracing system known as Exposure Notifications  which will work on around 99 per cent of modern smartphones even when they are locked: Apples iPhones and Googles Android phones.
MBABANE  The advent of coronavirus did not stop BakaNgwane, Ministry of Housing and Municipal Council of Mbabane from establishing the demarcation of Mangwaneni Royal Kraal and residential area.



The dispute, which has been dragging for some years, yesterday saw the arrival of Indvuna Lusendvo Fakudze, which brought some glimmer of hope to the residents who had already assembled at the royal kraal. Their hope was, however, cut short by a group of over 10 policemen who stopped the residents dead in their tracks from being part of the meeting.



According to a well-placed source, deliberations touched upon the demarcations as per the map from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy.



A tour around Mangwaneni was later undertaken by the team, to ascertain how council was part of the area. Surveyor General Sidney Simelane led the delegation, which was shown a fence separating the royal kraal which did not fall under the Municipal Council of Mbabane. In a brief interview with Simelane, he said his responsibilities were to show the fence which was protecting the royal kraal.



Shortly after the inspection, Indvuna Fakudze assembled the people and reported that they had come to inspect how huge the royal kraal was along with tihonco and they would report back to Their Majesties.



Minister of Housing and Urban Development Prince Simelane said there was nothing other than confirming the separation of the royal kraal from the residential area. The minister said they would be reporting back to Nkhanini on Friday on the findings and come with the final solution on Mangwaneni.



As the official meeting continued, residents also held theirs separately where they made it known that they wanted council to furnish them with title deeds that showed that they were land owners. The residents said they were officially allocated land by the royal kraal and would continue to report there.



They also held placards stating that they did not want council in the area. Residents spoke in one accord that council allegedly wanted to rob them of their land under the guise that they would be bringing development in the area. There are elderly people here who will not afford to secure title deeds and pay rates, said the residents. They said councils intentions were to grab their land.



About a week ago, the same residents held a meeting where they vowed to report the minister of housing at Ludzidzini.

During a recent press conference, the minister said after the COVID-19 pandemic, they would take action against residents who continued to break the law at Mangwaneni by extending their houses. He said they would continue the process of plot allocations as well.



Prince Simelane made the statement in the wake of demolition orders being served to the residents who were extending or renovating their homesteads.



According to the minister, there was complete disorder that needed to be corrected at Mangwaneni.

The residents said council was waging war and would surely get what they wanted. They said the minister was being misled by council on the position of Mangwaneni.



They said BakaNgwane made it clear that the area was not under the urban boundaries and were surprised where the minister got the information that they were under the municipality from.

As far as we are concerned, we report to kaNgwane and not council, the residents said.



According to the residents, the minister had to visit them and hear their side of the story, adding that as it was, he was taking the councils side. We will not sit and fold our arms and watch council continue to trouble us, said the residents.



They wondered what interest council had in Mangwaneni as they had been told on numerous occasions that they were overstepping boundaries because Mangwaneni allegedly did not fall under the urban boundary.

Dumisani Magagula noted that council was not willing to work with the people.
NEW YORK CITYThe 45th anniversary of International Whores Day (IWD) will take place on June 2, 2020. It's an event, worldwide in scope, that began in Lyon, France in 1975 when more than 100 sex workers protested the violence and police brutality the sex workers suffered simply by attempting to practice their livelihood. Every year on June 2, sex workers around the world honor IWD by protesting the injustices they face, organizing community celebrations, and educating the public on the harmful policies affecting their survival and the need for the decriminalization of sex work.

On June 2, 2020, New York City-based sex workers are hosting the IWD NYC Digital Rally, from Noon to 2 p.m. ET/9 a.m.-Noon PT, where sex worker organizers will speak on how they are surviving and caring for their communities during the current pandemic and beyond. As a form of direct action, sex workers, sex work adjacent organizations, and allies worldwide will flood social media with graphics, art, and selfies featuring red, the color of sex work pride and protest.

Recognizing the importance of art and storytelling in sex worker organizing, the IWD NYC 2020 Coalition is also launching the IWD NYC 2020 Zine, a collaboration between 15 sex workers and allies documenting their experiences, art, and forms of resistance under the current racist, anti-immigrant, classist, homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic U.S. laws.

Sex workers cannot survive in the age of COVID-19 if they cannot work online. In 2018, FOSTA/SESTA devastated the sex industry by penalizing third-party online platforms for facilitating sexual commerce. COVID-19-related social distancing guidelines have forced sex workers to transition to online work, in spite of the risk of deplatforming, censorship, and surveillance. The recently proposed EARN IT Act only further threatens sex workers precarious existence online. The IWD NYC Digital Rally will highlight sex workers stories of COVID-19 survival, the urgent need for the decarceration of sex workers, the impact of government legislation like FOSTA/SESTA and EARN IT on sex workers livelihoods, and the need for the immediate decriminalization of sex work.

The IWD NYC Digital Rally lineup includes: TS Candii (DecrimNY), Ceyenne Doroshow (G.L.I.T.S), Lorelei Lee, Giselle Marie (#NYCStripperStrike), Ashley Paige (G.L.I.T.S), Leila Raven (DecrimNY), Red (Support Ho(s)e) on behalf of Alisha Walker (Survived + Punished), Kate Zen (Red Canary Song), and representatives from Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo and Make the Road NY.

The IWD NYC 2020 Coalition is comprised of NYC-based Sex Worker Rights organizers and supported by allies. The IWD NYC 2020 Coalition calls for an end to state violence, the decriminalization of sex work, the decriminalization of survival, and safety for people who trade sex. Member organizations include Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe, & Activist Center Survived + Punished , and SWOP Brooklyn . More information may be found at internationalwhoresday.com . Those interested may follow the movement/event at @iwdnyc
A large number of local business owners plan to gather on the south steps of Laredo City Hall on Wednesday morning to rally for the further reopening of Texas, which began two weeks ago under Gov. Greg Abbott.

One of the speakers slated to attend is Shelley Luther, a Dallas salon owner who has become an emblem of what some deem to be local overreach during this COVID-19 emergency.

After opening her salon in the midst of a stay at home order, she was cited, sentenced to a week in county jail and then released after Abbott modified his executive orders to eliminate jail time as a penalty for violating COVID-19 emergency orders.

Abbott named Luther and two Laredo women as examples of business owners who should not be thrown into jail due to a shutdown that is of no fault of their own.

Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia, 31, and Brenda Stephanie Mata, 20, were arrested and released on bond on April 15 for offering beauty services from their home during the stay at home order. Neither appear to be licensed cosmetologists with the state.

Luther has said that she plans to donate some of the $500,000 she has collected from a GoFundMe account to Castro-Garcia and Mata.

The rally on Wednesday is organized by a few local business owners, one of whom is Hugo Llanas, a local salon owner.

He said they are not against the city per se, but against government overreach. This will be an apolitical event, he noted.

Llanas has never considered himself an organizer, but a few weeks ago thought of holding this rally in support of local businesses such as his that were forced closed. Beauty salons may now open provided they keep a 6-foot social distance between work stations, use disposable supplies and sanitize between each customer visit.

The overreach this group is opposing is the citys 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, which Llanas believes is hurting business. Although the citys curfew does not apply to the businesses that the governor has allowed to open.

Llanas said they expect around 150 people to show up to the rally, but he is not concerned about the possible spread of the virus in what could be an atmosphere of close contact. Attendees may wear masks only if they so choose, he said.

Were responsible adults and we dont need the government telling us how to handle ourselves, Llanas said.

The main goal of the event is to show how many people were affected by the stay at home order. Not everyone can afford to stay home, Llanas said.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
SIOUX CITY -- As of Monday, 59 Seaboard Triumph Foods employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Sioux City pork plant said in a statement released Tuesday.

Seaboard Triumph Foods, which opened in the fall of 2017, employs around 2,400 workers. It is the second-largest fresh pork plant in the world, slaughtering more than 20,000 hogs daily. The plant is currently operating at less than full capacity in order to maximize distancing, according to the statement.

"As soon as we find out about an employee testing positive for COVID-19, we identify where they are assigned to immediately notify anyone who may have been in contact with those who test positive. Employees who are being tested are not allowed to return to work until they have been cleared by Human Resources," Seaboard said in the statement.

The statement said seven of the 59 employees who tested positive for COVID-19 have since recovered and were released by their doctor or local health department and cleared by human resources to come back to work. According to the statement, 108 employees have tested negative for COVID-19.

Ahmad Mohammad, the imam of the Islamic Center of Siouxland, told The Journal last week that a 56-year-old Seaboard Triumph Foods worker died of COVID-19 at a Sioux City hospital on May 1. The man, who was originally from Eritrea, lived in Des Moines before coming to the Sioux City metro area two months ago to work at the pork plant. The man was sick for about a week, according to Mohammad. He was the first Seaboard Triumph Foods worker and the fourth Sioux City metro meatpacking plant worker whose death has been attributed to the virus.

Seaboard said in the statement that as part of its normal operations, it has "robust anti-bacterial and anti-viral sanitization and sterilization protocols" in place under U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture oversight. Employees, whose temperatures are taken when entering the plant, are required to wear a company-supplied face mask and face shield at all times while working.

"All employees continue to be encouraged to stay home if they feel sick. Recognizing the important role in ensuring we continue to supply food to America in this time of crisis, we will continue to do everything we can to protect the health of our employees as we complete this important mission," the statement said.

Seaboard has modified line speeds at the Sioux City plant to expand space between employees and installed new protective systems, such as plexiglass dividers on cafeteria tables. It has expanded seating areas to help employees maintain physical distancing guidelines in break areas. The statement said clock in/out stations in plant were rearranged to minimize lines and increase separation at the employee entrance. Break times have also been staggered to increase separation in common areas.

"We've increased janitorial tasks to include regularly sanitizing all areas of the plant, such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment, and commonly touched surfaces," the statement said. "In addition, weve also begun routinely using antiviral fog in employee common areas and offices. Filters on air handling units were replaced in March."

According to the statement, employees with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are provided support through Seaboard's COVID-19 paid leave and health benefits programs, which include two weeks of normal wages.

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Manpower Minister Mohamed Saafan held a meeting Tuesday with Huawei Egypt CEO Vincent Sun to discuss ways of boosting joint cooperation in the field of communications and information technology.

The minister called for activating a cooperation protocol between the two sides to raise the efficiency of Egyptian engineers and help them set up startups that could cooperate later with Huawei.

He stressed that his ministry is keen on developing and modernizing the country's technological system in line with Egypt Vision 2030.

Vincent, meanwhile, invited Saafan to attend a ceremony to be held by the company on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its operation in Egypt.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:20:44|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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MOSCOW -- Russia has confirmed 10,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising its total number of infections to 232,243, its coronavirus response center said in a statement Tuesday.

The single-day increase has been over 10,000 for 10 consecutive days, the center's data showed.

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MANILA -- The Philippines' daily tally of new coronavirus infections rose by 264 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 11,350.

The Department of Health said in a report that 107 more patients have recovered from the disease, taking the number of recoveries to 2,106. It said that 25 more patients have died from the COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 751.

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BOGOTA -- Colombia's Avianca, the second-largest airline in Latin America, filed for bankruptcy in the United States on Sunday due to the "unforeseeable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," the company said in a statement.

In a filing to a bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, the company said along with "some of its subsidiaries and affiliates," it had asked to "voluntarily file for Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code."

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ULAN BATOR -- Mongolia's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) on Tuesday reported one more recovery from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 15.

A total of 80 tests for COVID-19 were conducted on Monday and all of them tested negative, the NCCD said in a statement.

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SYDNEY -- A batch of materials donated by China to help Papua New Guinea fight against COVID-19 arrived at the capital city of Port Moresby on Monday afternoon.

The 11 tons of protective equipment were donated by the Chinese government, the provincial governments of Fujian and Guangdong in south China, overseas Chinese and Chinese enterprises, according to the Chinese embassy in PNG.

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SEOUL -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the cluster infection from clubs and bars at a multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon in the South Korean capital Seoul rose to 102 as of midday Tuesday local time, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was up 16 compared to 24 hours earlier. Of the total, 64 were Seoul residents and 23 were residents of Gyeonggi province surrounding Seoul.

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NEW DELHI -- India's federal health ministry Tuesday morning said 87 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 3,604 positive cases were reported since Monday in the country, taking the number of deaths to 2,293 and total cases to 70,756.

"As on 8:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) Tuesday, 2,293 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," read information released by the ministry. Enditem
The loss of jobs over the past two months in Manitoba has created the most bleak employment picture since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Nonetheless, Manitoba is doing better than anywhere else in Canada based on key labour statistics.

Between February and April, the province lost nearly 84,900 jobs, most of them at retail stores, wholesalers, restaurants and hotels, Statistics Canada reported Friday as part of its monthly labour survey.

That 84,900 figure includes Manitobans who are unemployed as well as those no longer considered part of the workforce because they're unable to look for work  either because their industries don't exist at the moment or they must stay home to care for kids or other dependents.

Economists used the term "effective unemployment" to describe the number of conventionally unemployed workers plus former workers who can't even look for jobs due to the pandemic.

Effective unemployment was 23 per cent in April in Manitoba, lower than in any other province.

Effective unemployment paints a more complete picture than unemployment on its own, said Trevor Tombe, a Universality of Calgary economist.

"Because there are many people who are not counted as technically part of the labour force because they're out of work and not looking, we need a broader measure to truly get a sense of scale here," Tombe said in an interview.

While there's nothing positive to be gleaned from the knowledge one in four working-age Manitobans were forced on to the sidelines in April, every other province fared worse.

Jacques Marcoux/CBC

Effective unemployment hovered around 30 per cent in most provinces and approached 40 per cent in both Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Manitoba also did relatively well in two other measures of employment carnage. This province experienced the smallest percentage decline in Canada in total working hours between February and April.

The total hours worked in Manitoba dropped by 19 per cent over the two-month span. The loss of hours in other provinces ranged from 22.2 per cent in Saskatchewan to 36.4 per cent in Quebec.

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The average Manitoban worker also lost fewer hours than the average worker in other provinces. The average working-age Manitoban spent 6.9 per cent fewer hours at work in April than they did in February.

In the rest of the country, the average worker lost anywhere from 11 per cent of their hours in Saskatchewan to 21.8 per cent of their time on the job in Quebec.

Jacques Marcoux/CBC

To be clear, these are flimsy silver livings. Still, Manitoba's relatively strong employment showing compared to the rest of the country demands examination.

There are a number of potential explanations.

For starters, Manitoba reported very few cases of COVID-19 during the initial weeks of the pandemic and relatively few cases compared to its population overall.

Given how disruptive the illness is  demanding quarantines and shuttering workplaces  it makes sense to see Manitoba's relatively favourable economic picture mirror its public health outcome.

It's also plausible the nature of Manitoba's economic shutdown threw fewer people out of work. While some provinces banned all non-essential business, Manitoba allowed retailers to continue operating with curbside pickup.

"Our lockdown wasn't as comprehensive as others," said Phil Cyrenne, a University of Winnipeg economist. "I think that should help us in general."

Just as significantly, Manitoba held on to more of its public-sector workers between February and April than did most other provinces.

According to Statistics Canada, 2.1 per cent of Manitoba public-sector workers lost their jobs between February and April. Only in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia did smaller proportions of public-sector employees wind up out of work.

In Ontario, Alberta and B.C., closer to six per cent of public-sector workers wound up unemployed. The figure was 9.5 per cent in Quebec.

Jacques Marcoux/CBC

These tallies include all public-sector workers, not just provincial employees. In Manitoba, Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the provincial public workforce will be cut by an average of 2.2 per cent.

The province got closer to that goal on Monday, when Crown corporation Manitoba Hydro signalled its intention to lay off as many as 700 workers.

There's no guarantee Manitoba's relative good fortune in terms of job losses will translate into an earlier economic recovery. Too many variables remain unknown.

"I don't think businesses are ready for how long it will take to rehire people," said Cyrenne, noting some people collecting Canada Emergency Response Benefits are earning more than they did when they held minimum-wage jobs.

The even greater question is how badly the loss of 84,900 jobs will impact the rest of the economy, as the loss of consumer spending power spins off into manufacturing, transportation and other sectors of the economy.
Nicola Sturgeon today suggested Boris Johnson's back to work message is 'premature' as she urged Scottish businesses to ignore the UK government's guidance.

The Scottish First Minister reignited her coronavirus lockdown war with Mr Johnson as she told a briefing in Edinburgh the 'fundamental advice in Scotland remains unchanged'.

The Prime Minister said in his address to the nation on Sunday that employees will be 'actively encouraged' to go to back to work from Wednesday if they cannot work from home.

But Ms Sturgeon said she will only echo that message for people north of the border when she can 'persuade them that they are going to be safe at their workplace'.

The SNP leader's latest comments came after she responded to Mr Johnson's original address by claiming he had not been clear enough that his lockdown exit strategy mainly only related to England.

Nicola Sturgeon today urged Scottish businesses to ignore Boris Johnson's back to work message as she suggested it is 'premature'

Mr Johnson said in an address to the nation on Sunday that people will be 'actively encouraged' to return to work from Wednesday

Ms Sturgeon told today's briefing 'we are not through this yet' as she urged Scottish firms to stick to Scottish guidance.

She also said any firm which may be based in England or elsewhere but has offices in Scotland must 'have regard' to the rules set by Holyrood.

She said: The final point I want to make today is that as I have emphasised over the past couple of days, the lockdown restrictions remain in place for Scotland.

So it is maybe worth stressing what this currently means in relation to employers and employees.

I know that the UK government published guidance for businesses yesterday.

I want to stress that that guidance is not yet operational in Scotland since at this stage we are not currently encouraging more people to go back to work.

I would ask instead that all employers follow Scottish government guidance.

I am very grateful for the fact that the vast majority of employers have been so responsible throughout this crisis so I am sure that most will do this and will not urge workers to come back to work prematurely.'

Ms Sturgeon said she will only tell people to return to work when she can be confident it is safe for them to do so.

'We all want to see businesses able to operate as close to normal as possible, as soon as possible,' she said.

'But I will not act in a way that compromises the safety of workers and I will not ask workers to go back, even if I don't think their safety has been compromised, unless I can persuade them that they are going to be safe at their workplace.

'Because I think we owe it to people given the quite traumatic circumstances that people are going through right now that we assure people that when they go to work or when they send their kids to school they are as safe as it is possible for them to be.'

The Scottish First Minister said she knew the current restrictions are 'very hard and they get tougher to comply with every single day that passes'.

But she insisted the rules remained unchanged 'for a reason' and that the more people comply with them 'we will all come out of lockdown sooner and we will do so in a way which minimises the number of lives lost'.


Hamilton has four new COVID-19 outbreaks, as Public Health Ontario says a contaminated coronavirus testing agent is likely behind 18 false positive cases in the city.

The four new outbreaks are at long-term care homes where public health recently conducted mass testing of staff and residents. There is just one staff member infected at three of the homes, including Arbour Creek Care Centre, Extendicare Hamilton and Village of Wentworth Heights, and two staff members infected at Grace Villa. All cases are asymptomatic.

This is now the second outbreak at Grace Villa. The previous outbreak, in which one staff member tested positive, ended May 5.

Meanwhile, Public Health Ontario (PHO) says it believes a bad chemical reagent caused 18 false positive cases involving five Hamilton seniors homes.

Initial investigation suggests the false positives were the result of a contaminated PCR reagent (which tests for COVID-19) from one of the vendors that supplies the PHO laboratory, said Janet Wong, a Public Health Ontario spokesperson. This was a very low-level contaminant that was detected in the Hamilton lab by the quality system that is in place. The reagent was a unique lot and not in use in any other PHO site, so it did not pose a wider risk. The reagent in question has been taken out of use.

An investigation is ongoing, Wong said.

Hamilton public health first revealed Friday that Ontarios regional public health laboratory on Fennell Avenue West had flagged irregular test results. After retesting the samples, 10 cases at Macassa Lodge  a city-run long-term care facility  were deemed to be false positives.

Further retesting revealed eight more false positives.

The eight additional cases affect four seniors homes across the city. The homes include Heritage Green and Wentworth Lodge, which each had three false positives, and St. Elizabeths Villa and First Place, which each had one false positive.

Heritage Green, which previously had an outbreak that had ended, was put back in outbreak May 1. Wentworth Lodge, which also previously had an outbreak, was put back into outbreak May 5. They remain on the citys outbreak list, despite having zero cases, and will be removed once public health receives the results of outstanding staff tests.

Once all the staff results are in, if they are all negative, the outbreak will be declared over, said Kelly Anderson, Hamilton public health spokesperson.

We sincerely hope there are no more issues with false positives but the accuracy of lab testing rests with the (Public Health Ontario laboratory).

Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, said its better the cases were false positives than false negatives.

While a false positive can be scary and stressful, a false negative is dangerous because it can give people a false sense of security.

False positives  cause you to take an alarmed approach but they also cause you to be careful and cautious, Furness said. Thats not going to make anyone sick or dead.

Furness said false positives can occur when a negative swab is mishandled and comes in contact with a positive swab, when the swab is in a setting where it may be sprayed by droplets of the virus in the air, or when the test is otherwise contaminated, as appears to be the case in Hamilton.

False negatives can occur when a person is swabbed too early before showing symptoms, when a swab doesnt pick up the right cells, or when the swab is otherwise spoiled.

Public Health Ontarios Wong says the test for COVID-19 is highly sensitive and can detect the smallest traces of the COVID-19 virus. The PHO lab has not identified any false negative results, she said.

Still, people can test negative for the virus when they have it, such as in cases when theyre tested too soon, she said.

That is why public health measures such as physical distancing are important to stop potential transmission of the virus, Wong said.

Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford said at a Tuesday briefing the province plans to randomly test Ontarians for COVID-19.

As soon as we work on the emergencies  and right now, its long-term care  we will make sure that we have the opportunity to randomly test and also track and trace, Ford said, referring to contact tracing.

Mass testing in long-term care homes across the province is expected to wrap up late this week or early next week, Ford said.

Epidemiologists have said random testing may be the best bet for identifying and controlling the viruss spread, especially as economies open up.

There were 485 confirmed cases and five probable cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton on Tuesday. A total of 360 cases have resolved and 24 people have died.
MANZINI- Fearing for the worst! This phrase best describes the emotional state of residents who reside adjacent to Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre in the hub.



This comes after a proposal to make the exhibition facility a quarantine centre for COVID-19 positive patients.

Last Monday, senators visited the centre to view and discuss the possibility of upgrading the pavilions into a quarantine centre and they gave the proposal a green light.



In fact, the Ministry of Health had noted that a greater number of COVID-19 positive people had mild sicknesses. Therefore, the ministry, which is worried about the capacity of the Lubombo Referral Hospital, started looking for alternative isolation centres.



Challenge



The ministry said the alternative quarantine centre (Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre) would help ease the beds challenge for COVID-19 positive patients.

However, the ministrys proposal did not sit well with a majority of residents who reside closer to the exhibition centre as they received it with mixed feelings.



A visit made by this reporter last week revealed that a majority of the residents were troubled by the ministrys proposal.

One of the residents, Sizolethu Nhleko said he did not have much information about the virus.

It is said that the coronavirus is spread by the movement of people, but most people are at home in light of the partial lockdown, yet the virus is still spreading very fast, he said.



According to Nhleko what was even more confusing to him was the fact that scientists have attested that of late the virus was also found among animals which then did not rule out the possibility that it could easily travel.

Nhleko said if that was the case, then making Mavuso a quarantine centre for COVID-19 positive people would be more hazardous to them since they were living closer to the facility.



We can only rely on Gods protection because the protection of men is not enough, he said.

However, he was quick to mention that there was nothing they could do or say if government had already taken the decision to use Mavuso as a quarantine centre.



He said they could only hope that government would tighten security to minimise the movement of people in and out of the exhibition centre.

Another resident, Janet Mango wondered what criteria government had used in selecting Mavuso as a quarantine centre given its location.



She pointed out that according to her, government should have used boarding schools which are far from town as quarantine centres for people with COVID-19.

This she said was because schools were closed, yet boarding schools are equipped with all the facilities necessary for people who are isolated.



Such facilities include canteens, beds and showers, among others.

Hazardous



According to another resident who chose to be anonymous, the latest development would pose a major hazardous effect on them as they were likely to contract the virus from the people moving in and out of the facility.



He said as residents of the area, they were of the view that government should have first relocated them, further away from the Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre in the event they were on a mission to use the place as a quarantine for COVID-19 positive people.



This he said was because according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, a quarantine centre should preferable be placed in the outskirts of the urban/city area (can be a hostel, used health care facilities/buildings, etc), away from peoples reach, crowded and populated areas, well protected and secure (preferably by security personnel/army), and should have a better approachability to tertiary hospital facility.



He said some of these guidelines were not followed when selecting Mavuso as a quarantine centre because it is located in the urban and densely populated Manzini.

In justifying this, he said COVID -19 was a fast moving pandemic which placed them (residents) at a greater risk of contracting it.

Whenever there is a development in an area the residents who would be affected are normally relocated and given a new place. Government should do likewise, he said.



Another resident, Nomalungelo Ngobeni said if she had the privilege to do things her way, she would relocate from the area in fear of being infected with the novel virus.



Ngobeni emphasised the fact that in the event the exhibition centre was eventually used as quarantine, the residents should be furnished with protective gear like face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

She also mentioned that government should make it a priority that they disinfect all the houses located adjacent to the place at least once in two days.



Senzelweyinkhosi Dladla had a different opinion regarding the proposed quarantine.

According to Dladla, there was nothing wrong with making the exhibition centre a quarantine facility for COVID-19 positive people.



This she said was because the people would be kept within the boundaries of the quarantine centre without having access to the outside world.



Security



She did, however, mention that the security personnel should up their game by making sure that the people quarantined inside stayed within the facility at all times, failing which they were likely to impose a danger to the residents who stayed closer to the exhibition centre as they might infect them.



The Director of Health Services, Dr Vusi Magagula said they first accessed the situation and considered the homesteads located closer to the exhibition centre before coming to the decision to use Mavuso as a quarantine centre.



He said they did not pick the place randomly but first considered whether or not such a decision would have an effect on residents and they discovered that the quarantine centre would not have any major effects on the residents situated closer to the quarantine centre.
Chanel Dickerson, the assistant chief for patrol services, said officers had responded to the location for a report of a person who had shown up at an address despite having been barred from the location.

Dickerson said the male officer confronted the man and was shot during a scuffle. She said other officers took the man into custody and that no officers are believed to have fired their weapons.

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Police said they are looking for surveillance cameras that might have captured the shooting, and for witnesses. The man who was arrested has not been publicly identified pending the filing of formal charges.

Barring notices can be issued by owners of private property to prevent people from entering. Dickerson did not have details of why this particular order had been issued.

The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was in good spirits, Dickerson said.

Clarence Williams contributed to this report.

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ARISS to attempt second test of new Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is announcing a second test of its new distance-learning ARISS radio contacts with astronauts.



ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and astronauts with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be the second test of the new-style radio contact, called Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio.The concept was developed for distance learning when schools closed worldwide due to COVID-19.

The virus eliminated all opportunities for ARISS radio contacts at education organizations. A new ARISS telebridge radio ground station will be used this time, this operated by John Sygo, amateur radio call sign ZS6JON, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

The new concept requires three things. The ARISS telebridge radio ground station --a satellite ham radio station with special equipment that an ARISS team member uses for teleconferencing, the ham astronaut on the ISS using the ARISS ham radio station, and students at their homes. The telebridge radio operator links to the astronaut at the ARISS radio mic, and each youth ties in from home via their telephones. Their families can listen along with faculty and the public from home. Each student takes a turn asking their question of the astronaut.

The youth taking part in ARISS's second test belong to the Airdrie Space Science Club in Airdrie, AB, Canada The radio contact is scheduled for May 15 at 15:10 UTC. ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, amateur radio call sign KF5KDR, will support the ARISS radio contact. Prior to COVID, the students had participated in space and radio communications lessons such as balloon launches with ham radio payloads and building model rockets to launch.

Brian Jackson, amateur radio call sign VE6JBJ, is one of the five club leaders. He related,"During this pandemic, our opportunities to develop kids' interest in space has been interrupted. This ARISS contact gets them looking back up, towards the sky, and imagining themselves as an astronaut one day." 

The ARISS telebridge ground station ZS6JON, located in South Africa, will operate the radio contact.

ARISS invites the public to view the livestream of the upcoming ARISS radiotest at: https://youtu.be/2mflSlShPHA

During the contact, youth will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

1.How has seeing Earth from its orbit affected you, in your frame of reference when moving around the ISS,or in your perspective of humanity as a whole?

2.What happens if you vomit in the space station? How do you clean it up?

3.How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you while you are in space?

4.What will be your first meal when you get back to Earth?

5.What does it feel like when the rocket lifts off?

6.What does the space station smell like?

7.Was training to be an astronaut harder or easier than training to be a navy seal?

8.What experiment that you've done had the most unexpected results? What was the expected and actual outcome of said experiment?

9.How successful is your 3-D printer on the station?

10.We are a model rocket building club. Did you ever build model rockets when you were young?

11.What does microgravity feel like on your body?

12.Does the Earth look any clearer or less polluted now compared to when you flew in 2009 and with Canadian Chris Hadfield in 2013?

13.Do you play any games while you are on the ISS?

14.What kind of music do you listen to?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperativeventure of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

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MediaContact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR
SHANGHAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Smartphone shipments from China's factories to vendors rose 17% in April compared to the same month a year ago, according to government data released on Tuesday.

The numbers suggest an early domestic rebound for smartphone makers such as Apple Inc and Huawei Technolgies and a potential return to normalcy in China for the broader consumer hardware market in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak.

Phone makers shipped 40.8 million handsets in April, up from 34.8 million in April 2019, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a state-backed think tank.

For the first time in years, the organisation did not reveal the percentage of Android devices shipped, a key metric that gave insight into how many smartphones Apple sold in China each month.

Private research firms tracking the smartphone sector such as Canalys, IDC and Counterpoint Research all reported that in the first quarter shipments of Apple devices in China declined in the low single digits.

Rival Huawei managed to keep shipments relatively flat in the quarter while Chinese Android players Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Corp bore the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak with shipment volumes decreasing by double-digit percentages, according to the research groups.

Apple and its rival smartphone brands do not publicly release regional shipments. (Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
By Trend

The number of coronavirus tests conducted in Azerbaijan has been revealed, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB).

As of May 11, 4,134 tests were conducted to detect new cases of infection.

In accordance with the data, in general, 197 ,545 tests were conducted throughout the country.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Three weeks ago, Olga Gutierrez called a taxi so she could take her 11-year old son Julio to the hospital. His sore throat was unbearable and she was worried he had COVID-19.

But Julios symptoms werent enough to warrant a test, Gutierrez was told, so she brought her son back to the cramped Bridgeport house they share with 14 other relatives, including Julios sister and father. Two weeks later, an uncle living with them tested positive for the coronavirus - although he, too, was initially told he didnt meet the criteria for a test at Bridgeport Hospital.

Everyone else in the family was denied testing at the local community health center except for one aunt, who had a fever. She tested positive and has quarantined herself in one room of the small home.

Members of Julios family  all undocumented, uninsured immigrants from Honduras  have been out of work since the pandemic hit and dont know how they will pay the $2,000 bill for his emergency room visit last month  or any other medical bills associated with the virus.

Were just hoping no one else has it, Gutierrez said.

While accounts of people being denied testing due to scarcity of supplies were not uncommon at the beginning of the public health crisis, frustration is growing that Connecticut residents living in low income, predominantly minority neighborhoods continue to face larger barriers to testing and other services.

Nine weeks into the pandemic, there are only a handful of walk-up testing sites in the state, prohibiting those without cars from getting tested. Until last Friday, two-thirds of the states testing sites required a doctors note, and many of the residents living in these communities have no insurance or primary care doctor to refer them. Most of the community health centers located in these struggling neighborhoods have not been able to expand the number of COVID tests they can complete.

Kevin Hall, a resident of New Havens Whalley Avenue neighborhood who lost his job because of the pandemic, said he knows there are testing sites in the city, but they arent anywhere near his high-poverty neighborhood.

I havent actually seen any, said Hall. Government moves slower where the money is small. When the money is small, things always take longer.

People living in inner-city neighborhoods also warn that communication about the disease and how to get assistance has been confusing, that financial support for those who have lost their jobs has been sluggish, and that hunger is now a real threat for many blacks and Latinos living in poverty-stricken areas.

There is also a growing sense that, as Connecticuts focus turns to reopening the economy, pandemic-related dangers and hardships experienced by poor people of color are being overlooked or disregarded. Minority lawmakers and community activists are now pushing for a dramatic change in the states coronavirus response in their inner-city neighborhoods.

Weve heard state government talk about helping communities of color, said Jean Jordan, a retired teacher who heads the New London NAACP. But what are they doing about it? I dont see anything being done yet.

Members of the legislatures Black and Puerto Rican Caucus are growing increasingly frustrated with the states slow progress to address gaps in services and testing.

Long story short, our communities are suffering. There is a real need for the government to make this thing right, said state Rep. Brandon McGee, a Democrat from Hartford and the leader of the caucus. One major, major, major, major, major piece, is making sure we have access to testing in some of these areas.

Health equity experts and members of the caucus are calling on the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont to better research the inequalities in communities of color that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and come up with a plan to tackle the problems.

When we dont have a clear strategy that keeps equity at the center when distributing testing resources, were likely to see this kind of disproportionate access, Wizdom Powell, director of the Health Disparities Institute at UConn Health, told members of the caucus during a recent Zoom meeting, speaking of her suspicion that those who live in underserved communities are being tested less. We need to know more.

How hard is COVID-19 hitting communities of color?

Repeated calls for the state to begin tracking the racial and ethnic breakdown of the virus, both in terms of who is being tested and hospitalized and better tracking who is contracting the illness, have not led to any changes.

Members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, the state chapter of the NAACP, minority residents and health equity experts are increasingly frustrated that their requests for better data collection have not materialized, stymying efforts to better understand how black and Hispanic communities are being impacted by the illness.

We have repeatedly requested that the CT Department of Public Health provide the race and ethnicity demographic data of patients tested for and affected by COVID-19, Scot Esdaile, president of the NAACP, wrote Lamont on April 15. It is critical that this information be collected in a sceintific and organized manner and reported in a transparent fashion for the purpose of addressing ongoing health inequities.

Weeks later, Department of Public Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell told lawmakers during a town hall Zoom meeting that she agrees data is needed to better understand how COVID-19 is impacting black and Hispanic residents.

I will tell you there has been many conversations with [sic] myself and my deputy and a couple of others at the department about the importance of having this racial and ethnic data breakdown. Anecdotally, we know what the story is, right? Do we really need the data to know it? But it helps support the story, she said.

But nine weeks into the public health emergency, the Lamont administration has provided no plan to better understand who is getting access to testing or being hospitalized. The data released each day by the administration shows that black and Hispanic residents are more than twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 - but one out of every three positive test results have no race or ethnicity information filled out. Connecticut has the fifth highest share of cases coming back with unknown race or ethnicity among the 39 states that report the breakdown, a review by Solutions Journalism Network shows.

In Connecticut, a large share of the unknown results are people who live in cities where the majority of residents are minorities.

Town-level data shows communities with high percentages of minorities are being hit the hardest. For example, in New Haven, where 70% of the population is minority, 129 residents out of every 10,000 has tested positive for COVID-19, compared to 42 residents in suburban Orange, where just 13% of the residents are minorities. These figures are accurate through last Wednesday and exclude nursing home residents, who have also been impacted harshly by COVID.

In New London, where 55% of the population is minority, 33 out of every 10,000 residents outside of nursing homes have COVID-19, compared to 14 out of every 10,000 residents in Waterford, where fewer that 18% of the residents are minorities.

Gov. Ned Lamont has frequently acknowledged during his daily briefings the disparate impact the virus is having on underserved communities and highlighted the efforts his administration has made to help those living in these communities. Last Thursday, for example, Lamont announced the state will no longer require a doctors order to get tested and will begin allowing pharmacists to administer tests if they can get them. He also pointed to two mobile vans, capable of testing 60 people a day, that the state Department of Public Health recently began sending to underserved communities.

The issue of the supplies really does dictate how much we can do on a daily basis. But were so committed to this initiative, said Coleman-Mitchell, during a recent interview.

But some urban activists are irate about the multiple weeks its taken state and city governments to start providing such services to low-income communities and insist the pace still isnt fast enough.

I hear promises [testing sites] are coming, said Tamara Lanier, a Norwich resident and head of the southeast Connecticut chapter of the NAACP. But theres nothing I know of right now where I can go to get tested.

We have been asking from the beginning, where are the tests? John Lugo, director of New Haven-based Unidad Latina en Accion, said. Right now, its getting better.

With testing levels still not showing a surge, state and local officials have said in recent days that some of the testing centers are underutilized.

Right now we have a little bit of extra capacity, Lamont said Monday. Look, you got a cough, you got something that makes you think twice about it, I would go get tested.

State officials were unable to provide a rundown last week of which locations have unused capacity, other than a CVS testing site in New Haven. The state is building a data portal to record testing capacity and results from hospitals, pharmacies and other test sites to ensure vulnerable populations have access to testing, officials said.

The state ranks 13th in the nation for the number of tests it has conducted on a per-capita basis, despite having the fifth-highest per-capita rate of residents testing positive for the virus, an analysis of testing data from the Covid Tracking Project and state population data from the Census show.

Meanwhile, residents and activists in many of Connecticuts minority communities say COVID-19 testing in their neighborhoods continues to be absent or inadequate. They insist they need action now rather than more promises from the Lamont administration about ramping up testing in communities of color. People in inner-city neighborhoods also warn that communication about the disease and how to get assistance has been confusing.

Rev. Carl McCluster, pastor of Bridgeports Shiloh Baptist Church, said there are no residents from poor communities of color on the governors reopening advisory committee - proof that these communities are being excluded from the decision-making process.

Look at the list and tell me who is really in touch with their community, McCluster said, pointing out that Lamonts advisory panel is dominated by current or former corporate leaders, academics and scientists - none of whom actually live in poor minority neighborhoods.

I think it took longer than it should have for state government to recognize the necessity of engaging minority communities, McCluster said. Clergy from Connecticuts cities are asking the Lamont administration to include faith-based organizations more in the states COVID-19 response in communities of color.

Turned down for testing at the hospitals

In the weeks after the novel coronavirus swept into Frog Hollow - one of the states most impoverished and segregated neighborhoods - hundreds of sick residents trying to get tested showed up at the local health center.

Some had been turned away from Hartford Hospital because they either werent sick enough to be hospitalized or they didnt have a referral from a doctor in the groups network. Others came straight to the community health center because they didnt have a car to go through the hospitals testing drive-through or lacked health insurance and didnt trust they could leave the hospital without a huge bill.

Too many people showed up.

The health center - located in a neighborhood where 10% of the residents have no health insurance and are significantly more likely to have asthma, diabetes and other chronic health problems that make them particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus - had only five COVID-19 tests to administer each day. That meant one out of every three people who needed a test were turned away or given a doctors note and told to go to the drive-up testing site at the other hospital in the city. That hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, at least didnt require a referral from one of its providers.

Right now, most of our patients havent been able to get tested at the hospital. Theyve been turned away. So theyre been coming here, Nichelle Mullins, president of Charter Oak Health Center, said last week during an interview. Access to testing has been very difficult.

Some decided they couldnt wait in the long drive-up line, and so staff at Charter Oak added their names and contact information to the list of people to call when they had an extra test. The mobile van that the governor regularly touts stopped by here twice to help clear that list and has tested 59 people, of which 15 were positive.

This sluggish testing pace continued for weeks as the virus ravaged city neighborhoods. In Hartford, 107 residents have died after contracting the virus, 65 of whom were living outside of nursing homes. Just over 1,100 city residents outside of nursing homes have tested positive for COVID-19.

The stakes are high to identify who has COVID-19 in communities of color so health officials and residents can stop the spread of the virus. Minorities are less likely to have health insurance, and more likely to have respiratory illness, like asthma or other serious health conditions, that make COVID-19 more dangerous.

On Monday - seven weeks after the first Hartford resident tested positive for the coronavirus - the community health center increased its testing capacity from 5 to 60 people each day. It will still take days for people to get their results.

I think the political community took it too lightly at first, McCluster said of the need for swift action in communities of color when the pandemic hit hard. Two weeks is huge in something like this.

Coleman-Mitchell said increased testing capacity at the community health centers is a top priority, adding that the state intends to use some of the federal funds it has received to pay for expanded testing in the coming weeks.

We are committed to testing mass numbers of the underserved and those at greatest risk for COVID-19, she said.

The commissioner does not support the state establishing standards for centers to determine who gets tested.

Some advocates say such a step is necessary to remove any implicit biases that might lead to black and Hispanic residents being turned away.

If everybodys playing by the same rules, then people have a better chance, said Pat Baker, president of the Connecticut Health Foundation. Everyone would have a fair shot at it. So it does take away barriers to securing access that may be there for some populations.

But those decisions are best left to medical providers, Coleman-Mitchell explained.

Theyre more than qualified to make a clinical call as to who should get tested based on what the CDC guidance provides in terms of symptoms, and the likelihood, she said. So they are able to make that assessment and we trust that they do.

With one-third of the states low-income families having access to a vehicle, providing walk-up testing options is critical, legislators and advocates say. The state also needs a centralized repository for all its testing information, including locations, hours and rules.

I would urge the state to think about not only testing sites where people can drive, but how is it you could get to a test site on foot? Where are they? What are their hours? Baker said. I think we need a statewide messaging campaign to reach and target at-risk populations.
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President Trump is moving to cut investment ties between U.S. federal retirement funds and Chinese equities, FOX Business has learned in a move that is tied to the handling of COVID 19.

In the first letter written Monday, obtained exclusively by FOX Business, national security adviser Robert OBrien and National Economic Council Chair Larry Kudlow write to U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia stating that the White House does not want the Thrift Savings Plan, which is a federal employee retirement fund, to have money invested in Chinese equities that numbers about $4 billion in assets.

It says the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is Departing from the Boards established index for the International Stock Investment Fund (I Fund) to track one that maintains Chinese equities is risky and unjustified." The letter directly links Chinas handling of COVID-19 as one of several reasons why investment in Chinese companies should not occur.

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In the second letter, Scalia writes to Michael Kennedy, the chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, sharing the Kudlow/OBrien letter noting the two have grave concerns with the planned investment on grounds of both investment risk and national security.

It concludes by saying that moving the assets out of a certain fund is "at the direction of President Trump."

Scalia wants a response by Wednesday.

WAITING FOR CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS CHECK? DIRECT DEPOSIT INFORMATION IS DUE WEDNESDAY, IRS SAYS

The move is likely to rachet up tensions between the U.S. and China as the terms of their Phase One trade deal come under scrutiny.

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Googles latest report on What Indias Searching For? tries to uncover the latest insights for brands by showing marketers whats on the top of mind of consumers.

Consumer time spent on smartphone devices has gone through the roof. According to Nielsen data, the average user spent 4.5 hours per day on their smartphone in Week 3 of Covid-19. Indians are communicating with other members of their community using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services and social media usage has grown by 20% in terms of time spent per user per week.

This has understandably put a burden on their broadband connections with Google reporting 4X growth for search queries such as slow internet and broadband connections.

Users are also turning to the web to look for the best and build their brand consideration sets much before the actual purchase. With the closure of major retail stores, search queries for essential services near me or providing delivery saw an unprecedented boost. 50% of users wanted to know the response of brands to Covid-19 crisis in terms of closing of stores, changing hours etc.

Search queries like grocery delivery near me, online grocery delivery, ration dukaan saw as much as 550%, 350%, and 300% increase in volume of queries. How things are made and ingredient based have been a growing category of interest for Indians over the past several years. Post-Covid-19 there has been a 500% increase in immunity based searches as consumers leaned on local language queries for traditional homemade supplies remedies. Recently, search volumes for vitamin C grew by 150%.

There has been an accelerated amount of interest in e-learning as searches for learn online and teach online saw an uptake. The following table reflects the dynamics of the current demand and supply in Edu-tech.

Also, with job security and hiring taking a hit due to the pandemic, users were looking at digital to look for job opportunities to sustain during these tough times. There was a steady rise in search queries for work from home job and work from home internships which saw 50% and 150% increase.

People are also looking to get fit during the lockdown with search queries for gym at home and full body workout at home seeing an increase of 93% and 90% respectively. Keyword yoga asanas also saw a 70% growth in search volumes.

Overall food recipe related searches have grown by 20% on YouTube. The search intent shows a craving for street food with queries like chhole recipe, panipuri recipe and 5-minute recipes seeing a 148%, 107%, and 56% respectively. There has been a 270% increase in search queries with easy in same category which shows that people are trying out new things.

As consumers rely on digital for everyday activities, they are also looking to navigate their long-term financial goals in this period of economic instability. They are looking at risk mitigating investment plans and specific insurance schemes. Trading on brokerage platforms has seen a massive leap. Searches from non-metros across certain insurance categories grew 2x as fast as metros and local language search also saw a boost. Search query Corona insurance saw a whopping 1230% growth.

As physical submission of cash and check payments has been discouraged owing to Covid-19 there has been a surge in search queries regarding online bill payment.

Amongst digital payments, UPI had 3x more search interest than IMPS and 1.5x more than NEFT in 2019. Searches about UPI from non-metros grew faster at 79% compared to metros at 28%

Search for on demand services saw a hike as consumers look to limit face to face interactions and look for alternatives. Free video dating, consult doctor online, collaborative softwares and online doctor queries saw the most growth.

Content consumption has seen a spike across platforms. search interest for overall video streaming platforms saw a massive surge between 40-120% as Indians clocked almost 4 hours/week/person on video-on-demand. Search queries show interest in following genres of content.

Consumers are also searching for music streaming content in local languages. Search intent is skewed towards music videos.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 04:11:23|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Expected health expenditure in Germany in 2019 had gone up by 4.3 percent to 407.4 billion euros (442 billion U.S. dollars) compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Tuesday.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, health spending in Germany had continually risen, Destatis noted. In 2018, health expenditure in the country amounted to 390.6 billion euros, accounting for 11.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

With 56.9 percent, Germany's statutory health insurers accounted for the largest share of cost in 2018, followed by private households and private non-profit organizations, according to Destatis.

On Monday, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported that statutory health insurance companies in Germany were heading for a deficit of more than 14 billion euros in 2020, fueled by the coronavirus crisis.

The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV) announced on Tuesday that the pandemic represented an "unprecedented challenge for the German healthcare system."

Covering 73 million citizens, the umbrella association of all 105 statutory health and nursing insurance companies warned that German insurers were facing a twofold problem.

"Due to the additional coronavirus expenses on the one hand and the increasing economic problems with declining premium income on the other hand, the question of the financial stability of the statutory health insurance is now also coming into focus," said Doris Pfeiffer, GKV chair of the board. Enditem
Northern Ireland's beleaguered hospitality sector has published a 12-point plan for recovery as it faces potential losses of 1.1bn and almost 16,000 jobs

Northern Ireland's beleaguered hospitality sector has published a 12-point plan for recovery as it faces potential losses of 1.1bn and almost 16,000 jobs.

The hospitality industry's Covid-19 Response Group yesterday released its 'Road to Recovery' report containing the plan to reopen and rebuild the sector when the time is right.

The report also highlights the potential loss of 1.1bn in turnover and 15,800 jobs this year due to the coronavirus pandemic - a catastrophic loss compared to its pre-Covid-19 days with a turnover of around 2bn sustaining 65,000 jobs.

Response group chairman Brian Murphy, managing partner of BDO NI, said the report was a plan "to enable the industry to get back on its feet".

"These are incredibly difficult times for many business sectors, but the hospitality industry, which was one of the first to close, is undoubtedly the hardest impacted and will most likely be the hardest to rebuild," Mr Murphy said,

"However, there is a clear desire within the industry to reopen and rebuild - but that will require an ongoing partnership with Government.

"The industry will require ongoing Government support to ensure that the many thousands of jobs are preserved and that the reopening of the sector can act as a catalyst for the recovery throughout the economy."

In a joint statement Janice Gault, CEO of the NI Hotels Federation, and Colin Neill, CEO of Hospitality Ulster, said they hoped that today's expected announcement of the Stormont Executive's road map to recovery would include a date for reopening hospitality businesses.

"The path towards reopening should be underpinned with sound scientific data and the wellbeing of staff and customers to the fore," they said.

"A framework around which businesses can reopen that gives the sector the ability to adapt the operating procedures, review the fiscal impact on trading and assess the viability of business going forward.

"Any decision to reopen should be based on how safe the business is, and how we can ensure it is sustainable under social distancing rules, and not based on what they sell or how large they are."
He welcomed his daughter with wife Amelia in January 2019.

And Matthew Wright's little girl Cassady, 15 months, made an adorable appearance on Tuesday's This Morning, as he tried to give her nursery a makeover.

The broadcaster, 54, was joined by the tot as he appeared live from his home in North London, to receive some expertise from interior designer Kelly Hoppen about transforming the room.

Sweet: Matthew Wright's little girl Cassady, 15 months, made an adorable appearance on Tuesday's This Morning, as he tried to give her nursery a makeover

Matthew appeared on the show will little Cassady in his arms, as wife Amelia took charge of the camera during the segment.

He explained to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby the tot had just woken up just minutes before going on air.

Matthew explained that Cassady's 'tiny' nursery was currently being used as a makeshift office, and he wanted help from Kelly about how to rearrange the space.

She suggested ideas including moving all of Matthew's office supplies to one side of the room, and his daughter's things to the other side.

Cute: The broadcaster was joined by the tot as he appeared live from his home in North London to receive some expertise from interior designer Kelly Hoppen

Matthew and wife Amelia welcomed their daughter in January 2019 after trying for eight years and enduring six failed IVF attempts and one life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.

The star revealed at the time he almost missed the birth of his first child after being stuck in traffic.

Matthew said that he was 'having kittens', after coming off air to learn that his wife was in labour with their baby daughter on the other side of London.

New look: Matthew explained he wanted Kelly's expertise to transform the 'tiny' room, which he was also using as a makeshift office

After receiving a text as he finished his radio show, the star hopped in a car to make his way across London from Waterloo to Hammersmith, where Amelia was giving birth at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.

He said to Hello Magazine at the time: 'There was a taxi drivers' strike, every road we went on was stuck and there was no more communication from her.

It took one hour 15 minutes to get from my offices in Waterloo to the hospital in Hammersmith, usually it would be 40 minutes, and I was having kittens.'

Daddy's girl: Matthew and wife Amelia welcomed their daughter in January 2019 after trying for eight years and enduring six failed IVF attempts (pictured in June 2019)

Amelia said: 'My blood pressure suddenly went sky high and they said, 'This is dangerous, it has to happen now'.

'They said they would try and wait for Matthew to get there but otherwise they were going to have to start.

'He needed to get there no later than when he did, or he would have missed it.'

Matthew has been with his second wife Amelia, a Sony music executive, since 2007 and they have been married since 2010.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
L orraine Kelly left Rob Beckett and Josh Widdecombe red-faced on Good Morning Britain today after their interview went awry.

The comedians were on the ITV breakfast programme to discuss their brand new podcast Lockdown Parenting Hell, before things turned naughty.

As the chat drew to a close, Beckett, 34, asked whether Kelly, who has a daughter in her mid-twenties, would like to appear on the podcast.

To which Kelly, 60, replied: Id love to! Id do anything with you two. Anything at all!

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The risque reply saw Beckett joke: Well, okay. Lets keep that two metres apart.

Struggling to stifle her giggles, Kelly fired straight back: Well, Ive heard thatll be alright for you, though, two metres apart?

Yeah, Ill manage! Beckett sniggered back.

Viewers loved the cheeky repartee between Kelly and Beckett, taking to Twitter to thank the pair for brightening up their mornings.

This has been the best interview all morning, one viewer wrote.

I love this! It made me smile, said a second.

A third added: Brilliant, made me laugh so much this morning! Just what GMB viewers needed in all this uncertainty.

Kelly is no stranger to a bit of flirty banter while on air.

Earlier on the programme, she was left blushing herself after her fellow Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan said Kelly was easy.

After the veteran presenter became flustered, Morgan, 55, hysterically added: Easy on the eye.

Good Morning Britain continues weekdays from 6am on ITV
Outbrain, the world's leading discovery and native advertising platform on the open web, announced today it is part of the collective who have responded to the United Nations open brief to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Outbrain is committed to supporting this initiative by distributing approved creatives through its publisher network in the coming weeks.

We are living in unprecedented and trying times. Our goal, as part of this collective, is to help promote education and awareness globally by using our significant reach to help these messages get critical exposure, said Yaron Galai, CEO and Co-Founder of Outbrain. As part of this global pandemic, we have a responsibility to the open web news organizations, to our partners, and to news consumers around the world, to do everything we can to assist.

With the continuation of the campaign, Outbrain is on track to deliver over half a billion impressions, with users engaging with the ads and clicking through to learn more.

Dawda Jobarteh, Global Head of UN SDG Strategy Hub states, We have been overwhelmed by the tremendous response from creators around the globe who have leaned in to help humanity in the face of this unprecedented crisis. This pandemic demands collective action and global collaboration. The creative community has delivered powerful messages that transcend borders, languages, cultures, and mediums, to help reach everyone in this fight against COVID-19. That fight begins with personal behavior change and a clear understanding of the facts, so communications couldnt be more important. Now, the challenge is to get these inspiring works seen and heard by people all over the world, especially where the need is greatest. We are thrilled to have the support of Outbrain in helping to realize that.

The United Nations has requested support from creatives and media owners to promote key COVID19 messaging to people around the world. To find out more, visit United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives.
Islamabad:

Lawyers in Pakistan today boycotted courts and staged protests against the killing of their colleagues as a shocked nation mourned the death of 70 people in a horrific suicide bombing at a hospital in restive Balochistan province.

The national flag flew at half-mast as the government announced a national mourning. A suicide bomber yesterday struck 200 lawyers who had gathered outside the emergency ward of civil hospital in Quetta after a senior lawyer was shot dead, killing at least 70 people, including 40 lawyers.

The attack also left close to 150 people injured. Taliban's Jamaatul Ahrar faction and Islamic State extremists claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan Bar Council in a statement said, "Lawyers throughout the country will boycott court proceedings in protest against the killing of lawyers in Quetta yesterday."

The lawyers boycotted all courts in the country while observing mourning for their colleagues. They held demonstrations in major cities including Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta wearing black arm bands and chanted slogans against terrorism. In Quetta, all businesses were closed to mourn the victims.

Two photo journalists were among those killed and media organisations strongly protested the killings and demanded protection for journalists. Local police said that most of the victims were buried yesterday while dead bodies of those belonged to far flung areas were sent to their homes to be buried at their native places.

The Balochistan police asked the provincial government to constitute a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the attack. It would comprise experts from civil and military departments. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level security meeting in Quetta yesterday and ordered all state security institutions to respond with full might to eliminate terrorists.

"Terrorists are using innovating measures by hitting soft targets and one must respond in an advanced coordinated way,"he said. Chief Secretary Balochistan Saifullah Chatha briefed the Prime Minister on the situation. The meeting was attended by Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai, Chief Minister Sanaullah Zahri, PM's National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid.

The troubled Baluchistan province has been hit by terror attacks by militants and separatists who demand more autonomy in the province. Outlawed outfits have also carried out sectarian killings of Shia Hazaras and targeted police and security officials.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Neste, a leading global producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel produced from waste and residue raw materials, has acquired 100 per cent of Count Terminal Rotterdam and its supporting entities, part of the First Dutch Group of Peter Goedvolk.

This is another important step for Neste in the execution of our growth strategy. This acquisition supports our efforts to build a global renewable waste and residue raw material platform that can keep pace with the worlds growing demand for renewable products. Count Terminal Rotterdam and Neste Demeter have had a successful long-term collaboration at the site and the acquisition by Neste serves as a logical next step in deepening cooperation and in developing operations further, says Peter Vanacker, Nestes President and CEO.

Part of Dutch Count Companies, Count Terminal Rotterdam stores, refines and blends renewable waste and residue-based raw materials in the Rotterdam harbor area. Count Terminal Rotterdam will be the first terminal asset Neste owns for renewable feedstock aggregation, thus enabling Neste to further develop its raw material logistics for the future. The transaction will also enhance Nestes competitiveness in the global renewable waste and residue raw material market.

Neste has been active in the Netherlands since 2011 when the Rotterdam refinery for renewable products started its operations. The Rotterdam refinery, together with the companys Singapore refinery, are the worlds biggest and most advanced renewable diesel refineries.

Nestes Sluiskil plant is responsible for the storage and pre-treatment of renewable raw materials, and Neste Demeter BV delivers raw materials to the company's renewable diesel refinery. Last year Neste opened a new office in Hoofddorp, in greater Amsterdam which serves as the global hub for the growing Renewable Aviation business.

Neste is world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. It is also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products. In 2019, Neste's revenue stood at 15.8 billion ($17.10 billion). In 2020, Neste was placed 3rd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world. Tradearabia News Service
Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Monday rejected Chinas "ban on fishing" in Vietnamese sea territory.

The ministry said the ban is "invalid" and directed provinces and cities to encourage fishermen to continue with their activities within Vietnam's territorial waters. They should also guide groups and teams to support fishermen at sea, it said in a statement.

The East Sea is internationally known as the South China Sea.

The ministry said fishing vessels with licenses valid until the end of this year can fish in the Tonkin Gulf common fishing area, but asked them to avoid the area east of the Tonkin Gulf delimitation line.

The ministry has also requested local authorities to strengthen the management and supervision of fishing activities and monitor fishing vessels' departure actively during this period, adding that the hotline of the Department of Fisheries Control will be available for emergencies.

On April 30, the Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture announced that Chinas annual "fishing ban" on the South China Sea has begun on May 1 and would last until August 16, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, citing the South China Sea branch of the China Coast Guard.

The ban would apply to certain sea areas of the South China Sea that encompass parts of the Gulf of Tonkin and Vietnams Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.

No fishing activities are allowed in sea areas under Chinas sovereignty within the time period, except in certain cases, according to the Hainan department. During the ban, China would perform safety checks for fishing equipment and vessels, as well as instruct its fisherpeople on relevant policies and skills, it said.

The Vietnam Fisheries Society has opposed Chinas unilateral decision, saying the fishing ban has no legal value over sea areas under Vietnams sovereignty.

Four days later, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry also expressed clear opposition and asked Beijing not to complicate the situation further. Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, as well as its legal rights over its waters in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said.

China has been issuing similar "fishing bans" every year in recent times and Vietnam has consistently condemned and rejected them. China claims the bans seek to promote sustainable fisheries development and improve marine ecology.

China had seized the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam by force in 1974, and has been illegally occupying it since.

In 2012 it established the so-called Sansha City with the archipelago's Woody Island as its seat. The "city" also covers a number of reefs in the Spratly Islands that China seized by force in 1988 as well as the Scarborough Shoal.
MONTREAL, May 12, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Since April 29, Uber has been putting its network of drivers to good use by having them deliver food to families in need on behalf of local community organizations. A total of 80,000 deliveries will make it possible for food bank items to be dropped off directly to the doorstep of families and children who might otherwise go hungry.

Deliveries have been spread out over the provinces and major Canadian cities based on the respective proportion of people in food-insecure households, with the aim of making sure a maximum number of families will benefit from this gift.

"With hundreds of thousands of Canadian families experiencing food insecurity as a result of the health crisis, organizations like Breakfast Club of Canada need our help more now than ever before," said Matthew Price, General Manager of Uber Canada. "Uber Canada welcomes the opportunity to partner with Breakfast Club of Canada and support the families in need."

"Since schools were shuttered across Canada, we have continued to team up with our partners to ensure kids get enough to eat," said Tommy Kulczyk, Managing Director of Breakfast Club of Canada. "Their needs are on the rise. We have to keep helping one another. The fact that a company like Uber is offering this delivery service and making sure food gets to families who need it is a wonderful act of kindness."

Uber has pledged over $6M in free rides, meals, and food deliveries for healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need across Canada. To encourage safety and cleanliness throughout the delivery process, Uber drivers have passed a background check and have been given clear instructions from public health officials about cleaning and disinfection products.

Breakfast Club of Canada set up an emergency fund on March 20 to lend a helping hand to schools and organizations working on the ground, after breakfast programs were suspended in light of school closures. More than 1,000 funding applications have been received thus far from hundreds of organizations and schools from coast to coast. Click here to donate to Breakfast Club of Canada.

About Breakfast Club of Canada

Accredited by Imagine Canada for its effective governance, the Club provides much more than breakfast: its approach is based on commitment, self-esteem and capacity development using an optimal formula adapted to local needs. Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed more than 243,500 children and youth in 1,809 schools across the country. To learn more, visit breakfastclubcanada.org.

About Uber Canada

Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. Co-founder and Canadian entrepreneur Garrett Camp started Uber in 2009 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 15 billion trips later, we're building products to get Canadians closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

SOURCE Breakfast Club of Canada

For further information: and interview requests: Nathalie Rochette, Communications Director, Breakfast Club of Canada, [email protected], 1-888-442-1217, ext. 3348, 514-404-5660; Justine Plourde, Communications Advisor, Public Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada, [email protected], 1-888-442-1217, ext. 3369

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Ukraine should effectively retake the occupied territories before the elections are held.

Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) says it finds it difficult to elaborate on a time frame for preparations for local elections in Russia-occupied Donbas, also known as the ORDLO.

"At present, it is almost impossible to talk about any time frame that is needed for preparing and holding elections in the ORDLO after the end of [Russian] occupation, because this should be preceded by an assessment of the actual state of affairs in those territories after [Ukraine] restores control there," Radio Liberty quoted CEC Chairman Oleh Didenko as saying.

Read alsoZelensky: Regional parties shouldn't face any barriers during local elections

According to him, before the preparations begin, Ukraine should effectively retake the occupied territories.

"To hold the elections democratically, there should be the proper functioning of law enforcement agencies, security agencies, courts, banking institutions, the Ukrainian media and political parties there. A whole range of measures will have to be taken for those territories to be integrated. And the vast majority of these and many other issues require legislative regulations," he said.

What is more, holding local elections in the ORDLO requires a much wider list of measures compared to reparations for local elections in normal conditions, the CEC said.

"For example, it is necessary to retrieve and update the State Register of Voters in those territories, without which it is impossible to properly draw up voters' lists, analyze the actual condition of the premises of local election commissions and provide the [Central Election] Commission with the necessary premises (after all, many of the premises may have been destroyed), equipment, vehicles, means of communications, security and the like," the CEC's official said.

As UNIAN reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak earlier said that the local elections were not to be postponed over the coronavirus epidemic. Yermak said he hoped that they would be held, including in the districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are currently occupied by Russia.
Over 300 migrant workers staged a flash protest against squalid living conditions in their quarters at a construction site in eastern Bengaluru on Monday night.

The workers, hailing from West Bengal, Rajasthan and other states, have been constructing an apartment complex for Sumadhura Constructions in Doddabanahalli, Kadugodi. The company has built temporary quarters for them at the site.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

They alleged that the company had virtually locked them up in dingy quarters with poor facilities. They were neither provided with groceries nor masks or sanitisers. They want to return to their hometowns but the company is trying to hold them back.

The workers further alleged that if any of them comes out of the quarters, security guards chase them back. Hence, they have decided to not to get back to work.

The jurisdictional Kadugodi police rushed to the spot and pacified them. They assured to talk to the company's representatives to arrange for their transport back home.
[May 12, 2020] NAB Show Express Exhibitor Profiles: Shanghai Moki Tech LLC to Yuyao Fotodiox Pro Lighting & Equipment Co.

NAB Show Express takes place virtually May 13-14, 2020. Business Wire is the official news wire partner for NAB Show Express. Listed below are exhibitor profiles.







Company: Shanghai Moki Tech LLC. Web: www.spiritlaboptics.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpiritLabOptics Established in 2018, Spirit Lab Optics of Shanghai Moki Tech is a professional manufacturer and exporter of cine lenses with original design, development and production. We are located in Shanghai, a city with top-innovation. Spirit Lab Optics is the umbrella brand that encompasses Spirit Lab cine prime series, Pure First anamorphic zoom T3.5 2x, and more coming products. The outstanding features of those lenses include: full frame, no breathing, no distortion, smooth bokeh and compact body. Company: Shenzhen Gudsen Technology Co., Ltd Web: www.gudsen.com Gudsen is an innovative video-making equipment provider specializing in creating high-tech camera stabilizers and accessories and offering effective stabilization solution for the videography industry. We have successfully launched several impressive MOZA 3-Axis handheld camera stabilizers with advanced technologies that can support a wide range of cameras from small-sized action cameras to professional large-sized cinema cameras. Our product line includes MOZA Air X, MOZA Air 2, MOZA Mini-MI, MOZA Air, MOZA AirCross, MOZA 2P, MOZA Pro, MOZA Guru360 Air, and MOZA Accessories. Our vision is "invented for Video" with innovative & high-quality products as well as exceptional customer service. Company: Shure Incorporated Web: www.shure.com/americas Twitter: https://twitter.com/shure?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Shure (www.shure.com) has been making people sound extraordinary for nearly a century. Founded in 1925, the Company is a leading global manufacturer of audio equipment known for quality, performance, and durability. We make microphones, wireless microphone systems, in-ear monitors, earphones and headphones, conferencing systems, and more. For critical listening, or high-stakes moments on stage, in the studio, and from the meeting room, you can always rely on Shure.



Shure Incorporated is headquartered in Niles, Illinois, in the United States. We have more than 30 manufacturing facilities and regional sales offices throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia. Company: Skyline Communications Web: https://skyline.be Skyline Communications is the global leading supplier of end-to-end multi-vendor NMS, OSS and orchestration software solutions for the broadcast, satellite, cable, telco and mobile industry. Its award-winning flagship DataMiner network management platform enables end-to-end integration of the most complex technical ecosystems. The platform heralds a new generation of sophisticated artificial-intelligence-powered solutions and comprises highly innovative features, such as the brand-new DataMiner Augmented Operation concept. Skyline has offices and a vast network of local partners around the world. The company has over 6000 systems deployed in more than 125 countries and remains a 100% independent NMS/OSS software publisher. More info: www.skyline.be Company: Socionext America Inc. Web: http://socionextus.com/codecs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SocionextUS Socionext Inc., a leading expert in 4K/8K video codecs, systems and broadcasting technologies, now offers the latest and most advanced AV1/AVC cloud-based hardware solutions for significant bitrate reduction and quality improvements.



The solutions feature up to 50% cost savings for Content Delivery Network (CDN), low latency live streaming: 1s -5s (glass-to-glass), upgradable to large scale system with SoC or FPGA and expandable to 8K/4K ultra high resolution.



For more information, visit us at http://socionextus.com/codecs/ , e-mail [email protected] or call 1-844-680-3453. Company: SONAD, Inc. Web: http://sonad.io/ SONAD's free mobile app is designed to deliver advertisements, promotions, and other content in rich multimedia format to user phones over any media channel: radio, TV, print, arena, and Internet. Company: Sonifex Ltd Web: www.sonifex.co.uk Sonifex is a U.K. manufacturer of high-quality audio equipment for broadcast/radio/TV and AV integration/installed sound.



The new AVN-DIO10, SDI to Dante Embedder/De-Embedder is a convenient and elegant method of connecting legacy 3G/HD/SD-SDI equipment to the Dante AoIP audio network. The AVN-DIO10 takes any SDI feed, de-embeds the 16 audio channels and places them on channels 1-16 of the Dante network. It simultaneously takes the 16 input channels mapped to the device on Dante Controller and re-embeds them onto the SDI output.



The AVN-CU2-DANTE & AVN-CU4-DANTE commentary units act as configurable 16 x 16 mixers to provide ultimate flexibility. Company: SPINNER GmbH Web: www.spinner-group.com SPINNER is one of the world's leading suppliers of RF systems for broadcasting components needed between the transmitter and the antenna, e.g. smart loads, combining, filtering, switching and monitoring. The SPINNER Antenna Monitoring System with distance-to-fault alerts you of antenna system faults and pinpoints the location of arcing events. It's the only system that even detects arcs that don't cause VSWR degradation and does distance-to-fault without injecting any signals. We meet the needs of DTV rollouts all over the world. SPINNER has 7 decades experience and turns out over 1000 complex multichannel combining and switching systems a year. Company: Staco Energy Products Web: http://www.stacoenergy.com/ Staco Energy is the oldest and largest manufacturer of variable transformers in the United States. In an industry where companies come and go, Staco Energy Products continues to provide the reliability and continuity you need. We support products we made three months ago, we support products we made thirty years ago. And yes, they are still in use all over the world. Company: Storage Made Easy Web: https://storagemadeeasy.com/ The Enterprise File Fabric for Media and Entertainment from Storage Made Easy, provides a unified view of media assets that can be dispersed on-cloud and on-premises.



M-Stream, a feature of the File Fabric, can accelerate data to/from destinations. FIPS certified encryption ensures media assets are protected in-flight and at-rest. Smart indexing and data classifications, with Cloud AI integrations, ensures media assets can be easily catalogued and found. Company: Streaming Video Alliance Web: https://www.streamingvideoalliance.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SVideoAlliance The Streaming Video Alliance is a global technical association addressing critical challenges in streaming video. By educating the industry on the technical nature of the issues, providing a neutral forum for companies across the video ecosystem to collaborate within, and publishing documentation that defines technical solutions, the Alliance is helping to improve the streaming video experience at scale. Over 75 companies participate in Alliance activities, representing some of the biggest names in global streaming and include network operators, content rights holders, OTT platforms, service providers, and technology vendors. For more information, please visit www.streamingvideoalliance.org. Company: Studio Technologies Web: https://studio-tech.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/StudioTechInc Studio Technologies is pleased to release its highest-performing talent interfaces to date, the Models 232, 234, and 236 Announcer's Consoles. After years of experience in creating commentator consoles that use analog, digital, and Dante technology, it became evident that the market was ready for a set of products that combined superior audio performance, a comfortable user interface, and an extensive group of easily-configured features, all housed in a highly-compact enclosure. The new '232, '234, and '236 units share performance characteristics, including "pro" quality microphone preamplifier with P48 phantom power and a stereo low-noise, high-output headphone output. Company: SUBLAB PRODUCTION Web: http://ulysse.tv/ ULYSSE CAMERA CRANEBOT : LET'S YOUR CREATIVITY FREE !!

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Efficient Tool for Efficient Production Company: Telemetrics, Inc. Web: https://www.telemetricsinc.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TelemetricsRobo/ Founded in 1973, Telemetrics revolutionized television camera control with the development of Triax cable and continues to be a pioneer of innovative camera control systems used in the Studio, Legislative, Military, and Education markets. The company began designing, manufacturing and supporting its own camera robotics systems in 1979, and ceiling and floor camera track systems in 1981. Today, Telemetrics offers the OmniGlide Robotic Roving Platform, the ever-expanding series of Robotic Camera Control Panels, the S5 line of Pan/Tilt heads, the Televator family of motorized columns, and ceiling- or floor-mounted TeleGlide track systems. Telemetrics is committed to making the most reliable, durable, and dependable television broadcast robotics ecosystem in the worldproducts that can be built on for decades, not just years. Company: Telos Alliance Web: www.telosalliance.com The Telos Alliance is a global leader in audio, trusted by the biggest names in the media landscape. Telos Alliance's exclusive focus is to deliver innovative, intuitive solutions that inspire the creation of the most exciting and engaging audio experiences imaginable. No audio challenge is too big; no technology is beyond reach; no solution, large or small, is unobtainable. The Telos Alliance portfolio of brands includes Axia Audio, Linear Acoustic, Minnetonka Audio, Omnia Audio, Telos Alliance, Telos Infinity, Telos Systems, and 25-Seven Systems. Telos Alliance also now exclusively offers Junger Audio branded solutions worldwide. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, with additional offices and dealers around the world, the Telos Alliance supports the diverse needs of audio professionals with best-in-class support 24/7. Company: Telstra Web: www.telstra.com/americas Twitter: https://twitter.com/TelstraBcast Telstra is a leading telecommunication and technology company with expertise in the Asia-Pacific region. Supported by a world-class media fiber, satellite, IP and data network infrastructure, Telstra provides a range of network services and broadcast operations to companies across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, including a dedicated team of media industry professionals, high performance media networks, world class satellite services, 24/7 bookings, operations and engineering support. Telstra also has expertise in major events and tours, international remote production, global content distribution, gaming and esports, connectivity and IP transit services, and streaming and online delivery. Company: THEO Technologies Web: https://www.theoplayer.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/theo_player THEO is your go to technology partner in easily delivering exceptional video experiences across any device or platform.



Our multi-award winning THEO Universal Video Player, has been trusted by hundreds of leading payTV and OTT service providers, broadcasters, and publishers worldwide. As the leader of Low Latency video delivery, THEO supports LL-HLS, LL-DASH and has invented High Efficiency Streaming Protocol (HESP) - allowing for sub-second latency streaming using low bandwidth with fast-zapping. Going the extra mile, we also work to standardise metadata delivery through the invention of Enriched Media Streaming Solution (EMSS).



We make streaming better than broadcast. www.theoplayer.com. Company: Thinklogical, A Belden Brand Stock Ticker: BDC Stock Exchange: NYSE Web: https://www.thinklogical.com/ Thinklogical, A Belden Brand, manufactures high-performance KVM and video extension and matrix switching solutions supporting professional broadcast, media and entertainment applications. Thinklogical's uncompressed, low-latency signal management products help broadcast, post-production, VFX and mobile production professionals more easily distribute and switch video, keyboard, mouse, USB and other computer I/O signals with no peripheral delay or loss of video quality or resolution. Supporting all common IT and AV formats and popular M&E applications, Thinklogical streamlines digital NLE workflows, resulting in higher quality content, reduced costs, increased productivity and enhanced collaboration. ISO 9001:2015 certified, Thinklogical products are designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. Company: Tiger Technology Web: https://www.tiger-technology.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TigerTechTweets Since 2003, Tiger Technology has delivered multi-user workflow systems for Media and Entertainment applications including post, broadcast, MAM/PAM, and others. The company's technology includes cloud-enabled storage management, workgroup collaboration, and media life-cycle management, all designed with performance and simplicity in mind. Enable high-resolution, end-to-end content creation workflows using Avid, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and Blackmagic. Available as software-only or as integrated appliances, and configurable as SAN or NAS architectures compatible with any network fabric, Tiger workflow solutions are designed and built to offer advanced features, easy management and administration, and the highest levels of usability, flexibility, and reliability. Company: TitanTV, Inc Web: titantvinc.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/titantvinc TitanTV, Inc. is the broadcast industry's foremost online software and information provider. It delivers real-time tools for signal prediction, PSIP metadata, desktop and mobile guides, and more. TitanTV also provides a suite of schedule tools for OTA, OTT, and NextGen TV that enables broadcasters to efficiently maintain their schedules, whether for a single station or in a "Central Command" scenario in a station group where one station is responsible for maintaining the schedules of many others. A contract management component ensures syndicated series and movies are aired according to the terms of their respective contracts. The company also maintains the consumer sites, TitanTV.com, a free online television guide, and AntennaWeb.org, a site dedicated to enabling consumers to discover the number of over-the-air channels available from local broadcasters and how to choose the correct antenna to receive them. TitanTV is an independent company located in Cedar Rapids, IA. Company: Touchstream Web: https://www.touchstream.media/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/touchstreamedia We believe in specialized technology. By combining our technology, VirtualNOC with third-party data, you can now visualise your entire video workflow from one dashboard and still be able to jump into your audience analytics with just one click. Company: Triveni Digital Web: http://www.trivenidigital.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/trivenidigital Triveni Digital is a leading provider of program guide and metadata management, data broadcasting, and service quality assurance solutions for broadcasters and service providers. Renowned for their ease of use and innovative features, Triveni Digital's solutions enable customers to deliver enhanced programs and services to television viewers. Supporting both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 as well as the cloud, and offering a SaaS business model, Triveni Digital's solutions allow broadcasters to launch fast and efficient NextGen TV. By helping broadcasters migrate to ATSC 3.0 as smoothly as possible, Triveni Digital is leading the charge for better TV. Company: TSL Products Web: www.tslproducts.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TSL_Products As many broadcasters are operating in a work-from-home environment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, TSL Products has altered its R&D roadmap for the short term, in response to specific customer requirements centered around remote control of broadcast devices. Additionally, the new loudness capabilities of TSL's SAM-Q audio monitoring platform provide three new loudness modes whilst also providing short-term, momentary and integrated loudness values over an Ethernet network. With up to eight independent loudness probes and the ability to calculate loudness values from a variety of program configurations from mono through to 9.1+4, the SAM-Q-SDI provides operational simplicity and deep audio analysis. Company: UNISET LLC Web: www.unisetcorp.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/unisetcorp For 40+ years UNISET has been designing and manufacturing professional studios and set elements for television, broadcast, digital, film, and internal corporate productions.

UNISET is an industry leader in the design & manufacturing of dynamic multipurpose television, broadcast set, and studio systems. Our core product lines include Broadcast Desks/News Desks, TV Studio Set Backgrounds, Mobile Desk & Set Options, Free Standing Cyclorama Green Screens, Full Studio Set Backgrounds, Custom Studio Systems, and Floor Risers. The quality, durability and cost-effective UNISET set elements provide you with the "studio set" experience and production environment that each studio demands and expects.

As a family run business, UNISET prides itself on total customer satisfaction in both the value of the quality products we manufacture and the professionalism in how we treat our customers. Our mission is to exceed our customers' expectations each, and every day. We look forward to meeting you this year and working with you to make your studio dreams come true! Company: Varnish Software Web: www.varnish-software.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/varnishsoftware Varnish Software's powerful caching technology helps the world's biggest broadcasters and content providers deliver lightning-fast TV and streaming experiences for huge audiences, without downtime or loss of performance.



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Our customers include Hulu, Twitch and Tesla, and our technology is powered by a caching layer that's trusted by more than 10 million websites worldwide. Company: Veritone, Inc. Stock Ticker: VERI Stock Exchange: Nasdaq Web: http://www.veritoneone.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/veritoneinc Veritone created aiWARETM, the first Operating System for AI, surfaces insights from massive amounts of structured and unstructured data at scale. Hundreds of cognitive AI engines, low-code developer tools and APIs, and a flexible architecture uniquely enable intelligent workflows supporting contemporary cloud-native applications, IoT devices as well as legacy systems.



Veritone's suite of solutions for Media & Entertainment are turnkey and fast to implement. Leveraging aiWARE, they bring all the advantages of the AI operating system to your organization. Turn your data into actionable insights to make better, data-driven decisions and surface new opportunities through previously unavailable or disconnected data insights. Company: ViaLite Communications Web: http://vialite.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViaLiteRF ViaLite's range of fiber optic links enable studio and outdoor broadcasters to transport multiple RF feeds from cameras/wireless mics/IFBs over fiber back to the production location or outdoor broadcast truck. The links can extend the range of the antennas the wireless cameras etc. use, with link distances of 0-10 and up to 50 km, while providing 99.999% reliability. ViaLite's links boast ultra-wide dynamic range allowing multiple signals to be transported simultaneously. Links include: C-Band 3.4-7.1 GHz, 100 MHz-1 GHz, DVB-T 470-900 MHz, UHF/VHF 10 MHz-1 GHz, and the Blue2 which can be a dual Rx, dual Tx or Transceiver. Company: VideoFlow Web: https://www.video-flow.com/ VideoFlow is driving the evolution of video delivery over IP networks. Our Emmy award-winning technologies enable to Broadcast with CONFIDENCE over any IP network, including the Internet. Our Digital Video Protection (DVP) and Digital Video Gateway (DVG) products provide customers with four "must have" ingredients for broadcasting over IP networks; Reliability - Ensure viewers with uninterrupted 24x7 service. Confidence - visually verifying video quality on your smartphone, tablet, or PC. Simplicity - Manage, configure, and analyze any VideoFlow product quickly and easily - anywhere, anytime. Fast ROI - Reduce operating expenses and secure revenues with reliable video delivery over IP networks Company: Videosolutions Group Inc. Web: vsgp.com Videosolutions Group is Canadian Manufacturer of Teleprompters, Video Switchers, Camera Cranes, Tripods, Pedestals, Monitors, Multiviewers, Fiber Optic Equipment, HD & SD SDI Signal Processing Equipment & Mini-Converters, and Mobile Video Studios with more than 25 years of experience in development, manufacturing and distribution of professional TV equipment for wide range of TV studios ranging from Home Studio to Broadcasting TV Stations. The product line has 100+ very cost-effective products, including: Teleprompters, "Odyssey" Video Mixers (Video Switchers), Multiviewers, Mini-Converters of Different Signal Types (SDI, HDMI, Fiber optic, DV etc.), Camera Cranes, Monitors etc. The company's motto: "Maximum Quality for Minimum Cost". Company: Vimsoft Inc. Web: https://vimbiz.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/VimBiz Vimsoft Inc. is dedicated to providing leading-edge solutions to the broadcasting and media industry. We bring clarity to complex environments by developing information management software solutions that structure and integrate business workflows.



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Justice Babatunde Quadri of Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, May 11, 2020, ordered the final forfeiture of $300,000, belonging to a Chinese national, Li Yan Pin, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

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

Yan Pin stood trial for a money laundering charge, leveled against him by the EFCC over the said sum after intelligence led to his arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for failing to declare the sum in his possession, as he attempted to board a flight to China en-route Dubai.

Justice Qudri in his judgment noted that the prosecution has proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt and found the defendant guilty of the charges, according to Section 2, sub-section (5) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011, as amended in 2012.

The defense counsel in its response pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, as the convict, he said had invested his resources to the development of Nigeria, and currently facing difficult health challenges.

He also noted that his client has no prior criminal conviction.

While ordering that the said sum be forfeited to the Federal Government, Justice Quadri, saved the convict a jail term on the ground that he had earlier filed for a medical leave over alleged COVID 19 symptoms that included persistent headache, insomnia and fatigue.
The nations's top doctors are urging Australians to go two days a week without a drink as alcohol consumption soars during the coronavirus lockdown.

Seventy per cent of Aussies have turned to the bottle during lockdown and a third have started buying booze daily, according to the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said drinking during the day at home has become more common.

RACGP President Harry Nespolon said in some cases, Australians are facing alcohol problems they never knew they had.

Seventy per cent of Aussies are turning to the bottle more than usual, and a third have started buying booze daily, according to a new survey by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education

Dr Nespolon challenged people to see if they could go two days each week without consuming alcohol.

'You'd be surprised how much resistance you get from that. [If you can't] it probably indicates that you do have a bit of a problem,' he told The Age.

Dr Nespolon said many people have miscalculated how much alcohol they consume.

'People think a tumbler of wine is a standard drink. It's not,' he said.

GPs said another reason for heavier and more frequent alcohol consumption during the pandemic is the loss of social boundaries around social drinking - such as going out to a club with friends on a Saturday night.

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 recent survey found people who suffer from anxiety have turned to prescription drugs such as diazepam to combat increasing stress and sadness.

RACGP addiction medicine chair Dr Hester Wilson said people turn to prescription drugs and alcohol to cope with the uncertainty and fear around COVID-19.

'We are incredibly fortunate in Australia that our government has listened to the science and we are an island, so we have been able to contain it, but it's not gone and there is this ongoing stress about what happens if the cases go up,' he said.

New guidelines are being created to recommend Australians don't have more than 10 standard drinks per week, and no more than four a day.
A team of researchers from Austria, the U.S., the UK, and Italy has demonstrated a new technology called microwave quantum illumination that uses entangled microwave photons as a method of detection. Their prototype device is able to detect objects in noisy thermal environments where classical radar systems often fail.

What we have demonstrated is a proof of concept for microwave quantum radar, said Dr. Shabir Barzanjeh, a researcher in the Institute for Quantum Science and Technology at the University of Calgary and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria.

Using entanglement generated at a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, we have been able to detect low reflectivity objects at room-temperature.

Instead of using conventional microwaves, Dr. Barzanjeh and colleagues entangle two groups of photons: signal and idler photons.

The signal photons are sent out towards the object of interest, whilst the idler photons are measured in relative isolation, free from interference and noise.

When the signal photons are reflected back, true entanglement between the signal and idler photons is lost, but a small amount of correlation survives, creating a signature or pattern that describes the existence or the absence of the target object  irrespective of the noise within the environment.

While quantum entanglement in itself is fragile in nature, the device has a few advantages over conventional classical radars.

For instance, at low power levels, conventional radar systems typically suffer from poor sensitivity as they have trouble distinguishing the radiation reflected by the object from naturally occurring background radiation noise.

Quantum illumination offers a solution to this problem as the similarities between the signal and idler photons  generated by quantum entanglement  makes it more effective to distinguish the signal photons from the noise generated within the environment.

The main message behind our research is that quantum radar or quantum microwave illumination is not only possible in theory but also in practice, Dr. Barzanjeh said.

When benchmarked against classical low-power detectors in the same conditions we already see, at very low-signal photon numbers, that quantum-enhanced detection can be superior.

The teams device is described in a paper in the journal Science Advances.

_____

S. Barzanjeh et al. 2020. Microwave quantum illumination using a digital receiver. Science Advances 6 (19): eabb0451; doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb0451

This article is based on text provided by the Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
China has been increasing military pressure on Taiwan during the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a board made up of congressional Republicans and Democrats, warned in a report that China is engaging in aggressive military maneuvers directed towards Taiwan, Foreign Policy reported Tuesday. Chinese planes have been buzzing the median line of the Taiwan Strait separating the two countries, as well as circling the borders of Taiwan, over the course of the outbreak.

At the same time, Chinas has continued to expand its presence in the South China Sea, the worlds busiest maritime trade route. The U.S. has conducted freedom of navigation operations in the area in April, with Defense Secretary Mark Esper telling reporters, to send a clear message to Beijing that [the United States] will continue to protect freedom of navigation and commerce.

While Taiwan considers itself an independent country, China claims the island nation as an extension of its territory, and bars international agencies including the World Health Organization from accepting Taiwan as a member state. On Monday the WHO announced it could not invite Taiwan to the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly because of divergent views among member states.

The congressional boards report concluded that Taiwanese inclusion in the WHO could have significantly helped nations mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

Had the WHO allowed Taiwanas health experts to share information and best practices in early January, governments around the world could have had more complete information on which to base their public health policies, the report said. Taiwan has seen just 440 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Tuesday.

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Larry English had long dreamed of owning a waterfront home. It was on his bucket list. He wanted easy access to fish and boat and a peaceful distraction from the stress of his heart-related illness.

IMAGE: Ahmaud Arbery (Courtesy of family)

His dream home is under construction in Brunswick, Georgia. But English said it is unlikely that he and his family will ever move in once it is complete.

"Now, it's honestly not safe," said his attorney, Elizabeth Graddy. "It's supposed to be a place for comfort and peace. And now, it will be forever associated with this tragedy."

English, 50, owns the house that Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, is purported to have entered before he was shot and killed on Feb. 23 by two white men.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder and aggravated assault  two days after a graphic video of the shooting became public. The video thrust the case into the national spotlight, prompting widespread outrage and raising concerns about why it took law enforcement officials more than two months to make arrests.

English has received death threats since the arrests, his attorney said in an interview Monday night, speaking on behalf of her client. She said English and his wife are "heartsick" for Arbery's parents.

Video from the day of Arbery's death, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows a black man wearing a T-shirt and shorts walking up to a house under construction, entering and then leaving shortly after. Lawyers representing Arbery's family said in a statement Saturday that the security camera video proves Arbery did nothing wrong.

"Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site," the family's lawyers said in a statement. "He did not cause any damage to the property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmaud's actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law."

Story continues

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it was reviewing the video but added that it had seen it before arresting and charging Gregory and Travis McMichael. The McMichaels could not be reached for comment.

Graddy said her client wants to "correct the mistaken impression" that English had shared the video or any other information about what had occurred at the property with the McMichaels before the shooting or at all. English had only briefly met the younger McMichael once in 2019, when he went to the construction site to introduce himself, Graddy said.

English, a beekeeper, said he was working in Douglas, about 90 miles from Brunswick, where he lives with his wife and two children, on Feb. 23, unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding.

English got an alert on his phone that a video had been taken at the construction site, Graddy said. "He worked for another 20 minutes and then washed up," she said.

After he watched the video in the alert, he called a neighbor and learned that Arbery had been killed that day, Graddy said. English gave the video to Glynn County police soon after the shooting, Graddy said.

In the months before February, a motion-activated camera had captured videos of someone inside the construction site a handful of times, Graddy said. The first time, English called a non-emergency police number and reported the unauthorized entry, Graddy said.

"He never used the word 'burglary,'" she said, adding that nothing has ever been stolen from or damaged at the property. "My client did not want people to come on to the property because it's just not safe."

English never shared any of this information with the McMichaels, whom he did not even know, according to his attorney.

"Even if there had been a robbery, however, the English family would not have wanted a vigilante response," Graddy said. "They would have entrusted the matter to law enforcement authorities."

Arbery's family says he was out jogging, while the McMichaels have said they thought he was a burglar, according to the Glynn County police report. Gregory McMichael armed himself with a .357 Magnum and his son grabbed a shotgun after Gregory McMichael saw Arbery "hauling ass" down the street, the police report said. A third man, later identified as William Bryan, a neighbor, tried to block Arbery during the pursuit, according to the police report.

Gregory McMichael told police that he thought Arbery was a burglar who had recently been targeting the neighborhood. The McMichaels told police that when they caught up with Arbery, he attacked Travis McMichael, who fired his weapon in self-defense.

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The Brunswick News, citing documents obtained through a public records request, reported that there had been just one confirmed burglary in the neighborhood from Jan. 1 to Feb. 23: the theft of a handgun from an unlocked truck parked outside Travis McMichael's house on Jan. 1.

Graddy, a native of South Georgia, said she emailed a letter last Wednesday to Thomas Durden, one of the prosecutors who had been assigned the case, asking why the McMichaels had not been arrested. The email went unanswered, she said. Durden could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday at numbers listed for him.

English would visit the construction site regularly to check on the progress of the home. Graddy said that once, about two weeks ago, Gregory McMichael approached English at the site and inquired about obtaining surveillance videos. She said English did not entertain Gregory McMichael.

"My clients were not part of what the McMichaels told themselves to do," Graddy said.

"If the McMichaels are going to justify what they did, they are going to have to look elsewhere for help," she said.
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New Delhi: A jawan, who was admitted at Army's Base Hospital in Delhi Cantt, which is dedicated to coronavirus COVID-19 patients, committed suicide by hanging from a tree at the hospital premises.

The deceased, 31-year-old was also battling lung cancer and hailed from Maharashtra'a Sangli. He was posted as signal man at Rajasthan's Alwar.

On May 5, he was admitted to Delhi-based Army Base hospital after he tested positive of coronavirus.

The police has sent the jawan's body for post mortem and informed his kin.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Amid a historic oil crash, frackers are ditching rigs at a rapid pace. The number of operating horizontal rigs stood at 338 on Friday. Thats down more than half since February, though still above the trough in early 2016. So, churlish as it may seem, it must be asked: Why is anyone still drilling shale right now?

Speaking on an earnings call a month after petitioning the Texas Railroad Commission to impose supply cuts, Matt Gallagher, CEO of Parsley Energy Inc., summed up the situation facing frackers:

Currently, the world does not need more of our product, and we only get one chance to produce this precious resource for our stakeholders.

The commission didnt organize shut-ins of wells. So Parsley, taking its cue from prices instead, is just shutting in some of its own anyway. It has also suspended drilling and completing new wells.

The economics of each well  and the companies that own them  differ enormously. But grab an envelope and imagine a well tapping one million barrels of oil equivalent, 75% of it crude oil, the rest natural gas. Benchmark prices: $30 oil and $2.50 gas, translating to, say, $27 and $2 at the wellhead. That implies total revenue from those resources of $23.3 million. Royalties and severance taxes take about $7 million of that; operating expenses and overhead take another $7 million(1). That leaves $9.3 million versus the $9 million spent drilling and completing the well upfront. Factor in time value of money, and that well is seriously underwater.

Besides the back-of-crumpled-envelope quality of that calculation, there are other reasons a producer might keep drilling anyway. Rigs are often contracted for months at a time; for example, Helmerich & Payne Inc., a leading provider, reported roughly a third of its U.S. onshore rig fleet operated under fixed-term contracts at the end of March. Contracted pipeline space, too, must be paid for whether or not barrels flow through it. Taking a companys activity down to zero is also traumatic for workers and, like a shut-in well, makes it harder to eventually crank back up. Hedges, meanwhile, shield against low spot prices and represent oil and gas contracted for delivery.

Story continues

Then again, hedges could be settled for cash; its not like anyone is screaming for more of the actual stuff these days. Rig and pipeline contracts can also be renegotiated (an order from the Texas Railroad Commission could have helped on that front, but still). And the difficulty of going into hibernation must be set against the implacable demands of low oil prices.

On that note, another rationale for continuing to drill is an expectation of oil and gas prices recovering reasonably soon. Parsley and some other shale operators, such as Diamondback Energy Inc. (which is reducing but not suspending drilling), have indicated they could increase activity again if oil gets back above $30 a barrel (it was trading around $25 Monday morning). Because shale output is very front-loaded, movements in near-term prices matter a lot. For instance, using my basic example above, while the economics dont work at flat $30 oil, assuming oil rises to $40 in year two and then $50 from year three would generate a low positive return. Those prices actually lag the consensus forecast, which averages $46 for 2021.

On the other hand, that consensus stood at $58 only two months ago, so its fair to say expectations can change in the middle of an unprecedented oil shock. The current list of unknowns encompasses how quickly people resume something like normality even after lockdowns ease; whether Covid-19 inflicts a second wave; how long the glut of oil inventory building now lasts; and how quickly Saudi Arabia and Russia resume a market-share strategy.

The rational thing to do is to wait for higher prices  indeed, conserving barrels, rather than pushing them into a glutted market, is a prerequisite for those higher prices. As EOG Resources Inc. said Friday, oil kept underground is low-cost storage.

E&P companies carrying more debt (and there are more than a few) may be stuck on the treadmill. Covenants demand cash flow today even if that means destroying value over time. But this is a reminder of why the industry finds itself vulnerable in the first place: managing to production rather than value, and thereby dragging down prices by putting more sub-economic oil onto the market. The Saudi-Russian spat in early March was a warning the market wont just absorb that from here on. Breaking the existing shale model, and redirecting cash away from wells toward creditors and shareholders, must be one outcome from all this.

On that front, its worth noting the E&P sector now offers a higher dividend yield than the broader market for only the second time this decade.

E&P stocks traded at a premium on yield because they werent valued on yield. Unlike the majors and refiners, frackers were owned for growth and a bet on oil prices. That rationale was fraying even before Covid-19, but is especially out of favor now. The yield spread to the market needs to widen, not just to compete against both other oil stocks and other sectors. It would also be a tangible sign of fewer dollars heading into drilling. Like Gallagher said, the world doesnt need any more of the industrys product right now. That includes investors.

(1) Assumes royalties of 25% and severance taxes of 4.6% for oil and 7.5% for natural gas. G&A expenses of $2 per barrel of oil equivalent and $5 of other operating expenses.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy, mining and commodities. He previously was editor of the Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column and wrote for the Financial Times' Lex column. He was also an investment banker.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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Viewers are used to seeing him as the perfectly polished and professional relationship expert on Married At First Sight.

But on Monday, John Aiken was a shadow of his former self as he stepped out to buy some groceries in Sydney's North Shore.

The 49-year-old looked uncharacteristically disheveled with an unshaven face and messy, unkempt hair.

That's not like you! Married At First Sight's relationship expert John Aiken was a shadow of his former self as he stepped out for some groceries in Sydney's North Shore on Monday

Instead of his usual snappy business suits, John was dressed down in tracksuit pants, sneakers and an old grey hoodie.

The trained clinical psychologist was spotted carrying a jumbo box of Nutri-Grain, a two litre carton of milk and a box of frozen crumbed chicken tenders.

John's disheveled display comes as fans of Married At First Sight have called for him to be replaced by Kyle Sandilands next season.

Lockdown chic! The 49-year-old looked uncharacteristically disheveled with an unshaven face and messy, unkempt hair

Kyle's potential casting has also been met with overwhelming support by stars of the franchise after rumours emerged that Channel Nine are currently considering him for the series.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia last month, Jessika Power said: 'He would shake things up!'

'If Kyle comes in he'd probably be the only reason I'd tune in to MAFS next year. He's funny, and he would definitely call everyone out on their bulls**t.'

Better days: Viewers are used to seeing John as the perfectly polished and professional relationship expert on Channel Nine

Season five's Nasser Sultan echoed a similar sentiment, calling for that the show's current experts Mel Schilling, John Aiken and Trisha Stratford to be fired and replaced by Kyle.

'He will be perfect as an expert, it will be the Trial By Kyle in real life!' he said.

'None of this crying and fake s**t,' he continued. 'The experts should be sacked and they should be ashamed.'

Out with the old, in with the new! John's disheveled display comes as fans of Married At First Sight have called for him to be replaced by Kyle Sandilands (pictured) next season

Dean Wells, Melissa Lucarelli, and Chris Nicholls also called for Kyle to join the series.

In March, New Idea reported that Channel Nine were considering axing John, Mel Schilling and Dr Trisha Stratford as official experts over a pay dispute.

'It could be time for some fresh faces,' a source told the publication.

'Unlike MasterChef, which will no longer feature Matt [Preston], Gary [Mehigan] and George [Calombaris], MAFS viewers wont care too much if John, Trish and Mel dont return. It wont affect ratings.'
Choa Chu Kang Cemetery (Photo: Google Streetview)

SINGAPORE  Two men were charged on Tuesday (12 May) with causing grievous hurt to a man who was later found with lacerations and a fracture at Bishan Street 12 in the wee hours of Sunday.

Andre Chen Si'en, 29, and Gervan Wong Jun Heng, 24, allegedly used a knuckleduster and a metal baton on Douglas Wong Wei Hao on Sunday at about 3am at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery.

According to their charge sheets, the two caused Douglas to sustain a 4cm laceration on the head, another on the forehead, swelling on the lips, multiple abrasions on both arms, deformity of the left arm, multiple abrasions on both legs, puncture wounds and laceration on both legs.

According to a Singapore Police Force press release, Douglas was found with multiple injuries in Bishan at about 5.40am. The 30-year-old was conveyed conscious to a hospital.

Chen is represented by lawyer Foo Ho Chew, who told the court that the incident arose after the victim allegedly raped a woman that Chen knew.

The woman is now in a very traumatised state, said Ho. Chen, who has three children and is the sole breadwinner of his family, will return to court on 19 May.

While Chen and Wong were each handed a fresh charge of causing grievous hurt with a weapon, Wong has 24 pending charges, one of which also relates to violence. For this charge, Wong allegedly slashed two men in the basement 3 carpark of Marina Bay Sands at 6.02am on 27 October last year. He is accused of causing hurt to the two men in common intention with two other men, Jovi Wan Shao Xiong, 22, and Kenji Pong Jia Rong, 24.

He also faces a charge of causing hurt to a man in a hotel room at Studio M Hotel on 11 May last year at 8am by hitting him once on the back of the head and on the upper lip area with an extendable baton.

Wongs 20 other charges are breaches of the Road Traffic Act and the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act for driving without a license and insurance, and driving above the speed limit, among other charges.

Story continues

Wong also faces two charges of consuming drugs on 29 October last year.

Wong is represented by lawyer Jonathan Wong, who told the court that he was just briefed by Wongs family and will be taking over from a formerly appointed Criminal Legal Aid Scheme lawyer.

Both Wong and Chen will return to court on 19 May.

The duo were arrested on Sunday afternoon, some 10 hours after a report was lodged.

If found guilty of causing grievous hurt with a weapon, each face life in prison, or up to 15 years jail and caning or a fine.

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Two men to be charged for badly hurting another with weapons in Bishan

Jailed: Man who slashed jogger, attacked cyclist, then disrupted religious class at mosque

Zam Zam boss and friend jailed for conspiring to slash rival restaurant's supervisor

COVID-19: Man, 64, charged for leaving flat 5 times while on SHN
The S&P 500 has closed lower after a choppy session as investors took profits following a warning from the top US infectious disease expert that premature moves to reopen the nation's economy could lead to novel coronavirus outbreaks and set back economic recovery.

Investors were weighing the potential for a second wave of virus infections against hopes that easing stay-at-home restrictions could ignite a recovery in the US economy, which has been severely damaged by the virus.

Investors were unnerved by Dr Anthony Fauci's warnings. Credit:Getty Images

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci told Congress the virus, which has already killed 80,000 Americans, was not yet under control and there would not likely be a treatment or vaccine in place by late August or early September.

And reports of new clusters of coronavirus infections in countries such as China, South Korea and Germany where lockdowns had been lifted appear to have added to worries.
One person was killed and two others injured when a speeding Hyundai Xcent car hit a stationary truck on the Yamuna Expressway, near Rojina village underpass in Rabupura on Monday.

The victims -- Rupendra, Shafeek, and Soshan --were on their way to Narela in Delhi from the Agra side when the accident took place. Soshan was killed while the other two are undergoing treatment at Kailash Hospital.

Vineet Kumar, station house officer, Rabupura police station, said a wheat-loaded truck was coming from Agra to Ghaziabad which broke down near Ronija underpass around 6am. The truck driver had parked the vehicle on the left and he was trying to fix it. Around that time, the three persons in the speeding car reached the spot and the car driver could not spot the stationary truck. The car rammed the stationary truck, he said.

Police said it seems that the car driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, resulting in the accident. A police team reached the spot after getting information from passerby. The victims were rushed to Kailash Hospital where doctors declared Soshan dead on arrival. Shafeek and Rupendra are undergoing treatment at the hospital. Their condition is not yet stable and they were not able to make a statement to the police, he said.

Police said the body of was sent for a post-mortem examination and the reports are awaited.

Police said they are trying to contact the victims family members. Police have not received any complaint in this regard as yet.

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Even as President Donald Trump urges getting people back to work and reopening the economy, thousands of new coronavirus infections are being reported daily, many of them job-related.

Recent figures show a surge of cases in meat-packing and poultry-processing plants.

Theres been a spike of new infections among construction workers in Austin, Texas, where that sector recently returned to work.

Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of Trumps valets and for Vice President Mike Pences press secretary.

The developments underscore the high stakes for communities nationwide as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.

The people who are getting sick right now are generally people who are working, Dr Mark Escott, a regional health official, told Austins city council.

That risk is going to increase the more people are working. Austins concerns will likely be mirrored in communities nationwide as the reopening of stores and factories creates new opportunities for the virus to spread.

To be sure, there are plenty of new infections outside the workplace  in nursing homes, and among retired and unemployed people, particularly in densely populated places such as New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and urban parts of New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Yet of the 15 US counties with the highest per-capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5, all are homes to meatpacking and poultry-processing plants or state prisons, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

The county with the highest per-capita rate was Tennessees Trousdale County, where nearly 1,300 inmates and 50 staffers recently tested positive at the privately run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.

In the federal prison system, the number of positive cases has increased steadily. As of May 5, there were 2,066 inmates whod tested positive, up from 730 on April 25.

The No. 2 county on APs list is Nobles County in Minnesota, which now has about 1,100 cases, compared to two in mid-April.

The county seat, Worthington, is home to a JBS pork processing plant that employs hundreds of immigrants.

One guy said to me, I risked my life coming here. I never thought something that I cant see could take me out, said the Rev. Jim Callahan of St. Marys Catholic Church in Worthington.

Nebraskas Dakota County, home to a Tyson Foods meat plant, had recorded three cases as of April 15, and now has more than 1,000.

There have been at least three COVID-19 deaths, including a Muslim woman from Ethiopia who was among 4,300 employees at the Tyson plant.

These are sad and dangerous days, the imam of a regional Islamic center, Ahmad Mohammad, told the Siouxland News.

In northern Indianas Cass County, home to a large Tyson pork-processing plant, confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1,500.

Thats given the county  home to about 38,000 residents  one of the nations highest per-capita infection rates.

The Tyson plant in Logansport, Indiana, was closed April 25 after nearly 900 employees tested positive; it resumed limited operations Thursday after undergoing deep cleaning and installation of Plexiglas workstation barriers.

Company spokeswoman Hli Yang said none of the 2,200 workers would return to work without being tested.

Also hard hit by recent infections are counties in Virginia, Delaware and Georgia where poultry-processing plants are located.

In New York, the hardest-hit state during most of the pandemic, a new survey suggests that factors other than the workplace were involved in many recent cases.

The survey of 1,269 patients admitted to 113 hospitals over three recent days confounded expectations that new cases would be dominated by essential workers, especially those traveling on subways and buses.

Instead, retirees accounted for 37per cent of the people hospitalized; 46per cent were unemployed.

We were thinking that maybe we were going to find a higher percentage of essential employees who were getting sick because they were going to work, that these may be nurses, doctors, transit workers. Thats not the case, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In Pennsylvania, of 2,578 new cases between May 4 and May 6, more than 40per cent were people living in long-term care facilities.

Health officials in Pittsburghs Allegheny County said of the 352 new cases between April 20 and May 5, 35per cent were residents in long-term care facilities and 14per cent were health care workers.

Though the elderly continue to account for a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the age ratio is changing.

In January-February, 76per cent of cases involved people 50 or older.

Since March, only about half the cases are of that age range, Many health workers were among the earliest Americans to test positive.

They continue to be infected in large numbers.

Gerard Brogan, director of nursing practice for the California Nurses Association, says as many as 200 nurses a day tested positive in California recently.

Nationwide, he says the National Nurses United had tallied more than 28,000 positive tests and more than 230 deaths among health workers.

Among those recently testing positive was Dr. Pramila Kolisetty of Scarsdale, New York, who has a rehab and pain management practice in the Bronx and is married to a urologist.

Even after New York imposed an extensive lockdown, she went to her office two to three times a week while trying to transition to telemedicine.

It took time for us to get ourselves organized, she said.

We cant just close the office and say, thats it. Some of her staff fell sick with COVID-19, and she started feeling symptoms a few weeks ago.

After testing positive, she isolated at home and is now practicing telemedicine.

(This story has been published from a wire agency without modifications to the text)

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United Nations, May 12 : The UN held a wide-ranging policy discussion stressing a variety of multilateral solutions to ease the global COVID-19 pandemic and also to get back on track toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"Our commitment to achieving the SDGs has not changed, but the urgency to act has," Mona Juul, president of the Economic and Social Council, said on Monday during the online discussion over the topic of "Joining Forces: Effective Policy Solutions for COVID-19 Response".

Juul said while working toward breakthroughs that will help the world overcome the health emergency, including a vaccine, "we are only beginning to realize the true scale of the social and economic crisis that lies ahead of us".

Nearly half the global workforce was in immediate danger of being unemployed, while other global goals were being reversed, such as the increase in global poverty for the first time since 1998, with some regions slipping back to levels last seen 30 years ago, she said.

While this virus impacts everyone, it has not been an equalizer, but instead has exposed and compounded inequalities in societies.

"These disparities should be our catalyst, and our call to build back better," she said, adding national responses should be shaped by human rights and that country-specific global action should take special situations into account.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the meeting that lives and livelihoods everywhere depend on the UN's ability to support governments in tackling this "unprecedented health, humanitarian and socio-economic crisis".

Calling the SDGs "a clear compass" to direct the global community, she cited the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, as the world's chart.

Mohammed underscored the "immediate priority" of addressing the needs of the most vulnerable countries and communities who risk being left behind.

Turning to the UN's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to catalyze joint action on the ground for the most vulnerable countries and communities, she said that "we estimated billions and are receiving millions." Describing the coronavirus pandemic as "a human crisis of historic magnitude," Liu Zhenmin, who heads the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said it has destabilized global economic growth and led the world into a major global recession that threatens all the SDGs.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, also weighed into the discussion, saying: "There can be no going back to business as usual." As of Tuesday morning, the total number of global COVID-19 cases increased to 4,175,284 while the death toll stood at 285,971, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), noting their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy and modus operandi in the multi-crore scam.

The Wadhawans are presently in jail after being earlier arrested by the CBI in a separate case related to the Yes Bank scam.

They had moved the HC last week seeking anticipatory bail in the money laundering case and another case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the investment of employees'' provident fund of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

Justice Bharati Dangre on Tuesday rejected the pleas of the Wadhawan brothers for pre-arrest bail in both the cases and noted that prima facie investigation clearly divulge involvement and implication of the accused.

The court also noted that the applicants are not co-operating with the process of law and that the ED had issued several summonses to both Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan seeking their presence for questioning in the cases.

The court, in its order, said although the Wadhawans responded to the summonses and notices issued to them by the ED, they evaded investigation by not appearing before the agency.

The response to the summonses speaks of apathetic and an indifferent approach. The lackadaisical approach of the applicants can be well noted in their response to the prosecuting agency, the court said.

"It appears that the close knitted family had taken a decision together and as per their version, for removal of the stress of the earlier arrest, had decided to relax at their home in Mahabaleshwar (a hill station) in spite of all the seriousness of the accusation hovering over them, Justice Dangre said.

The court further said that only the Wadhawans can throw light on the nature of transaction and the alleged conspiracy can be cracked only by interrogating them regarding the rolling of funds in the sister companies.

The applicants have to be confronted with various incriminating documents with respect to the loans sanctioned in its favour by Yes Bank and further loans sanction by DHFL in favour of Rana Kapoor (co-founder of Yes Bank) so as to unearth the multi-crore conspiracy, the order said.

Wadhawans' counsels Prasad Dhakepalkar and Amit Desai last week argued that no case has been made out for money laundering and the transactions in question were made in normal course of business.

Desai had further argued that there was no case for any arrest or an arrest warrant at this stage for his clients in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown in a matter of financial nature which is being investigated for the last six months.

The Wadhawans have claimed they have been made "scapegoat of political quandary" in the state.

The court, however, refused to accept the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic and said this shall not deter the ED from investigating a serious offence of money laundering which has shaken the economy of this country.

"The pandemic cannot be cited as an excuse to thwart an urgent investigation into a serious offence and to unearth the serious criminal conspiracy in which the ED apprehends the applicants have a major role to play.

"The growing pandemic of COVID-19 cannot be made a smokescreen to evade custodial interrogation, the court said.

ED counsels Anil Singh and Hiten Venegavkar opposed the pleas and argued that the duo is facing serious charges of money laundering which involves any process of or activity relating to the proceeds of crime, including concealment and possession of an untainted property.

Accepting this argument, Justice Dangre said, A serious economic offence cannot wait the pandemic to recede and the projection of the applicants as not being healthy would not absolve them from being subjected to interrogation."

With regard to the case pertaining to provident funds worth Rs 4,200 crore which were deposited with Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) as fixed deposits in alleged collusion with some officials of UPPCL, Singh argued that the Wadhawans' custodial interrogation was required.

The court noted that DHFL had received a huge amount of illegal investment and proceeds generated from the illegal act of UPPCL.

The role played by the applicants (Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan) as those in charge of the company (DHFL) cannot be under cloud and follow up of the money trail is to be established. This warrants investigations which can only be carried out by having custody of the applicants, the court said.

Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan were arrested last month by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL.

In return, the Wadhawans allegedly "paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore" to former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor, the CBI has claimed.
The mention of the word Nurse conjures up the image of a compassionate lady in white uniform who selflessly attends to patients. Administering IV fluids, ensuring that the patients take their medicines on time, and monitoring their health, nurses perform numerous duties. Hence, it is appropriate that they are usually referred to as Sister because irrespective of the age, region or religion of the patient, the nurses treat everyone with care and compassion.

The practice of nursing and Florence Nightingale

The practice of nursing has been in existence since ancient times, but it was the legendary Florence Nightingale who promoted the formal nursing profession as we know it today. The iconic Lady with the Lamp ushered in the era of educated and compassionate professional nurses. Her efforts were instrumental in starting nursing training in India at St Stevens Hospital in Delhi in 1867. Nightingale, Clara Barton (founder of American Red Cross), Mary Ezra Mahoney (the first ever African-American nursing college graduate) and Virginia Lynch (regarded as the mother of Forensic nursing) are globally renowned for their contributions to nursing. In its infancy, nursing was primarily focused on treatment of soldiers injured in wars or during times of epidemics, butwith the passage of time, it has evolved into a multi-dimensional and critical area of healthcare globally. Nurses are today, the wheels that propel the healthcare vehicle forward.

A step short of being the physicians, modern nurses practice a lot of specialities and they also have varying degrees of authority to prescribe medicines. With the diversified nature of requirements, the modern nursing services and the role of nurses have been rapidly changing. In many areas, the age-old conventions are being replaced by contemporary need-based considerations.In countries such as the UK and USA, nurse specialists are even authorized in many states to diagnose medical conditions and prescribe medications or treatment therapies in consultation with qualified doctors. In India, the profession of nursing is highly respected and critical force multiplier due to the paucity of qualified doctors. The scope and range of services offered by nurses has only expanded with the emergence of private healthcare operators.

Today, nurses are not only working in the institutional care sector, but also playing a key role in the development of home-based healthcare services in India. There are more than 100 million elderly people in India, and a large number of them suffer from chronic diseases such as heart, kidney, or respiratory illnesses. With increase in life expectancy, this elderly population needs expert support and care in their daily life tasks. Nurses are actively involved in meeting this requirement. They provide at-home care to people who are mobility challenged and deliver services like physiotherapy etc.

Communicable diseases and pandemic management is another area where nurses put in exemplary effort, often risking their own wellness. Alongside providing medical care to the diseased people, they also take care of their emotional and mental wellness. When a patient has to spend time in isolation due to diseases such as TB, cancer or viral outbreaks like SARS and Covid-19, nurses act as the bridge between them and outside world. The massive chronic disease burden makes nursing a relentless job with very high expectations.

The nurses in India continue striding forward and setting new benchmarks of service delivery despite the resource constraints. The healthcare providers and authorities are also now focusing more on supporting the nurses by creating more training opportunities. The ever smiling Sister often becomes a pillar of strength during a patients recovery process. Quite often patients fondly recall the name of the nurse who provided care during a past hospitalization. With the advancement of technology and emergence of new areas of healthcare, nursing is going to play an increasingly pivotal role in the years ahead.

Dr Vishal Sehgal is Medical Director at Portea Medical

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Nuevo Laredo reported its highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date, according to municipal and state and health officials.

Tamaulipas Secretariat of Health officials confirmed on Monday that four people tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

They are two men, ages 27 and 26, and two women, ages 43 and 53, totaling 67 positive cases in the Sister City, according to Tamaulipas officials.

Nuevo Laredo Mayor Enrique Rivas Cuellar called upon the community to maintain prevention measures to save lives.

This morning, the Ministry of Health in Tamaulipas already confirmed 67 positives of COVID-19 in Nuevo Laredo. Cases continue to rise, so I urge you to continue to maintain preventive safety and hygiene measures for the wellbeing of all. It is in our hands to save lives, the mayor said.

On Sunday, Nuevo Laredo recorded its eighth death. He was a 31-year-old man with a history of morbid obesity and smoking.

With deep pain and sadness, I inform you of the death of an eighth person. My condolences to the relatives, added Rivas Cuellar.

As of Friday afternoon, Nuevo Laredo recorded three suspected cases and 28 recovered. Matamoros ranks first in deaths with 13 while Nuevo Laredo follows with eight.

In Tamaulipas, there are 840 positives, 55 suspected cases and 47 deaths.

Deportations

Local health officials announced an agreement with the Mexican Consulate in Laredo, the National Institute of Migration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to maintain constant communication to detect infected COVID-19 deportees and keep them in isolation.

The purpose is to have greater control of the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate its spread in Nuevo Laredo, said Oscar Gonzalez Arrambide, chief of the sanitary jurisdiction.

We are in common agreement that at a given moment, if a migrant with a fever comes, (health officials) will be notified in time so that they can isolate him and that no sick migrant can go through with a group of deportees, he said.
The Prime Ministers speech on Tuesday has been quite inspiring, as there is a clear number provided for an economic relief package of 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is around Rs 20 trillion. It has also been stated that this will cover all people including migrants, farmers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), middle class, and one assumes some industrial sectors also.

The details will be keenly awaited. There are two points of interest in this package. The first is the form which it will take, and hence, how it will be distributed over different ...
The ups and downs of her personal life have been laid bare on the Bravo reality show Southern Charm.

And this weekend, Kathryn Dennis made headlines again, this time for a series of comments she directed at a Charleston, South Carolina, radio host.

Dennis hit out at Charleston radio host Tamika Gadsden who had tweeted dismay at the decision by a beauty salon owner to host a 'Trump boat parade'.

The reality star bombarded Gadsden with a series of DMs including a monkey emoji.

Offensive remarks: Southern Charm's Kathryn Dennis made headlines this weekend for a series of comments she directed at a Charleston, South Carolina, radio host

The Bravo reality star, 28, bombarded Tamika Gadsden with a series of DMs including a monkey emoji after Gadsden expressed dismay at a beauty salon owner's 'Trump boat parade'

Gadsden then shared a screenshot of Dennis's remarks on her Twitter and tweeted: 'This is what happens when a Black woman in #Charleston speaks up against white supremacy in the form of MAGA rallies.'

She went on: 'My comments re: Mylk Bar prompted this @BravoTV actor @KathrynDennis to taunt me with monkey emojis in my DMs. Along with a whole host of other names.'

After she was called out on Twitter for her offensive and racist comments, Dennis tweeted out a two-part apology on Monday.

Gadsden shared her exchange with Dennis and tweeted : 'This is what happens when a Black woman in #Charleston speaks up against white supremacy in the form of MAGA rallies'

Gadsden also tweeted a screenshot of Dennis' comments including the offensive monkey emojis

'I want to acknowledge that using a monkey emoji in my text was offensive, and from the bottom of my heart I sincerely apologize to anyone and everyone I hurt. Although the context was not my intention, there are no if ands or buts that excuse me... part 1,' she tweeted.

'Part 2: ....I did not give it thought, and it was and is wrong. I know I am not that person. I know and will do better,' she added.

Gadsden responded with a terse: 'Apology not accepted.'

On Monday, Dennis herself took to Twitter and apologized for her words acknowledging her texts had been offensive

The reality star pledged to 'do better' in her two-part apology

Gadsden had a terse response

Dennis is the mother of two young children with her ex-boyfriend and former Southern Charm co-star Thomas Ravenel.

The pair were locked in a long and bitter custody battle over their kids following their split.

Dennis has also gone through a well-publicized struggle with drug addiction and undergone rehab treatment.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Amid raging controversy over alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday cracked the whip on Health Secretary Vivek Kumar by transferring him from the post, prompting the opposition to claim the removal only proves "something was seriously wrong".

Narayan Swaroop Nigam, who was the Transport Secretary, has replaced Kumar, according to the government notification.

Kumar's transfer to the environment department as secretary comes days after a war of words broke out between the state and the central governments over the "dismal performance" of West Bengal in tackling the COVID-19 crisis.

The Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) which had visited Bengal for on-the-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation had expressed their disappointment with the functioning of the health department headed by Kumar, who was appointed last December, replacing Sanghamitra Ghosh.

The Centre had recently rapped the state government over its COVID-19 management which it said is characterised by a very low rate of testing in proportion to the population, and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2 per cent for the state, by far the highest for any state.

Under fire health minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee shunts out Health Secretary IAS Vivek Kumar appoints Narayan Swaroop Nigam as next Health Secretary pic.twitter.com/0pQfgNNioC  Chayan Chatterjee (@Satyanewshi) May 12, 2020

According to sources, the constitution of the death audit committee on April 3 was the idea of Kumar which was in the eye of a political storm, with opposition parties calling it a government's tool to "fudge" COVID-19 data related to the number of coronavirus deaths and infections.

In the wake of criticism, in the last week of April, the state administration tried to distance itself from the audit committee, when Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, said the health department decided to set up the audit panel and that she had nothing to do with it.

On May 2, the state government altered the audit committee mandate and said henceforth the body will not certify whether a patient died due to coronavirus or a pre-existing ailment.

West Bengal has so far reported 190 COVID-19 deaths, out of which the state has attributed 72 deaths to co-morbidities -- cases where COVID-19 was incidental.

The state has also reported 1,939 COVID-19 cases and of these, 1,374 are active.

The BJP claimed the removal of the health secretary proves that there was "something seriously wrong with the state's handling of the pandemic".

"Earlier when questions were raised over the PDS system, the state had removed its food secretary, now when questions are being raised over the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, the health secretary has been shunted.

This proves that the allegations were correct and the state government is now trying to clean the mess by using scapegoats.

"All the decisions are taken after a nod by the chief minister, then how can she deny her responsibility?" West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh asked.

On April 16, state Food secretary Manoj Agarwal was removed.

CPI (M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the decision should have been taken much earlier and wondered whether it would serve any purpose as long as the state government doesn't change its COVID-19 response policy.

The TMC leadership did not comment on the issue.
P olice are appealing for information after a woman was apparently forced into a car in north London.

Detectives were called to New River Avenue in Haringey at 11.55pm on Monday after a woman was seen in distress.

They received reports that she may have been forced into a small dark coloured car before being driven away.

The woman is described as white, aged between 25 and 30 years old, with blonde hair. She was wearing black clothes and carrying a grey or white handbag.

A man who was seen during the incident is described as white and was wearing a dark coloured coat, jeans and black trainers.

Officers found no trace of either person or the car at the scene.

Detective Constable Rebecca Mussington, from the North Area Command Unit, said: Whilst it is not entirely clear what happened, our main priority is to establish that this woman is okay.

"If this was you, I would urge you to come forward and speak with us. We need to check on your welfare to ensure that you have not come to any harm.

I would also like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time, and saw what happened.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference Cad 7964/11May.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad on Monday called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to avoid politicization in taking actions against the coronavirus pandemic and to commit to actual humanitarian work, the state-run SANA news agency reported

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th May, 2020) Syrian Deputy Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad on Monday called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to avoid politicization in taking actions against the coronavirus pandemic and to commit to actual humanitarian work, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

On Monday, Mikdad received Akjemal Magtymova, the new WHO Representative to Syria, who presented her credentials to the deputy minister.

According to the news agency, Mikdad also condemned Washington's decision to halt funding to the WHO while the whole world is fighting the pandemic.

In addition, the diplomat noted the inadmissibility of maintaining unilateral sanctions introduced by the United States and its European allies against Syria, calling them immoral, inhuman and contrary to the UN principles.

Mikdad also demanded that US sanctions against Syria and other countries in need be lifted in order to counter the coronavirus.

Magtymova, in her turn, expressed readiness to cooperate with the Syrian government in the fight against the pandemic. The WHO representative also said that she supported measures taken by the Syrian government to counter the coronavirus.

So far, Syria has recorded 47 cases of the disease, including 29 recoveries and three fatalities.
House Democrats have released details of a new coronavirus relief bill worth $3 trillion.

According to CBS, the 1,800-page bill is known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act. The package also includes nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments, a second round of direct payments for up to $1,200 per person; and an extension of the $600 weekly federal unemployment insurance benefits through January.

CNBC reports the bill also lists $75 billion for virus testing and contact tracing and $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus provisions to help farmers, protect renters and homeowners from evictions and foreclosures, extend work visas for immigrants, help small businesses to keep employees on payroll, and extend family and medical leave provisions.

Party leaders are expected to vote on the 1,800-page package Friday, along with a plan to allow proxy voting on legislation during the pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to discuss the emergency response package Tuesday afternoon.

If the bill is passed, it would become the biggest emergency spending measure in U.S. history, topping the $2 trillion economic stimulus package passed in March that included a first round of $1,200 direct payments. Congress passed another bill in April to provide loans for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, which quickly ran out of funds.

The HEROES Act is different from the Monthly Economic Support Act, proposed last week by Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey. Their bill suggested sending $2,000 payments every month, until the coronavirus pandemic ends, to Americans earning less than $120,000 a year; married couples will get $4,000 a month and an extra $2,000 per child. The HEROES Act would allow for up to $6,000 per household.

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'This is an improved version of BCG that also gives immunity against the coronavirus.'

IMAGE: Doctors and medical staff applaud six patients as they are discharged from the Krishna Hospital in Karad, Maharashtra, after they had recovered from COVID-19, May 8, 2020. Photograph: PTI

Professor Gobardhan Das was the first immunologist in India to talk about the impact the BCG vaccine had in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

Though he had been urging the authorities to start immunising the population with the vaccine to fight the coronavirus, his plea went unheard, unheeded.

Though his proposal was rejected, the health ministry has now approved of a clinical trial of the BCG vaccine at various institutions in India including AIIMS, Delhi.

"Now, when the US, Germany, the UK, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, etc have started conducting clinical trials, those who criticised my idea made a 180-degree turn and approved clinical trials," Professor Das, below, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com.

You were the first scientist in India to talk about the efficacy of the BCG vaccine in giving immunity to fight the coronavirus.

Now the health ministry has approved a clinical trial of the BCG vaccine in various institutions in India.

I am happy that what I have been talked about is accepted now. I had said that the BCG vaccine which contains a live, weakened version of Mycobacterium Bovis, can give immunity against the coronavirus.

I had written about it on social media. I had also written to the health minister that Mycobacterium Indicus Pranii would be an even more powerful vaccine.

I am happy that this has been approved by the ministry now.

But you are nowhere in the picture.

Everybody is aware that I was the first one in India to talk about the efficacy of the BCG vaccine.

Though I had been writing to the health minister about the idea, I was not consulted when they decided to go for a clinical trial. It would have been nice if I was taken in the team.

Why do you think you are sidelined?

Perhaps they feel they do not need scientists, and need only doctors.

But I feel such committees should consist of doctors, scientists and also epidemiologists. I don't know why they chose to ignore scientists.

But I am happy that finally they feel the idea is worth following up though initially they were against it.

ICMR said then that there was no scientific proof in what you were saying.

I put forth the idea only after comparing incidence and mortality data from all over the world.

Instead of discussing the idea, these organisations simply criticised it, and brushed it aside as one without any scientific proof.

But in 15-20 days's time, they took a 180-degree turn and decided to conduct clinical trials.

As a scientist, did you feel hurt that you were ignored?

We are human beings and we all look for appreciation. We feel happy when we are appreciated. Not only scientists, but every human being needs appreciation.

In this case, I was not just appreciated but ignored too.

Do you think the health ministry decided to approve clinical trials because all over the world, trials on the BCG vaccine are going on? Texas A&M University is leading one of the biggest trials on the BCG vaccine.

The truth is when Indians come out with an idea, it is not valued in India especially when it comes from a small person like me. The same ideas get validated when it is accepted abroad. That has been our way of life.

When you wrote about my idea, there were only very few countries talking about the BCG vaccine, and trials had not even started then. Today, many countries are doing clinical trials.

But the fact is, nobody in India cared about what I was saying. They did not give any attention to my idea.

First, I was ignored, and then my idea was criticised.

Now, when the entire world has accepted the idea and countries like the US, Germany, the UK, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, etc have started conducting clinical trials, those who criticised my idea made a 180-degree turn and approved clinical trials.

This attitude really hurts.

I still feel it is not too late to include scientists in the team so that you can show the world which strain works.

Also, why do you give the authority to conduct clinical trials to a private company?

What should the ministry have been doing instead of asking a pharma company to conduct the trials?

We should be open about the clinical trials so that we can tell the world what we discover about the vaccine.

We shouldn't keep the results within ourselves, we should let the whole world know about the results.

That way, we can lead the world in the fight against the virus.

When I was talking about BCG vaccine, nobody gave a damn. Now, they have given approval to some company to do the trials.

What is needed is transparency and good scientific leadership.

The proposal you had submitted for the vaccine project was rejected. Now, you got a grant of $700,000 from abroad for the same project.

Yes.

What I found out first was the BCG vaccine or MIP protects people from the coronavirus by giving non-specific immunity.

That made me think, can we do something better and specific? That is immunity-specific to the coronavirus.

What I wanted to do was I wanted a COVID-19 specific immune response in addition to BCG induced non-specific immunity.

Next question is, how do I do that?

I wanted to keep BCG as the base and then have the antigenic Covid-specific proteins on top of that using recombinant technology.

So, the BCG surface will look like coronavirus because of genetic engineering.

Such a vaccine will give immunity against coronavirus also.

This in fact is an improved version of BCG that also gives immunity against the coronavirus.

Basically, you are strengthening the vaccine efficacy.

When I sent this proposal, it was rejected.

But I felt the idea had high potential. That's why I sent the proposal outside India.

In less than 24 hours, it was accepted, and I was given a grant of $700,000.

We had heard about the nepotism and corruption that existed in scientific research. It was said many scientists had to move from India to pursue research abroad. Why does it still exist here?

I am sorry to say corruption is the highest in scientific field.

Those who occupy the highest positions blatantly promote their own people. Once they get the chair, they do not want to vacate it.

Can you believe people at 85 and 90 are still ruling the field? And they only promote their own people.

When changes are happening so fast in the scientific field, you need more dynamic and young people, and not those who are inactive.

For example, the coronavirus is just five months old. How much does a retired, 85-year-old, person know about this?

People who have not published a single scientific paper in the last 18 years are in the task force.

What do they understand about the virus? Moreover, they appoint their own people in the committee. This is what is happening.

How frustrating is it for a scientist like you?

Of course, it is very frustrating. I work in the field of tuberculosis biology and have published the maximum number of papers, but here I am sitting at JNU which is not exactly a research institute. All because I don't belong to any group.

Because I do not have any godfathers, I am always sidelined and ignored.

This time also, why was my proposal rejected when the same proposal from somebody else was accepted?

But I can say for sure that in six months's time, I will come out with a vaccine.
The battle against the coronavirus is currently dominating headlines and monopolising the time and resources of governments around the world.

We, in Egypt, are no different. However, in addition to taking aggressive measures to contain COVID-19, Egypt is also contending with another matter that is equally urgent and that is potentially of greater consequence to long-term regional stability, which is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ethiopia has almost completed the construction of the GERD, which will become Africas largest hydropower dam. The danger that the GERD represents to water security in Egypt cannot be overstated. Egypt is, essentially, a desert oasis that depends entirely on the Nile as its sole source of life. Just check Google Earth  over 100 million Egyptians live in a densely populated and slender strip of green that snakes through an ocean of desert, which eventually opens up into the Nile Delta as it approaches the Mediterranean.

With a water storage capacity of 74 billion cubic metres, which is twice as large as the Hoover Dam in the US, the GERD could, if filled and operated unilaterally, constitute a clear and present danger to Egypt.

That is why it is essential that Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, the three states that share the Blue Nile where the Dam is being built, agree on the rules governing the filling and operation of the GERD. As a hydropower dam, the GERD is not a water-consumptive project, which means that, if the three countries agree on appropriate rules on its filling and operation, the Dam would not appreciably reduce the quantity of water flowing in the Blue Nile and would not harm downstream communities.

In other words, a win-win solution is attainable. Moreover, Egypt has repeatedly affirmed that it wholeheartedly supports Ethiopias right to development, including by harnessing the benefits of the Nile River. However, it always takes two to tango. Ethiopia must also have the requisite political will to reach an agreement that enables it to fill and operate the GERD without affecting Egyptian water use.

Unfortunately, however, almost 10 years of negotiations on the GERD have failed due to Ethiopias obstructionism and its adoption of a consistently unilateralist approach. Initially, these talks were intended to ensure that studies on the transboundary and environmental impacts of the GERD were conducted after a panel of world-renowned experts issued a deeply troubling report that highlighted flaws in the Dams design and criticised Ethiopia for not undertaking studies on the downstream effects of the GERD.

To manage the process of preparing these studies and to ensure that the rules on the filling and operating of the GERD are developed on the basis of them, an international treaty titled the Agreement on Declaration of Principles (DoP) was signed by Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan on 23 March 2015. This treaty stipulated that the transboundary and environmental studies were to be completed and that the rules on the filling and operation of the GERD were to be agreed on the basis of these studies within 15 months. Five years later, that obligation has still not been fulfilled.

At each and every juncture, Ethiopia has adopted a policy of prevarication that prevented the completion of these studies and that undermined attempts to reach an agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD. That was why Egypt called upon the United States, which is a strategic partner for both Egypt and Ethiopia, to join the negotiations as an observer and facilitator. After 12 rounds of talks that were held in Addis Ababa, Cairo, Khartoum, and Washington DC from November 2019 until February 2020, and after an herculean effort by US secretary of the treasury Steven Mnuchin, who was tasked by president Donald Trump to oversee the talks, the US, in coordination with the World Bank, prepared a compromise text of a treaty on the filling and operation of the GERD.

This agreement is not an American attempt to impose a solution on the three countries. It was developed on the basis of the positions expressed by Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan during the negotiations and provides a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial formula that preserves the core interests of the three countries. It enables Ethiopia to realise a return on its investment by rapidly and sustainably generating hydropower from the GERD, while protecting downstream states against the adverse effects of the dam and mitigating the ravaging effects of potential droughts.

Like in any compromise, Egypt is not entirely comfortable with everything in the US-drafted agreement. After all, it is often said that a good compromise is one where all the parties are equally dissatisfied. However, in a show of its good will and genuine commitment to enabling Ethiopia to achieve the objectives of the GERD without harming downstream interests, Egypt accepted this agreement and initialled it on 28 February 2020. Ethiopia, on the other hand, refused to attend the final ministerial meeting that was held in Washington DC on 27-28 February 2020 and rejected the text prepared by the US.

Moreover, Ethiopia recently declared that it plans to commence the filling of the GERD without an agreement with its downstream co-riparians. This act of brazen unilateralism would breach the 2015 DoP and, given the potentially disastrous effects of the GERD, would also constitute an intolerable infringement on Egyptian national security. Egypt cannot and will not stand idly by as Ethiopia empowers itself to control the destiny of the Egyptian people.

That is why the US must remain engaged in this process. Not only are Americas prestige and credibility as the pivots of global governance on the line, but also an agreement on the GERD would contribute to maintaining regional stability and security and chart a new course for cooperation among the Nile River riparians.

We now have a unique opportunity to strike a historic deal that promises to change the face of the region. Secretary Mnuchin and his assistants worked hard for an agreement, and the US and the international community must now send a clear message to Ethiopia that a policy of unilateralism is untenable and that it must sign the agreement that is now on the table, which was the outcome of the negotiations in which it participated, and which will open limitless possibilities for the Nile River riparians and realise the aspirations of over 250 million Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sudanese.

*The writer is a former minister of water resources and irrigation and a professor of water resources at the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University

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Marla Maples has revealed that her daughter Tiffany Trump has finished her final law school exam while showing off the stunning bouquet of flowers her only child sent her for Mother's Day.

The first daughter is completing her last semester of law school at Georgetown University virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic, and her mother couldn't be prouder of the 26-year-old's accomplishments.

Marla, 56, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a snapshot of the flowers Tiffany, 26, had sent to her New York City apartment while she is finishing up school, presumably in Washington, D.C.

So sweet: Marla Maples, 56, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a snapshot of the flowers her daughter Tiffany Trump, 26, had sent to her New York City apartment for Mother's Day

Quarantined apart: The first half of Tiffany's message to her mom is visible in the photo, and in the sweet note, she expresses how she wishes they could be together

'I am so, so proud of my beautiful daughter as last night she finished her final law school exam! Hallelujah! The Best Mothers Day gift of all. Though I do adore these beautiful red & pink roses and the delicious dinner that just arrived,' she captioned the image.

'Thank you my girl with all my heart for blessing me with the most Divine gift ever, being your mom.'

The first half of Tiffany's message to her mom is visible in the photo, and in the sweet note, she expresses how she wishes they could be together.

'Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you so much and wish that we could be together!' she wrote. 'I can't believe I just finished law [exams].'

Excited: Marla revealed in her caption that Tiffany had finished her final law school exam, calling it the 'best Mother's Day gift of all'

New normal: The first daughter has been attending her classes at Georgetown Law virtually since March 16 and her commencement has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic

Georgetown Law moved to virtual learning on March 16 due to the pandemic, with classes meeting online at their normally scheduled day and time.

Commencement has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor announced that they will mark the occasion with a video tribute on Sunday, May 17.

'We are still planning for a time when the Law Center community will come together safely to celebrate the Class of 2020. But we could not let this moment pass without collectively honoring the resilience, compassion, and commitment that went into completing your courses of study,' he wrote in a letter shared on the school's website.

Marla admitted in February that she can't wait for Tiffany to officially be finished with law school, though it's unclear if she plans on moving back to New York City.

The mom explained during an appearance on Carlos & Lisa show on BeondTV that Tiffany is always telling her that she is 'studying.' She is looking forward to when her daughter is done so she can 'see more of her.'

Home sweet home: Marla has been hunkering down in New York City during the global crisis, sharing photos and videos of her daily walks and routine

Almost done: Tiffany celebrated her 'last first day of school' in September when she posted a picture of herself posing in front of the Georgetown Law Library

Tiffany, who is President Donald Trump's only child with Marla, started law school in 2017 after graduating from her father's alma Ivy League alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, the year before.

She celebrated her 'last first day of school' in September when she posted a picture of herself posing in front of the Georgetown Law Library.

Tiffany has made various appearances at White House events in support of her father over the past few years, but she has remained dedicated to her studies  even while juggling a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, billionaire heir Michael Boulos.

The first daughter is likely quarantined in Washington, D.C. amid the pandemic, though it's unclear if Michael is with her.

The 22-year-old, who is the heir to the multibillion-dollar Nigerian conglomerate Boulos Enterprises, was in D.C. in February to attend the president's State of the Union address with Tiffany and her family.

Romance: It's unclear if Tiffany is quarantined with her boyfriend Michael Boulos, who was in D.C. in February. He and his parents visited the White House in December as well (pictured)

Stop the spread: Tiffany shared Laura Kelly Fanucci's viral coronavirus poem on March 23 while urging people to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines

Tiffany's mother, meanwhile, has been hunkering down in New York City during the global crisis, sharing photos and videos of her daily walks and routine.

Whether it's because of her studies or a desire to remain under the radar, Tiffany has remained relatively quiet on social media amid the global crisis.

In her last Instagram post from March 23, she shared Laura Kelly Fanucci's viral coronavirus poem while urging people to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines.

'We must all take this time to proactively help and look out for one another. Now is the time to #unite and join forces because only through working together on a global scale can we persevere against this collective existential threat. #TogetherApart,' she wrote.

'Social distancing saves lives! Please follow the CDC guidelines @cdcgov to #StopTheSpread & #FlattenTheCurve Poem.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion emphasized on Tuesday the gradual reopening of businesses in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine will help rebuild the countrys economy.

Thats a good progress. We are really moving into a GCQ (general community quarantine) and that is the objective, said Concepcion.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced today that Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Laguna will be under modified ECQ until from May 16 to May 31. One of its guidelines is to allow the limited reopening of select manufacturing and processing plants.

Concepcion added there is a need for more employment opportunities in restarting the countrys economic growth to complement the gradual reopening of businesses in areas under modified ECQ.

He pointed out the importance of having an economic stimulus package, which is being deliberated at present in the House of Representatives.

The stimulus package definitely will complement and add fuel to the economys engine if it restarts, said Concepcion.

READ: 700-B post-quarantine stimulus bill tops House agenda in virtual session

Concepcion agreed that most enterprises under the modified ECQ will operate 50 percent of its full capacity, but appealed that those offering essential services should be allowed to run 80-90 percent of their business operations.

In the essential, were trying to even ramp that up to about 80 or 90 percent, or we will not be able to supply the foods especially canned food and all of these essentials. Its a challenge to really ramp up the number of employees who want to go to work, he said.

The presidential entrepreneurship adviser also called on the government to allow the restart of construction projects in private sector, after public infrastructure projects were given the green light to resume under modified ECQ.

The construction industry employs a lot of people. Thats what we need right now, he added.

Concepcion also noted that as businesses were allowed to gradually resume their operations, there must be an efficient transportation system among companies in shuttling their employees in and out of work.

The gradual resumption of business operations in modified ECQ areas will also aid the country in boosting its COVID-19 testing capacity, as Concepcion stressed that more companies are willing to test their employees before allowing them to go back to work.

The urgency of really testing is imperative for the private sector to allow the economy to open and we dont want a resurgence of the virus. So, we really have to do testing, tracing, and isolating, Concepcion said.

READ: DTI: Companies willing to test own employees to boost PH mass testing capacity

According to the Department of Health, a total of 181,668 COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far, including repeat tests. As of Friday, COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon also claimed that the country can now perform 12,000 tests daily.

The government targets to increase the daily testing capacity to 30,000 by the end of the month.

Nationwide, the DOH has recorded 11,350 confirmed cases of the viral illness, with 2,106 recoveries and 751 deaths.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Each of our cells is surrounded by a complex membrane that functions as a biological border, letting ions and nutrients such as salt, potassium and sugar in and out. The guards are membrane proteins, which do the hard work of permitting or blocking the traffic of these molecules.

Strings of bonded water molecules, called water wires, play an important role in this process that was thought to be well understood. Now, a team at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory ( MagLab) is upending decades-long assumptions about how they actually interact with proteins.

Their paper was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

While scientists knew water wires played a role in conducting nutrients across the cell membrane, they vastly underestimated their interactions with the membrane channel. This finding has widespread ramifications, researchers said, calling into question existing models of how water behaves inside other proteins.

"That's where this gets really interesting from a biological perspective," said corresponding author Tim Cross, director of the Tallahassee-based nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facility at the National MagLab and the Robert O. Lawton Professor of Chemistry. "Now we understand that those interactions between the water and the protein's oxygen atoms lining the pore are going to be much stronger than anyone has anticipated. And that's going to influence how these proteins function."

The work is also important, Cross added, because it showcases how a unique, world-record magnet, known as the Series Connected Hybrid (SCH), is giving scientists access to new details about proteins and other biological systems.

Their study focused on gramicidin A, an antibiotic peptide (or small protein) that is shaped like a helix. Two of these molecules stacked one atop the other create a narrow channel in some cell membranes through which ions can pass in and out. An eight molecule-long water wire spanning the length of the channel acts as a kind of lubricant in this process. The hydrogens in those water molecules bond with some of the oxygen atoms in the gramicidin that encircles them. The orientations of the water wire molecules were thought to flip extremely quickly, binding and unbinding with oxygen atoms in the gramicidin A many times a nanosecond.

However, when the MagLab team took a closer look at this system, they discovered something that called that prevailing view into question. Their first clue came about two years ago, when Joana Paulino, then a postdoctoral researcher at the MagLab working with Cross, put some specially treated gramicidin A into the SCH and ran some NMR experiments.

Scientists use NMR machines to better understand the structure and function of complex molecules like proteins and viruses. They can tune the machine to identify, for example, all the sodium atoms in a sample and their orientations vis-a-vis other atoms. Each atom sends a tell-tale signal back to the machine.

But some atoms are easier to detect by NMR than others. Oxygen, for example, is quite hard to see. So, until recently, one of the most biologically active atoms in the body was all but invisible to NMR. Due in part to a powerful magnet generating a field of 36 teslas (a unit of magnetic field strength), the SCH can "see" oxygen.

The specific gramicidin samples Paulino was looking at had already been studied in depth years earlier in another powerful NMR magnet at the MagLab. Cross established his career with his work on gramicidin, known to be a perfectly symmetrical structure: The last thing he expected was a surprise.

The gramicidin sample was made up of two identical, stacked, helical molecules. Paulino examined the exact same oxygen atom on both, hoping the more sensitive SCH would detect a clearer signal from those two atoms than had been previously observed.

But she didn't see just one oxygen signal: She saw two.

At first blush, the results seemed to suggest something amiss with the model of a perfectly symmetrical gramicidin A - the model that had earned Cross his tenure. His immediate reaction to Paulino's measurements was, "Well, that must be wrong."

His next thought: "Or, this could be something very interesting."

Repeated experiments showed Paulino's first result was indeed correct -- but not because the molecules were asymmetrical. Rather, the SCH was so sensitive that it detected one signal from a gramicidin oxygen that was bound to the water wire, and a separate signal from a gramicidin oxygen that was not bound to the wire.

The team spent years conducting more experiments to make sure they understood what they were seeing.

"Every time we ran a sample of gramicidin labeled at a different oxygen site and we saw two peaks, we did a little dance," said Paulino, lead author on the paper and now a postdoctoral scholar in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California at San Francisco.

The fact that the SCH was able to detect the signal of the bound oxygen, the researchers determined, meant that the interactions between the water wire and pore wall of the gramacidin A were much stronger and longer-lasting -- more than a million times longer, in fact, than scientists had believed.

"The energies associated with the process are clearly different than what was imagined," Cross said. "So, we need to go back now and take a look at the energetics and how these water wires actually function."

The findings are relevant for many other types of proteins that feature water wires in their cell membranes.

"The excitement now is to really start thinking about all of these other water wires in proteins that conduct ions that are essential for life," Cross said, "and to understand how this is going to influence those interactions and conductance rates."

The findings are likely to ruffle some scientific feathers because they contradict computational models of the molecular dynamics of water wires that have been accepted for decades, Cross said.

"Scientists have a pretty good understanding of a lot of things," Cross explained. "But every once in a while, something comes out of the blue and forces us to rethink things. There's nothing out there that would at all hint that there was a problem with those computational studies -- until this."

###

Other authors contributing to this paper were: Myunggi Yi of Pukyong National University; Ivan Hung and Zhehong Gan of the MagLab; Xiaoling Wang, formerly of the MagLab and now at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Eduard Chekmenev of Wayne State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Huan-Xiang Zhou of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida, and has operations at Florida State University, University of Florida and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
British tourists could holiday in Greece without restrictions from June 1, according to the Greek government.

Last week, the EU country announced its plans to reopen its tourism sector in three stages which could see free travel to the country from the start of next month, should no further problems arise.

However, the chances of British tourists being able to visit the country once again rest on whether airlines will be willing to transport them there on a regular basis.

British tourists will be able to visit Greece without restrictions from June 1, if the Greek government's three-stage plan to reboot the country's tourism sector works over the next few weeks

So far, Greece has managed to record 2,726 coronavirus cases within its borders, with 151 people dying due to the global pandemic.

Last year, four million Britons travelled to either mainland Greece or its islands on holiday.

Greece's Interior Ministry announced that the country will adopt a three-stage process to open up travel between mainland Greece and its islands.

Greece has had 2,726 of its population contract coronavirus since the outbreak began with 151 people dying due to the global pandemic

The first stage began on Monday, with those who own tourist businesses on the islands now able to return there to prepare for the influx of tourists.

The second stage, which is set to start on May 18, will grant permission to all tourism workers to travel to the island.

And if all goes well, there will be no restrictions on travel both to and from mainland Greece and the islands from June 1.

However the Greek government has already begun a three-step plan to allow free movement from mainland Greece to its islands, meaning that Britons will be able to travel there freely as normal

Greece's tourism minister, Harry Theoharis said: 'Of course, we will take precautions in terms of the requirements before travelling. But also in the way that we travel.

'Social distancing rules will apply but we want to continue showing the kind of hospitality we're known for.'

Tourism to Greece is expected to return to some sort of normality towards the start of June, with German airline Lufthansa confirming that all commercial flights from Frankfurt to Athens will recommence as normal on Monday.

The news that holidays to Greece could be back on the cards for Britons comes after tourist businesses in Benidorm got back up and running again for the first time since the middle of March.

In Benidorm, meanwhile, British tourists have been allowed to head back to the bars after authorities eased lockdown restrictions in certain parts of Spain

Bars, pubs and cafes in the Costa Blanca resort following the easing of lockdown restrictions in some parts of Spain. A maximum of ten people can sit at each table, which have to be at least 6.5 feet apart.

However, businesses in popular Costa del Sol region remain shut after Spanish authorities declared the pandemic situation in the Malaga region too dangerous to start lifting restrictions.

Major Spanish cities Madrid and Barcelona have also been told to remain under strict lockdown rules.
STERLING, Va., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The new Avitecture APCMS has enabled physicians and nurses at a Federal health clinic's eICU to remotely monitor long-term critically ill patients. Avitecture APCMS is an innovative answer for continuous remote visual and audio monitoring of patients in intensive care units.

Challenge

Clinics and hospitals worldwide have dramatically increased workloads for physicians and nurses. A Federal healthcare center sought a way to keep physicians, nurses, and therapists safe as they care for critically ill long-term patients in 24 eICU (electronic intensive care unit) rooms who require continuous monitoring.

The Federal clinic faced a shortage of nurses and needed to reduce the use of costly personal protective equipment (PPE). To maintain support similar to their in-person monitoring, the clinic quickly needed a cost-effective, high-quality remote monitoring solution.

Solution

APCMS provides continuous video and audio monitoring of eICU beds. Its easy-to-use, modular, and expandable solution puts three cameras, a microphone, and a loudspeaker in each patient's room. The camera can be remotely repositioned to show the patient as well as the patient's monitoring equipment. The microphone and the loudspeaker enable two-way communication between the patient and the physicians, nurses, and care-givers.

Each nurse's APCMS station has two desktop video displays with the ability to enable monitoring six or more rooms simultaneously to ensure the safety and comfort of the patients. Each desktop has a microphone and a loudspeaker for two-way communication with each patient and for passive audio monitoring of the patient. By using a touch panel the care-giver selects the appropriate eICU patient to monitor; a joystick controller provides camera control to view images of the patient and the monitoring equipment.

With APCMS one nurse can now remotely monitor multiple patient rooms. Each station handles three rooms which always are shown on the first video display. The nurse can switch to any other pod of three rooms using the touch screen, which will appear on the second video display. Additional modules for APCMS at the nurses' station enable monitoring more rooms from a single location and with a smaller staff. Patients can also be monitored from remote locations such as another location in the hospital or a physician's home.

Success

Avitecture's APCMS allows the healthcare team to consult directly, quickly, and effectively with bedside physicians, nurses, family members, and patients. The team will be able to monitor and make critical decisions without entering patient rooms as often as they once did.

In addition to saving personal protective equipment and staff time, APCMS will help relieve stress for the frontline healthcare staff when a critical-care eICU is at or beyond its capacity.

To learn more about Avitecture, visit www.avitecture.com, or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Avitecture is a registered trademark of Avitecture, Inc.

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A lawyer for President Donald Trump argued that he should be 'immune' from being subject to a subpoena by a district attorney in state court  as his effort to fight off investigatory efforts by Congress and prosecutors faced challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court.

'Temporary presidential immunity is constitutionally required by Article Two and accordingly the Supremacy Clause defeats any authority the DA has under state law as to the president,' Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow told court justices in the second of two cases hear by phone.

'If not reversed, the decision weaponizes 2,300 local DAs to harass, distract and interfere with a sitting president,' Sekulow argued, seeking to overturn a decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Trump is the first president in four decades not to release his returns. His lawyer Jay Sekulow argued before the Supreme Court that the president has 'immunity' from requests by a state district attorney for records from before he was in office

'This is not mere speculation. It is precisely what has taken place with this case,' said Sekulow, who also defended Trump against impeachment articles in the Senate earlier this year.

Sekulow made his case for immunity as justices considered grand jury subpoenas from a New York District Attorney seeking Trump records.

'Criminal process targeting the president is a violation of the Constitution,' Sekulow said. Chief Justice John Roberts asked why he did not argue that a grand jury investigation altogether presented an unwarranted distraction.

Sekulow argued that the president deserves protections that would not apply to ordinary citizens that protect him from being subject to a grand jury.

'This court has long recognized that the president is not to be treated as an ordinary citizen,' said Sakulow.

'He has responsibilities. He is himself a branch of government. He is the only individual that is a branch of government in our federal system,' he argued.

Enforcing a subpoena 'weaponizes 2,300 local DAs to harass, distract and interfere with a sitting president,' said Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow

Sekulow and other attorneys called in their Supreme Court appearances

Lawyers and justices referenced the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit and a Supreme Court ruling subjecting sitting presidents to civil matters

Justice Sonya Sotomayor pushed back at his argument, noting that a president does not have the power to issue pardons in state court, asking why he should get 'more immunity for private acts than he should be for public acts.'

'I find it odd that you want us to rule that theres essentially an absolute immunity from investigative powers  and that we would permit a civil damages case by a private litigator which we did in Clinton,' she said.

'He is a branch of the federal government,' countered Sekulow. 'You're asking for a broader immunity than anyone else gets,' she told him.

Sotomayor also a subpoena shouldn't simply be limited by a standard of 'whether the investigation is based on credible suspicion of criminal activity and whether the subpoena is reasonably calculated to advance that investigation.'

Representing the U.S. government, solicitor general Noel Francisco took a different tack, arguing as a friend of the court on the side of Trump's lawyers.

At a minimum, a local prosecutor 'has to show he really needs the documents,' Francisco told the court, setting a standard with a high bar without asserting the immunity pushed by Trump's private lawyer. He called for a 'special needs standard.'

'You're arguing for a more flexible standard. So what was wrong with Mr. Trump's position?' Chief Justice John Roberts asked him. Francisco said the immunity question wasn't an issue the court needs to address.

Lawyer Carey Dunne, the general counsel for New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., argued there are no such protections for presidents.

He said Trump asked the courts to overturn 200 years of precedent with his claim of immunity, and said it assumes state prosecutors have a 'reckless mania.'

'The supposed floodgates have been open for generations, and there's never been a flood,' he said.

Dunne said under questioning it was backwards for a state grand jury proceeding to have to get permission from a federal judge before going ahead.

'It completely upends the way that a grand jury process is supposed to work,' he said.

Sekulow had a somewhat different take on presidential power in an October 30, 2016 tweet.

'President #Obama is not above the law. So why does he and his Administration act like it?' Sekulow wrote. 'You don't get to act like a King,' said text accompanying a smiling picture of Obama.

Rulings could come this summer in the midst of the presidential campaign.

Earlier Tuesday, the Court heard oral arguments in a case that has brought a constitutional clash between Congress and the presidency over Donald Trump's tax returns  with conservative justices quizzing the president's lawyer about whether Congress has any valid role in getting presidential information.

Trump and the administration are fighting subpoenas from Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney seeking to obtain years worth of Trump tax return information  which the president has refused make public voluntarily.

'Why should we not defer to the House's views about its own legislative purposes?' asked Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, after an attorney representing the president repeatedly criticized the language of House subpoenas.

Sekulow took a more limited view of executive power in a 2016 tweet about President Obama

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a major showdown over presidential powers arising from President Donald Trump's attempts to keep his tax returns private.

Chief Justice John Roberts also pressed the president's lawyer, Patrick Strawbridge, who said the needs of Congress in the case are 'auxiliary and subordinate' and that it 'must yield' to presidential prerogatives to be protected form harassment.

'Do you concede any power in the House to subpoena personal papers of the president?' Roberts asked him.

Strawbridge said it was hard to imagine the House 'is ever going to have the power pursuant to its legislative powers to subpoena the records of the president.'

He argued that if Congress is allowed to force entities to hand over tax returns from before the president took office, it would open the door to 'endless subpoenas and harassment.'

On the one hand, Roberts expressed skepticism that Congress had no authority to issue a subpoena or that a court could second guess its motivations to do so, while also doubting that congressional power was limitless.

'Should a court be probing the mental processes of legislators? Should members of House committees be subject to cross examination on why you were really seeking these documents?' Roberts asked Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Wall.

The House has invoked its constitutional authority to legislate as the basis for getting access to years of Trump tax return information  but Trump lawyers and the government, representing the White House, argue that the legislative purpose was being used as a fig leaf for a probe.

Justices of the Supreme Court phoned in to oral arguments

Donald Trump refused to release his tax returns, although a 1995 return leaked to the New York Times

The Court is balancing Congress' legislative authority and protecting the executive from 'harassment'

Counsel for the House of Representatives Douglas Letter pushed back at claims the subpoenas were presidential harassment, as the nine justices heard arguments for 90 minutes.

'There's no way that this could interfere with the president, because he doesn't have to do anything,' he said. Congress sent the subpoenas to an accounting firm and two banking institutions identified as having the financial information.

Liberal Justices distinguished between executive privilege issues since the documents being sought were personal, not presidential in nature.

Several justices appeared to be seeking guidance on a possible balancing test.

Patrick Strawbridge, attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, departs from federal court in New York, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. He fielded questions from Supreme Court justices by telephone

'How can we both protect the House's interest in obtaining information it needs to legislate but also protect the presidency?' asked Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Without some limitation, 'It'd be open season they say on private records of anyone who is president,' said Kavanaugh.

Gorsuch asked Letter about what 'limiting principle here' he could identify.

He and other justices raised questions about whether Congress stating a legitimate legislative purpose was over-broad as a purpose for issuing a subpoena.

He noted the possible interface with criminal law, saying in a hypothetical it's possible ''possible this person jaywalked or failed to pay his taxes.' Letter noted that Congress can look at criminal law but clearly 'can't prosecute.'

From the court's left, Justice Stephen Breyer asked Letter a question that revealed his own concerns about placing an undue burden on the president.

He read from the wealth of information being sought through subpoenas, and said: 'Now that's a lot of information. And some of it's pretty vague.'

'And if somebody subpoenaed you for that information, or subpoenaed your tax accountant  would you at least want to know what's being turned over?

'My problem is there may be burdens here, third party or not. And not just political burdens,' he observed.

Letter responded that 'There has been no claim of privilege here, no claim that there is a burden.' There might be in other cases, but 'certainly not this one.'

'Your test is not much of a test. It's not a limitation,' Roberts told Letter at one point.

Justices and attorneys repeatedly invoked Clinton v. Jones, the 1997 case that established a sitting president is not immune from civil litigation. It involved Paula Jones bringing a sexual harassment suit against Bill Clinton.

On rebuttal, Strawbridge blasted Letter for struggling to come up with a hypothetical example under questioning about a valid limitation on what Congress could try to obtain.

'I think it's telling that he can't provide any meaningful limit today,' he said, saying Congress might even seek to get a president's DNA.

'The case is submitted,' Roberts intoned when the arguments were completed.

The case represents a major showdown over presidential powers arising from Trump's attempts to prevent Democratic-led congressional committees and a New York City prosecutor from getting his financial records.

Three months after Trump avoided removal from office in a Senate impeachment trial, Trump's lawyers want the Supreme Court to endorse their expansive view of presidential powers that would severely limit the ability of Congress to conduct oversight of presidents and of prosecutors to investigate them.

The Supreme Court has a 5-4 majority including two justices appointed by Trump. He has won key victories at the high court including over his hardline immigration policies but lost a big case a year ago regarding the U.S. census when conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberals.

In the three cases being argued on Tuesday, Trump has sought to prevent enforcement of subpoenas issued to his long-time accounting firm Mazars LLP and two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One, for financial records including tax returns. Lower courts in Washington and New York ruled against Trump in all three cases.

Trump, unlike other recent presidents, has declined to release his tax returns and other financial records that could shed light on his net worth and the activities of his family real-estate company, the Trump Organization.

Rulings are likely within weeks, with Trump seeking re-election on Nov. 3 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The cases will be heard in two separate arguments by teleconference, a format adopted during the pandemic.

The cases are among the most consequential in years on the parameters of presidential powers. The high court in some past landmark cases has ruled against presidents.

In 1997, it unanimously decided that sitting presidents could be sued for conduct outside of official duties, ruling against President Bill Clinton's bid to delay a sexual harassment lawsuit. In 1974, it unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon must comply with a court's subpoena for tape recordings in the Watergate scandal.

Two of the Trump cases - to be heard together - concern his effort to block enforcement of subpoenas by House of Representatives committees seeking his financial records from Mazars and the two banks.

The House committees have said they are seeking the material as part of investigations into potential money laundering by banks and into whether Trump inflated and deflated certain assets on financial statements - as his former personal lawyer has said - in part to reduce his real estate taxes.

The other case concerns a subpoena issued to Mazars for similar information, including tax returns, as part of a grand jury investigation into Trump being conducted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

The New York criminal investigation was spurred by disclosures of hush-money payments by Trump to two women - pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who said they had past sexual relationships with him.

Trump's lawyers have argued that Congress had no authority to issue the subpoenas and that the House Democrats had no valid legislative reason for seeking the records.

In the New York case, Trump's lawyers argued that his records cannot be handed over because of his authority as president under the Constitution, contending he is immune from any criminal proceeding while in office. Even if Trump shot someone on New York's Fifth Avenue, prosecutors would be powerless to act while he was still in office, his lawyers argued before losing at a lower court.
Almost two months after being forced to stop due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Indian Railways has resumed passenger train operations, admittedly on a limited scale. Trains connecting major cities across the country were operationalised from Tuesday in a move to kickstart Indias economic engine. Several chief ministers cautioned Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on the dangers of this move as India crossed a grim total of 70,000 positive cases and over 2,200 deaths. The PM acknowledged the concerns, said that rail services will be limited, and ruled out full resumption.

Stopping train services was a precaution at a time when India had about 500 cases. Now, despite enforcing one of the most stringent lockdowns, Indias battle against Covid-19 is only escalating. With the need to resuscitate the economy on one hand, and protect the health of its citizens on the other, India doesnt have many options. This newspaper has consistently argued for a graded lockdown to revive the economy, with strict health protocols. The resumption of train services (with the exception of migrant workers who were left stranded) has risks. The government has issued guidelines to ensure the safety of travellers. But there are real challenges in implementation. How do people get to the railway station? How can trains, many of which have been booked to full capacity, ensure social distancing? What protocols are in place for possibly asymptomatic travellers?

Train travel can possibly lead to the spread of the disease, including in rural areas, and add to the health burden of states. The railways must do everything in its capacity to ensure that this doesnt happen.
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 a patient's body while he or she lies 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 Dr. Carolyn Calfee, a professor of anesthesia at the University of California-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 for researchers to draw reliable conclusions.

Calfee 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 be 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 Dr. Douglas White, a professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He cautioned, however, that frail older adults shouldn't 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're likely to 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 Dr. Negin Hajizadeh, an associate professor of critical care medicine at the School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on New York's 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.

In late April, 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 Dr. Christopher Cox, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

"You may not be able to live for more than a few minutes," he noted.

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 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 Dr. 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."
Crews at Los Angeles International Airport unload pallets of supplies of medical personal protective equipment on Friday. (Richard Vogel/Associated Press)

A failed deal in which California had to claw back $457 million from a newly created and politically connected firm selling protective masks prompted new vetting procedures, advisors to Gov. Gavin Newsom told lawmakers on Monday.

But in a lengthy public hearing in Sacramento, they defended the administration's overall record in purchasing equipment worth approximately $2.2 billion.

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, told lawmakers that amid the frenzy to buy life-saving supplies through nearly 200 deals, the state has had to cancel contracts or seek reimbursement in only a handful of cases. No taxpayer money has been lost, he said.

"The market was beyond volatile," Ghilarducci said. "The state had very little leverage to bargain with, just as we were negotiating with a potential source and the source appeared legitimate, it was lost to another buyer. Given the overwhelming global need, it was a seller's market, with the seller dictating negotiation terms, including advance payment and other terms to which the state would not normally agree."

Monday's oversight hearing was prompted by the state's handling of a March 26 contract with Blue Flame Medical, a company that had been founded just a few days earlier by two GOP operatives. Hours after California wired $457 million to buy 100 million masks that Blue Flame owners said were already at the Port of Los Angeles, banks involved in the transaction flagged it as potentially fraudulent. State officials then asked that the money be sent back.

Ghilarducci said the deal, which is now under investigation, was one of many examples in which companies misrepresented what supplies they had or were possibly engaged in fraud.

In another failed deal, California signed a nearly $800-million contract with a politically connected vendor of medical masks  only to have it collapse after state officials said the company did not deliver most of the supplies. The scale of the contract with Bear Mountain Development Co. came to light Friday when state officials, pressed by the Los Angeles Times, confirmed details of the deal.

Story continues

Former Alabama Atty. Gen. Troy King is listed on Bear Mountains formation record as president of the Montgomery, Ala., company. Purchase records identify the companys local contact as Paul Bauer, a Sacramento lobbyist who works for the government relations firm Mercury Public Affairs.

The existence of the state's deals with Blue Flame and Bear Mountain were only revealed following public records requests. Blue Flame's collapsed deal was first reported by CalMatters.

Newsom has faced criticism over his administration's lack of transparency over COVID-19 purchases, particularly a $1 billion contract for protective masks from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD. The BYD contract was released last week, a month after it was signed. A late amendment revealed that BYD would reimburse the state $247 million for failing to secure federal certification of its masks in time for a May delivery.

Despite the issues, Newsom has stood by the BYD deal.

Transparency has been a challenge, said Helen Kerstein of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Without the basic information on the types of contracts the administration is entering into, Kerstein told lawmakers Monday it is difficult for the Legislature to perform its basic oversight function.

A Times analysis of California procurement data found that the state has so far committed to spending more than $3.7 billion on no-bid contracts under Newsoms March 4 statewide coronavirus emergency order. One-third of those funds  about $1.2 billion  were earmarked for suppliers of goods and services that do not appear in the states database of contracts prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ghilarducci said that as of Saturday, the state has ordered 326 million N95 masks, 30 million KN95 masks, 307 million other types of masks and 41 million face shields.

In the case of the large order from Blue Flame, Ghilarducci said the company had undergone normal state vetting. He said the company's owner, whom he did not name, told state officials vetting the deal that 100 million N95 masks sitting at the Port of Los Angeles could be bought for $4.76 apiece.

"At the time, that was one of the lowest we had seen to date," Ghilarducci said.

He said after a series of vetting protocols, such as confirming that product specifications met state requirements and confirming the owner's claims of California residency with a business in good standing, the state decided to move forward with the deal.

"We wired money ... it appeared to be legitimate," Ghilarducci said.

Hours after the money was sent, the bank involved raised concerns to the State Treasurer's Office and the California Department of General Services that the account involved was newly opened. Ghilarducci said the money was then sent back and the deal is under investigation.

The company was founded by John Thomas and Mike Gula in late March. Previous efforts to reach Thomas and Gula have been unsuccessful.

Ghilarducci said the widespread fraud the state encountered in trying buy protective equipment prompted the Newsom administration to work more closely with federal authorities, including the FBI, when vetting thousands of offers that have come into the state.

Lawmakers on Monday were not heavily critical of the state's vetting process, saying they understood California was desperately trying to secure life-saving supplies.

"There will always be critics who condemn the state for acting too quickly or not quickly enough," said Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced). "Without PPE, people die. And so, speaking for myself, I land firmly on the side of acting quickly during a crisis and accepting a certain amount of risk as a result."
The owner of a Charleston restaurant that temporarily shut down because of COVID-19 is suing the insurance company that rejected his claims for losses tied to the virus in what's believed to be the first local challenge to such business interruption denials.

Black Magic Cafe, which has two locations, filed the breach of contract lawsuit in federal court in Charleston against Hartford Financial Services Group and its subsidiary, Twin City Fire Insurance Co., which issued the policy that cover business income losses.

Most business income policies have waivers that exclude losses tied to viruses or pandemics, but Black Magic said its policy did not have such an exclusion. The cafe's owner is seeking class-action status for all businesses that have similar policies issued by Hartford and its subsidiaries.

Hartford did not respond to a request for comment.

The cafe's business losses started on March 17, when Gov. Henry McMaster ordered a temporary halt to dine-in services at South Carolina restaurants, according to the lawsuit. The owner filed a claim on March 24 that was denied with a form letter a week later. An appeal by the cafe's lawyer, Ross Appel with McCullough Khan in Charleston, was also denied.

Hartford, according to court documents, said Black Magic did not show a direct physical loss due to the coronavirus.

Appel said the policy doesn't specifically define physical loss but does include examples of what might cause a physical loss, including aircraft or vehicles, civil commotion and falling objects. Appel ties those three examples to Black Magic's losses, saying the virus arrived in American via aircraft, McMaster's order was to prevent civil commotion and "the virus itself is transmitted by respiratory means, the airborne droplets of which constitute 'falling objects'," the lawsuit states.

Appel accuses Hartford of breach of contract and is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.

Most insurance companies started excluding business losses due to viruses following the SARS outbreak nearly two decades ago. A debate over whether such losses should be covered has ignited in the wake of COVID-19. Losses tied to the virus are estimated to cost U.S. small businesses between $220 billion and $383 billion per month, according to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Those amounts would wipe out up to half of the industrys surplus to pay all property and casualty claims, not just business interruption.

The Oceana Grill in New Orleans French Quarter is among the nations first businesses to challenge a COVID-19 claim denial in court, seeking a judgment against Lloyds of London. The restaurants owners say it is clear the coronavirus contamination is a direct physical loss needing remediation to clean the surface of the establishment. It adds a proclamation Louisiana Gov. John Edwards banning gatherings of 250 or more people triggered the insurance policys civil authority clause.

State and federal legislators are also considering whether to force insurers to cover COVID-19-related losses, although such measures have not yet advanced very far.

In South Carolina, a trio of senators introduced a bill last month that would force coverage for losses related to COVID-19. That bill was sent to the senate's Committee on Banking and Insurance.

"Dozens of individual and class-actions suits have been filed by businesses in different parts of the country seeking coverage for their financial losses resulting from the pandemic," global law firm Eversheds Sutherland said in an online newsletter. "In light of the amounts at stake and number of businesses impacted by the pandemic, we expect many more are likely to be filed, potentially in every state."
Brazil has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect the Amazon rainforest, taking precautions to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, as the government mounts an early response to surging deforestation in the run-up to the high season for forest fires.

The armed forces, along with environmental officials, police and other government agencies, began with an operation in a national forest in Rondonia state, near the Bolivian border, Vice President Hamilton Mourao said at a news conference on Monday.

Deforestation in Brazils Amazon surged 55 percent in the first four months of the year compared with the same period of 2019, according to government data released on Friday.

The destruction hit an 11-year high last year, spurring an outcry and criticism that Brazil was not doing enough to protect the worlds largest rainforest.

We dont want to be labelled by the rest of the world as an environmental villain, Mourao said.

President Jair Bolsonaro authorised the deployment, sending in troops three months earlier than in 2019, when Amazon fires grabbed global headlines.





Fernando Azevedo, the defence minister, said the armed forces would establish bases in three Amazon cities, with 3,800 troops mobilised against illegal logging and other crimes, at an initial estimated operational cost of $10 million.

Azevedo said each base was also assigned five specialists in chemical warfare to help avoid spreading the novel coronavirus through the operations.

The military is currently authorised for deployment for 30 days ending on June 10. That could be extended with the approach of the dry season, when forest fires generally spread and the military would seek to assist in fire prevention, Mourao said.

We have no doubt this problem will continue to exist, he said. We dont consider this the best job for the armed forces, to be always engaged in this type of action, but unfortunately its the means we have to limit these crimes from happening.

The armed forces will continue to be used until environmental agencies, like the main enforcement agency Ibama, are able to increase their staff, Mourao said. An economic downturn and budget restrictions have prevented Ibama from hiring new agents.

Environment Minister Ricardo Salles acknowledged that government data showed rising deforestation this year. He said that the coronavirus outbreak had aggravated the situation, without elaborating.

Salles said he was confident the governments actions under Mouraos direction would succeed in lowering deforestation from the elevated levels seen in the last two years.
The Ministry of Defence is handing mosquito spray to soldiers on the Covid front line as an 'additional layer of protection' saying it can 'do no harm' amid claims it could neutralise coronavirus.

Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said a Citriodiol-based spray has been given to personnel in light of the Surgeon General's advice it wouldn't do any harm.

The MP said it should be used on a precautionary basis as against exposure to the virus.

Mr Wallace's confirmation of the use of the spray came in response to a letter from the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, who wrote to him asking for details on the use of the spray last month.

Citriodiol, found in Mosi-guard, has previously proved effective at killing other coronaviruses, including SARS, by destroying the layer which surrounds the virus. MoD tests will seek to determine if citriodiol can also kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus which has killed more than a quarter of a million people around the world so far

The Defence Secretary said: 'Weaker Citriodiol spray solutions form a barrier on the skin and have been found to provide a barrier against variants of the Sars virus similar to that causing the current pandemic.

'It is not possible to confirm the number of Armed Forces personnel who have used the product, but Defence has provided a Citriodiol-based spray to each of the 10 Joint Military Commands, which have been delegated the authority to provide to their personnel wherever required.

What is citriodiol, in which products is it found and how could it combat coronavirus? Citriodiol is chemical which actively repels insects. It has long been widely used in commercial repellents. The chemical is used in the following products: MosiGuard Incognito Ben's Natural Care Plus Natural Insect Repellent Citriodiol comes from the leaves of the eucalyptus citriodora tree, native to Asia, South America and Africa. Previous studies have found the chemical is also able to kill the SARS virus, which caused a pandemic almost 20 years ago. It remains unknown if the chemical is able to destroy SARS-CoV-2, the virus which leads to COVID-19, but the two viruses are closely related. Deet, another common chemical used to keep bugs away, is not believed to be effective against coronavirus. Mosi-guard, the commercial product that contains citriodiol, is not available at Boots or Superdrug but can be bought online. The company which manufactures the product in the UK, Citrefine International Ltd, based in Leeds, is calling on the Government to test the product and see is it is effective. The Ministry of Defence is believed to be undergoing tests to determine just that. Advertisement

'The MoD does not implement such measures without rigorous examination of their effectiveness and suitability.

'Following consultation with subject matter experts, including infectious disease consultants, pathology advisers, and public health experts, the Surgeon General advised that, albeit in lieu of conclusive research, Citriodiol would do no harm and should be used on a precautionary basis, as an additional layer of protection against exposure to Covid-19.

'Providing Citriodiol to other essential workers outside Defence, such as those in the NHS, would be a matter for the bodies employing those essential workers.

'The Surgeon General has informed the chief and deputy chief medical officers for England of his approach.

'The Surgeon General has also tasked DSTL with a further study to understand specific details of the utility of Citriodiol against Covid-19.'

Mr Ellwood said: 'I'm pleased to have received a response from the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, as well as the promise of further updates, following reports that the insect repellent Citriodiol is being tested on our troops.

'The Defence Committee looks forward to hearing more from the Department and hopes that any research on the effectiveness of Citriodiol is shared with key institutions and the public as we continue our fight against coronavirus.'

Citriodiol, found in Mosi-guard, has previously proved effective at killing other coronaviruses, including SARS, by destroying the layer which surrounds the virus.

COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus strain closely related to SARS  which caused a pandemic in 2003  called SARS-CoV-2.

The chemical is resistant to evaporation and, if it was proven to be effective against the virus, could offer protection for several hours. Regular handwashing with soap and existing anti-virals do kill the virus but do not provide this long-term protection.

The insect repellent has been undergoing official tests at the government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down.

Government tests have been approved and Mosi-guard is being offered to some MoD personnel while the results come back. The insect repellent is an option and not obligatory, and the MoD insists it has not been formally rolled out. Pictured, Members of the 101 Logistic Brigade deliver a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital

It was revealed last month that Mosi-guard was given to some soldiers as part of enhanced measures to halt the spread of COVID-19.

An MoD spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: 'Citriodiol is known to have anti-viral properties and has been used as a barrier against the SARS 1 virus.

'Its utility for protecting against COVID-19 is therefore being explored by the Ministry of Defence as an additional protective measure for personnel working on the response.

'Further work is required to determine its full effectiveness, acquisition and distribution.'

It comes after calls from the manufacturer of Mosi-guard, a Leeds-based company called Citrefine, urged the government to consider its product earlier this week.

No official plan has been laid out for how the insect repellant chemical would be issued to people if it is found to be effective against the novel coronavirus. Jacqueline Watson, managing director of Citrefine, told Sky News it would most likely be prioritised for people working on the coronavirus frontline. Pictured, a Chinook landingnear an ambulance on the Isle of Wight to test methods of patient transferal to the mainland

In a statement from Citrefine, a spokesperson admitted to MailOnline there is currently no data proving the chemical is effective against this specific virus.

It reads: 'Citrefine has not tested Citriodiol against SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

'We therefore are very pleased with the news that MoD scientists are to implement a formal testing programme.

'If Citriodiol can be used safely and effectively, we would welcome the opportunity to help in this current crisis.'

The company explains it is the chemical's resistance to evaporation which makes it an effective insect repellent.

This, the company suggests, could offer protection from viruses over a number of hours, which is uncommon for anti-viral agents.

The chemical would not be effective against inhalation, but could kill the virus on surfaces or on a person's skin, for example.

Now, tests have been approved and Mosi-guard is being offered to some MoD personnel while the results come back.

The insect repellent is being given to some soldiers as an option and is not obligatory, and the MoD insists it has not been formally rolled out.

There is also no guidance on how to best use the insect repellent, as there is no credible evidence currently available to inform decision-making. The MoD tests will hopefully provide this information.

Should citriodiol be effective at killing the virus and offering long-term protection, it is designed to be used in conjunction with pre-existing protocols and PPE, not to replace any pre-existing measures.

The experiments will hopefully discern if citriodiol can kill the virus, how it should be applied and how long it can be effective for.

It remains unknown where and to who the chemical would be rolled-out if it is found to be effective against SARS-CoV-2.

No official plan has been laid out, but Jacqueline Watson, managing director of Citrefine, told Sky News it would most likely be prioritised for people working on the coronavirus frontline.

Some politicians have expressed concern at the trials. In separate letters, politicians asked Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for more details and clarification.

Chief among their concerns are why, with such little evidence, are resources being diverted to this endeavour.

Stewart McDonald of the Scottish National Party asked to see the evidence that informed the MoD's decision.

The letter states: 'If this is based on science, it is vital that the evidence is made public and all frontline workers are given the same advice.

'If there is no evidence that it will be effective, then the MoD must explain why this product is being issued, creating a false sense of security and putting lives at risk.

'Clarity on this matter is of the greatest urgency.'

Jamie Stone of the Liberal Democrats wrote in his letter: 'The over-riding point is that if your decision has been taken on the basis of sound scientific evidence, then why are other frontline workers not also being provided with citriodiol?'
Russia has trained Syrian fighters, who underwent reconciliation with regime, and will now be sent to Libya to fight on their behalf reports Zaman Al-Wasl.

At least 200 Syrian fighters will leave for Libya from Russias Hemeimeem airbase in coastal Lattakia region to join Khalifa Haftars forces near Tripoli, a well-informed source told Zaman Al-Wasl Sunday.

A Russian cargo plane is due to transfer the former rebels who laid down weapons in central Homs province two years ago, but have since been recruited by the Russian Wagner paramilitary group.

The fighters have followed an intensive Russian army training programme in a desert area near the historic city of Palmyra, according to the source.

Over the past few months, the Syrian regime has sent hundreds of fighters, encouraged by large incentives, to bolster Haftars army near Tripoli.

Turkey, who backs the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, has also dispatched troops and Syrian fighters to the north African country.

Backed by Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the parallel Libyan authorities have been on an offensive against the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) since April 2019 to take the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Last April, Zaman Al-Wasl sources confirmed that Libyan pilots from Haftars forces had arrived in Damascus to follow training by the Syrian Air Force on the Russian Mi-25 attack helicopters.

The pilots were stationed with the Air Force 64th Brigade at the Beli Military Airport, 20 kilometre south of Damascus where they will follow an intensive training programme for at least six months to be qualified, according to the military source.

Bashar al-Assads regime and a delegation representing eastern Libyan strongman Haftar agreed last March to exchange diplomatic missions and confront Turkish interference, state-run news agency SANA said.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Concerned about possible impacts of a Census undercount, current and former Pasadena ISD officials are urging residents to participate in an effort that takes as little as five minutes that they say can lead to big opportunities for the school district.

Superintendent DeeAnn Powell noted April 24 on the districts website that Pasadena ISD was lagging behind state and national averages in participation in the 2020 Census, with only 45.2 percent of the population filling out the form.

If you have not already completed the census, I encourage you to take a moment to do so at www.2020census.gov, she wrote.

I think its important, former superintendent Kirk Lewis said of Census participation. I know there are a lot of federal funds in the school district in community services that are tied to population, demographics, poverty levels, etc. It sure makes a difference in terms of funding for special grants and things like that. I know a lot of agencies are in need of these funds.

Signs about the Census are displayed on vehicles, billboards and even on the back page of a Pasadena ISD track and field program.

The nationwide count is taken every 10 years, and the aim is to count every person living in the United States. The numbers are used to determine how many seats each state has in the House of Representatives, but also affect the amount of federal funding given for schools, health care and road work, among other things.

Some 325 Census-guided federal spending programs distributed more than $900 billion in 2016, according to the George Washington Institute of Public Policy.

The National School Lunch program was allocated $18.9 million for the fiscal year 2015, based on Census Bureau data.

The higher the population count means more money for those programs, Lewis said. Oftentimes, thats the only meal (students) may get that day. In light of whats happening today, in terms of the economic side of things, I think its even more important for those Census numbers to be high in order for it to be reflective of who is living in our community.

But Texans currently arent responding to the Census as well as officials had hoped. As of May 4, Texas ranked 40th among states in Census response. The national self-response percentage is 56.8, but the Texas percentage is 51.5.

Because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Census schedule for public self-response to fill out the questionnaires has been extended to Aug. 14.

The percentage of households in the city of Pasadena that have so far responded sits at 47.8. Thats nearly 20 percentage points below the citys 67 percent response from the 2010 Census.

Mayor Jeff Wagner has sought to rally participation in the Census, and the city has a link to an online form for the count.

There are unique concerns to the 2020 Census that werent present for past population-counting efforts.

A larger-than-normal undercount is predicted due to citizenship fears, race and ethnicity questions, data security and reduced outreach.

Federal courts blocked a citizenship question, but it left an uncomfortable taste of fear and distrust from immigrant and minority communities.

I just want accurate numbers so Pasadena gets what it deserves to get, Lewis said. Theres a piece of the pie out there that we want to make sure is appropriate for us.

ravery@hcnonline.com
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She made those and other allegations last week on the website Medium, in a post called Stolen Legacy. But she provided no evidence for her claims in an interview, or in the online post, other than to say that a forthcoming book written by Elijah Cummings before his death would verify her claims.

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The conflict highlights the bad blood and strained relationships in the otherwise low-key congressional race, which has been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and more-competitive races for Baltimore mayor and City Council.

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Through spokespeople, Rockeymoore Cummings, former chair of the state Democratic Party, and Mfume, who represented Marylands 7th District in Congress before Elijah Cummings and was just sworn in to serve the rest of Cummingss term, declined requests to discuss the post.

Debbie Veney, a spokeswoman for Rockeymoore Cummings, declined to name the book publisher or explain Rockeymoore Cummingss role in producing the manuscript. She said the book would be published in September.

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After The Washington Post reported on the Medium post Tuesday morning, Mfume released a statement calling the post a sad and desperate attempt to try to change 42 years of friendship and facts.

The statement noted that Elijah Cummingss sisters have endorsed Mfume, and his daughters had backed Harry Spikes, a longtime aide to the late congressman who also sought the congressional seat.

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People are tired of dirty politics, Mfume said. There is a reason why Elijahs sisters and daughters refuse to support her.

Mfume easily won a special primary as well as the special general election last month to finish Cummingss term.

He was sworn in last week.

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Mfume and Rockeymoore Cummings are among 19 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for a full term in the June 2 primary, which  like the April 28 special election  will be conducted mostly by mail.

Democrats make up the overwhelming majority of voters in the district, which includes parts of Baltimore City and Howard and Baltimore counties. Several Republicans are also seeking their partys nomination, including Kimberly Klacik, who won the special primary but lost to Mfume last month.

Mfume held the congressional seat from 1987 to 1996. On the campaign and in interviews, he has said that he gave Elijah Cummings early notice that he would be leaving Congress to run the NAACP and encouraged him to run for the seat. At the time, Cummings was serving in the Maryland General Assembly.

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In her post, Rockeymoore Cummings says the story is not true and suggests that Mfume told it to establish his credibility as a friend worthy of following in Elijahs footsteps.

She goes on to say that the upcoming book by Elijah Cummings would explain how he learned of Mfumes resignation.

Elijah was friendly with Mr. Mfume but he didnt consider him a friend, Rockeymoore Cummings wrote. In fact, he often said he didnt trust him and that if Mr. Mfume was involved, it was likely because Mr. Mfume stood to personally benefit. Elijah, who had the gift of spiritual discernment, often said that it bothered him that he couldnt feel Mr. Mfumes spirit.

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The men served on the Morgan State University board together, and Elijah Cummings chose Mfume to deliver a eulogy at his funeral.

Rockeymoore Cummings wrote that her husband made that choice because he felt that the people of Baltimore would expect Mr. Mfume to speak.

Mfume says he still has what it takes to continue Elijah Cummingss legacy

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings: An outsider in her husbands beloved Maryland

Sloppy accounting, funding debts: A look at Maya Rockeymoore Cummingss charity

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The Assam government will implement a three-tier quarantine system to contain the spread of COVID-19 when passengers from outside reach the state by trains and by road, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.

Train services from Delhi to Dibrugarh in Assam began on Tuesday and 842 passengers are scheduled to reach the state after stopping at several stations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, he said.

Around 15 lakh people are expected to enter the state in the next few months in a phased manner, Sarma said.

The first level of the quarantine system will be at the hospitals where all symptomatic patients will be treated. The second level will be at district headquarters and the third at the constituency level, he told a press conference here.

Symptomatic patients will be taken straight to the hospitals, while asymptomatic people will also have to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine at facilities fixed by the district authorities like schools, colleges and anganwadis.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will also write to all legislators irrespective of party affiliations to make quarantine provisions for those from their constituency who are returning from outside the state.

Referring to the train, Sarma said in Assam it will stop at Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Lumding and Mariani stations.

There will be passengers from Arunachal Pradesh who will be taken from Dibrugarh by buses provided by that state, he said.

"Initially it was planned that the train services will be staggered. But last night, we were informed that trains from Delhi to Dibrugarh will run for a week continously as there was pressure from host states to ensure the return of people to their home states," he said.

The minister said that there was also demand for train services from Bengaluru, Chennai, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat to bring back people.

The state government has applied to the Railways for Shramik Kalyan trains - one each from Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Gujarat.

"This will be entirely free for the passengers. Railways will bear 85 per cent of the fare and the state government the remaining 15 per cent", Sarma said.

Already 3,597 people have entered the state by road, including 3,255 by the Srirampur check gate and 342 by the Chagalia gate along the Assam-West Bengal border, he said.

These people were taken to the five screening centres at Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Jorhat, Tezpur and Silchar.

"This is a major challenge for us and the next 15 days to one month is very crucial for us in our fight against corona", Sarma said.

Assam has tested more than 20,000 people among whom 64 tested positive and 22 of them active cases. An ambulance driver who drove from Mumbai to Jorhat and was allowed to leave as he was asymptomatic has been hospitalised in Bihar, while two persons have died and 39 of them have been discharged from hospital.

Of the two persons who tested positive on Monday in Guwahati, one is a patient in Guwahati Medical College Hospital and the other is a 50-year old worker at a potato godown, Sarma said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After eight years in office, then-Gov. John Hickenlooper left Colorado in a financial lurch when his second term ended in January 2019. The Le
M indy Kaling has pioneered South Asian representation on screen for almost two decades, and the latest thing the world has to thank her for is Netflixs Never Have I Ever.

The coming-of-age series deals with grief, friendship, sex and the teen pressures of popularity, following the ups and downs of 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar.

Devi is played by Hollywood newbie Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, whose talents were unknown to the world mere months ago.

Since Never Have I Ever's release, she has rapidly made a name for herself both on and off the screen.

Here is what we know about Maitreyi Ramakrishnan...

Netflix: Never Have I Ever 1 /6 Netflix: Never Have I Ever Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix

1. She's a Capricorn

Ramakrishnan is just 18 years old, born December 30, 2001. That makes her a Capricorn - ambitious, and at risk of being a know-it-all, according to the astrologers of Google. Accuracy aside (a long way aside), its a good personality match for Devi.

2. She is Canadian-Tamil

The actress was born and raised in Ontario, but values her Tamil heritage. Due to the impact of the Sri Lankan civil war on Tamil citizens, she consciously identifies as Tamil rather than Sri Lankan and the conflict forced her parents to flee to Canada as refugees.

I made it very clear to my agent and publicist that Tamil Canadian is very, very important to me ... my identity isnt being Sri Lankan, she previously told Now Toronto.

Thats not my country. My country is Canada. But my culture is definitely Tamil.

3. Never Has She Ever been on TV before

The Netflix show marks Ramakrishnans first ever acting role, unless you count school plays. She had only just decided to pursue an acting career when she landed the part and had to defer her place on York Universitys theatre programme in order to shoot in Los Angeles.

4. She had to fight to play Devi

Ramakrishnan was handpicked from a pool of 15,000 actresses by show creator Mindy Kaling.

After her best friend spotted an open casting call on Instagram, the talented teen sent in an audition tape, filmed on her mums camera at a local library. It took four more tapes before she received an invitation to LA, and after a couple of screen tests, the role was hers.

5. She will judge you if you mispronounce her name

Ramakrishnan wants people to learn how to pronounce her name correctly (FYI, its My-tray-ee). With 20 letters in her full name, she realises Tamil names are longer-than-average in the Western world and she even anglicised her name while at high school. But now, she is having none of it.

If you can say the character names in Game Of Thrones, you can say my Tamil name, she told Now.

6. She intends to be outspoken

Respect existence or expect resistance, reads her Instagram bio.

Ramakrishnan joined a student walkout to protest education cuts, crediting her high school arts program with her success. She has also spoken out about the importance of voting.

Voting is that one teardrop that can start a whole storm, she told Brown Girl Magazine.

On 2019s International Day of the Girl, Today listed her among eighteen Groundbreakers" - young women on course to change the world.

7. Hermione Granger was her childhood screen-sister

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It was Hermione Granger who Ramakrishnan related to most as a kid, she previously revealed. The deciding scene was Hermiones Its wingardium levi-oooh-sa, provoking Ron to make fun of her to the boys in her class. Me too, Hermione, Ramakrishnan reminisced.

8. Ramakrishnan would like to direct one day

While she hopes to be acting for the foreseeable future, the young star told Brown Girl Magazine: "Later on in my career, I would definitely look into going into directing.

9. She sees a lot of her own experiences in Devis

Like her character, Ramakrishnan was academically-focused, played in the school band, and found a lot of high school incredibly cringe-worthy.

Im old enough to be able to look back at how I was when I was 15 and realise how cringey it was at that time, Ramakrishnan told the Observer. You really question the choices you made in high school and just the general awkward cringeyness of it all.

Netflix

11. She wrote Devis catchphrase

Whats poppin? is a definitive Devi line, but was introduced to the character by Ramakrishnan, who says she uses the catchphrase all the time with friends.

12. She actually learned the harp for the show

Ramakrishnan told the Observer that picking up the seriously impressive skill is one of her favourite takeaways from the show: I just love learning.

13. Ramakrishnan is up for Season 2

...but the question remains, is Netflix?

Never Have I Ever is currently available to stream on Netflix
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the world's largest holistic relief package and he is leading from the front in this time of the COVID-19 crisis, BJP president J P Nadda said on Tuesday.

Thanking Modi for announcing a Rs 20 lakh crore economic relief package, Nadda said this is around 10 per cent of the GDP and the prime minister's proactive approach will build a self-reliant India.

"Today, our honourable prime minister has declared the world's largest holistic relief package to address land, labour, liquidity & laws," Nadda said, adding that this package will support every section of society



The BJP chief said the 21st century will be defined by India and in the times of COVID-19, Modi is leading the country from the front. Today, he laid the foundation stone for implementing this, Nadda said.

Underlining that self-reliant India is the "mantra" for driving the country towards this new change, Nadda said self-reliance is the panacea to fight COVID-19.

Describing the prime minister's economic package as historic, BJP spokesperson Shahnawz Hussain said Modi has shown a new path for development of the country and turned despair into hope by announcing it.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Modi "is the biggest package India has ever seen".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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An immediate spike in inter-city travel is expected within two weeks of resumption of train and bus services as many people, who are stuck in different cities, will look for an opportunity to return to their bases, according to a survey by IntrCity RailYatri. However, the inter-city mobility industry in India, which was in an expansion mode, has been slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the survey by the multi-modal intercity mobility platform, covering more than 20,000 users across metros, tier-1 and tier-2 cities.

Interestingly, 38.41 percent of travellers indicated that they would consider travelling this year if the pandemic has been effectively controlled.

Leisure travel would take the biggest hit with a sharp drop of 71 percent in planned holidays and festive travel. Only 29 percent of the respondents plan to travel this year for social or festive occasions.

"An immediate spike is expected in inter-city mobility in the immediate 0-2 weeks period once trains and inter-city buses start to operate. People are looking for an opportunity to return to their base," the survey said.

A high (30 percent) number of travellers are stuck in the wrong city as the lockdown took many Indians by surprise, it added.

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

According to the survey, social distancing will drive near total shift from offline to online bookings.

"Despite strong and persistent efforts by online brands, offline bookings have historically dominated in India. This finally looks set to change and is a big opportunity for online brands," it said, adding the biggest impact would be on bus bookings, specifically on 'last-minute' sales by agents and touts at popular boarding-points.

When it comes to preferred mode of travel, tourists are unlikely to change their choice in the post-COVID-19 era.

"Upon asking which mode of transport best addresses 'Social Distancing'  most travellers prefer to stick to their original preference of bus or train. However, this "bias" is significantly more pronounced in bus and train travellers, as compared to flight travellers," it said.

Flight travellers are the most pessimistic in comparison to those by train and bus. Domestic flyers constitute the most nervous cohort, followed by train and bus, it added.

"Over 50 percent of travellers who prefer travelling by sleeper bus or train are far more confident about travelling within the next three months. Therefore, train and bus travellers displayed a far greater sense of optimism as regards to resuming their inter-city travel," the survey added.

Despite India experiencing one of the most severe lockdowns in the world, the overall travel sentiment is biased towards optimism of things becoming normal again, it added.

However, the inter-city mobility industry in India will require to put in place innovations, diversification and safety measures to meet with challenges.

"How soon we will recover from the crisis will depend upon the extent of 'safe zone travel' and 'safe destinations' and the ability to transform and innovate within the industry and adjust to travellers 'new' expectations," it said.
Banks have taken the knife to term deposit and savings interest rates and there are warnings of more cuts on the cards as extraordinary stimulus policies drive down the cost of money.

Major banks have in recent weeks cut rates across a range of term deposits, in what one expert calls an unintended consequence of the unconventional policies to support bank funding in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Major banks have in recent weeks cut rates across a range of term deposits. Credit:Louie Douvis

Commonwealth Bank in recent days cut a key term deposit rate it had promoted as a special, following a reduction in bonus rates from Westpac last week, and these are just the latest in a string of rate cuts across the industry.

Comparison website Canstar reports there were 167 changes to term deposits last week, of which 164 were cuts, and its finance expert Steve Mickenbecker said the trend reflected ultra-cheap inter-bank lending rates.
Cuba's foreign minister on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of inspiring the gunman who attacked the Cuban Embassy in Washington last month.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also criticized Trump officials for remaining silent about the April 30 attack, which he called a sign of U.S. government complicity.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana said in a statement that U.S. officials are dedicated to protecting embassies, and it described the U.S. legal process as transparent, with strict jurisprudence and much information about cases available to the public.'



An armed man identified as Alexander Alazo Baro, a 42-year-old Cuban immigrant to the U.S., fired 32 shots at the embassy April 30. He was charged with a violent attack on a foreign official or premises, willfully damaging property of a foreign government and firearms charges.

The attack damaged the building's facade and at least one statue on the embassy grounds. Rodriguez on Tuesday played embassy security camera footage of the incident, showing Baro waving an American flag outside the compound's fence and later shooting at the building with an AK-47 rifle.

The footage also showed the moment police arrived and wrestled Baro to the ground.

Alazo told investigators that he had been treated at a psychiatric hospital and that his wife, a nurse, had told him to seek treatment when he was hearing voices in his head.

He was prescribed medication in March after a visit to a psychiatric facility but had not been completely compliant with his medication, court papers said.

Cuba has denounced the attack as a terrorist assault, and accused U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of encouraging violence against Cuba with hostile rhetoric towards the Cuban government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
12.05.2020 LISTEN

A Supreme Court Judge nominee, Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, has dismissed reports that she was approached when someone was needed to be appointed as the chair of the Electoral Commission.

Prior to the appointment of Jean Mensa as the Chairperson of Ghanas election management body, reports were rife that Professor Mensah Bonsu was the front runner to lead the Commission.

Appearing before Parliaments Appointments Committee on Tuesday to be vetted for her Supreme Court nomination, the astute law lecturer said she was surprised about those reports since she was never approached by anybody to take up the then-vacant seat at the EC.

That was a very difficult time for me, nobody approached me but yet there were stories about me, people were calling me to hold a press conference and I said what was I going to deny, but let me say that I won the popular votes.

Meanwhile, another Supreme Court judge nominee Yonny Kulendi has dismissed speculations that his nomination as a judge to the highest court of the land will positively impact his financial fortunes.

Answering questions during his vetting Tuesday, the renowned lawyer who was nominated by President Akufo-Addo stated that he is about to commit financial suicide by accepting to serve as a judge at the Supreme Court.

According to him, there must be a national dialogue on the remuneration for public servants including judges which he said will aid the fight against corruption.

Mr Chairman, People in my village are watching me and they will think that this is an elevation but they dont know that I am about to commit financial suicide, levels will change.

We need to have a national dialogue on where we want to go otherwise the Imams will preach their sermons, the pastors will preach but this demon called corruption will bring us down.

---starrfmonline
NEW BRITAIN  Business and personal relationships spanning the country and across the Pacific Ocean are responsible for bringing Connecticut 6.7 million masks, surgical gowns and thermometers, Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Tuesday.

Gathering around dozens of members of the Connecticut National Guard who are staffing a warehouse here in an industrial zone, Lamont said that both the Chinese embassy and a major Chinese bank helped secure the delivery of $10 million in material that Lamont celebrated in a morning news conference.

Today weve got 60 days worth of PPE, said Lamont, who was given a hardhat tour of the vast warehouse, then held a news conference against a 10-foot-high backdrop of cardboard boxes full of rubber gloves. The shipment includes 100,000 thermometers.

Lamonts announcement came on a day when the state Department of Public Health reported 33 new fatalities in the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the state total to 3,041 dead. But a net 23 reduction in hospitalizations kept the state on track for the May 20 reopening. On Tuesday, 1,189 people were in hospitals, the lowest since April 5.

This is our national stockpile, Lamont joked before the news conference, in reference to problems the state had in collecting PPE from Washington, when back in March orders were co-opted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency seemingly just hours before they were supposed to head to Connecticut.

He said the new shipment came in since the weekend, culminating extensive networking and even a donation of $2 million in PPE from the China Construction Bank. Thousands of pieces of equipment came courtesy of Shandong, the states sister province in China. Its a good day. Its a good day for Connecticut and we did it all together working hands across the ocean, so to speak, Lamont said.

Connecticut realized pretty early on that we had to take the lead on this ourselves, and Attorney General William Tong and myself, we reached out to Ambassador (Huang) Ping, the consul general, Lamont said. We worked every relationship we could find in and around China, because we know thats where almost all the masks and gowns, the PPE, are produced. Ive got to admit I am so grateful to the people of China.

The shipment finally provides some assuredness in the states ability to provide first responders and smaller essential businesses personal protective equipment. Now weve got some inventory, he said. Now we can give people some confidence.

Lamont said that friends including Ray Dalio, the Greenwich hedge fund billionaire, and Carl Kuehner of the Stamford-based Building & Land Technology, also took advantage of relationships to help procure the equipment.

David Lehman, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, told reporters that there were multiple suppliers who generated the order, and that businesses can inquire about eligibility through the website of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.

Later, during his daily news briefing in the State Capitol, the governor described the PPE acquisition as a complicated negotiation. It really took a while and all the different relationships that are necessary there, Lamont said, describing the China Construction Banks contribution as a goodwill offering.

For us to get to the front of the line with everybody trying to source PPE coming out of China, where lets say most of the PPE comes from, took a variety of relationships, Lamont said.

Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer, recalled that when the PPE market fell apart in March, it made it much more difficult to procure.

We are fortunate that the governor has incredible relationships in the business community, with people who have extensive relationships in China that can be called on to broker some of these deals like the one that was announced today, Geballe said.

Lamont also hosted Marna Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale New Haven Health System, and Auro Nair, executive vice president of The Jackson Laboratory, who said that they are preparing for thousands of daily coronavirus tests.

Illustrating how much the pandemic has subsided, Borgstrom noted that Greenwich Hospital, which has 200 beds, maxed out at 126 COVID-19 patients, and now the census with the virus is below 40. At Yale New Haven, there were 475 COVID patients at the peak and it is now down to 310.

Geballe said that contract tracing efforts are operational, now that hospitalizations are on the downward side of the curve; on April 22 1,972 people hospitalized.

About 300 employees of both local health departments and the DPH are receiving training this week, then as many as 500 more volunteers will be recruited from medical and graduate research programs to interview COVID-19 patients who would be willing to speak about people with whom they might have had contact and transmitted the virus, so they can be quarantined to keep the virus from peaking again.

At about 6:45 p.m., Lamont issued another executive order allowing cities and towns to speed up changes to zoning rules and local ordinances to expand outdoor dining, and allow retail businesses to sell items on the sidewalk. There are also provisions for restaurants with liquor permits to serve alcohol only with food, without applying for an extra permit.

The order also lets private clubs sell alcohol to their members for pickup or delivery.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
There is a growing acceptance that the prospect of a V-shaped recovery is unrealistic. A couple months ago I was optimistic, I was hopeful, that maybe we would have a V-shaped recovery - shut things down, clamp down on the virus, and then have a quick recovery, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said in an interview on the PBS Newshour. But Kashkari now says that we are in for unfortunately a slow, long recovery, characterized by devastating job losses.

The world finds itself at a crossroads. The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the global economy, leading to massive (and growing) unemployment.

At the same time, the climate problem is not going away. Last month was tied for the warmest April on record globally, and 2020 is on track to be the warmest year ever. Larger and more frequent natural disasters are increasingly likely to happen.

In the face of multiple crises, governments can kill two birds with one stone by going big on green stimulus, rescuing the economy while also making big cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. But failure to seize the opportunity may mean that we leap from the COVID frying pan into the climate fire, according to a group of leading economists.

A new report from the University of Oxford examined over 700 fiscal stimulus policies under 25 umbrella categories. The options were gauged by four factors: speed of implementation, economic multiplier, climate impact potential and overall desirability.

The crisis has demonstrated that governments can intervene decisively once the scale of an emergency is clear and public support is present, wrote the reports authors, which included renowned economists Joseph Stiglitz and Nicholas Stern.

Facing the worst downturn since the Great Depression, governments are passing once unthinkable pieces of legislation, with price tags that boggle the mind. Still, they are still falling short, and more trillion-dollar fiscal packages are likely.

But simply rebuilding the old economy isnt good enough, the Oxford report argues. First of all, it may not work. Shoveling tens of billions of dollars at the airline industry, for instance, will do little if nobody wants to fly for the foreseeable future.

More importantly, re-inflating old industries will lead to climate disaster. Given the scale of spending under consideration, then, there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build back better, the Oxford report argues. The recovery packages can either kill these two birds with one stone  setting the global economy on a pathway towards net-zero emissions  or lock us into a fossil system from which it will be nearly impossible to escape, they warned. Related: The Major Problem With Shutting Down Oil Wells

These arent just the conclusions of environmental groups or activists. The results of the Oxford paper stem from a survey of 231 finance ministry officials, central bankers, and other economists, representing 53 countries.

A lesson from the [2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis] is that green stimulus policies often have advantages over traditional fiscal stimulus, the economists wrote. Construction jobs for renewable energy installation or retrofitting buildings, for instance, cannot be offshored. They are also labor intensive  for every $1 million spent, 7.49 full-time renewable energy jobs are created but only 2.65 jobs in fossil fuels. And, of course, the long-term effects of cleaner air and lower emissions offer additional benefits.

Some policies are quick to implement and have long-run economic multiplier effects, such as direct liquidity support for households and small business. But they dont move the needle on climate. Other ideas, such as investing in green spaces, carry substantial climate benefits but dont have strong economic multiplier effects. (Notably, bailouts for airlines score very poorly on both metrics  negative climate impact and a poor economic multiplier effect).

The report found five major buckets that the 231 respondents tended to prefer to satisfy both economic and climate goals: clean physical infrastructure, building efficiency retrofits, investment in education and training, natural capital investment, and clean R&D.

The call from hundreds of economists is echoed by a growing number of global leaders. The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) says fiscal stimulus should focus very strongly on clean energy. The President of the European Commission has called for a European Green Deal.

It remains to be seen if this kind of stimulus comes to pass. The Trump administration is obviously resisting any talk of a Green New Deal, instead aggressively deregulating environmental protections and offering various bailout measures for the oil industry.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Even as President Donald Trump urges getting people back to work and reopening the economy, an Associated Press analysis shows thousands of people are getting sick from COVID-19 on the job.

Recent figures show a surge of infections in meatpacking and poultry-processing plants. There's been a spike of new cases among construction workers in Austin, Texas, where that sector recently returned to work. Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of Trump's valets and for Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary.

The developments underscore the high stakes for communities nationwide as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.

The people who are getting sick right now are generally people who are working, Dr Mark Escott, a regional health official, told Austin's city council.

That risk is going to increase the more people are working.

Austin's concerns will likely be mirrored in communities nationwide as the reopening of stores and factories creates new opportunities for the virus to spread.

To be sure, there are plenty of new infections outside the workplace in nursing homes, and among retired and unemployed people, particularly in densely populated places such as New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and urban parts of New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Yet of the 15 US counties with the highest per-capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5, all are homes to meatpacking and poultry-processing plants or state prisons, according to data compiled by the AP.

The county with the highest per-capita rate was Tennessee's Trousdale County, where nearly 1,300 inmates and 50 staffers recently tested positive at the privately run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.

In the federal prison system, the number of positive cases has increased steadily. As of May 5, there were 2,066 inmates who'd tested positive, up from 730 on April 25.

The No. 2 county on AP's list is Nobles County in Minnesota, which now has about 1,100 cases, compared to two in mid-April. The county seat, Worthington, is home to a JBS pork processing plant that employs hundreds of immigrants.

One guy said to me, 'I risked my life coming here. I never thought something that I can't see could take me out,' said the Rev. Jim Callahan of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Worthington.

Nebraska's Dakota County, home to a Tyson Foods meat plant, had recorded three cases as of April 15, and now has more than 1,000.

There have been at least three COVID-19 deaths, including a Muslim woman from Ethiopia who was among 4,300 employees at the Tyson plant.

These are sad and dangerous days, the imam of a regional Islamic center, Ahmad Mohammad, told the Siouxland

In northern Indiana's Cass County, home to a large Tyson pork-processing plant, confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1,500. That's given the county home to about 38,000 residents one of the nation's highest per-capita infection rates.

The Tyson plant in Logansport, Indiana, was closed April 25 after nearly 900 employees tested positive; it resumed limited operations Thursday after undergoing deep cleaning and installation of Plexiglas workstation barriers. Company spokeswoman Hli Yang said none of the 2,200 workers would return to work without being tested.

Also hard hit by recent infections are counties in Virginia, Delaware and Georgia where poultry-processing plants are located.

In New York, the hardest-hit state during most of the pandemic, a new survey suggests that factors other than the workplace were involved in many recent cases.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Lawmaker Mkhitar Hayrapetyan from the ruling My Step bloc has called for increasing the level of media literacy among the public.

Our top priority objective ought to be media literacy. Without it, every hour the Armenian citizen will face the threat of being manipulated or misled. There is no alternative to the states work with the public. It is media literacy that will solve the problem facing the Armenian citizen. We must have the kind of educated society which will clearly differentiate fake and lies from healthy and substantiated critique, Hayrapetyan, who serves as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sport told lawmakers in parliament on May 12.

Hayrapetyan said that there are some media outlets that are circulating fake news and lies, and added: No government can shut down any news website in Armenia, but specific and effective new mechanisms  equal and fair for all - must be in place in the mass media sector, he said.

He said the law regulating the news media should be amended.

Reporting by Norayr Shoghikyan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
WHITE PIGEON, MI  The former home of the White Pigeon Paper Company  now owned and operated by Graphic Packaging International  will close by the end of June.

While the exact closure date will depend upon multiple business plan factors, the expected date of closure is June 30, the companys general manager John Richter wrote in an April 28 letter filed with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

The WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice, received by the state May 4, states that approximately 100 employees will be impacted by the closure. Separations of employment are expected to begin June 17.

The White Pigeon facility, located at 15781 River St., was acquired by Graphic Packaging in 2019.

The site was recently added to the states list of PFAS contamination sites on April 2, but company spokeswoman Sue Appleyard said the timing of that and the impending closure of the mill was completely coincidental.

According to the state, the groundwater from 16 of the monitoring wells tested at the White Pigeon site in 2019 were found to contain PFAS at concentrations exceeding the groundwater criteria.

PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in many nonstick and waterproof products and firefighting foam. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to health problems like cancer and autoimmune disease. They have been nicknamed forever chemicals because the compounds resist breaking down in the environment.

The results of the 2019 PFAS testing came approximately three weeks prior to Graphic Packagings quarterly earnings meeting on April 21 when the decision to close was announced, Appleyard confirmed.

Appleyard said the company had already made the decision to close the mill prior to the meeting and prior to the discovery of the test results. She also said the company would do whatever is needed to ensure the site is cleaned up.

Were a very responsible company so we are going to do whatever we need to do to make things right," she said.

Graphic Packaging has no plans to sell the facility and land at this time, and has not made any decisions in regard to future plans pertaining to the property, Appleyard said.

She said the White Pigeon mill, although only recently acquired, simply did not fit into the companys overall portfolio.

When you acquire something you can only do so much due diligence," Appleyard said. Once we integrated the mill into our company and realized what the associated costs really were and the production capability itself, being a small mill, it didnt end up being a great fit in our overall portfolio."

The company  which specializes in producing coated, recycled cardboard such as is used for packaging tissue boxes and cereal boxes  is headquartered just north of Atlanta, Georgia, and has 70-plus facilities worldwide.

Appleyard said the company is doing what it can to retain as many employees from the White Pigeon mill as it can and help to place them at one of the companys other sites.

Graphic Packaging has nearby facilities in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Chicago as well as in Auburn, Indiana, and Middleton, Ohio, that may have positions available for workers leaving White Pigeon, she said.

As a result of the closure in White Pigeon, productivity will likely increase at other nearby facilities, Appleyard said.

Some of the volume White Pigeon was doing will be redistributed to existing mills, whether its going to be Kalamazoo, Battle Creek or Middleton, she said.

Both Battle Creek and Middleton had been previously rumored to be in the process of being phased out once the company finishes expansion of its Kalamazoo facility at 1500 N. Pitcher St.

Graphic Packaging is in the midst of a project, in which it is using $21 million in Kalamazoo Brownfield Redevelopment and Michigan Strategic Fund dollars to develop 11 plots of recently-acquired land spread over 123 acres adjacent to its Kalamazoo site.

Among the 11 plots purchased over the course of the last decade by the company are the former Checker Motors (1923-2009) and Clark Logic properties.

Plans for those lots include a new state-of-the-art facility that will have the ability to produce 500,000 tons of recycled cardboard annually, the company has said.

While the White Pigeon closure may give the Battle Creek and Middleton mills a boost in productivity, along with some short-term security, it doesnt change the companys overall vision, Appleyard said.

Once the new machine in Kalamazoo is up and running well have to again reassess overall capacity, Appleyard said. The intention still is to keep the most profitable mills running at that time."

Appleyard told MLive in September there were no definite plans to shutter either of the other facilities and that any such decisions would depend on market conditions when construction in Kalamazoo is complete.

The Kalamazoo expansion, which has resulted in 1,000 construction jobs according to the company, is on target and expected to be done in early 2022, Appleyard said.

Once the project is complete, the manufacturer plans to add between 25 and 50 full-time positions to its existing local workforce.

Also on MLive:

PFAS contamination found at Graphic Packaging facility in White Pigeo

Manufacturers return to work as the industry adjusts to new normals

Tax breaks worth $21M approved for major Graphic Packaging expansion in Kalamazoo

St. Joseph County prosecutor arrested after alleged drunken-driving crash
Europeans fed up with lockdowns and dreaming of a beach vacation hold the key to how big the next wave of coronavirus infections will be.

For experts, the question isn't whether this wave will come, but how citizens and governments can be better prepared than the first time around.

With the virus dispersed all over Europe, "it would be naive to think that would be gone and over with," said Erika Vlieghe, who leads the infectious diseases department at the Antwerp University hospital and serves as the top "deconfinement" adviser to the Belgian government.

She pointed to the recent resurgence in several Asian countries as a cautionary example.

She and other experts argue that easing lockdowns and restarting international travel could be the triggers for the next wave. Governments deciding testing strategies might also overlook marginalized people, often living in cramped or unsanitary conditions  which could also be a trigger.

Meanwhile, planning for a post-pandemic world continues to be hampered by a long list of unanswered questions.

Scientists still don't know for sure whether those infected develop some sort of immunity and, if so, how long that lasts  or whether exposure to other coronaviruses, like those that cause the common cold, creates some sort of immunity against this one.

There have been hopes that warmer weather works against the virus' spread, but that, too, hasn't been established.

"New therapeutics, vaccines, or other interventions such as aggressive contact tracing and quarantine ... could alleviate the need for stringent social distancing to maintain control of the epidemic," wrote the authors of a study, published in mid-April, that looked at the dynamics of the coronavirus transmission until 2025.

Otherwise, intermittent distancing may need to be maintained until 2022, they warn.

First signs and a 100-year-old lesson

The immediate danger comes from the lifting of current lockdown measures, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) chief Andrea Ammon told POLITICO.

Story continues

The effort has almost halved the number of reported cases in the European Economic Area between April 9 and May 8, she said.

If these measures are lifted too quickly, without being accompanied by testing, contact tracing, physical distancing and hand-washing, "then we can see the next wave pretty soon, she said.

The early signs may already be here.

After easing some restrictions, Germany has seen an increase of the reproduction rate of the virus above 1, meaning that one infected person can pass the virus to more than one other person, effectively contributing to the exponential rise in the number of cases.

After reopening schools and kindergartens, Denmark also recorded an increase in the rate, but it stayed under 1.

Meanwhile, Belgium, which has just allowed households to host the same four people and stores to reopen, is keeping a close eye on how that relaxation impacts the number of cases.

"People are fed up with the lockdown," Vlieghe acknowledged. "They want to live again, they want to meet up again, and its going to be very tricky ... to keep doing this in a moderate way."

The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic has been an example of how easing lockdowns and allowing mass gatherings could cause a deadlier second wave.

"Thats absolutely why we dont want to have mass events come back very quickly," she said.

The Czech Republic appears to be the most daring on that front so far, allowing events, weddings and church services with up to 100 people to take place again as of Monday.

One of the first countries in Europe to impose wearing face masks everywhere, the country has cast itself as a success in dealing with the outbreak.

Sweden has put forward another approach, as the only country in the EU that hasn't shut down public life. Anders Tegnell, Swedens state epidemiologist, has warned that other countries that have imposed lockdowns could face more cases in a second wave, because fewer people have been exposed to the virus than in Sweden, he told the Financial Times.

That doesnt mean Sweden would reach herd immunity, where the virus stops spreading because fewer people are susceptible to it; it's still uncertain how long that immunity lasts. But more people would be immune, he believes.

Ammon, whose agency is hosted by Sweden, declined to comment on Stockholms strategy.

Travel dreams and Asian lessons

The pandemic couldnt have come at a worse time. Warm spring weather has made adherence to lockdown challenging, and the approaching summer has people wondering if they can go on holiday this year at all.

The risk noted by experts: Just as traveling back from ski trips spread the virus across Europe in February, vacationers coming back from beach holidays may usher in a new wave.

The idea of thousands of people crossing each other in airports and hotels "is causing a lot of headaches" to Vlieghe.

"So we have to think twice about opening borders, without any restrictions, too fast," she said. "Because that will really bring us into trouble."

Still, with so many tourism-dependent countries fretting to salvage part of the summer season, the European Commission is planning to publish recommendations on Wednesday on how to lift internal borders and allow for a safe resumption of passenger transport.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, for example, hopes his country will be able to welcome tourists as of July, provided they test negative for an existing infection or positive for an antibody test that may hopefully mean they are immune to the virus.

But recent examples point to how difficult opening borders can be.

Travel has been blamed for bringing new cases of infection in China, where the outbreak started. The country closed its borders in March to avoid importing cases from abroad, after imposing harsh lockdowns internally. But Chinese citizens returning from Russia, which is experiencing a spike in cases, have brought back the virus recently, said Francois Godement, senior adviser for Asia at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.

South Korea, seen as a model for using testing and contact tracing to contain the virus, may also offer a lesson in dealing with a second wave. On Saturday, it quickly closed bars and restaurants in Seoul after new infection clusters emerged.

Before that, Godement said, Japan was the only East Asian country hit by a second wave  in that case, as a recurrence of domestic cases. The setback led the government to impose a state of emergency and confine large cities.

As Godement sees it, the problem resulted from authorities making some of the same mistakes as Europe did initially: failing to implement measures on airport arrivals; doing little to no testing; and refusing to trace contacts due to privacy concerns.

Singapore, by contrast, undertook those measures. But authorities overlooked the million migrant guest workers living in crowded dormitories. As the city-state was getting the infections in the community under control, the number in the dormitories exploded, notes Jeremy Lim, the co-director for global health at the National University of Singapores School of Public Health.

With the workers interacting with the wider community every day by going out to jobs like street cleaning, the government had to impose a lockdown to reduce the contacts to a minimum, Lim said.

Building the emergency exit

Europe should learn from that lesson and watch for its urban poor, according to Lim.

Ireland appears to have recognized that risk, planning a greater focus on testing in marginalized groups in Dublin.

Moreover, every public health agency in the world must continue pushing the message on hand washing, social distancing and wearing face masks, according to Lim.

And countries shouldn't dismantle temporary hospitals, as "its still very early in the COVID story," he said.

Meanwhile, Belgiums Vlieghe is already working on a plan for reconfinement, which she compares to an emergency exit of a building. The authorities will aim to detect infection clusters right away, she said, whether in schools, factories or villages. In turn, they can decide whether local or national measures should be imposed.

The important thing is to have the monitoring system in place to raise the alarm, something under construction in many other countries as well, she added.

Meanwhile, there are ongoing concerns over the lack of protective equipment for health care workers, which isn't fully solved in many European countries. But it's improved since the early days of the pandemic, when countries didnt expect such a high number of cases, Ammon said.

With an eye on the risk of a second wave, governments across the Continent are still trying to ramp up the number of tests; introduce contact tracing apps; and increase capacity in intensive care units to deal with severe COVID-19 cases, she added.

The ECDC is also working on a model looking at the likely progression of the pandemic in each country, and how it will affect demand for medicines in different hospitals. Many had feared shortages of drugs such as painkillers and sedatives at the peak of the crisis in early April.

The European Commission, for its part, is still working on coordinating the joint procurement of protective equipment and ventilators. Brussels hasn't been successful in delivering them quickly to the countries most in need, but hopes they could still be used in future waves.

Some strategic stocks of protective materials have now been built up and procedures are in place to deal with COVID-19 patients in the event of the next wave, Vlieghe said.

But because the outbreak has been so traumatizing and draining for the health care sector, "it should absolutely not come too soon," she added.

Until a vaccine is developed, "it will be a bit like driving and braking and driving and braking, and being careful," she said.

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that the common cold is caused by viral strains in the coronavirus family.
Dr Justice Yankson, General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association, has hinted that his outfit is overwhelmed with the increase in the number of cases across the various regions of the country.



According to him, the community spread of the novel Coronavirus is gaining grounds in the regions, and this does not go down well with the fight against the virus.



Speaking on Citi TVs Point of View, Dr Yankson expressed worry that the virus is gradually spreading through the sixteen regions of the country.



Some of the regions are also beginning to register higher numbers. As of today [May 11, 2020], Obuasi has actually surpassed Kumasi in terms of the numbers, he said.



He continued: And this basically tells you that, the community spread is beginning to gain a lot more ground.



Dr Yankson noted that anytime there was testing which involved groups of people, like the factory in Tema with some 1300 workers where 533 were confirmed positive, you almost always will pick huge numbers of persons who are infected.



This he said simply means within our communities, from the lower, middle and upper classes, the virus has permeated. If you take regional basis, we are having cases across board, in terms of gender, it involves both male and females as well as kids...gradually our society is actually taken over by COVID-19.



Dr Yankson observed that when the growth rate is juxtaposed to the number of health facilities in the country, then you will realise that the country is in trouble.



He added that it has been established by the Director of Clinical Care of Ghana Health Service that persons with COVID-19 who are being cared for in the hospitals are getting better outcomes compared to those going through home-care.



Dr. Yankson explained further that if the health systems are overwhelmed, a lot of people will not get access to medical care and this will result in an increase in the death rate of COVID-19.



Ghanas latest confirmed data on COVID-19 stands at 4,700 recorded cases; 4,184 total active cases; 494 recoveries; and 22 deaths.



The Greater Accra region leads with 3,892 cases, followed by the Ashanti region with 355 cases.



Find below the count of cases per region.



Greater Accra Region - 3,892



Ashanti Region - 355



Central Region - 127



Eastern Region - 99



Western North Region - 56



Western Region - 49



Volta Region - 32



Upper East Region - 26



Oti Region - 24



Upper West Region - 21



Northern Region - 16



North East Region - 2



Bono Region - 1



Savannah Region - 0



Ahafo Region - 0



Bono East Region - 0









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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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  Sixteen more inmates and five more employees from the Zamboanga City Reformatory Center caught the coronavirus disease, city officials reported Tuesday.

The 21 new cases bring the city's infected toll to 95, Zamboanga's official social media pages announced.

There are also now at least 86 inmates and personnel from the reformatory facility who tested positive for COVID-19 based on the city's previous announcements.

Earlier, Mayor Beng Climaco said the local government has partnered with private hospitals to care for COVID-19 patients and to increase their testing capacity. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases also allowed to extend the city's enhanced community quarantine.

The Health Department also committed to give 10,000 COVID-19 test kits to the Department of Justice for inmates as the number of cases in prison facilities continues to rise.

The government is moving to decongest jails with President Rodrigo Duterte earlier saying the Public Attorney's Office has filed motions to free 1,359 prisoners. However, the Office of the Solicitor General argued jail congestion is not a ground to release prisoners.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court and the DOJ have simplified the process for early release of inmates.
The coronavirus pandemic has rapidly evolved from a global health crisis to a financial one, upending industries, shuttering businesses, and sending financial markets reeling. Amid the crisis, the world's leading oil-producing countries have been having it rougher than most, facing a dual shock of the pandemic and low oil prices thanks to their heavy reliance on the black commodity to power their economies.

Some--such as the United States, Russia, and Iran--have been hard hit by the virus, while others from the African continent--home to 7 of OPEC's 13 member nations--have to contend with struggling economies and weak health systems.

Here's where some of the world's largest oil producers stand on the pandemic barometer:

#1 United States

The United States has so far recorded 1.38 million Covid-19 infections with 82,018 fatalities, the most of any country in the world. However, stay-at-home orders in at least 40 states have helped slow the spread of the virus, with the rate of hospitalizations on a steady decline for three weeks now. These orders, though, have expired in many states, thus allowing businesses to reopen under restrictions, including requiring customers and workers to wear masks and enforcing social distancing.

Leading to the Covid-19 outbreak, the U.S. was the world's biggest oil producer, pumping some ~13.1 million of crude and lease condensate per day. Though not part of the OPEC+ cuts, the country's production fell by 900,000 barrels in April to 12.2 mb/d, mostly due to independent curtailments by major shale producers.

Although the energy industry has been an essential tailwind for the U.S. economy supporting more than 10 million jobs and nearly 8 percent of Gross Domestic Product, the country is much less dependent on oil compared to the average OPEC nation. Nevertheless, its shale industry remains vulnerable to a severe credit crunch and bankruptcies.

#2 Russia

Russia's 232,243 Covid-19 infections rank third-highest in the world, though its mortality is the lowest for countries with more than 100K infections, with 2,116 deaths.

On Monday, Vladimir Putin announced an end to Russia's six-week national lockdown, following the lead of his European counterparts even though the country has recorded a sharp rise in cases in recent times. The president has said his citizens are free to go back to work starting Tuesday, though individual regions have the autonomy to keep their rules in place if and as needed. Related: Aramco Earnings Plunge By 25% As Low Oil Prices Persist

After a weeks-long standoff, Russia finally agreed to sign off on deep production cuts with the country's energy ministry directing oil companies to lower production by 20% each. That's a considerable amount considering that its production clocked in at ~10.9 mb/d at the end of 2019, the second highest in the world.

Still, Russia is feeling some heat from the oil price collapse. Although the price of Urals--the country's main oil brand--has held up better than WTI and rallied sharply over the past two weeks, the current price of $30.10/barrel is considerably lower than $40/barrel level it needs to balance its budget as per IMF estimates.

#3 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has reported 42,925 coronavirus infections with 264 deaths.

Last month, Saudi Arabia's King Salman partially lifted the curfew in all regions of the Kingdom but maintained a 24-hour curfew in Mecca as well as in previously isolated neighborhoods. This allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities. The country has since opened up further after the lockdown was lifted in the country's eastern districts last week.

As OPEC's largest producer and one of the original members, Saudi Arabia is the coalition's de facto leader. Nevertheless, it's one of the producers feeling the biggest squeeze of the energy crisis thanks to its high dependence on oil--50% of GDP--and fiscal breakeven of $76.1 per barrel. The Kingdom had assumed an oil price of $60/barrel in its FY 2020 budget, more than double the current WTI price of $25.43.

#4 Iraq

Compared to its bigger neighbor Iran, Iraq has been relatively spared by the pandemic, having recorded 2,818 cases and 110 deaths to-date, though its authorities have been accused of underreporting.

Iraq was one of the first countries to go into lockdown and one of the first to lift it after easing restrictions just before Ramadan began. However, the authorities said they planned to tighten the curfew once again when Ramadan ends on May 22. Nevertheless, the country's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has begun to ease the 2-month lockdown on the region after no new cases were reported over the past 24 hours.

Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer and home to some of the world's largest known oil reserves. The country has frequently been a thorn on the coalition's backside though, cranking up production to a record 4.88 million b/d last year at a time when the bloc was desperately trying to keep production down in a bid to goose prices. Iraq needs an oil price of $60.4/barrel to balance its books, so maybe it will refrain from any monkey business this time around.

#5 Iran

Iran's 110,767 Covid-19 cases are, by far, the highest for an OPEC nation and the 10th highest in the world.

The Middle East nation, though, has begun easing restrictions on normal life in a bid to support an economy that was already battered by U.S. sanctions. Indeed, the economic challenges and subsequent brief lockdown could be partly to blame for the high rates of infection. Related: Some Shale Drillers Restart Shut-In Wells

Source: Trading Economics

Iran's oil production was nearly cut in half after the Trump administration scuttled the landmark nuclear deal in 2018. Nevertheless, the country remains an important global player with production clocking in at ~2.02 million b/d in March. The IMF has estimated that Iran needs a massive $389 a barrel to balance its books, a situation that is not helped by China's lowered crude imports from the country.

#6 Nigeria

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and its largest economy, has reported 4,641 Covid-19 cases with 151 fatalities.

Last week, the country kicked off a "gradual" easing of Covid-19 lockdowns in at least three major states though there has been a worrying uptick in new cases ever since the restrictions were first lifted. President Buhari has justified his decision by citing the "heavy economic cost" of the lockdown.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, pumping 1.78 million b/d of crude in March. Oil sales contribute 90% of the country's foreign exchange earnings; 60% of the revenue and 9% of GDP. With a high fiscal breakeven of $144 per barrel, Nigeria is finding itself dire straits with IOCs needing $35-$40/barrel to break even. The country had applied for $7 billion in emergency funds to the African Development Bank, World Bank, and the IMF and has seen its credit rating downgraded by Fitch and S&P due to the oil slump.

#7 Angola

Angola has so far recorded only 45 Covid-19 infections and 2 deaths. However, the country is moving to tighten lockdown restrictions as the number of confirmed cases continues to creep up.

Angola is Africa's second-largest crude producer, with March production coming in at 1.4 million b/d. That's quite remarkable considering the country has recorded a sharp 30% decline in production over the past decade, reflecting years of underinvestment in new projects. The country is also one of the better-placed producers on the continent, with the IMF estimating that it needs an oil price of $55/barrel for fiscal breakeven.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
NASA scientists gathered in a dried lake bed in western Nevada to conduct one last round of real world testing before the Perseverance rover departs for Mars this summer.

Instead of transporting the actual rover to Nevada, a group of seven NASA scientists stood in for the car-sized vehicle and took commands from a separate team of 150 NASA operators working remotely all around the world.

The remote crew entered commands about where to send the simulated rover, and the seven-person crew in Nevada would physically move, along with all of their sensor and collection devices, to the specified location.

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A team of NASA scientists traveled to western Nevada for one last major field test of the Perseverance rover's various sensor and collection equipment to allow the team of remote operators a chance to issue commands in a live setting

The project, called Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training (ROASTT), was designed less as a test for Perseverance's systems than to give the crew operating it a chance to see how controlling the rover in a live situation might go.

'It's especially important for scientists who are new to Mars rovers,' the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Raymond Francis said in an interview with the JPL website.

'It's a team effort, and everyone has to learn how their roles fit into the whole mission.'

The testing allowed the team of remote operators to work through practical problems like debates about where to pilot the rover based on footage from an onboard camera, and how to identify particular rocks or other environmental debris for collection given the limited amount of storage options.

The exercises also gave the team the chance to test some of the rover's more technical equipment, including a portable X-ray device and a radar sensor capable of taking readings from beneath the surface of the ground.

When the Perseverance rover lands on Mars on February 18, 2021, it will be controlled remotely by a team of 150 NASA operators, all working remotely from all over the world

In the testing, the remote operators observed the landscape and readings from the various Perseverance sensors and issued commands to the crew of seven NASA scientists on the ground about where to go next or what samples to pick up

While the team didn't bring along the full rover, they brought a number of its main tools, including a portable X-ray sensor and a radar device capable of taking readings from beneath the surface of the ground,

'The next time we do this will be on Mars,' JPL's Ken Williford, one of the mission's deputy project scientists. 'We've got to get the right samples. Let's bring them back.'

The Perseverance rover is expected to launch sometime between July 17 and August 5th, arriving at Mars' Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.

The mission is part of NASA's larger Artemis program that will hopefully culminate with a human expedition to the red planet sometime in the 2030s.

NASA hopes the samples and research conducted by Perseverance will give scientists new insight into whether life there really was microbial life on Mars in the past.
The tension in balancing peoples safety from the virus, which is still surprising doctors with the sneaky ways it can kill, against the severe economic fallout is playing out in many other countries, too. Italy partially lifted lockdown restrictions last week only to see a big jump in confirmed COVID-19 infections in its hardest-hit region. And Lebanon relaxed a national lockdown late last month but said Tuesday the restrictions are being reinstated for the rest of the week after a spike in reported infections.
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Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals in California have postponed scheduled surgeries, like tumor removals and heart valve replacements, to keep beds and staff available.

But now that the curve has flattened and some restrictions are being lifted, hospitals in the region are gradually rescheduling those procedures, while still trying to stay ready for another surge. Some hospitals are still weighing the decision to bring surgeries back.

REOPENING KECK

Dr. Stephanie Hall, chief medical officer at Keck Medical Center of USC, said the decision to resume a limited number of elective surgeries and procedures last week was complicated.

"Everybody is struggling: 'When is the right time? When is it safe? When is it ethically feasible?' Because there's not only the public health demand, but there's also the issue of individual needs," she said.

While the procedures are often referred to as "elective," Hall said they're medically necessary. The term refers to surgeries that can be scheduled in advance.

"It may not be highly critical to do at a certain time, but it's a necessary surgery in order to cure the problem," she said.

She told us that Keck Medical Center made the decision to resume elective procedures after monitoring the number of COVID-19 cases in L.A. county, the number of COVID patients the medical center was treating, and the amount of personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns.

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The decision to conduct surgeries can change at any moment. Hall said decisions will be made on a daily basis.

"If there is a rapid transmission rate going on in the community, that's really not the right time," she says.

But resuming surgeries is a complex task.

Patients are required to test for COVID-19 at least three days before their appointment, and if they test positive, must reschedule. Keck Medical Center is expanding its hours to increase social distancing, while keeping the same overall number of patients. COVID-19 patients and staff who treat them are on completely separate floors, and even use separate elevators.

AT OTHER HOSPITALS: DOING SURGERY, WATCHING FOR A SURGE

The UC Health system, which includes UCLA hospital, announced last week it would gradually resume non-emergency procedures, but warned that resuming services doesn't mean the pandemic is over.

"The potential for a surge of critically ill patients with COVID-19 is still a reality throughout the state, said Dr. Carrie L. Byington, executive vice president of UC Health, in a recent press release. "UC Health's medical centers remain vigilant for a shift in conditions and are ready to quickly respond as needed."

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says it's resuming non-emergency surgeries and procedures, and prioritizing patients based on medical needs -- for example, performing surgeries on patients with cancer and heart disease, and on orthopedic patients who are in pain.

SOME HOSPITALS STILL OPTING OUT

While Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on April 22 that scheduled surgeries can resume, not all hospitals have restarted them just yet.

Kaiser Permante told us in a statement Monday it's looking forward to resuming "non-urgent and elective" services "as soon as feasible," and that the majority of their current surgeries are for "urgent and emergent conditions."

L.A. County's Department of Health Services, which runs LAC+USC, UCLA-Harbor, and other county facilities, told us in an emailed statement they're in the process of devising a plan, but have not yet resumed elective surgeries.

"DHS will resume surgeries in high-priority services first, and open to other services gradually with singular focus on patient and staff safety," a spokesperson said.

As aspects of stay-at-home orders begin to lift, doctors and hospital administrators are concerned about what can happen next, and if hospitals will start to see more COVID-19 patients.

As Hall, of Keck Medical Center put it: "We're all very concerned about a second surge. We have to be prepared to say, okay, we're going to go back and pull back a little bit in order to stay safe."
The Upper West Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has apprehended seven Burkina Faso nationals for sneaking into Ghana on an unregistered tricycle (motor king).



They were arrested at about 1630 hours at Batoma, an unapproved route in the Hamile Sector Command of the GIS in the Lambussie District of the region, bordering neighbouring Burkina Faso.



Mr Ibn Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, the Upper West Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GIS, who revealed this to the Ghana news Agency in Wa, added that they were all males aged between 16 and 25.



Preliminary investigations revealed that they were destined for Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region for farming/labour activities.



Mr Seidu explained that the illegal migrants were screened by the Port Health Officials and handed over to the Burkina Faso authorities, while the tricycle was impounded according to the law.



The President, Nana Addo Danwkwa Akufo-Addo, had ordered the closure of all the national borders land, sea and air as part of the measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.



The GIS PRO issued a stern warning that the law would not take it lightly with any individual or group of persons that would be caught aiding foreigners to enter into the country illegally.



He, however, reiterated the need for the public, especially those at the border communities, to continue to support the security personnel to police the borders and to protect the country.

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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May 7, 2020



POCATELLO  Saroj Lamichhane, an Idaho State University international student from Nepal, is about 7,500-miles from his home in Katmandu and more than 2,000 miles from his home campus in Pocatello as he finishes out his undergraduate degree in communications this spring.

Lamichhane  a senior in communications, an Associated Students of ISU senator representing the College of Arts and Letters, Bengal newspaper ad manager and Idaho Museum of Natural History development intern  will graduate this semester. He moved to New York City during the pandemic to live with his brother, an international student at New York City College. This is not the final semester Lamichhane expected as he and other international students are facing special challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right now, in New York City, I really feel so bad about the pandemic because it has affected me and international students like me. I was supposed to be graduating in May (with a ceremony), he said. I feel really sorry because this is the most important, valuable time of my life  getting the degree, enjoying the graduation with my friends and family.

Lamichhane has dealt with the situation as best he can and said he remains strong.

About a week ago, I had a stress on my mind, you know, thinking Is this really going on? Is this a movie? Is this really reality  because I am not in Pocatello and I am an international student and I felt like I was dealing with some kind of anxiety, he said.

But I have tried to build up my self-confidence because I am not only a student, but also a student leader in the college. I do that to motivate myself first and take care of myself, but also so I can help other students as well.

A bright spot during the pandemic has been the support of his family. He has been able to live with his brother. This has helped him and also has helped alleviate the worries of his parents, who he communicates with frequently, which is easier in this online-connected world.

Because I am with my brother my family has less stress than if we were in different places, with us two brothers living from the east to west coast, he said. It would have been really hard for them to keep track of us at the same time. My parents are happy we are together. If something happens to one brother the other brother can take care of the other.

Though he is scheduled to receive his undergraduate degree, Lamichhane said he was worried about the next step in pursuing his education because of problems caused by the pandemic, a concern other international students have expressed.

He has had his graduate school application to ISU delayed because his scheduled Graduate Record Examination (GRE) was canceled because of the pandemic, and he didnt know when it could be rescheduled. The GRE is required for entering graduate school. Lamichhane said he and other international students have been concerned about these types of delays in their paths to acquiring an education.

However, he worked with ISU departments and its International Programs Office and has been accepted into the ISU communications masters program.

Im very grateful for the help I received in being accepted to the masters program, he said. Im excited about continuing with ISU.

Despite the challenges he has faced, Lamichhane said that throughout the pandemic he has been supported by ISU faculty, classmates and administrators.

Even though I am in New York, I feel like I am in Pocatello city because I get news and updates from the International Programs Office, like almost weekly, and that helps us survive this especially difficult time, he said. Even though I want to come to Pocatello city I cannot come because of this pandemic, I am grateful to the international office and their updates about the coronavirus.

He also wished the Bengal nation well.

I hope everyone else around the states stays safe, stays healthy and they take care of their health first --- wear gloves, wear masks and dont go outside unless it is necessary, he said.
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

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A state House candidate from Perry County and an alliance of business owners have filed a federal lawsuit, claiming Gov. Tom Wolfs stay-a-home and business closure orders to address the coronavirus pandemic are not only unconstitutional but ineffective as well.

Candidate William Benner and his four allies are urging U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III to void Wolfs edicts as illegal.

They are among a growing number of voices, including those from GOP legislators and county government officials, who contend the orders are unnecessarily causing an economic catastrophe.

Wolf is insisting the restrictions must remain in place until they are gradually phased out to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He has promised to punish to punish any counties and businesses that open ahead of his schedule.

Disobedience would simply fuel the pandemic, Wolf contends.

So far, the governor has won the other court fights waged against his directives. The state Supreme Court has so far backed his use of executive power to battle the virus. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition by a group of western Pennsylvanians who sought to overturn Wolfs directives.

As of Tuesday, there were 57,991 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus in all 67 counties and at least 3,806 reported deaths from the virus.

The four business owners who joined Benner, a financial adviser, in the recently filed federal suit have been shut down by Wolfs directives. They are Kraig Nace, owner of Detailed Attention in Newport; Nichole Missino, owner of Giovannis Media Barber Shop in Media, John Williams, a Chadds Ford real estate agent; and Stephen Cassel, a partner in Iacobucci Formal Wear in Havertown.

In their suit, the opponents cite growing criticism of Wolfs restrictions by county officials, including those in Dauphin, Lebanon and Cumberland counties, and statements by county law enforcement officials that they wont pursue violators.

There is now open defiance of the governors orders by many elected officials, including law enforcement officials, the suit states. These orders have deprived the plaintiffs of their constitutional rightsand have caused significant financial harm and devastation to their businesses.

They also cite statistics. Nearly 1.7 million Pennsylvanians who are out of work due to the lockdown have filed for unemployment compensation, they note, and the state is projecting a budget shortfall of up to $3.7 billion.

The business closure order has not prevented or suppressed COVID-19 nor has it slowed the spread; COVID- 19 has spread exponentially during the period of time the business closure order has been in effect, the suit states.

Instead, the business closure order has forced the closure of plaintiffs and tens of thousands of businesses, deprived those business owners of their constitutional rights, caused over one million Pennsylvanians to lose their jobs, and has caused severe economic hardship and devastation to plaintiffs and all businesses and entities closed by the business closure order and to the entire Pennsylvania economy, the opponents contend.

The imposition of the lockdown violated their constitutional rights to due process of law and equal protection of law and amounts to the unjust taking of their businesses without compensation, they claim. Shutting down plaintiffs businesses and ordering them to stay at home, with only certain exceptions to leave, under penalty of arrest, is far from the least restrictive means of attempting to prevent the spread of COVID-19, their suit states.

They want Jones to rule Wolfs business closure and stay-at-home orders  and also his school closure order  are unconstitutional. They seek unspecified financial damages as well.
Tom Hardys new film, in which he plays gangster Al Capone, is leaving many critics feeling sick, and much to the amusement of its director.

Chronicle filmmaker Josh Tranks new release follows Capone as he suffers from syphilis and dementia while living in Florida after serving 11 years in prison for tax evasion.

Hardys performance has divided critics, with The Wrap writing that the actor laughs in the face of conventional notions of good vs bad acting.

Variety adds: Hardy gives a mumbly Method showboat performance thats authentic on the surface, but there isnt enough beneath the mob mannerisms.

However, its the scenes in which Capone is shown emptying his bowels that are leaving viewers with a bad aftertaste.

Next Best Picture, who called it one of the worst performances of Tom Hardys career, said the actor grunts, coughs and shits his way through scenes that lack any form of direction, sympathy and/or purpose.

It made me sick, he added.

Trank, whose previous film was the maligned Fantastic Four, shared the tweet, writing: I need this quote on a poster for my room.

IndieWire wrote about the admirably uncommercial film: If youve ever wanted to see an Al Capone biopic that starts and ends with Tom Hardy explosively s***ing his pants, Ive got some really good news.

Trank added that he found people being disgusted by the defecation scenes amusing, and compared the comments to those made about John Waters film Pink Flamingos, which saw drag queen Divine eat real dog faeces.

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Loving and appreciating all reviews of Capone today  the good and the bad makes me want to see the film again and enjoy it all over, Trank wrote.

He urged viewers to go in with an open mind.

Capone also stars Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden, Noel Fisher, Kyle MacLachlan, and Matt Dillon, and will be released in the UK later this year, following a video-on-demand release in the US.
At least eight investors, including Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Actis LLP and Brookfield Asset Management, have showed initial interest in buying Reliance Infrastructure Ltds Delhi electricity distribution businesses, said three people aware of the development. The other potential investors are Greenko Energy Holdings, Enel Group, I Squared Capital, Torrent Power and Wade Capital Group LLC, the people said on condition of anonymity.

Reliance Infrastructure has hired KPMG to find buyers for its 51% stake each in BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL), the people said on condition of anonymity. The two power distribution businesses cater to around 4.4 million customers in the national capital. Reliance Infrastructures plan to sell the businesses follows the sale of its Mumbai city power distribution business to Adani Transmission Ltd for 18,800 crore in August 2018. Reliance Infrastructure is part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, which is trying to sell assets to pay down debt.

While a Reliance Infrastructure Ltd spokesperson did not respond to Mints queries emailed on Friday night, a KPMG spokesperson declined to comment on any company-specific matters. Queries emailed to CDPQ, Actis Llp, Brookfield, Greenko Energy Holdings, I Squared Capital and Torrent Power remained unanswered.

While announcing the March quarter earnings on May 8, Reliance Infrastructure said it aims to be zero debt in the next financial year based on liquidity events.
Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa says the Akufo-Addo government has been vindicated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the $1 billion loan facility the Bretton Woods institution recently doled out to the Government of Ghana.



The National Democratic Congress (NDC) claims government massaged figures to secure the loan from the IMF.



These claims were championed by the NDC and their flagbearer, former President John Dramani Mahama in an attempt to besmirch President Akufo-Addo and make his government unpopular in the eyes of Ghanaians, according to the ruling party, but that was shot down by Country Director of the IMF, Dr. Albert Touna Mama over the weekend.



Dr. Touna Mama, in an interview with Joy FM on Saturday cleared the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta of tampering with the figures disclosing that ''when it comes to the data we received that we worked with, in this debate, there is nothing new that we did not know".



Contrary to the NDC claims which emanated from a fact-checking exercise by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) that the government presented different data to the IMF, the IMF Boss expounded that the 7.5 percent fiscal deficit in the IMF statement was generated by the institution itself and not the Government of Ghana, adding that what the NDC thinks is a discrepancy in the figures is actually a result of two different methodologies used in calculating deficit and international reserve.



To him, the NDC grossly erred in its interpretation of the figures.



"You need to go through the reports and understand what the figures that have been presented are . . . Our number includes these two elements (financial sector payments and energy sector payment) and we know why the Governor of the Bank of Ghana made the decision not to have these two elements in the fiscal deficits . . . When it comes to Gross International Reserve, we have our definition; definition that we think is the right one. But the Bank of Ghana also has a different understanding of what Gross International Reserve should account for. And the difference here is that Bank of Ghana accounts the Oil Fund, the Heritage Fund and the Stabilization Fund as part of Gross International Reserve and I think that point was clearly made at the beginning of the year by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. That is the difference and that is the position that they have taken," he added.



Touching on the issue on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', the NPP Communications Director held that the explanations given by the IMF Country Director should put to rest the political arguments about the IMF 1 billion-dollar loan facility since it has been established that the government did nothing wrong.



According to him, former President John Mahama and the NDC have shot themselves in the foot.



"He (Mahama) didn't take time to read. They don't listen when we always tell them they don't read. It has been disclosed that Ghana is not the only country that benefited from the loan facility. If he had exercised a little restraint to know the world is transforming, he would not have made such a rash of it," Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Adentan MP slammed former President Mahama.



Listen to his submission in the video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In reviewing the history of the legal profession occasionally the name of one individual will stand out amongst the thousands of lawyers who have practiced in Hamilton County. Lewis Shepherd would have to be included in that select group.



Shepherd was born on March 7, 1846, and died on May 14, 1917, while arguing a legal issue in court. The local newspaper reported that his last wish was satisfied: to go to his reward straight from the courtroom! He attended Burritt College in Van Buren County and enlisted in the Confederate Army at the young age of 15 and served in several campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia. While serving in central Tennessee with General Joe Wheeler he was captured and served a term at Camp Morton in Indiana before being exchanged and sent to Richmond, Virginia.



After finishing his military service, Lewis Shepherd returned to Ringgold, Georgia, to begin the practice of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1867. He moved to Chattanooga and became the youngest lawyer in the area. Because of his legal ability and popularity, he was elected attorney general for criminal court and served in that capacity until 1875. He switched to politics and served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1876 and later in 1890. He also served as a chancellor for two years because of the illness of Chancellor Summerfield A. Key from 1880-1882. He had a successful civil practice and was general counsel for two regional railroads.



A Republican, Baptist, and Shriner, he was also a member of the Ku Klux Klan who fought for the supremacy of the white race against carpetbaggers. Highly involved in civic matters, he was active in the Chamber of Commerce and was one of the organizers and a charter member of the Mountain City Club. Shepherd was also somewhat of a publicity seeker and after the arrest of Ed Johnson for the rape of a white girl he solicited the case from Judge Samuel Reynolds along with two other attorneys, Robert Cameron and W.G. Thomas, who did not want to be appointed.



Shepherd believed strongly in protecting the rights of accused persons particularly when he thought the defendant had been a victim of racial discrimination. He represented a large number of African-American clients and had a good working relationship with the newspapers. Shepherd wholeheartedly jumped into the case and fought vigorously to save Ed Johnsons life. He objected strongly to the way Judge McReynolds tried the case on several points: 1.) setting a trial within 10 days of Johnson being arrested; 2.) refusal to move the trial out of Chattanooga; and 3.) the judges pro prosecution bias in his questioning of witnesses and relatives of the defendant on legal matters.

In his closing argument Shepherd attacked the judges denial of justice and right to a fair trial. After Johnson was convicted, he was outvoted by co-counsel who were concerned that if the case was appealed it would lead to a lynching. However, two African-American lawyers, Noah Parden and Styles Hutchins, took over the case and asked Shepherd to be a part of the appeal team. Ignoring any potential consequences on his distinguished career and his personal safety, Shepherd agreed to continue his representation.



The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court and as explained in Contempt of Court by Authors Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips, Jr., the High Court ordered a stay of execution as outlined in their non-fictional account of the entire case and trial. On the day the United States Supreme Court granted the stay Shepherd invited Parden and Hutchins to his retreat on Lookout Mountain to celebrate their great victory. Unfortunately, that very night an angry crowd stormed the Hamilton County Jail and took Ed Johnson to the Walnut Street Bridge and hung him. The crowd then mutilated his body by shooting him several times.

Subsequently the Supreme Court cited Sheriff Shipp and several others for contempt for not protecting Ed Johnson from the mob. In an unusual move that would not be allowed today, Lewis Shepherd represented nine of the defendants in the first and only criminal case in the history of that High Court.

The permanent stigma that might have been attached to Lewis Shepherd for representing Ed Johnson was probably lessened because of the lawyers good reputation and high standing in the community plus his representation of the nine defendants in the Sheriff Shipp contempt cases.



While his law practice survived, Parden and Hutchins did not fare well as they were forced by intimidation to leave Chattanooga and relocate to other cities.

Although lost in relative obscurity until the release of the 1999 Contempt of Court book by Curriden and Philips, the trial of Ed Johnson if reviewed on its proper context would have to be one of the Trials of the Century.



* * *

Jerry Summers

(If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com
Vasant Govardhan recently wrote his institute examinations from home. His mobile phone had to be put on silent mode throughout the two-hour examinations and he had to ensure that all the doors, windows are closed so that he is not distracted.

He couldn't afford to let his attention be diverted, lest he moved his eyes or hands. If he did, the exam would be interrupted, and he would be checked for any attempt to cheat.

Govardhan is among several thousand students across the country for whom online proctored exams are becoming the new normal.

It was a new experience for me and I had to be extra careful to not take any phone calls or stare away from the screen. But this is better than the exams getting delayed, he added.

Amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, students are now giving examinations from their respective homes while being monitored remotely. Also called remote proctoring or online proctoring, the lockdown has forced institutes to shift to this model to seek an alternative to physical examinations.

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

Also read: Live updates on Coronavirus pandemic in India

According to industry sources, a total of almost 50 different examinations across institutes have been held through this medium so far in April and May 2020. While this is a popular method of conducting examinations globally, India is still a nascent market for online proctoring.

What is online proctoring?

A regular examination is conducted on pen and paper or on a computer in a designated test centre. There are invigilators present in the centres to monitor the candidates during the tests.

Online proctoring on the other hand, involves students writing the examinations on their personal laptop at home. Using artificial intelligence (AI), any physical movement including that of the hands, face and even the retina is closely monitored.

Saritha Vijayanagar, Head- Delivery & Operations of testing firm MeritTrac Services told Moneycontrol that the recent onslaught of uncertainties has urged universities and other institutions to consider moving their high-stake examinations online.

Examinations with remote proctoring are the most popular as institutions want to ensure authenticity and maintain uprightness. Universities conduct majority of these exams between March and May, in line with their academic calendar. MeritTrac has enabled several exams through their remote/online proctoring offering that has greatly minimised the impact on students. We are holding semester examinations for the Manipal Academy of BFSI and are in discussions with an international institute for semester examinations for 20,000 plus students, amongst many others, said Vijayanagar.

Students are required to have good internet speed to be able to do these tests through remote proctoring. Institutes are also providing mock tests so that the format of the test can be understood well.

Recently, IIM Sambalpur conducted its entrance examination for admissions into the 2020 batch through online proctoring. It was the first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) to conduct the tests online.

Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director of IIM Sambalpur told Moneycontrol that while the written examination was conducted through a third-party online proctoring system where the 400 students could login and write their answers in 300 words limit within 20-minute slot, the personal interviews are being conducted directly by the institute using video conferencing.

Jaiswal added that the institute has decided to conduct the end term examinations of the first year students online as well.

We will now have 100 students appearing for the end term exam of 10-12 subjects through the same online proctoring system while sitting at home from different parts of the country, he explained.

Similarly, law entrance test LSAT-India administered by US-based Law School Admission Council, a paper-pencil test since its inception in 2009, will be conducted entirely online and will be remote proctored by AI this year.

C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, OP Jindal Global University and Founding Dean, Jindal Global Law School said that the AI-assisted remote-proctoring solution includes the recording of the candidates examination for review with a view to protecting the integrity of the exam process.

But what about cheating?

In a remote proctored examination, AI and other related technologies constantly monitor the student behaviour. Headphones and airpods are not permitted during the test. Also, using the web camera of the laptop, all activities including movement of the eyes are monitored and there is also restrictions on the use of the laptop for other activities during the examination.

For example, if you thought you could Google the answers on another tab during the examination, you will automatically be logged off the test. Or if you shift your attention to your phone to check for answers, the exam will be disrupted.

Vijayanagar told Moneycontrol that in remote examinations, the audio-video and screen share feeds of the candidates are recorded for the entire duration of the test.

In addition to recording, she added that the system monitors the feeds for any suspicious activity using advanced video and audio analytics.

Once the test is over, the AI-based algorithm is used to calculate the credibility score by analysing the captured feeds. Things that could impact your scores include change of focus or tab, full-screen mode disabled, no face in front of camera or several faces in front of camera. Even if the microphone is muted or background noise, student scores would be impacted.

If the proctor suspects any dubious activity, he/she can alert the moderator via online chat or a phone call. Here, the credibility score generated could be an added parameter for evaluation.

If there is a power cut or low internet connectivity, the candidate can restart the test from where he/she left it to ensure that there is no time loss. However, to prevent misuse, Vijayanagar said that there is a limitation to the number of times a candidate can restart a test.

When it comes to IIM Sambalpur, Jaiswal said that the online proctoring system allowed each student to be monitored and invigilated through an AI tool so that they did not receive any external help for writing their answers. The interface also captures the retina movement of the prospective candidates.

The exam disrupts even if an examinee attends a phone call. The recording of the students writing their exam along with the answer script were then sent to IIM Sambalpur for scrutiny. Keeping internet disruption in mind, we allowed students a 30 minute buffer time for the exam as well, he added.

Here, in case a student was unable to attend the exam due to Internet connectivity issues for long hours, they would have been allowed to appear for the exam in an alternative slot. However, the questions in each slot would have been completely different as it is randomly allotted.

What is the way forward?

An addition to the online proctored exam is the online answer-script evaluation as well. Vijayanagar of MeritTrac said that institutions that wrapped up their examinations before the lockdown are now planning to implement onscreen marking solutions where scanned answer scripts can be marked by the evaluators remotely from home.

If the examination process has a buffer for the possible internet disruptions, this could be a hit especially for tests where candidates have to travel to another city or location. There could be cost savings in the form of no use of papers and physical infrastructure.

Eventually, education sector players said that this could translate in passing on the cost benefits to students in lower entrance fee or cheaper examination fee.

Jaiswal explained that this system of conducting tests online allows more transparency in the process. Moreover, with the help of AI, he said that no scope of human error in invigilation during the exam. Taking a giant leap, the IIM Sambalpur director said that the institute plans to conduct all examinations online, even after the situation normalises.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Police properly obtained witness identifications of accused killer and rapist Linden Beaton, a justice has ruled.

State Supreme Court Justice Mario F. Mattei has denied Beatons motion to suppress identifications of him by three individuals from a photo array and still photographs taken from videotape.

Mattei said the IDs were done properly, were not unduly suggestive and were confirmatory.

The judge said the identifications will be admissible at trial as will be Beatons jacket, which is in authorities custody.

Authorities allege Beaton, 33, raped, strangled and slew Johynita Jordan, 69, between Jan. 19 and Jan. 27, 2019, and left her body in an abandoned Stapleton residence at 741 Van Duzer St.

Her bruised corpse was found on the latter date.

Beaton had been free on parole then for about 11 months after serving an attempted-rape sentence, according to online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

According to court papers, the gruesome events unfolded around 4:20 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2019.

Beaton grabbed Jordan after she left a building on the 100 block of Park Hill Avenue in Clifton and dragged her into nearby Sobel Court Park, according to court papers and prosecutors.

After spending about 20 minutes inside the park, the defendant forced Jordan to walk to 741 Van Duzer St., said court papers. The abandoned residence is about a half-mile from Sobel Court Park.

Jordan threw the victim to the ground outside the building and then dragged her inside through the rear at about 5 a.m., court documents said.

At a point afterward, he left the location and returned to a building on the 200 block of Park Hill Avenue from which he had originally exited, said court records.

Six days later, on Jan. 25, 2019, items of the victims clothing, including her bra, panties, hoodie and boots, were discovered in Sobel Court Park, court papers said.

Jordans pocketbook was recovered in the vicinity where the defendant was seen on videotape surveillance grabbing her, said court documents.

The victim was found dead inside the abandoned Van Duzer Street home around noon on Jan. 27, 2019, court papers said.

The medical examiner determined she died from compression of the neck, and there was evidence of trauma to her vagina, said court documents.

The defendants DNA was found in oral and vagina swabs taken of the victim, as well as on the front, back and both sides of her neck, court records said.

Linden Beaton allegedly dragged Johynita Jordan into an abandoned Stapleton home and killed her.

Following an investigation, Beaton was charged with first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and other crimes in May 2019.

Mattei held pretrial evidence-suppression hearings starting in January.

According to police testimony, the three individuals who identified Beaton were very familiar with the defendant.

Two of the men knew Beaton for 15 years from the neighborhood, including one who had attended intermediate school with him.

The third witness told police he had lived with Beaton and others in the Van Duzer home for a time before the slaying.

Mattei said the photo array shown one of the witnesses depicted six males reasonably similar to the defendant and to each other in appearance.

All three witnesses viewed still photos taken from surveillance videos. Two witnesses looked at a photo from a video taken on Van Duzer Street, while the other looked at a photo taken from a video shot near 350 Vanderbilt Ave.

Each witness identified Beaton in the stills.

While showing a witness a single photo may be, under certain circumstances, unduly suggestive, that was not the case here, Mattei said.

Prosecutors, through police testimony, demonstrated sufficient prior familiarity and acquaintanceship between Beaton and the witnesses, wrote Mattei.

Consequently, there is little or no risk that police suggestion could lead to a mis-identification, said the judge.

Beatons next court date is June 16.

Assistant District Attorneys Lisa Davis and Victoria Levin are prosecuting the case.

Attorneys Sam Roberts and Gillian Kress are representing Beaton.

Roberts did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Matteis ruling.

Besides Jordans slaying, Beaton is accused of brutally beating a 57-year-old woman walking to a prayer meeting in Clifton on Jan. 5, 2019.

Mattei severed the charges contained in the indictment on that incident from those regarding Jordans killing.

Davis said prosecutors would proceed with the murder trial first. The assault trial would follow at some point afterward.

No trial date has been set.
Federal labor officials have ordered Creative Hairdressers Inc., an operator of salon brands including Hair Cuttery, BUBBLES and Salon Cielo, to pay back over $1.1 million in back wages to 7,500 employees in across 15 states, including Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland made the ruling as the operator of unisex hair salons closed all of its 750 salon locations on March 21, amid the coronavirus health crisis, and failed to pay their employees final paychecks.

While the employers violations were not found to be willful, its employees are among the thousands of personal service workers in America whose livelihoods have been dramatically affected by the coronavirus pandemic, said Cheryl Stanton, U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division administrator. Like many workers, these employees depend on their paychecks to meet their basic living expenses. Even in these unprecedented times, the U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that workers receive their hard-earned wages.

In Massachusetts, there are more than a dozen salons, located in: Arlington, Burlington, Charlestown, Chicopee, Danvers, Framingham, Hyannis, Littleton, Medford, Milford, Plymouth, Revere, Springfield, Stoughton, Ware, Wareham, Watertown, West Springfield, Westfield, Wilmington, Woburn and Worcester.

The court also ordered Creative Hairdressers Inc. to pay over $3 million to satisfy state minimum wages, 401(k) contributions, bonus program payments and applicable employment-related taxes.

The U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division and Office of the Solicitor intervened during bankruptcy proceedings to hold the employer legally accountable for paying owed wages, said Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III, Region IIIs Office of the Regional Solicitor. This case serves as a strong signal that the department is working to protect the rights of employees significantly impacted during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement released on Monday evening, the company announced that is has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for bidding procedures in connection with the sale of substantially all of its assets to a new owner. The approved bidding procedures contemplate a Court-supervised auction process, which is designed to achieve the highest and best offer for Creative Hairdressers assets.

Creative Hairdressers said that it announced a plan in April to reduce its debt and establish a sound financial platform for long-term growth.

The company voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code and entered into an asset purchase agreement with HC Salon Holdings as the stalking horse bidder to become the new owner, subject to higher and better offers and Court approval.

This is [a] normal course and the next step in the process to reduce our debt obligations and position the business to rebound out of the COVID-19 crisis and operate in a financially healthier state going forward, said Phil Horvath, president of Creative Hairdressers in a press release. We continue to be excited about our long-term potential and are looking forward to re-opening our doors and meeting the pent-up demand from people who are eager to look and feel their best again.

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It had been over three hours, and Raynique Cartwright still hadn't received her money.

Cartwright, 21, had arrived at the Western Union location in the Bahamas a little before 10 a.m. to pick up funds, but the branch was allowing only two or three people inside per hour, leaving a large crowd outside clamoring to get in.

"Social distancing was almost a non-factor because people started getting rowdy and would gather around the door to see why the line was literally not even moving," said Cartwright, who eventually made it inside at 1 p.m. "A lot of people left who were ahead of me."

Cartwright's plight is playing out at thousands of storefronts around the world that act as agents for Western Union and its rival, MoneyGram. Consumers have flooded social media with tales and images of lengthy lines and boisterous crowds seeking to pick up funds sent by friends and family abroad. One person in the Queens borough of New York photographed a line that stretched the length of the city block. At a location inside a gas station in Jamaica, dozens clustered around the pumps as they waited to access their funds.

Migrant workers are major customers of the money-transfer companies because they often have family abroad and are excluded from traditional banking services, where those who are better off financially have flocked to computers and phones for their transactions.

Roughly a billion people worldwide either send or receive remittances. For the recipients, the money is a lifeline that can account for more than half their income, even though senders often wire them just 15% of what they earn, according to data compiled by the United Nations.

Because it often caters to under-banked consumers, the business has remained stubbornly in the physical world, with MoneyGram and Western Union operating almost a million locations through their agent networks. Customers typically like picking up cash in person because it's currency they can spend immediately.

That's meant the companies have struggled amid the global lockdown instituted to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus. It's left some outlets understaffed and some branches, such as those located inside retail stores, either closed entirely or forced to contend with shorter hours.

About 40% of MoneyGram's locations are shut, and many "have some sort of disruption to operating hours or normal flows," Chief Executive Officer Alex Holmes said in an interview.

Brad Windbigler, Western Union's head of treasury and investor relations, said the company is "doing everything we can" to stay open. "It's a privileged space for us to be in to serve that market," Windbigler said in an interview.

Remittances to low- and middle-income countries have steadily grown in importance in recent years, reaching a record $554 billion in 2019, according to data compiled by the World Bank. Last year was also the first time remittances surpassed foreign direct investment in those countries.

Then the coronavirus hit, leaving many customers out of work or stuck at home, unable to continue sending money abroad. The World Bank expects remittances globally to drop 20% this year, the sharpest decline in recent history.

"It will take some time for us to get through the unemployment," said Michael Brown, CEO of Euronet Worldwide Inc., which operates the Ria money-transfer business. "As people regain employment, their first thought will be to continue to be with their families and their family's well-being."

One bright spot for money-transfer companies in recent weeks has been their digital businesses. In the first 27 days of April, 28% of all of MoneyGram's money-transfer transactions were digital, compared with 18% at the end of the first quarter. Western Union said 30% of its consumer-to-consumer transactions were generated by digital channels.

PayPal Holdings Inc.'s Xoom remittances business has seen net new active users quintuple since January and February, CEO Dan Schulman told analysts on a call last week.

"People aren't going into physical locations anymore to give money and to have somebody on the receiving end going to a specific location to get money," Schulman said.

Biggest Impact

The World Bank anticipates countries in Europe and Central Asia, where the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan rely on remittances for almost 30% of gross domestic product, will see a 28% decline in remittances, the steepest drop globally.

Countries in East Asia and the Pacific -- the region that receives the largest amount of remittances on a dollar basis -- could see such flows slide 13%. The roughly $35 billion the Philippines receives in remittances each year accounts for 10% of gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.

The question executives face now is whether demand for their services will rebound as shelter-in-place orders are lifted, or if lingering unemployment will leave consumers unable to send money back home.

"A great example is the cruise industry," MoneyGram's Holmes told analysts earlier this month. "Indonesians and Filipinos, they're on cruise ships all over the world. If they don't go back to work, that unemployment level will sustain itself for a very long period of time," hindering those consumers' ability to send money home, he said.

Still, many executives said they've seen their customers get a boost from government stimulus programs, which has been a buoy for volume in recent weeks.

Western Union's customers "are nurses, grocery store workers, or ambulance drivers -- they put their lives at risk and support millions of people that shelter in place around the globe," CEO Hikmet Ersek told investors on a conference call last week. "At the same time, they are supporting their loved ones, often far away from them by sending money home."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 05:03:11|Editor: huaxia

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Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a teleconference hearing hosted by a Senate panel on the White House's response to the coronavirus, in Washington D.C., the United States, May 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

If there is not an "adequate" response by the United States in the fall, more infections and deaths are on the horizon, he said.



WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday many experts believe more people in the United States have died from COVID-19 than those who have been reported.

"Most of us feel that the number of deaths is likely higher than that number," Fauci told a Senate hearing.

"Given the situation, particularly in New York City, when they were really strapped with a very serious challenge to their health care system, that there may have been people who died at home... who are not counted as it because they never really got to the hospital," he said.

Fauci added he was not sure "exactly what percent higher" the real death toll could be.

Refrigerated trailers are seen at a temporary morgue in Brooklyn of New York, the United States, on May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Fauci also warned that if states disregard COVID-19 guidelines for safe reopening, those actions could "turn the clock back" on stemming the tide of coronavirus infections.

There could be "really serious" consequences if states and areas reopen prematurely, he said.

While the coronavirus will not simply disappear this fall, Fauci said the threat of a possible second wave can be mitigated by aggressive testing efforts and health care preparedness. He said that the second wave is "entirely conceivable and possible."

If there is not an "adequate" response by the United States in the fall, more infections and deaths are on the horizon, he said.

"We run the risk of having a resurgence. I would hope by that point in time in the fall that we have more than enough to respond adequately, but if we don't, there will be problem," Fauci said.

A man jogs in rain near the Washington Monument in Washington D.C., the United States, May 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

When asked whether there will be treatments or even a vaccine available to help reopen universities in the fall term, Fauci said students might feel safest if there was a vaccine for the coronavirus, but it is a "bridge too far" to think a vaccine or treatment will be ready by the time classes start this fall.

"If this were a situation where we had a vaccine, that would really be the end of that issue in a positive way," Fauci said. "We don't see a vaccine playing in the ability of individuals to get back to school this term." 
BOSTON, MAThe long-running legal battle in which Martha's Vineyard homeowner Leah Bassett is suing Mile High Media, Nica Noelle and several others connected to the company produced some wins for the defendants yesterday, when District of Massachusetts Chief Judge Patti B. Saris, who is presiding over the case, ruled on summary judgment motions filed by both sides, throwing out Bassett's claims of breach of contract, trespassing, negligence, civil fraud, defamation, and the biggie, violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act aka RICO.

The case was filed in 2018, though the acts which gave rise to it occurred beginning in October of 2014, when plaintiff Bassett agreed to lease her home in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard island, to one Joshua Darling, a photographer/videographer for director Nica Noelle. Though Darling reportedly intended to live in the house while shooting for Noelle elsewhere on the island, eventually he was convinced to let her shoot gay movies in the Bassett residenceand when Bassett later found out about that (she'd spent the winter of 2014-'15 traveling), she hit the roof.

"According to Defendants, Bassetts home and household items appear in scenes from nine films that were distributed by Mile High, as well as still images accompanying five other films," the judge's Memorandum and Order states. "Scenes showing Bassetts home also appear in two compilation titles that were distributed by Mile High. Bassett asserts that she has found twenty-one films featuring scenes or stills from her house. In addition, cast members took promotional photos at the property that they posted on their own social media accounts."

Bassett's complaint contains numerous claims against Noelle, Mile High and the other defendants, including charges that they damaged furnishings, left the house filthy and, importantly to Bassett, included several of Bassett's self-created artworks in the movies, which art she copyrighted in 2016, well after the features were completed and marketed. Mile High subsequently pulled 14 features shot in Bassett's house off the market, though its attorneys argued in motions that, "There is no evidence whatsoever that Defendants intentionally sought to portray copyrighted work (even to the extent copyright protection exists). ... Defendants did not use them or focus on them. Nor do they have any bearing on the films. They were just there."

Judge Saris' 42-page Memorandum and Order details the events between the initial rental and Bassett's discovery that adult features had been shot at her house, and to say Bassett was outraged would be putting it mildly. The judge recounts that, "In May 2015, Bassett returned home and 'spent weeks' repairing the damage to her property," and that "Bassett was 'experiencing anxiety, inability to sleep, [and] lack of concentration' in the wake of these events. She became 'paranoid' and suffered from 'sadness and anxiety [that was] deep, dark and seemingly endless.'"

Regarding Bassett's artworks that appear in the features, Judge Saris notes that, "Bassett registered the copyrights because she 'knew that there was a possibility [she] would have to file a lawsuit.'"

The judge then spends several pages considering the copyright claims, denying defense summary judgment claims based on allegations that Bassett lied when she claimed the artworks in question were an "unpublished collection"; that the copyrights to some works were invalid either due to lack of originality or because they "serve only a utilitarian purpose"; that the artworks appear in the features in a de minimus capacity, barely noticeable; or that in any case, the artworks appearing in the features were an example of "fair use," a technical term the meaning of which has been the basis for hundreds if not thousands of court decisions.

But short of looking at each of Noelle's productions that were shot at Bassett's house, the court has no reliable information upon which to determine if the artworks do indeed appear in little enough footage that her claim is legally insufficient. Hence, part of Judge Saris' Order is that she is deferring ruling on the copyright claim "pending Bassetts submission, within 45 days, of a spreadsheet or other analysis that describes exactly how long each copyrighted work appears in each film, with accompanying screenshots for each period of time."

Several other issues are also covered in the Memorandum and Order, including whether the defendants intentionally or negligently inflicted emotion distress on Bassett (the judge allowed the negligent infliction count to go forward); interference with contractual relations (the judge dismissed most of it, except for the claim that Mile High, Noelle or others interfered with Bassett's contract with Darling); whether defendants violated Massachusetts Statute Chapter 93A by "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce" (the judge found that shooting porn in Bassett's home without her consent met that definition); and the charge of "civil conspiracy" was likewise upheld at this stage due to Darling's allowing Noelle to break his lease with Barrett and shoot porn in the house.

Finally, the judge dismissed Bassett's breach of contract claim, since no evidence supported it; her trespassing and negligence claims were dismissed due to the statute of limitations having run out; her civil fraud claim was dismissed due to lack of evidence, as was her Civil RICO claim, which hinged on whether the features Noelle made and Mile High distributed were "obscene matter" and whether such distribution constituted a "pattern" of racketeering, which Judge Saris ruled it did not. She also ruled that Bassett's claims that she was "defamed" by Noelle's and Mile High employee Billy Santoro's tweets were unsupportable.

The judge also dismissed all of Bassett's own motions for summary judgment as either improperly pled or simply unsupported by the evidence.

With the motions for summary judgment out of the way, it appears that the next time this case will come before Judge Saris is after Bassett has collected all of the visual evidence of how her artwork was used in Noelle's features, about 45 days from now.

The case is Bassett v. Jensen et al., case number 1:18-cv-10576, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 05:38:34|Editor: huaxia

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A formation of the Blue Angels fly over Chicago, the United States, May 12, 2020. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels squadron flew over Chicago on Tuesday to salute the health care workers and first responders on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua)

CHICAGO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy Blue Angels squadron flew over Chicago on Tuesday to salute the health care workers and first responders on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 15-minute performance, the Blue Angels looped the city from the South Side of Chicago to the west and north sides before ending along the lakefront.

The Chicago flyover is part of a three-city tour set for Tuesday, with other two cities being Detroit and Indianapolis.

Nationwide, the squadron has been part of a series of an ongoing salute in the skies, and has toured several major U.S. cities including New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Jacksonville and Miami.

The U.S. state of Illinois reported 4,014 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a single-day record for the state and adding the total number of cases up to 83,021. Meanwhile, the state reported an additional 144 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state's death toll to 3,601. Enditem
Afghanistan's floundering peace process appeared further in peril Tuesday, with security forces ordered to resume offensive operations after attacks targeted a maternity ward and mourners at a funeral. At least 14 people were killed -- including newborns and nurses -- when gunmen stormed the maternity hospital in Kabul early in the morning, officials said. Shortly after, a suicide blast in the country's restive east left two dozen mourners dead. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the hospital bloodshed, but the Islamic State group said it had carried out the attack on the funeral for a police commander in Nangarhar province, where dozens more were wounded. President Ashraf Ghani blamed both the Taliban and Islamic State for the carnage. "Today, we witnessed terrorist attacks by the Taliban and Daesh groups on a hospital in Kabul and a funeral in Nangarhar, as well as other attacks in the country," Ghani said in a televised address, using the Arabic abbreviation for IS. He ordered Afghanistan's security forces to end their "active defence position" and "return to offensive postures, and resume their operations against the enemy." The move comes months after Afghan forces pledged to only react defensively to Taliban attacks to show good faith ahead of eventual peace talks. But the Taliban did not reciprocate, instead unleashing a wave of violence that began the moment the insurgents signed a deal with the United States. - Mothers, newborns - Tuesday's first attack saw gunmen storm the Barchi National Hospital as parents brought infants and children for appointments. The three attackers were eventually killed in a lengthy clearance operation. Heavily armed security forces were seen carrying infants -- at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. "The fatalities also include mothers and nurses," interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said. Some 15 people were wounded and more than 100 -- including three foreign nationals -- were rescued, he said. One of the wounded, Jamila, said she had taken a grandchild to the hospital for some vaccinations. "We were outside the hospital. I wanted to go inside when they shot me and one of my grandchildren was killed," said Jamila, who only gave one name. The hospital is in a neighbourhood that is home to Kabul's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of hardline Sunni IS militants. It is supported by the humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and a number of foreigners were working there. "It beggars belief that such a heinous act could be committed when Afghanistan is being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic," UN Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said. About an hour after the attack, a suicide bomber killed at least 24 people at a police commander's commander's funeral in the eastern province of Nangarhar, provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani said. The attacker detonated explosives in the middle of the ceremony. Zabit Amir, a mourner at the funeral, which people reported was attended by thousands, said he was preparing to stand in line for the service "when I heard a big blast and then saw hundreds of people on the ground." "I did not even know who was alive or dead there." The Taliban denied involvement in either attack. - Unravelling peace process? - The latest killings raise fresh questions about the fate of a hoped-for peace process that is teetering just as Afghanistan grapples with a public health crisis. The Taliban have largely refrained from launching major attacks on Afghan cities since February, when they signed a deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government. The accord will see all US and foreign forces quit Afghanistan over the next year. Thousands of US troops have already gone, with a drawdown to 8,600 expected within months. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attacks "appalling" and noted the Taliban's denial of responsibility. "The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice," Pompeo said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell said that "consistent with the agreement, the US military will continue to conduct defensive strikes against the Taliban when they attack" Afghan partners. Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, likened the peace process to a comatose patient with "no one willing to pull the plug but everyone falling all over themselves with hope if they see an eye blink." But, he added, Ghani has no other choices than to return to the battlefield. Laurel Miller, director of the International Crisis Group's Asia program, said she still hoped a peace process can play out, but was concerned it might be "dying a death by a thousand cuts". The violence comes just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child. Those bombings were later claimed by IS. In March, at least 25 people were killed by an IS gunman at a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital. Afghan security forces rushed to a Kabul hospital after gunmen stormed the facility, which has a large maternity ward Map of Afghanistan locating Nangarhar province where fatalities were reported on Tuesday after a suicide blast at a funeral. An injured boy is carried on a stretcher to hospital following the suicide attack at a funeral of a local police commander in Nangarhar
Across the Trump campaigns texts, Facebook ads and email blasts, the messaging is almost always in sync. When the campaign is advertising on Facebook to donate for a gold card or hawking St. Patricks Day campaign merchandise, the texting closely follows.

Texts from the Biden campaign are, unsurprisingly, markedly different.

Words are rarely in all-caps, and the tone can be downright polite. At least half a dozen texts have simply started with Please? Others state, I hate asking for money.

The text-message version of Mr. Biden even apologizes if he corresponds late in the day. Hey, its Joe Biden. Hope I didnt catch you too late, read a text from March 31, received at 8:28 p.m. on the East Coast.

And while the Trump campaigns messages can be almost alarmingly direct with someone who hasnt donated in a while  LAPSED, read one  the Biden campaign plays a bit more passive-aggressively: Is this the right number? a Biden text read in early January.

The texts often follow Mr. Bidens loquacious style, with many messages broken into multiple paragraphs. One text sent on Dec. 27 began with Quick  Its Joe Biden, then stretched for five paragraphs, requiring the user to scroll through lines like, Beating Donald Trump is the fight of our lives. Failure isnt an option.

The Biden campaign has been using its messages to tease major campaign developments. A recent text to those anxiously awaiting my pick for VP promised those who signed up via a link would be among the first to know.
President Barack Obama (R) and Vice President Joe Biden speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Oct. 17, 2016. (Yuri Gripas/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Says He Was Aware of Probe on Michael Flynn

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says he was aware of a probe of incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn in early 2017.

Biden was part of a Jan. 5, 2017, meeting during which then-President Barack Obama told administration officials he knew of details from wiretapped phone calls involving Flynn.

Asked on ABCs Good Morning America on May 12 whether he knew about the moves to probe the retired lieutenant general, Biden said, I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn.

He said the topic was meant to divert attention from the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos, the former aide to President Bill Clinton, pressed Biden, noting that he was present at the early 2017 Oval Office meeting.

Biden said hed misheard the first question.

I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted, he said. Im sorry.

I was aware that there wasthat they had asked for an investigation. But thats all I know about it and I dont think anything else.

Then-national security adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington on Feb. 1, 2017. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

Its the first time Biden professed awareness of the probe into Flynn, who was hired by then-President-elect Donald Trump.

The counterintelligence probe into Flynn discovered nothing by Jan. 4, 2017, but was kept open at the request of then-FBI head of counterintelligence operations Peter Strzok, who indicated the top FBI leadership was involved in the decision.

Flynn eventually pleaded guilty to lying to Strzok and another agent in an interview later in January 2017.

But the Department of Justice moved to dismiss the case against Flynn, citing FBI officials.

The government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynna no-longer-justifiably-predicated investigation that the FBI had, in the Bureaus own words, prepared to close because it had yielded an absence of any derogatory information, said Timothy Shea, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, in his May 6 motion to dismiss.

Trump has called the situation the biggest political crime in American history, while a top senator on May 11 said he wanted answers about what Obama and Biden knew of the probe into Flynn.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during an appearance on Fox News on May 12, There are very real questions now that we know that President Obama was aware of the Flynn unmasking, and the former vice president, too.

Unmasking refers to intelligence officials deanonymizing a U.S. citizens identity.
My family and I went to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate New Year on the famous Copa Cabana beach in Brazil for a once in a lifetime trip.

We flew with Emirates via Dubai on an evening flight from London Heathrow with the three return economy tickets costing almost 3,000.

Our flight to Rio was delayed by 24 hours due to a medical emergency on board and we had to land in Cyprus, offload the sick passenger and their bag from the hold but we still couldn't continue.

The aircraft had presumably descended quickly from its cruising altitude and was still iced up.

One passenger said he wants compensation after his flight to Rio was delayed by 24 hours

We were unable to take off again until the sun came up and melted the ice as there was no de-icing equipment available.

I wouldn't claim for a delay caused by a life or death emergency but the rules state that airlines, not airports, are responsible for de-icing equipment.

Under my understanding of the EC Regulation 261/2004 on flight delay compensation, I have a valid claim against Emirates.

Can you help me assess whether I have a legitimate claim against Emirates? And whether these claim firms are safe to use?

Grace Gausden, This is Money, replies: Thousands of travellers are currently trying to claim money back from airlines as nearly all flights have been cancelled due to the coronavirus.

However, your query is unusual and happened a few months before the pandemic.

Your flight was delayed due to the fact the proper de-icing equipment was not at the airport - not surprising, given that a Cypriot airport is unlikely to face this problem very often.

It unfortunately meant you missed a whole day out of your once in a lifetime trip to Rio.

Although you contacted Emirates to make a claim for compensation, suggesting it was their incompetence that led to your 24 hour delay, it did not seem to fully understand your complaint.

Emirates said that it couldn't be expected to pay out because a sick passenger was on board, not acknowledging that was not the nature of your complaint.

A reader's trip to Rio was shortened as the airline didn't have the correct de-icing equipment

Instead, you were trying to claim for the fact it had failed to ensure adequate de-icing equipment was on site.

Whilst under law airlines do not have to provide compensation for extraordinary circumstances, not having the correct de-icing equipment has been interpreted by flight delay claim experts as a non-extraordinary situation - and the onus is on the airline to supply it.

You said that you tried to enlist the help of a no-win no-fee law firm that specialises in flight delay compensation as its website said it looks like you could have a legitimate claim.

However, the terms and conditions worried you as it said if you lose your claim you may have to pay court costs. This is was obviously a concern as this could potentially reach thousands of pounds.

Coby Benson, flight delay compensation solicitor at Bott and Co, replies: The European Court of Justice says delays have to be broken down into their constituent parts and if over three hours of the delay is due to extraordinary circumstances then compensation is not recoverable.

Generally speaking, a medical emergency would be regarded as an extraordinary circumstance and I suspect a court would consider de-icing to also be classed as an extraordinary circumstance, as it occurred away from their home base.

However, it all comes down to the evidence in a particular case.

We would advise that this passenger refers the claim to the Civil Aviation Authority to get their opinion (you can do that here).

While the CAA's opinion isn't binding, the airline may pay out if ordered to do so.

Adam French, Which? consumer rights expert, replies: Passengers should submit a claim to the airline, but if rejected can escalate to an alternative dispute resolution scheme to try and settle the matter out of court.

Claims management companies can help you take the airline to court however, if successful, they could take a significant portion of your compensation.

It is also possible to take an airline to small claims court without a claims firm, but it is worth seeking legal advice and noting there will be fees and costs involved.

Grace Gausden, This is Money, adds: This is Money contacted Emirates for comment but never received a response.

It will now be your decision whether you think it is worth continuing with your claim for compensation against Emirates.

To continue may be risky as you have no guarantee that you will get your money back and could fork out for court fees but, on the other hand, you could win big.

Going to the small claims court should be your last resort as it is likely to be costly.
(Newser)  For weeks, Elon Musk has been ripping the stay-at-home orders that have kept his auto factory in Fremont, California, shut down during the pandemic. On Monday, the Tesla CEO graduated to open defiance. "Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," Musk tweeted. Saying that he'll be on the line himself, he added, "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me." Musk has said the restrictions are unconstitutional, and Tesla has filed a federal lawsuit against the county, CNN reports. He's also threatened to move the company out of California. Musk's pandemic analysis has been flawed throughout, per the Drive: He said the nation would be down to "close to zero" cases by the end of April, argued that the coronavirus is no more dangerous than the flu, and advocated the drug chloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.

story continues below

Local officials said they're negotiating with Tesla, per TechCrunch. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that state officials also are involved in talks with the company and local governments, and that the factory might be allowed to reopen as soon as next week. The governor's reopening steps announced last week left room for manufacturing to resume. Newsom left the decision to county officials on Monday, while saying he'd talked recently with Musk and has "great reverence" for Tesla. That drew a thank-you tweet from Musk. Support arrived from the Trump administration on Monday, as well, when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the state should help Tesla reopen, per CNBC. "I agree with Elon Musk," Mnuchin said. (Read more Elon Musk stories.)
Geneva, May 12 : The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday paid tribute to nurses and all health professionals, a day ahead of the International Nurses Day.

"Happy International Nurses Day for tomorrow! And of course we should pay tribute to our nurses and all health professionals every single day, but at the same time, tomorrow is a very, very important day and we have to celebrate our nurses," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference in Geneva, Xinhua reported.

"As you know, during the COVID-19, they're in the front line and they're risking their lives to save others, but not only during COVID-19," he said, adding that "nurses are a bridge between the health system and the community and they have been doing so ever since the nursing profession actually started." "So... our greatest respect and appreciation from WHO to all nurses," said the WHO chief.

Tedros said that due to the ongoing pandemic and also the consensus from the nursing associations and the midwives' associations, the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife 2020 would be postponed to 2021. Further more, he said the consensus was to have "the 2020 as the Decade of the Nurse and the Midwife." "The celebration is not just a celebration for the sake of celebration. It's not just to pay tribute to them; it's also to recognize their important role in achieving universal health coverage and to use nurses, midwives and other frontline health workers to achieve universal health coverage," he noted.

According to the WHO, the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife shall symbolize a year-long effort to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, highlight the challenging conditions they often face, and advocate for increased investments in the nursing and midwifery workforce.

The International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12 every year. The theme for this year is Nurses: A Voice to Lead -- Nursing the World to Health.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Fast food giant McDonald's will open 30 drive-thrus next week - with plans for all 900 stores to be back in business by early June.

The burger chain is opening 15 stores tomorrow for delivery only with next week's larger opening an opportunity for them to test safety measures before a widespread reopening in the summer.

High Street rivals Subway are opening 600 eateries today for third party delivery and takeaway and Burger King announced on Monday a further 35 branches are set to offer drive-through-collection or delivery.

When the McDonald's stores reopen there will be a 25 per car limit and customers are being encouraged to pay by contactless payment methods.

Customers queuing at a McDonald's in Dover, Kent, on March 23, prior to Boris Johnson's announcement that evening that the country was going into lockdown

The locations of the 30 restaurants are yet to be announced but McDonald's did come in for criticism after picking locations just in the south of the UK for their 15 delivery stores.

What will be included in McDonalds' limited menu? Main Menu: Cheeseburger Hamburger Double Cheeseburger Big Mac Quarter Pounder with Cheese McChicken Sandwich Filet-O-Fish Chicken McNuggets Chicken Selects Sides & Desserts: Fries Mozzarella Dippers Core McFlurry (Oreo, Maltesers, Smarties) Fruit Bag Advertisement

McDonald's have warned customers to expect 'some delays' with protective screens to be installed at drive thru windows and employees wearing protective equipment.

Paul Pomroy, McDonalds UK and Ireland chief executive said: 'I ask that you continue to be supportive of and patient with our restaurant teams as we slowly and safely return.

'We are asking all of our employees to adapt to how our restaurants now work, and will only reopen at a pace that enables them to work safely.

As we get accustomed to the new processes and procedures, we will look to reopen more restaurants, for longer hours and reintroduce more menu items.

'But only when I am confident we can do so whilst maintaining the new procedures we have introduced for the protection of our people.'

It remains to be seen what items will be on the menu for customers. The fast food giant will not be serving breakfast from tomorrow and will return with a limited menu and shorter opening hours from 11am and 10pm.

McDonalds furloughed 135,000 staff when it shut up shop temporarily in March.

Under government rules, food firms are allowed to operate as takeaway and delivery outlets under lockdown.

Meanwhile, high street sandwich chain Subway has also started a phased reopening of its stores across the UK and Ireland on Tuesday while cleaners were spotted preparing a Burger King restaurant in Southampton.

Subway decided to shut its doors on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic and have remained closed ever since, opening just a handful for key workers and NHS staff.

But now, with 'new operational and social distancing safety measures implemented', just over 600 stores are opening today in the UK for third party delivery and takeaway only, out of a total of just under 2,600 across the UK and Ireland.

Sandwich chain Subway are reopening over 600 stores across the UK and Ireland on Monday and staff have been given PPE and directional signage has been installed so customers can follow social distancing measures

Subway shut its doors in March but kept a few stores open to serve NHS staff and key workers. More will now open and will allow the public to enjoy delivery and collections

Workers wearing PPE clean a Burger King store in Southampton ahead of its reopening on Wednesday after the fast-food chain opened several drive-thrus across the country

The measures include new directional signage to ensure customers follow social distancing measures, enhanced hygiene practices and the supply of PPE to protect employees, guests and delivery drivers.

The procedures have been tested in a small number of stores so far that have remained open to support and serve key workers and hospital staff.

Stores will continue to support NHS and key workers with NHS staff to still receive 25% off their orders.

To find out if your nearest Subway is open, click here.

Pictures also emerged on Tuesday morning of a Burger King in Southampton being prepared to open.

While Burger King has opened some drive-thrus across the country, the store in Southampton is getting ready to re open on Wednesday for take away only.

It was reported on Monday that an extra 35 branches are set to offer drive-through collection or delivery only.

Inside staff could be seen wearing PPE while they worked to get the store up and running.

Five Guys also revealed last week that they are set to reopen even more restaurants for click and collect and delivery orders. They left 13 restaurants open just more takeaway service but have been reopening more since the end of April.

Construction workers pictured at a apartment and retail complex at Nine Elms in south London wearing PPE, including face masks while they work

Workers try to keep their distance while working high up on a big construction site in London

Some appeared not to be following social distancing rules though as they lifted some heavy materials in Knightsbridge

Britain continued to get back to work on Tuesday as more construction workers were pictured back at work and recycling centres were packed as the country slowly emerges from lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged those who can do so to return to work in his speech to the nation on Sunday night as part of his road map for getting the country back to normal. And it seems some are taking his advice.

Recycling centres up and down the country began to reopen, with one in Havant particularly busy, while construction workers were also pictured hard at work on building sites in London wearing PPE and following social distancing rules.

Garden centre retailer, Dobbies, also announced it will reopen its 54 English stores on Wednesday after Boris Johnson confirmed they could reopen to customers.

Construction workers were also pictured on sites in London as the building industry prepares to get up and running again.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey sent workers back to the majority of the companys sites in England and Wales on May 4 while Persimmon restarted work on April 27.

They could be seen wearing PPE, including face masks, to build a new apartment and retail complex in Nine Elms in South London.

Some appeared not to be following social distancing measures in Knightsbridge though as a group of men stood together to lift some heavy materials.

Cars line up outside a recycling centre in Havant in Hampshire as they look to get rid of the rubbish that has built up in the past few weeks

It comes after global coffee chain Starbucks also announced on Monday it is to reopen around 150 stores across the UK from Thursday as the country begins to ease its way out of lockdown.

Starbucks will open around 15% of its UK stores in the first phase of its reopening plans, which are predominantly focused on drive-thru stores.

Some cafe chain rivals such as Pret a Manger have also reopened UK sites for takeaway customers as have fast food retailers like KFC.

Which other food and drink chains are already reopening in the UK?

TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays is launching Click & Collect as part of a controlled trial across 24 of its UK restaurants. Click & Collect launched Wednesday May 8.

Home Delivery will also be restored at the 24 locations with the company's partners Just Eat and Deliveroo.

The new ordering system will allow customers to order their food and pay for it online then collect it from outside their nearest TGI Fridays restaurant, where social distancing measures will be in place.

The menu will consist of 22 of the restaurant's favourite dishes, covering appetisers, mains, desserts and kids' options.

The 24 selected restaurants are: Ashton-under-Lyne, Basildon, Birmingham Hagley Road, Birstall Shopping Park - Leeds (J27), Cardiff (Newport Road), Cheadle, Cheltenham, Cheshire Oaks, Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird, Enfield, Gateshead, Glasgow Fort, High Wycombe, Lakeside (West Thurrock Street), Leeds (Wellington Street), Northampton, Prestwich, Reading (Caversham Road), Sale, Sheffield, Southampton (Harbour Parade), Stevenage, Teeside and Watford North.

Five Guys

Five Guys kept 13 restaurants open for delivery and click and collect orders at the outset.

It then reopened 16 stores at the end of April for business and a further 16 will reopen on May 5 bringing the total to 45 out of 104 restaurants that will be open.

Stores opening on May 5 are: Ashton, Clapham, Bournemouth, Bullring, Canary Wharf, Derby, Canterbury, Cardiff - Caroline, Chester, Dundee, Harrogate, Leicester Cheapside, Maidstone, Richmond, Sheffield Valley.

Costa

Some Costa Coffee branches have been open inside hospitals to serve NHS staff through the lockdown.

But the decision to run a total 33 stores across Britain indicates that Costa Coffee is one of many chains seeking to kick-start trading.

On May 4, photos showed motorists queuing for hours to get a drink at a Costa drive-thru in Edinburgh, sparking fears people are ignoring lockdown measures as more high street chains reopen.

Drivers were seen queuing for a coffee at Costa Drive Thru, Cameron Toll, Edinburgh on the morning of May 4

Nandos

Popular chicken chain Nandos shut its door on March 23 due to the pandemic.

Nandos has now opened six restaurants with four in London and two in Manchester - for delivery only.

The restaurants to reopen are: London (Clink St, Camberwell, Canary Jubilee, Gloucester Road) Manchester (Fallowfield, Printworks).

Burger King

Burger King today announced on April 28 that they were opening the first drive-thrus for customers to use again. The restaurants are open in Havant, Hampshire, Dundee, Aberdeen, Reading, Hillington (Norfolk), Southampton, Merto, (London) Springfield Quay (London).

Drivers were photographed in a line around the block in Havant when the drive-thru first opened and staff were seen wearing masks and gloves over their uniforms as they handed burgers and fries to customers in Hampshire.

Wagamama

The popular restaurant offering Japanese and Asian food reopened its kitchens to deliver food to customers' homes from last Thursday in Peckham and Hackney.

KFC

Fast food giant KFC announced on April 29 the reopening of another 80 branches for delivery as Britain continues to edge out of lockdown.

The fried chicken chain said 100 of its stores up and down the country would be able to bring orders to customers' homes from May 4.

On Tuesday KFC announced it was reopening dozens more drive-thru services. From today it will run the drive-thru lanes at 55 restaurants, that are already open for delivery.

A spokesman said: 'We've been working hard to responsibly reopen our restaurants and now we're spreading our wings a little further.'

KFC's that are now open for delivery AND drive-thru: Linwood - Paisley Leisure Park, Aberdeen - Great North Road, Leicester - Narborough Road, Bristol - Shield Retail Park, Swansea - Morfa Shopping Park, Aldershot - Ash Road, Hulme - Greenheys Lane West, Portsmouth - Pompey Centre, Birmingham - New Oscott, Birmingham - Great Bridge Retail Park, Heaton Chapel - Monarch Leisure Park, Tamworth - Ventura Retail Park, Enfield - Coliseum Retail Park, Glasgow - Great Western Retail Park, Glasgow - Pollokshaws Road, Wolverhampton - Bentley Bridge Pleasure Park, Northampton - Nene Park Sixfields, Newcastle under Lyme - Liverpool Road, Swindon - Delta Park, Deptford - Evelyn Street, Eastbourne - Lottbridge Drove, Mansfield - Fulmar Close, Coventry - Tile Hill, Govan - Helen Street, Bury - Moorgate Retail Park, Romford - Colchester Road, Tyburn - Kingsbury Road, Norwich - Mile Cross Lane, Grimsby - Birchin Way, Oxley - Bushbury Lane, Bloxwich - Leamore Lane, Wythenshawe - Rowlands Way, East Kilbride - Kingsgate Retail Park, Slough - Farnham Road, Colindale - The Hyde, Alperton - Western Avenue, Rochdale - Kingsway Retail Park, Manchester Fort Shopping Park, Farnworth - Albert Road, Ipswich - Cardinal Park, Ashford - Eureka Leisure Park, Broadstairs - Westwood Retail Park, Dover - Honey Wood Retail Park, Wakefield - Westgate Retail Park, Glasgow - Nitshill Road, Northampton - Towcester Road, Sheffield - Queens Road, Leyton - Lea Bridge Road, Weymouth - Jubilee Close, Bristol - Avonmeads Retail Park, Oldbury - Wolverhampton Road, Wolverhampton - Penn Road Retail Park, Durham - City Retail Park, Scunthorpe - Lakeside Retail Park.

Pret a Manger

It reopened 71 more cafes for takeaway and delivery on Monday May 11 after a successful trial.

Currently 30 stores already reopened, a further 71 shops have followed, including cafes in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester.

Customers adhere to social distancing as they queue to enter a recently re-opened Pret-A-Manger shop in London. The sandwich chain announced they are opening a further 71 outlets from Monday May 11

It will bring the total number of reopened shops to more than 100.

Each shop will be fitted with Perspex screens at the tills, while restrictions will be in place on the number of customers allowed in the stores.

Greggs

It has opened stores in Newcastle as part of its trial period, including one of the shops reopened at Kingston Park shopping centre.

Greggs previously halted plans to reopen 20 of its stores after fears of overcrowding.

Only a small number of stores have currently reopened as part of their gradual reopening process.

McDonald's

Restaurants preparing to offer a delivery-only service from 11am on May 13 are mainly in London and the surrounding counties - with three in Luton and another three in Chelmsford.
NASDAQ 100 holds key area overnight ONE44 Analytics - 30 minutes ago Any market that hits 78.6% should go 78.6% back the other way. This is also where a lot of Bull markets end and start. NQH22 : 15,131.50 (-0.49%) QQQ : 369.02 (-0.41%) NMH22 : 15,131.50 (-0.49%)

SPX Reversing Again Monica Kingsley - 1 hour ago S&P 500 plunged to open the week  how fitting given the unfinished job in tech and Treasuries. The rising yields are all about betting on a really, really hawkish Fed  just how far are the calls...

Grain Express | 1.19.2022 Blue Line Futures - 1 hour ago Oliver Sloup of Blue Line Futures gives technical and fundamental insight into the Corn, Soybean & Wheat Markets.
Facebook has agreed to pay current and former content moderators at least $1,000 each as part of a $52 million settlement, The Verge reports. The 11,250 moderators, who are based in the US, will receive the payments as compensation for mental health issues they may have developed while assessing potentially harmful material on the platform.

If moderators are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or related mental health conditions, they'll be eligible for more compensation under the terms of the preliminary agreement. Depending on their diagnosis, the ability to show evidence of injuries they sustained as a result of their work and the total number of claimants, a moderator may be awarded up to $50,000 in damages.

As part of the settlement, Facebook will make changes to its content moderation software. Audio will be muted by default and videos (which often include violent or otherwise harrowing footage) will be displayed in black and white. These changes will be in place for all moderators by 2021. Moderators will also have access to licensed mental health professionals, counselors and monthly group therapy sessions.

Facebook will also require the companies who hire content moderators to provide details about psychological support at each workstation and to screen for "emotional resiliency" during the hiring process. They'll also need to tell moderators how to report violations of Facebook's policies by their own workplace.

The settlement covers content moderators in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida who worked for Facebook from 2015 until now. Those involved in the class-action suit can review the settlement and request changes before a judge signs off on it.

The class-action suit stems from one filed by former content moderator Selena Scola in 2018. She claimed that she developed PTSD after nine months on the job. The suit alleged that the company "ignored its duty" to protect moderators who experience mental trauma after viewing extreme material as part of their job. Content moderators in Europe have brought similar lawsuits against Facebook. Last year, the company announced pay increases for content moderators, following reports that they were not well compensated for thankless, difficult work.

We are grateful to the people who do this important work to make Facebook a safe environment for everyone, Facebook told Engadget in a statement. Were committed to providing them additional support through this settlement and in the future.

We are so pleased that Facebook worked with us to create an unprecedented program to help people performing work that was unimaginable even a few years ago, Steve Williams, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told The Verge. The harm that can be suffered from this work is real and severe.
SHOREWOOD, Wis. and DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This report is written to help those working at airlines and in the travel industry sort through the issue of traveller confidence and how it can be restored. Individual airlines, hotels, vacation rentals, car hire, airport transfers, and sightseeing companies are already making decisions to ensure the safety of their customers, which will also increase traveller confidence in the industry. This confidence will be built in layers, and here are some of the examples provided in the report:

Emirates prohibits large carry-on bags in an effort to reduce congestion in the aisles while boarding and deplaning, and to speed the process.

prohibits large carry-on bags in an effort to reduce congestion in the aisles while boarding and deplaning, and to speed the process. Etihad Airways is trialling new passenger screening kiosks to help identify travellers at the early phases of COVID-19 infection.

Airways is trialling new passenger screening kiosks to help identify travellers at the early phases of COVID-19 infection. Hilton introduced an exceptional branding and operations platform in partnership with Lysol and the Mayo Clinic to boost guest confidence in hotel accommodations.

introduced an exceptional branding and operations platform in partnership with Lysol and the Mayo Clinic to boost guest confidence in hotel accommodations. Korean Air has implemented temperature checks for all passengers boarding aircraft at Seoul Incheon Airport.

has implemented temperature checks for all passengers boarding aircraft at Seoul Incheon Airport. United is integrating electrostatic spraying into its cleaning procedures on all flights.

is integrating electrostatic spraying into its cleaning procedures on all flights. Xiamen Airlines has an inflight separation zone for ill passengers in the aft cabin.

Flight Plan 2020: Creating Traveller Confidence in the Time of COVID was released today as a free 17-page report sponsored by CarTrawler. The full report is available at https://bit.ly/2yLpa0O

"We are starting to see more positive signs across the travel industry and countries accounting for 85% of world GDP are now past their peak of new cases, this in itself is a precursor to easing restrictions on travel bans. At CarTrawler, our focus is to work with our airline & travel partners to ensure we are supporting them in their preparations for the return of travel  with their customers being at the core of these arrangements," said Aileen McCormack, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler, speaking in Dublin today. "Regaining consumer confidence in travel is the key to regenerating the industry, be that business or leisure. Travel is certainly facing turbulent times, but our industry will get through this. The innovations we see within the report set us apart from other industries, alongside our ability to change to support our customers during the pandemic."

About CarTrawler

CarTrawler is the leading B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the global travel industry. CarTrawler brings opportunities to life through an online marketplace connecting their partners, customers and mobility suppliers. CarTrawler's end-to-end technology platform expands our airline and travel partners' offering to their customers, creating substantial ancillary revenue opportunities. CarTrawler provide unrivalled breadth and depth of content worldwide, including car rental, private airport transfer and ride-hailing services. CarTrawler creates innovative, data-led solutions for some of the largest travel brands in the world, including American Express, Alaska Airlines, easyJet, eDreams ODIGEO, Hotels.com, KLM, TravelStart and Emirates. As a B2B company CarTrawler focus solely on helping their airline and travel partners build their brands, not our own.

CarTrawler was established in 2004. Our headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in New York and Melbourne. For more information visit www.cartrawler.com.

About IdeaWorksCompany

IdeaWorksCompany boosts airline profits through innovations in ancillary revenue, a la carte pricing, and loyalty marketing. The firm was founded in 1996 and has an international client list of airlines and other travel industry firms in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. IdeaWorksCompany enjoys a reputation as a global resource for ancillary revenue strategy, on-site executive workshops, and research reports. Learn more at IdeaWorksCompany.com.

SOURCE CarTrawler
The railways has operated 542 "Shramik Special" trains since May 1 and ferried home 6.48 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said on Tuesday.

On Monday, a statement issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the railways will now run 100 "Shramik Special" trains on a daily basis to facilitate a faster movement of workers.

Of the 542 trains run so far, 448 have reached their destinations and 94 are in transit.

The 448 trains were terminated in various states, including Uttar Pradesh (221), Bihar (117), Madhya Pradesh (38), Odisha (29), Jharkhand (27), Rajasthan (four), Maharashtra (three), Telangana and West Bengal (two each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (one each).

The trains have ferried migrants to cities such as Tiruchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur, Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa etc.

A proper screening of the passengers is carried out before they board the trains. During the journey, the passengers are given free meals and water.

From Monday, these "Shramik Special" trains started carrying around 1,700 passengers each, instead of the earlier 1,200, to ferry as many workers home as possible.

While initially these trains had no stoppages, the railways announced on Monday that up to three stoppages in the destination states will be allowed. The decision was taken after several state governments made a request in this regard, officials said.

While the railways is yet to announce the cost incurred on these special services, officials indicated that the national transporter is spending around Rs 80 lakh per service.

The Centre had earlier stated that the cost of the services was shared on a 85:15 ratio with the states.

Since the "Shramik Special" train service started, Gujarat has remained the top originating state, followed by Kerala. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh top the list of receiving states.

Earlier, the railways drew flak from opposition parties for charging for these services. In its guidelines, the national transporter has said the trains will ply only if they have a 90-per cent occupancy and the "states should collect the ticket fare".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi and many others extended their gratitude towards the nurses community on the occasion of International Nurses Day on Tuesday.

Shah said nurses are the backbone of the medical sector and their role in containing the spread of coronavirus is remarkable.

On #InternationalNursesDay, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts, the home minister tweeted.

On #InternationalNursesDay, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 12, 2020

Gandhi described nurses as the unsung heroes and said that they are the first line of defence in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. He thanked the nurses community for working tirelessly, round the clock to save lives.

Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid19 virus.



On #InternationalNursesDay I thank & salute each & every one of them for their hard work & dedication.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 12, 2020

Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid19 virus. On #InternationalNursesDay I thank & salute each & every one of them for their hard work & dedication, Gandhi tweeted.

Today is #InternationalNursesDay. Nurses are playing an important role in our fight against the coronavirus. We salute all those nurses who are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis, putting themselves and their own families at risk.  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 12, 2020

Today is #InternationalNursesDay. Nurses are playing an important role in our fight against the coronavirus. We salute all those nurses who are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis, putting themselves and their own families at risk, said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Today we pause to thank some of the most extraordinary people in our society; nurses. They are humanity's frontline. Nurses from Kerala are serving across the world. We are proud of them. We hold them in our hearts, not just today but everyday.#InternationalNursesDay greetings pic.twitter.com/UENFVfX1cf  Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) May 12, 2020

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said nurses from the state are serving people across the world.  We are proud of them. We hold them in our hearts, not just today but everyday, the CM tweeted.
Trump, who is eager to reopen the US economy, enters the fray between Elon Musk and officials in California.

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday threw the weight of the White House behind Tesla Inc and its CEO Elon Musk after the electric carmaker reopened an assembly plant in California in defiance of local officials.

Trump took to Twitter, writing California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely!

Tesla did not immediately comment on Trumps tweet.

On Monday, Musk announced that production was resuming at its plant in Freemont, California, despite county officials ordering it to stay closed. He said that he would join workers on the assembly line, writing on Twitter: If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

The Tesla chief and founder of SpaceX has been visceral in his opposition to lockdown measures, sparking controversy with his Twitter rants and telling analysts on a recent quarterly Tesla conference that sweeping stay-at-home orders were facist.

Trump, who is up for reelection in November, is anxious for the US economy to reopen. Some 33.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the seven weeks ending March 2, while the monthly tally for job losses in April was the worst ever recorded.

Trump has sparred with California for years over a series of issues, including immigration, vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, funding for high-speed rail and numerous environmental issues. He has also met with Musk on several occasions during his presidency.

In January, Trump told CNBC that Musk is one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius.

States and cities around the US are experimenting with ways to gradually lift lockdown restrictions and safely reopen their economies.

Major carmakers are beginning to reopen factories with Detroits Big Three set to reopen most US plants next week.

Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California for Texas or Nevada over his factorys closure. His move has highlighted the competition for jobs and ignited a rush to woo the billionaire executive by states that have reopened their economies more quickly in response to encouragement from Trump.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday said he spoke to Musk several days ago and that the Tesla founders concerns helped prompt the state to begin its phased reopening of manufacturing last week.

Tesla, which also has a vehicle plant in Shanghai and is building another in Berlin, on Saturday sued the county, alleging it had violated Californias constitution by defying Newsoms orders allowing manufacturers to reopen.

In the past, Musk has discussed opening a second US factory outside California. In a tweet in February, he solicited comments on potentially opening a factory in Texas.
Guwahati, May 12 : Assam is going to test all people suffering from fever and so far 7,782 such people have been found after health teams visited around 10,000 villages, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.

Sarma said that these people do not have coronavirus, but as they are symptomatic, their samples would be tested as per protocol.

"Our doctors and health staff would visit 20,000 more villages to identify the people suffering from fever," he said while briefing the media.

The Assam government on May 7 launched an ambitious community-based surveillance for Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) across the state to contain the possible spread of Covid-19.

Under the Assam Community Surveillance Plan (ACSP), health workers including doctors would go to the total of 30,000 villages to identify the ILI and SARI cases in the villages. ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and MPW (Multi-Purpose Workers) along with other health staff would be the front line workers to undertake this.

The Health Minister said that "strict quarantine" would be maintained for people returning to Assam from other parts of India amid the easing of lockdown restrictions.

"Centre has prescribed a quarantine period of 9-14 days for those coming in from other states." He said that when a person is asked for quarantine at home, the entire house would be considered as a 'containment zone' and the entire family would have to stay indoors for the duration of the quarantine period.

"This way the disease would not spread in the society." Sarma said that the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) would be opened for the admission of the new patients from Friday. The GMCH was closed for new patients after a doctor, who is also a postgraduate student at the GMCH, tested Covid-19 positive on May 7.

According to the minister, so far 63 Covid-19 positive cases were found in Assam but currently only 22 of them are active, while 39 people were discharged from hospitals after they recovered and two people died, including a 16-year-old girl in Guwahati who was found to be infected after her death.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
PHILADELPHIA, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the federal government spending record amounts to help the nation cope with the economic fallout from COVID-19, some companies are taking the opportunity to commit fraud.

"Trillions of taxpayer dollars are on the table and being doled out at a very rapid rate," said Brian McCormick of Ross Feller Casey, LLP. "That combination makes the situation ripe for rip-offs."

McCormick, who is widely considered among the nation's top whistleblower lawyers, said a company could commit CARES Act fraud in three basic ways. For one, a company could defraud the government by padding employment or payroll amounts to get more money from the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Second, banks and financial institutions could commit fraud by approving PPP loans using misleading or unverified information. And third, companies could sell products to the government using illegal pricing methods or price gauging.

"While I wish we lived in a world where an employee can report fraud free of the fear of retribution or retaliation, that is not the case, unfortunately. Any employee considering reporting suspected fraud should speak to an experienced whistleblower attorney who can advise them and explain what protections are available to them," McCormick said.

When someone reports a business that has committed fraud, they might be eligible to collect a financial reward through various federal and state statutes, including the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act also provides whistleblowers with wide protection from retaliation.

"Employees may also be nervous that they can be blamed or have exposure themselves for their employer's criminal actions. People need to be out in front of these issues," McCormick said.

Ross Feller Casey is actively investigating potential cases of fraud relating to the government's recent COVID-19 economic relief packages.

For more information about the kinds of fraud in light of the CARES Act, please visit: https://www.rossfellercasey.com/practice-areas/whistleblower-litigation/

Ross Feller Casey, LLP, is a Philadelphia-based law firm with a national reputation for representing whistleblowers who have discovered their companies are committing fraud against the federal government.

For an interview with Brian McCormick, please call 215 687 7965 or email him at [email protected]

SOURCE Ross Feller Casey, LLP

Related Links

www.rossfellercasey.com


Save Democracy. Vote By Mail.

States should let citizens cast their votes without ever visiting the polling station.

Prof. Kimberly Clausing and Prof. Paul Gronke |

As our society endures deep public health and economic crises, it is vitally important to protect democracy itself from the ravaging effects of this pandemic. Voting is the most singular democratic act, and it is imperative that the national vote go smoothly in November 2020.

Already, the coronavirus has created serious voting disruption. Sixteen states have delayed their primaries due to the coronavirus, while others have made last minute changes to voting procedures. Controversies about the Wisconsin vote even went as far as the Supreme Court. Although the coronavirus has interfered with the normal operations of the Supreme Court, they issued a decision requiring the vote to go ahead, and Wisconsin voters were made to choose between public health and democratic expression.

At the same time, local, state, and national leaders are making policy decisions that will have ramifications for years if not decades. Ensuring that our governing institutions have democratic legitimacy is especially important during a crisis. Luckily, there are voting technologies that are easily adaptable to our present situation. Many states already vote by mail or allow no-excuse absentee balloting. Mandating no-excuse absentee voting for all federal elections is both feasible and desirable.

We have no idea how long this coronavirus will be present in the US population. We have an integrated national economy and free flows of people between US states. The very freedoms that have made American democracy the envy of the world is a point of vulnerability in this crisis. The fifty states have adopted wildly different policy responses in the face of this crisis. The federal government has been reluctant to invoke emergency powers. Because of our slow and uncoordinated response, our health trajectory has been more like Italys than those of South Korea or Japan. While these countries are all democracies, some have contained the public health crisis more effectively than others.

Because of our weak and incoherent national strategy, coronavirus will remain a threat to the health of United States citizens for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this means that the most vulnerable among us, including the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, may feel the need to self-isolate for a long time. We are also not certain if there will be more waves of this virus in the fall or beyond.

It is thus absolutely crucial that all voters, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or income status, have free and equal access to the ballot box. This means we need to look to voting technologies and methods that enable everyone to exercise this essential democratic right. No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote.

Of course, unequal access to voting isnt just an issue due to the pandemic. Citizens are often forced to make difficult tradeoffs when they vote. Sickness comes at all times, and the realities of busy work lives, childcare obligations, long commutes, and multiple jobs can make voting difficult for many. There is no reason why one of the richest nations on earth should make voting so hard.

It doesnt have to be this way. In Oregon, not only are voters automatically registered, but the ballot reaches us weeks before Election Day, courtesy of the US Postal Service. Voters have all the time they need to read the details of ballot measures and to research candidate positions. They can vote at a time that suits their schedule, and they need not encounter any hazards, health or otherwise, to exercise their fundamental democratic rights. There is no evidence of voting fraud in Oregon, or systematic exclusion of any vulnerable or disempowered segments of the population.

It would take time to extend such a system nationwide, and it will require resources, as there are a host of logistical issues. At a minimum, however, States should meet the challenge of todays voting climate by having a strategy in place to conduct elections under poor health conditions. This could include extending voting periods by many days to allow voters to spread out over time, expanding existing absentee ballot options (including accepting an expressed desire to self-isolate as an excuse for an absentee ballot), allowing no-excuse absentee balloting with the option to be put on a permanent list across all states, and where feasible, making a full transition to vote-by-mail.

The next coronavirus relief bill (and yes, there will be more legislation) should include the necessary funding to prepare our elections for all contingencies. This means adequately funding the serious resources required for additional equipment, materials, election training, and staffing. Senator Amy Klobuchar and our own Senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, have a bill that would do just that.

Smooth elections are essential to vital democracies. Now more than ever, we need to invest the necessary resources to ensure that the 2020 election is smooth and safe for all Americans.

Kimberly Clausing is an economist and the author of Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration and Global Capital. Paul Gronke is a political scientist and the director of the Early Voting Information Center.

Tags: Covid-19, Professors, Research
The government will this week push ahead with a parliamentary inquiry into the class action industry, including the profits made by litigation funders that bankroll claims on behalf of Australians.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said in many cases, funders were taking up to 30 per cent of legal settlements, "leaving the members of the action to fight over the scraps that remain" once legal fees and other costs were paid.

Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter will move to have a parliamentary committee inquire into class actions. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"That is clear evidence that the system is not delivering fair and equitable outcomes for those mums and dads who join class actions and it demonstrates why an inquiry into all aspects of the system is needed," Mr Porter said.

But Labor's legal affairs spokesman, Mark Dreyfus, said the inquiry was an attempt to justify legislation restricting class actions and protecting the government's "big business mates".
Premier Investments owner Solomon Lew has told landlords he will pay rents based on a percentage of store sales during the coronavirus recovery period, with the billionaire retailer accusing some landlords of being in denial about the pressures facing the sector.

Having shut its 900 stores and paying no rent for the past six weeks, Premier's rents will now be correlated to a gross percentage of store-based sales until trading returns to pre-coronavirus levels. Retail rents are typically paid at a flat rate one month in advance.

Premier Investments' CEO Mark McInnes, left, and chairman Solomon Lew have said some landlords have their heads in the sand. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Mr Lew and Premier's chief executive Mark McInnes said the change was necessary as the retail sector faces a huge operational restructure following the coronavirus. "Some landlords understand that we're in the middle of a global health crisis that we haven't seen since the Spanish Flu. They're understanding and they're realistic," Mr McInnes told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

"But there are other landlords with their heads in the sand, telling their investors nothing has changed and trying to hold up historical valuations built on pre-COVID-19 trading patterns which just no longer exist."
New Delhi, May 12 : Allowing people having no or mild COVID symptoms to go home, the Delhi government on Tuesday issued an SOP for the passengers arriving in the city by train, saying all would be requested to download the Aarogya Setu App on their mobiles, if possible.

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the passengers arriving in Delhi by trains was issued on Tuesday by Delhi government's Health and Family Welfare Department.

"All the asymptomatic persons coming into Delhi shall be allowed to go to their respective home after ascertaining they are asymptomatic," the SOP reads.

The persons who are found mild symptomatic will be informed about the 'Self or Hame Quarantine protocol' and will be directed to undergo the self or home quarantine.

"They would be requested to download the Aarogya Setu App on their mobiles." The SOP comes as the Ministry of Railways permitted the movement of trains coming to and going from Delhi.

The SOP said the detailed list of passengers with their arrival date and time, should be shared by the Railways at least one day in advance, so that necessary arrangements for the medical screening can be made.

"The Ministry of Railways will ensure that all the persons boarding the train will be compulsorily screened and only asymptomatic persons will be allowed to board the train.

At the Railway Station, maintenance of order and social distancing norms will be the responsibility of Indian Railways, the SOP said.

"Railways will set up a separate screening area with screening counters keeping the social distancing norms. Adequate number of screening counters depending upon the number of passengers arriving should be made. All required furniture should be put in the screening area and counters for the medical teams and the passengers." The government said the Railways will ensure that while deboarding of the passengers, social distancing norms are followed scrupulously and passengers are deboarded in a staggered manner so that they don't crowd the screening area.

"Further it should also be ensured by the railways that the deboarding, screening and exit from the railway station is done in an orderly manner by the passengers." It said the railways should also create a waiting area for the patients with adequate seating arrangements.

It says an adequate number of medical teams should be placed at the Railway Station.

"The DGHS would provide PPE kits, thermal guns etc., to the medical teams. The team may be formed by taking doctors from the less loaded hospitals." Also, for the persons who are found symptomatic, standard protocol for sampling, testing and quarantine SOP should be followed by the Chief District Medical Officer concerned.

From Tuesday, the railways has resumed its passenger services.

The Indian Railways started the booking for 15 pairs of Special trains on Monday and earned Rs 16.15 crore from over 45,500 tickets booked within hours.

In the initial phase, the 15 pairs of trains will run as special AC trains from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Trucking and depot businesses are returning to normal in China following some patchy recovery in the middle of February after the extension of the Chinese New Year. The national holiday was extended due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. At the same time, overseas demand has been curbed due to the spread of the virus globally.

Through the beginning of February, the coronavirus outbreak in China severely disrupted logistics in the country, creating a shortage of lorry drivers and rail freight cars.

The seaborne market showed initial improvement in port cities  including Qingdao, one of the production hubs for graphite  after February 10, whereas land transport was limited in interior provinces due to border closures and a lack of trucks and drivers.

Chinas authorities implemented measures to try to allow people to resume work while at the same time preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Logistics started to recover from late February, and with fewer Covid-19 cases in China, most market participants are reporting more normal transport conditions.

"Material shipment within China has improved a lot. The main problem for us now is that there are very few export orders for shipment," a trader of refractory-grade bauxite told Fastmarkets. "We have no closed deals after the middle of March. Now, many overseas clients have suspended operations, and inquiries are rare."

A brown fused alumina producer in Henan said: "Highways have been made toll-free at the moment, which constitutes a drop in freight. And operations at ports [in China] are not affected."

Meanwhile, a magnesia producer added: "Transportation within Liaoning has run normally since late February, and domestic transportation has no big problems. Transport fees have returned to previous normal levels as well. The problem is downstream buying remains slow, and global buyers slowed down their purchasing pace due to the impact of the spread of the virus."

Even in Wuhan, refractory operations have started to recover since April 8  the day the citys lockdown ended  albeit at a minimum level. Demand for flake graphite raw materials is expected to be back to normal by the end of April," a flake graphite trader in Shandong, China, said.

However, with the coronavirus spreading around the world, export orders for many refractory raw materials have been delayed.

"We shipped some fused alumina to Japan and South Korea last week. There seems to be a quarantine check when passing South Korea, which would result in the delay of shipments by 10-15 days," a second fused alumina producer in Henan told Fastmarkets.

"Fluorspar acidspar orders from overseas buyers have reduced, and even inquires have become fewer." a fluorspar exporter said. "Some overseas buyers worry whether the materials can pass their customs clearance at the destination port, so most of them havent placed any orders."

And a magnesia trader added: "There are no problems in delivering materials from China  the problem is some buyers countries closing their doors to control the coronavirus. My major magnesia customers are from India, and they delayed purchasing due to the [lockdown there]. I have no orders for the whole of April."

Others are saying that orders to countries such as Russia and the United States have been delayed due to concerns surrounding the unloading of material when the cargo arrives.
Every day, MySA.com compiles the latest headlines and helpful links on the COVID-19 pandemic in the San Antonio area.

An effort to boost testing, tracing: San Antonio confirmed 22 more cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths from the virus Tuesday as health officials laid out a $70 million plan to expand local testing and contact tracing.

Texas attorney general blasts local restrictions: San Antonio and Bexar County can no longer require people to stay at home, wear masks or take several other steps to slow the spread of COVID-19, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday  the latest move in the states push to neuter local governments ability to implement their own emergency restrictions.

We trust you will act quickly to correct these mistakes to avoid further confusion and litigation challenging these unconstitutional and unlawful restrictions, Paxton wrote in a letter to Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

Metro Health releases outbreak numbers at area nursing homes: At least four other local nursing homes have grappled with coronavirus infections in addition to an outbreak at the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, city officials said. 17 cases have been reported at Mission Trails, but three other facilities have also reported multiple infections, according to Metro Health.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg shares encouraging news: Following his daily briefing Monday evening, the mayor shared highlights on social media. He tweeted "Things are moving in the right direction, which is exactly why we can't let up now." The mayor reminded residents to uphold physical distancing, but to find ways to stay connected to loved ones.

UTSA has plans to reopen: The University of Texas at San Antonio will broadly reopen for the fall semester, President Taylor Eighmy said in an email to faculty and staff. At this moment the exact nature of how our campuses will open is yet to be determined, but we intend to make final decisions about our plans by the end of June, Eighmy said.

Health care worker dies due to COVID-19: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bexar County continues to rise during Bexar Countys eighth week under local stay-at-home orders, and the first health care worker at a San Antonio nursing home has died as a result of the disease. 19 new confirmed cases were reported Monday at the daily city briefing. With the death Sunday of Dorothy Davis, 60, a nurse at Southeast Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, the number of area residents who have died because of COVID-19 rose to 57. 1,920 people have now tested positive, up from 1,901 reported Sunday.

The Good Newsletter: A weekly dose of inspiring San Antonio stories, delivered to your inbox

Live Updates: A timeline of COVID-19 in San Antonio
Technavio has been monitoring the electric toothbrush market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.34 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 8% 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/20200512005550/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electric Toothbrush Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Church Dwight Co. Inc., Colgate Palmolive Co., FOREO AB, Koninklijke Philips NV, LG Electronics Inc., OMRON Corp., Panasonic Corp., Quip NYC Inc., The Procter Gamble Co., and Wellness Oral Care are some of the major market participants. The rising prevalence of periodontal diseases 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.

Rising prevalence of periodontal diseases has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Electric Toothbrush Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Electric Toothbrush Market is segmented as below:

Distribution Channel Retail Outlets Online Stores

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=IRTNTR40498

Electric Toothbrush 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 electric toothbrush market report covers the following areas:

Electric Toothbrush Market Size

Electric Toothbrush Market Trends

Electric Toothbrush Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increased marketing and promotion as the prime reasons driving the electric toothbrush market growth during the next few years.

Electric Toothbrush Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the electric toothbrush market, including some of the vendors such as Church Dwight Co. Inc., Colgate Palmolive Co., FOREO AB, Koninklijke Philips NV, LG Electronics Inc., OMRON Corp., Panasonic Corp., Quip NYC Inc., The Procter Gamble Co., and Wellness Oral Care. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the electric toothbrush market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Electric Toothbrush Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist electric toothbrush market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the electric toothbrush market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the electric toothbrush market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of electric toothbrush 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 Distribution channel

Market segments

Comparison by Distribution channel

Retail outlets Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Online stores Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Distribution channel

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

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Church Dwight Co. Inc.

Colgate Palmolive Co.

FOREO AB

Koninklijke Philips NV

LG Electronics Inc.

OMRON Corp.

Panasonic Corp.

Quip NYC Inc.

The Procter Gamble Co.

Wellness Oral Care

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

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Dr. Anthony Fauci shows off his office during Tuesdays Senate Health Committee hearing. Photo: C-SPAN/Youtube

Dr. Anthony Fauci and CDC head Dr. Robert Redfield testified in a highly anticipated hearing of the Senate Health Committee Tuesday, telling the panel of lawmakers that the threat of the coronavirus outbreak is not over and states should not move to open up too quickly.

Its important to emphasize that were not out of the woods yet, Redfield said. We need to stay vigilant with social distancing. It remains an imperative. Facuci, meanwhile, said the consequences could be really serious if states rush to reopen before meeting the White Houses guidelines.

The dire warnings from the nations top health officials made headlines, but the hearing also drew attention for its bizarre images of senators in masks and appearing at the hearing remotely. Roughly half of the lawmakers on the committee participated in the hearing in-person, with other conferencing in from home or their offices.

Committee chairman Lamar Alexander participated from Tennessee, where he is on a 14-day self-quarantine after a staffer tested positive for the coronavirus.

Many of the senators present at the hearing were not wearing masks.

Senators NOT wearing a mask while attending the COVID-19 hearing in person: Kelly Loeffler, Bill Cassidy, Richard Burr, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mike Braun, Rand Paul.  Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 12, 2020

But some were.

really digging post-apocalyptic Tim Kaine pic.twitter.com/fe5b4hnkgu  Ryan Broderick (@broderick) May 12, 2020

One senator, Maines Susan Collins, did both.

The most bipartisan Senator, @SenatorCollins has been wearing a mask, and not wearing a mask during the hearing.  Debra J. Saunders (@debrajsaunders) May 12, 2020

If you are regularly manipulating your mask by hand you are rendering it entirely ineffective pic.twitter.com/Xv09O3FIdM  Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 12, 2020

Other senators gave us a look at their homes, offices, or in the case of Bernie Sanders, the lobby of an alt-rock radio station.

bernie has a RHCP poster. pic.twitter.com/uOuVnyZPKX  Jim Newell (@jim_newell) May 12, 2020

Mitt Romney, or mitt as the video-conferencing software calls him, showed off pictures of his huge family.

Romney comes out swinging at Senate Coronavirus hearing, says the US testing rate is 'nothing to celebrate,' then dings Trump on casting blame at Obama. pic.twitter.com/d7E7Xozixe  Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) May 12, 2020

Mike Enzi showed off his fish portraits.

.@SenatorEnzi currently questioning the witnesses via video conference as well. pic.twitter.com/94SGo80bJi  Taylor J. Swift (@Taylor_J_Swift) May 12, 2020

Like their colleagues in the Supreme Court, some senators working from home are still getting familiar with Zooms mute button.

Dogs  barking over Senators trying to ask Dr Fauci and other health officials questions is the only thing to like about 2020.   Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) May 12, 2020

The barking dogs in the background make the Senate hearing unlike any other.  Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) May 12, 2020

The prime suspect? Lamar Alexanders dog Rufus.

That fluffy bit in the bottom right-hand corner just stretched and appears to be @SenAlexander's dog. pic.twitter.com/FYjh5qhEJM  Robin Bravender (@rbravender) May 12, 2020

Rand Paul, the only member of the Senate to test positive for COVID-19, was one of the committee members in attendance. During his time to question the witnesses, he criticized the nationwide response to the virus, noting that outside of New England, we have had a relatively benign course for this virus. He also argued that experts need to have some humility about what they dont know before asserting with confidence that the virus is a threat to children.

Fauci took issue with that point. We dont know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children, he said. I think we better be careful, if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.

Sen. Paul argues school decisions should be made district by district, tells Dr. Fauci: I don't think you're the end all.



Fauci: "I'm a scientist... I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects." pic.twitter.com/GQuDXkPR3N  MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 12, 2020
Regularising migrants thwarts gangmasters says Conte Combats black labour, protects health in emergency -PM's office

(ANSAmed) - Rome, May 12 - Regularising migrant farm workers thwarts gangmasters, Premier Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday.



The government reached a deal Sunday night to regularised such seasonal workers, as well as migrant home helps and carers, for six months on an application from their employer and with a record of past employment, but the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) scotched the accord Monday saying it amounted to an unacceptable amnesty. Conte said regularising the workers who pick most of Italy's summer crops "combats black labour and protects our health in the "coronavirus) emergency", according to a statement from the premier's office.



The statement noted that the centre-right opposition, which is also against such regularisation, had regularised migrant workers in the past itself. (ANSAmed)
TORONTO, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: RPX) ("Red Pine" or the "Company") announces the discovery of a new mineralized gold zone, beneath the Surluga Deposit1, during its on-going exploration program at its Wawa Gold Project, located 2 kilometres southeast of Wawa, Ontario. Hole SD-20-289 successfully intersected the Jubilee Shear Zone (host of the Surluga Deposit), 350 metres down-plunge of the current resource boundaries, with a significant intercept of 5.2 g/t gold over 6.31 metres (true width) at a depth of 570 metres. Hole SD-20-287 intersected 4.1 g/t gold over 0.94 metres (true width) below 450 metres depth.

These new drilling results indicate that high-grade gold mineralization extends at depth, well beyond the footprint of the current resource of the Surluga Deposit, and that the resource can be expanded (Figure 1).

The 2020 exploration program is funded and drilling is expected to restart in the next 2 weeks. Remaining drilling assays from the Winter 2020 program and results of the upcoming down-hole IP survey will be announced as they are received.

Quentin Yarie, Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine stated, "Following the results from holes 285A and 286, todays results from hole 289 represent more definitive evidence that the higher-grade core of the Surluga Deposit extends well beyond the footprint of the current resource. Finding this extension, early in our exploration program, validates the accuracy of our predictive modelling of the Jubilee Shear Zone. Our next holes will test the area up- and down-plunge of this discovery to quantify the extension and grade of the discovery in hole 289. Targeting will be supported by the interpretation of the borehole IP geophysical program that is starting this week.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4852519c-ca72-4431-8807-62e6458e8e4e

Table 1. Highlights of reported drill results

Hole From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m)* True

Width

(m) Visible

gold Gold

(g/t) Zone SD-20-287 457.46 458.44 0.98 0.94 Yes 4.1 Jubilee Shear Zone 463.48 464.46 0.98 0.94 2.1 473.37 483.65 10.28 9.87 0.3 SD-20-289 565.00 572.01 7.01 6.31 5.2 Jubilee Shear Zone Including 568.35 569.54 1.19 1.07 15.7 571.14 572.01 0.87 0.78 12.5 574.00 586.30 12.30 11.07 0.3

Table 2. Coordinates of reported holes

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth (m) SD-20-287 668429 5315608 363.7 307 -62 511 SD-20-288 668429 5315608 363.7 338 -62 529 SD-20-289 668421 5315482 347.8 276 -78 652

Holes SD-20-287 and SD-20-289 were targeting the down-plunge extension of the southernmost limit of the Surluga Deposit resource.

Hole SD-20-287 intersected a large diabase dyke in the upper 20 metres of the Jubilee Shear Zone. There is evidence of stronger alteration and mineralization at the lower contact of the diabase dyke with the Jubilee Shear suggesting that the dyke could occupy a zone of higher-grade mineralization within the structure. The higher-grade gold results in hole 287 came from a 0.7-metre quartz vein in which specks of visible gold were observed. A 10.28 metre-wide halo of low-grade gold mineralization characterized by spaced quartz veins, disseminated pyrite, and weak-moderate biotite/sericite was also intersected in the Jubilee Shear Zone, further down-hole of the diabase dyke.

Hole SM-20-288 was testing the expected limits of the projected plunge of the Surluga Deposit resource. No zones of strong alteration or mineralization were observed in that hole.

Hole SD-20-289 intersected gold 40 metres away from the gold intercept in Hole SD-20-286 (Figure 2). In the Jubilee Shear Zone, it hit a 7 metres zone characterized by stronger quartz veining associated with pervasive dissemination of pyrite, locally arsenopyrite, and moderate to strong biotite/sericite alteration. The upper part of the zone is cut by a 4 metre-wide lamprophyre dyke. High-grade gold mineralization is associated with alteration assemblages variably comprised of biotite/sericite-quartz veining-pyrite and sericite-quartz veining-arsenopyrite. A 12.3 metre-wide halo of low-grade gold mineralization characterized by spaced quartz veins, disseminated pyrite, and weak-moderate biotite/sericite alteration is located below the higher-grade zone in SD-20-289. Below the Jubilee Shear Zone, a new shear zone was intersected with pyrite mineralization and spaced quartz veining. Assays are pending for that shear zone and will be released when received.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8b7c52f0-b3eb-4ce2-b820-f180d74fad5a

On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Measures

Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses to Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Ancaster, Ontario. Individual samples are labeled, placed in plastic sample bags and sealed. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags and then shipped. The remaining coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage if further work or verification is needed.

Red Pine has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to random standards, blanks, and duplicates.

Qualified Person

Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About Red Pine Exploration Inc.

Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold and base-metals exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RPX".

Red Pine has a 64.5% interest in the Wawa Gold Project with Citabar LP. holding the remaining 35.5% interest. Red Pine is the operating manager of the Project and is focused on expanding the existing gold resource on the property.

For more information about the Company visit www.redpineexp.com

Or contact:

Quentin Yarie, CEO, (416) 364-7024, qyarie@redpineexp.com

Or Mia Boiridy, President, (416) 364-7024, mboiridy@redpineexp.com

1Wawa Gold Project resource of 1,307,000 tonnes @ 5.47 g/t gold for 230,000 ounces in the indicated category and 2,716,000 tonnes @ 5.39 g/t gold for 471,000 ounces in the inferred category (National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Wawa Gold Project, Brian Thomas P.Geo. Golder Associates Ltd, effective July 16, 2019)

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, should, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential or continue or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industrys actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The curve has yet to flatten in northwestern New Mexico, despite efforts to lock down Gallup and find safe housing where virus patients can self-isolate.

Combined, McKinley and San Juan counties continue to account for the vast majority of New Mexicos cases, including 136 of 207 additional COVID-19 cases reported on Monday.

Health officials announced eight additional deaths Monday. The state now has 5,069 cases and 208 deaths, 121 of which have been of patients from those two counties.

This is hard for the community, and people are scared, said Dr. Sriram Shamasunder, part of a San Francisco health care team that is working shifts at the 100-bed Gallup Indian Medical Center and the 60-bed Indian Health Services hospital in Chinle, Arizona.

At this time, providers really want to have a human connection with the patient, but everything is muffled through a mask, he told the Journal. With elderly Navajo folks, especially, we watch their eyes to judge if theyre scared or calm.

Many of the critical COVID-19 patients in the area are transported to Albuquerque or Flagstaff. Caring for intubated patients requires additional staff, equipment and space that the Gallup IHS hospital, with six ICU beds, doesnt have, Shamasunder said.

Its common for Gallup doctors to treat family clusters of Navajo COVID-19 patients  in one instance, four generations of relatives contracted the virus. The Navajo Nation had 3,122 confirmed cases Sunday and 100 deaths in its multi-state area that spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

It is frustrating to send those patients away, Shamasunder said. I treated a 44-year-old man here in Gallup who had been sick for 12 days, and finally he was just too short of breath. He told me, I dont want to die. I told him we were going to do everything to keep that from happening. He was intubated the next morning and flown to Albuquerque.

Four of the eight deaths announced Monday were in McKinley County. The state also reported a death in Cibola County, one in Socorro County and two in Bernalillo County.

The eight victims ranged in age from their 30s to their 90s. Six of them had an underlying medical condition and seven had been hospitalized.

State officials reported that 207 people are hospitalized with the disease and 1,300 have recovered.

Shamasunder said the pandemic lays bare the inequities in tribal communities. He cited underfunding of IHS, lack of water infrastructure and broken government treaties as factors that make tribes and pueblos vulnerable.

Directly across from Gallup Indian Medical Center is the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services hospital. CEO David Conejo told the Journal last week that at least 19 staff at the 60-bed hospital have tested positive for the virus.

Searchlight New Mexico reported last week that a group of Rehoboth medical staff is concerned about what they say is dangerous understaffing and mismanagement of patients. On Friday, KOB reported that seven doctors at a protest threatened to quit unless the CEO resigns.

When asked about the allegations, Conejo told the Journal that he does not want to dismiss concerns of staff, who, for whatever reason, feel disenchanted.

We worked like crazy to create a plan for using the hub and spoke model, Conejo said. We asked ourselves questions like: What if Gallup Indian Medical Center gets a deluge of patients, can we take more on? What if our rooms are filled? What if the alternative care sites become full? If all of a sudden, there are patients coming from everywhere, how can we work with hospitals in other cities? 

Rehoboth also moves critical patients to Albuquerque and Flagstaff hospitals. Patient overflow is also managed at a 60-bed alternative care site at Gallups Miyamura High School.

Dan McKay contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:52:41|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Solomon Islands' national carrier, Solomon Airlines has announced that the suspension on their international flights will be extended till July 15 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued.

The suspension was originally planned to end on May 31, however, after consulting with the Solomon Islands government, management decided to extend for a further seven weeks.

"This action has been taken in consultation with the Solomon Islands Government and is a necessary precaution due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the resulting current border restrictions," Solomon Airlines Manager Commercial Colin Sigimanu said Monday.

However, he added that the suspension could be terminated earlier if the situation becomes more favorable to international flights.

"We will continue to closely monitor border restrictions in place with our Pacific neighbours and we will provide further updates if there are any changes to this time frame," he said.

As of Tuesday, Solomon Islands remained one of few countries in the world free of COVID-19, with the government taking extensive measures to keep it that way for fears that a local outbreak could overstretch the nation's public health system. Enditem
Ramkrishna Badseshi By

Express News Service

KALABURAGI: If it is not possible to verify the documents and information to let us return to our homes, please erase the seal on our hands and return the documents. We will be more than happy to go back to Mumbai and let the fate decide our next step, these were the angst full words of a migrant couple who were shouting at the officials collecting documents at the checkpost to fulfil the procedure of allowing in the migrants at the border.

As is the procedure, the personnel collect the documents like Aadhaar card to upload the details on Seva Sindhu app to send the migrant labourers who have arrived from Mumbai and Pune at Maharashtra- Karnataka border on Monday. Sources said that in the last three days, 3,000 such labourers has arrived at the border, longing to return home.



Migrant labourers who have started coming from Mumbai and Pune to Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts through border village Hiroli of Aland taluk (Kalaburagi district) are facing problem due to the shortage of officials as well as buses to carry them to their native villages.

It has become common to witness the buses, cars and even two-wheelers stranded on the highway. Many labourers who left their native in search of jobs in Mumbai in December, lost their bread in March due to the coronavirus outbreak. Somehow they managed to keep themselves for one-and-a-half month and it was just a week ago they started to travel back home as things became difficult.

However after the Karnataka and Maharashtra governments consented for the travel of migrants three days ago, not only the migrant labourers, people irrespective of class have started to drive back home only to escape from the damocles sword on their head. Due to shortage of buses, the NEKRTC is forced to throw social distance norms aboard to wind. This has also become a point of disappointment to the people who have come in cars. According to eyewitnesses, some people were taking a detour through agricultural fields to avoid checkpost and institutional quarantine.
PHILADELPHIA  Mary Johnson died in 2018. Last week, her heirs received a stimulus check in the mail for $1,200 payable to Mary L. Johnson Decd.

We had a good laugh about it, said her son, Tim Martin Johnson of Philadelphia. Shes been gone two years. We laughed about how the check actually said Deceased on it.

After the laughter died down, Johnson  who was the executor of his mothers estate  was faced with a quandary.

I tried to figure out what to do, he said. I was pretty sure we couldnt accept it.

During the last month, the Internal Revenue Service has paid out more than $207 billion in Economic Impact Payments to individuals as part of the $2 trillion pandemic package known as the CARES Act.

But the act was written so quickly that no one bothered to ensure that money wouldnt be sent to the dead, said Nina Olson, a former IRS official and current executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights.

Olson estimates that the IRS may have mailed thousands of checks, potentially worth tens of millions of dollars, to people who the agency should have known had breathed their last.

Sure, the government would like the money back. After all, Its a bit of an embarrassment when so many of the living are struggling economically through the pandemic to be sending checks to the dead.

But tax experts said last week that the issue is a little more complicated. Theres nothing in the law that would require the return, they say.

And the government has made the same mistake before.

Nearly 2.8 million Americans died in 2018, the last year that the number of deaths was available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its unknown how many of the deceased received relief money in recent weeks.

Whether someone received a check was dependent on whether they  or their estate  had filed a tax return in 2019 or 2018.

Its terrible because were dealing with human beings who are still struggling with a recent loss in their lives, said Olson. Its part of what happens when you have to get money out quickly. You know youre going to be inaccurate.

Whether the checks must be returned may be a matter of personal conscience.

Youre not supposed to keep that payment, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal in a story published April 28. Were checking the databases, but there could be a scenario where we missed something, and yes, the heirs should be returning that money.

It took the IRS until May 6 to post information on its website FAQ asking heirs to comply.

But the IRS cant do much more than ask, said Martin Abo, of accounting firm Abo & Co. LLC in Mount Laurel, N.J., and Philadelphia.

Its unclear whether you would actually have to do it. Theres really nothing in the law to say you have to give it back, said Abo, who has received multiple inquiries about the checks written to the dead. But stand advised.

Olson, of Taxpayers Rights, concurred. Theres no legal interpretation, she said. I dont know how theyre basing their decision to ask for the money back.

Every week, the IRS receives a master death file of every American who has died.

They know these persons are deceased, Olson said. Now someone in their families is being told they have to go to the post office, stand in line, and mail the check back? Its very disturbing.

She said it is unlikely the IRS would pursue the stimulus money that it had erroneously awarded.

It will cost more to file the suits than its worth, Olson said.

History also indicates that little will be done to recover the money. In 2008, the Department of the Treasury sent rebate checks of $300 to $600 to millions of Americans, many of them long dead.

Olson, then the National Taxpayer Advocate, for the IRS, testified before Congress about the mix-up. During questioning, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, pointed out that his late mother had been granted $300. The IRS then did not make an effort to have that money returned.

Just like 12 years ago, (the law) could have said dont send it to people who are deceased, Olson said. But they didnt. Now theyre putting it on the taxpayers of the world to correct the mistake.

Johnson, whose late mother, Mary, was issued the check, said he and his siblings weighed their options. They decided to do the moral thing.

Theres no way my family would keep it. We wouldnt feel right about doing that, Johnson said. We sealed it back up and sent it back.

Sam Wood of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote this story.

2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With growing food security concerns among New York Citys most vulnerable, Mayor Bill de Blasio visited a Project Hospitality site in Stapleton serving as many as 300 meals a day.

The Rev. Terry Troia, who heads the organization, said she was grateful for the mayors visit, and for the continued partnership with elected officials during the coronavirus pandemic.

Were just overwhelmed and deeply honored that he chose us, and just very proud that he served here, she said. Its a much greater problem, and its got longevity to it. This is not a one day crisis.

In addition to serving approximately 100 people each meal time, Troia said the organization, which works to help the boroughs hungry, homeless, or otherwise in need, is also doing food pantry work for more people than ever on Staten Island/

Troia said their Thursday night food pantry went from serving about 60 people in March to 230 families last week.

Thankfully, she said, the organization has gotten help from elected officials throughout the pandemic as demand for food and homeless services continue to increase.

Joined by State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore) and Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore), de Blasio spent about a half hour at the site addressing staff and handing out meals. Savino noted the multiple crises she and the mayor had faced during their shared time in office.

(Project Hospitality) has helped thousands of Staten Islanders over and over and over again, Savino said. All of those crises that weve faced together seem like theyre all happening at once now.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Spokespersons for the mayor said that Project Hospitality was one of two Island organizations, along with Community Health Action, chosen for daily deliveries of 250 boxes of groceries from Fresh Direct paid for by the city.

Borough President James Oddo also announced a partnership with the food delivery giant in March to bring 400 daily meals to CHASI and Catholic Charities for distribution to needy Staten Islanders.

A mayoral spokesman said the mayors office is providing 2,500 boxes of groceries to Staten Island food pantries each day -- 500 go to pantries chosen in partnership with Oddo.

Project Hospitality is also receiving eight pallets of food per week, and will receive part of the $25 million in grant money approved by the city, according to the mayors office.

At its 50 grab and go meal hubs and one kosher site, the city has served Staten Islanders approximately 440,000 meals, and delivered 250,000 meals via its emergency delivery program.

As the impacts of coronavirus shutdowns continue to grow, particularly on the economy and food supply chain, Troia said she is worried about the growing impact.

The hunger is very real. The potential food shortage is also very real," Troia said. The goal here is avoid homelessness at all costs, but I dont know how avoidable thats going to be.
Picture a single mother working two jobs to provide basic necessities like food and shelter for her children. Now picture the faces of her children looking up into their mothers eyes when she tells them she has no job to go to anymore.

Picture a long-suffering patient who finally got to the head of the line for surgery  only to be told to wait even longer. As Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, health policy researcher at Stanford University, summed it up bluntly, Depressions are deadly for people. Especially poor people.

Over 30 million people  mothers, fathers, grandparents, students  have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 reaction administered by Americas state governments. But these are not just lost wages; they will lead to lost lives. Of course, those hardest hit are the low-income, working-class individuals, especially in the service, retail, manufacturing and transportation industries. It is la gente and those living paycheck to paycheck who are threatened with unprecedented economic devastation.

While the governor deserves credit for being responsive to the public by loosening guidelines on some so-called nonessential businesses, it is still too limited to do much good. Frustratingly, instead of developing a safe and pragmatic plan, she has seemingly forgotten small and local businesses while giving special treatment to big-box retailers by allowing them to remain open.

Our local mom-and-pop stores are crucial economic engines in our state and are the backbone to many New Mexico communities. By excluding small businesses that are willing and able to follow state guidelines  and are often more innovative and nimble than big-box stores  the state government-mandated shutdown seems overly punitive and heavy-handed. A recent attempt to make an example of a Grants pawn shop by fining the small-business owner $60,000 is counterproductive and will only fuel the growing unrest of those who feel their plights are being ignored.

Economist Thomas Sowell is famous for saying, There are no solutions in life, only trade-offs. This debate has become about being safe vs. sorry, about people over profit. But the truth is, it is not about choosing between protecting lives and making money, it is actually about how many lives will be lost due to COVID-19 compared to how many lives will be lost and ruined due to poverty.

The feasibility and desirability of policy alternatives must be understood in terms of the trade-offs among their benefits and costs. Thus, it is important for the governor and her newly appointed Economic Recovery Council to be open and transparent in their decision-making process, including economic assumptions and modeling predictions relating to the spread of the virus.

This transparency will allow New Mexicans to better understand and ultimately buy in to the reasoning behind the policy decisions, which stands in contrast to the mounting frustration around the state toward mandates that appear arbitrary and unfair.

After all, giving New Mexicans hope through a fair and transparent plan to reopen our economy as soon as possible may be just as vital a remedy as any medical intervention in mitigating the long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hispanos Unidos is a non-partisan grassroots organization.
A number of passengers on an Iberia Express flight between Madrid and the Canary Island of Gran Canaria have taken to social media to complain about the conditions under which they were forced to fly on Sunday. The plane was nearly full, with no possibility of observing social-distancing measures recommended in order to avoid coronavirus contagion.

On the basis of these complaints, Spains Civil Guard has filed a report with the central governments delegation for allegedly failing to comply with the regulations set out under the state of alarm, which was implemented on March 14 by the Spanish government in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Varios pasajeros de un vuelo de Madrid a Canarias se quejan de que el avion iba casi lleno A video of passengers complaining about the conditions of the Iberia Express flight.

The plane was found to be flying in excess of 70% of its capacity, and safe distancing was not being observed between passengers. That said, the regulations are not clear about flights connecting the Iberian peninsula with Spains Canary and Balearic islands. Former flag carrier Iberia, which owns Iberia Express, claims that the flight met all safety requirements.

Passengers have complained via social media that, despite being separated at the airport, no one had informed them that they would be flying in these conditions on the plane. The Civil Guard showed up at the Gando airport in Gran Canaria in order to check these complaints. Flights to the islands are currently permitted for reasons of force majeure, provided that a passenger can produce a document accounting for the reasons they must take the trip.

EL PAIS consulted the Health Ministry about the regulations, and was referred to the latest Official State Gazette (BOE) published on Sunday regarding transport. The order sets out regulations for flights between Spains Canary and Balearic islands, but says nothing about limits for flights to and from the peninsula.

The BOE instead states that these flights are subject to the measures published on March 17, at the outset of the state of alarm. These rules left the safety measures necessary in the hands of the airlines themselves, and ascribed the regional premiers of the Canaries and the Balearics with the authority to adopt the necessary inspection measures.

The Transportation Ministry has opened an investigation into the flight and has requested occupation data from the company and the measures that it adopted to avoid contagion, sources from the ministry have stated.

In a press release issued on Monday, Iberia Express said that it had met with the guidelines included in the state of alarm and added that it has a coronavirus action plan that guarantees the safety of its passengers.

Meanwhile, a passenger on an Air Europa flight covering the Ibiza-Palma route in the Balearic Islands has also filed a complaint with the Civil Guard, alleging that the aircraft was too full of passengers to observe social distancing rules. The woman, who took the flight on Monday, said that there were 60 passengers on board an aircraft with seating for 70.

Sources at the government delegation in the Balearics have confirmed that the Civil Guard is processing the complaint. The Transportation Ministry said in an order released on Sunday that airlines must fly their planes at 50% of capacity on their Canary Islands and Balearic Islands routes.

The Civil Guard filed reports in April against both Air Europa and Iberia Express for violating safe distances between passengers on two flights that landed in Ibiza.

On Sunday, both the Madrid region and Gran Canaria were still in Phase 0 of the governments coronavirus deescalation plan, but the latter moved to Phase 1 on Monday. Since the start of the state of alarm, flights between the peninsula and the Canary Islands have been reduced to just a few a week, and passengers must justify their reasons for travel. Tourist trips are not permitted.

Flying after confinement Flights after the coronavirus confinement period is over will be very similar to those before the pandemic, but they are likely to be a lot more uncomfortable and with much longer waits. Passengers will have to get used to the obligatory use of a mask, the elimination of on-board services, and measures such as temperature checks or a so-called immunity passport. But airlines have rejected leaving seats free on flights, as some governments are calling for, warning that this would lead to the bankruptcy of most companies or require a price rise of 50% when it comes to tickets. Spanish airline Iberia is warning customers that are due to fly with it in the coming days of the need to wear a mask, something that is compulsory under the latest decree issued by the Spanish government for all modes of public transport. Masks will have to be worn during the boarding process and the flight, and passengers will not be allowed on board without one. Iberia has also reorganized its lines for passengers who are waiting to check their luggage, to board or to speak to customer service, with plastic screens installed at check-in desks. On board, new cleaning treatments have been introduced with particular focus on surfaces, bathrooms and crew areas. In order to reduce physical contact, onboard sales have been suspended, as well as the distribution of magazines and catalogues. On flights of less than four hours, meal services have also been suspended, while blankets and pillows are no longer distributed. Disposable materials are being used on long-haul flights, with all fabrics being cleaned after each use. The former flag carrier has also begun to test its employees for the coronavirus, and will carry out 2,500 during the month of May on its workers in airports, maintenance and crew. This will continue over the year as its workforce returns, to include nearly 17,000 employees.

English version by Simon Hunter.
D owning Street has condemned as "despicable" an attack on a railway ticket office worker who died after contracting coronavirus.

Wife and mother Belly Mujinga, 47, was on the concourse of London's Victoria station on March 22 when a member of the public claiming to have Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague.

Both women fell ill with the disease within days of the attack, and Ms Mujinga died in hospital in Barnet on April 5.

Boris Johnson's spokesman said the Prime Minister's thoughts were with her family, adding: "It is despicable for a key worker to be attacked in this way while serving the travelling public."

British Transport Police are now searching for the suspect  seven weeks later  amid suggestions that bosses at Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) initially failed to call emergency services over the incident, despite Ms Mujingas request.

Her husband, Lusamba Gode Katalay, described how the suspect walked up to Ms Mujinga and spat in her face.

He said: The man asked her what she was doing, why she was there, and she said they were working.

The man said he had the virus and spat on them. They reported it to their supervisor. Belly came home and told me everything.

Belly Mujinga, 47, died of coronavirus after being admitted to Barnet Hospital / PA

Mr Katalay said his wife had an operation four years ago and had underlying respiratory problems. Within a week of the incident, she began to feel ill and was admitted to hospital on April 2.

That was the last time I saw her, Mr Katalay said. We just said, Be good, and that God is in charge.

We did a WhatsApp video in hospital, but then I didnt hear from her again. I thought she might be asleep, but the doctor phoned me to tell me she had died.

So far, 42 Transport for London (TfL) workers have died with Covid-19, in addition to 10 Network Rail staff.

Mr Katalay said: She was a good person, a good mother, and a good wife. She gave her friendship to many people. She was a caring person and would take care of everybody.

Ms Mujinga was originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and moved to the UK in 2000.

Her husband and daughter Ingrid, 11, were two of only 10 people permitted at her funeral on April 29.

She died while on duty / PA

Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) paid tribute to Ms Mujinga during a Commons debate on Covid-19.

She said: I know that the whole House will join me in paying tribute to Belly Mujinga, a ticket checker at Victoria station who died after contracting coronavirus from a traveller who spat at her.

We are asking a huge amount of our transport workers, were now asking them to keep us safe as we return to work.

Ms Olney said she had written with the support of other MPs to Mr Shapps and mayor of London Sadiq Khan to call for PPE for transport workers to protect them as they go about their essential work

Her union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), said it has reported the incident to the Railways Inspectorate, the safety arm of the Office for Road and Rail (ORR), for investigation, and is taking legal advice.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: We are shocked and devastated at Bellys death. She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus.

There are serious questions about her death, it wasnt inevitable.

As a vulnerable person in the at-risk category, and her condition known to her employer, there are questions about why she wasnt stood down from frontline duties early on in this pandemic.

Rather than talking about the easing the lockdown, the Government must first ensure that the right precautions and protections have been taken so that more lives are not lost.

Our rail industry needs to have a very serious look at what tasks are deemed essential and must put protections in place for all our members and our passengers.

A BTP spokesman said: British Transport Police have now launched an investigation into a report of two members of rail staff being spat at while working at London Victoria station on March 22.

Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 405040 and quoting reference 359 of 11/05/20.
YEREVAN, 12 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 12 May, USD exchange rate up by 1.13 drams to 487.15 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.84 drams to 527.05 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 6.63 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.45 drams to 600.56 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 41.55 drams to 26668.87 drams. Silver price up by 7.82 drams to 241.9 drams. Platinum price up by 11.87 drams to 11856.31 drams.
(Natural News) President Trump and top Trump administration officials are setting the stage for wartime retaliation against communist China for Chinas launching of biological warfare against the United States. The goal of this effort is to cause the collapse of the communist regime, which is widely known as the most evil, dishonest and malicious government on the planet.

Consider what we know so far:

The Wuhan coronavirus was engineered in the Wuhan virology lab in communist China.

The virus was deliberately engineered with gain-of-function properties to infect and kill humans.

After releasing the virus, the Chinese government desperately sought to hide its origins by destroying evidence and executing whistleblowers.

At the same time, communist China was conspiring with the WHO to make sure the rest of the world would have a delayed response to the virus by refusing to declare the pandemic a pandemic.

During all this, China was aggressively buying up PPE supplies all around the world, making sure other nations would experience extreme shortages in masks and other protective equipment as they tried to handle accelerating outbreaks.

China also leaned on the WHO to criticize any national efforts to block flights from China, characterizing such moves as racist. This allowed infected Chinese to rapidly spread the virus around the world.

Even as its own people were widely infected, China continued to run hundreds of flights per day to major cities around the world, including Madrid, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Rio Grande and even Moscow. This was Chinas way of exporting the pandemic to other nations .

. Chinas goals of disrupting the US economy, hurting Trumps chances of re-election and creating economic chaos were all achieved in just a few months.

China launched a biological Pearl Harbor against the United States

Now, President Trump has correctly described the Wuhan coronavirus attack as a Pearl Harbor against the United States, saying, This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. Thats important language to recognize, because its the language of war. Similarly, in numerous White House pandemic press briefings, Trump has referred to the pandemic as a war.

Now, we can add Peter Navarros comments to the mix, with Navarro saying recently on Fox & Friends:

We are at war, make no mistake about that. The Chinese unleashed a virus on the world.

As RT reports:

The rhetoric against China from both Republicans and White House officials has become especially accusatory in recent days.

This is on top of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeatedly insisting there is enormous evidence that the Wuhan coronavirus was engineered in a Chinese lab. He also warns that China tried to hide the origins of the virus.

As The Independent reports:

Mr Pompeos statements about the origins of the virus mirror the words of his boss, Donald Trump, who claimed last Thursday that he has seen evidence the coronavirus originated from a medical laboratory in Wuhan.

We can confirm that the Chinese Communist Party did all that it could to make sure that the world didnt learn in a timely fashion about what was taking place, Mr Pompeo said. Weve seen the fact that they kicked the journalists out. We saw the fact that those who were trying to report on this, medical professionals inside of China, were silenced. They shut down reporting.In March, Beijing tightened its censorship process surrounding medical research of the virus and its origins. It has also taken down various scientific research papers on the virus that were previously published on the web.

Finally, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, an extremely high-IQ individual who has deep intelligence contacts in Taiwan, is now saying the communist regime (CCP) is headed for collapse.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Bannon says: (emphasis added)

We dont have to have the economy in China collapse. What we have to do is have the Chinese communist party collapse

You may have some perturbations as China reorganizes and gets a new government. It will be like Eastern Europe and these places after the fall of the Soviet union. But think how great it would be with the Chinese people being free, having democracy and having true freedom and not having to have a firewall, not having to have social credit scores and not having everybody like the great hero, Dr. Li (who had to) face torture and had to sign a confession that he was a rumor monger. All that goes away. May the economy go down slightly? Yeah. The economy may go down. Its not going to be perfect at first, but look, the economy is collapsing in China anyway because of the actions of the Chinese communist party and what they did in this pandemic.

The first quarter in China has been terrible. The second quarter has been terrible. The factories arent back up and the workers dont feel safe. Remember we have another whole wave of this in China and its not affecting the guys in Beijing because they have total quarantine. If you go out to the fifth ring or sixth ring, you cant get back into the area around the forbidden city. Its like a quarantine, right? Because they want to protect themselves. They know how deadly this virus is. So this shows you the hypocrisy of the leadership of the Chinese communist party.

Thats what this pandemic, the good that can come out of this pandemic is the freedom of the Chinese people. And people have to understand if you support the Chinese communist party, youre racist, if you support the Chinese communist party, youre a xenophobe because you are supporting the worst people on earth to suppress the 1.4 billion people in China. And youre going to be held accountable. Anybody that backs the regime is going to be held accountable. Okay? Theres absolutely no doubt this regime is going to fall. Just like the Nazis fell just like Mussolini and the fascists fell, just like the commissars and the Soviet union fell. They always fall. The Chinese communist party is the next one to get kicked into the dustbin of history.

It begs the question: Does Bannon know something about imminent action against China?

Its all leading up to war against China

The upshot of all this is that Trump and his top officials are setting the stage for retaliatory action against China. Any form of retaliation would be justified under the truth that China launched the first attack wave against the United States by releasing the Wuhan coronavirus and then deliberately spreading it around the world, including to the United States.

The bioweapons attack has caused trillions of dollars in economic damage in the United States alone, and it has killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world  a number that will almost certainly turn to millions of deaths once the virus completes its rampage across Africa, Mexico and South America.

When attacked with a weapon of mass destruction from an enemy nation, the United States has many options for retaliatory strikes:

Economic weapons such as embargoes and trade restrictions.

Financial weapons such as nullifying US Treasuries held by China.

Geopolitical weapons such as increasing weapon funding and supply for Taiwan.

In an even more enticing scenario, the USA could end its official recognition of China and switch its recognition to Taiwan as the rightful China.

Cyber weapons, including cyber attacks on Chinas infrastructure.

Kinetic weapons, including targeted cruise missile strikes on Chinas virology labs.

Nuclear weapons, which might include tactical nukes that target communist government strongholds.

Whats clear is that before war is initiated, a war of words is used to establish the justification of the real war to follow. And that war of words is what were seeing now from Navarro, Pompeo and Trump himself. Its a strong indication that acts of war are in the works and might be deployed without warning.

My recent interview with JR Nyquist provides further evidence that war with China may be imminent:

Once China collapses, so will the Big Tech censorship regime that takes orders from Beijing

It is time, after all, for the world to isolate communist China and deliberately work to achieve the collapse of that evil, anti-human regime. The collapse of China would also set off enormous shockwaves of freedom around the world as Chinas puppets  which include Google, Facebook, Twitter, the Vatican and more  all experience a simultaneous disconnect from the commie bosses who tell them what to do.

At least one-third of the US Congress would also experience sudden withdrawal, as they are communist puppets who do the bidding of China. And Sen. Feinsteins office in California would find itself with nothing to do, since it only serves the interests of China, too.

The bottom line is that communist Chinas existence is irreconcilable with human freedom, and the implosion of the communist regime would not only set free the 1.4 billion Chinese who live under the oppression of tyranny, it would also end communist Chinas infiltration and control over countless institutions around the world that are now allied against humanity: Big Tech, the Vatican, US universities, the US Congress, Hollywood and so on.

In essence, China is the greatest enemy of humanity, and if Trump, Pompeo and others were to find a way to obliterate the communist Chinese regime while freeing the Chinese people, it would be the greatest gift to humankind that we could possibly imagine.

End the CCP. Free humanity. And read The Epoch Times.
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Gratomic Inc. ("GRAT" or the "Company") (TSXV:GRAT)(FRANKFURT:CB81)(WKN:A143MR) further to the Company's Press Releases dated April 8, 2020, April 21, 2020 and April 22, 2020 relating to the proposed Offering and debt settlement referred to in those press releases, the Company will be extending the closing of the Offering for a further 30 days from today's date. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic (as referred to in the Company's press release of April 24, 2020), the Company as well as First Republic Capital Corporation, the lead finder of the Offering, are experiencing delays in obtaining information from Namibia necessary to close the Offering. The Company will issue a further press release when any further information is available with respect to the timing of the closing of the Offering.

About Gratomic Inc.

Gratomic is an advanced materials company focused on mine to market commercialization of graphite products most notably high value graphene-based components for a range of mass market products. We have a Joint Venture collaboration with Perpetuus Carbon Technology, a leading European manufacturer of graphenes, to use Aukam graphite to manufacture graphene products for commercialization on an industrial scale. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GRAT.

For more information: visit the website at www.gratomic.ca or contact:

Arno Brand at abrand@gratomic.ca or 416 561-4095

"Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).

SOURCE: Gratomic Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589538/Gratomic-Extends-Closing-of-Non-Brokered-Offering
Representative image

The labour law changes initiated in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) are steps that will give huge flexibility to industry in their labour practices, according to industry body CII.

"Coming at such disruptive times, when livelihoods have come under pressure and multitudes of people have had to move away from their work places, these new policy interventions will come as a huge relief to economic activity," Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

Banerjee also said that there is a need to re-skill and map workers who have been displaced and re-employ them as per the needs of the industry.

"The ordinance in UP and the new relaxations in the norms in MP will give industry the adapt and rise to the new economic realities swiftly," Banerjee said.

Track this blog for latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak

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

With the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic gradually unfolding, the Madhya Pradesh government on May 7 granted companies various concessions to meet labour requirements during this period.

It gave flexibility to companies to hire and fire employees, exemptions from labour department inspections, exemptions from maintenance of registers, and has allowed extended shift timings.

This was followed by the Uttar Pradesh government approving an ordinance on May 8 to exempt various industries in the state from different labour laws for three years to revive the state's economic activities.

The ordinance exempts factories, businesses, establishments and industries from the purview of all, except three labour laws and one provision of another Act for three years.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
A teenager who lives with two people confirmed to have coronavirus and is charged with breaking Covid-19 movement restrictions was granted bail today, Tuesday, May12).

Aaron Tyrell (19) from Woodhazel Close, Ballymun, Dublin, is charged with four counts of breaching the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill 2020. He denies the charges.

Mr Tyrell was told by a garda on April 8, a day after the laws were introduced, that he could not be away from his home unnecessarily.

The accused was also seen by gardai hanging around at the Omni Shopping Centre in Santry, Dublin on April 8 and he allegedly breached the law again on April 13 and April 21.

In relation to the alleged offences, the accused did not say he was exercising or going shopping and he had no explanation for being out, Dublin District Court previously heard.

The High Court heard today that two members of Mr Tyrells household tested positive for Covid-19.

Counsel for the accused man, Mr Ronan Prendergast BL, told the court that the locations Mr Tyrell had visited were within the allowed 2km distance from his home.

Garda Keith Alford agreed with Mr Prendergast that gardai had concerns and suspected the accused had travelled outside the allowed 2km radius.

At the High Court today Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty said that given the current circumstances the alleged offences are very serious.

Justice Gearty said that it was a matter of huge concern that on several occasions Mr Tyrell had allegedly breached the law and that was a concern for the public.

She said that on one of the occasions he allegedly breached the law knowing the danger he imposed on the public by simply leaving the house.

Mr Prendergast told Justice Gearty that there were provisions at Ballymun Garda Station for those remanded on bail to sign on. However, Justice Gearty said she would prefer if Mr Tyrell didnt sign on considering the situation in his home.

She said she expected Mr Tyrell would not be signing on in the immediate future, but said it was not up to the gardai to tell Mr Tyrell when he can sign on, that was his responsibility.

Ms Justice Gearty granted bail on a surety bond of 200 and set Mr Tyrell a curfew between 10pm and 8am.

She warned Mr Tyrell, who appeared today via video link, that bail would be revoked if any of the conditions were broken.
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automakers sole US vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him.

The move comes as states and cities around the United States experiment with ways to safely reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans out of work.

Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California for Texas or Nevada over his factorys closure. His move has highlighted the competition for jobs and ignited a rush to woo the billionaire executive by states that have reopened their economies more quickly in response to encouragement from US President Donald Trump.

In an email on Monday, Tesla referred to an order on Thursday by Californias governor allowing manufacturers to resume operations and said that as of Sunday, previously furloughed employees were back to their regular employment status.

Were happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return, according to the email seen by Reuters and titled Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!

Musk in a tweet said production was resuming on Monday, adding that he would join workers on the assembly line. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me, he wrote.

Health officials in Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is based, late on Monday said they were aware that Tesla had opened beyond the so-called minimum basic operations allowed during lockdown, and had notified the company it could not operate without a county-approved plan.

In a statement, officials said they expected a proposal from Tesla later on Monday and hope Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures. The statement did not specify consequences and said officials would not comment further.

The countys lockdown order says violations are punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.

A spokeswoman for the Fremont Police Department on Monday said her office was enforcing the lockdown order at the direction of the health department and had been advised that the county is working with Tesla directly.

Separately on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said California should do whatever is necessary to help the electric carmaker reopen its only US vehicle factory if it wants to keep the company in its state.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday said he spoke to Musk several days ago and that the Tesla founders concerns helped prompt the state to begin its phased reopening of manufacturing last week.

I have not only known that company but I have known its founder for many, many years, Newsom said in his daily coronavirus press briefing. I have great reverence for their technology, for their innovative spirit, for their leadership.

Tesla, which also has a vehicle plant in Shanghai and is building another in Berlin, on Saturday sued the county, alleging it had violated Californias constitution by defying Newsoms orders allowing manufacturers to reopen.

Musk has discussed opening a second US factory outside California in the past. In a tweet in February, he solicited comments on potentially opening a factory in Texas.

Since his threat to leave California on Saturday, officials from Texas, Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and Nevada have reached out to Musk on Twitter, encouraging him to relocate to their state.

A Texas official said his county was available immediately to accommodate Tesla and invited the billionaire CEO for a visit.

We have a motivated, pro-business governor, Richard Cortez, county judge of Texas Hidalgo County, said on Monday. What we no longer have is a shelter at home mandate.

Musk in response tweeted: Note is much appreciated.
Love Island star Amy Hart has urged fans to join a union amid economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The 26-year-old, a former air stewardess with British Airways, said she used to belong to Unite the Union, adding they were a safety net.

Th aviation industry has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, which has severely impacted global travel.

Join a union! I was in @unitetheunion x pic.twitter.com/Hfa3YhVuHg  Amy Hart (@amyhart1707) May 12, 2020

BA boss Willie Walsh said on Monday almost a third of BA staff are facing redundancy.

In a video shared on Twitter, Hart, who appeared on Love Island in 2019, said: Guys, were in a really uncertain time when it comes to work and your rights and legislation, so I would say, if I could give you one piece of advice, join a union.

They were my absolute saving grace and safety net when I was employed by a big company and they know so much so go and join.

In a separate post, Hart said when she was a member of Unites Gatwick branch, the union was always there to support us in disciplinary meetings and to clarify if we were out of our working agreements.

She added: I would just like to make it clear that it wasnt a paid post, merely my own experience!

Speaking in August last year, Hart explained she had to leave BA because she feared passengers would be filming her following her Love Island appearance.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 21:37:58|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 11 (Xinhua) -- A five-episode documentary series entitled "Asian Americans" has launched in the U.S., with its first two episodes premiering on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on Monday.

The series delivers "a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever, as America becomes more diverse and more divided while facing unimaginable challenges," PBS said on its website.

Led by a team of Asian American filmmakers, the series examines the significant role of Asian Americans in shaping American history and identity, from Chinese rail workers' long-forgotten contribution in the 1850s to modern refugee crises in a globally connected world.

During a digital town hall recently organized by the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) in connection with the series' premiere, U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu said that for many Asian Americans, it's not just the health risks of the coronavirus that are cause for concern right now, but also "the anti-Asian bigotry that this pandemic has incited."

"There's no better time to reflect on the history of contributions of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community," said Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to U.S. Congress.

"This is especially true when it comes to addressing anti-Asian hate crimes," she added.

"We must continue to push back against the xenophobia every time it rears its ugly head ... Our history has shown us that Asian Americans have often been used as it goes in times of crisis," she noted. "We are seeing this again today, which is why it is more important now than ever that we stand united and make our voices heard."

The rest of the documentary's three episodes will air on Tuesday. The premiere is also a part of the films and performances program of San Francisco's Asia-Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month.

The month of May has been celebrated as APA Heritage Month for the past 15 years in San Francisco.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's APA events cannot take place as usual.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed called for the fighting of discrimination and hate amid the COVID-19 pandemic at the virtual opening of APA Heritage Month.

"During this global pandemic, the APA communities are facing unfair treatment, prejudice, and threats simply because of who they are," she said. "There is no place for discrimination and hate in our city or our country." Enditem
When schools around the country shut down for the coronavirus, forcing districts to become remotely-run operations nearly overnight, at least one thing in the turmoil of a transition so monumental was guaranteed: IT help desks were going to get slammed.

Behind the scenes, as superintendents plot the big picture, as chief academic officers map out online curriculum and as teachers use new tech tools to reach students, the district employees manning help desks are playing the role of an unsung cast that have allowed the immediate shift to online learning to be possible at all.

And those help desks have been put to test. Theyve had to pivot from previously supporting district employees and staff to now becoming the first line of contact for just about every student and parent with a remote learning inquiry.

The calls and emails have been flooding in around the clock, according to interviews with district tech officials. How do I log in? How do I use this app? Where do I pick up a device? Sometimes the calls have nothing to do with technology or remote learning.

There was one where a student forgot his clarinet at school and wanted to see what we could do, said Michael Gurule, the program manager for Santa Fe Public Schools.

Although it varies, there seems to be a common formula for most districts and their help desks: call and email volume have increased by hundreds or thousands of inquiries; staff has been ramped way up to field that demand, in some cases doubling or tripling the number of people answering phones. To do that, districts pulled employees from other areas and in some cases had to work with vendors to expand the number of licenses for software used by help desk techs so that more people could take calls.

While our staff is trying to work from home and keep projects going and deal with coronavirus, this is a whole other angle of support we did not plan for, said Melanie Harris, chief information officer for the School District of Philadelphia."It is an unplanned human capital expense.

Heres a sampling of what some districts and their help desks are doing:

San Antonio Independent School District: Daily call volume escalated from 75 to 600



The nearly 49,000-student district currently has about 15 people on its help desk taking calls, said Ken Thompson, the chief information technology officer. Normally, its a four-person operation.

Daily call volume pre-pandemic: about 75 to 100. Post pandemic: up to 600.

Its still steady, said Thompson, whose district started remote learning on March 30. Not at the 500 to 600 call level. But in the range of 400 a day.



Thompson beefed up the help desk during the second week of remote learning, when professional development for teachers and device distribution for students started. That provided a bit of time to train district field techs reassigned to phone duty and help transition the help desk to take calls from home.

Shockingly, it went extremely well, he said about the adjustment.



About one month into the new help desk operation, Thompson said things have been going good: The whole teams spirit has been extremely high. They know the difference theyre making.

One inquiry fielded by the help desk that stands out: when a teacher called to ask: what is an LMS? he said. Thats representative of the shift to online learning. But if you dont know what an LMS is, you got me wondering what youve been doing all year.

Denver Public Schools: Anticipating the new normal



When remote learning started for the DPS the first week of April, about 15 people at a time were manning phones for 10-hour shifts. However, the team available to answer calls throughout the day totaled around 25, which allowed the district to provide breaks for operators without losing a body on the phones and to offer rotating shifts to prevent burnout. Previously, the help desk was manned by seven people.

With this remote learning, weve gone from a service desk that supports 15,000 employees to a service desk that supports 90,00 chidlren and the families of those students, said Jason Rand, director of field services for the department of technology for the 93,000-student district.



The DPS experienced a huge spike in calls. On the first day of remote learning, for example, the help desk fielded 358 total. In the month prior to e-learning, the daily average was 91.

The help desk expanded to a two-tier system to help route calls more effectively. Tier 1 is the equivalent of a remote student learning tech line, said Rand, while the second tier is dedicated to teachers and staff calling about device management, audio visual problems, or questions about the LMS and Google Classroom.

Rand said he enlisted members of his field services team that normally provide schools with on-site support to fill in on the phones. But the number of reps taking calls was limited by licenses the district had for voice software used by the help desk. Rand said he had to work with a vendor to increase that number, and in late April was juggling whether hed need more.

Were getting hit with this need that I dont think will last, he said. Its really tough to anticipate what the new normal is going to be until weve leveled off.



Theres also an element of self care being put into play with help desk workers, said Katie Maestas, who manages the service desk and training team.

If people were on the phones yesterday, we try not to put them on the phones the next day to avoid having them do two 10-hour phone shifts back to back, she said. Its tough to take calls for that long.

Santa Fe Public Schools: It was a little crazy



The 13,500-student district pulled staff from the team that monitors its wired and wireless networks to assist on the help desk.

Call volume started increasing in mid-March when the district was on spring break and ballooned in the following two-week stretch when professional development and then online instruction started.

On a typical day in January, the help desk handled about 130 calls between two staffers. At peak volume during coronavirus closures, the districts help desk processed more than 1,400 calls each of those first two weeks following spring break.

It was a little crazy, said Gurule, the districts program manager.



After receiving a crush of calls initially, Gurule said things had scaled back to near-normal levels by mid-April, and some of the added manpower was being redirected back to network duties, paving the way for the eventual shifting back to a 2-to-3 person help desk.

Some common calls still coming in: student Chromebooks running slow after being inundated with apps and extensions, and teachers asking about VPN, video conferencing, apps, and other digital resources. District staff were also given laptops, and there was a period where the help desk was also dealing with those equipment requests and basic troubleshooting issues.

Overall, Gurule said call volume had mostly normalized, and the issues the help desk was dealing with now were generally easy fixes.

I hope Im not jinxing it by saying that, he said.



Gurule gives a lot of credit for the steady decrease in call volume to district principals, who put together Google spreadsheets and conducted informal interviews with families of students who didnt log into instruction during the first days of remote learning. Part of those inquiries led the district to identify the need for 525 mobile WiFi hotspots. The Google spreadsheets also gave the help desk insight into daily issues we were going to be up against, said Gurule.

We were able to monitor in real time what was coming in, he said. We could see when principals were making the contact and getting a general idea for what was happening in each school. It better prepared us to know what was coming forward to the help desk.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools: The voice of calmness



The third largest school district in the country put in place an expanded help desk ready within days of the district announcing closures. It evolved quickly from there.

We went from 12 people in a crowded room to then a bigger room we had to wire overnight, so we could have social distancing between operators. Now its a virtual helpline, said Marie Izquierdo, chief academic officer for Miami-Dade.



Izquierdo estimates that about 30 operators are taking calls between two shifts. The extra bodies came via instructional technology specialists and academic content specialists.

On the first day of distance learning, the district fielded 800 calls. Volume remained steady through at least early April.

We knew we were going to have to provide a boatload of support, said Izquierdo, not only to families but to teachers and students,



And its not just about answering calls dealing with apps or logging in, she said: They are the voice of calmness that people need on the other line during a crazy time. The operators have gone above and beyond.

The School District of Philadelphia: Up until 3 a.m. answering emails



CIO Melanie Harris said the 200,000-student district ramped up its help desk and shifted it to work remotely in a matter of days.

With up to 15 people taking calls, the district relied on members of its curriculum department, community engagement staff and multilingual department for extra call operators. Phone techs are handling calls in up to nine different languages, Harris said.

Call and email volume were heavy at first: about 3,600 calls and another 2,000 emails in the initial weeks of school closures.

Bob Westall, deputy chief information officer, described handling that amount of calls as a huge lift, and noted staff have stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning answering emails.

Once schools closed mid-March, the help desk was swarmed with requests from parents and students, and then teachers were given equipment to take home and started asking their own questions. That just blew up everything, said Westall.

After the first couple of weeks, volume dropped off significantly. But since the district didnt start offering online learning until late April, and introducing new materials until May, another deluge of help desk requests was expected, Harris said.

The questions are going to grow and keep shifting depending on what phase were in with our teachers and parents. It went from asking about paper packets and food distribution to needing access to a computer and Internet, Harris said. Now, its ''Ive heard about Google Classroom, and Ive taken professional development but still have questions about how to set it up and deliver instruction.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The attorneys general for Kansas and Missouri are among 18 state attorneys general who signed a letter to U.S. congressional leaders asking for an investigation in the Chinese government's role with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The creators of the hit Netflix doc Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness are exploring a new Siegfried & Roy documentary under the brand banner.

The special will explore the October 2003 attack on the late Roy Horn that marked the end of the long-running Las Vegas show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The project about the Sin City-based tiger act comes on the heels of the breakout of Tiger King - which documented the on-goings of Oklahoma zookeeper Joe Exotic - which was directed by Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin.

Coming soon: The creators of the hit Netflix doc Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness are exploring a new Siegfried & Roy documentary under the brand banner

Following its March 20 debut on the streaming service, Nielsen reported that it became Netflix's most-watched series, racking up 34 million viewers in its first 10 days, THR reported.

An average of 19 million viewers took in the documentary, stats that place it up with the streaming service's hit show, Stranger Things.

The doc detailed the story of Joe Exotic (whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage) who was sentenced in January in his native Oklahoma to 22 years in custody in connection with a 2017 murder-for-hire plot of his business archival Carole Baskin; and numerous wildlife law violations.

Veterinarian/biologist Dr. James Liu reached out to THR last week in hopes of coordinating contact with ex Siegfried & Roy handler Chris Lawrence, who the outlet profiled a year ago about the PTSD he's dealt with in the wake of the 2003 attack on Horn by a tiger named Montecore.

Prominence: The doc detailed the story of Joe Exotic (pictured in 2018), who was sentenced in his native Oklahoma to 22 years in custody in connection with a 2017 murder-for-hire plot

Vegas icons: Horn died from coronavirus complications Friday at 75 in Las Vegas. He was seen with Siegfried in 2015

Liu 'indicated he also served as part of Tiger King's production team' and 'said work was underway on a follow-up episode, under the Tiger King name,' the outlet reported.

The contact came just a day before Horn's death from coronavirus complications Friday at 75 in Las Vegas.

Following Horn's death, Siegfried Fischbacher said in a statement, 'Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend.

'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.'
Thiruvananthapuram, May 12 : Seven Congress-led UDF MPs on Tuesday criticised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for delaying the return of Keralites who are stuck in various parts of the country.

Benny Behanan, the UDF Convenor and Chalakudy MP, said till Tuesday since Covid-19 stuck, Vijayan has not even bothered to get in touch with the 19 opposition MPs from here.(Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha members and the CPI-M led Left has just one seat.

"It is now surfaced that Vijayan does not want to disturb the present status, where Kerala has very few Covid-19 positive cases. He fears that if there is an exodus of those people who are stuck within India and those from abroad arrive in large numbers, his clean sheet record, will go haywire," said Behanan.

The MPs pointed out that from government figures over four lakh Kerala diaspora and two lakh Keralites are stuck in various states of India and are waiting to return.

"It is the right of all our people to return. Vijayan claims to have set up four lakh beds for quarantine. Punjab operated 300 buses to get back their people. We now have a feeling all these so called arrangements as claimed by Vijayan for isolation and quarantine is not in place and also they want to keep the figures low," said Behanan.

The son of Congress legend and Vadakara MP, K. Muraleedharan said what has now surfaced is though the priority of diaspora to return is based on certain criterion, such things have not happened and all those who are able to get recommendations are put on the flight to here form the Middle East.

"A few district collectors have told me that passes cannot be given to all those stuck in the neighbouring states. Vijayan never expected this big an exodus and now arrangements are going haywire. The Norka-Roots (the state owned diaspora body) is become a white elephant. Those who registered on this web portal have found it of no use, as only those who registered with the various Indian Embassies are being considered. The Kerala House in Delhi was requested to be set aside for isolation of our people, but it was not allowed. A Kerala official, a former MP who was posted as a representative of the State in Delhi ran away to Kerala on the day lockdown was announced," said Muraleedharan.

RSP lawmaker N.K. Premachandran, representing Kollam Lok Sabha constituency, said there was no proper laisioning between the Centre and the state.

"366 trains was run from various places in the country to various states, Kerala did not get a single train. Only when the state recommends such a need to the Railway Board and there is a request from the state from where the train has to originate will this happen. Nothing of this sort happened and hence our people are stuck for months. None of us were ever called by anyone here," said Premachandran.
Britons are unlikely to be able to go abroad for their summer holidays as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, Matt Hancock has said.

The health secretary was asked by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITVs This Morning whether summer was cancelled.

Hancock said: I think thats likely to be the case.

We havent made a final decision on that yet but it is clear that we will seek to reopen hospitality, some hospitality, from early July if we keep successfully reducing the spread of this virus.

But social distancing of some kind is going to continue.

The conclusion from that is it is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to possible for this summer.

I just think thats a reality of life.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since 17 March, while domestic holidays are not allowed due to the government's lockdown orders issued six days later.

He appeared on the programme the day after the government released details of its plans to ease the country out of lockdown.

Matt Hancock told Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that Brits are unlikely to be allowed to go abroad for their summer holiday this year. (ITV/This Morning/Twitter)

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

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Boris Johnson plans to allow some hospitality businesses to open from early July if infection rates of COVID-19 are low enough.

Schools may begin to open as early as June if ministers are confident the spread of the virus has eased sufficiently, although some primary pupils could be sent to different schools.

Addressing schools, Hancock told This Morning that children would not have to be "sprayed with disinfectant" before being allowed to return.

"I did see that one proposal from a union, that is absolutely not going to happen," he said.

He said he understood parents' fears about sending children back to school, but added: "We wouldn't be proposing this if we didn't think that it was safe."

Story continues

The government has also said that people who cannot work from home should start returning to their workplaces from Wednesday.

On Tuesday, it said commuters should face away from each other if they cannot keep two metres apart on buses and trains.

The Spanish island of Mallorca would normally be heaving with British tourists. (Getty Images)

Challenged about the safety of people being crammed "like sardines" on London Underground trains on the way to work on Tuesday, Hancock said: "Less than one in six people commute on public transport, of course that figure is much bigger in London.

"People should avoid public transport unless they absolutely have to use it because it is safer when there is fewer people on it."

He suggested that more people should get on a bike to go to work.

Watch the video below

On Tuesday, Ryanair announced it will operate nearly 1,000 flights per day from 1 July, subject to European countries lifting flight restrictions and "effective public health measures" being put in place at airports.

The plan involves 90% of the airline's route network being restored, but on reduced frequencies.

Since the middle of March it has operated a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights per day between the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe.

Passengers and crew will be required to wear face masks or face coverings, and pass temperature checks.

Queuing for toilets will be banned, but "toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request", according to the airline.

Ryanair said all surfaces in its cabins will be disinfected every night with chemicals which are effective for more than 24 hours.

Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson said: "It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from 1 July onwards.

It is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work and restart Europe's tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs."

Coronavirus: what happened today




U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday spoke with his counterparts from six nations, including South Korea, to discuss cooperation against the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said.







The video-conference involved Pompeo, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and their counterparts from Australia, Brazil, India, Israel and Japan.







"Secretary Pompeo and his counterparts discussed the importance of international cooperation, transparency, and accountability in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes," the department said in a readout. "They also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises, reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order."







The readout suggests that China's response to the outbreak was of top concern. Pompeo has mounted a verbal attack on Beijing for what he describes as suppression of information regarding the pandemic, which started on Chinese soil.







The virtual conference came several days after Kang and Pompeo spoke by phone to discuss the two countries' response to COVID-19.







During that call, Pompeo thanked Kang for Seoul's close cooperation and information sharing regarding the highly contagious disease, and reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral alliance, according to an earlier department readout. (Yonhap)


U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed renegotiating the U.S.-China "Phase 1" trade deal after a Chinese state-run newspaper reported some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalidating the agreement.

Trump, who himself has considered abandoning the pact signed in January, told a White House press briefing he wanted to see if Beijing lived up to the deal to massively increase purchases of U.S. goods. "No, not at all. Not even a little bit," Trump said when asked if he would entertain the idea of reworking Phase 1. "I'm not interested. We signed a deal. I had heard that too, they'd like to reopen the trade talk, to make it a better deal for them."

The Global Times tabloid reported on Monday that unidentified advisers close to the talks have suggested that Chinese officials revive the possibility of invalidating the trade pact and negotiate a new one to tilt the scales more to the Chinese side. The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. While not an official party mouthpiece, the Global Times' views are believed at times to reflect those of its leaders.

NEW SOYBEAN PURCHASES

Hours after the report was published, Chinese importers on Monday bought at least four cargoes, or about 240,000 tonnes, of U.S. soybeans on Monday for shipment beginning in July, and additional sales are possible, two traders familiar with the deals said on Monday.

The purchases were the latest in a recent string by China, which U.S. officials say has also begun implementing other parts of the trade deal regarding intellectual property protections. The U.S. Trade Representative's office did not respond to repeated queries on the Global Times article.

Under the Phase 1 deal signed in January, Beijing pledged to buy at least $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services over two years while Washington agreed to roll back tariffs in stages on Chinese goods. Trump, who has blamed China's early handling of the new coronavirus outbreak in its central city of Wuhan for thousands of U.S. deaths and millions of job losses, said last week he was "very torn" about whether to end the Phase 1 trade deal. Those comments came just hours after top trade officials from both countries pledged to press ahead with implementing the agreement.

'TSUNAMI OF ANGER'

Rising U.S.-China tensions over the coronavirus outbreak have cast the trade deal and proposed talks on a Phase 2 deal into doubt. The Trump administration asserted there was evidence the new coronavirus came from a Wuhan laboratory, an allegation that China has rejected. On Monday, a new source of tension opened up, with reports that the administration is planning to issue a warning that computer hackers tied to the Chinese government are attempting to steal information from U.S. researchers.

U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Global Times said malicious attacks by the United States have ignited a "tsunami of anger" among Chinese trade insiders after China made compromises in the Phase 1 pact.

"It's in fact in China's interests to terminate the current Phase 1 deal," a trade adviser to the Chinese government told the Global Times, citing the weakening U.S. economy and upcoming U.S. presidential elections. "The U.S. now cannot afford to restart the trade war with China if everything goes back to the starting point."

Clete Willems, a former White House trade adviser who took an active role in the U.S.-China negotiations, said China had followed through on the majority of the structural provisions in the Phase 1 deal, including new rules to protect intellectual property. "I don't think we're at the point where we should give up on the deal. It has yielded positive results thus far," said Willems, who is now with the Akin Gump law firm in Washington.

Also read: Top US, Chinese officials agree to cooperate, discuss Phase 1 of trade deal

Also read: Coronavirus effect: Trump threatens to terminate US-China trade deal
Arcade

The gallerypresents itssecond ART GARAGE SALE, and for the first time in the form of an online virtual exhibition, collaborating with Misr El Kheir charity organization to support daily laborers and most distressed families suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.This exhibition was organised based on an Open Call, and the gallery selected the exhibitions artwork in order to give an opportunity to young ambitious artists to exhibit and bring together a formidable gathering with famous visionaries. The artists discounted the original price of their artwork from sketches, photography, paintings, and sculpture to encourage everyone tobuy affordable valuable art; the gallerywill exhibit high quality photos of the artwork online through our social media and virtual gallery. Arcade gallery and around 40 artists such as Ahmed Sabry,Alaa Hegazi, Aliaa Bishr,Amina Zaher, Aya El Fallah, Eman Hussein, Eslam M. Abdo, Farid Fadel, will donate 20 percentfrom the sale of the exhibition to Misr El Kheir

(the exhibition opens on 17 May, 4pm and continues till 31 May).

The French Cultural Institute

# the French Institute, in Egypt, withyou, at home

You always dreamed of seeing the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, now you can see it throughthe study of the Louvre Museum at www.louvre.fr/etudes-d-oeuvre which enables an online study of artworks.

During the quarantine period, you can benefit from what the Higher Education Center of Arts offers in public spaces from a free coursethrough its website. The free course content is provided in French and English.

# the French Institute, in Egypt, withyou, at homeoffersMicrovole, a window through which you can see the artworks of digital museums.

Until the opening of the library of the French Institute in Egypt, you can enjoy the digital experience offered by the city of La Villette andits partners from your home.Through this unique experience, you can see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, and look at the Water Lilies painting for Monet.

The Italian Cultural Institute

The Institute in Cairooffers daily multimedia content to stay updated on the Italian language and culture even during the present situation of sanitary isolation. To follow these digital contents, connect to the institutes official Facebook page: Italian Cultural Institute and Archaeological Center.

To celebrate the birthday of legendary director Federico Fellini, the first online event from the series "CreativItaly" was dedicated to young Egyptian graphic designers and illustrators. Where graphic designers and artists will be able through a campaign launched via online, which they can follow through the social networking sites of the Institute, to honor Maestro or the pioneer of Italian cinema, through a work that explains how Fellini affected and still affects the images that fill the world of dreams of many artists today.

Through the Today Drawing initiative, the Institute commemoratedthe 500 years anniversary of Raffaelloor Raphael (1520-2020),one of the greatest Renaissance painters known for his portraits and the famous frescos murals of the Vatican chambers.

UBUNTU

20 Hassan Sabry St, (entrance from Ibn Zinki St), Zamalek, Tel 0100 2792223

The gallery is now open throughout the month of Ramadan from 11am to 4pm daily, except Fridays. If you would like to browse through the artworks from the gallerys last two exhibitions: Parallels From Within by Sarah El Samman and Routes by Ahmed El Badawi,the works are available on its website.

ZAGpick

F8, Strip Mall-Sodic, Waslet Dahshour Road, Beverly Hills, Sheikh Zayed, 6thof October, Tel 02 38863961/0111 2304440

Daughter of the Sun (the third Cache), sculptures by Hassan Kamel (watch his works online @ZAGPICKGALLERY).

Zamalek Art gallery

11 Brazil St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 1240

Venue I

Sketches by Farghali Abdel-Hafiz (watch his works online @Zamalekartgallery).

Venue II

Birds Dreams,paintings by Khaled Sorour (watch his works online @Zamalekartgallery).

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:07:53|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping's inspection trip to north China's Shanxi Province on Monday came only about 10 days ahead of the annual sessions of the top legislature and the top political advisory body.

The tight schedule indicates the leadership is racing against time to accelerate economic and social development and ensure the country's development goals, particularly the elimination of absolute poverty, is achieved.

The first leg of Xi's Shanxi tour was to an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City and a village in the city's Xiping Township where Xi learned about poverty alleviation, a subject Xi has always cared about deeply.

The Shanxi tour followed Xi's visit to eastern Zhejiang Province and northwestern Shaanxi Province in late March and April.

The inspection trips, all within only one and a half months, covered key aspects, including poverty alleviation, environmental protection, resumption of work and production, historical and cultural heritage protection as well as opening-up. All these efforts are crucial to promoting all-round social and economic progress.

China has set 2020 as the target year to eliminate absolute poverty and complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

With only less than eight months remaining before the deadline, the task has been made more difficult by the coronavirus impact. Not a minute should be wasted even if the virus battle is ongoing.

For this reason, Xi's calls and moves have inspired the country to mobilize all its resources to achieve the unshakable goal. A glimpse of China's progress could give the world more reasons to be confident in meeting challenges posed by poverty, public health crisis and economic uncertainty. Enditem
Singaporeans were able to get a haircut at the barber or pop in to their favorite bakery Tuesday as the government loosened restrictions, three weeks before a partial lockdown ends.

Despite an upsurge in cases due to an outbreak among foreign workers staying in crowded dormitories, the government says transmission in the local community has dropped and plans a phased reopening of the economy.

Barbers and hairdressers, food manufacturers and outlets as well as laundry shops are among selected businesses that can open doors with strict health measures Tuesday after five weeks of shutdown. Barbers are opened by appointment basis only and notices outside shops call for face masks before entry.

Officials reminded citizens not to rush out or loiter outside to keep the city safe.

"It's a bit messy because suddenly we received the notice in such a very short notice .... but we're trying to make it work out with all the safety measures, said Chow Siew Yong, owner of a Chinese medicine hall.

Singapore recorded 23,336 infections, the highest in Asia after China, India and Pakistan. But it has a low fatality rate of 21 deaths. About 90% of cases are linked to foreign workers dorms, which have all remained locked down as testing continues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man accused of abusing a BBC reporter as she prepared a live broadcast has today appeared in court.

Russell Rawlingson, 50, is accused of causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to journalist Sima Kotecha following an incident in Leicester city centre.

The BBC correspondent, 40, said she and her team were subjected to 'racist and abusive behaviour' on Sunday while preparing to broadcast from Leicester city centre.

The segment, which was due to broadcast reaction from the city to Boris Johnson's speech to the nation, was cancelled following the alleged abusive comments.

Russell Rawlingson, 50, is accused of causing alarm or distress to journalist Sima Kotecha (pictured) following an incident in Leicester city centre

Appearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court (pictured), via video link, Rawlingson, of Glenfield Road, Leicester, was granted conditional bail until a pre-trial hearing

The alleged incident was later reported to police.

Appearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court, via video link, Rawlingson, of Glenfield Road, Leicester, denied one count of using racially aggravated threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm and distress.

He was granted conditional bail until a pre-trial hearing.

That hearing will be held at a Leicester Crown Court on June 15.

Ms Kotecha, who has in the past reported from Helmand Province during the Afghanistan conflict and recently from Rome at the height of Italy's coronavirus crisis, took to the Twitter to vent her anger over the alleged incident on Sunday night.

The journalist, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said: 'Apologies - but a man shouting terrible things at me has ruined it for everyone. I'm afraid not going to make it on the special programme.'

In a follow-up Tweet, she said: 'Apologies to our guests who we had to send home without putting on air after myself and team were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour - sad obstruction of reporting of a national crisis.'

She added: 'Yes Im furious.'

Ms Kotecha received hundreds of messages of support, including from Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Location, Location, Location star Kirstie Allsopp.

The BBC Press Team has also tweeted in support of Ms Kotecha.

In a statement, on Twitter, they said: 'While preparing to broadcast, our reporter, her production team and guests were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour.

'We are appalled by what happened and will be reporting the incident to the police. We will not tolerate racism or abuse of our staff.'

Ms Kotecha was born and raised in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and later studied journalism at Goldsmiths University in London.

She began her career in local BBC radio 2003 and has since worked on some of the BBC's biggest shows, including Panorama, Radio 4's Today Programme and BBC News.

During her career, Ms Kotecha has reported from Helmand Province during the Afghanistan war, covered the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, as well as from Lebanon during the Syrian refugee crisis.

Yesterday's alleged incident took place in Leicester, which is one of the UK's most multicultural cities.

A 2011 census showed less than half of the city's population identify as 'White British'.

The city has one of the largest Asian populations in the UK and is also home to significant African, Caribbean and Eastern European communities.


The new Code of Practice is not a quick fix. It is an important step forward for the Australian insurance industry and we want to implement it correctly, he said.

Like most businesses, insurers are deeply affected by the pandemic. They need to concentrate on providing urgent services to their customers. The industrys focus is on ensuring their resources are harnessed to help all customers, including those who are experiencing financial hardship, vulnerability and family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-natural disasters.

Insurers will fast-track their support for customers who are experiencing vulnerability, including financial hardship. Insurers will bring forward by six months (to July 01, 2020) or earlier where possible, key consumer provisions in Parts 9 (Supporting customers experiencing vulnerability) and 10 (Financial hardship) of the new Code.

At present, insurers are handling the impact of the deadly virus on top of more than $4.6 billion and 242,000 claims from the 2019-2020 natural disaster season. The ICA says the extension enables Code signatories to focus on essential services for their customers. However, the 2014 Code of Practice remains in force.

Originally, the whole code was going to be released and up and running by Jan 01, 2021, but, unfortunately, with the situation that everyone is in at the moment because of the extra workload coming through from COVID-19 and also the fact that we had the astronomically large natural disaster season, its just very hard to be able to implement this code in the right manner, said Juliana Roadley (pictured), external communications manager for the ICA.

As, according to Roadley, the new Code is such a large piece of work, the ICA wants to ensure it is rolled out and implemented properly to ensure the full support of customers and the sector.

Because its such a big piece of work, no-one wants to rush it and doing that does not really abide by all of the true principles of the code, she explained. We want to be transparent, we want to have fairness.

What [the board] recognised was that during the pandemic several elements of the code could be fast tracked to help vulnerable customers, she said.

Theres also the need to train insurers and brokers on how to identify and manage vulnerable customers, which has presented its own challenges because of social distancing.

Government-imposed social distancing and isolation measures meant signatories would not have been able to implement mandatory face-to-face or group training requirements of the family violence policy by 2021. Many signatories were deeply concerned that they would not have the capacity to meet the new Code requirements at this time, Roadley said.

These changes to emphasise providing support to clients, especially those at risk or who are vulnerable, is a stark contrast to what many accused the insurance industry of being 50-years ago, when a customer was just seen as someone who was buying a one size fits all product.

The code of practise has gone through a series of improvements to make sure it meets or exceeds expectation, continuing to understand that a customer is a person and has to be treated fairly  if theyve got concerns, youve got to make sure that were actually meeting those concerns, Roadley added.

Roadley offered assurances that just because the ICA has allowed a delay to the implementation of the new code, it doesnt mean its neglecting customers.

 it doesnt mean that were going to drop the ball on supporting customers because weve still got the prior code in place and insurers are committed to fast-tracking Parts 9 and 10 and having all their systems and procedures in place so the remained of the code can be implemented by July 2021, Roadley said.
Workers of the St Petersburg Fire Service have put out a fire at St George's Municipal Hospital, five patients dead on ventilator support in the intensive care unit. The hospital was one of the first in St Petersburg to be re-purposed as a medical center to treat infectious diseases like pneumonia, including that caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

A fire that broke out in an intensive care ward in a hospital in St. Petersburg in Russia has killed five people with Covid-19, according to Russian media reports.

The fire may have been caused by one of the ventilation machines short-circuiting, Russian news agency Tass reported Tuesday, citing a source in the emergency services.

"Five patients put on artificial ventilation machines were killed in the fire," the source said.

The press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations informed Tass that the fire at St. George Hospital in Russia's second-largest city had been contained and that there had been casualties, but did not provide the exact number of people killed.

"150 people have been evacuated," the press service told the state news agency.

Tass later reported Tuesday that Russia will stop using the 'Aventa-M' model of ventilator until an investigation into the hospital fire is complete.

The same model was reportedly sent to the U.S. as part of a consignment of equipment from Russia to help it combat its coronavirus outbreak. CNBC has asked the U.S. State Department whether the Aventa-M model of ventilator is currently being used in U.S. hospitals and is awaiting comment.
An organisation that represents thousands of doctors wants all smoking stopped in Ireland's pubs as part of lifting the Covid-19 lockdown

The Royal College of Physicians of Irelands (RCPI) Policy Group on Tobacco calls on the Government to make all outdoor areas in bars non-smoking zones when they reopen.

They say an estimated 6,000 people die from smoking in Ireland annually.

Prof Des Cox, Chair of the Policy Group on Tobacco at RCPI, has sent a letter to Minister Simon Harris at the Department of Health calling for this proposal to be implemented as part of the countrys reopening strategy.

While we acknowledge the need for a phased reopening of the economy as outlined by the Government, our group request that all outdoor areas in bars become non-smoking zones when they reopen to maintain social distancing recommendations and to protect the general public and hospitality staff.

On the back of the recently published Government roadmap for reopening services across Ireland, we understand that plans for how public houses will run their services are currently being discussed. We understand that the Department of Health are in dialogue with the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) about how and when the public houses will reopen.

Currently the outdoor areas of the majority of public houses are designated smoking areas. If outdoor areas are to be used to facilitate social distancing when bars open up again, then smoking should be prohibited from all areas of all pubs when they reopen.

Customers who are seated in the outdoor areas of bars should not be exposed to secondhand smoke. If bar staff are providing table service to all customers  including customers seated in the outdoor areas  they too will be exposed to secondhand smoke. There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke and we need to protect the general public and in particular bar staff from the well-recognised health implications of secondhand smoke.

The latest evidence suggests that smokers are likely to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. In addition, the very act of smoking involves fingers touching lips, which increases the possibility of virus transmission. For these reasons alone, smoking in any setting during the COVID-19 pandemic should be strongly discouraged.

While we welcome the reopening plan for Ireland and support businesses in their proposals to change their working conditions to protect public health, we ask that the Department of Health does not inadvertently allow for another public health crisis to develop as a consequence of implementing social distancing policies," concluded the statement.

The RCPI said smoking is still the biggest public health issue in Ireland. The Healthy Ireland Survey 2019 reported that 17 per cent of the Irish population are current smokers.

It says tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland, with almost 6,000 smokers dying each year from tobacco-related diseases.

The RCPI Policy Group on Tobacco was established in 2014 and is chaired by Prof Cox who is a Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

Members of the RCPI Policy Group on Tobacco are doctors working in the Irish health system, many of whom treat patients with serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancers caused by smoking.

From 2020, the Policy Group on Tobacco and the Institute of Public Health (IPH) have entered a collaboration to increase the impact of research and advocacy in the area of tobacco use for both the IPH and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland is a postgraduate medical training college.
West Bank: Israeli soldier killed with large stone During an operation in a Palestinian village

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MAY 12 - An Israeli soldier of the Golani brigade was killed on Tuesday in the West Bank during an operation in the village of Yabed (Jenin), a military spokesman said Tuesday. The spokesman said the soldier was hit in the head with a large stone. The soldier, military radio added, died while he was being taken to hospital. According to local sources, soldiers had earlier arrested four Palestinians fugitives.



Military radio said the soldier was wearing a helmet, which however did not protect him against the strong impact of the stone. In the area of Yabed, the broadcaster added, a large contingent of military forces have been deployed to look for the attackers. ''We will capture the vile terrorists, we will make them pay'', said Defense Minister Naftali Bennett.(ANSAmed).(ANSAmed).




Jeopardy! will return with new episodes for its 36th season on Monday, May 18, according to Sony Pictures.

Regular episodes with host Alex Trebek will air May 18-22. The Teachers Tournament quarterfinals will air May 25-29.

The Teachers Tournament semifinals and finals will air June 1-5 and new regular episodes will air June 8-12.

According to Sony, the rest of the summer schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. Updates will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Get ready for another week of ALL-NEW game commentary with the G.O.A.T. cam. We'll be back May 18 with ALL-NEW shows! pic.twitter.com/nPUpTRbqa4  Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 10, 2020

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Senator Rand Paul said Tuesday that the response to the coronavirus pandemic has been hampered by wrong prediction after wrong prediction as he advocated for schools to reopen in the fall.

The history of this when we look back will be of wrong prediction after wrong prediction after wrong prediction, Paul said during a Senate hearing Tuesday at which Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the Trump administrations coronavirus task force, testified.

I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know whats best for the economy, the Kentucky Republican said. As much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I dont think youre the end all. I dont think youre the one person who gets to make a decision,

Paul said he believes it would be a huge mistake not to open schools in the fall and noted that the mortality rate from the coronavirus for children approaches zero.

Keeping children out of school would have a disproportionate effect on poor and underprivileged kids who do not have a parent who is able to homeschool them and will end up not learning for a full year, the senator said.

In rural states we never really reached any sort of pandemic level, Paul continued. Its not to say this isnt deadly, but really, outside of New England weve had a relatively benign course for this virus nationwide.

Fauci said he agreed with Paul that the coronavirus has not proven as deadly to children as to others, but argued that the virus is still relatively mysterious and noted that some children with the virus developed a very strange inflammatory syndrome.

Paul himself tested positive for the coronavirus in March. As of Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. has seen more than 1.3 million cases of the virus and 80,000 people have died from it.

More from National Review
Its taken a global pandemic, but two of Australias largest retailers - billionaire Solomon Lew and department store operator Myer - may have finally got their landlords over a barrel.

Myer is said to be close to inking a hugely better deal with its landlords, under which the retailer will make lease payments equivalent to as little as 6 per cent of sales. The recast rental agreement, on which Myer declined to comment, would give it a new (financial) lease on life - pardon the pun.

Lews Premier Retail has been in a brawl with landlords for years, arguing shopping centre owners have been gouging their tenants and been inflexible about reducing rents to adjust to the reality that store sales are in long-term decline as consumers move to online shopping.

Playing hardball: Retail billionaire Solomon Lew. Credit:Paul Jeffers

During COVID-19, Lew decreed his 1200 retail stores would not be paying any rent. No room for discussion or negotiation. (Myer, which is keen to convey that its talks with landlords are ongoing and have been very constructive, could probably use a bit more junkyard dog in its negotiations.)
A man was arrested while getting treated at the Rhode Island Hospital last January according to a recent report from the US Marshals Service.

According to reports, 19-year-old David Marroquin was apprehended after he had been tracked down for several months by the Violent Fugitive Task Force of the Rode Island State Police.

In addition, the police discovered that the suspect may have fled the country and received, later on, intel that he was residing in Puerto Rico where he was taken into custody following a brief chase.

Marroquin was seized on January 28 linking him to breaking and entry violation that took place earlier that week. According to the police, the suspect complained of injuries after the arrest and thus was brought to RI hospital for his condition's evaluation.

Breaking and entering in law means, entering a particular residence or an enclosed property through a very minimal degree of force without any authorization. In addition, if there is an intention to engage in crime, it then becomes a burglary.

However, if there is no such intent, the "breaking, and entering" by itself, is perhaps, "illegal trespassing," which is considered a "misdemeanor crime.

Facing Series of Charges

Marroquin reportedly managed to flee while he was being brought back into a vehicle outside the hospital.

At present, the suspect is waiting for deportation to RI, according to the police, "to face a series of charges" which include engaging in a "crime of violence while in possession of a weapon," breaking and entering, and escape.

Meanwhile, the US Marshals Service is looking to charge the suspect too, with an illegal flight to escape prosecution.

Hospital Escape

On January 18, a news site reported that that the Providence police were searching for a man who they claimed, "escaped from their custody" while being treated at RI Hospital one weekend that month.

The 19-year-old was apprehended for, as earlier mentioned, "breaking and entering" that happened earlier that week of arrest.

Also according to the police, the suspect is Hispanic/white, standing 5'9" and weighing roughly 139 pounds. He was reportedly last seen with a white shirt and gray sweat pants on and was wearing white and red Nike shoes.

More so, the young suspect's last identified address was in Providence, and, the police said, he has a background of possessing knives and guns.

According to a spokesperson for the hospital, the facility is operational like the usual, "with some extra presence of the authorities" as protection.

Crime in Providence, RI

In a 2018 report, violent crime in Providence, RI was 30.4 which was considered high since the US average at that time was 22.7. Property crime, on the other hand, was 53.1, also substantially high since the US average was 53.4.

Violent crime includes four major offenses: forcible rape, aggravated assault, non-negligent murder and manslaughter, and robbery.

Property crime, on the other hand, comprises of larceny-theft, arson, motor vehicle theft, and burglary. Meanwhile, law experts have it that the object of a particular offense is "taking of property or money" although there is no certain force or threat of such, against the victim.

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KETCHIKAN, Alaska - Postal workers in Ketchikan helped lay one of their own to rest in Ketchikan over the weekend.

Several U.S. Postal Service vehicles led the procession Saturday from a mortuary to Bayview Cemetery as the remains of Judy Ann Ann (Orbistondo) Doran, 58, were interred, the Ketchikan Daily News reported

Doran, who died April 23 in Bellingham, Washington, was a 16-year employee with the postal service.

She was a ray of sunshine, said Joan Wandke, a co-worker of Dorans at the Ketchikan Post Office.
For the second time this century, the interdependence of the global food supply is in sharp focus. In the first instance, the economic crisis of 2008 created high food prices and pushed an additional 100 million people toward hunger.

For many, though, that crisis neither began nor ended in 2008. Now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the fragility of the globalized system of trade in food is apparent again.

In addition to conflict, climate change and impoverishment, COVID-19 threatens 265 million people with famine and billions with food insecurity.

Hunger was on the rise in 2019 before the pandemic began. Despite ongoing calls for change, trade organizations and top food-exporting countries have yet to acknowledge that the current global food trade system is ill-suited to respond to local needs in an increasingly volatile world.

In the years following 2008, Olivier De Schutter, the then-United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, argued that food trade should be restructured around the idea of food as a right  not merely a commodity. He advocated returning decision-making power to communities, investing in agro-ecological practices for our health and environment and moving away from a dependence on food imports.

In short, he argued in favour of transforming a system that was ineffective long before the price increases in 2008 were referred to as a crisis.

The same transformative opportunity is presented to us today.

Full COVID-19 impact still unknown

Encouraging predictable supplies and stable markets are the stated aims of the trade system. But markets are repeatedly destabilized when financial, energy or health challenges emerge.

While the full impact of the pandemic on food security is still unknown, its likely to take different shapes around the world.

The logistical challenges of moving food around the world during the pandemic are exacerbated by the globalized nature of supply chains. Disruptions to planting and harvesting due to illness outbreaks have an impact on food supplies, and restrictions on the movement of migrant farm workers compound the issue as well as reduce worker incomes.

Its also clear that food availability is easily threatened in a trade system that encourages import dependence and export-oriented agriculture, but cannot require countries to export food.

For example, grain-exporting countries like Russia and Ukraine are restricting exports due to domestic supply concerns. These types of restrictions are detrimental to countries that depend on imported food.



(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Restrictions also lead to price shocks; even if theres enough food globally, it becomes inaccessible to many people. Even small price increases can push staple items out of reach. As in 2008, low-income people who spend large portions of their budgets putting food on the table are most affected.

Relying on international markets to balance supply and demand has led to food waste. This problem isnt new, but its more pronounced during the pandemic. Because food production is a slow, seasonal process, it takes time to respond to shifting demands  and communicating demands is complex in long supply chains.

Read more:

Global South left out

In response to the 2008 price spikes, tools were created to improve market transparency and policy responses in crises. But few countries from the Global South developed or participate in them  and many do not have the capacity to respond to market changes even if information is available to them.

New concerns over animal-to-human virus transmission could also have serious implications in domestic and international trade settings. Countries have curbed access to wet markets where wild animals are sold for the purpose of consumption. But if zoonotic spillover concerns are used to erect new food safety barriers, theyll impact exporters in the Global South who are already disproportionately burdened by food safety standards set by the north.

It could also affect Indigenous peoples, who face challenges trading and sharing what is known as country food because of safety standards set by governments (and aligned with international standards). When food is produced, harvested and consumed locally, communities ensure culturally appropriate safety standards.



THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Community food security organizations propose policies and undertake activities that are already transforming local food systems. International food agencies are also responding to challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

WTO opposed to local control over food

The multilateral trade focus has been on minimizing market disruptions, but fails to acknowledge that trade rules can impede local solutions. In fact, World Trade Organization leaders have actively opposed localized control over food systems; they have spoken against food sovereignty and self-sufficiency and failed to resolve disagreements over public stockholding, when developing countries purchase and stockpile food and distribute it to people in need. Thats despite the WTO admissions that food security is a legitimate objective.

The joint statement by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the WTO in March was a minor departure from the otherwise siloed approach to food in trade discussions, where food is positioned as an agricultural commodity, distinct from health, labour and the environment.

Michael Fakhri, the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the right to food, sees the pandemic as a warning shot and says trade must be restructured around food security as climate change intensifies.

Fakhri suggests that the right to food can be used as a tool for civil society to engage with trade institutions internationally.

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Indeed, transforming trade so that it complements rather than displaces localized food systems is the key to recognizing and honouring the right to food for people all over the world.

Rhonda Ferguson, Research Fellow, Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University, Canada

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The conversation
Aishwarya Sreenivasan didnt set out to create a movement, but that is what happened.

Sreenivasan had been a medical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to Hillsboro with her husband for his job and becoming a stay-at-home mom.

When the coronavirus crisis became a pandemic, Sreenivasans heart went out to healthcare workers on the front lines. She decided to do something to help.

She canvassed friends on social media on March 31 to see who might be interested in chipping in with a donation to buy food.

I thought all I could do is send one or two boxes of pizza to one hospital ER to feed them, she says.

That is when the internet took over. Friends to whom she had sent the original query shared it and those people shared it, and those people shared it and, well, this got crazy.

I had 200 people calling me, asking how they could help, Sreenivasan says.

It was overwhelming, but also exhilarating. She thought, why not hook up restaurants starving for business with donors willing to buy food for healthcare workers?

Sreenivasans friend Puja Kumari came on to help with the books. Another friend, Sandhi Bhide, helped with logistics. They checked for restaurants that might want to get involved. Sreenivasan began calling around to hospitals.

The further they got into this, the farther the word spread. More donors, more restaurants and more hospitals became involved.

This isnt about business, Sreenivasan says. Were not a non-profit. Were not part of any organization. We are just friends and neighbors who have come together as a community to help.

Thanks to Sreenivasan and the volunteer spirit into which she tapped, 5,000 meals had been served to workers at 11 hospitals in the Portland-Salem area as of Monday.

A number of restaurants have participated, including Great Harvest PDX. Owner Jamey Taylor says she has made about 10 deliveries for Sreenivasan.

Taylor says she isnt sure if Sreenivasan knew at first that she was not only helping out hospital workers, but also throwing a lifeline to Great Harvest.

She has done a great thing, Taylor says. There is no reason to do it other than to be a good person and do what she can. Its helping me. Its helping the hospitals. Its just wonderful.

Obviously, this has morphed well beyond two pizzas. Donors from as far away as California and Wisconsin have contributed.

Some want to support a particular restaurant struggling to stay above water, others a particular hospital. Some donate in memory of a loved one or contribute money saved for a big birthday party that no longer can be held because of social distancing restrictions.

The food is delivered either by participating restaurants or by people who volunteer to do it. Meals have to be individually boxed. When volunteers deliver, they never touch food packages. People from the restaurant load them into the vehicle, and hospital workers unload them.

Big donations go directly to the restaurants. Smaller donations are processed through the India Cultural Association of Portland. Sreenivasan and her volunteers dont get directly involved with the money.

Weve tried to make this very transparent, she says.

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

The more this mushroomed beyond Sreenivasan and her original circle of friends, the more the diverse the pool of people involved has become.

The wonderful thing about this is, 90 percent of the people Ive never met, she says. I am an Indian Asian, but people across the spectrum, Caucasians, African Americans, Asians  everybody has contributed to this.

Workers at Tuality Community Hospital accept a food delivery. (Courtesy Aishwarya Sreenivasan)

She plans to keep it going as long as people want to contribute. Contributions show no sign of abating. People continue to volunteer. More restaurants participate.

Its opened up a new world for Sreenivasan, who says this project has taken over her life. Now she has made friends in the restaurant business and learned how to make a difference on a large scale.

Its become my full-time job, she says. I am enjoying it because every day when I send those meals, I feel full. I feel accomplished.

She figures its the same for the people who have stepped forward either to donate or to deliver.

Its reinforced my faith in community, Sreenivasan says. Its reinforced my faith in humanity. COVID-19 is an awful situation, but it also has brought the best in people.

More in The Oregonian/OregonLive

-- Coronavirus restrictions dont keep a dying woman from having her wish honored.

-- Gresham Highs student body president rallies her classmates after the schools coronavirus shut down.

-- Guardian angel keeps Hillsboro small businesses afloat during the coronavirus crisis.

-- Glencoe teacher gets students and staff members dancing to raise funds to fight coronavirus.

-- Special Olympics Oregon adds online after coronavirus shuts down activities.

-- Tigard-Tualatin schools go all-in to fight hunger in the midst of the coronavirus.

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-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Its warming up outside, the sun is starting to come out a little more, and Memorial Day is just around the corner.

But should you be hitting the public pool with COVID-19 hanging around?

Thats the question a Yahoo Life article asked Monday, and the answer appears to be a little unclear.

Heres the good: coronavirus cant live in the chlorinated water.

But, beyond that, public pools pose obvious risks  crowds which create a potential lack of social distancing, and communal surfaces that may be touched by multiple people.

Theres no way to know for sure what the consequences are, Dr. David Cutler, a family medicine physician from California, told Yahoo Life.

If you do venture out to a pool  provide they are open  the experts interviewed for the report suggest that an outdoor pool is a better option than an indoor one because of air circulation.

And, if you do go, the experts suggested keeping a six-foot distance from others as much as possible, trying to keep children away from other children, attempting to avoid common surfaces, wearing a mask and visiting during off-hours.

The article said the real answer to the question could be how risk-tolerant are you?
By Lee Seong-hyon





Despite years of speculation, there is no evidence that the governments of the United States and China have agreed upon a specific action plan in the event of a sudden turmoil in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent "disappearance," whether staged or not, awakened the world to the need to prepare for such a contingency. And cooperation between Washington and Beijing is deemed crucial.



In South Korea, there is a taken-for-granted view, almost regarded as "common sense," that there is some sort of "a plan" between the U.S. and China in case chaos breaks out in North Korea. As both Washington and Beijing do not like Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, the view goes that the two superpowers have already mapped out a plan to secure its nuclear arsenal in the event of a sudden political upheaval in North Korea, such as a coup.



Just like a diehard cult, the belief that the North Korean issue is something that the two world powers remain committed to cooperating on has been powerfully enshrined in the minds of Seoul's academic and policy community. That is the case, they claim, even when the U.S. and China are engaged in an escalating rivalry and distrust these days over the COVID-19 virus origin, not to mention the trade war. They cite the North Korean issue, together with climate change, are the two bedrock global governance items on which Washington and Beijing are bound to take joint action.



Whoever invented this notion deserves credit for imbuing a sense of solidarity and a shared sense of mission between the two unlikely friends. The matter is subject to scrutiny.



In South Korea's cottage industry of policy markets, a popular narrative nodding to this view went something like this. In the beginning, there was the Middle Kingdom. The Kingdom was once lost, but now is found, under the charismatic leader, Xi Jinping. China under Xi has powerfully risen again and grown into a member of the "G2," the two prime stakeholders of global governance; the other being the U.S. Now, China would not sit idle on North Korea's provocative acts as before. A strong and powerful Beijing will no longer tolerate the wanton behavior of its smallest socialist neighbor. Xi, therefore, will teach a lesson to Kim. Little Kim is in trouble now, the narrative went.



However, it turns out that "strongman" Xi is increasingly getting tougher on the U.S., rather than on North Korea. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Xi also said that China will provide "all possible" (li suo neng ji) support to North Korea to tide over the virus.



South Korea's wishful thinking also has spilt over to its understanding of U.S.-China relations. There was a powerful episode that shaped its view. Back in 2013, when China's then-newly minted Communist leader Xi met with Obama in Sunnylands, California, media outlets widely touted it as a "historic" summit. In a "no-necktie" meeting, the two leaders apparently had a frank "man-to-man" conversation and agreed on the cooperative future for U.S.-China relations. South Korean media particularly underscored that the leaders of the U.S. and China also agreed to fully cooperate on the North Korean nuclear issue.



But the reality on the ground was different. The North Korean issue was a "pre-prepared" summit achievement package for the world's eyes to see. It was something that White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon already coordinated with Beijing when he visited Beijing before the summit.



Now, the same is true of the purported U.S-China agreement on the North Korea contingency. Despite years of speculation, there is no evidence that suggests the U.S. and China have agreed on an action plan in the event of sudden unrest in North Korea. However, it has its own long-running storyline that goes back to 2009.



It is commonly known that 2009 was the first time the U.S. and China jointly discussed the North Korea contingency. At the venue in Beijing of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a research arm of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), Americans and Chinese had their first consultation on the sensitive matter. South Korean media outlets made headlines as such. However, after checking directly with one of U.S. participants in the meeting, things were different than reported. (To be continued)





Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director, the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute.


With less than a week remaining in the third leg of coronavirus lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 PM tonight. His address comes a day after a 6-hour-long meeting with chief ministers from all over the country to discuss the status of the nationwide lockdown. In today's address, PM Modi is expected to talk about Lockdown 4.0 and related restrictions and relaxations.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown: PM Modi to address the nation at 8 pm tonight; what to expect

In his address today, the Prime Minister is likely to talk about the 'Jan Se Jag Tak' (from individual to world), which he discussed during his meeting with chief ministers yesterday. During this meeting, PM Modi had said that the world has acknowledged India's efforts in containing the spread of coronavirus and the states had played a crucial role in this regard. He also emphasised on the need to keep the virus from reaching rural regions, as migrants and stranded workers are being ferried back to their homes in Shramik special trains.

PM Modi is likely to address the concerns raised by states during the meeting yesterday. States, including Punjab, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, had called for an extension of lockdown during the PM-CM meeting. Chief ministers also called for more autonomy to states in deciding the future course of lockdown. "States face different challenges and therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines relating to the lockdown," Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus vaccine: Here's what's brewing in India and globally

Where to watch PM Narendra Modi speech on coronavirus lockdown

You can watch PM Modi's speech live tonight at Doordarshan. You can also follow Doordarshan's YouTube channel and Twitter handle for his address. His official website, www.narendramodi.in, as well as his YouTube channel, will also telecast the speech live.

You can also follow India Today TV and Aaj Tak for live telecast of PM Modi's speech tonight at 8 PM. It will also be available live on IndiaToday.In and AajTak.In.

You can also receive live updates from PM Modi's speech tonight on BusinessToday.In.

ALSO READ: Herd immunity, homeopathy - not lockdown - best to fight coronavirus: Rajiv Bajaj

ALSO READ: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi to address nation today; when and where to watch live streaming
New IMF program 112 Agency

The International Monetary Fund and Ukraine agreed to conclude a short-term stand-by program for 18 months instead of the three-year EFF program, as previously expected. The reason for the possible replacement is a delay in the structural reforms that were planned to be carried out in the country, as well as an increase in the budget deficit due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.



The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance says that the amount of financial support for Ukraine will not change, while negotiations with the IMF continue.

New program



In early December 2019, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the National Bank of Ukraine and the previous government agreed with the IMF management to open a new three-year EFF program. This program was supposed to replace the stand-by program, which ended in February 2020.



At the end of 2018, Ukraine and the IMF signed a 14-month stand-by program for $ 3.9 billion. Then Ukraine received only the first tranche of $ 1.4 billion.



On Thursday, May 7, Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of negotiations on a new cooperation program, shifted from the previously agreed three-year EFF extended financing to an 18-month stand-by program.



"Given the unprecedented uncertainty about economic and financial prospects and the need to focus political priorities on short-term containment and stabilization, the negotiations have switched to an 18-month stand-by, which can provide balance of payments support to strengthen the reaction of the authorities," said IMF spokesman Jerry Rice.



According to him, the Fund is in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities to discuss the parameters of a new financing mechanism that would help the country effectively counter the pandemic in the economy and medicine.



Rice said that a permanent virtual mission discusses policies that can be supported through the stand-by program rather than through the EFF, despite the fact that a preliminary agreement was reached at the Foundations management level in December 2019 (staff- level agreement).



Representative of Ukraine in the IMF Vladyslav Rashkovan on his Facebook page spoke about the reasons for the possible change in the IMF program.



"The governments priorities have changed in a certain way - for example, the law on the budget for 2020 does not provide for significant revenues from privatization in 2020, and this was one of the structural reforms that were planned to be carried out as part of the IMF program. Also, the start of the land reform was postponed a little, although this is not critical. At the same time, the budget deficit has grown as a reaction to the crisis," Rashkovan said.



He also drew attention to the fact that a new government was formed a few months ago, and under the influence of the pandemic, the macro forecast became different: the planned economic growth was replaced by a fall.



In the current global environment of uncertainty, the IMF understands that it is difficult for countries to plan structural reforms for several years to come. This is a problem for many governments, not only for Denis Shmygals government. And the decision to change programs is not a specific decision of the Fund for Ukraine. At the moment, this is Funds position in many countries, added Rashkovan.

EFF vs Stand-by



Vladyslav Rashkovan emphasized that from the point of view of programs, the IMF has various instruments of assistance to countries.



"In the context of the priority of structural reforms, the Fund offers countries expanded credit programs - EFF. It was this program that the fund proposed to Ukraine to discuss in mid-2019, after the formation of the new government of Honcharuk and parliament," said the representative of Ukraine in the IMF.



He added that over the past 2 months, the IMF has not approved a single new EFF program. It is noted that the Fund provided mainly emergency financing - in total, such financing under the Rapid Financing instrument or Rapid Credit Facility products was provided for 50 countries in the amount of $ 17.5 billion. According to Rashkovan, fund has other programs to prevent the negative consequences of the crisis.



"One of them is stand-by line. These are shorter programs that are more focused on anti-crisis measures. Funds for them are easier to receive. Funds can also be directed to the budget to partially cover the deficit. There are fewer conditions for obtaining financing for them. Such programs are not directed at the initial stage, they are aimed at helping countries to finance the costs of medicine, at formulating monetary and fiscal policies adequate to the crisis, at maintaining financial stability. They will be focused on reducing the budget deficit and overcoming from the crisis," Rashkovan wrote on his Facebook page.

He believes that the stand-by line is a more adequate product from the IMF in such a situation, the situation of overcoming the crisis caused by the pandemic. And not only for Ukraine - such a product is offered to other countries. The foundation is not currently discussing new EFF programs.



The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine noted that the issue of program modality (EFF or stand-by) is still being discussed. It is noted that the main difference between these programs is their implementation time: stand-by - 1.5 years, EFF - 3 years.

What will change for Ukraine



The Finance Ministry said that with the adoption of the new program, the volume of financial support for Ukraine from the IMF will not change.



This is also indicated by the representative of Ukraine in the IMF, Vladyslav Rashkovan.



"The EFF program that we discussed before was designed for 3 years and worth $ 8 billion. Under this program, over the next 18 months, until the end of 2021, we planned to receive $ 5 billion from the IMF, and the remaining 3 billion to be received in 2022-2023. In the framework of the new stand-by program, we are discussing the receipt of the same $ 5 billion from the IMF over the next 18 months," Rashkovan said.



He added that the conditions for obtaining these funds during 2020-2021 are easier than receiving the same $ 5 billion under the EFF program since they do not require "titanic" efforts to promote structural reforms.



According to Rashkovan, after the approval of the new IMF program, in 2020 Ukraine can receive the following amounts:



IMF stand-by program: $ 3.5 billion ($ 1.5 billion in 2021);

Bilateral funding from other countries linked to the IMF program: $ 0.4 billion;

World Bank DPL program: $ 1 billion;

World Bank funds to help the health care system: $ 0.15 billion;

Macro-financial assistance from the EU: the second tranche of $ 0.6 billion. New macro-financial assistance from the EU: $ 1.3 billion.



The representative of Ukraine in the IMF also believes that the hryvnia/dollar or hryvnia/euro currency swap lines can be added to these positions.



"Such an agreement has already been signed with the US EBRD in the amount of up to $ 500 million. At the same time, the hryvnia that the EBRD will receive will be directed to lending to the economy," Rashkovan said.



What's next



It is noted that negotiations between Ukraine and the IMF are ongoing and, according to the forecasts of the Ukrainian government, should be completed next week (until May 17).



"When the economy recovers, the focus of IMF support may shift back to solving the problems of long-term structural reforms in Ukraine in order to promote stronger and more inclusive growth," Jerry Rice quoted Vladyslav Rashkovan.



Rashkovan believes that under the SBA program this "when ..." will come in 12-14 months, in the summer of 2021. It is then that Ukraine will be able to begin preparations for a new EFF extended financing program to receive it at the end of the SBA. It is reported that Ukraine will receive not only more than $ 10 billion in assistance from international financial organizations in 2020 but will also return to discussing a larger amount of new financing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Tuesday unveiled a $3 trillion economic relief bill that will almost certainly not be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said that the bill includes funding for state and local governments and additional direct payments to individual Americans. The bill will also provide for expanded coronavirus testing and contact tracing, student loan relief, and additional funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Other provisions in the bill are unrelated to the coronavirus. One provision would require federal banking regulators to report to Congress annually on the availability of access to financial services for minority-owned and women-owned cannabis-related legitimate businesses.

Senator John Barrasso (R., Wy.) said the bill had no chance of success in the Senate.

That will not pass. Its not going to be supported, John Barrasso told CNN. Hoyer said Democrats would press ahead with the new bill even without Republican support.

Congress already passed a massive $2 trillion relief bill in March and arranged for another $500 billion funding injection for small business loans and hospitals struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Kent.) have made clear their opposition to further rounds of spending without congressional debate.

Youve seen the talk from both sides about acting, but my goal from the beginning of this, given the extraordinary numbers that were racking up to the national debt, is that we need to be as cautious as we can be, McConnell told Politico in April.

While negotiating the March $2 trillion relief bill, Republicans slammed Democrats for inserting legislation unrelated to the pandemic, with Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) referring to the additions as an ideological wish-list. The additions were added following House Majority Whip James Clyburns (D., S.C.) comments that the relief bill represented a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.

More from National Review
Were proud to support businesses of all sizes looking for cost-effective ways to save resources and avoid the headache of commission calculations, says Core Commissions Founder and CEO Kirt Phillips.

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Wildlife traders reveal that most of the wild animals sold at markets are from the wild, but their documents say the birds are from farms raising animals for commercial purposes.

Reporters, when investigating wildlife trafficking at the Thanh Hoa Farm Produce Market in Long An province, heard from the owners of the shops that birds, storks, turtles and snakes available at the market are from Tram Chim National Park, Lang Sen Natural Reserve in the border area with Cambodia. However, the wild animals have a legal status  from commercial farms.



Tam, the owner of a ornamental bird stall at Thanh Hoa Market, affirmed that her birds are 100 percent natural, caught in the provinces in Mekong Deltas provinces.



Tam stated that she can satisfy all orders placed by clients. No worries. We have a licensed farm which is a screen for our wildlife trade, she said.



To prove her words, she turned on her phone and showed the images of birds and storks caught from the wild, which are kept at her family-run farms. She affirmed that she only sells natural birds, because if she sells farmed products, she would take a loss.



Wild birds, turtles and snakes can also be found at Tam Nong Market in Dong Thap province, about one kilometer from the Tram Chim National Park.



The owners of the shops there said all the wild animals are from the national park.

Wildlife traders reveal that most of the wild animals sold at markets are from the wild, but their documents say the birds are from farms raising animals for commercial purposes.

I just slaughtered 25 birds this morning and I have 50 more birds at home. If you want 200 birds, I will deliver products tomorrow morning, because I need to collect birds this afternoon, T, the owner of a shop at Tam Nong, said.



At the floating restaurant, in front of the Tram Chim Tourism Complex, one can also easily buy wild birds.



A worker at the restaurant said there were not ready-made dishes made of wild animals. However, if clients want these dishes, they can order in advance.



Bui Thi Ha, deputy director of ENV (Education for Nature Vietnam), cited a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments report as showing that 20,000 establishments breed wild animals for commercial purposes.



The problem is that the policy on managing the establishments is loose with many loopholes.



ENV, which carried out a field survey in 2014-2015 at 26 establishments, found signs of using animals from the wild.



We think some forest rangers lend a hand to traffickers to carry tons of wild animals to domestic and markets for consumption, Ha said.

Thien Nhien

Coronavirus: Australia urges G20 action on wildlife wet markets It's thought the Covid-19 outbreak may have begun in a Chinese market that sold wildlife alongside food.
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Report Summary:

The report titled "Flexible Series Compensation Market" offers a primary overview of the Flexible Series Compensation industry covering different product definitions, classifications, and participants in the industry chain structure. The quantitative and qualitative analysis is provided for the global Flexible Series Compensation market considering competitive landscape, development trends, and key critical success factors (CSFs) prevailing in the Flexible Series Compensation industry.

Historical Forecast Period

2013 - 2017  Historical Year for Flexible Series Compensation Market

2018  Base Year for Flexible Series Compensation Market

2019-2027  Forecast Period for Flexible Series Compensation Market

Key Developments in the Flexible Series Compensation Market

To describe Flexible Series Compensation Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;

To analyze the manufacturers of Flexible Series Compensation, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2018;

Request For Report sample @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/12854

To display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers in Global, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2018;

To show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type and application, from 2013 to 2019;

To analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application, covering North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle-East and South America, with sales, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;

Flexible Series Compensation market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2018 to 2026;

To analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.

To analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);

Todescribe Flexible Series Compensation sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.

To describe Flexible Series Compensation Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source

Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers

 ABB

 Siemens

 RXPE

 Sieyuan Electric

 Mitsubishi Electric

 GE

 Toshiba

 AMSC

 Hyosung

Market Segment by Countries, covering

 North America (United States, Canada, Mexico) Market Revenue and/or Volume

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Russia, Italy) Market Revenue and/or Volume

Asia Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia) Market Revenue and/or Volume

Middle-East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa) Market Revenue and/or Volume

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, etc.) Market Revenue and/or Volume

Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/12854

Market Segment by Type, covers

 High Voltage

 Low Voltage

Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into

 Metal Industry

 Railway

 Utilities

 Others

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Many ICU nurses left through the years, taking jobs that were less physical or less stressful; an intensive care nurse can be on her feet for an entire 12-hour shift, moving patients twice her size, dealing with one crisis after the next, advocating for patients with doctors and pharmacists, and soothing distraught family members. But the Old Dolls who left kept in touch, with some now sending food and messages of encouragement to the Old Dolls who remain in the ICU.
Ramsay Devereux, owner of Ramsay One Construction, a Simi Valley flooring store, caused an online commotion when the anti-social distancing signs he put up two weeks ago were disseminated on social media. He shut the store after receiving threats. (Robin Abcarian/Los Angeles Times)

By the time I got to the Simi Valley flooring shop late Monday morning, the controversial signs had been hauled inside, and the store was locked up tight.

Peering through the window of Ramsay One Construction, I could see why they had caused such a fuss. There were four of them; white paint on plywood slabs about four feet high and two feet wide:

Were OPEN  to the truth.

No Masks Allowed.

Hand shakes OK.

Hugs Very OK.

I knocked on the glass. Maybe the owner was busy in the back?

Id have guessed that someone bold enough to flout public health rules aimed at flattening the COVID-19 curve would want as much publicity as possible.

But maybe not.

After all, the signs were in direct violation of a May 7 order from the Ventura County Public Health Department governing how businesses may reopen:

All businesses must establish, implement and enforce COVID-19 prevention plans, says the order. As a condition of operation, each business must post a written notice explaining how it will comply with Social Distancing Requirements in conspicuous places where it can easily be seen.

Maybe the provocative signs were more of a symbolic protest than a literal one. I mean, come on, hugs?

But no, when Ramsay Devereux called me back Tuesday, he explained that he'd shut his shop just for a day to deal with all the threats and voicemails. There was, he said, nothing symbolic about his protest.

"The government should not be doing what it's doing," he told me. "It's absurd what's going on. No one has isolated a virus. No one has proved it. You can't catch a virus. It's not even possible. It's the pharmaceutical industry trying to make a lot of money and make vaccines that are poisonous."

In the first two weeks after he put up his signs, he said, people gave him thumbs up or went into the store to deliver hugs. "There was not one bit of criticism," he said. "And then everything broke loose."

Story continues

::

Across Southern California and the country, social distancing has become the fulcrum of the struggle between those who take public health warnings seriously, and those who blow them off. In Van Nuys, two men were arrested on suspicion of battery after they brawled with a Target employee who told them they had to wear face masks in the store. A security guard in Michigan was shot and killed after asking a customer to put on a mask. Also in Michigan, a man was arrested after wiping his nose on a store employee's sleeve instead of putting on a mask.

President Trump, ever the failure as a role model, refuses to wear a mask, even though the coronavirus has infiltrated the White House.

It has infected the military steward who serves his meals and his vice presidents press secretary, who happens to be married to Trumps senior policy advisor. Three of his coronavirus task force members are in self-quarantine.

Yet this week, the Federalist published an essay praising the president's decision to go maskless, saying the image of him with a covered face would be a searing image of weakness.

Its no wonder the country is at odds.

On Monday, the president announced, We have met the moment and we have prevailed.

On Tuesday, his top coronavirus task force members told the Senate that the crisis is far from over. If the country reopens too quickly, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the White House advisors who is in self-quarantine, Americans could endure avoidable suffering and death.

::

Late Saturday night, a historian who teaches at Cal State Channel Islands saw a photo of the flooring company's signs on a Ventura County Facebook page and reposted it on Twitter. "Actual store in my town," wrote David Parsons. When he woke up Sunday morning, he was blown away by the response.

It started a whole civil war conversation about social distancing, said Parsons, who teaches 1970s American history and hosts a long-running podcast, "The Nostalgia Trap."

Reading the thread of all these reactions, its clear that Americans are all living in their own media-saturated reality, Parsons told me. All these rabbit hole investigations people have done. It's scary to me because managing democracy is always messy, but its harder when you have a population that does not even accept the premise of whats going on.

As of Tuesday morning, he said, his post had been retweeted 16,000 times and "liked" 115,000 times.

I muted the conversation yesterday, he said, because I was sick of reading all the comments.

That's pretty much how Devereux felt.

"I'm shocked at what has happened," he told me. "I'm not a social media guy. Never been on Twitter in my life."

When I read his Yelp page on Monday, it was full of angry comments unrelated to flooring.

This guy is a COVID-19 denier! said a furious poster.

By Tuesday morning, however, the backlash had been disabled by Yelp, which took down the rants, and disabled further comments.

This business recently made waves in the news, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news, Yelp posted on the page. While we dont take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this news event, we work to verify that the content you see here reflects personal consumer experiences with the business rather than the news itself.

That came as a relief to Devereux, who has received hundreds of hostile voicemails, including threats to burn his store down.

"It's shaken me up," he said.

@AbcarianLAT








President Muhammadu Buhari government has been advised against express consumption of the Madagascan Coronavirus drink, known as COVID Organic when it arrives in Nigeria.

The advise was given by former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, who added that they must first go through scientific tests to determine its effectiveness, and whether there are side effects to it before administering to coronavirus patients in the country.

Recall Naija News had earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered that Madagascars cure for coronavirus be picked up.

The President directed the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19 to pick up the drug which was sent to Nigeria.

The drug named COVID Organics is for the prevention and cure of the disease.

It was gathered that the consignment coming to Nigeria has been dispatched to Equatorial Guinea from where it will be shipped to Abuja.

Sani tweeted, Madagascan #COVID19 remedy should be clinically and scientifically tested.

Once its found to be effective and with no serious side effects, it should be approved, purchased in bulk quantities and supplied to our clinics.

If there are serious issues with the remedy, it should be discarded.

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Recently, Wuhan had five new cases of a virus cluster which was first reported on April 3. The cluster of coronavirus cases were all located in a residential compound as reported by authorities tracking infections in the city of Wuhan, where everything began.

Lockdowns are getting less as China is attempting to restart its flagging economy, as its former trade partners are losing confidence after coronavirus came about.

Even as it eases the restrictions, the coronavirus infections still keep on coming but in smaller numbers.

The viral cluster in Wuhan was first detected on the 8th of April. One of the confirmed infected Wuhanese was the spouse of an 89-year-old man, as the first case on Sunday.

These confirmed cases were mostly asymptomatic, which is getting tested positive but do not have the symptoms of those ill with the coronavirus like cough or fever.

Many of the asymptomatics are under surveillance by the Wuhan health authorities to trace their movements.

Shulan City has several new cases confirmed.

Other places in China are now reporting cases like Shulan city in the Jilin province, near the Russian border and at North Korea which had confirmed 11 new cases.

Reported infection caused by the coronavirus that was thought to have been thwarted seems to show that ending the lockdown is too premature, as 11 newer cases were recorded with Chinese origin.

Soon after the detection, the city went under lockdown and the government went as far as shutting public places, according to the Global Times.

Shulan is now a high-risk area from a lesser risk status. Now, it is the only Chinese city with dubious designation.

As for the status of the Shulan lockdown, there's just one family member who is assigned to get what is needed.

Also read: China Denounces US Lies But Supports WHO Tracing COVID-19 Source

Public transport is now stopped and taxis will remain in city limits with no exceptions. No one goes around or in and out.

This was a surprise after Beijing had said that all regions in China were now considered a low-risk area.

Jilin city is now at medium from a former low-risk level as two new cases where placed under control like what happened at Wuhan that was allowed to reel out of control.

Beijing is not allowing the province to be set on fire by another out of control outbreak, also to lessen the danger to the wider province.

Other cities that are now on high alert, they are Changchun city and Dongfeng county where all those coming from Shulan will have a two-week quarantine. All transport from Shulan and other cities are now shut down to prevent any source of infection.

One of the provinces Liaoning has a single new case, a 23-year old who came from Jilin. Even one case is a cause for alarm.

It seems that Jilin is shaping up to be the new center of another outbreak unless the authorities can control it.

Who were the newly reported cases? Where did it begin?

All the new cases are traced to a 45-year-old who is a laundry worker at a local public security bureau. After getting sick she infected her husband, her three sisters and family members

Authorities are now tracing those she had contact with, she has not traveled anywhere either. Her 276 closed contacts are in close quarantine report China Daily.

One suspect is located close to North Korean and Russian borders. Close provinces have had spikes in imported cases.

Discovery of the Wuhan cluster of five positive is a going to dent Beijing's plans to reopen China.

Related article: Shocking Evidence from Western Intelligence Claims to Prove China's Lies, Misdirection of Coronavirus

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 66-year-old sunbather was left with serious injuries Friday when an officer accidentally drove her cruiser over him while he was reclining on a beach in Florida.

William Koziarz, 66, from Michigan, was relaxing on an Indian Shores beach, when 27-year-old Pinellas County officer Natasha Hindman drove over his hip.

The officer was on beach patrol in a fully marked 2018 Ford Explorer, according to reports.

Pictured: An aerial view of Indian shores, Florida, where a 66-year-old man was run over by a policewoman in her cruiser on Friday

'As Officer Hindman drove along the sand at low speed, the left side tires of her cruiser drove over the hips of 66-year-old William Koziarz, who was lying on the sand,' the sheriff's office said in a statement.

After realising what she'd done, the officer immediately contacted paramedics and tried to provide Koziarz medical attention.

He was rushed to Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg with 'serious, but non-life threatening injuries.'

The officer avoided the incident without any injuries and the police said that impairment and speed had been ruled out as the cause.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Pictured: 193rd Avenue access to Indian shores, where 27-year-old Natasha Hindman drove before getting to the beach and crashed into 66-year-old William Koziarz

Floridians kicked off a weekend of partying at sea and beaches on Friday after Gov Ron DeSantis gave the order to start phase one of the reopening process.

Dozens of boats were spotted on a sandbar near John's Pass as thousands of people flocked to area beaches during the first weekend public beaches reopened after they were closed a few weeks ago in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Most beach goers observed social distancing under the watchful eye of Pinellas County Sheriff deputies who were patrolling Madeira Beach educating citizens of the rules.

On Sunday, people were seen dancing, drinking and sharing a hookah on the deck of one yacht in Biscayne Bay in Miami. Dozens more were seen waiting in a massive line near a marina in Miami, which is one of three epicenters of the virus in the state.

At least 40,596 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the state as of Sunday and at least 1,735 people have died.

Since the state began to reopen on May 4, Florida has seen 336 deaths over the six days - an average of 56 new deaths every day.
Waiters in face masks served coffees and bocadillo sandwiches at cafe terraces in Seville on Monday as parts of Spain eased restrictions amid a slowing coronavirus epidemic that saw the number of new fatalities drop to a near two-month low.

Im very happy, I really wanted to work. Weve been shut for two months now, Marta Contreras, a waitress in central Seville, said, smiling from behind her mask.

About half of Spains 47 million people progressed to the so-called Phase 1 of a four-step plan to relax one of Europes strictest lockdowns on Monday after the government decided that the regions in which they live met the necessary criteria.

About 40 percent of Spains total small businesses and 60 percent in areas under Phase 1 have reopened, according to the National Federation of Autonomous Workers trade union. In the hospitality industry, just up to 20 percent of businesses have reopened across Spain.





Cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, which have been particularly hard hit by the epidemic, have been left behind for now and cafes remained shuttered in the normally packed Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol squares in the capital, causing unease among some Madrilenos.

They should let our hand loose a bit to reactivate the economy, carefully and with precaution  Because the effect this may have on the economy and regular people can be devastating, in fact, it has been already, said Miguel Angel, a 59-year-old Madrid lawyer.

Health ministry data showed the daily death toll dropping to 123 on Monday from Sundays 143, bringing the total number of fatalities from the pandemic to 26,744 in one of the worlds worst-affected countries. The daily number, a seven week-low, has come down from a record of 950 in early April.

Church services resumed with limited capacity and chairs, rather than pews, were spaced out inside for the faithful to preserve a two-metre distance.

Under the lockdown relaxation, up to 10 people can gather together, and people are allowed to move freely around their province.

Businesses were happy to resume work after the long paralysis, but many said they were still piling up losses.





We are only able to open thanks to the owner of the premises who reduced our rent significantly and to the support of our staff who have renounced part of their wages in order to begin working, said Jose Manuel, owner of a cafe in Seville.

Waiters rolled beer kegs and frequently disinfected tables as customers, few of them wearing masks, sipped their drinks.

Another cafe owner, Ramon, added: The truth is its been quite a hard financial hit. We will see, we will overcome it little by little  I will not be profitable yet, but oh well, I run the business, so here I am.

In regions that qualify, including most of Andalusia  Spains most populous  as well as the Canary and Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants, shops, museums, gyms and hotels were allowed to open, most at reduced capacity.

But Madrid, Barcelona and other cities including Valencia, Malaga and Granada will remain in Phase 0, much to the annoyance of regional governments struggling with the economic implications of a prolonged lockdown.

Fernando Simon, chief health emergency coordinator, called for caution to avoid a rebound of the outbreak.

We are in a very positive situation, but it is a very delicate phase where if we dont do things right we could end up in situations (of rebound) like those of South Korea or Germany.
The popular transportation company known as Uber has just recently laid off thousands of their workers during multiple Zoom calls, according to a certain report.

There were a total of about 3,500 customer service and recruitment employees that were told over a series of video calls last week that they would be terminated as the service currently struggles with the ongoing pandemic.

The Daily Mail was the first to report this news and even obtain the video of this happening. According to a certain Uber spokesperson's statement to FOX Business, it is never easy or even uncomplicated to let certain employees go, and that fact has only become more true during the ongoing pandemic although most are working from their homes across multiple cities and countries.

Uber's decision

According to the spokesperson, the company has focused on providing the most empathetic and clearest experience they could possibly have put together along with a strong severance package and even other benefits.

The head of Uber's Pheonix Center of Excellence, Ruffin Chaveleau, said in a certain call that the transportation ride business is certainly going down by more than half. According to Chaveleau, there is not even enough work for most of the front-line customer support employees. Due to this, they are eliminating 3,500 frontline customer support roles.

Chaveleau acknowledged the current situation and said that she is aware that it is extremely hard to hear and that nobody wants to receive a call like that one especially in a time like this. Now, with everyone working remotely and even a change of this magnitude, they had to announce as quickly as possible before people heard it from the "rumor mill."

In addition, she also stated that she actually wanted to deliver the news personally in order to thank the contributors to Uber.

Read Also: Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Sold Out in Just a Few Minutes During Re-Opening After Coronavirus Shut Down

The demand for Uber services

The demand for these Uber services has drastically dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic with most Americans staying home. The filing by Uber last Wednesday showed that about 14 percent of its total 26,900 employees could actually lose their jobs.

The company has already lost about $3 billion as reported last Thursday and even said that it would carry out a hiring freeze. Even the CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, will give up this current year's salary in order to keep the company afloat.

In a statement given last week, Uber's CEO said that while all the rides have been hit hard due to the ongoing pandemic and that the company has to make firm decisions and take quick action in order to preserve the strength of their own balance sheets.

The company is now focusing its additional resources on Uber Eats and preparing for any recovery scenario.

In addition, the CEO said that they are seeing early sings in the market that are beginning to open back up. According to them, the global footprint along with variable cost structure still remains an important competitive advantage. They also expect that their Rides recovery will still differ depending on cities.

Read Also: Triton Submarines Unveils Luxurious Sub That Could Bring 24 Tourists Down to 100-meter Depths
WASHINGTON  An allegation of sexual assault against Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has concerned Connecticuts Democratic congressional delegation, but has not yet shaken their support for him. Some said Bidens response has been adequate and honest, while others called for further investigation.

The allegation has become controversial political issue as Republicans slam Democrats for not renouncing Biden. It is testing the parties as they face off at the intersection of a polarized election and the powerful #MeToo movement.

Recently, a former staffer in Bidens Senate office, Tara Reade, alleged that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Senate building 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 last week.

Last year, Reade accused Biden, the former vice president, of inappropriate touching along with seven other women. One of the other women who said Bidens actions made them uncomfortable, was Amy Lappos, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, who said Biden pulled her in to rub noses at a Greenwich fundraiser in 2009.

Biden said the alleged assault of Reade never happened in a statement on May 1. He requested the Senate and National Archives find and release any complaint from Reade from his offices personnel records. In response to the allegations on inappropriate touching, Biden said in April 2019, he will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future.

In an interview Thursday, Himes, the only member of the Connecticut congressional delegation who has endorsed Biden so far, said allegations like this should be thoroughly investigated. The allegation does not reduce Himess political support for Biden pending the results of an investigation, he said.

I like Joe Biden. I respect Joe Biden. I trust Joe Biden, Himes said. But that doesnt in any way alleviate the need for a thorough investigation here.

In addition to Himes, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, called for an investigation into Reades claims. They were not specific about who should conduct the investigation, saying they deferred to Reades wishes.

Every due diligence should be made to support the allegations that shes making, Hayes in an interview Thursday. I think [Biden] should do whatever he can to help move the investigation along... I just think he should be honest and transparent and let the truth fall where it will.

Hayes endorsed Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., before she ended her presidential campaign. Asked about her support for Bidens campaign she said, Im not ready to offer support to anyone yet.

What theyre saying

In written statements, other members of the delegation said allegations of sexual misconduct should be listened to and applauded Bidens response to the situation. Most avoided the question of whether they would now endorse him.

Everyone deserves to be heard, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3. We must rely on evidence and facts. Vice President Joe Biden has answered questions about these allegations honestly, and has asked for a full investigation.

Allegations of misconduct have to be taken seriously, and victims have a right to come forward, said Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2. Theres always an obligation to follow evidence in any serious accusation to ascertain the truth.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a written statement Biden took the correct step by calling for records related to the allegation to be released publicly.

Ive gotten to know Vice President Biden in a deeply personal way through our work with survivors from Sandy Hook, and I know his character is strong. Hes denied the accusations, and has made the right decision to ask that any documents related to the accusation be made public, Murphy said. I support him and am confident hes the right person to lead our country out of this crisis.

Rep. John Larson, D-1, said he believes Biden has addressed the allegations respectfully and adequately.

Everyone has the right to share their story, be heard, and treated respectfully, Larson said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., compared Bidens response to that President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by more than a dozen women. A 2005 Access Hollywood tape released before the 2016 election also caught Trump talking about touching women without their consent and saying he would grab them by the pussy.

Contrast [Bidens] respectful, credible response to this allegation with President Trump's comments about the many women who have accused him of assault, and the choice could not be more clear, Blumenthal said. Women  and men  who bravely come forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment deserve to be heard and treated with respect.

The Reade allegation

Reade first made her allegation of sexual assault in a podcast interview on March 25 and has since confirmed it to other media. She said Biden pinned her to a wall and reached under her skirt to penetrate her in a Senate office building hallway.

In April, Reade filed a police report in Washington, D.C. stating she was sexually assaulted in 1993 but did not name Biden on the document, the New York Times reported. D.C. police have said the investigation is inactive. Filing a false police report can be punished with a fine or jail time.

Reade said she would be willing to testify under oath or take a polygraph in the Kelly interview, part of which was released last week. Reade also said she retained legal counsel.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported last week Reades then-husband wrote in a 1996 court document that Reade was sexually harassed while working in Bidens office in 1993. The document did not mention sexual assault nor name Biden as the harasser.

Family and friends have corroborated parts of Reades account to the media. Staff who worked in Bidens Senate office during the year that Reade worked there could not corroborate her account, nor did they report other allegations of misconduct against Biden.

In an exclusive interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, Lappos 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.

Republican outcry

Republicans have drawn a contrast between Democrats response to the sexual assault allegation against Biden with their response to a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

A California professor Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh groped and tried to undress her at a party while they were in high school more than three decades ago. She testified about her experience before Congress in 2018 during hearings to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Democrats called for a full FBI investigation of her allegation and all, save one, voted against Kavanaughs confirmation. Kavanaugh was confirmed to the court in October 2018.

By design, this looks like a cover-up of alleged misconduct and I am appalled that Reade has not even been given a voice to share her story as Christine Blasey Ford was heard when she went on every national news program and testified before the Senate. Yet, none of the Democrats who dispensed with due process and embraced Fords accusations have shown the slightest interest in speaking with Reade, said Republican Jonathan Riddle, who is challenging Himes in the 4th District and supports Trumps re-election. I personally feel [Biden] is unfit for office.

Republican Margaret Streicker said she hoped DeLauro, who she is challenging, will call on Biden to drop out of the race.

Joe Biden has done his level best to discredit Ms. Reade and delegitimize her story and the harassment he put her through, Streicker said. Joe Biden's actions have been utterly reprehensible, and if we let him continue in this fashion, to borrow a quote from Rosa DeLauro just a year and a half ago, 'we are telling survivors of sexual assault that we do not believe them. That is unacceptable.' I look forward to Ms. DeLauro's scathing critique of Joe Biden.

Streicker backs Trump in 2020.

The allegations by Reade, Ford and other women are part of the ground swell of sexual misconduct claims that women have voiced against men of power and celebrity in whats been named the #MeToo Movement. Many of these allegations have been credible and resulted in criminal consequences for the accused.

If the #metoo movement has taught us anything it is that we need to support women over party politics, said Brian Merlen, who launched a Democratic campaign against Himes. My opponent Jim Himes has endorsed Biden over his own subordinates ordeal even and that seems very disingenuous for a party that advocated so strongly previously on this issue. Too many women have allegations against Biden of varying degrees for me to feel comfortable selling out victims of assault or harassment politically.

Biden has also recently selected former Sen. Chris Dodd, another Connecticut Democrat, to serve on a selection committee to choose his vice presidential candidate. Dodd represented Connecticut in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1981 and in the Senate from 1981 to 2011, becoming the states longest serving senator.

Dodd has faced his own allegations of inappropriate behavior dating to decades ago, most notably detailed in a 1990 profile of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in Gentlemens Quarterly.

DeLauro, who was Dodds chief of staff, prior to her own election to Congress, said she has no first-hand knowledge of Dodd acting inappropriately toward women while he was a senator.

Senator Dodd knows the Congress and the federal government and is an excellent choice for the Vice Presidential selection committee, DeLauro said.

Dodd did not respond to requests for comment.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike supervised the demolition of two hotels in the state on May 10th, for violating the lockdown order of the state government for hotels to remain shut as part of measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

last week, the Governor, placed the capital city, Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpo local government areas on curfew, and vowed to pull down hotels operating during the lockdown and buildings opened for business. The Prodest hotel Eleme and one Edemeteh Hotel, Onne were found to have violated the lockdown order as they opened for business.

The governor stunned residents of the state this afternoon when he accompanied a bulldozer to the Prodest Hotel and Edemeteh Hotel, Onne. to pull the structure down.

Governor Wike while supervising the demolition, dismissed claims that it has a political undertone. According to him, the hotel in Eleme belongs to a PDP member and so if he can demolish a property belonging to a PDP member, then the same fate can befall any other person.

Whether you are PDP or not, what we are saying is that nobody is above the law. If we can do this to a PDP member, then you will know that we are not discriminating he said

Rivers state has 21 confirmed cases coronavirus.

See photos below;
I reject the premise that somehow this is hurting us, he said. Theres no evidence of that.

Mr. Biden said he is following guidance put forward by health officials such as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, who planned to say at a Senate hearing Tuesday that Americans would experience needless suffering and death if the country opens up prematurely. The former vice president condemned Mr. Trump for defying public health officials calls to wear face masks around other people to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

Im getting really frustrated with, not you, but this, the whole notion that somehow we can just open, we can move, Mr. Biden said. Im anxious to go out and campaign, George, you know, when I campaign Im usually the first one there and the last one to leave. I enjoy interfacing with people. Im not trying to avoid it but Im trying to set an example as to how we should proceed in terms of dealing with this health and economic crisis.

The interview appeared as Mr. Biden received the endorsement of Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia. Ms. Abrams is among those Mr. Biden is considering as a potential running mate.

On Tuesday, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader in the Senate, was asked about the allegation by Tara Reade that Mr. Biden had sexually assaulted her when she worked for him in the Senate in 1993. Mr. Schumer said that he found Mr. Bidens explanation of events sufficient and would enthusiastically support his candidacy.

Before the Me Too movement, women were not listened to who were telling what had happened to them. Since Me Too, women are listened to, Mr. Schumer told reporters at a weekly news conference in the Capitol. Now, Ive heard Joe Bidens explanation. I think its sufficient. I think he will be a great candidate. I think he will be a great president, and I think he will help us take back the Senate.
Oregon wineries are finding creative ways to stay in touch with their customers while tasting room doors remain closed due to the coronavirus. If you need a wine-related distraction, these six events are guaranteed to educate and entertain.

I Love Gamay Oregon Wine Festival

From the "I Love Gamay" 2018 event (Photo by Cheryl Juetten)Photo by Cheryl Juetten

Portlands beloved gamay noir celebration is back with a social distancing twist. Instead of an elbow-to-elbow affair at an event space, attendees are invited to virtually love the gamay noir grape from afar.

Festival organizers are offering virtual gamay noir tastings on May 16, 23 and 30 from 2-3:30 p.m. Each tasting session features 3-4 winemakers and their wines. Topics include aging wines in different vessels, how soil types influence a wine and a France v. Oregon gamay noir smackdown.

These events are free of charge via Zoom. If you would like to sip the wines as the winemakers hold court, the festival created tasting packs for you to purchase. The wines can be shipped to your home or picked up curbside at the SE Wine Collective. RSVP for an event and learn more about the wines here.

The wine educators at the Sunday School will also offer a virtual gamay noir class in conjunction with the festival. Wines for the May 29 class will be available for purchase through the SE Wine Collective.

2-3:30 p.m., May 16, 23, and 30 for tasting events; 6-8 p.m. May 29 for the class, ilovegamay.com.

Elk Cove Vineyards Lockdown Kitchen

Chef Amy Griffith makes mushroom risotto in Lockdown Kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Elk Cove Vineyards)

If you are finally running out of ideas for home-cooked meals, Elk Coves Amy Griffith is here to help. Chef Griffith joins forces with sous-chef Matthew L.J. Johnson to help you prepare a comforting dish you can pair with an Elk Cove wine. Just download a recipe and follow along with the chefs on Vimeo.

My favorite so far is the crispy chicken sandwich on a Japanese milk bun, paired with Elk Coves sparkling La Boheme Brut Rose. Elk Coves wines are available for shipping to your doorstep or for contact-free pick-up at the winery.

Elk Cove Vineyards, 27751 N.W. Olson Road, Gaston, elkcove.com or 503- 985-7760.

Raptor Ridge Winery Virtual Tour Packages

Tired of long walks on the same neighborhood blocks? Raptor Ridge owners Scott and Annie Shull have prepared a series of tours of American Viticultural Areas (AVA) located in the Willamette Valley. In case you get thirsty while learning about soils and microclimates, special three-packs of Raptor Ridge wine from each AVA are available for $99. The wines can be shipped to your doorstep or picked up in contact-free style at the winery.

Raptor Ridge Winery, 18700 S.W. Hillsboro Highway, Newberg, raptorridgewinery.com or 503.628.8463.

John & Friends Wine Tasting Series

John Grochau of Grochau Cellars and Terry Sullivan of Upper Five Vineyard. (Photo by Michael Alberty)Photo by Michael Alberty

John Grochau hosts virtual wine tastings that are informative and unpretentious. Grochaus next two Zoom events feature fellow winemaker Ian Burrows of Aerea Vintners in Newberg and Terry Sullivan, who owns the Demeter-certified biodynamic Upper Five Vineyard in the Rogue Valley. Register for these free virtual tastings on the Grochau Cellars website.

Grochau makes excellent wines at a reasonable price. If you would like to try them, he offers shipping, curbside pick-up or free delivery within a 20-mile radius of Portland for purchases of six or more bottles.

5 p.m., May 16 and 23, Grochau Cellars, 9360 S.E. Eola Hills Road, grochaucellars.com or 503-835-0208.

Wines and Stories with Project Ms Jerry Murray

Jerry Murray of Project M Wines is a veteran winemaker with plenty of entertaining stories to tell. This is a rare opportunity to have one-on-one time with Murray while sipping his wines in the comfort of your own home. Simply buy one of Murrays virtual tasting room four-packs and make an appointment to taste with him via Zoom. The use of other platforms is negotiable.

Project M Wines, projectmwines.com or 503-583-2354.

Virtual Wine Tasting with Alex Fullerton of Fullerton Wines

Alex Fullerton of Fullerton Wines. (Photo by Matt Wieland)Photo by Matt Wieland

Alex Fullerton embraces the challenge of virtual tastings with gusto. How else do you describe a winemaker willing to climb up on a rooftop in a rainstorm to host a virtual rose wine tasting? On May 21, Fullerton is hosting a virtual tasting of four of his new wines on Instagram TV. Just head to Fullerton Wines Instagram page at 6 p.m. that evening to join in the festivities.

Fullerton Wines currently offers shipping, curbside pick-up service and free local home delivery on orders of 12 or more bottles.

6 p.m., May 21, Fullerton Wines, 1966 N.W. Pettygrove St., Portland, fullertonwines.com or 503-477-7848.

 Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The Rebecca Foundation, chaired by First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has donated some pieces of locally manufactured face masks to market women in various parts of Accra.



The market women were from the Okaishie, Makola, Kantamanto, Agbogbolshie and Mallam markets.



The gesture forms part of the Foundations activities to combat Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the capital which has recorded 3,892 confirmed cases as at May 10.



It was also part of the Foundations Mothers Day activities to honour and celebrate the contribution of Ghanaian mothers.



Perpetual Asante Amoah, who donated the items on behalf of the First Lady said mothers in the market are relentless in their efforts to combine work with caregiving and ensuring safety at home in this Covid-19 era, thus they deserve to be celebrated.



She also educated them to wash their hands often with soap and under running water.



She also urged them to observe all other approved precautionary measures to protect themselves against the infection.



I again entreat everyone to observe the various protocols as we all come together to fight against Covid-19 Mrs Asante Amoah advised.



Since March, the Rebecca Foundation has fed street children and provided food items and sanitary items to the elderly, single mothers, widows, people living with HIV and persons with disabilities in Accra and Kumasi.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Eva Longoria sat down with Guardians Of The Galaxy star Zoe Saldana on Monday to talk about important issues facing the Latinx community and how crucial the 2020 election will be to it.

The 45-year-old Desperate Housewives star opened up about subjects that aren't always welcome among Latinx people, including frank discussions about sex and sexual orientations.

Zoe, 41, hosted the discussion on her site BESE's Instagram account, which is devoted to political and social issues important to the Latinx community.

High stakes: Eva Longoria, 45, sat down with Guardians Of The Galaxy's Zoe Saldana, 41, on Monday to talk about important issues facing the Latinx community in the 2020 election

Zoe started off the discussion with some of the subjects that don't usually get mentioned in Latinx households.

'There are so many taboos in the Hispanic community,' Eva began. 'We never talked about sex.'

'Never!' Zoe interjected.

'Or any of that. Condoms, birth control, we just dont talk about it,' Eva continued. 'We dont talk about sexuality, being gay, or being part fo the LGBTQ community. We dont talk about mental health, we dont talk about health problems.'

Hush hush: Zoe started off the discussion with some of the subjects that don't usually get mentioned in Latinx households

Sensitive: 'There are so many taboos in the Hispanic community,' Eva said. 'We never talked about sex. Or any of that.' She said the community is also resistant to talking about LGBTQ issues

The topic reminded her about the coronavirus pandemic currently raging across the United States.

'Even with this COVID-19, theres not enough information in Spanish to help people who need this information in other languages,' she explained.

The TV star pointed to the hashtag '#AyudaEnEspanol,' a reference for Spanish speakers to get coronavirus-related information, such as the illness' symptoms or where they can get tested, all of it in Spanish.

Special info: 'Even with this COVID-19, theres not enough information in Spanish to help people who need this information in other languages,' she explained

Life saver: Eva said Spanish speakers could find information about COVID-19 symptoms and where to get tested using the hashtag '#AyudaEnEspanol'

Zoe also brought up Eva's Variety guest column from March, in which she talked about the importance of the Latinx community voting in the 2020 election and working to make voting easier and more accessible.

'Because of COVID were going to have to lean on vote by mail and absentee voting and technology, and a) its easily hacked and so thats a danger and b) theres more suppression of voting rights through voting by mail,' she explained.

'They can say, "Oh, you didnt send it in on time, you didnt get it, youre not registered at the right address so it doesnt count, early voting already ended."'

'It is on you, it is on us to sort of raise our village. We can speak for ourselves just by voting,' Zoe chimed in.

Raised stakes: Zoe also brought up Eva's Variety column from March, in which she talked about the importance of the Latinx community voting in the 2020 election; shown in February
Firefighters battle to extinguish a blaze on an oil tanker docked at Belawan port AFP/Ivan Damanik

Two explosions were heard shortly before the blaze erupted on the 250m long Jag Leela, belching huge clouds of thick black smoke into the air.

Firefighters on board another boat battled to put out the inferno on the Indonesia flagged vessel that was docked for repairs at North Sumatra's Belawan port.

Emergency personnel rushed 22 injured sailors to hospital with dozens more still trapped on the tanker, said local police chief Dayan, who goes by one name.

The cause of the explosion and fire had yet to be determined, he said.

The blaze spread to at least one other vessel docked beside the oil tanker while the force of the explosion caused minor damage to nearby homes, Dayan added.
19 Navy personnel killed, 15 others injured in accident to Navy frigate (UPDATED)

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 11, IRNA -- Some 19 Navy personnel have been martyred with some 15 others injured in an accident happened to an Iranian vessel in the course of drills in southern Iran, the Navy said in a statement on Monday.

The statement said that those injured are in satisfactory conditions.

Rescue and relief operations began soon after the incident and the injured persons were evacuated and sent to medical centers, the statement said.

The accident happened to the "Konarak" vessel during a military drill in the waters of Jask Port in southern Iran.

Expert investigations are underway about the cause of the incident, the statement said, asking everyone to avoid raising speculations.

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New Delhi, May 12 : National carrier Air India on Tuesday shut its national capital-based headquarters, Airlines House, after an employee was tested Covid-19 positive. Accordingly, the building will be shut for two days for sanitisation work.

Under the safety protocols, work places of those employees who have tested positive required to be shut and sanitised to prevent the spread of the virus. The test report of the employee had come out last night.

"One of the employees attending office at Airlines House has tested positive for covid 19," the airline said in a statement. "As Air India accords top priority to safety and wellbeing of its employees, the building will be closed for two days for sanitisation, adhering to protocol. All support is being extended to the employee concerned".

In an unrelated development, five pilots of the airline, who had earlier tested positive for coronavirus, have now tested negative for the infection.

The new results were obtained after a re-test was conducted on the positive cases under Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the airline. The pilots had tested coronavirus positive when 77 pilots of the airline were tested on a priority basis on Saturday.

All the five pilots didn't have any symptoms and would be home-quarantined in Mumbai, people in the know said. These pilots operated Boeing 787 Dreamliners aircraft, and were tested to be deployed for duty under the Vande Bharat Mission to ferry back Indians stranded abroad.

The national carrier has also been engaged in transport of essential medical supplies amid the pandemic. Starting May 7, Air India has been engaged in one of the largest rescue operations in the world, whereby 64 flights would bring back over 14,000 people stranded in 12 countries in 7 days.

Many Indians have already arrived in several cities under the Mission.
Dreamstime, HO / TNS

Websites for the Texas court system were still down Monday after a ransomware attack late last week left the network temporarily disabled, according to the Office of Court Administration.

Officials discovered the breach early Friday and quickly shut down sites and disabled servers to contain it, the office said in a statement. The hack did not impact e-filing and other services, many of which have been transferred to the cloud in recent years, according to the office.
6 Ways For Musicians To Earn Money At Home During COVID-19

Musicians careers have been especially heavily impacted by the pandemic. With live music one of the first to go, and likely among the last to return, artists are facing a lot of economic uncertainty. That said, there are still some ways for musicians to make money from their homes.

Guest post by Jamie Ehrenfeld of Resonator Arts. This article originally appeared on Soundflys Flypaper

Musicians are among the most economically jeopardized by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing mandates. With the live music industry shuttered for the foreseeable future, artists are forced to adapt their business practices to work for them in the digital realm.

People are reconnecting with music in a new and exciting ways during this hardship, but many musicians like us are still vulnerable. We are remembering the essential value of creative products and professionals as fulfillers of a core emotional need. As we all navigate this transition, artists and creatives need to be able to fulfill their own financial needs.

So, here are just a few places to look for additional streams of income.

1. Register full release catalog for potential back royalties owed to you.

Where are your releases for sale? How much have they earned to date? This information is important in taking control of your artist business. You may be leaving money on the table that your music has earned in royalties for being played in different locations.

If you havent already done so, register with a PRO (Performing Rights Organization) like BMI or ASCAP and register all the songs that youve written or co-written. Then, register the sound recordings youve released with SoundExchange. If you released them independently, you are both the recording artist and the sound recording owner.

Are you on Bandcamp yet? Bandcamp allows you to set your own price for your music content and offer subscriptions, as well as being a place to sell your music and branded merchandise side by side. They also pay out daily, and are a great company with artists success at the forefront of their model.

2. Package unreleased content for exclusive release to superfans.

Patreon is one entity that enables artists to control subscription tier levels, rewards, content release and more. Having your fans subscribe to you, even for as low as $1 per month, can help bring in consistent revenue and allow you to continue creating music during hard times.

3. Perform live and accept donations.

You can start earning money with a Twitch channel after reaching 50 followers, streaming for eight hours, broadcast on seven unique days (within a 30-day period), and have an average of three viewers. Read more about making money using Twitch here.

StageIt enables artists to host interactive virtual concerts with tip jar and set your own ticket prices.

Of course, you can also stream wherever your primary fanbase is (most often Instagram / Facebook Live) and encourage them to donate directly via Venmo or Ca$h app. These recommendations are curated to help artists tap into new digital communities around these specialty tools and tap into your own immediate community where youre already present on social media.

4. Freelance a skill you have to someone who still has an income and get compensated.

Soundbetter is a music-specific marketplace for creators to find professional support to finish projects  for professional producers, engineers, songwriters, session musicians, vocalists, etc.

Fiverr is a similar marketplace but offers services broader than just music; and they also have a larger user base. Gig workers (you) create a pitch of your services, offering three tiers of packages with a range of price points.

Freelancer is a competitor of Fiverr, with the major difference being the bidding process to get jobs. Clients post projects and freelancers pitch to be considered for hire.

5. Teach lessons online.

Were obviously huge fans of online education. But were not the only platform out there, so if youre looking to make a buck off of giving online lessons and tutorials, check out the following websites where you can start uploading content and connecting with your community of musical learners.

Live Music Tutor: The application consists of creating an instructor profile and welcome video, completing a W9, enrolling in direct deposit and passing a background check.

Take Lessons: In addition to music, this website facilitates language learning and other creative disciplines.

Play with a Pro: They strongly recommend using an ethernet cable for lessons, and the teaching roster indicates a leaning toward classical, instrumental music study.

But first

6. Claim your stimulus check, file for unemployment and apply for pandemic UI assistance!

If youre a US citizen, youre due for some government assistance, and dont leave this potential income hanging. Most of the time the money will be sent directly to your bank account if youre up to date on your tax filings, but just in case, you can learn more and apply at the following websites:

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 17:41 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd78e935 1 Business COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,foreign-workers,Southeast-Sulawesi,China,Chinese-workers,smelter,coronavirus,outsourcing-in-Indonesia,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia Free

The government has suspended entry for foreign workers during the COVID-19 outbreak following reports that hundreds of Chinese workers have tried to enter Southeast Sulawesi.

"The government aims to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by limiting foreigners from entering the country. This policy will be in effect until the situation improves," presidential spokeswoman for legal matters Dini Purwono said on Monday.

Two companies in Southeast Sulawesi, PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) and PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS), had planned to bring in 500 foreign workers from China to install smelter equipment. The companies claimed they had to outsource the workers due to a lack of capable local workers and said that once the equipment was ready, the company would hire 3,000 local workers.

The foreign workers were scheduled to in Indonesia for six months and return to their home country once the installation was complete. The workers have yet to arrive in Indonesia.

Read also: High influx of Indonesian migrant workers from Malaysia, despite call to stay amid outbreak

Dini said the foreign workers would be allowed to enter the country once the outbreak was under control.

She added that the workers will be subjected to a series of tests and health protocols to ensure they were free from COVID-19 when they entered Indonesia in the future.

As for now, the Manpower Ministry is coordinating with the Southeast Sulawesi governor as well as the South Sulawesi Regional Legislative Council to find a solution that prevents the spread of COVID-19 while also ensuring that the project, which will employ 3,000 workers, can continue because this involves many peoples livelihoods, she said. (dpk)
The KanAm Grund Group has acquired the 4 North in Edinburgh and therefore the 14th asset for its KanAm Grund European Cities fund. The fund is a company created especially for a Northern German pension fund that primarily invests in office properties and has assets at 8 locations in Germany,

Photos: KanAm Grund Group



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Damien Patton, the CEO of the surveillance company Banjo, has resigned after an investigation last month revealed that he was a former neo-Nazi.

In June 1990, when Patton was 17, he and a leader of the Dixie Knights of the Ku Klux Klan took a TEC-9 pistol and drove to a Nashville synagogue. Patton drove, while the Klan member fired on the religious building. No one was struck or killed during the shooting.

Patton then hid on a white supremacist training camp before a second Klan member helped him flee the state, according to a report from One Zero. One Zero reviewed transcripts of courtroom testimony, sworn statements, and over 1,000 pages of records.

During a trial in 1992, the former CEO pleaded guilty to acts of juvenile delinquency, while the Klansmen were charged with federal hate crimes. Patton admitted to being a member of the Nashville Dixie Knights and being a skinhead, which he described as the foot soldiers for groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations.

Patton also admitted to participating in white supremacist meetings where speakers advocated for the elimination of other races including Black and Jewish people. He has since offered his apologies.

I know that I will never be able to erase my past but I work hard every day to make up for mistakes. This is something I will never stop doing reads part of his statement to OneZero and is part of a longer statement on the companys blog. The Independent reached out to Patton's represenatives for further comment.

Banjo was founded in 2010 and raised over $120 million in funding from firms including Softbank. It also secured a contract with the state of Utah to build a Live Time Intelligence system which would use data from traffic and security cameras, 911 calls, and geolocation data, and link it with data from social media feeds.

Since then, the state of Utah and Banjo have suspended their contract. Last month, the office of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes told Techcrunch that: The Utah Attorney Generals office is shocked and dismayed at reports that Banjos founder had any affiliation with any hate group or groups in his youth. Neither the AG nor anyone in the AGs office were aware of these affiliations or actions. They are indefensible. He has said so himself.

One Zero notes that there are also questions to be raised about how much vetting is done for startup founders. Moreover, biased training for artificial intelligence systems  the technology that Banjo would use - can result in biased applications.

Undisclosed biases could have negative effects on the algorithm, and the data it is trained upon, and has been shown to discriminate against woman and minorities.

The companys website states that the company is now under the leadership of Justin R. Lindsey effective immediately.

I am confident Banjo's greatest days are still ahead, and will do everything in my power to ensure our mission succeeds, Patton said. However, under the current circumstances, I believe Banjo's best path forward is under different leadership.
Trojan Lampion is back after 3 months. The malware was observed last days with a new obfuscation layer, new C2, and distributed inside an MSI file.

Trojan Lampion is a malware observed at the end of the year 2019 impacting Portuguese users using template emails from the Portuguese Government Finance & Tax and EDP.

The latest campaigns in Portugal were observed during February 2020, according to the threat indicators available at 0xSI_f33d  The Portuguese Abuse Open Feed. A new modified version of this malware was observed during May 2020 using template emails that impersonate an invoice from a Bank transaction, an invoice from Vodafone Group, and in another scenario, emergency funds provided by the Portuguese Government to help the COVID-19 fight.

Below, the email templates on how Lampion has been distributed in May 2020 in Portugal are presented.

Lampion email templates  May 2020

SAPO TRANSFER TEMPLATE

On May 8th, 2020, a fresh version of Lampion trojan was distributed using templates using the SAPO Transfer Cloud and the email related to a bank transfer.

Figure 1: Lampion malware distributed via SAPO TRANSFER cloud.

As noted in previous campaigns, the threat is distributed on a VBS file along with other documents to lure victims.

Figure 2: Message included by crooks inside the PDF file.

VODAFONE GROUP INVOICE TEMPLATE

In this scenario, a Microsoft Installer (MSI) file was used to disseminate the threat. The malicious file is downloaded from the Google API Cloud.

Figure 3: Lampion trojan distributed via an MSI file hosted on Google API Cloud.

PORTUGUESE GOVERNAMENT TEMPLATE / COVID-19

Also, an MSI file was used to infect the victims (formulario_emergencial_gov.msi). In this case, the malicious file was downloaded from an AWS S3 bucket. The modus operandi both malicious MSI file is the same and explained below. We are living in an era where crooks taking advantage of the pandemic situation to launch new waves of phishing and malware every day.

Figure 4: Malicious MSI file downloaded from AWS S3 bucket and using COVID-19 theme that impersonates the Portuguese Government.

Lampion May 2020  Modus Operandi

According to the first appearance of this banking trojan in December 2019, the modus operandi remains as documented here. Only the way how the malware is distributed has been changed along the time.

As observed in Figure 2, this is the classic form of Lampion. It poses as a VBS file along with other files, including an image and a PDF file to lure the victims.

Nonetheless, Figure 3 and Figure 4 show another way how Lampion has been spread. Crooks are using an MSI file with the VBS file inside (1st stage), that is executed to infect the victims device. Also, the VBS file is harder to understand, it is a bit bit more overshadowed in contrast to the initial samples. In brief, these are the only changes observed in these fresh samples in contrast to December 2019.

Analyzing the MSI file from Figure 4, it poses as a file sent from the Portuguese Government to help in the COVID-19 fight.

Inside the MSI file is available the VBS file (Lampion  1st stage), which is installed on C:\Programs File (x86)\Firefox_2020-*\Firefox_2020-* when the MSI file is executed.

Figure 5: Lampion MSI file with the VBS file (1st stage) inside.

Figure 6: MSI file installation dropping the VBS file (1st stage) inside the C:\Programs Files (x86) folder.

Figure 7: VBS file (1st stage) available and executed from C:\Programs Files (x86) folder.

From this point, the malware process is the same how documented in December 2019. However, the VBS file is now harder, with a new obfuscation round (see Figure 8 below).

Figure 8: Snippet of code  obfuscation differences between the VBS samples; December 2019 and May 2020.

The next stage is downloaded through the execution of the VBS file on the infected device. In order to decode the URLs, we use the snippet of code available here.

The analyzed samples (2nd stage) are download from the Google Cloud instead of AWS S3 buckets; as observed between December 2019 and February 2020.SAMPLES SAPO TRANSFER TEMPLATE~wa^6jfjdfHik0z%S%miBj:emhVW\]+[W$\]Ve0e*];b.[&WifM_BiD$2YBePcj%^j1[bWScc#=cYe/Z+kYbOeEiufz%O&I$pp-_,fAhxxps://storage.googleapis.]com/team-modulosp/0.]zipzH$^Uj[jHf2ir0[%u%YiEjelhKW@]s[`$5]0e6e:]`bB[<WLf7_Gi*$FYZe+cp%ojP[W;co#lcLeIZ]krbeTimf(%PF=#Zc(h#:/^$}Z~bZbjHhxxps://storage.googleapis.]com/team-modulosp/P-12-9.]dll SAMPLES PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT TEMPLATE / VODAFONE GROUP TEMPLATE hxxps://storage.googleapis.]com/team-modulo/0.]ziphxxps://storage.googleapis.]com/team-modulosp/P-1-20.]dll

The code and behavior of the malware are the same in the samples shared above, however, criminals introduce new lots of junk in each sample as a means of bypassing AV signatures.

In order to corroborate that, it is possible to check the size of the PE files below.

Figure 9: Size of two samples distributed in Portugal during May 2020.

Both the files are executable files, with a difference in the size of the file. As mentioned, a lot of junk is put inside the PE file increasing, thus, the file entropy and to bypass AV signatures.

Figure 10 shows image resources included inside the binary. In detail, 52.5MB from the total (63.3MB) are only populated by 12 images, including a BPM image file of around 27 MB.



Figure 10: Image resources inside the malware to increase the file size.

As noticed on other Trojans from Brazil, it was also coded in Delphi using the Embarcaredo IDE to build the executable file. In addition, the IDE version used to build these samples is the same used to build the sample of December 2019.

Figure 11: Embarcadero Delphi version used in December 2019 also observed in May 2020.This indicator shows what was observed during the analysis of the Trojan: only minor changes were made, such as: changing the address of the C2 server.The URLs themselves encoded to send information about the victim to C2 have the same name, e.g.: PostaEstaBosta.php.More IOCs and C2 are presented towards the end of the publication. For more details about this malware see the initial publication from here.

Additional screens and IOCs on Lampion  May 2020 samples

When installed, the trojan can be used by crooks to launch overlay windows on the victims device. The number of templates used and affected organizations are huge, including Brazilian, and Portuguese banks as presented below.

Figure 12: Messages used to create overlay windows and triggered when the victim accesses the target banking portal.

The malware is sleeping and resumes its operation when the following bank portals are accessed by the victim (including bitcoin portals).aplicativo bradescobanco bradescomercado bitcoinbanking bnbbanco montepiomontepiomillenniumbcpSantanderBPI NetBanco BPIBPICaixadirectaCaixadirecta EmpresasCGDNOVO BANCOEuroBicCredito AgricolaLogin PageCA EmpresasBankinternavegador exclusivoTravaBBBanco do BrasilCaixa EconomicaBANRITRAVARMercado BitcoinTravaBitcoBanco OriginalCitibankitauaplicativo.exe

The overlay windows are invisible when malware is running and are triggered when the specific banking portal is accessed.

Figure 13: Overlay windows invisible during malware execution  sleeping.

Lampion trojan can be also used by crooks to manually launch a specific page remotely.

Figure 14: Trojan feature to trigger manually overlay windows.

Next, when a specific banking portal is accessed, the overlay windows are displayed (Figure 13 above), and data is sent to the C2 server.

Figure 14: Overlay windows triggered when a specific banking portal is accessed.

Next, some details about the infected machine sent to the C2 server, including the computer name, SO, AV, etc.

Figure 15: Detais sent to C2 server.

Figure 16: Lampion C2 authentication portal geolocated in Japan.

Final Thoughts

Malware is nowadays one of the major cyber weapons to destroy a business, market reputation, and even infect a wide number of users. The next list present some tips on how you can prevent a malware infection. It is not a complete list, just a few steps to protect yourself and your devices.

Get outdated software of your system

Get email savvy; take several minutes looking at the new email and not a few seconds

Beware of fake tech support, emails related do bank transactions, invoices, COVID19, everything you think be strange

Keep Internet activity relevant

Log out at the end of the day

Only access secured and trusted sites (not only websites with green lock  please think you are doing, as many phishing campaigns are abusing of free CA to create valid HTTPS certificates and to distribute malicious campaigns over it)

Keep your operating system up to date

Make sure you are using an antivirus

Beware of malvertising

And last but no the least, do not execute files and content from untrusted locations.

Take-home message

Be proactive and start taking malware protection seriously!

Additional details, including the Indicators of Compromise (IOCs), are available in the analysis published by Pedro Tavares.

https://seguranca-informatica.pt/trojan-lampion-is-back-after-3-months/#.XrsDxKgzY2z

About the author Pedro Tavares

Pedro Tavares is a professional in the field of information security, working as an Ethical Hacker, Malware Analyst, Cybersecurity Analyst and also a Security Evangelist. He is also a founding member at CSIRT.UBI and Editor-in-Chief of the security computer blog seguranca-informatica.pt.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  Lampion Trojan, hacking)
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 09:20:46

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THALWIL, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / u-blox (SIX:UBXN)(OTC PINK:UBLXF), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies, has appointed Carl Bellanca as the new Head of Sales for u-blox Americas. The decision aligns with u-blox's strategy to grow its sales teams in the US, offer distribution on a global scale, and expand its offering to services and solutions as shown with the recent acquisition of the IoT Communication-as-a-Service provider Thingstream.Carl Bellanca is a veteran of the electronic components industry with 25 years' experience in various sales and management positions across its value chain - in distribution, as a manufacturer representative, and as a supplier.As Head of Sales for u-blox Americas, Carl Bellanca will implement the company's sales strategy in the Americas, growing the distribution network, forging new partnerships, and promoting the growing portfolio of u-blox solutions and services.Carl Bellanca brings with him deep insights into products and markets relevant to u-blox. Following two decades as VP Sales and co-owner of Ontec Electronic Marketing Inc in Rochester, NY, he held the position of Regional Sales Manager for the Wireless Connectivity Solutions group at Future Electronics. He has been VP Sales - East at u-blox America since 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY."u-blox offers best-in-class technologies, sales, and engineering resources supporting the needs of our customers across the entire IoT ecosystem in hardware, security, and services. I look forward to emerging opportunities in leading u-blox America and continuing to develop our overall strategies towards long-term sustainable growth," says Carl Bellanca."We're thrilled to have someone with such an impressive track record lead the u-blox Americas team," says Markus Schaefer, Head of Global Sales and Marketing. "Carl Bellanca is uniquely prepared to drive a sales strategy addressing our business over our entire portfolio of products and services, and to build a strong team in the Americas." About u-bloxu-blox (SIX:UBXN) is a global technology leader in positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Their smart and reliable solutions, services and products let people, vehicles, and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules, and secure data services and connectivity, u-blox is uniquely positioned to empower its customers to develop innovative and reliable solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and cost-effectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, the company is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia, and the USA.Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter @ublox and YouTubeublox media contact:Natacha SeitzSenior Manager PR and Content MarketingMobile +41 76 436 0788SOURCE: u-blox AG via EQS Newswire
Shares of Reliance Industries Limited on Tuesday tumbled over 6 percent on profit-booking after rallying for the past five days

New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Industries Limited on Tuesday tumbled over 6 percent on profit-booking after rallying for the past five days.

The index heavyweight stock tanked 6.12 percent to close at Rs 1,480.25 on the BSE. During the day, it cracked 7.72 percent to Rs 1,455.

On the NSE, shares of the company plunged 5.72 percent to close at Rs 1,486.45. Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex and Nifty pack.

The company's market valuation also tanked Rs 61,142.81 crore to Rs 9,38,390.19 crore on the BSE.

In terms of traded volume, 28.66 lakh shares of the company were traded at the BSE and over 4.6 crore shares traded on the NSE.

In the past five trading sessions, the stock had gained nearly 10 percent.

The broader market was also dragged down by losses in Reliance Industries, with the BSE 30-share index closing 190.10 points lower at 31,371.12.

(Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost)
(CNN)  An "aggressive" cross-border skirmish between Chinese and Indian forces Saturday resulted in minor injuries to troops, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Defense has confirmed.

The incident, which occurred at a remote, mountainous crossing close to Tibet, is the latest in a long line of border flare-ups between the two neighboring powers.

"Aggressive behavior by the two sides resulted in minor injuries to troops," said the spokesman.

"The two sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at a local level. Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols," the spokesman added.

Eleven soldiers, four Indian and seven Chinese, were reported to have been injured in the incident, which took place during a patrol in Nuka La, North Sikkim, according to CNN affiliate News18.

The Indian ministry spokesman said "temporary and short" face-offs between troops from both countries are a regular occurrence due to the fact that "boundaries are not resolved."

CNN has requested comment from the Chinese foreign ministry.

India and China share one of the world's longest land borders. In 1962, the two countries engaged in a bloody Himalayan border war and skirmishes have continued to break out sporadically in the decades since.

In 2017, the two sides engaged in a months-long territorial standoff on the disputed Doklam plateau, on the unmarked border between China and Bhutan.

Though not a part of Indian territory, the area is close to the "chicken's neck," a strategic corridor that serves as a vital artery between Delhi and its far northeastern states.

After months of rising tensions and live-fire drills, the two governments eventually agreed to back down in August 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping agreed to work together to avoid further border disputes in 2018.

But despite the agreement, tensions continue. As recently as September 2019, Indian and Chinese troops became involved in a "scuffle" on the border near Pangong Lake in the Himalayas, according to News18.
US President Donald Trump meets with senior military leadership and the National Security Team in the Cabinet room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 9, 2020. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

US Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared divided over President Donald Trump's bid to prevent Democratic-led congressional panels from obtaining his financial records but seemed more sympathetic toward a New York prosecutor's attempt to access similar records.

The nine justices wrapped up two oral arguments lasting about three hours and 20 minutes in a major showdown over presidential powers.

The court's conservative majority signalled concern about improper harassment of the Republican president by Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives seeking Trump's records. But questions by the conservative justices indicated scepticism toward Trump's position in the New York case.

The justices asked tough questions of an attorney for Trump and a Justice Department lawyer who both sought to justify the president's quest to block subpoenas by three House for financial records held by third parties.

But several justices also pressed a lawyer for the House to explain why the subpoenas were not simply presidential harassment and whether Congress should be limited in issuing subpoenas so as to not distract a president or frustrate the carrying out of his official duties.

The justices first held an argument by teleconference in two cases involving the House subpoenas seeking Trump's financial records from Mazars LLP, his long-time accounting firm, and two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One.

The justices then held an argument in a third case in which Trump is seeking to block a subpoena issued to Mazars for similar information, including tax returns, as part of a grand jury investigation into Trump being conducted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

The court has a 5-4 conservative majority, including two justices appointed by Trump. Lower courts in Washington and New York ruled against Trump in all three cases.

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan told Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow that a "fundamental precept of our constitutional order is that the president is not above the law."

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, questioned why the court would give Trump immunity in a criminal investigation when it did not give Democratic former President Bill Clinton immunity in a sexual harassment lawsuit in the 1990s. In that instance, lawyers for the plaintiff wanted Clinton to be questioned while in the Trump case the information is sought from third parties, Gorsuch noted.

Sekulow responded that criminal cases result in a loss of liberty and are very different from civil lawsuits that could lead to monetary damages.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito challenged Sekulow's assertion that a grand jury's subpoena cannot be enforced against a sitting president in a case in which waiting for a president to leave office would undermine a criminal prosecution.

Liberal justices seemed more sympathetic toward the House position, although they also raised concerns about the potential lack of limits on lawmakers' ability to subpoena the president's personal records.

Three months after Trump avoided removal from office in a Senate impeachment trial, Trump's lawyers want the Supreme Court to endorse their expansive view of presidential powers that would severely limit the ability of Congress to carry out oversight of presidents and of prosecutors to investigate them.

Trump, unlike other recent presidents, has declined to release his tax returns and other financial records that could shed light on his net worth and the activities of his family real-estate company, the Trump Organization. The content of these records remains an enduring mystery of his presidency.

The justices queried Trump's lawyer, Patrick Strawbridge, about whether lawmakers can ever subpoena a president's financial records.

"Do you concede any power in the House to subpoena personal papers of the president?" Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked Strawbridge.

Strawbridge said it was "difficult to imagine" a situation in which that would be justified.

'Mental processes'

Roberts' questions of lawyers representing both Trump and the House signalled his view of the need to strike a balance between the powers of the president and Congress. He expressed scepticism that Congress had no authority to issue a subpoena or that a court could second-guess its motivations to do so, while also doubting that congressional power was limitless.

"Should a court be probing the mental processes of legislators? Should members of House committees be subject to cross examination on why you were really seeking these documents?" Roberts asked Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Wall.

Trump's lawyers have argued that the congressional panels had no authority to issue the subpoenas and had no valid legislative reason for seeking the records.

"Why should we not defer to the House's views on its own legislative purposes?" Gorsuch asked, suggesting scepticism about one of the president's arguments.

Roberts also seemed sceptical of arguments by a House lawyer, Doug Letter, that lawmakers have broad authority to investigate a president for the purpose of writing laws.

"Your test is not much of a test. It's not a limitation," Roberts told Letter, adding that the House needed to take into account that it was dealing with a co-equal branch of government.

The House committees have said they are seeking the material as part of investigations into potential money laundering by banks and into whether Trump inflated and deflated certain assets on financial statements - as his former personal lawyer has said - in part to reduce his real estate taxes.

Gorsuch expressed concern about lawmakers abusing the subpoena process and hunting for unlawful conduct by a political rival.

"Normally we use law enforcement tools like subpoenas to investigate known crimes and not to pursue individuals to find crimes," Gorsuch said.

Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer probed whether under the approach taken by Trump's lawyers Congress would have been able to properly investigate the Watergate scandal of the 1970s under President Richard Nixon.

Kagan noted that where personal records are concerned "the president is just a man."

"What it seems to me you're asking us to do is to put a kind of 10-ton weight on the scales between the president and Congress, and essentially to make it impossible for Congress to perform oversight and to carry out its functions," Kagan told Strawbridge.

Wall said allowing the House subpoenas would lead to presidents being "harassed" about their personal lives.

"The potential to harass and undermine the president as president is plain," Wall told the justices. "It is not much to ask that before the House delves into the president's personal life it explains in some meaningful way what laws it is considering and why it needs the president's documents in particular. The subpoenas here don't even come close."

Rulings are likely within weeks, with Trump seeking re-election on November 3 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The teleconference format was adopted during the pandemic.
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About 90% of Singapore's COVID-19 cases are linked to crowded foreign workers' dormitories that were a blind spot in the government's crisis management.



By EILEEN NG

Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia  Weeks after two of his roommates were diagnosed with COVID-19, Mohamad Arif Hassan says he's still waiting to be tested for the coronavirus. Quarantined in his room in a sprawling foreign workers' dormitory that has emerged as Singapore's biggest viral cluster, Arif says he isn't too worried because neither he nor his eight other roommates have any symptoms.

Still, the 28-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker couldn't be blamed if he were more than just a bit concerned.





. . .
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UK's fastest-growing retailer chooses Centric PLM to power growth

CAMPBELL, Calif., May 12, 2020  Gymshark, the UK-based fitness brand, has selected Centric Software's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury, consumer goods and home decor companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

Teenager Ben Francis and his friends founded Gymshark in 2012 as a screen-printing operation in a garage. Today, Gymshark is the United Kingdom's fastest-growing retailer and a globally recognized sportswear brand, retailing online to customers in 170 countries.

Gymshark's product-related processes quickly became complex and challenging to manage due to the company's impressive growth, kickstarting the search for a PLM solution.

We risked delays and errors because we were using multiple manual working documents simultaneously across our product teams, explains Justine McCarthy, Product Development Director at Gymshark. Speed and accuracy were the primary drivers of the PLM project. We wanted one version of the truth that people could use with confidence to bring products to market faster and more efficiently.

Gymshark selected Centric PLM for its user-friendliness and industry-specific features, says McCarthy.

Centric is highly configurable with great out-of-the-box templates and embedded best practices that will structure our processes as an evolving brand. We pride ourselves on being agile, and Centric will maintain that agility. The system is intuitive and fun to use, which is important for our young product team. It's the most appropriate and well thought-out solution on the market for Gymshark.

Users across design, materials, product development, sourcing and production will collaborate using Centric PLM.

McCarthy says, Centric PLM will be an absolute game-changer. Our teams are really excited about the implementation process and undergoing this transformation. With greater visibility and one version of the truth, our goal is to speed up every process in our product creation calendar, reduce errors and function in a much-improved way to support our fast growth. The Centric team really understands our business and our core values. We're confident that as Gymshark evolves, Centric will offer the right solutions for our challenges.

We are delighted that Gymshark has selected Centric, says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. Gymshark is an innovative and fast-growing sportswear brand that is poised to become an even greater success story, and we look forward to supporting them on their journey.

Learn more about Centric Lifestyle PLM

Request a Demo

Gymshark (www.gymshark.com)

Gymshark is a fitness apparel & accessories brand, manufacturer and online retailer based in the United Kingdom, supported by millions of highly engaged social media followers and customers in 170 countries.

Created in 2012 by teenager Ben Francis and a group of his high-school friends. Gymshark has grown from a screen printing operation in a garage, into one of the fastest-growing and most recognizable brands in fitness. This growth comes from a devotion to producing innovative, effective performance wear and an ever-expanding social presence, and above all a commitment to the Gymshark vision:

Before there is an action, there is an idea.

We exist to create the tools that help people unlock their full, incredible potential and put their ideas into action.

Be all that you imagined you could be. Be a visionary.

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a Digital Transformation Platform for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer goods and home decor. Centrics flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB provides innovative PLM technology and key industry learnings for emerging brands. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) offers a new fully visual and digital experience for collaboration and decision-making and includes the Centric Buying Board to transform internal buying sessions and maximize retail value and the Centric Concept Board for driving creativity and evolving product concepts. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.

Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016 and 2018.

Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Centric Software

Americas: Jennifer Forsythe, jforsythe@centricsoftware.com

EMEA: Kristen Salaun-Batby, ksalaun-batby@centricsoftware.com

APAC: Lily Dong, lily.dong@centricsoftware.com
In its continuing efforts to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of its vehicles, FCA has completed its latest Global Warming Potential (GWP) analysis.

The redesigned-for-2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited was compared with the previous-generation vehicle, its overall GWP is 15 percent lower than that of its predecessor.

"This is the outcome we expect when we launch a new vehicle," says Mitch Clauw, FCA Vice President and Head of Global Pre-Programs and Program Management. "In all our processes, the mitigation of environmental impact is a baked-in consideration."



The GWP improvement was calculated using industry-standard software that examines multiple factors associated with a vehicle's design, production and on-road performance. These factors include:

the environmental impact of fuel production and delivery

material use

the vehicle's own fuel consumption

Determinations are based on 150,000 miles of operation. And improvements are measured by contrasting anticipated C02-equivalent greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, with those of comparable vehicles.



C02-equivalent, or CO2e, is a term for describing various greenhouse gases as a common unit. For any quantity and type of greenhouse gas, CO2e signifies the amount of CO2 that would have an equivalent effect on global warming.



In this case, the comparison was made with the previous-generation Wrangler Unlimited, as powered by its only available engine  FCA's award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6  and a since-discontinued five-speed automatic transmission.



The new Wrangler's performance was measured as equipped with the available 270-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 engine, featuring engine stop-start (ESS). Accordingly, each new Wrangler Unlimited has the potential to account for a 14-metric-ton reduction in GHG emissions, which is equivalent to:

GHG emissions of three passenger cars, driven for one year

C02e output from 7.7 tons of coal burned in a power-generation plant

C02e produced when powering 2.4 average American homes for one year

Equally compelling is that the reduced emissions from each 2.0-liter Wrangler Unlimited, over its lifetime, has the potential to account for the carbon sequestration that occurs in 16.5 acres of U.S. forest, over an entire year.



Material choices also contribute to the new Wrangler Unlimited's greener performance. Its ferrous metal content was reduced to 54 percent from 68 percent in the previous-generation vehicle.



Meanwhile, non-ferrous metal content, which contributes to weight reduction and corrosion resistance, increased to 20 percent, from 12 percent.



Further improving its on-road performance, FCA's TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission benefits fuel economy, whether mated to the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 or the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6. In I-4 configurations, the celebrated transmission helps the 2020 Wrangler Unlimited achieve a 21 miles-per-gallon (mpg) rating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's combined city/highway test cycle  an increase of three mpg over the previous-generation vehicle and its five-speed automatic transmission.



In the Sahara trim level, the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited may be equipped with a version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 that features FCA's eTorque mild-hybrid technology.



In addition, the new-generation Wrangler Unlimited is available with a 3.6-liter V-6 from FCA's award-winning Pentastar engine family. It comes with a choice of a TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox.



The 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 is also available in the Jeep Cherokee midsize SUV. To accommodate its continued proliferation across the FCA lineup, the Company is committing $400 million to produce the engine at a former transmission plant in Kokomo, Indiana, a project that will bring FCA's total employment in the state to 8,300.



The results of this latest GWP analysis come on the heels of FCA's 2019 Sustainability Report. Distributed on April 16, it says the Company further reduced its environmental footprint around the world.

Among the highlights, FCA cut its water use by nearly 40 percent, compared with 2010. Over the same time period, the Company also shaved its carbon footprint by 27 percent, and slashed its waste generation by 64 percent.

FCA

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automaker that designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of exciting brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people around the globe. For more details regarding FCA , please visit www.fcagroup.com.

SOURCE FCA
An unheard track by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr recorded after the Beatles split is heading for auction.

Angel In Disguise could be the only song co-written exclusively by the bands former bassist and drummer, according to auctioneers.

The ex-Beatles recorded the demo for Sir Ringos 1992 solo album Time Takes Time but it did not make the cut.

The demo tape going under the hammer (Omega Auctions/PA)

Former Radio Luxembourg DJ Tony Prince is selling the cassette, which is expected to fetch up to 20,000.

He was asked to find artists to record alternative versions of Angel In Disguise in the 1990s, after Sir Ringo rejected the track.

The song has never been heard publicly.

Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: Its fantastic to be able to bring to the market a previously unheard and unreleased track

The music for Angel In Disguise (Omega Auctions/PA)

We think the track certainly had enough about it to be included in the album and I am sure if Paul was to release this himself it would certainly prove a hit with fans.

The cassette contains two versions of the track  a rough demo with Sir Paul on vocals and a fuller mixed version with musicians and backing vocals and Sir Ringo singing.

Another Sir Ringo demo, Everyone Wins, which was also shelved but later released on a compilation recording, is also included on the tape.

The tape, with other memorabilia, will go under the hammer at Omega Auctions online sale on May 19, with 25% of proceeds donated to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.
Jenny Qian Zhiya, chief executive officer of Luckin Coffee Inc., speaks during the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., on Friday, May 17, 2019.

Luckin Coffee said Tuesday that it has fired its CEO and COO as part of an internal investigation into sales fraud.

Jenny Zhiya Qian, Luckin's former CEO, and Jian Liu, its former COO, also resigned from the Chinese company's board. The changes went into effect on Monday.

The board appointed Jinyi Guo, a board member and a senior vice president in the company, as acting chief executive.

The coffee chain disclosed on April 2 that an internal probe found that Liu had fabricated 2019 sales by about 2.2 billion yuan ($310 million). The chain previously said net sales for the first nine months of 2019 were 2.9 billion yuan ($413 million). The company placed six other employees, who were either involved in or had knowledge of the fraud, on suspension or leave.

At the time, Luckin said the internal investigation was at a preliminary stage and its estimate of the fabricated sales was not verified by an independent auditor. The company's special committee retained Kirkland & Ellis as its independent outside counsel and FTI Consulting as an independent forensic accounting expert.

The investigation is still ongoing. The company said it is cooperating with regulatory agencies in both the United States and China.

Trading in Luckin stock on the Nasdaq has been halted since April 7 for pending news. There is no time limit for how long a stock can be halted for pending news. Its shares had plummeted 83% since disclosing the fraud.

The coffee chain has continued to operate during the probe. Reuters reported in early April that downloads for its app skyrocketed as Chinese consumers rushed to redeem its offer for a free cup of coffee.

The 2-year-old company has tried to build a customer base in China with smaller locations formatted for convenience and offering steep discounts. In January, the company said it had more than 4,500 locations in China, several hundred more than rival Starbucks. Starbucks has responded to the competitive threat by opening cafes in China designed for quicker pickup and delivery and less seating.

Luckin also said Tuesday it has appointed Wenbao Cao, the chain's head of store operations and customer service, and Gang Wu, head of its strategic partnerships and supply chain management, to the board.

Before joining Luckin, Cao worked for McDonald's China for more than 23 years. Wu worked in the airline industry for 26 years prior prior to working for Luckin.

U.S. hedge fund Muddy Waters raised allegations of fraud in January and bet against the stock. Luckin denied the allegations at the time but still hasn't said why it started its internal probe.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaves 10 Downing Street after attending a Cabinet meeting on 14 February, 2020.

U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Tuesday that the country would continue to pay workers on leave due to the coronavirus crisis until the end of October.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Sunak said the government's job retention scheme would be extended for four months and the funding would be left unchanged at 80% of workers' monthly wages up to 2,500 ($3,100).

Some 7.5 million people are now covered by the scheme, Sunak said, up from 6.3 million the previous week.

"By that point, we will have provided eight months of support to British people and businesses. Until the end of July, there will be no changes to the scheme whatsoever," Sunak said, as he addressed U.K. lawmakers.

"From August to October the scheme will continue, for all sectors and regions of the U.K., but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work," he added.

Sunak also said employers currently using the retention scheme would be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

Sterling traded at $1.2367 shortly after the announcement, up around 0.2% for the session.

Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, a British trade union association, described the news as a "massive relief" for millions of working families.

To date, more than 224,000 people have contracted Covid-19 in the U.K., with 32,141 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Sunak rejected the suggestion some people might become "addicted" to the job retention scheme.

It comes after The Times newspaper reported last week, citing one unnamed government source, that there were fears inside Downing Street the nation had become "addicted" to wage subsidies.

The U.K. government has faced intense criticism over its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Opposition parties say Prime Minister Boris Johnson was too slow to impose a nationwide lockdown, introduce mass testing and provide personal protective equipment for health service workers.

The U.K.'s Covid-19 death toll is by far the highest in Europe.
The logo of the World Health Organization (WHO) at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 30, 2020. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

US Senate Passes Bill Backing Taiwans Participation in WHO

The U.S. Senate on May 11 unanimously passed a bill supporting Taiwans participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), the latest move in an international campaign to counter Beijings efforts to isolate the island state.

The bill directs Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to develop a strategy for Taiwan to regain observer status at the World Health Assemblythe decision-making body of the WHO, which is due to meet next week. The Chinese regime, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory, has blocked Taiwans participation in the body since President Tsai Ing-wen was first elected in 2016.

The development came days after a push by the United States and its allies to have Taiwan included in the upcoming summit, a move firmly opposed by the Chinese regime because it violated the one China principle. The WHO stated on May 11 it couldnt invite Taiwan to the meeting because there were divergent views among member states about the issue.

Keeping them out of WHO, especially at the request of China, as the world grapples with a global pandemic, cannot stand, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said in a statement. I applaud Secretary Pompeo for the steps hes already taken to ensure Taiwan can attend the WHO Summit on the coronavirus pandemic later this month, and look forward to his strategy that will restore Taiwans observer status.

The islands exclusion from the global health body has gained attention amid the pandemic, as Taiwan has been recognized as a model in combating the virus. It has recorded only 440 virus cases and six deaths since January. The Taiwanese government argues that its isolation from the WHO has jeopardized global efforts to fight the viruss spread.

The bill, which will now proceed to the House of Representatives, describes Taiwan as a model contributor to global health, having provided financial and technical assistance to respond to numerous global health challenges.

President Donald Trump in April announced the United States would withhold funding to the WHO pending a review into the organizations handling of the pandemic. The administration has repeatedly criticized the United Nations agency for being too deferential to the regime and for parroting Beijings talking points downplaying the severity of the outbreak in the early stages.
What may be Ronnie Longs last chance for freedom appeared bolstered by members of a powerful appeals court last week who challenged the states continued defense of the Concord mans 1976 rape conviction despite a mound of suppressed evidence.

Long, 64, who was found guilty by an all-white jury of raping the wife of a Cannon Mills executive, has consistently maintained his innocence. Now, more than halfway through his 80-year prison sentence, Longs request to reopen his case went back before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.

Whether a majority of the 15 members of the nations second highest court decide to give Long a new trial wont be known until summer. But most of the judges who spoke during the hearing expressed skepticism toward Longs conviction due to the government misconduct involved, according to a recording posted on the courts website.

Close to a dozen pieces of evidence tested by the State Bureau of Investigation  evidence that could have weakened the prosecutions case  were never disclosed to Longs attorneys or the jury, court documents show.

As recently as 2015  almost 30 years after the trial  Longs attorneys learned of 43 fingerprints police collected from the rape scene but never shared. None of the prints matched Longs.

Semen samples taken from the victim also were never disclosed to the defense and later disappeared.

No jury would convict Mr. Long today, Attorney Jamie Lau of Duke Universitys Wrongful Convictions Clinic told the judges. Would we even have had a trial if all the evidence had come forward?

Judge blasts lies, errors in 1976 rape case, but Ronnie Long stays in prison for now

Laus arguments drew a particularly strong response from Judge James Wynn, who like Long is African American and at 66, two years older. Also like Long, Wynn grew up in a small North Carolina town, Robersonville in the eastern part of the state.

Interrupting the presentation of N.C. Assistant Attorney General Phillip Rubin, Wynn alluded to his N.C. roots as well as the states long history of deliberate police and prosecutorial misconduct toward black men.

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In Longs case, Prosecutors clearly had evidence that any defense counsel in the world, not only in 1976 but (in) the history of this country, would have wanted or needed and which should have been supplied. And yet, we did not provide it, Wynn said.

He also challenged the states continued defense of Longs conviction.

What is it about us that we want to prosecute and keep people in jail when we know evidence may exist that might lead to a different conclusion, Wynn said. Why is that so offensive to us now that we want to ... protect (illegal) activity from 44 years ago.

Whats the harm of looking (at the new evidence)? he said. When did justice leave the process so we let our rules blind us to what we all can see?

Rubin, while acknowledging the missteps in the original prosecution, also said they were not essential to Longs conviction. He noted that the victim had identified Long in a courtroom and later during a police lineup, and that clothing she said her attacker had worn  a leather jacket, gloves and a toboggan  were found in Longs car.

Rubin described the suppressed evidence as so minimal it would have no impact on the outcome of the trial.

Concord police mug shot of Ronnie Long after he was arrested on a trespass charge in 1976. Within weeks he would be charged with rape, a charge he has been fighting for more than 40 years.

The answer is no

The hearing for Longs appeal was an unusual one given that the Fourth Circuits courthouse is closed due to the pandemic. Nine of judges followed the arguments remotely through computer video hookups. Six others listened in by phone. Lau made his case from a Duke classroom. Long, who remains imprisoned at the Albemarle Correctional Institute, did not take part.

Early in Laus arguments, Judge Harvey Wilkinson of Virginia raised concerns over what road the case takes from here because the victim, who the judge said gave a strong identification, is now dead and cant testify.

Judge Paul Niemeyer of Maryland, who had voted down Longs appeal in January as part of an earlier three-judge appellate ruling, told Lau that the lawyers arguments were raising factual allegations that our court is not well equipped to assess.

However, Judge Stephanie Thacker of West Virginia were among a number of Niemeyers colleagues who pushed back against the states defense of Longs conviction.

During a back-and-forth with Rubin, Thacker got the state prosecutor to acknowledge that none of the clothing found in Longs car could be tied to the crime scene. Of the suppressed fingerprints, she asked, Do you think that would have impacted (the outcome)?

Chief Judge James Gregory homed in what he described as the the piece de resistance of the trial  the prosecutors assertion to the jury during his closing argument, that every piece of evidence presented to the jury proved Longs guilt.

That was not true, correct? Yes or no? Gregory said to Rubin.

I dont think it was fully accurate, Rubin replied, adding that the evidence presented was still consistent with committing the crime.

Gregory cut him off.

The answer is no, the judge said.

Wynn, noting that Long has already served 44 years, asked Rubin what would happen if we allowed this case to go back (for a new trial)? How is the government harmed?

Rules can allow an injustice that can be cured so easily, he said.

Halfway through 80-year rape sentence, Concord man gets new shot at freedom
P olice are searching for a man after a bus driver was spat at while working in south London.

Met Police's Roads and Transport Command released CCTV stills of a person they would like to speak to in connection with the incident in Lambeth.

Officers said on March 21 at around 12.30am three men and a woman boarded a 68 bus travelling towards Camberwell on Walworth Road without payment.

After the driver asked them to pay the fare, the group refused and started an argument.

Police are appealing for information about the identity of this man / Met Police

During the encounter, one of the men approached the driver and spat at him through the holes in the drivers divide. The group then got off the bus.

Officers are asking that anyone who recognises the man in the CCTV images to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quoting CRIS 3009008/20.

Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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WEST ISLIP, NY  A group of Long Islanders are demanding answers from nursing homes after some of their loved ones died of the new coronavirus. Deer Park resident Vivian Zayas, who brought her mother to the Our Lady of Consolation Nursing and Rehabilitative Care Center in West Islip earlier this year, is one of them.

Zayas brought her 78-year-old mother, Ana Celia Martinez, who originally lived in Brooklyn, to Long Island to undergo knee surgery late last year. They expected her to go through surgery followed by a few months of rehabilitation before going back to her apartment "better than ever."

However, after the surgery in August, Martinez continued to have trouble walking and began to develop other issues. Eventually in January, the family sent her to the local nursing home to recover and to receive some extra therapy for her leg. They had predicted she would need to be there until mid-February until she was able to go home. At the end of February, the family was still unable to bring her home, and news of the coronavirus was starting to garner national attention, but it was still not a huge concern on Long Island.

Related: Woman Blames Long Beach Care Facility After Sister Dies

March rolled around and Martinez was still at the nursing home but starting to get homesick. The family was attempting to apply more pressure to find a way to bring her home but on March 11, the facility announced a temporary closure to visitors due to coronavirus concerns. The family, who thought the closure would last two or three weeks, visited her one last time before the shutdown.

"I said [to my mom] listen, keep yourself busy, watch the news, we'll see you soon," Zayas told Patch. "And we gave her a kiss, I gave her a kiss on her forehead. And I never thought that that would be my last kiss to her."

The family continued communication by calling and they found out Martinez begun feeling sick. Zayas said she had stomach issues and that the nurses at the nursing home were giving her something for nausea and diarrhea. Her mother then began experiencing loss of appetite.

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"I had spreadsheets to keep on track for medicine or trips or doctors, and we were very much on top of every single thing that involved my mom. But when it came to COVID, we weren't sure," Zayas said. "We didn't know anything. We didn't inform ourselves thinking that this was far away in the distance, especially since this facility in a remote area in West Islip and the hot zone was more in the city. We were like, okay, you know, she's safe there.

"Initially, I didn't also pay attention to the signs because I'm thinking if anything is going on in that facility, they would tell me. They called me when my mother had a small fall in the facility. They also called me when they needed my mother's rheumatoid arthritis injections, which I had. So I'm thinking if they call me for those issues, they would call me to tell me, 'Hey, there's COVID and your mother is being monitored.'"

Zayas claims that the center sent one letter informing the families that the nursing home was "taking extra precautions and following the CDC guidelines to protect the residents," but never received any mention of cases of the coronavirus within the facility.

Martinez continued to experience symptoms, at one point suffering from a low-grade fever. But Zayas stated she was never told by anyone at the nursing home that there was any suspicion of her mother contracting the coronavirus.

"I had a false sense of security and I thought ... Why would they not tell me what it is if they if they suspect what it is?'" Zayas said.



Then, Zayas' sister, Alexa Rivera, was told that Martinez was having trouble breathing. The doctor asked Rivera several questions related to Martinez's health, including if she was a smoker, but never mentioned the coronavirus. On March 30, several hours after Martinez was having difficulty breathing, the doctor informed the family they were sending her to the nearby Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center.

"This was the first time that a nurse said 'Your mother's been exposed to a respiratory issue.' They still won't use the word COVID," Zayas said. "They told me she's been exposed to a respiratory issue. But this is after my mother's been sick showing symptoms for at least five days. I'm still thinking pneumonia. I'm still thinking bronchitis. I'm not thinking COVID. I wouldn't think that with COVID all over the news, they would have a trouble saying COVID, coronavirus, whatever you want to call it."

On March 31, Rivera was informed Martinez was put on a respirator with a collapsed lung. She seemed to be improving for a little bit and received a coronavirus test at the hospital, but did not receive a diagnosis. The next day, the family received news that Martinez died.

"How in the world did I get from my mother going home finally to my mother's gonna go home to heaven?" Zayas said.

Later, the family received the results of the test which confirmed Martinez tested positive for the coronavirus.

"We were wondering why would [the facility] say they didn't know what she had when they clearly close the doors for many of us who didn't have COVID so that we couldn't give it to [the residents], but you're taking patients that were positive through the back door," Zayas said. "[The facility] didn't inform the family but they were making [patients] comfortable so that you can get them out of out of your facility so that they're not part of your number count of your death tally."



This is when Zayas and Rivera started the Facebook group "Voices For Seniors" to share their story and find out if they were alone. In about a month, the group has grown to more than 300 members.

Local residents aren't the only ones calling for change. Earlier this month, two Long Island assemblymen called for a deeper investigation into nursing homes and other long-term care facilities reporting high rates of deaths due to the coronavirus. In April, New York officials released data which revealed that at least 13 Long Island nursing had 10 deaths or more related to the coronavirus outbreak, and seven of them saw more than 20 deaths as of Thursday.

Thousands of nursing home residents have died from the virus in New York, according to the data. A New York State Department of Health directive stated that nursing home and other long-term care facilities across the state that accepted patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 most likely led to the deaths and/or infections of thousands of the most vulnerable citizens.

On Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new measures to protect seniors and nursing home residents which would require nursing homes to transfer residents if they are not capable of providing proper care, including meeting staffing and protective equipment requirements. In addition, nursing home staff must also be tested twice a week for COVID-19 and hospitals cannot discharge patients to a nursing home until they test negative. Penalties for not complying could include losing operating licenses.



In response to these claims, Catholic Health Services, which runs Our Lady of Consolation, released the following statement:



"We regularly test residents so we can quickly identify who might be positive in order to protect those who are not. We keep symptomatic residents separate from our general population and maintain infection prevention control precautions when treating these residents. Additionally, we are vigilant in monitoring staff and residents for any COVID-19 symptoms and immediately take appropriate steps, if symptoms should appear. There is constant ongoing communication with each patient and their family members. We follow all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health recommendations."

On Mother's Day Sunday, members of the group Voices for Senior protested in front of Our Lady of Consolation.



According to Zayas, the protest was to ask for the following:



For the families of deceased seniors to speak with Gov. Cuomo.

An update CDC guidelines and NY Department of Health guidelines to reflect the seniors' increased vulnerability in these centers and in these situations.

Increase communication with family.

Improved equipment for seniors to communicate (such as senior-friendly iPads, etc.).

No more shutdowns that exclude families and visits entirely.

"Its very unfortunate that this group would stage a protest on Mothers Day," a statement from Catholic Health Services read. "We have a long history of providing quality care to all residents, and we have staff, nurses and doctors who are mothers. They have dedicated themselves to providing quality care and ensuring the safety our of residents throughout this pandemic. There is constant ongoing communication with each patient and their family members."

All photos courtesy of Vivian Zayas

This article originally appeared on the West Islip Patch
In total, Lake County has nearly 2,500 confirmed cases with more than 13,000 people tested. Both Gary and Crown Point have at least 16 deaths, followed by Hammond, 13; Munster, 11; Dyer, nine, Hobart and Merrillville, eight each; East Chicago, six; Schererville, three; Highland, Griffith, Lowell, two each; and Whiting, St. John, Clear Lake and Lake Station, one each, according to the Lake County Health Departments online dashboard.
Jimmy Kimmel apologized Monday for airing an edited video of Mike Pence. (Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)

Jimmy Kimmel spent his Mother's Day weekend fielding nasty tweets from President Trump and death threats after the late-night TV host aired a controversial video of Vice President Mike Pence.

During Monday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" monologue, the comedian sort of apologized for a segment last week showing the video, which sees Pence delivering boxes of PPE to healthcare workers. At one point, Pence reaches for a box in a van, is informed the box is empty, and asks if he can carry it anyway, "just for the camera."

"Mike Pence pretending to carry empty boxes of PPEs into a hospital is the perfect metaphor for who he is and what he's doing," Kimmel said during the May 7 segment. "A big box of nothing delivering another box of nothing."

After the show aired, however, it was brought to Kimmel's attention that Pence was "joking" about the empty boxes. In a longer clip, shown in full on C-SPAN, Pence is seen shutting the doors to the van after making the comment, never actually delivering an empty box.

"How anyone can tell when Mike Pence is joking, I dont know," Kimmel quipped Monday. "I didnt know, because Id only watched part of the video. It turns out there were 29 minutes of this on C-SPAN that apparently indicate he was joking about carrying the empty boxes for the cameras, which, again, I didnt know because I dont have the mental endurance it requires to watch Mike Pence deliver boxes for 29 minutes.

"But I should have watched the whole thing, I guess. Bottom line is: I was wrong. He was joking. I didnt know. I made a mistake."

Upon realizing the misstep, the comic removed the video and tweeted a similarly snarky apology May 8 admitting it had been misinterpreted.

"It would appear that [Mike Pence] was joking about carrying empty boxes for a staged publicity stunt," he wrote. "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."

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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

But Kimmel's move to come clean on Twitter didn't stop Trump from attacking what the president called his "last place show," nor did it stop people from sending death threats to Kimmel and his family.

"Apologizing to the Trump administration for spreading untruth is like apologizing to Barry Bonds for using steroids," Kimmel said. "Its hard, but the outrage from the MAGA hats, the outpouring of venom, was disgusting ... Some of them said they hope my son dies. They threatened my wife. There were hundreds of horrible, hateful, sometimes violent, Twitter and Facebook posts."

Go make Melania brunch. https://t.co/ZenUXrcXSS  Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 10, 2020

The host said he even received "an email from the Vice Presidents office requesting that I apologize on air."

"On Twitter wasnt enough, I guess," Kimmel continued. "They wanted it on air. Because this is what theyre thinking about while thousands of Americans are dying every day  jokes from late-night talk show hosts."

To cap off his nonapology, Kimmel then requested the vice president apologize on behalf of "his boss" for the Trump administration's "perversions of decency and democracy," citing the government's treatment of migrant families, alleged collusion with Russia, delayed response to the coronavirus crisis and more.

"But OK, you know what? It was my mistake," Kimmel said. "I do apologize to the vice president, again, for spreading misinformation about him. Spreading misinformation is their thing, and I stepped on their toes."
CHICAGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Courte Partners, LLC ("GCP") announced today that its fourth investment fund, Green Courte Real Estate Partners IV, LLC and its affiliates, acquired a portfolio of four all-age land-lease communities located in the greater Rochester, New York, area. These four communities add a total of 1,213 sites to GCP's land-lease portfolio, bringing the total number of properties to fifteen with over 5,600 sites in five states.

GCP plans to invest capital in new home inventory, amenities, and aesthetic and infrastructure improvements. GCP will also implement value-add initiatives such as employing a rental home and sales operation led by its in-house, national land-lease community management platform.

Jordan Kerger, Managing Director of GCP's land-lease community investments, said, "We will continue the prior owner's mission of offering a compelling value proposition for working families. We also plan to invest significant capital to improve the communities. We are excited about the scale this acquisition provides for our rapidly growing land-lease portfolio, and we continue to seek opportunities to acquire communities nationwide."

Joel Harper, one of the sellers of the portfolio, said, "Due to the multi-generational ownership of these communities, this was a complex transaction and GCP was uniquely positioned to accommodate our needs. Additionally, GCP's reputation in the industry as a first-class owner-operator provided us with the conviction that they were the right fit for our employees and residents."

About Green Courte Partners, LLC

Green Courte Partners, LLC is a Chicago-based private equity real estate investment firm focused on building industry-leading companies within niche real estate sectors, including near-airport parking facilities, land-lease communities, and active adult/independent senior living properties. The firm combines focused investment strategies with a disciplined approach to transaction execution, operations, and asset management. Green Courte's goal is to invest in high-quality real estate assets that will generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over a long-term holding period. For additional information, please visit Green Courte's website at www.GreenCourtePartners.com

SOURCE Green Courte Partners, LLC

Related Links

https://www.greencourtepartners.com


Gardai are to be given the power to check up on passengers arriving in Ireland from overseas under new Covid-19 restrictions being considered by the Government.

This could include gardai calling at the addresses of passengers to ensure they are adhering to self-isolation for two weeks after arrival in this country.

Strict new regulations are being drafted to make it a legal requirement for anyone arriving in Ireland to self-isolate and give the authorities details of where they will be staying.

Using emergency legislation to allow gardai to police the new rules is a key proposal in the plans being discussed by senior ministers.

The move comes after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Irish and French people arriving in England would be exempt from UK rules requiring passengers to quarantine for two weeks.

The announcement caught the Government by surprise, but senior figures yesterday insisted a similar exemption will not be reciprocated for English travellers to Ireland.

Deaths

There are also serious concerns at the speed in which Mr Johnson is easing Covid-19 restrictions, despite more than 31,000 deaths from the virus in the UK.

Currently everyone arriving in Ireland is being asked to voluntarily self-isolate for two weeks on arrival.

However, after figures showed a third of those arriving at Dublin Airport were not signing passenger location forms, the Government ramped up plans to make it mandatory to declare where you are staying on arrival.

The new regulations are being drafted across several departments but are being led by Tanaiste Simon Coveney and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Those involved in drafting the new rules say the focus of the debate is ensuring they are properly enforced.

There is some discussion over whether gardai or the Border Management Unit - which is under the aegis of the Department of Justice - should be tasked with policing the new rules.

There is a push from some ministers to ensure gardai are given the power to enforce the new self-isolation regulations.

At present, passengers are asked by the Border Management Unit at Dublin Airport to give details of where they will be staying for two weeks after they arrive. It follows up with phone calls to a select number to ensure they are self-isolating at the address they have given.
Mixed messages and confusion have characterised the British governments response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the UK now registering the highest number of deaths in Europe

Two weeks ago, most Britons believed that Britain had outperformed Spain and Italy in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. But two weeks is a long time in politics, and now the majority believe that Britains performance has been worse than that of France, Germany, Sweden, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia, and worse than Spain and Italy, the first coronavirus centres in Europe.

The only country that Britain has outperformed in managing the spread of the virus, according to a poll by the British newspaper the Observer, has been the US. This will have left a bitter taste for the British government, bearing in mind that more than 80,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the US and the number of infected people is about 1.5 million, approximately 25 per cent of the globally infected.

With the confusing and mixed messages about the national strategy to contain the virus and the sharp rise in casualties, it is little wonder that the British public has been losing patience with the government. The latest figures show that almost 10,000 care-home residents have now died from the coronavirus in the UK, with official figures revealing that 26 per cent of all the victims have been such residents.

They suggest Britains true death toll could be 43,000, far higher than any other European country.

Britains GDP has decreased by 30 per cent as a result of measures introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus, one million people have lost their jobs, and a large percentage of doctors and nurses are still complaining of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks and gloves.

There has been much impatience in Britain as a result of these figures, and the impatience seemed to have reached 10 Downing Street when British newspapers leaked reports of a rift between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock after discovering that more than 25 million medical goggles meant to protect doctors and nurses were faulty, forcing the government to recall them from hospitals.

This incident and others have put Hancock under pressure, with government sources briefing that Matts days in government are numbered. During a sharp exchange between Johnson and Hancock, Johnson raised questions about Hancocks grip at the Ministry of Health, especially after it had failed to fulfill promises to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of last month.

According to reports, Hancock had replied thats not fair... give me a break.

Perhaps he is right, as assigning responsibility to one person for the failures in the UKs handling of the pandemic is likely to be unfair when it is more likely to have had many parents, including the prime minister himself. Since the coronavirus began to spread in Britain, the government has changed its messages to the public several times, causing confusion and misunderstanding.

There are six main areas in which the government has sent out ambiguous messages.

The first is testing for the virus. On 12 March, the UKs Chief Medical Adviser Chris Whitty said that it was no longer necessary to conduct coronavirus testing, saying that it is no longer necessary for us to identify every case, and we will move from having testing mainly done in homes and outpatients and walk-in centres to a situation where people who are remaining at home do not need testing.

But on 5 May, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UKs chief scientific adviser, said in a U-turn that I think if wed managed to ramp up testing capacity quicker it would have been beneficial. And, you know, for all sorts of reasons that didnt happen. I think its clear you need lots of testing for this... I think if we do test, track and tracing well, and we keep the social distancing measures at the right level we should be able to avoid a second wave.

The second is herd immunity. The government sent out conflicting messages on the so-called herd immunity principle, with Valance saying on 13 March that our aim is to try to reduce the peak, broaden the peak, not suppress it completely; also, because the vast majority of people get a mild illness, to build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission, at the same time we protect those who are most vulnerable to it. Those are the key things we need to do.

But on 5 May, he said I should be clear about what I was trying to say, and if I didnt say this clearly enough then I apologise. What I was trying to say was that, in the absence of a therapeutic, the way in which you can stop a community becoming susceptible to this is through immunity, and immunity can be obtained by vaccination, or it can be obtained by people who have the infection.

The third is the death toll. Stephen Bowis, the national medical director of NHS England, the UKs National Health Service, said on 28 March that if we can keep deaths below 20,000, we will have done very well in this epidemic. But Johnson said on 30 April, after the number of victims had already exceeded 26,000, that we avoided an uncontrollable and catastrophic epidemic where the reasonable worst case scenario was 500,000 deaths.

The fourth is the prohibition of social and economic activities. Britain did not move early on to ban social and economic activities like other European countries. Italy and Spain imposed a complete lockdown before the number of victims had reached 10, but Britain only imposed its lockdown on 23 March, when the number of victims had reached 335.

On 9 March, Whitty explained the logic for the slow start by saying that there was a risk if the UK implemented an early lockdown that people would get tired and it would be difficult to maintain the lockdown. According to many experts, this is an inexcusable defence.

The fifth is a problem with personal protective equipment (PPE). On 11 April, Hancock said that the central challenge is one of distribution rather than one of supply and going from a business as usual, relatively low levels of PPE distribution, to the unprecedented level of use of PPE now has been a big challenge.

But on 18 April, local government secretary Robert Jenrick said supply in some areas, particularly gowns and certain types of masks and aprons, is in short supply at the moment, and that must be an extremely anxious time for people working on the frontline, but they should be assured that we are doing everything we can to correct this issue, and to get them the equipment that they need.

The sixth is the use of face masks. On 3 April, Jonathan Van Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said that in terms of the hard evidence, and what the UK government recommends, we do not recommend face masks for general wearing.

But on 30 April he said what I think SAGE [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] is saying, and what I certainly agree with, is that as part of coming out of the lockdown I do think face coverings will be useful, both for epidemiological reasons but also giving people confidence they can go back to work.

The confusion reached a surreal level in a speech delivered by Johnson on Sunday evening in which he was supposed to explain the road map to exit the lockdown. But rather than being clear, this road map was anything but.

Johnson changed the governments slogan from stay at home to stay alert, advice not understood by many Britons. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she did not understand the new slogan, implying that the changes were Johnsons attempt to satisfy the hawks in his government, especially as infection rates are still high in Britain.

Sturgeon and other heads of the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland said they would not follow the changes announced by Johnson and would keep the stay at home slogan.

In the biggest crisis that Britain has faced since World War II, England is heading in one direction, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are heading in another. No wonder Johnson is now being called the prime minister of England rather than of the United Kingdom.

Some on social media summarised the governments new strategy by saying that Boris new instructions are: Go out but stay at home. Go to work, but do not use public transportation. Meet your relatives, but do not meet them in large numbers. Go to school, but not too often. Go to the beach but do not sit under the sun.

The government is faced with important decisions in the coming days, among them the pace of reopening the economy and a gradual exit from the national lockdown. Johnson will not only face opponents from the opposition parties, but also from his own government and Conservative Party, as many are keen to reopen the economy sooner rather than later.

If the confusion and hesitation persist and lead to a longer and deeper economic recession and more victims  Johns Hopkins University in the US expects the number of victims in Britain to reach 66,000 by August  then Johnsons political future will be at stake.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under headline: The worst in Europe

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MOSCOW: A fire Tuesday morning at St.George Hospital in St.Petersburg killed five coronavirus patients who were on ventilators, Russian emergency officials said.

The unnamed emergency officials spoke to the state Tass new agency. The fire broke out in an intensive care unit and was put out within half an hour.

It could have been caused by a faulty ventilator, the Interfax news agency reported, citing anonymous sources. Police in St.Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, have launched a criminal investigation into the fire.

READ| Russia confirms record 11,656 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

It was not the first deadly fire in a coronavirus hospital in Russia. On Saturday, a fire in the Spasokukotsky Hospital in Moscow killed one patient.

Russia has reported more than 220,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,009 deaths numbers that international health officials say significantly undercount the true toll of Russia's outbreak.

Treating coronavirus patients has put a strain on the country's vastly outdated health care infrastructure.
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Bongbong Marcos is a respected politician and former senator in the Philippines 16th Congress. He is renowned for being the only son to the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. The celebrity has been in politics since he was very young and has been a leader alongside his father. Together with his sister, Imee, they have managed to be great politicians in the country.

Image: canva.com (modified by author)

Source: Original

At the age of 23, he was elected Vice-Governor for Ilocos Norte under his father's party of KIlusang Bagong Lipunan Party. The celebrity has keenly followed his father's footsteps in his political career. He has successfully managed to change the Filipino citizens' perspective towards the Marcos family.

Profile summary

Birth name: Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. Celebrated name: Bongbong Marcos

Bongbong Marcos Nickname: Bongetts

Bongetts Bate of birth: September 13, 1957

September 13, 1957 Bongbong Marcos age: 61 years

61 years Zodiac sign: Virgo

Virgo Place of birth: Manila, Philippines

Manila, Philippines Profession: Politician

Politician Eye color: Brown

Brown Hair color: Black

Black Bongbong Marcos height: 5 feet 8.9 inches

5 feet 8.9 inches Nationality: Filipino

Filipino Weight: 78 Kgs

78 Kgs Bongbong Marcos Instagram: bongbongmarcos

Bongbong Marcos biography

The celebrity was born as the second child to his father, Ferdinand E., and mother, Imelda Romualdez. He has two biological sisters, namely Imee and Irene, and one adopted sister called Aimee. The children were brought up in a palace at Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Bongbong's godfathers were Ferdinand's cronies, and they were Jose Yao Campos and Eduardo "Danding" Cojuanco Jr.

Image: instagram.com, @scot.north.3

Source: UGC

Bongbong Marcos education

For his elementary education, Marcos Jr. went to Institucion Teresiana and Le Salle Greenhills, located in Manilla. However, in 1970, his father flew him to England to study at an all-boys Benedictine institution called Worth School. After graduating from high school, he attended St Edmund Hall to pursue a Bachelor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

However, he dropped out before completing, and he received a Special Diploma in Social Studies instead of a Degree. Later, he enrolled for a Masters in Business Administration at Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He dropped out also after being elected the Vice-Governor of Ilocos Norte.

Career

The celebrity stopped his higher-level studies in 1980 after being elected the Vice-Governor for Ilocos Norte. Through his father's financial help, he has managed to be a great leader in the Philippines. He has also been involved in some of the famous television series showing in the Philippines. Here is what he said concerning his father's ambitions to make Marcos Jr. a politician:

The only way you can explain my having entered politics is definitely because of how my father he even said it when he was still alive. He would say, 'I have committed not only myself to the work that I have done. I have not committed only my person, but my wife and my family too.

Here are some of the shows and documentaries that he has been involved:

2015-Kid Kulafu as Sen. Bongbong Marcos, the director

2011-Thelma as himself

2019-The Kingmaker Documentary as himself

2016-Pilipinas Debates TV Series as a Vice Presidential Candidate

2016-Metro Manila leg as a Vice Presidential Candidate

2015-The Successors TV Series documentary as a Senator of the Philippines

2015-The Marcos Dynasty as Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.- Senator of the Philippines

2012-Wasak TV Series as himself

2003-Independent Lens TV Series documentary as himself in the episode Imelda

1968-The Ed Sullivan Show TV Series as himself- Audience Bow

1965-Iginuhit ng Tadhana: The Ferdinand E. Marcos Story as himself

2016-Weekend Sunrise TV Series as himself for an episode dated May 15, 2016

2011-EDSA 25: Sulyap ng kasaysayan TV Movie documentary as himself

Why Miriam chose Bongbong Marcos?

In 2015, when senator Miriam Santiago chose Bongbong as her running mate, she was criticized by President Aquino III and other politicians. Being a presidential aspirant, Miriam, the regional trial court judge, appointed Bongbong to work with her. Here is what she said concerning her decision after declaring that she would vie for the presidential seat:

This phenomenon is unique not only for me but also for my running mate. It's a new developmenttwo people from different parties are running together.

Furthermore, she said that choosing when she would be no more, her running mate would succeed her.

When is Bongbong Marcos birthday?

He celebrates his birthday on September 13 each year. Celebrating his birthday in September makes the politician one of the celebrities whose birth sign is Virgo. His astrological sign is Maiden.

Who is the wife of Bongbong Marcos?

The celebrity is married to his long-term girlfriend Louise "Liza" Cacho Araneta. Bongbong Marcos wife and the ex-senator have been together since their marriage, and they have three sons. The first son is Ferdinand Alexander III "Sandro," who was born in 1994.

Image: facebook.com, @sweetyzie18

Source: UGC

Joseph Simon is the second born who was born in 1995 while William Vincent "Vince" was born in 1997 as the last born. Bongbong Marcos sons have developed a passion for politics because they have their father as a good role model.

READ ALSO: Tom Hanks bio: wife, kids, net worth, movies, latest news

Bongbong Marcos latest news

On March 22, 2020, the politician developed signs of COVID-19 a few days after his trip from Spain. Six days later, he tested positive for the virus and started undergoing treatment. Fortunately, after the Bongbong Marcos COVID-19 test was done again after some time, he turned out negative. He was lucky to recuperate and is spending much time in his bedroom isolating from people. Here is what he wrote on his social media after recovering:

With all the things I experienced  and I must admit I suffered  I'm still one of the lucky ones. I am. Because of the good work of our doctors, nurses, and medical technicians, all of them, I'm still here.

How much is Bongbong Marcos net worth?

The celebrity has managed to be among the wealthiest senators in the Philippines. He has amassed wealth from his political career and other endorsements. Bongbong owns real estate properties worth 303.5 million dollars, vehicles worth 16 million, jewelry worth 15 million dollars, paintings worth 16.7 million dollars, and a condominium unit worth 85.6 million dollars. His gross net worth as of 2020 is estimated to be 111 million dollars.

READ ALSO: Daniel Radcliffe bio: height, age, girlfriend, net worth

Bongbong Marcos is one of the most successful Filipino politicians. Bongbong Marcos achievements have significantly contributed to political stability in the Philippines. His life is a great inspiration for many upcoming politicians globally.

READ ALSO: Iza Calzado bio: husband, age, height, son, movies

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Three former board directors of the National Communications Authority have been given prison sentences of a total of 16 years for their roles in the clandestine purchase of US$4million cybersecurity equipment.

A former board chair of the NCA Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie was sentenced to six years imprisonment.

William Tetteh Tevie, a former Director-General of the NCA was also sentenced to five years imprisonment and Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, a former Deputy National Security Coordinator was sentenced five years imprisonment.

William Tevie and Alhaji Osman were found guilty on the charges of conspiracy to willfully causing financial loss to the state, contravention of public procurement act and intentionally misapplying public property. However, they were acquitted and discharged on for stealing, conspiracy to steal and using public office for personal benefits.

A businessman, Derrick Oppong was however acquitted and discharged on all charges against him.

Also another accused person, Nana Owusu Ensaw was acquitted and discharged by the court of appeal before today's judgment.

The judge, Justice Kyei Baffour further ordered the Attorney General to seize assets of the convicts amounting to the tune of three million dollars.

Background

According to the facts of the case as presented by the Attorney General, Baffoe-Bonnie, Tevie, Ensaw and Osman were allegedly aided by Oppong to engage in the criminal act.

It said the previous administration had contracted an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, to supply a piece of listening equipment at a cost of $6 million to enable the authority to monitor conversations of persons suspected to be engaged in terror activities.

A local agent, Infraloks Development Limited, allegedly charged $2 million to facilitate the transaction, bringing the total sum to $8 million.

The facts explained that the National Security did not have the money to fund the transaction and for that reason, the NCA, which had supervisory jurisdiction over the use of such equipment, was asked to fund the project.

It said $4 million was withdrawn from the NCA's account, while $1 million out of the withdrawn amount was deposited into the account of the Israeli company.

The Attorney General explained that the remaining $3 million was lodged in the account of Oppong, who acted as a representative of the local agents, Infraloks Development Ltd.

The state closed its case against the accused persons on the 18th of April 2019, following which the accused persons chose to exercise their rights under section 173 of the Criminal and Other Offences Procedure Act (Act 30) to file 'Submissions of No Case.'

Baffoe-Bonnie is standing trial with William Tetteh Tevie, a former Director-General of the NCA; Nana Owusu Ensaw, a former board member; Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, a former Deputy National Security Coordinator, and a businessman, George Derek Oppong for their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of $4 million of state funds during the purchase of listening devices for the National Security, which was sponsored by the NCA.

Apart from the charge of willfully causing financial loss to the state, the accused persons faced 16 charges, including conspiracy to steal, stealing, using public office for profit, among others

Witnesses

The prosecution in making their case called six witnesses namely, Abena Asarfo Adjei, Director of Legal Affairs at NCA; Dr. Isaac Yaw Ani, Deputy Director-General in-charge of management and Operations; Colonel Michael Kwadwo Poku, Director of Operations at National Security Secretariat; Duncan Opare, Deputy National Security Coordinator and Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah, the investigator of the case.

Defence

The accused persons opened their defence and denied all the charges levelled against them, insisting that the equipment was purchased for the NSCS as requested.

They also denied the charge of benefitting from the purchase of the equipment.

Alhaji Osman's testimony was, however, heard in camera.

---Daily Guide
Senior bureaucrats have been appointed as nodal officers for monitoring procurement process for mustard and wheat, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Monday.

To ensure that the procurement goes on smoothly, officers of Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary level have been appointed as nodal officers for on-the-spot grievance redressal, a statement quoted him as saying.

Besides, all Deputy Commissioners have deputed a procurement officer and an accounting clerk at every mandi and procurement centre for the convenience of the farmers, he added.

Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, said a cash credit of Rs 22,000 crore has already been arranged to ensure timely release of payment to farmers for wheat crop.

On opposition Congress alleging mismanagement in procurement process, he said that some leaders of the opposition parties are unable to digest the fact that the procurement process is going smoothly despite lockdown and are making statements in the media to mislead the farmers.

Chautala said that as per the information given on Meri Fasal  Mera Byora portal, a farmer can bring as much yield as he wants to sell in the mandis as there is no restriction.

The entire 1,600 quintals of wheat produce of a farmer was purchased in Panipat mandi recently, he said, citing an example, while hitting out at the opposition which has alleged that crop lifting is slow and not entire produce of farmers is being procured.

He said as soon as the wheat procured from the mandis is lifted and sent to the godowns, the payment of both the farmers and the Arthiyas or commision agents is made on the third day of lifting.

Chautala, whose party JJP is a coalition partner of the BJP in the state, said that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, arrangements have been made for sanitizers, masks, and soaps, among others, in the mandis and social distancing norms are being followed by all.

He said GPS has been installed in all the vehicles engaged in the lifting process of foodgrains. The vehicles which enter the mandi and procurement centres are sanitized first.

He informed that the number of mandis for wheat, which was initially at 389, have been increased to 1,895 after addition of 1,507 new centres, while 112 new procurement centres have been added for mustard.

Similarly, 30 mandis or procurement centres have been established for gram.

He said that wheat is being procured at a minimum support price of Rs 1,925 per quintal, mustard at Rs 4,425 per quintal and gram at Rs 4,875 per quintal.

Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Sanjeev Kaushal said that 62.44 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat has been procured from 3,99,432 farmers in the state in the last 19 days.

As much as 5.69 lakh MT of mustard has been procured from 2,10,319 farmers.

Mustard and wheat procurement in the state began from April 15 and April 20, respectively.
Experts expect 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue, which can fill ICUs even absent the pressures of coronavirus.

As the coronavirus kills thousands and dominates government attention across Latin America, another deadly viral infection is quietly stalking the region.

Dengue  colloquially called breakbone fever for the severe joint pain it causes  is endemic in much of Latin America, but the spread of COVID-19 has pulled crucial attention and resources away from the fight against it, doctors and officials say.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) expects 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue, which can fill intensive care units and kill patients even absent the pressures of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Around the world, COVID-19 has affected other diseases in different ways. Though in Europe measures to stop the coronavirus have banished seasonal flu, in Africa border closures have stopped transportation of measles vaccines and other supplies.

In Latin America, a dengue epidemic which started in late 2018 is still being felt. Dengue infections in the Americas surged to an all-time high of 3.1 million in 2019, with more than 1,500 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the PAHO.

Cases of the disease should begin to decline in the second half of the year, the organisation said.

Spread by mosquitoes, dengue outbreaks typically occur three to five years after the previous epidemic.

And with four strains of dengue in circulation, people may catch it more than once, with second cases more likely to be severe.

COVID is the star right now, so all of the attention is being put on COVID, but there are still problems with dengue, said Dr Jaime Gomez, who works at a hospital in Floridablanca, in Colombias Santander province.

Although dengue is not usually fatal and can be treated with painkillers, some sufferers deal with persistent symptoms like fatigue, weight loss, and depression that affect their ability to work. Severe dengue is treated with intravenous fluids and those who do not get tested are at risk of dangerous complications.

A dengue patient is seen at the Mario Ortiz Suarez Hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia [Rodrigo Urzagasti/Reuters]

Such medical intervention cannot be given if patients stay home, worried about contracting the coronavirus, or if overcrowded hospitals have to turn them away.

With relatively few cases of COVID-19 in the province where he works, Gomez said his clinic had seen hospitalisations fall by half, as people were fearful of venturing outdoors.

Under-reported

Paraguayan lawyer Sonia Fernandez avoided seeking care when she and her two daughters, ages 11 and eight, got sick with dengue at the beginning of April.

All three of us had dengue, we had all the symptoms, the pain, the rash, but we didnt go to a clinic or a health centre so as not to expose ourselves [to COVID-19], Fernandez said.

All three have since recovered.

Dengue cases in Paraguay have exploded this year. In the first 18 weeks of 2020, the country reported 42,710 confirmed cases and 64 deaths, compared with 384 confirmed cases and six deaths in the year-earlier period.

Cases haven't decreased, the diagnosis of cases has decreased, which confirms the system has totally collapsed. Esteban Ortiz, Quito's University of the Americas

In Ecuador, where the coronavirus pandemic has hit hard and hospitals in the largest city of Guayaquil been overwhelmed, an apparent fall in the number of dengue cases could mask other issues.

According to Ecuadors health ministry, dengue cases peaked at 888 in the week ending March 14, two weeks after the country confirmed its first case of COVID-19. For the week of April 4, they fell to 257.

Very clearly dengue is being under-reported, said Esteban Ortiz, a global health researcher at Quitos University of the Americas.

Cases havent decreased, the diagnosis of cases has decreased, which confirms the system has totally collapsed, he added.

Ecuadors health ministry said in a statement the country was no more exposed to the double impact of COVID-19 and dengue than any other in the region, adding it has sufficient supplies to treat cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

Dengue has also spiked sharply in Central America. Cases in Costa Rica nearly tripled through May 1 compared with a year ago, to more than 2,000.

We are going through a difficult moment dealing with COVID-19 but unfortunately other diseases continue their cycle, Rodrigo Marin, director of Costa Ricas health surveillance agency, recently told journalists.

In Panama, where dengue has caused at least two deaths this year, Panama City health official Yamileth Lopez also sounded the alarm in an interview with Reuters news agency.

Dengue kills too, she said.
NPP Communications Director, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, has expressed strong distaste over the obstinate behaviour of some Ghanaians in adhering to the preventive etiquette regarding the COVID-19 disease.



Yaw Buaben Asamoa resented the people who have blatantly refused to wear their nose masks, wash their hands with soap under running water, heed the ban on public gatherings and also follow other health instructions to safeguard them.



President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his ninth nation address on COVID-19, extended the ban on public gatherings till the end of the month, May 31 and advised Ghanaians to strictly abide by the directives.



The ban on public gatherings is part of measures to curb the spread of the disease in the country.



"In my address to workers and the nation on May Day, I announced the extension of the closure of our borders for one more month as the means to continue halting the importation of the virus into our country. Tonight, I have come into your homes to announce that the ban on public gatherings, as set out in E.I 64, has been extended also to the end of the month, i.e. 31st May. So, during this period, there will continue to be a ban on public gatherings, such as the holding of conferences, workshops, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities and sporting events. All educational facilities, private and public, continue to remain closed. There is still a ban on funerals, other than private burials conducted with not more than twenty-five (25) persons. It is noteworthy that the Police are arresting and prosecuting persons, irrespective of their status in society, who flout these regulations. We cannot allow a few persons, for their narrow, selfish interests, to jeopardise the health, well-being and safety of the larger population," the President said.



Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Yaw Buaben Asamoa asked Ghanaians to be each other's keeper by ensuring a strict adherence to all the health protocols which are prepared to protect them.



According to him, governing of the nation is not just responsibility of the President but also the citizens' duty to discipline themselves.



Mr. Buaben Asamoa wondered why some Ghanaians prefer to be coerced into obedience.



"The government is all of us. We have elected the government to safeguard us. Her major responsibility is to keep us safe but it shouldn't always take an imposition to protect us. All of us cannot be arrested; in fact what's the relevance of doing that? If we don't listen and we go outside to contract the disease, it'll affect our family and the economy," he stressed.



Listen to his submission in the video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hearst Television stations around the country have been honored with 31 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The honors, recognizing 2019 efforts by 15 of Hearst's TV stations and its Baltimore news/talk radio station WBAL-AM, represent the company's largest collection of regional Murrow honors in more than a dozen years.

"Hearst Television's TV, radio and digital journalists set the bar higher for themselves each year," said Barbara Maushard, Hearst Television senior vice president, news. "We couldn't be prouder of their efforts recognized here  or of the work they are doing right now to serve their communities when it's needed most."

Three Hearst TV stations were honored in their regions for Overall Excellence: KMBC-TV, Kansas City; WCVB-TV, Boston; and WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh. Overall, WCVB earned six awards, including recognition for investigative reporting and innovation; and KMBC earned five, including honors for multimedia and news documentary. Other multiple-award winners included WMUR-TV, Manchester, New Hampshire, with three, and WISN-TV, Milwaukee; WGAL-TV, Lancaster-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; KETV, Omaha; and WBAL-AM each with two.

The RTDNA presents the awards annually to recognize the best electronic journalism produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world. The regional Edward R. Murrow commendations qualify stations for consideration for the organization's national awards which are presented in the fall.

Additional information about the Murrow Awards can be found at the RTDNA website.

About Hearst Television

Hearst Television owns and operates 33 television and two radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all of the major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over nearly 70 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, This TV, Estrella and more. The radio stations are leaders in Baltimore news/talk and rock music listenership. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst.

SOURCE Hearst Television

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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has absolved Rivers State governor, Barr Nyesom Wike of blames in the demolitio...



Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has absolved Rivers State governor, Barr Nyesom Wike of blames in the demolition of two hotels in the state at the weekend. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has absolved Rivers State governor, Barr Nyesom Wike of blames in the demolition of two hotels in the state at the weekend.

Kanu in a press statement, signed by the publicity secretary of the group, Emma Powerful said the governor was only trying to protect his people.

Kanu rather blamed the owners of the hotel for flouting the lockdown order.

Kanu said, We must understand that operators of that very establishment risked the lives of thousands of people in Rivers State and beyond.

Potentially, they could have brought infections and death to thousands of people, either through Coronavirus infected Almajiri or by inadvertently providing accommodation to Fulani killers streaming into our towns and villages from the North.

Kanu, however, lamented that such demolition which was generating comments from all quarters had been done by the present governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai while he was still the minister of federal capital territory, and nothing happened.

When El-Rufai was busy terrorizing and pauperising thousands of Biafran businessmen by demolishing their hotels, bars, restaurants and homes in Abuja, some of the raging hypocritical voices of righteous indignation we are hearing today were never heard.

They never uttered a word, nor made a sound because they were and still are afraid of the murderous tendencies of their Fulani masters who are still demolishing legitimate Igbo businesses in Abuja.

Kanus, however, described Wikes action as overreaching, saying, l do not condone it because he went too far.




Car insurance broker-agents can help their customers to get low prices on a variety of insurance products from one or more insurance companies., said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents the most important information drivers need to know about car insurance-broker agents.

For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/what-is-a-car-insurance-broker-agent/

Insurance-broker agents are insurance professionals who play the role of both an insurance broker and an insurance agent. They can work for either a single insurance company or a group of insurers. Their role is to explain insurance products to potential customers of a specific insurance company, then recommend the best insurance products for the needs of that customer. As a broker, the broker-agent can shop around on behalf of clients, recommending other insurance products based on the clients needs.

To better understand the role of an insurance-broker agent, consider the following:



The difference between insurance agents and insurance brokers. Insurance brokers are professionals who recommend products from multiple insurance companies. The broker analyzes the customers needs and options and then recommends the best policy options from different companies. The broker gets a commission when the customers purchase insurance. On the other hand, insurance agents are employees of a specific insurance company and they can recommend and sell products only from their insurance companies. Besides getting sales bonuses and commissions, insurance agents also get a salary. Insurance-broker agents play both of these roles. They can recommend products from a specific insurance provider, while also having the freedom to recommend products from other insurers. Some insurance-brokers are salaried employees of an insurance company, while others are contractors for a group of insurers. Some of them are even self-employed.

The duties of an insurance-broker agent. Their duties vary among insurance companies. While some insurers call their agents "broker-agent" to get more customers, other companies hire broker-agents on a contractual basis to drive customers to their business. There are many broker-agents who are free of any contractual obligations and work more like a broker. These ones can recommend their customers products from different insurers without having a bias towards any specific provider. Other broker-agents work specifically with large companies to solve their insurance needs. Usually, these broker-agents specialize in a specific aspect of the insurance industry and they can recommend companies the best insurance products for their different insurance needs such as insuring a fleet of vehicles or covering hundreds or thousands of employees.

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Putin said that it's essential to preserve jobs and keep the economy afloat, but highlighted that precautions must be taken and restrictions need to be lifted gradually to prevent a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

In a speech Monday Putin said that starting May 12, the "non-working" period would end across the country but left it to the regional governors to decide which industrial plants could reopen.

In late March, Russia implemented a nationwide "non-working" period, requiring all non-essential businesses to close in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Putin ordered his cabinet and the national coronavirus task force to draft recommendations to slowly ease restrictive measures across Russia. He also instructed them to conceive an "action plan or economic recovery and growth" by June 1.

In Moscow, the center of the outbreak in Russia, with 115,909 cases, the lockdown has been extended through May 31. Citizens are required to wear masks and gloves in public starting Tuesday.

While industrial plants and construction sites will be able to resume work in the capital starting Tuesday, the service sector will continue to operate under lockdown conditions.

The pandemic has been surging in Russia. As of Monday, Russia has the fourth highest number of people infected, with 221,344 people, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Two thousand nine people in Russia have died from COVID-19.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the police not to take any coercive measure against Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) Chairman Zafarul Islam Khan in the sedition case till June 22, his lawyer said.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri, who conducted hearing through video conferencing, also asked the police to give prior notice to Khan if called for investigation, his lawyer Vrinda Grover said.

Khan approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail in the sedition case lodged against him, citing his old age, health issues and risk of the coronavirus or COVID-19 infection.

The court asked Delhi Police to file a status report on the anticipatory bail plea and listed the matter for further hearing on June 22.

On April 28, Khan published through his official page on social media a post that allegedly had seditious and hateful comments.

On May 2, based on a complaint, the Delhi Police Special Cell lodged an FIR against Khan under Sections 124A and 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the alleged offences of sedition and promoting feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language.

Khan sought anticipatory bail on the ground that he is a public servant and a senior citizen aged 72 years, who suffers from heart disease and hypertension and is highly susceptible to COVID-19 infection which can have fatal consequences for a person of his age and health condition.

In these circumstances there is an urgent need to grant him protection from arrest and coercive action in a frivolous and untenable case, in order to safeguard his liberty as the failure to do so will have irreversible consequences on his right to life, the petition filed through advocates Vrinda Grover, Ratna Appnender and Soutik Banerjee said.

The plea has sought direction to the police that in the event of his arrest, he be immediately released on bail and that no coercive measures be taken against him. It also sought direction that Khan's laptop and mobile should not be seized.

The plea claimed that no offence has been committed by Khan and the FIR has been registered with a mala fide intention to harass and intimidate him.

It said the FIR against him was "misconceived, being made on a misrepresentation of facts and an erroneous, untenable reading of the law.

Khan claimed in the plea that his social media post was falsely reported, distorted and sensationalised out of context by certain sections of the media to embarrass him and to tarnish his stellar work that he has been doing as Chairman of the commission.

Alarmed that his social media post was being maliciously and knowingly distorted and false meanings and motives attributed to his words, the petitioner (Khan) responded through his social media posts dated April 29, 2020, and further on May 1, 2020, the petitioner elaborated on his original tweet and clarified the distortions and misrepresentations by sections of the media, the plea said.

It said that despite the clarifications, a communal and politically motivated misinformation campaign was orchestrated against Khan to undermine the good work done by him over 20 years.

After almost a week since registration of the FIR, Khan was not served with any legal notice for interrogation and on the evening of May 6, when he was settling down for Iftaar, a police team came to his residence and orally asked him to accompany them to the Cyber Cell Police Station, it said.

The plea added that the police did not give any written notice to him as mandated under the CrPC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 22:47:07|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Experts urged vigilance saying that the danger is not over yet, as Turkey inches towards normalization amid a downward trend of COVID-19 cases.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that the country will normalize gradually from May to July within the framework of a "new normalization," in order to kickstart the economy.

Most of the shopping malls, barbershops and beauty salons across Turkey resumed operations on Monday. Numerous factories in the country will also restart production in the next week.

Ahead of the reopening, the Council of Shopping Centers said that personnel and customers should wear masks and continue to observe social distancing rules in all malls.

Mall administrators should also use thermometers, decrease elevator capacities or limit usage, provide disinfectants, and take measures to prevent crowds, the group said in a press release.

Shops are also told to encourage contactless payment methods.

Turkey has over 450 shopping malls in big cities, such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, and they are a distinctive fragment of Turkish economy, as they employ tens of thousands of people.

"I came to buy some groceries and also to look as fast as possible some clothing items for my children, but I am planning to do all of this within an hour," said Aysel Goncu, a private company employee at the entrance of the 356 shopping center in downtown Ankara.

"I saw on television this morning that thorough disinfecting was made in malls so I am not very apprehensive, but i need to be fast, and not linger like we did before," she added.

Another shopper, who declined to give his name, simply said that he was "bored at home" and came to do some window shopping.

People were not rushing to the center but there was still a queue of shoppers at the main entrance where security and mall employees were enforcing regulations.

Turkey has reported over 139,000 confirmed infections and 3,841 deaths while over 95,000 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus.

While Turkey is gradually and slowly relaxing lockdown restrictions with declining infection numbers, health experts are warning of risks, insisting that the pandemic is not over.

"The reopening of barbershops, hairdressers and shopping malls doesn't mean that the outbreak is over. It means that the work load density in hospitals is decreasing and that if needed, there is a bed there for you," said Alpay Azap, a virologist and also a member of the Coronavirus Science Board.

Asked during an interview on Fox broadcaster if he would go to a shopping mall, the doctor said that "I would not, and if I must, I would take all the precautionary measures and leave as soon as I finish my business."

Bulent Ertugrul, another virologist, highlighted the risk of contaminated air in shopping centers.

"Ventilation and air conditioning systems in such places can be a serious health hazard and it should be closely monitored by officials. Disinfection alone will not be sufficient in shopping malls," he said on NTV news channel.

He added that from now on until a vaccine is developed, "face masks have to become an extension of our daily clothing." Enditem
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed during a pre-dawn arrest raid near Jenin on Monday after a large rock was dropped on his head from the roof of a nearby home.

21-year-old Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Ygal died a few hours after being injured in the Palestinian town of Yabad, the first IDF death during military operations this year.

The Israeli soldiers raided the village around 4 a.m. and arrested four Palestinians, two suspected of terrorism and two of throwing stones at nearby Israeli vehicles.

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters the soldiers were not able to identify who dropped the large rock that struck Ygal near the edge of the village.

Ygal later died at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

Israeli soldiers returned to the town after the incident to find the person who dropped the stone, reported the West Banks Wafa news agency. Several arrests were made.

Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the incident on Tuesday, saying Israels long arm will find the terrorist.

The last IDF soldier to be killed by a Palestinian died in March 2019 after being shot alongside another two other people at the Ariel settlement in the West Bank.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli police said a Palestinian man attempting to stab people with a screwdriver at the Qalandia checkpoint outside Jerusalem was shot and wounded.

The incidents come as Netanyahu is promising to annex parts of the West Bank as early as July, with conditional US government approval.

The move faces widespread international opposition and threatens decades of hopes for a two-state solution.

Israels Defense Ministry announced the approval of new settlement projects just a day after US ambassador David Friedman said the Trump administration was prepared to support the annexation on certain conditions, including Knesset approval and a freeze on settlement building in areas not annexed.

Israel captured a significant portion of Palestinian territory in the 1967 war with its neighbors and has continued to approve West Bank settlements, which the United Nations has ruled flagrant violations of international law.

Israeli officials have said for years that the West Bank  the core of a proposed future Palestinian state  is key territory for maintaining Israels self-defense.
The core of the claim I wish to make relates to the political significance of this new phase. In my view, the central political meaning of the Arab spring and its aftermath is that it featured Arabic-speaking people acting essentially on their own, as full-fledged, independent makers of their own history and of global history more broadly. Arabs were acting to choose among possible Arab governments; and the governing forces arrayed against them were similarly Arab forces, not empires or imperial proxies. In basic terms, the events took place in a framework defined by Arab choice and Arab power. Inasmuch as such a thing is ever possible in a world of global interaction and interdependence, the Arab spring and the Arab winter were the Arabs own.

That is not to say that imperial powers were not still relevant to the political choices made by Arab actors. The background conditions that shaped the history of Arab political institutions were inflected and shaped by colonialism and imperialism. Protesters in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak wondered whether and how the United States would support the regime. Sunnis in Syria hoped that the United States would intervene militarily to remove Bashar al-Assad from power, as it had already intervened in Libya to defeat Muammar al-Qaddafi. Assad himself ultimately came to rely on a quasi-imperial Russian intervention to defeat the insurgents and ensure his survival.

[ Return to the review of The Arab Winter. ]

The point, rather, is that the key decisionsto rise against existing governments, to form new ones, to bring them downwere made from within. They were not motivated or made based on opposition to empire or encouragement from it. Outside forces were relevant to political calculations but did not determine them.

For this reason, the passage from Arab spring to Arab winter should be understood first and foremost as a narrative of self-determination, choice, and consequences, not as a story of heteronomy and external imposition. Moral assessments of credit and demerit, praise and blame, right and wrong must be laid first and foremost at the feet of the participants. According to a discourse shared by many politicians, activists, and academics, the story of modern politics in the Arabic-speaking world has been framed largely in terms of imperial oppression and resistance to it. I am suggesting that the events of the Arab spring and winter warrant a very different framework, one defined by collective political action that was in an important sense autonomous.

The second argument of the book is that Arab nationalism looks very different during todays Arab winter than it did before the Arab spring. On the one hand, the Arab spring demonstrated the existence of a transnational, even pan-Arab sense of cross-border political identification. Previously, the particularities of national experience in different Arabic-speaking states had made it possible and even fashionable to question the existence of such a broad sentiment. The Arab spring recurred in a great number of Arab countriesand it only visited Arab states. Political events in some Arab countries had massive spillover effects in others, from the imitative, fast-spreading protests and slogans to post-revolutionary struggles to specific techniques of repression. All these reflected the reality of political identification among and across Arab people and peoples.

On the other hand, within the states where the Arab spring led to major changes, the sense of an existing intraborder Arab nation has been radically undercut, and in some cases destroyed, relative to the preArab spring moment. This collapse of national identity was already prefigured in post-invasion Iraq, with its combination of ethnic (Arab-Kurd) and denominational (Sunni-Shii) cleavages. But where the Iraqi experience could be blamed on imperial intervention, the divisions in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and even Egypt cannot be similarly laid at the feet of an occupier seeking to categorize and control a local population. The divisions in the states riven by civil war are ethnic, denominational, interreligious, geographical, tribal, and ideological. Relative homogeneity along one dimension has not stopped other dimensions of division from becoming fault lines in existential struggles for power.

The takeaway from this profound internal division within some Arab states is that Arab nationalism can no longer be said to function as a plausible or compelling ideology for projecting national unity within Arabic-speaking countries. Indeed, nationalism itself looks very much endangered in the entire region as a consequence of this breakdown of state order. Where at one time Lebanon with its history of civil war might have been seen as an outlier relative to other Arab national units, it now looks more like an archetype. Arab countries that have not undergone civil war in the modern era are no longer even a clear majority among all Arab nations.
As thousands of migrant workers return home amid a slump in demand, industries are looking at a difficult road ahead in terms of full resumption of operations even as governments are working on incentives for them to boost production.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 20 lakh crore stimulus package aimed at making India self reliant, with a special focus on economy and industry. The PM said that the package will lead to reforms in land, labour, liquidity and laws, and would provide relief to small and medium enterprises, which employ most of the migrant workers.

Resumption of industries could help state governments deal with reverse migration of workers and improve state finances, which have been wrecked by the national lockdown that was first imposed on March 25 and since extended twice. The states have been looking at the Centre for a stimulus package, especially for small and medium industries, which finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to announce from Wednesday onwards, the PM said.

Even though the Centre and the state governments have given several lockdown relaxations, industrial production has not reached the level the state governments had expected. Officials in several states said only about 15%-20% of industries resumed operations, and that, too, with limited capacity, till Monday.

Industry leaders urged the government to lift the strict lockdown conditions to kickstart industrial production. They want all shops and offices to open to spur demand, which has plummeted during the lockdown. The small and medium industries are also seeking a financial bailout package.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray told Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting between the Prime Minister and chief ministers that about 25,000 of the total 125,000 industries in the state had resumed operations, employing about 650,000 workers. We are expecting the rest of the industrial units will also start their operations in the coming days, said a senior official from the state industries department.

Rajasthans additional chief secretary, industries, Subodh Agarwal, said about 12,000 medium and small scale industries had become operational. These industries are working with a strength of 30%-40% labourers, and less than 50% production capacity. Over two lakh {200,000} labourers are working in these industries, he said.

In northern Indias most industralised state, Punjab, only 16,000, or 6%, of the total of 252,000 industries have resumed operations. These industries include some big manufacturers, such as Hero Cycles in Ludhiana. Vini Mahajan, Punjabs additional chief secretary, industries, said despite issues related to supply chain, demand and working capital, industries were working to restart operations.

Telanganas industries secretary, Jayesh Ranjan, said nearly 90% of the total of 56,000 functional industries in the state had resumed operations even though most of the factories were running much below their full capacity. Telangana has extended the lockdown till May 29.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, about 70% of the industrial units have started operations, up from about 10% on April 20, when industries resumed operation in the lockdown. Now, industrial activity has picked up in all major industrial estates and SEZs [special economic zones], an official in the industries department said.

In Bihar, only about 3,000 of a total 25,000 industries have started. Government officials said industrial activity will remain poor as the focus of the state was on containing the spread of the pandemic arising from migrant workers returning from different states. In Uttar Pradesh, about 30% of the industries have got permission to resume operations.

In Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, not more than 10% of the industries have started operations. We have small industries, which are totally dependent on workers from outside the state. With workers going back, the industries have failed to resume work, said a Chhattisgarh government official, who was not willing to be named. An official in Jharkhand said the mining operations have now resumed fully even though other industrial activity was meagre.

Industry leader voice

More than workers leaving, factory owners are concerned about dipping demand and they said the demand will not pick up till the lockdown is fully lifted. Some factory owners in sectors, such as textiles, said they need the governments financial support to restart their businesses.

Kamal Dalmia, chairman of Amritsars Focal Point Industries Association, said :Unless the entire {supply} chain is restored, the units cannot resume operations at full strength.

Vishal Baid, chairman of the Rajasthan chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said although the state government had been as a facilitator, the association was concerned about the absence of workers and poor demand. Even if we manufacture, there are issues with transportation and there are no buyers as the shops are closed. Unless all shops open and economic activity starts in cities, the demand will not improve, he said.

To improve demand, the government should allow opening of offices, said promoter of Bihar based Hebe Ispat, Sanjay Goenka. Deepak Patra, spokesperson for Dalmia Bharat, said the companys factory was running at full capacity but there were not enough buyers to lift the finished products.

Chandrakant Salunkhe, President, Maharashtra Industrial and Economic Development Association (MIEDA), said the industries need a good financial package from the government to survive this unprecedented dip in demand across sectors. Whatever non-essential good companies have produced in the last 10 days have no buyers. People are not buying anything except essential goods, he said.

Telangana Industrialists Federation president, K Sudhir Reddy, said the industries were working with 30 to 40% capacity because of restricted timings of operations  only between 7 am and 6 pm --- and shortage of workers and raw material. We are asking for permission of night shift operations so that the production can go on without interruption, Reddy said.

Pankaj Kumar, national president, Indian Industries Association (IIA), an industry lobby body of the MSME sector in Uttar Pradesh, said, An NCR pass must be issued for free movement of labourers in the region. Manmohan Agarwal, who has a chemical plant in the Talkatora Industrial Area in Lucknow, said he cannot open his factory as workers cannot return because of the lockdown. I was all set to restart plant from Monday, but could not do so due to the labour crisis, said Agarwal.

Some industry owners, such as Vijay Ahuja, a garment manufacturer in Rajasthan, are thinking of closing their businesses. In the present circumstances, the business is not viable for us. Most of the orders in India and abroad have been put on hold. We will be able to resume operations only if the government provides monetary help and relaxes labour laws, he said. Raipur-based industry owner, Vishal Sharma, said he cannot resume operations without skilled workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who have gone home, a concern raised by factory owners in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Industry versus state finances

Several state government functionaries hoped the situation will improve after the lockdown ends on May 17. More industries will be allowed even in the red zones after May 17. We expect to allow operation of industries in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, the red zones, from next week, said Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Monday told the PM that they need to waive restrictions for industrial areas even in red zones to boost economic activity as Covid-19 cases were not coming down. We are also of the view that after May 17, industries can further be allowed with fewer restrictions after doing a risk analysis in a measured and staggered manner, Gehlot said.

Officials in states such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan said they were working on some financial package for small and medium industries and expected a bigger bailout from the Central government, which has formed a working group to examine stimulus for industry. UP industries minister Satish Mahana said the administration was working on easing problems of industrialists across the state.

(With inputs from state bureaus)
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San Antonio police are searching for a group of individuals who they say forced a man to undress in the street before shooting at him.

The 44-year-old victim told police he was standing in the parking lot of an apartment complex near the 11200 block of Perrin Beitel Road when two men came up to him and accused him of breaking into cars, SAPD said.
While there have been a couple of sightings of Vespa mandarinia  commonly called the Asian giant hornet  in North America, there have not been any sightings in Virginia or on the East Coast.

The hornet was first seen in North America in fall 2019 when it was spotted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was subsequently destroyed. At the time, no further Asian giant hornet adults were found in the Canadian province. In November 2019, a single hornet was seen around 10 miles away in British Columbia.

In winter 2019, less than 40 miles from that same nest, one dead Asian giant hornet worker was found in Washington state. That worker appears to be from a local nest or, less likely, blown in by Pacific winds. The nest was destroyed and no hornets have been observed in 2020.

If it is discovered to be established in the Pacific Northwest later this summer, both American and Canadian governments will work hard to eradicate it. Even if that fails, the spread of the wasp is less than 40 miles a year, and it would be years before it spread from Canada to the East Coast. However, we should remain vigilant about all invasive species, such as the spotted lanternfly, said Tim Kring, professor and head of the Department of Entomology in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. We have several large hornets less than 1.5 inches long that might be confused with the Asian giant hornet.

Once established, the Asian giant hornet can be a significant problem for beekeepers, as it takes advantage of hives by attacking them in the spring and fall when they are more vulnerable. In the spring the hornets grab individual worker bees, then in the fall, they attack a hive en masse, killing the worker bees and feeding on the bee brood within the hive.

Vespa crabro, or the European Hornet, is commonly found in parts of the United States, including in Virginia. It has a few common identifying features but is significantly smaller at around one inch, versus two, when compared to the Asian giant hornet. The European hornet does not pose a major threat to honeybees and is a generalist predator.
Panaji, May 12 : Four foreign nationals, including one woman, all of African descent, have been detailed from a village in North Goa, for illegally overstaying in the country, a police official said on Tuesday.

While the three male foreigners are natives of Nigeria, the woman hails from Kenya, Supreintendent of Polcie (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Shobhit Saxena told reporters here. The official said that the four foreigners were found staying without any passport, visa or identification documents.

"They have been lodged at our detention centre for deportation. A blacklisting case under the Foreigners Act has also been booked against the owner of the house they were staying in has been registered," Saxena said.
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As Muslims observe a Ramadan like no other amid the coronavirus pandemic, Muslim leaders and civil rights organizations in the United States are turning to the virtual world to participate in interfaith dialogue and fellowship at a time when Islamophobia continues to threaten the community.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has essentially shut down the more than 2,000 mosques in the U.S. and in-person gatherings are not possible, some mosques and organizations are hosting virtual events to bring people together.

"Islamophobia has been on the rise especially in political seasons, in election seasons, and interfaith dialogue brings us together," Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, told ABC News, adding that when it comes to engaging in social justice issues for Muslims, Ramadan is "usually the most active time of the year."

As the coronavirus pandemic upends Ramadan rituals, Muslims turn to their faith for guidance

Three Muslim members of Congress -- Democratic lawmakers Andre Carson of Indiana, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan -- are co-hosting a virtual national iftar on Tuesday evening. They will also be joined by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison  a former U.S. congressman and the first Muslim to win an election for a statewide office in the U.S.

The iftar -- or breaking of the fast dinner -- is organized by Muslim Advocates, a civil rights organization, and is expected to be attended by people of diverse faiths, the group's CEO, Farhana Khera, told ABC News.

"We think doing these events is an important opportunity to share with non-Muslim allies a little bit about who we are as a community," Khera said, "and so, we purposefully geared this event in a way that it's welcoming of both Muslims and non-Muslims from across the country."

PHOTO: President Barack Obama pauses as he acknowledges Muslim 9/11 families during an Iftar dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House, Aug. 10, 2011 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE)

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told ABC News that although "this will be somewhat of a gap year in terms of opportunity for widespread interfaith dialogue," many mosques and local leaders are planning virtual gatherings to reach out to the wider community.

Story continues

Why interfaith dialogue is needed

According to an ABC News analysis of FBI hate crime reports over the past 20 years, the number of victims of hate crimes motivated by anti-Muslim bias peaked in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, then fell over the next decade, but has been on the rise since 2010.

Mitchell said although hate crime data is vastly underreported, "the trend lines are likely accurate, and are beneficial to kind of tell us what direction we're going in," adding that CAIR's own data suggests similar trends over the past 20 years.

Last month, prosecutors charged a 42-year-old Missouri man with a hate crime after he was accused of setting fire to the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau. And according to CAIR, between 2014 and June 2019, there were 506 attacks and harassment incidents targeting mosques or Islamic religious sites in the U.S.

PHOTO: President George W. Bush speaks during an iftar dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House, Oct. 16, 2006 in Washington. (AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

And this Ramadan, some Muslim organizations have been experiencing anti-Muslim attacks during Zoom video conferences and gatherings, often referred to as Zoom-bombings, Khera said.

"Every attack on a mosque serves as a reminder of the importance of building bridges through communities. It is very hard to hate people when you know a little bit about them," Mitchell said.

COVID-19 exposes mistrust and health care inequality going back generations for African Americans

How interfaith dialogue became a Ramadan White House tradition

Each year during Ramadan, Muslim communities participate in iftar events with state and local officials. The U.S. military and the White House also host events to mark the holy month.

Imam Lt. Col. Dawud Agbere, one of seven Muslim chaplains in the U.S. Army, spoke at the White House iftar dinner hosted by President Donald Trump in June 2018 and told ABC News that hosting Ramadan celebrations at the national level is "very important" because it acknowledges the "unique religious landscape we have here in America."

PHOTO: An undated photo show Imam Lt. Col. Dawud Agbere. (U.S. Army Public Affairs)

Agbere was an Imam in Ghana, where he was born and raised before he moved to the U.S. in 1995. He has been serving in the Army for the past 21 years and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked to bridge the cultural divide and support U.S. soldiers of all faiths.

"For me to be at the White House in my uniform, the only person in uniform, I think that sends a very good positive impression to the world -- that yes, Muslims belong here and the country appreciates their contributions to the country and to our national defense," Agbere said.

But the tradition of celebrating Ramadan at the White House with the president is relatively new and only began a couple of decades ago.

PHOTO: First Lady Hillary Clinton meets with Muslim Americans in the White House Indian Treaty Room on Jan. 29, 1998 to commemorate the end of Ramadan, in Washington. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images, FILE)

First lady Hillary Clinton was the first to hold a dinner at the White House to mark Eid al-Fitr -- the end of the holy month of Ramadan -- in 1996.

Mona Mohib, who will be participating in the national iftar Tuesday evening, worked at the White House from 1997 to 1999 and was part of the team that organized the Eid celebrations.

"Our events at the White House really were a wonderful way to celebrate how Muslim Americans are a vibrant part of this nation's diverse fabric," she told ABC News. "For the White House to host it, it's obviously giving a visibility to a community that maybe not all people have relationships with or understand."

President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to host an Eid dinner in March 2000, launching a White House tradition that brought Muslim leaders, diplomats and lawmakers together for an interfaith experience. Hendi, who became the first Muslim chaplain at a U.S. university in 1999, was invited to speak at the event.

PHOTO: President Bill Clinton greets invited guests before making a statement on Jan. 10, 2000 to mark the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan during ceremonies at the Eisenhower Executive Building in Washington. (AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

"When I came to Georgetown I felt one of my mandates would be to really engage the intellectual community and the academic community in America with Islam," Hendi said, adding that rising Islamophobia after 9/11 made the need for interfaith dialogue even more urgent.

Trump broke with tradition in 2017 when the White House did not host an iftar or Eid celebration dinner to mark Ramadan.

Faces of the coronavirus pandemic: Remembering those who died

The Trump White House did host iftar events in 2018 and 2019, but amid tensions with the Muslim community over the administration's policies, including the travel ban and the president's rhetoric about Islam, the guest list did not include community leaders but consisted of White House officials and various diplomats from Muslim-majority countries.

This year the White House released a statement to mark the beginning of Ramadan, but so far Trump has not made any remarks in person or on social media to mark the occasion.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during an iftar dinner hosted at the White House in Washington, June 6, 2018. (AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

Social distancing guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic have limited the number and nature of events at the White House. Is it unclear if the Trump administration will host a Ramadan event this year. ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

"American Muslims have always been a part of the fabric of America. American Muslims serve in the military, American Muslims contribute to the economy of this country," Hendi said and as Muslim heath care workers "are fighting minute by minute" with their fellow Americans to battle the pandemic, "the least that the White House  the president can do is to say thank you for your service."

Agbere, who is currently stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, said that during Ramadan he has been receiving calls from Army chaplains stationed "all over the world" who are seeking advice on how they can "take care" of their Muslim soldiers during the holy month.

PHOTO: Maj. Dawud Agbere, left, talks with Afghan sholdiers at Camp Shaheen in Afghanistan. Agbere is the only Muslim U.S. Army chaplain in Afghanistan. (Tribune News Service via Getty Images, FILE)

In the Army Chaplain Corps, a chaplain is responsible for providing religious and spiritual support to soldiers of all faiths and backgrounds and according to Agbere, "interfaith dialogue" and a focus on "our common humanity" is at the heart of the chaplaincy.

"Even the Quran emphasizes that differences will always be there, but what is important is how we treat each other," Agbere said. "I tell my soldiers, if you go out there and find somebody on the ground hurting, the last question you ask them is, what is your faith? What is your tribe? What is your ethnicity? No, you don't do that. The first thing you do is 'how can I help you?'"

How COVID-19 is exposing -- and widening -- cracks in the US health system

Combating hate amid a pandemic: How a Ramadan tradition is building bridges in the US originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Prime minister Boris Johnson takes a morning walk in St James's Park in London. (PA)

Boris Johnsons plans to lift the coronavirus lockdown will not ensure the suppression of the epidemic, a former director at the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

Professor Anthony Costello, a member of the independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee, accused the government of repeating its early mistakes in dealing with the virus.

The independent SAGE was set up to rival the governments official SAGE committee and is made up of a group of scientists who have been highly critical of the governments response to the crisis.

In a stark warning, Prof Costello warned the prime minister's plans would lead to the COVID-19 epidemic returning early to the UK, increase the number of cases and mean further preventable deaths .

Traffic on the M25 near Egham, Surrey, after the PM said people who cannot work from home should be "actively encouraged" to return to work. (PA)

In a series of social media posts on Monday, Prof Costello revealed that an independent SAGE report presented to the government on Tuesday would argue that the prime ministers lockdown-easing plans are misguided and over-centralised.

The WHO ask that governments refocus the whole of government on suppression and containing COVID-19, he tweeted.

There is no refocus or commitment except to manage the spread. This is 'herd immunity' and 'take it on the chin'.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Prof Costello  who was director of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health at the WHO  said the report had found that the governments find, test and trace programme is not yet sufficient to control the virus.

In short, the government plans will lead to the epidemic returning early, cases rising, further preventable deaths, and no guarantee that herd immunity will ever occur, he added.

This is compounding the disastrous policy of March 12.

Stay alert. Control the virus. Save lives is the government's new messaging for easing the lockdown restrictions. (PA)

Prof Costello has previously been highly critical of the governments response to coronavirus, writing in The Guardian last month that the UK government was ignoring WHO advice on dealing with the outbreak.

Story continues

The basic principles of public health, and the daily mantra of the WHO  to find the virus, test, trace and isolate, to promote social distancing, and to do it all at speed  appear to have been effectively disregarded, he said.

The UKs death toll passed 40,000 on Tuesday, following new figures on care home deaths released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It comes as the WHO condemned the "dangerous" concept of herd immunity on Tuesday.

Herd immunity is an epidemiological term usually reserved to describe how the population as a whole is protected from a disease depending on the levels of people vaccinated.

Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies programme, told a press briefing in Geneva: "Humans are not herds, and, as such, the concept of herd immunity is generally reserved for calculating how many people will need to be vaccinated and the population in order to generate that effect.

"This is a serious disease, this is public enemy number one, we have been saying it over and over and over and over again."

He said "no one is safe until everyone is safe", adding: "So I do think this idea that 'maybe countries who had lax measures and haven't done anything will all of a sudden magically reach some herd immunity, and so what if we lose a few old people along the way?'

This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation.

Coronavirus: what happened today?

Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter
Indian Naval Ship Kesari, carrying 580 tonnes of essential food items, on Tuesday reached Male port in the Maldives, the first destination under the government's 'Mission Sagar' initiative.

The essentials will be discharged by the Indian Navy ship as a gift from the people of India to the people of Maldives during the coronavirus crisis.

India on Sunday dispatched INS Kesari, carrying on board two medical assistance teams, medicines and essential food items, to countries in the southern Indian Ocean as part of 'Mission Sagar'.

The countries including Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles had requested India for assistance in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical assistance teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with COVID-19 emergency and dengue fever (in case of Comoros), the Ministry of External Affairs said.

After the Maldives, the ship will also deliver consignments of COVID-19 related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles. In addition, in the case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent, the ministry further stated.

The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.

In line with its time-tested role as the first responder in the region, India has already supported the efforts of the governments of Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles by providing them consignments of COVID-19 related essential medicines. A team of select medical personnel was also dispatched to the Maldives to augment the preparedness of the Maldivian government to fight this crisis, the ministry said.

'Mission Sagar' is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR -- Security and Growth for All in the Region.

-ANI

Also Read: Vande Bharat Mission: 169 Indian students to arrive at Srinagar from Dhaka
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:17:50|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Alison McMillan, Australia's Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, said on Tuesday afternoon that the country's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased by 18 in 24 hours to 6,964.

Almost all of the new cases were in Victoria, where restrictions will begin to ease on Tuesday night, while New South Wales (NSW), the hardest-hit state, has recorded its first day with zero new case since the pandemic began.

The number of Australian patients who have recovered from the virus has grown from 6,179 on Monday to 6,229.

Despite the positive numbers, McMillan reiterated the government's message that Australians must remain vigilant.

"If there are any signs that you are sick, please, please stay at home and call your General Practitioner (GP) to see about getting tested," she said.

"It's so important that we all follow hand hygiene. Remember to wash your hands. Before you eat, after you go to the toilet and certainly after you cough or sneeze.

"And importantly as we move around, trying to maintain that 1.5 metre distance between ourselves and others."

Andrew Barr, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), announced on Tuesday that restaurants and cafes in the territory will be able to re-open to 10 patrons as of Friday night.

"This is a first tentative and very small step for the industry," he said.

"The advice from public safety experts is that the safest and easiest way to reach a more sustainable level of restrictions in our community is to ease them gradually.

"The adjustment for this industry is going to continue over the coming months." Enditem
Solid first quarter sales of $1.8 billion, an increase of 3%, or 4% constant currency

Successful launch of PATADAY strengthens Alcon's leadership in the US OTC allergy market

Decline in global demand for surgical procedures will negatively impact second quarter results

Focus on associate safety, business continuity and financial flexibility

Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC), the global leader in eye care, reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. For the first quarter of 2020, worldwide sales were $1.8 billion, an increase of 3% on a reported basis and an increase of 4% on a constant currency basis(2), as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. First quarter 2020 diluted losses per share were $0.12 and core diluted earnings per share were $0.45.

First quarter 2020 key figures

Three months ended March 31 2020 2019 Net sales ($ millions) 1,822 1,777 Operating margin (%) (1.5)% (2.7)% Core operating margin (%)(1) 16.6% 17.7% (Loss) per share ($) (0.12) (0.22) Core diluted earnings per share ($)(1) 0.45 0.51

"Our first quarter reflects the solid underlying growth prospects of our business," said David Endicott, Chief Executive Officer. "We saw strong sales growth in both franchises during the first two months of the year, led by key growth brands and new product launches. However, as the COVID-19 outbreak spread worldwide, the widespread shutdowns negatively impacted demand by mid-March."

Mr. Endicott continued, "As we navigate these challenging conditions, we remain focused on the safety of our associates and supporting our customers. To help contribute to our community safety, our associates are producing personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers for first responders, which is a testament to the resourcefulness of our people. Lastly, we are taking decisive actions to maintain our global supply chain and control our expenses and cash flow. Although we expect a significant impact on second quarter results, the prudent actions we are taking will prepare us for recovery and preserve the ability to pursue our long-term goals."

First Quarter 2020 Results

Worldwide sales for the first quarter were $1.8 billion, an increase of 3%, or 4% on a constant currency basis, compared to the first quarter of 2019. Sales growth was driven by the Company's key growth platforms within the Surgical and Vision Care segments: AT-IOLs, DAILIES TOTAL1 contact lenses and SYSTANE COMPLETE eye drops. Also contributing to the solid performance in the quarter was the new launch of PATADAY for ocular allergies, which switched from prescription to over the counter in the US. Strong top-line growth in January and February absorbed the sharp decline in late March as the COVID-19 outbreak affected the US and European markets.

The following table highlights net sales by segment for the first quarter of 2020:

Three months ended March 31 Change % ($ millions unless indicated otherwise) 2020 2019 cc(2) Surgical Implantables 310 285 9 10 Consumables 519 551 (6 (4 Equipment/other 155 164 (5 (3 Total Surgical 984 1,000 (2 Vision Care Contact lenses 502 498 1 2 Ocular health 336 279 20 23 Total Vision Care 838 777 8 10 Net sales to third parties 1,822 1,777 3 4

Surgical revenues impacted by COVID-19

Surgical net sales of $984 million, which include implantables, consumables and equipment/other, decreased 2%, or flat on a constant currency basis compared to the first quarter 2019. Solid growth in the implantables subcategory offset the decline in consumables and equipment/other. Strong demand for PANOPTIX, which launched last year in the US and Japan, and solid growth in service revenues were offset by a lower rate of surgical procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively affected the demand for consumables and equipment.

Vision Care posted double-digit cc growth

Vision Care net sales of $838 million, which include contact lenses and ocular health, increased 8%, or 10% on a constant currency basis compared to first quarter of 2019. Sales were driven by solid demand for DAILIES TOTAL1, launch momentum for PRECISION1, stocking related demand in ocular health products, and the successful launch of PATADAY allergy drops in advance of the US spring allergy season.

Core operating income

First quarter 2020 operating loss was $28 million, which includes charges of $259 million from the amortization of certain intangible assets, $71 million of separation costs and $7 million of transformation program costs. Excluding these and other adjustments, first quarter 2020 core operating income was $302 million, which includes $19 million in provisions related to COVID-19. First quarter core operating margin of 16.6% decreased by 110 bps, including an unfavorable impact of 50 bps from foreign exchange, as well as planned increases in research and development projects, compared to the first quarter of 2019.

Diluted loss/earnings per share (EPS)

First quarter 2020 diluted losses per share were $0.12. Core diluted earnings per share were $0.45 for the first quarter, including $0.04 per share of interest on financial borrowings.

Balance sheet highlights

The Company ended the first quarter with a cash position of $760 million. Debt totaled $3.5 billion as of March 31, 2020, including $1.5 billion in borrowings executed immediately prior to the Spin-Off and $2.0 billion in senior notes issued in September 2019. The Company ended the first quarter with a net debt(3) position of $2.7 billion to refinance certain pre Spin-off borrowings. The Company continues to have $1 billion available in its existing revolving credit facility as of May 12, 2020.

Financial Outlook

Due to the uncertain scope and duration of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Company is unable to provide an estimate for financial results for the full year 2020.

The Company is actively managing working capital, cash flow and expenses and prioritizing capital allocation needs to preserve liquidity. In addition, the Company is focused on inventory management and preparing its commercial programs to support customer and patient needs as markets reopen.

While second quarter results will be negatively impacted by the health crisis, given the critical nature of eye care, customer demand is expected to resume when underlying conditions normalize and gradually lead to an improvement in the back half of the year.

To learn more about Alcon's efforts in COVID-19, read our statement on alcon.com.

Webcast and Conference Call Instructions

The Company will host a conference call on May 13 at 2:00 p.m. Central European Time 8 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its first quarter 2020 earnings results. The webcast can be accessed online through Alcon's Investor Relations website, investor.alcon.com. Listeners should log on approximately 10 minutes in advance. A replay will be available online within 24 hours after the event.

The Company's interim financial report and supplemental presentation materials can be found online through Alcon's Investor Relations website, https://investor.alcon.com/financials/quarterly-results/, at the beginning of the conference, or by clicking on the link:

https://investor.alcon.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations/event-details/2020/Alcons-First-Quarter-2020-Earnings-Conference-Call/default.aspx

Footnotes (pages 1-3)

(1) Core results, such as core operating margin and core EPS, are non-IFRS measures. For additional information, including a reconciliation of such core results to the most directly comparable measures presented in accordance with IFRS, see the explanation of non-IFRS measures and reconciliation tables in the 'Non-IFRS measures as defined by the Company' and 'Financial Tables' sections. (2) Constant currency (cc) is a non-IFRS measure. Growth in constant currency (cc) is calculated by translating the current year's foreign currency items into US dollars using average exchange rates from the prior year and comparing them to prior year values in US dollars. An explanation of non-IFRS measures can be found in the 'Non-IFRS measures as defined by the Company' section. (3) Net (debt)/liquidity is a non-IFRS measure. For additional information regarding net (debt)/liquidity, which is a non-IFRS measure, see the explanation of non-IFRS measures and reconciliation tables in the 'Non-IFRS measures as defined by the Company' and 'Financial Tables' sections.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "commitment," "look forward," "maintain," "plan," "goal," "seek," "target," "assume," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements Alcon makes regarding its liquidity, revenue, gross margin, effective tax rate, foreign currency exchange movements, earnings per share, its plans and decisions relating to various capital expenditures, capital allocation priorities and other discretionary items, and generally, its expectations concerning its future performance and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its businesses.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on Alcon's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its business, future plans and strategies, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks that are difficult to predict. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties facing Alcon, including: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other viral or disease outbreaks; the commercial success of its products and its ability to maintain and strengthen its position in its markets; the success of its research and development efforts, including its ability to innovate to compete effectively; its success in completing and integrating strategic acquisitions; pricing pressure from changes in third party payor coverage and reimbursement methodologies; global economic, financial, legal, tax, political, and social change; the ability to obtain regulatory clearance and approval of its products as well as compliance with any post-approval obligations, including quality control of its manufacturing; ongoing industry consolidation; its ability to properly educate and train healthcare providers on its products; changes in inventory levels or buying patterns of its customers; its reliance on sole or limited sources of supply; ability to service its debt obligations; the need for additional financing through the issuance of debt or equity; its reliance on outsourcing key business functions; its ability to protect its intellectual property; the impact on unauthorized importation of its products from countries with lower prices to countries with higher prices; the effects of litigation, including product liability lawsuits; its ability to comply with all laws to which it may be subject; effect of product recalls or voluntary market withdrawals; data breaches; the implementation of its enterprise resource planning system; its ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the accuracy of its accounting estimates and assumptions, including pension plan obligations and the carrying value of intangible assets; legislative and regulatory reform; the ability of Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to comply with its investment tax incentive agreement with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Switzerland and the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland; its ability to operate as a stand-alone company; whether the transitional services Novartis has agreed to provide Alcon are sufficient; the impact of being listed on two stock exchanges; the ability to declare and pay dividends; the different rights afforded to its shareholders as a Swiss corporation compared to a US corporation; and the effect of maintaining or losing its foreign private issuer status under US securities laws. Additional factors are discussed in Alcon's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 20-F. Should one or more of these uncertainties or risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of its filing, and Alcon assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Intellectual Property

This report may contain references to our proprietary intellectual property. All product names appearing in italics or ALL CAPS are trademarks owned by or licensed to Alcon Inc.

Non-IFRS measures as defined by the Company

Alcon uses certain non-IFRS metrics when measuring performance, including when measuring current period results against prior periods, including core results, constant currencies, net (debt)/liquidity, and free cash flow.

Because of their non-standardized definitions, the non-IFRS measures (unlike IFRS measures) may not be comparable to the calculation of similar measures of other companies. These supplemental non-IFRS measures are presented solely to permit investors to more fully understand how Alcon management assesses underlying performance. These supplemental non-IFRS measures are not, and should not be viewed as, a substitute for IFRS measures.

Core results

Alcon core results, including core operating income and core net income, exclude all amortization and impairment charges of intangible assets, excluding software, net gains and losses on fund investments and equity securities valued at fair value through profit and loss (FVPL), fair value adjustments of financial assets in the form of options to acquire a company carried at FVPL, obligations related to product recalls, and certain acquisition related items. The following items that exceed a threshold of $10 million and are deemed exceptional are also excluded from core results: integration and divestment related income and expenses, divestment gains and losses, restructuring charges/releases and related items, legal related items, gains/losses on early extinguishment of debt or debt modifications, impairments of property, plant and equipment and software, as well as income and expense items that management deems exceptional and that are or are expected to accumulate within the year to be over a $10 million threshold.

Taxes on the adjustments between IFRS and core results take into account, for each individual item included in the adjustment, the tax rate that will finally be applicable to the item based on the jurisdiction where the adjustment will finally have a tax impact. Generally, this results in amortization and impairment of intangible assets and acquisition-related restructuring and integration items having a full tax impact. There is usually a tax impact on other items, although this is not always the case for items arising from legal settlements in certain jurisdictions.

Alcon believes that investor understanding of its performance is enhanced by disclosing core measures of performance because, since they exclude items that can vary significantly from period to period, the core measures enable a helpful comparison of business performance across periods. For this same reason, Alcon uses these core measures in addition to IFRS and other measures as important factors in assessing its performance.

A limitation of the core measures is that they provide a view of Alcon operations without including all events during a period, such as the effects of an acquisition, divestment, or amortization/impairments of purchased intangible assets and restructurings.

Constant currencies

Changes in the relative values of non-US currencies to the US dollar can affect Alcon financial results and financial position. To provide additional information that may be useful to investors, including changes in sales volume, we present information about changes in our net sales and various values relating to operating and net income that are adjusted for such foreign currency effects.

Constant currency calculations have the goal of eliminating two exchange rate effects so that an estimate can be made of underlying changes in the consolidated income statement excluding:

the impact of translating the income statements of consolidated entities from their non-US dollar functional currencies to the US dollar; and

the impact of exchange rate movements on the major transactions of consolidated entities performed in currencies other than their functional currency.

Alcon calculates constant currency measures by translating the current year's foreign currency values for sales and other income statement items into US dollars, using the average exchange rates from the prior year and comparing them to the prior year values in US dollars.

Free cash flow

Alcon defines free cash flow as net cash flows from operating activities less cash flow associated with the purchase or sale of property, plant and equipment. Free cash flow is presented as additional information because Alcon management believes it is a useful supplemental indicator of Alcon's ability to operate without reliance on additional borrowing or use of existing cash. Free cash flow is not intended to be a substitute measure for net cash flows from operating activities as determined under IFRS.

Net liquidity/(debt)

Alcon defines net liquidity/(debt) as current and non-current financial debt less cash and cash equivalents, current investments and derivative financial instruments. Net liquidity/(debt) is presented as additional information because management believes it is a useful supplemental indicator of Alcon's ability to pay dividends, to meet financial commitments and to invest in new strategic opportunities, including strengthening its balance sheet.

Growth rate and margin calculations

For ease of understanding, Alcon uses a sign convention for its growth rates such that a reduction in operating expenses or losses compared to the prior year is shown as a positive growth.

Gross margins, operating income/(loss) margins and core operating income margins are calculated based upon net sales to third parties unless otherwise noted.

Reconciliation of guidance for forward-looking non-IFRS measures

The forward-looking guidance included in this press release cannot be reconciled to the comparable IFRS measures without unreasonable efforts, because we are not able to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate amount or nature of exceptional items in the fiscal year. These items are uncertain, depend on many factors and could have a material impact on our IFRS results for the guidance period.

Financial tables

First quarter 2020 net sales by region

Three months ended March 31 ($ millions unless indicated otherwise) 2020 2019 United States 792 43 737 41 International 1,030 57 1,040 59 Net sales to third parties 1,822 100 1,777 100

Consolidated income statement (unaudited)

Three months ended March 31 ($ millions except (loss) per share) 2020 2019 Net sales to third parties 1,822 1,777 Other revenues 19 47 Net sales and other revenues 1,841 1,824 Cost of net sales (952 (925 Cost of other revenues (17 (47 Gross profit 872 852 Selling, general administration (677 (656 Research development (139 (146 Other income 9 12 Other expense (93 (110 Operating (loss) (28 (48 Interest expense (31 (9 Other financial income expense (10 (8 (Loss) before taxes (69 (65 Taxes 12 (44 Net (loss) (57 (109 (Loss) per share Basic (0.12 (0.22 Diluted (0.12 (0.22 Weighted average number of shares outstanding (millions)(1) Basic 488.6 488.2 Diluted 488.6 488.2

(1) For periods prior to the spin-off, the denominator for basic and diluted earnings per share was calculated using the 488.2 million shares of common stock distributed in the Spin-Off.

Balance sheet highlights

($ millions) March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash and cash equivalents 760 822 Current financial debts 296 261 Non-current financial debts 3,157 3,218

Free cash flow

The following is a summary of Alcon free cash flow for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, together with a reconciliation to net cash flows from operating activities, the most directly comparable IFRS measure:

Three months ended March 31 ($ millions) 2020 2019 Net cash flows from operating activities 30 30 Purchase of property, plant equipment (90 (99 Free cash flow (60 (69

Net (debt)/liquidity

($ millions) At March 31, 2020 Current financial debt (296 Non-current financial debt (3,157 Total financial debt (3,453 Less liquidity: Cash and cash equivalents 760 Derivative financial instruments 1 Total liquidity 761 Net (debt) (2,692

Reconciliation of IFRS to Core Results

Three months ended March 31, 2020

($ millions except (loss)/earnings per share) IFRS

Results Amortization

of Intangible

Assets(1) Impairments(2) Separation

Costs(3) Transformation

Costs(4) Other

Items(5) Core

Results Gross profit 872 252 16 3 (10 1,133 Selling, general administration (677 3 (674 Research development (139 7 (20 (152 Other income 9 9 Other expense (93 65 7 7 (14 Operating (loss)/income (28 259 16 71 7 (23 302 (Loss)/income before taxes (69 259 16 71 7 (23 261 Taxes(6) 12 (44 (4 (13 (1 8 (42 Net (loss)/income (57 215 12 58 6 (15 219 Basic (loss)/earnings per share (0.12 0.45 Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (0.12 0.45 Basic weighted average shares outstanding(7) 488.6 488.6 Diluted weighted average shares outstanding(7) 488.6 491.2

(1) Includes recurring amortization for all intangible assets other than software. (2) Includes impairment charges related to intangible assets. (3) Separation costs are expected to be incurred over the two to three-year period following the completion of the Spin-off from Novartis and primarily include costs related to IT and third party consulting fees. (4) Transformation costs, primarily related to restructuring and third party consulting fees, for the multi-year transformation program. (5) Gross profit includes fair value adjustments of contingent consideration liabilities. Research development includes a $34 million fair value adjustment of a contingent consideration liability partially offset by $14 million in amortization of option rights. Other expense primarily includes fair value adjustments of a financial asset. (6) Total tax adjustments of $54 million include tax associated with operating income core adjustments and discrete tax items. Tax associated with operating income core adjustments of $330 million totaled $64 million with an average tax rate of 19.4%. Core tax adjustments for discrete items totaled $10 million, primarily related to tax expense from the delayed spin of a legal entity. (7) Core basic earnings per share is calculated using the weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Core diluted earnings per share also contemplate dilutive shares associated with unvested equity-based awards as described in Note 5 to the Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements.

Reconciliation of IFRS to Core Results (continued)

Three months ended March 31, 2019

($ millions except (loss)/earnings per share) IFRS

Results Amortization of

Intangible

Assets(1) Separation

Costs(2) Transformation

Costs(3) Legal

Items(4) Other

Items(5) Core

Results Gross profit 852 250 8 1,110 Selling, general administration (656 7 (649 Research development (146 5 7 (134 Other income 12 (3 9 Other expense (110 32 56 (22 Operating (loss)/income (48 255 32 75 314 (Loss)/income before taxes (65 255 32 75 297 Taxes(6) (44 (34 (8 36 (50 Net (loss)/income (109 221 24 111 247 Basic (loss)/earnings per share (0.22 0.51 Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (0.22 0.51 Basic weighted average shares outstanding(7) 488.2 488.2 Diluted weighted average shares outstanding( 7) 488.2 488.2

(1) Includes recurring amortization for all intangible assets other than software. (2) Separation costs are expected to be incurred over the two to three-year period following the completion of the Spin-off from Novartis and primarily include costs related to IT and third party consulting fees. (3) Transformation costs, primarily related to restructuring and third party consulting fees, for the multi-year transformation program. (4) Includes legal settlement costs and certain external legal fees. (5) Gross Profit and Selling, general administration include spin readiness costs. Research development includes $17 million amortization of option rights and expenses for integration of recent acquisitions, partially offset by a $10 million fair value adjustment of a contingent consideration liability. Other income and expense primarily includes spin readiness costs. (6) Total tax adjustments of $6 million include tax associated with operating income core adjustments and discrete tax items. Tax associated with operating income core adjustments of $362 million totaled $57 million with an average tax rate of 15.7%. Core tax adjustments for discrete items totaled $51 million and primarily include tax expense related to rate changes in the US following legal entity reorganizations executed related to the Spin-off partially offset by net changes in uncertain tax positions. (7) For periods prior to the Spin-off, the denominator for both core basic and diluted earnings per share was calculated using the 488.2 million shares of common stock distributed in the Spin-off.

About Alcon

Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye care with a heritage spanning more than seven decades, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve people's lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 20,000 associates are enhancing the quality of life through innovative products, partnerships with eye care professionals and programs that advance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com

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Officials attributed the decline in L.A. police shootings to new policies that emphasize the preservation of life and require officers to use de-escalation tactics whenever possible. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Shootings by Los Angeles police officers reached a 30-year low in 2019, with fatal shootings declining for the fourth year in a row, according to a new report on police use of force.

Los Angeles Police Department officers opened fire on 26 suspects last year, compared with 115 in 1990.

Of those last year, 21 people were struck and 12 killed, continuing a downward trend in deaths since 21 were fatally shot in 2015.

The number of incidents in which suspects were injured dropped by 4% from the year before, the report found, and contact between members of the public and police dogs was at the lowest point in five years.

At the same time, the number of incidents in which officers used less-lethal force, such as strikes and "takedowns," reached a five-year high, with 2,320 such encounters occurring last year. Incidents in which batons were used increased by 38%.

Overall, use of force was up 8.5% compared to 2018, even as officer shootings were down 21.1%.

Officials attributed the decline in shootings to new policies that emphasize the preservation of life and require officers to use de-escalation tactics whenever possible. Crime also has declined in the city, with arrests down 11.3% and overall officer contacts with members of the public down 4%.

Officials said the increase in less-lethal force was in part a result of those same de-escalation tactics, and partly a result of increased monitoring of officers' actions.

In comments to the Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday, Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala touted the decline in shootings while giving a brief overview of the report's findings. She said a more thorough analysis of the findings would be provided to the commission next week.

Commissioners said they would hold most of their questions until then, after having time to review the report, which is hundreds of pages long.

Girmala told the commission that one concerning finding was an increase in force used against people experiencing homelessness. More than a third of those who had non-lethal police force used against them in 2019 were homeless, while five of the 21 people police shot last year were homeless.

Story continues

Girmala said ongoing training in mental health intervention and de-escalation will be critical if the department is to see continued declines in the use of force. Moving forward, a working group that includes community members will help shape that training, she said.

In the report itself, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said officers are getting better at finding alternatives to pulling their firearms out in challenging and dangerous settings.

"The LAPD continues to make significant improvements in the effectiveness of less-lethal options for officers, mental health intervention training, and the development of non-lethal tools that increase the distance and cover available during dynamic situations," Moore wrote.

Moore told the commission Tuesday that the department will continue seeking ways to reduce the use of force. "We're going to keep going after this," he said.

After two commissioners and several members of the public raised concerns that the majority of individuals shot or shot at by police were people of color, Moore agreed the department should continue to look for systemic inequities and improve policing methods.

Of 26 suspects involved in the incidents in which officers opened fire last year, 15, or 58%, were Latino. Another eight, or 31%, were black, and two, or 8%, were white. Of all suspects involved in officer shootings, 17 had a firearm and five had an edged weapon, the report found.

In 2018, LAPD officers fired their weapons 33 times, hitting a total of 24 people and killing 14, according to a similar analysis last year. The 33 shootings marked a 25% decrease from the 44 shootings in 2017, according to the previous report, and the second-fewest number of police shootings since 1989.

Of the 44 shootings in 2017, 31 people were hit and 17 of them were killed. That represented a decrease from 19 killed in 2016 and 21 in 2015, police have said. But the total of 44 shootings in 2017 was an increase from the 40 overall shootings in 2016, and the use of less-lethal force by officers was up 10% from 2016 to 2017.

The declines in deadly encounters follows policy changes by the Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the Police Department, requiring officers to de-escalate situations whenever possible.

Whether the declines will continue this year is unclear.

During last week's commission meeting, Moore said that LAPD shootings were up overall, with nine this year compared to seven during the same period last year. However, that was still down from the four-year average of 12 for that time frame.

Three of the shootings this year were fatal, compared to four at the same point last year.

The careful tracking of police shootings and other uses of force in Los Angeles in recent years reflects a broader scrutiny of police actions nationwide as the deaths of young men of color, and particularly young black men, during police encounters have galvanized protesters in new ways.

In a city that has seen the most police shootings in the U.S. in years past, there is a heightened sensitivity to criticisms of aggressive policing tactics, and that has not abated as the number of people killed each year by police has declined.

Even when encounters do not end in death, they draw intense criticism, such as with an officer's beating of a homeless man in Boyle Heights in late April that was captured on camera by a bystander and is now under investigation. In addition to releasing the use-of-force report Tuesday, police released body camera footage from that encounter.

Other reports on use of force also have been made public.

In July, the state attorney general issued a report showing that 146 civilians died during law enforcement confrontations in California in 2018, a decline from 172 civilians who died in 2017 and 157 in 2016. Three officers died in confrontations in 2018.

In January, the LAPD released a separate report finding that police in recent months had been using more force against people experiencing homelessness. In the third quarter of 2019, for example, police used force against homeless people 217 times, a 26% increase over the same period in 2018, the report found.

Cmdr. Donald Graham, LAPD's homeless coordinator, pointed to increases in the city's homeless population and in crimes committed by and against homeless people.

Police noted that the 26 incidents in which officers fired their weapons at suspects in 2019 accounted for 0.001% of all police interactions with the public last year.

The 26 shootings by the LAPD in 2019 matched the number of shootings by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies last year. By comparison, there were 17 shootings by Chicago police, 25 shootings by New York City police and 20 shootings by Houston police last year, the LAPD report found.

There were 758 attacks on LAPD officers in 2019, representing a small decline from 2018, the report found.
Its hard being born Canadian if your ambition is to be a real-life version of movie tough guy Jean-Claude Van Damme (Blood Sport, Death Warrant, Universal Soldier, Last Action Hero). The same goes for being Belgian, of course, but Van Damme just wanted to be in the movies.

Jordan Goudreau wanted the real thing, and joining the Canadian army reserves while studying computer science at the University of Calgary didnt quite do it for him. So he moved to the United States and joined the Green Berets, which provides a much better mix of derring-do, martial arts and exotic foreigners to kill.

Goudreau was not a fake. He did several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq killing real people, and by all accounts was a brave and competent soldier. But action heroes have early expiry dates.

At 60, Jean-Claude Van Damme is doing self-mocking tough-guy commercials for Coors Light. Goudreaus luck ran out in 2016, when he was injured in a parachute accident and had to retire from his beloved Special Forces at the age of 40.

Nobody offered him any beer commercials, and his great idea to sell the services of military veterans to schools to stop mass shooters  parents would pay a subscription of $8.99 a month  didnt fly. So he ended up doing what washed-up American action heroes always do: he went to Latin America (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Magnificent Seven, etc.)

Specifically, he went to Colombia. Having set up a security company called Silvercorp in Florida, he got in touch with the Venezuelan congressional leader who claims to be the legitimate president, Juan Guaido, offering to overthrow Nicolas Maduro (who actually lives in the presidential palace).

This would be done in the time-honoured way, by recruiting and training exiles and mercenaries who would go in, attack the regime and trigger a mass uprising. (Think the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, only successful.) And for about two weeks last October, Guaido was tempted.

He even signed a $213-million contract with Goudreaus Silvercorp for unspecified general services, but he cancelled the contract in early November. Maybe Guaido is not quite as gullible as he seems, or maybe he just remembered that hiring foreigners to overthrow your countrys government, even in the name of democracy, is a bad look.

Anyway, that was the end of the grand plan, but Goudreau didnt quit. The U.S. government had recently declared Maduro a narcoterrorist (whatever that is), and put a $15-million price on the Venezuelan dictators head. So Goudreaus Plan B was to send in a crack team (theyre always called crack teams) to capture Maduro, airlift him out of the country and collect the reward.

By now Venezuelas intelligence service and practically everybody else knew about Goudreaus plan. Associated Press even ran a story about it on May 1, quoting associates of Goudreau as saying he was in way over his head. But before we get to the end of the story, a brief pause to contemplate the equally spectacular incompetence of the other side.

By late March the Venezuelan government was on hair-trigger alert for Goudreaus planned raid, and on the 30th the Venezuelan navy spotted a Canadian-owned cruise-ship, the RCGS Resolute, stopped off the Venezuelan island of Tortuga. So the navy patrol ship Naiguata ordered the ship to proceed to port for inspection.

Resolute didnt move, because it couldnt. It had already suffered some mechanical failure and put out a warning that it was not under command. But the Venezuelans thought it was stalling, and after firing some shots at or near the cruise-ship it started ramming it repeatedly on the starboard bow, apparently trying to force it around in the right direction.

Now, Naiguata was not some little speedboat; it was a 90-metre steel ship with a crew of 44 and a helicopter on the aft deck. But Resolute has four times the displacement and its hull is ice-strengthened for cruising in polar waters. Ramming it was like running at a brick wall again and again with your head, hoping to make an impression. Eventually, the Naiguata just sank.

Another ship picked up its crew, and eventually Resolute got underway again. Its now parked in Curacao, and no, there werent any mercenaries aboard. No passengers of any kind, in fact.

And finally, the tragicomic end. A few dozen volunteers and mercenaries tried to land on the Venezuelan coast near Caracas a week ago. Six were killed, all the rest were arrested. Goudreau would have been there too  He would have 100 per cent gone out in a blaze of gunfire because thats who he is, said a friend  but he couldnt leave Florida because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

Donald Trump denies any official U.S. involvement, and for once I almost believe him.
The level of corruption in the Department of Justice is astounding. Bureaucrats receive little or no punishment for serious infractions, as illegal activity is frequently overlooked as a result of what is called professional courtesy. For instance, a police officer might not ticket a fellow officer for exceeding the speed limit. This is almost excusable; we often excuse behavior by a family member that we would not tolerate in a stranger. But when a life-threatening situation is excused it is no longer a matter of courtesy. Allowing a highly intoxicated driver to proceed with only a warning does no favor for the driver or his potential victims.

It appears that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is metaphorically allowing our judicial highways to be flooded with drunken drivers.

Judge Emmet Sullivan, the highly respected judge in the Michael Flynn case, is capable of outrage. He told General Flynn, "Arguably, you sold your country out," and Im not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offense. Sullivan questioned prosecutors, "Could he have been charged with treason? Clearly it does not appear that Sullivan plans to go easy on Flynn.

Sullivan is much more forgiving of his colleagues in the legal profession. For the record, he has made many denunciations and threats in response to gross misconduct by prosecutors. However, consequences have been minimal. Sullivan has had a great deal of exposure to prosecutorial misconduct. He presided over the trial of Senator Ted Stevens. The prosecution's criminal activity in this case was so blatant that the conviction was thrown out. Unfortunately, Stevens lost his Senate seat giving the Democrats a 60-seat filibuster proof majority as Brack Obama first took office as president.

Much of the evidence leading to Stevens's conviction was gathered by FBI lead agent Mary Beth Kepner. Kepner was described by her supervisor as a "top-notch, creative investigator, dogged and determined and so creative in developing cooperating witnesses, cooperating subjects." Investigators found that while she may have been very creative, she was not "top-notch."

FD-302s are official records based on notes taken during FBI interviews. They must be composed within five days of the interview. Judge Sullivan ordered the Feds to turn over all of the FBI's 302s to the defense. Kepner had not documented all of her interviews, so she made them up following the judge's order, backdating two of the 302s by more than two years. Kepner denied under oath that she had done this. Her excuse was, "You know, unfortunately, you know, I was disorganized with this, you know, I was overwhelmed and, you know, I lost materials that had, you know, I lost notes, I lost 302s." Attention was brought to Kepner's behavior by her partner, "whistleblower" Chad Joy. While Joy was taken off criminal cases, in effect ending his career, Kepner was allowed to remain with the FBI.

The DOJ's prosecution team "was part of an elite group of prosecutors in the Public Integrity (PIN) Section, with experience pursuing high-profile and complex cases." The team included Brenda K. Morris, principal deputy chief of the PIN Section, William M. Welch II, James A. Goeke, Edward P. Sullivan, Joseph W. Bottini, and Nicholas A. Marsh. This team was repeatedly chastised by Judge Sullivan for withholding exculpatory information. "As any law student knows, prosecutors must disclose any potentially exculpatory evidence to the defendant in a case." The prosecutors not only withheld information they also submitted false information. Judge Sullivan complained, Its very troubling that the government would utilize records that the government knows were false.

Judge Sullivan was losing patience with the prosecutors. He insisted they release the documents. He stated, That was a court order. That wasnt a request, and I didnt ask for them out of the kindness of your hearts. Isnt the Department of Justice taking court orders seriously these days? He then held Morris, Welch, and Patricia Stemler, chief of the Criminal Divisions Appellate Section, in contempt of court. Sullivan appointed a special prosecutor, Henry F. Schuelke III, to investigate the case. Schuelke III, did not recommend criminal charges against any of the federal prosecutors, despite finding widespread misconduct, some of it intentional. Sullivan said he would not hold them criminally responsible for their "ill-gotten verdict."

18 U.S. Code  1519. deals with the destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy. The penalty for knowingly falsifying documents includes imprisonment for up to 20 years. The team appears to have gotten off lightly. Joseph W. Bottini was suspended without pay for 40 days. James A. Goeke was suspended without pay for 15 days. Nicholas A. Marsh escaped punishment by committing suicide. William M. Welch II and Brenda K. Morris were both exonerated. This was Morris's second escape from a misconduct charge. In 2007 the government paid a $1.34 million misconduct settlement in a case she was involved in.

Now, Judge Sullivan has been dealing with a new set of prosecutors. He is confronting many of the same old problems. The case against General Flynn involves an interview he had with the FBI dealing with his meetings with the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Contrary to protocol James Comey had sent two FBI agents to interview Flynn without notifying the White House. The interview has been described as a "perjury trap." Flynn was advised by FBI officials that he did not need to have White House counsel present. He was also not given his Miranda rights. The Muellers team stated He does not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth. Notes about the meeting asked, "What is our goal?" "Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" Flynn's attorney Sydney Powell wrote. "The object of the interview was to secure, rather than prevent, a 1001 [false statements] violation." It is understandable why the DOJ was reluctant to release documents to the court and defense. Judge Sullivan received documents more than two years after he had ordered them. 302s were lost or destroyed and documents were altered by Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. These documents do not show the investigation of a crime. They show prosecutors trying to create a crime.

Joseph E. diGenova, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia claims, the people at [the Justice Department] have come to believe that they are immune, that nobody can touch them, and that judges will ignore their prosecutorial misconduct. If the officials involved only receive a few days suspension without pay Joseph E. diGenova is correct. When corruption becomes the norm, it is no longer seen as corruption.

John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing). He has a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from St. Marys University. He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. He is featured on the BBC's program "Things We Forgot to Remember:" Morgenthau Plan and post-war Germany.
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday arrested two alleged sharpshooters - Vikas and Rohit Dagar - in connection with the murder of TikTok star and gym trainer Mohit Mor.

Both Vikas and Rohit are wanted in several cases of murder, robbery and extortion in Delhi and Haryana. Delhi Police had recently announced a reward of Rs 1.2 lakh on Vikas and Rs 25, 000 on Rohit.

In May 2019, the Special Cell had also apprehended a 17-year-old juvenile in connection with the killing of Mohit Mor.

The 27-year old social media celebrity Mor was shot dead by three unidentified masked gunmen in Najafgarh's Dharmpura area of Delhi last year.

Mohit was gym trainer and hugely popular in his locality.
Threatening social media comments against public officials and recent armed protests at the Michigan Capitol have prompted legislative Democrats to call for a gun ban in the Capitol building.

Republican leaders are condemning the threats, but theyre not rushing to support firearms restrictions.

Many lawmakers have expressed concerns for their safety during legislative session as protests against the states COVID-19 stay-at-home order continue. Another protest at the Capitol building is scheduled for Thursday.

In recent weeks, critics have crowded into and around the Capitol building during session, and a photo from Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, of armed protesters observing the Senate from the public gallery was widely shared on social media.

Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg pic.twitter.com/voOZpPYWOs  Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) April 30, 2020

Concerns escalated after the Detroit Metro Times published a piece this week highlighting several explicit threats made against Whitmer in various Facebook groups, including suggestions that the governor be hanged, shot or beaten.

Responding to the threats during a Monday news briefing, Whitmer called the comments beyond the pale and asking all officeholders to help bring down the heat in the state.

Im increasingly concerned about the violent nature of their extreme comments, she said.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, condemned the threats made against Whitmer Tuesday, calling the comments crude, violent and threatening. He said he is listening to those with frustrations and concerns about the governors actions, but noted he will not tolerate threats of violence to make a point.

These folks are thugs and their tactics are despicable, he said. It is never OK to threaten the safety or life of another person, elected or otherwise, period.

House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox also issued statements condemning the threats.

Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said the legislatures actions shouldnt stop with a condemnation. Remembering a friend who was killed during the Virginia Tech shooting, she said it only takes one person to change everything.

The violent threats were not about the stay-at-home order, or possibly losing their business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

Its about spreading blood on the front lawn of this building, she said. I would be lying if I said that sitting in my chair with four men in rifles behind me didnt make me think that I was going to be joining my friend very soon.

What the hell are we going to do about it? McMorrow continued. Or do we wait until something happens?

Polehanki introduced a resolution this week that would ban guns in the Michigan State Capitol building except those carried by law enforcement. In a Senate floor speech, she said she supports First and Second Amendment rights, but said Michigan is the only state in the Midwest that doesnt have any restrictions on firearms in the Capitol building to protect visitors, lawmakers and staff.

Days ago, men in combat gear with rifles around their necks taunted us, and the world saw it and the world was aghast, she said. Intimidating us with guns is an affront to the democratic process.

On Monday, the Michigan Capitol Commission, which manages state Capitol grounds and facilities, created a committee to study whether firearms should continue being allowed on-premises.

Several commissioners were hesitant to make a decision outright and sought additional clarification on whether the commission has the authority to make that call.

Attorney General Dana Nessel said ahead of the meeting the commission does have the authority and should move to ban firearms in the Capitol to keep lawmakers, staff and visitors safe.

Shirkey, who asked the commission to discuss the matter with House and Senate leadership and Capitol law enforcement before taking a vote, said on the Senate floor Tuesday the legislature shouldnt stand cowardly behind the Capitol Commission.

He suggested Whitmer and Nessel get law enforcement involved and pursue charges for the very small portion of protesters that have, in my mind, misbehaved with their guns on this Capitol lawn and in this Capitol building."

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

Related coverage:

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Should Michigan keep allowing guns in the Capitol? Committee to investigate

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Commission can ban guns at Michigan Capitol, AG Nessel says she will claim in formal opinion

Michigan is in Phase 3 of 6 in coronavirus response and recovery, governor says

From closing restaurants to requiring masks, Gov. Whitmer has issued 69 executive orders in 56 days

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YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Independent lawmaker Arman Babajanyan is unhappy with the process of judicial reforms. He argues that giving the judiciary the chance of self-cleansing is wrong, and not implementing a full vetting will lead to a failure of the revitalization of the system.

It became clear from yesterday that justice will continue being served in Armenia by the judges who have given legal terming to the persecutions and murders of citizens during past decades, who have acquitted those who have looted and plundered the people, the very same judges who up to this day are under the direct or indirect influence of the former authorities and oligarchs, Babajanyan told lawmakers in parliament, speaking about a May 11 live televised discussion between PM Nikol Pashinyan and Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan regarding the judiciary reforms.

And you have naively decided to give them a chance of self-cleansing. And turns out the ordinary citizens will continue paying from their taxes to these judges, moreover, it became clear that you have decided to raise their salaries, he added.

Babajanyan argues that the revolution might suffer a defeat in the judiciary sector.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Automotive Films Market 2020-2024 | Popularity of Interactive Automotive Film Simulators to Boost Growth | Technavio

LONDON- Technavio has been monitoring the automotive films market and it is poised to grow by USD 1045.92 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

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. 3M Co., Arlon Graphics LLC, Avery Dennison Corp., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, Eastman Chemical Co., HEXIS SA, Johnson Window Films Inc., LINTEC Corp., NEXFIL Co. Ltd., and Rayno Window Film are some of the major market participants. The popularity of interactive automotive film simulators 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.

Popularity of interactive automotive film simulators has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Automotive Films Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Automotive Films Market is segmented as below:

Type Window Films Wrap Films Paint Protection Films

Geographic APAC North America Europe South America MEA



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43607

Automotive Films 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 automotive films market report covers the following areas:

Automotive Films Market Size

Automotive Films Market Trends

Automotive Films Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the popularity of long-distance road travel as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive films market growth during the next few years.

Automotive Films Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the automotive films market, including some of the vendors such as 3M Co., Arlon Graphics LLC, Avery Dennison Corp., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, Eastman Chemical Co., HEXIS SA, Johnson Window Films Inc., LINTEC Corp., NEXFIL Co. Ltd., and Rayno Window Film. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive films market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Automotive Films Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive films market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the automotive films market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the automotive films market

Analysis of the markets competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive films market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 - 2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Window films - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Wrap films - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Paint protection films - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

3M Co.

Arlon Graphics LLC

Avery Dennison Corp.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA

Eastman Chemical Co.

HEXIS SA

Johnson Window Films Inc.

LINTEC Corp.

NEXFIL Co. Ltd.

Rayno Window Film

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, Technavios 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 Technavios 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.
Hagens Berman: Student Sues Washington University in St. Louis Seeking Payback for COVID-19 Campus Closure-Related Losses

Washington University in St. Louis has been named in a class-action lawsuit filed by a student seeking repayment for spring 2020 semester tuition, fees and other expenses after the campus closed to students following the outbreak of COVID-19, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman.

The student states in the lawsuit that he did not receive the on-campus education, facilities, services, and activities he paid for, and is represented by Hagens Berman, which has also recently brought similar suits against Boston University, Brown University, Duke University, Emory University, George Washington University, the University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University.

The class-action lawsuit against Washington University in St. Louis has been brought by a fulltime student enrolled at the school for the spring 2020 semester and New Jersey resident. The case was filed May 12, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and accuses the university of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.

If you are paying for college tuition, and/or room and board at a college or university closed due to COVID-19, find out more about the lawsuit and your rights. The law firm is investigating all higher education institutions in the U.S.

"Washington University in St. Louis has received national acclaim for its on-campus amenities, and yet when COVID-19 caused a campus closure, the university abandoned its attitude of caring for its student body," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorney for students in the class action. "We think tuition-payers - stdents and parents alike - deserve better."







"A failing grade"

"Washington University in St. Louis students are suffering from a major loss in quality of their education," Berman added. The lawsuit cites pre-recorded or voice memos replacing live lectures from professors, shortened and less frequent lectures, and lack of meetings with teaching assistants, among other losses. "Washington University in St. Louis is earning a failing grade right now."

The suit states, that the university's courses have not effectively transitioned to online examinations, citing an instance in which an online examination had several multiple choice questions mistakenly drafted without a correct answer, frustrating the plaintiff and his classmates.

The suit's plaintiff states in the complaint that he chose to attend Washington University in St. Louis due in part to the quality of the school's facilities, student housing and on-campus amenities, which includes ranking number one for best college dorms and number three for best campus food according to The Princeton Review.

The lawsuit says, "Plaintiff enrolled at WUSTL due to the strength of its academic program, and the opportunities afforded by WUSTL to interact directly with brilliant faculty and peers within the advertised small class and lecture size in the Olin Business School."

"While some colleges and universities have promised appropriate and/or proportional refunds, Defendant excludes itself from such other institutions treating students fairly, equitably, and as required by the law," according to the lawsuit.

The suit states that during the spring 2020 semester, Washington University in St. Louis costs students $27,125 for tuition, approximately $6,474 for housing, between $3,319.50 and $2,194.50 for meal plan depending on the student's plan, $250 for a student health and wellness fee, and $271 for an undergraduate activities fee, "significantly higher than online only programs."

Other Affected Universities

Hagens Berman is investigating the rights of those who are currently paying for room and board, and/or tuition at colleges and universities across the nation that have been forced to close due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This may include parents, guardians or college students who are paying for their own costs of college.

Despite orders from colleges and universities sending home students and closing campuses, these institutions of higher learning continue to charge for tuition, fees, and room and board. Collectively, these institutions are continuing to receive millions from students despite their inability to continue school as normal, or occupy campus buildings and dorms.

Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against colleges and universities for tuition, room and board and other costs incurred during the outbreak of COVID-19.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with nine offices across the country. The firm's tenacious drive for plaintiffs' rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of "Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm," and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005980/en/
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has instructed authorities to intensify the vigil along the country's southern border with India due to a sudden spike in the number of coronavirus patients and directed the officials to properly manage the lockdown, Cabinet sources said on Tuesday.

Oli's instructions came on a day when the landlocked Himalayan nation reported 57 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in a single day, taking the total number of infections to 191.

Oli, who chaired a Cabinet meeting here, instructed the authorities to intensify the vigil in the southern border with India in view of the increasing number of coronavirus patients in Nepal, calling for the tightening of the lockdown, the sources said.

Nepal, which has entered the 50th day of its nationwide lockdown on Tuesday to contain the spread of coronavirus, is among the nations that has the least number of cases of the COVID-19 with no deaths.

On Tuesday, Nepal's health authorities announced 57 new COVID-19 cases.

"Among the infected, eight persons are from Kapilvastu district, nine from Rupandehi, 39 from Parsa, and one from Bara. All of them are males. This was the highest number of coronavirus cases reported in a day," the health ministry said in a statement.

The total number of infected people in the country has reached 191, the ministry confirmed.

Of the total cases, 33 patients have already been discharged after successful treatment and 158 active patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals across the country. So far there is no death related to coronavirus in the country.

On Monday, the Nepal government said the nation reported 24 new coronavirus cases, including eight who returned from India.

Earlier, some of the confirmed coronavirus cases in Nepal were persons returning from the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi's Nizamuddin area in March



There are reports of hundreds of people entering the country daily through different border points despite the deployment of security personnel at all major entry points along the Nepal-India border to check cross-border movement of people during the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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
Mayor of Mamfe, Ashu Prisley Ojong, killed in the Anglophone region facing rebellion since 2016.

Separatists in the English-speaking southwest region of Cameroon have killed a local mayor in an ambush in which two soldiers were also wounded, the regions governor has said.

Ashu Priestley Ojong, mayor of Mamfe, approximately 500km (300 miles) from the capital Yaounde, was killed by the terrorist secessionists on Sunday morning, Bernard Okalia Bilai said in a statement on Monday.

The attack on the mayors convoy happened as he was travelling from Mamfe to the nearby village of Eshobi, state broadcaster CRTV said.

They went there after receiving a tip-off that some rebels would be laying down their arms, the report said.

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Ojong is among a few senior elected officials to be killed in the conflict between Cameroons army and the English-speaking militias.

He was elected in February in legislative and municipal polls the separatist rebels wanted to be boycotted.

English speakers account for nearly one-fifth of Cameroons population of 24 million, who are majority French-speaking.

The conflict began after the government cracked down violently on peaceful protests by lawyers and teachers in 2016 who complained of marginalisation by the French-speaking majority.

Years of grievances at perceived discrimination snowballed into a declaration of independence in the Anglophone regions in October 2017, which was followed by a government crackdown.

The declaration has not been recognised internationally and President Paul Biya, in power for 37 of his 87 years, has refused demands to return to a federal system.

However, the government has lately decentralised some of its powers after a national dialogue on the anglophone crisis which was boycotted by the separatists.

Rights groups have accused both sides of atrocities in the conflict, which has left more than 3,000 dead, closed schools and clinics and forced 700,000 people to flee their homes.
A 23-year-old Australian woman who was run over by a New York subway train and had to have both her legs amputated has now contracted coronavirus.

Visaya Hoffie, who survived after falling onto subway tracks and being hit by a train on 11 January, spent nearly four months at Bellevue Hospital recovering from a number of traumatic injuries including a double amputation, according to a report by The Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Six weeks into her recovery, the coronavirus pandemic had gripped New York. Ms Hoffie and her mother Patricia Hoffie, who had flown from Australia to support her daughter, were said to have become worried about the escalating virus.

The sound of coughing was in the air, Ms Hoffie's mother told the broadcaster. More and more people were actually walking around the wards with Covid.

The city soon emerged as the epicenter of the virus, and out of fear for their safety, Ms Hoffie and her mother decided to return home to Brisbane.

It was a very difficult decision to make to leave, because Visaya's wounds were so compromised, Patricia Hoffie said.

After working to secure a ticket home, the two embarked on a $64,000 journey to get back to Australia.

Both women were reported to have taken a test for Covid-19 before their departure and tested negative, but while in the airport the 23-year-old realised that she had lost her sense of taste, a possible symptom of the virus, according to ABC.

Ms Hoffie is reported to have tested positive to the virus after arriving back in Australia. Her symptoms remain mild according to the outlet.

The young artist faced the ordeal after she fell onto the tracks at Manhattan's 14th Street station and was hit by an oncoming train, reports said.

It was originally reported that Ms Hoffie had avoided being hit by a second train. However, court papers filed by Ms Hoffie, reported by The New York Post in February, claimed that Ms Hoffie was hit by both trains 20 minutes apart.

She had a skull fracture. She had a neck fracture, Dr Thanik, who led the team of medical professionals caring for her at the Bellevue, told ABC.

She had a very, very mangled right lower leg, and left foot as well.

The family is said to have remained resilient throughout the ordeal, and Patricia Hoffie says that she is in awe of her daughter's ability to cope with the situation.

Shes unbelievable. Shes just so resilient, so funny, so open to taking on the next hurdle, she told the outlet.

I've managed because she's with me. She's in the world. The rest is mere detail.
ServiceTitan was founded by Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan in 2012 to provide an all-in-one software solution for the home and commercial service industries, which have traditionally been underserved by technology. With more than 900 employees in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Yerevan, Armenia, the company makes a direct, positive impact on the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs and their extended teams by with a platform that includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, field solutions for technicians and more. ServiceTitan provides an extensive benefits package to each salaried employee, which includes a completely paid-for health plan and flexible paid time off. Onsite, employees enjoy an open seating layout, free daily lunch and communal kitchens, access to frequent office events and  most importantly  a culture rooted in approachability and transparency.

Collecting data from more than 3,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 395 finalists for this year's list. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then we ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 73.5 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their work.



The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. It is a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of "fun."

"Our team members make a measurable difference in the lives of countless hard-working men and women in the skilled trades every day with their innovation, reliability and unparalleled service," said Mahdessian, CEO and co-founder of ServiceTitan. "Our mission is to identify and connect with the top talent to build the ServiceTitan family and ensure that they feel supported and equipped to deliver their best to our users."

"Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership," says Inc. magazine editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever."

While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes:



100 percent provide health insurance.

50 percent allow employees to bring pets to work.

62 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge.

20 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service.

About ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan is a software company built to accelerate the home and commercial service industries. The company's end-to-end software suite includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, marketing automation, a mobile solution for field techs, and accounting integrations with Sage Intacct and QuickBooks. The company raised the largest venture round of a SaaS company in the history of Southern California ($165 million Series D) led by Index Ventures, with participation from Dragoneer and T. Rowe Price and existing investors Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and ICONIQ Capital. ServiceTitan brings a fully operational modern SaaS infrastructure to an industry traditionally underserved by software, making a direct and positive impact on the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs and their extended teams. For more information about ServiceTitan, visit https://servicetitan.com/.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Quantum Workplace

Quantum Workplace, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee-engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit QuantumWorkplace.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE ServiceTitan

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Englands chief nursing officer has stressed that nurses are expert professionals, not heroes while highlighting the pivotal work that nurses deliver day in, day out.

On Tuesday 12 May, Ruth May spoke at an event outside St Thomas Hospital in central London to honour International Nurses Day, which this year marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingales birth.

During the event, Ms May touched upon the misconceptions that are continuing to surround the nursing profession throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

It isnt the Year of the Nurse we all wanted. But in many ways the spotlight is even more on the care, the expertise, the skill that nurses deliver day in, day out, the chief nursing officer said.

Ms May continued, stated that while she is very pleased that people show their appreciation for nurses and other key workers on Thursdays during the weekly Clap For Our Carers event, these people, these nurses, are professionals.

Ive seen a few (misconceptions) about us being heroes, about us being there with our hat, Ms May said.

No, were not heroes  we are expert professionals who are doing our jobs and providing skilled, compassionate care, and nurses and midwives across England should be very proud of themselves right now.

She said that she hopes a bumper crop of people will be inspired to join the nursing profession later this year.

Please, come and join us. It is challenging, it is hard work, but it is a huge privilege to be a nurse, Ms May stated.

The chief nursing officer attended the event at St Thomas Hospital alongside around 20 nurses, who were all socially distanced from one another.

The hospital marks the location where Florence Nightingale opened her nursing school 160 years ago.

Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Show all 10 1 /10 Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos British hospital reformer and nurse Florence Nightingale in 1858 Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Florence Nightingale at work in the Therapia Hospital Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Florence Nightingale tending to the wounded on the battlefield of the Alma Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Florence Nightingale with a group of nurses from London hospitals at Claydon. Standing behind her are her brother-in-law Sir Harry Verney (owner of Claydon) and the matron Miss Crossland Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos A letter from Florence Nightingale to the Duke of Westminster about her approach to health and the importance of district nurses, 16th December 1896 Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos She became the first woman to receive the Order of Merit for her tireless efforts during the Crimean War Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Nursing wounded soldiers during the Crimean War Getty Images Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos The general hospital at Etaples where Florence Nightingale worked Rex Features Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos Florence Nightingale in the barrack hospital at Scutari during the Crimean War Rex Features Florence Nightingale  founder of modern nursing in photos She went to Crimea with thirty six nurses Getty Images

Toni Lynch, deputy chief nurses at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation trust, explained how Nightingales work continues to influence modern nursing.

We know her as a pioneer and a trailblazer and she bucked the trend in some ways, Ms Lynch told PA.

Recommended Members of royal family team up to call nurses around the world

She started to set out some of the key principles of nursing that we hold dear today  for example, the principles of hand washing and infection prevention and control.

Ms Lynch also spoke about keeping morale high during the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that working on the frontline has been hugely rewarding.

Its really upbeat. Most people have had to change what they do... So weve had to come together as a nursing team, she said.

The morale has been really upbeat as we galvanised as a team.

In late April, it was reported that more than 100 NHS and care home workers had died after contracting Covid-19 while working on the frontline.
Travel Bellwether Amadeus Booking Data Reveals the Industrys Scars

International air travel will take at least 18 months to recover, Amadeus said Tuesday, as the coronavirus pandemic drove a collapse in profits at the travel technology company.

Amadeus runs the worlds largest booking network with travel agencies and provides operational software for airlines, airports, and hotels, so analysts consider it a gauge for the health of travel worldwide.

On its own, Amadeuss travel agency bookings declined by 48 percent in the first three months of the year.

In the last part of February, Amadeus and its peer companies Sabre and Travelport saw a bookings decline of between 30 percent and 40 percent, Amadeus estimated. In March, the so-called global distribution systems saw the bookings they process decline by 80 percent, year-on-year. In April, average daily bookings through the technology middlemen were about 10 percent of the levels a year earlier.

These numbers exclude air bookings made directly through airlines sites and some price-comparison search engines and bookings in China, Japan, Russia, and Turkey.

Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skifts Liveblog

Analysts focused less than usual on operational specifics in a Tuesday earnings call and instead peppered the management with questions about coronaviruss impact on the travel sector.

I really believe its too early to really have a trend or to see any improvement, said president and CEO Luis Maroto on the analyst call. The volumes are still very negative. We saw the deterioration up to April and then more or less plateauing in very negative figures, very negative.

Maroto declined to speculate on a 2021 recovery. He also wouldnt forecast whether travel management companies will face profit pressures leading to more sector consolidation.

In the meantime, some smaller and weaker airlines in Europe who are customers of tech providers may struggle.

Flybe ceased operations, and a couple of other airlines are either going for Chapter 11 or are trying to restructure their functions, noted Ana de Pro Gonzalo, chief financial officer. Basically, most of them are talking with their governments to see how they can continue in business in the longer run.

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Madrid-based Amadeus reported that profit to March 31 fell 60.5 percent year-over-year to $127 million (117.8 million).

Global travel restrictions in the first months of the year weighed down on Amadeus revenue, which fell 27.3 percent year-over-year to $1.107 billion (1.021 billion).

The companys net debt-to-earnings before interest depreciation and amortization, or a measure of its credit-worthiness, as of the end of March was 1.34. Second-larger rival reported net debt to earnings ratio of 4.3, while S&P Global estimated Travelports ratio was 7.

Amadeus added to its liquidity with a $1.08 billion (1 billion) bridge loan and by raising $1.73 billion (1.5 billion) of capital in early April. The move boosted Amadeuss net debt to liquidity was 1.04 times its capital.

We have cash and liquidity available even if in a very stressed scenario goes beyond 2020 and last for the entire 2021, said de Pro Gonzalo.

Presumably, airlines are asking for lower pricing for service, and travel agents will want higher incentive fees, noted Michael Briest of the research division of investment bank UBS. Might Amadeus try to pick up market share by reducing the usual margins it has in pricing and payment terms?

I cannot give you a definitive answer, Maroto said. The company needs to be prudent about the long-term while also meeting its goal of getting incrementally more airline and travel agency customers, he said.

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Fake: J&K students in Delhi, not asked to arrange own buses

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: A news portal has claimed that amidst the lockdown, Jammu and Kashmir students in Delhi have been told to arrange buses on their own.

It was stated that the students were told to arrange buses for themselves by the college administration.

However, this is a false claim. The University administration has not asked students to leave or arrange their own transport, the government has clarified.

Fake: Centre has not designated Guwahati as a red zone

Students from various parts of the country have been stranded owing to the lockdown. The government has indicated that a graded exit from the lockdown would take place. The Centre also allowed travel by train on Monday subject to various protocols. It was said that only those with a confirmed e-ticket would be allowed to travel by train.
Photo: James Cridland/Flickr

Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Baltimore. Coronavirus hospitalizations down by nearly 100: MD Health Dept. Read the full story on Patch.com. Escaped emu strolling through Baltimore County streets dies after capture Read the full story on WBAL. Steve Harvey Foundation helps Baltimore high schooler attend dream school Read the full story on CBS Baltimore. Full-time electronic tolling begins at Bay Bridge Read the full story on CBS Baltimore. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.

The Maryland Department of Health reported its largest decrease in coronavirus hospitalizations in recent weeks Monday morning.

Baltimore County Police say the emu escaped from a fenced yard at Lynns Farm and Nature Center. Police tracked the emu to a busy four-lane section of Liberty Road near a Wal-Mart and a Home Depot and captured it there. But a police spokesperson said the emu died after it was captured from stress and exhaustion.

Dunbar High School freshman and 14-year-old Marque Knox has Hollywood dreams.
Pakistan and Iran have decided to enhance border security measures and stop smuggling activities after six Pakistani soldiers were killed in a terror attack in the restive Balochistan province, according to an official statement.

On May 9, at least six security personnel, including an Army Major, were killed when a roadside bomb struck a patrol vehicle in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province, close to the border with Iran.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa held a telephonic conversation with Iran's chief of the armed forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri on Monday.

The Pakistan Army said the two discussed matters related to border security and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The recent terrorist attack on Pakistan security forces resulting in the killing of six security personnel near Pak-Iran border also came under discussion, according to the Army.

General Bajwa said that Pakistan was fencing the border with Iran but mutual cooperation was required to ensure border security and stem smuggling activity which is also used by terrorists and narcotics traffickers for covering their movement.

He said that Pakistan desired for regional peace and stability on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference and equality.

The BLA is a banned entity in Pakistan. It was also declared a terrorist group by the US in 2019.

Both the commanders resolved to enhance security measures on either side of the border, the Army said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The convention had originally been planned for July in Milwaukee, but was moved back a month in hopes that restrictions forced by the coronavirus pandemic would ease by then.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said over the weekend that she had told Democratic Party Chair Tom Perez that the nearly week-long event could be held over a single day at an outdoor stadium.

Delegates move the electoral process from primary votes through the nominating conventions. Heres what you need to know about delegates in the 2020 election. (The Washington Post)

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My suggestion to Mr. Perez was get a gigantic stadium and put people six feet apart so maybe instead of having 80,000 people there you would have 16,000 people there and just do it all in one day, she said in an interview with C-SPAN.

By adopting the proposed rule changes Tuesday, Democrats will open the door to another possibility  a much smaller in-person event, which can be attended by some but not all of the nearly 5,000 voting delegates and tens of thousands of other guests.

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One section of a new proposed resolution to be voted on Tuesday recommends certain changes . . . so as to safeguard the ability of all validly-elected Convention delegates to participate in the Convention in person or by means that allow for appropriate social distancing.

Party leaders also intend to grant the convention organizers significant powers to make changes to how the convention is run. Among the changes scheduled to be adopted Tuesday is language that will allow maximum flexibility to plan a safe event that guarantees every delegate can accomplish their official business without putting their own health at risk, according to a briefing paper distributed by the party on Monday.

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The new language, if it passes the rules committee, will eventually be voted on by the full Democratic National Committee in the coming weeks. That vote will be conducted by mail, according to a Democratic official familiar with the plans.

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Joe Solomonese, the chief executive of the Democratic convention, said in a statement Monday that he supported the changes.

This resolution provides our team with increased flexibility to adjust our plans, ensure that every delegate is able to accomplish their official business without putting their own health at risk, and enables us to chart the most appropriate course forward as we work to launch our nominee to victory in November, he said.

The rules changes will also remove two of the five floor votes traditionally required of all delegates at the four-day event. Under the proposed changes, all elected and appointed delegates will still vote to nominate a presidential candidate, a vice presidential candidate and to accept the partys platform.

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But the two other floor votes, on the rules for the convention and the credentials for those who can participate, will now be passed by smaller subcommittees before the partys full gathering.

The party will also formally accept on Tuesday the new primary dates for five states that delayed their elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. New York, which initially canceled its presidential primary, now plans to have its contest on June 23, after a judge ordered the election restored. Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey and Delaware have also rescheduled their primaries for June and July.

Under the previous rules, all of those states stood to lose delegate representation at the convention because their primary elections will fall outside the schedule originally set by the party. But Tuesdays meeting is expected to remove those penalties, allowing the states the same representation as if they had held their primary elections as planned before the viral outbreak.

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Both parties have been privately preparing dramatic adjustments to their summer convention plans, given the ongoing pandemic. Republicans, however, have generally followed the lead of President Trump and expressed more determination about holding a traditional in-person event in Charlotte. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently asked federal officials to consider providing personal protective equipment to allow the events to operate more safely.

The president wants to go full-steam ahead, McDaniel said. We are full-steam ahead for in person, in Charlotte.

Perez has criticized the protective equipment request as premature, given the ongoing shortages of protective equipment for others, including health-care workers.

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Now is not the time to focus on which political operatives get masks and gloves, he said.

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In an effort to tie the fate of their convention to the Republican event starting Aug. 24, Democrats announced last month that they would reschedule the event to start on Aug. 17, six weeks after the original July date.

The Democratic rules and bylaws committee is expected to formally accept this date change Tuesday as well. Even privately, officials were reluctant to get ahead of what health officials might ultimately advise about the later date.

The city of Milwaukee has been an incredible partner and we couldnt be more committed to highlighting Wisconsin as a key battleground state when we host our convention there this August, a Democratic official said in a memo distributed to reporters.
AER Lingus owner IAG has exhausted every avenue to shore up its finances and is burning through cash, its CEO said yesterday, as the aviation industry warned of the fresh damage it would suffer if Britain quarantines international arrivals.

Willie Walsh told the UK parliament's transport committee IAG would have to review plans to resume flying in July if the government pressed ahead with plans to introduce a quarantine on most people coming into the country by air as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

While Mr Walsh said IAG was not in a position where it had to ask for a specific bailout from the UK government, he added the quarantine plan would add to the pressure on the group.

"We've probably exhausted every avenue that I can think of at this stage to shore up our liquidity. The cash has been reducing significantly and that will be the case as we go through May, June and July.

"The announcements yesterday of a 14-day period (of quarantine) for coming into the UK, it's definitely going to make it worse," he said, forecasting demand for "minimal" capacity under such rules.

Questioned by UK lawmakers over a British Airways plan to lay off up to 12,000 people, or 30pc of its workforce, Mr Walsh told lawmakers that aviation was facing the deepest crisis in its history.

"The industry has changed and anybody who believes that we're going back to the way things were in 2019 misunderstands the scale of the challenge that is being faced," he said.

He suggested job losses could follow at IAG's other airlines, Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Ireland's Aer Lingus, saying that Iberia management would be doing "everything they possibly can to right-size Iberia".

Global aviation is facing a battle to survive, with most flights grounded since March due to travel restrictions to contain the pandemic.

Britain's new quarantine rules risk derailing any recovery for UK-based airlines, and the industry urged the government to come up with an alternative plan.

Heathrow Airport, which during normal times is Europe's busiest airport but saw passenger numbers plunge 97pc in April, called for common international standards to enable passengers to travel freely between low-risk counties once the virus is under control.

That would allow borders to be reopened, it said.

Meanwhile, budget airline easyJet said any quarantine requirements must be short-lived and replaced by a targeted regime allowing low-risk passengers to travel easily.

Mr Walsh said IAG was working with regulators to implement a common system across Europe of measures to be taken at airports and on board aircraft to stop the disease spreading. He said he believed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) would publish a draft document on safety measures later this week.

Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, easyJet and other UK carriers, said quarantine measures would lead to the industry requiring additional government support. The industry body has already asked for Britain's job retention scheme to be extended beyond June, and requested a temporary suspension of some taxes airlines pay, such as air passenger duty.

Reuters
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has donated all its 425 health facilities across the country as isolation centers for COVID-19.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), said state governments can now take advantage of the facilities.

As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centers, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centers. He said.

READ ALSO  Coronavirus: Lagos Catholic Church Suspends Handshake, Use Of Holy Water

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Speaking further, Mustapha also said that Governors are encouraged to approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities.

As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro bono services of their members to modify, design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily, he revealed.
A married 39-year-old teacher is expected to be jailed after admitting to having an affair with one of his students.

Daniel Zampatti was taken into custody on Monday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of indecent act with a child under his care or supervision over the affair while he was working at Christian College Geelong in 2016.

The ex music teacher, then 35, unexpectedly kissed the 17-year-old student which led to the affair over several months and including an overnight trip to a hotel where the pair showered together, reports the Geelong Advertiser.

Daniel Zampatti was taken into custody on Monday after pleading guilty 10 counts of indecent act with a child under his care or supervision over the affair while he was working at Christian College Geelong in 2016

Victoria's County Court was told the affair was discovered after the man's wife, a fellow teacher at Christian College Geelong, grew suspicious and notified the school principal who fired the teacher and revoked his registration.

Prosecutor Joanne Piggot told the court the affair involved Zampatti phoning or texting the girl an 'extremely' high amount and regular touching and kissing often on school grounds.

Ms Piggot told the court he organised a weekend trip to a five-star Melbourne hotel where the pair dined in Chinatown, showered together, and slept in the same bed.

She added there was a high degree of deception and planning involved.

Zampatti acknowledged his behaviour with the student was wrong and encouraged her to keep it a secret, he also told her to delete his messages after his wife began asking questions.

The victim made a report to police in 2019 prompting the criminal charges.

In the hearing on Monday Judge Michael Tinney said he 'had no doubt he has to go to prison' though was yet to decide on a sentence.

His bail was revoked until the sentencing hearing on Friday.
Ethan Weiss, a San Francisco-based cardiologist, was worried.

For the past two weeks, Weiss had been in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, volunteering at hospitals to help care for patients infected with the novel virus. But as Weiss tells it, he was about to face an even more daunting task this weekend: the plane trip back to San Francisco.

"I'm more scared of getting on the airplane on Saturday than I'm walking into the hospital," Weiss told KGO.

This weekend, the doctor's fears were confirmed when he and 25 other medical professionals found themselves on a jam-packed flight from Newark to San Francisco - despite a previous assurance from United that social distancing measures would be in place.

"I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737," Weiss tweeted, sharing a picture of the crowded plane.

Weiss's now-viral Twitter thread detailing his experience sparked outcry on social media, leaving many concerned that social distancing efforts on airplanes would be abandoned as the country continues reopening and more people begin traveling again. In recent days, similar complaints about unexpectedly congested flights have come from passengers on other major carriers including American Airlines and Delta.

On Monday, just days after Weiss's trip, United announced that it would be "implementing additional, temporary changes to promote social distancing in the air and on the ground."

Starting next week through June 30, United said it will allow passengers to rebook or receive a travel credit if they end up on flights that are closer to full capacity.

More for you 'People on this plane are scared': SF doc takes full flight home

"We'll do our best to contact them about 24 hours before their departure time so they can decide whether to adjust their plans before they arrive at the airport - and we'll provide this option at the gate, if more than 70% of customers have checked in," the airline said in a post on its website.

United said 85% of its flights are less than half-full, but noted that reduced scheduling and flights being consolidated has caused some instances of overcrowding.

That appeared to be the case Saturday, according to Weiss, who snapped a photo of the departures board in Newark ahead of his trip. The board listed fewer than a dozen United flights.

Still, the doctor was surprised by the number of travelers on his plane. Although everyone in the image appears to be wearing some sort of face covering, Weiss wrote that the rows of people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder did not align with an email he received from United before Saturday's flight saying that middle seats would be left open to ensure passengers can keep their distance.

On its website, United clarified its seating policy, writing that it would be "adjusting our seat selection systems to avoid where possible seating customers next to each other, except when traveling together."

"While we cannot guarantee that all customers will be seated next to an unoccupied seat, based on historically low travel demand and the implementation of our various social distancing measures, that is the likely outcome," the notice said.

In an emailed statement to The Washington Post on Sunday, a United spokeswoman stressed that beyond rolling out social distancing measures, the airline has taken a number of other safety precautions amid the ongoing pandemic.

"We've overhauled our cleaning and safety procedures and implemented a new boarding and deplaning process to promote social distancing," spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs said. Gibbs added that "all passengers and employees were asked to wear face coverings, consistent with our new policy."

---

The Washington Post's Steven Goff contributed to this report.
Field Museum bird guides are one example of activities families may access through the Kids Content Series, a new resource available on the governors offices All In Illinois campaign. Partnering with Illinois museums and attractions, it offers kid-friendly educational resources for families at home.
On Monday, May 11, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to the podium to provide an update on the states fight against COVID-19 and answer frequently asked questions from residents across Michigan.

I want to promise to all Michiganders that I will continue to do all within my power as governor to protect you and your families from COVID-19, Whitmer said. We are not out of the woods yet. Its our responsibility to continue to do our part.

Whitmer began by acknowledging how families have experienced loss and are missing the ability to connect with loved ones and praising the efforts of philanthropists and businesses who have stepped up to help. She then addressed several questions which have come in from concerned residents.

The first question Whitmer addressed was If no one in my social circle has been sick or had any symptoms, why cant we get together and socialize in person if were all feeling well and none of us have been sick? She explained that people could be carrying the virus and be asymptomatic. One person could infect those around them, and the virus could spread to thousands of people in days. Instead of meeting in person, Whitmer recommended the use of video chats and phone calls to stay connected with friends and relatives.

Until we have a vaccine, until we can do more to keep people safe, social distancing is still the best tool that we have. Were all safer at home.

Whitmer answered a question from northern Michigan about the possibility of reopening sections of the state where COVID-19 numbers are. Whitmer replied that COVID-19 is present in 79 out of 83 counties. The Michigan Economic Recovery Council and the governor are discussing options of reopening different regions but are still collecting data.

There is a chance that some regions will still reengage at different paces than others. But at this juncture, we have taken a few bold steps.

Another major inquiry focused on the updates on the state unemployment system and the state of the Unemployment Insurance Agency fund. Whitmer acknowledged the long waits people have experienced in receiving their unemployment benefits and assured listeners that the state will work to improve the system. She reported that Michigan has provided $4 billion in benefits to more than 1.1 million unemployed workers.

Most of the remaining workers who have not received benefits will be eligible in the coming weeks once they complete the federal requirement to certify their claim, Whitmer said.

In terms of the UIA, Whitmer said Michigan has the third highest trust fund balance in the nation and is in a strong position to help. If necessary, the state will borrow from the federal government, interest free, until the end of the year.

Michigan is expanding its testing in prisons as well, with the help of the state National Guard. As of Monday, over 12,200 inmates were tested.

Michigan has tested more prisoners than any state in the country, Whitmer said.

One inquiry addressed whether state parks and campgrounds would be closed as the weather gets warmer. The state parks are open, but the governor asked that people maintain social distancing, meaning staying six feet apart from others, to prevent the spread of the virus.

My team and I will continue to monitor the data coming from the state parks, Whitmer said.

Whitmer reiterated that until a vaccine is available, social distancing is the best practice. In the meantime, Michigan is increasing its testing and treating capacity, going from 4,000 tests a day to 14,000 a day in just one week.

Our goal is to test 400,000 Michiganders in May, Whitmer stated.
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 unprecedented-different from any other economic downturn in recent history-and 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 Gov. 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.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has begun phase 3 of clinical trials on antiviral Favipiravir in India, becoming the first company in the country to do so.

Glenmark had obtained approval from the Drug Controller General of India late in April, news agency ANI reported. Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Ltd in Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.

"Clinical trials have commenced and over 10 leading government and private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. Glenmark estimates study completion by July or August," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Glenmark has successfully developed the active pharma ingredient (API) and the formulations for the product through its in-house R&D team. Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses and has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections.

The molecule if commercialised will be marketed under the brand name FabiFlu in India.

"Several health and medical experts both in and outside of Glenmark are eager to see the effect that Favipiravir has on Covid-19 cases," Monika Tandon, Vice President and Head of Clinical Development, Global Specialty/Branded Portfolio at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was quoted as saying by ANI.

"We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus. The data we get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to Covid-19 treatment and management," she said.

Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given approval by the regulator to start the trial on Covid-19 patients in India. As per the approved clinical trial protocol, 150 subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 will be randomised in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care, the agency said.

Treatment duration is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum of 28 days from randomisation.
San Francisco, May 12 : To help parents manage kids screen time and app usage, Microsoft is rolling out a dedicated new app called Family Safety for preview.

Announced in March to help people protect what matters most with digital and physical safety, Microsoft has started rolling out the launch of limited preview of the app on iOS and Android. Once launched, the app will be available to download for free in the app stores.

Microsoft Family Safety helps you to facilitate a dialogue with your kids about the time they are spending on their devices and type of content they are viewing, the company said in a statement.

"The app provides transparency on where everyone is spending time online and allows you to create flexible schedules to carve out more time for things like online learning," Microsoft added.

Additionally, the app helps you stay connected even when you're apart with location sharing. With Microsoft Family Safety, family members can manage their data and information and who it is shared with.

Parents can view screen time, top websites visited, and terms kids are searching for online "Receive an email summary each week to help facilitate a dialogue on healthy digital choices and begin developing good habits from a young age," said Microsoft.

Parents can set screen time limits across Windows and Xbox devices.

If your kids will be on devices longer for things like online learning, you can set limits on specific apps or games instead.

If they run out of screen time, they can ask for more. You have the choice to add more time or not based on what is right for your family.

"Set healthy boundaries with web and search filters to block mature content and set browsing to kid-friendly websites on Microsoft Edge. Get notified when your kids want to download a more mature app or game from the Microsoft Stores with age limits, keeping you in the know and helping to avoid surprises," informed Microsoft.

People can also see loved ones on a map with location sharing with the app.

Microsoft said Family Safety is best when used together so it was looking for families with children of all ages to join the preview.

-IANS na/
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has slammed the Minority in Parliament for saying that the Akufo-Addo government has no strategic plan for the fight against the novel coronavirus in the country.



According to the Minister for Parliament Affairs, in the wake of the pandemic, the President put up a team of medical officers knowledgeable in infectious and contagious diseases, forming part of the strategic plans of the Akufo-Addo government to fight the scourge.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Hon. Kyei Mensah Bonsu indicated that as part of President Akufo-Addos strategic plan to fight the COVID-19, he called upon the services of a World Health Organization (WHO) Deputy Secretary-General, who is a retired Ghanaian, to chair the team and hosts of other renowned health experts to study the situation and accordingly proffer advise.



Did you ever dream of seeing the COVID-19 in Ghana? Who says he knew that the COVID-19 was coming to Ghana? It took us by surprise. When it came into the country, the President decided to put together a team who are medical officers knowledgeable in the infectious and contagious diseases . . .



 . . The Ministry of Health also has its team working on the COVID-19 and these two groups from time to time meet to advise the President and sometimes the Cabinet itself joins the meeting. This protocol such as the border closure which was introduced, is it not part of the measures being used to fight the COVID-19? The imposition of restrictions which Parliament passed into a law, is it not also part of the measures to fight the virus? he quizzed.



The Majority Leader of Parliament averred that the Minority may be confused about what strategic plan means as every measures of the government are strategically put in place to fight the COVID-19.



 . . if the Minority through Haruna Iddrisu says he has not seen any strategic plan then I dont know what he means. In their minds, what is a strategic plan? Or he is just commenting for commenting sake? If you are referring to a two-year strategic plan or perhaps a roadmap as to how the issue will be handled, that is an entirely different matter. But bear in mind I have already indicated that the COVID-19 took us by surprise and as we speak nobody knows the exact day the virus will take leave of us...



So, the trust fund which has been set up by the President is part of the strategic plans of the government to fight the COVID-19. The imposition of restriction which brought about the partial lockdown which helped us in containing initially the spread of the disease is that not part of the strategic plan?



. .There are other considerations in the fight against COVID-19 disease and so if he says he cannot see what the government is doing then clearly, i'm even at sea what he is talking about, he stated.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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COVID-19 update: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 70,756 with the toll at 2,293. A total of 3,604 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last 24 hours with 87 deaths.

COVID-19 update: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has now reached 70,756 with the toll at 2,293. A total of 3,604 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last 24 hours with 87 deaths as per the latest figures by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Maharashtra, which remains the most affected state, alone recorded 1,000 new cases for the sixth consecutive day. Total active cases in India has now reached 46,008 with 22,454 cured and discharged from the hospital.

After Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 800 fresh cases were recorded from Tamil Nadu taking its total tally to 8,002. The government of Tamil Nadu has ordered for aggressive testing after the spike. Further Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended a video-conference with all the chief ministers discussing the plan after May 17 on Monday.

He has requested the chief ministers to share their strategies by May 15. PM also said that India has two challenges ahead to keep a check on the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and to increase the public activities following all the social distancing rules. Further, Indian Railways will also restart the passenger train operations with special trains on limited routes from today.

Also Read: Lockdown 4.0: PM Narendra Modi seeks suggestions from states, lockdown likely to be extended beyond May 17

#COVID19: 87 deaths reported in the last 24 hours; total death toll 2293 https://t.co/sK3Eq4eR1P  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

According to the global tally, a total 4.1 million people are infected from coronavirus worldwide with 285,000 deaths. The US has alone recorded 1.3 million cases with at least 80,000 deaths. Further, as per his latest briefing, President Donald Trump said that the federal government will be sending $11 billion to all states to expand the testing facilities.

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Some Americans were sleeping, others were exercising. A small team of Marines were screening Afghan forces with biometric scanners on one side of the base, which had been built by the British in 2007. These were all routine tasks on American outposts in Afghanistan, perfunctory staples of the United States longest running war.

The barrage of 107-millimeter rockets, a weapon used by insurgent groups the world over, hit at around 2:50 p.m. They were fired from such a close range and at such an angle  more like a gunshot than a rocket attack  that the rockets went completely undetected by the bases counter-battery radar. The blasts quickly disabled the system by cutting its power, blinding those on the base for what could have been another strike.

Because of the small size of the outpost, every person there was either injured, assisting the injured and/or providing security, according to the documents. The U.S.-led mission in Kabul declined to comment on the record about its original claim via Twitter that there were no casualties.

A Marine standing guard behind his medium machine gun was thrown to the ground when one rocket directly impacted his post. The Marine was peppered with shrapnel and sustained serious fragmentation wounds in his chest and legs, requiring multiple tourniquets and chest seals. Another Marine, a corporal, was asleep in his room when a rocket hit it, strafing his legs with steel. One sergeant was outside walking on a sidewalk when a rocket hit feet away, seriously wounding him.

In all, five Marines and a U.S. contractor sustained shrapnel injuries, requiring immediate medical evacuation on two helicopter flights dispatched from nearby Camp Dwyer, a sprawling American base nestled in the desert west of the Helmand River. Two Marines and a Navy sailor suffered traumatic brain injuries and were flown off Bost the next day, and two Afghan interpreters had superficial wounds. Two Afghan civilians, as the American spokesman had said in his original tweet, were injured when one of the 16 rockets hit a cluster of homes.

In the minutes following the strikes, base leadership transmitted a mass casualty call over the radio to those on the base. The wounded were put on stretchers and taken to a patient collection point near the helicopters landing zone. To prepare for another strike, Marines set up mortar positions angled to the south, the direction from which the rockets came, and positioned an armored vehicle with a heavy machine gun near the bases gate, which had been damaged. The attack never came.

Overhead, a small drone, most likely belonging to the Taliban, watched the entire event unfold, according to the documents.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), newly registered capital, supplemented capital and capital contributions of foreign investors in the first four months of 2020 reached a total of US$12.33 billion, equivalent to 84.5% of the figure for the same period in 2019.

The decrease in FDI pledges in the four-month period was also less than the decrease in the three-month period. This is an indication that the decline of FDI inflow will soon end and it is expected to increase sharply in the near future.

According to economic experts, Vietnam's successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the driving force to lure FDI inflow into Vietnam in the near future. Not only FDI, Vietnam has the opportunity to attract investors who wish to relocate their projects.

American, Japanese, and European enterprises who intended to move their production out of China due to increasing labour prices and the impacts of the US-China trade war will accelerate this process amid the pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the transition process will also receive support from their own countries.

Specifically, Japan will spend approximately US$2.2 billion to support Japanese enterprises in relocating their factories to Japan or to diversify production facilities by moving to the Southeast Asia region.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Group, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift of production chains out of China appeared mainly due to the need to diversify the supply chain and to reduce risks of over-reliance on a single market, the increasing labour costs in China and especially the effect of the US-China trade war.

Amid the development of the pandemic, the trend has become more visible. The production in China has been recovering but production and transportation costs have become more expensive. The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the shift of investment out of China, the restructuring of the value chain and the trend of bringing production closer to the consumer market.

When the US-China trade war began, Vietnam was forecast to be an attractive location for many foreign investors that may receive a wave of investment movement from China. However, Vietnam has yet to see benefits as expected.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung said that, from the perspective of globalisation, where has better financial efficiency and cheaper costs will attract more investment capital. China became the "factory of the world because it met the conditions of investors. It means that if Vietnam wants to attract production chains, it needs to meet the above conditions, and even exceed them.

Regarding industry, it is necessary to revise the industrialisation strategy with specific plans for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, including solutions to help Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global supply chain.

The "2019 Supplier Day" event, held for the first time by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Hanoi on April 25, 2019, attracted more than 60 Vietnamese suppliers and more than 300 businessmen, including representatives from large US enterprises. The event marked an important development step in the quality and scale of the programme on connecting global value chains in Vietnam.

According to US enterprises, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, particularly in the past two decades. American businesses have looked forward to doing business with Vietnam businesses, helping Vietnamese businesses to participate in global value chains. This was also the clearest evidence of the attractiveness of the Vietnamese market and the most specific opportunity that Vietnamese businesses need to seize.

In fact, there is a wave of enterprises moving away from China and looking to Vietnam, but about 90% of Vietnamese enterprises are currently not ready to provide services for international businesses.

On the other hand, Vietnam needs to have young and high-quality human resources. But Vietnam currently has an aging population and the supply of labour will only be able to meet the demand of the manufacturing and assembly industries in the next 10 years. This is a problem that Vietnam should have a solution for in the near future.

According to Dr. Tran Toan Thang from the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (Ministry of Planning and Investment), FDI attraction is very important but keeping investors, especially large enterprises, is more important. Incentives regarding tax, land, natural resources, and cheap labour can only attract foreign investors but it is difficult to keep them.

If Vietnam wants to keep foreign investors, besides open and transparent business environment, modern and synchronous transport infrastructure, and stable law systems, the country must have high-quality human resources, a large enough domestic market and a system of domestic enterprises capable of providing supporting industry products for FDI enterprises.
Like her fellow New Yorkers, Sarah Silverman has been dealing with weeks of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the comedienne has returned to her apartment fire escape night after night along with her neighbors to take part in a salute to the city's frontline healthcare workers.

She was there again on Monday night at 7 p.m. banging on her frying pan with metal tongs and joining in the cheers.

Committed: Sarah Silverman has appeared on her apartment fire escape night after night to take part in a salute to NYC's frontline healthcare workers and she was back again Monday

Silverman, 49, wore a gray hoodie over a black sweater and dark blue skinny jeans with black ankle boots.

She had a black knit beanie pulled down over her loose long hair.

As usual, she was joined in the salute by her friend Annie Segal who bashed a saucepan with a spoon.

Enthusiasm: The comedienne, who was dressed in a hoodie and skinny jeans with black ankle boots, banged on her frying pan with metal tongs and joined in the cheers

Nightly salute: She had a black knit beanie pulled down over her loose long hair

Community effort: As usual, Silverman, 49, was joined in the salute by her friend Annie Segal who bashed a saucepan with a spoon

Silverman, who wrote a best-selling memoir Bedwetter, wrapped filming on a rom-com shortly before the COVID-19 crisis began.

Marry Me, with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Lopez, was set for release this year but with Hollywood production and movie theatres shut down, it's unknown when it will come out.

Meanwhile, she's signed on to voice Candy Smalls, the highest-ranking elf in the North Pole, for Santa Inc. on HBO Max.

And she's featured in the star-studded Netflix documentary Have a Good Trip which explores the culture of psychedelics.

On the small screen: Silverman can currently be seen in the star-studded Netflix documentary Have a Good Trip which explores the culture of psychedelics
Council, other groups will look at downtown parking concerns

There have been several downtown businesses requesting reserved parking spots prompting the council to make some changes to the parking ordinances.
Before there was Peter Weber, Bachelor Nation seethed over Arie Luyendyk Jr. for pursuing Lauren Burnham after dumping Becca Kufrin. Following The Bachelor Season 22, the couple faced backlash from all sides of the fandom. But now, the two reality stars are returning to the franchise as guest judges on The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart. So are Luyendyk and Burnham married now? Heres what you should know about the pair today.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. picked Lauren Burnham on The Bachelor

Arie and Lauren Luyendyk on The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart on The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart | John Fleenor via Getty Images

In The Bachelor Season 22 finale, Luyendyk got down on one knee and proposed to Kufrin. Then two months later, the former race car driver realized he made the wrong choice and broke up with Kufrin in an uncomfortable unedited scene. Then at the After the Finale Rose special, Luyendyk proposed to his runner-up, Burnham. Meanwhile, Kufrin became the next bachelorette.

In an interview with GQ, Luyendyk explained why he chose to get engaged with Kufrin in The Bachelor finale. I felt like I was trying to be logical. I tried to think like, OK, I know who Becca is, and shes a great person, he said at the time. In the moment, I felt like I was making the right choice.

The former bachelor also explained why he had a change of heart and decided to go after his runner-up. Apparently, everything changed after Luyendyk contacted Burnham on New Years Eve. As soon as I heard her voice, I knew that I had to end things with Becca, he said.

Then, in the end, Luyendyk confirmed he made the right decision. The fact is, Im really happy with Lauren, he told GQ. So for me, it was all worth it.

Are Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham married now?

After The Bachelor Season 22 wrapped on ABC, Luyendyk and Burnham revealed they were ready to tie the knot.

Were so ready for this, Luyendyk told People in March 2018. Lauren told me Im four months late on this proposal, and I wanted to give it to her and I wanted everyone at home to share in it.

He also added, Weve already been planning it, even before the engagement. We want to do it quickly.

Then on Jan. 12, 2019, Burnham married Luyendyk in Hawaii and became Lauren Burnham Luyendyk. Life with you is all sunsets and rainbows, the former bachelor wrote on Jan. 11. Were getting married tomorrow!

Meanwhile, host Chris Harrison officiated the ceremony. Its was an incredible wedding week. My blessings and prayers to Mr & Mrs Luyendyk and baby Luyendyk on the way, Harrison wrote on Instagram. For now its Aloha! Back to helping @coltonunderwood find love tomorrow night.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham tie the knot again in Las Vegas with their daughter

In 2018, Luyendyk and Burnham revealed they were expecting their first child. Then in May 2019, the couple welcomed a baby girl named Alessi Ren Luyendyk.

She is sweet and calm and @ariejr and I could not be more in love with her, Burnham wrote on Instagram.

Four months later, Luyendyk and Burnham got married again at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple was also joined by their daughter.

We got married on Saturday (again) in the back of a pink caddy in Vegas, Luyendyk wrote on Instagram. Our new friend and legend @mrjordan1911 officiated (Elvis sat this one out).

Meanwhile, Burnham wrote: @ariejrs so nice I married him twice! We always joked about ditching our plans for the first wedding and eloping in Vegas so we thought, what the heck, why not have both? Best decision we ever made as this day will be a hilarious memory we will cherish forever.

Now, Luyendyk and Burnham are still together two years after their run on The Bachelor. Fans can find them frequently posting on Instagram and YouTube, updating the world on their family. Then, as mentioned, the Bachelor Nation alums will mark their return to the franchise on Listen to Your Heart. So stay tuned.

Read more: Arie Luyendyk Jr. Says Living in Isolation Is Like Being on The Bachelor
New Delhi, May 12 : The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday scrambled fighter jets along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, after China flew military choppers close to the LAC. The IAF officials, however, termed it as a "routine affair".

This happened following skirmishes between the Indian Army soldiers and Chinese's People's Liberation Army in Ladakh and North Sikkim last week.

"China military choppers fly in their territories and out fighter jets in our territories. It is normal routine affair," said Indian Air Force (IAF) officer. He also rejected the aggressive approach at LAC.

The officer said: "On Tuesday also the Chinese military helicopters were flying close to LAC and our planes were also doing routine sortie." When asked about the aggressive attitude, the officer speaking candidly said, "It is being unnecessarily being sensationalized. It is a routine Standard Operating Procedure" The act of China flying military choppers near LAC is being perceived as a provocation by the Indian military establishment.

The LAC, unlike international borders, is not clearly marked. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC.

The Indian and Chinese soldiers were involved in scuffles at two occasions in last one week along Line of Actual Control in north Sikkim and Ladakh.

Sources said that four Indian soldiers and half a dozen of Chinese counterparts were injured during the confrontation in North Sikkim.

It took place at Naku La sector, ahead of Muguthang, a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres in North Sikkim. In total 150 soldiers were present when the confrontation took place.

Later, the confrontation was resolved at the local level.

Sources said that temporary and short duration face offs occur as boundary issues are not resolved.

"Incidents of face off took place. Aggressive behaviour and minor injuries took place from both sides. They were disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level,a said the source.

Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols.

The scuffle in Ladakh took place on May 5 night and was resolved by May 6 morning.

This is not the first time Indian and Chinese soldiers have exchanged blows along the border.

Back in August 2017, Indian and Chinese soldiers threw stones at each other and exchanged blows near Pangong Lake in Ladakh. The clash had aggravated tensions between the two countries as it happened at a time when they were locked in a stand-off in the disputed territory of Doklam in Sikkim.

It took two months to end the stand-off between the forces.
Questions about the genealogical imprint of tumors have hovered over cancer research since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. Is liver cancer different at a basic, molecular level in people of African descent than people of European descent? Does breast cancer have a different genetic profile in East Asians than Native Americans?

A new paper by researchers from the NCI Cancer Genome Analysis Network, a collaborative group with investigators in the U.S., Canada and Europe, provides the most comprehensive look to date at the effect of ancestry on the molecular makeup of normal and cancerous tissues. Drawing on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) involving 10,678 patients and 33 cancer types, the investigators found that ancestry was tied to variations in hundreds of genes, but that the most important of these differences were linked to specific tissue types. The study is being published online today by Cancer Cell.

We found that in patients of different ancestries, the molecular features corresponding to those differences were largely confined to specific organs and tissue types. This suggests that tracking the molecular effects of ancestry - both in normal and cancer tissue - needs to take a tissue-by-tissue approach." Rameen Beroukhim, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber and the Broad Institute, the co-senior author of the study with Andrew Cherniack, PhD, group leader at Dana-Farber and the Broad Institute

Among the researchers' specific findings:

From a molecular standpoint, people of African ancestry tend to have a different type of kidney cancer than people of European ancestry. The African variety is marked less often by mutations that disable the VHL gene, spurring the growth of new blood vessels for tumors.

Bladder cancers in people of East Asian extraction show fewer signs of drawing an immune system response than bladder tumors in people of European background.

In the study, investigators used a variety of molecular techniques to determine the ancestry of the patients whose tissue samples were analyzed. Patients were classified as being primarily of European, East Asian, African, Native/Latin American, or South Asian descent. Patients whose ancestry was at least 20% mixed were classified as being of admixed descent. (These patients were subcategorized by their primary ancestry, such as African-Admixed, European-Admixed, etc.) As a group, the patients had 33 cancer types, 13 of which were further divided into subtypes.

TCGA had conducted a deep analysis of each patient's tissue, testing cancerous and normal cells for a range of molecular features. These included mutations (miscopied sections of DNA); patterns of DNA methylation (a process that influences whether genes are switched on or off); messenger RNA (a molecule that carries a transcribed version of DNA and is indicative of gene activity); and microRNA (a form of RNA that assists or hampers gene activity). The NCI Cancer Genome Analysis Network investigators used this data to see whether differences in any of these features reflected differences in ancestry.

"We found that ancestry-associated differences spanned all of these features and were present in hundreds of different genes," Cherniack stated. "It turned out, though, that the most significant differences - the ones that affect how cells function and interact with the rest of the body - were profoundly tissue-specific." Although ancestry affected molecular features in most cancer types, these effects were not shared across cancer types. Molecular differences in lung cancers that were traceable to African ancestry, for example, were not found in breast, pancreatic, or other cancers.

The data also enabled investigators to ask whether the ancestry-related features of normal cells carried over into the cancerous versions of those cells - whether the molecular particularities of lung cells in people of European extraction for example, are also found in the lung cancer cells of such individuals. They found that this was overwhelmingly the case. "Most of the differences in the normal tissues of people with specific ancestries are recapitulated in cancer," Beroukhim stated. Moreover, evidence suggests that some of these differences may contribute to the development of certain cancers in people with similar backgrounds.

Having access to data from patients of mixed lineage proved to be an asset, the study authors say. Investigators conducted their initial analysis in patients whose ancestry was at least 80% within one of the five genealogical groups. They followed this with a similar analysis of data from the admixed populations. "When the results of the two analyses jibed - when molecular differences specific to one ancestral group also appear in patients whose ancestry is a combination of that group and others - it was particularly strong evidence of the validity of the original finding." said one of the study's co-lead authors, Jian Carrot-Zhang, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow of the Meyerson group at Dana-Farber and the Broad. "The patients of mixed background were a particularly powerful group in which to study the molecular effects of ancestry in cancer," Beroukhim stated. "It helped us narrow down which regions of the genome contribute to these differences."

The comprehensive nature of the study revealed some of the shortcomings of previous efforts to link ethnicity and ancestry to molecular elements of cells. For one, such studies tended to lump various subtypes of cancer together, Beroukhim said, despite the fact that certain subtypes are more common in certain ancestries than others. Some of the techniques used to dissect molecular features may also have skewed the results of previous studies.

Researchers have yet to determine whether the molecular differences between ancestries result from environmental factors or genetic factors. However, they did identify genetic differences between ancestries that could explain many of their findings.

"Our findings point to a need for more samples from diverse ancestries to conduct a truly comprehensive ancestry analysis, especially of normal tissues," Beroukhim remarks. "This study represents an important step in that direction."
According to intelligence data, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another four were wounded.

Russia's hybrid military forces on May 9 mounted 17 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

Read alsoKyiv initiates reboot of Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement

"The Russian Federation's armed groups violated the ceasefire 17 times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 10, 2020.

Russia-led forces opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, anti-tank missile systems, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Kamianka, Vodiane, Opytne, Pavlopil, Shyrokyne, Slavne, Starohnativka, Novotroyitske, Khutir Vilny, Krymske, Novotoshkivske, Triokhizbenka, and Orikhove.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy attack. According to intelligence data, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another four were wounded on May 9.

Since Sunday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Orikhove, using 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns, and small arms, the update said.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties since Sunday midnight.
Will Robert Pattinson's debut as Batman now be delayed? (Image Warner Bros)

Robert Pattinson says he hasnt maintained his Batman training regime while shooting on the film has paused due to the coronavirus pandemic saying: I think if youre working out all the time, youre part of the problem.

He has, however, found time to take part in a GQ profile from lockdown in London while production on Matt Reeves The Batman remains on hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic.

When asked why he wanted to take on the role previously inhabited by Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Michael Keaton et al, Pattinson responds: What are the reasons not to do it?

He adds that finding a new angle on DCs Dark Knight also interested him in taking on the part.

Read more: The Batman to have humanist bent

I kind of like the fact that not only are there very, very, very well-done versions of the character which seem pretty definitive, but I was thinking that there are multiple definitive playings of the character, he says.

Robert Pattinson attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 17, 2020. (Francois Durand for Dior/Getty Images)

Its fun when more and more ground has been covered. Like, where is the gap? Youve seen this sort of lighter version, youve seen a kind of jaded version, a kind of more animalistic version.

And the puzzle of it becomes quite satisfying, to think: Wheres my opening? And also, do I have anything inside me which would work if I could do it?

Reeves previously described his new take as a Hitchcockian, noir-driven, detective version of Batman.

Talking about his role in the film, the 33-year-old actor says the weight of expectation around the superhero reboot has made him a little kind of spicy.

Presenting GQs June/July cover star: Robert Pattinson.

See all the self-portraits by Robert Pattinson and read the story by @ZachBaron here: https://t.co/EPzPWk2vTH pic.twitter.com/2IZ75xJ3gE  GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) May 12, 2020

Theres so few things in life where people passionately care about it before its even happened, Pattinson tells GQ.

Story continues

You can almost feel that pushback of anticipation, and so it kind of energises you a little bit. Its different from when youre doing a part and theres a possibility that no one will even see it. Right? In some ways its, I dont know It makes you a little kind of spicy.

Andy Serkis, who plays Alfred Pennyworth to Pattinsons Bruce Wayne, recently said the film was going to be darker than previous films.

"I would say that's not far from the truth, Serkis told LabBible, before going on to explain how the film is very much about the emotional connection between Alfred and Bruce. That's really at the centre of it. And it is a really exquisite script that Matt [Reeves] has written."

It also stars Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as Riddler, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon.

The Batman was originally expected to debut 25 June, 2021, and will now launch on 1 October, 2021.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 18:43:10|Editor: huaxia

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NANJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Space-tracking ship Yuanwang-5 returned to its port Tuesday, after finishing the latest monitoring mission in the Pacific Ocean for the Long March-5B rocket launch.

The ship has operated 81 days at sea, sailing over 20,000 nautical miles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no port calls were made during the voyage, and more than 80 percent of crew members did not disembark for over 100 days, said Chen Xiaohua, head of the ship.

After docking at the port, crew members will take rest, examine facilities and replenish supplies for upcoming missions including the Mars exploration and lunar exploration. Enditem
YEREVAN.  Of course, you are fulfilling your constitutional duties very well, in your conviction, very well, for many, but you still have to come to terms with the fact that this or that aspect of your activities may not be satisfactory for this or that MP, and this is the right of the MPs. Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, stated this Tuesday in parliament, addressing the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), Arman Tatoyan.

"As the president of the National Assembly, to be honest, I also consider unacceptable your intolerant attitude, allow me to say, toward the speech, remarks by one or several MPs," he added. "You should be more respectful toward the NA MPs."

To note, Ombudsman Tatoyan, responding to the speech by Vagharshak Hakobyan, a member of the majority My Step factionduring the discussion of the Human Rights Defender's 2019 report, had said: "Mr. Vagharshak Hakobyan, next time don't dare to raise your voice to me, next time don't try to speak with the Human Rights Defender of Armenia from the position of the authorities. And next time, don't try to threaten Armenia's human rights defender. There are all the mechanisms of legal accountability. Moreover, you don't even know that the Human Rights Defender does not work according to the charter. I have nothing to discuss with you.

Earlier, MP Hakobyan had noted in his address that he had noticed double standards in the Ombudsman's activities, and assessed his report as insufficient.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was discharged from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Tuesday. Reports reveal that he is stable and his condition has improved.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who earlier rushed to AIIMS on Sunday after suffering from a reaction to a change in medication, has been discharged from the hospital. Further, Dr. Manmohan Singh was also tested for coronavirus on Monday and his results were negative. He has also gone through many tests and results are yet to be out. Reports reveal that 87-year-old former finance minister was recovering and didnt show any symptoms of fever on Monday so the doctors decided for discharge.

Senior AIIMS official said he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication so he was admitted on Sunday after complaining about uneasiness. He added that Singh is stable and is responded well to the entire treatment and medical care. Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan and also served as the prime minister of the country from the year 2004 to 2014. Moreover, in 2009, he also underwent coronary bypass surgery at AIIMS.

Further, many leaders have expressed their concerns over his heath. Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli expressed his concerns on Twitter and wished him a speedy recovery. HD Deve Gowda, the former PM also said that the nation needs his guidance, especially during these crises.

Also Read: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asks Delhi to send suggestions on lockdown relaxations and exit plan

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been discharged from AIIMS, Delhi on medical advice: AIIMS official pic.twitter.com/hcJSbGDVrT  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

Not just this, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also showcased his concern for Dr. Manmohan Singhs health and said that he hopes to make full recovery. The entire nation is praying for his health.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Five Irish processing plants have been approved to supply Mexico with pork, it was announced today.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed today announced that Ireland has secured access for the export of pigmeat to Mexico.

Five processing plants and five coldstores in Ireland have been approved by Mexico to supply frozen raw pork, but the Department did not release details of these.

"Gaining access for pigmeat exports to Mexico highlights again the value of investing in strategic relationships in priority markets. Credit is due in particular to the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico, Ambassador Barbara Jones and my Departments agricultural attache in the Embassy, Grainne Roughan, for their contribution.

He said this achievement follows a number of important steps undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Bord Bia, and the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico, in cooperation with industry, over several years:

The Minister led Ireland's first ever trade mission to Mexico in 2017 and a year later, in November 2018, the Mexican authorities inspected operational facilities and official controls at Irish processing plants and coldstores.

Last year, DAFM seconded an agricultural attache to the Irish Embassy in Mexico City, to support and develop the Embassys focus on agri-food trade opportunities and market access.

Mexico is a large consumer market, with a population of 120 million. Pork is highly regarded by consumers as a healthy source of protein and is consumed on a daily basis in a variety of dishes.

According to Bord Bia, a growing import demand, which sees the market import in the region of 1m tonnes of pigmeat annually, is driven by a growing middle class and greater urbanisation. Imports currently account for 38% of total pigmeat consumption, with further growth anticipated. The scale of these imports, makes Mexico the third largest global importer of pigmeat.

Recent research by Bord Bia suggests that there will be opportunities for Irish pigmeat companies supplying frozen leg and shoulder products in particular.

Securing this access particularly in light of the recently agreed EU-Mexico Global Agreement which will significantly reduce tariff barriers to trade, will provide new export market opportunities for Irish pigmeat and the wider sector as it continues to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access to more non-EU markets should bolster the profile of Irish pigmeat products in international markets which were worth 275m, or 31% of the total value of Irish pigmeat exports in 2019.
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It probably wont come as much of a surprise to learn that Barrick Gold (GOLD), the worlds second largest gold mining company, is enjoying a successful 2020. Gold performs particularly well during global crises, and hardly any come any bigger than the current pandemic. As a result, the precious metal has been changing hands for prices not seen since 2013. Barrick has benefited from golds upward trend, with the mining stock up by 40% year-to-date.

CIBC analyst Anita Soni argues Barrick stock has a way to go yet. The analyst reiterated an Outperform rating, while increasing the 12-month price target from $33 to $36. Investors stand to take home gains in the shape of 38%, should the target be met over the following 12 months. (To watch Sonis track record, click here)

So, what is behind Sonis positive thesis? Well, a solid Q1 report, despite COVID-19s sharp impact, helps. At $0.16 Q1 Non-GAAP EPS hit the estimates, and while revenue of $2.72 billion missed the consensus call by $70 million, the figure still represented year-over-year growth of 30.1%.

But essentially, its all about the gold, and with prices on the rise, Soni believes the precious metal is on the cusp of another bull cycle.

With gold currently going for roughly $1,702 per oz, the analyst believes Barrick will have FCF of $2 billion in 2020 - more than enough to reinvest in the business and return capital to shareholders. The company also owns a number of world class assets including Goldrush, Four Mile, Abierto Norte, Alturas and Lagunas Norte. As Soni expects the gold rally to continue, she argues Barricks exploration assets will gain increasing investor attention.

Soni further noted, With a strong balance sheet, we continue to remain positive on the stock as Barrick is midway through its portfolio rationalization and optimization after two major acquisitions, and we expect continued delivery on synergies and cost reductions. Barrick has managed well through Q1 (few COVID-19- related impacts) and its diversified operational base has attracted, and should continue to attract, investors attention.

Story continues

Lets turn our attention now to the rest of the Street, where based on 7 Buys and 2 Holds, GOLD currently carries a Strong Buy consensus rating. Although with an average price target of $26.79, the analysts project a modest 3% upside over the coming months. Either the analysts have yet to update their GOLD models, or perhaps some believe the stock has soared enough for now. (See Barrick Gold stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for gold stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the Iranian consulate in Afghanistan's western city of Herat on May 11 over the deaths of migrants who drowned after allegedly being forced into a river by Iranian border guards.

Afghan officials have said the migrants died while illegally trying to cross into neighboring Iran from Herat Province earlier in May.

Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of the province's Gulran district, says 18 bodies have been recovered from the river so far and that some of the bodies show signs of torture and beatings.

According to Noori, a total of 55 migrants were forced into the river. He says six of them are still missing.

Iranian authorities have dismissed the claims that its security forces were involved in their deaths, saying the incident occurred within Afghan territory.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered a probe into the drownings, forming a 10-member team to carry out the investigation.

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."

Human Rights Watch on May 4 described the alleged actions of the Iranian border guards as shocking.

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. According to the United Nations, there also are as many as 2 million undocumented Afghans in Iran.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP
You are here: Travel

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More than 30 international guests paid a visit to W-town in Beijing's Miyun district on May 9.

They included government officials and business representatives from Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Austria.

"The water town is only a few years old, but does look thousands of years old under the shadow of the Simatai section of the Great Wall," said Noah Fraser, China managing director at the Canada-China Business Council.

"It's an incredible vista, a feast for the eyes."

Fraser got a good taste of what the water town has to offer during his stay.

"We have a beautiful hotel room, overlooking the Great Wall," he said.

"It's all very modern. Five-star all the way."

The water town has been working to boost inbound tourist visits in recent years.

It received more than 100,000 visits from international travelers in 2019, up 30 percent compared with the previous year, said Wang Zuoquan, an official with Beijing W-town.

More tourism products and services will be developed to cater to the needs of tourists from different parts of the world, Wang said.
Ferratum Oyj postpones its Annual General Meeting

Helsinki, 11 May 2020  The Board of Ferratum Oyj (ISIN: FI4000106299, WKN: A1W9NS) has decided to postpone the date of the Annual General Meeting to 30 June, 2020. All other dates in the Groups financial calendar will remain unchanged:

Date Publication 20.5.2020 Ferratum Group: Q1 results 30.6.2020 Ferratum Group: Annual General Meeting 20.8.2020 Ferratum Group: H1 results 28.8.2020 Ferratum Bank p.l.c.: H1 report 28.8.2020 Ferratum Capital Germany: H1 report 19.11.2020 Ferratum Group: 9M results

About Ferratum Group:

Ferratum Group is an international provider of mobile banking and digital consumer and small business loans, distributed and managed by mobile devices. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Ferratum has expanded rapidly to operate in 23 countries across Europe, Africa, South and North America, Australia and Asia.

As a pioneer in digital and mobile financial services technology, Ferratum is at the forefront of the digital banking revolution. Ferratum has approximately 740,000 active customers that have an open Mobile Bank account or an active loan balance in the last 12 months (as at 31 December 2019).

Ferratum Group is listed on the Prime Standard of Frankfurt Stock Exchange under symbol 'FRU.' For more information, visit www.ferratumgroup.com.

Contacts:

IR@ferratum.com



https://www.ferratumgroup.com/investors/ir-contact


MARYLAND

2 killed, one wounded in domestic incident

A Friday night slaying in Prince Georges County in which a man fatally shot himself after killing a woman was a domestic incident, police said.

The murder-suicide unfolded about 11:15 p.m. at a home in the 9000 block of Walkerton Drive in the Lanham area. An initial investigation found all three people lived at the home.

Authorities said the man, who was later identified as Kevin Darryl Ballard, 54, shot and killed a 23-year-old woman before fatally shooting himself.

Police identified the woman as Tai Hilliard. Ballard was in a relationship with a relative of Hilliards, according to police.

Both Hilliard and Ballard were pronounced dead at the scene. Another woman was shot in the incident and taken to a hospital. Police said Monday she remains hospitalized but didnt have her exact condition.

 Dan Morse

and Dana Hedgpeth

Teenager is charged as an adult in slaying

A teen has been charged in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this month in Prince Georges County, police said.

Jose Romero-Salgado, 22, of District Heights, was found wounded outside a home on May 2 in the 5200 block of Carswell Avenue in the Camp Springs-Suitland area. He was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

An initial investigation found that there had been a verbal dispute before the shooting between the victim and suspect. Police identified the suspect as Damani Reddix, a 17-year-old from Camp Springs.

He is being charged as an adult. Reddix faces first-degree murder and other charges, according to police. He is being held on a no-bond status.

 Martin Weil

and Justin Wm. Moyer

Man dies in Prince George's County crash

A 37-year-old man died after a Sunday evening crash in Prince Georges County, police said.

The incident happened in the 14200 block of Brandywine Road near Tower Road in Brandywine. Local police said the victim was later identified as Nicholas Howard Moore, of Brandywine.

An initial investigation found Moore was driving a pickup truck south on Brandywine Road when it went off the road and hit a pillar in front of a building before it overturned, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

 Dana Hedgpeth

VIRGINIA

Man accused of concealing dead body

A man has been charged with illegally concealing a dead body after police said they found a days-old corpse in an Arlington County home.

The body was found Friday in a residence in the 200 block of North Piedmont Street after officers were dispatched to the address for the report of suspicious circumstances, Arlington police said in a statement. The condition of the corpse in the home indicates the death occurred days prior, the statement said.

Police said Tuesday that Roscoe J. Shaw, 51, of Arlington, has since been charged with illegal concealment of a dead body. He is being held without bond, the department said.

The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending proper identification and notification of next of kin, police said, adding that the cause and manner of death would be determined by an autopsy.

 Paul Duggan
A fleet of SpaceX Starlink satellites will once again be visible in the skies above the UK tonight, offering sky gazers a chance to witness a string of up to 60 micro-satellites pass overhead.

SpaceX is planning to launch the eighth batch of Starlink satellites on Wednesday night, but it will be trains of satellites from previous launches that will be visible.

Weather permitting, they will be easy to spot with the naked eye, despite launching aboard the Falcon 9 rocket in April.

The best time to view the Starlink satellites from the UK will be early on Thursday morning at 12.38am. The satellites can also be tracked in real-time through the Find Starlink website.

They form part of Elon Musks project to deliver space-based internet and will eventually be part of a 12,000-strong constellation of satellites.

Previous occasions when Starlink satellites have appeared have resulted in a spike of UFO reports due to their unusual formation.

Recommended How to see SpaceX Starlink satellites in the sky this week

Astronomers have compared their appearance to that of a string of bright pearls in the sky, though some have criticised them for potentially disrupting observations.

The Starlink project was described as a tragedy last year by Dave Clements, an astrophysicist at Imperial College London. He warned that the presence of vast satellite constellations could interrupt radio frequencies and disrupt images from optical telescopes, which may obscure sightings of Earth-bound asteroids.

SpaceX said it is working with space agencies to minimise any potential impact of the Starlink satellites, while also taking a number of its own measures to reduce their visibility.

Following Aprils launch, CEO Elon Musk said he is working on a solution to hide the satellites from ground-based observers.

Were fixing it now, he tweeted. We are taking some key steps to reduce satellite brightness.. Should be much less noticeable during orbit raise by changing solar panel angle and all satellites get sunshades starting with launch nine.

Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Show all 11 1 /11 Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Jeff Bezos introducing a life-size model of the Blue Moon, a lunar lander that could move many tons of cargo between earth and the moon Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of Blue Moon on the surface of the moon Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies The Blue Moon would be powered by the BE-7 engine Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin

When questioned about the Starlink satellites potential interference at a recent conference, he said that concerns were being exaggerated.

I am confident that we will not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries, zero. Thats my prediction, he said at the Satellite 2020 conference in January.

We will take corrective action if its above zero. Ive not met someone who can tell me where all of them are, so it cant be that big of a deal.
A few weeks into the coronavirus lockdown, it became apparent that our new circumstances would change the way we looked.

Following government regulations, beauty, hair and nail salons closed their doors, leading people to change, or even abandon their grooming routines, whether that was getting a haircut, eyebrows waxed or a manicure.

But it is sometimes these seemingly trivial activities, like getting your nails done, that can offer a sense of normalcy in difficult times.

Japanese nail artist Mei Kawajiri knows a thing or two about looking after your nails. Last year, she created 21 individual designs for Marc Jacobs' Spring-Summer 2020 Fashion Week show, and her resume includes celebrity clients like Gigi Hadid, Alexa Demie, Dua Lipa and ASAP Ferg. This week, she agreed to help CNN journalist Dominic Rech attempt a DIY manicure for the first time. (To get Kawajiri's advice on how to do your nails at home, watch the video above.)

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Kawajiri started her career in Tokyo with her own nail salon called FOXXY, in fashionable Harajuku, before moving in 2012 to New York, where she was met with glowing reviews as locals raved about her intricate nail designs, which were unlike any others in the city.

"I think the nail is a really good canvas to show my art to so many people," Kawajiri said in an interview from her home in New York. Now, Kawajiri is so in demand that she only takes on new clients through referrals, and her manicures can cost up to $200.

Her colorful Instagram feed gives a good idea of why she's become so popular. Kawajiri's inventive, sometimes three-dimensional, designs often take unusual, bold proportions. She uses add-ons like chains, pearls and crystals, expertly creating bright patterns. In response to the coronavirus outbreak in New York, she offered some advice in the form of a clear manicure decorated with 3D bubbles  a gentle reminder to wash your hands.

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs is one of her biggest fans, and he usually graces Kawajiri's Instagram feed to show off his well-manicured nails. Although men have been painting their nails for centuries, including warriors in ancient Babylonia, in the past few decades it's been male musicians who have spearheaded the use of nail polish and nail art, from David Bowie and Kurt Cobain to Snoop Dog, and more recently Harry Styles and A$AP Rocky.

"No one can have the same (nails). You can create your own design, it's very special," Kawajiri said.

The-CNN-Wire  &  2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL, MBR / Associated Press

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday directed state agencies to test 100 percent of residents and staff in Texas nursing homes for COVID-19.

The directive went to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
View live politics updates

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At first, the appeal had bipartisan buy-in.

The county commissions lone Democrat joined two Republicans to make the request. And West Virginias top health officials backed it, with Clay Marsh, a physician coordinating the states coronavirus response, telling the head of the university health system in an email, I would personally want to do this for the entire state until we have a more definitive treatment or vaccine.

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But Justice, a prominent ally of President Trump who is moving to reopen the economy under the mantra West Virginia Strong, never responded. As a result, no face-covering requirements are in place as thousands descend on the campus  adding to the unease of some local leaders who worry that political considerations could make their community vulnerable to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Its very, very disappointing, Tom Bloom, the Democratic commissioner, said of the governors inaction. To me personally, I think its illogical.

But the episode has unfolded according to a blunt political logic that tracks with trends nationwide. With a presidential election less than six months away, questions about how politics is figuring in the response to the pandemic have hovered over everything from the allocation of medical supplies to the provision of federal aid to states to the decision to tell residents to stay at home.

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Face coverings, which became part of the administrations guidance only after internal debate between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have emerged as a political Rorschach test. Republican leaders are less likely to mandate them, and Republican voters are more likely to forgo, and even scorn, them.

The White House waited until several aides close to Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus to require masks or face coverings for its employees  in guidance that does not apply to the president. Of his decision to go barefaced, Trump said Monday, In the case of me, Im not close to anybody.

The ideological overtones of requiring masks have been growing stronger for weeks. The coverings have taken on such potent social symbolism because, rather than being used solely for self-protection, they serve a more communal function: preventing users, including asymptomatic carriers, from infecting others. Some have chafed at shouldering that burden, decrying orders as government overreach.

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In Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has imposed among the most far-reaching statewide directives, requiring businesses to refuse entry to customers not wearing masks, Russ Diamond, a Republican state lawmaker, recently celebrated shopping for toilet paper sans mask, as he described his brazen act in a meme on Facebook. So much winning, he added.

In Texas, the Democratic county judge in Harris County recently amended an order requiring masks after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made clear that he would not brook the imposition of fines for not heeding the guidelines.

Did it become political? Yes, Lina Hidalgo, the county judge, said in an interview, noting that the penalty was mainly aimed at educating the public. She said she cheers the rollout of masks branded with Trumps reelection slogan, Keep America Great, if it means broad compliance with the public-health precaution. If folks want to express their opinion through a mask, thats fantastic, she said. The line is when your political statement harms someone elses health.

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In West Virginia, local leaders watching the brief return of students to the Morgantown community say they fear that politics may figure in the governors lack of response to their request.

I would hope that it isnt political, but it concerns me when I see that people are taking sides  and when the governor talks all the time about how hes such a supporter of President Trump, and we hear in the media that people dont want to get on the wrong side of the president, Bloom said. Does that have a role in his decision?

Bloom said the commissioners thought they lacked authority at the county level to mandate face coverings for the 17-day interval, especially after explicitly seeking the governors intervention in an effort to follow professional protocol.

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In addition to the states coronavirus coordinator, West Virginia Health Secretary Bill Crouch also backed the request. I think its great! he wrote in email correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post.

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A spokesman for Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

Polling points to a political schism over the issue. In a recent Gallup survey, 75 percent of Democrats reported wearing a mask outside their homes in the previous seven days, compared with 48 percent of Republicans who said the same.

Democrats are more likely to live in the dense urban areas where social distancing is impractical. As a result, the divisions over face coverings  which the CDC recommends in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain  may be as much geographical as they are political, said Christina Baxter, the chief executive of a Virginia-based emergency response consultancy.

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Nevertheless, the patchwork of government regulations undermines public safety, she said.

If everybody wore masks, then it would provide a benefit, she said. But where many people dont and then some others do, Im not sure it really provides a whole lot of benefit.

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Efforts to mandate widespread compliance have become extraordinarily vexed, with one dispute over face coverings, at a Family Dollar store in Michigan, litigated at the end of a barrel of a gun. Officials in Stillwater, Okla., reversed course on an order requiring face coverings in stores and restaurants within hours of it taking effect because store employees have been threatened with physical violence and showered with verbal abuse, according to a news release from this month.

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The question of whether to wear a mask has proved challenging for some politicians.

Vice President Pence expressed regret this month after not wearing one during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., even though the facility requires them.

It really is a statement about the American people, the way people have been willing to step forward, practice social distancing, wear masks in settings where they cant do that, Pence said. As we continue to practice those principles, all of us together, I know well get through this.

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The vice president is not the only prominent Republican to have struggled with the optics involved in the face coverings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced blowback when he let one of the straps of his N95 mask dangle below his chin during a public appearance.

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Even Republican governors who have been scrupulous about modeling safe behavior have been reticent about compelling it of others. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine quickly backed down from an order requiring face masks to be worn in stores, saying many in the state considered the measure one government mandate too far.

That view is widely held by some of the presidents most vocal online supporters, who have taken to Facebook and other online platforms to organize resistance to stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. More recently, they have taken aim at mandatory-mask rules, for instance compiling lists of businesses with no such rules and pledging to patronize only these establishments. No mask required! a user wrote this week of a restaurant in Phoenix, in a Facebook group devoted to reopening Arizona. Great Italian food!

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Politics is no less at play in pro-mask dogma, said David Holt, the Republican mayor of Oklahoma City, who has encouraged residents to wear masks but has not required it.

I posted a picture of myself with my family eating a picnic in a park, not within 100 feet of anyone, he said. A couple of people replied, saying, Wheres your mask? 

Wearing a face covering, he said, has become a way to signal faith in medical expertise, while forswearing one has become some sort of symbol of protest.

This shouldnt be an issue of which cable news station you watch, he said. The virus doesnt care how you feel about the presidential election.
Midland County for the third consecutive day added no new cases, according to the daily Monday state report. The county stands at 66 positive tested cases and eight deaths.

Bay County and Saginaw County added to their totals. Bay County now has 204 cases, up 12 on Monday, and nine deaths. Saginaw County had 20 new cases and two deaths Monday, and stands at 809 cases and 85 deaths.

Gladwin and Isabella counties recorded no new cases Monday and are at 17 cases and one death and 62 cases and seven deaths, respectively.

MidMichigan Health  which covers a 23-county region and has medical centers at seven sites, including Midland  was listed as having 15 COVID-19 patients on the state page, defined by the state as confirmed positive patients, including those in ICU and patients who are currently pending and under investigation. The health system reported four COVID-19 patients in ICU and 34% bed occupancy, the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by any patient regardless of COVID-19 status. This data, according to the website, reflects the status in health systems and hospitals 48 hours prior to the time that it was posted to the state page, which was May 11.

The state also is reporting no COVID-19 positive residents at four of Midland Countys long-term care facilities, Brittany Manor, Medilodge of Midland, Midland Kings Daughters Home and Stratford Pines as of May 10. Gladwin Nursing & Rehab Community and Gladwin Pines Nursing Homes also are reporting no COVID-19 positive residents.

The state added 414 new cases and 33 deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 47,552 cases and 4,584 deaths.

The average death age is 75.1, according to the state website, mich.gov, with the deceased ranging in age from 5 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 April 8, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov. The numbers will be updated every Saturday.

The Midland County Health Department website reports 29 probable cases as of May 8, which includes individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19 but have not been tested, meet the COVID-19 case definition and have had close contact with a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case. These are often household members of positive cases. The numbers will be updated every Friday

The health department also is reporting 45 recovered cases as of May 8, which includes 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. The numbers will be updated every Friday.

The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 32% Black/African American; 35% Caucasian and 18x% 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.
Mumbai, May 12 : Freddy Daruwala's bungalow has been sealed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after the actor's father tested COVID-19 positive.

The actor, best known for playing the arch villain in the 2014 Akshay Kumar-starrer "Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty", confirmed that his father had initially revealed symptoms of seasonal flue, like fever and body ache.

Freddy's father is 67, and has been kept in home isolation.

"My dad had symptoms of seasonal flue like fever and body ache. Hence, we took it lightly. On the third or fourth day, I thought that we should get him tested considering the current scenario. The reports that came a couple of days back showed positive results... The BMC suggested that we should keep him in a place with many rooms and washrooms. So, we kept him at home because we thought that the hospitals may be used by someone who really needs it," Freddy Daruwala told hindustantimes.com.

The BMC has put up a notice outside the Daruwala bungalow and also sanitised the premise before sealing it.

The actor told the website that home isolation is not a problem because there are many rooms in the bungalow. However, he is concerned about his 15-month son Evaan.
P roperty giant Land Securities on Tuesday slashed more than 1 billion off the value of its empire, as it laid bare how Covid-19 is hitting the retail and office markets.

Shares in the part-owner of the Bluewater shopping centre tumbled 80.8p, or 12.8%, to 551.6p after its new boss Mark Allan warned the economy would take until 2022 to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels at the earliest.

Landsec, one of the UKs largest property companies, also scrapped the final dividend in the latest blow for investors already concerned about how demand for offices and shops will look once the lockdown eases.

The firm said the value of its estate dropped by 8.8%, or 1.2 billion, to 12.8 billion in the year to March.

The value fall was led by the retail properties division, down 20.5%. It was hurt by well-documented headwinds, such as brands seeking rent cuts or closures, and valuers forecasting rent falls across the sector in coming years.

Coronavirus led to stores shutting, meaning many firms had no income to pay quarterly rent bills in March.

The firm has offered rent deferrals and created a 80 million rent relied fund to help tenants struggling during the virus crisis. Rent collection rates in March and early April were impacted negatively across the portfolio, with an average 63% collected within ten days of falling due, compared with 94% for the same period in 2019.

Allan, who joined the firm last month from property developer St Modwen, said: It seems prudent to plan for more business failures and higher vacancy rates across our portfolio, in particular leisure and retail.

He warned rent collection rates are likely to be worse at the next payment date in June.

Peel Hunt analyst Matthew Saperia said: Allans maiden results as Landsec CEO are overshadowed by Covid-19s impact on the business. The admission that rent collection rates will deteriorate further, highlights the challenge landlords face.

Allan was more optimistic about Landsecs office business, despite industry concerns that values and occupier demand could suffer as firms embrace working from home.

More than 90% of Landsecs tenants employees are now working from home.

The Government yesterday published guidance on firms returning to work, and advised firms to avoid hot-desking and keep two metres between staff.

Allan told the Evening Standard: Even though most people are working from home at the moment, we dont think this will result in the death of the office. As the Government encourages companies to avoid hot-desking when they return to work, some employers will be seeking offices that offer wider space for social distancing and people to have their own dedicated desks.

He said: There will be changes, but we do think firms will still want headquarters in London once the lockdown eases. We will be working with tenants to adapt their offices to meet any new guidelines.

Landsec said: The impact of Covid-19 will disrupt the market and, at this stage, the extent of any changes to short- or longer-term trends on the use of office space is uncertain. We anticipate that there is likely to be a greater emphasis on health, air quality and the flexibility of both layouts and working practices. We expect that this will only reinforce a 'flight to quality' and our portfolio is well positioned to meet these demands from occupiers.

Total pre-tax losses widened to 837 million from a 123 million loss.

Revenue profit, which strips out the impact of property revaluations, decreased 6.3% to 414 million.

Elsewhere in Landsecs statement the group said it is committed to becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030.

Allan said: In the face of the considerable near term impact of Covid-19, it can be easy to lose sight of the very significant threat posed by climate change. Landsec has always been a sector leader in this space ... and I am determined that we continue to build on this leadership position in the years ahead.
Australia's hospitality, accommodation, air transport and retail trades will take two years to rebound from the economic losses of the coronavirus pandemic, researchers have found.

Leading accountancy firm KPMG has predicted it will be the September quarter of 2021 - 18 months after the pandemic reached Australian shores - before the economy as a whole can recover its losses.

The firm's report found though the healthcare, public administration and civil and heavy engineering industries will be in a better financial state by the end of the year than before the COVID-19 outbreak began.

Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 aircraft pictured parked at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport on April 30 as international travel was ground to a halt by the coronavirus. Leading accountancy firm KPMG has predicted the air transport industry could take up to two years to rebound

Shoppers wearing face masks walk past the Myer Bourke Street department store on March 29. The retail industry is expected to drop in value by almost 50 per cent by next month

It comes as treasurer Josh Frydenberg warns there will be no further handouts on top of the $320billion already put aside to help Australians get through the pandemic.

KPMG's research, which used December 2019 as a comparison, found the accommodation and food service industries would halve in economic value by June of this year.

The beleaguered hospitality sector would only recover to normal levels two years later in the June quarter of 2022, the research found.

Retail as well as air and space transport would follow a similar recovery timeline, the research found.

The arts and recreation services are predicted to drop to 60 per cent of normal economic activity in June, but again fail to recover its losses until June 2022.

'We have experienced the single largest shock to the economy in close to a century,' KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said.

Years of pain: The beleaguered hospitality sector will only recover to normal levels in the June quarter of 2022. Pictured are pubgoers at a bar in Sydney on March 23 in the hours before the government closed cafes, restaurants and licensed venues to the public

'The economy's fundamentals were relatively sound going into this, but what you are seeing is an unprecedented decline in activity in parts of the economy which have effectively been turned off.'

Mr Frydenberg on Tuesday will reflect on the sobering data counting the economic impact of the virus.

The Treasury has predicted unemployment will spike at 10 per cent in June, while the Reserve Bank expects it to still be at 8.5 per cent in June next year.

Nevertheless, the government insists the JobKeeper payment and temporary doubling of the unemployment benefits to $1100 a fortnight will still end in September.

Australian cruise ship passengers arrive at the Duxton Hotel in Perth on March 30. The accommodation industry will halve in economic value by June of this year, KPMG's report predicted

'Rebuilding consumer and business confidence will be key as the nation's finances can only be sustained by a strong and growing market-led economy,' Mr Frydenberg will say, according to extracts from his speech.

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

'Australians know there is no money tree. What we borrow today, we must pay back in the future.'

Mr Frydenberg was to have delivered his second budget on Tuesday but it has been pushed back to October.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to respond to the economic statement by saying it is no substitute for the proper policy program of a budget.

'Australia needs an economic plan - a plan for when the economy doesn't snap back on the prime minister's political timetable,' his draft reply says.

'A plan that doesn't withdraw support from the economy too early or too suddenly, in a way that cruels the recovery.'
In a major showdown over presidential powers in the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday, justices seemed divided over President Donald Trumps efforts to quash subpoenas for his financial records from congressional committees but more sympathetic towards a New York prosecutors attempt to access many of the same records.

The courts conservative majority repeatedly signalled concern about improper harassment of the Republican president in both instances, but  based on their questions  seemed more sceptical of the presidents attempts to keep those records from getting into the hands of state prosecutors.

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan told Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, who also represented Trump in the impeachment hearings in January, that a fundamental precept of our constitutional order is that the president is not above the law.

The courts decision in the cases, expected in June, could shape the outcome of Novembers presidential election and redefine the limits of presidential power for decades to come. Rulings against the president could lead to the campaign season release of personal financial information that Trump has kept shielded from investigators and the public.

During the first session  dedicated to the congressional subpoenas  lawyers arguing on the presidents behalf alleged that the subpoenas amounted to unnecessary harassment of Trump and his family, noting that the requests for financial records extended beyond the president to his children and grandchildren.

A ruling against the president, they argued, would open the door for endless subpoenas and harassment anytime one party controlled the presidency and the other the White House.

It would reshape and transform the balance of power  and harm and undermine the presidency of the United States  not just this president but the institution of the presidency going forward, said Jeffrey Wall, a deputy solicitor general. It doesnt take much imagination to see where that road will lead and that we will regret having taken it.

In the afternoon session, devoted to similar requests as part of a criminal investigation by a district attorney in New York City, Trumps lawyers argued that the president is immune from prosecution by local authorities who may be motivated by political considerations.

A view of the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Sekulow said a ruling that allowed the New York investigation to proceed would amount to weaponising 2,300 prosecutors across the US.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, however, challenged Sekulows assertion that a grand jurys subpoena cannot be enforced against a sitting president in a case in which waiting for a president to leave office would undermine a criminal prosecution.

Chief Justice John Roberts questions of lawyers representing both Trump and the House signalled his view of the need to strike a balance between the powers of the president and Congress. He expressed scepticism that Congress had no authority to issue a subpoena or that a court could second-guess its motivations to do so, while also doubting that congressional power was limitless.

Roberts also seemed sceptical of arguments by a House lawyer, Doug Letter, that legislators have broad authority to investigate a president for the purpose of writing laws.

Your test is not much of a test. Its not a limitation, Roberts told Letter, adding that the House needed to take into account that it was dealing with a co-equal branch of government.

Before the coronavirus pandemic erupted, the cases marked the most politically treacherous proceedings against Trump since the impeachment hearings in January. If, as some have testified, the financial records show that Trump has been artificially inflating his net worth for decades  to both the general public and to the banks lending him money  the sheen on his career in business, one of the presidents primary selling points, could quickly lose its lustre.

The court is holding its second week of arguments by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic, with audio available live to audiences around the world for the first time in the courts history.





The cases before the Supreme Court on Tuesday involving tax records from President Trump resemble earlier disputes over presidents assertions that they were too consumed with the job of running the country to worry about lawsuits and investigations.

In 1974, the justices acted unanimously in requiring President Richard Nixon to turn over White House tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. In 1997, another unanimous court allowed a sexual-harassment lawsuit to go forward against President Bill Clinton.

Appellate courts in Washington and New York have ruled that the documents should be turned over, but those rulings have been put on hold pending a final court ruling. The appellate decisions brushed aside the presidents broad arguments, focusing on the fact that the subpoenas were addressed to third parties asking for records of Trumps business and financial dealings as a private citizen, not as president.

House committees want records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, as well as the Mazars USA accounting firm. Mazars also is the recipient of the subpoena from the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

Two congressional committees subpoenaed the bank documents as part of their investigations into Trump and his businesses. Deutsche Bank has been one for the few banks willing to lend to Trump after a series of corporate bankruptcies and defaults starting in the early 1990s.

Vance and the House Oversight and Reform Committee sought records from Mazars concerning Trump and his businesses based on payments that Trumps then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged to keep two women from airing their claims of affairs with Trump during the 2016 presidential race.
This March 23, 2020, photo shows a deserted New Delhi railway station during lockdown in India. India is set to re-open some parts of its colossal rail network on Tuesday, as the country looks at easing its nearly seven-week strict lockdown amid an increase in coronavirus infections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's trains will start rolling again and millions in the Philippines will be able to leave their homes, even as an expert warns that many countries are driving blind as they reopen because they haven't set up strong systems to track new outbreaks of the coronavirus.

In the United States, some of the leading experts on infectious diseases are due to speak via video link Tuesday at a Senate hearinga setting where President Donald Trump will not be controlling the agenda. Democratic senators are expected to ask tough questions about the death toll in the U.S., its testing capabilities and perceived administration failures.

In India, a strict lockdown has so far helped keep confirmed virus infections relatively low among the population of 1.3 billion. Rail, road and air services were all suspended in late March. But in recent days, as the lockdown has eased and some businesses have resumed, infections and deaths have been increasing.

As the colossal rail network begins reopening, special trains will depart from select big cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, and run at full capacity. Passengers will be allowed to enter stations only if they are asymptomatic and clear thermal screening.

In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte said the country's lockdown, which has restricted millions to their homes and taken a heavy economic toll, will be eased. He warned that people who want to return to work must follow safeguards to avoid more deaths and a second wave of the virus.

A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus rides a bicycle in front of an advertisement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Japan is still under a coronavirus state of emergency, which was extended this week until the end of May, though there have been no hard lockdowns. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Yet questions remain about how prepared many countries are to end lockdowns. The World Health Organization's emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said robust contact tracing measures adopted by Germany and South Korea provide hope that those countries can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control.

But he said other nations have not effectively employed contact tracing investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus. He declined to name specific countries.

"Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I've seen," Ryan said. "And I'm really concerned that certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months."

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Japan is still under a coronavirus state of emergency which was extended until the end of May though there have been no hard lockdowns. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Fears of infection spikes in countries that have loosened up came true in recent days in Germany, where new clusters were linked to three slaughterhouses; in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the crisis started; and in South Korea, where 85 new cases were linked to nightclubs that reopened after anti-virus measures were eased.

U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring and sourcing contact tracers, and experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.

Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone crossed paths with an infected person. But the technology supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work, experts say.

More than 10,000 people are involved in contact tracing in Germany, a country of 83 million. Britain abandoned an initial contact-tracing effort in March when the virus's rapid spread made it impossible. Now it is recruiting 18,000 people.

People receive free meals at a downtown restaurant Monday, May 11, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. The restaurant changed its name from The Rieger to Crossroads Community Kitchen and began offering free meals to the homeless and other food-insecure people the day after Kansas City issued stay-at-home orders in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 nearly eight weeks ago. The effort, funded by donations, has gone from feeding about 150 people a day in March to almost 500 people daily and has served about 30,000 meals in the past two months. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

France's health minister has promised robust contact tracing and pledged that the country will test 700,000 people weekly. On Monday, with progress unclear, the nation's highest court ordered the government to take extreme care in protecting privacy rights, casting doubt on how to proceed.

At the White House, President Donald Trump declared, "We have met the moment, and we have prevailed." He said later that he was referring to virus testing and insisted all Americans who want tests can get themeven though experts say that capacity does not exist.

Only on Monday did his administration say it believed it had enough tests for a nationwide testing campaign to address significant death rates in nursing homes and other senior care facilities.

Appearing by video link before the Senate committee on Tuesday will be Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The three are in self-quarantine. They will be joined by Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus "testing czar" at the Department of Health and Human Services.

In this May 11, 2020, photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte talks during a meeting at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine president says a massive lockdown that has restricted millions to their homes will be eased but warned those who will be allowed to go back to work to follow safeguards to avoid more deaths and a second wave of COVID-19 outbreaks. (Ace Morandante/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)

In this April 22, 2020, file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the new coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, in Washington. A Senate hearing on reopening workplaces and schools safely is turning into a teaching moment on the fickle nature of the coronavirus outbreak. Senior health officials, including Fauci, scheduled to testify in person before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee on Tuesday, May 12 will instead appear via video link. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

In California, meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's 10,000-worker electric car factory near San Francisco was operating Monday in defiance of coronavirus health orders that closed nonessential businesses.

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 4.1 million people and killed over 285,000, including more than 150,000 in Europe and 80,000 in the U.S., according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Experts believe those numbers understate the outbreak's true toll.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Two of the eight workers injured in a boiler explosion at a thermal plant of NLC India last week have succumbed to their injuries, company's Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Kumar said.

Of the remaining six who were injured, one is still critical while four are recovering, he told PTI on Tuesday.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has ordered statutory and non statutory payment of at least Rs 15 lakh to the family of the deceased, irrespective of whether employee was regular or contractual.

In addition to the compensation, the company will offer regular employment to the next of the kin of the deceased.

Kumar said the senior management of the company will contribute their one day's salary to the family of the deceased. Besides, Kumar said, NLC India will bear the medical expenses of the injured workers.

Last week, a fire broke out at the company's power plant at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, resulting in burn injuries to two regular employees and six contract workers.

The company has roped in former chairman of Central Electricity Authority A S Bakshi to investigate into the explosion incident.

NLC India is a navratna company under the coal ministry. The main activity of the PSU is mining and power generation.
Israels emissaries are likely to have their hands full in the coming months if Mr. Netanyahu pushes ahead, as he has vowed, with the annexation of territory in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians have counted on for a future state. Israel also continues to seek international support for its struggle with Iran over Tehrans nuclear ambitions and efforts to threaten Israeli territory from within Syria and Lebanon.

Mr. Erdan acknowledged as much, telling Israeli television that the dual assignment was huge but not impossible, adding, I will harness everything I can from morning until night to cope with these challenges.

The United Nations post is widely considered one of the more thankless senior positions in Israeli politics: While Mr. Netanyahu made his name there in the 1980s, no one since has used it as a steppingstone to higher office.

But Mr. Erdan, currently the minister of internal security and strategic affairs, has held a long list of ministerial portfolios. And more prestigious jobs in defense and foreign affairs were already spoken for in the Netanyahu-Gantz government.

Mr. Erdans appointment in Washington might last only through Mr. Netanyahus turn as prime minister under the power-sharing deal with Mr. Gantz, which is set to begin when the two are sworn in on Thursday. Their agreement specifically carves out the ambassadorship to the United States as the appointee of whichever man is prime minister, meaning Mr. Gantz could replace Mr. Erdan when he takes over from Mr. Netanyahu in late 2021.
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Does systemic racism still exist in America? If by systemic racism we mean Jim Crow laws or legalized slavery or enforced segregation, the answer is obviously not. If by systemic racism we mean that black Americans still do not enjoy total equality with white Americans, then the answer would be yes. And I believe I can demonstrate that thesis with one simple question.

But before I pose the question and before some of you write me off as guilt-ridden white man, I am anything but that.

First, I love and appreciate America, despite our many, obvious flaws. Having traveled outside the USA about 200 times, I recognize how uniquely blessed our country is.

Second, I believe that we do have some deep and lasting Christian roots as a nation, despite the many unchristian practices and policies in our history. And I believe these Christian roots are a key to our national, historic success.

Third, I do not believe we should be making reparations today for slavery, nor do I believe that a fair-minded white American should feel responsible for the sins of the slaveowners and segregationists of the past.

Fourth, I believe that racism exists on all sides, and I reject the idea that you can only be racist when you are part of the ruling majority. Racism is a condition of the heart, and everyone can fall prey to it.

Having said that, I do believe that, while the term systemic racism may not fully apply to America today, the term system unfairness certainly does apply.

Allow me to explain.

In response to my article Some Honest Questions About Race Relations in America, in which I wrote about the shooting of Ahmaud Arberry, a commenter on my website posted: When people may ask what did the Black guy do? As opposed to why was the black mans life taken...it may be because of the high criminality statistics of Blacks. Especially Black males. The statistics are horrible. Black on White Crime far exceeds White on Black crime in almost every area of criminal prosecution such as armed robbery, rape, murder. The state of Maryland has 75% Black incarceration! 1 in 4 Death row inmates are Black. And than you incredulously wonder why people are asking What did the Black guy do??

In other words, its no wonder that two white men shot and killed an unarmed black man jogging through their neighborhood. Those blacks, especially black men, are really dangerous. After all, statistics do not lie.

And certainly, the statistics are troubling. (I havent posed my simple question yet, but Im almost there. Please be patient.)

A Pew Research poll released in April 2019 pointed out that, despite a decrease in the number of blacks imprisoned in America, At the end of 2017, federal and state prisons in the United States held about 475,900 inmates who were black and 436,500 who were white  a difference of 39,400.

Yet there are roughly 5 white Americans for every black American, meaning that, all things being equal, there would be 436,500 whites in prison and 87,300 blacks. Why the extreme discrepancy, one that was even worse 10 years ago?

According to a December 2019 report, Black people account for about 12% of the U.S. population, but occupy only 3.2% of the senior leadership roles at large companies in the U.S. and just 0.8% of all Fortune 500 CEO positions, according to the analysis by the Center for Talent Innovation, a workplace think tank in New York City. Why?

We could go down the line, from crime rates to median incomes of families and more, and the discrepancy between white Americans and black Americans remains the same. (To repeat: I write this without feeling guilt. Im simply getting to an important point.)

So, when it comes to median incomes, in 2018, white American families averaged $70,642; black American families averaged $41,361. (Interestingly, Asian American families averaged over $80,000 per year.) How then do we explain this disparity?

For me, it boils down to one question: Do you believe that blacks are inherently inferior to whites (or Asians or others)? Do you believe they are, by nature, not as smart, or more prone to violence, or lazier, or more promiscuous?

If your answer is no (and I surely hope it is no; otherwise, you are a racist), then theres only one other answer: something is wrong with our system (or, put another way, we have still not fully recovered from our racist past).

This doesnt mean that the vast majority of whites are trying to keep blacks down. Or are inherently racist. Or want to maintain white supremacy. (Im sure some do; Im contending the vast majority dont.)

Im simply saying that when our black friends speak of systemic racism (or, at the least, systemic injustice), theyre not making it up. Their life experience informs them.

Unfortunately, the race baiters and the extremists in groups like Black Lives Matter often obscure our vision, as do the social theorists pushing their theories of intersectionality. Its easy to react against their positions, many of which are equally destructive.

And I understand the argument that, in some cases, there is a reason that policemen (of all colors and ethnicities) are quick to profile a young black male as a potential crime suspect.

The question is why is that young black male more likely to be a criminal? Why was his family life so broken? Why did he have so many odds to overcome growing up in the inner city?

In the end, we are each responsible for the decisions we make, and none of us can blame society for our choices. If I end up in jail for a crime I committed, I bear the guilt for that crime.

But its also true that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves and to pursue justice and care for the poor and the oppressed.

What, then, can we do, working together as one, to help bring true equality to our nation, with justice and dignity for all? It starts with listening, with respect, to one another. Then, with understanding, taking positive steps to bring about lasting change.

Are you in?
Beginning in March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to move their classes online. Colleges and universities, many already having remote learning capabilities, were the first to close the classroom. Kindergarten through grade 12 followed despite some reservations of whether to shut their doors. At first, it was a few weeks for these schools, but as the school year neared May, many decided to continue the year remotely.

Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd grade student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and classmates while at his home on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois.

Moving the classroom to the dinner table brought with it a number of challenges. The biggest challenge was ensuring students had the technology to take part in the online classroom. A Pew study estimates 15% of children do not have high-speed internet access. Many schools spent the first several weeks ensuring attendance and understanding the needs of families.

There's also the social component. Proms moved to Zoom hangouts. For graduating high school seniors, graduation is the culmination of a lifetime of work. Heather Nelson, an English teacher at River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Georgia noted she's seen the message "I never thought that I would miss school" on numerous occasions.

COVID-19 also impacted graduating college students, who just months ago aimed to enter one of the best job markets in decades. Now many students take part in virtual graduations and face uncertainty of jobs and try to pivot from lost interviews and internships. Despite growing similarities to the 2008 financial crisis, the hope is for a quicker rebound for everyone.
Lome, Togo (PANA) - The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has been spreading very fast in Togo over the past few days with the detection of seven new cases, taking the number of infected persons to 181, official sources told PANA here Monday
WASHINGTON, D.C.Republicans are desperate to find anythingANYTHINGto distract the nation from the federal government's abject failure to control the spread of the novel coronavirus as it continues to run rampant in urban America and quickly spread outward with each retraction of stay-at-home ordersand now their pals at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have voted to give them a leg up in that sleight-of-hand: They've sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr, urging him to "confront the ongoing harms wrought by the pornography industry and to protect its victims."

The letter, dated April 30, asks Barr to trample the rights of adult content producers by "enforcement of obscenity laws, investigation of pornography producers and website owners for criminality, national leadership in encouraging states and localities to develop rigorous policies against the industry and in the service of survivors, and more."

The two-page letter, signed by the Archbishops of San Francisco and Oklahoma City, as well as the Bishop of Tulsa, OK, references the letters previously sent by four Republican Congressmembers, as well as the one from Sen. Ben Sasse, calling on Barr to bring back the federal Obscenity Prosecution Task Force which was disbanded by President Obama, enforce federal obscenity laws, and to pay special attention to Pornhub, which right-wing religious groups have accused of turning a blind eye to child porn posted on the site, as well as videos of trafficked women. Pornhub has stated publicly that it is constantly looking for and removing such material, which Pornhub VP Corey Price stated represents "significantly less than one percent" of the site's content.

Drawing on Pope Francis' calls for solidarity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the letter's signatories claim that "Pornography is the antithesis of this. Rather than remembering and loving our fellow humans as brothers and sisters, it objectifies themoften directly exploiting themand diminishes the health of users relationships with others."

The evidence for this? A quote from the Conference's own 2015 screed, Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornographyin other words, no evidence at all, short of noting that "at least 15 states" have passed resolutions deeming porn to be a "public health crisis."

For example, the 2015 document defines pornography as "removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world." It adds, "Deliberately viewing pornography is a grave sin against chastity," and "a grave sin against human dignity." [Emphasis in original.]

"This isn't the first time we've seen porn or BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism) used as a pretext for censorship by the Catholic church; it's been the same anti-sex story they've been selling for centuries," wrote Kink.com spokesman Michael Stabile in an email to Jonathan Berr of Forbes.com. "The Bishops aren't concerned with violence or exploitation. They're concerned with people embracing sexuality without shame."

The Conference letter brands performers as "direct victims" and claims that even "consenting adult performers may be compromised by desperate circumstances while, for others, consent is completely absent," and that "Unprecedented, unlimited, and anonymous access to pornography via modern technology has led users to seek more and more extreme videos.

"Thus, non-enforcement or lax enforcement of obscenity laws against producers and distributors may provide a gateway for this demand to metastasize, increasing the incidents of trafficking, child pornography, other abuse, and broader unjust conditions," the letter argues. "Pornography use hurts the user by potentially diminishing his or her capacity for healthy human intimacy and relationships."

Trouble is, as Stabile noted to Berr, "divorce, teen pregnancy and sexual assault rates have all plunged in the past two decades, even as access to porn has dramatically increased."

Of course, the last time the Justice Department tried an obscenity caseagainst John Stagliano and Evil Angel in 2010, a prosecution left over from the George W. Bush erait failed miserably, even though former Deputy Attorney General Patrick Trueman, founder of Morality in Media, claimed to Berr that, "If you did 3 or 4 cases a year over the next two years, you would virtually wipe out the illegal online porn industry." However, anyone who's been keeping up with current events understands how unlikely it is that any attempted obscenity prosecution anywhere but in deep rural America could succeedbut as we said, anything to distract from the multiple failures of Donald Trump.

The Conference's letter may be found here; its Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography may be found here.
French authorities have made an unprecedented and unorthodox" request to view the legal submissions on Ian Bailey's objections to his extradition there, the High Court has heard.

Mr Bailey is facing a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier and a three-day hearing where he will contest the request for his surrender was today scheduled to commence before the High Court on July 15.

Ronan Munro SC with Marc Thompson BL, for Mr Bailey, said the legal submissions were very close to finalisation and came to around 40 pages in length.

He would need around two weeks to finalise them, he added.

However, Mr Munro explained that a request had been received from French authorities to view the submissions from both the State and Mr Bailey ahead of the extradition hearing.

He noted that the issuing of such documents seemed to be outside the statutory procedure.

Mr Munro further stated that he was not aware of any free-wheeling statutory right which the issuing State had to ask for this.

I can say to the court with confidence that it is an unorthodox application but the court is well able to deal with it, he said.

Counsel for the Minister for Justice, Leo Mulrooney BL, said two letters, dated March 18 and April 14, have been received from the French authorities. These were handed into the court.

Mr Justice Paul Burns said they seemed to be letters from the French authorities requesting submissions from both parties, which was nothing to do with the court.

However, Mr Mulrooney said that the Minister for Justice would not release the submissions without a ruling from the court.

The case was listed for mention next Monday and Mr Justice Burns said he would need to hear legal argument concerning the matter.

The judge said the Minister for Justice could decide what his position was in relation to the request in the meantime.

Mr Munro said he had reservations about the request and he wanted the proper statutory provisions followed.

In my experience it is unprecedented. I can't think of a case where an executing State has sought this, he added.

In reply, Mr Justice Burns said that although "this certainly had not happened before" it did not mean that it was not allowed.

Mr Bailey was not present in court for today's list management procedure.

He is not required to attend court next Monday and was remanded on continuing bail until July 15.

Last February, the High Court fixed May 5 as the start-date for the three-day hearing but it was adjourned due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The President of the High Court previously gave a general practice direction that only urgent business should be dealt with to minimise the number of people attending court.

This is the third time French authorities are seeking Mr Baileys surrender in relation to the death of Ms du Plantier, whose badly beaten body was found outside her holiday home in Schull in December 1996.

The 63-year-old Englishman, with an address at The Prairie, Liscaha, Schull, west Cork, was convicted of the French womans murder in his absence in a Paris court in May 2019.

The three-judge Cour dAssises in Paris accordingly imposed a 25-year prison sentence on Mr Bailey in his absence.

He was arrested at the Criminal Courts of Justice Building in December last year and remanded on bail after a High Court judge endorsed the third European Arrest Warrant seeking his extradition to France.

Mr Bailey denies any involvement in the mother-of-ones death. He did not attend the French court and had no legal representation in the proceedings, which he has described as a farce.

His senior counsel, Mr Munro, previously told the High Court that Mr Bailey will be opposing surrender on grounds related to fundamental rights and that the authorities previous two extradition attempts were relevant to their points of objection to the present attempt.

The court has also heard that Mr Bailey swore an affidavit setting out certain factual matters, particularly in relation to his health.

The Supreme Court refused to extradite Mr Bailey in 2012 holding that surrender was prohibited because the alleged offence was committed outside French territory and Irish law does not allow prosecution for the same offence when committed outside its territory by a non-Irish citizen.

A second French extradition request in respect of Mr Bailey was dismissed as an abuse of process by the High Court in 2017.

On that occasion, Mr Justice Tony Hunt held that the unique features of the case justified termination of the proceedings.

Mr Justice Hunt said Irelands Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had concluded long ago that there is no basis for either (a) charge or trial on this matter in this jurisdiction, and unusually, a comprehensive statement of reasons for this prosecutorial decision came into the public domain during the previous Supreme Court case.
Press Release

12 May 2020

SHANGHAI, China and MCLEAN, Va. - Hilton (NYSE: HLT) announced today that all of its hotels in Chinese Mainland have officially resumed operations. As Hilton welcomes guests back with its hospitality, each hotel has implemented strict anti-epidemic measures to ensure the health and safety of guests and Team Members. Hilton has also made adjustments to policies and operations in order to meet the needs of guests, owners, and the community at large during this time.

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"Today, I am thrilled to announce that all Hilton hotels in Chinese Mainland have officially resumed operations," said Qian Jin, Area President, Hilton Greater China and Mongolia. "I believe that this accomplishment - which is the result of the collective effort of the Chinese people to contain the epidemic, and of our Team Members to adapt to new circumstances - can lend us courage in such times."

"The safety and wellbeing of our guests and Team Members remains our highest priority and reopening all our hotels in Chinese Mainland is the first step in a measured global recovery process. We are doing everything we can to look after our Hilton family, and I am incredibly proud of how our teams have rallied together to support their communities and each other," said Chris Nassetta, President and CEO, Hilton. "We are confident that there are brighter days ahead, and we are eager to welcome guests with our Hilton hospitality once again - in China, and all around the world."

From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Hilton worked quickly to respond to the challenges brought by the epidemic. At the operational level, Hilton implemented a comprehensive assessment and management plan for hotels' daily security protocols and operations:

All employees of Hilton Group and its hotels are adhering to strict prevention efforts,

Continue to strengthen the crisis response mechanism at the Group and hotel levels to ensure that all employees are aware of the emergency response process

Hilton hotels have strictly implemented the anti-epidemic requirements of the local governments and conducted temperature, health code, and travel history registration checks for guests and employees entering the hotels

Increased the frequency of cleaning in all public areas (including lobby, elevator, door handles, public toilets, etc.) and adhered to the use of medical-grade disinfectants

Enhanced training and education on employees concerning hygiene, not only through internal training but also by inviting professional cleaning companies to provide scientific guidance to all staff.

For food safety, Hilton has adopted a mature FSAA (Food Safety Annual Audit) management system to track the source of ingredients, purchase channels, and even throughput within the hotel before cooking. Through various measures - including strict cleaning and disinfection, individual tableware provisions, contactless services, and the health monitoring of dining guests and food delivery personnel - Hilton ensures the safety of food and the dining environment so that guests can enjoy delicious meals with their minds at ease.

To address guests concerns, Hilton launched responsive cancellation policies for guests which were updated five times as the situation evolved. It has also extended the Hilton Honors Membership Program membership and points in a timely manner, in order to protect the rights and interests of members. Meanwhile, the policies related to owners have been updated three times to reduce the burden on their operations.

At the community level, Hilton has continuously taken an active role in supporting frontline heroes in the fight against COVID-19 in Greater China. As medical teams from around China flew to the epicentre of Wuhan to support local hospitals, three Hilton hotels in Hubei province provided clean, comfortable rooms for these frontline medical professionals. Subsequently, as these frontline professionals completed their duties in Wuhan, another four Hilton hotels received medical teams who returned to their home cities after finishing their assignments.

"I would like to thank all of the Team Members in China for their efforts and contributions during the past few challenging months," remarked Alan Watts, Executive Vice President & Regional President, Hilton Asia Pacific. "While we continue to work together as a big Hilton family in Asia Pacific, I appeal to everyone at Hilton to continue in our commitment to the industry and our guests."

Implementing CleanStay Initiative

While Hilton is welcoming guests back to all hotels in Chinese Mainland, it has announced a new program - Hilton CleanStay - to deliver an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection in Hilton properties around the world, building upon the already high standards of housekeeping and hygiene at Hilton properties worldwide. In a first for the hospitality business, Hilton is collaborating with RB, maker of LYSOL and Dettol, and Mayo Clinic, the top-ranked hospital system in the U.S., to develop elevated processes, Team Member training and other changes to ensure Hilton guests enjoy a clean and safe stay from check-in to check-out. The goal of Hilton CleanStay is to provide guests with assurance and peace of mind when they stay at any of Hilton's more than 6,100 properties representing 18 brands. The initiative will create a focus on cleanliness that will be visible to guests throughout their entire stay - in their guest rooms, restaurants, fitness rooms, and in other public spaces.

While full details for the program are still in development and expected to be announced soon, hotel brand standards under consideration include:

Hilton CleanStay Room Seal: We are adding an extra measure of assurance by placing a room seal on doors to indicate to guests that their room has not been accessed since being thoroughly cleaned.

10 High-Touch, Deep Clean Areas: Extra disinfection of the most frequently touched guests room areas - light switches, door handles, TV remotes, thermostats and more.

De-clutter Paper Amenities: Remove pen, paper, guest directory and other paper amenities; supplement with digital channels or make these items available upon request.

Focus on Fitness Centers: Improved guidelines for disinfecting the hotel fitness center and ensuring physical distancing requirements are met between guests.

Clean and Clean Again: Increase the frequency of cleaning public areas.

Guest-Accessible Disinfecting Wipes and Hand Sanitizing Dispensers: Provide wipes and/or dispensers at primary entrances, key high traffic areas and in guest rooms.

Contactless Check-In: Hilton will double-down on its award-winning Digital Key technology for guests who desire to have a contactless arrival experience. Guests can check-in, choose their room, access their room with a digital room key and check-out using their mobile devices through the Hilton Honors mobile app at participating hotels. Hilton will continue to expand its Digital Key capabilities to common doors and access points throughout the hotels.

Innovative Disinfection Technologies: Hilton is exploring the addition of new technologies, like electrostatic sprayers - which use an electrostatically charged disinfecting mist - and ultraviolet light to sanitize surfaces and objects.

"We are excited to welcome our guests in all of our properties across Greater China region. We will continue to increase the already high standards of housekeeping and hygiene at Hilton properties, providing guests with assurance and peace of mind when they stay at any of our 255 Hilton hotels across the region," said Qian Jin, Area President, Hilton Greater China and Mongolia.

Remaining Committed to Hospitality in China

There were 150 Hilton hotels temperately closed to new bookings during the outbreak but today all hotels in Chinese Mainland have resumed operations. Along with upgraded hygiene, disinfection, and other anti-epidemic measures, Hilton is welcoming guests with its hospitality.

Hilton expects that the demands for quality travel, family bonding, and upgrade consumption- which were suppressed by the epidemic - will become a driving force of consumption during recovery. Meanwhile, the government's introduction of a series of supporting policies and plans to promote are expected to stimulate the rapid recovery and growth of the tourism industry. Hilton will continue to actively expand its business in China.
Defence officials were yesterday blasted for the unacceptable repetition of past mistakes which has led to 1.3billion being wasted in a Trident upgrade.

The projects to improve the infrastructure supporting the nations nuclear deterrent are also running up to six years late, said MPs.

The astonishing extra cost to the public purse was blamed by the Commons public accounts committee on avoidable errors and poor management.

Costs for the three programmes to upgrade ageing facilities were originally put at 2.5billion.

But, said the MPs, this sum has now soared by 1.35billion on top of the projects lagging behind schedule by between 1.7 and 6.3 years.

Defence officials were yesterday blasted for the unacceptable repetition of past mistakes which has led to 1.3billion being wasted in a Trident upgrade. Pictured: Plans for the building of a new facility at the Rolls-Royce site at Raynesway, Derby, to produce the latest nuclear reactor core designs

Committee chairman Meg Hillier said: To utterly fail to learn from mistakes over decades, to spectacularly repeat the same mistakes at huge cost to the taxpayer  and at huge cost to confidence in our defence capabilities  is completely unacceptable.

The [defence] department knows it cant go on like this, it knows it must change and operate differently.

The test now is to see how it will do that, and soon.

One of projects called Mensa involves building a new nuclear warhead assembly and disassembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, Berkshire.

The second is the building of a new facility at the Rolls-Royce site at Raynesway, Derby, to produce the latest nuclear reactor core designs.

The third is a construction at the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where the new Dreadnought class submarines will be built to carry Trident missiles.

The Ministry of Defence told the MPs that it immensely regrets the amount of taxpayers money which was wasted but warned that the bill could escalate even more.

The original estimate of the cost of the upgrade was made by the National Audit Office earlier this year.

Pictured: the first reactor at Hinkley Point C in Bridgewater, Somerset. The reactor is the largest ever concrete pour in Britain

It warned that the MoD was continuing to repeat mistakes made in the last cycle of investment in the nuclear deterrent in the 1980s and 1990s.

The spending watchdog added that defence officials were also failing to learn from experiences in the civil sector or from overseas. The Commons committees report also pointed to these problems, saying: It is unacceptable that the department has repeated past mistakes and has failed to learn lessons from elsewhere.

The department cannot explain why its leadership has not ensured that it learned from these experiences.

In February, a separate NAO report warned how defence chiefs faced a funding black hole of up to 13billion in their ten-year equipment plan.

It added the MoDs unwillingness to take difficult decisions was putting the countrys military capabilities at risk.

The report came days after Boris Johnson announced a major foreign policy and defence review.
In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the United States, like many countries, had a very brief chance to limit the spread of the disease at its borders. Identifying travelers from high-risk countries and tracing their contacts with others would have been critical measures, if put in place early enough.

In California, the largest state and a point of entry for thousands of travelers from Asia, a program was established to do just that. But its tracing system was quickly overwhelmed by a flood of passengers, many with inaccurate contact information, and was understaffed in some cases, rendering the program ineffective, according to a study released on Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which looked exclusively at California.

Despite intensive effort, the traveler screening system did not effectively prevent introduction of Covid-19 into California, the report said.

In early February, over 11,000 travelers from China  and later Iran  who landed in California were identified for contact tracing. The hope was to keep track of people traveling from high-risk countries, enabling public health officials to identify possible cases of the coronavirus, quarantine them and contact people who were exposed to them to limit the spread of the contagion.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday pulled up the Haryana government for not disclosing all the notifications putting restrictions on the movement of people, includingdoctors and nurses, to and from the national capital to various districts in Haryana during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A bench of Justices Manmohan and Sanjeev Narula, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, said prima facie the screening and stopping of individuals involved in essential services at the Delhi-Haryana border by the State of Haryana is contrary to May 11 letter issued by the Centre to all the Chief Secretaries of the States.

The Centre in its May 11 order asked all state government and union territories to ensure that their field officials allow smooth movement of all medical professionals, nurses, para medical, sanitation personnel and ambulances.

The Centre also asked them to ensure the opening of all private clinics, nursing homes and labs with all their medical professionals and staff and such movement shall also be facilitated inter-State, wherever required.

The Centre's counsel urged the court to grant a day's time to resolve the issue with the Haryana government.

The bench allowed the request and asked the Centre to file a reply by Wednesday to a plea which said that a number of Delhi residents have to travel to Sonipat for essential work and similar is the situation for Sonipat residents and they are being stopped by the Haryana authorities at the borders.

Petitioner O P Gupta said the District Magistrate of Sonipat has imposed blanket cross border transit restrictions between the two cities and granted exemptions to only a few categories of government officials and for movement of goods not destined for there.

The court listed the matter for May 14 and made it clear that no adjournment would be granted on that day and an endeavour would be made to dispose of the matter on the said date.

During the hearing, the court noted that in the detailed affidavit filed by Haryana government, there was nothing to suggest that any written order restricting movement of people or goods to and fro between Delhi and Haryana has been passed by any official of the neighbouring state regarding any district other than Sonipat.

The court noted that it was categorically stated in the affidavit that the Haryana government has not issued any direction for blocking/ sealing the borders with Delhi or stopping the movement of trucks between the national capital and Haryana as has been alleged in the petition.

It is also stated that Haryana has not issued any order to create hurdles or restrictions for residents of Faridabad, Gurugram, Bahadurgarh and Sonipat who are employed in Delhi.

However, when the court queried Haryana's counsel, he said that similar notifications, as issued by the Sonipat DM on restriction on movement, have also been issued by the district magistrates of Faridabad, Gurugram and Jhajjar.

We are of the view that the State of Haryana should not have been economical with facts. It is a well-settled proposition of law that a party to a writ petition must be held to a standard of 'uberrima fides' or 'utmost good faith'.

Consequently, the State of Haryana was obliged in law to disclose all similar notifications/orders issued by District Magistrates of Faridabad, Gurugram and Jhajjar, the bench said.

It directed the Haryana government to place on record all such similar notifications/orders along with a status report during the day itself.

The court had on May 8 said the order of Haryana authorities preventing and obstructing the movement doctors, nurses, court staff and trucks to and from Delhi to Sonipat prima facie infringed right to freedom of movement even when the entire national capital and Sonipat are not coronavirus containment zones.

It had said it was of prima facie view that the action of the District Magistrate, Sonipat, restricting the movement, is contrary to the orders and letters issued by the Union Home Secretary on lockdown guidelines.

The petitioner, in his plea, has said that that even doctors, nurses and court officials, who either reside in Sonipat or work there are being prevented from entering or leaving the city.

As per the April 30 order of the district magistrate, accommodation arrangements for persons working in Sonipat but residents of Delhi or UP shall have to be made by the concerned management at Sonipat so as to preclude any daily cross-border transit.

The DM order further stated that those persons who are working in Delhi or UP but are residents of Sonipat shall pursue similar accommodation arrangements with their concerned management in areas of their work so as to preclude any daily cross-border transit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Senate on Tuesday received President Muhammadu Buharis request for the confirmation of Jumai Audi as a chairperson of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

Also to be confirmed are Ebele Chima, Commissioner, South East; Bassey Abia, Commissioner, South-South; and Mohammed Ibraheem, Commissioner, South-West.

The letter from the president requesting the confirmation of the nominees reads: In compliance with the provision of section 2(2) of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act No. 7 of 199, I wrote to forward to the Senate for confirmation the under-listed (4)names of nominees as Chairman and full-time members of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

In a related development, the upper chamber also received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari for the confirmation of Diana Okonta (South-South); and Yaana Yaro (North-East) as Non-Executive Directors of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

According to President Buhari, the appointment of the nominees was done in compliance with the provision of section 5(2)(4) of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to fill existing vacancies.

The Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, moved a motion relying on order 1(b) of the senate standing rules for the upper chamber to expedite action on the presidents request for the confirmation of the NDIC nominees.

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The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his ruling, underscored the need for the upper chamber to fast-track the process to enable committees to screen the nominees.

Mr Lawan, thereafter, referred the confirmation request of the NDIC nominees to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Financial Institutions.

The committee which was given two weeks to report back to the upper chamber is chaired by Uba Sani (APC  Kaduna Central).

Signed:

Ezrel Tabiowo

Special Assistant (Press)

to President of the Senate
Dakar: A loud hiss and grunt come from a green bag pressing air through a tube, as Senegalese researchers work to develop a prototype ventilator that could cost a mere $160 ($248) each instead of tens of thousands of dollars.

The team is using 3D printed parts as it works to find a homegrown solution to a medical shortfall that has struck even the richest countries: how to have enough breathing machines to handle an avalanche of COVID-19 patients who need the devices to help increase their blood oxygen levels.

Idrissa Sall demonstrates a protective face shield made with a laser cutter, to be used to protect against transmission of the coronavirus, at the FabLab workshop at the Ker Thiossane multimedia centre in Dakar, Senegal. Credit:AP

Complicating the task in Africa is the fact that the peak in coronavirus cases for the continent' is expected to come later than in Europe and the United States, well after dozens of other countries have bought out available supplies.

"Africans must find their own solutions to their problems. We must show our independence. It's a big motivation for this," said Ibrahima Gueye, a professor at the Polytechnic School of Thies in Senegal, on the 12-member team developing the prototype ventilator.
T heres a fervid experimental music scene bubbling away in the Iranian capital of Tehran right now, and if you havent heard it, then theres no better place to start than with our Secret Spotify pick of the week.

Hardcore Sounds from Tehran was released in 2016 by Ata Ebtekar, who creates exploratory electronic music under the pseudonym of Sote. Its just over 45 minutes long, split into two sides, and its a sonic assault in the best of ways. Side A is a jittery, paranoid dissection of dance music form, lurching from idea to idea. Side B, meanwhile, is an unchained beast, lashing out with ominous, lacerating techno.

Its the kind of radical music that, not too long ago, would never have been heard in public in Iran  since the revolution of 1979, cultural output has been tightly restricted by the powers that be. But in the past few years, that grip has loosened, which has allowed a new scene of like-minded musicians to flourish, both in the studio and out in venues. Hardcore Sounds from Tehran is actually a live album of sorts, melded together from a number of sets performed by Sote in the two years prior.

That scene is best sampled at SET Fest, an experimental arts event based in Tehran but which has travelled to take place in Berlin and Barcelona. Sote was a driving force behind its inception in 2015, and it features some other key players, such as Siavash Amini and Umchunga. Dive into their stuff for a deeper idea of the incredible sounds coming out of the city.

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Check out the stories behind the rest of our Secret Spotify picks here, and listen to all of our chosen songs so far in the playlist above.
Syria has stood by Venezuela and it leader Nicolas Maduro, condemning the recent landing operation that was attempted by the US administration and carried out by its mercenaries writes SANA.

An official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that Syria condemns in the strongest terms the failed terrorist landing operation that was attempted on Venezuelan shores.

The source said that such hostile practices are part of the conspiracy against Venezuela and its sovereignty which is being led by the US administration and carried out by its mercenaries in Venezuela.

The source said that Syria reiterates its solidarity with Venezuela and its legitimate leadership represented by President Nicolas Maduro, and calls for an end to US interference in Venezuelan affairs.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Im the type of person who long ago decided she wasnt allowed to play video games. My lifestyle is already peak lazy (see above paragraph), and fused with my extreme competitive streak and comfort with sitting on the couch for hours without interruption, gaming presents a real problem. But, ah, my boyfriends Nintendo Switch called, and I was the perfect combination of bored and curious about this magical land of smiling raccoon-dogs and turnip investments that I answered.

And so, a rock-hitting, tree-shaking monster was born. I now wake up an hour before I sign on for work to play, and promptly return to my island the moment I sign off. And while the entire ACNH realm thrills me to no end, theres one particular component I relish: The clothes.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The virtual me has options. She lives mere feet away from a boutique that introduces new designs daily (Everlane could never). She gets new pieces when she talks to the villagers on her Island. Like, imagine if your neighbors greeted you with a new pair of shoes in your size when you ran into them instead of just ignoring you in the elevator and then screaming at the top of their lungs at all hours of the night (Oh, just me?). Sometimes she even finds wardrobe pieces in balloons that float overhead. Its a charmed life she leads.

And when she tires of the islands sartorial offerings, she (with the help of her human vessel) scours the internet for codes for custom duds modeled after pieces from her favorite IRL designers.

Story continues

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Virtual me, though egg-shaped and possessing spherical mounds where her hands should be, looks adorable in everything. Shes never experienced the deflation that comes after entering a dressing room with 12 items and realizing you hate how every single one looks on you. Shes never had to carve out a special section in her closet for clothes she hopes will fit her again someday. Yes, Im aware shes not real, but theres something truly aspirational about the way she goes through life, and not just as it pertains to her wardrobe. I mean, who else would repeatedly get stung (ON. THE. FACE.) by a swarm of wasps and continue to shake trees and chop wood as though disfigurement and pain were not an option? She is an inspiration to us all.

RELATED: A Case for Continuing to Wear Your Jewelry During Isolation

From my post, on the couch (or the bed, if Im feeling bold), dressing my avatar in the Able Sisters finest is kind of  exciting? Yeah, Ill own it  EXCITING! It takes me back to one of my first retail experiences, when I was 8 or 9 in small town Oregon and my best friends mom took me and her to an Old Navy in Portland. Most of my clothes came from the yard sales my bargain-shopper mother would frequent, so visiting an actual store was a true treat. I had $50 of my hard-earned money to spend (an amount that felt, at the time, like a Julia Roberts payday) and the possibilities seemed infinite: Glittery jeans? Knee-length denim skirt? Puppy T-shirt? (This was the very early 2000s, mind you.) Each item attached itself to a fantasy of who I could be  the confidence I could possess in a skirt with heart-shaped pockets and a pink zip-up hoodie; the unaffected cool of a simple t-shirt and jeans. Quickly, I learned that $50 doesnt go far, even at Old Navy, but Ill never forget the excitement of that realization, that clothes could help communicate who you were. Theres pleasure in that still, but it can be hard to remember when youre struggling to just find something that both fits and will complement a forecast that includes both snow showers and a sunny high of 75.

If theres anything Ive found remotely enjoyable throughout this upsetting and uncertain time, its the mental and emotional (and financial) freedom from real-life fashion. Im no longer stressed that I dont look cool enough to work at a fashion outlet or worried that investing in a pair of jeans that doesnt leave red marks around my waist will lower my credit score. And yes, the financial concerns will no doubt still remain once weve all returned to the office and the world, but the cynical part of me that began to view clothing as nothing but a practicality is fading away. I want to rediscover the excitement of my third grade self rifling through Old Navy peasant blouses  and though Im not quite there in real life, the feeling returns every time I open my Animal Crossing closet.
Dubai: On the one hand in the Corona epidemic, Indians trapped in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being brought back home. At the same time, a team of Indian nurses has reached Dubai to assist in the fight against the coronavirus of UAE. Nurses who came to help the UAE in times of crisis were given a grand welcome at Dubai Airport. The welcome video of the nurses has been shared by PIB in Maharashtra through its official Twitter handle.

In the video, Indian nurses are being greeted with roses at the Dubai airport. Along with this, facilities like checking and screening of nurses have also been provided at the airport. PIB in Maharashtra has written in the caption with the video that- 'Many people are returning, these people have gone. 88 Indian nurses have reached Dubai to help the UAE against the coronavirus. Helping a friend in need is the aim of India-UAE relations.

Earlier, through the official Twitter handle of India in UAE, information was given about Indian nurses to secure land in UAE. Sharing a picture inside the flight, a tweet read, "Salute to India, UAE and humanity on behalf of health workers." We are up to you We salute you too. '

As many come back, they go in!



88 Indian nurses have landed in Dubai to help #UAE fight #COVID19



Helping a friend in need is the motto of cooperation between India and UAE - @AmbKapoor



????- welcome at Dubai#InternationalNursesDay @IndembAbuDhabipic.twitter.com/2MCDkQZuQW  PIB in Maharashtra ???????? #MaskYourself ???? (@PIBMumbai) May 12, 2020

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At the beginning of this stretch of self-isolation, I craved the sight of my loved ones faces. Seeing them on my laptop screen and hearing about their lives would briefly drive out the loneliness and disorientation of my newly apartment-bound life, lending my day a pretense of normalcy that would last for hours after our calls. But over the nearly two months that Ive been replacing cocktail parties and dinners out with Zoom chats, Ive noticed a change. Specifically: Zoom hangouts drive me nuts.

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Ive tried to parse what makes Zoom so exhausting for me. I feel like an emotionally bereft alien struggling to comprehend the mysteries of human connection. What makes a meatspace gathering a life-affirming source of intimacy, and a digital one a simulacrum? Hugging my friends is nice, but really, seeing and hearing themand having them see and hear meis what I like best about our time together. If I can do that just fine on my computer, why doesnt it feel the same?

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My internal alien has identified the lack of normal eye contact as one central pitfall of the video-chat experience. Talk to someone over FaceTime or Zoom, and theyll never quite meet your eyes. Theyll spend the call looking at their screen, a few inches below or to the side of their camera, giving you the perpetual feeling of trying to get the attention of someone whos ever so slightly preoccupied. Once, on a Skype call many years ago, a friend looked directly into her camera to say something heartfelt to me with the approximation of true eye contact. The effect was jarring: I didnt fully realize that we hadnt been making eye contact until she was suddenly staring straight into my soul from inside my screen. She was gazing at her computers eye, not mine, and could actually see less of my face than when she was looking at her screen, yet I felt strangely, uncomfortably exposed. When I recently tried it on a video call with my niece and nephew in an attempt to make them laugh, it gave me the unsettling impression of carrying on a conversation with HAL 9000, whod been watching me watch the kids throughout our call. (FaceTime, perhaps even more eerily, has a new feature that attempts eye contact correction to make it appear youre looking directly at each other, even when youre not.)

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Even if you dont think you miss locking eyes with your loved ones or colleagues, your brain might. Eye contact plays a documented role in successful human communication. One 2017 study from the University of Cambridge found that when infants and adults locked eyes, their brain waves were better able to synchronize; a 2019 study from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan suggests that eye contact primes the brain for empathy. Were also accustomed to picking up on messages our interlocutors send with their bodies, which give us clues about their comfort level, the direction and intensity of their focus, and whether theyre preparing to speak. A typical video call impairs these ingrained abilities, and requires sustained and intense attention to words instead, Julia Sklar wrote in a National Geographic piece about Zoom fatigue. Whether a viewers screen displays several participants in a conference call or just one, according to Sklar, the brain becomes overwhelmed by unfamiliar excess stimuli while being hyper-focused on searching for non-verbal cues that it cant find.

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I dont get a break from looking at myself on Zoom, and my friends cant fully appreciate my eyeliner.

This gets at another reason for video chat fatigue, the opposite of the eye contact problem: You have to look at each others faces the entire time! There are rarely natural breaks in conversation on Zoom, as there might be during a typical group dinner or coffee date, and its much harder to have a comfortable silence (or manage an uncomfortable one) when all parties are staring at one another nonstop. Theres no peeking out a window, no studying a menu, no people-watching, no helping out in the kitchen or asking about a hosts record collection. Theres only talking, and in a video chat with more than two participants, striking a normal conversational rhythm is nearly impossible. Add in differing internet lag times and the inability to hear multiple people speaking at once, and every group discussion becomes group monologuing, as Ashley Fetters termed it in the Atlantic. The patron saint of lively repartee rolls over in her grave with every Wait, what was that?, Sorry, you go ahead, and Hang on, you just froze.

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Then theres the part where I have to look at myself. In real life, entire minutes can pass by without my thinking about the angle of my chin, the texture of my skin, or the shadows under my eyes. Its much harder to feel fully immersed in the company of family or friends when my attention is split between the content of a conversation and a moving image of my own face. Each glance to check whether Im properly framed in the video feed takes me out of the exchange, redirecting some of my scattered focus back toward myself and inhibiting the ego suppression that marks moments of true intimacy.

Dont get me wrong: Im not opposed to being looked at. In fact, since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, Ive developed a new appreciation for the now-lost joys of seeing and being seen in person. Occasionally, before a Zoom call, Ill put on a glitzy dress and mascara to mimic the anticipatory buzz of getting ready for a night out. But video chatting offers the worst of both worlds when it comes to this peacocking: I dont get a break from looking at myself when I enter a room with friends, and they cant fully appreciate my eyeliner. Im more consciousand, sometimes, criticalof my own appearance, and none of us can see one anothers shoes.

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In other words, on a video call, theres too much information about the self, and not enough about the others. Fully aware of my every fleeting facial expression thanks to my front-facing camera, I find myself overemoting to make sure my reactions come through when those little verbal assents and acknowledgments that keep conversations flowing get lost. Social instincts that usually require little conscious effort are now taking up space in my brain, draining the energy I used to devote to the substance of a conversation.

If all this sounds like Im expecting far too much of an already futuristic and undoubtedly valuable technology, thats because I am. Video chatting used to be an upgrade on the alternative: Why would I email my friends who live in Bangkok when I could see their smiles, their new apartment, and their newborn? To be able to converse face to face from opposite sides of the planet, with crisp video quality and only a minimal time lag, seemed like a miraculous gift of the tech age. But these days, when video chatting has to stand in for a whole social lifes worth of in-person contact, it feels like a massive downgrade. Every Zoom call brings a painful reminder of what quarantined life is missing. Theres no cruising at the virtual sex party, no quiet side conversations at the virtual group dinner. The virtual disco is a depressing grid of homebound people staring at their screens from behind their coffee tables, watching themselves dance for other people who might not even be looking at them. At the virtual birthday party, its impossible to sing to the honoree in unison. When I hit the leave meeting button, Im back where I started: lonely and alone, missing my friends, facing down the device I associate with all my most stressful work hours and consumption of bad news.

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Sometime during my third week of lockdown, I realized I was starting to get comfortable with my new normal. My wife and I had found a more sustainable working-from-home rhythm, I no longer felt deflated when Id remember I had no weekend plans, and I enjoyed the extra time to cook and read. As I read about restaurants and theaters struggling to stay afloat while shut down, I began to worry that even when public spaces could safely reopen, people wouldve gotten so accustomed to spending their free time at home and socializing from afar that theyd fail to return to those local gathering places. I kept thinking about something my remote-working Slate colleague and former Dismemberment Plan frontman Travis Morrison said at the beginning of our work-from-home spell, about spending too much time in front of a screen: The computer, he said, can start to seem like the thing that the world is in.

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For many of us, the world inside a computer will prove an inadequate scratcher of our most basic human itches. Now that Im surpassing two months of social isolation, I no longer fear for the future of IRL gatherings. For one thing, my comfort in quarantine ebbs and flows. (One day, Im happy to eat a nice lunch at home rather than an overpriced salad at my desk; the next, Im crawling out of my skin, craving a messy night out.) More important, this quarantine has given 21st century humanity its first glimpse at what it might feel like to confine even more of our lives to the world behind the screenand its a deeply unsatisfying view. Video chatting is exhausting. Livestreamed events are a snooze. Turns out virtual life is a sorry substitute for a real one. Maybe thats a good thing.

For more on the impact of the coronavirus, listen to What Next: TBD.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - Pacific Iron Ore Corporation (the "Corporation") announces the resignation of Joel Freudman as President and Chief Executive Officer, and Carlyn Dahl as Chief Financial Officer. In order to fill the vacancies, the Corporation has appointed Binyomin Posen as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation. Mr. Joel Freudman, the departing President and Chief Executive Officer, commented the following with respect to the change in the Corporation's senior officers and previously announced changes to its Board of Directors: "We are very pleased to have identified a strong leadership team with financial services experience, to reactivate the Corporation for the benefit of shareholders."

Corporation's Contact Information:

For further information relating to the Corporation, please refer to the Corporation's profile on SEDAR which can be accessed at www.sedar.com or contact:

Binyomin Posen

Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Director

Telephone: 416 481-2222 (Ext. 246)

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55781
The sprawling 11,500-year-old stone Gobekli Tepe complex in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, is the earliest known temple in human history and one of the most important discoveries of Neolithic research.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority have now used architectural analysis to discover that geometry informed the layout of Gobekli Tepe's impressive round stone structures and enormous assembly of limestone pillars, which they say were initially planned as a single structure.

Three of the Gobekli Tepe's monumental round structures, the largest of which are 20 meters in diameter, were initially planned as a single project, according to researchers Gil Haklay of the Israel Antiquities Authority, a PhD candidate at Tel Aviv University, and Prof. Avi Gopher of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. They used a computer algorithm to trace aspects of the architectural design processes involved in the construction of these enclosures in this early Neolithic site.

Their findings were published in Cambridge Archaeological Journal in May.

"Gobekli Tepe is an archaeological wonder," Prof. Gopher explains. "Built by Neolithic communities 11,500 to 11,000 years ago, it features enormous, round stone structures and monumental stone pillars up to 5.5 meters high. Since there is no evidence of farming or animal domestication at the time, the site is believed to have been built by hunter-gatherers. However, its architectural complexity is highly unusual for them."

Discovered by German archaeologist Dr. Klaus Schmidt in 1994, Gobekli Tepe has since been the subject of hot archaeological debate. But while these, and other early Neolithic remains, have been intensively studied, the issue of architectural planning during these periods and its cultural ramifications have not.

Most researchers have made the case that the Gobekli Tepe enclosures at the main excavation area were constructed over time. However, Haklay and Prof. Gopher say that three of the structures were designed as a single project and according to a coherent geometric pattern.

"The layout of the complex is characterized by spatial and symbolic hierarchies that reflect changes in the spiritual world and in the social structure," Haklay explains. "In our research, we used an analytic tool -- an algorithm based on standard deviation mapping -- to identify an underlying geometric pattern that regulated the design."

"This research introduces important information regarding the early development of architectural planning in the Levant and in the world," Prof. Gopher adds. "It opens the door to new interpretations of this site in general, and of the nature of its megalithic anthropomorphic pillars specifically."

Certain planning capabilities and practices, such as the use of geometry and the formulation of floor plans, were traditionally assumed to have emerged much later than the period during which the Gobekli Tepe was constructed -- after hunter-gatherers transformed into food-producing farmers some 10,500 years ago. Notably, one of the characteristics of early farmers is their use of rectangular architecture.

"This case of early architectural planning may serve as an example of the dynamics of cultural changes during the early parts of the Neolithic period," Haklay says. "Our findings suggest that major architectural transformations during this period, such as the transition to rectangular architecture, were knowledge-based, top-down processes carried out by specialists.

"The most important and basic methods of architectural planning were devised in the Levant in the Late Epipaleolithic period as part of the Natufian culture and through the early Neolithic period. Our new research indicates that the methods of architectural planning, abstract design rules and organizational patterns were already being used during this formative period in human history."

Next, the researchers intend to investigate the architectural remains of other Neolithic sites throughout the Levant.

###

American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #66 in the world.
Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITYs daily morning newsletter.

After Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down the citys public schools in mid-March, teachers were ordered to report to classrooms to receive in-person training on the distance learning theyd be practicing with their students.

At P.S. 139 in Brooklyn, teachers dutifully showed up on Tuesday, March 17. Late that night, however, they got an emergency email from the principal informing them the next days session had been cancelled.

I will be in touch tomorrow with more information, the Ditmas Park schools principal promised, according to an email obtained by THE CITY.

The next day, the staff stayed home, but no further explanation emerged. When teachers showed up at school that Thursday, they learned what had happened: A colleague, with whom they had been working the previous week in the Rugby Road building had tested positive for COVID-19.

They waited for us to come in for training to tell us, said one teacher, adding the staff was furious about what appeared to be a deliberate lack of transparency to make sure they came into work.

I was surprised and worried, and when I asked if there was any way to know if we had been around the person who had tested positive, [the principal] said we had to all assume that everyone has been exposed to it across the whole city by this point, the teacher recalled.

Communications Breakdown

The delay in informing teachers about a staffer with the virus was not a unique incident.

A review by THE CITY of internal emails and interviews with teachers uncovered a pattern of Department of Education officials playing down the threat of COVID-19 in the days before the schools shuttered, during the week teachers were required to come in for training, and even after the start of remote learning.

Among THE CITYs findings:

 Students with presumed COVID-19 were not to be logged into the DOEs official incident reporting system unless they had tested positive. Obtaining the necessary test was, for weeks before and after the shutdown, extremely difficult.

 At some schools, supervisors withheld information in communications with teachers and parents about staff and students who were later revealed to be presumed positive.

 In the final days before the shutdown, DOE headquarters instructed staff not to contact the city Health Department, which was serving as the command center for de Blasios COVID-19 response, if a staffer tested positive. That policy is now the subject of an investigation.

 The DOE continued to allow large gatherings of students as part of school events right up until the shutdown, even after the federal Centers for Disease Control was recommending that they be cancelled.

 In the days before the shutdown, the United Federation of Teachers contended the DOE was not following state protocols in its coronavirus response. A union official told THE CITY there were reports school officials werent notifying teachers and parents about presumed COVID-19 cases within schools.

 Before the shutdown, schools were required to shut down for 24 hours and do deep cleaning if a student or teacher was presumed positive. In some instances the union was told of schools that werent properly cleaned as required during temporary closures, the official said.

 The UFT pushed behind the scenes for the closure of schools for days before going public with its call.

Closure Concerns

The question of whether to shut the nations biggest school system was a contentious affair from the start.

As the number of New York City residents infected with the virus began to rise day by day in early March and private schools started to shut down, de Blasio adamantly insisted on keeping the public schools open.

Around March 7, UFT President Michael Mulgrew began pressing the DOE to close the schools, arguing that more staff and students would be exposed to the virus every day classes remanded in session, union officials told THE CITY.

We cannot know how differently the pandemic would have played out if schools and other public facilities had been closed earlier than they were, Mulgrew told THE CITY last week. Logic would certainly suggest that better planning would have helped, in particular in the case of schools, which didnt introduce teacher training in remote instruction until mid-March.

As of Monday, 74 Department of Education staff had died of COVID-19, including 30 teachers, officials said.

Miranda Barbot, a DOE spokesperson, insisted that in the days before the shutdown and during the in-school teacher training, the schools adhered to the advice of medical experts  and relied only on confirmed positive cases to minimize the release of potentially erroneous information.

Since the beginning, the Department of Education issued near-daily updates aligned to federal, state, and local guidance that adjusted to the rapidly changing public health landscape, Barbot wrote in an emailed response to questions by THE CITY.

All of our decisions are informed by public health experts in order to protect the health and safety of our students and staff.

Barbot asserted that DOEs protocol was to immediately notify school communities about COVID-positive cases confirmed by the state Department of Health.

But by limiting official reporting to confirmed cases, DOE obscured the extent of the virus apparent spread, teachers said.

A Brooklyn Tech teacher told THE CITY that throughout March, many of her students called out sick. By late March, after the schools were shut, a student informed the teacher that she was presumptive positive with COVID-19.

The teacher said she asked the principal, David Newman, whether the child should be logged into the Department of Educations Online Occurrence Reporting System, the internal database DOE uses to track all incidents, including COVID-19 cases.

In an email, Newman responded that the student was not to be tallied as part of the official count: The DOE only is having us log cases of positive tests.

Early Signs

The virus first appeared under the radar in the weeks after the February winter break, when multiple teachers and students returned from trips to coronavirus hot spots China and Italy. At the time, it was very difficult for anyone to get tested, even if they were displaying potential virus symptoms.

In early March, when de Blasio was encouraging New Yorkers to go about their normal daily routines, THE CITY reported on school teacher Erin McCarthys troubles: Shed returned from a winter break trip to Italy to her classroom at PS 369 in Brooklyn and soon after spiked a fever.

McCarthys request for testing was rejected because, at the time, Italy was not yet on the hot spot list. It was not until the day after McCarthys case was revealed that de Blasio ordered testing for teachers, first responders and city health care workers whod returned from any hot spot, including Italy.

A few blocks away from PS 369, concerns were growing at Brooklyn Tech, the elite 6,000-student specialized school from which de Blasios son, Dante, graduated in 2015.

The Brooklyn Tech teacher who spoke to THE CITY said that in February several students in her class had returned from winter break visits to the Wuhan province in China where the virus was festering. They were very sick, she said.

Then another teacher with whom this teacher shared a classroom called out sick and was feared to be COVID-19 positive.

They werent telling anyone, the teacher recalled. As the week went on, we had fewer and fewer kids showing up.

Soon after, the teacher learned that yet another colleague had also caught the virus.

He told us, the teacher said. The administration did not tell us.

At that point, the directive to limit public release of information on virus infections was coming from school headquarters.

As THE CITY revealed, DOE officials issued a system-wide memo dated March 10  the day New York City recorded its 70th confirmed positive case  instructing staff, At the moment, there is no reason for any school to call [the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene] to report potential or confirmed cases. DOHMH is receiving information  about positive test results strictly from laboratories.

The memo justifies the do-not-call instruction by stating, We can support our colleagues at DOHMH by keeping their phones clear to speak with laboratories.

Do Our Damndest

Responding to THE CITYs questions about the memo, DOE officials said they were receiving positive confirmations directly from the state and relying on DOHMHs guidance that ensured the citys Department of Healths lines remained open for New Yorkers.

The March 10 memo also explicitly allowed schools to continue holding large gatherings of students and teachers.

This was aligned to federal and city guidance at the time, Barbot said.

Two days after the DOEs memo, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention advised schools nationwide to Give special consideration to events that might put students, staff, or their families in close proximity to others from communities that may have identified cases of COVID-19. Consider whether any of these events should be canceled.

A day after the DOEs memo went out, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. That same day, Seattle announced it was shutting down its schools. San Francisco followed suit the next day.

Nevertheless, de Blasio continued to resist a growing call to shut down, even as private schools, religious schools and the biggest charter school in the city, Success Academy, had already announced closures.

During a March 12 press briefing, de Blasio insisted the public schools would remain open.

We are going to do our damnedest to keep the schools open, the mayor stated. It is where our children are safe in the day, and many parents have no alternative. Its where our kids  a lot of kids get their meals. It is the pivot for a lot of people we need to get to work to get to work that their kids have a place to be. A lot of them have no other choice.

The next day, Mulgrew met with the mayor, after which he issued a statement saying that the two men had decided to respectfully disagree.

We have reached the point where continuing to keep our classes open poses a greater lasting threat than the disruption that will result from school closings, Mulgrew warned, noting that by then, schools in Washington, Los Angeles, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Oregon had closed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Cold and Flu Season

At Brooklyn Tech, teachers were aware that at least one and possibly two of their colleagues were sick with the virus. But Newman continued to insist that was not true, according to an email obtained by THE CITY.

Mid-morning on March 15, Newman sent parents and staff a memo insisting he was committed to transparently sharing information to ensure a clear understanding of the novel coronavirus facts within our school community. That includes dispelling any circulating rumors or information not backed up by facts.

At this time, Newman stated, no member of our student body or school staff has a confirmed case of coronavirus.

He then offered a new narrative to counter the notion that a staff member had tested positive, stating that a member of our school community who is at a higher risk of potentially contracting the virus has been quarantined at home.

He went further to quell fears of the virus presence within the school.

Since it is cold and flu season, the NYC Department of Health also advises that we should not interpret any illness or absence from work or school for any amount of time as a novel coronavirus related absence or illness, he wrote.

That afternoon, de Blasio reversed course and announced that schools would be closed starting Monday and teachers would be required to attend in-school training for distance learning that Tuesday through Thursday.

That Monday, Newman sent out a new memo: I am writing to inform you that a member of our school community has self-reported that they tested positive for COVID-19.

In her email to THE CITY, the DOEs Barbot wrote that the principal was following protocol, stating, A self-reported and confirmed case are different. After we closed all buildings, we were no longer confirming individual cases with the state Health Department and supported schools in notifying their communities of a self-reported case if they wished to do so.

Everything was changing hour by hour at this point, and we were giving info in real time as soon as we had it, she added.

Open at Any Cost

At P.S. 139, a similar scenario was unfolding.

On Thursday, March 19, staffers were ushered in groups into the auditorium and told that one of their colleagues had tested positive for COVID-19.

The principal did not identify the staffer.

None of this is easy for anyone, said the teacher who spoke to THE CITY. I dont envy the position the principal was put in.

The DOE said the principal did not follow the DOEs guidance in canceling training on March 18.

At this time, we were at widespread community transmission, Barbot wrote, and the citys Health Department advised that schools and the workplace were of no greater risk than the rest of NYC.

Over the last few weeks, Councilmember Robert Holden (D-Queens) has raised questions about the insistence by de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza to keep the schools open as long as they did.

Thats their whole m.o. of trying to keep the schools open at any cost, he said. Thats typical of the bureaucracy of the DOE. They cross words, they use double-speak. They cover up. Thats why we have investigators.

Barbot called Holdens contention completely false and absurd. At the time there was a lot of fear and confusion, and we were focused on providing clear communication primarily based on confirmed information from health experts rather than rumors.

How DOEs approach will ultimately be viewed remains to be seen. The Special Commissioner for Investigation for the city schools recently opened an inquiry into how DOE responded to the crisis during the time de Blasio insisted on keeping schools open  and after he changed his mind and shut it down.

And with the mayor wrestling with the possibility of reopening the schools in September, UFT President Mulgrew is urging a careful approach.

As a city, we have learned hard lessons in this health crisis, he added. We need to make sure we heed those lessons in order to re-open school buildings safely for students, staff, and our communities.

Want to republish this story? See our republication guidelines.

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The environment ministrys Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has deferred its decision on two contentious projects --- Etalin Hydropower Project of 3,097 MW in Arunachal Pradeshs Dibang Valley, and the exploration of uranium in Telanganas Amrabad Tiger Reserve.

As per minutes of FACs meeting on April 23 uploaded on the Parivesh website late on Monday, FAC has sought comments from the power ministry on the Etalin Hydropower Project in view of the following:

a) The project is delayed by six years and the countrys energy plan may have changed

b) A large number of hydro-electric projects are pending due to environmental and forest clearance concerns

c) Tariff structure of the project was already high when proposed in 2014.

FAC has asked the power ministry to comment whether the project in its current form is viable. It has also directed Arunachal Pradesh to submit a cost-benefit analysis of the project.

Earlier this month, several scientists and wildlife biologists wrote to FAC, warning about the massive loss of biodiversity if Etalin Hydropower Project was allowed to come up. Twenty-six scientists from 16 scientific institutions also flagged that a Wildlife Institute of India report on the biodiversity of Dibang Valley (based on which the Etalin Hydropower Project would be assessed) has several scientific biases and doesnt reflect a true picture of the biodiversity of Dibang Valley, where the Etalin Hydropower Project of 3097 MW is planned.

But FAC said the representations it got are all similar in content and add no new value or findings.

The Etalin Hydropower Project will involve clearing of at least 270,000 trees in sub-tropical evergreen and rain forests and in a vital tiger area.

The project is proposed to be developed by Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company Limited, a joint venture of Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Limited and Jindal Power Limited (JPL). The total cost of the project is about Rs 25,296.95 crore, according to FAC factsheet. When HT contacted JPL on May 5 about the biodiversity footprint of the project, a JPL senior executive said the company didnt want to comment.

On the uranium exploration in Amrabad Tiger Reserve, FAC said it wants a clear view from the state.
Beijings Job Recruitment Programs Spotlighted With Conviction of US Professor

A former professor at Emory University has been convicted of tax fraud in connection to his concealment of earnings from participating in a Chinese state-run job recruitment program that aims to benefit Beijing.

Li Xiaojiang, a 63-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, worked at the Atlanta-based universitys department of human genetics for 23 years before being fired in May 2019 for failing to disclose his financial ties to China. His wife, Li Shihua, who worked in the same department, was also fired.

This defendant thought that he could live two separate livesone here at Emory University and one in China as a Thousand Talents Program participant, said U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak, according to a May 11 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Li was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $35,089 in restitution. Li will also be required to file lawful income tax returns for the period from 2012 to 2018.

Thousand Talents

Beijing rolled out the Thousand Talents Program in 2008 to aggressively recruit promising science and tech researchers from foreign countries to work in China.

In February, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned about the programs potential to be exploited for intellectual property theft, during a speech at the National Governors Associations winter meeting.

Its a plan to recruit scientists and professors to transfer the know-how we have here to China in exchange for enormous paydays, Pompeo said, before pointing to recent federal indictments against professors who participated in the Chinese program while employed at the University of Kansas, Virginia Tech, and Harvard University.

A professor at the University of Arkansas was arrested on wire fraud on May 8 for his failure to disclose funding he received from Chinese companies and the Thousand Talents Program.

Li, while still employed at Emory, joined Thousand Talents in late 2011, according to the DOJ. From 2012 until 2018, he investigated Huntingtons disease with animal models while working at Chinese institutions: the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Jinan University, located in southern Chinas Guangdong Province.

Over those six years, Li earned at least $500,000 in foreign income that he never reported on his federal income tax returns, the DOJ stated.

Specifically, Li worked at CASs Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, as well as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of Central Nervous System Regeneration, a research institute at Jinan University, according to those institutions websites.

Lis fraudulent income returns were exposed after an investigation by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over his research grant applications in which he failed to disclose his foreign research activity, according to the DOJ.

NIH expressed concerns about the Thousand Talents Program in a report published in December 2018, which warned that the programs recruits had access to U.S. intellectual property and could potentially transfer key data to China, produced using U.S. federal research money.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said the DOJ would continue to remain vigilant over programs such as the Thousand Talents Program that recruits professors and researchers to work for China, in the press release.

State Funding

Li also participated in another Chinese state-run job recruitment program before 2011 while employed at Emory, according to a document published by the education bureau of Chinas Jiangxi provincial government.

The document lists outstanding graduates of Jiangxis Nanchang University, where Li was a graduate of its medical college (formerly known as the Jiangxi Medical College) in the early 1980s before moving to the United States for doctoral studies.

The document showed that Li was a chair professor of the Changjiang Scholars program in 2008 at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, located in Wuhan.

Chinas Ministry of Education rolled out the Changjiang Scholars Program in 1998 to attract exemplary academics from the West, of Chinese or foreign descent.

Its not known what benefits Li received as a Changjiang scholar. But in recent years, Chinas central government pays such scholars 200,000 yuan (about $28,210) annually for five years, while regional governments and schools where they work may provide additional financial incentives.

While at Emory, Li also obtained other Chinese government fundings for his research.

According to a 2015 publication by CASs Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, a genetic study done by Li and his wife and published in the scientific journal Neuron in March that year was partially funded by Chinas State Key Laboratory of Molecular Development Biology.

Another study by Li and his wife on Parkinsons disease, published in the scientific journal Human Molecular Genetics in 2014, was jointly funded by State Key Laboratory; Chinas 973 Program; and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, an agency run by Chinas State Council.

China rolled out the 973 Program in 1997 to focus on basic science research in eight categories, including agriculture; population and health; and environment and resources.

The 2015 publication also carried remarks by Xu Weihua, the Communist Party secretary of CASs Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology.

During a meeting on March 19, 2015, Xu outlined four suggestions for the year. He said Party organizations within the institute must value the learning of [Party] ideologies and the results of holding Party-themed events.

He also said the institute should strictly strengthen Party idea education, and its Party organizations should facilitate the institutes technological innovation.

US Warning

On May 10, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ariz.) told Fox News that he will propose legislation to address threats posed by Chinas job recruitment programs, calling the Thousand Talents in particular an espionage program.

Cotton said he found it a real scandal that participation in this program was legal in the United States. Im going to propose legislation that would ban any researcher from accepting Chinese-affiliated funds if they are also working on federally funded programs, he said.

Most federal cases involving Thousand Talent participants have charged them for failing to disclose their affiliations or intending to transfer intellectual property to China.

Cotton said his bill would also require universities to make their best effort not to employ anyone who is a part of this talent program.

We should not be underwriting those people who are on the Chinese Communist Partys payroll to send our most advanced cutting-edge technology back to China, he said.

A previous version of this article misstated when China rolled out the Changjiang Scholars Program. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
HP Indigo 6900 in DLS' Itasca, IL facility The HP Indigo 6900 and Grafotronic DCL2 increase our ability to provide digital printing with superior print quality and excellent color matching along with an array of finishing options.

Diversified Labeling Solutions (DLS), a national converter of pressure-sensitive labels, is expanding its digital printing and finishing capabilities with the addition of an HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press and a Grafotronic DCL2 Modular Digital Finisher.

The HP Indigo 6900 and Grafotronic DCL2, installed at the DLS facility in Itasca, IL, will run alongside an existing fleet of over 25 digital and flexographic presses. The new equipment allows DLS to expand its production of digitally printed labels and flexible packaging, including small to medium-sized print runs, variable imaging, and brand protection features. With its superior image quality and fast production time, the HP Indigo 6900 will also augment DLS prime label and packaging offerings. The Grafotronic DCL2 provides a wide array of label embellishment and finishing options allowing DLS to provide highly customized label options for customers.

As a label industry leader, DLS is continually investing in state-of-the-art technology that helps us serve our customers, says CEO Jim Kersten. Our customers look to us to provide quality labels with fast turnaround times, and this equipment will help us continue to do that. The HP Indigo 6900 and Grafotronic DCL2 increase our ability to provide digital printing with superior print quality and excellent color matching along with an array of finishing options.

The HP Indigo 6900 supports a wide range of media including synthetic and paper substrates from 0.5 to 18 pt. It can reach up to 97% of PANTONE colors as well as specialty and mixed inks. And HPs proprietary Liquid Electrophotography technology delivers crisp, high-resolution printing that mirrors the gloss and texture of the media.

The Grafotronic DCL2 Modular Digital Finisher is ideal for post-press finishing and die cutting. This adds capabilities such as: varnishing, spot varnishing and color, lamination, cold foil application, semi-rotary die-cutting, and slitting to digital production runs. The Grafotronic will increase efficiencies and allow DLS to run all of its digital presses at higher speeds.

Bringing in this new equipment allows DLS to offer its distributors new market opportunities such as cannabis labels that require strict registration and small print, to smaller runs, and flexible packaging for non-food related products. In existing markets, there is big advantage in resolution and a wider color gamut allowing DLS to offer accurate, extremely high quality labels for current applications. Says James Cirigliano, VP Marketing.

About DLS

Since 1985, DLS has been a preferred B2B supplier of high-quality, custom-printed pressure sensitive labels. All products, from blank labels to full color high-definition labels, are produced utilizing the latest in flexographic and digital printing technologies. Exemplar of their motto We only succeed when you do, DLSs dedicated team is passionate about labels and is willing to share their expertise with partnered distributors to help them grow their business. Located in five states and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, DLS is well-situated to offer products to customers nationwide. To learn more about the dedicated team at DLS, its exceptional offerings and services, or to receive a quote in 3 hours or less, please visit teamdls.com or call 800.397.3013.
A special train from Bengaluru carrying 992 passengers reached Udhampur on Tuesday.

The train reached Udhampur at 11 am after a delay of several hours and the passengers, including students and labourers, deboarded it as per the guidelines and moved to an identified holding area before being sent to their home districts in buses.

The special train, which had left Chikkabanavara station in Bengaluru on Sunday afternoon, was the first passenger rail service in Jammu and Kashmir during the lockdown in effect since March 25.

Shramik special trains were operationalised after a directive by the ministry of home affairs allowing the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded in different places.

Udhamur district commissioner Piyush Singla said, The first train from Bengaluru carrying 992 passengers, including students and labourers reached Udhampur on Tuesday.

To make the entire process hassle-free various arrangements were put in place. There were 44 data entry operators, two each at a single bogie. The train had 22 bogies and each bogie carried around 40 passengers.

Singla said that as soon as the train reached Udhampur, the details of passengers were entered by the data operators into an app transit management information system.

The registration process took around 40 minutes.

All the returnees have to be tested for Covid-19 and undergo administrative quarantine without exception. Only if the tests come negative, can they be sent for home quarantine for 14 days, said Singla.

The Udhampur administration has created a fresh sample collection capacity of 1,000 per day for the train returnees.

In the entire process the norms of social distancing and other guidelines of the Centre and UT were strictly followed, he added.

Singla said another train with 728 passengers is to reach here from Goa on Tuesday.

It may be stated here that inflow through trains was preceded by the regulated road transportation of the stranded persons via Lakhanpur and the airlifting of Kashmiri students from Bangladesh.

As per a rough estimate, over one lakh J&K residents are stranded in different parts of the country.

Special train from Delhi to Jammu on May 13, 14

Jammu: The first run of the special train will start on 13 May from New Delhi and 14 May from Jammu Tawi. The special train will leave New Delhi at 9.10 pm and will reach Jammu Tawi the next day at 5.45 am. It will leave Jammu Tawi at 8.10 pm and reach New Delhi the next day at 5 am.

Chetan Taneja, station director and senior divisional traffic manager of the railways, said, A special train will run from New Delhi on May 13 and it will reach Jammu Tawi the next morning.

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In a horrific incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh Agra district, a teenage girl was allegedly raped and then killed on Monday night.

According to a report in Times of India, the girl had gone to the farm to relieve herself around 6:15 in the morning and when she didn't return home after nearly three hours, her relatives started searching for her.

Representational Image

They spotted the body of the now-deceased lying without clothes in the farming field with an injury in the abdomen.



As per TOI, the victim was a Class 8 student and had two older siblings. They were living with their uncle in the village as their father had died and their mother went missing after the father's death.

After the police were informed about the incident, the crime spot was also inspected by a team of officials from the forensic department. They recovered the victims clothes which have been sent for further examination.

Representational Image

The body of the girl has been sent for conducting the post mortem. The Kheragarh CO told TOI, The family had no enmity, neither have they expressed suspicion about any person in the village. He added that the minor was apparently strangled after the heinous act.



Based on the complaint filed by the deceased minors uncle, a case against unidentified persons have been registered under sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
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Young children face the daunting prospect of being sent to different schools than normal from next month as Boris Johnson plots a way to restart education after the coronavirus lockdown.

The Government wants primary pupils back for at least a month before the summer break but social distancing rules mean sweeping changes, including a maximum 15 pupils per class and staggering start and finish times, are planned.

Teaching unions last night branded the plans 'reckless' and demanded schools must stay closed until a raft of health and safety measures had been addressed - but were accused of 'posturing' and 'spoiling for a fight'.

The details of how schools will operate emerged yesterday as the Prime Minister unveiled his full 50-page 'roadmap' to get Britain out of lockdown, covering issues from families reuniting and shops reopening to sport restarting and the use of face masks in public.

The schools section of the proposals, which were unveiled to the Commons a day after Mr Johnson addressed the nation to outline them, suggested class sizes may have to halve from the current average of 30 to allow for social distancing. That led to concerns from teachers that school buildings may be too small.

Schools will also be urged to implement one-way systems throughout their buildings, leave doors open and arrange bathroom trips in such a way that the pupils in question avoid children who outside their 'bubble'.

Reception class and Years 1 and 6 will be the first children to return at the start of next month, with the years in between in July. Years 10 and 11 would also go back at the same time to help prepare for exams, if coronavirus is spreading at a slow enough rate.

A poll conducted by the national Education Union yesterday showed 85% of teachers are opposed to the Prime Minister's plans.

And head teachers have warned they have the power to refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe  regardless of official instructions.

However their stance drew widespread criticism. Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'The unions owe the British public the responsibility of working to ensure schools open to help parents. Political posturing isn't needed at this time. The British people need the unions to co-operate with the Government and not to take inflexible positions.'

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said: 'I understand that the teachers are worried, but just to use the difficulties as bargaining power and obstructing the Government is irresponsible.

'What they should be doing is saying it is vital for the education of our children, particularly the disadvantaged, that we get the schools up and running as soon as possible  what can we do help make it happen? How can we find away a way around the evident problems?

And Tory MP Andrew Percy said: 'It was unions themselves who a few weeks ago were talking about June as a potential timeframe for reopening.

'Sadly, for some at the more radical end of the teaching unions, fighting the Government is more important than the educational welfare of our children or the science.

'The Government should only open schools in line with the scientific and medical advice... and ignore the minority in teaching unions spoiling for a fight.'

'Once the teachers are reassured by seeing that year groups can return safely. I think the various objections put in place by the unions will melt away under public pressure.'

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union the National Association of Head Teachers, had demanded more protection for his members.

'It is an insult to dedicated professionals to expect them to do their duty equipped with no more protection than a homemade face-mask and a bar of soap,' he said.

Boris Johnson with his dog Dlyn at Number 10 this morning

Pupils are pictured practising social distancing at a hub school in Edinburgh (left) as they were forced to keep attending due to their parents being key workers (right, pupils in Germany)

He told members they 'retain the power along with your governing body or trust board to make decisions regarding the safety of pupils and staff based on your own individual risk assessments', Schools Week reported.

And Dr Mary Bousted, NEU joint general secretary, dismissed the timetable for reopening schools as 'reckless'.

'The incoherence in this plan has generated genuine fear. For school leaders, the lack of clarity about what is expected before, or on June 1, is simply unacceptable,' she said.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, added: 'The UK Government's message to be responsible and to 'stay alert' will ring hollow with teachers who are still being denied access to appropriate PPE and who have been given no clear guidance about how social distancing can be practised in school settings.

'No teacher or child should be expected to go into schools until it can be demonstrated that it is safe for them to do so.'

A major sticking point between ministers and unions has been over the provisions of PPE for teachers. Official guidance states: 'Wearing a face covering or face mask in schools or other education settings is not recommended.'

Children will not be required to wear face masks and the government said it will publish further information on reopening safely to ensure schools can adequately prepare.

Parents won't be fined for keeping children out of school after lockdown Parents will not be 'penalised' for keeping their children out of school after lockdown, the PM has confirmed. Many had questioned whether they would be fined for refusing to send their children to school for fear of coronavirus, the Mirror reported. Boris Johnson revealed last night that reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children are expected to return to classrooms from June. They will be followed by years 2, 3, 4 and 5 ahead of the summer holidays, a newly released government document today said. The PM's spokesman said: 'The short answer is no, they won't. 'Whilst we will not penalise for keeping children at home, once children are eligible to return to school we will strongly encourage them to do so.' Advertisement

Downing Street has also confirmed yesterday that parents will not be 'penalised' or fined for keeping children out of school after lockdown.

Wales and Northern Ireland have rejected the June 1 return date, with Stormont hinting a phased return may not begin until September.

Scotland has warned schools may remain shuttered until August and said pupils cannot be allowed back until it is 'safe to do so'.

Westminster's blueprint said: 'Schools should prepare to begin to open for more children from 1 June.

'The Government expects children to be able to return to early years settings, and for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to be back in school in smaller sizes, from this point.'

The guidance also said it's 'ambition is for all primary school children to return to school before the summer for a month if feasible, though this will be kept under review.'

Prior to the new measures being released a schools' union boss accused the government of being 'irresponsible' to suggest some primary school children could return to classrooms from June 1.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, told Sky News that Boris Johnson's proposal to begin a phased return to schools from next month 'at the earliest' is 'reckless'.

In an address last night, the prime minister said pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 would be the first to go back to classrooms as part of a staged process.

Nurseries would also be included in the initial phase and the hope is that all primary school children would return to classrooms by the summer.

He added there is an 'ambition' that secondary school students who will take exams next year - such as Year 10 and Year 12 - will get some time in classrooms before the summer break.

Boris Johnson (pictured addressing the nation last night) has revealed his plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown and allow pupils to go back to schools

The government issued a series of graphics last night to illustrate the potential path out of the coronavirus lockdown

'At the earliest by June 1, after half term, we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages,' he said.

Mr Johnson added these were the 'first careful steps' and the timeline for reopening schools could be delayed if necessary.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the government's 'determination' for all primary school students to return to school before summer is 'not currently a feasible scenario.'

In a statement released after Mr Johnson unveiled his 'road-map', he added: 'The availability of school staff, the sheer number of pupils, and the sizes of school classrooms and corridors, combined with the need for social distancing measures, mean that the government's calculations simply don't add up.

'Based on the current trajectory it seems wildly optimistic, to the point of being irresponsible, to suggest that we will be in a position to return all primary children to school within the next seven weeks. This will give false hope to families and parents that we are further along the road to recovery than we actually are.'

Mr Whiteman added it is 'an insult to dedicated professionals to expect them to do their duty equipped with no more protection than a homemade face-mask and a bar of soap.'

'School leaders do not want to see classrooms empty for a day longer than they need to be, he said. 'But there is not a school leader in the land who wants to risk admitting more pupils unless it is safe to do so.'

NEU boss Mr Courtney criticised last night's proposals for Year 1 and Year 6 to retrun from June this morning, asking how teachers could possibly adhere to social distancing measures in classes of 30 or more pupils.

He added that the union has set 'five sensible tests' they believe 'need to be in place' in order for schools to reopen, including a low case count and plans for social distancing in schools.

Nicola Sturgeon BANS Boris Johnson's Stay Alert slogan in Scotland as his lockdown exit road map descends into shambles The First Minister said she would ignore the Prime Minister's much-criticised new 'Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives' slogan in favour of the previous 'Stay Home' message. icola Sturgeon left Boris Johnson's coronavirus lockdown plan in chaos today as she told Scots to stay away from public spaces unless exercising - after people in England were told it was OK to go and sit in the sun. The Scottish First Minister tore into Boris Johnson's chaotic new lockdown plans today, insisting that they would not be used in Scotland. The First Minister said she would ignore the Prime Minister's 'vague' new 'Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives' slogan in favour of the previous 'Stay Home' message. And in her daily press conference this lunchtime she directly countered Mr Johnson's guidance last night that it was now OK to 'sit in the sun in your local park' as long as social distancing rules were followed. Mrs Sturgeon said that the only change in Scotland was removing a limit on how many times people could take daily exercise. 'We do not at this point want to see more businesses opening up, more people going to work, we do not yet want to see more people using public transport, and we are not yet changing who can or should be at school,' she said. 'By exercise we mean activities such as walking or running or cycling, not at this stage sunbathing or having a picnic', she added. 'This really does not give people a licence to meet up at the park or at the beach.' It was the latest sign that Mr Johnson's attempt to keep the four nations of the United Kingdom - whose leaders have control over their own lockdown measures - in sync over coronavirus was in danger of breaking down. Last night Ms Sturgeon's Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford said the 'stay at home' message had not changed in Wales either. Advertisement

'We want lockdown to end, we want that to happen as soon as it safely can and we are not being irresponsible,' he said.

'We've said the case count in the country needs to be down low enough so that contact tracing can take over some of the work of social isolation but the case count is nowhere near those sorts of levels.

'We've said our second test is they need to have a plan for social distancing in schools - they've come up with nothing on that. This suggestion that reception, Year 1 and [Year 6] go back in 700 schools in the country, the infant schools, that's the big majority of children in those schools.

'How can you possibly do social distancing when the majority of children in classes of 30 or more are back in the school, it makes no sense.'

Mr Courtney added that testing should be available for both students and teachers, alongside plans for what schools should do if a pupil or faculty member falls ill with coronavirus.

'We've said they need a plan for if there's a case in the school, what do you then do?' he added. 'Do you close the whole class down? Do you close the whole school down?

'We've been given no science on that. How can we be planning now when they haven't given us any of those things.'

The NEU general secretary added the union had surveyed their members following the PM's address last night, and within an hour 49,000 teachers had responded with the 'vast, vast majority of them saying they think it is unsafe' to return to schools in June.

'It's reckless, it's irresponsible. Mary [Bousted] and I wrote to the government on May 1 asking them to talk with us before making any announcement, to get the science out there where people can see it, peer reviewed, about whether this would be safe or not,' he said.

'They've just ignored that. They've ignored three letters that we've sent them about the science. We've published a report about those questions recently. They made this announcement last night with no consultation with heads or with teachers before making the announcement, it's caused great consternation.'

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, last night slammed Mr Johnson's proposal as 'nothing short of reckless.'

She said: 'In China, children stand outside the school gates and are sprayed front and back with disinfectant, their shoes are sprayed, they wash their hands with sanitiser, they must take off their mask and replace it with a new one, and their temperature is taken remotely.'

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also appeared to back away from June 1 six days ago, telling a briefing she did not think it would be safe to reopen schools that early in Scotland

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have slammed the advice on school openings, and said they do not intend to follow Westminster's advice.

Welsh Education Minister Kirsty Williams responded fiercely, saying: 'The situation for schools in Wales will not change on June 1.

'We will continue to be guided by the very latest scientific advice and will only look to have more pupils and staff in schools when it is safe to do so. We will, of course, need to ensure that social distancing requirements can be adhered to.'

The UK has announced a further 210 victims of coronavirus today - the lowest daily increase since March 26, as the official number of victims topped 32,000;

New analysis has suggested people working in social care, including care workers and home carers, along with bus drivers and security guards have 'significantly' higher death rates involving Covid-19 than the working population as a whole;

Despite the 'road map' being published, guidance for health and safety in workplaces will not be released until tomorrow;

Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme, said some countries are setting themselves up for 'blind driving' in their relaxation of certain measures;

The viewing figures for Mr Johnson's big speech were 27.49million last night, higher than the 27.1million for his original lockdown announcement and more than the 23.3million for the Queen. It was the eighth most-watched programme in British history;

British Airways has warned that the 14-day quarantine rule for arrivals in the UK could mean it does not start flights in July as expected;

Jury trials in England and Wales are to resume from next week, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett has announced;

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called on the Government to 'sweep aside the secrecy' surrounding Sage, with the publication of its recommendations as well as dissenting views;

In a further broadside to the UK government, she said any decision on school opening will be announced 'well in advance' of the opening date to allow sufficient planning time.

Scotland's First Minister has warned the nation's schools may not reopen until August due to the spread of coronavirus.

She told reporters at a media briefing six days ago: 'I cannot and should not comment on whether it is appropriate for England (to go back to school on June 1)... but I do know, looking at the evidence I have now, I could not put my hand on my heart and say that would be a safe thing to do in Scotland.'

Northern Ireland's Education Secretary Peter Weir has also appeared to throw out Westminster's start date in three weeks time, warning there are a number of 'practical measures' that need to be addressed.

He said securing PPE for staff, putting social distancing in place in school lunch halls and ensuring measures are adhered to on school transport are all still being considered.

And warned it is 'extremely likely' schools in the nation will not re-open until September.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: 'We think that the announcement by the Government that schools may reopen from June 1 with reception and years one and six is nothing short of reckless'

The PM gave five phases of a 'Covid alert level' that will be primarily influenced by the rate of transmission, or R, which he said is between 0.5 and 0.9

She told The Times similar measures should be introduced in Britain, adding: 'They're doing that in South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.'

Mr Johnson's plans would see children in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 return to schools from June 1 as part of a staged process.

He added there was an 'ambition' that secondary school students who have exams next year will be given time with teachers before the summer holidays, but most will not be back until September.

Which other nations have reopened their schools amid Covid-19? Pictured: A classroom in Morges, Switzerland Schools in Switzerland reopened today, with many teachers splitting classes in half. Attendance has been trimmed to just two days a week per group to accommodate the change. Denmark became the first European country to resume after a month-long closure, with nursery and primary classes opening on April 15. In France, around 85 per cent of schools are set to reopen from Tuesday. There will be a maximum of 14 students per class in primary schools and 10 in pre-schools. Spain's students are mostly set to return to schools in September, with children under six whose parents cannot work from home resuming classes on May 25. Classrooms in Italy will also not reopen until September, though the government is considering opening nurseries and daycares before the summer. Outside of Europe, schools in South Korea reopened to students in mid-April after weeks of closure. Advertisement

'If we can't do it by those dates, and if the alert level won't allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right,' Mr Johnson said. 'If there are problems we will not hesitate to put on the brakes.'

The plans sparked alarm across Britain, with more than 300,000 parents signing a petition to allow them to keep their children at home if schools begin to reopen next month.

The petition, launched on Change.org within minutes of Mr Johnson's announcement, was created by Lucy Browne, who told other parents she fears for her daughter's safety.

'I'm calling on the UK Government to give parents and guardians the option of not sending their children back to school if they reopen in June, as Boris Johnson has suggested could happen in England,' she said.

'As a mum I don't want to face serious repercussions for making a choice I feel affects the safety of my daughter during a global pandemic'.

She added: 'The UK now has the highest death toll in Europe and second highest in the world.

'Many of us have lost confidence in the Government's handling of this crisis and feel it is too early to return children to schools.

'It seems it could post risks not only to children but also teachers and those they live with  grandparents, parents and those [with] underlying health conditions'.

Ms Browne claimed ministers had provided little reassurance about measures that might be taken to protect people and manage the risks of a return to school.

'Even drop-off and collection could increase risk of transmission among parents. We need the Government to be transparent with us and put things in place before we can consider placing our trust in this decision.

'Parents should have a choice on whether or not they put their children in this scenario'.

One signatory to the petition said she would 'rather lose my job and my house than my child'.

Another wrote: 'Open up Parliament first. Our children are not testing tools for anyone!'

Here is how the government's three-step plan to ease the lockdown shapes up:

STEP ONE

Work

From Wednesday, a series of tweaks will be implemented in England - although the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will not necessarily be the same.

The document said that people should work from home 'wherever possible' for the 'foreseeable future', to 'minimise the number of social contacts across the country'.

IT specialist 'ordered to return to work minutes after PM's speech' An IT specialist revealed how he was ordered to return to work just minutes after Boris Johnson eased several lockdown restrictions as criticism grew that the new measures are confusing. Cristian Ciomaga, 20, was one of dozens of commuters at Ealing Broadway station, west London who joined the growing chorus of criticism from across the country at the Prime Minister's muddled television announcement on the easing of the lockdown. Mr Ciomaga, who works as a computer programmer in central London fumed: 'Just minutes after Boris finished the announcement, I got an email from my boss telling me that I had to return to work. 'Until now, I've been working from home, but the boss said we've got a project coming up which has to be done from the office. I'm not sure if that's entirely true, I think he just wants to see our faces at work again but that's what the Government has now given him permission to do.' Mr Ciomaga, who was about to board a Central Line train, added: 'I'm not sure what precautions my company has put in place around social distancing and other safety measures. 'I could easily continue working from home and I'm very worried what the situation will be like in the office.' Advertisement

In an attempt to blow away any stigma for those who do carry on doing their jobs, the plan said: 'All those who work are contributing taxes that help pay for the healthcare provision on which the UK relies.

'People who are able to work at home make it possible for people who have to attend workplaces in person to do so while minimising the risk of overcrowding on transport and in public places.'

But even if they cannot work from home, most people are now being 'actively encouraged' to go back.

'The only exceptions to this are those workplaces such as hospitality and non-essential retail which during this first step the Government is requiring to remain closed,' the blueprint said.

The plan said 'COVID-19 Secure' guidelines will be produced this week, but merely stated that businesses should follow these 'as soon as practicable' - leaving a considerable degree of uncertainty about how and when workers can be reassured about safety.

Anyone who displays symptoms should isolate as was advised before.

Schools

The document admits that the 'rate of infection remains too high' to allow reopening of schools 'for all pupils'.

But it insisted that there is a 'large societal benefit' from vulnerable children and the offspring of key workers attending school. 'Local authorities and schools should therefore urge more children who would benefit from attending in person to do so,' it added.

The Government is also amending its guidance to allow for nannies and childminders, saying it will 'enable more working parents to return'.

Travel

The plan stressed that 'most journeys to work involve people travelling either by bike, by car or on foot'.

But it conceded that public transport is critical, 'particularly in urban centres and at peak times'.

The blueprint said 'everybody (including critical workers) should continue to avoid public transport wherever possible', instead cycling, walking or driving.

Moves are under way to widen pavements, create pop-up cycle lanes, and close some roads in cities to traffic to enable other social-distancing friendly transport methods.

Face coverings

The document said in this stage face coverings will help people avoid transmitting the disease to others if they have it without any symptoms.

It added that homemade cloth face-coverings can help reduce the risk, but surgical masks or respirators should continue to be reserved for healthcare workers.

Labour and unions declare coronavirus class war: Boris is accused of putting the working class in danger by ordering them back to jobs Boris Johnson has today been accused of putting Britain's working classes in danger by 'recklessly' urging them to go back to work before easing the lockdown. Labour has suggested that workers should ignore the Prime Minister's advice until the Government publishes full guidance for employers to make workplaces safe for staff to return. Trains and Tube services were busier today after Mr Johnson said those who can't work at home should now go into work - most appeared to be in the construction industry heading to building sites in central London. But office and banking districts such as the City of London and Canary Wharf were largely deserted today. The Government is already facing bitter rows with transport unions about increasing the number of buses and trains towards normal levels and teaching unions about plans to reopen primary schools from June 1. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said: 'People cannot get to work safely unless there is safe transport for them to use. This has not been thought through and the failure to do so places working people in danger.' Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said: 'It was crazy for the PM to make his statement on a Sunday evening and expect people to go to work 12 hours later without using public transport. Now we have utter confusion and mixed messages. 'It's difficult not to conclude that working class workers are expected to go to work whilst middle class workers work from home. But the 'new normal' can't just be a repeat of the old divide. Surely?'. Advertisement

Ministers added that face coverings should not be used by children aged under two or those with respiratory conditions.

People who may find it difficult to manage the masks correctly such as primary age children unassisted are also advised not to wear them.

Officials said the new guidance was being issued in response to there being 'more movement outside people's immediate household' as people start returning to work.

Public spaces

In a loosening that will come as a huge relief in England, the once-a-day restriction on exercise is being lifted.

You can spend time outside with one other person outside your household, as long as you stay two metres apart. This means tennis or golf with another person is now allowed.

However, team sports are still off limits, as are playgrounds and outdoor gyms.

People may travel as far as they want to get to outdoor spaces, and are permitted to stop and sunbathe as long as they keep two metres from anyone not in their own household.

That means, for example, people can drive to the beach and park, before sunning themselves.

In acknowledgement of the widening splits across the UK, the document noted that 'it is important that people respect the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and do not travel to different parts of the UK where it would be inconsistent with guidance or regulations'.

The plan noted: 'These measures may come with some risk; it is important that everyone continues to act responsibly, as the large majority have done to date. The infection rate will increase if people begin to break these rules and, for example, mix in groups in parks, which will trigger the need for further restrictions.'

Tougher fines, of up to 3,200 are being introduced to help enforce the increasingly complex rules.

Travel

As the outbreak subsides in the UK, there will be action to prevent 'leakage' in from abroad.

All international arrivals will need to supply contact and accommodation information. 'They will also be strongly advised to download and use the NHS contact tracing app,' the document said.

'Second, the Government will require all international arrivals not on a short list of exemptions to self-isolate in their accommodation for fourteen days on arrival into the UK.'

However, there is no deadline for these measures to be introduced, with the plan merely saying 'as soon as possible'.

STEP TWO

Schools and shops reopen and 'family bubbles' allowed

Step Two will not be implemented until June 1 at the earliest and the Government will give at least 48 hours notice that changes are to be made.

The biggest measure for families across Britain is the prospective return to school and nursery of thousands of children.

Teachers have been told to prepare to reopen their doors on June 1, with reception, year one and year six pupils the first to go back, in smaller classes.

The strategy said that the ambition is for all primary school children to return to school before the summer holidays for a month 'if feasible' - but this will be kept under review.

Secondary schools and further education colleges should prepare to begin some 'face-to-face contact' with Year 10 and 12 students who have key exams next year.

However, ministers face a potential problem in the shape of reticent teachers and parents. More than 380,000 people have signed a petition urging the Government to give parents a choice on sending their children back to school if they reopen next month.

And Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: 'Parents are quite rightly concerned about the risks to their children, not just at school but on their daily journeys to and from school.

'This in turn threatens the safety of adults in the school community: parents, families, teachers, heads and support staff.

'Social distancing for younger children will be difficult to achieve and for others there will be the issues of narrow corridors and classrooms that just aren't big enough to allow social distancing.'

In response to parents, the Government announced that fines usually levelled for truanting would not apply if parents did not send their children back to school.

Step two would also allow the creation of 'family bubbles'. The idea is that two branches of a family could be allowed to socialise together, allowing things like grandparents access to see their grandchildren and visa versa.

Sage has been asked to look at ways of making this possible, with more information nearer the time, with the guidance saying: 'The intention of this change would be to allow those who are isolated some more social contact, and to reduce the most harmful effects of the current social restrictions, while continuing to limit the risk of chains of transmission.

'It would also support some families to return to work by, for example, allowing two households to share childcare.'

Further proposals are being looked at for larger groups to gather to allow weddings to go ahead with small congregations.

Stage two would also allow for the return of sporting and cultural events, albeit behind closed doors.

A slew of events including Glastonbury, Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix have already been cancelled and are unlikely to be resurrected this year.

But the plans to allow 'cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact', would allow professional sports like football, rugby and cricket to resume in early summer.

This would also coincide with the reopening of the UK high street. Non-essential retailers, who have been closed since March at huge cost to the taxpayer, are expected to open in phases from June 1.

Rather than one flinging open of doors the Government warned it will be done in phases and that bars, pubs and restaurants, and 'personal care' like hairdressers and beauty salons, will remain closed because of the higher risk of infection.

Because of the expected increase in movement during this phase, it will also see more public transport return.

Buses and trains have been operating a limited service since march because demand fell off a cliff.

Step three

Something approaching normal - but some businesses could still be stuck in limbo

Stage three is not expected to come into force until July 4, US Independence Day, at the earliest.

Plans would include the reopening of businesses that were still closed: pubs, restaurants and hotels, hairdressers and beauty salons, churches and lesiure facilities like cinemas,.

But there is still a caveat at this stage that some places will not be able to open.

'Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to re-open safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part,' it warns,

'Nevertheless the Government will wish to open as many businesses and public places as the data and information at the time allows.'

It adds that it will watch places around the world that are already emerging from their lockdown and use them as guide as to how premises could open safely.

But it does raise the possibility that some businesses will potentially still have their doors closed heading in to the autumn, raising the spectre of job losses over the summer.

Joanna Williams: Children are paying the price for this idiocy

By Joanna Williams for the Daily Mail

After weeks of sniping at the Government's approach to shutting Britain's schools, one might have expected the National Education Union to offer up a message of support for its plan to reopen them.

Indeed, if it were going to criticise anything, it would be its glacial pace: while some primary school pupils will go back next month, the vast majority of children will not see the inside of a classroom until September. They will have been out of school for more than five months, leaving a cosmic black hole in their education.

And yet Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the NEU, says such a cautious approach is 'nothing short of reckless'.

How anyone  let alone the head of the union that represents the majority of teachers in the UK  could draw such a conclusion beggars belief.

Secondary school students who have exams next year will likely be given time with teachers before the summer holidays but most will not be back until September

But as someone who has spent years studying the education system, I wasn't surprised by Mrs Bousted's comments. After all, it was her union which set up a petition last month opposing the reopening of schools 'until it is safe to do so'.

Of course, the safety of Britain's children, as well as their teachers, must be at the forefront of every decision. But you don't have to be an education expert to conclude that the NEU has lost all sense of proportion in this pandemic.

How else can we explain Mrs Bousted's suggestion this week that Britain should copy China's dystopian approach to containing the virus and spray children at the school gates with disinfectant? Such an approach is suitable for cattle, not children. It's also scientifically dubious.

Only last weekend, Sir David Spiegelhalter, one of the UK's top statisticians, said the risk coronavirus posed to the young was 'staggeringly low'.

Another recent review, based on 78 studies from around the world, claimed there were no known cases of children having passed on coronavirus to adults. And yet for almost two months, Britain's schoolchildren have been forced to put their education on hold.

I'm certain that many of them will have watched the Prime Minister's announcement on Sunday and, just like my daughter, were left in total dismay. They are bored, lonely and, along with many hardworking teachers, are itching to get back to school.

For if the past months have taught us anything, it is that remote learning is no substitute for the classroom. I suspect the NEU knows that failing to open schools could seriously damage our children's educational, mental and social wellbeing. That's why, when schools closed in March, it warned: 'Do not expect teachers to live-stream lessons from their homes... It is not possible to recreate the classroom in this way.'

All of which makes you wonder, if the NEU neither supports remote teaching nor the return to normal education, what does it stand for? School holidays?

One thing we do know is that the reality for thousands of children remains grim. A majority of state school students have not taken part in a single online lesson during lockdown.

A decade has passed since Michael Gove called out 'the blob'  the academics, union leaders and bureaucrats who were thwarting his school reforms. But make no mistake, the blob is back. And the damage it is inflicting on our children could be devastating.

Dr Williams is director of the Cieo think-tank and author of Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity

Boris faces a bewildered public: PM is peppered with questions including 'how can I go to work if I can't find childcare?' and 'what if I bump into my friends in the park?' after revealing his new 'common sense' lockdown rules

By James Tapsfield and David Wilcock for MailOnline

Boris Johnson was confronted with public frustration over his lockdown exit strategy tonight as he tried to explain how they will work in detail - and why families still cannot be reunited.

As Britons tried to make sense of the new rules, the PM was challenged at a Downing Street briefing this evening over what people should do if they bumped into friends or relatives at the park.

Meanwhile, Pooja in Solihull demanded to know why new instructions on who could get to work are 'so vague'. And a teacher asked why they were being told to mix with children but could not see their loved ones.

Mr Johnson did not address what happened if friends encounter each other by chance while out exercising, merely stressing that socialising should still only happen with one person from another household - and even then two-metre social distancing must be observed.

And he conceded that the new arrangements he was laying out were 'more complicated' than the old 'stay at home' mantra.

'It's when you come to take small steps back to normality, as we are now, that clearly the message becomes finer, more complicated,' he said.

'We're saying that if you can't work from home you should talk to your employer about getting back to work, but explained: 'We're insisting that it's got to be safe at work and safe to get there.'

Amid an increasingly bitter split with Nicola Sturgeon over changing the core message to 'stay alert', Mr Johnson said: 'Stay alert for the vast majority of people still means stay at home as much as possible.'

Speaking at the Downing Street press briefing, Mr Johnson said: 'What we are saying is that you can go to the park to exercise on your own in an unlimited way, you can go with members of your own household.

Pooja in Solihull (left) demanded to know why new instructions on who could get to work are 'so vague'. Mr Johnson also faced a challenge from John from Midlothian (right), who demanded to know 'who I should listen to' given the PM and Ms Sturgeon are striking such different tones

Alex from the Lake District was among the callers to discuss the impact of the lockdown directly with Boris Johnson tonight

The bruising exchanges came as Mr Johnson tried to move on from a shambolic launch to the changes - with No10 and Dominic Raab embarrassingly at odds over when the measures come into force and exactly how they will operate.

The 50-page 'road map' stressed that the five tests have not yet been met, and so major loosening of the draconian curbs is not possible.

But the document said 'smarter' social distancing measures are being introduced to try and nudge the country back to some sort of normality. In the future restrictions will be targeted 'more precisely', recognising that 'not everybody's or every group's risk is the same'. It holds out the prospect of non-essential shop, TV sports and weddings starting to resume from next month - with the prospect of allowing people to socialise outside their own households in small 'bubbles'.

However, it leaves no doubt that hairdressers, pubs and foreign holidays are much further off.

The overhaul will also only apply to England, as Ms Sturgeon and her counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland have signalled they will stick to the previous hardline 'stay at home' message.

As he came under fire at the briefing tonight, Mr Johnson said: 'If you want to meet somebody from outside your household, it's got to be you and that other person just as a pair and you should observe social distancing while you're there. And so each of you basically on a one-on-one thing but with social distancing, keeping two metres apart.'

Natasha from Richmond (left) asked why teachers are expected to go back to work but cannot see their family members. Pictured, right, is Simon, a caller from Essex

Natasha from Richmond asked Mr Johnson why she could be returning to work as a primary school teacher but was still not permitted to see family.

The Prime Minister said 'there is new scope to see one other member of your family somewhere outdoors' but added: 'I hope you understand the constraints we're under.

'We have to keep this disease at bay, we have to advance very gradually.'

Mr Johnson was pressed by a woman from the Lake District on why he had not imposed a limit on people travelling to take exercise, raising concerns that beauty spots would be swamped.

'What we're saying is we want people to be able to use the outdoors to be able to exercise in an unlimited way outdoors but they've got to obey social distancing,' Mr Johnson said.

'So there can't be any question of people just going off for holidays for staying in places like the Lake District, if they do go to exercise, it's got to be done with social distancing.'

The Prime Minister spoke with concerned callers tonight as he discussed the impact of the lockdown with Scott from East Devon (right) and Megan from Nuneaton (left)

Responding to a question from John, from Londonderry, Mr Johnson said there will be no control points on the borders even if the devolved governments take different strategies to easing the lockdown.

He said: 'There'll be no checks, nothing is intended between Ireland and Northern Ireland and similarly you wouldn't expect anything between GB and Northern Ireland.

'What we really want people to do in this country is to look at our social distancing measures that we're proposing.

'All four nations totally understand what those social distancing measures are and apply them with common sense.'

He added: 'I think it's the common sense of the British people that has been so crucial and the whole of the UK in getting the R down.

'Everybody understood roughly what to do in the first phase and it's by applying common sense that I think we will be successful in this second phase as well.'

Mr Johnson also faced a challenge from John from Midlothian, who demanded to know 'who I should listen to' given the PM and Ms Sturgeon are striking such different tones. The premier responded that he thought all parts of the UK were committed to working together.

The new guidelines say those who can should continue to work from home 'for the foreseeable future', and pointed to full health and safety guidelines due to be published tomorrow.

In a stark warning, Mr Johnson also told the briefing that although a vaccine was a way out of the crisis it was 'by no means guaranteed' to happen. 'Even after 18 years we still don't have a vaccine for SARS,' he said.
Xiaomi is finally going to host the first sale of the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. Launched alongside the regular Note 9 Pro in March, the Max variant was delayed due to the coronavirus lockdown. The handset is very similar in terms of design and features when compared to the Note 9 Pro with minor differences.

The first sale will be happening today at 12PM and customers can purchase the handset from Mi.com and Amazon India. Of course, as per government directives, the delivery of non-essential items is restricted to Orange and Green zones.

SPECIFICATIONS AND PRICE

The handset comes with a 6.67-inch LCD display with a punch-hole placed on top center and a quad-camera setup in a square module. Like the previous Redmi Note 8 series, it has Gorilla Glass on the front and back, but this time the cameras are also protected with the same. Other notable design features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner similar to the Poco X2 and the Realme 6 series.

The device is powered by the 8nm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G which should be more efficient and slightly more powerful than the 730G. The smartphone will be offered in a total of three variants including 6GB RAM with either 64GB or 128GB of storage and an 8GB RAM option with 128GB internal storage. There is also a dedicated microSD card slot to expand the storage further.

The square camera module is placed at the center and is raised from the main body. It includes a 64-megapixel main sensor next to an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. There is also a 5-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. At the front, there is a 32-megapixel selfie camera placed in the punch hole. According to the company, the camera is capable of shooting RAW photography and some nifty tricks in pro mode while shooting video.

The battery unit is rated at 5,020mAh which is said to be the biggest on a Redmi Note device. It supports 33W fast charging (provided in the box) as well. Rest of the features include support for 4G VoLTE, NaVIC GPS, dual-SIM card slots, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, side-mounted fingerprint scanner, P2i coating, USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The handset will come with Android 10 with MIUI 11. There are three colour options to choose from including Aurora Blue, Glacier White, and Interstellar Black.

As for the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max pricing, the 6GB + 64GB variant is priced at Rs.16,499, the 6GB + 128GB variant is priced at Rs 17,999 while 8GB + 128GB variant is priced at Rs. 19,999. The pricing is different from what we saw during the launch due to revised GST rates in the country.
The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Singapore

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's health ministry on Monday confirmed 486 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 23,787.

The health ministry said the number of cases, the lowest in a week, were partly distorted by fewer tests being processed as one of its laboratories was recalibrating apparatus after 33 false positives were identified.

Singapore also reported one more death, bringing the virus-related death toll in the island nation to 21.

The ministry removed 35 cases from the count of infections after they were verified to be negative for COVID-19, it added.

Among the new cases, two are Singaporeans or permanent residents, while 481 are foreign workers living in dormitories in the city-state.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Shinjini Ganguli)
By ANI

SHIVAMOGGA: Roopa Praveen Rao, an expectant mother and a nurse at a hospital in Karnataka's Shivamogga, has chosen to continue to serve the patients amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Rao who hails from Gajanuru village is nine months pregnant and works at Jayachamarajendra Government Hospital as a nurse.

Shivamogga: Roopa Parveen Rao, a nine-month pregnant nurse who hails from Gajanuru village travels to Thirthahalli taluk daily to attend patients at Jayachamarajendra Government Hospital. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/kUGs5ac5u3  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

She travels every day to Thirthahalli taluk to attend to the patients at the hospital.

"The taluk hospital is surrounded by many villages, people need our service. My seniors had asked me to take leave but I want to serve people. I work six hours a day," she told ANI.

The taluk hospital is surrounded by many villages, people need our service. My seniors had asked me to take leave but I want to serve people. I work six hours a day. CM called me up and appreciated my dedication, he also suggested me to rest: Roopa Parveen Rao pic.twitter.com/FICPZCCH9h  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

She added that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa too called her up and appreciated her dedication and suggested that she should take rest.

Rao is one of the many frontline COVID-19 warriors who have been risking their lives to ensure that everyone stays safe as the country fights the coronavirus.
(Newser)  New Jersey reopened state parks on May 2but authorities say they may have to reconsider the move if people don't stop relieving themselves and discarding the waste there. State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan said Monday that "state park police reported an inordinate amount of urine and feces being left behind in the parks in water bottles," NBC 4 reports. Callahan said the report was "disheartening" and advised the public that since state park bathrooms will remain closed for now, they should "plan accordingly." Callahan and Gov. Phil Murphy warned that a "different approach" would have to be taken if people fail to obey the rules, NorthJersey.com reports. "You're not going to get a warning if we catch you leaving something like that behind," he said. (Read more New Jersey stories.)
A Missouri cop is suing the St. Louis Police Department and the city, claiming he wasn't promoted to Police Chief because he is white.

Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence O'Toole claims that Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards blamed the missed opportunity on a white cop who shot dead a black man in 2011 and sparked protests after he was found not guilty of first-degree murder in September 2017.

The current Police Chief John Hayden is black and Edwards  who is also African American  allegedly told O'Toole about the officer who killed Anthony Lamar Smith: 'If Jason Stockley didn't happen you would be the police chief.'

O'Toole claims it's proof he wasn't hired because he is white.

Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence O'Toole filed a lawsuit on May 1 against the St. Louis Police Department and the city claiming he wasn't promoted in October 2017 because of his race. He is pictured December 23, 2017

O'Toole claims Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards (left) told him: 'If Jason Stockley didn't happen you would be the police chief'. Police Chief John Hayden (right) was hired instead

O'Toole was made interim police chief when Sam Dotson suddenly retired in April 2017. Dotson is white.

O'Toole was leading when the community came out in their droves to denounce the verdict after prosecutors claimed DNA evidence indicated Stockley planted a gun on Smith.

Following the protest attendees  including journalists and bystanders who lived locally  accused police of beating them and dousing them in pepper spray even though they were on the ground and complying.

Those people were arrested using a controversial 'kettle' technique and it resulted in lawsuits against the city and 343 officers and officials.

Several officers also beat Luther Hall who was there working undercover. Hall is African American.

Five cops were indicted as a result of the protest over the Stockley verdict and two have pleaded guilty to charges that include lying to the FBI.

O'Toole was still leading in September 2017 when a community protested the not guilty verdict of Jason Stockley (left) who shot dead Anthony Lamar Smith (right) in 2011

Protesters stage a 'die-in' during a peaceful rally outside the police headquarters after the not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Jason Stockley in St. Louis, Missouri on September 17, 2017

The St. Louis Police Department was criticized for the 'kettle' arrests at the protests where five cops for indicted for beating up an undercover officer who is black

The job application process started less than a month after the protest and Mayor Lyda Krewson  who is white - appointed a citizen advisory board to assist.

But O'Toole claims that they were hostile to him throughout the application process in October 2017.

O'Toole claims he suffered a loss of wages. He states in the lawsuit, filed May 1, that he was the only officer not to get a $6,000 pay increase from the Proposition P sales tax.

The job application process started less than a month after the protest but O'Toole claims a citizen advisory board was hostile toward him

Edwards reportedly gave him an $8,000 increase when he became interim police chief and bumped up his salary another $7,000 to $115,000 when Hayden came on.

O'Toole has also been criticized for saying the police 'owned' the protests in September 2017 and for wrongly claiming that an off-duty cop shot in friendly fire had exchanged fire.

O'Toole filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2018. Edwards told the St. Louis Dispatch Times that he made it 'very, very clear' to O'Toole why he wasn't promote.

'I gave him several reasons why he did not get the job. And race was not one of them,' Edwards said Tuesday. Edwards said the city wrote a 'very telling' response to that complaint so he was 'a little surprised that he continued this.'

O'Toole also complained to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights in 2018 and they issued a notice of his right to sue in February this year.

O'Toole asking for compensatory damages in excess of $25,000, prejudgment interest and attorney fees.

He claims that the experience resulted in non-diagnosed emotional pain, suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, mental anguish, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life.
For most people, the last three months of our senior year in high school were some of the best days of our lives. Most of us would agree there arent many times as carefree as the home stretch of our senior year.

Graduation isnt just a coronation of all the hard work and accomplishments. It is the blur of memories and stories told. It was the rush you felt during the final walk down that long hallway (the one you dreaded being in most days). Graduation is also a launching pad. Some to college. Some to the workforce. Some to our military. Some to a mission. Some to marriage. Some to all the above. However, before the hard work would begin, we would always do one thing: We celebrated. Our San Antonio high school seniors have been shortchanged of their celebration. Our seniors deserve the love, attention and celebration that come with graduating from high school.
A mental health patient obsessed with Taylor Swift drowned at New Zealand beach while out on unescorted leave, a coroner has found.

Stephen Kapeli, 26, who suffered from bipolar, left Waitemata District Health Board's acute mental health unit He Puna Waiora at North Shore Hospital at 4.30pm on April 5, 2017.

A search began when the Auckland man did not return at 5.30pm, but his body was tragically discovered by a dog walker six days later on Takapuna Beach.

Coroner Sam Herdson this week ruled the empathetic and inquisitive young man did not take his own life.

Stephen Kapeli, 26, drowned on April 5, 2017, while out on unescorted leave from a mental health care facility

'Stephen had articulated his beliefs of having special abilities in relation to the computer, having or wanting to have a relationship with the pop star Taylor Swift, and other views, all of which appeared imagined, rather than grounded in reality,' the decision says, NZ Herald reports.

Mr Kapeli would experience manic and psychotic episodes, including climbing to heights or wanting to be at Takapuna Beach at night in the hope of meeting the US pop star.

In the decision, Coroner Herdson said Mr Kapeli had received mental health services from the facility over the past six years prior to his death.

He became unwell in 2011 while using cannabis and synthetic drugs and spending hours playing interactive fantasy game World of Warcraft online.

In July the following year, he was admitted to North Shore mental health unit after scaling Auckland bridge and running 'laps' in a bid to gain Taylor Swift's attention.

He was discharged into the care of his family, but remained sectioned under the Mental Health Act and continued to receive support mental health support from DHB until 2016, when his condition improved.

Mr Kapeli had developed an obsession with US pop star Taylor Swift, and would often do in search of her during psychotic episodes

Mr Kapeli had received care from Waitemata District Health Board's acute mental health unit He Puna Waiora at North Shore Hospital (pictured) on and off since 2016

However, his condition deteriorated in January 2017 when he stopped taking long-lasting antipsychotic medication, injections he had been receiving since his release.

Mr Kapeli resumed spending long periods on the computer and his obsession with the songstress returned.

In March, he was readmitted to He Puna Waiora to receive compulsory inpatient care and recommence his medication, but was granted short periods of unescorted leave.

On the day he disappeared, a court hearing at the hospital ordered him to remain at the facility for continued treatment, which made him upset.

Mr Kapeli told nursing staff, who checked on him at 3pm, he was not going to hurt himself and would not go to the beach.

His parents and police were notified and a search was launched.

A forensic pathologist ruled his death as a drowning and toxicology testing found no relevant traces of alcohol or drugs.

Coroner Herdson said Kapeli's disappearance and death were sudden and unexpected, causing great distress for his loved ones.

The 26-year-old's body was found a week after he left the facility at Takapuna Beach (pictured)

'His family members were understandably distressed by his death and were also concerned as to how the sequence of events had unfolded,' he said.

Mr Kapeli's mother Sue Carter said she felt clinical staff should have notified the family when he came off his medication, calling into question the priority of patient privacy policies.

Mr Carter said she believes tracking is needed for unescorted patient leave and said it is important her son's death was not listed as suicide.

'On the day he went missing he was in a happy frame of mind, he would have gone swimming to be with Taylor Swift,' she said.

The Auckland man is one of four mental health patients to die while under compulsory care at Waitemata DHB in two years.

The cases include two suspected suicides within days of each other at the facility in May which are now the subject of an independent review.

In August, a report into Mr Kapali's death found the staff should have notified his parents when he came off his medication.

The findings lead to policy changes to avoid similar tragedies.
Company Announcement no. 56  2020

Copenhagen, May 11th, 2020





GreenMobility increases focus on own cities and ends the franchise agreement in Oslo





Today, GreenMobility and Vy have agreed to end their cooperation on shared electric cars in Oslo, as the franchise model does not adequately support neither of the parties' businesses nor strategies

During the agreement period, GreenMobility's strategy has shifted to increasingly focus on expanding its popular, electric car-sharing service to European cities through own operations, where GreenMobility invests and runs the business itself. The shift in strategy has been driven by an increasing need for agility and control in the launch and operation of the car-sharing service, which has quickly become a natural part of urban mobility. At the same time, Vy has had a growing desire to further integrate the car sharing service in Oslo with their train and bus operations, which is also in line with their re-branding in 2019.

We have greatly appreciated the cooperation with Vy, where we have jointly developed a car sharing in Oslo and were the first to introduce the concept in Norway. It is a natural development to increasingly integrate the service with Vy's other services.

The cooperation is therefore ended by mutual decision and we wish Vy good luck with the continuing business in Oslo, says Thomas Heltborg Juul, Group CEO of GreenMobility.

GreenMobility and Vy have had a strong cooperation where we in short time have introduced car sharing in Oslo. We have jointly created a platform that we now want to integrate with our other services and at the same time, it will allow GreenMobility to focus on expanding its own cities, says Espen Dyb Lvold, General Manager of Vy Bybil.

GreenMobility believes that Oslo holds a large potential for car sharing services, and therefore expects to return to Oslo as its own operated city in 2021, thus offering its service across Scandinavia. In the meantime, Norwegian customers already have the opportunity to use GreenMobility's service in Copenhagen, Aarhus and other planned GreenMobility cities such as Malmo, Gothenburg and Antwerp.

Story continues

GreenMobility launched the City Cars in cooperation with Vy in December 2018 and during the financial year 2019, the partnership contributed with DKK 1.9m in revenue from the franchise agreement and from resale of hardware. The termination of the agreement is not expected to have a material impact on GreenMobilitys result for the year. Vy will continue their ownership of the City Cars in Oslo and carry on the operations on their own platform.

The cooperation between Vy and GreenMobility will end during the coming months.





For further information:

Anders Wall, VP Investor Relations GreenMobility, phone: +45 2540 3020, mail: aw@greenmobility.com

GreenMobility A/S, Landgreven 3, 1301 Kbenhavn K, CVR: 35521585, www.greenmobility.com

Espen Dyb Lvold, General Manager Vy Bybil AS, phone: +47 481 31 415, www.vy.no





Certified Advisor

NORDEN CEF ApS

John Norden

Kongevejen 365, DK-2840 Holte

+45 2072 0200

jn@nordencef.dk









GreenMobility offers modern urbanites easy, flexible and sustainable transport in the form of electric, shared city cars. Users have access to these cars via the GreenMobility app. Trips are paid per-minute. Today, GreenMobility operates 400 cars in Copenhagen; and 250 cars in Oslo, together with cooperative partner VY and 100 cars in Aarhus together with our partner NRGi. More than 75,000 people have signed up with GreenMobility.

Driven by global megatrends, GreenMobility sees a rapidly growing market for car sharing in large cities, that demand green transport for their citizens and aim to reduce the number of private cars. GreenMobilitys ambition is to be among the leading global operators of green shared mobility solutions. GreenMobility is listed on the Nasdaq First North GM in Copenhagen.

Attachment
According to the health minister of Mauritius, the country has officially become coronavirus-free with no active case for the past 15 days.

The Indian Ocean island nation said 322 people had recovered out of the 332 confirmed cases, while 10 people have died, meaning there are no activie cases.

May 11, 2020, marked the fifteenth consecutive day that no new case was recorded in the country. A lockdown, however, remains in place to contain any possible spread of the virus.

Mauritius is now the second Africa country to have declared virus-free status after infection.

As of May 12, 2020, Africas sole virus-free nation is Mauritius, while Lesotho is the sole African country yet to record a case, according to the data from US-based John Hopkins University.
The Neurosciences Institute, mixed centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernandez University (UMH) of Elche, have collaborated on the first clinical trial conducted in the world to test whether the defibrotide (DEF) medicine, which has already been authorized to treat a severe obstruction of the hepatic sinusoidal veins of people who have undergone a bone marrow transplant, can be used as therapy against COVID-19.

The work group of Experimental Embryology of the Neurosciences Institute, belonging to the Spanish Network of Cell Therapy (TerCel), is working on the development of experiments that will help study the effects that defibrotide has on the endothelium cells of the blood capillaries of the lung, and then on the cells of the alveoli of the lungs.

The trial is being coordinated by the Hospital Clinico Unviersitario Virgen de la Arrixaca (HCUVA) and the Murcia Institute of Biosanitary Research (IMIB).

The Hematopoietic Transplant and Cell Therapy group of the IMIB, which is directed by Doctor Jose Maria Moraleda, presented this proposal recently for the urgent call of the COVID-19 fund, launched by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) for the scientific and technological fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The ISCIII has communicated to the IMIB the favourable resolution to the clinical study proposed by Doctor Moraleda, in collaboration with a comprehensive multidisciplinary team of clinicians and researchers of the Hospital Clinico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, and TerCel, awarding it 115,000.

The ISCIII considers that "the funded proposal is appropriate for the emergency situation, allowing for an immediate implementation and launching in the National Healthcare System, with results that are specific, fast and suited to the current situation."

Authorization from the Spanish Agency of Medicines

As is mandatory in this type of studies, the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Healthcare Products had previously issued its favourable resolution for the clinical trial by considering it meets all the healthcare and suitability requirements.

Furthermore, it stresses that it is "essential to transfer the scientific evidence generated by research on COVID-19 as soon as possible to clinical practice."

The idea came from our knowledge of the strong antiinflammatory and antithrombotic effect that the defibrotide medicine achieves when treating hepatic veno-occlusive disease, which is a very severe complication that patients who have undergone bone marrow transplant suffer, by protecting the endothelium. Therein lies the key: the endothelium is composed of cells that line the inside of our veins and arteries. The endothelium opens or closes the passing of inflammatory cells from the blood to the tissues. If we protect the endothelium, we will prevent the inflammatory cells from the innate and adaptative immune system from reaching the lung in response to the cytokine storm caused by the virus, which thus causes mass inflammation and the respiratory distress syndrome which is characteristic of COVID-19, as well as the microthrombosis that causes multiorgan failure and the death of these patients," Dr Jose Maria Moraleda, Head of the Haematology and Cell Therapy Service of the HCUVA and Professor of Haematology of Murcia University

First results in three months

The objective of the trial is to "show that defibrotide is efficient and safe as a therapy against COVID-19 and we believe it could decrease the mortality rate by 25% by ensuring that patients who were in intermediate phases of the disease do not worsen, thus preventing intubation.

Furthermore, those who are already intubated, improve, and mechanical respiratory assistance can be withdrawn," adds Doctor Moraleda.

For this purpose, 120 patients with different degrees of severity will be recruited (intubated and non-intubated) in the random clinical trial in a proportion of 2:1; in other words, there will be 80 patients who will receive experimental treatment with defibrotide and 40 more who will receive a placebo as a control group.

But all patients will be able to receive all the therapies that are currently being used to try to slow down the SARS-COV-2 infection, such as antivirals, hydroxychloroquine, steroids or tocilizumab, because defibrotide does not interact with any of them and is perfectly compatible.

It is worth noting that defibrotide is a very safe medicine, and it can currently be used with children and infants one month of age or older.

As well as the patients that will be recruited by the HCUVA, the trial will include infected people from other Spanish centres: the 'Jimenez Diaz' foundation and Hospital 12 de Octubre of Madrid, H. Clinic of Barcelona and H. U. of Salamanca, as well as H. U. Morales Meseguer.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, the multinational pharmaceutical company responsible for defibrotide, has confirmed to the IMIB team that it will support this trial.

Doctor Moraleda specifies that "from day one, the company has shown to be very committed to the research of medicines that are already available such as defibrotide, to tackle the severe consequences of this disease, which has been decisive for this study to be conducted.

The main researcher of the trial stresses the fact that "we are obsessed with the scientific quality of the trial at a time of such therapeutic uncertainty." This project seeks to obtain scientific evidence, give hope to those affected based on the verified efficacy of the medicine, not the unverified opinion of experts with good will.

We hope to have the first results in around three months, with the data analysis that applying the therapy to the first patients offers us. We will start immediately, because "our patients desperately need efficient treatments with scientific guarantees." It also says that, in parallel, biological studies will be conducted to look further into the knowledge on the disease and the effects of the treatment.

Doctor Moraleda highlights the multidisciplinary nature of the trial and thanks the formidable effort and collaboration of the Haematology team and all the Departments that are directly involved in its development such as the Internal-Infectious Medicine, Intensive Care, Pharmacy, Clinical Analysis, Immunology, Radiology, Microbiology and Nursery Departments of the Hospital Clinico Universitario de la Arrixaca; as well as the efficient management of the FFIS and the aid of basic researchers of the IMIB and TerCel.

International collaboration

In parallel to the beginning of the clinical trial in Murcia, Doctor Moraleda stresses that a work group has already begun with prestigious researchers from international institutions in order to, in the near future, expand the clinical trial to other countries.

Specifically, international collaboration is being processed with professor Paul G. Richardson, who teaches at the Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, USA), professor Carmelo Carlo Stella, from the Cancer Center Humanitas Research Hospital (Milan, Italy), professor Favio Ciceri, from the San Rafaelle Institute (Milan, Italy), and professor Toni Pagliuca Kings Hospital (London, UK).
On the evening of Sept. 16, 1932, actress Peg Entwistle climbed the H in the Hollywoodland sign and leapt off into eternity. She didnt fly direct: The fall shattered her pelvis, and unless she lost consciousness on impact, she may have spent a few minutes looking at the blinking lights above her while she bled out. That was Entwistles Friday night, and the rest of her weekend wasnt much better: Her body wasnt found until Sunday evening, and it was Monday before an uncle identified her. But by Tuesday, Entwistle had become immortal. The story of a failed actress killing herself by jumping off the very symbol of her crushed dreams has a narrative symmetry thats almost never seen in the wild, and on Sept. 20, newspapers all over the country competed with one another to see who could slap the most purple headline on the AP wire story. (The reliably parochial Washington Post was the winner, writing that Entwistle Left Broadway Stardom for Californias Oblivion.) It took just four days for Entwistle to permanently retire from acting and reinvent herself as a symbol of the perils of show business, but 88 years later, shes still hard at work. Hollywood, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennans revisionist look at golden-age filmmaking, is the latest examplethe shows first season is structured around the production of an Entwistle biopicbut over the years, shes shown up everywhere from trashy tell-alls to Steely Dan songs, nearly as much a part of show business lore as the sign she jumped from. As a symbol, Entwistle is so perfect that if she hadnt existed, Hollywood would surely have invented her: a completely blank screen on which to project the romantic notions of fame, fortune, and show business that the industry is so good at manufacturing.

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Or almost a completely blank screen. Entwistles stage career has long since faded from living memory, though by all accounts, she was good: Bette Davis said that Entwistles Hedvig in a 1925 production of The Wild Duck inspired her to pursue acting. But Entwistle did more during her brief time in Hollywood than create one of its foundational myths; she also made a movie. Her only film appearance is in Thirteen Women, an RKO film directed by George Archainbaud, and although the fact that most of her performance ended up on the cutting room floor has become part of her myth, the film itself has not. Thats understandableThirteen Women is a trashy adaptation of an even trashier novel, which is an awfully thin hook to hang the entire concept of unrealized show business ambitions frombut its also a shame. For one thing, Thirteen Women is an incredibly strange and interesting film for reasons that go far beyond Entwistles appearance. More importantly, though, if Entwistle is our cultures symbol for crushed Hollywood dreamsour stand-in for all of the thousands and thousands of people that come to this town, according to Hollywoodits probably worth thinking about the specific form that dream took for Entwistle, the actual work she wanted to keep doing so badly she may have died for it. Like most Hollywood dreams and most Hollywood resumes, hers was more complicated, more lurid, and a lot more racist than anything thatd make it into an Oscar montage.

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Before Thirteen Women became a terrible movie, it was an even worse book. Author Tiffany Thayer had had a minor hit in 1930 with Thirteen Men, a novel about the members of a jury and the man they judge. The first sentence humbly claims, This is the damndest book you ever read, and thats as good an introduction to Thayers inimitable prose style as any. Thirteen Women, a sequel in name only, is a proto-slasher story about a multiracial killer picking off lily-white sorority sisters one by one to revenge herself for social slights suffered in college because of her race. (She does this by posing as an astrologist and sending predictions of doom to her former classmates, letting the power of suggestion handle the rest. This book is bonkers.) But Thirteen Women did not become a bestseller because of its ludicrous plot or the ground it broke toward creating a new genre. It became a bestseller because its part of a much longer literary tradition: novels that describe the unspeakably depraved lives of young people in big cities, for the scandalized delectation of older people in smaller cities. The very first chapter has this snippet of dinner party conversation, ostensibly members of the smart set commiserating about how difficult it is to hire good help in Los Angeles thanks to the influence of that wild crowd in Hollywood.

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Someone was telling meNorton, I thinkyou know him, George; he was telling me just the other day about this friend of his who has a boy a little older than Bob, about six, I think he said. And the parents hired this girl; pretty, looked to be decent, you know? She hadnt been there more than two or three weeks when the mother noticed the boy acting strangely every time he had to urinate. He was ashamed to tell her about it, but they finally got it out of him that it hurt him. They took him to a doctor and so help me God this girl had infected him. At six, mind you.

Thats Hollywood for you! Thayer also offers readers plenty of opportunities to tsk at astrology, adultery, homosexuality, women who gain weight after marriage, and women in general. Its easy to see what F. Scott Fitzgerald was referring to when he decried the slime of Mr. Tiffany Thayer. But if his themes were distasteful, at least he was a horrible stylist. Reviewing his novel An American Girl for the New Yorker, Dorothy Parker sliced Thayers prose into bloody ribbons, fed the ribbons into a meat grinder, and threw the meat grinder out a fifth floor window, beginning with Thayers description of an hollow square in the books first sentence. Later, Parker notes, Thayer describes an Hapsburg and an hill, but also a hotel, which she found touching, since that kind of error could happen to anybody who had no ear and never went beyond the fourth grade.

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Parker and Fitzgerald were not alone in their grim assessments of Thayers work. Entwistle biographer James Zeruk Jr. notes that RKOs script reader Miriam Meredith advised the studio against buying Thirteen Women because it contained nothing for pictures. It didnt listen, but in any event, Meredith had it backward. Thirteen Women contained too much for pictures: too much sex, too much violence, and above all, too many lesbians. Hazel Cousins, the character Entwistle eventually played in the movie, is a virginal goddess who doesnt seem to know that homosexuality exists until she is seduced and abandoned by a character Thayer introduces to readers, with his trademark charm, as a rich dyke from Denver, Martha Viborg.

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Somewhat incredibly, that plotline survived in Bartlett Cormack and Samuel Ornitzs screenplay, although their Hazel is less passive than Thayers. Instead of pining away and dying of anemia, this Hazel ends up in prison after stabbing her husband when he unexpectedly returns home to find her with her lover. If this was meant to be subtext it was only microns deep: Hazel tells her husband, I dont like to be pawed, thats all  I never liked it. I just let you because I thought I had to, and there was a dissolve that made it clear that Martha and Hazel had retired to the same (off-screen) bed. Although Entwistle seems to have signed her one-film RKO contract believing she was going to appear in George Cukors Bill of Divorcement, in a role that ultimately went to Katharine Hepburn, Hazel was what she ended up with, a small link in the long chain of crazed lesbian killers that eventually brought us Basic Instinct.

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Entwistles character is a small link in the long chain of crazed lesbian killers that eventually brought us Basic Instinct.

Entwistle filmed her scenes in July of 1932, a month producer David O. Selznick spent playing chicken with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of Americas Studio Relations Committee, the notoriously lax organization responsible for approving screenplays until the much stricter Production Code Administration replaced it in 1934. The SRC may have let a lot of things slide, but Hazel and Marthas affair wasnt one of them. On reading the script, RKO was reminded in no uncertain terms that even a hint of this sort of thing is impermissible under the code. The studio told the SRC that itd fix the script, then sent over a final version with no major revisions. The SRC protested again, at which point RKO assured it the offending scenes had been entirely rewritten. They hadnt, and production files show that the scenes Entwistle filmed were essentially identical to the first version of the script. In late July, someone finally called Selznicks bluff: Entwistle was hustled back to the lot for a day of reshoots. But instead of giving her character a new reason to kill her husband, Archainbaud punted: In the final film, the only explanation is a headline reading Mrs. Hazel Cousins Admits Slaying; Says, I Must Have Lost My Mind. 

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Entwistles earlier scene, in which she attends a circus performance where one of her sorority sisters dies in a trapeze accident, was reedited to mostly remove her lover, and in the finished film, which clocks in at a lean 59 minutes, she barely has anything to do. However devastating it must have been for Entwistle to be cut out of her screen debut, watching Thirteen Women now, it seems like a kindness, and not just because the movie isnt any good. Today, the scenes RKO and the SRC spent so much time worrying about havent quite aged into wholesomenesstheyre still about a lesbian homewrecker provoking a murder, after allbut no one would picket a movie theater over them. Meanwhile, an issue that was barely on Hollywoods radar in 1932 has become patently offensive to modern viewers in a way that makes Thirteen Women hard to watch today. Ursula Georgi, the half-Javanese hypnotist who stalks and murders the members of the Kappa Society, is played by redhead Myrna Loy. Heres her makeup:

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Loy landed the role of Nora Charles in The Thin Man in 1934, pivoted to the comedies shes remembered for today, and never looked back, but at the beginning of her career, Warner Brothers had typecast her as what was then referred to as an exotic. (She also made an entire feature in blackface.) As vile as her work from this period looks today, in its time, white people loved it. The Los Angeles Times wrote in 1926 that there is a hint of the oriental about hera tinge of the inscrutability of the ancient East, adding a year later that she was able to achieve an oriental atmosphere with the slow lift of her eyelids. (As you can see in Thirteen Women, her eyelids seem to have had some help in that department from Scotch tape.) In other words, it was very, very good for Myrna Loys legacy that she landed the part of Nora Charles.

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As for Peg Entwistles legacy, the dive she took off the Hollywood sign made it inevitable that her failure would be remembered at least as long as Myrna Loys success. But for Entwistle to mean what people want her toa tragic cautionary tale for everyone with frustrated ambitions in a town overflowing with frustrated ambitionsits important not to look too closely at whats survived of her career. She came to Hollywood to appear in a quickie, racist adaptation of an even more offensive book, in a role (and movie) that seems to have been designed exclusively to test the limits of the Production Code. Thats not really what people like seeing in a tragic heroine, and its certainly not how Hollywood likes to present itself, so we seem to have collectively decided to leave the whole Thirteen Women plotline on the cutting room floor, in favor of her big scene atop Mount Lee, all 1.6 seconds of it. It turns out the only way Peg Entwistles story works is if you cut her role down to almost nothing. Just look at these audience response cards.
The Delhi Sentence Review Board (SRB) has recommended a premature release of Jessica Lal murder convict Manu Sharma, who is serving life imprisonment, sources said on Tuesday.

A final decision on the recommendation will, however, be taken by Lt Governor Anil Baijal.

The sources said the recommendation was made at a meeting of the SRB chaired by Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday.

"Over 1,000 people have been released on parole so far. Thirty-seven cases came up based on merit (in the SRB's meeting). Twenty-two cases were fit for release based on the prescribed criteria," a Delhi government official said.

This is the sixth time that Sharma's plea for premature release was placed before the the Sentence Review Board, which comes under the Delhi government.

"The file will now be sent to the lieutenant governor for final approval," the sources added.

"Manu Sharma fulfils all parameters as required for premature release," his lawyer Amit Sahni said.

Sharma, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in December 2006 for killing Jessica Lal in 1999.

A trial court had acquitted him, but the high court reversed the order and the Supreme Court later upheld his life sentence in April 2010.

Lal was shot dead by Sharma after she had refused to serve him liquor at the Tamarind Court restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani at Qutub Colonnade in south Delhi's Mehrauli area on the night of April 30, 1999.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The brother of a man charged with the 1988 'gay hate' murder of an American maths genius has revealed he too was interviewed by police - but is adamant they are both innocent.

Scott Phillip White was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with killing Scott Johnson, a 27-year-old PhD student who moved from California to Australia to study.

Mr Johnson's naked body was found at the base of cliffs at Blue Fish Point, near Manly's north head on Sydney's northern beaches, on December 10, 1988.

Strike Force Welsford detectives swooped on White's unit at Lane Cove, on Sydney's lower north shore, early on Tuesday before charging him with one count of murder.

White's brother Shane arrived at his unit to collect his belongings and told Daily Mail Australia he too had been interviewed by NSW Police last year.

He admitted that he and his brother used to drink on the northern beaches in the area near where Mr Johnson's body was found, but strongly denied either of them had committed the crime.

Scott Phillip White was arrested on Tuesday morning with murdering American student Scott Johnson in 1988. His younger brother Shane (left) said his relative was 'innocent' and revealed he too had been interviewed by NSW Police last year, but had an 'alibi'

White, 49, was led away from his home at Lane Cove, on Sydney's lower north shore, early on Tuesday morning (pictured). His brother revealed they regularly used to drink on the beach near where Johnson died

Johnson (pictured) was found at the base of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, near Manly's North Head, on December 10, 1988. He was naked and a 2017 inquest found his death was likely a 'gay hate' crime

Shane said he had been aware of police interest in his brother since last year, when he was interviewed by members of Strike Force Welsford.

'I know he's innocent (and) he knows he's innocent. They came after me, but because I had an alibi they come on to my brother,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Maybe 12 months ago, the squad that looks after unsolved crimes came and spoke to me, you know, just because they have to talk to anyone that could be a suspect... and we used to drink a lot at that beach.

'We've always been (tight) so he would tell me... and I asked him: "Is there anything you're not telling me?" And he said: "Nothing".'

Another relative of White's who aided in collecting his personal belongings revealed he has an estranged wife and children.

He said he had suffered mental health issues in recent years, but that he had not at the time of Mr Johnson's death.

An initial inquest into Mr Johnson's death in 1989 labelled it a suicide, before a follow up inquest in 2012 delivered an open finding.

A third inquest in 2017 found that Johnson had fallen off the cliff due to 'perceived or actual violence' because he was homoesexual.

'I am of the view it is very unlikely Scott took his own life,' then state coroner Michael Barnes said at the time.

'I conclude it is very likely that gay hate crimes were committed at the relevant location at around the time Scott died.'

NSW Police offered a $1 million reward for information on the alleged gay hate crime in 2018, but no one came forward.

Desperate for answers, the reward was upped to $2 million by Mr Johnson's brother Steve - who is based in Boston, Massachusetts - earlier this year.

White was charged with murder at Chatswood Police Station late on Tuesday afternoon. He is due to face Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday morning. Relatives of White took personal belongings from his home on Tuesday afternoon, including his dog 'Jazz'

Neighbours inside the Lane Cove unit block (pictured) where White lived said they were shocked to find detectives there on Tuesday, saying he had always been nice and offered to help them when they needed

Officers returned to the clifftops at north head near where Mr Johnson's body was found to search for evidence on Tuesday

White's neighbour Natalie Walster said White had confided in her that he was being investigated by police, but also told her he was innocent.

'He said: 'I've got two detectives on my case about a murder that happened in the 80s. But I didn't do it",' she told The ABC.

But others said they were shocked to find detectives inside their block on Tuesday, saying White had always been nice and offered to help them when they needed.

'He kept to himself most of the time, but he was a really nice guy and really friendly,' one neighbour said.

'We'd always see him out walking his dog and he helped my mum a few times when she needed a hand.

'It was a shock this morning to hear all the commotion outside and peer out the door to see the detectives.'

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller phoned Steve in Boston to update him ahead of White's arrest.

An inquest in 1989 found the 27-year-old maths genius and PhD student had committed suicide, while a second inquest in June 2012 was left open. The third inquest found Mr Johnson fell from the cliff 'as a result of actual or threatened violence' by an unidentified attacker who perceived him to be gay

Mr Johnson (left) is pictured with his brother Steve (right), who has worked with NSW Police to solve the 27-year-old's death

'Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight  Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honour be part of his fight for justice,' Commissioner Fuller said.

'While we have a long way to go in the legal process, it must be acknowledged that if it wasn't for the determination of the Johnson family, which inspired me and the Strike Force Welsford team, we wouldn't be where we are today.'

Steve said it was 'a very emotional day' in a video message shared by police.

'It's emotional for me, it's emotional for my family, my two sisters and my brother who love Scott dearly, my wife and my three kids who never got to know their uncle but admire him,' he told the camera.

'Emotional for the gay community. For whom, Scott had come to symbolise the many dozens of other gay men who lost their lives in the 1980s and 90s in a world full of anti-gay prejudice and hatred.

Steve said it was 'remarkable' authorities were able to apprehend the alleged killer during the coronavirus pandemic.

The arrest proved 'times have changed' and it recognises 'that all of us deserve equal protection and justice under the law', he added.

NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller (pictured) said making a phone call to Johnson's brother Steve on Tuesday morning to tell him of the arrest was a 'career highlight'

Johnson's brother Steve said it was 'a very emotional day' in a video message shared by police (pictured) Steve Johnson leaves the Glebe Coroners Court after the inquest into the death of Scott Johnson in Sydney on November 30, 2017

He said his brother would be 'very happy' to see how far the gay community has come in 30 years.

'I hope the friends and families of the other dozens of gay men who lost their lives find solace in what's happened today,' Steve said.

'I hope it opens the door to resolve the other mysterious deaths of men who have not yet received justice.

'Again, on behalf of my family, I want to thank everyone that has worked so hard over the years to bring this great news today.'

Officers returned to the clifftops near where Mr Johnson's body was found to search for evidence on Tuesday.

White was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.
San Antonio police are looking for those responsible for several drive-by paintball attacks near the downtown area Monday night.

Just before midnight, police were called to three different scenes after victims said a vehicle drove past and sprayed them with paintballs, officials at the scene said.
Five California counties have more than 70% of the entire state's coronavirus cases and when it comes to hospitalizations, the number's even higher. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk joins those requesting to reopen faster, but he didn't wait for an answer.

It's Arlene Martinez, with news for Monday.

But first, Disneyland Shanghai reopens, and tickets for the rest of the week are sold out. Is Anaheim next?

Stay safe and informed with news and resources from across the USA TODAY Network and beyond: Sign up for In California today (it's free!).

COVID-19 overwhelmingly hits SoCal

The state slowly reopens, but some counties, along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other individuals, want it to happen even faster.

New data show the majority of cases, current hospitalizations and deaths in the Golden State are concentrated in Southern California.

Together, five SoCal counties account for about 71% of all the state's cases to date. Not surprisingly, Los Angeles County, as the most populous, leads the pack. But despite housing a quarter of California's population, it has 47% of the cases as of Monday. The other top four are Riverside, San Diego, Orange County and San Bernardino.

As of Monday, there were 2,770 fatalities from the coronavirus. There are now 67,939 confirmed cases statewide.

Explore your county's information here.

Newsom's nail salon claim, the packed United flight and Tesla reopens

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reopened the company's factory in Fremont, defying a stay-at-home order issued by Alameda County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed the first case of coronavirus from community spread originated at a nail salon, but he won't elaborate and things don't all add up.

A United flight bound for San Francisco, and carrying at least 25 medical professionals who had gone to New York to help, was full and passengers wonder why. United had previously said it would keep the middle seats open.

Elon Musk sued Alameda County for being forced to stay closed, threatened to move Tesla out of state and reopened his factory Monday in defiance of public health orders. A state legislator expressed her feelings over the weekend toward him in a tweet: "F*ck Elon Musk."

Story continues

Counties to Newsom: We want to open faster

More than two dozen counties have asked for permission to loosen their stay-at-home plans beyond what the state allows, Newsom announced Monday, promising a speedy review as more than 4.5 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.

Newsom relaxed restrictions last week to allow for curbside pickup at many retailers and for manufacturers to resume operations with some limits. But he said counties could go further if they meet strict state standards, including no coronavirus-related deaths and no more than one confirmed case per 10,000 residents in the past two weeks.

Visalia's Candy Cottage reopened on Thursday with modifications to keep customers safe. The Tulare County Public Health department agrees chocolate is "essential."

Newsom said his administration has talked with 19 counties, with nine more planned. But it's been difficult for some highly populated counties to meet state standards. Officials in Kern County, where one nursing home has accounted for most of its deaths, have asked Newsom to reconsider those rules.

There is a lot of really interesting nuance within these large counties and that obviously needs to be taken into account, Newsom said during his midday news briefing.

Yuba and Sutter counties in Northern California easily meet those standards but they didn't wait for state approval, already allowing dine-in restaurants, hair salons and gyms to reopen.

Last week, the Newsom administration warned the counties they could forfeit federal disaster dollars if they keep ignoring the governor's order. By Monday, the Democratic governor called the two counties incredibly cooperative and said we're having some very good conversations."

States have largely been given authority to handle the pandemic how their leaders see fit. Here's how it's played out in four cities near Las Vegas.

More than 15 states were set to reopen in some stage on Monday. Here's a state-by-state tracker.

"Chocolate is essential": Downtown Visalia starts to slowly reopen.

What else we're talking about

Protesters gather along the lawn of the Ventura County Government Center on May 9, 2020, to support fully reopening California from coronavirus restrictions, the second such rally in a little more than a week.

Protestors over the weekend gathered outside Ventura County's government center, calling on the state to fully reopen. Few wore masks.

They shared water and a mask in an apparent attempt to infect themselves with the coronavirus, and within two weeks 30 prisoners tested positive at a Los Angeles County jail.

Jobless claims have dropped the last five weeks and four other reasons not to panic over April's historic unemployment rate.

A nurse in Hollywood without proper protective gear chose to help a quickly fading patient. The decision may have cost her life.

A Shasta County resident spent nearly four weeks on a ventilator as she battled for her life. She got out in time to celebrate her 72nd birthday.

The anti-vaccination movement and demonstrations against the coronavirus-related lockdown share a similar message: "In both cases, protesters insist their individual rights trump any societal needs for safety and survival." (Opinion)

Santa, TV trays, breathing and DIY stroopwafels (!)

The Nyeland Acres Santa Claus gets his own mask. The 20-foot-tall landmark off Highway 101 north of Oxnard reminds passersby to wear a mask.

A 20-foot St. Nick off Highway 101 joins the crowd of mask wearers. No word on what the elves are doing.

Bring back the TV tray: The case for mindlessness in a time of pandemic.

Learning I was breathing wrong changed so many things. See if you're breathing right plus more tips/advice for coping in a pandemic.

First, it was DoubleTree's warm chocolate chip cookie, then Disney gave us its Dole Whip and churros. Now, United offers up its stroopwafel recipe.

Well, now, off to bake. See you Tuesday. Send me any concerns, suggestions, advice or trademarked recipes at avmartinez@gannett.com or DM me here.

In California is a roundup of news from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Eater Los Angeles, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19, California, Elon Musk, Tesla, United, Disney: Monday's news
Joe Biden has released another campaign advert hitting out at Donald Trump, using his own words against him to scrutinise his handling of the coronavirus.

The video shared on Mr Bidens twitter plays out the timeline of the escalation of the pandemic in the US, montaging Trumps interviews and conferences.

We have it very well under control. Were working very closely with China and other countries, and we think its going to have a very good ending for us, the president says in the video in a clip from 30 January.

The advert continually suggests that Mr Trump ignores the warnings of the pandemic and denied its severity to protect the stock market.

It will go away just stay calm it will go away, Mr Trump also says in the video.

Mr Biden captioned his tweet with the final words from the clip: Donald Trump just doesnt understand: We have an economic crisis because we have a public health crisis  and we have a public health crisis because he failed to act.

The tweet including the video on Mr Bidens account currently has more than 80,000 likes on twitter and over 30,000 retweets.

The presidential hopefuls team released an earlier video attacking the presidents response to the coronavirus pandemic only a matter of days ago.

The 7 May advert invoked Abraham Lincoln quotes contrasted with news clips of Mr Trump supporting Michigan lockdown protestors against images of coronavirus victims.

On the same day, Mr Trump also released a video attacking Mr Bidens relationship with China.

During Americas crisis, Biden protected Chinas feelings. Or perhaps Chinas investments. Biden Stands up for China. While China tries to cripple America, the advert which was personally approved by Mr Trump claimed.

The campaigning of both Mr Biden and Mr Trump has escalated over the last week as the 2020 presidential election season draws closer.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
Of course it was more than that. Science is full of people who do great work in their areas, but dont see what we lay people call the big picture, the author James Gleick said. Bob May definitely did.

Mr. Gleick featured Dr. May in his book about the study of complexity, Chaos: Making a New Science (1987). In an interview, he called Dr. May one of the very small handful of seminal figures in that field.

Dr. May showed an uncanny knack for identifying key problems in the fields of study he focused on and for developing simple mathematical models that could deepen understanding of them. When he came to ecology in the 1970s, the discipline was largely built on empirical observation in the field, and conventional wisdom held that a rich, complex ecosystem was inherently more stable than one with fewer organisms. Dr. Mays models suggested the opposite: The larger the number of species, the less stable the environment might be, with potentially wild population swings.

An article by Dr. May in the journal Nature in 1972, Will a Large Complex System Be Stable?, and his book Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems (1973) laid out his theories and began a revolution in ecology, said Dan Rubenstein, director of the program in environmental studies at Princeton, where Dr. May was on the faculty from 1973 to 1988. His work often gave us empiricists laser focus on what we should be looking for, because the models, their simplicity and elegance, made strong predictions that we could go out and test.

The power of the models lay, in turn, in their reliance on information from the empiricists. Bob had a respect for the muddy-boots types, Dr. Rubenstein said. Anybody can build a model, but if you dont tune it with realistic parameters, its not going to be helpful.
As provinces move to relax coronavirus restrictions and allow people to slowly expand their social bubbles, it is raising a question for those with young children: Does that mean its safe to go visit grandma and grandpa?

Because each family situation is different, provincial officials say its going to be up to each household to assess the risks on their own.

If you have an elderly mother or father and their health isnt great, I wouldnt chance it, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters during a Monday briefing.

In B.C., Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, echoed that sentiment last week, saying that while the province will soon allow people to expand their social circles a bit, they will have to give careful thought as to whether those circles include people at greater risk of illness, such as the elderly.

Two experts consulted by the Star on Monday said there are a few key questions parents should ask themselves before piling in the car to go see the grandparents.

Seniors are already more prone to getting infections, said Dr. Roger Wong, a clinical professor in geriatric medicine at the University of British Columbia. Do they have any long-standing health conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes, that could make them even more vulnerable?

Dr. Stephen Freedman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, says another question to ask is: What sort of exposure have you and your kids had with individuals outside the household? Has anyone in the household had any symptoms in the preceding 14 days?

The greater the number of exposures and interactions outside the home, the greater the risk, he said.

Freedman noted that children are more likely to be asymptomatic and thus less likely to be coughing and sneezing. They are also less hygienic than adults. That said, there are still no reliable scientific models to know the potential for children to transmit the coronavirus compared to adults.

Something else parents will want to consider is how long the visit with the grandparents will be and what type of interactions theyll have.

The longer and closer the interaction, the greater the potential for contamination, Freedman said.

Meeting grandparents in an open space is preferred to an enclosed space, Wong agreed. And before allowing your child to go in for a hug, you should ask: What social bubble have they been in over the last 14 days?

Wong adds that if the grandparents live in a residence where there are other seniors, that might also be another reason to take pause.

The Star spoke to two Vancouver parents Monday who have heard the recommendations from experts and have decided to take different approaches.

Ali Liu, a physician, said she and her young family plan to keep practising physical distancing from her parents for the foreseeable future.

She said she and her husband have remained housebound for the most part during the pandemic, except when they take their toddler for walks.

When they have gone to visit her parents, they have remained in the driveway. Though they do get out of their car and have even had meals there, Liu says theyve always maintained a separation of more than two metres.

Following the upcoming Victoria Day long weekend, Liu said her husband, also a physician, plans to return to work, which means greater exposure to the outside community.

Going forward, they plan to tighten the bubble and make fewer trips to see her parents. And if they do visit, they plan to remain on the other side of the gate.

Its been very challenging but I think its a necessity for public safety, Liu said. Its a small sacrifice, albeit a hard one.

Alfred Chien, on the other hand, says he and his wife have allowed their six-year-old daughter to go visit his parents once a week.

Chien said during this pandemic, he has remained at home, except to go shopping for groceries once a week. His six-year-old daughter doesnt leave the house except to play in the backyard. His wife works at a bank, so she doesnt join them on their visits to his parents house.

He acknowledges that his wife could bring the virus home to the rest of the family. But after a family discussion, they felt the risk was minimal.

Chien said he closely monitored the SARS outbreak in his native Hong Kong back in the early 2000s and knows early protection is key. He feels his family has taken appropriate steps to mitigate risk of exposure by wearing masks and frequently washing hands.

When he and his daughter are at his parents house, he says his sister also brings her children over.

My parents are happy to see them screaming and running around, he said.

I truly believe mental health is a very important factor to your health.

Read more about:
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW), a leading provider of process solutions, today reported results for the quarter ended March 28, 2020.

"Our first quarter results demonstrate our nimble operating structure, maturing business operating system and emphasis on driving high-quality revenue. Specifically, the team was able to deliver significant year-over-year improvements in gross margin despite revenues being down over 20% driven by solid execution, cost reductions and productivity savings. This strong operating foundation, underpinned by a people-first culture, has driven an effective and resilient response to the dynamic impacts of COVID-19. I am impressed with the way our team is working together across the globe to navigate these challenges, rapidly implementing new protocols that prioritize the health and well-being of our team members and maintain business continuity to fully support customers. And I am inspired by the acts of kindness our team has demonstrated in support of local communities and front-line workers," said Marc Michael, President and Chief Executive Officer.

"As we navigate through this historic situation, our guiding principles are to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, support our customers with excellence, maintain long-term financial strength and execute our long-term strategy. To this end, it is vital that we keep our talented workforce intact to provide continuity and ensure the technical skills and process knowledge are in place to support our customers and capitalize on opportunities to create value through this economic cycle."

"Importantly, we are in a strong financial position that was fortified with the net proceeds from the sale of Power and Energy. Available liquidity is over $1.1 billion, and our net leverage and interest coverage ratios are well below the debt covenants. We have flexibility to maintain a strong balance sheet, invest in our long-term strategy and create value through disciplined, opportunistic capital allocation."

"The global pandemic and economic downturn underscore the importance of our strategy to focus on process solutions for sanitary and industrial applications. We support everyday life, including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, water, personal care, specialty chemical and condensed air markets. This positions SPX FLOW as an essential part of the supply chain that helps feed and enhance the world. With this as our purpose, our global operations have remained open throughout this pandemic, with limited, temporary restrictions. That said, consistent with the broader economy, orders slowed significantly in March and April."

"We are managing the near-term demand environment prudently and have conducted a robust cash sensitivity analysis across various economic scenarios. Currently, we are operating with the assumption that revenue will decrease 15%-20% year-over-year. Considering this, we curtailed discretionary spend, variable costs and paused hiring, apart from customer support roles, select strategic positions and early career programs. Should the economic downturn decline further, we have identified subsequent cost actions that can be rapidly implemented to adjust our cost structure in accordance with volume, while maintaining the ability to support customers and fully participate in economic recovery."

"In summary, SPX FLOW is better positioned today than in previous industrial economic recessions to support our team, serve our customers with excellence and maintain financial strength, liquidity and strategic optionality. I am proud of our team members across the world for their united effort and fortitude in navigating through this global pandemic. And I am confident we will effectively manage through this economic downturn and be in a stronger position capitalize on growth and value creation opportunities when the economy recovers," said Marc Michael, SPX FLOW President and Chief Executive Officer.

First Quarter 2020 Consolidated Results (continuing operations unless otherwise noted)

$ millions; except per share data Q1 2020

Q1 2019

Variance

Organic Variance Backlog $ 517.0



$ 555.7



(7.0) %

(2.2) % Orders 317.0



357.7



(11.4) %

(10.1) % Revenues 289.5



373.4



(22.5) %

(19.6) % Segment income 28.8



47.0



(38.7) %



Margin % 9.9 %

12.6 %

-270bps



Operating income 8.6



28.0



(69.3) %



Margin % 3.0 %

7.5 %

-450bps



















Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax $ (0.3)



$ 14.7









Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax (5.0)



4.8









Net income (loss) attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. (5.3)



19.5

























Diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.01)



$ 0.35









Diluted earnings (loss) per share from discontinued operations (0.12)



0.11









Diluted earnings (loss) per share (0.12)



0.46

























Operating Cash Flow from (used in) continuing operations $ (32.2)



$ 10.7









Operating Cash Flow from (used in) discontinued operations (0.5)



11.1









Operating Cash Flow (32.7)



21.8

























Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations* $ 22.0



$ 40.5



(45.7) %



Free Cash Flow* - continuing and discontinued operations (42.9)



14.9











Note: The commentary below is compared to the prior-year period. Organic changes exclude the effects of currency fluctuations.

Backlog decreased (2.2)% organically due in large part the company's strategy to methodically reduce its exposure to large, dry-dairy applications and focus on growing orders in higher value, liquid-processing applications. These declines were partially offset by an increase in the Industrial backlog associated with strong mixer orders and certain shipment delays related to COVID-19.

Orders declined (10.1)% organically. The decline was broad based and largely driven by a lower level of Food and Beverage systems orders, along with a lower order run-rate of components and aftermarket parts across both reporting segments. From a geographic perspective, order declines were concentrated in Europe and North America for the company's industrial product offerings while Food and Beverage liquid-processing systems declines were concentrated in Asia Pacific .

and for the company's industrial product offerings while Food and Beverage liquid-processing systems declines were concentrated in . Revenues declined (19.6)% organically, due to a lower level of revenue from large dry-dairy projects, broad based weakness across most industrial product lines, largely attributable to current market conditions, along with a lower starting backlog year-over-year.

Gross profit decreased $(22.3) million due primarily to lower volume. Gross margins expanded 190 points to 34.9% driven by a higher quality of revenue, improved operating execution and favorable net price/cost benefits.

due primarily to lower volume. Gross margins expanded 190 points to 34.9% driven by a higher quality of revenue, improved operating execution and favorable net price/cost benefits. Operating income was $8.6 million , or 3.0% of revenues. This included $2.6 million of restructuring charges, a $1.9 million non-cash impairment charge and $0.8 million dollars of professional fees supporting the company's enterprise strategy and long-term value creation planning. Excluding these items, adjusted operating income* was $13.9 million , or 4.8% of revenues.

, or 3.0% of revenues. This included of restructuring charges, a non-cash impairment charge and of professional fees supporting the company's enterprise strategy and long-term value creation planning. Excluding these items, adjusted operating income* was , or 4.8% of revenues. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $(0.01) and included:

and included: A non-cash impairment charge of $(0.03) per share related to the rationalization of a product line.

per share related to the rationalization of a product line.

Professional fees of $(0.01) per share related primarily to strategic actions.

per share related primarily to strategic actions.

Restructuring and other related charges of $(0.05) .

.

Discrete and other tax items totaling a net credit of $0.02 per share as compared to the Company's expected tax rate of 29%.

per share as compared to the Company's expected tax rate of 29%. Excluding the items noted above, adjusted earnings per share* from continuous operations were $0.06 .

. Free cash flow* utilized across all operations was $(42.9) million , including investments of $10.2 million on capital expenditures and $2.3 million on restructuring actions. The majority of the year-over-year change in free cash flow related to the lower level of earnings along with higher working capital levels partially related to shipment delays.

First Quarter 2020 Results by Segment

Food and Beverage

$ millions Q1 2020

Q1 2019

Variance

Organic Variance Backlog $ 251.5



$ 290.0



(13.3) %

(8.7) % Orders 125.2



153.1



(18.2) %

(18.8) % Revenues 137.8



172.5



(20.1) %

(17.0) % Income 19.4



18.5



4.9 %



As a percent of revenues 14.1 %

10.7 %

340bps





Note: The commentary below is compared to the prior-year period. Organic changes exclude the effects of currency fluctuations.

Backlog decreased (8.7)% organically due to strong project execution combined with a lower level of new system orders, consistent with the Company's strategy to methodically reduce its exposure to dry-dairy applications and increase its focus on liquid-processing applications. Reduced orders for process components and aftermarket parts also contributed to the decline.

Orders declined (18.8)% organically, primarily driven by timing of order in-take in liquid-processing systems in Asia Pacific . Additionally, process components and aftermarket orders declined largely driven by lower levels of demand in Europe .

. Additionally, process components and aftermarket orders declined largely driven by lower levels of demand in . Revenues declined (17.0)% organically, primarily due to a lower level of revenue from large dry-dairy systems, as anticipated, along with lower components and aftermarket sales.

Segment income of $19.4 million was up ~5% year-over-year as margins expanded 340 points to 14.1%. The margin improvement was primarily driven by strong operational and project execution on a higher quality of revenue, savings from cost reduction actions and net price benefits.

Industrial

$ millions Q1 2020

Q1 2019

Variance

Organic Variance Backlog $ 265.5



$ 265.7



(0.1) %

4.9 % Orders 191.8



204.6



(6.3) %

(3.5) % Revenues 151.7



200.9



(24.5) %

(21.8) % Income 9.4



28.5



(67.0) %



As a percent of revenues 6.2 %

14.2 %

-800bps





Note: The commentary below is compared to the prior-year period. Organic changes exclude the effects of currency fluctuations.

Backlog increased 4.9% organically reflecting improved demand for mixers in the quarter along with some delayed shipments primarily in China due to COVID-19.

due to COVID-19. Orders declined (3.5)% organically. This decline was broad-based across the majority of industrial product lines, most notably in dehydration equipment and hydraulic tools, reflecting the broader global industrial slowdown. Partially offsetting these declines was the double-digit growth in mixer projects for customers in China and in the Middle East .

and in the . Revenues declined (21.8)% organically primarily due to a lower level of demand across the majority of short cycle product categories and end markets, primarily associated with global macro conditions. Additionally, opening backlog entering the quarter was down year-over-year contributing to the revenue decline.

Segment income decreased $(20.1) million and margins contracted 800 points to 6.2%. The decline in segment income and margin was largely related to volume declines in high margin product categories.

OTHER ITEMS

Form 10-Q : The company expects to file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 28, 2020 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about May 12, 2020. This news release should be read in conjunction with that filing, which will be available on the company's website at www.spxflow.com , in the Investor Relations section.

About SPX FLOW, Inc. : Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) innovates with customers to help feed and enhance the world by designing, delivering and servicing high value process solutions at the heart of growing and sustaining our diverse communities. The company's product offering is concentrated in process technologies that perform mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other activities that are integral to processes performed across a wide variety of sanitary and industrial markets. SPX FLOW has approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenues with operations in more than 30 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit www.spxflow.com .

*Non-GAAP measure. See attached schedules for reconciliation from most comparable GAAP measure. Management believes these Non-GAAP metrics are commonly used financial measures for investors to evaluate our operating performance for the periods presented, and when read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements, present a useful tool to evaluate continuing operations and provide investors with metrics they can use to evaluate our management of the business from period to period. In addition, these are some of the factors we use in internal evaluations of the overall performance of our business.

Management acknowledges that there are many items that impact a company's reported results and the adjustments reflected in these Non-GAAP measures are not intended to present all items that may have impacted these results. In addition, these Non-GAAP measures are not necessarily comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies.

Note: Net leverage is as defined by the company's credit facility.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Please read these results in conjunction with the company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. The words "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "target," "project," "believe" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially because of market conditions or other factors, and forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. All the forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's most recent Form 10-K and in any other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission that describe risks and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risk factors may not be exhaustive. In addition to these factors, the matters addressed in these forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties arising from the current COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of the pandemic or related government responses on our businesses, the businesses of our customers and vendors and the global economy generally, other impacts to our supply chain and employee mobility, and whether our businesses and those of our customers will continue to be treated as "essential" operations under government orders restricting business activities or, even if so treated, whether health and safety concerns might otherwise require operations to be halted for some period of time. Further, the company operates in a continually changing business environment and cannot predict new risk factors that may arise as a result of these and other changes. Statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and SPX FLOW disclaims any responsibility to update or revise such statements.

Investor Contacts :



Scott Gaffner

VP, Investor Relations and Strategic Insights

704-752-4485

[email protected]

Stewart Honeycutt

Director, FP&A and Investor Relations

704-752-4472

Media Contact :

Melissa Buscher

Chief Communications Officer

704-540-2160

SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited; in millions, except per share amounts)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Revenues $ 289.5



$ 373.4

Cost of products sold 188.4



250.0

Gross profit 101.1



123.4

Selling, general and administrative 85.2



87.5

Intangible amortization 2.8



2.9

Asset impairment charges 1.9





Restructuring and other related charges 2.6



5.0

Operating income 8.6



28.0









Other income (expense), net (1.5)



5.3

Interest expense, net (8.1)



(7.6)

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes (1.0)



25.7

Income tax benefit (provision) 0.9



(10.7)

Income (loss) from continuing operations (0.1)



15.0

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax (5.1)



5.1

Net income (loss) (5.2)



20.1

Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.1



0.6

Net income (loss) attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. $ (5.3)



$ 19.5









Amounts attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. common shareholders:





Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax $ (0.3)



$ 14.7

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax (5.0)



4.8

Net income (loss) attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. $ (5.3)



$ 19.5









Basic income (loss) per share of common stock:





Income (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.01)



$ 0.35

Income (loss) per share from discontinued operations (0.12)



0.11

Net income (loss) per share attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. (0.12)



0.46

Diluted income (loss) per share of common stock:





Income (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.01)



$ 0.35

Income (loss) per share from discontinued operations (0.12)



0.11

Net income (loss) per share attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. (0.12)



0.46









Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic 42.570



42.452

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - diluted 42.570



42.577



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited; in millions)



March 28, 2020

December 31, 2019 ASSETS





Current assets:





Cash and equivalents $ 235.9



$ 299.2

Accounts receivable, net 220.5



243.1

Contract assets 28.8



27.3

Inventories, net 214.5



208.1

Other current assets 26.5



32.2

Assets of discontinued operations - current 441.1



464.0

Total current assets 1,167.3



1,273.9

Property, plant and equipment:





Land 21.6



22.2

Buildings and leasehold improvements 167.8



170.8

Machinery and equipment 338.0



325.9



527.4



518.9

Accumulated depreciation (306.3)



(289.0)

Property, plant and equipment, net 221.1



229.9

Goodwill 526.5



545.1

Intangibles, net 197.4



208.1

Other assets 172.1



180.4

TOTAL ASSETS $ 2,284.4



$ 2,437.4









LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND EQUITY





Current liabilities:





Accounts payable $ 129.4



$ 142.6

Contract liabilities 112.4



116.3

Accrued expenses 144.8



162.0

Income taxes payable 25.2



45.2

Short-term debt 12.8



20.7

Current maturities of long-term debt 0.1



0.1

Liabilities of discontinued operations - current 214.3



220.5

Total current liabilities 639.0



707.4

Long-term debt 694.0



693.7

Deferred and other income taxes 24.3



27.9

Other long-term liabilities 109.2



115.0

Total long-term liabilities 827.5



836.6

Mezzanine equity 18.7



20.3

Equity:





SPX FLOW, Inc. shareholders' equity:





Common stock 0.4



0.4

Paid-in capital 1,681.0



1,677.0

Accumulated deficit (374.5)



(369.2)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (490.8)



(426.5)

Common stock in treasury (25.7)



(19.3)

Total SPX FLOW, Inc. shareholders' equity 790.4



862.4

Noncontrolling interests 8.8



10.7

Total equity 799.2



873.1

TOTAL LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND EQUITY $ 2,284.4



$ 2,437.4



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES RESULTS OF REPORTABLE SEGMENTS (Unaudited; in millions)



As of and for the three months ended









March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019

Change

%/bps Food and Beverage













Backlog $ 251.5



$ 290.0



$ (38.5)



(13.3)% Orders 125.2



153.1



(27.9)



(18.2)% Revenues 137.8



172.5



(34.7)



(20.1)% Gross profit 49.7



51.6



(1.9)





as a percent of revenues 36.1 %

29.9 %





620bps Selling, general and administrative expense 28.8



31.6



(2.8)





as a percent of revenues 20.9 %

18.3 %





260bps Intangible amortization expense 1.5



1.5









Income $ 19.4



$ 18.5



$ 0.9



4.9% as a percent of revenues 14.1 %

10.7 %





340bps















Industrial













Backlog $ 265.5



$ 265.7



$ (0.2)



(0.1)% Orders 191.8



204.6



(12.8)



(6.3)% Revenues 151.7



200.9



(49.2)



(24.5)% Gross profit 51.4



71.8



(20.4)





as a percent of revenues 33.9 %

35.7 %





(180)bps Selling, general and administrative expense 40.7



41.9



(1.2)





as a percent of revenue 26.8 %

20.9 %





590bps Intangible amortization expense 1.3



1.4



(0.1)





Income $ 9.4



$ 28.5



$ (19.1)



(67.0)% as a percent of revenues 6.2 %

14.2 %





(800)bps















Consolidated Backlog $ 517.0



$ 555.7



$ (38.7)



(7.0)% Consolidated Orders 317.0



357.7



(40.7)



(11.4)% Consolidated Revenues 289.5



373.4



(83.9)



(22.5)% Consolidated Segment Income 28.8



47.0



(18.2)



(38.7)% as a percent of revenues 9.9 %

12.6 %





(270)bps















Total income for reportable segments $ 28.8



$ 47.0



$ (18.2)





Corporate expense 15.5



13.8



1.7





Pension and postretirement service costs 0.2



0.2









Asset impairment charges 1.9







1.9





Restructuring and other related charges 2.6



5.0



(2.4)





Consolidated Operating Income $ 8.6



$ 28.0



$ (19.4)



(69.3)% as a percent of revenues 3.0 %

7.5 %





(450)bps

SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Cash flows from (used in) operating activities:





Net income (loss) $ (5.2)



$ 20.1

Less: Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax (5.1)



5.1

Income (loss) from continuing operations (0.1)



15.0

Adjustments to reconcile income (loss) from continuing operations to net cash from (used in)

operating activities:





Restructuring and other related charges 2.6



5.0

Asset impairment charges 1.9





Deferred income taxes 



5.3

Depreciation and amortization 9.8



9.6

Stock-based compensation 3.2



2.9

Pension and other employee benefits 0.4



0.4

Loss on asset sales and other, net 0.5



0.1

Gain on change in fair value of investment in equity security 



(6.2)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from discontinued operations:





Accounts receivable and other assets 17.3



14.9

Contract assets and liabilities, net (1.7)



(3.9)

Inventories (15.2)



(9.6)

Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other (48.6)



(22.4)

Cash spending on restructuring actions (2.3)



(0.4)

Net cash from (used in) continuing operations (32.2)



10.7

Net cash from (used in) discontinued operations (0.5)



11.1

Net cash from (used in) operating activities (32.7)



21.8

Cash flows used in investing activity -





Capital expenditures (4.7)



(5.3)

Net cash used in continuing operations (4.7)



(5.3)

Net cash used in discontinued operations (5.5)



(1.6)

Net cash used in investing activity (10.2)



(6.9)

Cash flows used in financing activities:





Borrowings under former senior credit facilities 



22.0

Repayments of former senior credit facilities 



(27.0)

Borrowings under former trade receivables financing arrangement 



42.0

Repayments of former trade receivables financing arrangement 



(42.0)

Repayments of purchase card program, net (7.7)



(0.9)

Repayments of other financing arrangements (0.2)



(1.1)

Minimum withholdings paid on behalf of employees for net share settlements, net (6.4)



(5.1)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests in subsidiary (1.2)





Net cash used in continuing operations (15.5)



(12.1)

Net cash used in discontinued operations (0.3)



(0.1)

Net cash used in financing activities (15.8)



(12.2)

Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash due to changes in foreign currency exchange

rates (0.9)



(13.8)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (59.6)



(11.1)

Consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period 303.4



214.3

Consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period $ 243.8



$ 203.2



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES ORGANIC REVENUE RECONCILIATION (Unaudited)



Three months ended March 28, 2020

Net Revenue Decline

Foreign Currency

Organic Revenue Decline Food and Beverage (20.1) %

(3.1) %

(17.0) % Industrial (24.5) %

(2.7) %

(21.8) % Consolidated (22.5) %

(2.9) %

(19.6) %

SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CASH RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended March 28, 2020 Beginning cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 303.4





Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations (32.2)

Net cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations (0.5)

Capital expenditures of continuing operations (4.7)

Capital expenditures of discontinued operations (5.5)

Repayments of purchase card program, net (7.7)

Repayments of other financing arrangements (0.2)

Minimum withholdings paid on behalf of employees for net share settlements, net (6.4)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests in subsidiary (1.2)

Net cash used in financing activities of discontinued operations (0.3)

Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash due to changes in foreign currency exchange

rates (0.9)





Ending cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 243.8



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES DEBT, NET DEBT AND ADJUSTED NET DEBT RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Debt, Net Debt and Adjusted Net Debt at

March 28, 2020

December 31, 2019 Term loan $ 100.0



$ 100.0

5.625% senior notes, due in August 2024 300.0



300.0

5.875% senior notes, due in August 2026 300.0



300.0

Other indebtedness - continuing operations 13.4



21.3

Other indebtedness - discontinued operations 3.6



4.1

Less: deferred financing fees (6.5)



(6.8)

Total debt $ 710.5



$ 718.6









Total debt $ 710.5



$ 718.6

Less: cash and equivalents - continuing operations (235.9)



(299.2)

Less: cash and equivalents - discontinued operations (6.9)



(3.1)

Net debt $ 467.7



$ 416.3









Net debt $ 467.7



$ 416.3

Less: debt under purchase card program (12.7)



(20.4)

Adjusted net debt $ 455.0



$ 395.9



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES FREE CASH FLOW RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Net cash from (used in) operating activities - continuing and discontinued operations $ (32.7)



$ 21.8

Capital expenditures - continuing and discontinued operations (10.2)



(6.9)

Free cash flow from (used in) operations - continuing and discontinued operations $ (42.9)



$ 14.9



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Operating income $ 8.6



$ 28.0

Charges and fees associated with strategic actions 0.8





Certain restructuring and other related charges 2.6



4.1

Asset impairment charges 1.9





Adjusted operating income $ 13.9



$ 32.1



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES EBITDA RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended(1)

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Net income (loss) attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. $ (5.3)



$ 19.5









Income tax provision (benefit) (1.8)



10.7

Interest expense, net 9.7



10.7

Depreciation and amortization 9.8



13.8

EBITDA 12.4



54.7

Loss on disposal group 8.5





Asset impairment charges 1.9





Charges and fees associated with strategic actions 5.0



1.1

Fair value adjustment related to an equity security 



(6.2)

Non-cash compensation expense 4.0



3.2

Non-service pension and postretirement related costs 0.2



0.2

Interest income 1.0



2.0

Losses on asset sales and other, net 0.5



0.1

Restructuring and other related charges 2.9



5.0

Foreign exchange losses 1.1



1.2

Other 0.2



0.2

Bank consolidated EBITDA $ 37.7



$ 61.5









(1) Includes the results of continuing operations and discontinued operations

SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES ADJUSTED EBITDA FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS RECONCILIATION (Unaudited; in millions)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Net income (loss) attributable to SPX FLOW, Inc. from continuing operations $ (0.3)



$ 14.7









Income tax provision (benefit) (0.9)



10.7

Interest expense, net 8.1



7.6

Depreciation and amortization 9.8



9.6

EBITDA from continuing operations 16.7



42.6

Asset impairment charges 1.9





Certain restructuring and other related charges 2.6



4.1

Charges and fees associated with strategic actions 0.8





Fair value adjustment related to an equity security 



(6.2)

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations $ 22.0



$ 40.5



SPX FLOW, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS RECONCILIATION (Unaudited)



Three months ended

March 28, 2020

March 30, 2019 Diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations $ (0.01)



$ 0.35

Certain restructuring and other related charges, net of tax 0.05



0.07

Asset impairment charge, net of tax 0.03





Charges and fees associated with strategic actions, net of tax 0.01





Discrete tax charges (benefits) (0.02)



0.04

Fair value adjustment related to an equity security, net of tax 



(0.10)

Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.06



$ 0.36



SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.spxflow.com


KABUL, Afghanistan  Gunmen stormed a hospital in the west of Kabul on Tuesday, killing two newborns and at least 11 other people while triggering a battle with security forces, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said.

Another 15 were injured in the attack, officials said.

Afghan special forces wrested control of the hospital, which includes a busy maternity section, away from the militants after killing at least three attackers, Interior Ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian said in a statement. At least 100 people, including mothers, nurses and foreign aid workers, were evacuated from the hospital, officials said.

Several doctors had leapt to an adjacent building after at least three attackers wearing police uniforms entered, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said.

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack. The militants have been behind a number of attacks even as the United States tried to usher in Taliban-government peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February.

The U.S. charge d'affaires to Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, deplored the "barbaric attack" and condemned targeting those already suffering and unable to defend themselves.

"Hospitals are centers of compassion," he wrote on Twitter.

The Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, a 100-bed government-run facility, is supported by the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

The international aid organization runs a maternity clinic at the hospital, a spokeswoman for Doctors Without Borders told NBC News.

"We are aware of the ongoing attack on the MSF-supported Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul. The Afghan Special Forces are at the scene. For now, our priority is the safety of our patients and staff," a spokeswoman said by email.

According to the charity's website, it runs a "busy maternity service" at the public hospital, in "one of the poorest neighborhoods in Afghanistans capital." Cases include complications around childbirth such as postpartum hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and placental abruption.

Story continues

The neighborhood is home to many members of Afghanistan's Hazara community, a mostly Shiite Muslim minority that has been attacked by the Islamic State militant group in the past.

Meanwhile, a separate grim killing was also unfolding in Jalalabad province, east of the capital, where at least 24 people were killed and 68 injured during an explosion at a funeral ceremony of a police commander in Nangarhar, Attaullah Khogyani, a provincial spokesman, said in a written statement.

Two provincial council members were among those killed in the attack, in which the Taliban has also denied any involvement.

Following the attacks, President Ashraf Ghani said Tuesday that he had asked Afghan security forces to switch from "defensive" to offensive mode.

The Taliban have increased their attacks, today at the government hospital in Kabul and in [the] funeral in Jalalabad people witnessed Taliban and Daesh terror, he said, referring to the Islamic State group by its Arabic acronym, without specifying which group he blamed for which attack.

ISIS later claimed responsibility for the Nangarhar attack, according to Flashpoint Intelligence, a global security firm.

The Taliban denied they were responsible for either attack.

Image: Smokes rises from a hospital after a gunmen attacked in Kabul, Afghanistan (Rahmat Gul / AP)

A spate of bloody attacks has taken place in the capital in recent months claimed by the Islamic State group, which first appeared in eastern Afghanistan around 2014 and battles the Taliban, as well as government and foreign forces.

On Monday, security forces said they had arrested three senior Islamic State members including a regional leader.

Last week, security forces killed or arrested several members of an Islamic State cell that authorities said was responsible for several high-profile attacks in Kabul, including one on a Sikh temple in March, that killed 25 people.

Roadside blasts in the capital Monday, which wounded four civilians, were also claimed by the group.

The Taliban have said they are holding back from attacking urban centers and their operations are aimed at government security forces.

The U.S. military is in the midst of a drawdown in Afghanistan. In early March, it began decreasing its total footprint from more than 12,000 to 8,600 over 135 days.

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a weak public health system. President Donald Trump is also concerned that U.S. troops in Afghanistan could be vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak there, officials said last month.

Trump, who campaigned in 2016 with a promise to end wars like the one in Afghanistan, has frequently expressed frustration with progress there since his early days in office. In March, he dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Kabul to deliver a harsh message in hopes of salvaging a peace deal to ultimately end the war in Afghanistan.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Hyderabad, May 12 : International Nursing Day was celebrated here on Tuesday with people hailing the valuable services being rendered by nurses, especially in their role of frontline warriors in the fight against coronavirus.

Among other programmes, residents of an apartment in Hyderabad felicitated their neighbour, a nurse working at government-run Osmania General Hospital.

Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan attended the International Nursing Day celebrations at College of Nursing.

She extended greetings to all the Nursing staff and said as a doctor, she knows the importance of nursing community. She said the medical treatment cannot be completed without their help.

In this critical situation of Covid-19, all nurses are functioning as first line warriors, the Governor noted and thanked them for their services in this critical period.

Earlier, the Governor offered floral tributes to Florence Nightingale, founder of modern Nursing on her birth anniversary.

"200 years ago, when Florence Nightingale started the nursing concept it revolved around hygiene and ventilation. She felt that if you can maintain a hygienic well-ventilated area, the infections and related deaths can be prevented. 200 years later, this Covid season, her words show the way for the safety of humanity," said Dr. Rahul Medakkar, CEO, Continental Hospitals at an event held at Global Hospitals.

The nursing staff of Continental Hospitals celebrated the day in a unique way by holding an awareness session for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) workers, who are also on the frontline in battling the Covid-19 crisis.

The session was held to enhance understanding of the preventive strategy among the GHMC staff, and in the society at large. The main objective of the session was to educate the GHMC workers on why special care is required for them as they manage different types of waste including biowaste.

Haritha Vijayan, Chief Nursing Officer, Continental Hospitals said, GHMC ground-level workers are highly vulnerable in this pandemic season and may be neglected. Noting that they are also the ones who can cross infect many, she said empowering them with adequate knowledge on prevention of Covid-19 will help them to contribute to the society in this pandemic.

Meanwhile, residents of Partani Towers at Golconda Cross Roads, Musheerabad, felicitated Pallavi Prashanth Kore and hailed the services of all the nurses.

The residents showered petals on her at the felicitation organised in support with Freemasons of Telangana. The elders in the apartment honoured her with a shawl. They also presented her with some homemade sweets, made especially for the purpose and also some fruits.

The residents felt the International Nurses Day gave an opportunity to thank the whole community of nurses. The nurses have been working round the clock since the lockdown with some of them are staying away from their homes.
Rose McGowan accused Bill Maher Friday night of whispering in her ear that he had a huge c when she was a guest on his defunct late-night show Politically Incorrect in the 1990s.

@BillMaher Heres a memory Id like to share with you. I bet you dont remember, but I sure do. I was so excited to be on your show & get to flex my mind instead of my face. Heres what happened. All I can say, Bill, you got the face you deserved, she wrote on Twitter, along with a screengrab of a tweet of a previous tweet of hers.

I was on your show Politically Incorrect in the late 90s- as the show returned from a commercial break, you leaned over to me & whispered in my ear, my parents didnt give me a good face, but they did give me a huge c,' she wrote.

I could feel your hot breath on my ear as an image of both your hideous face & alleged big c flashed in my mind. Both turned my stomach. Ive always wondered what you [sic] say & do to the girls that arent famous?

Also Read: Tara Reade's Lawyer Says Bill Maher Is 'Recycling Old Rape Myths': 'He Ought to Be Ashamed'

Maher hasnt responded to the accusation on Twitter yet, and TheWrap has reached out to him for comment.

During the New Rules segment of Mahers HBO show Friday night, he talked at length about Tara Reade, who accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexual assault in 1993. In the segment, Maher questioned the legitimacy of Reades claims, saying, Were letting this person change the subject from Donald Trump, lethal incompetent to Joe Biden, sex monster? She literally wrote a love letter to the murderer trying to keep Biden from the White House.

He went on to add, I dont know if you noticed but America has turned into a failed state that does a worse job keeping it citizens alive during a pandemic than Cambodia. And to me, thats a little more important than Tara Reade achieving closure. She says Biden attacked her, and he says he didnt. Those are their positions. How about this for yours? Dont know, never will, dont care.

Story continues

Also Read: Bill Maher Rips Democrats for Caring About Tara Reade Accusations: 'Exactly What Republicans Want' (Video)

McGowan spoke out publicly for the first time about sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. I have been silenced for 20 years. I have been slut-shamed. I have been harassed. Ive been maligned. And you know what? Im just like you, she told the crowd. Because what happened to me behind the scenes happens to all of us in this society, and that cannot stand and it will not stand.

She has since been a vocal supporter of victims of sexual misconduct and assault.

@BillMaher Heres a memory Id like to share with you. I bet you dont remember, but I sure do. I was so excited to be on your show & get to flex my mind instead of my face. Heres what happened. All I can say, Bill, you got the face you deserved. pic.twitter.com/RRIorKj258

 rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) May 9, 2020

Read original story Rose McGowan Accuses Bill Maher of Whispering to Her About His Huge C in the 90s At TheWrap
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Wed, May 13 2020

Government Regulation (PP) No. 23/2020 on the economic rescue program to safeguard the economy during the pandemic gives hope to our state enterprises in dire need of a lifeline to sustain operations as the economy heads for recession. Although a little too late for many micro and small businesses that have closed permanently, in this case better late than never holds true.

The regulation allows for the government to inject money into ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and local banks to ease loan-repayment burdens for small and medium businesses. Primary beneficiaries of this policy should be micro and small businesses as well as SOEs affected by the virus-ridden economic downturn.

The rescue program will follow five principles: social justice; peoples welfare; support for businesspeople; adhering to prudential, good governance, transparency and accountability principles based on prevailing laws; not invoking moral hazard; and the division of payment and risk among stakeholders based on their respective roles and authorities.

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Actor Amitabh Bachchans granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda has launched a platform for women, Aara Health, to discuss all their health issues. On the occasion, her family members including mother Shweta Bachchan Nanda, uncle Abhishek and rumoured boyfriend actor Meezaan Jaaferi congratulated her.

The page also explained who they were as a virtual healthcare platform for women that aims to empower, educate and diagnose in a confidentil, safe and reliable manner.

Proud of his nieces achievement, Abhishek wrote: Well done Navya. Proud of you. Her mother Shweta said, Congratulations Navya. Navyas rumoured boyfriend actor Meezaan, son of popular actor and dance show host Jaaved Jaaferi, said: Go follow @aarahealth Congratulations Navya Nanda.

Sunil Shettys actor daughter Athiya also congratulated Navya on her achievement.

Also read: Sonam Kapoor offers glimpse inside lavish home, shares snapshots during quarantine with Anand Ahuja

Only few days back, Amitabh had shared pictures of his granddaughter in a DIY robe and graduation cap, posing for the camera after she passed out of college. However, she could not attend her graduation ceremony in New York, owing to coronavirus crisis.

Sharing the pictures, Amitabh has written: Grand daughter NAVYA .. Graduation Day .. graduated from College in New York .. Corona cancelled travel & ceremony ..But she wanted to wear gown & cap, staff stitched impromptu gown & cap took pictures at home to celebrate occasion .. such a positive happy attitude.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
They are regarded as heroes, their fallen colleagues as martyrs. But for doctors and nurses still dealing with Iran's growing number of coronavirus infections, such praise rings hollow.

While crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. left Iran ill-equipped to deal with the fast-moving virus, some medical professionals say government and religious leaders bear the brunt of the blame for allowing the virus to spread and for hiding how much it had spread.

Those medical workers say they were defenseless to handle the contagion. And as a result, doctors and nurses in Iran have been hard hit by the virus. During the first 90 days of the outbreak alone, about one medical staffer died each day and dozens became infected.

We are heading fast toward a disaster, said a young Isfahan doctor who has been working tirelessly, checking dozens of suspected coronavirus patients before referring them to hospitals.

It is no secret that Iran has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Official government figures show that around 100,000 people were infected by the virus and around 6,500 have died. But a report by the research arm of Iran's parliament said the number of cases could be eight to 10 times higher, making it among the most hardest hit countries in the world.

The report said the number of deaths could be 80% higher than officials numbers from the health ministry, about 11,700.

The Iranian government is currently reporting a decline in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths, even though local authorities are expanding cemeteries in places like Tehran where the municipal council said it had to add 10,000 new graves to its largest cemetery, Behshet Zahra.

Interviews with more than 30 medical professionals and a review of communications by doctors on messaging apps and other documents by an Associated Press reporter in Cairo revealed many previously unreported details.

The reporting paints a fuller picture of the roots and extent of the country's disjointed response as the deadly virus spread throughout the population.

In the beginning, medical staffers faced the outbreak with very limited equipment. Some washed their own gowns and masks or sterilized them in regular ovens. Others wrapped their bodies in plastic bags they bought at supermarkets.

The makeshift equipment didn't help as dozens of medical professionals without adequate protection died along with their patients.

Iran's leaders, several medical professionals said, delayed telling the public about the virus for weeks, even as hospitals were filling up with people suffering from symptoms linked to the virus. And even as doctors and other experts were warning the Iranian president to take radical action, the government resisted, fearing the impact on elections, national anniversaries, and economy.

One doctor interviewed by The Associated Press -- who, like all medical workers interviewed for this story, spoke only on the condition that they not be named for fear of persecution -- said he and his colleagues were even discouraged from using protective equipment. He said government officials claimed wearing masks would cause panic.

The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed on March 10 that the doctors, nurses, and medical staffers who died in the fight against coronavirus in Iran were martyrs. Pictures of deceased doctors have been placed alongside those of soldiers who were killed in the bloody Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, which claimed the lives of a million Iranian and Iraqis.

They are normalizing death, a Tehran-based health consultant said. A list compiled by a group of Iranian doctors found that a total of 126 medical staffers have died since the virus was first reported, mostly in the provinces of Gilan and Tehran, while over 2,070 contracted the virus.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, acknowledged the deadly toll of COVID-19 on the medical profession, telling the AP the total number of deaths is 107. Jahanpour said 470 had tested positive for the virus.

But he places the blame on the U.S. Remember this is a country under sanctions, he said. Even so, Iran has maintained throughout the crisis its own industries made enough protective material to fight the virus.

Iran reported its first two cases on Feb. 19 in the city of Qom 140 kilometers (88 miles) south of Tehran and home of highly revered Shiite shrines. It would become the epicenter of the outbreak.

But doctors interviewed by the AP said that before the official announcement, they started to see cases with the same symptoms as the novel coronavirus and warned the national health ministry that it needed to take action.

Some doctors shared with the AP letters sent to the ministry. The doctors at first said they attributed the respiratory problems among patients and deaths to the H1N1 flu. Days later, they started to call for testing for H1N1 and other diseases to rule them out; the rate of infections and deaths seemed unusually high.

Through channels on the Telegram messaging service, they exchanged data. They reached out to the health ministry and proposed a set of recommendations and actions. At the top of the list: quarantine, and restricting travel and flights with China. But it would be another two weeks before the government took action.

We gave a lot of information to the government through letters and communication channels, said a Mazandaran-based doctor and activist. He said he and others medical professionals were ignored by government officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: A Chinese rocket, Long March 5B, fell back to Earth on Monday (May 11) after losing control. The body of the spent rocket became the largest piece of space junk in decades to fall towards Earth, said Spaceflight Now report.

The Long March 5B rocket was reportedly launched on May 5 from the Wenchang launch center on Hainan Island in southern China, carrying a prototype for Chinas next-generation crew capsule into orbit on an unpiloted test flight.

Spaceflight Now reported that the rocket's launch on May 5 marked the debut of a new configuration of Chinas heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket. On the Long March 5B, Chinese designers removed the rockets second stage and replaced it with a longer volume for payloads.

The Chinese rocket, which fell into the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the most massive object in nearly 30 years to perform an uncontrolled re-entry from orbit.

A prominent Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracks objects in orbit, tweeted, It is the most massive object to make an uncontrolled reentry since the 39-tonne Salyut-7 in 1991.

CZ-5B core stage reentry confirmed down at 1533 UTC, off the west coast of Africa https://t.co/hzePzF0THc  Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) May 11, 2020

The rocket body was reportedly more massive than the Chinese Tiangong-1 space station that plummeted back to Earth (presumably landing somewhere in the ocean) in 2018. Its about a fifth the mass of Skylab, which came back to Earth near Perth, Australia in 1979, a Forbes report said.

Spaceflight Now reported that the re-entry occurred less than 15 minutes after the rocket body soared almost directly over New York City. The rockets core stage measured around 100 feet (30 meters) long and 16 feet (5 meters) wide, with a mass of approximately 20 metric tons.

Notably, dead satellites and old rocket stages regularly re-enter the atmosphere, but re-entering objects with masses of more than a few tons are rare.

The report said that uncontrolled re-entries are difficult to predict, and forecasts issued by the US military narrowed the window for the rockets fall back to Earth in the days before re-entry.

Ground-based radars reportedly tracked the Long March 5B rocket body in space and that allowed US military officials charged with monitoring space debris to regularly measure the core stages decaying orbit.

China has reportedly planned to launch at least three more Long March 5B rockets in 2021 and 2022 with modules for the countrys planned space station.
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The Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanyin Agyekum has urged that authorities pay attention to the use of herbal medication to treat coronavirus.



Traditional medicine producers are up in arms with the Ministry of Health over what they term neglect of numerous proposals of herbal medicines put before the Ministry.



The Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners' Associations (GHAFTRAM) has blamed the Ministry of Health for Ghana not having a herbal 'cure' for COVID-19.



They don't understand why the various herbal proposals put before the association has not been considered yet Ghana is considering going for a different herbal concoction from Madagascar.



"Then we heard the country was considering going for Madagascar herbal medicine and that was very unfortunate. Ghana Health Service has never engaged us and to top it up, we heard they were going for Madagascar's 'cure'; we are really sad because when it comes to herbal medicines, Madagascar is nowhere close to us. We are the leaders in Africa and the medicine they are using is ranked 51 in our list of medicines . . . " General Secretary of GHAFTRAM, Nana Kwadwo Obiri said.



Reacting to this on Tuesday's edition of Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo', Opanyin Agyekum said as Madagascar has come up with a 'cure', we can also produce ours.



"Lets pay attention to herbal medicine . . . maybe that is where our help will come from," he urged.



Listen to his submission in the video below





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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dropped by about half in the US from late February to early April

Organ transplants plummeted to half their pre-pandemic levels in the US as coronavirus swept through communities, a new study from The Lancet says.

Researchers found that deceased donor transplants - the most common kind - dropped by 50 percent in the US and 90 percent in France from late February into early April.

Transplants from living donors had a similarly staggering dive, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which runs the US transplant system.

There were 151 living donor transplants in the US in the second week of March when a pandemic was declared, but only 16 such transplants the week of April 5 - an 89 percent drop - according to UNOS.

It's too soon to know how many of the 114,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant may die not from COVID-19 infection but because the pandemic blocked their chance at a new organ.

Deceased donor transplants - the most common kind - dropped by about half in the US from late February to early April (above)

Kidney transplants made up the vast majority of the drop, but heart, lung and liver transplants declined as well (pictured)

Living donor transplants dropped by 89 percent from the second week of March to the first week of April. Pictured: Herb Hoeptner at UCSF hospital in San Francisco who was allowed to undergo a living kidney transplant because he was on the brink of needing dialysis

The pandemic made transplant surgeons wary of endangering living donors and unable to retrieve possibly usable organs from the dead.

In some cases, hospitals were too full even when doctors were able to perform transplants.

Kidney transplants make up the vast majority of the drop, but heart, lung and liver transplants declined, too.

Living donations might be rescheduled, but missed organs from a deceased donor are lost opportunities, wrote Lancet lead author Dr Alexandre Loupy, a kidney specialist who heads the Paris Transplant Group.

More recent counts by UNOS show that transplants starting inching back in late April, with US hospitals trying to decide how to safely ramp up.

Geographic variation could offer important lessons, said another study author, Dr. Peter Reese of the University of Pennsylvania.

'Transplant centers and patients really want to get going again, but there are all these questions,' said Reese, whose team is collecting data from Canada and other parts of Europe for a closer look.

'We need to be finding places that maintained their transplant rates and finding out what they did.'

Hospitals worldwide have postponed all kinds of medical care as they were flooded with coronavirus patients.

Transplants are among the hardest choices. They're not elective surgeries, but patients must take immune-suppressing medicines to prevent rejection of their new organ - putting them at greater risk if they encounter the virus.

France's larger drop may be due to more centralized public health policies than in the state-by-state variations in the US, Reese said.

Some transplant centers like UCSF in San Francisco allowed donors to undergo living transplants if they were on the brink of dialysis. This graph shows how organ transplants were cut by 50 percent from early March to early April

The pandemic made transplant surgeons wary of endangering living donors and unable to retrieve possibly usable organs from the dead, and sometimes hospital were too full to even perform them. Pictured: Hoeptner with his wife, Diane, at UCSF hospital after she donated a kidney to him, left, and 12 days after surgery, right

'That equation changes depending on what area of the country youre in,' agreed Dr Abhinav Humar, transplant chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

His transplant center, still running, has taken in patients from New York and other harder-hit areas who 'can't afford the luxury of waiting two or three months at least' in hopes their original hospital could take them back.

In an average month, New York does about 220 transplants statewide. In the first weeks of April, that had dropped to 23,

Samantha Delair of the New York Center for Liver Transplantation told a recent UNOS video conference.

In contrast, the University of California, San Francisco, in an area that has been less affected by the pandemic, has seen small transplant drops, said interim transplant director Dr Chris Freise.

'We're one of the few centers that kept going through all of this, but it was not without a lot of careful thought,' said Freise, who needed daily updates in deciding what transplants were safe to schedule.

However, he still remains on guard as California's social distancing restrictions are gradually lifted.

For example, Freise's team allowed living kidney transplants for people like Herb Hoeptner, who was on the brink of needing dialysis.

'When you have kidneys that have nothing left, you either go on dialysis or you die. That was much more of a concern to me than coronavirus,' Hoeptner said.

The 66-year-old from Gilroy, California, realized only after his surgery on March 31 how rare a transplant during the pandemic was.

'I was extremely lucky,' added Hoeptner, whose wife, Diane, was his donor and rebounded quickly from the surgery.

In places where COVID-19 is more widespread, living donors are understandably nervous.

'We don't yet have a way to talk to living organ donors about what's a reasonable risk,' said Reese.

Deceased donations are even more complicated. Early on, testing shortages made it hard to be sure would-be donors who died of something unrelated like a car crash were virus-free, a problem that's easing.

Still, hospitals don't want out-of-town surgeons visiting to retrieve organs and can't always spare a local surgeon to do the job or find a plane to fly the organs where they need to go.

Surgeons must weigh if it makes sense to accept less-than-perfect organs that might work but could keep the recipient hospitalized for longer.

University of Iowa kidney surgeon Dr David Axelrod said his team is 'trying to be careful about it, trying to make sure that they're organs that we think people can come in and get transplanted successfully and go home quickly.'
A leading employment solicitor believes that giving people the legal right to work from home would be incredibly difficult to enforce.

It is understood that the idea of a right to work from home to ensure that people are not forced to go back to the workplace after the lockdown is being considered in Whitehall.

The Daily Telegraph reported that officials at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department have raised the possibility of enshrining the right to work from home in law in order to help ease the lockdown.

It would mean that staff would not be compelled to go in to the office, while limiting the costs for employers who have to make their workplaces safe for social distancing.

Louise McAloon from Worthingtons Solicitors in Belfast explained that in order to do that, the Government would be creating a new statutory right.

"The first point that I would make is that there's already a right to request to work from home and that is under existing working provisions," she said. "What I would say, if you think about it, the Government would then have to think of what sort of statutory exemptions there would be.

"If they're going to create a statutory right it would have to have bells and whistles around it, such as what reason would be legitimate for an employer saying you can't work from home.

"There would also have to be the right to challenge that to a tribunal.

"You would create the right to appeal and potential referral claims to an industrial tribunal, which aren't sitting at the moment and are unlikely to until July 1.

"How would you police or enforce that right?"

Ms McAloon added that Stormont should be identifying what types of businesses should reopen and what should stay closed and issue general guidance, as that would be the "common sense" approach.

"Most employers have embraced the concept that if people can work from home they should be facilitated to do that," she continued.

"I think the idea of giving them a legal right to work from home is going to be fairly difficult to implement and potentially difficult to enforce.

"By the time you enforce it with an appeal process and an industrial tribunal, the lockdown might be well over at that stage."
NEW YORK, NY--May 12, 2020--In the third week of March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, large hospitals in the Northeast experienced a 26 percent decline in average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts as compared to the same period in 2019. Nationally, the decrease in revenue for large hospitals was 16 percent. These are among the findings of FAIR Health's second COVID-19 study, Illuminating the Impact of COVID-19 on Hospitals and Health Systems: A Comparative Study of Revenue and Utilization.

The third week of March 2020 was the week when thousands of new COVID-19 cases became commonplace in certain parts of the United States, particularly in the Northeast. Hospitals and health systems underwent financial strain as many elective procedures were deferred. FAIR Health's new brief illuminates the financial impact on hospitals by comparing revenues based on estimated in-network amounts on private insurance claims submitted by facilities in the first quarter (January to March) of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019 (adjusted by Consumer Price Index). The first quarter is analyzed month by month, and March is analyzed week by week. Also studied are discharge volume, settings, and diagnoses and procedures.

The study was based on claims data received by April 30, 2020, which meant some claims for services during the period examined were incurred but not reported (IBNR)--valid claims for covered services that had been performed but not yet reported to the insurer. For that reason, the 2019 claims used for the study were limited to those received by April 30, 2019, to produce an "apples to apples" comparison. Notwithstanding the IBNR issue, FAIR Health found that the impact of COVID-19 on hospitals was already substantial and of such public health relevance that it deemed it worthwhile to issue this report. FAIR Health will continue to monitor the data volume in the coming weeks.

Findings include:

In general, there was an association between larger hospital size and greater impact from COVID-19. Nationally, in large facilities (over 250 beds), average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts declined from $4.5 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. The gap was less pronounced in midsize facilities (101 to 250 beds) and not evident in small facilities (100 beds or fewer).

March was the month when COVID-19 had its greatest impact in the first quarter of 2020. Nationally, in that month, in midsize facilities, the decrease in average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts in 2020 from 2019 was four percent; in large facilities, five percent.

Facilities in the Northeast experienced a greater impact from COVID-19 than those in the nation as a whole. For example, in the Northeast, the decline in average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts in March 2020 from March 2019 was five percent for midsize facilities, nine percent for large ones.

Both nationally and in the Northeast, the decrease in facility discharge volume (i.e., patient discharges) from March 2019 to March 2020 was greater on a percentage basis than the decrease in revenues based on estimated in-network amounts. For example, in large facilities nationally, the drop in volume was 32 percent; in the Northeast, 40 percent.

Nationally, the decrease in facility discharge volume in the third week of March 2020 from the corresponding week in 2019 grew significantly compared to the first two weeks; it also appears greater than the decrease in the fourth week. But in the Northeast, in midsize facilities, the fourth week of March had a greater drop (34 percent) than the third week (30 percent).

From March 2019 to March 2020, the outpatient share of the distribution of estimated in-network amounts by settings decreased relative to the inpatient share. The effect was more pronounced in the Northeast than nationally.

The third and fourth weeks of March 2020, compared to the corresponding period in 2019, saw several changes in the most common diagnostic categories in the inpatient and ER settings. Nationally and in the Northeast, in the inpatient setting, diseases and disorders of the respiratory system rose in share of distribution by volume and estimated in-network dollars, while in the ER setting, acute respiratory diseases and infections rose.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "With this second study, we again use our data repository to shed light on the impact of COVID-19. As the pandemic continues to test the entire healthcare system, FAIR Health seeks to provide data and analysis to support all the system's participants."

###

For the new FAIR Health brief on COVID-19, Illuminating the Impact of COVID-19 on Hospitals and Health Systems: A Comparative Study of Revenue and Utilization, click here.

For the first FAIR Health brief on COVID-19, COVID-19: The Projected Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the US Healthcare System, click here.

Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 31 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products--including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices--to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health houses data on Medicare Advantage enrollees in its private claims data repository. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It and Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.
When Kevin Pitt recalls the proudest day of his life, hes reminded of the time his father was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In 1994, Romain Pitt became the first Black lawyer in Canada from a private practice to become a Superior Court judge. He held that position until 2010.

Pitt helped found the Caribana festival, now known as the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, as well as the Black Business and Professional Association.

Pitt died on April 29 after a fall in his home. He was 84.

His instincts really led him to serve the little person, Kevin told the Star. He really stood up for the rights of the disadvantaged.

Pitt was born in the West Indies in Grenville, Grenada in 1934 and moved to Toronto at 19 after his father died a few years prior. Without access to student aid, he worked several jobs throughout university, working on the General Motors assembly line, behind the counter at Eatons and as a driver for a bakery.

After earning an honours degree in economics he went on to study law at Osgoode Hall at the University of Toronto, and was called to the bar in 1965. For the next two years he worked at the prestigious Blaney law firm on Bay Street.

He left to co-found the first Black law practice in Canada alongside Eric Lindsay.

I had tremendous relations with my employers, but I just felt like I wanted to be my own man. I think I dont take instructions or orders very well, he told the Star in a 1985 interview.

Lawyer Selwyn Pieters, a friend for 25 years, said Pitts firm provided a vital service to a community that was often underserved.

At the time that he started practising, there were few Black lawyers, so there was quite a demand on his time, he said.

He gave back in other ways too, Pieters said. Pitt mentored Black students interested in pursuing law school throughout his life, and the two met while Pieters was applying to law schools in the mid-1990s.

In my memories of him, he is somebody who was very generous with his time, somebody who was always willing to offer advice and support, Pieters said. He was a caring person.

He was also a passionate advocate for racial justice, his son said.

Raj Dhir, executive director and chief legal officer at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, also shared fond memories with him.

In a post on LinkedIn, he recalled a time as a lawyer when he was trying to convince a panel of judges that its misguided to suggest race cannot be a factor in an employers decision to fire an employee. Pitt responded: Mr. Dhir, you dont have to take me to any authorities to convince me that that proposition doesnt amount to hill of beans in my view!

The two non-racialized judges looked at him, looked back at me and nodded their heads in agreement. It was an awesome moment and another reminder of why we need more diversity on the bench, Dhir wrote.

Pitt was engaged in the community in many other ways too, sitting on the boards of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Toronto General Hospital and the Church Council of Justice and Corrections.

His achievements were marked by several awards, including the Caribana Award for Cultural Contribution Community Development and Awareness in 1984 and the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers Black Judges award in 2000.

He is somebody who I aspire to be in terms of being a judge someday, Pieters said.

He is survived by his wife Amabelle Pitt, and his children Kevin, Jennifer and Tracy.

The family held a small funeral for him last Wednesday, but intends to plan another celebration for him in the near future.

He had a lot of friends that live out of town that were not able to get here, and theyre quite devastated so we definitely have to have something a lot larger for the many people that my dad touched throughout his life, his son said.
Canadian singer Bryan Adams has apologised for his comments blaming bat-eating people for causing coronavirus.

The 60-year-old was accused of racism after sharing an expletive-filled post on Instagram, lamenting how his planned performances in London had been postponed due to the health crisis.

He wrote: Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some f****** bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus.

Following a backlash, Adams apologised to all that took offence to the post, saying his intention had been to promote veganism.

He said: No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism.

I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world.

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Adams did not say who his original message was aimed at but critics on social media accused him of being anti-Chinese.

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams on stage. (PA)

The COVID-19 outbreak is widely thought to have originated in a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where it is believed to have made the jump from animals to humans.

Adams is best known for releasing a string of hits in the 1980s and 1990s.

His songs include Summer Of 69, Heaven and (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
The nation's shops have started to reopen and there are signs consumers are reopening their wallets in response.

Data compiled by the ANZ and Commonwealth banks, tracking activity on their credit and debit cards, points to a lift in spending through the past week after the nation's shoppers disappeared from malls and main streets through April.

Spending on grocery goods remain elevated but there are signs consumers are returning in other areas. Credit:AAP

Both banks had found spending through April about 20 per cent lower than for the same period in 2019 as consumers, after hoarding toilet paper and canned soup through March, retreated into their homes.

CBA now believes total spending is down just 2 per cent on the same early-May period of last year while the ANZ believes shoppers have actually surpassed their past spending patterns.
Courtesy of the Bay City Police Department

Abdul-Muhaymin Zaaki Adams, 27, has been arrested and charged with the murder of Tydarean Kobi Austin. The arrest stems from an investigative collaboration between the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, the Texas Rangers, the Matagorda County District Attorneys Office, the Matagorda County Sheriff's Office and the Bay City Police Department.

According to Jessica Reyes of the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, Adams was arrested in Katy and has been charged with murder and the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The latest novel coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Tuesday (this file is no longer updating. Click here to read more). Web links to longer stories if available.

11:04 p.m.: A registered nurse who worked at a London, Ont. long-term-care home has died of COVID-19.

The Ontario Nurses Association said Tuesday night that Brian Beattie worked at Kensington Village.

I am devastated at the loss of Brian, who was a dedicated RN, says ONA President Vicki McKenna, RN. ONA sends our deepest condolences to Brians family, friends and his colleagues.

This is a tragedy for all of us. Brian was a well-liked and respected registered nurse. He was the definition of dedication, and he considered his colleagues and residents to be his other family. He loved the work he did, and he also advocated for his colleagues to have personal protective equipment to keep both them and the residents safe. He will be deeply missed by his colleagues and the residents he cared for.

9:50 p.m.: British Columbia is moving towards easing COVID-19 restrictions, but movie stars, hockey players and cruise line operators wont be getting special passes around the provinces self isolation and port access rules.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday she misses watching hockey games, but if the National Hockey League chooses Vancouver as one of its sites to reopen the season, players and team officials arriving from outside Canada must self-isolate for 14 days.

Im not going to compromise safety for any organization, whether its the NHL or anything else, as much as I love hockey, she said at a news conference.

The health officer was equally firm around not bending rules for international actors coming to B.C. for film shoots.

Right now, I do not see lifting the restrictions on self-isolation, Henry said. As things improve, both in the United States and in Canada, then we can look at having different conversations around the need for self-isolation.

She said there have been reports about cruise lines preparing to resume operations in the summer months, but B.C. ports will be off limits.

7:22 p.m.: Hamilton-Raised Broadway actor Nick Cordero, who was stricken with COVID-19, has awoken from the medically induced coma he entered in late March, his wife, Amanda Kloots, announced Tuesday.

Kloots said Corderos doctor relayed that the actor is still weak but is responding to commands at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Its a great day, Kloots said in an Instagram Live stream. Nick is awake. He is hearing us. He is seeing us.

Cordero, 41, had his leg amputated last month. And two weeks ago, Kloots said her Tony-nominee husbands blighted lungs had holes in them where obviously you dont want holes to be.

But early this month, Kloots said Cordero was doing well after undergoing a tracheostomy.

7:05 p.m.: B.C. has just seven new cases of COVID-19, but one more person from a long-term care home has died.

The death toll in the province has reached 131 among the 2,360 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is asking residents to take an online survey that asks about their health in the last five months and where theyve travelled.

The survey also offers the chance of getting a blood test to determine if the person has immunity to COVID-19.

6:59 p.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.Ss top infectious disease expert, warned Congress on Tuesday that states that push too quickly to reopen businesses and allow public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic could trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control.

Testifying before the Senate Health Committee, the longtime government scientist largely avoided direct criticism of President Donald Trump or other GOP leaders, but struck a significantly more cautious tone than the president, who has pushed for states to quickly end restrictions on business and other activities that were imposed to blunt the spread of the virus.

If you think we have it completely under control, we dont. The consequences could be really serious, Fauci told the panel, warning about potential spikes in infections if states move too fast.

The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and more than 82,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll is far and away the highest in the world.

6:45 p.m.: A food service industry spokesman in Alberta says he expects a staggered start if restaurants get the green light to reopen on Thursday.

Mark von Schellwitz, western vice-president for Restaurants Canada, says owners are crunching numbers to see if they can at least break even by opening at half capacity while still paying existing and new costs, retraining staff and adapting to health measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Its like basically reopening a new business, von Schellwitz said Tuesday.

Restaurants, retailers, hair stylists and barbers, and daycares are among the businesses that would be allowed to resume services, as COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations suggest Alberta has flattened the curve of infections.

Public gatherings are still limited to no more than 15 people.

6:25 p.m.: Torontos medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, is recommending that residents who need to be in close contact with others and cant physically distance should wear a cloth mask or face covering, even if they are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Physical distancing is going to become more important as the Ontario government moves to further reopen the province and is likely to remain a fact of life until a vaccine is formulated, she said.

She urged people to continue staying in their family bubbles, for now.

There were 218 new infections in Toronto in the last 24 hours, and 5,449 people have recovered. Mayor John Tory said the city is working to open off-leash dog parks sooner rather than later, and he sounded another urgent plea for funding to cities from the province and the federal government. He said the city cant afford to extend the deadline for paying property taxes again and needs an urgent injection of funding to continue offering residents the services it is offering now.

5:45 p.m.: There are 45 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.

The provinces chief medical health officer is also reporting an additional death from the illness.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says 4,866 people have recovered and 118 have died.

The total number of cases in the province stands at 6,345.

5:30 p.m.: Ontario has seen another 65 reported deaths from COVID-19 as the daily tally of new infections remains low relative to recent weeks, according to the Stars latest count.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ontarios regional health units were reporting a total of 22,286 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, including 1,838 deaths.

In recent weeks, the province has seen the average daily count of new deaths go up as the tally of new cases has fallen. Likewise, the one-day jump in cases since the same time Monday evening  339 cases or just 1.5 per cent  was down from the previous day, and down considerably from the one-day jumps of recent weeks; meanwhile, the 24 hour count of new fatalities  65  was up again after two days of below-trend totals.

In the second half of April, the province averaged about 530 cases and 48 deaths a day. So far, May has seen about 400 cases and 55 deaths daily.

However, the below-average daily jump in new cases Tuesday followed the second straight day of falling testing numbers. In the morning, the province reported it had completed 11,957 COVID-19 tests on Monday, down about 2,000 from the day prior, nearly 7,500 fewer than were reported Friday and well short of the provinces target of 16,000 a day. Days with larger numbers of new reported cases have tended to follow increases in testing.

Because many health units publish tallies to their websites before reporting to Public Health Ontario, the Stars count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning.

The province also said 1,025 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 192 in intensive care, of whom 146 are on a ventilator  numbers that have fluctuated but remained largely flat in recent weeks. The province also says more than 15,000 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease  nearly three-quarters of the total infected.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths  1,725  may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.

The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

4:28 p.m.: Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister offered millions of dollars more for summer jobs Tuesday while defending job cuts at Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro.

Pallister said the government will spend up to $10 million for this years Green Team program, which gives money to community groups, municipalities and provincial parks to hire young people over the summer for environmental work.

It is almost double last years $5.5 million and is aimed at ensuring young people can get work despite COVID-19s economic fallout, Pallister said.

The announcement came one day after Manitoba Hydro said it plans to temporarily lay off 600 to 700 employees for a four-month period as part of government-wide cost-cutting to deal with the pandemics fiscal impact.

Crown corporations, universities and other public bodies were told by the Progressive Conservative government last month to map out three scenarios for reducing labour costs from May through August  by 10, 20 and 30 per cent.

The temporary layoffs at Manitoba Hydro work out to more than 10 per cent of the full-time equivalent positions listed in the utilitys last annual report.

Pallister said the temporary job cuts at the Crown utility are justified because there is less work being done. Some construction projects have been scaled back during the pandemic and door-to-door meter readings in residential areas have been suspended.

The union that represents many office and technology workers at the utility said employees are already facing heavy workloads because of hundreds of job cuts the Progressive Conservative government undertook after winning the 2016 election.

Unionized workers offered alternatives such as job-sharing, Carlyle said, but were told by the utility that the only options were temporary layoffs or a temporary eight per cent wage cut.

The utility said Tuesday it is willing to look at some options, but did not mention specifics.

4:06 p.m.: Families on Prince Edward Island now have access to more supports to help address the challenges of separation, divorce and parenting from multiple homes.

The provinces new Co-parenting Action Team will offer personalized supports to help parents address the co-parenting challenges they are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The departments of Justice and Public Safety in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia have also partnered to offer Island families the free online course Positive Parenting from Two Homes.

As well, the Island government has created the P.E.I. Children and Youth Table to promote and protect the rights of children and youth during COVID-19, while the province awaits the appointment of the independent Child and Youth Advocate.

3:53 p.m.: Nova Scotias top doctor cautioned that the Atlantic province hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic needs to see more improvement before it can consider easing restrictions.

Chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, dampened down expectations Tuesday despite reporting the provinces second consecutive day with only one new case of the disease.

Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada not to have presented a plan to ease social and physical distancing rules and to reopen its economy. To date, the only change has been an reopening of parks and trails so people can exercise.

3:49 p.m.: Thousands of hospital staff in Ontario are not eligible for the provinces pandemic pay premium, the union that represents them said Tuesday as the government left open the possibility of expanding the program.

The president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions said those not benefiting from the wage support program include maintenance workers, dietary workers and clerks, who could be exposed to COVID-19.

Michael Hurley said expanding the program to include everyone working in the provinces hospitals would recognize their hard work and boost their morale.

They feel like theyre being told theyre not heroic, theyre not on the front line, he said. Theyre not seen by the government as making a valuable contribution to the fight against COVID-19.

Premier Doug Ford announced the pay premium last month and has touted it as a way of recognizing the sacrifices essential workers make as they fight the spread of COVID-19. It included a $4 hourly raise over the next four months and a monthly bonus of $250 if they work more than 100 hours in a month.

The bonus was to be offered to staff at long-term-care homes, retirement homes, emergency shelters, supportive housing, social services congregate care settings, corrections institutions and youth justice facilities, home and community care providers and some staff in hospitals.

The program was later expanded to include more workers such as public health nurses and paramedics. The provincial government has said 350,000 workers are eligible for the pay premium.

3:45 p.m.: Saskatchewan is reporting five new cases of COVID-19, all in the far north.

Three of the infections are in the Beauval area and two are in La Loche, where there continues to be a major outbreak.

The northern region has the highest number of infections in the province, with 202 cases out of the total 573.

So far, 374 people have recovered from the illness and six have died.

3:30 p.m.: Metro Vancouver Transit Police are asking for the publics help in identifying a man suspected in a racially motivated attack against a woman.

Police say a man who boarded a bus on the Downtown Eastside on April 15 made discriminatory remarks directed at two Asian women who got on wearing masks.

They say in a release the man argued with another female passenger who told him to leave the women alone and the suspect allegedly kicked the victim in the leg and pulled her hair.

3:15 p.m.: Details on the first stage of Ontarios reopening plan will be coming this week, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday, as the province extended its state of emergency to June 2.

In his daily briefing, Ford teased good news coming Thursday, saying the people of Ontario have followed all the protocols.

(Well have) more good news about getting people back to work, more good news about opening workplaces, getting paycheques out the door, more good news about slowly getting back to normal, Ford said.

Well be reopening more low-risk workplaces, seasonal businesses and essential services.

3:10 p.m.: The Better Business Bureau says puppy scams are surging across North America as lonely people seek a companion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Better Business Bureau serving Mainland British Columbia says it and fellow organizations have received more reports about fraudulent pet sale websites in April than in the first three months of the year combined.

It says would-be owners should never purchase a pet without seeing it in person, first, and should pay close attention to websites selling puppies.

The bureau says some of the most common traits of scam websites during the pandemic are a lack of online footprint or history, inactive or unworkable social media links and a website launch date between February and April of this year.

2:20 p.m.: Woodbine Entertainment is hoping to resume horse racing next month.

CEO Jim Lawson says harness racing could resume June 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario, with the 2020 thoroughbred season opening the following day at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. Races would be held without spectators.

Should that not be possible, harness racing could restart June 12 with the thoroughbreds getting underway June 13.

Lawson says Woodbine will only resume racing if its safe to do so and the organization will continue to follow recommendations established by governmental and health authorities.

2:10 p.m.: Manitoba health officials are reporting one new COVID-19 case, bringing the total to date to 290.

The new case is related to a cluster at a workplace in western Manitoba that has now reached 11 people.

Officials say there is no cause for public concern about the cluster, as affected staff and their close contacts are all self-isolating.

1:40 p.m.: Torontos flagship summer event, the CNE, has been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic, organizers announced on Tuesday.

It is the first time the event has been cancelled since the Second World War.

The decision was made out of an abundance of caution, to help prevent employees, volunteers, visitors, vendors and artists from contracting COVID-19, which has so far killed more than 5,000 people in Canada.

The 18-day event employs 5,000 people each summer and attracts 1.4 million visitors. It was scheduled to run this year from Aug. 21 to Sept. 7 at Exhibition Place.

The Canadian International Air Show, which takes place over Lake Ontario on Labour Day Weekend during the final three days of the CNE has also been cancelled, said Darrell Brown, executive director of the CNE.

Read more from the Stars Francine Kopun.

1:20 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says we will hit stage one on Thursday of the three-stage framework for reopening the economy the government released a while back. We will have good news, the premier says.

1:18 p.m.: Quebec Premier Francois Legault is strongly recommending that Quebecers wear a mask whenever they leave home.

Legault, who wore a mask as he entered his daily briefing, says the mask can help prevent the spread of illness in situations where people cant stay at least two metres apart.

He announced 118 more deaths in the last 24 hours, for a total of 3,131.

He said there were also 756 new cases for a total of 39,225, including 10,056 who have recovered.

1 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford thanks all the parties in the legislature for working with his government. State of emergency will be officially extended to June 2 later today. Ontario been under a declaration of emergency since March 17.

12:50 p.m.: The Manitoba government is nearly doubling its funding this year for youth summer jobs under the Green Team program.

To help ensure kids can find work during the COVID-19 pandemic, funding will rise to $10 million from $5.5 million last year.

The money is given to community groups, municipalities and provincial parks to hire young people for environmentally sustainable projects.

12:50 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador is announcing no new cases of COVID-19. The province has confirmed 261 cases of the illness including 247 recoveries.

Four people are hospitalized due to the illness with one person in intensive care.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says while the virus is under control in the provinces communities, people cannot let their guards down with public health measures.

12:40 p.m.: Canadas chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada is not going to see mass gatherings or non-essential travel any time soon.

She says the new normal the country may be entering into as Canada starts reopening the economy will not look the same as it did last January.

For example, you can expect to see more Plexiglas and social-distancing measures in stores and shops once they reopen.

12:32 p.m.: Canadas chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the next phase of Canadas COVID-19 response will involve testing people with a wider range of potential symptoms.

Until recently, the government was asking people with mild symptoms to isolate at home without receiving a test.

In order to get a better idea of who has the disease, Tam says Canada needs to start casting a wider net when it comes to who to test.

12:30 p.m.: Tam is advising extreme caution when it comes to reopening the Canada-United States border.

She says Canada needs to see what happens when it eases its own public health measures to contain the virus before allowing foreign travel again.

It will also depend on the international epidemiology.

She says Canada should be looking carefully at the United States COVID-19 situation before allowing cross-border travel.

12:25 p.m.: Canadas deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says there are still challenges keeping Canada from reaching the lab capacity needed to properly test for COVID-19.

Canada is aiming for the capacity to test 60,000 people per day in order to test anyone with symptoms, and asymptomatic people in high-risk environments.

This week Canada is testing an average of 26,000 per day.

12 p.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, says states that ignore the national guidelines for reopening the economy run the risk of spikes in coronavirus cases that may turn into new outbreaks.

The consequences could be really serious, Fauci tells the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions committee. Problems will escalate if states do not have the hospital capacity to treat patients and to isolate people exposed to the virus.

There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances ... you will see some cases appear, as communities reopen, Fauci said. The guidelines are based on 14 days of gradually decreasing cases.

Fauci spoke by video conference to the hearing. He is self-quarantining after a White House staffer testified positive for the virus.

11:45 a.m. (update): Canadian rocker Bryan Adams apologized Tuesday for a social media post on the novel coronavirus that some critics called racist.

In a post Monday night on Twitter and Instagram, Adams blamed the global pandemic on (expletive) bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards.

He said his message to those people is to go vegan, which is a diet hes had for decades, and he decried having to cancel shows at the Royal Albert Hall in England due to the pandemic.

On Tuesday morning, the Summer of 69 singer issued an apology on Instagram to any and all that took offence to his post.

He said he just wanted to rant about animal cruelty in the wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism.

He added he has love for all people and that his thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world.

The apology post also included a video of Adams singing his single Into the Fire.

Many on social media condemned Adamss comments as racist, saying he was contributing to anti-Chinese rhetoric surrounding the virus.

Others accused the rocker of losing sight of the true victims of a pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

11:42 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will be very cautious when it comes to reopening international travel.

He would not say whether he expects the Canada-U. S. border to reopen when a mutual ban on non-essential travel expires next week.

But rather he says preventing transmission of COVID-19 into Canada from other countries will be an essential part of preventing a second wave of the outbreak.

He says Canada will need to see a decrease in the number of new cases in the country, and will need to have the ability to detect and track new cases.

11:40 a.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting only one new case of COVID-19 for the second consecutive day, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 1,020. There are no new deaths reported, leaving the provinces total at 48.

Health officials say three licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors facilities still have active cases of COVID-19.

The vast majority are at the Northwood facility in Halifax where there are 157 residents and eight staff with active cases, while one other facility has one staff member with an active case of COVID-19 and another facility has one resident with an active case.

The province says 864 people have now recovered and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved.

11:35 a.m.: Premier Doug Ford tells the legislature that by next week everyone in long-term care in Ontario should have been tested for COVID-19.

11:30 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says seniors have always been a priority in the governments COVID-19 response, despite only announcing direct financial assistance for them today.

He says from the beginning of the Canadian epidemic the government instituted public health measures to protect vulnerable seniors and provided GST tax credits.

Today he announced seniors who receive old age security will receive a one-time payment of $300, with an additional $200 for those who receive guaranteed income benefits.

11:28 a.m.: Ontarios official Opposition is calling on the government to hold a public inquiry into the provinces long-term care system.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the province must investigate the system that has been at the centre of numerous deadly outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the first question period at Ontarios legislature in months, Premier Doug Ford said his government will review the system but did not commit to holding a public inquiry.

11:20 a.m.: A prisoner and several human rights organizations have filed suit against the federal government in an effort to compel it to take steps to ensure inmate safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sean Johnston and organizations that include the Canadian Prison Law Association and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have filed a constitutional and human rights challenge against the countrys attorney general.

They say theyd like to say the release of prisoners to allow for physical distancing as well as rampant testing for inmates and correctional staff.

11:15 a.m.: The federal government is giving seniors a one-time, tax-free top-up payment to help manage extra costs associated with COVID-19.

Seniors Minister Deb Schulte says seniors who receive old age security will get $300, and those who receive the guaranteed income supplement will receive $200.

In all, the $2.5-billion measure will provide payments to 6.7 million seniors, Schulte says.

She says many have faced an increase in the cost of living as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, from more for dispensing fees for medications or delivery fees for food and services.

She also says their savings have taken a beating as stock markets have tumbled.

The government is also announcing that it wont suspend OAS and GIS payments to seniors who forget to file their taxes on time.

The most recent federal figures show there were 6.5 million seniors receiving old age security payments in March.

11:15 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed serious flaws in how Canada cares for seniors that governments will need to fix.

Long-term care homes have seen devastating outbreaks of the respiratory illness, including hundreds of deaths across the country.

Trudeau says the federal government will help provinces improve nursing-home care in a lasting way, once the immediate COVID-19 emergency is over.

Long-term care is a provincial responsibility.

Some advocates have called for including it in the Canada Health Act, which would likely mean big infusions of federal money in exchange for provinces meeting federal standards.

11 a.m.: Ontario continues to see relatively few new COVID-19 cases after two consecutive days with lower rates of testing, according to the Stars latest count.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Ontarios regional health units were reporting a total of 21,974 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, including 1,779 deaths.

Those totals represent 24-hour increases of 354 new cases  a low 1.6 per cent jump  and 47 new deaths, also below recent averages.

However, the low daily jump in new cases followed the second straight day of falling testing numbers.

Earlier Tuesday, the province reported it had completed 11,957 COVID-19 tests on Monday, down about 2,000 from the day prior, nearly 7,500 fewer than were reported Friday and well short of the provinces target of 16,000 a day.

Days with larger numbers of new reported cases have tended to follow increases in testing, and vice versa.

As the trend in new cases has been falling in recent weeks, the average daily count of new deaths has continued to rise slowly. In the second half of April, the province averaged about 530 cases and 48 deaths a day; so far, May has seen about 400 cases and 55 deaths daily.

The Stars daily count of new fatal cases has been below that average since Friday, although its too early to tell if the long-term trend has changed.

Because many health units publish tallies to their websites before reporting to Public Health Ontario, the Stars count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning.

The province also said 1,025 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 192 in intensive care, of whom 146 are on a ventilator  numbers that have fluctuated but remained largely flat in recent weeks. The province also says more than 15,000 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease  nearly three-quarters of the total infected.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths  1,725  may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.

The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

10:55 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to address reporters at his daily briefing. A livestream of his news conference will be available at thestar.com

10:53 a.m.: Toronto Mayor John Tory is urging the Ontario government and health officials to set public benchmarks for COVID-19 improvement before further lifting of restrictions aimed at limited spread of the virus.

I think we need the Ontario government, in conjunction with the other medical officers of health  but really just them because they are ultimately the authority we look to on all of this  they need to come out now and say Here are the five measurements that we will be looking to move into phase 2, or phase whatever, of this reopening plan and things like being able to go and hug your relatives, Tory said in an interview with CP24.

Read more from the Stars David Rider.

10:20 a.m.: A new report from the TTC says the agency is facing $520 million shortfall by Labour Day as a result of COVID-19, up from citys previous estimate of $439 million in losses over nine months.

The report lays out measures that the TTC says could reduce that deficit to $297.7 million, through cost containment, reducing service, deferring service improvements, and $116 million in permanent capital reductions.

Report stresses these actions do not provide fiscal relief and a financial impact of this magnitude will require support from the provincial and federal governments.

It notes that despite unprecedented fiscal impacts of COVID, the province and Ottawa havent come to the table.

10:15 a.m.: Several Canadian universities are saying classes this fall will primarily be online as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Ottawa and others have laid out broad plans for how they will handle the fall semester.

Post-secondary institutions across Canada were forced to close their campuses in March due to the COVID-19 health crisis, and rapidly shifted their classes online.

9:40 a.m.: An early study of more than 40,000 cases of the coronavirus in China showed that more men contracted the virus and slightly more men died. Thats not the case in Ontario. Here are four charts compiled by the Stars Patty Winsa that show new trends in the latest data on COVID-19.

9:35 a.m.: For the first time, COVID-19 has been confirmed in a crowded civilian protection camp in South Sudans capital, the United Nations said Tuesday, a worrying development in a country thats one of the worlds least prepared for the virus spread.

The U.N. is aware that the health ministry and World Health Organization have confirmed the two cases in the camp in Juba, said Francesca Mold, a spokeswoman with the U.N. mission in South Sudan.

The health ministrys emergency preparedness manager, Dr. Mathew Tut, said the two infected people were South Sudanese and in their 20s. South Sudan was one of the last countries in Africa to confirm a case of the disease and now has 174.

9:30 a.m.: Brazils biggest homeless population has begun succumbing to COVID-19, and activists warn the worst is yet to come as colder weather bears down and shelters risk becoming hotbeds for infection.

At least 22 homeless people in Sao Paulo have died from COVID-19 so far, according to City Hall, and there are hundreds of suspected cases throughout the state, both on the streets and in shelters. Julio Lancellotti, a 71-year-old priest, said nothing hes seen these people face in three decades compares to the hardship he expects from the new pandemic  not economic turmoil, waves of violence nor dengue fever.

I have the feeling this will be our biggest challenge, and the most difficult part isnt even here yet, Lancellotti told The Associated Press.

8:47 a.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus pandemic, it will result in needless suffering and death.

Fauci is among the health experts testifying Tuesday to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus spread.

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the U.S., is testifying via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been pressuring states to reopen.

8:30 a.m.: Canadian singer Bryan Adams is facing backlash over social media posts on the novel coronavirus that some critics are calling racist.

On Twitter and Instagram, Adams blamed the global pandemic on (expletive) bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards.

He also decried the impact of the virus on the world, noting the cancellation of a series of shows he was set to play in England.

The tweet appears to have since been deleted but the Instagram post was still up this morning, though it seems comments have been closed.

Many on social media condemned Adamss comments as racist, saying he was contributing to anti-Chinese rhetoric surrounding the virus.

Others accused him of losing sight of the true victims of a pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

Read more from the Stars Jacob Lorinc

8:25 a.m.: As restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 persist, a new survey suggests more than half of Canadians find it stressful to venture out in public.

In a web survey conducted by polling firm Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies, 57 per cent of respondents said leaving their home for a public space caused anxiety.

8:05 a.m. Ryanair said the U.K.s intention to quarantine visitors for 14 days is unscientific and unenforceable, as the airline carrier announced plans to resume almost 1,000 flights a day starting in July.

The Irish low-cost airline, which has grounded most of its fleet since late March, said it would institute passenger temperature checks, require masks and prohibit lines for toilets as it restarts about 40 per cent of its flights. Lavatories will be made available on request, Ryanair said in a statement.

Ryanair is opposed to ineffective non-scientific measures such as a two-week quarantine, which is completely unenforceable and nonscience based, it said in an emailed response to questions, after U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britons were unlikely to be able to travel abroad this summer. We expect the public will largely ignore it.

The comeback for European air travel is dependent on the lifting of government restrictions on flights within Europe. While the European Commission is preparing recommendations for removing border controls, the Ryanair tussle highlights the conflicting priorities that could make the reopening a bumpy one.

7:37 a.m.: China suspended imports of beef from four Australian producers on Tuesday following a threat by Beijing of possible trade retaliation if Australia pushed for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the suspensions appear to be based on highly technical issues, some of which date back more than one year. Birmingham said he was talking with the industry to formulate a comprehensive response.

Beijing has rejected calls by Australia and other governments for an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus, which emerged in December in central China.

Ambassador Cheng Jingye told The Australian Financial Review last month the country might face a Chinese boycott of its tourism and exports of wine, beef and other goods if Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government pressed for an inquiry.

China is the No. 1 market for Australian beef, accounting for about 30 per cent of exports.

7:23 a.m.: London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he believes it is too early for the Premier League to be planning a resumption of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham all play in the capital.

The mayors office says the league should resume only when it is safe to do so.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that sports events in the country could resume in June if there is not a new spike in COVID-19 infections.

Liverpool led the league by 25 points with nine games remaining when the league was suspended in March.

6:20 a.m.: Australias treasurer said Tuesday the country faces a sobering economic outlook due to the effects of the coronavirus and will have its largest-ever deficit when a revised budget is released in October.

The 2020-21 federal budget was due to be released Tuesday. But the government was forced to delay it until it assesses the full economic cost of the coronavirus.

Overall, the economic data has been sobering, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Parliament on the first day of a scheduled three-day sitting this week. He said he expects gross domestic product (GDP) will fall more than 10% in the June quarter, representing the biggest fall on record.

5:49 a.m.: U.S. President Donald Trump is insisting that his administration has met the moment and prevailed on coronavirus testing.

The presidents latest assertions come as governors across the country continue to call on the federal government to do more to boost the testing supply to meet the requirements needed to begin reopening the nation.

The White House itself has become a potent symbol of the risk facing Americans everywhere by belatedly ordering everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask.

That directive comes after two aides tested positive for COVID-19 late last week.

Trump himself continues to appear in public without a mask, as he did during his news conference Monday.

5:20 a.m.: South Korea has reported 27 new cases as health workers work to test thousands of people who visited nightspots in Seoul after detecting dozens of infections linked to club goers.

Figures released by South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national figures to 10,936 cases and 258 deaths. Clubs in the capital region have been closed again after the outbreak, and the reopening of schools was pushed back to May 20.

5:15 a.m.: India is set to run limited train service as the country looks at easing its nearly seven-week lockdown.

Special trains are departing Tuesday from select cities. Passengers must be asymptomatic and maintain social distancing on board. Indian Railways also mandated a government-run contact tracing app that has been criticized over civil liberties concerns. Indias rail, road and air services were suspended in late March as part of a nationwide lockdown.

5 a.m.: Singaporeans were able to get a haircut at the barber or pop in to their favourite bakery Tuesday as the government loosened restrictions three weeks before a partial lockdown ends.

Despite an upsurge in cases due to an outbreak among foreign workers staying in crowded dormitories, the government says transmission in the local community has dropped and plans a phased reopening of the economy.

Barbers and hairdressers, food manufacturers and outlets as well as laundry shops are among selected businesses that can open with strict health measures Tuesday after five weeks of shutdown. Barbers can operate by appointment only and notices outside shops call for face masks before entry.

Monday 9:47 p.m.: China reported just one new coronavirus case Tuesday as the government presses ahead with reopening measures, including allowing Beijing middle school senior students to return to class and Shanghai Disneyland to open its gates again to a limited number of visitors.

Other measures have included permitting Beijings ancient Forbidden City to expand its visitor numbers, as long as they book online first, show evidence they are healthy and wear a mask while touring the massive complex that was home to generations of Chinas emperors.

Also on Tuesday, the National Health Commission said 115 people remain in treatment and 763 are being isolated and monitored as either suspected cases or after testing positive for the virus without showing symptoms.

China has not reported a new death from the virus in almost a month. In total, it has recorded 4,633 deaths among 82,919 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last year.

Monday 8:49 p.m.: British Columbia reported fewer than two dozen cases of COVID-19 over 48 hours, but the provincial health minister cautions that it would still be easy for the new coronavirus to reboot.

Adrian Dix said during a news conference Monday that its tempting to think that B.C. has made some advances against COVID-19.

The province reported 23 new cases of the virus since Saturday and another death. That raises the total cases in B.C. to 2,353 with 130 deaths. The number of people recovered from the virus is 1,719 and there are no new community outbreaks.

We cant let up. In B.C., COVID-19 is not on the run. Its still here, its still here in every health authority, looking for chances to take a greater hold again and we cant give it a chance, Dix warned.

The risks are too high. Rebooting this virus now or a second wave later in the year will put all our surgical, social and economic renewal plans at risk.

The provincial government is allowing a partial reopening of the B.C. economy starting May 19, the day after the Victoria Day holiday.

The Vancouver Parks Board said spaces will remain closed in the coming days as a result of a decrease in public compliance with physical distancing over the past weekend. Many residents got outside as temperatures soared into the mid-20s, breaking several heat records around the province.

Park board staff had tentatively planned to reopen lots at beaches and parks this week but will not proceed with that plan, it said in a news release.

Henry said the next week will be the beginning of Phase 2 of the reopening plan, but people need to be patient and calm, and take the time to think about how they are going to adapt to activities in what seems to be the new normal.

Read more of Mondays coverage here.
The peace of this world "makes you peaceful and happy too, but it "also sends you to sleep a little, it anesthetizes you and turn in on yourself": it is "a little bit selfish". What Jesus gives is "peace full of hope, which makes us fruitful, makes us communicative with others, which creates community and which always looks at the definitive peace of Heaven".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis marked World Nurses Day, at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta, at the beginning of which he invited us to pray "for nurses, men, women, who have chosen this profession, which is more than a profession, it is a vocation, a dedication. May the Lord bless them. In this time of the pandemic, they set an example of heroism and some gave their lives."

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on Jesus's words from the Gospel of St John: Peace I leave you; my peace I give you (Jn 14:27). This peace is not universal peace, the peace that comes from the absence of war, the Pope said. Rather it is peace in the heart, peace in our souls, the peace we all have within.

In the Gospel, Jesus says that the peace He will give is not a worldly peace: Not as the world gives do I give it to you. The peace of this world, said Pope Francis, is a peace given by the things that are superficially pleasing to me. That peace is a kind of personal possession, something I have in isolation from others, something I keep for myself alone. Without realizing it, this kind of peace can lull us into a sleepy tranquility, where we end up closed in on ourselves. Its a bit selfish, the Pope said.

Its also a costly peace, because those who seek it must always change what gives them that peace. It is costly because it is temporary and sterile.

The peace that Jesus gives is very different, the Pope said. Its a peace that makes you move. It doesnt isolate you. Instead, the peace Jesus gives leads you to reach out to others, to create community and communication. While the peace the world gives exacts a huge toll, the peace Jesus gives is entirely free, a gift of the Lord.

Pope Francis gave the example from the Gospels of the wealthy man whose barns were filled with grain, who thought he was doing well, and was even looking to build more. But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?(Lk 12:20) . This worldly peace doesnt open the doors to the future, to heaven, the Pope said, but is concerned only with oneself.

The peace Jesus gives, on the other hand, is always focused on the Lord. It is a peace not just for today, but for the future: It is to begin to live in heaven, with the fruitfulness of heaven. Worldly peace can lull us to sleep like a drug but we are constantly in need of another dose. This worldly peace is limited, because it is always temporary; but the peace that Jesus gives, is definitive, fruitful, and infectious.

The Holy Father prayed in conclusion, May the Lord grant us this peace that gives hope, that creates community, and that looks to the definitive peace of paradise.
The concept, promoted by head of Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak and deputy chief of the Ukrainian team in Minsk talks on Donbas settlement, regarding the "strengthening" of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk is, in fact, multidimensional. The first dimension is about involving in talks chiefs of parliamentary committees and their deputies, as well as deputy ministers. The second is to attract internally displaced persons to work in the TCG subgroups.

Commenting on that first dimension, Yermak said he was driven by the assumption that "the negotiation process cannot go on forever", and that raising the status of the Ukrainian representation in the TCG format will push Russia toward taking mirror measures.

This hope is akin to believing in "synchronized, mirror withdrawal of forces and means" at three pilot disengagement sites in the warzone, which never happened. It would be more than naive to expect from Russia any mirror measures within the framework of the TCG as they keep generating options for distancing themselves from their true role of in the conflict through various "direct negotiation mechanisms". Among them is the idea of the infamous Advisory Council with the direct involvement of representatives of the occupied territories, various requirements to urgently agree some amendments to the Ukrainian legislation with members of the illegal armed groups (IAGs), additional "ceasefire" initiatives, which Russia sees as the need to establish in case of truce violations direct contacts between the non-existent "Joint Ceasefire Control and Coordination of the LPR-DPR" and the Ukrainian military command, etc.

The wording used by the head of the Ukrainian President's Office makes it look as if the problem with the implementation of the Minsk agreements really lies in the insufficiently high representation of the Ukrainian team, rather than in Russia and IAGs it controls failing to stop escalating the front line

That's not to mention the fact that such specific accents put by the Ukrainian side could be interpreted ambiguously: instead of the apparent attempt to "demonstrate Ukraine's enormous will for political settlement", it can easily be considered as an attempt to impose on the Ukrainian side additional responsibility for the lack of progress in the implementation of Minsk agreements.

The wording used by the head of the Ukrainian President's Office makes it look as if the problem with the implementation of the Minsk agreements really lies in the insufficiently high representation of the Ukrainian team, rather than being due to Russia and IAGs it controls failing to stop escalating the front line and having held sham "elections" in the occupied territories in 2018 (while the Minsk agreements say elections in the certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions [ORDLO] shall be held only in line with Ukrainian law).

Besides, the actions of the President's Office aimed at the ultimate formalization of the negotiation process within the TCG (this is not only about increasing the level of our representation, but also Reznikov's consent to the formalization of the very TCG, of which he spoke in his interviews), contribute to shifting the discussion of settlement-related political issues to the TCG platform. At the same time, for Ukraine, it would be much more favorable to discuss any serious political steps in the Normandy format. So, such kind of a shift toward the TCG is exactly what Russia has long been striving for. The idea has been put on many occasions both by Russia's think tanks and personally their Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The second dimension  the one about the participation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the work of TCG subgroups  will one way or another pave the way for new manipulations by Russia in terms of a "direct dialogue" between Ukraine and ORDLO. After all, it is absolutely clear that the representatives of the illegal armed groups, who are simply attendees at the talks but not a party to negotiations will not go anywhere from those TCG meetings. And the attempt to motivate the presence of IDPs as "an ORDLO side with whom we will conduct a political dialogue", described in Paragraph 12 of the Package of Measures, will not cancel this fact. That is, Ukraine risks becoming a victim of its own rhetoric: having taken a great interest in disputes about the semantics of such words "ORDLO representatives", Reznikov and Yermak failed to notice how they started talking about internally displaced persons as a "counterweight to the illegal armed groups". And it is precisely on this that Russia's further initiatives will be built to push for "direct dialogue between Kyiv and Donbas within the framework of the TCG".

The position set forth in the "Yermak Minutes of Meeting" of March 11 is exactly what Russia will further be insisting on. Moreover, as it became clear immediately following the TCG meeting on March 26, it's not that important how the initiative will be called  be it the "Advisory Council" or some other name, which hasn't already become a red flag for the Ukrainian public. It is much more important for Russia to confront the Ukrainian delegation with the need to conduct a dialogue with the illegal armed formations. The way Yermak intends to "confuse" Russia is more likely to confuse Ukrainian negotiators. And it will lead to the same result that the Advisory Council could have led to in the form described in the "Yermak Minutes of Meeting", only a little later. Of course, that's if these initiatives involving IDPs will ever be implemented.

The way Yermak intends to "confuse" Russia is more likely to confuse Ukrainian negotiators. And it will lead to the same result that the Advisory Council could have led to in the form described in the "Yermak Minutes of Meeting", only a little later

In general, it remains unclear why the Ukrainian negotiators decided to read the Package of Measures from the bottom of the document  namely, from paragraphs 13 and 12 where it lays down the issues of new subgroups within the framework of the TCG and the dialogue with representatives of the ORDLO. It would be wiser to get back to reading this Package from the beginning, from Paragraph 1  the one on a ceasefire. It's no accident that in the text of these documents  imperfect in many respects  it's security that comes first.

Maria Kucherenko is a project manager at the Center for Civil Society Studies
Online commerce platforms are estimated to have regained about 30 per cent of the pre-lockdown order volume in the last one week after relaxations were eased in the third phase of lockdown, a report by Unicommerce eSolutions said on Tuesday.

Unicommerce is an e-commerce focused supply chain solutions provider, and claims to process over 20 per cent of the country's e-commerce volume.

Its clients include Myntra, Bulbul TV, Urbanclap, Forever New, House of Anita Dongre, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda and others.

The company said it processes 4 lakh order items a day, amounting to over USD 2 billion (about Rs 15,000 crore) in gross merchandise value.

"The overall e-commerce sector showed a good sign of recovery in the first week of lockdown 3.0 and made up for the steep decline of 40 days due to lockdown. The overall industry has reached 30 per cent of pre-lockdown order volumes which is a good sign for the industry," the report said.

However, business will continue to take a major hit as over 40 per cent of the e-tailers are based in metropolitan cities which are currently in the red zone, it added.

E-commerce companies have been permitted to sell all items in orange and green zones starting from May 4, 40 days after the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25.

In the first two phases of the lockdown, e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal were allowed to sell only essential items like grocery, medicines and healthcare products.

In the red zones, that include top e-commerce hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, e-commerce companies can still ship only essential items.

"The online fashion sector is one of the major contributors to overall India's e-commerce volume and growth. It includes apparel, footwear, bags, and accessories and has suffered the maximum impact due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"During the first seven days of lockdwon 3.0, the sector has recovered 30 per cent of its pre-lockdown order volumes," the report said.

It added that the segment is expected to see further growth in the current week, as it took a couple of days for retailers to get back into the business.

The fashion sector is expected to see the next big jump once e-commerce operations begin in metro cities, considering all metro cities are presently under the red zone, the report said.

Order volume for electronic appliances increased significantly, with recovery rate of 35 per cent in the first week of the third phase of lockdown.

It added that there has been a 5-7 per cent rise in the average order size compared to the week before the lockdown was announced in March.

Given that eyewear was placed under the essential category, online eyewear players continued to operate during the lockdown as well.

"During the lockdown, the number of orders for eyewear decreased by over 60 per cent despite multiple promotions by leading online eyewear players. However, the order volume has increased by 70-75 per cent as compared to a week before lockdown 3.0," it said, adding that consumers were probably not aware that eyewear products operate under the essentials category.

For the cosmetics category, some products were available under the essentials category



"However, the order volume declined by almost 90 per cent during the time period. In the first week of lockdown 3.0, the cosmetics sector has not shown any significant signs of recovery, as the sector has only been able to regain 15-20 per cent of its order volumes.

"Having said that, the sector is expected to recover but will take a slightly longer time than usual," the report said.

E-pharma and online grocery sector witnessed a massive spike of 100 per cent spike during the first two stages of lockdown, with the average order size increasing by 20 per cent, it added.

"However, there has been a negligible change in the number of orders in the last one week, beyond a spike of 7-8 per cent in the overall order size as people may have already stocked up medicines and grocery items. The lockdown is expected to result in a major boost for the sector in the current financial year," it said.

Unicommerce CEO Kapil Makhija said the last 40 days have had a major impact and changed people's mindset about online shopping.

"Even though the government has permitted certain activities, consumers are still wary of leaving the house and have adopted social distancing as a way of life. The essentials category has witnessed a major surge during the 40-day lockdown and will continue to see an increase in the overall demand," he said.

With certain relaxations in the non-essential sales in green and orange zones, a similar growth is being seen in other sectors, he said, adding that e-commerce industry is expected to see a steep increase in orders in the long run as consumers would adjust to the new norms post-lockdown.

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

12 May 2020

Marriott sees early signs of travel demand coming back to properties in China and North America. But its plans to mount an aggressive marketing campaign to take as much of the early recovery market share as possible recognizes it will be tough competition on the rebound.

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Economies around the world are on life support, but Marriott executives see initial signs the worst from coronavirus may be in the rearview mirror.

A quarter of Marriott's hotels around the world are temporarily closed due to depleted occupancy and limited revenue per room in the coronavirus era not justifying continued operations. The hotel giant's worldwide revenue per room was down 90 percent in April. But the recovery already underway in China is expected to continue in other parts of the world, most likely arriving in Europe last.

"China does appear to be recovering and holding. I know there is lots of debate on if there's a resurgence of the virus in China," Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson said Monday on a first quarter earnings call. "By and large, what we hear there is reassuring."

Coronavirus first impacted Marriott's China portfolio in January before ramping up elsewhere in March. Occupancy rates in China have gone from single-digit lows in February to just over 30 percent currently, Sorenson said. Marriott properties in Chinese resort markets saw close to 70 percent occupancy rates over the recent Labor Day holiday, the first major holiday in China since coronavirus-related travel restrictions have been lifted. A strong domestic traveler base should continue to fuel the recovery at Chinese properties, Sorenson said.
On International Nurses Day, on Tuesday, nurses employed with National Health Mission (NHM) in Chandigarh, poured out their woes and hardships they are facing. On the frontline in the war against Covid-19, NHM employees are seeking fair wages and insurance covers.

After 10 years of service as an ANM (auxiliary nursing & midwifery) nurse with the UT health department, Rishu gets 11,000 in hand. She has two daughters and the salary falls hopelessly inadequate. Yet, she has no choice but to carry on. A Kalka resident, Rishu is among the hundreds on the frontline placing their lives at risk in the epidemic. I was part of the team that surveyed Bapu Dham Colony for three days. Then I was posted in the survey team of Sector 30 (containment zone), Hallomajra and Mauli Jagran, she said.

We are deputed for night duty without any relaxation from the next days shift. There were days when after a 9am to 3pm shift, I work another shift from 5pm to 7am. Then without a break, I have to report for duty at 9am, she said.

Rishu, who comes from Kalka, is also finding it arduous and demanding to commute. She must hitch a ride to her work station as no public transport is available. We give our 100% to our work, but we get no additional support from the health department. No transportation, no encouragement. Our salaries are dreadfully meagre. I joined at 5,500 in 2009 and today I get only 11,000 in hand.

Slamming the UT admin, staff nurse Babita Rawat, who is posted at the civil hospital in Sector 22, said, They call us corona warriors, but what have they done for its warriors? Nothing. I am working as a staff nurse with the UT health department since 2010. I am paid only 16,000 while those employed on contract are getting around 28,000.

She said, Give us suitable salaries, so we can look after our families and at least provide us insurance cover to secure our families financially in case something happens to us on duty during the epidemic.

Highlighting the issue, Amit Kumar, general secretary of CNEU (Chandigarh NHM Employees Union), said the staff will wearing black ribbons during duty hours to observe a black day on May 13. The main issue is the inadequate salaries he said, adding that a NHM nurse draws 9,000 to 11,000, while the outsourced cadre and regular employees draw 28,000 to 75,000 respectively.

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Chloe met her husband-to-be, Emil W. Reutzel, Jr. when he was among a number of University of Nebraska students who had joined the Marine Corps Reserve and were sent to Northwestern's Evanston, Illinois, campus for training. The two were married in November, 1944, when then-Ensign Reutzel was attending a Naval Intelligence school in New York City. The marriage took place at the home of Dr. and Mrs. John Work of Montclair, New Jersey. Mrs. Work was Mrs. Reutzel's cousin.The newlyweds lived in New York City briefly and in San Diego before Mr. Reutzel left for duty in the Pacific. Mrs. Reutzel returned to her native Aberdeen and taught school until her husband returned from World War II overseas service. The two purchased a weekly newspaper in her husband's hometown of Neligh, Nebraska, when he was discharged from the Navy, but delayed their return long enough for him to obtain a degree from Northwestern and its Medill School of Journalism in 1946. It was during their time in Neligh that their two daughters were born. They left Neligh in 1954 and spent seven years in Washington, D.C., where Mr. Reutzel was an assistant to the director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President. The Reutzels left the Capital City shortly after the change of administration in 1961, returning to Norfolk, Nebraska, where Mr. Reutzel became editor of the Daily News and was also involved in the ownership of several weekly newspapers.
As was the case last week, yesterday Monday and today Tuesday saw no new coronavirus-related deaths in Malaga province announced by the regional Ministry of Health and Families.

This means that the local Covid-19 death toll remains at 271. However, it should be noted that deaths over the weekend tend to be announced with a delay of up to 72 hours. Additionally, it can take several weeks from the time a person contracts the virus until they die, after their condition has worsened.

In terms of new cases, 11 were reported on Tuesday, eight fewer than on Monday. Since the start of the pandemic, 3,790 people have tested positive for Covid-19, though the figures provided by the regional authorities are higher than those reported nationally as the national Ministry of Health only counts those diagnosed by the more accurate PCR tests.

Recovery

One important measure to consider when evaluating the progress in the fight against the coronavirus is that of the proportion of people who overcome the disease compared to new infections. In this regard, only five more patients were given the all-clear on Tuesday, taking the total in Malaga province to 1,960 - still some distance from matching the number of new cases.

On the other hand, the volume of patients with Covid-19 admitted to hospitals in Malaga continues to fall. Seventy-one patients are currently in hospital (five fewer than on Monday), of whom 14 are in intensive care (ICU).

Across Andalucia, 44 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Tuesday, taking the total to 15,522. Four more deaths have been reported (total 1,326). Those given the all-clear has risen to 9,297 (up 92).
Ryanair plans to operate close to 150 routes from Ireland from July 1 as part of its efforts to restore 40% of its flight schedule by mid-summer.

Passengers will be subject to strict public health requirements, including face masks and temperature checks, as part of the new plan.

Social distancing will be encouraged "where it is possible", though the airline will continue to sell middle seats, unlike some counterparts in the United States.

Since mid-March, Ryanair has operated a skeleton schedule of 30 flights per day between Ireland, the UK, Ireland and Europe.

It has now mapped out a plan to increase operations, operating nearly 1,000 flights per day from July 1. This would represent 40% of its regular schedule but would restore connectivity to 90% of its network. It includes more than 100 routes from Dublin, more than 20 from Cork and 14 from Shannon.

This is subject to restrictions on flights within the EU being lifted and the introduction of strict public health measures, including:

Temperature checks at airport entry

Wearing face masks/coverings at all times in airport terminals and on aircraft

Social distancing at airports and onboard aircrafts "will be encouraged where it is possible"

Cabin crew will wear face masks/covering

In-flight snack and drinks service will be limited, no cash sales

No queuing for toilets.

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said "it is time to get Europe flying again".

Mr Wilson also told RTE they will be selling the middle seats as proposals to leave these empty "isn't based on any scientific evidence", but stressed they "will be doing everything to do sensible mitigation of risk on board".

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said there will be demand for services, estimating between 50% and 60% of seats would be booked.

He also took aim at proposals to "impose quarantine on people coming" by air. In Britain, passengers from Ireland and France would be exempt from the measure announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday.

Mr O'Leary labelled the policy as "idiotic" and, instead, called for increased airport checks to ensure holidaymakers can start flying once again.

An empty Ryanair check in area at Terminal 1, Dublin Airport. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "What's ineffective is these kind of idiotic measures like a 14-day quarantine, which is completely non-science-based, when you can exempt the French and you can exempt the Irish.

"It's nonsense and it has no effect in limiting the spread of Covid-19. "The reality is, we're over the peak of the virus. What we now need is to take effective measures, and effective measures certainly in air travel will involve masks and temperature checks.

"They're not going to involve measures that have no public support like lockdown, isolation.

"They're utterly unimplementable anyway because you don't have the police resources to go and check the people."

He said families have a "huge pent-up desire" to "get away to the beaches of Spain and Portugal" where he predicted there would be "no spread of the virus".
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Washington: The United States urged Tehran on Monday to send a charter plane to take home 11 Iranian nationals whom Washington wants to deport, and accused the Islamic Republic of stalling the repatriation process.

"We have 11 of your citizens who are illegal aliens who we have been trying to return to your country. You suddenly SAY you want them back, so how about you send a charter plane over and well return all 11 at once?" Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of the US Homeland Security Department, said in Twitter posts.

He said Washington had been trying for months to return Sirous Asgari, an Iranian science professor who was acquitted in November of stealing trade secrets but was still under US custody, and that Tehran was delaying the process.

Cuccinelli did not make any mention of a prisoner swap between the two countries that cut diplomatic relations 40 years ago - something Iranian sources have said was in the works.

"Stop talking rubbish!" Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, tweeted. "Since Sep2018, @JZarif has put 'universal prisoners swap' on the table, urged U.S. act responsibly abt the Iranian HOSTAGES in & elsewhere. Your regime has reacted callously & risked their lives....Let our citizens go!"

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier that Tehran had been ready for a prisoner exchange for some time and that it was the United States that had not responded yet, Irans Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

Both countries have called for the release of prisoners because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Iran is the worst-hit country in the Middle East, while the United States has reported the highest number of deaths and infections worldwide from the virus.

Reuters reported last week that the United States was expected to deport Asgari, who tested positive for the coronavirus more than two weeks ago, once he received medical clearance to travel.

Iranian sources have said talks for a prisoner swap between the United States and Iran have been in the works for some time and that Washington was negotiating for the release of Michael White, a US Navy veteran who has been detained in Iran since 2018. He was released from prison in mid-March to Swiss custody and is on medical furlough, but remains in Iran.

It was not immediately clear who would be exchanged for White, but a U.S. official denied that Washington was negotiating to swap Asgari for White as Iranian officials have suggested.

As the United States and Iran lack diplomatic relations, Switzerland looks after US interests with Tehran.

On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a telephone conversation with his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, and thanked him for Switzerland's "continued and constructive role" as Washington's protecting power in Iran and its assistance in repatriating US citizens from that country.
SIERRA MADRE, Calif., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout the San Gabriel Valley of California, and the nation, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of prepared meals to vulnerable home-bound seniors and homeless individuals, creating a crisis within the larger crisis.

Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center Executive Chef Ricardo Solda and Ike Susilawati in the midst of preparing meals for the Retreat Center's Food Ministry.

In Sierra Madre, home for nearly a century to the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, this crisis hit when the meals program operated by the City and the YWCA was affected by California's "Stay Home" order. At the same time, retreatants scheduled to attend religious retreats at Mater Dolorosa also had to stay home, creating an opportunity that led to the creation of the Retreat Center's new Food Ministry.

"Sierra Madre's Town Manager Gabe Engeland welcomed our offer to step in with food preparation to fill the void. The center was eager to do it out of our tradition of hospitality and compassion," said Retreat Center Director Michael Cunningham. "But before we could commit, we had to make sure our kitchen staff would be safe."

Fortunately, five kitchen staff members volunteered to move into now-vacant rooms at the Retreat Center so they could avoid exposure to the virus and immediately started preparing, cooking, freezing and packaging meals. In their first week, they prepared between 200 and 300 meals, but surging demand quickly swelled their workload to nearly 2,000 meals a week.

"We were happy to do it," said Mater Dolorosa's Executive Chef Ricardo Solda. "All of us love the life here at Mater Dolorosa. We love the priests and working here brings us a lot of joy."

Solda, like many others on the kitchen staff, now only sees his family during one brief meeting a week.

"I change clothes before I go in and before I come back, we wear masks, and we follow the social distancing rules at home because being able to safely continue the Food Ministry is so important to us," Solda said.

In addition to preparing meals for Sierra Madre seniors, Solda and his crew also cook for a senior community in Duarte, a homeless community in the Lario Park area of Azusa served by Foothill's Kitchen in Monrovia, and the St. Francis Center in Los Angeles.

"While the primary mission at Mater Dolorosa is spiritual in nature, the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired us to reach out in other ways," said Cunningham. "The Food Ministry Program allows us to feed the human spirit in a very practical way, so we hope to secure continued funding to turn what started as a necessary response to the pandemic into a permanent, ongoing Food Ministry program."

Each meal costs $6.53 to produce, with funding to date provided by the Retreat Center's constituents and friends. A major corporate sponsor of the Retreat Center, Cacique, has agreed to match corporate donations to the Food Ministry dollar-for-dollar.

"Cacique's support has been invaluable," Cunningham said. "They have been the donation engine that has allowed us to respond so quickly and effectively to this crisis and without them, we would not be serving anywhere near the number of individuals we are now helping. We hope and pray that Cacique's kindness will inspire others."

Donations can be made at https://materdolorosa.org/covid-19-mater-dolorosa-response/.

Contact: Rachel Ramirez, Development Assistant, via telephone: 626.355.7188 x130 or email: [email protected]

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MDPRC Food Ministry & Kitchen

Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center Executive Chef Ricardo Solda and Ike Susilawati in the midst of preparing meals for the Retreat Center's Food Ministry.

SOURCE Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center
HKSAR gov't officials urge society, particularly youngsters, to deter violence

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:12, May 11, 2020

HONG KONG, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Chief Secretary for Administration of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government (HKSAR) Matthew Cheung on Sunday appealed to all members of the public to deter violence, and urged youngsters to stay away from violence and cherish their future.

Pointing out that violence was again looming in Hong Kong, Cheung said in his online article that youngsters were easily to be incited to commit crimes which was a worrying sign.

"The younger generation is the future and hope of the society as well as the social and economic driving force for the long-term development of Hong Kong," Cheung said, stressing that the HKSAR government is committed to cultivating a responsible and law-abiding younger generation with a positive outlook on life, an international vision and a sense of national identity.

The COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest has delivered a double blow to Hong Kong's economy which has already been in deep recession. Cheung said that many young people will face a rather severe employment situation caused by local economic downturn.

Cheung said the HKSAR government has introduced a raft of relief measures with the Anti-epidemic Fund to safeguard employment. He added the government will create about 30,000 temporary jobs among public and private sectors in two years, and will also hire 10,000 civil servants this year and increase internships to 5,000.

Also on Sunday, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan warned in an online article that although Hong Kong saw a small window of economic recovery thanks to the signs of improvement in curbing the COVID-19 outbreak, fresh violence could destroy the fragile result.

Chan pointed out that assemblies and conflicts appeared again in some districts recently, disturbing the business environment of shopping malls and stores, which is definitely bad news for Hong Kong's weakening economy, the retail sector, small shops and workers.

He emphasized that Hong Kong's economy was under an unprecedented downsize pressure as its GDP contracted 8.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the sharpest quarterly decline since 1974.

Chan said the economic outlook is still not optimistic in the second quarter, but believed economic activities may resume as long as the COVID-19 outbreak is controlled well and a turning point is expected to come in the third quarter.

He again urged members of the public to express their views in a peaceful manner and not at the expense of other people's interests.

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In France, residents were allowed the leave their homes without government paperwork for the first time in eight weeks  except in Paris during the morning and evening rush hours. Some nonessential businesses reopened, some schools welcomed back students and some hair salons were fully booked. Cafes, restaurants, bars and theaters remain closed at least until June.

Germany eased restrictions in most areas, but not in three states where the number of new infections was deemed too high. Gyms were allowed to reopen in the countrys most populous region. Many houses of worship are open again, although congregants are asked to maintain social distance and to refrain from singing. Germany is also reopening some schools (see next item).

Half the population of Spain can now meet in groups of up to 10 people, eat at outdoor bars and restaurants and visit shops. The other half  largely those in densely populated cities like Barcelona and Madrid  remain under tight restrictions.

The German school experiment

Reviving global economies may hinge on the safe return of students to school, allowing parents to fully re-enter the work force. But theres no consensus on how to go about it  and we still dont know how readily young people transmit the virus.

Germanys approach may prove to be a model. Some schools there are offering free self-administered coronavirus tests. The testing will help reassure students and teachers about their safety, and perhaps help answer whether schoolchildren can be super spreaders who can infect many others while showing few, if any, symptoms themselves.

Older students have been allowed to return first, on the assumption that they will be better at following rules on masks and social distancing. Theyve been told to dress warmly, because windows and doors are being kept open to circulate fresh air. Smaller classes, one-way hall traffic and staggered breaks are also part of the plan.
Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 71F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

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The tetrahedral electronic distribution of a water molecule. The oxygen atom nucleus is at the center of the tetrahedron, and the hydrogen nuclei are in the center of the pink spheres. Simons Foundation. Credit: Simons Foundation

A new machine learning tool can calculate the energy required to makeor breaka molecule with higher accuracy than conventional methods. While the tool can currently only handle simple molecules, it paves the way for future insights in quantum chemistry.

"Using machine learning to solve the fundamental equations governing quantum chemistry has been an open problem for several years, and there's a lot of excitement around it right now," says co-creator Giuseppe Carleo, a research scientist at the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Quantum Physics in New York City. A better understanding of the formation and destruction of molecules, he says, could reveal the inner workings of the chemical reactions vital to life.

Carleo and collaborators Kenny Choo of the University of Zurich and Antonio Mezzacapo of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, present their work May 12 in Nature Communications.

The team's tool estimates the amount of energy needed to assemble or pull apart a molecule, such as water or ammonia. That calculation requires determining the molecule's electronic structure, which consists of the collective behavior of the electrons that bind the molecule together.

A molecule's electronic structure is a tricky thing to calculate, requiring the determination of all the potential states the molecule's electrons could be in, plus each state's probability.

Since electrons interact and become quantum mechanically entangled with one another, scientists can't treat them individually. With more electrons, more entanglements crop up, and the problem gets exponentially harder. Exact solutions don't exist for molecules more complex than the two electrons found in a pair of hydrogen atoms. Even approximations struggle with accuracy when they involve more than a few electrons.

One of the challenges is that a molecule's electronic structure includes states for an infinite number of orbitals going farther and farther from the atoms. Additionally, one electron is indistinguishable from another, and two electrons can't occupy the same state. The latter rule is a consequence of exchange symmetry, which governs what happens when identical particles switch states.

Mezzacapo and colleagues at IBM Quantum developed a method for constraining the number of orbitals considered and imposing exchange symmetry. This approach, based on methods developed for quantum computing applications, makes the problem more akin to scenarios where electrons are confined to preset locations, such as in a rigid lattice.

The similarity to rigid lattices was the key to making the problem more manageable. Carleo previously trained neural networks to reconstruct the behavior of electrons confined to the sites of a lattice. By extending those methods, the researchers could estimate solutions to Mezzacapo's compacted problems. The team's neural network calculates the probability of each state. Using this probability, the researchers can estimate the energy of a given state. The lowest energy level, dubbed the equilibrium energy, is where the molecule is the most stable.

The team's innovations made calculating a basic molecule's electronic structure simpler and faster. The researchers demonstrated the accuracy of their methods by estimating how much energy it would take to pull a real-world molecule apart, breaking its bonds. They ran calculations for dihydrogen (H 2 ), lithium hydride (LiH), ammonia (NH 3 ), water (H 2 O), diatomic carbon (C 2 ) and dinitrogen (N 2 ). For all the molecules, the team's estimates proved highly accurate even in ranges where existing methods struggle.

In the future, the researchers aim to tackle larger and more complex molecules by using more sophisticated neural networks. One goal is to handle chemicals like those found in the nitrogen cycle, in which biological processes build and break nitrogen-based molecules to make them usable for life. "We want this to be a tool that could be used by chemists to process these problems," Carleo says.

Carleo, Choo and Mezzacapo aren't alone in tapping machine learning to tackle problems in quantum chemistry. The researchers first presented their work on arXiv.org in September 2019. In that same month, a group in Germany and another at Google's DeepMind in London each released research using machine learning to reconstruct the electronic structure of molecules.

The other two groups use a similar approach to one another that doesn't limit the number of orbitals considered. This inclusiveness, however, is more computationally taxing, a drawback that will only worsen with more complex molecules. With the same computational resources, the approach by Carleo, Choo and Mezzacapo yields higher accuracy, but the simplifications made to obtain this accuracy could introduce biases.

"Overall, it's a trade-off between bias and accuracy, and it's unclear which of the two approaches has more potential for the future," Carleo says. "Only time will tell us which of these approaches can be scaled up to the challenging open problems in chemistry."

Explore further Artificial intelligence techniques reconstruct mysteries of quantum systems

More information: Kenny Choo et al, Fermionic neural-network states for ab-initio electronic structure, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Kenny Choo et al, Fermionic neural-network states for ab-initio electronic structure,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15724-9

Provided by Simons Foundation
With no cash-relief for migrant workers, the SWAN report said 64 percent have less than Rs 100 left with them. With no change since 14 April, about 78 percent of people had Rs 300 or less left with them and 74 percent of people had Rs 200 or less left with them. This is out of 9,981 stranded workers for whom we have this data, the report added. Over 97 percent (out of 10,383) have not received any cash relief from the government.

Madam, vo pradhan anaaj to de gaye hai par unhone bahut kuch bola hume...ki hum tumse naali saaf karwyenge ye jo anaaj le rahe ho iske liye...hume achcha nahi laga madam...hum bhookhe rah lenge par unke paas nahi jayenge dubara. (Madam, the pradhan did come and give us grain but he also said several things that we would be made to clean the drains in the village in exchange for the grain we didnt like this we will remain hungry but will not approach them for help again).

This was an account by one of the 17,000 migrant workers who reached out to SWAN (Stranded Workers Action Network) for relief and help while the country battled COVID-19 and a lockdown to help contain the spread of the virus.

Unilateral decision by the Central government to impose a lockdown without consulting the state governments has resulted in this chaos, says Rajendran Narayanan, professor of Economics at the Azim Premji University, who is one of the SWAN volunteers. According to Rajendran, since the lockdown was announced by the Centre on 24 March midnight, at least 17,000 migrant workers have called them for help.

Most of the volunteers at SWAN have been working with civil society initiatives. According to them, they started getting distress calls from stranded migrant labourers who were tired of running from pillar to post to avail the relief offered by central and state governments. One of the first calls came from Mangalore, where 21 labourers were out of money and food. We helped them out with some immediate cash transfers, which is when we started getting more calls. Thats when we decided to document it into a report, said Sakina Dhorajiwala, one of the researchers with SWAN.

On 1 May 2020, the group released a report  32 Days and Counting: COVID-19 Lockdown, Migrant Workers, and the Inadequacy of Welfare Measures in India  which found that, of the 17,000 workers that reached out to them, only 6 percent have been paid their full wages during the lockdown and more than 99 percent of the self-employed  which includes painters, welders and electricians, among others  did not get paid at all. Remember that the majority of them work on contract basis and send their earnings home. The lockdown, when announced, hurt them the most because overnight they had no income and they couldnt return home, either.

About 50 percent of the workers had rations left for less than a day. It increased to about 54 percent for a few days after 14 April but has been steady around the halfway mark throughout the period. About 72 percent of the workers said their rations will finish in 2 days. These are out of 10,170 stranded workers for whom we have this data, the report further noted.

According to Sakina, they started the process of direct cash transfers from donors by assessing the need of the particular group they aimed to help. The system is straightforward. We get the bank account details from the stranded migrants and ask the donors to transfer the money. No overhead costs, no middlemen, she added.

COVID-19 Lockdown, Migrant ... by Devparna Acharya on Scribd

Government dips a toe in

Several volunteer groups have reached out to stranded migrant workers across the country since the lockdown, in the absence of a robust government machinery, which for all practical purposes, has failed the most vulnerable group of society. This workforce, ironically, also forms the backbone of the national economy. Those who reached out to us for help did not want to go to government officials for assistance. The complicated process to avail relief and rude and uncooperative government officials, in some cases, deterred the workers from reaching out to them. We got in touch with district administrators, activists and NGOs and reached out to at least 17,000 workers (who are featured in the report), Sakina added.

Despite news reports and several videos circulating on social media on the conditions that the migrant workers are forced to live in, a majority of the Central governments measures have put the onus on state governments and the migrant workers.

In an order dated 29 April allowing movement of the stranded workers, the MHA said, All States/ UTs should designate nodal authorities and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending such stranded persons. The nodal authorities shall also register the stranded persons within their States/ UTs; In case a group of stranded persons wish to move between one State/ UT and another State/ UT, the sending and receiving States may consult each other and mutually agree to the movement by road.

In a status report submitted to the Supreme Court in early April, the Centre had said, It is submitted that in the view of the aforesaid financial package which takes care of daily needs of every poor person, which include migrant workers as well as their respective families in their original villages, there was no necessity for workers to rush to their villages who started shifting from place of their occupation to the place of their residence. Their daily needs were being taken care of wherever they were working The report further informs the court that approximately 4.14 crore have migrated for work. The present barefoot migration which has taken place consists of - on a very rough estimate - 5-6 lakh persons in the country.

There is such a blind disconnect within the government on the issue of migrant workers, its just baffling, says Anindita Adhikari, a PhD candidate at Brown University and one of the volunteers at SWAN. The Centre's status report to the Supreme Court is obnoxious.

According to Anindita it is not that the governments have done nothing. Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal governments have ensured that the rural population gets their ration and that is because of the better security system that the rural India has. And thanks to the PDS, those back home are not going hungry. At the same time, PDS does not extend to non-ration card holders. Is the central government even aware that the majority of the workers travelling for employment cant use their ration cards when they arent in their home states.

The report condemned the Centre for depending on the state governments to shoulder the burden of the relief measures. It said that while the BJP has referred to the idea of one nation (akhand bharat) in several contexts, the actions dont adhere to the notion. Universalising rations should be a priority for this government. 77 million metric tonnes of food grains are in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses. The buffer stock norm to be maintained is 24 million tonnes. With the current Rabi harvest, the stocks are going to increase by another 40 million tonnes. There is no reason why they should depend on people producing ration cards at this point, said Rajendran.

Most of the stranded workers are from poorer states like Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Odisha. But their host states are richer, like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana. In fact, in March, experts had advised the host states to ensure that the migrants get enough food and proper shelter so that they dont have to commute. Instead, it is the governments of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and a few others that have reached out to their people. The report noted that states that benefit from the labour of these migrant workers have done little to provide cash relief. For instance, Maharashtra (and Mumbai in particular) has not announced any cash support for daily wage workers, a large proportion of which are migrants. So far, Bihar and Jharkhand have spent Rs 170 and Rs 27 crores for stranded migrants through app-based transfers. The Centre, meanwhile, has been silent.

As per a highly conservative estimate, 258 of the respondents have received cash support from the government. The report notes that this is a massive overestimate as they are assuming that every member of the group that called received cash support from the government even if only one of them got it. In reality, somewhere between 49 and 258 people out of 10,383 have received some cash support, the report further notes. We needed evidence to show courts and various government organisations that the problems of migrant workers was not anecdotal. It was a real issue. It is not a partisan report, Anindita notes.

Apply, apply, but no reply

The blind disconnect is evident by the lack of information that the government has on the migrant workers and their families. In response to an RTI query, the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment claimed it does not have state-wise and district-wise data despite the CLC directing the regional heads based in 20 centres across the country to enumerate every migrant worker stranded due to the lockdown within three days during the second week of April, 2020.

Given the lack of information about the target audience, there is bound to be chaos on the ground, which many reports have highlighted since the lockdown came into force. Clarity was missing from most of the orders. And even the numbers provided by many states like Jharkhand, Telangana and Maharashtra are either defunct or it's of no help. Many workers called us and asked us to call the relevant authorities and arrange for help. They were so tired of reaching out to the government, as there was no guarantee of support, Sakina said.

About 43 percent of those who reached out to SWAN are originally from Bihar, about 27 percent are from Jharkhand, 12 percent are from Karnataka and 6 percent are from West Bengal.

With no cash-relief for migrants, the SWAN report said 64 percent have less than Rs 100 left with them. With no change since 14 April, about 78 percent of people had Rs 300 or less left with them and 74 percent of people had Rs 200 or less left with them. This is out of 9,981 stranded workers for whom we have this data, the report added. Over 97 percent (out of 10,383) have not received any cash relief from the government.

With the Centre abdicating responsibilities, the state governments were left in the lurch. According to the volunteers, if the state and central governments collaborated and worked together, this would have been easy to manage.

Goa, Karnataka and Delhi governments are making relief work easy, while Maharashtra has been the worst of the lot. Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli authorities responded to us and were helpful, but Mumbai by far was the worst, said Sakina. According to the latest numbers, Mumbai is the worst-affected city in India with total cases exceeding 14,000 as of 11 May. BMC helplines never worked, they were always defunct. We tried contacting some politicians, they never responded. We reached out to them via the numbers shared on Twitter, tried to contact the control room, there was no response. Maharashtra CMO had put out a list of contact points and nodal officers, there was no response. Some who answered were very polite but there was no information that they could provide, said Sakina.

In Haryana and Gurugram, State machinery was just absent, notes Anindita. Lockdown was announced on 25 March and the Haryana government announced free ration for those who didnt have ration cards only on 14 april. The ration card system in Gurugram barely covers 10 percent of the population and keep in mind that Gurugram has a huge migrant population that is into industrial and construction work. The government should be ashamed. They are doing less than what the civil society organisations are doing, Anindita said.

The SWAN report is a crucial documentation of the fact that India needs to upgrade its social security mechanism at the earliest. Ration cards and digital delivery become pointless when the actual benefits dont even reach the most needy. Aside from a moral standpoint, not providing food and adequate wage compensation is tantamount to violation of Article 21 of the Constitution the fundamental Right to Life.
In his first statement to Parliament on the coronavirus pandemic, months after the beginning of the outbreak in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday issued a lengthy clarification to his governments advice over the lifting of lockdown measures.

He had addressed citizens on Sunday evening in a recorded televised address, but his statement was criticised for prompting more questions than it had answered.

The prime minister, who was himself hospitalised with the virus, said those people who could not work from home should return to their usual places of work, but did not specify who those people were, when they should return, or what bosses should do to ensure those workplaces were safe.

He also said public transport should be avoided where possible, but confusion about who should be returning to work, as well as drastically-reduced services, led to chaotic scenes on Monday morning of crowded London Underground platforms leaving commuters with no chance of social distancing.





Adding to the confusion was Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who deputised for Johnson when the prime minister was sick, as he appeared to change the governments lockdown advice three times within an hour during appearances on Monday morning talk shows.

Raab told Sky News that government scientists were studying whether there could be limited contact between family members who live in separate households.

He then told BBC News that a person could see both of their parents, as long as they did so outdoors, and one at a time  mum in the morning and dad in the afternoon, while maintaining social distancing of two metres.

Subsequently interviewed on BBC Radio 4, Raab said that people could meet both of their parents at the same time, for example, in a park, as long as they kept to the two-metre distancing rule.

Johnson made his statement in the House of Commons in the afternoon, and led a later-than-usual news briefing in the evening.

Our challenge now is to find a way forward that preserves our hard-won gains while easing the burden of lockdown, he told Parliament. This is a supremely difficult balance.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the government had been issuing conflicting guidance that did not answer the publics practical questions about going back to work.

What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance, but at the moment both are in pretty short supply, he said.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas tweeted: Very worried that  even after this second statement from PM  people still dont have answers on what safety measures to expect at work, nor clarity on transport or childcare. There must be no pressure to return to work unless and until those questions are answered & safety assured.

Devastating critique of governments handling of crisis by Greg Clark: strategy didnt drive testing capacity  lack of testing capacity drove strategy.

Decision to abandon community testing meant we had a self-imposed blindfold, unable to collect vital data as virus spread  Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) May 11, 2020

On Monday, the government published a 51-page document entitled Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Governments COVID-19 recovery strategy, followed by a series of sector-by-sector documents offering guidance to employers and workers.

Its the common sense of the British people that has been so crucial in the whole of the UK in getting the [transmission rate] down, Johnson said. Its by applying common sense that well be successful in this second phase as well.





The plan includes a staged undertaking to allow businesses to reopen, advice on avoiding public transport and wearing face coverings as well as a 14-day quarantine for most international arrivals.

Visitors from Ireland and France will be exempt from the quarantine, and it remains unclear if those coming to London on the Eurostar train from France, but which also has connections from across Europe, will be subject to quarantine.

While the clarification for business was broadly welcomed, the prime minister failed to convince the leaders of the United Kingdoms constituent nations, with officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all saying they would stick to the previous lockdown rules.

While Johnsons advice was that, from Wednesday, people would be allowed to travel unlimited distances by car, as long as they observed social distancing when they got to their destination and did not stay overnight, Wales and Scotland  which have had devolved powers since the end of the 1990s  said travel there remained for essential journeys only, and warned would-be English visitors that police would be enforcing lockdown restrictions.

80% of COVID-19 fines issued over the bank holiday weekend were to people who had travelled to Dyfed-Powys from outside the area.  Please remember that travel in Wales is still only for essential purposes. Read more here: https://t.co/p2wG7NKrTV pic.twitter.com/owa0XrS7JU  Heddlu Dyfed-Powys Police (@DyfedPowys) May 11, 2020

The prime minister and his closest advisers knew back in March, even before the lockdown was imposed, that imposing it would be the easy part  but coming out of it would be the really complicated thing, and so it is proving, said Al Jazeeras Paul Brennan, reporting from London.

There was something clear and simple and concrete about a simple message of stay at home. With the new arrangements that are being proposed, people are being given more freedom, theyre being asked to apply a degree of common sense, and that means there is a possibility of different levels of enforcement. On that basis, it means that people might do wrong  they actually find themselves bumping into people they shouldnt be, down at parks, for example.

A further 210 people had died after contracting coronavirus in the 24 hours to Sunday evening, Johnson said at the evening briefing, bringing the UKs death toll to 32,065, according to government figures. It is the highest death toll of any European country, and second only to the United States.





At the briefing, Johnson did not take questions from the media, and instead responded to questions from members of the public, including one who asked for clarity on the earlier question of someone meeting family members who do not live with them. Johnson replied that, while social distancing was maintained, one member of one household could meet another member of the same family from another household  but anything more than a one-on-one would be pushing it too far at this stage.

He also called on employers to be understanding with workers facing difficulties returning to work due to a lack of private transport, or who were facing a lack of childcare. Schools remain mostly shut but the government is hoping they can reopen to reception, year one and year six classes next month, with the remaining years of primary school opening before the end of the summer term in July, in a move that came as a surprise to many teachers.

The fact of the matter is the government has announced a date but hasnt come forward with a plan about how schools will ensure that theyre safe for pupils and safe for staff to be in, Patrick Roach, general secretary of teachers union NASUWT, told BBC Breakfast on Monday morning.

And the prime minister said that it would be madness to risk a second spike in relation to transmission of the virus. Well, the profession has got very serious concerns about that announcement of June 1, whether indeed it is possible to achieve it, but also how to achieve that in a way which is safe for pupils and staff.

The government on Monday did publish a document detailing suggestions for schools to keep children in small groups, staggering lunchtimes and increasing the frequency of cleaning.

Meanwhile, a parody of Johnsons Sunday night address by comedian Matt Lucas had been watched nearly five million times on Twitter by Monday night.

So we are saying dont go to work, go to work, dont take public transport, go to work, dont go to work, stay indoors, if you can work from home, go to work, Lucas said in a tone strongly reminiscent of Johnsons distinctive speech.

And then, we will or wont, something or other.
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Lesotho PM Thabane will resign by May 22nd - spokesman FILE PHOTO: Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, prime minister of Lesotho addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane will resign by May 22nd, his spokesman said, adding he knew nothing of a report that the prime minister would hand in his resignation to the king on Wednesday.

Thabane's departure would resolve a political crisis that erupted late last year, and end a career marked by exile, political feuding, intrigue and strains with the military.

The prime minister had been under pressure to resign over a case in which he and his current wife are suspected of conspiring to murder his former wife nearly three years ago. They both deny any involvement.

The AFP news agency quoted Thabane in an interview overnight as saying he would send a resignation letter to King Letsie III on Wednesday. He is required to step down by the end of next week to make way for a new government, after his coalition fell apart on Monday, but he had not signalled when he intends to go.

Thabane's spokesman, Thabo Thakalekoala, said the prime minister would leave by the 22nd, but had no further information.

Police named Thabane and his current wife, Maesaiah, in the murder case late last year, heightening political tensions as he came under pressure to step down.

All parties have provisionally agreed on Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro to replace Thabane.

Maesaiah has been charged in the murder case, while Thabane has been named as a suspect though he has yet to be formally charged. Lawmakers said he was not offered immunity when he signed the deal to dissolve the government.

Members of the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) and opposition parties had been heaping pressure on Thabane to step aside, as had Lesotho's bigger neighbour, South Africa, for whom its mountains are a vital source of water.

(Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Chris Reese, Lisa Shumaker, William Maclean)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 18:11:30|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- "How many of those were presumed to be flu or pneumonia when they were actually COVID-19?" a renowned U.S. geneticist and researcher said in a report published by The Washington Post in late April.

Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the early coronavirus deaths confirmed in California could mean COVID-19 may have been misdiagnosed in many people early this year.

His doubt represented concern of the public.

Several U.S. epidemiologists said since the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, factors such as lack of knowledge of the virus, failure of timely alarm by the monitoring system, and serious problems with testing, have led to "confusion" between COVID-19 and flu patients.

Some death cases presumed to result from influenza may actually be related to COVID-19, according to the experts.

In late April, health officials in California state confirmed at least two people who died in early- and mid-February had contracted the novel coronavirus, suggesting the virus may have spread in the United States earlier than previously thought.

Tissue samples from victims who died on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17 in Santa Clara County, California, tested positive for the virus.

Previously, the nation's earliest coronavirus fatality was thought to have occurred on Feb. 29 in Kirkland, Washington.

The COVID-19 epidemic "spread silently within communities at a time when health officials still focused entirely on infections from travelers entering the United States from abroad, or off cruise ships," said a report by The Los Angeles Times.

"We were missing cases because we didn't have the tests to be able to confirm," Sara Cody, Santa Clara County's public health officer, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying.

As Cody explained, each severe COVID-19 case or death represents "tips of icebergs of unknown size."

"When you start seeing the first death, actually, the number of cases in the population is probably pretty high already. It's been in the community for a long time," Neeraj Sood, a professor at Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, was quoted by The Los Angeles Times as saying.

According to a report by The New York Times, as part of a research project into the flu, Helen Y. Chu, an infectious disease expert in Seattle, and a team of researchers had been collecting nasal swabs from residents experiencing symptoms throughout the Puget Sound region.

To repurpose the tests for monitoring the coronavirus, they turned to the support of state and federal officials, but were repeatedly rejected.

On Feb. 25, Chu and her colleagues began performing coronavirus tests without government approval. They quickly had a positive test from a local teenager with no recent travel history.

The coronavirus had already established itself on American soil without anybody realizing it, according to The New York Times report.

Some COVID-19 deaths have been diagnosed as flu-related in the United States, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 11.

According to the CDC, as of Feb. 22, in the current season there were at least 32 million cases of flu in the United States, with 18,000 deaths.
Kabul, May 12 : The Afghan government has alleged that at least 610 members of its security forces detained by the Taliban, who were supposed to be in the rebels' prisons, were missing.

Javid Faisal, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, the official body handling a prisoner swap with the Taliban, told the media here on Monday that out of a list of 1,000 prisoners which the government had given to the rebels, more than half were missing, reports Efe news.

"We ask Taliban to clarify where are these 610 persons who had been detained by them, whether they have killed them, kept them in secret locations or sold them, whatever happened to them, they have to share information," Faisal said.

"If these persons had been martyred (by Taliban, after detention), then this is a war crime." The allegation comes amid an unofficial prisoner release process being carried out by both sides, despite failed negotiations, as part of an agreement between the Taliban and the US that included the swapping of 5,000 Taliban prisoners for 1,000 Afghan security personnel imprisoned by the rebels.

The government has so far released 1,000 Taliban prisoners, and Faisal alleged that the rebels have failed to keep up their part of the bargain - of releasing one government prisoner in exchange for five of their fighters - as they had released just 171 prisoners, out of which only 105 were members of the security forces.

"The Afghan government is committed to releasing Taliban prisoners (five rebels for one government prisoner) but if the Taliban don't have prisoners or they have conducted illegal behaviour with prisoners and the prisoners are lost then we are also not obliged to go ahead as per the agreement," the spokesperson warned.

However, a Taliban spokesperson responded by saying the group had additionally released 53 government prisoners each on Sunday and Monday.

"They were given clothes and 5000 Afs ($65) for transportation fare," Suhail Shaheen tweeted The prisoner swap, which has been postponed several times, is an important step of the historic Taliban-US peace agreement, which is expected to pave the way for the withdrawal of US troops from the country, and a prerequisite to intra-Afghan negotiations.
Libya rebels intensify campaign to overtake Tripoli

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 7:43 AM

Libyan rebels loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar have heavily bombarded the capital city, Tripoli, in a new push to gain positions in its southern suburbs after losing ground elsewhere in the country.

Tripoli residents complained about water pressure in Tripoli, saying it was starting to decline on Sunday afternoon after one of the power stations of the Great Man-Made River Project  the main water utility for the city  was attacked by the rebels, causing a reduction in the capital's water supply.

The rebels have been fighting since April last year to overtake the capital and topple the internationally-recognized government seated there.

"My father said we should be ready to leave at any moment the fighting last night was heavier than at any time before," said a resident of Abu Salim district, near a frontline.

Other reports indicated that Tripoli's electric power had been cut, there was a shortage of gas in the city, and the local banks lacked cash.

Government forces recently liberated several towns that had been occupied by the rebels in the northwest.

The government forces also recently made two attempts to seize the rebels' strategic al-Watiya airbase.

The rebels seem to be intensifying a pushback.

On Saturday, Mitiga International airport, the only functioning airport in the Libyan capital, was targeted by the rebels for a second day.

Libya has been in chaos since 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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Andhra Pradesh Minister Avanthi Srinivas during his stay in one of the five villages near the LG Polymers India factory where he interacted with the villagers and tried to reassure them on their safety post the gas leak disaster. Image Source: IANS News

YSR Congress Party MP Vijayasai Reddy, spent Monday night outside a house in Venkatapuram to instill confidence among the villagers who returned to their homes four days after the gas leak from LG Polymers India factory. Reddy said the effort proved Image Source: IANS News

Visakhapatnam, May 12 : Four Andhra Pradesh Ministers and two MPs of the ruling YSR Congress Party spent Monday night in villages affected by gas leak from LG Polymers India factory to instill confidence among the villagers who returned to their homes four days after the disaster.

Ministers Avanthi Srinivas, Botsa Satyanarayana, Dharmana Krishnadas, K. Kanna Babu, and MPs Vijayasai Reddy and MVV Satyanarayana stayed in the five villages near the chemical plant, interacted with the villagers, and tried to reassure them on their safety.

Vijayasai Reddy, who spent the night outside a house in Venkatapuram, said the effort proved that the government was not merely paying compensation but also wanted to instill confidence among people affected by the gas leak.

Twelve people were killed and over 400 taken ill following leak of styrene gas from the chemical plant on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam in the early hours of May 7.

About 10,000 people from these villages were evacuated and kept in rehabilitation camps in the city. They started returning on Monday evening after the government declared the villages safe for living.

On the direction of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Ministers and MPs spent the night in the villages to instill confidence among the people.

Tourism minister Avanthi Srinivas, who spent the night at a house in Padmanabhanagar, went around in the village on Tuesday morning and interacted with villagers to know their problems.

The Minister claimed that normalcy has returned to the village. Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu said the villagers spent a peaceful night after four days.

The ministers announced that health camps will be conducted in all villages in the next 100 days to monitor the health of the villagers.

Vijaya Sai Reddy assured the people that the villages will be developed as green and safe zone. The government will arrange food for the villagers, provide 25 tonnes of fodder for the cattle and ensure every possible help till the situation completely returns to normal.

They said volunteers will take up enumeration from Tuesday for payment of compensation. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 each to the people in affected villages.

The Ministers on Monday presented documents to eight out of 12 bereaved families relating to payment of ex gratia of Rs 1 crore each. The payment for remaining cases will be made in a day or two.

As per the announcement made by the Chief Minister, those hospitalised for serious ailments would get Rs 10 lakh each and others admitted would receive Rs 1 lakh each. The entire cost of hospitalization will be borne by the government.
More than 1,900 former Justice Department employees have repeated a call for William Barr to step down as US attorney general, asserting in an open letter he had "once again assaulted the rule of law" by moving to drop the case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The letter, organised by the nonprofit Protect Democracy, was signed by Justice Department staffers serving in Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to president Eisenhower.

The vast majority were former career staffers - rather than political appointees - who worked as federal prosecutors or supervisors at US Attorney Offices across the country or the Justice Department in Washington DC.

Protect Democracy, which counts Justice Department alumni among its members, has organised several similar letters critical of Mr Barr's decisions or other Trump administration actions. In February, the group collected more than 2,600 signatures on a letter calling for Mr Barr to resign after he intervened to reduce career prosecutors' sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime friend of Mr Trump.

Jonathan Kravis, one of the prosecutors involved in Stone's case who resigned after Mr Barr's action, wrote in a 'Washington Post' column yesterday that in both matters, "the department undercut the work of career employees to protect an ally of the president, an abdication of the commitment to equal justice under the law".

The new letter asserted that its signers "continue to believe that it would be best for the integrity of the Justice Department and for our democracy for Attorney General Barr to step aside".

The group also called on Congress to formally censure Mr Barr and asked a federal judge to hold a hearing to scrutinise whether to dismiss the case against Mr Flynn.

"Our democracy depends on a Department of Justice that acts as an independent arbiter of equal justice, not as an arm of the president's political apparatus," the group wrote.

Justin Vail, a policy advocate with Protect Democracy, said the group was "inundated with calls from former Department of Justice attorneys who wanted to speak out" after the action in the Flynn case.

A spokeswoman for Barr did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The late Carolyn Reidy. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Carolyn Reidy, the president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, died on Tuesday morning after suffering a sudden heart attack, the company said in a statement. Reidy was 71. Her career at the publisher spanned 28 years; she joined the company in 1992, working in the Trades Division. In a statement, Dennis Eulau, the executive vice-president, chief operations officer, and chief financial officer, credited Reidy with leading us to unprecedented growth on both the domestic and international fronts, and steering us through the transition to publishing in the digital era.

From Eulaus statement:

As a publisher and a leader, Carolyn pushed us to stretch to do just that little bit more; to do our best and then some for our authors, in whose service she came to work each day with an unbridled and infectious enthusiasm and great humor. Her fierce intelligence and curiosity, and her determination to know everything about a given subject if it could help us to be better, were matched by her complete and total accessibility: she wrote congratulatory notes to employees when they were promoted, and colleagues in every corner of our company always felt that they had a first-person relationship with her, and that they could reach out to her to discuss any subject and receive a thoughtful response in return.

Reidy was a force in the industry whose influence spanned genres and decades. The list of writers whose works she, to quote Eulau, championed includes six Pulitzer Prize winners: David W. Blight, Anthony Doerr, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Frank McCourt, David McCullough, and Siddhartha Mukherjee. She also shepherded works from the likes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dick Cheney, Bob Woodward, Jaycee Dugard, Stephen King, Dr. Oz, Jennifer Weiner, and Rhonda Byrne of The Secret fame. There is seemingly no corner of the worlds bookshelf untouched by Reidy.

She walked through life with an abundance of joy, and loved to celebrate the accomplishments and milestones of her colleagues and friends with great generosity and fanfare, Eulau wrote of his late colleague. That so many of us at Simon & Schuster have been friends and colleagues with her for many, many years says everything about the kind of person and leader she was, and we will all miss her terribly. On Twitter, many of Reidys colleagues at Simon & Schuster and the wider publishing industry have echoed his sentiments and paid tribute to her legacy.

I am at a loss. Carolyn Reidy was a true leader in every sense of the word. She made everyone feel seen, heard, and taken care of, all with a sense of humor. Publishing lost one of its best, a legend, someone I admired greatly. She will be so missed.  Cassie Malmo (@CassieMalmo_) May 12, 2020

There's no succinct way for me to express how big of a loss this is for the industry, for S&S, and for anyone who knew this brilliant human being. Carolyn Reidy was the type of leader, reader, person that I will forever strive to be... and will never get close. https://t.co/DTzxJL4UzF  Justin (JP) Chanda (@jpchanda) May 12, 2020

This is heartbreaking. Carolyn Reidy was a wonderful leader in the best of times, inspirational & witty & SO smart. In these very hard times, she was all those things and more. She did the difficult work of keeping us together & informed, keeping our spirits up. A true loss. https://t.co/EuRNpkChHp  Anna Jarzab (@ajarzab) May 12, 2020

I am terribly saddened to hear of the death of Carolyn Reidy, CEO of @simonschuster USA. She was exceptionally kind to me and all of her authors. May the road rise with her and the wind be always at her back. A very sorrowful day for books and writers and her family.   Liz Nugent (@lizzienugent) May 12, 2020

So shocked, and so saddened to learn that we lost Carolyn Reidy today. She was an incredible leader, both for the biggest aspects and the smallest details of what we do. My condolences to her family, and the rest of the S&S family. https://t.co/5hIsePwAAw  Cara Nesi (@caranesi) May 12, 2020

I don't know what to say. Carolyn Reidy was important to my career. She was involved with everyone, from the staff to the authors to the agents. She sent wonderful emails if you did a good job and blunt feedback if you didn't (which I liked). Just sad for her and her loved ones.  Jhanteigh Kupihea (@jhanteigh) May 12, 2020

Awful, sad news. I worked under Carolyn Reidy for many years, and have a huge amount of respect for her. To say she was a legend in publishing is an understatement. She filled the roomany room. Carolyn was an absolute powerhouse.



Much love to my S&S family. https://t.co/WxSnBk7Cei  Anna Dorfman  (@doorsixteen) May 12, 2020
A 48-year-old Fitchburg man was arrested on his fourth driving under the influence charge Monday night when authorities say he crashed into a Massachusetts State Police cruiser.

A trooper had stopped a vehicle on Summer Street in Fitchburg just before midnight. Craig Jatrinski drove his car into the back of the troopers cruiser, state police said.

The trooper was outside of the cruiser and was not hurt. Jatrinski was also not injured.

Authorities said Jatrinski had slurred speech and the trooper detected an odor of alcohol on him.

Troopers administered field sobriety tests and a portable Breathalyzer test, state police said.

He was arrested as a result of those tests.

Jatrinski had three prior driving under the influence charges on his record. His drivers license had also been suspended because of those cases.

Jatrinski was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol  fourth offense, negligent driving, driving an unregistered vehicle and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle.

Authorities said he refused to take a breath-alcohol test at the state police barracks. The refusal triggers an automatic suspension of license even though his license was already suspended.

The state police cruisers blue lights were on at the time of the crash. Jatrinski got out of his 2007 Honda Accord sedan after the crash, state police said.

Jatrinski will be arraigned in Fitchburg District Court.
BEER-SHEVA, Israel - May 12, 2020 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers are developing safe, new anti-viral nanoparticle coatings that demonstrate significant potential in preventing active surface infection with SARS-CoV-2.

The new coating could be used in hospitals and healthcare facilities as well as public locations such as schools, airports, trains, buses, and cruise ships, where it was shown that the active virus lasted 17 days on surfaces.

The coatings contain nanoparticles of safe metal ions and polymers combined with anti-viral and anti-microbial properties that will be effective for weeks or even months. In proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers assessed the effectiveness of surfaces coated with nanoparticles of various metals on the infectivity of HIV family lentiviruses in human cells. Findings showed that surfaces coated with copper nanoparticles significantly block virus infection of the cells.

The research team is led by Prof. Angel Porgador, of the BGU Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), and Dr. Mark Schvartzman, in the BGU Department of Materials Engineering, along with Ph.D. students Yariv Greenshpan, Esti Toledo and postdoc Guillaume Le Saux.

Prof. Porgador says, "The current coronavirus is transmitted not only through droplet spray but also via various surfaces that can transmit the virus from one person to another. It is important to remember that we are developing coatings that will be effective not only against the coronavirus but also against other viruses, as indicated in our proof of concept experiments, and also against bacteria, so they will be relevant for a wide range of applications."

The anti-viral coatings are based on polymers that contain nanoparticles of copper and other metals and can be painted or sprayed on surfaces. These nanoparticles will enable controlled release of metal ions onto the coated surface. Studies show that these ions have a strong anti-viral effect, which can eradicate virus particles that adhere to the surface. Because the release of ions is extremely slow, the coating can be effective for a long period of time - weeks and even months -- and it will reduce the infectivity of the virus particles by more than tenfold.

According to Dr. Schvartzman, "While current surface disinfection methods rely mostly on substances that are poisonous for people, such as bleach, or on substances that evaporate readily being based on alcohol, the coating that we are developing is based on metals that are toxic for viruses or bacteria, but completely human friendly.

"It should be noted that until now using such metals for anti-viral applications has encountered significant challenges due to the nature of the metals, such as the tendency to oxidize and corrode. Nanoparticles provide a solution to these obstacles. Another advantage of nanoparticles is the large surface area to volume ratio, which results in an efficient anti-viral surface area using a relatively small amount of metal."

The new approach is just one of some 70 initiatives underway as part of the BGU COVID-19 Response Effort. These each require financial support, and AABGU has announced its commitment to raise emergency funds, enabling BGU to participate fully in the world's efforts at mitigation and containment. Contributions can be made online at http://www.aabgu.org/donate-covid-19

"As we get back to work, it will be imperative to leverage new solutions such as BGU's new nanocoatings to ensure that we limit surface to human transmission," says Doug Seserman, chief executive officer of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. It is another fast-developing solution to challenges of the coronavirus pandemic at BGU."

This technology is supported by the Israel Innovation Authority, in response to a call for proposals for coping with the coronavirus. The project is one of 27 proposals submitted to the Israel Innovation Authority by BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of BGU, based on innovative and diverse inventions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 by researchers at BGU and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN).

###

About NIBN

The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev Ltd. (NIBN) is the first self-organized, independent research entity established under the auspices of a university in Israel. NIBN conducts multidisciplinary applied research guided by a clear biotechnology vision, to bridge the gap between basic and applied innovative research and facilitate the commercialization of novel ideas and technologies. Research is focused in several key areas: cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune and metabolic diseases, human genetic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and applied biotechnology, including AgBio. For more information, visit the NIBN website.

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision: creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. As Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) turns 50 this year, AABGU imagines a future that goes beyond the walls of academia. It is a future where BGU invents a new world and inspires a vision for a stronger Israel and its next generation of leaders. Together with supporters, AABGU will help the University foster excellence in teaching, research and outreach to the communities of the Negev for the next 50 years and beyond. Visit vision.aabgu.org to learn more. AABGU, headquartered in Manhattan, has nine regional offices throughout the United States. For more information visit http://www.aabgu.org.
The U.S. government is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to the capture of the Taliban militants who are believed to have kidnapped and held Caitlan Coleman and her three children who were subsequently born during her five years in captivity.

The FBI posted a 'seeking information' notice online on Tuesday offering the cash to anyone with credible information on those who abducted the Pennsylvania woman and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle in Afghanistan in October 2012.

It's not clear why the FBI is offering the reward now. The pair were held in Pakistan until 2017.

The FBI is offering $1 million for information leading to the capture of the Taliban militants who kidnapped and held Caitlan Coleman and her three children

The FBI is offering a $1 million reward to find the Taliban kidnappers of Pennsylvania mom Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle, right, in Afghanistan in October 2012

In captivity, the pair made videos with two of their three children that were born while hostage

'I'm certainly happy to hear they're taking this step and hopeful that it will make justice possible,' Caitlan Coleman told ABC News.

Coleman, who is from Stewartstown in rural Pennsylvania, said that the FBI had contemplated offering a reward for some time but did not know of the reason to issue one now.

In a statement, the FBI promised justice for Coleman but did not elaborate on the timing.

'Years after the Coleman family returned home, dedicated FBI special agents and analysts are still actively working to identify the family's captors. Our pursuit of justice does not end, but we also need the public's help to identify those responsible for the family's five years of captivity,' said Timothy R. Slater, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office.

Boyle, Coleman, and their three children were freed from captivity in Afghanistan, where they were held hostage by a group linked to the Taliban. The family are seen with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after their release in October 2017

The offer of such a high-priced reward also demonstrates the U.S. government essentially believes that Coleman became a hostage against her will.

There had been questions over her now-estranged husband's sympathies for Islamic extremists.

Last year, during an interview with ABC Nightline she told how Boyle, a Canadian, was abusive and had wanted to meet Taliban commanders because he was a sympathizer but they ended up as prisoners instead.

'For the perspective of people who may still have questions of whether our five years in captivity was "voluntary", this certainly does clear that up. The U.S. government wouldn't offer a million dollars to catch our kidnappers if they thought otherwise,' Coleman said on Tuesday.

In the past, Coleman has said she was sexually assaulted on one occasion by Taliban guards but also alleged that her husband, Boyle, abused her physically and psychologically throughout their five-year ordeal.

The couple was rescued in Pakistan near the Afghan border in October 2017

The couple appeared in several hostage videos during their time in captivity. One is shown above

He denied such accusations during a trial in 2019 and was acquitted of assaulting his wife after the couple had returned to Canada in 2017.

'Not only was it psychological, it was physical, it was sexual,' Coleman said to ABC last year. 'I was actually more afraid of him (Boyle) than of the captors.'

Just three months after the pair returned to Canada, Boyle was arrested by police in Ottawa and charged with more than a dozen offenses involving physical abuse of Coleman and one of their children.

Boyle was acquitted last December despite his wife testifying against him for days.

She revealed that during the time the couple were in captivity, the couple were sometimes living apart from one another.

Intelligence officials also revealed how Boyle was a misguided Taliban sympathizer but that Coleman wanted to go home and showed no affection for their captors.

'He would always tell me, "I think they're misrepresented in the West. I think they're good people. When you meet them, you're gonna see",' Coleman said during an interview in 2019. 'So I saw. And they are, with the exception of my husband, the worst people that I've ever known in my life.'

In the 2012, the pair went on what she thought would be a trip to Asia when he suggested they 'dip into' Afghanistan. She was six months pregnant at the time
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Leaders of a former FirstEnergy subsidiary, which Ohio electricity customers will soon begin paying $150 million annually to subsidize under a nuclear bailout law Ohio officials passed last year, have moved to spend an extra $300 million on repurchasing the companys own stock.

The stock buybacks, meant to benefit corporate shareholders, come less than a year after an aggressive multi-year lobbying effort by FirstEnergy that culminated in Gov. Mike DeWine and state lawmakers approving $1 billion in bailout money funded by surcharges on Ohioans electric bills. The company and elected officials who backed the bailout argued without state money, the power plants and their parent company would become insolvent.

The board of directors for the company now known as Energy Harbor on Friday voted to increase authorization for its stock buyback program from $500 million to $800 million, according to an investor presentation the company posted to its website. Energy Harbor can buy back the stock any time until Aug. 27., under the terms of a company plan, approved as the Akron company spun off from FirstEnergy as it emerged from bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year.

Private companies buy shares of their own stock to help increase overall share prices by reducing the number of shares available on the market. While the companys stock is not listed on any U.S. stock exchange, shares of Energy Harbor are available for purchase by the general public through private brokerage companies.

The companys stock was trading at $36.01 a share when markets closed Tuesday evening, more than double the $15.75 it cost when shares first began trading on April 7.

The Energy Harbor investors presentation says the companys visible" cash flow generated by its nuclear plants is supported by clean air zero emission credits, a term for the subsidy created by the nuclear bailout law, called House Bill 6. Energy Harbor owns the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Lake County and the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station near Toledo. It argues free cash flow increase from potential future carbon policy offers meaningful upside for Energy Harbor."

In a statement, the company said money for the stock buyback is not related to the funding generated by House Bill 6 which does not begin until April 2021."

Once received, HB6 funds will be used to keep our nuclear units in Ohio operating, maintain more than 4,000 jobs, and generate 90 percent of the carbon free electricity for the State of Ohio, the statement said.

But Ned Hill, an economic development professor at Ohio State University and critic of HB6, said hes not surprised that Energy Harbor would move to repay its investors now that their subsidy is secure.

He also said contrary to the companys arguments that it was in financial trouble, thus requiring the bailout, the increased share buyback is a sign Energy Harbor management is confident its going to make money.

This was an act of socialism, where you socialize the risk and privatize the benefits, Hill said. So its no big surprise theyre now going to make sure their investors get a return from their investment in the political process. They won, so they get their cash.

The subsidy is paid for by a rate increase on all Ohio electricity customers. Under the bill, from 2021 until 2027, every Ohio electricity customer would have to pay a new monthly surcharge that ranges from 85 cents for residential customers to $2,400 for large industrial plants. The new charges will be offset by the elimination of different subsidies that paid for renewable energy projects.

FirstEnergy spent years underwriting an expensive lobbying campaign to get the legislation passed that included spending millions of dollars to help elect politicians who ended up supporting the bailout. That included helping then-State Rep. Larry Householder win a bitterly contested fight among Republican state lawmakers to lead the Ohio House. Company officials argued that without the subsidy, the aging plants would close, their jobs would be lost and Ohios energy options would be diminished.

FirstEnergy emerged from bankruptcy in February, after spinning off FirstEnergy Solutions as a separate company. FirstEnergy now focuses on transmission and distribution of electricity through power lines. FirstEnergy Solutions changed its name to Energy Harbor, and now owns the nuclear power plants.

Todd Snitchler, a former chairman of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission who now runs a trade group for power plants that compete with Energy Harbor, said the stock buyback underscores arguments he and other House Bill 6 opponents made last year.

If you look at the state of Ohio, and all the things that are going on there, and you find a company thats found a way to extract $1 billion from the pockets of Ohioans and is returning $800 million to their investors, that doesnt sound like a timely move to maintain a good appearance or good reputation, said Snitchler a former Republican Ohio state lawmaker. Given the struggle this country is going through, this feels poorly timed."

Spokespeople for Householder, Senate President Larry Obhof and Gov. Mike DeWine have not returned messages seeking comment for this story.

Read previous cleveland.com coverage

FirstEnergy Solutions emerges from bankruptcy, becomes Energy Harbor

Nuclear bailout bill passes Ohio legislature, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine

Nuclear bailout bill shows how big money can be put to work in the Ohio Statehouse

FirstEnergy and its allies, seeking nuclear plant bailout, have spent millions on influence campaign
Congregants at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago, Ill., on May 10, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Illinois Churches Reopen in Defiance of Stay-at-Home Orders

CHICAGOOn May 10, Pastor Cristian Ionescu opened his Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago for the first time in two months.

He welcomed around 100 congregants10 times the number allowed by his governor, J.B. Pritzker.

The entire building was sanitized by a professional company ahead of opening, Ionescu told The Epoch Times. Hand sanitizers, masks, and gloves were provided at the reception desk.

Congregants sat three seats away from each other, and every other row was empty.

You are at Elim, and this is the place where you can refresh your spirit, Ionescu told his congregants in his opening remarks. They heard sermons, sang, and prayed together. Many wept.

Congregants leave the service at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago, Ill., on May 10, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Reception at the Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church offered sanitizer and masks in Chicago, Ill., on May 10, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Ionescu and five Romanian pastors had publicly declared ahead of time that they would reopen on May 10.

They announced they would follow the same safety measures as essential businesses, and no longer adhere to the 10-person limit set by Pritzker.

They joined a growing number of churches in Illinois and across the country that are defying stay-at-home orders, which they consider unconstitutional.

Pastor Stephan Cassell of Beloved Church told The Epoch Times that he is aware of 86 churches that held in-person services on May 10. It wasnt clear how many of those churches hosted more than 10 people.

At Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church, the morning service concluded without any disruptions from local law enforcement.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened during a May 2 press conference that if people knowingly violate stay-at-home orders, we will take you to jail.

The Chicago Police Department issued more than 4,600 dispersal orders and arrested 17 in enforcing stay-at-home orders in April.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill., on April 3, 2020. (Chris Sweda-Pool via Getty Images)

If the police did show up, I would submit to them peacefully, Ionescu told The Epoch Times.

The mayors threat of arrest reminds Ionescu of communist Romania, he said. While growing up there, he saw pastors thrown into jail as criminals for preaching and gathering in ways forbidden by the government.

When he heard Lightfoots threat, that gave me shivers, he told The Epoch Times.

Ionescu escaped to the United States as a religious refugee in 1987 and found a home in Chicago, where the promise of freedom was faithfully fulfilled, he said, until Pritzker ordered pastors to close their doors in March.

Pastor Cristian Ionescu of Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago. (Courtesy of Cristian Ionescu)

On April 30, in Pritzkers updated stay-at-home order, he acknowledged for the first time that religious activity is essential.

But he still limited the number of congregants at church to 10. Other businesses permitted to stay open, including grocers, liquor stores, and marijuana dispensaries, have no such limitations.

Could Take a Year

According to Pritzkers newly released plan to reopen the state, churches like Elim will not be able to have larger gatherings until phase five, at which point 50-plus people will be allowed to gather.

Phase five will begin when a vaccine is developed, a treatment option is readily available, or there are no new cases of COVID-19 over a sustained period.

Pritzker said it could take a year for Illinois to reach phase five.

Pastors Take It to Court

In a public letter to Pritzker, six pastors of Romanian American churches in Chicago stated, Your orders are in clear violation of our First Amendment rights.

The Constitution and the rights enshrined therein are not suspended during a pandemic, and neither is our religion.

Ionescu and another Romanian pastor filed a lawsuit on May 8 to seek exemption from the 10-person limit.

In lawsuits mounted by churches across the nation, judges will decide if restrictions on churches go too far, according to the Constitution, or if they are warranted amid the pandemic.

Cassell filed a lawsuit asking that stay-at-home orders be restrained to allow his church to resume service on May 3. Cassell was the first pastor in Illinois to legally challenge Pritzkers stay-at-home orders.

Federal Judge John Lee denied the request, though Cassell is appealing the decision.

Lee ruled the current limits on churches in Illinois constitutional because of the compelling interest to save peoples lives. He said that churches pose a greater risk of spreading COVID-19 than other essential businesses.

For instance, he noted that shoppers typically enter and leave stores quickly without directly engaging much with others, whereas religious services involve sustained interactions between many people.

He said an appropriate comparison should be drawn between churches and schools, and the latter are closed.

Matthew Staver is a constitutional attorney and the founder of Liberty Counsel, which represents Ionescu in his lawsuit. Staver objects to Lees argument in the Cassell case.

The virus doesnt prefer churches over liquor stores, or shopping malls, or big box centers, or abortion clinics, he told The Epoch Times. So that analogy is just completely baseless and it doesnt have any constitutional foundation either.

Ionescus May 10 service limited interactions between congregants.

Congregants at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago, Ill., on May 10, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Ionescu said he took great care to make sure every congregant stayed in a six-foot bubble.

In the lawsuit, Ionescus attorneys cite the 1972 United States v. Bell case.

That case hinged on whether the threat of plane hijackers justifies the broad search of all passengers solely at the discretion of police officers trained intuition.

The court decided the searches were an unjustified infringement on personal liberties.

Judge Walter Mansfields opinion on the case stated: If the danger to the public posed by the current wave of hijackings were held to constitute adequate ground for such a broad expansion of police power, the sharp increase in the rate of serious crimes in our major cities could equally be used to justify similar searches of persons or homes in high crime areas based solely upon the trained intuition of the police.

With the door thus opened, a serious abuse of individual rights would almost inevitably follow.

Ionescu said, Im not protesting against the good intentions to save peoples lives during a pandemic.

He said, however, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Jon Campbell | Observer-Dispatch, Utica

Albany, N.Y.  A federal judge ordered New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to add sign-language interpretation to his daily televised coronavirus briefings.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni of Manhattan issued a preliminary injunction Monday requiring Cuomo's office to "immediately implement in-frame (American Sign Language) interpretation during his daily press briefings," which have been aired by state and national news networks for more than two months.

Caproni's injunction came after Disability Rights New York, an advocacy group, filed a lawsuit last month claiming Cuomo was violating the rights of deaf people by failing to provide an interpreter on the television feed.

The lawsuit sought an injunction requiring Cuomo provide sign-language interpretation viewable on television  not only on an online feed, as his office has provided since late March.

The three-sentence injunction granted the advocacy group's request. It did not detail Caproni's legal rationale, though it promised a formal legal opinion from the judge would soon follow.

A spokesperson for Cuomo said the governor's counsel was reviewing the injunction late Monday.

"Responding to the community's concerns and balancing the need to reduce density during this pandemic, we set up a dedicated ASL livestream channel that is being viewed by thousands of New Yorkers," Cuomo senior adviser Rich Azzopardi said Monday night.

Caproni's order took effect immediately.

Late Monday night, the state Attorney General's Office  which is representing Cuomo in the lawsuit  asked Caproni for a one-day reprieve, claiming the state was working through "technical issues" with adding an interpreter to the TV feed and expected to have them resolved by Wednesday.

Of note: Cuomo's briefing, which he usually holds at 11:30 a.m., has been pushed back to 1 p.m. today.



Judge Caproni still hasn't ruled on the state's request for a one-day reprieve on her sign-language order.



Cuomo folks say the later briefing is coincidence. https://t.co/gTrKmrrDYF  Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellGAN) May 12, 2020

Cuomo's office added a sign-language interpreter to a video feed on the governors website in late March amid criticism from advocates who said closed captioning was unreliable and insufficient.

At the time, all 49 other governors had provided sign-language interpretation.

But the lawsuit claimed New York was violating the rights of deaf New York residents without high-speed internet access who rely on the television feed for important information about the state's COVID-19 response.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled individuals cannot be excluded from government services and benefits.

The state had resisted adding the interpreter to the televised feed, arguing that it had provided reasonable accommodations by providing the interpreter on the online feed.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Azzopardi  a senior advisor and spokesman for Cuomo  suggested the need for social distancing complicated efforts to add a sign-language interpreter in the room.

The interpreter on Cuomo's online feed is in a remote location and shown on a split screen.

In a statement Monday, Timothy Clune, Disability Rights New York's executive director, said the deaf New Yorkers who brought the lawsuit "can no longer be an afterthought when it comes to daily life matters and especially emergency planning."

"We should not have been forced to go to court to ensure the safety of thousands of deaf New Yorkers," he said.

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The move is due to the absence of corpus delicti.

The criminal investigation targeting former Deputy Minister for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Hrymchak has been closed over the absence of corpus delicti.

"Since today is the day of good news, I'll inform you on my page that the case opened by NABU [the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine] against me under Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been closed over the absence of corpus delicti. I will shortly post the relevant report here, as soon as the lawyers receive the whole package of documents," he wrote on Facebook.

In addition, Hrymchak added from now on he would work as a chief in an international legal agency and be engaged in the release of captured Ukrainians.

Read alsoEx-Deputy Minister Hrymchak suspected of fraud released from custody

As UNIAN reported earlier, Hrymchak and his assistant, Ihor Ovdienko, were detained on August 14, 2019, on bribery charges.

The two officials allegedly demanded US$1.1 million from a representative of a legal entity for "exercising influence on decision-making by persons authorized to perform state functions." Hrymchak and his assistant were apprehended amid receiving part of the sum in the amount of US$480,000, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said.

On August 15, Hrymchak and his assistant were notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 190 "Fraud Committed on an Especially Large Scale or by an Organized Group" of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. "The individuals by deception took possession of other people's property  money in a particularly large amount," NABU added.

The crime under the said article is punishable by imprisonment for a term from five to 12 years with confiscation of property.

On August 16, judge of Chernihiv's Desniansky district court Natalia Liamzina ruled to take Hrymchak into custody, setting bail at UAH 6 million (US$241,448).

On August 17, Chernihiv's Desniansky district court ruled to take Ihor Ovdienko, Hrymchak's assistant, into custody for two months, setting bail at UAH 4 million (US$160,965).

On October 8, Kyiv's Pechersky district court extended Hrymchak's detention until November 14.

On November 14, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) extended Hrymchak's detention for another two months.

On December 20, an HACC judge reduced the amount of bail by almost 67%.

On January 30, 2020, Hrymchak was released from custody.
Himalayan Source's new private halotherapy experience, set to pilot at Hand & Stone Massage in Del Ray, Florida in June, adds a new therapeutic experience with minimal human contact for spa guests. We designed this private halotherapy experience to help clients feel comfortable returning to spas, said Ann Brown, co-founder of Himalayan Source. This grounding, healing salt therapy experience allows spas to offer wellness in an environment that minimizes risk for clients.

Helping spas and wellness centers envision new ways of doing business in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Himalayan Source announces a new, private halotherapy experience for clients that minimizes human contact while delivering multiple therapy modalities turning treatment rooms into salt therapy rooms that maximize client wellness and business revenues. Himalayan Sources new concept will be piloted by Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Delray Beach and is expected to launch June 1, 2020.

Designed for use by one person at a time, Himalayan Sources private halotherapy experience combines far infrared heat therapy with the benefits of Himalayan salt to create a luxury healing experience with a particular focus on supporting respiratory health with minimal human contact. Designed to be added to any treatment room, the private halotherapy experience may be offered as a standalone treatment with no therapist commission needed or as an add-on/upgrade in conjunction with a facial or massage.

We designed this private halotherapy experience to help clients feel comfortable returning to spas, said Ann Brown, co-founder of Himalayan Source. During this time of high anxiety because of COVID-19, it is crucial that we support guest health and wellness in our community. This grounding, healing salt therapy experience allows spas to offer wellness in an environment that minimizes risk for clients.

During the private halotherapy experience, a client or member benefits from true halotherapy while enjoying the soothing view of an aesthetically pleasing, glowing Himalayan salt wall. Breathing in pharmaceutical grade particles of salt from a halogenerator, he or she relaxes on a massage table that provides far infrared heat therapy combined with gemstones, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) and LED light therapy. Guided meditation to restore body, mind and spirit rounds out the experience to provide total rejuvenation and re-centering.

Safety has always been a top priority at Hand & Stone. As we prepare to re-open and our guests return for some much needed relaxation, we are thrilled to offer them extra peace of mind with this new halotherapy service offered by Himalayan Source, said Katherine Chenier, owner of the Delray Beach Hand & Stone franchise that is piloting the new concept.

Combining expertise in Himalayan salt therapy and understanding of ergonomics, human engineering and kinesiology, Himalayan Source offers a full line of Himalayan salt concepts to complement any spa or wellness space. Clients include the Langham New York, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa in Jamaica, the Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables, Gaylord National on the Potomac and more. For more information, visit HimalayanSource.com




TOKYO, May 12, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited today announced that as part of its ongoing efforts to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will commit to the "Open COVID Pledge," which promotes free access to participants' intellectual property rights for activities aimed at ending the global spread of the disease.In committing to the Open COVID Pledge, which originated in the US, Fujitsu has declared that it will not assert its patents, utility models, or designs against individuals or entities for a certain period of time and will not seek any consideration or compensation for such activities. Fujitsu has also endorsed and declared its involvement with the "OPEN COVID-19 DECLARATION," a similar initiative in Japan.Through its commitment to these pledges, Fujitsu will contribute decisively to an early end to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing free access to approximately 40,000 patents, utility models, design patents (including pending applications) related to the development of new drugs and patient care, and actively promote cross-industry utilization by companies and research institutions around the world in the spirit of global cooperation and human centric innovation.For more information visit https://bit.ly/2YUBjLm.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 132,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (Code: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.0 trillion yen (US $36 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.Source: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
New Delhi, May 12 : As the country slowly tries to get back to normal amid social distancing norms to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, it is the corona warriors of the national capital's North MCD who are yet to return back to normal life. The teachers and nurses employed with the civic body are yet to get their salaries for multiple months.

The teachers of North MCD's schools and nurses of various hospitals in North MCD have accused the civic body of not paying their salaries for over two months now. Over 8,000 teachers of 714 schools run by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD), who have been working day and night in food distribution and door-to-door awareness campaign against COVID-19, have found themselves entangled in a political tussle between the BJP-led North MCD and the AAP state government.

These teachers claim that they have not received salaries since February leaving them out of cash and the lockdown period has only worsened the effects with shopkeepers denying them credit facilities.

"They have deployed us on food distribution duties and told us to visit every door to screen people for COVID-19, but what about the salary? Last salary that we received was for January, since then not a single penny has been credited to our accounts," Ramnivas Solanki, President of MCD Teachers' association said.

Ramnivas claims that the association has written to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the Mayor for the same but all efforts have gone in vain. "Chief Minister's office said that our plea was forwarded to the concerned office for appropriate action. But we are yet to get fruits for our efforts," he added.

The situation was similar for nurses deployed in the North MCD hospitals where they are yet to receive salary for two months, while they report to duty everyday. "Although we got a month's salary this May, but still two months of our salary is due with the MCD," Indu Jamwal, President Nurses Welfare Association, Hindu Rao Hospital said. Jamwal added that apart from Hindu Rao hospital, nurses in all hospitals and dispensaries in North MCD's jurisdiction are yet to receive their salaries.

She added that it is now everyday that nurses contact her regarding the financial issues that they have been facing due to the ongoing salary issues.

Meanwhile the Mayor of the North MCD has blamed the financial condition of the civic body for the debacle as he promised to pay all salaries when the civic body gets funds. "I respect our COVID-19 warriors. They are working very hard on the job and it is due to the lack of finances with North MCD that we were not able to pay them on time. However the 'warriors' should be assured that as soon as we get funds we will pay everyone," North MCD Mayor Avatar Singh said.
May 12, 1820. Today, Ms William Nightingale, nee Frances Smith, is safely delivered of a daughter. The couple's second child will be named for the Italian city in which she is born: Florence.

Florence Nightingale was born 200 years ago today in an airy, 16th-century villa in the Florence hills, amid the screeching and wheeling of swallows, the heady scent of roses. The luminous, luxurious nativity at the pristine La Colombaia is about as far as it is possible to be from the Crimean scenes that made her name, giving us what we know today as triage, hospital epidemiology, health hygiene, sanitary disposal, infection control and isolation. And, of course, the pie chart.

To understand what she faced, an eyewitness account of Balaklava, published by the academics Christopher and Gillian Gill, puts it best.

"If anybody should ever wish to erect a 'Model Balaklava' in England, I will tell him the ingredients necessary... On to one part of the beach drive all the exhausted bat ponies, dying bullocks, and worn-out camels, and leave them to die of starvation. They will generally do so in about three days, when they will begin to rot, and smell accordingly. Collect together for the water of the harbour all the offal of the animals slaughtered for the use of the occupants of above 100 ships, to say nothing of the inhabitants of the town -which, together with the occasional floating human body, whole or in parts, and the driftwood of the wrecks, pretty well covers the water - and stew them all up together in a narrow harbour, and you will have a tolerable imitation of the real essence of Balaklava."

Only in 1854, Balaklava is too tame for Florence Nightingale. She is ordered to the military hospital at Scutari, a fortnight's crossing on ships heaving with the contagious and diseased. Scutari is effectively a Lazaretto, the infected sent there to die, more than to recover. If its 6km of wards stink, slosh with sewage, then they blaze with fever: cholera and dysentery, typhoid and typhus, malaria, gangrene, wild respiratory infection.

Lice "devour" their victims before "swarming" to the next. Patients smother in the reek of sweat and bandages, feral and ferrous, the camphor bite of phlegm, the whitethorn stench of pus. Her words on arrival are widely published: "the strongest will be needed at the wash-tub".

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth at a time of new infection and contagion is apposite. 'Wash Your Hands, Stay Home' must be epidemiological music to the ghost ear of the woman who revolutionised clinical practice by her Sanitarian approach: rigorous hygiene to be maintained by all who attend the wards or are treated there; fresh cloths to clean the wounds of each patient; regularly changed dressings; fresh bedlinen and bedwear; good light and ventilation; safe disposal of human and medical waste; avoiding of contagion and contamination by isolating the infected.

In 1854, Nightingale, the recognised expert in fever nursing, is horrified that on the Crimea, more men are dying of infection than in battle. She suggests to friends in politics that she, and a team, would deploy to its hospitals.

When British War Secretary Sidney Herbert asks her to do just that, she's off. But while the nurse's motivation is Light, the politician's is Heat. Specifically, the white heat of public opinion that sees the army accused of negligence to its men and threatens the stability of government. Slaughterhouse conditions are nothing new to British military hospitals. What is new, however, is that people know about them, care and protest.

The Nightingale in Scutari analysis puts it down to media and technology. Daily reports in the London 'Times', filed via the new telegraph, set a fire under the government, to do something for the men and to be seen to do so.

Today, in the public-political dynamic of the image and the optics, not much has changed. With Covid-19, we see it in medical staff highlighting their lack of PPE, nursing-home workers taking to social media to highlight political abandonment, grieving relatives talking to the media about the abject virus conditions of people they love.

Until I saw her birthplace, I wasn't much interested in Florence Nightingale. Administering lamp-lit saccharine succour to an imperial force within a first fattening after the Famine was problematic.

Nor could I get beyond the dour Victorian figure with cap and coils, her genie lamp in hand, redolent more of Billa Connell in the panto as Ali Baba's Auntie, than medical revolution on the Crimea. But the real and radical Florence Nightingale was a revelation: a polymath who defied social mores and constraints, her interest in mathematics, statistics and management, alive in every line of her meticulous records. Her diligence in writing everything down makes perfect sense for a woman born in Florence. For centuries, Florentines kept detailed accounts of every aspect of their work and lives.

It's no surprise that these meticulous records brought her into conflict with the army, both its officers and surgeons.

A vast, military post-mortem on what happened at Scutari manages to make no mention of Nightingale and her nurses, despite her revolutionising treatment and her personal funding of laundries, kitchens, bedlinens, new flooring, good clothes and food for the men.

In fact, the Gills point out how when her account exposed and contradicted that of the barracks' chief medical officer, Dr Duncan Menzies, he did his damnedest to "thwart" her. According to him, the army "had everything" and "nothing was wanted". Here's Nightingale as a Victorian Captain Crozier. And indeed, a late Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhery warning the Johnson government about the lack of PPE.

Nightingale came home from the Crimea to a hero's welcome. In 1860, she set up the world's first secular nursing school at St Thomas's Hospital, where Boris Johnson was treated in ICU. Some believe that reducing a radical reformer to the Lady With the Lamp diminishes, demeans her. With Covid, especially, I believe the opposite is true.

Her presence on the wards brought comfort to men rendered invisible through poverty, illiteracy or contagion, or considered cancelled through statistics, or in their dismantling by society or the military.

Crucially, in her nightly rounds, she told them she saw them. On the bicentenary of her birth, on these two islands we need way more visibility, way more seeing.

In the next phase of our own fever, the nurses, doctors, till operators, shelf-stackers, delivery people, bus drivers cannot, again, become politically invisible and therefore discountable and disposable.

If Covid-19 has taught us anything it's that politically, globally, we need Nightingale's scouring and scrubbing revolution; the social wounds carefully tended, the fresh linens, decent space, good food, the big windows thrown open to let in the light, the air.

And, in the virus dark, collectively, we must light the lamps: be safe, by being seen.
CHICOPEE  A fire in a three-family home Tuesday afternoon displaced seven people and left a resident with a minor injury.

Firefighters also rescued two cats in the fire at 58-60 Edward St., said Fire Lt. Katie Collins-Kalbaugh.

The initial 911 caller reported some residents were trapped inside, but when firefighters arrived everyone had escaped and alerted them two pets were inside. One of the occupants suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene, Collins-Kalbaugh said.

The fire went to two alarms and Springfield and Westover Air Reserve Base fire departments covered stations and answered other calls while city firefighters worked at the blaze, she said.

I do believe the wind did contribute to it. It was a factor, she said. Firefighters were able to keep the flames under control and prevent them from spreading.

Firefighters remained at the scene at about 4 p.m. and are investigating the cause of the fire, she said.

The Red Cross of Western Massachusetts is assisting some of the displaced residents. Collins-Kalbaugh did not have an estimate of the damage caused by the fire.
 Facebook is one of the big-tech entities behind American Edge, a new lobbying group in DC to fight antitrust regulators and push back against lawmakers trying to rein in Big Tech.

"Facebook is working behind the scenes to help launch a new political advocacy group that would combat U.S. lawmakers and regulators trying to rein in the tech industry, escalating Silicon Valley's war with Washington at a moment when government officials are threatening to break up large companies," reports Tony Romm at the Washington Post:

The organization is called American Edge, and it aims through a barrage of advertising and other political spending to convince policymakers that Silicon Valley is essential to the U.S. economy and the future of free speech, according to three people familiar with the matter as well as documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the group because it hasn't officially been announced.

In December, American Edge formed as a nonprofit organization, and last month, it registered an accompanying foundation, according to incorporation documents filed in Virginia. The setup essentially allows it to navigate a thicket of tax laws in such a way that it can raise money, and blitz the airwaves with ads, without the obligation of disclosing all of its donors. Many powerful political actors  including the National Rifle Association  similarly operate with the aid of "social welfare" groups.

Facebook is viewed as a critical, primary driver in helping to launch American Edge, the sources said, though some cautioned it is not the only one. On the group's board are a former Republican governor, federal regulator and Democratic congressman, according to people familiar with the effort, and it's being advised by a stable of veteran Democratic and Republican consultants.

Asked about the group, Facebook confirmed its participation. "The U.S. leads the world in technology and we should be proud of that fact and promote it," spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement. "We're working with a diverse group of stakeholders to help build support for our industry, and while we're leading an effort to start this coalition, it's one of many we are contributing to and supporting."
Josh Frydenberg delivers the economic update. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Today, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was supposed to deliver the first Australian budget surplus in years.

As he said in April 2019: I announce that the budget is back in black and Australia is back on track. For the first time in 12 years, our nation is again paying its own way.

But instead of announcing that realised surplus to crowded rooms of journalists and politicians, he coughed his way through an increasingly grim economic update to a socially-distanced parliament.

The short of it?

Unemployment is set to soar as high as 10.1 per cent, while gross domestic product is expected to fall by 10 per cent or $50 billion  the largest tumble on record.

That fall is equivalent to the total quarterly production of South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT, Frydenberg said.

Around one million Australians have lost their jobs since the middle of March, and Treasury estimates that will climb to 1.4 million in the June quarter. Household consumption, business and property investment are all forecast to slide significantly and international travel is gone.

Speaking on the day that should have been the release of the 2020/21 Federal Budget, Frydenberg said Australia had been dealt a serious blow but would recover.

The proven path is not through higher taxes: Josh Frydenberg

Higher taxes are not the way, Josh Frydenberg has said. Image: Getty

Frydenberg said the path to recovery will not be through higher taxes, but instead through encouraging investment and boosting productivity.

Story continues

Encouraging personal responsibility, maximising personal choice, rewarding effort, and risk taking, while ensuring a safety net which is underpinned by a sense of decency and fairness, he said.

Unleashing the power of dynamic, innovative and open markets must be central to the recovery with the private sector leading job creation, not government.

He said upskilling and reskilling workers and cutting red tape will also be part of the recovery along with tax reform and industrial relations reform.

Treasury modelling predicts the lifting of stage one restrictions will see 250,000 people back at work, and boost GDP by $3 billion.

In New South Wales, thats 83,000 jobs and $1 billion dollars. For Victoria, its 64,000 jobs and $715 million and in Queensland its 51,000 jobs and $610 million.

In Western Australia, a success story will look like 25,000 people back at work and a budget boost of $435 million and in South Australia, 17,000 people back at work and $178 million.

Down in Tasmania, stage one restrictions lifted should deliver 5,000 people back in work and $50 million and in the ACT, 4,000 jobs and $60 million.

In the Northern Territory, the increased freedoms should see 3,000 jobs and $40 million returned to the economy.

However, these improvements in the economy depend on us continuing to follow the health advice. Failing to do so could see restrictions re-imposed at a loss of more than $4 billion a week to the economy, Frydenberg said.

If our largest state, New South Wales, had to reimpose restrictions, equivalent to those in place before the 8 May national cabinet meeting, it will cost its economy around $1.4 billion per week.

For Victoria, the cost would be around $1 billion. In Queensland, $800 million, in Western Australia, $500 million, in South Australia $200 million, in Tasmania $100 million, in the ACT, $100 million, and in the Northern Territory, $40 million per week, he continued.

This is the economic cost we all have to bear if we fail to act.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
1. Top U.S. health officials warned of a new coronavirus outbreak if the economy reopens too soon.

If we do not respond in an adequate way when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that there will be infections that will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Senate panel.

He added that reopening too quickly could trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control, leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided.
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Sterile and antiviral packaging market players must now focus on product development, primarily to meet the high demand of the global FMCG sector.DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2020 / Disruptions in the supply chain are contributing to a downfall in manufacturing sterile and antiviral packaging amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, rising consumer concerns associated to viral exposure, and survival durations on various materials are favoring the growth of the sterile and antiviral packaging market. The market has been projected to grow at a 5% CAGR between 2020 and 2030, concludes a new Future Market Insights (FMI) report. Sterile and antiviral packaging are gaining widespread adoption amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Governments are exploring alternative materials improve OEM adaptability, according to the report. According to FMI's analysis, the global sterile and antiviral packaging market is projected to expand 1.7x over the forecast period (2020-2030)."Companies are concentrating on improved materials for sterile packages. Currently, companies are focusing on bolstering supply chains to meet the need of regional markets during the COVID-19 pandemic," says the FMI analyst.Request report sample with 200+ pages to gain in-depth insights https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-11298 Key Takeaways of Sterile and Antiviral Packaging Market StudyAmpoules and vials will attract significant investments, with focus remaining on multi-compartment packaging formats.Plastic based sterile and antiviral packaging is in greater demand for the production of thermoformed trays, pouches, and clamshell formats.Applications in medical and surgical products are gaining momentum in view of prolific demand from health care professionals, particularly in combating infectious diseases.East Asia is projected to display substantial remunerative opportunities, with increased presence of SMEs.Europe holds the majority share in the global sterile and antiviral packaging market.Sterile and Antiviral Packaging Market - Key Growth FactorsGrowing awareness about infectious diseases and production of medicines are boosting the sales of sterile and antiviral packaging.Strict regulations associated with packaging in the food and pharma sectors around the world will drive the market growth through the forecast period.Demand from OEMs for increasing product shelf life is also pushing the growth of sterile and antiviral packaging.Hygiene and brand protection requirements among end use industries will support the adoption of instant sterile and antiviral packaging gels through 2030.Sterile and Antiviral Packaging Market - Key RestraintsThe issues of bubble emission and dye migration continue to challenge players in the sector, impacting overall performance, and compliance to quality standards.High costs for OEMs in adopting new packaging materials is an obstacle in the adoption of sterile and antiviral packaging materials.Impact of COVID-19 on Sterile and Antiviral Packaging MarketThe sterile and antiviral packaging market is largely influenced by the growth of the pharma industry. The market is expected to face unprecedented challenges owing to complex disruptions within the supply chain on the back of the coronavirus pandemic. Consumers are increasingly concerned about exposure to viruses and the survival duration of such microbes on packaging materials.These trends are likely to generate stronger demand in the long term with innovative substrate formulations and packaging formats. Consumer concerns about hygiene and product handling will remain a key influencer, supported by the efforts taken up by public and private bodies into research for medical cures to combat covid-19 virus.Explore the full sterile and antiviral packaging market report with 37 illustrative figures, 33 data tables and table of contents. Request ToC of the study at https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-11298 Competitive Landscape of Sterile and Antiviral Packaging MarketSome of the major companies profiled in this FMI report include, but are not limited to, Sabre Medical, Amcor Limited, GY Packaging, E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, Westfield Medical Ltd., Sonoco Products Co., Puracon GmbH, and Wipak Group. Various inorganic strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, and expansion of production capacities are being given importance by players in sterile and antiviral packaging market. These trends are particularly prominent among SMEs seeking to leverage opportunities during the covid-19 pandemic.More about the ReportThis FMI study of 250 pages provides all-inclusive insights on the global sterile and antiviral packaging market. The market analysis is based on packaging type (thermoform trays, sterile bottles, vial & ampoules, sterile closures, pre-filled syringes, blister and clamshells, IV bags and pouches, sterile wraps, and others), material (plastics, glass, metal, and paper), application (pharmaceutical and biological, surgical and medical instruments, food and beverage packaging, and others), across seven regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania, Middle East & Africa).Explore Extensive Coverage of FMI's Packaging LandscapeCarbon Black for Packaging Market- Get the latest insights on the global carbon black for packaging market through FMI's study covering detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis for predefined projection period (2018-2028).Decor Papers Market- FMI's panoramic study on the decor papers market encompasses emerging trends, technological advancements, key players, and prominent strategies for the course of forecast period (2019-2027).Compostable Plastic Packaging Market- Obtain comprehensive analysis on the global compostable plastic packaging market through FMI's latest report covering key regions, competitive analysis along with segmental analysis for 2018-2028.About Future Market InsightsExpert analysis, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations of the veteran research team at FMI helps clients from across the globe with their unique business intelligence requirements. With a repository of over thousand reports and 1 million+ data points, the team has scrutinized the packaging sector across 50+ countries for over a decade. The team provi
Indias Vande Bharat Mission is being touted as one of the biggest rescue missions in the worlds recent history. As problematic and unfortunate as the situation may be - remember that the pilots who are flying the stranded passengers home, have not been paid properly for months - it still is a moment that leaves Indians like us feeling proud.

 PTI

With that being said, the passenger themselves are certainly not having it easy. There is no doubt that the pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of billions of people. One would imagine that now that the stranded passengers are finally home, things would be a little easy for them. Well, that is not the case.



 AFP

In a video that was taken at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, an officer from the CISF was seen addressing the repatriated people and informing them of the rules and regulations that they had to abide by. The passengers being addressed were the 230 odd people who were brought home from Singapore. Have a look.



People from Delhi and its neighbouring areas who landed at the New Delhi Airport will have to stay in quarantine for 15 days, at a hotel which they will have to choose from a preapproved list presented to them by the health and security personnel. This, for obvious reasons, is for passengers who are showing no symptoms of the virus at all. People with even a fraction of the symptoms for the novel coronavirus would be put straight into a quarantine centre.

 AFP

In the video, the CISF officer informs the passengers that they have to foot the bill for their stay at the hotel of their choice, which includes properties like Taj Palace Hotel, Shangri-Las Eros Hotel and Le Meridien, according to Economic Times. Apart from them, about 1,200 rooms are available in hotels across Karol Bagh.



 Reuters

They also reported that Le Meridien is charging Rs 4000 plus taxes on single occupancy rooms, and Rs 4800 plus taxes for double occupancy rooms. The charges include all meals.



The main reason why this is being done is to keep a track fo the passengers and to keep a check on their health, as it would be nearly impossible for doctors to visit the repatriated passengers if they were allowed to leave for their homes.

 Reuters

As for the people from other states, they too will be put in a similar quarantine of sorts, once they are collected by the representatives of their state.



 PTI

As practical, and well-meaning as all this is, it is a scary situation for a lot of the people involved, be it the passengers themselves, the hotel staff, the pilots and the flight crew involved in these operations. No to mention the CISF personnel & healthcare professionals as well. Truly, this entire situation is becoming more like a scene straight out of World War Z with each passing day.


White House coronavirus task force medical expert Anthony Fauci delivered his long-awaited coronavirus testimony Tuesday to a Senate health committee.

The appearance came after the White House blocked Fauci from testifying in the Democratic-controlled House but allowed him to testify in the GOP-controlled Senate. Fauci and the committee's chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., appeared via video after being exposed to those who had come down with the novel virus.

Also appearing at today's hearing were Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and US President Donald Trump's coronavirus testing czar, Adm. Brett Giroir.

Below are some takeaways from the hearing.

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1. Fauci warns strongly against reopening quickly

Fauci's relationship with Trump has been an uneasy one, with Fauci often contradicting Trump and Trump often contradicting Fauci. The medical expert has clearly desired a more aggressive approach to combating the virus, and has lamented at various times that his advice hasn't always been heeded.

Leading into Tuesday's hearing, Fauci seemed to have a pointed message intended for the president and other advocates of a faster reopening. Fauci (tellingly) previewed his testimony late Monday night, cautioning strongly against an overly aggressive reopening plan and saying it could lead to "needless suffering and death."

"The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely," he told the New York Times's Sheryl Gay Stolberg. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."

The use of the White House's own slogan for reopening seemed conspicuous, and Fauci struck a very different tone than Trump has in recent days. The president said Monday that "We have met the moment, and we have prevailed," and he said last week that we've entered "the next stage" in the fight: a reopening.

Several states have flouted CDC guidelines for reopening. The White House has also reportedly buried further proposed CDC guidelines for reopening that were due out 11 days ago.

Fauci rebuked those decisions in his later testimony, saying, "What I've expressed then and again is my concern that if some areas, cities, states or what have you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently - my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks."

2. Fauci says death toll is 'almost certainly' higher than known

There has been an undercurrent of theories - occasionally stoked by Trump but more often by his allies - that the current death toll of more than 80,000 is exaggerated.

But Fauci said that the death toll is actually "likely higher" than that.

"I'm not sure, Sen. Sanders, if it's going to be 50% higher," Fauci said in response to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asking about that number. "But most of us feel that the number of deaths are likely higher than that number, because given the situation, particularly in New York City, when they were really strapped with a very serious challenge to their health-care system, that there may have been people who died at home . . . who are not counted as it because they never really got to the hospital."

Fauci added: "So in direct answer to your question, I think you are correct that the number is likely higher. I don't know exactly what percent higher, but almost certainly it's higher."

Certain Fox News hosts and other Trump allies have suggested other causes of deaths could be counted as coronavirus deaths. Trump at one point retweeted a suggestion that the mortality rate was exaggerated - even as he has assured the federal data are "accurate."

The evidence, though - including comparing the number of total deaths right now compared to comparable periods in the past - strongly suggests an undercount.

3. CDC head noncommittal on when delayed guidelines will be out

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pressed Redfield on when we might see the past-due guidelines for reopening that have been held up - noting that many states are pressing forward with reopening even without having them.

"The guidances that you've talked about have gone through that interagency review. Their comments that have come back to CDC," Redfield said. "And I anticipate they'll go back up into the task force for final review."

Pressed on a timeline, Redfield responded, "I do anticipate this broader guidance, though, to be posted on the CDC website soon."

" 'Soon' isn't terribly helpful," Murphy responded.

4. Fauci clashes with Rand Paul on children

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., during his questioning period gave voice to concerns about an overly aggressive lockdown of American society. And at one point, he engaged in a particularly pointed exchange with Fauci.

Paul, who came down with coronavirus himself early in the outbreak, argued that Fauci wasn't the "end-all" when it came to the federal response to the coronavirus. Paul also said it made little sense to keep schools locked down given the much lower fatality rate for children.

"So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for the economy," Paul said. "And as much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end-all. I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision. We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying there's not going to be a surge and that we can safely open the economy and the facts will bear this out."

In response, Fauci chose his words carefully, repeatedly alluding to the line about "humility" and saying he was just providing medical advice.

"I have never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice in this," Fauci said, adding later: "We don't know everything about this virus. And we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children."

Fauci added "that you use the word we should be humble about what we don't know. And I think that falls under the fact that we don't know everything about this virus. And we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children, because the more and more we learn we're seeing things about with this virus can do that. We didn't see from the studies in China or in Europe, for example, right now children presenting with covid-19 who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome, very similar to Kawasaki syndrome. I think we've got to be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects."

5. Republicans acknowledge testing shortcomings

Also providing a slightly different tone than Trump's on Tuesday was the committee's GOP chairman, Alexander. In his opening statement, the senator played up many of the White House's talking points about the success of the federal response.

But he also made a point of saying that testing is still far from sufficient.

"What our country has done so far on testing is impressive, but not nearly enough," Alexander said, adding that places such as the University of Tennessee need to have vastly expanded testing to be able to reopen when the school year begins in August.

He repeated later: "What our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough."

Alexander also said that while Americans can't stay at home indefinitely, "such widespread screening of entire campuses, schools or places of work will help identify those who are sick, trace down those who are exposed. And that, in turn, should help persuade the rest of us to go back to school and back to work."

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also called the testing in the United States "nothing to celebrate whatsoever" He also rebuked Giroir and the White House for favorably comparing U.S. testing to that of South Korea, which ramped up testing much more quickly and has dealt with a much smaller outbreak as a result.

"Yesterday, you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita even than South Korea," Romney told Giroir. "But you ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak while we treaded water during February and March."

A day before, Trump had offered something of a mission accomplished message about the coronavirus response, saying, "We have met the moment, and we have prevailed." The president has also played up the success of the testing regime - as Alexander did Tuesday - while downplaying its importance when it comes to getting past the outbreak.

6. Fauci skeptical about treatments allowing colleges to reopen in the fall

Alexander picked up on his opening statement and asked Fauci directly whether there will be the kinds of treatments or even a vaccine available to help reopen universities in the fall term.

The senator posed the question by citing a college chancellor in his state.

Fauci responded: "Well, I would be very realistic with the chancellor and tell . . . her that in this case that the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far."

He didn't necessarily say schools couldn't reopen - as he clarified later on - but his skepticism is notable and suggests a long timetable for successful treatments
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has saluted nurses who lost their lives in the line of duty, struggling to save humanity from the devastating impact of coronavirus pandemic globally
Heres a recap of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic for Tuesday, May 12, 2020.

More than 4.2 million people worldwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and over 292,000 have died.

In the U.S., there have been over 1.3 million confirmed cases and more than 82,000 deaths.

While testifying on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that reopening the U.S. economy too quickly could spark another outbreak. He also told lawmakers that the U.S. death toll is "likely higher" than what has been officially reported.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package ahead of a Friday vote. But the legislation faces an immediate roadblock in the Republican-controlled Senate.

For the latest live updates, click here.
Russias emergency ministry confirms the incident suspected to have been caused by a faulty lung ventilator killed five.

Five coronavirus patients have been killed and about 150 evacuated after a fire suspected to have been caused by a lung ventilator in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Russia, according to the countrys emergency ministry.

The Saint George hospital in St Petersburg where the incident happened on Tuesday said it would stop using the Aventa-M model of lung ventilators until the criminal investigation into the cause of the fire was completed, the Tass news agency reported.

Unfortunately, we werent able to save five people, said Aleksei Alikin, the head of the Emergency Services branch in St Petersburg.

Earlier local media reports cited unnamed sources from the ministry saying that the cause of the fire was overloaded ventilators.





Ventilators are at their limit. According to preliminary data, there was an overload and the machine ignited, which caused the fire, one source told Interfax news agency.

The Saint George hospital had recently been re-purposed to treat coronavirus patients, Tass reported.

On Saturday, one person was killed when a fire broke out at a Moscow hospital dedicated to coronavirus patients.

On Tuesday, Russia reported 10,899 new cases of the coronavirus in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 232,243, the third-highest total worldwide.

The countrys coronavirus response centre said the death toll from the virus rose by 107 people to 2,116.

The government says it has carried out more than 5.6 million tests and Russias President Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed to double capacity to 300,000 tests daily by mid-May.
- Ernst Kick and Dr. Hans-Juergen Richter to step down in 2021

- Christian Ulrich, Florian Hess and Jens Pfluger form three-strong team

NUREMBURG, Germany, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The management of Spielwarenmesse eG is setting the course for the future and has revealed significant changes to the Executive Board which will take effect half-way through next year. The long-standing Executives Ernst Kick (CEO) and Dr. Hans-Juergen Richter will be leaving on 30 June 2021 when their term comes to an end. The new Executive Board will be expanded to three members. Christian Ulrich, Florian Hess and Jens Pfluger, all experienced industry experts, will take over the helm of the Nuremberg exhibition organiser and marketing services provider on 1 July 2021. The decision was made during the Supervisory Board meeting on 8 May 2020.

This early decision by Spielwarenmesse eG demonstrates foresight and consideration. Axel Kaldenhoven, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Spielwarenmesse eG, commented: "Trade fairs are as important as ever and will lose none of their significance. After all, industries across the board thrive on personal business relationships. This strategic step is both logical and right and will ensure that Spielwarenmesse eG continues to operate successfully and proactively."

The generous time frame paves the way for a fluid transition. The future management team will be taking over a solid company which Ernst Kick and Dr. Hans-Juergen Richter have adapted to the changing market in recent years, shaping it in decisive ways. Assuming his role as CEO in 2002, Ernst Kick has strengthened the cooperative, whilst conceptually reinforcing the leading role of the Spielwarenmesse and driving internationalisation. As a member of the Executive Board, Dr. Hans-Juergen Richter has been responsible for legal questions and matters relating to members since 2005.

The three future members of the Executive Board have been recruited from the cooperative's own ranks. Christian Ulrich, Florian Hess and Jens Pfluger have many years' experience in the exhibition industry and, as members of the management, have all played an important role in shaping company strategy and building international exhibition projects. Their responsibilities are all clearly defined: Christian Ulrich will assume the role of Executive Board Spokesman and will be responsible for Marketing, Press Relations & Communication as well as New Business Areas. Florian Hess will oversee Event Organisation, Sales and Legal Matters. Jens Pfluger will look after Finance, IT, HR, Digitalisation and Member Services.

Commenting on the changes, Ernst Kick stated: "I'll be delighted next year to place the responsibilities of the Executive Board in such trustworthy and capable hands." When speaking about the transition in difficult times such as these, he also had a few words of encouragement: "The exhibition industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Given that the team had already started working on alternative formats even before corona and we are happy to offer guidance during the transition period, I'm optimistic that the new team will be very successful in steering the fortunes of Spielwarenmesse eG long into the future."

Spielwarenmesse eG

Spielwarenmesse eG is the fair organizer and marketing services provider for the toy sector and other consumer goods markets. The Nuremberg company organizes the world-leading Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, Kids India in Mumbai and Insights-X in Nuremberg. The range of services provided by the cooperative also includes industry campaigns and the international fair programme, World of Toys by Spielwarenmesse eG, which enables manufacturers to exhibit at pavilions featured at trade fairs in Asia and Russia. Spielwarenmesse eG operates a worldwide network of representatives in over 90 countries. It also has several subsidiaries, including Spielwarenmesse Shanghai Co., Ltd., responsible for the People's Republic of China and Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd., covering the Indian market. The cooperative holds a majority stake in the Russian exhibition company Grand Expo, which organizes Kids Russia in Moscow. Die roten Reiter GmbH subsidiary with headquarters in Nuremberg works as communication agency for the consumer and capital goods industry. The complete company profile of Spielwarenmesse eG can be seen on the Internet at www.spielwarenmesse-eg.com .

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1167105/Spielwarenmesse_eG_Logo.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1167104/Spielwarenmesse_eG.jpg
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested two Chinese nationals for allegedly offering N100 million bribe to ...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested two Chinese nationals for allegedly offering N100 million bribe to cover-up an ongoing investigation against their company.

Abdullahi Lawal, head of EFCC zonal office in Sokoto state, paraded the suspects on Tuesday.

He provided the names of the two foreigners as Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi of China Zhounghao Nigeria Limited, a construction company.

Lawal said the duo offered him and his team a N100 million bribe which was to be paid in two tranches.

He said the suspects were arrested in a well-coordinated operation that lasted for at least four days.

On May 7, 2020, I was contacted by Mr Meng Wei Kun, Managing Director, China Zhounghao Nig. Ltd, in respect of an ongoing investigation against their company. I and my investigating team were offered the sum of one hundred million naira to compromise the case, he said.

Four days after a series of discussion, it was agreed that I come for half of the money, which was ready, at their office/residence, along Airport Road, Kasarawa, Sokoto.

In a well-coordinated operation with a team of operatives, Mr Meng Wei Kun and Mr Xu Kuoi, were arrested while giving the bribe to me at the above address. In the process, the sum of fifty million naira, three laptops, five smartphones, and some relevant documents were seized.

Lawal said the suspects would be arraigned in court after investigations are concluded.

He added the Chinese company is currently being investigated by the EFCC over allegations of money laundering, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, among others.

According to the zonal head, the case against the company involves N50 billion worth of contracts awarded to it by the Zamfara state government, between 2012 and 2019.

He said the company received a payment of over N41 billion and allegedly diverted over N16 billion.
11.05.2020 LISTEN

Covid-19, as we all know, has stolen our right to free movement and social gathering, and in some cases, the very lives of our dear ones.

The virus has thrown normal life out of the window, gripped man with immense fear and brought the leadership of a confident world to its knees, in search for answers.

Ghanas steps in combating the virus have been remarkable, demonstrated by the shutting down of our borders, mandatory quarantine, partial lockdown, contact tracing, and the securing of logistics to empower frontline health workers to adequately deal with the virus.

While great leadership, and our united effort as a people has brought us this far, one cannot help but recognize the selfless and fearless efforts of the frontline health workers whose continuous fight against the virus has restored hope to all. They stand tall as the real heroes, and as such deserve to be celebrated.

To this end, the Ghana Music Awards Foundation would like to honour the frontline health workers with a virtual concert, dubbed the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Covid-19 Heroes Concert. This program is slated for Sunday 17th May, 2020 airing live at 9:30pm on TV3 and on social media.

The program is also meant to inspire hope, support the fundraising effort of the Covid-19 National Trust Fund in support of the front-line health workers, and to lend a voice to the Wear A Mask Campaign.

According to Robert Klah, PRO of Charterhouse, Music is a force for good and on Sunday the 17th of May, we would like to use this music to rally a national applause for our frontline health workers. They are our heroes; we doff our hats to them.

The Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Covid-19 Heroes Concert, is a Ghana Music Awards Foundation initiative and its brought to you in association with TV3, Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Image Bureau, Rhythms Africa, Big Ideaz and powered by Charterhouse.
Courtesy of Marcus Arbery/Handout via Reuters

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced on Sunday that he has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was fatally shot by two white men while jogging.

We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset, Carr said in a statement. The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.

Also on Sunday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that it has arrested 20-year-old Rashawn Smith and charged him with Dissemination of Information Relating to Terrorist Acts for a Facebook post that contained a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery. The GBI said it was conducting the investigation with the FBI and the Liberty County Sheriffs Office.

Arbery was fatally shot while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday after video footage of the deadly attack went viral and sparked international outrage.

The graphic video shows the McMichaels chasing Arbery, who was unarmed, in a pickup truck before the shots were fired. The two men have maintained that they believed Arbery was a suspect in a recent string of robberies, but Glynn County Police Lt. Cheri Bashlor told CNN that there was only one burglary in the area nearly two months before the shooting, on Jan. 1.

Gregory was previously a law enforcement officer who worked for Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson. County Commissioner Allen Booker told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that the police at the scene went to [Johnson], saying they were ready to arrest both of them, but Johnson shut them down to protect her friend McMichael.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Sunday called Arberys killing a lynching of an African American man and asserted that the arrests of the father and son would not have happened if the video of the shooting did not surface. I think had we not seen that video, I dont believe that they would be charged, she said.

Story continues

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Stamford Hospital is treating most of its critically ill coronavirus patients with blood plasma from people who have recovered, after stunning turnarounds in several patients who were gravely ill.

We started with only the sickest patients on respirators. Then we offered it to all of the patients on respirators, then all the patients in the ICU, and now all the COVID patients in the hospital on 40 percent oxygen, not with a ventilator, said Dr. Paul Sachs, director of pulmonary medicine. So far, there has been cautious enthusiasm.

Plasma transfusions are gaining traction at other hospitals throughout Connecticut and nationally as well, as doctors wait for a breakthrough treatment. Nuvance Health, which includes Danbury and Norwalk hospitals, reports more than 200 patients system-wide treated with plasma so far. The network opened its COVID-19 plasma donation centers recently and already counts about 1,750 donors in its database.

Trinity Health of New England, which includes Saint Marys Hospital in Waterbury and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, is running a plasma transfusion trial.

Yale New Haven Health and Hartford HealthCare are transfusing patients who fit the protocol established in a national plasma transfusion clinical trial overseen by The Mayo Clinic, which began last month. As of Monday, Hartford HealthCare had transfused more than 215 patients across its network.

As the number of survivors grows, more plasma will become available, and the number of transfusions will increase, said Dr. Mahalia S. Desruisseaux, an infectious disease expert at Yale.

While its too early to cite data from trials, theres clearly a benefit to the transfusions, she said. Anecdotally, the earlier you administer it, the better you do. Are you giving it to someone whos going to get better anyway? We dont know that yet.

In Stamford, Henry Woerz, 76, of New Canaan, continues to recover after he received the first plasma transfusion in Connecticut on April 10. Before the procedure, he had spent 21 days on a ventilator, with his condition going from bad to worse. The hospital had called his sons Craig, Jeff and Jason basically, to come in to say goodbye, Craig Woerz recalled.

The Woerz brothers learned about plasma transfusions from their fathers primary doctor, Remi Rosenberg, and they recruited potential donors online. Then the brothers and Rosenberg appealed to Stamford Hospital to try a transfusion. Craig Woerz said he appreciated the hospitals collaborative spirit. There was never a push out of the hospital, and we never gave up.

Stamford Hospital is one of the few independent hospitals left in Connecticut. Because we are an independent, medium-sized hospital, we are maybe more nimble, Sachs said. He and his team wrote up a protocol for a transfusion trial and submitted it to the Food and Drug Administration. Woerz became the first recipient.

We were overwhelmed with patients coming in and had absolutely no treatment. We were just throwing things off the wall to see if it stuck, Sachs said. The first rule is do no harm, and we hadnt heard of any adverse effects with convalescent plasma. This appeared to be an experimental, compassionate, possibly plausible remedy with a good safety record.

When a virus or infection strikes, the bodys immune system makes cells and proteins to fight it. In many patients who have recovered from COVID-19, their plasma remains rich with these antibodies for at least a month afterward. A transfusion can put the little antibody soldiers to work in another critically ill patient. For more than a century, doctors have used convalescent blood plasma to combat diseases, from the Spanish flu to measles to polio to Ebola. Following the COVID-19 outbreak in China, two small studies showed that convalescent plasma was used there to treat 15 patients who ultimately survived.

Woerz received two small baggies of antibodies over five hours. Two units of plasma are now the standard protocol at Stamford Hospital for all appropriate COVID-19 patients. (The Mayo Clinic trial recently changed its national protocol to one or two units, so Stamford has joined that trial as well.)

He had such a dramatic change the day after he got the plasma, and within a week he was off the respirator with high levels of oxygen, Sachs said. The rate at which he survived and the time point at which he pivoted his progression are hard to ignore, but I would emphasize this is not a randomized trial, and it is difficult to impossible to make firm conclusions.

Since the plasma transfusions began in Stamford, about 40 percent of patients have been extubated, 45 percent remain on ventilators and 15 percent have died.

From Survivor To Donor

Amy Harel, an orthodontist in Fairfield who survived COVID-19, said she regrets not bringing her father to a Connecticut hospital for treatment. On a trip to Disney World in March, a stomach bug kept her father, Ron Panzok, in the familys suite at the hotel. Days after they returned, Panzok headed to the emergency room near his Long Island, N.Y., home, and learned he had COVID-19. Everything deteriorated from there. The entire family got COVID-19: both Harels, their 18-month-old daughter, and the aunt and uncle who drove everyone to the airport.

Panzok, 66, had been a healthy, hardworking man who biked and had a physical job, Harel said. Now he was sedated with paralytics, spending week after week on a ventilator, resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome and complete kidney failure. The hospital was so insane they called it the Wild West. All day every day, I spent researching treatments and trying to get someone to pay attention to my dad.

No sooner did Harel connect with one doctor, shed discover her father had been transferred to a different ICU. Finally, she tracked down the ICU chief. She pleaded with him to try a plasma transfusion. Every time I asked, he said, Were waiting [for approval]. It was a nightmare.

Eventually, the hospital sidestepped administrative red tape and received emergency approval from the FDA for Panzoks transfusion. But the wait took its toll. Though he is finally breathing on his own, her father needs dialysis and falls asleep after saying a sentence. Hes alive, thank God. Its a miracle, his daughter said, though now Im worried about his quality of life. Panzok will need six to nine months of rehabilitation.

Harel is convinced that recovered plasma saved her father, and she hopes to save others with her plasma. When she received a call from the Fairfield health department, which has been checking up on her regularly after her positive diagnosis, they encouraged her to donate at Norwalk Hospitals new plasma center.

Harel spent two hours there recently, watching her blood cycle through a machine that separated her red and white blood cells, saline, and plasma, spinning out the yellowish plasma, and returning the rest of the blood to her. Seeing the plasma going into the bag was shocking to me because I didnt expect to see it. But I donated because it helped my dad, and I want to help others, she said.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team ( c-hit.org ), a nonprofit news organization dedicated to health reporting.
Worcester joined municipalities across Massachusetts as a state-run isolation and recovery site opened Monday to house unsheltered and low-income individuals who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

At around noon, on Monday, the Quality Inn and Suites at 50 Oriol Drive opened with more than 100 rooms for those in need, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said.

Similar locations exist in Everett, Lexington, Pittsfield, Taunton and Northampton. While located in Worcester, the shelter is run by the state, which contracted service from the Red Cross.

For those who qualify, the hotel will provide a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week nursing team and security, in room food services, behavioral health help and laundry service.

The site in Worcester will also be deemed a family site, Augustus said.

To qualify, individuals must be on MassHealth or uninsured. There are also specific financial requirements for people to be eligible.

People with questions can call 617-367-5150. The person at the number will be able to determine if a person qualifies and arrange pick up if needed.

Augustus said around the state the average length of stay is about two weeks for people who need a room.

As of Monday afternoon, one person had checked into the space.

The announcement came on a day where Worcester announced 47 new cases of COVID-19 pushing the overall total to 2,971.

Within the citys hospitals, there were 269 cases with 102 in the ICU. Fifteen people were at the DCU Center, Augustus said.

Director of Public Health Dr. Michael Hirsh said numbers for new cases later in the week will be more important than Mondays. The city has experienced lower numbers earlier in the week followed by an increase as the weekend approached.

I think [Tuesday] will be more telling, Hirsh said. Maybe this will be the inflection point and well start seeing some decrease.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker released a four-phase plan to begin reopening the economy.

We know this hasnt been easy and that many businesses large and small across our communities have suffered as a result, and were anxious to get everybody back up and going as soon as it makes sense, Baker said.

Hirsh said Worcesters decline in numbers hasnt kept pace with those municipalities in Eastern and Western Mass. Hirsh said about 25% of the 13,000 people tested in Worcester came back positive.

He said it pointed to two things: a higher viral load in the area and the need for more testing.

I think [May 18] to me, if the numbers dont inflect downward this week, seems a little quick to me, Hirsh said. But Im more than willing to be surprised pleasantly

Related Content:
19 martyred, 15 injured in naval incident in southern Iran

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 9:01 AM

As many as 19 people have been martyred and 15 others injured in an incident involving the Iranian Navy's Konarak logistical vessel in the country's southern waters.

The incident happened on Sunday as a number of Navy vessels were conducting an exercise near the waters lying close to Jask and Chabahar ports that respectively belong to neighboring provinces of Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan, the Navy's Public Relations' Department said in a statement on Monday.

The statement noted that the injured are currently in stable condition.

"Naval relief and rescue teams reached the location shortly after the incident, retrieving the injured and the martyrs from the vessel and transferring them to medical centers," the statement noted.

'Exemplary courage'

"The forces stationed on the vessel displayed exemplary courage in their endeavor to rescue their fellow servicemen," the Navy said.

After the incident, the casualties were dispatched to the Haft-e Tir Pier in Chabahar, and transferred to the city's Imam Ali (PBUH) Hospital via ten ambulances.

An informed military source, meanwhile, dismissed reports that the vessel had been totally destroyed in the incident, saying it had been towed to the shore afterwards.

The Navy statement confirmed that Konarak had been transferred to a local pier for technical examination.

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The "Medical Marijuana: Consumers' Perspectives in the US and UK" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The "Medical Marijuana, Consumers' Perspectives" report combines an extensive survey and analysis of patients' perspectives in the US and UK to provide an in-depth consumer-centered review of the medical marijuana market. Components of the report include an in-depth breakdown of the survey and its respondents, detailed analysis of consumers' concerns and opinions of medical and recreational marijuana, information from interviews with patients receiving treatment with medical marijuana in the US and UK, and an assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the medical marijuana space.

The report evaluates trends across different age groups, health statuses, and other parameters to inform insightful comparisons and market-specific analyses, always linking the significance of the findings to the historical and contemporary events underpinning consumers' perspectives in the two countries on which this thematic research focuses on.

Key Highlights

The majority (72%) of respondents stated that one of their greatest concerns with regards to receiving treatment with medical marijuana therapies was the potential for psychological side effects and cognitive impairment.

More respondents from the UK (34%) than respondents from the US (25%) were in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. Differently, 91% of respondents from the US and 87% of respondents from the UK were in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Many respondents from both markets expressed feelings of uncertainty about the law regarding the use of medical marijuana. This was mainly due to the dynamic regulatory landscape in which restrictions are repeatedly altered with little attention drawn to these modifications.

Although the use of medical marijuana is well documented for some indications such as pain, muscle spasticity, and epilepsy, many sufferers of other conditions remain unsure about its efficacy for other diseases, despite the active clinical trials landscape.

Increased media coverage and attention on medical marijuana is attracting a wide audience.

The reputation of marijuana is changing alongside the emergence of results from clinical studies that aim to prove that the applications in medicine may be more widespread than what was previously believed.

According to the publisher's primary research, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures are already changing operations within the medical marijuana industry.

The ability to access medical marijuana differs across state borders in the US, and constituencies in the UK, and these discrepancies are expected to increase further against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scope of the report:

The report provides an overview of the design of the study, including a breakdown of the respondents from each of the markets.

Other components include the analysis of key perspectives, broken down into different age groups and presence or absence of chronic illness, a discussion of the unmet needs, legal restrictions on medical marijuana, evaluation of the scientific evidence to support the use of medical marijuana, and an assessment of the potential impact of COVID-19 on the medical marijuana space.

In the report, there is also analysis of key concerns of consumers in the US and UK and a discussion of the findings from interviews with consumers who personally benefit from receiving treatment with medical marijuana.

In addition, there is an examination of the stigmatization of marijuana users and an overview of social issues regarding the perception of recreational marijuana.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Study Design

1.1 Research Objectives and Study Design

1.2 Respondent Mix Geography

1.3 Respondent Mix Age, Sex, and Disease Status

1.4 Respondents With Chronic Illness

2. Executive Summary

2.1 Key Findings

3. Survey Respondents by Market

3.1 Respondents in the US

3.2 Respondents in the US With Chronic Illness

3.3 Respondents in the UK

3.4 Respondents in the UK With Chronic Illness

4. Consumers' Perspectives

4.1 Overview of Perspectives in the US and UK

4.2 Unmet Needs

4.3 Consumer Insights

5. Consumers in the US

5.1 Take-Home Messages

5.2 Consumer Insights

6. Consumers in the UK

6.1 Take-Home Messages

6.2 Consumer Insights

7. Medical Marijuana and COVID-19

7.1 The Impact of the Pandemic on the Medical Marijuana Industry

7.2 Patients' Perspectives

8. Patients' Insights

8.1 Insights From the US

8.2 Insights From the UK

9. Summary of Key Findings

9.1 Take-Home Messages

10. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4q751b

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Data Center Cooling Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global data center cooling market is currently experiencing robust growth. Looking forward, the market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 15% during 2020-2025.



With the rising data center density, numerous organizations are introducing innovative ways for cooling computer systems to improve efficiency and maximize uptime. For instance, Google is employing seawater to maintain the temperature in one of its data centers in Hamina, Finland. This system does not create carbon emissions as it uses cold water for cooling the devices and equipment.



Similarly, Facebook is using captured rainwater for cooling data centers. Moreover, AdeptDC, a smart assistant, depends on machine learning to read CPU and GPU temperatures and aids data center managers in knowing when and how much cooling is needed.



Furthermore, governments in various countries are mandating environmental regulations concerning the emission and power consumption efficiency of data center operations. This, in turn, is resulting in the rising demand for eco-friendly data center cooling solutions around the world.



The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined with some of the key players being Airedale International Air Conditioning, Asetek, Black Box Corporation, Climaveneta Climate Technologies, Coolcentric, Emerson Electric, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Netmagic, Nortek Air Solutions, Rittal, Schneider Electric, STULZ GmbH, Vertiv, etc.



Key Questions Answered

How has the global data center cooling market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets in the global data center cooling industry?

What is the breakup of the market based on the solution?

What is the breakup of the market based on the services?

What is the breakup of the market based on the type of cooling?

What is the breakup of the market based on the cooling technology?

What is the breakup of the market based on the type of data center?

What is the breakup of the market based on the vertical?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global data center cooling market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the global data center cooling industry?

Key Topics Covered



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology

2.1 Objectives of the Study

2.2 Stakeholders

2.3 Data Sources

2.3.1 Primary Sources

2.3.2 Secondary Sources

2.4 Market Estimation

2.4.1 Bottom-Up Approach

2.4.2 Top-Down Approach

2.5 Forecasting Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Data Center Cooling Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Solution

6.1 Air Conditioning

6.2 Chilling Units

6.3 Cooling Towers

6.4 Economizer Systems

6.5 Liquid Cooling Systems

6.6 Control Systems

6.7 Others



7 Market Breakup by Services

7.1 Consulting

7.2 Installation and Deployment

7.3 Maintenance and Support



8 Market Breakup by Type of Cooling

8.1 Room-Based Cooling

8.2 Row-Based Cooling

8.3 Rack-Based Cooling



9 Market Breakup by Cooling Technology

9.1 Liquid-Based Cooling

9.2 Air-Based Cooling



10 Market Breakup by Type of Data Center

10.1 Mid-Sized Data Centers

10.2 Enterprise Data Centers

10.3 Large Data Centers



11 Market Breakup by Vertical

11.1 BFSI

11.2 IT and Telecom

11.3 Research and Educational Institutes

11.4 Government and Defense

11.5 Retail

11.6 Energy

11.7 Healthcare

11.8 Others



12 Market Breakup by Region

12.1 North America

12.2 Asia Pacific

12.3 Europe

12.4 Latin America

12.5 Middle East and Africa



13 SWOT Analysis

13.1 Overview

13.2 Strengths

13.3 Weaknesses

13.4 Opportunities

13.5 Threats



14 Value Chain Analysis



15 Porters Five Forces Analysis

15.1 Overview

15.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers

15.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

15.4 Degree of Competition

15.5 Threat of New Entrants

15.6 Threat of Substitutes



16 Competitive Landscape

16.1 Market Structure

16.2 Key Players

16.3 Profiles of Key Players



Airedale International Air Conditioning

Asetek

Black Box Corporation

Climaveneta Climate Technologies

Coolcentric

Emerson Electric

Fujitsu

Hitachi

Netmagic

Nortek Air Solutions

Rittal

Schneider Electric

STULZ GmbH

Vertiv

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k09opk

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

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<! Juliet Ibrahim >

Nollywood actress Juliet Ibrahim, took to her timeline today with some deep messages to her 6 million fans.

We tend to judge others by their behavior, and ourselves by our intentions. -#atoasttolife #JulietIbrahimTV the 34 year old stated.

Humans are quick to judge others without taking stock of their wrong doings, it is easy to throw accusing fingers when were not even better than anyone really.

This is what the Ghanaian actress, brand influencer and author is trying to make her followers understand so they can do better.
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday (May 12, 2020) said that the contract workers at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Plant (KNPPP) in Tirunelveli district will be sent back to their respective states in a phased manner.

The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami, who said that those willing to leave will be sent back in close coordination with their respective states.

This comes after a large number of workers had gathered on May 9 and halted work demanding that they should be sent back to their homes immediately. Staging a sit-in on the KKNPP premises, the workers alleged that they have been kept in temporary sheds, urging their contractors to send them back to their native places immediately.

When police arrived at the scene and intervened and tried to explain the situation, few workers clashed with the cops and some of them were injured.

The situation was brought under control after additional policemen were rushed to the KKNPP premises. A large number of policemen have been deployed inside the KKNPP premises to prevent untoward incidents. Additional fire tenders have also been stationed on the atomic power station campus.

It may be noted that the Tamil Nadu government has so far sent 13,000 workers back to their home states amid coronavirus lockdown.
The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, who has been targeted for several months on accusations of favoritism, has just been whitewashed by an internal investigation carried out between February and April, the conclusions of which have just been revealed by Le Monde and Jeune Afrique. Akinwumi Adesina does not wish to react officially, as the report clearing him of any wrongdoing has only been communicated to the governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

But its conclusions have leaked to the press and they have everything to relieve him.

Several employees of the African Development Bank accused their president of not respecting internal rules, appointing relatives to certain posts and favouring Nigerian nationals. The questionable awarding of contracts was also pointed out. Unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, unsupported, the charges against him are swept aside by the internal investigation, led by a Japanese Executive Director and Chairman of the AfDB Ethics Committee, Takuji Yano, who concluded that the complaint against Akinwumi Adesina was not based on any objective and solid facts.

Just a month ago, Akinwumi Adesina denounced the political motives behind these accusations on RFI. The AfDB president could run for a second term in August.
Physical distance norms were thrown aside when free rations were supplied to staff of Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Monday, May 11, 2020. (DC Photo: SSR)

Hyderabad: Monday was the worst day yet for Telangana with 79 coronavirus positive cases being reported, all from Hyderabad.

With this, the number of cases in the state has risen to 1,275. The health department in its daily bulletin on Monday did not report any further fatalities and the toll remained static at 30.

Almost all the new cases were reported from the Old City of Hyderabad and included at least 13 children under the age of 15. Many of the cases were from a few families. It is learnt that Shaikpet mandal is one of the worst-hit with more than 60 cases since Sunday.

The surge of 79 new positives breaks a sequence of low numbers since April 21 when 56 cases were reported. That week Telangana changed its testing policy and the daily numbers dwindled to single digits on a few days.

Also, the serious spike in Covid-19 cases on Monday came amidst worries among Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials over the watered down containment policies adopted by the state government. Over the past few days, containment zones have been reduced from blocks of residential areas to individual homes and apartment complexes.

Also, in a possible acknowledgement of the severity of the coronavirus spread in Hyderabad, chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, according to a news release from his office, called for increased vigilance and efforts to contain the disease.

Significantly, according to the release, the chief minister called for testing of all primary contacts of every confirmed Covid-19 patient.

This signals a reversal of a recently reported plan by the health department that it will stop testing of primary contacts too. Previously, in the last week of April, it announced that it would stop testing the secondary contacts of Covid-19 positive individuals.
The Sokoto Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested two Chinese nationals, Meng Kun and Xu Koi, for allegedly offering N100 million as bribe to its zonal head, Abdullahi Lawal.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, the suspects were arrested on Monday in Sokoto, with the cash as an evidence.

The accused persons could not immediately reached for comments.

The commission said the bribe was allegedly offered in a bid to compromise ongoing investigations of a construction company, China Zhonghao Nig. Ltd, handling contracts awarded by the Zamfara State Government between 2012 to 2019.

The agency said its zonal office had since commenced investigation into the construction company in connection with the execution of contracts awarded for the construction of township roads in Gummi, Bukkuyun, Anka and Nassarawa towns of Zamfara State.

Similarly, an investigation was launched into the construction of 168 solar-powered boreholes in the 14 local government areas of the state.

The EFCC said the investigation followed intelligence on alleged conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering against Zamfara State officials wherein the construction company had reportedly received payments of over N41billion but diverted about N16 billion which the commission has traced to some bureau de change operators.

Alarmed by the consistency and professionalism of investigation being conducted, the company reached out to Lawal with an offer of N100 million as bribe to bury the matter.

In a grand design to trap the corrupt officials, Lawal played along and on Monday, two representatives of the company, Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi, offered him cash totaling N50 million in their office along Airport Road, Sokoto. The cash was offered as a first installment.

Investigation of the construction company was informed by an intelligence on alleged conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, official corruption, abuse of office, stealing and money laundering obtained against the Zamfara State government through inflated and uncompleted contracts awarded to the company.

Investigations have so far revealed that China Zounghao Ltd has received payments of over N41 billion from the Zamfara State government, out of which about N16 billion, equivalent of over $53 million was allegedly diverted and traced to some bureau de change operators, the commission said.

The EFCC said the suspects would soon be charged to court.
Gender Equity

Boys Favor, Show More Confidence in Math over Girls

A national survey of high schoolers showed that even among the top students, boys both favored and had greater confidence in math classes than girls.

The national survey of 16- to 18-year-olds was undertaken by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), among 1,253 students in grades 11 and 12. All were participants in this year's MathWorks Math Modeling (M3) Challenge, a yearly online math modeling contest organized by SIAM that demonstrates the importance of math in everyday life. The makeup of survey respondents was about 60 percent male and 40 percent female, similar to the gender breakdown of the M3 Challenge itself.

Three-quarters of male students (76 percent) described their participation in math and science class as "frequent and confident." Fifty-eight percent of female respondents said the same. Another 28 percent of female students referred to their math and science class participation as "frequent but questioning," compared to 12 percent of males who used that description.

That difference in confidence showed up in leadership decisions too. When it came to choosing a captain for their M3 Challenge team, seven in 10 mixed-gender teams (69 percent) chose a male leader.

Similar shares of both genders (39 percent) reported being "naturally good" at math and a third credited a teacher for inspiring their interest.

Most of the survey participants (89 percent of males and 76 percent of females) said STEM subjects were their academic favorite. However, whereas 67 percent of females identified them as their strongest subjects, 85 percent of males did.

Also, 83 percent of males reported that they planned to pursue STEM fields in college, compared to 69 percent of females.

How would these STEM virtuosos recommend getting more students interested in math and science education and careers? "Good teachers" were number one, chosen by 70 percent of respondents. Having a better understanding of real-world applications and value of STEM (57 percent) was second. Gaining a better understanding of the diversity of STEM-related career opportunities came in third (45 percent). And being given more opportunities to personally experience STEM applications in practice in the workplace was fourth (44 percent).

In terms of math assessments, more male students than female students preferred open-ended questions (63 percent versus 52 percent); females showed a bigger preference for multiple-choice questions (48 percent versus 37 percent). According to the survey results, those who favored multiple-choice questions said those seemed "less daunting" because they could use the process of elimination, and they preferred black-and-white answers with no gray areas. Those who designated a partiality for open-ended math questions noted that they liked having "no fixed answer" and tackling a problem that could be solved in different ways; also, they said they found it easier to use their math thinking skills with open-ended questions.

"While there are not huge differences in male and female views on math and STEM, the survey shows there is still a marked gender difference when it comes to subject preferences and how students view their own strengths, as well as confidence levels in math class," said Michelle Montgomery, M3 Challenge program director at SIAM, in a statement.

The M3 Challenge draws thousands of high school juniors and seniors who commit 14 consecutive hours on a designated weekend in February/March to devise a solution to a real-world problem using mathematical modeling. This year's competition drew 760 submissions. The challenge asked students to use math modeling to provide recommendations and solutions for the trucking industry's turnover from diesel to electric, with help from industry association North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).

Six teams' solutions were chosen as finalists; three other teams were designated as technical computing finalists. Their papers were evaluated by a national panel of PhD-level mathematicians. Traditionally, the final judging takes place in New York City in April. This year, that in-person event was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, so judging was handled virtually.

A team of five high schoolers from Pine View School in Osprey, FL took home the top prize of $20,000 in college scholarships. A second team from Pine View took a $5,000 scholarship prize. A total of $107,500 was up for grabs, divided among the finalist teams and top performers nationally.
The Crown star Helena Bonham Carter is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale's birth by urging the public to buy a symbolic white rose.

The celebrated actress - Princess Margaret in the popular Netflix drama - has asked fans to purchase the floral tributes online to help fund nurses and midwives during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Once lockdown ends, a floral display with real roses at Westminster Abbey will be unveiled, 'marking and honouring the contribution of nurses and midwives everywhere'.

Marking the occasion: The Crown star Helena Bonham Carter is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale's birth by urging the public to buy a symbolic white rose

Helena, whose great, great grandmother was Nightingale's aunt, said the Florence Nightingale Foundation campaign would appeal to anyone who wanted to 'thank a particular nurse or midwife who has meant a lot to them'.

She said: 'Buying a white rose is a simple way to honour our nurses and midwives. We must never forget the sacrifice they make on an everyday basis during this time...

'My late father was nursed at home for 24 years by hundreds of different nurses. I'm indebted to every one of them. That is why I'm buying shedloads of roses!'

The Foundation said that a white rose 'symbolises hope and rebirth' while Nightingale was also known to wear white rose perfume.

Relations: Helena's great, great grandmother was Nightingale's aunt [this portrait was published in 1858]

Tribute: A projection on the side of St. Thomas Hospital marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer of modern nursing, on May 11 2020 in London

Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 and lived til she was 90-years-old.

On Monday, she was honoured across the UK - including at St. Thomas Hospital London, where a projection dedicated to her was displayed on the side of the building.

It was here that she founded the world's first secular nursing school.

Helena said: 'Buying a white rose is a simple way to honour our nurses and midwives. We must never forget the sacrifice they make on an everyday basis during this time...'

Icon: Nightingale was a pioneer of modern nursing, rising to prominence during the Crimean War, leading the charge for the care of wounded soldiers

Nightingale was a pioneer of modern nursing, rising to prominence during the Crimean War, leading the charge for the care of wounded soldiers.

She not only paved the way for many women to join the workforce, she can be credited with improving healthcare for all sections of British society during the Victorian era.

Further information can be found about the foundation here.
After being closed since March 18, Montgomery County Memorial Library System facilities will open at 9 a.m. Wednesday for limited, lobby-only service.

Hours of public service will be Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Montgomery County Memorial Library System administrators continue to navigate how to best serve library patrons while keeping library users and staff members safe from the COVID-19 virus.

Library staff returned on May 4 to their respective libraries.

According to MCMLS Library Director Jerilynn Williams, individuals who had requested items prior to recent closings will be able to pick up materials at their designated locations.

Library staff will be contacting customers by phone or email to confirm their materials are available.

Beginning May 18, registered borrowers may contact staff at library locations to request items from the collection, either via email or phone. Staff members will search the data base. If the item is available, it will be retrieved and placed on hold for the individual to pick up at that location. Again, there will only be lobby-service.

Book drops opened on April 30 and May 1. Currently, book returns must come back to the libraries through the book drops.

Those items will then be in a quarantine period for two to three days before returning to the shelves.

The computer lab will not open until further guidelines from the state and meeting spaces will remained closed until further notice.

Williams does not anticipate having programming inside the library or the meeting spaces being available until the fall.

However, childrens libraries have been doing Facebook story times. The Youth Services staff is also working to host the summer reading program virtually.

Visit countylibrary.org for more information on the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.

shernandez@hcnonline.com
A day after Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accord to diplomatic recognition to Taiwan without much delay, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma clarified that Chowdhurys views on China are of his own and does not reflect the partys position.

Asserting that the Congress party recognises and values the special strategic partnership between India and China, Sharma tweeted, The Indian National Congress recognises and values the special strategic partnership between India and China. As two ancient civilisations and large economies of the world both countries are destined to make a significant contribution in the 21st Century.

In another tweet, he said, The views of Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in China are his own and do not reflect the party position.

Chowdhurys statement on China came after Taiwan donated one million face masks to India in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic.

Be careful China, Indian forces know how to defang the venomous snakes like you, entire world is watching the sinister design of yellow expansionist, he tweeted yesterday. However, the Behrampore MP later deleted his tweet after facing flak on social media.

This is not the first time when Chowdhurys social media posts or comments have garnered headlines. Recently, he was in limelight for his confusing tweet on colleague and former union finance minister P Chidambaram. He had also made controversial statements on issues such as Article 370 in Parliament, which also earned him the ire of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

When Chidambaram was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the INX Media case, Chowdhury had tweeted, "Enlargement of @PChidambaram_INji has eloquently proved that at the end of the day truth prevails upon, he is irresistible (sic).

However, he later clarified that Enlargement is legal jargon, which means Jail Se Bari Hona. You can ask a legal professional. If someone has failed to understand my tweet, it is their problem. Those who are confused and are making headlines, I would like to suggest to them that they should flip the pages of a legal dictionary first, he had said in his defence.

Not only this, a few months back, while arguing the suspension of seven Congress members from the Lok Sabha and demanding revocation of Speaker Om Birlas orders, Chowdhury had made a controversial comment, saying, Jeb katrey ko phansi ke takhte pe nahi chadaya ja sakta hai (a pickpocket cannot be sent to the gallows).

Chowdhury won the Behrampore Lok Sabha seat by defeating Trinamool Congress candidate, Apurba Sarkar, in 2019 general elections. His political prowess didnt go unnoticed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had complimented him for remaining a strong critic of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and had called him a fighter with a pat on his back.
Martyn Coffey became the CEO of Marshalls plc (LON:MSLH) in 2013. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

See our latest analysis for Marshalls

How Does Martyn Coffey's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Marshalls plc has a market cap of UK1.2b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK2.2m for the year to December 2019. Notably, that's an increase of 38% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK460k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of UK804m to UK2.6b. The median total CEO compensation was UK1.4m.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Marshalls. On a sector level, around 48% of total compensation represents salary and 52% is other remuneration. Marshalls sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry.

As you can see, Martyn Coffey is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Marshalls plc is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Marshalls, below.

LSE:MSLH CEO Compensation May 12th 2020

Is Marshalls plc Growing?

Over the last three years Marshalls plc has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 15% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 10%.

Story continues

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Marshalls plc Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 64%, over three years, would leave most Marshalls plc shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Marshalls plc pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. On another note, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Marshalls that investors should look into moving forward.

Important note: Marshalls may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.
China's ban on Australian beef imports has been described as a 'bastard act' by a federal MP.

China suspended imports from four major beef suppliers just weeks after Beijing's ambassador warned consumers would boycott Australia if it continued to push for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.

The ban affects one third of Australia's meat exports worth an annual $1billion to China, which is Australia's biggest trading partner and the world's second biggest economy.

'It's a bastard act,' Liberal-Nationals backbencher George Christensen told news.com.au.

'It's just wrong. China has just gone into full, bullying, threatening, coercion mode.'

China has suspended imports from four major beef supplier, which affects one third of Australia's meat exports to China. Pictured is Melbourne butcher George Vourvahakis hard at work at his Yarraville store on Tuesday

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing the ban was due to quarantine violations.

'Chinese customs has continuously found that multiple batches of beef products exported to China by individual Australian companies have violated the inspection and quarantine requirements,' he told reporters on Tuesday night.

Zhao warned Australia against 'using the epidemic to engage in political manipulation'.

But he denied any connection between the beef ban and a potential inquiry into how coronavirus started.

'They are two different things,' Zhao insisted.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters the beef ban is due to quarantine violations and isn't related to Australia's calls for an inquiry into coronavirus

Three of the affected meat suppliers are from Queensland while the other is from New South Wales.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Christensen called on Australia to stand up to China's threats.

'With more than 36 per cent of our exports being sold to China, representing 7.9 per cent of our GDP, it's clear we have put too many eggs in the one basket,' he told Parliament.

'Being so entangled with an authoritarian regime has left our nation open to economic blackmail and boycotts like that mooted by China's ambassador and the actions against our barley and beef exports.'

'It is time to speak up on China's economic infiltration and economic blackmail against our country.

'Enough is enough, we must take a stand for our national sovereignty.'

One Liberal backbencher described the ban as a bastard act. Pictured is Australian rump for sale at a Melbourne butchery on Tuesday

Mr Christensen also urged Australia to use the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin as a bargaining chip.

It follows Liberal MP Andrew Hastie's recent calls Australia to take back control of the port, calling the lease 'strategically naive'.

The beef ban comes a day after China's Ministry of Commerce has threatened to slap an 80 per cent import tariff on barley imports as Australia refuses to retract its demand for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.

The proposal would be a major blow to the drought-stricken industry, which once exported more than $1.5 billion to China.

Australia was China's biggest supplier of barley in 2017 before exports were halved when Beijing launched its ongoing anti-dumping investigation into the industry.

Barley exports to China plummeted from $1.5billion in 2018 to just $600million the following year.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye hinted at a boycott last month if Australia continued its push for a global conronavirus inquiry.

'It is up to the people to decide. Maybe the ordinary people will say 'Why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?' he told the Australian Financial Review.

The beef ban comes a day after China threatened to impose a 80 per cent export tax on Australian barley. Pictured are barley crops at a farm in Parkes in central west NSW

Statement by Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on beef bans We were notified late yesterday that four Australian meat establishments have been suspended by Chinese Authorities over issues related to labelling and health certificate requirements. We are concerned that the suspensions appear to be based on highly technical issues, which in some cases date back more than a year. We've been speaking with industry leaders, colleagues and departments overnight to formulate a comprehensive response. We will work with industry and authorities in both Australia and China to seek to find a solution that allows these businesses to resume their normal operations as soon as possible. Advertisement

Scott Morrison denies Chinese plans for new tariffs on Australian grain are revenge for his coronavirus inquiry push - after Barnaby Joyce said they were 'payback'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not believe Chinese plans for tariffs on Australian grain are connected to his push for a coronavirus inquiry.

China's Ministry of Commerce has threatened to slap an 80 per cent import tariff on barley after an 18-month anti-dumping investigation.

The plan would seriously harm Australian barley farmers who send half their produce to China in a trade worth $150billion.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured today) does not believe Chinese plans for tariffs on Australian grain are connected to his push for a coronavirus inquiry

China has threatened to impose a 80 per cent export tax on Australian barley. Pictured are barley crops at a farm in Parkes in central west NSW

The proposal comes just two weeks after the Chinese ambassador in Canberra threatened economic sanctions in response to the Morrison government's call for an investigation into the origins of coronavirus.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce told the Seven Network on Monday: 'This is a case of payback.'

But Mr Morrison said China had not linked barley tariffs to a COVID-19 inquiry or anything else.

He said it would be 'extremely disappointing' if tariffs were used as an act of retribution.

'It's an anti-dumping issue from their perspective. They certainly haven't raised it as connected to other issues. I would be extremely disappointed if it was,' he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

Australia was once China's biggest barley supplier before Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation. Pictured is a worker sweeping barley at the Riordan Group grain depot near Geelong in Victoria

'There's no reason for me to think based on the way that they're approaching it that I could draw that conclusion.'

Dumping is when a country exports a product unfairly cheaply to permeate a foreign market, with producers often subsidised by the government.

China is due to conclude its anti-dumping investigation into Australian barley by May 19 when producers and the federal government will have 10 days to reply.

'We contest quite clearly that we do not subsidise and we have not dumped barley into China,' Agriculture Minister David Littleproud told ABC radio.

'We expect to be able to demonstrate that to Chinese officials and have been trying to do that for some 18 months and will continue to work with them.'

Australia is prepared to take China to the World Trade Organisation to fight against the tariffs.

'That's what the umpire is there for and that's what we would test if we feel aggrieved that our position hasn't been properly accepted or understood,' Mr Littleproud said.

Grain Producers Australia described the proposed tariffs as an 'absolutely a massive kick in the guts'. Pictured is a barley farmer in central west NSW

Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the government needed to get the matter under control.

'We are getting a taste now of what it is like when we mismanage our relationship with our largest trading partner. This issue of barley goes back 18 months, it predates COVID-19,' Mr Fitzgibbon said.

'This is what happens when you put populist policies in place, making big statements, beating your chest without thinking about potential economic consequences for Australia, and also our farmers.'

The federal government's calls for a ban on wet markets and an inquiry into the virus origins - as well as repeated suggestions that China covered up the spread - have infuriated Beijing.

Last month the Chinese Embassy called Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton 'pitiful,' 'ignorant' and a US 'parrot' after he told China to 'answer questions' about how coronavirus started.

On April 26 Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng warned that Chinese consumers may stop buying Australian products in revenge.

The dispute comes after a torrid year for Australia-China relations saw clashes over political interference, human rights abuses in western China and Huawei 5G equipment.

Former Australian ambassador to China Geoff Raby told Daily Mail Australia that diplomatic relations are 'at their lowest point since they began 46 years ago'.
The Queenslander fitted Sydney so well. His "take no prisoners" approach worked in a city where survival remains a first principle. The farmers son was always a worker. Getting up early became a lifelong habit. As a teacher he went the extra distance, taking on everything. His bright students excelled in class and on the playing field to a point where Alan Jones excesses and poor judgment were mostly overlooked.

As a rugby coach he became world famous. Wallabies fans ruefully await another victory at Eden Park, New Zealand, last achieved by an Alan Jones-coached team in 1986.

Careers in teaching and coaching ultimately foundered as the professional became confused with the personal. Jones played favourites, rendering a winning formula dysfunctional.

He tried politics, seeking preselection for the Liberal and Country parties as well as speech writing. It is ironic that here was his most conspicuous failure. Jones would later excoriate others for lapses of prudence and discipline that could be all too evident in his own conduct.
CALIFORNIA

UC chief sets up fight over SAT, ACT policy

University of California President Janet Napolitano is urging a suspension of admission testing requirements until 2024, setting up a showdown vote this month for the systems governing board on the role of the SAT and ACT in the process of choosing a freshman class.

The outcome is likely to reverberate nationwide because of the size and prestige of the UC system, which has undergraduate campuses in Berkeley, Los Angeles and seven other locations in the Golden State. In recent weeks, many public and private colleges have joined a movement to halt or end testing requirements. Some were spurred by the education crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. Others said test scores were not as useful as grades and transcripts in rating applicants.

Last month, citing the pandemic, UC suspended its requirement for an ACT or SAT score from those who apply for the fall 2021 class. Many testing sessions around the country have been postponed or canceled this spring, hindering high school juniors who are trying to line up their credentials to apply to college.

Napolitano, in a memo to the Board of Regents made public Monday, said she wants to go further. She asked the board to continue its test-optional policy through fall 2022. Under test-optional procedures, applicants can submit a score if they think it will help them. Napolitano also urged a more sweeping mandate to omit the SAT and ACT entirely from admission decisions in 2023 and 2024 for any student who attends a public or private high school in California.

The language of the memo appears to indicate that this two-year test-blind proposal would not apply to out-of-state applicants.

Napolitano, president of UC since 2013 and a former U.S. homeland security secretary, is scheduled to step down in August.

But such a policy could send shock waves through the higher education world.

The College Board, which owns the SAT, and the ACT testing organization had no immediate comment.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to take up the testing policy on May 21.

 Nick Anderson

TEXAS

Five shot, hurt at large

park party, police say

Five people were shot and wounded during a party at a Texas park that drew about 600 people despite local guidelines discouraging large gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, police said.

The shootings happened Sunday night at Village Creek Park in Fort Worth, police said. Fort Worth Officer Buddy Calzada said fireworks were set off, and then witnesses reported hearing about 30 rounds of gunfire, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Two of the people who were shot were in critical condition, and three suffered injuries that werent considered life-threatening, he said.

No arrests have been made.

The park was open to visitors, but the city encouraged people to observe social distancing guidelines to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Weve tried to work with everybody to try not to cite them or ticket them, but ultimately people have a choice, and thats just the choice they made tonight, Calzada said. Our job as the police is to investigate exactly what all took place here from beginning to end.

Calzada said state and federal authorities are assisting in the investigation.

 Associated Press

ILLINOIS

Officials: Man wears mask to escape jail

Authorities have captured a man who escaped from a Chicago jail by wearing a protective mask and pretending to be another detainee who was set for release, officials said Monday.

Jahquez Scott, 21, was captured by the Cook County Sheriffs Department and the FBI on Saturday inside the bedroom of a home in northwest Chicago, the sheriffs department said.

Scott, who was being held at the Cook County Jail on a weapons charge while on parole for a battery of an officer conviction, allegedly promised to pay another detainee, Quintin Henderson, so he could pretend to be him at Hendersons May 2 release. After exchanging sweatshirts with Henderson to complete the disguise, the sheriffs department said, Scott, who was wearing a mask that concealed tattoos on both sides of his face, stepped forward when Hendersons name was called for discharge, signed release papers and walked out of jail.

Henderson, 28, later asked correctional staff whether his name had been called, claiming he had fallen asleep, prosecutors said during a bail hearing.

Henderson, who was about to be released on his own recognizance in a drug case, is now being held in lieu of a $25,000 bond on charges of aiding and abetting the escape of a felon.

According to a news release, the sheriffs department said that after Scott was arrested, he admitted to investigators that he had offered Henderson $500 to use his personal information to escape.

 Associated Press
Dockless bike sharing, the novel idea that rolled out with a rough start in San Diego in February, could spread to North County coastal communities as soon as this summer.

Led by Encinitas, the proposed one-year pilot program may also include Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, and North County Transit District.

The short-term bicycle rentals are based on a phone app, like Uber and other ride-sharing programs. Renters can pick up their bike in one place, such as a bus stop or train station, and leave it someplace else, maybe parked on the sidewalk outside their workplace, anywhere within the companys service area.

Bike sharing is seen as a way to get more cars off the road, reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, and encourage more people to get out of their vehicles and exercise.

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One of the things we are trying to solve is that first-last mile in transit, said Crystal Najera, an Encinitas climate plan administrator leading the group project.

Studies show more people would use public transit if there was an easy, inexpensive way to travel the final short distance from a train station, for example, to a workplace or other destination.

Three companies began offering dockless bike-sharing operations last month in San Diego. But the sudden appearance of so many rental bikes, including the recent addition of electric-powered bikes and scooters, has led to problems.

The most frequent complaint seems to be about parked bikes blocking busy sidewalks. Other issues include people riding illegally on the sidewalks, vandalism, abandoned bicycles and people riding without helmets.

Some San Diego merchants, frustrated by the sudden abundance of app-rented bikes, have asked the city to set new limits on them, but so far its unclear how that might work.

North County can avoid some of those problems by making an exclusive deal with a single vendor, Najera said.

Using a single company across all the coastal region also has the advantage of making it easier for people to rent and return bikes anywhere within the cities.

As with any new business, there are kinks to be worked out, experts say. But participation is high, and the business appears to have a big future.

As a result of that optimistic outlook, entrepreneurs with deep pockets are willing to drop huge sums of money into bike-sharing startups.

The idea began a few years ago in China, where it spread rapidly to more than 200 cities. A few large markets have become saturated with the service there, and news photos from some cities show piles of hundreds of the distinctively colored bicycles, damaged and discarded in public places.

Dockless bikes rent for $1 to $2 an hour in San Diego, an artificially low price set to build a market for the brand.

Its very cheap, but its questionable whether (the price) is sustainable, said Howard LaGrange, an avid cyclist and Oceansides bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

Oceansides City Council is scheduled to hear a report on the regional proposal April 11 and decide whether to participate.

Ive been pretty supportive, LaGrange said Wednesday. The concern is the placement of bikes in the community  and whether they are bunched up and impeding people on the sidewalks.

A GPS system connected to the bikes could be one way to solve the sidewalk problem, by limiting locations where people could leave the free-standing bikes.

Overall bike-sharing appears to be a good program, LaGrange said, and one thats evolving rapidly as it adapts to the available technology and the way people use it.

If enough jurisdictions are interested, the North County partnership will seek more information and possibly approve a contract with a single vendor to operate throughout the coastal communities, Najera said.

Details of the proposal are still being ironed out, but the dockless rental system is preferred, she said.

Potential vendors will be encouraged to discuss how they would handle issues such as parking, right-of-way, training programs, the use of helmets and other safety factors, Najera said.

Weve heard a lot of interest from the public, she said.

Del Mars City Council voted unanimously on Monday to join the cities exploring the idea. Encinitas and Solana Beach are both scheduled to hear reports and consider their participation later this month.

Del Mar Councilman Dave Druker advised caution, saying the cities should be sure that the chosen vendor is prepared to be in business for the long term and not just until the investors money is gone.

It looks like we are going to have to put a little time and effort into this just to get it off the ground, Druker said.

Other council members said they see advantages, especially for tourism, which is a significant contributor to the local economy.

As a resident, Im excited about this because it means when people come visit me they have another way to get around town, said Del Mar Councilwoman Ellie Haviland.

Three dockless bike rental companies  LimeBike, Ofo and MoBike  offer the service in San Diego.

LimeBike is a Silicon Valley startup that rents dockless bikes in dozens of U.S. cities and added National City and Imperial Beach last year. Ofo and Mobike are both Chinese companies that rent millions of bikes around the world.

DecoBike, a Florida-based company, began offering a slightly different service  dockable bikes  in San Diego in 2015.

The dockable system requires renters to return the bicycle to any of about 180 self-service stations spread across the city.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Lin-Manuel Miranda, center, performs in the musical "Hamilton" in New York. (Joan Marcus / Associated Press)

Just in time for Independence Day, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway smash "Hamilton" is coming to Disney+.

The beloved musical, which offers a glimpse into Alexander Hamilton's life and impact on the American Revolution written entirely in rap verse, will be released on the streaming service July 3, 15 months earlier than expected. The original theatrical release date was set for Oct. 15, 2021.

"In this very difficult time, this story of leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against adversity is both relevant and inspiring," said Disney executive chairman Bob Iger on Twitter on Tuesday.

The movie version of "Hamilton" combines three live performances featuring the original Broadway cast shot by the show's director, Thomas Kail, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in June 2016. Miranda, who wrote the musical, stars in the title role.

Never been so happy/nervous in my life.

We all watching this together on July 3, yeah?#Hamilfilm https://t.co/9VpXjYz33k  Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 12, 2020

"I'm so grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release ... in light of the world turning upside down," Miranda said in a statement. "I'm so grateful to all the fans who asked for this and I'm so glad that we're able to make it happen."

Disney paid a reported $75 million for the rights to the film with plans still in place to do a fully mounted big-screen version, though production is now postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus crisis.

Even before the pandemic, securing a ticket for "Hamilton" has been notoriously difficult. The show, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama as well as 11 Tony Awards, frequently sold out months in advance. It has grossed $650 million on Broadway and been seen by 2.6 million people.

Story continues

Before live performances were shuttered worldwide to limit the spread of the coronavirus, it was also playing in London and several North American touring productions.

Although the Los Angeles run of "Hamilton" performances at the Hollywood Pantages has been canceled through Sept. 6, the engagement has been extended through February 2021.

On Monday, the production announced that it had initiated refunds of canceled performances and that those with tickets to rescheduled performances should await further information.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

Ever since the emergence of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), between 31 December 2019 and as of 25 April 2020, 2,744,744 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been reported, recording 195,387 deaths.

This devastating situation has not only brought about sad stories in these countries but has rendered many countries especially developing nations on their knees begging for grants to help salvage the plethora of economic and social implications that have struck them as a result of the pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) over 800 million people all over the globe depends on Social Interventional programmes and kind gestures of nations, groups and Corporate Organizations and well meaning individuals to survive daily. Basic social needs such as food, shelter, water and some protective items are the key things these people need each and every day to fight not only the COVID-19 but extreme hunger and thirst.

Subsequently, in Ghana, the government has been able to bring hope to the less privileged and needy people who hitherto the benevolence of groups, corporate Ghana and individuals, would have suffered the heat of hunger and thirst. Many groups, Members of Parliament and individuals continue to create an enabling environment where everyone regardless of who and where they are located to be able to get food and water to survive on.

Key among these people is the eminent and outspoken lawmaker, Hon Kofi Armah Buah, the member of Parliament for the good people of Ellembelle Constituency. He has brought up the "FOOD BANK FOR ELLEMBELLE".

An initiative of Hon Armah-Kofi Buah which seeks to work with ready partners to combat extreme hunger and alleviate poverty. The initiative further explains that hunger is a painful, unpleasant and complex situation caused mostly by lack of the means, mostly financial to purchase enough food commodities and other essentials. Most people who face hunger often struggle to meet other basic needs as such as employment, housing and healthcare. It is estimated that about 5% of Ghana's population are food insecure and about 2 million people are vulnerable to becoming food insecure. The most severely affected are the elderly and children. Ellembelle Food Bank is thus, focused to providing food for the less privileged and people in need. The aim of the Armah Buah's food initiative is to improve the standard and quality of life of the people of Ellembelle, especially the senior citizens by alleviating hunger.

The initiative looks forward to getting key partners who are ready and willing to support the course without any partisan or parochial conditions. It's therefore imperative on community organizations, cooperate entities, Local Government Authorities, Religious bodies, individuals and NGOs to coordinate and help address hunger. The Ellembelle Food Bank initiative will serve to muster support from all these corners to combat hunger especially among senior citizens and low income families in Ellembelle Districts . To become a partner one is expected to meet the criteria below ;

1. Any organization or individual willing to donates in good faith without conditions. 2. Cooperate entities willing to adopt sponsorship of the Food Bank as part of their Cooperate Social Responsibility(CSR)programs 3. In-kind donation to the food bank. 4. Partners willing to support by funding of the Food Bank.

Due to the nature of our current situation, the food bank must be managed well to bake to last throughout the period in which the COVID-19 may linger up to. Therefore it is only individuals who falls within any of the following categories are eligible to receive commodities from the Food Bank;

1. Temporary assistance to needy families. 2. Support of the needy in times of disaster. 3. A senior citizens living in Ellembelle in need.

Ghanaians must commend such great initiatives engineered by selfless, caring and sensitive individuals which is geared towards alleviating hunger and poverty to bring hope to many people.

May God bless the many likes of Hon Armah-Kofi Buah who always put the interest of their people and constituents first.

Mensah Patrick- Coordinator

Karim Ayebillah A. Atubigah

Deputy PRO

---Voice Of Buah
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 01:14:35|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's pro-government Health Ministry on Tuesday reported nine new COVID-19 cases in the war-ravaged Arab country, bringing the total number to 65.

The nine new cases were detected by the health authorities in the country's southern port city of Aden and other provinces controlled by the government including Shabwa, Mahrah, and Abyan.

According to a statement released by the health ministry, 10 patients have so far died from the disease, while only one case recovered.

The Yemeni authorities have taken several measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, including imposing a partial overnight curfew in Aden and other main cities.

On Monday, Yemen's local health authorities declared Aden as an infected area following the coronavirus spread and mosquito-borne diseases among the city's citizens.

The pro-government Yemeni authorities called on donors and relevant international humanitarian organizations to provide urgent support to help contain the pandemic.

On May 2, the World Health Organization said Yemen's fragile health system is facing catastrophic shortages after five years of war, while COVID-19 supplies in the country are grossly insufficient.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
After nearly seven weeks of quarantining, its fair to say were all itching for life to get back to normal as soon as possible. Restrictions are being lifted  or at least being considered  ever so slowly, with the health of Australians still being earmarked as a top priority.

But Australia is well on its way to flattening the curve with just 26 newly reported cases in the past 24 hours at the time of writing, and its believed the source of the majority of these is known to health officials. New Zealand has performed even better, reporting zero new cases for two consecutive days, no doubt thanks to the decision to go into stage 4 lockdown as soon as the pandemic hit. No messing around for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Its because of this relative success  at least, compared to some other major countries  that the idea of a trans-Tasman travel bubble has begun surfacing.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by QueenstownNZ (@queenstownnz) on Feb 6, 2020 at 3:35pm PST

You may have already heard about the aforementioned bubble, but just in case, it would essentially mean a private agreement between Australia and New Zealand that would allow residents and trade to come and go freely between the two countries across the Tasman Sea. Borders will still be closed to other international visitors to prevent any further outbreak of the virus.

For some, its still far too early to speak of the very idea of restarting travel between countries, especially when state borders havent reopened. In a time where Australians could be going stir-crazy stuck inside their own homes, the suggestion they could soon be able to hop across the pond to the land of Kiwis could incur a bit too much hype.

Scott Morrison has already said that the bubble would only be considered and implemented once Australians can travel from Melbourne to Cairns.

But far from just being satisfied with travel between the two big players in Oceania, The Australian suggests leaders should look even further afield to other Pacific islands  especially those that have reported zero cases of the virus for several weeks  as a way to encourage tourism. Pacific islands such as Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu are all virus-free and desperately need income from tourism to help them survive.

According to SBS Jacinda Ardern has already fielded questions about a wider travel agreement, to which she has said she is currently only focused on Australia.

There is a huge risk if COVID finds its way currently into Pacific Island nations that have been untouched by COVID, so I would want us to act cautiously and in unison with the leaders of those countries,

She goes on to say that she wouldnt want any coronavirus cases to be brought into the poorer Island nations through fear they wont have the infrastructure when it comes to health to deal with any outbreaks.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Royal Davui Island Resort Fiji (@royaldavuifiji) on Mar 3, 2020 at 1:18am PST

To this extent, Australia has already confirmed it is ramping up its aid program to assist some Pacific Islands in response to the coronavirus, such as offering an increase in medical supplies which includes a greater number of testing kits. The Australian has added that Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged fellow G20 members to increase their support to the Islands as well.

And of course, were all going to feel like well need a holiday once the lockdown lifts completely, and despite the Government urging Australians to explore more of their own country, a tropical paradise comprising floating breakfasts will no doubt do a better job at helping relieve the stress and anxiety induced by the pandemic.

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A powerful top aide to DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi went on trial for corruption on Monday, a case without precedent in the vast African country.

Tshisekedi's chief of staff Vital Kamerhe, who has been at the heart of political life in DR Congo for two decades, is accused of having embezzled more than $50 million.

A grey-bearded Kamerhe, 61, appeared in a prison jumpsuit before a court set up within Kinshasa's central prison compound, where he has been in custody since April 8.

"I have a major function to carry out," Kamerhe told the court. "I have all the fame that comes with the job, so I am duty-bound to behave as a statesman... and to honour our justice system."

Two other defendants in the case, a Lebanese businessman and another presidential official, also appeared during the first hearing, which was broadcast by the state channel RTNC.

Kamerhe's supporters charge that the case is politically motivated, a possible attempt to prevent him from running in the next presidential election in three years' time.

"Never in Congo's political history over the past two decades has such an important player on the political scene been put behind bars," New York University's Congo Study Group (CSG) said in an analysis.

The case against Kamerhe is part of a broad investigation that is supposed to mark the "renewal" of the Congolese justice system in the fight against corruption among the elite since the country's independence from Belgium in 1960.

Kamerhe, once a pillar of the regime of former president Joseph Kabila, is the leader of the influential Union for the Congolese Nation and previously served as parliamentary speaker.

He emerged as Tshisekedi's main ally after himself bowing out of the presidential race in December 2018, the first peaceful power transfer in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

- 100-day action plan -

Kamerhe, said to have been in charge of authorising public expenditure, is accused of having embezzled funds intended to finance major works under a "100-day" emergency action plan that Tshisekedi launched after he took office in January last year.

The defendants are accused of embezzling almost $49 million from funds for building 4,500 pre-fabricated homes for poor people and allegedly siphoned off another $2 million from a programme to build housing for police and the military in Kinshasa.

"I acted on behalf of the president to ensure that the work was carried out," Kamerhe said, adding that he was part of a team of nine supervisors.

Kamerhe, who has not stood down or been sacked since being charged, has denied the allegations, saying all public sector contracts were "inherited" from previous governments.

Although Kamerhe's arrest is seen as a strong signal in the anti-graft fight, some remain sceptical, seeing the case as a possible settling of scores within the governing coalition.

MPs from Kamerhe's party have denounced the "arbitrary arrest" and "humiliation" suffered by their leader, while on social media his supporters say the trial is a bid to remove him from the 2023 presidential race, despite a deal with Tshisekedi.

Kamerhe's lawyers said Monday that they had filed an application for temporary release, after an earlier request was denied last month.

Defendants, judges and lawyers wore masks during the hearing, as the official toll of coronavirus cases in the country passed the 1,000-mark, including 41 deaths, with a major outbreak at a prison in the capital.

The judge adjourned the trial to May 25 at the end of the two-hour hearing.

The session was briefly suspended after co-defendant Samih Jammal, 79, appeared to be fainting in his wheelchair.

The biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has an abundance of natural resources, but most of its 80 million people live in poverty.

The country struggles with a long history of conflict, poor governance and graft.

Kamerhe was parliament speaker from 2006 to 2009 but moved to the opposition ranks in 2011, running in elections that year.

He initially stood in the 2018 presidential poll but bowed out to team up with Tshisekedi.

The two leaders signed a political agreement in Nairobi in November 2018 that gave birth to a joint platform, Heading for Change, and which allowed Kamerhe to run for president in 2023.

Kamerhe's UNC has 16 seats in parliament and several ministers in Tshisekedi's huge coalition government.

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Canadians have rightly been impressed by the ability of Canadian First Ministers to set partisanship and regional differences aside (for the most part) and work co-operatively in dealing with the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We can only hope the spirit of cooperation and collaboration in the acute phase of the pandemic will continue into the post recovery phase.

It was not always thus. Canada has had a tortured past in federal-provincial relations since the first four provinces came together to write the British North America Act. Until the Charter of Rights and Freedoms became law in 1982, the most important Supreme Court cases involved disputes between the provinces and the federal government.

The challenge for public policy going forward will be to manage the twin risks of the economy going into deep depression and an ongoing pandemic. Canadians are having to borrow money and go deeper into debt to cope during the recovery. Businesses are closing or going bankrupt. The human toll of a plummeting economy is high. And every level of government has to wrestle with how to deal with the severity of the economic downturn.

The federal government, like every government in the world, is borrowing more than ever before. The Bank of Canada can print and lend money, buy debt and keep the banking and financial system liquid. Provinces can also borrow money, at home and abroad, but they cant print it. Municipalities are limited by provincial laws in the amounts they can borrow.

All levels of government are affected by a simple fact. In this kind of crisis, revenues go down, and pressures on spending go up. It is this reality that will make some new approaches necessary.

What makes this all work when things are normal is the myriad transfers of money from the federal government to the provinces and to the municipalities and from the provinces to the municipalities. It is precisely this system that will come under stress in the time ahead.

The history of fiscal relations has been attempts to use federal taxing and spending powers to provide balance to provincial responsibility for program delivery. Federal transfers for health, welfare and equalization and the Kelowna Accord on First Nations were relative successes in federal/provincial/territorial collaboration.

The challenge of coordination in response to SARS was brought out in the Naylor report after the crisis. The close co-ordination on daily health and economic issues that has marked the COVID-19 crisis has been a marked improvement. So far, our leaders have put partisan politics aside and focused on problem solving and building confidence. The wage top-up for essential workers using federal money delivered differentially in each province by provincial governments is a model.

Yet in the post-COVID world there will be several challenges that will test this good will. There are some difficult questions. Here are just a few:

In healthcare design of pharmacare will present a challenge. How to respect provincial responsibility for healthcare delivery while using federal revenue and spending powers?

In a labour market after the pandemic where there will be much unemployment, we will have to address the impediments to a pan-Canadian market. How to respect provincial regulation of professions while promoting interprovincial mobility?

In post-secondary education we have institutions that have grown dependent on international student revenue. This will be affected by the COVID-19 crisis. How will we maintain the quality of our higher education institutions while respecting jurisdictional responsibilities?

Fiscal arrangements between the feds and the provinces which transfer federal equalization payments, the Canada Health Transfer, the Canada Social Transfer and other significant program monies like infrastructure and post-secondary research spending are both the grease that makes the federation work and the source of enormous tension in relations between governments, territories and regions.

Post-COVID-19 we will need a fundamental review of the extent to which the federal government can be a tax and transfer machine without a greater degree of shared understanding among Canadians about how these responsibilities are exercised.

After the Great Depression, Mackenzie King created a Royal Commission to examine the economic basis of the federation. The Rowell-Sirois report in 1940 proposed fundamental restructuring of the fiscal arrangements and roles and responsibilities of different levels of government in the federation.

We now need something a little different  a commission named by both the federal and provincial governments to carry out this critical task for the long-term health of the federation.
Open source

On May 12, Russian mercenaries landed three attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas. That resulted in combat injuries for a Ukrainian military serviceman. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported that on Tuesday evening.

The occupants used 120 mm mortars, as well as grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

In the Luhansk region, the enemy opened fire in Krymske (twice).

One ceasefire violation took place in the Donetsk region, as the Russian militants attacked Opytne.

Earlier, we reported that Ukraine has successfully tested Vilkha-M and Neptune missile systems, as well as of Typhoon-1 multiple rocket launchers. The video of the tests was published by the press service of Ukraines Defense Ministry.

"Last week the new stage of testing on Vilkha M and Neptune missile systems, as well as on Typhoon-1 multiple rocket launchers was conducted. Soon missile weapons may become the main tool in deterring Russian aggression," the message reads.

It is noted that one of the expected results is the adoption of a new Neptune anti-ship complex for armament and supply to the Ukrainian Navy. The power of one cruise missile is enough to destroy a ship with a displacement of five thousand tons.
ISTANBUL  With global energy prices down sharply amid the coronavirus pandemic, tensions remain high over disputed gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Turkish drilling ships are reportedly prepping to continue gas exploration activities in the region, drawing condemnation from the Republic of Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece and the United Arab Emirates in a joint statement Monday. The five nations accused Turkey of violating international laws through its operations in waters claimed by the Republic of Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognize.

In response, Hami Aksoy, a spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accused the nations of forming an alliance of evil in a strongly worded statement Tuesday, saying the group had fallen into a delirium, as their agendas are being disrupted by Turkey.

The feud comes as several eastern Mediterranean gas projects have been delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak and a slump in global energy prices has rendered the deep water drilling required in the region financially unviable for the foreseeable future, according to analysts tracking the industry.

Yet the spat has apparently become less about profits and maritime borders, and is now more clearly delineated by geopolitical interests rising from the Libyan conflict, where Ankara is backing the UN-recognized Tripoli government and the five-nation bloc is supporting eastern Libya's Khalifa Hifter in his ongoing offensive to rule the nation.

There are overlapping concerns in the UAE and Greece regarding Libya and maritime zones that apparently facilitated the statement, Erol Kaymak, a professor of political science and international relations at Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus, told Al-Monitor.

Given the status of the market, the energy companies will have to postpone drilling work irrespective of the maritime disputes, Kaymak continued. So, one would think that Turkey could also oblige with its own moratorium but apparently not. This is more about sovereign rights than any economic calculus.

Since gas reserves were discovered within Cypriot maritime borders in 2011, Ankara has maintained energy profits should be shared equally between the Republic of Cyprus, in the islands south, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a breakaway nation formed after a 1974 Turkish military incursion that remains solely recognized by Ankara.

To date, the governments in northern and southern Cyprus have yet to reach a profit-sharing agreement, and the stalemate led Ankara to pursue its own gas drilling activities within Cypriot territorial waters in recent years. Turkish officials have said they are an effort to preserve Northern Cyprus' sovereignty and energy rights.

Regional energy disputes were further aggravated in November, when Ankara and the Tripoli government signed a memorandum claiming territorial waters between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete. This weeks developments underline the continued failure to reach diplomatic solutions, and the added involvement of the UAE in the latest declaration could further polarize the parties involved.

From the Cyprus point of view, I think they are trying to internationalize this a little bit more, probably because they are disappointed with the EUs response, Fiona Mullen, director of the Nicosia-based research consultancy Sapienta Economics, told Al-Monitor.

In effort to curtail Turkish drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean, political leaders in the Republic of Cyprus have lobbied European Union officials for support. After repeated warnings, Brussels imposed sanctions on two Turkish nationals in February in retaliation for Ankaras ongoing operations in the region. Mullen said the measures were perceived as too limited and ineffective by southern Cypriots, as Ankara has continued its drilling activities.

She stipulated the shortcomings may have driven the Republic of Cyprus to seek a broader coalition to counterbalance Ankara in the region.

Will it make any difference? Probably none at all, Mullen said regarding Mondays joint statement. Im surprised Turkeys even bothering to send drill ships to Cyprus, given the state of the oil and gas market at the moment.

Due to the pandemic's impacts on the energy sector, the American energy giant ExxonMobil announced last month it was postponing planned drilling on a gas field in Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone until September 2021. A pipeline project to transport gas from Cyprus Aphrodite gas field to Egypt remains intact but contracts have yet to be finalized.

Meanwhile, market pressures have cast doubt on the high-cost EastMed pipeline project, which would link Israeli fields through Cyprus and Greece to reach European consumers, according to Mullen.

Apart from Egypts Zohr [gas field], which is already being exploited, and Israels Leviathan, none of the finds have been big enough to really commercialize, and so in a way, what COVID-19 did was put the nail in the coffin of something that was already getting commercially quite wobbly, Mullen said regarding energy projects in Cyprus.

With disputes likely to continue in a variety of forms between Turkey, Cyprus and nations backing Hifter in Libya, some analysts predict energy companies will begin pulling out of the eastern Mediterranean region as the profit margins diminish and political uncertainties prevail.

Harry Tzimitras, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo Cyprus Centre, said further delays in gas field development could lead to the cancellation of certain projects, as renewable energy sources continue to become more cost effective, particularly in comparison to deep water energy extraction projects in the eastern Mediterranean.

It never was majorly about energy, what Turkey is doing in the eastern Mediterranean. It is a power projection, Tzimitras told Al-Monitor. And I think what is happening now with the continued presence and drilling of Turkey in the region, it only proves further that it had very little to do with energy.
KYODO NEWS - May 12, 2020 - 12:57 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Around 70 percent of some 100 nonprofit groups and individuals offering educational support to children of foreign descent across Japan have stopped or cut back on their operations amid the coronavirus epidemic, an online poll showed.

The poll -- conducted by the Youth Support Center in Fussa, a suburban Tokyo city, between April 15 and 21 -- targeted groups and individuals nationwide that help children with foreign roots learn the Japanese language and assist their studies in general.

In addition to schools or community centers being closed amid the outbreak, the poll also showed there was only limited online interaction with the children, either because there was no internet available at the students' home or because the aging educational assistants lack the relevant technical knowledge.

One respondent in the survey said it is "difficult to teach children online with the level of Japanese they have."

Answers also highlighted the plight of the children amid the prolonged school closures. Many cite having no time for themselves as they are busy translating news on the virus epidemic for their parents who do not understand Japanese and who are stranded as their home countries are in lockdown.

Loss of jobs and drastic falls in income for parents are also compelling issues, with the survey finding cases of families uncertain about whether their children can continue to go to school and worried about having to move out of their rented housing.

Some supporters of children with foreign roots have reported their current situation and sought cooperation from local schools and education boards, but Iki Tanaka of the Youth Support Center said "more support from society is needed."

"The support groups are short of funds and not many are able to flexibly deal with the emergency," she said.
The term starving artist was coined for a reason. People go into the art world knowing the uncertainty of the field, but with the coronavirus shutting down theaters, museums and studios, many are getting a closer look at what that means.

Across different platforms, people have done their best to respond. Musicians are doing Zoom concerts. Museums are providing virtual tours and talks. Visual artists are sharing their work on social media. But those things are hard to monetize and can only be sustained for so long.

When the government passed its sweeping CARES Act, it included the arts among those it wanted to help, granting the National Endowment for the Arts $75 million. Forty percent of that was distributed among the states councils and commissions for the arts. As soon as they figured out where the money was going, the NEA emphasized getting the money out fast, said Elliot Knight, the executive director for the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

The Alabama council, which received $457,900, immediately started developing applications and figuring out how they would distribute the money. Unlike their typical grants, which are project-based and often require the organizations to match the amount, this money is focused on supporting things like salaries, utility bills and rent to keep different art organizations alive.

The survival of the art sector is important on various levels. For one thing, artists contribute to the local economy just like anyone else does by buying and selling goods and paying income tax. They also contribute to the community by helping support mental health and quality of life.

The federal money is very needed, Knight said, and will help those looking most desperately for lifelines.

But Ill be the first to acknowledge that what were seeing is not going to be enough to fully help everybody in the state who needs help, Knight said.

The effect of the pandemic on the arts is more wide-reaching than many realize, Knight said. Besides the actors who cant perform on stage, there are also the seamstresses who arent needed to make costumes and the musicians who dont have to play in the pit. The council did a survey to see how different artists are faring. They estimate millions have been lost in revenue for the arts.

One of the biggest hits has been the loss of festivals and conferences. Visual artists, from painters to potters, buy booths to set up their wares. Its a time not only for sales but for networking. Without them, the artists arent just losing the money spent on the booth and the chance to sell their work, theyre also losing the chance to make a connection for future commissions.

Wade MacDonald, a ceramics professor at the University of Alabama, said hes very lucky because he doesnt have to rely on his art as his sole source of income during this time. However, among the ceramics community, there are plenty whose livelihood is their art.

Im not really sure how theyre making ends meet right now, MacDonald said. He said many have social media and online stores, but the National Clay Conference that got canceled often provides a big boost for people. Since then, hes seen an outcry in the ceramics community for consumers not to forget about the artists who rely on selling their work for money.

But artists arent the only ones affected. The stock market is down, unemployment levels are up and people are starting to be more careful with their wallets. While artists in Europe arent as susceptible to how other fields are performing because of robust support from the government, those in the US rely much more on the private sector, Knight said.

Yet as fragile as the artistic sector may seem because of its uncertain profitability, it is also very resilient. The artists dont stop producing in crisis and instead react and respond.

You dont have a choice as an artist, MacDonald said.

Art historian Dr. Lucy Curzon, who is a professor at the University of Alabama and specializes in modern and contemporary art, said that there have been occasions where the stock market has gone down or the world has gone through crises but the arts have flourished.

She used the World Wars as an example. In wartime, the European governments were not able to fund the arts, so they looked for new ways to distribute art. Department stores started selling art, and it actually became more democratized and affordable. The arts also flourished during the Great Depression, the 1960s and the AIDS epidemic.

Im not sure if thats because of the fact that the arts are often, in terms of social necessities and political necessities, are usually understood to be at the very bottom, Curzon said. They tend to shine at times when the rest of the world is falling apart.

Knight hopes that the inability to experience art in person at a gallery or museum combined with the efforts of other artists like musicians and actors to keep people sane during the shutdown will leave the public with a greater appreciation for art. The CARES money will be distributed soon, and the normal grant deadlines are coming up, too, but Knight encourages the public to help the art community as well, whether its by supporting a favorite art nonprofit, renewing a membership or buying a painting or album.
Perhaps someone needs a refresher on civilian supremacy over the military. Here it is: the president of the United States is the ultimate leader of all the United States military. The military brass and its civilian leadership have only a couple of options when they do not agree with the president: follow orders despite their disagreement, refuse to follow those orders and thus be removed from their positions and subject to court-martial for failure to obey orders, or resign.

Like him or not, the president is Donald J. Trump. He is our president  unless he is convicted by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate (extremely unlikely), thus removed from office; resigns of his own volition; is removed under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment for cause; dies in office; or is removed by the next election (a poor prospect, given the enormous leftward drift of the current field of Democrat candidates).

In the words of another president: Trump is the decider-in-chief. The current dust-up over whether a Navy SEAL, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, will keep his trident pin (the symbol of a Navy SEAL) and be demoted is a case in point. Navy officials attempted to remove that designation and demote him, but the president had (as one of his powers enumerated in the U.S. Constitution) given him a pardon. Earlier this year, the president had also pardoned Army lieutenant Clint Lorance and Maj. Matt Golsteyn, each of whom had been convicted in similar cases.

Some in the media, unsurprisingly all being opposed to the current president from an ideological standpoint, have pontificated (or is it bloviated?) over these pardons. Like most partisans, they have seized on a convenient bludgeon with which to verbally assault our president. They ignore completely the fact of civilian supremacy over the military.

They may not like the current occupant of the office of president (much as many conservatives did not like then-president Obama), but President Trump is the leader of our nation. He faces impeachment (on what basis depends on when one asks) by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and daily vilification by much of the (equally partisan) news media, the difference being that he (unlike Bush the Younger) will strike back.

President Bush the Younger assumed that the truth will rise over the constant verbal and media assaults, but President Trump will (some will think bombastically) defend himself against any and all actual and perceived threats to his presidency and person. His defenders cheer, while his detractors are confounded by his vigor.
Houston residents may apply through the Texas General Land Office for federal aid to repair their Harvey-damaged homes, a step state officials say will speed up a process that has lagged under city control.

The development comes less than three weeks after Land Commissioner George P. Bush told Mayor Sylvester Turner that he is moving forward with a takeover of federal funds granted to the city for its homeowner assistance program, which provides repairs, rehabilitation and reconstruction of homes battered by Hurricane Harvey. Turner has attributed program delays to what he characterized as the GLOs failure to provide clear and consistent guidance.

With the takeover still pending approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which granted the aid, Houston officials still may accept applicants to the program, as well. Homeowners who already have sought assistance through the city and have not been contacted directly by the GLO will continue working with the city, according to a GLO news release.

As the GLO takes on a more active role in the Houston housing recovery, our focus is to spread the word that help is here for those who are still struggling to repair their homes and rebuild their lives, Bush said in a statement.

More Information How to apply The General Land Office is accepting applications online, by email at houston.glo@recovery.tex.gov, or by regular mail at Homeowner Assistance Program, 2100 Space Park Drive, Suite, 104, Houston, TX 77058. For more information, call 346-222-4686 or 866-317-1998. The city of Houston's application can be found online, along with a checklist of documents needed to apply. For more information about the city's program, call 832-393-0550. Those who have applied through the city can check the status of their applications on the city's website, recovery.houstontx.gov See More Collapse

Turner previously said he would take all necessary legal steps to fight the GLO takeover. He did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

In a letter to Turner last month, Bush said GLO officials were drafting an amendment to the agencys spending plan that would eliminate all funding to the city and transfer all responsibility for administering disaster assistance to city residents to the GLO. The land commissioner alleged that his agency had faced constant opposition from Houston officials when attempting to help the city speed up its housing recovery program.

Meanwhile, the GLO negotiated a friendlier agreement with Harris County officials to assume control over about a third of the countys Harvey housing recovery dollars. Under the agreement, the GLO is set to take control of about $338 million of the countys $1.2 billion project, heading up federally funded repairs of Harvey-damaged homes while the county maintains control of its other programs, such as developing affordable rental units and building new single-family homes.

The citys corresponding home repair program totals more than $400 million, out of more than $1 billion in grant funding allocated to the city for housing recovery.

During the ongoing tangle with the city, the GLO often has cited numbers showing its progress in the other 48 Texas counties where it is administering the Harvey housing recovery program. Through Monday, the agency had approved 2,657 applications and completed work on 1,227 homes in the region, according to GLO spokeswoman Brittany Eck.

A March 31 program status report showed repairs had begun on 59 homes in Houston, while 44 homeowners had been reimbursed for work they had paid for themselves.

Turner last month said the GLO had failed to give written guidance for the documents it needed to approve home applications, constantly changed the process and forced the city to redo hundreds of processed files, refused to cover three-bedroom homes, and swiftly went from approving more than 75 percent of applications to rejecting the same amount.

Let me note that in the face of unrealistic, frivolous requirements, the City has quietly worked to correct our issues, expecting the GLO to do the same, Turner said in an April 22 statement. Instead, the GLOs lack of capacity for reviewing our files, their ongoing technical issues  and their slow-walking of many of the other documents required for our recovery programs contributed to the delay Commissioner Bush now uses to attempt to strip the City of its funding.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
An international study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists found that the global mean sea-level rise could exceed 1 metre by 2100 and 5 metres by 2300 if global targets on emissions are not achieved.

The study used projections by more than 100 international experts for the global mean sea-level changes under two climate scenarios -- low and high emissions. By surveying a wide range of leaders in the field, the study offers broader assurance about its projections for the ranges of future sea-level rise.

In a scenario where global warming is limited to 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, 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 survey, said that sea-level rise projections and knowledge of their uncertainties are vital to make informed mitigation and adaptation decisions.

Prof Horton said, "The complexity of sea-level projections, and the sheer amount of relevant scientific publications, make it difficult for policymakers to get an overview of the state of the science. 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."

Published in Nature Partner Journals Climate and Atmospheric Science on 8 May, the projections of sea-level rise exceed previous estimates by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The NTU-led international study was a collaboration with researchers from The University of Hong Kong, Maynooth University (Ireland), Durham University (UK), Rowan University (USA), Tufts University (USA), and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany).

"We know that the planet will see additional sea-level rise in the future," says co-author Dr Andra Garner, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Rowan University in the United States of America. "But there are stark differences in the amount of sea-level rise experts project for low emissions compared to high emissions. This provides a great deal of hope for the future, as well as a strong motivation to act now to avoid the more severe impacts of rising sea levels."

"This international study is based on the informed opinions of 106 sea-level experts and underlines the critical importance of pursuing a low emissions policy to limit sea-level rise," says Dr Niamh Cahill, Assistant Professor in the Dept of Mathematics and Statistics at Maynooth University in Ireland.

The 106 experts who participated in the survey were chosen as they were among the most active publishers of scientific sea-level studies (at least six published papers in peer-reviewed journals since 2014) identified from a leading publication database.

In response to open-ended questions, the climate change experts identified the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets as the greatest sources of uncertainty. These ice sheets are an important indicator of climate change and driver of sea-level rise. Satellite-based measurements show the ice sheets are melting at an accelerating rate. However, the experts also noted that the magnitude and impact of sea-level rise can be limited by successfully reducing emissions.

Dr Andrea Dutton, Professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is not involved in this study, says, "One of the key take-aways from this study is that our actions today can make a profound difference in how much our coastlines will retreat in the future. That knowledge is empowering because it means that we can choose a better outcome through our actions."
Hyderabad: A 24-year-old human rights student who recovered from Covid-19 is the first person from Telangana to donate his blood for the human trials of plasma transfusion to cure Covid-19 patients. The trials are being conducted at Gandhi Hospital.

In what is known as convalescent plasma therapy, an experimental procedure approved by the Indian Council for Medical Reserach (ICMR), plasma extracted from the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient is when injected into a current patient. The anti-coronavirus antibodies found in the donor plasma can potentially boost the patient's resistance to the virus.

However, there is no guarantee of success in this line of treatment, which is being tried out at several locations in India and abroad.

Akhil Ennamsetty from Warangal, who is studying for an LL.M. degree in human rights law from the University of Edinburgh, returned from the United Kingdom on March 19, and was diagnosed with Covid-19 at Gandhi Hospital when he volunteered for a check-up.

Akhil Ennamsetty recovered after two weeks. Full of praise for the staff of the hospital, Akhil said people should not be ashamed of contracting this virus. We should know how to deal with it and how to conquer it, he said.

He said he wants to educate people that it is not only a physical fight but also a mental fight. There must be more awareness among the public about the disease. I feel good that I am giving something back to society. It is every human beings duty," he said

I think the government should sensitise people rather than make them more scared of this virus. I request the government to consider the frontline health care workers, to identify they great work. They are working on a contract basis and are paid just Rs 8000 per month," he said.
TDT | Manama

The Ministry of Education has provided 1,162 online lessons in the second semester through the application of Microsoft Teams, the ministrys Planning and Information assistant undersecretary has said.

The ministry has opted for virtual classrooms following the closure of schools in late February as part of efforts to help stem the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The interaction of students in the major virtual classes has reached very high levels, with a daily participation average reaching 32,000, Nawal Al Khater said.

All students taking the lessons have accounts that enable them to use all Microsoft 365 applications and benefit from the lessons provided by the teachers, carefully selected to teach the 92 courses included in the application, Al Khater added.

Other educational tools activated by the ministry to ensure the sustainability of the educational process include the educational portal and digital educational content on the ministrys website, along with the televised lessons broadcast on Bahrain TV and posted on the ministrys YouTube account, she added.
The Syrian Arab Army suffered heavy losses after jihadi fighters managed to flank their position and launch an attack reports Al-Masdar.

The death toll from the jihadist operation in northwestern Hama continues to rise, with reports of over 30 Syrian army soldiers being killed.

According to the latest field report from Hama Governorate, the Syrian armys death toll is estimated between 30-40, as the remaining Syrian soldiers continue to be stationed around the town of al-Tanjarah.

The high death toll in northwestern Hama makes last nights attack by the al-Qaeda-linked Rouse the Believers operation room to be the deadliest in the past two months.

A source from the Syrian army said that the attack began when the jihadists managed to slip behind the Syrian armys lines to ambush dozens of soldiers at al-Tanjara.

Most of the soldiers deployed there were killed, before the jihadist rebels slipped back to their lines in the northern region of the al-Ghab Plain.

Since this attack, the Syrian Arab Army has been launching non-stop artillery and missile strikes on the jihadist positions, with some reports even indicating a pending operation.

In a relevant note, the Islamic State (ISIS) launched a new attack on Monday that targeted the Syrian armys positions in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate.

According to a field report from Deir ez-Zor, ISIS launched an attack on the Syrian Arab Armys positions in the mountainous area of Jabal Bishri; this resulted in a fierce battle for a few hours on Monday.

The report said the Syrian army was able to foil the ISIS attack after killing and wounding several terrorist combatants.

At the same time, another Syrian army unit confronted an ISIS faction in the Jabal al-Sukhnah region, which is located west of the administrative border of Deir ez-Zor.

ISIS has recently stepped up their attacks against the Syrian Arab Army, prompting the latter to increase security measures across eastern and central Syria.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an ex-gratia payment of two lakh each to the next of kin of the 16 migrant labourers who were crushed under the wheels of a goods train in Aurangabad last week. An interim relief of 50,000 has also been sanctioned for those grievously injured in the incident, as per a government order released on Tuesday.

16 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh were killed in the wee hours on Friday, May 8, when a freight train ran over them while they were sleeping on the tracks after having walked for close to 40 km from Jalna on the way to their homes in Madhya Pradesh.

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According to the government order released by Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, the under secretary to the government of India, the ex-gratia will be paid from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

The order requests the railway ministry to provide details including names of the next of kin, postal address, names of payees and bank account details.

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Both Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier announced 5 lakh ex-gratia each for the kin of the deceased. Railways have also ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The order clarifies that no relief payment will be made to those who received minor injuries or escaped unhurt. At least 4 others were said to have received injuries in the incident.

After the incident last Friday, PM Narendra Modi had expressed his pain.

Also Read: Extremely anguished: PM Modi on Maharashtra train accident that killed 16 migrants

Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due to the rail accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation. All possible assistance required is being provided, he had tweeted.

The incident had highlighted the plight of the migrant labourers, who after having lost their livelihoods at the urban centres after the enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, have been desperately trying to return to their homes, even against government advise and without the means of transport, by walking on foot.
Assyrians in North Iraq Decry Kurdish Land Grab

Some Iraqi Christians living in Hazar Jot village have expressed concern after the Governor of Dohuk gave permission to a Barzani family relative, Dindar Farzanda Zober, to dig a well on their land. The village is traditionally Assyrian Christian and the well digging is considered the first step of seizing their land, especially since it was reportedly done without their consent. The Barzani family is a tribe which has politically controlled northern Iraq for decades.

Land grabbing is a sensitive topic in Iraq, and one of the main concerns for Christians who have long lived in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) areas. Many Assyrian Christian villages have been lost overtime because of land grabbing in this area. Most often, it first starts as building a well or home (some type of infrastructure) that is then expanded over a series of time. It effectively strangles Assyrian Christian villages, preventing them from using their land as before and forcing them to relocate. Many of the younger village members had relocated to the Nineveh Plains, but then the genocide of ISIS came and they were forced to flee.
BEIJING, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Huami Corporation ("Huami" or the "Company") (NYSE: HMI), a cloud-based healthcare services provider with world-leading smart wearable technology, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

First Quarter 2020 Financial and Operating Highlights

Revenues reached RMB1,088.5 million ( US$153.7 million ), representing an increase of 36.1% from the first quarter of 2019.

reached ( ), representing an increase of 36.1% from the first quarter of 2019. Gross margin was 22.5% for the first quarter of 2020.

was 22.5% for the first quarter of 2020. Net income attributable to Huami Corporation was RMB19.2 million ( US$2.7 million ).

was ( ). Basic and diluted net income per American depositary share ("ADS") attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation was RMB0.31 (US$0.04) and RMB0.30 (US$0.04) , respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares.

was and , respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares. Adjusted net income attributable to Huami Corporation [1] was RMB25.5 million ( US$3.6 million ).

was ( ). Adjusted basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation [2] was RMB0.41 (US$0.06) and RMB0.39 (US$0.06) , respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares.

was and , respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares. Total units shipped reached 7.6 million, compared with 5.6 million in the first quarter of 2019.

[1] Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure, which excludes share-based compensation expenses. See "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" at the end of this press release. [2] Adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation is a non-GAAP measure, which excludes share-based compensation expenses attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation, and is used as the numerator in computation of adjusted basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Our Operations

COVID-19 had a severe and negative impact on the Chinese and the global economy in the first quarter of 2020. The quantity of our products manufactured reduced in January and February 2020 as our contracted manufacturing facilities were temporarily shut down. While these manufacturing facilities have been ramping-up since March, our supply chain, production, and sales in the first quarter of 2020 were all impacted, resulting lower than initially projected growth rates and gross margin. In the second quarter, the COVID-19 continues to impact global economy, including the demand of our products in oversea markets. We have reflected this impact within our view in the "outlook" section provided below, and we will monitor the COVID-19 impact continuously.

"Despite the unprecedented challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, brand recognition, new product launches and successful marketing spearheaded solid first quarter revenue growth of 36.1%," said Wang Huang, Chairman and CEO of Huami. "In addition to the aforementioned revenue drivers, we also made solid headway in international markets, with a keen focus on the market nuances of each key region and a multi-channel strategy including both direct sales and third-party sales channels.

"At this year's CES, we kicked off our brand extension initiative as we introduced new product categories, including ear buds and interactive treadmills. With these two categories in particular, we are taking another significant step in building a comprehensive health and fitness ecosystem as part of our 'Connect Health with Technology' aspirations. In terms of alliances, our continued partnership with Xiaomi remains productive with the launch of the Mi-Band 5 scheduled later in 2020. Additionally, we are very pleased to partner with the respiratory diseases team of Dr. Zhong Nanshan to jointly establish a laboratory for studies on monitoring respiratory diseases using wearable devices. With this, we expect to make contributions in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and utilize our smart wearable devices to establish a cloud-based service system for epidemic prediction and early warning in the future. With our brand's rising popularity, our strengthening sales channels and new product and line extensions in the works, we are confident the underlying demand for our products remain strong and we will look to continue delivering sustainable growth and healthy profitability once the impact from the pandemic eases."

David Cui, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We rose to the challenge and are pleased with the resilience of our first quarter revenue growth during these uncertain times. We achieved solid unit sales of both self-branded products and Mi-Band 4, shipping 7.6 million units in the first quarter, a 35.7% rise from the same period last year. Despite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that many other companies are also facing, we still kept our robust revenue growth, and remained profitable in this challenging time period. This was driven by increasing brand awareness and adoption of our products by users both domestically and in the overseas market.

"During the first quarter, we continue to push investments in both R&D and sales and marketing, as product innovation and sales channel integrity are key components of our success. While we have seen some shortage impacts on our product manufacturing due to disruptions to our supply chain during the quarter, we are optimistic of stronger profitability in the long term as the pandemic, along with its impact, runs its course."

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Revenues increased by 36.1% to RMB1,088.5 million (US$153.7 million) from RMB799.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, driven by continued sales growth of Xiaomi and self-branded wearable products, despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on our supply chain.

Cost of revenues increased by 45.0% to RMB843.9 million (US$119.2 million) from RMB582.1 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Gross profit increased by 12.5% to RMB244.6 million (US$34.5 million) from RMB217.5 million for the first quarter of 2019. Gross margin was 22.5%, compared with 27.2% for the first quarter of 2019. The gross margin decrease was attributed to the change of product mix, and sales promotions in previous product versions, especially for Mi Band 4, in anticipation of the launch of a newer generation product.

Total operating expenses increased to RMB224.1 million (US$31.6 million) from RMB139.9 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Research and development expenses increased by 63.5% from RMB72.4 million in first quarter 2019 to RMB118.3 million (US$16.7 million) in first quarter 2020. This increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of R&D staff and a rise in investment in healthcare related features, algorithms, cloud-services, chip research, and new products development to carry out our mission. We aim to launch a series of new products in the upcoming quarters of 2020.

General and administrative expenses increased by 12.3% from RMB45.3 in the first quarter 2019 to RMB50.9 million (US$7.2 million) in the first quarter 2020. This was primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses and professional fees related to improving management operations, offset by a decrease in share-based compensation expense and foreign exchange rate fluctuation.

Selling and marketing expenses increased by 147.2% from RMB22.2 million in first quarter 2019 to RMB54.8 million (US$7.7 million) first quarter 2020, primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses, and an increase in advertising and promotional expenses for new market exploration and a series of new product releases. We hired more sales staff with heavy experience in overseas market expansion since 2019, and continue to carry out our plan during this year. In January 2020, we unveiled four new products spanning three verticals that go beyond smart bands and watches: Amazfit Home Studio, a smart gym hub; Amazfit AirRun, a foldable next-generation treadmill; Amazfit PowerBuds, true wireless stereo fitness earphones with Clip-to-Go design and; Amazfit ZenBuds, sleep-comfort and health monitoring earphones.

Operating income was RMB20.5 million (US$2.9 million), compared with RMB77.6 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Income before income tax was RMB20.3 million (US$2.9 million), compared with RMB85.6 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Income tax expenses were RMB2.0 million (US$0.3 million), compared with RMB10.7 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Net income attributable to Huami Corporation totaled RMB19.2 million (US$2.7 million), compared with RMB75.3 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation decreased to RMB19.2 million (US$2.7 million), from RMB74.1 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation was RMB0.31 (US$0.04) and RMB0.30 (US$0.04), respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares.

Adjusted net income attributable to Huami Corporation, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 73.1% to RMB25.5 million (US$3.6 million) from RMB95.0 million for the first quarter of 2019.

Adjusted basic and diluted net income per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation was RMB0.41 (US$0.06) and RMB0.39 (US$0.06), respectively. Each ADS represents four (4) Class A ordinary shares.

As of March 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB2,527.6 million (US$357.0 million), compared with RMB1,803.1 million as of December 31, 2019.

Outlook

For the second quarter of 2020, the management of the Company currently expects:

Net revenues to be between RMB1.0 billion and RMB1.05 billion , compared with RMB1.04 billion for the second quarter of 2019.

The above outlook is based on the current market conditions and reflects the Company management's current and preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject to change.

Conference Call

The Company's management will hold a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 (8:00 p.m. Beijing Time on May 12, 2020) to discuss financial results and answer questions from investors and analysts. Listeners may access the call by dialing:

US (Toll Free): 1-888-346-8982 International: 1-412-902-4272 Mainland China (Toll Free): 400-120-1203 Hong Kong (Toll Free): 800-905-945 Hong Kong: 852-3018-4992

Participants should dial-in at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time and ask to be connected to the call for "Huami Corporation."

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://www.huami.com/investor.

A telephone replay will be available two hours after the call until May 19, 2020 by dialing:

US Toll Free: 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Replay Passcode: 10143641

About Huami Corporation

Huami is a cloud-based healthcare services provider with world-leading smart wearable technology. Since its inception in 2013, Huami has quickly established its global leadership and recognition in the smart wearable industry by shipping millions of smart wearable devices. In 2019, Huami shipped 42.3 million smart wearable devices. Leveraging its powerful AI algorithm capabilities along with the massive data analysis, Huami provides 24x7 health monitoring services to millions of its product users. Huami seamlessly integrate smart wearable technology into the extensive application senarios of the IoT ecosystem worldwide, creating a smarter and more convenient lifestyle for its users.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

We use adjusted net income, a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Adjusted net income represents net income excluding share-based compensation expenses, and such adjustment has no impact on income tax. Adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation is a non-GAAP measure, which excludes share-based compensation expenses attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation, and is used as the numerator in computation of adjusted net income per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation .

We believe that adjusted net income and adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses that we include in net income and net income attributable to ordinary shareholders. We believe that adjusted net income and adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

Adjusted net income and adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders, should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to net income, basic and diluted net income per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review the historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Adjusted net income and adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders, presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to our data. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

Exchange Rate

The Company's business is primarily conducted in China and the significant majority of revenues generated are denominated in Renminbi ("RMB"). This announcement contains currency conversions of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("US$") solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to US$ are made at a rate of RMB7.0808 to US$1.00, the effective noon buying rate for March 31, 2020 as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate on March 31, 2020, or at any other rate.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the cooperation with Xiaomi, the recognition of the Company's self-branded products; the Company's growth strategies; trends and competition in global wearable technology market; changes in the Company's revenues and certain cost or expense accounting policies; governmental policies relating to the Company's industry and general economic conditions in China and the global. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

Huami Corporation

Grace Yujia Zhang

E-mail: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Ross Warner

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States:

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

HUAMI CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data, or otherwise noted)















As of December 31,

As of March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$













Assets











Current assets:











Cash and cash equivalents

1,803,117

2,527,567

356,961 Restricted cash

874

-

- Accounts receivable

188,940

150,865

21,306 Amounts due from related parties, current

1,421,170

441,526

62,355 Inventories

893,806

719,092

101,555 Short-term investments

17,187

17,496

2,471 Prepaid expenses and other current assets

67,358

38,874

5,490 Total current assets

4,392,452

3,895,420

550,138













Property, plant and equipment, net

64,350

75,447

10,655 Intangible asset, net

85,753

83,587

11,805 Goodwill

5,930

5,930

837 Long-term investments

406,099

410,133

57,922 Deferred tax assets

102,649

113,453

16,023 Other non-current assets

8,828

28,796

4,067 Non-current operating lease right-of-use assets

108,682

98,966

13,977 Total assets

5,174,743

4,711,732

665,424

HUAMI CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data, or otherwise noted)















As of December 31,

As of March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$













Liabilities











Current liabilities:











Accounts payable

1,999,951

768,417

108,521 Advance from customers

44,793

45,777

6,465 Amount due to related parties, current

14,769

15,062

2,127 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

352,249

305,490

43,144 Income tax payables

67,854

70,021

9,889 Notes payable

2,184

-

- Bank borrowings

-

785,737

110,967 Total current liabilities

2,481,800

1,990,504

281,113 Deferred tax liabilities

5,399

5,375

759 Other non-current liabilities

113,596

113,596

16,043 Non-current operating lease liabilities

76,360

68,363

9,655 Total liabilities

2,677,155

2,177,838

307,570

HUAMI CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data, or otherwise noted)















As of December 31,

As of March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$













Equity











Ordinary shares

155

155

22 Additional paid-in capital

1,478,902

1,485,280

209,762 Accumulated retained earnings

910,612

929,780

131,310 Accumulated other comprehensive income

111,081

123,067

17,380 Total Huami Corporation shareholders' equity

2,500,750

2,538,282

358,474 Non-controlling interests

(3,162)

(4,388)

(620) Total equity

2,497,588

2,533,894

357,854 Total liabilities and equity

5,174,743

4,711,732

665,424

HUAMI CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data, or otherwise noted)





For the Three Months Ended March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$













Revenues

799,596

1,088,461

153,720 Cost of revenues

582,133

843,901

119,182 Gross profit

217,463

244,560

34,538 Operating expenses:











Selling and marketing

22,183

54,843

7,745 General and administrative

45,292

50,883

7,186 Research and development

72,380

118,336

16,712 Total operating expenses

139,855

224,062

31,643 Operating income

77,608

20,498

2,895 Other income and expenses:











Interest income

7,490

7,671

1,083 Other income (expenses), net

462

(9,155)

(1,293) Gain from fair value change of long-term investment

-

1,293

183 Income before income tax

85,560

20,307

2,868 Income tax expenses

(10,682)

(2,033)

(287) Income before loss from equity method investments

74,878

18,274

2,581 Income (Loss) from equity method investments

34

(332)

(47) Net income

74,912

17,942

2,534 Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest

(372)

(1,226)

(173) Net income attributable to Huami Corporation

75,284

19,168

2,707 Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to participating nonvested

restricted shares

1,153

-

- Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Huami

Corporation

74,131

19,168

2,707 Net income per share attributable to ordinary

shareholders of Huami Corporation











Basic income per ordinary share

0.31

0.08

0.01 Diluted income per ordinary share

0.29

0.07

0.01













Net income per ADS (4 ordinary shares equal to 1 ADS)











ADS  basic

1.25

0.31

0.04 ADS  diluted

1.18

0.30

0.04













Weighted average number of shares used in computing net

income per share Ordinary share  basic

238,007,944

247,657,168

247,657,168 Ordinary share  diluted

252,131,378

259,574,866

259,574,866

HUAMI CORPORATION Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data, or otherwise noted)





For the Three Months Ended March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$ Net income attributable to Huami Corporation

75,284

19,168

2,707 Share-based compensation expenses

19,733

6,378

901 Adjusted net income attributable to Huami

Corporation

95,017

25,546

3,608































For the Three Months Ended March 31,



2019

2020



RMB

RMB

US$













Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders

of Huami Corporation

74,131

19,168

2,707 Share-based compensation expenses attributable to

ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation

19,431

6,378

901 Adjusted net income attributable to ordinary

shareholders of Huami Corporation[2]

93,562

25,546

3,608













Adjusted net income per share attributable to

ordinary shareholders of Huami Corporation











Adjusted basic income per ordinary share

0.39

0.10

0.01 Adjusted diluted income per ordinary share

0.37

0.10

0.01













Adjusted net income per ADS (4 ordinary shares equal

to 1 ADS)











ADS  basic

1.57

0.41

0.06 ADS  diluted

1.49

0.39

0.06













Weighted average number of shares used in

computing net income per share











Ordinary share  basic

238,007,944

247,657,168

247,657,168 Ordinary share  diluted

252,131,378

259,574,866

259,574,866













Share-based compensation expenses included

are follows:











Cost of revenues

2

7

1 Selling and marketing

331

632

89 General and administrative

17,436

4,097

579 Research and development

1,964

1,642

232 Total

19,733

6,378

901

SOURCE Huami Corporation

Related Links

www.huami.com


The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to assist Indias response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, said the US Embassy in an official statement on Tuesday. This initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Centre's efforts to increase laboratory capacity for testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology.

The funds will also be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centres of excellence that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems, added the statement.

The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support Indias capacity to respond not only to this pandemic but to future threats as well. The scope of support will include planning for health emergency operations centres to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities, further said the statement.

In addition, the programme will provide technical assistance for the Centre's ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts. Since early January, the CDCs India Office has been collaborating with sub-national and national government institutes to support the COVID-19 response in India, added the statement.

Collaboration efforts are focused on lab strengthening, infection prevention and control, health workforce development, emergency management, risk communication, and community engagement.

The CDC has conducted training across India for healthcare administrators, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on preparedness and response, infection prevention and control, laboratory operations, and field epidemiology to equip frontline response workers with the necessary skills to collect, analyze, and interpret data, and contribute to evidence-based decisions.

The goal of the CDCs global health response to COVID-19 is to limit human-to-human transmission and minimize the impact of COVID-19 through partnerships with the key country and non-governmental partners to mitigate vulnerabilities and gaps in preparedness.
COLUMBIA, S.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Choose Well, the largest contraceptive access program in South Carolina's history, will now offer virtual clinic visits for birth control.

Choose Well launched in 2017 with the goal to reduce unintended pregnancy by improving consumer knowledge and access to contraceptive care services, increasing provider knowledge and skills and removing cost barriers to contraceptive care and birth control for women. To date, Choose Well has been able to serve more than 218,000 women in South Carolina by providing access to eight methods of birth control, all free or low cost.

With the COVID-19 pandemic making access to contraceptive care services more challenging, Choose Well decided to expand its services to include virtual visits.

"Reproductive healthcare is essential, more so in a crisis," said Bonnie Kapp, president and CEO of New Morning, the backbone organization leading Choose Well. "We are very aware of the staggering numbers of South Carolinians filing for unemployment due to the pandemic, and we want to help women who find themselves uninsured. We're proud to offer virtual visits to ensure more people have access to superior reproductive healthcare from anywhere  most importantly, without leaving the safety of their home."

To schedule a virtual visit, patients will visit www.nodrama.org and fill out a virtual visit appointment request form. The patient then will be contacted to schedule their appointment. At the time of the appointment, a board-certified provider will meet with a patient face-to-face through secure video technology. Patients will receive comprehensive contraceptive counseling, which will allow the provider to send a prescription to a local pharmacy for the patient's preferred birth control method, if desired.

About New Morning

New Morning is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, private-sector, grant-making organization dedicated to improving reproductive health education, counseling and clinical services throughout South Carolina. It serves as the lead organization for Choose Well. For more information, visit newmorning.org or choosewellsc.org.

SOURCE New Morning
The province's highest court has closed the book on a lawsuit by a local architectural historian accusing the Winnipeg Free Press of copyright infringement and breach of contract.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province's highest court has closed the book on a lawsuit by a local architectural historian accusing the Winnipeg Free Press of copyright infringement and breach of contract.

In a 21-page written decision, the Manitoba Court of Appeal unanimously upheld a decision by a lower court judge that Frank Albo did not prove the Free Press had breached either when it published its book, City Beautiful: How Architecture Shaped Winnipeg's DNA, in 2014.

"I have not been convinced that the judge made a palpable and overriding error in deciding that the defendant acted in good faith in performing the contract," Justice Chris Mainella said in the decision released Tuesday.

"It was well within the rights of the defendant to strike a less generous bargain with the plaintiff than their prior association on The Hermetic Code despite the parallels between the two collaborations. It is a common commercial reality that not every deal will be the same, even with parties who have conducted similar transactions in the past."

Justices Janice leMaistre and Lori Spivak agreed with the decision.

Free Press Editor Paul Samyn said "the City Beautiful project was an extremely important one for the Free Press and our readers.

"We remain proud of the journalism that was its foundation and we are delighted that the province's highest court has dismissed Frank Albo's appeal."

Albo's lawyer, Dave Hill, said he will be speaking to his client about the decision.

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"There is no doubt he will be very disappointed," Hill said.

"Dr. Albo thought this City Beautiful book was done identically (to The Hermetic Code) and wondered why he wasn't getting any compensation for his research. But the court found it was different."

City Beautiful began as a three-part series published in the Free Press and written by reporter Randy Turner.

There was only a consulting contract agreed to between the Free Press and Albo, for a lump sum of $1,500 and an hourly consulting fee of $75 per hour, because no later book was planned at the time the stories were published.

But, after the articles appeared, the Manitoba Association of Architects came forward with the financial support needed to publish the series as a book. Later, Albo sued the Free Press for $476,673 in damages for breach of contract, $250,000 for infringement of copyright and $500,000 in punitive damages.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
The Laney Graduate School is proud to announce Erica Harris as a 2020 Eleanor Main Student Mentor Award recipient. Harris is graduating with a PhD in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution (PBEE). Throughout her graduate experience, she has received numerous research opportunities, grants, and awards and has demonstrated dedication to mentorship that extends beyond guiding students at Emory.

Named in honor of the late Dr. Eleanor Main, a transformative leader at Emory, and a devoted advocate for graduate education, the award recognizes individuals who exemplify mentoring of the highest quality in graduate education. Harris is one of two recipients of the award that is presented each year during the Laney Graduate School commencement ceremony.

"It is a privilege," she said. "For my mentees to think that I deserve this, makes me feel honored."

Harris's introduction to higher education began as a junior in high school, where she participated in the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MITES is a six-week academic enrichment program for rising high school seniors. It was through this experience that she was able to work alongside college students that included participants from historically underrepresented groups.

"If it weren't for MITES, I would not have known about my undergraduate program," Harris explains. "They offered college sessions and recruiters with information about options. "I was exposed to possibilities that I hadn't dared to dream until I started the program."

After high school, Harris studied biochemistry and cellular biology at Rice University in Houston. While at Rice, Harris's adviser was evolutionary biologist Dr. Joan Strassmann, who introduced Harris to the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program  a program designed to prepare students from historically underrepresented groups to enter graduate and doctoral programs. Through this program, Harris engaged in professional development workshops that helped her build skills to be successful in her field.

"I would say the Mellon Mays program was instrumental in helping me become a professional academic," Harris said. "I was not a stellar student as far as grades and GPA at the end of my freshman year, but Dr. Strassmann still gave me a chance."

In 2013, after earning her undergraduate degree, Harris decided to pay it forward. She returned to MITES as a mentor and residential teaching assistant in biochemistry. Through this work, she mentored 78 high school students from historically underrepresented groups.

Continuing her academic journey, she was accepted into the PBEE program at the Laney Graduate School. While pursuing her PhD, she remained true to her passion for mentoring and returned to the Mellon Mays program as a graduate mentor for Emory University.

Harris used that momentum to take advantage of numerous research and mentorship opportunities throughout her graduate career. She mentored a total of 21 undergraduate students through the Strategies for Ecological Education, Diversity, and Sustainability (SEEDS) program. Through her work in this program, Harris helped students navigate the Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting and took them on national field trips to research field sites. Through her mentorship, she was able to provide the type of exposure that she received earlier on.

Her main priority was to give students the guidance they needed to make advancements in the program. Returning and branching out to these programs was a way for Harris to help other students aspire to even higher goals, especially students from historically underrepresented groups.

A significant strength of Harris that her mentees admire is the one-on-one approach. Among those students is Dr. Kim Hoang, a postdoctoral National Science Foundation Research Fellow in Biology at the University of Oxford.

"I cannot imagine how far I would have come if it were not for her mentorship," says Hoang.

Hoang first met Harris at a PBEE recruitment meeting. When the two became lab mates in Emory professor, Dr. Nicole Gerardo's laboratory, Hoang found Harris to be an incredible mentor.

"She helped me with classes and studying for my qualification exam," Hoang said. "She freely shared many professional development tips that she learned herself, and she guided me through tough times."

Whether her students are about to enter their undergraduate programs or exiting graduate school with PhDs, Harris encourages her mentees to embrace their differences and remain aware of their social responsibilities as scientists.

"I try to remind my mentees to maintain who they are as scientists and bring that to the table," Harris explained. "Do good science. We're all scientists, but we're different, and we shouldn't forget that."

After graduation, Harris plans to teach ecology, evolutionary biology, or animal behavior at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. She is dedicated to the mission of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and is excited to bring her mentoring skills to Spelman.

While teaching at Spelman, Harris plans to incorporate the lessons passed on to her by Dr. Gerardo, who helped her understand the weight of every scientist's responsibility to society.

"One responsibility is learning to be good communicators," she said. "Another is making sure you have evidence-based work. I want to cultivate a community of critical thinkers. It's nice to be informed. Even if you are not going to be a scientist, it matters."
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Sen. Kamala Harris is in top contention to be Joe Bidens vice presidential pick, Politico reports, as Biden aides, surrogates and major donors see her as the best fit at the start of the selection process.

Politico writes Harris, a California Democrat, was written off as a possible pick for Biden last year after a debate performance where she seemed to suggest he was racially insensitive. Biden and others close to him now view Harris debate knockdown as part of the rough and tumble of presidential campaigning, the report says.

Politico writes that Bidens campaign has formally started vetting a group of prospects that includes roughly a dozen women. The report says more than two dozen Democrats, including advisers, allies and donors aligned with Biden, returned to Harris as an early front-runner. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was also seen as rising above the pack, Politico says.

Other names in the Politico report include Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Florida Rep. Val Demings.
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazils federal police agency says it has arrested a former Argentine navy officer accused of dictatorship-era crimes, including crimes against humanity and kidnapping.

The federal police didnt release his identity, but a source with direct knowledge confirmed the man to be Gonzalo Sanchez, 69, also known as Chispa. Argentinas foreign ministry also confirmed his identity in a statement released late Tuesday.

He was caught Monday in the sleepy colonial city of Paraty, on Rio de Janeiro states southern coast, and is suspected of forming part of a group that assassinated students, union members and opposition politicians, according to a federal police statement. Their bodies were thrown from planes on so-called death flights.

Sanchez was previously arrested in 2013, and a judge ordered house arrest. In 2019, the Supreme Court authorized his extradition and he has since been in hiding.

He is suspected of participating in dozens of disappearances and killings, including that of journalist and writer Rodolfo Walsh in 1977. The school where Sanchez worked was one of the biggest illegal detention centres during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Sanchez has been on the run from Argentinas justice system since 2005.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations of Brazil notified our embassy in Brasilia that it is now suitable to extradite him to Argentina, said the Argentine statement. Because of the arrests importance to the process of memory, truth and justice, President Alberto Fernandez will be closely monitoring the steps of the extradition.

Human rights groups estimate about 30,000 people were killed or forcibly disappeared in a so-called dirty war against suspected leftists during the dictatorship.
Boris Johnson's decision to allow members of the public to travel to any public park has been hit with intense criticism from authorities across the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister made a public address to the nation on Sunday evening where he announced the relaxation of some lockdown measures during the fight against coronavirus, which included allowing Britons to drive to and sunbathe in public parks with members of their households.

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Labour politician Hardyal Dhindsa has led the vocal opposition to this decision, stating that allowing members of the public to travel long distances and take part in unlimited exercise does not protect anyone.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured)'s decision to allow long-distance travel to public parks has been met with wide-scale criticism from politicians and park officials

Labour politician and Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa (pictured) said that allowing people back into the Peak District National Park is a serious health risk

He said: 'In England you can now apparently drive from Cornwall for a nice walk in the Peak District, and to be fair, vice versa.

'This is potentially dangerous and the result of creating policy on the hoof.'

From Wednesday, the Peak District National Park in the Derbyshire area will be open to members of the public to take part in unlimited exercise.

Mr Dhindsa believes there is no benefit to allowing people all over the country to access the National Park and that the relaxation of the 'stay local' message simply risks spreading the virus even more.

He added: 'From Wednesday onwards people in Derbyshire's jewel, the Peak District National Park, will be expected to host visitors who will flock to the area - without any economic benefit, just the threat of a localised outbreak.

The Peak District National Park (pictured) is expected to receive large crowds when the PM's easing of lockdown rules begin on Wednesday, with Mr Dhindsa stating that the rule has no economic benefits and only puts lives in danger

'Many of these communities are inhabited by people the Government itself classifies as vulnerable.

'How do I explain to my constituents what measures are in place to protect them, when the Government doesn't appear to have considered this?

'I care about these people, they are my community.'

Officials from the Peak District National Park say that hospitality businesses within the park remain closed, but has warned the public to take caution while visiting the popular park this week.

The park's chief executive, Sarah Fowler, said: 'Before your journey, carefully consider your own wellbeing and that of the Peak District's many small communities.'

'Continuing to use local parks and outdoor areas close to your home can continue to provide the crucial breathing space for you and for us, to ensure the Peak District can be a safe and welcoming place to visit in the weeks to come.'

Criticisms of the PM's ruling on parks can also be found amongst officials from the Yorkshire Dales National Park, who are telling prospective walkers to stick to the 'stay local' message, irrespective of the government's message.

Officials in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (above) are advising the public to remain local when going out to find exercise, despite the PM relaxing the 'stay local' message

The chief executive for the Yorkshire Dales National Park says they do not advocate the government's approach to relaxing lockdown measures in public parks

David Butterworth, the Yorkshire Dales National Park CEO, said: 'We, along with many organisations with countryside facilities, have advocated a staged approach with an initial 'stay local' message to avoid unnecessary travel and minimise any tension between visitors and local communities.'

Earlier this week, tourism officials in Cumbria, where the Lake District National Park is situated, told the public to ignore the PM's advice and not visit their tourist attractions.

Lake District officials also claim that Cumbria is the worst-affected region in the UK for coronavirus infection rates in their message to stay away.

The Lake District National Park (pictured) is situated in Cumbria, which is reportedly the region with the worst coronavirus infection rate in the whole of the United Kingdom. Tourism fficials have also ask prospective visitors not to visit the park

National Park Authority CEO Richard Leafe added: 'For now, we're asking people not to rush back to the Lake District - help protect our communities, the fells will still be here when this passes.

'When the time is right, we look forward to welcoming visitors back to the Lake District and have been working with partners to put measures in place that will help keep people safe, such as new car park information and availability to help plan ahead.'

Dartmoor National Park admitted they are looking into ways of maintaining social distancing guidelines in their park, but told the public to 'please stay at home, avoid unnecessary journeys, exercise locally and follow social distancing and hygiene rules' in the mean time.

Meanwhile, chiefs at Dartmoor National Park (pictured) are discussing measures to help visitors respect social distancing guidelines, but have asked members of the public to stay at home in the meantime

Criticism of the PM's latest speech has also travelled as far as Wales, with Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner Arfron Jones describing Mr Johnson's easing of lockdown as a 'total shambles'.

He also suggested the fines against those who break lockdown rules should be increased to 3,000 - the figure was raised by the PM to 1,000 over the weekend - to dissuade the public from heading outdoors.

In a statement with fellow Plaid Cymru politician Dafydd Llywelyn, Mr Jones said: 'It was totally irresponsible of Boris Johnson to take such a cavalier attitude to people's health and well-being. Keeping people safe is the first priority of the police which is why it is important for me to speak out.

'Travelling to Wales for leisure and exercise is still classified as non-essential travel and increasing the fines, in line with the increase in England, would be good way of driving this message home.'
Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 (8:09 am) - Score 7,992

Mobile giant and broadband ISP Vodafone UK has published their latest results to the end of March 2020 (financial Q4 19/20), which saw them reach a total of 751,000 fixed broadband customers (up by +64K in the quarter vs +20K previous quarter). Meanwhile Mobile customers hit 18,042,000 (down by -14K vs +250K previous quarter)

At present its difficult to draw too many conclusions from Vodafones last quarter, which is due to the unprecedented impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), although it would appear as if their cheap home fixed broadband packages (FTTC and FTTH) have attracted a surge in take-up during the first calendar quarter of 2020. Despite this the growth in their mobile division has ground to a halt (more on that later).

Otherwise the other main developments for Vodafone UK during the quarter stemmed from their 1bn Shared Rural Network agreement with rivals (here) and the decision to extend new unlimited data allowances to their dedicated Mobile Broadband plans (here).

Meanwhile the operator saw their fixed service revenues increase by just 1.7% (Q3: 0.5%, Q4: 3.7%) , although we suspect that most of the new fixed broadband customers they added came from their Openreach (BT) based FTTC (VDSL2) packages. Sadly no details are provided to show how many customers may have joined via Cityfibres newer and faster FTTH broadband network, but that will be having a growing impact.

In terms of Vodafones mobile customers, its noted that +51,000 were added in the latest quarter from contract customers (vs 134,000 in the previous quarter), while prepaid (PAYG) customers declined by -65,000 (vs +116,000 in the previous quarter).

Nick Read, Group CEO, said: Vodafone has delivered a good financial performance  growing revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow  whilst building strong commercial momentum through the year and executing at pace on our strategic priorities. We have also continued to invest in our fixed and mobile Gigabit network infrastructure and digital services, to provide faster speeds for our customers, as well as successfully managing the recent surges in demand. The services Vodafone provides are more important than ever and we are committed to playing a key role in societys recovery to the new normal. I am pleased with the rapid, comprehensive and coordinated way we responded to the COVID-19 crisis. I want to give my personal thanks to the entire Vodafone team, who through their dedication, expertise and professionalism, have kept families, friends and communities connected, enabled students to continue their education, helped businesses operate and proactively supported governments to deliver critical services.

Otherwise Vodafones overall UK service revenue for the quarter hit 1,287m (up slightly from 1,282m in the previous quarter). The full report is here (PDF). Meanwhile were still waiting to see whether or not Vodafone reacts to O2s recent agreement to merge with Virgin Media in the UK.

UPDATE 13th May 2020

Vodafones CEO, Nick Read, appears to have put pay to any idea of lodging a counter-bid to the O2 and Virgin Media merger. According to Nick, theyre very pleased with their organic strategy of just taking wholesale from Cityfibre and Openreach, while also leaving Pay TV to the OTT (Netflix etc.) market.

Time will tell whether that is the right call, but clearly BT + EE and Virgin Media + O2 have an opposing view. On the other hand many consumers do generally seem to prefer to keep their mobile contracts separate from TV, fixed line broadband and phone.
Enola barber Brad Shepler had a busy Monday, with a consistent stream of customers calling and coming to his shop for their first cuts and shaves since mid-March. It was Sheplers first day opening since COVID-19 forced the closure of businesses across the state, a closure that Shepler has decided he cant abide by anymore.

Sheplers shop, in the 700 block of Wertzville Road, is on the bottom level of his home that he shares with his two daughters and his wife. The veteran has three cutting stations and a small waiting area where two people were sitting Monday afternoon while a third had his hair trimmed.

Shepler said just like it is his decision to reopen, his customers have the decision on whether or not to come into the barbershop.

I believe in choice. You choose not to come, thats fine. But at the same time, I need to do my best, Shepler said. Its my responsibility to make a living, take care of my family.

Shepler sees himself as one of many business owners, in Pennsylvania and across the country, who have reached a point where they just cant stay closed any longer. Another one locally that has opened its doors in defiance of Wolfs closure orders is a York diner, which is providing dine-in service.

My decision to reopen is purely financial. Ive gotta pay my bills. I have a mortgage, Ive got two kids to take care of, you know, Shepler said. I became self-employed 20 years ago, figured Id be able to take care of myself and at some point, the public can decide if they want to risk themselves and come in here.

The bank still wants its money, Shepler said, and since he has not formally filed for unemployment, he has received no money from the government. He has applied but not filed a claim for unemployment, he said.

Im just at the point where I dont want somebody to take care of me, I just want to earn a living, Shepler said.

Word spread about Sheplers business reopening after he posted a video of his business being visited by East Pennsboro Twp. police over his lunch break.

The video shows what appeared to be a polite interaction with Shepler acknowledging the reasons the police were there, the officers giving a verbal warning, and Shepler saying they did not have the power to punish his business for operating.

I dont begrudge the police," Shepler said. Theyve got a job to do. I just happen to know my constitutional rights. I just happen to know my constitutional rights and Im going to exercise them. Thats just the way I see it.

Officers only came once, Shepler said, and he believes they came because a neighbor called them.

East Pennsboro Twp. police issued a statement late in the afternoon stating that at the time of the visit, officers were operating under the directive that multiple warnings would be given before the cases were evaluated by the DAs office.

As of mid-afternoon Monday, District Attorney Skip Ebert clarified that only the most egregious violations of COVID-19 restrictions would be investigated and potentially prosecuted. He went on to say that so far there have been no criminal prosecutions related to the virus but there are civil procedures that could be used. He also reminded business owners that if someone claimed to have gotten the virus at a business that had reopened against the closure order, they could be subject to lawsuits.

Wolf told reporters Monday that aside from withholding funding from counties that disobeyed, any business that is state-licensed could lose that license if it defy the closure orders.

Cumberland County remains in the red phase, where residents are under stay-at-home orders and only life-sustaining businesses can open. Its commissioners released a statement Monday saying they not promoting or advocating any actions that are openly defiant of the state of emergency, nor are we encouraging individuals or businesses to break the law.

Shepler said he will fight any citations or punishments that might occur because he opened his doors because he believes it is unconstitutional to force the closure of his business.

While I respect the governor, he doesnt make law by speaking. Thats not how laws work. Im exercising my right to make a living. He can do what he wants to do, Shepler said.

Thats not to say that Shepler doesnt believe in the risks involved with reopening.

I took it seriously for a little while and then, of course, I started to learn more about whats going on and it made my decision a little easier, he said. I dont feel like Im putting others at risk and if they feel like theyre at risk, they shouldnt come. I totally agree with whatever they decide.

For Shepler, its a matter of survival, and he knows others are in the same boat.

Im suspecting that a lot of people in my position are going to start opening their doors because you cant survive," Shepler said. Its just hard to live when theres no income, especially when youre relying on yourself for that income.

Shepler said hes taking precautions by keeping his hands as clean as possible and is sanitizing his tools. He has a thermometer ready to put to use in case he has suspicions about someones health and stressed he understands the seriousness of COVID-19.

I believe theres a virus. I believe theres people dying from it. I believe the approach that was taken was the wrong approach, he said. But quarantine the sick. You dont quarantine the masses. Thats not how you prevent a virus.

Shepler is not using a mask while he works, and said masks arent required by customers. He said it is more likely that touching something contaminated will spread the virus more than him talking to someone, and that the masks are uncomfortable.

I have a sign on the door that says if youre not comfortable with me not wearing a mask, you shouldnt come in, Shepler said. He hopes that if people believe they are at risk or could spread it themselves, they should stay home.

For the customers who were there Monday, such as Kit Wilson who got a haircut and shave while holding a Steelers masks that he used when he entered the shop, Shepler is essential.

My wife showed up the other day, she went to CVS and bought a pair of scissors, Wilson said with a laugh. Wilson said he wouldnt consider going to a party with 30 to 40 people, but the barber was different.

I consider this essential. I dont cut my own hair, I never have, and I dont want my wife trying, Wilson said. Wilson believes that if people keep social distancing, sanitizing and doing their part, these types of services should be fine.

Both men acknowledge there is still risk involved, in part because they both know that not everyone is doing their part and taking the virus seriously.

Wilson said he doesnt think people realize how serious it is until it hits home, which is why he sees people arguing to open restaurants and bars.

Personally, and I feel their pain, the bars and restaurants are going to be the last things to open up, Wilson said. Whos going to enforce if you can only let so many people in, or every third bar stool, you know? You cant leave them to their own devices, it will turn into chaos.

So what is the risk of getting your hair cut? Shepler sees it differently than when the virus first surfaced months ago.

We didnt understand what we were dealing with. But at this point? I would consider it much less of a risk than going to the grocery store. And people do that every day, Shepler said. I cant say its low risk because were close [together]. But based on all the other risks, its not very high.

Thats just the way I look at it. Not everybodys going to see it that way and I understand completely," Shepler said. But for me, thats the way I rationalize it.
On the day of Alabamas grand reopening, Huntsville mostly took a pass.

Popular shopping districts were deserted as stores remained closed and even though restaurants could open their dining rooms for the first time in more than a month, it seemed on Monday that most were waiting a few days longer.

And with Redstone Arsenal  north Alabama's largest employer  still closed except for the most essential personnel, all was quiet across the state's second-largest city.

"Some places are taking it cautiously," said Claire Aiello, spokeswoman for the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

While state health orders seeking to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus gave a halting stop to the state's economy, the engine didn't exactly rev up to full speed on the first day of the state essentially being declared open again  albeit with social distancing guidelines still in place for businesses to follow.

At Bridge Street Town Centre, the national retail outlets seemed to be following their own calendar and not necessarily the one outlined by the state of Alabama. A walk through the outdoor shopping district revealed signs on seemingly every door of businesses from restaurants to specialty clothing to department stores with their own unique messages.

Some businesses still announced they would be closed through March  a call back to when the spread of COVID-19 first impacted Alabama. Others declared themselves closed indefinitely while others set future dates for reopening.

And some stores were open  the front door of Chico's, an upscale store for women's apparel, was propped open at both Bridge Street and Parkway Place, north Alabama's largest indoor shopping mall.

The Apple store at Bridge Street informed customers with a front door sign that it would reopen Wednesday. And just inside the front door, a dispenser of hand sanitizer stood waiting for those customers.

Related: Alabama hair salons confront multiple bookings, new procedures

Restaurants at Bridge Street were quiet, too. While Connors Steak & Seafood opened its dining room, other eateries such as P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Bravo Italian restaurant were still serving only take-out meals.

The story was much the same at Parkway Place where the food court remains closed  although some restaurants were operating Monday  and retailers are mostly closed. Among the exceptions was Nail 4 U salon, which had a bustling business with customers waiting for pedicures and manicures. Williams-Sonoma, which specializes in home furnishings and kitchenware, was open for "appointment shopping only."

One of the mall's anchor stores, Dillards, will reopen Tuesday while Belk was open but with some entrances closed.

Closer to downtown, Blue Plate Cafe  the see-and-be-seen lunch spot on Governors Drive  is getting ready to reopen its dining area. Justin Sparks, the restaurants managing partner, said plans are being made but the focus Monday was on starting take-out service at the restaurants newer location on South Memorial Parkway.

Sparks said he's aiming to open the dining room at Blue Plate on Governors later this week or next Monday at the latest. He said he's secured plexiglass shields for the bar and cash register areas and is working out a schedule for employees to document washing their hands.

"We've measured out our dining room and what tables we can and can't sit," he said. "We've ordered masks to be compliant. I've got some now for when we do open for dine-in service. We've got some timesheets to make sure everybody's documenting when they wash their hands, wearing gloves, things of that nature."

Sparks also asked about the fuel in north Alabama's economic engine.

Have you heard anything about when the arsenal is going to open back up? he asked.

Blue Plate draws a heavy crowd from the Army base for its lunch as well as the medical district and the Madison County Courthouse, Sparks said.

"We're hoping the arsenal will open up by at least next week," Sparks said.

Aiello, with the chamber of commerce, said of the arsenal, Until that crowd comes back, were not going to look much different (than during the shutdown).

Chad Emerson, CEO of Downtown Huntsville Inc., said restaurants in the area have taken different strategies to the reopening.

"It's really a mix of restaurants that have opened their dining room, their patio, some just a patio and some neither," he said.

"I think it's really our community, on a case-by-case basis, being real deliberate, which is important."

Downtown Huntsville is filled with small businesses, many just getting started as the district has undergone a rehabilitation into a vibrant shopping and dining area. Emerson said, though, that no businesses have permanently shut down because of the pandemic economic crunch.
Two months into self-quarantines, social distancing and the shutdown of non-essential businesses, two-thirds of Central Virginians surveyed say they not only support stay-at-home orders but are hesitant to open up the state too soon.

But those whose jobs do not allow them to work remotely are more likely to favor opening the state for business on a quicker timeline, according to the survey.

The survey of nearly 700 area residents by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Services Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia shows people are hesitant to jump back into social situations, even if some anti-COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.

The respondents were asked a series of questions between April 28 and May 5 about whether they would engage in activities under various restrictions and more favorable health conditions, such as fewer deaths, fewer cases, widespread testing and effective treatments for the virus short of a vaccine.

One of the major takeaways is that respondents are largely supportive of the current social distancing restrictions in place, said Kara Fitzgibbon, director of the Center for Survey Research. It may be surprising to some that, even in the scenario of the stay-at-home orders being lifted and improved conditions surrounding the spread and mortality caused by COVID-19, residents are going to remain cautious and continue maintaining social distances in many ways.

I was very surprised about how cautious people were regarding lifting restrictions, said Tom Guterbock, academic director at the Center for Survey Research. They are getting out of the house and going to the grocery store, walking their pets and picking food up from restaurants, but they are hesitant to travel to other states and are opposed to opening the state up for tourists from other states.

According to the results, in the last seven days, an estimated 81% of households have bought groceries; 70% have walked pets or exercised out-of-doors; 52% have picked up orders from restaurants; 44% have left to go to work; and 35% have shopped for household goods or home improvement supplies.

The study shows residents are almost evenly divided about whether they approve of people traveling out of the state, but are overwhelming opposed to opening the state up to tourists from outside of Virginia.

When asked if they would engage in certain activities with the lockdown lifted and conditions improved, fewer than 20% of respondents were willing to travel outside by air or train or participate in religious services, eat inside a restaurant, or attend an event at an indoor or outdoor arena without social distancing measures in place.

Even with social distancing measures and an improved medical outlook, only about 45% of respondents indicated a willingness to engage in those social activities.

Even under more favorable conditions, people remained quite reluctant, Guterbock said. Theyre cautious about returning to their normal, pre-virus activities and are even cautious about those activities for which social distancing is provided.

Guterbock noted that the survey said people were feeling economic impacts from the shutdown. Still, the majority of people were more concerned with public health than personal wealth.

People were in pretty clear agreement, with two-thirds saying its important to continue to keep people at home, he said. Those who are unable to continue to work from home were more likely to be in favor of easing restrictions.

BeHeardCVA is the first survey panel in the state and is designed to listen to residents of the city of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.

Residents may sign up to participate in a variety of surveys sponsored by the center through BeHeardCVA.

In the most recent survey, questions were formulated with input from more than 300 participants with suggestions from several local nonprofits, government agencies and health officials.

Topics included COVID-19 impacts on economic conditions; mental health; physical health and health care; and the effectiveness of government policies. More results will be released later this week.

According to Fitzgibbon, participants in the survey were recruited through probability and non-probability methods.

Some of our panel members were randomly phoned and invited to join BeHeard out of the blue. Another large portion of the panel was invited through a scientific, randomly drawn mail-out to households in the region, she said.

Because of the importance for BeHeardCVA to be inclusive and serve as a platform for all of the voices in our community, we keep the door open to any resident who wants to join, Fitzgibbon said. So, in addition to our probability-based recruitment, we also have panel members who have signed up because they talked with us at a community event, or heard about the panel from a friend or coworker, and others read about BeHeardCVA in The Daily Progress.

To address possible bias in survey results, the results are weighted to match demographic characteristics of the region. The researchers also have analyzed the results to show how different demographics or circumstances affect responses.

For example, we see that respondents who have a job that they are unable to perform from home prioritize re-opening businesses at a higher rate, Fitzgibbon said.

Guterbock said the results show that people will be reluctant to jump back into the lives they led prior to the virus coming to Virginia.

The results imply that the new normal is not going to be the same and, for some businesses, recovering will take a long time, he said.

I think the question on many peoples minds is, when will life return to normal, Fitzgibbon said. The BeHeardCVA results suggest that return to normalcy is not happening anytime soon.

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The Modi government takes decisions in the interest of the country and the just announced Rs 20 lakh crore relief package will help the poor, farmers and middle class, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday.

In a series of tweets in Hindi with the hashtag 'AatmanirbharBharat', Shah said the time has come for everyone to take a pledge to use more and more local products.

The home minister's remarks come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the package in a televised address in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In every decision of the Modi government, the interest of the country and the countrymen has been at the centre. A special package of about Rs 20 lakh crores announced by the Modi government is reflective of this," Shah said.

This includes the interests of the poor, farmers, middle class and business class of the country and "this will empower every section and make the country self-sufficient", he tweeted.

Shah said the prime minister has noted that in this odd situation where everything is closed, locals became companions in this hard time and supported."So now the time has come that we pledge to use more and more local products and make our local global," he said.

Shah said the way India has fought the novel coronavirus pandemic under the leadership of Modi, the country has given a new direction to the whole world.

In this challenging time, new India not only handled itself vigorously but also helped the whole world. This has changed the way the world views India today, he said.

The home minister said the prime minister has said that the 21st century should be the century of India and the time has come to convert this sentence into reality.

"This is possible only with the resolve of 'self-reliant India' of 130 crore Indians. We have to take a pledge that now #AatmanirbharBharat will lead the world," he said.

Shah said if India is determined with the power of 130 crore people, then every determination is possible.

"Under the visionary leadership of Modi ji, now every Indian will have to take a pledge that he will make his best contribution to make India self-reliant without pause. The welfare of the whole world lies in India's self-reliance," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"My elderly mother took a walk and her walking path was blocked by a white man," wrote one respondent. "He started to yell hateful and racist stuff to her (my Mum's English isnt very good) and he also blamed her for the virus. Loading "My mum told me she was scared as he wouldn't let her pass for quite a while, and only stopped when some passersby intervened." Other respondents separately described being abused on buses, being told to "go back to China", or "go back to where you came from, youre bringing the virus here". Another person reported how an elderly woman shouted that Chinese people are "f---ing filthy animals who eat bats".

Per Capita research fellow Osmond Chiu, who is collaborating on the research on a personal basis, said the abuse was overwhelmingly in public and perpetrated by strangers. Thirty per cent of cases reported involved physical intimidation, including being spat at, coughed on, shoved, pushed or tripped. Mr Chiu said the abuse was confronting for many younger Chinese Australians because it was their first experience of overt racism. "Its really come into the open in a way that it hasnt before." He said contributing to this was the heated debate in recent years around foreign interference and the role of China, and white Australian fears of the Chinese stretching back to the 19th century and the Gold Rush. "Historic fears and anxieties have laid the groundwork," he said.

Mr Chiu wants institutions and governments to take the issue more seriously and said there was a need for public education campaigns on what racism is. Writer Benjamin Law. He said media needed to report responsibly, while social media needed to inform users when material they had shared was false, such as claims on hoarding that were disproved. A group of 16 prominent Chinese Australians recently signed an open letter calling for national unity and said they were deeply concerned by the rise in anti-Chinese racism. Among signatories to the letter were businessman Jason Yat-sen Li, paediatrician and former Australian of the Year John Yu, chef Adam Liaw and writer Benjamin Law.

Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Victoria president Alex Lim last week separately wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to warn of the rise in racism. "While we may be Chinese, we are also proudly Australian and have played our part in contributing to this great country," he wrote. "Which makes the mockery and racism that some of us have had to face in recent times all the more unjust and hurtful." Mr Lim said people of Chinese background were "easy targets of the frustration" at the spread of the virus. "Even if you look at the number of cases highlighted, so far there's nothing really much being done. This is why I wrote this letter." Cr Le Liu said he initially wore a face mask when the pandemic began. "But I stopped because there seemed to be something triggering for people when I did that."

The councillor, a Liberal Party member, said while it was good the Andrews government had introduced severe fines for disobeying social distancing measures, he was disappointed it had not increased fines for hate crimes. Erin Chew, who initiated the survey, said there was often a cultural reluctance among people with a Chinese background to report incidents to authorities. "It is seen as troublesome to report it to police," she said. "It can be quite an exposing experience. In a lot of our Asian cultures we tend to internalise these types of things." Do you know more? Email bschneiders@theage.com.au or send us a confidential and encrypted message on Journotips. If you or anyone you know needs support call Lifeline on 131 114, or Beyond Blue's coronavirus mental wellbeing support service on 1800 512 348.
After the scuffle between the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army troops and Indian troops along the LAC in North Sikkim which led to injuries on both sides, China appears to be continuing on the path of belligerence towards India, this time along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

In what appears to be a multi-front deliberate ploy by China to keep India on its toes, the Indian Air Force was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the Line of Actual Control. This incident happened last week, around the same time the PLA troops and Indian army forces came to blows in the upper reaches of North Sikkim.

The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control. After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area, government sources told ANI here.

Government sources who requested anonymity due to knowledge of frontline operations, informed that the Chinese choppers did not cross the LAC into Indian territory in that particular area, they said.

Also Read: India, China face-off along Sikkim border, several soldiers injured

The Indian Air Force frequently flies its Sukhoi 30MKI fighter aircraft fleet from Leh air base in Ladakh along with other planes.

This latest development comes soon after the Indian security establishment noticed that Pakistani Air Force increased its patrols of F-16S and JF-17s along its Eastern Border with India, especially night sorties, after the Handwara terror attack that led to the death of 5 Indian security personnel. A fear of retaliation by Indian forces was cited as the reason by Indian security establishment sources for this ramping up of PAF air patrols.

The Indian Air Force has two main bases in the Ladakh union territory including the Leh and the Thoise airbase where fighter jets are not deployed permanently but detachments from combat aircraft squadrons are operational throughout the year.There have been several occasions in the past when Chinese military helicopters have entered Indian airspace in the Ladakh sector and deliberately left behind tell-tale signs to stake claim on areas which are part of India. The LAC in this location, like in other parts of the India-China border in the country, is poorly demarcated, hence incursions sometimes are inadvertent as well.

However, the scuffle with Indian troops in North Sikkim was a new front opened up by China which was a cause for concern. Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19, Chinese President Xi Jinping is under immense pressure to increase transparency in his country and reveal the real origin of the virus, which some have speculated emanated from a lab in Chinas Wuhan. Trade wars with countries like USA and Australia have intensified and most multi-national companies have actively begun looking for manufacturing alternative,India being one such preferred destination.

Security sources speculated that this could be the reason behind Chinas new aggression. Similar muscle flexing was also seen recently when PLA Navy boats entered into disputed waters in the South China Sea.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 02:59:11|Editor: huaxia

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ATHENS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Greece is in constant contact with China, cooperating closely to address the common challenge of the new coronavirus pandemic, Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told Xinhua here on Tuesday.

"Greece has developed very close cooperation with China during this entire period. I also had the opportunity to attend an event at Eleftherios Venizelos airport, when we welcomed the first delivery of medical supplies from China in the presence of almost half of the cabinet and the ambassador of the People's Republic of China (Zhang Qiyue)," the Greek official said during an online press briefing.

On March 21, nearly 18 tons of medical supplies provided by the Chinese government, enterprises and organizations to Greece arrived at Athens international airport on an Air China flight. It was the first major load of critical medical supplies reaching Greece after the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

"We are in constant contact. We have issued a few decisions regarding the extension of the stay of Chinese nationals who had been stranded in our country during the coronavirus (lockdown). We would like to continue to have this strategic partnership, this strategic cooperation with China in the future," Varvitsiotis stressed.

Greece was under full lockdown from March 23 as part of measures to control the virus' spread. Since May 4, the government has started gradually lifting a few of the restrictions.

Tuesday's press briefing was held on the occasion of the upcoming Greece's six-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe, which begins on May 15. Athens will also host the 130th Ministerial Session of the Committee of Ministers on Nov. 4. Enditem
President Obama, in his deliberately leaked call, tried to set up a narrative saying Trump's New York virus approach has been "an absolute chaotic disaster." This is entirely untrue. Trump has proven unusually prescient, both about big values and small details. This post is an effort to focus on just a few of Trump's intelligent decisions and smart analysis.

Trump has said from the beginning that China is a threat. Before the Russia Hoax forced Flynn out, one of the reasons Trump liked him was that Flynn also saw China as America's biggest threat. Susan Rice, showing herself to be an idiot, a master dissembler, or someone on China's payroll, gave Flynn's support for China as her sole reason for deciding he was a Russian agent.

Trump was right that we need to get our manufacturing out of China. Aside from the fact that we shouldn't prop up a totalitarian government at the expense of American workers, the New York virus made us realize that we are dangerously dependent on a hostile power, especially when it comes to essentials such as antibiotics and other medicines.

Trump has long said borders matter, so much so that border security was the centerpiece of his campaign  and the part that Democrats attacked most vigorously by defining it as racist. The New York virus proved that Trump was right about borders, as nations all over the world have tightened their borders to control the New York virus's spread into their countries.

Trump was correct to close down flights from China before January's end and then to do the same somewhat later with flights from Europe.

Trump was right about the reality that the original estimate for the New York virus's mortality rate (34%) was a huge overstatement and that the actual mortality rate would prove to be in the range of the common flu. (Indeed, it's less than the flu's mortality rate, since we control the flu's mortality rate through vaccinations.)

Trump was right that hydroxychloroquine can be (although it isn't always) an effective treatment. Unfortunately, because he made that statement, the American medical establishment (college-educated and therefore predominantly leftist) is determined to reject hydroxychloroquine in favor of the significantly more expensive, and not necessarily more helpful, Remdesivir.

Trump was correct about UV lights being used in the body to destroy viruses.

Trump was correct that Governor Cuomo was demanding too many ventilators. Given that ventilators may do more harm than good if used too aggressively, his sense about ventilator use was even more on point than he probably realized.

And here's the big thing about which Trump is correct: federalism. By stepping back and allowing the 50 laboratories of democracy that are the American states to determine their needs in the face of the lockdown, Trump is proving himself to be a true constitutionalist. Andrew Klavan explains why this is so important and why we should speak out loudly in praise of Trump for taking this valiant stand:

The thing that we don't do is the right has gotten into the habit of outrage and the habit of negativity and we pounce on things. [snip] The thing that we need to be talking about  one of the things I feel that we are not talking about that we need to be talking about  is I feel we need to be celebrating what Donald Trump has done. [snip] The fact that Donald Trump has done this without expanding the federal government is one of the great triumphs of federalism and one of the great triumphs for conservatism. And the fact that conservatives aren't trumpeting it every single day  every single day  shows you that conservatives do not know how to build a narrative. [snip] We should be celebrating the federalism in Trump's approach and we're not. And that means, that means we leave the guy out there alone. Because he is a politician he does want to be loved, he does have that thing that all politicians have that he wants the praise. And all he's hearing from the left and the right is "Oh, it's chaos. Where's the coordination? That's the, the states can't do this well." Screw that! You know we should be ... this is a major triumph. We should also be reminding people all the time and saying this on our social media. And telling people he was right about China. Nobody was talking about China until he started.

Trump is weathering extraordinary attacks from his political opponents. It's up to us, those who recognize the totalitarianism that hides behind the left's virtue-signaling and its attacks on Trump, to catch Trump being good. And when you start looking at the New York virus data, while Trump hasn't been perfect (no one can be) you realize that Trump's been damn good. And moreover, he's been damn good not just about practical things, but about preserving a constitutional, federal system. He deserves a big round of applause for that.

Update from Carol Brown:

Will wonders never cease? Governor Cuomo now seems on board with calling a virus by geographic region.

Unfortunately, he's bad at geography. And science.

Cuomo is now using the term "European virus." I presume that reflects the fact that the strain circulating in New York is a mutation that occurred in Europe. Or so we're told.

And of course "European" is fine to use. "Wuhan" or "China" not fine. Because stupid politically correct fools who don't know freedom from tyranny make up arbitrary rules for lemmings to follow as the New World Order advances.

Irrespective of whether the strain that showed up in New York was one that mutated in Europe, or not, if you buy into Cuomo's stupid science, we would call breast cancer that metastized to the lungs, lung cancer. But we don't. We call it metastatic breast cancer. Because there are different kinds of cancer and the name doesn't change because it spreads to other parts of the body.

Of course, it's very convenient, even chic, for Cuomo to use the term "European virus" because absolving China of all responsibility for an act of war against the entire globe is paramount among leftists.

Hat tip: Legal Insurrection.
A man who was believed to be the victim of an $3.9million gold heist has now been accused of being the mastermind of the alleged crime.

The heist at Melbourne Gold Company, in Melbourne's CBD, on April 27 is believed to be Victoria's largest ever armed robbery.

A 37-year-old staffer, who was initially considered to be a victim, was arrested and interviewed at his home in Donvale, in the city's east, on Tuesday.

Scroll down for video

The heist at Melbourne Gold Company, in Melbourne's CBD, on April 27 is believed to be Victoria's largest ever armed robbery

Melbourne Gold Company

He was then charged with aggravated burglary, theft, perjury and firearms offences and was due to face court on Tuesday afternoon, Nine News reported.

The arrest comes weeks after 48-year-old Karl Kachami, from Hawthorn East, was charged over the hold up.

Kachami is accused of wearing a surgical mask, pointing a Glock pistol at the head of an employee and assaulting the employee.

Mr Kachami allegedly forced the worker to remove the entire contents of a safe and he escaped with almost $4million worth of gold bullion, jewellery and cash.

Police later found the stolen items buried at a rural property near the Gippsland town of Dollar.

Kachami was arrested on April 30 and charged with robbery, theft, false imprisonment, armed with criminal intent, common law assault and two counts of non-prohibited person in possession of a handgun.

The arrest comes weeks after 48-year-old Karl Kachami (pictured), from Hawthorn East, was accused of allegedly holding up the Melbourne gold dealer

Mr Kachami will next face court on July 24.

Victoria Police have also searched properties in Hawthorn East and Fitzroy as they continue their investication.

A 48-year-old woman from Hawthorn East was arrested on April 29 but was later released.

Police on Monday released footage captured of a white Holden Commodore in South Gippsland on April 30 which is believed to be linked to the heist.

Police on Monday released footage captured of a white Holden Commodore in South Gippsland on April 30 which is believed to be linked to the heist

The Commodore has black slimline plates and the registration begins with the letters HA.

According to police, the driver was white and aged in his early 40s. He was wearing a blue jacket with red on it.

The man was believed to have been driving to the town of Dollar before he lost his way and stopped to ask for directions.
"She started to feel fatigue and she just chalked it up to a bad cold because she would feel better the next day, then feel worse," Diego said of Zoila's first symptoms of the coronavirus. "When it started to get worse was when she had shortness of breath."

The mother of two was admitted on March 22 and by the next day she was on a ventilator in the ICU. Laserna was one of the first two patients to receive convalescent plasma therapy, a treatment that uses plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient that contains antibodies. Throughout her stay, treatments have included plasma therapy and dialysis.

For seven weeks a dedicated team of Baptist Health physicians, nurses, therapists, and other medical professionals cared for her. Laserna grew close to the staff during her stay and says that she would not be alive today if it were not for their dedication. "Service to others is the rent you pay for your space here on Earth," she said of the healthcare workers. "They did such a wonderful job. I am so grateful."

This whole time, Diego was more than 700 miles away at their home in Syosset, due to visitor restrictions at hospitals to avoid the spread of the virus.

"The hardest part for any person in this situation is the disconnect, of not being able to be with your loved one. Not being able to be there physically. I think that takes a toll on everyone," he said.

But Diego is grateful that Zoila was in Kentucky when she became sick.

"The blessing for my wife is that she was there," he said. "There are no words that I have to commend the team that my wife had, all the doctors, all the nurses. If I was in a situation like that, that is who I would want myself. On a scale of 1 to 10, they were a thousand. They are all very kind. The doctors were candid, and they were very vested in my wife."

Hospital epidemiologist Dr. Mark Dougherty is part of the team that cared for Zoila, updating her family with her progress throughout her stay. "We developed a special relationship with Zoila. With her husband and children so far away we felt like her second family," he said. "She persisted through an arduous course during her illness but is now recovering rapidly. She received one of the first doses of convalescent plasma given in the country and we think that intervention, along with other innovative care, assisted in her recovery."

Zoila's inner strength was vital to her recovery, said Dr. Yuri Villaran, an intensivist who works with critically ill patients. "Her success is the combination of the efforts of multiple medical specialists, therapists and the care she received in the ICU, but even more importantly by her positive attitude," he said. "One of the things I remember the most, is once she was awake, and off the ventilator, seeing her trying to smile, still weak, but highly motivated, giving us all the reassurance that she would be fine."

Now Zoila is going home, where she likes nothing better than being with her family and her dog Chase, a Maltese and Yorkie mix.

Diego asks that people to do everything they can to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"I say to everyone, just be responsible, wear a mask, space yourself out, don't be in a rush for everything and keep your hands clean. Listen to what the medical experts are saying. Do what they're asking of you."

SOURCE Baptist Health Lexington
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The Congolese minister of health and populations, Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo, said here Monday the therapeutic plan applied to deal with the coronavirus epidemic was proving positive
Can we really tell male and female dinosaurs apart? PhysOrg

Old math reveals new secrets about these alluring flowers National Geographic (David L)

Scientists Find The First Animal That Doesnt Need Oxygen to Survive Science Alert (David L)

Humans and Neanderthals co-existed in Europe for far longer than thought Guardian (Kevin W)

This summers severe temperatures could make the pandemic even more complicated Popular Science

Water loss in northern peatlands threatens to intensify fires, global warming SCIENMAG (resilc)

Racetrack Memory Will Make Your Computer Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger Popular Mechanics. Jeff C:

This is supposedly about a new data-storage technique (I suspect an overhyped one, but Im not qualified to say for sure), but thats irrelevant. Just look more closely at the circuit board! Youll see the Pentagon, an airport, multiple office buildings, a railroad yard, an aircraft parking lot, various busy highways, and  my favorite  Angkor Wat! Some editor was asleep, and some rogue author was out to prove it. Enjoy before its taken down.

#COVID-19

Our weird behavior during the pandemic is screwing with AI models MIT Technology Review (David L). Well, some upside, albeit very limited.

George Soros: Coronavirus endangers our civilisation Independent (resilc)

Woodstock Occurred in the Middle of a Pandemic AIER (Dr. Kevin)

Coronavirus: Israel turns surveillance tools on itself BBC (David L)

Why the coming emerging markets debt crisis will be messy Financial Times (J-LS)

China?

The European Central Bank is deluding itself over German court ruling Financial Times (David L)

Trump Transition

Newly declassified evidence undercuts former DNI Clappers testimony to Congress Just The News (Chuck L)

2020

Musk Reopens Teslas Plant, Dares Authorities to Arrest Him Bloomberg

Toyota Forecasts 20% Drop in Revenue From Coronavirus Wall Street Journal

Antidote du jour (Tracie H):

And a bonus:

Fun fact: Red Salamanders and mud salamanders are in the genus Pseudotriton which literally means fake newts. https://t.co/VvN3fr8ehm  Ethan Real Artist Kocak (@Blackmudpuppy) May 11, 2020

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Nana Akufo-Addo and Jean Adukwei Mensa dont care about Ghanaian lives.



Chuku Chaka, Chuku Chaka Chuku Chaka. I hear the sound of a locomotive train from a distance that is moving slowly to 7th December 2020. Will it bump and grind to its destination safely?



Over 4,700 cases already? Where are we heading as a country? At this rate we will be setting records in Africa very soon.



A Virologist with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), Dr. Michael Owusu has noted that considering Ghanas current statistics, breakdown and the strategies undertaken so far, there will be a significant jump in the number of COVID-19 cases in the next one or two weeks if nothing significant changes.



Nana Akuffo Addo seriously has unleashed the dragon. So is it true that they have done over 160,000 tests which are not equivalent to even the population of Nima and they say we have peaked?



This position cant be really true?



It looks like we havent seen anything yet. Thank God we are not dying like ants or the Brits and American but who knows? The Americans predict that we will have the major boom in summer.



Did you know that MONKEYS PLAY BY SIZES? Yes, they do, so Dr Afari Djans classmate cannot be Jean Adukwei Mensah in elections- related matters and running of the Electoral Commission.



Apart from wisdom, there is nothing more special that you need to make you a great leader when power is handed over to you. Dr Afari Djan had it all.



What at all do Jean Mensa and the Electoral Commission want?



Is it a do-or-die affair for the NPP to do a new voters register?



Maybe there might be a real motive behind their persistence.



Monkeys indeed play by sizes. Do you know that smaller tasks mostly come with smaller challenges?



If you are willing to take step-by-step methods to solve bigger tasks, you will easily overcome challenges that attempt to stop you.



Wont Jean Mensa learn? She will soon stumble and fall before she realizes that there is nobody around to give her a helping hand.



As this world scrambles to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the virus continues to spread to terrorize the nations of the world to bow their knees.



Scientists are trying to better understand how the pathogen spreads in order to reduce the worldwide pandemic.



Surprisingly, the Ghana Health Service and the Government of Ghana have continuously churned out massaged updates to the Ghanaian public and the world at large with a view to make the Ghanaian COVID-19 situation look good in the global eye.



The Nana Akuffo Addo 9th Edition update of Covid -19 that was recorded and played on the 10th of May 2020 was full of deliberate distortions and doesnt reflect Ghanas true COVID situation. Contrary to what the President would have us believe, Ghanas current COVID-19 situation is very bleak. We have recorded a total of 4,700 positive cases with 22 deaths, making us the number one country with more COVID-19 cases in the whole of West Africa. Akufo-Addos government is failing Ghanaians once again.



This fact becomes even more glaring when Ghanas situation is juxtaposed with that of developing countries like Rwanda (284 cases with no deaths) and Vietnam (288 cases with no deaths, even though the Vietnam shares a vast land border with China, with a population of 97 million).



There is an adage among the GA people that translates that, if your mother is dead and you continue to say she is asleep, very soon the housefly will expose you by the smell of her rotten corpse.



Both the Government of Ghana and the Ghana Health Service will soon be exposed by the escalating COVID-19 figures!!



Akufo-Addos claim that Ghana has done better in the COVID fight because we have tested more persons is a barefaced lie. It must be understood, that a higher number of tests based on contacts traced, is no proof that a country is doing better than a country with a lower number of tests. Certain countries were proactive in adopting aggressive preventive and containment measures early, thereby reducing community infections. Hence, they have lower numbers of contacts to trace and test. Ghana was sloppy from the outset, as we delayed in closing our borders and airport and allowed an influx of people from abroad into the country. This is why we have more contacts to trace and test than most African countries.



This feat cannot be an achievement but rather, a monumental failure on the part of President Akuffo-Addo to protect Ghanaians.



For emphasis, our numbers arent high because we are doing aggressive testing as claimed by the President. There is no better way to illustrate it than this- Fishing with a Bigger Net in an empty river doesnt increase your Catch. Our numbers are high because of increased community spread in the country which accounts for over 80% of our cases.



In short, we are here because of Akufo-Addos needless tour of Europe including Norway; where one of the first 2 confirmed cases came from. The Presidents failure to release GHS35 million to bolster our preparation and response plan as was recommended by the WHO right from the outset and his delayed closure of our borders etc. constitute a punishable failure. Simply put, we are in this mess because President Akufo-Addo failed to adopt aggressive Containment and Mitigation measures on time.



Secondly the trajectory of our positive cases within the last week shows that governments claim that we were near our peak is a blatant falsehood, and the contravention of same by other astute health experts has only further exposed and deepened the dishonesty of the Akufo-Addo government in handling this COVID-19 situation.



Our alarmingly increasing positive case count, particularly community infections, in the last one week, shows that our situation is rather worsening and government must be honest about that.



Claims by Akufo-Addo and his government that the WHO has applauded Ghana for our management of the COVID-19 crises is not factual, as no such evidence exist on the WHOs website or anywhere. We challenge government to buttress this claim with verifiable evidence. In any case, the reality on the ground bears out this claim as a spurious one.



Akufo-Addo said in his latest address that All 533 workers who tested positive for COVID-19 at a fish processing facility in Tema were infected by one person and claimed that the 921 new cases which took the case count to 4,012 were from backlogs dating as far back as April 26, 2020.



However, Prof. Ampofo of Noguchi (the Presidents own relative) made it clear on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 that they had cleared all test backlogs with the only backlog being just 1,982 samples at KCCR to be cleared by Thursday, May 7.



So between President Akufo-Addo and Prof. Ampofo, who is telling the truth and who should Ghanaians believe? Its a confusion Galore.



Akufo-Addos claim that those criticizing his shambolic handling of COVID-19 are doing so for political relevance is most unfortunate and speaks to his crass intolerance for dissent.



Was he not the same person who called for all-hands on deck approach to Ghanas COVID fight? Or was he expecting all of us to line up and sing his praises when he did so?



The facts show that President Mahama and the NDC have been very supportive and responsible in Ghanas fight against the pandemic. The NDC Technical COVID Response Team has presented two documents on alternative solutions to government. President Mahama continues to provide invaluable support and suggestions for our collective fight against the pandemic. He continues to distribute PPEs (close to 1000 PPE so far) to health workers in hospitals across the country and food to thousands of deprived households to help the COVID fight. What else does Akufo-Addo expect Mahama to do?



How many opposition leaders in the world have done this to support the governments of their countries? And when will Akufo-Addo rise above petty partisanship and commend John Dramani Mahama for his unparalleled contributions to Ghanas COVID fight like President Buhari of Nigeria commended APCs Atiku?



Can Akufo-Addo tell us any support he offered the Mahama government or the nation during the Ebola crises? Has he forgotten how he fiercely criticized the Mahama government and in some cases, engaged in shameful doomsaying on Ebola? Has he forgotten how he formed a shadow cabinet whiles in opposition? And was he seeking political relevance then?



The NDC as a responsible opposition has a duty to the nation to keep government on its toes through constructive criticisms and alternative solution proposals and no attempt to gag us into silence or coerce us into singing the praises of an inept President will wash.



More importantly, beyond the empty rhetoric, President Akufo-Addo failed to address the critical challenges confronting Ghanas COVID-19 fight in his latest address.



Ghanas COVID-19 testing regime still remains very slow and inefficient, with tested persons having to wait for 2/3 weeks, and in some cases, more than one month for their test results.



Also, tests are still based solely on contact tracing. When will we begin mass testing to comprehensively check community infections and ascertain our true rate of infection?



Public education is still poor. This accounts for the ever-worsening non-adherence to precautionary protocols by the populace. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the NCCE hasnt received a dime from government for their work, especially community education. They need funds; not just face masks as Akufo-Addo promised in his address.



Availability of PPE for our health professionals still remains a huge challenge. Over 30 doctors and nurses have been infected by the virus so far. There are still loud complaints from the GMA and health professionals about the lack of basic protective gear. Yet, Akufo-Addo has resourced the Jean Mensa-led EC to procure PPE for EC officials for the purposes of the needless new voters register.



Can Akufo-Addo direct those funds into the procurement of more PPE for our health professionals?



As for Akufo-Addos 419 recycled promise that he will build 94 hospitals in one (1) year, the least said about it the better. He has failed to fulfill the one district, one hospital promise he made to Ghanaians in the run up to the 2016 general elections on Page 34, paragraph G of NPPs 2016 manifesto. He hasnt built a single hospital in almost 4 years despite being the most resourced President in Ghanas history, with over GHS260 billion, made up of GHS115 billion borrowings, about GHS130 billion tax revenues and about 15bn in oil revenues and GHS6 billion in grants.



He should first complete the hundreds of abandoned Mahama health infrastructure projects across the country, before he decides to waste the tax payers money on fraudulent sod-cuttings for votes. Ghanaians will not be hoodwinked by his deceptive Agenda 88 or whatever fraudulent promises again.



Akufo-Addo must understand that the 2020 elections will not just be about promises but also a comparison of records. He should stop making 419 promises and tell us what he has done with his unprecedented total resources of over GHS260 billion he has had in the last 3 and half years.



Mr. Akufo-Addo, Ghanaians are being infected with coronavirus day in day out. Health workers are badly exposed to this deadly virus because of lack of PPEs.



Why are we not testing all health and frontline workers every week or two weeks? Doctors have been trying to test their staff for weeks but cant even get info on cases in their area to know if its a high risk zone.



We come into contact with so many people daily without PPEs its scary. What about testing of our market women, taxi drivers and porters Have u been to the market to see what is going on there.



What about testing all factory workers and all security personnel? They are also at very high risk. We can start from there and that should give us a much better picture of the situation. So far our testing is very limited, shady and spotty. What can ordinary Ghanaians do to protect themselves when the President is not seen to be exemplary in wearing a nose mask as shown in coronavirus adverts on billboards mushrooming in major towns in the country.



In the face of the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Jean Mensa- led Electoral Commission has been pushing an agenda to change the current voters register.



Jean Mensa and the NPP must note this commonsensical adage among some Akans: do not call the forest that you sheltered in the past, a jungle.



Additionally, our Akan elders have said that he who cannot dance will say the drum is bad.



Indeed, the voters register is not bad but Jean Mensa doesnt know how to dance as an Electoral Commission Boss to the drum beats of the Ghanaian public: Dont rusk Ghanaian lives at this period of the COVID-19 pandemic.



It looks curious to see the Electoral Commission and the NPP administration in cahoots trying to create an avenue to enable them allow the new voters registration to start; but the million cedis question is: DO THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION AND THE NPP ADMINISTRATION CARE ABOUT THE LIVES OF GHANAINS? The obvious answer is NO



Where are the Health Experts who know the real COVID-19 figures? Wont they speak up to counteract the massaged figures being presented to the general public by scripted robot Ministers of State?



Even the commoner on the street can tell you that, doing a new registration exercise now can be dangerous, so how come those who are educated cant think straight. Is this another indirect all-die-be-die statement? Lord have mercy



Dont you think that the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission are very wicked people and who dont care about Ghanaians?



The new voter registration exercise will require that everyone will converge at a polling station and interact with Electoral Commission staff and write their names and fill out a form, meet security personnel and possibly interact with party agents.



Cant you see that we will be exposing ourselves to COVID-19? Wont the registration exercise be dangerous to Ghanaians?



The most serious and dangerous process is going to be the finger print capture where every registrant will put his/her fingers on ONE particular machine to be able to get the process complete. Again, are we not exposing ourselves and isnt that very dangerous



We are being told to wash our hands and use hand sanitizers; but is it a guarantee to kill the coronavirus ? How sure we that every finger placed on that machine will be clean of the virus? Is it not another way to spread the virus?



Recently, government officials exhibited incompetence in sharing food to the needy and vulnerable in society during a three week government enforced COVID-19 lockdown.



How can the citizens trust the NPP government and the EC to be competent when a voter registration is not for the needy only but every class of persons will need to register to get their names written in the so-called register?



Nana Akufo-Addos government wants to derail a country that has been a beacon of hope for Africa with their parochial interests. These are the descendants of the people who planned and killed Kwame Nkrumahs dreams of making Ghana a paradise. If you know you know. Indeed monkeys play by sizes.



There is a GA adage that says that, the rain beats the leopards skin but it does not wash out its spots.[Interpretation: Old habits die hard. If you are known in your community for one thing (especially, that which is bad), it will be very difficult for the society to change its opinion about you even if you one day do good things. Impressions count a lot.]



Ghanaians are wide awake and some of us will not allow these groups of people to hold Ghana hostage



Let me leave you with this GA adage, in the presence of the head, the knee does not wear a hat. (Interpretation: If you invest all your resources in one venture, you stand the risk of losing all and suffering the painful consequences. Before you do anything at all, make sure that you have a back-up for it. In other words, it is dangerous for you to plunge yourself into a situation without any careful effort.)



I ask of Nana Addo and Jean Mensa: Have you thought about the positive cases of the coronavirus in Ghana and the rate at which its spreading?



Come to think about it as Ghanaians, did you in your wildest dream think that the government could pay for our water and electricity bills for months? If there is a will, there is a way.



We are very lucky that we can learn from the mistakes of others and do it right with our limited resources. Italy and America started it wrong and are paying dearly for it. They had the resources and advice to start it right but having baboons in government who think they know more than the professionals. We started (just a couple of weeks late) right but started to mess up along the way.



Now even the White House of the United States of America is in chaos. Its just a matter of time before Trump and his Vice get it if they dont start wearing masks.



In Ghana the report that we have done 160,000 tests. Do you know who was tested? Most will survive once infected but will you?



Why are so many Ghanaians outside dying? Do we really have only 22 Coronavirus related deaths?



Some countries have gone back and realized that they missed some cases that have already died so they are changing their figures.



Testing will continue despite the hard financial times because that is the only way we can tell if we are getting somewhere and our positive numbers will keep going up.



The most annoying thing is that after a few days your test result is useless and our tests can also miss some positives and those who test positive would have come into contact with innocent people again.



My only suggestion is that now we need to prioritize and get the testing results quicker. Very soon the contacts will be so many that we will have to stop the tracing and start selection.



The Dragon has been unleashed and if medical advice is not followed to the letter by all then soon most of us will be infected and it will become survival of the fittest.



Social distancing and masks have helped New York reduce their numbers drastically. If we dont find a way to enforce it we will continue to battle this infection for years.



Lets those who are in power and have the biggest so called microphone think of a new strategy to make people understand what is really going on.



If necessary show Ghanaians the victims on National television to scare the religious fanatics and illiterates. Instead of putting politicians on banners lets start putting realistic and informative pictures.



The dragon is unleashed and already in motion devouring and if we dont get it under control we will not be able conduct elections on 7th December 2020.



Nana Akuffo Addo has unleashed the Dragon and its a violent force called the CoronaVirus that cannot be controlled.



I believe Nana Akufo Addo just wants us to be the leader in Africa in the case count because some monies that have come into their coffers need to be spent at all cost.



Remember MONEY AND POWER CAN NOT BUY BACK LOST LIVES. Protect the Ghanaian and KEEP OFF THE VOTERS REGISTRATION EXERCISE.



We wont register Ghanaians and later bury our beloved COVID-19 victims.



A voters registration exercise will lead to a fast spread of COVID-19 in Ghana Each one for himself and God will help us all.



Beware!!!!



Author: T.T. Caternor is ringing the bell loudly: Ding dong! Ding dong!!! From La Dadekotpon

Source: T.T. Caternor









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Featured Video
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 12, 2020 -- For the second year in a row, a team from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories led a demonstration hosted by EPB, a community-based utility and telecommunications company serving Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Using an isolated portion of EPB's fiber-optic network, the team experimented with quantum-based technologies that could improve the cybersecurity, longevity and efficiency of the nation's power grid. Among other successes, the researchers drastically increased the range that these resources can cover in collaboration with their new industry partner, Qubitekk.

The team tested quantum key distribution, or QKD, systems that harness the power of quantum mechanics to authenticate data and encrypt messages with a secret "key." Using private encryption methods, the key securely transmits "locked" information from one QKD system to another through a "trusted node" that is virtually invulnerable to cyberattacks.

"This technology relies not on the mathematical laws that govern modern computer security but on the physical laws of quantum mechanics that do not change over time," said Raymond Newell, who leads LANL's quantum communications team. "As a result, we can make security assurances that will remain true indefinitely because they do not rely on assumptions."

Last year, ORNL, LANL and EPB demonstrated that QKD systems could work together seamlessly despite having different underlying hardware and software components, an important step toward eventually incorporating QKD into the grid -- which provides electricity to buildings throughout the United States -- on a national level. These systems could help ensure the compatibility of equipment from various vendors that support utility owners and operators.

"Having demonstrated interoperability, we can now show the benefits of an extended range that covers a larger territory and simply gets further than would have been possible with a single system operating on its own," Newell said.

During this year's demonstration, the researchers placed their systems and a new system developed by Qubitekk, a QKD developer and manufacturer, in electrical substations in Chattanooga. These substations were connected by the piece of EPB's fiber-optic network set aside for testing and served as pitstops that allowed each system to pass a key to the next system.

Severe distance limitations previously prevented QKD from becoming a viable addition to existing grid management techniques, but this test proved that three distinct systems can complete a real-world relay of quantum keys across the city.

"Successfully demonstrating QKD performance in a real environment helps establish the feasibility of this technology for protecting critical energy delivery infrastructure," said Nicholas Peters, the Quantum Information Science, or QIS, group leader at ORNL.

Storing the QKD systems in substations -- boxes surrounded by buildings, cameras, fences and other security measures -- provided cyber and physical protection.

"QKD is unique because it can detect the presence of any eavesdropper who attempts to intercept and copy information," said ORNL QIS Quantum Communications Team Lead Phil Evans. "These interceptions show up as errors and we throw them away before they can leak any key information."

In addition to extending the physical distance over which these systems can communicate, the trusted node approach also benefits utility providers by allowing additional substations to exist on the quantum network. As a result, the control center can communicate and securely issue critical instructions to all substations simultaneously.

"With this technology, utilities get better cybersecurity without introducing administrative headaches. It is a set-and-forget solution that simplifies cybersecurity operations for utilities," said Duncan Earl, president and chief technology officer of Qubitekk.

Current smart grid communications leverage existing classical technologies, but adding private quantum networks would enhance cybersecurity and improve the durability of crucial resources. Although everyday devices such as smartphones and laptops generally require replacement every few years when the operating software is no longer supported, swapping substations or generators that often would be impractical and expensive.

"In principle, QKD systems integrated into the grid would stay secure for decades, matching or exceeding the service life of the physical infrastructure," Peters said.

Although cybersecurity and longevity are important to QKD performance, better operating efficiency is also essential. For example, parts of the grid that support renewable energy sources such as solar power depend on the ever-changing position of the sun and clouds, and QKD could help distribute responsibility throughout other portions of the grid to compensate for fluctuating output while still reaping the rewards of green energy.

With one of the most advanced smart grids in the country, EPB has become a pioneer in grid research through longstanding partnerships and novel demonstrations that test quantum technology at unprecedented magnitude.

"We are proud of our partnership with DOE, ORNL and LANL and that EPB could host this quantum-based security field test for this simulation," said Steve Morrison, EPB's director of information security. "These smart grid demonstrations help us develop promising technology to help protect America's electric grid from cyberattacks."

ORNL and LANL researchers continue to develop quantum technologies -- some of which are commercially licensed and some of which are in the early stages of testing -- and both laboratories plan to continue collaborating with EPB.

"We've found them to be an excellent partner," Evans said. "They have a very forward-looking mindset and have built a fantastic fiber-optic network that includes the isolated dark fiber test bed they have let us use for many experiments. We could not have gotten this far without the people at EPB."

Bit by bit, the team hopes to deploy more QKD resources in the national grid system to see these same advancements on a much larger scale.

###

This research was supported by DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. To date, the Office has developed and transitioned over 35 technologies to the energy sector by partnering with industry, cybersecurity vendors, academia, and National Laboratories. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/ceser.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for DOE's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE's Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.-- Elizabeth Rosenthal
On Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that three children from New York have died and 73 have become severely ill with an inflammatory disease linked to the new coronavirus. The disease, pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, has similar symptoms to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock.

Governor Cuomo on Friday reported the first death of a five-year-old boy. The number of deaths has raised to three after a seven-year-old and a teenager died reported at a press conference on Saturday.

Dr. Howard Zucker, New York health commissioner, said two children who died were of primary school age, the third was an adolescent, and they were from three different countries and had no known underlying medical concerns. Several states have reported similar cases.

According to Governor Cuomo, the disease is new and developing and has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers.

Governor Cuomo articulated that a lot of the children did not show respiratory symptoms, which are associated with Covid-19 when they were initially brought to the hospitals, but they all tested positive either for the virus or its antibodies.

At least 85 similar cases in children were found across US with New York having the majority of the cases.

New York City reported on Monday that 15 patients aged between 2 and 15 had been hospitalized over the past three weeks with the symptoms of the new coronavirus-related syndrome. The first known fatality from the new illness in the US was the death of a five-year-old boy. A case has been taken down with a team at California's Stanford children's hospital.

Read also: China Offers Help to North Korea to Control Coronavirus Pandemic

Last week, New York City health officials have alerted about the disease, but health workers were warned on May 1 after hearing of reports from Britain. Prolonged high fever, rash, severe abdominal pain, and racing hearts are the common symptoms of the disease.

Dr. David Reich, president of Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, uttered the five cases his hospital handled initially had gastrointestinal issues and developed to expanded blood pressure, very low blood pressure, and in several cases, heart failure. He said they first thought the disease only kills old people and not kids.

Children do not only struggle with arterial inflammation. According to a report, for a virus believed to primarily destroy the lungs, the new coronavirus also attacks the heart, disrupting its critical rhythm, and weakening its muscles. The disease savages kidneys badly causing some hospitals to run short of dialysis equipment. It creeps along the nervous system, deteriorating taste and smell and occasionally reaching the brain. It also creates blood clots that can kill.

Several scientists now believe the new coronavirus wreaks chaos in the body through some combination of an attack on blood vessels, possibly the endothelial cells, which line the blood vessels, and cytokine storms, when the immune system becomes haywire.

Dr. Mandeep Mehra at Harvard Medical School in a report said their hypothesis is that the new coronavirus disease begins as a respiratory virus and kills as a cardiovascular virus.

Related article: Healthy Levels of Vitamin D Can Increase COVID-19 Survivability, Study Suggests

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Most Americans voluntarily stayed at home during the early days of the COVID-19 tsunami, before states began issuing official "shelter-in-place" orders, new research indicates.

Why? Because statewide emergency declarations coupled with newsof first infections, first fatalities and school closureswere motivation enough to get folks to stay home. This was more motivating than quarantine mandates imposed weeks later, say investigators.

The findings follow a review of U.S. cellphone signal patterns from early March through much of April. The data generated by more than 20 million smartphones a day across all 50 states illustrated how much or how little users were moving about on a daily basis. That information was then stacked up against a timeline of state and local policy decisions.

Since March, "mobility fell substantially in all states. Even ones that have not adopted major distancing mandates," said study lead author Sumedha Gupta, an assistant professor of economics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

That, she said, is because, even without stay-at-home requirements, people responded almost immediately to the alarming information they were getting.

"There is little evidence that stay-at-home mandates induced distancing," said Gupta. Instead, it appears that "early and information-focused actions have had bigger effects."

The findings, which have not been peer-reviewed, should be considered preliminary. They appear in a "working paper" published recently by the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research.

The team compiled a list of policy "events" as they unfolded. In most states that trajectory began with a series of emergency declarations, including a State of Emergency, a Public Health Emergency, and/or a Public Health Disaster.

By March 16, all 50 states had enacted these measures, although they did not specifically impose restrictions on movement. But they often overlapped with news reports of the first local cases and deaths, and likely "conveyed the seriousness of the situation to the population," the researchers said.

School closures were typically put in place a bit later, although 48 states had made the move by April 7.

By contrast, state and county stay-at-home orders were usually the last to be issued, although they were the measures that most directly addressed mobility. By mid-April, 45 states (or communities within states) had taken this step, with the exception of Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

These developments were then aligned with publicly available cellphone data obtained from sources such as Apple Mobility, Google Mobility, SafeGraph, and PlaceIQ. The information was used to track movement outside the home during the 20 days before and after each policy was enacted.

The conclusion: Mobility fell hard and fell early, before the passage of mitigation policies. And that meant that by the time shelter-in-place orders had been declared they had almost no appreciable impact, the team said.

Specifically, Gupta's team determined that roughly 55% of the decisions people made to stay at home were attributable to emergency declarations issued in March. The rest were likely a function of individuals choosing to limit their movement based on news and information they received, rather than edicts.

Still, Gupta cautioned that as quarantine fatigue grows, the influence of news could wane.

"Over time, individuals may be less inclined to continue to restrict their mobility and interactions," Gupta said. So it's possible that as the pandemic continues to unfold, government leadership coupled with safety mandates and enforcement may become more critical, not less.

That thought was echoed by retired Brigadier Gen. Thomas Kolditz, founding director of Rice University's Doerr Institute for New Leaders in Houston.

"For most of the past 20 years, polls by Gallup and others show that people trust local government more than state government," he noted, "and local conditions tend to dictate localized behaviors. People make judgments about what's happening around them."

The problem, however, is that people can "vary widely in terms of personal discipline and resilience," Kolditz observed. And as steps are taken toward an economic restart, "reopening guidance has been so complex that the likelihood of a disciplined reopening is very low," he added.

All of this means that statewide guidance, in coordination with local leadership, will have a key role to play, Kolditz believes. "Without coordinated state guidance, states are likely to experience increasingly negative aspects of both staying at home and reopening," he said.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: There's more about sheltering in place at the There's more about sheltering in place at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:07:02|Editor: huaxia

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BISHKEK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China has handed over a second batch of medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan to help combat COVID-19, the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said Monday.

The second batch includes detection reagents, KN95 face masks, medical surgical masks, forehead thermometers and protective goggles, the embassy said.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen said that since the outbreak, the two peoples have stood together.

"In accordance with the agreement reached by President Xi Jinping and President Sooronbai Jeenbekov during the phone talk, the Chinese government once again provided medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan to help Kyrgyzstan fight the epidemic," Du said.

She said China is willing to work together with Kyrgyzstan to further strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation, co-build the Belt and Road, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for humankind.

On behalf of the Kyrgyz government, Vice Prime Minister Akram Madumarov, who also attended the ceremony, thanked the Chinese government for its continuous support.

The Chinese government, in addition to providing humanitarian assistance, also provides advisory support, he noted.

"China has provided tangible help and sent medical experts to Kyrgyzstan to share their experience in combating coronavirus," he said.

Madumarov expressed confidence that the medical supplies provided by China will enable Kyrgyzstan to strengthen measures to counter the common threat.

Within the framework of the Kyrgyzstan-China comprehensive strategic partnership, Kyrgyzstan is willing to continue to advance anti-epidemic cooperation with China and strives for an early victory over the disease, he said.

Earlier in March, China donated the first batch of medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan, including rapid tests, thermometers, medical suits and other medical protective equipment.

As of Tuesday, Kyrgyzstan has reported a total of 1,037 confirmed cases with 12 deaths, said the country's health ministry. Enditem
The surprising and exceptional decision to name Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to be both Israels ambassador to the United Nations and Israels ambassador in Washington was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of political constraints.

The prime minister found himself in a tough spot in distributing ministries for senior members of his Likud party because of the generous coalition agreement with Blue and White. According to the national-unity deal, each party gets an equal number of ministerial portfolios. This meant Netanyahu had to be creative in finding suitable solutions for those who had been serving as ministers. On May 11 he met with Erdan, a popular Likud minister, and presented him with this enticing offer: to be his right hand in the United States, in the two most senior positions, during a period when Netanyahu intends to promote the imposition of Israeli sovereignty on West Bank lands with the Trump administration.

Erdan, 50, known for his tendency to deliberate, came to a quick decision this time. In the past he was offered the job of ambassador to the United Nations several times, but he always refused. This time he said yes to Netanyahu after he realized that the prime minister did not intend to leave him in the Public Security Ministry. In this situation, the offer he was made, given the circumstances, was not a bad deal: serving in roles that will give him diplomatic and foreign affairs experience for his future career. Erdan hasnt given up on his ambition to lead the Likud and serve as prime minister in the future.

According to the agreement they reached, Erdan will continue to serve as security minister until the government authorizes his appointment as ambassador to the United Nations, and only then would he resign from the Knesset and start his term in the United Nations as Danny Danons replacement. In the second stage, following the presidential election in the United States in November, he would also step into Ron Dermers shoes as ambassador to Washington and serve in the two ambassadorial roles simultaneously. When Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz starts his term as prime minister as part of the rotation agreement with Netanyahu, Gantz could replace Erdan as ambassador to the US, with Erdan remaining in the UN post.

Erdan, who is married with four school-age children, hasnt yet decided whether he will live in Washington or New York.

Although the double appointment was borne out of a political predicament for Netanyahu, this wasnt an arbitrary decision. According to all signs, in the coming days Netanyahu intends to promote, with all his might, the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. To do so, he needs a trustworthy man and a person identified with right-wing ideology for diplomacy with the White House. Erdan meets those two criteria.

Erdan and Netanyahu have known each other for nearly three decades, from the days that Erdan served as chairman of Likud youth during Netanyahus first term as prime minister in the 1990s. In the past decade Netanyahu appointed Erdan to senior Cabinet posts, among them as minister of interior, communications, environment and home front defense. During the past five years, Erdan has also led the government response on strategic topics such as combating the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. In these roles Erdan has served as a member of the diplomatic-security cabinet and gained much knowledge and experience.

During his tenure as public security minister, the police investigations of Netanyahu were initiated and concluded with serious indictments. During this time, Netanyahu felt that Erdan did not use his office and authority to moderate what the prime minister saw as a police witch hunt against him. For this reason, they have grown apart, but Erdan has never publicly challenged Netanyahu, and stood by him in the last primary race to lead the Likud in December.

Over the years Erdan has backed all of Netanyahus diplomatic moves, and was the first minister to thank President Donald Trump for the deal of the century and for the green light the American ambassador to Israel David Friedman gave to impose sovereignty over the West Bank. Erdogan said then, The worldview of the Trump administration, as expressed by Ambassador Friedman, is the only one that could bring change and cause the Palestinians to understand that boycotting Israel and the United States and supporting terror and incitement wont bring them any achievements and that they are the ones with the most to lose from refusing peace.

Thus, in this respect Netanyahu can rest easy. Erdan will serve as the prime minister's executive arm in the United States and, like the outgoing Dermer, Erdan will enjoy a relationship of trust and an open door with the Trump administration.

As mentioned above, the appointment of one man to serve in these two roles simultaneously is unusual, and the only Israeli who previously served in these two roles at the same time was Abba Eban, who was the first Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, appointed at the creation of the state in 1948, and two years later was appointed as the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Eban is regarded as a mythological ambassador who laid the foundations for Israeli diplomacy, and later served as foreign minister. But this was in the distant past when Israel was a small, young nation with little means.

Diplomatic observers have noted critically that there are only four nations in the world that have the same ambassador to the United Nations and to Washington: Andorra, San Marino, Djibouti and the Maldives.

Erdan is a respected figure in Israeli politics from both the right and left, and this is the reason that criticism of the double appointment was expressed only without attribution. A senior Blue and White source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Its surprising every time how Netanyahu destroys the whole governing order for his benefit and political needs. Its not reasonable that one person would serve in these two important roles.

In media interviews over the past day Erdan has sounded like someone who is coming to the job with a clear agenda and goals. He said that he agreed with Netanyahu on adding diplomats to the delegation to the United Nations, which has suffered a human resources shortage. In his words, Israel stands before a historic process of annexing Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. There could be major problems in the United Nations. Theres a legal process advancing against Israel in the International Court at the Hague [ICC], and Iran isnt waiting, and is moving toward a nuclear bomb.

Netanyahu, according to reports, is expected to invite Erdan to one of the meetings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he arrives in Israel on May 13.
Fredrick Bailey of Western High School

Communities In Schools of Nevada (CIS of Nevada), the fifth largest state office of the nations leading dropout prevention organization, along with partner Walker Furniture, is once again shining a spotlight on high school juniors and seniors for the students impressive success in increasing their overall GPA during the 2019 fall semester through the 3rd annual Elevate Your GPA scholastic competition.

The winning student, Fredrick Bailey of Western High School, raised his GPA by 0.66. As a reward, Treasha Parker, CIS Academy Program Director, and Brandon Carmon, CIS of Nevada Site Coordinator, personally delivered a Visa gift card to Baileys home earlier this month. Through the CIS Academy Program, CIS of Nevada assists high school juniors and seniors get back on track with their credits so they may graduate and be prepared for the next step in life after high school.

I am so proud of Fredricks perseverance and commitment to improve his GPA last semester, said Brandon Carmon, CIS of Nevada site coordinator for Western High School. I see firsthand the various obstacles my case managed students endure on a regular basis. The Walker Furniture sponsored program is an excellent way to celebrate our students progress towards their goals because it continues to challenge our students across different backgrounds to push themselves academically and stay focused during the last two years of high school.

The winning class, Western High Schools Junior CIS Academy Class, will receive a room remodel for their hard work in collectively raising the class overall GPA over the course of the 2019 fall semester. Of the 194 students who make up CIS Academy Classes across Clark County, 172 of them, or 89 percent, increased their GPA by more than two percent, thanks partly to this scholastic competition.

Theres no greater feeling than being able to recognize these hard-working students for remaining focused in their studies and raising their GPA through the Elevate Your GPA initiative, said Linda Alterwitz-Mizrahi, co-owner, Walker Furniture. This is our third year sponsoring this wonderful program and given the unprecedented obstacles weve all endured over the last few months, it gives us more reason to commemorate these students achievements. We congratulate Fredrick Bailey and hope the future classroom transformation will serve as a wonderful reminder to the students of their hard work in the competition and inspire other students to succeed.

While Western High Schools Junior Academy Class accomplished the greatest GPA increase last semester, all 12 CIS Academy Classes throughout the eight different high schools within the Clark County School District that CIS serves saw an increase in their GPA.

Our students success has always been our organizations most meaningful gift, and we couldnt provide the necessary tools needed to help them succeed if it wasnt for the overwhelming generosity of Walker Furniture and our network of community partners, said Cheri Ward, executive director, CIS of Southern Nevada. As we continue to navigate the uncharted waters of COVID-19 and our CIS site coordinators continue to bring community resources to our students, we are even more grateful for the continued collaborations with partners like the Walker Furniture team, that continuously does whatever it takes for our underserved children and teenagers.

Walker Furniture is also a proud partner of CIS of Nevadas annual Fill the Bus School Supply Drive intended to collect donations of school supplies through drop-off bins located at Walker Furniture store locations. Fill the Bus takes place during the summer months, in advance of the upcoming school year. Visit CISNevada.org for updates and more information.

Earlier this year, Walker Furniture, in partnership with Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, donated 15 new beds to selected kids including four CIS students through their annual initiative, Beds for Kids. The selected kids and their families also received the exclusive invitation to skate at City National Arena with Vegas Golden Knights personnel.

Nevada ranks 47th in the nation for education, a statistic that should alarm all Nevadans. Students who are hungry, sick, anxious, bullied or troubled may be too overwhelmed to learn, leading to failure in the classroom and eventually dropping out. Using an evidence-based, success-proven methodology and employing a network of more than 100 community agencies and nonprofits, CIS of Nevada literally brings the community into the school to provide students with the services and resources they need to alleviate outside pressures that prevent them from learning, ultimately encouraging them to stay in school.

About Communities In Schools of Nevada

Communities In Schools of Nevada is the fifth-largest state office of the nations leading dropout prevention organization that believes every child has potential but may lack the opportunity to succeed. Communities In Schools places caring, well-trained, full-time employees in high poverty schools to build trusting relationships with students, assess their needs and remove the barriers they face to learn and graduate.

Communities In Schools of Nevada taps into a network of more than 100 nonprofit agencies and nonprofits to meet student needs  literally bringing the community into the schools it serves. Communities In Schools of Nevada operates in nearly 70 rural and urban schools throughout four school districts statewide. In total, Communities In Schools of Nevada serves more than 70,000 students, including eight schools in Western Nevada; nine schools in Northern Nevada and 53 schools in Southern Nevada. Nationally, Communities In Schools provides services in more than 2,300 schools in 26 states and the District of Columbia, serving 1.56 million young people and their families every year.

For more information, please see our website http://www.cisnevada.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
DALLAS - Police have arrested two people after finding a 6-year-old boy locked in a shed in Dallas.

Esmeralda Lira, 53, and Jose Balderas, 66, were booked into the Dallas County jail on child endangerment charges. Bonds are set at $100,000 each. Court records state both are Mexican citizens and were in the United States illegally, so immigration holds have been placed on both.

A message seeking comment from the attorney appointed for Balderas was not answered immediately. Court records list no attorney for Lira.

A witness directed officers to the boy on Sunday night during a welfare check at a home in a suburban neighbourhood on the citys southeast side, said police spokeswoman Tamika Dameron. Medics evaluated the boy but did not take him to a hospital.

Dameron said both people were arrested without incident but declined to say their relationship to the boy. She also declined to say how long the child had been in the shed.

The boy, his 7-year-old sister and their 4-year-old brother were removed from the home and placed in foster care, said a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Infrared (upper left) and other images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed strange bare spots where the Moon's ubiquitous dust is missing. The spots suggest an active tectonic process. CREDIT NASA

Researchers have discovered a system of ridges spread across the nearside of the Moon topped with freshly exposed boulders.

The ridges could be evidence of active lunar tectonic processes, the researchers say, possibly the echo of a long-ago impact that nearly tore the Moon apart.

"There's this assumption that the Moon is long dead, but we keep finding that that's not the case," said Peter Schultz, a professor in Brown University's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and co-author of the research, which is published in the journal Geology. "From this paper it appears that the Moon may still be creaking and cracking -- potentially in the present day -- and we can see the evidence on these ridges."

Most of the Moon's surface is covered by regolith, a powdery blanket of ground-up rock created by the constant bombardment of tiny meteorites and other impactors. Areas free of regolith where the Moon's bedrock is exposed are vanishingly rare. But Adomas Valantinas, a graduate student at the University of Bern who led the research while a visiting scholar at Brown, used data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to spot strange bare spots within and surrounding the lunar maria, the large dark patches on the Moon's nearside.

"Exposed blocks on the surface have a relatively short lifetime because the regolith buildup is happening constantly," Schultz said. "So when we see them, there needs to be some explanation for how and why they were exposed in certain locations."

For the study, Valantinas used the LRO's Diviner instrument, which measures the temperature of the lunar surface. Just as concrete-covered cities on Earth retain more heat than the countryside, exposed bedrock and blocky surfaces on the Moon stays warmer through the lunar night than regolith-covered surfaces. Using nighttime observations from Diviner, Valantinas turned up more than 500 patches of exposed bedrock on narrow ridges following a pattern across the lunar nearside maria.

A few ridges topped with exposed bedrock had been seen before, Schultz says. But those ridges were on the edges of ancient lava-filled impact basins and could be explained by continued sagging in response to weight caused by the lava fill. But this new study discovered that the most active ridges are related to a mysterious system of tectonic features (ridges and faults) on the lunar nearside, unrelated to both lava-filled basins and other young faults that crisscross the highlands.

"The distribution that we found here begs for a different explanation," Schultz said.

Valantinas and Schultz mapped out all of the exposures revealed in the Diviner data and found an interesting correlation. In 2014, NASA's GRAIL mission found a network of ancient cracks in the Moon's crust. Those cracks became channels through which magma flowed to the Moon's surface to form deep intrusions. Valantinas and Schultz showed that the blocky ridges seemed to line up just about perfectly with the deep intrusions revealed by GRAIL.

"It's almost a one-to-one correlation," Schultz said. "That makes us think that what we're seeing is an ongoing process driven by things happening in the Moon's interior."

Schultz and Valantinas suggest that the ridges above these ancient intrusions arestill heaving upward. The upward movement breaks the surface and enables regolith to drain into cracks and voids, leaving the blocks exposed. Because bare spots on the Moon get covered over fairly quickly, this cracking must be quite recent, possibly even ongoing today. They refer to what they've found as ANTS, for Active Nearside Tectonic System.

The researchers believe that the ANTS was actually set in motion billions of years ago with a giant impact on the Moon's farside. In previous studies, Schultz and a co-worker proposed this impact, which formed the 1500-mile South Pole Aitken Basin, shattered the interior on the opposite side, the nearside facing the Earth. Magma then filled these cracks and controlled the pattern of dikes detected in the GRAIL mission. The blocky ridges comprising the ANTS now trace the continuing adjustments along these ancient weaknesses.

"This looks like the ridges responded to something that happened 4.3 billion years ago," Schultz said. "Giant impacts have long lasting effects. The Moon has a long memory. What we're seeing on the surface today is testimony to its long memory and secrets it still holds."



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In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some African leaders have called for increased access to malaria prevention and treatment tools in order to save more people from dying from the disease.

The leaders made this request in a statement signed by Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya and Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance.

The statement on Monday was co-signed by Jakaya Kikwete, former president of Tanzania, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Graca Machel, Founder, The Graca Machel Trust and Foundation for Community Development.

In the statement, efforts made to increase access to malaria prevention and treatment tools have saved more than 7 million lives and continues to save nearly 600,000 lives every year compared to levels in the previous decade.

However, it said these lives are at great risk if anti-malaria campaigns are discontinued, or if routine testing and treatment services are disrupted.

Immediate action is necessary to ensure campaigns not only continue, but are targeted to the populations at highest risk. This will help alleviate pressure on health resources that may be needed to treat COVID-19, it said.

Partners such as the WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria have recently issued new guidelines on how to safely continue providing life-saving preventive treatments, case management services and on developing social and behavior change programs in the face of COVID-19.

We applaud countries that are currently using these guidelines to reach thousands of people at risk with life-saving insecticide-treated mosquito nets, seasonal malaria chemoprevention and indoor residual spraying campaigns, it added.

The leaders, in the statement, urged manufacturers of essential malaria commodities to ensure the consistent availability of products and maintain production.

They also encouraged citizens to seek diagnosis and treatment for malaria at the first sign of symptoms.

The statement emphasised on the importance to sustain the nearly $3 billion USD in funding provided by countries who invested in the global malaria fight to ensure these efforts progress without disruption.

African Purchasing Power and Local Manufacturing of Critical Medical Supplies

The WHO estimates that as many as 940 billion pieces of medical grade personal protective equipment (PPE) are needed to respond to COVID-19 in major countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent analysis suggests that less than one third of clinics and health posts in sub-Saharan African have access to PPE and other vital medical supplies they need to address COVID-19.

Ten African countries have no ventilators and most face dangerous scarcity.

We are committed to fostering an environment where African countries can produce more of the lifesaving interventions and equipment needed to support response efforts in our nations, it said.

The leaders said Africa needs to move urgently to pool its procurement capacity and increase its buying power on the international market.

Also, ensure that African countries arent competing with one another, but working in tandem to support mutual efforts.

Improving the workforce

To effectively fight malaria, the statement highlighted that many African nations have established a network of community health workers (CHWs).

CHWs are often the only access to care for malaria and routine health services and will continue to play a consequential role in saving lives during the response to COVID-19.

It urged governments and donors to prioritize these essential frontline health workers specifically through measures that both protect CHWs and also empower them to interrupt the virus, maintain existing services and shield those most at risk.

Just like COVID-19, malaria does not respect borders and is a disease of poverty that presents as fever, shaking chills, headache and gastrointestinal issues, it said.

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Portions of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, sustained an intensive missile barrage from the Libyan National Army (LNA) last weekend. On Thursday evening, two missiles struck the park area between Al-Shatt Road and Zawyat Al-Dahmani, the district in which are located the Libyan National Broadcasting Company, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mahary Hotel, the Turkish Embassy and the Italian ambassadors residence. The bombardment resumed on Saturday and extended to the vicinity of Matiga International Airport, which has been closed since the beginning of the Tripoli offensive that LNA Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched in April 2019. The airport suffered considerable damage according to airport officials, the Ministry of Transport and the National Oil Company (NOC) which said that some of its facilities were hit.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Ministry of Health under the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) documented 15 deaths and more than 50 wounded as the result of the weekend strikes. UNSMIL condemned what it described as indiscriminate attacks on civilian-populated neighbourhoods in Tripoli. Italy and Turkey, whose diplomatic buildings are near the locations that LNA missiles struck, vehemently condemned the strikes. Italy denounced the LNAs disdain for the rules of law and human life even though Rome has recently drawn closer to Haftar whom has been a guest at Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime ministers residence, on a number of occasions. Ankara, which backs the GNA militarily, warned that it would consider Haftars forces as legitimate targets if its interests on the ground in Libya come under attack. Turkey also criticised the UN for failing to act, even though the UN mission in Libya strongly condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be brought to account.

The LNA shelling of parts of the capital and the vicinity of the airport comes two weeks after Haftar announced a halt to military operations during Ramadan in response to appeals from friendly nations for a humanitarian truce. The Turkish-backed GNA did not reciprocate. It stated that it did not trust Haftar and called for an internationally monitored ceasefire.

The GNA has been bolstered militarily after signing a maritime border memorandum of understanding and a military cooperation agreement with Ankara in November 2019. Ankara has used the controversial agreements as a pretext to send in large shipments of advanced military hardware, Turkish military advisers and thousands of mercenaries from Turkish-backed militias in Syria to help GNA forces repel the year-long LNA drive to wrest control of the capital.

According to some analysts, the LNAs shelling of Zawyat Al-Dahmani district where the Turkish diplomatic mission is located is a sign that Haftar failed in his attempt to open a backchannel line of communication with Turkey. Towards this end he used scrap iron dealers with connections to the LNA general command, informed sources told Al-Ahram Weekly. It was an attempt to test the pulse in Ankara, but it stopped, they added. Although Haftar was in Moscow at the same time as senior Turkish officials in January when Russia and Turkey tried to broker a ceasefire, there were no direct communications between them. Haftar refused to sign the draft ceasefire agreement in Moscow which may have complicated his relations with allies at home and abroad.

As the fighting in and around Libya escalates, UNSMIL has renewed its call on Libyan parties to resume the military and political tracks of the Berlin process that were initiated following the international conference on the Libyan crisis that convened in Germany on 19 January 2020. Although participants in these tracks met a few times in February and early March, no progress was made and the process quickly ground to a halt against the backdrop of mounting foreign military interventions that have been described as more flagrant than ever and that have generated fiercer military escalation.

Around the time he called for a humanitarian truce two weeks ago, Haftar repudiated the Skhirat Agreement, a UN-brokered accord between Libyan factions signed in 2015, and announced that he had accepted a popular mandate to govern Libya. Shortly before this, the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh announced a new political dialogue initiative.

While these steps elicited divergent local and international responses, UNSMIL seized the chance to call on both sides to immediately halt all military operations and resume the Joint Military Committee (5+5) talks  via video calling, if necessary. The JMC (5+5) is one of the military tracks initiated by the Berlin Conference on Libya in January. UNSMIL hopes that its participants will resume discussion of the draft ceasefire agreement UNSMIL had submitted to them in their second meeting in Geneva in March. As of time of writing, neither side has taken UNSMIL up on its call to restart the military track.

Following last weekends attacks, UNSMILs task is likely to be harder yet, as the Tripoli faction digs in its heels. The Tripoli-based group of House of Representatives members who have boycotted the houses meetings in Tobruk, and the members of the High Council of State, an unelected body that emerged from the Skhirat Agreement, issued statements stressing that they would not enter into talks until after the aggressor (Haftars forces) withdraws to its positions before 4 April 2019. Pro-GNA groups have reiterated this stance frequently during the past year.

According to political sources in the Libyan capital, UNSMIL sent out invitations to numerous political figures in the hope of resuming the political track. There have also been reports of unpublicised communications between Saleh and the eastern based Libyan Chief of General Staff Abdul-Razek Al-Nadori, and officials affiliated with the GNA. The sources believe that the communications were encouraged by influential outside powers who want the political dialogue track to conclude its business as quickly as possible.

As hopes turn to reviving the political process, many in Libya are speculating as to who might succeed Fayez Al-Sarraj, who serves as both chairman of the Presidency Council and prime minister of the GNA. Names of numerous political activists and prominent businessmen have been mooted as possible candidates for the three-member Presidency Council and the new GNA cabinet that could emerge as part of the political process. Nevertheless, there remain many impediments.

One problem relates to the regional power-sharing approach to the Libyan crisis that the international community has followed since 2011. This determination to distribute government positions and authorities on the basis of affiliation to Libyas three historic regions (Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan), as opposed to on the basis of ideological/political affiliations as is commonly believed, has contributed to weakening government institutions because of the consequent tensions and rivalries within and between them.

Another major impediment is increased foreign meddling in Libyan affairs which makes any progress (or lack thereof) contingent on the will of outside powers and their determination to position their local proxies in positions of authority. A related problem is the tendency to include saboteurs in the process, rewarding certain parties for violating the international sanctions and arms embargo regime, and enabling them to undermine peace-making efforts. The ongoing warfare, of course, works to entrench the cycle. Negotiating under the conditions of continued military conflict strengthens the hand of outside influence which works to aggravate polarisation and frustrate peace-making efforts.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Omegas links to space exploration is no secretone can hardly talk of the brand and not touch on the Speedmaster being the first watch on the Moon, worn on the wrists of US astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong as they took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. Apollo 11 is a well-known story by now, so were going to focus today on another fated story of heroism and courage in space exploration, a show of human resilience timed down to the very second: Apollo 13where the Omega Speedmaster arguably played a more crucial role.

Launch - Apollo 13  Omega

By 1970, NASA was almost a decade into its momentous quest into spaceafter the success of Apollo 11, they were readying its third mission to the Moon: Apollo 13, with Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, under the mission command of James Lovell. Each were equipped with an Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph, the official watch of US astronauts and part of standard NASA equipment since 1965. While the Apollo missions were obviously equipped with digital timers, a mechanical watch was critical for backupin space exploration, just as with any exploration, engineers always needed to have backup plans, and backup plans for those backup plans. As NASA engineer James Ragan, who tested the Omega Speedmaster in 1964 and qualified it, said: (The watches) needed to be there if (the crew) had a problem. And during the Apollo 13 mission, that backup plan proved to be the crews saving grace.

Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., commander for NASA's Apollo 13 mission  Omega

Two days after Apollo 13 lifted off on April 11th, 1970, a routine stir of an oxygen tank ignited a damaged insulation wire inside it, causing an explosion that vented the oxygen inside the service module, carrying the three astronauts. Without that oxygen, the crew had to transfer to the lunar module to conserve its remaining resources for re-entry back to Earth. Essentially, the main ship was sinking, so the crew of three transferred to the lifeboata lifeboat designed to support only two men. Directed by their command back in Houston, the mission changed from landing on the Moon to bringing back the crew safely.

View of damaged Apollo 13 Service Module  Omega

To conserve energy and oxygen, the crew had to shut down everything that was non-essentialthat meant limiting heat, the use of drinkable water and shutting down digital timers. Enter the Omega Speedmaster.

Astronaut James Lovell at his position in the Lunar Module  Omega

The explosion had caused the mission to drift off its course, meaning it would reenter Earths atmosphere at the wrong angle and essentially bounce back into space. To readjust the course of the craft, the crew had to burn fuel for 14 secondsLovell controlled the spacecrafts readjustment with Swigert timing it using his Omega. Quite possible the longest 14 seconds of their lives. To their relief, and the relief of the many who were paying attention to the rescue mission back on Earth, the maneuver workedApollo 13 landed safely in the South Pacific Ocean 5 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 41 seconds after it had taken off. Few things are timed as precisely as this, but when it comes to life and death, every second counts.

Apollo 13 crew recovery after splashdown  Omega

So where does the famed Peanuts cartoon character Snoopy enter in all of this? NASA attributes each year the Silver Snoopy Awards, awarding those who have contributed to flight safety and mission success. A special honour, Snoopy was an apt choice to represent the inherent fortitude and optimistic spirit behind the quest for space exploration. After Apollo 13, Omega was awarded a Silver Snoopy Awarda sterling silver lapel pin depicting the cartoon beagle as an astronautas a show of gratitude for its essential contribution to the mission and space flight in general.

Speedmaster Professional  Omega

There have been many Speedmaster watches since, but one of our favourites here at WorldTempus has to be the one commemorating the 45th anniversary of Apollo 13the steel Moonwatch Anniversary limited series. Its dial and bezel, in black and white as a nod to classic comic strips, features a Super-LumiNova Snoopy on the 9 oclock subdial with a thought bubble stating Failure is not an option. Between 12 and 3 oclock, the phrase What could you do in 14 seconds? is printed. Snoopy is also featured on the caseback, in the form of a 925 silver medallion, mounted on a silver plate covered in blue enamel and sprinkled in silver powderso there, Snoopy looks as though he is floating in space.
Tom Gunst may have retired from his job as New Baltimores superintendent of the department of public service, but hes not quite done serving the citys public.

On May 11, the New Baltimore City Council voted unanimously that Gunst be reappointed to the citys roads, bridges and public utilities committee. Mayor John Dupray recommended the move. The motion to appoint Gunst was made during the virtual city council meeting by Council Member Carl Weinreich and seconded by Council Member Ryan Covert. Although Gunst has served on the committee since its inception, it was in his capacity as a department head. His current appointment is as a citizen, and carries a four-year term.

Right now it, the committee oversees all the road projects, large road projects. Any projects that may be happening at the water and sewer department or other utilities at the same time. Anything any of the department heads want to run by the committee related to utilities, water and sewer, stormwater, and roads, Gunst said post-meeting.

Gunst, age 55, retired in May from the position of department of public service superintendent. He spent his entire career with the department, 35 years, serving 20 years as a superintendent. He currently lives just outside the city.

My whole life, I have pretty much always been here, Gunst said.

Clerk Marcia Shinska that as a city, New Baltimore is responsible for its local streets. With this in mind, a committee was formed many years back to partner with city employees such as the engineer on prioritizing and ensuring the maintenance of city streets, public utilities such as underground infrastructure, bridge inspections and related activities.

They started it over 20 years ago. They started it when they did the water plant expansion. It just kind of morphed into this, Gunst said. At the same time, they were doing a sewer department expansion in the early 2000s. That is when I started in the position. The committee was put together to oversee those two big projects.

The committee makes recommendations to the city council, which then would vote on the recommendations. The committee meets once per month, generally on the third Thursday each month, at 5:30 p.m. Committee members are generally department heads, city council liaisons and appointed citizens, Shinska confirmed.

They decide which roads are in the worst condition and try to set a budget to work within it to decide which roads to repair on a yearly basis, Shinska said. Any of the capital improvement projects go through that committee.

Gunst said that one of the most important issues facing the committee at this time is concerns about potential reduced roads funding from the state due to COVID-19. Stay at home orders have reduced the number of people across the state buying gas, and therefore funds from Act 51 could be less, affecting proposed budgets and plans for road improvements in New Baltimore, Gunst said.

The state is not exactly sure where we are at with Act 51 money. No one is buying gas or paying the gas tax, Gunst said.

Gunst said that he has also been assisting in the training of his successor as the superintendent of the department of public service, John Klimaszewski, who started in the position on May 11. Klimaszewski has been attending meetings of the roads, bridges and public utilities committee over the winter, according to Gunst.

Also on May 11, the council voted to schedule a council work study meeting for May 18 at 7 p.m. That session was held after press time for The Voice.

Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for The Voice
PHOENIX  Gov. Doug Ducey said Tuesday hell let gyms and public swimming pools reopen and will allow his stay-at-home order to expire this week as he continues easing the painful restrictions he imposed on businesses and individuals to tamp down the coronavirus outbreak.

Gyms and pools, among the last remaining facilities that have not been allowed to operate, can open their doors on Wednesday if they follow recommendations from health officials. The governor also invited professional sports to resume without fans.

He warned, however, that lifting the restrictions does not mean a return to a normal way of life from before the pandemic, and he said social distancing is still important.

This is not a green light to speed, Ducey said. This is a green light to proceed, and were going to proceed with caution.

Duceys stay-home order was set to expire Friday, and he said he wont renew it. The announcement eliminates the threat of criminal penalties for people taking unnecessary trips away from home, but its still largely symbolic because he has already carved out a lengthy and growing list of activities that were allowed despite the order. Last week, he allowed the re-opening of retail businesses, salons and barber shops; restaurants were allowed to open their dining rooms on Monday.

Movie theaters and bars must remain closed.

Ducey said lifting his stay-home order is safe because of a declining rate of cases, even though it would be expected to decline since the state opened testing to people who arent showing symptoms. He also cited sufficient hospital capacity and a growing ability to test people and trace their contacts.

State health officials reported 20 additional COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, raising the reported total to 562. There have been at least 11,736 recorded cases since the start of the outbreak, though the actual number of people infected is likely much higher because many with mild symptoms dont seek testing and many who did were turned away for months because of a supply shortage.

Ducey said professional sports teams could begin playing on Saturday without fans. He said hes had discussions with leaders of some of these leagues but did not say which ones or elaborate on what activities might take place in Arizona. Last month, he said hed spoken with the Major League Baseball commissioner and was open to hosting games.

We could do that safely in the state of Arizona beginning May 16, Ducey said, citing the advice of his public health director.

The governor also announced plans to test all residents and staff at long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, some of which have seen severe outbreaks among vulnerable residents living in close quarters.

Several Arizona casinos have announced plans to reopen as early as this week after about two months of silent slot machines, empty card tables and closed doors. Many expect to implement new sanitation measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

The state Department of Gaming said the closure of each casino had been decided individually by each sovereign tribal nation.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

In other developments:

 The Arizona Department of Economic Security said people who received jobless benefits between Thursday and Monday did not get the additional $600 weekly payment included as a temporary measure in federal coronavirus legislation. The missed payments will go out between Wednesday and Friday, said spokesman Brett Bezio. He said the program requires a lot of complicated coding.

 A Glendale nursing home has had at least 38 residents test positive for COVID-19 with at least seven deaths, officials said. Cases so far have been limited to the skilled nursing unit of Glencroft Center for Modern Aging, which also has independent living.

Glencroft also had 31 employees test positive though 15 returned to work after twice testing negatively, spokeswoman Mille Oakson said.

 Nearly all of the people who had been staying at a Flagstaff homeless shelter were provided shelter in 175 rooms in motels by Monday night, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.

Flagstaff Shelter Services officials decided Thursday to relocate clients after testing last week showed that 30% of clients and staff tested positive.

I dont know how were going to pay for it. I dont know how were going to sustain it in a way thats meaningful to flattening the curve or doing what we need to do, but its what has to happen, Director Ross Altenbaugh said.

 The state court system is being told to plan to transition back to in-person proceedings beginning June 1. An administrative order by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel told courts to resume in-person proceedings where possible but to also continuing to hold some hearings virtually.

Staff and visitors will be required to wear masks, staff will undergo health screenings, and anyone who refuses to wear a mask will be denied entry to the courts, the Arizona Capitol Times reported.

___

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport contributed.
The man accused of placing a bull's-eye target at the home of a civil rights leader in Tennessee said he thought it resembled a flower that would look "nice" in the front yard, authorities said Monday.

Image: Target in Tennesee yard (Courtesy of Keith Caldwell)

The man, Roy Brown, 63, was issued a misdemeanor citation for putting the plastic target at the home of Keith Caldwell, president of the NAACP's Nashville chapter, Metro Nashville Police said in a statement.

Caldwell, who has led the local chapter for two years, alerted police after finding that someone had placed the object inside his locked fence Saturday night. There was no note, and Caldwell said he thought it might signal a threat. When a responding officer appeared to dismiss his concerns, Caldwell wrote about it on Facebook.

Caldwell wanted to prosecute Brown for "intimidation," police said, and a booking date was scheduled for Aug. 14. In an interview, Caldwell said that he believes Brown is homeless and that he plans to use the court date only to help him secure services.

"This event does not appear to be a racialized act," Caldwell said.

Police said the responding officer, Eric McCoy, "meant no disrespect" when he told Caldwell that the target looked "cool." The officer, who graduated from the police academy in 2018, agreed to discuss the incident with Caldwell at a conflict resolution center.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, right, talks to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, while walking towards the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018.

Big money donors are rushing to support Democrats in competitive U.S. Senate races as they sense an opportunity to take back the chamber from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans.

These wealthy fundraisers are targeting Republican-held seats in Maine, Colorado, North Carolina and Arizona that are seen as toss-ups this fall. They are also focusing on states such as Iowa and Montana, where the Senate races are rated "lean Republican" by the online political analysis organization Cook Political report. Republicans have a 53-47 edge in the Senate, as two independents caucus with Democrats.

All campaigns have had to get off the trail and go fully virtual during the coronavirus pandemic. That hasn't stopped financiers from working the phones, securing new donors and helping set up digital fundraising events for their preferred candidates. These virtual fundraising gatherings for Senate candidates, many of the organizers said, have become regular occurrences in recent weeks due to how cheap and easy they are to set up through Zoom conference calls.

Campaigns and hosts no longer have to spend large amounts of money on renting venues or catering food. The in-person events often would target donors that were based in a particular city. With virtual calls, candidates have a broad appeal to donors across the country and, in some cases, American citizens living abroad.

"It used to be that candidates visited high dollar, multi-event cities, which excluded interested voters and supporters in cities like Scranton, PA [Pennsylvania]," Julie Zebrak, a political consultant and fundraiser, told CNBC. "Now, no matter where you live, supporters have the opportunity to hear from and  more importantly  ask questions of the candidates they consider supporting."

Donors' renewed sense of urgency for winning the Senate comes as former Vice President Joe Biden, the apparent Democratic nominee, enjoys a 5-point national lead over President Donald Trump in the Real Clear Politics polling average. Democrats are favored to hold on to their majority in the House.

"Flipping the Senate is just as critical as ousting Trump from the White House," Zebrak said.

The donors think Trump's response to the coronavirus could further hurt him and his party with voters. "Trump's chaotic handling of the coronavirus and falling poll numbers give us hope," Bob Crowe, a partner at Nelson Mullins and a congressional donor, told CNBC.

None of the Senate candidates that are running in toss-up states returned requests for comment.

According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Jon Henes, a partner at law firm Kirkland & Ellis, has started raising cash for Democrats running in high-profile Senate races: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon and North Carolina Army veteran Cal Cunningham. These people declined to be named as the moves are being made in private.

Gideon is the favorite to win her primary and take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Gideon has the slight edge over Collins in how much she's raised, bringing in $14 million in the 2020 election cycle compared with the GOP incumbent's $13 million, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Collins, though, has a super PAC supporting her and has slightly more cash on hand. Both candidates are financing their campaigns on donor checks larger than $200.

Charles Myers, a former vice chairman of Evercore, is co-hosting a virtual fundraising event at the end of May for Gideon with Alex Lasry, senior vice president of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, a person familiar with the effort said. The goal is to raise up to $75,000, this person added. Lasry is the son of Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.

Henes has become a power player within Democratic Party fundraising circle since he was Sen. Kamala Harris' national finance chairman during her run for the White. He is also helping Biden raise campaign cash. Harris, who is often mentioned as a potential vice presidential pick for Biden, has been hosting an online "Meet the Candidates" series for donors to get to know many of the candidates who Henes and her other previous financiers are assisting.

Myers, Henes and a spokesman for the Bucks did not return a request for comment.

Mark Kelly, an Arizona astronaut and husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, has also outraised his Republican opponent. Kelly is looking to overtake GOP Sen. Martha McSally. In South Carolina, Jaime Harrison, a former state party chair, recently did the same as he takes on Trump ally Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the campaign group for Senate Democrats, also edged its rivals, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, with March fundraising totals. The NRSC was ahead of the DSCC in cash on hand going into April, however.

Zebrak, who also once backed Harris, said she is now pushing people in her network to back Cunningham, Gideon and Bullock, as well as Amy McGrath, who is aiming to overtake McConnell in Kentucky, and Alabama's Doug Jones, the most vulnerable Senate Democrat this cycle.

Deven Parekh, a managing partner at investment firm Insight Partners, and former Ambassador Jane Hartley, are leading a Senate fundraising effort with some other supporters of a big money joint committee that helps House Democrats, according to people familiar with the matter.

Since at least December, when in-person events were still taking place, Parekh and Hartley have helped organize Senate Democrat events in New York including one for Theresa Greenfield, who is running to replace Joni Ernst in Iowa; MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran trying to defeat Sen. John Cornyn in Texas; and Cunningham and Kelly. That gathering, which featured Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, finished raising close to $1 million, one of the people added.

Parekh and Hartley have continued to help raise campaign cash throughout the coronavirus pandemic for many of these candidates, along with others in competitive states, these people added. They have strong ties to Wall Street executives Blair Effron and Roger Altman.

Parekh declined to comment. Hartley did not return a request for comment.
The household level cross-sectional survey will cover 24,000 adults distributed equally across four strata of districts categorised on the basis of COVID-19 cases.

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with other key stakeholders is conducting a population-based sero survey to estimate the prevalence of coronavirus infection among the Indian population.

The survey would be conducted in 69 districts of 21 states and Union Territories, the apex health research body said in a statement on Tuesday. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar are some of the states where the survey would be conducted.

The household level cross-sectional survey will cover 24,000 adults distributed equally across four strata of districts categorised on the basis of COVID-19 cases.

According to an expert, the exercise can help ascertain if there has been community transmission of the respiratory disease in these areas.

As part of the study, people from Red, Orange and Green zones in a district will be tested for COVID-19 at random to check if they have developed antibodies against the infection even though they are asymptomatic or show mild symptoms, the expert said.

The move was announced as the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the total number of cases climbed to 70,756 in the country on Tuesday, according to the Union health ministry data.

"The ICMR, New Delhi, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and National Centre for Disease Control with support from state health departments and key stakeholders, including WHO, India is conducting a community based sero-survey to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Indian population," the statement said.

The survey is coordinated by ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) and National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai.

The survey will involve collection of venous blood samples from 400 randomly selected individuals (one per household) from 10 clusters in each district.

"Sera from these individuals will be tested for presence of IgG antibodies using ELISA test developed by ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The results of the survey will provide information about spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) in different parts of the country," the ICMR said.

The officials said the study would have started earlier as it was planned to be conducted with the rapid antibody test kits brought from China. But after these test kits showed inaccurate results in some places, the study had to be postponed.

The health ministry said the survey would be conducted in six districts of Maharashtra, including Beed, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Sangli; three districts of Rajasthan like Dausa, Jalore; nine districts of Uttar Pradesh like Bareilly, Unnao, Saharanpur, Mau; three districts of Gujarat like Mahisagar, Narmada; three districts of Madhya Pradesh like Ujjain, Gwalior.

Besides the health ministry is also initiating hospital-based surveillance to monitor the trend of infection in all districts.

The survey will be conducted at 10 health facilities (six public and four private) and would test outpatient attendees and pregnant women among the low-risk group, and health care workers among the high-risk population.

At least 100 samples of healthcare workers from selected districts per week and 400 per month would be tested. Besides, 50 samples each of the outpatient attendees and pregnant women per week and 200 samples per month would be collected, the document stated. Throat and nasal swabs will be collected for RT-PCR tests and samples should be tested in a one-time pool of 25, it said.
Designing alone: Local firms let employees work from home amid coronavirus outbreak

By SAM BENNETT

Special to the Journal

Photo from ZGF Architects [enlarge] At ZGF Architects Seattle office, workers have the option of telecommuting or coming to work during the coronavirus outbreak.





When Jed Miller heads to the office, he isn't worried about coronavirus.

Commuting down a flight of stairs in his Shoreline home to an 800-square-foot office means that Miller, an architect, can focus on the job at hand and not on the fear of catching the virus.

I think it's human nature to panic in a situation like this, Miller said, referring to the coronavirus outbreak. I'm kind of immune to that.

As a principal with Casa Architecture and Interior Design, Miller collaborates  online and occasionally in-person  with another Seattle architect who also works from home. We're both experienced and we know what to do and how to do it, he said.

While Miller remains an advocate of what he calls decentralizing the workforce by working from home, many local architecture and engineering firms thrive on the creative connectivity of designers working under one roof.

But in the last month, with the spread of the coronavirus and escalating fears of a pandemic, firms have been challenged to rethink their policy of requiring designers and staff to work at the office.

Some firm principals say the coronavirus represents a tipping point in employers' attitudes toward allowing designers to work remotely, while others believe the work-from-home model is less productive and should be only a temporary solution.

Several firms contacted for this article declined to comment in depth on the effects coronavirus has had on their workplaces, but they reported that they are allowing employees to work from home.

That is the case at Seattle architecture firm The Miller Hull Partnership, where workers have the option of staying home during the coronavirus outbreak.

We'll support anybody who wants to work from home until this (outbreak) is over or until it starts to go away, said Ron Rochon, managing partner at Miller Hull. It's left up to everybody's personal discretion. We ask that they check in daily and be available during business hours.

Like most firms, Miller Hull is adhering to Public Health  Seattle & King County guidelines for workplace practices during the coronavirus outbreak. Anyone, for example, who knows someone with coronavirus should not come to work, Rochon said. Designers and staff are also not required to travel for work.

So far, Rochon said just two of Miller Hull's 85 employees have elected to work from home.

Most large meetings with clients have been canceled at the firm due to coronavirus fears, Rochon said. Instead, he said designers have made use of video conferences and teleconferences with clients.

It's definitely better to have meetings in-person, but we are doing whatever we need to continue to get our work done and get through this outbreak, he said.

Relying on technology

Artisans Group, an architecture firm based in Olympia, has been gearing up for a potential coronavirus outbreak in Thurston County, according to principal Tessa Smith.

We've prepared all our employees to work from their homes, within an hour or two notice, said Smith. We've been talking about that contingency for a couple weeks.

She said if there are reports of more than a few cases of coronavirus in Thurston County, her staff can quickly move workloads from the office to their homes.

We already have a flexible company culture, Smith said, referring to designers occasionally working from home. So we're set up for having our employees work from home.

Like most firms, Artisans Group leverages technology to make working from home easier. Video conferences are done on the Zoom platform and each designer has Revit and Bluebeam, architectural software programs, on their home computers.

If we use Zoom, we can all be looking at a design and make real-time changes, she said.

Still, Smith said there is a creative advantage to having designers together in close quarters  a phenomenon that she and others said can't be replicated online.

At ZGF Architects' Seattle office, managing partner Todd Stine said some employees have elected to work from home.

But, Stine said, it's better when ZGF designers can collaborate in person due the firm's multiple-designer approach to projects. The primary challenge is that our project work is team-based, he said.

In addition, Stine said having designers work from home using the firm's network raises technical issues for ZGF and puts a strain on the firm's available bandwidth.

The types of software we use require robust network connectivity, he said. Certainly, the increased use of our VPN connection is testing our bandwidth capacity. Our IT team is monitoring it closely to ensure that our productivity remains high.

With the impact coronavirus has had on encouraging workers to telecommute, Stine said there are questions in the architecture community about whether it will be a permanently disruptive influence on the workplace.

There's already been some speculation about whether the telework policies implemented by some of the region's most prominent companies will normalize telecommuting for the rest of us, said Stine. If so, that may or may not create a sea change in how office environments are designed. My sense, however, is that when we emerge from this crisis, workers from a variety of industries will continue to recognize the value of consistent daily in-person interactions with their colleagues, which the best collaboration and videoconferencing software can't yet replicate.

Doug Demers, senior managing principal at B+H Architects in Seattle, said his employees are allowed to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Working from home, Demers said, is always a challenge for design firms  as collaborative and creative activities are often team sports. But our employees' health and well-being is always our higher priority and we have the technology to support a variety of working approaches  including working from home.

Demers added that improvement in connectivity and cloud-based tools has allowed even more complex building-information models to be accessed remotely. He said B+H's Seattle studio, for the last seven years, has been committed to an entirely laptop- or tablet-based practice that would allow people to work from wherever.

For Joseph Greif of Greif Architects, having a small office in downtown Seattle means he can accommodate clients in his conference room. But he said the four-person firm is increasingly open to allowing employees to work from home.

I see working from home more as the new normal going forward, said Greif. I'll probably continue to allow it because our staff can be more productive and work at home at their own pace.

Nevertheless, Greif said It's kind of fun to start a project by brainstorming with fellow designers in person. In addition to challenging attitudes about working from home, the coronavirus has meant postponement of many spring-season architecture events around the globe.

In New York City, the Architectural Digest Design Show was pushed from March 19-22 to June 25-28. In Seattle, the Women's Transportation Seminar Annual Awards and Scholarship Gala was postponed until June 11. And this week's 11th annual Passive House Northwest Conference in Seattle was canceled  an event that Smith said she and her Artisans Group design team were hoping to attend.

Whether the coronavirus will be the prelude to a recession is still unknown. Rochon said he expects that steel and cement supplies from China will be interrupted and could slow construction.

Greif said he's nervous about the potential that clients could back out of building plans if the economy falters.

But for Miller, whose specialty is residential architecture, there are no signs of slowing in terms of his business.

What's happening now is a panic situation, Miller said, referring to the coronavirus and slowdown of the economy. It's a knee-jerk situation. I'm keeping very focused. Working from home isn't great for everybody, but it works for me.





Related Stories:
Voluntary production cuts by OPEC members show that oil producing countries are doing what they can to stabilize the market during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, one strategist told CNBC this week. Saudi Arabia on Monday said it will reduce output by an additional 1 million barrels per day from June 1, in a bid to support oil prices. Following the kingdom's announcement, the UAE and Kuwait also announced supply cuts. That's on top of an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC allies, sometimes referred to as OPEC+, to lower production by 9.7 million bpd from May 1. "The OPEC heavyweights are sort of lining up to try to do what they can to stabilize this market," said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "We're already starting to see a pick up in demand as global lockdown conditions ease, people start driving again," she told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday. "So, essentially what they're doing is acting as an accelerator in terms of getting the market rebalanced."

An offshore drilling platform stands in shallow waters at the Manifa offshore oilfield, operated by Saudi Aramco, in Manifa, Saudi Arabia. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

However, while there are "green shoots," the outlook is unclear as the pandemic continues. "If we were to get a second wave in the crisis, if we were to get lockdown restrictions re-implemented, that could really change the trajectory of an oil price recovery," said Croft. "We really have to wait and see what is going to happen with this virus before we can basically say we're in the clear in terms of being on a sustainable path to recovery." More than 4.18 million people have contracted Covid-19 worldwide, and at least 286,336 people have died from the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Oil futures have been under pressure for months as the coronavirus crisis has crushed demand, while supply spiked in April amid a price war. Both major benchmarks are down more than 50% since the beginning of the year. It also remains to be seen whether the latest oil production cuts will "really shore up oil prices and help lift company revenues," said Ellen Wald, president of Transversal Consulting. She added that it will depend on whether Russia and Iraq follow through with their commitments. "Those are really the two wildcards in this OPEC+ agreement," she told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

Saudi's supply reduction

Wald also said Riyadh's production cut is almost a response to the "knee-jerk" reaction it had when OPEC+ talks collapsed earlier this year. "Saudi Arabia, in particular, is looking to regain a measure of leadership that I think it lost in March," she said. The kingdom ramped up production to 12 million barrels a day after Moscow refused to agree to adjust oil supply. That policy "really backfired" because demand was extremely weak, she added.
The US' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed USD 3.6 million to assist India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aid will support prevention, preparedness and response activities.

The funds will also be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centres of excellence that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems, a US Embassy statement said.

The CDC is the national public health institute of the United States. It is a federal agency under the US' Department of Health and Human Services.

"This initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Indian government's efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology," the embassy said.

The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support India's capacity to respond not only to the COVID-19 pandemic but to future threats as well.

The scope of support will include planning for health emergency operations centres to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities.

The CDC India programme will provide technical assistance for the Indian government's ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts.

Since early January, the CDC's India office has been collaborating with sub-national and national government institutes to support the COVID-19 response in the country, the statement said.

Collaboration efforts are focused on lab strengthening, infection prevention and control, health workforce development, emergency management, risk communication and community engagement.

The CDC has conducted trainings across India for healthcare administrators, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on preparedness and response, infection prevention and control, laboratory operations, and field epidemiology to equip frontline response workers with the necessary skills to collect, analyze and interpret data, and contribute to evidence-based decisions.

The goal of the CDC's global health response to COVID-19 is to limit human-to-human transmission and minimize the impact of COVID-19 through partnerships with key country and non-governmental partners to mitigate vulnerabilities and gaps in preparedness, the US Embassy said.

The CDC has a long-standing relationship and technical collaboration with the Indian government's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to control HIV, TB, and malaria, eradicate polio, and prepare responses to influenza and other pandemic diseases.

"Over the past two decades, this partnership has received support at the highest levels of the two governments and has deepened mutual cooperation through the exchange of scientific knowledge, expertise, and technology, and the development of institutional and human capacities for addressing these health goals," the US Embassy said.

These previous investments to improve health security have laid the foundation for rapidly and effectively preparing for emerging threats, including the current coronavirus outbreak, it said.

For decades, the United States has been the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health, the statement said.

In India, US government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, and other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, have provided more than USD 1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly USD 2.8 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ANAHEIM, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southern California Partnership for Jobs (SCPFJ) today announced it has been invited to join the Los Angeles County Infrastructure Development/Construction working group that will report to the Economic Resiliency Task Force. The Partnership will help represent the Construction Industry to facilitate much needed infrastructure development.

The mandate of this task force is to craft policy which will appropriately respond to the COVID-19 crisis as California relaxes their Safer at Home orders. This will be increasingly important as California works toward LA County's economic recovery.

The Economic Resiliency Task Force will consist of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors along with 13 leaders from different industries throughout the County.

"We are honored to be joining the Economic Resiliency Task Force," said Dave Garbarino of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 12. "We realize that as we pivot to economic recovery in Los Angeles County, it is vital that Construction have an important voice in this process."

The Task Force is effective immediately. Their efforts will include crafting sustainable plans for economic recovery, identifying strategies which will help engage the private sector and formulating policies to revitalize industries and communities.

"The Partnership is honored to be selected to participate in this most prestigious task force in Los Angeles County," said John Hakel, Executive Director for SCPFJ. "Given that the Partnership has the resources of 2,750 contractors, 90,000 union workers represented by the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Southern California District Council of Laborers (LiUna), International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12 (IUOE), Associated General Contractors of California (AGC), Associated General Contractors of San Diego (AGC San Diego), the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC), Engineering Contractors' Association (ECA), Southern California Contractors Association (SCCA) and United Contractors (UC), we will make this wealth of knowledge truly powerful."

ABOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PARTNERSHIP FOR JOBS

Based in Anaheim, California  SCPFJ is dedicated to working with elected officials and educating the public in Southern California on the continued need for infrastructure funding including rail, water, ports, airports and roads while enhancing the regions' workforce development and creating career construction jobs.

To learn more about the Southern California Partnership for Jobs please visit www.rebuildsocal.org .

SOURCE Southern California Partnership for Jobs

Related Links

http://www.rebuildsocal.org/


A draft Action Plan for implementation of Turkmenistan's National Strategy on prevention of violent extremism and counter terrorism for 2020-2024 was discussed in Ashgabat. The discussion brought together heads and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Finance and Economics of Turkmenistan, law enforcement agencies, the Institute of State, Law and Democracy, as well as UN agencies accredited in Ashgabat.

As was noted at the discussion, the National Strategy is based on the basic principles set forth in the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, as well as the recommendations of the Executive Directorate of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Noting that Turkmenistan was the first country in Central Asia to adopt a national strategy to combat modern challenges of our time, speakers emphasized Ashgabat's role in ensuring security and sustainable development in the region.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Greek officials said Tuesday they have registered the first cases of the new coronavirus in two migrants on an eastern island after they arrived from Turkey last week and were placed in a special quarantine facility.

They said the two asylum seekers have not developed symptoms of COVID-19, while tests are being conducted among the other 68 migrants in the secluded facility on Lesbos, and among people who came into contact with them. All 70 had been placed in two-week quarantine when they arrived on Lesbos.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, pending an official statement.

Close to 40,000 people live in camps on Lesbos and other eastern Aegean Sea islands, where human rights groups have warned that heavy overcrowding could lead to a quick spread of the disease should it reach the facilities. No cases had been registered up to now on the islands.

The quarantine camp at Eftalou, on the northern coast, is far from the country's biggest camp at Moria on Lesbos, where nearly 18,000 people live in facilities designed for fewer than 3,000.

The 70 asylum-seekers, who arrived in two boats on May 6 and May 10, were the first to reach Greece by sea in more than a month, as Greek authorities stepped up border surveillance due to the pandemic and departures from Turkey slackened. Earlier Tuesday, police in northern Greece arrested 25 people during a protest at a migrant processing center that damaged converted shipping containers used as living quarters and other facilities but caused no reported injuries.

Authorities said officers intervened to stop several hours of rioting at the center, located near Greece's border with Turkey. People who enter Greece illegally are registered there and temporarily detained until they apply for asylum.

The protest occurred following weeks of delays in processing asylum claims due to the coronavirus pandemic. The center currently houses 250 asylum-seekers, including unaccompanied minors, the Evros Police Department said.

The Greek asylum service's operations have been scaled back, like many public services, amid restrictions on travel and movement the government set in response to the pandemic.

Greece has struggled to cope with illegal immigration from Turkey, both at the land border and on the Greek islands, that spiked before the country's virus outbreak.

A dispute between Turkey and the European Union led to a standoff at the Turkey-Greece land border in late February and early March. Thousands of Europe-bound asylum-seekers flocked to Turkey's side of the border after the Turkish government said it would no longer prevent migrants from trying to cross over to Greece.

Human rights groups have frequently criticized the Greek government for holding migrants under age 18 and traveling without guardians at detention camps.

Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, a European affairs minister, said finding appropriate placements within the European Union for children and teenagers remains a priority.

"As you know, our capacity has been exhausted, so our initiatives are being taken on a European level, and we have already had some success with Luxembourg and Germany, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In open defiance of local public health authorities, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unilaterally restarted production Monday at the companys sole US assembly facility in Fremont, California, which employs roughly 10,000 workers. Local media reports indicate that the facilitys parking lot was as full as a normal workday Monday, meaning that thousands of workers congregated throughout the day, dramatically increasing the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19 throughout the region.

Announcing the reopening of the Tesla facility Monday, Musk brazenly tweeted: Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

Tesla Factory in Fremont, California

Musks actions are criminal on multiple levels. While directly violating local shelter-in-place laws, he is deliberately endangering the lives of Tesla workers at the facility, solely for the purpose of boosting profits for himself and the companys shareholders. Further, this unsafe resumption of production at the largest manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area region will create the conditions for a rapid increase in the number of cases and deaths in the coming weeks.

Last week, Alameda County officials, along with five other counties in the Bay Area, extended the regions shelter-in-place orders until May 31. This prompted Musk to denounce the decision and threaten over the weekend that he would withdraw Teslas operations from California and move to Texas or Nevada. The company also filed a lawsuit in federal court Saturday to try to sanction their unsafe reopening.

With a net worth of $40.1 billion, Musk is the 22nd richest person in the world. He has accrued $12.6 billion since the start of this year and has become increasingly unhinged in his relentless pursuit of wealth. With his lawless and homicidal action, Musk has given open expression to the instinctive profit motive driving every capitalist.

The move to restart production at Tesla is directly bound up with the broader reopening of the global auto industry, which has vastly accelerated over the past week. All of Teslas major competitors are working to resume production, with numerous auto parts plants across Michigan also reopening yesterday. Despite Tesla posting a relatively good earnings report at the end of April, the company is under enormous pressure not to cede any of its advantage in the expanding electric vehicle market.

In an email sent to workers Monday titled, "Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!" Tesla management wrote to its workforce, We're happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return.

Tesla workers know full well that they face deadly working conditions, and that the COVID-19 pandemic is nowhere near subsiding. But the economic pressures are so intense that they are effectively being forced against their will to return to work, as any worker that refuses to return faces the prospect of being fired and cut off from accessing unemployment benefits. Since mid-March, over 4.5 million Californians have officially filed for unemployment, or roughly 23.3 percent of the states workforce.

Throughout the pandemic, Musk has continuously tweeted his opposition to the statewide shelter-in-place measures implemented by Californias Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. His tweets have corresponded closely with those of Trump in demanding a reopening of businesses at no matter what cost. He has denounced the issuing of stimulus checks to workers, praised the possibilities of chloroquine for treating COVID-19, and decried social distancing measures as fascist attacks on democratic rights.

On April 28, he tweeted, FREE AMERICA NOW. In another tweet from April, he advanced the homicidal conceptions about herd immunity promoted by politicians globally demanding that millions become infected and die, and he has repeatedly promoted conspiracy theories claiming that the mortality rate for COVID-19 is actually low.

Despite his apparent hostility towards Newsom, the two spoke over the past week, with Newsom crediting Musk with prompting him to implement plans to begin reopening manufacturing across the state last week. At his daily press conference Monday, Newsom stated, I have not only known that company but I have known its founder for many, many years. He added glowingly, I have great reverence for their technology, for their innovative spirit, for their leadership.

Shortly after Mondays press conference, Musk posted his tweet on the reopening of Tesla. In all likelihood, a deal will soon be struck between Musk and local officials, with Newsom serving as intermediary, to ensure the continued functioning of Tesla with nothing more than a fine for Musk.

Prior to the pandemic, Tesla had already gained the reputation of being one of the most unsafe workplaces in the US. In 2018, the company made the Dirty Dozen list put out by the National Council for Occupational Health and Safety (COSH), ranking them among the most dangerous work environments in the country.

The report noted, Recordable injuries for workers at Tesla Motors were 31 percent higher than for the rest of the automotive industry in 2015 and 2016. [] The rate of serious injuries among Tesla workers, requiring days away from work, restricted duty or job transfer, was also much higher at Tesla than at other auto factories: more than double the industry average in 2015 and 83 percent higher in 2016.

The brutal sweatshop in Fremont is now on course to become a literal deathtrap for thousands of workers, and the epicenter of the contagion throughout the region. The deranged decision by Musk to prematurely restart production fully exposes the irrationality of the capitalist system, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and the subordination of social needs to private profit.

Tesla workers must act immediately to form rank-and-file safety committees, to halt this non-essential production and ensure that the health of workers takes precedence over corporate profits. These committees must assert the collective will of the workers and fight to take control of production from Musk and the wealthy shareholders that are sending workers to die.

Such a struggle will only be successful to the extent that workers broaden their reach as widely as possible, linking up with autoworkers and all those being sent back to work under deadly conditions, across the US and internationally. The aim must be to shut down all non-essential industry, seize the wealth of the corporate executives and financial aristocracy, and ensure that all workers and their families are provided for and kept safe for the duration of the pandemic. To achieve these necessary aims will require a frontal assault on the entire capitalist system, and the socialist reorganization of society in the interests of the working class.
Resiliency in a time of "business not as usual"

First quarter revenues decrease 6.1%, primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 context with postponements in New Business

Strong fundamentals: Solid installed base and renewals with mission-critical solutions in key industries

Regulatory News:

As a pioneer in virtual prototyping solutions and a key player in industrial digital transformation, ESI Group (Paris:ESI) empowers manufacturers to navigate increasing complexity by replacing real tests and prototypes with highly accurate, predictive and representational virtual prototypes. ESI Group's software solutions are built from decades of expertise in physics of materials, essential to the creation of realistic virtual prototypes and to the anticipation of asset performance in-service. ESI's customers are an enviable list of industry leaders worldwide, who benefit from enhanced innovation, competitiveness, performance and productivity thanks to ESI Group's most innovative solutions.

ESI Group, Paris, France, (ISIN Code: FR0004110310, Symbol: ESI), today releases its sales for the first quarter of 2020 (period from January 1st to March 31st

Cristel de Rouvray, Chief Executive Officer of ESI Group, comments:

"First quarter revenues decreased 6.1%, partly as sales adjusted to the new Fiscal Year and the timing of some important Renewals and, partly, on the impact of Covid-19 on the completion of New Business transactions. The Covid-19 crisis, impacted us first in China, and now on other territories with the following pattern: while new business conversations are delayed adapted by confinement measures, license renewals and repeatable services are holding up strong across our four main industries creating a foundation of stability to navigate the current uncertainty. As a positive collateral, we are experiencing an acceleration of our own transformation as we adopt a more efficient global organization. Overall, we have confidence that the Group will see its value proposition even strengthened when the world adjusts with increased digital commitment to its 'new normal'."

Sales (m) Q1-2020 Q1-2019 Change Current rate Constant rate (cer) Q1 - Total 54.9 58.4 (6.1%) (6.9%) Q1 Licenses 48.8 50.8 (4.0%) (4.8%) Q1 Services 6.1 7.6 (20.3%) (20.9%)

Solidity and resilience strengthened by unchanged high Licensing recurrence, New Business delays

In the first quarter of its new fiscal year (January 1, 2020 March 31, 2020), ESI recorded sales of 54.9m, down 6.1% (-6.9% cer). Due to the recent change of fiscal year, the first quarter should now represent approximately 40% of annual revenues (vs. 20% in the old fiscal year format), allowing better fiscal year visibility.

Licensing revenues were 48.8m (-4.0%, -4.8% cer, 89% of total revenues) and Services revenues were 6.1m (-20.3%, -20.9% cer, 11% of total revenues). In the current context of the Covid-19 crisis, new business in Licenses and Services has been largely delayed, though the performance of repeat business highlights the Group's fundamental resilience:

New business is impacted both in software licenses (new business at 3.3m, -52%), and in services, where projects were delayed as face to face meetings became progressively more difficult, thus triggering a year-on-year decrease in quarterly revenues (6.1m, -20.3%). This new business contraction began in China where the Covid-19 crisis started and stopped most activities in Q1.

The Group's business model shows strong resilience with high repeat business (90.2%) mainly on Licenses where repeat business grew 1.9% before deferred revenues. Such a resilience rests on the solidity and depth of the Group's unrivalled installed base of leading industrial clients around the world who reinforce their confidence in ESI's solutions to carry them through and beyond the crisis.

Robust dynamic maintained in all regions and every focus industry sector

The geographical breakdown of quarterly revenues is almost identical to that of Q1 2019: EMEA represents 58.2% (vs. 58.6%) of total revenues, ASIA represents 29.4% (vs. 29.8%) of total revenues and the Americas represent 12.4% (vs. 11.7%) of total revenues. EMEA and Asia (mostly China) were impacted during the quarter, while Americas remained stable.

The Group's four priority focus industries Automotive Ground Transportation, Aeronautics Aerospace, Heavy Industry, Energy accounted for around 90% of total orders. In Licensing activities, Automotive Ground Transportation remained stable and the Group secured its largest annual automotive quarter despite turmoil in the sector which began even before Covid-19. Notably, in January 2020, ESI renewed its 11th three-year contract with its first customer, one of the largest automotive global OEMs.

For the three other focus industries, the revenue is more evenly distributed across the year both for renewals and new business. The situation in China more heavily impacted the performance of Aeronautics Aerospace during this quarter.

Dealing with business "not as usual" and deploying a business continuity plan toward a "new normal"

ESI was ahead of the curve in ensuring the health and safety of colleagues, customers and partners, and swiftly introduced strict internal measures, some global like travel restrictions and work-from-home policy, so that the Group experienced no damaging interruption in operations.

In this time of business not as usual, the Group has implemented a Business Continuity Plan:

managing costs according to global priorities, from reductions in travel, marketing external costs to the reallocation of resources.

demonstrating adaptability and inventiveness for pursuing new business, from digital trainings, short term 'from home' licenses and new forms of digital marketing.

Being a few days earlier than others was critical in some places. In India for instance, where the Group has several hundred employees in spread locations, our offices were shut down 3 days prior to the governmental mandate. This timely decision helped to fully organize and equip our personnel, avoiding the rush on laptops that left many other local companies stranded.

General Assembly Meeting information

ESI Group's Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 4 pm in closed session with no physical attendance. Participation and document consulting procedures are detailed in the notice of meeting available on the company's website.

ESI Group will keep its shareholders informed of any changes in the procedures for participating and voting at the Shareholders' Meeting and, to this end, shareholders are invited to regularly consult the section dedicated to the Shareholders' Meeting on the Company's website.

Upcoming events

Annual General Meeting June 25, 2020 2020 Half-Year Sales and Results September 10, 2020 Q3 2020 Sales October 27, 2020

About ESI Group

Founded in 1973, ESI Group is a leading innovator in Virtual Prototyping solutions and a global enabler of industrial transformation. Thanks to the company's unique know-how in the physics of materials, it has developed and refined, over the last 45 years, advanced simulation capabilities. Having identified gaps in the traditional approach to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), ESI has introduced a holistic methodology centered on industrial productivity and product performance throughout its entire lifecycle, i.e. Product Performance Lifecycle, from engineering to manufacturing and in operation. Present in more than 40 countries, and in major industrial sectors, ESI employs 1200 high level specialists around the world and reported 2019 sales of 146 million. ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of Euronext Paris.

For further information, go to www.esi-group.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005652/en/

Contacts:

ESI Shareholder Relations

Florence Barre

investors@esi-group.com

+33 1 49 78 28 28

SHAN Press Shareholder Relations

Florent Alba

ESIgroup@shan.fr
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automakers sole U.S. vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him.

The move comes as states and cities around the United States experiment with ways to safely reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans out of work.

Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California for Texas or Nevada over his factorys closure. His move has highlighted the competition for jobs and ignited a rush to woo the billionaire executive by states that have reopened their economies more quickly in response to encouragement from U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an email on Monday, Tesla referred to an order on Thursday by Californias governor allowing manufacturers to resume operations and said that as of Sunday, previously furloughed employees were back to their regular employment status.

Were happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return, according to the email seen by Reuters and titled Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!

Musk in a tweet said production was resuming on Monday, adding that he would join workers on the assembly line. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me, he wrote.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Health officials in Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is based, late on Monday said they were aware that Tesla had opened beyond the so-called minimum basic operations allowed during lockdown, and had notified the company it could not operate without a county-approved plan.

In a statement, officials said they expected a proposal from Tesla later on Monday and hope Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures. The statement did not specify consequences and said officials would not comment further.

The countys lockdown order says violations are punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.

A spokeswoman for the Fremont Police Department on Monday said her office was enforcing the lockdown order at the direction of the health department and had been advised that the county is working with Tesla directly.

Separately on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said California should do whatever is necessary to help the electric carmaker reopen its only U.S. vehicle factory if it wants to keep the company in its state.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday said he spoke to Musk several days ago and that the Tesla founders concerns helped prompt the state to begin its phased reopening of manufacturing last week.

I have not only known that company but I have known its founder for many, many years, Newsom said in his daily coronavirus press briefing. I have great reverence for their technology, for their innovative spirit, for their leadership.

Tesla, which also has a vehicle plant in Shanghai and is building another in Berlin, on Saturday sued the county, alleging it had violated Californias constitution by defying Newsoms orders allowing manufacturers to reopen.

Musk on Twitter has also alleged that Tesla is the only auto company which is not being allowed to open.

Yes, California approved, but an unelected county official illegally overrode. Also, all other auto companies in US are approved to resume. Only Tesla has been singled out. This is super messed up! Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

However, Musk's enthusiasm to re-open operations was not met with positive reactions by Netizens - most wanted him to care about the health and safety of his newborn, as well as that of his workers.

It blows my mind that you're willing to risk the health of your child to build some cars.... why don't yousomeone whose net worth has gone up $10 billion in the past yearjust pay your workers to stay at home for a couple weeks?Un-fucking-believable. Pe (@4everNeverTrump) May 11, 2020

Putting peoples lives in danger for profit? Pretty spot on! temporaryproblem (@temporaryprobl1) May 11, 2020

Go to jail nerd Rob (@robrousseau) May 11, 2020

It really has. I used to think Elon Musk was trying to save the world. Space X would make space travel easier. Tesla would make green energy commonplace, and the Boring Company would eliminate traffic jams. But this pandemic has exposed him as another selfish billionaire. Matthew J. Martin (@matthewjmartin_) May 11, 2020

Yes, that's how laws work. You can choose who gets arrested for violating them because you are rich. Sam Riegel (@samriegel) May 11, 2020

Man, imagine if you valued your workers right to organize a union as much as you value your workers right to die to raise your stock prices Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) May 11, 2020

(With inputs from Reuters.)
Alpha Tauri has a plan in the event that a coronavirus infection is confirmed during F1's planned return to racing from July.

F1 doctor Professor Gerard Saillant recently declared that, unlike in Melbourne, the sport will keep racing even if a new infection emerges in the paddock.

"If an employee is infected by the virus, there is no discussion at all," Tost, boss of the Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri team, told Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

"He would either go immediately to the hospital or to quarantine at home. The decision depends on the severity of the case."

Tost said that if the confirmed case is a mechanic, who would not have been able to engage in 'social distancing' in the pits, then the entire race team would be replaced.

"You would have to replace this team," he confirmed.

"We are currently preparing for that. We will have a back-up team that we can bring down with a replacement for every engineer and mechanic. That way, we can ensure that the team can keep working."

(GMM)
Ireland's Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh announced that students would now be able to choose whether to use "calculated" grades or to sit final-year exams when it was considered safe to do so.

Students in Ireland told CNBC of their relief at the Irish government's U-turn and decision to effectively cancel final-year high-school exams due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ellen Kenny, a final-year student at Mean Scoil Mhuire school in Longford, said the government's decision reflected "the power that young people can have" after an initial proposal to delay the exams caused uproar among students.

The exams, known as the "leaving certificate," are taken at the end of the Irish equivalent of high school and determine which college and course students go on to study.

Ireland's Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh announced Friday that students would now be able to choose whether to use "calculated," or predicted, grades, or sit the exams at "at a date in the future when it was considered safe to hold the examinations."

This backtracked on plans announced last month that final year exams for all students would be delayed until July 29, and pupils would be allowed to return to school two weeks prior to this date to prepare for the tests.

McHugh said the change was made "based on medical advice and other assessments."

"The decision has to be taken now to remove the anxiety that many students have been experiencing over how the exams would look later in the summer," he added.

The initial plans had sparked anger among students, who feared that returning to school to take exams could increase the risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus and compromise the safety of their families.

There have been 23,135 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 1,467 deaths in Ireland, according to latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Like many countries around the world, Ireland has been in lockdown for weeks, with people confined to their homes in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, although the government is now starting to ease restrictions.

Alicia Joy O'Sullivan, a student at Skibbereen Community School in West Cork, said that she had seen friends "breaking down crying" on social media when the government initially proposed pushing back exam dates  "it was traumatic."

Following the latest announcement, O'Sullivan said she was relieved, adding that it showed "how right we were to worry about our safety and wellbeing."

Luke Casserly, secretary of the Irish Second-Level Students' Union (ISSU), and a student at St. Mel's College in Longford, said he felt the decision gave clarity to students and hopefully meant they could start college as intended later this year.

The government's decision also followed a poll of nearly 24,000 final year students  close to two-fifths of all the students affected in Ireland  conducted by the ISSU and published last week. Around four in five students thought the leaving certificate exams should be cancelled, preferring that some form of predicted or estimated grading be used.
by Shafique Khokhar

At least one wall destroyed and a cross broken. The culprits wanted to take back land already sold to the church. This is a case of reverse blasphemy. For Punjab lawmaker, the cross has value for Christianity and Islam. Not only was the cross broken, but our hearts were crushed too," said a local Christian.

Sheikhupura (AsiaNews)  A group of Muslims attacked the Trinity Pentecostal Church in Hakeem Pura, Sheikhupura district, a few dozen kilometres from Lahore, Punjab. The building, built 22 years ago, was desecrated, a wall destroyed, a cross and other valuables broken.

Last Friday, the attackers, led by Awan Abbas, a property developer, and Ali Shan, came armed with guns. They entered the church around noon, taking advantage of the fact that the building was empty due to the coronavirus-related lockdown.

Shouting anti-Christian slogans and showing contempt for the place of worship, they attacked the walls and broke a cross, desecrating the building.

Rev Hadayat, who heads the community, told AsiaNews that the congregation of Trinity Pentecostal Church comprises more than 60 families.

He explained that the community was involved in a dispute over land duly bought last year near the church to accommodate the growing community.

After selling it, the former owner of the empty plot of 101 square metres now wants it back, perhaps to get a better deal.

The Church filed a report of the attack with police and launched a blasphemy case against Abbas and seven other men who vandalised the church.

News of the incident quickly spread across the country, causing anger and sadness among Christians. The community wants Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government to provide greater protection to Pakistans minorities and demand the perpetrators be brought to justice.

Boota Masih, a local Christian, told AsiaNews that the group of thugs, after attacking the walls and the cross, challenging anyone who dare oppose them, fled as soon as they heard police was arriving. "Not only was the cross broken, but our hearts were crushed too," he said.

Tariq Masih Gill, a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, visited the church. "The cross that was desecrated has great importance and value in both Christianity and Islam, he said. The culprits have not only dishonoured our faith, but also our national flag, which also represents minorities.

Provincial Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Minister Ijaz Augustine also visited the church. He asked police to take immediate action against the perpetrators, without favouritism or discrimination.

Senior officers at the local police station said they were fully committed to the case, and would bring the culprits to justice soon.

So far, however, no one has been arrested. The police are looking for the perpetrators, but they appear to have fled the city. Christians held a protest demanding justice (picture 3).
In this article, I will take a look at The Travelers Companies, Inc.'s (NYSE:TRV) most recent earnings update (31 March 2020) and compare these latest figures against its performance over the past few years, along with how the rest of TRV's industry performed. As a long-term investor, I find it useful to analyze the company's trend over time in order to estimate whether or not the company is able to meet its goals, and eventually grow sustainably over time.

View our latest analysis for Travelers Companies

Was TRV's recent earnings decline worse than the long-term trend and the industry?

TRV's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2020) of US$2.4b has declined by -8.5% compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has been lower than its average earnings growth rate over the past 5 years of -9.1%, indicating the rate at which TRV is growing has slowed down. What could be happening here? Well, let's look at what's transpiring with margins and if the rest of the industry is facing the same headwind.

NYSE:TRV Income Statement May 12th 2020

In terms of returns from investment, Travelers Companies has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 9.6% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 2.5% exceeds the US Insurance industry of 2.3%, indicating Travelers Companies has used its assets more efficiently. Though, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Travelers Companiess debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 10% to 7.7%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 26% to 26% over the past 5 years.

What does this mean?

Though Travelers Companies's past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. Generally companies that endure a prolonged period of decline in earnings are undergoing some sort of reinvestment phase with the aim of keeping up with the latest industry expansion and disruption. I recommend you continue to research Travelers Companies to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

Story continues

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for TRVs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for TRVs outlook. Financial Health: Are TRVs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2020. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
India will bring back more of its citizens from Oman as part of the repatriation mission under the Vande Bharat initiative.

This will be the second such flight from Oman which is scheduled to take off on Tuesday.

Two flights carrying 362 people from Oman and Kuwait had reached Kochi in Kerala on May 9. The passengers arrived on two Air India Express flights.

There were eight infants in the flights, the airport authorities said.

The Vande Bharat mission is considered one of the largest expatriation exercise run by any country during the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

These flights are being operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express since May 7. Air India is operating the bulk of the flights (42) and the remaining - 24 - are being operated by AI Express.

The government of India is targeting to repatriate 14,800 Indians from 12 countries including USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia.

In the first phase of the evacuation, a total number of 27 flights are bringing bring back Indians from the Gulf region. This included 11 flights from the United Arab Emirates, five from Saudi Arab, five from Kuwait, and two each from Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

From the neighbourhood, seven flights are bringing back Indians from Bangladesh carrying passengers bound for Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Similarly, 14 flights will evacuate stranded Indians from South-East Asia. Of these flights, five each are from Singapore and the Philippines and four from Malaysia.
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Linkedin Ernawati (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 09:20 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd760397 3 Opinion nurses,nurses-day,medical-workers,health,health-care-in-Indonesia,health-care Free

International Nurses Day is celebrated every May 12. This is the anniversary of the birth of the modern nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, known as the Lady of the Lamp after her night rounds. She was responsible for huge changes in the wards where she worked, mainly the improvement of hygiene, which led to a significant reduction in the death rate of injured soldiers during the Crimean War (October 1853 to February 1856).



Nurses are required to be willing to carry out responsibilities according to their calling with altruism, human dignity, integrity, honesty and social justice as core values. As a profession with an altruistic nature that strives for peoples well-being from cradle to grave, risking ones safety is inevitable at times. All nursing personnel are expected to put others before themselves and are selfless in conducting their daily responsibilities.



As the major workforce in the healthcare setting, nurses make a major contribution to the health of people nationally as well as globally.



Particularly during this COVID-19 outbreak, Indonesian nurses can reduce the suffering of the people of this nation.



Nurses work closely with other healthcare professionals such as physicians, nutritionists and pharmacists to provide the best health care for patients as well as supporting their families.



In caring for patients around the clock, nurses can be the best companion for COVID-19 patients through their role in assisting patients in isolation to meet their needs physically, psychologically and even spiritually.



In isolation rooms as well as in the intensive care unit, COVID-19 patients face the toughest physical and mental challenges, with no visits allowed from family and friends.



However, the public by now has witnessed at least some of the challenges of health workers in dealing with patients amid the pandemic. The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) stated that, as of mid-April, at least 25 physicians had died from COVID-19; while the Union of Pharmacy and Health Workers/Reform (FSP FARKES/R) said 12 nurses had died from contracting the virus.



As frontliners in the pandemic, nurses are continually exposed to the risk of contracting the coronavirus. Too many lack the standard personal protective equipment (PPE) such as medical masks, respirators, gloves, hazmat suits and eye protection.



Apart from sometimes resorting to raincoats, the masks used are often below standard. For instance, the guidelines of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that masks should be N95, N99 or N100 type with particulate respirators that have a submicron filter capable of excluding particles that are less than 5 microns in diameter such as the coronavirus.



Further, with the increase of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia, more nurses are inevitably needed. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in 2019, Indonesia had 345,508 nurses largely across the Java area, and only 26,950 nurses in the capital.



As of May 6, Jakarta, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, had 4,709 positive cases with 2,194 patients hospitalized apart from thousands of other non-COVID-19 patients.



Although the government has reported that cases are declining in the capital, health workers have already been overworked under highly stressful conditions  not to mention social stigma and excessive fears of infection due to a lack of information among the public. A number of nurses have been asked to leave their rented homes and one community even rejected the burial of a nurse who died of COVID-19.



This fact proves that in Indonesia the nursing profession is not well-known to the public as a profession that contributes to improving public health. Instead, nurses are seen as a risk to society. The World Health Organization has thus urged the need to raise public awareness of the importance of the profession and the urgent need to protect health workers.



While the shortage of health professionals, including nurses, was a chronic problem even before the pandemic, COVID-19 has exposed the shortage to a much more severe level. At the grassroots, nurses are essential to curb the transmission of COVID-19; yet nurses are also lacking in Puskesmas (community health centers).



No wonder that despite all the news on health workers being hailed around the globe, many in the community remain unaware of their central role in preventing the disease and in treating patients, apart from acquiring misinformation, for instance, that health workers will undoubtedly pass on the virus, even though they follow a strict protocol even when leaving their shift to return home.



Despite the existence of many nursing academies, the lack of nurses is caused by a lack of people interested in the profession. Nursing is not a popular choice of profession among the young generation as many other professions promise higher pay. Here nurses are often paid a salary equal to or smaller than that of caregivers with no health education background.



In conjunction with International Nurses Day this year, the government needs to be reminded again to pay more attention to the nursing profession, which along with physicians plays a central role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.



We do appreciate the governments effort to provide incentives for nurses involved in caring for COVID-19 patients through a new health ministerial decree. However, raising the salaries of nurses in this country is vital so that younger people are interested in the profession.



The low interest in nursing also results from the fact that the majority of nurses lack job security. Thus the government should continue to increase the number of nurses who can become civil servants in hospitals as well as in community health centers, to increase nurses participation in health promotion and disease prevention in the community.

______

Lecturer, School of Medicine and Health Science, Krida Wacana Christian University (Ukrida)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Two Florida teenagers have been arrested after officials say they were seen deliberately coughing and spraying people inside a Walmart with an air freshener as part of a purported coronavirus-themed prank.

Amos Troublefield and Antonio Green, both aged 18, were taken into custody in Vero Beach on Saturday and booked into the Indian River County jail on one count each of shoplifting and disorderly conduct.

According to an arrest affidavit first obtained by The Smoking Gun and reviewed by DailyMail.com, on Saturday evening, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office got a 911 call about two black males 'running around Walmart coughing, and spraying customers and Walmart employees with Fabreeze [sic].'

Amos Troublefield (left) and Antonio Green (right), both 18, were arrested last week in Florida for allegedly pretend-coughing on Walmart shoppers for a prank video

The pair were spotted running around this Vero Beach Walmart on Saturday night

The caller told an emergency dispatcher that the suspects have since left the store and drove away in a white pick-up truck.

The duo were said to have used a bottle of Febreze to spray shoppers, making it seem as if they were coughing and spitting on them (stock image)

A deputy responded to the scene, tracked down the vehicle and pulled it over for a traffic stop in the 4300 block of State Road 60 at around 6.40pm.

After having their Miranda rights read to them, Troublefield and Green reportedly told investigators that they were shooting a YouTube video, which was meant to show them pretending to cough on people, but actually spraying them with the Febreze air freshener to simulate droplets of saliva.

According to the affidavit, the YouTube pranksters grabbed a $4.95 bottle of Febreze off a store shelf without paying for it, resulting the the shoplifting charges.

'When asked why they would be coughing on people during a pandemic (COVID-19), they advised they were just trying to be funny and make their videos for YouTube,' the document stated.

When asked to explain themselves, Troublefield and Green reportedly said they 'were just trying to be funny and make their videos for YouTube'

It is believed that Troublefield and Green operate a YouTube channel along with a third friend, which has about 1,470 subscribers and specializes in pranks, interviews with teens about sex and social media challenges.

The duo were booked into the county jail shorty before 8.30pm and were released after posting $1,000 bond less than two hours later.

Troublefield and Green are due back in court for their arraignments on June 2.
The coronavirus pandemic sweeping the country is necessitating the release of over 17,000 of the 35,000 plus prisoners in the 60 prisons located in 45 places in Maharashtra, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said.

After 158 inmates of the Mumbai's largest prison Arthur Road Jail have tested positive for Covid-19 we decided to take such a huge decision to prevent contagion from spreading to more inmates and staff, he informed and added, A process is already underway to release 5,105 undertrials facing sentences of less than seven years on temporary bail and 3,017 convicts on emergency parole.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

He further informed how the new decision will see 9,520 undertrials facing a jail term of over seven years also being released on temporary bail taking the total number of inmates released to 17, 642. He quickly clarified thought, Those charged under MCOCA, TADA, POTA, UAPA, PMLA, NDPS, MPID, Explosive Substances Act, Anti hijacking Act, POCSO, Foreigners in Prison, bank fraud, major financial scams, etc. will not be released.

Eight prison lockdown

Deshmukh also informed that the Central prisons of Mumbai, Thane, Yerwada and Nashik and the district prisons of Byculla, Kalyan, Aurangabad and Nagpur will all be under complete lockdown. Neither will a new inmate be sent to these facilities, nor will anyone be sent out. We are looking at keeping the staff too housed within 24x7 till the worst of the pandemic is not behind us. The Home Minister also said that all the collectors have been told to look for alternate spaces which could work as temporary jails, especially for crowded facilities so that social distancing can be maintained.
Three men have been charged with burglary and other offenses early Monday morning after Bayonne police were alerted to suspicious activity in the area of West 55th Street, authorities said.

Police also recovered a loaded gun, drugs and a stolen car when they arrested Joseph Mackenson, 29, and Roobentz Mary, 19, both of Brooklyn, and Olivel Martinez, 20, of Bayonne, at 12:24 a.m. Monday.

Responding to a report of a man checking out alleyways in the area, police found Olivel Martinez walking on West 55th Street, Bayonne Capt. Eric Amato said. Police also located Mary and Mackenson seated inside a running, parked Toyota Yaris nearby.

The Yaris, which had Florida license plates, had been reported stolen, police later discovered.

When Mary and Mackenson saw police they fled on foot, ignoring the officers commands to stop, Amato said. During the chase, police saw Mary reach into his waistband and discard a handgun near a building in the area of 49th Street and Avenue C.

Mary was arrested on West 55th Street and Mackenson was arrested after he was found hiding under a parked vehicle on West 56th Street, Amato said.

Amato described the handgun that was recovered as a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun containing an illegal high capacity magazine loaded with 22 rounds and one round in the chamber.

Police also found a Kia Optima with Pennsylvania license plates blocking a fire hydrant in the area of West 55th Street and saw a bag of raw marijuana on the floor in front of the drivers seat, Amato said.

Police searching the three men found a key for the Kia on Mackenson, Amato said, noting that officers were able to start the car with Mackensons key.

All three men were charged with burglary, receiving stolen property, drug possession and conspiracy.

Mary was additionally charged with possession of a handgun, possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, possession of a large capacity magazine and obstruction of a governmental function; Mackenson was additionally charged with obstruction of a governmental function.
Paul Reid, HSE CEO, speaking at an HSE briefing at DCU Glasnevin campus in Dublin. Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland/PA Wire

A woman wearing a face mask amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus carries flowers at the Quang Ba flower market in Hanoi. (Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP) (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Disinfection professionals wearing protective clothing spray anti-septic solution at classroom to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) ahead of school re-opening in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

People will be urged to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport (Niall Carson/PA)

Follow the latest coronavirus news in Ireland and across the world on the Independent.ie live blog.





23:05 12/05/2020

New Covid-19 committee to invite CMO and HSE boss

A new Oireachtas committee set up to examine the Governments response to Covid-19 is to invite the chief medical officer and the HSE boss to appear next week.

The committee agreed to meet on two occasions next week and will invite Dr Tony Holohan and Paul Reid to appear as witnesses in one of the sessions.

The decision comes following hours of private discussions.

Independent TD Michael McNamara was elected chairman during the inaugural sitting.

The new committee will look at how authorities and agencies have responded to the pandemic and take evidence on the states response.

The special 19-member Oireachtas committee includes TDs from Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein as well as a number of other parties and independents.





22:45 12/05/2020

Leaving Cert students to be marked out of 1,000

Reports Katherine Donnelly

Teachers may be asked to mark Leaving Cert pupils out of 1,000 in each subject.

The plan is to allow scope to differentiate between students of similar standard, under the calculated grades system being introduced to replace the Leaving Cert this year.

Intensive discussions continued yesterday on detailed guidelines for teachers.

They must approach the task of estimating what their pupils would be expected to achieve had the State exams gone ahead in June.





22:25 12/05/2020

Public asked to 'stay the course' as nearly half of people now believe the worst of crisis is over

Reports Eilis O'Regan

Nearly half of people now believe the worst of the coronavirus crisis is over as it emerged public health experts are certain to give the green light to begin the easing of the lockdown from next week.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "I am hopeful in terms of the track of the disease and it is giving us encouragement. My expectation is that we might be in a position to make a recommendation on the easing of restrictions later this week."

However, commenting on Department of Health survey findings showing 43pc of people think the country is over the worst he cautioned that the work is still not done.

"The virus is still circulating, the risk is still there in our communities," he said.

"The health service will continue to prepare and respond to the virus, the public are asked to stay the course and keep up the progress we have made."

Read More





22:05 12/05/2020

Gardai spat at or coughed on 64 times since Covid-19 regulations began

Reports Micheal O Scannail

There has been 64 occasions of gardai being coughed or spat on while carrying out their duty to date, according to new data released today.

Between April 8, when the regulations came into effect, and May 9, gardai have had to enforce the regulations 192 times out of hundreds of thousands of interactions with the public.

During this time, there were 64 incidents of spitting and/or coughing on gardai.

Members of An Garda Siochana had to use anti-spit guards 47 times.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said, "Unfortunately, we continue to see these disgusting and despicable spitting and coughing attacks on our personnel. These are a significant health and safety risk to our members in the current environment. We must protect them from such attacks.

"This includes having the option of using anti-spit guards in very limited circumstances. We have made it clear these anti-spit guards are only to be used as last resort and in line with the Garda Decision Making Model, which includes at its centre human rights and our Code of Ethics.

Read More





21:45 12/05/2020

Leaving Cert students cannot contact teachers or discuss estimated marks - Department of Education

Reports Katherine Donnelly

Teachers and Leaving Cert candidates cannot have any further discussions about the students performance in the past two years, nor can they talk about the estimated mark that the teacher will award a pupil under the new calculated grades system.

Updated advice from the Department of Education also confirms that no additional work can be accepted from the students after May 11, the official date for the end of tuition for the Leaving Cert class of 2020.

However candidates remain students of the school and can continue to access wellbeing and other supports provided via the Student Support Team until the end of term.

The latest advice comes ahead of detailed guidelines for teachers about how to approach the unprecedented task of providing calculated grades for their pupils, as an alternative to the Leaving Cert exams.

Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland

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21:25 12/05/2020

Coronavirus patients at Russian hospital killed in fire

Expand Close A Russian emergency worker at the scene of the fire at St George Hospital in St Petersburg (AP/Dmitry Lovetsky) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A Russian emergency worker at the scene of the fire at St George Hospital in St Petersburg (AP/Dmitry Lovetsky)





A fire at a hospital in St Petersburg has killed five coronavirus patients who were on ventilators, Russian emergency officials said.

The fire broke out in an intensive care unit at the St George Hospital and was put out within half an hour. It could have been caused by a faulty ventilator, the Interfax news agency reported.

Police in St Petersburg, Russias second-largest city, have launched a criminal investigation into the fire.

It was not the first deadly fire in a coronavirus hospital in Russia. On Saturday, a fire in the Spasokukotsky Hospital in Moscow killed one patient.

Russia has reported more than 220,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,009 deaths  numbers that international health officials say significantly undercount the true toll of Russias outbreak.





21:05 12/05/2020

Worlds tallest donation box lights up after Covid-19 appeal

he worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, was transformed into a giant donation box in a spectacular light show to mark the United Arab Emirates smashing its target of delivering 1.2 million meals or food parcels to individuals and families affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The light show in Dubai was part of the 10 Million Meals campaign, led by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) organisation, to provide food support for low-income families during Ramadan.





20:45 12/05/2020

WHO says up to eight top candidates for Covid-19 vaccine exist

Expand Close The head of the World Health Organisation says there are up to eight top candidates for a coronavirus vaccine under examination (Pool/PA) / Facebook

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Work is accelerating on up to eight leading candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief said on Monday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing the original thinking two months ago was that it may take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine.

But he said an accelerated effort was under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros (6.4 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organisations and banks for research, treatment and testing.

He said these funds would not be enough, and additional money would be needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone  (and) theres no one be left behind.









20:25 12/05/2020

Facebook flags 50 million misleading coronavirus posts

More than 50 million pieces of content were given warning labels on Facebook for being misleading in relation to coronavirus, the social network has revealed.

Publishing its latest Community Standards Enforcement Report, Facebook said that since March 1 it had removed more than 2.5 million pieces of content linked to sale of medical items such as masks and Covid-19 test kits.

The social network also revealed its Covid-19 Information Centre, which shows health and virus information from official sources, had now directed more than two billion people to resources from health authorities.

Social media platforms, including Facebook, have been repeatedly criticised over the amount of disinformation and harmful content linked to the Covid-19 outbreak which has spread online.





20:05 12/05/2020

Car dealerships who meet Covid-19 guidelines expected to reopen for sales on Monday

Reports Eddie Cunningham

Car dealerships whose protection of staff and customers meet stringent Covid-19 protocol guidelines should be able to sell cars from Monday, it is now understood.

There has been a lot of confusion for dealers and potential buyers around when showrooms can open for sales.

The governments 'road map' is clear that dealers can open for repairs and servicing from Monday.

But the motor industry has failed to get clear-cut answers on when they can open to sell vehicles.

Read More





19:45 12/05/2020

Firms unable to introduce coronavirus safety measures should not reopen  UK HSE

Employers who are unable to introduce adequate measures to protect staff from coronavirus should not reopen their workplaces, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.

HSE chief executive Sarah Albon said every workplace should carry out a Covid-19 risk assessment before staff return, and that the vast majority will be able to implement social distancing and hygiene measures.

But she told Parliaments Work and Pensions Committee on Tuesday that employers who are unable to do so should individually not open.

Ms Albon said that between March 9 and May 7, the HSE had received more 7,149 coronavirus-related calls and online queries from people concerned about their safety at work.

She said while many of those concerns were dealt with immediately, about 1,400 were referred to the workplace safety regulators inspectors for further investigation.





19:25 12/05/2020

Spike of cases in Seoul and Wuhan raises fears about a second wave

Expand Close A quarantine worker sprays disinfectants at night spots of Itaewon neighbourhood. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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South Korea and China have reported fresh surges in coronavirus cases in the wake of both countries easing their lockdown measures.

"The nation is at risk," Park Won-soon, the mayor of the South Korean capital Seoul, said yesterday, warning that the next few days would be "critical" in preventing the spread of the virus from a cluster of cases linked to several nightclubs and bars.

A total of 86 new infections have been reported in the latest outbreak, as officials race to track down thousands of people who may have come into contact with a 29-year-old man who visited the venues before testing positive for Covid-19.

South Korea has won global praise for successfully controlling the virus with its efficient "test, track, treat" strategy, reducing new infections to a daily trickle of single-digit figures. The sudden spike in cases has raised fears of a second coronavirus wave.

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19:05 12/05/2020

Tesla chief Elon Musk restarts California factory despite lockdown

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has confirmed the company has restarted its California factory in violation of local government orders.

In an afternoon tweet, Mr Musk wrote that he would be on the assembly line and asked that he be arrested if authorities take anyone into custody.

State law allows a fine of up to 1,000 dollars a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

The plant in Fremont, south of San Francisco, had been closed since March 23 under orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

Early on Monday, the car park was nearly full at the massive plant, which employs 10,000 workers, and transporters were driving away loaded with vehicles that may have been produced before the shutdown.





18:45 12/05/2020

Students and hosts distraught while Gaeltacht regions count cost as summer without Irish college hits home

Expand Close Island life: Student Aoife Lambe wont get to spend a fifth successive summer at Colaiste Arrain Mhoir. PHOTO: MARK CONDREN / Facebook

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Reports Kathy Donaghy

For the first summer in memory the annual pilgrimage to the Gaeltacht won't take place, leaving students disappointed and host families and colleges counting the cost.

Officially, it's about learning Irish, but for many of the 27,000 students, mainly teenagers, who travel to 42 summer colleges every year, the lure is the craic, new friendships and a strike at life away from home.

For four years, Aoife Lambe (16), from Dublin's Marino, has gone to Donegal and taken the boat from Burtonport to Arranmore Island, to attend Colaiste Arainn Mhoir.

She leaves the city behind for three weeks to experience island life with teenagers, learn Irish and taste freedom away from family. It's the high point of her summer.

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18:25 12/05/2020

Betting firms told to tighten measures to protect problem gamblers

The gambling watchdog has told betting firms to tighten their measures to protect problem gamblers amid a surge in online gaming during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Gambling Commission said that improved measures are needed after new evidence revealed problem gamblers may be more vulnerable due to the lockdown.

It said new figures show that gambling through online poker and virtual sports increased by 38pc and 40pc respectively in March.

Meanwhile, gambling through online slot machines increased by 25pc in the month when the lockdown was first introduced.

It also said that 64pc of more engaged gamblers reported that they have increased the time or money spent on online gambling since the lockdown.





18:10 12/05/2020

Breakdown of latest figures

Latest data from the HPSC, as of midnight on Sunday (23,089 cases), reveals:

57pc are female and 42pc are male

The median age of confirmed cases is 49 years

3,031 cases (13pc) have been hospitalised

Of those hospitalised, 386 cases have been admitted to ICU

6,906 cases are associated with healthcare workers

Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,235 (49pc of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,337 cases (6pc) and then Cork with 1,234 cases (5pc)

Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 61%, close contact accounts for 36pc, travel abroad accounts for 3pc

As of midnight Monday 11th May, 258,808 tests have been carried out.

Over the past week, 44,047 tests were carried out and of these 1,466 were positive, giving a positivity rate of 3.3pc.





18:00 12/05/2020

24 more people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland as 107 more positive tests confirmed

The National Public Health Emergency has confirmed that sadly more people have died as a result of the coronavirus.

It brings the total number of fatalities related to the virus in Ireland to 1,491.

Chief Medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has also confirmed that 107 more people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in Ireland to 23,242.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; We are continuing to examine the progress of the disease and though we are still making progress, which is giving us real encouragement, we need to keep going. We still have 70 people in ICU and over 500 people in hospital. We have more work to do.

Rachel Kenna, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health, said: Today marks International Nurses Day and 2020 is also International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. We did not expect to be marking this year amidst a Global Pandemic, however, our fellow nurses and midwives have risen to the challenge and remain a vital resource to our health service.

Our nurses and midwives are working in high risk situations on a daily basis, delivering care in PPE, making personal sacrifices and continuing to provide compassionate care in a stressful environment.

The public actions over the last number of weeks have meant nurses and midwives can continue to deliver care to those who need it. Please continue to support them during this time, hold firm and stay safe.





17:25 12/05/2020

People-dodging game aims to show children importance of social distancing

Expand Close Can You Save The World? could be rolled out further (Richard Wiseman/PA) / Facebook

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A game has been developed for children during the coronavirus pandemic which aims to demonstrate the importance of social distancing.

Can You Save the World? has already been played 10,000 times since launching as a free online game on computers and now its creators are looking into the possibility of making it available on mobile devices as well.

The game tasks players with dodging people they encounter as they walk along the street, while collecting face masks, food and even toilet roll to help them along the way.





17:05 12/05/2020

Northern Ireland unveils five-point plan for exiting coronavirus lockdown

Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill and First Minister Arlene Foster. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA / Facebook

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Groups of four to six people who do not share a household will be allowed to meet outdoors while maintaining social distancing in one of the first steps in Northern Irelands road map out of lockdown.

A five-point plan with no firm dates has been published for exiting coronavirus restrictions.

Those unable to work from home will be encouraged to return to work on a phased basis in another early shift if the reproductive rate at which the virus is spread continues to decline below one.

Large outdoor-based retailers such as garden centres will also be permitted to reopen in the first step as life edges its way back towards normality.





16:45 12/05/2020

Herd immunity for Covid-19 dangerous concept  WHO

The World Health Organisation has condemned the dangerous concept of herd immunity for Covid-19.

Herd immunity is an epidemiological term usually reserved to describe how the population as a whole is protected from a disease depending on the levels of people vaccinated.

For instance, when 90pc to 95pc of the population is vaccinated against measles, this should be enough to protect others who are unable to get an inoculation  such as babies before they reach the age at which they can be immunised.

Asked about the concept being applied to the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO said no-one is safe until everyone is safe and it is dangerous to think that countries can magically reach herd immunity.





16:25 12/05/2020

Summer holidays abroad unlikely despite Ryanairs flights plan

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned that people are unlikely to be able to go on foreign holidays this summer, despite Ryanair planning to restore 40pc of its flights from July.

Asked whether summer was cancelled, Mr Hancock told ITVs This Morning: I think thats likely to be the case.

He added: It is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer.

I just think thats a reality of life.





16:05 12/05/2020

Summer drought fears as householders urged to cut back on water as demand soars

Reports Caroline O'Doherty

Irish Water is appealing to householders to ease up on non-essential use of water as it revealed we are using 24 litres more each every day while at home under lockdown.

It warns that the combination of the prolonged dry spell, additional daily use and an expected surge in demand when businesses reopen will put already strained supplies under even greater pressure.

Domestic use in total is up 20pc, which amounts to demand for around 120 million extra litres of water a day.

Closing businesses and schools reduced usage in the non-domestic sector. But it may not be enough to compensate for thirsty households that, even under normal circumstances, make up two-thirds of daily demand.

Read More





15:40 12/05/2020

UK passengers urged to "face away from each other" on crowded public transport

Expand Close Some trains on Londons Tube network were crowded again on Tuesday morning despite Boris Johnson placing the UK on a police-enforced lockdown with drastic new measures in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Some trains on Londons Tube network were crowded again on Tuesday morning despite Boris Johnson placing the UK on a police-enforced lockdown with drastic new measures in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: PA

Public transport users should face away from each other when they cannot keep a two-metre gap, the Government has said.

New guidance issued by the Department for Transport on how to travel safely during the coronavirus outbreak states that passengers should minimise the time they spend near other people and avoid physical contact with them.

It acknowledges that there may be situations where you cant keep a suitable distance from people, such as on busier services or at peak times.

The document states: In these cases you should avoid physical contact, try to face away from other people.

It goes on: The risk of infection increases the closer you are to another person with the virus and the amount of time you spend in close contact.





15:00 12/05/2020

London station ticket office worker dies with Covid-19 after being spat at

Expand Close Ms Mujinga was a mother to 11-year-old daughter Ingrid (Family handout/PA) / Facebook

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A railway ticket office worker has died of coronavirus after being spat at while on duty.

Belly Mujinga, 47, was on the concourse of Victoria station in London in March when a member of the public who said he had Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague.

Within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus.

Ms Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was admitted to Barnet Hospital and put on a ventilator but died on April 5, her trade union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), said.

Ten people attended her funeral.





14:40 12/05/2020

Stars could be quarantined and extras replaced with CGI when UK films resume

Actors flying into the UK to make films and TV shows could face health checks and a period of quarantine, while extras could be replaced with CGI to create crowd scenes under draft plans.

The British Film Commission has drafted the new safety protocols for the industry to follow to prevent the spread of illness when scripted productions are able to resume following the coronavirus crisis.

The Film And TV Production Codes Of Practice will be presented to the UK Government as a vision of how the TV and film industry can mobilise once lockdown measures are eased.

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13:43 12/05/2020

McDonalds to reopen Drive Thru's in Dublin

Fast food chain McDonalds has announced it is reopening six drive thru restaurants in Dublin this month.

McDonalds' restaurants across Ireland and the UK closed eight weeks ago over concerns linked to Covid-19.

However, Paul Pomroy, Chief Executive Officer, today said six drive thru's are to reopen on Wednesday, 20 May.

The locations of the restaurants will be confirmed next week.

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13:40 12/05/2020

Independent TD Michael McNamara elected to chair Dail probe into coronavirus response

Expand Close Independent TD Michael McNamara Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook

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Reports Cormac McQuinn

INDEPENDENT TD Michael McNamara has been selected as the chairperson of the Dail's probe into the response to the coronavirus crisis.

It came after Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane's candidacy was rejected in a vote of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response by 12 votes to six.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail TDs were among those who voted against the Waterford TD taking the chair.

Clare TD Mr McNamara's name was put forward by Green Party TD Ossian Smyth and he was selected as chairperson.

The former Labour TD thanked colleagues for the honour and said everyone is very aware of the importance of the work the committee will carry out.

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12:40 12/05/2020

China suspends penalties on more US goods in trade truce

China has suspended punitive tariffs on more US goods including radar equipment for aviation amid pressure from President Donald Trump to buy more imports as part of a truce in their trade war.

The Ministry of Finance said tariff increases on 79 types of goods including radar sets, disinfectant and rare earths minerals would be suspended for one year starting on May 19.

Washington agreed in January to cancel additional tariff hikes and Beijing committed to buy more American farm exports.

US officials said China agreed to address complaints about its technology policies.

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11:22 12/05/2020

Masks should form part of reopening Ireland from coronavirus lockdown - FF leader Micheal Martin

Reports Cormac McQuinn and Aoife Walsh

FIANNA Fail leader Micheal Martin has said that the use of face masks by the public should form part of plans for reopening Ireland from the coronavirus lock-down.

He also raised concern that the level of testing and contact tracing is "not where we should be" if the country is to reopen.

It comes as the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) continue to work on guidelines for the use of face coverings.

Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan says there are no plans to make them compulsory.

In England the public are being urged to wear face coverings when they're in contact with people they wouldn't usually meet including on public transport and while shopping.

Speaking on Newstalk Radio, Mr Martin said: "I favour masks".

He told presenter Pat Kenny: "I have a sister-in-law in Singapore.

"Singapore isn't the answer to everything but she's been screaming at me metaphorically over the phone - 'why aren't you guys wearing masks?'."

Read More





09:10 12/05/2020

Ryanair's Return: 1,000 flights a day by July 1, with passenger masks and temperature checks

Reports Pol O Conghaile

Ryanair will restore 40pc of its scheduled flights from July 1, with passengers required to wear face masks and pass temperature checks, it says.

The return would see almost 1,000 flights a day across 90pc of its "pre-Covid network", subject to Government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted and effective public health measures being put in place at airports.

Flights from July 1 are now available to book from 19.99 each way.

Since Covid-19 flight restrictions were put in place in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating just 1pc of its normal services - "a skeleton daily schedule" of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.

A video released by the airline gives a glimpse of what flying could look like this summer, with passengers required to take temperature checks and wear face masks or coverings in terminals and on board aircraft.

It advises passengers to check their own temperatures before leaving home, and says temperature checks may also take place at airports: "If you don't pass those, you will be required to return home".

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08:00 12/05/2020

AIB puts 210m aside for bad loans due to Covid-19

Reports Ellie Donnelly

AIB has increased its credit provision by 210m due to the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

The bank said a further impact from the crisis would be felt in the next three months.

It also expects to incur exceptional costs in the range of 150-175m this year, including costs relating to restitution and operating costs associated with the tracker mortgage scandal.

Almost 50,000 personal and small business customers have availed of Covid-19 payment breaks in AIBs retail banking segment.

The value of the payment breaks amounts to 3.26bn.

Read More





07:10 12/05/2020

Most of the population still at risk as immunity 'at only 6pc'

Reports Eilish O'Regan

Most of the population has built up no immunity to the coronavirus, leaving them at risk of infection as the country begins to ease the lockdown.

Prof Paul Moynagh, head of the Department of Biology in Maynooth University, said although official figures show a total of 23,135 cases of the virus here so far it is likely the real number who have been infected is around 300,000.

He said people who have had the virus and recovered can develop antibodies which could potentially shield them from reinfection, although some scientists question the protection.

"There is a lot of commentary on this," he said.

"We probably have immunity and are more uncertain how long that immunity lasts for."

Read More





07:00 12/05/2020

Gardai to enforce two-week quarantine for passengers

Reports Philip Ryan

Gardai will be given the power to check up on passengers arriving in Ireland from overseas under new Covid-19 restrictions being considered by the Government.

Gardai may call to the addresses of passengers to ensure they are adhering to self-isolation for two weeks after arrival in this country.

Strict new regulations are being drafted to make it a legal requirement for anyone arriving in Ireland to self-isolate and give the authorities details of where they will be staying.

Currently everyone arriving in Ireland is being asked to voluntarily self-isolate for two weeks.
Rents in Ireland declined by 2.1% from March to April, the biggest monthly collapse since 2009.

A new report from property website Daft.ie suggests the Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the rental market and that further rent falls are likely in the coming months.

The report shows rents have actually increased year-on-year to 1,418 per month, but have declined by 2.1% from March to April, the biggest one-month fall in more than a decade.

According to the report, renters in Cork city are now paying an average of 1,396, a 4.8% increase in the last year, while those in Cork county are paying 1,045. In Kerry, rent increased by 4.3% to 884, while renters in Limerick and Waterford cities are both paying more than 1,000 per month, on average.

Overall in Munster, rents fell by 1.8% from March to April as the impact of the pandemic was felt on the market while, nationally, the number of properties listed for rent was 3,800 on May 1, a 40% increase on the same date last year. This is, in part, due to properties which were previously reserved for short-term letting now being advertised in the private rental market due to the collapse of the tourism sector.

Economist Ronan Lyons, author of the report, said the longer term prospect for the market is one of further price falls "as unemployment rises" in the wake of the pandemic.

He said the economic impact will be felt in a number of ways.

He said, "Migrants are overwhelmingly renters and if Covid-19 brings about a downward shift in migration patterns generally, Ireland will notice that more than most countries."

Additionally, Mr Lyons added, those working in hospitality, tourism and retail are likely to be among the worst affected by the economic downturn and many of these sectors "will be the ones where renters are concentrated".

The report also examines the growing build-to-rent sector, referring to the large-scale developments of houses and apartments which are built purely for the purposes of rental accommodation.

Ireland has a pipeline of approximately 50,000 build-to-rent units, some 47,000 of which are in the Dublin area, though there are also 2,600 in Cork.

Approximately 4,000 are under construction and 15,000 more have planning approval.

Mr Lyons raised concerns about the impact of the construction shut-down on these homes given that "Ireland's rental sector saw effectively zero new rental homes added over the past decade".

He said, "The concern therefore is that the 30,000-odd rental homes at various stages of planning and construction  although mostly planning  are affected, thus prolonging Irelands rental woes even as rents fall."
[May 12, 2020] EnviroLogix' COVID-19 Response: Support for Local Shelters and Food Pantries

PORTLAND, Maine, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In support of the communities surrounding our headquarters here in Portland, EnviroLogix Inc. recently provided support to five local area programs. These programs reflect the strength and integrity of our culture and serve as models for humanity.

"These organizations are always taking care of the hardest hit among us, but most critically they are making a difference during these unprecedented times." said Bill Welch, President of EnviroLogix. "It is a great honor for us to give back to the community that our business is so proud and fortunate to be a part of." EnviroLogix has made financial contributions to each of the following charitable organizations: Falmouth Food Pantry: Serving Falmouth and Surrounding Communities

https://www.falmouthme.org/town-clerk/events/25166

For over 30 years, Falmouth Food Pantry has been serving the needs of citizens in Falmouth and surrounding communities (Cumberland, Yarmouth, Portland, and Westbrook). Volunteers serve clients at the pantry, bring meals to some clients, help take in deliveries, and stock shelves.



Project Grace: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

https://projectgracemaineweebly.com











The Locker Project: Feeding The Future

http://mainelockerproject.org

The Locker Project connects food-insecure children with nourishing food to improve their learning capacity, health and future. They take a whole-family approach to child hunger, and their programs strive to be low-barrier, stigma-free and environmentally responsible.



Through These Doors: Domestic Resources & Advocacy

https://www.throughthesedoors.org/

TTD creates innovative responses and mobilizes the community to promote safety in the face of oppression and violence. They provide safe and accessible services to those affected by domestic violence regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender, age, primary language spoken, or immigration status.



Westbrook Food Pantry: Feeding The Future

http://westbrookfoodpantry.org/

The Westbrook Community Food & Resource Center is an all-volunteer non-profit organization providing free supplemental food to Westbrook residents on a monthly basis. Volunteers make this pantry thrive and are needed to work in the pantry, in starting food drives and in other ways as well. EnviroLogix Inc., a leading producer of GMO and mycotoxin tests serving the food and feed safety markets, continues to provide innovative solutions as the world-leading supplier of on-site quantitative GMO protein detection, and was the first to offer LFD technology for mycotoxin screening in grain. EnviroLogix' dedication to scientific innovation and providing exceptional solutions for today's identity-preservation and food-safety supply chains remains at the forefront. For more information visit envirologix.com .



CONTACT: Brian Harris, EnviroLogix Inc., +1-207-274-6408 [email protected]

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Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - After three years of prosecution, former banker and senator Mohamed ould Boumatou, other former senators, trade unionists and journalists were granted released late Monday by an investigating judge of the court of West Nouakchott, PANA learned Tuesday from judicial sources
A real-life Rambo has built a mountaintop cabin as a retreat to help veterans who are struggling with PTSD.

Former lance corporal Mike Allen, 38, carried huge logs and 10-stone stone slabs up a steep hill to build the woodland hideaway in the Sirhowy Valley, South Wales.

He said he designed the rural retreat as a way of dealing with his PTSD, but his first version of the cabin was torn down by environment bosses in 2018 because he didn't have planning permission.

The cabin has now been rebuilt with the help of environment agency Natural Resources Wales as a space for struggling veterans to enjoy a peaceful break.

Ex-lance corporal Mike Allen (pictured at the cabin) carried huge logs and 10-stone stone slabs up a steep hill to build an impressive woodland hideaway in the Sirhowy Valley, South Wales

It has been kitted out with exercise stations and cooking facilities for former military personnel to come and unwind.

Afghanistan veteran Mr Allen said: 'It is nearly finished and will have a number of different uses.

'I've been able to come up here every day building and finish my work despite the lockdown and it is pretty isolated anyway.

'You have to hike 25 minutes up a steep mountain to reach the cabin so it is tucked away.'

After the original rendition of the cabin was knocked down, Mr Allen worked with the environment agency Natural Resources Wales for permission to rebuild it as a facility for military veterans.

The former soldier - who toured Afghanistan in 2011 - has big plans for the site and hopes he can help those in similar situations to his own.

Pictured: Former lance corporal Mr Allen, who toured Afghanistan in 2011, is seen as a soldier

The cabin has been kitted out with exercise stations (pictured), cooking facilities and will have a dry-stone walling course for former military personnel to come and unwind

Pictured: An area inside the second cabin, which is close to being completed as a retreat for veterans

'It will be used as a safe place of work for people suffering from PTSD,' he said.

'Sometimes we struggle to be around normal people and it can be hard to cope - but when we're with other veterans and other people in the same position it is easier.

'It will have a fitness centre and fitted with an outdoor gym with a TRX machine, pull up bars and press up stations.

'We will have barbecues up here where people can come and have a sit down and watch the views.

'We will also do tree planting and have a course in dry stone walling so people can learn new skills.'

His first version of the cabin (pictured) was torn down by environment bosses in 2018 because he didn't have planning permission

Pictured: Mr Allen at the site of the old woodland cabin in South Wales, which was torn down in 2018

The cabin has now been rebuilt (pictured: the new cabin) with the help of environment agency Natural Resources Wales as a space for struggling veterans to enjoy a peaceful break

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said they had 'very positive meeting' with Mr Allen about opportunities for how the land can be used to help rehabilitate military veterans

Mr Allen added there will be be mental health specialists available should veterans need help.

He said: 'After leaving the army, I had some serious mental health issues and other problems. I struggled for a very, very long time and things weren't working.

'Things continued to go downhill so I ended up going up the mountain and started building.

'The cabin started as a shelter but turned into something really special. It was healing me. It gave me cover from the elements, focus, and a sense of accomplishment whilst appreciating the landscape.

A spokesperson for NRW said they had 'very positive meeting' with Mr Allen about opportunities for how the land can be used to help rehabilitate military veterans.

'People who are active and enjoy the outdoors are more likely to live longer, healthier and happier,' a statement said.

'We help people get out and enjoy our fantastic natural environment, and support communities and partners to improve access and facilities.'
Some aspects of being on furlough have been pretty good for Charlie Curley, a 61-year-old chauffeur who was put on the governments job retention scheme by his employer six weeks ago.

He certainly doesnt miss the 4am starts; he can have a beer or two in the evening with no danger of feeling guilty about it; and, thanks to all that extra time on his hands, the lawn is immaculately mowed and his patio is  he reckons  now among the cleanest in the country.

But, like many others of the UKs 7.5 million furloughed workers, some of the novelty of being paid 80 per cent of his salary by the government wore off a while ago.

The household tasks have run out, the daily walk has become the main event of his day, and now there is growing uncertainty about whether he will have a job to go back to.

Does it give you worries? Yes it does, definitely. I dont think Im going to get any proper work until the end of July Charlie Curley, chauffeur

The chancellors announcement on Tuesday that the furlough scheme will be extended was almost universally welcomed. However, the fact that employers will have to start contributing in August to the wages of furloughed workers will mean tough decisions for many companies. Some jobs will undoubtedly go, as government wage support is withdrawn by the end of October.

Questions remain about how exactly that support will be withdrawn. Rishi Sunak has promised they will be answered by the end of the month. Its at that time that many employers will face tough decisions.

That may well bring pain in for my employer, says Mr Curley. I suspect there will be another letter in the post telling us were being kept on until the end of July [when the full government furlough support ends].

After that I dont know.

Does it give you worries? Yes it does, definitely. I dont think Im going to get any proper work until the end of July because the government is paying the 80 per cent.

I think the moment my employer has to put their hands in their pocket they will have a decision to make, definitely.

There are many variables in that decision, says Mr Curley. One option is redundancy; perhaps some staff could be brought back part time as the more flexible furlough rules will allow from 1 August.

But the upheavals wrought by the virus are likely to wrench entire sectors of the economy from their roots, leaving some occupations in doubt, including Mr Curleys.

He and his colleagues chauffeur well-heeled executives between the boardrooms and glass skyscrapers of the City of London, and the hedge-funds HQs that squeeze into opulent townhouses in Mayfair and St Jamess.

Those CEOs have flown over  business class, or first perhaps  on financial roadshows, touting their companies to investors.

There is no way that type of business is coming back this side of Christmas, says Mr Curley.

Its an expense for any company to take executives out for days to go around London, Frankfurt, Edinburgh, maybe Madrid. Thats a long time for senior people to be out.

Whether it comes back ever is the $64,000 question.

Given the switch that many companies have made to using video-conferencing software, the continued concerns about spreading the virus and the pressure to reduce emissions, executive travel is forecast to drop off drastically.

So might his employer keep him on? He suspects that, come August, the government might pay 50 to 60 per cent of his wage while his employer will have to pay 20 to 30 per cent. It may consider its not worth it.

But Mr Curley is philosophical: Furlough cant go on forever and everyone knows that.

If the government mandates that employers have to start forking out 30 per cent of the wage bill while a lot of things are still shut down that will bring pain, without a shadow of doubt.

It also raises the question of whether the government is effectively subsidising jobs whose long-term future is in doubt. And how it deals with those potentially large numbers of workers who  despite its best efforts  are left without work when the support is withdrawn.

The job retention scheme has been widely praised because it keeps those ties between workers and jobs. It prevents the destruction of productivity that results when businesses go under, people are put on the dole, ties are severed and skills go to waste.

In short, it helps to prevent a painful but relatively short-term shock turning into long-term depression.

But if the economy that emerges from the global pandemic is radically different to the one that entered it, many of the jobs and skills that are needed will be different, leaving a very difficult set of tasks for the Treasury to navigate. The laissez-faire approach that previous Conservative governments took to shifts in employment needs is well remembered in what was once known as Labours red wall.

A somewhat easier call for Sunak, and one that has been universally welcomed by businesses, is the renewed flexibility of the furlough scheme. Instead of having to stop working for an employer completely while being entitled to furlough support, people can begin to go back to work part time.

Privately, many people admit that they have already been doing some work for their employer while the government has picked up the tab for wages. It is an obvious problem with the incentives of the scheme that has now been fixed.

It will also allow those sectors completely shut down, like tourism, to gradually reopen, testing the waters with limited staff as demand slowly picks up.

For Janet, who works for a group of holiday homes in the West Country, the furlough has saved an industry that she loves.

Initially it was a relief. It was going to be for a month but its been extended. I would personally rather be back at work.

Some people I know are struggling to get by on 80 per cent of their wages, but it is a very generous scheme overall.

The option to bring people back part-time is hugely welcome, she says, because it means that an important part of the economy can prepare itself for when it is allowed to welcome visitors again.

Every day lost of the crucial summer season puts the hospitality industry under additional threat. If parts of the industry do not survive, the damage could be long lasting in areas of the UK where options for new employment are limited.

Businesses will need to start to get up and ready to welcome visitors again, says Janet. You cant just open your doors one day and everyone comes through the door.
Pretty Little Liars remake on Viu. (PHOTO: Viu)

Adapted from the English-language teen mystery drama of the same name, OTT video service Viu rounded up a starring ensemble of top stars from Indonesia and Malaysia to produce a 10-episode remake of Pretty Little Liars, which is available for binge-watching now. Perfect timing, as we continue to practise social distancing at home.

Vius adaptation is set in the fictional town of Amerta, Bali, following the lives of four female students whose clique falls apart when their leader, Alissa (Yuki Kato), goes mysteriously missing. A year later, Hanna (Anya Geraldine), Ema (Eyka Farhana), Sabrina (Valerie Thomas) and Aria (Shindy Huang) find themselves reunited when they begin to receive messages from a mysterious figure known as A, who threatens to expose their darkest secrets.

Virginia Lim, Chief Content Officer of Viu, tells Yahoo Lifestyle SEA that the adaptation of the wildly popular series is a premium production that is both locally and internationally relatable.

Its also made easily accessible with subtitling in multiple languages. Our Viu Original productions are a key driver in our broader content strategy where we regularly bring fresh content or adaptations to Viu for our 16 markets, and we continue to do so as we understand that there continues to be a hunger for fresh, quality streaming content especially during this time, she added.

In a group video call, Yahoo Lifestyle SEA chats with director Emil Heradi, whos best known for his work on award-winning film Night Bus; as well as Indonesian cast members Yuki Kato, Anya Geraldine, Valerie Thomas, and Shindy Huang.

The original series was helmed by female directors - 36 of them actually. As the first male director for this series, what do you bring to the table?

Emil Heradi: I am honoured. Yes, I am the first male director of Pretty Little Liars but I guess the similarity is I still bring the same spirit of the original series to the table. Everyone has a different perspective; what I am trying to do is to make it darker than the original series.

Story continues

How so?

Emil: Im not the only one whos developing the series. We have a group of writers and one of them is a female, so that helps me see from a different perspective. What I meant to say was, I try to make the mood of the series darker; not just the cinematography or anything like that. I didnt tell the actors to make it darker; in my mind, I wanted to incorporate that essence in the mood, music, and camera movements.

The show features cliques in school, and the leader of a popular clique goes missing. So I was wondering what were you like in school, and were you a popular girl?

Yuki Kato: Well, I can take a guess; I think Valerie is the most popular girl in school.

Valerie Thomas: Wow, not true (laughs). Growing up I hated the fact that people at school would have cliques. Actually, in an International School in Jakarta, there are really annoying problems like (pauses) I dont want to bring race into this but the Indonesians would only hang with the Indonesians and the rest would hang out with their respective groups.

Thats what I hated so much about high school; like, being in school and choosing friends. I would never ever consider myself as the popular girl. I would never boss anyone around and I would never try to sound like I'm better than anyone else. Or like I'm more popular than anyone else; I just want to bring it all together. Just making nice friendships, peace, and love.

Shindy Huang: I definitely didn't see myself as a popular girl in school. But especially In Indonesia, we have this grouping of people, like what Valerie said.

Although I didn't go to an International school, the grouping was real, especially with the juniors just hanging out with juniors, and the seniors would just hang out the seniors. I guess there were times when I was considered a geek, but there were times when I considered myself not necessarily popular, but maybe getting better as I age.

Yuki: I don't think of myself as a popular girl. When I was in elementary school, I had my own girls squad, but I still played with other friends. I do consider myself a bit quiet. In high school, between my shooting schedule and homework, I would just study and head back to shooting locations, and thats it.

Anya: I dont think so. I do gang up with a couple of friends from school, but theres another popular group in school.

So Yuki, I want to know if you were a fan of the original series and what drew you to the show?

Yuki: Well actually, I watched Pretty Little Liars series back in 2010, probably the first season but I wasnt watching it closely. After I got cast for the show, I rewatched the first and second season again.

It was really interesting and I got carried away watching it. But I needed the reference as the original character was played by Alison DiLaurentis. So I needed that, you know?

How was it like filming in a beautiful location like Bali for you girls?

Yuki: I think we shot on location for approximately 41 days. Yeah, mostly it was really good because it was shot in Bali and we get to relax. That's why everyone's super relaxed.

Prior to working on this series, all the girls probably had never worked together. Has that changed after Pretty Little Liars?

Shindy: First of all, I am very grateful for having this opportunity. I was initially afraid I wouldnt be able to get along well with them as I am a rookie. The rest are established actresses and I was afraid they would be cocky but it turns out they are very nice. Everyone was so serious about this project. On the location set, we really treated each other like our character as the chemistry was so strong. Even though we dont speak to each other on a daily basis (after the project), I do feel the connection with them until now.

Valerie: I am blessed with a great bunch of talented and experienced people to work with. Crazy potential; each and every one of them blessed with their own wonderful aura, charisma, positivity, and great energy. They really contrast one another; so their contrasting abilities and personalities are so beautiful, and individually, that makes it so easy for me. The great part of PLL is building a great chemistry with each of them. When youre on set, you really need to feel the ambience of everything, and connecting with them is one of my ways.

Anya: Actually, Ive asked Eyka (Farhana) to go to Bali with me after this coronavirus pandemic (laughs).

Yuki: Since Im the mysterious girl and I appear in flashbacks, I dont spend much time on location. On the first day when I flew to Bali for makeup and costume tasks, it was the first time for me to meet all the girls. Eventually we just click right away. I am really grateful we are still maintaining a good friendship, even five months after shooting.

The Viu app can be downloaded for free on the App Store, Google Play, and selected smart TVs, as well as on the web at www.viu.com.
During plenary on Tuesday, members of the House of Representatives have called on the Federal Government to stop the repatriation of Almajiri children to their states of origin.

This was one of the resolutions reached by the lawmakers at the lower chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Also Read: Stop Politicising Movement Of Almajiris, Ganduje Tells Northern Governors

The motion was sponsored by Hon. Aishatu Dukku.

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Dukku stated that the repatriation of Almajiria children is against the fundamental human rights of any Nigerian to reside in any part of the country.

She also expressed concern over the mode of transportation the children were subjected to.

The lawmaker described it as dehumanising, stressing that the children were packed into a vehicle in the scorching sun.

The House also resolved to urge the Northern governors to ensure that the Almajiri children were captured in the Universal Basic and Technical Education System.
While some real estate agents have found success with virtual home tours and other no-contact methods, the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors group says most are finding it difficult to take transactions across the finish line.

The result has been a plummet in home sales across the Lehigh Valley since Gov. Tom Wolf in March mandated a shelter-in-place order for all state residents.

Data collected in April by the group, which tracks properties across Northampton County, Lehigh County and neighboring Carbon County, showed a decrease in new listings by 81% -- down from 1,143 units in April 2019 to 216 units in April 2020. Pending Sales were down 76% percent -- from 859 sales in April 2019 to 204 sales in April 2020.

Inventory levels continue to shrink, decreasing by 46% to 949 units, leading to a Months Supply of Inventory that was down 44% percent. In real estate, months of supply is a measurement of how many months it would take to sell the current inventory of homes  in a market balanced between buyers and sellers, it would be about six or seven months.

April was the first full month the group was able to gather data since Wolf on March 19 ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close their doors. Real estate agents and brokers have been deemed non-essential by the state. This means conventional open houses -- gathering potential buyers for multiple hours on a weekend at a property -- no longer meet state-mandated guidelines.

It has forced some real estate agents to think outside the box to iron out contracts during an unprecedented time. Creative adaptations have ranged from interactive listings to virtual reality home tours to 3D home staging and livestream virtual open houses. Others are tapping into social media to market homes. The methods put potential homebuyers in a home without anyone having to physically enter a home thats for sale.

Still, Justin Porembo, CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, said its been complicated trying to finalize the transactions, especially when buyers or sellers wants to move between a yellow county and red county or vice versa. This also is coupled with the inability to gain proper inspections and appraisals, he said.

The governor on April 22 outlined a three-tiered approach, color-coded by red for the current, most restrictive approach to yellow and, finally, green. The northeast region, which includes the Lehigh Valley and Poconos, would be among the last to open based on current COVID-19 rates.

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors in the meantime have been lobbying state lawmakers to make real estate a life-sustaining business.

"We believe, like 49 other states, that real estate professionals can safely conduct business for their clients. said Jack Gross, president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors.

To date, there are two bills under consideration in the state House and Senate, both of which would allow real estate to reopen across Pennsylvania with proper safety procedures in place. House Bill 2412 would allow real estate services to be conducted uniformly across the state, and Senate Bill 1135 would exempt real estate work from Pennsylvanias business closure order  if it complies with certain mitigation practices including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Some good news for the homes that did sell in April -- those units seemed to move fast and sale prices were up, according to the groups data.

The median sales price increased 10% $212,000 and days on the market were down by about 20% to 37 days. Mortgage rates also remain low -- a silver lining as the coranavirus pandemic continues to sweep nationally. The 30-year fixed average was at 3.26% and a 15-year fixed average was at 2.73%, as of May 7, according to Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

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.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.

.
(Natural News) Whether or not children can transmit the coronavirus (COVID-19) is key to deciding whether and when schools should reopen. Two new studies provide compelling evidence that children can transmit the virus and that schools should remain closed for now.

Fewer children seem to get infected by the coronavirus, and those who do only have mild symptoms. However, the question remains of whether they can pass it on to adults, continuing the chain of transmission.

Several countries, including Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have all either reopened schools or are looking to reopen them in the next few weeks. In some of these countries, the rate of community transmission is low enough that they can take the risk. However, epidemiologists whove reviewed the results of the studies warn that reopening schools in other countries, like the United States, could nudge the outbreaks reproduction number  the number of new infections estimated to come from a single case  to dangerous levels.

Studies warn of increased transmission if schools reopen

In a study published last week in the journal Science, researchers found that children were about a third as susceptible to coronavirus infections compared to adults. However, when schools were opened, the children had about three times as many contacts as adults. This means they have three times as many chances to get infected, evening out the results.

The researchers stated that based on their data, which covered the cities of Wuhan and Shanghai, while closing schools on their own would not be enough to stop the outbreak, it can reduce the surge by about 40 to 60 percent and slow the epidemics course.

My simulation shows that yes, if you reopen the schools, youll see a big increase in the reproduction number, which is exactly what you dont want, said Marco Ajelli, one of the researchers involved in the study.

The second study, led by Dr. Christian Drosten, was more straightforward. Dr. Drosten and his team in Berlin tested 60,000 people, both children and adults. They found that children who test positive harbor just as much or even more of the virus as adults do. The researchers presume that this makes them just as infectious.

Dr. Drostens team also analyzed a group of 47 infected children between the ages of one and 11. Of these, 15 had an underlying condition or were hospitalized, but the remaining were mostly symptom-free. Their testing showed that the asymptomatic children had viral loads that were just as high or higher than those of symptomatic children, or even adults.

In this cloud of children, there are these few children that have a virus concentration that is sky-high, stated Dr. Drosten said.

He also noted that there a significant body of work exists that suggests that a persons viral load tracks closely with how infectious they are. With this, he said that he is a bit reluctant to happily recommend to politicians that we can now reopen day cares and schools.

Dr. Drostens study has yet to undergo peer review. He posted it on his website due to the ongoing discussion about reopening schools in Germany.

Other factors need to be taken into consideration when deciding to reopen schools

While the studies posited that reopening schools will allow the virus to spread, some experts have stated that the decision to reopen schools cannot be based solely on trying to prevent transmission.

I think we have to take a holistic view of the impact of school closures on kids and our families, said Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I do worry at some point, the accumulated harms from the measures may exceed the harm to the kids from the virus.

E-learning approaches may temporarily provide children with a routine, she said, but any parent will tell you its not really learning. Many children also backslide during the summer months, adding more months to that might permanently hurt them, especially those whore already struggling. (Related: Leftists push for homeschooling ban amid coronavirus crisis  so now they dont want children getting ANY education?.)

Dr. Nuzzo also noted that children need the social aspects of school and that, for some of them, home may not even be a safe place.

Im not saying we need to absolutely rip off the Band-aid and reopen schools tomorrow, she said, but we have to consider these other endpoints.

Sources include:

NYTimes.com 1

Science.ScienceMag.org

Zoonosen.Charite.de [PDF]

NYTimes.com 2
- Poghisio was born in 1958 in Kacheliba, West Pokot county

- Despite being born in Kenya, he studied in Uganda from primary to university

- The senator graduated with a degree in biological sciences, botany and zoology from Makerere University in 1980 and returned to Kenya to teach at Chewoyet High School

- Poghisio began his political career in 1988 when he was elected MP for Kacheliba constituency on a Kanu ticket but was expelled just after four months

- He retraced his political path in 1997 and sustained it up until 2013 when he slipped but resurrected again in 2017

- Poghisio holds two Master's degrees in Communication and Divinity from Wheaton and Lincoln universities respectively and worked as a lecturer at Daystar University (1993-1997)

- He also served as the minister for Information from 2007 to 2013

Samuel Losuron Poghisio is argubly one of Kenya's most calm, composed and down-to-earth politician who has risen through the ranks of heavy political whirlwinds and storms to now hold the most prestigious Senate majority leader's position.

Born and brought up in a remote village in Kacheliba, West Pokot county in 1958, Poghisio experienced the worst of Kenya's firm leadership and Uganda's unforgiving dictatorial regime.

READ ALSO: Emotional Murkomen accuses Uhuru of political conmanship as Senate confirms leadership changes

West Pokot Senator and Senate Majority leader Samuel Poghisio. Photo: Samuel Poghisio.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Mvulana wa miaka 14 ahusishwa na mauaji ya mwanahabari wa Pamoja FM Kibra

While he was born in Kenya, Poghisio studied in Uganda from primary to university.

He went to Amudat and Kalaas primary school in Uganda between 1965 and 1972 and later joined Nabumali High school for his A levels.

The former MP joined Makerere University where he pursued a degree in biological sciences, botany and zoology.

READ ALSO: Senator Cherargei dares Uhuru to fire all William Ruto allies from govt: "Stop gerrymandering"

During his education period, Uganda was under the iron-fist leadership of the then dreaded dictator Idi Amin Dada.

When he graduated in 1980, he returned to Kenya where he started teaching Chemistry and Biology at Chewoyet Boys High School in 1988.

Senator Samuel Poghisio. Photo: Samuel Poghisio.

Source: Facebook

He later developed an interest in media studies after attending a five-week course at Daystar University on the Foundations of Christian Communication Strategies.

Poghisio then applied for a Masters degree in Communications at Wheaton University, US and graduated in 1987.

Having been brought up under the tutelage of the late Archbishop Alexander Kipsang Muge of the Anglican church, the lawmaker enrolled for a degree course in Philosophy and Theology between 1989 and 1992 and graduated with a Masters Degree in Divinity at Lincoln University, US.

Poghisio is known by his close friends as a humble, easy-going and firmly religious man who hardly backtracks on decisions.

He shot from the heap whenever he feels offended and is hardly shaken by the storms of the mighty while discharging his duties.

Senator Samuel Poghisio (left) with West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo. Photo: Samuel Poghisio.

Source: Facebook

He began his political career in 1988 when he was elected MP for Kacheliba constituency on a Kanu ticket.

Owing to his radical upbringing and attributes, Poghisio was expelled by the ruling party and lost his seat just four months after being elected.

He was expelled alongside his then Kapenguria counterpart Francis Lotodo for castigating the government over alleged discrimination of the Pokot community in resource allocation and distribution of relief food.

Senator Poghisio addressing the media in a past Pokot traditional function. Photo: Samuel Poghisio.

Source: Facebook

He became a lecturer at Daystar University in 1993, and in 1995 and later elevated to a senior lecturer and head of department.

Poghisio made a political comeback in 1997 when he reclaimed his seat on a Kanu ticket although he remained a thorn in Moi's flesh and was never in good books with provincial administrators in Rift Valley region.

He was re-elected in subsequent elections until 2013 when he lost at the contest at the nomination level.

The seasonal politician served as the country's assistant minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology between 2000 and 2002.

Between 2007 and 2013, the veteran politician who had retained his Kacheliba seat through the Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya (ODM-K) was appointed minister of Information.

He was the brain behind the draconian Media Bill that allowed the government to raid media houses and impose hefty penalties on individual journalists who misinform the public.

During this period, Poghisio also served as the chairman of the ODM- K party whose leader was Kalonzo Musyoka then.

He threatened to challenge Kalonzo for party leadership when he made it public that he would contest for presidency in 2013.

When time came, Poghisio, who some political observers regard as a master of contradictions, dropped the presidential ambitions and went to contest for West Pokot senatorial seat which he lost at the nomination level.

The former lecturer joined Jubilee in 2013 up until 2016 when he defected back to Kanu which sponsored his election as West Pokot senator in 2017.

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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," said lead author Akash Kansagra, MD, an assistant professor of radiology at Washington University's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR). Kansagra sees stroke patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "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."

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."
A foreign resident gets a COVID-19 test at a testing center outside Seongdong District Health Center in Seoul, Tuesday. The health authorities said a total of 102 new coronavirus infections had been found linked to five clubs in Itaewon. Yonhap



By Kim Se-jeong



The health authorities renewed calls Tuesday for people who visited five Itaewon clubs between late April and early May to come forward for voluntary testing as officials struggle to trace those possibly infected with COVID-19 and others who could be asymptomatic carriers.



"Once more we want to emphasize that if you went to an area visited by a confirmed patient, please, stay home, report to the authorities and get yourself tested. This is crucial in containing the spread of the virus," Kwon Joon-wook, the official handling the government's quarantine efforts, said during a daily briefing.



On the same day, education offices sent letters to schools across the country encouraging staff there, especially native-speaking English teachers, to get COVID-19 tests, saying, "We will guarantee anonymity." Some of the confirmed patients are school teachers.



Revealing the identities of those who went to the five clubs has become a sensitive issue as one of them is a bar popular among the gay community. People who've been to the bar, whether they are homosexual or not, have expressed concern about potential discrimination.



The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it sent text messages to 10,905 residents after obtaining data from mobile phone operators and Seoul Police Office that showed the residents had used their phones in Itaewon between midnight April 24 to 5 p.m. May 6. So far, the local government has found 64 cases linked to the five bars.




Next CDS of India: Rajnath Singh to receive list of probables soon

India tells France, have the political will, ability to counter misadventure by China

Want to manufacture BrahMos so that no country has audacity to cast evil eye on us: Rajnath Singh

IAF chopper crash: Rajnath Singh likely to be apprised of probe team's findings in next couple of days

Ready to deal with invisible enemies of India: Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said his ministry is committed to destroying all the enemies of the nation including those visible on the borders or invisible ones like the coronavirus.

Speaking at an online conference organised to mark National Technology Day, Singh also said India must become self-reliant in military manufacturing and that the government was supporting the domestic defence industry by coming out with a policy framework.

India prepared for worst: Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

"I want to assure my countrymen that the Ministry of Defence is committed to destroying all the enemies of the nation -- whether they are visible enemies on the borders or invisible enemies like the coronavirus," he said.

The National Technology Day is observed on May 11 to commemorate the nuclear tests India conducted in Pokhran on this day in 1998 that symbolised achievement of home-grown technologies in critical areas.

"The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed more than 50 products in the last three-four months like bio-suit, sanitiser dispenser, PPE kits, etc through its continuous efforts to contribute to the fight against COVID-19," he said.

"The indomitable spirit of our defence industry has increased the opportunity for mass production of these high-quality products in record time," Singh added.

The defence minister said the government has set new targets and formulated the "right" policy framework to achieve indigenisation in defence production.

Coronavirus outbreak: India breaches 70,000-mark, records 87 new deaths due to COVID-19

"We always have to keep in mind that there is no alternative to indigenous technology and indigenous manufacture. We will be truly self-reliant only when India succeeds in becoming a net exporter instead of a net importer of technology," he said.

At present, India is one of the top importers of military hardware globally.

According to the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading think-tank on military spending, India's defence expenditure stood at USD 71.1 billion in 2019, which is third highest after the US and China.

In 2017, the government came up with an ambitious policy under which select private firms were to be roped in to build key military platforms like submarines and fighter jets in India in partnership with global defence majors.

"Our journey is long, but the important thing is that we have worked on it. We will work continuously to establish India as a defence manufacturing nation," Singh said.
Acorn Income Fund Limited

(a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 34778)

LEI Number: 213800UAZN7G46AHQM67

(The "Company")

12 May 2020

NOTICE OF CLASS MEETING

Notice is hereby given that a Class Meeting of holders of ZDP Shares (the "ZDP Class Meeting") of the Company will be held at the offices of Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited Trafalgar Court, Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey on 11 August 2020 at 11.00am.

A copy of the Notice of the ZDP Class Meeting and the Form of Proxy have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM

Enquiries:

Company website: https://www.premierfunds.co.uk/acorn-income-fund-limited

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

The Company Secretary

Trafalgar Court

Les Banques

St Peter Port

Guernsey

GY1 3QL



Tel: 01481 745001



END






Chelsea and Four top European are already battling for Atlanta Star Defender Robin Gosens.

Naija News Understands that the 25-year-old is comfortable on the left of a back four or in a wing-back role and has been impressive for the Serie A side in their march to the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Blues are interested in signing him, per Transfermarketweb.

But they are not the only club with a keen interest in Gosens. Inter Milan, Juventus, Leicester City, and RB Leipzig also want the German.

Gosens is 25 and has played 22 Serie A games and 6 Champions League ties with the Italian team this term.

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A sign in an abandoned storefront says, "Suicide is Not An Option Call Me Anytime' in the hope of helping people with despair during this time. Ira L. Black | Corbis | Getty Images

As millions of Americans lose their jobs and economists predict a slow recovery, mental health professionals warn that the prolonged financial and personal stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic increases the risk of suicide, especially in people already grappling with depression and anxiety. For weeks, Americans have been confined to their homes as states across the U.S. have implemented some form of stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak by reducing human contact and shuttering schools, offices and other nonessential businesses. While effective at containing the outbreak, "the potential for adverse outcomes on suicide risk is high," according to an article published in JAMA Psychiatry last month. The soaring unemployment rate and stock market losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with millions of people quarantining at home alone creates the "perfect storm" for an increased risk of suicide for many people, according to the JAMA article, which was led by Dr. Mark Reger, a suicide prevention researcher and chief of psychology services at VA Puget Sound Health Care System. (If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide or self harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at this link or by calling 1-800-273-TALK. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.)

Financial stress

Research shows that suicide rates tend to rise after economic recessions. The U.S. unemployment rate stands at around 14.7%, and could be closer to 20%, putting a staggering 20.5 million people out of work in April  the most rapid labor market decline in history. Some economists warn that the economic recovery from these actions will likely be slow and bumpy, and how and when workers will return to their jobs is difficult to predict. Most adults in an American Psychiatric Association survey in March were already concerned the coronavirus would have a serious negative impact to their finances, and two-thirds feared the pandemic would have a long-lasting impact on the economy. "We're in for a long-term mental health crisis," said Vaile Wright, director of clinical research and quality for the American Psychological Association. Some government officials have expanded city mental health services, including in New York where Gov. Andrew Cuomo said thousands of mental health professionals have volunteered to provide free and confidential support through a new hotline and residents can use Headspace, a meditation and mindfulness app. New Jersey has launched a similar hotline. Suicide rates tend to peak in the late spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the JAMA article co-written by Reger. "The fact that this will probably coincide with peak COVID-19 prevention efforts is concerning and deserves additional study," he wrote.

Coronavirus amplifies anxiety

Suicide rates among working-age adults in the U.S. were increasing before the pandemic began sweeping through the country this year. In January, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide deaths among those ages 16 to 64 had increased 40% in less than two decades, totaling near 38,000 people in 2017. Compared with other traumatic events in the past, such as 9/11 or natural disasters, the coronavirus pandemic has a much broader impact across the country and has caused greater feelings of uncertainty, which increases a person's anxiety, Wright said. Modeling from previous events of this magnitude suggests that the pandemic has exacerbated underlying mental health disorders, including anxiety, stress, anger and depression, Dr. Simon Rego of Montefiore Health System in New York told CNBC. He said these issues are amplified when there's additional economic or medical stress or increased social isolation. The Covid-19 outbreak has caused all three. "People become at higher risk for things like greater depressive episodes or increases in problematic coping strategies like substance abuse," Rego said. "You see some correlation data that suggests people are at greater risk for increased feelings and thoughts of suicide."

Essential workers under stress

Essential workers are under tremendous stress since their jobs put them at a greater risk of infection from commuting to work and interacting with the public. Grocery workers may need more mental health services, including therapy, to help cope with the stress, according to psychologists and the nation's top grocery worker union. Anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges may linger, even as coronavirus cases level out or decline  especially for those on the front lines. Health care providers are especially vulnerable between the long hours and lack of personal protective equipment that places their own lives at risk, psychiatrists say. Some have had to make difficult decisions about how to allocate life-saving resources to patients, said Dr. Maria Oquendo, chair of psychiatry at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The stress drove one New York doctor, who ran the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, to commit suicide last month, her father told The New York Times. "They're watching all of this suffering around them and I think that those individuals are at particular risk just due to the degree of stress," Oquendo said. Oquendo said that research from other traumatic events, such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters, shows that 25% of the population could experience a mental health problem, most commonly depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders, in the six months following the event. "I think that one of the things that makes this different is the compounding due to the quarantine and the economic consequences," Oquendo said.

Maintain a routine
The 2018 congressional election of Democrat Chrissy Houlahan foreshadowed the growing strength of her party in Chester County. Read more

The writing was on the wall. In the 2018 midterm elections, a Democrat was elected to represent Chester County in Congress for the first time since the 1850s. Then, last year, Democrats took control of the countys Board of Commissioners for the first time ever.

And now, the party is celebrating another milestone: Data released this week show registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in Chester County, apparently for the first time  by 228 voters.

As of Monday, there were 148,194 registered Democrats in the county compared with 147,966 Republicans, according to data compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of State. An additional 61,895 voters were either registered with another party or unaffiliated.

Anyone who has lived in Chester County since George W. Bush won the White House knows the enormity of this moment, Dick Bingham, chairman of the Chester County Democratic Committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

The development comes as Republicans have continued to struggle in suburban areas outside Philadelphia and across the country. Democrats already outnumbered Republicans in Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.

Since 2000, Philadelphias four collar counties have steadily become more racially diverse, better educated, and home to more young adults. These demographic changes have coincided with, and helped fuel, increasing Democratic registrations.

The trend has accelerated since the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, as the Republican Party has increasingly become home to white working-class voters and people living in rural areas. While Democrats have swept to power outside Philadelphia, they have suffered losses in former strongholds in western Pennsylvania.

Chester County GOP Chairman Rick Loughery said the data showed the importance of independent voters in the county. Once we get through the [June 2] primary, Im confident our Republican candidates will make a compelling appeal to all voters, he said.

So far this year, 2,099 Chester County residents have switched their registration from Republican to Democratic  and a similar number of voters previously unaffiliated with either party have also registered as Democrats. Just 394 voters have switched their registration from Democratic to Republican this year.

Ten years ago, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by nearly 25,000 registered voters in the county. By May 2018, the GOP still had an edge of more than 15,200.

Bingham said the party noticed the seismic movement among our neighbors that year when Democrat Chrissy Houlahan was elected to Congress and the party also won several state House races. Houlahan also benefited from a decision by the Democratic-led state Supreme Court that redrew Pennsylvanias map of congressional districts.
Iranian scientist will return home soon if tested negative for COVID-19: FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 3:13 PM

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says an Iranian scientist, who was detained in the US on groundless charges, has been freed and will return to the country if tested negative for coronavirus.

"He is free," Zarif told reporters on Monday after taking part in a session of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, adding, "Sirous Asgari has been acquitted of his charges and if he tested negative for COVID-19, he could return to the country on the first flight [bound to Iran]."

He noted that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has been working hard to pave the way for the scientist's return to the country and all necessary measures have been taken in this regard.

Asgari, a professor of material sciences at Sharif University of Technology, was arrested in the United States in mid-2017. Back then, the FBI alleged the scientist had shared information about a project he had conducted on a sabbatical in the US five years before with his students.

US legal authorities then charged him with withholding information in the process of visa application, circumventing the sanctions, and transferring technology to Iran.

Asgari has repeatedly pleaded for his release since March, complaining about unsanitary detention conditions and overcrowding at the Louisiana facility, where he was kept.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian top diplomat noted that he has announced in New York some 1.5 years ago that the "Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to swap all Iranian prisoners, who are in jail in the US or other countries under the US pressure, with all American prisonersbut the Americans gave no response."

Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Sunday that the country has expressed its readiness to exchange prisoners with the United States, but that it will not accept any preconditions from Washington.

"We have declared that there is readiness to exchange all prisoners and discuss their release without any preconditions, but the US has refused to respond," he told Khabaronline news website.

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Appointment

12 May 2020

A seasoned professional with almost two decades' experience in luxury hospitality in Europe and the Middle East and a passion for teaching and mentoring others has been named Alma Resort's executive chef.

German national Ingo Stoneberg has joined the 196-pavilion and 384-suite resort overlooking Long Beach, on Vietnam's Cam Ranh peninsula, to oversee its rich culinary landscape comprising 14 dining venues.

Five restaurants including Italian, modern Asian and traditional Vietnamese dining establishments, three bars and a food court with an array of local and international cuisine are among venues under Stoneberg's stewardship.

Before joining Alma, Stoneberg was the executive sous chef at Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai, the world's largest in-flight catering operation, for four years. At the time, Emirates Flight Catering had a clientele of 120 airlines and airline-hospitality lounges at Dubai International Airport, cooking a whopping 225,000 meals daily.

Before that, Stoneberg was chef de cuisine at the Hilton Hotel in Abu Dhabi for more than two years, where there were 12 F&B outlets and conferences catering for up to 2000 people.

He has also worked for other five-star properties including Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, and was part of the pre-opening teams for Jumeirah at Etihad Towers and for Starwood Hotels and Resorts at The Romanos, A Luxury Collection Resort, and The Westin Resort in Costa Navarino, Messinia, Greece.
10 days after his scheduled swearing in as Israels 35th prime minister, on May 24, Benjamin Netanyahu is due to walk into the Jerusalem District Court for the reading of his criminal indictment. The cover page of the thick volume reads, The State of Israel v. Benjamin Netanyahu. Its appendix includes the names of some 300 witnesses. The charges: bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The historic indictment, the first against an incumbent Israeli prime minister, bears the signature of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

Nonetheless, in the court of public opinion, Netanyahu has already made his accuser out as the accused. A wave of mudslinging is turning Mandelblit from state prosecutor to defendant, at least in the eyes of Netanyahus acolytes. Calls are growing for Mandelblits suspension or at least a criminal probe into his actions, both virtually impossible under Israeli law. Reports of alleged wrongdoing by Mandelblit and anyone linked to Netanyahus prosecution are flooding the media. Netanyahus emissaries and his many outspoken defenders are busy impugning Mandelblit 24/7.

And Netanyahu? He supposedly has nothing to do with it. He is busy forming a national unity government with his political rivals while quietly operating the machinery crushing the attorney general who dared accuse him of grievous criminal offenses. The success of the system is worrying. Less than two weeks before his arraignment, no one is talking about the charges against him and how Israel is about to be led by a prime minister who will spend his days in court and his nights running the country.

The Netanyahu system is simple. He places his people in key bastions and strategic points; he gathers information and pulls it out when the time comes. The current material that Netanyahus aides are dusting off for use against Mandelblit has to do with an obscure scandal known as the Harpaz affair, which erupted 10 years ago and prompted lengthy investigations against then-army chief Gabi Ashkenazi and a series of other senior office holders. The affair, which involved an alleged failed attempt by an Ashkenazi associate to smear the leading candidate to succeed him, erupted with a bang and subsided with a whimper, with no indictments filed. Mandelblit, then the IDF advocate general, was one of those investigated. While his conduct in the case was examined, the allegations against him were dismissed and the case was closed.

And who went on to appoint him as cabinet secretary in 2013 and then backed his appointment as attorney general in 2016? Benjamin Netanyahu, despite a detailed letter from then-Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who was harshly critical of Mandelblits conduct in the Harpaz affair. Netanyahu was fully aware of the ins and outs of the case but nonetheless placed Mandelblit in one of the most sensitive positions in government as his personal appointment. Anyone familiar with Netanyahus MO knows he always appoints those who will be most beholden to him for the favor, often people with skeletons in their closets he can use against them.

Ahead of his indictment, which Mandelblit announced in November 2019 and filed in court in January 2020, Netanyahu pulled out a secret weapon. First, he took control of the justice ministers position following the resignation of Ayelet Shaked, a strong personality he replaced with a Likud backbencher named Amir Ohana. The man, beholden to Netanyahu and his coterie, immediately engaged Mandelblit in a fierce battle. When state prosecutor Shai Nitzan ended his term in December 2019, Ohana did all he could to fill his shoes with candidates who were anathema to Mandelblit. His bid failed the first time around, but was ultimately successful. Acting state prosecutor Dan Eldad (a transition government cannot make permanent appointments) immediately scanned emails sent by his predecessor and documents from the ministrys safes. The classified emails and piles of paperwork, were designed to paint Mandelblit as unfit to lead Netanyahus prosecution. One of the cases dug out was the Harpaz scandal. Netanyahus emissaries are now saying that 10-year-old incriminating evidence against Mandelblit was buried during the probe against him. The material, they claim, proves Mandelblit obstructed the course of the investigation conducted at the time against his direct superior, Ashkenazi, who on May 14 will join Netanyahus new government.

A summary of these absurd developments: An attorney general named to his position as a personal appointment by the prime minister is under pressure to step aside because of dubious decade-old material, despite the case against him being dismissed after legal review and despite the statute of limitations. The prime minister, whose bribery trial starts later this month, has the approval of the nations top court to remain in power.

Mandelblit is not the only target of the vicious hunt. Former state prosecutor Nitzan, who to Netanyahus loyalists is the force behind the criminal probes, is also a popular target. The entire rule of law is under attack. The next stage of the delegitimization campaign is expected to focus on the court, particularly the three District Court judges assigned to Netanyahus trial. They have already been smeared as members of a leftist panel aiming to bring down the popular prime minister.

These venomous ideas have many adherents, who make up almost half the citizens of the Middle Easts only democracy. The prime ministers son, Yair Netanyahu, has mounted a campaign of vicious tweets, fanning the flames threatening the countrys law enforcement bastions. In one of the them, he dubbed the justices Illuminati in a clear reference to the alleged conspiracy to unseat the elected prime minister. In another, he depicted Mandelblit as the Godfather of movie fame. Given this state of affairs, no one would be surprised if Mandelblit finds the severed head of a horse on his doorstep one morning. In Israel of 2020, anything goes.
CHICAGO, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (First Midwest) previously announced that its 2020 annual meeting of stockholders will be held in a virtual meeting format. Below are the instructions for accessing the virtual annual meeting.

Annual Meeting Date and Time: Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Central time.



Meeting Website: www.meetingcenter.io/253702787 (meeting password: FMBI2020).



Stockholders: After logging into the meeting website using the password listed above, stockholders of record on the record date of March 27, 2020 should enter their 15-digit control number found on the proxy card previously distributed. Once admitted to the annual meeting, stockholders should follow the instructions on the website. Additional information on how to vote your shares and attend the annual meeting (including how to obtain a control number if you hold your shares indirectly through a bank, broker or similar institution) is available at www.firstmidwest.com/investorrelations and in the supplement to the proxy statement filed by First Midwest with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 7, 2020.



Others: Individuals who were not stockholders of record on the record date may access the annual meeting as a guest on a listen-only basis by logging into the meeting website and using the password listed above. After accessing the annual meeting, you will be able to listen to the live webcast of the meeting and view managements presentation.



Replay: For access to the replay of the annual meeting webcast, visit the Investor Relations section of First Midwests website at www.firstmidwest.com/investorrelations. The replay will be available promptly following the completion of the virtual meeting and for 14 days thereafter.

About First Midwest

First Midwest (FMBI) is a relationship-focused financial institution and one of the largest independent publicly traded bank holding companies based on assets headquartered in Chicago and the Midwest, with approximately $20 billion of assets and an additional $11 billion of assets under management. First Midwest Bank, Park Bank and First Midwests other affiliates provide a full range of commercial, treasury management, equipment leasing, consumer, wealth management, trust and private banking products and services. First Midwest operates branches and other locations throughout metropolitan Chicago, southeast Wisconsin and across the Midwest. Visit First Midwest at www.firstmidwest.com.

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KAMPALA  Following Totals move to acquire Tullow Oils stake in the Uganda Lake Albert Project, Africa Oil & Power, and the African Energy Chamber (AEC) are hosting a public webinar on the upcoming opportunities in Uganda and East Africas oil and gas industry, as the industry moves forward with the long-awaited deal.

The webinar will take place on May 13, 16:00 EAT.

Hosted under the theme Taking Advantage of Opportunities in Ugandas Oil & Gas Sector, the webinar will highlight the domestic and regional opportunities emanating from the Uganda Lake Albert project, exploration opportunities and associated oil and gas services opportunities including the $3.5 billion East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project.

The webinar will also feature initiatives taken by Uganda to attract top talent, modern technology and international investors to its oil and gas sector

Speakers include Hon. Dr. Elly Karuhanga, Chairman of the Uganda Chamber of Mines & Petroleum; Gilbert Kamuntu, Chief Commercial Officer, Uganda National Oil Company; NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber and Brian Muriuki, MD & Country Chair of Shell Ghana.

The webinar will be moderated by Eng. Elizabeth Rogo, Founder and CEO of TSAVO Oilfield Services and President of East Africa for the African Energy Chamber together with Caty Hirst, Director of Programming for Africa Oil & Power.

We commend H.E. Yoweri Museveni and the Ugandan authorities for showing a lot of pragmatism in closing the deal with Total and Tullow that enabled Totals takeover of Tullows assets in Uganda. It paves the way for FID, brings Uganda closer to first oil, presents opportunities for good-paying jobs and most importantly, signals that Uganda is open for business, said Eng. Elizabeth Rogo, President of East Africa for the African Energy Chamber.

The webinar will also feature initiatives taken by Uganda to attract top talent, modern technology and international investors to its oil and gas sector whilst at the same time adopting common sense and progressive local content regulation.

The World Bank expects Uganda to grow at a rate of over 10 percent per annum from oil production and related activity. This estimation sends the message to investors that there are immense opportunities for comparatively high returns in Ugandas oil and gas sector, despite the current challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related
A 24-year-old northern beaches man has been sentenced to almost 10 years in jail for his "cruel and relentless" manipulation of 49 children and teenage boys, who he lured online and blackmailed into sending sexually explicit content.

Kurtis Whaley, from Manly Vale, used Instagram, Snapchat, Skype and other social media platforms to pose as a 16-year-old girl named "Beth," to solicit sexually explicit images and videos from boys aged between eight and 15.

Kurtis Whaley from Manly Vale has been sentenced for the sextortion of 49 children. Credit:Facebook

In January Whaley pleaded guilty to 54 child sexual abuse offences, linked to the production, possession, solicitation and transmission of child abuse material over a period of almost five years.

On Tuesday NSW District Court Judge Ian Bourke SC sentenced Whaley to a maximum nine years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of six years and four months.
After weeks of holding back, President Trump's re-election campaign will unleash a series of tailored, swing-state attacks against Joe Biden, targeting him in Florida, Pennsylvania and the industrial Midwest, campaign officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: The pandemic forced a pause, and a lighter touch, on Trump's original attack plan against his presumed general election opponent, according to people familiar with internal conversations.

Advisers warned against too much overt negative campaigning at a time when thousands of Americans are dying and voters want the president focused on running the country.

"A lot of people have told the president to be careful, or risk seeming tone deaf to the needs of the country right now," a Trump administration official told Alayna.

But a few factors have informed the campaign's attack plans: Some states are reopening, Biden's poll numbers are strong, the economy is awful, and the U.S. has the world's worst reported coronavirus death toll. So the campaign is looking to change the subject.

Details: The campaign plans to launch state-specific attacks targeting Biden's record on three areas: Cuba, fracking and trade.

Extensive polling has shaped the strategy.

Its unclear what form these attacks will take.

In Florida, the campaign will hammer Biden's recent comments saying he would restore Obama-era relations with Cuba.

"That would only make it easier for Cuba to help prop up [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro if they were able to refill their coffers with American money," one official said. "You try to sell that idea to Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans in Florida. Go ahead and try!"

Biden told CBS Miami that Cuba is "having great difficulty propping up Maduro" and added that the U.S. could still sanction Cuba.

Reality check: The Maduro government has proved quite durable, despite a failed attempt to overthrow him in April 2019 and a battery of sanctions from the Trump administration. Its staying power is thanks in large part to support from the Kremlin.

In Pennsylvania, the campaign plans to attack Biden for what it calls "his embrace of the Green New Deal," which they will argue "piles endless regulations" on small businesses and stunts job creation, the officials told Axios.

"Tell that to people in Pennsylvania, with regard to the natural gas and fracking industry in the state, and how many jobs they depend on for that," an official said.

Reality check: While the Biden campaign calls the GND "a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face," he hasn't actually endorsed it. Biden has said that as president, he would end subsidies for fossil fuels.

In the industrial Midwest: Trump's campaign will highlight Biden's support for the North American Free Trade Agreement as a senator and backing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership as Obama's vice president.

"He is going to try to campaign as 'Joe Lunchbox from Scranton, Pa.' But he will be exposed as 'NAFTA Joe,'" one official said.

Many voters throughout the Midwest and in rural America feel free-trade deals have hurt the U.S. and contributed to factory closings and overseas competition. This issue was a core part of Trump's 2016 victories in the Rust Belt.

Yes, but: Bernie Sanders also attacked Biden's trade record during the Michigan primary election, and he lost by a wide margin.

The big picture: This targeted approach comes on top of a national strategy, as Axios has reported, to brand Biden as soft on China.

The campaign dropped its first anti-Biden China ad earlier this week, and one official told Axios that Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale had "flipped the switch." "It's go-time," the official said.

The other side: None of this surprises Biden's campaign, which argues that Trump is vulnerable for mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and weakened because he can no longer brag about the economy.

Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates tells Axios: "Donald Trump so abysmally failed our nation on the coronavirus that almost 80,000 Americans have lost their lives, and the historic economic recovery Trump inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration is now spiraling toward a depression."

"Donald Trump so abysmally failed our nation on the coronavirus that almost 80,000 Americans have lost their lives, and the historic economic recovery Trump inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration is now spiraling toward a depression." "There's no desperate ad Trump can dream up that's more horrifying than what his failed leadership is putting the American people through."

The bottom line: The offensive comes as new polls show Trump trailing Biden in key swing states, including Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh province will host a gala night on May 16 to kick off a variety of cultural activities promoting local tourism.

A tourist enjoys the sunset on Ha Long Bay, a famous destination in Quang Ninh province

The event will take place at the FLC Ha Long International Convention Centre.

The main event in Ha Long city is accompanied by a cultural and culinary week in Mong Cai, Co To, and Uong Bi district. A number of tourism promotion initiatives will be put in place, including free admission to Ha Long Bay in May and a buy one get one free ticket campaign in June and July, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

A week-long fair will begin in Quang Ninh province on May 15 featuring Vietnams specialties and trade promotion sessions.

Quang Ninh expects to welcome up to 4.9 million visitors in 2020.

Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism. It has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and more than 2,000 islands and islets which account for two-thirds of the total number in Vietnam.

It is home to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands./.VNA
The Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) has named the Staglin Family the 2020 Presidents Awardee.

During the 25 years since the Staglin family founded One Mind toward providing Healthy Brains for All, they have led in schizophrenia research and advocacy. From playing key roles in the development and funding of large research collaborations such as the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study, and the upcoming Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Schizophrenia, to funding several Rising Star Awards in schizophrenia research, the Staglins have electrified the research community.

Their advocacy has helped to craft and pass several legislative acts to advance schizophrenia care throughout their home state of California and beyond.

The Staglin Family will receive the Presidents Award at the 2021 International Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society in Toronto, Canada.

Garen Staglin is the co-founder and chairman of One Mind; Chairman of One Mind at Work; co-Chairman of the $10 Billion Healthy Brains Financing Initiative; co-founder and director emeritus of Bring Change 2 Mind; and public relations manager of Staglin Family Vineyard.

Shari Staglin is a co-founder and trustee of One Mind; co-founder and director emeritus of Bring Change 2 Mind; and CEO of Staglin Family Vineyard. With Garen and Brandon, she is also the founder of the Staglins Music Festival for Brain Health event.

As President of One Mind, Brandon Staglin channels his deep experience in communications, advocacy, and personal schizophrenia recovery to drive brain health research programs to heal lives. Brandon also serves on advisory councils for the National Institute of Mental Health, the California Mental Health Services Authoritys Help@Hand Program, Mindstrong Health, and Stanford Universitys Prodrome and Early Psychosis Program Network, and is a member of The Stability Network.

As President of Staglin Family Vineyard, Shannon Staglin leads the familys successful winery business, which serves as a vehicle for doing good, Among her responsibilities, she oversees their Salus wine brand, from which 100% of sales profits underwrite One Mind.
American Jews faced more anti-Semitic incidents in 2019 than any other year over the past four decades, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported today.

The Jewish civil rights group counted 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents in 2019, finding 61 physical assault cases, 1,127 instances of harassment and 919 acts of vandalism.

That is the highest annual tally since the New York City-based body began tracking anti-Semitic incidents in 1979. It also marked a 12 per cent increase over the 1,879 incidents it counted in 2018.

The surge was marked by deadly attacks on a California synagogue, a Jewish grocery store in New Jersey and a rabbi's New York home.

In this December 2019 file photo, a Jewish man, right, walks along Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City, N.J., near the location where three people and two gunmen were shot and killed earlier the same month

Jonathan Greenblatt, the group's CEO, attributed last year's record high to a 'normalisation of anti-Semitic tropes', the 'charged politics of the day' and social media.

This year, he said, the Covid-19 pandemic was fueling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

'Anti-Semitism is a virus. It is like a disease, and it persists,' Mr Greenblatt said.

'It's sometimes known as the oldest hatred. It never seems to go away. There truly is no single antidote or cure.'

The ADL's count of anti-Semitic assaults involved 95 victims.

More than half of the assaults occurred in New York City, including 25 in Brooklyn. Eight of those Brooklyn assaults happened during a span of eight days in December, primarily in neighbourhoods where many Orthodox Jews live.

'Objects were thrown at victims, anti-Semitic slurs were shouted, and at least three victims were hit or punched in their heads or faces,' the report says.

The ADL defines an anti-Semitic assault as 'an attempt to inflict physical harm on one or more people who are Jewish or perceived to be Jewish, accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus'. Three of those 2019 assaults involved deaths.

Members of the Jewish community and other mourners look over the coffin during the burial service for Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was killed in the Chabad of Poway Synagogue shooting, at El Camino cemetery in San Diego, California, on April 29, 2019

A 20-year-old former nursing student, John T Earnest, awaits trial on charges he killed a woman and wounded three other people during an attack on Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego in April 2019. The gunman told a 911 dispatcher that he shot up the synagogue on the last day of Passover because Jews were trying to 'destroy all white people', according to prosecutors.

Attacks in Jersey City, New Jersey, killed a police detective in a cemetery and three people at a kosher market in December. Authorities said the attackers, David Anderson and Francine Graham, were motivated by a hatred of Jewish people and law enforcement.

A 37-year-old man, Grafton Thomas, was charged with stabbing five people with a machete at a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi's home in Monsey, an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City.

One of the five victims died three months after the December 28 attack. Federal prosecutors said Thomas had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic comments and a swastika.

The ADL's report attributed 270 anti-Semitic incidents to extremist groups or individuals. A separate ADL report, released in February, found that 2019 was the sixth deadliest year for violence by all domestic extremists since 1970.

The group counted 919 vandalism incidents in 2019, a 19 per cent increase from 774 incidents in 2018, and 1,127 harassment incidents, a 6 per cent increase over 2018.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has been an unabashed booster of the energy sector, pledging last month when crude prices crashed into negative territory for the first time in history to never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down.

But the president has struggled to get aid to an industry suffering under an unprecedented drop in energy demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, threatening Texas and other states where the drilling of crude pumps hundreds of millions of dollars a day into local economies.

Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor who runs an oil field service company that operates across Texas and other U.S. shale fields, said companies like his have watched their work dry up, predicting a coming rash of bankruptcies. But while the administration has eagerly reached out to him and other executives about financial support, so far, they have little to show for it.

They have meetings. They have us in, but then when it comes time they really havent come through, he said. Theres been a bunch of head fakes and theyve thrown some crumbs. It feels like the oil and gas industry keeps getting patted on the head by the administration at this point.

THE NEW BUST: The great Texas oil shutdown has begun

Trump won an early victory when he worked with Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members the OPEC+ group to win a 10 million barrel per day cut in crude production. But the president has faced partisan opposition in Congress and concern from economic policy makers about investing taxpayer money into heavily indebted companies unlikely to survive the downturn.

As a result, he has struggled find allies in Washington to aid an industry that includes some of his most loyal supporters.

A case in point is Trumps announcement earlier this month of the expansion of an emergency Federal Reserve program designed to offer hundreds of billions of dollars in bridge loans to companies struggling during the coronavirus - called the Main Street program.

Under the new rules, the revenue limits on companies to participate doubled to $5 billion - enough to allow all but the largest publicly traded oil companies to participate. The Independent Petroleum Association of America heralded the announcement as, a clear signal to IPAA members that the administration is willing to address some of our recommendations.

But when executives perused the fine print, they realized that their companies might technically qualify, but getting loans through Main Street would be difficult, if not impossible, said Rachael Lichman, an energy finance attorney at the Houston law firm Baker Botts.

To qualify for a loan, companies would need to find a bank willing to finance 15 percent of whatever loan they could secure from the Federal Reserve  not easy when many banks, burned in the last oil bust, are unwilling to lend to energy companies. Limits on corporate debt and special rules for companies backed by private equity firms, which is common among smaller producers, would also make it difficult for many oil companies to qualify.

They tried to expand the subset of borrowers but in some ways, they contracted it, Lichman said.

The latest iteration of the Main Street program is still under development, leaving time for changes that could ease oil companies access to loans.

But historically, the Federal Reserve has avoided extending loans to companies at risk of default, even in times of emergency. Rather, it seeks to provide a source of capital to financially sound companies when banks simply stop lending.

From what were hearing, the Fed and Treasury are extremely wary to broaden it too much to prop up companies that are highly (indebted) and not likely to survive in the long run, said one oil lobbyist, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential conversations with the administration.

The Federal Reserve declined to comment. The Treasury Department, which is leading the administrations economic response to the pandemic, did not respond to a request for comment.

With so much of the U.S. economy shut down, however, the White House is coming under increasing pressure from members of its own party that represent oil states.

A group of 60 Republican congressmen Monday wrote to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell asking they ensure oil companies are given access to federal funding. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, said the government must do its due diligence, but we have to err on the side of putting capital in the market.

The goal is to inject cash into an economy we purposely destroyed, he said. The normal framework of bailouts does not apply here.

Within the Trump administration, efforts are ongoing to help the industry, but there is also a sense that the oil market will eventually correct itself, as it has so many times before. U.S. production, for example, has fallen by more than 1 million barrels a day since the middle of March, giving lift to prices over the past two weeks.

NO PLACE TO GO: With world standing still, oil industry faces unprecedented crisis

Drilling rigs get laid down. People get laid off. But when prices come back, and they will come back  we are incredibly agile, said one senior administration official. We can grease up those rigs and those crews that got laid off during this horrendous situation will come flooding back.

For now, though, the picture is grim.

Mass layoffs across Texas oil fields have already begun. With crude trading around $25 a barrel, many more job losses are expected, along with a wave of loan defaults and bankruptcies that represent the greatest threat to the Texas economy since the 1980s oil and real estate bust.

Trumps struggles to deliver aid to the oil industry signals not only the limits of his power as president, but the general resistance in Washington to bailing out an industry that has long gotten rich on oil shortages at the expense of constituents paying high gasoline prices.

The administration has moved to buy crude to store in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to take the stress off domestic storage, but Democrats in Congress have refused to fund the purchase, forcing the Department of Energy to begin the slow process of leasing the space to oil companies.

So far only 5 million barrels out of 78 million barrels of available capacity have been filled. With domestic storage tanks still filling up, setting the stage for another price collapse, the Department of Energy is now seeking to buy oil for delivery on a future date to offer a lifeline to oil producers.

But getting the funding remains problematic.

PERMIAN BLUES: Texas boomtowns go bust with oil

Its highly unlikely Congress is going to be able to legislate anything (oil) industry specific, so it leaves the White House limited options, said a lobbyist for a refining company, who requested anonymity to avoid repercussions from the administration. Theyve done the best with what they have to work with.

The oil sector itself is divided over whether to take government assistance, fearful that it would incite a public backlash against the industry when it is under increasing scrutiny over its contribution to climate change.

At least a couple of oil companies that received funding through Congresss Payroll Protection Program, which pays smaller businesses not to lay off their employees, are preparing to return the money out of concern for their public image, said the oil lobbyist.

Our industry is pretty reticent to ask for legislative aid that single out the oil and gas industry, they said. Its a partisan industry.

Between its history of large spills and contribution to climate change, rescuing oil and gas companies poses a very different political calculus than the airline industry, which received a $25 billion bailout from Congress last month. Oil companies seeking assistance understand that, with the presidential election coming, offering taxpayer money to a historically unpopular industry poses a risk for Trump.

Theyre a friend of the industry but the politics of it are just icky, said Eberhard, the oil field services executive. Theres a fear oil is going to spike and helping the oil and gas industry six months before it spikes wouldnt look good.

FUEL FIX: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter.com/osborneja
WELLINGTON, Oct. 19, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First party, addresses media in Wellington, New Zealand, on Oct. 19, 2017. The New Zealand First party has decided to side with the Labor party to form the coalition governme Image Source: IANS News

Wellington, May 12 : The COVID-19 crisis may force New Zealand to do away with the traditional Maori greeting, the hongi, in which two people press their noses together, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said on Tuesday.

Peters, the highest-ranking official of Maori origin in the government, proposed ending the practice to prevent the highly infectious disease from further spreading, reports Efe news.

New Zealand, one of the most successful nations in combating the virus, is in a phase of easing physical and social restriction measures, after barely registering any fresh infections in recent days.

"One of the things you've got to have the regard for is whether the hongi in these circumstances is ever going to come back again," Peters said in a statement aired on TVNZ channel.

"There's a famous old saying that says cultures that don't adapt die, and we have to be so careful," he added.

The hongi, one of the traditions included in the official acts of New Zealand, was discontinued in mid-March when the first COVID-19 cases were detected in the country.

Since then, the COVID-19 has so far infected a total 1,147 people and left 21 dead.

The proposal comes as New Zealand prepares to open its economy and progressively move towards normalcy from Thursday, although it will continue to maintain physical distancing norms.

Peters, who also serves as Foreign Minister, stressed that in this new phase they would need to remain careful to avoid fresh infections and risk lives.

However, the proposal has led to mixed reactions among the people.

"Why is he picking out one culture's protocol and not the wider practice of handshaking," asked Maori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

Ngarewa-Packer stressed they were "extremely well-versed at adapting and self-managing. We've proven our resilence".

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was up to the "iwi", or Maori people, to decide on their practices.

"I have seen iwi leaders, actually determine for themselves how they are going to keep their people safe, and what they wish to do with cultural practice in this environment," said Ardern addressing the media in Wellington.

For the Maori people, the hongi represents the exchange of the "breath of life" that comes from the gods and when a visitor (manuhiri) is welcomed, this person becomes "people of the earth" (whenua).

International leaders, including members of British royalty such as Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as former US President Barack Obama, have been welcomed with this traditional greeting.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Readers and restaurant owners guide this column each day and I am thankful for such a discussion in the coronavirus pandemic. May we look back at this time in our lives of bad hair and monotonous home meals and be even more appreciative for the food industrys evolution with home delivery and contactless curbside pickup.

Dominus fobiscum.

In the midst of this nuttiness we still have restaurants opening. But in a nutshell New Kings Pizzeria now tosses dough in Willowbrook (New Kings via Whereyoueat.com).

Baci will be opening where Marios formerly lived in Dongan Hills next to Sakana Hibachi and Sushi. Baci is a project by Alessandro Borgognone of acclaimed restaurants such Sushi Nakazawa in the West Village and Trump Tower, Patricias in the Bronx in Morris Park (cousin of Giacamo of Patrizias in Eltingville) and principal of Bedford Street Hospitality.

Weve got Clinton Hall coming to Empire Outlets with an outdoor beer garden in St. George.

Campania is still underway on Hylan Boulevard by Buel Avenue in Dongan Hills. This will be New York Citys fourth such Italian restaurant known for its delightfully charred pizza roasted with house-made mozzarella, freshly grated cheese and toppings sliced to order. The new eatery will be located at 1801 Hylan Blvd., a 100-foot deep building that is former home to a pet store and decades before that, E & B Marine Supply.

Further down the pike, Kash and Beck Miftaris Round Pie is headed to 1919 Hylan, a brand of pizza that came to Staten Island in 2018. Their dad, Steve Miftari, established the Pronto Pizza restaurants around Staten Island with brothers Vinny, Jimmy, Danny and the late Billy -- starting with a parlor on Bay Street at St. Marys Avenue.

And very very long story short, Sallys Southern getting ready to pop in West Brighton. Signs are up as of two weeks ago...fried chicken and soul food, here we come to Forest Avenue this spring.

Fushimi has reopened in Grant City with raves from a reader about its fine packaging and efficient ordering system.

Ken Tirado is prepping for a pandemic performance at Killmeyers Old Bavaria Inn. The historic Charleston operation has fans drooling already for potato pancakes and kielbasa and sauerkraut and those smoked pork chops. But not so fast -- a simple little drain project has Tirado digging for more. Figure at least another week until his reopening.

Pant pant.

And wed like to share a few nice words from readers.

Diane Schaming raved about Zio Toto Ristorante Bar and Lounge in Richmond Valley. She emailed about her Mothers Day experience from an order phoned in around 12:30 p.m. The food was ready in an hour, as promised, along with a little gift from the restaurant.

Diane writes, When I picked up my order there was another box underneath, a small pizza box, I thought that this was holding some Italian bread. When I arrived home I was very surprised to see that the box held a delicious Nutella pizza dessert. Not only was the main entrees delicious but getting this extra surprise was very much appreciated.

She calls the restaurant first class and encourages readers to order from Filippo Giuffres eatery. That name sound familiar? Giuffre owns Mancini Giuffre Salon. Well make a pandemic pun there that the spa covers roots on Page Avenue. Badum bum.

Reader Debbie writes about another South Shore superstar -- Piccolinos in Great Kills. Her 48th anniversary was last Thursday -- happy anniversary! -- and the couple decided to order out soup to nuts. The eatery seems a bit hidden to Debbie so she wants people to know theyre open and offering wonderful hospitality -- even without a dining room.

She notes, The food was excellent, so abundant... the service was excellent, curbside delivery so smooth. I think they threw in a little something extra, some stir fried veggies with some small, deep-fried goodies. Will definitely do it again and hope to visit when they reopen [the dining room].

From the North Shore comes a sentiment voiced by a handful of other readers about a recent story -- Families are running out of food, and food pantries are empty. You can drive-by and drop-off. Anything will help.

The Staten Islander lamented, I read in dismay the column on Staten Island food banks being short on food. Where are all the refrigerated trailers going to the other boroughs but not Staten Island? Where is the million dollar Cuomos incentive to buy produce from Upstate farmers going? All the money collected from different organizations to provide food to the hungry is going where? It seems Staten Island is getting bypassed again and again.

She additionally wrote, Looking for donations of food from us is ridiculous when so many are out of work and just getting by. With that being said, I know we will dig in and contribute as much as we can because thats who we are.

The generosity continues. Joe Bertone of Verrazano Kiwanis reminds of another drive-by food drive this Thursday, May 14 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Holy Family R.C. Church, Westerleigh, at 366 Watchogue Road.

Its a beautiful, sunny day, although a little chilly, with masked people walking on the block -- crazy world. Our baby hens are no longer babies as they have their downy feathers -- at this stage the birds, under a year, are called pullets. My older son, Andrew, wanted to paint the coop and with his Mom-styled haircut it looks like Tom Sawyers tooling around in our yard -- tee hee. But the chickens look happy.

Keep in touch.

Pamela Silvestri can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
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.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Under about 5 pounds of matted, gnarled and dirt-crusted hair, there was a happy dog.

Mattie, a stray dog found by Grand Rapids police May 2 in a neglected state, underwent a dramatic transformation and recovery thanks to the Kent County Animal Shelter.

Shelter staff removed an estimated 5.2 pounds, or about 20 percent of Matties body weight, in clumped hair from the suspected mini poodle mix, allowing her to walk and run and play again without pain.

Namiko Ota-Noveskey, the shelters supervisor, said the hair on Matties paws became so long and matted that it was pulled on every time she walked. Ota-Noveskey likened the feeling to someone constantly pulling the hair on a persons head.

It becomes painful when its that matted, because the hair would pull, and it was all over on her paws, so just to walk, just to move about, it mustve been very painful for her, she said.

The clumping was so bad that it required a veterinarian to remove the hair, not a groomer. She was placed under anesthesia during the process.

Thankfully, underneath all that hair staff found that Mattie wasnt malnourished.

Before we clipped the hair, she was pretty mopey, laying around, understandably in discomfort, but after that she would go right up to people and she seemed pretty social, a happy dog, Ota-Noveskey said.

10 Rescued dog has 5 pounds of matted hair removed

Ota-Noveskey said its hard to tell how Mattie got the way she was but that it couldve been unintentional neglect.

Judging by the length and condition of the hair, the shelter supervisor estimated it wouldve taken months for the hair to get into that state.

This is one of those situations we dont really know that somebody intentionally neglected her, she said. It could have been very well that somebody couldnt care for themselves let alone another being.

Grand Rapids police found Mattie with a collar and a USB cord attached to it as a makeshift leash. She had no identification, and no one has claimed her.

Ota-Novesky has seen cases like Matties before. In addition to supervising the county shelter for the past year, she previously worked 15 years at the Humane Society of West Michigan.

Unfortunately, she isnt the first and Im sure she wont be the last, she said.

Since the shelter published a video of Matties transformation Tuesday, May 12, officials say they have been swamped with requests to adopt her, but shes getting re-acclimated to humans and is not yet up for adoption.

Through May 17, adoption fees for dogs and cats are waived thanks to the Bissell Pet Foundation and a private donation. Adoptees in Kent County only have to pay the licensing fee for dogs, which is $17.

Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, those seeking to adopt must arrange an appointment. To start the process, forms for adoption can be found on the shelters website. People can also call the shelter at 616-632-7300 if they need assistance.

The shelter earlier this month also launched a partnership with Finding Rover. The program allows people who find strays to take a photo of them, and the website will attempt to match the picture with dogs and cats registered in their database.

Also due to the coronavirus pandemic, the shelter is asking people to report strays but also house them if possible, for the time being. If the animal is injured or aggressive, people should not hesitate to call animal control at 616-632-7300.

Read more:

10 free GRCC online courses to build skills while home due to coronavirus

Like many dealing with lost income, coronavirus pandemic overwhelming for Grand Rapids family

Michigan man busted for illegally shooting turkey stashed it in old oven, DNR says
A man has been arrested in relation to the kidnapping of an Uber driver from Nashville who ended up suffering serious injuries after she jumped from her car as it was traveling at 55mph.

Chris Miller has been caught and is currently in jail in Jacksonville, Florida.

Police say 26-year-old Uber driver, Carolina Vargas of Antioch near Nashville, Tennessee was giving a ride to Miller on Tuesday and took him to the Hampton Inn Motel in Cleveland, Tennessee - a distance of around 160 miles.

Nashville Uber driver, Carolina Vargas, suffered serious injuries after she jumped out of her moving SUV traveling at 55mph to escape a kidnapper

Vargas posted graphic pictured of her injuries which saw her covered in cuts and bruises

Chris Miller was picked up by police in Jacksonville, Florida and is now in custody

Vargas was driving her back Ford Explorer SUV when she decided she had to get out

He then told her to return to collect him once again for the three hour return trip the following Friday.

When Vargas picked Miller up, he claimed to know of a faster route back to Nashville.

But just as she began questioning him about the directions he was offering her, he is alleged to have pulled a knife on her and stuck her in the rib cage while holding the weapon.

'When she was more then half way into the ride he pulled out a knife and held it to her side and told her she better listen to his every demand then told her to drive towards Dalton, Georgia. She began to plead with him asking him to please not do this, that she was just working and didnt want to die. He then put the knife to her neck and told her that she needed to shut up and do as he said,' her family wrote about the incident online.

Vargas then decided to jump out of the vehicle while traveling around 55mph along the Cleveland Highway.

She ended up suffering multiple life-threatening injuries as well as knocking out several teeth along with several cuts and bruises.

Carolina Vargas was allegedly kidnapped by Chris Miller. She is pictured here with brother Yosueth Vargas

'She quickly opened the door and jumped out of her car at 60 mph into the middle of the interstate where she slammed her head onto the pavement face first breaking and knocking her front 3 teeth out, getting her legs ran over by the back tire of her own vehicle... Thankfully some good samaritans stopped to help her out of the center lane of the highway,' Vargas' family explained.

Vargas was taken to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Georgia where she received medical treatment.

'She has a huge emergency room bill and will have to do extensive reconstructive dental surgery. She needs all the help she can get to be able to pay for these medical bills,' her brother wrote online.

The family have created a GoFundMe page in the hope that some of her medical expenses may be covered through donations.

Vargas then posted about her ordeal together with pictures of her injuries on Instagram
War games: Iranian warships in the Gulf of Oman during drills back in December. Photo: Getty

A missile fired during an Iranian training exercise mistakenly struck a naval vessel instead of its intended target in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others, Iranian authorities said.

The bungled training exercises took place on Sunday and raised new questions about the readiness of the Islamic Republic's armed forces amid heightened tensions with the US, just months after they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran, killing 176 passengers.

It also comes soon after a tense naval encounter between Iranian and US forces in the nearby Persian Gulf.

President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers two years ago, launching a maximum pressure campaign against Iran that has pushed the rivals to the verge of conflict repeatedly. Analysts warn regional tensions are likely to increase again.

This week also marks the first anniversary of attacks on oil tankers near the strait that the US blamed on Iran.

The Iranian navy vessel Konarak was struck in Sunday's friendly fire incident near the port of Jask, some 1,270km south east of Tehran in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian army said in a statement.

Iran's regular navy typically patrols those waters, while vessels from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard usually patrol the Persian Gulf.

The Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship taking part in the exercise, came too close to a target and the missile struck it, state TV said.

Authorities did not identify the ship that fired the missile, though semi-official media in Iran identified it as the Iranian destroyer Jamaran.

The Konarak had been putting targets out for other ships to shoot at, state TV said.

Initially, officials said only one sailor had been killed, but that number quickly changed to 19. A local hospital admitted 12 sailors and treated another three with slight wounds, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian vessels towed the Konarak into a nearby naval base after the strike.

A photograph released by the Iranian army showed burn marks and some damage to the vessel, though the military did not immediately offer detailed photographs of the site of the missile's impact.

Iranian king Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi purchased the Dutch-made, 47-metre vessel just before being toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Konarak entered service in 1988 and crews later overhauled the vessel some 30 years later, making it able to launch sea and anti-ship missiles.

Iran still relies on weaponry purchased under the shah due to international sanctions.

The boat typically carried a crew of 20 and authorities did not explain why it had 34 people on board at the time of the missile strike.

The army identified those killed as including officers and enlisted men, including a combat diver.

It appeared the sailors may have been firing Noor anti-ship missiles during the exercise, according to analysts.

One said a replacement for the vessel "will likely take years to come into service".

Iran also had a destroyer sink in the Caspian Sea in 2018.
This new program with Ford is launched in an effort to help fleet-owning businesses and organizations gain greater safety and operational efficiency during this challenging time.

"We are constantly trying to find more ways to help businesses across the U.S. tackle their daily challenges in this new reality," says Tony Lourakis, founder and CEO of Fleet Complete. "We at Fleet Complete work closely with our partners to provide meaningful fleet assistance programs to help businesses and public organizations operate efficiently and safely during this pandemic. Our new collaboration with Ford offers a remote fleet management platform with 90-day complimentary service. Contactless activation of software over the air allows for fast setup, and you can start using the complimentary service without delay."



"We are proud to work with Fleet Complete to offer this complimentary trial for their customers running connected Ford vehicles," says Michelle Moody, Marketing Director, Ford Commercial Solutions. "Ford's embedded modem technology offers high-quality, manufacturer-grade data. With 100% of Ford's 2020 model year line-up in North America offering connectivity, now is a great time to trial Fleet Complete's telematics service."



Fleet Complete's telematics service provides fleet owners and their staff an operational platform that helps to manage remote services effectively with:



Over-the-air software activation;

Real-time staff visibility to monitor activities and jobs completed;

Remote dispatch and automatic notification features;

Location tracking of vehicles and other high-value assets for safety;

Customized in-app vehicle inspection reports for drivers;

Accurate data for billing and payroll with GPS location and time stamps.

Telematics service benefits both types of businesses and organizations  those who already operate a fleet but are looking to fine-tune their logistics, and those who are looking to create a new arm of their business that employs vehicles to continue their line of work.

For more information, please visit https://www.fleetcomplete.com/ford-offer/

*The complimentary service is available on up to 10 vehicles per account until August 31, 2020, on Ford Data Services equipped vehicles.

About Fleet Complete

Fleet Complete is a leading global provider of connected vehicle technology, delivering mission-critical fleet, asset and mobile workforce management solutions. The company is servicing approximately 600,000 subscribers and over 40,000 businesses and government organizations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and across Europe. It maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the U.S. and Mexico, TELUS and Rogers in Canada, Telstra in Australia, Telia in Denmark, Cosmote in Greece, and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) in multiple European countries. Fleet Complete cultivates strong OEM partnerships with global market leaders, such as Cummins, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi Australia, and Toyota, among others. It remains one of the fastest-growing companies globally, having won numerous awards for innovation and growth. For more information, please visit fleetcomplete.com

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification; mobility solutions, including self-driving services; and connected services. Ford employs approximately 188,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.



SOURCE Fleet Complete
Despite calls for Microsoft to significantly delay its spring Windows release due to the pandemic, the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, version 2004, is expected to begin rolling out to users in the next few weeks. Industry watchers initially expected it on May 12, Patch Tuesday, but the public release now appears to be slated for the last week in May. Nevertheless, the software is feature complete; what is thought to be the final preview build shipped to Microsoft's Release Preview ring of Windows Insiders on April 30, and the SDK was released to developers on May 12.

Its been a year since the last major update to Windows 10, the first time in Windows 10 history that Microsoft has gone that long between significant updates. (The last so-called feature update for Windows 10, released six months ago and known as the November 2019 Update or version 1909, was little more than a service pack.)

So whats the news in Windows 10 version 2004  has Microsoft gone big and introduced a host of new features, or has it stayed the course with a loose collection of minor tweaks? Ive been putting the upgrade through its paces for quite some time as it made its way through development, and heres what Ive found.

Hey, Cortana... Whered you go?

A year ago, in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, Cortana was separated from Windows Search. No longer could you type in a question for Cortana in the search box on the taskbar. Instead, you had to say Hey, Cortana and speak your search, click the Cortana icon to the right of the search box and speak, or press the Windows key + C and speak. All other searches were done by Windows Search.

That trial separation between Cortana and Windows Search has turned into a full-blown divorce. Now Cortana is an entirely separate app that runs in its own resizable window like any other app. Previously, it displayed results as a pane just above the search box, in the same way that Windows Search did. Now you do the search in the app, and the results show up in the app.

IDG Cortana is now a standalone, resizable app, with fewer features than previously. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Theres another, even more consequential change to Cortana: Its become less useful and less powerful. Some of what Microsoft calls its consumer skills have been taken away, including playing music and controlling home devices. Thats part of Microsofts long-term strategy for the digital assistant: rather than being front and center in Windows, it does much of its work behind the scenes, particularly in Office 365 and Microsoft 365, which is the new branding for consumer and SMB Office 365 subscriptions.

Its still unclear what behind-the-scenes work it will do, though. In a blog post explaining the shift in Cortana, Andrew Shulman, Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Cortana, offers only the vaguest of descriptions, saying that the new Cortana will offer personalized experiencesCortana helps you stay on top of your day, save time and do your best work.

Theres been one more change to Cortana as well, and its not a good one. You wont be able to use it if you have a Microsoft school or work account  and not if you use a local account.

So whats it like to use the new version of Cortana? Pretty much the same as the old version, except that it runs in its own window. It adds no new significant capabilities. Microsoft says in the Cortana blog post I mentioned previously that Cortana now has new features such as checking your calendar and creating emails and events. But Cortana has been able to do those tasks for quite some time  as you can see in this Microsoft help article from 2017 about using Cortana to find your upcoming meetings, this 2017 article about how to use Cortana to check your calendar and create events, and in this 2017 Microsoft help article about using Cortana to create emails.

However, with this update, you can once again type queries or requests into Cortana instead of speaking them  something you were able to do before the Windows 10 May 2019 Update took that capability away. Cortana also now shows a history of your interactions with it.

But the Cortana you see today wont necessarily be the Cortana you see next month, or the month after that, or after that. Theres one significant potential benefit to Cortana running as its own app  it can now be easily updated on its own schedule, rather than being tied to the once-a-year or twice-a-year Windows 10 feature update schedule. So if youre a Cortana fan, check back regularly on it to see if its got any new tricks.

Windows Search gets tweaked

As I mentioned, Cortana and Windows Search were joined at the hip until their partial breakup in the Windows 10 May 2019 update. The idea behind the breakup was that each could be improved independently of the others needs.

So whats new in Windows Search a year later? Not much. Perhaps the most useful change is under the hood, so you wont see it, although you might feel it. In order to deliver fast, useful search results, Search indexes your hard drive. Thats useful, but the indexing can slow down your PC. With this upgrade, the indexing only takes place when your computer isnt too busy, which should theoretically make your PC faster. I cant say that I noticed a difference in my PCs performance, but your mileage may differ.

Thats largely it. Microsoft has touted two other changes to Search, but those changes also now appear in Windows 10 1909, the version previous to this one. When you put your cursor into the Search box, three buttons appear at the bottom of the screen: Weather, Top news, and Today in history. Click any button to get the information you want. You wont find that feature only in Windows 10 2004  youll also find it in the latest updates to version 1909.

IDG New Windows Search looks and works like old Windows Search. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Another new feature according to Microsoft is the ability to do Windows searches from File Explorer. Do a search in the Search box towards the upper right of the screen, and youll get a suggested list of files as you type, as you do in Windows Search. It also searches online files in OneDrive, not just files on your PC. However, those features were baked into Windows in version 1909 and so are hardly new.

The upshot of this? The Windows Search you see today on your PC is largely the Windows Search youll see in this update. If you liked it before, youll like it now. If you hated it before... well, youll hate it now.

New tools for Task Manager

Those who geek out using the Task Manager to find every bit of information about Windows status and performance will find two new nerd tools. The Task Managers Performance tab now displays your disk type. Previously, it showed you disk performance information, but not the type of hard disk you have.

IDG Geek out with new Task Manager features, including seeing your hard disk type. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Also on the Performance tab, it will show you the temperature of your GPU. There are a few caveats, though. First, youll need a graphics card with a new driver that supports the WDDM 2.4 driver model. And second, it only does this if you have a dedicated graphics card, not an integrated one or an onboard GPU.

Many changes to Settings

Youll find a whole host of changes in the Settings app, some of which are merely cosmetic, while others either add or tweak existing capabilities. None are dramatic, so Ill cover the most important ones.

Youll notice the first one as soon as you launch Settings  theres a header with your account name and picture on the upper left, and to the right of that, the status of OneDrive and Windows Update. Click your account to manage it, click Windows Update to see any updates in progress, or click OneDrive to launch it.

IDG A new header is one of many changes youll find in Settings. (Click image to enlarge it.)

The Network Status page, available from Settings > Network & Internet, gets a nice makeover, combining information that used to be found on multiple pages, such as your IP address, current connection properties and data usage.

IDG One of the better Settings makeovers: a Network Status page that combines information that used to be found on many different pages. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Accounts also get a do-over. From Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options you can now eliminate using a password entirely, and instead use biometrics (fingerprint or face recognition). And for those who live to fine-tune performance (including yours truly), the same page offers an option that that lets you disable or enable apps each time you sign in. By default, the setting is disabled. Simply move the slider from Off to On under Restart apps to use it.

In Update & Security theres a nice new feature that lets you reinstall Windows from the cloud rather than from the Windows files on your PC. Thats useful, because it will install the latest version of Windows, rather than the last one you used. To do it, head to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, click Get Started and follow the prompts.

Also in Update & Security, you can more precisely decide how much bandwidth to use when you download Windows updates. Before the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, you could set a bandwidth limit, but only as a percentage. Now you can specify the exact bandwidth. To do it, head to Settings > Update & Security > Delivery Optimization > Advanced Options.

Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 makes its appearance

Linux users, rejoice: the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) gets more useful and powerful. For a start, it uses a real Linux kernel, which means full system call compatibility. The previous version wouldnt work with Docker, but this one does. The kernel will now get regularly updated through Windows Update. Its faster as well; Microsoft claims it can unpack a zipped tarball up to 20 times faster. (If you dont know what that means, you wont care.) Git clone, npm install, and cmake are also all sped up, the company says. Head here to see the full list of improvements.

Lots of small changes

There are also plenty of small changes sprinkled throughout the update. None of them is particularly earth-shaking, but theyre generally moderately useful. The most surprising may be changes to the ancient Windows application Notepad, which seemingly hasnt been improved since the time of Noahs Ark. Its now easy to zoom in and out, youll get a notification if youve made changes to a file that hasnt been yet been changed, and you can now display line and column numbers when word-wrap is enabled. Those who dont use Notepad wont care. Those who do may give a couple of muffled cheers, because these are not exactly big improvements.

Those who use virtual desktops will be pleased to see that they can now name virtual desktops, instead of being stuck with calling them Desktop 1, Desktop 2, Desktop 3 and so on. To do it, when youre viewing your virtual desktops, click the existing name and type in a new one.

IDG You can now give virtual desktops their own customized names. (Click image to enlarge it.)

You can now add a network camera to Windows by going to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices > Add Bluetooth or other device. Windows will automatically find the cameras, which you can then use using the built-in Camera app or a third-party app. Until now, you had to use software from a third party to find and configure network cameras.

Connecting to Bluetooth devices is a bit simpler in this version of Windows. When theres a Bluetooth device within reach of your PC, youll get a notification that brings you through a streamlined way to pair them. At the moment, this works with only a limited number of devices  notably Microsofts own Surface keyboard and mice  but should eventually work with other devices as well.

Finally, those who dont like MS Paint and Wordpad can now uninstall them and save a bit of hard disk space. Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Optional features and uninstall them if youd like.

What IT needs to know

Theres not much new for IT in this new version of Windows. IT can take advantage of Windows Hello biometrics logins rather than passwords, by setting that up as the default on enterprise devices. In addition, installing and setting up Windows for others has been made easier thanks to new controls added to Dynamic Update, which can lead to less downtime during installation for users.

IT can also take advantage of reinstalling Windows from the cloud, just like individual consumers can. And a new set of Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) commands and APIs have been added to the reserved storage feature that allows IT to configure a certain amount of storage on each device specifically for installing Windows, so that users dont have to reserve extra space for installing.

A variety of new commands have been given to PowerShell for Delivery Optimization, a Windows networking service that reduces bandwidth consumption by sharing the work of downloading update and upgrade packages among multiple devices in business deployments. Finally, security for the Chromium version of Edge has been improved, thanks to porting Application Guard to it.

For more details about what this new version of Windows 10 has for IT pros, see Microsofts blog post Pilot new features with the Windows Insider Program for Business.

The bottom line

So whats the verdict on this Windows 10 upgrade? Now that Microsoft allows anyone to delay update installations, we cant see any reason to install version 2004 immediately.

Theres not much new here, and what is new wont knock your socks off. There are no big new features like Timeline, introduced two years ago with the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, and Microsoft seems to have abandoned its Sets feature, which would have let you group individual documents from different applications in multiple tabs inside an application  for example, creating multiple tabs in File Explorer for a single project, one with an Excel spreadsheet, another with a Word document, and so on. Microsoft has multiple times planned to include Sets in an upgrade, and multiple times abandoned it. So dont expect to ever see it.

In fact, dont expect to see anything big and new in Windows 10 upgrades for the foreseeable future. Microsoft has bet on the cloud, not on Windows, and so its not worth the companys effort to spend a great deal of developer time on the operating system. Expect incremental upgrades as far as the eye can see.

Thats not necessarily a bad thing, though. Steady, small changes are a big improvement over the days when one never knew whether a new Windows upgrade would blow up on you. So welcome to the new Windows 10, same as the old Windows 10.
In a major embarrassment to the BJP government, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday invalidated the election of state education and law minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from Dholka Assembly constituency in 2017 on the ground that he won on the basis of "corrupt practices." The court's order came on a petition moved by Congress leader challenging Chudasama's victory on the grounds of several of irregularities and malpractices.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay pronounced the judgment while setting aside the election of Chudasama, a senior BJP leader, on a petition moved by Congress leader Ashwin Rathod, who had lost to Chudasama from Dholka constituency in the Assembly election by a margin of 327 votes with the connivance of election officers. Justice Upadhyay upheld that there were irregularities in the counting process. Justice Upadhyay also rejected Chudasama's plea to stay the order for challenging it in the Supreme Court.

The court has held that the Returning Officer allowed himself "to be used as a tool by the respondent No.2 (Chudasama)." It states that the RO "obediently behaved and danced to the tunes" of the BJP minister. Based on the evidence, the court found that RO and the minister "were not only hands in glove for the furtherance of the prospects of the respondent No. 2 in the election in question, there has also been an arrangement of quid pro quo between them." The court has cited how the RO was promoted as an additional collector and despite instruction from the election commission to conduct a departmental inquiry, the state government didn't proceed.

"This is no less than an unholy nexus of the Returning Officer and the respondent No.2 which further fortifies the findings of this Court qua corrupt practice," the judge has stated.

"Election was declared void by the court due to the illegal procedure followed against the rules of Election Commission and corrupt practice by the Res. No 13 (returning officer Dhaval Jani) who manipulated the records of election/postal ballot by illegal exclusion which was done behind the back of everyone including the General Observer," said advocate Hetu M Sudarshan who represented the General Observer Vinita Bohra, an IAS officer from Rajasthan cadre.

Rathod had accused Chudasama of winning the polls through "corrupt practices" and moved the court against the election result, claiming that the counting of votes was not fair. Rathod had stated in the petition that 429 votes, which were cast through ballot papers, were illegally rejected by the RO Dhaval Jani. While 29 votes, which were in EVMs, were not counted. He said that there was a difference of 29 votes between "1,59,946 votes in the voters turnover report of the returning officer and 1,59,917 votes in the final declaration of result made by returning officer". Justice Upadhyay has noted that "429 postal ballot papers were illegally rejected/excluded from consideration by the Returning Officer at the time of counting of votes in the election in question, as against the victory margin of 327 votes." The court, however, refused the petitioner's plea that he should be declared victorious in view of Chudasama's election getting void.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel commented, "It is unfortunate that the election of Bhupendrasinhji has been set aside. He is a senior party leader and a cabinet colleague who has been with us since the days of Jan Sangh. We are with him & will cooperate in his fight to approach Supreme Court."
A recent report indicated that in 2016, around 79% of 483 warning letters from the FDA to the pharmaceutical industry highlighted weaknesses in data integrity.1 The FDA outlines its expectations for quality critical instrumentation in the GMP environment within the 21CFR part 11 ruling.2

This article explores the way in which quality-critical on-line Total Organic Carbon (TOC) alongside conductivity instrumentation for WFI (water for injection) quality control may be configured to assist companies in complying with the FDAs data integrity requirements. This includes the use of Microsoft Active Directory and data export via PDF.

Background

TOC and conductivity are two of the four core quality factors specified for WFI and PW (purified water) in the United States Pharmacopoeia.3 It is possible to validate on-line analyzers like the ANATEL PAT700 from Beckman Coulter to achieve full compliance for both of these quality attributes, in line with the FDAs pharmacopoeial requirements.

The FDA Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) initiative4 has urged the pharmaceutical industry to invest in process control instrumentation designed to ensure in-process quality control, instead of relying on final product quality testing. Right-first-time is considered the ideal, because it is not possible to apply final product quality testing to 100% of batches. This is because the tests are generally destructive.

With this is mind, a large number of pharmaceutical manufacturers are connecting on-line TOC analyzers to factory control systems, allowing potential TOC or conductivity excursions which are detected to be used to halt production. This eliminates the risk of contaminated water being mixed with important active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Following revisions to the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) chapter, including WFI now enabling the production of WFI from ultra-filtration and double pass reverse osmosis (RO),5 TOC and conductivity monitoring of pharmaceutical water systems has become increasingly important due to the potential risk of contamination break-through in the RO system, especially when compared to the secure barrier provided by a water still.

FDA ALCOA guidance

The FDA uses the acronym ALCOA in its 2003 guidance on the implementation of their 21CFR part 11 data integrity rule. This section focuses on defining good data integrity practice, citing this as the creation of records which are attributable to the technician carrying out the testing, legible, created contemporaneously created, original and accurate.

The FDA 21CFR part 11 ALCOA definition of complete, consistent and accurate data. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Attributable

Attributable may be understood to imply that records would ideally include an electronic signature which links them to the user or instrument making the measurement. This could also mean that they should include a reference to the water system being tested, as well as the date and time the measurement was taken.

An electronic signature should be created for every user signed on to the system. Control over the format of electronic signatures can be site specific and this is commonly controlled by the companys IT department via Microsoft Active Directory controls.

Preferably, the on-line instrumentation would be configured to follow Active Directory controls, as this would enable correct electronic signature formats to be maintained according to site-specific rules.

Legible records

The record must be legible, which suggests that hand-written records are not appropriate. The FDA goes on to indicate that electronic records must be stored in a format that is open and compatible with a wide range of computer platforms and applications. The FDA recommends common formats such as XML, SGML or PDF.

Contemporaneous

The word contemporaneously suggests that electronic records should be created as soon as the sample is measured. Manual transcription of paper records is not considered to be good practice, nor is the collation of paper records for transcription into an electronic format at a later time or date.

There is an element of risk with every transcription of test results from one format to another, and even scanning numerous paper records into electronic formats has the potential for missed scans or duplication.

The FDA advises that the electronic record must be an original record, created as soon as the test is completed. In this instance, manually transcribed records carry the greatest risk and the greatest opportunity for human error.

Accurate records

Lastly, the A in ALCOA outlines the need for electronic records to be accurate. This suggests that the process for capturing electronic records must be robust, avoiding manual calculations and manual data entry where the clear risks of human error are present.

Attributable records

The A in ALCOA stands for attributable. Electronic records from on-line instruments must include information that links the data to the instrument used to make the measurement, as well as the time and date of that measurement.

On-line instruments that are able to analyze grab samples (like the ANATEL PAT700) should allocate the grab sample analysis data to the user who carried out the test. This is commonly done via electronic signatures.

User accounts should function at multiple levels, with day-to-day users not required to log on to view up-to-date on-line TOC results. However, users who wish to alter settings, undertake calibrations or complete system suitability tests should be required to log on with appropriate credentials.

Once users are logged on to the system, they should be automatically logged off after a configurable period of inactivity.

Additionally, users should be required to change their passwords within a predetermined and regular timeframe, with the use of previous passwords not permitted.

Controls enforced by the site IT team and appropriately defined in the Microsoft Active Directory control should be mirrored in the on-line TOC analyzer.

Data repositories

The FDAs guidance places great emphasis on the fact that the 21CFR part 11 ruling applies only to the data historian where electronic records are stored. The primary risk with on-line instruments that include their own, built in local data historian is that they may attract all the requirements outlined in the 21CFR part 11 ruling.

Analyzers like the PAT700 avoid this issue by allowing the local data historian to be disabled, thus ensuring that it does not attract the full 21CFR part 11 requirement as a data archive for electronic records.

Data from on-line TOC analyzers is commonly held in validated Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. This has historically made improvements to process control challenging, adding a substantial amount of change control.

However, contemporary approaches store quality critical data records in a separate secure archive, meaning that SCADA and DCS systems can be dedicated to process control only, thus making them more agile.

The PAT700 is able to support this. The instrument can be configured to automatically send PDF electronic records via secure FTP over Ethernet, meeting the ALCOA requirements for all electronic records to be legible, contemporaneous, original and attributable.

The archiving of reports by sending these to a remote, secure data archive over Ethernet via secure FTP may be done automatically, with PDF files automatically exported and archived at predetermined intervals.

Beckman Coulter ANATEL PAT700 exports the PDF file straight to data archive via Ethernet. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Manual SOPs versus electronic SOPs

The ANATEL PAT700 satisfies ALCOAs A for accuracy on several levels. Manual processes are removed, with all necessary SOPs automated and pre-programmed into the analyzer itself, using an electronic SOP format.

No manual calculations are required when performing calibrations or system suitability testing. No manual data entry is required either, as certified standards values, expiry dates and lot numbers are automatically entered into the analyzer via RFID tags on the standards bottles.

Manual calculations

Human error resulting from manual calculations for pass/fail reports can adversely affect the A for accuracy and C for contemporaneous within the ALCOA requirements. Best practice dictates that calculations for pass/fail be built into the analyzer itself, enabling automatic pass/fail reports to be calculated and generated within the instrument.

The PAT700 includes this pass/fail criteria, automatically generating pass/fail reports in PDF format, and satisfying ALCOAs requirement for accurate, contemporaneously generated records.

While a great deal of attention is given to the final electronic records security, many opportunities exist whereby incorrect records stem from the use of manual processes, such as manual calculations and manual data entry.

Manual calculations in particular may present opportunities for human error where:

rV = Average TOC response for three measurements of the Sucrose Validation Standard

rW = Average TOC response for three measurements of the Sucrose Validation Standard

rC = Certified TOC value from the Certificate of Analysis for the Validation Standard

Calibrations

Calibrations undertaken with manual SOPs and manual calculations also present a considerable opportunity for human error. The Beckman Coulter ANATEL PAT700 includes all necessary SOPs in electronic format, with calibration standards automatically importing their certified value, lot number and expiry date into the PAT700 via RFID. All of this key data is included in the calibration report in PDF format.

Closed view of the ANATEL PAT700 Total Organic Carbon Analyzer. Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Retraining versus robust processes

A typical response to data errors is to insist on retraining the team. However, both the industry and the FDA are starting to realize that this does not solve the problem - it simply treats the symptoms until human error begins to appear again. Instead, the correct approach involves a reduction in the amount of manual steps in the SOP, allowing human errors to be reduced while resulting in a whole process that is more robust.

Image Credit: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Conclusion

Vital on-line water quality instrumentation is becoming increasingly important as the rules on WFI generation are loosened within the European Pharmacopoeia. Manual calculations and paper-based SOPs provide too much potential for human error, while retraining can be understood as treating the symptoms without curing the problem.

The technology to make these instruments more robust is available however, and by automating SOPs while eliminating manual calibrations via instrumentation optimized for pharmaceutical quality control - such as the Beckman Coulter ANATEL PAT700 TOC and conductivity analyzer  this can be accomplished.

By focusing on cost control and optimization, users are better placed to consider making their on-line quality control instrumentation more robust in order to prevent any loss of valuable active pharmaceutical ingredient product. This is particularly important for those in the biopharmaceutical industry.

References

Pharmaceutical Online, An Analysis Of FDA FY2016 Drug GMP Warning Letters By Barbara Unger, Unger Consulting Inc. https://www.pharmaceuticalonline.com/doc/an-analysis-of-fda-fy-drug-gmp-warning-letters-0001 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Guidance for Industry, Part 11, Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures  Scope and Application August 2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration United States Pharmacopoeia U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Guidance for Industry PAT  A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Development, Manufacturing, and Quality Assurance September 2004 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Office of Regulatory affairs (ORA) Division of Drug Information, HFD-240 Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857 USA https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/pat-framework-innovative-pharmaceutical-development-manufacturing-and-quality-assurance Council of Europe European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur) 9th Edition. EDQM Council of Europe, 7 allee Kastner, CS 30026, F-67081 Strasbourg, France https://www.edqm.eu/en/news/shutdown-european-pharmacopoeia-9th-edition

About Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is dedicated to empowering discovery and scientific breakthroughs. The companys global leadership and world-class service and support delivers sophisticated instrument systems, reagents and services to life science researchers in academic and commercial laboratories, enabling new discoveries in biology-based research and development.

A leader in centrifugation and flow cytometry, Beckman Coulter has long been an innovator in particle characterization and laboratory automation, and its products are used at the forefront of important areas of investigation, including genomics and proteomics.

Primary activity / Product lines

Flow Cytometry

Centrifugation

Particle Counting and Characterization

Liquid Handling and Robotics

Nucleic Acid Sample Preparation

Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.
Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in a way they said they never imagined, with a surprise parade thrown by friends and family during a global pandemic.

"Never in a million years did we think 73 years later we would be celebrating our anniversary with a parade in Naples, Florida," said Yolanda Tenaglio, 96, who married her husband on May 3, 1947, at a Catholic church in Pennsylvania.

"The line of cars blowing their horns and all the people there, wow, it was beautiful," added Joe Tenaglio, 98.

The Tenaglios' milestone anniversary was celebrated on May 3 by friends and family who led a parade of nearly two dozen cars through the retirement community where they live.

PHOTO: Old friends and former neighbors lined up in their cars for a surprise 73rd wedding anniversary parade for Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2020. (Courtesy Maureen Arpin)

PHOTO: Old friends and former neighbors lined up in their cars for a surprise 73rd wedding anniversary parade for Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2020. (Courtesy Maureen Arpin)

The parade was organized with the help of the Tenaglios' nieces and their former neighbors from the neighborhood where the Tenaglios lived for more than three decades after retiring from Pennsylvania. Their house was destroyed by a tornado during Hurricane Irma two years ago, but the neighbors have kept in touch with the Tenaglios after they moved to the retirement home.

MORE: Italian grandma offers live cooking lessons to families stuck at home during pandemic

While the Tenaglios have been isolated inside their apartment due to the coronavirus pandemic, the neighbors have set up a schedule of visitors to their first-floor apartment, bringing their own chairs and umbrellas to sit more than six feet away and say hello. On some occasions they've brought instruments to play and performed dance skits to make them laugh, too.

PHOTO: Old friends and former neighbors lined up in their cars for a surprise 73rd wedding anniversary parade for Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2020. (Courtesy Maureen Arpin)

PHOTO: Old friends and former neighbors lined up in their cars for a surprise 73rd wedding anniversary parade for Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2020. (Courtesy Maureen Arpin)

"They sit outside for an hour or until it gets too hot and they say bye-bye and then the next ones come," Joe Tenaglio, a retired carpenter, said of his former neighbors.

"Thank God we have a lot of good friends because it does get lonely," added Yolanda Tenaglio, a retired secretary, who added that she and her husband are just happy to be alive and together, even if they didn't get to go out to eat as they usually do on their wedding anniversary.

Story continues

"We have a lot to be thankful for," she said. "I'm sure there are a lot of people that have a lot more to worry about than us."

The Tenaglios, who met at a dance on May 3, 1946, never had children of their own but are beloved by a big family of nearly one dozen nieces and nephews and even more grand and great-grand nieces and nephews, who call the couple the "Energizer bunnies."

PHOTO: Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio were surprised by old friends and neighbors with a 73rd wedding anniversary parade in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2020. (Courtesy Maureen Arpin)

"To me, they're going to live to be 110," said Cathy Tuttle, a niece of the Tenaglios who lives nearby in Naples and helps care for them. "They've always been so good to everyone and it shows now."

"When you have 40-some people plus family showing up for a parade in the middle of a pandemic, it says a lot about them," she said. "They're very blessed."

MORE: School throws epic curbside car parade to celebrate teacher

Joe Tenaglio said he attributes his happy, seven-decades-long marriage to what he describes as "the two famous words": Yes, dear.

Yolanda Tenaglio said it is their communication between each other that has led them through the ups and downs of their lives together.

"Along the way you have a few scraps but you get over it," she said. "You have to communicate and if you don't, it's sad."

"And say, I love you, every night. That's it," she added.

Couple celebrates 73rd wedding anniversary with a surprise parade in quarantine originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
New Zealand's Electoral Commission unveiled safety measures Tuesday designed to allow a national election to proceed as planned in September despite the coronavirus threat. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the September 19 election date in January, before the global scale of the contagion was apparent, and has repeatedly said she does not plan to move it. With New Zealand set to end a seven-week lockdown in the coming days, the Electoral Commission said it had held discussions with health authorities about how to stage the vote safely. "This year's election will be different because of COVID-19, a range of measures will be in place to help keep people safe," it said. Chief electoral officer Alicia Wright said these included queue management, physical distancing, hand sanitisers alongside ballot boxes and protective gear for people staffing voting stations. Advance voting and postal voting will be encouraged, particularly for the elderly and those with existing medical conditions. The guidelines did not cover other election activities such as campaign launches, party rallies and door-to-door canvassing, all of which are likely to be significantly affected. Ardern said she had only considered the election "in passing" as she deals with the COVID-19 crisis. "The election feels -- in terms of days, weeks and months -- a lifetime away," she told reporters on Tuesday. "As you'd imagine in the middle of a global pandemic, it's not something that I have yet turned my mind to." Opinion polls taken earlier this year before the pandemic reached New Zealand showed Ardern's centre-left Labour Party trailing the conservative National Party slightly but on track for a narrow victory with the help of coalition partners. Since then, the 39-year-old leader has won global praise for her decisive coronavirus response, which has seen the nation of five million record only 21 deaths. No opinion polls have been officially released during New Zealand's lockdown but leaked research by Labour's pollster, UMR, last month had Ardern's party heading for a landslide, with 55 percent support to National's 29 percent. It put Ardern's approval rating as preferred prime minister at 65 percent. New Zealand will hold two referendums alongside the September 19 election on legalising cannabis and allowing euthanasia. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had only considered the election 'in passing' as she deals with the COVID-19 crisis
Vietnamese returning from Malaysia test negative for SARS-CoV-2

A hospital in a Nang. A total of 274 Vietnamese citizens returning from Malaysia have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 according to the citys Centre for Disease Control (CDC).





A total of 274 Vietnamese citizens returning from Malaysia have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 for the first time as test results were released by the citys Centre for Disease Control (CDC) on Monday.

Director of the a Nang CDC Dr Ton That Thanh said samples of the 274 people were taken one day after they were quarantined at the citys Military Training School from Sunday (May 10).



They will be receiving daily medical checks and monitoring during the 14-day isolation period before getting health certificates for going home, he said.

A 17-month-old baby, who returned to Viet Nam during treatment for hydrocephalus in Malaysia, has been isolated and is undergoing special treatment at the Obstetrics and Paediatrics hospital.

These Vietnamese citizens were taken on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to a Nang on Sunday.

Earlier, the city isolated Vietnamese citizens returning from Korea, Italy and the UK.



Only six COVID-19 patients including two from the UK and one American have been treated at the citys hospitals between March 7 and April 10. All six patients have returned home after successful treatment for COVID-19.

Vietnam to bring 300 citizens home from Australia in early June

The Vietnamese Embassy in Australia has worked with relevant agencies to organise the return of approximately 300 Vietnamese citizens from Australia in early June.

The flight to carry the citizens is scheduled to depart from Sydney. It is a priority flight conducted under the Governments direction to bring home people under 18 years old, elderly and sick people, students who did not have accommodations due to dormitory closures, guest workers with expired visa and work permit, and stranded tourists.

The citizens will pay for the air tickets and will be placed in concentrated quarantine facilities for 14 days.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Australia recommended that citizens who wish to return Vietnam should urgently use their Gmail accounts to register and fill in an online form before 17:00 on May 18.

The diplomatic agency noted that when completing the registration form, citizens need to present their situation and their need for returning home. Vietnamese people who have permanent residency or Australian citizenship are not considered priority people to return to Vietnam at this time.

Rice ATMs provide staple for struggling Indonesians amid COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of Indonesians struggling to make ends meet. Now the local authorities are rolling out rice ATMs in a bid to ensure greater access for those in need to the essential staple.

There are ten rice ATMs in and around Jakarta. This is part of a government initiative to assist the people worst affected by the outbreak, which has caused millions to lose their jobs in Southeast Asias largest economy.

Stacked with good-quality rice and operated by magnetic cards, the tall automated machines look much like a typical ATM, only that they pump out grain instead of cash.

Ibrahim, an army official supervising distribution, said a total of 1.5 tonnes of rice are prepared for around 1,000 residents everyday. The distribution is carried out every day, even on weekends.

More than 14,000 Indonesians have been infected with the coronavirus since early March, with 991 killed by the disease, the highest death toll in East Asia outside China.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told the parliament last week the pandemic has set efforts to eradicate poverty back a decade.

In March, Indonesia announced a 25-billion-USD stimulus package in response to the COVID-19, pledging to provide social welfare for up to 10 million households, including food assistance and electricity tariff discounts.

Residents eligible for the rice ration include daily wage earners, the unemployed, those who do not own a house and people who live below the poverty line.

The rice ATM was first introduced by a Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City early last month to provide free rice for people out of work because of the COVID-19./.

Indonesia evaluates large-scale social restrictions

Indonesian President Joko Widodo assessed the implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policy to curb the spread of the COVID-19 during a meeting held via teleconference on May 12.

He noted that the results before and after the implementation of the PSBB were varied and differed across four provinces and 72 districts and cities.

Consequently, the number of new cases in regions had decreased gradually and consistently but not drastically, though there were areas where the number of cases had declined but had also not been consistent and still volatile.

Of the 10 provinces with the most positive cases, only three, namely Jakarta, West Java, and West Sumatra, had the PSBB status, while seven others were still non-PSBB. However, those provinces implemented a physical distancing policy and strict health protocols in the people's daily lives.

Data of the Task Force on COVID-19 prevention showed that Java records 70 percent of the positive cases, and 82 percent of mortality.

The president urged the force to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic is effectively brought under control in five provinces in Java, especially in the subsequent two weeks.

During the meeting, he also sought to ease the PSBB in a careful manner and not hurriedly.

Most businesses in Indonesia only have enough cash to continue operating until the end of June, said Sutrisno Iwantono, deputy chairman of public policy at the Indonesian Employers' Association.

Indonesias economy expanded only 2.97 percent in the first quarter, its lowest in almost two decades./.

Vietnam records no new COVID-19 infections in community for 26 days

A teacher guides a student how to wash hands correctly

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on May 12 morning, marking the 26th day in a row without infections in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Among the 288 confirmed cases so far, 148 are imported ones and were quarantined upon their arrival in the country, and the remaining 140 contracted the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the community.

As many as 249 patients, or 86 percent of the total, have recovered from the disease.

On May 11, eight patients treated at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Disease No. 2 were given the all-clear. They will continue undergo quarantine and health monitoring for the next 14 days.

Of the 39 remainders still under treatment, eight have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once while 11 others negative at least twice.

A total of 11,929 people are kept in quarantine at present, including 329 at hospitals, 6,432 at other quarantine facilities, and the rest at home./.

Vietnamese in Japan staying calm, supporting one another during pandemic: Ambassador

Vietnamese in Japan staying calm, supporting one another during pandemic: Ambassador hinh anh 1

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam gives an interview to the Vietnam News Agency

Despite the rapid spread of the COVID-19 in Japan, the Vietnamese community remains calm and supports each other in coping with the pandemic, according to Ambassador Vu Hong Nam.

He told the Vietnam News Agency that although the lives and livelihoods of Vietnamese people in Japan have been disrupted by the pandemic, the community is calm and patient and complying with guidelines from both the Japanese and Vietnamese Governments.

As a result, the number of Vietnamese infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is quite small, the diplomat noted, adding that thanks to the assistance given by the Japanese health system and Government, some Vietnamese patients have recovered and returned to normality.

Talking about the difficulties facing Vietnamese in Japan, he said most went to work or study in the country but the pandemic has halted such endeavours. Expatriates working in Japan, especially those at small- and medium-sized enterprises, have encountered numerous problems after many businesses were shut down.

However, the ambassador said, during these trying times, the community has upheld the tradition of mutual support. Benefactors have offered free accommodation and raised money to help students who lost their part-time jobs and thus are unable to cover their daily needs.

The embassy has also called on associations and benefactors to make donations to assist needy people and encouraged all staff at Vietnams representative agencies in Japan to contribute one days salary each to the common effort, the ambassador said.

He expressed his belief that with the communitys joint efforts, all Vietnamese in Japan will overcome the hardships./.

Zero dong supermarket bringing smiles to those in need

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused heavy losses in both the economy and society, but amid the hardship there are still stories about efforts to join hands and overcome the situation.



In normal times, Nguyen Van Mais welding job earns him enough money to raise his two children. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19, however, saw him lose his job, so the free rice dispenser and 0 VND supermarket that opened recently in Da Nang have provided much-needed relief.

Since late April, the rice dispenser at the cultural house of Binh Thuan ward has become a destination for benefactors, mostly businesses in the city, to offer help. It operates all day every day, while the 0 VND supermarket is open every Tuesday and Saturday.

Photo exhibition to honour efforts against pandemic

A worker fumigates a classroom of a Hanoi school to prevent COVID-19 transmission

The Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA) is inviting photos of Vietnam in the combat against COVID-19 to an exhibition slated for June 1.

VAPA Chairman Vu Quoc Khanh said on May 11 that the event aims to push ahead with communications to raise public awareness of the pandemic, highlight Vietnams enormous achievements in the COVID-19 fight, and honour the photo takers.

The organising board said photos sent to the exhibition should depict the country and people in the disease prevention and control efforts, their daily lives in the pandemic, along with the exemplars and those working in the frontline.

Senders can be professional photographers, photo journalists or those able to take COVID-19-themed photos in Vietnam, and each can submit up to 20 works that are separate photos or groups of photos.

The exhibition is open for entries via website www.trienlamanhCovid-19.com from now through May 20. The best 150-200 items will be selected for the display.

The event will be held at the VAPAs centre for artistic photo archives and exhibition in Hanoi./.

Eight more COVID-19 patients given all-clear, total recoveries at 249

Eight COVID-19 patients, all Vietnamese, have recovered and were discharged from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on May 11, putting the total recoveries at 249.

They include four patients from the pandemic hotspot in Ha Loi commune, Me Linh district on the outskirts of Hanoi, two from Thai Nguyen province, one from Hung Yen province and the last from Bac Giang province.

They all had two tests last week and both came back negative for SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. The patients are in stable condition with no fever, no cough and no shortness of breath.

All of them will continue to be quarantined and monitored for the next 14 days.

No new COVID-19 case was reported in Vietnam as of May 11 morning, marking 25 straight days without community transmission in the country, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The countrys tally remains at 288, including 148 imported cases who had been quarantined upon arrival, and 140 infected within the community.

The British pilot, known as Patient No. 91 who is being treated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, is still in critical condition.

Doctors from top hospitals in Vietnam held a telemedicine conference on May 10 to discuss a lung transplant for the patient. They proposed moving him to Cho Ray Hospital for intensive care and lung transplant consideration.

As many as 25,361 people are under health monitoring or quarantine, of whom 373 stay at hospitals, 11,181 at other quarantine establishments and 13,807 at home and accommodations./.

Indonesia to allow citizens under 45 to resume working amid pandemic

A street in Indonesia amid COVID-19 (Photo: https://wam.ae/)

Indonesian citizens aged 45 and under may be allowed to resume working because they are not prone to the COVID-19, according to head of the country's COVID-19 task force Doni Monardo.

Speaking at an online press conference on May 11, Doni stressed that this move aims to minimise layoffs in the Southeast Asian country amid the effect of the pandemic.

People under 45 are physically healthy and have high mobility, he noted, adding that the mortality rate in this group is only 15 percent, while that of the group of people over 60 is 45 percent.

According to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian government planned to ease social restrictions from June.

The imposition of restrictions since late March has forced many businesses, especially those in non-essential sectors, to suspend operations and lay their employees off to cut costs.

According to statistics by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower, as of May 1, more than 1.7 million local workers lost their jobs.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose to 14,265, after the country reported 233 new infections on May 11./.

COVID-19 threatens stability of Indonesias financial system

A officer wearing protective gear checks rupiah banknotes at the Bank Mandiri cash center in Jakarta on March 20 - Illustrative image (Source: jakartapost)

The Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) of Indonesia has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the stability of the countrys financial system as it causes a supply-demand shock and weakens financial industry and macro-economy.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who serves as the committees chair, said on May 11 that the supply-demand shock and lower GDP outlook posed a serious threat to financial system stability.

The nations GDP grew by 2.97 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, the lowest level seen since 2001.

The economy has almost come to a halt following physical distancing measures implemented by businesses and consumers to contain the coronavirus spread. The KSSK expects the economy to grow at 2.3 percent this year, a marked slowdown from 5.02 percent in 2019.

During the first quarter, the countrys financial markets were badly hit as foreign investors sold a net of around 145 trillion Rp (9.72 billion USD) worth of Indonesian assets as they flocked into safe havens. The capital outflow was towering compared to 69.9 trillion Rp recorded during the 2008 global financial crisis and 36 trillion Rp during the taper tantrum period in 2013, the KSSK revealed.

The situation saw the rupiah fall to its lowest level in history at 16,575 Rp per US dollar on March 23, down 15.8 percent from February, according to the committee data. The currency has since recovered a bit, gaining 10.21 percent as of April 30 compared to late March, as the government issued 4.3 billion USD worth of global bonds in early April.

The Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) revealed on May 11 that loan growth in the banking industry amounted to 7.95 percent year on year in the first quarter, higher than the 6.08 percent recorded at the end of last year. However, no new loan demand was recorded in the period, as the growth came from the disbursement of existing credit facilities, OJK chairman Wimboh Santoso said./.

Indonesia specifies focuses in coping with COVID-19 pandemic

A man has his blood sample taken for rapid COVID-19 testing in South Tangerang, Indonesia's Banten province, on April 21 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on May 11 stressed three focuses to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, namely scaling up tests, boosting surveillance on migrant workers who will come back home, and accelerating the production of medical equipment and COVID-19 medicine.

Addressing a Cabinet meeting, he requested PCR tests be sped up as laboratories across the country are currently able to handle just 4,000-5,000 samples each day, much lower than the target of 10,000.

The president ordered the COVID-19 task force to maximise the function of test facilities as only 53 have been licensed to conduct PCR tests, quicken manpower training, and deal with the scarcity of testing equipment and materials right this week.

He also told ministries, sectors and localities to make thorough preparations to receive 34,000 migrant workers who will return to the country in May and June, with tight health protocols to be imposed.

Meanwhile, units of the Ministry of Research and Technology and the Ministry of Education and Culture have successfully developed rapid and PCR test kits, ventilators and BSL-2 labs which can be produced on a large scale now, he said, expressing his hope that this will help the country reduce its dependence on imports./.

Thailand prepares online teaching for new school year

Thailands Ministry of Education is going to test an on-air and online learning system, in case at-school teaching is not safe enough for the start of the new semester on July 1.

The ministrys deputy spokesperson Rakana Tantawutho revealed that schools and education institutes under the ministrys supervision will start the first semester from July 1 to November 13, and the second one from December 1 to April 10.

The ministry is preparing an appropriate method for the learning system during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as adding more skill classes during the school breaks.

The new curriculum will allow students to access education and stay safe at the same time.

It will also reduce assessments and cut unnecessary activities.

In addition, the ministry will conduct a survey of students, parents and teachers, in order to develop the right tools and a suitable schedule.

On May 11, Thailand recorded six more COVID-19 cases, raising its total infections to 3,015, including 56 deaths./.

Thailand prepares online teaching for new school year

Students at a Thai school (Source: Bangkok Post)

Thailands Ministry of Education is going to test an on-air and online learning system, in case at-school teaching is not safe enough for the start of the new semester on July 1.

The ministrys deputy spokesperson Rakana Tantawutho revealed that schools and education institutes under the ministrys supervision will start the first semester from July 1 to November 13, and the second one from December 1 to April 10.

The ministry is preparing an appropriate method for the learning system during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as adding more skill classes during the school breaks.

The new curriculum will allow students to access education and stay safe at the same time.

It will also reduce assessments and cut unnecessary activities.

In addition, the ministry will conduct a survey of students, parents and teachers, in order to develop the right tools and a suitable schedule.

On May 11, Thailand recorded six more COVID-19 cases, raising its total infections to 3,015, including 56 deaths./.

Cambodians advised to postpone large gatherings

The Cambodian Ministry of Health's spokeswoman Or Vandine advises citizens to wait two or three months to assess the global situation. (Source: phnompenhpost.com)

The Cambodian Ministry of Health on May 11 continued warning people to postpones large gathering events, including weddings, to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, although the country has reported no new cases for days.

Speaking at a press conference, Or Vandine, spokesperson for the ministry, said that Cambodia is getting back to normal, but citizens must take daily prevention measures, including washing hands, wearing masks and avoiding gatherings.

She said citizens must remain vigilant and suggested suspending wedding parties, religious gatherings, and night outings because it is easy for the virus to spread in these settings.

Vandine also advised citizens to wait two to three more months to assess the global situation.

In its May 12 announcement, the ministry said that the country has recorded no new infections, and 120 out of 122 infections have given the all-clear./.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to make arrangement for repatriation of Indian migrant workers, who were granted general amnesty by Kuwait amid COVID-19 pandemic and are living in vulnerable conditions in detention camps there.

The plea said that Kuwait had granted general amnesty to all those, who do not have valid residency permits in the country, due to the difficulties faced on account of the COVID-19 outbreak.

It claimed that those granted general amnesty in Kuwait were initially given time till April 30 to make arrangements for leaving the country, failing which they would be subjected to imprisonment.

"However, due to the current lockdown which is in place and international travel restrictions due to outbreak of pandemic COVID-19, the petitioners and similarly placed expats who are beneficiaries of the general amnesty granted by state of Kuwait are unable to return to India and are languishing in detention camps in the state of Kuwait," the plea, filed by four Indian citizens who are in Kuwait, said.

"The detention camps in which the petitioners and around 3,000 similarly placed Indian migrant workers are lodged presently are overcrowded lacking basic amenities including medical facilities in case of emergency," the plea, filed through advocate Jose Abraham, said.

It said that due to space crunch in such camps, social distancing is impossible and this makes the petitioners as well as similarly placed Indian citizens vulnerable to coronavirus infection.

The plea claimed that Kuwait has offered to send back the petitioners along with other similarly placed people to India free of cost and by its own civil airlines.

It has sought a direction to the Centre and other concerned authorities to facilitate flights offered by Kuwait to land at Indian airports.

It has also sought a direction to the government to take appropriate steps to ensure that adequate food, medicines, quarantine and emergency service facilities are made available to such Indians languishing in detention camps in Kuwait.

It alleged that the petitioners have sent representation to various officials, including the External Affairs Minister and other officials at Indian Embassy in Kuwait, but no action has been taken to repatriate them back to India.
The ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance in



Bihar on Tuesday heaped scorn on leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav, who has returned to the state after spending two months in the national capital where he was, apparently, "stuck" because of the lockdown.

Leaders of both the parties advised the RJD leader to spend 21 days at a quarantine centre, spend some time with the migrant workers lodged therein whose cause he was professing to champion and "devote himself to the states fight against corona" thereafter.

Yadav, the heir apparent of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and the partys Chief Ministerial candidate for assembly elections due in half a year, arrived here late Monday night by road and is putting up at the 10, Circular Road residence of his mother Rabri Devi.

"Welcome, o bhrashtachar ke raajkumar (the prince of corruption)" quipped Information and Public Relations Department minister Neeraj Kumar, a leader in the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, in a dig at the numerous cases of graft against family members of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad who is at Ranchi serving sentences in fodder scam cases.

"Now that you have made it convenient to end your vacation, it is time to follow the norms. You have come from outside Bihar. So you must get yourself medically screened at a quarantine centre and stay there for 21 days", said the minister with trademark pungency.

"At the quarantine centre, you will get a chance to meet migrant workers in person and learn about the sufferings they have undergone which you can only talk about. After the quarantine period, you must get your hands dirty and devote yourself to the states fight against corona", he added.

BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand pointed out that the 30- year-old leader, who is an avid user of Twitter, returned just a day after a hashtag "Tejashwi bhagoda hai" (Tejashwi is a deserter) went viral on the social media.

"While Bihar was busy battling the pandemic, Tejashwi was enjoying a vacation at an undisclosed place. So many times did our party plead with him to return and join the fight against corona, but he remained true to his reputation of running away whenever a crisis befell the state", Anand said in a statement.

Yadav, who is Lalu Prasads younger son, has been attracting criticism for his frequent and prolonged absences from Bihar during which he, nonetheless, makes it a point to comment on the happenings back home through various social media platforms.

Last seen at the budget session of the state assembly, which was curtailed and ended in mid-March nearly a fortnight ahead of schedule the former Deputy CM had been frequently coming out with messages on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp and had also taken part in a meeting held via video conferencing in which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar interacted with legislators representing all political parties.

Yadavs elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, who lives a few hundred metres from their mothers residence, drove to call on the younger sibling and fumed when asked about the criticism about Tejashwis absence.

"He had gone to Delhi. Nobody, including Tejashwi, had a premonition that there will be such a lockdown. So he got stuck. As I keep saying, the political battle in Bihar is like Mahabharata.

"My brother is going to play the role of Arjuna while I shall be Krishna his charioteer cum advisor. Our opponents are in panic", said the maverick RJD leader, whose effusive displays of affection for the younger brother keep alternating with political tugs of war.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WHO Lawyer Rules Out Inviting Taiwan to World Health Assembly Amid Divide Among Members

Sputnik News

18:09 GMT 11.05.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief has no mandate to invite Taiwan to join this month's key summit, the World Health Assembly, given a divide over the matter among member states, who have the last word on who attends meetings as observers, the agency's principal legal officer said on Monday.

"The director-general, is the secretary of the health assembly, according to the constitution. Member states, and only member states, determine the policies of the organization at those meetings, make the final decision on what they will discuss and they themselves determine who attends as observers. To put it crisply, director-generals only extend invitations when it's clear that member states support doing so," Steven Solomon said.

The current situation is far from that, he noted.

"Instead of clear support, there are divergent views among member states, and no basis, and therefore no mandate for the [director-general] to extend an invitation," the lawyer stated

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to invite Taiwan to the upcoming WHO summit as an observer "as he has the power to do and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions." He also called on all nations, including those in Europe, to back Taiwan's participation as an observer at the assembly and in other UN venues.

Beijing strongly opposes Taiwan's bid for a WHO observer status, seeing it as a violation of the "One China" principle.

A Sputnik

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Trump administration pushing to rip global supply chains from China: officials FILE PHOTO: Containers of Chinese companies China Shipping and COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) are loaded on a container as it is leaving the port in Hamburg

By Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is "turbocharging" an initiative to remove global industrial supply chains from China as it weighs new tariffs to punish Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to officials familiar with U.S. planning.

President Donald Trump, who has stepped up recent attacks on China ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas.

Now, economic destruction and the U.S. coronavirus death toll are driving a government-wide push to move U.S. production and supply chain dependency away from China, even if it goes to other more friendly nations instead, current and former senior U.S. administration officials said.

"Weve been working on (reducing the reliance of our supply chains in China) over the last few years but we are now turbo-charging that initiative," Keith Krach, undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment at the State Department told Reuters.

"I think it is essential to understand where the critical areas are and where critical bottlenecks exist," Krach said, adding that the matter was key to U.S. security and one the government could announce new action on soon.

The U.S. Commerce Department, State and other agencies are looking for ways to push companies to move both sourcing and manufacturing out of China. Tax incentives and potential re-shoring subsidies are among measures being considered to spur changes, the current and former officials told Reuters.

There is a whole of government push on this, said one. Agencies are probing which manufacturing should be deemed "essential" and how to produce these goods outside of China.

Trump's China policy has been defined by behind-the-scenes tussles between pro-trade advisers and China hawks; now the latter say their time has come.

"This moment is a perfect storm; the pandemic has crystallized all the worries that people have had about doing business with China," said another senior U.S. official.

Story continues

"All the money that people think they made by making deals with China before, now theyve been eclipsed many fold by the economic damage" from the coronavirus, the official said.

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY NETWORK

Trump has said repeatedly that he could put new tariffs on top of the up to 25% tax on $370 billion in Chinese goods currently in place.

U.S. companies, which pay the tariffs, are already groaning https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tariffs/trumps-tariffs-add-to-pandemic-induced-turmoil-of-u-s-manufacturers-idUSKBN22C1MY under the existing ones, especially as sales plummet during coronavirus lockdowns.

But that does not mean Trump will balk at new ones, officials say. Other ways to punish China may include sanctions on officials or companies, and closer relations with Taiwan, the self-governing island China considers a province.

Commerce on Monday launched a national security probe that could lead to new U.S. tariffs on imports of key components of power transformers, saying it needed assured domestic access to such goods to be able to respond to power disruptions.

Discussions about moving supply chains are concrete, robust, and, unusually for the Trump administration, multi-lateral.

The United States is pushing to create an alliance of "trusted partners" dubbed the "Economic Prosperity Network," one official said. It would include companies and civil society groups operating under the same set of standards on everything from digital business, energy and infrastructure to research, trade, education and commerce, he said.

The U.S. government is working with Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam to "move the global economy forward," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said April 29.

These discussions include how we restructure ... supply chains to prevent something like this from ever happening again," Pompeo said.

Latin America may play a role, too.

Colombian Ambassador Francisco Santos last month said he was in discussions with the White House, National Security Council, Treasury Department and U.S. Chamber of Commerce about a drive to encourage U.S. companies to move some supply chains out of China and bring them closer to home.

China overtook the United States as the world's top manufacturing country in 2010, and was responsible for 28% of global output in 2018, according to United Nations data.

The pandemic has highlighted China's key role in the supply chain for generic drugs https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pharmaceuticals-ap/chinas-coronavirus-induced-supply-chain-woes-fan-concerns-of-possible-drug-shortages-idUSKBN20Y1C7 that account for the majority of prescriptions in the United States. It has also shown China's dominance in goods like https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-amazon-com-cameras/exclusive-amazon-turns-to-chinese-firm-on-u-s-blacklist-to-meet-thermal-camera-needs-idUSKBN22B1AL the thermal cameras needed to test workers for fevers, and its importance in food supplies.

HARD SELL FOR COMPANIES

Many U.S. companies have invested heavily in Chinese manufacturing and rely on China's 1.4 billion people for a big chunk of their sales.

"Diversification and some redundancy in supply chains will make sense given the level of risk that the pandemic has uncovered," said Doug Barry, spokesman for the U.S.-China Business Council. "But we dont see a wholesale rush for the exits by companies doing business in China."

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said Trump had already signed an order that could allow limits on imports of components for the U.S. power grid from Russia and China, and would soon issue a separate order that would require federal agencies to purchase U.S.-made medical products.

John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy at the Chamber of Commerce, said that U.S. manufacturers already meet 70% of current pharmaceutical demand.

Building new facilities in the United States could take five to eight years, he said. "We're concerned that officials need to get the right fact sets before they start looking at alternatives," Murphy said.

Trump White House pledges to punish China have not always been followed by action.

A move to block global exports of chips to blacklisted Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, for example, favored by hawks in the administration and under consideration since November, has not yet been finalized.

(Additional reporting by Alex Alper, David Lawder, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom; Writing by Heather Timmons; Editing by Tom Brown and Sonya Hepinstall)
Telangana's opposition to an



irrigation project across inter-state Krishna river reportedly proposed by Andhra Pradesh has come as a set back to the bonhomie witnessed between the two since the YSRC came to power in the neighbouring state last year.

Chief Minister of Telganana K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had been having cordial ties and agreed to work together in sharing inter-state river waters for the benefit of farmers in both the states.

While Rao had attended the swearing in ceremony of Jagan in May last year, the latter was present at the inauguration of the mega Kaleeswaram lift irrigation project in Telangana later.

Rao on Monday accused the AP government of "unilaterally deciding" to take up the project which reportedly envisages lifting of Krishna River water from Srisailam project,a joint irrigation scheme of the two neighbours, and said it would affect the interest of his state.

Rao has said the decision violated the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act and asserted his government would initiate a legal battle to stop the project.

The TRS supremo observed that his government had extended a hand of friendship to Andhra Pradesh by taking a stance that river waters should be utilised for the benefit of farmers in both the states, setting aside all the differences of the past.

In spite of this, "it is very painful that the AP government declared a new irrigation scheme without even consulting Telangana," he said.

The Telangana chief minister held a meeting with ministers and officials on the issue late on Monday night where he said if Andhra Pradesh transferred Krishna water, it would lead to problems in availability of drinking and irrigation water for Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts in the state.

According to an official release, Rao said the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act clearly stipulates that any new project either in AP or Telangana requires clearance from the apex committee of the two states.

Hence, the decision to use water from the Srisalam project without consulting Telangana and taking up a fresh project without the approval of apex committee were mistakes made by AP, he maintained and asked the officials to lodge a complaint with the Krishna River Water Management Board.

According to the release, Andhra Pradesh has decided to take up the new project, proposing to lift three TMC water from the Srisailam project and issued a Government Order (GO).

He also instructed the officials to complete forthwith Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation scheme to lift two TMC of water daily, it said.

Opposition Congress attacked the TRS government alleging it has remained a mute spectator though Jagan Mohan Reddy had made an announcement about the project several months ago.

Senior Congress leader M Shashidhar Reddy slammed the TRS government over the issue and said it should take immediate steps for safeguarding the interests of Telangana.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A recent survey by KPMG has shown that 59 percent of both public and private institutions in Ghana have no whistleblowing systems to encourage staff and management members to raise alarm on workplace wrongdoings.

The public sector accounted for 13 percent of the figure.

The survey inquired from respondents whether they had a whistleblowing hotline in their organization and what alternative channels were being used to report unethical practices where the organization had no whistleblowing hotline.

59% of those that completed the survey reported that their organizations had no whistleblowing hotline. This may be because most organisations either do not understand the importance of a whistleblowing hotline, deem establishing and maintaining whistleblowing hotline to be costly, or associate whistleblowing with negative connotations such as victimization, intimidation and the like, the report said.

Breakdown of organizations without whistleblowing hotline

66% of respondents in organizations without a whistleblowing hotline stated that they had witnessed some unethical behaviour.

Out of the above, 37% reported the issue to mainly a manager or a colleague.

But the remaining 63% of employees that did not report unethical behavior could be due to factors such as fear, mistrust, and apathy, coupled with a lack of anonymous or confidential whistleblowing channels.

Further breakdown of the 37% respondents who reported the wrongdoing revealed that 51% reported to a manager while reports made to either a colleague or HR department accounted for 14% each.

Unreported issues

The survey also asked staff members why they opted not to blow the whistle even though they witnessed or were informed of unethical behaviour.

Top issues not being reported are nepotism, favoritism, discrimination, and misappropriation of an asset.

Even though issues like nepotism and discrimination do not necessarily constitute fraud, they can facilitate the same and have an adverse effect on staff morale and a company's reputation, the report noted.

According to the report, it appears employees are not reporting wrongdoing because of the lack of trust in the system and the perception that no action will be taken.

Fear of victimization accounted for 21 percent of this situation.

Reasons why employees do not blow the whistle

Amend Act to support private sector

KPMG in its report urged that the Whistleblower Act should be amended to address financial misconduct and other criminal activities that occur in the private sector.

Additionally, the Act is heavily skewed towards whistleblowing in the public sector and is not very clear in its application to the private sector and non-public interest situations. Specifically, publicly-traded institutions

and others of public interest should be mandated to institutionalize whistleblowing to help secure and engender trust and confidence in stakeholders, KPMG advised.

Ghanas Whistleblower Act (Act 720) was passed in 2006.

It provides legal protection and remedies to all people, employees, and citizens who report crime and misconduct in the public interest.

---citinewsroom
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was admitted to the AIIMS here after suffering a reaction to a new medication, was discharged on Tuesday. The 87-year-old Congress leader was discharged around 12:30 pm, hospital sources said.

New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was admitted to the AIIMS in Delhi after suffering a reaction to a new medication, was discharged on Tuesday. The 87-year-old Congress leader was discharged around 12:30 pm, hospital sources said.

Singh was shifted to a private ward in the Cardio-Neuro tower on Monday night. He was also tested for COVID-19 and his results had come out negative, the sources said.

The Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness.

The sources said that Singh had developed a reaction to a new medication and was admitted to AIIMS for observation and investigation.

Singh is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS.
TSX Symbol: HNL

CALGARY, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Horizon North Logistics Inc. ("Horizon North" or the "Corporation") reported its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

First Quarter Highlights

Horizon North's Board of Directors (the "Board") and management team have been closely following the global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as diminished commodity prices. Horizon North has taken a number of steps to minimize the negative impacts of these events and maintain its liquidity position, which are outlined under "Outlook - The Global Environment" below;





On March 9, 2020 , Horizon North and 10647802 Canada Limited, operating as Dexterra Integrated Facilities Management ("Dexterra", a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ("Fairfax Financial")), announced an agreement (the "Share Purchase Agreement") to combine the two companies (the "Proposed Transaction"). An information circular describing the transaction is available on Horizon North's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Management of the Corporation and Dexterra continue to strongly support the Proposed Transaction. Further information is included in the "Outlook" section below;





, Horizon North and 10647802 Canada Limited, operating as Dexterra Integrated Facilities Management ("Dexterra", a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ("Fairfax Financial")), announced an agreement (the "Share Purchase Agreement") to combine the two companies (the "Proposed Transaction"). An information circular describing the transaction is available on Horizon North's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Management of the Corporation and Dexterra continue to strongly support the Proposed Transaction. Further information is included in the "Outlook" section below; Horizon North had Q1 2020 revenue of $115.0 million and EBITDAS of $8.7 million , a decrease of $13.7 million and $8.7 million , respectively, when compared to Q1 2019. Total loss increased by $26.6 million , to $22.8 million , when compared with the $3.7 million profit in Q1 2019, mainly due to the impairment loss of $21.6 million ;





and EBITDAS of , a decrease of and , respectively, when compared to Q1 2019. Total loss increased by , to , when compared with the profit in Q1 2019, mainly due to the impairment loss of ; The Industrial Services business had Q1 2020 revenue of $83.7 million , an increase of 1% from Q1 2019. EBITDAS for the same period were $16.2 million , a decrease of $0.3 million when compared to Q1 2019;





, an increase of 1% from Q1 2019. EBITDAS for the same period were , a decrease of when compared to Q1 2019; The Modular Solutions business had revenue of $36.3 million for Q1 2020, a 21% decrease from Q1 2019. EBITDAS for the same period were negative $2.8 million , a decrease of $7.2 million from Q1 2019. Backlog exiting the quarter was $75.7 million , compared to $61.7 million at December 31, 2019 . The funnel of high-quality, high probability sales opportunities decreased, exiting the quarter at $246.2 million compared to $298.3 million at December 31, 2019 ;





for Q1 2020, a 21% decrease from Q1 2019. EBITDAS for the same period were negative , a decrease of from Q1 2019. Backlog exiting the quarter was , compared to at . The funnel of high-quality, high probability sales opportunities decreased, exiting the quarter at compared to at ; Subsequent to Q1 2020, Horizon North has signed a non-binding letter of intent with CreateTO to design, deliver and install 110 modular units of permanent supportive housing in the first phase of the City of Toronto's pilot initiative, which upon completion, would see up to 250 modular supportive homes constructed in Toronto . Revenue from the first phase of this project is expected to be between $17.0 million and $20.0 million and is not included in the backlog figures quoted above; and





pilot initiative, which upon completion, would see up to 250 modular supportive homes constructed in . Revenue from the first phase of this project is expected to be between and and is not included in the backlog figures quoted above; and In order to improve financial flexibility and to exercise fiscal prudence in light of increased market uncertainty the Board made the decision to pause the Corporation's dividend as of March 11, 2020 . The Board will reevaluate the Corporation's dividend policy in conjunction with the Proposed Transaction.

First Quarter Financial Summary



Three months ended March 31, (000's except per share amounts) 2020 2019 % change Revenue $ 115,016 $ 128,745 (11) EBITDAS(1) 8,706 17,405 (50) EBITDAS as a % of revenue 8% 14%

Operating income (loss) before impairment (3,668) 6,328 (158) Operating income (loss) (25,218) 6,328 (499) Operating income (loss) as a % of revenue (22%) 5%

Net income (loss) before impairment (4,395) 3,737 (218) Impairment loss(2) (21,550) 

Tax recovery from impairment loss 3,105 

Net income (loss) (22,840) 3,737 (711) Net comprehensive income (loss) (22,839) 3,737 (711) Earnings (loss) per share





Basic $ (0.14) $ 0.02

Diluted $ (0.14) $ 0.02

Total assets $ 476,031 $ 512,820 (7) Total loans and borrowings 134,971 35,081 285 Funds flow 8,292 17,998 (54) Net Capital spending (proceeds) (1,770) 14,769 (112) Dividends declared $  $ 3,285

Dividends declared per share $  $ 0.02



(1) EBITDAS (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share based compensation, impairment and gain/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment) is not a recognized measure under IFRS. Management believes that in addition to total profit and total comprehensive income, EBITDAS is a useful supplemental earnings measure as it provides an indication of the Corporation's operating performance and it is regularly provided to and reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker. Horizon North's method of calculating EBITDAS may differ from other entities and accordingly, EBITDAS may not be comparable to measures used by other entities. (2) Refer to Note 7 of the Q1 2020 Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the impairment loss.

Quarterly Operational Overview

Revenue for Q1 2020 decreased by 11% when compared to Q1 2019, primarily due to decreased throughput in the Modular Solutions segment as well as decreased Rentals & Logistics segment revenues, partially offset by increased camp rental and catering activity in the Camp & Catering segment.

Industrial Services

Revenues from Industrial Services for Q1 2020 increased by 1% compared to Q1 2019 primarily due to increased catering only activity. Catering only activity increased 27% in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019, with revenue per catering only day lower by 3% as a result of different contract mix. Rentals & Logistics revenues decreased by 24% in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019 primarily due to a decrease in mat rental revenue and equipment sales.

Modular Solutions

Modular Solutions revenues for Q1 2020 were 21% lower than Q1 2019 primarily as a result of decreased activity and backlog in Western Canada, partially offset by the addition of Eastern Canada revenues.

Other Financial Measures

Horizon North's Q1 2020 EBITDAS decreased by $8.7 million, or 50%, compared to Q1 2019. As a percentage of revenue, EBITDAS were 8% compared to 14% in Q1 2019. The decrease in EBITDAS compared to Q1 2019 was primarily driven by negative EBITDAS in Modular Solutions due to reduced gross margins in Western Canada on projects, including a negative gross margin due to project and execution challenges on a remote location hotel, as well as plant inefficiencies resulting from lower plant utilization and decreased mat rental and equipment sale revenue for Rentals & Logistics. This was partially offset by stronger results in Camp & Catering.

Total Loans and Borrowings, which excludes the lease liabilities under IFRS 16 - Leases ("IFRS 16"), were $135.0 million at March 31, 2020 compared to $108.1 million at December 31, 2019. As a result of the increased debt and lower EBITDAS, the total debt to EBITDAS ratio was 9.14:1:00 at March 31, 2020 compared to 4.67:1:00 at December 31, 2019.

Outlook

The Global Environment

Like many other businesses, Horizon North is being challenged by the global uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and diminished commodity prices. Horizon North's Board and management team remain focused on keeping the Corporation's employees and customers safe, prioritizing cash flow and responding to customers' needs. In response to the current global environment, Horizon North has taken a number of steps to help mitigate the negative impacts of these events and to maintain its liquidity position through the following:

Reducing 2020 net capital spending by $20.0 million , including a pause in mat manufacturing, for a net capital spend of $7.0 million ;





, including a pause in mat manufacturing, for a net capital spend of ; Deferral of spending on the Fairfield by Marriott hotel in Kitimat, British Columbia until 2021;





by Marriott hotel in until 2021; Two month deferral of remaining construction of the temporary construction modular units and large complexes for a client supporting LNG development;





A continued pause of the Corporation's dividend;





Closely monitoring account receivables and managing working capital;





Salary reductions for the Corporation's executive team, including reducing the salaries of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice Presidents, and Vice Presidents by 25%, 15% and 10%, respectively, and reducing Board of Director compensation by 25%;





Analyzing eligibility for government relief programs related to COVID-19, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, for which the Corporation expects to qualify for in April and May 2020 . The subsidy calculated for the first bi-weekly pay period the Corporation qualified for beginning April 12, 2020 was $1.7 million ;





Emergency Wage Subsidy, for which the Corporation expects to qualify for in April and . The subsidy calculated for the first bi-weekly pay period the Corporation qualified for beginning was ; Organizational headcount has been reduced by approximately 40% since year-end including both seasonal and structural adjustments; and





Selling idle assets which contributed $6.0 million to net capital proceeds in Q1 2020.

As at March 31, 2020, the Corporation had working capital of $59.4 million, the ability to draw an additional $28.6 million on its credit facility and was in full compliance with all covenants.

On March 9, 2020, Horizon North and Dexterra, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial, announced the Proposed Transaction. Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of closing conditions, as more particularly set out in the Share Purchase Agreement that is available on Horizon North's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, Horizon North will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dexterra in exchange for Horizon North issuing such number of common shares of Horizon North ("Horizon North Shares") such that Fairfax Financial will control 49% of Horizon North Shares on a fully-diluted basis after completion of the Proposed Transaction and existing Horizon North shareholders will hold 51% of the combined company.

A special meeting of holders of Horizon North Shares has been called for May 26, 2020 to approve the issuance of the Horizon North Shares in connection with the Proposed Transaction. As of the date hereof, the parties have received all regulatory approvals in relation to the Proposed Transaction, including receipt of a no-action letter in relation to the Proposed Transaction from the Canadian Competition Bureau and conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to shareholder approval and a number of other customary conditions.

Management of the Corporation and Dexterra continue to strongly support the Proposed Transaction. The Proposed Transaction will combine Horizon North's strong western Canadian focused workforce accommodation and national modular solutions businesses with Dexterra's asset light facilities management platform and central Canadian focused workforce accommodations businesses. This highly complementary platform is expected to better serve current and future customers and the new company will be a leader in support services. The combined entity expects significant cross-selling opportunities across its combined platform as well as annual cost synergies of $5.0 million.

As a result of the Proposed Transaction, the Corporation expects its leverage and liquidity position to be significantly improved as Dexterra is expected to have no debt upon close of the Proposed Transaction and had $16.4 million of EBITDAS in 2019. The Corporation has entered into discussions with its lenders with the intent of negotiating a new credit facility for the combined entity with additional financial flexibility and improved terms.

Operations Outlook

In 2020, Horizon North will continue to diversify both its portfolio of offerings and customer base through its two operating divisions: Industrial Services and Modular Solutions.

The Proposed Transaction is expected to create a leading support services company in Canada that will offer a range of services in light asset facilities management, workforce accommodations, industrial services and modular construction solutions to a broader base of combined customers across a more diversified industry and geographic platform throughout Canada.

Industrial Services

Horizon North is a leading provider of turn-key workforce accommodation, hospitality, access and maintenance services with focus on the following four key areas:

West Coast Hydrocarbon Terminals/Liquefied Natural Gas





Horizon North has completed the first phase of development of its 57-acre parcel of land located in Kitimat, British Columbia and the world-class 736-bed Crossroads Lodge was fully operational in Q1 2020 with no further spend required for the remainder of the year.





and the world-class 736-bed Crossroads Lodge was fully operational in Q1 2020 with no further spend required for the remainder of the year.

Activity continues on previously announced contracts to provide equipment, catering, hospitality and operations services for camps in support of construction work on the Coastal GasLink Project in northern British Columbia . Horizon North continues to aggressively pursue opportunities related to additional Western Canadian pipeline infrastructure projects.





. Horizon North continues to aggressively pursue opportunities related to additional Western Canadian pipeline infrastructure projects.

Horizon North continues to focus on capturing additional opportunities relative to announced and potential projects related to hydrocarbon shipping terminals and LNG projects on the west coast.





Montney / Duvernay - Oil and natural gas development and related infrastructure activity in this region was positive in Q1 2020 due to Horizon North's strong market position. However, significant reductions are expected for the remainder of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and diminished commodity prices. Horizon North is the largest provider of contracted and open camp services in this area and will continue to leverage existing assets, strategic locations and key customer relationships to build market share and position for expected future growth and infrastructure projects in the region.





/ - Oil and natural gas development and related infrastructure activity in this region was positive in Q1 2020 due to Horizon North's strong market position. However, significant reductions are expected for the remainder of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and diminished commodity prices. Horizon North is the largest provider of contracted and open camp services in this area and will continue to leverage existing assets, strategic locations and key customer relationships to build market share and position for expected future growth and infrastructure projects in the region. Oil Sands - Horizon North expects to leverage its strong operational footprint and experience to pursue both full turn-key opportunities and long-term catering and hospitality opportunities in existing customer-owned facilities underpinned by prominent relationships with Aboriginal communities north and south of Fort McMurray .





. Northern Canada - Horizon North has a long history and expertise in providing hospitality, management and maintenance services across Canada's northern regions. Early opportunities within the Northwest Ontario mining and power infrastructure sectors have been captured and we continue to pursue expansion opportunities with key clients in terms of their Arctic development plans. Horizon North will continue to focus on developing and expanding its capabilities and footprint across Canada's highly variable and remote northern regions.

For the Rentals & Logistics segment, the transportation business fleet, mechanical shops, and associated staffing has been significantly rationalized by approximately 50%. This includes the pause in mat manufacturing discussed under "The Global Environment" section.

Modular Solutions

The Corporation will continue to focus on government sponsored housing with a compliment of industrial and commercial projects in its Modular Solutions segment in 2020. Results for Q1 2020 included the effects of decreased activity and margins in Western Canada as well as decreased backlog which were only partially offset by the addition of NRB Inc. ("NRB"). Horizon North's focus will remain on growing backlog and on optimizing execution of modular construction projects while developing and expanding its product offerings to serve a variety of customers and end markets. In addition, a portion of manufacturing capacity in 2020 will be utilized for modular units and large complexes associated with the Corporation's contract with a client supporting LNG development in British Columbia. As discussed above, development of the Fairfield by Marriott in Kitimat, British Columbia has been deferred until 2021.

The Modular Solutions division is well positioned to benefit from the increased Federal support for affordable and social housing following the Federal election on October 21, 2019 through the demonstrated success of the affordable and social housing strategy and execution in Western Canada in combination with the addition of southern Ontario manufacturing capacity. Horizon North will continue to explore opportunities across the pan-Canadian geography to grow the affordable and social housing backlog and projects and has recently signed a non-binding letter of intent with CreateTO to design, deliver and install 110 modular units of permanent supportive housing in the first phase of the City of Toronto's pilot initiative. Upon completion, this initiative would see up to 250 modular supportive homes constructed in Toronto and revenue from the first phase of this project is expected to be between $17.0 and $20.0 million.

Our Modular Solutions division has been performing well on affordable and social housing projects, but under performing on hotel projects. Management has taken a number of corrective actions including closure of the Aldergrove facility, temporary shutdown of the Calgary facility and significant reductions in overhead costs. Management expects these changes to improve efficiency and profitability on future hotel projects, and the Modular Solutions division overall.

Additional Information

A copy of the Corporation's condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and related Management's Discussion and Analysis have been filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and www.horizonnorth.ca . Unless otherwise indicated, the condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the reporting currency is in Canadian dollars.

Non-GAAP measures

Certain measures in this press release do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and, therefore, are considered non-GAAP measures. These measures are regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker and provide investors with an alternative method for assessing the Corporation's operating results in a manner that is focused on the performance of the Corporation's ongoing operations and to provide a more consistent basis for comparison between periods. These measures should not be construed as alternatives to total profit and total comprehensive income determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Corporation's performance. The method of calculating these measures may differ from other entities and accordingly, may not be comparable to measures used by other entities. The following non-GAAP measures are used to monitor the Corporation's performance:

EBITDAS: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share based compensation, gain/loss on investments, and gain/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment ("EBITDAS"). Management believes that in addition to total profit (loss) and total comprehensive income (loss), EBITDAS is a useful supplemental earnings measure as it provides an indication of the Corporation's operating performance and it is regularly provided to and reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or future performance of Horizon North. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

In particular, such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to, statements with respect to:

expected contract revenues;

anticipated timing of completion of the Corporation's Fairfield by Marriott hotel, in light of deferred capital spending, and its intention to sell the hotel;

by Marriott hotel, in light of deferred capital spending, and its intention to sell the hotel; Horizon North's plans to continue to diversify its portfolio of offerings and customer base through its two operating divisions;

timing and certainty regarding completion of the Proposed Transaction, including obtaining shareholder approval and fulfilling the conditions precedent to such completion;

the anticipated benefits of the Proposed Transaction;

Horizon North's objectives with respect to dividend payments and financial performance after Closing, subject to, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Horizon North's strategy to pursue opportunities related to additional Western Canadian pipeline infrastructure projects as well as to capture additional opportunities arising from announced and potential projects related to hydrocarbon shipping terminals and LNG projects on the west coast;

the Corporation's anticipated leverage position and that future capital resources will be adequate to execute its future plans;

expectations regarding oil and natural gas markets throughout the remainder of 2020;

expectations regarding Horizon North's opportunities and strategy in the Montney / Duvernay , oil sands and Northern Canadian regions;

/ , oil sands and Northern Canadian regions; the composition of Horizon North's project pipeline throughout 2020 for the Modular Solutions division, its focus on growing backlog and its expected allocation of manufacturing capacity in 2020;

the expected benefits to the Modular Solutions division resulting from increased federal support for affordable and social housing and the ability of Horizon North to continue to explore opportunities across Canada to grow such affordable housing projects;

to grow such affordable housing projects; the Corporation's anticipated elevated leverage position throughout 2020 and that future capital resources will be adequate to execute its future plans;

the Corporation's expected allocation of future net cash flows to appropriately balance its objectives; and

expectations regarding the Corporation's liquidity.

Current conditions, economic and otherwise, render assumptions, although reasonable when made, subject to greater uncertainty. The forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions made by Horizon North which include, but are not limited to, assumptions relating to:

industry activity for oil, natural gas and mineral exploration and development in the western Canadian provinces and northern territories;

the timing and receipt of shareholder approvals with respect to the Proposed Transaction;

commodity prices;

capital investment in the Canadian oil and gas sector;

dividend payments;

anticipated activity levels for 2020;

operational results and capital spending;

anticipated backlog in the Modular Solutions business;

trade and other receivables;

future operating costs and Corporation's access to capital;

the effects of regulation by governmental agencies;

the competitive environment in which the Corporation operates;

the ability of the Corporation to attract and retain personnel;

the development of LNG and commodity transportation infrastructure;

the relationships between the Corporation and its customers

the expectations regarding the impacts, direct and indirect, of COVID-19 on the Corporation's business, customers, business partners, employees, supply chain, other stakeholders and the overall economy; and

general economic and financial conditions.

Although Horizon North believes that the factors and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Horizon North cannot give any assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

the impact of COVID-19

volatility in the price and demand for oil, natural gas and minerals;

that the closing conditions to the Proposed Transaction, including receipt of shareholder approvals, may not be satisfied and the Proposed Transaction may not close;

the ability of the parties to satisfy the conditions to closing of the Proposed Transaction in a timely manner;

failure of the parties to realize the anticipated benefits of the Proposed Transaction;

the ability of Horizon North to integrate Dexterra's business and operations into its own;

fluctuations in the demand for the Corporation's services;

availability of qualified personnel;

changes in regulation by governmental agencies, including environmental regulation; and

other factors listed under "Risks and Uncertainties" in this press release and other risk factors identified in the Corporation's annual information form.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other risk factors that could affect Horizon North's operations and financial results are included in Horizon North's annual information form which may be accessed through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. In addition, the reader is cautioned that historical results are not indicative of future performance. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Horizon North does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Certain information set out herein may be considered "financial outlook" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The purpose of this financial outlook is to provide readers with disclosure regarding Horizon North's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities for the periods indicated. Readers are cautioned that the financial outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes.

About Horizon North

Horizon North is a publicly listed corporation (TSX: HNL.TO) providing a full range of industrial, commercial, and residential products and services under its two operating divisions: Industrial Services and Modular Solutions. The Industrial Services business includes workforce accommodations, camp management services, access solutions, maintenance and utilities. The Modular Solutions business integrates modern design concepts and technology with state of the art, off-site manufacturing processes; producing high quality building solutions for commercial, industrial and residential offerings including offices, hotels, and retail buildings, as well as distinctive single detached dwellings and multi-family residential structures. As a result of our diverse product and service offerings, Horizon North is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of our customers in numerous sectors, anywhere in Canada.

Corporate Information

SOURCE Horizon North Logistics Inc.

Related Links

www.horizonnorth.ca


The Hammond resident hadnt yet received one cent from either state or federal programs until Friday. Not the $420 a week in unemployment benefits from the State of Illinois he was told he qualified for. Not the additional $600 a week the federal government is contributing to unemployment benefits for several months during the pandemic. Not even the $3,900 federal stimulus check he and his wife, Carmen, would get to help them and their three children -- ages 16, 14 and 10 -- get through this rough patch.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - The Yuma Police Department is notifying the community that Diego Gomez, 44 is now residing at 156 N. 5th Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364. He is described as 5 feet, 5 inches, 155 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

On June 26, 2012, Diego Gomez plead guilty to 2 counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor (Attempted).

Diego Gomez is a level 2 sex offender with a medium risk to re-offend.
(Natural News) Despite having the highest coronavirus caseload in the world, many states in America have unveiled plans to open up, as part of President Donald Trumps gamble to get the economy back on track. Official coronavirus reports from the field, however, paint a grim picture  showing that the president may be wildly underestimating the pandemic.

For instance, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts relaxed statewide restrictions on May 4, following the lead of Georgia and Alabama, to restart their economy. The move allowed churches, restaurants and barbershops to reopen across the state; Nebraska Crossing became one of the first malls in North America to reopen its doors in the wake of the pandemic.

The reopenings seem to paint a picture of happy days for Nebraskans, but official statistics tell a different story. Just a week after reopening, Nebraksa recorded a 57 percent increase in the daily number of new cases, bringing the states total caseload to 7,190.

When measured in the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, Nebraska is facing the worst outbreak of the disease outside of early hotspots like New York, Louisiana and Illinois  all of which are now seeing a decline in new cases.

Trump is taking a gamble

Its worth noting that Nebraska is just one of at least 42 states that have begun easing coronavirus restrictions. Like Nebraska, many of those states are far from having the disease under control and are unprepared to meet the challenges ahead.

In addition, Nebraskas  as well as the other states  decision to open was directly influenced by White House rhetoric, which augurs that the virus is mostly under control after weeks of restrictions and that these states wont face an even deeper public health crisis. Just a day after Gov. Ricketts heralded Nebraskas opening, Trump praised the state and others like it that moved quickly to get the economy back up.

We have to get our country open, we cant keep our country closed, he said during a tour of a Honeywell mask factory in Arizona.

According to Brad Coker, managing director of Florida-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Trumps gamble could backfire if the outbreak resurges. If they start to do this and it comes back strong  in a way that everybody really sees it as coming back strong  in states like Florida, its much worse than it is right now, yeah, thats going to be a big price to pay.

Others see it as tantamount to surrendering to an enemy just because the economic burden is too much.

You dont stop fighting a war in the middle, just because its gotten expensive or burdensome. And you cant ask a virus for a truce, stated Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and a key player in the U.S.s response to Ebola in 2014.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert whos been central to the federal response to the pandemic, also addressed the subject, asking states how many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept.

As of press time, America now has more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases and 80,000 deaths based on data from Johns Hopkins University.

More worrying for the states now lifting restrictions, new analysis has shown that, when data from New York  where cases are now on the decline  is excluded, the pandemic is still on an upward curve in the rest of America.

The second wave will take time to build

Public health experts also expressed concern at the current gamble of the White House, saying that the negative effects of reopening may not be visible immediately.

It takes a while for a wave to build, said Howard Forman, professor of public health at Yale University. My guess is that where states reopen we are going to see the build of a wave sometime late in the summer that will start to be more and more scary.

Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, agrees. In the early days of reopening everybody is feeling great. The weather is perfect, people are congregating. Check back in a month and see how its going.

However, with states like Nebraska reporting upswings in cases, the second wave may end up coming sooner then these states think.

Sources include:

TheGuardian.com

Axios.com

Bloomberg.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu
As the Indian Railways resumed its passenger services on Tuesday, the first train chugging out of New Delhi at 4 pm for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh will have 1,177 passengers on board.

The New Delhi railway station, in the heart of the city, will see the departure of three special trains for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur on Tuesday, around 50 days after the nationwide lockdown caused suspension of all passenger train services.

A total of 1,177 passengers are booked on the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train, which will depart at 4 pm, while 1,122 passengers are booked on the New Delhi Dibrugarh special train that will depart at 4:45 pm.

A total of 1,162 passengers are booked on the New Delhi-Bengaluru special train, which will leave at 9:15 pm.

"Total 3,461 passengers to leave New Delhi today," the railways said.

A total of 741 PNRs were generated for the 1,177 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train, while a total 442 PNRs were generated for 1,122 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train.

A total of 804 PNRs were generated for the 1,162 passengers travelling on the New Delhi-Bengaluru special train.

On Tuesday, five other trains bound for Delhi will leave from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the railways said.

The Northern Railways said in a statement that entry to the New Delhi railway station will be allowed only from the Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders and no entry for passengers will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side.

For now, the railways has issued a timetable for trains to be run between May 12 and May 20. These trains will have only AC classes i.e. first, second and third AC.

The fare structure will be as applicable for the Rajdhani trains (excluding catering charges).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A doctor stands by an old ventilator during the installation of new ventilators,at the intensive care ward of a hospital allocated for coronavirus patients in preparation for any possible spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa

By Mohammed Ghobari and Aziz El Yaakoubi

ADEN/DUBAI (Reuters) - When doctors first confirmed Yemeni port official Saleh had contracted COVID-19, authorities raced to trace his movements to try and protect one of the world's most vulnerable countries.

But almost three weeks on, they still do not know whether Yemen's first laboratory-confirmed case is really the individual at the root of what could be an unusually devastating outbreak.

The information gap reflects Yemen's inability to detect, let alone repel, an infection humbling far wealthier nations.

Split into rival power centres, its medical infrastructure shattered by war and seen by the United Nations as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, Yemen is handicapped by its own destitution in its fight against the new coronavirus.

Altaf Musani, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Yemen mission, said transmission of the disease in Yemen could be in what he called a phase of "individual cases", a possible prelude to clusters of infection.

But it is proving impossible to identify so-called "patient zero", an important step in tracking and tracing all those potentially exposed to infection and containing an outbreak.

Saleh, a heavy smoker with heart problems whose condition has been described as stable, was tested on April 7 at a medical facility in the southern Ash Shihr port after showing symptoms. On April 10 he was tested again: Positive on both occasions.

Health officials then scrambled to identify more than 150 people in the southern Hadhramout region who had met and dealt with the 60-year-old in the two weeks before he was diagnosed, the head of the national coronavirus committee said.

"All the close contacts were monitored and some showed some symptoms but were negative when they were tested," Ali al-Walidi told Reuters. Instead, their coughs and fever were normal flu.

Some 20 people including Saleh's family who were in close contact with him were ordered to self-isolate for two weeks.

Story continues

Authorities concluded they could not say if Saleh, whose full name is withheld due to privacy reasons, was Yemen's first spreader of the infection due to inadequate testing capacity.

"We spent an hour-and-a-half with him in the ambulance to transfer him to an isolation room in another hospital, it felt like a year-and-a half," said nurse Majdi Baqhoum, worried to be dealing with a COVID-19 patient for the first time.

Ash Shihr port was shut for deep cleaning for a week and Hadhramout, Yemen's largest province, imposed a partial curfew and all its workers were ordered to self-isolate for two weeks. Neighbouring provinces sealed their borders.

"WE WILL KEEP INVESTIGATING"

Aid groups say they fear a catastrophic outbreak should the virus spread among the malnourished population, where diseases such as cholera are rife. Around 80% of the population, or 24 million people, rely on humanitarian assistance.

Based on models by Britain's Imperial College, the World Health Organisation said a likely outbreak scenario with containment steps could see more than 55% of the population infected, with over 42,000 dying from the disease.

WHO's Musani said Yemen has 570 intensive care units and 17,000 beds nationwide, half of them already occupied.

"At the height of coronavirus infections in Yemen, the country could need 18,000 beds and 2,500 ICU units for COVID-19 only, so you can imagine the gap," he said.

Clues to how Saleh became infected exist.

As part of his job at Ash Shihr, Saleh had met and dealt with government and military officials and traders on dozens of the wooden dhows that dock each day with commercial goods, mostly from Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Hadhramout Governor Faraj al-Bahsseni told local media, there was a high probability he contracted the virus from sailors who visited the port.

But authorities also note Saleh also visited three different districts inland in Hadhramout during the two weeks that preceded his persistent coughing fits, officials said.

"It is still a mystery to us how he contracted the virus. We will keep investigating, but we may never know," Bahsseni told local media.

Yemen has been mired in war and more than 100,000 people have been killed since the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene.

The coalition announced a unilateral nationwide truce over the pandemic but the Houthis, who control most big urban centres, have not accepted it and violence has continued.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters there has been at least one confirmed case in the capital Sanaa. But the Houthi-controlled health ministry denied it and said all suspected cases had tested negative for COVID-19.

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous, William Maclean)
Washington, May 12 : The US state of Louisiana will start to reopen from Friday onwards, Governor John Bel Edwards announced.

During a press briefing on Monday, Edwards said the state will move to Phase One of reopening on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Phase One is expected to last 21 days until June 5, when the state might be allowed to move into Phase Two.

During Phase One, all non-essential businesses will be allowed to open to the public at 25 pe rcent of capacity, same as restaurants, barber shops, gyms and cinemas.

Children's museums will remain closed, said the Governor.

Edwards encouraged vulnerable individuals to stay home as much as possible and required all employees working with the public to wear masks.

Louisiana has been hit hard by COVID-19.

As of Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 31,815 positive cases across the state, of which 1,310 patients were currently being treated.

So far 2,242 people have died of the disease.
Twitter employees dont ever have to enter the companys offices again.

CEO Jack Dorsey sent an email on Tuesday announcing that Twitter employees may work from home permanently, even once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

If employees want to come back to the office once it's open, it will be their individual decision. Jobs that require a physical presence, like performing server maintenance, will still host in-office employees.

We were uniquely positioned to respond quickly and allow folks to work from home given our emphasis on decentralization and supporting a distributed workforce capable of working from anywhere. The past few months have proven we can make that work. So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen. If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel its safe to return, a Twitter spokesperson told SFGATE in a statement.

This pivot comes a year after the tax breaks the company received to set up its offices in Mid-Market expired, which gave a 1.5% payroll tax holiday to companies that operated in the area. While designed to inject billions of dollars of investment into the neighborhood, it didnt bring a reduction in homelessness, crime and empty storefronts that have plagued the area.

The company also said the offices wont open before September and once they do it will be a gradual reopening. There will also be no in-person company events for the rest of 2020.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa.
ALBANY, New York, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global adaptogens market is expected to reap in formidable revenues from the medical research industry. Analysts have observed a steep rise in the demand for traditional treatments that involve the use herbs, plant materials, and other non-chemical substances. Countries in Europe have gone an extra mile in adopting herbal treatments. Several people and medical professionals in these countries have undertaken medical tourism to explore the potential of herbal treatments popular across South Asia. Furthermore, the Tibetan region has emerged as a strong promoter of traditional medical practices that involve the use of adaptogens. In light of these factors, it is safe to expect that the revenues index of the global adaptogens market would improve over the course of the next decade.

Download PDF Brochure - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=62163

Approvals from Medical-Health Organizations to Shape Market Growth

The medical industry has become more liberal in analysing and accepting new treatment lines. Some of the common trends that have shaped the growth of this market are:

The use of adaptogens in non-organized medical sector has become a prominent market trend.

The willingness of healthcare professionals (HCP) to refer patients to experts of herbal treatments could be a gamechanger for the vendors.

Over the course of the past decade, the medical benefits of consuming adaptogens have been extensively promoted across online and offline channels.

It has become crucial for the vendors to define the composition and source of manufacturing for their products.

Gather insightful information on the growth of the Global Adaptogens Market- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2020  2030 at:https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/adaptogens-market.html

Global Adaptogens Market: Growth Drivers

The development of a distinct industry to study medical treatment lines has created fresh avenues for growth across the global market. The following factors have driven sales across the global adaptogens market:

Several regions in South Asia still exhibit primary reliance on herbal and traditional treatments for managing common infections and diseases. These regions are usually in the remote pockets of South Asian countries.

still exhibit primary reliance on herbal and traditional treatments for managing common infections and diseases. These regions are usually in the remote pockets of South Asian countries. The cosmetics industry has lately become a prominent consumer of adaptogens. Cosmetic manufacturers and researchers are looking into the viability of using adaptogens in organic products.

Clinical research to support existing evidence to the medical benefits of adaptogens is underway. The European Medical Agency could play a defining role in this regard.

The historic significance of using adaptogens in medical treatments has also influenced the growth dynamics of the market.

View Detailed Table of Contents at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/62163

Methodological Flaws in Research to Hamper Market Growth

The study of adaptogens has gained momentum in recent times, but the road to market maturity is plush with obstacles. Research related to adaptogens can be dated back to the 1980s when these studies were rejected across China and Soviet Union, Korea on the grounds of research inconsistencies. Research dismissals still restrain the growth of the global adaptogens market. The European Union bars the use of adaptogens in physiological, pharmacological, or mainstream clinical research. Besides, the Food and Drug Administration has also been strict on false health claims related to the use of adaptogens. Owing to the factors mentioned above, it is legit to state that the vendors in the global adaptogens market will have to look for alternate routes to penetrate mainstream medical research.

Analyze Adaptogens Market growth in 30+ countries including US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Benelux, Nordic, China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Request a sample of the study.

Global Adaptogens Market: Key Players

Xian Yuensun Biological Technology Co. Ltd

PLT Health Solutions, Inc.

MB-Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Xi'an Greena Biotech Co. Ltd.

Global Adaptogens Market: Segmentation

Adaptogens Market by Nature

Natural/Organic

Synthetic

Adaptogens Market by Source

Ashwagandha

Ginseng

Astragalus

Cordyceps

Turmeric

Holy Basil

Others

Adaptogens Market by End Use

Food & Beverages

Pharmaceuticals

Nutraceuticals

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Animal Feed

Adaptogens Market by Sales Channel

Direct/B2B

Hypermarkets/Supermarkets

Convenience Stores

Specialty Stores

Health & Wellness Stores

Other Retailing Format

Online Retailing

Adaptogens Market by Region

North America

U.S.



Canada

Latin America

Brazil



Mexico



Argentina



Rest of Latin America

Europe

EU-4



U.K.



BENLUX



Nordic



Eastern Europe



Rest of Europe

Middle East & Africa

& GCC Countries



South Africa



Rest of MEA

Asia Pacific Excl. Japan

India



China



ASEAN Countries



Australia



Rest of APEJ

Japan

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Food and Beverages Industry,

Allulose Market - The global allulose market value is estimated to reach ~US$ 210 Mn by the end of 2020, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a recent study. According to the report, the allulose market is anticipated to reach ~US$ 450 Mn by 2030, at a CAGR of ~8%.

Cupuacu Butter Market - Evolving consumer preferences, surge in demand for natural food ingredients, rise in vegan population, and high awareness pertaining to the herbal benefits of cupuacu butter are some of the leading factors that are anticipated to propel the demand for cupuacu butter during the forecast period.

Protein Ingredients Market - The protein ingredients market is favorable for growth in high demand regions such as North America and Europe. Innovations such as membrane separation technology are important milestones in dairy protein.

Potato Flakes Market - The growing trend of ready-to-eat food is one of the key drivers for the exponential growth of the potato flakes market. Consumers are exploring ingenious ways to use instant potato flakes to make crispy meat cuisines, and provide the added texture and consistency in meals.

Nutrition Bars Market - The nutrition bars market players' focus remains directed toward the younger consumer base including the millennials and baby boomers. Moving forward with an extensive consumer-centric approach, nutrition bars market players are introducing products that are designed in cognition to these consumer bases and aligned with the evolutionary industry trends.

Gain access to Market Ngage, an AI-powered, real-time business intelligence that goes beyond the archaic research solutions to solve the complex strategy challenges that organizations face today. With over 15,000+ global and country-wise reports across 50,000+ application areas, Market Ngage is your tool for research on-the-go. From tracking new investment avenues to keeping a track of your competitor's moves, Market Ngage provides you with all the essential information to up your strategic game. Power your business with Market Ngage's actionable insights and remove the guesswork in making colossal decisions.

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 17:30 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd78ac09 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,President-Jokowi,Joko-Widodo,PSBB,social-restriction,mudik-ban,relaxation,virus-korona-indonesia Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has called for vigilance and caution amid plans to ease large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in several regions after the central government began to relax the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) ban.

Easing of the PSBB measures should be done carefully and unhurriedly. Everything should be based on data and implementation in the field, so the decision is really a correct decision, Jokowi said at the introduction of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Citing economic considerations, the Transportation Ministry last week allowed public transportation to resume operations by opening all air, land and sea transportation services, a move that drew strong criticism from experts.

Although the new policy applies to certain individuals like state officials and medical workers and carries certain requirements, it has compounded the nationwide ban on all domestic travel to and from the so-called COVID-19 red zones.

Read also: Easing restrictions? Not so fast, experts say

Experts have expressed concern about the governments decision, saying the policy could result in a spike in COVID-19 cases, despite the government's claim that Indonesia has flattened the curve.

The President acknowledged that the implementation of PSBB measures had delivered varied results with different levels of effectiveness, with some regions seeing a consistent decrease in cases and other having not.

We want [to see] a detailed evaluation of the provinces and regencies or cities, both those implementing PSBB measures and those not, regarding data on the trend of new positive cases in the regions, Jokowi added.

He also acknowledged the success of regions that had not imposed the PSBB measures but had implemented physical distancing policies and applied strict health protocols, and considered it necessary to have a cross-examination.

Therefore, there should be a comparison of PSBB and non-PSBB regions as there are indeed innovations in the field by applying a policy model of limiting community activities adjusted with the context of each region, he said.

Read also: PSBB flattens COVID-19 curve in West Java: Ridwan Kamil

Of the top 10 provinces with the most positive cases, only three have imposed PSBB measures, namely Jakarta, West Java and West Sumatra, Jokowi said. So far, four provinces and 72 regencies and cities have imposed PSBB measures.

Jokowi said that data from the COVID-19 task force showed that 70 percent of positive cases and 82 percent of deaths had occurred in Java, where he wanted stronger supervision.

I have requested the task force to ensure effective control in the five provinces of Java, especially in the next two weeks [...] before Idul Fitri, he said.
(Newser)  Police in Australia have made an arrest in a high-profile cold case that has strong ties to the US. In 1988, a young American mathematician named Scott Johnson died after a plunge from a cliff in Sydney. Now, police in New South Wales have arrested a 49-year-old man in Johnson's death, which is believed to be a gay hate crime, reports the BBC. Coverage:

The victim: Johnson, 27, was found at the base of a cliff 32 years ago, and police initially brushed it off as a suicide. A second inquest in 2012 raised doubts about that, and another inquest in 2017 concluded that Johnson was killed as the result of a homophobic attack, reports the AP and the Washington Post. Johnson, who studied at the California Institute of Technology and Britain's University of Cambridge, was close to completing his PhD when he was killed.

story continues below

Brother's perseverance: Johnson's case may have been forgotten if not for his brother in Boston, Steve Johnson, a former AOL executive. He has hounded police over the years and paid for his own independent investigation. In March, Johnson matched the Australian reward of $1 million (about $650,000 American) for information about his brother's death. Business Insider recently had an in-depth look at Steve Johnson's role, as well as the killing itself.

Johnson's case may have been forgotten if not for his brother in Boston, Steve Johnson, a former AOL executive. He has hounded police over the years and paid for his own independent investigation. In March, Johnson matched the Australian reward of $1 million (about $650,000 American) for information about his brother's death. Business Insider recently had an in-depth look at Steve Johnson's role, as well as the killing itself. Big call: New South Wales police chief Mick Fuller called Steve Johnson to let him know about the arrest Tuesday. "Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight," he said. "Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honor [to] be part of his fight for justice." Johnson, for his part, said in a statement: "It's emotional for me, emotional for my family, my two sisters and brother who loved Scott dearly, my wife and three kids who never got to know their uncle."

New South Wales police chief Mick Fuller called Steve Johnson to let him know about the arrest Tuesday. "Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight," he said. "Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honor [to] be part of his fight for justice." Johnson, for his part, said in a statement: "It's emotional for me, emotional for my family, my two sisters and brother who loved Scott dearly, my wife and three kids who never got to know their uncle." Suspect: Scott Phillip White, 49, is charged with murder and is being held without bail, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Though police downplayed the notion of homophobic attacks when the 1988 slaying took place, subsequent investigations revealed that anti-gay gangs roamed the area looking for victims. A 2018 police review of 88 deaths from 1976 to 2000 concluded that 27 men were likely murdered because they were gay. Most of the killings took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Scott Phillip White, 49, is charged with murder and is being held without bail, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Though police downplayed the notion of homophobic attacks when the 1988 slaying took place, subsequent investigations revealed that anti-gay gangs roamed the area looking for victims. A 2018 police review of 88 deaths from 1976 to 2000 concluded that 27 men were likely murdered because they were gay. Most of the killings took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Bad days: "It was pretty horrendous at that time," Nicolas Parkhill, chief executive of a gay advocacy group in Australia, tells the Post. "You had the HIV epidemic and certain politicians were calling for gay men to be quarantined. Australian culture was still very homophobic."

(Read more cold cases stories.)
As part of its America Strong campaign to thank medical professionals, emergency responders and essential workers, the Blue Angels will do a flyover of Chicago on Tuesday, according to the flight demonstration squad. The approximately 15-minute flyover will be conducted in the Chicago area starting about 11:45 a.m., ending along the lakefront around noon.
He is expected to have his first conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 12

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal claims that Ukraine is not in danger of bankruptcy amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He made this statement in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt on the eve of his online talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"In particular, Shmygal noted that he sees no reason for Ukraine's insolvency because his country is going to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a total amount of five billion dollars," the newspaper said.

Due to the coronavirus crisis, Shmygal's visit had to be turned into a video conference between the heads of the two governments.

"Currently, the situation is not critical. Our current account deficit in March was 389 million dollars against 526 million dollars a year earlier. And with foreign exchange reserves of 25,7 billion dollars, we are in a better position. We also have about 2,3 billion dollars in treasury accounts. Thus, we are entering the crisis more stably than on the past events," Shmygal claimed.

As we reported earlier, in March 2020, the consumer inflation in Ukraine made 2.3 percent, thus somewhat slowing down in comparison with 2.4 percent in February.
Thala Ajith's Valimai is undoubtedly one of the much-anticipated movies of the year. The film has been the talk of the town since its inception and now as the lockdown is likely to end soon, the makers have decided to postpone the release to summer 2021. Well, an official confirmation about the same has not been made by the makers yet.

Many other films have also been postponed to a new date. Vijay's Master will apparently release on Diwali, whereas Rajinikanth-starrer Annaatthe and Telugu epic flick RRR, helmed by SS Rajamouli will have a Pongal 2021 release.

Coming back to Valimai, the shooting of the film has been suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Earlier, the makers had decided to release the movie in January 2021 but later, they had to change the date due to the ongoing pandemic. The Spain and Morocco schedules of Valimai, which were cancelled due to the outbreak, will now be shot in India.

As per reports, Ajith will appear in the role of a police officer, which will be the major highlight of the movie. Bollywood divas Yami Gautham and Huma Qureshi will appear as the female leads opposite Thala. Ileana D'Cruz will also have a special appearance in Valimai. Bankrolled by Boney Kapoor, the popular Bollywood producer, and husband of the late actress Sridevi, the movie will have music and bgm composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Valimai will mark the second collaboration of director H Vinoth with Ajith after the 2019 film Nerkonda Parvai, which is the Tamil remake of Bollywood film Pink. Ajith had reprised the role of Amitabh Bachchan in the court-room drama. Interestingly, the movie was also produced by Boney Kapoor.

Ajith's Birthday: Thala Fans To Begin The Celebrations In Advance!

Thala Ajith's Valimai: Here's An Exciting Update On The Music Album!

Valimai: First Look Poster Of Ajith's Film To Be Unveiled On This Special Occasion?
Teraco recently announced it was building a second data centre facility in Cape Town, called Teraco Cape Town 2 (CT2).

The new 30MW facility follows the companys recent announcement of a 60MW expansion of its Johannesburg data centre campus in Isando.

Teraco CEO Jan Hnizdo said the investment in the facility is driven by the growth of cloud in the region  resulting in increased demand from cloud providers, enterprises, and sub-sea cable operators.

To find out more about Teracos expansion plans for South Africa, MyBroadband spoke to Hnizdo.

Which specific factors encouraged Teraco to open a new data centre facility in Cape Town?

It was a combination of factors. Teracos first Data Centre facility (CT1) was established in Cape Town some 11 years ago in Great Westerford.

We have had multiple expansions over the last 11 years. Our most recent expansion is in the process of being completed, but once filled, we wont have the ability to further expand as we have maximised the power available to us in the building.

Our new facility is being built with longer-term planning in mind to provide sufficient capacity for the more medium to longer term. These facilities take close on two years to develop, so this is being built with 2022 and beyond in mind.

We see increased demand from enterprises who have existing data centre or computer room infrastructure. Many of these facilities are end of life and need to be expanded, upgraded, or made more resilient.

For many CIOs it does not make sense to further invest in non-core data centres, especially when more and more key work streams are being moved into the cloud.

We see many financial services and other enterprises moving into the hybrid deployment world where some of their processing is moved into a public cloud environment and the rest of the processing moved into a private cloud environment.

One where the private cloud deployment is being moved into a facility like Teracos which enables lower-cost access to and ease of connecting to global cloud providers, managed service providers, content providers, and telcos.

We have a deep and rich ecosystem that makes Teraco very attractive from a deployment perspective. We also see demand increasing from key content providers, be it social media, search, or streaming, where quality of service is key and they wish to move their key content nodes closer to the end-user to allow for more efficient distribution and better overall user experience.

Going forward, can we expect to see more data centres built in South Africa to not only serve the local market but the rest of Africa?

Yes. We are also busy at present expanding the campus with Phase 2, additionally, I have no doubt that we will see more data centres being built in more African countries.

There are new developments being built in Nigeria and Kenya, and many more regular announcements over the last year from other African countries. We see data centres expanding on the continent over time.

How has NAPAfrica handled the large increase in traffic over the past two months?

We have seen a huge capacity spike driven by work from home and increased content streaming.

We have been working together with a number of the large key global Internet exchanges and global content providers to ensure that capacity constraints are mitigated on NAPAfrica.

To this extent, we had heavily invested in the exchange a few weeks prior to lockdown by upgrading our core and backbone infrastructure to deal with spikes in traffic.

What impact are the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown having on South Africas data centres, in terms of dealing with expansion/maintenance plans which need to be carried out?

COVID-19 is presenting challenges, even from a day-to-day operating perspective. We have introduced various health and safety and operating protocols to ensure we are able to continue to provide services in an uninterrupted way.

To this extent, we have split our operating teams into Lions and Leopards, have increased cleaning protocols, sanitizers throughout, but most importantly we are enforcing screening on entry.

We have deployed screening stations at all our facilities to enable health-related screening and temperature checks.

These protocols are extended to our expansion areas.

With the nationwide lockdown causing large increases in broadband usage and remote working being punted as a long-term play for companies, what role will data centres play in ensuring South Africa stays online and adapts to more a more digital way of working and living?

Data centres play a massive role since they are at the core of the meeting of content, cloud, and connectivity. Working from home is only one component of that.

Prior to COVID-19, there was already a massive drive towards digital transformation, be it through cloud, hybrid deployments, remote working, and content streaming.

All these trends are likely to accelerate as enterprises start to accelerate their digital migrations paths that they were already on.

Data centre REITs have seen strong growth in the US, and are a popular investment choice. Do you think more data-centre focused investment vehicles will become available in the future, particularly for South Africans?

The market is fairly niche and the US data centre REITs are all global players.

The South African market would not be big enough for focused investment vehicles  investing in overseas REITs would be the better alternative from an investment perspective.

Now read: Big fibre growth for Vodacom
John Li has been deliberating over the future of his neighbourhood for almost four years.

The Richmond Hill resident, who has a PhD in engineering, has spent hours studying reports, analyzing development plans, attending meetings and offering feedback to the city on how to best develop the suburban area of Yonge Street and Bernard Avenue, after the city determined years ago that it was ripe for redevelopment.

After all that, Li cannot fathom why the city is suddenly moving ahead with a controversial version of the plan  in the middle of a pandemic  that could bring in condos with heights of 40 storeys and make this area with just one bus stop as dense as Yonge-Eglinton.

Li and fellow members of the Yonge-Bernard Residents Association are furious that after so much time and more than a million dollars spent in community consultations, the council is trying to pass the most contentious version of the plan to date at a council meeting on Wednesday, during a time when most residents are pre-occupied with COVID-19.

Most residents dont know the latest developments  right now the priority is the pandemic, said Li. For most people this is not a matter that has to be dealt with during a state of emergency.

But councillors say the urgency to discuss this issue now is to give direction to staff ahead of the upcoming hearing of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), the independent provincial body that adjudicates contentious municipal planning issues. The hearing was set for the end of June, but its uncertain if it will happen then.

In mid-March, local governments took their meetings online after a state of emergency shut down in-person council meetings across the country. In the past few weeks, some councils have allowed for public participation through letters, and more recently, deputations through Skype or Zoom.

But residents in Richmond Hill and Vaughan  also facing the prospect of public hearings this month on controversial development applications  say that public participation in virtual council meetings is not truly democratic.

Meaningful citizen engagement in municipal council is a bigger hurdle than just moving council meetings online, said Joseph Lyons, assistant professor and director of the Local Government Program at UWO. Unequal access to technology, and ineffectiveness of traditional means of building community support, are some of those hurdles.

Residents say online meetings should not be a replacement for in-person participation, especially in cases of controversial development decisions. Instead, they believe cities should defer contentious matters until things go back to normal. Bill 189 gives municipalities the option to defer development applications without penalty or legal consequences.

When I read this bill, I thought we would have the power and jurisdiction to be able to delay things like this development, said Ward 4 Coun. David West. Its a choice that councils have to make.

Planning for the Bernard-Yonge Key Development Area (KDA) has been a rollercoaster ride for local residents, who accept the inevitability of development in their community. After months of consultation, the city and the public agreed on a plan in 2017 that included smart development  given the limited transit in the area  and had limits on density and condo heights up to 15 storeys.

But the developers balked, and took the city to the LPAT.

In April 2019, Ward 2 Coun. Tom Muench suddenly brought forward a motion to increase the maximum height of the condominiums in the KDA from 15 to 37 storeys.

The original plan was an indefensible plan at LPAT, said Muench. I put forward a plan that was a more realisitic plan. I asked for the highest and densest right next to a transportation hub.

Last weekend, Muench handed out flyers to residents on his position in which he says condos should reduce parking spots, which will force people to be less car dependent and make the area more walkable.

If we want to give people the opportunity to have housing affordability, embrace transit, have intensification in a key development area on Yonge Street, where the Region and province have spent millions of dollars on bus rapid transit, is that a reasonable discussion to have?

However, the latest plan has outright shocked residents, said Li

According to a draft plan released in April, the city will support a plan with no limit on condo heights, 11,000 new residents and a gross density of 510 residents and jobs per hectare. For comparison, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, which has a subway and access to highways, has a planned density of 200 residents and jobs per hectare.

Of the nine applications already submitted for the KDA, a number have towers over 30 storeys.

How can they double the density within two years? said Li. The roads, the transit, the residents  nothing has changed.

At an April 22 council meeting, West, who says he supports the 2017 version of the plan, tried to move a motion requesting the LPAT postpone the hearing to the fall to give time for public participation.

Residents who logged into the council meeting were shocked when Wests motion was moved in camera for legal reasons  and not even an outcome of the motion was released.

In an email exchange between regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli and Li, the councillor said residents have had ample time to provide their feedback on the plan.

The truth is that this KDA process was started long before the current Pandemic Crisis; in fact almost all of it has been completed well before the circumstances necessitated a shift to online meetings, Perrelli wrote. Since then, this council, the province and most of the world has made many thousands of important decisions using this format.

Perrellis email continues: To say that everyone who has wanted to be fully involved in every aspect of this process and, most especially yourself, has not been afforded every opportunity to do so, is factually incorrect.

West says he feels for the residents: At a time when public engagement is at an all-time low, these residents did everything we asked them to do, he said.

Li says seeing all of his effort come to this makes him sad.

I came from China  and I came to Canada, a democratic country but have had to experience this completely frustrating process, says Li. To see how these people are planning the future of our city  it doesnt make me angry, honestly, I just feel really sad.

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @njaved

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Malvern, Pennsylvania (USA), May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rajant Corporation, the provider of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, and Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia are improving operational safety and productivity through the use of autonomous haulage systems in an Australian coal mine. Hitachi selected Rajant Kinetic Mesh because it is the only industrial wireless network enabling vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, which allows autonomous vehicles to talk directly to each other, providing enhanced coverage and reliability.

Rajant is a Hitachi central wireless network partner for the mining industry when it comes to automation, according to Hitachis Greg Smith: General Manager AHS Business Unit, Australia. Deployed in 200 of the largest mines globally, Rajant has the network Hitachi relies on for our autonomous haulage systems, significantly reducing human exposure to safety hazards in minings hostile environments.

We have more than a dozen autonomous vehicle partners today, and that list is growing continuously, shares Robert Schena, CEO of Rajant. In our Australian coal mine deployment with Hitachi, there are currently six autonomous haul trucks in production, scaling to over 45 during 2020/21, with Rajant. The mines existing Rajant wireless network deployed across a vast number of mobile and fixed infrastructure easily met the requirements to support and enable Hitachis Autonomous operations. Additionally, Hitachi systems can be retrofitted onto existing vehicles expanding their scope and market significantly.

Distinct to Rajant Kinetic Mesh is the proprietary InstaMesh networking software protocol, which dynamically optimizes Kinetic Mesh performance as network characteristics change, without the need for a controller node or human intervention. Mobile nodes can communicate directly with each other to enable V2V communications between both manned and unmanned vehicles.

In closing, Greg Smith adds, Hitachi has experienced and witnessed that Rajant networks dynamically adapt to evolving conditions and make multiple connections over multiple frequencies per node for continuous, mobile connectivity. This level of mission-critical reliability is a mandate for V2V and particularly for autonomy.

####

About Hitachi Construction Machinery

Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCA) have been providing mining, construction, and quarry clients in Australia with quality machinery and after-sales support solutions for decades. The brand supplies an extensive range of Hitachi and Bell products, associated parts and services through our 23 company-owned branches, which are nationally accessible 24/7 via 1300 HITACHI (1300 448 224) or by email 1300hitachi@hcma.com.au. In-house finance options are also available through Marubeni Equipment Finance who provide both competitive and customisable solutions. Above all, the health and safety of employees and customers takes priority at HCA.

About Rajant Corporation

Rajant Corporation is the exclusive provider of private wireless networks powered by the patented Kinetic Mesh network, BreadCrumb wireless nodes, and InstaMesh networking software. With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand, mission-critical business intelligence. A low-latency, high-throughput and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications, Rajants Kinetic Mesh networks provide industrial customers with full mobility, allowing them to take their private network applications and data anywhere. With successful deployments in more than 55 countries for customers in military, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, and agriculture. Rajant is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania with additional facilities and offices in Arizona, Kentucky, and Alabama. For more information, visit Rajant.com or follow Rajant on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Farmers are wary of raising pigs since the price of piglets have risen to record levels and supply is scarce. - Photo vinanet.vn

Tran Thi Hoa, a farmer in Dong Nai Province, said they cost VND300,000 per kilogramme, and piglets bought for raising normally weigh up to 10 kilogrammes.

I decided not to buy even though pig on the hoof prices are very high at VND76,000-87,000 per kilogramme on the farm in the south.

But I am afraid the Government could fix the price at VND60,000, and I will suffer losses.

In traditional markets in the south, the prices are VND150,000-200,000 per kilogramme depending on the cut.

The prices have been rising since last year when the African swine fever decimated pig herds, and the number of head in provinces like Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Tien Giang plummeted from several million to a few hundred thousand.

Luong Quoc Hung, a pig farm owner in Dong Nai Provinces Xuan Loc District, said he is raising some 300 pigs, and at current prices of VND85,000 per kilogramme he would earn VND2 million per pig.

The price is unlikely to fall because of low supply and rising costs, he said.

The epidemic caused a scarcity of animals and dependence on large enterprises, he said.

To buy piglets he has to order many weeks in advance and agree to pay an intermediary VND100,000  200,000 per animal, he added.

On top of that, farmers have to pay for bran, antibiotics, medicines, waste disposal, labour, electricity, and farm costs as they raise and sell an 80-100kg pig for around VND6.6 million, he explained.

To reduce the price of live pigs to VND60,000 per kilogramme as required by the Government, it is necessary to find ways to reduce the price of piglets to VND1-2 million, he added.

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first quarter of this year pork output fell 19.3 per cent year-on-year to 811,000 tonnes.

The output is expected to rise to one million tonnes in the third quarter and 1.1 million tonnes in the fourth quarter. Thus, by the third quarter the domestic supply of pork would meet around 90 per cent of demand.

In the first quarter Viet Nam imported nearly 25,300 tonnes of pork, up 205 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
On International Day of the Nurse, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) says health services face extra staffing pressure unless there is an increase in student nurse places.

The INMO is warning the pandemic is likely to lead to a downturn in the number of overseas nurses.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha says nursing numbers need to be maintained over the next two years at least.

Ms Ni Sheaghdha has called on the political parties negotiating a new government to include measures to increase the number of places for nursing undergraduates.

We're very reliant on nurses from elsewhere to run the health service, we have to make plans because that workforce will not now be available to us. We know that 5,000 students put nursing as their first choice - but there are only 1,500 to 1,800 places.

"There is also the issue that many of this years nursing graduates still find the UK an attractive alternative  even at the moment, which is worrying.

Ms Ni Sheaghdha said any possible reinstatement of a recruitment moratorium must also be shelved.

"We cannot afford now to do anything other than try and retain every single nurse that wants to work in Ireland.

"We are going to have to run almost two services - one with Covid patients who are infected and another service which caters for those who have the 'normal' illnesses."

Ms Ni Sheaghdha said that the new government can increase undergraduate places, the parties negotiating to form a government will also need to look at structure and retention.

Were saying to government - this isnt something that can wait or else we're going to be in serious trouble this winter.

Every winter there is pressure on the health service with normal illnesses, that's not going to change."

Additional reporting by Digital Desk
Australian liquefied natural gas company LNG Limited has sold its undeveloped Magnolia LNG export terminal to a London company in a $2.25 million deal.

In a Monday night statement, LNG Limited said it sold the project to Global Energy Megatrend Limited, an LNG company incorporated in London but with its headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana.

With an anticipated closing date of May 15, LNG Limited will transfer 16 employees, patents and project debt to Global Energy Megatrend.

LNG Limited, which is undergoing the Australian equivalent of bankruptcy proceedings, plans to keep its Bear Head LNG project in Canada.

Downstream: LNG Limited sale falls apart

The sale of Magnolia LNG comes less than a month after a $75 million deal fell apart to sell LNG Limited and all of its assets to a Singapore-based company.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an April 2016 permit to the proposed Magnolia LNG project to produce 8 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year. LNG Limited's request to boost production by 800,000 metric tons is still pending.

LNG Limited had not reached a final investment decision on Magnolia LNG and had only landed a tentative supply deal for one-fourth of the proposed plant's production with a buyer from Vietnam.

Fuel Fix: Get daily energy news headlines in your inbox
She also advocated for the establishment of lupus clinics in all the teaching hospitals.

Mrs Danso made the call when she released a song of hope dubbed: 'At the mention of your name' to commemorate the 17th global observance of World Lupus Day in Accra.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects at least five million people worldwide. It occurs when a person's immune system fights them and causes inflammation in different parts of the body over time.

Out of these, about 90 per cent are women and most fall within the childbearing age of 14 to 44 years.

She said the song was dedicated to all lupus warriors around the world and also dedicated to all those battling with autoimmune diseases, COVID-19 infections and different kinds of sicknesses.

Currently, there are only two rheumatologists in Ghana and the only rheumatology clinic is at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The Executive Director said that was inadequate for Ghana's population of about 30 million people.

She said patients travel from different regions to Accra to attend the clinic, adding that with the hope of seeing a rheumatologist, patients go through a lot of stress, which includes travel expenses and hazards, accommodation, costs of laboratory tests and medications.

"Yet for some, they often return disappointed because they are attended to by other physicians, who are assisting due to the shortage of rheumatologists," she added

She said with more rheumatologists 'This will ultimately save lives by enabling quicker access to healthcare. It will also reduce pressure on physicians, patients, and the healthcare facilities.'

She expressed the hope that the call for the setting up of a national autoimmune commission to address the challenges of lupus and other autoimmune patients would be heard by leaders in authority.

She said, this year's World Lupus Day was unique because it coincided with Mother's Day and it was also significant that the World Health organisation declared 2020 as 'The year of the midwife and nurse.'

Speaking on lupus and autoimmunity in Ghana, Mrs. Danso said it was important to know, where 'we stand as a nation when it comes to the subject and set a course to address our concerns and peculiar needs.'

Being a patient herself, she stated that autoimmune patients in Ghana needed an assurance that they were not being neglected in national policy.

Patients are equal stakeholders in Ghana's healthcare system and as such must have a voice in all policies and regulations that impact their lives," Mrs. Danso added.

The Executive Director, said it was, therefore, important to have a dialogue with policymakers and regulators to ensure that their voices were heard as lupus and autoimmune patients.

She stressed that lupus must be attacked from all angles; and that includes improvement in the healthcare delivery, medical research, political commitment as well as changes in cultural norms and beliefs which are not particularly helpful.

"We are requesting for lupus studies in key hospitals, improved diagnosis, and the establishment of lupus clinics in our major hospitals," Mrs. Danso said.

She explained that flares were connected to different triggers such as infections, stress, sunlight, toxins, and chemicals among others.

"Lupus patients should be on a constant lookout for what triggers their symptoms to manage them effectively," she added.

She said the disease affects different patients in different ways and that makes its diagnosis very difficult and it could take many years to get an accurate diagnosis.

Some of the symptoms patients experience include chronic tiredness, headaches, blood clots, organ damage, fever, skin rashes, hair loss, weight loss, memory loss, mood swings, painful and/or swollen joints.

She encouraged mothers to stay safe and be proactive with their healthcare.

--GNA
Photo by An-Sophi Fjello/AP Images for Hyatt

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and American Airlines teamed up to reward thousands of healthcare professionals from NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst for their caring front line work. To show appreciation, both Hyatt and American Airlines are offering a complimentary three-night vacation, to help these heroes recharge and reconnect with their loved ones. This award can be used once they are able to take time for themselves.

Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO, Hyatt said this plan is a way to show gratitude to some of the heroes of this pandemic in one of the hardest hit areas of New York. 'We are humbled by the healthcare workers dedication to saving lives. Now its our turn to take care of them like members of our own family, and we look forward to making their stays special when they are able to take a hard-earned break.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is a major provider of hospital and ambulatory care services in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premier health care organization for key specialties, including surgery, cardiology, womens health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health services. Last year, the hospital handled nearly 700,000 ambulatory care visits and its emergency medicine teams responded to more than 130,000 emergency room encounters.

These hospital workers serve an area of nearly one million people in one of the most socio-economically diverse communities in the U.S. In response to the crisis, the hospital quickly scaled to increase Intensive Care Units (ICU) capacity by 500%.

More than 4,000 doctors, physician assistants, nurses, food service teams, and staff members at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst will be treated to roundtrip flights on American Airlines to Hyatt hotels in select destinations across the U.S. and Caribbean.

Photo by An-Sophi Fjello/AP Images for Hyatt

We are extremely grateful to Hyatt and American Airlines for this generous gift to our healthcare workers, who have been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Israel Rocha, Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. Our doctors, nurses, and other staff on the front lines of this unprecedented healthcare crisis really appreciate the outpouring of support from two of Americas major companies, and we look forward to taking advantage of these well-earned vacations in the near future.'

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

These honored guests will be treated later this year to priority airfare from American Airlines to fly to a selected Hyatt destination. Every worker at Elmhurst has seen and experienced challenges many of us cannot imagine. Theyve given so much of themselves and chose to serve their community with care, compassion and equity for every patient, said Robert Isom, President of American Airlines. When they are able to take a break, we hope the time away will help them and their loved ones recharge and that they feel our deepest appreciation for their sacrifice and heroism.

These flights mark the largest total flight count ever provided to an organization by American. American Airlines is committed to caring for people and addressing the needs of different communities affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In cooperation with its generous customers, American has raised more than $3 million to support the American Red Cross and its volunteers who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

American continues to operate cargo-only flights, transporting necessary supplies, including personal protective equipment, to the front lines of the COVID-19 effort. Supply kits have been delivered to The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston; and St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennesseenals.

These cargo planes have also delivered care packages to military bases to be shared with troops who are quarantined after returning from deployment. More than 100 tons of food has been delivered to food banks across the country, and American team members at multiple locations, including Miami International Airport (MIA), Frankfurt am Main Airport (FRA) and Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), are sewing masks for their coworkers and members of the community.

The airline also worked with the U.S. Department of State to operate 88 repatriation flights to bring more than 8,000 U.S. citizens home from abroad.

When American collected $1.2 million through UNICEFs Change for Good program in 2019, they recently allocated $460,000 of those funds to support COVID-19 relief efforts in Latin America.

Jill Weinlein

Loyalty programs members at both American and Hyatt helped with these awards. Many members have expressed an overwhelming desire to leverage their miles and points to support healthcare workers. These contributed points are helping these special guests fly, unwind and enjoy wellbeing experiences, food and beverages, and outdoor activities at Hyatt hotels.

If you are a World of Hyatt member and would like to contribute points to help support Hyatts commitment to healthcare workers go to Hyatt.com/thankyou. American Airlines AAdvantage members can learn more and donate miles at aa.com.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst staff will be the first of many that Hyatt hopes to welcome through its doors when it is safe to travel again. They will receive overwhelming support and gratitude from the entire Hyatt family.

For healthcare workers around the world who have risked their lives to show care to others, Hyatt is extending a special offer to include global healthcare workers in its Hyatt Friends & Family Rate for a much-needed rest with their loved ones soon. Qualified healthcare workers can access the special rate at Hyatt.com or via Global Contact Centers by including the Special Offer Code:THANKYOU, and validating their professional status. These guests will be able to enjoy stays through June 30, 2021.
OPEC and its allies want to maintain existing oil cuts beyond June when the OPEC+ group is next due to meet to shore up prices and demand, which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, four OPEC+ sources said on Tuesday.

Global oil demand has slumped by about 30 percent as the crisis has curtailed travel and economic activity, building up oil inventories globally. Brent crude prices fell 65.6 percent in the first quarter, before the OPEC+ grouping agreed its deepest oil cuts.

OPEC and its allies, led by Russia, who are known as OPEC+, agreed in April to cut output by 9.7 million bpd for May and June, a record reduction. While producers will slowly relax curbs after June, supply reductions will remain to April 2022.

"The ministers want to keep the same oil production cuts now which are about 10 million bpd, after June. They don't want to reduce the size of the cuts. This is the basic scenario that's being discussed now," one OPEC+ source told Reuters.

OPEC+ meets next in early June to decide on its output policy. Under the deal, the exporting group is set to scale back the cuts to 7.7 million bpd from July until December.

A source familiar with Russia's thinking did not rule out a rollover of the existing oil cuts beyond June, but added that "it will depend on a market situation".

"We all look forward to getting back to some normality. It's important that demand picks up again and soon. But demand will be down until the lockdowns are lifted," another OPEC+ source said, in reference to restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed tens of thousands.

Saudi Arabia made a surprise announcement on Monday that it will voluntarily deepen oil output cuts from June by 1 million barrels per day, saying it wants to expedite draining a global supply glut and rebalancing the oil market.

Gulf OPEC producers the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have joined Saudi Arabia and pledged fresh cuts for their June output by a combined 180,000 bpd.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, boosted by the unexpected cut announcements by the Gulf producers.

The supply reductions, along with the easing of lockdowns in some countries which have helped lift fuel demand, are expected to ease pressure on crude storage capacity and shore up prices.

But renewed coronavirus outbreaks in China and South Korea have revived concerns, while Germany has also reported that new coronavirus infections were accelerating exponentially after early steps to ease its lockdown.
Tripura resumed border trade with neighbouring Bangladesh despite protests by some locals, who fear the step could result spread of Coronavirus from across the border.

Trucks carrying cement and some other items crossed the Mohurighat Integrated Check Point (ICP) in Belonia in Tripura South district on Monday amid tight security as worried residents staged a protest and urged the government to postpone the same till the lockdown is lifted. Some of them also blocked the road halting movement of trucks for a few hours before police and government officials rushed there and intervened.

Sources said officials of Tripura South district assured the protesters that adequate safety measures were being taken but they argued that they were scared as Feni, Comilia and Bramanbaria areas in Bangladesh side had reported COVID-19 positive cases. The local people also said that they were in fear that, as the Muhurighat integrated check post area is thickly populated and very near to the Belonia town, there was the possibility of infection from Bangladeshi truck drivers and other people involved in the import and export business. Tripura South is in 'green zone' for COVID-19 so far.

Tripura had closed all the ICPs to prevent the spread of Coronavirus before the country-wide lockdown was clamped by the Centre.

Public fear about fresh infection increased after 150 BSF persons and their family members living in two camps in Dhalai district tested COVID-19 positive since May 2.

Tripura had declared itself as "COVID-19 free state" on April 29 after two persons, who had tested COVID-19 positive recovered and were discharged. But the shock was in store as the BSF camps saw outbreak of the virus.
Diplomats represent their governments in fulfilling a number of professional tasks that can be best performed if they possess or are trained to develop key sets of skills corresponding to the five recognised functions of diplomats:





by Marc Finaud





Representation, protection of national interests, negotiation, reporting, and promotion of friendly relations. Such skills can also be of interest for non-diplomats engaged in professional activities involving contacts with foreign people or cultures.













The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relation s codifies centuries of practice and standards applied to relations between states. Once diplomatic relations are established between two nation-states, they can decide to exchange diplomatic missions or embassies led by a Head of Mission or an Ambassador; vis-a-vis each other, they become both a sending State and a receiving State. One important article of the Convention describes the functions of diplomats to be exercised within the diplomatic mission. There are five recognized ones, which call for some specific skills required from the diplomats.





1) Representing the sending State in the receiving State: this task of official representation means that the Ambassador is the personal envoy of his/her Head of State to the Head of State of the host country. Similarly, diplomats working in the host country under the leadership of the Head of Mission are considered as representatives of their governments at all times. This means that they cannot interfere in the host countrys domestic affairs (for instance by making public political statements); they cannot carry out commercial activities; they have a duty of discretion. In order to be protected from local pressures, they enjoy inviolability (of the diplomat, his/her premises and vehicle), immunity of jurisdiction, and tax exemption. However this does not mean impunity in case they break the local law: they can be recalled by their governments and prosecuted in their home countries or they can be declared personae non gratae and expelled. In sum, the skills required here are restraint, integrity, dignity, professionalism.





2) Protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law: this means that the main purpose of the diplomats activity is to promote national interests whether diplomatic, economic, commercial, cultural, etc. This includes catering to the needs of ones nationals living or travelling in the host country, which is also the main activity of the Consulate or Consular section of the Embassy. Diplomats working to serve their countries should therefore display qualities of patriotism, loyalty, national pride, and a good knowledge of their national policies.





3) Negotiating with the Government of the receiving State: negotiation is an essential part of diplomatic activity. In a bilateral context, between two governments, irrespective of the scope of the negotiation (from a protocol arrangement for an official visit to a wide-ranging trade agreement), negotiation skills require: good knowledge of the topic (or reliance on experts); flexibility and readiness for compromise (at the proper moment and not without compensation); and a sense of win-win outcome. In a multilateral context, with potentially multiple partners and adversaries, negotiation is more complex but requires the same skills, and, in addition, a sense of initiative and coalition building. Lets above all remember the wise words of Hans Blix, the former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): It is underestimated how important dignity is between people and how important it is not to humiliate.2





4) Ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State: this is about the traditional and standard work of diplomats: observing (via lawful means, i.e. excluding espionage) and reporting. This calls for skills that can be acquired and developed on the job: prior knowledge of the situation and willingness to understand it better; good contacts and interaction with all sectors of society, from officials to civil society; agility in writing timely, clear, and concise reports to the right echelon, with the added value of analysis compared to information available from other sources (mainly media, including social media).





5) Promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations: finally, the tasks of diplomats include the promotion of good relations between their countries in all spheres. This requires active contacts with all sectors of the local population, not only the officials and the elites. Diplomats are expected to entertain guests on a regular basis, hence the need for them to have good knowledge of both universal and local protocol rules and a good practice of cross-cultural communication.









[1] Former French diplomat (1977-2016), Senior Advisor, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).





[2] European Leadership Network,  Interview with Hans Blix : The most important lesson in diplomacy is not to humiliate, 23 January 2019.





The writer is the Head of Arms Proliferation at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Nearly everyone who catches coronavirus develops antibodies to it, recent research suggests.

Research from Chongqing Medical University in China found that 95 percent of 285 patients developed both types of the immune cells that fight the virus.

Antibody testing is being ramped up in the US and abroad to see who has already had and developed some potential protection against reinfection with coronavirus.

But many questions still remain around antibodies: whether everyone develops them, what level of antibodies is necessary to confer protection, and how long that protection lasts.

The recent study helps to answer one of those questions and 'brings much-needed clarity, along with renewed enthusiasm, to efforts to develop and implement widescale antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2,' wrote Dr Francis Collins on the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Director's blog on Thursday.

Antibody tests like this one performed on 285 patients in China revealed that nearly all of them developed immune cells to help protect them agains getting the infection again (file)

Antibodies are immune cells that the body develops uniquely in response to a given pathogen.

So if you've never encountered a bacterium or virus, like the one that causes COVID-19, you won't have antibodies to it.

But in response to most infections, the body starts making these specialized weapons that will recognize and target an infection if its encountered again, often times neutralizing it entirely.

From what they knew about other coronaviruses, like those that cause the common cold and the 2003 SARS epidemic, scientists figured it likely that humans would develop antibodies to the new coronavirus, too.

Until they could study patients however, there was no knowing for sure.

Researchers at Chongqing Medical Center monitored the blood of the 258 patients for signs of the immune cells.

We producte two types of antibodies to infections: immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG).

The first is produced early on after infection. These IgM antibodies provide a short burst of protection before fading away.

Only about 40 percent of the patients had developed IgM antibodies within the first week after infection.

But by the time the patients had been under observation for two weeks, 95 percent of them developed detectable levels of IgM.

More importantly, they all produced IgG, antibodies that take longer to develop, but are the type with the potential for more long term protection.

In a follow-up study, the researchers collected blood from another 69 patietns.

Within 20 days, all but two patients - who were related, a mother and daughter - produced antibodies.

In order to know just how much protection and for how long these antibodies confer immunity, researchers like the team in China will need to continue to follow them, and perhaps even do 'challenge' experiments to expose them to the virus again and see if their antibodies protect them from reinfection.

But until enough time has passed for these studies to be completed, the Chinese research is an encouraging sign that the human body can learn to defend itself against coronavirus after exposure.

If that proves to be the case, we may collectively develop some herd immunity that would keep possible future resurgences of coronavirus infections from reaching epidemic levels.

'Theres still a way to go with both virus and antibody testing for COVID-19,' wrote Dr Collins.

'But as this study and others begin to piece together the complex puzzle of antibody-mediated immunity, it will be possible to learn more about the human bodys response to SARS-CoV-2 and home in on our goal of achieving safe, effective, and sustained protection against this devastating disease.'
More significant is that with the advantage of incumbency and the ability to fund-raise for the past three years, the Republicans are beginning the general election with about $255 million in cash on hand. As of late last month, Mr. Trump and the R.N.C. had nearly $187 million more in the bank than Mr. Biden and the D.N.C. The presidents re-election campaign is already embracing that edge by unleashing a $10 million ad blitz aimed at attacking Mr. Biden.

Brad Parscale, the presidents campaign manager, and Ronna McDaniel, the national committee chairwoman, said the numbers showed enthusiasm and support for Mr. Trump.

Mr. Biden and the D.N.C. started a joint fund-raising agreement at the end of April, after he became his partys presumptive presidential nominee.

The money disadvantage is real, and it hurts, but to win you dont have to equal Trump in fund-raising, said Jim Margolis, a veteran Democratic strategist, addressing the broader cash imbalance. You just need to be able to communicate, organize and compete in the seven or eight states that will determine the election.

The April number is the product of a full month of fund-raising virtually, after the coronavirus crisis shut down traditional campaigning in March, just as Mr. Biden was emerging as the likely nominee.
McKie Ford Lincoln is honored to help Monument Health obtain over 18,000 donated face shields and other essential PPE pieces from Ford Motor Company! We're excited and proud to be a part of this necessary effort to help keep our local heroes protected!

The Covid-19 pandemic has completely caught the world off-guard. While the curve is flattening due to the efforts of health professionals on the front line, safety gear supplies are dwindling faster than they can be replenished. In Rapid City, South Dakota, a local Ford dealership, McKie Ford Lincoln, realized the urgency of this need and has helped acquire over 18,000 donated face shields and other essential PPE pieces from Ford Motor Company for Monument Health.

The local hospital has been treating patients ever since the pandemic started and has expressed appreciation for the generous donation.

This is not the first time that Ford has stepped up to provide aid to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 virus. In the wake of the pandemic, the automaker is committed to helping first responders remain steadfast in their commitment to their patients by ensuring their safety with essential safety equipment.

This includes creating 3D printed face shields in an effort to protect healthcare workers from the virus as they treat patients. Additionally, the brand also acquired over 200,000 N95 masks to donate to the medical community. The automaker is also being lauded for its impressive work on simplified respirator and ventilator designs, which allow the brand to fill the need for quality medical equipment fast.

When asked about the generous donation, Karris McKie-Kaiser, a Partner of McKie Ford Lincoln, had this to share, We are honored to help Monument Health obtain over 18,000 donated face shields and other essential PPE pieces from Ford Motor Company! Ford has been diligently producing face shields and sending them to hospitals and first responders around the country. We're excited and proud to be a part of this necessary effort to help keep our local heroes protected!

To date, Monument Health has received over 18,000 face shields from Ford through McKie Ford Lincoln.

For more information about McKie Ford Lincoln, visit their website at https://www.mckieford.com/.

About McKie Ford Lincoln:

McKie Ford Lincoln has been providing quality cars and auto services for the people of Rapid City for over four decades. The company was launched in 1979. It wasnt long before it grew to include other services, such as ABRA Auto Body & Glass, services from Avis, and Budget Rent A Car in Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Bismarck. The company is dedicated to providing a full range of auto services for its clients, a mission that it considers with pride.

Website  https://www.mckieford.com/

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/mckieford

Phone  605-348-1400

Address - McKie Ford Lincoln

2010 East Mall Drive

Rapid City, SD 5770
An Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday morning during a West Bank arrest raid when a rock thrown off a rooftop struck him in the head, the military said.

The military typically carries out such predawn raids against wanted militants in the West Bank, occasionally encountering local resistance but the killing of a soldier is rare.

The military said 21-year-old Amit Ben-Yigal was on operational activity near the West Bank city of Jenin when a large rock was thrown off a rooftop and struck him on the head. A search was on for the attacker.

Israel has seen a series of shootings, stabbings and car-ramming attacks in recent years, mostly carried out by lone attackers with no apparent links to armed groups.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have praised the attacks but have not claimed responsibility for them.

Wednesday's raid was aimed at arresting four Palestinians wanted for stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles and other recent attacks.

It comes a day after Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
STATEN ISLAN, N.Y. -- Dozens of fundraisers appear on the popular crowdfunding website GoFundMe from Staten Islanders asking for donations to pay for a loved ones funeral after succumbing to COVID-19.

Amounts asked for range from $2,000 to $50,000 and each familys story is different but each family has something in common: The inability to afford a burial.

The average cost of a funeral in 2019 was nearly $8,000 nationwide.

Its been two months since New York state received its Major Disaster Declaration, making it eligible for federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist in a variety of economic areas.

Its also been one month since Sen. Charles Schumer called on FEMA to assist New Yorkers with Disaster Funeral Assistance as it did after Hurricane Sandy when it provided $1.6 billion in federal funds.

The federal government still hasnt allocated the funding.

Its bad enough people are losing their jobs and dont have food to eat, are separated from their families and loved ones, but to not be able to give a decent funeral and burial to someone who is near and dear to you is outrageous, Schumer said during a recent press conference alongside Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx).

Sen. Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and a dozen members of Congress including Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump and Peter Gaynor, FEMAs administrator, asking for the funds to be released.

Losing a loved one is devastating, but the pandemic has also cruelly robbed many Americans of their ability to afford a funeral for a deceased relative. The federal government can and should step in to make this incredibly difficult time just a little bit easier for those who have lost so much. Its why I first called on FEMA to approve all outstanding requests and Individual Assistance back in March, and will continue pressing them to do the right thing, Rose said.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

BILLIONS IN FUNDING SIT IDLE

The Individuals and Households Program eligibility would allow New York, under the FEMA Individual Assistance Program, to provide burial assistance to families whove lost loved ones to COVID-19 and are unable to pay for a funeral.

The toll of this pandemic is unprecedented but providing FEMA assistance for funeral expenses is not, the letter said.

The Trump Administration puts limits on the type of assistance FEMA is allowed to provide during the pandemic, stating the agency is able to provide assistance in the form of crisis counseling but shall not be constructed to encompass any authority to approve other forms of assistance in its April memorandum which is preventing the monies to be used for funeral and burial assistance.

The $80 billion that remains in the Disaster Relief Fund cannot be released to states without the approval of Trump.

It is unacceptable to suggest that New York States Coronavirus Relief Fund should be repurposed for burials instead of covering them through the FEMA Disaster Relief Funder under New Yorks Major Disaster Declaration, the letter went on to say.

We trust you share our urgency in responding to these matters and ask you do so within two weeks from the date of this letter.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 12:28:28|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials on Monday criticized Attorney General William Barr for moving to drop charges against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Barr "once again assaulted the rule of law," the officials said in a statement, accusing him of using the DOJ as a tool to promote Trump's "personal and political interests."

The statement was signed by nearly 2,000 former DOJ officials. The "DOJ Alumni," who posted it, said that the signatories "have been vetted to the best of our ability."

In a court filing last week, the DOJ said it was abandoning the prosecution of Flynn "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information."

This came two years after Flynn pleaded guilty to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for lying about his contacts with Russia during Trump's presidential transition period.

The criminal charges led to Flynn's ouster by Trump in February 2017 and became part of the U.S. investigation led by special counsel Robert Muller into Moscow's alleged meddling to help Trump win the presidency in 2016.

Barr has defended the decision to drop the charges against Flynn, saying he was "not at all" influenced by Trump, who has called Flynn "an even greater warrior." Barr's word has infuriated some top Democrats.

Flynn, also a senior advisor to Trump's presidential campaign team and a retired lieutenant general, admitted in December 2017 that he lied to the FBI about his discussions, including of U.S. sanctions against Russia, with then Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the U.S. elections. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 13:33:15|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts at an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed the role of daylily growing and processing in helping local people get rid of poverty.

Xi made the remarks while visiting an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City Monday afternoon during an inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province.

Xi walked into the daylily field and had a cordial conversation with villagers working there.

He was happy to learn that in recent years, thanks to the guidance of major enterprises and cooperatives, the farm achieved a stable output of quality daylily -- an edible plant -- with a guaranteed market and price, helping lift a number of impoverished households out of poverty.

Xi said daylily growing and processing can develop into a big industry with great prospects.

He stressed efforts to protect and develop the daylily industry and give full play to its role in poverty alleviation.

Yunzhou District used to be a poverty-stricken area, where growing daylily had a long history but was not on a large scale.

Now growing daylily is very popular in Yunzhou, with the total area of daylily plantations increasing from less than 16,000 mu (1,067 hectares) before 2010 to the current 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares).

Yunzhou has put in place standardized regulations and procedures governing organic daylily production and launched daylily processing projects and relevant agri-tourism services.

In 2019, daylily generated a total revenue of 65 million yuan (about 9.17 million U.S. dollars) in the district. Enditem
RTHK: Trump's 'ask China' spat sets off social media storm

US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his coronavirus press briefing on Monday after getting into a testy exchange with an Asian-American reporter which later set off a storm in the social media.

CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus.

"Why does that matter?" she asked. "Why is this a global competition when, every day, Americans are still losing their lives?"

"They're losing their lives everywhere in the world," Trump replied. "And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK?"

Jiang, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as a "Chinese born West Virginian," pushed back.

"Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?" she said, implying it was due to her race.

"I'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that," Trump said.

He then attempted to move on to another reporter as Jiang continued to press him about his response.

Trump called on another female reporter but then immediately called on someone else.

When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump abruptly ended the press conference and walked back into the White House.

The internet was quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

"I #StandWithWeijiaJiang against Trump's racist tantrums," tweeted "Star Trek" actor and prominent Asian-American activist George Takei.

Reporter and CNN political analyst April Ryan, who has also been on the receiving end of Trump's words, tweeted: "Welcome to the club! This is sickening! It is his habit!"

Trump earlier dismissed concerns over the possible spread of coronavirus in the White House but said he may limit contact with Vice President Mike Pence.

Katie Miller, the spokeswoman for Pence, who heads the White House's coronavirus task force, tested positive for coronavirus last week along with a personal valet to Trump.

Three members of the task force have since gone into quarantine  infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-05-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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What Team Trump wants America to talk about is the fate of Michael Flynn, Trumps original national security adviser. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has been asked by the Justice Department to dismiss the charges against Flynn, which the same Justice Department pressed successfully to a guilty plea. The judge, who is mulling over this unusual twist, put a hold on the request Tuesday at least temporarily to allow time for outside parties to weigh in.

Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

I expect to learn a lot from Sullivans ruling when it happens. Few, if any, judges have fewer illusions about the Justice Departments ability to go astray. He spent years sorting through the mess that federal prosecutors made of the case against former Alaska senator Ted Stevens.

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While we await illumination from the bench, open-minded Americans ought to agree that the FBIs involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign was unsettling  even alarming. The bureau botched the matter of Hillary Clintons emails and botched its investigation of Russian interference. The fact is all but forgotten now that Democrats and Republicans were briefly united in the view that then-FBI Director James B. Comey was a runaway train; if Trump had replaced him immediately on account of his political meddling instead of trying to woo him, Washington wouldnt have batted an eye.

Instead, the president dragged out the firing, and when he finally dropped the ax, he did so with the finesse of the Keystone Cops. Heres a pro tip for future presidents: Bragging to the Russian ambassador about shutting down an investigation of Russia is not a good way to end suspicions about your Russia ties.

Trump not only made a martyr of Comey among half the country. He also made it virtually impossible for senior Justice officials to not appoint a special prosecutor. And despite a nearly endless barrage of unfounded abuse from Trump and his allies, Robert S. Mueller III produced a thorough and evenhanded assessment.

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Mueller found no proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian election hackers. Team Trump wanted to collude with the Russians. Team Trump tried to collude. It just didnt work out as they hoped. When Donald Trump Jr. received an emailed overture at campaign headquarters offering very high level and sensitive information about Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, he eagerly replied: If its what you say I love it.

It took the FBI and Mueller some time to figure out that the Trumps arent even competent enough to collude. In the process of coming to this realization, agents questioned Flynn, who lied to them about his communications as incoming national security adviser with a senior Russian official. Lying to the bureau can be a crime. Flynn, a big boy with a good lawyer, was aware of this fact when he delivered the lie. Muellers team prosecuted. Flynn pleaded guilty  twice. But when new management arrived at Main Justice, he withdrew the pleas. After an internal investigation of the FBIs conduct, the department asked to dismiss the charge. Flynns lie was irrelevant, the department now says, because he shouldnt have been questioned to begin with.

Over to you, Judge Sullivan. Except for one additional note: Long before Flynn was charged with lying to the FBI, he was fired by Trump for bald-face lying about the exact same matter to the vice president. Yes, the Trump who romanced and dallied with Comey dropped Flynn like a hot rock. Whatever supposedly benign topics Flynn discussed with the Russians, it did not take a corrupt FBI to entangle him. Flynn wouldnt even come clean to the presidents panting poodle, Pence.

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The Opinions section is looking for stories of how the coronavirus has affected people of all walks of life. Write to us.

The president would prefer to discuss anything other than the subject most important to the American people. This sad truth gives all the more reason for the rest of us to continue to focus on the pandemic. Saving lives while saving the economy is among the most complex challenges weve faced, and were facing it without help from the top.

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Read more from David Von Drehles archive.

Read more:

The Posts View: The judge should look skeptically at Barrs latest effort to rescue another Trump crony

Jonathan Kravis: I left the Justice Department after it made a disastrous mistake. It just happened again.

John Gleeson, David ONeil and Marshall Miller: The Flynn case isnt over until the judge says its over

Randall D. Eliason: The Justice Departments lawless reversal on Michael Flynn

Chuck Rosenberg: The long list of people who thought Flynns lies were material
KABUL -- President Ashraf Ghani says Afghanistan's security forces will go on the offensive against the Taliban and other militant groups, following a violent day in which gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Kabul and a suicide bomber targeted a funeral in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The IS claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted the funeral, saying in a statement on the Telegram messaging app quoted by AFP that the bomber exploding a suicide belt, killing and wounding 100 nonbelievers.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online jihadist activity, said the attack on the funeral was claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the IS.

IS made no mention of the attack against the maternity hospital. The Taliban denied involvement in either attack.

Ghani said in a televised address he was "ordering Afghan security forces to switch from an active defense mode to an offensive one and to start their operations against the enemies."

He said a resumption of operations was necessary "to defend the country, safeguard our countrymen and infrastructure, and to repel attacks and threats by the Taliban and all other terrorist groups."

The Taliban, which has denied involvement in either attack, reacted to Ghani's statement by saying on May 13 that it was "fully prepared" to repel any military offensive.

Noting that the Taliban denied responsibility for the horrific attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice.



"As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress towards a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism," he said in a statement.

The Taliban signed a landmark deal with the United States in Qatar in February meant to pave the way for direct talks between the militant group and the Western-backed government in Kabul after more than 18 years of war.

But the Taliban has ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence, while IS militants also continued targeting Afghan security forces and civilians.

Earlier in the day in Kabul, three gunmen attacked the state-run hospital in the citys mostly Shi'ite neighborhood of Dasht-e Barchi, setting off an hours-long gunbattle with Afghan security forces.



The Interior Ministry said at least 24 people were killed in the attack, including two newborn babies, and 16 others were wounded.

Security forces eventually killed all three attackers.

A witness, Jawad Amiri, told RFE/RL that one of the attackers "was wearing a military uniform and the other two were dressed as doctors."

"They came to the main entrance and opened fire at people everywhere around. They killed many innocent people," he added.

Afghan officials say work at the hospital was supported by the Nobel Prize-winning international nongovernmental charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).



In a message sent to RFE/RL on May 12, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that the militant group was involved in the hospital attack.



IS has claimed responsibility for numerous other attacks against Shi'ite Muslims in the western part of Kabul.

Separately, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral for a police commander in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than 100, according to provincial health officials, in an attack claimed by the IS militant group.

The death toll was previous reported at 24.

And in the southeastern province of Khost, a bomb planted in a cart at a market killed a child and wounded 10 people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed "shock and revulsion" at the attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned them as "acts of evil" that showed "an appalling degree of inhumanity."

Human Rights Watch said the assault on the Kabul hospital showed "blatant disregard for civilian life and is an apparent war crime."

The New York-based watchdog said in a statement that attacks on health care in Afghanistan had increased sharply since 2017.

IS has claimed responsibility for a spate of violence in Kabul on May 11 that wounded a child and three adult civilians.



Those attacks included three roadside bombs as well as a fourth bomb placed under a garbage can in the northern part of the Afghan capital.



The Interior Ministry said on May 11 that Afghan security forces arrested the Islamic State group's regional leader for South Asia, Abu Omar Khorasani, during an operation on the northern side of the Afghan capital.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Lagos state police command arrested four persons for allegedly killing a house help in the Bariga, Lagos state.

In a statement released by spokesperson of the state police command, Bala Elkana, says men of the Bariga Police station received a tip off on May 9 that one Shade Moke, 41, conspired with three others on February 29 and allegedly killed her 16-year-old house help, Halimat Sodiq, on allegation of stealing.

The victim is said to be a house help to Shade Moke. She was accused of stealing N2000 from her madam which she denied. The madam invited the remaining three suspects who tortured the girl to death. They buried her secretly at Atan cemetery Lagos, so as to conceal the murder. The four suspects were arrested but they denied the allegations. They however, admitted slapping the girl for denying that she stole the money. They claimed that the girl went into convulsion after drinking water and that they took her to three different hospitals before she eventually died. That the girl was buried by her parents not the suspects. The parents were also contacted for their statement Balas statement read.

The police spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Hakeem Odumosu psc, has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department Yaba for discreet investigation and diligent prosecution.

The suspects will soon be charged to Court.
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' confirmed coronavirus infections have broken past the 11,000 mark, the health ministry said on Monday.

In a bulletin, the health ministry reported 292 additional cases, bringing the total to 11,086. It recorded seven more deaths, increasing the total to 726 while 75 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,999.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The state of Michigan aims to double the number of daily COVID-19 tests statewide over the next month, with officials setting a goal of at least 30,000 tests administered each day by mid-June.

Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said during a Monday news briefing that the state has nearly hit its current goal of 15,000 tests administered per day. More than 290,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in Michigan, she said.

Looking ahead, additional testing materials from the federal government and partnerships with the private sector means the states goal of upping that capacity to 30,000 tests per day in the next month will be doable, said Tricia Foster, chief operating officer for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

I believe we will achieve our goal, she said. This is one key step in the overall process for us to be able to return to work slowly and methodically.

Related: Coronavirus cases continue downward trend in Michigan

Testing has largely been focused on populations deemed vulnerable to COVID-19, and officials said Monday testing has ramped up in Michigan prisons and jails, long-term care facilities and homeless populations in recent weeks.

Khaldun and Whitmer stressed that social distancing remains the most effective strategy for limiting the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of a coronavirus vaccine. Whitmer recently extended the states stay-at-home order through May 28, although manufacturing and a handful of other industries have been allowed to resume operations since the order was initially enacted in March.

The order has prompted significant backlash in recent weeks. Critics have gathered at the state Capitol for large protests, and some businesses are resuming operations in violation of the order. Republican legislative leaders recently sued Whitmer, arguing the governor is overstepping her authority by extending a state of emergency without legislative approval.

Whitmer said the executive orders are not optional and said all people and businesses need to comply with the law unless the courts decide otherwise.

Asked whether the administration would begin enforcing the order or compelling local law enforcement to do so, Whitmer said: Most businesses in the state have a licesnse that is granted from the state and theyre putting themselves at risk by putting their customers and themselves at risk by opening prematurely.

In some instances, criticisms over the governors COVID-19 response has devolved into threats. The Detroit Metro Times reported on comments in several private anti-Whitmer Facebook groups that called for her assassination.

Whitmer denounced those comments Monday, calling the threats beyond the pale and asking all officeholders to help bring down the heat in the state.

Im increasingly concerned about the violent nature of their extreme comments, she said.

Following the governors comments, House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said on Twitter that while he disagrees with many of the governors decisions, those making physical threats are out of line and should be punished.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

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The head of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has warned businesses not to reopen until they can comply with new safety protocols.

Dr Sharon McGuinness said that firms should be assured they can protect their workers and customers before they reopen.

The HSA chief executive said the new protocol set out the different measures employers and staff must put in place before they can return to work.

The Governments Return to Work safety protocol includes regulations for social distancing, hand hygiene, first aid and mental health support for returning workers.

Dr McGuinness said the measures have been agreed with trade unions, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and other bodies.

A decision has been taken in terms of the roadmap which is applying a risk-based approach as to what opens and when, Dr McGuinness added.

It also enables the workplace to apply a risk-based health and safety approach and bringing those two together in the protocol to enable most workplaces to determine how best to return to work.

Obviously they shouldnt reopen until such time as they are assured that they can protect their workers, but also protect any customers and clients that might come too.

Staying away from the people we love and the things we enjoy is not easy. But this is us at our best, taking care of each other, protecting people most at risk in our communities. #HoldFirm pic.twitter.com/9dMMJV1Wjj  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) May 11, 2020

Once reopened and once opened then all workplaces will be required to comply with the protocol and the employers need to assess the protocol in advance of that reopening and make sure that they have the steps in place with that.

Dr McGuinness said the HSA acknowledges it will be challenging for businesses to adhere to all the new measures.

She also warned that the HSA has the power to close workplaces which fail to comply with the new measures.

The protocol not only covers occupational health and safety, but it covers public health, so theres a whole range of other engagements and measures that are there, she added.

#Covid19 has forced us to be apart from so many we are close to. It has forced us to keep our physical distance when we want to be together. It goes against everything we know & love but we are doing it for each other. Please #holdfirm & #staysafe pic.twitter.com/wKgkt6CRfJ  Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 9, 2020

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met earlier on Tuesday to discuss the restrictions in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The expert committee, chaired by Dr Tony Holohan, meets twice a week and advises the Government on Covid-19.

Meanwhile, a new Oireachtas committee examining the Governments response to Covid-19 sat for the first time on Tuesday.

The Oireachtas Covid-19 committee will look at how authorities and agencies have responded to the pandemic and take evidence on the states response.

The 19-member panel, set up last week, elected Independent TD Michael McNamara as chairman.

The committee, which agreed to invite chief medical officer Dr Holohan and HSE boss Paul Reid to attend a meeting, will sit again next week.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) may have been forced to cancel its spring season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the company will still mark its annual gala - with a virtual celebration.

The New York City-based company was originally set to open its 80th season at the Metropolitan Opera House this month, complete with a gala that has been known to count Katie Holmes, Blake Lively and Valentino Garavani as guests.

On Tuesday, May 12, ABT will host a virtual gala for fans worldwide, beginning at 7pm EST on its YouTube channel. The pre-recorded, one-hour presentation, entitled ABT: Together Tonight, will include a mix of new performances, rarely-seen footage from the companys history and a few celebrity guests.

Misty Copeland and Calvin Royal III / Courtesy of American Ballet Theatre, Photo by Ruth Hogben

Tony Bennett will sing Fly Me To The Moon to accompany a Central Park performance of Jessica Langs Let Me Sing Forevermore, which will be danced by ABT soloists Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell (who are a real-life couple currently in quarantine together).

Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo will perform as well, singing America The Beautiful alongside a curated video of ABTs artists dancing.

Ballet super fans Jennifer Garner and Kelly Ripa are also set to join in, as are a number of other celebrity guests - and, of course, appearances from ABTs orchestra and dancers (think Misty Copeland and Isabella Boylston).

The gala will also serve as a way to benefit the companys Crisis Relief Fund, which supports its artists, crew and faculty members in the wake of ABTs Met season and four of its tours being canceled.

In addition to donations being matched by ABTs Board of Trustees, audience members can also bid on items like campaign imagery signed by Misty Copeland and experiences such as a private virtual makeup lesson with the companys wig and makeup supervisor and a luxury hotel stay in Paris (for when we can all leave the house again).
After Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead by two white men on a quiet residential road in coastal Georgia, a prosecutor cited a Civil War era state law to justify the killing.

The same law was invoked last year in suburban Atlanta after a white woman chased down a black man who left the scene of a car accident and killed him after starting a confrontation.

Since 1863, Georgia has allowed its residents to arrest one another  if they have witnessed a crime and the police are not around. Similar laws exist in nearly every state, and have been raised in courtrooms over the decades to account for actions in a range of criminal cases, including assaults and murders.

But after Mr. Arberys death, a growing chorus of critics are calling for the laws to be repealed. They say the laws are outdated, relics of the Wild West, and are ripe for abuse by untrained civilians in an age in which 911 is widely available and police response times are generally within minutes.
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The Commemorative Air Force High Sky Wing will be flying a formation of historical warbirds over the cities of Midland and Odessa on Wednesday at 9 a.m. The flyover is A Salute to the Spirit of West Texas as it weathers the storms of COVID-19 together, according to the press release.

RELATED: B-1 to fly over Midland on Friday
Hilary Duff has her ride-or-die fans on the edges of their seats over the fate of her Lizzie McGuire revival.

But production was halted by Disney+ earlier this year over some complex creative differences, and Duff was not pleased.

She gave fans something to hold them over Monday when she reunited with her co-stars via Zoom for a surprise virtual table read, which she posted to Instagram.

Reunited: Hilary Duff gave Lizzie McGuire fans something to hold them over Monday when she reunited with her co-stars via Zoom for a surprise virtual table read

The 32-year-old was approached for the reunion by Jake Thomas, who played her little brother Matt on the Disney Channel show.

They were also joined by Adam Lamberg, Lalaine, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd, Ashlie Brillault, Davida B. Williams and more.

She captioned the video: 'Some fun for you this Monday! Hope you guys have fun watching this! We could not stop laughing reading lines from tween us...this is the first time we were all "together-ish" in almost 18 years!

'This week marks the 19th anniversary of this episode "Between a Rock and a Bra Place!" Do excuse our delayed singing...we will be taking singing lessons as a group to work on our craft!!'

Gang's all here: She was joined by Adam Lamberg, Lalaine, Jake Thomas, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd, Ashlie Brillault, Davida B. Williams and more

Long overdue: Duff captioned the video: 'Some fun for you this Monday! Hope you guys have fun watching this! We could not stop laughing reading lines from tween us...this is the first time we were all "together-ish" in almost 18 years!'

First bra: They read the episode Between a Rock and a Bra Place on the 19th anniversary of when it aired

Cast singalong: They kicked off the table read with a singalong of the show's beloved memorable theme song

They kicked off the table read with a singalong of the show's beloved memorable theme song.

Duff starred as the titular teenager in the series that ran from 2001 to 2004, as well as the 2003 feature adaptation.

She was announced in August to return for a sequel series, which was set to premiere on Disney+.

It would follow now 30-year-old Lizzie navigating life as an apprentice interior decorator in New York City.

Production came to a halt in January after filming two episodes, as showrunner and the original series creator Terri Minsky was fired.

Disney days: Duff starred as the titular teenager in the series that ran from 2001 to 2004, as well as the 2003 feature adaptation

She's baaack: She was announced in August to return for a sequel series, which was set to premiere on Disney+

Screeching halt: Production came to a halt in January after filming two episodes, as showrunner and the original series creator Terri Minsky was fired

The fate of the reboot is uncertain, as Disney+ searches for a new showrunner amid rumors it may move to Hulu, as did the upcoming show Love, Victor.

Duff posted a news headline about the gay teen show being moved because it wasn't 'family-friendly,' which she captioned: 'Sounds familiar.'

Minsky told Variety: 'I am so proud of the two episodes we did. Hilary has a grasp of Lizzie McGuire at 30 that needs to be seen. Its a wonderful thing to watch.

'I would love the show to exist, but ideally I would love it if it could be given that treatment of going to Hulu and doing the show that we were doing.

'Thats the part where I am completely in the dark. Its important to me that this show was important to people. I felt like I wanted to do a show that was worthy of that kind of devotion.'
Jeff Hawks of Nebraska Has Identified How Robotics is Providing More Benefits to Patients

LINCOLN, NE / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Each and every year, millions of Americans go under the knife for surgery of one kind or another. There are risks associated with surgeries, and Jeff Hawks of Nebraska has been showing how robotics can be used to help surgeons improve precision and efficacy. Jeff Hawks has done a significant amount of research in robotics to show how it can aid in laparoscopic surgery. Miniature robotics can be placed entirely inside the abdominal cavity through a single incision, reducing the trauma and improving patient recovery.

As an expert in robotic technology, Jeff Hawks of Nebraska graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Hawks has worked with NASA and the Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center to demonstrate the use of surgical robots.

One of the biggest problems that surgeons have are the risks associated with large incisions. They're prone to bleeding and infection. They also increase patient recovery times and hospital costs. As such, laparoscopic surgeries, otherwise known as keyhole surgeries, are gaining more popularity. Jeff Hawks of Nebraska wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on miniature wireless surgical robots. He has shown how robotics can be applied in the future.

Dr. Hawks has been heavily involved in grant consultation work, too, specifically within biomechanics. This allows others in the medical field to explore how robotics can be developed and used in order to give surgeons more dexterity in the operating room. While robots won't replace surgeons, it can reduce the size and number of incisions that surgeons do, providing more benefits to patients. It can also reduce surgical fatigue with big surgeries where surgeons may currently be forced to stand over an open patient for eight or more hours prior to closing.

Jeff Hawks has written a number of medical articles to explain to doctors how wheeled robotics, biomedical devices, and more are the future of the operating room. He has managed a variety of research projects that focus on mechatronics and biomechanics. Further, he is committed to talking to doctors around the globe for how they can embrace robotics in order to adapt with the latest technology.

Story continues

A number of medical science journals have been reporting the use of robotics in more and more surgeries. While the cost to implement robotic surgery tools into facilities can be high, many medical facilities around the country are beginning to embrace the technology. Additionally, Jeff Hawks of Nebraska regularly encourages surgeons to learn how to use the various robotic tools within skills labs whenever they have the opportunity.

Find out more about what Dr. Jeff Hawks of Nebraska is doing with his research by following what his current employers are doing, including Metal-Tech Partners and LawnShark.

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/589519/Jeff-Hawks-of-Nebraska-Shows-How-Surgeons-are-Using-Robotics-for-More-Control




The Democratic Party is set to adopt new rules during a virtual meeting on Tuesday, and under the proposed changes, delegates would be able to participate in this year's summer convention even if they are not physically there.

The party's rules and bylaws committee will likely adopt language that allows "maximum flexibility to plan a safe event that guarantees every delegate can accomplish their official business without putting their own health at risk," The Washington Post reports. If the rules committee does approve the new language, the full Democratic National Committee will vote on it sometime within the next few weeks.

The Democratic National Convention was scheduled for July in Milwaukee, but as the coronavirus pandemic intensified, leaders pushed it back to start on August 17. There are nearly 5,000 voting delegates, and tens of thousands of other guests were expected to attend the event.

During an interview with C-SPAN over the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she suggested to Democratic Party Chair Tom Perez that the convention could be condensed from one week to one day, with participants, all seated at least six feet apart, gathering at an outdoor stadium. This would cut the number of people in attendance from 80,000 to about 16,000.

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A man allegedly filmed and mocked four police officers as they lay dying after a horrific car accident when they had pulled him over for allegedly speeding in his Porsche.

Richard Pusey (41), from Melbourne, Australia, who faces charges of reckless conduct and obstructing justice, could be denied bail because police fear he will harass witnesses or flee the state.

Police stopped Mr Pusey, a mortgage broker, on suspicion of driving at more than 90mph (144kmh) on April 22 on the Eastern Freeway in Victoria.

He allegedly tested positive for ecstasy and cannabis.

As Mr Pusey urinated nearby, a refrigerated lorry veered into the emergency lane, killing four officers who were standing by their cars.

The officers who pulled Mr Pusey over were Lynette Taylor, a leading senior constable, and Glen Humphris, a first constable. They had been joined by senior constable Kevin King and constable Josh Prestney.

The prosecution alleges that instead of calling an ambulance or trying to help, Mr Pusey pulled out his phone and approached Ms Taylor as she was pinned by the lorry.

For more than three minutes, he is said to have filmed the dying police officer, zooming in as he berated her.

"There you go, amazing, absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and have some sushi and now you f***ed my f***ing car," Mr Pusey is alleged to have said.

Police have opposed his application for bail, citing Mr Pusey's "flagrant disregard" for court orders, and their belief he would flee the state using his "substantial" resources.

The court is expected to make a decision on his application for bail on Thursday.

Mohinder Singh, the driver of the lorry who has been charged with four counts of culpable driving causing death, was seen wailing in despair after the crash. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
An anticancer drug of fungal origin could be the way.

Scientists at Waseda University succeeded in developing a method for a total synthesis of cotylenin A, a plant growth regulator which has attracted considerable attention from the scientific community due to its promising bioactivity as an anti-cancer agent. This method was reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on March 16, 2020.

"Our method will be able to provide steady supply of cotylenin A, which could possibly lead to the development of an effective anticancer drug," says Masahisa Nakada, a professor of synthetic chemistry at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and corresponding author of this study.

Nakada believes that this is the world's first total synthesis of cotylenin A to ever be reported.

Previous biological studies have revealed that cotylenin A combined in treatment can program cell death for a wide range of human cancer cell lines and suppress tumor growth. In addition, cotylenin A was found to induce the differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells when combined with a specific pharmaceutical drug.

Despite its potential, producing cotylenin A from natural resources is not possible because the fungus which produces cotylenin A loses all its ability to proliferate during preservation, which would create a dearth of supply. Also, cotylenin A has a complex structure where two carbocyclic five-membered rings are fused with a formidable carbocyclic eight-membered ring with a uniquely-structured, glucose-based sugar attached. Chemically synthesizing a carbocyclic eight-membered ring is known to be difficult, and because the carbocyclic ring system includes a number of functional groups such as moieties, these features have made it challenging for scientists in the field to artificially synthesize cotylenin A.

"What we did in our method was to separate the structure of cotylenin A into three fragments," Nakada explains. "Each fragment was then prepared with commercially-available chemical compounds using different reactions, such as a catalytic asymmetric intramolecular cyclopropanation (CAIMCP) developed by us. Afterwards, we assembled the two fragments back together using a coupling reaction, followed by a cyclization of the carbocyclic eight-membered ring which was mediated by the chemical element palladium and a coupling with the sugar-part fragment which was catalyzed by the chemical element rhodium." He adds, "The total synthesis took about 25 steps, and our synthesized product is identical to those of naturally occurring cotylenin A."

Nakada says that his team has now succeeded in achieving this synthesis in only 20 steps, and by further reducing the number of steps, producing an adequate amount of cotylenin A will become possible. He hopes that the method they developed will contribute to further biological studies of cotylenin A and to the discovery of an anticancer drug that exhibits stronger anticancer activity and causes no side effects by modifying cotylenin A, as well as to the application for a total artificial synthesis of various compounds in the future.

###

Reference

Title of original article: Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Cotylenin A

Authors: Masahiro Uwamori, Ryunosuke Osada, Ryoji Sugiyama, Kotaro Nagatani, and Masahisa Nakada

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c01774

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

About Waseda University

Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university which has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. Today, the student body at Waseda is approximately 50,000, nearly 8,000 of whom are from overseas, hailing from 125 countries. To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en
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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."
COVID-19 has thrown our industry into unknown territory, Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a written statement. While parting ways with our colleagues is excruciating, we must be sensitive to commercial realities so we can continue to fulfill our purpose of care over the long term  through this pandemic and for what lies beyond.
(CNN)  John Krasinski is clearly a hopeless romantic.

As proof of that the actor/director hosted a very special wedding on episode seven of his online show "Some Good News."

Krasinski shared what he said was "Perhaps my favorite love story of the week was a couple down in Maryland, whose wedding proposal was oddly familiar."

That's because the couple, identified as Susan and John, recreated the now famous proposal of Krasinski's character from "The Office" Jim, to the character of Pam played by Jenna Fischer.

John explained that the series meant a lot to him and Susan.

"So I knew the proposal needed to be something really special but also really something unique," John said. "'The Office' has been something that has connected the two of us for a very, very long time so it just felt right."

It was a hit with his bride-to-be.

"Then he got down on one knee and he said 'Just like Jim, I can't wait any longer,'" Susan recalled.

The pair had tweeted Krasinski to ask him if he could attend their virtual wedding.

But he did them one better, whipping out a certificate to prove that he had gotten ordained as a minister and telling them the wedding was going to happen right then.

He then surprised the couple with their parents, best friends and by nominating himself and Fischer to serve as best man and matron of honor.

The surprises weren't done as country star Zac Brown sang a special song which had the bride wiping away tears.

Krasinski followed that by inviting "some of my family" in the form of his cast members from "The Office" who recreated their now-famous wedding dance from a past episode to the Chris Brown tune "Forever."

We're not crying, you're crying!




Haiti - China : 2nd arrival of equipment and materials to fight Covid-19





Monday, Dr. Marie Greta Roy Clement the Minister of Public Health, accompanied by her Director General Dr. Laure Adrien received at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport the 2nd cargo of medical materials and equipment ordered by the Government to fight against the Covid-19.



This second shipment contains in particular 75,500 personal protective equipment (PPE), 25,000 "medical overcoats", 500 complete medical beds and 150,000 N95 masks. "These equipments and materials will be distributed through the departmental health directorates," said Dr. Laure Adrien.



Recall that 5 deliveries are planned, totaling 463 tonnes of equipment, the 3 remaining flights should arrive in Haiti within one to two weeks.



In addition, Minister Clement recalled "We have identified many cases of community transmission, the population is asked to respect the principles of hygiene in order to limit the spread of the disease" https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30749-haiti-flash-more-than-200-confirmed-cases-in-the-country.html



Recall that the order of $18.5 million Government involved, among other things, 2.5 million medical gloves, 300,000 sterilized gowns, 10 automatic biochemistry analyzers, 100 respirators and accessories, 1,500 hospital beds, 500 infusion pump units, 200,000 KN 95 masks, 1.5 million disposable surgical masks, 250,000 personal protective equipment (glasses, visors and shoes), 2,500 oxygen cylinders and 9 oxygen generators... https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30395-haiti-covid-19-daily-bulletin-march-29-2020.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30395-haiti-covid-19-daily-bulletin-march-29-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30721-haiti-china-first-arrival-of-equipment-and-materials-to-fight-covid-19.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30543-haiti-taiwan-a-first-batch-of-materials-to-fight-against-covid-19-has-arrived.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30395-haiti-covid-19-daily-bulletin-march-29-2020.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















A 16-year-old Tunisian boy has been arrested on Tuesday under suspicion of raping an Italian woman who was out jogging.

The 40-year-old was running near La Maddalena, a town on one of the islands of Sardinia, Italy.

The suspect is reportedly an asylum seeker, staying at the asylum reception centre at La Maddalena, and was arrested by the police.

He has been accused of raping the woman on a running track, close to the town centre, in what was described as an isolated area.

The teenager reportedly grabbed and jumped on the woman as she was running, and then after raping her attempted to strangle her with his bare hands.

At this point, two men running past heard the woman screaming and chased the 16-year-old off, saving the woman's life. The two men then took her to hospital.

The rape happened on a running track in La Maddalena (stock image), a province on an island in Sardinia, Italy. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of rape

Once the incident was reported to the police, the local law enforcement began a manhunt, locking the area down to stop the boy from leaving the town.

They were able to capture him at around 1 a.m., and took him into custody.

The victim was reportedly in a state of shock after the attack, and suffered bruises and scratches on her body, in addition to major trauma.

Colonel Davide Crapa, head of the carabinieri - the local law enforcement - said that the boy was known to the police and is now being held.

The town, La Maddalena, sits on an island with the same name, at the North-Eastern tip of Sardinia.

La Maddalena, normally a quiet Italian seaside town (stock image), was locked down by the police once the assault was reported, and they were able to capture the boy and arrest him

News of the attack comes just days after another rape was reported in Italy on May 3 at a Naples bus stop, involving a Senegalese migrant.

In the earlier case, an illegal migrant allegedly raped a coronavirus nurse in a terrifying 45-minute ordeal while she waited for the bus home after finishing her late shift treating Covid-19 patients, according to reports in the Italian media.

The migrant from Senegal was arrested on May 3 for allegedly raping the 48-year-old after she left work at a Naples hospital at around 3pm.

The incident happened at the Corso Arnaldo Lucci Metropark bus stop, just behind Naples' main train station. Police arrived after about 45 minutes.

The incident happened at the Corso Arnaldo Lucci Metropark bus stop (pictured), just behind Naples' main train station. Police arrived after about 45 minutes

During the ordeal on the deserted street, the nurse saw another woman walking past across the road and called out to her but she did not hear.

'He kept repeating 'let me do what I want or I'll kill you. Stand still and don't scream',' the nurse told La Repubblica.

'He was double my size and all his weight was on my back. He got angry because my jeans were too tight and he couldn't take them off.'

The nurse works in the psychiatry department of the Naples hospital, looking after patients recovering from the trauma of having coronavirus.

She said the incident went on for 45 minutes as she waited for her bus home to Avellino, after getting the subway.

The migrant from Senegal was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping the 48-year-old after she left work at a Naples hospital at around 3pm (file image of an Italian police car)

She had arrived early at the Metropark and had an hour to wait because of the reduced transport services due to the coronavirus crisis. She says there was no one around.

She has told how the rapist jumped over a fence and came towards her and grabbed her arm. Thinking she was being robbed, the nurse tried to give him her purse before he told her that wasn't what he wanted.

She says he threw her on the ground and put his hand over her mouth as she desperately waited for someone to come and help, adding that there are several cameras in the car park.

'He would put his hands everywhere and get angry because I was defending myself.

'They use drones to find people who go to the beach despite the Covid emergency. Why don't they use them to prevent these and other attacks?', the nurse said.

She told him not to hurt her because she was pregnant, that she couldn't breathe and that she needed water, and then she told him that if someone came he would be arrested.

But he kept trying to rip her jeans off. She says her back was shattered and her neck covered in bruises. At one point he put his arms around her neck to choke her.

The bus then arrived and when the driver saw what was going on he got out and started shouting. The army had also arrived and surrounded the man, as she sheltered on the bus.

The police - who watched the CCTV footage back - took the woman to the hospital and informed her husband . The nurse says she hasn't yet gone back to work.

She added that her husband feels guilty and helpless for not being able to protect her and the trauma has overwhelmed the whole family.

She says she doesn't know if the physical or mental pain was worse and she will now struggle to move on with her life and help other people who have experienced trauma.
SALT LAKE CITY and SEATTLE, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualtrics, the leader in customer experience and creator of the experience management category, today announced the appointment of education industry veteran Omar Garriott, who will lead the continued growth and momentum of Qualtrics' Education team. Garriott is responsible for driving the global strategy of the company's Education vertical across sales, marketing, product, and customer success.

"We're excited to welcome Omar Garriott to lead the Qualtrics Education team globally. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will help our customers close their experience gaps, across key stakeholder groups, with experience management," said Jeremy Smith, Executive Vice President of Industries and Services, Qualtrics. "The education industry is deeply important to Qualtrics. Our roots are in the academic market, and we're investing even more in helping educational institutions improve their outcomes at scale."

Qualtrics is the established experience management provider of choice for schools and academic institutions around the world to help eliminate poor experiences and drive continuous improvement for students, parents, teachers, staff, and alumni. Combined with Qualtrics' in-house experts, tech consultants, and world-class customer success teams, schools and institutions can optimize every aspect of the academic experience from student application to alumnus. Today, nearly half of the largest K-12 districts and 99 of the top 100 business schools in the country alone use Qualtrics , from public school districts in Denver, Orange County and Milwaukee, to colleges and universities including the University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan and Dartmouth.

"Experience management has never been more vital to supporting every one of an educational institution's key stakeholders: prospects, students and families, staff, alumni, and supporters," said Omar Garriott, Global Industry Lead for Education, Qualtrics. "As schools adjust to new realities, Qualtrics provides education leaders with the technology and expertise they need to quickly identify, address, and optimize any essential outcome  from applicant experience to the classroom to alumni engagement and giving."

With over a decade of experience at leading technology companies, Garriott joined Qualtrics in March 2020 and immediately led the team in launching a series of free COVID-19 solutions to help schools across K-12 and higher education navigate an entirely new teaching and learning environment: the Remote Educator Pulse, K-12 Remote Learning Pulse, and Higher Ed Remote Learning Pulse. Thousands of schools are now using these solutions.

Prior to Qualtrics, Garriott co-founded a new business for Salesforce in K-12 education, as Senior Director for Education Cloud. Garriott previously launched and led the student/university team at LinkedIn and led iPad marketing for K-12 and higher education institutions at Apple. Garriott started his career as a Teach for America teacher. He holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. from the University of Virginia.

To learn more about Qualtrics in Education, visit www.qualtrics.com/education .

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Qualtrics

Related Links

http://www.qualtrics.com


To the Times:

I want to expand and extrapolate on the insights offered by Yale Universitys Dr. David Katz, about how we might respond next the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Katz offers a perspective that is simultaneously hopeful, cautious and well worth pondering. He has totally devoted himself to studying this virus and this crisis and offering his take on how to deal with it to minimize its carnage, while also trying to maximize the collective common good. In essence, Dr. Katz wants to tamp down the hysteria of those who say that we must do everything humanly possible to avoid a single additional death, the economy be damned. While, he also cautions against those who say reopen everything now, throw caution to the wind, and pray for the best.

When the facts are put into perspective, it is clear that the bulk of those most effected by the virus, or killed by it, are quite concentrated in a few population segments. The elderly, especially those confined to a nursing home, and those with immuno-compromising preexisting conditions, are the mostly highly and severely impacted. My interpretation of Dr. Katzs intent, is for us to put a laser-like focus on protecting and safeguarding these groups. Most of the rest of us, following CDC guidelines, should be allowed to gradually phase back into the open as businesses and schools re-emerge from isolation.

The point is, that somewhere between mass hysteria and the belief of some in magical, myopic thinking, there is a better way to move ahead, informed by both science and common sense. The real question is do our leaders have any thoughts or concerns beyond their own narrow political self-interests, will they pursue the common good, or only what they view as best for themselves?

Ken Derow, Swarthmore
At Least 19 Iranian Sailors Die in Oman Sea Accident - Iran's Navy

Sputnik News

07:12 GMT 11.05.2020(updated 07:53 GMT 11.05.2020)

Naval News earlier reported, citing local sources, that the Iranian Moudge-class frigate 'Jamaran' had accidentally fired at the friendly general-purpose ship 'Konarak' during live-fire exercises near Jask in the Gulf of Oman.

At least 19 people were killed and 15 were injured in an incident with Iran's Konarak support warship in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Army's press service said on Monday.

"On Sunday afternoon, during an exercise involving a number of naval vessels in the waters of Jask and Chabahar, there was an accident aboard the Konarak light support vessel," the statement read. "The number of this accident's martyrs is 19; 15 have also been injured."

Media earlier reported that the Iranian Moudge-class frigate 'Jamaran' had accidentally shot at the friendly general-purpose ship 'Konarak' during live-fire exercises near Jask in the Gulf of Oman.

Meanwhile, Iran's army neither confirmed nor refuted the reports, calling it an accident without providing further details.

A Sputnik

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Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), has partnered with China Gezhouba Group Co., Ltd. for the construction of the Dabar Hydro Power Plant (DPP) in the southern Herzegovina region. The contract was signed at a ceremony in the city of Trebinje, the Chinese Embassy in BiH announced on Wednesday.

China's Ambassador to BiH Ji Ping and RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic attended the signing ceremony via video link, respectively, from Sarajevo, the capital of BiH, and Banja Luka, the capital of RS.

"The COVID-19 outbreak has not stopped China from deepening cooperation with BiH. The DPP is a new achievement in this cooperation and the best evidence of the convergence of interests in the era of globalization," said Ji Ping.

Viskovic said the DPP will be the first large-scale hydropower plant to be built in RS in recent years. The project is of great significance as it will effectively improve the region's power supply and will drive local economic development.

The 200-million-plus-euro (216 million U.S. dollars) plant will generate 249 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year.
Rockin' R River Rides

River recreation is officially allowed under the state's plan to reopen Texas, and and some tubers wasted no time.

Rockin' R River Rides, a popular tube and kayak outfitter, shared a video with mySA of the first weekend on the Guadalupe since officials allowed the reopening of rivers, lakes, beaches and parks in Texas.
36-year-old, Albert Martinez, was officially charged by the Nueces County grand jury for being in direct contact with a car crash that led to the death of 29-year-old Alejandro Garcia.

About the 2019 Second-Degree Felony Case

According to the Caller Times, his arrest occurred April 16, 2020 and he faced double charges of a second-degree felony for murder and third-degree felony for driving intoxicated.

The actual crash happened last year in March 1st, where Martinez was then accused of striking Garcia with his car on Laredo and 17th streets. At the time of crash, Corpus Christi officers revealed Martinez fled from the scene instead of calling help for Garcia. His bond was originally $125,000.

Corpus Christi Police Department stated the incident occurred at the intersection of Laredo Street and 17th Street on the Westside around 10:38 p.m.

This incident was Martinez's third drinking while intoxicated offense

Texas Drunk Driving Accident Statistics

The following information was provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT):

3,773 people were killed in Texas traffic accidents in 2016, marking a 5.45% increase from the 3,578 deaths reported in 2015.

638 of the deaths reported in 2016 were attributed to head-on collision.

Alcohol was determined to be a factor in 987 traffic deaths, accounting for roughly 26% of all Texas traffic fatalities.

An additional 264,076 people were injured in auto accidents in Texas in 2016.

Based on reportable data for 2016, TxDOT estimates:

One person was killed in a traffic accident every 2 hours and 20 minutes.



One person was injured every 1 minute and 59 seconds.



A reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds.

Contact an Experienced Texas Auto Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car crash, contact Thomas J. Henry. Our experienced car accident attorneys have experience handling a multitude of injury accidents, no matter how severe the crash or injury. You may be entitled to compensation for your damages if another driver acted negligently. Our firm has the experienced lawyers and financial resources that you need to achieve the real results you deserve.

Our firm has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and Austin, serving clients across Texas and nationwide. Call us today for a free case review  attorneys are available 24/7, nights and weekends. If you cannot make it to our office, we can visit you at your home, in the hospital, or at work.

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Kabul, May 12 : Afghan forces in a joint operation have arrested three "key" Islamic State (IS) leaders in Kabul, the country's the primary intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) said.

Zia-Ul-Haq, known as Abu Omar Khorasani, the IS leader for south and east Asia, was arrested on Monday along with Saheeb, head of public relations, and Abu Ali, the group's intelligence head, reports TOLO News.

Police and NDS special forces apprehended the men in the Kart-e-Naw area in PD8 of Kabul city, according to a statement by the agency.

The operation to arrest the three IS leaders was launched after the four other senior members of the terror group confessed while in the custody of the NDS, the statement said.

According to the NDS, Khorasani is a citizen of Afghanistan.

Five days ago, the special unit of the NDS raided "terrorist hideouts" in three operations, two in Kabul's PD11 and another in Shakar Dara district, 25 km north of the capital city.

According to the NDS statement, five insurgents were killed in the operations and eight others were injured.

According to the NDS, the group comprises IS and Haqqani Network members and led by Sanatullah, an IS commander, and was involved in the rocket attack on President Ashraf Ghani's inauguration ceremony, the attack on the Sikh temple in Kabul, the attack on Afghan politicians gathering in the west of Kabul, and another two rocket attacks on Kabul, reports TOLO News.

The NDS added that the group was also involved in targeted killings in Kabul.

A large number of explosives and weapons were also confiscated, according to the NDS statement.

Security force members also sustained casualties in the operation: two were killed and six others were wounded, according to security sources.

In April, Aslam Farooqi, a key member of IS' Khorasan branch, and 19 of his associates were arrested in Kandahar.

"Abdullah Orakzai, who is known as Aslam Farooqi, the leader of the Khorasan branch of the IS terrorist group, and his 19 associates, including Qari Zahid and Saifullah, known as Abu Talaha, were arrested during complex operation by the special units of the NDS," the agency said.

Farooq was operating as the commander of IS' military wing in Pakistan's Peshawar city and was deployed in Abdul Khel valley of Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, it added.
19:40 | Lima, May. 12.

According to the document, the ex-president (1990-2000) is the only inmate of the Lima-based Barbadillo Prison, making it very difficult for him to catch the COVID-19 disease. It added that he has enough space to carry out physical and intellectual activities in accordance with his status as a sentenced person.
Well, gee willikers, who could've possibly seen this coming?

5G, the mobile industry's oft-cited savior for slow smartphone sales, isn't exactly lighting the world on fire  especially here in America. In fact, if anything, it appears to be doing just the opposite: 5G is actively acting as a negative asterisk to otherwise fine phones and encouraging people to avoid them entirely. And really, who can blame 'em?

Let's back up for a sec and set the stage to this story  because there's a fair amount of context to consider here. Smartphone sales in general, y'see, haven't been in particularly great shape for quite a while now. And it's no wonder: In spite of endless efforts to come up with flashy-seeming "innovations" like folding phones and a variety of curving, sloping, and suggestively gyrating screens (okay, so maybe not that last one, but it's probably just a matter of time), people are hanging onto their perfectly fine old devices for longer and longer.

So the companies that make their money by selling said devices have been growing increasingly desperate for an answer. And most of 'em seemed downright convinced 5G would absolutely, positively, no doubt whatsoever be the magic ingredient that'd have everyone clamoring to open up their wallets and move into some shiny new top-dollar hardware.

Think I'm exaggerating? At a lavish media event in Hawaii just before the start of 2019, a Verizon spokesperson told reporters the carrier "believes customers will pay for utility and value"  going on to say, confidently, that "there will be that, definitely, in 5G." ("Plus, we know we can tack pretty much anything onto people's phone bills and get away with it," the spokesperson presumably forgot to add with a cackle.)

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Sprint's former managers were even more optimistic, telling investors in late 2018 that the carrier would "have a lot of room to increase our price of unlimited" and that it was "looking at 5G as an amazing opportunity for the company not only for the position of the company, but also to charge for the blazing fast speeds." (Weird how we haven't seen that in an ad yet, isn't it? "5G: An amazing opportunity for us to charge you more!")

Even as recently as this past January, industry analysts were saying 5G would invariably, absolutely, definitely cause smartphone sales to rebound.

And yet here we are.

The 5G flagship reality check

Now, let's make one thing clear: There's an awful lot happening at once right now  not least of all that whole global pandemic thing you might've read a thing or two about  and it's impossible to draw any direct connections between any single cause and the broad effects on smartphone sales that we're seeing. But it also seems impossible not to suspect at least some manner of relationship between the all-in, no-choice-but-to-embrace-5G mentality device-makers are adopting with Android flagships right now and the overall indifference being expressed by mobile-tech users about the resulting products.

So far in 2020, phone sales are, to use the technical term, totally in the crapper. IDC found phone shipments dropped nearly 12% worldwide in the first quarter of the year  the largest year-to-year decrease the firm has ever measured. And among the regions that contributed most prominently to the "drastic worldwide decline"? Yes, indeedly: the United States, where smartphone sales saw a whopping 16% drop from the previous year.

Samsung's heavily hyped 5G-packin' Galaxy S20, specifically, is apparently seeing sales that are less than half what the company's had with its past couple flagships  both in the U.S. and internationally.

And here's where things get especially interesting: When people are spending money on new Android devices these days, they're opting increasingly for lower-priced, value-minded models over the top-dollar, flagship-caliber offerings.

Well, consider a few fun facts that seem at least somewhat related to all of this:

1. 5G is raising the cost of flagship phones considerably

This year's Galaxy S20 started at  started at  a thousand bucks. That's up $250 from last year's Galaxy S10 model. Even the typically "value"-level OnePlus priced its 2020 flagship at $700, which was a $100 jump from the somewhat similar (and released just six months prior) previous-generation phone.

In typical times, a thousand-dollar phone would be a tough enough pill to swallow. Factor in the tightened budgets and general uncertainty so many people and companies are facing as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and it suddenly seems like an extraordinarily unfortunate time to have device prices shooting so high.

And no one's really contesting that the main cost-raising variable in these phones is the added presence of 5G. We knew that was coming when we started hearing about plans for these products last year  specifically, when the company that makes the processors powering most current Android flagships started talking about its top-of-the-line offering for 2020 devices.

Speaking of which...

2. Most Android phone-makers see no choice but to go with 5G for their 2020 flagships

Qualcomm, the aforementioned supplier of most high-end Android phone chips, forced every Android device-maker who wants its top-of-the-line processor to embrace 5G as part of the package for 2020. And that package includes not only the regular chip, which traditionally featured an embedded modem within it, but also a new separate 5G modem component that then requires a more complex internal design.

And guess what? All of that means the associated phones cost more moulah to make. And we all know to whom that added expense ultimately gets passed.

So unless a device-maker is willing to go with a lower-end processor and risk the ire of spec-obsessed reviewers (something a couple of smaller players appear to be considering), there's no way around accepting 5G as part of the equation for a top-of-the-line, 2020 phone.

And yet:

3. The presence of 5G doesn't really provide anything of value to most of us right now

We've talked about this before, but it warrants revisiting: High-tech and futuristic as it may sound, having 5G in your phone probably isn't gonna amount to much when it comes to real-world benefit for you  not now, at least, and probably not too soon into the foreseeable future.

It doesn't take much digging to see why. Plain and simple, 5G coverage is still more the exception than the rule here in the U.S. at the moment. That seems highly unlikely to change overnight. And even in places that do have it, the short-range and high-interference nature of the technology means it still isn't actually gonna be available in most areas.

Heck, even when 5G is actively available, the results are often underwhelming. I mean, look at these excerpts from reviews of the 5G-capable Galaxy S20  that aforementioned $1,000-and-up phone. There's one consistent trend, and it sure is something.

From Wired:

As for 5G, carriers are still building out the network, so you can't get connectivity anywhere except for pockets of coverage in certain cities. And when you can connect to 5G, the speeds aren't much faster than 4G LTE. That's been the case using a T-Mobile SIM on this phone. I also used a Verizon SIM in my testing, and while I was able to get blazing-fast speeds of up to a gigabit in select areas near a 5G node, I had to go to those nodes and rarely came across them naturally.

From The Verge:

The Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus are the first mainstream 5G phones, and that fact is a huge part of their marketing push. Unfortunately, the carriers I have to test on in the Bay Area  T-Mobile and Verizon  dont offer 5G service here yet. Even if you do live in a 5G area for your carrier, Im far from convinced that the extra cost that 5G adds to the phone is worth it.

From Droid Life:

Should you buy this phone, youll get a mixed bag of 5G experience and your expectations for what 5G will produce should be low. ... The 5G connections Im getting are not great. In fact, Im pretty sure my 5G speeds and connections are lower and less stable than the previous 4G LTE connections I had from similar locations. ... 5G is here, technically, but its nowhere near the future we keep hearing about from all of the parties looking to get rich(er) off of it. Unfortunately, were being forced to pay for it now.

You get the idea: By most assessments, 5G is raising the cost of flagship phones while providing little in the way of real-world value. Combine that with the increasingly attractive array of midrange phone options coming out these days  and add in the effects some people and companies are now seeing on their budgets from coronavirus-related cutbacks  and, well, it's hard not to wonder if this could be the perfect storm that turns folks away from high-priced flagships and onto the more affordable midrange alternatives.

And that's a dangerous slope to approach  at least, from the perspective of the companies selling these phones.

We talked about this on my podcast last week, and it's an interesting possibility to ponder: What if, as a result of all of those factors we just mentioned, a significant percentage of the phone-buying public opts to go for a midrange model instead of a flagship phone for their next device, whether on an individual or a company-wide level? And what if, as I contend would happen for the vast majority of people, most of those newly minted midrange-phone-buyers then realize they aren't giving up anything of great significance and are still getting all the parts of the phone experience that actually matter to them or their employees  only at a fraction of the cost?

5G could end up having the opposite effect of the phone industry wanted

The harsh reality is that for most people, the difference between a flagship phone processor and a midrange phone processor is never going to be noticeable. The difference between premium external materials and more mundane plastics is going to be of little to no concern. And the lack of marketing-friendly bells and whistles will quickly be forgotten. As long as they're getting a capable camera, a commendable user experience, and a respectable level of post-sales software support (something an average consumer may remain ignorant about but that any business user or enterprise purchasing department should certainly be considering), most phone-owners are gonna be perfectly content.

And especially once you realize that a phone like the midrange Pixel 4a effectively costs you $11 a month (assuming you keep it for the full three years in which it's supported and thus fully advisable to use) whereas a top-of-the-line, flagship-caliber 5G phone like the Galaxy S20 comes out to four times that amount, $44 a month (again, assuming that you keep that device for the full two years in which it's supported)  well, it's hard to see most individuals or IT decision-makers thinking that higher lifetime cost is worth their while once they've begun to explore the options.

In a sense, then, 5G could end up having the opposite effect of what the phone industry wanted, thanks to the way in which it's being forced upon everyone before the technology is fully ready. And by the time the tech is ready, it'll likely have trickled down to those midrange-level devices and become available in a far more affordable and less compromise-laden form.

Funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it?

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A cyclist, 59 has been blamed for 'getting too close' to a dog walker after the canine allegedly attacked her on a shared pathway in Sydney's Western suburbs.

The rider was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after an alleged 'vicious bite' from a Blue Cattle dog on the entry to the M7 shared pathway at Elizabeth Hills on Monday night.

Allan Bollins shared an image of the dog walker and their pet in a Facebook group for Sydney cyclist to track down the owner.

He said the pet owner fled the scene before authorities arrived.

The cyclist had to receive skin grafts and is recovering in hospital after the dog attack in western Sydney on Monday night

'My friend's husband asked the dog owner to call 000, however, she decided to call a male partner/friend who turned up and abused my friend's husband saying its the fault of my friend riding too close to the dog,' Mr Bollins wrote.

'Unfortunately, the dog owner and dog fled the scene and the abusive partner/friend also fled the scene before the Police and ambulance arrived.'

A man shared an image of the dog in a Facebook group for Sydney cyclists as part of a public man-hunt to track down the owner who he said fled after her dog attacked a bike rider

He told Daily Mail Australia it was 'shameful' someone could walk away while a woman lay on the ground screaming in pain from an injury caused by their dog.

The dog in the photo is a Blue Heeler, a cattle dog known for its protective nature which can become aggressive if threatened.

Other cyclists were torn in their evaluation of the incident, with some defending the dog for its natural reaction and others criticising the dog walker.

'I'm not sticking up for the dog owner or the actions after the incident as she should of (sic) had some duty of care, but the dog was just being a dog. Keep some distance from them when you see them, especially working dogs,' one wrote.

'Dog bit a person, there is no excuse that justifies this. If my dog did this, I would be mortified and have to let him go. The owner of this dog is as bad as the dog,' another wrote.

One suggested police should be able to track down CCTV footage due to a large number of cameras on the M7 shared pathway.

A spokesperson for New South Wales ambulance confirmed two crews were called after 6pm on Monday night to transport a patient with minor injuries to Fairfield hospital.

New South Wales police told Daily Mail Australia they're investigating reports of a dog attack.
A man who went grocery shopping with a KKK hood in a California town with a history of racist incidents won't be charged for wearing the offensive garb, as it is protected by free speech.

According to a statement from the San Diego Sheriff's Department, the man explained to authorities that the 'hood was not intended to be a racial statement' but was intended to show his 'frustration with the coronavirus and having people tell him what he can and can not do.'

The unidentified man shocked residents in the San Diego suburb when he sported the KKK hood on May 2, just days before another area local - Dustin Hart, aka Dusty Shekel - wore a mask with a Nazi swastika attached during his shopping trip in a Santee store.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department has announced that it won't charge the man who wore a KKK hood while shopping in a Vons supermarket in Santee on May 2, citing his protections under the First Amendment

The unnamed shopper was pictured at the location just days before Dustin Hart (pictured) was seen wearing a Nazi swastika flag on his mask at another Santee store

'It was a mask, and it was stupid,' the unnamed man reportedly told the investigating parties, according to the statement sent to CBS 8.

A joint investigation by the department, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Diego District Attorney's Office found that there was 'insufficient evidence' to charge the man.

In determining not to charge the man, the sheriff's department cited a Supreme Court decision that ruled: 'The proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate.'

'That said, this incident should serve as a reminder for anyone contemplating wearing or displaying items closely associated with hate and human suffering that our society does not hold in high regards those who do so,' the sheriff's department added in their statement.

'It was a mask and it was stupid,' the unnamed man reportedly told the investigating parties, adding that he did not mean to make a 'racial statement'

In determining not to charge the man, the sheriff's department cited a Supreme Court decision that ruled: 'The proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate'

'Santee is a city of families and the community is rightfully disgusted at this man's despicable behavior.'

Just the week before the May 2 incident, San Diego County mandated that all residents wear face coverings to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Vons employees at the location on Mission Gorge Road noticed the man and approached him, demanding that he remove the hood or leave the store.

But the man refused and continued shopping.

Vons employees at the location on Mission Gorge Road noticed the man and approached him, demanding that he remove the hood or leave the store

Initially the man refused but he would eventually remove the offensive garment

As he stood at the checkout line, a store supervisor approached him once again and demanded that he take off the hood or leave, a spokesperson for Vons, Albertsons and Pavilions stores told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The man eventually removed the hood and purchased his items. He then left without incident.

Vons released a statement to DailyMail.com which read: 'At Vons, fostering an environment of courtesy, dignity, and respect is one of our highest priorities, and we work hard to hold everyone in our stores to these standards, including customers.

'Unfortunately, an alarming and isolated incident occurred at our Vons store in Santee, where a customer chose an inflammatory method of wearing a face covering.

'Needless to say, it was shocking.

The man in the Klan hood is seen above getting some fruit during his shopping trip on Saturday

The man removed the hood, completed his purchase, and left the Vons store in Santee (seen above) without incident

'Several members of our team asked the customer to remove it, and all requests were ignored until the customer was in the checkout area.

'This was a disturbing incident for our associates and customers, and we are reviewing with our team how to best handle such inappropriate situations in the future.'

Images of the man in his hood circulated on social media. He was also photographed without the hood.

The man, a middle-age Caucasian, was seen with long hair wrapped in a pony-tail. He was wearing a camo t-shirt and black shorts.

The images of the man in the white hood ignited outrage on social media, prompting public officials and anti-hate groups to condemn the incident.

Santee Mayor John Minto praised the Vons employees who stepped in and demanded that the customer remove the offensive hood.

'Many thanks to all who stepped forward to curtail this sad reminder of intolerance,' the mayor said.

John Minto, the mayor of Santee, praised the Vons employees who stepped in and demanded that the customer remove the offensive hood

'Santee, its leaders and I will not tolerate such behavior.'

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacobs said: 'The images I've seen are abhorrent.

'This blatant racism has no place in Santee or any part of San Diego County.

'It is not who we are. It is not what we stand for and can't be tolerated.'

'San Diego is #NoPlaceForHate,' Tammy Gillies, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in the San Diego area, said on Twitter.

Last year, officials in Santee hired a Tennessee-based marketing firm to help improve the town's image.

Santee, a town of 60,000 tucked into a corner of east San Diego County in Southern California, has experienced a development boom in recent decades.

'This was a disturbing incident for our associates and customers, and we are reviewing with our team how to best handle such inappropriate situations in the future,' Vons said in response to angry social media users

But it is also in the midst of an effort to rebrand itself as a welcoming community for all after being known for unflattering nicknames like 'Klantee' and 'Santucky.'

Santee has a reputation of being a hotbed of racist activity.

The most high-profile hate crime took place in 1998, when five white men left an African American Marine paralyzed after breaking his neck during an alcohol-fueled ambush at a party.

Despite California's image as a liberal haven, it has also historically been home to several active hate organizations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In Southern California, the Ku Klux Klan has held rallies and demonstrations over the course of decades.

In April of last year, a 19-year-old gunman believed to have been motivated by far-right ideology killed one worshipper and wounded three others at a synagogue in Poway, just outside of San Diego.
Researchers from Stanford University have revised their study of how many people in Santa Clara County have coronavirus antibodies - but say it's still much higher than previously believed.

Last month, their analysis found that between 2.5 and 5.2 percent of residents tested positive for antibodies.

That meant the number of infected Americans in the county was 50 to 80 times higher than officials had reported.

Now, the team says 2.8 percent of Santa Clara residents contracted the virus but didn't know they were ill.

That's 54 times more than the 956 confirmed cases that had been counted in the area as of April 1.

A revised coronavirus antibody study from Stanford suggests 2.8% of Santa Clara residents contracted the virus, which is 54 times more than reported. Pictured: Justin Manalac, a senior clinical laboratory scientist at Stanford, prepares reagents for testing COVID-19 antibodies

Initially, the researchers said between 2.5% and 5.2% of residents tested positive for antibodies, up to 80 times more cases thanwer reported. Pictured: A sample count of Santa Clara residents tested for antibodies

Outside experts criticized the results and said researchers were overestimating how many people had the virus. Pictured: Nurses Albert Legayada (left) and Fred Bueno care for a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, California, May 6

'The most important implication of these findings is that the number of infections is much greater than the reported number of cases,' the authors wrote.

'This suggests that the large majority of the population does not have antibodies and may be susceptible to the virus.'

For the study, published on pre-print site medRxiv.org, the team tested 3,300 people at three locations in Santa Clara County on April 3 and April 4.

The test is conducted using a drop of blood taken from a finger prick, The drop is then placed on a paper strip.

If the test determines someone has antibodies for the coronavirus, the blood makes the colors on the strip of paper changed.

Initially, the study estimated the number of infected residents was between 2.5 percent and 5.2 percent, which suggested that as many as 80,000 people in Santa Clara were infected.

However, not long after version 1 was published, criticism started pouring in.

Some experts critiqued the antibody test the researchers used, which was not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Others said that, because volunteers were recruited via Facebook, the participants were not random nor representative of the county.

Additionally, the raw percentage of people who tested positive for antibodies was 1.5 percent, which would mean the true number of infections is only 30 times higher than reported.

However, researchers adjusted that number for population and test performance characteristics.

Version 2 is not as weighted as its predecessor with estimates on the lower side of the first predictions.

'The new report is an improvement on the first version,' said Dr Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science and director of the Applied Statistics Center at Columbia University, according to The Mercury News.

Even with revised results, the findings from the Stanford study must be interpreted with caution.

It's unclear what levels of antibodies is needed for immunity and how long antibodies remain in the body, be it weeks, months or years.

However, health officials say antibody tests could help scientists understand how widespread the virus is and how many people come into contact with the virus and don't get sick.

This is important because it could allow immune people to leave their homes and return to work and shore up the workforce as well as help healthcare workers determine if they are immune.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has criticized the suspension of a Kurdish reporter in northeast Syria who did not refer to killed Kurdish fighters there as having been martyred.

The New York-based organization that promotes press freedom said authorities in the autonomous administration of north and east Syria should allow Rudaws Vivian Fatah to report again at once.

The authorities in northeastern Syria should reinstate Vivian Fatahs press credentials immediately, and stop interfering with the workings of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.

The autonomous administration is the Kurdish-led government in northeast Syria. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) is the dominant party there. Rudaw is affiliated with the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The KDP and the Barzani family that runs it also enjoy support in Kurdish areas of Syria. The PYDs armed wing, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), leads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that control northeast Syria.

Fatah was suspended Monday for a report she did on ongoing Kurdish unity negotiations between the PYD and KDP-backed groups in Syria. In the video report, she is standing in front of YPG graves that read sehid  an Arabic loan word in Kurdish meaning martyr. Kurds typically refer to their dead as martyrs, including when they died fighting the Islamic State  as YPG soldiers did.

However, in her report, Fatah said the soldiers were killed and not martyred.

The autonomous administration suspended her for two months after she offended martyrs and their families, a statement read. Rudaw defended Fatahs actions, saying martyr is a term with strong religious and political significance which is rarely used in news reporting.

The suspension comes at a time when Kurdish parties in Syria are trying to mend their long-damaged relations. While the Kurdish National Councils Rojava peshmerga has been prevented from returning to fight in Syria by the PYD, Turkeys invasion of northeast Syria in October helped prompt the two sides to talk. There are now negotiations between a KDP ally, the Kurdish National Council, and the PYD.

The PYD has a communalist, left-wing ideology derived from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. Turkey believes the YPG is a PKK offshoot, and this prompted Ankara to attack YPG positions near its border in October.

But the KDP has an oil-based relationship with Turkey and typically has a more politically conservative base, factors that have led to bad relations between the KDP and the PYD/YPG for years.

The Kurdish National Council, meanwhile, is more supportive of the Syrian opposition.

The autonomous administrations decision created a debate on Kurdish social media. Some accused Rudaw of hypocrisy for using martyr to describe its peshmerga forces who died in Iraqi Kurdistan. Others criticized the suspension for violating press freedom.
Afghan authorities say babies and their mothers were among those killed when three gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Kabul. The Afghan Interior Ministry said at least 14 people were killed in the May 12 attack, including two newborns and an unspecified number of nurses. Security forces managed to rescue 80 women and infants from the facility after killing the attackers in an hours-long shootout.
STEPANAKERT, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received today Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia Artak Davtyan, the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Issues related to army building and cooperation between the two Armenian states in the sphere were on the discussion agenda.

First deputy commander - chief of staff of the Artsakh Republic Defense Army Kamo Vardanyan was present at the meeting.
Boris Johnson should consider dropping slogans like stay at home and stay alert as the public has a real appetite for extensive information, William Hague has said.

The former Conservative leader said the approach of delivering a straightforward and direct message paid off in the early day of the battle against coronavirus but more nuance was needed now.

The Prime Minister has told the country stay alert, control the virus and save lives in new messaging, but the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have stuck with the stay home message.

Slogans don't work if you have to change them repeatedly, endlessly explain them, or if different versions are employed at the same time William Hague

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said Mr Johnsons team deserved credit for their prowess in coining slogans like Get Brexit Done and Take Back Control.

But he added: Such slogans also have their limitations, particularly when the simplicities of campaigning are succeeded by the complexities of governing.

Slogans dont work if you have to change them repeatedly, endlessly explain them, or if different versions are employed at the same time.

Expand Close Lord Hague said Mr Johnson should update Parliament before addressing the nation (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lord Hague said Mr Johnson should update Parliament before addressing the nation (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)

Lord Hague, who previously held Chancellor Rishi Sunaks Richmond seat, said the complications of the challenge ahead meant communication could not be reduced to slogans from here.

A slogan is required when it is necessary to get peoples attention or to cut through the news among other distractions. None of that is needed now: we are all concentrating and not talking about much else, he wrote.

He also advised Mr Johnson to present details of further loosening of restrictions to Parliament first, then address the nation, adding it would mean far fewer opportunities for critics to jump on the absence of detail.
In this file photo, balloons and signs help a family make a child's birthday festive during the coronavirus quarantine. In New Jersey, there was confusion about whether such events were permitted. Col. Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police clarified Monday that the events were permitted as long as no large crowds gathered. Read more

Drive-by parades are OK after all, New Jerseys emergency management director said Monday, clarifying earlier guidance that seemed to discourage the popular coronavirus events.

Col. Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police, who also serves as the state emergency management director, had issued a letter Saturday to the state Department of Education and its schools saying that in the name of public health, parades, including wave parades that invite people to gather at a certain location, should be canceled or postponed until the stay-at-home order is lifted.

The social distancing celebrations have become common since March, when Gov. Phil Murphy ordered most businesses closed and directed residents to stay at home until further notice because of the pandemic. For birthdays, parents organize their childrens friends to drive past their houses in decorated cars, and many schools have sent caravans of teachers driving through their students neighborhoods to honk, wave, and shout inspiring messages to children gathered on doorsteps and sidewalks. Others have been held to honor health-care workers or graduating seniors.

Callahan, at the governors daily news briefing on Monday, sought to clear up any confusion. He said that a wave parade that does not summon students or individuals to one location  is certainly not in violation" of Murphys executive order.

Murphy, in the past, has called such gatherings touching and Callahan on Monday said they were a great gesture to give that sense of solidarity, but said he had information about some planned parades that would gather students on the front lawn of schools or town halls.

Mount Laurel School District Superintendent George Rafferty said in a communication to parents on Wednesday that district officials believe it is in the best interest of the health and safety of our staff and families not to sponsor or encourage such parades as a way to recognize or acknowledge our staff or students.

Earlier, the school system had suggested that the township police department could issue citations if the parades were held. The police department, in a message to residents, said that was not the case and that parades could happen as long as they did so in a safe manner, but that it would not participate in them.

Other municipalities are aiding in the planning of such events.

In Collingswood, schools have held parades, organized by principals and blessed by the borough police, without gathering large groups of people, Superintendent Scott Oswald said.

The parades, Oswald said, bring life to a community in desperate need of something about which to smile. It was good for the spirits of our staff as it has been for the community. And the importance of that cannot be overstated.

School systems, Oswald said, know what were doing, and we dont and wont put peoples health in jeopardy.

Staff writer Pranshu Verma contributed to this article.
Saudi Aramco reported a 25% fall in net income for the first quarter on Tuesday, as the state-owned oil giant battles with a dramatic slide in crude prices and cratering global demand. In a release published Tuesday, the company said net income slid to 62.5 billion riyals ($16.6 billion) in the first three months of the year, down from 83.3 billion riyals over the same period in 2019. This was "primarily reflecting lower crude oil prices, as well as declining refining and chemicals margins and inventory re-measurement losses," the company said in a statement. Aramco said it would pay a dividend of $18.75 billion in the first quarter, despite the fall in profit. The company had pledged to issue a $75 billion dividend annually for five years as part of its pitch to investors before going public, and it does not appear to be rolling that back yet despite cuts to capital spending. The company said free cash flow in the first quarter was 56.3 billion riyals, down from 65.1 billion riyals over the same period last year. "The Covid-19 crisis is unlike anything the world has experienced in recent history and we are adapting to a highly complex and rapidly changing business environment," Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said in the release. "Aramco has demonstrated resilience during economic cycles and has an unparalleled position due to a strong balance sheet and low-cost structure."

The second quarter (is) where were going to start to see the full effects of the demand crisis and the demand shock on Aramco. Ellen Wald President, Transversal Consulting

The announcement comes amid an unprecedented global demand plunge as the world's economy is hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. International benchmark Brent crude is down more than 50% year-to-date, trading at just under $30 per barrel Monday morning London time  less than half of the price Saudi Arabia needs to balance its budget.

Fresh oil production cuts amid demand crash

The earnings from the Saudi Arabian oil company come after the country on Monday announced a further output cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) in June  equivalent to 1% of global output  to shore up markets. That's in addition to historic cuts agreed to in April by OPEC and non-OPEC producers totaling 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd). The April deal came after oil prices plunged amid the pandemic-led demand drop and a temporary oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that began in early March after the two couldn't agree on cuts to boost prices. That dispute saw Saudi Arabia increase production and exports, as well as slash its selling prices to buyers to increase its market share. The cut announced Monday means that Saudi Arabia will be producing 4.8 million bpd less than its April level  7.492 million bpd, according to the Saudi energy ministry, its lowest in 20 years. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also announced further cuts, following the kingdom's example.

Aramco's IPO: a different world

Aramco launched its initial public offering, the largest in history, in December, temporarily peaking at a market cap of $2 trillion on its second day of trading. But it might as well have been a different world  oil prices at that time were trading at more than $64 a barrel. While the massive valuation was seen as a win for the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who spearheaded the IPO, it lacked the international interest the kingdom had hoped for, relying instead on local investors after the company canceled overseas roadshows in London and New York. The local listing on the Saudi Tadawul comprised 1.5% of the company.
Several doctors and nurses of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here on Tuesday thanked the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) for providing them accommodation and other facilities during the lockdown.

The DSGMC has provided shelter to around 200 doctors and nurses working at different hospitals in the national capital.

During a thanks giving ceremony held at Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib on International Nursing Day, representatives of RML's medical staff said that during the initial days of the COVID-19 crisis, people residing in their neighbourhood started treating them as "carriers of coronavirus".

On several occasions, the medical professionals living in rented accommodations were told to leave their premises, the RML staff said. The DSGMC provided accommodation to such medical professionals at their inns.

In a separate statement, DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that people throughout the world are indebted to the medical staff on the International Nurses Day.

He said that history will remember the medical professionals for their hard work and commitment in the times of COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Italian police have arrested 91 suspected mobsters in a probe of money-laundering and extortion in a bid to thwart Sicily's Cosa Nostra from exploiting economic woes triggered by the pandemic.

Hundreds of Financial Guard police officers fanned out early Tuesday through Palermo, the alleged crime clans' power power base, as well as in several regions in northern Italy.

Investigators contend mobsters were laundering extortion and drug trafficking revenue and were preparing to use ill-gained cash to buy struggling businesses which have been shuttered during the COVID-19 containment lockdown.

'Look, we pay cash' for ailing businesses, Palermo Chief Prosecutor Lo Voi said suspects were heard saying in intercepted conversations.

While loan-sharking is still an activity of organized crime in Italy, increasingly mobsters have sought to buy up hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, car dealerships and other businesses for years now. They were doing this in an Italian economy that was stagnant even before lockdown measures caused tens of thousands of business owners to shut down for weeks.

Awash in hundreds of millions of euros in illicit revenues, Italian crime syndicates since the 1990s have gone on real estate and other business buying sprees throughout Europe, seeking to make clean money from dirty profits.

The crime clans targeted in Tuesday's raids had moved some of their crime bosses into Milan years ago, where, among other businesses, they convinced cafes in Italy's financial capital to buy coffee from a company controlled by the Sicilian Mafia, investigators said.

Lo Voi and other prosecutors, including those investigating Italy's most dominant crime syndicate, the Calabria-based 'ndrangheta, have warned that the Mafia could also recruit those left jobless in the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 13, 2020 08:30 616 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd79668b 1 Business mining-law-revision,COVID-19,House,parliament,downstream-business Free

As the country grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, lawmakers have approved a controversial revision of the 2009 Coal and Mineral Mining Law, despite outcry from civil society organizations.

The new law, aimed at developing Indonesias downstream mining industry and increasing economic growth, will allow miners to extend permits through a simpler and centralized bureaucratic process.

Civil groups have lambasted the regulation over concerns of its impact on the environment and society.

After months of deliberation, eight of the nine parties at the House of Representatives (DPR) agreed on Tuesday to pass the bill, with the Democratic Party being the only one to oppose it.

I ask all members at this second-level meeting once again: Can we agree to pass the revision of the 2009 Mining Law? Agreed, said House Speaker Puan Maharani in a live broadcast plenary meeting, followed by the knock of the mallet.

The House and the government, led by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, only publicly released the finalized draft on Monday, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post.

The bill revises 82 percent of 175 articles in the original Mining Law and adds two new chapters. Civil society groups have criticized the changes as sidelining regional autonomy, environmental protection and local communities.

The revisions have been designed to harmonize with mining rules under the omnibus law on job creation, another game-changing piece of new legislation.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif, speaking on Tuesday, said the bill aimed to stimulate downstream value-added industries while also providing legal certainty for investment in such industries.

And, most importantly, it maximizes benefits for the people, he said.

Minister Arifin had told legislators on Monday that the government disagreed with two articles in the draft, both of which were then changed later that day.

Article 112 of the draft required foreign-owned miners to divest a 51 percent share to Indonesian entities in one go. The wording was later changed to 'in stages', and the government was given authority to determine the terms of the stages.

We remind you that, with the ongoing [coronavirus] crisis, we must look at the availability of investment funds going forward, said the minister.

The bill also added a clause under Article 102 that pegged the minimal metal ore processing output quota to domestic market demand. The phrase was changed to market demand to accommodate export-scale industries.

If project economics are not profitable today, the government has taken a stance to kickstart processing and refining activities, Djoko Widajanto of the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) told the Post on Tuesday. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) has also shown support for the new law.

We are certain the bill will provide long-term legal and investment certainty, said Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) executive director Hendra Sinadia, also on Tuesday.

The bill reflects many stakeholders interests, including metal ore exporters, mining giants as well as  to a lesser extent  local communities and environmentalists.

Notable revisions include quadrupling the maximum size of traditional mining zones to 100 hectares and permission for mining activity in rivers and the sea.

Meanwhile, the revision cuts red tape for miners by centralizing permit issuance at the Energy Ministry instead of keeping governors and regents in charge.

DPR members lacked sensitivity during the legislative process toward the fact that mining should solve both economic and social wellbeing issues, said Maryati Abdullah of mining industry watchdog Publish What You Pay (PWYP).

PWYP and other mining industry watchdogs in a statement on Tuesday urged lawmakers to delay deliberations over the bill until after the coronavirus pandemic, arguing Indonesia was better off focusing its resources on tackling COVID-19 as one of Southeast Asias hardest-hit countries.

The watchdogs also include the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), AURIGA Nusantara, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).

Discussions were done secretly, without participation and continued a narrative full of problematic articles, those four watchdogs stated, adding that they had not been invited to discussions of the draft.

According to Jatams latest annual report, 783 mining licences were involved in seven major natural disasters last year. The disasters, comprising floods and landslides, killed 35 people and displaced 83,722 residents.

One notable case highlighted in the report was the presence of eight coal mines within the river basin area of Bengkulu province. The mines left the region vulnerable to a massive flood last year that killed 24 and displaced 12,000 people.

There is no urgency [to deliberate the bill] except one: saving those six corporations that control 70 percent of national production, said economist Faisal Basri of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) in a discussion about the bill in April.

He was referring to six giant coal miners whose legal bases are slated to expire between 2020 and 2025, including PT Adaro Energy, whose permit expires in 2022.

The deliberation of the bill had dragged on since 2015, with serious discussions over the most recent draft only beginning last year.
RNC Eliminates NSR Royalties at Higginsville Gold Operations, further unlocking Significant Production Potential and Lowering Operating Costs

Posted by Publisher Internet

Royal Nickel Corporation dba. RNC Minerals (TSX: RNX) (\RNC\ or the ?Company\  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/rnc-minerals-new-strategy-as-a-gold-company-with-straight-forward-plans/ ) is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. (?Morgan Stanley?) to terminate the remaining NSR royalty interests held by Morgan Stanley over a number of tenements at RNC?s Higginsville Gold Operations (HGO), located in Western Australia, for a purchase price of US$9 million in cash. This transaction, once completed, will eliminate all remaining NSR royalty obligations in respect of the affected tenements, with the exception of the mandatory Western Australia state royalty of 2.5%.

Paul Andre Huet, Chairman & CEO, commented: ?We are extremely pleased to have come to an agreement with Morgan Stanley to buy-back the remaining NSR portions of the long-standing royalty at Higginsville. We see the removal of these royalties as a significant transaction for RNC shareholders that will contribute meaningfully to the further unlocking of HGO land package beyond what we have already accomplished. During the first four months of 2020, we have delivered numerous positive exploration and development updates at Higginsville to the market and we expect this trend to continue.

Today?s announcement, coupled with our purchase agreement for the Spargos Reward high-grade gold project (see RNC news release dated May 11, 2020), is expected to provide RNC with increased flexibility to prioritize optimal feed to our HGO processing facility from our growing pipeline of high quality projects.?

The purchase price of US$9 million cash will be satisfied as follows: 30% (US$2.7 million) paid immediately and the remaining 70% of the purchase price paid over 30 months (US$1.26 million every six months).

This transaction will eliminate the current 1.75% legacy NSR royalty held by Morgan Stanley on the first 10,000 ounces of gold sold per annum (up to a cumulative 110,000 ounces) and the 2% NSR royalty on ounces sold in excess of 10,000 per annum. The current participation payment arrangement with Morgan Stanley will remain in place (see RNC news release dated December 19, 2019).

About RNC Minerals

RNC is focused on growing gold production and reducing costs at its integrated Beta Hunt Gold Mine and Higginsville Gold Operations (\HGO\) in Western Australia. The Higginsville treatment facility is a low-cost 1.4 Mtpa processing plant which is fed at capacity from RNC\-\-s underground Beta Hunt mine and open pit Higginsville mine. At Beta Hunt, a robust gold mineral resource and reserve is hosted in multiple gold shears, with gold intersections along a 4 km strike length remaining open in multiple directions. HGO is a highly prospective land package totaling approximately 1,800 square kilometers. In addition, RNC has a 28% interest in a nickel joint venture that owns the Dumont Nickel-Cobalt Project located in the Abitibi region of Quebec. Dumont contains the second largest nickel reserve and ninth largest cobalt reserve in the world. RNC has a strong Board and management team focused on delivering shareholder value. RNC\-\-s common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol RNX. RNC shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol RNKLF.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains \forward-looking information\ including without limitation statements relating to the liquidity and capital resources of RNC, production and AISC guidance for 2020, the potential of the Beta Hunt Mine, Higginsville Gold Operation, Dumont Nickel Project and the potential acquisition of the Spargos Reward Gold Project and its production potential. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of RNC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; results of exploration programs; accidents, labour disputes, labour and operational disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, projected cash operating costs, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to RNC\-\-s filings with Canadian securities regulators, including the most recent Annual Information Form, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although RNC has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and RNC disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Cautionary Statement Regarding the Higginsville Mining Operations

A production decision at the Higginsville gold operations was made by previous operators of the mine, prior to the completion of the acquisition of the Higginsville gold operations by RNC and RNC made a decision to continue production subsequent to the acquisition. This decision by RNC to continue production and, to the knowledge of RNC, the prior production decision were not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, which include increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that anticipated production costs will be achieved. Failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Corporation?s cash flow and future profitability. Readers are cautioned that there is increased uncertainty and higher risk of economic and technical failure associated with such production decisions.
Additional information on the new 40 MHz beacon in Ireland

In a previous news item, we were able to announce that the new 8-metre beacon in Ireland is now on air. We now have more details about its operation.

The new EI1KNH beacon operates on a frequency of 40.013 MHz and is only the second operational amateur 8-metre beacon in the world. It runs 20 watts into a converted CB vertical antenna on an elevated site about 20 kms to the south of Dublin. While it is blocked somewhat by local mountains to the west, the take off towards the UK and Europe is excellent.

The beacon went on air on the 9th of May 2020 and it was reported just two days later on the 11th by a station in the south-east of France in a Sporadic-E opening.

In the same Sporadic-E opening, EI stations successfully completed 40 MHz to 50 MHz crossband contacts with stations in Austria and Germany.

It is hoped that the new beacon will generate more interest around Europe for those wishing to carry out tests on this new VHF band.

More details about the beacon can be found here... https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2020/05/new-irish-40-mhz-beacon-now-operational.html
The Queen may stand to lose millions of dollars out of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and even Prince Andrew's doing. According to a new report, the monarch is likely to be doomed, no matter what she does on this dilemma.

Money matters are hardly debated or at least made public by the royals, as they have strict etiquette rules to observe. However, the Queen might eventually address money issues if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue to be at LA with no clear employment, stuck in a lockdown, and yet living lavishly.

Not only that, but the Queen might also have to address some money issues now that Prince Andrew is back at the headlines for not making the final payment on the $31.5 million Swiss chalet. He and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson had purchased back in 2014.

According to the Times, Andrew and Fergie both promised to pay the massive home comprising of seven bedrooms. They were due to pay the last $12.5 million last New Year's Day this year. However, they failed to fulfill their obligation. As a result, the property owner, still unnamed, has decided to file papers with the Swiss debt collection office. Now, this dark, financial secret is out.

As reported by several outlets, Andrew and Fergie made plans to sell the property to pay off the debt, but because of the covid-19 pandemic, their plans were all ruined. People are hardly expressing interest in the property at these uncertain times.

Andrew's net worth has long been piquing people's interest. Even though Prince Charles is the main beneficiary of the Duchy of Cornwall, worth a total of $1.8 billion, Queen Elizabeth's other children have to do which significantly less.

Like his siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward, Prince Andrew receives a handsome sum of $472,000 tax-free yearly from the Queen. His navy pension also afforded him another $37,900 annually. While this seems big for the ordinary person, this might not be enough for his lifestyle. This debt for the massive property is already a sign.

On the other hand, Harry and Meghan are presently living in Tyler Perry's $27 million Hollywood mansion, reportedly as "house-guests." This might be the dream, but as reports have repeatedly questioned, how are they going to continuously fund their lifestyle?

According to Daily Mail, should they want to continue living at Perry's house in the future (they're unlikely to stay there for free forever!), this means they would pay $370,000 monthly. In a year, this means shelling out $4,548,000 every year.

Based on calculations, this would mean that what Prince Charles currently gives Harry and Meghan, reportedly, amounting to $4.7 million to fund their new life, is going to just enough. Charles allegedly provides the same amount of support to William and Kate.

But they would still have the expensive security costs to cover ($20 million a year!) and other daily expenses that are not even cheap.

Reports had it that these are signs that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will go broke soon enough, more so when the coronavirus pandemic means they cannot really get the Hollywood projects they want. There are even reports that said with or without the pandemic, Hollywood people hardly want to work with them.

One claims they are aspiring to be the next David and Victoria Beckham. But that also means big money!

Regardless, what this shows is that Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, given their royal stature and lack of inexperience in any money-making endeavor through their own efforts, are likely to rely on the Queen substantially in the coming months and years. According to News.com.au, it's a real case of a "damn if you do and damn if you don't" for the Queen. If she chooses to ignore them, she'll suffer from watching the two suffer and even be embarrassed to the core that her son and grandson are not living well. If she chooses to help, then that means taking care of them financially, and that would be such a strain and personal grievance too!

READ MORE: Meghan Markle Defeat: Prince Harry and Wife Face Disastrous Setback, Can They Recover?
PUNE, India, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The antimicrobial packaging market size is predicted to reach USD 17.55 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. The rising concerns regarding food quality and safety will spur demand for antimicrobial packaging, which, in turn, will boost the antimicrobial packaging market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, the rising focus of consumers towards quality products will aid the growth of the market in the forthcoming years. Besides, the increasing awareness regarding the benefits of green packaging such material reduction, waste reduction, less energy consumption, recycled content and renewable energy source will boost the market trends for antimicrobial packaging, mentioned states Fortune Business Insights in a report, titled "Antimicrobial Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Plastics, Biopolymers, Paper & Paperboard, and Others), By Antimicrobial Agents (Organic Acid, Bacteriocins, and Others), By Type (Bags, Pouches, Trays, and Others), By Application (Food & Beverages, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Personal Care, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026" the market size stood at USD 9.57 billion in 2018.

Antimicrobial Packaging Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, By Material, 2015-2026

Worldwide COVID-19 Impact Analysis:

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. Some industries are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are making continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

To Get Short-Term and Long-Term Impact Of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/antimicrobial-packaging-market-102726

Competitive Landscape:

Expansion of BASF's Production Plant to Encourage Healthy Growth

BASF SE, a German chemical company and the second largest chemical producer in the world announced that it has constructed a new specialty amines plant at its existing wholly owned site in Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in China. The latest multi-product plant can manufacture 21,000 metric tons per year and further prolongs BASF's amines portfolio at the specialty amines complex in Nanjing.

The launch of the new plant by BASF can be a fundamental factor in accelerating the antimicrobial packaging market growth owing to the production of Propylenediamine (1,2-PDA), n-Octylamine (n-OA) and Polyetheramine (PEA). Furthermore, Stefan Blank, President, BASF Intermediates division, said in a statement, "BASF offers a wide range of amines globally, and this investment reflects our continued commitment to meeting the growing market demand in Asia Pacific. Building on decades of experience in developing and manufacturing amines, this new plant will further strengthen our global leadership in these versatile intermediate products."

In addition, the rising demand for specialty amines will aid the antimicrobial packaging market revenue during the forecast period. Senior Vice President, Intermediates Asia Pacific, BASF, Narayan Krishna Mohan, said in a statement, "This investment will help us to meet the increasing Asia Pacific demand for specialty amines used as intermediates in a diverse range of industries and applications, such as epoxy formulations, crop protection agents, spandex and biocides for the coatings industry, through this expansion, we will be able to better serve our customers in Asia Pacific with steady and timely supply of quality products."

Browse Summary of This Research Report with Detailed Table of Content:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/antimicrobial-packaging-market-102726

Regional Analysis:

Rising Demand for Medical Devices to Stimulate Growth in North America

North America is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period owing to the growing adoption of antimicrobial packaging in various industries. The growing demand for drugs and medical devices will enable growth in North America. The market in Asia Pacific generated a high revenue in 2018 and is likely to witness high demand during the forecast period owing to the high demand for sustainable packaging from China, India, and South Korea. The rising consumption and demand of food will contribute positively to the growth in Asia Pacific. In addition, the blooming pharmaceutical and medical industry will have a positive impact on the market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period.

List of Key Companies Operating in the Antimicrobial Packaging Market are:

BASF SE

Dunmore Corporation

BioCote Limited

PolyOne Corporation

Microban International

Mondi PLC

The DOW Chemical Company

CSP Technologies

Takex Labo Co. Ltd.

Other Players

Quick Buy - Antimicrobial Packaging Market Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102726

Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction

Research Scope



Market Segmentation



Research Methodology



Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers



Market Restraints



Market Opportunities

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries



Key Developments: Mergers, Acquisition, Partnership, etc.



Latest Technological Advancement



Insights on Regulatory Scenario



Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Antimicrobial Packaging Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, By Material, 2015-2026

Key Findings / Summary



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Material



Plastics





Biopolymers

TOC Continued!



Get your Customized Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/antimicrobial-packaging-market-102726



Have a Look at Related Research Insight:

Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Materials (Glass, Metal, Paper & Paperboard, Wood, and Plastics [Polypropylene, Polyethylene, PET, and Others]), By Product (Rigid, Semi-Rigid, and Flexible) By Application (Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery & Confectionery, Dairy Products, Meat, Poultry & Seafood, Sauces, Dressings and Condiments, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Beverage Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Plastic, Glass, Metal, and Others), By Product (Can, Bottle & jars, Pouch, Carton, and Others), By Application (Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Smart Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Active Packaging, Controlled Packaging, Modified Atmosphere Packaging, Others), By Material (Plastic, Metal, Glass, Paper, Aluminium, and Plastic) Others and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Anti-Counterfeiting Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (RFID, Holograms, Barcode, and Others), By End-Use (Food & Beverages, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Industrial & Automotive, Consumer Electronics, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Micro-perforated Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Polypropylene, Polyethene, PET, Other), By Application (Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery & confectionary, Ready-to-eat, Other)Others and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Antimicrobial Textiles Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Agents (Synthetic Organic Compounds, Bio-Based Compounds, Metal & Metallic Salts and Others), By Fabric (Cotton, Polyester, and Others), By Application (Home, Commercial, Medical, Apparel, Industrial, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Bioplastics Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable), By Application (Rigid Packaging, Flexible Packaging, Textiles, Automotive & Transportation, Agriculture & Horticulture, Consumer Goods, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Plastics Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyvinyl Chloride, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Polyamide, Polycarbonate, Polyurethane, Polystyrene), By End-Use Industry (Packaging, Automotive & Transportation, Infrastructure & Construction, Consumer Goods/Lifestyle, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Electrical & Electronics, Textile), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

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Amnesty International: Attacks By Damascus, Russian Forces In Syria 'Amount To War Crimes'

By RFE/RL May 11, 2020

Amnesty International says it has documented 18 attacks in northwest Syria carried out by Syrian government and Russian forces over the past year that amounted to war crimes.

The rights group said in a report published on May 10 that the 18 attacks were on medical facilities and schools, and were carried out by either the Syrian government or its Russian ally between May 2019 and February 2020 in Idlib and areas adjoining the rebel stronghold.

Evidence of the attacks entails multiple serious violations of international humanitarian law, according to Amnesty International.

"These violations amount to war crimes," the report says.

The attacks included three ground attacks and two barrel-bomb attacks by Syrian government forces. The remaining 13 attacks were air strikes -- two by Syrian government forces, seven by Russian government forces, and four by Syrian or Russian government forces.

It said the majority occurred in January and February 2020, during the latest onslaught, which Amnesty International said "subjected civilians in opposition-held areas in north-west Syria to a new wave of horrors."

Since December around 500 civilians have been killed and almost 1 million people have been displaced.

The recent escalation apparently is a continuation of an earlier offensive that began in April 2019 targeting the last pocket under the control of armed opposition groups.

A cease-fire has largely held since early March, but hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced and highly dependent on aid even as the region braces for a possible outbreak of the coronavirus.

'Systematic Attacks'

Among the documented attacks in Amnesty International's report are Russian air strikes near a hospital in the town of Ariha on January 29 that flattened at least two residential buildings and killed 11 civilians.

Amnesty also blamed the Syrian regime for an attack on a school using banned cluster munitions that killed three people in Idlib city on February 25.

"The latest offensive continued an abhorrent pattern of widespread and systematic attacks aimed at terrorizing the civilian population," Amnesty's regional director Heba Morayef said.

The report said that, even by the standards of the nine-year war, "the resulting displacement and humanitarian emergency were unprecedented."

It said the attacks must be viewed in the context of a well-established pattern of Syrian government forces targeting civilian infrastructure and civilians that is "part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population, therefore constituting crimes against humanity."

Syria's war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

Amnesty International's findings are based primarily on remote research conducted between January and April 2020. Researchers interviewed 74 people, including direct witnesses of attacks, displaced people, local and international aid workers, and UN staff members.

Researchers also reviewed videos and photographs, analyzed satellite imagery, and obtained logs of aircraft observations by flight spotters on the ground, as well as intercepted aircraft radio communication, to assess consistency with witness accounts.

Amnesty International has sent letters summarizing its findings to the permanent missions of the Syrian and Russian governments to the United Nations in New York and to the largest coalition of armed groups in northwest Syria.

It had not received a response as of 4 May, when its report was finalized.

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/amnesty-international- attacks-by-damascus-russian-forces-in-syria- amount-to-war-crimes-/30605120.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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Assuming that it was not just a partisan sound bite intended to make the heads of liberals and Democrats explode, U.S. Senate Republicans should carefully reconsider recent statements in favor of filling any possible Supreme Court vacancies that might occur this year.

The hypocritical use of such raw political power will not only degrade the ideal of an independent and nonpartisan judiciary  if we havent already passed that point  it will do serious damage to the confirmation process, the separation of powers and to the American sense of fairness.

Its all the worse that Republican senators would think about dragging the country through a political maelstrom at the time we are dealing with a deadly pandemic and another polarizing election. The Senate would better serve the nation by concentrating on issues related to quelling the spread of the novel coronavirus and helping people, businesses and local governments to get back on their feet.

The possibility of a 2020 Supreme Court confirmation battle flared last week when 87-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the oldest member of the court, was briefly hospitalized with a gall bladder infection.

Republicans wished the justice a speedy recovery, which she apparently has made, but noted that they will not hesitate to move forward on a Supreme Court nomination if a vacancy occurs.

That would be normal operating procedure except that in 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., refused to even hold a hearing for Merrick Garland, then-President Barack Obamas choice to fill the Supreme Court seat opened by the sudden death of Antonin Scalia.

McConnell and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn, cited the impending election as the reason for holding off on any hearings.

The presidential election is well underway, a letter signed in 2016 by Cornyn and other GOP members of the committee. 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.

But when asked last week what should happen in this election year, Cornyn told Poltico, that if the president makes a nomination then its our responsibility to take it up.

Cornyns office says there is no contradiction in the senators position because Obama was barred by term limits from seeking re-election in 2016 and the Senate was controlled by a different party than the White House. McConnell notes that the Senate hasnt confirmed an election-year nominee by a president from a different party since 1880, citing that as precedent and tradition for blocking Obamas pick.

Thats bunk and McConnell and Cornyn know it. The majority leader repeatedly justified his stonewalling of the 2016 Garland nomination  a decision hes called his proudest moment  on the grounds that, coming within a year of a bitterly contested election, the American people should have a say in such a momentous decision. That opportunism was offensive then and is now, but McConnell and Cornyn both threaten to add hypocrisy to the charge of political expediency.

Besides, no one really doubts that McConnell is more interested in his crusade to put more conservatives through the federal court system than he is about preserving precedent and tradition. He changed the rules in 2017 to overcome a Democratic filibuster of Scalias successor Neil Gorsuch, meaning that a new justice can be confirmed by a bare majority. Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trumps second nominee, was approved 50-48 after one of the most hostile and ugly hearings in memory.

There is blame for that ugliness on both sides, and its not McConnells fault alone that any new confirmation hearing will bring about a political earthquake. But thats the world we live in. Even Cornyn admits a 2020 confirmation process would be worse, especially if it involves the replacement for Ginsburg or one of the other more liberal justices. Conservatives currently hold a 5-4 advantage.

If you thought the Kavanaugh hearing was contentious this would probably be that on steroids, he told Politico.

And that, more even than the hypocrisy on such brazen display by Cornyn and McConnell, is the reason why the Senate should exercise extreme caution before moving forward to fill any vacancy. In the meantime, we can hope that all nine justices make it safely through this perilous year.
In a last minute twist, the BJP



on Tuesday asked one of its four nominees for the May 21 Legislative Council elections to nine seats to withdraw.

On the day of scrutiny of nominations and two days ahead of the withdrawal deadline, the opposition party made Dr Ajit Gopchade withdraw his papers for Ramesh Karad, who hails from Latur, a party leader said.

Karad had already filed his nomination papers.

The election to nine seats became necessary after terms of the sitting MLCs ended on April 24.

While May 11 was the last day of filing nominations, scrutiny of papers was done on Tuesday. The last date of withdrawal of papers is May 14.

Karad had tried to contest the Legislative Council election on NCP ticket in 2018 against Suresh Dhas, who had then quit the NCP to join the BJP, but withdrew his candidature at the last minute.

Karad is a nephew of Pune-based education baron Vishwanath Karad. He was once considered close to BJP leader Pankaja Munde.

Apart from Karad, Gopichand Padalkar, Pravin Datke and Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil are the BJP's nominees for the polls, which are set to be unopposed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
HE was set to stand trial last month for first-degree murder for a fatal shooting outside a crowded Corydon Avenue bar.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE was set to stand trial last month for first-degree murder for a fatal shooting outside a crowded Corydon Avenue bar.

But in a plea bargain directly connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eric Boyle pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Noel Talingdan died in the shooting. A woman was also shot in the leg. (Instagram)

Boyles guilty plea to the reduced charge means he will be able to apply for parole eight years earlier than if he had been convicted of first-degree murder.

Noel Talingdan, 37, was fatally shot outside Bar Italia on May 29, 2018.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the adjournment of many Queens Bench trials. Earlier this month, the court announced trials already scheduled between May 26 and June 30 will now proceed as planned.

At an adjournment motion last month, court heard it would be at least September before Boyles trial could be rescheduled.

Lawyers for both the Crown and defence expressed concern about rescheduling the trial and co-ordinating travel for multiple witnesses when the end time of the pandemic remains a question mark.

"Usually a plea bargain is motivated by the strength of the Crowns case related to the quality of the evidence," Queens Bench Justice Shaun Greenberg said. "In this case, it is motivated by the COVID pandemic."

"The difficulties with proceeding as scheduled compelled the plea agreement," Greenberg said. "I am satisfied that the unusual circumstances here gave rise to a true plea bargain and that the joint recommendation is appropriate."

According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Boyle had a drug "beef" with Talingdan and after meeting him at Bar Italia, texted both his girlfriend and co-accused Joshua Turner to bring him a gun.

Video surveillance at the bar showed Boyle approaching Talingdan, shaking his hand and laughing.

Police control the scene at Bar Italia May 29, 2018, after two men were shot. Noel Talingdan, 37, died. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"The video footage showed Boyle and Talingdan interacting in what seemed to be a friendly encounter," Greenberg said.

But Boyle was clearly enraged, according to a witness who arrived with Turner in a jeep outside the bar a half-hour later, telling investigators Boyle said "nobody does that to me," and that he was going to "kill these guys."

Turner brought Boyle a long gun, which he rejected, instead taking a handgun from his girlfriend when she arrived a short time later.

The outdoor patio was crowded with customers as Boyle took position in the laneway behind the bar and opened fire on Talingdan and a 28-year-old woman as they returned from closing a drug deal. Talingdan was killed and the woman was shot in the leg.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Eric Boyle pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting at Bar Italia. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Boyle has prior convictions for robbery and assault and was prohibited from possessing firearms at the time of the killing.

Greenberg emphasized Boyle is still subject to a life sentence, with no guarantee he will win his release after 17 years.

"Mr. Boyle will get the benefit of being able to apply for parole earlier, but his acceptance of responsibility brings with it the same life sentence (as a first-degree murder conviction)," Greenberg said.

"The devastating impact on the victims and their families cannot be overstated, nor can the fact that Mr. Boyles anger led him to not only destroy these lives, but also put so many other lives at risk," she said.

Turner has pleaded guilty as a party to discharging a firearm with intent and is awaiting sentencing.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
A day after C&C Coffee and Kitchen defied Democratic governor Jared Polis executive Safer at Home order  packing the restaurant with hundreds of customers on Mothers Day  the regional health department ordered the business to shut down immediately until authorities could determine if the business was in compliance with coronavirus-related restrictions, according to a statement from the agency.

Nearly every table was full after the restaurant opened its doors on Sunday morning, according to footage from Colorado Community Media reporter Nick Puckett. Customers crowded around the counter waiting for their orders. The line to place them went out the door, wrapping around the side of the building. Almost no one was wearing a face mask.

For the owners of the breakfast cafe, it was a way to both celebrate Mothers Day and to openly push back against policies they believe are strangling the American economy; the decision was met with enthusiasm in the wealthy enclave south of Denver, as customers flocked.

We are standing for America, small businesses, the constitution and against the overreach of our governor in Colorado!! C&C Coffee & Kitchen wrote on its Twitter account, tagging Donald Trump.

Open defiance of government orders has become a political rallying point for small businesses from coast to coast as the nations shutdown nears two months. More than 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April and the unemployment rate has soared to nearly 15 per cent, an economic catastrophe for some that has them questioning the logic of shutting down to prevent the spread of the virus  which has now killed about 80,000 Americans and has infected more than 1.3 million.

Some business owners have reopened even after being threatened with legal consequences, though some have chosen to keep social distancing restrictions in place. Dallas hair salon owner Shelley Luther, for example, was sentenced to seven days in jail for defying a court order to shut down, although salon employees were still wearing masks and taking customers temperatures. She was freed by the Texas Supreme Court two days after sentencing.

On Monday, Karl Manke kept the doors to his barbershop in Owosso, Michigan, open in defiance of state orders, despite receiving two citations last week. Since he has reopened, customers have arrived from as far away as New York and California to get their hair cut and to back his fight to keep working.

Everything I have was in jeopardy, my business was in jeopardy, my credit was in jeopardy, Mr Manke said on Monday, wearing a surgical mask as he attended to Paula Weister, a customer from nearby Lansing. I had no other choice. I had to open up.

Customers were spaced a seat apart in the small barbershop. Others arrived to demonstrate, waving yellow Dont tread on me and Trump flags. A few members of the Michigan Home Guard, a local militia, stood sentinel outside the shop with loaded weapons and planned to barricade the door and prevent Mr Mankes arrest if police arrived. Passing cars and trucks blared their horns in support.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is fending off widespread dissent after gradually allowing businesses to reopen in the western part of the state but ordering most commerce to remain closed in the more populous east until 4 June. In York County, which includes the northern exurbs of Baltimore, the owners of the Round the Clock Diner decided to reopen on Monday, despite the stay-home order, according to staff members and local media reports.

The decision to reopen followed an announcement Friday by the York County district attorney that he would not prosecute business owners who defied Mr Wolfs order. David Sunday, a Republican, also urged law enforcement agencies to no longer cite business owners who violate the governors order, saying the definition for an essential business is too murky.

Rapid changes in the definition of what constitutes criminal conduct renders the application of criminal law as arbitrary and impossible to follow or defend against, Mr Sunday wrote in his order. In analysing the ever-changing scope and application of these orders, we find that their enforcement as criminal penalties is not possible on the consistent basis required of prosecutors and law enforcement.

In a fiery speech on Monday morning, Mr Wolf responded by portraying his detractors as traitors who were choosing to desert their posts in the face of the enemy in the middle of a war, that we Pennsylvanians are winning and that we must win. He added that it is cowardly for local politicians to try to sidestep his authority.

The business owners decisions to reopen also largely is a gamble in the court of public opinion. A recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll showed sizeable majorities of Americans opposing reopening dine-in restaurants, movie theatres and gyms.

On Monday morning at 8am, dozens made the pilgrimage to Castle Rock from cities throughout Colorado to purchase $10 (8) burritos and support a business operating in line with their gripes over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak here, one of the first states with a Democratic governor to allow counties to make the decision about reopening nonessential businesses.

Suzanne Andrews, a retired member of the National Guard, said she made the hour-long drive from Aurora, a suburb of Denver, to Castle Rock to support the family and the business and to get the governor to realise that we need to open up. She said: I figure if I could spend 30 days in Germany in -40 degree weather, Gods not ready to take me. Im as healthy as I ever would be.

Customers who were among the first to patronise the restaurant on Monday morning shared scepticism of nationally reported test data and fatality statistics, doubts about the viruss lethality, and resentment for what they described as unconstitutional state health orders requiring businesses like C & C to limit their offerings to carryout and curbside service.

Im a historian. I know history, said Andy Stone, president of an MRI company in Centennial, Colorado. Whats happening is like Nazi Germany. Its a totalitarian environment where the government is going to establish their power and through fear enable the rest of the society to help them stay in power. They just keep moving the target, and people just cant survive that. We cant save every single life.

The restaurants reopening on Mothers Day, with apparently no social distancing precautions, is the latest example of small businesses bucking their states executive orders while fearing for their survival. Under Mr Polis Safer at Home order, restaurants are still prohibited from offering dine-in service. Colorado has seen more than 19,700 cases of Covid-19, along with 973 deaths.

The move to open on Sunday drew swift backlash, as state and local officials condemned the restaurants disregard for public health protections and some Castle Rock residents feared the restaurant could have worsened Covid-19 in the community. A spokeswoman for the governors office said in a statement that the restaurants conduct is endangering the lives of their staff, customers and community. The Tri-County Health Department issued its order to shut down the restaurant after the business continued to host customers on Monday, with several opting to dine in.

It is disheartening that this restaurant has chosen to move ahead of the public orders and not even consider implementing best practices to prevent the spread of Covid-19, said John Douglas, executive director of the local health department. It is not fair to the rest of the community and other business owners that are following Safer at Home and doing their part. We sincerely hope that C & C will choose to cooperate with the rules under which they are allowed to operate so we can lift this closure order.

The Korean-fusion breakfast cafes owners, April and Jesse Arellano, declined requests for an interview. But April Arellano told Mr Puckett that she had never seen a Mothers Day crowd at the restaurant like the one on Sunday in their seven years of operation. She told KDVR the restaurant had about 500 customers.

I expected it to be busy. I never expected this, she told Colorado Community Media. Im so happy so many people came out to support the Constitution and stand up for what is right. We did our time. We did our two weeks. We did more than two weeks ... and we were failing. We had to do something.

Few customers inside the restaurant appeared concerned about the lack of social distancing. In a since-removed Facebook Live video archived by CBS Denver, a maskless Arellano scans the noisy, crowded space, thanking everyone who came, saying: So much for some of those people who said nobody would show up. And our patio is full.

A sign on the door reportedly read: ATTENTION: Our freedom doesnt end where your fear begins. If you are afraid to be within 6 feet of another person, do not enter this business!

Others within the restaurant industry said they understood the restaurants frustrations but completely disagreed with the owners decision.

It pisses me off, said Chris Fuselier, owner of the Blake Street Tavern in Denver. They have put Castle Rock on the global pandemic map. They should have been shut down on Monday morning. You bolt the doors and you send a message to the thousands of other restaurants in Colorado who are abiding by the order and doing the right thing. Im struggling too. My bank account is on fumes. But we need to do this right. Weve got a couple more weeks and our time is coming.

Another man who went to the restaurant to pick up takeout told the Denver Post he was so taken aback by the lack of social distancing and the fact that no one was wearing face masks that he decided he didnt want his food anymore.

It was unbelievable, the customer, Nick Whitehill, told the newspaper, adding he filed a complaint with the county health department.

The Yelp review page for C & C Coffee and Kitchen highlighted some of that disapproval on Sunday, as dozens of people  some of whom were clearly not from Castle Rock  flooded the restaurant with complaints.

But the restaurant also had plenty of supporters. Among them was state representative Patrick Neville, a Republican who also is among a number of conservative lawmakers nationwide who have joined their constituents in acts of defiance. He said on Facebook that he found it shocking that, after taking a photograph of himself with Arellano at the restaurant on Sunday, the left mob is coming after me over this hardcore.

In a text message to The Washington Post, Mr Neville said he went to the restaurant on Sunday to return the kindness the owners showed his family a couple of years ago, when his wife was hit by a car in a nonfatal accident outside the restaurant and they brought out hot cocoa to his daughters.

They made a lasting impression on my family and we wanted to show our support as they are providing for their families, Mr Neville said.

The Washington Post
Keith Smith addresses protesters marching through a neighborhood in Brunswick, Ga., on May 5, demanding answers regarding the death of Ahmaud Arbery. (Bobby Haven / Associated Press)

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped into the Ahmaud Arbery case, announcing on Monday that it would consider hate crime charges in the killing of the unarmed African American man in Georgia on Feb. 25. Georgias attorney general also has asked the Justice Department to review state and local officials handling of their investigations in the case. And the department would be well within its purview to consider civil rights charges.

Federal involvement is certainly welcome in the shocking incident, in which Arbery was trailed while out for a jog and then fatally shot, ostensibly because he looked like a suspect in a string of local burglaries. There were no arrests until leaked video sparked public outrage months after the incident.

Justice Department intervention would once have been deemed virtually automatic in such a case: an unarmed black man chased down and killed in a Southern state by two white men, one of whom, Gregory McMichael, is a former police officer and prosecutors investigator. (The other man, McMichaels son, Travis McMichael, is alleged to have fired the fatal shots.) The situation brings to mind a legacy of lynching and vigilantism, and the blurry line that separates those extra-legal practices from citizen policing. It merges the distant memory of Emmett Till with the fresher scars left by the killing of Trayvon Martin.

As welcome as federal involvement is, however, it no longer provides the confidence it once did that justice would be served. The department has sharply curtailed its role in state and local policing and prosecution. Jeff Sessions, President Trumps first attorney general, made clear his intention to provide more support and less scrutiny to local police officials. He scuttled former Atty. Gen. Eric Holders oversight program for police departments and curtailed lawsuits against police, school districts and other agencies over patterns of civil rights violations.

Current Atty. Gen. William Barr has been less vocal about nonintervention in local matters but for the most part has followed Sessions policies.

At the local level, the case was convoluted and perhaps compromised by the elder McMichaels previous position as an officer in the Glynn County Police Department and a prosecutors investigator. The department released both McMichaels without charges. After one local prosecutor recused herself from the case, a second advised police not to make arrests  and then recused himself as well. The state ultimately filed charges, and Georgias attorney general said he would review the investigation into Arbery's death.

Thats good, as far as it goes. But the state AG properly recognized that the troubling facts of not just the shooting but the aftermath require a separate examination by outside officials. There has long been a very useful interplay between state and federal authorities in controversial criminal investigations. U.S. participation could provide Georgia some solid backup, and perhaps win back some of the confidence that Sessions squandered.
One day last July, Ariane Middel and two other Arizona State University researchers headed west on Interstate 10. Squeezed inside their van were MaRTy 1 and MaRTy 2, mobile biometeorological instrument platforms that can tell you exactly what you feel in the summer heat. All five were destined for Los Angeles.

The researchers and their colleagues were headed to L.A. to start investigating how solar reflective coatings on select city streets affected radiant heat and, in turn, pedestrians' comfort on a typical summer day.

The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Surfaces has pioneered the use of solar reflective coatings in a quest to cool city streets.

The idea is, if you coat a street with a lighter color than traditional pavement black, it will actually lower the surrounding temperatures.

But Middel and her collaborators now wanted to see what effect reflective coating had on pedestrians.

"If you're in a hot, dry and sunny climate like Phoenix or L.A., the mean radiant temperature has the biggest impact on how a person experiences the heat," explains Middel, assistant professor in the ASU School of Arts, Media and Engineering and a senior sustainability scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. "The mean radiant temperature is essentially the heat that hits the human body. It includes the radiation from the sun, so if you are standing in direct sunlight you will feel much hotter than in the shade."

Thanks to remote-sensing satellites, decades of data exist on the Earth's land surface temperature; that is, how hot a single point on the Earth's surface would feel to the touch. But that data should not be confused with near-surface ambient and radiant temperature, the heat that humans and animals "experience," said Middel, lead author of the study and director of ASU's SHaDE Lab, which stands for Sensable Heatscapes and Digital Environments.

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The researchers' study is the first to measure the thermal performance of solar reflective coatings using instruments that sense meteorological variables relevant to a pedestrian's experience: radiant heat, ambient temperature, wind and humidity.

The researchers focused on two variables, surface temperature and radiant temperature over highly reflective surfaces. They took MaRTy 1 and 2 on hourly strolls through a Los Angeles neighborhood to measure a pedestrian's heat exposure over regular asphalt roads, reflective coated roads and sidewalks next to the roads.

MaRTy, which stands for mean radiant temperature, looks like a weather station in a wagon. The station measures the total radiation that hits the body, including sunlight and the heat emitted from surfaces like asphalt.

The study showed that the surface temperature of the coated asphalt road was up to 6 degrees Celsius cooler than the regular road in the afternoon. However, the radiant heat over coated asphalt was 4 degrees Celsius higher than non-coated areas, basically negating any heat-limiting factor.

"So, if you're a pedestrian walking over the surface, you get hit by the shortwave radiation reflected back at you," Middel said.

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The study also found that the coating didn't have a big impact on air temperature, only half a degree in the afternoon and 0.1 degrees Celsius at night.

The upshot, said V. Kelly Turner, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA and the study's co-author, is that to cool off cities, urban climatologists and city planners need to focus on different solutions or combinations of solutions depending on a desired goal.

"The solutions are context dependent and depend on what you want to achieve," Turner explained.

A solution that addresses surface temperature is not necessarily suited to the reduction of building energy use. For example, if you want cooler surface temperatures on a playground because children are running across its surface, a reflective coating would be best. But if you want to reduce the thermal load on people, planting trees or providing shade would be more effective.

But what happens if you combine trees with cool pavement? Does the cool pavement lose its ability to reduce surface temperature? Or perhaps the cool pavement is costly to maintain when the trees drop their leaves?

"So, reflective coating is not a panacea," Turner said. "It's one tool."

It should also be noted that temperature is a multifaceted measurement of heat. Surface temperature, ambient temperature and mean radiant temperature are distinct from one another and require distinct solutions when it comes to mitigating heat.

"We need more of these experiments," Middel said. "There have been a lot of large-scale modeling studies on this. So, we don't know in real life if we get the same effects. The urban environment is so complex, and models have to always simplify. So, we don't know what really happens on the ground unless we measure, and there haven't been these types of measurements in the past."

The researchers report their findings of the Los Angeles study in, "Solar reflective pavements -- A policy panacea to heat mitigation?" which was published on April 8, 2020 in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Co-authors on the paper include Florian Schneider and Yujia Zhang of ASU, and Matthew Stiller of Kent State University.
SANAA, Yemen - Fierce clashes have erupted in Yemens southern province of Abyan between Saudi-backed government troops and separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates, with at least six fighters from both sides killed in the past 24 hours, officials and residents said Tuesday.

The fighting between the two sides  allies in the Saudi-led coalition that for years has battled Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in the north  has added another layer to the complex civil war in the Arab worlds most impoverished country.

It comes amid weeks of mounting tensions after the secessionist Southern Transitional Council last month declared self-rule over the key port city of Aden to assert control over southern Yemen. The fighting could further undermine a Saudi Arabia-brokered peace deal between the government side and the separatists.

The clashes broke out as government forces advanced toward Zinjibar, the Abyan provincial capital, and the separatists brought in reinforcements to defend the city, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk to reporters. Residents, who would not give their names, fearing reprisal, said government forces were shelling separatists positions.

Yemens Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullah al-Hadrami accused the separatists of trying to destabilize security and stability in Yemens south through provocative military mobilization. He vowed the government forces would defend the homeland, protect its security, territorial integrity, and confront every armed rebellion.

On Monday, southern separatist leader Aydarous al-Zubaidi called on supporters to take up arms and defend dignity and independence of Yemens south.

The secessionist council, which is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well- financed militias propped up by the UAE since 2015, hopes to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967-1990.

Yemens conflict started with the Houthis capturing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The following year, the Saudi-led coalition intervened to battle the rebels and curb Irans influence in what turned into a stalemated regional proxy war.

Since then, more than 100,000 people  fighters and civilians  have been killed. Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition and Houthis ground fighting has displaced more than three million people and left millions more on the brink of famine.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo.
CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines, and what to watch as the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep most of America on lockdown. Today, CNBC's Robert Frank takes a look at Tesla CEO Elon Musk and how following through on his threats to leave California for Nevada or Texas could lead to a lower tax bill.



Here's what else you missed:



Tesla workers describe precautions inside factory as Musk and officials continue to fight over reopening

Tesla employees returned to work this week at the company's car plant in Fremont, California, as CEO Elon Musk reopened the facility in defiance of local Covid-19 health orders, bolstered by expressions of support from President Donald Trump and others. According to internal correspondence, some production lines were running more slowly than usual. But at least some shifts were working as early as Sunday, and Models 3, Y, S and X were all being produced at Tesla this week by Tuesday. Workers also described measures like staggered shift times and surgical masks to help stem the spread of Covid-19, and said that Musk showed up on the floor and worked during part of a shift on Monday.

Uber makes takeover offer for GrubHub, but both sides remain at odds on price

Uber has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, according to people familiar with the matter. The two companies have had discussions about an all-stock deal that would offer Grubhub shareholders 2.15 Uber shares for each Grubhub share, one of the people said. The people requested anonymity because the information is confidential.

Dr. Anthony Fauci warns Congress reopening risks more outbreaks and backfires on local economies
At least 10 tonnes of Class A drugs have been seized worldwide since March as gangs try to move bigger quantities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) claimed that global lockdowns have put organised crime groups and drug dealers on the back foot.

It said that the international response to coronavirus, including aviation and shipping bans, has left consignments vulnerable to interception.

The price of heroin has doubled under lockdowns in countries where drugs are sourced, such as Pakistan and Colombia.

It is not known if this is because of the disruption to the drug supply or because groups are 'driven by greed', a leading expert has warned.

At least 10 tonnes of Class A drugs have been seized worldwide since March as gangs try to move larger quantities during the pandemic (pictured, 1million worth of cocaine)

On April 14, UK Border Force officials found 31lb (14kg) of cocaine stashed among two consignments of face masks after stopping a Polish van driver near Calais

'In the last four weeks, we've really seen some of those restrictions beginning to get to the organised crime groups that are moving drugs at the top of the chain,' NCA drugs threat head Lawrence Gibbons told the BBC.

He conceded: 'The drug supply chain is driven by greed. They don't stop at times like these - and, even in a pandemic, they are still moving or attempting to move drugs.'

There are hopes among inner-city youth workers that Britain's lockdown could help teenagers caught up in drug violence to turn their lives around.

Police have previously indicated that lockdown restrictions make it easier for them to spot criminals and to make arrests.

Mahamed Hashi from south London told the BBC that teenagers have 'really had to think about their futures... about where their prior lifestyle was leading to'.

'What we're finding is, because of the lockdown and because of the fear associated with Covid, a lot of them have spent more time at home with their families,' he said.

However, leading expert Prof Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research at the University of West London, has poured cold water on claims that crime groups will be put out of business during the pandemic.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) claimed that international lockdowns have put organised crime groups and drug dealers on the back foot (pictured, 2million worth of cocaine)

The NCA said that the international response to coronavirus, including aviation and shipping bans, has left consignments vulnerable to interception (pictured, 50million of cocaine)

Prof Harding warned: 'Street gangs are being forced to find new tactics, such as shifting grooming and recruitment online, to social media.

'This means young people can become ensnared in dangerous gang activity from their phones while their families have no idea - and that is a worry.'

He added: 'They make so much profit, I doubt that (they will go bust)'.

On April 14, UK Border Force officials found 31lb (14kg) of cocaine stashed among two consignments of face masks after stopping a Polish van driver near Calais.

NCA drugs threat head Lawrence Gibbons

Three men were arrested after cocaine with a potential street value of 3million was found in a lorry which arrived at Dover from France on April 23.

And two men were charged last week with allegedly breaking into the London Container Terminal in Tilbury to retrieve packages of drugs with a potential street value of 1million from a refrigerated container which had arrived from Belize.

Last month, NCA director-general Lynn Owens said street level drug dealers are trying to disguise themselves as key workers by wearing high-visibility clothing or operating from supermarket car parks as they adapt to the lockdown.

'They are having to find new ways of working and new networks,' Ms Owens said.

'Drug dealers moving illicit drugs are concerned about greater scrutiny as they recognise that with less people on the streets, they are more visible.'

Prof Harding said last week that dealers are dressing as joggers or using fake NHS ID badges to move around freely.

'On one hand they really are heeding government advice on social distancing, but at the same time it is business as usual and, as people were panic-buying food, dealers were running bulk deals and selling lockdown party packs,' he said.
Vaccination against rotavirus has led to a significant decrease in hospitalisations and deaths of children due to severe diarrhoea in the Western Pacific region, a new study has found.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in BMC Infectious Diseases, showed the substantial impact of the rotavirus vaccine on inpatient and outpatient hospital attendances and child deaths in the Pacific Island country of Kiribati, despite high rates of malnutrition.

MCRI Professor Fiona Russell said the study looked at the impact of rotavirus vaccination on young children two years after its roll-out in Kiribati in 2015. The study provided convincing evidence for ongoing vaccination in Kiribati and other low-middle income countries with poor sanitation and inadequate cold storage chains, she said.

"Kiribati has one of the highest child death and malnutrition rates in the Pacific, which is due to the substantial challenges with the provision of safe drinking water and effective sanitation," she said.

"Kiribati introduced rotavirus vaccination following a series of confirmed rotavirus diarrhoea outbreaks, with up to 70 per cent of cases affecting children under five."

Kiribati is the first country to document the effects of rotavirus vaccination in the Western Pacific region.

The study found acute gastroenteritis inpatient admissions decreased by 37 per cent and outpatient presentations by 44 per cent in children aged under five years. Inpatient severe acute malnutrition admissions also decreased by 24 per cent.

Importantly, the study also reported a 44 per cent and 64 per cent decline in acute gastroenteritis contributing to all under-five admissions and deaths, respectively.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in children worldwide and kills about 215,000 children each year.

Almost all unvaccinated children will have experienced one or more rotavirus diarrheal episodes, regardless of their living conditions, by the age of five.

Professor Russell said the research would provide evidence for other policy makers in the Asia-Pacific region to consider introducing the vaccine.

"Very few countries in the Asia- Pacific have a rotavirus vaccine in their national immunisation programs, despite good data showing the vaccine's benefits," she said.

###

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Tarawa, Kiribati, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, US, also contributed to the findings.

Publication: Jana Lai, Cattram Nguyen, Beia Tabwaia, Agnes Nikuata, Nikarawa Baueri, Eretii Timeon, Mohammed Diaaldeen, Tinai Iuta, Murat Hakan Ozturk, Aaron Moore, Alice Hall, Batmunkh Nyambat, Stephanie Davis, Ataur Rahman, Wendy Erasmus, Kimberley Fox and Fiona Russell. 'Temporal decline in diarrhoea episodes and mortality in Kiribati children, two years following rotavirus vaccine introduction, despite high severe acute malnutrition rates: a retrospective review,' BMC Infectious Diseases. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-4874-6

Available for interview: Professor Fiona Russell
Ann Loughman (nee Dunne), 17 Rahin Road, Ballylinan, Laois / Athy, Kildare



The death took place on Monday, May 11 of Ann Loughman (nee Dunne), 17 Rahin Road, Ballylinan, Laois / Athy, Kildare.

Pre-deceased by her husband Pat. Deeply regretted by her loving son Breiffni, daughter Yvonne, brother Michael, sisters Mary and Celia, daughter-in-law Trisha, son-in-law Donal, brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, grandchildren Darragh, Donal, Patrick, Caroline and Deirbhile, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Rest in Peace

A private family funeral will take place, due to government advice regarding public gatherings. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral but cannot do so may offer their condolences in the 'Condolence' section on RIP.ie.

The Funeral Mass can be viewed by clicking on the Facebook page of Watchlive.ie at 11am on Wednesday May 13 or by clicking the link https://vimeo.com/417358870

Liam (Billy) Lupton, Coolkerry, Rathdowney, Laois / Crosspatrick, Kilkenny



The death took place on Tuesday, May 12 of Liam Lupton, Coolkerry, Rathdowney, Co. Laois and formerly Crosspatrick, Co. Kilkenny.

Peacefully at home, predeceased by his wife Kathleen and his brother Peter. Sadly missed by his daughter Julianne, his brother Joe, sister Joan, sister-in-law Mary, nephews, neighbours, realtives and friends.

Rest in Peace

As per the COVID-19 Directive House, Funeral and Burial strictly private. The funeral mass will be streamed from The Church of The Holy Trinity, Rathdowney (parishwebsites.ie/rathdowney) on Thursday at 11am followed by burial in Bealady cemetery. Condolences can be sent via the condolence page on RIP.ie. No flowers by request, donations can be made on line to The Irish Cancer Society (fundraising@irishcancer.ie). Your understanding is appreciated at this sad time.

Claire Fry (nee Phelan), Greystones, Wicklow / Portlaoise, Laois / Dublin



The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Claire Fry (nee Phelan) (Greystones, Co. Wicklow late of Portlaoise and Dublin)

Died peacefully in the kind care of all the staff of both St. Vincents Hospital and Greystones Nursing Home. Claire, beloved wife of the late Brian and loving mother of Emma. Sadly missed by her daughter, son-in-law Stephane Claude, her sisters Carmel and Ann, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, her extended family, former residents and staff in Ballard Lodge Nursing Home, Portlaoise, and friends.

In accordance with current Government guidelines and in the hope of keeping our friends and family safe, Claires Funeral will take place privately. No flowers please. Donations, if desired, to Plan International Ireland (www.plan.ie) or the Donkey Sanctuary (www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie/).

Ena Geoghegan (nee Walsh), 6 Crow Lane, Portarlington, Laois



The death took place on Monday, May 11 of Ena Geoghegan (nee Walsh), 6 Crow Lane, Portarlington, Laois.

Peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family. Loving wife of the late Matt and dear mother of the late Fergus. Deeply regretted by her loving family Ann and her husband Michael, Denis and his wife Aileen, Caroline and her partner Danny, Laurence and his wife Patricia, Fiona, Pamela and her husband Fergus, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, neighbours and friends.

Rest In Peace

Due to the Covid 19 Directive a Family Funeral will take place. Please use the Online Condolence Book on RIP.ie to offer your sympathies. A Memorial Mass for Ena will take place at a later Date. The family would like to thank you for your understanding and support at this difficult time. Ena's Funeral Mass will be streamed live on Wednesday at 11am on https://www.mcnmedia.tv/camera/st-michaels-church-portarlington

John Whelan, Rathmoyle, Abbeyleix, Laois



The death took place on Friday, May 8 of John Whelan, Rathmoyle, Abbeyleix, Laois.

Peacefully at home in the loving care of his family. Deeply regretted by his sisters Dolly and Mary, brothers Ned and Anthony, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Due to Covid-19 directive a private family funeral took place. Condolences can be left on the online condolence link on RIP.ie. A memorial Mass will take place at a later date.

Patrick (Paddy) Gaffney, Ballagh, Errill, Laois



The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Patrick (Paddy) Gaffney, Ballagh, Errill, Co. Laois.

Peacefully in the care of Ealga Lodge Nursing Home, Shinrone. Predeceased by his brothers Jack, Billy, Tommy and Joe and his sisters Daize, Poll and Nelly. Sadly missed by his nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

A private rosary for Paddy was held the Church Of The Holy Trinity, Rathdowney on Sunday evening May 10 with private funeral Mass on Monday morning followed by burial in St. Kieran's Cemetery, Errill.

As per the COVID-19 directive, house, funeral and burial were strictly private. Condolences can be sent via the condolence page on RIP.ie. Your understanding is appreciated at this difficult and sad time.

Michael (Mick) Lynch, Crannagh, Stradbally, Laois / Dundrum, Dublin

The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Michael (Mick) Lynch, in his 95th year, died peacefully in the loving care of the staff of Droimnin Nursing Home Stradbally on 8 May 2020; late of Dundrum Dublin and Crannagh, Stradbally, Laois.



Deeply regretted by his brother Eamon, nephew David, niece-in-law Gillian, cousins Michael, Dan, Lil and Jim and his good neighbours and friends.



May Michael Rest in Peace

In accordance with government directives a private family funeral took place. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral but cannot due to the restrictions are invited to leave a message in the 'Condolences' section on RIP.ie. A memorial Mass for Michael will take place at a later date.

Br. Charles (Michael) Purcell, De La Salle Brothers, Castletown, Laois / Kilteely, Limerick



The death took place on Saturday, May 9 of Br. Charles (Michael) Purcell, De La Salle Brothers, Castletown, Portlaoise, Co. Laois and late of Ballinlough, Kilteely, Co. Limerick.

Pre-deceased by his sisters, Maureen (Sr. Rita), Josephine (Sr. Pius), his brothers Br. Michael, William (Ballinlough) Tommy (Knocklong) Greatly missed by his sisters, Kathleen (Judge), Isabel (Horton) Wales, Nora (Donavon), Nancy (Ivory), Sally (Sr. Juliana) Fethard, Breda (McManus) London, his brother Philip (Kilteely), his nieces, nephews, grandnieces, great-grandnephews, confreres in religon, relatives and friends.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.

In accordances with Government and HSE recommendations regarding public gatherings, a private funeral will take place for family only. Those who would have liked to attended Br. Charles's funeral but due to the current restrictions cannot, please leave your personal message in the section on RIP.ie marked "Condolences". The family would like to thank you for your cooperation, understanding and support at this difficult time.

Margaret (Noelie) Bowe (nee LaCumber), Timahoe Road, Stradbally, Laois



The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Margaret (Noelie) Bowe (nee LaCumber), Timahoe Road, Stradbally, Laois

Peacefully, at her home. Wife of the Late Matt. Sadly missed by her loving family, sons Paddy, Eugene, Gabriel, Joe, Liam, daughters Fiona (Wall) and Jacinta (Martin), brothers, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family.

In accordance with government directives a private family funeral took place. Those who would like to attend the funeral but cannot due to the current restrictions on gatherings are invited to leave a message in the 'Condolences' section on RIP.ie. The funeral mass was held in The Sacred Heart Church, Stradbally on Saturday, May 9.

Omolabake Kayode, Summerhill, Stradbally Road, Portlaoise, Laois



The death took place on Thursday, May 7 of Omolabake Kayode, Summerhill, Stradbally Road, Portlaoise, Laois.

Peacefully at St Brigids Hospice, The Curragh. Survived by her loving son Tunde, extended family and friends.

May Omolabake Rest In Peace.

A private funeral will take place, due to government advice regarding public gatherings. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave a personal message for the family on the condolence page on RIP.ie. The family thank you for your cooperation, understanding and support during this sensitive time.

Joe THOMPSON, Clonohill, Coolrain, Laois





The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Joe Thompson, Clonohill, Coolrain, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.

Died following a short illness. Deeply regretted by his loving wife Betty, daughter Sarah, son Joe, son-in-law Richard, grandsons Jack and Daniel, sisters Hannah, Frances, Sally, Tessie and Maura, aunt Hannah, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family, work colleagues, neighbours and friends.

May Joe Rest In Peace

In accordance with government and HSE recommendations regarding public gatherings, a private funeral took place for the family only. Those who would have liked to attend Joe's funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave your personal message in the RIP.ie section marked "Condolences". The family would like to extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the staff of the Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital Limerick for their care of Joe over the last two weeks.

Joe's Funeral Mass was held in Camross last Sunday May 10.

Alan Edward Wilkinson, Late of The Dangans, Mountmellick, Laois



The death took place on Friday, May 8 of Alan Edward Wilkinson, Late of The Dangans, Mountmellick, Laois

Peacefully in the loving and tender care of St Paul's Ward in St Vincent's Community Nursing Unit Mountmellick. Sadly missed by his loving brother Norman, sisters Annie and Irene, sisters - in - law Eleanor and Ruby, nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Predeceased by his brothers Victor and Edmund and sister Gladys.

Due to the Covid 19 Directive a private Family Funeral will take place. Please use the Online Condolence Book on RIP.ie to offer your sympathies. The family would like to thank you for your understanding and support at this difficult time. A Memorial Service for Alan to take place later.

Sr Madeline Maher, Kilcock, Kildare / Portlaoise, Laois



The death took place on Wednesday, May 6 of Sr Madeline Maher, Presentation Sisters, Kilcock, Co. Kildare.

Died peacefully in the tender care of the Sisters and staff, Shalom Nursing Home. Predeceased by her parents James and Margaret, her sisters Margaret, Kathleen and Mary, her brothers Seamus, Michael and Fr. Paul. Deeply regretted by her sisters Bridget Patricia, Nora and Angela, her brother Noel, nieces, nephews, Presentation Community; extended family and friends.

Rest in Peace

A Mass to celebrate Sr Madelines life will be held at a later date. In accordance with government guidelines on public gatherings, a private burial will take place.
As India crosses 70K corona cases, the government is actively pursuing contact tracing to help control infections.

At the heart of the effort in the country of 130 crore people is a smartphone app that evaluates users' infection risk based on location services such as Bluetooth and GPS.New research suggests that using a health mapping app to track peoples movements and identify and isolate anyone who has come into contact with an infected person could be critical in avoiding lockdown.

Aiisma - Aiisma is an India born data marketplace, rewards users for consensually and anonymously trading their data via the Aiisma App. Equipped with geo-location sharing and health-mapping features, the app allows users to key in their health data regularly which can then be mapped to identify anomalies, and when one is identified both the user and relevant authorities can be notified to take preventive actions. The app leverages advanced algorithms to continuously compare user geo-location with identified positive carrier geo-location to isolate cases of Covid19 contacts and again alert both the user as well as the relevant authorities. In addition, there are features like alerts in case a user enters a high positive case density geography etc. All of this with user identity being shared only with relevant authorities when necessary and keeping it anonymous at all other times. Combined with Aiismas rewards for consensual data sharing it is a unique and win-win proposition for the users.

Arogya Setu- Aarogya Setu is a mobile application developed by the Government of India to connect essential health services with the people of India in our combined fight against COVID-19. The App is aimed at augmenting the initiatives of the Government of India, particularly the Department of Health, in proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19.The app, which is a coronavirus tracker of sorts works on the basis of contact tracing and can help a user identify possible coronavirus 'hotspot' around his or her area. It can help people stay safe and adopt necessary precaution in some areas where there are cases and accordingly, help stop or prevent community transmission to an extent.



Cova Punjab- COVA Punjab (Corona Virus Alert) App has been developed by the Government of Punjab to provide citizens with preventive care information and other government advisories. The app will help by providing a real time dashboard for Punjab, India and global stats, to check for symptoms of Corona and have a quick self-screening, Corona Awareness, Traveling instructions, Prevention Products and information about Corona Hospitals in Punjab. You will receive updates from government, advisories and instructions from time to time via PUSH notification on the App.

Corona Kavach - The Corona Kavach app is meant to track Coronavirus and somehow control its spread. It also maps the health of the user by asking for the information. You are required to answer a couple of questions (if you are facing difficulty in breathing, body temperature, sore throat, and more) and it will mark you as All Good, See a Doctor, Quarantine, and Infected. Following this, whenever you go out, you are required to enable the app and it will (by tracking your location) alert you if you are in the proximity of another person either infected by Coronavirus or at high risk. This way, you can remain safe from catching the virus.

Quarantine Watch- Built by the Revenue Department of the Government of Karnataka, Quarantine Watch helps state authorities keep a track of people under watch by asking them to self-report while in quarantine. The government is urging users to upload a selfie every hour while they are in the 14-day isolation period. If the GPS coordinates change, they will be sent to a government-run mass quarantine centre. Users have to register themselves on the app by entering personal details like name, phone number, residential address, district, symptoms, and travel history. Quarantine Watch also provides health helpline numbers. The app has crossed 10,000 downloads on Google Play Store.
In yet another act of suppressing the Baloch voices, Pakistani authorities have imposed an indefinite ban on the official website of Human Rights Commission of Balochistan. Quoting a local media agency, the Balochistan Post, news agency ANI said that the human rights group claims to be a non-profit organisation operating in the province. In an official statement, the Commission exhibited shock on this act and mentioned that they are a fair and unbiased "human rights organisation" and not "a party to the war in Balochistan."

READ | 'Out of hand' communal hatred in Imran Khan's Pakistan out in open, broadcasting on TV

As per reports, the group has been actively working in Balochistan to collect information about the ongoing human rights abuses. They employed "a network of volunteers and supporters" that assemble and communicate information from the remotest corners of Balochistan, the media reported further.

As per The Balochistan Post news desk; authorities have banned the group's official website in Pakistan. If attempted to access, the website states that: "Surf Safely! The site you are trying to access contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan."

READ | Minor Christian girl abducted in Pakistan in March; Human Rights Min now takes cognisance

The Balochistan Post network is also banned in Pakistan. The subscribers to the media are obliged to use technical stratagem to bypass restrictions and access our websites - like using VPNs or online proxies. Some other media and human rights organisations are also banned in Pakistan.

Human rights violation in Balochistan

Talking tolocal news agency, a renowned activist from Balochistan on condition of anonymity said, "human rights abuses are mainstream in Balochistan. "Under the pretexts of "counter-insurgency" or "re-establishment of peace", security forces have executed uncountable misdeeds. Enforced disappearances are a major human rights issue in Balochistan. Despite the promising negotiations with the authorities, such disappearances continue unabated," he added.

"Baloch activists have also believed to be abducted from foreign countries, like Sweden or UAE. Such disappearances compelled Mama Qadeer Baloch - a renowned human rights activist from Balochistan - to break a world record by marching from Quetta to Islamabad. Mama Qadeer and his organization, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), are protesting in front of the Quetta press club for the past ten years," the activist was quoted as saying.

READ | Netizens roast Pak PM Imran Khan for miserable maths blunder while trying to provoke India

BLA bombs Paksitani army convoy

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on May 9 claimed 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.

READ | Pakistan eases nationwide lockdown even as Coronavirus cases rise

(inputs from ANI)
Queues of shoppers -- many with unkempt hair or beards -- formed in parts of Europe on Monday, as more countries further eased anti-virus lockdowns.

Social distancing rules are still in place, and in Belgium a public transport strike disturbed the cautious reopening, but some businesses restarted.



In Istanbul, barbers set to work taming the unruly beards that locked-down men have grown during their confinement.



Sadettin Celikcioglu, 65, had three hirsute customers in his shop in the upscale Nisantasi neighbourhood, all ready at long last for a professional trim.



"The value of barbers has been well understood. People have had longer beards. Some of them got their wives to trim them, some bought machines," he told AFP, with a smile.



"Nobody can do our profession. It is one of the most difficult professions. Men were wandering on the street with inappropriate hair. We are now correcting them."



"We have bookings until the evening. Tomorrow will be the same. We are four barbers in the salon and will be working on a rotating basis."



Turkish women also turned out for a haircut, as Murat Karaman explained in his nearby salon, where appointments must now be secured in advance.



"The salon was disinfected by municipal workers on Friday evening. We have made all the preparations," Karaman said, explaining new virus safety rules.



"We work on an appointment system. In the past we used to take any customer walking through the door but this is no longer possible. We have reduced the number of customers as much as we can."



The social distancing requirements didn't deter Ino, a middle-aged customer who admitted she'd struggled to keep herself presentable during lockdown.



"I brought myself here today to get fixed up," she joked.



In Greece, shopkeepers in Athens's Ermou Street rejoiced at life returning to normal as they raised their shutters, and in Belgium the lockdown left people with a few particular needs.



"I need a new pair of jeans," said 61-year-old Brigitte Szekely, speaking outside a clothing store in Brussels.



"I've done so much bike riding in the past two months that I've worn these out."



If she was hoping to start getting the tram as the lockdown is phased out, she might have been disappointed: some public transport drivers in the city were on strike, saying it was not safe to go back to work.



Deborah Aragon was out shopping in a Brussels suburb with a pushchair and her two-year-old son, hoping to find shoes.



"I don't have any in his size," she said. "During the lockdown he wore his big brother's"




A Scottish academic has been jailed for ten months after being caught with a library of 60,000 pornographic pictures of girls aged as young as eight.

Dr Joseph Crawford was previously a respected member of the school of geography and sustainable development at the University of St Andrews.

He amassed the collection over seven years, and kept it on a laptop and four USB sticks which were seized when police raided his home in Falkirk.

Dr Joseph Crawford, a previously a respected member of the school of geography and sustainable development at the University of St Andrews, has been jailed

The 49-year-old was traced through an investigation into a cybernetwork of paedophiles sharing child pornography.

Crawford was home alone and told police his wife was working away when three cops staged the raid in 2018.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard he handed over the devices, and when asked if he had been looking at child porn he responded, 'I'd rather not say anything until I speak to my lawyer'.

Crawford transferred to Sheffield University in 2019 after he was caught, but continued to travel back to Scotland.

Prosecutor Michael Maguire said the 60,000 images were classified as category C on a scale of seriousness.

The 49-year-old lectured at St Andrews (pictured) before later moving to Sheffield

He said: 'They depicted girls between 8 and 15, some unclothed or partially-unclothed, posing erotically, with a focus on the genitals.'

Two category B videos were also found, showing girls between 10 and 15 engaging in sexual activity alone, or with other children.

The browser history of Crawford's laptop showed he had searched for and visited websites that had titles that indicated they might contain indecent images of children.

Crawford, of Rosebank Avenue, Falkirk, pleaded guilty to possessing and downloading child porn at his home between November 2010 and April 30th 2018, when the raid took place.

Solicitor-advocate Neil Hay, defending, said Crawford was 'remorseful'.

He said: 'He indicates his regret and shame. There is no suggestion of distribution.'

Jailing Crawford for 10 months, Sheriff Christopher Shead said: 'Having regard to the nature of the offences, the number of images, and the time period involved, the threshold into custody has been crossed.'

The sheriff said he took into account the impact of the conviction on Crawford's employment when deciding on sentence.

Detective Inspector Richard Banks, of Police Scotland's National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: 'Crawford's online behaviour was deplorable with no thought of the young victims depicted in the images and videos he was viewing.

Crawford was traced by police through an investigation into a cybernetwork of paedophiles sharing child pornography

Crawford believed that by committing these offences online, his actions would be untraceable. However, as a result of the inquiry, he will now face the consequences of his actions.'

He added: 'The internet does not provide anonymity - there is no hiding place. Offenders will be caught, they will be arrested and will face the consequences of their actions.'

Crawford has contributed to books and written a number of papers on exploitation in housing.

When he left St Andrews last year (2019) the head of the school of geography and sustainable development Professor William Bill Austin said Crawford had 'made a wonderful and refreshing contribution to our research and teaching environment'.
An El Nino-like weather system that has been dormant for millennia in the Indian Ocean could be kick-started due to climate change, according to new research.

The study found small shifts in sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean could lead to weather patterns similar to the El Ninos currently experienced over the Pacific Ocean.

The El Nino phenomenon is a broad, ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to periodic warm waters along the Equator across the central and eastern areas of the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Ocean Service. They typically occur every three to seven years and an episode can last up to two years.

El Ninos can dramatically influence weather patterns around the world and cause both flooding and droughts, depending on the region. A study last year found that climate change has increased the frequency of extreme El Nino events in the Pacific region.

The El Nino event that ended in 2016 caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, intense droughts across Africa, South America and regions of the Pacific and southeast Asia. Wildfires in Indonesia and Canada were also linked to it.

The new study, published last week in Science Advances, found that raising or lowering the average global temperatures by just a few degrees may cause the Indian Ocean to behave in a similar way to other tropical oceans with its own El Nino. It could start to take effect within the next 30 years.

The Indian Ocean previously experienced El Nino patterns more than 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.

Climate scientist Pedro DiNezio, from the University of Texas at Austin who co-authored the study, told Earther: The re-emergence will depend strongly on the rate of global warming, so ultimately on whether greenhouse gas emissions are abated or not.

We are certain that the risks of these extreme events is becoming larger and larger as we pump more CO2 into the atmosphere, and certainly going to have an unequal impact on countries in the tropics.

Rainfall impacts of current and future modes of climate variability in the Indian Ocean (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

The team of researchers analysed 36 different climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP)  a collaboration by climate scientists aimed at improving knowledge of climate change.

The team selected the models which match current conditions most accurately and then analysed how increased global warming might alter conditions for the Indian Ocean.

According to the models, global warming could reverse the west-to-east winds in the Indian Ocean which currently keep conditions stable.

If El Nino patterns emerge over the Indian Ocean, regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia, which are already vulnerable to the most extreme climate change impacts, may see an increase in storms, floods and droughts.
[May 12, 2020] MONAT Global Raises $248,000 for Non-Profit Organizations Through Sales of Helping Hand Gift Set

MONAT Gratitude, the philanthropic movement behind MONAT Global Corp (MONAT), raised $248,000 through sales of their Helping Hand Gift Set which were sold in January and February of this year. 100% of net profits from the limited-edition sets were donated to non-profit organizations around the world that empower at-risk youth through education, scholarships and mentoring programs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005303/en/ MONAT Gratitude raised $248,000 through sales of their Helping Hand Gift Set. (Photo: Business Wire) "Gratitude is part of who we are, so we wanted to start the year off by giving a helping hand," said Lu Urdaneta, Chief Culture Officer, MONAT Global. "Right now, it's more important than ever that we come together and help those who need it most. All of the benefiting organizations are fully supporting their communities, and we are proud to make these donations, which were made possible by our Market Partners and customers." The kit featured MONAT products that were designed with giving back in mind, including MORE THAN A GLOW, MORE THAN A HAND CREAM, and a MONAT Gratitude branded cosmetic bag that includes a nail file and nail buffer, for a set price of $28 each. MONAT's Helping Hand Gift Set will benefit the following organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Horizons for Youth

Chance UK

SOS (News - Alert) Wioski Dzieciece

Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) "We are grateful for the support of MONAT Global, especially during these trying times," said Pam Lorio, CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters America. "Despite the challenge of social distancing, our Big Brothers Big Sisters staff members across the country are finding ways to keep Bigs and Littles connected while helping families find resources in their time of need. We appreciate the investment MONAT Global is making to ensure our mentoring programs continue long after his crisis ends."



"It's encouraging for us to know there are other people out there that are passionate about the cause like we are," said Dwight Miller, Operations Manager, Horizons for Youth Canada. "This age group seems to be a bit of a forgotten population, and what they are looking for most is love and care. To know that we have organizations like MONAT that care enough to donate to a small place like Horizons for Youth is unbelievable." MONAT Gratitude has been an integral part of the MONAT Global company culture since its inception in 2014. The values of gratitude and giving back have always been a high priority for the MONAT team. Today, the organization focuses its giving efforts in three impact areas: families, children and education.

Follow MONAT Gratitude on Facebook and Instagram. More information about the efforts and philosophy behind Gratitude can be found at http://monatgratitude.com. Follow MONAT on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. Additional information about the company can be found at its website, www.monatglobal.com. About MONAT Gratitude MONAT Gratitude has been an integral piece of the MONAT company culture since its inception in 2014. This movement has grown from the Urdaneta family's commitment to instilling gratitude as a core company value. MONAT Gratitude partners with innovative nonprofit organizations in its local communities that support efforts under its three pillars: Families, Children and Education. As a movement, MONAT Gratitude believes in the power of creating conversations and inspiring a greater network to take action. Due to the passion of our MONAT Market Partners and commitment to making gratitude a part of our business, what started as a series of grassroots volunteering efforts in Miami has spread across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Poland and Ireland. About MONAT Global MONAT Global Corp is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcora Corporation, whose holdings include Project Beauty, an online retail beauty company, and B&R Products, Inc., their research, development and manufacturing Laboratory subsidiary. All three companies are headquartered in and around Miami, Florida. MONAT was founded in 2014 to enter the multi-billion-dollar haircare market and provides groundbreaking opportunities through a novel Social Marketing approach to Direct Sales. In 2019, the company expanded into the skincare market. The company offers a unique and exciting business model and one of the most generous compensation plans in the U.S., Canadian, U.K., Irish and Polish markets. Availability: www.monatglobal.com #MONATGlobal Facebook (News - Alert): /MONATOfficial | Instagram: @monatofficial | YouTube: /MONATOfficial Twitter: @MONATOfficial | Pinterest: /MONATOfficial View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005303/en/

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Damianlee Torres weaves the needle through the skin, pulling his tweezers a little tighter as he slides the first stitch into his patient  a silicon arm.

His dad, a tattoo artist, uses the fake limb to sketch out new designs. Now, Torres uses it to cut open a wound and stitch it back together.

"The Pound of Flesh, as its called in the ink industry, doesnt bleed silicon, but it serves its purpose.

Torres, a 16-year-old junior at West Orange High School, wants to be a veterinarian. Hes practicing how to suture a wound. Its nothing like what he was supposed to do this summer, but its enough to keep his mind busy between virtual classes.

Like thousands of other high school and college students across the state, Torres is scrambling to reschedule his summer plans as the coronavirus threatens the prestigious study abroad program in Costa Rica he planned to attend.

Its very disappointing, and I feel a little lost, Torres told NJ Advance Media on Monday. I just didnt want to wait until senior year to find out if this is truly what I wanted to do. Its not the way to go at all."

There are thousands of New Jersey high school and college students who rely on summer jobs to further their career prospects, pay for rising tuition or earn money to help support their families.

Theyre lifeguards, waiters and camp counselors. They work in movie theaters, ice cream shops and run the rides and games on Jersey Shore boardwalks. And like Torres, they count on internships or study programs geared toward their future professions.

The coronavirus has jeopardized all of those opportunities as the pandemic continues to suffocate the economy.

Nearly 40% of national unemployment claims in April came from hospitality workers, according to data collected by Statistica. That percentage is nearly twice as large as the next highest sector.

In New Jersey, more than a million residents  many from the service industry  have filed for unemployment benefits.

With that sector hit particularly hard, labor experts and economists fear teenagers will be severely impacted as part-time work and summer jobs continue to disappear.

We cannot marginalize young people who need this employment," said Rutgers professor Yana Rodgers, faculty director for the schools Center for Women and Work. Theres this assumption that all teenagers are entitled, theyre all well-supported and can just lounge around if they want to. Thats just not the case."

Torres never wanted to lounge around.

One of the highlights of his study abroad program included a day at a sloth sanctuary. But he was most excited about working in a Costa Rican animal hospital and watching industry leaders operate on a wide array of indigenous animals.

It wasnt just a summer job. Torres saw it as a way to solidify what his future career might be. He still holds out hope organizers can find a way to make it happen.

As an honor roll student and captain of his schools wrestling team, Torres has always dreamed of being a vet. Its a goal hes kept written on a whiteboard in his room for more than a decade. He thought watching doctors in an operating room would firmly cement his passion for helping animals.

Now, Torres finds himself in a weird predicament," he said.

While he still has plenty of time to figure out what his future may hold, others may not be so lucky.

A summer job in the sun

Will Perry knows a little bit about wildlife, too.

The 19-year-old man from Little Silver graduated from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, a high school in the Sandy Hook section of Middletown. Although hes studying economics as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, he relies on his marine biology background for summer work.

Hes spent the past two summers working at Sandy Hook Kayaks, which provides rentals for beachgoers in northern Monmouth County.

Originally, Perry wanted to spend his summer working as a bartender. He got his license over the winter, but decided landing a job now would be nearly impossible if and when bars reopen at the Jersey Shore.

Instead, hell be back at the kayak stand, working alongside a staff of about 12 other college students. Most of the time, he and his co-workers are hauling the kayaks and paddleboards to the water  a job that Perry says is not as easy as it sounds  but most of the work feels like something out of a movie.

Its the perfect summer job," said Perry, who plans on using his earnings to pay for a summer class or traveling when life gets back to normal. "It gives me all of the benefits of being a lifeguard without having to be a really good swimmer.

Kevin Murray, who owns the kayak business, said he expects to open in early June with extra precautions in place to sanitize the kayaks, paddles and life jackets.

Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy said optimism is high that beaches will open with restrictions for Memorial Day weekend. Thats why Murray says kayaking and paddleboarding, two activities perfect for social distancing, should be open, too.

The entrances to Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach are blocked off amid concerns the boardwalk was too narrow to safely practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Seasonal Jersey Shore businesses like Murrays are hiring for the summer, but face plenty of uncertainty.

In a normal summer, Jenkinsons Boardwalk employs 1,200 workers to operate its rides, arcades, restaurants, gift shops, aquarium and other amusements in Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights.

Most would be high school or college students.

Toby Wolf, Jenkinsons marketing director, said the company is actively searching for new hires and urged jobseekers to fill out an online application. While some roles may be redirected if they cant open, Wolf said new roles could be created to protect customers, such as adding extra janitorial jobs or security guards to enforce social distancing.

If we can somehow have all of our attractions be open, we may be looking for more employees than weve ever had, Wolf said. If certain departments cant open, that could create fewer jobs, but there are so many uncertainties that were just trying to prepare for as many different scenarios as we can foresee."

The most precarious

At this point, nobody knows what the summer will look like in New Jersey.

But theres no doubt some part-time work and seasonal jobs for students will be lost.

How many? That depends on how quickly the state can reopen without jeopardizing the health of its residents  the biggest challenge Murphy and his administration face in the days ahead.

Still, Rodgers, the Rutgers professor, said she agrees with Murphys stance that public health creates economic health, even with the economy struggling.

Students could be eligible for unemployment benefits even if they were working minimal hours as a part-time employee, according to Rodgers. She also urged college students to check their financial aid packages, because schools were required to give half of the aid they received from the CARES Act back to their students  a potential pool of about $14 billion nationally.

Rodgers said shes fearful about job loss across the state, but especially in pockets of New Jersey crippled by poverty.

These are the part-time workers who need income the most. They are the ones who find themselves in precarious situations  young workers and students who come from low-income homes, find themselves in abusive situations or are taking care of sick family members, Rodgers said.

I would urge policymakers to think very closely about social security and social support policies for students in these types of situations, she said.

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

Patrick Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com.
" " It can be incredibly frustrating to be perennially awake when the world is asleep. For some chronically sleep-troubled folks, the problem may lie in their genes, specifically the CRY1 gene. Sam Diephuls/Mario Cea Sanchez/Getty

In a 9-to-5, early-bird-gets-the-worm kind of world, being a night person can be a drag.

Alina Patke knows. She has spent many late nights and early mornings peering into a microscope, poring over databases, trying to determine why her sleep patterns, and those of millions like her, are so different than what is considered normal.

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While the rest of the world sleeps, Patke has been trying to figure out why she can't.

Now, after years of locking up at night, Patke, a researcher in the Laboratory of Genetics at The Rockefeller University in New York, has found an answer. Or at least part of one.

In a paper published in March in the journal Cell, Patke and her associates announced the discovery of a genetic mutation in night owls that helps explain why they are what they are. The variation is in the gene CRY1, which controls our circadian rhythms, the internal clock that determines when we sleep and when we wake.

In people with this genetic variation, the onset of sleep is delayed some two to two-and-a-half hours later than those without the variation. In effect, people with the mutation have a daily cycle longer than the normal 24 hours. And that throws them completely off rhythm from much of the rest of the world, which still expects them to get to work or school at the same time as everyone else.

"It's as if these people have perpetual jet lag, moving eastward every day," Michael W. Young, the head of labs at Rockefeller, tells Science Daily. "In the morning, they're not ready for the next day to arrive."

These people are not simple sleepyheads or preternaturally lazy. They're not somehow at fault for their one-step-behind lives.

It's in their genes. They are, almost literally, wired differently than the rest of the world.

"When we found it, we were pretty sure that's what it would be. It would have been an odd coincidence if it weren't that," Patke, the lead author of the paper, tells HowStuffWorks. "But showing that, rather than just thinking, 'That's what it must be,' ... it's been a lot of work.

"It's especially satisfying. I've always enjoyed being a scientist and working on this particular topic because it is so personal to me."

In Search of a Genetic Mutation

Patke and many others have been at this for about seven years. Earlier studies of a 46-year-old woman with DSPD  delayed sleep phase disorder, which affects up to 10 percent of the population  pointed to a problem with her internal clock, rather than something external.

After extensive gene mapping on the woman, scientists zeroed in on a variation in CRY1 as a possible culprit. Researchers took DNA samples from some of the woman's family members and found five who had the same variation. All had signs of DSPD or other sleep problems.

Patke, Young and other researchers then dove into genetic databases from around the world looking for CRY1 variations. They found dozens of people in Turkey with the dominant mutation, and discovered 38 of them with sleep disorders. The scientists looked at those subjects' families and found that none of the people without the mutation had sleep problems.

After scouring more databases, building models and crunching more numbers, the authors concluded that a mutation in CRY1 was indeed responsible for altering the circadian clock and bringing on DSPD in their subjects. They estimate that 1 out of every 75 people of non-Finnish European descent has the mutation. Studies on other populations are ongoing.

The scientists report that there's not a 100 percent correlation between the mutation and sleep disorders; not everybody who has the mutation has DSPD, and many with DSPD do not have the mutation. Patke has been tested. She, ironically, does not have the mutation.

Still, it's now clear that this variation in this single gene  a gene responsible for keeping us in a daily rhythm  has a strong correlation to DSPD and possibly other sleep disorders.

That, in decidedly unscientific terms, is a big deal.

"It's probably not a matter of life and death," Patke says, "but there are definitely correlations on how well you sleep and other comorbidities."

Lack of Sleep Is No Joke

According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep disorders can lead to a host of health problems, including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack and stroke.

Patke's sleep problems, like millions of others, are still largely unexplained. The root causes could be physiological. They could be psychological. They could be a combination.

For those who stay up too late, get up too late and seem out of sync with the rest of the world, though, the discovery of a genetic mutation that might explain their plight  even if tests are not available to the public  should come as a relief.

"I think anybody who has this kind of problem, they would be interested in knowing: It's not their fault; it's just how they're made, right?" Patke says. "I think that can make a difference, psychologically."

That might not be as satisfying as a good night's sleep. But it's a start.

The researchers can be contacted regarding opportunities for participation in follow-up sleep studies at patkea@rockefeller.edu and young@rockefeller.edu.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING According to the NIH, some 50-70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. Though many live full and successful lives, others find it a daily struggle. Treatment for DSPD helps many. The National Sleep Foundation suggests bright-light therapy and taking melatonin, along with behavioral therapy like sticking to regular wake times and blocking out late-afternoon and evening light.
[May 12, 2020] Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Prepares for 2020 Production

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (the Company) announces that Company is preparing to transfer production back to Prodigy Textiles, its Vietnamese subsidiary. During the COVID-19 lockdown, when the Company opted to furlough its non-essential staff, the Company shifted its spider silk production operations focus to its US research facility. The Company is now ready to transition the majority of its production back to Vietnam as soon as the silkworm rearing cycle allows.

During this pandemic, the Company has continued to advance and strengthen its production operations. Through vigorous testing of its Dragon SilkTM and Monster Silk lines, the Company identified its best performing and hardy silkworms ideally suited for large scale production. This milestone is the result of a dedicated effort by its U.S. staff, going far beyond standard material performance testing. This first production cycle of 2020, at the Companys Vietnam factory, will utilize these top performing transgenics, forming a solid foundation for the continued 2020 production scale up. The Company anticipates rapid scale up of its recombinant spider silk and will use this years first production run to ship materias are dedicated to fulfill an outstanding order, by one of the Company development partners. The following production runs will be to address fiber requests made by additional potential development partners and to grow the breeding population.



As we finish preparations for the 2020 production season, the future of Kraig Labs, has never looked brighter, said COO Jon Rice. To view the most recent news from Kraig Labs and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/news

About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. ( www.KraigLabs.com ), a reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fiber technologies. The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information Statements in this press release about the Companys future and expectations other than historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are made on the basis of managements current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that managements expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as believes, plans, expects, anticipates, foresees, estimated, hopes, if, develops, researching, research, pilot, potential, could or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward looking statements include descriptions of the Companys business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Ben Hansel, Hansel Capital, LLC

(720) 288-8495

[email protected]

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Tamika Palmer, left, embraced her daughter Ju'Niyah Palmer during a vigil for her other daughter, Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 19.

Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal/Reuters

Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by the police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13 during a narcotics bust.

The police said someone inside the apartment opened fire at them, injuring an officer.

But a defense attorney for Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said in a court filing that the police didn't announce themselves while entering, so Walker thought someone was breaking into the apartment.

Taylor's family is being represented by Benjamin Crump, a well-known civil-rights attorney who has represented other black shooting victims, including Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The shooting death of yet another black person has been thrust into the national spotlight.

This time it's the case of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was killed by the police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, during a narcotics bust in the early hours of March 13.

The police said they returned fire after someone in the apartment shot at them, injuring an officer, The Associated Press reported.

Rob Eggert, a defense attorney for Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said in a recent court filing that the police team  two officers and one sergeant  didn't knock or announce themselves when entering the apartment, the Louisville Courier Journal reported on Tuesday.

"While police may claim to have identified themselves, they did not," Eggert wrote in the filing seen by the Courier Journal. "Mr. Walker and Ms. Taylor again heard a large bang on the door. Again, when they inquired there was no response that there was police outside. At this point, the door suddenly explodes. Counsel believes that police hit the door with a battering ram."

Photos of Taylor were displayed during a vigil for her on March 19.

Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal/Reuters

A complaint filed late last month by attorneys representing Taylor's family said that Walker fired one round in self-defense but that officers "failed to use any sound reasonable judgment whatsoever when firing more than 25 blind shots into multiple homes."

Story continues

Eggert said that he later inspected the building where the pair lived and found evidence of at least 20 gunshots, eight of which hit Taylor, killing her, the Courier Journal reported.

The complaint said that Taylor "was shot at least eight times by the officers' gunfire and died as a result," adding that she "had posed no threat to the officers and did nothing to deserve to die at their hands."

Her family initially had a hard time finding out what happened

Taylor's family described her as a kind and honest person who loved helping people in her role as an EMT.

Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, told the news website The 19th that a phone call from Walker roused her from sleep in the middle of the night on March 13.

"I think they shot Breonna," Walker told her, prompting Palmer to throw on some clothes and race out of her house for Taylor's apartment.

Palmer recalled that the police were tight-lipped, seeking information on Taylor's enemies and whether she was having issues with Walker.

Palmer drove from the apartment to the hospital and back to the apartment in search of information about her child  only to realize that Taylor had died.

Palmer said she struggled to reconcile her concern for her daughter's safety while she was working on the front lines of the pandemic with her death in her own home.

"She was an essential worker. She had to go to work," Palmer said The 19th. "She didn't have a problem with that ... To not be able to sleep in her own bed without someone busting down her door and taking her life ... I was just like, 'Make sure you wash your hands!'"

An attorney who's also representing Ahmaud Arbery's family is on the case

In the lawsuit filed in late April, Taylor's family alleged that officers weren't looking for Taylor or Walker  they said the police executed the raid at the wrong address, despite having already taken a suspect into custody earlier that day.

The Courier Journal identified the suspect as Jamarcus Glover. The lawsuit said that he was detained more than 10 miles from Taylor's house and that officers identified Glover before executing the search warrant at Taylor's house, where they didn't find any drugs.

Police Chief Steve Conrad said that the police department's Criminal Interdiction Squad, which was involved in the shooting, does not use body cameras, so there's no footage of the incident, according to the Courier Journal.

The three officers involved in the case have been placed on administrative leave, the Courier Journal said, while Walker, a licensed gun owner, was arrested and faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer, according to The 19th.

"Not one person has talked to me. Not one person has explained anything to me," Palmer told The 19th. "I want justice for her. I want them to say her name. There's no reason Breonna should be dead at all."

Having accused the officers of wrongful death, excessive force, and gross negligence, Taylor's family on Monday enlisted the help of Benjamin Crump, a well-known civil-rights and personal-injury attorney.

Crump issued a statement to news outlets, describing Taylor's killing as "inexcusable."

Attorney Ben Crump discussing the results of a forensic examination.

Jay Reeves/AP

"We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department," Crump said. "Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the Department has not provided any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they taken responsibility for her senseless killing."

Crump is among the lawyers working with the family of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot dead while jogging in southern Georgia on February 23 after being pursued by Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, both of whom are white.

The pair told the police that Arbery resembled a burglary suspect. They were arrested last week, more than two months after Arbery died; they face charges of murder and aggravated assault.

The delay of justice in Arbery's case has triggered waves of unrest and protests, as well as investigations into and calls for the resignations of local prosecutors.

Crump also represented the family of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer, in Florida in 2012.

Meanwhile, it's been nearly two months since Taylor was killed, but her death gained more attention after the activist Shaun King shared her story on social media.

King has pushed for charges to be brought against the officers and called on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to intervene.

A Change.org petition seeking justice for Taylor had amassed over 11,000 signatures as of Tuesday evening.

"For weeks, the city treated Breonna like she was a criminal, calling her a 'suspect' before finally admitting that she was an innocent, crimeless victim," the petition said. "She had no drugs. She committed no crime. Yet, she is dead, and the perpetrators are facing no charges."

Taylor's sister, Ju'Niyah Palmer, has been posting pictures of the two on social media and using the hashtag #JusticeForBre.

She told The 19th that her goal was to remind people that Taylor was a victim  she didn't have so much as a criminal record.

"I'm just getting awareness for my sister, for people to know who she is, what her name is," she said.

This article has been updated.

Read the original article on Insider
The South Carolina Legislature plans to return to work on May 12, presumably to allow for an extension to pass the state budget.

Heres something else lawmakers need to do: work on expanding opportunities for South Carolinians to vote absentee.

The June 9 primary elections are a little more than five weeks away, but the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus is still not over. Anything that can be done remotely, like absentee voting, will help flatten the curve and keep citizens safe.

Currently, state law says absentee ballots can be cast by voters who arent physically able to leave their home, are away from their home county for work or vacation, have to work the entire time polls are open, if they are sick or mourning the loss of a just-deceased relative, or if they are 65 or older. The caveat is that the absentee ballot must be signed and witnessed.

South Carolina doesnt allow no excuse absentee voting or early voting.

The State Election Commission said it has no authority to delay or deviate from conducting the election because of the pandemic. The group said it is encouraging those who are eligible to vote absentee and are in the process of providing masks and gloves for poll workers and sanitizing materials for polling sites.

According to RepresentUS, which advocates voting by mail, South Carolina is one of seven stalling states that has not taken action on absentee voting. The other states are Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

Neighboring states Georgia and North Carolina allow any voter to request a vote by mail, and a handful of states are allowing temporary vote-by-mail options because of the crisis.

South Carolina is wasting valuable time to prepare for upcoming elections, said Josh Silver, co-founder and director of RepresentUs, in an email. Keeping voters safe is not a partisan issue.

Hes right. Voting is one of our most precious rights, and anything that states can do to get the vote out is strongly encouraged.

In South Carolina, lawsuits have been filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the S.C. American Civil Liberties Union. The actions seek to expand absentee voting.

Even Marci Andino, the executive director of the election commission, wrote a letter to Attorney General Alan Wilson about the issue. Her letter, in part, asked whether voters staying home due to the pandemic qualify for absentee voting.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the primary is June 5, but officials encourage voters to make the request at least one week in advance to ensure there is enough time to get the ballot in the mail.

Lawmakers arent sure how long they will be in session, but expanding absentee voting is still worth looking into.

The clock is ticking.

This editorial is from the Aiken Standard via The Associated Press.
Princess Eugenie has thanked a takeaway chain for donating to frontline staff at The York hospital as it emerged that Sarah Ferguson has briefed eateries to make any donations 'convenient'.

Taking to Instagram, Eugenie, 30, shared a picture of the colourful goodie bags containing pasta that had been donated to NHS workers at the York Hospital.

The royal wrote: 'Thank you to Eataliano UK who donated and delivered their pasta to the team on the fronttline at York Hospital'.

Meanwhile, her mother Sarah Ferguson, 60, shared a picture of hospital staff holding trays of brownies, writing: 'Thank you so much for the cake and brownie donations to Northwick Park Hospital'.

Princess Eugenie has thanked a takeaway chain for donating to frontline staff at The York hospital as it emerged that Sarah Ferguson has briefed eateries to make any donations 'convenient'

Taking to Instagram, Eugenie, 30, (seen at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in 2019) shared a picture of the colourful goodie bags containing pasta that had been donated to NHS workers at the York Hospital

The baker behind the brownies, Nisha Khurana, later took to Instagram to reveal the brief she had been given, focusing on 'comfort' when she baked for hospital staff.

She wrote: 'Absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity to contribute towards the generous donations to the NHS by Sarah, Duchess of York.

'From the beginning comfort and convenience were the main focus for what I was going to produce. With that in mind, and a cup of tea in hand, I settled on individually baked slices of brownies, coffee and walnut cake, banana cake and lemon bread.'

She added: 'Made even sweeter by the donation going to the renal unit at the Northwick Park Hospital who have been instrumental in keeping many people alive and well, including my mum'.

Sarah Ferguson, 60, shared a picture of hospital staff holding trays of brownies, writing: 'Thank you so much for the cake and brownie donations to Northwick Park Hospital'

The baker behind the brownies, Nisha Khurana, later took to Instagram to reveal the brief she had been given, focusing on 'comfort' when she baked for hospital staff

The Duchess of York and Princess Beatrice have been playing an active role on social media, highlighting work done to support NHS staff working on the frontline during the corona pandemic.

In an effort to keep spirits high, Sarah has also introduced a daily story time slot, during which she reads a bedtime story on YouTube.

It is thought that Beatrice and her husband Jack Brooksbank are isolating with Sarah Ferguson at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The baker wrote: 'Absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity to contribute towards the generous donations to the NHS by Sarah, Duchess of York
In a six-hour long video conference on May 11 with the chief ministers on of all the Indian states and Union territories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed with them measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. He also took their opinions on whether the ongoing lockdown should be extended.

PM Modi emphasised that until a vaccine is developed, social distancing is the biggest weapon in the fight against COVID-19.

In his opening remarks the Prime Minister said, "We now have reasonably clear indication as to the geographical spread of the pandemic in India, including the worst affected areas. Moreover, over the past few weeks, officials have understood operating procedures in a time such as this, right up to the District level."

The Prime Minister said that this understanding of the spread of COVID-19 will help the country in having a focussed fight against it.

"And therefore, we can now further focus our strategy in this battle against coronavirus, as should be the case. We have a twofold challenge - to reduce the transmission rate of the disease, and to increase public activity gradually, while adhering to all the guidelines, and we will have to work towards achieving both these objectives", he said.

ANI

Modi emphasised now the effort should be to stop the spread of the COVID-19 to rural areas.

The CMs, while appreciating Modi's leadership, also highlighted the need to strengthen the medical and health infrastructure in the country.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has repeatedly drawn attention to the loss of revenue for the city-state, said economic activities should resume in the capital, except in coronavirus containment zones which are in strict lockdown to check the spread of the virus.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said any decision on the lockdown must be taken "cautiously", pointing to the recurrence of the virus in China's Wuhan, and predictions that in India it may peak in May, June or July. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases in the country and there is apprehension that resumption of economic activities could pose new risks.

Five states -- including Punjab and Assam -- have asked for an extension of the lockdown. Punjab's Amarinder Singh said, "My position is very strong. We must have a lockdown. We must have a strong lockdown. I will ensure a curfew". In case of a graded exit from the lockdown based on red, orange and green zones, state administrations should be allowed to decide where restrictions can be eased, he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisami and Andhra Pradesh's Jagan Mohan Reddy asked PM Modi not to resume flights and trains this month. Tamil Nadu has the country's fourth highest coronavirus cases.

Several of them pointed out that with the return of migrants, there is a need to concentrate on strict implementation of the social distancing guidelines, usage of masks and sanitization in order to curb the spread through fresh infection, especially in rural areas.

BCCL

The Prime Minister said that we must understand that the world has fundamentally changed post COVID-19. Now the World will be Pre-Corona, Post-Corona just like the case of the World Wars. And this would entail significant changes in how we function.

PM Modi said that the country must plan for the new reality.

"Even as we look at the gradual withdrawal of the lockdown, we should constantly remember that till we do not find a vaccine or a solution, the biggest weapon with us to fight the virus is social distancing", he said.

He requested all the Chief Ministers for specific feedback lockdown.

"I request you all to share with me by 15th May, a broad strategy on how each one of you would want to deal with the lockdown regime in your particular states. I want states to make a blueprint on how to deal with various nuances during and after the gradual easing of the lockdown", he said.

COVID-19 cases in India have crossed the 70,000-mark with the death toll at 2,293. According to the Home Ministry, the recovery rate stands at 31.15 per cent.
Turkey reports 55 coronavirus deaths, 1,114 new cases

According to the latest coronavirus numbers from Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Monday, the number of patients who have recovered from the virus make up two-thirds of the countrys total COVID-19 cases.

55 more people died from the virus over the previous 24 hours bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,841.

The confirmed number of new cases of infection continued to decline for another day to 1,114.

Currently, there are 139,771 confirmed cases in the country with 95,780 of them having recovered.

Since April 22, the number of new cases has been on the decline, dropping from a peak of 5,138 on April 11 to 1,114 on Monday.

With fewer new cases came more recoveries. According to the Health Ministrys latest coronavirus numbers, 3,089 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Koca, along with other experts, has repeatedly warned citizens in the past that the easing of measures did not mean the threat of the virus was over; but rather meant the beginning of a new lifestyle to which citizens would have to adapt.





Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/turkey-reports-55-coronavirus-deaths-1114-new-cases/news

https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/

Turkey lifts travel restrictions for 9 more cities

President Erdogan outlined the easing of measures and plans for this week following a Cabinet meeting in Istanbul on Monday.

Turkey will impose a four-day curfew in the following 15 provinces from midnight on May 15 until midnight on May 19:

Ankara, Balkesir, Bursa, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun, Van and Zonguldak.

The curfew WILL NOT be applied in Mugla.

People over 65 years will be allowed to leave their homes, remaining within walking distance and wearing masks, on May 17 between the hours of 11:00 and 17:00.

Read more here: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/turkey-lifts-travel-restrictions-for-9-more-cities/1837198?fbclid=IwAR3B7lVvIMUPTCVGPrCqhRk3WxDGmLDEWmhdET6AYA1AYE3VpIBldaXXhl4

Update on getting masks for those that are 65 or older or those with chronic conditions for this week.

If you received masks last week, please reuse those if possible. For those that did not get a mask last week or are unable to reuse the masks you have, here are your options:If you have someone that is able to go to the Zabita and pick up masks for you, this is the easiest route. They can go to the main office in Fethiye which is here: https://goo.gl/maps/gFD8MC2BvL9qKJzJA OR they can go to the office that is located at the Oludeniz Belediyesi (at the entrance of Hisaronu) which is here: https://goo.gl/maps/owd5Fj19ZjQxcDhd7

If you do not have someone that can pick up a mask for you, please click on the link below and fill out the form. https://forms.gle/hqHzC2h5Ueqi2kyu9 (please fill out 1 for each person). We will coordinate to deliver masks before Sunday.

Source: David Jaime  Corona Caring Fethiye

A thank you to Fethiye Zabita

We would like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to Sadk bey and Fethiye Zabita for their support with issuing masks to the over 65s in readiness for their outing on Sunday.

The over 65s, and those with an underlying illness, were allowed out for the first time since the curfew began on 21 March.

They were told they must wear a mask for their health and safety. Many of this population didnt have masks as they have been under curfew and not allowed out for anything, which raised the question on the logistics of getting masks to everyone, particularly those who dont have anyone to shop for them and rely upon such groups as Corona Caring Fethiye or the Vefa Social Support Group.

The issue was picked up by David Jaime from Corona Caring Fethiye and, with the help of members of the Fethiye Zabita team, spent the preceding days collating requests and delivering masks.













David told Fethiye Times

Because of the Zabita team, we were able to deliver around 65 masks into the hands of the high risk expat community over the last 3 days.

They delivered around 50, a lady delivered 1 in Dalaman, and I delivered 14. Not to mention the countless ones they gave to people who picked them up from the office for others.

And they were SO great to work with! Never complained when I gave them more names or followed up about people that got missed

One lady messaged me a short while ago about not getting her mask. I messaged them and 20 mins later she had it!

On behalf of David and all those who received personal delivery of a mask, a massive thank you.

Superstars!

#TogetherWeAreStronger

Our thanks were picked up by the local press who published an article in Gercek Fethiye: https://gercekfethiye.com/fethiyede-yerlesik-yabancilardan-tesekkursuperstars/27363/

Turkey sets standards for washable face masks

Still on the subject on masks, Turkey has set the standards for the production of washable cloth masks, an important step amid the coronavirus normalization process.

The Turkish Standards Institute (TSE), which published the new regulations on its website late Monday, said Turkey was the third country in the world to do so.

Mask fabric will be developed from synthetic or natural fibers and can be produced by weaving, knitting, knitwear or non-woven textile methods.

A price will be determined for these reusable masks and sales will be allowed, he said, adding that the products have huge export potential.

Last week, Ankara set a price limit of a maximum of 1 Turkish lira ($0.14) for disposable face masks, which are already being sold in markets and pharmacies.

Source: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/standards-for-washable-face-masks-set-154687

Global statistics

There are now 4,287,044 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, of which 1,544,670 have recovered. The number of fatalities stands at 288,238.

Source: Worldometer.

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Todays featured image: Cals Beach by Lyn Ward
Principals are calling for compulsory education, not compulsory attendance, as the number of students not attending school and not engaging in remote learning remains concerning.

While the average student attendance at state government schools on Friday was more than 74 per cent, Western Australia Primary Principal Association president Ian Anderson told WAtoday a high number of students were missing out on an education.

WA principals are calling for compulsary education, not attendance. Credit:Quentin Jones

We are currently experiencing a high number of those children not attending school not engaging in the remote learning packages provided by schools, he said.

This is a growing concern amongst principals and we need to ensure that education is occurring for all.
ATLANTA  The Georgia prosecutors who first handled the fatal shooting of a black man, before charges were filed more than two months later, were placed under investigation Tuesday for their conduct in the case, which has fueled a national outcry and questions about whether the slaying was racially motivated.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities to investigate how local prosecutors handled the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was pursued by a white father and son before being shot on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. Arberys relatives have said he was merely jogging through the subdivision at the time.

Gregory and Travis McMichael were not charged with murder until last week, after the release of a video of the Feb. 23 shooting.

Unfortunately, many questions and concerns have arisen about the actions of the district attorneys, Carr said Tuesday in a statement. As a result, the attorney general asked the GBI to review the matter to determine whether the process was undermined in any way.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said federal prosecutors have asked Carr to share any results. Federal officials are also considering whether hate crimes charges are warranted.

Gregory McMichael told police he and his grown son armed themselves and pursued the young man because they they thought he matched the description of a burglary suspect.

Brunswick Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson defended her offices involvement, which she insisted was minimal because the elder McMichael worked for her as an investigator before retiring a year ago. That relationship required the office to step away from the case.

Im confident an investigation is going to show my office did what it was supposed to and there was no wrongdoing on our part, Johnson told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday.

Johnson said Glynn County police contacted two of her assistant prosecutors on the day of the shooting, seeking legal advice. She said her assistants immediately responded that they could not get involved because of the conflict of interest.

Asked if anyone in her office told police not to arrest the McMichaels or suggested the shooting may have been justified, Johnson said, Absolutely not. She said it was the police who brought up self-defense during their call.

The police represented it as a burglary case with a self-defense issue, Johnson said. Police were seeking guidance on how to proceed and whether to make an arrest. Our office could not advise or assist them because of our obvious conflict.

Johnson said she reached out to neighboring Waycross Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill, asking if his office could advise Glynn County police. Because it was a fatal shooting, she said, I didnt want the case to stall.

The attorney general ended up appointing Barnhill to take over on Feb. 27, four days after the shooting. But in his letter Monday asking the GBI to investigate possible misconduct by the prosecutors, Carr said he was never told that Barnhill had already advised police that he did not see grounds for the arrest of any of the individuals involved in Mr. Arberys death.

Weeks after Carr appointed him to the case, and just a few days before recusing himself April 7, Barnhill wrote that the McMichaels were following, in hot pursuit, a burglary suspect, with solid first hand probable cause, in their neighborhood, and asking/telling him to stop.

It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia Law this is perfectly legal, Barnhill advised in the undated letter, to Glynn County police Capt. Tom Jump. County officials released the letter last week.

Johnson said she could not recall if she had told Carrs office that she enlisted Barnhills help before recusing herself. Barnhill had the case for about a month before he stepped aside under pressure because his son works for Johnson as an assistant prosecutor. The phone at Barnhills office in Waycross rang unanswered Tuesday.

Tom Durden, the district attorney in nearby Hinesville, next took the case and had it for more than three weeks before the video became public and he called in the GBI. On Monday, Carr replaced him with Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes, one of only seven black district attorneys in Georgia.

Shes based in Atlanta, far from the coastal community where the shooting happened, and is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge, said Carr, a Republican.

According to the police report, Gregory McMichael said Arbery attacked his son before the younger McMichael shot him. The autopsy showed Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts. All three shots can be heard on the video, which clearly shows the final shot hitting Arbery at point-blank range before he staggers and falls face down.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday. Neither had lawyers at their first court appearances. With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, a grand jury cannot be called to hear the case until mid-June.

According to personnel records obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, the elder McMichael worked for Johnsons office from November 1995 through May 2019. He consistently got good performance reviews.

But in 2014, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council notified the district attorneys office that in five years since 2005, Gregory McMichael had either failed to do enough training hours or failed to take mandatory firearms or use-of-deadly force classes, documents show. The result was that he had technically lacked arrest powers since Jan. 1, 2006  a situation that could have made Johnson and her office liable for any improper actions by McMichael during that time, according to a memo in the file.

In submitting a training waiver to remedy the situation, McMichael said it was a great embarrassment.

Documents in the file show he again failed to complete mandatory training in 2018 and relinquished his certification, serving out his final few months with the district attorneys office as a non-sworn liaison to law enforcement agencies in one of the counties in the judicial circuit.

___

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed reporting.
Iran Missile Strikes Own Vessel Killing 19 And Wounding 15

Radio Farda May 11, 2020

An Iranian naval vessel was accidentally hit by a missile fired during naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman, killing nineteen sailors and wounding 15 others, state television said May 11.

Tasnim news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard quoted the army's public relations department that the vessel has been towed to port.

The friendly fire incident, which comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, occurred on May 10 near Jask, a port some 1,270 kilometers southeast of Tehran, in the Gulf of Oman, it said.

State television described the missile strike as an accident, saying the Konarak had remained too close to the target. The Konarak had been putting targets out in the water for other ships to fire upon, it said.

According to a journalist in Iran close to Tasnim and Fars news agencies the warship Jamaran fired a cruise missile, which hit the smaller vessel.

Twelve sailors were admitted into a local hospital while three others were treated for superficial wounds, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which monitors the region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Dutch-made, 47-meter Konarak has been in service since 1988. It usually carries a crew of 20 sailors, but it is not clear how many were onboard when the incident happened. The number of casualties indicate around forty sailors might had been onboard.

Iran regularly holds exercises in the region, which is close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes.

The incident comes amid months of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a landmark deal between Iran and world powers and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-missile- strikes-own-vessel-killing-one- and-wounding-15/30605116.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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Key research and development organizations to leverage Canadian expertise and technologies in battle against COVID-19.

MONTREAL and SASKATOON, May 12, 2020 /CNW/ - The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the University of Saskatchewan's (USask) Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) today announced a collaboration to work together to accelerate the development and production of a candidate COVID-19 antigen in mammalian cells.

The antigen is a key component of a vaccine against COVID-19. Vaccines work by providing the human immune system with a sneak peek at a virus, in advance of possible infection. This allows the immune system time to recognize the threat and prepare antibodies, so that it's ready when it encounters the actual virus. VIDO-InterVac has identified a recombinant protein antigen that will serve as a primary part of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19.

The antigen against COVID-19 has been produced at laboratory scale, and animal studies at VIDO-InterVac are ongoing to determine the effectiveness of the laboratory-scale antigen. The NRC will now explore the use of its proprietary HEK293 mammalian cells to develop a robust and efficient process to scale-up production of the vaccine antigen for future pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Quick Facts

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Scientists at VIDO-InterVac have identified a candidate antigen and are testing the efficacy of the candidate in a vaccine against the virus. VIDO-InterVac was one of the first organizations in the world to develop an effective pre-clinical animal model for testing medicines against COVID-19.

A cell line consists of a population of living cells that are descended from a single cell, which allow for the reproduction of large numbers of cells that have a uniform and known genetic makeup. The NRC has developed a proprietary version of the HEK293 mammalian cell line, which has specific properties that make it useful for the production of biologic medicines, such as VIDO-InterVac's candidate antigen.

In collaboration with various partners, the NRC's HEK293 cell line has previously been used for the production of numerous biologics, including vaccines that have been proven in clinical trials and subsequently licensed for distribution.

Quotes

"Now more than ever, the NRC is working to advance important collaborations to ensure that we can contribute to global efforts against this pandemic. We're very happy to be able to assist VIDO-InterVac in advancing the development of their candidate vaccine against COVID-19 by applying our proven expertise in scale-up vaccine production."

 Iain Stewart, President, National Research Council of Canada

"In these times it's vital for Canadians to work together to protect our health and safety, while also contributing to broader international efforts. We are proud that our scientists at VIDO-InterVac  a world leader in developing vaccines against infectious diseases  are working with the National Research Council and other partners around the world to advance our efforts in combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic."

 Peter Stoicheff, President, University of Saskatchewan

Associated Links

Stay connected



Follow the National Research Council of Canada on social media.

Twitter: @nrc_cnrc , Instagram: @nrc_cnrc and LinkedIn .

Follow VIDO-InterVac on social media.

Twitter: @VIDOInterVac , and LinkedIn.

About the National Research Council of Canada

Founded in 1916, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is Canada's largest federal research and development organization. The NRC partners with Canadian industry to take research impacts from the lab to the marketplace. This market-driven focus is designed to shorten the time between early-stage research and development and commercialization, enhance people's lives and address some of the world's most pressing challenges.

About VIDO-InterVac

The University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO-InterVac) is a world leader in developing vaccines and technologies to combat infectious diseases. To strengthen Canada's role in responding to infectious diseases, VIDO-InterVac works with partners nationally and internationally to study human and animal pathogens and develop solutions. With ~170 multidisciplinary personnel, over $200 million in containment infrastructure, and more than four decades of experience, we develop vaccines and technologies that protect health.

SOURCE National Research Council Canada

For further information: Media Relations, National Research Council of Canada, 613-991-1431, 1-855-282-1637, [email protected]; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization - International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, 306-966-2274, [email protected]

Related Links

www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca


Harding Medical announced as Atlantic Canadian distributor of this privacy-first, easy-to-install solution.

Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - HomeEXCEPT launches the newest version of its award-winning, non-intrusive monitoring system for independent senior living. HomeEXCEPT uses the latest in sensor technology and advanced machine learning to provide caregivers with optimal awareness without infringing on privacy.

"We built a solution that doesn't watch, listen to, or identify people," says HomeEXCEPT Founder and CEO, John Robertson. "Most home monitoring systems use cameras and listening devices, but HomeEXCEPT is different."





John Robertson HomeEXCEPT CEO and Founder

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7143/55539_John%20with%20Sensor.jpg

It's a solution that is 100% anonymous - only the subscriber knows the context of who or where is being monitored. The system uses ambient sensors that collect data relating to activities of daily living like movement, the use of mobility assists, medication compliance, toileting, sleeping, and eating habits.

Over time, the system "learns" what routines are normal. On their mobile app, subscribers can check-in on activity any time but will also be notified when there is an unexpected change in routine or increase in risk level. The latest version allows subscribers to add unlimited guests so that families and caregivers can share monitoring responsibilities.

The system is simple to operate and installs in any home with an internet connection. It is completely wireless, delivers right to your door, and does not require a technician. It's up and running quickly for a low monthly fee with no contracts.

"Contactless, predictive monitoring is the future of home care and we look forward to being part of this new way of delivering care," says Janice Edwards, Business Development Manager at Harding Medical. "We believe HomeEXCEPT is the next generation of home safety, integrating everything Harding Medical believes in - patient independence, privacy, and most importantly, safety."

The HomeEXCEPT system bridges the gap between seniors and their caregivers, one that's recently been widened by the new coronavirus. "COVID-19 exposed serious weaknesses in how we approach the challenges of senior living," says Robertson. "In response we will constantly be looking at innovative ways to solve those challenges."

HomeEXCEPT allows for greater connection and understanding of risks associated with seniors living alone. The new version helps caregivers know when a visit is necessary. It's a smart but simple-to-use solution that brings peace of mind when a caregiver can't be there.

-30-

_________________

About HomeEXCEPT Inc. is a Canadian technology company, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Winner of the 2017 AARP Global Innovation Award for Caregiving. HomeEXCEPT develops non-intrusive systems to monitor and predict risks relating to activities of daily living. Their solutions use the latest sensor technology and advanced machine learning without the use of cameras or microphones. In 2019, HomeEXCEPT was named to the Branham Group's list of Top 25 Canadian Up and Coming ICT Companies. www.HomeEXCEPT.com

About Harding Medical has been helping clients discover and enjoy the benefits of an independent lifestyle since 1987. They take pride in helping their valued customers select the right assisted living products and home medical equipment for their health care needs. There are currently four Harding Medical locations - Halifax, Sydney, Moncton and Charlottetown. Harding offers mobility & home medical equipment sales, rental and service to clients living in Atlantic Canada. www.hardingmedical.com

Contacts

Jennifer McLeod

Director of Client Success

HomeEXCEPT

jen@homeexcept.com

Janice Edwards

Business Development Manager

Harding Medical

janice.edwards@hardingmedical.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55539
As part of our #LockdownLessons series, Bizcommunity is reaching out to South Africa's top industry players to share their experience of the current Covid-19 crisis, how their organisations are navigating these unusual times, where the challenges and opportunities lie, and their industry outlook for the near future.

Tracey Henry, CEO at Tshikululu Social Investment

What was your initial response to the crisis/lockdown and has your experience of it been different to what you expected?

Comment on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on your organisation or economy as a whole.

Comment on the challenges and opportunities.

How has the lockdown affected your staff? / What temporary HR policies have you put in place regarding remote working, health & safety, etc.?

How are you navigating physical distancing while keeping your team close-knit and aligned?

Any trends youve seen emerge as a result of the crisis?

What do you predict the next six months will be like?

We chatted to Tracey Henry, CEO at Tshikululu Social Investment, to get her take.We anticipated the lockdown before it was officially announced and started work from home a week before lockdown. Fortunately, we have been enhancing our systems over a period of time to support remote work and so the jump was not that big.The experience has been somewhat different to what was anticipated. The initial thinking that we would have more time, more balance, has proven otherwise. We have been busier than ever and managing home, children and work responsibilities has been a steep adjustment. It has meant longer working hours, including weekends.Our purpose is to maximise the power of social investments and during this time our work has become more relevant than ever. The response by business, civil society and government has been extraordinary and we are all working to flatten the curve and ignite the economy as soon as is possible. We have been busier than ever since lockdown, working with all our partners to respond to the socio-economic impact of Covid-19.While we will continue to work from home, we are also working on plans that will enable staff to return to work in due course and to manage the risks of Covid-19 that will be present for a long time to come. This has meant developing protocols to allow a safe working environment.We are fortunate that we can continue with our work by using tech and work from home. The fact that we dont have the office environment to catch up in the passage or share a cup of coffee means that we all need to adjust to ensure we stay in touch and keep focused on our client expectations, the national crisis and our long-term business strategy.This has meant that we have had to structure our engagements as team members to ensure that we all say focused on immediate but also longer term initiatives. During this time it is important as leaders to keep our heads above the immediate crisis and to constantly remind staff of our longer term vision, which is about creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. This might seem insurmountable right now but, as leaders, it is our duty now to keep our teams motivated and focused on our north star.We all started work from home a week before lockdown commenced. A concern we have is the mental wellbeing of our staff. We are faced with an extraordinary situation that none of us has ever had to live through. The uncertainty is very real and ensuring staff have access to mental wellness support has been top of mind.Staying in touch with everyone on a daily basis has been crucial. This is done mostly via Teams and a daily morning message on WhatsApp from the CEO. The exco team also has a quick morning check in and the different teams meet on a regular basis during the week. We also had our first virtual staff meeting via Teams this past week and it was great to see how engaged staff were. With the ability to share comments and past questions during the meeting allowed for a more engaged meeting.We need to reflect on social investment strategies going forward. The impact of Covid-19 has highlighted once again the inequality in society and the impact of this on the most vulnerable households. We need to rethink how we make quality education more accessible, how we strengthen our health system, and how we support balance in how we continue to invest in innovative models.Its going to continue to be tough for everyone but we are a resilient company and we know that what we do has real purpose.
'After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again', said Ryainair chief executive Eddie Wilson. (PA)

Ryanair (RYA.L) plans to start running 40% of its flight schedule from 1 July, as long as government restrictions on flights within the EU are removed and effective public health measures are put in place at airports.

The budget European airline hopes to start operating up to 1,000 flights per day, reintroducing 90% of its pre-coronavirus route network.

This is a huge increase on the 30 flights per day the airline has been running since mid-March between the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe.

The airline said passengers will not be allowed to queue for the toilets onboard, but toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request.

Ryanair will also require crew and passengers to wear face masks or face coverings, and temperature checks will be in place at airports.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: UK government unveils roadmap for lifting lockdown for businesses

Any refreshments bought on board will have to be paid for through contactless card payment as cash will not be accepted.

All planes will be disinfected every night with chemicals which last for over 24 hours, according to Ryanair.

The Dublin-based carrier also intends to ask all passengers flying in July and August to fill out a form when they check in, stating how long their visit will be and where they are staying.

This information will then be passed on to EU governments to help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights.

Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson said: It is important for our customers and our people that we return to some normal schedules from 1 July onwards.

Governments around Europe have implemented a four-month lockdown to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

After four months, it is time to get Europe flying again so we can reunite friends and families, allow people to return to work and restart Europes tourism industry, which provides so many millions of jobs.

READ MORE: British Airways owner warns nothing positive for airlines in Johnson speech

Story continues

Ryanair group chief executive Michael OLeary, however, has been scathing about governments quarantine plans for overseas visitors calling it idiotic.

OLeary told ITVs Good Morning Britain: Whats ineffective is these kind of idiotic measures like a 14-day quarantine, which is completely non-science-based, when you can exempt the French and you can exempt the Irish.



Its nonsense and it has no effect in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

Ryanair passenger numbers fell 99.6% in April. It flew just 40,000 passengers across 600 flights. Ryanair had originally planned to run over 75,000 flights in April and last year carried over 13 million passengers in the same month.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since 17 March, while domestic holidays have been banned as part of the UK governments lockdown orders issued on 23 March.
Supreme Court Judge Nominee Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga has said the Supreme court is not a place for politics.



Arguing his point, during his vetting on Monday, Justice Honyenuga explained I know that, constitutional cases that come up, maybe i dont know that is what you mean by political cases, but no cases are termed political cases in the Supreme Court.



He dismissed the claims that the Apex Court is saddled with determining political cases.



Justice Honyenuga made the point when he appeared before the vetting committee of parliament on Monday, 11th May 2020.



The Supreme Court Justice nominee before his appointment has taken a lot of flak for his seeming endorsement of the President taking into consideration his position as a Court of Appeal Judge, who is barred from making such political endorsement per the code of their conduct.



It would be recalled that Justice Honyenuga who is also the Paramount Chief of the Nyagbo Traditional Area earlier this year in his welcome address to President Akufo-Addo at a durbar of Chiefs and people of the Afajato South District, was full of praise for the Akufo-Addo-led administration.



We wish to congratulate you for the excellent manner you are governing this dear country of ours; it is our hope that with your vision and the gains made in your first term, Ghanaians may consider giving you another four years, he stated.



But the Justice nominee has said the address that contained the purported endorsement was a speech he was elected to read on behalf of the chiefs in his paramountcy accusing the media of misrepresentation of facts.



President Akufo-Addos four Supreme Court Justice nominees are being vetted beginning today Monday, May, 11, 2020, by the appointments committee of parliament.



The vetting exercise will last for two days.



Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga and Justice Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu met the committee today Monday, May, 11,2020, while Mr. Emmanuel Yoni Kulendi and Prof. Henrietta J.A.N Mensa-Bonsu are also scheduled to appear before the committee on Tuesday, May,12,2020.

Source: kasapa fm









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Featured Video
A Australian artist who lost both of her legs in a freak New York subway accident has revealed she has now contracted coronavirus.

Visaya Hoffie, 23, had a double amputation after she fell into the path of an oncoming train at 14th Street station in Manhattan on January 11.

The Brisbane woman also suffered a broken back, several head wounds and severe cuts and bruises after she was run over by seven carriages.

Ms Hoffie revealed on Tuesday she tested positive to COVID-19 and was being discharged after more than one-month separated from her loved ones.

Australian woman Visaya Hoffie (pictured), who lost both of her legs in a freak New York subway accident, has revealed she contracted coronavirus

Ms Hoffie revealed on Tuesday she was being discharged after testing positive to COVID-19 more than a month earlier

'After over a month in complete isolation from friends and family with coronavirus they're finally discharging me,' she wrote on Instagram.

'Despite the fact I'm still testing positive for coronavirus (I know doesn't make sense)?'

The 23-year-old expressed her gratitude for the nurses who have helped throughout her recovery.

'Happy international nurse day to all of the wonderful humans who have helped me through this catastrophic ordeal,' she concluded.

Her mother, Professor Pat Hoffie, said the pair had returned to Australia in a post to Facebook on April 19.

'Thank you to those of you who've maintained an ongoing vigil of care and love while Visaya and I were in New York,' she wrote.

Ms Hoffie had to have a double amputation after she fell into the path of an oncoming train at 14th Street station in Manhattan

She suffered a broken back, head wounds and several cuts and bruises after the freak subway accident

'Both of us are back in Australia. Visaya has COVID. Visaya is in hospital; I am in lock-down. I can't get to see her.'

It's understood Ms Hoffie was receiving treatment in Brisbane.

Ms Hoffie filed a petition at Manhattan Supreme Court seeking video footage, photos and witness accounts from the night she fell onto the tracks of the 14 St PATH station.

In an affidavit obtained by the New York Post in February, Ms Hoffie claimed she was struck twice after being left on the tracks for an extended amount of time.

'After the first train left the station after running me over, I was left on the tracks for another considerable period of time  until a second P.A.T.H. train came along and hit me again,' the document states.

She also claimed the operator of the train should have been able to see her since she fell in a well-lit area of the tracks and was wearing bright-coloured clothing.

Ms Hoffie went on to say she will be bed-ridden in hospital for the 'foreseeable future' as a result of the horrific accident.

Ms Hoffie (left) wrote on Instagram: 'Wearing the top that saved my life. Terribly missing my sister'

Ms Hoffie, from Brisbane, was in intensive care after suffering a broken back, several head wounds and severe cuts and bruises from seven carriages running her over

Earlier reports said the Australian-based artist avoided being hit by a second train due to her bright pink top that captured the conductor's attention.

Her mother shared a photo of her daughter taken just moments before the incident wearing the shirt that she said spared her from being hit a second time.

'This image of her [Visaya] was taken hours before the accident,' Prof. Hoffie wrote in a Facebook post.

'The bright pink colour of her top is what alerted the engine driver of the second train to the fact that someone was lying across the track.

'When the first train had rolled across her unconscious body twenty minutes earlier, her black puffy jacket and black jeans had made her invisible to the driver.

'In the words of the investigating police, ''it's a miracle she survived.'' Please pray that she continues to survive and to heal and to come home.'

Ms Hoffie also took to Instagram in February to upload a photo of her outfit, captioned: 'Wearing the top that saved my life. Terribly missing my sister.'

Ms Hoffie's work was showcased at the Queensland College of Fine Art's graduates collection in 2016, under the name Visaya Bose.

Her mother and late father Santiage Bose are both well-known in Brisbane's art scene.
Calm Before the Storm: Delinquency Rates Hit New Lows in February

CoreLogic's Loan Performance Insights Report has shown only incremental changes, primarily declines, in most of its measures of delinquency. The most recent report, covering February, is more of the same, marking the 26th straight month that delinquency rates have fallen, and most are now at record lows. However, the company says it expects, starting with the March report, that those measures will begin to move higher and that "we could see increases in serious delinquencies as high as four-fold by the second half of 2021."

CoreLogic said the national delinquency rate, mortgages that were 30 days or more past due including those in foreclosure was 3.6 percent in February. This was down 0.4 percentage points from February 2019.

With unemployment rates at record highs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners are at an increased risk of becoming delinquent in the coming months - with the risk for borrowers in negative equity being even higher. The share of homes that are underwater, owing more on their mortgage than the value of their home, fell to 3.5 percent at the start of 2020, but slowing price increases over the next few months could increase that share. States with disproportionate numbers of underwater homes are most at risk for increases in delinquencies. That would include Louisiana, Connecticut, and Maryland

"Delinquency and foreclosure rates were at a generational low in February as the U.S. unemployment rate matched a 50-year low," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. "However, the pandemic-induced closure of nonessential businesses caused the April unemployment rate to spike to its highest level in 80 years and will lead to a rise in delinquency and foreclosure. By the second half of 2021, we estimate a four-fold increase in the serious delinquency rate, barring additional policy efforts to assist borrowers in financial distress."

The early stage delinquency rate (loans 30 to 59 days past due) was 1.8 percent in February, down from 2.0 percent a year earlier and the rate for those 60 to 89 days past due was 0.6 percent, unchanged on an annual basis. Serious delinquencies, loans 90 ore more days past due including those in foreclosure, accounted for 1.2 percent of all loans, the lowest rate since June 2000. The foreclosure inventory, loans in the process of foreclosure was unchanged at 0.4 percent, in a tie for the lowest rate since January 1999.

"After a long period of decline, we are likely to see steady waves of delinquencies throughout the rest of 2020 and into 2021. The pandemic and its impact on national employment is unfolding on a scale and at a speed never before experienced and without historical precedent," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "The next six months will provide important clues on whether public and private sector countermeasures -current and future - will soften the blow and help us avoid the protracted, widespread foreclosures and delinquencies experienced in the Great Recession."

February was the fifth consecutive month in which no states posted a year-over-year increase in the overall delinquency rate. Mississippi and Maine (both down 0.9 percentage points) recorded the largest declines. Only four metropolitan areas recorded small increases in overall delinquency rates and eight recorded increases in serious delinquency rates.
Ukraine's digital transformation ministry mulling free economic zone for IT companies

12:20, 12.05.20 1885

Residents of Diia City could be Ukrainian and international IT companies, high-tech businesses, investment funds, startups, and educational organizations.
On April 22, Mr. Trump suspended the entry of new immigrants for 60 days. Less noticed in his proclamation was the order to the secretaries of labor and homeland security for a speedy review of nonimmigrant work visa programs.

There are about 500,000 people on H-1B visas in the United States, according to estimates by Daniel Costa, a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute. More than 70 percent of them are Indians, and many of them technology workers. About 220,000 people were enrolled in the 2018-19 academic year in the Optional Practical Training program, which allows foreign students to work after completing their studies.

The strong economy had fueled brisk demand for foreign workers in recent years, with H-1B applications by private companies far outstripping the annual supply of 85,000, a situation that prompted the government to resort to a lottery to award them.

But proponents of limiting immigration say that if there was ever a time to prioritize American workers, it is now.

If an H-1B visa holder is terminated from their job and is unable to find another employer willing to sponsor them, they should go back home, said Kevin Lynn, executive director of Progressives for Immigration Reform, which advocates for American technology workers.

American citizens with foreign partners on visas are also affected.

Andrew Jenkins and Krista York of Minnesota began more than a year ago to plan their wedding. The couple had settled on getting married Aug. 22 at the majestic Cathedral of St. Paul, where Ms. Yorks grandparents were married decades ago and she was confirmed in the church as a teenager. Then the coronavirus struck.

Ms. York was furloughed. Mr. Jenkins, who is British, lost his job as a market research analyst. Because he is on an H-1B visa, Mr. Jenkins is not eligible for unemployment. Its far from ideal to not have any income when youre planning your wedding, said Mr. Jenkins, 27.
Over 400 migrant workers, including women, employed with a private spinning mill in Malerkotla held a protest against their alleged exploitation and pelted the officials with stones, with police resorting to lathicharge on Monday night.

The incident left Malerkotla sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Vikramjeet Singh Panthey and deputy superintendent of police Sumit Sood besides many labourers injured.

The workers of Arihant Spinning Mill, a unit of Vardhman Textiles Ltd, were demanding salary hike and transfer of some mill administration officials. Meetings were held between district administration officials, mill representatives and workers on Tuesday, but to no avail.

The labourers alleged that they were not getting any facilities and were forced to buy ration from a shop inside the factory area at high prices.

We are not allowed to step outside the unit even if we are unwell or the factory owners deduct our salary. We are only being paid Rs 6,000 a month despite working here for years. We demand Rs 18,000-Rs 20,000 salary, a protester said.

Deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori spoke with the mill owners about the issue and SDM Panthey held meetings with workers in their residential area.

Negotiations are on, the SDM said.

Sangrur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg said around 300-400 unidentified people were booked under Sections 188 and 269 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Disaster Management Act.

Malerkotla SP Manjit Singh Brar said a mild lathicharge was carried out to control the situation.

In a press statement, Vardhman officials said, A handful of workers employed at the Arihant Spinning Mill unit created ruckus when they were denied wages for the period they had not worked.
Reading that Caltrain mulls full shutdown (May 9) was a shock, although not incomprehensible, considering the current situation.

Even as we slowly return to opening businesses, people may still be fearful of public transit, where it can be difficult or impossible to maintain physical distance, or know if others will be respectful of health and safety guidelines. It would be very informational to know what employers, including the largest on the Peninsula and South Bay, are planning for a gradual reopening, regarding employee schedules. It might also help agencies like Caltrain predict whether ridership will rebound. Are employers going to allow flexible hours, and continue to allow or encourage working from home?

Have they polled their employees to see how many would like to continue to work from home on a regular or occasional basis? We need to start thinking about whether we are going to open to even worse highway gridlock than before the pandemic hit.

The Chronicle is doing a great job keeping us up to date on COVID-19 issues. This could be a good topic for investigation.

Sheila Callaghan, San Mateo

Tip for fogged lenses

After reading Vision care may matter even more in pandemic (May 11), Id like to offer some good advice from AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) to my fellow eyeglass wearers who are experiencing fogged lenses while wearing masks during this COVID-19 health crisis: To prevent your exhaled breath from reaching your glasses, place a folded tissue between your mouth and the mask.

It will absorb the warm, moist air you exhale, and keep it from reaching your glasses. And when you get home, dont forget to dispose of the tissue, wash your hands, and clean your mask!

Agatha Abernathy, Palo Alto

Same issues reappear

Regarding S.F.s Anti-Mask League rebelled during 1918 flu (May 10): Thank you, Peter Hartlaub, for your amazing Twilight Zone article about mask slackers who inhabited the city more than a century ago.

It actually brought me comfort to know that the human condition has not deteriorated, but instead all of us and our ancestors grapple with the same issues in our lives.

The story gave me a connection to the human story and made me feel a bit more connected despite our differences. Best to remember and learn from the past; otherwise, we are destined to repeat it.

Anne Washmera, Alameda

A fatal approach

Regarding Swedens response (May 11): The letter writer assails the brutal assault of Californias social distancing rules and praises Swedens more relaxed approach. Perhaps he will reconsider when he learns that Swedens coronavirus death rate is six times higher than its neighbors Norway and Finland.

Jeff Carlock, Berkeley

Two epidemics to battle

As an American Jew who lost many relatives during the Holocaust, Im saddened to read Anti-Semitism (News of the Day, May 11), which notes a 13% increase in crimes against Jews and Jewish institutions in Germany during 2019. There is a similar situation here in the U.S., where hate crimes against Jews are on the rise, especially since Donald Trump became president. According to The Anti-Defamation League, which began tracking anti-Semitic hate crimes decades ago, the past year brought the third-highest spike on record in America for such incidents.

And even though Trump has promoted himself as being strongly pro-Israel, his comment that there were fine people on both sides of a 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Va., only emboldened hate groups and bigotry. In 2020, this nation is actually battling twin epidemics: COVID-19 and anti-Semitism.

Arthur Leibowitz, San Francisco

Advice on work safety

As a veteran office-based pediatrician, I have seven simple suggestions for returning to work, derived from working in a highly contaminated environment for 40 years, that I am certain will allow a safe return for most people. 1) Assume entire work space (and consequently your hands) are contaminated at all times because eventually it will happen. 2) Keep your hands out of your mouth at work or in public. 3) Wash hands thoroughly just before eating or lunch.

4) Do not play with phone while eating. 5) Try not to even touch your food with your hands while eating if possible. 6) No snacking with finger foods at your workspace.

7) Wash thoroughly upon returning home. Although the current obsession is with masks and distancing, the issue with hand washing, particularly in the context of eating, has barely been addressed. There is no reason to assume this virus behaves significantly differently than nearly all other respiratory viruses, which primarily transmit through the contaminated surface-to-hand-to-mouth route.

Wear the mask and keep distance to be extra safe as well, but dont overlook what I feel is a much greater danger. Also, use soap and water, not hand sanitizer.

Charles Hanson, Walnut Creek

Not a winning ticket

Regarding An Obama on the ticket (Letters, May 9): One letter writer suggested a Joe Biden/Michelle Obama ticket. Though I am sure Ms. Obama would be a great candidate, the problem is this: The (perceived) flaws of the Obama/Biden administration (and equated in many minds with Hillary Clinton) is what turned many voters to Trump. Putting forth a Biden/Obama ticket is certainly not going to bring those people back (despite the gaffes of President Trump).

I am not sure who would be the best candidate for vice president, but I think Michelle Obama (as much as I admire her) would hurt where it counts: the election ballot box.

Stuart Silberman, San Francisco

Farewell, Betty Wright

Rest in peace, Betty Wright. She was a great vocalist and pioneer of scat, whistle register, head voice and vibrato. Her rich yet jazzy tone was unmatched and unparalleled. She will be missed.
Parts Unknown, the Emmy Award-winning show starring the late chef and food critic Anthony Bourdain, is returning to Netflix.

The Twitter account for Netflix UK and Ireland confirmed that all 12 seasons, which follow Bourdain as he explores the culture and cuisine of lesser-known locations around the world, will be available to stream from 1 June.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown launched on CNN in 2013 and ran until 2018, the year of Bourdain's death. It won 12 Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Across the 12 seasons and 104 episodes, Bourdain visited locations including Bhutan, Myanmar and Morocco to meet with local chefs and sample the cuisine.

Bourdain took his own life while filming a new season of Parts Unknown in Strasbourg, France.

A new feature documentary is reportedly in the works from Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville.

See what's available to watch on Netflix UK this month, here.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has posted its first-quarter 2020 financial results in a news release available on the company's website at the following link: duke-energy.com/investors.

Lynn Good, chair, president and chief executive officer, and Steve Young, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will discuss the company's financial results and other business and financial updates during an investor presentation at 10 a.m. ET today.

The call can be accessed via the investors' section (duke-energy.com/investors) of Duke Energy's website or by dialing 800-458-4148 in the U.S. or 323-794-2093 outside the U.S. The confirmation code is 1555838. Please call in 10 to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

A replay of the conference call will be available until 1 p.m. ET, May 22, 2020, by calling 888-203-1112 in the U.S. or 719-457-0820 outside the U.S. and using the code 1555838. An audio replay and transcript will also be available by accessing the investors' section of the company's website.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 29,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities and 2,300 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve 7.8 million retail electric customers in six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to 1.6 million customers in five states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2020 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Contact: Catherine Butler

800.559.3853

Analysts: Bryan Buckler

704.382.2640

SOURCE Duke Energy
English Estonian

In April 2020, AS LHV Group earned EUR 1.6 million in net loss. The loss of AS LHV Pank made up EUR 2.1 million of it and AS LHV Varahaldus earned EUR 0.5 million in net profit.



The April results were influenced to a large extent by the deteriorating economic situation resulting from the emergency situation, as the bank increased the loan impairment reserve and the impairment loss amounted to EUR 5.6 million largely due to a more negative outlook of the macro-economy. These are model-based impairments, insofar as the actual credit portfolio has remained strong. The share of debts in the corporate loan portfolio, overdue for more than 30 days, was 0.3% as at the end of April. Whereas the actual amount of allowances was EUR 1.2 million less than in the financial plan published in April.

Business volumes continued to grow, as the deposit volume increased by EUR 84 million in April, exceeding the threshold of EUR 3 billion for the first time. The groups loan portfolio increased by EUR 7 million, to EUR 1.75 billion. The volume of the funds managed by LHV grew by EUR 59 million, to EUR 1.4 billion. The number of clients of the bank had a decent rise of more than 2,900 clients.

During the state of emergency, LHV has granted grace periods free of charge and without changing other conditions to clients who have found themselves in a complicated situation. As at the end of April, the bank had granted a grace period on 2,346 occasions (one-third of them to companies) to loans totalling EUR 178 million (80% being corporate loans).

Due to the sharp change in the economic environment, LHV Group revealed an updated financial plan for the current year in April. Compared to the plan published in February, the volume of business growth was cut down, the volume of loan impairment was increased significantly and the profit forecast was lowered. At the end of April, AS LHV Group exceeds its financial plan in terms of net profit by EUR 1.9 million. Furthermore, in April the group proceeded with the preparations for the issue of mortgage covered bonds and foundation of the insurance undertaking LHV Kindlustus.

AS LHV Group reports are available at https://investor.lhv.ee/en/reports/.

LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group's key subsidiaries are LHV Pank and LHV Varahaldus. LHV employs over 460 people. LHVs banking services are used by 219,000 clients, and pension funds managed by LHV have 178,000 active clients.

Priit Rum

Communication manager

Phone: +372 502 0786

Email: priit.rum@lhv.ee





Attachment
New Delhi: The legendary late actor Rishi Kapoor's daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni took to Instagram and remembered her father with emotional picture posts on the 13th day prayer meet. In the first post, she can be seen standing with a photo frame of Kapoor senior.

She captioned it: Love you always Papa ...

In the second post, Riddhima and actor-brother Ranbir Kapoor can be seen sitting in a puja, presumably as the latter is seated with folded hands.

Rishi Kapoor left this material world for his heavenly abode on April 30, 2020, Thursday at 8.45 am in Mumbai's Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital where he was admitted the day before. He was 67.

The veteran actor battled Leukemia for two long years and underwent treatment for it in New York where he stayed for almost a year. He is survived by wife and actress Neetu Kapoor, children Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and actor Ranbir Kapoor.

Daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, who stays in Delhi was unable to attend her father's last rites due to lockdown to fight the deadly novel coronavirus. She, however, got the permission to travel by road after Delhi police issued a pass to her to travel to Mumbai.

She reached her Mumbai home a day after the last rites were performed. In these testing times, the Kapoor family has stood together like a solid rock.
New Delhi, May 12 : The Delhi government on Tuesday announced that it will provide Rs 1 crore to the family of the contract teacher who was working with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and died due to Covid-19.

Kejriwal, while addressing the media, said she was helping in serving food to the poor.

"She was a contractual teacher and she served the food to the poor. She passed away on May 4. She got the infection while serving food. We are proud of our corona warriors. We will give Rs 1 crore to her family. This will be a help from us to the family even as this is no money which can equate the loss," Kejriwal said.

The contract teacher was working with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and died due to Covid-19, the MCD announced on Sunday.

The woman died on the night of May 4 in a hospital where she was admitted since May 2.
Sell in May and go away is a common adage in the markets.

But the stock market, like everything else, has been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak this year.

Stocks were at record highs at the start of the year, only to be sent reeling as Covid-19 cases started rising dramatically across the world. Markets bounced back in April, with the S&P 500 rallying 25% from mid -March lows.

As investors approach the second half of the year, they are keen to determine if the recent recovery will be fleeting or a harbinger of a rally later in the year.

Some of the key factors driving optimism in world equity markets are as follows -

Recovery outlook  Certain market participants are hopeful that with a phased reopening & easing of lockdown measures, the recovery process will soon begin. Goldman Sachs in a note last month said that it is expecting U.S. gross domestic product growth of 4% in 2021 & 3% in 2022 and that the recent rally reflects optimism of an economic turnaround.

A cure for Covid-19  Dr David Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City, which pioneered treatment approaches to HIV, said in a recent interview with CNBC, that "science will come through" in finding a cure for Covid-19. In the interim, governments will need to bide time but market participants are hopeful that some of the research & development efforts underway globally to find a treatment or vaccine in the foreseeable future will bear fruit.

Fed stimulus Don't fight the Fed. The old cliche is more true today than ever before. Analysts believe the enormous stimulus announced by the Fed is expected to partially offset the loss in economic output due to Covid-19. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month that more stimulus is needed to ensure a robust economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.

Oil prices stabilizing  Oil analysts expect oil demand to pick up in the coming months due to a revival in economic activity. Stronger demand coupled with supply cuts already announced by major producers should support oil prices in the future. One of U.K.'s richest businessmen, GP Hinduja told CNBC in an exclusive interview that oil could go back to $40-50 per barrel over the long term. Another billionaire, Naguib Sawiris from Egypt, was even more bullish, calling for oil to hit $100 per barrel in 18 months.

While the month of May could become the crucial period to assess the quality & quantum of this economic rebound as economies start to reopen, analysts warn there are still a few red flags to watch out for 

U.S.- China tensions  Markets were hopeful that skirmishes between the U.S. and China will recede after the signing of Phase 1 of the trade deal between the two countries. However, the global spread of Covid-19, particularly in the U.S. which now has more cases than any other country in the world, as well as the damaging effect it has had on global economic growth, has reignited worries that U.S.  China bilateral relations could deteriorate. "In an election year in the U.S., political risks and U.S.-China trade tensions look like something that will pick up. That's probably the number one concern in the market when we talk to investors and sell-side analysts," said Zhiwei Zhang, president & chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

Looming risk of defaults  With big retailers such as J Crew and JC Penney flagging their debt concerns, and a wave of bankruptcies in airlines, oil, hotels, travel & tourism, and retail sectors across the world, analysts worry this could spark a contagion that would result in significant job losses and debt defaults. Jan Kniffen, CEO of J Rogers, told CNBC in late April, "I do think we have a real problem coming. That talk about a tsunami of bankruptcies both in restaurants & retailing is real & that's inevitable. If there are 6,00,000 plus restaurants we could see 1,00,000 close, if we have 5,00,000 stores we can see 30,000 close pretty quickly."

Risk of 2nd wave  Some countries are doing better than others in tackling Covid-19. But in an interlinked world, a risk of a second wave is real. Syra Madad, a pathogens specialist told CNBC last week that irrespective of the mutation process, "we will see more waves because the virus is still out there."

Given all the countervailing forces at play, investors are finding it hard to call the near-term direction for markets.

"At this point the market has rallied about as much as it is going while we are waiting for the pace of the reopen & the risk of a second wave. Markets have priced in a fair bit of the good news & will need to see more confirmation before we are able to go any further," said Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, Fidelity Investments.
Two Chinese helicopters of the People's Liberation Army violated the Indian airspace in Eastern Ladakh on May 5 afternoon, roughly at the same time when a senior army officer was airborne for a recce in Ladakh, sources said.

In response, the Indian Air Force scrambled its fighter Sukhoi jets from the Leh Airbase to patrol the area, sources added.

However, the Air Force has said that these were regular training sorties, and that the airspace was not violated.

According to sources, later that evening, aggression stepped up between about 250 Indian and Chinese troopers near the LAC in Ladakh. The clash was violent, and approximately 70 to 80 Indian soldiers were injured, they said.

Reinforcements were brought in at both sides following the incident, sources added.

In September 2019, a scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the bank of the Pangong Tso Lake in eastern Ladakh but the matter was resolved through talks between the two militaries.

In one of the longest confrontations between the two sides, troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day face-off in Doklam from June 16, 2017, after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. The impasse ended on August 28.
Sophie jokes about home schooling with Kate and Army medics in Cyprus (Screengrab/PA)

The Countess of Wessex teased the Duchess of Cambridge about trying to get a teacher to help with home schooling as they video-called Army nurses in Cyprus.

When they heard from military medic Corporal David Thomas who told them his ex-wife was a school teacher, Sophie quipped: Be careful, be careful, shes about to be recruited.

Expand Close Sophie jokes with Kate and the nurses about home schooling (Screengrab/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sophie jokes with Kate and the nurses about home schooling (Screengrab/PA)

Kate laughed and remarked: Theyre in good hands.

Yes. Id quite like her to come and help me with home schooling.

The duchess has already opened up about the challenges of life under lockdown with her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

George gets very upset because he just wants to do all of Charlottes projects.

Spider sandwiches are far cooler than literacy work, she said last week during an interview with ITVs This Morning show.

From The Queen and The Royal Family this #InternationalNursesDay: Thank you  pic.twitter.com/YZvREWRlR9  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 12, 2020

Kate has spoken about their differing needs, with George being nearly seven, Charlotte five and Louis only two years old.

The duchess and Sophie were calling nurses around the world together to mark International Nurses Day as part of the royal familys coordinated show of solidarity for the healthcare profession during the coronavirus pandemic.

The royal pair were chatting to medics from the Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corps who are stationed in Cyprus.

Kate asked: Is everyone worried about their families and loved ones back home? It must be adding to the pressure?

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Whatsapp Kate thinking about the prospect of a teacher to help with home schooling (Screengrab/PA)

Corporal Thomas, a Primary Healthcare Nurse who last saw his children in February, told them: Everybodys fine Maam. The kids are doing well.

My ex-wifes a school teacher so shes been busy.

Sophie added: We are enormously grateful for everything that you all do.

Kate wished them a happy nurses day, saying: Youre a huge inspiration to everybody.

A huge thank you from us all here.

Others on the call included Major Gareth Mason, matron of Medical Reception Station (MRS) Dhekelia, Sergeant Myra MacDonald, a Princess of Wales Royal Regiment regimental aid post nurse; and Corporal Ron Berbo, a primary healthcare nurse for MRS Dhekelia.
Rome, N.Y.  Police have identified the gunman and the victims involved in an apparent murder-suicide shooting that happened in Rome Saturday evening.

Police said Robert Martin, 60, of 107 Whittier Ave., shot and killed 43-year-old Daniel Casey, of Wisconsin, outside the Whittier Avenue residence shortly after 6 p.m.

Casey was the brother of Kathy Wright, 40, who also lived in the residence and was also shot by Martin, police said. She is currently hospitalized in stable condition and is expected to survive, police said.

Martin and Wright had recently split and Wright was in the process of evicting Martin from the home, the Rome Daily Sentinel reported. Casey had come from Michigan to help his sister.

When police arrived, they found Casey dead in the driveway. WKTV reported that while officers were at the scene, they heard a gunshot and later found Wright and Martin, as well as a 12-gauge shotgun, inside an enclosed porch at the rear of the home.

Martin was a registered Level Two sex offender, stemming from a 1992 conviction for raping a 15-year-old girl in Rome the year prior.
WASHINGTON  Weeks after Congress appropriated $11 billion to support state coronavirus testing efforts, the White House announced Monday night that $100 million to $199 million of those funds will soon flow to Connecticut, but exactly how much money and when is still unknown, according to state officials.

We have yet to receive the funding, guidance, or details on timing or an amount at the present, said Chris McClure, spokesman for Connecticuts Office of Policy and Management on Tuesday.

As the state moves toward partial reopening on May 20, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has indicated widespread testing will be key to tracking the virus and protecting the health of state residents. Testing is needed diagnose people with coronavirus symptoms and monitor for outbreaks in the community, particularly as businesses reopen.

A total of 132,508 COVID-19 tests have been performed on Connecticut residents as of Sunday at 8:30 PM, the state said. Of those tests, 33,765 were positive.

The state will be able to do 42,000 tests a week by next week and well over 100,000 a week in June, Lamont said Tuesday.

Were doubling our testing capacity almost on a weekly basis, Lamont said.

The White House said administration leaders have worked with officials in every state to help each state develop an individual testing goal and plan for the month of May.

We jointly developed testing projections and goals for each state for the month of May, altogether totaling 12.9 million tests, President Donald Trump said, speaking in a White House press conference Monday night, seeking to rebuff months of criticism that U.S. testing for coronavirus has lagged significantly behind other nations.

The administration will send enough testing swabs and tubes of media to every state in May so that each state can meet its May goal, officials said.

Connecticut will receive 200,000 swabs in May, a chart shared by the White House indicated, and initial shipments have been sent to the state.

In May, every state will be able to test more people per capita than South Korea has tested per capita in four months since the outbreak began, Trump promised Monday.

The coronavirus outbreak is much more severe in the U.S. in South Korea, with more many more deaths per capita in the U.S. than in South Korea. In March, South Korea was testing at 40 times the rate of testing in the U.S., Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Tuesday.

Signed into law by Trump on April 24, the legislation appropriating the state testing money also required states produce a detailed month-by-month testing plan for 2020 and send it to the federal government before May 24.

McClure said Connecticut has not yet created such a document. It will require work from multiple state agencies.

Meanwhile, the federal government also must produce a national testing strategy and give it to Congress before May 24, the legislation requires. The testing strategy needs to include specific numbers on how much testing the country will need at various times throughout the year and details on how the supply chain will be able to produce the necessary testing supplies.

If needed at that time, by September, we project that our nation will be capable of performing at least 40 to 50 million tests per month, Admiral Brett Giroir, leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and assistant secretary for Health, testified to the U.S. Senate Tuesday.

Over the course of the past three months or so, more than 9 million tests have now been completed in the United States, the White House said Monday, and this number will soon surpass 10 million. Last week, as many as 314,000 Americans were tested a day.

Estimates on how much coronavirus testing the U.S. will need in the future vary widely, but are all generally higher than current testing levels, although many parts of the country have started reopening or are planning to soon. A report from the American Enterprise Institute estimated the U.S. needs a national capacity of at least 750,000 tests per week, to advance toward reopening. A report from Harvard University estimated the U.S. would need 5 million tests per day by early June to deliver a a safe social reopening.

In the last legislation it passed, Congress appropriate a total of $25 billion to support coronavirus testing, $11 billion of which will go to states and $14 billion will be distributed to federal agencies working on testing approval, development and distribution.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also will give $7.5 million to Connecticut health centers to help them expand testing, the Connecticut congressional delegation announced last week. That funding is separate from the $11 billion in testing funding for all states.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Omnitracs, LLC, a Dallas, Texas-baased provider of fleet management solutions to transportation and logistics companies, acquired VisTracks, a provider of device-agnostic, SaaS-based compliance solutions to the transportation and logistics industry.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

This acquisition further enhances the companys device agnostic hardware and OEM strategy and extend its reach into the SMB market by adding the VisTracks reseller community into the Omnitracs partner network.

Through the acquisition, Omnitracs will add approximately 60,000 vehicles onto the Omnitracs One platform. The VisTracks architecture provides a mobile device-based and cloud-enabled solution, which will allow Omnitracs to quickly go-to-market with OEM-integrated solutions. The company is preparing to release early versions of the integrated software in late 2020.

Omnitracs provides trucking solutions for all business models. Its more than 1,100 employees deliver software-as-a-service-based solutions to allow over 14,000 customers to manage nearly 1,100,000 assets in more than 70 countries.

FinSMEs

12/05/2020
A father has appeared in court accused of murdering his young children by slitting their throats while his wife was in the shower.

Pavinya Nithiyakumar, aged 19 months, and Nigash Nithiyakumar, aged 3, were both fatally wounded by cuts to the neck at their family home in Ilford, east London, on April 26.

Pavinya died in the house, while Nigash was pronounced dead of his wounds at a hospital in Whitechapel.

Their mother is believed to have been in the shower while the attack took place and called the police.

Police outside the house after the alleged murder / PA

Their father Nadarajah Nithiyakumar was taken to hospital with knife wounds before later being charged with the murder of his son and daughter on his release.

The shopkeeper, 40, appeared in the Old Bailey via videolink on Tuesday and confirmed his identity with the help of a Tamil translator.

Nithiyakumar told Judge Nigel Lickley QC that he speaks some English from his time working in a shop.

A plea hearing was set for July 28, when a trial date will be confirmed.

Nithiyakumar was remanded in custody until then.
Indonesia condemns abuse of its fishermen on Chinese boats

by Edna Tarigan

May 12,2020 | Source: The Diplomat

Indonesias government on Sunday condemned what it called the inhuman treatment of its nationals by a Chinese fishing company that allegedly kept Indonesian fishermen as virtual slaves, leading to the deaths of at least three of them.



Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a video conference from the capital, Jakarta, that 49 Indonesian fishermen, ranging from 19 to 24 years old, were forced to work an average of over 18 hours a day on at least four Chinese fishing boats.



Marsudi said some of the fishermen were either not paid at all or did not receive the amount they had agreed to. The endless work and poor conditions on the ship caused illnesses among the crew members, killing at least three Indonesians, whose bodies were cast overboard into the Pacific Ocean, she said.



We condemn the inhuman treatment against our crew members working at the Chinese fishing company, Marsudi said. Based on the information from the crews, the company has violated human rights.



Marsudi said almost all of the fishermen were repatriated to Indonesia from four Chinese fishing vessels after undergoing a mandatory coronavirus quarantine at a hotel in the South Korean city of Busan, where their boats were docked after 13 months at sea.



The move came after videos released by local media in South Korea drew a public outcry.



On May 5, an unidentified Indonesian fisherman told the South Korean television station MBC about the unfair treatment the crew members received while working on the Chinese boats. The station also aired a video that showed the dead body of another Indonesian fisherman being thrown overboard one of the vessels.



Two other Indonesian fishermen who had previously died were also cast overboard, the fisherman said, adding that some crew members were sick for over a month but received no medical care.



The crew members received less than $300 for a full years work as opposed to the $300 per month that their contract had called for, according to a group of Indonesian lawyers who represented 14 of the 49 fishermen.



Marsudi said the Chinese government has paid special attention to the case and authorities from the two countries will set up a joint investigation into the allegations against the Chinese fishing company.



We will ensure that the company has to fulfill our crews rights, she said.



As the result of an Associated Press investigation in 2015, about 4,000 foreign fishermen, mostly from Myanmar, were rescued and freed after being stranded on several remote eastern Indonesian islands, including some found to have been enslaved for years.



The treatment of both the Myanmar and Indonesian fishermen falls under the U.S. governments definition of slavery, which includes forcing people to keep working even if they had signed up for the jobs, or trafficking them into situations where they are exploited.

 2020 DIPLOMAT MEDIA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Theme(s): Others.
A wreath laying and the playing of Taps by a bugler will be part of the observance that will including the reading of the names of eight military veterans whose names are being added to the memorial, according to Nabeha Zegar, village communications director.
VIRGINIA  No citations were issued Saturday during a rally protesting the states stay-at-home order that brought nearly 100 people to Cass County Courthouse, according to the Cass County states attorney.

While the rally was put together to oppose the implementation and enforcement of social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines mandated in Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home order, Cass County States Attorney R. John Alvarez said he hasnt seen any citations issued for violating the states stay-at-home order  or for any other reason  in connection with the rally.

Cass Meats owner Patrick Bell organized the protest  dubbed the Freedom Rally  after he saw a positive response to a Facebook post he made about his choice not to comply with Pritzkers executive order by not insisting that customers and employees wear masks whenever they are inside his business.

The states stay-at-home order was put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the state by reducing interpersonal contact. The order includes social-distancing guidelines in which people who do not live together are supposed to stay 6 feet apart and must wear protective masks indoors or during outdoor situations where social distancing cannot realistically be practiced.

Cass County has reported 56 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The rally was designed to send a message to Pritzker and local leaders that there are people in central Illinois who are tired of the lockdown order, which Bell considers an overreach by state government. Bell said Pritzker should reopen businesses that were ordered closed as part of the states efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The rally that started at 4 p.m. Saturday on the south side of Cass County Courthouse lasted for nearly an hour. Both Bell and Springfield Realtor Fritz Pfister addressed the assembled crowd.

Social distancing and mask requirements were not enforced at the rally, but anyone attending the rally who wished to follow the states guidelines for social distancing were free to do so, Bell said.

Enforcement of the lockdown order has been a controversial subject throughout the state and officials have been mixed on how to approach the matter. Officials in nearby west-central Illinois counties have said they dont plan to enforce Pritzkers order regarding social distancing and wearing a mask.

Both Scott County States Attorney Michael Hill and Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Starman have said they would not enforce the order because of constitutional concerns over its legality. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said he will enforce the order on a case-by-case basis, according to Illinois Center Square. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city will continue to enforce the order.

Bell posted on the Cass Meats Facebook page that he may hold another rally at his business in coming weeks.
The release last week of dashcam footage showing the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23 has sparked outrage over the murder and the attempted coverup by local authorities.

Months after the killing, the two individuals involvedGregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34were finally arrested on Thursday. Gregory McMichael is a former police officer and public investigator.

The video shows that the unarmed Arbery, who had been out for a run through the Satilla Shores neighborhood just outside Brunswick, was killed in a confrontation with Travis McMichael, who was armed with a shotgun. The elder McMichael looked on from the bed of his pickup truck, armed with a pistol. Arbery bled to death in the street after being shot twice by Travis McMichael.

For weeks, there were no charges and no arrests. The killers gave statements to the police and were allowed to return home. Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper, related that she had been told by investigators that her son had been involved in a burglary and was shot by the homeownera blatant lie.

The killing of Arbery recalls the 2012 shooting of black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. As was the case with Martins killer, George Zimmerman, the McMichaels have close ties to local government and police agencies. Gregory McMichael was a Glynn County police officer in the 1980s and had just retired after 20 years as an investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney.

This led Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson to recuse herself from the case. She handed the case over to Ware County District Attorney Gregory Barnhill, who advised police that there was insufficient probable cause to arrest the McMichaels.

Until the publication of the video, the Glynn County Police Department and prosecutors sought to whitewash the killing as justified under Georgias reactionary stand-your-ground law. They concluded that the McMichaels acted in self-defense while attempting to carry out a citizens arrest.

Following the release of the video, Democratic politicians have intervened with statements focused entirely on the racial component of the murder. Arbery was black, and the McMichaels are white. On Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrats presumptive presidential candidate, called the killing of Arbery part of a rising pandemic of hate. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders declared last week that Arbery would be alive if he were white.

Family members and individuals organizing protests, however, have rejected efforts to pigeonhole the killing and coverup as primarily a racial issue.

The New York Times, in an article published Monday (In Ahmaud Arberys Hometown, Pain, Anger and Pride in a Shared Racial History) notes: Most people recognize that race could have factored into the confrontation and shooting of Mr. Arbery or in the way his case was handled by the authorities. Activists also note that the Glynn County Police Department had a history of recurring allegations of police officials shielding officers accused of wrongdoing.

Its not a black-or-white situation, Mr. Arberys aunt, Thea Brooks, told the Times. Its an everybody situation.

Significantly, the region around Brunswick has a history of opposition to segregation and racist violence. Both whites and blacks have participated in the demonstrations demanding that the killers be arrested. Nobody would expect something like this to happen in this community, Robert Griffin, an 82-year-old resident of Brunswick told the Times. It shocked everybody, including the majority of whites.

Griffin and others point to the long and sordid record of the local police in the southern Georgia region around Brunswick of covering up misconduct and violence by police officers.

This is the reality of life in the United States. Every year, more than 1,000 people are killed by police, who are protected by the state and the courts. According to killedbypolice.net, so far this year more than 350 people have been killed by police (not including Arbery, as McMichaels was retired). While a disproportionate number of those killed are black, the largest share is white.

Under conditions of mounting social unrest and class conflict, the police are a critical component of the apparatus of state repression to be directed against the entire working class.

Racism exists, and it plays a role in incidents like the killing of Arbery. The most reactionary and backward sections of the population, including in and around the police forces, are encouraged by the present occupant of the White House.

The Trump administration has elevated far-right and fascistic individuals into the highest levels of the state and has systematically promoted racism against immigrants. As part of the drive to force a return to work amidst the expanding coronavirus pandemic, the administration has hailed far-right militia members and other fascistic organizations that have held demonstrations in state capitals to demand an end to social distancing measures.

This is an international phenomenon. In the effort to divert social tensions and create the conditions for authoritarian forms of rule, the ruling elites are resurrecting all the political filth of the 20th century. In Germany and throughout Europe, anti-Semitic violence is on the rise, as the far-right and fascistic parties have been legitimized and elevated into state power.

To the extent that racism plays a role, however, it is entirely subordinated to the fundamental class divide. Racism and national chauvinism, along with the racialist politics of the Democratic Party, are used as instruments of class rule, to divert social tensions and block the development of a united movement of the entire working class.

The vast majority of workers, black and white, are outraged by the murder of Arbery and its cover-up. They correctly see it as emblematic of a society in which the lives of workers are treated as dispensable, in which individuals connected to the state can kill and will be protected.

It is impossible to understand the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, and the cover-up that followed it, outside of this broader social and political reality. It is, fundamentally, a product of capitalism.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Ilkin Seyfaddini  Trend:

Quarantine measures are to be tightened in Samarkand, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, since May 13, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.

"According to the decision of the regional commission, from 6.00 AM (GMT+5) May 13 in the city traffic in the morning and evening without a special sticker will be banned. The decision was announced at the briefing with participation of Samarkand's governor, the city prosecutor and the chief of internal affairs," the report says.

From tomorrow the activity of all kinds of services except grocery stores, drugstores and farmers' markets is prohibited in Samarkand.

The administrations of the facilities where the sale of products is allowed, are obliged to measure the body temperature of each incoming buyer, provide the buyer with a new mask and gloves free of charge.

Block posts at the Samarkand entrances will be reinforced. Unintentional entry and movement into the city without stickers is prohibited. Personal responsibility of heads of organizations operating on these days will be increased.

"No unauthorized persons are allowed to enter the organizations and institutions. There must be a permanent duty officer at the entrance of the organization. He must measure the body temperature of each employee," the message said.

As of today, 10 mobile groups are operating in Samarkand, and 15 more groups will be formed to monitor the quarantine regime.

Starting from May 8, Uzbekistan has divided its cities and regions into three coronavirus danger zones - "red", "yellow" and "green".

Currently, the "red" zone includes Karakalpakstan, Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent, Bukhara and Syrdarya regions, and the "yellow" zone includes Surkhandarya, Khorezm and Tashkent city. The Navoi, Jizzak and Kashkadarya regions have been declared a "green" zone free from coronavirus.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Latest updates on coronavirus lockdown in India : The Supreme Court (SC) will reopen its court premises and resume work from the courtrooms from next week. However, the lawyers will argue cases from their chamber, said sources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 5th nationwide address on Tuesday may announce a graded lockdown exit with both the lives and livelihoods in focus. He will address the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday after his marathon meetings with state CMs on Monday. PM Modi's address comes at a time when India is grappling with the increasing number of coronavirus cases. The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped to 70,756 on Tuesday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes, 46,008 active cases, 22,454 recoveries, and 2,293 deaths.

Also Read: PM Modi Speech Live Updates: Prime Minister begins his address to nation on coronavirus

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi announces economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore; 10% of GDP

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown: PM Modi to address teh nation at 8 pm tonight; what to expect

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi to address nation today; when and where to watch live streaming

Also read: Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases jump to 70,756 ; check state-wise tally, deaths

Check out all the latest updates on coronavirus cases in India and across the world on BusinessToday.In live blog

9.16 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus cases

Gautam Buddh Nagar district reported 6 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total count of coronavirus positive cases to 230, including 3 deaths.

9.05 pm: Himachal Pradesh coronavirus cases

Police station sealed in Kangra after a cop tested COVID-19 positive on Tuesday. The total count of novel coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh rose to 66 with 64 fresh cases in Kangra and 2 in Hamirpur.

9.00 pm: Coronavirus updates worldwide: COVID-19 may never be found, cautions UK PM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has cautioned that the mass vaccine for coronavirus may be over a year away, or may never be found. He said in his foreward to the government's new 50-page guidance on a step-by-step relaxation of lockdown rules to curb the spread of coronavirus.

8.54 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases: 5 more test COVID-19 positive

5 more field workers tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in North Delhi's MCD area on Tuesday. The total count of infected staff members in North Delhi MCD stands at 39, out of which 31 are hospital employees and 8 are field staff.

8.49 pm: Maharashtra lockdown latest updates

A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from Tuesday.

Maharashtra: A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from today. pic.twitter.com/da79wbc8M2 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.39 pm: Meghalaya lockdown latest updates

Meghalaya Police said on Tuesday that restaurants, cafe, food outlets, and tea shops are allowed to operate, but only for home delivery and take away services.

Operation of restaurants, cafe, food outlets, tea shops is permitted, only for home delivery and take away services: Meghalaya Police #COVID19pic.twitter.com/jCUWuxHQOi - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.33 pm: Gujarat coronavirus cases: 362 more people tested positive in 24 hours

Gujarat recorded 362 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 8,904, including 3,246 cured/discharged and 537 deaths, said the state health department.

In the last 24 hours, 362 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Gujarat. The total number of cases stands at 8904 now, including 3246 cured/discharged and 537 deaths: Gujarat Health Department pic.twitter.com/HzbJMWl60O - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

8.23 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: Increasing count of COVID-19 cases in Chittoor, districts linked to Koyambedu market in Chennai

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed the officials to be on high alert following fresh COVID-19 cases reported from Chittoor, Nellore, and East Godavari district. All these cases were linked to the Koyambedu market of Chennai.

8.14 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus cases

716 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, out which 510 were registered in Chennai. With 8 new deaths on Tuesday, the death toll in the state stands at 61 now. Here the details: -

716 people test positive in the state.

83 cured and discharged on Tuesday.

6,530 active cases in the state.

510 cases in Chennai alone. 4,882 cases in Chennai.

8,718 total positive cases reported in Tamil Nadu.

8.06 pm: Ghaziabad coronavirus lockdown updates

Ghaziabad DM in Uttar Pradesh said on Tuesday that some relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown will be given in the district.

8.00 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates

A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier on Tuesday. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from Tuesday.

Maharashtra: A special train left from Mumbai Central railway station for Delhi earlier today. Railways has resumed services of 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains from today. pic.twitter.com/da79wbc8M2 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.56 pm: Coronaviru live updates

The Supreme Court (SC) will reopen its court premises and resume work from the courtrooms from next week. However, the lawyers will argue cases from their chamber, said sources.

7.46 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases: 110 fresh cases reported on Tuesday

With 110 new COVID-19 cases, the total count of coronavirus cases in West Bengal has climbed to 2,173, including 1,363 active cases and 126 deaths. Meanwhile, 72 deaths also occurred due to co-morbidity, said the state health department.

110 #COVID19 cases confirmed in West Bengal today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 2173, including 1363 active cases and 126 deaths. 72 deaths also occurred due to comorbidity: State health Department pic.twitter.com/UmlcQA8xuF - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.39 pm: India coronavirus news

An Assistant Sub-Inspector from Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) tested COVID-19 positive on Tuesday.

7.33 pm: Jammu and Kashmir coronavirus cases

J&K reported 55 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, out which 13 cases are from Jammu division and 42 from Kashmir division. The total count of COVI-19 cases in the union territory stands at 934 now, comprising 469 active cases, 455 recovered and 10 deaths, said the J&K government.

55 more #COVID19 cases reported in Jammu & Kashmir - 13 from Jammu division & 42 from Kashmir division. Total number of cases in the Union Territory is now at 934, including 469 active cases, 455 recovered & 10 deaths: J&K Government pic.twitter.com/acbC34eyFA - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

7.23 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Civil Aviation Ministry issues guidelines for airlines and airport operators before flights resume

Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday issued draft SOP to all aviation stakeholders including airlines and airport operators before flight resumption. Passengers and staff showing any symptom, Aarogya Setu app not showing "green" are not to be allowed to enter the airport terminal building. People above 80 years of age to be restricted from travel in phase I of flight resumption. No cabin baggage in initial phase, checked-in baggage to be only one piece.

7:15 PM: India can do 1 lakh tests daily, says Health Minister

India can now do one lakh COVID-19 tests per day, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday. He also said that the country's COVID-19 mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world with 3.2 per cent.

7:10 PM Modi approves ex gratia of Rs 2 Lakh for kin of migrants run over by train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of 16 migrants who were run over by a goods train near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

7:05 PM: NHRC issues notices over alleged negligence in Delhi Police constable's treatment

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi and Union Home Secretary after taking suo motu cognizance of a complaint accompanied by a media report alleging negligence in the treatment of Delhi Police constable Amit Kumar who died due to COVID-19. They have been asked to submit a report within four weeks.

7:00 PM: Andhra CM YS Jagan's against blanket lockdown extension

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi's address to the nation, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has suggested progressive and pragmatic outlook towards the future of the state and the country post May 17 when lockdown ends.

6:55 PM: 6 new positive cases of COVID19 reported in Himachal Pradesh

As many as have been 6 new positive cases of coronavirus reported in the state today. Total number of positive cases rise to 65 including 24 active, 35 recovered and 2 deaths: Himachal Pradesh Health Department.

6.11 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Recovery rate getting better every day, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday that India's COVID-19 mortality is among the lowest in the world at nearly 3.2%. He added that the country's recovery rate is getting better every day and is currently at 31.7%.

In the fight against #COVID19 our mortality rate is about the lowest in the world. Today the mortality rate is around 3.2%, in several states it is even less than this. Global fatality rate is around 7-7.5%: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan https://t.co/rpJP0vyMIa - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

5.58 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases

The state recorded 110 fresh novel coronavirus cases and 8 deaths on Tuesday. Total active positive cases have jumped to 1,363 in the state now, said West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay. (ANI reports)

5.47 pm: West Bengal lockdown news

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that lockdown will continue in the state. She added that the red zones will be further broken into 3 categories- A, B, C which will be figured out by the police. She further said that there will be no change in containment areas.

Red zones will be further broken into three categories - a,b,c. Police will figure it out. No change in containment zones: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee #COVID19pic.twitter.com/EMVySEDhBT - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

5.40 pm: Kerala coronavirus cases

5 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, including 3 from Malappuram, and 1 each from Pathanmthitta and Kottayam.

5.35 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases

925 cases confirmed in the state, including 31 deaths and 433 recoveries.

5.27 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases

Karnataka recorded 925 COVID-19 cases as of 5 pm on May 12 including 31 deaths and 433 discharges, and 1 death due to coronavirus infection, said the state health department. (ANI reports)

5.17 pm: Maharashtra lockdown latest updates

Maharashtra government has decided to do the home deliver of liquor to avoid over crowding at alcohol shops in thes state. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with total count of confirmed COVID-18 cases at 23,401 along with 868 deaths, as per the Union Home Ministry.

5.07 pm: Coronavirus vaccine: What's happening in India

The race to find a vaccine and cure for COVID-19 has quickened as countries and companies across the world pacing up in the wake of increasing coronavirus cases.

India- Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the central government told India TV that India is well on course to find a vaccine for COVID-19. He added in the interview that if all goes well, India is very likely to has a corona vaccine the next 8 months.

Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) has joined hands with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to develop a coronavirus vaccine. A vaccine called CoroFlu is already being tested by the biotech firm. BBIL is also working with the University of Wisconsin to develop the vaccine. ICMR also said that it has transferred the virus strain isolated at NIV, Pune to BBIL.

Additionally, the Serum Institute of India said that it is planning to manufacture 6 crore of potential corona doses of the vaccine that is under clinical trial in the UK. University of Oxford is conducting trials for its vaccine.

4.59 pm: Punjab coronavirus latest updates

The Sixth Special train carrying 1201 migrant workers left for Chhapra in Bihar from the SAS Nagar Mohali railway station on Tuesday.

Punjab: The Sixth Special train carrying 1201 migrant workers left for Chhapra in Bihar from the SAS Nagar Mohali railway station today. #COVID19Lockdownpic.twitter.com/q2hd3BNf13 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.49 pm: India coronavirus live updates

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday that as of date, 17,59,579 samples have been tested in India.

4.38 pm: Lockdown extension live updates: What after May 17?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 5th nationwide address on Tuesday may announce a graded lockdown exit with both the lives and livelihoods in focus. In his meeting with state CMs on Monday, he asked the states to send the Centre their reports by May 15 leaving the onus of deciding on easing the norms on them. While the economic revival in the country will be the focus of the Modi government, lockdown is likely to stay but with more relaxations.

4.29 pm: Coronavirus in India latest updates

The second phase of Vande Bharat Mission will be launched from 16-22 May. It will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed, according to sources.

The second phase of #VandeBharatMission will be launched from 16-22 May. It will bring back Indians from 31 countries. 149 flights including feeder flights will be deployed: Sources pic.twitter.com/SJYwCCpcBI - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.19 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus news

Nurses at Government Medical College Omandurar, Chennai paid tribute to Florence Nightingale on International Nurses Day on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar also visited the hospital & expressed his gratitude to the nurses and nursing staff there.

Tamil Nadu: Nurses at Government Medical College Omandurar, Chennai paid tribute to Florence Nightingale on #InternationalNursesDay today. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar also visited the hospital & expressed his gratitude to the nurses and nursing staff there. pic.twitter.com/y5UYnNSbWi - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

4.14 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases

Delhi records 2 fresh COVID-19 cases.

4.07 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus latest updates: 2.81 lakh migrant workers brough back to the state

UP's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said on Tuesday that 233 trains have brought 2,81,408 migrant workers to UP so far. He added, "Today 13 trains have arrived till now and more will come in the coming days. All the passengers will be screened and medical check-ups will be conducted."

3.59 pm: Coronavirus in India latest updates: FIFA to be held in the country between Feb 17 to March 7, 2021

The new dates for the FIFA, which will be held in India, will be held between February 17 to March 7, 2021, tweeted Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge), Kiren Rijiju.

The new dates for the FIFA #U17WWC to be held in India between Feb 17 to Mar 7, 2021 is announced. I assure full coperation and support to make it a grand success. https://t.co/ONtZD3oKLP - Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 12, 2020

3.52 pm: Coronavirus latest updates

Indians queue at Muscat International Airport in Oman to board the 2nd repatriation flight from Muscat to Chennai, scheduled for today, under Vande Bharat Mission.

Oman: Indians queue at Muscat International Airport to board the 2nd repatriation flight from Muscat to Chennai, scheduled for today, under #VandeBharatMission. pic.twitter.com/y6D3n3vI4W - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

3.41 pm: Coronavirus cases in armed forces

9 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Border Security Force (BSF) in the last 24 hours. 6 are from Delhi, 1 from Kolkata, and 2 from Tripura. All of them are under treatment at designated health care hospitals, said the Border Security Force. (ANI reports)

3.37 pm: Coronavirus map live updates: Check BusinessToday.In tracker to get state-wise tally of COVID-19 cases

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graph.

3.29 pm: Coronavirus latest updates: 2 more ITBP jawans test positive in one day

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said on Tuesday that 2 more jawans of ITBP have tested COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours adding that there are a total of 159 positive cases and 1 recovery in the state. (ANI reports)

3.23 pm: India coronavirus live updates

Indians at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia to board special Air India repatriation flight to Mumbai under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Malaysia: Indians at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to board special Air India repatriation flight to Mumbai under the #VandeBharatMission. pic.twitter.com/A516w8SSWK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

3.17 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: Over 6,000 Indians brought back by Air India, says Aviation Ministry

As many as 6,037 Indians have been flown back to India by 31 flights operated by Air India and Air India Express as a part of the central government's Vande Bharat Mission in the last 5 days, ANI reported quoting the Civil Aviation Ministry.

3.09 pm: PM Modi address today at 8 pm

Prime Minister Modi's last 4 speeches lowdown

1. March 19- In his first nationwide address PM Modi asked the citizens to self-impose of Janata Curfew (people's curfes) on March 22 from 7 am to 9 pm.

2. March 24- In his address on this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the countrywide lockdown to extend for 21 days (three weeks) beginning March 25.

3. April 3- PM Modi appealed to citizens to switch off all lights and light diyas and candles at 9 pm on April 5 to mark coronavirus fight.

4. April 14: PM Modi announced the lockdown extension till May 3.

3.00 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

21 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Rajasthan on Tuesday till 2 pm taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 4,056. Active cases stand at 1563 with deaths at 115, said Rajasthan Health Department.(Inputs from ANI)

2.55 pm: Chandigarh corona latest updates

Vegetable and Fruit market of Sector 26, near the Bapu Dham Colony, has been shifted temporarily to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Sector 17. Total 150 active cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Bapu Dham Colony till now.

Chandigarh: Vegetable and Fruit market of Sector 26, near the Bapu Dham Colony, has been shifted temporarily to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Sector 17. Total 150 active cases of #COVID19 have been reported in the Bapu Dham Colony till now. pic.twitter.com/ELag6KzNG5 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.49 pm: Gujarat corona latest updates: COVID-19 cases past 6,000 in Ahmedabad, state count- 8,541

The total count of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad climbed to 6,086 on Monday, with the death toll in the city inching towards the 400-mark. Gujarat's tally has jumped to 8,541 with death toll at 513 as it is the second worst-hit state in India.

2.44 pm: Delhi coronavirus latest updates

Watch: Passengers onboard special train that will leave for Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh shortly from New Delhi Railway Station, as train services resume on Tuesday.

#WATCH Delhi: Passengers onboard special train that will leave for Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh shortly from New Delhi Railway Station, as train services resume today. pic.twitter.com/wg2V5lG4DK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.39 pm: Coronavirus India live updates: German national leaves Delhi airport transit after being stranded for 55 days

A German citizen, who was stranded at Delhi airport transit area for the last 55 days due to coronavirus induced lockdown, left early morning on Tuesday for Amsterdam. He was permitted to board the flight after he tested COVID-19 negative. The German man, named Edgar Zeibat had landed in Delhi on March 18 from Thailand. He was supposed to leave for Istanbul on the day when the flights got suspended. He had been living in Delhi airport's transit area since then. He was also not permitted to go out the Delhi airport as he did not have an Indian visa.

2.29 pm: Uttarakhand coronavirus cases

No new COVID-19 cases has been reported in Uttarakhand on Tuesday. Total number of positive cases stands at 68 including 21 active cases and 46 recovered, said the state health department.

No new case of #COVID19 reported in Uttarakhand today. Total number of positive cases stands at 68 including 21 active cases and 46 recovered: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/yBwmY1PzsX - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

2.22 pm: Delhi corona latest updates: Doubling rate has gone up to 11 days, says Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday that the doubling rate of coronavirus cases in the national capital has risen to 11 days after climbing to an alarming rate 3.4 days earlier. He added that if the doubling rate reached 18, 20 or 25, "then we will be more comfortable.

2.16: PM Modi live at 8 pm today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with state chief minister on Monday asked them to prepare notes about the following points: -

Opening up industries.

What places can be opened

How to go for opening the services, and what will be closed.

What should be done to keep red areas under control.

2.10 pm: Lockdown Extension in Telangana Latest Updates

Telangana government has already extended the lockdown till May 29. State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made the announcement on May 6 urging the citizens to cooperate with the decision of the government. The state government has also decided to continue night curfew in all 33 districts.

2.05 pm: Maharashtra coronavirus news

A Maharashtra government panel has taken the decision to release nearly 50% prisoners lodged in jails across the state to decongest prisons, in the wake of coronavirus spread fear: officials cited by PTI as saying.

2.00 pm: Lockdown Extension in Mumbai Latest Updates

The lockdown is likely to be extended in hotspots such as Mumbai and Pune in the state of Maharashtra which is the worst-hit state in India. Both Mumbai and Pune are the worst-hit cities in the state with coronavirus cases in both these zones inching past 15,000. In view of this Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray convened an all-party meeting with state leaders on Thursday to assess the ongoing situation. (ANI report)

1.55 pm: Lockdown Extension in West Bengal Latest Updates

There is no clarity on whether the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will extend the lockdown or not. Amid her ongoing fight with the central government, she demanded during state CMs meeting with PM Modi on Monday that the respective Chief Ministers be consulted before the Centre takes the decision to extend lockdown beyond May 17. Central government has in the past alleged that she failed miserably in containing coronavirus.

1.50 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases

13 deaths and 406 new positive cases were reported in Delhi in 24 hours till midnight yesterday, taking the total number of cases to 7639 and deaths to 86, said Delhi Health Department.

13 deaths and 406 new positive cases were reported in Delhi in 24 hours till midnight yesterday, taking the total number of cases to 7639 and deaths to 86: Delhi Health Department pic.twitter.com/wmPcyofwAK - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.45 pm: Lockdown Extension in Punjab Latest Updates

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday urged PM Modi to extend the lockdown beyond May 17, but with carefully constructed plan supported by economic and fiscal empowerment of states in order to save lives as well as secure livelihood.

1.35 pm: Lockdown Extension in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his meeting with PM Modi on Monday asked the Prime Minister to show a precise direction on the lockdown, adding that it should be extended beyond May 17. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with the highest number of coronavirus cases at 23,401 along with 868 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry.

1.29 pm: PM Modi address at 8 pm today: When and where to watch live streaming

You can all PM Modi's address live on BusinessToday.In live blog.

IndiaToday.In and AajTak.In will also run live blogs on the PM Modi's speech nationwide speech on today..

India Today TV and Aaj Tak will also telecast live address of the Prime Minister at 8 PM.

1.20 pm: Coronavirus India live updates

Watch: Indian Naval Ship Kesari docks at Male port in Maldives, the first destination under Mission Sagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items here.

#WATCH Indian Naval Ship Kesari docks at Male port in Maldives, the first destination under #MissionSagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items here pic.twitter.com/SUtPGVhIY7 - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.15 pm: Modi on coronavirus

PM Modi in his 5th address to the nation on Tuesday could give an idea of how the lockdown restrictions will be eased as coronavirus cases continue to rise steeply across the nation over the past few weeks. In his meeting with the state CMs, PM Modi spoke of a "balanced strategy" to reopen states, but in a staggered manner as the pressure on economy continues to rise.

1.10 pm: Modi on lockdown

PM Modi's address on Tuesday is crucial as it comes at a time when the country is grappling with a double whammy- to extend lockdown 3.0 in the wake of increasing coronavirus cases or to focus on economy. The Prime Minister is likely to speak on how state may go ahead with lockdown easing strategies post May 17.

1.05 pm: Coronavirus India live updates

Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS, Delhi on medical advice, said an AIIMS official.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been discharged from AIIMS, Delhi on medical advice: AIIMS official pic.twitter.com/hcJSbGDVrT - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

1.00 pm: PM Modi live at 8 pm today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday after his marathon meetings with state CMs on Monday. The central government has asked states to send it suggestions on their respective lockdown exit strategies. He also hinted that the government could ease lockdown restrictions significantly post May 17.

12.56 pm: Kejriwal on lockdown extension in Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday invited suggestions from citizens on how much the lockdown 3.0 should be eased post May 17. He has asked people to send him suggestions on WhatsApp, email or on call. He added that all state CMs have been asked by the central government to send it a report on their lockdown exit plans. CM Kejriwal tweeted, "Should the lockdown in Delhi be relaxed after May 17? How much should be relaxed? Please WhatsApp me on your suggestion 8800007722 by 5 pm tomorrow, or call 1031 to record your suggestion." He also asked the citizens to email their suggestions at delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com during his video address on Tuesday.

17           ?    ?    8800007722     5   whatsapp ,  1031         https://t.co/VfFEyoux6b - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 12, 2020

12.52 pm: Himachal Pradesh coronavirus latest updates

Three new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh taking the total number of cases in state to 62 including 21 active cases. Of 3 new cases one is police head constable and one has travel history to Jalandhar, Punjab, said Nipun Jindal, State Special Secretary (Health). (ANI reports)

12.49 pm: Lockdown extension live updates in Jammu and Kashmir

A 'Shramik Special Train' carrying around 1000 migrants, that departed from Chikkabanavara railway station in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 10th May reached Udhampur on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir: A 'Shramik Special Train' carrying around 1000 migrants, that departed from Chikkabanavara railway station in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 10th May reached Udhampur today. pic.twitter.com/fb5hNnPVJz - ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

12.45 pm: PM at 8 pm: Inside track of PM Modi's 5th address

PM Modi is worried regarding the migrant crisis, may raise the issue during his nationwide address.

May speak on state governments suggestions after his meeting with the CMs.

Lockdown may be extended but with ease in restrictions in certain areas.

12.39 pm: PM Modi address at 8 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the migrant worker crisis, may speak on state governments' suggestions on lockdown situation and the economic crisis in the wake of coronavirus induced lockdown.

12.29 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus news

33 new COVID-19 cases reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours; the total number of positive cases in the state is now 2051, said the state health department. (ANI reports)

12.16 PM: PM Modi to address nation at 8 PM this evening

Shri @narendramodi will be addressing the nation at 8 PM this evening.  PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 12, 2020

11.10 PM: 406 new COVID-19 cases in Delhi

A total of 13 deaths and 406 new positive cases have been reported in Delhi in 24 hours, which has taken the total number of cases to 7,639 and deaths to 86. A total of 383 people have been cured or discharged in 24 hours, totalling to 2,512. The doubling COVID-19 rate in Delhi now stands at 11 days. "The doubling rate had once reached 3 or 4 days. If the doubling rate reaches 18, 20 or 25, then we will be more comfortable," Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

11.56 AM: Infection in kids may not start with cough: Study

Children suffering from non-respiratory disease symptoms like diarrhoea and fever, or those with a history of exposure to the novel coronavirus, should be suspected of having COVID-19, a new study says. According to the research, published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics, gastrointestinal symptoms first suffered by some children hints at potential infection with SARS-CoV-2 through the digestive tract. - PTI

11.50 AM: Air India headquarters in Delhi has been sealed for two days from today morning after a peon tested positive. The Air India HQ is being sanitised and will be further sealed for two days. The 54-year-old staffer was working in Air India Office, Mahadeo Road, on the Parliament Street. He has been quarantined.

11.40 AM: Mamata transfers health secy

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has transferred state Health Secretary Vivek Kumar and has appointed Narayan Swaroop Nigam, former transport secretary, as the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare. -ANI

11.37 AM: Passenger train services starts from Delhi

Passengers begin to arrive at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station to board a special train to New Delhi from here today evening.

Bengaluru: Passengers begin to arrive at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station to board a special train to New Delhi from here today evening#Karnatakapic.twitter.com/rEPaJICDQm  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

11.30 AM: Coronavirus cases in Odisha

The state has reported 23 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the overall state tally to 437.

11.25 AM: Mandatory for passengers to download Aarogya Setu app

Indian Railways is going to start few passenger trains services. It is mandatory for passengers to download Aarogya Setu app in their mobile phones, before commencing their journey: Indian Railways

11.23 AM: Glenmark initiates Phase 3 clinical trials on antiviral Favipiravir

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a research-led, integrated global pharmaceutical company has initiated Phase 3 clinical trials in India on Antiviral tablet Favipiravir, for which it received approval from India's drug regulator DCGI in late April. Glenmark is the first company in India to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials on Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India.

11.10 AM: Over 45,533 tickets worth Rs 16.15 crore booked for special trains for next seven days; 82,317 passengers booked tickets: Railways

11.00 AM: A migrant labourer has been killed on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway, Ambala. He, along with other migrants, was also going to his native place in Purnia, Bihar, from Ludhiana on foot.

10.45 AM: INS Jalashwa to evacuate 700 Indians from Male

NS Jalashwa will be evacuating approx 700 Indian nationals from Male to Kochi on 15 May, during her second repatriation sortie. It has already repatriated 698 citizens to India on 10 May during her first sortie.

Indian Railways is going to start few passenger trains services. It is mandatory for passengers to download Aarogya Setu app in their mobile phones, before commencing their journey



Download this app now -



Android : https://t.co/bpfHKNLHmD

IOS : https://t.co/aBvo2Uc1fQpic.twitter.com/MRvP8QBVPU  Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 11, 2020

10.40 AM: Staff deployed to clean stations at Metros

As lockdown relaxations are gradually being eased, Delhi Metro might also resume its services soon. In a tweet, Delhi Metro stated that it is deploying special staff to clean areas of mass movement at stations. These housekeeping teams will clean lifts, escalators as well as AFC gates.

Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Metro to resume operations soon?

10.35 AM: Maruti Suzuki India resumes ops

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India resumes production at Manesar plant. The company had earlier said it will re-start production of vehicles at its Manesar plant from May 12. All activities will be carried out strictly in accordance with the government regulations and guidelines and observing the company's own concern for the highest standards of safety, the company informed.

10.30 AM: Mission Sagar Update

Indian Naval Ship Kesari reaches Male port in Maldives, the first destination under Mission Sagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items as a gift from people of India to the people of Maldives.

Operation Samudra Setu: INS Magar, carrying 202 Indian nationals is expected to reach Kochi, Kerala by evening today https://t.co/z1UQj4QLXS  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

10.25 AM: 8,544 medical professionals infected in Mexico

As many as 111 medical personnel in Maxico have died due to novel coronavirus in Mexico. There are around 8,544 confirmed COVID-19 cases among health professionals in Mexico, while another 6,747 are awaiting result. In total, the country has reported 36,327 cases and 3,573 deaths.

10.19 AM: Hyatt Hotels to lay off 1,300 people

Hyatt Hotels Corp to lay off 1,300 people globally as it tries to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has virtually halted global travel by keeping people indoors. Hyatt said it had also cut pay for senior management, board members and all employees as part of a restructuring, adding that the staff who were being laid off would be eligible for receive severance pay. - Reuters

10.14 AM: Vande Bharat Mission update

As many as 169 Indian students to return to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar from Bangladesh's Dhaka today on an Air India special flight.

#WATCH Indian Naval Ship Kesari reaches Male port in Maldives, the first destination under #MissionSagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items as a gift from people of India to the people of Maldives. pic.twitter.com/i7aoAX1HKk  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

10.07 AM: Gyms, hair salons essential services in Brazil

In Brazil, exercising at gym and getting a haircut have been considered essential activities. The Jair Bolsonaro government in Brazil has included gyms and hair salons on a list of 'essential' businesses. Meanwhile, Brazil registered 5,632 new coronavirus cases on Monday and 396 deaths from the disease, according to the Health Ministry. The country has now registered a total of 168,331 confirmed cases of the virus and 11,519 deaths. Reporting of coronavirus cases from state health authorities to the ministry tends to slow over the weekend. -Agencies

10.03 AM: Russia surpasses Italy in number of COVID-19 cases

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures despite a new surge in infections which took Russia's tally past Italy's, making it the fourth highest in the world. Putin, in a televised nationwide address, said that from Tuesday he would start lifting restrictions that had forced many people to work from home and businesses to temporarily close. Putin was speaking after the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus rose by a record daily amount to 11,656, making the official tally 221,344. Only Britain, Spain and the United States have recorded more cases. - Reuters

10.00 AM: US reports 23,792 new coronavirus cases

US CDC reports 23,792 new coronavirus cases as of yesterday; total now 1,324,488 cases versus 1,300,696 in previous report on May 10

US CDC reports 985 new deaths due to coronavirus as of yesterday; total deaths now 79,756 deaths versus 78,771 in previous report

9.50 AM: Authorise aconomic activity: Haryana to Centre

Authorise states to take decisions to resume economic activities, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar urges Centre during video conference with PM Narendra Modi.

9.45 AM: UP CM transfers Rs 225.39 crore for MNREGA workers

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath transfers Rs 225.39 crore to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) beneficiaries through direct bank transfer.

Bangladesh: 169 Indian students to return to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar from Bangladesh's Dhaka today, on an Air India special flight#VandeBharatMissionpic.twitter.com/w35vlgQRJ4  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

9.40 AM: Guidelines for processing of data collected through Aarogya Setu app

Data of a non-infected person is deleted from Aarogya Setu app in 30 days, 45 days in case of tests and 60 days if a person has undergone treatment.

Also read: Aarogya Setu app: COVID-19 patient data to be deleted in 60 days after treatment, says govt

9.35 AM: Railway services to resume today

The Railways Ministry has also issued a set of guidelines for passengers who would board the trains. In a statement, the ministry said, "It will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train."

Also read: Railways resumes passenger train services from today; check out details, routes, timings

9.25 AM: Rajasthan coronavirus latest updates

The state has reported 47 new COVID-19 positive cases and two deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 4,035.

9.20 AM: Vande Bharat Mission Updates for today: 12 flights carrying Indian nationals to arrive today

IX 350 Muscat to Chennai, IX 814 Dubai to Kannur, IX 384 Dubai to Mangalore and IX 485 Singapore-Bengaluru-Kochi

AI 0381 Singapore to Delhi, AI 1242 Dhaka to Srinagar, AI 1924 Dammam to Kochi, AI 1377 Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai, AI 1375 Manila to Delhi

AI 1375 Manila to Ahmedabad, AI 162 London to Hyderabad, AI 144 Newark-Mumbai-Ahmedabad

9.15 AM: 'Coronavirus highly lethal'

Describing the coronavirus as exceptionally infective and highly lethal, an eminent Indian-American cardiologist has urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to take anything for granted and take all necessary steps to prevent large-scale illness and fatalities in the state.

Also read: Coronavirus highly lethal, Indian-American doctor writes to Mamata Banerjee

9.10 AM: Share ways to lift lockdown: PM to CMs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with all state Chief Ministers on Monday to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against coronavirus. He commended the states for playing an active part in curbing the spread of the virus. Modi said the entire world is of the view that India has been able to successfully protect itself from the pandemic.

Also read: PM Modi asks CMs to share ways to lift coronavirus lockdown; key highlights from video conference

9.00 AM: Spike of 3,604 new cases in 24 hours

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare update: Spike of 3604 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours; total positive cases in the country is now at 70,756, including 46,008 active cases, 22,454 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 2,293 deaths.

8.55 AM: Railways to run 100 special trains daily

The Home Ministry on Monday asked the Railways to start running at least 100 special trains per day for the next few weeks to ensure the return of migrant workers to their native places, an official said. Addressing a press conference, Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the ministry held a meeting with the nodal officers of Railways and State Governments on Monday.

Also read: MHA asks railways to run at least 100 special trains daily for migrants

8.50 AM: DMRC hints at restarting ops

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says specially trained housekeeping staffs are deployed in stations to clean passenger movement areas and associated equipment such as AFC gates, lifts and escalators to begin safe operations.

8.45 AM: 53 cops quarantined in Mansa, Punjab

53 cops, including 13 ladies constables, quarantined after four cops are found positive in Mansa

Budlada, Mansa Police Station, shut after all employees sent into quarantine

Total positive COVID-19 cops in Punjab now 14

52 year old ACP Anil Kohli died of coronavirus last month

11 COVID-19 warrior cops get honour

COVID-19 positive lady cop shoots videos to inspire others

8.40 AM: Aarogya Setu is mandatory for train travel

The railways has made it mandatory for passengers to download Aarogya Setu app. There will be screening of passengers at the time of boarding the train and once they reach their destinations. States are yet to decide on institutional or home quarantine of passengers.

8.30 AM: Shramik Special Train updates

A 'shramik special train' carrying more than 1100 passengers from Ahmedabad in Gujarat reached Bilaspur, yesterday

Around 1200 migrant labourers who had boarded a 'shramik special train' from Surat in Gujarat reached Gaya, yesterday

A 'shramik special train' carrying 1230 migrant workers from Mumbai arrived at Kalaburagi Railway station at 2.20 am, today - ANI

8.15 AM: 700 tourists from West Bengal stranded in Haridwar

"We are not facing any problem here, but we want to return to our homes. We request Mamata didi to make arrangements for us to return home," says stranded tourists.

Specially trained housekeeping staffs are deployed in stations to clean passenger movement areas and associated equipment such as AFC gates, lifts and escalators to begin safe operations. pic.twitter.com/E6z3Lof3Oa  Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) May 11, 2020

8.00 AM: Jaishankar talks to US, Australian counterparts

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar holds "productive discussion" on coronavirus with his counterparts from the US, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Israel and South Korea.
The girlfriend of a man who was arrested over a fatal shooting in Melbourne's south-east has claimed the incident was an "accident".

Locals reported hearing a gunshot in Endeavour Hills on Monday night and police were called to Calrossie Crescent just before 8pm on Monday.

Police officers search a property near the crime scene in Endeavour Hills on Tuesday. Credit:James Ross/AAP

They treated an injured man but he was unresponsive. He died at the scene and was yet to be formally identified on Tuesday evening.

Blake Wynne, 22, was arrested on Monday night and was taken to hospital under police guard after suffering a medical episode. As of Tuesday night, no charges had been laid.
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Ramot, Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company, and Neovii, a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company and a member of Israel-based Neopharm Group, announced today that they have signed a research and license agreement to develop a novel and potentially life-saving COVID-19 vaccine. Neovii will work in close collaboration with a team of scientists led by Prof. Jonathan Gershoni of TAU's School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology.

The agreement grants Neovii the exclusive right to develop and commercialize a novel and recently patented platform technology conceived by Prof. Gershoni for the rapid discovery of epitope-based vaccines. The collaboration is focused on the development of a first-in-class COVID-19 vaccine that reconstructs the coronavirus's Receptor Binding Motif (RBM), a critical structure of its "spike" protein. The "spike" protein itself is the major surface protein that the virus uses to bind to the cellular receptor that acts as the doorway into the human cell. After the spike protein binds to the human cell receptor, the viral membrane fuses with the cell membrane, allowing the genome of the virus to enter the cell and begin infection.

"We have been working on coronaviruses for the last 15 years developing a method of reconstructing and reconstituting the RBM structure of the spike protein in SARS-CoV and subsequently in MERS-CoV," explains Prof. Gershoni. "The moment the genome of the new virus was published in early January 2020, we began the process of reconstituting the RBM of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and expect to have a reconstituted RBM of the new virus soon. This is the basis for the new vaccine, which could be ready for use within a year to a year and a half."

"The smaller the target and the focus of the attack, the safer and greater the effectiveness of the vaccine," he adds. "The virus takes far-reaching measures to hide its RBM from the human immune system, but the best way to 'win the war' is to develop a vaccine that specifically targets the virus's RBM."

Keren Primor Cohen, Ramot CEO says: "We hope that through this collaboration with Neovii, it will be possible to produce an effective vaccine that targets the coronavirus's Achilles' heel and will accelerate the development of a protective vaccine against this global threat."

Jurgen Pohle, Neovii CEO, adds: "The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how fragile and vulnerable our societies are in the face of a pandemic. We are extremely excited about our collaboration with Professor Gershoni and TAU which provides Neovii with a first-in-class platform for the rapid development of promising vaccine candidates towards any future emerging pandemics including COVID-19. Furthermore, the COVID-19 vaccine is highly synergistic to Neovii's core expertise in the development and manufacturing of passive polyclonal antibodies and provides an opportunity to bring a COVID-19 immunotherapy in a rapid manner."

Neovii's long-standing and well-established experience and capabilities in developing, manufacturing and commercializing biopharmaceuticals will support the objective to have a vaccine ready for use in the general population on an accelerated timeline.

About Neovii

Swiss-based Neovii, a member of Israeli-based Neopharm Group, is an independent, rapidly growing commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a patient-focused mission to develop and market novel, life-transforming therapies. Neovii has been dedicated for over three decades to improving the outcomes in transplantation medicine and the treatment options for hemato-oncological as well as immune disorders.

About Ramot and Tel Aviv University

Ramot is the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University, one of Israel's foremost research and teaching universities. It is one of the major hubs that has contributed to Israel's global reputation as the "Startup Nation". Founded in 1956, Tel Aviv University is located in Israel's cultural, financial and industrial center. Rooted in both academic and corporate arenas, Ramot is uniquely positioned to cultivate the special relationships between these two compelling worlds, creating win-win connections that support fertile, groundbreaking research while providing companies with discoveries that give them a crucial competitive edge.

###
Centro de Sao Paulo, Brasil. Ana Paula Hirama/Wikipedia

The coronavirus epidemic in Brazil is not yet under control according to a report from Imperial researchers.

The findings suggest that the rate of transmission, or the R number, is still above 1 in all states.

The team's latest study, Report 21, from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling within the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, the Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA), Imperial College London in collaboration with Imperial's Department of Mathematics. presents estimates of COVID-19 cases and transmission in Brazil.

The researchers, from the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, also estimated that Brazil's R number has dropped substantially by 54 percent following interventions.

Infection levels

Since the first case was reported in Brazil on 25 February, Brazil has become the epicentre for COVID-19 in South America.

In the past 10 days, the number of reported infections more than doubled. The country is now reporting more than 135,000 cases and 9,000 deaths.

Of the 16 states analysed, five states account for 81% of all reported deaths. Brazilian state and city officials have mandated extensive public health measures (so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions, or NPIs) to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

The team looked at the five states in Brazil with the highest number of deaths and estimate that the population infection levels range from 3.3% in Sao Paulo to 10.6% in Amazonas.

Government measures

Following the implementation of NPIs such as school closures and decreases in population mobility, the authors estimate that the reproduction number has dropped substantially.

However, in all 16 states analysed, the reproduction number remains above one, suggesting that the epidemic is not yet controlled and will continue to grow.

These results suggest that further action is needed to limit spread and prevent health system overload.

Virus spread 'not under control'

Dr. Thomas Mellan, from the School of Public Health, said: "We estimate the reproduction number is greater than one, meaning that the spread of the virus in Brazil is not under control."

Dr. Henrique Helfer Hoeltgebaum, from the Department of Mathematics, said: "Conditional on current mobility patterns in Brazil, we find that the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is still not under control."

Dr. Swapnil Mishra, from the School of Public Health, said: "Our analysis clearly shows that Brazilian governmental measures have had an effect on the reduction of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, at the same time, we see that the epidemic is still not under control in Brazil and is spreading. We hope with more measures in place Brazil can contain the spread of the pandemic."

Since the emergence of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in December 2019, the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team has adopted a policy of immediately sharing research findings on the developing pandemic.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
The Excelfore protocol stacks integrated and optimized for use with the safe and secure INTEGRITY RTOS from Green Hills Software include support for:

Ethernet AVB/TSN Talker/Listener

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Dan Mender, Vice President, Business Development at Green Hills Software, said, "Robust networking is a fundamental requirement for next-generation vehicle gateway designs, enabling the advanced features of the connected car. The combination of our INTEGRITY RTOS integrated with Excelfore network protocol stacks deliver the safe, secure, high performance user experience that is essential in today's advanced network-enabled vehicles and has been successfully deployed in numerous automotive OEMs' platforms to-date."

Shrikant Acharya, CTO at Excelfore, said, "Millions of vehicles now contain software created with Green Hills Platforms for Automotive. Green Hills Software is valued by customers for delivering failsafe, stable, high-performant secure solutions. The Excelfore protocol stacks align very well with those qualities and help Green Hills Software deliver reliable, high throughput networking that is essential for enabling a best-in-class connected car application experience."

Across the automotive industry, Excelfore's eAVB/TSN is running in automotive OEMs' cameras, video displays, head units and ECUs and enabling in-vehicle network gateways to provide access to CAN, LIN and other buses via the in-vehicle Ethernet TCP/IP interface.

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About Green Hills Software

Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software is the worldwide leader in embedded safety and security. In 2008, the Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 RTOS was the first and only operating system to be certified by NIAP (National Information Assurance Partnership comprised of NSA & NIST) to EAL 6+, High Robustness, the highest level of security ever achieved for any software product. Our open architecture integrated development solutions address deeply embedded, absolute security and high-reliability applications for the military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, consumer and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software at https://www.ghs.com.

About Excelfore

Excelfore, located in Silicon Valley, is unlocking automotive data through innovative platforms for connected cars, electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Excelfore products include protocol stacks for in-vehicle networking, as well as a full implementation of the eSync bi-directional pipeline for OTA updates and data gathering. Excelfore has headquarters in the Silicon Valley in California, USA, and has offices in China, Germany, Japan, and India. www.excelfore.com

Green Hills, the Green Hills logo and INTEGRITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software, in the U.S. and/or internationally. Excelfore and the Excelfore logo are registered trademarks of Excelfore Corporation. eSync is a trademark of the eSync Alliance. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Green Hills Software

Related Links

http://www.ghs.com


11.05.2020 LISTEN

When did criticizing an incumbent government becomes a measure for political survival? If the above is true like we are been made to believe by H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo then he cannot exonerate himself from such actions especially when he was in opposition.

What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back around. Did candidate Nana Akufo-Addo criticize President John Dramani Mahama during the Ebola epidemic as this post suggests? Was the criticism a measure for his political survival? If NO, then President Nana Akufo-Addo should not be worried at all. If YES, then KARMA IS A BITCH.

Talk they say is cheap. It feels as if some group of people in Ghana have the birthright to criticize while others do not have.

H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo should open up to criticism whether constructive or not. It is his tenure that Covid-19 entered Ghana while others hold the opinion that he personally brought it into Ghana. It is the President's utmost responsibility to ensure that we stop the spread of Covid-19 and stop worrying about criticism.

I shall return.
With a flood of tweets, President Trump has jumped into Tuesdays runoff election for a California congressional seat, accusing Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats of trying to rig the election by allowing more in-person voting.

Dems are trying to steal the Mike Garcia Congressional Race in California, Trump tweeted early Monday, the latest in a string of presidential outbursts that began Friday dealing with a special election for a seat representing parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Trumps involvement shows the level of GOP interest in a contest where the party has hopes of doing something it hasnt pulled off since 1998  flipping a blue congressional seat in California to red. It would be a morale booster for a party that has been on a long losing streak in California and may be on the defensive nationally in the November elections.

Democrats say Trumps focus on voting access is consistent with Republican efforts elsewhere to suppress turnout in ways that favor GOP candidates.

Garcia, a GOP businessman, and Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), will meet in the runoff to decide who will fill the few remaining months in the term of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned late last year.

Trump and other GOP officials responded with cries of outrage after the nonpartisan Los Angeles County registrar, Dean Logan, announced late Friday that the county would open a vote center in Lancaster, the second-largest city in the 25th Congressional District. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the election is being conducted almost entirely by mail.

Rozette Rago / New York Times 2019

County officials denied that politics were involved in the decision to open the center, which they say came at the request of Lancasters Republican mayor, R. Rex Parris  something Parris confirmed in an interview.

We are focused on ensuring all voters have the opportunity to cast their vote in this and all elections, Michael Sanchez, a spokesman for the registrar, said in an email Monday. The center is one of a handful of in-person voting spots in the sprawling congressional district, which extends from the Los Angeles County desert communities of Lancaster and Palmdale west to Simi Valley in Ventura County.

The decision came after Democrats complained that voters in Lancaster, which has a large minority population, were being disenfranchised by being forced to travel nine miles to the nearest vote center.

Lancasters mayor is a Trump supporter who was on the Los Angeles International Airport tarmac in February to welcome the president to California and who also has endorsed Garcia.

Putting a vote center in Lancaster was needed because its necessary to have the impression of a fair election, Parris said Monday. Although he wants Garcia to win, the mayor said that how we place vote centers is important. ... No one should be able to manipulate an election by where a vote center is or isnt placed.

Only 39 votes were cast at the Lancaster site over the weekend, election officials said.

Lancaster, a city the size of Hayward, is one of the bluest communities in the district, with Democrats holding a 44% to 27% registration edge.

That didnt go unnoticed by Trump and other Republicans.

Newsom wont let restaurants, beaches and stores open, but he installs a voting booth system in a highly Democratic area ... because our great candidate is winning by a lot. CA25 Rigged Election! Trump tweeted Saturday.

In other Saturday tweets, Trump said that the votes from the Lancaster center must not count. SCAM! and said that Republicans should Mail in ballots, & check that they are counted.

Democrats were quick to accuse Trump of trying to suppress the vote to boost Garcias chances.

OK, (National Republican Congressional Committee), lets go there! Smith said in a Friday tweet. Explain exactly why you think that a community that is majority AfAm and Latino voters shouldnt have an easily accessible vote center?

The attack on the vote center is a typical GOP tactic, said Andy Orellana, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Every American and Californian has the constitutional right as a citizen to cast their ballot and have it counted, he said in a statement. Expanded voting access is NOT stealing an election, contrary to what Republicans in Washington may believe.

National interest in the runoff already is high, since it represents a chance for Republicans to regain one of seven California seats they lost in 2018 and take an opening step toward recovering control of the House, which they lost in the midterm elections. But the fight over in-person voting has kicked up attention.

The battle has put Trump and Republicans, who have generally opposed all-mail elections, in the unusual position of defending vote-by-mail and pushing against allowing more in-person voting.

Under the districts vote-by-mail election plan, every registered voter received a ballot and has an equal chance to vote, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, head of the Republican campaign committee, said in a Fox News interview Monday.

This is clearly an effort by Democrats to steal the election, he said. If they can do it in Los Angeles County they will try to do it across the country in November.

Republicans appear to have an edge in the early mail-ballot returns. As of Friday, the GOP had a 10,000-ballot lead in ballots sent in, with 40% of GOP voters returning their ballots, compared with 27% for Democrats and 20% for independents.

By Friday, the turnout already was at 28%, a huge number for a one-contest ballot not held on a regular election day.

Politicians and pundits eager to know whos won arent likely to find out on election night. Ventura County is planning to release results from the early mail ballots shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, but wont provide more results until Thursday afternoon. Its a similar situation for the Los Angeles County part of the district. Ballots postmarked by election day and received in the mail by Friday will be counted.

Regardless of the results of the runoff, Garcia and Smith will meet again in November for a full, two-year term.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
Paris, May 12 : Coronavirus-linked fatalities stood at 26,643 after 263 new patients died in the last 24 hours in France, the fifth worst-hit country in the world in terms of human losses, while pressure in hospitals eased for nearly one month, showed health ministry's data on Monday.

More people died of the disease in the last 24 hours compared with 70 deaths reported on Sunday, the lowest daily toll in nearly two months, the data showed, Xinhua reported.

The number of people in intensive care units, a key indicator of the health system's ability to deal with the pandemic, declined by 64 to 2,712, while hospitalizations were down by 285 to 22,284.

Also a single day increase of 456 new infections was reported on Monday, compared with a rise of 209 registered on Sunday, bringing the country's total infections to 139,519.

France on Monday allowed its citizens to move freely without justification and go to work. Shops opened and train and metro traffic resumed. About 1.5 million pupils will attend classes in their schools from Tuesday.

"Today, a new gradual and cautious phase of activity's resumption starts. This must take place with the best possible conditions of health security, by implying compliance with all barrier measures, including the wearing of a mask when the minimum physical distance of one meter cannot be respected," the ministry said.

"The pandemic is still active and evolving, we must continue our efforts to slow it down as much as possible," it warned.

The ministry added the government's post-confinement plan was based on three measures: rapid testing of suspected cases, tracing contacts and isolating infected people.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Investigating how North Korean fishermen plunder foreign waters

by Elena Volochine

May 12,2020 | Source: France24

In this exclusive 35-minute documentary, we expose a massive and unknown fish smuggling and supply network in the Pacific Ocean. Every year, an armada of North Korean ghost ships invade the waters of the Russian Far East and Japan. From Vladivostok to North Korea, via China, our reporter Elena Volochine investigated the illegal fishing networks of the world's most secretive country, North Korea.



Every year, during the squid fishing season between June and October, thousands of makeshift boats invade the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Japan and Russia. These coarse wooden boats, made of studded planks covered with tar, with plastic propellers and stones as anchors, belong to the flotilla of secretive North Korea. Its leader Kim Jong Un is said to have ordered his people to fish more and more to feed the country, squeezed hard by international sanctions.



On the Russian and Japanese shores, local inhabitants find more and more ghost ships, these abandoned wrecks. Sometimes they even pick up the bodies of fishermen, thrown out by the sea. Here, no one understands why North Korean "poachers" face the high seas on boats from another time, risking their lives.



Meanwhile, the fishermen of the Russian Far East are angry. Their fishing is strictly regulated by quotas but the North Korean fleets come to shamelessly plunder their fishing resources in full view of the authorities. How are these illegal fishing channels organised? Who directs them and who covers for them?



Our investigation takes us to China and in particular to Dandong, a city bordering North Korea. There, in violation of UN sanctions, North Korean agents illegally sell fishing licenses to Chinese boats, on behalf of Pyongyang.



If North Korea sends its fishermen to "poach" in foreign waters, it's in order to preserve its own fishing resources and sell them at a steep price to its main trading partner, China. By selling its fishing resources to the Chinese, North Korea obtains revenue in foreign currency  vital for its economy, and something it has been deprived of since the sanctions of 2017.



As for China, a large consumer of fish and seafood, it has exhausted its own resources through uncontrolled overfishing. Each year, around 2,000 Chinese trawlers are therefore able to fish along the North Korean coast with impunity.



This exclusive report is the result of a months-long investigation, filmed in Russia, China and North Korea. By retracing the "poaching" networks, our reporter exposed the networks of an underground economy which involves sovereign states, which have in fact voted for sanctions against Pyongyang at the UN.



This rare documentary sheds light on the most secretive regime in the world, which does not hesitate to sacrifice its population for its own survival.

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Robert Pattinson has opened up about body image for men in Hollywood in a brand new interview.

The actor was interviewed by GQ while in lockdown in London, and discussed his role in forthcoming Christopher Nolan film Tenet as well as his decision to become the next Batman.

Pattinson was filming Matt Reevess The Batman when the quarantine was announced and, when asked if hes keeping to his strict fitness regime put together by a personal trainer, he said hes ignoring instructions because it sends a bad message.

I think if youre working out all the time, youre part of the problem, he said, referring to his fellow Hollywood actors.

You set a precedent, he continued, adding: No one was doing this in the 1970s. Even James Dean  he wasnt exactly ripped.

Reflecting upon his time in the Twilight franchise, which began in 2008, he said: The one time they told me to take my shirt off, I think they told me to put it back on again.

Pattinson revealed his trainer pleaded with him to use the Bosu ball and single weight left with him while in lockdown, but said hes barely doing anything.

He said hes sticking to his meal plan, though, which includes oatmeal with vanilla protein powder sprinkled on it, as well as tuna topped with tabasco.

Christian Bale, who played Batman in Nolans Dark Knight trilogy, famously gained 43 pounds while bulking up for the role.

Pattinson will next be seen in Tenet, which is set to make history as the first new film released in cinemas post-coronavirus lockdown this July.

In the interview, he revealed the one thing he has been approved to say about the mysterious thriller.

Robert Pattinson as Batman (Twitter)

Meanwhile, The Batman is now scheduled to be released on 1 October 2021.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday



dismissed a petition by Congress MP Karthi P Chidambaram and his wife challenging the transfer of a tax evasion case filed against them before a lower court to a Special Court for MPs and MLAs.

It also rejected another plea from both the petitioners to quash the complaint lodged by the I-T department in connection with the case.

The matter relates to alleged non-disclosure of Rs 6.38 crore incomes by Karti and Rs 1.35 crore by his wife Srinidhi Chidambaram in 2015.

According to the Income Tax department, Karti, elected to Lok Sabha from Sivaganga constituency in 2019 elections, and his wife had received the amount in cash for the sale of a land at Muttukadu near here years ago, but did not disclose it in their I-T returns.

The Deputy Director of I-T department, Chennai had filed a complaint on September 12, 2018 against the petitioners before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court-II (Economic Offences) for offences under sections 276 c (1) and 277 of the IT Act.

Subsequently, the case was transferred to the Special court.

Rejecting the arguments of the petitioner that he was neither an MP nor MLA as on the date of alleged offence or when the complaints were lodged, Justice M Sundar said, "as Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed all pending cases to be transferred, this argument fails."



"Likewise, the argument that only one of the petitioners has become an MP is of no avail to petitioners, as Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed transfer of all cases involving sitting or former MPs and MLAs."On January 7, the special court dismissed the discharge application moved by the duo and directed the prosecution to proceed further with framing charges against the accused.

Subsequently, Karti moved the high court challenging the dismissal.

He also obtained an interim stay against the prosecution from framing charges against him and his wife.

The high court judge refused to quash the complaints filed by the I-T department, concurring with their submission that they were not registered based on the assessments, but following searches made in one of the companies named Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd, in which Kathi is a Director, as informed to the Court.

The judge in his final orders said the prosecution was by way of criminal complaints other than that of a police report.

A careful reading of the complaints among others in the context of retraction submission of petitioners leaves no room for doubt that these were clearly matters for trial and no ground for quash has been made out, he said.

The point regarding prosecution being launched on the basis of statement of third parties (purchaser company) gets neutralised by the position of prosecution that there was corroboration between soft copies seized from company in which Chidambaram is a Director and the purchaser.

Besides being a matter for trial, it puts to rest the ground that prosecution was based solely on statements of third parties (purchaser company).

"The court is of the considered view that issues that arise in the criminal complaints are matters for trial and no ground has been made out for quashing the same," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Since the Share Transfer is our sole-share transfer, it has been disclosed with some of the disclosure items and contents omitted.

*** PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED PDF FOR A COPY OF THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRESENTATION ***

The transformation to a holding company structure described in this press release and the accompanying presentation involves securities of a foreign company. The offer is subject to disclosure requirements of a foreign country that are different from those of the United States. Financial statements included in this document, if any, have been prepared in accordance with foreign accounting standards that may not be comparable to the financial statements of United States companies.

It may be difficult for you to enforce your rights and any claim you may have arising under the U.S. federal securities laws, since the issuer is located in a foreign country and some or all of its officers and directors are residents of a foreign country. You may not be able to sue a foreign company or its officers or directors in a foreign court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel a foreign company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment.

You should be aware that the issuer may purchase securities otherwise than in connection with the transformation to a holding company structure, such as in the open market or through privately negotiated purchases.

This press release and the accompanying presentation have been translated from the Japanese-language original documents for reference purposes only. In the event of any conflict or discrepancy between these documents and the Japanese-language originals, the Japanese-language originals shall prevail in all respects.

Company: The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. Representative: Toshio Heya President

(Code Number: 8379, First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange) Contact: Norihiko Sato Senior Manager, Planning Department, Management Planning Division (TEL: +81-82-247-5151)

SOURCE The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd.


Household debt growth in South Korea slowed, but corporate loans spiked by the largest amount in history amid the growing fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Tuesday.



Fresh bank loans extended to local households came to 4.9 trillion won ($4 billion) in April, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).



The amount marks a sharp decline from a 9.6 trillion-won gain the previous month that marked the largest-ever monthly increase since the BOK began compiling such data in 2004.



The drop was partly attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak that forced people to stay home, leading to a cut in their spending.






House offices will receive funding to buy new laptops for themselves and their staffers if the new $3 trillion coronavirus package passes as is, a draft of the legislation revealed Tuesday.

In the seventh section of the massive package, there are only two stipulations for financial assistance for the legislative branch, including $5 million to increase technological advances and inventory for members of Congress and their staff.

That number will include money to upgrading 'imaging solution' to meet the demand for 'House imaged laptops.'

'[T]his funding will support an increase in inventory of satellite phone, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots, and updated satellite bandwidth technologies to meet escalating demand of District Offices during COVID-19,' the 90-page summary of the HEROES Act outlines.

It also says that part of the $5 million will be used to fund the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which was formed to provide oversight for economic aid and stimulus allocated to mitigate the fallout from the pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the new coronavirus legislation on Tuesday, which would give $5 million to House offices to advance their technological capabilities

The money would be used for lawmakers and their staff, in part, to get new laptops. Here Senator Joe Manchin speaks on video front of an iPad at his home

Senate Minority Leader chuck Schumer holds a Zoom video call from him home in New York with his daughter Jessica and grandson Noah standing by his side

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled on Tuesday the latest coronavirus legislation, the sixth since the start of the outbreak, which would double the amount of money the federal government has put toward stimulus and relief in the midst of the pandemic.

The only other bit of financial assistance for the Legislative Branch in the new bill is for the Government Accountability Office.

The $30 million will help the GAO conduct oversight of the distribution and use of funding allocated in coronavirus stimulus packages to federal agencies and departments.

Top lawmakers are dealing with proposals to increase remote working and voting capabilities for lawmakers and their staff as representatives and senators have cycled in and out of quarantine and at least a dozen Capitol police officers and other staff have tested positive for the virus.

The bill allocates '$5 million to support an upgraded imaging solution required to expediently and efficiently meet the demand for House imaged laptops due to COVID-19. In addition, this funding will support an increase in inventory of satellite phone, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots, and updated satellite bandwidth technologies to meet escalating demand of District Offices during COVID-19'

The money for technological advances doesn't stop with Congress as most of the country is now working in a semi- or fully-remote capacity and schools are conducting classes online.

HEROES includes $1.5 billion for broadband and Wi-Fi hotspots to areas where people are struggling to access high-speed internet as schools and jobs go virtual  described in the bill as 'closing the homework gap' for students with limited internet accessibility.

The majority of the new bill, one-third of the $3 trillion, is going towards state, local, tribal and territory governments to help pay essential workers.
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ChevronRight

Was it evocative and open to interpretation? Yes, as all slogans are. But generally the idea was to neutralize bias: Believe women meant dont assume women as a gender are especially vindictive, and recognize that false allegations are less common than real ones, the feminist author Sady Doyle wrote in Elle in November 2017. In other words, allow yourself to believe that women are just as trustworthy as men have been believed to be for decades.

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The slogan appeared on posters at protests and as a hashtag all over Twitter  you can go back and look.

Believe women. Two words.

I revisited the history of the phrase because its original meaning is being retroactively altered, amid discussions of Tara Reades sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden, to Believe all women. And that extra word is a weapon.

The Lefts believe all women standard was shattered when Tara Reade accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, Glenn Beck posted on Facebook.

Democrats say believe all women  just not Tara Reade, read a Boston Herald columnists headline.

 Believe all women? Now that Reade has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, never mind, opined a columnist in USA Today.

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I think [the #MeToo movement] went very sadly off track when we started getting into the territory of believing all women, Fox news anchor Martha MacCallum said on air last week.

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Megyn Kelly used the phrasing during her exclusive interview with Reade, posted Friday: Some of those who touted the we must believe all women line . . . certainly seem to have changed their tune when it comes to you.

I could keep going, but you get the picture.

The alteration might strike you as nitpicky. Could three new letters really make that much of a difference?

They could, and do. Lets explore.

Believe women was a reminder, not an absolute rule; the beginning of a process, not an end. It was flexible enough to apply to various contexts: Believe women . . . enough to seriously investigate their claims. Believe women . . . when they tell you about pervasive indignities  catcalling, leering  that happen to them and their friends when youre not around. Over the weekend an exasperated medical student complained on Twitter that her male professor kept insisting IUD birth control wasnt painful upon insertion, despite a classroom full of aspiring female doctors telling him differently. Dear heavens, believe those women!

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Believe all women, on the other hand, is rigid, sweeping, and leaves little room for nuance. It would imply that every single woman, everywhere, has always told the truth, on every occasion, about everything. I have never met a single feminist who believes that, and frankly, I doubt many (any?) exist. So its not surprising that the folks inserting these three little letters are often not feminists but reactionaries who are pretending this is what feminists believe as a way of re-upping the oldest and dumbest stereotype about feminism: that its goal is to turn men into second-class citizens rather than turn women into first-class ones.

Believe all women isnt a good slogan, but its a great straw man. Its a punched-up setup line that enables pundits to play-act as Columbo, swanning around in a raincoat, rubbing his head and delivering a case-closing zinger: Just one more thing  I thought you believed ALL women!

It reminds me of another slogan that was necessary, poignant, and then deliberately misinterpreted. Black Lives Matter was a reminder that parts of American society historically have operated as though black lives dont matter  or, at least, matter less. But some loudmouths insisted that the implication was Black Lives Matter, Only. So they countered with a slogan of their own: All Lives Matter.

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All.

The same three letters, used for the same purpose: to make it seem as if people whose stories are often dismissed or discounted were being crazy for demanding due respect.

Please note that this discussion has nothing to do with Tara Reade and whether you find her believable. Her interview with Kelly appeared heartfelt, sincere and believable to plenty of people. Rather, its about the way that the #MeToo movements motherboard has been slyly rewired in the hope that it will blow up in our feminist faces.

Whats that often-attributed-to-Ronald-Reagan-quote, about how if youre explaining, youre losing? Recently Ive seen writers I admire suggesting that Believe Women be retired or reconfigured. The underlying argument was too nuanced, they argued, and the overlying slogan too easily co-opted. Alternatives, theyve suggested, could be, Listen to women, or Trust women, or, I dont know, Listen, women too are trusty!

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Im cool with any of these suggestions. Frankly, I think they all mean pretty much the same thing I always thought Believe women meant: Treat women seriously, and dont automatically just believe the man.

But I dont think were really talking about slogans. I think we can create a hundred new slogans and the end result will be the same: sexual assault allegations treated as a game of Battleship, where what matters isnt whether your ships sink, but whether you take the other team down first.

Monica Hesse is a columnist writing about gender and its impact on society. For more visit wapo.st/hesse.
Bern, May 12 : Switzerland has entered the second phase of relaxation measures as part of a three-phase plan to get back to normal life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance with the decision of the Swiss Federal Council, restaurants, shopping malls, markets, museums and libraries were allowed to reopen from Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, according to the government rules, with the exception of families with children, no more than four persons may be served at each dining table in restaurants and the tables should be spaced at least two meters apart.

Primary and junior middle schools were also allowed to resume classes. Students were required to keep more than two meters away from the teacher.

Also on Monday, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) resumed most of its operations.

Passengers are advised to avoid rush hour travel and wear masks if they cannot maintain a safe distance. The Geneva bus company also decided to distribute masks to passengers during rush hours.

Along with the recovering public transport is the further eased entry restrictions at the country's borders.

According to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, of the 130 border crossings closed during the pandemic, 20 have now been reopened.

Daniel Koch, the Federal Office of Public Health's Special delegate for the new coronavirus pandemic, told a press conference on Monday that the situation continued to improve in Switzerland, a trend that could be maintained if more efforts were made in contact tracing.

"We hope that the trend will continue like this. For this, it is important that anyone with flu-like symptoms, severe or mild, get tested. The chains of transmission can thus be traced and the curve continue to decrease." Switzerland has reported a total of 30,344 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,543 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Six months ago, the global tourism industry was celebrating a record year for travel. Now, it's decimated and facing a recovery that could take years.

Tourism Economics, a data and consulting firm, predicts global travel demand wont resume its normal pace until 2023.

When tourists do finally return, they will face a changed landscape that incorporates social distancing and other measures to calm residual fears over COVID-19, the disease that has so far killed more than 244,000 people worldwide and infected millions more.

It takes time to shake fear from the hearts of people, not to mention the economy, said Mahmoud Hadhoud, founder of Egypt Knight Tours, who doesnt expect foreign tourists to start trickling back into Egypt until September.

Last week, Hilton, Marriott and Airbnb all announced enhanced cleaning procedures worldwide to ease travelers minds. In Egypt, Hadhoud is removing cruises and hot air balloon rides from his packages and replacing them with tours of Egypts vast western deserts, where travelers can keep their distance from one another.

At Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, multiple teams are working on scenarios, including putting more space between riders on roller coasters, said John Sprouls, the resorts chief administrative officer, at a recent virtual event for tourism officials.

Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said his company may sanitize dice between users, put fewer seats at blackjack tables and idle slot machines between players at its casinos in Las Vegas, Boston and Macau.

Gary Thulander, managing director of Chatham Bars Inn, a 106-year-old resort on Cape Cod, said the resort is planning many changes when it reopens this summer, including checking in guests via cell phones, letting them opt out of room service and lengthening dining hours so fewer guests will be eating at the same time.

The road to recovery will be long and hard for the tourism industry. The United Nations World Tourism Organization predicts global tourist arrivals  or visits from tourists who come to their destinations and stay at least one night  will fall 30% this year from the record 1.5 billion in 2019. Airlines have grounded nearly two-thirds of their planes as passengers vanish. Cruise ships are docked; some wont sail again until November.

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Millions of people who depend on tourism are laid off or furloughed. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 8 million tourism-related workers are jobless right now, or about one-third of total U.S. unemployment, said Roger Dow, the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, the leading airline trade group, said carriers need to fill at least 70% of seats to break even on most flights. If they're required to block or remove many seats, they will either stop flying or raise prices 50%, he said.

That will delay recovery for places like Israel, which sees almost all of its tourists arrive by air. Diklah Cohen Sheinfeld, chief of staff of the Israeli Tourism Ministrys director generals office, said the tourism industry  which employs 250,000 Israelis  was the first to be impacted and will likely be the last to recover.

There are no tourists and no entry to the country for tourists. The gates are totally closed, she said.

In some places, governments are stepping in to help the sector. Serge Cachan, president of the Astotel hotel chain in Paris, closed his 17 properties in March and expects to lose 70% of his business this year. But the French government will help the chain get through it, he said. The government is paying around 80% of furloughed hotel workers salaries.

Many destinations anticipate travelers behavior will change in the virus's wake. Pornthip Hirunkate, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, thinks more people will come in small groups or seek personalized tours.

Ander Fuentes, who works as a tour guide in Spains Granada province, thinks travelers will shift away from crowded beaches to the quieter interior mountains.

It could be an opportunity to develop a new kind of tourism, which is going to be good for Spain, because in the last 10 years, the tourism boom has been in quantity but not in quality, Fuentes said. He hopes tourism there picks back up by mid-August.

But not everyone is comfortable with reopening. Marco Michielli, who owns the 67-room San Marco Hotel in Bibione, a beach resort east of Venice, Italy, said many hoteliers worry their businesses will be ruined if the virus spreads on their properties. Some would rather reopen next year than serve guests this summer with desk staff and bartenders wearing masks.

If we have rules approved by the ministry, some hotel owners would be convinced to start to open. But if the hotel must look like a COVID ward, many will refuse to open to guests, he said.

Others say they need reassurance from science  not just tourist sites  before they travel.

Ema Barnes visited a dozen countries last year, including Serbia, Vietnam and Chile. This year, she had planned trips to Jordan and South Korea.

But right now, Barnes is working remotely in a tiny town in her native New Zealand. Airports near her are closed, so she's not sure when shell get back to New York, where she works in publishing.

Barnes said she needs some peace of mind  a COVID-19 vaccine, or testing to make sure she isn't a carrier  before she resumes her travels.

I dont think my desire to travel and explore other places is worth my risking the health of people in those places, Barnes said.

Others remain optimistic. Dedy Sulistiyanto, the owner of a tour and adventure provider in Bali, Indonesia, has been promoting his business on social media while it's closed. He has received so many positive responses that he thinks tourism will resume quickly when restrictions are lifted. Most of his clients are domestic tourists from Indonesia.

"There are so many people out there very eager to do traveling, Sulistiyanto said.

___

AP Writers Colleen Barry in Soave, Italy; Edna Tarigan in Jakarta; Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; Tassanee Vejpongsa in Bangkok; Angela Charlton in Paris; Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem; Isabel DeBre in Los Angeles; Aritz Parra in Madrid; and David Koenig in Dallas contributed.
Coronavirus FAQ

What is the coronavirus?

The coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and has spread worldwide. The new virus causes a disease known as COVID-19. The virus is part of a larger family of coronaviruses, which can lead to illnesses ranging from a mild common cold to more severe respiratory diseases such as SARS and MERS.

Who is at risk and what are the symptoms?

Public health experts say the new coronavirus is more contagious than the seasonal flu. The majority of people who become sick experience mild symptoms, but some become more seriously ill. People who contract the virus can develop pneumonia, and some have died. People who are elderly or have underlying medical issues are at greater risk of becoming more severely sick. Symptoms of the virus include a cough, fever and shortness of breath.

What should I do if I develop symptoms?

The North Dakota Department of Health advises that people call their health care provider to tell them about recent travel or exposure, and to follow their guidance. Try to avoid contact with other people in the meantime.

What can I do to prevent the virus from spreading?

The health department advises that people wash their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for at least 20 seconds. People who are sick should stay home from work or school, both to protect themselves and others with whom they would come in contact. Avoid touching your face, cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or an elbow, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces, and avoid contact with people who are sick.

Where can I find more information?

People with coronavirus-related questions can call the state health department hotline at 866-207-2880. Those who need medical advice should contact their health care provider.

The health department's online coronavirus page: www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's online coronavirus page: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
The acting director of US national intelligence, Richard Grenell, has reportedly handed the Department of Justice a declassified list of former Obama administration officials involved in the unmasking of General Michael Flynn in 2017.

The news comes just as Donald Trump has ramped up accusations of criminality against his predecessor  albeit without spelling out exactly what he means.

According to a report from ABC News, Mr Grenell, who also serves as ambassador to Germany, took the list to the department last week. The people on the list were supposedly party to Mr Flynns unmasking  that is, the disclosing of his name per the request of select officials seeking to understand the significance of intelligence reports involving a US citizen.

The fate of the former national security adviser has become a flashpoint in the aftermath of Robert Mullers report on the Russian matter, which is regarded by Mr Trump as a failed witch-hunt. The president and his allies, as well as many in the conservative media, have lately pointed to documents released by Mr Flynns legal team that they say prove the FBI tried to trick him into lying.

Mr Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI, agreeing to co-operate with the then-active inquiry into contact between Trump associates and Russian counterparts. However, he has since tried to withdraw his guilty plea.

He met with some success last week when attorney general Bill Barr moved to drop the charges against him, citing a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.

The decision provoked a furious backlash, including from nearly 2,000 former department employees who signed a letter of protest.

At the same time Mr Grennell moved to declassify the list of names from the Obama administration, Donald Trump and various of his supporters began levelling nebulous allegations against the previous president under the umbrella term Obamagate, which Mr Trump claims refers to the biggest political crime in American history.

However, when asked by a reporter what crime he was referring to, he offered no details, and simply said: You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody.
They really are the unsung heroes in health care, she said of CNAs. Their families are mostly low income. It breaks my heart. She was one person, but many others also are losing their lives for so little. ... She was just trying to find the American Dream.
We woke up one day, and all the restaurants were closed. All of them, said Felix Florez, the owner of Black Hill Ranch, a hog farm in Cypress. Just like that, the coronavirus pandemic changed his business overnight.

Florez  who also has his own restaurant, Cherry Block at Bravery Chef Hall, and co-owns Ritual and Blood Bros. BBQ  sells his naturally raised pigs mostly to high-end restaurants in town, whose concepts dont translate well to to-go service. He had a handful of more casual restaurant clients who were selling to-go, but because their profits were so low, they were looking for the cheapest product possible, and thats not Black Hill. Whats more, the ranchs biggest customer was Florezs own restaurant, Cherry Block.

So Florez picked up the phone and called everyone he knew, friends, family, and asked if they would consider using Black Hill for their personal meat needs, to tide him over while the crisis played out.

The Black Hill operations have changed a little since then. Some of its restaurant clients turned their spaces into small markets, where Florez was able to sell some of his pork at retail. Then H-E-B asked Cherry Block to be part of its ready-to-eat meal program, which helped both the restaurant and the ranch. Hes also started selling direct-to-consumer.

More Information These farmers and ranchers are offering their products direct-to-consumer, so you can skip the line and the crowds while buying local meats and vegetables. 44 Farms 44steaks.com 254-605-6444 Aitken Farm & Ranch aitkenfarmandranch.com 832-422-5164 Animal Farm animalfarmcenter.com 979-992-3038 Angell's Farmstead & Apiary angellsfarmstead.com 832-585-2707 Atkinson Farms atkinsonfarm.com 832-381-8202 Black Hill Ranch blackhillmeats.com 713-937-1255 Blackwood Living blackwoodliving.com 800-741-9158 Circle J Meat circlejmeat.com Gundermann Acres gundermannacres.com 979-533-2027 Hope Farms hopefarmshtx.org 713-520-0443 Jolie Vue Farms jolievuefarms.com 713-839-8610 Katerra Exotics katerraexotics.com 281-222-4958 Laughing Frog Farm thelaughingfrogfarm.com 713-542-6615 Plant It Forward plant-it-forward.org 713-432-0754 Sustainable Harvesters sustainableharvesters.com Verdegreens verdegreens.com 281-942-8880 Wood Duck Farm woodduckfarm.com 281-593-3642 See More Collapse

These new revenue streams are not easy to navigate for a purveyor used to selling wholesale. A retail order of meat for the general public has to be cut very small, put in branded packages and completely ready to cook at home. For wholesale, its rough-cut items delivered in large containers, and no one cares what they look like. Companies that specialize in retail cuts have machinery to package the product in a cost-effective way, but Florezs staff of 16 is vacuum-sealing and applying stickers by hand.

His employees are exhausted and working overtime, and though the new business is keeping Black Hill afloat, Florez says its still losing revenue.

Patrick Bierschwale, the owner of Katerra Exotics in Katy, didnt have many restaurant customers, but his business is affected nonetheless. He specializes in bison and also raises sheep, goats and cows, which he sells mostly at farmers markets in the Houston area. When the restaurants closed, more people started cooking at home and seeking him out.

Bierschwale has received many calls from people looking to buy a whole or half animal, spurred by concerns about reports of the national meat shortage.

COW CONUNDRUM: As beef supplies dwindle, barbecue prices go up

Its mostly new customers who are being turned onto the local meat scene, Bierschwale said. They just did a Google search for grass-fed beef Houston or something like that, and I popped up. Its often their first time buying meat in bulk, he added, and explaining to them what theyre getting is an educational process. Its gonna be nothing like you go buy at H-E-B, he said.

Though hes willing to sell in bulk to individuals, if he sells a whole or half cow to one person one week, he wont have any meat to sell to his regular customers at the farmers market on Saturday. This in itself creates a shortage.

If everyone will stay calm and buy what they need, well be fine, said B.J. McElroy, chief financial officer of 44 Farms, a cattle ranch in Cameron. But if everybody starts panicking, then yes, well be in trouble.

McElroy has been getting concerned calls about the meat shortage, too. Consumers stocking up on more meat than they can currently eat brings further uncertainty to purveyors forecasts. McElroy wonders, when restaurants open back up completely, will those people stay at home because their freezer is full of beef that needs eating?

44 Farms direct-to-consumer retail sales have gone up 680 percent over last year; its typically only 5 percent of the companys total sales. The other 95 percent of its business comes from restaurants.

When the stay-at-home orders went into effect, our production came to a screeching halt, McElroy said.

The team didnt slaughter a single animal for an entire month. It resumed harvesting on May 5, as its been getting creative in finding opportunities to sell the product, filling in here and there. For example, Chris Shepherds Korean braised beef dumplings available at H-E-B are made with 44 Farms shortribs. Its a drastic business-model shift, McElroy said, as the company is not used to acting as a stopgap. Its now back up at 85 percent of its usual production with deals lined up through May, but June is still a big question mark.

Despite being hectic and uncertain, for Bierschwale and Katerra Exotics, business has been good: He is doubling his usual output. Hes able to do this because he always has a little more stock than he needs to for risk management (animals can die, get stolen or get eaten by coyotes). But its not easy. He needs to source more females to breed. Hes also the only full-time worker at Katerra, helped by six part-time employees. Theyre grateful to have jobs and be making good money while also helping people get food on the table, Bierschwale said.

Many produce farmers have also seen sales increases. Jason Angell, owner of Angells Farmstead & Apiary in Shiro, was lucky to have only two restaurant clients. He farms just 1 acre and focuses on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm-share model. Orders for his CSA boxes have almost doubled since the beginning of the pandemic. With the boost in demand, he was worried about having to turn people down at first, but hes been able to handle it by planting more. Scaling up is not easy on such a small farm, but Angell is just happy to have a job at a time when so many people dont.

FRESH VEG: Where to pick up produce boxes in Houston

Plant It Forward, a nonprofit that empowers refugees to start their own sustainable farms, has a network of 13 farmers who work at eight different farms, comprising a total of 6 acres. Their CSA subscriptions amount to 80 percent of their business, with the remaining 20 percent coming from restaurants. When the latter closed, Liz Vallette, Plant It Forwards president, started panicking. But she neednt have worried.

Just like Angells, the demand for its CSA boxes doubled. The dozen-plus farmers now feed 500 families every week through those sales. The farmers are making more money than they ever have, its an incredible silver lining, Vallette said.

Going to the grocery store is not an appealing prospect right now, especially for the immuno-compromised. Physical stores are breeding grounds for germs, and the stress from shortages, and waiting days and weeks on end for delivery or curbside orders, has led consumers to alternate sources of food.

People appreciate that they have a guaranteed share of vegetables each week, Vallette said.

Stacie Gundermann, owner of Gundermann Acres in Glen Flora, recognized peoples need for a more contactless experience. The farm mostly sells wholesale to grocery stores and retail at three farmers markets in the Houston area. The team had been trying to sell farm-share boxes for years, Gundermann says, but they never really took off. Then the pandemic came along, and all of a sudden, they were a hit.

Verdegreens, a hydroponic grower in northwest Houston, also launched farm boxes to make up for the loss in revenue from restaurants, which made up between half and two-thirds of its business. It grows mostly leafy greens in greenhouses, such as lettuce, herbs, kale, collards and bok choy. The farm boxes combine the outfits own produce with that of other farms, which it sells at cost.

COOKING: Recipes that use local bounty

(Many) people call us with requests for more contactless pickup, often people who are compromised in some way, who are fearful of venturing out to grocery stores, said Billy Trainor, one of Verdegreens owners. Its been great to be able to provide them with an alternative.

The boxes have more than offset Verdegreens restaurant-revenue loss; it just recently sold its thousandth box. The farm has even hired two additional employees just to manage the extra load. Given the success, Trainor anticipates itll continue offering them in the future.

Gundermann also sees this as a possibility for her own farm-share boxes, if interest stays strong.

Theres no guarantee that consumers will keep these new habits once the pandemic is over. Vallette is working very hard on retention at Plant It Forward. She hopes people will continue to see the benefits of a shortened supply chain and being connected to their food and their farmers.

But for now, at least, the shift in the way we eat is helping some small farmers and ranchers, who too often struggle with razor-thin profit margins.

I appreciate that everyone is looking for the local guy, Bierschwale said.

emma.balter@chron.com
East African heads of state have agreed to use digital trackers for cargo lorry drivers as part of measures to help curb the spread of coronavirus in the region.



The decision comes at a time of increasing concerns in the region over high numbers of long-distance drivers testing positive for Covid=19 at countries borders.



"The heads of state noted that information sharing is key during a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic, read part of the statement.



So far, drivers movements have not been restricted in the region since they are considered essential workers as they transport goods such as food and medication across East Africa.



Last month, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni dismissed the possibility of stopping drivers from entering the country.



We need the cargo. We need the goods. But at the same time we dont want the disease... So dont touch the driver, and the driver should not touch you, he said.



Attending the video conference were leaders of four member countries: Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.



Conspicuously, their counterparts from Tanzania and Burundi were not present.



Tanzania has been criticised for not taking stricter measures to fight the spread of coronavirus in the country, an allegation that the government denies.



Last week, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told South Africa's public broadcaster SABC last week that regional neighbours could close borders with Tanzania if the country did not impose tougher measures to fight the virus.



On Monday, Zambia closed its border with Tanzania after recording 86 new cases of coronavirus at the Nakonde border crossing. The health minister said 74 of the people who tested positive were either truck drivers or sex workers.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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As Massachusetts officials work to devise a plan to at least partially reopen sectors of the economy, there are some businesses still charging customers during Gov. Charlie Bakers mandated closure; namely, daycares.

Yet many providers are having to cope with added uncertainty: as it stands now, childcare companies will have wait until at least June 29 to resume operations  a time when many parents may be back to work and in need of childcare options.

But many providers, particularly those that are privately owned, dont have the luxury to bear the financial shortfalls until reopening and have been charging parents and families during the outbreak. Unlike publicly funded schools, the cost to private daycares has been acutely felt, and many owners have felt the move necessary.

The situation has prompted more than 85 complaints filed with Attorney General Maura Healey, her office says.

Weve been in touch with the state Department of Early Education and Care and are closely monitoring this situation, a spokesperson for the AGs office said, in a statement. We know this is an issue for families across the state, especially those who have lost incomes.

Childcare costs in Massachusetts are not cheap. In Greater Boston, the average family annually pays just over $35,000 for at-home care and $14,960 for center-based care, according to 2018 data from Care.com. Central Massachusetts families near Worcester pay just over $30,000 on average for at-home care and $12,146 for center-based care, and Springfield families pay about $30,000 annually for in-home care and just under a thousand dollars a month for center-based care.

The complaints to the AGs office were made public the same day Daycares United, a coalition for childcare facilities across Massachusetts, sent a petition to Gov. Charlie Baker requesting assistance amid concerns they wont be able to reopen after the crisis. Christopher Vuk, a daycare owner who spearheaded the petition, said he feels providers have been left out of the conversation about reopening.

Were on a much different schedule now than the governors proposed reopening, he said.

That new schedule has put Vuk, whose Rock and Roll Daycare company was in operation or under construction at 10 different locations throughout Greater Boston before the closure, in financial jeopardy. He says the funding from the federal governments paycheck protection program has provided some relief  up to 3 months to help with payroll costs  but does not ease the burden on rent and utility payments, among other things.

So Vuk has asked that families capable of making payments during the closure continue to do so. He says the vast majority of our families have been very supportive.

Without that support, Vuk says he would be out of business.

The complaints reaching Healeys desk highlight the financial hardships both parents and providers are facing during the coronavirus pandemic, especially those facilities that arent receiving state subsidizes through the voucher program.

This issue has captured the attention of state lawmakers in recent weeks. Senate President Karen Spilka told business leaders during a virtual conference with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce several weeks ago that she hopes the hardships facing early childcare will serve to thrust the needs of providers and families into the public spotlight.

To be clear, the state will not have the capacity to fully fund universal early education and care on our own given our current budget situation, no matter how much we may want to," Spilka said. So, in the same way that we have partnered in the past on issues of importance to all of us, including transportation, climate change and mental health, I am hoping that we can begin a conversation on convening a public-private partnership to address our early education and care needs.

Many programs are dropping, or disenrolling, families as they suspend tuition payments; but some have allowed parents to continue to pay to ensure they have a spot when the daycares reopen, including Watertown-based Bright Horizons.

The company, which has facilities across the United States, currently has seven locations operating as emergency daycares, primarily in Boston, to help health care workers.

Were confident many of our families will re-enroll when the time is right, said Michelle DeLuties, a spokeswoman for Bright Horizons.

Other providers have felt less secure about the future.

Youve got daycares trying to pay their core bills and at the same time you have parents who are paying for alternative childcare, said John Laverdure, owner of Childrens Corner of Worcester.

Laverdure declined to say whether he is charging parents at this time, but said he wouldnt if it creates any hardship.

The Department of Early Education and Care, which oversees childcare companies in Massachusetts, does not set policies for private pay contracts, but encourages programs to be flexible with families."

Some providers are forecasting how the new health and safety protocols will impact revenue. Summer Haggerty, director of the Childrens Friend Early Learning Center in Worcester, said that the potential Personal Protective Equipment requirements, or changes to classroom sizes, could be costly.

Haggerty says a lot of their revenue comes from state vouchers, which has provided the company with a buffer during the downtime. While her facility isnt charging parents during the closure, she says she sympathizes with other providers who are trying to stay afloat.

Im sure its a very difficult decision for others, especially if they dont accept state vouchers and dont have any money coming in, she said about the decision to charge parents during the crisis.

But she and others allude to the ethical concerns of doing so while the virus continues to put many out of work and shutter whole industries. Many daycares serve low-income families, who may not have the means to continue tuition payments during the disruption.

We highly doubt our parents would be able to pay and think it would not be the right thing to do, Laura Marotta, executive director of the Creative Hub Worcester, which has an after-school program with more than 30 children and students.

After sending out a notice stating that billing would be suspended until June, Creative Hub Worcester, a nonprofit, started asking parents for donations instead.

For smaller home-based providers, like Little Dreamers Daycare in Springfield, the shutdown has had even more drastic financial implications. Owner Jareillie Alamo says she only had four children enrolled in the program, and was in the process of adding two more before the closure.

Those two potential enrollments would have helped her businesses given its size. Alamo says she hasnt even been open for a year.

For me it would be like starting all over again, she said.

Alamo said she wouldnt want to charge her families during the closure, knowing, in all likelihood, they arent working themselves.

This is hard for everyone, she said.

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Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Floridas insurer of last resort, has moved forward with an independent study that will evaluate the insurers potential exposures from the states troubled property insurance market.

The Citizens Board of Governors voted at its last meeting to approve a proposal by Florida State University for an Exposure Reduction Study at a cost of $265,266 over an 8-month period that began in April. A final report of the study is to be completed by December 2020.

According to Citizens executive summary of the study, FSUs proposed analysis will:

Identify opportunities for Citizens to further reduce its exposure while continuing to fulfill its mission as a residual market insurer.

Identify inhibitors to Citizens further depopulation and identify strategies to expand Citizens depopulation.

Identify mechanisms to eliminate or reduce the re-population of risks by Citizens tracking the risks specifically depopulated.

Citizens President, CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway told the board the study was more important than ever as many Florida domestic insurers face financial issues that are leading to a hardening of the states property market and making it difficult for Floridians to obtain affordable property insurance.

The study  will go well beyond looking at Citizens just as a standalone entity and determine what changes could occur within Citizens and what issues there are within Citizens, Gilway said. It would also extend to the overall marketplace and determine if there are changes within the overall Florida market that could improve the competitive nature of the market.

Gilway said Citizens has worked with FSU on the details of the study since it first discussed the idea at the December 2019 Board of Governors meeting. Gilway said then that Citizens would seek input from independent evaluators to determine if there are exposure reduction or depopulation opportunities that can be identified for Citizens to further reduce its overall exposure and financial impact on the state after a request from Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes.

Gilway told the board that the study would look at how growing losses in the states domestic insurance market may impact Citizens policy count going forward.

The proposed study is broad enough in scope to look at the overall Florida marketplace and understand what implications exist for Citizens given any changes in the nature of the profitability of the Florida domestic companies, he said in December.

Learn more about the current issues facing the Florida insurance market in an upcoming Insurance Journal Webinar: Floridas Insurance Market Faces COVID, Hurricane Season and More Featuring Citizens President, CEO & Executive Director Barry Gilway, and Jeff Grady, president & CEO of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA). Save your seat now!

FSU has conducted previous studies of Citizens, specifically between 2011 to 2015. Those studies, conducted with the James Madison Institute, the Insurance Information Institute and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, focused on ways to reduce Citizens exposure from its peak in 2011 of 1.5 million policies  23 percent of the Florida market  with exposure that topped $512 billion. In the event of a 1-in-100-year storm, Floridians were on the hook for $11.6 billion in assessments.

Since then, Citizens has reduced its policyholder count down to approximately 443,000 policies with about $110 billion in exposure. However, the states insurance market has significantly tightened in the last several years thanks to mounting losses for domestic insurers and that could lead to a re-population for the insurer. Concern over the stability of the Florida market worsened at the beginning of this year when Demotech, a ratings agency that evaluates more than 40 Florida domestic carriers, threatened downgrades to as many as 18 companies.

Demotech eventually affirmed most of the Florida companies but not before several actions were taken, including one company run-off and several insurer consolidations/mergers.

Gilway said if Demotech had downgraded 12 to 18 companies, as it initially warned, it would have been a major market disaster for the industry.

Even though companies avoided downgrades, Gilway told the board that Florida domestic insurers ended 2019 with a net underwriting loss of $684 million and negative net income of $340 million, which is more than double the net income loss in the prior two years. As a result, 80% of company rate filings between June and December of last year requested increases, with 55% of those being double digit increase requests. Gilway said in addition, insurers are looking to implement more restrictive form filings and tighter underwriting criteria.

Florida has a very difficult and changing market from a property standpoint, Gilway said, and he expects Citizens will be increasing exposure fairly significantly.

Its more important than ever that we understand the drivers behind that increase, he said.

Once the exposure reduction study results come back, Gilway said Citizens can determine what recommendations to make to the Florida Legislature for the 2021 session to improve the overall competitiveness of the Florida market.

The majority of the Citizens Board of Governors voted in favor of moving ahead with the study, though there was one dissent from Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera who disagreed it was necessary to perform the study at this time, saying he thought they should wait and see the impact the coronavirus outbreak has on the various markets.

You have a legislative session that is over a year away, you have a market that could shift and change  before then, he said. I think this is premature and this is money that could be spent on something else.

Topics Carriers Florida Property Market
An early relief from the COVID-19 crisis is unlikely, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, and underscored the need for a three-month plan to deal with the situation.

Targeting the BJP-led Centre, Banerjee said people were facing problems since the imposition of the lockdown on March 25 as the move was "poorly planned".

She also lashed out at the saffron party for allegedly instigating communal clashes in the state, amid the shutdown.

Stressing the need to revitalise economy, she said more relaxations were in the offing for red and green zones in the state.

"Don't think we will get relief from the COVID-19 crisis anytime soon. We should have a three-month short-term plan in place to tackle the situation. I have told district magistrates and police superintendents that this situation will continue but we need to focus on relaxations and revival of the economy," Banerjee said after a review meeting with state officials.

"Our rural economy has been hit. There must be a balance between tackling the pandemic and saving livelihoods," she said.

Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress chief, said areas in red zones will be divided into three categories.

"Red zones in the state will be further divided into categories A, B and C. Zone A will have no relaxations, zone B will have some relaxations with adherence to social distancing and zone C will comprise areas outside containment zones. Essential goods and services will be available in zone C," she said.

District magistrates, along with senior police personnel, will decide on reopening of shops and availability of services in red zones, the chief minister said, adding that buses and taxis will be allowed to ply only in green zones.

"Editing and dubbing activities for film and television may resume, provided those involved strictly follow safety guidelines. Shooting, however, will not be allowed for now," she said.

Talking about her interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his video conference with chief ministers on Monday, Banerjee said Bengal gained nothing out of the meeting and was left "empty-handed".

The Centre is yet to clear the "legitimate financial dues" of the state, she claimed.

"I have raised several issues during the meeting with the prime minister. But I must say we always return empty-handed after meeting with the prime minister. We are yet to get our dues," the chief minister said.

Rebuffing claims that the state government was trying to fudge COVID-19 figures, Banerjee said the allegations were levelled to malign West Bengal.

"When Bengal took a decision on reporting co-morbidity, we were criticised. Now other states are following suit. We never hid anything," she said.

Slamming a section of BJP leaders for allegedly instigating communal clashes, Banerjee said those found guilty will not be spared.

"Stern action will be taken against those involved in communal clashes amid the lockdown. No one will be spared if found guilty of fomenting trouble," she said, referring to the violence that erupted last week in Hooghly district.

"People are already under so much stress due to this COVID-19 crisis. Add to that, some leaders are writing provocative posts to create problems. Yesterday, I told the prime minister how some central ministers were trying to invite trouble. A year to go before the assembly elections but one political party is getting impatient," Banerjee said.

Clashes had erupted in Telinipara area of West Bengal's Hooghly district after members of one community were allegedly addressed as "corona" by a handful of locals belonging to another group.

Asserting that the Centre should have given "two-three days" before imposing the lockdown, she said migrants workers would not have suffered if the move was carefully planned.

"Had there been two-three days, the migrated labourers would have got the window to return home. This crisis could have been averted. In Bengal, we are dealing with the crisis with utmost sincerity, but there are reports that labourers from the state are being ill-treated elsewhere.They are being beaten up in Gujarat, Delhi and some other states. This is unacceptable," Banerjee said.

Responding to allegation that Bengal was not doing enough to bring home workers, the TMC boss said the state will be sending nine trains for migrants stranded in other states and was planning to deploy more in a phased manner.

Steps would be taken to restart 100-day work scheme in the state for the labourers, she said.

"A total of nine trains carrying stranded people are scheduled to arrive in Bengal. Hundred more trains will be used for the purpose in a phased manner. Buses have also been deployed. More than 90,000 people have returned to the state in buses," the chief minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In this article BA

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Health officials and industry executives offered insights and updates on the coronavirus pandemic as part of CNBC's virtual Healthy Returns Summit on Tuesday. Over on the Hill, Dr. Anthony Fauci offered his own insights, including some somber warnings, about the outbreak before a Senate committee, and the economic and corporate toll of the crisis continues to unfold. The coverage on this live blog has ended  but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's Asia-Pacific team. Global cases: More than 4.2 million

Global deaths: At least 287,158

US cases: More than 1.3 million

US deaths: At least 80,897 The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

8:45 pm: NYC subway chief calls on employers to help limit crowded trains

8:30 pm: Tesla employees say Elon Musk showed up to make Model 3s, in defiance of local health orders

On Tuesday, Tesla continued manufacturing electric vehicles at its Fremont, California factory in defiance of local authorities, and health orders designed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. On Monday, local health officials ordered Tesla to revert to minimum basic operations until the company could offer better Covid-19 testing for employees, along with other protective measures. Workers said, despite the warning, CEO Elon Musk showed up at the Fremont factory to produce Model 3s during a late shift on Monday. He also sent an e-mail thanking workers for coming back. Workers who returned from furlough told CNBC that they remained concerned about becoming infected at work-- in particular because social distancing is not a possibility while assembling cars. The Fremont Police Department, as of Tuesday, had not taken any action to enforce the county's health orders. But the Alameda County Sheriff's office said enforcement does, ultimately, fall on the shoulders of Fremont police. Lora Kolodny

8 pm: Stores may use voice assistants to transform shopping

The coronavirus is changing how people shop, and voice assistants may play a large role going forward, retail consultant Jan Kniffen told CNBC. Kniffen said stores could deploy it to help people avoid waiting in lines outside stores, among other uses. Kniffen said on "The Exchange" that the technology already exists and argued it can be implemented soon. "It can be done. Everybody is working on it," said Kniffen, CEO of J Rogers Kniffen WWE. Kevin Stankiewicz

7:30 pm: Gov. Doug Ducey says Arizona pools, gyms and spas can re-open on Wednesday

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday announced guidelines that will allow pools, gyms and spas in the state to re-open on Wednesday with physical distancing and enhanced sanitation. "It is time to move forward with the next steps of Arizona's economic recovery  while continuing to make health and safety our number one priority," Ducey said in a statement. Ducey said Arizona's Stay At Home order will end on May 15. Additionally, Ducey announced that Arizona will allow major league sports to resume play in the state without fans on Saturday. The decision to end the order and allow pools, gyms, spas and professional sports to resume comes after "a four-week downward trajectory of positive cases as a percentage of total diagnostic tests," Ducey said in a tweet. tweet

7 pm: Doctor who survived Ebola: US needs more coronavirus testing, contact tracing

Dr. Craig Spencer, the New York City doctor who survived Ebola, told CNBC that the U.S. needs to expand its coronavirus testing capacity and contact tracing programs in order to safely restart the economy. Those programs are critical for weeks, months and possibly years to come "to make sure we don't continue to have constant interruptions from this virus," said Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Spencer said stay-at-home orders have been successful in flattening the curve of Covid-19 cases, but argued that the remaining pieces of the U.S. public health response must be improved. - Kevin Stankiewicz

6:49 pm: DOT sees surge in airline refund complaints while carriers grapple with face mask rules on board

Jets are parked on runway 28 at the Pittsburgh International Airport on March 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. D Jeff Swensen

The Department of Transportation has again warned airlines about offering travelers refunds, not just travel vouchers, for canceled flights after complaints rose to some 25,000 in March and April from a normal monthly intake of about 1,500. The DOT added, however, that travelers with non-refundable tickets whose flight is still operating close to the schedule may not receive a voucher or refund. Separately, airlines are noting the limits of new rules that require passengers to wear face masks. While travelers may be denied boarding by gate agents, "once onboard and off the gate, the face-covering policy will become more lenient," American Airlines told its pilots. "The flight attendant's role is informational, not enforcement, with respect to the face-covering policy." United Airlines, for its part, said staff could move a passenger who refuses to wear a mask to a new seat. Travelers who have health issues, are too young to keep the mask on, or another reason, won't be forced to wear a mask. Leslie Josephs

6:30 pm: Gov. Gavin Newsom says pharmacies in California can test for Covid-19 if they meet guidelines

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced that the nearly 6,500 pharmacies throughout the state will now be able to conduct tests for the coronavirus if they meet specific guidelines. "The good news is we're now going to increase additional sites with our pharmacies in the state of California, and we hope to start seeing those pop up very, very soon," he said during his daily press briefing. Newsom said he issued an executive order directing the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the state's Board of Pharmacy to provide the guidelines necessary for licensed California pharmacies to become points of contact for coronavirus testing if they so choose. "That doesn't mean every one of them is going to start testing today or even determine that's its in their interest to test at all," Newsom said. "Its a determination on the basis of each of these pharmacies whether or not they want to do this."Newsom said this executive order is an important milestone in California's road map to re-opening. The California Retailers Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores said in a statement that participating pharmacies will work with the state to develop and execute their plans for safe testing. Salvador Rodriguez

6 pm: $10 million push to ready upscale restaurants for takeout

Nick Kokonas, co-owner and co-founder of the Alinea Group and Tock Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg Year Ahead in Luxury summit in New York, on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nick Kokonas, the co-owner of Chicago's upscale Alinea restaurant, just raised $10 million in venture funding for his internet start-up Tock, which is helping high-end eateries transition to takeout. Kokonas told CNBC that Tock, which has about 100 employees, processed $350 million in transactions last year by selling prepaid reservations to customers for high-end restaurants. When the coronavirus hit, Tock quickly adapted the business to focus on takeout orders. Within the next month or two, Kokonas expects, the company will be on pace to process $1 billion in orders annually. Valor Siren Ventures, a fund that raised $100 million from Starbucks last year to support next-generation food-tech companies, led the financing round. Tock is now in the process of opening up its platforms to farms, so they can distribute fresh produce directly to consumers. Ari Levy

5:40 pm: Some venues at Universal's CityWalk in Orlando will reopen Thursday

Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. John Greim

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Voodoo Doughnut and Hollywood Drive-In Golf are among the select venues reopening at Universal's CityWalk in Orlando starting May 14. Guests will be required to wear face masks to enter CityWalk, but can remove them while eating. Universal will be doing temperature checks for visitors and for employees in order to gain entrance. Cashless pay will be made available at all shopping and food venues. Blue Man Group, all nightclubs and Universal Cinemark will remain closed. Sarah Whitten

5:20 pm: State AGs ask Amazon for data on worker deaths

Attorneys general from 13 U.S. states and territories are calling on Amazon and Whole Foods to share how many workers have tested positive or died from the coronavirus at their facilities. In a letter on Tuesday, officials asked for a state-by-state breakdown of this information and urged the companies to adopt paid sick leave policies, among other things. The group acknowledged that Amazon and Whole Foods have taken a wide range of steps to better protect workers at their facilities, but "such policies are only as effective as compliance with them" at individual sites. So far, Amazon hasn't shared how many workers have died from the coronavirus nationwide. It has also declined to provide a total number of workers who have tested positive for the virus at its facilities. There are four known cases of Amazon warehouse workers who have died from the virus, as well as reports of at least one Whole Foods employee who died from the disease. Annie Palmer

4:50 pm: Restaurants can reopen under restrictions in some California counties

An employee inside a restaurant waits for customers arriving for pickup in Alhambra, California on May 7, 2020. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

With California moving into the second stage of its reopening plan, certain counties can allow on-site dining in restaurants, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced. Butte and El Dorado counties can reopen dining services as long as they follow certain requirements such as offering disposable menus, suspending the use of shared food items like condiment bottles and changing table linens after each use. Restaurants are also recommended to encourage social distancing by asking customers to wait in their cars prior to being seated, and requiring distances of 6 feet apart between employees and patrons. Hannah Miller

4:40 pm: Moderna CEO says no single drugmaker can produce enough coronavirus vaccine doses for the planet

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said he hopes U.S. and international regulators approve many vaccines to enter the market because "no manufacturers can make enough doses for the planet." Moderna is moving into a phase 2 trial for its vaccine and is finalizing plans for a phase 3 trial as early as this summer. Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer, whose company is developing an antibody drug against Covid-19 with plans to enter human trials in June, told CNBC's Healthy Returns Virtual Summit that the problem isn't with the physical distribution of a potential coronavirus drug, which could be made available by major retail chains, but rather with the ability to meet demand. Schleifer said multiple companies will need to succeed in the development of their coronavirus therapeutics because "the demand will far exceed the capacity." Noah Higgins-Dunn

4:30 pm: California governor allows shopping malls, some offices to resume operations with modifications

FIGat7th open-air shopping mall located at 735 S Figueroa St. in the Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles. Al Seib | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new modifications to his statewide stay-at-home order that will allow offices that can't telework, shopping malls and outdoor museums to resume operations with added health safety guidelines. Car washes, pet grooming and dog walking will also be allowed to resume statewide, he said. Newsom said it's still up to local governments to determine whether they're ready to move further into the next step. Both the Bay Area and Los Angeles have issued their own stay-at-home orders. He previously granted retailers, like those that sell clothing, books and sporting goods, to begin offering curbside pick-up last week as the state moves deeper into "stage 2" of its reopening plan, although malls weren't allowed in the initial order. Shopping malls, strip malls and outlets will now be allowed to offer curbside pickup as well, he said. Noah Higgins-Dunn

4 pm: India to provide $266 billion to boost pandemic-hit economy

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tolga Akmen | AFP | Getty Images



India will provide 20 trillion ruppes ($266 billion) in fiscal and monetary measures to support the country's economy, which has suffered from the coronavirus, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi said the relief package was equivalent to 10% of India's gross domestic product. The government was previously accused of giving too little support when it said it will provide around 1.7 trillion rupees ($2.6 billion) in March. "The package will also focus on land, labor, liquidity and laws. It will cater to various sections including cottage industry, medium and small enterprises, laborers, middle class, industries, among others," Modi said. Jasmine Kim

3:45 pm: Pfizer plans to test a coronavirus vaccine in thousands of people by September

A logo for Pfizer is displayed on a monitor on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, July 29, 2019. Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Pfizer is planning to test its experimental coronavirus vaccine in thousands of people by September if the company stays on track, CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday. "We are collecting data as we speak in real time so we know, we are monitoring the safety of the doses," Bourla said. Pfizer is currently testing four vaccine variations and will have conclusive data on which vaccine variation stands out in June or July, Bourla said during CNBC's Healthy Returns Virtual Summit. If one or two variations indicate success, the company will ramp up trials, and then in September launch a broad large-scale study with thousands of participants if a vaccine proves to be successful, he added. Jessica Bursztynsky

3:20 pm: Scientists may have a vaccine by years end if 'lucky,' Melinda Gates says

Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates Jemal Countess | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

It is possible scientists may find a usable vaccine to fight off Covid-19 by the end of the year "if we're lucky," billionaire philanthropist Melinda Gates told CNBC. But even if scientists do find a vaccine in record time, they would still need to make millions and eventually billions of doses of the vaccine for the general public, Gates said. There are more than 7.6 billion people in the world and some of the vaccines under development require more than one dose.Gates said she is following "closely" advancements from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford University, which are each producing a potential vaccine to fight the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.3 million people in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

2:52 pm: Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says US is in the second inning of coronavirus epidemic

The U.S. is in the second inning of the coronavirus epidemic, as the rate of new Covid-19 cases slows, according to former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. "We've now seen the virus whip around the world, and we're now grappling with our own epidemic here in the United States and are starting to plateau and hopefully come down the epidemic curve," Gottlieb said during CNBC's Healthy Returns virtual conference. Gottlieb added that transmission will start to slow down as more people become exposed to the virus while new infections plateau for some time. However, he cautioned that the U.S. will face a "very different threat" heading into the fall, winter and spring of next year as the virus settles into a more "seasonal pattern." Jasmine Kim

2:41 pm: US hits $738 billion budget deficit in April

The U.S. reported a record $738 billion budget deficit in April, the result of an increase in federal spending in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The deficit report was the first to take into account the massive spending implemented by the government to offset the negative economic impact of the outbreak, Reuters reports. Hannah Miller

2:19 pm: Florida unemployment applicants see delays in payouts

Florida has emerged as one of the country's worst offenders when it comes to delays in paying out unemployment benefits. The state has paid just 28% of the 1.9 million unemployment applicants since mid-March. And some who've gotten money feel short-changed. The delays come as a statewide moratorium on evictions is scheduled to end within a week  potentially leaving some residents in dire straits if it's not extended. Greg Iacurci

2:10 pm: Fauci delivers somber warnings to Congress

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appears remotely via a video conference due to possible exposure to COVID-19, known as coronavirus, as he testifies about reopening schools and workplaces safely during the pandemic, during a US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing as seen on a laptop in Washington, DC, May 12, 2020. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci delivered stark warnings to Senators during a three and a half hour hearing Tuesday. In his testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Fauci cautioned the U.S. could face more "suffering and death" if states move to reopen businesses too quickly. Fauci said the U.S. risked "multiple outbreaks" if it pushed forward with reopening before meeting criteria laid out by the White House, including increased testing capacity and a decline in hospitalizations. He warned against moving to reopen schools too quickly after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., challenged him on the issue given the low reported mortality rate in children so far. Fauci said there are still many things health researchers don't know about the effects of the virus and pointed to the inflammatory syndrome recently reported in some children that seems to be linked to Covid-19. Fauci said he's "cautiously optimistic" about the prospect of an effective vaccine to combat the virus, but said, "there's no guarantee that the vaccine is actually going to be effective." In the past, at least two vaccines have produced a "suboptimal response," he said, making a virus stronger. Lauren Feiner

2 pm: Boeing 737 Max cancellations pile up as coronavirus worsens outlook

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are shown outside the company's factory on April 29, 2020 in Renton, Washington. Boeing announced during an earnings call today that it would lay off 15 percent of its commercial-airplanes division workforce amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Stephen Brashear | Getty Images

Boeing customers canceled orders for 108 of the company's 737 Max planes in April, driving down its order backlog as the coronavirus pandemic roils air travel. The company's backlog fell to 4,834 planes from 5,049 planes because of the April cancellations and other aircraft Boeing took off its firm-order tally. That brought it to the lowest level since 2013, although Boeing says part of the decline is partially because of an accounting rule it implemented in 2018 under which it takes some orders off the list if a purchaser doesn't meet certain criteria. Among the customers that canceled orders was General Electric's aircraft leasing arm. Boeing halted deliveries of the 737 Max jetliners in March 2019, just after the second of two fatal crashes. Leslie Josephs

1:45 pm: Under Armour sees gradual recovery in the US, with stores potentially closing again after they reopen

Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk told CNBC that the athletic apparel company is expecting a "gradual" recovery in the U.S. The interview came a day after Under Armour reported dismal quarterly earnings and said sales could be down as much as 60% in the second quarter. "We are going to see a gradual opening, and I think there's going to be a few ups and downs in terms of potentially shutting down stores, reopening stores," Frisk said. Meantime, Under Armour athletes may be a paycheck short this month. With plummeting sales amid coronavirus, the company said they are working with some of their athletes to re-negotiate payment of their contracts. This could impact some of the biggest names in sports, including Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Bryce Harper, Jordan Spieth who are all endorsers for the brand. Under Armour said as part of their cost-cutting measures they are also trimming their marketing budgets. - Lauren Thomas, Jessica Golden

1:34 pm: House Democrats unveil new $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill

House Democrats released their latest bill designed to blunt the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and health-care system. Party leaders expect to vote on the package on Friday. The bill includes nearly $1 trillion in relief to state and local governments and a second round of direct payments of $1,200 per person. It also includes $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers and $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing. Yelena Dzhanova

1:24 pm: Sweden to spend $226 million on care for the elderly

People sitting in the sun on the steps of the Royal Dramatic Theater practice social distancing in Stockholm on April 22, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Janerik Henriksson | TT News Agency | AFP | Getty Images

The Swedish government plans to spend an additional 2.2 billion Swedish krona ($226 million US) on training for 10,000 careworkers for the elderly. This comes as Sweden, which controversially resisted a full lockdown, has seen the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus rise to 27,272 while its death toll reached 3,313, according to the latest figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over half of the deaths, as of last week, had occurred in care homes. Victoria McKeever

1:07 pm: More than 50 kids in New York City have coronavirus inflammatory syndrome, mayor says

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there are 52 confirmed cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, a potentially fatal disease that's causing heart and kidney failure in children, and 10 cases pending. Of those cases, 25 children have tested positive for Covid-19 and 22 others had antibodies against the disease, suggesting they previously had the coronavirus and recovered, he said. One child in the city has died from the disease, officials said. De Blasio said the syndrome was not something the healthcare community previously saw on their radar. The disease has started to appear in the last two weeks, he said. City officials advised parents to immediately call their doctor if their child has a persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting. "Early detection, early action makes all the difference here," de Blasio said. Noah Higgins-Dunn

12:50 pm: Broadway shows will remain closed until at least Labor Day

A man walks past Broadway show posters on Shubert Alley in Times Square after it was announced that Broadway shows will cancel performances due to the coronavirus outbreak in New York, U.S., March 12, 2020. Mike Segar | Reuters

There will be no Broadway shows until at least Labor Day. The Broadway League, a trade organization that represents producers and theater owners, announced that all of Broadway's 41 theaters in New York City will remain closed through Sept. 6. Folks that have tickets for performances from now until that date have been advised to contact their point of purchase in order to get a refund or to exchange their tickets. Sarah Whitten

12:39 pm: Walmart gives another bonus to hourly workers

Caution tape hangs at the entrance of a temporarily closed Walmart store, where a number of employees tested positive for the coronavirus disease and one employee died, in Quincy, Massachusetts, May 5, 2020. Brian Snyder | Reuters

Walmart's hourly workers will get another bonus for checking out customers, fulfilling online orders, driving trucks of grocery items and more during the coronavirus pandemic. It will be the second time the retailer has given special payments to employees during the pandemic. Walmart will give full-time workers $300 and part-time or temporary workers $150 on June 25. It announced special payments of the same amount in mid-March and accelerated payout of its first-quarter bonuses. Walmart said it's committed to spending more than $935 million in employee bonuses so far this year  including more than $390 million for the upcoming bonuses, according to a news release. Walmart has hired an additional 200,000 employees to keep up with demand during the pandemic. The company has said many of the temporary roles have been filled by people who have lost jobs in industries like restaurants and hospitality. Melissa Repko

12:32 pm: Cramer foresees empty skyscrapers after virus passes

CNBC's Jim Cramer said he believes companies and their employees will be reluctant to return to physical offices after the pandemic. "I see tremendous, tremendous tall office buildings with nobody in them," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." The "Mad Money" host said that health concerns and the reliability of work-from-home technology will make telecommuting more common going forward. Even as states are reopening business across the country, some large employers like Facebook are considering keeping employees at home even after lockdown measures are lifted. Jesse Pound

12:08 pm: Coronavirus school closures could cause epic slide in math and literacy skills

With more school districts deciding not to return to the classroom for the remainder of the academic year, parents are increasingly worried about the impact on their child's education. Their fears are not unfounded: Due to coronavirus school closures, students could be losing 30% of reading gains and 50% of math skills, according to a new report by the Northwest Evaluation Association. Keeping kids reading and engaged with academic material can prevent skills from atrophying. Fortunately, educational institutions including Scholastic and Khan Academy, as well as some well-known children's authors, are rolling out special digital programs in response to Covid-19 to help kids stay on track. The best part: These programs are not only free but also kid-driven so children can work independently to help parents distracted by their own stresses, perhaps due to a job loss or the new demands of remote working. Ilana Polyak

11:58 am: Younger investors are jumping into trading during coronavirus market turmoil

The major online brokers saw new accounts spike in the first quarter, when stocks experienced a dismal rout and subsequent rebound during the coronavirus crisis. Many of these new accounts were new, younger investors. The new accounts may represent "new investors who sense a generational-buying moment but do not have much background in the equity space," said Citi chief U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich. But young people apparently saw it as an opportunity and began buying familiar technology stocks. Maggie Fitzgerald

11:42 am: Chamath Palihapitiya defends Elon Musk's Tesla reopening

Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya defended Elon Musk's move to reopen Tesla's Fremont, California, plant. Palihapitiya argued that local, state and federal regulations amid the pandemic are confusing, and the county needs to work with Musk to make a coherent plan. "The federal government has this specific set of guidelines. People may think they fall into those guidelines. Then states then issue guidelines and then on top of that you have regulations at local levels. When you put them all together it's incredibly confusing," Palihapitiya said on "Squawk Box." Jessica Bursztynsky

11:27 am: Pants are out. And pajama sales are soaring during the pandemic

Clearly, consumers are turning to comfortable items to wear at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Online sales of pajamas surged 143% in April from March, while purchases of pants fell 13% and bra sales declined 12%, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Online apparel sales overall in April increased 34% from March, Adobe said, as many bricks-and-mortar shops were forced shut. Some analysts think the comfort-cozy trend could be here to stay, as many people will not be heading back to the office anytime soon. More formal wear could be in trouble. Lauren Thomas

10:43 am: Car rental firm Hertz on the ropes raises going-concern doubts

Hertz raised doubts about its ability to continue operations and said it was in talks with key stakeholders and advisors to develop a financing strategy. The car rental company had last week said its lenders had extended the deadline for certain loan repayments to May 22, giving it more time to chalk out a financing plan to avoid bankruptcy. Hertz also expects $2.5 billion in annualized savings from cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs and selling excess fleet before the shutdown of the used-car market. Melodie Warner, Reuters

10:40 am: US grocery costs jump most in 46 years as meat and egg prices pop

A shopper wearing a protective mask walks down an aisle at a grocery store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Thursday, May 7, 2020. Christopher Dilts | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Prices Americans paid for groceries leaped in April as people stocked up on milk, eggs, meat and cereals amid government lockdowns designed to slow the spread of Covid-19. The government said Tuesday that prices U.S. consumers saw at supermarkets rose 2.6% in April, the largest one-month pop since February 1974. The cost of the meats, fish and eggs category gained 4.3%, fruits and vegetables rose 1.5%, cereals and bakery products climbed 2.9% and dairy goods advanced 1.5%. Thomas Franck

10:35 am: College acceptance rates may jump as schools aggressively court applicants

With an increasing number of incoming freshmen reconsidering their options for the fall and many international students unable to enter the U.S., some colleges and universities are desperate to hit their enrollment numbers for the 2020-2021 academic year. That means accepting more students than in the past. This spring, six of the eight Ivy Leagues, including Harvard and Yale, reported an uptick in acceptance rates for the Class of 2024. "For the current class, acceptance rates were slightly higher than last year," said Hafeez Lakhani, president of New York-based Lakhani Coaching. "The coming year, you are going to see another big jump." Jessica Dickler

10:28 am: Fauci begins testifying

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, began testifying before the Senate Health Committee. Fauci's testimony will be closely watched by Wall Street as investors gauge the potential for the economy to reopen in a timely manner. The New York Times reported earlier that he said in prepared remarks that reopening too quickly will cause "needless suffering and death." Fred Imbert Watch Dr. Fauci's testimony here live.

10:06 am: President Trump sides with Elon Musk over Tesla production

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, May 11, 2020. Oliver Contreras | Sipa | Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Donald Trump backed Elon Musk's calls to resume Tesla production at its California plant. "California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely!" Trump said on Twitter. Musk has been pushing to resume its California production, but local officials have advocated against swift attempts to return. Jessica Bursztynsky

10 am: Toyota, Honda warn outbreak is devastating car sales

Toyota Motor and Honda Motor issued bleak warnings on the coronavirus's impact on global sales. Toyota said it now expects quarterly earnings to plummet 80% to the lowest level in nine years, Reuters reported. Japan's biggest automaker said it is facing weak demand as massive job losses and the global economic downturn have dampened consumer spending. Honda refused to issue an outlook for the rest of the year, after reporting its weakest operating profit in four years, according to Reuters. Terri Cullen

9:49 am: Boeing CEO says coronavirus 'likely' to put a U.S. airline out of business

Dave Calhoun, Chairman of Boeing. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said a major U.S. airline will likely go out of business this year because of the devastating impact of coronavirus on air travel. "I don't want to get too predictive on that subject, but yes, most likely," Calhoun said in an interview with NBC's "TODAY" show that aired Tuesday. "You know, something will happen when September comes around." Airline passenger numbers have dropped to the lowest levels since the 1950s, according to Airlines for America trade group, and carriers are posting their first losses in years. Calhoun said traffic levels aren't likely to get back to even 25% of the norm in September. Airlines are required to keep their employees through the end of that month under the terms of $25 billion in federal payroll grants, which U.S. carriers started receiving portions of last month. Airline executives have recently said that they have hit the low point but don't expect demand to bounce back. The Transportation Security Administration said 215,645 passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Monday, the highest since March 25, but still down more than 91% from a year ago. Leslie Josephs Clarification: Calhoun's comments to "TODAY" were aired Tuesday but were recorded earlier.

9:36 am: Nasdaq heads for a seventh straight day of gains

Stocks rose slightly at the open as investors evaluated the latest attempts to reopen the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 133 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% along with the Nasdaq Composite. Read a full report on markets activity from CNBC's Fred Imbert and Yun Li. Melodie Warner

9:29 am: Hot spots of new cases spread in South East

9:22 am: Coronavirus crisis creates 'perfect storm' for suicide risk, report says

While stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak by reducing human contact, shuttering schools, offices and other nonessential businesses have been effective, "the potential for adverse outcomes on suicide risk is high," according to an article published in JAMA Psychiatry. Stock market losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with millions of people quarantining at home alone creates the "perfect storm" for an increased risk of suicide for many people, according to the JAMA article published last month. Suicide rates also tend to peak in the late spring and summer in the northern hemisphere, according to the JAMA article co-written by Dr. Mark Reger, a leading suicide prevention researcher and chief of psychology services at VA Puget Sound Health Care System. The fact that this "will probably coincide with peak Covid-19 prevention efforts is concerning and deserves additional study," he wrote. In March, two-thirds of surveyed adults by the American Psychiatric Association feared the pandemic would have a long-lasting impact on the economy. Noah Higgins-Dunn

9 am: Biden advises governors to 'listen to Dr. Fauci' as they reopen their states

Joe Biden in an interview on MSNBC. Source: MSNBC

Former Vice President Joe Biden said that if he were president now, he would advise governors to consider Dr. Anthony Fauci's warnings in their plans for reopening states. "We're in a situation where there's a great crisis. Dr. Fauci talks about if we open needlessly or open soon, there's going to be needless deaths and we have to have things in place. Everybody wants to open," the likely 2020 presidential candidate said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." President Donald Trump has been urging states to reopen businesses to prop up the U.S. economy, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Yelena Dzhanova

8:53 am: Moderna gets FDA's 'fast track' status for experimental coronavirus vaccine

Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine obtained the Food and Drug Administration's "fast track" designation, which expedites the review of treatments and vaccines meant for serious conditions, Reuters reported. CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on Friday that the company anticipates working "very closely" with the U.S. government to determine who will get the first doses if the coronavirus vaccine proves to work. Melodie Warner, Reuters

8:26 am: Global new cases, by region

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

8:16 am: Hyatt lays off 1,300 employees

Hyatt Hotels will lay off 1,300 employees around the world as the coronavirus pandemic halts global travel, the company said late Monday, according to a report from Reuters. The hotel chain has also cut pay for board members, senior management and all employees, Reuters reported. "Due to the historic drop in travel demand and the expected slow pace of recovery, Hyatt has made the extremely difficult decision to implement layoffs and restructure roles across its global corporate functions, beginning June 1, 2020," the company said in a statement. Hyatt had 55,000 employees at the end of last year. Sara Salinas

7:52 am: Burger King parent announces changes coming to reopened dining rooms

A member of staff wearing a face mask and gloves is seen directing cars at the Burger King drive-through in Havant, their first branch to reopen during coronavirus lockdown on May 01, 2020 in Havant, Portsmouth. Naomi Baker | Getty Images

Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, is reopening dining rooms across the country with plans to maintain socially distancing. Signs will indicate if a table is open or closed, and customers won't be able to use self-serve soda machines. Most of the company's restaurants have also erected plexiglass shields, according to an open letter from CEO Jose Cil. Nearly 1,000 of the company's almost 15,000 dining rooms in North American Restaurant Brands locations are fully open, as of Monday. Amelia Lucas

7:15 am: Cases will rise as states reopen, former FDA chief says

Public health officials and epidemiologists expected to see a steady decline in new U.S. cases by this month, but cases continue to rise in many states, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. He added that states that have eased restrictions, including Alabama, South Dakota and Texas, have already shown a rise in cases. "We're going to see cases go up now that we're reopening," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "You've seen an uptick in cases. That was expected. We know cases are going to go up as we start to resume activity." "The bottom line is a lot of states are now reopening activity against a backdrop that doesn't meet the criteria that the White House set out in terms of when it would be safe to reopen," he added. Will Feuer

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina.

7:10 am: WHO sees some positive data in potential treatments

In this photo illustration the World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is seen on a screen of pc and a coronavirus image displayed on a screen of a smartphone in Kiev, Ukraine. Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | Getty Images

The World Health Organization said its global "Solidarity Trial" has yielded "potentially positive data" on several treatments, according to Reuters. Some treatments included in the trial appear to limit the severity or length of Covid-19, spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a news briefing, Reuters reported. Treatments included in the global study include remdesivir, ritonavir, Interferon beta-1a and hydroxychloroquine. "We do have some treatments that seem to be in very early studies limiting the severity or the length of the illness, but we do not have anything that can kill or stop the virus," Harris said. "We do have potentially positive data coming out, but we need to see more data to be 100% confident that we can say this treatment over that one." Will Feuer

7 am: German economy contracted by up to 25% during outbreak's peak, bank says

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 23: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) sits at the Bundestag on April 23, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Germany is still at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and will have to live with it for a long time, the Chancellor said. Maja Hitij
Mark Meadows spent his entire congressional career trying to divorce the Republican Party from its moderate wing. Now hes trying to make it work with centrist Republicans and even Democrats on Capitol Hill.

So far, as President Donald Trumps new chief of staff, Meadows is receiving bipartisan praise as accessible, personable and good-natured. Its a surprise for the man who previously chaired the hard-line House Freedom Caucus and once helped take down a speaker from his own party.

Its unclear how long the political honeymoon will last, and Meadows hasnt completely shed his old Freedom Caucus ways. Not only did Meadows bring some of his trusted allies to the White House, but he also recently rejected Democrats push to have a top health official testify on Capitol Hill  a reminder that Meadows is still a fierce partisan warrior for Trump.

The jurys still out, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who served with Meadows in the House. Hes been accessible and willing to listen. As to whether or not we see different results coming out of the White House, I have to withhold judgment.

The stakes in the near term are huge for Meadows, who declined comment for this story. Hes assumed one of the top jobs in government as the coronavirus kills thousands of Americans each week and threatens an economic depression in the run-up to the 2020 election. Plus, hes got his own future to think of as one of the best-known conservatives in Washington.

But Meadows may not be able to do anything to change the fundamentally chaotic nature of Trumps White House, which proved insurmountable to the three men who held the position before him. That means he could easily fall flat even with support from Congress.

President Donald Trump participates in a tour of a Honeywell International plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Phoenix, with Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Since stepping into the role in late March, Meadows has leaned on his Capitol Hill connections and communicates constantly with his former colleagues, according to interviews with a dozen House members and senators. If Trump is already the most accessible president to lawmakers in a generation, Meadows manic texting habits and syrupy telephone drawl make the White House an open book to Capitol Hills Republicans and, occasionally, some Democrats.

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"Hes a 3,000-dimensional leader, said Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), an ally.

Early on, Meadows set up a special hotline for members to expedite action on emergency coronavirus issues. He also has orchestrated frequent calls between the administration and Capitol Hill, regularly texts with members at all hours of the day and has personally fought for pet issues on behalf of lawmakers whom he wasnt even particularly close with.

Being a former House member gives him a good solid perspective on how Congress can be an asset instead of an adversary, said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.).

When Meadows helped Amodei secure a fix for a small-business loans program in the last relief bill, the Nevadan jokingly offered to mow his lawn as a way to repay him. Meadows replied: Thats what friends are for.

That transactional nature is nothing new for Meadows, a political operator who is fond of saying hes playing 10-dimensional chess. And keeping Capitol Hill denizens close could come in handy when the White House needs something from them down the line.

It also could also give him a boost in a cutthroat town. Former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney wasn't exactly a favorite among congressional Republicans, but he lost support from them after he stumbled in the impeachment saga and confirmed aid was frozen to Ukraine while Trump sought a politically charged investigation. The loss of GOP confidence signaled his eventual ouster.

Other chiefs like Reince Priebus and John Kelly also eventually fell out of favor with the president, so its an open question just how long the good times will last for Meadows.

Does anyone know where Mulvaney is? Is he still alive? asked Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Like Meadows, Mulvaney was a member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus. But many in the GOP felt as though Mulvaney turned his back on them when he left for the White House. Meadows, who could run for an open North Carolina Senate seat in 2022, is trying to avoid a similar fate by reaching out to all corners of the party.

Meadows has even developed a rapport with moderate Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who said she never once spoke to Mulvaney during his time as Trumps top aide. Protecting the Senate Republican majority is another new responsibility for Meadows, and Collins is up for reelection.

When I learned of his very deep friendship with Elijah Cummings, that told me a lot about him, said Collins, referring to the late Democrat from Maryland. Theres a real human connection that he has with people even if philosophically they disagree.

Meadows is also getting plaudits from some Democrats who say he listens to them, even if he doesnt necessarily agree to their requests. When Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin received a phone call telling him he was selected to serve on a White House coronavirus economic task force, he said he didnt understand and asked to speak to Meadows.

He was very candid, Durbin (D-Ill.) said. Its such a contrast. When I read the clippings or watch the news, I see a different Mark Meadows than the person I met.

In the past, Democrats and even some Republicans believed that Trumps top advisers, including Mulvaney, didnt have the authority to negotiate on behalf of Trump. During the longest-ever government shutdown that started at the end of 2018, Mulvaney was involved in the early failed negotiations.

Meadows influence during negotiations of a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill in March was a sharp contrast. Though still technically a House member at the time, Meadows helped Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House legislative director Eric Ueland guide the legislation to a place where conservatives and the president could support it along with Democrats.

It was the sort of bill that Meadows might have been tempted to vote against while in Congress. But now he has the kind of responsibilities that come with governing.

Hes certainly conservative, but also pragmatic, said Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.).

Whether Meadows can succeed again in the coming weeks as talks heat up on the next bill is uncertain. And despite his work with Democrats of late, there have been flashes of the old Meadows.

Meadows was involved in the decision to block Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, from testifying before a House panel last week. Meadows pressed Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) for more details about the hearing but was unsatisfied with the response, and the White House deemed the hearing counterproductive. Meadows then orchestrated a hearing with Fauci to take place Tuesday in the more friendly Republican-led Senate.

"You dont have to be a Nobel Prize winner to understand why the House committee that funds health programs wanted Dr. Fauci to appear at a hearing entitled 'Covid-19 response,'" said a spokesman for Lowey.

As a member of Congress, Meadows  one of Trumps fiercest defenders and earliest Hill backers  used the Freedom Caucus to pull his party to the right, often torpedoing GOP leaders plans on spending bills and other measures. He orchestrated the push that led to Speaker John Boehners abrupt resignation in 2015.

And Meadows has brought some of the Freedom Caucus with him to the White House. He hired former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a co-founder of the group, as a senior White House adviser. And Meadows tapped three former Freedom Caucus aides to work in the West Wing.

But Meadows and his fellow rabble-rousers in the Freedom Caucus have also shown they can unite with GOP leadership  working closely to defend Trump last year after Republicans lost the House and Democrats impeachment drive ramped up. GOP lawmakers believe Meadows new team-player attitude will carry over to his White House gig.

He and [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy have come a long way, said Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). Theyre building a bridge, working together. And thats productive for the entire conference.

But House Republicans are in the minority now and have limited influence. Ultimately, Meadows will be judged on if he can help Trump weather the coronavirus crisis  and get him reelected this fall.
Many in Italy were anxiously awaiting this Sunday for the return of Silvia Romano, a twenty-five-year-old Italian national who was freed after being kidnapped in November 2018 in Chakama, (northern) Kenya by al-Shabaab jihadists. Romano, a trained medical practitioner, was working as a volunteer for the Italian charity called Africa Milele when she was taken and accused by her captors for proselytizing Christianity in the Kenyan town.

What most were not expecting, as she stepped out of the plane that brought her to Ciampino airport outside of Rome, was her Islamic attire.

In what became a huge pro-left and pro-Islamic propaganda, after being greeted by family members, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Romano announced she had become a Muslim, saying: My name is Aisha now -- the name of Muhammads favorite nine-year-old wife. Romano attested that her submission to Islam was a was spontaneous: They didnt force me to do anything. Ive always been locked in rooms. I read and wrote.

This dispels a 2019 report by Il Giornale that, according to Italian intelligence, Romano was forced to convert to Islam and to marry one of her captors. Apparently, the jihadists who kept her prisoner brainwashed her, resorting to psychological maneuvers that severed her emotional and cultural ties from her homeland in order to make her feel assimilated to the environment she was forced to live. The fact that the young Italian was treated well during her imprisonment, even given a PC to study the Arabic language, makes acceptance of her kidnapperss faith with a positive and deliberate will questionable. However, what raises more of an eyebrow is the Italian governments clandestine efforts to achieve her release.

Al-Shabaab, according to a 2017 report, has proven that they have the ability to diversify their financial tactics, despite military setbacks and funds from abroad drying up. In other words, they are experts at extorting money, and Silvia Romano became another instrument to acquire more funds for their terroristic aims.

As indicated by the Italian journal La Verita, there was a large payoff to the Islamic jihadists by Italian officials. The fact that former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said: Nothing is free is cases like this one, gives credence that notwithstanding the millions of unemployed Italians during the coronavirus lockdown, their taxes were used to facilitate Romanos freedom.

Two factors to consider. The first is the danger of negotiating with terrorists, especially when they demand large sums of money.

As Peter R. Neumann, Director of the Center for Defense Studies at Kings College, London, once explained:

The argument against negotiating with terrorists is simple: Democracies must never give in to violence, and terrorists must never be rewarded for using it. Negotiations give legitimacy to terrorists and their methods and undermine actors who have pursued political change through peaceful means. Talks can destabilize the negotiating governments political systems, undercut international efforts to outlaw terrorism, and set a dangerous precedent.

Yet governments still do this all the time. According to reports, the Obama administration secretly paid $400 million to Iran in January 2016 in exchange for four American sailors it had detained. The four Navy personnel had surrendered in Iranian waters, causing an international incident and bringing embarrassment on the Navy for the litany of errors that led to their arrest and their violations of regulations while in custody. The payoff did not help Americas role as leader of the free world in any way, shape, or form.

The second issue to evaluate is that Silvia Romano refused to condemn the Islamic tenets that the al-Shabaab Muslims referred to in order to justify her kidnapping in the first place.

While certain Muslims, progressive-minded officials, and churchmen refer to quotes such as: Observe your duty to Allah in respect to the women, and treat them well, to claim that Islam treats women with honor, the truth of the matter is something else.

As I detail at length in my book Islam: Religion of Peace? -- The Violation of Natural Rights and Western Cover-Up, a woman, whether married or a concubine, is considered a mans property. Her role, in the formers case, is to provide children and satisfy her husbands sexual desires; the latter is there to exclusively meet her masters carnal gratifications:

Your women are a tilth [field] for you, so go to your tilth as you will -- Sura 2, 223

And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. -- Sura 4, 24

Men are in charge of women by what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in absence what Allah would have them guard. But those from whom you fear arrogance -- advise them; forsake them in bed; and, strike them. But if they obey you, seek no means against them. -- Sura 4, 34

A woman came to Muhammad and begged him to stop her husband from beating her. Her skin was bruised so badly that it is described as being greener than the green veil she was wearing. Muhammad did not admonish her husband, but instead ordered her to return to him and submit to his sexual desires. -- Sahih al-Bukhari 72, 715

There is also an irony in Romano choosing Aisha as her new name. Not only did the Prophet of Islam, when he was fifty-six, consummate his marriage with nine year old Aisha, (Sahih Muslim, 8, 3309), he also used to physically abuse her: Muhammad struck his favorite wife, Aisha, in the chest one evening when she left the house without his permission. Aisha narrates, He struck me on the chest which caused me pain. -- Sahih Muslim 4, 2127

Such hadiths are constantly utilized in the Islamic world to absolve adult males from marrying pre-pubescent girls. Such was the infamous case of Nujood Ali of Yemen, who in 2008 was married off by her father at the age of nine. After one sister was kidnapped and another raped, her unemployed father, who had sixteen children and two wives, figured an early marriage would keep his daughter, Nujood, fed and safe. Instead, she said, she was beaten by in-laws, and nights were a hellish game of tag, with Nujood running from room to room to escape sex with her husband; he raped her anyway. A year later, she made Yemeni history by taking a taxi downtown to the courts and demanding a divorce, telling her would-be lawyer: I hate the night.

The conversion of Silvia Romano to Islam is not so much the issue at stake as much as her decision to gloat about it inadvertently promotes treatment of women and girls as property.
Actor Rana Daggubati on Tuesday, completely out of the blue, announced his engagement with designer Miheeka Bajaj. Sharing a picture with her on his Twitter page, he revealed that she said yes to his proposal. And she said yes, he tweeted along with the picture.

Miheeka is an interior designer by profession. She recently founded an event company named Dew Drop Design Studio. It is not yet known how she met Rana or how long they have been dating.

And she said Yes :)  pic.twitter.com/iu1GZxhTeN  Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) May 12, 2020

On the work front, Rana has two projects ready for release. His immediate release will be forest-based thriller Haathi Mere Saathi, which will be released in Tamil and Telugu as Kaadan and Aaranya, respectively.

Directed by Prabhu Solomon, Haathi Mere Saathi has Rana playing a character inspired by environmental activist Jadav Payeng, popularly called the Forest Man of India. The film, which also stars Vishnu Vishal, Pulkit Samrat and Shriya Pilgaonkar, was supposed to release on April 2 in three languages. Its release stands cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Also see: Aishwarya Rai transforms into a Greek goddess, celestial nymph in this photo shoot done 15 years ago, see pics

Rana recently opened up about the experience of working real elephants in a media interaction. Working with real elephants may sound exciting on paper but it was extremely exhausting. Ten days into the shoot, I called Rajamouli sir and told him how challenging this project had already become. It was equally exciting because we were doing something different; we were telling the story of a much bigger issue, he said.

Rana also has Telugu film Virataparvam in the pipeline. Directed by Venu Udugala, Virataparvam revolves around the Naxal movement, specifically the moral dilemma that prevailed during the last decade.

The film also stars Sai Pallavi, Priyamani and Nandita Das in crucial roles. It marks Nanditas return to Telugu cinema after a decade.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Four more Omaha police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus, the department confirmed Monday.

Phil Anson, spokesman for the Omaha Police Department, said that brings the number of confirmed infections among officers to five.

The departments first case was confirmed in late March. That officer had traveled to Hawaii and, per department policy, self-quarantined upon his return.

Nebraska is ramping up testing, with an emphasis on first responders. As more tests are conducted, the department will have a better sense of infections within its ranks.

Anson said no additional information was immediately available.

Our best staff photos of May 2020

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New Melones Reservoir View Photo

Sacramento, CA  Plans proposed by the Trump Administration to increase the amount of water pumped to Central Valley farmers has met a legal hurdle.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction putting the plan on hold until at least May 31 in response to lawsuits filed by the state of California and environmental organizations. The litigation argues that the move would threaten endangered species and salmon runs.

President Trump signed a memorandum in February calling for the feds to redirect millions of gallons of water to the Central Valley, via the network of dams, canals and pumps. President Trump also argued that too much water was needlessly being sent to the Pacific Ocean.

In response to the judges action, halting the plan, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called it a victory but said, the fight is not over.

The Associated Press reports the order effectively bars the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from expanding the amount of water it pumps from the San Joaquin Delta through the federal Central Valley Project. The valley has an estimated $50-billion agricultural industry.
Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back (Credit: Fox/Lucasfilm)

Legendary Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett is set to appear in the second series of Disney+ spin-off hit The Mandalorian.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it will be a 'small role', and he will be played by New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison.

In an additional layer of detail for the Star Wars fandom, Morrison played Jango Fett in the 2002 Star Wars prequel Attack of the Clones.

Temuera Morrison (Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

It emerges that Jango Fett was cloned in the movie, with the clone of himself being Boba Fett, who he raised as his son.

The introduction of Boba Fett will also raise certain questions in the Star Wars timeline.

Taking place after the events of the original trilogy, but before the recent movies, Boba Fett was presumed dead after he was unceremoniously knocked into the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi.

Morrison as Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones (Credit: Fox/Lucasfilm)

However, being a clone, it could be that the Boba Fett who appears in The Mandalorian is also a clone of the one who ended up in the dusty fangs of the desert creature.

Fett's appearance has already been teased in the show, in the episode titled The Gunslinger from series one (fear not spoilers), in which a mysterious bounty hunter  which could be Fett  stands over the body of another dead character in the show.

Read more: Where will the Star Wars franchise go next?

Originally, the actor Jeremy Bulloch played the first Boba Fett, in The Empire Strikes Back, the Mandalorian bounty hunter who captures Han Solo, freezes him, and then delivers him to Jabba The Hutt in Return of the Jedi.

Some fans believe Morrison could be playing another character entirely. As Jango Fett provided the genetic material for the Clone Troopers, theres a chance he could be playing Captain Rex, a commander who fought in the Clone Wars under Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and later joined the Rebellion, fighting in the Battle of Endor.

Morrison, who played Arthur Curry's human father Tom in Aquaman, would join fellow newcomers to the cast, including Terminator and Aliens star Michael Biehn and Rosario Dawson.

The second season of the show, filming for which was completed just prior to lockdown, will air later this year.
Researchers from Trinity College Dublin are calling on the government in Ireland to change recommendations for vitamin D supplements [Monday 11th May 2020].

A new publication from Dr Eamon Laird and Professor Rose Anne Kenny, School of Medicine, and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), in collaboration with Professor Jon Rhodes at University of Liverpool, highlights the association between vitamin D levels and mortality from COVID-19.

The authors of the article, just published in the Irish Medical Journal, analysed all European adult population studies, completed since 1999, which measured vitamin D and compared vitamin D and death rates from COVID-19. The article can be viewed at: http://imj.ie/irish-medical-journal-may-2020-vol-113-no-5/

Vitamin D is produced in the skin from UVB sunlight exposure and is transported to the liver and then the kidney where it is changed into an active hormone that increases calcium transport from food in the gut and ensures calcium is adequate to keep the skeleton strong and free of osteoporosis.

But vitamin D can also support the immune system through a number of immune pathways involved in fighting SARS2COV. Many recent studies confirm the pivotal role of vitamin D in viral infections.

This study shows that, counter intuitively, countries at lower latitude and typically sunny countries, such as Spain and Northern Italy, had low concentrations of vitamin D and high rates of vitamin D deficiency. These countries also experienced the highest infection and death rates in Europe.

The northern latitude countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden, have higher vitamin D levels despite less UVB sunlight exposure, because supplementation and fortification of foods is more common. These Nordic countries have lower COVID-19 infection and death rates. The correlation between low vitamin D levels and death from COVID-19 is statistically significant.

The authors propose that, whereas optimising vitamin D levels will certainly benefit bone and muscle health, the data suggests that it is also likely to reduce serious COVID-19 complications. This may be because vitamin D is important in regulation and suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response, which causes the severe consequences of COVID-19 and 'acute respiratory distress syndrome' associated with ventilation and death.

Professor Rose Anne Kenny said:

"In England, Scotland and Wales, public health bodies have revised recommendations since the COVID-19 outbreak. Recommendations now state that all adults should take at least 400 IU vitamin D daily. Whereas there are currently no results from randomised controlled trials to conclusively prove that vitamin D beneficially affects COVID-19 outcomes, there is strong circumstantial evidence of associations between vitamin D and the severity of COVID-19 responses, including death."

"This study further confirms this association. We call on the Irish government to update guidelines as a matter of urgency and encourage all adults to take supplements during the COVID-19 crisis. Deficiency is frequent in Ireland. Deficiency is most prevalent with age, obesity, in men, in ethnic minorities, in people with diabetes, hypertension and in nursing homes."

Dr Eamon Laird added:

"Here we see observational evidence of a link of vitamin D with mortality. Optimising vitamin D intake to public health guidelines will certainly have benefits for overall health and support immune function. Research like this is still exploratory and we need further trials to have concrete evidence on the level of vitamin D that is needed for optimal immune function. However, studies like this also remind us how low our vitamin D status is in the population (even in sunny countries) and adds further weight to some sort of mandatory vitamin D fortification policy. If the Nordic countries are allowed to do this, there is no reason Ireland, the UK or rest of Europe can't either."

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[May 12, 2020] Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Secures Nine Unit Order From Real Estate Company

Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (News - Alert), Inc. (OTCPK:AITX) is pleased to announce that Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD), its wholly owned subsidiary, has recently received a nine unit order from a mid-sized real estate company that owns and manages residential properties. The client was secured through one of RAD's regional dealers on the east coast. "This client has said they are starting out with 9 units with the potential for more orders in the short term," said Steve Reinharz President and CEO of RAD. "We're seeing significant sales activity from the residential market as residential complexes and Home Owner's Association's seek to improve security and access while reducing costs. RAD has a unique opportunity in this market to be come the 'de facto' solution." RAD has a growing number of residential opportunities from its dealer base. The residential real estate industry is tremendous in size and affords a great opportunity for RAD to penetrate yet another large sector as it continues to increase its number of deployed units in the field. RAD has a sales pipeline of over 35 Fortune 500 companies and numerous other potential clients. RAD expects to continue to attract new clients as it converts its existing sales pipeline into paying customers. Each new Fortune 500 Customer has the potential of making numerous reorders over time. The company may post important information about its subsidiary RAD on its website at www.RoboticAssistanceDevices.com and through tweets fromRAD President and CEO Steve Reinharz (https://twitter.com/SteveReinharz).



CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" that are based on current expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the ability of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions to provide for its obligations, to provide working capital needs from operating revenues, to obtain additional financing needed for any future acquisitions, to meet competitive challenges and technological changes, and other risks. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement(s) and/or to confirm the statement(s) to actual results or changes in Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions expectations.

About RAD Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD) is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, RAD can help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI and strengthen business. RAD robotics technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services, and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staffs and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. RAD robotic solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.roboticassistancedevices.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @RADbotsecurity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005392/en/

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Modi said that the fourth phase of the nationwide COVID-19 induced lockdown would be in a 'new form with new rules'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special economic package and stressed on the need for an "aatmanirbhar (self-reliant)" India in his fifth address to the nation over the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday.

In his address, which came at the fag end of the third nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus, the prime minister also hinted at new measures in the fourth phase of lockdown, which is expected to begin after 17 May.

Here are the key points from the speech:

Economic package

Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package for the country to be 'self-reliant' and deal with COVID-19 pandemic. The relief package, he said, amounts to about 10 percent of the country's GDP.

"I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.'

The prime minister said that the economic package will lay emphasis on land, labour, liquidity and laws.

He further said, "This package is for our cottage industries, small and medium industries, which provide livelihoods to crores of people."

The prime minister also said that despite the loss of lives, humanity would not accept defeat from the coronavirus, and the people have to stay safe and move forward.

"We had never seen or heard about such a crisis ever before. This is definitely unimaginable for mankind. It is unprecedented. But humanity will not accept defeat from this virus. We have to not only protect ourselves but also move forward," he said.

Modi hints at 'new rules' for Lockdown 4.0

Modi said that the fourth phase of the nationwide COVID-19-induced lockdown would be in a "new form with new rules".

"Scientists say that COVID-19 will be a part of our lives for a very long time. But we can't let our lives remain confined around COVID-19. We will wear masks and maintain social distancing but we will not let it affect us. So, lockdown four will be in a new form with new rules," the prime minister said while addressing the nation.

Follow LIVE updates on Narendra Modi's speech here

"Based on the suggestions by states, information related to lockdown four will be given to you before 18 May. We will fight COVID-19. We will move forward," he added.

'Two lakh PPE kits manufactured in India daily'

While speaking on the need for self-reliance, the prime minister said that two lakh PPE kits and two lakh N-95 masks are being manufactured in the country on a daily basis as part of the fight against the coronavirus.

"When the COVID-19 crisis started, not even a single PPE kit was manufactured in India, and only a few N-95 masks were available. Today two lakh PPE kits and 2 lakh N95 masks are manufactured in India daily," he said.

"When India speaks of self-reliance, it does not advocate a self-centered system. In India's self-reliance there is a concern for the whole world's happiness, cooperation and peace," he added.

Prime Minister Modi said that the progress of the world has been linked to India's progress.

The Prime Minister on Monday held a video conference meeting with chief ministers of all states to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against COVID-19 and noted that he was of the firm view that measures needed during the third phase of lockdown will not be needed in the fourth phase.

The phase three of the lockdown is coming to an end on 17 May.

With inputs from agencies
DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Market Insights, Epidemiology and Market Forecast - 2030" drug pipelines has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report delivers an in-depth understanding of the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, historical and forecasted epidemiology as well as the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market trends in the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom), and Japan.

The report provides current treatment practices, emerging drugs, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market share of the individual therapies, current and forecasted Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market size from 2017 to 2030 segmented by seven major markets. The report also covers current Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer treatment practice/algorithm, market drivers, market barriers and unmet medical needs to curate best of the opportunities and assesses the underlying potential of the market.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Disease Understanding and Treatment Algorithm

Lung cancer mainly begins in the lungs, and it may spread to lymph nodes or other organs in the body, such as the brain. However, cancer from other organs may also spread to the lungs. When cancer cells spread from one organ to another, they are called metastases.

There are mainly two types of lung cancer Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer accounted for approximately 85% of all lung cancers (IASLC, n.d.). However, NSCLC metastasizes to other organs slower in comparison to SCLC, and microscopically, SCLC is composed of much smaller cells. If untreated, SCLC can be fatal in a few weeks, in contrast to most cases of NSCLC.

NSCLC can be defined as any type of epithelial lung cancer other than SCLC. It is mainly subcategorized into adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, large cell carcinomas and several other types that occur less frequently include adenosquamous carcinomas and sarcomatoid carcinomas.

In the United States, according to the data published by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) out of the total lung cancer cases approximately 85% of lung cancers are NSCLC. Among those cases, squamous cell carcinoma comprised 30% cases, adenocarcinoma comprised of 40% cases, and large-cell carcinoma comprised 15% cases. Also, all other country based registries have mentioned almost same percentage for NSCLC and its major subtypes.

NSCLC can be located in the mid-chest, but it is often also found in other parts of the lung too. Even though NSCLCs are associated with cigarette smoking, adenocarcinomas may also be found in patients who have never smoked. Also, itis relatively insensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy in comparison with SCLC.

NSCLC arises from the epithelial cells of the lung of the central bronchi to terminal alveoli. The histological type of NSCLC correlates with the site of origin, reflecting the variation in respiratory tract epithelium of the bronchi to alveoli. While squamous cell carcinoma starts near a central bronchus usually, Adenocarcinoma and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma typically originate in peripheral lung tissue.

The symptoms of NSCLC and SCLC can be similar, which may include a persistent cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, loss of appetite, weight loss, and unusual tiredness.

Although tobacco smoking is the major risk factor for either type of lung cancer, a substantial number of patients diagnosed with lung cancer have no prior history of smoking. Besides, exposure to passive smoking, asbestos, and radon may also increase the risk of developing lung cancer.

Patients of NSCLC with the resectable disease may be cured by surgery or surgery followed by chemotherapy. Local control can be achieved by radiation therapy in a large number of patients with unresectable disease. On the other hand, patients with the locally advanced unresectable disease may achieve long-term survival with radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy and the patients with advanced metastatic disease may achieve improved survival and palliation of symptoms with chemotherapy, targeted agents, and other supportive measures

Diagnosis

The diagnosis and staging of NSCLC are often done at the same time. The tests and procedures used in the diagnosis of NSCLC are Physical exam and history, Laboratory tests, Chest X-ray, CT scan, Sputum cytology, Thoracentesis, Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of the Lung, Bronchoscopy, Thoracoscopy, Mediastinoscopy, Anterior Mediastinotomy, Lymph node biopsy, Molecular test, Immunohistochemistry, among others.

Some of the tests that are used to diagnose NSCLC also determine the stage of the disease such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT scan, PET scan (positron emission tomography scan), bone scan, pulmonary function test (PFT), and bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. The staging system of NSCLC is divided into various stages such as Occult (hidden) cancer, Stage 0, Stage IA1, IA2, IA3, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB, IIIC, IVA, and IVB.

Treatment

There are different types of treatment available for NSCLC; however, mainly 10 types of standard treatment are used, which include: Surgery, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, Immunotherapy, Laser therapy, Photodynamic therapy (PDT), Cryosurgery, Electrocautery, and Watchful waiting.

Chemotherapy is used to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping their division. Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to attack specific cancer cells. These therapies usually cause less harm to normal cells than chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are the two main types of targeted therapy being used to treat advanced, metastatic, or recurrent NSCLC. Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the patients' immune system to fight cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiations to kill cancer cells or keep them from developing.

The therapies that are approved for the treatment of NSCLC are Rozlytrek (Entrectinib), Imfinzi (Durvalumab), Opdivo (Nivolumab), Tecentriq (Atezolizumab), Keytruda (Pembrolizumab), Tafinlar (Dabrafenib) in combination with Mekinist (Trametinib), Tagrisso (osimertinib), Lorbrena/Lorviqua (Lorlatinib), Vizimpro (Dacomitinib), Alunbrig (Brigatinib), Alecensa (Alectinib), Vitrakvi (Larotrectinib), Portrazza (Necitumumab), among others.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Epidemiology

The Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer epidemiology division provides the insights about historical and current Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patient pool and forecasted trend for each seven major countries. It helps to recognize the causes of current and forecasted trends by exploring numerous studies and views of key opinion leaders. This part of the report also provides the diagnosed patient pool and their trends along with assumptions undertaken.

The disease epidemiology covered in the report provides historical as well as forecasted Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer epidemiology segmented as [Total Incident cases of NSCLC patients, Total Incident cases of NSCLC patients by Histology, Total Diagnosed cases of NSCLC patients by Stages, Total NSCLC cases of patients by Genetic mutation/Biomarkers, and Total Treated Cases of NSCLC patients by Line of Therapies] scenario of NSCLC in the 7MM covering the United States, EU5 countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom), and Japan from 2017 to 2030.

Key Findings

As per the analysis, the total incident cases of NSCLC in the 7MM were observed to be 484,726 cases in the year 2017. These cases are expected to grow with a significant CAGR in the study period 2017-2030.

As per the estimates, the total incident cases of NSCLC patients by histology in the 7MM were observed to be 142,566, 228,106, 57,027, and 57,027 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and others in the year 2017. These cases are expected to grow with a significant CAGR in the study period 2017-2030.

As per the estimates, the total diagnosed cases of NSCLC patients by stages in the 7MM were observed to be 86,590, 31,552, 56,297, 65,410, and 244,876 cases of stage I, stage II, stage IIIA, stage IIIB, and stage IV in the year 2017.

As per the estimates, the total diagnosed cases of NSCLC patients by stages in Germany were observed to be 9,546, 4,658, 7,346, 11,392, and 23,177 cases of stage I, stage II, stage IIIA, stage IIIB, and stage IV in the year 2017. These cases are expected to grow with a significant CAGR in the study period 2017-2030.

were observed to be 9,546, 4,658, 7,346, 11,392, and 23,177 cases of stage I, stage II, stage IIIA, stage IIIB, and stage IV in the year 2017. These cases are expected to grow with a significant CAGR in the study period 2017-2030. As per the estimates, the total NSCLC cases of patients by genetic mutation/biomarkers in the United States were observed to be 89,597, 37,370, 50,393, 8,449, 12,665, 8,979, 7,202, and 2,136 cases of PD-L1, EGFR, KRAS, ALK, PI3KCA, BRAF, MET, and ROS-1 in the year 2017. These cases are expected to grow with a significant CAGR in the study period 2017-2030.

Country Wise - Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Epidemiology

The epidemiology segment also provides the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer epidemiology data and findings across the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan.



Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Drug Chapters



The drug chapter segment of the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer report encloses the detailed analysis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer marketed drugs and late stage (Phase-III and Phase-II) pipeline drugs. It also helps to understand the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer clinical trial details, expressive pharmacological action, agreements and collaborations, approval and patent details, advantages and disadvantages of each included drug and the latest news and press releases.



Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Approved Drugs

1. Rozlytrek (Entrectinib): Hoffmann-La Roche (Genentech)

2. Imfinzi (Durvalumab): AstraZeneca

3. Opdivo (Nivolumab): Bristol-Myers Squibb

4. Tecentriq (Atezolizumab): Hoffmann-La Roche

5. Keytruda (Pembrolizumab): Merck

6. Tafinlar (Dabrafenib) in combination with Mekinist (Trametinib): Novartis

7. Tagrisso (Osimertinib): AstraZeneca

8. Lorbrena/Lorviqua (Lorlatinib): Pfizer

9. Vizimpro (Dacomitinib): Pfizer

10. Alunbrig (Brigatinib): Takeda Pharmaceuticals

11. Alecensa (Alectinib): Hoffmann-La Roche

12. Vitrakvi (Larotrectinib): Bayer Healthcare

13. Portrazza (Necitumumab): Eli Lilly and Company



Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Emerging Drugs

1. Nazartinib/EGF816: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

2. Capmatinib/INC280: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

3. Telisotuzumab Vedotin: AbbVie

4. JNJ-61186372/JNJ-6372: Janssen Pharmaceuticals

5. Ensartinib/X-396: Xcovery

6. Selpercatinib (LY3527723/LOXO-292): Eli Lilly and Company

7. SAR408701: Sanofi

8. Braftovi/encorafinib + Mektovi/binimetinib: Pfizer

9. PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin/ASG-22ME): Astellas Pharma/Seattle Genetics

10. TAK-788: Takeda Pharmaceuticals

11. Canakinumab/(ACZ885): Novartis

12. BAVENCIO (Avelumab): Merck/Pfizer

13. Veliparib: AbbVie

14. Sitravatinib (MGCD516): Mirati Therapeutics/Bristol-Myers Squibb/Beigene

15. M7824: Merck/GlaxoSmithKline

16. AMG 510: Amgen

17. INCMGA00012 (MGA012): Incyte Corporation

18. Romiplostim: Amgen

19. TEPMETKO (tepotinib): Merck



Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Market Outlook

There are several treatment options available to treat this condition in the seven major markets. Typically, chemotherapy, targeted treatments, and immunotherapy - alone or in combination - are used to treat lung cancer. Besides, pharmacological treatment choices, surgery, and radiation are also frequently opted. When the patient is in the initial stages, the tumor is usually resectable. Most stage I and stage II NSCLC are treated with surgery to remove the tumor.



To recommend a treatment option to a patient of NSCLC, several key factors are taken into consideration, such as age of the patient, previous medical history, health status, and smoking history. Along with these, another essential factor to consider is the stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis. Staging is usually carried out twice: after clinical and radiological examinations; and after surgery, in the case of the surgically resected tumor. Furthermore, biological testing of the tumor is also crucial to understand the presence of specific mutations.



The main choice of treatment for cancer, before the discovery of targeted therapies was chemotherapy. Chemotherapy works by disrupting the way that cancer cells grow and divide. However, these drugs can also affect normal cells. Chemotherapy can be given before or after surgery for NSCLC. Some people have chemotherapy at the same time as radiotherapy this is called chemoradiotherapy. Chemotherapy may be given to try to cure cancer or to prolong life and control symptoms (palliative care).



One of the most exciting developments in lung cancer medicine is the introduction of targeted treatments. Unlike chemotherapy drugs, which cannot tell the difference between normal cells and cancer cells, targeted therapies are designed to attack cancer cells specifically by attaching to or blocking targets that appear on the surfaces of those cells. People who have advanced lung cancer with certain molecular biomarkers may receive treatment with a targeted drug alone or in combination with chemotherapy.



As several institutes and pharmacological companies indulged themselves in a more in-depth understanding of this disease, therapies for advanced NSCLC have developed significantly with a new awareness of histologic subtypes. It is an important factor in guiding treatment and the development of targeted agents for molecular subgroups harboring critical mutations that spur on cancer growth.



Key Findings



According to the publisher, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market in the 7MM is expected to change in the study period 2017-2030. The total therapeutic market of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in seven major markets was found to be USD 9,730 million in 2017 which is expected to increase during the study period (2017-2030).



The United States Market Outlook



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 5,562.6 million in the United States which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



EU-5 Countries: Market Outlook



Germany



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 772.8 million in Germany which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



France



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 577.4 million in France which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



Italy



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 506 million in Italy which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



Spain



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 360 million in Spain which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



The United Kingdom



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 590.5 million in the United Kingdom which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



Japan Market Outlook



In 2017, the total market size of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for five mutation therapies i.e. PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, BRAF, C-MET was estimated to be USD 1,360.4 million in Japan which is expected to increase in the study period (2017-2030).



Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Drugs Uptake

According to the current scenario of NSCLC and the analysis the majority of patients fall into two mutations i.e. PD-L1 and EGFR with major percentage share in the market.

The highest revenue is expected to be generated by Keytruda (pembrolizumab) by 2030.

The second-highest revenue is expected to be taken by Opdivo (nivolumab) because most of the companies are focused on targeting first line setting and also early stage, so due to its dominancy in second-line line setting it is expected to generate second-highest revenue in the overall market of PD-L1 NSCLC.

Imfinzi is expected to enjoy the monopoly in the market due to no visibility of the competitors till 2023.

Keytruda with physicians familiarities and established clinical profile expected to take more share compared to canakinumab.

Tagrisso is expected to dominate the market because of it selectively inhibits EGFR-TKI-sensitizing and EGFR T790M resistance mutations, also its use as first-line therapy in NSCLC does not lead to T790M mutations.

Other therapies like JNJ-6372 and TAK-788 which are mainly targeting EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are expected to generate good revenue in the coming years.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Pipeline Development Activities



The drugs which are in pipeline include:

1. Nazartinib/EGF816: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

2. Capmatinib/INC280: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

3. Telisotuzumab Vedotin: AbbVie

4. JNJ-61186372/JNJ-6372: Janssen Pharmaceuticals

5. Ensartinib/X-396: Xcovery

6. Selpercatinib (LY3527723/LOXO-292): Eli Lilly and Company

7. SAR408701: Sanofi

8. Braftovi/encorafinib + Mektovi/binimetinib: Pfizer

9. PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin/ASG-22ME): Astellas Pharma/Seattle Genetics

10. TAK-788: Takeda Pharmaceuticals

11. Canakinumab/(ACZ885): Novartis

12. BAVENCIO (Avelumab): Merck/Pfizer

13. Veliparib: AbbVie

14. Sitravatinib (MGCD516): Mirati Therapeutics/Bristol-Myers Squibb/Beigene

15. M7824: Merck/GlaxoSmithKline

16. AMG 510: Amgen

17. INCMGA00012 (MGA012): Incyte Corporation

18. Romiplostim: Amgen

19. TEPMETKO (tepotinib): Merck



Reimbursement Scenario in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The current scenario of therapeutics for NSCLC is mainly based on the use of targeted therapies and immunotherapy's. Especially the current paradigm is mainly associated with treatment specific to mutations that occur in NSCLC. NSCLC is characterized by the availability of a high number of branded therapies such as Keytruda, Opdivo, Tecentriq, Tagrisso, and others. Due to the high costs, some of the therapies are not able to show their cost-effectiveness and are unable to get a recommendation by assessment agencies. So, the access and reimbursement scenario of drugs for NSCLC is not easy as cost-effectiveness is a major barrier for therapies in NSCLC.

The recommendation of some drugs by NICE which are approved for NSCLC are Opdivo (Nivolumab), Tagrisso (osimertinib), Alunbrig (brigatinib), Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Nintedanib in combination with docetaxel, Durvalumab, Atezolizumab with carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel, among others.



KOL - Views



To keep up with current market trends, the researchers take KOLs and SME's opinion working in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer domain through primary research to fill the data gaps and validate the secondary research. Their opinion helps to understand and validate current and emerging therapies treatment patterns or Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market trend. This will support the clients in potential upcoming novel treatment by identifying the overall scenario of the market and the unmet needs.



Competitive Intelligence Analysis



The publisher performs Competitive and Market Intelligence analysis of the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Market by using various Competitive Intelligence tools that include - SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter's five forces, BCG Matrix, Market entry strategies etc. The inclusion of the analysis entirely depends upon the data availability.



Scope of the Report

The report covers the descriptive overview of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, diagnosis and currently available therapies

Comprehensive insight has been provided into the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer epidemiology and treatment in the 7MM

Additionally, an all-inclusive account of both the current and emerging therapies for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer are provided, along with the assessment of new therapies, which will have an impact on the current treatment landscape

A detailed review of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market; historical and forecasted is included in the report, covering drug outreach in the 7MM

The report provides an edge while developing business strategies, by understanding trends shaping and driving the global Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer market

Companies Mentioned



AbbVie

Amgen

Astellas Pharma

AstraZeneca

Avid Bioservices, Inc.

Bayer Healthcare

Beigene

BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals

Blueprint Medicines Corporation

Bristol- Myers Squibb

Eli Lilly and Company

Exelixis

Genentech

GlaxoSmithKline

Hoffmann-La Roche (Genentech)

Incyte Corporation

Ipsen

Janssen Research & Development

Kadmon Corporation

Merck KGaA

Mirati Therapeutics

Novartis Pharmaceuticals

OSE Immunotherapeutics

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Sanofi

Seattle Genetics

Symphogen

Takeda

Xcovery

Yuhan Corporation

Zai Lab Limited

For more information about this drug pipelines report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tuxrfj

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region, Public Joint Stock Company (MCX:MRKP) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 25% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that shareholders have received really good returns over the last five years. In fact, the share price is 140% higher today. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 40% decline over the last twelve months.

See our latest analysis for Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region

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 way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the last half decade, Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region became profitable. Sometimes, the start of profitability is a major inflection point that can signal fast earnings growth to come, which in turn justifies very strong share price gains. Given that the company made a profit three years ago, but not five years ago, it is worth looking at the share price returns over the last three years, too. We can see that the Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region share price is up 9.1% in the last three years. During the same period, EPS grew by 23% each year. This EPS growth is higher than the 2.9% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat. This unenthusiastic sentiment is reflected in the stock's reasonably modest P/E ratio of 2.89.

Story continues

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

MISX:MRKP Past and Future Earnings May 12th 2020

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region the TSR over the last 5 years was 318%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region had a tough year, with a total loss of 26% (including dividends) , against a market gain of about 10%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 33% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Interregional Distribution Grid Company of Center and Volga Region , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on RU 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.
Away from his efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus in Mombasa, Governor Hassan Joho is said to be working on something big for the local music industry.

Over the weekend, the governor was pictured in the gym with friends among them KTN showbiz presenter Jamal Gaddafi. The Sultan of Mombasa was also seen hanging out with some local musicians in the wake of reports that he is putting up a State of the art recording studio.

Two months ago, he also held a meeting with Mombasa-based artistes as he urged them to unite and work together.

Jamal, who is close to Joho, gave a hint of what the Mombasa governor is planning.

The truth is that Joho is looking for a long-lasting solution for artistes and putting into place structures that will help musicians grow their art is one of the top priorities, he said.

The media personality added: I cant say much now but the truth is that something major is coming up in that line. He will be confirming after, I think, this pandemic is over.

Also Read: Susumila Speaks on Naming Son after Governor Joho
Vaccination against rotavirus has led to a significant decrease in hospitalizations and deaths of children due to severe diarrhea in the Western Pacific region, a new study has found.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in BMC Infectious Diseases, showed the substantial impact of the rotavirus vaccine on inpatient and outpatient hospital attendances and child deaths in the Pacific Island country of Kiribati, despite high rates of malnutrition.

MCRI Professor Fiona Russell said the study looked at the impact of rotavirus vaccination on young children two years after its roll-out in Kiribati in 2015. The study provided convincing evidence for ongoing vaccination in Kiribati and other low-middle income countries with poor sanitation and inadequate cold storage chains, she said.

Kiribati has one of the highest child death and malnutrition rates in the Pacific, which is due to the substantial challenges with the provision of safe drinking water and effective sanitation. Kiribati introduced rotavirus vaccination following a series of confirmed rotavirus diarrhea outbreaks, with up to 70 per cent of cases affecting children under five." Fiona Russell, MCRI Professor

Kiribati is the first country to document the effects of rotavirus vaccination in the Western Pacific region.

The study found acute gastroenteritis inpatient admissions decreased by 37 per cent and outpatient presentations by 44 per cent in children aged under five years. Inpatient severe acute malnutrition admissions also decreased by 24 per cent.

Importantly, the study also reported a 44 per cent and 64 per cent decline in acute gastroenteritis contributing to all under-five admissions and deaths, respectively.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children worldwide and kills about 215,000 children each year.

Almost all unvaccinated children will have experienced one or more rotavirus diarrheal episodes, regardless of their living conditions, by the age of five.

Professor Russell said the research would provide evidence for other policy makers in the Asia-Pacific region to consider introducing the vaccine.

"Very few countries in the Asia- Pacific have a rotavirus vaccine in their national immunization programs, despite good data showing the vaccine's benefits," she said.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Tarawa, Kiribati, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, US, also contributed to the findings.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Around 4000 stranded Indians have been brought back from abroad in special flights, Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said on Monday. Briefing about the return of stranded Indians, she said that around 4,000 Indians have been brought back by 23 flights under the mission. The repatriation is being carried out under Indias massive evacuation effort named Vande Bharat Mission, which began on May 7.

Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries in the coming days. More than 300 Indians returned to Bengaluru from London by a special Air India flight on the fifth day of Vande Bharat Mission on Monday.

As many as 827 Indians who landed at the Mumbai international airport from abroad so far since Sunday have been kept under institutional quarantine as per the guidelines for coronavirus, a civic official said. However, none of them has been shifted to any isolation facility, he said.

Other special flights arriving today from across the world include San Francisco to Mumbai to Hyderabad, Dhaka to Mumbai, Dubai to Kochi, Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad, Kaula Lampur to Chennai and Bahrain to Kozhikode.
Ruth Natalie Chacker, 90, of Center City, a bookkeeper, mother, and lifelong learner, died Saturday, May 2, of a heart attack as she slept at home.

Im happy that she died peacefully, said Rabbi Lynnda Targan, her friend and adult education teacher. In Hebrew we call it neshikat mita, literally the kiss on the bed, a kiss of death with no suffering.

Mrs. Chacker and Targan were acquainted through the Womens Midrash Institute, in which Jewish women from the Philadelphia area deepen their religious knowledge.

She was amazing, Targan said. She had a glass-half-full attitude. She was very optimistic. She knew things and spoke wisdom. When she did, people listened to her.

Born and raised in Wynnefield, Mrs. Chacker graduated from Overbrook High School and was the first in her family to attend college, earning a bachelors degree in psychology from Temple University in 1951.

She met Frederic M. Chacker in French class at Temple. They married in 1951. He became a periodontist in Center City.

Mrs. Chacker worked as a sales clerk at Gimbel Bros. early in the marriage, and stayed home in Northeast Philadelphia and then Merion to raise the couples four children. She cared for her own mother, Eva Bett, and helped keep the books for her husbands practice and later for that of her periodontist son.

Mrs. Chacker was patient and welcoming. From time to time, she would come home and find dogs or other pets that her family had acquired. Instead of getting rid of the animals, she cared for them. There was always room at her table for family and friends at holidays and other gatherings.

Mrs. Chacker found ways to become involved in community service and never stopped learning. She was a member of Hadassah, a Zionist womens advocacy and fundraising group, and Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, where she served as treasurer and as sisterhood president.

She took classes on film and the Bible at Temple Universitys Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Mom was an eager lifelong learner until her last breath, said son Larry in an email. She certainly loved people and valued her acquaintances and friendships, as an art collector values their fine paintings.

Until six months ago, she delivered challah, a braided bread, to patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She had done so for a decade.

At 90, she still traveled the city on foot or by SEPTA, going to movies, museums, and the theater, or meeting friends. She always had a knitting project going.

She had many old friends and continued to make new friends  in the park, in her building, on the bus, at the synagogue, her family said in a statement.

She traveled the world with her husband. He died in 2006. Later, she resumed traveling with her companion, Samuel Firestone.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck earlier this year, Mrs. Chacker switched from in-person meetings to Zoom and FaceTime to stay in touch with family and friends.

Besides her son and her companion, she is survived by daughters Hilarie, Stephanie, and Stacey; and three grandchildren.

Services were Wednesday, May 6.

Donations may be made to Hadassah Greater Philadelphia, 1518 Walnut St., Suite 402, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102, or Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Temple University, Box 827651, Philadelphia, Pa. 19182.
Most of the novel coronavirus strains circulating in the Houston area are a type that a controversial report recently said had mutated to become more contagious, according to a Houston Methodist Hospital analysis of the genetic makeup of the first infections treated here.

The Methodist analysis, which has not yet been peer reviewed, found the virus that causes COVID-19 was introduced into the Houston area beginning in early March from a multitude of geographic regions, including Asia, Europe and South America.

We now have a snapshot of what the virus looked like after arriving in Houston, said Dr. James Musser, Methodists chairman of pathology and genomic medicine and a study author. That snapshot is crucial as we keep an eye out for more and less severe strains of the virus.

Musser added that knowing where the virus originated and is mutating will help public health officials track new infection spikes and guide strategies and initiatives, particularly if more dangerous strains cluster in some areas more than others. It also provides clues about mutations that could impact antiviral resistance, vaccine development and other novel therapies.

The Methodist study found no evidence yet of mutations making any particular strain of the virus more lethal than others.

But 70 percent of the specimens examined, taken from COVID-19 patients treated at Methodist from early March to March 30, have a mutation to the spikes the virus uses to attach to and enter human respiratory cells. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory reported last week the mutation doesnt make people sicker, but appears to facilitate the spread of the infection.

That finding was met with skepticism by many scientists, including Musser. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told the Washington Post the paper draws rather sweeping conclusions about the mutant strain. Dr. S. Wesley Long, a first author on the Methodist paper, said, no one has done research to prove the strain spreads more easily from one person to another. He called the paper speculation.

Still, the Los Alamos paper has caused concern. Musser said it has generated much attention in the scientific community as well as the popular media.

The Los Alamos paper also hasnt been peer reviewed. Both it and the Methodist paper are examples of whats known as pre-prints, preliminary reports made public ahead of peer-reviewed publication because of the discoveries time-sensitive nature.

The Methodist study of the eight-hospital systems first 320 COVID-19 patients represents just the third such genomic analysis of the virus spread in a U.S. community  and the largest to date. The others were in New York City and Seattle.

One expert called Methodists sequencing of so many patients a herculean effort that will be very relevant to the areas effort to control the virus spread as the economy reopens.

This sort of genomic mapping provides greater specificity in trying to follow where disease clusters begin and may spread in the future, said Gerald Parker, director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at Texas A&Ms Bush School of Government Service. It will aid in diagnostics and contact tracing.

The single-continent seedings of the virus in New York and Seattle contrasted with the multiple-continent seedings in Houston. Seattles came mostly from Asia and New Yorks mostly from Europe. The strain that Las Alamos scientists argue is more contagious, now the dominant one, is from Europe.

Parker stressed that its important to know that Houston is seeing a diversity of strains, not just the one from Europe.

Musser attributed the international origins of the outbreak in Houston to the city being an ethnically diverse, international city and transportation hub.

He said the presence of a strain in Houston tied to South America wasnt a surprise because of the citys connection with Latin America. But he acknowledged it was a little bit different given that most of the cases seen early involved European and Asian strains. The existence of a South American strain was new to some scientists, but Long said it just means the variation was first observed there.

The earliest cases in the Houston area  the first was confirmed March 5  involved people infected during a Nile River cruise, an outbreak likely caused by an Asian or European strain, said Musser. He said there is no strain associated with Africa.

During the study period, Methodists lab tested 3,080 specimens for COVID-19. The testing yielded 406 positive cases, which represented 40 percent of all confirmed cases in the area at the time, said Musser. He attributed that disproportionate amount to Methodist having its own molecular diagnostic test when testing around the city was in short supply.

The test allows Methodist researchers to sequence all the genetic material in a virus  its genome. Genomes from a number of virus samples allow researchers to compare mutations.

So far, it added, the mutations have not changed the function of the coronavirus in a way that would affect vaccine development, the study authors wrote. But because the virus spikes are the target of many vaccine candidates, mutations to them particularly bear watching, they added.

The study also said there was no resistance-related mutations to antiviral drugs such as remdesivir, recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an emergency COVID-19 treatment. The strains studied likely would respond well to remdesivir, the study added.

The team tested the hypothesis that distinct viral types were associated with disease severity but found little evidence to support the idea. But Musser said the matter warrants further study with a larger sample size and that such analysis is currently under way at Methodist.

Musser warned against reading too much into the study because 320 viral samples represents a small amount for a pandemic that has infected more than 1.3 million people globally. But he noted that Methodist continues to conduct genomic analyses of all its COVID-19 patients and now has more than 1,000 cases sequenced. He is currently working on an academic paper on those cases.

There were clearly mutations in the virus, some of which need to be followed very carefully in future, said Musser. Some mutations may well represent beginnings of new virus families that could cause differences in severity or an ability to elude the immune system.

The Methodist paper has been submitted for review to a prominent scientific journal. The preprint is not the final version of the article.

todd.ackerman@chron.com
(Alliance News) - Diversified Gas & Oil PLC said Tuesday it has raised USD85.8 million through a placing and subscription of shares, which will go towards funding the acquisition of midstream and upstream assets in the US.

The US-focused oil & gas firm said it has issued 64.3 million shares at a price of 108 pence per share, a price equal to a 1.6% discount to Monday's closing price at 109.80p.

Shares in Diversified Gas & Oil were down 1.7% at 107.98 pence on Tuesday in London.

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Ltd, Mirabaud Securities Ltd and Credit Suisse Securities Europe Ltd acted as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the bookbuild process.

On Monday, the group said it had signed a conditional agreement with US natural gas producer EQT Corp for for the acquisition of certain upstream and midstream assets.

The agreement is for the group to acquire 900 net operated wells, with net production of 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019, of which the entirety was natural gas.

This is in conjunction with an agreement signed with Carbon Energy Corp in early April, for Diversified Gas & Oil to acquire 6,100 net conventional wells in Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, 4,700 miles of intrastate gathering pipeline and two natural gas storage fields with 3.5 billion cubic feet in capacity.

The collective consideration for the acquisition is an initial USD235 million, with USD125 million for the EQT deal and USD110 million for the Carbon deal.

There is also the potential contingent consideration of USD35 million to be paid over three years based on certain pricing targets should commodity prices rise.

The acquisitions remain subject to several conditions, including due diligence and regulatory approval.

The remaining funding for the acquisitions will come from a new USD160 million to USD165 million long-term amortising senior secured term loan, which is expected to have a ten-year maturity and 6.50% coupon.

"The completion of this fundraise, against the challenging economic and industry backdrop, reflects the unique proposition of DGO and the support that we have for our continued growth and value creation ambitions. Our investment story is centered on low-risk cash flow and a commitment to shareholder returns, and our business model ensures we are able to deliver both, even in the current low commodity price environment," said Chief Executive Officer Rusty Hutson.

Diversified Gas & Oil now has 707.1 million shares issued overall.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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In the last week the US Air Force has flown all three types of its bomber aircraft on long-range missions to Europe in a show of strength amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, a B-1B Lancer from 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota jetted to Europe where it was joined by Polish and Danish F-16 fighter jets in a long-range Bomber Task Force Mission.

And last Thursday, two B-2 Spirit bombers from Whiteman in Missouri, two B-52H Stratofortresses from Minot in North Dakota and two B-52s from Barksdale in Louisiana took part in a mission spanning the US European Command and US Indo-Pacific Command areas.

USAF said: 'Despite the continued outbreak of COVID-19, we are committed to our mission in all domains (air, sea, land, space, cyber), and to the readiness of our allies and partners.'

A B-52 Stratofortress receives fuel from a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England, during a strategic bomber mission last Thursday

A B-1B Lancer flies with a Danish F-16 during a training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe last Tuesday

A B-52 Stratofortress breaks away from a KC-135 Stratotanker after receiving fuel during a strategic bomber mission on May 7

A maintainer assigned to 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepares a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for takeoff in support of U.S. Strategic Command at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., May 7

On Monday, the B-1B Lancer, a supersonic heavy bomber known as 'the Bone', was refuelled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from RAF Mildenhall, England, which allowed it to make the near 10,000 mile round-trip back to the South Dakota without stopping.

During the mission it flew alongside Danish F-16s over Bornholm Island, Denmark, and Polish F-16s and MiG29s over Warsaw, Poland, in addition to flights over Latvia and Lithuania.

The 28th also flew two Lancers to the Baltic region last Tuesday which also included training with the Danes, the Air Force Times reported.

The show of force is part of US efforts to display its commitment to the NATO alliance in the Baltic region which has been brought into focus since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

NATO has bolstered its presence and completed complex exercises in the region to deter Russian advances through its Kaliningrad territory or its ally Belarus, which border the Baltic states.

A B-1B Lancer flies with a Danish F-16 during a training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 11, 2020. The B-1B Lancer was able to make the near 10,000 mile round-trip without landing after it was refuelled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from RAF Mildenhall in England

A B-1B Lancer from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flies with three Polish F-16s during a long range, long duration training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 11, 2020

A B-1B Lancer from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flies with a Polish F-16 during a long range, long duration training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 11, 2020

A B-1B Lancer flies with a Danish F-16 during a training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 11, 2020

'The health of our team has been a top priority from the start of our COVID response and is key to sustaining missions like the bomber task force,' USAF in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander General Jeffrey L. Harrigan said. 'Although mitigation efforts created challenges to overcome, our allies, partners and adversaries should make no mistake that we are ready, able and willing to deter and defend when called upon.'

It comes after the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), responsible for America's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), said last week the nation's nuclear forces were among the best prepared for a global pandemic.

Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton, AFGSC deputy commander, said: 'We saw what was happening and hoped that it wasn't going to come our way, but we prepared and were prepared. This what our Nation expects of us.'

A B-1B Lancer from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flies with a Polish F-16 and two Polish MiG-29s during a long range, long duration training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe, May 11, 2020

A B-1B Lancer from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flies with a Polish F-16 and two Polish MiG-29s during its mission on Monday

The AFGSC has multiple bases spread across the north of the United States and the 20th Air Force Commander, directly responsible for ICBMs, said he was fully confident in America's abilities despite the pandemic.

'Make no mistake - we were ready before COVID-19 and we are ready now,' Major General Fred Stoss said. 'Whatever the future holds, we will be ready to provide responsive combat power for the nation with no change in readiness or lethality.'
Australia's first model to conquer the elite world of haute couture fashion Maggi Eckardt has died, aged 82.

Maggi Eckardt modelled for Balenciaga, Norman Hartnell, Yves Saint Laurent and many other fashion greats in the 1960s. Credit:Simon Schluter

Eckardt rose from being bullied as a student at a Manly "Lady's College" in the 1950s to being feted by international fashion icons Norman Hartnell, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Cristobal Balenciaga during fashion's "Golden Age". She died in Sydney last week.

"She really was the most extraordinarily beautiful creature, absolutely breath-taking," former magazine editor Ita Buttrose recalled. "And such an incredible career too, I can't think of another girl from Australia who has achieved the level she did."

Ms Eckardt's son, French-based photographer Gaetan Hutter, had returned to Australia in recent months and was by his mother's side as her health declined.
Dublin, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Metabolic Acidosis - Market Insights, Epidemiology and Market Forecast - 2030" drug pipelines has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report delivers an in-depth understanding of metabolic acidosis, historical and forecasted epidemiology as well as the metabolic acidosis market trends in the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico.



The metabolic acidosis market report provides current treatment practices, emerging drugs, metabolic acidosis market share of the individual therapies, current and forecasted metabolic acidosis market size from 2017 to 2030 segmented by 10 emerging markets. The report also covers market drivers, market barriers and unmet medical needs to curate the best of the opportunities and evaluates the underlying potential of the market.



Treatment



It covers the details of conventional and current medical therapies available in the market for the treatment of metabolic acidosis. It also provides the country-wise treatment guidelines and algorithms across the 10 emerging markets.



The Metabolic Acidosis market report gives a thorough understanding of metabolic acidosis by including details such as disease definition, symptoms, causes, pathophysiology, and diagnosis.



Epidemiology



Metabolic acidosis epidemiology segment provides insights about historical and current metabolic acidosis patient pool and forecasted trends for 10 emerging countries. It helps to recognize the causes of current and forecasted trends by exploring numerous studies and views of key opinion leaders. This part also provides the diagnosed patient pool and their trends along with assumptions undertaken.



Key Findings



The total prevalent cases of metabolic acidosis patients were found to be more in males than in females in 10 EM during the study period 2017-2030.



The disease epidemiology covered in the report provides historical as well as forecasted Metabolic Acidosis epidemiology segmented as Total Prevalent Population of CKD patients, Total Prevalent Population of Metabolic Acidosis in CKD patients, Gender-Specific Diagnosed Population of Metabolic Acidosis, Total Diagnosed Population of Metabolic Acidosis, and Total Treated Population of Metabolic Acidosis in 10EM covering the United States, EU5 countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico from 2017 to 2030.



Country-Wise Epidemiology



The epidemiology section also provides the metabolic acidosis epidemiology data and key findings across the United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), Japan, Brazil, China, and Mexico.

Story continues

As per The estimates, the total prevalent cases of CKD patients in 10 EM were 263,018,799 in 2017, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030.

As per The analysis, the total prevalent cases of metabolic acidosis in China was found to be 8,881,796 in 2017, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030.

As per The analysis, in the year 2017, the gender-specific diagnosed cases of metabolic acidosis in Germany were 194,037 in males, and 158,757 cases in females, which are expected to reach a significantly high number by 2030.

Drug Chapters



This segment of the metabolic acidosis report encloses the detailed analysis of current drug therapies and late-stage (Phase-III and Phase-II) pipeline drugs. It also helps to understand the metabolic acidosis clinical trial details, expressive pharmacological actions, agreements and collaborations, approval and awards, advantages and disadvantages of each included drug, and the latest news and press releases.



There are no FDA-approved therapies for long-term treatment of metabolic acidosis in CKD patients; however oral alkali therapies such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate/citric acid are currently prescribed by the nephrologists for treatment of metabolic acidosis.



Emerging Drugs



Veverimer (TRC101): Tricida



Veverimer, which is also known as TRC101, is a novel, nonabsorbed polymer that is designed for the treatment of metabolic acidosis by binding hydrochloric acid in the gastrointestinal tract and removing it from the body through excretion in the feces. It also helps in decreasing the total amount of acid in the body and increasing blood bicarbonate. Veverimer is administered orally as a suspension in water, and it is currently under assessment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for New Drug Application (NDA) assessment.



ADV7103: Advicenne Pharma



ADV7103 is a pioneering product with a prolonged-release formulation designed to maintain a sustained release over 12 h. The product was developed as a multi particulate formulation in 2mm granules that contains two active pharmaceutical ingredients. This drug molecule is tasteless and easy to administer orally in patients of all ages. It is an investigational drug designed to treat distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) in patients of all ages. In December 2019, Advicenne signed a supply agreement with the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Elaiapharm Lundbeck for the manufacturing of its lead product ADV7103 with a view to its worldwide commercialization as a treatment for distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA).



Market Outlook



The metabolic acidosis market outlook helps to cultivate a detailed comprehension of the historical, current and forecasted market trends by analyzing the impact of current therapies on the market, unmet needs, drivers and barriers, and demand for the better technology.



This segment gives a thorough detail of metabolic acidosis market trend of each late-stage pipeline therapy by evaluating their impact based on annual cost of treatment, inclusion and exclusion criteria's, mechanism of action, compliance rate, growing need of the market, increasing patient pool, covered patient segment, expected launch year, competition with other therapies, brand value, their impact on the market, and view of the key opinion leaders. The calculated market data are presented with relevant tables and graphs to give a clear picture of the market at first sight.



According to the report, the therapeutic market of Metabolic Acidosis in 10 emerging markets generated USD 483.62 million in 2017.



Key Findings

Among the EU-5 countries, Germany had the highest market size, with USD 38.97 Million in 2017, while Italy had the lowest market size with USD 14.62 Million in 2017.

The market size of metabolic acidosis by therapies in Japan was observed as USD 45.95 Million for oral alkali therapy in 2017.

The total market size of metabolic acidosis in Brazil was observed as USD 34.06 Million in 2017.



Reimbursement Scenario



Proactively approaching reimbursement can have a positive impact, not only during the late stages of product development but well after product launch as well. In the report, the publisher considers reimbursement to identify economically attractive indications and market opportunities. When working with finite resources, the ability to select the markets with the fewest reimbursement barriers can be a critical business and price strategy.



KOL Views



To keep up with current market trends, the publisher takes KOLs and SME's opinion working in and for metabolic acidosis domain through primary research to fill the data gaps, and validate the secondary research. Their opinion helps us to understand and verify current and emerging therapies treatment patterns or current market trends. It will also support the clients in potential upcoming novel treatment by identifying the overall scenario of the market and the unmet needs.



Competitive Intelligence Analysis



The publisher performs Competitive and Market Intelligence analysis of the Metabolic Acidosis market by using various Competitive Intelligence tools that include - SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter's five forces, BCG Matrix, Market entry strategies, etc. The inclusion of the analysis entirely depends upon the availability of the data.



Scope of the Report

The report covers the descriptive overview of Metabolic Acidosis, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, and currently available therapies.

Comprehensive insight has been provided into the Metabolic Acidosis epidemiology and treatment in the 10EM.

Additionally, an all-inclusive account of both the current therapeutic strategies and emerging therapies for Metabolic Acidosis is provided, along with the assessment of new therapies, which will have an impact on the current treatment landscape.

A detailed review of Metabolic Acidosis market; historical and forecasted is included in the report, covering drug outreach in the 10EM.

The report provides an edge while developing business strategies, by understanding trends shaping and driving the Global Metabolic Acidosis market

For more information about this drug pipelines report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/asvbjh

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

Trend:

The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has taken measures to stop illegal actions casting a shadow on the activities of authorities, some officials, who, in the name of their interests, harm the states legally protected monuments considered cultural and historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people, Trend reports with reference to the service.

As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Deputy Minister of Culture Rafig Bayramov and Head of the State Service of Cultural Heritage Conservation, Development and Rehabilitation under the Ministry of Culture Zakir Sultanov abused their official powers, committed numerous violations that significantly harm the interests protected by society and state laws, and human rights.

During a search conducted by the State Security Service on May 8, 2020, in the offices and apartments of Rafig Bayramov and Zakir Sultanov, various notes on the amounts of funds accepted by officials of the Ministry of Culture, cash in various currencies, other documents and material evidences of importance to the case, were found.

During the investigation, there were substantial suspicions that Zakir Sultanov was constantly embezzling part of the budget allocated for the necessary work on protection, restoration, reconstruction of historical monuments and cultural samples that are centuries-old cultural heritage and asset of the Azerbaijani people.

As part of the current criminal case, the investigation on materials related to obtaining consent to carry out reconstruction work on architectural buildings that are considered cultural heritage in exchange for money, continues.

The investigation also revealed serious suspicions that Rafig Bayramov, through the heads of regional departments of the Ministry of Culture, arranged extra hours for teachers of music schools operating in the districts, and received funds withheld from their salary, as well as from other illegal sources every month.

It was also revealed that part of the state funds allocated for the construction of music schools, houses of culture, libraries, art schools, galleries, clubs, museums and other cultural institutions in the country were cashed and embezzled personally by Rafig Bayramov and through the heads of regional departments of the Ministry of Culture.

In a criminal case conducted in the State Security Service, Rafig Bayramov and Zakir Sultanov were imposed with a pre-trial restraint as an arrest because of official misconduct, misappropriation of funds and forgery. Both of them are involved in the investigation under the relevant articles of the Criminal Codec of Azerbaijan.

The investigation is ongoing.
Richard F. Fenno Jr., a scholar whose close-range studies of how Congress and other parts of government actually work broke new ground in political science by focusing less on government processes and more on how the peoples representatives interact with their constituents back home, died on April 21 in Rye, N.Y. He was 93.

His son Craig said the cause was presumed to be the coronavirus, though his father, who was in a nursing home at his death, had not been tested.

Professor Fenno, who taught at the University of Rochester in upstate New York for 46 years, wrote 19 books, most focusing on the House or Senate. Some, including The Making of a Senator: Dan Quayle (1989) and Learning to Legislate: The Senate Education of Arlen Specter (1991), were about individual members. Others dealt with broader subjects. There was, for instance, Going Home: Black Representatives and Their Constituents (2003).

Representation, he wrote in that book, is, at bottom, a home relationship, one that begins in the constituency and ends there. Thus he visited the representatives he wrote about not just in Washington but also in their districts.
PUNE, India, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The antimicrobial packaging market size is predicted to reachUSD 17.55 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. The rising concerns regarding food quality and safety will spur demand for antimicrobial packaging, which, in turn, will boost the antimicrobial packaging market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, the rising focus of consumers towards quality products will aid the growth of the market in the forthcoming years. Besides, the increasing awareness regarding the benefits of green packaging such material reduction, waste reduction, less energy consumption, recycled content and renewable energy source will boost the market trends for antimicrobial packaging, mentioned states Fortune Business Insights in a report, titled "Antimicrobial Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Plastics, Biopolymers, Paper & Paperboard, and Others), By Antimicrobial Agents (Organic Acid, Bacteriocins, and Others), By Type (Bags, Pouches, Trays, and Others), By Application (Food & Beverages, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Personal Care, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026" the market size stood at USD 9.57 billion in 2018.

Worldwide COVID-19 Impact Analysis:

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. Some industries are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are making continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

To Get Short-Term and Long-Term Impact Of COVID-19 on this Market.

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Competitive Landscape:

Expansion of BASF's Production Plant to Encourage Healthy Growth

BASF SE, a German chemical company and the second largest chemical producer in the world announced that it has constructed a new specialty amines plant at its existing wholly owned site in Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in China. The latest multi-product plant can manufacture 21,000 metric tons per year and further prolongs BASF's amines portfolio at the specialty amines complex in Nanjing.

The launch of the new plant by BASF can be a fundamental factor in accelerating the antimicrobial packaging market growth owing to the production of Propylenediamine (1,2-PDA), n-Octylamine (n-OA) and Polyetheramine (PEA). Furthermore, Stefan Blank, President, BASF Intermediates division, said in a statement, "BASF offers a wide range of amines globally, and this investment reflects our continued commitment to meeting the growing market demand in Asia Pacific. Building on decades of experience in developing and manufacturing amines, this new plant will further strengthen our global leadership in these versatile intermediate products."

In addition, the rising demand for specialty amines will aid the antimicrobial packaging market revenue during the forecast period. Senior Vice President, Intermediates Asia Pacific, BASF, Narayan Krishna Mohan, said in a statement, "This investment will help us to meet the increasing Asia Pacific demand for specialty amines used as intermediates in a diverse range of industries and applications, such as epoxy formulations, crop protection agents, spandex and biocides for the coatings industry, through this expansion, we will be able to better serve our customers in Asia Pacific with steady and timely supply of quality products."

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Regional Analysis:

Rising Demand for Medical Devices to Stimulate Growth in North America

North America is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period owing to the growing adoption of antimicrobial packaging in various industries. The growing demand for drugs and medical devices will enable growth in North America. The market in Asia Pacific generated a high revenue in 2018 and is likely to witness high demand during the forecast period owing to the high demand for sustainable packaging from China, India, and South Korea. The rising consumption and demand of food will contribute positively to the growth in Asia Pacific. In addition, the blooming pharmaceutical and medical industry will have a positive impact on the market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period.

List of Key Companies Operating in the Antimicrobial Packaging Market are:

BASF SE

Dunmore Corporation

BioCote Limited

PolyOne Corporation

Microban International

Mondi PLC

The DOW Chemical Company

CSP Technologies

Takex Labo Co. Ltd.

Other Players

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Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction

Research Scope



Market Segmentation



Research Methodology



Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers



Market Restraints



Market Opportunities

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends - For Major Countries



Key Developments: Mergers, Acquisition, Partnership, etc.



Latest Technological Advancement



Insights on Regulatory Scenario



Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Antimicrobial Packaging Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, By Material, 2015-2026

Key Findings / Summary



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Material



Plastics





Biopolymers

TOC Continued!



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Have a Look at Related Research Insight:

Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Materials (Glass, Metal, Paper & Paperboard, Wood, and Plastics [Polypropylene, Polyethylene, PET, and Others]), By Product (Rigid, Semi-Rigid, and Flexible) By Application (Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery & Confectionery, Dairy Products, Meat, Poultry & Seafood, Sauces, Dressings and Condiments, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Beverage Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Plastic, Glass, Metal, and Others), By Product (Can, Bottle & jars, Pouch, Carton, and Others), By Application (Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Smart Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Active Packaging, Controlled Packaging, Modified Atmosphere Packaging, Others), By Material (Plastic, Metal, Glass, Paper, Aluminium, and Plastic) Others and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Anti-Counterfeiting Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (RFID, Holograms, Barcode, and Others), By End-Use (Food & Beverages, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Industrial & Automotive, Consumer Electronics, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Micro-perforated Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Material (Polypropylene, Polyethene, PET, Other), By Application (Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery & confectionary, Ready-to-eat, Other)Others and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Antimicrobial Textiles Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Agents (Synthetic Organic Compounds, Bio-Based Compounds, Metal & Metallic Salts and Others), By Fabric (Cotton, Polyester, and Others), By Application (Home, Commercial, Medical, Apparel, Industrial, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

Bioplastics Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable), By Application (Rigid Packaging, Flexible Packaging, Textiles, Automotive & Transportation, Agriculture & Horticulture, Consumer Goods, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Plastics Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyvinyl Chloride, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Polyamide, Polycarbonate, Polyurethane, Polystyrene), By End-Use Industry (Packaging, Automotive & Transportation, Infrastructure & Construction, Consumer Goods/Lifestyle, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Electrical & Electronics, Textile), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

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THE Department of Education has cleared the way for a massive redevelopment of one of Limericks oldest schools.

Colaiste Mhichil CBS, which is almost 200 years old, is set for what its principal Denis OConnor has described as a transformational upgrade, which will see its student numbers increase from 330 to 550.

The landmark 19th century building at Sexton Street is to remain untouched, but its interior will be completely upgraded as part of the proposals which can go forward after an eight figure sum was approved by government.

An extension is to be built at the rear of the school, with a building constructed in the 1980s demolished. This will pave the way for state-of-the-art classrooms, science labs, practical rooms and sporting facilities. Notably, an ASD unit will be included to provide support for children with autism.

This is going to ensure the future of the school and transform the campus for students, parents and teachers. This is a massive investment and as a school community we are absolutely delighted, said Mr OConnor, who paid tribute to the work done by the board of management led by Dave Croucher.

Two of the original buildings are going to be kept, but completely overhauled and refurbished to 21st century standards. Then there will be a very modern extension put on. It's going to be a state-of-the-art school. From a Limerick context, it will be a very prominent landmark in the city. What we are especially happy with is we have been granted a full ASD unit. It reflects the inclusivity of the school, he added.

Its anticipated the development will bring new teaching positions, as well as temporary building jobs.

The school will now tender for a design team to deliver the project.

It is hoped the completed project will be finished within a three year timeframe.

Founded in 1829, famous alumni of the school include JP McManus, hurling star Eamonn Grimes, and Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health.
[May 12, 2020] Leading SME financing platform Validus secures US$20 million in Series B+

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Validus, Singapore's largest SME financing platform that is also present in Vietnam (Validus Vietnam) and Indonesia (Batumbu), has successfully raised over US$14 million, with US$20 million in committed capital in its ongoing Series B+ funding round co-led by Vertex Growth Fund (Vertex Growth) and Kuok Group's Orion Fund managed by K3 Venture Partners. They join Validus' stable of highly reputed investors, including FMO (Netherlands' public-private development bank), Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Openspace Ventures, Thailand's AddVentures (Siam Cement Group) and Vietnam's VinaCapital Ventures who return to fund and support the company in this latest round. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Singapore, Validus brings together accredited and institutional investors and SMEs. It obtained its CMS license from MAS in December 2017. Since then, Validus has expanded into Vietnam and Indonesia, and has successfully topped US$315 million in business funding - a record for online SME financing platforms in Singapore. With fresh funding, Validus will continue to invest heavily in technology and innovation, and solidify its position in the three ASEAN countries it's present in. It will also fund the upcoming new venture in Thailand slated for Q4 2020. "Fintechs with a robust platform and resilient leadership, who are able to survive and thrive in these unprecedented times will beleaders of tomorrow. We are grateful and honoured by the vote of confidence from our Investors," said Nikhilesh Goel, Co-founder of Validus. "We'd also like to commend the Government for the extensive SME relief measures designed to help businesses tide over these trying times, as well as our corporate partners whom we're working closely with to further support SMEs and help to bolster their frontline responses to the pandemic."



"The industry is crossing an inflection point where demand for SME growth financing and cash flow management is increasing exponentially, and we are confident that the Validus is well-positioned to meaningfully address the SME financing gap as they continue their prudent approach to growth during this period," added James Lee, Managing Director, Vertex Growth. "We are highly impressed by the leadership and depth of credit management experience at Validus. The team has demonstrated the unique ability to capture critical data points, combined with comprehensive machine learning capabilities, to identify high-potential SMEs that may have fallen through the gaps of the traditional banking model," shared MX Kuok of K3 Ventures.

Based on a study from Validus' Economic Impact Report conducted in November last year, over 300,000 Singaporeans had directly or indirectly benefited from Validus' SME financing platform. SMEs that obtained financing from the platform experienced a 17 per cent increase in their annual revenue in 2018. GDP contribution from Validus-supported SMEs grew by 18 per cent, while the overall GDP contribution by Singapore's businesses of 5 per cent in the same year. SMEs that obtained financing from Validus also experienced robust employment growth of 12 per cent as compared to 1 per cent the overall employment growth of Singapore's businesses. To address the SME financing gap regionally, Validus launched its Indonesian entity, Batumbu, and Vietnam entity, Validus Vietnam, last May and November respectively to help drive business financing for this sector in the region. About Validus Validus is the largest SME financing platform in Singapore, focused on SME lending via funds from HNWI and institutional investors. Founded in 2015, Validus has facilitated over 15,000 loans totalling more than S$450 million to growing SMEs in ASEAN. An award-winning Fintech using data analytics and AI to drive growth financing to underserved SMEs, Validus has most recently been awarded 'Best P2P Lending Platform Singapore' and 'Best Supply Chain Finance Company Singapore' at the 2020 Global Banking & Finance Awards. Backed by highly reputed VCs, Validus is also present in Indonesia and Vietnam, partnering with Corporates to provide supply chain financing to SME ecosystems. Validus holds a Capital Markets Services Licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and its Indonesian arm Batumbu has received OJK registration in April 2019. For more information, please visit https://validus.sg. About Vertex Growth Fund Vertex Growth is dedicated to partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and promising companies on the cusp of growth. The firm provides expansion capital to realize the companies' vision of creating a category champion that is enduring and transformational. Part of the Vertex global network of venture capital funds, Vertex Growth can leverage on a broad view of innovation across the world and capture significant value arising from the Vertex eco-system of portfolio companies. For more information about Vertex Growth, please visit https://vertexgrowth.com. About Orion Fund Orion Fund, managed by K3 Venture Partners, is a venture capital arm of the Kuok Group. Building upon the collective experience and synergies of the Group, Orion Fund seeks to realize the potential of best-in-class technologies and innovative solutions, as a partner in championing growth through mutual collaboration. For more information about Orion Fund and K3 Venture Partners, please visit http://www.k3ventures.com/. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200508/2798761-1 SOURCE Validus

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A legislative committee will again discuss and study Medicaid expansion in Wyoming, a topic that top lawmakers are looking at in a new light because of the devastating effects of the coronavirus.

We take care of poor people, poor kids, people with disabilities, House Speaker and Casper Republican Steve Harshman told other legislative leaders Friday. But this is an expansion to able-bodied, childless adults. We may very well have a lot of unemployed, able-bodied, childless adults. Were going to pay one way or another. Either theyre going to go your emergency room and Wyoming Medical Center or somebody else.

The Legislature, which killed repeated attempts to expand Medicaid earlier this year, will meet Friday for a special session intended to address the impacts of the pandemic. Among the issues are doling out $1.25 billion in stimulus money and, potentially, instituting new health programs. At a meeting last Friday to further discuss the crisis and give marching orders to various legislative committees, top lawmakers narrowly voted  with Harshman casting the deciding vote  to give expansion to the Joint Revenue Committee as a priority discussion topic.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, a Laramie Democrat and longtime supporter of expansion, proposed adding guardrails on the type of expansion Revenue should consider: Under the proposal approved by the legislative leaders, the revenue committee will discuss expansion as a program that will end in four years, rather than a permanent piece of Wyomings social safety net. That four-year window could also be closed early, should the federal government renege on its commitment to paying 90 percent of the new costs associated with expanding Medicaid.

Sen. Bill Landen, a Casper Republican and a member of the management council, told the Star-Tribune on Monday that the committee is tasked with studying expansion over the next several months. But he said that the topic may come up at future special sessions, such as one tentatively planned for the end of June.

Lawmakers have repeatedly and swiftly shot down all previous attempts to expand Medicaid, which would broaden the program to include those making 138 percent of the federal poverty line. There had been optimism heading into this year that the program may have more of a chance, after the Joint Revenue Committee voted to advance it. But that optimism proved to be too bright: Repeated attempts to advance the effort during the 2020 legislative session were defeated at the first hurdles.

But the coronavirus has changed things radically in just a few short months. As Harshman noted, thousands of people in the Equality State are unemployed. As of last week, 32,000 people here had filed for unemployment benefits. Surveys by researchers at the University of Wyoming show that a majority of Wyomingites have lost their jobs, had their hours cut or know someone whos dealt with those challenges.

Loss of employment means loss of insurance. But just because someone lacks health insurance doesnt mean theyre immune from getting sick. Thats what Harshman meant about emergency rooms, and its long been an argument in favor of expansion: Those who are uninsured still show up to hospitals, but because they often cant pay, the costs are shifted onto those who can.

The Wyoming Hospital Association has long lobbied to expand Medicaid because of its potential as a revenue-booster for facilities here. Thats an especially urgent need now, as hospitals face plummeting revenues during the pandemic. Gov. Mark Gordon previously said that something needed to be done to support Wyomings thin network of facilities, and he also said that expansion was on the table.

Still, Gordon has repeatedly expressed reticence to expansion, a stance shared by the vast majority of the Legislature.

Landen said the revenue committee would be looking at new numbers and projections for Medicaid expansion to deliver back to the Legislature.

I never have voted for Medicaid expansion, but in this time, and several on the (management) council felt the same way  Hey, revenue (committee) might as well take a look at it, what kind of numbers were looking at, he said.

Expansion has been a well-studied topic here. Indeed, the state Health Department has released new reports on it repeatedly over the past several years. The latest numbers  presented to lawmakers in November  indicated that 19,000 Wyomingites would be newly covered under Medicaid in the first two years of the program. The state would pay $18 million over that time period, while the federal government  which covers 90 percent of the new costs  would pay $136 million.

Of those projected to enroll in an expanded Medicaid, 56 percent are currently uninsured and 64 percent are below the federal poverty line.

Those latest projections were actually presented to the revenue committee late last year, just before the committee voted 8 to 5 to sponsor an expansion bill in front of the full Legislature, which swiftly killed it in February.

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Vietnam's cement exports to China drop 5% in 1Q20

12 May 2020

China was the largest market for Vietnamese cement imports in the first quarter of 2020, importing 2.73Mt worth US$96.92m, according to the latest data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs. This was down 5.4 per cent and 13.3 per cent YoY in volume and value, respectively, but still accounted for 35.3 per cent of Vietnams export volumes during the quarter.

The Philippines imported 1.47Mt worth US$69.09m in the 1Q20, declining 27.5 per cent YoY in volume and 32.3 per cent in value.

Elsewhere, the country dispatched 1.34Mt of cement to Bangladesh, a fall of 5.5 per cent YoY. The value of the imports also decreased 18.6 per cent YoY to US$44.82m.

Taiwan imported 459,110t worth US$16.1m, up seven per cent per cent in terms of volume but down seven per cent in value.

Overall, Vietnam earned US$301.05m by exporting 7.73Mt of cement in the 1Q20, decreasing 9.7 per cent and 17.4 per cent in volume and value terms, respectively, according to the customs department.

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May 12, 2020 As Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program attracts more applicants, Bong Go stresses need to invest more in agriculture and ensure household food security In view of the implementation of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BP2), Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go emphasized the need to invest more in the agriculture sector and promote household food security in the countryside, ensuring that the basic needs of BP2 beneficiaries are sustained once they have relocated to their home provinces. "This is an opportune time to decongest Metro Manila by creating opportunities outside this over populated metropolis, especially for our urban poor who wish to relocate to the countryside. There are still hundreds of hectares of agricultural lands and unlimited water resources that can be utilized for livelihood in the provinces. Agriculture and food security play a big role in regional development," Go explained. "Let us provide the urban poor the needed opportunities to have a sustainable livelihood in the provinces if they decide to relocate since they are one of the most vulnerable sectors of our society amid this COVID-19 pandemic as well as in times of other calamities," he added. To accomplish this task, the Senator urged the agriculture department to further develop food security programs---this time, focused on household food security---as the government prepares for more Filipinos who may opt to move back to the countryside as a way to decongest Metro Manila and spread economic development nationwide. "Dahil sa COVID-19, nakita po natin kung gaano ka-vulnerable ang Metro Manila sa mga sakit dahil sa congestion dito. Isa sa mga nakita nating solusyon dito ang BP2. Ngunit para mas mahikayat natin ang mga Pilipino na bumalik sa kanilang probinsya, dapat nating masigurado ang food security sa bansa, lalo na sa ating mga probinsya," Go said. "Kaya naman hinikayat ko ang Department of Agriculture na patuloy na maglatag at mag-implementa ng mga programa para masiguro natin na may sapat na pagkain para sa mga Pilipino, lalu na sa mga BP2 beneficiaries, sa kanilang hapag kainan, may health crisis man o wala," he also said. "More specifically, dapat mas pagtuunan ng pansin ng DA ang 'household food security' ng mga magbabalik-probinsya," he added, noting that there is a significant number of families in Metro Manila who already signified intentions to avail of the BP2 benefits. To fund DA's various food security programs, Go said that the Department of Budget and Management could consider allowing DA to realign the funds of the agriculture department in so far as the law permits, to ensure ample funds to implement DA's existing programs supportive of BP2. Some of these programs of the DA include the giving of seeds and support for backyard poultry raising; contribution of various inputs, such as machineries, tools and equipment to agricultural workers; and the provision of low- or zero-interest credit and establishment of credit facilities, such as Sikat Saka Program for rice and corn farmers, Survival and Recovery Loan for victims of calamities, and Production Loan Easy Access for crops, livestock, fisheries projects. The agriculture department also provides free trainings on rice production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production and farm mechanization to farmers, and implements the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita Marketing Program which establishes a direct link between the farmers/fisherfolk and the consuming public, ensuring that farmers get the best prices for their goods, while providing affordable, safe, and nutritious produce to Filipino consumers. Meanwhile, Go also said that equally vital in ensuring household food security in the country is the close coordination and partnership between local government units and the agriculture department. Therefore, Go urged LGUs nationwide to implement their own programs that would be applicable to their localities which should be aligned with the DA's food security plans and programs. "Mahalaga rin po ang role ng LGUs sa food security ng bansa. Kaya dapat lamang po na magkaroon din sila ng sarili nilang mga programang pang-food security ayon po sa guidelines ng DA," Go said. With the help of these programs, Go said that Filipinos will be able to plant or do backyard poultry farming, paving the way for agri-preneurs to start their own food enterprises. "We have seen how the pandemic broke the global supply chains of the food sector. Now is the time to ensure that we are food self-reliant and to reduce our dependence on global trade when it comes to food. Now, more than ever, we need to promote and support food security and agriculture in the country," he emphasized. As the proponent of the BP2, Go added that ensuring food security will also be crucial in its success, reminding national agencies to implement the program immediately to benefit all affected Filipinos who wish to go back to their home provinces. "Importante po na mabigyan ng sapat na suporta mula gobyerno ang mga magbabalik probinsya lalo na pagdating sa pagkain, pabahay, at kabuhayan. Kasama rin dito ang pagsigurado na handa ang health, education at local government institutions para sa mga pangangailangan ng komunidad," he stressed. At the same time, the Senator said that he will also recommend to the Executive branch other necessary measures that can support the objectives of giving Filipinos a better future after the COVID-19 crisis. "Bilang proponent ng programang ito, patuloy akong makikipagtulungan sa Executive branch. Sila naman ang may mandatong mag-execute at mag-implementa nito," Go said. "Now is the time to act. Marami nang gustong umuwi. Pero walang pilitan po ito. Layunin po ng programang ito na mabigyan ng bagong pag-asa ang mga Pilipino na may hinaharap silang maayos na kinabukasan at tutulungan sila ng gobyerno kung sakaling gusto nilang bumalik sa kanilang mga probinsya," he added.
ROCHELLE PARK, N.J., May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZRG, the fastest-growing global executive search firm, expands their global footprint into Latin America and Mexico as they announce the addition of Manny Corsino and Hugo Lara today.



Manny Corsino, an executive search professional with 15 years of experience, will serve as Managing Director in ZRGs Miami office. In addition to offering his expertise to the firms Technology, Private Equity, and Consumer practices, he will manage ZRGs global relationships into Latin America. Prior to joining the company, Manny led Latin American operations for two global executive search firms, and his impressive client list includes AWS, Under Armour, and Microsoft.

Based in Mexico City, Hugo Lara is a distinguished industrial leader who has placed CEOs as well as sales and marketing roles. As Managing Director, he will lend his expertise and breadth of knowledge ZRGs Industrial and Consumer practices and further the companys reach into Mexico and Central America. He has worked at Mexichem (now Orbia), Vitro S.A.B. de C.V., Parmalat, and SC Johnson and most recently was the Industrial and Advisory Leader for Korn Ferry Mexico.



Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG, said: For over a decade, Manny has dedicated himself to bridging the gap between North America and Latin America in the executive search world, and our Technology Practice will benefit from his valuable industry expertise.

In addition, Hugos focus on customers needs and people management, as well as his strong consultative and strategic thinking abilities, will be an asset to our Industrial and Consumer practices. In welcoming these accomplished executive search specialists to the firm, ZRG broadens our reach into Mexico and the Latin American region at large, Hartmann added.

ZRG is home to many partners that I have worked with in the past, Corsino stated. In addition to collaborating with them further, I am most excited to work alongside some the best and brightest in the business on a global scale and leverage ZRGs state-of-the-art proprietary tools to better serve my current and future clients.

I look forward to developing the brand in Mexico and partnering with ZRGs search experts across all industries to sharpen my skills and more effectively support my clients, Lara added. The firm continues to lead by doing things their own way, maintaining a global mindset and achieving aggressive growth with their powerful and comprehensive search tools.

About ZRG

Since 1999, ZRGs data-driven approach to executive and professional search has been changing the way clients think about identifying top talent, and for over 20 years, clients have trusted us to recruit top talent around the world. Today, ZRG is one of the fastest-growing global firms in the search industry and provides a full suite of retained executive, middle-management, and customized search solutions globally through its offices in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.

ZRGs sole focus is to match clients with the right leaders by leveraging technological innovation, years of experience, and our ability to identify quality candidates. Strong leadership effectively steers the ship of a company, and its not uncommon for businesses to falter under a sub-par executive team. Thats where ZRG comes into play by helping firms identify and hire the right leaders. ZRGs analytical process and collaborative culture give us the competitive edge to provide our clients with the industry advantage.
Manu Sharma, serving a life term after being convicted of the murder of model Jessica Lal in 1999, may soon be released if Delhis lieutenant governor Anil Baijal accepts a recommendation by the Sentence Review Board (SRB), multiple government officials aware of the matter said.

The seven-member SRB met on Monday to decide on the release of 34 convicts, including Sharma, who are all eligible for early release. The boards recommendation has been sent to Baijal, who will either approve or reject it, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Any convict -- barring one found guilty of heinous crimes such as rape and murder, murder and robbery, murder in cases of terrorism and murder while out on parole -- who has completed 14 years in prison without remission is eligible for early release.

Senior officers in Tihar jail, where Sharma is currently lodged, or those in the Delhi government refused to comment on the development.

Sharmas lawyer Amit Sahni said: There is no official communication on the release. But I have learnt from the media that the SRB has recommended his release.

In November 2019, Sahni approached the Delhi high court seeking Sharmas release. In his plea, he said that despite spending 23 years in jail (with remission added), and a record of good conduct in prison, the SRB denied his clients release on four separate occasions in an unfair and unlawful manner.

Remission is when a prisoner displays good conduct in prison, his/her sentence is reduced. While Sharma has served around 16 years of actual sentencing, he has completed 23 years with remission.

The Delhi high court asked the board to consider Sharmas case for release in its next board meeting, which took place on Monday.

The government officials cited above said the SRB met on Monday afternoon at the Delhi Secretariat and discussed the cases of 34 prisoners for early release.

The board consists of the state home minister, who is its chairman, and the prisons director-general, state home secretary, state law secretary, a district judge, the governments chief probationary officer and a joint commissioner-rank officer of the Delhi Police.

Siddharth Vashishta,43, better known by his alias Manu Sharma, shot dead model Jessica Lal, who was tending an unlicensed bar at a private party on April 30, 1999, after she refused to serve him a drink well past midnight. He is the son of Haryana politician Venod Sharma.

Sharmas acquittal by a city court in February 2006 triggered protests across the country, after which the Delhi high court took up the case. The high court reversed the order, saying the lower court ignored or misread material evidence. Sharma was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2006. The Supreme Court upheld the order in 2010.

Responding to the boards decision to release Sharma, Lals sister Sabrina Lal on Tuesday said she had forgiven Sharma.

It has been 21 years [since the incident]. My fight was always for justice. He has served time for what he did. Now if he is free, it does not bother me much. It is fine. There comes a time, when we have to move on. I have clearly moved on. One can only hope that he(Sharma) does not ever repeat what he did 21 years ago.

Prison officials said Sharmas work inside the prison helped his case for release. He runs a non-government organisation, Siddhartha Vashishta Charitable Trust, that started working in Tihar around eight years ago, and has funded the education of the children of prison inmates.

The NGO has also worked towards the rehabilitation of families of underprivileged prisoners. Sharma was transferred in 2018 to the open prison, which many officials believed was the penultimate step before his release. Open jail inmates are allowed to step out of prison every morning, work during the day and return in the evening.

The government found him fit to be lodged in open jail two years ago. They considered him a reformed man and sent him outside to work every day. And yet they werent releasing him in the SRB board meeting. Considering the media frenzy in the case, its a bold yet practical and just decision by the SRB to release him. We hope Manu continues his humanitarian work in the prison, said a jail officer who did not wish to be named.

Another prisoner whose case was put up for premature release before the sentence review board was Santosh Singh, convicted of the murder of Delhi University student Priyadarshini Mattoo on January 23, 2006. No office commented on what the board decided on Singhs case.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the city approaches reopening, Borough President James Oddo said Monday that he sees his position in the regions reopening control room as a chance to ensure Staten Islands concerns are heard.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the control rooms during his Monday press briefing. Along with Oddo, New York Citys group is made up of the other four borough presidents, Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, President and CEO of Partnership for New York City Kathryn Wylde, and NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez.

The group is tasked with tracking the regions numbers on seven metrics laid out by the governor on Monday, and handling responses to ensure it continues to meet those metrics.

I welcome the chance to be in the virtual control room, and to allow me to give this group, and namely the governors folks, the Staten Island perspective directly, he said. Im looking forward to having the chance to tell these decision makers what Staten Island is seeing.

Like Cuomo, Oddo stressed the importance of a science-based reopening strategy that relies on those numbers to ensure the safest possible reopening. As of Monday, the city had met four of the seven metrics, but needed to reduce its number of in-hospital COVID capacity while increasing the number of ICU and general hospital beds.

My take is that we are still very much in unchartered waters, and the governor is trying to establish a process that is as evidence-based as possible, Oddo said. Were just trying to be smart to give us the best opportunity to get this economy started and do it in a way that doesnt jeopardize the health and safety of folks.

The state has also set up a regional monitoring dashboard, which the general public can visit to see where their region stands on the reopening metrics.

State officials contacted Oddo last week to ask him to be part of the control room. By Monday, the group had had a phone call going over what control room would look like, and Oddo said he expects the group will meet via teleconference twice a week.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

On Staten Island, Oddo said his main concerns are ensuring the boroughs two hospitals have what they need, and making sure that the islands transit system can be used safely as people start going back to work, particularly the busses and Staten Island Ferry.

He drew comparisons to the weeks and months following Superstorm Sandy, during which Oddo said the borough had an easier time working with the state than it did the city. Former Borough President James Molinaro was in office at the time, and Oddo represented the Mid-Islands City Council district.

Normally, the more local the decision making the better, he said. Subsequent to Sandy and looking backwards -- the state was a better ally than the city.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in office at the time, but Oddo said he feels the state has been more responsive than the city to the needs of Staten Island throughout the pandemic.

Mayor de Blasio has drawn the criticism from Staten Islands elected delegation for his response to the pandemic on the Island. De Blasio has focused much of the citys response on its public hospital system, which became a hotspot for the pandemic early on.

Staten Island being the only borough without a public hospital made it difficult for its private systems -- Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital -- to get help securing personal protective equipment and supplementary staffing through the city.

Oddo said Monday that, following criticisms, the mayor had established a closer relationship with RUMC President and CEO Dr. Dan Messina.

In late April, de Blasio delivered supplies to the West Brighton hospital along with Oddo, Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore), and City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore)

Oddo expressed confidence in Messina and SIUHs Executive Director Dr. Brahim Ardolic to get their systems where they need to be, and to act as advocates on behalf of Staten Islands hospital system.

I think we will be able to communicate Staten Islands unique position vis-a-vis hospitals in a direct way to decision makers, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 11:40:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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WASHINGTON -- There were over 5,000 deaths in New York City between March and early May that were not previously identified, according to a new report of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday.

The report suggested the true number of cases and deaths in New York City is likely much higher than reported as some people infected went undetected.

New York City health officials reported a total of 13,831 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated deaths, and 5,048 probable COVID-19-associated deaths between March 11 and May 2 in New York City, according to the CDC report.

- - - -

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles County will reopen all beaches to the public on Wednesday with mandatory face coverings and social distancing, authorities said on Monday.

Beaches will be opened for "keep moving" activities and exercise only, including swimming, surfing, running and walking, according to the County's Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Lying or sitting on sand, canopies, coolers or picnicking will not be allowed under the rules.

- - - -

ROME -- The Italian government said on Monday it would allow local authorities to decide when to lift the restrictions imposed in March to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported.

The province of Alto Adige became the first to reopen restaurants, bars and libraries on Monday, the Local Italy reported.

- - - -

SYDNEY -- For the first time since COVID-19 officially reached Australia's shores, the hardest-hit State of New South Wales (NSW) recorded zero new infections on Tuesday.

Since late February, NSW has clocked up over 3,050 cases of COVID-19, mostly in the capital city Sydney, with just under 7,000 confirmed cases nationwide.

- - - -

WUHAN -- No new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in central China's Hubei Province Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.

As of Monday, the province had 606 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 11 such cases were added and 20 released from quarantine.

Six patients remained in hospital in the province, with one in severe and one in critical condition.

- - - -

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Several of Brazil's regional capitals on Monday stepped up lockdown measures in a bid to fight the novel coronavirus, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's second-largest city and the one with the second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths after Sao Paulo, Mayor Marcelo Crivella announced a measure to restrict traffic in 10 districts starting Tuesday and banned the reopening of shops in the favelas. Enditem
Singapore on Tuesday said it would temporarily suspend the aviation operations at Changi Airport's Terminal 4 due to the reduced number of flights triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision came weeks after Singapore's aviation operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) had decided to shut the operations for the airport's Terminal 2 to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines currently based in T4 will operate out of Terminals 1 (T1) or 3 (T3) instead, an statement from CAG said.

The timing of resuming operations at T4 will depend on when air travel demand picks up and on the requirements of airlines seeking to re-launch flights at Changi Airport, CAG said.

Singapore reported 884 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total number to 24,671 with 21 deaths so far.

Even as terminal operations are scaled down during this period of Circuit Breaker to control the spread of coronavirus here, CAG said it would continue to work closely with its airline and airport partners and stands ready to restart operations at T4 as soon as a sufficient number of flights return to the terminal.

"These are trying times for aviation and the Changi community. Great uncertainties remain but we remain optimistic on eventual aviation recovery," Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a Facebook post on T4's closure.

"Meanwhile, Changi continues to play its part, bringing essential supplies to Singapore and mounting repatriation flights. And finalising detailed plans to protect crew and air passengers, when people start to fly again," he added.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min assured that Singapore's air hub still stands on strong foundations in spite of the difficult times, noting that the airport has just been named the world's best airport for the eighth consecutive year.

Terminal 4 is the newest terminal at the airport, having opened in October 2017.

It was conceptualised in 2011 to boost Changi Airport's terminal capacity ahead of the completion of the Changi East project, which is expected to be completed only in the 2030s.

On the airside, several finger piers in T1 and T3, where planes park around, will not be used for flights until demand returns, Channel Asia reported.

In March, passenger traffic fell sharply at Changi Airport to 1.65 million, down from 5.63 million in March 2019, according to CAG.

March aircraft landings and takeoffs was down by 49.9 per cent to 16,200 from 32,400 in March last year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A collaboration between infectious disease researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and a Saskatoon-based pharmaceutical company is being described by one doctor as a "science project" with big implications.

Saskatoon's Zyus Life Sciences is working in collaboration with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) to develop and test a plant-based antigen for a possible COVID-19 vaccine.

"It's significantly behind our other vaccine candidates right now," said Dr. Paul Hodgson, a senior manager with VIDO-InterVac, on Monday.

"I think the more valuable thing is working with a plant expression company like Zyus to see whether their methods for expressing protein might be suitable for COVID-19, or perhaps even wave two of COVID-19, or other infectious diseases."

VIDO-InterVac has previously commercialized two animal coronavirus vaccines, for cattle and swine. The organization is the first lab in the country to have a vaccine candidate in animal testing.

Typically, proteins needed in research are obtained using bacterial or mammalian expression and that's what they had been doing in coronavirus research. Hodgson says VIDO-InterVac has provided Zyus with a candidate antigen already.

The more vaccine candidates there are, the more data could be obtained, Hodgson said. Different candidates might work in different age groups or have different duration of immunity, for example.

"What everyone has to remember is right now these are all science projects," Hodgson said. "They're very, very important science projects  but no one really knows what the final vaccine candidate will be, which one will show the best immunity and which one will move on to protect the world."

Given VIDO-InterVac's history with coronaviruses over decades of research, Hodgson believes a vaccine can be developed.

Zyus' work could replicate the vaccine's protein on a larger scale. If research and testing yields results, it has the potential to increase the overall capacity for vaccine production.

Story continues

"Plants tend to be like really, really succinct photocopiers of compounds ... so once you teach it to do something, it'll do it repeatedly over and over and over again," said Brent Zettl, CEO of Zyus and a pioneer in Canada's medical marijuana industry.

Zettl said he was wondering out loud one day and asked if vaccines are protein-based, whether the Zyus platform could be adapted to develop a vaccine. He then reached out to VIDO-InterVac.

"The rest is history, as they say, or the beginning of history," Zettl said.

Enough of the protein identified by VIDO-InterVac is expected to be extracted and ready for clinical testing around mid-to-late August, when it will be turned it over to researchers, Zettl added.
The Djibouti prime minister confers the "Independence Day Medals" to Chinese medics, May 10, 2020. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

(ECNS) -- Djibouti Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed awarded 12 medals on Sunday to the Chinese medical team helping to fight COVID-19 in the country.

Zeng Yong, the team's leader, was awarded the "Independence Day Medal for Officers, while 11 other team members were awarded the "Independence Day Medal for Knights.

The "Independence Day Medal" is the highest honor awarded by Djibouti to its citizens and international friends.

The prime minister thanked the Chinese government for sending medical workers to support the fight against the disease and spoke highly of the medical team's work.

The dispatch of medical experts to fight the pandemic is the best illustration of the friendships between China and Djibouti, China and Africa, said Zhuo Tuisheng, Chinese ambassador to Djibouti.

The medical team went to Djibouti after fulfilling their mission in Ethiopia. They will return to China on Tuesday.

The Independence Day Medal. (Photo/People's Daily Online)
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French drug maker Sanofi SA (SNYNF) announced Tuesday that Sarclisa (isatuximab) Phase 3 IKEMA trial met the primary endpoint in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. The study results were released early based on recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee. The company said the trial evaluated Sarclisa added to carfilzomib and dexamethasone. The randomized, multi-center, open label Phase 3 IKEMA clinical trial enrolled 302 patients with relapsed multiple myeloma across 69 centers spanning 16 countries. The trial demonstrated significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared to standard of care carfilzomib and dexamethasone alone in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. There were no new safety signals identified in this study. The company will submit the results to an upcoming medical meeting. The results are anticipated to form the basis of regulatory submissions planned for later this year. Sarclisa is a monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific epitope on the CD38 receptor on multiple myeloma cells. The company noted that the use of Sarclisa in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone in relapsed multiple myeloma is investigational and has not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority. John Reed, Global Head of Research and Development at Sanofi, said, 'This is the second positive phase 3 trial for Sarclisa, further supporting the potential our medicine has to improve outcomes for patients struggling with relapsed multiple myeloma.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
We have to wonder if Trump also hopes to harm the postal service through his selection of Louis DeJoy, a Greensboro businessman and top Republican fundraiser, as the new postmaster general. DeJoy begins the job on June 15.

Having worked closely with the Postal Service for many years, I have a great appreciation for this institution and the dedicated workers who faithfully execute its mission, DeJoy said in a news release.

But his major qualification for the post may be his fundraising talents  according to Federal Election Commission records, he has given more than $157,000 to GOP candidates, committees and superpacs since the start of the 2020.

We like to think that a hometown son will do us proud. But Trump has made a habit of appointing agency heads who seem to be opposed to their agencies missions  and ultra-supportive of him. This includes Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a private-school champion who has been sued several times for refusing to follow the law. We hope DeJoy will prove an exception.
He will work closely with Steve Warren, CEO, Mapp, in managing Mapp's investors' interests and investments in the business; ensuring that the company is suitably funded; planning for its future; improving financial performance; and complying with all statutory fiscal, legal and HR laws.

Jamie has more than 20 years' experience of working in financial roles and joins Mapp from SmartFocus, where he worked as Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Officer for three years.

Previous to SmartFocus, Jamie has worked in leadership positions at Realeyes, Masternaut Group, and Picsolve. In addition to the UK, he has lived and worked in the US, France, Italy and Spain.

Steve Warren, CEO, Mapp, comments: "I am very pleased to announce the addition of Jamie to our global leadership team. As a highly commercial, results-oriented CFO, he has a wealth of experience in working for SaaS and marketing automation companies that with help Mapp to continue our global growth."

Jamie Gunn, Chief Financial Officer, Mapp, adds: "I am very much looking forward to sharing my experience in close cooperation with Steve and the management team. I was convinced that this would be a great opportunity by a combination of Mapp's innovative technologies, their international focus and track record, and their future potential."

About Mapp

Marketers and data specialists should be able to focus on what will make a difference for their business, instead of spending all their time taming the technology behind it. With the insight-led customer engagement platform Mapp Cloud, they can focus on what really counts  and the exciting insights that come with it. Thanks to customer intelligence and marketing analytics, companies can easily and effectively gain data-driven customer insights across all channels in order to trigger highly personalized marketing activities. Customers benefit from AI-supported forecasting models that enable targeted and self-optimizing cross-channel campaigns. Automated messages are sent via the most suitable marketing channel, at the right time, with the optimal contact frequency. Thanks to advanced one-to-one personalization, the highest levels of engagement and long-term customer loyalty are achieved.

Mapp has global offices in six countries. Mapp's digital marketing platform helps more than 3,000 companies break away from the pack by uncovering missed opportunities, including Xerox, PepsiCo, LG, Qantas, Flixbus, MyToys, ING, Infinity and Lloyds Banking Group.

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Health is the number one priority for most at the moment, as the coronavirus pandemic creates a sharp focus on our mortality.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, a number of private hospitals have been taken over by the NHS, to ensure that as many people as possible can get the treatment they need.

Whilst this is a necessary adjustment, for those who are currently paying for private health insurance, some are concerned they are paying their premiums for nothing.

Some customers have raised concerns about still paying their private healthcare premiums

As non-urgent surgeries and appointments have been postponed, many are asking what they are actually getting for their money.

This is Money contacted the top health insurers and asked them what they are doing to protect their customers and what adjustments they have made to their services in response to the coronavirus.

Bupa, one of Britain's biggest health insurers, said that it has continued to fund the treatment for many patients through this period including those undergoing time-critical cancer treatment in hospital.

Alex Perry, chief executive of Bupa UK Insurance, said: 'Tackling this disease is everyone's priority and we welcomed the commitment of independent hospitals, including our own Bupa Cromwell Hospital in London, to support the NHS in providing beds, equipment and skilled staff at this critical time.

'Thankfully a lot of this hospital capacity has not been needed and we anticipate that over the coming days and weeks they will be able to see more and more insurance funded patients being treated in independent hospitals.'

Bupa said it has expanded the range of health services that customers can access from home including telephone and video consultations with nurses, GPs and consultants.

However, it said it is 'committed' to passing back any exceptional financial benefit it sees arising as a result of coronavirus to its health insurance customers which will be by rebate or other appropriate means.

It did not state how much this financial benefit might be.

Many private health insurers have said they have extended the cover customers get from home

Aviva said that urgent care pathways such as cancer care will continue for health insurance customers, who will also be able to access most other services and benefits offered as part of their policy.

Services include a Digital GP service, an expanded capability of digital mental health and physiotherapy services and NHS Cash Benefit if they are hospitalised as a result of Covid-19.

An Aviva spokesperson said: 'We are asking our customers to continue paying their premiums to make sure there are no gaps in their cover and to maintain cover for any previous conditions they, or their other insured members, may have claimed for.

'It's important to recognise that although elective and non-urgent procedures are delayed at this time, cover is still in place for procedures to be undertaken when private hospital facilities are able to do so.'

Many private hospitals have been taken over by the NHS, to help more coronavirus patients

Axa said that is has added a number of initiatives for its customers including a new, virtual Clinical Support Centre where customers can speak to specialists and practitioners who are all available by telephone, video or online.

Tracy Garrad, AXA PPP healthcare chief executive, said: 'We want to reassure our members that they will be funded for treatment when normal private services resume.

'We are committing to pre-authorising treatments now so that our members have the confidence of knowing they will receive their treatment providing they maintain their cover.

'It is necessary to look at claims and funding over the longer term to ensure that what we are offering is fully sustainable financially.'

Individual and SME members using the Clinical Support Centre will have policy excesses and benefit limits or restrictions on outpatient services waived during the crisis period for consultations and diagnostics arranged by the service.

Another major health insurer, Vitality, said it has introduced new measures including a new Covid-19 Cashback benefit of up to 500 per day for Vitality health insurance members who require a hospital stay due to coronavirus.

Keith Klintworth, managing director at Vitality Health, said: 'We are still continuing some cancer and urgent care treatments where it is safe to do so, and our members can also still access remote care with GPs, musculoskeletal clinicians and mental health practitioners.

'Where private treatment is not immediately available, our members can still initiate a claim and we will fund care as soon as it available and safe to do so.'

Although some customers may not find themselves benefitting from their plans now, they have been warned against cancelling their policies as this could impact the cost of their premiums down the line.

Charlie Cousins, director at Hooray Health and Protection, said: 'Since the private healthcare sector announced it was supporting the NHS in the fight against coronavirus, the industry has seen an increase in clients considering cancelling their policies.

'We implore any clients to reach out to their broker or insurance provider to review alternative options before cancelling their direct debits, as there may be repercussions.

'If customers are struggling financially, most insurers are pledging to pay back surplus premiums and offering payment waivers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

'We cannot underestimate the value in additional services that accompany policies during this time of social distancing. Virtual GP services are vital for those that are particularly more vulnerable.

'The most important reason to seek advice on your Private Medical Insurance policy is due to stringent underwriting requirements.

'If you cancel your policy and then take our a new one again in a few months' time, you're potentially subjected to new underwriting conditions which means any pre-existing conditions that were covered before will likely be excluded on your new policy which can be costly in the long run.'

What to do if you want to cancel

Those who are unhappy to continue paying their health insurance during this time are encouraged to contact their insurer directly to see what options are available to them.

This could potentially include a waiving of fees, or an explanation of the extra options available to them in lockdown.

Whilst many with health insurance can't access all the treatment they might need right now, when the coronavirus pandemic subsides, there will likely be more demand on the NHS than ever creating backlogs within the public health service.

Keeping up membership through the crisis and having eligible treatment pre-authorised now could mean customers will be well placed to access the treatment they need when private hospitals reopen.
Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje has extended the lockdown in the State by one week.

The lockdown was extended in order to contain the spread of coronavirus in the State.

Also Read: Ganduje: Those Criticising Us For Relaxing Lockdown Know Nothing About Kano

Commissioner for Information, Muhammed Garba, announced this in a statement on Monday night.

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Kano has recorded 666 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 deaths.

He explained that the action followed due consultations with Federal Government and key stakeholders in the health sector.

Garba said the State was determined to further reduce community transmission contacts, considered as the major factor that caused the spread.
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The holy book says the love of money is the root of all evil. Yet we need the seeds of the necessary evil to carry out various transactions. For a country whose economy is not well digitized, handling cash especially banknotes and coins are inevitable. Honestly, the high number of Covid-19 cases being registered in Ghana got me thinking about our discipline in handling money. We all like money but the elders say sometimes what you like, could be the same thing killing you. Cash is one of the frequently touched surfaces we encounter in our everyday lives. The same is true for any other payment device whether its a card, phone or watch. The untold truth is that money is dirtier than we think. It may be dirty but it unites more than sex.

On Friday evening, I decided to drive and visit a few ATM terminals on the Spintex road to see measures taken by our banks to protect us. To my dismay, most of the terminals do not have hand sanitizers planted beside them for use by customers. In my consternation, I thought of the pens that are used in the various banking halls in the country and asked myself how safe they are. Clearly, the central bank and other key actors in our financial space have not done enough to protect the citizenry. I am aware there are a handful of bankers who have been infected by Covid-19 in Ghana.

There is a body of evidence suggesting that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses. For example, a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection finds coronaviruses persisting on paper and polymer surfaces for up to five days. Similarly, Vincent Munster and a team at the National Institute of Health Virology Laboratory in Hamilton posit that the virus could last as long as three days on plastic. But these results are not directly comparable to polymer and cotton banknote substrates.

On the account of these findings, central banks in other jurisdictions have taken steps to disinfect bank notes before they are circulated into the system. The Peoples Bank of China has implemented a disinfectant regime which exposes banknotes to UV light and high temperatures in order to sterilize banknotes. Equally, the Bank of Korea is ensuring banknotes coming out of circulation are superheated to 150oC before they re-enter the economy. The Central Bank of Hungary is quarantining banknotes for 14 days prior to sending them through a tunnel heated up to 170 C.

In the president masterful dawadawa and kontomire address yesterday, he admonished all of us to be diligent in terms of personal hygiene. This is good. But the central bank must come clear as a matter of urgency to give directives to all banks to provide hand sanitizers at all their ATM terminals and take up key actions to sterilize banknotes. The exchange of money among hands is one of several ways of person-to-person contact. Help us to stay safe. We will defeat the marauding virus.
Who in this world believes that the world is safer without Breonna, an emergency medical technician, in it? (Facebook)

A decorated Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) was repeatedly shot and killed in her own home by Louisville police officers.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot at least eight times by police officers in her apartment on 13 March, a lawsuit filed by her family claims.

Officials have said that police were executing a drug warrant, according to the lawsuit.

The family is seeking reprimand for the killing in the lawsuit, accusing officers of wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence.

Not one person has talked to me. Not one person has explained anything to me, Tamika Palmer, Ms Taylors mother said in an interview.

I want justice for her. I want them to say her name. Theres no reason Breonna should be dead at all.

Police were allegedly searching the complex for a man who did not reside there. The lawsuit reportedly states that the suspect had already been detained earlier that day when officers visited Ms Taylor's apartment.

The aspiring nurse's boyfriend Kenneth Walker was inside the apartment with her when police purportedly attempted to enter without announcement. Mr Walker, who is a licenced gun owner, is said to have fired shots at officers when they attempted to enter.

None of the officers involved have been charged in connection with the shooting. Mr Walker was arrested following the incident and faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer.

Louisville Metro Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Halladay declined to comment on the case when contacted by The Post.

There is an ongoing public integrity investigation into this case and therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time, she said in a statement.

According to the report, the couple believed that someone was attempting to break into their apartment.

Ms Taylor had been working as an EMT in Louisville amidst the coronavirus pandemic as an essential worker, helping to save lives during the public health crisis.

Story continues

She was an essential worker. She had to go to work, Ms Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer said in an interview with the 19th according to The Post.

She didnt have a problem with that.  To not be able to sleep in her own bed without someone busting down her door and taking her life.  I was just like, Make sure you wash your hands! 

Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, has been hired to assist Ms Taylor's family in the lawsuit.

Arbery was killed while he was unarmed during a jog in his neighbourhood. Two Americans, a father, and son have recently been arrested and charged with the murder or Arbery.

The action was only taken to charge Gregory and Travis McMichael when the shooting was covered in national media and provoked outrage.

Theyre killing our sisters just like theyre killing our brothers, but for whatever reason, we have not given our sisters the same attention that we have given to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, Terence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Mr Crump told the newspaper.

Breonnas name should be known by everybody in America who said those other names, because she was in her own home, doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Read more

Black district attorney appointed to take charge of Ahmaud Arbery case

Video appears to show Ahmaud Arbery moments before his killing

Ahmaud Arbery's death was 'lynching' Atlanta mayor says

Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery's death says he was in 'complete shock'

Two men arrested over fatal shooting of black jogger in Georgia
World powers including Russia and India pushed on with easing coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, despite upsurges in infections in parts of the world and warnings of a second wave epidemic.

Chinese authorities, meanwhile, moved to test the entire 11-million strong population of the city of Wuhan, cradle of the global pandemic, after new cases were reported there.

In Russia, the government began to gradually ease lockdown rules, after reporting more than 10,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus every day for over a week.

And in India, the giant railway network ground back to life, in defiance of a recent surge in the number of infections, with 3,600 recorded on Monday, just below Sunday's record tally.

Various economic and social lockdowns have paralysed much of the global economy, and many areas are now cautiously moving back to work, but world markets were trading cautiously amid fears of a second wave epidemic.

Warning of 'needless suffering'

The United States -- where at least 80,000 people have died -- has the world's highest case-load, but President Donald Trump is keen to reopen the economy quickly amid soaring job losses.

He faces resistance, however, and Washington's top epidemiologist Anthony Fauci has warned of "needless suffering and death" if Americans return to work and group leisure activities before the pandemic is under control.

"If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," Fauci told the New York Times in an email.

Chart showing how COVID-19 deaths in selected countries have risen. By John SAEKI (AFP)

"This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal," he warned, ahead of planned testimony to a Senate committee Tuesday.

The United States logged a second consecutive day of fewer than 900 coronavirus deaths on Monday, just as the World Health Organization warned of the need for "extreme vigilance" against a second wave.

Test and trace

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a cautious return to work from Tuesday, but the gradual effort was overshadowed by a fire in a Saint Petersburg coronavirus hospital that left five people dead.

Infection rates in many countries have started to slow, the WHO noted, with weeks of lockdown paying dividends. By Fabrice COFFRINI (AFP)

Observers were also nervously eyeing Wuhan, where the virus was first reported late year, after the Chinese city registered the first cluster of new COVID-19 infections since it reopened after a 76-day lockdown on April 8.

"Each district should make plans and arrangements to conduct nucleic acid tests on the entire population in its jurisdiction within a 10-day time limit," according to an official statement.

Cautious optimism in some quarters was also tempered by the increasingly dire economic situation, with Belgium's Brussels Airlines becoming the latest carrier to warn of massive job losses.

The virus appeared to have gained a foothold in the White House over the weekend, with staff told they had to wear masks at work. By Brendan Smialowski (AFP)

The virus has now killed more than 286,000 people around the world, according to a tally compiled by AFP. The number of infections has surpassed 4.1 million, but seems to be slowing.

"The good news is that there has been a great deal of success in slowing the virus and ultimately saving lives," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

But the agency's emergencies chief Michael Ryan lamented that some governments were choosing to "drive through this blind" by not ramping up capacity to test for and trace the virus.

White House fears

The virus appeared to have gained a foothold in the White House at the weekend, with a second confirmed case.

West Wing staff were told Monday they had to wear masks, and Trump said he might limit contact with his deputy after an aide to Vice President Mike Pence tested positive.

Paris was coming back to life after an eight-week lockdown. By FRANCOIS GUILLOT (AFP)

Trump, who is desperately seeking to reboot the economy ahead of the November election, said the US was making "tremendous strides" in ramping up testing.

"The people want our country open," he said.

On Tuesday, France reported a 27 percent plunge in economic activity for April compared with pre-pandemic forecasts.

Japanese auto giant Toyota said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in annual operating profit this fiscal year, calling the effect of the virus "wide-ranging, significant and serious".

Industry chiefs say the business landscape could look very different in the future.

"It's most likely," Boeing CEO David Calhoun told a reporter when asked if a major US airline could go bust over the coming months.

"You know something will happen in September," Calhoun said. "Traffic levels will not be back to 100 percent, they won't even be back to 25."

'Very emotional'

In Europe, where infection rates and death tolls have significantly tailed off, millions of people have begun emerging from lockdown.

Spaniards revelled in being able to visit outdoor terraces and cafes after months under one of the world's toughest lockdowns, although virus hotspots such as Madrid and Barcelona remain under wraps.

"It's very emotional, almost as if we were opening for the first time," said a smiling Raffa Olivier after setting up tables outside his ice-cream parlour in the seaside town of Tarragona.

Shopping districts were once again populated in Greece, while in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Croatia youngsters headed back to the classroom after weeks at home.

burs-dc/txw
DENVER, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KND Labs, a leading manufacturer of hemp-derived ingredients, has earned the accreditation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), the company announced today.

The announcement recognizes KND as a certified manufacturer of CBD for pharmaceutical applications. On the heels of KND's National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) certification, the Colorado-based manufacturer is one of the only companies in the world with both certifications. Additionally, KND recently submitted their UK Novel Foods ingredient application for review by the European Union.

KND Labs

Earlier this month, the DEA announced the de-scheduling of GW Pharmaceuticals' Epidiolex, which has marijuana-derived CBD. Although KND ingredients are hemp-derived, which has long been considered a de-scheduled substance, it is a significant move towards CBD being widely recognized for pharmaceutical use.

"We are thrilled to receive our API certification and the ability to propel CBD into the pharmaceutical space," said Nich Wilson, president of KND. "With the DEA's recent announcement they have de-scheduled CBD for prescription purposes, this is a historic time for our industry, and we are excited to be leading the way."

KND prides itself on its industry-leading methods to formulate heavily certified products, including its pure, plant-based CBD ingredients and customizable blends, allowing the pharmaceutical industry to gain confidence in CBD ingredients. KND's' formulations adhere to the highest-quality standards for manufacturing and testing to achieve the safest product available on the market. Currently, KND produces 1.2 billion doses per month, with the ability to increase capacity with new partners.

KND underwent a rigorous review of all manufacturing methods and processes by an independent third-party auditor to ensure the products have the highest-quality ingredients possible to provide reliability and consistency for finished goods to be used within pharmaceuticals.

"Our team is proud to be at the forefront of certification, compliance and purity in our manufacturing process," said Haakon Currie, compliance manager at KND. "It has always been our goal to distribute high-quality, plant-based CBD ingredients around the world."

In addition to being API and NASC certified, KND is cGMP 111 and 117 certified, ISO 9001:2015 certified and EFfCI (cosmetic euGMP) certified, as well as Kosher certified.

KND Labs continues to be fully operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, as CBD sales have increased, and KND continues to acquire clients in the pharmaceutical and pet industries resulting from new certifications. Despite the current period of economic uncertainty, demand from suppliers for high-quality cannabinoids continues to increase.

In its two state-of-the-art facilities in Lakewood, Colorado, and Arvada, Colorado, KND is focused on extracting quality, finished bulk ingredients for brands and manufacturers. KND is able to control the manufacturing process of its hemp-derived ingredients by extracting specific cannabinoid profiles to produce CBD, CBG and the isolation of other hemp-derived cannabinoids in a variety of forms including powdered isolate, distillate oils and liquid or powder water-soluble products.

Please find photos for editorial use here.

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A group of independent scientists has branded Boris Johnsons easing of the lockdown dangerous and warned that further local Covid-19 epidemics are inevitable.

Its report accuses the prime minister of not following the science as work and society are gradually opened up again, and criticises the limited aim of flattening infections to ensure that the NHS is not overwhelmed.

We find this attitude counter-productive and potentially dangerous, says the Independent Sage group, led by former chief scientific adviser Sir David King.

Without suppression, we shall inevitably see a more rapid return of local epidemics and face the prospect of further partial or national lockdowns.

The report also strongly criticises the controversial new stay alert and control the virus messages, saying they must be replaced with much clearer advice closely linked to action.

Containing 19 detailed recommendations, it will be sent to the prime minister; Patrick Vallance, the current scientific adviser; and the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It urges the government to allow local experts to run a test, trace and isolate policy to clamp down on infections, amid criticism of the centralised command-and-control approach.

Sir David said: Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, the government has told us they are following the science.

However, in the weeks and months that have followed, it has become increasingly apparent that this is simply not the case.

How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Show all 6 1 /6 How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Milan, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities North Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Venice, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities New Delhi, India REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Islamabad, Pakistan REUTERS

The group was set up because of criticism that the official Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) was failing to fully reflect scientific opinion and was too secretive.

In addition to Sir David, it boasts Professor Gabriel Scally, a pre-eminent epidemiologist; public health expert Professor Allyson Pollock; and Professor Anthony Costello, a former director of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

On Sunday, the prime minister announced a return to work for more staff, allowed travel over further distances for now-unlimited exercise, and permitted people to meet one person from outside their households.

In its report, Independent Sage:

* Attacks the apparent decision to stop community testing for the coronavirus in March and allow the epidemic to spread and build herd immunity;

* Criticises the governments use of inaccurate, incomplete and selective data, calling for the Office for Statistics Regulation to assess it;

* Calls for local public-health teams to be given the resources to track and trace every case  instead of being bypassed in favour of private firms;

* Warns that the existing modelling of the critical R reproduction rate is 3-4 weeks out of date;

* Calls for people with Covid-19 symptoms to go into quarantine for 14 days  rather than just 7  as the WHO has recommended;

* Warns it would be foolish to bank on a vaccine soon, with recurrent local outbreaks possible for at least a year.
Express News Service By

BENGALURU: I am greatly relieved...I am at last in namma Bengaluru after having to stay put in London for a month due to the lockdown. I went to London to attend my daughters graduation ceremony. I was supposed to return on April 11. I never imagined things would change so drastically. Gradually, all flights were stopped. There was no hardship as I stayed with my daughter.

But when they announced that they would arrange for special flights to bring us back, all I wanted was to reach my land. However, till the date of the flight, there was so much anxiety. On Sunday we were told the flight was at 9.45 am (UK time), we had paid for the ticket the previous day. We reached the airport at 5 am. Till 8 am, there was no confirmation of ticket. Finally when we learnt about our ticket confirmation, there was a long queue. I was apprehensive as I hardly go out alone.

When we boarded the flight, unlike the usual flights, there was no one to greet us. But they had arranged for breakfast, lunch, snacks, masks, sanitizer and two water bottles. The seating arrangement was normal. We were about 300 passengers. There were announcements asking us to wear our mask. The flight was only left at 11.45 am (UK time, IST 4.15 pm) after we underwent a health checkup.

It reached Delhi at 12.30 am (IST). We left Delhi at 2.30 am and landed in Bengaluru at 4.45 am (Monday). Only batches of 20 people were allowed to get down. There was a health checkup again. It almost took three hours to come out. We had to fill forms, select our hotels.

At the hotel too, they checked our temperature and sanitized our luggage. We were told to stay here for 14 days. Its a strange feeling to stay in a hotel in your hometown. We are not allowed to step out of our room. But this too shall pass. I am thankful to the Indian Government for bringing us back.

(As told to Ashwini M Sripad by Sunitha Rajeev)
AUSTIN, Texas, May 12, 2020, a collaborative community focused on redesigning hardware technology to efficiently support the growing demands on compute infrastructure, announces today that Google is now an Executive Member and will hold a seat on its Board of Directors. Parthasarathy (Partha) Ranganathan will serve as the Director.



"Google has been very active in the OCP Community in recent years, and we are excited that it is expanding its participation and the potential for great technology collaboration," states Rocky Bullock, CEO for the Open Compute Project Foundation.

"Google's new board participation further represents how fundamental open hardware continues to be within the industry, and the only way we'll continue to drive innovation within the industry is together," comments Mark Roenigk, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Open Compute Project Foundation.

"Open standards for system and hardware design are essential to meet modern compute requirements," adds Partha Ranganathan, Distinguished Engineer at Google. "We look forward to extending our involvement with the OCP Community to help drive greater choice and agility for the industry."

About Dr. Partha Ranganathan

Partha Ranganathan is a distinguished engineer at Google, where he designs the company's next-generation systems. Before this, he was a HP Fellow and Chief Technologist at Hewlett Packard Labs where he led their research on systems and data centers. He has worked on several interdisciplinary systems projects with broad impact on both academia and industry, including widely-used innovations in energy-aware user interfaces, heterogeneous multi-cores, power-efficient servers, accelerators, and disaggregated and data-centric data centers.

Dr. Ranganathan is a co-inventor on more than 100 patents, and has also published extensively, including several award-winning papers. He has been named a top-15 enterprise technology rock star by Business Insider and one of the world's top young innovators by MIT Tech Review. He received his B. Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (where he was named a distinguished alumnus last year) and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Rice University, Houston. He is also a Fellow of the IEEE and ACM.

The Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP) also announces today the selection of Kushagra Vaid to serve on the Board of Directors representing Microsoft. Mr. Vaid replaces Mike Neil, who has served over the past year. Mr. Vaid has been actively engaged with OCP since 2014 and previously served on the OCP Incubation Committee for several years.

"OCP would like to thank Mike Neil for his service as a member of the Board of Directors as we successfully worked through both key opportunities and key challenges over the past year," states Rocky Bullock, CEO of the Open Compute Project Foundation. "Mike's active participation was appreciated by all."

About Kushagra Vaid

Kushagra Vaid is GM and Distinguished Engineer in Microsoft's Azure Division, and is responsible for the architecture and design for cloud hardware infrastructure hosting Azure's global scale services. Kushagra has been instrumental in driving Microsoft's success as a leading hyperscale public cloud operator and is a recognized industry leader on infrastructure innovation and Open Source hardware. In this role, Kushagra also works closely with industry executives, VC firms and startups to shape the future of cloud infrastructure and is an influential change agent driving innovative disruption for new technologies and business models.

Kushagra is a strategic advisor to the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) and also to several infrastructure startups. He is a sought after keynote speaker at top tier conferences and industry events.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2007, Kushagra was a Principal Engineer at Intel where his responsibilities included technology strategy, architecture and design for Intel's Enterprise and Cloud CPU/Platforms. He has published over 25+ research papers in international conferences, and is also the holder of 30+ patents in computer architecture and systems design.

Kushagra holds a M.S. in Computer Science (SUNY Binghamton) and B.E. in Computer Engineering (VJTI Mumbai).

This news comes during the 2020 OCP Virtual Summit taking place May 12-15. This year's Summit will be an interactive virtual experience for collaboration focusing on solutions for the growing demands of compute infrastructure. The 4-day event includes, keynote sessions, executive tracks, a Virtual Expo Hall with Expo Hall talks, Engineering Workshops and the OCP Experience Center. Click here to register. Registration is free for all attendees and the full schedule can be found here .

About Open Compute Project Foundation

Find out more about how to participate in the OCP Community at: http://opencompute.org/participate

OCP Contact:

Dirk Van Slyke

Open Compute Project Foundation



Media Contact:

Jaymie Scotto & Associates

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Ryanair says it plans to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from Wednesday July 1, subject to government restrictions being lifted.

The airline will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1,000 flights, restoring 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network.

Since the Covid-19 flight restrictions in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.

New measures be in place when more frequent flying resumes.

These include fewer checked bags, checking in online and downloading boarding passes to a passenger smart phone.

Passengers will undergo temperature checks at the airport and face masks or coverings will be mandatory.

On board its aircraft, Ryanair cabin crew will also wear face masks/coverings and a limited inflight service will be offered of pre-packaged snacks and drinks but no cash sales.

Queuing for toilets will also be prohibited on board and toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request.

While EU states emerge from their respective lockdowns, Ryanair will require all passengers flying in July and August to fill out details of how long their planned visit will be and their address while visiting another EU country.

This contact information will be provided to EU governments to help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights.

"Ryanair will work closely with public health authorities to ensure that these flights comply, where possible, with effective measures to limit the spread of Covid-19," said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson.

"As already shown in Asia, temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the most effective way to achieve this on short haul (1 hour) within Europes single market."

Boss Michael O'Leary predicts that summer flights will be 50-60% full.

"Lower than our normal rate but it's important that we get business back moving again and offer people a holiday before the schools restart in September."

Ryanair has released a 'return to flying' video to explain its new policy.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill in the Assembly on Tuesday.

First Minister Arlene Foster has condemned threats by loyalist paramilitaries against journalists and politicians, saying such threats have no place in a democracy.

It's after politicians spoke out against threats made to Sunday Life and Sunday World journalists and a number of politicians who defended them.

Mrs Foster took to Twitter on Monday evening to condemn the threats.

Threats against journalists or politicians have no place in our democracy. Previous generations put their lives on the line to protect free speech. We must continue to defend that freedom today.  Arlene Foster #ProudofNI. (@ArleneFosterUK) May 11, 2020

Speaking in the Assembly on Tuesday, deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she wished to condemn the threats against politicians.

"Those threats have no place in our society and should be condemned by each and every one of us," she said.

UUP leader Steve Aiken was one of the politicians who was threatened. Speaking in the Assembly on Tuesday, he said the threats "undermine democracy".

"Attacks on anybody, not just MLAs but journalists as well, fundamentally undermines the principles of our democracy in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the world," he said.

Sinn Fein's Linda Dillon is the latest politician to have been threatened, her party said.

Police also contacted UUP Upper Bann MLA Doug Beattie, SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone and Alliance MP Stephen Farry on Monday warning of a "credible threat" from loyalists.

Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Christopher Stalford also condemned the threats.

"We all stand with you and condemn utterly those who would harass or harangue the democratically elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland," he said.

Meanwhile, SDLP politician Colin McGrath and the Alliance Party's Kellie Armstrong also spoke out against those who made the threats. "Nobody in a democratic society should have to face such threats," said Mr McGrath.

It follows widespread condemnation over recent days as news of the threats spread.

Speaking at Monday's Executive press conference, Sinn Fein's Declan Kearney said those responsible were "despicable" and called for politicians to be allowed get on with "the real priorities in this society".

"Those responsible should go away and allow all fair and reasonable minded people to get on with the real priority in this society; ensuring we save lives, maintain the public health message that we need to work together in a joined up way, a whole society approach towards the development of a pathway beyond Covid-19," he said.

DUP ministerial colleague Gordon Lyons said: "Journalists, like politicians, play a very important part in our society and should be allowed to get on with their jobs. There is no room whatsoever for threats."

The Sunday Life and Sunday World journalists were targeted because of exposes about UDA involvement in criminality, drug dealing and involvement in the January murder of terminally ill Glen Quinn in Carrickfergus.

Police visited the journalists' homes during the early hours of Friday morning, with one being told of a potential under-car booby-trap attack.
The Congress on Tuesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address as one that gave the country a headline and said the nation is disappointed by his "failure" to address the woes of millions of migrants.

IMAGE: Migrants workers along with their families walk along a road during ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in New Delhi. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the mammoth heartbreaking human tragedy of migrant workers walking back home needed compassion, care and safe return.

"Dear PM, What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE," he said on Twitter.

"When the 'blank page' is filled with 'Heartfelt help of people', the nation and Congress party will respond.

"India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity and failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers," he said in a series of tweets.

His colleague Manish Tewari also tweeted, "PMs speech can be summed up in one word - HEADLINE HUNTING. A NUMBER -20 LAKH CRORES. NO DETAILS."

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, however, welcomed the financial package announced by the prime minister.

"The financial package announced by PM Modi ji was much awaited. Better late than never. We welcome this. Now when details emerge, we would know exactly how different sectors would benefit," he tweeted.

Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said his party had asked for a fiscal injection last month and gave comparative figures of other countries and bemoaned a measly 0.7 per cent of GDP.

"If substantially, concretely, new proposal is 10 pc of GDP, it would be great. Both God and devil lie in details, not available. 10 pc should be additional, not counting old pre corona schemes," he tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "Hoping that the Rs 20 lakh crore package is not scripted with same pen which was used to make the promises of giving everyone Rs 15 Lakh, cleaning 'Maa Ganga', bringing back black money in 100 days, transforming Varanasi into Kyoto and ending terrorism with demonetisation."

In a big push to revive the economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package, which combined the government's recent announcements on supporting key sectors as also measures rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India.

In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said the details about the fourth phase of the lockdown will be made known before May 18, adding it will be different from the earlier phases.

TMC dubs PM's address 'incomplete and disappointing'

The Trinamool Congress termed Modi's address to the nation "incomplete and disappointing", saying there was no proper direction on how the financial package of Rs 20 lakh crores would be used and also what would happen after the third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17.

"Most of his speech was all about boasting about his government's so-called achievements. The address has been incomplete and disappointing. There is no clear direction about how this Rs 20 lakh crore would be spent.

"What will happen after May 17, there is no clear indication regarding it. He spoke about Lockdown 4.0, but what will be its structure nobody knows," veteran TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy said.

While delivering his speech, the prime minister did not spare a word about the ongoing migrant labour crisis, Roy added.

"Those labourers who have lost their jobs and are stranded, what they will do after returning home, there is no clear narrative about it," he said.

"The special economic package is for our labourers, farmers, honest taxpayers, MSMEs and cottage industry," the prime minister said in a televised address to the nation.

TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O' Brien said, "We saw the wrapping paper but we don't know what's inside the package. Because he didn't announce the details. How will this money be raised, will the government borrow, will it raise taxes? The devil lies in the details of the package, for which we have to wait for one or two more days."
DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market By Type (Type 1, Type 2, Hyperglycemia ,Hypoglycemia), By Frequency (One, Four, Others), By Product (Glucometer, Software, Test Strips, Lancet), By End-User (Hospital, Personal Care), By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market is expected to grow at a formidable rate during the forecast period, owing to various growth factors such as increasing number of diabetic patients around the world, sedentary lifestyles, surge in need for faster and safer diagnosis & treatment of diabetes.



Furthermore, technological innovations, early detection of hypo/hyperglycemic diabetes, increasing awareness about diabetes care and rise in obese population is driving the growth of the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market. Additionally, aging population is also acting as a major driver for the growth of the self-monitoring blood glucose devices market as it is more prone to diabetes and illness due to their low immunity levels.



Moreover, self-monitoring blood glucose devices are used to monitor a patient's blood glucose level. They find wide application as they are easy-to-use and enable people to monitor their blood glucose levels irrespective of their location. However, the self-monitoring blood glucose market also faces some restraints. The capital required for R&D activities involved in the development of self-monitoring devices is high, which acts as a barrier for companies willing to enter the market.



The market is segmented based type, frequency, product, end-user and region. Based on product, the market is segmented into glucometer, software, test strips and lancet. Test strips dominated the self-monitoring blood glucose market and are expected to hold their dominance in the coming years as they are cost-effective and are also used for testing ketone levels in the blood.



Based on end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals and personal care. Among these two, the personal care segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market until 2025. The reason behind this is increasing awareness among people about regular monitoring of glucose levels.



Major players operating in the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market include PHC Holdings Corporation, Roche, LifeScan, Arkray,Ascensia Diabetes Care, Agamatrix, Bionime Corporation, Sanofi, Dexcom, Medtronic, Nipro Diagnostics, B. Braun, Becton Dickinson, Trividia Health, Rossmax, Allmedicus, Nova Biomedical, Sinocare, Morepen Laboratories, I-Sens and others. There is a moderate threat to new players entering the self-monitoring blood glucose market, as every new player needs to abide by the stringent and mandatory regulatory standards set by the governments.



Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: 2015-2018

Base Year: 2019

Estimated Year: 2020

Forecast Period: 2021-2025

Objective of the Study

To analyze and estimate the market size of the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market from 2015 to 2018.

To estimate and forecast the market size of the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market from 2019 to 2025 and growth rate until 2025.

To classify and forecast the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market based on type, frequency, product, end-user, company and regional distribution.

To identify dominant region or segment in the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

To identify drivers and challenges for the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

To conduct pricing analysis for the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

To identify key sustainable strategies adopted by market players in the Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market.

Key Topics Covered



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Voice of Customer



5. Global Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook

5.1. Market Size & Forecast

5.1.1. By Value & Volume

5.2. Market Share & Forecast

5.2.1. By Type (Type 1, Type 2, Hyperglycemia, Hypoglycemia)

5.2.2. By Frequency (One, Four, Others)

5.2.3. By Product (Glucometer, Software, Test Strips, Lancet)

5.2.4. By End-user (Hospital, Personal Care)

5.2.5. By Company (2019)

5.2.6. By Region

5.3. Market Attractiveness Index



6. Asia-Pacific Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook



7. Europe Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook



8. North America Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook



9. South America Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook



10. Middle East & Africa Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Market Outlook



11. Market Dynamics

11.1. Drivers

11.2. Challenges



12. Market Trends & Developments



13. Competitive Landscape

13.1. Competition Outlook

13.2. Players Profiled (Leading Companies)

13.2.1. PHC Holdings Corporation

13.2.2. Roche

13.2.3. LifeScan

13.2.4. Arkray

13.2.5. Ascensia Diabetes Care

13.2.6. Agamatrix

13.2.7. Bionime Corporation

13.2.8. Sanofi

13.2.9. Dexcom

13.2.10. Medtronic

13.2.11. Nipro Diagnostics

13.2.12. B. Braun

13.2.13. Becton Dickinson

13.2.14. Trividia Health

13.2.15. Rossmax

13.2.16. Allmedicus

13.2.17. Nova Biomedical

13.2.18. Sinocare

13.2.19. Morepen Laboratories

13.2.20. I-Sens



14. Strategic Recommendations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hn8efi

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Hollywood filmmakers have been enamoured by travel since time immemorial. They like to show you humankinds love for far horizons. All journeys ultimately lead inwards and that has been an added theme in most travel-related films as well. At a time when all travel is restricted thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we bring you a list of the best travel films to have come out of Hollywood in the last two decades. Watch them to vicariously experience some armchair travel. Bon voyage!Director: Walter SallesCast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mia MaestroThe film is based on the memoirs of Che Guevara. The film recounts the 1952 expedition, undertaken by Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado across South America. Guevara discovers himself transformed as he witnesses the life of the impoverished indigenous people at first hand. Their road trip makes Guevara and Granado understand the hardships faced by the common man. The journey paints for them the true picture of Latin American. It can be said that the trip planted the initial seed radicalization within Guevara. He would later give adherence to armed revolution as a way towards ending poverty among the peasants and bringing the true power to the people. The trip lasted eight months, and the friends travelled over 14,000 kilometres from Argentina through Chile, Peru, and Colombia to Venezuela. The film was praised for its picturesque photography.Director: Rob ReinerCast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob MorrowMechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and billionaire healthcare magnate Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) meet for the first time in a hospital that Cole just bought after both have been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Carter is an amateur historian while Cole is quite cultured. During their stay in the hospital, the unlikely duo become friends. Carter has been writing a bucket list -- a list of activities to do before he kicks the bucket -- thats to say, dies. Cole finds the list and tells Carter to do everything on the list. He offers to finance the trip and comes along as well. They go skydiving, drive a Shelby Mustang, fly over the North Pole, eat dinner at Chevre d'or in France, visit and praise the Taj Mahal, ride motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, attend a lion safari in Tanzania, and visit Mt. Everest in Nepal. Their shared adventure brings them closer to finding a resolution towards their personal problems as well. Both die content and their ashes are later buried in the Himalayas.Director: Thomas WhelanCast: Christopher Masterson, Brooke Burns, Johnny MessnerConnor Layne (Christopher Masterson) is a high school graduate. He catches his fiancee in a compromising position with someone else on his wedding day and cancels his wedding but proceeds to go on an adventure-filled honeymoon of sorts anyway. A chance meeting in Nicaragua with an adventurous couple Christopher (Johnny Messner) and his wife Darlene (Brooke Burns) finds him enlisted to take part in a gruelling journey to set a record by crossing the 100 mile Darien Gap. The adventure becomes a life-changing experience for the boy who becomes a man in the process and finds love too as a bonus of sorts.Director: Sam MendesCast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Catherine O'Hara, Paul SchneiderVerona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph) and Burt Farlander (John Krasinski) are in their early thirties living in the Denver, Colorado area. When they learn they will soon become parents, they are confronted with the challenge of how  and where  to raise a child and build a happy family. They take a journey across America in a need to understand that. It has been established that both have the sort of careers where they can work from home like from anywhere. The first travel to Phoenix, Arizona, to touch base with Veronas old boss but find the couple to be mean-spirited. Then, they travel to Tucson, Arizona to meet her sister and find themselves entangled in her personal problems. Then, they meet Burt's childhood friend in Madison, Wisconsin but find the rich couple to be pretentious. They meet old college buddies in Montreal and almost make up their mind to stay in the lovely Canadian city. In the end, they settle for Verona's old family home on the Florida Panhandle, as it is full of memories of her happy childhood spent there.Director: Ryan MurphyCast: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup, Javier BardemThe film is based on the memoir Eat, Pray, Love (2006) written by Elizabeth Gilbert. The film reads like a wish-fulfilment fantasy. Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a woman tired of her marriage with Steven (Billy Crudup) and divorces her loving husband to go on a journey of self-discovery. She first heads to Italy, where she eats humongous amounts of food and has an affair with David (James Franco). Then, she goes to India to give meditation a try and has a liaison with a much older man, Richard (Richard Jenkins). She finally moves to Bali, where she meets another man, Felipe (Javier Bardem), who has an import-export business. She falls in love with him and its here that she truly finds herself. The film was panned as being flaky and narcissistic but if youre willing to overlook that, it does offer a picture-postcard view of the places mentioned.Director: Ben StillerCast: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean PennIts an adaptation of James Thurber's 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a negative assets manager at Life magazine who daydreams of adventures and has a crush on a coworker named Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). His daydreams come true when he loses a negative from a legendary photojournalist Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) which was specially meant for the last print issue of the Life magazine. He visits different places like Greenland, Iceland, the Himalayas and experiences the kinds of sights and sounds of which he had earlier only seen pictures. He comes to know himself better through these journeys, becoming a more confident man in the process and reconnects with Cheryl. The missing negative is dedicated to Lifes staff and shows Walter sitting outside the Life building, holding a contact sheet in his hand. The rich cinematography of the film came in for a lot of praise.
Acting General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr., appears displeased with the penchant by some politicians to discredit efforts and policies of President Nana Akufo-Addo to resolve the current Coronavirus pandemic.



Kabila, as he is affectionately called, strongly held that such practice does won't augur well for the growth of the nation.



According to him, it is a dangerous political trend and so called on his colleague politicians to stop the ''dirty politics''.



The CPP acting General Secretary was contributing to a panel discussion on ''Kokrokoo'' on Peace FM's on the COVID-19 scourge and matters arising.



''Equally dangerous and more serious was the attempt by some opposition elements to discredit everything government was doing. I was amazed...worse is or worse was and it continues till date the attempt that everything government was doing had to be discredited. I didn't understand why but of course, I saw it was the usual NDC/NPP dirty politics that have associated our fourth Republican politics...it won't augur well going forward'', Kabila stated.





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 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has canceled a panel discussion on coronavirus misinformation that was to be sponsored by Chinese tech giant Huawei.

The panel would have included CNNs Van Jones and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am.

I accepted invite to participate in NABJ webinar, warning black community about COVID misinformation. I said yes without knowing sponsor, Jones wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Glad NABJ canceled; I wouldnt have participated. Ill keep raising alarm about pandemics impact on vulnerable people.

The NABJ put out a statement saying the panel discussion had become a distraction from other priorities.

[The panel] had come under attack because controversial technology giant Huawei was planning to sponsor the webinar though it had no editorial control. NABJ always retains editorial control over all such content along with final say over moderators and panelists, the statement read. There is no signed contract and NABJ has not accepted funding from Huawei. NABJ will continue its COVID-19 dialogue with the greater community-at-large.

Huawei, the leading developer of 5G networks and infrastructure in the world, is widely considered to have ties to the Chinese government. U.S. politicians on both sides of the aisle have warned that China can spy on foreign nations through Huawei-built networks.

The coronavirus pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, has infected over 4,200,000 worldwide as of Tuesday. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that China concealed the magnitude of the outbreak in its initial stages, in part to hoard medical supplies needed to contain the pathogen. The U.S. has also warned that China is attempting to steal American research data on possible coronavirus vaccines.

More from National Review
Why do Indians do well abroad? VK Singh has an interesting reason

Indians stranded abroad set to return home after May 3: Centre tells states to keep facilities ready

Are you an Indian stranded abroad: Here are the websites to register on to come home

6,037 Indians flown back since May 7 as part of Vande Bharat mission

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: 31 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission have brought back 6,037 Indians since May 7.

Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express are operating a total of 64 flights (42 by Air India & 24 by AI Express) to 12 countries viz. USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase, a note released by the government says.

India to expand 'Vande Bharat Mission, 2nd phase to begin from May 15

Each and every function in this massive air evacuation mission strictly adheres to the safety and hygiene protocol laid down by the Government and DGCA. MoCA, AAI and Air India leave no stone unturned to prioritise the safety of passengers, the crew and ground handling staff in these sensitive medical evacuation missions, the note also said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:54:14|Editor: huaxia

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TIANJIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The China Tianjin Bulk Freight Index (TBI), an indicator of northern China's international bulk freight rates, stood at 522.03 points on Tuesday, down 1.57 percent compared with the previous working day.

The statistical samples of TBI cover eight international bulk shipping routes arriving at the ports of Tianjin, Qingdao and Caofeidian.

As a sub-index of the Tianjin Shipping Index, TBI is published on working days and was first published in September 2010. It is issued by the Tianjin International Trade and Shipping Service Center in northern China's Tianjin Municipality. Enditem
Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari has been appointed as the new chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Here are 10 things you need to know about Buharis New Chief of staff.

1. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, CFR was born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

2. Gambari attended Kings College, Lagos. He subsequently attended the London School of Economics where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialisation in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations.

3. He was Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985.

4. Gambari was appointed by the secretary-general of United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

5. He was the chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur effective from 1 January 2010.

6. He is currently the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

7. Previously, he served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). He was appointed on June 10, 2005, and assumed the post on July 1 of that year.

8. On March 4, 2013, Ibrahim Gambari was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University, making him the ceremonial head of the university who presides over convocations to award degrees and diplomas and also supports the vision and mission of the university in all respects, including fundraising, social, economic and academic goals.

9. Gambari is also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission.

10. He is a Nigerian scholar and diplomat
ABC News

In an effort to keep a newly-arrested member of the Oath Keepers militia group charged in last week's seditious conspiracy indictment behind bars -- the Justice Department in a new court filing Wednesday revealed even more details behind the group's alleged plotting in advance of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Prosecutors argue in the filing that Edward Vallejo, who will appear in federal court in Phoenix for his detention hearing Thursday, would present both a threat to the safety of the general public and a risk of obstruction of justice if released pending further legal proceedings in his case. Vallejo is not alleged to have joined the Oath Keepers at the Capitol on Jan. 6 -- he instead is accused of waiting with a so-called 'Quick Reaction Force' of heavily armed individuals at a hotel in Virginia just outside the city, waiting to be activated once the militia's members in D.C. called for help.
The Nigeria High Commission in Canada says it is set to evacuate Nigerians stranded in that country due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

In a statement on Monday, the mission said it had received no fewer than 200 requests for evacuation.

To this end, it stated that a Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Air Peace had been specially arranged to fly the intending returnees home this Thursday.

The high commission noted that it could be the only special evacuation flight for Nigerian nationals stranded in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It said the plane would pick the prospective passengers from two locations in Canada, namely Toronto and Alberta.

According to the flight schedule, the aircraft is expected to pick the first set from the Pearson International Airport, Toronto.

From there it will fly to the Calgary International Airport, Alberta, a distance of 2,915 k.m., to load the second set of passengers.

The aircraft will depart Alberta for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where the evacuees would be moved into isolation for 14 days.

READ ALSO:

The one-way flight will cost each prospective evacuee between 1,130 dollars (N452,000) and 2,000 dollars (N800,000) depending on the class.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the special evacuation exercise began on Wednesday with the return of 265 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates.

On Friday, 253 were brought back from the United Kingdom, followed by 160 from the United States on Sunday.

This brings to 678 the total number of Nigerians evacuated by the federal government so far.

(NAN)
There's a new royal baby!

The heir to the Luxembourg throne, Prince Guillaume, and his wife, Princess Stephanie, welcomed their first child on Sunday morning. They named the baby Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guiillaume  so he'll be called Prince Charles, just like Queen Elizabeth's heir to the British throne  and the little royal takes his spot as second in line to the Grand Duchy's crown.

Due to precautions surrounding the coronavirus, Prince Charles met his grandparents Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa through a video chat. Prince Guillaume proudly held his son as he introduced the baby to his parents.

RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Celebrate Archie's First Birthday with a 'Smash Cake and Zooms'

 Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue Prince Guillaume and Prince Charles

Prince Guillaume spoke to the media outside Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg about the "wonderful day," noting that they were excited to share their joy with everyone dealing with separation from their families during these tough times.

"A birth is a message of hope. It's a blessing," he said. "I think this is what we're so happy to be able to share with Luxembourg but also over the borders with all the different countries."

 Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Grand Duke Henri

 Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue Prince Charles

Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie announced their exciting baby news in December.

Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Duchess are immensely pleased to announce that the Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess are expecting Their first child. The birth is scheduled for May," the Marshall of the Court said in a statement. "The Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess and the members of both families are delighted with the news and share their great joy."

Their joyful news comes after a difficult year, which saw the passing of Guillaume's grandfather, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who died in April 2019 at the age of 98. The Grand Duke abdicated in 2000 in favor of his son Henri.

Story continues

Guibbaud/Gouhier/JMP/ABACA Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Stephanie, 36, and Guillaume, 38, wed in October 2012 after more than two years of dating in a ceremony attended by royals from around the world.

Amid rumblings of a possible pregnancy in 2016, Princess Stephanie told French magazine Point de Vue: "I dont have any plans to become a mother. For the moment, Im enjoying spending time with my husband."

Prince Charles isn't the only royal baby to make his debut this year. In March, Bhutans King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun welcomed their second child, a baby boy  making the Dragon Prince, 4-year-old Prince Gyalsey Jigme Namgyel, officially a big brother.

The babys name has yet to be revealed. As is custom in Bhutan, his name was not revealed until after a special Buddhist naming ceremony.

The royal family acknowledged that their joyful news comes during a difficult time amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

While this remains a very happy occasion for the Royal family and the nation and people of Bhutan, Their Majesties wish to remind all Bhutanese to be mindful, responsible and supportive to each other in the wake of the COVID-19 virus, they said. Their Majesties have everyone whose lives have been affected by this global pandemic in their thoughts and prayers.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday held a video conference with his counterparts from India, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan and South Korea on issues related to coronavirus pandemic.

Conversation covered pandemic response, global health management, medical cooperation, economic recovery and travel norms. Look forward to continuing this engagement.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 11, 2020

Pompeo and his counterparts discussed the importance of international cooperation, transparency, and accountability in combatting the Covid-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.

Pleased to speak with @MarisePayne, @ernestofaraujo, @DrSJaishankar, @Israel_katz, @moteging, and @MOFAkr_eng to discuss cooperation in combatting the #COVID19 pandemic. The rule of law, transparency, and accountability will be key to our shared success.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 11, 2020

The meeting also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises and reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order, Ortagus said.
AP

The acting director of US national intelligence, Richard Grenell, has reportedly handed the Department of Justice a declassified list of former Obama administration officials involved in the unmasking of General Michael Flynn in 2017.

The news comes just as Donald Trump has ramped up accusations of criminality against his predecessor  albeit without spelling out exactly what he means.

According to a report from ABC News, Mr Grenell, who also serves as ambassador to Germany, took the list to the department last week. The people on the list were supposedly party to Mr Flynns unmasking  that is, the disclosing of his name per the request of select officials seeking to understand the significance of intelligence reports involving a US citizen.

The fate of the former national security adviser has become a flashpoint in the aftermath of Robert Mullers report on the Russian matter, which is regarded by Mr Trump as a failed witch-hunt. The president and his allies, as well as many in the conservative media, have lately pointed to documents released by Mr Flynns legal team that they say prove the FBI tried to trick him into lying.

Mr Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI, agreeing to co-operate with the then-active inquiry into contact between Trump associates and Russian counterparts. However, he has since tried to withdraw his guilty plea.

He met with some success last week when attorney general Bill Barr moved to drop the charges against him, citing a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.

The decision provoked a furious backlash, including from nearly 2,000 former department employees who signed a letter of protest.

At the same time Mr Grennell moved to declassify the list of names from the Obama administration, Donald Trump and various of his supporters began levelling nebulous allegations against the previous president under the umbrella term Obamagate, which Mr Trump claims refers to the biggest political crime in American history.

However, when asked by a reporter what crime he was referring to, he offered no details, and simply said: You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody.
BOGOTA, Colombia, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL;NYSE: EC) announced today the Ecopetrol Group's financial results for the first quarter of 2020, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) applicable in Colombia.

Table 1: Financial Summary of Income Statement  Ecopetrol Group

Billion (COP)

1Q 2020 1Q 2019  ($)  (%) Total sales

15,072 15,943 (871) (5.5%) Depreciation and amortization

2,153 1,970 183 9.3% Variable cost

6,696 6,118 578 9.4% Fixed cost

2,438 2,147 291 13.6% Cost of sales

11,287 10,235 1,052 10.3% Gross income

3,785 5,708 (1,923) (33.7%) Operating and exploratory expenses

1,078 751 327 43.5% Operating income

2,707 4,957 (2,250) (45.4%) Financial income (loss), net

(665) (386) (279) 72.3% Share of profit of companies

(1) 161 (162) (100.6%) Income before income tax

2,041 4,732 (2,691) (56.9%) Income tax

(630) (1,674) 1,044 (62.4%) Net income consolidated

1,411 3,058 (1,647) (53.9%) Non-controlling interest

(347) (313) (34) 10.9% Net income attributable to owners of Ecopetrol before impairment

1,064 2,745 (1,681) (61.2%) (Expense) recovery for impairment long-term assets

(1,209) 0 (1,209) - Deferred tax of impairment

278 0 278 - Net income attributable to owners of Ecopetrol

133 2,745 (2,612) (95.2%)











EBITDA

5,257 7,357 (2,100) (28.5%) EBITDA Margin

34.9% 46.1% - (11.2%)

The figures included in this report were extracted from the audited financial statements. The financial information is expressed in billions of Colombian pesos (COP) or US dollars (USD), or thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboed) or tons, and are so noted as applicable. For presentation purposes, certain figures of this report have been rounded to the nearest decimal place.

In words of Felipe Bayon Pardo, CEO of Ecopetrol:

"2020 began as a year with growth prospects and a defined path. However, by the end of the first quarter, we confronted challenging and unexpected market conditions, reflected in a Brent price decline over 65% in comparison to year-end 2019. This change was triggered by external shocks, such as the substantial increase in oil supply, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has generated a significant contraction of the demand for crude oil and products.

The Group is in a stronger operational and financial position, with a competitive investment portfolio from an industry standpoint, and a level of leverage that provide the flexibility to navigate through this environment. Although this scenario demands a quick response and major adjustments in the short-term, our focus on capital discipline, cash protection, production and reserves growth remain as pillars of the Company's sustainable value promise in the mid and long-term.

The life and safety of our employees across our operations remain our maximum priority. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, we promptly implemented remote work, even prior to authorities' decree of the mandatory lockdown measures. We have developed the "Minimum Operating Vital" concept in order to ensure reliable operations. Currently, out of the 13,000 employees of the Ecopetrol Group, more than 9,000 are working remotely through a secure digital connection.

Furthermore, Ecopetrol Group has contributed with COP 69 billion in social investment to confront the pandemic. These resources are been allocated in strengthening the country's healthcare system and providing humanitarian aid to different regions across the country.

From a financial standpoint, Ecopetrol has set an intervention plan that includes optimization and austerity measures in order to timely align the capital efficiency and costs to a volatile market, preserving the Company's long term value. On March 17, 2020 we announced the first stage of this plan that includes a set of actions in four fronts: i) An increase in revenues; ii) A COP 2 trillion reduction in costs and expenses in order to strengthen the Company's competitiveness; iii) A USD 1.2 billion decrease in the 2020 investment plan, and iv) Ensure financing and cash protection.

We have successfully completed the first stage, achieving optimizations in costs and expenses of COP 3.5 trillion. Furthermore, we have raised around USD 3.1 billion equivalent in financing through the disbursement of the contingent line of credit, short-term facilities, and a bond within international markets. With these actions, we have strengthened our cash position and anticipate any liquidity requirements caused by the deterioration of market conditions. These interventions will be reflected during the following quarter results.

During the first quarter of the year Ecopetrol Group achieved a consolidated net income, including impairment effect, of COP 133 billion and a consolidated EBITDA of COP 5.3 trillion. These results are mainly explained by the decrease in the international Brent price, which declined from 64 USD/Bl in 1Q19 to 51 USD/Bl in 1Q20, and a weakening of crude oil and product basket. By the end of this quarter, the crude basket spread vs. Brent was -10.5 USD/Bl versus -7.6 USD/Bl vis-a-vis the same period in 2019. These results were partially offset by the strengthening of gasoline, naphtha and diesel spreads and a average exchange rate devaluation of 13% during the first quarter of 2020.

The strenghtening of our commercial strategy has allowed us to promptly respond and quickly adapt to the new market conditions. We have been able to anticipate the sale of export crude, diversify end customers, and execute tactical hedges.

On the exploratory campaign, the Group and its partners completed the drilling of three wells in Colombia. In the international front, it is worth to highlight Gato do Mato-4 appraisal well, located offshore in the Santos basin in Brazil's Pre-salt. Currently, Ecopetrol and Shell continue to move forward with the COL-5, Purple Angel and Fuerte Sur project, and negotiations for the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) are underway as scheduled.

During the first quarter, Ecopetrol Group's average production reached 735 mboed, 7.1 mboed more than in the first quarter of 2019, despite public order events and the deterioration of market conditions. Two important milestones stand out: i) on March 1st, Ecopetrol recovered the operation of the Pauto Sur and Florena fields, with the termination of the Piedemonte association contract that Equion operated for 9 years, and ii) on April 7 the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce approved the agreement signed between Hocol, subsidiary of the Ecopetrol Group, and Chevron Petroleum Company to acquire the participation of the latter in the Chuchupa and Ballena fields, located in the Department of La Guajira. We continue to move forward with our energy transition strategy and increase our natural gas portfolio.

In the international front, within the framework of the JV with Oxy, a change in the 2020 Plan was agreed, which focuses on prioritizing the preservation and protection of the Company's cash flows. This new plan will result in an average 2020 production of between 4 and 5 mboed, with a total of 21 to 23 operating wells in production by year-end. This plan is already executed thanks to the flexibility of short-cycle assets.

In the midstream segment, transported volumes remained consistent when compared to 1Q19 and maintained its operational stability. We highlight the increase in volumes towards Covenas through the Ayacucho-Covenas and ODC corridors due to the decrease in maintenance times for the Cano Limon -Covenas Pipeline repairs. No reversals cycles were reported for this quarter.

The downstream segment was affected by the decrease in demand for its main products, especially in March, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gross margin for downstream was 9.5 USD/Bl and the average throughput was 345,000 barrels per day, a 1.7% decrease as compared to the same period of 2019.

We continue our commitment to provide Colombia with cleaner fuels. During the first quarter, the diesel distributed had an average of 10 part per million of sulfur (ppm), and 100 ppm in gasoline. Both levels are below those required by Colombian legislation of 50 ppm for diesels and 300 ppm for gasoline.

As part of our efforts to contribute to the conservation of the environment and move towards decarbonization, during the first quarter we achieved a reduction of 178,099 tons of CO2 equivalent, verified by Ruby Canyon Engineering, which will be registered in order to obtain an equivalent number of Certified Emission Reductions.

In February, the competitive bidding process of the San Fernando Solar Park began through a Power Purchase Agreement scheme which, with an installed capacity of 50 MW, will be the largest solar self-generation park in the country. Likewise, progress continues in the maturation of other projects for an additional 120 MW of solar generation expected to be awarded in 2020.

It would like to highlight two events which took place during this quarter: first, we conducted the first 100% virtual Ecopetrol's General Shareholders' Meeting, in compliance with the measures decreed by the Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and second, a COP 180 dividend per share was approved by the General Shareholders' Meeting, supported by the solid financial performance of the Company in 2019. The latter, in line with the current situation, will be paid out in its majority during the second half of this year.

Current low price environment and a weak demand determined the new reality that we need to incorporate. Therefore, we have decided to move forward with the implementation of additional measures, with the objective of ensuring a sustainable operation and a positive cash flow in the short term, in a Brent price environment between 30 - 40 USD/Bl during 2020. This measures include: i) revenue protection through a profitable production, a proactive commercial strategy and the execution of strategic hedging; ii) an additional COP 1.5 trillion reduction of costs and expenses, reaching a reduction of COP 3.5 trillion to date, to achieve a target of between COP 3.5 - 4.5 trillion in 2020; iii) an adjustment to the investment level to a new range between USD 2.5 - 3.0 billion. We have prioritized those strategic projects which allow us to fulfill our long-term vision and generate value to our shareholders.

Certainly the current environment and the measures adopted to address it will affect the former targets established in the 2020 business plan, which must be reviewed and adjusted to the current price scenario. We will provide an update of the Plan during the second half of the year.

Now, more than ever, Ecopetrol reaffirms its commitment to operational excellence, the safety and care of its employees, the environment protection, joint growth with communities, and the value creation for our shareholders.

To review the full report please visit the following link: https://www.ecopetrol.com.co/wps/portal/Home/en/Investors/Financial%20Information/Quarterly%20Earnings/!ut/p/z1/nZDBDoIwEES_xS_olJLaKyAUlFiLFrAXw8k0UfRg_H6JiYkYU4l7282b2ckQS1pi--7ujt3NXfruNOx7yw8qygUVIZRMVhl0zjKzqxk0BWnGgJozPtyXfAtZMylCYqfoMZoIcRXEDJAq-Ef_7jRN7wGs374h1vdCcXwCXyp6AuuAJ7QI6QbcLKDTVOiqLKmUL8BX0q-Y17MxpoUrXDR7AKAvSJo!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For further information, please contact:

Juan Pablo Crane de Narvaez

Head of Capital Markets

Phone: (+571) 234 5190

E-mail: [email protected]

Jorge Mauricio Tellez

Media Relations (Colombia)

Phone: (+ 571) 234 4329

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.

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Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | May 12, 2020

Governor Wolf threatens harsh penalties for counties and businesses that reopen without formal approval. Meanwhile, an execution notice is made for Eric Frein and a teen who went viral for torturing a deer escapes prison by pleading guilty to animal cruelty. President Donald Trump is coming to Pennsylvania this week.

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The delayed imposition of the coronavirus lockdown led to a high death toll, a leading expert has said.

Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman said the Government followed public opinion rather than shaped it in the early days of the outbreak, before announcing the lockdown restrictions on March 23.

But Sir Lawrence, a leading expert in strategic studies, insisted the Government achieved its objective of not having the NHS overwhelmed, however, the threat to care homes was not given enough attention.

Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman (pictured) said the Government followed public opinion rather than shaped it in the early days of the outbreak, before announcing the lockdown restrictions on March 23

In an article for Survival, the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, he wrote in his assessment of the UK's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in March: 'With Government following rather than leading public opinion, a graduated approach was abandoned.

'The collective effort to suppress the spread of the coronavirus began before Government announcements and had an effect before March 23.

'After March 23, the measures enjoyed wide public support and compliance was good.

'The Government met its main target. The NHS was not overwhelmed. Yet the death toll is high.

'One reason for this, hard to quantify, was the delayed moving to lockdown.

'Another was simply that London is a global city and Europe's largest.

A British Transport Police officer wears a face mask on the London Underground Central line during what would normally be the evening rush hour, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. In an article for Survival, the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, he wrote in his assessment of the UK's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in March: 'With Government following rather than leading public opinion, a graduated approach was abandoned'

'But it is now clear that while preparing the NHS for an influx of cases, the threat to care homes was not only given insufficient attention, but even aggravated.

'The initial advice may have fitted the Government's preference to avoid the social and economic costs of more stringent measures, but it is always the responsibility of ministers to interrogate advice and also to read movements in public opinion, in this case becoming anxious and impatient with half-measures.'

Department of Health figures show that a total of 32,065 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, up by 210 from 31,855 the day before.

Sunset over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, on Monday as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus

However, the number of deaths involving Covid-19 that have been registered across the UK currently stands at 33,021.

This includes 29,710 deaths that occurred in England and Wales up to April 24 - and which had been registered up to May - according to the Office for National Statistics.

The figures from NHS England show that a further 3,964 hospital patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 died between April 25 and May 10 - which, together with the total figure of 33,021 registered deaths, suggests the overall death toll for the UK is just under 37,000
Monday, May 11, 2020

BELLEVUE, WA  Reacting to reports that Everytown for Gun Safety, the group founded by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg, is planning to spend millions of dollars to flip the Texas Legislature, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms warned, The Lone Star State is not for sale, Mike.

He couldnt buy his way into the White House, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, so Michael Bloombergs surrogates at Everytown are trying to buy the Texas Legislature in Austin. Apparently Bloomberg has forgotten how Texans love their liberty and independence, and how they will fight to protect it.

Published reports say Everytowns political arm will spend at least $8 million to turn the Lone Star State blue in November. Gottlieb calls that a warning signal for grassroots Second Amendment activists across the country.

Last month, he recalled, CNN reported that a Bloomberg-aligned group was targeting 13 states to register more than 100,000 young voters in an effort to win congressional and legislative seats for anti-gunners. Texas was one of those states, so this big money effort must be taken seriously.

Other states mentioned in the voter registration scheme were Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,

The Citizens Committee is calling on all grassroots activists, not just in Texas but in every other state, to organize and fight back, Gottlieb said. Everytown has the backing of a billionaire, but dollars dont vote, people do.

Last year, he recalled, Michael Bloomberg spent tens of millions of dollars in a failed run for the presidency, and he never got out of last place. His gun control message didnt resonate, so instead of trying to win support, his lobbying group is now trying to buy it, one state at a time.

Its time to remind Bloombergs Everytown group that freedom and the Constitution are not for sale, Gottlieb said.
Technavio has been monitoring the automotive laser headlight system market and it is poised to grow by USD 18.02 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 63% 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/20200512005598/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive Laser Headlight System Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. AUDI AG, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, HELLA GmbH Co. KGaA, Koninklijke Philips NV, OSRAM GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Soraa Inc., Universe Kogaku (America) Inc., Valeo SA, and ZKW Group GmbH are some of the major market participants. The precise and targeted illumination 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.

Precise and targeted illumination has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market is segmented as below:

End-user Passenger Cars Motorcycles

Geography Europe APAC North America 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=IRTNTR41177

Automotive Laser Headlight System 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 automotive laser headlight system market report covers the following areas:

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market Size

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market Trends

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increase in R&D spending in headlight technology as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive laser headlight system market growth during the next few years.

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the automotive laser headlight system market, including some of the vendors such as AUDI AG, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, HELLA GmbH Co. KGaA, Koninklijke Philips NV, OSRAM GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Soraa Inc., Universe Kogaku (America) Inc., Valeo SA, and ZKW Group GmbH. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive laser headlight system market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Automotive Laser Headlight System Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive laser headlight system market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the automotive laser headlight system market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the automotive laser headlight system market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive laser headlight system market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five Forces Summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market segments

Comparison by End user placement

Passenger cars Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Motorcycles Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by End user

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America 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

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

AUDI AG

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

HELLA GmbH Co. KGaA

Koninklijke Philips NV

OSRAM GmbH

Robert Bosch GmbH

Soraa Inc.

Universe Kogaku (America) Inc.

Valeo SA

ZKW Group GmbH

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005598/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Four Burkinabe soldiers were killed and four others missing on Monday in a clash with a suspected terrorist armed group in the Sahel town of Kankanfogouol, on the border with Niger, security sources have told PANA
TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2020) The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Uzbekistan increased on Monday by 68 to 2,486, the country's Health Ministry said.

The death toll stands at 10, it said.

The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 has risen by 107 to 1,988, the ministry said.

"As of May 11, 2020, 23:00 in Uzbekistan, the number of cases of coronavirus infection totals 2,486," it said in a statement in its Telegram channel.

The first coronavirus case in Uzbekistan was detected on March 15 in a female resident of the country who had returned from France.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic.

According to the latest WHO data, more than 4,006,250 cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the world, and over 278,800 people have died from the disease.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks were struggling for direction on Tuesday as fears of U.S.-China trade tensions and worries over a second round of covid-19 infections kept underlying sentiment cautious. The benchmark DAX was up 4 points at 10,829 in lackluster trade after losing 0.7 percent in the previous session. ProSiebenSat.1 Media shares soared 14 percent after U.S. private equity house KKR built a 5.2 percent stake in the German broadcaster. Industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp plunged 13 percent. After widening its first-half loss, the company warned losses could surge in the third quarter. It said a fiscal third-quarter operating loss of '1 billion cannot be ruled out'. Insurer Allianz lost 2.7 percent after its first-quarter earnings fell 29 percent from last year amid turbulence created by the coronavirus pandemic. Deutsche Post rallied 3.4 percent. The logistics group said it sees signs that business is normalizing in Europe. Electric utility E.ON advanced 2.4 percent after reporting a rise in Q1 net adjusted net income. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak to set out future of coronavirus furlough scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will outline the future of the UK Governments furloughing scheme later, amid growing calls to extend it.

More than six million people across 800,000 employers are currently making use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which sees the state pay 80 per cent of their wages while they are put on leave.

The scheme was set up in a bid to avoid a wave of job losses after the UK Government told the public to stay at home and ordered the shutdown of vast swathes of the economy.

Sunak promised last week that there would be no cliff edge for businesses to face when the scheme is brought to an end, but he confirmed that the Treasury was looking to wind down the programme because its cost to the taxpayer was not sustainable.

It has been reported that the Chancellor, who is expected to unveil the changes at the daily Downing Street press conference, will extend the schemes endpoint from June to September.

But he is expected to cut government payments to 60 per cent of earnings and allow employers to put staff on part-time hours while having their wages topped-up by the government.

Speaking on Monday night, Boris Johnson said he did not want to steal Sunaks thunder ahead of the announcement, but he heaped praise on the furloughing scheme as one of the most remarkable features of the government's response.

The Prime Minister said: It is unlike anything seen internationally, with 6.5 million people currently being supported. It is absolutely right that we should do it.

One of the most salient and important features of this country's response to this crisis so far is that we have looked after some of the lowest-paid people in our society  the hardest-working people  and we will continue to do so."

The announcement from the Chancellor comes amid calls to avoid a sudden drop-off in support for firms making use of the scheme.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said: Moving too quickly could spark a huge second surge in job losses at a time when unemployment already looks set to be at the highest level for a quarter of a century.

This policy has made a huge difference in this crisis. It now needs careful and gradual change to ensure the benefits it has provided are secured rather than squandered.

And Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said firms were in the middle of the worst downturn on record.

He added: The Government has stepped up with a raft of support mechanisms to help them through.

Its critical that these mechanisms are not suddenly removed, and that gaps in support are plugged quickly.

The vast majority of small employers have furloughed staff and theyre telling us loud and clear that the ability to do so on a part-time basis as we move towards recovery will be key to keeping their operations afloat.

For firms that dont have the green light to open until July at the very earliest in particular, we need to see schemes extended significantly  not least the job retention scheme.

The SNPs shadow chancellor, Alison Thewliss, said Sunak should extend the scheme, fix the serious gaps and ensure people get the support they need.

And she warned: I have businesses in my own constituency who havent yet received their payments, so talk of winding the scheme down is causing significant anxiety for businesses and employees alike.
The education market size in UAE is expected to grow by 378 thousand during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005705/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Education Market in UAE 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

The private sector participation in the schools and universities of the UAE is one of the key reasons for the continuous upliftment of the education sector in the country. The increasing awareness of parents regarding the essential skills needed for the overall development of their child is expected to encourage the proliferation of private schools and colleges in the UAE. Moreover, the rising expatriate population and its expectation of providing high-quality education meeting the international standards to their children is the key factor for the surging rise of privatization in the education sector. Even the governments are increasingly supporting the rising involvement of the private sector through investor-friendly resolutions and policies to improve the education system in the UAE.

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=IRTNTR41640

As per Technavio, the rising awareness of early education will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This education market in UAE research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Education Market in UAE: Rising Awareness of Early Education

Early education has been a critical component of children's development. The growth of the early education market in UAE has also proliferated due to the increasing awareness among parents regarding the criticality of the first three years of childhood and the increasing importance of education in these years. Conventionally, families in the UAE are following the approach of home-learning for children. However, with the increasing number of working women and dual-income households in the country, the demand for kindergartens, and pre-primary schools has increased exponentially during the last few years. The cause of educating toddlers in competitive settings and giving them a head-start for higher studies is supported by various government initiatives. One such initiative is UAE Vision 2021, a holistic and strategic program geared toward the development of a cohesive, sustainable, and prosperous society driven by the UAE-nurtured and educated global citizens. Thus, the rising awareness of early education is expected to be one of the key education market trends during the forecast period.

"Other factors such as the technological advances in UAE education sector, and the evolving learning methodologies will have a significant impact on the growth of the education market value in UAE during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Education Market In UAE: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the education market in UAE by product (private education and public education) and end-user (K-12 schools and higher education).

The K-12 segment accounted for the largest education market share in UAE in 2020. During the forecast period, the K-12 schools region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as increasing importance of early education and rising awareness of girl education in the country.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005705/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
[May 12, 2020] Lucidworks Announces Smart Answers, a Question Answering System That Enhances Chatbots and Virtual Assistants to Deliver Personalized Self-Service

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lucidworks , leader in AI-powered search, today announces Smart Answers on Lucidworks Fusion. Smart Answers enhances the intelligence of chatbots and virtual assistants by using deep learning to understand natural language questions and quickly return the right answers. Customers and employees can now locate critical insights to help them move to their next best action, avoiding frustrating digital experiences and long customer support wait times.

Companies rely on digital portals to provide information to users, whether digital commerce customers looking for product information before purchase, employees hunting for an HR document, or someone looking for an airlines updated cancellation policies. Information is often scattered across disparate silos and is impossible for a user to locate using natural language questions. Smart Answers on Lucidworks Fusion helps employees and customers resolve issues more quickly, empowering them to find the right answer immediately via chatbot or virtual assistant without seeking out additional support channels or digging through irrelevant search results. Smart Answers API also enables easy integration with any chatbot or knowledge base, adding value to those existing applications. Users expectations are evolving towards more conversational interactions with an interface that understands natural language questions, and qickly provides the correct answers, explains Will Hayes, Lucidworks CEO. In the current environment, its important to meet customers where they are, especially if theyre moving from a real life experience to digital. Our work over the years with Fusion has been focused on understanding a users intent. Digging for answers wears their patience, wastes their time, and can even motivate them to seek out a competitor. Being able to understand what your users are asking for in their own words and returning the best answer instantly, allows companies to provide a natural conversational experience digitally. With Smart Answers, were cutting down time-to-resolution, increasing customer retention, and powering conversational experiences for users.



Users are motivated to help themselves, which makes conversational applications a high priority for many organizations who rely on digital touchpoints. Manikandan Sivanesan, Principal Software Engineer at Red Hat, a Lucidworks customer, tested users' propensity for self-service. He explains: We conducted an A/B test where we introduced a self-solve based homepage to some customers. There was an increase in traffic that confirmed that customers are really motivated to self-solve and we saw a 7% decrease in support case creation for customers who were given the self-solve homepage." Smart Answers on Lucidworks Fusion enhances conversational applications to help users help themselves by delivering immediate and contextual responses that drive engagement and satisfaction.

Learn more in a webinar with Radu Miclaus, Lucidworks Director of Product and Steven Mierop, Lucidworks Solutions Engineer, on Wednesday, May 27th @ 11am PT to understand how Smart Answers on Lucidworks Fusion powers a more conversational digital experience. About Lucidworks

Lucidworks builds AI-powered search solutions for many of the world's largest brands. Fusion, Lucidworks' advanced development platform, provides the enterprise-grade capabilities needed to design, develop, and deploy intelligent search applications at any scale. Companies across all industries, from consumer retail and healthcare to insurance and financial services, rely on Lucidworks every day to power their consumer-facing and enterprise search apps. Lucidworks investors include Francisco Partners, TPG Sixth Street Partners, Top Tier Capital Partners, Shasta Ventures, Granite Ventures, and Walden International. Learn more at Lucidworks.com. Press Contact

Joel Richman

[email protected]

617-312-5942

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TEHRAN, Iran, May 12

Trend:

Coronavirus is under the control in many regions of Iran, and it's important to follow health protocols during Ramadan prayers and gatherings in mosques, said the Health Minister.

"It has been announced earlier that there are three phases to fight virus including management, control and curbing; fortunately, we have reached now the control phase in many parts of the country," said Saeed Namaki, Trend reports citing IRNA.

"However, it is the biggest mistake to think that coronavirus situation is over, as it's possible to return to bad situation," the minister said.

"It has been agreed to hold prayers during Ramadan in mosques, but people should follow regulations and health protocol," Namaki added.

"Sick individuals as well as children should not attend Ramadan ceremonies, while all others should wear gloves and masks. The priority is prayers in open spaces," he noted.

"The issue of reopening holy shrines is still being reviewed, as there is concern over a large number of visitors that would come to see these holy places," he said.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Black Tusk Resources Inc. ("Black Tusk" or the "Company) (CSE:TUSK)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(Frankfurt:0NB) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a permit to conduct diamond drilling on the McKenzie East Gold Project, located 30 kilometres north of Val d'Or, Quebec.The McKenzie East drill permit will allow for the construction of 18 drill pads with supporting water supply stations and access trails. Black Tusk plans to conduct the drill program during the Summer 2020 exploration season.Prior to conducting diamond drilling on the McKenzie Gold Property, Black Tusk plans to undertake surface prospecting, mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling. Black Tusk's exploration team, based in the Val d'Or area, is expected to begin that exploration work this month. Areas of interest were determined from the results of the company's drone-supported magnetic survey over the property completed earlier this year, combined with the results from historic exploration work.Black Tusk Resources' McKenzie East gold project is located approximately two kilometres east of Monarch Gold's McKenzie Break Project. At the McKenzie break, gold mineralization is reported as visually distinctive white quartz-carbonate ribbon veins and sheeted veinlet complexes in places containing free gold. Shear zones hosting the veins range from two metres to 10 metres in thickness. A Monarch Gold news release dated Feb. 26, 2020, states that drill hole MK-18-205 returned 20.12 g/t Au over 2.6 metres, with the hole being extended in 2019. Hole extension MK-18-205ext continued to intersect mineralization at depth, returning 32.3 g/t Au over 7.1 metres, including 142.8 g/t Au over 1.2 metres, 26.97 g/t Au over 1.3 metres and 24.6 g/t Au over 0.7 metre. This high-grade intersection is considered one of the best on the property to date. The reader is cautioned that results obtained from McKenzie Break Gold Project is not necessarily indicative of potential on the Black Tusk-McKenzie East Gold Project.'Now that the Quebec Government has given the green light for exploration companies to go back to work, Black Tusk Resources is extremely excited to commence our exploration season at the McKenzie East Gold Project in Val-d' Or.'' Stated CEO, Richard Penn.About Black Tusk Resources Inc.Black Tusk Resources is gold-focused Canadian exploration company with operations primarily based in the world class Abitibi Greenstone-belt region of Quebec. Black Tusk currently holds 100% ownership in 5 separate Gold and Palladium projects in Canada.Perry Grunenberg, P.Geo, a "Qualified Person" as that term is defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Grunenberg is also a director of the Company.On behalf of the Board of DirectorsRichard PennCEO(778) 384-8923Forward-looking Information Cautionary StatementExcept for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for the Company as described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedar.com The CSE and Information Service Provider have not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.SOURCE: Black Tusk Resources Inc.
Ryanair Holdings Plc. sees an opportunity to buy planes for less and reduce other costs with weaker rivals out of the picture once the airline industry emerges on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dublin-based Ryanair is in advanced discussions with Boeing Co. over pricing for 737 Max jets, chief executive officer Michael OLeary said at a Financial Times summit held virtually on Tuesday. The discussions encompass both an existing order for 135 of the grounded narrow-body jets as well as a potential follow-on deal for a larger Max version, according to the airline.

Talks with Boeing, tied to compensation for delivery delays of the Max, wont be concluded until the plane has been approved for a return to service, OLeary said. He doesnt expect that to happen until August or September, he said.

Boeing declined to comment.

Europes largest low-cost carrier has already decided not to accept 10 Airbus SE A320 aircraft it was due to receive from leasing firms for its Austrian Lauda unit.

I see nothing but opportunity coming out of this. But I dont underestimate the challenge facing Ryanair and our people as we try to compete in what is going to be a very difficult marketplace, OLeary said, railing against state-aid packages being doled out to rivals.

Ryanairs competitors will have 30 billion euros worth of firepower to throw at us over the next two or three years, he said, after criticizing bailouts being offered to rivals such as Air France-KLM, bankrupt Alitalia SpA and Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

OLeary has consistently opposed the bailouts that would save weaker airlines, arguing that they are in breach of European Union competition and state-aid rules. Still, the crisis has claimed a number of European competitors, including domestic U.K. carrier Flybe Ltd., and weakened others including Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

Reversal of fortunes

Boeing and Airbus are also feeling the impact. Both have slashed production rates as they face requests from airline customers to defer or cancel orders.

That gives OLeary more power in negotiations with the airframers. Europes biggest low-cost carrier has 135 Max jets on order, with 75 options, and OLeary said in February that hes considering buying a larger version as well.

The Max has been grounded for over a year following two fatal crashes, and Boeing now expects the plane to return to service in the third quarter of 2020.

OLeary has previously sought to pit the two manufacturing giants against each other to get good deals. Before the crisis hit, the airline chief had said he would consider buying more Airbus jets at the right price. That was when the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer held a record order backlog and had no need to give discounts.

But the coronavirus led to a rapid reversal of fortunes, and Airbus logged just nine net orders in April. Boeing, meanwhile, lost 108 Max orders alone last month.

Ryanair said Tuesday that it plans to resume almost 1,000 flights a day starting in July. The airline expects airports to offer growth incentives to recover lost traffic after other carriers pare back or collapse.

Weve already seen Thomas Cook, Flybe and others have gone bust, said OLeary. Norwegian Air will emerge much smaller after its restructuring, he said. Ryanair, as an airline with 200 aircraft on order for the next four or five years, will be in a position to negotiate very attractive growth.

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CHATSWORTH, Calif. Jimmyjane, which has won numerous awards for its sexual wellness products, is taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, and has been working hard to help its community fight the deadly virus. To that end, it has sourced and donated 2,100 face shields to Los Angeles-area hospitals in need. On the final day of Nurse Appreciation Week, the company is encouraging other adult brands to work their connections with health product suppliers to get hard-to-find and much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) in the hands of frontline workers.

With robust manufacturing connections thanks to the brands 16 years in the industry, Jimmyjane successfully leveraged relationships to source hard-to-get face shields, essential for protecting healthcare workers in their fight to save lives. The company air-freighted the 2,100-strong supply directly to their Southern California warehouse and distributed them to two key facilities to ensure they were available to first responders at the height of this crisis.

One thousand units went direct to Good Samaritan Hospital near downtown Los Angeles, and 1,100 were donated to the American University of Health Sciences Foundation (AUHS) for distribution to hospitals in Los Angeles County.

We are so grateful for this contribution; face shields are a vital form of protection and much-needed in our facility, said Ben Musser, Assistant Medical Director at Good Samaritan Hospital. During this trying time, and when safety supplies are so hard to come by, we greatly appreciate the efforts of companies like Jimmyjane who are willing to invest time, energy, and funds in getting our frontline healthcare workers the supplies they need.

Contributions like this are keeping us safe in these unprecedented times and we are so thankful to the Jimmyjane team for their efforts, said Dr. Kim Dang, Founder and President of the American University of Health Sciences Foundation. These valuable face shields will be distributed to hospitals within the Emanate Health System in Los Angeles County and help provide protection and support to hard-working essential healthcare workers.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, safety supplies have been hard to come by, especially for front-line medical personnel, and Jimmyjane is pleased to help ease some of that burden.

We are thrilled to be able to use our vast resources to support our community by donating face shields to hospitals in need to help keep their healthcare workers safe, Jimmyjane Vice President of People Tami Aguilar said. In the face of this pandemic, doctors, nurses, and support staff are true heroes and deserve access to PPE. We are grateful for the opportunity to help. 

For more information about Jimmyjane, visit Jimmyjane.com/.
DETROIT  A portion of the shuttered Art Van Furniture stores in Michigan could reopen under new ownership and a new name.

A United States bankruptcy judge approved a deal that includes the sale of 17 Michigan locations to a Texas private equity firm, WDIV Local 4 reports.

There were 97 Art Van stores in Michigan when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early March  a move expected to close all company-owned locations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. The company began liquidation sales two days before filing for bankruptcy.

RELATED: Art Van liquidation suspended due to coronavirus outbreak

The Warren-based furniture retailer was founded by Art Van Elslander in Detroit in 1959. In 2017, the company was sold to Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP. Elslander died in 2018. Rumors began to circulate in February that Thomas H. Lee Partners was looking to sell or file for bankruptcy.

READ MORE:

Officials to consider safety of Mackinac Bridge Walk 2020 amid coronavirus pandemic

Still waiting for your stimulus check? There is a Wednesday deadline for bank information

7 indicators that show Michigans positive progress in the coronavirus crisis

Tuesday, May 12: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan
(Newser)  Doctors examining a man with back pain discovered the cause of that particular maladyand also stumbled across an odd bonus find. IFLScience reports on a case study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine that details how a 38-year-old man in Sao Paulo, Brazil, showed up at a hospital to complain about his back discomfort. Doctors performed a CT scan to see what was up and found the patient had a herniated (aka "slipped") disk, which is a common cause of back problems. Then, per Live Science, doctors spotted an additional "unusual anatomical feature": not two kidneys, but three. His left kidney was normal, but the other two had fused together near the pelvis. The normal left kidney's ureter tube, which transports urine to the bladder, joined up with the left pelvic kidney's ureter before entering the bladder; the right pelvic kidney had its own ureter right to the bladder.

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The disorder, known as supernumerary kidney, is "one of the rarest of all pathologic renal conditions," per a case study from 1915, with fewer than 100 cases cited in medical literature. Newsweek, which notes this anomaly is usually discovered by accident, reports that the doctors in this patient's case think the condition arose in embryogenesis during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, when the extra left kidney may have divided from other cells too early and merged with the right kidney. "We had never seen anything like this," Renato Foresto, one of the case study's authors, tells IFLScience. "The surprise was great, followed by concern there was something wrong with the patient's health." But despite the weirdness of such an organ fusion, doctors determined the man had normal kidney function and no other health problems other than his slipped disk, which they treated with oral painkillers. (Read more discoveries stories.)
(Newser)  The cardigan Kurt Cobain wore during Nirvana's iconic performance on MTV's Unplugged sold for $334,000. Now the guitar he played during the New York show, which took place just five months before his 1994 death, is going up for auction. The Guardian reports the rare 1959 Martin D-18E, which is the headline item for Juliens Auctions Music Icons auction next month and one of just 302 D-18Es ever made, has a starting estimate of $1 million. Its case is also included, and is adorned with a flyer from a 1990 punk rock album Cobain used to decorate it, plus an Alaska Airlines sticker and three baggage claim ticket stubs affixed to the handle. Inside the case is a half-used pack of guitar strings, picks, and a "stash bag."

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"Juliens Auctions is proud to offer this historic guitar from Kurt Cobain, who upended the music industry and pop culture at large with his mythic performance fronting Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York," the president of the auction house says in a statement. "This important guitar has earned its rightful place in rocknroll history as the instrument played by one of rocks most influential musicians and icons in one of the greatest and most memorable live performances of all time." CNN reports Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, reportedly owned the guitar but gave it up during her contentious divorce. (Read more Kurt Cobain stories.)
Indianas attorney general had his law license suspended for 30 days on Monday by the state Supreme Court, which found that he broke the law by groping four women during a party at the close of the legislative session in 2018.

One of the victims was a state lawmaker and the other three worked as legislative employees at the time of the episode.

The attorney general, Curtis T. Hill Jr., a Republican who was elected in 2016, will begin serving the suspension for misconduct on May 18. He was ordered by the court not to undertake any new legal matters before his suspension begins.

The chief deputy attorney general, Aaron Negangard, will lead the office until Mr. Hills reinstatement on June 17, Mr. Hill wrote in a series of Twitter posts on Monday afternoon.




Haiti - USA : Congresswoman Wilson presents a bill to stop the deportations to Haiti





Monday, Democrate Florida Congresswoman Wilson introduced the Haitian Deportation Relief Act https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30579-haiti-usa-haitian-deportation-relief-act-a-bill-to-suspend-the-deportation-of-haitians.html , which calls for the suspension of deportations of Haitian nationals until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in both the United States and Haiti. The legislation also requires the Department of Homeland Security prioritize migrants whose detention has been deferred and who do not pose a public safety risk for alternatives to detention.



"Deporting people to Haiti in the midst of a global pandemic is both inhumane and unsafe. Continuing these flights will likely contribute to the spread of the novel coronavirus in the impoverished nation where many people do not have access to basic health care," said Congresswoman Wilson. "That is tantamount to a death sentence for Haitians who are living with compromised water and sanitation systems and do not have access to the sanitation measures we've undertaken in the United States."



"ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements) continues to deport people in the midst of a global pandemic and risks contributing to the spread of COVID-19. We simply should not be deporting anyone who has been in an affected facility, nor to countries such as Haiti that may struggle to respond to an outbreak," said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, chair of the Committee on Homeland Security. "I applaud Representative Wilson for her advocacy, and I am proud to join my colleagues in calling for deportation flights to be halted."



"The Trump administration's decision to continue deporting Haitians during a global pandemic is irresponsible and cruel. Even before the pandemic, Haiti faced a significant political and economic crisis," said Rep. Eliot L. Engel, chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. "These deportations are indefensible and must be halted immediately. I commend Representative Wilson for this crucial legislation."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30751-haiti-usa-50-haitians-including-14-criminals-aboard-the-3rd-deportation-flight-from-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30579-haiti-usa-haitian-deportation-relief-act-a-bill-to-suspend-the-deportation-of-haitians.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The government could re-impose restrictions on peoples movements if coronavirus cases continue to spread in Armenia, a senior official said on Tuesday.

We may again tighten restrictions if need be, Vahan Hunanian, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, told RFE/RLs Armenian service.

Hunanian said that the government has still not decided whether to extend a coronavirus-related state of emergency which ends on Thursday. When a final decision is made we will announce it, he added.

The government declared the state of emergency on March 16 and imposed a nationwide lockdown a few days later in a bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic. It began easing the resulting restrictions already on April 13.

The lockdown was largely lifted by May 4 despite increased daily numbers of new COVID-19 infections and Health Minister Arsen Torosians warnings that the authorities will soon be unable to hospitalize or isolate all infected people.

The Armenian Ministry of Health reported 146 coronavirus cases on Tuesday morning, raising the countrys total to 3,538. It also said that one more person died from the virus in the past 24 hours. The official death toll from the epidemic thus reached 47.

The ministry has also reported the deaths of 19 other individuals infected with the COVID-19. It claims that they died as a result of other, pre-existing conditions.

Hasmik Ghazinian, an epidemiologist, said that the number of cases and fatalities is continuing to rise rapidly because the lockdown restrictions were not strict enough and were not taken seriously by many Armenians. The restrictions that were put in place were not really restrictions, she said.

Some restrictions such as a ban on public transport and the closure of schools and universities remain in force. Also, supermarkets, other shops and small businesses must require customers to wear face masks and gloves. Many of them do not comply with this requirement.

Ghazinian suggested that supermarkets failure to enforce social distancing and hygiene rules is one of the main causes of the continuing spread of the virus.
UPDATED at 4:21 P.M. ET on 2020-05-18

Vietnams Supreme Peoples Court has rejected a request by the countrys Supreme Peoples Procuracy to reinvestigate the case of death-row inmate Ho Duy Hai, prompting his family members to petition lawmakers over the decision Monday.

Hai was arrested in March 2008 and convicted nine months later of plundering property and the murder of two female postal employees in Long An province. The Peoples Court of Long An province sentenced him to five years for the theft, and gave him the death penalty for the murders. These sentences were combined, resulting in a death sentence.

On May 8, a 17-member jury led by Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh rejected the Supreme Peoples Procuracys petition to throw out the verdict in Hais trials and reinvestigate his case, saying he had admitted guilt for his crimes and that, while the investigation and judgments had shortcomings, the basic facts supported the decisions by the courts of first instance and appeals, according to state media reports.

Following the ruling, Hais mother Nguyen Thi Loan collapsed, while family members outside the building decried what they said was a lack of justice in Vietnams courts.

On Monday, Hais younger sister Ho Thi Thu Thuy told RFAs Vietnamese Service his family had petitioned National Assembly deputies Luu Binh Nhuong and Truong Trong Nghia in the hopes that they will speak out in favor of a re-investigation.

Hanoi-based lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan told RFA over the weekend that he was shocked by the unanimous ruling, calling it an unjust sentence not only for Ho Duy Hai, but for the many others in Vietnam who expect an objective and fair judgment.

Another lawyer from Hanoi named Nguyen Duy Binh said Hais case was litigated unfairly and should be re-investigated.

While last weeks ruling exhausts Hais legal avenues to overturn his sentence, the lawyers pointed out that he could be granted amnesty by President Nguyen Phu Trong or have his case reinvestigated if the Supreme Peoples Court reconsiders its decision.

Tuan said Hais sentence is unlikely to be carried out in the near-term and noted that several verdicts in Vietnam have been overturned as a result of popular opposition.

Lawyer Nguyen Vu Binh acknowledged that petitioning President Trong for amnesty is a longshot for Hai.

If it works, he wouldnt face death, but instead serve life in prison, he said.

However, this has seldom ever been offered. Normally, it requires an extremely special set of circumstances for the president to grant amnesty to prisoners.

Lawyer Nguyen Duy Binh said that the National Assemblys Standing Committee can order the Supreme Peoples Court to reconsider its decision but is unlikely to do so.

The Committee generally refrains from interfering in the judiciary, so I believe the chance to reconsider this case has ended, he said.

Errors and lack of evidence

Observers have pointed to several procedural errors in Hais case, including that it was largely based on a confession that he later recanted, saying he had been forced to do so by police during his detention.

Additionally, prosecutors lacked crucial evidence, as no time of death for the two victims was ever established, fingerprints at the crime scene did not match Hais, and the murder weapons were misplaced by the forensic team.

London-based rights group Amnesty International has cited Hais mother as saying that he was tortured in prison, citing his deteriorating health and loss of weight.

Hai was originally set to be executed on Dec. 5, 2014 but was granted a stay a day earlier by then-President Truong Tan Sang.

In February 2015, the National Assemblys Committee on Judicial Affairs declared after a reinvestigation into the case that during both the initial trial and the appeal, there had been serious violations of criminal procedural law.

The committee urged that the case be reviewed on appeal, but in Dec. 2017, Long An provinces procuracy pushed for execution.

In November last year, Amnesty International sent a petition with 25,000 signatures to President Trong calling for Hais acquittal.

Between August 2013 and June 2016, Vietnam executed 429 people, while 1,134 people were given death sentences between July 2011 and June 2016, according to government figures released in 2018.

Reported and translated by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report incorrectly said that the murders occurred in Ho Chi Minh city. They occurred in Long An province.
Malaysia Church's "Cast the Net on the Net" forum (photo: Institute for New Evangelization)

During a weekly forum, participants meet online and interact with speakers from various sectors of the Catholic Church across the country.

By Robin Gomes

As restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19 continue in Malaysia, the Institute for New Evangelization (INE) has initiated a weekly online forum for four weeks, entitled, "Cast the Net on the Net".

Begun on April 29, the forum every Wednesday involves a maximum of 30 people, who meet for an hour on the Zoom teleconferencing platform. Participants interact, dialogue and share ideas with the speakers who come from various sectors of the Catholic Church of Malaysia.

The forum has two sharing sessions with question and answer segments.

Formation of evangelizing leaders

INE chairman Simon Wong said that the forum style allows participants to engage better with the speakers as it provides room for dialogue and sharing of ideas.

While offering a space for dialogue, he said "Cast the Net on the Net" also aims to contribute to the formation of leaders who are dedicated to the evangelizing mission of the Church.

We know that many Church leaders have done a lot of good work during this crucial period, and therefore it would be a great chance to give them a platform to share their stories, he said.

We hope that through the sharing of diverse experiences and ways of being effective disciples on mission, forum participants will be able to assist those around them in their own way.

Wong said that the forum might be extended, subject to the current situation and the availability of speakers, opening the invitation to all Catholics to join and communicate with the speakers.

Sharing experiences

The first online forum saw Christine Ho from the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (CHS) in Penang sharing about the parishs COVID-19 outreach programme, and Daryl Tan from the Campus Ministry Office of the Diocese of Malacca Johore highlighting efforts in reaching out to tertiary students.

The second forum on May 6 revolved around the use of social media, with Carmelita Xavier presenting on using this tool to promote Jesus and Martin Jalleh sharing ways of evangelising on Facebook.

The upcoming forums on May 13 and May 20 will feature speakers such as Elizabeth Lopez, Anthony Lim, Adrian Ho and Annie Ling covering topics on enhancing ones spirituality and faith through online resources.

Covid-19 emergency extended

The Malaysian government on Sunday announced an extension to the relaxed lockdown of another four weeks to June 9.

Malaysian health authorities on Tuesday reported 16 new coronavirus cases, the lowest daily increase since the governments Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed curbs on movement and businesses to contain the virus on March 18.

The new cases bring the cumulative total to 6,742 cases. The health ministry reported no new deaths, keeping the total number of fatalities at 109.

Existing rules include practicing strict hygiene, social distancing, school closures across the country and the continued shut down of Malaysia's borders, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Sunday.

Those wishing to join "Cast the Net on the Net" need to register themselves by sending an email to juanitachin@gmail.com or call 0124011567, after which they will receive a Zoom meeting ID and password for the forum.
UPDATE: 10:50 a.m. | The Thunderbirds flyover Central Texas and San Antonio has been delayed by one hour, according to the Thunderbirds twitter.

The San Antonio flight will begin at 2:20 p.m. and the Austin flight will begin about 3:40 p.m.

EARLIER STORY

Weather permitting, the Thunderbirds will fly over San Antonio and Austin on Wednesday, part of a weekslong series of salutes of Americans who are contending with the corvonavirus pandemic by both the Air Force and Navy precision aerial demonstration teams.

The Thunderbirds originally intended to fly today, but stormy weather forecast for parts of Texas prompted the Air Force to put the flight off a day.

Chances of a flyover Wednesday look good.

The National Weather Service said that while storms could develop Wednesday over Mexico and the Trans Pecos region, chance of rain over the Interstate 35 coridoe was just 20 percent. Still, the Thunderbirds will have to fly low if theyll want to be seen, with clouds expected to hover at 1,500 feet.

For today, the weather service reported, a tornado watch is in effect for part of the San Antonio area stretching from Bexar County, Boerne and Floresville to Gonzalez, LaGrange and Taylor. Storms could bring quarter-sized hail and isolated wind gusts of up to 70 mph, and impact more than 4.5 million people.

The watch, which included the possibility of heavy showers and localized flooding along and east of the I-35 corridor, was to expire at 5 p.m.. San Antonio could receive 1 to 2 inches of rain, the weather service said.

The San Antonio flyover will start at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday and run around a half-hour. The flyover in Austin will start at 2:30 p.m. and last 25 minutes. People around town will be able to see the formation of six F-16C/D Fighting Falcons from homes and businesses. The Air Force said viewers 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. The Blue Angels flew over Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and New Orleans last week as part of the same salute.

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




All 425 health facilities belonging to the Catholic faith across the country has been donated as isolation centres for COVID-19 by the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

This was announced by Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) while speaking yesterday at the presidential task force briefing today.

He said state governments can now take advantage of the facilities.

Recall that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had claimed that non of te states in the country has enough bed spaces for COVID-19 patients.

Mustapha noted that the donations received would add as support for the state governments.

As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres, he said.

Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities.

As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro bono services of their members to modify, design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily.

Mustapha further announced that isolation facilities in Abuja would be inaugurated today

Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of THISDAY newspaper, had donated the facility to support the fight against COVID-19.

It will add a total of 270 beds to our isolation capacity in Abuja. This is a private sector-driven initiative and we commend the efforts of this Thisday, NNPC, Sahara Energy Group, CCECC and all the partners involved in this enterprise, Mustapha said.

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Palestinian PM urges intl. recognition for Palestine in case of Israel annexation

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 5:42 PM

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shatyyeh has called on the international community to recognize an independent Palestinian state if Israel goes on with its plan to annex larger parts of the occupied West Bank.

During a press conference ahead of a cabinet meeting on Monday, the Palestinian official said the Jordan Valley, which Israel plans to annex, makes up 28 percent of the whole West Bank.

"The Jordan Valley is considered a 'vegetable basket' for Palestine and our connecting point with Jordan and the world," Shatyyeh said, stressing that a strong position adopted by the Arab world and Europe "would be sufficient to rein in Israel."

"The Palestinian state's geography stands on this area, together with East Jerusalem (al-Quds), Gaza Strip and all Palestinian territories," he said, adding, "The Jordan Valley is our meeting point with Jordan, through which we go out to the world."

"Condemnation statements do not work with Israel, the response to annexation must be actual boycott and the recognition of the Palestinian state over 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital, and honoring the right of return for Palestinian refugees," the Palestinian PM added.

In defiance of international outcry, President Donald Trump of the United States officially unveiled his much-condemned peace scheme for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  the so-called deal of the century  in January at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his side, while Palestinian representatives were not invited.

The American proposal meets Israel's demands while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as "Israel's undivided capital" and allowing the regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

The proposal, which further denies the right of return for Palestinian refugees to their homeland, is also in total disregard of UN Security Council resolutions and is opposed by the vast majority of the international community.

Netanyahu, who is facing a number of criminal indictments, has repeatedly stressed that he would start plans for annexing more areas in the West Bank on July 1, in accordance with Trump's scheme, further infuriating Palestinians.

Palestinian officials have already threatened to abolish all bilateral agreements with Israel if it goes with the annexation plans.

They warn that under the US scheme, Israel will annex 30 to 40 percent of the West Bank, including all of East Jerusalem al-Quds.

They also view the so-called peace scheme as Washington's seal of approval for Israel's long-desired annexation of territories it has been illegally occupying for decades.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already said that Trump's deal "belongs to the dustbin of history."

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[May 12, 2020] Godrej Security Solutions Expands Into Health Security Segment

Godrej Security Solutions launches Vigi-Guard - a turnstile with sanitizer dispenser -- and Thermal Camera optimized for elevated body temperature screening MUMBAI, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Godrej Security Solutions (GSS), the leading player in future technology in security systems, announced their venture into the health security segment with the COVID-19 Defence Security Range of products. Godrej was founded on a deep commitment to serve our communities and people. The products are designed and launched as part of our endeavor to meet the current challenging needs and need gap across industries such as oil and gas, BFSI, defense, police, infrastructure, airports, seaports, hospitals and many others. The Vigi-Guard turnstile with sanitizer dispenser and the Dual Sensor Thermal Camera for elevated body temperature screening will help India adapt to the new normal in ensuring health security. The industries of future will have to bolster their security solutions as health becomes the top most priority in ensuring complete protection of patrons. Godrej Security Solutions' venture into the health security segment will also look at INR 50-70 crore revenue potential from this product line. The industries and work-places of future will have to ensure minimum human interference in ensuring physical and health security. The Vigi-Guard range of turnstiles, with an innovation in the construction offers a provision made for a sanitizer dispenser at the entrance of any premise. The product is designed to adhere to the directves for Social Distancing of MHA which highlights 'Touch-free mechanism'. The product ensures a secure entry and restricts the entry of any person who has not disinfected their hands and can also be retrofitted to existing Godrej turnstiles and flap barriers. For superior protection, this also can be used alongside Godrej's Facial recognition system with Temperature Sensing.



Godrej Security Solutions is working with various state and central health departments and will be focussing on cities/places where there is a higher percentage of positive cases. In the first phase, these will be used in hospitals, healthcare facilities and other commercial establishments like grocery stores to ensure quick access along with sanitization and temperature check. Commenting on this initiative, Pushkar Gokhale, Vice President and Head of B2B, Godrej Security Solutions said, "These are unprecedented times and as a leader in the security space, it is our responsibility to innovate and help the nation practice new hygiene norms when they start getting back to a normal life. This product innovation has been possible due to the tireless efforts of our design team who studied the market need and devised the products in only two weeks. This will aid the country to take a step towards public health safety and reduce the spread of virus. GSS has collaborated with the Government bodies to make the product in adherence to norms so that industries can quickly adopt the mechanisms, reduce chances of transmission of COVID-19 and Restart the Right Way."

Godrej Security Solutions has always been on the forefront of ensuring public safety and has worked in the benefit of the country's citizens when it comes to fighting against crisis. About Godrej Security Solutions: Godrej Security Solutions is a division of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd and part of the USD 4.1 billion Godrej Group. A pioneer and leader in the business, Godrej Security Solutions Division is one of the largest manufacturer and marketer of Security Solutions in India. It is one of the largest supplier of security solutions to several prestigious banking, corporate and public institutions. For the first time in the category and the industry, Godrej Security Solutions Division has been awarded the Superbrand status. It has also won the "Most Preferred brand" award in the Home Segment. The Division currently exports its products to over 45 countries including Middle East Asia, South East Asia, Far East Asia, East Africa, the US, Europe and the SAARC Countries. Media Contact: Supreeth Sudhakaran

[email protected]

+91-9920584295

Godrej Security Solutions

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While most of us are aware how disastrous the situation can turn if lockdown is lifted without proper exit plan, many out there have different priorities. In one such incident, group of gym-enthusiast covidiots in Florida started working out outside the court. Their demand was to reopen the gyms, because, well, fitness above everything else.

GYM PROTEST: A group of protesters has gathered outside the courthouse in Clearwater, calling for gyms to reopen in Florida https://t.co/EreMMzfIYI pic.twitter.com/lfiB1TUf9B WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) May 11, 2020

This has bewildered the people on internet.

People protesting their gym not being open are doing pushups outside the courthouse? That'll show the court they can't exercise outside.Wait. What?#Florida #WhatsUpWithFlorida?#fail https://t.co/I1cvU8Ri0y Kevin Ryder (@thekevinryder) May 11, 2020

They can exercise outside but I think they miss the selfie big mirror. Hugo (@Hugo_Relva) May 11, 2020

Protestors call for gyms to reopen by... proving they dont need gyms? Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) May 11, 2020

they miss people looking at them flexing their muscles when they excercising obv bri (@rocknroullete) May 12, 2020

IF YOU CAN DO SQUATS AND PUSH UPS ON THE SIDEWALK, YOU CAN DO THEM IN YOUR LIVING ROOM AND DONT NEED TO BE AT THE GYM, YOU ABSOLUTE DING DONGS. Summer Sandiego (@summerasana) May 11, 2020

Covidiots have been demanding the resumption of services and lifting of lockdown even when the experts are warning that counties need proper exit plans to avoid catastrophic situations. The people who have been undermining the risks of the virus spread include Tesla boss Elon Musk who had a meltdown on Twitter demanding for America to "freed".

It has been two months now that countries across the world have imposed lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus. But despite restrictions, covidiots are finding their way out and trying to play down the risks of the virus. One woman even punched a hole in her face mask so that she could breathe easily.
Just a over month after filing, the city of Toledo has dropped its appeal of a federal judges decision to invalidate the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

In February, federal Judge Jack Zouhary ruled the bill, also known as LEBOR, invalid and sided with Drewes Farms Partnerships and the state of Ohio, in a civil lawsuit.

The city appealed the decisions, filing with the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit March 27.

Then, in a May 5 filing, the city asked for a dismissal of its appeal, which the court granted.

LEBOR

In February, 2019, Toledoans voted in LEBOR in an effort to protect the lake from polluters, following a three-day period in 2014 when the city water was unsafe to drink due to pollution.

The bill allowed Toledo citizens to sue polluters on behalf of the lake and declared that Lake Erie had a right to exist, flourish and naturally evolve. It sparked international conversations about rights of nature.

Lawsuit

The day after the bill passed, Drewes Farms Partnership, of Wood County, brought a lawsuit against the city of Toledo. The suit said the bill was unconstitutional and put the farm at risk. The state of Ohio later joined the suit, both parties asking the court to invalidate the bill.

Zouhary ruled in favor of the farm and the state, saying his decision to invalidate LEBOR was not even a close call. Zouhary said the bill was unconstitutionally vague and exceeded Toledos power as a municipal government.

The city appealed the decision in March, then dropped the appeal in early May.

Appeal dropped

The attorney representing the city of Toledo did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Thomas Fusonie, of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, which represented Drewes Farms in the case, said, in an email to Farm and Dairy that the appeal would have only caused more legal fees to be incurred, and that the firm was pleased to see Toledo drop the appeal.

Members of Toledoans for Safe Water, a nonprofit organized to create and pass LEBOR, criticized the citys decision to drop the appeal in a May 11 statement, calling it unacceptable and short-sighted from a public health and safety perspective.

The group noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted other protections for Lake Erie, between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys March 26 decision to suspend enforcement of U.S. environmental laws and the likely budget cuts for the H2Ohio plan.

The Ohio Farm Bureau, which publicly supported Drewes Farms in the lawsuit, was glad to see the dismissal, calling it the end of the road for LEBOR in a May 8 post.

We were certainly pleased with Judge Zouharys opinion, which stated what we knew all along: LEBOR was invalid and unworkable, said Leah Curtis, policy counsel for the bureau.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2020 / Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson" or the "Company") (MAW.TO)(MXR.F)(MWSNF) is pleased to provide its first update for its 100%-owned Sunday Creek shallow orogenic ("epizonal") gold project (previously known as "Clonbinane") in the central Victorian goldfields of Australia.

Scheduled Webinar Time: May 5, 2020 08:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada) The Company will host a webinar to discuss the Company's Australian projects. Those wishing to join can do by registering in advance for this webinar. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0TkZL9WdRCG8KJNal8k3pA After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.



Key points:

In late March 2020 Mawson announced a comprehensive deal with Nagambie Resources Ltd to acquire or joint venture three Victorian epizonal projects and a right of first refusal over the largest contiguous tenement package prospective for epizonal-style gold in the State of Victoria (3,600 square kilometres; Figure 1);

Mawson has tripled its ground holding at Sunday Creek with the staking of exploration licence ("EL") 7232 application (13,243 hectares) for a total land holding of 19,365 hectares (Figure 2);

Historic gold mines as Sunday Creek occur over a greater than 11 kilometre trend. Prior drilling has tested only 800 metres of this trend and to an average of 80 metres depth. Selected drill results include: CRC013: 21 metres @ 4.8 g/t gold from 9 metres including 2 metres @ 28.8 g/t gold from 15 metres (Figure 4), and; VCRC022: 8 metres @ 11.3 g/t gold from 66 metres including 2 metres @ 40.3 g/t gold from 70 metres (Figure 5); Trenching has also revealed broad low-grade halos to higher grade mineralization with one surface trench returning 166 metres @ 0.9 g/t gold (Figure 3);

Immediate plans at Sunday Creek are to apply tools to define vectors towards epizonal mineralization including geophysical surveys (microgravity, detailed ground magnetics and induced polarization) and alteration studies, followed by 5,000 metres of diamond drilling during Q3 and Q4 2020 to target high-grade and halo mineralization intersected by earlier drilling at Apollo-Golden Dyke and potential repeats of mineralization along the 11 kilometre historic mine trend.

Story continues

Mr. Hudson, Chairman and CEO, states: "While we continue to drill with success in Finland, we are extremely excited to have also diversified into the Victorian goldfields in Australia, which are arguably the hottest gold ground in the world with the high-grade Fosterville mine rewriting the geological opportunity. Since acquiring our Victorian portfolio last month, we have moved to triple our ground holdings at Sunday Creek. Like Fosterville, Sunday Creek is an historic epizonal goldfield, mined during the 1800s to early 1900s and explored for near-surface oxide gold during the 1990s and early 2000s. Given the exploration success at Fosterville we now understand that epizonal systems can develop extremely high-grade zones. This has provided insight into a never-explored search space for high grades at depth in one of the most fertile gold regions in the world.

The Sunday Creek project is a significant historic high-grade epizonal gold mining area developed over multiple parallel zones over 11 kilometres of strike. While high-grade historic mines exist along these trends, limited systematic exploration has been undertaken within the 19,365 hectare project. Drilling over 800 metres of strike, down to a maximum average depth of 80 metres has taken place at the Golden Dyke-Apollo prospect area. Drill results demonstrate high grade gold with selected holes including 8 metres @ 11.3 g/t gold from 66 metres including 2 metres @ 40.3 g/t gold. Trenching has also revealed broad low-grade oxide gold with one trench returning 166 metres @ 0.9 g/t gold. Mawson has developed a good understanding of the project after the first month of data compilation since acquisition. The Company plans to undertake large-scale, deeper-seeking geophysical methods followed by diamond drilling during Q3 and Q4 2020 to target high-grade gold at depth and along strike."

Victoria has produced more than 80 million ounces of gold and has seen three booms: the 1850s, pre-World War I, and the last three years. Two different styles of gold mineralization predominate in Victoria. The deep orogenic ("mesozonal") style and the shallow orogenic "epizonal" style. The mesozonal style is represented by Bendigo and Ballarat, huge systems, which are nuggety and extremely difficult to put into modern resources calculations. Mawson are sharply focused on the epizonal (or Fosterville) style.

Mawson acquired the Sunday Creek project on March 25, 2020 with the acquisition of EL6163 (5,822 hectares) and RL 6040 (300 hectares). The recent application of EL7232 (13,243 hectares) has extended the total land holding at Sunday Creek to 19,365 hectares. The project is an epizonal Fosterville-style deposit located 56 kilometres north of Melbourne. Historically, the Golden Dyke Mine (Photo 1) at Sunday Creek was one of the larger producers of gold in the Melbourne Zone of Victoria. Total production from the Sunday Creek goldfield is reported as 20,000 ounces gold at a grade of 16.9 g/t gold between 1865 to 1920. Gold mineralization is hosted by breccia zones within, or proximal to dykes with mineralization continuing along structures that extend into the sedimentary country rock. The dykes form multiple undrilled parallel trends over more than 11 kilometres with historic epizonal gold-mines (Figure 2). At Golden Dyke, gold grades within quartz-stibnite veins ranged up to 120 g/t gold and 50% stibnite, while altered and stockworked diorite dyke averaged 6 g/t gold outside the high-grade veins. The epizonal Tonstal mine, located 8 kilometres north-east of the Golden Dyke mine extracted 2,814 tonnes at 23 g/t gold during the early 1900s, while the adjacent Tobin mine extracted 1.1 tonnes at 203 g/t gold in the late 1870s.

Trench sampling by CRA Exploration in the early 1980s at the Apollo prospect demonstrated extensive low-grade oxide gold over 166 metres at 0.9 g/t gold with results ranging from

CRC013: 21 metres @ 4.8 g/t gold from 9 metres including 2 metres @ 28.8 g/t gold from 15 metres

VCRC022: 8 metres @ 11.3 g/t gold from 66 metres including 2 metres @ 40.3 g/t gold from 70 metres

VCRC011: 18 metres @ 4.5 g/t gold from 37 metres including 10 metres @ 7.1 g/t gold from 42 metres

VCRC007: 15 metres @ 4.5 g/t gold from 62 metres including 5 metres @ 11.2 g/t gold from 67 metres

CRC020: 15 metres @ 4.1 g/t gold from 25 metres including 3 metres @ 15.4 g/t gold from 32 metres

The Company plans for 2020 are to commence geophysical surveys (micro-gravity, detailed ground magnetics and induced polarization) over the coming months, followed by 5,000 metres of diamond drilling during Q3 and Q4 2020 to target high-grade and adjacent mineralization intersected by earlier drilling at Apollo-Golden Dyke and potential repeats of mineralization along the 11 kilometre historic mine trend. The company also plans to undertake alteration studies on existing core and new drilling as prior work on epizonal gold deposits in Victoria has defined clear mineral and geochemical vectors towards mineralization. The Sunday Creek Project has multiple historic mines that are open at depth and along strike. The project is a high value exploration project with affinity to the Fosterville Mine. Further information on work plans and prospectivity of the Company's two joint venture projects, Redcastle and Doctor's Gully will be made as further data compilation occurs over the coming months. Prior to starting work on any of the exploration concessions Mawson will undertake an effective and open community consultation with all stakeholders. Qualified Person Michael Hudson (FAusMM), Chairman and CEO for the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure or Mineral Projects and has prepared or reviewed the preparation of the scientific and technical information in this press release. None of the drill and trench data have been independently verified at this time. These historical data have not been verified by Mawson and are quoted for information purposes only. Drilling and trench information from Sunday Creek by CRA Exploration, Ausminde and Beadell Resources had a variety of assays and check assays reported in historical reports. It is reported that the primary analysis for gold was completed by fire assay with an atomic adsorption finish by NATA registered laboratories. XRF assays were used for antimony. About Mawson Resources Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, OTCPINK:MWSNF) Mawson Resources Limited is an exploration and development company. Mawson has distinguished itself as a leading Nordic Arctic exploration company with a focus on the flagship Rajapalot gold project in Finland. The Australian gold acquisition provides Mawson with a strategic and diversified portfolio of high-quality gold exploration assets in two safe jurisdictions. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although Mawson believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Mawson cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates, changes in world metal markets, changes in equity markets, planned drill programs and results varying from expectations, delays in obtaining results, equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions, local community relations, dealings with non-governmental organizations, delays in operations due to permit grants, environmental and safety risks, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mawson's most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Mawson disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Photo 1: The Golden Dyke Mine was one of the largest producers of gold in the Melbourne Zone. The photograph below is from the early 1900s. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8hl_d7yIEk

On behalf of the Board,





"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further Information

www.mawsonresources.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

Mariana Bermudez (Canada), Corporate Secretary, +1 (604) 685 9316, infoatmawsonresources.com

Figure 1: Tenements of the Victorian goldfields, showing location of shallow orogenic (epizonal) Fosterville-style mineralization. Green outlines show the 100% purchase of Sunday Creek and the Redcastle and Doctor's Gully option and joint venture areas, while the hatched area represents the 3,600km2 where Mawson holds the right of first refusal.

Figure 2: Plan of the Sunday Creek project. The dyke and historic workings trend extend for 11 kilometres and remain undrilled WSW of the Golden Dyke shaft and NE of the Apollo shaft.

Figure 3: Drill plan of the Sunday Creek Project in the Apollo Shaft area. Drilling in two campaigns in 1994 and 2008 tested the system to 40-100 metres vertical depth. Gold mineralization is located within, or proximal to, the dykes with mineralization continuing along structures that extend into the sedimentary country rock with gradually diminishing grades.

Figure 4: Cross section A-A' (for location refer to Figure 3) from Sunday Creek (Apollo shaft area).

Figure 5: Cross section B-B' (for location refer to Figure 3) from Sunday Creek (Rising Sun shaft area).

Table 1: Sunday Creek Project: Significant results from drilling (>5 g/t gold lower cut).

Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) CRC001 16.0 17.0 1.0 6.6 CRC005 44.0 46.0 2.0 8.5 CRC006 21.0 23.0 2.0 9.7 CRC006 27.0 28.0 1.0 7.7 CRC007 15.0 17.0 2.0 12.9 CRC009 31.0 36.0 5.0 4.3 CRC012 22.0 23.0 1.0 10.6 CRC013 15.0 17.0 2.0 28.8 CRC013 21.0 22.0 1.0 16.8 CRC014 22.0 26.0 4.0 6.6 CRC016 22.0 24.0 2.0 6.6 CRC018 18.0 19.0 1.0 13.9 CRC020 14.0 15.0 1.0 5.9 CRC020 32.0 35.0 3.0 15.4 CRC023 21.0 23.0 2.0 6.9 CRC026 12.0 16.0 4.0 11.6 CRC026 28.0 29.0 1.0 13.8 CRC028 17.0 19.0 2.0 5.6 CRC028 22.0 23.0 1.0 14.2 VCRC007 6.0 7.0 1.0 10.9 VCRC007 67.0 72.0 5.0 11.2 VCRC011 15.0 17.0 2.0 12.4 VCRC011 42.0 52.0 10.0 7.1 VCRC011 102.0 103.0 1.0 5.2 VCRC022 70.0 72.0 2.0 40.3 VCRC022 80.0 81.0 1.0 14.3 VCRC026 22.0 23.0 1.0 5.9 VCRD002 80.0 81.0 1.0 5.2 VCRD002 129.0 130.0 1.0 6.1 VCRD003 80.0 84.0 4.0 10.7 VCRD004 160.0 161.0 1.0 14.3



SOURCE: Mawson Resources Limited





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/588326/Mawson-Triples-Landholding-at-Sunday-Creek-and-Outlines-Exploration-Plans-for-Its-Victorian-Goldfields-Projects-in-Australia




New Delhi:

In an annual survey made by the top brand valuation company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday announced its ranking status. TCS which is a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions firm stands out to be the 58th most valuable US brand.

The Brand Finance study 'Top 500 US Brands' evaluates the financial value of a company's brand name, intellectual assets and trademark as compared to companies across industries.

TCS is one of only four global IT Services companies recognized as a Top 100 Brand in the US, and is the sector's most powerful brand with a score of 78.3 points, earning it an AA+ rating.

Moreover, TCS' brand value grew 286 per cent from USD 2.3 billion in 2010 to USD 9.04 billion in 2016, marking the fastest growth across the IT Services industry during this period.

"TCS' customer focus has been central to its recent success, but a closer look at our data shows strong and improving scores for brand investment and staff satisfaction, too," said David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance.

"It has emerged as a dominant force in the IT services industry and is the strongest brand in the sector. Its brand power is indisputable. This ranking truly reflects the extent to which TCS is deeply rooted in the US community, focused on the impact we can have for our customers and society at large," said Surya Kant, President of North America, UK and Europe of TCS.

TCS has significantly invested in the US over the past year to further its business growth and brand strength. New

Facilities, such as the Digital ReImagination Studio in Santa Clara, are fostering its enhanced digital initiatives with

Customers, while TCS has been the top recruiter of US.

IT Services talent is working with many of the nation's top colleges. As a result, TCS has received numerous industry accolades, including being named as a Top US Employer by the Top Employers Institute and one of Achievers' 50 Most Engaged

Workplaces for the second consecutive year, a company press release said.

Among its many initiatives, the company co-hosted the inaugural STEM Mentorship Awards at the White House and reached the milestone of 660,000 pledges with Million Women

Mentors, representing two thirds of the programs goal of 1,000,000 pledges from STEM mentors for girls, young women and Minorities.
Bhopal, May 12 : The Madhya Pradesh government has made arrangements to ensure migrants dont have to walk to return to their homes within the state, apart from setting up transit points in border districts to provide them food and to relax.

These facilities have been provided since thousands of migrant labourers were returning to their hometowns on foot, including those who have to cross Madhya Pradesh to reach their native states.

State Additional Chief Secretary and Corona Control Room incharge ICP Kesri has issued instructions in this regard to the district magistrates and superintendents of police concerned.

He said that the officers must ensure proper arrangements of food, water and relaxation of returnees at transit points, besides health facilities and social distancing. From there, buses should be pressed into service to send them to their home districts or till the state borders if they are transiting.

These transit points are being set up at Devas and Guna to ferry these people via Sendhwa, Devas, Guna and Shivpuri to Jhansi on the state's border with Uttar Pradesh, and Guna-Shivpuri-Gawalior-Bhind route towards Mahoba.

Two days ago, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had held a videoconference meeting with district collectors and asked them to make necessary arrangements.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  San Miguel Corporation is donating swabbing booths and test kits to local governments in Metro Manila to help expand COVID-19 testing at the barangay level.

The diversified conglomerate announced on Tuesday that it has teamed up with all 17 local government units in the national capital region to set up more testing booths in areas with a high density of COVID-19 cases, while also providing the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR tests.

SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said this will complement the national governments efforts to expand coronavirus testing, which for now is focused on major commercial areas, and testing returning overseas Filipino workers.

Our aim is to help flatten the curve in our less fortunate barangays, especially in areas where there have been outbreaks, Ang said in a statement on Tuesday. "Our less-fortunate countrymen are really vulnerable, because their living conditions make it harder to observe social distancing and other preventive measures. So we want to focus our efforts on helping them."

Apart from donating the test kits, SMC said it is also donating RT-PCR machines, to help significantly increase the number of tests that can be processed daily.

"We need to produce more test kits, and make testing affordable, if not free, to the hardest-hit communities," Ang said. "We also need enough equipment to be able to process all these tests. We have to mobilize all these components to be able to test at scale."

SMC said it will donate three sets of testing equipment, which includes RT-PCR machines and automated RNA extraction machines, to health facilities in Metro Manila, among them the National Center for Mental Health in Mandaluyong City.

RT-PCR tests, considered the gold standard by health experts, are used in confirmatory testing for the coronavirus. With the RT-PCR tests, trained professionals test nose and throat swabs to find out whether a person has coronavirus. When the repeat test yields a negative result, the patient can be allowed to go home.

Ang said that while local governments have initiated testing efforts and have their own budgets to do so, the company's donation would help expand testing capacity, especially now that the government is preparing to lift the enhanced community quarantine in some parts of Luzon.

Malacanang earlier announced that Metro Manila, Laguna province, and Cebu City will be placed under "modified" enhanced community quarantine from May 16 to May 31, meaning authorities will allow the limited reopening of select manufacturing and processing plants, and limited transportation services, while Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla announced that the province will shift to a general community quarantine beginning May 16.

Meantime, SMC is also moving ahead with plans to set up its own testing laboratory, to cater to its 70,000 employees and extended workforce who will undergo COVID-19 testing.

Ang stressed the need to regulate the price of testing, citing reports that some individuals have paid as much as 4,000 to get tested, while the company was able to procure the tests at less than 1,500 each.

We believe that this is a fair enough rate for medical facilities that are using donated equipment and PPEs to charge especially to small companies who would have to test their employees to be able to safely reopen their workplaces, Ang said.

While Ang noted that the test kits are in short supply, he said authorities should make sure testing is affordable at this time given that this pandemic has profoundly affected the lives and livelihood of millions of Filipinos.
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The lawyer for the man who filmed Ahmaud Arbery's killing has defended him for not calling 911 'because he couldn't film at the same time' and belittled his client's high school education in a live interview.

Arbery, 25, was chased down and shot outside Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23. He was unarmed and his family said he was out for a jog. The killing was captured on video by William 'Roddy' Bryan who was trailing in a car.

Until the leak of that 36 second video last week no charges had been brought against Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34. They were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on May 7.

In a Glynn County police report, McMichael senior mentioned 'Roddy' being at the scene of the crime. The McMichaels' defense has been that they were making a citizen's arrest after suspecting Arbery of breaking into and robbing homes in their neighborhood.

Gregory McMichael claimed that they were trying to 'cut off' Arbery in their vehicle, according to the police report. It also states: 'McMichael stated [Arbery] turned around and began running back the direction from which he came and 'Roddy' attempted to block him, which was unsuccessful.'

Last night CNN's Chris Cuomo asked Bryan: 'In the police report, the McMichaels referred to a "Roddy," I'm assuming that was you, yes?'

But he was quickly shutdown by Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, who interjected: 'Okay, hold on, Chris ... You know what we can talk about without causing problems for anybody. And I know you're trying. But this man cannot be answering substantive questions about the case.'

Cuomo, who is himself a licensed attorney, threw back at the lawyer that he was 'afraid of the facts of this case.'

Last night CNN's Chris Cuomo spoke with William 'Roddy' Bryan (left) and his attorney Kevin Gough (right). Cuomo suggested that the lawyer was 'afraid of the facts of this case,' which Gough refuted

Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael. They were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on May 7

In a still from the video filmed by William 'Roddy' Bryan, Ahmaud Arbery stumbles and falls to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23

Gough responded: 'With all due respect, I'm not afraid of you, I respect you. You're a brilliant, a very good prosecutor. And my client is a mechanic with a high school education and if you've ever been to the high schools around here, that's not necessarily saying much. Okay? And I don't mind if the board of education doesn't like it.'

Cuomo later moved onto the issue of why Bryan had chosen to film the incident rather than call 911. The CNN anchor said: 'When you see something that you know is wrong ... you call the police, I don't care about his education.'

Bryan's attorney replied: 'Well, first of all, he can't use the phone for a phone call while he's using it as a camera.'

Arbery's death has sparked nationwide outrage. A rally for the slain jogger was held Friday - the day he would have celebrated his 26th birthday

And dismissing Cuomo's notion that he could have stopped filming to ring the police, Gough added: 'If my client had been two seconds, two seconds later, getting where he was, there wouldn't be any video. Not one worth watching. Not one anybody would care about. There'd be nothing other than a young man bleeding out in the street.'

Bryan's attorney went onto add that his client is not considered part of the altercation. 'He's a witness and that's all he's ever been,' Gough told the anchor. 'There is no relationship whatsoever between Roddy and the McMichaels.'

Yesterday it was revealed an autopsy had found Arbery was killed by two close-range gunshot wounds to the chest and that he was also shot through the hand while being chased down by the McMichaels.

TMZ obtained Ahmaud's autopsy on Monday. The 25-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system, and was carrying two tan bandannas which were soaked with blood.

It has taken nearly three months and three different prosecutors for Travis and Gregory McMichael to be arrested and charged with his killing.

Georgia's Attorney General is now investigating the handling of the case amid claims that prosecutors passed it off to protect 64-year-old Gregory, a former police detective who recently worked in the local district attorney's office.

The case has sparked outrage around the world and some say it is proof of persistent racism in the South. Over the weekend, people ran to honor what would have been Arbery's 26th birthday and armed protesters took to the street.

On Monday, DoJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said: 'The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia have been supporting and will continue fully to support and participate in the state investigation. We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,' Kupec said in a statement.'

The McMichaels have both been charged by the state of Georgia with murder and aggravated assault which carry maximum prison sentences of life.

Georgia has no hate crimes as a state but the federal charge carries a maximum prison sentence of life when the hate crime results in death. A federal prosecution would supersede a state case and could negate it if the defendants were found guilty and the need for a state prosecution reduced.

It comes as new surveillance video Arbery walking into a construction site on the day of his death, looking around the property and then leaving empty handed the day he was gunned down emerged.

But the new video obtained by News4Jax appears to undermine their shaky burglary suspect claim. It shows Ahmaud walking into an under-construction house in Brunswick, looking around and then leaving without taking anything.

In the two months before Ahmaud's killing, there were no reports of suspected burglaries in the area, and the owner of the under-construction property has spoken out to say they have no links to the McMichaels whatsoever.

Ahmaud Arbery inside the under-construction home on February 23, the day he was killed. He walked into the house then left empty handed and was later shot dead by Travis McMichael who had chased him with his father, Gregory, a former cop

Ahmaud had been out jogging when he came across the home. His family says the footage shows he was not a burglar and that he would have been guilty of trespassing at most

Another video shows Ahmaud entering the property. It was taken on a surveillance camera on a different home

The video was shared by the property owner who said they had never had any contact with the McMichaels let alone did they call for them to investigate any break-ins.

The attorney representing Ahmaud's family says the video shows that at most, Ahmaud would have been guilty of trespassing.

It's unclear what time the video on the construction site was taken.

According to the police report into his death, Ahmaud was shot dead at 1.46pm.

A time stamp on a different surveillance camera video says he entered the construction site at 2.13pm. It's possible that camera was inaccurately running an hour fast.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it is now investigating the video along with the cellphone footage of Ahmaud's killing that went viral.

The property is owned by Larry English.

Over the weekend, he released a statement through an attorney to say he neither called for the McMichaels to go after Ahmaud, nor did he condone in any way how they killed him.

Ahmaud was killed while out jogging on February 23. It is unclear if he had come from his mother's house, which is just under two miles from where the shooting unfolded. The McMichaels said they saw him 'hauling a**' down Satilla Drive and that he'd been seen on surveillance cameras inside homes near them but it's unclear which homes they were referring to. He was shot and killed at an intersection not far from the houses

TIMELINE OF BOTCHED HANDLING OF THE CASE February 23: Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone out in their car with guns to chase him because they mistook him for a burglar. When they caught up to him, Travis got out of the car. Jackie Johnson recused herself because McMichael used to work in her office Gregory says they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him and that he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud, 25. Late February - First prosecutor recuses herself Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, stepped down from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator. Mid-April - Second prosecutor says he won't press charges, then recuses himself George Barnhill said Ahmaud initiated the fight George Barnhill was given the case. He at first said he did not think it merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen's arrest, which is legal in Georgia. He also said that the video 'shows' Arbery reaching for Travis' gun. Barnhill recused himself because his son, also called George Barnhill, works in the office where McMichael used to The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame. When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle. Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery. He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Gregory served. May 5 - Third prosecutor passes it on to grand jury Tom Durden is the third prosecutor to have the case come across his desk. He said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice. This week, he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on. May 7 - Georgia Bureau of Investigation files charges The GBI announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7. Advertisement

'First, and most important, the English family -- the homeowners -- want Ahmaud Arbery's parents to know that they are very sorry for the loss of their son and they are praying for them.

'Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family -- the homeowners -- were not part of what the McMichaels did.

'The first accounts suggested a link between the McMichaels and the homeowners, but there is none.

'The English family had no relationship with the McMichaels and did not even know what had occurred until after Mr. Arbery's death was reported to them.

'After seeing Mr. Arbery's photo in news reports, Larry English did not even think Mr. Arbery was the person that appears in this video.

'Even if it had been, however, Mr. English would never have sought a vigilante response, much less one resulting in a tragic death,' his attorney, Elizabeth Graddy, told First Coast News.

Ahmaud's parents' lawyer confirmed that it is him in the video.

'This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us.

'Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period.

'Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property,' Lee Merritt said.

Last week, after growing global outrage, the case was taken out of local prosecutors' hands to be investigated by the state.

Gregory and Travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Greg McMichael had investigated Arbery before when he worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office.

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill said that his own son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

George E. Barnhill was the second DA to recuse himself in mid-April following pressure from Arbery's family. He claims he only learned of his son's link to the victim 'three or four weeks' ago.

In his letter, Barnhill added that criminal charges against the McMichaels was unwarranted, citing the criminal history of Arbery's brother and cousin.

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

PICTURED: Black Georgia man, 20, is arrested for setting up fake Facebook page in support of Ahmaud Arbery's two killers and threatening protesters who paid their respects at the spot where the 25-year-old jogger was 'lynched'

Rashawn Smith, 20, was arrested in Midway, Georgia, on Sunday after authorities alleged he created a fake Facebook account and used it to make a hoax threat against protesters demanding justice for murdered jogger Ahmaud Arbery

Georgia state investigators announced on Sunday that they have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of creating a fake Facebook account and using it to post a 'hoax' threat against protesters angry over the killing of unarmed black man 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Sunday said state police arrested Rashawn Smith and charged him with dissemination of information relating to terroristic acts.

Smith allegedly created a fake Facebook page and used it to make threats against the protesters.

He was taken into custody in Midway, a town about 50 miles north of Brunswick.

Earlier in the day, the GBI said it had 'been made aware of a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery'.

It was not immediately clear if Smith has an attorney who could comment on the charge.

Hundreds of people gathered alongside some 300 bikers in Brunswick on Saturday to honor Arbery.

The bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot on February 23 by two white men who claim they were making a citizen's arrest as they suspected him of a neighborhood burglary.

On Saturday bikers were seen kneeling at the spot where Arbery was fatally shot. One of the balloons left at the site reads 'Happy birthday'. Arbery would have turned 26 on Friday

Hundreds of people alongside some 300 bikers gathered in Brunswick to honor Arbery on Saturday

Some of the protesters held up signs which read 'Our lives matter too!' and 'Dear white people, when you don't call out racism you are upholding white supremacy by default!'

Several of those in attendance near the Sidney Lanier Bridge wore face masks and t-shirts with the phrase 'I run with Maud' in tribute to Arbery.

The memorial ceremony on Saturday was held just a day after protesters gathered at the same site demanding justice for Arbery on what would have been his 26th birthday.

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the Department of Justice to investigate the handling of Arbery's killing.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Under Georgia law, someone who isn't a sworn police officer can arrest and detain another person only if a felony is committed in the presence of the arresting citizen.

Georgia AG asks the US Justice Department to investigate Ahmaud Arbery's shooting as it's revealed top prosecutor who recused himself said slaying by two armed white men was 'justifiable homicide'

George Barnhill, Sr (left), the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in February that the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery (right), 25, by two white men was a 'justifiable homicide'

Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the investigation into the killing of Arbery.

Arbery was killed on February 23 but no arrests were made until Thursday after national outrage over the case swelled last week when video surfaced that showed the shooting which was blasted as a 'lynching'.

'We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,' Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

'The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.'

Attorneys for Arbery's mother and father applauded Carr for reaching out to federal officials.

'We have requested the involvement of the DOJ since we first took this case,' attorneys S. Lee Merritt, Benjamin Crump and L. Chris Stewart said in a statement.

'There are far too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged in Mr. Arbery's death.'

Last week, a Justice Department spokesman said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the DOJ would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

It comes after it emerged the Georgia district attorney who recused himself from the case told investigators that the fatal shooting was a 'justifiable homicide' and that the father and son duo who killed Arbery should not be charged.

George Barnhill, Sr, the top prosecutor for the Waycross Judicial Circuit, told police in Glynn County on February 24  the day after the shooting  that there was insufficient evidence to charge Travis McMichael, 34, and his 64-year-old father, former police officer Greg McMichael.

The Glynn County Police Department released a statement to The Brunswick News on Saturday saying Travis and Greg McMichael were brought in for questioning at around 3.30pm on February 23.

Earlier this week, two Glynn County commissioners said that the current Brunswick District Attorney, Jackie Johnson, also blocked police from arresting the McMichaels because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

Officers investigating the scene of the fatal shooting on February 23 told Johnson's office that they had cause to arrest the father and son at the time but the DA shut them down.

Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in her office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recuse 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 Constitution.
Coronavirus outbreak: India breaches 70,000-mark, records 87 new deaths due to COVID-19

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 12: The total number of coronavirus cases in India have reached 70,756 on Tuesday while the active cases are at 46,008. The recoveries are at 22,454 and the deaths are at 2,293, according to the Health Ministry.

In the last 24 hours, India has reported a spike of 3,604 COVID-19 cases and recorded 87 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 2,293.

Coronavirus crisis: TMC, BJP indulge in war of words during PM Modi's meeting with CMs

The Health Ministry also said that there are 46,008 active cases and 22,454 cured/discharged/migrated cases.

Earlier, the Jharkhand Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said that a person from Giridih tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday night, taking the total number of positive patients in the state to 162.

SwasthVayu a non-invasive ventilator developed for COVID-19

Meanwhile, King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow said that out of the 1,019 samples tested on Monday, ten have tested positive for coronavirus.

Earlier, on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference with Chief Ministers of different state through video conference. This meeting, by the Prime Minister, comes about a week before the third phase of lockdown coming to an end.

During the interaction with the Chief Ministers, PM Modi said that the government would have to think about moving forward and spoke about a holistic approach.
Panaji, May 12 : Stranded persons returning to Goa from different parts of the country, may have to download the Aroygya Setu app before entering the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

"More than two lakh people have downloaded the app in Goa. We will make efforts to communicate with those coming to Goa by trains and road to download the app before they arrive," Sawant said. The app promoted by the central government, helps to locate persons with a coronavirus history.

The Chief Minister also said, that nearly 3,000 Goans who had been stranded in different parts of the country had already reached Goa via road and said that they had been tested at the state's borders, before being sent to home quarantine.

The Chief Minister also said, that 3,000 expats of Goan origin who are currently stranded abroad had registered with the state government for facilitation of their return to India. The first flight repatriating a batch of these stranded persons could land at Goa's Dabolim international airport by next week, Sawant also said.

Sawant also said, that 800 Goan sailors onboard a cruiseliner were in touch with the state government, which is in the process of reaching the Mormugao Port Trust in the state for disembarking of its crew.

"Two more ships (carrying Goan sailors) are likely to arrive wither here (in Goa) or at the Mumbai port," Sawant said. Nearly 8,000 seafarers have registered with the Goa government, which is facilitating their return to the state.
Taxpayers have a right to know how and where their money is being spent in the efforts to buy ventilators, masks and other essential supplies  and whether agencies are being forthright about their efforts. While the work of government continues, citizens are losing a fundamental right to transparency. Thats a threat to good government and democracy.

The worst offenders have stopped complying with freedom of information requests outright, citing the difficulties of doing so during the health emergency. According to communications culled by The New York Times, the governors of Pennsylvania and Hawaii have advised state agencies that they are not required to respond to such requests until their offices return to normal operations  whenever that may be. Hawaiis procurement office will not disclose any contracts valued at over $25,000, representing a vast majority of the states dealings.

Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island is allowing agencies to extend disclosure requirements by as much as 40 business days. A spokeswoman for the governor told The Times that her regular appearances before the local press are a sufficient stand-in for normal compliance. Thats absurd. No news conference can replace timely disclosure of official written state communications and contracts.

In other cases, governors have given agencies leeway to comply with FOIA requests as they see fit, such as in Maryland and in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an order allowing compliance to take as long as the public body deems necessary or until June 5, when the order expires. Texas governor, Greg Abbott, ruled that agencies are exempt from a legal requirement to respond to FOIA requests within 10 business days until physical offices are open and fully staffed. That could amount to months of delays and create a considerable backlog when agencies are back in full force.

A lawyer for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services told The Times in response to a coronavirus-related FOIA request that the agency will not be able to begin to work on your request until this emergency is over. After an inquiry by The Times, a spokesman for the New Hampshire governor, Chris Sununu, said the agency was acting on its own, and it has since said it will work to fulfill the request.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday condoled the death of a municipal teacher due to coronavirus and said that an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore will be given to her family.

The chief minister said that Baikali Sarkar, a contractual teacher of municipal corporation, was engaged in distributing food at a government-run hunger relief centre and died of COVID-19 on May 4.

Under an existing policy, the government gives Rs 1 crore to the family of 'COVID-19 warriors' if they die due to coronavirus.

"She (Baikali) performed food distribution duty for the needy on April 10, 17 and 18. But, she could not come on April 24 as she was unwell," Kejriwal told an online medi briefing.

"First, she was admitted to the Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini, and then to RML hospital where she passed away on May 4... The Delhi government will give an honorary compensation of Rs 1 crore to her family," he said.

Kejriwal further said that the Delhi government will provide Rs 5,000 as financial assistance to the city's construction labourers this month as well.

He said labourers are working at several construction sites in Delhi and that the poor are the most affected by coronavirus.

The amount has been deposited in some people's accounts and others will get it soon, Kejriwal said.

Last month too, the Delhi government had given an aid of Rs 5,000 to construction workers.
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"Mercury is dedicated to providing excellent service to our policyholders through accurate and efficient resolution of their homeowners claims. We are determined to provide that level of service despite the challenges posed by COVID-19."

Maintaining a germ-free residence and keeping distance from those outside of the household is a top priority for Americans across the country who are under stay-at-home orders. However, if a house needs repairs due to a covered homeowners insurance loss, the damage will require evaluation to determine the repair costs and professionals will have to restore the property. Mercury Insurance offers homeowners who need to file an insurance claim a close-to-contactless solution, by adding technology that allows them to use real-time video to capture and assess property damage to the claims process.

Mercury is dedicated to providing excellent service to our policyholders through accurate and efficient resolution of their homeowners claims. We are determined to provide that level of service despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, said Christopher ORourke, Mercury Insurance vice president of property claims. Of course, we want to ensure the safety of our insureds and our staff, so when possible, we use technology that allows our policyholders to take our claims handlers on a virtual tour of their homes in real-time to assess the damage and create an estimate. Should this approach be insufficient, we limit the number of people visiting the home through the use of virtual inspection technology by our network of general contractors.

Mercury partners with contractors who have been vetted, whose work is guaranteed, and who are compliant with CDC recommendations for those who come in contact with the public.

Mercurys Claims Hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (800) 503-3724 for policyholders who need to file a claim. Once the claim is assigned to a claims handler, the policyholder is contacted for more details about the loss, and is also provided instructions for how to download and launch the claims processing app on a smartphone.

The app enables the policyholder to share high fidelity video while talking to the claims handler, who can then accurately see what needs to be repaired.

A Mercury policyholder in Highland, Calif. recently went through the claims process after discovering wet carpeting in her master bedroom and closet. The cause of the leak was obscured by a wall, so her claims handler Nick Sandoval partnered with a Mercury-approved contractor, who visited the home to find the problem.

Sandoval was included on the contractors virtual inspection, where it was determined that the shower pan in the standup shower had failed, preventing water from draining properly. The virtual inspection allowed Sandoval to remotely work with the contractor to establish the scope of repairs, which included drywall and baseboard repair in two rooms, as well as the replacement of the carpet pad and carpeting.

Once our insured agreed to the estimate and to move forward with the contractor I offered, I was able to issue a check for the repairs within three days, said Sandoval. She was very pleased with the timeliness of the claims progression throughout the whole process.

The system weve implemented to process claims benefits everyone, said ORourke. Policyholders appreciate fewer folks coming into their home and having a guaranteed contractor to work with, and our claims handlers appreciate that they have an alternative to home visits that might put them at risk.

Mercurys Customer Giveback Program and its new partnership with the California Medical Associations Care 4 Caregivers Now wellness program for healthcare workers are additional ways the company is assisting Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/insurance/homeowners/ to learn more about Mercurys products and services.

About Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization predominantly offering personal automobile, homeowners and business insurance through a network of independent agents in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. Since 1962, Mercury has specialized in offering quality insurance at affordable prices. For more information, visit http://www.mercuryinsurance.com or Facebook and follow the company on Twitter.
NORTHFIELD  The new owners of the Northfield Drive-In are fielding inquiries from more than a dozen schools and organizations looking to have car-bound, no-contact graduations and other ceremonies.

"This has become a huge community service project," said new owner Julia Wiggin.

They have also heard from folks who want to host comedy performances or drive-in concerts. One group wants to relocate an LGBTQ-themed film festival to the drive-in.

Wiggin and her husband, Steve Wiggin, bought the 15-acre property from Mitchell Shakour on April 17 for $349,000. They plan to reopen for Memorial Day weekend.

All around the country, drive-in theaters are stepping up, showing movies as well as hosting events where attendees stay in their cars, with a video presentation and maybe an in-person presentation over the theaters speaker system.

For graduations, families wont be allowed to get out of their cars.

Julia Wiggin said Tuesday shes heard from groups as far as 100 miles away. Some potential users are in New York state. Thats a problem while stay-at-home advisories discourage interstate travel.

The drive-in is located mostly in New Hampshire. Its entrance, though, is on the Massachusetts side of the border in Northfield off Route 63.

Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield and New Hampshires Hinsdale High School already announced plans to have graduations at the theater.

Wiggin said shes given groups until Thursday to firm up their plans so she can come up with a schedule. All events will be at dusk so the drive-in can use its movie screen.

One of the groups at least exploring hosting an event at the drive-in is the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts.

Pattie Hallberg, CEO of the regional Girl Scouts program, said the Northfield Drive-In might be the best  and only  place to honor 27 Girl Scouts who have earned their Gold Award and 84 Girl Scouts who have earned their Silver Awards. The scouts have a regional ceremony each year honoring the young women who receive the top two awards in Girl Scouting, Hallberg said.

"We know that our normal pattern of having a ceremony and diner for 100 or 300 people is not going to happen," she said. "And yet it is so important for us to be able to honor these girls as best we can."

Movies, at least first-run movies, might be a challenge, Wiggin said. The theater has updated projection equipment and can show the latest Hollywood releases. Problem is, Hollywood isnt releasing new movies these days while indoor theaters are closed.

Wiggin said shes being told that Disney is sticking with its July release date for the new live-action version of family adventure Mulan." In the meantime, the drive-in will likely show older movies.
One of Albania's most wanted murderers appeared in a London court today after spending 22 years on the run.

Defrim Iseberi, 46, was number two on a top-ten list of the most wanted fugitives in the UK recently compiled by Albanian authorities.

He shot and killed a security guard at the Gjallica Hotel in the northern town of Kukes in October 1997 before fleeing to England to go into hiding.

Defrim Iseberi, 46, has appeared in front of Westminster Magistrates Court over his extradition to Albania, where he has been convicted of murdering a hotel security guard in 1997

A court then convicted and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment in 2000 in his absence.

Iseberi used the name Agim Mema to claim asylum in the UK as a bogus Kosovan refugee, claiming to have been fleeing the war.

According to the Sunday Express, an Interpol red notice was not issued for Iseberi until 2004, and a warrant for his arrest in the UK was only issued in 2010.

Iseberi was on a list of most wanted fugitives, alongside Hektor Mahmutaj (right) who committed a fire arms offence in the UK and Hysni Sokolaj (left) who is sought for forcing an Albanian women into prostitution in Belgium and the UK

He had previously been placed at number two in a top ten list compiled by the Albanian authorities of fugitive, including four former special commando officers from the Albanian army.

They are wanted for alleged desertion after they are said to have disappeared during a training exercise in 2017.

The most wanted Albanian Killers and thieves believed to be living in the UK Admir Dekovi, 42: Allegedly shot a clubber in the head in 2017 Defrim Iseberi, 45: Fled after gunning down a security guard at a hotel in Albania Kadri Hoxha: Killed a security guard who was trying to stop him robbing a flour factory Hektor Mahmutaj, 44: Committed fire arms offences in the UK Renild Ajazi, Kelis Lamkaj, Ylber Kotri and Aleksander Shkulau: Special commandos wanted after absconding on a 2017 mission Ilir Nazmi Kumbaro, 66: Torture and kidnapping Hysni Sokolaj, 47: Forced a woman into prostitution Endri Duraku, 35: Stabbing Advertisement

However Iseberi was finally tracked down by the Metropolitan Police in London last December following a lengthy manhunt.

Last month he told Westminster Magistrates' Court he will fight his deportation to Albania.

Iseberi was told today by District Judge Karim Ezzatt that he 'should not have been brought to court' today, but made an appearance because there were 'insufficient video link slots'.

'You're aware your extradition hearing is set for 27th and 28th august,' the judge added.

The court was told Iseberi is now 'very worried about his physical health due to the coronavirus'.

Iseberi was convicted of murder and possession of a firearm in Albania, and would have to face the sentence for which he has been convicted.

He was remanded into custody until June 9 but his full extradition hearing will take place in August.
BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- From canceled proms to virtual commencement ceremonies, the graduating senior Class of 2020 will go down in history as one of the most unique, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the stay-at-home order was first issued by the governor on March 22, we have been working on various scenarios for how to best celebrate our seniors while still complying with state mandates, Highland High School Principal Carrie Knapp said in a May 6 letter to parents.

Throughout this time, our seniors never left our minds. We did not want the Class of 2020 to miss out on anything else, especially senior events such as graduation and prom. There have been many what ifs for both of these events.

Likewise, Brunswick City Schools Superintendent Michael Mayell expressed regret that many timeworn traditions will not be shared by the Class of 2020.

I think it is fair to say that no one expected this experience, Mayell wrote in a letter to Brunswick parents and seniors. Many of you walked into our hallways as kindergarten students and, to be honest, it breaks our hearts that we cannot provide you with the many traditions reserved for our senior class.

"However, we are doing out very best to substitute some of these traditions for you. I know I speak for every teacher, every staff member and every principal in the Brunswick City Schools when I say that we wish you the very best as you move on to the next stage of your lives.

New traditions

Based upon recommendations released April 29 from Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Health, districts were given several options for graduation ceremonies this year.

The first option -- a virtual graduation -- is listed as the safest.

Other possibilities include a drive-through graduation ceremony, with students and their families driving to the school, wearing masks, for the student to receive his or her diploma individually in a single-file line with a police presence.

A variation of this option has the principal handing the diploma to the student while they remain inside their car, noting again that everyone wears masks and the process would be done with police presence.

The state also suggested single-family, in-person graduations, whereby students can walk across the auditorium stage in a more traditional manner, but on a one-by-one basis.

The Highland High School plan

Until recently, we were hopeful for an outdoor graduation ceremony at our own Highland High School stadium, Knapp said. Due to this most recent guidance from the state, it is no longer possible for us to hold a traditional graduation ceremony at any location.

"However, we are going to move forward with a blend of all of the permitted options to create a memorable graduation celebration for our students.

Highland High School will hold a single-family, in-person graduation with video recording -- in order to create a virtual class ceremony. In addition, a drive-in Graduation Celebration at Blue Sky Drive-in in Wadsworth is scheduled for May 30.

Knapp explained that from May 15-17, seniors and their immediate families will be invited to the high school at an individually designated time for a personal graduation ceremony.

The student will walk across the stage to receive his or her Highland High School diploma, Knapp wrote in her parent letter. Each student will be recorded, and a video will be produced that will include the entire ceremony: speeches, graduates, music. Families are welcome to take pictures as their student walks across the stage.

Families are asked to wait outside the school to be escorted into the building at their designated time, again to ensure social distancing.

We also suggest, per state recommendations, that out of mutual respect for one another, parents, guardians and graduates wear masks to the event. Graduates may remove their masks for photographs, Knapp wrote.

The videotaped ceremony will be shown at the May 30 drive-in event, with students receiving a copy of the ceremony as a keepsake.

Following the video, all graduates and their families are invited to return to the Highland High School upper parking lot for a fireworks display.

We fully recognize that nothing can replace the traditional graduation ceremony, Knapp wrote. We hope that by providing the opportunity for students to walk across the stage, receive their diploma and gather as a class, this celebration will be something they can remember for years to come.

Brunswick High School graduation ceremony

Mayell said Brunswick City Schools is in the process of assembling a virtual graduation ceremony, to be held at 1 p.m. May 24.

This ceremony will include musical performances, speeches from district leadership and students, as well as the announcement of all 556 graduating students names, Mayell explained. While each name is read, a slide will display with the graduates senior picture.

"The ceremony can be watched on the (Brunswick City School District) YouTube channel or the BEAT channel, in the comfort and safety of your home with family. DVDs will be available through the BEAT studio, upon request.

Prior to the virtual graduation, the district has arranged a picture opportunity, to be scheduled from May 16-19, in which students will be photographed outside Brunswick High School, in front of a banner containing the name of each 2020 graduate. These pictures will be added to the virtual graduation ceremony broadcast.

A drive-through clap-out celebration will also be held at 2 p.m. May 15, with staff members lining up along the side of the road to clap out seniors as they drive through the main campus parking lot.

We feel that our format limits close social interaction and keeps everyone safe, Mayell said in his letter to families.

We will miss you, but know that by virtue of your graduation, you have joined a very special community of Brunswick alumni. Congratulations to you all, and please know we cannot wait to see what you will accomplish with your lives. Stay safe.

Prom

Senior prom plans at Brunswick were still being discussed as of late as last week, with the possibility of postponing the event for a later date.

But Knapp officially called off the dance for Highland students shortly after DeWines April 29 press conference.

Unfortunately, with the health restrictions that remain in place limiting personal contact, in order to adhere to appropriate social distancing protocols, it is no longer an option to hold a dance, Knapp said. Therefore, we are unable to continue to plan for prom, even at a future date.

Read more news from the Brunswick Sun.
[May 12, 2020] Sterling Partners and its Incubator '87 Partner with Stella Center for Trauma Symptom Care

Sterling Partners and its investment incubator '87 announced today the formation of a new managed services organization (MSO), Stella MSO, LLC, which will provide services to Stella Center, a new model of care for individuals seeking treatment of neurological trauma-related symptoms. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005219/en/ Stella Center provides care to patients with a 20-minute outpatient medical procedure - called a modified Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) - that targets the brain's fight or flight response to help alleviate symptoms related to neurological trauma. These symptoms range from relationship and sleep problems to panic attacks and surges of irritability and afflict those from all walks of life, including military personnel, veterans and first responders. The procedure and Stella Center draw on the years of experience of highly regarded, board-certified anesthesiologist and Stella Center's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Eugene Lipov. Dr. Lipov has administered the SGB procedure more than 1,000 times in patients with trauma-related symptoms. The formation of the MSO and its first partnership with a physical center for care, located just outside of downtown Chicago, was led by Sterling Partners ("Sterling") Chairman and Co-Founder Steven Taslitz. Taslitz was introduced to Dr. Lipov and licensed psychologist and veteran trauma specialist Dr. Shauna Springer in early 2019, and together they sought to create a patient-first center designed to improve the lives of those impacted by trauma. Furthermore, the partnership complemented Taslitz's desire to build and scale businesses that benefit veteran communities, just as his team did through an investment in Black Rifle Coffee Company. Together Dr. Lipov, Dr. Springer, Taslitz, and '87 are building a platform that could expand nationally to increase access to this method of care, and in communities with large concentratios of military personnel.



"The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will affect 7% to 8% of the population at some point in life," explained Taslitz. "When we were approached by Dr. Lipov to assist him in expanding his model that seeks to meaningfully improve people's lives, we couldn't help but roll up our sleeves. Stella Center is an opportunity for us to draw on our years of experience in healthcare investing and our entrepreneurial roots. We're excited to be on the forefront of addressing the challenge of effective and scalable trauma-related symptom care." Through the creation of Stella's MSO, Sterling and '87 provide Stella Center strategic guidance on finance, talent, branding, and marketing. Sterling has nearly 40 years of investment and business-building experience and a long-standing practice in multi-unit healthcare services. With Sterling's addition of '87, which brings expertise in growth marketing and brand building, the partnership with Stella Center seemed particularly well-suited. Dr. Lipov controls the center itself and the services provided there, alongside CEO James R. Williams. Williams, like Sterling, is a proven healthcare leader, having previously expanded and led U.S. care networks for companies including DaVita, Vein Clinics of America, Accelitech, and ProCure.

Stella Center's first physical location is now open at 2425 22nd St., Suite 101, Oak Brook, IL, 60523. It is administering treatment as appropriate while adhering to physical distancing requirements. Its call center is also open to consult with potential patients and outline treatment options through its telehealth platform. With Drs. Lipov and Springer's direction, Stella Center is evaluating opening new brick and mortar locations, focused in active duty and veteran-heavy geographies, and hiring top-tier clinical staff. "This is a promising time in the advancement of care for the biological and neurological effects of trauma," added Lipov. "I'm thrilled to be working with Sterling Partners and '87, who have extensive experience in building great healthcare organizations and positive patient experiences. Our goal is to provide hope and healing to patients struggling with trauma-related symptoms." For more information about the center, its treatments, and availability, visit www.StellaTraumaCenter.com. About Sterling Partners: Sterling Partners is a diversified investment management platform founded in 1983 and based in Chicago. The firm started with four young entrepreneurs, who went on to build one of Chicago's most prominent private equity firms. Today, the firm has expanded beyond its strong private equity practice into a number of other investment strategies. Complementing its institutional fund practice, since 2017 the firm has nearly a dozen investments on a deal-by-deal basis. Sterling invests in a wide variety of companies in various stages of growth - from early stage, high-growth businesses to mature, profitable companies. These investments are across several industries, and the firm makes control, non-control, and preferred equity investments. Sterling adds value to its portfolio companies and the founders with whom it partners with its entrepreneurial roots, deep domain expertise, focus on transformational growth, and access to world-class executive talent. For more information, please visit www.sterlingpartners.com. About '87: '87 is a subsidiary of Sterling Partners and specializes in building and supporting story-driven consumer businesses that attract and retain customers through powerful content. '87's vision is to assemble and grow a world-class portfolio of companies that improves communities in both simple and profound ways. For more information, please visit www.eightyseven.us. About Stella: Stella Center aims to provide relief to the millions of people affected by trauma-related symptoms. Dr. Eugene Lipov's adaptation of a procedure called the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) targets the brain's fight or flight response. Dr. Eugene Lipov, a highly regarded, board-certified anesthesiologist, is widely accepted as the pioneer of SGB for the treatment of trauma-related mental symptoms, having performed the procedure on patients from across the world for almost 15 years. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005219/en/

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The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has responded to the outcry of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 over shortage of bed spaces in hospitals dedicated to isolation centres for the treatment of coronavirus infection. The CBCN donated over 400 health facilities across the country for use as isolation centres for COVID-19.

The Catholic Bishops made the donated the facilities belonging to the Catholic Mission to strengthen the countrys health facilities in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Several individuals and corporate bodies had earlier donated money to the tune N25 billion to the Nigerian government to strengthen the fight against the spread of coronavirus in the country. Some others donated medical facilities.

Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) had at the briefing of the Task Force last Friday declared: We have received reports from the states, which suggests that the treatment centres are running out of bed spaces. As we assess the situation, the PTF shall also begin to examine our 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.

Boss Mustapha had on Monday reiterated that the federal government is intensifying efforts to increase the number of treatment centres in the country as the figure of positive cases has continued to rise.
BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Activities and events to be held in China for the upcoming International Museum Day have been released on Monday as the coronavirus epidemic wanes.

Nanjing Museum in east China's Jiangsu Province will host the main event on International Museum Day, which falls on May 18, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA).

A special exhibition with a selection of over 200 cultural relics dating from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) to the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) will be jointly launched by eight cultural institutions, including the Nanjing Museum and Henan Museum, to mark the day, Gong Liang, curator of the Nanjing Museum, said at a press conference.

Themed "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion," this year's campaign for the International Museum Day will also include special activities held around May 18 in other places across China. The aim is to build platforms of communication between museums and the public, the NCHA said.

While paying tribute to medics, a batch of material demonstrating China's collective efforts in the combat against the epidemic will be donated to the Nanjing Museum at the opening ceremony of the main event. According to the NCHA, provincial museums in Hainan, Gansu, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang will also hold exhibitions to honor China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Apart from controlling the scale of the offline main event on the spot and improving the emergency plan, online activities will also be intertwined with offline events for the first time due to the epidemic, Guan Qiang, deputy head of the NCHA, said at the press conference.

Related activities will be livestreamed via the Internet, he added.

A total of 11 Chinese cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Changsha have hosted the main event since 2009.

In collaboration with Xinhua News Agency, the NCHA will launch a platform to show the best of the online exhibitions of China's museums as part of a series of events scheduled for the International Museum Day, Guan noted.

The NCHA will also invite celebrities and experts to interpret the exhibitions and explore approaches to innovatively convert and develop fine traditional Chinese culture through a livestream on the platform, Guan added.
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Winter is a four-year-old chocolate-colored llama who lives on a farm in Belgium. She is also one of the possible heroes in the fight against COVID-19.

Llamas produce antibodies that are especially suited to fighting viruses. Humans produce only one kind of antibody, while llamas produce two types. One is much smaller, only 25% the size of human antibodies. The smaller version can access tinier pockets and crevices on spike proteins  the proteins that allow viruses to break into host cells and infect us. This makes these smaller antibodies more effective in neutralizing viruses.

Llamas antibodies are also easily manipulated to be linked or fused with other antibodies, including human antibodies.

This genetic characteristic is not unique to llamas  all camelids share it, including alpacas, guanacos, and dromedaries. Sharks have these smaller antibodies as well. However, as one researcher notes, they are not a great experimental model, and are a lot less cuddly than llamas.

In 2016, scientists looked to llamas to find a smaller antibody that could broadly neutralize many kinds of coronaviruses. They picked Winter, injecting her with spike proteins from the virus that caused the 2002-03 SARS epidemic as well as MERS, then tested her blood. They found two potent antibodies that each fought separately against both viruses.

When the new coronavirus began making headlines, they tested Winters antibodies against it as well. They found the same resultsher antibodies effectively inhibited the coronavirus in cell cultures. They published their results in a scientific journal last week.

The researchers hope this antibody approach can eventually be used to protect people from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While it would work immediately, its effects would not be permanent, requiring additional injections in a month or two. Researchers are moving toward clinical trials, though actual therapies for humans are several months away.

However, as one of the scientists says, if it works, llama Winter deserves a statue.

The future significance of present faithfulness

When God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, he saw that it was good (Genesis 1:25). Every dimension of what he made reflects his creative genius and design, not just for the present but also for the future.

Adam named the animals (Genesis 2:1920), then his descendants employed them to advance human lives and culture (cf. Genesis 4:20). Those in the biblical era obviously could not know about the capacity of llama antibodies to fight viruses, but God did.

The same principle holds in your life: God can use your experiences, education, and resources for future good you cannot imagine today.

When Benjamin Franklin made advances in understanding electricity, he could not know that I would be using this resource to power the computer on which I am writing these words. When Tim Berners-Lee developed what we call the internet, he could not know that I would be using it to share biblical truth with you today.

A wise mentor once encouraged me to stay faithful to the last word I heard from God while remaining open to the next. Ask the Lord to use you where you are today, knowing that his providence has purposes for your life that you cannot understand on this side of heaven.

You cannot measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness.

This piece was originally published at the Denison Forum
Then there's the question of how historians will treat the Trump presidency. If you talk to some in the administration, you'll hear that history will vindicate them. I find it difficult to contain my skepticism about that. Indeed, even those who say it tend to avoid claiming that history will be kind to Trump himself. Rather, they say that certain policies will be justified, or that individuals who sacrificed much to keep the White House on the rails will get some sympathy.
Assam government on Tuesday announced that all the passengers returning by trains to the state over the next few weeks would have to undergo a mandatory 9-14 day quarantine and only symptomatic coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients would be tested.

As per the Centres guidelines, swab samples of symptomatic Covid-19 patients will be collected and tested. But everyone coming back to Assam will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine between nine and 14 days, state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Earlier, the state government had decided to test all the Assam-bound passengers, but the plan was abandoned because of the influx and the strategy was tweaked in line with the Centres directives.

So far, were dealing with a few Covid-19 positive cases. But, the scenario has changed since Tuesday. Itll be impossible to test thousands of passengers returning by trains, as itll take days to get the results, Sarma said.

The first train, carrying around 1,000 passengers from Delhi, will reach Dibrugarh in Upper Assam on Wednesday.

Around 7,000 passengers are likely to come back to Assam by seven trains from Delhi over the next week.

The state government had requested the Union Ministry of Railways to arrange 12 trains, including the seven from Delhi, to repatriate people to the state, who were stranded across the country, including south and west India.

Passengers arriving by trains would be screened at railways stations, where they would disembark. The symptomatic patients would be directly taken to dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and the others would be lodged in state-run quarantine facilities.

The passengers would be placed in isolation at their respective homes after completion of their 9-14-day mandatory quarantine.

Committees are being formed in each block and village to ensure compliance with home quarantine guidelines.

Weve asked all the 33 districts in the state to set up quarantine facilities for up to 2,500 people each. If the influx of returnees go up, then well have to set up quarantine facilities in each of the 126 assembly constituencies in the state, Sarma said.

A total of 3,597 people, stranded in other parts of the country, have arrived in Assam between May 4 and Tuesday either by their own vehicles or buses.

Similarly, 3,507 people stranded in other states in the north-east have returned to Assam.

Were receiving the results of the test of the returnees. All of them, except one, have tested negative and they would soon be released from the quarantine facilities, the minister added.

Assam has reported 65 Covid-19 positive cases to date, of which two persons have died and 40 have recovered. Another 23 are still undergoing treatment in various Covid-19 dedicated hospitals in the state.

Sarma said that the community surveillance initiative started last week by teams of doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians have so far covered 10,000 villages and detected 7,782 people with symptoms of fever, cough, and respiratory ailments. The teams will visit another 10,000 villages over the next few days.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utpal Parashar Utpal is an assistant editor based in Guwahati. He covers all eight states of North-East and was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times . ...view detail
Mayank Tiwari By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Students from Hyderabad, who were to travel to the US, the UK and Australia for higher education, have been worried over losing a year. Many of them, who have applied for spring entry for their courses, were about to leave India when Covid-19 hit the country and the subsequent lockdown delayed their departure.

For this September, I received offer letter from the university that I had applied for and I was ready with my IELTS score. But I cannot apply for a visa now as the admissions have been postponed, said Mukund, an engineering student from the city, who had applied for a course in the UK. I was in the middle of taking a loan and suddenly, everything came at a halt. I do not want to waste a year, he said.

The story is not any different when it comes to other students in the city. Those who have applied for loans and scholarships have been on the edge as admissions have come to a standstill. Admissions into all major universities across the world start during this time of the year. Many students still have their applications under process, said Kiran Kumar, an education counsellor from a private educational organisation offering student seats in universities.

On the other hand, the city students who went abroad just before the pandemic outbreak feel helpless. The students from Hyderabad, who went to the USA in January and February, have no clue what to do next. I came here with the fee for the first semester. I could not get any job till now. If this continues, I will have to starve or ask my parents for more money. Also, I will not be able to pay the fee for the next semester, said Kevin, a student who reached the US in January.Some of the immigrants got menial jobs, which are not so safe in these days. I do not know what will happen if this continues, he said.
A Montana man has posed for his latest mugshot wearing a 'drug free' t-shirt after being arrested for possession of marijuana.

Ronald Joseph Gallagher, 50, was hauled into Missoula County Jail last Wednesday on several charges including marijuana possession, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, KLUV reported.

In addition to giving a thumbs up and flashing a grin, Gallagher's 'drug free' shirt - cropped by the Sheriff's photographer - continued, 'just ran out yesterday.'

In addition to giving a thumbs up and flashing a grin, the Sheriff's photographer cropped the line below Ronald Gallagher's 'Drug Free' shirt which added, 'Just ran out yesterday.'

Gallagher has posed for mugshots at Missoula County Jail on at least six other occasions and in 2018 he appeared in four mugshots at the local lockup

Gallagher's charges since 2017 include trespass, assault, drugs and theft

Gallagher's mugshots have shown him sporting a mullet as well as varying facial hairstyles

Gallagher was released the following morning after posting bond.

He has posed for mugshots at Missoula County Jail on at least six other occasions and in 2018 he appeared in four mugshots at the local lockup.

Gallagher's charges since 2017 include trespass, assault, drugs and theft.

In that time he has sported a mullet, shorter cropped hair and long flowing locks, as well as varying degrees of facial hair, from clean-shaven to goatee and also a full beard.

Gallagher posing at his local lockup in January 2019

Gallagher looking more dishevelled in a dated photo at Missoula County Jail
I spoke with Mr. Newton recently. Heres our conversation, edited and condensed:

Jerry Brown hated talking about his legacy when he was in office, so let me start by asking, how would you describe his legacy?

His leadership on the environment is probably the philosophical realm in which he will be remembered, especially outside of California and particularly on climate change. Also, not so much in his legacy, but in his life, he upended the assumption that a search for spiritual understanding is confined to the conservative part of American politics. He is a living example of (spirituality) being consistent with liberal political principles  that ideas like mercy and humility bend themselves toward or within a liberal point of view.

I dont think people have historically taken Mr. Browns spirituality, particularly as it relates to governing, as seriously as you do in the book.

The popular conception of Jerry Browns spirituality was formed in the 1970s, and was realized in the nickname, Moonbeam. Its an unfair nickname, I think. It was also the wrong time to take the full measure of him. He was 38 years old, and hes lived a whole political lifetime since then. His search for a belief system was taken too lightly and was conflated in this idea that California itself was not to be taken seriously. He kind of got mixed in this stew of hippies and the Summer of Love, none of which really applied to Jerry.

When people heard hed studied to be a priest and then gave it up, when people heard he was interested in meditation and then Buddhism, it felt like he was hopscotching around spiritual disciplines. In fact there is a strong through line in all of that, which is that these are disciplines that ask questions about a mans relationship to nature, mans relationship to God, the right way of proceeding, humanitys place on the Earth.

At the same time, you present Mr. Brown as very ambitious politically, so its this mixed portrait.

Theres a quote from his former adviser Nathan Gardels, which is that theres a part of Jerry that always wanted to be president of the United States, and theres a part of Jerry that always wanted to be a monk. For Gardels, the moment those come together was when he was mayor of Oakland. I think its no coincidence that Brown kind of comes into himself in those years. Hes experiencing politics not as an abstract intellectual exercise but as the actual delivery of services.

In the book you write that the standard of successful leadership is not the elimination of all problems but rather proof of progress. Returning to the idea of legacy, it seems to me that its just so much harder to define Jerry Browns legacy than it is to define the legacy of his father, Pat Brown, who built tangible things like the state university system and the California State Water Project.
When it comes to nursing, there are many rooms in the mansion. Janet Coe knows: She's worked in a lot of them.

Coe has had a rich and varied career leading to her current position as interim nursing director, running Montana Tech's rapidly expanding nursing program.

And to think it all started with flunking physics.

Then Janet Richards, she had started school at Montana Tech in environmental engineering after graduating from Butte High in 1990.

A year and a half into it, the physics was not going well. She talked with her professor, who said, "I don't know what to tell you. You understand the concepts, but it seems like it's something you don't have interest in, or don't want to do."

That made Janet think about what she did want to do. But when that led her to nursing, there was a problem: She couldn't get a bachelor's in nursing at Tech. The school didn't offer one.

So she transferred to MSU. On the way to getting her bachelor's in 1995, she had the option of completing her clinical rotation in Billings, Missoula or Great Falls. She applied for Missoula, and got it.

"I think I was a Griz at heart," she laughed. "My degree says I'm a 'Cat." She eventually solved that, of course, by returning to her Oredigger roots.

She spent the last two years of nursing school in Missoula, working at St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center.

She graduated and got married the same summer. Stephen Coe was working in Nampa, Idaho, so that's where she went, going to work at St. Alphonse's Regional Medical Center, where she would spend a lot of her career.

Coe started in long-term care at St. Alphonsus inpatient rehabilitation unit. "I took care of stroke patients, orthopedic patients, head and spinal injury patients," she said.

Then she tranferred to the hospital's cardiac center, working first in telemetry and then in the coronary care unit, caring for patients after heart surgeries or heart attacks.

It was there that she began fulfilling some management and administrative functions, including admissions, discharges and patient assignment. "I'd help assess where patients needed to be placed," she said, "You make the decisions: How critical are they? Should they go to a different unit? We were matching up staffing with patient needs."

After a health crisis of her own that required surgery and a 22-day hospital stay, Janet decided to take a different role as part of her own emotional and physical healing. She began doing childbirth and lactation education, and doing some nursing education for the hospital.

She then worked in the hospital's sales department, helping to sell contracts for to large employers for occupational healthcare. She went into the community, doing immunization clinics, wellness and other onsite nursing.

"What I love about nursing is there are so many roles you can fill as a nurse," she says. "I found that nursing degree opened up doors I didn't know existed."

She also worked for the hospital's medical access center, coordinating patient movement in and out of the hospital, keeping track of staffing across the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Coes' five-year Idaho plan had turned into 17 years, and they were both ready for a return to their hometown, which happened in 2011.

Now what? Coe wondered. "I had always had a passion for teaching and education. I talked with Karen VanDeveer, who headed the nursing school, and she said she'd love to have me as a teacher, but I'd need to get a master's degree."

So she managed to complete her master's degree in nursing online, from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City. "It prepared me well," she said, and she was able to land a tenured teaching position at Tech.

Soon VanDeveer asked her to take on a new part of the school  the simulation lab.

Eventually she was able to add faculty and purchase some more of the expensive high-tech simulation equipment, and began planning for an on-campus simulation center starting in 2021.

"It's been a fun project to start from the ground up and watch it build," she said.

Of the planned Praxis Center private simulation center planned for Uptown Butte, she said "I think it's total synergy" to have both centers in Butte.

VanDeveer, longtime nursing director, recently was given the assignment of interim Dean of Tech's College of Letters, Science, & Professional Studies. And Coe was asked to fill in behind her as interim nurisng director. That assignment was recently extended through June 2021, she said.

It's been a huge challenge, but she's really enjoyed it. She jokes: "Sometimes I wonder if we should add yoga to our curriculum. As a nurse, you have to be flexible."

"What a great opportunity it's been to step in and try out the role, all the while working with a fantastic mentor and leader like Karen," Coe said.

"It's such an honor to fill this role at this school. Montana Techs reputation reaches all across the world," she added.

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Dating is, notoriously, not great. But during the coronavirus pandemic, dating has become a gauntlet of risk and questionable reward. People looking to meet up with others romantically are faced with a mountain of challenges, beyond the usual sexually transmitted diseases, weird politics and hoarding habits.

Ugh, dating during this sucks, said Kamran Aryah, 33, of Portland.

First, Aryah said, theres the fact that all the couples he knows seem to be blissfully baking bread together. And then theres the fact that he was finally ready to look for a serious relationship after his last breakup. Then COVID-19 happened.

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On top of that, I just got this adorable dog, and she doesnt even have the chance to play matchmaker for me, Aryah added.

For many women who spoke with The Oregonian/OregonLive, the frustration is expounded by the behavior of men on dating apps.

Bree Henry, 33, also of Portland, said shes been receiving a higher than usual number of unwanted adult pictures.

Its like they gain your trust on the app, get your number, and then its male genitalia everywhere, Henry said.

Relationship expert Sarah Sloane, who works with the inclusive dating app #open, said Henry wasnt the only person reporting this trend.

Some women report that random dick pics and harassing or abusive messages have gone up, she said. This is happening primarily in apps or dating websites where there are not solid consent policies or mutual-match requirements for messaging others.

Sloane said this behavior was probably related to stress and the fact that some people dont have healthy ways of handling pressure, and are much more likely to lash out and/or violate boundaries.

However, there is definitely some bright sides to this, she said.

Sloane said people were finding more authentic connections and looking past things like proximity and a very narrow set of physical qualities.

And it does appear that even more casual conversations with potential partners are creating some great feelings of interconnectedness for people, she said.

It looks like even more people are looking for that sense of connection.

According to a Tinder spokesperson, since March in the United States, conversations have been up an average of 19% and the average length of conversations is 8% longer.

Globally, according to Tinder, more members are swiping right on someone new, having more conversations overall, and those conversations are lasting longer.

Bumble is reporting increased traffic too, especially on its video and voice call features.

Weve seen a 69% increase in video calls during the week ending May 1, versus video calls during the week ending March 13, a Bumble spokesperson said.

The average length of video and voice calls is 28 minutes, Bumble said.

Both Aryah and Henry said they had found ways to transition from apps to in-person meetups, and have enjoyed those connections.

Ive gone on a few walking dates, and thats been really nice, Henry said.

And Aryah said he managed to have a nice FaceTime and distanced park meetup with a match recently.

Sloane noted that while COVID-19 is a challenge for people looking for partners, I actually believe that this time can be a pause in our old habits of dating and can give us a chance to find better ways to connect.

I'm guiding people to think of this as a chance to get to know ourselves on deeper levels, she said. We're already shifting away from a busy social calendar, so we can separate out what we've been doing from what would be truly nourishing and create successful connections.

Mikayla Krause, 20, of Corvallis, has created one such successful connection, even though its been from a distance.

She was using dating apps but deleted them after reconnecting with an elementary school friend on Tinder and then Snapchat.

We have been FaceTiming as well as playing Xbox games together, Krause said, adding they havent met up in person yet, but plan to as soon as it feels safe.

Safety is, of course, a looming concern for everyone in the world, but for people who are dating, its at the forefront of their minds.

As we learn more about what safety looks like in the coming months, we can have those big conversations earlier on with our new dating partners, Sloane said.

I do think that in a weird way it puts the concept of consent even more in the forefront of peoples minds, Aryah said. The consent conversation now includes even breaking a persons surrounding personal space bubble.

For her part, Henry always asks potential walking dates if theyve had any COVID-19 symptoms before shell go on a stroll.

Still, even the outdoors in-person meeting doesnt feel as safe as it used to.

For some reason, Henry said, I still prefer those over a virtual date. Its sort of like inviting someone in your home that you dont know, so I dont feel the most comfortable doing that. Its strange.

But, its possible the looming danger might force people to communicate more openly.

The questions people must ask each other now mirror how people who are active in consensually non-monogamous or kinky relationships have discussed overall risk and safety for decades, Sloane said.

Discussing STI risk when there are multiple people who can be affected and making decisions together with our partners to ensure that each person feels safe, are hallmarks of healthy communication for polyamorous folks, she said, and theres a lot to be learned there for all of us having the big conversations that well need to have in the times to come.

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Authored by Rachna Baruah, Founder of Madchatter Brand Solutions.

For better or for worse, communication: how we talk, who we talk to, and what we talk aboutis set to change in profound ways over the next decade. Right this moment, the majority of us are reading this article from home quarantine: a global pandemic has caused in-person business communication to grind to a complete halt. Digital modes of communication-social media, online advertisements, augmented reality, and video conferencing are no longer optional good-to-haves. At the exact moment that digital communication has matured in terms of reliability and ease of use, a global black swan externality is forcing us all to rely on it for business, companionship, and survival. While COVID-19 is certainly playing a major role as a catalyst, the paradigm shifts in communication have been evolving over the past decade. Lets take a look now at some of the ways in which communication is set to change this decade.

As physical distance expands, virtual space shrinks

According to VOIP vendor WebEx, customers used over 5.5 billion meeting minutes in just the first 11 days of March. Thats nearly 10,500 years of remote conference in aggregate. Physical distance between people has expanded in the recent past. As on-demand communication platforms become more robust, and as India and China, the growth engine of APAC bring hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, it becomes important for decision makers around the world, thousands of miles apart, to be in regular contact. Even as business partners transcend borders through the digital space, enforced social distancing means that in-person connectivity has significantly worsened. Its harder today to set up an in-person meeting with an associate on the other side of the city than an e-meeting with a supplier in China.

Businesses need to leverage disruption to scale up and offer better solutions

This peculiar realignment of the concept of distance poses both opportunities and challenges for communication. Digital communication platforms are seeing a massive upsurge in concurrent user counts. Facebook has seen a 70 percent increase in group video calls. Meanwhile, Netflix has registered such a large increase in concurrent users that it is temporarily reducing per-user bandwidth in certain geographies.

In the immediate to short term, businesses will have a window of opportunity to iron out kinks in their solutions as user numbers and requirements skyrocket. However, the big opportunity here is for businesses to build in more robust communication solutions in their platforms. Video conferencing players can enhance security and offer lower prices. Streaming video vendors can secure better licensing deals for a wider range of geographies. Social media platforms can better integrate voice and video features. The long risk here is for businesses who assume things will continue as normal. Those who fail to adapt to the changing communication environment will be left behind once the current crises ends.

Communication infrastructure is set to become more robust

The number of smartphone users in India alone is expected to cross 500 million by the end of 2020. By the end of this decade, smartphone penetration will be near-universal, as will access to mobile or broadband internet. Many communication innovationssuch as the Google Stadia video game streaming platformrely on robust communication infrastructure in order to work. New modes of cloud-based communication, including teleworking, remote surgery, and audio-visual customer service experiences, all depend on widespread access to robust communication infrastructure. Over the next decade we expect both the physical infrastructure of communicationoptical cables, transmission towers, and endpoint devicesas well as communication software and communication modes to become substantially more robust and reliable.

As digital communication becomes ubiquitous, privacy and security implications become more significant

However, as digital communication becomes more important, businesses and individuals face a substantial challenge in terms of security. Video conferencing solutions, online avatars, and VR experiences may collect and transmit vast quantities of user-identifiable information to third parties, even as lawmakers and policy-watchers struggle to adapt. Users and businesses alike will need to be more aware of the privacy and security implications of their day-to-day communication over the next decade as law and policy slowly catch up with technology.

AI, VR, and AR transform are set to transform how we communicate and who we talk to

With the unveiling of Samsungs Project Neon, advanced, photorealistic AI assistants are no longer the exclusive domain of science fiction writers. Over the next decade, AI assistants are expected to grow both in technical capabilities and ubiquity. AI assistants wont just be limited to communicating with users on their smartphones. We expect holographic and AR-based assistants to replace physical presence at point of service terminals, customer support desks, and front offices. This will have implications for businesses and their customer facing staff: what roles can traditionally in-person, client-facing employees play in an increasingly digital environment? As the VR and mixed reality markets continue to grow rapidly, these two solutions will offer brands and individuals new ways to reach out to their personal and professional contacts.

We expect VR and mixed reality enterprise solutions to mature over the next decade, enabling advanced collaboration in virtual workspaces. In the personal space, we expect social media players to bake VR functionality into their existing solutions as a first step, and later on develop VR-forward solutions.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, communication has always been about people and ideas. It would be disingenuous to describe the ongoing change as a paradigm shift in communication. Communication itselfand its end goalsare not changing. Rather, the ways in which we talk to ourselves are, presenting immense opportunity and risk. Savvy businesses will pay close attention to these emerging trends and align their communication strategies to leverage this decades paradigm shifts.

Also Read:

Covid19 - A litmus test for digital ready Nation

New normal, new gender roles during COVID-19 lockdown
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A trio of researchers from the University of New Mexico, Harvard University and the University of Southern California has found evidence that suggests the curved phalange in apes is an inherited trait, not one that comes about from climbing. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ian Wallace, Loring Burgess and Biren Patel describe their study of the skeletal remains of Suzy, a chimpanzee that was raised to behave like a human being back in the 1930s, and what they learned about phalangeal curvature in chimpanzees.

The hand and foot phalanges are the set of bones in humans and some other animals that make up the distal, middle and proximal parts of the fingers and toes (the bones past our knuckles). In most primates, the phalanges are curved, making it relatively easy to climb trees. In humans, the phalanges are straightwe long ago abandoned tree climbing. The difference between ape and human phalanges has led researchers to believe that the curvature comes about as a reaction to constant climbing. Prior research has shown that monkeys younger than five years old spend as much as 70 percent of their time in trees. In this new effort, the researchers tested this theory by studying the skeletal remains of Lucy, a highly domesticated chimpanzee.

Lucy was purchased as a baby chimp by Gertrude Lintz, an eccentric woman who raised a multitude of animals as if they were human back in the 1930s. Lucy wore clothes, walked upright, sat in chairs and slept in a bed. Climbing was strictly forbidden. In examining her hand and foot phalanges, the researchers found them to be just as curved as with chimpanzees in the wilddespite the fact that she never climbed trees. The researchers suggest this is strong evidence of heredity as a major factor in the phalangeal curve despite their sample size of a single individual chimp.

The researchers suggest their findings may force scientists to rethink theories of human descent from the treesit would have taken a lot longer than previously believed to adjust to living on the ground if the phalangeal curve took multiple generations to straighten.

Explore further Study shows changes in anatomy would have made walking easier without reducing muscles for climbing in early hominins

More information: Ian J. Wallace et al. Phalangeal curvature in a chimpanzee raised like a human: Implications for inferring arboreality in fossil hominins, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Ian J. Wallace et al. Phalangeal curvature in a chimpanzee raised like a human: Implications for inferring arboreality in fossil hominins,(2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004371117

 2020 Science X Network
As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the blues community is finding ways to keep the music alive. They are working hard. And while cancellations are the norm, there are still many opportunities to stay connected.

Barbara Neuman of The Blues Foundation writes, Recently, The Blues Foundation found itself on the cutting edge of the new normal as they broadcasted the 2020 virtual Blues Music Awards as a Facebook Premiere and on YouTube and invited all the world to watch for free. They approached over 100,000 views between the two platforms, which confirms that the blues is very much alive, well, and revered.

While there have been many other virtual performances shared across various platforms, this is the first major awards program produced from artists' living rooms. The feedback we are receiving from you continues to be overwhelmingly positive and supportive. The show captivated our audience with viewers telling us that they felt like they were right there with their friends as they made comments throughout the show, all positive affirmations of the blues. You told us that the virtual BMAs lifted your spirits and made you feel like you were part of the international blues family. We know that the blues provides healing solace during troubling times, so all of us at The Blues Foundation feel especially grateful to be part of something bigger than any one of us.

For those who missed the initial broadcast, beautifully hosted by Shemekia Copeland, we are keeping it accessible for you to watch on The Blues Foundation's Facebook page and YouTube channel, and I encourage you to visit one of those links as we continue to celebrate all our nominees and winners.

In addition to nominee performances and award announcements, you will find flashback moments with iconic blues greats such as B.B. King with Curtis Salgado, Luther Allison, Dr. John and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Rufus Thomas, Koko Taylor, and more.

One of the nights winners was the Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling. An interesting aside to the band surrounds its bass player. While it may have its roots in the cotton fields of the deep South, particularly the Mississippi Delta region, blues music is now celebrated the world over. Blues festivals take place all over Europe and Scandinavia, even in in the exotic land of India. Those same regions are home to numerous artists and bands who are adept at capturing the essence of the music. One area that does not get as much attention for its blues scene is the South American continent, particularly Brazil. Over the years, a number of American blues artists have traveled south, inspiring local musicians and teaching them the right way to play the music. Right in the middle of that process was Rodrigo Mantovani, who now is one of the finest blues bass players on the planet, working with the award-winning Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling.

With the Rhode Island Governors decree that all events of over 50 people are cancelled for the rest of the summer, Rhythm & Roots 2020 falls under this. They had put together one of their best lineups and are disappointed that it will not be presented. They are working hard in the next few months to bring back the same lineup in 2021. Stay in touch through the website and email list for future updates, and where many live performances from past festivals are posted for your listening pleasure. There is some great music there, and plans are moving to add some more videos as soon as possible.

Hill Country Harmonica is one of the biggest blues harmonica instructional gatherings in the United States. This year, they are celebrating 10 years of HCH at Foxfire Ranch in Waterford, Mississippi. HCH is committed to showcasing African-American musicians and authentic cultural expression unique to the Deep South. This year they are partnered with Phil Wiggins.

On May 16 -17, you can expect two days of harmonica instruction, and a deep grounding in blues history and storytelling from Phil Wiggins, Wallace Coleman, and others. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gathering is being moved to a virtual platform for the first time. For additional information contact Annette Hollowell, info@hillcountryharmonica.com or at 662-278-0279.

Last week, The Recording Academy and MusiCares announced that they are temporarily suspending new applications for their COVID-19 Relief Fund due to insufficient funding.

To date, The Recording Academy's charitable organization has raised nearly $14M through its relief fund to help musicians whose livelihoods have been affected by the current pandemic. However, there are still a lot of artists out there in need of assistance.

Weve partnered with our friends at The Bluegrass Situation to set up a designated fund to benefit MusiCares as well as Direct Relief, which provides medical resources to those helping on the frontline. You can donate, just look them up.

In the mode of giving is #GivingTuesdayNow. It is a new global day of giving and unity in response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. Every act of generosity counts. Here is how your support helps musicians in need.

As schedules and times change, it is good practice to call the club and confirm. Get the complete Blues Beat schedule on Thursday at the blog http://bluesbeatnews.wordpress.com/. Any questions or comments should be sent to Domenic Forcella at TWBlus@aol.com.
A group of voters and civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the states absentee voting restrictions, saying they will unjustifiably risk the voting rights of Texans during the coronavirus pandemic.

Its the latest in a wave of suits launched by Democrats and civic organizations seeking to pry open the states strict voting laws in the months leading up to the general election.

Texas is one of the few states that still require voters younger than 65 to have an excuse to cast a ballot by mail. Fewer than 7 percent of Texas voters mailed in ballots in 2018.

The situation that we find ourselves in is totally inadequate and dangerous to our health if we go strictly by the laws that are now in place, said one of the plaintiffs, Linda Jann Lewis, 73, of Waco. We are months away from November  now is the time for our state government to pay attention to the pandemic and the lives that are at risk.

The suits had been multiplying quickly even before the pandemic, and the health crisis has only increased the urgency as Democrats press to reverse the restrictions defended by Texas Republicans who say they are concerned about potential voter fraud.

Public opinion in recent months has favored voting by mail, polling shows. A Pew Research Center poll late last month found that almost 3 out of 4 Americans favor universal access to mail voting during the coronavirus pandemic, including about half of Republicans.

Despite resistance from top officials in the state and from the Trump administration, at least one Texas county has already put aside funding to expand mail-in voting even before the court cases are resolved.

The suit filed Monday challenges four restrictions on Texas ballots submitted by mail: Three of them are requirements that voters pay for postage to return ballots by mail, postmark them by 7 p.m. on Election Day and submit handwriting samples that match. The fourth restriction criminalizes use of third-party assistance in returning marked ballots.

The plaintiffs are represented by the National Redistricting Foundation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Given the life and death consequences of the pandemic with which the nation is still grappling, Texas current absentee voting restrictions must be eliminated because they will severely burden those who wish to exercise their fundamental right to vote, Holder said in a statement. These restrictions force voters into an untenable choice: personal safety or community participation. Under no circumstances should Texas be allowed to force citizens to choose between casting a ballot and staying healthy.

A spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office represents state agencies including the secretary of states office, said in response to the suit: We will continue to uphold the law and protect the integrity of the election process.

Complaint targets Paxton

The plaintiffs include Voto Latino, the Texas State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. They seek a preliminary injunction that would block all four restrictions.

Jann Lewis, one of five individual plaintiffs, said she worries about repeating what happened in Wisconsin, where people were forced to choose whether to risk their health to vote in the states April 7 primary election. More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during that election have tested positive for COVID-19.

Also Monday, two voting rights advocates filed a complaint with the Dallas County District Attorneys Office, alleging that Paxton committed voter fraud in each of the states 254 counties by contradicting a judges order to temporarily expand the availability of mail-in voting during the pandemic.

District Judge Tim Sulak in Travis County on April 17 issued a temporary injunction enabling any voter to request a mail-in ballot by claiming that their health would be jeopardized by going to the polls.

Paxton, a Republican who has argued that voting by mail should be reserved only for those who currently qualify for it, wrote in a filing that Sulaks order was automatically stayed when he appealed it.

Further, Paxton threatened to criminally prosecute local elections officials who use Sulaks order to justify an expansion of mail-in voting. (Paxton himself is under criminal indictment for securities fraud and has been awaiting a trial for almost five years; he was re-elected in November 2018.)

The Texas Democratic Party and voters have filed an identical suit to the one in Sulaks court in federal court.A hearing in that case is scheduled for Friday.

In the meantime, Sulaks order stopped Travis County from preventing its voters from seeking a ballot using a coronavirus-related disability claim. It also prohibited the county and the attorney generals office from publishing any guidance to the contrary in any of Texas other 253 counties.

Thats left enough of a gray area that Harris County is already preparing for expanded mail-in voting. At the end of April, the county budgeted about $12 million to the cause.

No matter what the courts and the state decide for the July and November elections, we must be prepared for an increase in mail ballots, which we are already seeing, County Clerk Diane Trautman said at the time.

A similar battle is playing out at the federal level: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to include up to $4 billion for vote-by-mail ballots in the next pandemic response package.

Senate Republicans and the Trump administration have pushed back hard against the idea of the federal government directing states and have cited concerns about mail-in votings susceptibility to voter fraud.

In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, passed at the end of March, Democrats worked out $400 million for election security grants, which can be used to expand vote-by-mail and early voting, though a fund-matching provision has slowed the process of distributing the funds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Drug firm Amryt Pharma, which makes treatments for rare conditions, saw its revenue and gross profit jump last year, helped by its September acquisition of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals.

Amryt reported combined revenues of $154.1m (142m) in 2019, 13.1pc higher than the previous year.

Gross profit was $16m, up from $11m in 2018.

"2019 was a truly transformational year for Amryt," said CEO Dr Joe Wiley. "Post the Aegerion acquisition, we now have two substantial revenue-generating products.

"Amryt is now very well positioned to execute on our strategy of becoming a global leader in rare and orphan diseases and, most importantly, delivering therapies to patients with high unmet needs."

However, the group recorded an operating loss of $54m last year, up from an $18m loss in 2018.

This loss includes restructuring and deal costs associated with the Aegerion acquisition and non-cash items including amortisation, impairment, depreciation and the effect of share-based compensation expenses.

The company said any damage it had suffered from the coronavirus pandemic had been "minimised" as a result of it "deploying contingency plans already in place for a variety of scenarios and challenges which may occur".

In the first three months of 2020 the company reported revenues of $44m, up 30pc on the same period last year.

Cash generated from operating activities was $6.2m.

The company is in a "robust" financial position, it said, with $67m in cash compared to $65.2m at December 31,

Andrew Young, analyst at Davy Stockbrokers, said: "The numbers are impressive: strong revenue growth, positive ebitda, a quarter ahead of schedule, and a robust cash balance. Minimal impact has been experienced - nor is much expected - from Covid-19."

The company's AP101 phase three trial results are due later this year, for which analysts said the market is "very material" at over $1bn.

Amryt's UK-listed shares rose 6.35pc yesterday to close at 109 pence (1.24) in London.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has declared the results of the recruitment examination for Scientist/Engineer SC (Electronics, Mechanical and Computer Science) posts on its official website.

Candidates who have appeared for the written examination can check their results online at isro.gov.in.

The written examination was conducted on January 12, 2020, at various centres.

Here are the direct link to check the results for the following:

 Scientist/Engineer SC [Electronics]

 Scientist/Engineer SC [Electronics-SCL]

 Scientist/Engineer SC [Computer Science]

 Scientist/Engineer SC [Mechanical]
Some EU countries need tens of thousands of labor migrants from Ukraine  Prystaiko

11:20, 12.05.20 1608

The official assured that in no way does the Ukrainian government interfere with the process of overseas employment.
An Irish teenager has handed himself into police after Arsenal legend Ian Wright made public horrendous racist abuse sent to him on Instagram.

The 56-year-old, who is now a pundit on Match of the Day, shared screenshots of numerous messages aiming to abuse him.

He was called a 'f***ing monkey', a 'n****r' and a 'cotton picking black c**n' in what looked to be a completely unprovoked attack.

Ian Wright has revealed a number of disgusting racist messages sent to him on Instagram

Wright was labelled a 'c**n', a monkey and a 'n****r' during the vile outburst on Instagram

Wright posted this message to Twitter alongside three screenshots of the racist abuse

On Tuesday evening, Irish police put out a statement that a teenager had since handed himself in.

An official police statement read: 'An Garda Siochana is investigating an incident where abusive/racist comments have been re-posted on social media platforms.

'No formal complaint has been received but an investigation has commenced into the comments in line with our Diversity and Integration Strategy.

Arsenal legend Wright was sent the sick messages on Instagram. The account responsible has now been removed

'A male adult teenager has presented voluntarily at a Garda Station and has been interviewed.

'A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

'An Garda Siochana are appealing to the public not to engage in social media commentary in relation to this matter.'

Wright posted a tweet on his official account on Monday with three screenshots of abusive messages.

The former England striker tweeted: 'I know I'm not meant to look at them but these messages still hit me so hard man. This is a child!!!'

Wright's post came as ex-Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor revealed he too had been targeted and called a 'n*****' by an Instagram user while his family members including his children were also threatened.

Wright became a legend at Arsenal, scoring 185 goals during his seven years in north London

Match of the Day pundit Wright has spoken out about his previous experiences of racism

Agbonlahor said his account was temporarily shut down while the matter was investigated after he exposed his abuser and described the message as 'the worst thing ever.'

The two latest situations sparked fresh calls for the social media companies to do more to clamp down on racist abuse sent on their platforms.

Wright, who has over two million followers on Twitter and Instagram alone, told radio station No Signal he found the abuse 'dehumanising' and 'humiliating.'

He added: 'There has to be some form of consequence.

'I've got a platform where I can reach people. This is happening to people on a daily basis where they can't do what I did - that's why I had to call this guy out.

'We're dealing with people that need to hide. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter are where they can hide but, what they haven't understood and what that guy will have realised today is, it's not my platform - it's everybody who has come in on him. Something has to be done. He was relentless with it as well. You can't let people get away with it. It's wrong in every way. I don't want this happening to my kids. I'm fighting this one all the way.'

In a statement the PFA called for 'fundamental changes' of policy on social media platforms and accused them of 'continually' avoiding to 'adequately' resolve.

They added: 'We are disgusted to see the racist abuse aimed at Ian Wright and Gabriel Agbonlahor and their families.

Former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor has also suffered recent vile online abuse

Agbonlahor revealed that his children were threatened as well in the abuse he received

'At any time, this is abhorrent behaviour, but when people should be coming together more than ever, it is particularly disturbing.

'It is unacceptable for social networks to allow instances like this to go on. With the technology and expertise at their disposal, there simply must be a way to prevent abuse like this from being sent. Anything less than that is not good enough.

'We respect both Ian Wright and Gabriel Agbonlahor's right to address the abuse personally, given that the social media networks continually avoid adequately dealing with the issue. We applaud both former players for their courage in speaking out.

'While social networks have previously assured us that they were working on solutions to address racist abuse and hate speech via their platforms. It seems very little has changed.'
The IRS 2019 Q4 report highlights a rapidly evolving media landscape with multi-media adoption seen across consumer strata. According to the report, while Internet continues its surge and both TV and Radio have been showing growth, Newspaper readership however, is on a slow decline and is a trend seen across Hindi, English and Regional languages.

Slow decline in readership is a trend noticed across languages. In terms of Total Readership (TR), the decline has been marginal for Hindi Dailies Q-on-Q (15.7% in IRS 2019 Q4 Vs 16.3% in IRS 2019 Q3) as well as Regional Dailies (18.4% in IRS 2019 Q4 Vs 18.9% in IRS 2019 Q3). On the other hand, English Dailies saw no change Q-on-Q at 3.1%.

In terms of Average Issue readership (AIR), too, the decline has been marginal. For Hindi Dailies, the AIR in IRS 2019 Q4 stood at 6.0% as against 6.4% in IRS 2019 Q3; while for Regional Dailies, the AIR in IRS 2019 Q4 was reported at 7.8% compared to 7.3% in IRS 2019 Q3. English Dailies reported AIR of 1.1% in IRS 2019 Q4, a tad lower than 1.2% in IRS 2019 Q3.

For Any Dailies at an All India level, the TR was reported at 34.5% in IRS 2019 Q4, compared to 35.7% in IRS 2019 Q3; while AIR was reported at 13.8% as against 14.7% in IRS 2019 Q3.

North Markets

In North, all states except J&K and Himachal Pradesh show a slow decline in readership in terms of both TR and AIR. In NCT Delhi, Any Dailies reported a TR of 44.3% in IRS 2019 Q4, which was lower than 47% reported in IRS 2019 Q3. Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand reported declines too.

West Markets

The story was similar in West as well, with Goa bucking the decline trend in terms of TR. Any Dailies in Goa reported a TR of 56.5% in IRS 2019 Q4 as against 54.2% in IRS 2019 Q3. Any Dailies in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra showed a steady decline in readership.

South Markets

All states have showed a decline in readership, with Kerala and Telangana showing sharper declines in both TR and AIR. While Any Dailies in Kerala reported TR of 83.1% in IRS 2019 Q4 (84.5% in IRS 2019 Q3); Telangana reported TR of 25.6% in IRS 2019 Q4 (30.4% in IRS 2019 Q3).

East Markets

Except Odisha which is steady, all other states in East show a steady decline in readership. However, in IRS 2019 Q4, Jharkhand and West Bengal had seen no change in TR, with Any Dailies in Jharkhand reporting TR of 27%, the same as the previous quarter. Any Dailies in West Bengal reported TR of 25.9%, the same as in IRS 2019 Q3.

Top 10 dailies

All India, among the Top 10 dailies, Daily Thanthi (TR  26,314,000, No. 6), Lokmat (TR  22,343,000, No. 7) and The Times of India (TR  17,344,000, No. 9) are the only ones to see growth. Daily Thanthi (AIR  7,379,000) and Lokmat (AIR  6,285,000) have seen growth in Average Issue Readership as well. Placed at No. 2, Dainik Bhaskar has recorded growth in AIR at 15,566,000.

The latest report is based on a Rolling Average of data from 3 quarters  IRS 2019 (Q1), (Q2) and (Q3), and one fresh quarter  Q4 of IRS 2019.
Professor of Evolutionary Genomics Sergei Pond is on the lookout for mutations in the DNA of the coronavirus. Credit: Greg Fornia

As researchers around the world search for safe and effective drug treatments and vaccines, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 appears to be very stable in terms of its genomic, or complete DNA, makeup.

"At least at the moment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is very homogenous and stable globally as it passes through the human population," said Sergei Pond, professor of evolutionary genomics and a researcher with Temple University's Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine. "That lack of significant change has tremendous significance for researchers looking to target the virus with potential drug treatments and vaccines."

Pond, who is also a member of the Department of Biology, bases that conclusion partly on data gathered by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), a German-based, public-private partnership that, as of May 7, had made more than 17,000 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences available to researchers.

Pond's big-data analysis of the GISAID genome database indicates that, even though each virus genome contains approximately 30,000 different positions, any two randomly selected individual genomes only have eight to 10 different positionsan extremely small numberthat indicate evidence of mutations.

"Given that most mutations have no effect and often aren't transmitted, this should make it relatively easier to create an effective vaccine," said Pond.

Since 2007, Pond has contributed to the ongoing development of the Galaxy Project. Partially funded by the National Science Foundation, the open, web-based platform for computational biological research is a joint project of Pennsylvania State University, Johns Hopkins University and the Oregon Health & Science University.

Using the Galaxy Project's powerful software tools, Pond says he and his research collaborators will be watching for any changes in the virus during the next six to 12 months that could indicate it is evolving in a clinically significant way. "We will continue to look for any evidence that, in the wake of defensive responses by the human body, the virus is adapting or changing," said Pond.

That will involve looking for any evidence of natural selection occurring; how frequently mutations are occurring over time; variations of the virus within individual humans; and any instances of mutations occurring at the same genomic positions as previous corona viruses, such as SARS or MERS.

Any such significant findings, says Pond, could help fine-tune the development of COVID-19 drugs and vaccines.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
A Japanese striped snake (Elaphe quadrivirgata) and dark-spotted frog (Pelophylax nigromaculatus) staring down anticipating each other's next move Credit: Kyoto University/Nozomi Nishiumi

'Like a frog stared down by a snake', goes an old Japanese expression, descrbing an animal petrified with fear.

However, it now seems that this freeze in action may not be about fear at all, but rather a delicate waiting game of life and death.

A new report from researchers at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science shows that this common interaction is all about patience, with each animal waiting for and anticipating its opponent's actions.

"When predator and prey face each other, it is generally thought that the initiator has the advantage that would mediate successful capture or escape," explains Nozomi Nishiumi, corresponding author of the report published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.

"However, in cases involving snakes and frogs, they occasionally move extremely slowlyor almost not at all. It looks like they purposely avoid taking preemptive action."

Nishiumi, together with colleague Akira Mori, examined how the animals' behaviors affected the consequences of their interaction by focusing specifically on the kinematics of the snakes' strikes and the frogs' flight behavior.

The team analyzed the movement patterns of the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, and the black-spotted pond frog, Pelophylax nigromaculatus, both in the field and in staged encounter experiments.

"In the staged encounters we wanted to look at the disadvantages of preemptive actions by analyzing the kinematic characteristics of each animal's movements," explains Nishiumi.

"The field observations, on the other hand, were designed to follow the consequences of the animals' actions and survival."

The team found that the counteractions of each animal were often effective because the initiator's actions were difficult to change once started. For example, if the snake initiated a strike action first, the frog would evade the attack because the trajectory of the strike could not be changed mid-movement, allowing the frog to escape safely while the snake spent time resetting its lunge posture.

Alternatively, if the frog first attempted an escape, the snake would start lunging immediately, and occasionally be able to adjust its strike direction in anticipation of the frog's direction of movement.

"The efficacy of this waiting tactic depends on the distance between them: the closer they are the less likely the counteraction succeeds," continues Nishiumi.

"In this regard, when approaching this critical distance, the animals appropriately switch their behaviors from waiting to taking action."

These results suggest that a game of patience occurs between the animals, providing insight on predicting the decision-making of predators and prey.

Explore further Frog uses different strategies to escape ground, air predators

More information: Nozomi Nishiumi et al, A game of patience between predator and prey: waiting for opponent's action determines successful capture or escape, Canadian Journal of Zoology (2020). Nozomi Nishiumi et al, A game of patience between predator and prey: waiting for opponent's action determines successful capture or escape,(2020). DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0164
A s the number of Covid-19 fatalities in Britain rises above 40,000, ministers face growing questions over how the country has ended up with what looks like will be the highest death toll in Europe.

Just a couple of months ago, people in the UK watched with horror as the pandemic hit Italy, claiming a soaring number of lives.

Italian doctors issued dire warnings in video messages of the threat from the killer infection sweeping across the Continent, and beyond.

But there was still disbelief it would strike with such ferocity in the UK.

Now, the daily chart on Covid deaths for a range of countries, presented at the No10 press briefings although missing today, shows how fatalities here have risen relentlessly and are now ahead of France, Italy and Spain, with only America having a more shocking figure.

The chart was never intended to be used for a country-by-country comparison, but rather to show how epidemics were peaking around Europe.

A harrowing story for wealthy advanced nations left reeling by the invisible killer

Now it tells a harrowing story for the UK and so many other wealthy advanced nations left reeling by the invisible killer.

Today official figures show the number of coronavirus deaths has increased to more than 40,000.

As of May 1, 34,978 people in England and Wales had died with the infection, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Between then and May 10, 1,678 more patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 have died in hospitals in England, according to NHS England which this afternoon announced a further 350 fatalities.

In Scotland, 2,795 Covid-linked deaths were registered up until May 3, while in Northern Ireland 516 such deaths had been registered by May 6.

So, the UK-wide figure is now already above 40,000 and in truth is considerably higher, with the number of "excess deaths" so far during the epidemic at more than 50,000.

In the six weeks to May 1, there were 46,494 more deaths, compared to the average over the past five years.

Not all of these fatalities will be due to Covid but the current death toll is believed to be thousands higher than the official figures, many of which are already a week out-of-date.

Some coronavirus deaths are believed to have not been registered as linked to the infection, with some doctors, understandably, reluctant to declare this as a cause if there has not been a positive test.

It is killing more people than just those with the virus

The epidemic is also killing more people than just those who die with the virus Hospital attendance rates have plummeted for a range of conditions, including heart attacks and strokes, with patients believed to be staying at home rather than seeking medical care, partly because of worries about getting infected.

Ministers and NHS bosses have become so alarmed by this trend that they are appealing to people to come back and use the health service.

A warm winter may also have meant more elderly people survived the cold months but might be passing away in spring.

With around 130,000 people currently believed to be infected with Covid-19 across the country, the death toll will carry on rising for many weeks, with every fatality a tragedy for family and friends.

Ministers and health chiefs point out that accurate country-by-country comparisons cannot be made at this stage for several reasons and there are good reasons to be cautious.

First, not all countries are fully reporting cases.

Some only include deaths where there has been a positive test for coronavirus, others also where the infection is suspected as a cause of death.

Some nations are reporting just hospital deaths and not the shockingly large number of residents passing away in care homes.

The Care Quality Commission said 8,314 deaths involving Covid-19 were notified in care homes in England between 10 April and 8 May, including 1,503 in the week up to 8 May, while for Wales the figure was 350 between 17 March and 8 May.

Health chiefs in the UK are now publishing far more comprehensive and up-to-date figures, including from the CQC, having previously sought to defend deeply flawed data.

It is not clear how accurate and diligent other countries have been.

Some nations and regions, such as northern Italy struck by a major outbreak, have older populations which are more vulnerable to the virus.

Cities including London tend to have younger populations, more cosmopolitan and globe-trotting, which may have fuelled the spread of coronavirus; it is believed to have been "seeded" in the UK to a large extent by people returning from half-term holidays in Italy and Spain.

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Scientists estimate around one in ten Londoners may already have been infected, far higher than many other parts of the country and Continent.

Black individuals and others from some ethnic minority backgrounds also have higher death rates from Covid than the white population.

The number of people, tested positive for coronavirus, who have died in hospitals in the capital rose to 5,664 today, with the epidemic having peaked in the city on around April 10, earlier than other parts of the country.

The rate of infection - known as R - in London now is estimated to be at the low end of the range of 0.5 to 0.9, with Scotland, Wales and other English regions being higher.

So there are many factors which affect how Covid has spread and it is not yet possible to say whether the Government was too slow in ordering the lockdown, as claimed by Labour but denied by ministers, how much more should have been done to protect care homes, if major mistakes were made in stockpiling enough personal protective equipment or if testing could have been ramped up more quickly.

Once the virus has been defeated, which will take months if not years, it may turn out that the UK will have suffered less than France, Spain and Italy.

But it is very hard to see that it will not have had to endure a higher death toll, and death rate, than other European countries such as Germany, Portugal, Austria and Denmark, as well as South Korea and Japan.

Even if death rate is used for comparison, which shows a dreadful toll in Belgium, the UK still looks on track to have experienced one of the worst Covid epidemics on the Continent.
In 2012, I dreamt of the day Alan Jones would retire or be sacked. Jones had attacked the then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard for months. He said women leaders were destroying the joint. He name-checked Clover Moore and Christine Nixon as other destroyers.

Those first comments were laughable and made the perfect meme. As social commentator Jane Caro tweeted at the time, Got time on my hands tonight so thought Id spend it coming up with new ways of destroying the joint being a woman & all. Ideas welcome. A few moments later, Melbourne plastic surgeon Jill Tomlinson started the #destroythejoint hashtag.

While I was busily enlisting people for an old-fashioned protest outside his home, Sally McManus, a union prodigy and now ACTU secretary, started a Facebook page, called it Destroy the Joint, and invited people to connect to fight sexism and misogyny. Within two hours, the page had a couple of hundred likes.

The groundwork for a phenomenon whose power no one  least of all Jones  would realise was laid.
Yubico, the leading provider of hardware authentication security keys, today announced the release of YubiEnterprise Delivery, a new cloud-based service that allows organizations to ship YubiKeys directly to employees, partners, and customers across the globe. YubiEnterprise Delivery provides enhanced shipping logistics capabilities and infrastructure to support Yubico's mission of making strong authentication accessible to everyone, regardless of location.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005317/en/

In today's environment, workforces have become highly distributed with many employees working remotely. This massive transition has not only introduced security complexities, but also difficulties in getting tools and services to remote workers.

YubiEnterprise Delivery is designed to provide IT teams with powerful capabilities to manage the delivery of YubiKey devices to remote employees, mitigating the complications of hardware distribution while helping to accelerate the adoption of strong multi-factor authentication (MFA). YubiKeys are built to deliver the best combination of security and usability, and have been proven to eliminate account takeovers and reduce helpdesk support calls by up to 92%.

At a time when organizations must ensure remote workers are receiving the necessary tools to maintain business operations without increased security risks, YubiEnterprise Delivery presents multiple benefits to organizations and their users:

Experience cost-effective, turnkey delivery with shipping and tracking of YubiKeys to users, all handled seamlessly by the experts at Yubico.

Access YubiEnterprise Delivery from anywhere through a web-based administrator console.

Integrate YubiEnterprise Delivery into existing IT flows and service catalogs using public APIs.

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YubiEnterprise Delivery is initially available to customers in the US and Canada with shipments to individuals in more than 30 countries across the US, Canada, and Europe. For a limited time only, qualifying Yubico customers that purchase a 3-year YubiEnterprise Subscription with prepayment before June 26, 2020 will be eligible for free YubiEnterprise Delivery services within the US and Canada until September 30, 2020. Terms and conditions apply.

For additional details, including YubiEnterprise Delivery pricing information and promotional terms and conditions, visit yubico.com. To learn more about the business advantages of YubiEnterprise Services, view the on-demand webinar, YubiEnterprise Services: Hardware Authenticators as a Service.

About Yubico

Yubico sets new global standards for simple and secure access to computers, mobile devices, servers, and internet accounts.

The company's core invention, the YubiKey, delivers strong hardware protection, with a simple touch, across any number of IT systems and online services. The YubiHSM, Yubico's ultra-portable hardware security module, protects sensitive data stored in servers.

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Founded in 2007, Yubico is privately held, with offices in Sweden, UK, Germany, USA, Australia, and Singapore. For more information: www.yubico.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005317/en/

Contacts:

Ashton Miller

Director, Global Communications

Yubico

+1 650 862 9439

ashton@yubico.com
(PHOTO: ChiChi Dining)

SINGAPORE  I went to ChiChi Dining a few weeks before circuit breaker measures were announcedwhen life was normal, and people shook hands when they meet. Having launched only in February this year, ChiChi was in the most unfortunate position to be caught in a whirlwind of social distancing measures that forced the restaurant to take to contingency plans of delivery and take-aways immediately.

ChiChi Dining is a project by the same folks behind dessert concept, Nesuto, and takes over the unit formerly occupied by Aloha Poke along Amoy Street. The kitchen is lead by Daniel Yee, former head chef of now-shuttered 52 Sandwich Shack. Daniels resume reads like a whos who of the dining world, having worked with superstars of Singapores dining scene - Paul Longworth of Rhubarb Le Restaurant, Rishi Naleendra of MACA on Tanglin Road, Martin Woo and Desmond Goh of MoMor Izakaya, and Chef Goh from The Disgruntled Brasserie.

His is a perspective I am keen to explore, especially now that hes thrown knee-deep into an unexpected situation that sees many restaurants forced to close. Days after Circuit Breaker measures were introduced, ChiChi was already hard at work doling out a delivery menu that sticks very closely to the dining experience theyve created in-house. But a bigger question lingers ominously in the air: How would this unprecedented time change the face of dining in Singapore?

READ MORE:

(PHOTO: ChiChi Dining)

What do you remember of your initial reaction when you received official news that everyone is required to WFH?

It was very shocking for me when we first received the news. Amoy Street is known for its vibrancy during lunchtime where a large number of office crowd would be seen as well as during dinner time and happy hour. It is also one of the highly visited tourist attractions. It is very concerning when we start noticing the empty street. We are very new at Amoy, and we were not on any delivery platform then so it was very overwhelming as everything was a rush, and getting on board with delivery takes a lot of processing time which resulted in severe delays.

Story continues

Aside from sales numbers, what worries you the most about the circuit breaker measures being taken this month?

Were afraid that it might shift the mentality of dining out. During this period, most people would have gotten used to ordering in and just feasting in their comfortable homes since almost everything is on delivery right now. ChiChis concept is not just about fresh and quality ingredients. Still, it also encompasses the union of dining together over conversations with cocktails and wine at our shop. The ambience and food altogether are what we want our customers to enjoy when they are here at ChiChi.

How have April plans in the works been affected by this partial lockdown?

As mentioned, we are still very new at Amoy Street. Therefore, we have a list of timeline which we are looking to execute along the way. Especially in April, we were looking to launch our lunch promotion for the office crowd. However, due to WFH, we would not be able to do so. Also, we have invited influencers to come down to experience what ChiChi is and those had to be postponed or cancelled.

(PHOTO: ChiChi Dining)

What do you wish the government could do better in absorbing the impact of this situation for F&B businesses such as yours?

As ChiChi is located at a shophouse, I think it is in the very grey area where we are unsure if we would be getting any rental rebates from the landlord. Therefore, we hope that the government would be able to step in and better communicate with shophouses landlords on the rental rebates. Because until now, we have yet to hear from our landlord on this matter.

What advice would you give to other F&B owners such as yourself in getting through this tough time?

As much as it is cliche to say, having a positive mindset is still the utmost important factor during this tough time. Planning should always be a must and owners need to make sure to manage all costs properly.

When you look at the current state of dining in Singapore now arising from the COVID-19 situation, what is the one thing that gives you hope?

It aint over until it is over. The hope is that we still have tomorrow. Being able to deliver our masterpiece to the customers will one day get them to come back to ChiChi to have the authentic experience that they were supposed to get while having the meals. This is something we are looking forward to, and it is the one thing that keeps us moving.

For more information, log on to: https://www.facebook.com/chichi.dining.sg/
Panic. Weve all felt it. It's the lizard part of our brain activating in response to danger.

The world as we know it is changing, and it makes sense for leaders to react by going into crisis mode. But according to Harvard Business Review contributors, Ranjay Gulati, Nitin Nohria and Franz Wohlgezogen, when our fear goes into overdrive, it can sabotage our capacity to be forward-thinking. They write:

CEOs, like generals in the heat of battle, are so busy tackling short-term priorities that the future is obscured by the fog of war.

Their priority, when they get a moments respite, the co-authors write, must be to remake their organizations to cope with the new normal. The problem is that the survival part of our brains have been hardwired with a negativity bias that can make us linger on negative events and experiences.

As the founder of JotForm, a company with over 140 employees and 5.3 million users worldwide, I cant afford to become paralyzed or make reckless decisions when a crisis hits. To face a challenge like the one we're in, its necessary to be cautious yet proactive with our decision-making. As Farnam Street explains, equilibrium is a balance between one or more opposing forces.

Simply put, we have to find the middle way. Being flexible and ready to adjust is essential for leaders to successfully navigate crises  and to not only survive in the moment, but to thrive afterward.

For some companies, this might mean pivoting, while for others it could simply mean not reacting impulsively and instead slowing down to make calmer, healthier decisions.

Related: Successful Leadership Tactics in a Time of Crisis

Why swinging into crisis mode clouds our vision

Human beings are hedonistic, explains Columbia University psychologist, Tory Higgins. We avoid pain and seek pleasurebut they differ in how they try to achieve those aims.

In moments of upheaval, were psychologically susceptible to making a whole range of mental errors. Uncertainty shrinks our field of vision. We might try to cut down on costs faster or make bolder investments before thinking it through. But when we swing into this form of crisis mode, we also have the lowest probability of faring well after a downturn.

Many of these choices will reflect our loss aversion  a bias that makes us resistant to change because were more concerned by what we may lose than what we might gain. Its also the reason we tend to laser in on avoiding bad outcomes rather than focusing on progress.

Being too defensive by quickly cutting operating costs, for example, or lowering your headcount, and eliminating investment can cause a host of problems down the line.

You see this in a loss of innovation, a drop in customer satisfaction, and an overall culture of disempowerment among your team. As Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Professor and author of the book The Fearless Organization, tells us: If you do not feel safe in a group, you are likely to keep ideas to yourself and avoid speaking up, even about risks.

Similarly, responding too aggressively in the face of adversity  by doubling down on pursuing every opportunity available  can lead you to ignore early warning signs like customers budget cuts.

Promotion-focused CEOs sometimes increase expenditures rather than cutting back, believing that this will push them ahead, write co-authors Gulati, Nohria, and Wohlgezogen. If investments take longer than expected to generate paybacks, or innovations dont resonate with customers, these companies run headlong into trouble.

Either of the above approaches can eventually blindside you with poor financial results.

Opting for a combination strategy of defense and offense, on the other hand, is what allows us to remain both cautious and forward-thinking.

Related: What Leaders Can Learn From Governor Cuomo About How to ...

The middle way: a progressive approach

"Everyone experiences tough times; it is a measure of your determination and dedication how you deal with them and how you can come through them."  Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO

Ive never been an extremist by nature. I dont believe you have to take large risks to build a successful business, and I apply this same logic in moments of crisis  choosing the middle way over applying drastic changes.

Regardless of how you initially respond to calamity, here is a two-pronged approach that has been helpful to me in staying focused on playing the long-game.

1. Be calculating with cost-cutting measures.

Despite good intentions, when it comes to cutting costs, many founders can become short-sighted due to their anxiety about the future. Especially when it comes to layoffs. Yet, research has shown that companies that rely solely on cutting the workforce have only an 11% probability of achieving breakaway performance after a downturn.

Take the 2000 recession, for example. The company Staples was able to come out stronger, bigger, and more profitable than it had been in 1999. Why?

Because instead of taking a survival-at-all-costs approach and significantly reducing their number of employees, they sought to improve their operational efficiency. They did this by introducing new high-end products and services while reducing their operating costs.

Keep in mind, a progressive approach doesnt mean youll never have layoffs  but that youll rely on this measure a lot less.

2. Invest strategically.

While many entrepreneurs might be reluctant to spend during a downturn, not acting can end up limiting your growth when the economy recovers.

Once youve identified your companys weaknesses, you can determine ways to improve productivity and look out for opportunities like finding cheaper prices on equipment and technology, or investing in marketing. More importantly, when making any kind of investment decision, you should pay attention to how your customers needs have changed, and act accordingly.

Gulati, Nohria, and Wohlgezogen write :

Progressive companies stay closely connected to customer needsa powerful filter through which to make investment decisions.

Few of us have a master plan when it comes to managing events beyond our control. But making smart choices involves slowing down and seeing opportunities where everyone else sees disaster.

By harnessing our anxiety in service of the greater good, we can keep one eye fixed on survival and the other on growth. Both are necessary to move forward.

Related: 8 Powerful Phrases Leaders Need to Say in a Time of Crisis

Related:

Why Progressive Leaders Focus On Playing the Long-Game

Hiring and Firing: How to Know When You Need to Let Someone Go

This $30 Bundle Can Help You Manage Remote Teams More Effectively



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Family planning policies should not infringe in any way on peoples right to get married and have kids (or not) of their own volition.

Hong Phuc

A 10-day summer meditation course I attended five years ago opened my eyes to the nature of suffering and inner peace.

The oldest of the three persons staying in the same room with me was a 45-year-old woman. She was elegant and gorgeous. And she was a good meditation practitioner.

At the end of the course, we were allowed to talk to each other, and she told me her story.

Her parents passed away when she was young. She moved from her hometown, Da Nang City in central Vietnam, to Ho Chi Minh City. She was good at doing business. Soon, she owned a house and several apartments for renting out.

Her success in the marketplace, however, was not replicated at home. She went through three marriages. All the three men had actively pursued her in the first place. The first husband was her high-school sweetheart who had put in a great deal of effort to have a family with her. But shortly after they had a daughter together, he had an affair with someone else. The second one had became a drunkard after they got married and hurt her mentally. The third one was a rich man with his own company, and was the worst of them all. He had all the flaws of the two previous men plus a bad temper that drove him to physically abuse her.

She told herself that she would never ever get married again. Time passed and she got along as a single mom. Her daughter grew up into a beautiful and smart young lady. She envisioned a normal, happy life together, until her daughter dropped a bombshell. She brought home a woman and announced that they would live together as a couple.

The woman was devastated. Unable to accept it, she even tried to kill herself once.

The gorgeous woman was not alone in her suffering. As I talked with other people whod joined the meditation course, I found each and every one of them had his/her own reasons to be upset  problems with spouses, children, lovers, parents, friends, colleagues and even with themselves.

The course made me see clearly that misery is a sickness everyone has to suffer. It appears everywhere like a fact you cannot deny. And yet, what disturbs our equilibrium and peace, delivering considerable dissatisfaction, are petty issues, for the most part. When we want something we cannot have, see someone acting in a way we do not like, or have experiences that we are not fond of, we are upset and lose our balance. When this happens, it is usual that we take out our frustrations on others, and show it in the way we talk and act. The reason that we can't have inner peace is inside us.

I saw the gorgeous woman again about two months after the course. Then, she could not stop gushing about the good news and positive developments in her life. She had patched up with her daughter and accepted her for who she was. She even let her daughter and her partner manage the renting of apartments. Now, she was being taken care of and supported by not only her daughter but also the daughters partner. She had discovered happiness from seeing her daughter happy.

The lesson? Happiness is not a uniform that regularizes things for everyone. One cannot decide what makes the other happy.

The woman, her daughter and their story came to mind when a government's decision on marriage and having kids was issued late last month.

Issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the decision aims to maintain a replacement of total fertility rate between 2 and 2.2 children for each woman in her reproductive life, increasing it in areas where it is currently low and vice versa. It calls for people to marry before they are 30 and bear children early, and advises that women should have their second child before 35.

That friend of mine is unlikely to have grandchildren, as her daughter and partner cant respond to the governments urging of "bearing children early."

While the governments decision is reasonable from the perspective of national population security, it requests localities with a low birth rate, such as Ho Chi Minh City, to "step by step pilot measures to increase the social contribution responsibility of individuals who do not want to get married or get married too late," and "step by step issue and apply policies to encourage married couples to have two children and discourage people from getting married late, giving birth late and having less than two children."

I wonder what these solutions and policies will do to the youth.

I do not advocate a selfish lifestyle in which people only care about their own benefit and do not think for the community and its future. I agree with the government that "each family should have two children for the benefit of that family and the stable future of the country" but getting married and having two children is not merely a matter of age or even fertility. In the case of my friends daughter, what would it take for her and her girlfriend to have two babies together? Are they ready or equipped to take such a crucial decision, both in terms of their mental health and their financial abilities?

"Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution," according to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Couples parade on the street of HCMC before their mass wedding ceremony. Photo by VnExpress/Viet Anh.

Many people who are married do not want to have kids. In many countries, governments have used different methods to encourage their citizens to give birth. Sweden entitles its citizens who have children to a child allowance, a financial support package that is automatically paid to all parents from and including the first month after birth until the child is 16 years old. It also recognizes that the father has responsibilities towards the mother and the child, even when they are not officially married. In Japan, people have been paid to have babies and the husband must take one month off to take care of his wife. Germany and several other European nations also offer a lot of policy support to mother and children including monetary payments.

A positive encouragement to get married or have children without getting married is fine, but I wonder at the implications of "measures to increase the responsibility of social contributions" or "policies to discourage people from getting married late, giving birth late and having less than two children." Can any nation "punish" citizens somehow for refusing to get married or giving birth?

Were still not sure what specific measures and policies the authorities will come up with "to increase the responsibility of social contributions" for citizens who dont want to get married or have children.

What if someone has not met "the" one by the "right" age? What if a couple living together are still not completely sure about each other, far less ready to start a family and have children? What if a couple are happy with each other but have no desire to have children?

Authorities can offer incentives and support those who do want to get married and have children, those who want to have children without getting married and those who want to have more children, depending.

However, no policy should in any way infringe on affairs of the heart and the mind and on the right of an individual to make her or his own choice about getting married (or not) and having children (or not). No civilized society can discriminate against people who make choices that do not harm others in any way.

In trying to implement a "practical" solution, we should not end up creating a problem.

*Hong Phuc is a mother working as a journalist in HCMC. The opinions expressed are her own.
The Permanent Representatives Office of Ukraine underlined that 15 violations of the ceasefire only on May 10 led to the injuries of four Ukrainian soldiers

The Permanent Representatives Office of Ukraine at the UN demanded from Russia to follow the urge of the Secretary-General on the ceasefire in Donbas, as the office reported on Facebook.

We urge the Russian Federation to adhere to the UN Secretary-General's call for a global ceasefire and to silence its guns in the east of Ukraine, the Ukrainian diplomats noted.

Such a statement was made due to the spotting of new violations of Minsk Agreements in the east of Ukraine.

15 ceasefire violations in Donbas on 10 May alone, leading to the injury of 4 Ukrainian soldiers. Weapons banned under the Minsk Agreements have been used, the office noted.

As we reported, the Foreign Ministry of Russia returned to Ukraines Foreign Ministry two notes of protests, which concerned archaeological excavations in Crimea and report about the fight against coronavirus on the Crimean peninsula and in Donbas.
Man Stabs, Kills Heavily Pregnant Girlfriend In Public

Police in Machakos have launched a hunt for a youthful man who fatally stabbed his heavily pregnant girlfriend, 27, on Saturday morning.

The woman, who works at one of the hotels at Mutituni Market in Machakos Town, Kenya was on her way to work at around 7am, when her boyfriend, identified only as Mutiso alias Kamondo, confronted her before whipping out a knife and stabbing her several times in the chest.

Though the exact term of the womans pregnancy wasnt immediately ascertained, police say she was in her last trimester (between 7 and 9 months of pregnancy).

Police are yet to be establish why Mutiso killed his lover, though it is suspected the two had protracted relationship problems.

Residents familiar with the couples relationship said the lovers affair got turbulent the moment the 27-year-old woman got pregnant.

They would argue time and again, and at one point they even lived separately before reuniting again, the pairs neighbour told K24 Digital.

Both the suspect and the victim worked at Makutano hotel in Mutituni Market.

A single yelp by the victim caught the attention of other passersby, who rushed to the scene and found the victim lying on the ground with blood gushing from her chest.



She had been stabbed in the right side of her chest, and in the back, said a witness.

Attempts to chase the suspect bore no fruit as he outran his pursuers.

In the last two months, the lovers were not staying together in the same house, though they shared a compound.



The man rented a house adjacent to his girlfriends, said a neighbour.

The victims body was taken from the scene at 9am and taken to Machakos Level 5 Hospital morgue. The knife that the suspect used in killing his lover was also found at the scene.

Machakos County Police Commander, Karanja Muiruri, told K24 Digital that a search for the suspect is ongoing.

We do not know where he ran to, but one thing were sure of, is that well catch him, said Karanja.

The incident drew anger in residents whom we spoke to, with all calling for the arrest and prosecution of Mutiso, whom they termed as a non-native of Mutitini area.

As a parent, I am highly disappointed by what the young man did. Violence should not be an option when it comes to resolving relationship issues. His action forced us to close shop and leave for our homes; it was so horrifying and unfortunate, said Ruth Mutala, a trader at Mutituni Market.
Actor Ajay Devgns famous stunt from his 1991 film Phool Aur Kaante is still a hot favourite after so many years. A cop in Madhya Pradesh, however, found himself in trouble after a video of him copying the stunt went viral.

In the video, the cop named Manoj Yadav, in charge of Narsinghgarh police station in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, can be seen doing the stunt. He balances himself on two slowly moving cars, with one foot on each of the roof of the two cars. The video has a title track of Rohit Shetty film, Singham, playing in the background. The scene features in Phool Aur Kaante, where Ajay does the same but with to bikes. The actor again did the same stunt with two cars in Golmaal Returns. Manoj Yadavs look is also reminiscent of Ajays other hit film, Singham, where the actor played a tough cop.

5,000 fine slapped against SI Manoj Yadav, SHO Narsinghgarh PS in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, for doing an @ajaydevgn 'Singham' and 'Phool aur Kante' stunt pic.twitter.com/6nv4QCDiTX  NEELABH (@neelabhsa) May 11, 2020

The act got sharp response - Manoj was fined 5,000 and warned against any such daredevilry in the future, police sources said on Monday. When the video of the stunt went viral on social media, senior police officials took a serious note of it as it will send wrong signals to the youngsters, they said.

Also read: Sonam Kapoor offers glimpse inside lavish home, shares snapshots during quarantine with Anand Ahuja

Inspector General of Sagar range, Anil Sharma directed Damoh Superintendent of Police Hemant Chauhan to probe the matter. After investigation, the SP imposed the fine on the sub-inspector and warned him not to repeat such mistakes.

Ajay Devgn made his debut with Phool Aur Kaante, for which he also won Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Ajay is a fitness freak and is among the most fit actors in Bollywood.

(With PTI inputs)

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The widow of Garry Newlove spoke of her fury yesterday after one of the yobs who beat him to death held a party in his prison cell to celebrate his impending release.

Jordan Cunliffe threw a drunken bash in an open prison just days after a Parole Board hearing was told he should be freed.

He was 16 when he and two other teenagers attacked Mr Newlove, 47, laughing as they drunkenly punched and kicked the father of three after he reprimanded them for vandalising cars outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire, in 2007.

Jordan Cunliffe (left), who alongside two other teenagers punched and kicked 47-year-old Garry Newlove (right) to death in 2007, threw a party in prison to celebrate his impending release. He is set to apply for parole as early as this summer

The widow of Mr Newlove, Baroness Helen Newlove (pictured), has admitted she is furious to hear about the prison party for her husband's killer and claims Cunliffe does not show remorse for his actions

Cunliffe, 28, was jailed for life for murder along with two other boys after Mr Newlove died three days later.

Yesterday it emerged guards at the open prison where Cunliffe was being held in preparation for his release had to break up a party he threw to celebrate his sentence coming to an end.

They were alerted after complaints about the noise coming from his cell, where up to eight inmates were drinking alcohol and playing computer games.

When Cunliffe refused to be breathalysed, the Parole Board changed its mind about recommending his release and he was transferred to a closed prison.

But yesterday it emerged that the killer is to be transferred back to open conditions and could apply for parole again as early as the summer.

The development has disgusted his victims widow, Helen Newlove, who said it felt like Cunliffe was laughing at her husbands death all over again.

Baroness Newlove believes that Cunliffe, who was drinking alcohol and playing video games in with his cell mates, is 'laughing at her husband's death all over again'

Baroness Newlove  who was made a peer in 2010 following her campaign work on youth crime and later became the Victims Commissioner  said: Its absolutely disgusting.

How is he able to have a party in prison with alcohol? It beggars belief.

'Cunliffe was a huge instigator in Garrys death. It feels like he is laughing over Garrys body all over again.

Now he is going back to open conditions, it is a joke. The reports to the Parole Board were unbelievable, saying what a shining example he is.

But alcohol was a major factor in Garrys death  he isnt exactly showing remorse is he? I am absolutely livid.

Yesterday a source said Cunliffes party had only scuppered his release in the short term as he will be eligible again for consideration for release soon.

The death of father of three Mr Newlove (middle) shocked the country back in 2007 and became a symbol of 'Broken Britain'

The source added: He had a party on December 20 after his Parole Board hearing on December 17.

'He felt it had gone well, offender management reports all recommending his release, and he thought he would be freed but he blew it with the party.

There were six to eight people in his cell drinking alcohol, playing Xbox games and there were complaints about the noise.

Cunliffe refused to be breathalysed, whereas a couple of other inmates complied and they tested positive. After that the Parole Board met and decided to change their recommendation for release because they felt his risk factor had increased.

Mr Newloves death shocked the nation and became a symbol of Broken Britain.

Cunliffe was sentenced to life imprisonment along with fellow teens Adam Swellings (left) and Stephen Sorton (right) who both assisted him in killing Mr Newlove after the man reprimanded the trio for vandalising cars on his street

Cunliffe was sentenced to life with a recommended minimum terms of 12 years with Stephen Sorton, 17 and Adam Swellings, 19, following a trial at Chester Crown Court in January 2008.

A Parole Board spokesman said it had recommended Cunliffe is suitable for a move to an open conditions prison. They added: This is a recommendation only and the Ministry of Justice will now consider the advice and make the final decision.

A review takes place with extreme care and we will never release any prisoner if it is determined they still pose a risk to the public.
What aspects of the national cannabis industry should we be paying closest attention to during the pandemic, and many more pressing questions will be covered during a two-hour webcast, featuring Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and several other industry leaders.

On Wednesday, hell be keynote speaker of the webinar Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris.

Were compiling questions to ask the Congressman and other speakers during the program, which begins 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). Register for tickets here. Post your questions here.

As the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Blumenauer has been a leading advocate for cannabis policy reform in the House of Representatives.

Cannabis businesses are sources of economic growth and financial stability for thousands of workers and families, and need our support," Blumenauer told NJ Cannabis Insider. "Congress must step in and make these badly needed reforms during these challenging times.

For Paul Josephson, a partner at Duane Morris, which represents many of the leading multi-state operators, cannabis businesses and investors must keep on eye on cashflow and access to capital. Few companies were cashflow positive prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

"Public officials in particular need to recognize that while these licenses are potentially lucrative down the line, the huge upfront costs of obtaining licenses and then developing cultivation facilities and siting retail stores, compounded by the tax overhang of 280E, makes this an incredibly tough business right now, said Josephson, whose firm represents operations in multiple states, including GTI, iAnthus, and Surterra/Parallel, among others, as well as other leading operators, such as Harborside in California, Curio in Maryland, and Ilera in Pennsylvania.

Capital dried up in the second half of 2019," Josephson said, and the financial calamity created by COVID has only made it harder to find investors and lenders today who willing to finance operating costs as in the past. Companies must manage their expenses and cash in a way that wasnt necessary when capital was easy, if expensive.

The silver lining, he told NJ Cannabis Insider, is there will be opportunity as cash-constrained operators find it necessary to put assets up for sale to survive through these uncertain times..

For the same reason, we need to focus on getting capital to minority and other social equity licensees who already faced big hurdles to success before COVID, he said. The current economic calamity requires us to rethink licensing and financing models to make sure these licensees can actually get off the ground and succeed. It is not enough to set aside or create preferences for licensing; we need to get them affordable capital if we want them to get their doors open.

Along with the congressman and Josephson, several industry power players will be taking part in the two-hour panel discussions, they are:

Imani Dawson, vice president and managing partner of MJM Strategy.

Imani Dawson is vice president and managing partner of MJM Strategy, a minority-led strategic consulting group for the cannabis industry; and the founder and president for Tribe Called Curl Media and as communications director for Minorities for Medical Marijuana.

Karen OKeefe, director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project

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, chairman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.

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.

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.

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 is 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.

RELATED: Neer: N.Y., N.J. medical pot programs can learn from each other during the pandemic

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, produced by NJ Cannabis Insider and Advance 360, 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.
Beijing Issues Protest to Tokyo Over Incident Near Disputed Islands

Sputnik News

11:49 GMT 11.05.2020

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Beijing has issued an official protest to Tokyo over an incident involving Chinese patrol ships and a Japanese fishing vessel near the disputed Diaoyudao Islands, known in Japan as Senkaku Islands, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said at a briefing on Monday.

"According to our data, the Chinese coastal patrol ships carried out routine patrols near the Diaoyudao Islands when they discovered the illegal operation of a Japanese ship. Chinese ships tracked the Japanese vessel in accordance with the law and urged it to leave the waters. China made a representation to Japan through diplomatic channels, urging them to stop unlawful actions," Zhao said.

The diplomat added that the islands were part of China and thus it had every right to maintain law and order in its waters.

The Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday, citing sources, that the Japanese Foreign Ministry had filed a diplomatic protest against China to the Chinese Embassy by phone over violations of its maritime border by Chinese patrol vessels.

On Friday, four Chinese patrol ships one by one entered the Japanese waters, with two of them trying to pursue a fishing vessel there. A similar incident took place earlier that day when four patrol ships emerged near the border, with two of them crossing into the Japanese territory.

The islands in question have been an object of territorial disputes between Tokyo and Beijing for a long time. Japan maintains it has them since 1895. China, in turn, has been claiming that the islands are marked as a Chinese territory on Japanese maps circa 1783 and 1785.

Following World War II, the islands were controlled by the United States and handed over to Japan in 1972. Both Taiwan and mainland China claim that Japan has been illegally seizing them while Tokyo rebuts that they have begun claiming the islands for themselves after in the 1970s the surrounding water area was found to be full of valuable minerals.

The tensions have exacerbated after the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private owner in 2012.

 Sputnik

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Rory Kinnear has revealed his 'heroic and inspiring' disabled sister Karina has died from coronavirus aged 48.

Speaking to The Guardian, the devastated James Bond actor, 42, said Karina had tested positive for coronavirus early last week, with the virus 'attacking' her stomach, lungs and kidneys.

Karina died on Sunday afternoon, with her family saying goodbye over FaceTime and the telephone.

Heartbreak: Rory Kinnear has revealed his 'heroic and inspiring' disabled sister Karina (pictured,with her brother) has died from coronavirus aged 48

The theatre star said he had 'played Karina one of her favourite songs and told her how proud I was to have been her brother and what gratitude I felt for what she had taught me about life'.

A nurse also held up Karina's iPad so her mother could narrate her favourite story to her via FaceTime on her mobile.

Rory said his mother then held up her home phone to her mobile so his sister Kirsty could tell Karina how much she loved and would miss her.

Karina had been left severely disabled after suffering a lack of oxygen at birth that caused severe brain damage.

Speaking to The Guardian, the devastated James Bond actor, 44, said Karina had tested positive for coronavirus early last week, with the virus attacking her stomach, lungs and kidneys (pictured in 2012's Skyfall)

Moving: The theatre star said he had 'played Karina one of her favourite songs and told her how proud I was to have been her brother and what gratitude I felt for what she had taught me about life'

She became paralysed from the waist down aged 19 following a lifesaving operation on her spine.

She also suffered kidney damage after a battle with sepsis in 2014.

Karina, who needed lifelong care, had not been admitted to hospital for 18 months prior to her death, with Rory saying she had 'defied the odds' her entire life.

The Bill Tanner star added that 'no-one could describe Karina as weak' or 'more disposable as anyone else, saying: 'So it was coronavirus that killed her. It wasn't her 'underlying conditions'.'

Rory said: 'Karina's death is what we have feared ever since the disease took hold so rapaciously in Italy in February.

Tragedy: Rory and Karina's father, actor Roy Kinnear, died aged 54 in 1988 from a heart attack, brought on by injuries sustained when he fell from a horse (pictured in 1979 with wife Carmel, Rory and daughter Kirsty)

'Her lung capacity was so diminished that we knew, given the reports of its effects, that it was likely to prove incredibly dangerous for her.

The star said the family had FaceTimed Karina the day before she passed on Saturday, but at that point she was only being kept alive by a BiPap (bilevel positive airway) machine.

They were advised to say their final and socially distanced goodbyes on Sunday.

Praising his sister as 'ebullient, brave and wry, with a passion for noise, laughter, family and chaos', Rory went on to call for 'more support, more options and more recognition' in the UK for people with disabilities.

The actor has since shared a photo of himself and his sister, with his picture fee going to the Choice Support charity group.

The Kinnear family was hit by tragedy in 1988 when Rory's father, character actor Roy Kinnear died from a heart attack after falling off a horse during the making of The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain.

In his memory: In honour of Karina, Roy's widow Carmel Cryan established The Roy Kinnear Trust in 1994, which was designed to improve the lives of physically and mentally disabled young people (pictured 1988)

Roy sustained a broken pelvis and internal bleeding in the fall on September 19, 1988.

He was taken to hospital in Madrid but died the next day aged 54 from a heart attack brought on by his injuries. Rory was 12 years old while Karina was 16.

In honour of Karina, Roy's widow Carmel Cryan established The Roy Kinnear Trust in 1994, which was designed to improve the lives of physically and mentally disabled young people.

A specialist home named Roy Kinnear House - built for six young adults with severe disabilities - was opened in 2000.

Karina lived there with others in a home 10 minutes drive from her mother's house.

The UK announced a further 210 victims of coronavirus on Monday- the lowest daily increase since March 26, as the official number of victims topped 32,000.

New analysis has suggested people working in social care, including care workers and home carers, along with bus drivers and security guards have 'significantly' higher death rates involving Covid-19 than the working population as a whole.

The Office For National Statistics reported on Tuesday that 8,312 patients with coronavirus have died in care homes up until May 1 in England and Wales.

This means 37.8% of all coronavirus deaths in England and Wales have been in care homes.
A 17-year-old Haldimand man faces multiple child pornography charges after the OPP executed an arrest warrant last week.

The accused, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with possessing child pornography, making it available to others, distributing intimate images without consent, and voyeurism.

Police released the man into his parents custody.

The accused is one of five Ontarians charged with child pornography offences after police issued warrants between May 4 and May 8.

Also charged are a 22-year-old Quinte West man, two men from Cobourg, and a 42-year-old woman from Trenton.

Although these investigations are not related, they highlight that offenders are of all age groups, employment, and social economical classes, the OPP said in a media release, warning parents and caregivers to be attuned to the potential for child exploitation online.

Even during a pandemic, the exploitation of children does not stop. It stands to reason that with more children isolating at home and more offenders also self-isolating, there will be increase risk that our children will cross the online path of someone with ill intent, police said.

This is a great time to have a conversation with your children about online risks.

Visit protectchildren.ca for resources to prevent child exploitation.
ALTON  The popular concert series that pays homage to the citys Giant of Illinois, Robert Wadlow, born and raised here, has been cancelled.

The Upper Alton Association announced the cancellation Tuesday of the Rockin with Robert series.

The Upper Alton Association is deeply saddened by having to cancel this fun, exciting event series for the first time in ten years, its leaders said in a prepared statement.

Due to the unforeseen circumstances brought on by coronavirus, COVID-19, the Upper Alton Association believes this is in the best interest of the community and concertgoers. The Rockin with Robert concert series will hopefully continue for the 2021 season.

The Bud Summers Tribute Concert that was scheduled for June will still happen at a later date. The Upper Alton Association still wants to show its support of Summers and all the contributions he has made to the Alton area. The tribute concert will either be planned for later this year or will be a part of the 2021 concert series.

The mission of the Upper Alton Association is to support future improvements to Upper Alton for residents and businesses. The organization sponsors the installation of U.S. flags onstreetlight poles for all federal holidays, maintenance of the hanging flower baskets during the summer months, which still will happen this year, coordination of the Souper Saturday dining event, installation of holiday decorations during the winter and supports the City-Wide Litter Clean-Up.

For more information about the group or the Rockin With Robert concert series, visit www.upperalton.com, or www.facebook.com/UpperAltonAssociation. These free community events would not be possible without the support of its generous sponsors: Scott Credit Union, Alton Physical Therapy, Pennzoil Quick Stop, State Farm  Scott Neudecker, 1st MidAmerica, the Advantage and WBGZ 107.1.
The global pandemic is creating a new normal where every aspect of the way we work, live, learn, and play is changed, and one of the industries that will undergo the greatest transformation is healthcare.

Doctors may never go back to pre-COVID-19 days when routine face-to-face consultations were the norm. The coronavirus opened the floodgates and put existing networking technologies to a test. While many service providers passed with flying colors by handling spikes in network traffic, COVID-19 revealed connectivity shortcomings that must be addressed going forward.

Telehealth is the way of the future

The current healthcare model of having to get in a car, drive across town, sit in a waiting room to see someone is archaic. Over the past few years, I have interviewed many healthcare professionals about telehealth, which was starting to see some usage, although it was the exception, not the norm. COVID-19 accelerated something that was a good idea into actual deployments although there is more work to be done.

For the University of Texas Galveston Medical Branch (UTMB), which consists of hospitals and emergency departments on four campuses, shifting 50% of its patient visits to telehealth video visits had to happen quickly. Fortunately, UTMB already had the infrastructure in place to provide remote patient care years before the pandemic, so its own network handled the increase in telehealth visits effectively.

The big issue UTMB ran into was internet access for patients. Telemedicine often lacks the quality-of-service controls that internal networks have, Mike King, UTMBs director of network and telecommunications, said during a recent Cisco virtual roundtable focused on internet connectivity during COVID-19. UTMB found itself at the mercy of carriers, and found that some applications fail more frequently than others.

When you have telemedicine encounters that are only 10 or 15 minutes to start with, you don't have time for an elaborate setup of an app or dropped calls. That can fracture the patient experience quite a bit, said King.

UTMBs CIO Todd Leach said it had to train its providers to make sure they became comfortable with the needs of telemedicine. A big part of UTMBs telehealth program serves the state prison system, with many of those prisons located in rural areas where internet service is spotty and where the available access devices are outdated, he said.

About 20% of the Texas prison system doesnt have access to high-speed internet, and without it nearly 40,000 inmates cannot get telehealth services. UTMB is currently conducting a wireless internet pilot to enable high-quality audio and video visits with physicians for the prison population bypassing the need to wire costly networking infrastructure.

COVID-19 strained critical services

Critical services were also put to a test during the pandemic, revealing that disaster relief can use some connectivity improvements. AT&T and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) together operate a nationwide network that supports emergency communications. Even with FirstNets extensive disaster response experience, COVID-19 was like a fire, flood, and tornado in every city across the country at the same time, said Jason Porter, FirstNets senior vice president who participated in the Cisco forum.

FirstNet helped modernize emergency response when the demand for critical services spiked during the initial COVID-19 crisis. It worked with supply-chain partners to make sure first responders had enough devices, and it mustered auxiliary network infrastructure where existing infrastructure was insufficient. The network requires extensive coverage in remote locations for first responders, who need immediate access to data and communications.

The auxiliary support included deployables, a FirstNet fleet of 76 rapidly deployable units that can bring internet access to places that dont have it. This includes ground assets such as cell towers on wheels (COWs) and light trucks.

FirstNet sent out all 76 deployables for the COVID-19 response, but Porter wants to innovate the fleet in the future by including other options like drones  flying cell on wings known as Flying COWs, which should be available later this year. These can broaden coverage in case of disasters, add capacity or be used to bring Internet to new places.

Executives from Cox and Verizon chimed in on the subject, outlining what service providers can do to create a more ubiquitous internet. In addition to expanding internet access and connectivity, forming partnerships to bring devices and content to the underserved is critical. Providers said theyd work with the government to ease the construction process and lower costs to accelerate deployments. But, they emphasized, subsidies may be required to deploy broadband in areas where its currently not profitable to do so.

Access to health and social services in the future will need to be continuous, said UTMBs Leach. And it cant happen without being continually connected. Telehealth applies in more situations than we've traditionally thought comfortable applying.

The global digital divide

No single company has the technology or the business model to singlehandedly close the digital divide. Industry collaboration and small investments in expanding connectivity options is what will make a big difference in peoples quality of life.

3.8 billion people  nearly half the worldwide population  lacks internet access, limiting their access to information, education and healthcare, according to Ciscos Inclusive Future Report 2020. Gaps in access exist not only in developing countries but also in rural areas and impoverished communities in the U.S.

Cisco called on tech leaders to direct their energy and resources toward developing solutions focused on global inclusion. This means creating broader access to healthcare and social services powered by cost-effective, efficient technologies that meet local needs.

Bringing the internet to underserved populations could lift 500 million people out of poverty and add more than $6 trillion to the global economy, said Jonathan Davidson, senior vice president, and general manager of Ciscos Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group.
-The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has offered all its 425 health facilities across the country as isolation centres for COVID-19.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), who disclosed this at the presidential task force briefing on Monday said state governments can now take advantage of the facilities.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said no state in the country has enough bed spaces for COVID-19 patients, but with the recent donations, Mustapha who chairs the presidential task force on COVID-19, said these would add in the committees support for the state governments.

As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres, he said.

Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities.

As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro bono services of their members to modify, design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily.

The SGF also said the Thisday Dome treatment and isolation facility will be commissioned on Tuesday.

Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of THISDAY newspaper, had donated the facility to support the fight against COVID-19 in Abuja.

It will add a total of 270 beds to our isolation capacity in Abuja. This is a private sector-driven initiative and we commend the efforts of this Thisday, NNPC, Sahara Energy Group, CCECC and all the partners involved in this enterprise, Mustapha said.









Source: The Cable

The post Catholic Church In Nigeria Donates All Its 425 Hospitals As COVID-19 Isolation Centres appeared first on .

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SILVER SPRING, Md., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today continued to take action in the ongoing response effort to the COVID-19 pandemic:



The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for emergency use of the Fresenius Propoven 2% Emulsion to maintain sedation via continuous infusion in patients older than 16 who require mechanical ventilation in an ICU during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Fresenius Propoven 2% Emulsion has important differences in its formulation compared to FDA-approved propofol drugs; providers should consult the Health Care Provider Fact Sheet for more information before administering it.



The virus that causes COVID-19 has led to an increased number of people with severe respiratory illness. As a result, there is a shortage of FDA-approved drugs such as propofol that are used for sedation of mechanically ventilated patients.

The FDA issued warning letters to two companies for selling fraudulent COVID-19 products, as part of the agency's effort to protect consumers. There are currently no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat COVID-19. Consumers concerned about COVID-19 should consult with their health care provider.

The first seller warned in a letter issued jointly with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Seanjari Preeti Womb Healing, L.L.C., offers a honey product for sale in the U.S. with misleading claims that the products are safe and/or effective for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.



The second seller warned, Plum Dragon Herbs, Inc., offers traditional Chinese medicine products for sale in the U.S. with misleading claims that the products are safe and/or effective for the prevention of COVID-19.



To date, the FDA has posted 46 COVID-19 related warning letters.



Today, the FDA added content to the question-and-answer appendix in its guidance titled "Conduct of Clinical Trials of Medical Products during COVID-19 Public Health Emergency." The updated guidance includes new content with considerations for using alternate laboratories or imaging centers, holding trial participant visits via video conference, and conducting required postmarketing clinical trials. The guidance also includes updated information about managing protocol deviations and amendments to ongoing trials, and about consulting with the FDA regarding administering investigational product infusions at home rather than at the clinical trial site.



The FDA approved two Abbreviated New Drug Applications:

Cisatracurium besylate injection USP 20 mg/10 mL is indicated to facilitate tracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation. Side effects of cisatracurium include bradycardia, hypotension, flushing, bronchospasm, and rash.



Azithromycin Tablets USP, 600 mg, is indicated for mild to moderate infections caused by designated, susceptible bacteria that cause certain sexually transmitted diseases and mycobacterial infections. Side effects of azithromycin tablets include hypersensitivity, QT prolongation, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.



Both ANDAs are relevant to COVID-19, and both medicines are listed in the FDA Drug Shortage Database. FDA recognizes the increased demand for certain products during the novel coronavirus pandemic and we remain deeply committed to facilitating access to medical products to help address critical needs of the American public.



Diagnostics update to date:

On Friday, the FDA issued the first EUA for a COVID-19 antigen test, a new category of tests for use in the ongoing pandemic. These diagnostic tests quickly detect fragments of proteins found on or within the virus by testing samples collected from the nasal cavity using swabs. The EUA was issued to Quidel Corporation for the Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA test.

2 SARS Antigen FIA test.

Today, the FDA updated the Policy for Coronavirus Disease-2019 Tests During the Public Health Emergency. The update includes EUA submission templates for molecular, antigen, and serology tests. Developers may choose to use these templates to facilitate the preparation, submission, and authorization of an EUA for various types of COVID-19 tests.



During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has worked with more than 385 test developers who have said they will be submitting EUA requests to the FDA for tests that detect the virus.



To date, the FDA has issued 92 EUAs, which includes 12 antibody tests and 1 antigen test.



The FDA has been notified that more than 245 laboratories have begun testing under the policies set forth in our COVID-19 Policy for Diagnostic Tests for Coronavirus Disease-2019 during the Public Health Emergency Guidance.



The FDA also continues to keep its COVID-19 Diagnostics FAQ up to date.

Additional Resources:

Media Contact: [email protected], 240-701-7422

Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Related Links

http://www.fda.gov


Raleigh Finlayson became the CEO of Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX:SAR) in 2013. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

See our latest analysis for Saracen Mineral Holdings

How Does Raleigh Finlayson's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited is worth AU$4.9b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as AU$1.9m for the year to June 2019. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at AU$612k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from AU$3.1b to AU$9.8b, and the median CEO total compensation was AU$3.4m.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Saracen Mineral Holdings. On a sector level, around 69% of total compensation represents salary and 31% is other remuneration. Saracen Mineral Holdings sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry.

Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Raleigh Finlayson takes less total compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Saracen Mineral Holdings has changed over time.

ASX:SAR CEO Compensation May 12th 2020

Is Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 40% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 25%.

Story continues

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 385%, over three years, would leave most Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

It looks like Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.

Many would consider this to indicate that the pay is modest since the business is growing. And given most shareholders are probably very happy with recent returns, you might even think that Raleigh Finlayson deserves a raise! It's not often we see shareholders do so well, and yet the CEO is paid modestly. It would be even more positive if company insiders are buying shares. Looking into other areas, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Saracen Mineral Holdings that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
A U.S. Army heavy assault bridge at pickup.

Crowley Solutions has received a multi-year award from the U.S. Army 409th Contracting Support Brigade-Theater Contracting Command to provide transportation of personnel and cargo and procurement of material handling equipment (MHE) under the Third Party Logistics Europe Wide Movement (3PLEWM) contract.

Under terms of the May 4 award, Crowley will provide third party logistics (3PL) services to the U.S. government, NATO and non-NATO partners throughout the European Command area of responsibility, supporting the 21st Theater Sustainment Command (21st TSC) and Theater Movements Center (TMC), headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

As a global leader in 3PL services, particularly to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), this contract award will expand our proven and mission-driven support for defense and federal government services from the continental U.S. (CONUS) to Europe, said Crowleys Chris Goss, vice president, business development and expeditionary logistics. Crowley is dedicated to serving customers with cost-effective and technology-driven solutions that the Department of Defense and our deployed men and women in uniform can depend on.

The contract period is May 2020 until May 2023, with an estimated value of $49 million on a task-order basis.

With decades of performing diverse logistics services for U.S. armed forces, the team at Crowley looks forward to working with the 21st Theater Sustainment Command to support our warfighters and Americas European allies and partners, said Crowleys Jason Trubenbach, director, business development for European operations, based in Germany. We are proud and honored to have the opportunity to provide effective and efficient transportation options for commanders on the ground.

Currently, Crowley manages transportation and related services for U.S. military activity under the Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) contract that requires successful management and execution of 1,800 moves daily, or over 350,000 moves annually, in North America. Building on its superior performance, reliability and network of commercial logistics providers and carriers, the company expanded in 2019 in Europe to provide the federal government solutions outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS).

About Crowley Solutions

Crowley Solutions is a government services and program management group that provides government logistics services including truck, rail, air, and ocean transportation as well as global freight forwarding; maritime solutions comprised of naval architecture and marine engineering services, vessel management, chartering, towing, port and range operations, and foreign military sales; energy services including petroleum storage, distribution by sea and land, fuel over the shore and liquified natural gas solutions, and technology solutions that move customers to the forefront of transportation management, data analysis, automation and cyber security.

About Crowley

Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 128-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family- and employee-owned company that provides marine solutions, energy and logistics services in domestic and international markets. Crowley operates under four business units: Crowley Logistics, a logistics supply chain division that includes ocean liner services; Crowley Shipping, which encompasses ownership, operations and management of conventional and dual fuel (LNG) vessels, including tankers, container ships, multipurpose, tugboats and barges; engineering; project management; and naval architecture through its subsidiary Jensen Maritime; Crowley Fuels, a fuel transportation, distribution and sales division that also provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) and related services; and Crowley Solutions, which focuses on global government services and program management, government ship management, expeditionary logistics and government-oriented freight transportation services. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found at http://www.crowley.com.
The Mainland China share market finished session mixed on Tuesday, 12 May 2020, due to concerns over a second wave of coronavirus cases after Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, reported five new cases on Monday. At closing bell, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.11%, or 3.25 points, to 2,891.56. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.33%, or 6 points, to 1,810.74.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was up marginal 0.06%, or 0.00 points, to 3,960.24.

The risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections resurfaced after an increase in new infection cases in countries that have loosened business restrictions, such as China, South Korea, France, and Germany.

While the US-China relationship and the coronavirus are in the back of investors' minds, overall sentiment has been positive.

ECONOMIC NEWS: China Consumer Prices Up 3.3% On Year In April- China consumer prices were up 3.3% on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, down from 4.3% in March. On a monthly basis, consumer prices sank 0.9%, after sliding 1.2% in the previous month. The stats bureau also reported that producer prices tumbled 3.1% on year, down sharply from the 1.5% decline a month earlier.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW HAVEN  Mayor Justin Elicker answered a series of questions about symptoms, swabbed his nostrils and then drove a short distance to Jordans parking lot to wait for the results.

To encourage people to take the free test for COVID-19, Elicker Tuesday decided to demonstrate how easy it is.

He was at the CVS/Abbott site at 60 Sargent Drive where the whole process took maybe 10 minutes, with about 15 more before the results were delivered to him in his parked car across from the testing site at the former Gateway Community College parking lot.

We are so lucky to have this site and four other sites in New Haven where people can get tested. We are encouraging everyone, particularly the folks who are symptomatic or who may have been exposed to someone who is symptomatic, to get tested, Elicker said as he waited for the results.

I felt like it was important for me to show people how easy it is. I made an appointment ahead of time, drove up. ... It didnt feel uncomfortable, it didnt hurt and it took all of 10 minutes to go through the process, the mayor said.

The mayors test was basically a demonstration to give the public an idea of what to expect. While the test and the results do not take long, it does take awhile to get through the line of cars on a day when the site is close to its capacity.

Massive testing is being encouraged across the country so states can quickly identify any hot spots.

Testing is being followed by contact tracing for those who have the virus. In that process, they are asked who they recently spent time with so those individuals can be warned of their exposure. They are then asked to self-isolate for 14 days  the incubation period for the respiratory illness.

Elicker said following this process will keep a lot of your loved ones from getting sick.

As of May 11, 132,508 people had been tested for COVID-19 in Connecticut, with 33,765 testing positive. There had been 3,008 deaths in the state as of Tuesday, state data shows.

The mayor said the CVS site had more than 700 people getting tested there Monday, although other days it is a lighter crowd. The site has a capacity of 750 per day.

The CVS site is still looking to serve people with symptoms, as are the sites at Fair Haven Community Health Center and the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, both of which also ask that people call for an appointment.

The number of the Fair Haven Community Health Center at 374 Grand Ave. is 203-871-4179. The Cornell Scott site is at 226 Dixwell Ave. and the number is 203-503-3000.

For asymptomic individuals who want to know whether they are carrying the virus, they are encouraged to make an appointment at the Day and Chapel streets site in New Haven that is run by Murphy Medical Associates, although it has taken individuals who just walk up. The two clinics, Fair Haven and Cornell Scott, also are walk-up sites.

To make an appointment at the Day and Chapel streets site, go to coronatestct.com. Those without internet access can call the city at 203-946 4949 and it will make an appointment for them.

Elicker said the fact that there is capacity at the sites is not an indication that we are getting over the virus in New Haven, but an indication that we need to do more work to get the word out and make sure that people know about this resource.

The mayor said people still might not be aware of their options in New Haven, or are nervous about coming.

He said leaders around the country have been getting tested to demonstrate its importance.

The virus doesnt care what you look like or who you are, or whether you are in a position of power or you are not, Elicker said. It is important that we all understand that and we all get tested and take it seriously. And that means also modeling good behavior. The fact that the president still isnt wearing a mask is not good behavior.

The mayor said it depends on how the outbreak changes over time, but New Haven is looking to put up a few more sites. He said the state also is looking for other ways to expand testing and is having conversations with private pharmacies.

The mayor was asked about the importance of testing now that a number of businesses will be reopening as of May 20 under local and state guidance. Elicker tried to temper those expectations.

May 20 is not an open-up day. May 20 is when some businesses are allowed to do some small things. ... We in the city of New Haven are trying to support our restaurants and our retail industry and our barber shops to make sure that they have the kind of tools they need to start to open, Elicker said.

He said it is likely to be a trickle of openings, rather than a rush.

Elicker said the CVS site is open until the end of May and he hopes the state continues its contract with the national pharmacy, which has only five test sites across the country.

Rick Fontana, head of emergency services in New Haven, said about 14,000 tests have been conducted at the 60 Sargent Drive site. It has been a great collaboration, Fontana said of working with CVS.

It is very systematic, he said of the process that keeps the hundreds of cars smoothly moving through the site.

Ten more minutes after the impromptu press conference, the results were in and the mayor gave a thumbs-up as he drove away. He was negative for the virus.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
The situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border after the shootout on the eve of May 9 with a machine gun and mortar remains tense. The cause of the conflict was an unmarked plot of land. Bishkek and Dushanbe exchanged notes of protest. At the scene of the incident, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Kyrgyzstan Akram Madumarov and Chairman of the Border Service Ularbek Sharsheev.

Border guards of Tajikistan recognized the fact of mortar fire. At the same time, in a statement by the press center of the border troops of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT), it was noted that the Kyrgyz border guards were the first to open fire from machine guns and a machine gun at peaceful Tajiks.

The conflict occurred due to the fact that the citizens of Kyrgyzstan decided to plant 4 hectares of corn adjacent to the village of Chorkukh, Isfara district of Tajikistan. This is a controversial site, which, supposedly under regulatory legal acts, was soon to go under the jurisdiction of Tajikistan. According to the Tajik side, Kyrgyz citizens were warned about this and asked to get out. But residents of the neighboring Batken region of Kyrgyzstan ignored the demand of their neighbors. The word skirmish first grew into a battle with stoning, and then with the use of weapons. The first shot from a hunting rifle sounded from the Kyrgyz side.

Kyrgyz border guards hurried to the noise, who, according to the Tajik border service, "instead of resolving the conflict, supported the provocative actions of compatriots by firing from Kalashnikov machine guns and machine guns at the civilian population of Tajikistan." "After that, in order to defend themselves and protect civilians, Tajik border guards were forced to return fire. As a result of the shootout, two Tajik citizens received heavy gunshot wounds," the Tajik agency said.

According to the Kyrgyz side, the conflict began due to the use of 50 acres of land in the Chek Batken region. This site is unmarked, but was used by peasants of Kyrgyzstan from time immemorial. "Military personnel of the Border Guards National Security Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan opened mortar fire in the direction of Kyrgyz border guards. During the shootout, three military personnel and one local resident were injured," the State Border Service of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (GPU KR) said.

On Victory Day, Tajik Ambassador Nazirmad Alizoda was called to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry. A Tajik diplomat was handed a note of protest "in connection with the targeted shelling of servicemen and citizens of Kyrgyzstan from machine guns with under-barrel grenade launchers, including from multiple mortar weapons, as a result of which three soldiers of the border service and one local resident of Kyrgyzstan received heavy gunshot wounds." Concern was expressed over the obvious destructive and provocative actions of Tajik military personnel and citizens, leading to the destabilization of the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. It is very unfortunate that these illegal actions of the Tajik side were committed on the eve of the great holiday and during the holy month of Ramadan, symbolizing the unity of peoples and the preservation of peace and tranquility. "

Bishkek assigns all responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the border regions to the Tajik side and demands that urgent measures be taken to avoid further aggravation of the situation and the prosecution of those responsible.

The Tajik Foreign Ministry, in turn, called on the carpet after the neighboring state, Zhanysh Rustenbekov, who was also handed a note of protest "because of the provocative actions of citizens and military personnel of Kyrgyzstan that led to the armed conflict." "The ambassador was informed that the cause of the incident was a targeted shot from a firearm fired by a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the subsequent actions of the Kyrgyz border guards, which forced the Tajik border units to take retaliatory measures," the RT Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

After the incident, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov and his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, during a telephone conversation, "noted the need to coordinate actions aimed at quickly resolving" the incident. The ministers agreed on the need "to conduct outreach to the local population in order to relieve tension in the border region" and agreed to keep in touch.

At the beginning of this year, it was decided to begin the process of the exchange of disputed territories. The created topographic groups of the two countries considered the possibility of exchanging equivalent territories between the Batken region (Kyrgyzstan) and the city of Isfara (Tajikistan) in the Samarkandek and Kok-Tash sections. The final version of the exchange must be submitted before March 1, 2020. But the plans were confused by the coronavirus. A state of emergency was introduced in Kyrgyzstan and all work was stopped.

The Kyrgyz military expert, Colonel Toktogul Kakchekeev, is convinced that the conflict is so complex that it cannot be resolved quickly. "The problem is that a river runs through the disputed section, where hydraulic structures are located that supply water to the Kyrgyz territory and then Tajik. This land has always been controversial - Tajikistan claims for it. Now this land has been included in the exchange plan. 29 years this question has not been was resolved, and it is unlikely that it will be resolved today, Kakchekeev told Vestnik Kavkaza. He recalled that the corridor of drug trafficking and smuggling of fuels and lubricants, which was formed during the civil war in Tajikistan with the stimulation of the West and Afghan political forces to enrich individual clans and spread radical Islam in the region, runs through this territory. One of the goals of Dushanbe is to unite the Tajik enclave with the mainland. And in order to get out of the natural environment, the Tajiks took various methods - from domestic quarrels to interethnic conflicts. To stabilize the situation, meetings were held, documents of little significance were signed. A post was created in Kyrgyzstan for these purposes Deputy Prime Minister, who should deal with the solution of the border issue, but nothing good came of it, as one of the deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh, Deputy Prime Minister Janish Razakov said over four years of work even for four I didnt delimit the border meters, but blood was shed more than once. Today this post is occupied by a native of these places, the former head of the Batken region, a graduate of the agricultural institute, veterinarian Akram Madumarov, "the expert noted.

According to him, in Kyrgyzstan graduates of agricultural institutes are now at a price, which practically reduce the territorial sovereignty of the country to almost zero. Until the last border pillar is placed on the border of the designated state, the country has no territorial independence. Because there is a hole there. How can we say that Kyrgyzstan fully controls its borders? - Kakchekeev wonders. The expert believes that since all the cartographic documents of the districts and oblasts are in the Russian Federation, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, these issues should be resolved precisely with the participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Myanmar & COVID-19 Myanmar MPs to Receive COVID-19 Tests Before Coronavirus Budgetary Discussions

Lawmakers at the Union Parliament on March 18, 2020. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Naypyitaw  Lawmakers at the Union Parliament will be tested for coronavirus on May 14-15, according to the head of Naypyitaw Public Health Department, Dr. Myat Wunna Soe.

The tests will be done in two days. Their nasal swabs will be taken and sent to Yangon for lab tests, he said.

The parliamentary sessions of the Union Parliament, Upper House and Lower House are due to resume on May 18. Lawmakers were instructed to arrive in Naypyitaw 10 days earlier.

Department staff will take nasal swabs from lawmakers at the Naypyitaw City Development Committee Guesthouse.

We have made preparations. We have instructed that lawmakers arrive [10 days] before the parliamentary sessions begin. The results of lab tests will be available before the sessions begin, said director-general U Kyaw Soe of the Office of the Union Parliament.

Apart from the lawmakers, their families who came to Naypyitaw together with them, guesthouse staff who may come into contact with them, transport and parliament staff and health care providers in the parliament will also be tested for coronavirus.

Journalists who cover the sessions will not be tested for coronavirus, but they must strictly follow the COVID-19 instructions, said U Kyaw Soe.

Lawmakers have not been banned from leaving the guesthouse which is also accessible by outsiders and there were no temperature screenings, said Lower House lawmaker U Aung Hlaing Win of Yangons Mingaladon Township.

We thought we would be monitored for one week and also provided with meals inside the guesthouse. But there were no restrictions, he said.

I heard lab tests will be done on lawmakers. I attended the meeting of the bill committee today. I found that they have arranged the seats apart, Lower House lawmaker U Sai Tun Aye of Shan States Mong Hsu Township said on Monday.

On the agenda is the bill on the budgetary top-up for the 2019-20 fiscal year, and the proposal to obtain loans from the World Bank to fight COVID-19.

Myanmars military announced on May 8 that it had tested 219 military lawmakers and their assistants at the 1,000-bed Naypyitaw military hospital, and all tested negative.

The National League for Democracy makes up 59 percent of the Union Parliament, ethnic minority parties 11 percent, the militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party 5 percent and the military has a further 25 percent of the seats.

By Tuesday, Myanmar has reported 180 COVID-19 cases with six deaths and 74 recoveries.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Newman clears Buncombe deputies in shooting of gunman

Buncombe County Sheriffs deputies Scott Robinson and Todd Ernst were completely justified in having to fire upon armed gunman Shane Tilman Kent, age 29, on March 31, 2020 outside the Buncombe County Courthouse and Asheville City Hall, District Attorney Greg Newman said Tuesday.

The elected District Attorney for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties, Newman was asked to review this case for Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams because Williams observed the incident and was a potential witness.

I have met with the NC State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) agents who conducted the investigation of this event," Newman said. "Following my meeting with them, as well as my review of their interviews and video tapes, it is clear that Deputies Ernst and Robinson performed their duties admirably and within the guidelines for North Carolina peace officers. There is absolutely no violation of North Carolina law by these officers and I commend Ernst and Robinson, and the many other Buncombe County deputies and Asheville Police officers, for bringing this significant threat to public safety to a successful conclusion. It is unfortunate when our law enforcement officers must use force to restore order, but in this situation, no other choice was available."

I spoke personally with Sheriff Miller last week and discussed my findings with him. I recommended that the two deputies be cleared for active service," he added. "Naturally, the return to active duty will be determined by the sheriff."

The events of the morning of March 31 at the courthouse began when probation officer Jamie Harris heard a gunshot and saw a Chevrolet Avalanche with smoke in the cab. Harris approached the vehicle and saw what appeared to be a bullet hole in the passenger window of the Avalanche. He called 911 with a report of a possible self-inflicted wound victim. When Harris moved closer to the vehicle, a male subject popped up in the seat and Harris shouted for the man to show his hands. The man, later identified as Shane Tilman Kent, fired at least two shots in Harris direction. The radio communications used by the Asheville Police indicated additional shots fired by Kent from inside the Avalanche.

A combination of Buncombe County Sheriffs deputies and Asheville Police officers approached the Avalanche using mobile protection shields. Video footage provided by the Asheville Police, and by several onlookers from inside the courthouse, show that police shouted several commands for Kent to show his hands. When Kent refused to comply with the instructions of law enforcement, an attempt was made to get into the cab of the vehicle to physically apprehend him. Kent still had possession of the gun, which was a 9mm handgun, and he attempted to point the weapon at police as they struggled to arrest him. When the gun became visible to the officers, deputies Ernst and Robinson fired at Kent from both the front of the vehicle and the passenger side of the cab. Kent, with no known address at the time, was declared dead at the scene.

It is important to note that if this was a regular day, in other words pre-coronavirus, there would have been hundreds of people in this area," Newman said. "I have no doubt that others may have died. The SBI determined that Kent shot the 9mm pistol 10 times and the gun was still loaded with two rounds. The fact that this situation was resolved with minimal injury to officers and limited loss of life is a tribute to the great law enforcement work on March 31st. These men and women are to be commended for the way they performed their duties."

Very little is known about why Kent was in the Chevrolet Avalanche. The vehicle belongs to a juvenile justice officer, who thought he had locked the vehicle earlier that morning when arriving for work. The firearm used by Kent also belonged to the same officer, who stores it in his glove box.

I have only limited information about Mr. Kent and I do not want to say anything that may further upset or embarrass his family, Newman said. No one really has an explanation for why Kent did what he did. What is clear is that he was given multiple opportunities to drop the gun and show his hands. Had he just done those two things, he would be alive today. Very sad and tragic, but the officers and deputies did what was necessary to protect the public."
An Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday morning during a West Bank arrest raid when a rock thrown off a rooftop struck him in the head, the military said.

The military typically carries out such predawn raids against wanted militants in the West Bank, occasionally encountering local resistance, but the killing of a soldier is rare and this marked the first military casualty of the year.

The military said 21-year-old Staff Sgt. Amit Ben-Yigal was on routine ``operational activity'' near the West Bank city of Jenin when a large rock was thrown off a rooftop and struck him on the head. A search was on for the attacker.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said the forces had completed their mission and were leaving the village of Yaabed when the soldier was struck. He called the village a ``known hotbed of militant activity.'' He said the soldier was wearing a protective helmet and was quickly evacuated for medical treatment but later died of his wounds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to the soldier's family and vowed that ``Israel's long arm would reach the terrorist`` behind the attack.

Israel has seen a series of shootings, stabbings and car-ramming attacks in recent years, mostly carried out by lone attackers with no apparent links to armed groups. Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have praised the attacks but have not claimed responsibility for them. The most recent such attack came two weeks ago, on Israel's Memorial Day, when a Palestinian teenager stabbed an Israeli woman outside a shopping center before he was shot and wounded by a bystander.

Tuesday's raid was aimed at arresting four Palestinians wanted for stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles and other recent attacks. It comes a day after Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year.

Israel says 22-year-old Qassem Barghouti carried out the attack last August that killed 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother near the settlement of Dolev. As the demolition took place Monday, dozens of Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks and firebombs toward Israeli troops. Several Palestinians were wounded in the ensuing clashes.

The uptick comes as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to arrive Wednesday for a quick visit to discuss Israeli plans to annex large parts of the West Bank as early as this summer.

Netanyahu is set to swear in his new government this week and his new coalition agreement with former rival Benny Gantz allows him to present an annexation proposal as soon as July 1.

The Palestinians claim the entire West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the heartland of an independent state. Annexing chunks of this territory would likely put an end to the Palestinians' already diminishing hopes of a two-state solution. Annexation also would anger the international community, which overwhelmingly supports Palestinian statehood.

But with a friendly White House behind him, and a Trump Mideast plan envisioning handing 30% of the West Bank to permanent Israeli control, Netanyahu appears poised to push forward with the plan and bring dozens of Jewish settlements under Israeli sovereignty.

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Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declassified a list of Obama administration officials who were behind the unmasking of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Multiple reports have cited U.S. officials who say Grenell has handed over the list to attorney general Bill Barr, who could release it at any time. Last week, the Justice Department dropped its case Flynn  who pled guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI  citing newly discovered and disclosed information,

American citizens whose communications are incidentally picked up by the intelligence community during surveillance are protected by law. But they can be unmasked by a select number of U.S. officials, and it is illegal to leak unmasked information or use it for political gain.

Former NSA director Admiral Mike Rogers testified in June 2017 that requests to unmask a U.S. citizen must be made in writing and on the basis of your official duties.

In March 2017, then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) warned that he had seen intelligence showing that on numerous occasions, the intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.

Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration; details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting, Nunes explained.  . . . I have confirmed that additional names of Trump transition members were unmasked.

A week after Nuness claims, former national security adviser Susan Rice told MSNBC in an interview that it was absolutely false the Obama administration utilized the reports for political purposes, but admitted that the Obama presidential daily briefing contained unmaskings.

I received those reports, as did other officials, and there were occasions when I would receive a report in which a U.S Person was referred to  name not provided, just U.S. Person, Rice explained. And sometimes in that context, in order to understand the importance in the report  and assess its significance, it was necessary to find out or request, who that U.S. official was.

Story continues

Official stats from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence show that the National Security Agency, which monitors overseas communications, unmasked an Americans identity approximately 9,200 times in 2016 and 9,500 in 2017. There were about 17,000 such actions in 2018 and 10,000 in 2019.

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The High Court has made orders confirming the winding up of the Irish arm of related fashion outlets Oasis and Warehouse, which employed some 248 people.

The order was made on Monday, May 11, by Mr Justice Michael Twomey in respect of Oasis Fashions Ireland Ltd, and Warehouse Fashion Ireland Ltd, which the court heard is part of the Aurora Fashions group- owned by the Icelandic Kaupthing Bank.

Oasis had a branch in the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge; and also a concession within the Newbridge Debenhams store which itself announced its permanent closure last month.

The judge, who said he was satisfied the firms are insolvent, also confirmed the appointment of Ken Fennell and James Anderson of Deloitte Ireland as joint liquidators of the two related companies.

They were appointed on a provisional basis by the High Court last month. The two companies had operated 13 stores and 29 concession stands in Ireland.

The appointment of liquidators came after administrators were appointed to its UK parent a month ago.

Seeking the joint liquidators' appointment Kelley Smith Bl instructed by Barry Cahir of Beauchamps Solicitors, for the company said that the firms had been trading in what has become a difficult environment.

Those difficulties had been exacerbated with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, counsel added.

Counsel said group had been seeking a buyer, but the impact of the Covid-19 which had resulted in the closure of high street stores in late March, ended prospects of securing fresh investment,despite the fact there had been several expressions of interest.

The group's decision to enter administration meant the Irish firms could no longer avail of certain services from its parent, such as HR, IT and the sourcing of stock, which they required to continue to trade.

Brian Conroy Bl for the liquidators said that since their appointment they have been taking steps to ensure an orderly wind down of the business.

Counsel said had been engaging with the firm's creditors which includes its employees, landlords of the stores the stores had operated from, and Revenue.
Anyone arriving in Spain will have to self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The order was published in the official state gazette (BOE) on Tuesday and comes into force on Friday 15 May.

The rule, similar to one announced this week in the UK, will apply to residents and non-residents coming from any other country and will last as long as the state of alarm is in force in Spain. This at present is until 24 May but the government wants to extend it further.

It is especially important to step up precautionary measures now, said the Ministry of Health, as the country gradually relaxes its lockdown conditions.

The director of the government's emergency response committee, Fernando Simon, explained that people coming from other countries could be a "risk". It was important to avoid unfair conditions, he explained, giving the example that currently someone in the Balearic or Canary Islands cannot travel to the mainland, yet someone can come in from another country.

Citizens arriving in Spain will have to spend the 14-day isolation period in their homes and only go out to buy food or medication, to go to the hospital or other force majeure reasons.

Use of a face mask will be compulsory on these outings, as will other hygiene and prevention measures, especially when in contact with other members of the household.

The only exceptions will be cross-border workers, transport drivers and health professionals travelling to work who have not been in contact with Covid-19 patients.

The authorities will be able to contact people in quarantine to monitor their condition and they will be told to contact the health authorities at any sign of symptoms and state that they have travelled from abroad.

Will this affect tourism?

The tourism sector has expressed its surprise at the measure, especially as it comes 24 hours before cross-frontier protocol for the summer is due to be discussed in Brussels.

The vice-president of Exceltur, Jose Luis Zoreda, spoke of the demand in Europe of people "wanting to come to Spain" and gave the example of a German tourist planning their holiday in advance, who would now choose Greece or Portugal where there are no quarantine obligations for visitors.

Travel agents and airlines will be obliged to inform travellers of the quarantine rules before they sell them their tickets. Airlines will have to provide a public health form called a Passenger Location Card.

Who can come to Spain?

For the time being, however, the quarantine rule will affect very few as the number of people currently coming in to Spain is low, due to border controls.

Only Spanish citizens and residents in Spain are currently allowed to cross the borders, as well as cross-border workers, and those with force majeure reasons to travel.
The Congress is launching a new organisation for children aged between 10 and 17 years to prepare them for the future and inculcate constitutional values in them in a bid to counter the Balagokulam initiative of the RSS.

The party decided to launch Jawahar Bal Manch (JBM) nationwide following the success of a similar concept in Kerala, people familiar with developments said.

The former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president in Kerala, Ramesh Chennithala, had launched Jawahar Balajana Vedi (JBV) as part of the state unit in 2007.

The idea is to inculcate constitutional values and a spirit of nationalism and instil secular principles in children, besides developing their artistic and cultural talents, JBV chairman GV Hari told HT.

Apart from emphatically upholding slogans of democracy, secularism and socialism, JBM seeks to sustain in children the qualities of fraternity, equality and compassion as their ideals of life, he said.

To kick-start the project, the JBM will organise an online National Dream Photography Contest on May 21, the 29th anniversary of the death of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The JBV in Kerala was set up in response to Balagokulam initiative of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This initiative was started in the southern state in 1975 and later registered as a nationwide cultural movement in 1981.

Through this, the RSS sought to inculcate moral values in children and weekly cultural and moral science classes are held for those up to 18 years of age.

Hari said the JBV in Kerala currently has a membership of 250,000 children and 32 of its previous members now hold key positions in the National Students Union of India (NSUI), a frontal organisation of the grand old party.

In terms of branding, the JBM will be completely apolitical but we will aggressively promote it as a strong counter to the RSS, which runs the operation catch them young in many parts of the country, a senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary said on condition of anonymity.

He said discussions in this regard were held with Congress president Sonia Gandhi last December. The meeting decided to keep JBM non-political, but strong emphasis was given on its position and strategic importance in terms of sending the right message to the childrens community through activities and storytelling, he added.

Hari said the Kerala model is being replicated in other states in view of its huge success.

We have already run pilots in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab and will start soon in Rajasthan. We were going to give it a big launch push in April but had to defer it due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Hari, who is overseeing the projects expansion across the country.

Apart from student exchange programmes, JBM plans to hold annual cultural festivals in different states.

We are also planning to develop a unified volunteer work force that is ready to lend a helping hand in times of distress. An online newsletter in English and Hindi is also on the cards, Hari said.

One additional language, other than English, Hindi or the mother tongue, will be taught to children, like we teach Gujarati or Punjabi in Kerala. While students can talk about any subject, we discourage political discussions, he added.

There is a view in the Congress that the JBM should become a frontal organisation to enable it to expand its footprint nationwide with the help of the parent partys organisational structure.

But for that, the Congress Working Committees (CWC) approval is required, said the AICC functionary quoted above.

The Congress currently has five frontal units  Seva Dal, Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, NSUI and the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).

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Two rounds of federal loans are helping Bay Area small businesses rehire workers and survive the coronavirus fallout. But owners say its a temporary fix amid the worst job losses since the Great Depression.

The Paycheck Protection Program, which included a $349 billion first round and an ongoing $310 billion second round in forgivable loans, helps businesses pay workers during widespread shutdowns.

As of Friday, the government had issued second-round loans totaling $188 billion, with $35.8 billion going to California, the highest amount for any state. There was $122 billion that hadnt been allocated.

Caitlin Meade, co-owner of Native Co., which has two San Francisco restaurants, tried unsuccessfully to get a loan in the first round. She switched banks from Chase to Emigrant Bank and received $181,437 in the second round.

It extends a lifeline to us in the short term, but doesnt address the long-term concerns and financial instability restaurants are facing in the next one to two years, she said.

The loan will help the company rehire 15 of 20 employees who were laid off recently and survive for about two months. Native Co. has one restaurant location closed and one location at 168 Sutter St. serving only takeout, which led to the earlier job cuts.

In order for a loan to be forgiven, the company must use the money for expenses over the eight weeks following the funding date, with 75% spent on payroll.

It is critical that most or all of this loan is forgiven, Meade said. We simply arent in a position to take on more debt.

Chuck Doyle, managing director of Business Capital, a finance company, worked with Emigrant Bank and helped Native get its loan, along with over 70 other companies around the country.

He said that clients are having a better experience during the second round of loans, following widespread complaints in the first round, which ran out of funding in 13 days. Loans over $2 million also will be audited, after reports of large companies receiving loans designed for small businesses in the first round.

I think its a Band-Aid and certainly appreciated. I think there has to be a third round, Doyle said.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

San Franciscos Exploratorium received a nearly $5.9 million loan, which enabled it to rehire and reverse salary reductions for almost 250 staff, the museum said. Around 150 on-call staff members are still not working during the museums closure.

Edward Webb, a partner at accounting firm BPM, said a greater number of his clients have been receiving loans in the second round.

They are doing a better job of processing them and getting money out to people, Webb said.

The scale of the program is unprecedented. But the economic fallout is even worse.

I have about 35 years of experience. Ive never seen anything like it, he said. The speed has just been extraordinary. It was just, boom, the lights went out.

Despite some successes, numerous business owners reported negative experiences with their banks, which process the loan applications.

Lis McKinley, owner of Lets Make Room, a home-organizing service in Oakland, applied for a loan with U.S. Bank, she said.

She didnt hear back from a bank representative about her application despite multiple follow-ups. She applied for a $6,250 loan to cover two months worth of pay and expenses for her.

Since my bank was dragging its heels, I started looking for other sources of funding, she said.

A U.S. Bank spokeswoman said the bank facilitated more than 18,000 loans in California, worth approximately $1.6 billion, with 82% of the SBA-approved loans under $100,000.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

McKinley ended up using Opportunity Fund, a lender in San Jose, and received $6,250 on Thursday, a week after her loan was approved. She said the funding has been a relief amid the pandemic uncertainty.

Allan Mann co-owns Under One Woof, a pet-care center in Alameda with his partner, Seiji Morikawa. He said theyve been waiting for an update from Citibank after the bank notified them saying they werent qualified for a loan because of a lack of line of credit. But Mann said they took an equity line of credit last year. While a banker looked into the situation, the first round of PPP funding ran out. Theyre still waiting on a follow-up from Citibank and decided to submit a new application Thursday; they received a note shortly after saying they werent eligible, with no explanation given this time.

Citibank said it reached out to Morikawa but declined to comment further on the situation. The bank has submitted more than 27,500 applications totaling $3.4 billion in loans for small businesses and has funded nearly $3 billion and rising, a spokesman said.

Under One Woof had 17 employees who were all laid off as the business shuttered during the pandemic.

We went from earning $65,000 to $70,000 in revenue a month to zero, Mann said.

He wants the funding to cover the cost of rent thats building up and to pay employees who return. Rent is $3,860 a month for his business, he said.

In the weeks of waiting, hes starting to lose hope.

It may all be moot since the PPP loan forgiveness requires that we rehire all our employees within a limited time period, which we may not be able to do, he said.

Local health orders mean it will be difficult to accommodate his regular employees and customers.

It makes no sense for us to borrow money  even at really low interest  to pay employees for whom we have no work, Mann said.

Roland Li and Shwanika Narayan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com, shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf, @shwanika
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We're flattered, honored, and all the other good feelings right now, because we just won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Named for the legendary radio and TV newsman, the Radio Television Digital News Association honored us for these three stories:

FEATURE REPORTING

Johnny Byul Lee was the lone voice of support at a 2018 protest. (Photo illo by Chava Sanchez)

Josie Huang went in-depth on the aftermath of Koreatown's battle over a homeless shelter. Her work demonstrates our commitment to sticking with stories after other media has moved on.

Huang spent months following key characters in the community after attending a nighttime homeless count in Koreatown to see who would show up. She noticed a cluster of Korean American volunteers, some wearing shirts with a "Koreatown" logo.

Huang learned they were trying to help homeless people. That same week, she discovered that some of the people who counter-protested at the demonstrations were now working on homeless outreach.

It became clear to Huang that the homelessness crisis, the fight over the shelter, the protests and media attention had all worked to change the Korean American community in interesting and meaningful ways.

EXCELLENCE IN VIDEO

The shot list Emily Guerin took on her solo hike. (Emily Guerin / LAist)

Emily Guerin let the world into her solo journey into the wilderness, through video and a written diary.

She explores what it meant hiking the Sierra Nevada on her own as a woman. She documented her solo journey, which takes you into places few people ever see in person, and the realizations she had during the arduous hike. We shared her personal journey in GIFs from the trip and video on our Instagram account.

Guerin gives a special shout out to the original editor on the series, Signe Okkels Larsen, for creating a comprehensive shot list and teaching her how to shoot on her own in very isolated conditions.

Thanks also go to our visual journalist Chava Sanchez for his work completing the project.

MULTIMEDIA

Emma Allen crosses the street near the South L.A. senior center where she work. (Sean Havey for California Dream)

Our collaboration with KQED, KPBS, Capital Public Radio and CalMatters won for its multidisciplinary approach to profiling some of California's 6 million seniors and what their experiences had to say about the California dream.

The series includes audio, video, data visualizations and written profiles to take a deep look at our rapidly aging population, and what the implications are for the state's future.

We also invited seniors to share their own experiences.

Congratulations to all the winners here, and at newsrooms around the region -- thank you for your work. You can read the complete national list here.

Have a question that could lead to our next award-winning story? Let us know:

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Using Prime Minister Narendra Modis fifth meeting with the chief ministers as a platform to vent her grievances, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the Centre on May 11.

Alleging that the Centre is playing politics over COVID-19 at a time the entire world is grappling with the outbreak of the deadly pandemic, she said the Centres actions are scripted. She further said: This is not the time to play politics. Nobody ever asks our opinion Do not bulldoze the federal structure.

Click here to track live updates on Coronavirus Pandemic

At the meeting to discuss the next step that can be taken in the phased exit plan from the nationwide lockdown, Mamata Banerjee also claimed that Bengal is doing its best to combat the virus and also cooperating with the Centre. Yet, she alleged, that the Government of India always picks on Bengal and only criticizes and attacks the state administration, reported NDTV.

The Trinamool Congress supremo further said all states should be given equal importance, while all states should also cooperate and join hands to fight the coronavirus crisis as Team India.

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

Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre has locked horns with the Bengal CM in the recent past over misreporting of cases and doubts over data discrepancy vis-a-vis the population density and mortality rate. Mamata Banerjees administration has been accused of trying to play down the severity of the COVID-19 situation in the state as well.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently developed a mobile application that would help the Centre directly track the number of coronavirus positive cases being recorded in Bengal, reported India Today. The RT-PCR app enters data on both COVID-19 negative and positive cases in real-time with the Centre and the respective state governments simultaneously.
During the Democratic weekly address, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) stated that without a national testing strategy, consumers wont have the confidence needed to jump-start our economy.

Menendez was Tuesdays KVML Newsmkaer of the Day. Here are his words:

Hi, Im Bob Menendez, senior Senator for the state of New Jersey.

As Im recording this message from my Senate office in Washington, countless medical and healthcare professionals across the country are on the frontlines, leading our fight against the coronavirus. Already this virus has taken more than 70,000 of our friends and loved ones, hundreds of thousands more remain sick as we pray for their recovery.

Grocery store clerks, warehouse and transit workers, and others are putting their own health at risk to keep food and supply chains going, and making sure essential employees can keep working. Tens of millions of people are out of work and families remain sequestered in their homes.

When Leader McConnell called the Senate back into session this week, Id hope it was so we could immediately get started on an additional package in response to this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

Instead, the week ends as it began.

Our country is still hurting. Our people are still suffering. And Senate Republicans are blocking action on critical coronavirus legislation. Each day they refuse to act sets us further behind.

Like you, I yearn for the day when all this is past us and we can finally return things to normal, or a new normal. But we must have a national strategy for widespread testing so that everyone who needs a test can get a test, as President Trump promised over 2 months ago, as well as comprehensive contact tracing. Until then, consumers wont have the confidence needed to jump-start our economy.

Its never been clearer that our nations wealth depends on our nations health. No matter how quickly we want to rejoin society, reopen our economy, and return to normal, the reality is, folks just arent going to venture out until they know for sure that they are COVID-free and anyone else they come in contact with is okay as well.

Meanwhile, as we speak, our states, cities and towns are hemorrhaging money trying to defeat COVID-19 while revenues dry up. Talking this week with mayors in my home state of New Jersey, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus, they are running out of money to pay firefighters and police officers, teachers, and sanitation workers. Building permits arent being processed. Lifeguards arent being hired to patrol the beaches, or part-time staff to run summer camps.

This isnt a blue state or red state issue, this is an American issue. 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.

Contrary to Senator McConnells solution, we cannot bankrupt our way out of this crisis. Thats foolish and downright dangerous. Congress must pass, without delay, a robust state and local aid package that delivers the flexible funding our frontline states and communities need.

Congress must also ensure that the trillions of dollars it has already authorized to defeat the coronavirus are being spent properly by the Trump administration. That small mom and pops arent being shut out of help in favor of big Fortune 500 companies. That unemployment and stimulus checks are being paid. That hospitals, community health centers and nursing homes have the resources they need. That the American people are getting what they paid for.

They are counting on us.

Democrats are eager to do the peoples business. Its time for Republicans to join us and get to work.

Thanks for listening, and stay healthy.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Nirav Modi's legal team on Tuesday told a UK court hearing the fugitive diamond merchant's five-day extradition trial that the case of fraud and money laundering against him is not backed up with the underlying evidence that proves his dishonesty

London: Nirav Modi's legal team on Tuesday told a UK court hearing the fugitive diamond merchant's five-day extradition trial that the case of fraud and money laundering against him is not backed up with the underlying evidence that proves his dishonesty.

Modi's legal team made the remarks a day after Crown Prosecution Service barrister Helen Malcolm, appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, told the court that Modi acquired eye watering amounts of money fraudulently from the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The 49-year-old jeweller is wanted in India on charges of defrauding PNB by deceitfully obtaining letters of undertaking (LoUs), or bank guarantees, and then laundering the proceeds of the funds through a complex set of worldwide transactions using dummy companies.

The five-day extradition trial had opened at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday, when the CPS argued on behalf of the Indian authorities to lay out the

estimated $2-billion fraud and money laundering case against Modi.

CPS barrister Malcolm told the court that between 2011 and 2018, Modi had stolen eye-watering sums of money under the pretext of importing pearls into India.

"The difficulty is that none of this is proved. There is a lot of detail but the government of Indias case is very long on assertion but very short on proof, said Modis barrister Clare Montgomery, as the defence began its counter-arguments in the case on Tuesday.

Modi has been following the court proceedings via videolink from a room at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, where he has been lodged since his arrest in March last year. Dressed in formals, he has been listening intently and can be seen occasionally making notes as he refers to a large folder on a desk.

The court has heard repeated references as precedence from liquor tycoon Vijay Mallyas extradition case, which now awaits a Supreme Court level appeal approval.

Modi is expected to be lodged in the same Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where Mallya is to be held following extradition in relation to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines unpaid loans to Indian banks.

While the CPS referred to the video and other assurances related to the prison cell already provided as sufficient proof of prison conditions in India meeting international human rights requirements, Modis lawyer indicated that they would be presenting a witness to prove that it lacked any provisions in relation to Modis fragile mental health condition.

District Judge Samuel Goozee is presiding over the hearing, which is expected to conclude on Friday and is being conducted partly in a remote format to abide by the social distancing norms in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. While some of the legal counsels are physically present in court, the others are accessing the proceedings via videolink or through a conference call.

On Monday, Malcolm appeared via videolink to lay out the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against Modi co-conspiring with bankers at PNB to misuse at least 150 bank guarantees in 2017.

She also laid out details of how the diamond merchant and his brother then went on to intimidate witnesses, even threatening them with death, to try and cover up the fraud.

Modi has made repeated attempts at bail but remains behind bars as he is deemed a flight risk. The jeweller was arrested on 19 March, 2019, on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges of fraud and money laundering brought by the Indian government and certified by the UK Home Office.
D owning Street has said that the family of teenager Harry Dunn would be denied justice if his alleged killer did not return to the UK to face trial.

Boris Johnson's official spokesman said the Prime Minister has been clear that he wants to see justice served for Harry and his family after the 19-year-old was killed in a road crash last year.

Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity from criminal jurisdiction following the crash and was able to return to the United States.

The US has since refused to extradite Mrs Sacoolas to the UK, despite the 42-year-old being formally charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December.

Anne Sacoolas

Addressing the issue on Tuesday, Mr Johnson's spokesman said the Prime Minister had raised the case with US President Donald Trump on a number of occasions.

The US refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice and she should return to the UK, the spokesman added.

Harry Dunn died in a hit-and-run in August 2019 / PA

The US State Department this week insisted Secretary of State Mike Pompeos decision to refuse an extradition request for Mrs Sacoolas was final despite Interpol issuing a Red Notice for her arrest.

The Interpol notice marks a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

It means Mrs Sacoolas could now face arrest if she leaves the US.

A spokeswoman for the State Department said that granting the extradition request for Mrs Sacoolas would have set an "extraordinarily troubling precedent", citing concerns over the implications for future invocations of diplomatic immunity.

Harry Dunn's mother reacts as Interpol Red Notice issued for alleged killer's arrest

But the Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger said: "The White House may feel that secretary Pompeo's refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas was final but that does not reflect the real position.

"In fact quite the contrary, as the US Embassy in London said in a recent letter to Andrea Leadsom, both countries recognise that the final decision will rest with the court following a judicial review.

Clearly, the White House must be preoccupied on other matters and are not keeping up with developments. Either that or they continue to mislead and gaslight which would not be a first.

The pressure for Anne Sacoolas to return increases by the day and must now be intolerable. It is time to bring the parents suffering to an end and send Anne Sacoolas back."
The virgin birth is possible, at least for Cape Honey Bees.

Researchers from the University of Sydney were able to identify the single gene on Cape Honey Bees that enables then to reproduce sans the sex. The one gene responsible for the virgin birth is GB45239 on chromosome 11, the researchers reported.

Behavioural Geneticist Professor Benjamin Oldroyd of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences said that scientists have been searching for the gene for the past 30 years. "Now that we know it's on chromosome 11, we have solved a mystery," Oldroyd said.

Sex, according to Oldroyd, is the most common form of reproduction for animals and plants on the planet. It is also a weird way to procreate. Olroyd said that "asexuality is a much more efficient way to reproduce, and now and then we see a species revert to it."

South African Cape Bee Versus Other Bees

Bees are known to be social insects with distinct social structures. In most bee colonies, roles are clearly defined and distributed. This includes the male drones, the infertile female worker bees that look after the queen. The queen produces the colony's entire offspring. The male drones are born from her unfertilized egg, while the female bees from the fertilized ones. A new queen emerges when the colony divides, the previous queen has died or is too old to produce new offspring.

The South African Cape Bee, on the other hand, can produce female offspring from unfertilized eggs. In most of honey bee species, bee workers do everything except for lay eggs and mate. The Cape Honey bees, however, can lay eggs. Moreover, the ovaries of cape worker bees are larger, more readily activated, and can produce queen pheromones, enabling them to assert reproductive dominance in the colony.

The scientists discovered that in the case of Cape Honey Bees of South Africa, the gene, GB45239, on chromosome 11 makes it possible for worker bees to lay eggs that only produce females. Other bee species produce male workers from unfertilized eggs. This phenomenon, known as thelytoky, makes evolutionary sense because when a queen dies suddenly, this will save the colony, according to Dr. Denise Aumer of the Institute of Biology at MLU.

According to biologist Dr. Eckart Stolle of the Institute of Biology at MLU, the phenomenon whereby worker bees have fully developed ovaries, and the ability to produce offspring from unfertilized eggs is called parthenogenesis.

These traits of South African Cape Bees, however, lead to social parasitism or behavior where cape bee workers invade colonies, reproduce and persuade the host colony workers to feed their larvae. In South Africa, 10,000 colonies of commercial beehives die from this social parasite behavior every year.

The most exciting prospect arising from the discovery of the gene behind virgin birth is to understand exactly how the gene works. "If we could control a switch that allows animals to reproduce asexually, that would have important applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and many other fields," Professor Oldroyd said.
Bosses have been warned they risk criminal prosecution if they try to force employees to work without adequate protection against coronavirus.

The warning came on the eve of the return to work called for by Boris Johnson in his strategy for relaxing lockdown restrictions.

Business secretary Alok Sharma promised that the government would be looking out for workers, and urged anyone who feels their workplace is not safe to contact the Health and Safety Executive.

And the HSEs chief executive Sarah Albon said her inspectors will be ready to issue enforcement notices requiring employers to cease dangerous practices or take additional protective action, with the sanction of criminal prosecution if they are ignored.

The government has allocated an additional 14 million to the HSE to enable it to carry out spot-checks on reopening work venues.

Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Show all 30 1 /30 Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Shoppers observe a minute's silence in Tescos in Shoreham Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Firefighters outside Godstone fire station PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute's silence at University College Hospital in London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A school children's poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A man holds a placard that reads "People's health before profit" outside St Thomas hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus University College Hospital, London Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute's silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London An NHS worker observes a minute's silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London AFP via Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Belfast, Northern Ireland NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Plymouth NHS workers hold a minute's silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Mater Infirmorum Hospital People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Waterloo Station, London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy's Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Royal Derby Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Leicester, NHS workers during a minute's silence outside Glenfield Hospital Getty

But unions said the money amounted to just 10 per cent of the cuts absorbed by the agency over the past decade of austerity, and questioned whether enough inspectors would be available to mount the necessary safety checks.

Mr Sharmas Business Department has released guidance, drawn up in consultation with industry and unions, on safety measures in eight workplace settings now allowed to operate, from construction sites to factories and takeaways.

Companies aiming to reopen must carry out Covid-19 risk assessments, redesign workplaces to allow two-metre distancing and introduce more frequent cleaning. They are advised to consider staggering shift times, imposing one-way routes round premises and reorganising desks and work-stations so employees face away from each other.

Speaking at the daily 10 Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Mr Sharma urged employers to follow the guidance and work with unions and staff to keep each other safe.

And he added: To workers I say: we are looking out for you, we want you to feel confident that you are financially supported and returning to a safe workplace.

Because in this time, like no other, we all need to work together safely as we rebuild our economy.

Mr Sharma told the briefing: Employers have a duty to keep employees safe in the workplace  that is absolutely enshrined in law.

If somebody feels their workplace is not safe, they have to take that up with their employer.

If they dont feel they are getting any traction they absolutely should get in touch with the Health and Safety Executive or the local authority.

Spelling out the HSEs powers, Ms Albon said: Inspectors can require businesses to do certain things  enforcement notices, requiring them to take particular kinds of action.

In the most extreme circumstances if there is a risk of serious injury to an individual employee they can issue a notice which prohibits certain activities from taking place.

Breach of those kind of enforcement notices is essentially a criminal offence and we can prosecute people who fail to do the right thing.

Mr Johnson has said he does not expect a flood of people to return to work this week, following new guidance that encourages those who are unable to do their jobs at home to be ready to go to factories and construction sites from Wednesday.

But unions have voiced concern that staff may feel pressured to turn up, even if they are worried about the risk of infection in their workplace or while commuting by public transport.

The general secretary of the Prospect union, Mike Clancy, said that the HSEs funding boost would not make up for 10 years of cuts which had left it with fewer than 500 main grade inspectors across the UK.

The new money will presumably partly be used to fund new inspectors but capacity is needed as soon as possible, said Mr Clancy.

How are the existing inspectors expected to do the required inspections, while also training new inspectors? And will these new inspectors be permanent positions?

All these are questions the government must answer urgently so that workers know they will be able to return to work safely and that their workplace will be adequately regulated.

In the House of Commons, Labours shadow business secretary Ed Miliband challenged Mr Sharma to confirm that workers who have a reasonable belief that they will be in danger do not have to be at work.

Official statistics showed that construction workers are more likely to die from coronavirus than average members of the public, he said.

It is the highest-paid workers who will generally carry on being able to work from home and lower-paid workers who are being asked to go back to work, said Mr Miliband.

Whatever the economic pressures, their health must be protected. They deserve to be safe and that is what the government must take every action to ensure.
The Congress on Tuesday dubbed the stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one that only grabs headlines, while the ruling BJP hailed it as the world's largest holistic package.

The Congress and the CPI(M) said India was disappointed by the PM's silence on migrants' woes as he has failed to address the issue.

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Modi government took decisions in the interest of the country, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was not just a financial package but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul and a thrust in governance.

BJP president J P Nadda said with the announcement, Prime Minister Modi has laid the foundation of India leading the world in the 21st century and an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self reliant India) is the 'mantra' for driving this change.

The Congress, however, termed the PM's address one that gave the country a headline, saying the nation was disappointed by his "failure" to address the woes of millions of migrants.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the PM's announcement would lift the country from the atmosphere of despair. He said his mantra of self-reliance will inject new energy into the country.

"The 21st century will be defined by India, Hon PM's message today has laid foundation stone for implementing this. AatmanirbharBharat is our Mantra for driving country towards this new change," Nadda tweeted.

"PM has declared the world's largest holistic relief package. The Modi govt has given financial packages of Rs 20 lakh crore to support every section of the society. It is around 10% of Indian GDP. Hon PM's proactive approach will build a 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'," he added.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the heartbreaking human tragedy of migrants walking back home needed compassion and care.

"Dear PM, What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE," he said on Twitter.

"When the 'blank page' is filled with 'Heartfelt help of people', the nation and Congress party will respond.

"India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity and failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers," he said in a series of tweets.

His colleague, Manish Tewari, tweeted, "PMs speech can be summed up in one word - HEADLINE HUNTING. A NUMBER -20 LAKH CRORES. NO DETAILS."



Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, however, welcomed the package.

"The financial package announced by PM Modiji was much awaited. Better late than never. We welcome this," he tweeted.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the prime minister has failed to address burning issues of migrants woes and hunger plaguing lakhs of Indians, even as he has not explained how the package will be used.

"Thousands are walking home, hungry and even dying. We were expecting some relief for them. Where is their free travel? Lakhs are going hungry, they need food. I am disappointed that these burning issues were not addressed," he added.

Shah said the Modi government took decisions in the interest of the country and the relief package will help the poor, the farmers and the middle class.

"In every decision of the Modi government, the interest of the country and the countrymen has been at the centre. A special package of about Rs 20 lakh crores announced by the Modi government is reflective of this," he said.

Sitharaman said, "We shall convert the pandemic challenge into an opportunity. 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' will integrate not isolate."



"This shall not be just a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance," she tweeted.

"Now, we can confidently engage with the world. We aim at overall transformation and not incremental changes," Sitharaman said.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the package "is the biggest package India has ever seen".

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi tweeted, "If substantially, concretely, new proposal is 10 pc of GDP, it would be great. Both God and devil lie in details, not available. 10 pc should be additional, not counting old pre-corona schemes."



Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "Hoping that the Rs 20 lakh crore package is not scripted with same pen which was used to make promises of giving everyone Rs 15 lakh, cleaning 'Maa Ganga', bringing back black money in 100 days and ending terrorism with demonetisation."



Describing the prime minister's economic package as historic, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Modi has shown a new path for development of the country and turned despair into hope.

In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, the prime minister announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, saying the coronavirus crisis has provided India an opportunity to become self-reliant and emerge as the best in the world.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Liberal and Labor politicians have launched bids to expand the $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy to help workers at companies owned by foreign governments.

The MPs pushed for changes to the federal government scheme on Tuesday out of concern the wage subsidy did not extend to companies such as dnata, an airport services group owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai.

Labor will try to disallow rules that prevent the wage subsidy going to dnata and others, but the move raises the risk that it would also extend payments to other state-owned enterprises, adding to the cost and complexity of the scheme.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under pressure to chance the JobKeeper payment. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Labor also called for changes to stop the JobKeeper scheme leading to pay increases for some who are receiving the full $1500 subsidy per fortnight even when they earned less than this before the coronavirus crisis.
Loma Negra reports 30% decline in revenue

12 May 2020

Argentinas Loma Negra has reported a 29.6 per cent fall in net revenue to ARS7.77bn (US$122m) in the first quarter of 2020, compared to ARS11bn in the year-ago period. The companys net profit saw a 44.4 per cent YoY decline to ARS881m from ARS1.58bn.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was down 17.9 per cent YoY to ARS2.60bn, while the adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 33.5 per cent from 28.7 per cent.

"In this unprecedented COVID-19 situation, we are proud of the resilience and ingenuity showed by our people to avoid the obstacles faced and to keep on contributing running the business," said Sergio Faifman, CEO.



As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, cement demand in Argentina contracted by around 29 per cent YoY in the 1Q20, according to the company.

After the first week of April, Loma Negra resumed production and dispatches of cement while adopting new sanitation protocols. Following the issuance of government permits, work on the L'Amali expansion project has now also resumed.

Sales volumes of cement, masonry and lime in Argentina during the first three months of 2020 declined 26.9 per cent YoY to 1Mt. The bulk segment was impacted more severely than the bag segment, due to the halt in public and private infrastructure works.

In Paraguay cement, masonry and lime sales decreased 13 per cent YoY in the first quarter to 0.13Mt from 0.15Mt in the 1Q19.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Haryana government to formulate a policy on premature release of convicts serving life sentences within three months.

The HC bench of justice Gurvinder Singh Gill said till the time such a policy is finalised, the governor can consider release of convicts under Article 161 of Constitution of India (under which governor deals with cases of premature release) taking facts of each case into account. The state government too can consider cases of premature release under 2008 policy under sections 432 and 433 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which empower it to deal with such cases.

The court found that the 2008 notification was issued in the name of governor, but the guidelines were framed with provisions under which the state is empowered to order premature release of life convicts. Due to this, there were guidelines for examining such cases by the state, not the governor. Policies can be a fine tool for reducing perceptions of arbitrary treatment among identically situated persons so as to help keep the system fair and unbiased, the bench observed ordering the formulation of fresh guidelines.

The order came on the plea of one Raj Kumar convicted in a murder case by a Gurugram court in 2010. He had argued that the authorities were not processing his case for premature release on the premise that the 2008 policy made him ineligible, while his case is to be considered as per the 2002 policy. The 2002 policy makes a convict eligible for premature release after 10 years, and 2008 policy after 14 years.

The court observed that the anomaly is going to show its effect all the more now (2020) as the cases of the persons convicted in 2008 and onwards would come in the consideration zone as they would have completed about 10 years of actual confinement.
WATERLOO REGION  Thousands of Grade 7 students in Waterloo Region have had their final hepatitis B and human papillomavirus shots postponed because of school closures during the pandemic.

Every fall, public health nurses attend schools in the region to administer the first of two shots needed to prevent hep B and HPV.

Six months later, public health returns to give the final shots in the vaccine series. Roughly 7,000 Grade 7 students choose to get the vaccines each year, said David Aoki, manager of vaccine preventable diseases for Region of Waterloo Public Health.

The second round was due to start on March 26, 2020, but was postponed due to the provincial closure of all schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Aoki.

For students who were unable to complete their vaccine series, public health will be working with the school boards to determine the best strategy to catch up.

Planning for this will start when school boards are ready to reopen. Once a plan is worked out, public health will inform parents.

Normally, those who missed a shot in the series catch up when the next clinic is offered at the school.

The risks associated with delaying the vaccination for this age group are minimal, said Aoki, adding HPV and hep B can be transmitted through sexual contact.

We cant say theres no risk, because you dont have full protection until the series is complete, he said.

If there are parents who have concerns and dont want to wait for public health to offer the catch-up shots, Aoki said they can contact their family doctor.

Every year, Grade 7s also receive a mandatory vaccine to prevent meningitis, which is administered at the schools in the months between the hep B and HPV shots.

With the exception of a few schools that public health was unable to get to as a result of the teacher strikes, those vaccinations are complete, said Aoki. Public health will also offer catch-ups for those who missed the vaccination.
The Iranian Navy confirmed Monday that 19 of its sailors were killed and 15 others wounded in an accidental missile strike against one of its own ships during live-fire exercises in the countrys southern waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian media carried photographs and video of the aftermath of the friendly fire incident showing smoke billowing from the stricken ship, and it being towed by tug boats back to the port of Jask, the site of a naval base established by Iran in 2008 in response to US and Israeli threats of attacks on the countrys nuclear program.

Iranian state television explained that, The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target.

The Iranian Navys statement said that, The forces on board the doomed vessel showed exemplary courage to save their comrades.

The deadly accident unfolded amid mounting tensions over the deployment of US warships in the Persian Gulf, sailing provocatively close to Irans coastline.

Currently deployed in the Gulf is the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), led by the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and including the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), consisting of approximately 2,200 Marines, as well as an amphibious transport dock and a dock landing ship. The ARG is essentially a mobile US military base positioned directly off Irans shore.

In addition, the carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower is deployed nearby in the North Arabian Sea, in easy striking distance of Iran.

The region remains on a knife-edge, the result not only of the Pentagons provocative military deployments, but also the unrelenting US maximum pressure sanctions, which have only been escalated in the face of the global coronavirus pandemics in which Iran has suffered one of the highest mortality rates. While official figures place the number of confirmed cases at 109,286 and deaths at 6,685, the real figures are far higher.

Last month, US President Donald Trump tweeted a startling threat saying, I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea. The threat, issued in response to Iranian patrol boats monitoring the movement of the aggressive US force in the Persian Gulf, had the potential of triggering a catastrophic war throughout the Middle East and beyond.

On Saturday, May 9, the White House convened its national security officials and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a highly unusual weekend meeting. The only statement coming out of it was a brief remark by Trump to the media that, it had been a very, very productive meeting.

Our military is very strong, moremore so than its been in many, many years. he said. I think I can say in many, many decades. Weve spent one and half trillion dollars rebuilding our military, and it shows it. And we are discussing various things.

The only reporting by the corporate media coming out of the session was that no one wore masks, under conditions in which two White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, along with two top generals.

Among the various things that Trump may have been discussing with the top military brass is certainly the increasingly dangerous escalation in the Persian Gulf and the prospect of a war with Iran.

There is also the menacing deployment of US warships in a so-called freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) launched in response to alleged Chinese Coast Guard harassment of a Malaysian drillship, the West Capella, engaged in exploratory drilling in two oil and gas fields off the northwest coast of Brunei. The intervention has placed the US Navy in the middle of a territorial dispute in the South China Sea that could lead to a military clash between two nuclear powers.

In addition, the Pentagon and NATO dispatched three US destroyers from the Sixth Fleet and one British warship into the Barents Sea on the pretense of another FONOP, this time in one of the most sensitive areas for the Russian military. It marks the first time in 40 yearssince the height of the Cold War between Washington and the Soviet Unionthat US surface warships have been sent into these waters, which is home to Russias Northern Fleet headquarters located at Severomorsk.

The area has become a focal point of the new scramble for the Arctic, a region that is estimated to hold 13 percent of the worlds undiscovered oil reserves and 30 percent of its natural gas reserves, as well as huge deposits of rare-earth elements and other strategic minerals. Climate change has led to a reduction of the Arctic sea ice levels, making these resources more accessible for extraction. It is also opening up a direct sea route from Europe to Asia.

The Pentagon issued a May 4 press release defending this deploymentroughly the equivalent of the Russian Navy conducting maneuvers in the Gulf of Mexico. They are meant, it stated, to assert freedom of navigation and demonstrate seamless integration among allies. It quoted Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti referring to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, stating, In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we maintain our steady drumbeat of operations.

This steady drumbeat of military provocations and aggression, far from being curtailed by the impact of COVID-19, is only escalating. The Navy and the US military as a whole are signaling that not even the spread of the virus within their own ranks, most notoriously in the wholesale infection of the sailors of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, will stand in their way.

Then there are also the threats against Venezuela, where a pair of abortive armed landings by US-led mercenaries on the countrys northern coast last week ended with two ex-US special operations troops in Venezuelan custody and facing trial on terrorism charges. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated last week that Washington will use every tool we have available to rescue the two American mercenaries, who have testified to ties to the Trump White House. These tools include direct military intervention against Venezuela, which is suffering under the impact of a maximum pressure sanctions regime tantamount to war.

The day before Trumps meeting with his military commanders and national security advisers at the White House, Washington used its veto power on the United Nations Security Council to upend weeks of diplomatic negotiations that had produced a resolution calling for a global ceasefire in all military conflicts in order to allow a united international campaign to address the coronavirus pandemic.

While Washington offered no official explanation for this action, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed it had to do with the resolutions mention of the World Health Organization (WHO), which the Trump administration has branded as a front for Beijing, and, for its failure to include language about transparency and accountability in the context of COVID-19, a reference to the efforts by the White House to scapegoat China for the catastrophic failure of the US government to combat the spread of the virus.

Whatever the immediate motivations, the reality is that for Washington there will be no ceasefire. It views the pandemic as a weapon of war to be exploited in pursuit of the geostrategic interests of US imperialism. Even as millions are infected and hundreds of thousands die, the threat of a global war that could claim the lives of billions only continues to grow.
An image posted on social media last week by Dr. Ethan Weiss, a science professor in California, showed a packed United Airlines flight. Passengers, clad in face masks, sat inches away from one another - not the recommended six or more feet due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I guess [United] is relaxing their social distancing police these days? Weiss tweeted on May 9. Every seat full on this 737.

The post garnered more than 28,000 likes and nearly 10,000 retweets.

I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737 pic.twitter.com/rqWeoIUPqL  Ethan Weiss (@ethanjweiss) May 9, 2020

Two days later, the airline announced on Twitter it would be adjusting its policies, saying customers would be allowed to rebook flights if they become too crowded in order to abide to social distancing guidelines.

Starting next week, customers on flights that are expected to be closer to full capacity can rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit, United tweeted. Well do our best to reach out about 24 hours before departure and well also provide options at the gate.

Other United passengers have similarly taken to social media to express their anger about crowded flights amid the COVID-19 public health crisis. Nelle Gretzinger shared an image of people again sitting in close proximity to one another and passengers crowding the planes aisle.

Heres my @united flight on 5/5 from Newark to OHare, she tweeted. Was told the middle seats would only remain empty if the flight wasnt full. Huh? And I had to ask the gate agent for my connecting flight to put on her mask.

Heres my @united flight on 5/5 from Newark to OHare. Was told the middle seats would only remain empty if the flight wasnt full. Huh? And I had to ask the gate agent for my connecting flight to put on her mask. pic.twitter.com/5w5DVyHn8n  Nelle Gretzinger (@NelleGretzinger) May 10, 2020

Airlines have been cutting flights throughout the U.S. due to a decreased number of people purchasing tickets. Air travel companies have had to adjust their policies as well, with the aim of staving off transmission of the viral respiratory infection.

JetBlue announced last month its customers would have to wear face coverings when boarding flights following guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last week, Boston Logan International Airport similarly started requiring everyone entering the facility to wear a face mask or covering. The airport also closed one of its parking garages and suspended two of its Logan Express bus lines due to lower passenger demand.

The safety and security of our passengers and staff is our number one priority, the airport tweeted.

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MasterChef Australia's Amina Elshafei has returned to her job as a paediatric nurse in New South Wales.

The reality star, who used her maternity leave to compete in the Channel 10 cooking show earlier this year, is now back working on the frontline in her hospital.

She shared a post to Instagram celebrating International Nurses Day on Tuesday.

Essential worker! Amina Elshafei (pictured) has returned to her job as a paediatric nurse in New South Wales after using her maternity leave to film MasterChef Australia earlier this year

'No society could be without nurses or midwives; we are always there through the best, hardest and most vulnerable times for our patients and their families. Our jobs are not easy but the feeling of helping is worth it all,' the 35-year-old wrote.

Posing with a cake in the hospital, she said to other nurses across Australia: 'Be proud of what you do and the phenomenal impact you have in any society.'

In March, Amina reminded people to be kind to nurses amid the pandemic.

'Our jobs are not easy but the feeling of helping is worth it all': She shared a post to Instagram celebrating International Nurses Day on Tuesday as she works amid the COVID-19 pandemic

She wrote: 'No matter the situation, health care workers are there to help their patients despite circumstances such as shortage of staff, limited equipment, limited space etc. Don't forget that they're just as vulnerable being on the front lines and they also have loved ones at home whereby they have to protect.

'It's these amazing people who constantly remind me as to how much I love being a nurse but also so proud of what we do as health workers all around the world, especially in dire times like this.

'I can't imagine how health care workers are dealing in places like Italy, China and Spain where the death tolls just keep escalating; unfortunately so many of the affected patients died alone without their families around them but had a nurse or doctor beside them for their final breath.'

'Health care workers are there to help': In March, Amina reminded people to be kind to nurses amid the pandemic, calling them 'the backbone to every society'

Amina's return to work in New South Wales means she doesn't win MasterChef, as this year's season is currently filming the final episodes in Melbourne.

Her exit appeared to be leaked on Wikipedia earlier this week, with the website stating she leaves after Chris Badenoch, who was sent home on Sunday.

According to Wikipedia, Amina will be eliminated at the end of this week

The MasterChef star first found fame on the show's fourth season in 2012.

She placed 11th that year, with Andy Allen, who is now a judge on MasterChef: Back To Win, taking home the title of the show that year.
Public school leaders said Tuesday they are aiming for a standstill budget after an earlier $80 million increase request was buried by the coronavirus epidemic.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted March 10 to ask the Legislature for an $80 million hike in state aid for public schools.

Half the money was targeted for schools and half for teacher pay raises in districts that pay below the regional average.

BESE asks lawmakers for $80 million hike in state aid for public schools Despite new concerns about Louisiana's financial outlook, Louisiana's top school board Tuesday asked the Legislature to boost state aid for pu

But the pandemic has blown a $1 billion hole in the state operating budget, which means public schools and virtually every other state-funded service are sure to feel the impact.

Mike Faulk, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, said a standstill budget for public schools is the most realistic goal amid the economic upheaval.

"Given this environment it is probably the best case scenario for school districts," said Faulk, former superintendent of the Central school system.

BESE's $80 million increase request is pending in the House Education Committee and sponsored by state Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette and chairman of the panel.

Tony Davis, a BESE member who is chairman of the committee that oversees public school funding, said the plan is to let the legislation die and for funding to remain at the 2019-20 levels. "In light of all the pressing needs it simply will not be acted on," said Davis, who lives in Natchitoches.

The Legislature can approve or reject BESE's request but cannot change it.

No action by the Legislature would mean the current budget  $3.85 billion  would remain in place for the 2020-21 school year to help finance textbooks, retirement, health insurance and other basic school expenses.

BESE's request amounts to a 2.75% increase.

Under the plan, half the money would go to teacher pay in the 50 of 69 school districts where salaries are below the 16-state average set by the Southern Regional Education Board.

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$500 teacher pay raises proposed by John Bel Edwards after criticism of initial plan In an about face, Gov. John Bel Edwards' office Thursday proposed a pay raise of about $500 for teachers, less than two weeks after the govern

New figures compiled by the National Education Association show that, for the 2018-19 school year, teacher salaries in Louisiana averaged $50,288 per year, which is 44th in the nation. The national average is $62,304.

The regional average was $52,178 for the 2017-18 school year but likely higher today.

Shane Riddle, director of legislative and political affairs for the Louisiana Association of Educators, said while his group will continue to advocate for teacher pay raises officials understand the sea change in the state's financial outlook. "To actually go out and advocate for that type of thing while all of this is going on I am not sure is the right thing," Riddle said.

"The primary thing we are going to be working on for the remainder of this year and next year is keeping our employees employed and preventing reductions in force," he said, a reference to teacher layoffs.

Public schools are getting $260 million from the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill to help defray expenses triggered by the virus, which caused public school classrooms to close nine weeks ahead of schedule.

Louisiana public schools getting $260M for coronavirus aid: A look at how it'll be spent Public schools Friday began receiving about $260 million in federal aid to help with costs sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and to address 

However, Faulk noted that there are limits on how districts can use the money, which is aimed in part at helping to finance laptops and other technology improvements as schools rely more on distance learning.

Garofalo did not return a call for comment.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, said he has not given up hopes that public schools can expect no better than a standstill budget.

Fields said he wants to see if state government gets more than its current $1.8 billion in federal aid to help combat the pandemic.

The Legislature, which resumed work May 4 after a break of more than six weeks, has to adjourn by 6 p.m. on June 1.
Before the coronavirus crisis, three of New York Citys largest commercial tenants  Barclays, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley  had tens of thousands of workers in towers across Manhattan. Now, as the city wrestles with when and how to reopen, executives at all three firms have decided that it is highly unlikely that all their workers will ever return to those buildings.

The research firm Nielsen has arrived at a similar conclusion. Even after the crisis has passed, its 3,000 workers in the city will no longer need to be in the office full-time and can instead work from home most of the week.

The real estate company Halstead has 32 branches across the city and region. But its chief executive, who now conducts business over video calls, is mulling reducing its footprint.

Manhattan has the largest business district in the country, and its office towers have long been a symbol of the citys global dominance. With hundreds of thousands of office workers, the commercial tenants have given rise to a vast ecosystem, from public transit to restaurants to shops. They have also funneled huge amounts of taxes into state and city coffers.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown announced in a press release on Tuesday that St. Theresa Elementary School will close at the end of the school year.

The Hellertown school has seen steadily declining enrollment year over year, which has put a financial strain on the parish that operates it. While kindergarten through eighth grade will close, the schools Pre-K program will continue. Parents of the schools students were notified Tuesday in a letter.

Brooke C. Tesche, the dioceses chancellor of catholic education, said the diocese urges the students and families affected by the closure to transfer to one of the other 29 elementary schools in the system. Families will be eligible for tuition grants as an incentive.

The schools faculty, staff, students, parents and others had put forth great effort to keep the school open, said St. Theresa of the Child Jesus parishs pastor, Father Jerome Tauber, in the release. He also said the benefactors of the recent Close the Gap campaign will have their donations refunded.

According to the release, Tauber said in a February letter to parents that one more year of operation would deplete the parishs unrestricted reserve of savings.

The student body in the 2017-18 school year was 129 across the nine grade levels. Today, the number stands at 81.

Tauber, as the pastor of the operating parish, had the final recommendation for closure. According to the release, after much analysis and prayer, he determined it was the responsible thing to do for the sake of the parish. He offered his recommendation to the dioceses Bishop Alfred Schlert, who accepted the closure.

Saucon Source in March reported the school, founded in 1940, had fundraised approximately $20,000 of the $129,000 it needs to fill its tuition-subsidy gap and keep its doors open.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
On tape, Bolsonaro cites protecting his family in push to swap top Rio cop - source Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro wearing a protective mask and other Brazil's ministers attend a national flag hoisting ceremony in front the Alvorada Palace, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Brasilia

By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said in an April cabinet meeting that he needed to change Rio de Janeiro's chief of the federal police to protect family members under investigation, a person with knowledge of a video of the meeting told Reuters.

The video was shown on Tuesday to investigators looking into accusations by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who resigned two days after the cabinet meeting, alleging Bolsonaro was trying to interfere in law enforcement for personal motives.

The fresh evidence in the federal investigation of the president fanned a political crisis distracting Bolsonaro from a widely criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic, eroding his popularity and rattling financial markets.

In the video, the president said his family was being persecuted and he wanted to change the federal police chief in his hometown, or else he would replace the police force's national director and the justice minister, the source said.

Moro, who watched the video with investigators of the case and his lawyer at a federal police facility in Brasilia, said in a statement that the video confirmed his allegations against the president and he called for the entire tape to be made public.

The former minister, one of Brazil's most popular figures for his record fighting corruption as a judge, said events following his resignation backed up his account: The national federal police director was replaced and so was the Rio chief.

Bolsonaro told reporters he is not worried about the investigation authorized by the Supreme Court into Moro's accusations, adding that the federal police had never investigated his family. He said the words "federal police" did not come up on the recording in question, which he said should have been destroyed.

After transcribing the video and interviewing ministers involved, Brazil's prosecutor general will decide whether to charge the president with obstruction of justice and abuse of power. If the Supreme Court and two-thirds of the lower house of Congress see merit to any charges, Bolsonaro would be suspended from office and would stand trial before the top court.

Story continues

Bolsonaro has begun to court political power brokers he once decried as corrupt in a bid to survive his worst political crisis since taking office last year vowing to clean up Brazilian politics.

Support for the right-wing leader has dropped as he has played down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, a poll released on Tuesday showed. Brazil now has the worst outbreak of any developing nation.

The mounting political and public health crises spooked nervous investors, driving Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index 1.5% lower on Tuesday and pushing the exchange rate to a record low as long-term interest rates jumped.

"My investment advice would be not to run into a burning building. Right now, Brazil is best left to the specialists, crazies, long-term opportunists and those without other options," said Armando Castelar, research coordinator at the Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE/FGV) in Rio de Janeiro.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Jamie McGeever; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Brad Haynes and Leslie Adler)
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Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 13, 2020 10:10 616 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7909d4 1 National PSBB,large-scale-social-restrictions,COVID-19,coronavirus,virus-korona-indonesia,doni-monardo,covid-19-task-force,virus-corona,pembatasan-sosial-berskala-besar Free

Nearly every region that has imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) has recorded a significant decrease in coronavirus cases, the national COVID-19 task force says, signaling an optimistic outcome from the implementation of the health protocols to fight the pandemic.

A number of governors convened via video conference on Tuesday morning to report up-to-date results from the PSBB in their respective provinces. Several designated referral centers across the provinces had recorded fewer COVID-19 in-patients after they put in place the mobility restrictions, said COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo.

One of the referral centers in West Sumatra, M Jamil Hospital in Padang, reported 46 COVID-19 in-patients of a total capacity of 112 beds, he said.

Meanwhile, Hasan Sadikin Hospital in [Bandung], West Java, recorded 30 COVID-19 patients of its total capacity of 135 beds.

Read also: 'Reinfected' North Sumatra COVID-19 patient 'feels fine, but stressed'

The Jakarta administration had also previously reported that the number of in-patients had dropped to fewer than 60 percent of the confirmed cases in the region -- the hardest hit by the coronavirus in the country -- after imposing the PSBB, Doni said.

The provincial administration of Central Java, which has only imposed partial mobility restrictions, reported that it would continue carrying out contact-tracing on a cluster of attendees of a mass Islamic event in Gowa, South Sulawesi, which has yielded 1,118 cases so far.

West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno, meanwhile, said the province had not recorded an influx of imported COVID-19 cases  transmission via visitors from other regions  since the administration imposed the PSBB on April 22.

The number of patients under treatment [PDPs] has decreased from 12 percent to 4 percent [of the total cases] since the PSBB, he said during the meeting, adding that the administration had not recorded any new clusters from the regions 299 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the restrictions first took effect.

At least 20 regencies, municipalities and provinces across the country have imposed the PSBB since its inception in Jakarta on April 10. Initially imposed for two weeks, the mobility restrictions have been extended for another 14 days in many of the regions, with Jakarta extending the PSBB for 28 days until May 22.

Read also: Jakarta's curve flattened? Experts question government's claim

Most experts agree that mobility restrictions have helped curb infections but they also warn the government not to jump the gun by deciding to relax curbs without taking into account further epidemiological studies to assess the scale of the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, Indonesia had confirmed 14,749 COVID-19 cases and 1,007 deaths linked to the disease, according to the central government's data.

Doni went on to say that President Joko Jokowi Widodo had previously said that the central government would give regional administrations the freedom to choose the types of mitigation measures they considered to be most compatible with their respective needs and the characteristics of their populations.

Regional administrations are allowed to adopt an approach [that is relevant] to their respective situations, such as using local wisdom to ensure public compliance with the health protocols, he said.
Coronavirus has ravaged Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield, where half of the residents have tested positive. Clinical lead nurse Laura Hibbard recounts a harrowing week on the front line...

FRIDAY: 'He grasps my hand as he passes away'

Last week, 16 of our 30 residents had tested positive for coronavirus, so I'm not sleeping well at the moment. Yesterday we lost Richard, a bright resident with a great sense of humour who deteriorated suddenly. He was our fourth coronavirus death since the outbreak began.

My alarm goes off at 5.45am and I arrive at Newfield at 6.50am. I'm told to keep a close eye on two residents, David and Edna, who are Covid-positive and have deteriorated.

I change into my uniform. The only PPE we wear full-time is gloves and a plastic apron  we only don mouth masks and visors to enter the room of a Covid-positive resident. We were told we wouldn't get more masks until June, and a delivery from Sheffield City Council last week failed to materialise.

Clinical Lead Nurse Laura Hibbard manages the Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

I'm covering for the manager, who is on week seven of a 12-week isolation, and I oversee around 60 staff. At 8.30am I start the medication rounds, while the care staff serve breakfast and help people with their hygiene.

'Morning David!' I say chirpily as I check on him. 'Good morning,' he replies.

David, who is 84, is a charming, well-mannered gentleman who is particular about having his hair neat, but today he is sedate.

This morning staff sit with him. If he takes a turn for the worse, we have a plan in place with the family for him to remain with us and not enter hospital.

I visit David at three o'clock. His breathing rate has changed, he looks ashen and his skin is mottled. From experience, I know the end is close, so we contact his family.

Usually relatives would come in. But at the moment, partners  and even children  of the residents are at an age where they're at risk of coronavirus themselves.

We use David's phone to set up a FaceTime video call with his daughter, and my colleague holds the phone up so they can say their goodbyes. His daughter tells him she loves him. It's a distressing call and very brief.

After the call, I sit with David for a while and hold his hand. He suddenly grasps my hand, then shortly afterwards he passes away. It's 4.30pm. Sitting with someone like this means we're one staff member short on the main floor, but we would never want someone to be on their own at this time.

I'm trained to verify death, so after someone's passing I complete the paperwork and inform the GP and the family. Then we freshen him up, change his clothes and call the funeral directors, who are very busy at the moment. They arrive at around 6pm.

Whenever the funeral directors come, we usher residents into their rooms and make sure all the doors are closed. We follow the trolley out of the building and stand by while the body is placed in a private ambulance, then watch it drive off.

Our team debrief usually starts at about 6.45pm, and we hand over to the night team at 6.55pm. Before leaving, I throw my PPE in a hazardous waste bin, shower on site and put my uniform in a carrier bag.

At 8pm I drive home and wash my uniform at 60c. It takes 40 minutes to wash, then another 45 minutes to dry, so sometimes I don't relax until after 9.30pm.

To try to come down from the day, I have a glass of red wine and watch light television.

Saturday: 'I'm sorry, you've tested positive'

During this morning's handover, I am told that Edna passed away in the night. She was 88. The funeral directors are on call 24 hours a day, so she had already been taken away by the time I got to the home.

I'm told that one of our younger residents, Joseph, showed coronavirus symptoms overnight, so at 7.30am I visit him. He has a dry cough and a temperature of 38.2c.

Clinical Lead Nurse Laura Hibbard dressed in basic PPE

We're lucky in that, unlike most care homes, we have access to swab-testing kits because we're an NHS overspill home. I wear a full-face visor and mask to swab Joseph's nostrils and throat. The swab is then sealed to be taken to the labs.

The courier only works weekdays, so today we use a local cabbie to deliver the samples. The taxi firm knows its cargo's contents and the driver wears a mask and gloves.

Joseph is 57 and here temporarily for health and social care reasons. He talks a lot about going home and likes to watch old game shows on TV in the communal room. I take my daily break at 3pm, and two hours later we get a phone call from the lab with Joseph's results.

'Joseph, unfortunately you've tested positive,' I tell him. But because we had chatted it through earlier, he takes it well.

Tomorrow was supposed to be my day off but we're short-staffed and can't get cover, so I'm going back in. Last week, one colleague went into hospital with coronavirus and now he's in intensive care.

Sunday: 'Two residents are at end-of-life'

This morning I'm drafted into our sister care home, Westbourne House, and told immediately that there are two Covid-positive residents, Barbara and Edward, who are at end-of-life.

As soon as I check on Edward, at 8am, I can see he won't be with us for much longer. I make sure he isn't in any pain before asking a member of staff to sit with him. Edward's wife and son had wanted to come and say goodbye but can't because they're self-isolating.

After a while, the staff member asks me to come into the room. There's no breathing and I check his pulse. By 9am Edward has passed away, aged 82.

As it's a Sunday, I need to call 111 and not the GP to proceed with the death verification process. I call the funeral directors and Edward's son to break the news. He was expecting it but it's still a shock and he is very distressed.

When I go into Covid-positive residents' rooms, some of them are confused about why we have so much PPE on. They don't see a smile; only our eyes. It's difficult communicating with people who are hard of hearing, who usually rely on our facial expressions and lip movements.

Throughout the day I've done checks on Barbara and made sure she is comfortable. Unfortunately, she too reaches the end of her life, and a staff member is with her when she passes away at 4.45pm.

When someone resides here, a conversation has been had with the family and GP about whether they should be resuscitated. Would they like to die in a hospital or in their own room here, with staff they've known for weeks, months or sometimes years? Here, it's more of a family environment.

Barbara was 92 and her next of kin was her neighbour. I go through the routine: verify the death, call the next of kin, the doctor and the funeral directors, do the paperwork. At 8.30pm I'm still here, waiting for the funeral directors to arrive.

We're not used to dealing with so much death. It's horrific. I now recognise a typical 'coronavirus death': coughing, breathlessness and they really do seem to fight for their lives. I'm concerned about the spread of the virus and how many more lives we'll lose.

Monday: 'What would I have done without you?'

We're preparing to reopen the care home to hospital discharges  people who are medically well enough to leave hospital but need care before they can return home.

We're apprehensive because we believe the home was infected in the first place by people returning from hospital. We had to halt discharges because our staffing levels fell to such a degree that at one point nearly 40 per cent of our staff were off sick.

It's scary, but we know the acute sector is struggling. To protect against the virus, we have a floor to quarantine hospital discharges while the other residents are on a separate floor. This also helps us ration the PPE.

We've been told that everyone will be swabbed before they leave the hospital. But will we know the result of the swab before they come to us? A swab is only accurate at the time it's done. People could pick up coronavirus in the ambulance on the way here.

This afternoon we have the good news of our own discharges  two residents who are well enough to go home. One is a 92-year-old who survived coronavirus and is going back to be with his family.

We are especially pleased to be able to wave goodbye to Alice, who is in her 80s and has been with us for three months. During that time she caught the virus and was very ill for 17 days.

To nurse someone back to health, we encourage fluids and rest. But we also jolly on the residents with success stories  the people who survived. Alice became one of those success stories. As she leaves, she tells us: 'I don't know what I would have done without you these past few weeks.'

Tuesday: Red nail polish and Nat King Cole

TODAY is one of those days  a rarity now  when everything is calm. At 6.50am, before my shift begins, I have time for a cup of tea with some of the girls.

At the briefing, I'm told everyone slept well and is settled.

We have a decent number of staff on today, and at around 3pm two of our girls who are former hairdressers decide to have a pamper session with some of the ladies.

They set their hair in rollers and paint their nails. We have a box of colours but the ladies always go for pink and red. The residents are delighted with the makeover and have pictures taken to send to their families.

Another lady loves to sing and wants music, so we put on CDs  old crooners like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. The staff have a singalong with her in her room. It's a morale boost when we can have a bit of fun like this. After work, I have a video call and some drinks with two close friends.

Wednesday: 'In a face visor, I meet two Covid patients'

AT 10.30am we welcome the first of three hospital discharges from the Northern General Hospital, two of whom are Covid-positive.

They were in hospital for other reasons and contracted the virus there, but as their symptoms are mild they're deemed medically fit to be discharged. Likewise, residents may come down with it here but either aren't poorly enough to go to the hospital, or they and their family have decided they won't be admitted. We keep a close eye on people to monitor them.

I've heard some hospitals have been discharging patients to care homes without telling them they are Covid-positive.

Early in the pandemic, people weren't tested before they were sent to us, so who knows? But in the past week people have been tested before they come to us.

When I welcome someone to the care home, I like to make them feel comfortable. But now there's an added barrier because I'm wearing full PPE and a face visor throughout the conversation.

My parents, who I live with, are scared for me. I'm worried about my own health but I try not to think about it. I stay in one room in the house  it's isolating but no different from what everyone else is experiencing. My parents understand I'm needed in my job. I haven't hugged them in weeks.

Some people ask why I want to be a care home nurse, but I've wanted to be a nurse since I was at school. I love working with the elderly  I have a lot of respect for that generation. They've done so much for us and sometimes they get a rough deal at the end. Anything we can do to make their lives better is hugely important to me.

Care providers are the forgotten sector. Reflecting on the beginning of the pandemic, we were definitely forgotten about  especially how the people dying of Covid weren't counted. In the past couple of weeks I think people are realising the work care homes do.

Thursday: 'Thank you for getting her home'

From 10am I'm preparing for Julia, who is 86, to be discharged from the care home.

She has been with us for two months, having first been discharged from hospital, and every day her husband Reginald calls her on her mobile phone. They've been married for almost 60 years and before she went into hospital they'd never spent a night apart.

This month she had a temperature and a dry cough, and swabs came back positive. Two days later she couldn't eat, drink or talk. We didn't think she was going to make it. Reginald tried to call Julia multiple times a day and I spoke to him every time he rang.

Julia was ill for a week, then suddenly rallied overnight. By the morning she was almost her usual self. That was six days ago and now she's ready to leave.

We have a false start at lunchtime when the wrong type of ambulance arrives to collect her, but by four o'clock she is leaving.

I speak to Reginald on the phone one more time.

'She's on her way,' I tell him.

'Thank you so much for getting her better and getting her home,' he replies.

I can tell he is over the moon.

All names have been changed.

Revealed: Horrifying scale of of the care homes betrayal

Sophie Borland for the Daily Mail

Care homes have been abandoned to coronavirus and forced to accept infected patients with little means of preventing outbreaks, a survey reveals today.

A third of homes have taken hospital patients with the virus, despite fewer than half being able to isolate them and control further spread.

Deaths in care homes have also outstripped those in hospital.

Three quarters claim GPs are reluctant to visit and more than half are not confident they can get enough protective clothing.

Dedicated care home workers at Pilgrim Wood Residential care home in Surrey are sleeping in tents to protect their residents from catching the coronavirus

The survey of 105 care homes by the Alzheimer's Society also found that one in four had struggled to get residents seriously ill with the virus admitted to hospital.

Kate Lee, chief executive of the charity, said: 'It's tragically clear care homes were left to fend for themselves against coronavirus  and, unfortunately, still are. Despite the heroic efforts of care workers, the precious lives of people with dementia and all those in homes are still being put in danger.

'Up to 70 per cent of people in homes have dementia, and it feels like they are being written off.'

Number of all deaths linked to outbreak tops 50,000 More than 50,000 Britons have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic  at least a quarter of whom were never even infected, official figures reveal. Experts suggest the indirect deaths are 'collateral damage' of the Government's 'Stay At Home' slogan, which has led to heart attack and stroke victims avoiding hospitals. The Office for National Statistics yesterday said there were 50,979 'excess deaths'  the number recorded above the normal level for the time of year  across the UK in the five weeks to May 1. Around 28 per cent were not directly caused by the virus, the data revealed. And, in a sign of the tragedy unfolding in the country's care homes, the figures also showed, in the week to May 1, the total number of deaths in homes  both coronavirus and non-coronavirus related  exceeded those in hospitals. Nick Stripe, the ONS's head of health analysis and life events, said: 'For the first time I can remember there were more deaths in total in care homes than there were in hospitals in that week... I've never seen that before.' The data shows the UK's coronavirus death toll stood at 40,496 as of May 8, significantly higher than any other European country. But statisticians are particularly alarmed at the thousands of indirect deaths which have occurred in addition to those directly caused by the virus. In a stark warning, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, said many of these patients 'may well have lived longer had they been able to get to hospital'. He added: 'When we look back at this whole episode, this rise in non-Covid, extra deaths outside of hospitals is something I hope will be given really severe attention. Many are indirect deaths, collateral damage of the health service disruption. While some of those will have been under-diagnosis, we have got a huge number of unexplained deaths in homes and care homes. This is extraordinary.' He explained thousands of non-Covid deaths had been 'exported back to the community because of the almost-closure of hospitals'. His own analysis of the figures shows 30,000 of these excess deaths in the last five weeks have occurred in hospitals and care homes. 'That's a staggering burden compared with the normal 22,000 they would expect,' he said. Meanwhile Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University said: 'It has never been as quiet in frontline health care as I've seen in 20 years. 'This suggests the message of 'Stay At Home' has potentially been interpreted by people, who have been unwell, [to stay] at home and potentially led to excess deaths. Part of this is potentially people with cardiovascular disease, so the message is anyone with chest pain or abnormal shortness of breath should present in urgent care.' Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said the excess deaths could be 'where symptoms of Covid-19 were less obvious, but people were infected and underlying health conditions were exacerbated'. He added: 'They could also be deaths where normal care pathways have been interrupted. This may have led to additional deaths... that might have been preventable normally.' Advertisement

Figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed nearly 10,000 care home residents have died from coronavirus so far, although this is likely to be an underestimate.

The data also revealed that the total number of deaths in care homes had overtaken hospital deaths for the most recent week  which one statistician said he had 'never seen before'.

Care homes accounted for 40 per cent of all covid deaths in the week to May 1 and, although they are starting to fall, they are declining at a much slower rate than deaths in hospital. The Alzheimer's Society survey found 32 per cent of care homes had taken covid-positive patients from hospitals since the outbreak started.

Several managers have explained how they felt pressured to accept these patients either directly by NHS or council officials or through an underlying sense that it was their duty to society.

But 58 per cent of homes did not feel they could effectively isolate infected patients, putting them at risk of triggering outbreaks.

Another 75 per cent said GPs had been 'reluctant' to visit during the outbreak, either to see sick residents or sign death certificates.

One care home manager said doctors preferred to treat patients remotely as well as sign death certificates over the phone to avoid contracting the virus.

The survey, which was completed by care home managers across the UK in the past fortnight, also found that just 43 per cent were confident they could get hold of enough personal protective equipment (PPE) in the coming weeks.

One home said staff had resorted to taping bags around their arms, hair and feet, while another sourced visors from a school.

A further 25 per cent said there were occasions when residents who were seriously ill with coronavirus should have been admitted to hospital, but weren't.

But the fact that a third accepted covid-positive patients despite not having adequate PPE or measures to stop the infection spreading will raise serious concerns.

Last Saturday, the Mail revealed how the Care Quality Commission watchdog was investigating whether hospitals had sent covid-positive patients into care homes without telling them.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: 'The way in which patients with covid-19 were sent back to care homes ill-equipped to respond looks like a catastrophic mistake. The fact that this survey suggests some care homes were pressured to take these patients in is really worrying and regrettable.'

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across healthcare, said: 'Care homes have not received the support they need during this crisis. We have a fractured system which does not encourage joint working. There are great examples of GPs, community nurses and infection control nurses as well as geriatricians offering fantastic support and advice. But it is not universal and the divide between health and social care often gets in the way.'

Mike Padgham, who owns a care home in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said it had admitted a patient with coronavirus who died after infecting other residents.

'I don't think the NHS had a handle on it about how important it was to test residents before they were discharged into care homes.

'They didn't realise that care homes were going to be more susceptible than anywhere. Care home owners get caught in this dilemma where they want to help society and the NHS but they don't want to infect staff and residents.

'It feels as though care homes have been forgotten about.'

Yesterday, research by Sky News found that some councils were threatening to withhold vital funding from care homes unless they agreed to accept covid patients.

Darren Somauroo, director of D&L Care Homes in Uxbridge, west London, said NHS managers tried to force him to take these patients, but he refused. He told Sky News: 'There were raised voices, they were threatening, telling us we had to take these residents.

'I made it clear we were not going to buckle under this.

'Our duty was to make sure we didn't spread it in the home. Unfortunately other providers felt they had no choice.'
[May 12, 2020] Keri Delaloye, Shavonn Mealing and Paula Rhea of Netsurion Recognized as Three of CRN's 2020 Women of the Channel

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Netsurion, a leading managed security services provider for highly distributed and small-to-medium enterprises and the IT providers that serve them, announced today announced that CRN  , a brand of The Channel Company , has named Keri Delaloye, senior director, channel marketing; Shavonn Mealing, partnership and channel sales director; and Paula Rhea, product marketing manager to its esteemed 2020 Women of the Channel list. Recognizing the unique strengths, vision and achievements of a select group of women, this prestigious, annual list acknowledges channel leaders who are blazing a trail for future generations. These women are from all areas of the IT ecosystem, including technology vendors, distributors, solution providers and other IT organizations.

The CRN editorial team selects the honorees to celebrate a list of exceptional women acclaimed for their contributions to channel advocacy, growth, thought leadership and dedication to the IT channel. Keri Delaloye began her technology career more than 20 years ago on a global marketing communications team for a computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering software company. Guy Cunningham, Netsurion VP, Channel Sales and Alliances noted, Partner experience is critical to everything we do at Netsurion. Keri has demonstrated that by successfully developing and directing new programs and processes in demand generation, onboarding and enablement. Shavonn Mealing was heavily involved last year in developing Netsurions VAR program, focusing on recruitment and enablement of key strategic VAR partners across North America to drive revenue. Shavonn was instrumental in helping expand our relationships with channel partners last year, said Cunningham. And shes continued to focus on developing those relationships and increasing brand awareness of our managed solutions for networking, security and compliance. Paula Rheas career spans 20+ years centered on B2B technology for networking, cloud, cybersecurity and managed services. Paula has played an important role in accelerating partner producivity and revenue generation through competitive intel communication and product launch management, said Cunningham.



CRNs 2020 Women of the Channel list recognizes an accomplished group of influential women leaders whose strategic vision and unique achievements accelerate channel growth through cultivated partnerships, innovative thought leadership, and unwavering dedication to the IT channel, said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. We are proud to honor them for their accomplishments and contributions to driving channel success. Were extremely proud to have three women named CRNs 2020 Women of the Channel, said Cunningham. And were looking forward to all three of them continuing to help solidify Netsurions position as the leading cybersecurity partner for managed IT service providers.

The 2020 Women of the Channel list will be featured in CRN Magazine on June 8 and online at www.CRN.com/WOTC . About Netsurion

Netsurion powers secure and agile networks for highly distributed and small-to-medium enterprises and the IT providers that serve them. In such environments, the convergence of threat protection and network management are driving the need for greater interoperability between the NOC (network operations center) and the SOC (security operations center) as well as solutions that fuse technology and service to achieve optimal results. To this end, Netsurion has converged purpose-built network hardware, innovative security software and flexible managed services. Netsurions SD-Branch solution, BranchSDO, is a comprehensive network management and security solution consisting of SD-WAN, next-gen security, cellular, Wi-Fi and PCI DSS compliance tools and support. At the heart of the solution is the CXD, Netsurions SD-WAN edge appliance. Netsurions Security Operations solution, EventTracker, delivers advanced threat protection and compliance benefits in a variety of deployment options: a SIEM platform, a co-managed SIEM service with 24/7 SOC and a managed SIEM for MSPs.



www.netsurion.com , Twitter: @Netsurion , LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/netsurion/



CONTACT:

Deb Montner, Montner Tech PR

[email protected]

203-226-9290 About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn , and Facebook Copyright 2020. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact:

Jennifer Hogan

The Channel Company

[email protected]



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We have to do something about this, because people are dying just wanting to get food and having to leave their houses for essential jobs, said Derrick Puckett, lead pastor at Renewal Church of Chicago, one of the programs co-founding churches. They cant order groceries delivered to their home through Instacart. They have to go to the store because their SNAP or EBT benefits are not accepted.
The market was trading near the day's low in mid-morning trade. The Nifty slipped below the 9100 mark. Pharma shares corrected for the second day. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 562.90 points or 1.78% at 30,998.32. The Nifty 50 index shed 152.65 points or 1.65% at 9,086.55.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.58% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.14%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 538 shares rose and 1353 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 16 shares advances and 34 shares declined.

Investors were concerned about a second wave of coronavirus infections after the China's Wuhan city where the pandemic originated reported its first new cases since its lockdown was lifted. Wuhan reported five new cases on Monday.

Rapidly rising Covid-19 cases in India also weighed on the market sentiment. Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 41,77,584 far with 2,86,330 deaths. India reported 46,008 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,293 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index lost 1.17% to 9,197.95, extending losses for second day. The index has lost 1.55% in two sessions.

Wockhardt (down 3.64%), Alkem Laboratories (down 2.26%), Cipla (down 1.6%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.57%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.46%), Strides Pharma Science (down 1.24%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.7%) and IPCA Laboratories (down 0.49%) declined.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was down 1.04%. The company has initiated Phase 3 clinical trials in India on Antiviral tablet Favipiravir, for which it received approval from India's drug regulator DCGI in late April. Glenmark is the first company in India to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials on Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India. Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation. The company estimates study completion by July/August 2020.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Honeywell Automation shed 0.59% to Rs 26,712. The stock registered volume of 10019 shares on the BSE, a 12.53 fold spurt over two-week average daily volume of 800 shares. Volumes stood at 5450 shares in the last session.

Cochin Shipyard rose 2.08% to Rs 245.35. The firm registered a volume of 81,851 shares on the BSE, a 11.91 fold spurt over two-week average daily volume of 6875 shares. Volumes stood at 10,083 shares in the last session.

Aegis Logistics (down 6.57%), Endurance Technologies (down 1.58%) and CreditAccess Grameen (down 4.81%) are among the other stocks to see a surge in volumes on BSE today, 12 May 2020.

Indian Oil Corporation lost 0.40% to Rs 75.05. the company has raised operating levels at its refineries to about 60% after fuel demand showed a gradual pick up on easing of lockdown restrictions. It further plans to scale up refinery operations to 80% of design capacity by the end of the month. IOC also said that the company has also resumed manufacturing of petrochemical intermediates like HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and polypropylene at its Panipat complex.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower on Tuesday. China's Wuhan, where the global coronavirus epidemic first started, reported its first new infections since the Chinese city ended its 76-day lockdown on 8 April.

On the economic data front, China's consumer price index for April rose 3.3% year-on-year. Meanwhile, China's producer price index for April declined 3.1% year-on-year.

In US, stocks were little changed Monday as investors weighed the benefits of reopening the economy against concerns that such steps could lead to fresh waves of coronavirus infections and renewed lockdowns.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Mexican state of Sonora recently installed 'sanitizing tunnels' along the border in an effort to reduce chances of bringing the coronavirus pandemic over from Arizona.

Local government officials in the city of Nogales began using a sanitation spray to sanitize foreigners to disinfect people coming in from the U.S.



On the Mexican side of the border, drivers are required to exit their vehicles and step into a tunnel made of inflatable material where they are sprayed with a cleaning solution. The individuals are asked to rotate under the mist, stretch their arms, and lean over.

The Nogales government claims the cleaning spray is biodegradable and protects from the novel coronavirus for up to a day. The tunnels also reduce the chances of spreading the disease within the nation.

The decision to install the tunnels came after health officials in Nogales reported the majority of the citizens who were infected with the respiratory illness had recently returned from the United States.

Local officials plan to install five sanitizing tunnels at the main ports of entry from Nogales and Arizona. The city's hospitals will also receive a sanitizing tunnel where visitors would be required to step into the disinfectant mist.

Arizona has more than 11,000 coronavirus cases and over 500 fatalities. Authorities in Sonora recorded 400 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 32 in the city of Nogales.

Medical experts, however, warn the truly tally of the virus might be several times higher than what is reported by the federal government. Many patients with coronavirus-like symptoms died before receiving COVID-19 tests.

Mexico recently saw a spike in infections with over 3,500 new cases recorded over the weekend. On Sunday alone, the health ministry reported 1,562 new coronavirus cases and more than 110 additional fatalities.

Government models project the pandemic is set to peak over the weekend. Mexico's health minister, Dr. Hugo Lopez-Gatell, urged residents to seek medical attention if they are aged 60 and above or have pre-existing medical conditions.

Giumarra Companies

Videxport, a private company in Sonora, has also revealed new disinfecting tunnels to help ensure the safety of the workers and the continuation of production amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Mexican grower is known for shipping fresh fruits to the U.S. and Canada. Their products include watermelons, grapes, and bell peppers. They installed four tunnels and imposed new enhancements to its existing workers' safety guidelines.

The grower installed 10-foot-long tunnels that douse employees with a disinfecting solution. It safely sanitized workers and keeps them safe from viruses and bacteria. Each tunnel can accommodate up to twenty people every minute.

In addition to the sanitizing tunnels, Videxport also hired a second full-time medical professional, as well as additional nurses, in a move to expand its medical capabilities and serve more workers.

They purchased two new mobile clinics for the use of their on-site employees. The clinics will help supplement Videxport's on-site healthcare center. The Mexican grower implemented social distancing measures and worker health monitoring in its fields and packhouses. They also educated the staff on COVID-19 symptoms and prevention.

Want to read more? Check these out:
Gopinath Rajendran By

Express News Service

Director AL Abanindran of Vellaiya Irukiravan Poi Solla Maatan fame, along with the films producer, Devanshu Arya, has jointly helmed MX Players latest Tamil entry, a web series titled Tandoori Idly.

Rajathandhiram-fame Ajai Prasath and Telugu actor Avantika Misra play the lead in this romantic comedy thats out now. Incidentally, Avantika will soon be making her Tamil feature film debut alongside Arulnithi.

Abanindran, who has also co-produced Tandoori Idly with Devanshu, says, Weve seen many stories about people from the South travelling North. To bring a twist to the story, Tandoori Idly is the story of a Delhi girl who comes down to Chennai for work, where she meets a guy from Madurai. Those coming from the North usually would come with the mindset of returning as soon as possible, but Ive personally seen many of them falling in love with Tamil Nadu and staying back.

He adds, The series is about two characters who come from different walks of life. Its about how the gap between them is bridged in this new age and how they deal with the issues between them. Instead of simply highlighting stereotypes, weve developed them as characters. Tandoori Idly will be a relatable breezy entertainer.The series also stars Vikkals Vikram, Vinod Kumar, Whatsapp Mani, Suhasini Sanjeev, and Mirchi Saba.
By Emma Farge and Michael Shields GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that 'extreme vigilance' was needed as countries begin to exit from lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, amid global concerns about a second wave of infections. Germany earlier reported an acceleration in new coronavirus infections after it took early steps to ease its lockdown.

By Emma Farge and Michael Shields

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that "extreme vigilance" was needed as countries begin to exit from lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, amid global concerns about a second wave of infections.

Germany earlier reported an acceleration in new coronavirus infections after it took early steps to ease its lockdown. South Korea, another country that had succeeded in limiting virus infections, has seen a new outbreak in nightclubs.

"Now we are seeing some hope as many countries exit these so-called lockdowns," Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergencies programme, told an online news briefing. But he added that "extreme vigilance is required".

"If the disease persists at a low level without the capacity to investigate clusters, there's always the risk that the virus takes off again," he said.

Governments around the world are struggling with the question of how to reopen their economies while still containing COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Ryan said he was hopeful that Germany and South Korea would be able to suppress new clusters and praised their surveillance, which he said was key to avoiding large second waves.

"It's really important that we hold up examples of countries who are willing to open their eyes and willing to keep their eyes open," he said. In contrast, he said other countries, without naming them, were "trying to drive through this blindly".

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the same briefing that lifting restrictions was "complex and difficult" and that the "slow, steady lifting of lockdowns" was key to protecting lives and livelihoods.

Tedros said that Germany, South Korea and China, which has reported a new cluster in its original epicentre, Wuhan, all had systems in place to respond to any resurgence in cases.

"Until there is a vaccine, the comprehensive package of measures is our most effective set of tools to tackle the virus," Tedros said.

In the briefing, WHO officials stressed that early studies point to lower-than-expected antibody levels against the disease within the general population, meaning that most people remain susceptible.

"There seems to be a consistent pattern so far that a low proportion of people so far have these antibodies," said Maria van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist.

Given that, Ryan warned countries that have "lax measures" in place against counting on herd immunity to halt the spread of COVID-19.

"This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation," he said.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Michael Shields; Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Gareth Jones and Dan Grebler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Their network expansion strategy in normal conditions offers great advantages to retailers, but it has put a burden on them during the Covid-19 crisis.

VinCommerce, which runs VinMart and VinMart+ chains, has sent letters to landlords that provide premises, asking to reduce the rent by 50 percent.





VinCommerce said Covid-19 has led to a sharp fall in revenue of VinMart and VinMart+ chains.



VinCommerce runs 3,000 VinMart and VinMart+ sale points throughout the country. They are still open because they provide necessities.



Prior to that, The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World) JSC also asked its partners to slash the premises rent by 50 percent for one year.

Their network expansion strategy in normal conditions offers great advantages to retailers, but it has put a burden on them during the Covid-19 crisis.

However, unlike VinCommerce, The Gioi Di Dongs shops bearing The Gioi Di Dong and Dien May Xanh brands had to close temporarily during the social distancing campaign because the shops provide home appliances and hi-tech products, not essential goods.



The Gioi Di Dong is also one of the biggest domestic retailers with nearly 3,100 operational shops with the brands of The Gioi Di Dong, Dien May Xanh and Bach Hoa Xanh.



Nguyen Duc Tai, the co-founder of The Gioi Di Dong, once compared his business as a clouded leopard with classic sprints. He proved that with the moves of expanding his networks rapidly, he can be dominant in the market over his rivals.



The strategy followed by Tai allowed The Gioi Di Dong to increase its presence in the market, increase revenue, maintain growth, and dominate the market.



To obtain average annual growth rate of 50 percent per annum, The Gioi Di Dong showed off its strength to rivals by surrounding them with a large number of stores.



From the end of 2018 to now, more than 1,000 stores have opened.



Having dominated the mobile phone retail market for more than one decade, The Gioi Di Dong has become a giant in its field thanks to rapidly developing the network.



However, a large network now turns out to be a burden for retailers at this time. Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon commented that while demand has decreased sharply during Covid-19 as people have tightened their purse strings, retailers still have to spend a lot for their high number of retail premises.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that the retail sales of goods and services in Vietnam $214 billion in 2019, representing a rise of 11.8 percent over the previous year.

Chi Mai

HCM City: Retail premises rent declines as beer shops shut down Businesses now have bigger choices for retail premises as the rent has decreased significantly.
Many have fallen victim to slacking on their usual grooming routines while in lockdown.

And the same can be said for Adam Sandler, who revealed on Monday that his daughter, Sunny, 11, called him out for having hair growing out of his ears.

The 53-year-old told Jimmy Kimmel that he went on to try and shave the area, but was unsuccessful, leaving him with blood coming out of his ear even while appearing on the show.

Story time: Adam Sandler showcased his ear-shaving mishap on Monday while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel

'I had a hair coming out of my ear apparently, and Sunny told me about it and said I look goofy, so I took the razor I usually shave with and I went like this,' he began demonstrating the shaving action.

'Then I went downstairs and I said, "How's this Sunny?" and she said,' "You're bleeding".'

Sunny went on to describe what her Adam's ear looked like.

Accident! 'I had a hair coming out of my ear apparently, and Sunny told me about it and said I look goofy, so I took the razor I usually shave with and I went like this,' he began demonstrating the shaving action

'It's bloody,' she said before Adam chimed in, 'She says there's a gut coming off of my ear.'

The Uncut Gems star went on to dab the area and show the blood that was still coming out of the affected area.

He then told his youngest daughter to leave the room so he could 'talk dirty' to Jimmy.

Adam also discussed how he was coping with his family and home schooling.

He noted that he sits in the middle between his daughters Sadie, 14, and Sunny, 11, and is forced to keep it down while they are in school.

Still bleeding: The Uncut Gems star went on to dab the area and show the blood that was still coming out of the affected area

Not an easy experience: Adam also shared a story about a dramatic take out order he had on Sunday

The Murder Mystery star also dished that he was also intermittent fasting during quarantine, but 'eating so much during those six hours.'

He shared that the family had been ordering in a lot during lockdown and went on to share his dramatic endeavor to order some Chinese food on Sunday night.

Adam revealed his brood were already hated from the start after the restaurant had hung up on them for taking too long to work out what they wanted to order.

'She hated us to begin with. Then we get to the Chinese restaurant and I show up, and I said to my wife, "You said you got the masks?", and she goes, "Oh, I don't have the masks."'

Long-time love: Adam has been married to Jackie since 2003 (pictured February 2020)

Adam's wife, Jackie, 45, tried to make do by giving her husband a Listerine wipe to hold over his face.

'I said, "I don't want that, it'll knock me out. Let me just handle this."'

He added, 'I put the gloves on and I knocked on the door and I open it and the lady's 30 feet away, and I say, "Hey! We're the people you hung up on, and I understand why you did it. Is the food ready?" and she says, "Yes."

The actor went on to explain he found himself at war with the employee as she demanded him to come in while he wanted her to come out to meet him - as he was maskless.

'"I'm not coming in. I'm not coming in",' I screamed,' he exclaimed.

The employee ended up giving the food to another paying customer to bring out to Adam and his family.

Keeping entertained: And the extra time at home has been doing the star good, posting a hilarious lockdown video with his family on Monday

Starring role: The star's wife, kids, and even Shaq O'Neal made cameos in the clip

And the extra time at home has been doing the star good, posting a hilarious lockdown video with his family on Monday.

Titled, Adam In The House, he used his Billie Madison style voice throughout the one minute clip.

'Wake up in the morning, get up on my feet, stretch my arms and legs, then fall right back to sleep.'

For most of the video, Adam would complete a short task, such as brush his teeth or make some toast, only to fall asleep again minutes later.

The star's wife, kids, and even Shaq O'Neal made cameos in the clip, and he signed off with: 'Our hearts are with you all, Love, The Sandler Family.'
We are sure that over 90% of the legislators are backing the leadership of president Chamisa and they are clear about the challenges that we are facing. We only have three who are Morgen Komichi, Douglas Mwonzora and Elias Mudzuri, who have chosen to work with Zanu PF and they are free to go, its their democratic right, Hwende said.
Arthurs last two years of secondary school were spent in the boarding house of Newington College in Sydney, where in his final year (1956) he earned a leading role in the school play, Richard of Bordeaux by Gordon Daviot. He played the Duke of Gloucester, the wicked uncle of King Richard II of England (played by Alan Walker, who became a life-long friend).

Arthur Dignam, who died suddenly of a heart attack aged 80, was born on 9 September 1939, and grew up on Lord Howe Island. The Dignams were a well-known Island family, and he had two sisters and a brother.

More than once he won roles as a clergyman on stage and screen, including Father Benedict in the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia, although he was not a religious man. He also played the father of Christian (Ewan McGregor) in Moulin Rouge.

Arthur was a gifted actor with a mellifluous speaking voice, and that form became his profession. He was also an adept and talented musician.

From Newington he went to the University of Sydney where he gave his attention to a range of subjects over 10 years, but he never graduated. At university, Arthur devoted much of his time to the stage, appearing in revues, Victorianas, and many plays. His performance as Stanley in Harold Pinters The Birthday Party is fondly remembered, and Pamela Trethowans production was judged best play at the 1961 Intervarsity Drama Festival.

Arthur is mentioned over 30 times in the recently published book, The Ripples Before the New Wave: Drama at the University of Sydney 195763, by Robyn Dalton and Laura Ginters (2018). This was the period of his greatest involvement in university drama.

Other plays in which he took notable roles while a student included Lysistrata (with Clive James), as The Cardinal in Tis Pity Shes a Whore, and Shakespeares Coriolanus (with a cast including John Bell, John Gaden and Alan Walker).

As the above book notes: Arthur Dignam and John Bell were commonly regarded by their peers, even at the time, as the two top actors in the SUDS and Players cohorts ... Dignam wandered peripatetically between SUDS, Players and the college dramatic societies ... They became known as the Gielgud and Olivier of the university dramatic societies, recognising their distinct approaches to acting and the roles they played ... when we asked what drew [Dignam] to university drama he announced: I missed my bus. The book accurately captures something of Arthurs innate irreverence and charming eccentricity.
Students did not go to school for the last several months, but international schools have asked parents to pay tuition as usual.

Parents whose children are students of private schools have lodged a petition to state management agencies, complaining that the schools were still collecting tuition for the months when students were off and only accessed online learning.

Parents are angry as schools collect tuitions for the last few months



The parents asked for intervention from agencies after they failed to reach a consensus with schools board of management.



Many parents gathered in front of VSTAR School on April 28 to protest the tuition collection.



Lao Dong reported that on May 5, hundreds of parents came to the schools, asking for open dialogues about tuition collection during the epidemic.

Most of the schools said they the tuition fees were unchanged. Later, facing strong opposition from parents, many schools accepted to lower the tuition and change some policies. However, parents think the tuition is still overly high.

Parents whose children are students of private schools have lodged a petition to state management agencies, complaining that the schools were still collecting tuition for the months when students were off and only accessed online learning.

On May 5, a group of parents from AIS Saigon met with officials from the HCM City Education and Training Department and discussed issues related to tuition policies and the teaching during the lockdown.



According to Pham Duc Cuong, a parent of a fifth grader at AIS Saigon, said parents want to sit down for a dialogue to find solutions.



At first, the parents of the school wanted partial tuition refund. However, later, they decided to ask the school to provide lessons to make up for the days off.



We pay tuition to send our children to school. Online teaching is helpless for many students, he said, adding that students need to go to school because they not only need to receive knowledge, but also participate in extracurricular activities.



On the same day, parents gathered in front of some other private schools, including EMASI in district 7 and VAS, to protest the tuition collection policy.



Meanwhile, the HCM City Education and Training Department said the agency is not in the right position to intervene in cases because the tuition payment and collection are implemented on the basis of agreements between parents and schools.



According to Le Hoai Nam, deputy director of the HCM City Education and Training Department, the department sent a document to schools, asking them to talk with parents to find the best solutions on tuition collection to ensure student rights.



Tuition is collected on the basis of agreement between the two parties. Private schools provide education services and parents pay to use the services. If they are not satisfied about the services, they can move to other schools, Nam said.

Kim Chi

Tuition fee at high-quality public schools in Hanoi risen to US$220 per month Parents of high  quality public primary and senior high schoolers will pay more tuition fee for the next academic year which has risen to VND5.5 million (US$220) per month and VND5.7 million per month respectively.
By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Montana on Monday upheld his ruling last month that canceled an environmental permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline and threatened other oil and natural gas pipeline projects with delays.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris denied a request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to narrow his April 15 ruling that canceled the so-called Nationwide Permit 12. The permit allows dredging work on pipelines across water bodies.

Morris said that the Army Corps did not adequately consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on risks to endangered species and habitat when it renewed the permit in 2017. To allow the agency to continue authorizing new oil and gas pipeline construction "could seriously injure projected species and critical habitat," Morris said in the decision.

The judge revised his original ruling, however, to allow non-pipeline projects such as electric transmission lines to proceed, as they are less likely to cause damage to endangered species.

The ruling does not block construction of Keystone or other pipelines, but without the permit to do dredging work many oil and gas projects could be delayed pending further environmental reviews.

It was the latest setback for TC Energy Corp's Keystone XL pipeline which has been pending since 2008.

The pipeline would take heavy Canadian oil from Alberta to refineries and ports on the Gulf of Mexico via connections in the U.S. Midwest.

Former President Barack Obama had killed the $8 billion Keystone XL project saying that it would cause emissions linked to climate change and do little for U.S. drivers. President Donald Trump resurrected the 830,000 barrels-per-day project two months after taking office in 2017.

TC Energy Corp spokesman Terry Cunha said the ruling "continues to delay many critical energy infrastructure projects across the U.S., including Keystone XL."

TC Energy will "promptly" file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Cunha said.

Story continues

Several pipeline companies, including Kinder Morgan Inc , Equitrans Midstream Corp, and Dominion Energy , said after the original ruling that they were monitoring the case but were continuing to work as normal on their projects.

Still, analysts at ClearView Energy Partners said the ruling on the nationwide permit could lead to increased risks from recently filed litigation on specific pipeline projects.

The Army Corps and TC Energy have 60 days to appeal. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
The information technology (IT) industry has approached the central government ministries to flesh out changes to taxation and labour laws in line with the work-from-home (WFH) model.

While the coronavirus pandemic forced offices to migrate to WFH, many are expected to continue this even once a solution for the current health crisis emerges. At least 4.3 million IT workers or half the sectors workforce would WFH permanently, estimates say.

Also Read: Amazon extends work from home regime till October 2

Industry leaders were asked to detail the changes required when they met with government officials in early May. NASSCOM is preparing a report outlining an action plan, which is expected to be sent next week, The Economic Times reported.

Coronavirus India News LIVE Updates

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

It will go to the Department of Telecom and the Labour Ministry for further action, a government official told the paper.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The amendments would have to take into account employee safeguards while providing employers with flexibility. This could benefit students, women and the disabled, officials said.

Besides new provisions for WFH, the industry also requested that concessions given till July be made permanent. These include the relaxation in telecom norms allowing back office employees to WFH and allowing equipment to be moved from special economic zones (SEZs) to remote-working facilities, it added.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

UB Pravin Rao, COO at Infosys and Chairman of NASSCOM, told the paper that there were a host of things to relook and that some labour laws would have to be reworked from a fresh lens to cater to the WFH environment.

Ashish Aggarwal, the senior director and head of public policy at NASSCOM, felt that updates would be needed to allow flexible work hours and shift timings, and specify employer obligations in terms of health and safety measures as home may become the new workplace.

Aggarwal added that reviewed IT provisions would have to reclassify benefits to workers  such as office furniture, internet connection, etc. from expenses to employers to business expenses.

The IT industry has been quick to adapt, with 90 percent of the sectors workers now working from home. TCS is looking at moving 75 percent of its workforce to remote model by 2025 while HCL Technologies has proposed to move 50 percent staff to remote model, with the rest on rotational basis. Tech Mahindra may start with 25 percent WFH and then expand, CEO CP Gurnani said.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said Texas will begin testing all nursing home residents and staff for the new coronavirus, following public pleas and a directive from the White House to boost surveillance at the facilities nationwide.

Advocates for residents welcomed the move, saying it was long overdue.

I will applaud this action by the governor, but its only a half-hearted measure, said Brian Lee, executive director of the Austin-based nonprofit Families for Better Care. This could have been done weeks ago. It should have been done weeks ago.

Nursing homes have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with infections and deaths mounting across the country. Nearly half of the reported COVID-19 deaths in Texas have been at nursing homes or assisted living centers, according to records.

IN-DEPTH: As 11 residents died of COVID-19, College Station care home left families guessing

Earlier on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence recommended that governors in all states ramp up testing at nursing homes in the next two weeks. President Donald Trump later said he would mandate it, if necessary.

Abbott, a Republican, called on state health officials to figure out the details and implement a plan. He did not provide a timeline for the testing, or indicate how frequently it would occur.

Texas is working to rapidly expand our testing capacity  especially among vulnerable populations in Texas nursing homes," he said in a statement. This important collaboration among (agencies) will ensure that any potential clusters of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are quickly detected and contained."

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

States such as New York, Maryland and Oklahoma have already begun mandating widespread testing at their nursing homes. In New York, the epicenter of the nations outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said facilties that dont test their employees at least twice a week will lose their licenses.

About 200 Texas nursing homes have reported cases of COVID-19, and advocates believe there are many more where the virus is spreading. The state has about 1,200 nursing homes, not including assisted-living facilities, according to Patty Ducayet, an ombudsman for the Health and Human Services Commission.

"I'm very pleased with this announcement," Ducayet said. "I think it shows people are absolutely listening to the call from advocates to sort out who is healthy and who is not. This is really going to tell us where we stand in our facilities and where we need to respond."

Until now, the state has prioritized testing for all residents and staff at facilities where cases have been confirmed, Ducayet said. In other facilities, those who show symptoms are being tested.

The Department of State Health Services, which is managing the pandemic response, did not immediately respond to a request for details on how the new testing push will occur.

"Ideally you want rapid tests being done in all our facilities in a systematic way, done in correlation with local health authorities so that residents and their families know what's going on," Ducayet said. "It's really important that residents and their families have information.

The health commission has so far released only limited details about nursing home outbreaks, citing concerns about confidentiality. Families and caregivers say they have been left in the dark.

Lee said the state should be supplying all facilities with rapid-response tests that they can administer routinely, to spot outbreaks when they first occur. That is especially important for staff who travel between facilities and their communities, he and Ducayet said.

Testing staff is absolutely critical because they have to leave the facilities and go see their families, Ducayet said.
by: Makenzie Koch Posted: / Updated: OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has ordered flags to fly at half-staff on Wednesday in honor of Overland Park Officer Mike Mosher, who died in the line of duty. Mosher, a nearly 15-year veteran of the Overland Park Police Department, was killed in a shootout with a hit-and-run suspect on May 3.
Australian officials are planning to submit the proposal at the World Health Organizations decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, this month. The United States and Britain have backed Australias move, which could include dispatching international inspectors to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Chinese officials and state media have previously rejected the idea, calling it an old trick orchestrated by the Trump administration to pin blame for the pandemic on China and distract from its domestic failures.

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Chinas Foreign Ministry has recently softened its stance and said Friday that it would be open to a joint international review under certain conditions.

The effort should take place under the auspices of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, and only at an appropriate time after the global pandemic is over.

The Chinese ambassadors threats of a boycott last month sparked an uproar in Australia that only grew this week as Beijing appeared to follow through, underlining its willingness to use its economic might as political leverage.

China has previously linked trade with political issues, punishing South Korea over its installation of a U.S. missile-defense system and Norway over a decision by a Nobel committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo.

After six new cases, Wuhan plans to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus

Australian officials said they were notified that four major slaughterhouses were decertified on Monday night, a day after Australian agriculture lobbies conveyed a warning that China was weighing a new round of 80 percent tariffs on barley within 10 days as part of an anti-dumping investigation.

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Chinese authorities cited improper labeling and health concerns when they enacted the beef suspension, according to Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. He said thousands of Australian factory workers and farmers could be affected by the suspension, which covers Australias largest beef plant in Dinmore, Queensland state.

Birmingham said Tuesday that Australia would treat the agricultural trade matters as independent from the dispute over the covid-19 inquiry and expects that other governments would do likewise.

At a daily briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian did not directly answer a question about whether the beef decision was linked to the inquiry proposal. He told reporters that the move was made out of concern for the health and safety of Chinese consumers, adding that any attempts to use the virus as a political maneuver would hurt global public health cooperation.

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Chinas relations with Australia should be founded on mutual respect and equality, Zhao said. We hope the relevant parties will do more to enhance mutual trust instead of talking one thing while doing the other, he said.

Australian political analysts widely saw the Chinese agricultural freezes as directly linked to Chengs warnings weeks earlier, even though Canberra has treated the matter with ambiguity and not directly pointed fingers at Beijing.

China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades

If you threaten to shoot someone, no one will believe when you stand over his body a week later and claim he accidentally fell on a bullet  of course its linked, said Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. But both sides left an off-ramp. Theyll have to talk their way out of this.

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Others downplayed the immediate possibility of the spat mushrooming into a full-blown trade war. Although the moves this week targeted a politically vocal agricultural constituency in Australia and could affect up to $2 billion in exports, China has not raised the possibility of boycotting large, strategic products and industries that would signal a severe conflict.

Its more bluster than reality, said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and former high-ranking defense official. Theyre certainly not hinting that they will do anything with coal and iron ore. They need our products.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood by his calls for an investigation amid the furor over how Australia, a U.S. ally, should respond to China. Although some influential business executives have urged him to delay the inquiry or avoid provoking Beijing, the Australian Parliament and media have largely rallied around Morrison in defiance of the Chinese warnings.

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Morrison said again on Friday that he would push forward with the inquiry proposal but would seek coordination with other countries rather than a unilateral or U.S.-led approach. We cant let the trail go cold, he said.

James Laurenceson, acting director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, said growing warnings in Australia about the danger of Chinese economic coercion were exaggerated by the countrys China hawks.

As relations have become strained in the past three years over a dispute surrounding Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, and political meddling, the Chinese government has signaled that it would punish Australia by introducing hurdles to beef or wine imports or limiting tourist visits. But trade figures show that Beijing has rarely followed through, Laurenceson said.

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If it were to send a message to Australia, fair enough, he said. But when you look back on the trade data a few months later, the impact is hardly discernible.

Australias coronavirus disputes with China are growing. So are debates over its deep economic ties to Beijing.

China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades

Chinas bid to repair its coronavirus-hit image is backfiring in the West

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Chennai, May 12 : Superstar Rajinikanth's new film "Annaatthe" will release on Pongal 2021, it has been confirmed.

The film's official announcement came on the verified Twitter handle of the film's producers, Sun Pictures.

Directed by Siva, "Annaatthe" is Rajinikanth's 168th movie. Based in a rural setting, the entertainer also features Rajinikanth's "Annaamalai" (1992) co-star Khushboo, "Muthu" (1995) co-star Meena and "Darbar" (2020) co-star Nayanthara. "Annaatthe" also marks National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh's first on-screen appearance with Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth's first film to release on Pongal "Kuppathu Raja", way back in 1979, This was followed by "Pokkiri Raja" (1982), "Paayum Puli" (1983), "Naan Mahaan Alla" (1984), "Mr. Bharath" (1986), "Panakkaran" (1980), "Dharma Durai" (1991), "Mannan" (1992), "Baashha" (1995) and "Darbar" (2020).

"Annaatthe" was initially supposed to release in mid 2020. However, shooting got stalled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic andf the ensuing lockdown. It is reported that the unit was shooting in Hyderabad till just before the announcement of the lockdown. The team was planning to travel to different parts of India, including Pune and Kolkata. Right now, it is unclear when things will return to normalcy and shooting can resume once again.

Given that the state government has given a nod to allow post production, the team of "Annaatthe" have resumed to work on the portions that have been shot.

The music of the film has been scored by D Imman, while the cinematography is by Vetri.

-IANS rsn/vnc

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:53:35|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend a video meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers Wednesday, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced Tuesday.

Wang and other member states' foreign ministers will discuss in depth issues including global cooperation on fighting COVID-19, international and regional situations, and the future development of the SCO, spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press briefing.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SCO member states are committed to advocating the "Shanghai spirit," actively carrying out anti-epidemic cooperation and taking concrete actions to put into practice the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.

During China's fight against the epidemic, leaders of other member states have expressed sympathy and support to China and provided medical aid.

China relates to other member states affected by the disease and has provided timely assistance to the best of its ability, including holding video conferences among experts to share experience in epidemic prevention and control, sending multiple medical teams or joint working groups for exchange and guidance on-site, and providing urgently needed medical supplies, Zhao said.

Calling the SCO a regional organization with great influence, Zhao said: "It is believed that all parties will take this meeting as an opportunity to enhance unity and cooperation, deepen cooperation in various fields, and promote the SCO to make its due contribution to strengthening international anti-epidemic cooperation and safeguarding regional security and development." Enditem
Canberra, May 12 : Australia has recorded the largest drop in international arrivals in recorded history as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, official data revealed on Tuesday.

According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the number of people who arrived in the country for a short-term trip in March was down 60 per cent compared to the same month last month, reports Xinhua news agency.

"In March 2020, there were 331,900 visitors who had arrived for a short-term trip compared to 836,300 12 months earlier," Jenny Dobak, the ABS Director of Migration Statistics, said in a statement.

"The steep fall in visitor arrivals to Australia in March was from all regions around the world. Even our largest source country New Zealand, recorded a 56 per cent drop," Dobak said.

"Of the top 10 source countries, China recorded the largest decrease of 78 per cent followed closely by Japan with a decrease of 75 per cent." The Northern Territory experienced the steepest decline in international visitors, down 66 per cent, followed by New South Wales at 64 per cent and Queensland at 63 per cent.

The ABS also revealed that 538,400 Australian residents returned from short-term overseas trips in March, a record-high fall of 29 per cent from March 2019.

The data comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in Australia as of Tuesday stood at 6,970, with 97 deaths.
Former Karnataka chief



minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday alleged the RSS was giving a communal colour to the coronavirus issue in India by blaming the Tablighi Jamaat for the COVID-19 spread,prompting a strong rebuttal from the BJP.

"Today they are doing politics alleging that it is spreading through Tablighi in India.

... Giving political colour to the issue is RSS strategy.It is communal politics at play," Siddaramaiah, who is the Congress Legislature Party leader, said at a press conference.

Hitting out at the Centre, he wanted to know who gave the permission for the Tablighi Jamat to hold the conference. "...Wasn't that Centre? In whose hand is Delhi police? The event happened next to a police station."



"If you look at the permission given to Tablighi, it makes it clear that there is a conspiracy behind it," he added.

According to him, the first mistake was to give permission to the international conference and the second mistake was to allow it to continue when the coronavirus had taken the shape of a pandemic.

Refuting Siddaramaiah's allegation, the state BJP spokesperson S Prakash told PTI: "Siddaramaiah should know that the Station House Officer of the police station where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation took place had called the organisers and directed them to wind up the event but they did not heed."



He said the government had asked those who attended the congregation to come for medical examination but many disappeared and did not turn up.

Speaking on the issue of migrant workers, Siddaramaiah slammed the Centre for the poor handling of the coronavirus situation.

A religious congregation in Delhi of the Jamaat in March in which thouands of people from India and abroad had participated has emerged as the biggest coronavirus hotsport. Many of these people have tested positive for the virus.

The Congress leader alleged the government failed to act immediately when the virus was spreading across the globe.

Speaking about the migrant workers' issue, he claimed the centre did not release money from the PM-CARES fund to pay for the migrant workers stuck all over the country including 5.5 lakh workers in Karnataka.

He said the PM CARES has got a fund of Rs 35,000 crore including Rs 3,500 crore from Karnataka and the centre could have used the fund for the migrant workers instead of charging money from them.

"For 5.5 lakh workers, it may not cost more than Rs 55 crore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:15:41|Editor: huaxia

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TIANJIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The northern Chinese port city of Tianjin will provide customers with coupons worth more than 60 million yuan (about 8.46 million U.S. dollars) to stimulate consumption, local authorities said.

Coupons worth 21 million yuan have been issued, and more will gradually be released. The coupons are for use in areas including catering, cars, home appliances and building materials businesses, according to the Tianjin Commission of Commerce.

The city will provide enterprises, which have online stores on major shopping platforms such as Tmall, JD.com and Suning.com, with corresponding financial subsidies to reduce their annual fees and commissions.

Enterprises are also encouraged to promote goods on video-sharing apps and develop markets by livestreaming to expand the integration of their online and offline sales efforts.

Many Chinese cities, including Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province and Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang Province, have launched coupons to encourage residents to dine out and shop, in an effort to boost consumption hit hard by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Enditem
New Delhi, May 12 : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday lauded the economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced stimulus measures which will take the total amount announced by the Ministry of Finance and the RBI to Rs 20 lakh crore or 10 per cent of the GDP.

In a series of tweets, Birla said the Prime Minister has announced an unprecedented relief package in the country's war against the global Covid-19 pandemic.

"He hoped that this historic package of Rs 20 lakh crore would empower labourers, farmers, rehri wala, middle class, industry and would lead to a self-reliant India," Birla said.

He hoped that Modi's mantra of a self-reliant and confident India would dispel the atmosphere of despair and pave the way to make India the 'vishwaguru' again.

According to the Prime Minister, it is now the time to make India self-sufficient in every way and every Indian should buy and promote local goods.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Police in New South Wales and Victoria arrested a number of people over the weekend who chose to congregate in large groups to protest COVID-19 lockdowns.

While 40 people gathered outside Parliament House in Sydney on Saturday, a staggering 400 demonstrators did the same in Melbourne's CBD on Sunday.

Speaking on KIIS FM's 3PM Pick-Up on Monday, footy WAG Rebecca Judd slammed the anti-lockdown protesters for their dangerous behaviour.

Scroll down for video

'Follow the rules like everybody else!' Rebecca Judd blasted COVID-19 lockdown protesters on Monday, after an anti-vaxxer mother was arrested in front of her son, four, over the weekend

'This is such a shame! We did the right thing and didn't visit our mums yesterday [for Mother's Day] and we've been social distancing and then they just go and do that,' Rebecca said during a segment about the violent anti-government rallies.

'Seeing the images on the news of police trying to keep everyone safe, trying to do their job and the aggression they faced - it was so unnecessary and really disappointing,' she said.

'Follow the rules like everybody else!'

Rebecca, who was co-hosting the show with Katie 'Monty' Dimond, later spoke to a TV journalist who had witnessed the protests firsthand.

Monty joked that the journalist had had 'a front-row seat to the nutbag bash'.

Frustrated: Rebecca was annoyed that while she had stayed home on Mother's Day (pictured with her mum, Kerry), hundreds had congregated for a rally in Melbourne's CBD on Sunday

Safety first: In recent weeks, Rebecca has encouraged her radio listeners and Instagram followers to follow the government's rules to help keep the community safe. Pictured with her husband Chris Judd, son Oscar, daughter Billie, and twin boys Tom and Darcy

'There were young mums out there with their children, a former police officer and one claiming to be a nurse,' the journalist claimed.

Monty replied: 'I found that interesting! We take our information from doctors and nurses, and a nurse was there. That was what was bizarre.'

However the journalist doubted the woman's credentials, saying: 'Well, she claimed to be a nurse. They weren't obviously forthcoming with all of their information.'

Protest: Renee Altakrity, 36, was arrested in Sydney on Saturday for protesting COVID-19 lockdowns, and her four-year-old son had to be dragged kicking and screaming from her arms

Breaking the rules? Renee (pictured) has also been accused of running her beauty business during the coronavirus lockdown

While it's unclear if the journalist was referring to this particular woman, there was an anti-vaxxer nurse who was arrested in Sydney on Saturday who had initially refused to hand over her name and details to officers.

Renee Altakrity, 36, was arrested by police for protesting COVID-19 lockdowns, and her four-year-old son had to be dragged kicking and screaming from her arms.

Renee was placed in the back of a police wagon during the 'Exercise My Rights' protest outside New South Wales' Parliament House on Saturday.

While Mrs Altakrity believes she was unfairly targeted, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Monday said he supported his officers' choices - and hoped the cosmetic nurse would plead not guilty in court.

'I think the police showed an enormous amount of restraint. I certainly hope she pleads not guilty so that [police body cam] footage comes out,' he said.

The nurse was fined $1,000, and now faces an additional $5,000 fine for a separate offence.

In recent weeks, Rebecca has encouraged her radio listeners and Instagram followers to follow the government's rules to help keep the community safe.

She recently urged 'all Australians' to download the COVIDSafe contact-tracing app, which she had installed the day of its release.

'We need our jobs back. We need our kids back at school. We need our livelihoods back. We need to get our country moving again,' She said.

The COVIDSafe, which has been described as a gateway to lifting social distancing rules, is based on a similar platform used in Singapore, TraceTogether.
Phuket Governor orders temporary closure of COVID-19 field hospitals

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana has asked for the two government field hospitals set up to treat people infected with COVID-19 to be temporarily suspended due to the low number of people receiving treatment at the two facilities.

COVID-19health

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 12 May 2020, 03:35PM

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana at the meeting this morning (May 12). Photo: PR Phuket



The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee at Provincial Hall this morning (May 12),pointed out that Phuket had not experienced the high number of confirmed cases of people infected with COVID-19 that was predicted by health officials six weeks ago.

Governor Phakaphong pointed out that as of Mar 31 health officials had predicted that Phuket would have 677 confirmed cases by April 26.

That has not happened, he said.

On April 26, Phuket had only 206 cases, Gov Phakaphong explained.

As such, Field Hospital 1 set up at the convention hall at the site of the still-under-construction new Provincial Hall on the south side of Phuket Town as of today has only 13 patients, Governor Phakaphong said.

Field Hospital 2 set up at the Prince of Songkla University Phuket campus has just six patients, he added.

All six patients at that facility are expected to test negative for the virus when test results are returned sometime before Friday (May 15), Governor Phakaphong noted.

Therefore we request to temporarily suspend the operation of the field hospitals. The Field Hospital 1 [at the new Provincial Hall] is to close temporarily on May 31, while Field Hospital 2 [at the PSU Phuket campus] is to close temporarily on May 15 [this Friday], Governor Phakaphong said.

However, Governor Phakaphong stressed that the closure was to be only temporary at this stage.

The situation must continue to be monitored and if there is no increase in the number of patients, there will be no need to use the field hospitals, but if the number of patients does increase, it may be necessary to use the field hospitals again, he said.

Governor Phakaphong also pointed out that Phuket has a registered population of 416,582, but usually is home to up to nearly 1 million people, including foreigners from more than 100 countries.

On May 6, Phuket Province had a total of 220 confirmed cases. Of those, 85 were people registered as living in Phuket, 93 were people still registered as living in other provinces 42 were foreigners of 18 nationalities.

From that number, it can be seen that the total number of patients in Phuket compared to the population is still too high, he warned.

So, we request that the equipment remains at both field hospitals until it is certain that Phuket is safe from COVID-19, he said.

The situation concerning the field hospitals will be reviewed again this Friday, he noted.

The committee also discussed the possibility of even partially re-opening Phuket International Airport and other ports of entry to allow people back into Phuket, but decided to abstain from any decisions today.

The matter will be raised for further discussion at the committees next meeting, it was noted this morning.

The issue of whether the Central Phuket shopping mall should be allowed to re-open was also discussed, with the committee deciding to follow the national guidelines of not allowing any major shopping malls to open at this stage.

The same was decided for all international schools on the island.

The committee also recognised that there were still more than 4,000 tourists from many countries including Russia, France, England, Ukraine and others still on the island.

Flights to repatriate tourists stuck on the island are continuing to operate at the airport, it was noted.
(Bloomberg) -- When President Donald Trump urged Americans last month to LIBERATE VIRGINIA on Twitter, a private Facebook group named Boogaloo Enthusiasts: CORONAPOCALYPSE welcomed the tweet.

Did Trump just call for boogaloo?, one member wrote, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Well, you heard the man! Lets go bois, another responded.

Membership in Facebook groups focused on violent anti-government uprisings in the U.S. has doubled in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has spread and governments impose restrictions aimed at slowing the contagion.

To get their message across, these groups are exploiting loopholes in Facebook anti-violence policies -- using satire, code words and other tactics that mask their motives, according to experts who follow fringe groups on social media. One of the more common such phrases is boogaloo, which can refer to a kind of music but more recently has come to describe a pending civil war.

The boogaloo groups, and other extremist groups deploying similar tactics, pose yet another test for the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant, as it tries to strike a workable balance between allowing free discourse and curbing disinformation or those encouraging violence and law breaking.

Facebooks efforts to fight everything from Covid-19 misinformation to animal trafficking have been made more difficult by the companys push into more private, encrypted communication, which can make some illicit activity almost impossible to detect -- a trade-off that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said hes willing to accept. And though Facebook has delayed other content moderation to focus on pandemic-related material, Facebook groups have continued to promote fake cures and protests to reopen states that could violate social distancing mandates.

Facebooks challenge has been highlighted by the lockdown protests -- a fringe movement that the boogaloo and other far-right groups have leveraged as a recruiting tool, experts say. Between February and April, the number of boogaloo Facebook groups grew from about 75 to 125, according to an April report by the Tech Transparency Project. Membership doubled to 70,000 in a monthlong period ending in late April, according to the report.

Story continues

The platforms own practices and design create these loopholes that allow disinformation conspiracy theories and radicalizations to exist. What youre seeing with boogaloo is an example of that, said Karen Kornbluh, senior fellow and director at the Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative at the German Marshall Fund. They are able to pretty clearly violate the terms of service through such simple, obvious strategies, which shows that theres a lot of tightening up that can be done.

Facebook and Instagram updated their violence and incitement policy on May 1 to prohibit the use of boogaloo terms when they are accompanied by statements and images depicting armed violence, according to a spokeswoman. She declined to provide a time frame for when they would fully take effect.

More broadly, Facebook is increasingly removing content connected to organized hate according to a May 12 blog post. The social media company said it removed 4.7 million pieces of such content from January through March -- 3 million more than it had in the preceding quarter.

Facebook is aware that groups try to hide from their detection efforts, which include user flagging, artificial intelligence and human reviewers, the spokeswoman said. For example, the term boogaloo doesnt always refer to civil war -- it also refers to a music genre, which means Facebook has to review boogaloo uses in context, according to the spokeswoman. Its also a wink-wink, nudge-nudge reference to the 1984 breakdancing movie Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, according to Alice Marwick, an assistant professor of media and technology at the University of North Carolina.

Other Facebook groups attempt to hide by posting images that obscure problematic images or using words that would otherwise flag Facebooks search tools by writing them in other languages, such as using Roman characters for Arabic words, according to another Facebook representative.

A team of 350 people -- including experts in law enforcement, national security and radicalizations -- studies trends in speech related to violence that lead to real-world harm, including how groups use veiled language to hide their activity, the representatives said. Facebook has also commissioned independent research to monitor shifts across the internet in order to crack down on violent content masked by humor or sarcasm, the representatives said.

In response to questions from Bloomberg News, the administrators of a prominent Boogaloo group, Thicc Boog Line, said members use memes, imagery and satire to start conversations about government overreach and to promote radical liberty for all, regardless of race, religion or sexual preference. The group tries to comply with Facebooks terms of service and changes names and terms to spice things up, not to avoid detection, the administrators said.

Satire is art, and while it may not be an art form that is appreciated by everyone it is art nonetheless, they said. If Facebook wants us gone theyll delete our groups. They will give us no explanation, and we wont expect one.

They denied their groups mission group is to encourage violence but pointed out that other boogaloo groups are more extreme in their rhetoric. Some boogaloo groups have been shut down by Facebook, they said, after being infiltrated by white supremacists who spam the group with pornographic images or racists memes to trigger the algorithms.

Far-right groups have used in-the-know jokes to engage in racist banter or lend support to violent anti-government rhetoric, Kornbluh said. Facebook doesnt necessarily check on groups labeled as satire, she said.

For instance, the group called Anti-SJW Pinochets Helicopter Pilot Academy was apparently a smirking reference to the practice of throwing people out of helicopters, called death flights, which has been used by several repressive regimes including that of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. SJW stands for social justice warrior, a term used to mock progressives. The group has promoted white supremacy and sometimes called for violence, Kornbluh said. After Bloomberg News inquired about the group, Facebook removed it for violating its policy on hate speech, a spokeswoman said.

Facebook doesnt adequately look for problematic content in groups, especially private groups, instead relying on its algorithm to catch suspicious activity, according to the Tech Transparency Project. That means administrators of groups are essentially given the role of serving as content moderators. Even when we as the group admins shake our heads at it, it is not our place to censor it, the Thicc Boog Line administrators said.

Of the boogaloo groups, 90% are private, and some frequently change names so they are hard to find, according to the Tech Transparency Project.

Private boogaloo groups contain photos of weapon stockpiles and call for violence against U.S. law enforcement and minority groups, the report said. While members are specific about their instructions for violence, they can avoid setting off the algorithm trained to detect violence by strategically using code words or variations of names and words -- including boog, big igloo and boojihadeen, the experts said.

At a recent lockdown rally in New Hampshire, pamphlets with the slogan liberty or boogaloo were spotted, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. At a rally in Olympia, Washington, last month, an organizer encouraged protesters to wear Hawaiian shirts -- its own form of dog whistle, symbolizing big luau or boogaloo for those in the know, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

(Updates with Facebooks efforts to crack down in paragraph nine.)

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A 19-year-old man was killed and



his friend injured when their speeding car rammed into a stationary bus at Marine Drive in South Mumbai on Tuesday evening, a police official said.

The accident took place on S N Road near B D Somani Chowk.

Aaryman Rajesh Nagpal and Shouryasingh Sharad Jain, both 19 years old, sustained serious injuries in the accident, said the officer.

While Aaryman was declared dead at Harkishandas Hospital, Jain was undergoing treatment, he said.

The police were yet to ascertain who was driving the car, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MIAMI, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tritan Software, the #1 Provider of Health & Safety technology platforms in the maritime industry, announced today the launch of SeaConsult, a new telehealth solution that will be provided at no cost to all clients during the COVID-19 pandemic period. SeaConsult will allow onboard staff to securely conduct virtual cabin visits with onboard crew and guests for all suspected cases directly via a laptop or mobile device. The ability to perform contactless visits and checks via telehealth, in accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, will help prevent the transmission of communicable diseases onboard while ensuring the safety of crew and passengers. SeaConsult will also provide the ability for staff onboard to seek consult directly with shoreside specialists when additional medical assistance is needed.

More than 95% of the cruise industry has already adopted Tritan's SeaCare Health Platform; SeaConsult will be directly integrated into this existing system, allowing for immediate deployment across an entire industry. "As the leader in the industry, we believe it is our obligation to assist our clients and our communities during this challenging period," stated Andrew L. Carricarte, President and CEO of Tritan Software. "This latest advancement brings a much-needed and immediate capability to an entire industry. We have been collaborating extensively and working tirelessly with them and various regulatory authorities to ensure that the safety of all crew and passengers is paramount." Tritan will be leveraging its patented technology, SeaSync, to ensure that the virtual telehealth tool will operate effectively within the industry's limited connectivity environment at sea.

Tritan Software has also recently announced a new version which will provide additional innovative tools in compliance with the latest regulatory standards, along with numerous COVID-19-focused enhancements to assist with operational management. SeaCare, a GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant platform, currently provides a comprehensive suite of modules for every aspect of maritime care and health management. This includes numerous public health and communicable disease management tools such as automated close-contact tracing, quarantine management, epicurve trending, outbreak prevention notifications and the integration of critical compliance requirements to the numerous global authorities such as the CDC, U.S. Coast Guard, ECDC, Health Canada, Chinese Ministry of Health, Anvisa and various others entities.

About Tritan Software

Tritan Software is the maritime industry's #1 provider of health and safety management platforms. Tritan Software has over 95% adoption amongst all cruise lines with a rapidly growing presence within the commercial segments of the industry. Our products - the SeaCare Health Platform, the SeaEvent Management Platform and the SeaSafe Management Platform - combine patented synchronization technology and highly specialized functionality to deliver an unmatched value proposition resulting in optimal operational outcomes. Tritan Software has clients operating in every ocean of the world, sailing to over 1,000+ ports with over four million events being managed within its software platforms annually.

Onboard for Better Health & Safety

For additional information, please contact +1.877.299.1000 or [email protected]. Visit the website at www.tritansoft.com.

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The National Weather Service on Monday night issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Massachusetts between Springfield and Worcester.

Forecasters said the storm, which may hit areas in northern Connecticut as well, could bring gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail, impacting an area with a total population of more than 660,000 people, 203 schools and 14 hospitals.

The cities of Chicopee, Springfield and Worcester will be impacted, the National Weather Service said.

The National Weather Service issued the warning at about 7:30 p.m. and it remains in effect until at least 8:15 p.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 01:00:33|Editor: huaxia

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BISSAU, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday reported 59 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the provisional number to 820 cases in the country, the country's health authorities announced.

Among 94 tests carried out in 24 hours, 59 cases came back positive, including 30 men and 29 women, Dionisio Cumba, coordinator of the Center for Emergency Health Operations and member of the Interministerial Commission for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19, announced during the daily briefing in Bissau.

The government of Guinea-Bissau announced to shorten the curfew hours to 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., but people are still only allowed to leave their homes between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. to do their grocery shopping.

The President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo decided on Monday to extend the state of emergency throughout the national territory until May 26 from zero o'clock on Tuesday.

The West African Portuguese-speaking country has already put in place several drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus, including the closing of borders, restaurants, bars, places of worship and schools, as well as the ban on gatherings and circulation of people.

So far, Guinea-Bissau has reported 820 cases of COVID-19, including three deaths and 26 recovery cases, since March 25.

The other Portuguese-speaking country in West Africa, Cape Verde, reported Tuesday only seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bring the total number of confirmed cases to 267, including two deaths and 58 recovered cases. Enditem
Temperature checks, masks and quarantine will not deter people from a holiday in the sun after three months "locked up" at home, Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday as he announced plans for 1,000 flights a day from July.

The Irish low-cost carrier is to make face coverings and temperature checks mandatory for all staff and passengers while the airline, Europe's largest, will scrap cash payments on board and make customers seek permission to use the toilets.

Ryanair is the latest airline to announce measures aimed at reassuring customers they can safely return to planes despite the coronavirus pandemic and to try to get cash flowing again, with compulsory masks by far the most common proposal so far.

"People have been locked up since the middle of March. People are really gagging to get out and I think get abroad for the sunshine," O'Leary told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"We will see a surge of bookings building over the next six weeks up to July 1," O'Leary said, although this had not begun.

O'Leary said he was urging European authorities to make both masks and temperature checks mandatory across the continent, adding the idea of leaving the middle seats on single aisle aircraft empty to allow for social distancing was now "dead."

The European regulator, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, is to propose new safety measures for aviation later this week.

Rivals Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and Wizz have all made masks mandatory and the CEO of British Airways owner IAG Willie Walsh has said he is open to the idea.

Most airlines are disinfecting planes and several have limited cabin service on board.

Their focus in recent days, however, has been in resisting quarantine periods being imposed across the continent.

O'Leary joined criticism of Britain's plan to make arriving passengers quarantine for 14 days, saying the fact that France and Ireland had been exempted proved it was unscientific.

"This isn't science," he said, adding the measure was "unenforceable and unpoliceable" and would be ignored.

However, Ryanair said it will require all passengers to fill out a form detailing the length of their planned visit and where they will stay, information that will be provided to EU governments to monitor any quarantine measures.

O'Leary said he was optimistic there would be no quarantine periods for people traveling between countries in Europe's Schengen free travel zone and he hoped that travel restrictions to and from Britain and Europe would be dropped.

"Once the industry begins to recover towards September-October, I think we will be back to essentially open skies," he said, adding British families could happily quarantine at home for two weeks after returning from their holidays.

Earlier on Tuesday, Britain's health minister said Britons were unlikely to be able to have an international holiday this summer because of the pandemic.

Once aboard their flight, O'Leary said people would not be allowed to queue for the toilet on Ryanair planes and would have wait for permission to get up from cabin crew.

Ryanair is to operate around 40% of its original flights schedule from July up from a skeleton service of around 30 flights a day in May and June, he said. Ryanair should return to its normal passenger number levels by 2021, with ticket price levels returning to normal by 2022.

O'Leary also indicated Ryanair plans to move back towards an all-Boeing fleet by canceling leases for Airbus A320s for its Lauda subsidiary and likely replacing 30 Airbus jets at the Austrian airline with Boeing 737s. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Dr. John B. Eleeza

12.05.2020 LISTEN

The Northern Regional Health Director, Dr. John B. Eleeza, has disclosed that his office is under pressure to settle a hotel bill of Ghc219,000 by the hotel management in Tamale.

 The people are chasing us right, left , center for their money,  he said.

According to him, the hotel was used to quarantine health workers who came into contact with the eight Guineans and two Burkinabes who tested positive for Covid-19 in Tamale in the Northern Region .

Forty health workers at the Tamale Teaching Hospital who got into contact with the foreigners were put on mandatory quarantine.

The Health Director was responding to a question on why health workers in the region are asked to self quarantine instead of the health directorate.

He indicated that the bill has been sent to the Regional Ministers office for the necessary action.

Dr. Eleeza was optimistic that the bill will eventually be paid.

He cautioned health workers to treat every patient as a potential Covid-19 patient to ensure that they protect themselves from being infected.

---Daily Guide
Employees legally do not have to return to their workplace if they feel their company has not done enough to keep them safe from coronavirus, union leaders have said.

The Trades Union Congress said existing laws already protect employees in Britain who have a legal right to refuse to work if the risks are 'serious and imminent'.

And the GMB union has called for firms to carry out a 'full risk assessment agreed with each worker' and the supply of the necessary private protective equipment.

Union-appointed health and safety inspectors will check if offices, factories, shops and other workplaces have been redesigned to ensure social distancing or check that shifts are staggered and that staff are not sharing equipment such as pens.

The GMB union has also said it will take at least two weeks for most firms to reopen - despite the Prime Minister hoping tens of thousands of workers will return tomorrow.

Meanwhile business leaders have warned protecting staff and customers will be a 'big challenge' as workplaces are modified due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes after the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (Beis) unveiled workplace guidance for eight sectors of the economy yesterday.

The TUC said employees should initially talk to their colleagues and union if they are worried about safety, and ask their employer to rectify any concerning issues.

Staff can then report persisting problems to the Health and Safety Executive, and may also have the right to leave work depending on the specific circumstances.

The Government has set out guidelines for swathes of the economy to get them back to work

The relevant law is section 44 of the Employment Act 1996, while section 100 protects workers from detriment for asserting their right to safety.

A TUC spokesman added: 'If you are considering refusing to work because of a serious and imminent danger, know that you are not alone.

What is the relevant UK law for refusing to work due to safety concerns? The key law is Section 44 of the Employment Act 1996, with parts 'd' and 'e' especially important. It says: An employee has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by any act, or any deliberate failure to act, by his employer done on the ground that (a) having been designated by the employer to carry out activities in connection with preventing or reducing risks to health and safety at work, the employee carried out (or proposed to carry out) any such activities, (b) being a representative of workers on matters of health and safety at work or member of a safety committee (i) in accordance with arrangements established under or by virtue of any enactment, or

(ii) by reason of being acknowledged as such by the employer, the employee performed (or proposed to perform) any functions as such a representative or a member of such a committee, (ba) the employee took part (or proposed to take part) in consultation with the employer pursuant to the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 or in an election of representatives of employee safety within the meaning of those Regulations (whether as a candidate or otherwise),] (c)being an employee at a place where (i) there was no such representative or safety committee, or

(ii) there was such a representative or safety committee but it was not reasonably practicable for the employee to raise the matter by those means, he brought to his employer's attention, by reasonable means, circumstances connected with his work which he reasonably believed were harmful or potentially harmful to health or safety, (d) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not reasonably have been expected to avert, he left (or proposed to leave) or (while the danger persisted) refused to return to his place of work or any dangerous part of his place of work, or (e) in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent, he took (or proposed to take) appropriate steps to protect himself or other persons from the danger. Advertisement

'Workers in libraries, the postal service and waste collection have already walked off the job over coronavirus exposure concerns. Be aware, though: all those who have acted have done so with the advice and support of their union.

You need to be able to demonstrate that you have a 'reasonable belief of serious or imminent danger'. Your union will be able to advise on your specific situation.'

Business leaders have also responded to the new guidance, with Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, saying: 'We will be listening carefully to our members on how well these guidelines translate in practice.

'We hope and expect the guidance to evolve over time, but this is a place for employers to start on the long path to getting the economy going again.

'Business leaders want to stand on their own two feet, but many can't operate at anything like normal capacity at the moment, and making adjustments to protect staff and customers will be a big challenge for many workplaces.

'It's crucial the government continues to adapt its wider support, a more flexible furlough system and support for company directors is needed urgently.'

Dan Shears, national health, safety and environment director at the GMB union, which has 600,000 members, has claimed that the rules will take at least a fortnight to work through with staff being urged to withdraw their labour if they feel 'unsafe'.

Workers have been advised to turn their backs on co-workers, take their own packed lunch and go to the toilet one at a time while innovative construction companies are trialling hard hat tags that vibrate and sound an alarm when workers come closer than two metres, for example.

But union-appointed health and safety inspectors will hold the power and check if offices, factories, shops and other workplaces have been redesigned to ensure social distancing or check that shifts are staggered and that staff are not sharing equipment such as pens, for example.

While employers have a responsibility to keep their safe, there are concerns about the power wielded by unions who have been accused of 'creating obstacles' and 'standing in the way' of the private sector to prevent the lockdown easing for political reasons and recruit more members.

Labour MPs, including former leader Jeremy Corbyn, have even signed a letter declaring that Boris Johnson has 'declared a class war' on blue collar workers by asking them to go back to work.

Mr Shears told the Independent: 'There's no legislation around this, but employers have to assess the risk of workers being exposed to Covid-19, and implement ways of reducing that risk to the lowest level that they can achieve.

It came as the Prime Minister admitted ending lockdown will be 'supremely difficult' today as he unveiled an 'exit plan' that could see family and friends reuniting next month

'In practice, that will require screens, barriers, floor marking, signage, hand sanitiser, face masks and potentially a whole range of other interventions. All of this will take time to procure and set up, so I would suggest at least a week and more likely two weeks, unless the employer had this equipment already in the workplace.'

Meanwhile a GMB spokesman said: 'GMB believes a phased introduction back to work, that includes a full risk assessment agreed with each worker and the supply of necessary, adequate and correct PPE is essential if we are to avoid a second wave of the pandemic.'

Shaun Graham, senior health and safety officer, GMB London said: 'NHS and key workers risk their lives daily and that of their loved ones, and in too many cases have lost their lives in pursuit of delivering care and essential services to the nation.

'Not enough PPE and no social distancing possible being a major contribution of these deaths.

'Working safely during Covid-19, the government's latest guidelines on safe working during the pandemic are not enough to deter reckless employers from forcing workers back to work in environments where exposure to Covid-19 is still a very real risk.'

The guidance was provided online for people working in eight areas:

Labs and research facilities

Restaurants offering takeaway and delivery

Offices and contact centres

Homes

Vehicles

Shops

Factories and warehouses

Construction sites and other outdoor settings

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (Beis) unveiled workplace guidance for eight different sectors of the economy today as Boris Johnson took the first baby steps towards restarting the economy.

They set out in detail the steps companies should take to reintroduce staff at work safely, with the most important being staff should stay at home unless their work cannot be done at home and is deemed 'critical'.

Among the guidance is to carry out a Covid-19 risk assessment, with employers told: 'You must consult with the health and safety representative selected by a recognised trade union or, if there isn't one, a representative chosen by workers. As an employer, you cannot decide who the representative will be.'

It adds: 'If possible, employers should publish the results of their risk assessments on their website and we expect all businesses with over 50 employees to do so. '

It comes as trade unions in various sectors including transport and education voice fears about workers being sent back to work too early.

The Prime Minister today admitted ending lockdown will be 'supremely difficult' today as he unveiled an 'exit plan' that could see family and friends reuniting next month.

The PM played down expectations of a quick end to the misery for the country, saying going 'too far and too fast' risked a devastating second peak.

Ministers said they have consulted with around 250 businesses, trade bodies and unions to agree the plans.

The Government said the new Covid-19 secure guidance will work alongside current health and safety rules, rather than with the introduction of new laws for protecting workers.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: 'This guidance provides a framework to get the UK back to work in a way that is safe for everyone. These are practical steps to enable employers to identify risks that COVID-19 creates and to take pragmatic measures to mitigate them.'

British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall said: 'This is a significant step forward in terms of the information available for businesses, who will now need to digest the detail.

'The guidance signals big changes for the way that many businesses operate, and some firms will now need time to plan and speak to their employees so that they can return to work safely.

'Alongside this guidance, businesses urgently need clarity on the future of government support schemes, which must be adapted to help those firms who need to remain closed for an extended period or face reduced capacity or demand'.

As many people as possible should be working from home with those on site limited to those whose jobs are 'critical for business and operational continuity, safe facility management, or regulatory requirements' that cannot be done elsewhere.

They are expected to adhere to the same social distancing rules as elsewhere.

Changes to the usual routine start before staff even arrive, with suggestions of staggered working times, extra facilities for cyclists and runners, and limited numbers in any minibuses used.

Workplaces themselves should open more entrances and exists where possible and consider running a one-way system to reduce congestion, with keypad entry systems turned off.

Where desks cannot be two metres apart from each other, screens should be used to separate staff, and desks should be either side-by-side or facing away from each other.

Hot desking - where more than one person uses a desk at various times during a day or week - should be avoided.

The advice says meetings should be virtual where they can, but with two metres between people if not, adding: 'Avoiding transmission during meetings, for example avoiding sharing pens and other objects.'

Even breaks should be staggered to allow people to space out, and canteens should remain shut because of the infection risk, with firms urged to think about 'providing packaged meals or similar' and 'encouraging workers to bring their own food'.

And offices should undergo regular deep cleaning.

Here are some of the key points for each setting:

Offices

'For people who work in one place, workstations should allow them to maintain social distancing wherever possible.

'Workstations should be assigned to an individual and not shared. If they need to be shared they should be shared by the smallest possible number of people.

'If it is not possible to keep workstations 2m apart then businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate and if so take all mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission.'

Restaurants (take away and delivery)

Special advice for restaurant includes asking staff to change into uniforms at work and wash them there rather than taking them home if they can

As few people should be in a kitchen as possible and minimum staff.

Workstations shoukld be two metres apart if possible, 'recognising the difficulty of moving equipment such as sinks, hobs and ovens'.

Cleanable panels could be used and floor signs showing a two metre distance. Minimal access should be allowed to 'walk-in pantries, fridges and freezers, for example, with only one person being able to access these areas at one point in time'.

There should also be 'minimal contact at ''handover'' points with other staff, such as when presenting food to serving staff and delivery drivers'.

Shops

Shops could be asked to take an authoritarian approach to allowing shoppers into their stores.

This could include limiting the number of people in a shop at one time, and demanding children are kept under close control.

Services with contravene social distancing, like carrying a customer's heavy shopping, may have to be scrapped.

Shoppers should be encouraged to shop alone where possible.

Factories and warehouses

This includes manufacturing and chemical plants, food and other large processing plants, warehouses, distribution centres and port operations.

Their advice warns they may have to look at 'reviewing layouts, line set-ups or processes to allow people to work further apart from each other'.

Construction and other outdoor work

Advice here is on reducing unnecessary movement within building sites. This includes 'restricting access to some areas, encouraging use of telephones where permitted, and cleaning them between use'.

It also calls for 'reducing job rotation and equipment rotation, for example, single tasks for the day' and 'implementing one-way systems where possible on walkways around the workplace'.

Vehicles

This includes people working as couriers, mobile workers, lorry drivers, on-site transit, work vehicles and field forces.

The guidance notes: 'It will not always be possible to keep a distance of two metres inside vehicles.

'Many in-vehicle tasks need more than one person, for example heavy deliveries or refuse collection, and changing vehicle configurations to create more space may not be practical.

'Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.'

This includes using screens, extra handwashing and limiting the time spend on an assignment.

Homes

People working in homes include: repair services, fitters, meter readers, plumbers, cleaners, cooks and surveyors, plus delivery drivers 'momentarily at the door'.

It does not apply to nannies working with one family, or their employers.

This group are adviced to travel to work alone if possible, but if they cannot to take steps including: keeping to the same group of people and a limited group, keeping vehicles clean.

Within homes, 'it will not always be possible to maintain physical distance from customers.

'If it isn't possible to maintain social distancing while working in the home then extra attention needs to be paid to equipment, cleaning and hygiene to reduce risk.

'Working materials, such as tools or domestic appliances, should be assigned to an individual and not shared if possible. If they need to be shared, they should be shared by the smallest possible number of people.'

Labs and research facilities

The advice notes: 'It will not always be possible to keep a distance of two metres in labs and R&D facilities that may be designed for close-proximity collaboration.

'Fixed equipment may mean that changing layouts to create more space may not be practical.

'Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.'
We'll all have our own quarantine stories that we'll probably be telling for years but a German man may have almost all of us beat. He basically managed to live out a movie during this time. As we all saw the news recently, a German man was stuck living at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for almost two months as he was stranded because of the coronavirus lockdown. Since his country refused to claim him because he had a criminal record, he was just living in the airport's transit area as he couldn't get a visa for India for the same reason.

 Reuters

After being at the Delhi airport since March 18, Edgard Ziebart's coronavirus adventure has moved on to another continent as he has finally managed to leave India. Today morning, he left for Amsterdam on a relief flight of KLM Airlines. He was found healthy after all the tests and has left on the flight with 291 other passengers.



 Reuters

Before the lockdown, he was on his way to Instanbul from Vietnam when he ended up getting stranded in India because of all flights getting cancelled. Last week, Indian authorities did try to send him on a relief flight to Ankara, but Turkish authorities refused to accept him on-board since the flight was only for their citizens or permanent cardholders. While living at the airport, he had just been waiting for flights to start again to catch the first one and leave. Well, looks like he got lucky since he's at least reached his own continent now.



 Wikipedia

An official said, "Around 3 am, he boarded a flight KL872. There were a total of 292 passengers on-board that flight. It was a special flight being operated from Delhi to Amsterdam. Because he was eligible to go to Europe, he was allowed to leave. His tickets cost him around Rs 43,000. He paid for his tickets on his own." Reportedly, he had previously been contacted by German embassy officials and was offered passage back to his home country, but he had declined their offer. I can't understand what he's trying to do and where he's trying to do, but at least, it's not India's problem anymore. This entire situation can actually become a movie plot now!


The Labour Court has recommended that Supermacs pay an "over-qualified" store manager 7,500 compensation after finding that he was unfairly dismissed for no apparent reasons.

Labour Court deputy chairman, Caroline Jenkinson stated that the three-member court was satisfied that the workers dismissal was unfair, devoid of any procedures and taken for no apparent reasons.

Ms Jenkinson stated: In all the circumstances, the court recommends that the company should pay him the sum of 7,500 in compensation for his unfair dismissal, within six weeks from the date of this recommendation.

However, it is likely that the sacked worker will not receive any monies from Supermacs Ireland Ltd from the case as the recommendation is not binding on the Supermacs company.

The man claimed unfair dismissal arising from his dismissal on July 5, 2019, during his probationary period.

The unnamed worker was hired as a Store Manager on January 16, 2019, and successfully completed his training and was assigned to manage his own restaurant. On July 5, 2019, he was dismissed without any warning.

At a recent Labour Court hearing into the case where Supermacs did not attend, the worker said that his six-week training period was very positive and that he was assigned to manage his own restaurant.

He said that on July 5, 2019, he was very shocked when, without any previous feedback, he was told that his probationary period was unsuccessful.

He said that at no point was there any indication that he would be unsuccessful in his probationary period.

The worker told the Labour Court he received a letter from his Area Manager on July 5, 2019, informing him that a decision had been made to terminate his employmentdue to unsuccessful probationary period.

He said that he was shocked by this development as he had been given no warning, no performance discussions, no progress talks.

Rather he said that he had only received positive feedback regarding his performance.

He claimed that management were not satisfied that he was engaged in study for exams and maintained that he was overqualified for the position.

When contacted for comment today, Supermacs MD, Pat McDonagh stated that he was unaware of the Labour Court ruling.

Mr McDonagh said: I am working remotely currently and that may be the reason why I dont know about it and of course, there are more pressing issues right now with the business.

Mr McDonagh stated that it was his understanding that such an award is non-binding as the dismissal took place within six months of the worker commencing his probationary period.

Speaking generally, Mr McDonagh said: Sometimes people work out and sometimes people dont work out as the job may not suit them.
Although the government's strategy is largely based on testing the population for Covid-19, state services have not yet completed the logistics required to fulfil this plan.

In the Grand Duchy, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) is leading a research project which involves testing the whole population for Covid-19, as announced by the government two weeks ago. However, CSV MP Claude Wiseler declared on Tuesday that this was was not occurring in the immediate future, following a videoconference meeting of the Parliamentary Health Commission.

The objective of this meeting was to obtain details on tests carried out during the pandemic. At the end of April, government ministers announced Luxembourg's residents and cross-border workers would be tested, with a capacity of up to 20,000 tests per day. However, the reality has proved to be different, said Wiseler.

The CSV also wished to know why no appeal for tenders was made for the tests. Wiseler criticised the process in which the Ministry of Health passed it on to the Ministry of Research. Next week, the minister concerned, Claude Meisch, will be invited to join the committee for a meeting in which he will be expected to provide answers.

The government has said the appropriate orders have been placed in order to test the whole population.

Luxembourg news site Reporter published an article at the end of April claiming the government's strategy required questioning, as did the order process for the tests as they had not been made available for bids. The lack of transparency has been criticised.

In addition, the test kits delivered by one of the laboratories are said not be compatible with those received by the crisis unit from another laboratory. According to Reporter, the government should place new orders, but using another method.
He welcomed a son called Roman with fiance Lucy Mecklenburgh back in March.

But Ryan Thomas, 35, has been making sure to spend lots of quality time with his daughter Scarlett, 11, from his past relationship with Tina O'Brien.

The pair were pictured heading out in a car on Instagram on Tuesday, but Ryan made sure that he and Scarlett wore face masks, gloves and sunglasses for the outing.

'We don't go out often, but when we do...' Ryan Thomas and daughter Scarlett, 11, wore face masks for an Instagram picture on Tuesday as they spent some quality time together

While the former Coronation Street actor didn't say where they were going, he wrote: '...we dont go out often but when we do.'

It appears as though Ryan had been given the use of a supercar for the day, although this wasn't clear from the picture.

But he had written: 'Thank you @heaunique group' which is an account dedicated to supercar storage.

Family: Ryan recently revealed his joy at finally seeing his daughter Scarlett meet his baby boy Roman after they were kept apart amid the coronavirus outbreak

He has been honest with his followers about the struggles of welcoming a newborn away from family during the coronavirus lockdown.

And Ryan Thomas was every inch the doting father when he shared a sweet snap alongside his adorable son Roman Ravello on Tuesday.

The Coronation Street star wrote: 'That 3am night shift.... yep I'm tired too son!' to accompany the snap.

So sweet: Ryan was every inch the doting father when he shared a sweet snap alongside his adorable son on social media

Lucy and Ryan revealed they had welcomed baby Roman in an Instagram post on March 12.

The fitness guru announced her pregnancy in August, after Ryan proposed during a trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast in June 2019.

The couple met on Celebrity Island With Bear Grylls in early 2017.

They brushed off split rumours in December 2018 after Lucy was pictured looking cosy with a man in a Dubai nightclub, believed to be her friend and business associate Adam Rossiter.
At the end of March, the Hungarian government passed an Emergency Law giving Prime Minister Viktor Orban extensive dictatorial powers. Although similar to Hitlers Enabling Act, which consolidated the Nazi dictatorship in Germany in 1933, the law enjoys the support of the European Union.

The law allows Orban to govern by decree for an unlimited period. He has the right to suspend the application of certain laws by decree and to introduce other exceptional measures to guarantee the stability of life, health, personal and material security of citizens and the economy. Parliament is effectively suspended. The law does not place a time limit on the state of emergency; the government can extend it at will.

The Emergency Law is supposedly to enable a fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but from the very beginning, it was clear that this is only a flimsy pretext. As the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Kozlony has pointed out, it mainly affects areas that have absolutely nothing to do with the fight against COVID-19.

In the judicial system, for example, the rights of defendants or convicted persons are drastically restricted. Civil and criminal proceedings can be postponed indefinitely by judges or prosecutors. The same applies to court applications by persons in custody. Actions for compensation may be dismissed as inadmissible without justification.

The rights to data protection and privacy, which in any case only exist on paper, have now also been formally abolished with the Emergency Law. The Minister for Innovation and Technology, that is, the government, now has the right to access all available personal data. Similarly, parts of the European data protection regulation have been repealed. The right to access or delete ones data has been removed, as has the right to appeal against it. The decree also exempts government agencies from the obligation to provide information on the collection and processing of personal data.

The entire law is directed against the Hungarian working class. This can be seen from the fact that provisions of the labour law can be completely repealed. Some professional groups can now even be obliged to work 24 hours a day. This regulation marks the climax of the Orban governments attacks on labour protection rights.

At the same time, EU subsidies can be paid out without requiring a risk analysis or on-site inspections. This benefits large companies, most of which are under government control or belong to people politically close to Orban. Over 140 system-critical companies have been placed under military control with reference to the fight against the pandemic.

To enforce all this, even against resistance from the population, the army has been given police powers. Government critics are threatened with draconian punishments under the law. For example, the dissemination of so-called false news is punishable by up to five years in prison and violations of quarantine regulations by up to eight years.

The criminal offences are so vaguely formulated that any dissenting opinion or oppositional action can fall under them. Viktor Orban now rules as a dictator, commented Hungarian constitutional law expert Gabor Halmai. With the Emergency Law, Orbans system had also lost its formal democratic nature.

While the Emergency Law, which was passed under the pretext of fighting the coronavirus, remains in force, the few protective measures for the population, initiated too late in any case, have largely been revoked. As in most other European countries, the safety of the population is subordinated to the interests of the corporationsin Hungary, mainly Western car companies.

Since the beginning of the month, there have been hardly any restrictions, such as social distancing, outside the capital city of Budapest. Meanwhile, there are already plans to relax the regulations in Budapest as well, where the majority of confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported. According to official figures, there are 3,263 infected persons and 413 fatalities in Hungary. But these figures say very little. In hardly any other European country are so few people tested.

In addition, the government deliberately does not publish data. The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, recently demanded this from the government. He complained that, above all, data on infections in hospitals remained under wraps, although it was sufficiently known that clinics and medical facilities are coronavirus hotspots. He also criticized the fact that people who are discharged from hospitals are not tested as a matter of principle.

The coronavirus crisis has also brought to light the scale of the social catastrophe in the country. Of the approximately ten million inhabitants, over one million live below the poverty line, a number that is now continuing to rise rapidly. Despite the loss of income due to the crisis, there is no additional state support being provided. The situation is particularly precarious for the approximately 300,000 Roma, who live in ghettos under sometimes inhumane conditions. After the easing of restrictions, they are exposed to even higher risks. If the virus gets into the slums, it will be brutal, Reuters quotes Krisztina Jasz of the European Anti-Poverty Network.

While opposition to Orban is growing in the country, his establishment of a dictatorship is gaining support among Europes ruling classes. The EU Commission expressly declared that it would not take action against the emergency laws. According to a report in Die Welt, confirmed by Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, there are no concrete grounds indicating the violation of fundamental democratic rights and therefore no immediate countermeasures from Brussels are necessary.

On top of this, the Hungarian government is receiving massive EU funding, not a single cent of which goes towards the expansion of ailing public health facilities or benefits affected workers. Hungary receives 5.6 billion in emergency EU aid, which corresponds to 3.8 percent of the countrys gross domestic product. Italy, the country worst affected by the coronavirus in Europe, receives only 2.3 billion, or 0.1 percent of its GDP. The EU Parliament has expressly approved this.

Even the European Stability Initiative, a left-wing Berlin think tank, commented, The EU is giving Victor Orban almost four percent of its economic output while he rises to dictatorship. This severely damages the Union, which wants to be a democratic community of values.

In fact, the EU is deliberately supporting Hungarys path to dictatorship. Governments across Europe are preparing similar steps to implement their murderous back to work policies. While banks and corporations receive tens of billions of euros overnight, money is supposedly lacking for the simplest of safety measures for workers. This is incompatible with democratic rights. For this reason, the states of the EU are moving ever more openly in the direction of dictatorship and fascism.

Building on this, Orban is openly revealing his fascist sentiments. Last week, Orban used Facebook to wish Hungarian schoolchildren good luck for their upcoming exams. He posted a section of a globe on which the so-called Greater Hungary is clearly marked. Until 1920, this included parts of what is now Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Slovakia. Since then, fascist forces in the country have been demanding the re-establishment of Greater Hungary.
Microscopic view of cells affected by non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Credit: UPV/EHU

Polycystic hepatorenal diseases are hereditary genetic disorders characterized by the progressive development of multiple symptomatic cysts in the kidneys and/or liver that may cause alterations in the function of those organs and/or complications associated with their growth. Right now, there are no effective pharmacological treatments and the only curative option is organ transplant.

Researchers at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) led by Dr. Fernando Cossio and collaborators at the Biodonostia Institute of Health Research, led by Ikerbasque research fellow Dr. Jesus M. Banales, have worked on the development of new drugs that have proven to be effective in reducing the growth of hepatic and renal cysts in experimental models of this disease, which could be of huge clinical significance. Researchers at the University of Salamanca, led by Dr. Jose J. G. Marin, at the Idibell Institute of Catalonia, led by Dr. Manel Esteller, and at the Hormel Institute of Minnesota (U.S.), headed by Dr. Sergio Gradilone, have collaborated in this multidisciplinary project led by the two Basque institutions.

The drugs are based on the structure of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a bile acid present in the body at a low concentration and which has protective properties for the liver. Its administration is recommended for treating specific liver diseases. The researchers studied the structure and properties of this molecule to design and synthesise a family of chemical derivatives geared toward inhibiting a key protein responsible for encouraging the growth of hepatorenal cysts. The results have shown that these new drugs are capable of blocking the growth of hepatic and renal cysts in an animal model of this disease.

The promising therapeutic effects of these new drugs have sparked great interest in the international scientific community, and the work was selected for oral presentation at the International Congress of the EASL, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, held in Vienna. It has also been published recently in the international journal Hepatology.

Explore further Liver surgery success boosted by growth hormone

More information: Francisco J. CaballeroCamino et al, New synthetic conjugates of ursodeoxycholic acid inhibit cystogenesis in experimental models of polycystic liver disease, Hepatology (2020). Journal information: Hepatology Francisco J. CaballeroCamino et al, New synthetic conjugates of ursodeoxycholic acid inhibit cystogenesis in experimental models of polycystic liver disease,(2020). DOI: 10.1002/hep.31216
The Congress on Tuesday accused the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat of discriminating against the workers of Amethi stranded in Ahmedabad and wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on this.

In the letter written by UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu and legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra, the Congress alleged that the BJP governments of both the states were discriminating against the people of Amethi who are stranded in Ahmedabad and creating hurdles in their return.

Terming this unfortunate, the two leaders claimed that the people of Amethi wanted to return home but the government of Gujarat was not allowing it and saying that it had not received a go-ahead in this regard from the UP government.

The labourers and workers who registered themselves long ago for returning to Amethi have not gotten the permission till now, the letter said.

The Congress leaders asked the Yogi Adityanath government to immediately give its recommendation so that these stranded people can return safely.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For years, the first person people saw when they joined the throng entering New Orleans Greek Festival was Jimmie Menutis.

He former club owner and businessman was impossible to overlook. He had a razzle-dazzle to him, and a natural flair, said Ginny Zissis, the festivals longtime chairwoman. He had that beautiful white hair, and he made all the ladies smile. He knew how to entertain and make us all feel that were going to have fun together.

But there was more to Menutis than smiles, hugs and handshakes. He was an active supporter of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where the festival is held, and he bought a vast blue-and-white tent.

The tent, made in the colors of the Greek flag, really started bringing a lot of attention to the festival, Zissis said, because everyone could see it from the bayou.

Menutis, an artist who ran a nightclub in Houston and owned businesses in New Orleans, died May 8 in Lafayette. He was 95 and had been suffering from pneumonia, Zissis said.

A native of Houston, Menutis showed artistic promise early. When he was a teenager, The Houston Chronicle published some of his sketches.

When the United States entered World War II, Menutis served in the Army as a war correspondent and was posted to the China-Burma-India Theater. His artwork and articles appeared in Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper.

Menutis returned home to study art at the University of Houston and work part-time as an usher in theaters owned by the Interstate Theaters chain.

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After college, he took over one of those movie houses  the Wayside  and turned it into a music club that brought in a host of jazz and rocknroll stars, including Louis Armstrong, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis. The club, which boasted a larger-than-life likeness of a saxophone player atop the marquee, bore his name, with one small variation: The first name of the club was Jimmy instead of Jimmie.

The club closed in the mid-1960s, but while it lasted it was one cool and crazy ride, according to a column in The Pecan Park Eagle, a neighborhood newspaper.

Menutis moved to New Orleans, Zissis said, where he owned property and operated several French Quarter businesses, including Jimmies Coney Island, an eatery on Royal Street.

In New Orleans, he became active in Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, serving as its president and as leader of the local chapter of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the organization better known as AHEPA, which was founded in 1922 to advocate for civil rights and against discrimination.

Menutis had lived in Lafayette since 2005.

Survivors include his wife, Ruth Ann Menutis; a son, Dimitri Menutis of New Orleans; a daughter, Jamie Menutis Smith of New Orleans; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A private graveside service was held Tuesday in Fountain Memorial Cemetery in Lafayette.

Fountain Memorial Funeral Home of Lafayette was in charge of arrangements.
New York Orthodox Jews make up half of all US plasma donors volunteering blood to help treat COVID-19 patients, according to a medical expert.

Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic, who is running a study on the effects of plasma to treat the virus, said more than 5,000 patients across the US have been given plasma treatment so far and, when it comes to donors, 'by far the largest group is our Orthodox friends in New York City.'

'I would be shocked if they were less than half the total,' Joyner told the New York Times.

Thousands of Americans who have recovered from coronavirus are donating their blood to plasma clinics in the hope that it can be used to treat other people struck down by the virus.

And Orthodox Jews are making up a significant proportion of the volunteers as the famously tight-knit community pulls together amid the health crisis and many see their newfound health as a 'blessing', according to medics and community members.

This comes as the Jewish community has been especially devastated by the pandemic in virus epicenter New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel.

Plasma is donated by recovered COVID-19 patients. New York Orthodox Jews make up half of all US plasma donors volunteering blood to help treat COVID-19 patients, as the community is turning the 'tragedy into a superpower'

More than 12,000 New York Orthodox Jews have signed up to various community programs donating blood plasma since April 4 and organizers expect this to reach 30,000 soon, the Times reported.

Orthodox Jews from New York are 'punching way above their weight' when it comes to donating, Dr. Shmuel Shoham, who is leading a study at Johns Hopkins University on using plasma to treat people exposed to the virus, told the Times.

'The community has taken a tragedy and turned it into a superpower.'

Several grassroots initiatives have sprung up in the local community, with the word spreading via synagogues and community newsletters.

'What struck me initially was that we all kind of had the same idea,' Avrohom Weinstock, who organized a scheme through his company Agudath Israel, told the Times.

'It resonated with everybody in the community and that's why they really pushed it forward and donated.'

An Orthodox Jew in New York wears a face mask. More than 12,000 New York Orthodox Jews have signed up to various community programs donating blood plasma since April 4 and organizers expect this to reach 30,000 soon

Several grassroots initiatives have sprung up in the local community, with the word spreading via synagogues and community newsletters

Weinstock said rabbis have given followers permission to drive to blood banks on the Sabbath to donate if this is the only available appointment time, so that as many lives as possible can be saved.

'From a moral and religious perspective, we have every obligation to do whatever we can,' said Weinstock.

'If we'll find out later it saved 50 lives or 100 lives or 20 lives, whatever the case is, if it's 20 lives, it's worth every effort, every minute of it.'

So many community members have volunteered, New York blood banks can no longer keep up with demand, the Times reported, leading to many traveling further afield to Pennsylvania and Delaware to donate.

'There were probably never so many Hasidim in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the history of the world, and here they're riding in literally to save lives,' Mordy Serle, an Orthodox Jewish lawyer who traveled from Brooklyn to a bank in Pennsylvania last month to donate blood and who has helped organize donations.

The drive to donate comes in large part down to the traditionally close-knit community and the importance the religion places on human life, according to public health experts and community leaders.

'We look at it as a gift that we recovered, because many people in our community did not recover. And for us a gift is not something to sit back and enjoy and just talk about, it is a gift we have to use,' Serle said.

'I think that it comes from our education and the way we're raised, the idea of kindness, or chesed, as being one of the foundations of what the world is built on and how it is sustained,' said Weinstock.

Mordy Serle, an Orthodox Jewish lawyer who has helped organize blood plasma donations among the New York community

With no known coronavirus cure or vaccine on the table, medics across the US are trialling the use of blood plasma containing virus antibodies from recovered patients.

It's a treatment that is still in the experimental stage, with several clinical trials under way to determine its effectiveness.

Joyner said he is 'cautiously optimistic' such a treatment works because it is a method that has long been used to treat infectious diseases.

The push to find effective treatment comes as the Jewish community has been hard-hit by the outbreak in New York.

Across the state, a total of 337,055 people have been infected and 21,835 people killed by the virus.

Exact figures for the toll on the Jewish community are not available but New York City Health Department data shows a strong correlation between the areas most affected and the city's Hasidic neighborhoods.

Borough Park, Williamsburg and Crown Heights in Brooklyn are all home to large Hasidic communities and they have all recorded high infection rates.

Orthodox Jewish men move a wooden casket from a hearse at a funeral home in the Borough Park neighborhood in Brooklyn. The Jewish community has been hard-hit by the outbreak in New York

Tensions have been mounting between the community and the city's authorities, after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was accused of singling out Orthodox Jews over social distancing practices when large crowds gathered for a funeral last month

More than 700 deaths were recorded in the city alone by mid-April and at-home deaths in Borough Park and Williamsburg in March and early April were up more than 10 times compared to the same time last year, according to the Times of Israel.

However, tensions have been mounting between the community and the city's authorities, after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was accused of singling out Orthodox Jews over social distancing practices.

Photos showed hundreds of Orthodox Jewish community members crowded in Williamsburg for a funeral in April, and de Blasio personally traveled across the city to break it up.

The mayor slammed the mourners on Twitter calling their actions 'absolutely unacceptable' but faced a backlash for targeting the community while others have also been pictured flouting the state's stay-at-home order.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Commodore Malik Singh Khera (retired) on Tuesday turned 100. Commissioned on May 7, 1946, Air Commodore Khera served with the IAF for over three decades and retired in May 1977.

Air Commodore Khera completed his MBBS from King Edward Medical College in Pakistan's Lahore in June 1944 and joined the Army Medical Corps (AMC) on August 13, 1944. He specialized in aviation medicine and served as a senior medical officer at various flying bases of the IAF.

Air Commodore Khera served in the airforce at various levels and subsequently commanded Military Hospital Namkum, Ranchi as a Colonel in the Indian Army. In 1974, he reverted back into the IAF, till he retired from the service on May 31, 1977, as an Air Commodore.

Taking to a Facebook post, the (IAF) congratulated the Air Commodore, thanked the veteran for his services and wished him an abundance of health as he completed his "first century". The IAF also said that "he continues to inspire all of us as a true, disciplined and motivated Air-warrior".

The post read, "Celebrating a Century: #Congratulations to Air Cmde Malik Singh Khera (retd) on his 100th birthday. Commissioned on 07 May 1946, Air Cmde Khera served with the Indian Air Force for over three decades, retiring in May 1977. The IAF family thanks the Veteran for his services & wishes an abundance of health as he completes his first century."

"Air Commodore Malik Singh Khera completed MBBS from King Edward medical college Lahore in June 1944 & joined the Army Medical Corps (AMC) on 13 Aug 1944," read the post.

"He specialized in Aviation medicine & served as a senior medical officer at various flying bases of IAF. He served in the airforce at various levels & subsequently commanded Military Hospital Namkum, Ranchi as a Colonel in the Indian Army. In 1974 he reverted back into the IAF, till he retired from the service on 31 May 1977 as an Air Commodore," it added.

"Today Air Commodore Malik Singh Khera celebrates100 glorious years of life, as he continues to inspire all of us as a true, disciplined and motivated Air-warrior. Congratulations sir on the centennial celebration. Jai Hind!" it further added.
Theologians Warn Andy Stanley's Message to 'Unhitch' Old Testament Is Heresy

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Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley's recent message in which he urged Christians to "unhitch" their faith from the Old Testament continues to draw flak, with some calling it heresy.

Both Kevin DeYoung of Christ Covenant Church and Wesley Hill of Trinity School for Ministry are calling Stanley out for what they contend is heretical teaching  namely, Marcionism  that stems from the early church days.

"[Mo]st of the 39-minute talk can really only be described as an elaborate and educated flirtation with the old Christian heresy of Marcionismthe belief that the Old Testament is not authoritative in matters of Christian doctrine and morals," Hill stated, referring to Stanley's sermon from April.

DeYoung, a Reformed pastor in North Carolina, called Marcionism "the evergreen heresy" that still resonates with people today largely because it cuts out "a God full of wrath and justice" and leaves "a God of goodness and nothing else."

Stanley, who leads North Point Community Church in Georgia, preached a sermon series called "Aftermath" last month. The series was aimed at appealing to individuals who left Christianity over something they disagreed with or didn't like in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament.

In the final part of the three-part series, he said that while he believes the Old Testament is "divinely inspired," that is not the basis of Christianity. And just as "Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish Scriptures, ... we must as well," he told his congregation.

Stanley called the Old Testament "the back story for the main story" and while it's important, it's also "violent," "disturbing," and "offends all of our modern senses."

"Many have lost faith because of something about the Bible or in the Bible, the Old Testament in particular ... once they could no longer accept all the historicity of the Old Testament ... suddenly their house of cards of faith came tumbling down because they were taught it's all true, it's all God's Word and if you find one part that's not true, uh oh, the whole thing comes tumbling down.

"Not Christianity. The Bible did not create Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus created and launched Christianity. Your whole house of Old Testament cards can come tumbling down."

He added that Jesus' new covenant "does not need propping up by the Jewish Scriptures."

Stanley argued that many will find this view "liberating."

"It's liberating for men and women who were drawn to the simple message that God loves you so much He sent His son to pave the way to a relationship with you. It's appealing and it's liberating for people who need and understand grace ... forgiveness ..., for people who find it virtually impossible to embrace the ... worldview and the value system depicted in the story of ancient Israel."

DeYoung explained in his blog the appeal of this type of teaching. Marcion, the son of a bishop from the first century, was "was one of the most successful heretics in the early church. He grew in prominence for preaching a version of the faith that distanced itself from the Old Testament.

Though Marcion was excommunicated by the Church, he was able to win many converts.

"Marcion's theological errors (and there were many) came from one main root: he refused to believe that the God of the Old Testament was the same as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Marcion simply could not believe in a God full of wrath and justice," DeYoung explained.

Marcion put together his own version of the Gospel, one that "does away with the uncomfortable bits about God's wrath and Hell."

"What Marcion couldn't bear was the note of judgment that went along with the preaching of the Christian message, the warnings that came with the teaching of the law, the call to obedience and the threat of Hell," DeYoung noted.

"The idea of recasting Christianity for a new day  in softer, gentler hues, more focused on the life of Jesus instead of the wrath-satisfying death of Jesus  is always popular. Some errors never quite die, and some new things are not that new," he warned.

Others, such as Michael Brown, host of the nationally syndicated "Line of Fire" radio program, also delivered a harsh warning against Stanley's argument in an op-ed published in The Christian Post last week.

"A pastor as influential as Andy Stanley needs to distance himself from such heresies, making a public, clear, and unequivocal correction that undoes the confusion he has caused. (He knows that I write this a friend, out to help, not to hurt.)," Brown wrote.

"He can preach against legalism and against Judaizing, exalting the grace of God and celebrating the newness of the New Covenant, without undermining the very foundations on which that New Covenant is established."
Scientists are developing suitable shelters for the first explorers of Mars, but a new study believes the Red Planet can provide natural settlements for the pioneers.

After surveying 1,500 images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of experts believe they have discovered a solution  lava tubes.

An area, known as Hellas Planitia in the southern hemisphere, is sprouting with volcanic formations that could be used to protect the crew from radiation  exposure drops by 82 percent inside the pits - and harsh weather patterns.

The caverns could also be closed off, allowing astronauts to add technology to heat the structure and create a breathable environment inside.

Researches are now urging NASA to use this region as a landing site, as it receives 50 percent less radiation than other parts of Mars due to the lower elevation.

Scroll down for video

An area, known as Hellas Planitia in the southern hemisphere, is sprouting with volcanic formations that could be used to protect the crew from radiation  exposure drops by 82 percent inside the pits - and harsh weather patterns

The lava tubes are made from flowing magma and created when the flowing channels cool rapidly and form a strong crust over the subsurface of the lava.

The lava flow ultimately stops, drains out of the tube and leaves an empty space several feet under the surface.

Hellas Planitia, which is an impact basin in Mars southern hemisphere, formed approximately 4.1 billion to 3.8 billion years ago when a massive asteroid hit the surface.

Along the northeastern edge of Hellas is an ancient volcanic mountain, called Hadriacus Mons, which allowed for lava tubes to form around the area.

Researches are now urging NASA to use this region as a landing site, as it receives 50 percent less radiation than other parts of Mars due to the lower elevation. Pictured is a colorful image of Hellas Planitia

The lava tubes near Hadriacus Mons, consequently, could be used as natural radiation shelters and habitats for a crewed mission to the planet, reads the study led by Antonio Paris, chief scientist at the Center for Planetary Science.

These natural caverns have roofs estimated to be tens of meters thick, which would provide the crew protection from not only exposure to too much radiation, but also the bombardment of micrometeorites, exposure to dangerous soil perchlorates due to long-term dust storms, and extreme temperature fluctuations.

In March, NASA had shared an image, originally snapped in 2011, of lava tube inside of a volcano on Mars, which sits on the side of Pavonis Mons (pictured)

Researchers found that inside the lava tubes, exposure to radiation drops by 82 percent and explains that the caverns could also be sealed off.

This would allow astronauts to add technology for producing heat and to create a breathable atmosphere.

The results of this investigation indicate that the proposed lava tubes southwest of Hadriacus Mons can and should be utilized to serve as natural shelters for a crewed mission to the planet.

Scientists are developing suitable shelters for the first explorers of Mars, but a new study believes the Red Planet can provide natural settlements for the pioneers

In March, NASA had shared an image, originally snapped in 2011, of a lava tube inside of a volcano on Mars, which sits on the side of Pavonis Mons.

The opening is around 115 feet wide and the cavern below is around 65 feet beneath the surface which NASAs scientists believe was formed by ancient channels of lava.

Holes such as this are of particular interest because their interior caves are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life, NASA writes.

These pits are therefore prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.
Environmentalists have criticised Laos for pressing ahead with plans for another "destructive dam" on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes. The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia's longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in China -- where it is called the Lancang. Two downstream dams -- the Xayaburi and Don Sahong -- have been built in Laos, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the "Battery of Asia". Water levels have dropped to record lows over the last year, exposing rocks and killing fish, a phenomenon blamed by villagers in Thailand and Laos on the operations of dams. On Monday, Laos' communist government submitted proposals for the Sanakham dam -- close to the northeastern border with Thailand -- to the Mekong River Commission (MRC). The MRC is a dam consultation body for Mekong nations, but has been accused of being toothless in stopping river projects sponsored by governments and big business. The consultation process is in fact a "rubber stamp" to get work started on the Sanakham this year in time for a 2028 completion, according to International Rivers, a key campaign group against damming. "What the Mekong needs immediately is the moratorium on large-scale hydropower dams... not more destructive dams that will benefit a few at the expense of communities in the Mekong basin," Paiporn Deetes of International Rivers told AFP. The MRC says the Sanakham dam consultation includes an environmental impact assessment on the waterway and its communities. Landlocked, corrupt and poor, Laos has turned to billion-dollar hydropower schemes for investment, hoping to sell the electricity for a profit to its neighbours as well as provide energy to its remote populations. But critics say dams have been railroaded through despite mounting evidence of ecological damage to one of the world's most biodiverse waterways. Villagers along the Mekong in Laos and Thailand say their fish catch has dwindled as the dams have come online. Studies show sediment flow has thinned, leaving the river increasingly anaemic as it winds towards the Vietnamese delta. The Mekong feeds around 60 million people. burs-apj/axn Villagers along the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand say their fish catch has dwindled as dams have come online Laos' communist government has submitted proposals for the Sanakham dam -- close to the northeastern border with Thailand -- to a consultation commission
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During the COVID-19 outbreak healthcare providers are struggling with system congestion due to the increase in the inflow of patients. To manage the rapidly increasing demand due to the novel coronavirus, several hospitals are postponing non-critical surgeries and diverting patients not requiring critical care from hospital settings to home care. However, healthcare providers must complement this strategy with the right technology and infrastructure to support this such as telemedicine and mobile care units. Furthermore, having adequate visibility into short-term future demand provides hospitals and other care sites the opportunity to plan patient flows more efficiently. Managing supply shortages and bottlenecks: Managing resources while providing adequate care to patients is not an easy task especially in the case of a highly contagious virus like the COVID-19. Proactive and agile supply forecasting provides important visibility into the future state of the supply chain and enables organizations to effectively identify potential shortages well in advance. Pooling resources from other healthcare facilities in the country that have lower demand can also help stabilize the demand-supply gaps.

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will be crucial for retailers across the globe, especially in case the demand downturns continue to persist for a prolonged period. Assessing possible changes in their working capital dynamics or short-term cash forecasts can help retailers better plan on how to pay their bills, make rental negotiations, or even leverage hardship funds. Managing long-term supply challenges, especially for grocery retailers as consumers begin to panic-buy, is another major concern for retail companies. In the long term, this change in consumer behavior could result in severe stock-outs. Most non-food retailers are yet to feel the full impact of supply disruptions. But with time, we expect to see significant changes in the magnitude and timing of supply chain disruptions across geographies and subsectors. Retailers should consider discussions with key suppliers to assess their risks, identify any indirect exposures, and create business contingency plans for the short, medium, and long-term.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The total number of coronavirus-infected people in Uzbekistan has reached 2,509, Trend reports on May 12 with reference to the Ministry of Health.

To date, 1,988 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
President Donald Trump has voiced his support for Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO reopened his main California plant in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

'California should let Tesla and @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely,' Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Musk announced on Monday that he had resumed production his facility in Fremont 'against Alameda County rules' which had ordered it remain closed until June to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

'I will be on the line with everyone else,' he wrote on Twitter. 'If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.'

The controversial move to reopen comes as the latest salvo in an ongoing war between Musk and Alameda County, after Tesla filed a lawsuit against local officials on Saturday for ordering the Fremont facility to close.

Musk called the order 'super messed up' in a separate tweet Monday, claiming that 'all other auto companies in US are approved to resume. Only Tesla has been singled out'.

The eccentric billionaire has been railing against California's stay-home order for the past two weeks since Tesla posted its first-quarter earnings on April 29.

He called the restrictions 'fascist' and demanded that governments 'give people back their goddamn freedom'.

President Trump voiced his support for Elon Musk on Twitter Tuesday after the Tesla CEO reopened his main California plant in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown restrictions

Musk confirmed Monday that Tesla has resumed production at its plant in Fremont, California, in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown restrictions. The parking lot outside the plant is seen nearly full on Tuesday afternoon, even though local officials told the automaker to keep the facility closed through the end of the month

Employees are seen entering the Fremont facility on Tuesday. Sources said that Tesla threatened to fire them if they refused to return to work amid the lockdown

Some of the workers were seen wearing protective masks when they reported to work Tuesday

Alameda County was among six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March. The Fremont plant was closed on March 23 as a result.

Last Friday, county officials extended the order until the end of the month. And on Saturday, Musk announced that Tesla had filed a lawsuit against the county which sought to overturn the order.

In the same rant, Must threatened to move Tesla's manufacturing operations and headquarters to another state.

Tesla's lawsuit argues that Alameda County cannot be more restrictive than orders from Gov Gavin Newsom. It says Newsom's coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying vehicle manufacturing as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.

Newsom, for his part, has repeatedly said that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders.

Hours before the lawsuit was filed Alameda County officials said they were working with Tesla to come up with a plan to reopen.

However, both parties said that they did not come to an agreement before the Fremont plant resumed production on Monday.

Semis loaded with new Tesla vehicles departed the Fremont facility on Monday, raising suspicion that they may have been produced before the shutdown

A worker exits a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle at the automaker's primary vehicle factory after Musk announced he was defying local officials' coronavirus restrictions by reopening the plant

A worker descends from the top deck of a car carrier trailer carrying Tesla electric vehicles at Tesla's primary vehicle factory on Monday

Employees are seen entering the Fremont facility on Monday

Three employees told Business Insider that Tesla asked staff to return to the facility on Monday with phone calls and text messages.

If they refused, they risked losing their jobs, the sources claimed.

Employees were seen reporting to the plant before sunrise on Monday in footage from local media outlet KPIX.

Within hours, the parking lot was nearly full at the plant - which employs 10,000 workers - and semis were seen driving off loaded with vehicles that may have been produced before the shutdown.

The Verge reports the company has since completed work on around 200 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles.

The Alameda County Health Department issued a statement warning Tesla on that it was in violation of the county health order on Monday, and said it hoped the company would 'comply without further enforcement measures.

The department said it expected Tesla to submit such a plan by 5 pm Monday.

'We look forward to reviewing Tesla's plan and coming to agreement on protocol and a timeline to reopen safely,' the statement read.

It's unclear whether the automaker met that deadline - or how local authorities planned to respond if it didn't.

Alameda County Sheriff Sgt Ray Kelly said Monday that any enforcement of the order would come from Fremont police.

Geneva Bosques, Fremont police spokeswoman, said officers would take action at the direction of the county health officer. She referred further comment to the health department, where a DailyMail.com request for comment has not yet been returned.

Asked about the conflict between Tesla and Alameda at his daily press briefing, Gov Newsom said he expected the automaker to be able to reopen the plant sometime next week.

'My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations,' Newsom said during a video press conference.

'My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week, they will be able to resume.'

Alameda County ranks seventh in the state for number of cases with more than 2,100 coronavirus as of Tuesday, including 71 deaths.

Statewide, nearly 69,350 cases and at least 2,779 deaths have been confirmed.

New Tesla electric vehicles are seen in a lot at the Fremont plant. It's believed they were produced prior to the plant's closure on March 23

A worker loads Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles onto a transport truck on Monday

Adding to the chaotic reopening was the fact that Tesla had just appointed a new head of production at the factory.

An internal email obtained by Tech Crunch informed employees that Richard Miller, formerly director of paint operations at Tesla, had been promoted to lead production.

'Due to excellent performance as head of paint operations in Fremont, Richard Miller is hereby promoted to overall head of Fremont Production. Congratulations!' the email reads.

It appears that Miller replaces Jatinder Dhillon, who was manufacturing director before he reportedly left the company a little over two months ago, per CNBC. However, Dhillon's LinkedIn profile indicates he is still in the same role.

Tesla has not responded to DailyMail.com's requests for comment about the leadership shake-up.

Tesla said it implemented strict safety measures prior to reopening the plant

Elon Musk appears to have reopened a Tesla plant in Fremont, California, in defiance of local coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Employees are seen outside the plant on Monday

Workers are seen chatting in the parking lot outside the Fremont plant on Monday afternoon

A worker sweeps up trash in the newly-filled parking lot outside Tesla's Fremont plant

Alameda County (above in yellow) ranks seventh in the state for number of cases with more than 2,100 coronavirus as of Tuesday, including 71 deaths

Nearly 69,350 cases and at least 2,779 deaths have been confirmed in California

Under the state's shelter-in-place orders, only essential business are permitted to operate in California.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

Musk has consistently pushed for Tesla to be considered essential, routinely voicing his frustration over the continued shutdown of the company's biggest plant over the last few weeks.

The CEO said the shutdown should be viewed as a 'serious risk' to Tesla's business during an April 29 conference call, and then went on profanity-laden rant about how the shutdowns were antithetical to America's founding principles.

Two days later Musk went on another rant via Twitter in which he said he believes Tesla's stock is 'too high' and vowed to sell off almost all of his physical possessions.

Musk, 48, announced the birth of his son with singer Grimes on Tuesday. He shared this photo of himself holding the newborn in his arms, telling fans the baby is called X  A-12

The rant caused Tesla's share price plummet more than 10 percent by $14billion - wiping $3billion of his personal wealth.

Musk made headlines again last week as he announced that his singer girlfriend Grimes had given birth to their son X  A-12.

By Thursday he switched back from Dad mode to work mode as he told Tesla employees that the Fremont plant would resume 'limited operations' and bring back 30 percent of shift workers under Newsom's latest reopening plans.

But on Friday, Alameda County officials announced that the plant would not be allowed to reopen as they extended restrictions through the end of the month.

Tesla filed its lawsuit against the county the following day, claiming that it ignored Newsom's allowances for '16 crucial infrastructure industries,' including transportation, to continue operating.

Musk revealed the legal action on Twitter, threatening to move the automaker's headquarters to another state.

'Frankly, this is the final straw,' the billionaire tweeted. 'Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.

The Fremont plant was shuttered by local health officials on March 23

A truck hauling new Tesla vehicles is seen leaving the Fremont facility on Monday

How moving Tesla HQ from California to Nevada or Texas could save Musk BILLIONS Elon Musk could save billions of dollars in taxes if he moves Tesla from California to Texas or Nevada, reports claim. The CEO threatened the move over the weekend after suing state officials for shuttering his facilities during the coronavirus crisis. 'This is the final straw,' Musk tweeted Saturday. 'Tesla will move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.' If he were to follow through on that threat by moving from a state with the highest income tax rate in the country to one without income tax - like Nevada or Texas - he could save billions of dollars in taxes over the coming years, according to CNBC. In the hours after Musk's warning, Texas and Nevada politicians clambered to offer the billionaire sanctuary in their states. His latest compensation program may be playing a factor in his threats. Though not awarded yet, the package has earned him $708million in its latest sum, which would see him pay California $104million. If he moved to Texas or Nevada, he would avoid the 13 percent tax rate and keep all of the cash. Over time, the package is expected to earn Musk $55billion and California would take a cut of $7billion. If he moves to an income tax-less state, he wouldn't have to cough up a cent. Advertisement

'If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen [sic] on how Tesla is treated in the future.'

In response, officials in Alameda County said they were interacting with the company in good faith and working to balance business needs with the safety of the local area.

'The team at Tesla has been responsive to our guidance and recommendations, and we look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon,' a statement from the county said.

'We need to continue to work together so those sacrifices don't go to waste and that we maintain our gains. It is our collective responsibility to move through the phases of reopening and loosening the restrictions of the Shelter-in-Place Order in the safest way possible, guided by data and science.'

In a blog post on Saturday, Tesla said the county's position left it no choice but to take legal action to ensure the company 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 about its restart plans, but claimed the acting official did not return calls or emails.

Tesla's lawsuit called 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.

Alameda County is scheduled to remain shut until the end of May, with only essential businesses allowed to reopen. It does not consider Tesla to be an essential business.

Employees said Tesla asked workers to return to the facility with phone calls and text messages. If they refused, they risked losing their jobs, the sources claimed (pictured: An unmasked employee heads towards the Fremont Tesla plant)

Under the state's shelter-in-place orders, only essential business are permitted to operate in California. State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders

FOUR STAGES TO REOPEN CALIFORNIA Stage one: Safety and Preparedness Staying home and flattening the curve. Building out testing, PPE, and hospital capacity. Making essential workplaces as safe as possible. Preparing sector-by-sector guidelines for a safe re-opening. CURRENT - Stage two: Lower Risk Workplaces Gradually re-opening some lower risk workplaces with adaptations. This will include: Retail (e.g. curbside pickup), manufacturing, offices (when telework not possible) and more public spaces Stage three: Higher Risk Workplaces Gradually re-opening some higher risk environments with adaptations and limits on size of gatherings. This will include: Personal care (hair salons, nail salons, gyms), movie theaters, sports without live audiences and in-person religious services Stage four: End of Stay-At-Home Order Re-opening the highest risk parts of our economy once therapeutics have been developed. This will include mass gatherings such as: Concerts, convention centers and live audience sports Advertisement

Musk's harsh words against Alameda officials were met with mixed reactions from other leaders.

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'.

On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin told CNBC the state should do 'whatever [is] needed' too allow Tesla to reopen.

One Democratic lawmaker in the state, however, had a much less flattering message for the CEO.

'F**k Elon Musk,' San Diego assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeted Saturday.

Gonzalez's statement drew both praise and condemnation, particularly from people who pointed out the number of job losses if the Tesla factory moves.

Meanwhile, Texas and Nevada Republicans were quick to embrace Musk's plans.

'Texas gets better every day. Good conservative principles make good governance, and attract the best and the brightest. The future is happening in Texas,' Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw tweeted Saturday.

Nevada congressional hopeful Dan Rodimer tweeted: 'Nevada NEEDS these jobs most of all right now, @elonmusk. We would love to have you and Tesla HQ right here in the Battleborn State!'

San Diego assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez did not hold back her feelings about Elon Musk's tweet stating that he would move Tesla's headquarters out of California to Texas or Nevada

Meanwhile, Texas and Nevada Republicans were eager to embrace his decision to move
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Brad's Deals is a team of real people committed to saving shoppers time and money by connecting them with validated online deals and discounts. Since 2001 the company's mission has been to create the consumer advantage and provide users with an honest and transparent shopping experience, helping them to make the best choices. This commitment to value has saved consumers more than $200 million annually. Learn more at bradsdeals.com or follow us on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Pinterest and LinkedIn .

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T hieves ransacked a Manchester depot and stole around 10,000 worth of items that were intended for vulnerable people who are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

The stolen items had been donated to the Covaid-19 appeal which aims to raise money for vulnerable people across Greater Manchester.

Volunteers arrived at the donation depot in Swan Street on Monday morning to discover items worth between 7,000 and 10,000 had been stolen.

Items including nappies, sun cream and tins of tuna were stolen during the raid over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Greater Manchester Police said that between 4pm on May 7 and 10am on May 11, the offenders had forced entry on to the premises and stole quantities of various items.

A police investigation is underway and as of yet no arrests have been made.

Volunteers returned from the bank holiday to discover 10,000 worth of items had been stolen (Capital&Centric) / Capital&Centric

Tim Heatley, chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity said security had been increased following the theft.

He told the Evening Standard: "It was just disappointing, a real kick in the teeth for us to open up the facility on Monday and discover it ransacked.

"We've been working 24/7 with our staff and volunteers and when we saw that there was a bank holiday coming up we thought it would great opportunity to have a bit of a break.

"Whilst it was closed for a couple of days we think a very organised gang of thieves broke in and systematically removed boxes of produce and equipment.

A police investigation is underway to find the offenders (Capital&Centric) / Capital&Centric

"They were clever about what they took as it was mostly valuable and re-sellable items which were destined for the most deprived people in our city. It's pretty gutting."

Mr Heatley said the thieves also stole e-cigarettes which the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity was hoping to distribute to people who are trying to stop smoking during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Greater Manchester combined authority has moved over a thousand people that were homeless into temporary accommodation and those people need essential items like food and toothpaste," said Mr Heatley.

"We've been gifted all sorts of things from sun cream and nappies to e-cigarettes and packaged food.

"We're hopeful that with the generosity of the Manchester public and businesses we will be able to get back to where we were."

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 3521 quoting 758 of 11/05/20 or the independent charity  Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
A 15-year-old boy stabbed in the chest at a Brisbane train station overnight has been rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

It will be alleged four teenagers were approached by another group of teenagers about 7.30pm in Ferny Grove after they got off a train and a confrontation led to an argument.

The stabbing occurred just metres from the platform at Ferny Grove train station. Credit:Google Maps

The victim was stabbed on the Ferny Grove train station forecourt and was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital with a high acuity response unit paramedics on board.

The opposing group of teenagers ran from the scene, but were arrested shortly after by police.
The speech that Sasun Mikayelyans gave from the podium of the National Assembly yesterday was rather clear. He reminded us all of what had happened in the past. I didnt view his speech as a threat when he said nothing good will await the brother of deputy Edmon Marukyan, if he doesen't apologize. This is what head of the My Step faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Lilit Makunts told reporters today.

Based on my understanding, failure by Marukyans brother to apologize to Mr. Marukyan will have a negative impact on Mr. Mikayelyans reputation and the reputation of the Bright Armenia Party, Makunts said.

In his speech yesterday, deputy of the My Step faction Sasun Mikayelyan touched upon Edmon Marukyans brothers post on a social network in which he had used swear words. I wont oppose you with the words you used, young man, your mother is sacred for me, but if you dont apologize for your statement, you know who I am, nothing good awaits you. I recommend that you get up and apologize to my parent.
China reported no new domestic coronavirus infections on Tuesday, after two consecutive days of double-digit increases fuelled fears of a second wave of infections.

The news came as the government of Wuhan ordered its districts to test all of their residents in the next 10 days to prevent a fresh outbreak, according to a directive.

China has largely brought the virus under control, but it remains on edge, fearful that a virus rebound could undermine its efforts to get the economy back up and running.

China reported no new domestic coronavirus infections and one imported case on Tuesday. Pictured, a worker in Wuhan checks a woman's temperature before allowing her to take a taxi

China has largely brought the virus under control, but it remains on edge, fearful that a virus rebound could undermine its efforts to reboot its economy. Pictured, a worker watches screens showing the temperature of passengers at a train station in Wuhan on Tuesday

A new cluster reappeared over the weekend in the city of Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, while Shulan in north-eastern China was placed under lockdown on Sunday after another outbreak emerged.

Shulan, a city of around 600,000 people in Jilin province, had registered 12 COVID-19 cases in the space of two days, all linked to the same source. A 13th case was reported yesterday.

The Chinese National Health Commission has set out a team of experts to Shulan to help it fight the disease, according to a spokesperson of the Commission.

The Wuhan government yesterday ordered all of its 11million citizens to be tested for COVID-19 in a '10 day great battle' to avoid a comeback of the killer infection.

It came after officials reported the first cluster of infections in Wuhan since a lockdown on the central Chinese city was lifted a month ago, stoking concerns of a wider resurgence of the disease.

The order for all citizens to undergo testing appeared in an emergency document issued last night by the Wuhan counter-epidemic command centre, it is reported. A grade-three student of Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School is pictured receiving nucleic acid test on April 30

The five new confirmed cases in Wuhan all live in the same residential compound. One of them was the wife of an 89-year-old male patient reported a day earlier in the first confirmed case in the city in more than a month.

The order for all citizens to undergo testing appeared in an emergency document issued last night by the Wuhan Command Centre for the Control and Prevention of Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic to all of its district branches, reported Chinese news outlets, including The Paper and Beijing News.

All districts must submit their official plans on how to organise the medical checks by noon today and will have 10 days to carry out nucleic acid tests on their residents, it is understood.

The nucleic acid test detects the presence of the novel coronavirus in a person's body.

More than one million Wuhan residents have already undergone tests, but the scale of testing is 'not enough', an insider told the press. Residents of Wuhan are pictured riding their bicycles

More than one million Wuhan residents have already undergone nucleic acid tests in the past. However, the scale of testing is 'not enough' to effectively prevent a new outbreak, according to Shanghai-based news outlet Yicai, citing an insider.

It remains unclear if those who have been tested would be included in the new testing plan.

All of the latest confirmed cases were previously classified as asymptomatic, people who test positive for the virus and are capable of infecting others but do not show clinical signs such as a fever.

The number of asymptomatic cases in China is not known, as they only appear on the radar of health officials when they show up positive during tests conducted as part of contact tracing and health checks.

In Wuhan (pictured), 3,869 people have died of COVID-19, and 50,339 have so far been infected, according to Hubei Provincial Health Commission. The country's official death toll remains at 4,633, while the total number of infections in the mainland is 82,919

On Monday, China's National Health Commission reported 17 new cases, five of them in Wuhan. Seven of the new cases were imported.

A day earlier, China announced the first double-digit increase in nationwide cases in nearly 10 days, saying 14 new infections had been confirmed.

For the 27th consecutive day, there were no deaths reported. One imported case was recorded in the province of Inner Mongolia.

The country's official death toll remains at 4,633, while the total number of infections in the mainland is 82,919.

In Wuhan, 3,869 people have died of COVID-19, and 50,339 have so far been infected, according to Hubei Provincial Health Commission.

Last month, the city revised its coronavirus death toll up by 50 per cent. The move sparked further doubts over the authenticity of China's official COVID-19 figures.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the manifest incompetence of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency is destroying Nigeria.

PDP said Buharis lack of visibility and failure to personally lead from the front is responsible for the failure to check the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The opposition party lamented that the alarming increase in infection and mortality rates in Nigeria would have been curtailed if the nation had a competent, proactive and transparent leadership with the capacity to articulate a quick national response to the pandemic.

PDP made the assertion in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

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The party noted that the situation had been worsened by greedy and corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and the cabal in the Presidency, who are cashing in on President Buharis ineffectiveness to pillage resources meant for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in our country.

PDP described as distressing the inability of the President to demonstrate the desired visibility; as he addressed the nation only thrice (each time, after much prodding), after which he had remained out of public visibility, leading to lack of effective coordination of the fight against the pandemic.

The statement added: Moreover, President Buhari has failed to act on wise suggestions by well-meaning Nigerians, particularly on the administration of palliatives and production of homegrown therapeutics.

Since the third recorded broadcast, Mr. President had receded into the safety of the Aso Presidential Villa, leaving his inept aides to continue to issue disjointed claims and uncoordinated directives.

Nigerians should note that President Buharis failure to make himself visible and personally lead from the front had resulted in the failure to develop a strong all-inclusive and seamless national response against the pandemic; leading to diverse responses by various states and a consequent spike in spread and mortality rates.

President Buhari had woefully failed to spur and lead a strong teamwork of federal, state governments and the organized private sector for a proactive response that would have checked the spread of the pandemic in our country.
It was a plea for help from the center of the Navajo Nation, where COVID-19 was raging across the far-flung communities on the reservation.

An emergency order mandating the wearing of masks in public had been issued April 17, but many residents, especially the elderly, didnt have masks. So the Chinle Chapter government issued a call for donated masks, homemade or otherwise, from anybody, anywhere.

Dude, Christina Salas wrote next to a copy of the alert. We can help.

Laura Kief Shaffer, the woman at the other end of the written post, responded without hesitation:

Lets do this!

And so it has gone with these two women  Salas the pragmatist, Shaffer the idealist  who came together to fulfill a need for masks and other products needed in the fight against COVID-19 with brains, determination and a lot of pizza and friends.

You may have heard of Salas, an assistant professor of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of New Mexico and special assistant to the dean of the School of Engineering for Health Sciences Center relations, who was appointed to coordinate efforts to create personal protective equipment for medical teams and others dealing with COVID-19.

Salas is quoted in stories about those efforts, including two articles in the Journal. She harnessed knowledge and resources of the School of Engineering to come up with a workable 3D mask prototype and a way to produce the masks, aided by medical experts, the COSMIAC research center at UNM and the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

But you may not have heard of Shaffer.

Every time Im interviewed, I talk about Laura and how she really got these efforts flying, Salas said. But people seem to want to focus on the technology first.

Which, she said, is only part of the story.

So lets tell the other part, the one about a nurse.

Shaffer is a flight nurse married to a nurse, married to the job of helping others with compassion, skill and boundless energy. Both are happy marriages.

Shes an ebullient sort, a Lets do this! kind of woman who is hard to say no to.

On March 19, when coronavirus had accounted for only 35 reported cases and no deaths across the state, Shaffer was on a flight to pick up a patient at a hospital on the western side of the state. The patient hadnt been reported as possibly having COVID-19, and Shaffer and her crew hadnt brought protective masks. But when they arrived, the symptoms were obvious.

They couldnt give us all masks, because they were already trying to salvage them because they already had a low supply, Shaffer said. Thats when I knew we were headed down a very scary path.

Shaffer wasnt about to go down that path without doing something to make it safer. She tested negative for COVID-19, but having such close contact with a COVID-19 patient lit a fuse underneath her. She started researching masks and reached out to someone she thought might have a few ideas  her father, Craig Kief, director of COSMIAC.

He set in motion a funding proposal, using his daughters experience with that infected patient and the lack of masks. He obtained permission to use the centers cavernous location near the airport as a site for 16 3-D printers and for sterilized clean rooms where the masks could be put together.

Salas had obtained the help of engineering students and faculty. Shaffer provided even more help, setting up a Facebook page about the project and asking her nursing friends to donate their time.

Were talking nurses who willingly volunteer to come here to work even after their shifts, Shaffer said. Thats just incredible.

Since the project revved up April 10, theyve produced about 2,000 masks and 1,000 shields, Salas said. Both she and Shaffer have been on site every day  that, even though Shaffer continues work as a flight nurse for CSI Aviation.

Shaffer keeps a list of all the workers expected every hour. Among the names are Shaffers husband, Ben Shaffer; dad Craig and mom Ruth Kief.

Shaffer was among the people who recently delivered about 700 masks, 180 face shields, snacks and drinks to law enforcement and medical providers in Gallup and other parts of McKinley County.

Theyve not been able to help out Chinle, because it is in Arizona and special permission is required to transport the masks out of state.

But were still working on that, Salas said.

Until last week, Shaffer paid for pizzas and other food for her crew out of her own pocket. A GoFundMe she set up is now helping to defray the costs.

Money for the project itself, though, is running out. Theres a way the public can donate to that, too.

Both Shaffer and Salas say they will continue to seek out new funding sources so they can keep the project going as long as it is needed. For Shaffer, the fuse is still lit and her nurse friends are still coming.

I see how excited our volunteer nurses are to help us even after coming off 12 hour shifts at their respective hospitals and clinics, Shaffer said.  I can honestly say that in no other circumstance could we have done what we did in such a short time. Im so proud of everyone who has contributed.

But now you know a little more about the nurse who contributed the most.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com, Facebook or @jolinegkg on Twitter.
Turkey is establishing hygiene measures and requirements in preparation for the return of tourists, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Sunday. Daily Sabah reports in its article Turkey sets out virus precautions, prepares for tourism comeback that step by step, people are to be gradually allowed to travel within the country starting at the end of May, Esroy told a CNN Turk live broadcast. In June, international flights will gradually recommence.

The government has developed a certification program for hotels and restaurants which are to be subject to strict regulations, Esroy said. The program has 132 criteria, including ensuring that hygiene regulations are followed and social distancing is practiced. Staff members are also to be trained in measures to prevent the spread of infection.

Staff are to bring people meals and drinks. While buffets are to be permitted, guests are not to be allowed to help themselves. The government has also published an overview of the hospitals available in areas popular among tourists, and lists their capacities.

Tourism is an important part of Turkey's economy, and the country expected 58 million visitors this year, now unlikely given the pandemic. Ersoy said if the coronavirus was under control, 63 million tourists might be expected in 2021.

The number of foreign visitors arriving in the country totaled 4.24 million in the first quarter of the year, a 22.1% year-on-year drop amid worldwide travel restriction due to the pandemic, according to Culture and Tourism Ministry data.

The country has also seen a 11.4% decline in its tourism income in the January-February period, dropping to $4.1 billion, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TurkStat) data.

In 2019, more than 45 million foreigners entered the country, up from nearly 39.5 million in 2018. Turkey is gradually easing measures imposed to restrict the spread of the virus. This weekend, 24 towns and provinces are under curfew, down from 31. People over the age of 65 were also allowed outside for a few hours.

As of Monday, shopping malls and hairdressers are due to reopen. The number of daily coronavirus deaths and new cases in Turkey has fallen sharply over the last week from peaks recorded last month. The number of people who have died from COVID-19 has risen by 50 to 3,739, Health Ministry data showed Saturday. The overall number of cases rose by 1,546 to 137,115. Some 89,480 patients have so far recovered from the disease.
(Newser)  Oprah Winfrey and her family joined Viola Davis, Alicia Keys, and others in protesting the death of Ahmaud Arbery on Friday, but that wasn't all. The media mogulwho walked 2.23 miles in honor of the Georgia man who was shot and killed while jogging on Feb. 23, per Peoplealso called Arbery's mother on what wouldve been his 26th birthday. Wanda Cooper-Jones tells TMZ that she was stunned to hear Oprah's voice on the other end of the phone. Winfrey offered her condolences, said she was thinking of Arbery, and said she hoped the family would get justice following the arrests of murder suspects Gregory and Travis McMichael, according to Cooper-Jones. She also said a gift was in the mail.

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"Today would've been Ahmaud Arbery's 26th birthday. But he's not here to celebrate because he was senselessly shot and killed doing something to make his life healthier and stronger," Winfrey wrote on Instagram on Friday. "Unimaginable to go for a run in 2020 and end up dead because of the color of your skin." In a video, she's seen walking with partner Stedman Graham and two others. "As a family, we walked in the name of justice, in the name of his birthday, and we're sending blessings to his family," she says. Winfrey's best friend Gayle King had called Arbery's mother on Thursday, per TMZ. Cooper-Jones said she also heard from Rev. Jesse Jackson, who hoped to meet with the family once it is safe. (Read more Ahmaud Arbery stories.)
Amina Elshafei, 35, was sent home on Tuesday night's episode of MasterChef: Back to Win after her mango pavlova failed to impress the judges.

But it was what happened during the episode that sent Twitter into a meltdown.

During an intense pressure test, Jess Liemantara, 20, reached out and helped Amina, 35, who was struggling with the complicated dish at-hand.

After Jess's good deed, the talented pastry chef was applauded for her selfless act on social media.

How sweet! Twitter went into meltdown on Tuesday night when Jess Liemantara (pictured) stepped in to help Amina Elshafei on MasterChef

'Jess for Australian of the year,' one fan commented.

Another added: 'Jess helping Amina with the mousse recipe. This show is just so wholesome and supportive and everything we need.'

'I legit just cried watching MasterChef. Bless Amina. Bless Jess. Bless all the women as they are just amazing,' wrote another.

One fan even had a terrific idea for a MasterChef spin-off series.

High praise! While a fan called for Jess to be nominated as 'Australian of the year' another suggested a MasterChef spinoff series featuring the two girls

'Can someone just make a spinoff show featuring Jess and Amina and it's about their food adventures and their friendship,' he said.

The tender moment came when contestants set about cooking a particularly difficult mango pavlova dish from celebrity chef Darren Purchese.

The spectacular dessert featured a meringue cloche which hid a mango mousse dome, tempered white chocolate, coconut dacquoise, passionfruit curd, salted caramel cream, and a vanilla panna cotta.

Shocking twist! The competitors set about cooking the difficult mango pavlova dish from celebrity chef Darren Purchese, then had their recipes removed halfway through

In a shocking twist, the complicated recipes were removed from the competitors midway through cooking, leaving Amina wiping away tears when she was unable to remember the required ingredients for the mousse.

Jess, who had already put hers together, rushed in to see if Amina needed help, giving her the crucial ingredients and the quantities.

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late to save the fan favourite who was eliminated after placing in the bottom three with Poh Ling Yeow and Hayden Quinn,.




The move by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in fighting Coronavirus by adopting the Madagascar Herbal Cure has been condemned by the Nigerian opposition party, PDP.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement made available to the media through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that Buhari government have failed in its leadership skills for looking outside the country for herbs when the same can be found in Nigeria.

Recall that the Nigerian Government yesterday (Monday), approved the importation of Madagascars COVID-19 herbal cure to be tried in Nigeria.

Reacting to the development, Ologbondiyan said it is very unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari government would opt for herbs from another country when the same is available in Nigeria.

PDP in the statement said, Our party the PDP has always canvassed for homegrown approaches to the issue of COVID-19.

We have demanded that the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 in conjunction with the NCDC should ensure that our medical doctors, Epidemiologists, those in the orthodox and unorthodox medicals are supported in seeking homegrown solutions, that has been the opposition of the PDP.

It is rather strange to us that rather than them we are going outside our country to import herbs and medications which we have all around us here, it is very strange. We have herbs locally which can be used for the purpose of treating COVID-19 and we are now going ahead to import the same from Madagascar. This is strange and does not show leadership on the side of the government.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari government against express consumption of the Madagascan Coronavirus drink, known as COVID Organic when it arrives in Nigeria.

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Phlebotomist Martun Srmikyan administers a drive-through antibody test to Leslie Anne at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral in Burbank, set up by The HOT Clinic, an IV therapy and hormone replacement center. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

At a flotation therapy studio in Marina Del Rey, the sensory deprivation tank is empty, but antibody tests for the coronavirus are selling at $149. Customers of a botox clinic in Venice don't even have to get out of their cars to get tested; a worker collects blood samples with the prick of a finger.

A banner for a clinic in Las Vegas advertises antibody tests and throws in a doctor visit for $169. And $125 antibody tests have recently been added to the menu at a chiropractic clinic in Florida that also offers libido-boosting vitamins and nonsurgical face-lifts.

The test-takers, from nurses and firefighters to the unemployed, seek a sense of certainty. They ache to know whether a flu they had was in fact COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Some hope a positive result means they can throw out their masks. Others want certificates showing employers they are immune and can go back to work.

Not so fast, experts say. In the time of pandemic, opportunities can swing open for the nimble entrepreneur: storefront clinics and fancy spas once dedicated to beauty and wellness treatments now offer peace of mind through antibody testing. But misplaced trust in the tests, expert say, could be jeopardizing public health at large.

The tests dont necessarily tell people whether they are immune to COVID-19 because scientists haven't confirmed whether the antibodies even prevent re-infection. Most of the more than 200 tests on the market haven't been cleared by regulators, and many could be faulty or of unknown origin, experts say. Across the U.S., several sites have been shut down for offering dubious antibody tests.

For several weeks, the Food and Drug Administration had allowed manufacturers to market antibody tests without supplying evidence that they are accurate. There is no FDA-approved test for antibodies related to COVID-19. And only 12 tests have been granted emergency authorization, which meets a lower standard.

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Phlebotomist Martun Srmikyan administers an antibody test to Kelli Draves at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Last week the agency, after heightened scrutiny from lawmakers, tightened its policies on unregulated tests, requiring manufacturers to promptly send in data proving their products are effective and apply for emergency authorization. At the flotation therapy studio, botox clinic and chiropractic clinic, the tests being offered are under review for such authorization.

Jim Flanigan, executive vice president of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, expressed concern about the confusing nature of the regulations. It truly could be snake oil, he said of antibody tests that don't have FDA authorization. "Without that, people can claim whatever they like and there seems to be no recourse."

Antibody tests are different than the nasal or oral swab exams that diagnose an active COVID-19 infection. Also known as serology tests, antibody tests signal whether a patient has been exposed to the virus in the past. Sometimes patients sit for a traditional blood draw that fills a whole vial and is shipped to a lab. Other times patients have their finger pricked for a single drop that's analyzed in about 10 minutes.

Antibody testing plays an important role in large studies because those can give a wide snapshot of the spread of the disease. But experts are skeptical about the tests being marketed to individuals.

The tests are advertised on everything from Instagram to roadside tents. Many of them are made in the U.S., but products from other countries have also entered the market, including some from China that have raised serious concerns over their quality.

At least one major pharmacy chain, Walgreens, is offering antibody tests, in partnership with LabCorp, that have received emergency authorization from the FDA. At smaller clinics, though, it can be difficult for the average consumer to find out who makes the test being offered and whether it's authorized.

Alpha Hydration Services, which operates an IV therapy lounge in Woodland Hills, sells a rapid finger-stick blood test for $125. The venue specializes in hooking people up to IVs for beauty drips or wellness drips of vitamins but doesnt normally provide blood testing.

The owner, Dwayne Mariner, a registered nurse, said a local vendor sold him the tests, which he believes were made in Asia and bear the name iCare. He said they have only about 70% accuracy. iCare is not among the manufacturers that have received emergency authorization from the FDA.

Clinically, you could use this as a guideline for being out in public. Maybe you dont need a mask while youre walking around the neighborhood if you test positive for antibodies, he said.

Mariner said he does not advise his patients on how to interpret the results and acknowledged the tests havent been rigorously inspected. Still, he suggested that patients who test positive for antibodies could use the information to determine for themselves whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine, once one is available.

It gives someone more peace of mind if they didnt want to get the vaccine anyway, he said.

His comments are disputed by experts. Its likely that people with positive antibody tests will still need the vaccine because scientists have not established that antibodies confer any immunity to COVID-19.

At the HOT Clinic, an IV therapy center in Encino, operations manager Edward Zaghikian said previously symptomatic patients who test negative for an active infection and either negative or positive for the presence of antibodies, then get tested again with the same results, can present the information to an employer showing they're safe to return to work.

"You could take a calculated risk that it could be OK to come back to work," said Zaghikian, whose company has administered about 1,500 of its $95 rapid antibody tests. He reasoned that a positive antibody test would mean the person has some immunity, and a negative result would mean they were never exposed and are thus virus-free.

But infectious disease experts warn against this logic. Just because someone had not previously been exposed to the virus doesn't mean they won't be in the future. The antibody tests shouldn't be used to make any life decisions, they say.

"I think it is unwise for places to sell [the tests] because we do not know what the results of the test mean or what to do with that information, said Davey Smith, a professor of medicine and head of UC San Diego's Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health.

Danielle Ompad, a professor of epidemiology at New York University, said the setting where people get tested matters, including whether healthcare professionals are on hand to explain what the test results mean for their patients going forward.

If your chiropractor doesnt normally do diagnostic testing, you shouldnt be getting these tests done there, she said.

And because there are potential flaws in this first generation of antibody tests, she said, people should stick to those that have received emergency authorization from the FDA.

Few tests being marketed  including ones from established labs  have such authorization.

A $249 antibody test at Next Health, a longevity center in Los Angeles, hasnt been cleared by the FDA. The tests manufacturer, Vibrant America, a certified lab, validated the test internally and has an application for emergency authorization pending before the federal agency.

Darshan Shah, founder and chief executive of Next Health, says hes offering the test because he wants to give patients as much information as possible about their health during the pandemic. Shah, a physician, acknowledged the tests dont have huge clinical significance in signaling how patients should be treated going forward or whether they can take fewer precautions, but his clinic is working to facilitate possible plasma donation by those who test positive for antibodies.

After doing a finger prick on a patient, Hannah Veal places the blood on the antibody testing device at a drive-through site in a parking lot behind the Westside Walk-in Clinic in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

A rapid blood test made by Phamatech, available at the Westside Walk-in Clinic in Venice, which focuses on botox and coolsculpting, also doesnt have emergency authorization from the FDA. Hannah Veal, the clinics owner, said she felt confident in selling it because the manufacturer has a good track record in rapid tests and has also submitted its validation data to the FDA, awaiting authorization.

Ideally, Veal said, she would only offer a test that has received emergency authorization.

The problem is we are not in an ideal world right now. The reality is if manufacturers are making a test with 95% accuracy, why not offer it? said Veal, a physicians assistant, adding that she is open with her customers about the fact that the test is not FDA-approved.

Veal said some of her patients who test negative for the antibodies are disappointed that they have to continue wearing a mask. She said she counsels clients they shouldnt get rid of their masks no matter their results.

Results from antibody tests could be sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it's unclear whether the agency is receiving results from all possible test administrators.

Experts say the tests may not even be worth getting for individual patients, other than to satisfy their curiosity.

From a clinicians perspective, [the testing] probably is not very useful right now, said Flanigan, of the laboratory science group.

I cannot think of any circumstances under which people in massage parlors or float tank studios should be giving people antibody tests, he said.

Times researcher Scott Wilson and Times staff writer Sam Dean contributed to this report.




Heatstroke and heat exhaustion pose a "persistent threat" to the U.S. military, even as cases of heat-related illnesses appeared to decline among troops in 2019, according to a new Defense Health Agency report.

In 2019, 507 cases of heatstroke and 2,174 cases of heat exhaustion were diagnosed in active- duty service members, down from a record 2,792 in 2018, including 578 cases of heatstroke and 2,214 of heat exhaustion.

Given the sharp rise of heat-related illnesses among service members between 2008 and 2018, including at least 17 deaths, the drop in 2019 appears to show that the military services are successfully addressing the threat of heat-related illnesses, with new initiatives designed to ensure the safety of personnel training in locations with high temperatures and humidity.

Related: Cases of Heat-Related Illnesses on the Rise, Especially Among Marines

But pointing to significant limitations in their data, such as a change in the way the services report heat-related illnesses and the absence of data from seven military health facilities now using the Defense Department's new electronic health record system, the researchers warned that "heat illnesses are a significant and persistent threat to both the health of U.S. military members and effectiveness of military operations."

"Commanders, small-unit leaders, training cadre, and supporting medical personnel -- particularly at recruit training centers and installations with large combat troop populations -- must ensure that the military members whom they supervise and support are informed regarding the risks, preventive countermeasures ... early signs and symptoms, and first-responder actions related to heat illnesses," they wrote.

According to the report in April's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report from the DHA's Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, there were no recorded deaths due to heat among U.S. service members in 2019.

Rates for heatstroke and heat exhaustion were highest for the Army and Marine Corps -- 10 times the rate of the Air Force and Navy, in the case of heat stroke -- and they also were highest among recruits and those in combat-arms specialties such as infantry, artillery, combat engineering and armor.

Not surprisingly, installations with the highest number of cases were in states with muggy, high temperatures much of the year and high numbers of "black flag" days, including Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Fort Polk, Louisiana. Black flag days are those when the temperature, humidity and other combined factors exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

There were 72 cases of heat-related illnesses in Iraq or Afghanistan in 2019, including one of heatstroke and 71 of heat exhaustion -- seven more total heat-related cases than the previous year and second only in the past five years to 2016, when there were 75 cases.

Tracking another heat-related condition, exertional rhabdomyolysis, DHA researchers found that reported cases also declined in 2019. Across the services, there were 512 cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis in 2019. The condition, which can occur during strenuous activity without adequate hydration, causing a breakdown of muscles and possibly kidney failure, occurred most often among recruits and Marines, with more than half the cases in the last five years occurring at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.

Following a number of tragic heat-related deaths in the past decade among U.S. troops -- fatalities largely considered by the medical community to be preventable -- the services have launched initiatives to focus on heat-related illnesses.

Service members receive training on warning signs of illness, including instruction on how much water to drink depending on activity and adjusting workout schedules to avoid dangerous levels of heat and humidity.

According to the DHA, the top 10 bases for heat-related illnesses from 2015 to 2019 were:

The Army held its first "heat forum" in 2017 and created the Warrior Heat and Exertion-Related Event Collaborative and Fort Benning Heat Center in 2019, while the Marine Corps launched a "heat and cold stress injury prevention program" in 2015.

Yet despite these measures, thousands of service members continue to be sidelined each year by heat-related illnesses and injuries. Officials say that, given the demands of military training and operations, it's to be expected but can be mitigated.

"It is an unrealistic goal to prevent all exertional heat injuries in the military. To be prepared to fight anywhere, the warfighter must be trained in a range of conditions, including hot environments," wrote Army Maj. David DeGroot with Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning, and retired Army Col. Francis O'Connor, a physician with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.

"The [Army centers] are ideally positioned to support efforts to reduce the severity as much as possible and to eliminate all heat-related deaths in the military," they wrote.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Read More: US Officials Warn of Climate Risk as Trump Dismisses It
Lumberton Independent School District has continued to move forward with their process to select a new superintendent after the current one resigned at the beginning of March.

James Kersh, president of the districts board of trustees, said campus and district building closures have not impacted the search, with candidate interviews to be conducted May 25-27.

Kersh said the board and superintendent Gerald Chandler agreed to separate over a difference of opinions, but did not give specific details.

We have been discussing it for a while now, said trustee James Glenn, who presided over the March meeting where they accepted Chandlers resignation. Different views, and people have been moving in different directions, so this is the mutual agreement we decided.

Kersh called recent rumors that Chandler was fired for mishandling parent complaints regarding a relationship between an LISD student and educators son completely false.

Mr. Chandler, who is still the acting superintendent has been fully responsible for all the duties, and he left on his own free will, Kersh said. We didnt push him out or anything.

The parent complaints, which Kersh said he could not discuss at length due to different agencies working on the matter, were brought to the attention of the district on at least four separate occasions.

Dr. Chandler has not done anything wrong, Kersh said. As a matter-of-fact, on the opposite end of it, when these issues first came out, he reported them to the Texas Education Agency. He is not trying to hide anything.

The complaints include allegations of unethical conduct by an LISD teacher, who reportedly allowed a minor student to stay at her house after she ran away. The student and the teachers adult son were said to be in a relationship.

An official with the TEA said that while a report was filed in November, it did not result in a formal investigation against the teacher in question.

Kersh said from the boards standpoint, while the behavior was unethical, it was not necessarily illegal.

However, Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins confirmed to The Enterprise that an arrest warrant has been issued for the teachers son, and that there is an ongoing investigation.

Hardin County Attorney Rebecca Walton also confirmed to The Enterprise that the case would be handled through her office.

A district spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations, and the teacher and her son were not able to be reached for comment.

Chandler joined the Lumberton district in 2002 to start an agriculture program. He taught for four years before being promoted to assistant principal at Lumberton High School. He also was principal at Lumberton Intermediate School before he was named superintendent in 2018.

Chandler did not answer repeated calls from The Enterprise, but said he hopes he is on to bigger and better things, at the start of the March board meeting.

Kersh said Chandler is under consideration for positions in Texas and Colorado, reflecting on his time working with the long-time Lumberton educator.

In my opinion working with him, he needs more experience for a district of this size, Kersh told The Enterprise. There is no bad blood there though.

Kersh said in coming weeks the board will meet with potential candidates selected through a third-part search firm. A final candidate tentatively will be selected May 27, followed by a meet-and-greet with the candidates family.

There is a 21-day waiting period, by law from the day that we actually select the candidate, to when we can hire the superintendent, Kersh said. Right now that would be June 23, and they would actually start on July 1.

In the event the board can not agree on a replacement, they would either select and interim superintendent, extend Chandlers stay, or name the assistant superintendent to his place.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on May 12 to commemorate the birth of Florence Nightingale. The event was established in 1974 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and it also highlights the important role of nurses in the healthcare.

Each year, people extend their thanks to these medical personnel and this year is no different. In fact, this year people are keener on expressing their thanks and gratitude to those who are fighting on the frontline in this war against coronavirus often at the price of putting themselves at risk.

Mumbai police too joined in to say thanks to the heroes who are trying to keep others safe. They shared an Instagram post with a Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. inspired post to thank the nurses.

Tum bahut mast kaam karta hai, Sister! Thank you! Nurse mamu log ko bhi apna thank you bolna! they wrote and shared an image.

Since being shared about an hour ago, the post has garnered close to 7,400 views - and the numbers are only increasing. People shared various comments to thank the nurses. Some also thanked the police personnel for their relentless work.

Thank you so much all the sisters and all police staff. You are our real heroes, wrote an Instagram user. To all sisters, matrons, and staff nurses a thousand pranams, expressed another. Wow superb aur aap police logo ko bhi bohot bohot Thank you, wrote a third.
Several Indians in the US, either on the H-1B work visa or Green Card having children who are American citizens by birth, are being prevented from travelling to India aboard the special repatriation flights being run by Air India amidst the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions.

According to the regulations issued by the Indian government last month and updated last week, visas of foreign nationals and OCI cards, that provide visa-free travel privileges to the people of Indian-origin, have been suspended as part of the new international travel restrictions.

For some of the Indian citizens like the Pandey couple in New Jersey (name and place changed at request), it's a double whammy. Having lost their H-1B job, they have to go back to India within the stipulated 60 days as required by law. The couple has two kids aged one and six years who are American citizens.

In the wee hours of Monday, they had to return from Newark airport as Air India refused to give their kids a ticket to fly to India along with them, despite them having a valid Indian visa. The young mother and father are Indian citizens.

They said that the officials from Air India and (Indian) Consulate (in New York) were very cooperative.

But they could not do anything as their hands were tied by the latest regulation issued by the Indian government, a shocked Ratna Pandey told PTI.

"I would like to urge the Indian government to reconsider their decision on the humanitarian basis," said the Indian national who has lost her job but could not leave the US within the stipulated 60 days to avoid any future visa complications.

She now plans to make an appeal to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend their stay.

Last month, H-1B visa holders, mostly Indians, launched a White House petition urging US President Donald Trump to extend their permissible stay from 60 to 180 days after job loss. However, there has been no decision from the White House so far.

While there is no official statistics of how many Indian H-1B visa holders have lost their jobs, it is believed to be substantial.

The US, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is experiencing an unprecedented unemployment rate and more than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last two months. Given this massive job loss, Indians, who have lost their jobs, are unlikely to get one and thus many would have no other option but to travel back home.

In the case of single mother Mamta (name changed), the situation is graver as her son is just three-month old. Only she was given the ticket and the infant was not allowed to fly along with her because he carried an American passport.

"I would like to request the Indian government to let us fly back home. I don't want to stay in the US any longer," she told PTI hours after being prevented from boarding her hometown Ahmedabad-bound flight from Newark on Sunday.

"I am alone here. I don't have a relative here. It's a difficult situation," she said.

"Vande Bharat Mission is a humanitarian mission. But this is certainly inhuman," said Rakesh Gupta (name changed) from Washington DC.

An H-1B professional, Gupta has lost his job and needs to return to India within the stipulated 60 days. He and his wife, Geeta (name changed) being Indian citizens, received the confirmation of their seats in the flight but have been told that their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter cannot travel with them as she carried an OCI card.

"I don't believe this," he said.

Unlike the Pandey couple and Mamta, who had made the payment of USD 1,361 per ticket for their flight back home, Rakesh has not made the payment. Air India has said that the money would be refunded.

All the three Indian citizens requested the Indian government to help them travel back home by making necessary changes in the current regulations.

As per a recent government notification, all existing Indian visa holders, and visa-free travel facility, granted to OCI card holders who are not in India, have been suspended till restrictions on international air travel remains.

New York-based community leader Prem Bhandari said that the May 5 travel advisory has created multiple painful issues for the OCI card holders in the US and also to Indian citizens who are either on Green Card or H-1B visas and want to travel back home, but cannot leave their kids who are Americans by birth.

"We would like to express our disappointment with the discrimination between OCIs and citizens in respect of entering India at this critical stage when many OCIs have lawfully built their homes, families and businesses in India," Bhandari said in a letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Fritz Gerber, a former leader of Zurich Insurance Group, has died.

Gerber was 91. He passed away on May 10, 2020, according to the company, which did not disclose further details.

Fritz Gerber was a remarkable leader and is rightly considered one of the greatest company managers in Switzerland, Michel Lies, Zurichs Chairman, said in prepared remarks. At Zurich, his leadership was characterized by a far-sightedness, a strategic mindset and an ability to bring out the best in people. He significantly contributed to Zurichs strategic positioning and commercial success.

Group CEO Mario Greco said in prepared remarks that Zurich will miss Gerbers passion, prudence and clear thinking. Greco also offered thanks for everything he did for our company.

Gerber had been with Zurich for nearly 40 years, and the company he led credited him with being one of the most influential business leaders in Switzerland during a period of formative development for the countrys modern, open economy.

Gerbers nearly 40 years with Zurich included 17 years as chief executive officer and 18 years as chairman of the board of directors.

Zurich noted in its announcement of Gerbers death that the executive was ahead of his time in understanding the needs of international companies. In the 1970s he started to introduce products and services at Zurich that helped its customers succeed in an increasingly global business environment, Zurich said.

Gerber was born on March 22, 1929, in Huttwil, Switzerland, and he joined Zurich in 1958. In 1969 he was appointed general manager and was named CEO in 1974, a position he held until 1991. From 1977 until 1995, he served as Zurichs chairman, and had been honorary chairman ever since.

Source: Zurich Insurance Group
The doors are beginning to crack. Before long, it appears theyll be wide open.

On May 4, Gov. Henry McMaster allowed South Carolina restaurants and bars, closed for dine-in due to COVID-19 since March 17, to reopen for outdoor seating under certain conditions that allow for social distancing and increased protections against infection. On May 8, McMaster eased restrictions even more, allowing for indoor dining with a suggested capacity of 50 percent, but no formal restrictions, starting May 11.

In the first week, several eateries took advantage of the outdoor capabilities, and customers came in droves. But not all are reopening, with some citing health concerns for their staff and customers.

Per the experience of a Free Times photographer, who visited several restaurants with on-premise service last week, the scenes varied, with some businesses amassing lines and bar crowds that had little regard for social distancing, while others managed moderate turnout while spacing customers quite well.

This reflects a broader dilemma for public officials  weighing the economic health of the city, state and nation against the physical health of the public. The two are intertwined, and public officials have stressed that. McMaster said as much in his May 1 announcement, explaining that public health and economic health go hand-in-hand.

The challenge there is the science tells us what we need to do in order to slow or stop the transmission of the virus, but those recommendations can be so extreme that the economic implications become a serious problem, Jamie Vernon, executive director of North Carolinas Sigma Xi science and engineering research society, explains to Free Times. I think that the states are choosing to focus on economic implications of the stay at home policies. ... Theyre having to make some tradeoffs.

The decision to open up, at the same time as setting aside some of the federal guidelines, is pretty much going to guarantee there will be additional cases.

As doors reopen, workers return and interact with the public, and the public interacts with each other, again. Its a situation that indisputably creates a higher chance of coronavirus continuing to spread. For workers, it creates a crushing dilemma between returning to work or prioritizing their health  and that of the public at large.

For some, the choice may be out of their hands.

South Carolinas Department of Employment and Workforce says that those who are offered their jobs back but decline will be removed from unemployment. The department didnt respond to requests for comment from Free Times on whether this would apply to people who are still anxious over COVID-19 concerns and would rather wait to begin working again. Several restaurant owners confirmed receiving emails saying they should report to the department if an employee declines to return to work.

Which saddles restaurant owners with a difficult decision, and leaves hospitality workers in a precarious position.

[Workers] have to decide if their employment is more important than the risk theyre facing for their health, Vernon explains.

Lingering Anxiety

David Adedokun considers the sniffles and coughs he gets sitting in his backyard. Its allergy season, the bartender at Cottontowns The War Mouth reasons.

Yet Adedokun still worries. What if it isnt just allergies? What if hes a carrier of the coronavirus? As someone who would potentially serve 50 to 60 guests in a night if the restaurant were to reopen with reduced capacity, he worries about playing a role in spreading the disease.

In the absence of mass testing, he worries that he wont be able to accomplish one of his favorite parts of the job  bringing a convivial atmosphere. For him, the bar is a place where people of different backgrounds  political, social, economic  gather and find a way to bond.

Missing that is something I feel very intensely and missing a community where any of that can happen freely, Adedokun explains. That freedom can only truly be had if the shadow and specter of coronavirus is really removed, if we try to reopen without it fully removed its going to cast its shadow, its going to affect that conviviality in some way.

We know as a matter of fact we dont have that.

For those who are yet to open or return to work, they say that its out of caution.

Spotted Salamander Cafe and Catering owner and chef Jessica Shillato has mostly shut down her restaurant and hasnt resumed service. Last week, she held a fried chicken pop-up at her downtown-adjacent spot, which she explains allowed her to control costs, as well as customer interactions with her workers.

Yet she says that reassembling her kitchen staff, having them work alongside each other once more, gave her pause.

[It] was the first day we all worked together since this started. They were nervous, Shillato says. It was weird at first. We eased into it pretty quickly.

A self-described germaphobe, shes making her employees sanitize most everything in the kitchen and wear protective gear like gloves and masks. Shillato hasnt reopened yet because she wanted to be cautious and says its expensive to open and close a restaurant.

I really care about the safety of our employees ... so Im going to be a little more cautious. Also Im nervous about people. Some people, they just dont care about other peoples safety and wellness, she offers.

Despite health concerns, some of those who have reopened say theyre excited to be back at work, and that they trust in their sanitary processes and the states guidelines for operating. Count Saludas head chef Josh Rogerson among them

Im ecstatic, he elaborates. Its been really great having actual diners in the building. ... The biggest thing for me is being able to bring my staff back and making money and earning again.

He says they gave kitchen staff the option to return depending on their comfort, and, to his surprise, they all came back.

The restaurant had been doing curbside pickup, but Rogerson says he isnt worried about returning to something closer to regular business. He works in the kitchen, with little guest interaction, and the restaurant has invested in more sanitation equipment.

I cant reiterate enough about how happy I am to be reopen again. I think we all know this is not over by any means. But being able to come back to some sense of normalcy feels really good again, Rogerson details. I feel everyone, not just us, can be responsible about it.  Just sticking that balance between wanting to be open and wanting to do stuff. Its just an interesting tightrope to walk.

Adedokun understands Rogersons sentiment and, despite his reservations, he says if The War Mouth had reopened last week, he wouldve gone to work.

Im definitely of two minds about it, he says. I dont think theyre entirely wrong to be excited to come back to work, I just think that they shouldnt have to be doing it under this context. They shouldnt have to be weighing the continuation of their livelihood against a health concern in an area like ours that hasnt been hit as hard as other places.

Everyone Is So Concerned

McMasters May 4 return to outdoor dining fell in line with a South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association reopening proposal given during accelerateSC meetings, the team of state and local government officials and business leaders that the governor formed to determine the best way to reopen South Carolinas economy. McMasters May 11 easement of restrictions also lined up with the proposals timeline, as it details that indoor dining should resume by May 18, adding that some restaurants that are particularly capable of doing so safely could get back to serving customers indoors by May 11. It further suggested easing social distancing regulations depending on the public health at a later, untargeted date.

It mirrors what other states, particularly in the South, have decided to do. Georgia was the first to begin to reopen closed businesses, and others, such as Texas and Alaska, have followed suit.

While it remains to be seen how conditions progress and if McMaster will continue to follow the restaurant reopening proposal, some owners reported strong results from their initial returns, and a positive response from their staff, as well.

Five Points Publico received attention when it decided to re-close on May 5. Some local media reports indicated the closure came after May 4 and May 5 crowds were too large for the business to feel comfortable exposing its employees.

But co-owner Michael Duganier claims that isnt the case, and that the restaurant and bar planned all along to reopen for two days and then re-close for work needed on the building. He says that his workers, mostly college students, enjoyed their shifts despite the crowds and attention.

We definitely made it clear that who wants to come back [should come] and those were the employees that came, Publico co-owner Michael Duganier tells Free Times. I know that after we closed, the employees were in good spirits afterwards.

Fellow Five Points bar Jakes also re-opened last week and received some flak for the crowds that lined up outside the bar, appearing in photos taken by local media outlets, including those gathered by Free Times, to not adhere to the recommended six feet of social distance  which, at that time, was required for customers inside the restaurant. Owner Jon Sears says he can only control what happens on his property and says the sidewalk is publicly owned. He also points to X marks he placed to encourage social distancing for the line.

He says that its been two months since the business has been able to make money and that his staff was ready to work, and that he felt comfortable reopening following the governors guidelines. He gave his employees the option to wear masks and made it mandatory to wear gloves. He says some wore both, while others only wore gloves  when Free Times visited to take photos on May 5, all employees wore gloves, but scant few donned masks.

I think it went well, Sears posits. It was a good crowd.

Others are not so willing to move forward with reopening. Businesses like Motor Supply Co. Bistro, smallSUGAR, The War Mouth, Lula Drake Wine Parlour, Bourbon, Black Rooster and Craft and Draft all have elected to stay closed.

Theres a lot of hesitation in the air in how this is all going to go down, posits Katelyn Shire, manager of Craft and Drafts Devine Street location.

Co-owner Andrew Johnson acknowledges that as things open back up there will be more health risks, but he, Shire and co-owner Kellan Monroe are planning to reopen. Johnson says theyve emphasized customer and employee safety in their approach.

Specifically, theyre doing things like building out a reservation system to avoid large crowds, keeping off-premise and on-premise customers entirely separate and making protective gear available for staff.

Shire says workers are mostly ready to return and comfortable with the measures being taken.

For the most part our employees are really excited to come back. I think they trust us to make sure it is safe, she offers.

Some owners are joining a concerted effort to better prepare the industry, its workers and customers.

Since last week, Lula Drake owner Tim Gardner has been assembling a group called Safe Dining SC, which was formed in response to concerns with reopening and the perceived need for a shared knowledge base among restaurant owners. As of May 11, he says 25 restaurants had agreed to be a part of it.

He describes the group as a two-prong effort, coupling its efforts to disseminate information about restaurants and coronavirus with advocacy at the state level in hopes of finding guidance on how to proceed in the current circumstances.

Its not coming down from the federal government, the state has these guidelines, but I walk down the street and nobody is practicing them, he explains. As restaurateurs, everyone is so concerned about their customers and staff.

Gardner doesnt put any blame on restaurateurs that are choosing to reopen, saying each business situation is unique and may call for different approaches. He says his employees, though, are uncertain about the prospect of returning to work right now.

My experience, with my employees, is that they are very concerned that theyre safe and that our customers are safe, he shares. Theres so much confusion, we get these guidelines that Here are the criteria we have to meet to open and move forward. It turns out we havent met any of them.

Is It Worth It?

Debate about whether reopening restaurants is safe will undoubtedly continue, but one point remains clear: South Carolina is doing so against recommendations for what would best serve the public health.

Per federal guidelines, one of the key tenets to reopening an economy is to have 14 consecutive days of declining positive coronavirus tests. That has yet to happen. In April, McMaster reasoned in a press conference that those were just guidelines and that he felt the state could move forward with reopening without endangering lives.

Reporting done by The Post and Couriers Avery Wilks and Thad Moore showed the state needs more contact tracers, workers trained to identify infected individuals and locate those who could have been exposed, and testing to contain the outbreak as the economy reopened. The two reported that, by one model, the state will require about 1,500 contact tracers to effectively contain flare ups. The state currently has about 230 and hopes to hire about 1,000 more.

Testing is a large part of federal guidelines and it has long been on the mind of some owners in Columbia. In April, Porter Barron, co-owner of The War Mouth, told Free Times that more testing was needed for him to feel comfortable with reopening. Gardner echoes that, as well.

But things could be improving.

The states Department of Health and Environmental Control announced on May 6 that it had plans to test more than 200,000 people in the next two months. Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin also announced plans last week to initiate virus testing for workers that are returning to work.

Asked at McMasters May 8 press conference what kind of data South Carolina was seeing to green light further scaling back of restaurant restrictions, state epidemiologist Linda Bell pointed to the flattening of the states rate of infection and increases in testing.

Weve seen a flattening of the curve for a relatively short period of time and were hopeful that flattening remains [as we increase testing], she elaborated.

Sigma Xis Vernon says that if health guidelines are being followed and protective is gear provided, then public-facing employees should feel confident in returning to work. He cites things like occupancy restrictions and one-way aisles in grocery stores as measures that can still help.

Still, he worries that it can be difficult to follow these guidelines due to customer behavior, and some restaurant owners acknowledge this.

Sears, Jakes co-owner, says its difficult to control human behavior inside a hospitality environment, let alone on the sidewalks outside. He suggests that its difficult to ask a group to break up if theyre talking too close together, though he emphasizes that he and his staff tried.

At any point if there was something that didnt look safe wed politely ask them to move apart, Sears says. At the same time, again, there has to be personal responsibility here.

I think we opened in an extremely responsible fashion, he adds. If I had determined that I couldnt open in a safe manner, I wouldnt.

Adedokun, the War Mouth bartender, suggests that the onus should be on government leaders, not restaurants and their workers, to figure out how to best balance the weighty concerns associated with reopening.

I feel like its wrong and irresponsible [to keep] the public safe on the back of the business owners and the workers, which is what its being done, instead of the buck stopping at the top of the totem pole, he opines.

Vernon gives a similar appraisal.

We should be following the federal guidelines and by choosing not to do that, those leaders are accepting that level of risk, he says. They need to look deep inside themselves and ask, Is it worth it?
JERUSALEM  A 21-year-old Israeli soldier was killed early Tuesday when he was struck in the head by a heavy rock as his unit was completing a nighttime arrest mission in a Palestinian village near Jenin, in the northern West Bank, the army said.

It was the first combat fatality for the Israeli military this year, and it came as the region was bracing for a possible uptick in violence in response to an Israeli push to annex land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians have long counted on for a future state.

Later in the day, a Palestinian man who attempted a stabbing attack at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem was shot and wounded, the Israeli police said.

The overnight killing of the soldier, Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Ygal, of the city of Ramat Gan, occurred during what the army described as a routine operation that resulted in the arrest of four Palestinians in Yaabed, west of Jenin, including some suspected of throwing stones at passing Israeli motorists. The soldier was hit by a rock thrown from a house on the outskirts of the village, the army said.
U.S. Law Firm Paid Millions To Former Ukrainian Prime Minister To Avoid Lawsuit, Says Report

By RFE/RL May 11, 2020

An international law firm based in New York paid at least $11 million to avoid being sued by Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's former prime minister, according to The New York Times in a story published on May 10.

The law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom paid the money after Tymoshenko accused the company of writing a report that was used to help justify her imprisonment by a political rival, the Times reported

Tymoshenko was imprisoned from 2011-14 on abuse of office charges that the international community widely condemned as politically motivated. In 2012 the New York law firm started representing Viktor Yanukovych's Moscow-aligned government and produced a report that Yanukovych's supporters used to condone Tymoshenko's imprisonment.

She was released after Yanukovych's government fell in 2014 amid protests against corruption and the government's shift toward Moscow.

Tymoshenko told the Times in a 2018 interview that "it was very painful" to hear about Skadden's work while she was in prison. She accused the law firm of "whitewashing Yanukovych and his government" for money.

'Dirty Contract'

"It's a pity that such a well-known company like Skadden even considered to take this case to deliver," she said in 2018. "This is a dirty, dirty, dirty contract."

Tymoshenko reportedly hired the law firm Reid Collins & Tsai after the Times interview to determine if it was possible to sue Skadden over the report, two people familiar with the arrangement told the Times.

Skadden paid $11 million or more to settle before a suit was filed, people familiar with the settlement said, according to the Times. Tymoshenko and her lawyer, Sergei Vlasenko, who has also claimed he was treated unfairly by the Yanukovych government, each received about $5.5 million from the firm between July and last month, the report said.

Tymoshenko, in a Facebook post on May 4, referred to a settlement.

"Yes, the other day I received monetary compensation for damage caused by political repression of 2011-2014...from a U.S. resident in the stage of pre-trial settlement. This suggests that the United States is a truly legal state, and human rights are not empty sound to them, but true value," Tymoshenko wrote.

She said she managed to achieve justice and said it was more proof that her imprisonment was political.

Tymoshenko said she declared the income as required by law and no other details would be released "due to legislative regulation in the United States regarding legal restrictions in the case."

The Times said records filed with the Ukrainian government accounting for the sums do not mention Skadden, which declined to comment for the Times story.

It has previously publicly defended its Ukraine work as an independent assessment that did not absolve Yanukovych of wrongdoing. The report concluded that, while Tymoshenko's trial violated some of her rights, her conviction was supported by the evidence presented at trial. And the report found no evidence that the prosecution was politically motivated.

Neither Vlasenko nor Skadden responded to RFE/RL's request for comment.

William T. Reid, IV, a founding member of Reid Collins & Tsai, said in an e-mail to The Hill that the firm was unable to comment but could confirm Tymoshenko was a client of the firm. Reid did not respond to an e-mail request for comment from RFE/RL.

Last year, Skadden paid the Department of Justice $4.6 million to settle an investigation into whether the law firm's work with Ukraine violated foreign lobbying laws.

With reporting by The New York Times and The Hill

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-tymoshenko-skadden -yanukovych-lawsuit/30605011.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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Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has discussed with his counterparts from India, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan and South Korea the importance of international cooperation, transparency, and accountability in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes.

Pompeo spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne, Brazilian foreign minister Ernesto Henrique Fraga Araujo, Israeli foreign minister Yisrael Katz, Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono and South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha, the State Department said in a press release on Monday.

"Pompeo and his counterparts discussed the importance of international cooperation, transparency, and accountability in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes," State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.

The US and other countries have raised questions about whether China was fully transparent when the virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last year. But China has denied allegations of a cover up, saying it has been transparent about its efforts to battle the deadly virus.

The virtual meeting of the ministers also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises and reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order, Ortagus said.

Commenting on the virtual meeting, Jaishankar said it was a broad-based discussion on responding to the challenge posed by the coronavirus and termed it as "productive".

"Conversation covered pandemic response, global health management, medical cooperation, economic recovery and travel norms. Look forward to continuing this engagement," the minister tweeted.

The world has reported over 286,000 deaths and 4,178,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The US is currently the worst hit nation with over 80,000 deaths and 1,347,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
To deal with an anticipated surge in coronavirus cases, the Federal Capital Territory Administration on Monday unveiled a 500-bed capacity isolation and treatment centre at Idu district of the territory.

The FCT minister, Musa Bello, while commissioning the centre said the facility is by far the largest in Abuja. He said with an additional 500-bed capacity, the capital territory can now cater for at least a thousand victims of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Abuja COVID-19 isolation center

About a week after the gradual lifting of total lockdown in Abuja commenced, the Nigerian capital is still getting daily alerts of infections.

As of Tuesday morning, the FCT reported 359 confirmed cases, 53 recoveries and six deaths.

The minister said residents are still flouting established guidelines of social distancing, face covering while in public and physical hygiene, warning that the 1000-bed spaces available in the FCT will not be enough to contain the spike that might follow.

The new facility means we have enough redundancy of bed space but if we do not continue with a lot of restrictions, a thousand bed space will not be enough when the infection rates hit the sky, he said.

New Isolation Centre

The 500-bed capacity facility used to be an unoccupied railway school facility located at the Abuja-Kaduna railway terminal at Idu. It was however converted to an isolation centre by the FCT expert advisory committee on COVID-19 on March 24 under the chairmanship of Aliyu Umar.

Abuja COVID-19 isolation center

A tour of the centres showed well-spaced treatments beds in the four-storey building. Some of the rooms contain three to five beds that are eight feet away from each other. Others has only two beds.

The green building also has well equipped recreation facilities, Intensive Care Units (ICU) and staff corners.

Abuja COVID-19 isolation center

Donations

Aliyu Umar, the chairman of the committee, said the equipping of the facility was made possible through donations from companies located in Abuja, political figures and well-meaning residents.

He explained how the committee mobilised human and financial resources that transformed the railway facility into an isolation centre.

Mr Umar, a former minister of the FCT, said President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha, donated and equipped 100 beds while 150 equipped beds were catered for by Julius Berger, a construction company.

Abuja COVID-19 isolation center

He said 100 beds and accessories were provided by Polaris bank and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) assembled and fixed all toilet and cooling facilities.

The Abuja Electrical Distribution Company (AEDC) provided electrical fittings and wirings. HIS towers provided ventilators.

Mr Umar said he and Mohammed Jibril donated 258 flat screen television sets for the facility.

Other donations include emergency vehicles, salaries and allowances for staff and health workers.
Roman Catholics will be able to return to churches for Mass this coming weekend, rather than having to watch services online, but the Bishop of Baton Rouge will continue to waive the usual obligation to attend weekly.

Bishop Michael Duca said Monday that the church would begin offering the sacraments in a "slow, deliberate return" to parish life.

Gov. John Bel Edwards intends to relax his stay-at-home order Friday. While churches and some businesses may open, Edwards wants generally to have them operate at 25 percent capacity.

+2 Catholic weddings, funerals may continue in Baton Rouge under these coronavirus restrictions Bishop Michael Duca of the Diocese of Baton Rouge unveiled new guidelines Tuesday for Catholics to follow amid the spread of the coronavirus, 

The Diocese of Baton Rouge covers 12 civil parishes, roughly in a triangle from Morganza to Kentwood to Napoleonville. Duca said any church could begin celebrating Mass this weekend, beginning with Saturday evening vigil Masses, and that all parishes should have regular services by May 24.

Catholics typically are expected to attend Mass each Sunday, but Duca said that obligation would be "dispensed" indefinitely within the diocese.

"Those who are ill or who are not feeling well in any way should not attend Mass until they are free of their illness and its symptoms for three days," Duca said. "Those who are especially vulnerable (namely, those defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as those 60 years of age or older, those with comprised immune systems, and/or those with underlying health conditions), and indeed anyone who does not feel comfortable attending Mass are encouraged to stay home."

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He said that Sunday and daily Mass would continue to be shown online for those who are uncomfortable attending Mass in-person.

+10 Despite coronavirus, Easter reminds that 'darkness and death do not have final word' When Bishop Michael Duca steps to the pulpit to deliver his Easter Sunday homily, he will gaze into a starkly empty St. Joseph Cathedral. For 

When people return to Mass, under the 25% limit, churches will arrange seating so people remain at least 6 feet away from non-family members. Some churches may also add services to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend. It's also possible that some churches will opt for a reservation process so they can keep crowds below 25% of capacity.

Parishioners will also be required to wear masks in the worship space and are encouraged to bring hand sanitizer for personal use.

Priests and others who distribute communion will wear masks, and parishioners are asked to receive in the hand, not on the tongue, and not while wearing gloves. No communion will be shared with the congregation through a common chalice.

Confessionals can reopen as long as masks are worn and the priest and penitent are at least 6 feet apart.
The crisis could not have struck at a worse time for Ukraine as ongoing health care reforms slashed government subsidies, leaving hospital workers underpaid and poorly equipped.

Ukraine's troubled health care system has been overwhelmed by COVID-19, even though it has reported a relatively low number of cases  15,648 infections and 408 deaths as of Monday.

Nowhere is the problem more evident than in western city of Chernivtsi, with 2,324 confirmed infections in the city and the surrounding region. It is considered a hot spot of contagion, along with another western city, Ivano-Frankivsk, 100 kilometers (60 miles) away, and the capital, Kyiv, ABC News reported citing the Associated Press.

Thousands of Ukrainians who had temporary jobs in Europe have returned home amid the pandemic and some brought the virus back with them.

As COVID-19 patients flood into the struggling hospitals, some doctors and nurses must buy their own protective gear or use improvised equipment. Many of them are getting sick: medical workers account for about a fifth of all coronavirus cases in Ukraine.

The crisis could not have struck at a worse time for Ukraine as ongoing health care reforms begun before President Zelensky took office have slashed government subsidies, leaving hospital workers underpaid and poorly equipped.

The health care reform also sought to replace the old rules that allowed patients to choose their own doctors and consult with specialists with a system empowering family doctors to direct patients to other experts. But the new system has failed to work properly amid the outbreak.

"Family doctors have refrained from dealing with the problems," said Ivan Venzhynovych, a 51-year-old therapist in Pochaiv, a town in western Ukraine. "Doctors don't visit patients, they give consultations over the phone. Everyone is afraid of getting the virus."

Aware of the health care problems, authorities began a strict coronavirus lockdown on March 12, complete with police patrols and tight restrictions on using public transportation. Farmers, businessmen and others have been pushing authorities to ease the rules, while doctors fear that the easing it will lead to a new wave of contagion.

"Ukraine was completely unprepared for the epidemic, and it's a big question if it's ready now," said Dr. Oleh Stetsiuk, a pathologist in the western city of Ternopil.

Read alsoZelensky: medics beg for help, while Ukrainian health care system "one step short of a coma"

"They don't give us a penny to improve sanitary conditions," Stetsiuk said. He says he conducts autopsies on patients killed by the virus outdoors behind his hospital because its morgue lacks the proper air and water filtration system, adding that the authorities rejected his plea to provide a tent for the autopsies, citing a lack of funds.

The government used to subsidize things like wages for medical workers and hospital utility bills, but under a second stage of the reforms that began last month, there will be further cuts to of the already-limited state funding. Under the new rules, the state doesn't fully cover the cost of treatment. It only pays the equivalent of $780 for treating a stroke patient, while experts estimate the cost at $2,000-$3,200.

Limited state funds have resulted in low wages. ICU doctors have monthly salaries ranging from $148 to $174, while nurses get $111.

The new system also redistributes subsidies among hospitals, with the most money going to those with more patients, putting many smaller and specialized clinics on the verge of closure.

Zelensky has vowed to revise the reforms, saying that it otherwise could lead to the closure of more than 300 hospitals, leaving 50,000 medical workers jobless.
A Tokyo Electric Power official wearing protective gear stands in front of Advanced Liquid Processing Systems during a press tour at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in this Nov. 12, 2014, photo. / Korea Times file



By Kang Seung-woo



The Navy announced, Tuesday, plans to study the effects of radioactive water on its operations in an apparent countermeasure against Japan's alleged plan to dump the contaminated water from its Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.



While many domestic and international environment groups have studied the possible water release by Japan, this is the first time that the Korean military has decided to investigate the issue, although it remains cautious about specifying Japan is the target country for the study.



According to a notice posted on the government's procurement system site, the Navy plans to commission research into the potential impact of radioactive water within its operational areas on its maritime operations and ways to stably carry out missions.



The Navy said the 30 million-won ($24,000) research project is scheduled to run until Nov. 30.



"We recognize the growing possibility of radiation-contaminated water being released into our operational areas, and international environmental organizations have warned that if a neighboring country dumps radioactive water into the ocean, it would reach the East Sea within a year," a Navy officer said.



The officer added that there have been no studies on how radioactive water would affect the environment where naval operations are carried out, and so an advanced investigation is required in order for the Navy to conduct practical and realistic operations.



"Given that seawater is used for living purposes and cooling for equipment, we need to research the impact of radioactive water," the officer said.



The envisaged research comes as Japan has reportedly been preparing to discharge contaminated water from the power plant, devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, into the ocean. More than 1.1 million tons of radioactive water are reportedly being stored in 977 temporary holding 977 tanks at the power plant in Fukushima.



In February, Greenpeace said a group of experts in Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had recommended discharging the contaminated water into the ocean as a final means to get rid of it.



In relation to the plan, the Japanese government has held events to gather opinions from local residents and experts on dumping radioactive water into the Pacific, which were seen as procedural ahead of releasing the contaminated water.



However, the Navy said its study was not targeting Japan, adding that it was meant to devise detailed guidelines and a response manual to radioactive-contaminated water in general.



The possibility of Tokyo discharging the water into the sea was raised last year after Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist at the German branch of Greenpeace, warned in August that Japan could dump over 1 million tons of radioactive waste into the Pacific.



Since then, Japanese government officials have begun to openly discuss the issue. They say almost all the radioactivity has been removed from the water except for tritium, claiming this metal was relatively nonhazardous  something experts disagree with, noting it can cause cancer and fetal deformities.



Yoshiaki Harada, a former Japanese environment minister, said last year that there was no other option but to dilute the contaminated water by pumping it into the ocean in order to dispose of it.



In response, the Korean foreign ministry summoned Tomofumi Nishinaga, a minister for economic affairs at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to convey the government's concern on the possible disposal of contaminated water. It also sent letters to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to express concern over the environmental impact of the possible water release and call for joint countermeasures from the international community.


United Airlines will let passengers know in advance whether an upcoming flight is full or nearly full and give fliers the option to rebook trips or cancel them in exchange for a travel credit.

The policy will go into effect next week and will last through June 30.

The change follows a UCSF cardiologists highly publicized series of tweets describing scared" and "shocked passengers on a full flight Saturday from Newark, NJ to San Francisco International Airport.

Every seat full on this 737, tweeted Dr. Ethan Weiss, who was returning to SFO on United flight 2264 from a multi-week assignment in New York City helping coronavirus patients.

United said Monday it will offer passengers greater flexibility to avoid crowded flights that may not allow for social distancing. The carrier said even with a 90 percent cut to its schedule, 85 percent of planes are less than half full.

Well allow customers on flights that are expected to be closer to full capacity to choose to rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit, according to an airline statement. We'll do our best to contact them about 24 hours before their departure time so they can decide whether to adjust their plans before they arrive at the airport  and we'll provide this option at the gate, if more than 70 percent of customers have checked in.

Several U.S. carriers have placed hard caps on the number of passengers that can be booked onto flights. United has not done this, but said it is trying to keep people who are not flying together spaced apart on flights.

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However, because our schedule is so reduced, there are a small number of flights where our customers are finding planes fuller than they expect, the United statement read.

Thats what happened Saturday on the Newark-SFO flight, where despite the pandemic-driven drop-off in travel, some fliers found themselves sitting elbow-to-elbow with a stranger. United has slashed flights on the route from upwards of nine or 10 daily departures to three.

The carrier has replaced the Boeing 757 jets that are normally on the route with smaller Boeing 737s, which are more economical to fly.

As more states reopen, you can expect the number of fliers to creep upwards too.

Figures from the Transportation Security Administration suggest U.S. airports saw a small uptick in the number of air passengers in the past week.

According to the TSA, 215,444 people passed through airport security checkpoints Friday. That is the highest number of people screened in the U.S. since late-March, but its not even 1/10 of the 2.6 million who took to the skies one year ago on that day.

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[May 12, 2020] National Mining Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2020

2020 National Mining Hall of Fame Inductees - The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum (NMHFM) is pleased to announce five new members have been elected to the National Mining Hall of Fame. Selected by the National Mining Hall of Fame's Board of Governors from a pool of outstanding nominations, this year's inductees were chosen for groundbreaking work in biohydrometallurgy, economic geology, mine development, social responsibility and sustainability initiatives, as well as unparalleled skill in creating shareholder value. The 2020 Prazen Living Legend of Mining Award, named for renowned mining artist Gary Prazen, will be presented as well. This award recognizes an individual or organization for significant and sustained commitment to educating the public about the relationship of mining to our everyday lives through educational materials, innovative programming, and outreach. The 33rd Annual National Mining Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held October 24, 2020, in Denver, CO, at the Marriott Denver South at Park Meadows. 2020 National Mining Hall of Fame Inductees: Alberto Benavides: A Peruvian national and graduate of the National Engineering University (1941) and Harvard University (Geology, 1944), Benavides began his mining career at the U.S.-owned Cerro de Pasco Corporation. He worked as the resident geologist in Cerro de Pasco and became the company's first exploration chief. He was involved with the discovery, evaluation, and early development of the Antamina, Las Bambas, Toquepala, and Cuajone projects. Benavides was successful in bringing U.S companies Newmont, Phelps Dodge, and ASARCO together in a joint venture to develop the Toquepala and Cuajone deposits. In 1953, Benavides founded Compania de Minas Buenaventura, a Peruvian company publicly traded in Lima and on the New York Stock Exchange. He was instrumental in the discovery of the Conga, Tambomayo, Trapiche, and Chucapaca mineral deposits and the development of La Zanja, Tantahhuatay, Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, Shila, Mallay, and Anapite mines. Despite terrorist activity at the time, he forged a joint venture between Buenaventura and Newmont to develop the Yanacocha Mine. With a passion for social advancement and sustainability, he insisted all partners in mine development help improve living conditions of the locals and access to services by improving or constructing roads, schools, health clinics, and providing clean drinking water and sanitation in the communities near the mines. Benavides supported advanced educational opportunities to promote job skills beyond the life of the mine. Yanacocha became not only one of the largest gold producers in the world but a global model for social responsibility - sustainable development and wellbeing for all - which is now replicated by U.S. mining companies at many other sites around the world. Benavides received the Penrose Gold Medal (Society of Economic Geologists), the Gold Medal of Excellence and Lifetime Achievement (Mining and Metallurgical Society of America), and a Lifetime Achievement Award (Harvard University). He was inducted into the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame and received the Order of the Sun, Peru's most distinguished honor. Dr. Roshan (News - Alert) B. Bhappu: Globally recognized as a leading authority in extractive metallurgy, Bhappu was a visionary pioneer in biohydrometallurgy. He published over 100 technical papers and co-authored several books on mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental remediation, and was granted several patents in bacterial leaching of sulfide ores and the recovery of metal values through in-situ extraction. While head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Bhappu received numerous research grants from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to further his cutting-edge research in biological oxidation of sulfide minerals. At his research lab, Mountain States R&D International, he built a reputation for developing efficient and optimized metallurgical flowsheets while advancing energy conservation and new mineral processing technologies. This combination significantly reduced capital and operating costs without compromising the metallurgical process and led to a world-renowned standing as an innovator in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. He was an expert advisor to the minerals industry and international agencies such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Bhappu was the first Asian President of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). He was the recipient of numerous awards, including Colorado School of Mines van Diest Gold Medal for outstanding achievement, AIME Robert Richards Award for distinction in metallurgy, and the Mining & Metallurgical Society of America's (MMSA) Gold Medal Award for his dedicated efforts in mineral research and to the mining industry overall. Hugh W. Evans: As a young man of 19, Evans first served his country as a member of the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army during World War II. This specialized mountain warfare unit trained at Camp Hale, CO, and claimed victories over German troops crucial to Italy's liberation during World War II. After the war, Evans attended the Colorado School of Mines earning an Engineer of Mines degree and joined the Army Reserves. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. After serving his country, Evans built a 36-year career from grassroots exploration to large-scale mining operations that have become some of the world's largest producers. Highlights include the discovery of a substantial uranium deposit on the Colorado plateau for Union Pacific, leading their stock price to increase a hundred-fold; for Utah International, Evans demonstrated the presence of enough coal near Farmington, NM, to justify building the Navajo Mine, Arizona Public Service Power Plant, and the Navajo Dam on the San Juan River; in Queensland, Australia, he led the development of the Blackwater Mine, one of the largest coal reserves in the world, and the town of Blackwater that grew from a rail stop to a community of 8000, launching Australia into the worldwide coal mrket; as Vice President of Coal Operations for the Atlantic Richfield Company, he was responsible for the design and development of Wyoming's Black Thunder Mine as well as the planning and construction of the town of Wright, WY; and, as Enoxy Coal President and CEO, Evans oversaw four joint venture mines with Island Creek Coal Company and Italian company, Italsider. Throughout his career, Evans was a builder of international relations and of wealth for nations by constructively working with people, money, and machinery to provide something that mankind needed. His leadership and engineering skills, along with a drive and excitement for his work, led to some of the largest coal mines in the world, yet he understood that no operation is about one person. He valued team effort and held a steadfast commitment to the people that worked for him. Evans served on the Colorado School of Mines Board of Directors and as Chair of its Research Institute. Committed to higher education, he and his wife, Ann, funded the Hugh W & Ann G Evans Endowment For Mining Engineering and the 10th Mountain Division scholarship.



Raymond W. Threlkeld: A geologist with over 40 years of extensive experience in mineral exploration, mine operations and construction, acquisition and senior executive management, Threlkeld is a discoverer and developer of world-class deposits and a creator of shareholder value. He is credited as co-discoverer of the Bear Track gold deposit in Idaho and with the redirection of the Silver Bears exploration program, leading to the development of Russia's Mangaziesky silver district. Threlkeld's technical expertise leading teams through exploration, reserve estimates, feasibility studies, and construction and operations led to successful gold mines in Australia - Cowal Gold Mine; Argentina - Veledaro; Peru - Lagunas Norte (Alto Chicama) and Pierina; and, Bulyanhulu in Tanzania. At Pierina and Bulyanhulu, he was instrumental in introducing cutting-edge social development and sustainability initiatives, improving family health and local business. At Pierina his team developed the deposit in record time. The Pierina Mine produced over 8 million ounces of gold in a 20-year period and launched Barrick Gold to the top of the South American mining industry. In senior executive positions with Barrick Gold, Western Goldfields, Newmarket Gold, Inc., and Rainy River Resources among others, Threlkeld has been involved in the acquisition of more than $1 billion in assets, managed an estimated $1.4 billion in construction spending and created billions in shareholder value. As President and CEO of Western Goldfields, he commissioned the Mesquite Gold Mine in California on time and budget, resulting in the company's market capitalization increasing from $12 million to more than $300 million. While CEO of Rainy River Resources, he led the team that completed permitting and feasibility studies, increasing gold resources to over 6 million ounces. Rainy River was sold to New Gold, Inc. As Chairman of Newmarket Gold, Inc., his team sold the company for more than $1 billion in 2016. The sale of Newmarket Gold created over $4 billion in value for the Newmarket shareholders from an initial acquisition cost of $25 million. Threlkeld's skill and success in so many facets of the business have made him one of the most accomplished professionals in the precious metals industry today. Dr. Spencer R Titley: After serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Titley earned his doctorate in geology from the University of Arizona (UA). After two years as Regional Exploration Geologist for New Jersey Zinc Company, he joined the UA faculty in 1960 rising through the ranks to Distinguished Professor of Geosciences. His research in the search for the origin of porphyry copper deposits took him to more than 30 countries. It led him to investigate all scales of copper deposits, from entire deposits down to the level of atoms. Considered a world authority on Phanerozoic porphyry copper deposits, metal provinces, and metallogenesis, the books he wrote and edited along with the scholarly articles he published on porphyry copper deposits of southwestern North America are still widely read today. In 1964, Titley was selected by the U.S. Geological Survey to map the moon by telescope. Before humans landed on the moon, Titley trained NASA Apollo astronauts Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Ed White, and Thomas Stafford in the geology they would need to explore the moon. Widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in the fields of economic geology, engineering, and science, Titley's list of awards is lengthy. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, received the D.C. Jackling Award from the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), and from the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) he was awarded the Penrose Gold Medal and honored as a Thayer Lindsley Distinguished Lecturer. For excellence in teaching, he received the Career Distinguished Teaching Award as well as the Creative Teaching Award from the University of Arizona, College of Science, among many other awards. Titley's 56 years of continuous teaching and research have left an enduring legacy of educating students so that they, too, have become leaders in their fields.

2020 Prazen Living Legend of Mining Award During this time in history, when our dependence upon products created from mined minerals is accelerating, it is amazing just how little the general population knows about the critical role mining plays in their daily lives. Most consumers do not understand the primary source of the raw materials that create the basic necessities of life. Food production as well as energy ("green" energy too), electronics, transportation, personal care items, and all other material goods we have come to depend on and want, begin with mining. The Minerals Education Coalition (MEC), a committee of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Foundation, has been working to address this lack of understanding and to increase global awareness of the importance of mining in our everyday lives. MEC is an education and outreach program for K-12 students, teachers, and the general public. The organization develops and delivers accurate and timely K-12 education materials, activities, and public awareness outreach about mining and minerals. MEC seeks to educate the public about modern mining practices, which enhance worker safety, workplace diversity, and embrace environmental and social responsibility as part of daily business. MEC's innovative Move Mining and Move Mining Next Gen competitions seek to change misperceptions about the mining industry by engaging contestants in a real-life exercise, initially in the form of a short video presentation. Move Mining's participants are charged with using technology and creativity to develop a three-minute video presenting their concept to positively "move" the public's perception of mining. Submissions have addressed how mining is necessary for our economy, energy, environment, national security, infrastructure, innovations, technology, and safety. Competing teams submit their video along with a one-page abstract. A consortium selects four finalists, and one finalist is chosen by "People's Choice." These five finalists present before a live panel of judges, "Shark Tank" style, at the SME Annual Conference & Expo. The contest winner is picked before a live audience and receives a cash prize of $5,000. Cash prizes are also awarded for second and third place. Move Mining Next Gen, for K-12 students, challenges teams to create videos that educate audiences on how mining is important to our daily lives. Some students use the knowledge gained from individual research in classroom education teams to create their three-minute videos, some work with families and friends at home. The videos are presented online and voted on by a panel of expert volunteers for several categories, as well as by the general public for the People's Choice Award. The Best Overall Video receives a cash prize of $1,000. Grade level-specific prizes are awarded as well. The videos have not only educated the participants and the general public but have inspired new ideas for spreading the word about the necessity of mining. The first Move Mining competition spurred the development of a children's book series. Ryan and Jules Miles had an idea to pique children's curiosity about mining, engineering, and environmental stewardship through mystery and adventure. They submitted their idea for a children's book titled The Mineral Maniacs and the Magic Hardhat which helped them secure assistance and funding to publish it. Since its exposure at Move Mining, the novel has been translated into Spanish and a teacher's guide to accompany the first story in the series has also been published. Currently, the Miles' are working on a board game, Mine Dash, which was selected as a finalist in the 2019 competition. Other winners throughout the past four seasons include Team Wonder Mine from Ecuador who proposed developing an app to show the ore mineral sources of everyday objects; Team Mine to Me from Canada, who focused on videos for outreach and education; Team Teaching Kids from Colombia, who worked to reach out to students to teach them at an early age about the importance of mining in everyday lives; and Team Atwood from the US who won with their concept of how to use game-based learning to reach young people and teach them how mining impacts their lives. These competitions encourage thought about mining, not only for the participants and members of the live audiences, but also reach an extended international audience through the voting component. Participants' use social media to gain votes for their videos. Additional viewers are brought in through MEC's use of Facebook (News - Alert) Live to stream the competitions and by leveraging SME's social media channels to continue outreach after the contest has ended. As these two competitions continue to grow and inspire new ideas for educating the public about the necessity of mining, the potential for changing the perception of mining is exponential. David Brown (News - Alert), president of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, stated, "We are pleased to honor those selected for induction this year into the National Mining Hall of Fame. Their contributions to the mining industry are immense. This year's honorees are educators, inventors, geoscientists and astrogeologists and each has established prominence in the discovery and mining of metals and industrial minerals around the globe and beyond. In their own unique way, each has brought a significant contribution to our great industry. We are also delighted to honor The Minerals Education Coalition with the Prazen Award recognizing their outstanding efforts in providing education materials to our schools and promoting public understanding of the critical importance that mining of raw materials has in everyone's lives and wellbeing. Please join us on October 24, 2020, to honor these individuals that have advanced the industry passion and dedication to their work." Since 1987, the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Leadville, CO, has been our nation's monument to the men and women who champion the discovery, development, and processing of our nation's natural resources, as well as a national institution educating the public about the undeniable relationship of mining to our daily lives. For event details, tickets or sponsorship opportunities visit www.MiningHallOfFame.org or reach out to Amber Johnson, Events Manager, at [email protected] or (719) 486-1229. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005173/en/

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Male and female dinosaurs may have looked similar due to only slight differences in bone structure, according to a new study.

British researchers analysed skulls from modern-day gharials, a critically endangered giant crocodile, to observe how easy it is to distinguish between males and females.

Reaching nearly 20 feet in length and weighing more than a quarter of a ton, the long-snouted gharials have been referred to as 'living dinosaurs'.

A lack of observable differences between male and female gharials, other than a bony hollow in the skull, suggests it would have been hard to tell male and female dinosaurs apart.

It is also too difficult to tell the sex of dinosaurs from the skeleton alone, they claim, which is why science should be cautious about assigning a sex to dinosaur fossils.

Skulls of a male (top) and female gharial. Male dinosaurs may have looked slightly different from their female counterparts but these differences are difficult to spot in bone fossils, scientists have said

'Like dinosaurs, gharials are large, slow-growing reptiles that lay eggs, which makes them a good model for studying extinct dinosaur species,' said Dr David Hone, a senior lecturer in zoology at Queen Mary University of London and one of the authors on the study.

'Our research shows that even with prior knowledge of the sex of the specimen, it can still be difficult to tell male and female gharials apart.

'With most dinosaurs we don't have anywhere near that size of the data set used for this study, and we don't know the sex of the animals, so we'd expect this task to be much harder.'

Close up of the female gharial skull (left) and male. Male gharials are larger than females and have a fleshy growth on the end of their snout, known as a ghara, which is held in place by a bony hollow near the nostrils, known as the narial fossa

Male gharials are larger in size than females and possess a fleshy growth on the end of their snout, known as a ghara, made from soft tissue.

The ghara is supported by a bony hollow near the nostrils, called the narial fossa, which can be identified in their skulls.

GHARIAL IS THE SOLE SPECIES IN THE GAVIALIDAE FAMILY The gharial, (Gavialis gangeticus) is an exceptionally long and narrow-snouted crocodilian. It's classified as the sole species in the separate family Gavialidae (order Crocodilia). It is distinguished by its long, very slender, and sharp-toothed jaws, which it sweeps sideways in order to catch fish. Gharials normally reach a length of somewhere between 12 and 15 feet, but the male can reach nearly 20 feet. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Advertisement

The research team studied 106 gharial specimens in 36 museum collections around the world, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh.

They found that aside from the presence of the narial fossa in males, it was hard to tell sexes of the gharial apart.

Dr Hone argues that to ascertain any definite distinction between male and female dinosaurs, there needs to be a large sample size of a particular species, rather than one or two.

He and his team have used the large sample of gharials from around the world to illustrate this point.

'Our study suggests unless the differences between the dinosaurs are really striking, or there is a clear feature like the fossa, we will struggle to tell a male and female dinosaur apart using our existing dinosaur skeletons,' Dr Hone said.

'Based on this study, you need a very large sample size of animals to be able to confidently tell males from females.'

Since we basically don't have that for dinosaurs, any statements about 'X' set of a species being male or female is likely incorrect  though there's some exceptions out there.'

A gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) with its characteristic long snout. It is among the longest of all living crocodilians, reaching up to 19 feet

Scientists have long debated whether it is possible to tell apart male and female dinosaurs from their fossils alone, or how sexual dimorphism there was in each species.

Some animals show high levels of sexual dimorphism  meaning they show big differences in their physical characteristics aside from their sexual organs  partly to attract mates.

For example, in peacocks, males are normally brightly-coloured with large lustrous tail feathers, compared with the female, which has more subdued colouration.

Other examples of sexual dimorphism include antlers that are largely only found in male deer and the striking mane of the male lion.

Gharials sit somewhere in the middle in terms of their sexual dimorphism as they do possess these large narial fossa that can help with identification.

Artist's impression of two Tyrannosaurus dinosaurs. The scientists challenge previous research that female T. rexes were bigger than males

'Gharials are relatively close relatives of dinosaurs and like dinosaurs were large animals, that laid eggs, grew slowly and matured sexually well before they got to full size,' Dr Hone said.

'That's a suite of characteristics that is shared by very few animals  basically only the crocodylians  but the narial fossa is key to this as it's a sexually selected physical difference between males and females which no other croc has, so it's uniquely suited to this project.'

The research also challenges previous studies that have hinted at differences between the sexes of renowned dinosaur species  in particular the Tyrannosaurus rex, which has fuelled common misconceptions amongst the general public.

'Many years ago, a scientific paper suggested female T Rex are bigger than males  however, this was based on records from 25 broken specimens,' said Dr Hone.

'Our results show this level of data just is not good enough to be able to make this conclusion.'

As an example, the sex of 'Sophie', the world's most complete Stegosaurus housed at London's Natural History Museum, is not actually known, despite its nickname.

The study has been published in the journal PeerJ.
NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm dedicated to representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating a potential breach of fiduciary duty claim involving the board of directors of Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (NYSE: HBB).

If you are a shareholder of Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, free of charge, please visit us at:

https://pjlfirm.com/hamilton-beach-brands-holding-company/

You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at [email protected] or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation.

Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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BOSTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ariadne Labs today released an Evidence Brief titled " Protecting Health Care Workers in South Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic. " The research, rapidly developed through interviews and a review of the country's protocols, outlines how South Korea has successfully maintained one of the world's lowest rates of COVID-19 infections in health care workers.

Health care workers around the world have been on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Given that hospitals are active battlegrounds for health care workers, protecting them is critical as their safety is tied to the integrity of the medical system and wellbeing of the public. Unfortunately, countries around the globe are struggling to minimize infection among this group.

This research details how South Korea continues to employ a multi-pronged strategy to protect health care workers, which involves centralized coordination and triage, local adaptation of key protocols and principles, and strong public health efforts to limit community transmission including physical distancing, contact tracing, and an aggressive approach to testing, isolation, and treatment.

Developed by Ariadne Labs' COVID-19 Community Mitigation Global Learnings team, the research was driven by June-Ho Kim, MD, MPH and a team of volunteers from Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It is the culmination of a rapid investigation, completed in less than a month, that draws on interviews with front-line health care workers and system leaders in South Korea, along with an in-depth review of national guidelines from Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and hospital-level protocols.

"Early on, South Korea emerged as a leader in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and successfully protecting its health care workers while the country experienced a surge in cases," said Kim, a member of Ariadne Labs' Primary Health Care team and an internist and Fellow in General Medicine & Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "We set out to identify key strategies to protect health care workers and maintain resilient health systems. We didn't think these solutions needed to be invented; we felt like the best solutions might be just across the ocean."

"COVID-19 continues to place inordinate pressure on health care systems around the globe. Health care systems and leaders are looking for evidence-based guidance on how to respond quickly and effectively," said Asaf Bitton, MD, MPH, Executive Director of Ariadne Labs and a senior adviser on the Evidence Brief. "This research was the culmination of global, interdisciplinary collaboration and will allow us to develop insights into what lessons countries worldwide can draw from their experience."

"I believe South Korea has been successful because so many people came together and prepared after experiencing the 2015 MER-CoV outbreak," said Hong Bin Kim, MD, FIDSA, Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, who contributed to this research as an interviewee and reviewer for the Evidence Brief. "But, as Yogi Berra once said, 'It ain't over till it's over.' As we reflect on the current pandemic response through our collaboration with Ariadne Labs, together we can prepare for a better future."

Rapid completion of the South Korea research was made possible through Ariadne Labs' collaboration with The Covid Translate Project , a global volunteer initiative founded to quickly translate and disseminate documents published by Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to help other countries fight COVID-19. To date, materials have been translated into seven languages and shared with partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In addition to focusing on South Korea's strategies to protect health care workers, Ariadne Labs has also been investigating, more broadly, other elements of the country's successful mitigation efforts.

A complementary publication in Health Systems and Reform examines South Korea's national response, giving a wide look at successful components of the country's COVID-19 response, with particular focus on measures taken to flatten the curve and minimize economic effects. The paper was authored by a team of experts including members of Ariadne Labs' Primary Health Care team, Dan Schwarz, MD, MPH, Hannah Ratcliffe, MSc, and Lisa Hirschhorn, MD, MPH.

Forthcoming research from Ariadne Labs on South Korea will include case studies on how health systems in the cities of Daegu and Seoul responded to the pandemic.

About Ariadne Labs

Ariadne Labs is a joint health systems innovation center at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. We develop simple, scalable solutions that dramatically improve the delivery of health care at critical moments to save lives and reduce suffering. Our vision is for health systems to deliver the best possible care for every patient, everywhere, every time. Visit ariadnelabs.org to learn more.

Media contact: Brigid Tsai, [email protected]

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12.05.2020 LISTEN

A 25-year-old National Service (NSS) personnel has been recovered dead from an abandoned well at Mfensi in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region.

The deceased, Angela Gossou who was offering her service at the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board in the Ahafo Ano South East District was declared missing last Thursday.

Workers and the officer in charge at the Cocoa Health and Extension Division lodged a complaint with the Mankranso District Police Command.

On Friday, 8th May 2020, information went round that the body of a young lady was floating in an abandoned well close to a poultry farm at Mfensi.

A pair of shoe belonging to the deceased was found close to the abandoned well.

Some children who were playing around the area saw the body in the well and quickly informed a farmer who also passed the information to the Assembly Member for the area.

Police officers, officials from the National Disaster Management Organization(NADMO), the Assembly Member and community members removed the body from the well.

It was deposited at the Mt. Sinai morgue at Taabre for identification and autopsy.

Workers at the Cocoa Health and Extension Division and relatives of the deceased later went to the mortuary and identified the body.

Family demands swift investigation

The deceaseds uncle, Theodore Madugu believes that she was killed and dumped in the abandoned well.

He has called for swift investigations into the matter and pledged the family will assist in that regard.

He described the deceased as respectful, intelligent, and hardworking.

We informed her landlady and the chief of the town. We about going to the police station to follow up when a man called us that a lady had been killed at Mfensi. So we went there and the residents told us that something ad happened near the well the day before and that a dead body had been deposited at the morgue. So we rushed to the police station, they showed us the pictures and low and behold, that was her, he narrated.

She has been killed and we leave it to God. But we can assist the police to ensure that those who did this are arrested. Honestly, for a gruesome murder like this, I will the police and powers that be to get to the bottom of the matter so that it doesnt reoccur, he said.

The family says they are waiting patiently for the result from the autopsy which will be conducted within the week.

Assembly Member for the Mfensi Electoral Area, David Kwadwo Owusu Ansah who aided in the recovery of the body to the morgue said the body nearly decomposed.

I reported the incident to NADMO and called the Fire Service for assistance. The police also came in and with the help of others, we retrieved the body and saw that it was a woman. I called others to come and identify the body but nobody knew her so we took the body to the morgue. The body was almost decomposed given the fact that it was in the well for hours. There were marks on her body suggesting that she struggled with the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, police at the Abuakwa District Command have begun investigations into the incident.

The incident has, however, thrown relatives and workers at the Cocoa Health and Extension Division into a state of mourning and shock.

This incident comes months after the body of a nurse believed to be in her late 30s was also found dead at Ayuom near Sewua in the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti Region.

The deceased, Ruth Eshun was last seen by her colleagues leaving the Sewua Health Centre, where she worked, for home on February 5, 2020.

Her lifeless body was found a few meters from her home the following day.

The bereaved relatives of the deceased are still demanding justice even after her burial.

---citinewsroom
The nationwide lockdown which came into effect on the midnight of March 24 is being relaxed gradually, despite the number of new COVID-19 cases increasing at a rapid pace. The lockdown is being lifted partly to give some much-needed support to the economy which had been on a standstill for nearly one and a half months.

BCCL

The lockdown also triggered one of the largest mass reverse migration in history as millions of migrant workers from across the country left their workplaces for their homes, due to job losses.

With uncertainty over the resumption of factories and other workplaces, the millions who have left for their village in the hinterlands are not likely to come back anytime soon.

AFP

This is posing a huge challenge fro states which had a huge migrant population - to create jobs for them. Uttar Pradesh, India's most populated state is among those will face this crisis.

According to a Times Of India report, more than four lakh persons have arrived in UP through bus, train or other means in the past five days. And the state is likely to have an influx of humanity in the coming days as more trains start running.

AFP

With such a large number of mostly migrant workers returning, Uttar Pradesh is eyeing to create lakhs of jobs for the returnees.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said if 90 lakh micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in UP created one job each, the sector would provide 90 lakh employment opportunities. He also said that the government will make it easier for industries to function and get loans.

A company willing to set up an industrial unit in UP can be given no-objection certificate in the last 100 days of the 1,000-day period of setting up of an industrial unit. This will allow industrial units to get loans from bankers on relatively easier terms, he said.

On Monday, the UP CM while addressing a video conference with officials on MGNREGA said, "We should aim to provide jobs to 50 lakh people every day by the end of May. We can only do this if the officials perform their duty honestly. We need to provide jobs to those who have returned home due to lockdown."

We should aim to provide jobs to 50 lakh people every day by the end of May. We can only do this if the officials perform their duty honestly. We need to provide jobs to those who have returned home due to lockdown: UP CM during video conference with officials on MGNREGA pic.twitter.com/tF6q8nO0Db  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 12, 2020

Other states like Bihar which also have a sizable migrant worker population is also gearing up to face the impact of them returning. Till Sunday, over 1.20 lakh migrant workers had returned to the state from different parts of the country.

BCCL

With this in mind, the state government has undertaken the mammoth task of creating work opportunities for migrant workers in different sectors like water resources, road construction, building construction, rural development, rural (road) works and minor irrigation.

Another state that is going to face a big challenge of job creation is Kerala. Unlike most states, the majority of those returning to Kerala are NRIs, especially from the middle east. It is a double blow for Kerala as the state is one of the highest recipients of foreign remittance in India.

BCCL

Around 10 percent of Kerala's population is working abroad and sends home close to Rs 85,000 crore annually.

With a crisis looming in the middle east there is going to be a substantial dip in the foreign remittance. This is in addition to the fact that among the nearly 4 lakh people who have registered on the state government's website to return, over 65,000 have stated that they have lost their jobs due to this pandemic.
Rishi Sunak extended the coronavirus job subsidy scheme until the end of October as he conceded yesterday that the UK is already in recession.

In a fresh sign that ministers believe Britain faces a long haul to economic recovery, the Chancellor said it was already clear that the furlough scheme would have to go well beyond its current deadline of the end of June.

Mr Sunak revealed that the scheme, which sees the taxpayer subsidise 80 per cent of wages up to a maximum of 2,500 a month, is already supporting an astonishing 7.5million jobs.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended the furlough scheme deadline beyond June, as originally set out, as he conceded the UK is already in recession

He told MPs that the scheme would continue completely unchanged until the end of July  despite warnings it could cost taxpayers more than 80billion.

After that, people who have been furloughed will continue to receive 80 per cent of their wages, but their employer will be asked to make a contribution towards the cost.

The scheme will also be tweaked to allow furloughed staff to start returning to work part-time from as little as one day a week  an idea that has been a key demand of business.

The extension was welcomed by both unions and business last night. The scheme has been accessed by 935,000 businesses since March and has already cost 10billion.

The move came as ministers braced themselves for official GDP figures which are expected to show the economy went into reverse in the first three months of this year, even before the impact of the lockdown was felt.

The job retention scheme is credited with shoring up millions of jobs that would otherwise have gone as the Government ordered the closure of huge swathes of the economy.

Sunak's extension of the furlough scheme, which has already cost 10billion, was welcomed by both unions and business last night

Despite this, some 1.8million people have signed up for Universal Credit since the lockdown began.

Asked whether the country faced an inevitable recession, Mr Sunak told the BBC: We already know that many people have lost their jobs and it breaks my heart.

'Weve seen whats happening with Universal Credit claims already. This is not something that were going to wait to see, its already happening.

There are already businesses that are shutting. There already people who have lost their jobs. Thats why Im working night and day to limit the amount of job losses.

The Treasury declined to say how much the scheme was now likely to cost but Capital Economics predicted it could be 87billion, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies said it could cost almost 100billion by the end of October.

Last night Mr Sunak suggested the scheme, which will now run for at least eight months, was costing about 8billion a month.

From today, the self-employed will be able to apply for income support dating back to March.

But it is not yet known whether support for them will also be extended. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the generosity of the scheme might mean that some businesses remain closed for longer than is absolutely necessary.

But he added: Maybe that is a lesser risk than people going back when its unsafe.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, welcomed the extension, while the British Chambers of Commerce said it was a huge help and a huge relief for businesses across the UK.
Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao said on Monday his government would launch legal action against Andhra Pradesh if it builds a lift irrigation project to divert water from the Srisailam dam to Rayalaseema.

The Srisailam project is shared by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The chief minister announced this intention during a high-level meeting to discuss the AP governments decision to release funds for the project. Taking serious exception, Chandrasekhar Rao instructed officials to approach the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) and challenge the decision of the Andhra Pradesh government in the Supreme Court.

He said that Andhra Pradesh has committed a grave mistake by deciding to construct a new project without consulting the apex committee.

The chief minister said the decision violates the rights of Telangana and is against the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Chandrashekar Rao said, It is painful that the AP government has taken a unilateral decision without consulting is. We will certainly make all-out efforts to stop the new project at any cost.

The chief mininster pointed out that the AP Reorganisation Act stipulates that in case either state wants to construct any new project on the Krishna river, it has to consult an apex committee. It is unfortunate the AP government is acting unilaterally, Chandrashekar Rao said.

He directed the officers concerned to work out legal remedies to stall the AP government.

Chandrashekar Rao and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy have met more than once to work out ways to resolve disputes over the Krishna and Godavari rivers and have also discussed linking of the two rivers.
Thomas Kohler, the director of the Berlinische Galerie, said in a phone interview that the new protocol was not pleasant, but it is necessary. He added, I think the joy that people will get from being back in the museum will be bigger than the inconvenience.

Governments in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Italy have all announced dates in May or June by which they hope to have museums open, with similar safety measures to those in Berlin.

Some museums in the Czech Republic, France, Spain and Switzerland reopened this week or are set to do so in the coming days. In France, some small, local museums were allowed to reopen on Monday, but the government has yet to announce dates for major institutions like the Louvre.

As in Germany, many museums did not open their doors on the first day they were allowed; instead, cautious administrators are taking time to make changes and retrain employees before the public is allowed in.

Berlin State Museums, an umbrella group overseeing 17 museums in the city, including some of its largest and most prestigious, decided to start small, reopening just four of the institutions under its control on Tuesday. Christine Haak, the organizations deputy director general, said in a phone interview that she wanted to observe how visitors behave in the spaces before deciding about the rest. The museum will inevitably feel different to many visitors, she added.
The Morrison government is facing a Senate test over its JobKeeper wage subsidy as Labor and the Greens try to broaden the $130 billion scheme just as Liberal MPs express alarm at its cost.

The moves could also scale back the assistance to younger workers who have gained a "pay rise" because the wage boost offers them more than they earned before the coronavirus crisis.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In a growing tussle over the scale of the scheme, some employer groups are complaining of workers who do not turn up to shifts because they could stay at home on the government payments.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg heard complaints about the JobKeeper scheme in the Coalition party room and in question time but he stood by the design of the wage subsidy, declaring it a "significant support" for the economy.
You missed the awkwardness of introducing Ryan and Sakiko and wondering what your parents thought of his tattoos and her purple hair. You dodged having to answer questions from other parents about your future plans, considering that you dont really have any.

Plus, picture this: the lawn is muddy. The punch at the reception makes you think of Kool-Aid, except that youve never actually had Kool-Aid. It starts to rain just as you and dad lug your stuff from the dorm to the car. Mom wont stop complaining about what the humidity is doing to her hair.

Look, the saddest people today are your parents. Theyve managed to forget the awkwardness of their own college graduations. Or, maybe, they werent fortunate enough to go to college, and today was to be a combination of vicarious pleasure and parental pride. Give them a hug. Promise that when the pandemic restrictions are lifted youll find a way to get that cap and gown and pose with them, and that your sister will use her iPhone 11 Pro to take a photo for their mantel.
Defying lockdown, a crowd of over 2,000 people, including ministers, MPs and MLAs, attended the last rites of BJP leader Upendra Datt Shukla at Badhalganjs Mukti Path in Gorakhpur on Monday evening.

An active BJP worker since early 80s and partys current state vice president, Shukla, 62, had died of cardiac arrest on Sunday noon at a private hospital.

He had unsuccessfully contested 2018 Gorakhpur Lok Sabha by-poll.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had offered his condolence to Shukla on twitter.

The crowd at the funeral of the BJP leader, however, was in sharp contrast to social distancing message given by the CM, who had chosen not to attend the last rite of his father Anand Singh Bisht last month.

He had instead watched the live coverage of the cremation on TV.

BJP MLA Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal, who was among the attendees, took to social media to slam violators Minister Brijesh Pathak made repeated requests to people to maintain social distancing but nobody listened to him. There was no police force to control the situation. When the crowd turns frenzy it becomes tough to control it, he said while revealing that he faced similar situation at the recent Brahm bhoj of BJP leader when a local corporator misbehaved with him on the request of maintaining social distancing.

Huge crowd had turned up at the crematorium to pay last respect to Shukla whose body was draped in BJP flag. MPs, MLAs and ministers arrived in cars from as far as Azamgarh, Mau and Varanasi. Some were not even wearing masks, said an attendee, not willing to be named.

Barhalganj SHO, Ram Agya Singh, said It is not so that the police did not try to enforce social distancing. On our request, many went back from the site while other stayed.

As per lockdown guidelines, a limited gathering of 20-25 people is allowed at the funeral.

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Gunmen attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday where the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders runs a maternity clinic, killing at least eight people, officials said.

Several people were wounded in the attack on Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, according to a ministry of interior official, and dozens of people were being evacuated.

Some people remained trapped in the hospital and several doctors had leapt to an adjacent building after at least three attackers wearing police uniforms entered, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban said they were not involved.

The 100-bed government-run facility is supported by Doctors Without Borders, which is also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Security forces were working to counter the attack and 80 people including women and children had been evacuated, said interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian.

The security forces had shot one attacker but clashes were going on, he said.

Deputy health minister Waheed Majroh said eight people including children had been wounded and taken to other hospitals.

MSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It says on its website it operates a maternity clinic at the hospital in one of Kabuls poorest neighbourhoods.

The neighbourhood is home to many members of Afghanistans Hazara community, a mostly Shia Muslim minority that has been attacked by the Islamic State group in the past, including at a Kabul ceremony commemorating the death of one of its leaders in March.

Several bloody attacks in the capital in recent months have been claimed by Islamic State.

On Monday, security forces said they had arrested three senior Islamic State members including a regional leader.

Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an Islamic State cell that authorities said was responsible for several attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March.

Roadside blasts in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, were claimed by the group.

Afghanistan is also facing violence around the country from the Taliban even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the militants.

The Taliban say they are holding back from attacking urban centres and their operations are aimed at government security forces.

Also on Tuesday, 40 people were killed or wounded in an attack at the funeral of a police commander in the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial government.

Reuters
Wuhan authorities are hoping to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus within 10 days, state media reports.

The city where the virus was first discovered had recently emerged from a strictly enforced 76-day lockdown.

But after recording no new infections since 3 April, Wuhan officials have confirmed 10 cases in the past weekend  six of whom have now developed respiratory difficulties, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

In addition to firing local communist party secretary Zhang Yuxin for alleged poor management of the residential community where the six cases were confirmed, authorities are reportedly hoping to wage a testing offensive dubbed the 10-day battle.

Every district in the city of 11 million people has been told to create an emergency plan by Tuesday for how to test all those within their jurisdiction, official outlet The Paper reports, citing a widely circulated state document.

Districts have been told to prioritise testing older people and particularly densely populated and mobile communities in their plans, reports suggest.

Several experts in state-backed media have been sceptical of how feasible and affordable such a vast testing programme would be.

Director of the intensive care unit of a Wuhan University hospital Peng Zhiyong, indicated to the Global Times on Tuesday that, while he had not yet received details of the testing plan, he did not expect the entire city to be tested.

He said testing everyone would be costly, suggesting that in reality, it will likely focus on close contacts of patients, medical staff, the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Deputy director of Wuhan Universitys pathogen biology department Yang Zhanqiu suggested those who have already received a test might not do so again.

About three to five million residents have been tested and proved healthy, and thus Wuhan is capable to test the remaining 6 to 8 million in 10 days. Wuhan has about 11 million permanent residents.

The proposed tests are nucleic, rather than antibody tests  meaning they allow for earlier detection but do give a positive result if someone is no longer ill.

The US is reported to be carrying out the largest total number of daily tests in the world at around 300,000  at which rate it would take 37 days to carry out 11 million.

Meanwhile, governments across the world  including the US  are finding it incredibly difficult to vastly scale-up testing programmes to the scale needed to effectively contact-trace and monitor the virus's spread.

For example, the UK has struggled to consistently carry out 100,000 tests a day  a target it set for 30 April.

Boris Johnson plans to double this by the end of May, but it remains highly unlikely that the initial daily target has been met since April, if it was truly met at all, at one point slumping back below 70,000.

While lockdown restrictions in Wuhan remain tentatively lifted, the community where the new infections have been confirmed have now been placed back under a strict lockdown.

All travel in and out of the Sanmin Community has been suspended, residents have been banned from shopping and exercising, and restaurants with one kilometre have been prohibited from opening, state media reports.
San Francisco, May 12 : US President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his fight with the local authorities in California as he reopened the companys electric car factory in Fremont against the state guidelines.

On Monday, defying the stay-at-home order in place, Musk reopened Tesla factory in Fremont, California, challenging the authorities to arrest him if he has defied the rules.

Trump tweeted in his support: "California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely".

Musk said that the company's factory is open and has restarted production despite a stay-at-home order issued by Alameda County.

"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me," Musk tweeted earlier.

According to a TechCrunch report , the officials at the Alameda County, the city of Fremont, and Fremont Police Department, which has jurisdiction on this, were continuing to negotiate with Tesla.

Tesla filed a lawsuit against Alameda County last weekend seeking injunctive relief, an effort to invalidate orders that have prevented the electric car maker from reopening.

According to a report in CBS News, Musk called 30 per cent of workforce to resume duties at Tesla Fremont factory, saying Governor Gavin Newsom's order permitted it.

The Tesla California plant was shut on March 23 under a six-county order in the San Francisco area, which has been extended through May 31.

Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said that Fremont is encouraging the county to "engage with local businesses to come up with acceptable guidelines for re-opening our local economy." In a statement, Alamada County said: "The team at Tesla has been responsive to our guidance and recommendations, and we look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon".

On Monday, Newsom issued support for Tesla and Musk during his daily COVID-19 briefing.
It looks like someone has jumped the gun on 5G rollout in Nigeria, as the countrys telecommunications regulator has felt obliged to challenge recent reports that have appeared on social media.

According to Nigerian news sources, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denied reports that 5G services are now up and running. In fact, it pointed out, licences for 5G networks have yet to be issued.

The claims, apparently appearing on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites in the past few days, suggested that 5G launch was imminent in Lagos, the country's most populous city. The claims added, rather weirdly, that residents should stay indoors on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

A three-month 5G test had been approved by the NCC in November 2019, but the trial has ended and the equipment involved has been decommissioned, according to the authority. The trial was meant to study and observe any health or security challenges the 5G network might pose; relevant stakeholders and security agencies were invited to take part.

The NCC said that it would continue to maintain its policy of neutrality in the choice of technology and continue to encourage service providers to deploy the best technology that would securely meet the needs of consumers. However, actual 5G spectrum auction dates have yet to be announced, let alone any launches.
Nepal Summons Indian Envoy after New Delhi Builds Road near Chinese Border

Sputnik News

10:49 GMT 11.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 8 May inaugurated the strategic Link Road from Dharchula to Lipulekh near India's border with China, along what's famously known as the Kailash-Mansarovar Pilgrimage Route. A day later, the Nepalese government issued a statement condemning India's move.

Nepal's foreign ministry on Monday summoned the Indian ambassador over a boundary issue, days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Link Road from Dharchula to Lipulekh. Nepal claims that the Indian road, which stretches towards China's Tibet region, crosses into Nepalese territory. While handing over the formal complaint, Nepal called for an early meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries to resolve the boundary issue.

Despite raising issues on several occasions, India hasn't held foreign secretary-level talks with its neighbour since 2014, when New Delhi promised to review the seven decades old treaty between the two countries.

A day after the Indian defence minister inaugurated the strategic road, Nepal's foreign affairs ministry released a strongly-worded statement relaying that they'd learned about the inauguration of the link road "which passes through Nepali territory".

"The Government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treat (1816), all the territories east of the Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, kalapani and Lipu Lekhm belong to Nepal," the statement from the ministry reads.

On Sunday, Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said that the land-locked country will increase its number of security outposts and deploy more armed personnel to the border with India. Seeking negotiation, Nepal has condemned the "unilateral act, which runs against the understanding reached between the two countries".

Nepal's Home Minister Ram Bahadur Badal has emphasised the need to talk to Beijing, as India and China had signed an agreement in May 2015 to develop Lipulekh as a commercial passage without consulting Nepal.

Nevertheless, the Indian foreign ministry maintained that the inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the State of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India.

"India is committed to resolving the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal," the Indian foreign ministry said.

Last year, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had vowed to remove Indian troops from their land after a new Indian map showed the region of Kalapani within India, leading to protests across Nepal. Nepal claimed that Indian border forces have illegally occupied the Nepalese territory Kalapani since the 1962 India-China War. India shares a 1,050-mile border with Nepal, 97 percent of which is clearly demarcated.

 Sputnik

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New Delhi, May 12 : The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to assist India's efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

A US government statement said the initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Central government's efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology.

The funds will also support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centers that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect Covid-19 cases and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.

The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support India's capacity to respond not only to this pandemic, but also to future threats as well, the statement said.

It will also include planning for health emergency operation centres. In addition, the statement said, the CDC India programme will provide technical assistance for the ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts of the government.

Since early January, the CDC's India office has been collaborating with various government institutes to support the Covid-19 response in India.

According to the statement, the US government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health and Human Services, have provided more than $1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance to India over the last 20 years.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Firefighters battled multiple blazes overnight after fires started at two different San Antonio stores.

San Antonio Fire Department crews responded downtown to the 900 block of Guadalupe Street just after 10:30 p.m. Monday for smoke that was coming from the Pik Nik Foods convenience store. An electrical fire had started in the wall and was knocked down quickly.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

Around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters were called out to the South Side for another fire near the 6800 block of Interstate 35S after a passerby noticed the fire. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found flames coming from the roof of the Car Land Automotive shop. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control, and investigators are looking at arson as the possible cause of the fire.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
UPPER THUMB - The Michigan Wheat Program (MWP) is excited to introduce its first Michigan Wheat Yield Contest to recognize the outstanding wheat growers in the Great Lakes State.

"Michigan wheat yields are very competitive and, in fact, we have one of the highest average state yields in the nation," said executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom. "Michigan's record wheat production was an average 89 bushels per acre set in 2016 compared to the current national average which is only 49 bushels per acre!"

"Michigan growers are clearly doing many things right, and it only seems natural to highlight our growers through a state yield contest," she said.

The Michigan wheat yield contest is modeled on the successful National Wheat Yield contest, sponsored by the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) and launched in the fall of 2015. The June 2020 harvest will be the first entries eligible for Michigan's top wheat production awards.

To make contest entry easier for growers, Michigan has partnered with the Foundation so there is only one entry portal which is through the NWF.

The Michigan Wheat Program will utilize data submitted by Michigan farmers to NWF's National Contest to determine the home-state winners.

"In the National Contest, only the first place state winner is eligible for one of its 24 awards. While it is wonderful to compete against the nation's top wheat producers, the recognition opportunities are limited," said David Milligan, the Cass City-area farmer who chairs the nine-member Michigan Wheat Program and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), companion organization to the NWF. "The Michigan wheat yield contest offers Michigan growers a chance to compete against one another, drawing in more competition to generate creative thinking to solve production challenges within our state. Winners will be chosen in irrigated and dryland wheat for both red and white wheat."

"We are looking for our agribusiness partners to sponsor this fun wheat challenge that is specific to Michigan," said Pollok-Newsom. "Yield contests have been proven to promote grower innovation to improve productivity. As we move through this first year, we want to make sure we really recognize those growers who go above-and-beyond to try new management practices and who make wheat their top priority."

Plans are still evolving for the Michigan Wheat Yield Contest, but awards will be given for the top yielder in both red and white wheat in both dryland and irrigated production.

The top winners will receive free registration and lodging at Michigan's 2021 Great Lakes Crop Summit in Mt. Pleasant, recognition at the Michigan Wheat Program's Annual Meeting in March 2021 and be highlighted in a special publication honoring Michigan's best farmers.

To sign up for the Michigan contest, visit the NAWG website at https://yieldcontest.wheatfoundation.org/ and register for the national contest.

The $125 entry fee is due May 15, 2020. Usually, the entry fee will be covered by one of the ag businesses you work with. Questions may be directed to your ag business representative. NAWG/NWF indicate that entry fees are covered by: Bayer/WestBred, BASF and Corteva/Pioneer through their national sponsorship.

For more information, visit the Michigan Wheat Program website at www.miwheat.org find the "Farmer Perks" tab and click on the Michigan Wheat Yield Contest tab. If you have questions, contact Jody Pollok-Newsom at 517-625-9432 or jody@miwheat.org for more information.
OXFORD, England, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OXIS Energy and the Minas Gerais Development Company CODEMGE have signed a 15 year lease agreement with Mercedes Benz Brazil (MBB) to take possession of a plant located at the MBB manufacturing site in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, in south east Brazil.

NORDIKA Pharmaceutical of Brazil will undertake the design and engineering associated with the plant and machinery layout. Upgrading the site will begin immediately and will involve an investment in excess of US $50m. The target is to have the fully digitalised plant commissioned and operating by 2023.

Phase 1 will be to lease circa 20,000 sq meters to enable the production of 5 million Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) cells per annum with the option to extend and double the estate and cell capacity.

This will create hundreds of mainly high-skilled jobs over the next ten years with OXIS having access to the expertise and innovation of students at the reputable universities of Juiz de Fora. Reflecting its collaborative success with universities in the UK and Europe, OXIS is actively seeking collaborations with Brazilian universities.

Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO OXIS Energy said, "Within five years, this factory will be a centre of excellence producing world class Lithium Sulfur cells and battery systems. Exporting worldwide to a range of markets: Aviation, Defence, Heavy Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Light Commercial Vehicles and large Marine Vessels, our aim is to aid the Brazilian Government to eliminate all ICE (internal combustion engine) buses over a period of 25 years, equating to the production of over 4bn cells. Brazil has the third largest bus market in the world, with 700,000 ICE buses currently in circulation."

OXIS and CODEMGE are already engaged with several Brazilian blue chip companies regarding utilising its Li-S cells for the electrification of regional aircraft, buses and trucks and are collaborating with Brazilian aircraft manufacturers to build electric aircraft in the country. CODEMGE is also supporting OXIS Energy in its work with numerous US, European and Japanese aircraft producers.

Editor's Notes

OXIS Energy Ltd is involved in the design, development and now the move towards commercial production of lithium sulfur cells for battery systems. OXIS manufactures and produces all aspects and components in the making of the Li-S cell. With over 43 patent families, OXIS has been granted 198 patents with 92 pending.

www.oxisenergy.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166513/OXIS_Brazil_Site.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166512/OXIS_Energy_Logo.jpg
A German national who was stranded in the transit area of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here since March 18 amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown departed early Tuesday morning to Amsterdam on a repatriation flight of the KLM Airlines, officials said.

The German, who has a criminal record in his home country, was heading from Hanoi to Istanbul via Delhi on March 18.

However, since India suspended flight operations to Turkey on March 18 to curb the spread of the virus, he got stranded at Delhi airport's Terminal 3.

"The foreign national decided to book himself on a KLM flight to Amsterdam and departed early morning of May 12, a spokesperson for Delhi airport operator DIAL said.

The German national gave Delhi airport's transit area as his local address in the health check-up form that was required to be filled before the flight's departure, senior government officials said.

His criminal record in Germany complicated the matters and led him to live for more than 50 days in the transit area, they said, adding he refused to go to his home country and the Indian government did not want to grant him an interim visa.

During his stay in the transit area, employees of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) provided him food and other amenities, the officials said.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 70,700 people and killed around 2,290 people in the country.

All commercial passenger flight operations have been suspended for the lockdown period.

Flight operations to some virus-affected countries like Turkey and China were suspended before March 25.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TCN Texas Country Artist Happy Hour MusicThon The Country Network team wanted to help our Texas Music Artists during this time of lockdown. And our concern is not only for the short term needs of artists, but also where country music will be in the new normal, after CoVid 19 is under control, said TCN CEO Tim Eaton.

Fort-Worth-based The Country Network (TCN), is pleased to announce a special fundraiser to support Texas country music artists, the Texas Country Artist Happy Hour MusicThon, on Friday, May 15 from 5 to 9 pm EDT.

The event will be held at TCNs 43,000 square-foot studio facility in Fort Worth, Texas, allowing plenty of room to stay 6 feet apart. The line up will feature live performances from more than 20 Texas country artists and will be hosted by Native Texan and Comedian William Lee Martin. The purpose of the event is to raise money for Texas artists, as well as frontline caregivers and local-area food banks.

The Country Network team wanted to help our Texas Music Artists during this time of lockdown. And our concern is not only for the short term needs of artists, but also where country music will be in the new normal, after CoVid 19 is under control," said TCN CEO Tim Eaton. Live shows with audiences in bars and venues will take some time before coming back, so we looked for a way to help Texas artists now and entertain fans at home at the same time.

The night will feature live artist performances from talented Texas artists and a few surprise guests from Nashville. Artists scheduled to perform to date include Steve Helms, Bri Bagwell, Sara Hobbs, Randy Brown, Rachel Stacey, Matt Hillyer, Kendal Schaffer, JR Herrera, Prophets & Outlaws, Brandon Rhyder, Curtis Grimes, David Adam Byrnes, Ray Johnston, Season Ammons, Grady Spencer, Darrin Morris, Kaitlyn Kohler, Jamie Richards, Josh Grinder, Bo Phillips, and Flatline Road, Val Mooty and Shawna Russell. And there will be guest performances from TCNs Nashville studio, including artists Billy Dawson and SaraBeth. TCN anticipates more artists will be confirmed.

Artists will perform up to 3 songs with their virtual tip jar graphic on the screen during their entire performance, so fans can donate support to their favorite artists. Some artists may choose to forgo taking donations for themselves and instead provide a place to send money for front line caregivers or food banks in their hometown.

The TCN team will practice social distancing, with artists playing in four separated studio spaces. And all spaces will be sterilized with products from Everon Clean by their cleaning team Cornbread Hustle, and all the production staff will wear masks to keep artists and production crews safe.

The MusicThon will air live on the TCN App, and the networks Facebook and YouTube pages. May 22 at 5 pm EDT it will air on TCNs linear broadcast network, reaching 15 Million homes across the US. It will play several times on the network with the artists' virtual tip jar info presented on screen both live and on rebroadcasts. Fans wanting to donate to the cause can donate via Venmo at @TCN-country.

TCN would like to thank sponsors Texas Silver Star Whiskey, Everon Clean, Cornbread Hustle, LYMI Coffee, and Circle H Branding Company.

To watch the event free of charge, fans can visit tcncountry.com and click the guitar pick, and then click BROWSE. Or get the TCN App on Android, Apple TV, iPhone, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, or Roku and click BROWSE to enjoy the show.

About The Country Network

The Country Network (TCN) is the premier 4K music-television network dedicated to providing todays country music enthusiasts more choices with innovative televised and digital programming. From stars on the rise to superstars, TCN delivers the best of country music videos, country lifestyle shows and series, live performances and original programming. The Country Network continues growing and now offers more diversified distribution to include cable, satellite, and OTT with an overall reach of 15 million households. In 2019, The Country Network launched its new TCN app, allowing country fans to stream in HD, on demand, from anywhere.

###

For additional information on the Texas Country Artist Happy Hour MusicThon, or to schedule an interview with CEO Tim Eaton, please call publicist Tim Hewitt at 817-205-3898 or email him at tim.hewitt@circlehbranding.com.

For more information on The Country Network, to subscribe to the APP, and see upcoming show announcements, please visit http://www.tcncountry.com. For TCN App info visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23cQ-4MjjYo and check out the TCN Sizzle Reel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWI-kMI-smY.
In these extraordinary times of remote teaching and learning, Bullock Creek High School Spanish teacher Teresa Hahn at least gets to still teach one of her students in person: Her own 16-year-old daughter, Sophia.

And with her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Sadie, also learning from home during the coronavirus pandemic, Hahn said she sometimes has to wait her turn to use the home computer.

"Sometimes, I have to give my computer to my youngest because she has school work. Sometimes I have to wait in line," noted Hahn, a mother of three daughters.

For the 22-year Bullock Creek teaching veteran, as for teachers around the world, the past couple of months have challenged her to help students continue to learn despite being apart physically.

But the present situation has also reinforced Hahn's love of teaching and of her students and colleagues.

"I feel fortunate to work at Bullock Creek. I have great kids and I have great co-workers. We're doing our best to make our kids successful," Hahn said.

When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced almost two months ago that school buildings would be closed starting March 16 and would reopen on April 6, Hahn wasn't too concerned about her ability to adjust.

"As teachers, you plan (all the time)," she said. "When we first had (the initial school closure), we thought, 'We can do this. We'll catch (the students) up.'"

But then, on April 2, the statewide closure was extended through the end of the school year, which for Bullock Creek will be June 11.

"When that announcement came that we would be closed the rest of the year, all those plans we made were all gone," Hahn said.

She said at that point, she and her fellow teachers turned to each other for ideas and support as they transitioned to a teaching model that relies to a certain extent on technology and virtual learning.

"I'm really fortunate to teach with some of the most talented, smartest and most caring people. We work together to do the best job for our students," Hahn said.

So, Hahn has shifted to a daily routine that is quite different from what she had been used to in her teaching career.

In the morning, she posts her assignments for the day and connects with one of her classes for a Google meeting. She also joins her fellow Spanish teachers for a virtual meeting once a week.

Afternoons include office hours, when Hahn answers any questions her students may have, and time to check assignments that students have turned in and give them feedback.

"I spend my nights planning for the next day or two," she added. "Then I go to bed and start all over again."

The physical and mental demands of teaching remotely are also different, Hahn noted.

"Physically, I'm up on my feet all day and I don't sit down a ton while I'm in the classroom," she said. "But now, I'm sitting down when I'm teaching.

"(But) I think mentally, it's exhausting," Hahn added of teaching remotely. "You worry about different things, (such as) when you don't hear from (a student). In the classroom, you can notice someone who is having a bad day and you can ask a counselor to check on them. It's a different kind of worry now (that you're not physically present with your students)."

Indeed, connecting with students in person is something that just can't be replicated online, Hahn said.

"We (teachers) all love our kids and, you know, we miss seeing them every day and we miss their jokes and the funny things they say," she explained. "When you're watching them and teaching them something new in person and you see that 'light bulb' go off, that's really hard to see (when you're not there in person).

"You just miss sharing that time with them. ... I don't even know how to say it. It's hard. It's like a big chunk of your day is not there anymore," Hahn said.

Many school districts are emphasizing the importance of students' social emotional well-being above any other need right now, and Hahn's thoughts reflect that priority.

"(During our online meetings), we talk about the content of the class, but sometimes they'll just tell me about something (interesting) they did that day. It's always nice to hear," Hahn said.

And from the students' end, Hahn has been impressed with their diligence in studying remotely.

"I think that the students have adjusted pretty well to it," she said. "I know, just from watching my own kids, that they really will read the directions that the teacher gives and will ask good questions.

"I get lots of emails from students asking for clarification. I do think the kids are taking it seriously and doing the best they can, for the most part."

While teachers are still honing their online instructional techniques, Hahn knows they'll be better prepared if public health conditions warrant school closures again in the future.

"This is so new and we've not done it before," she said. "I've tried a couple (teaching ideas) and thought, 'That was really great.' And other times, I thought, 'That didn't work like I thought it would.'

"I think that if it comes to pass that we have to do this (school closure) again, we'll be more ready," Hahn added.

Recent social media posts seem to indicate that parents, and society in general, may be gaining a greater appreciation for the work that teachers do  now that parents are sometimes needing to perform some of the roles of a teacher at home.

"I hope so, because it is a lot of work," Hahn said when asked if she thought that teachers were starting to be valued more than before. "I love my job, though, and I wouldn't want to do any other job. (But) I hope that it has helped people appreciate teachers, for sure."
Steadier global dairy markets and intense lobbying by the farm organisations is piling pressure on dairies to hold April milk prices.

Both the IFA and ICMSA insisted this week that markets had steadied sufficiently for co-ops and dairy companies to maintain milk prices at current levels for April supplies.

But with Glanbia and Lakelands due to set their milk prices over the next two days, the indications are that processors will pull returns by around 1c/L, with most dairies moving to a base of 29c/L.

Dairy processors cut milk prices by 2c/L for March deliveries on the back of a sharp slide in commodity values when food sector demand across Europe, Asia and North America collapsed as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

And while European dairy markets have settled over the past fortnight, and demand from China has improved, industry sources claimed that farm-gate milk prices were still 2-3c/L above what the returns from the markets could currently justify.

Processors also pointed to the high levels of product they were being forced to hold because of the fall-off in demand.

Richard Scheper of Rabobank said there was more positive sentiment around the dairy sector at the moment, with the lifting of some lockdown restrictions in Europe and improved demand from China helping to steady markets.

However, although Rabobank in their latest global review expect Chinese dairy demand to normalise in the second half of the year, import requirements are forecast to decline 19pc on 2019.

Butter prices on the Dutch spot market improved by 40/t to 2,610/t last week, while SMP and WMP were steady at 1,900/t and 2,550/t respectively.

But Mr Scheper warned of further difficulties for the dairy sector should the lockdown restrictions remain in place into the second half of the year. He said increased stockpiles of EU dairy commodities were a further cause for concern.

Even if most of the lockdown restrictions will be removed in the months going forward we will probably still have some year-on-year losses in the food-service sector for most of the rest of the year. Furthermore, we do expect to see losses in export volumes in quarter one and quarter three, while the EU is close to its seasonal peak in milk production, Mr Schepers said.

He predicted that farm-gate milk prices were likely to fall across the EU in the second and third quarters due to the continued uncertainty in markets.

Bottom of the league

However, ICMSAs Gerald Quain claimed that Irish dairy processors had the ability to hold farm-gate prices for April.

Pointing out that the May milk price for Arla and Friesland Campina suppliers will be 32.46c/kg and 31.83c/kg, Mr Quain asked why the Irish farmer milk price was always bumping along the bottom of the EU milk price league.

Meanwhile, IFA president, Tim Cullinan, said the co-ops had sufficient scope to reduce their costs in other areas.

Oil and gas prices have plummeted to historical lows, which will reduce the cost of milk assembly and processing for all co-ops. Also, in light of the exceptional circumstances, banks have engaged with all their customers, households and businesses alike. Co-ops must use this opportunity to also seek greater leeway on their commitments, Mr Cullinan said.

In addition, the IFA pointed out that EU dairy exports to China had increased 20pc for March alone and that the introduction of a private storage aid scheme by the Commission had helped improve market confidence.
Ghana has been urged to prepare for post-COVID-19 challenges that may occur after the pandemic in order not to be overtaken by events.



The Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ghana, Mrs Diana Acconcia, said the devastating effects of COVID-19 that continued to take a toll on people and the economies of nations showed that it was about time Ghana and Africa in general prepared for the challenges that would come in its aftermath.



We should be looking at innovations and health, including cheap or affordable and quality health care, she said.



Support



Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mrs Acconcia said it was in that vein that the EU agreed with the government on Ghanas focus on digitisation.



She also said it was important for Ghana to develop its pharmaceutical industry, adding that the EU was ready to offer support to Ghana to strengthen its small and medium enterprises (SMEs).



She observed that Ghana had a huge entrepreneurship potential which was innovative and resilient, saying: We should not lose sight of the multiplier effect of these potentials.



The envoy disclosed that the EU and its member states had mobilised more than 100 million Euros to support Ghana during the COVID-19 crisis.



She said the biggest chunk of the fund was coming in as direct support to the government in the form of a grant.



This means that it will not worsen Ghana's public debt situation and add to its burden, she added.



Emergency intervention



Mrs Acconcia said the EU had always been quick to make donations during emergencies, and that it would accelerate and redirect projects and also donate personal protective equipment to its partners.



As the whole world bore the brunt of the pandemic, she said, it was important that people worked together to overcome the crisis.



According to her, the EU was enjoying fruitful cooperation with the government of Ghana, adding that President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo had shown leadership.



She gave an assurance that the EUs commitment to Africa had not stopped, nor had it closed its borders.



According to her, the EU market would be still available to Ghanaian exporters in the aftermath of the pandemic.



Mrs Acconcia said it was important that the multilateral chain was kept open, especially at this time.



Covid-19



The EU Ambassador said it was important that countries pooled resources to battle the virus.



She announced that the EU had mobilised over 15.2 billion in its preparation towards a robust global response plan to support partner countries in their fight against the virus.



She said part of the amount had already been disbursed.



She said the EU was accelerating investment in the COVID-19 fight, through the European Health Guarantee Platform for Africa, with 80 million through the European Investment Bank, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.



Mrs Acconcia also announced that the EU was leading efforts in mobilising scientific excellence worldwide through multilateral platforms, such as the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness.



She further announced the launch of a 20-million Green Project, which would focus on the youth, in collaboration with the Dutch Corporation.

Source: Daily Graphic









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Last year, the F.B.I. also arrested a researcher named Zaosong Zheng, whose visa had been sponsored by Harvard, accusing him of preparing to smuggle cancer cells from the United States to China for research.

Mr. Li, 63, joined the Thousand Talents program in late 2011 while teaching at Emory, prosecutors said. As part of the program, he was given at least $500,000 that he failed to report to the I.R.S. while he studied Huntingtons disease and worked at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and at Jinan University conducting similar research, according to the Justice Department.

The National Institutes of Health learned that Mr. Li had left foreign research activity off his grant applications, prompting the investigation and criminal charges.

Mr. Ang, 63, was the director of the University of Arkansass High Density Electronics Center, which was founded with Defense Department funds. The center made technology for use in the International Space Station, Mr. Ang said in an interview with an electrical engineering trade publication.

Writing last June to a researcher from Xidian University in China who planned to travel to the University of Arkansas, Mr. Ang cautioned the associate to stay silent on his involvement in the Thousand Talents program. Not many people here know I am one of them but if this leaks out, my job here will be in deep troubles, he wrote. He ended the correspondence with another warning: After you read this email, please delete for safety sake as any email can be retrieved.

Mr. Ang was also agitated that the researcher had written to his personal email account and copied his university address. The university now knows about the personal accounts, he wrote. A university librarian found a hard drive that contained the email, according to the criminal complaint.

Mr. Angs lawyer, Drew Ledbetter, did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Ang, who was born in Malaysia, earned his bachelors degree from the University of Arkansas and his doctorate from Southern Methodist University before working at Texas Instruments. He returned to his alma mater in 1988 to teach in the electrical engineering department.
New Jersey Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet is stepping down to become president of Kean University, leaving his post amid a statewide school closure forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

The universitys Board of Trustees approved Repollet on Monday as its next leader, replacing outgoing President Dawood Farahi.

Repollet, who earned his masters degree in educational administration from Kean, was the superintendent of the Asbury Park School District before Gov. Phil Murphy chose him to lead the state Department of Education in 2018. He will take over as Keans president July 1 with a $365,000 salary, according to the university.

I was attracted to returning to my alma mater because the mission of Kean University mirrors my focus as Education Commissioner: To provide all students, regardless of where they live or their background, with the greatest opportunities for success in life," Repollet said in a statement.

Repollets departure as education commissioner comes as all public and private schools in New Jersey are closed for the remainder of the academic year, and 1.4 million students are learning from home. He recently compared the switch to remote learning to pretty much creating a new education system." He called it the most profound challenge of his career.

Despite the timing, the decision was no surprise. Repollet, who made $175,000 as the education commissioner, was long rumored to be a candidate for the Kean job. His name was leaked in February as one of the finalists.

I wish Lamont and his family nothing but the best in his next endeavor, and know Kean University is in good hands with him at the helm," Murphy said in a statement.

Murphys office did not immediately name an acting education commissioner, but the governor said he has full confidence the Department of Education can build on Repollets accomplishments.

Repollet, meanwhile, exits one challenge and walks into another. Earlier Monday, Farahi announced Kean could eliminate programs, reduce staff and furlough other employees because of an estimated $12 million to $15 million deficit next fiscal year caused by the pandemic.

Repollet, who began his career as a teacher before becoming a principal and superintendent, said hes humbled by the universitys confidence in him.

Dr. Repollet will step into the presidency with confidence and experience, and with the strength needed to lead Kean forward on its path of access and excellence, said board chair Ada Morell. At such a critical time in the university and the states history, he brings both stability and ingenuity."

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Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com.
SYDNEY - Australian police on Tuesday arrested a man over the killing 32 years ago of an American university student whose death came to symbolize an indifference in Australian culture toward violence against homosexuals.

Scott Johnson, a 27-year-old PhD math student who had studied at the California Institute of Technology and Britain's Cambridge University, was thrown from a Sydney cliff, naked, in 1988 in an anti-gay hate crime, a coroner in New South Wales state ruled two years ago.

At the time of the initial investigation, police failed to take the case seriously, and decided Johnson had killed himself, even though he had shown no signs of depression, had not left a suicide note, and his wallet was missing.

Johnson's brother, Steve Johnson, began a three-decade campaign to convince authorities to reopen the case.

Today, Sydney has a thriving and prominent gay community. Police officers march in the city's annual Mardi Gras parade.

In the 1980s, however, packs of young men roamed popular meeting places for gay men, intending to bash and rob them. Gay men were told to carry whistles to call for help if they were attacked.

Victims were often too scared to complain to the police. The officers sent to examine Johnson's body did not have backgrounds in homicide investigations. They refused to believe that the top of cliff where Johnson was found, known for panoramic views of Sydney Harbor, could be a gay beat.

More for you Man killed by neighbor who was terrorizing him, police say

"It was pretty horrendous at that time," said Nicolas Parkhill, chief executive of the state's largest gay and lesbian health organization, ACON.

"You had the HIV epidemic and certain politicians were calling for gay men to be quarantined. Australian culture was still very homophobic."

Faced with pressure from the Johnson family and evidence that it had ignored endemic violence against Sydney's gay community for years, in 2018 the New South Wales police force offered a reward of 1 million Australian dollars (about $650,000 at today's exchange rates) for information about Johnson's death.

Two months ago Steve Johnson, a former vice president at Internet pioneer AOL, matched the offer.

On Tuesday, in the prosperous Sydney suburb of Lane Cove, police officers from a task force set up to investigate the killing arrested a 49-year-old man and later charged him with murder. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday. Police haven't disclosed his name.

The state's police chief, Mick Fuller, phoned Steve Johnson to break the news, a call he later described as a "career highlight." The two men had met for dinner in March last year in Boston, where Johnson, who had hired a private detective, outlined leads in the case he believed the police had missed, according to a detailed account published by Business Insider.

In a video recording sent to reporters, Johnson described the arrest as a "near miracle" that signaled police attitudes had changed.

"Scott died violently as so many other gay men did in the 1980s and '90s in a world full of anti-gay prejudice and hatred," he said. "All the men who died need a voice and in some small way I hope Scott has provided it."

Gay and lesbian advocates give the Johnson family credit for the shift in official attitudes, including a 2016 decision by the police to review the deaths of 88 men and transgender women killed between 1976 and 2000 - including Scott Johnson - to determine if their deaths were hate crimes.

"They have kept the issue of hate crimes against the LGBTI community on the agenda this whole time," said Nicole Asquith, a spokeswoman for the Australian Hate Crime Network.

"It's an amazing moment to see one of those homicides come to the point where it can result in the arrest of an offender."
Aerial view of Wood Buffalo National Park's boreal wetland wilderness. Credit: Donald Baird

The ability to accurately detect changes in ecosystem biodiversity caused by human activity has long challenged environmental scientists and ecologists, but a new study, published in PNAS, has established new DNA-based methods that are effective for environmental assessment and monitoring.

Led by researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Water Science and Technology Directorate and the Hajibabaei Lab at the University of Guelph, the study focused on at-risk wetlands in the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) located in northern Alberta, Canada. The PAD is a large inland wetland complex threatened by encroachment from oil sands mining in the Athabasca watershed and hydroelectric dams in the Peace watershed.

"For more than a decade, we have been working closely with scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada to develop and apply high-throughput DNA based biodiversity analysis for monitoring key ecosystems across Canada," said Dr. Mehrdad Hajibabaei, a co-author of the study, and a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph. "This study is a key contribution from this collaborative effort to bring cutting-edge genomics to ecological analyses."

Aquatic macroinvertebrates were sampled between 2011 and 2016 across a gradient of wetland flood frequency, applying both microscope-based morphological identification and DNA metabarcodinga method first introduced by Hajibabaei Lab in 2011. DNA metabarcoding involves sequencing environmental DNA (eDNA) to identify many organisms within the same environmental sample. By using multispecies occupancy models (MSOMS)a model used to assess biodiversity through species richness and interactionsthe study found that DNA metabarcoding detected a much broader range of biodiversity per sample compared to traditional morphological identification and was essential to identifying significant responses to flood and thermal regimes.

"By using massively parallel sequencing and advanced computational analysis, DNA metabarcoding overcomes critical chokepoints in biomonitoring," said Hajibabaei. "It allows processing large number of samples without the need of separating and sorting tiny larvae. It uses sequences from the DNA barcoding gene to make taxonomic identification often at a better resolution than achievable by morphological examination."

The study demonstrates that family-level occupancy masks high variation among genera and quantify the bias of barcoding primers on the probability of detection in a natural community. It also revealed that patters of community assembly were nearly random, suggesting a strong role of randomness in the dynamics of the metacommunity.

"Until now, our ability to make consistent and accurate identifications of the hundreds of species which comprise these hyper-diverse and dynamic communities has limited our ability to make broad statements about how resource developments are degrading critical goods and services needed by migratory birds and wildlife," said Dr. Donald Baird, federal scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. "These impacts can have knock-on consequences for local communities who rely on these critical habitats for food security," said Baird, who co-authored the study and is actively involved in monitoring wetlands in Alberta's oil sands region.

Simulations used in the study also demonstrated that metabarcoding was much more efficient, especially in a more precise taxonomic resolution, and provided the statistical strength required to detect change on a broader, landscape-level scale.

"Being able to demonstrate DNA metabarcoding as an effective tool in ecological analyses across space and time, and in critical ecosystems such as the Peace-Athabasca Delta, is an important stepping-stone for broader application of this approach," said Hajibabaei.

Hajibabaei is currently applying the study's DNA metabarcoding approaches to assess key watersheds across Canada in a new program called STREAM. Launched last year in partnership with World Wildlife Fund-Canada, Living Lakes Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, STREAM is establishing a nationwide network of community-based biomonitoring programs.

Explore further DNA barcoding technology helping monitor health of all-important boreal forest

More information: Alex Bush et al, DNA metabarcoding reveals metacommunity dynamics in a threatened boreal wetland wilderness, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Alex Bush et al, DNA metabarcoding reveals metacommunity dynamics in a threatened boreal wetland wilderness,(2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1918741117
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, facing an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and collapsing oil prices, on Tuesday proposed to close an upcoming budget gap by furloughing about 3,000 municipal workers, deferring all police cadet classes and exhausting the citys entire $20 million rainy day fund.

The proposals are in response to an estimated $169 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Emptying the rainy day fund leaves the city in a precarious state for the upcoming hurricane season, the mayor acknowledged in a message to city council members that accompanied his budget plan. The account holds money in reserve for emergency situations, such as cash flow shortages and major disasters.

The city had just recently replenished the fund after using all $20 million in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. It will not have that option if a storm hits Houston this year.

The dollars from the economic stabilization fund are gone, Turner said. There is no rainy day fund.

Under Turners plan, the city also would draw $83 million from its cash reserves to balance the budget.

The citys tax- and fee-supported general fund, which covers most basic city operations, would spend $2.53 billion under Turners plan, a decrease of about 1 percent from the current budget. Despite the narrow spending cut, the city would be left with a general fund balance that dips below the amount required by city ordinance.

Turner said the rule makes an exception in the event of economic instability beyond the citys control.

Houston is expected to lose nearly $100 million in sales tax revenue during the current fiscal year and the one beginning in July, due in part to a precipitous drop in oil prices, along with the closure of bars, restaurants and other businesses during the pandemic.

The overall city budget, including services that are funded by dedicated fees and utility charges, is $5.1 billion, a slight increase from the current budget.

The proposed spending plan, which is subject to approval by city council, only says that the city would furlough thousands of municipal employees. At a news conference Tuesday, Turner said the number would be around 3,000 of the citys nearly 21,000 employees. The workers would forego 10 days of pay, saving the city roughly $7 million.

Turner did not specify which departments would be required to send workers home without pay, though he said the city would not place anyone on furlough from the police, fire and solid waste management departments.

The city will not implement any cuts until the new fiscal year begins July 1, Turner said.

The bulk of the citys operating budget is devoted to paying roughly 5,200 police officers and nearly 3,800 firefighters. Public safety would account for 59 percent of the general fund under the proposal, and usually about 90 percent of the police and fire departments costs are devoted to personnel. Both departments would see modest increases of about 2 percent in spending under Turners plan, with police climbing to $930.6 million and the fire department to $516.9 million.

More Information Proposed fiscal 2021 budgets for the city's 10 biggest departments Police: $854 million (up 2% from the current fiscal year) Fire: $457 million (up 2%) Solid Waste Management: $89 million (down 5%) Parks and Recreation: $69 million (down 13%) Health: $64 million (up 9%) General Services: $45 million (up 3%) Library: $44 million (up 4%) Municipal Courts: $30 million (up 1%) Administration & Regulatory Affairs: $30 million (up less than 1%) Public Works: $27 million (down 14%) Source: Mayor's proposed fiscal year 2021 budget See More Collapse

The departments seeing the biggest cuts in their operating budgets include Public Works ($4.5 million, or 14.3 percent of its budget), Parks and Recreation ($10.4 million, 13 percent), and Solid Waste ($4.5 million, 4.8 percent).

Turners budget plan could undergo significant changes, the mayor said Tuesday, if Congress allows local governments to spend COVID-19 stimulus funds to make up for lost tax revenue. Houston received $404 million from the roughly $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package and for now is barred from spending it on previously budgeted expenses, though city officials may identify some public safety expenses related to the pandemic that can be covered with federal aid, Turner said.

More than likely you will see additional dollars flowing into this budget in the next couple of weeks, Turner said.

The mayor already is proposing to use federal COVID-19 funds to cover the citys roughly $10 million annual contract with the Houston Zoo, which is paid out of the general fund. Turner said he also has directed the fire and police chiefs to determine which of their recent operations were devoted to COVID-19  spending that could be eligible for federal aid.

Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., also have sought more money for state and local governments in Congress next stimulus package, though such plans have met skepticism in GOP ranks.

Even if Congress gives Houston officials more flexibility to spend the funds, Turner said the $404 million will not cover all the citys COVID-19 expenses and lost revenue. The city already is projected to spend about $200 million on testing, contact tracing and other health expenses, Turner said, while putting additional funds toward rental assistance and programs to help homeless Houstonians.

The $404 (million), though it seems like a big number, it's not big at all considering the needs that exist, Turner said. Just because we may be able to pull dollars from what we have received, it doesn't mean that there will be sufficient dollars to do it.

If the federal government does provide more money, Turner said his first priority would be to reinstate the police cadet classes, which would cost $14 million. Next on the list would be eliminating furloughs and refilling the citys reserves.

Cities across the country already have slashed large chunks of their payrolls, placing workers on furlough, laying off employees and implementing hiring freezes. As many as 1 million municipal workers may be laid off or placed on furlough, according to the National League of Cities.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

dylan.mcguinness@chron.com
THE widow of a man who was cared for in his final days by Sue Ryder is urging people to support the charity through the coronavirus outbreak.

John Downing, 79, who lived with Anita DAttellis at their flat in Reading Road, Henley, died at home in accordance with his wishes on April 8.

The retired press photographer was diagnosed with mesotheliomia, a type of lung cancer, in December 2018 and spent his final months compiling a book of highlights from his Fleet Street career of more than four decades.

Now Mrs DAttellis, a music teacher and professional pianist, is encouraging donations to Sue Ryders emergency appeal, which it launched last month to help it survive the national lockdown.

It has been forced to close its shops, including the branch in Duke Street, Henley, as they are non-essential businesses and call off all fundraising events.

The charity, which runs the outpatient palliative care hub at Joyce Grove in Nettlebed, had warned it could have to stop its services within months as it is losing money.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has since announced a relief package for the charity sector but Sue Ryder says it will still struggle without support.

The hub runs a 24-hour telephone advice line and also sends nurses to patients homes and says this service is facing increasing demand.

The charity used to operate an inpatient unit with six beds at Nettlebed but closed this in March, saying it was not viable due to less demand.

Mr Downing and Mrs DAttellis approached Sue Ryder last autumn after oncologists said he was too unwell to undergo further chemotherapy to hold his condition at bay.

The team initially phoned every fortnight or so to check on his welfare but this progressed to weekly and eventually daily visits as his health declined.

As the scale of the global covid-19 outbreak became apparent and rules on personal contact tightened, they continued to visit while wearing face masks and other equipment to protect themselves from infection.

Mrs DAttellis says this was invaluable as she could no longer ask friends to help with daily tasks or meet them face-to-face due to social distancing regulations.

She said: I was absolutely devastated to hear that the charity was struggling because I couldnt have kept going without them. I would hate to think of them closing.

We had a whole team of nurses coming to the house over the last few months, often several times a day towards the end, because John needed that level of care, especially once he was bed-bound. They treated him with such respect and dignity and I knew he would be comfortable every time they came. I hadnt realised what a big organisation it was  there were so many people visiting but they were all lovely.

They didnt like having to wear masks because it made their jobs slightly harder. Its important for them to be personable and they felt having the masks wasnt as nice for John but it was necessary.

Everyones wishes are different but John wanted to die at home and that became even more important after the coronavirus. If hed had to go to a hospital or hospice I couldnt have spent that time with him.

Mrs DAttellis said the teams willingness to help with little everyday tasks was as crucial as their specialist skills.

They have the medical knowledge but theyre also so caring and supportive. For example, in the final days I didnt even want to leave Johns room, let alone the house. When I needed to go out and pick up some of his drugs, a nurse hed always got on well with was able to sit and chat to him until I came back.

Like all nurses, to them its not just a job with tasks to complete  they care about patients as human beings and take the time to talk and answer questions.

They also offer bereavement counselling, which I wasnt aware of and while I havent used that its good to know its available if you need it. It offers that extra peace of mind.

Sue Ryder has been helpful in so many ways and I want to ensure that help is available to anyone who needs it in the future. There are still people who are going to become ill, even without the added complication of this lockdown.

Ive spoken to friends and neighbours who have only good things to say about them. Theyve touched so many hearts.

Mrs DAttellis has so far raised more than 4,000 in donations from friends and family in addition to the 1,500 she raised through a winter recital series last year.

She said: Its very poignant and Im really delighted with how well it has done. Its difficult to make plans at the moment because theres so much uncertainty but Im determined to raise money for them in other ways when the lockdown is over.

Mr Downing worked for the Daily Express for 40 years and was a freelance for several years thereafter, visiting many foreign war zones and humanitarian disasters.

He was made an MBE for services to journalism and awarded numerous industry accolades before retiring in 2005, a year after meeting his wife. They married in 2007 and moved to Henley in 2012.

A Sue Ryder spokeswoman said the appeal had so far raised about 62,500 towards the Nettlebed hub but the facility would by short of 1.5 million in 2020 because of the disruption.

It costs 3.1 million a year to deliver its services across South Oxfordshire and only a quarter of that comes from statutory funding.

To donate in Mr Downings memory, visit https://johndowning.muchloved.com/Fundraising
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 12:42:08|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- As more U.S. states started partially reopening their economies, many economists have warned that moving too fast might risk a second wave of infections, which could have grave economic impacts.

"If we get a second wave, it will be a depression," Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, told CNBC in a recent interview, defining the depression as 12 months or more of double digit unemployment.

"We may not shut down again, but certainly it will scare people and spook people and weigh on the economy," Zandi said.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker warned that reopening the economy too quickly would not only bring a "health catastrophe" but also "reverse the economic recovery."

"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 at an event hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana, recently told Xinhua that a second wave of infections would be "very damaging to the economy."

Data released on Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 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 in 1930s, analysts said the figure does not capture the full scale of the COVID-19-induced job crisis, and the worst is yet to come.

"An astonishing deterioration in the public finances is unfolding," reported The Economists in late April, noting that the U.S. government is set to run a deficit of 15 percent of GDP this year.

Zandi said that jobs would start to come back by Memorial Day weekend in late May, as businesses gradually reopen. If there would be no second wave, he said the job growth would continue in the summer and early fall.

"After that, I think we're going to be in quicksand because of the uncertainty around the virus and the impact that it's going to have on consumers and businesses," Zandi said.

Lawrence Summers, treasury secretary for former President Bill Clinton and economic advisor to former President Barack Obama, said in a webinar last week that getting the virus under control is "overwhelmingly more important" than anything else in order to get the economy back on track.

"If people are scared to go outside, they're scared to go out to the store, they're scared to be near each other, you're not going to have a decently functioning economy no matter what fiscal and monetary policy you have," said Summers. Enditem
The city of San Antonios lengthy battle to collect underpaid hotel occupancy taxes from online travel booking companies hasnt exactly panned out.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week affirmed a lower court ruling directing the city to pay the companies about $2.2 million in costs related to the case.

The rulings mark a complete reversal of fortune for the city.

The city and 172 other Texas cities had won a $20.5 million jury verdict in 2009. A final judgment was entered in 2016, with the amount owed swelling to $84.1 million because of added penalties and accumulated interest from the day the class-action lawsuit was filed 10 years earlier.

By leading the court charge, San Antonio stood to collect the biggest chunk.

All that changed in 2017 when the federal appeals court reversed the lower court ruling affirming the jury verdict. Judgment was rendered in favor of the companies.

On ExpressNews.com: Appeals court denies San Antonio multimillion-dollar payout

The city suddenly found itself on the defensive. The companies sought to have the city pay almost $2.4 million in various costs associated with the case. About $2 million related to the cost of a bond the companies had to post so they could appeal the jury verdict.

The city asked the lower court to deny the companies request, saying in a 2018 court filing that it would be grossly unfair to foist these costs on San Antonio taxpayers.

In June, Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia awarded the companies more than $2.2 million  or roughly 95 percent of the amount they asked for.

The city appealed, but the appeals court on Monday ruled the lower court correctly recognized that it lacked discretion to deny or reduce the appeal bond costs which the OTCs (online travel companies) were entitled.

We are disappointed in the outcome, City Attorney Andy Segovia said in an emailed statement. We will consider options including possible appeal.

The city could ask a larger group of judges with the appeals court to review the ruling or it could file a petition requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to review it.

Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

Ricardo Cedillo, a San Antonio attorney for the companies, declined to comment Tuesday.

The city had sued 11 companies, including the operators of Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Orbitz.com.

The lawsuit had alleged the companies collect the hotel tax from consumers at the retail rate but only pay taxes on the bulk wholesale rate that they are charged by the hotel owners. At trial, the citys lawyers argued that the companies hid their practices from the city and customers under the headings titled tax recovery charges and service fees during hotel bookings.

This is a watershed case, a landmark case, one of the citys lawyers said after the verdict.

Tourists pay a 16.75 percent occupancy tax at local hotels. The citys slice of the tax is 7 percent. The state receives 6 percent; the Convention Center, 2 percent; and Bexar County, 1.75 percent.

According to a 2017 economic impact study the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association cites on its website, the hotel industry contributed $213 million to the city, with $86 million of that coming from the hotel occupancy tax.

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. To read more from Patrick, become a subscriber. pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD
Whats particularly strange about these cries is that the neighborhood where the new polling place was opened routinely elects Republicans. In the State Legislature, Lancaster is represented by two Republicans.

Even though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in the 25th District, Republican voters are returning ballots in significantly higher numbers. The latest data shows that 40 percent of ballots sent to registered Republicans have been returned, while 27 percent of Democrats have mailed theirs back. One in five Independents have returned their ballots. (Given that this election is happening in deep blue California, its fair to assume that a good share of those voters backed Ms. Smith.)

All of which is to say that Mr. Garcia has a pretty good shot at winning on Tuesday night. The accusations of electoral theft seem an awful lot like political theater, designed to energize Republican voters and make sure they continue to return those mail-in ballots or head to the polls.

Though Democrats are bracing for defeat, its possible Ms. Smith could close the gap. The race is expected to be close enough that our reporter Jenny doesnt think well have a winner declared by the end of the night. Whoever does win will probably face a rematch in November, with the candidates battling for the full congressional term.
A lawyer for Indonesians who alleged they had worked in slave-like conditions aboard Chinese fishing boats called Monday for companies that recruited and employed them to be prosecuted for human trafficking and bondage.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta summoned the Chinese ambassador over the deaths of four Indonesians and the treatment of others who allegedly worked in harsh conditions aboard Chinese fishing boats since December 2019.

What was experienced by the ship crew members constitutes human trafficking, starting from recruitment, their dispatch, abuse and bondage, said Pahrur Dalimunthe, the attorney for the fishermen.

Those involved, including the companies that sent them and ship owners must be held to account for their action, he told BenarNews, , an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Sunday condemned what she called the inhumane treatment of the sailors which she said constituted violations of human rights.

Some of them have not received their salaries, while some of them have received their salaries but the amounts were not in accordance with those stated in their contracts, Retno said.

She said she was told the crew members had been forced to work more than 18 hours a day and urged Chinese authorities to cooperate with Indonesia in an investigation.

The government has a strong commitment to resolve this case thoroughly, she said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesian and Chinese authorities were investigating allegations of mistreatment against the crew members.

This matter is being followed earnestly through legal processes by both Indonesian and Chinese authorities, Faizasyah told BenarNews.

Chinese officials at the embassy in Jakarta could not be reached for comment.

Last week, South Korean media interviewed a crew member who said the bodies of three who died at sea between December and March were thrown overboard despite details in their contract calling for cremation.

The crew member said he and others were sometimes forced to work 30 straight hours while standing and given only six hours to eat and sleep before resuming their duties.

Sea burials

After meeting on May 7 with the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, Xiao Xian, Retno said she asked if the burials complied with International Labor Organization standards, adding she was assured the Chinese had followed proper protocol to protect the health of crew members.

Pahrur said the government should not just accept Chinas explanation that the sea burials were justified because of COVID-19 concerns.

The government should not be fooled. There must be evidence that they really died of an infectious disease, Pahrur told BenarNews.

The attorney said the four deaths were suspected to be a result of harsh conditions on the boat, including being forced to eat bad food and drink treated sea water. Crew members were paid U.S. $120 for the first three months of work even though they were promised $300 to $450 per month.

The Foreign Ministry has said all four of the Indonesian crew members who died had been registered to the Chinese fishing boat Long Xin 629. Two of the crewmen died on the boat in December, while one died in a South Korean hospital on April 27 and the fourth was transferred to another boat and died in March before it could reach port, it said.

On Friday, the Indonesian government repatriated 14 surviving crew members who ended up in the South Korean port city of Busan after their contracts expired. They are undergoing a 14-day quarantine in East Jakarta before being sent to their hometowns.

According to Ferdy Sambo, director of general crimes of at the national police, investigators are to question those involved in the recruitment of the crew members.

If we find that their departure did not follow proper procedures, we will prosecute the recruitment companies under migrant labor and human trafficking laws, Sambo told BenarNews.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Akhilesh Ramachandran emailed Oklahoma's public health laboratory just days after the novel coronavirus hit the state in March. As a manager of a veterinary school diagnostic lab, he knew lots about rapid, high-volume testing for viruses - in animals. He offered his facility as a "backup" for human testing, he said, figuring officials "might say, 'You guys do 100 samples, and we'll do the rest.'"

But within weeks, the university lab - which typically tests for diseases such as rabies in dogs and respiratory ailments in Oklahoma's large cattle industry - was running more human covid-19 tests than any other lab in the state. It had recruited a raft of volunteers and hired additional staff to work until 3 a.m. processing thousands of tests a week - nearly a quarter of the state total, and four times more than the decaying state public health lab. Lab personnel, all animal specialists, speak of their new task as a public service mission.

"Being the lab that is doing the most testing has made the responsibility so much higher on our shoulders," said Ramachandran, a veterinarian who said his biggest concern is that one of his staff members will fall ill with the virus, perhaps forcing the lab to shutter. "That could be a severe impact on the state."

The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory's scrappy, collaborative effort to shift gears amid a crisis was aided by basic biological similarities between humans and other species: Animals' nasal passages are routinely swabbed for viruses, and nucleic acid is extracted from samples and amplified on state-of-the-art machines identical to those used in human testing for covid-19. But it also highlights the preparedness of many animal health labs, which - unlike public health labs - have been buttressed by federal grants to be bulwarks against outbreaks that could cripple livestock and poultry industries.

A handful of other veterinary labs across the country are running human covid-19 tests, adding diagnostic capacity to a patchwork national testing effort beset by several woes. Although several others want to help, regulations have stood in the way, said David Zeman, executive director of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, which accredits animal health labs.

Labs running human covid-19 tests must be certified by a group that accredits human labs and have FDA-approved equipment. Some animal labs have come up with workarounds, such as the one at Oregon State University, which partnered with a human lab to share resources. The massive animal health lab at Texas A&M University, on the other hand, complains that its efforts to be accredited for human testing have been stymied by the federal government.

"This authorization business is the biggest obstacle," said Zeman, whose group represents 64 animal health labs, many of which, he said, could run far more tests than Oklahoma State's. "The machinery is the same, the science is the same, the diagnostic test is the same. The only difference is the specimen."

Although a small number of U.S. cats, dogs and other animals have tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19, animal health labs are running few such tests, in part because the chemicals used are needed for human testing and are in short supply.

Even with the technical know-how, the covid-19 operation was a big undertaking for Oklahoma State, a 25,000-student campus in Stillwater that is running tests under a contract with the state.

After Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) amended an emergency order to allow academic labs to conduct testing in late March, university officials asked the veterinary lab's leaders how they might help.

"They said, 'Well, we have the capabilities, because we do test for coronaviruses, and we can do volumes,' " said Carlos Risco, dean of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

Ed Kirtley, an engineering dean and former firefighter with emergency management experience, was deployed to handle logistics. Knowing the lab would need more people, a task force he formed emailed faculty and staff in search of volunteers with laboratory experience. After identifying people who might be vulnerable to the novel coronavirus - and deciding they weren't right for work involving it - the committee had 58 volunteers.

A few were put up in dorms to lessen the chance they might take the virus home to their families. A physician from the university's medical school, 70 miles away in Tulsa, signed on to provide oversight, which helped the lab quickly secure the crucial accreditation.

Within nine days, the volunteers and staff had taken steps required of people who work in human labs - they were tested for hepatitis B, trained on handling blood-borne pathogens and schooled on the federal patient privacy law known as HIPAA.

Campus bus drivers were hired to drive vehicles from the university motor pool to pick up patient samples, mostly from public health departments and hospitals in rural counties across the state.

"Higher education tends to be really siloed," Kirtley said. "But the whole campus came together for this."

Inside the brick lab, Jerry Ritchey, a veterinary pathologist who was interim director at the time, was thinking about numbers. The tests would be run in the molecular diagnostics section headed by Ramachandran, which already had FDA-approved machines capable of running up to 2,000 covid-19 tests a day.

"Previously it was used for animals, and now it's being used for a different kind of animal," Ritchey said. "A coronavirus at the end of a nasal swab, it doesn't really matter if it came from a cow, a pig or a person - it's going to be tested the exact same way."

The molecular diagnostics section had five employees normally, and the lab was determined to keep up with its regular job of running about 100,000 tests annually for animal diseases. To cope, a night shift was added, staffed by graduate students in sciences and led by a faculty member whose family was stranded in India by travel shutdowns. He figured he might as well work when he would be "sleeping at home anyway," Ramachandran said.

Unlike other labs, Oklahoma State's has not had trouble procuring test processing kits. Other supplies have been harder to come by, such as the protective sleeves scientists wear over their arms when handling samples. A solution was apparent to a lab full of veterinarians familiar with the long obstetrics gloves that "you wear when you dig your hand into the back end of a cow," Ramachandran said. "You can buy hundreds of those at a time. We just cut off the palm portion of it."

Another hurdle is sorting and labeling patient samples. Unlike specimens from animals, which are often submitted and approached as herds, each human specimen is handled as an individual. So for several hours each night, a dozen volunteers unpack the day's deliveries, matching vials to documents, bar coding and delivering them to the lab.

"I felt like this was an opportunity for me to contribute to the mission of the university and to the state of Oklahoma, but also I was just feeling helpless" about the pandemic, said Darren Hagen, an assistant professor of animal genomics. Four nights a week, Hagen rushes home from his day job to briefly see his three children, then heads to the animal health lab to help out.

Now though, Hagen says his volunteering is driven by a desire to ease the burden on Ritchey, Ramachandran and other lab staff, who he worries will burn out.

"They're trying to do their jobs and this," Hagen said. "The best way forward, short of a vaccine, is to test - that's the consensus. It's just the way we're doing it today isn't sustainable. That crew over there can't work until 2 or 3 in the morning every night."

As of Friday, the lab had tested more than 21,600 samples, about 4% of which were positive; the state's positive rate was just above 5%. It will continue covid-19 testing as long as it's needed, university officials said.

So far the lab has run up to 1,300 tests in one day. It could do 700 more, but that would require a third shift, and Ramachandran says he isn't eager to do that. As a veterinarian in the unlikely position of managing covid-19 testing in what has become the most important diagnostic lab in Oklahoma, he's already working 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. each day.

Ramachandran's wife works in the university veterinary hospital's emergency department, which means she also pulls long hours. They see little of their 16-year-old son, who mostly has been handling his own home schooling.

The last several weeks have "felt like a year," Ramachandran said. But he said he's focused on the big picture - stopping the novel coronavirus.

"We just have to consider the future generation. We have to try to make it a much safer place for them," he said. "Even though my son is at home alone, in a way, I'm doing this for him."
[May 12, 2020] INVESTOR ALERT: Labaton Sucharow LLP Files Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against E-House (China) and Certain Other Parties

Labaton Sucharow LLP ("Labaton Sucharow") announced that on April 9, 2020, it filed a securities class action lawsuit against E-House (China) and certain other parties and encourages investors to contact the Firm. The lawsuit, captioned Maso Capital Investments Limited v. E-House (China) Holdings Limited, No. 1:20-cv-02943 (S.D.N.Y.) (the "Action"), on behalf of its clients Maso Capital Investments Limited, Blackwell Partners LLC - Series A, and Crown Managed Accounts SPC for and on behalf of Crown/Maso Segregated Portfolio (together, the "Maso Entities") against E-House (China) Holdings Limited ("E-House"), and certain directors, officers, and affiliates (collectively, "Defendants"). The Action asserts claims under Sections 10(b), 13(e), 20A and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and SEC (News - Alert) Rules 10b-5 and 13e-3 promulgated thereunder. It is brought on behalf of all former owners of E-House American Depository Receipts ("ADS"), who sold E-House ADS, and were damaged thereby: (i) during the period from April 15, 2016, until August 31, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"); or (ii) by way of, or as a result, of tendering their ADS as part of the Merger (as defined herein), regardless of when that tender occurred. E-House describes itself as a "leading real estate services company in China." In June 2015, the Company announced that it had received a buyout offer from its CEO, Defendant Zhou, and another Director, Defendant Shen. Shortly thereafter, SINA Corporation joined them in forming a "Buyer Group." On April 15, 2016, the E-House executed a merger agreement with the Buyer Group, where each ADS would be bought for $6.85 per ADS (the "Merger"). ADS holder approval, however, would still be required before the Merger could close. The Comany published a preliminary proxy seeking ADS holder approval for the Merger on April 25, 2016. In an attempt to persuade public ADS holders to accept the deal, the preliminary proxy contained numerous false and misleading statements and omissions. Specifically, that: (i) the Merger was fair and in the best interest of those investors not affiliated with the Buyer Group; (ii) there were no plans for post-Merger transactions; and (iii) the projections in the proxies were based on the best available information. In truth, the Merger was not fair, there were planned post-Merger transactions, and the projections in the proxies were not the best available. The merger was approved based on Defendants' false information on August 5, 2016, and closed on August 12, 2016.



According to their plans, yet contrary to their proxies, Defendants set into motion post-Merger transactions, which culminated in the registration of shares for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July 2018. This relisting reflected a valuation far higher than the consideration of $6.85 per ADS given in connection to the Merger. As a result of Defendants' wrongful scheme to take E-House private at less than fair value (with the goal of relisting it at a higher valuation), former ADS holders outside the Buyer Group have suffered harm under the federal securities laws. If you sold or otherwise disposed of E-House ADS during the Class Period or if you tendered ADS into the Merger you are a member of the "Class" and may be able to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff motion papers must be filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York no later than June 9, 2020. The Lead Plaintiff is a court-appointed representative for absent members of the Class. You do not need to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff to share in any Class recovery in the Action. If you are a Class member and there is a recovery for the Class, you can share in that recovery as an absent Class member. You may retain counsel of your choice to represent you in the Action.

If you would like to consider serving as Lead Plaintiff or have any questions about this lawsuit, you may contact David J. Schwartz, Esq. of Labaton Sucharow, at (800) 321-0476, or via email at [email protected]. About the Firm Labaton Sucharow LLP is one of the world's leading complex litigation firms representing clients in securities, antitrust, corporate governance and shareholder rights, and consumer cybersecurity and data privacy litigation. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and peers, and it is consistently ranked in leading industry publications. Offices are located in New York, NY, Wilmington, DE, and Washington, D.C. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005259/en/

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WASHINGTON  As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to take his first international trip in nearly seven weeks, his staff drew up a set of detailed "risk mitigation" steps to protect him and his entourage from infection amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But when Pompeo boarded his flight Tuesday, he was not wearing a mask  one of the only people on the plane without one, according to reporters who were traveling with the secretary. A top State Department physician told reporters Friday that masks would be used on the trip according to CDC guidelines, which calls for face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

Pompeo's decision to forgo a face covering highlights the mixed messages across the federal government as President Donald Trump pushes for states to ease stay-at-home restrictions and encourage Americans to get back to work.

The dangers of that have become clear even inside the White House, where two administration aides tested positive for the coronavirus last week: a valet to Trump and Vice President Mike Pences press secretary.

Federal agencies in Washington seem to have a mishmash of protocols for employees who may soon find themselves back at their desks, even as coronavirus infections in the Washington region remain on the rise.

On Tuesday, the nation's top three public health leaders issued an unusual joint statement detailing the circumstances under which they would participate in White House meetings. All three  CDC Director Robert Redfield, FDA Commissioner Steve Hahn, and infectious disease director Anthony Fauci  are in self-quarantine after coming into contact with an infected person at the White House.

The three will attend coronavirus White House meetings "providing that they are asymptomatic, screened, and monitored for fever and other symptoms, wear a face covering, and maintain a distance of at least six feet from others."

Story continues

Mask, tests at the White House

At the White House, new rules were put in place on Monday and expanded on Tuesday. The White House now administers daily coronavirus testing for people who come into contact with the president and requires masks and social distancing, when feasible, for West Wing staff.

At a news briefing Monday in the Rose Garden, administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and HHS testing czar Brett Giroir, wore masks, removing them only to speak. Reporters, seated in socially distanced folding chairs, kept their masks on as they took turns approaching fixed boom microphones to ask questions.

Trump did not wear a mask, and Pence did not attend the briefing. Asked whether he was keeping his distance from his No. 2, Trump said that he had not seen the vice president since the quarantine period but that the two could talk on the phone.

Pentagon: Wear masks when 'practical'

At the Pentagon, officials are requiring cloth face masks inside the complex to the extent practical when people cannot maintain 6 feet of distance from one another.

The military is following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding frequent hand washing and disinfecting surfaces such as keyboards and elevator buttons. In addition, teleworking has been encouraged to minimize face-to-face meetings.

Moreover, senior officials self-quarantine after coming in contact with people suspected of having the infection. On Sunday, Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, announced that he would quarantine himself after coming into contact with a family member who tested positive for COVID-19. Gilday has tested negative for the virus but remains isolated as a precautionary measure.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a meeting with President Donald Trump, senior military leaders and members of Trump's national security team in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Saturday, May 9, 2020, in Washington.

State Dept. rolls out 'stepwise' return to work plan

At the State Department, employees are not required to wear masks  at least not yet.

Dr. William Walters, deputy chief medical officer for operations, said the agency has rolled out a "stepwise phased plan for return to work" that is based on trends in the Washington region and around the world, where thousands of staff are employed at U.S. embassies and consulates.

"Whether its in D.C. or around the world, were looking at where are we in the epidemiology curve and then taking an assertive but not overly aggressive approach to bringing people back," he told reporters in a briefing May 5. "We dont have a timeline established for that at this point."

Congress: Virtual testimony, limited work

At the Capitol, the House hasnt been in regular session since March. The Senate is back to work  sort of.

On Tuesday, a health committee hearing on returning safely to work was held via videoconference. The chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and three of the four witnesses were participating under self-quarantine after coming into contact with infected people.

At that hearing, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., blasted the Trump administration for withholding more detailed guidance from states about how to reopen their economies. Portions of the plan have been leaked, but officials have said it remains under review.

The guidance you have provided is criminally vague, Murphy told the head of the CDC, Dr. Robert Redfield, who said the new recommendations would be released soon.

Justices go remote in historic change

At the Supreme Court, the pandemic protocols have prompted the nine justices to conduct high-stakes oral arguments by telephone  a historic change for an institution that has resisted previous efforts to adopt greater transparency and technology advancements.

The high court initially closed its building in mid-March, conducting its private conferences remotely and postponing further hearings.

White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien, right, listens as President Donald Trump meets with Republican lawmakers in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, May 8, 2020.

But on May 4, the justices began hearing cases again  via live audio for the first time in its 230-year history.

Justice Dept. requires masks in common areas

Last month, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen directed Justice Department employees to wear masks in the agency's common or public areas.

Employees are permitted to remove face coverings in individual offices or workspaces when they can maintain social distancing, or 6 feet of separation, from others. Justice also implemented a broad-based teleworking policy, allowing employees to work from home when they can.

The teleworking policy, however, is limited, as thousands of Justice employees are law enforcement officers whose work often requires their physical presence.

NASA looks at optimal air flow, industrial cleaning measures

At NASA headquarters, the space agency is using a risk-based approach to getting its staff back on-site, said spokeswoman Karen Northon.

The agency is strongly recommending that its employees wear a face covering when they're in public and will issue personal protective equipment to employees returning to work if they are in a high-risk or vulnerable group, and to those in offices where social distancing is not practicable, she said.

NASA also has established a Clean Team Task Force, she said, that is researching industrial sanitation measures to clean workspaces and ways to ensure optimal air filtration. The task force is looking at what's used in the hotel and airline industries, among other settings, to develop a benchmark and make recommendations to the agencys leadership.

Homeland Security: Protocols depend on location

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said officials are examining which facilities and operations will return to normal and when. "Decisions are highly specific based on functions, duty and location," the spokesman said.

A spokesman with the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to inquiries about what pandemic precautions the agency has in place.

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, Courtney Subramanian, Rich Wolf and Kevin Johnson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus protocols vary at fed agencies as Trump seeks to reopen
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase wages and man-days under MGNREGA scheme by 50 per cent as it is the main thrust of the rural economy with stranded migrant workers returning to the state.

During a video conference chaired by the prime minister with chief ministers of different states, Soren sought relaxation in the guidelines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as per the states need.

He also urged Modi to speed up ferrying of migrant workers to their homes.

In the previous video conference too I had said that existing guidelines of MGNREGA be relaxed, its wages and man days be raised by 50 per cent as the programme is the most important (aspect) of the rural economy, Soren told the prime minister.

The chief minister also requested the Centre for early clearance of the states share of GST and permit collection of revenue from some resources at the state level.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Thanking PM Modi for allowing plying of Shramik Special trains to bring back migrants, Soren said, But only 21-22 trains have so far come with only 50,000 to 55,000 people returning. Nearly seven lakh people from the state are residing in different parts of the country. He added that life and livelihood should be given priority.
Here are a few of the best events happening on Tuesday and how to tune in (all times are Eastern).

Stars Read Coraline

6 p.m. on YouTube

The New York Public Library has a weeklong treat in store for fans of Neil Gaimans Coraline. Starting Tuesday, the library will kick off a virtual reading of the book, a dark fantasy childrens novella about a young girl. Gaiman will read Chapters 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Chapters 3 and 4 on Wednesday. LeVar Burton picks it up on Thursday and Friday; Rosario Dawson on Saturday and Sunday; and Dakota Fanning on Monday.

When: 6 p.m. each night, Tuesday through Monday.

Where: The New York Public Librarys YouTube channel and website. Register here to receive a reminder with a viewing link before the first reading and to receive information on how to download Coraline using the librarys e-reading app, SimplyE.

National Dance Institutes Annual Gala

7:30 p.m. on Facebook

Alec Baldwin, Josh Groban, Mandy Patinkin, Jacques dAmboise, Charlotte dAmboise and more will participate in the 44th annual National Dance Institute, a nonprofit that shares the art of dance with children. This years gala, titled From the Heart, will held virtually for the first time and will feature both new and archival performances, celebrity appearances and the institutes young dancers. More than 60,000 children participate in its programs annually.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: The National Dance Institutes Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages, and its website.
Farmers in Go Cong Tay District in Tien Giang water their rice field using water from a pond, March 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

The European Union and the French Development Agency (AFD) have established a 20-million-euro ($21.5 million) fund to help Vietnam deal with climate change.

The EU will provide the money as a non-refundable grant to the AFD to run the fund. The latter will in turn provide loans for strategic projects in Vietnam to improve the management of water and other resources and respond to challenges like floods and coastal erosion that climate change exacerbates.

EU ambassador to Vietnam, Giorgio Aliberti, who signed an agreement for the fund with Fabrice Richy, director of AFD, in Vietnam on Monday, said: "Adaptation to climate change is crucial for the sustainability of Vietnams development, and water and natural resources are a key element of it.

"The intention of the new 20-million-euro grant is to support Vietnam on a pathway towards a greener and resilient future and enhance natural resources management that will help restore and preserve ecosystems and boost the resilience of the local population."

According to the World Bank, 70 percent of the countrys population are vulnerable to typhoons, floods, droughts, storm surges, saltwater intrusion, landslides, forest fires, and occasional earthquakes. The risks are exacerbated by climate change.

Floods and storms account for more than 40 percent of all natural disasters.

Vietnam is one of six economies most affected by climate change between 1999 and 2018, according to the Global Climate Risk Index published last year by German environmental think tank Germanwatch.

Rising temperatures and sea levels, and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events combined with population growth and urbanization are increasing the risk of coastal erosion, urban flooding and drought.

This year saltwater intruded 50-110 kilometers into major rivers in the Mekong Delta, even deeper than in 2016, which was considered a very bad year.

Six delta provinces, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Long An, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Soc Trang have declared an emergency over the salinity.

Experts have blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon and Chinese dams on the Mekong for the parching of the delta. Even as El Nino reduced rainfall in southern Vietnam last year, upstream Chinese dams held back water, which also brings sediments to fertilize downstream areas.
Lucknow, May 12 : The Lucknow-based Darul Uloom Farangi Mahali has issued a fatwa, making it mandatory for people to offer the Eid namaz and the Alvida namaz on the last Friday of Ramzan in their homes, if the lockdown is extended beyond May 17 and gatherings remain prohibited.

Eid will be celebrated on May 25.

The fatwa signed by four clerics -- Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, Maulana Nasrullah, Maulana Naeem-Ur-Rahman Siddiqui and Maulana Mohammad Mushtaq-states, among other things also said that buying new clothes for Eid is not mandatory.

The fatwa that was issued in response to a query, further said, "For Alvida and Eid namaaz, the Imam and muezzin (person who gives out the azaan) of the mosque and only three other people, should offer the prayers in the mosque. This count should not exceed beyond five people following social distancing norms." Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a well-known Sunni cleric, said that instead of buying new clothes, people should wear clean and good clothes that they already have.

He asked people not go out of their homes to congratulate others on Eid, but to call up friends and family to share the happiness of the festival.

He asked people not to embrace each other -- as is the custom -- and maintain social distancing.

He said that people should do maximum amount of charity and help those in need on Eid.

Shia cleric and senior vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, has also said, "Eid should be celebrated with utmost simplicity this year and people should stay safe at their homes and not go outside. The budget earmarked for Eid should be cut down and the money be donated to the poor who are suffering because of this pandemic."

Latest updates on Eid al-Fitr 2020




Armed robbers that were apprehended in Jigawa

A 35-year-old Abdullahi Usman from Niger Republic has been apprehended for robbing and killing a Nigerian in Babura local government.

Spokesman of the State Police Command, SP Abdu Jinjiri said the incident happened at Andau village, within the Nigeria/Niger land border.

He explained that the incident occurred on Sunday, at Andau village when armed men numbering about nine stormed the village and robbed people of three motorcycles and shot dead one Kamisu Idris of the same village.

Jinjiri said the police rushed to the scene and engaged into gun duel with the hoodlums.

However, the police overpowered the hoodlums and made them abandon the three robbed motorcycles, one AK-47 rifle with nine rounds of ammunition and took to their heels.

Jinjiri said the suspects on the run shot another victim in the neighbouring village identified as Sabiu Magaji, 30 years of Suletankarkar LGA in their efforts to escape.

He said the villagers around the area ganged up and lynched the suspects by mob action.

The police rescued one of the suspects by name Abdullahi Usman, 35 years of Niger Republic who was seriously injured, and recovered the second AK47 rifle with eleven rounds of ammunition and a handset suspected to have been robbed.

Two days later, one Salisu Amadu 25 years of Dorawa Tara village, Babura LGA was also arrested who was an informant to the gang, he said.

Police spokesman said the case was still under investigation.
An violent inmate allegedly punched a prison officer and kept them hostage with a 'prison-made weapon' sparking five-hours siege.

The 32-year-old prison inmate at Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, in northern NSW, allegedly grabbed the prison officer, 37, on an oval at 10.20am on Tuesday.

In response to the situation, riot police were called to the scene but prison staff managed to talk the inmate down and he released the hostage by 3pm.

A violent 32-year-old prison inmate at Mid North Coast Correctional Centre (pictured) allegedly punched and took a prison staff member hostage after his illegal drugs were confiscated

A spokesperson from NSW Corrective Services said the inmate was upset his illegal drugs sent through the mail had been confiscated and he was demanding they be returned.

A source at the prison told the Daily Telegraph the inmate also demanded to be placed onto a monthly opioid replacement therapy program that he had been recently rejected from.

The monthly injection known as buprenorphine or 'depot' was introduced to limit contact with inmates during the coronavirus pandemic.

The offender in question is understood to be have been imprisoned for 'serious stabbing offences,' according to a delegate from the Public Service Association.

'We are led to believe that he is a dangerous inmate,' they said.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia officers attended the scene but were not directly involved in the incident.

Riot police were called to the scene but the situation was resolved by prison officers who talked the inmate down (stock image)

Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin praised the actions of staff who were able to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.

'Correctional officers at Mid North Coast did an exceptional job in remaining calm during this tense stand-off, while also retaining control of the situation,' Mr Severin said.

'Prison officers trained in hostage negotiation were able to successfully convince the inmate to release the officer, and we are all very relieved by this outcome.

'It is another example of the dangerous situations frontline correctional officers face while doing their duty to keep the community safe.

'We will be providing all available support to the officers involved.'

The spokesperson said Security Operations Group officers have placed the inmate in a segregation cell.
The long overdue cracking of the conspiracy to frame President Trump's national security adviser has the left wailing. It was a "'black day in D.O.J. history'" when Michael Flynn was no longer going to prison.

Faced with the emergency of defending the indefensible, progressives have been busy deflecting from the crookedness coming to light, either by refusing to mention any of it in their reporting, or howling over the unimaginable scandal of the government dropping charges against a defendant who has already pleaded guilty.

Since Thursday, progressives have been saying U.S. attorney Timothy Shea's motion to dismiss the case will go down in the annals of justice as surpassed in perfidy only by, maybe, Pontius Pilate's decision to release Barabbas. The critics manage this without ever engaging a single point set out in the government's intimidating 20-page motion. Instead, these shrill attacks all boil down to a single false and irrelevant argument, continued into this week by Donna Brazile: "It's a fact that President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied to the FBI  he pleaded guilty to the charge."

The same day it learned of the dismissal of Flynn's case, the New York Times rushed to remind its readers, for the one millionth time, "Don't Forget, Michael Flynn Pleaded Guilty. Twice." The next day, two of the Times' Georgetown legal experts editorialized on why the DOJ dropping the case triggered a "sense of utter demoralization" among criminal law experts and members of law enforcement and why every American should be "shocked and outraged": "After all, Mr. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I." But saying it once wasn't enough. "To review: Mr. Barr is now saying he cannot prove charges to which Mr. Flynn has twice pleaded guilty in court  and for which there is ample evidence." In fact, the Georgetown lawyers don't mention any evidence of Flynn's guilt, let alone ample evidence. Because that doesn't matter. Evidence is not going to be on the test. Just remember that guilty plea.

The media are determined that if you're going to forget anything, forget the corrupt, disgraceful frame-up of an American warrior that's left the FBI, the DOJ, and the Constitution in a broken heap. Forget that before James Comey sent two unethical federal agents to have a harmless chat with Flynn, he wasn't guilty of anything, and by the time they left, Flynn's life was ruined. Forget that Comey's sole purpose in sending agents to interview Flynn wasn't to investigate anything; they were sent to trap Flynn into a lie "so we can prosecute him or get him fired."

The brutal facts of last week's revelations are so clear cut and straightforward  think of the invasion of Normandy or Nixon's resignation  that no straight news reporter could conceivably lead with anything else but "this is what happened, and this is why it happened"  something on the order of "a cleaned-up DOJ withdrew a false charge that never should have been filed, because it was based on FBI wrongdoing and an Obama DOJ plot that was blessed by Obama officials at the highest level, and possibly by Obama himself."

That is the story. But it's a story the media don't want to tell, because they'd be telling it on themselves. Where they can't avoid it, the mainstream media are burying the ugliness under prattle about almost anything else.

Typical is the AP report that appeared widely on Friday, whose four leading paragraphs contained not a single word acknowledging that there was anything wrong with the Flynn prosecution. Instead, the reporters digress on how the case was "a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation," that the dismissal request came "even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI," and, of course, that "Flynn himself admitted as much, pleading guilty before asking to withdraw the plea[.]" In the Detroit News print edition, the AP article dawdles through seven paragraphs before there's a hint in paragraph eight that the FBI's Flynn interview was an illegal trap, "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis." Anyone still reading by paragraph 16 finally learns that an FBI official's handwritten notes document how the goal of interviewing Flynn was to trap him in a lie so they could destroy him.

The media hammering on Flynn's guilty plea is meant to crowd out all the wretched details of prosecutorial abuse, leaving only enough room for their alternative suggestions of reality. One of their suggestions is that history has no record of a prosecutor dropping a charge against a defendant who has already pleaded guilty. This is ridiculous, but they've been suggesting this at the top of their lungs, swearing that what happened last Thursday was an unprecedented, egregious abuse of power by Bill Barr because he's Trump's puppet, pure and simple. To help keep this gaslight burning among friendly media, Obama himself leaked his view that "[t]here is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free" (italics mine).

Jonathan Turley, a liberal and no supporter of Trump, quickly corrected the former president, suggesting he may want to check his research with his own former attorney general, Eric Holder. Turley explains in detail how "Holder moved to dismiss such a case, based on prosecutorial errors in front of the very same judge, Judge Emmet Sullivan," and further corrects Obama that Flynn wasn't charged with perjury. Not only is Turley able to point to legal precedent that Obama said nobody could find, but Turley can cite the federal court rule specifically "created for this purpose," a rule tied to "other rules mandating this action when there is evidence of prosecutorial misconduct or fundamental questions about the underlying case[.]"

You wouldn't know it from current reporting, but an allegation of prosecutorial misconduct didn't use to make liberals yelp with rage. Before last Thursday, progressives were quite sympathetic to defendants who were squeezed by unscrupulous prosecutors into pleading to something they didn't do  in other words, defendant who say they're guilty, but they aren't. It's not a fact. But right now, in the new normal, the party that's convinced that the vast majority of prison inmates are the innocent victims of systemic abuse now venerate an extorted plea agreement as the epitome of the American judicial system at its best.

They have brought this calamity on themselves. For some time now, the go-to progressive tactic has been to oversimplify every controversy into a Manichean "narrative" that pits absolute goodness against unspeakable evil. Among the other purposes that framing Mike Flynn was meant to serve was to show the good angels of St. James Comey and the Mueller team slaying the wicked and traitorous Trump appointee by sheer force of righteousness. The problem now is that Flynn is looking less villainous all the time, and Comey and the special counsel team are stinking more of brimstone than they already did. Once you've seen that note about "get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired," it's hard to unsee it. Americans might even find out that Flynn didn't lie to the FBI at all. In last week's motion to dismiss, U.S. attorney Timothy Shea said, "[T]he Government does not believe it could prove that Mr. Flynn knowingly and willfully made a false statement beyond a reasonable doubt."

But liberals wanted the Flynn narrative to be a battle between good and evil. There has to be a villain, and if it isn't Flynn, then there's nobody left but Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Brady, Rosenstein, Mueller, Weissmann, Van Grack, yada, yada, yada, Hillary, and Barack Obama. The left desperately needs the disputed fact that Flynn is guilty of lying to the FBI, as something Americans can be convinced outweighs all the other facts  the genuine facts too numerous to mention  that have piled up to become the tottering Tower of Babel of the Russia hoax.

And somebody just took that fact away from them.

T.R. Clancy looks at the world from Dearborn, Michigan. You can email him at trclancy@yahoo.com.

Graphic credit: Sollok29.

Correction: motion was made by Timothy Shea, not Jeff Jensen
Pakistan's security agencies have arrested two terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Punjab province and thwarted a terror attack on a sensitive' installation, an official statement said on Tuesday.

"The Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police conducted an intelligence-base operation on Monday near Nadar Shah Phatak Chishtian road Bahawalnagar district, some 400 kms from Lahore, and arrested two terrorists associated with ISIS, said the statement issued by the department on Tuesday.

It said a terror attack "on a sensitive installation in Bahawalnagar" city has been thwarted due to timely action by the security agencies.

The terrorists, identified as Umar Farooq and Muhammad Akram, have been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Explosives, ball bearings, detonator and prima cord, all parts to make an IED, have been recovered from the arrested terrorists, the CTD said.

The Pakistani government denies presence of ISIS on its soil but often its security agencies nab terrorists of this banned militant group from different parts of the country mostly in Punjab.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When Greta Westwood was 4 years old, she read a childrens book about Victorian nurse Florence Nightingale. Decades later, she still remembers being transfixed by the enduring image of the Lady with the Lamp. Westwood herself would go on to a distinguished nursing career of her own, starting out as a student orthopedic nurse in 1978. From day one of putting the uniform on, Ive never looked back, she recalls.

Although she left Britains National Health Service in 2017 after nearly 40 years, Westwood has recently returned to her local hospital in Portsmouth, in the south of England, to help with the U.K.s public health efforts in the coronavirus crisis. Westwood, who spoke to TIME on a busy Monday morning from the hospital, has been running psychological support sessions for nurses and midwives assisting patients with COVID-19 for the past six weeks.

That early image of Florence Nightingale, tending to wounded soldiers in the darkness with her lamp, has endured for so many nurses, for so many years, and takes on renewed significance as May 12 marks the 200th anniversary of Nightingales birth. It also marks International Nurses Day, commemorated in Nightingales honor. With nurses around the world on the front lines of a global pandemic, its a poignant time to reflect on how Nightingales legacy laid the groundwork for their heroic work in hospitals today. Its the trailblazing element I like about her, says Westwood, who is also the CEO of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. She never took no for an answeranything was possible.

Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, to a wealthy aristocratic family in Italy, and grew up in England. As a teenager, she believed that she had heard a call from God encouraging her to help the sick and poor and felt a strong desire to become a nursealthough the profession was not seen as a respectable job at the time. Victorian social conventions also meant that women were generally expected to stay at home and run household affairs, not pursue careers; Nightingale turned down multiple marriage proposals because she felt it would interfere with her duty of caring for others. Her ambitions were particularly controversial given her upper-class background. But despite her familys disapproval, she educated herself in arts and science and eventually gained some nursing experience at a Lutheran-run institution for the poor in Germany.

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In March 1854, Britain entered the Crimean War, fighting in an alliance against Russia. Newspaper reports detailed the devastating state of hospitals that cared for the wounded, and, in the face of public outcry at home, War Minister Sidney Herbert appointed Nightingale to lead a contingent of 38 volunteer nurses to a military hospital in Scutari, in modern-day Turkey, in the November of that year, to help wounded soldiers returning from the front lines.

Nightingales team was immediately confronted by nightmarish conditions. More soldiers were dying of diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera and dysentery than from battle wounds, and the hospital wards were overcrowded with rat and lice infestations.

What greeted her there must have been horrendous in terms of the squalor, says David Green, director of the Florence Nightingale Museum in London. But she stayed until the end, and made sure she looked after the common soldier, not just the officer.

Nightingales compassion set her apart from others, says Green, and she gained her famous moniker for checking in on her patients by lamplight, often writing letters to loved ones at home on their behalf. At that time, the army didnt always inform families when soldiers were killed, but Nightingale felt a duty to do so. That sense of duty to patient and family has been on full display during the COVID-19 crisis, as nurses champion the need to be with patients until the very end, and have campaigned for iPads so relatives can communicate with loved ones. That is so Nightingale, and that compassion really carries home, says Green.

Print published 1891. From the painting by Henrietta Rae (Mrs. Normand). | Photo by VCG WilsonCorbis via Getty Images

Nightingales time at Scutari prompted several innovations that she would develop in the later years of her life. Although the male doctors at the institution saw Nightingales suggestions as criticisms, she remained steadfast, taking several measures to improve sanitation and hygiene at the hospital, including washing the linens and towels, purchasing necessary kitchen supplies, and emphasizing hand-washing with soap and water, which was not widely practiced at the time. However, through 1855, the mortality rate at the hospital continued to rise, as Nightingale mistakenly believed that nutrition and supply problems were the main cause of the issue, rather than the sanitation problem. A Sanitary Commission found that the hospital was built on a sewer, meaning that the water supply was contaminated and helping to increase the spread of disease.

Nightingale returned to Britain in 1856 having learned from the experience. In the years that followed, she championed sanitary healthand cemented her status as a national hero.

For the next 50 years of her life, she prioritized the establishment of nursing as a respected profession. Her 1859 book Notes on Nursing is still regarded today as a pioneering text, was written in simple language intended for women nursing in the home to understand. One of her first tasks after returning from the war was to set up a training school for nurses in 1860, the first to exist in the world, which still runs today. If you speak to any nurse about nursing, everybody comes to work to do their best for their patient. Through all those years even when she came back from Crimea, that was her purpose in life, says Westwood.

Despite battling depression and being intermittently bedridden from 1857, Nightingale wrote thousands of letters campaigning for public health and workhouse reform, and used her influence to network with Queen Victoria and prominent politicians. It was also from her experience in Crimea that she learned about efficient hospital planning and design. In correspondence with other hospitals around the world, from Sydney to New York City, she shared her knowledge and the resources of the Nightingale Nurses that had been trained through her school.

Significantly, Nightingale backed up her campaigns with evidence, statistics and data visualizations that were easy to understand, using diagrams to show the effects of infection and mortality rates in the Crimean War. She was the pioneer of the first pie chart, says Westwood, comparing the publics need for data during Nightingales time and our own. When the Prime Minister or Chief Medical Officer do their briefings on the coronavirus today, we now see that data published as infographics. Nightingale got it that people wouldnt understand the data unless she made it explicit and unquestionable.

Medical staff and workers take part in a national

While her legacy has endured two centuries later, Nightingales bicentennial comes at a crucial time for nurses on the front lines, and a moment of financial challenge for the museum dedicated to her memory, due to its current closure. Its ironic that many of the field hospitals [in the U.K.] have taken her name, says Green of the Florence Nightingale Museum, which houses almost 3,000 artifacts dedicated to her legacy, but the thing that is always around to remind everyone of her might not be.

For the Florence Nightingale Foundation, which was set up in 1934 to remember her legacy and actively supports nurses and midwifes through scholarship programs, their usual commemoration of Nightingales birthday is adapting to the current lockdown situation. Supported by The Crown actor Helena Bonham Carter, whose great-great-grandmother Joanna was Nightingales aunt, the Foundation is launching the Florence Nightingale White Rose Appeal, through which people worldwide can buy an e-white rose to help support nurses currently working on the front lines. Each rose bought will form part of an actual floral display at Londons Westminster Abbey once lockdown ends, to celebrate the contribution of nurses and midwives everywhere.

Its quite a different bicentenary compared to what Westwood had envisaged, but the woman at its heart would not have shied away from the difficulty.

Celebrations is a weird word at this time, because it is tinged with sadnessso many nurses have died, and we mustnt forget that, Westwood says. But Florence would be so proud of what nurses have managed to achieve during this pandemic.
In a new paper, Lehigh University's Arman Grigoryan contributes to the debate between two intellectual traditions - liberalism and realism - over whether supporting and spreading democracy is an important priority for democratic states

The question of whether democracies behave differently from non-democracies is a central, and intense, debate in the field of international relations. Two intellectual traditions - liberalism and realism - dominate. Liberals argue that democracies do indeed behave differently, while realists insist that regime type and ideology are of little relevance in understanding foreign policy behavior.

Arman Grigoryan, a faculty member in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University has contributed to this debate with a recent article in a top journal, International Security. Grigoryan has focused on a particularly controversial subtopic of this debate, which is whether supporting and spreading democracy is an important priority for democratic states. His answer to that question: No.

Two events have served as triggers for Grigoryan's decision to write the paper. The first was the democratic mass movement in his native Armenia in 2007-2008, or more accurately, the posture the West adopted toward that movement, which Grigoryan describes as one "between indifference and hostility." The other event was a mass movement in another post-Soviet state - the one in Ukraine in 2013-2014 - which the West quickly mobilized to support. Grigoryan found the liberal arguments about the motives for supporting the Ukrainian movement, which were all about supporting a force for democracy, suspect, given what he had observed in Armenia.

"What made the desire to examine this puzzle even more urgent were the realist criticisms of the policy as driven by 'liberal delusions,'" says Grigoryan. "Realism is the theory which has traditionally dismissed claims about the causal relevance of states' regime types and ideological commitments. Yet now even realists were arguing that the policy was driven by ideology, even if they were criticizing it as wrong-headed. But was it ideology?"

A systematic comparison of the West's reactions to the movements in Ukraine and Armenia provided an opportunity to answer that question. The two cases were very similar on most dimensions, yet the outcomes could not have been more different. If ideology drove the policy in Ukraine, why did it not do the same in Armenia? Grigoryan wondered.

Grigoryan focuses on another motive of the West's behavior to answer the question: the rollback of Russian influence in the post-Soviet space.

In Ukraine the purported liberal motive and the motive to pull Ukraine out of Russia's strategic orbit pulled in the same direction, because the Ukrainian movement was intensely hostile to Russia. Support for the Ukrainian movement, in other words, was not particularly informative as far as liberal motives were concerned.

"In Armenia these two motives pushed in opposite directions, because the Armenian mass movement did not have an anti-Russian or any other kind of geopolitical coloring," says Grigoryan. "The lack of Western solidarity with the Armenian movement, therefore, was much more informative."

Grigoryan anticipates an important skeptical question in the article: could the finding from the comparative analysis of the West's reactions to the mass movements in Ukraine and Armenia be nothing more than a strange anomaly, a deviation from an otherwise strict pattern? He dedicates a part of the paper to the examination of the West's overall record in order to answer that question.

He argues that what happened in Ukraine and Armenia is very much in line with the overall pattern.

"Democracy has been supported when such support has dovetailed with certain material interests - geopolitical, economic, or corporate - and never when such interests have diverged from the liberal preference for democracy," says Grigoryan.

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The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a right to information (RTI) activist, Anil Galgali, seeking directions to the state government authorities to conduct a door-to-door screening to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Mumbai.

A two-member division bench of the HC, comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A A Sayed, dismissed the plea, citing practical constraints to carry out the mammoth exercise, as Mumbais population is estimated to be above 1.84 crores.

Galgali, who had filed the plea through advocates Arvind Tiwari, Devendra Shah, and Atal Bihari Dubey, had cited the successful implementation of a similar drive in Rajasthans Bhilwara district and Mumbais Worli Koliwada.

The state government opposed the plea and argued that the population of Bhilwara and Mumbai are incomparable.

The HC bench acceded to the state governments argument and dismissed Galgalis plea.
(TNS)  San Rafael, Calif., has released a plan for a community Wi-Fi network in the Canal area to address longstanding digital inequities that have become more glaring since the coronavirus outbreak.Omar Carrera, executive director of the Latino immigrant and family services nonprofit organization Canal Alliance, said the plan is the first major step taken by the city since he began pitching a more expansive broadband program for the Canal area 15 years ago.While the new Wi-Fi plan does not reach the scale of his vision to serve 10,000 residents with community-catered services, Carrera said it would begin to address the existing crisis within a crisis.We are not just building a solution that only focuses on the short term, Carrera said. I think the recommendation from the city is really to build the foundation that has scalable infrastructure that would allow us to expand the capacity to support the entire community. That should be the goal.The community Wi-Fi project is still in design, but would seek to create a web of 20 Wi-Fi access points on street lights served by three root locations spread throughout the neighborhood. The design would have capacity to serve 500 users at a time, according to the city.Students and residents would be able to tap into the network for free to access a limited set of services and websites needed for education and critical government services such as public health information, unemployment and food stamps.Proponents aim to have the system set up and running by mid-June.The purchase and installation of equipment is expected to cost about $190,000, with an ongoing cost of $55,000 per year, according to Rebecca Woodbury, the citys digital services director. Who would be responsible for paying that ongoing cost has yet to be decided, she said.As proposed, the Wi-Fi network would be administered through the countys existing Marin Information and Data Access Systems network, known as MIDAS.Javier Trujillo, the countys chief assistant director of information services and technology, said MIDAS is used by local jurisdictions throughout the county to access shared applications and internet services.The Canal Wi-Fi network would be a simple addition to the countywide MIDAS network, Trujillo said, and could be mimicked in other parts of the county.Were dealing with a multi-pronged approach to help students in schooling, Trujillo said. If this proves to work like we believe it will and the design is viable and financing is sustainable, I think many areas of the county could benefit from a similar model.Under the plan, students would be given credentials to access a high bandwidth Wi-Fi network where they would be able to access teachers video lessons, websites other educational services. About 2,000 school-aged children reside in the Canal neighborhood, according to the city.Lower bandwidth Wi-Fi service would be available to Canal residents to use to apply for social services programs and access government services. This service would not require credentials.The county, in coordination with San Rafael City Schools and other partners, would be able to filter which websites students and residents could access, Trujillo said.There are limitations under the current plan, but room for expansion, Woodbury said. For instance, Wi-Fi service would be strongest for residences facing streets because they will be closest to the access points, Woodbury said.Over time, we can scale this and scale it pretty quickly, Woodbury said. I think a critical next step is working with property owners on potentially installing access points inside buildings.While the Canal Alliance, city, county and other partners have been brainstorming solutions to the neighborhoods digital divide, little progress and few meetings had taken place since late 2018, in part due to a city intern vacancy.The coronavirus pandemic, in particular the need for students to access class at home through the internet, acted as a catalyst for planning efforts.Where before project proponents were discussing long-term plans, within weeks they developed a plan outline with the help of David Cooper, chief engineer of Marin IT, and Lionel Florit of Cisco Systems.Once I had these two volunteers doing this pro bono, I thought we could actually pull this off, Woodbury said. It just started to snowball.The Wi-Fi mesh is meant to be just one part of a larger solution to the existing internet access issues.San Rafael City Schools has already acquired 450 mobile hotpots and distributed close to 200 to families, school sites and libraries, said Chief Technology Officer Sarah Ashton. The district has distributed about 2,700 Chromebook laptops to students in the past month and a half.Additionally, the district has been helping families apply for Comcasts low-income broadband internet plan, known as Internet Essentials.Each of these steps has limitations, Ashton said, with the mesh Wi-Fi network being an option to provide internet for residents and families that fall between the gaps.While the internet hotspots are a temporary solution, access to adequate internet and devices has been a persistent problem in the Canal, with the Wi-Fi network providing one method to address it, Ashton said.Just because things move back into a more stable situation, I think that the need will still be there to make sure that all students have access to stable internet at home, Ashton said.The majority of families in the Canal are low-income and about a quarter are below the poverty level, according to a 2015 UC Berkeley study. More than 70% of the residents have a high school degree or less, the study states.
James Middleton has shaved off his signature beard - but fans are divided over whether he looks better after the lockdown makeover.

The Duchess of Cambridge's 32-year-old brother shared a sweet video yesterday showing him going clean shaven as a surprise for his fiancee Alizee Thevenet, who had never seen him without facial hair.

Fans were unanimously delighted to be given a sneak peek of James, Alizee and their lockdown life with James and Carole Middleton at the family home in Berkshire - but were torn over how James looked after the shave.

Some claimed Mr Middleton looked more 'distinguished' with facial hair but others said they preferred the fresh-faced 'younger' look. One fan said he looked just like his eldest nephew Prince George, six, without his beard.

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James Middleton has shaved off his signature beard - but fans are divided over whether he looks better after the lockdown makeover. Pictured, with his fiancee in a shot from the video

One fan said that without the beard James looked just like his eldest nephew Prince George, six. Pictured, Prince George clapping for carers in a video released in March

One fan pointed out the similarities between James and his nephew in the comments

One posted: 'Much better, so handsome.' Another wrote: 'Love the clean shaven look.'

A third commented: 'Oh I love this and I love you did it on the back of your truck. Grow it back though.'

One diplomatic fan posted: 'Honestly, I like both! Smooth makes you look a bit younger, but the beard was distinguished. You can always grow one again.'

Others claimed James looks like King George V, the great-great grandfather of his brother-in-law Prince William.

Followers were divided over the results. Some claimed James looks like King George V, the great-great grandfather of his brother-in-law Prince William

'I thought with a beard you bore a strong resemblance to king George V,' one commented.

Another agreed: 'Love it! Still look like George V though. I love her reaction. Blessings on the upcoming nuptials!'

In the short clip, filmed during lockdown where he is isolating at his parents Carole and Michael's very lavish home in Bucklebury, he can be heard saying: 'Seeming as Alizee and myself were due to get married this month, she's never seen me without a beard.

'I thought it was about time to show her what's behind it. In fact, what I'm most worried about is that these lots might not recognise me after. Say goodbye!'

In the short clip, James can be heard explaining that Alizee has never seen him without a beard. Pictured, during the shave

In the video, James explains that the couple were due to get married this month, but that Alizee has never seen him without a beard. Pictured, before

Kate Middleton's brother jokes that he's worried his beloved dogs won't recognised him after his transformation. Pictured, after

He then gets up and heads towards his parents house in Berkeley, where financial expert Alizee, 29, can be seen sitting alongside his parents Carole, 65, and Michael Middleton, 70.

Within seconds, a shocked Alizee runs over to him and squeals: 'Ahhh omg! It's so weird! Even when I kiss you it's different!'

In June, James shared his first picture alongside Alizee, who he started dating two summers ago. The pair were due to marry this month but have been forced to delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As some large retailers begin reopening stores ahead of a moderate relaxation of lockdown rules, it's fair to say things are looking a bit brighter for businesses.

But small retailers and independent stores lack the big budgets, sizeable staff and space that giant chains have and many are wondering how they can prepare to reopen when they are allowed - while protecting employees and customers.

From observing social distancing, to making sure they can deal with suppliers safely and can get enough products to sell, there are many questions that small retailers have. We take a look.

Thousands of small business owners had to shut up shop since the lockdown was announced

DIY stores B&Q and Homebase welcomed customers back earlier in May, while fashion and home retailer Next has shared its safety plans for when the Government restrictions are lifted.

The high street giant said it has plans in place for the repurposing of its stores 'ready to reopen in a socially distanced world,' with measures including the screening of tills, distance marked walkways, sanitisation stations and exit and entry management systems.

But not all businesses have the luxury of being able to make such significant changes to their sites - or a 150+ year-old reputation and a large loyal base of customers who will no doubt return to their stores once it is safe to do so.

So, what if you're a small retail business and you're just as nervous about reopening your store as you were when you were forced to temporarily close?

Government guidance still prevents almost all non-essential travel, making it difficult for SME retailers and hospitality businesses to reopen - particularly if they have an online presence.

But some are starting to think about how to get back on track when restrictions are lifted and the economy attempts to get back to normality.

This is Money spoke London-based law firm Kemp Little LLP, to answer your biggest questions and concerns, with insights from partner Rachael Barber as well as Aneka Chapaneri, Gemma Lockyer and Anna Byford who are part of its specialist retail team.

Rachael Barber is a partner at Kemp Little LLP and advises business owners to reassess their store layouts ahead of reopening

How can I start preparing to reopen my business?

Tracking Government and industry body guidance and best practice across the sector is key, including overseas in countries where restrictions have already been relaxed.

The Government and the British Retail Consortium have published guidance on social distancing in retail stores and warehouses which provides some useful advice for SMEs.

A focused risk assessment is key, as is communicating the protective steps you are taking and why to your staff as your employees are protected under health and safety and employment legislation.

A clear and open line of communication will be central to developing a workforce that is working together to adapt to the new normal when non-food retailers reopen.

You may need to perform a reassessment of your store's layout to ensure customers can reasonably adhere to two-metre social distancing when you think about reopening

What practical changes can I make?

Many recommendations are made based on the experience of food retailers which have been operating social distancing for several weeks, however which of these is right for you will depend on the nature of your business.

You may need to perform a reassessment of your store's layout to ensure customers can reasonably adhere to two-metre social distancing. This might also involve limiting the number of entry and exit points in stores and implementing two-metre queue markers.

If feasible, using plexiglass barriers at all points of regular interaction and reminding colleagues only to come to work if they are well may also help.

Certain retailers may be able offer an appointment-based service, for example, luxury fashion boutiques. Meanwhile, a click and collect service might work for other businesses.

Maximising e-commerce - selling through your own website - will remain extremely important for some time to come.

Should I buy personal protective equipment?

Retailers may wish to provide staff with personal protective equipment though there are already supply issues that health care workers are facing.

It is likely that some stores will introduce longer opening hours to spread footfall across the day, particularly in larger out of town sites.

If staffing numbers are a problem, then opening for a shorter timeframe may be more beneficial than remaining fully closed.

Can I ask my staff and customers about their health?

Asking questions about a worker's or customer's health and testing temperatures in store or at entrances involves the collection of their health data.

Retailers should be careful when collecting this type of information as it is given more protection under data protection laws due to its inherent sensitivity.

If you choose to take this approach, it will need to involve being transparent, fair and risk-conscious.

The most important things to think about will be clearly communicating your measures to workers and customers by putting up notices in store and updating website privacy notices and ensuring all measures are monitored and stopped as soon as it is safe to do so.

(L to R) Aneka Chapaneri, Gemma Lockyer and Anna Byford are part of the retail team at Kemp Little LLP and share their tips on how SMEs can prepare to reopen in a post-coronavirus world

What should I tell my customers as I plan to reopen?

Communication will be paramount; a decision to reopen needs to be taken at the right time. You will want to let customers know well in advance that you are planning to open but also what measures you are taking to keep everyone safe.

Websites will need to be updated with this information which should also be posted on social media channels, if you have them.

You will also need to be mindful of the reputational risk at stake if you open too soon or if you are seen to take under (or over) reactive measures.

Communication is key: You will want to let customers know well in advance that you are planning to open but also what measures you are taking to keep everyone safe

How do I make sure my supply chain can support me?

You should not assume that you can go straight back to placing orders under the current conditions, as your suppliers may not have the goods themselves or the means of transporting them to you.

We would advise talking to your suppliers openly about what their supply chain looks like and making sure you have received any comfort you need that they'll be able to fulfil your orders before incurring the costs of reopening your store.

Any discussions which have the potential to alter the rights you have under a contract should be done carefully.

You do not want to accidentally waive any rights or change the terms of the contracts without realising. We would recommend discussing this with a lawyer.

What if footfall does not return?

You can use your online presence to encourage customers back into store, for example by using your social media channels to attract customers with new stock or just to remind them of some of their old favourites, even if you aren't able to sell products online.

In any online promotions, be sure not to mislead your customers as to the benefits of the sale or the stock available.

Could reopening my store cause my brand harm?

Deciding when to reopen your store requires you to balance many competing pressures. You need to be able to keep your staff and your customers safe, but you also need to keep your business afloat.

You should consider leaving the decision of when to reopen to the experts. By following the official guidance you are less likely to see any form of backlash from customers or any regulatory body which might damage your reputation.

Now is probably not the time to be the market leader but to play it safe.

You should not assume you can go straight back to placing orders under the current conditions, as your suppliers may not have the goods or the means of transporting them
A 31-year-old petty criminal became involved in a sinister plot by the Kinahan cartel to murder their arch enemy Patrick 'Patsy' Hutch because of the influence the cartel-aligned 'Mr Flashy' gang had on him.

The Special Criminal Court heard yesterday that Mark Capper, of Cappagh Green, Finglas, "poured cold water on" and withdrew from a plan to murder 'The Monk's' brother 'Patsy' Hutch three days before it was due to take place.

Capper is closely linked with associates of mobster 'Mr Flashy', including his younger brother Scott Capper (30), and is suspected of becoming involved in the plot through these connections.

"He isn't a serious criminal by any means and would have been enlisted because he was completely broke and down on his luck, but also because his links to Flashy's crew meant he could be trusted," a source said.

"Mark Capper has 65 previous convictions but they are mainly for minor offences and despite being a big lad, he was never known for involvement in violence.

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"He was viewed by more senior criminals as being a bit soft or slow because he had gone to a special needs school.

"In fact, before Capper pulled out of the murder plot, other criminals involved in it were raising serious concerns about his capabilities in relation to it."

Mark's brother Scott, who is a key member of the Kinahan-aligned 'Mr Flashy' gang, is serving three-and-a-half years in jail for taking part in two savage assaults in Dublin city centre pubs.

Yesterday, the non-jury court heard evidence of how the Kinahan gang operates a hierarchical structure, with compartmentalised "sub-cells" acting independently of one another.

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The arrival of Storm Emma scuppered the gang's first bid to murder Hutch, the court also heard.

Mark Capper pleaded guilty to having knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation and participating in activities intended to facilitate the commission of a serious offence by that criminal organisation, or any of its members, to wit the murder of Patrick Hutch within the State between February 1 and March 10, 2018, both dates inclusive.

Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher told the Special Criminal Court that he was satisfied the criminal organisation that targeted Hutch was the Kinahan gang - the first time the murderous international gang has been named publicly by gardai in court.

He said the Kinahan gang was a criminal organisation involved in serious offences, including murderous feuds, and drug and firearms trafficking.

Det Supt Gallagher told senior counsel for the DPP Sean Gillane that the gang developed sub-cells with members who were given activities to carry out by the higher level. He said there were further hierarchical structures within the different cells, while each group would not be aware of what the other sub-cells were doing.

Det Supt Gallagher told the court the sub-cells operated to "benefit and enhance the capabilities" of the criminal organisation.

The cell assigned to murder Hutch involved up to 10 people, the detective told the court. It involved a ruse to lure him from his home and included participants such as a spotter to give the hit team a signal, and the gunman, who would be taken to the scene on a motorbike.

Det Supt Gallagher agreed with counsel for the defence, Seamus Clarke SC, that Capper was a "foot soldier" in the organisation.

He was one of a number of cell operatives put under surveillance by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the court heard. Audio surveillance of a vehicle recorded Capper asking Michael Burns - who has also pleaded guilty to the same offence - for a loan of 50, which he was refused.

Capper was heard telling Burns he wouldn't be sitting in the back of the car if he had any money, the court heard.

Det Supt Gallagher told the court that this shed light on Capper's financial motivation.

On February 27, 2018, Capper was heard on audio expressing concerns about the plan and also about the garda protection post at Champions Avenue in Dublin, near Hutch's home.

Det Supt Gallagher told Mr Gillane that Capper expressed a reluctance to carry out the murder and wanted more time. Mr Burns is heard telling Capper: "I don't think you are up for this pal, I genuinely don't." The original plan was scuppered because of Storm Emma, the attempted murder being postponed until March 10, 2018.

Det Supt Gallagher agreed with Mr Gillane that there were reservations expressed by other members of the gang about Capper's involvement. Mr Clarke told the court that Capper poured cold water on the plan and Det Supt Gallagher agreed the defendant had challenged it.

He added that Capper expressed concerns about feeling it was a bit rushed and about the time-frame. Mr Clarke said another member of the gang referred to Mr Capper as an "eejit". Capper pulled out of the attempted murder plans three days before the plot was foiled by gardai who swooped on the gang on March 10, 2018.

Det Supt Gallagher said Capper was not a subject of the investigation days before the attempted murder of Hutch as he was dissatisfied with the plan and others involved were dissatisfied with him.

The court heard Capper has 65 previous convictions and suffered from a drug problem. He was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, had an IQ of 63 at 13 and attended a school for pupils with learning disabilities.

Dublin man Burns (43), of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of a criminal organisation contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 between February 1, 2018, and March 10, 2018, both dates inclusive, within the State with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, participated in activities intending to facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, namely the murder of Mr Hutch.

A three-man "hit-for-hire team" was last year given combined jail time of 36-and-a-half years for their roles in the murder plot. Brothers Glen and Gary Thompson were each sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison, while Robert Browne was jailed for 11-and-a-half years for possessing weapons with intent to endanger life.
Amid the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown, India will begin its second phase of bringing back stranded Indians in foreign countries from May 16, said sources on Tuesday. The second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission will take place from May 16-22. During this time, the Centre will bring back stranded Indians from 31 countries, added the sources. A total of 149 flights will be deployed, including feeder flights.

A total of 6,037 Indians have been flown back to India in 31 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission in five days beginning from May 7. The Centre started Vande Bharat Mission - one of the largest initiatives to repatriate nationals back to India, on May 7. Under this mission, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs and state governments for bringing Indians back to their homeland.

Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express are operating a total of 64 flights (42 by Air India & 24 by AI Express) to 12 countries viz. USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase.

Each and every function in this massive air evacuation mission strictly adhere to the safety and hygiene protocol laid down by the Government and DGCA. MoCA, AAI and Air India leave no stone unturned to prioritize the safety of passengers, the crew and ground handling staff in these sensitive medical evacuation missions. Extensive and meticulous safety arrangements are made in accordance with government guidelines.

The government had on May 5 announced that it will operate at least 64 flights between May 7-13 to bring back stranded Indians. 64 flights will be operated from May 7 to May 13 to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said.

Puri had said that the Indians stranded abroad will be charged for flights bringing them home. ''All passengers will be charged on repatriation flights. Rs 50,000 per passenger for London-Delhi flight, Rs 12,000 for Dhaka-Delhi flight,'' the Minister had said. He also stated that those arriving by repatriation flights will be screened and put under a 14-day quarantine.

The Minister added that all prescribed health guidelines will be followed while bringing the passengers home. The Aviation Minister had further added, ''Out of 64 flights to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, 11 from nine countries will land in Tamil Nadu.
A migrant labourer was killed while another was seriously injured when a car hit them on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway near Ambala Cantonment on Tuesday morning, police said.

A group of migrant labourers told the police that they were headed towards their native village in Bihar's Purnia district from Punjab's Ludhiana on foot when the incident occurred.

The driver of the car fled the spot along with the vehicle after the incident, the police said, adding that they have got inputs about the vehicle and the driver would be nabbed soon.

The deceased was identified as Ashok Kumar (25) while the injured labourer was admitted to the civil hospital at Ambala Cantonment, they said.

One of the labourers, who was part of the group, said around a dozen of them had commenced the journey on foot from Ludhiana two days ago as they were not able to register themselves for boarding one of the special trains of the Indian Railways.

The railways is running "Shramik" trains from various places for migrant labourers who want to go back to their native states.

One of the labourers said they decided to go back to their village in Bihar as the owner of the factory where they worked removed them from their jobs and there was no arrangement for their accommodation or food.

After the post-mortem examination, the body of the deceased will be kept in the mortuary at the civil hospital, the police said, adding that his relatives were being informed.
The global coronavirus pandemic has spread to 187 countries and territories, infecting more than 4.17 million people. Most countries, especially those with a skyrocketing caseload, grapple with a lack of hospital beds and facilities to cater to every patient infected with the virus. Now, a team of researchers may have the solution to this problem  a smart health system to monitor patients who are in home isolation.

The researchers from Cairo University in Egypt suggest a smart health system may help reduce the burden on hospitals, leaving only severe and critical patients in the facilities. Known as the EQuarantine system, the new technology monitors coronavirus patients remotely, especially those in home-quarantine.

The proposed smart health system for monitoring infected coronavirus remotely based on Internet-of-Things devices

Monitoring patients remotely

Amid the coronavirus crisis, many patients who are infected with the virus are left without the care they need, particularly those who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms. It is essential to monitor them because of the nature of the disease, which may lead to drastic and abrupt changes in their health status.

The new system is based on combined data from various sensors to detect disease progression and severity. The patient's heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate can be monitored. Further, the blood pH of the patient can also be measured in real-time. Blood pH can indicate the patient's overall health status.

The vital signs readings and other data gathered will be combined to determine the patient's health status. The EQuarantine system could also help monitor many uses simultaneously.

The research team proposes the use of artificial intelligence to monitor patients remotely, with the guarantee that patients still receive medicines and the care they need, without overwhelming the health system.

"The proposed system enables monitoring patients from their homes that save governmental cost and time through measuring the changes in patient's medical readings. It will serve humanity in the reduction of coronavirus infection and save healthcare members around the world. It also saves hospital places for emergency cases," the researchers wrote in the paper.

The EQuarantine system monitors the patient's case flow and estimates the emergency causes in 24 hours by as much as 98.7 percent. It bases its result from five parameters  heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, body temperature, and blood pH level.

What is smart health?

The primary purpose of smart health is remotely monitored patients for a disease that can help save lives, time, and cost. Monitoring the patient's condition in real-time can help reduce hospital costs, especially during a pandemic where most hospitals are grappling with high numbers of patients.

With the remote monitoring of patients, those who are in home isolation or quarantine during the pandemic are still taken care of without the risk of infecting others, such as health workers.

Due to the technological advancements in the field of medicine, smart health has been the focus of research. Smart health can provide aid in situations like this since it can monitor the patient in several ways  text, audio, and video. Sensors are used to get a real-time update of the patient's health condition.

Combining machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence, the novel technology can predict and evaluate patients who are quarantined in their homes.

Combining data for health workers

Aside from smart health, the researchers explored the use of deep learning and the data fusion process to come up with an idea for a home monitoring system, which was published in the open-source preprint server Arxiv.

Deep learning is a type of artificial intelligence function that mimics the works of the brain in processing data and generating patterns for decision making. It is also called a deep neural network or deep neural learning. The essential idea of this function depends on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which is a new trend in active research. It involves big data analysis for many applications, such as pattern recognition, natural language processing, speech recognition, and computer vision, among others.

Further, the new system will also need a data fusion process to gather and mix multiple sources of data. Data fusion is the process needed to provide more accurate results, thanks to many data sources. With a sound data fusion system, doctors can have an idea of the patient's health status that can guide decision making in the plan for care.

"The proposed smart Health System aims at monitoring coronavirus patients for remotely quarantine. It targets saving thousands of lives from infection or death. It depends on the integration between artificial intelligence and internet-of-things for fusing multiple sensory data from various medical sensors to detect the degree of development of the disease and the seriousness of the health condition," the researchers wrote.

*Important Notice

Arxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 05:23:10|Editor: huaxia

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Zoran Zaev, the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) party leader, speaks to reporters following a meeting of the ruling and opposition parties in Skopje, North Macedonia, May 12, 2020. Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties in North Macedonia failed to reach an agreement on a new date for early parliamentary elections at a meeting called by President Stevo Pendarovski, local media reported on Tuesday. (Photo by Tomislav Georgiev/Xinhua)

SKOPJE, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties in North Macedonia failed to reach an agreement on a new date for early parliamentary elections at a meeting called by President Stevo Pendarovski, local media reported on Tuesday.

During the meeting, according to a statement of the President's Office, political leaders concluded that the citizens' health is a priority and a date will be announced after consultations with the Committee for Infectious Diseases, the State Election Commission and the OCSE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Office.

"In terms of next steps, leaders agreed to seek the opinion of the Committee for Infectious Diseases in terms of measures and protocols to be followed during the electoral process in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic," read the statement.

The President's Office announced that party leaders will meet again next week to discuss further steps.

The meeting was attended by the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) party leader Zoran Zaev, VMRO-DPMNE's leader Hristijan Mickoski, Ali Ahmeti from the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferri and other political representatives.

The current governmental cabinet in North Macedonia was elected on Jan. 3, as a transitional government that should organize fair, democratic and credible elections.

On Feb. 16, North Macedonia's lawmakers voted to dissolve the 120-seat parliament, paying the way for early elections.

As of Tuesday, health authorities have reported a total of 1,674 coronavirus cases in North Macedonia, with 1,205 recoveries and 92 fatalities. Enditem
HUDSON, Ohio, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parts and accessories eCommerce is up 42% since the first week of March 2020, according to Hedges & Company data.

Aftermarket parts & accessories online sales by week, starting the first week of March before widespread coronavirus shutdowns.

Hedges & Company, a digital marketing agency serving the automotive aftermarket, OEM parts and powersports industries, is tracking weekly eCommerce activity in the automotive aftermarket, OEM parts and powersports aftermarket industries. The company analyzed nearly 12 million user sessions and online purchases from parts and accessory websites in the US and Canada. The analysis includes retailer websites as well as manufacturer websites selling direct to consumer (DTC).

The analysis compares weekly online sales starting March 1-7, before the coronavirus pandemic forced wide-spread shutdowns of retail businesses. The latest eCommerce comparison covers the week of May 3-11, the ninth week of the analysis.

Hedges & Company broke down online sales into five market segments, including OEM replacement parts, light truck and off-road parts and accessories, performance and racing parts, aftermarket accessories, and powersports parts and accessories. Here are sales increases for the week of May 3-9 compared to the week of March 1-7:

Overall aftermarket eCommerce sales including automotive, light truck and powersports: up 42%.

OEM replacement parts sales: Up 14%.

Light truck and off-road parts sales: Up 37%.

Performance/racing parts sales: Up 26%.

Powersports parts and accessories: Up 126%.

Automotive aftermarket accessories: Up 41%.

Aftermarket eCommerce websites are showing an average 11% improvement in website conversion rates for the first ten days of May, compared to the first 10 days of March.

Average session duration was down 1.4% in May and pages per session was up only slightly, at 1%. Both metrics suggest online shoppers had an idea of what they wanted to buy when visiting a website. The number of visits to aftermarket websites by new visitors in May was up nearly 6%.

Hedges & Company is publishing regular updates as a service to the parts and accessories industry. Other eCommerce companies in the aftermarket are invited to share in the analysis by contacting Hedges & Company. Regular updates on the coronavirus crisis and covid-19, and the impact to the automotive aftermarket, are on the company's website at: https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-automotive-aftermarket/

About Hedges & Company:

A full-service digital marketing agency serving the auto parts and accessories aftermarket, OEM parts, and powersports industries since 2004. Automotive digital marketing capabilities include automotive SEO and PPC, email marketing, automotive market research and mailing lists. Hedges & Company is the first Premier Google Partner agency and Microsoft Advertising agency fully dedicated to the parts and accessories aftermarket. Members of SEMA, Auto Care Association and CAN. For more information call (234) 380-1650.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Jon Hedges [email protected] 234.380.1650, Julie Hedges [email protected]

SOURCE Hedges & Company
The White House is declining the invitation for Peter Navarro to testify based on the longstanding precedent, followed by administrations of both political parties, rooted in clearly established constitutional doctrines, and supported by the Department of Justice, that senior advisors to the President generally do not testify before Congress, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement Tuesday.

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House Democrats have long balked at the White Houses position, arguing it is curtails their ability to fulfill their oversight obligations of the executive branch.

Navarros refusal to testify comes as the White House, under new chief of staff Mark Meadows, is trying to curb the attempts by House Democrats to secure testimony from prominent officials as they try to conduct oversight of the administration. In a recent memo to congressional committees, the Trump White House said that demands on staff and resources are extraordinary and that officials cannot testify without Meadowss approval.

Navarros rebuffing of the committee sets up a potential showdown over his testimony in the coming weeks.

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The Washington Post obtained a copy of Navarros invitation from a person who was not authorized to share the document. In the May 7 letter to Navarro, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) invites Navarro to testify on Thursday before the subcommittee, which she chairs.

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I am writing to invite you to testify, Eshoo writes. The Subcommittee hearing is titled, Protecting Scientific Integrity in the covid-19 Response. 

The letter  an invitation rather than a formal congressional subpoena demanding testimony  is part of an effort by Eshoo to broaden the ongoing congressional inquiry of the whistleblower complaint of Rick Bright, a former top vaccine official removed from his post last month. Brights attorney, Debra Katz, confirmed last week that he will appear at Eshoos subcommittee hearing.

Ousted vaccine official alleges he was demoted for prioritizing science and safety

Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, alleged in a whistleblower complaint that he was reassigned to a less prestigious role because he tried to prioritize science and safety over political expediency and raised health concerns over a drug pushed by Trump as a possible coronavirus cure.

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Bright also mentions Navarro throughout his complaint, casting him as a Trump White House official who shared his apprehension about the administrations preparedness.

Brights complaint states that Navarro clearly shared Dr. Brights concerns about the potential devastation the United States would face from the coronavirus and asked Dr. Bright to identify the supply chain and medical countermeasures most critical to address at that time, in early February, to save lives.

Bright also asserts in the complaint that he resisted pressure from HHS political leadership to make potentially harmful drugs widely available, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which Trump has repeatedly heralded, and urged people to take both from his Twitter account and the White House lectern. The presidents associates, including Fox host Laura Ingraham and Trumps personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, have touted the drug as a treatment for covid-19, the disease the coronavirus causes, in private Oval Office meetings and phone calls.

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In a statement to The Post, Eshoo said she invited Dr. Navarro to testify because he is a key figure in Dr. Brights whistleblower complaint and is a high-level authority in the Trump administration who took Dr. Brights warnings seriously. Its unfortunate the administration is not willing to make witnesses available to the House.

Eshoo added, Congress and the American people would benefit from hearing a complete account from witnesses included in Dr. Brights complaint to better understand what was needed in the early days of this public health crisis to protect the American people and our nations health care workers.

Eshoo has spoken publicly in recent weeks about inviting two other Trump administration officials: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response. Both are mentioned throughout Brights whistleblower complaint.

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Azar and Kadlec have received similar letters from Eshoo, a White House aide said Tuesday and, like Navarro, do not plan to respond or appear at Thursdays hearing. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss private deliberations.

An HHS spokesperson declined to comment.

The House hearing comes as the Republican-controlled Senate is also seeking testimony from administration officials.

Fauci warns Senate that reopening U.S. too quickly could lead to avoidable suffering and death

Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert and a member of Trumps coronavirus task force, testified before the Senates Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday. But the White House has blocked Fauci from testifying before a House subcommittee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, arguing that it would be counterproductive for him to appear as he works on the governments response to the pandemic.

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Earlier this month, however, Trump offered a different explanation. He said he wouldnt let Fauci testify before members of the House because they were a bunch of Trump haters.

Fauci testified on Tuesday that reopening the economy should be done methodically and with caution.

If some areas, cities, states or what-have-you, jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks, Fauci said. I have been very clear in my message  to try, to the best extent possible, to go by the guidelines, which have been very well thought-out and very well-delineated.

Yasmeen Abutaleb contributed to this report.
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to make education outcomes worse and without aggressive policy, the virus outbreak across the globe will have immediate costs on both learning and health of children and youth, according to the World Banks education team.

Experts from the World Bank have pointed out that even before the pandemic, the world was facing a learning crisis and already off track to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4, which commits all nations to ensure that, among other ambitious targets, all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.

The World Bank has been working with different UN agencies in forming guidelines as well as policy suggestions for minimising impact of the pandemic on education sector.

Before the pandemic, 258 million children and youth of primary- and secondary-school age were out of school and low schooling quality meant many who were in school learned too little. Even worse, the crisis was not equally distributed. The most disadvantaged children and youth had the worst access to schooling, highest dropout rates, and the largest learning deficits, the team has pointed out in a report titled The COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks to Education and Policy Responses.

According to Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education at the World Bank, the pandemic now threatens to make education outcomes even worse. The pandemic has already had profound impacts on education by closing schools almost everywhere in the planet, in the largest simultaneous shock to all education systems in our lifetimes. The damage will become even more severe as the health emergency translates into a deep global recession, he said.

The World Banks education team asserted that it is possible to counter the shocks and turn crisis into opportunity.

The first step is to cope successfully with school closures, by protecting health and safety and doing what they can to prevent students learning loss using remote learning. At the same time, countries need to start planning for school reopening. That means preventing dropout, ensuring healthy school conditions, and using new techniques to promote rapid learning recovery in key areas once students are back in school, the report said.

As the school system stabilizes, countries can use the focus and innovativeness of the recovery period to build back better. The key is to not replicate the failures of the pre-COVID systems, but instead build toward improved systems and accelerated learning for all students, it added.

Pointing out that there are long term costs involved, the team has called for aggressive policy action.

The policies to turn this around can be grouped in three overlapping phases--coping, managing continuity, improving and accelerating. As rules around social distancing are gradually relaxed, systems need to ensure that schools reopen safely, student dropout is minimized, and learning recovery starts, it said.

According to UNESCO estimates, over 154 crore students are severely impacted by closure of educational institutions across the world amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

UN agencies--UNESCO and UNICEF along with World Bank and the World Food Programme, had recently come up with guidelines on how to safely reopen schools in view of COVID-19 and also warned that widespread closures of educational facilities present an unprecedented risk to childrens education and wellbeing.

Globally, over 41 lakh people have been infected with COVID-19, and the total number of deaths from the deadly virus now stands at 2.83 lakh. PTI GJS GJS DV DV
A driver from Uttarakhand spent 40 days in his truck near the border with Rajasthan amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, before he reached his home district of Champawat, where he has been isolated for 14 days by local authorities.

Forty-seven days after he began his journey, Sunil Kumar reached Champawat on Saturday. Kumar, a resident of Munch area of Champawat, has been driving a truck while based in Delhi for the past six years.

According to Kumar, he was stuck due to the lockdown and spent 40 days in his truck near the border with Rajasthan.

I left for Hyderabad from Delhi on March 22. I reached Shahpura area near the Delhi-Rajasthan border on March 23, and I was stranded there due to the lockdown, he said.

Rajasthan Police didnt allow me to proceed and Delhi Police didnt allow me to go back. So there was no way to go anywhere. I decided to wait in the truck. I had a stove and rations for a few days and I cooked food inside the truck. Later I bought food from a nearby grocery shop, he said.

Kumar added, It was a very difficult time, waiting day in and day out. Sometimes, the difference between days and nights didnt seem to matter. I would spend my nights counting the stars. I was hoping the lockdown would end on April 24, and then I would be able to go home or to Hyderabad. But the lockdown was extended and my difficulties continued.

He faced many problems while living in the truck  he wasnt able to charge his mobile phone after some time and couldnt remain in touch with his family.

Weird thoughts would cross my mind. I missed my family, especially my pregnant wife. There were times when I thought whether I would ever reach my home, Kumar said.

When the lockdown was relaxed and commercial vehicles were allowed to ply on May 3, he moved out and reached Delhi two days later.

In Delhi, l left my truck at my transport agencys office. I registered to return on my state governments website. My health screening was done and I boarded a bus for Uttarakhand. With the help of authorities from my state, I finally reached Champawat on the morning of May 9, he said.

The local authorities quarantined me in a shelter and took my samples for the coronavirus test. When my report came negative on Sunday, they sent me for home quarantine for 14 days.

Kumar said he was happy to be finally home. Now I will go to Delhi only after my wife delivers the baby. Sometimes in my sleep, I still feel I am in the truck, he said.
Elkhart, Indiana--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - ResGreen Group (OTC Pink: RGGI) CEO Parashar (Parsh) Patel today clarified that he republished the last announcement in order to refresh the fact the Company has secured 5,000 square feet of space needed to give live demonstrations of its Artificial intelligence Robotics and its New Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR). The space located at 14614 East 9 Mile Road Eastpointe; MI 48021 is needed to show off the capability of its sophisticated robotics and AMR in real time and is now under reconfiguration to give those live demonstrations.

RGGI made prior announcement of securing corporate HQ in Eastpointe, Michigan. Further to that announcement the company wished to announce that this facility will be used to test its Artificial intelligence Robotics and its New Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) currently under development. This facility will house a test track to test and showcase different functionalities and features of AMR in flexible automation application. A designated area of the building is apportioned to a classroom for training application engineers as well as hands on diagnostics training. The remainder of the facility will be setup for low volume production cells to manufacture the AMR's as well as warehouse subassemblies for the units.

Mr. Patel continued, "I am excited about procuring this facility that will add cohesion to R&D, Engineering, Applications and sales group and that is good for our customers as they seek nimbler solution to remake the manufacturing amenable to COVID-19 issues."

Patel continued, "As I mentioned before the fundamental difference between AGVs and AMRs can be summed up by the difference noted between a guided vehicle and a robot. A guided vehicle follows fixed routes, usually along wires or magnets embedded in the ground - not unlike the difference between a train and an automobile. An AGV robot is probably clever enough to use simple sensors in order to avoid hitting obstacles that pop up in its way, but it's not clever enough to go around them. In fact, AGVs aren't clever at all - without much on-board intelligence, they can only obey simple orders. This means that AGV robots tend to get into trouble when anything isn't exactly the way they like it. This is in addition to their notorious reputation when it comes to adapting to change. If you want them to expand their work area, for example, it's an expensive and time-consuming hassle."

"A robotic AMR is much more sophisticated. It's packed with sensors and powerful on-board computers that help it to understand its operating environment."

"An AMR is much more sophisticated. It's packed with sensors and powerful on-board computers that help it to understand its operating environment. Rather than being restricted to fixed routes, an AMR can instead navigate dynamically using a map, allowing it to plan its own paths and travel quickly and efficiently. AMRs are smart enough to recognize and react to people, cars, forklifts, and more. They safely perform their jobs no matter how busy the surrounding environment and can even do futuristic things like following a specific person wherever they need to go, mother duck-like."

"Please visit our new and exciting website at http://resgreenint.com/ to stay informed of our progress and industry updates," Patel concluded.

The overall robotic industry is expected to grow from USD 2.0 billion in 2019 to USD 2.9 billion by 2024 at a CAGR of 7.8%. More information can be found at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automated-guided-vehicle-market-27462395.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA3uDwBRBFEiwA1VsajA37Sm51oAOKal2ptATWn0Dvzzpqmw0VloUrbN1BiKihtFADkrwxxBoCVuIQAvD_BwE

ABOUT RESGREEN GROUP INTERNATIONAL, INC.

RGGI is using certain Know-how and Intellectual Property (IP) that it possesses and looks to acquire and develop components for material handling logistics. This includes its Artificial intelligence Robotics, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and mobile technologies.

RGGI's highly skilled engineers have years of professional engineering experience in this space and plans to remain focused and highly motivated to execute on its business strategy to develop certain Artificial Intelligence Robotics.

Safe Harbor:

This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of ResGreen Group International Inc. with members of its management team as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

Contact:

ResGreen Group International, Inc.

Parashar (Parsh) Patel, President and CEO

Email: info@resgreenint.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55748
Recent books of interest:

BROWN ALBUM: Essays on Exile and Identity, by Porochista Khakpour. (Vintage, paper, $16.) In these essays, spanning more than a decade, the Iranian-American novelist and memoirist reflects on assimilation and the burdens of being Middle Eastern in todays America.

THE LAW OF LINES, by Hye-young Pyun. Translated by Sora Kim-Russell. (Arcade, $24.99.) Pyuns simmering thriller, translated from the Korean, follows two young women grieving the loss of heavily indebted relatives: Se-ohs father in a gas explosion, Ki-jeongs half sister in a drowning. Both women suspect foul play.

THE PLANTER OF MODERN LIFE: Louis Bromfield and the Seeds of a Food Revolution, by Stephen Heyman. (Norton, $26.95.) Bromfield was a literary star of the Lost Generation  he won a Pulitzer in 1927 for his novel Early Autumn  but he gave up the writing life to become a devoted advocate of sustainable farming.

THE PRICE OF PEACE: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, by Zachary D. Carter. (Random House, $35.) With a wide angle, Carter shows how Keyness influential views on economics grew from concerns about war, philosophy and his theories of the good life.
Totally, the border guards processed 13,800 people at the border

Terminal B of Ukraine's biggest airport Open source

During the past 24 hours, the border guards of detached checkpoint Kyiv processed four evacuation flights from Baku, London, Rome and Tel Aviv as the Interior Ministry reported.

All citizens mandatory passed the temperature screening. People with fever were not observed. No passengers complained about bad feeling, the message said.

It is reported that during the passport control, the border guard checked the data put in Diya app by the passengers.

Totally, the border guards processed 13,800 people at the border.

In Ukraine, aboveground public transport will start to work after May 22 with restriction: with the observation of mask requirement, temperature screening, disinfection.

As we reported, Ukraines Cabinet of Ministers intends to extend the lockdown in Ukraine until May 22. However, some easing is expected. So, that is what should be expected to start from May 11: the opening of parks, squares, recreation areas, beauty salons, summer venues of food establishments, libraries, museums.
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The U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is holding a hearing Thursday to question top officials from the White House coronavirus task force about plans to ease restrictions and reopen the economy.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci is scheduled to speak as well as Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir and Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, are also due to speak.

Fauci reportedly plans to warn states that prematurely reopening their economies will cause "needless suffering and death," according to The New York Times.

"The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely," Fauci wrote to the Times. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."

President Donald Trump issued broad federal guidelines about a month ago titled "Opening Up America Again." The guidance lays out criteria for states that includes 14 days of decreases in daily new cases among other measures. States, which have imposed their own containment measures to try to slow the spread of the disease, are not legally required to follow the White House's instructions.

Dozens of states have since reopened parts of the economy and lifted restrictions. Some states, such as Georgia, did so without meeting the criteria laid out by the White House. The CDC has since created a 17-page 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 was supposed to be published at the beginning of this month, but was shelved by the Trump administration. Agency scientists were told the guidance "would never see the light of day," according to a CDC official.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.




An anti-vaxxer nurse who was arrested at a coronavirus lockdown protest on Saturday accidentally ran over a journalist who was chasing her for an interview.

Renee Altakrity, 36, is refusing media interviews after a whirlwind few days which saw her arrested outside New South Wales parliament house on Saturday afternoon for refusing to cooperate with police.

Dramatic footage from Nine News has emerged showing reporter Laura Banks being thrown to the ground as Ms Altakrity attempts to flee the media scrum wearing a hat and large sunglasses.

Dramatic footage from Nine News has emerged showing reporter Laura Banks being thrown to the ground as Ms Altakrity attempts to flee the media scrum wearing a hat and large sunglasses

A loud crunch can be heard as the nurse drives over the female journalist's foot before she's flung to the ground beside the car.

Ms Altakrity stops to ask if she's okay, as she simply responds 'nup' while lying on the ground with her head in her hands.

The Seven News reporter was taken the hospital with a foot injury according to Nine News.

Ms Banks was also injured on the job in April 2017 after Auburn Mayor Salim Mehajer slammed his car door on her as she was questioning him outside a Sydney police station.

A loud crunch can be heard as the nurse drives over the female journalist's foot before she's flung to the ground beside the car.

The reporter was taken the hospital with a foot injury

Ms Banks was also injured on the job in April 2017 after Auburn Mayor Salim Mehajer slammed his car door on her as she was questioning him outside a Sydney police station

She was left with back and hand injuries after the incident which resulted in Mehajer being found guilty on an assault charge.

During the sentencing, Magistrate Joanne Keogh criticised Ms Banks' behaviour, saying she had led a 'predatory pack' of journalists who were covering the story, reported the Australian.

'Ironically, the impression created [by footage of the incident] was of Mr Mehajer who was the victim and Ms Banks and her cohorts in the media who were [subjecting him] to the most appalling and predatory behaviour,' Magistrate Keogh said.

Cosmetic nurse Renee Altakrity is no longer talking to journalists and has engaged a lawyer to keep the media at a distance as she awaits court proceedings over her charges.

She was arrested on Saturday for after refusing to identify herself when police attempted to fine her for breaching COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

She has been airing her frustration with the way authorities handled her including ripping her four year old son Isaac out of her arms so they could put her in the back of a paddywagon.

While Mrs Altakrity believes she was unfairly targeted, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Monday said he supported his officers' choices - and hoped the cosmetic nurse would plead not guilty in court.

'I think the police showed an enormous amount of restraint. I certainly hope she pleads not guilty so that [police body cam] footage comes out,' he said.

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

Commissioner Fuller also told 2GB's Ben Fordham he felt sorry for Isaac.

'They all went there knowing it was an unlawful protest so why you're taking a four-year-old into that situation is beyond me,' he said.

'If this woman had given police her details at the scene, she would've been given a ticket and would've left but she refused to do that. She caused this.'

But Mrs Altakrity argued her son wanted to be there to protest his own rights, too.

She told Daily Mail Australia he wanted to be there because he thinks skate parks should reopen.

'The point for me exercising our rights is to stick up for ourselves and have freedom of speech,' Mrs Altakrity said.

Renee Altakrity (pictured) has been accused of running her beauty business during the coronavirus lockdown

Police attempted to arrest the woman, while her son, Isaac, screamed and cried. 'Mummy is not going,' he said

'My son wanted to come with me. He said: ''Mum can I come? I'd love to put a sign up about the fact that I want to go back to the skate parks and not feel scared''.'

'I don't keep my kids in the shadows... my children are very aware of what is going on and I think it is very important our children know how to handle themselves and have a freedom of speech, even at four.'

'My children are very opinionated, they probably get that from me, but he had every right to be there.'

Up to 40 people gathered outside parliament house on Macquarie Street in Sydney from midday on Saturday as part of the 'Exercise My Rights' protest.

In addition to the COVID-19 restrictions, among their other grievances was the need for NRL players and those visiting aged care homes to have had the flu vaccination.

Mrs Altakrity admitted she was against vaccinations, but said that was not the main reason she was protesting.

Mrs Altakrity appeared to fight off attempts to put her in the back of a paddy wagon and continued to claim she was not doing anything wrong

Mrs Altakrity (pictured) was pulled away from her screaming son by police officers during an 'Exercise My Rights' protest outside New South Wales parliament house on Saturday

At Saturday's protest she had a yellow sign hung around her neck that read: 'If you don't know your rights, you don't have any. Magna Carta.'

When police officers approached her about 3.50pm she insisted she was not doing anything wrong, despite the government's social distancing regulations.

But Commissioner Fuller said the group were, in fact, breaking the law.

They had not informed police of the protest and were also breaching the coronavirus restrictions, which urged people not to leave their homes for non-essential travel.

Disturbing video footage of the altercation showed police attempting to arrest the woman as her son screamed and cried nearby.

'Mummy is not going... leave mummy alone,' Isaac said.

The dangers of not being vaccinated Immunisation is an effective way of protecting people from harmful, contagious diseases. Before vaccination campaigns in the 1960s and 70s, diseases like tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough killed thousands of children. Immunisation also protects the whole community, preventing the spread of the disease - known as 'herd immunity'. Vaccination can cause a disease to die out altogether - as was the case when smallpox was eradicated in 1980 after a vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organisation. Vaccination rates are at over 93 per cent for five-year-olds in Australia. Source: Australian Department of Health Advertisement

Mrs Altakrity resisted attempts to put her in the back of a paddy wagon and claimed she was not doing anything wrong.

The distressing footage concluded with police pulling the four-year-old away from his mum. An officer held him as he kicked and screamed.

Inside the police van, Mrs Altakrity posted a video to Instagram calling for help from her fellow protestors.

'I'm in the back of a paddy wagon. They singled me out,' she claimed.

'If someone can please send legal representation. I cannot believe this is happening.

'This system is absolutely bulls**t. They singled me out. They singled me out... Why? I was just exercising my rights like everybody else.'

The alarming confrontation left viewers divided, with many 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.

The 36-year-old was fined $1,000, but now faces an additional $5,000 fine for a separate offence.

Police are also investigating claims Mrs Altakrity operated her beauty salon during the lockdown.

She has been accused of offering beauty services at her Flawless Features salon, despite government orders that salons close under COVID-19 restrictions on March 25.

Pictured: A police officer holds on to the woman's four-year-old son, Isaac, as she is arrested
In this article UBER

Bolt CEO Markus Villig speaks on stage at the 2019 Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Horacio Villalobos | Corbis via Getty Images

European Uber rival Bolt says it isn't laying off staff despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, highlighting a different direction to ride-hailing giants stateside. The Estonia-based firm has, like other players, been harshly hit by coronavirus lockdowns across Europe, with sales plummeting 75% in mid-March compared to average revenues in February. The company says bookings in Slovakia collapsed 100% after the country banned taxi services in March. The ban has since been lifted. That mirrors a similar trend affecting competitors. Uber's ride-hailing business suffered an 80% year-on-year drop in bookings in April, while Lyft experienced a 75% fall in rides that month. Both companies have taken deep cost-cutting measures, with Uber laying off 3,700 workers and Lyft letting go 982 employees. Markus Villig, Bolt's CEO and co-founder, said the firm has been more frugal than some of its competitors, and therefore hasn't had to make any layoffs. Bolt is one of Uber's main challengers in Europe  others include BlaBlaCar and Kapten. "Luckily we come from a background of being very frugal from the get go," Villig told CNBC said in an interview last week. "Our approach has always been to build a lean, cost-efficient organization." The company says it has furloughed some contractors for a "limited" amount of time but expects them to return to work once the business recovers. According to its LinkedIn page, Bolt employs around 1,400 people globally.

Bolt, which rebranded from Taxify last year, has increased investing into segments such as scooter-sharing and food delivery. It recently unveiled a new electric scooter and announced an expansion of the service into 45 more cities. Villig said the strategy was working in Bolt's favor as lockdown restrictions are preventing people from being able to move around freely. "We're not looking at doing any layoffs," he said. "The focus is on adjusting the business from ride-hailing to now work with scooters and food, in these times when people are just not able to move or don't prefer ride-hailing." Still, scooter-sharing has proven to be a tough business to sell to consumers during a pandemic. U.S. start-ups Bird and Lime have had to make job cuts in recent weeks, while Lime also got a funding boost from Uber and other investors to help it survive the pandemic. Villig admitted the margins from scooters are "tiny," but added that he believes it's a "great complimentary service" to taxi hailing. While he couldn't rule out the possibility of layoffs further down the line, Bolt's chief said he's relatively optimistic about the outlook for ride-sharing as several European countries are gradually lifting their lockdowns. Germany, France and Italy are among the nations that have already begun a gradual reopening of their economies, while the U.K. has outlined its plan to ease lockdown measures.
The family of a woman who was paralyzed when she was struck by a falling telephone pole as she waited for a bus is to receive $125 million to settle a lawsuit against Verizon.

Maria Meister was commuting from Union City to her job in New York in 2017 when the pole snapped, crushing her head and body. She suffered multiple spinal injuries and a severe brain injury and is paralyzed from the chest down, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleged the pole was 43 years old and had been scheduled to be replaced in 1999 when PSEG removed its equipment from the pole and directed Verizon to do the same and remove the pole. The suit also claimed Verizon hadnt inspected the pole since 1989.

The settlement order was signed Monday by a state judge in Essex County. In addition to the judgment against Verizon, it orders utility PSEG, which jointly owned the pole, to pay $250,000.

Because of their egregious actions, coupled with the catastrophic injuries to Maria, Verizon came to the table and the case settled, said attorney David Mazie, who represented Meister.

In an email, Verizon spokesman Rich Young wrote, While no amount of compensation can make up for what was lost, we hope the resolution of this case helps bring some measure of comfort, and provides care for Maria and her family, now and in the future.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New Jersey
- Jubilee Party and KANU signed a post-election coalition agreement recently which saw Senator Samuel Poghisio become majority leader

- Senators Susan Kihika and Kipchumba Murkomen lost their positions in the Senate in the latest purge

- Kihika and other Jubilee Party members moved to the parties dispute tribunal challenging the coalition agreement

- They argued it had violated both the Constitution of Kenya and that of the party and the political parties regulations 2019

- The tribunal certified the matter as urgent and issued orders suspending the Jubilee-KANU alliance

Ousted senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika have gotten a reprieve after the political parties disputes tribunal issued orders stopping execution of the Jubilee Party and KANU coalition agreement.

This is after Jubilee deputy secretary general Caleb Kositany, Kihika, MP Benjamin Washiali and Albert Mutahi moved to the tribunal challenging the coalition agreement.

READ ALSO: Demu amparura jamaa aliyekataa kuwazuru wazazi wake

Senator Susan Kihika and Kipchumba Murkomen after they were ousted from Senate leadership. Photo: Citizen TV

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Its shameful, embarrassing for Uhuru to engage in political battles amid pandemic - Oscar Sudi

Both Kihika and Murkomen were removed as Jubilee Party's majority Whip and majority leader respectively with the latter being replaced by KANU's Samuel Poghisio.

In their application for interim orders, the appellants argued that the post-election coalition agreement between Jubilee and KANU violated articles 10, 38, 73 and 91 of the Constitution of Kenya.

They further argued the agreement was against regulation 21 of the political parties regulations 2019 and articles 32.2 of the Jubilee Party Constitution.

The complainants wanted injunction orders restraining party secretary general Raphael Tuju and acting party chairman Nelson Dzuya from making any decision on behalf of the party.

Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and Gideon Moi (right). Orders by the political parties dispute tribunal suspended the coalition agreement between KANU and Jubilee Party. Photo: State House

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Jumia, Mastercard partner to reward shoppers using cashless payment options

On Tuesday, May 11, the tribunal certified the matter as urgent and issued orders restraining Tuju and Dzuya from making coalition agreement on behalf of the party.

"Pending hearing and determination of this application inter-parties, this honourable tribunal is pleased to issue an order staying the decision of the first respondent in her letter dated May 8, 20202, recognizing a coalition agreement purportedly signed between the first and second interested parties and deposited on May 4, 2020," read the orders.

The tribunal ordered the two not to make any coalition agreements unless its in strict compliance with provisions of regulation 21 of the political parties regulations 2019 and article 32.2 of Jubilee Constitution.

READ ALSO: Senator Kang'ata says Murkomen, Kihika refused to honour summons to defend themselves

Further, any action arrived at after formalisation of the coalition agreement is also null and void and of no effect.

"Pending hearing and determination of this application inter parties, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents as well as the 1st and 2nd interested parties by themselves, their agent, and/or servants or employees be restrained from taking any action and or decision on the strength of the impugned coalition agreement purportedly signed between the 1st and 2nd interested parties and deposited on May 4, 2020, including making changes to positions of the majority leader and majority whip of the Senate," read the orders by the deputy registrar of political parties disputes tribunal.

The appellants were asked to serve the respondents within the next three days who in turn would be expected to serve the complainants with their pleadings within seven days after being served.

The matter will be heard on May 21 at 2.30pm.

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
A pregnant aged care worker involved in a 'sophisticated and disguised' scheme with her cousin to steal more than $150,000 from her boss has been sentenced to 10 months in a Western Australian prison.

Sandra Mumba, 27, was a carer and occupational therapist at Fresh Fields Aged Care when she conspired with her cousin, payroll clerk James Whiteman, to steal money between February 2015 and March 2018.

Whiteman adjusted Mumba's overtime hours and the number of employees, with Mumba pocketing about $34,000 and transferring almost $55,000 to her cousin, the WA District Court heard on Tuesday.

Sandra Mumba, 27, was a carer and occupational therapist at Fresh Fields Aged Care when she conspired with payroll clerk James Whiteman to steal money between February 2015 and March 2018 (stock)

The rest of the money was paid to the Australian Taxation Office in taxes by Mumba's employer, so she did not receive the cash.

Judge Michael Gething said there was a clear element of persistence in Mumba's offending, which could have gone unnoticed had it not been for another employee.

'Frauds like the one you carried out are very difficult to detect and that reinforces the need for the court to impose sentences in these types of cases, which are of a sufficient level to deter people who might be tempted to offend,' he said.

But Judge Gething accepted Mumba had been influenced by Whiteman, was remorseful and at low risk of re-offending.

Whiteman was previously sentenced to three years in jail for stealing a total of $326,000.

Fellow employee Bridget Chandra, who separately to Mumba stole almost $150,000, was previously sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Judge Michael Gething said there was a clear element of persistence in Mumba's offending, which could have gone unnoticed had it not been for another employee. Pictured: WA District court in 2012

Judge Gething noted Mumba was younger than Chandra and had a disadvantaged background, yet had done an enormous amount of work to improve her life before this offending.

He also took her pregnancy into account, saying prison would bear much more heavily on her.

Mumba, who pleaded guilty to stealing as a servant, will be eligible for parole after serving five months behind bars.

Judge Gething said he deliberately structured the sentence so Mumba could potentially be free by the time her baby was due to be born in November.

She was also ordered to repay Fresh Fields.
Most recent salvo in the war of words came after the United Arab Emirates condemned Ankaras role in Libyas conflict.

Turkey accused the United Arab Emirates of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its interventions in Libya and Yemen, the latest in a war of words between the two countries that is likely to inflame tensions.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was responding on Tuesday to criticism of Turkeys role in the Libyan conflict, shortly after the foreign ministry in Ankara dismissed a declaration by Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, and the UAE that described Turkish military activity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Libya as seeking regional chaos and instability.

At the beginning of the year, Turkey deployed military personnel to Libya, and it has helped send Syrian fighters to support the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, while the five countries party to the declaration have supported the forces of commander Khalifa Haftar in the generals attempt to capture the Libyan capital.

The joint missive on Tuesday also condemned Turkish gas-drilling off of the island-nation of Cyprus as illegal.

Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster Akit TV that the UAE, along with Egypt and other countries he did not name, were trying to destabilise the whole region. But he singled out Abu Dhabi for particular criticism.

If you are asking who is destabilising this region, who is bringing chaos, then we would say Abu Dhabi without any hesitation, he said. It is a reality that they are the force that unsettled Libya and destroyed Yemen.

The UAE did not immediately respond to Cavusoglus criticism.

Strained ties

Ties between Turkey and the UAE have been strained in recent years, particularly over Ankaras support for Qatar after four Arab countries, including the UAE, imposed sanctions on Doha in 2017 over its independent foreign policy.

The UAE has presented itself as a bulwark against political forms of Islam, of which it views Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans Justice and Development (AK) Party. The UAE has also condemned the partys ties to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which Abu Dhabi opposes.

In January, Turkey, along with other parties to the conflict attending a high-profile conference in Berlin, pledged to uphold the United Nations arms embargo on Libya and end military support for the countrys warring factions.

Last month, the UAE called on all parties to commit to the UN-supervised political process to end the war in Libya, where the UN says Abu Dhabi has supplied aircraft and military vehicles to Haftar.





On Tuesday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a statement calling for Libyas warring factions to lay down their arms and urging all parties having committed to a truce and a negotiated ceasefire to follow up on these commitments.

Support for al-Shabab

Cavusoglu, in his comments, also accused the UAE of supporting al-Shabab fighters in Somalia, where Turkey has a military base and is training Somali troops.

The UAE trained hundreds of Somali troops from 2014 onward as part of an effort by an African Union military mission to defeat the armed uprising in the country, until Somalia disbanded the programme in 2018.

Abu Dhabi was also a leading power in an alliance that intervened in Yemen five years ago against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. It reduced its presence in Yemen last year but remains a member of that coalition.






FREMONT, Calif.  Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter Monday that the company has restarted its California factory in violation of local government orders.

In the afternoon tweet, Musk wrote that he would be on the assembly line and asked that he be arrested if authorities take anyone into custody.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

The plant in Fremont, which is south of San Francisco, had been closed since March 23 under orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Early Monday, the parking lot was nearly full at the massive plant, which employs 10,000 workers, and semis were driving off loaded with vehicles that may have been produced before the shutdown.

The restart violates orders from the Alameda County Health Department, which has deemed the factory a nonessential business that cant open under restrictions intended to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday that any enforcement of the order would come from Fremont police. Geneva Bosques, Fremont police spokeswoman, said officers would take action at the direction of the county health officer. She referred further comment to the Health Department, where the AP left messages seeking comment.

The Health Department said Saturday it was in talks with Tesla to reopen the plant safely.

The restart came two days after Tesla sued the county health department seeking to overturn its order, and Musk threatened to move Teslas manufacturing operations and headquarters from the state.

Tesla contends in the lawsuit that Alameda County cant be more restrictive than orders from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The lawsuit says the governors coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying vehicle manufacturing as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.

Story continues

Frankly, this is the final straw, Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.

He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.

On Monday, Newsom professed not to know if Tesla had reopened. Not aware (of) the details of that," he said.

I have great expectations that we can work through at the county levels, the governor said about conflicts involving the Fremont plant. He said county health directors are in charge of restrictions and the timing of any resumption of manufacturing.

The Bay Area order currently calls for limited return of business and manufacturing, with health restrictions, starting May 18, the same day as Detroit automakers plan to restart assembly plants.

We look forward to many, many decades of that relationship with Tesla, Newsom said.

The governor has repeatedly said that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders. Alameda County was among six San Francisco Bay Area counties that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

Early in the coronavirus crisis, Newsom praised Musk as the perfect example of the private sector assisting the state in the pandemic. His comments came after Musk pledged to provide more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals, a fact Newsom repeated often and called a heroic effort."

But whether Musk made good on the promise remains in dispute. Several weeks after Newsom was touting the ventilators, the state said it hadnt heard of any being delivered. Musk responded, demanding on Twitter that Newsom correct the record and sharing tweets and screenshots from hospitals and Los Angeles County thanking him for sending supplies.

Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the companys April 29 first-quarter earnings were released. He called the restrictions fascist and urged governments to stop taking peoples freedom.

Public health experts say stay-home orders have reduced the number of new coronavirus cases nationwide.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. But it has killed nearly 80,000 people in the U.S., with the death toll rising.

The Health Department said Saturday it looks forward to reaching agreement on a plan to reopen very soon," but noted that given the sacrifices made to protect public health, it is our collective responsibility to move through the phases of reopening and loosening the restrictions" in the safest way possible.

Tesla says it has safety procedures to protect workers including increased cleaning, enforcement of social distancing, providing face coverings and gloves where needed, installing barriers between workers when necessary and worker temperature checks at some locations.

Despite Musks threat, it would be costly and difficult to quickly shift production from Fremont to Texas or Nevada. The Fremont facility is Teslas only U.S. vehicle assembly plant, and the company would lose critical production if it shut down the plant to move equipment.

Musk plans another U.S. factory to increase output, possibly in Texas, and could move production once that plant is up and running.

The lack of production in Fremont is a big financial strain on the company. On a conference call last month, Musk called the closure of Fremont a serious risk.
New clusters seem to be emerging in countries that had earlier been praised for their successful fight against coronavirus, confirming the belief that the virus could return in phases if caution is not exercised.

Heres how things look at present in these countries: Singapore, once a model for its speed and efficiency in tracing infected people, has seen its cases ballooning to more than 23,000, with the virus spreading in foreign workers dormitories. South Korea, a pioneer in using technology, has seen more than 100 new cases emerging after an infected man ...
CEDAR RAPIDS  In addition to their specific stances on health care, the Green New Deal and other issues, the Democrats seeking their partys U.S. Senate nomination will be divided by acrylic shields when they debate later this month.

The shields are among precautions being taken for the May 18 in-person debate in the Iowa PBS studio in Johnston.

While the debate will be broadcast statewide, no audience will be in the studio because of the coronavirus social-distancing guidelines.

The hour-long debate will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. on Iowa PBS and streamed on iowapbs.org, YouTube and Facebook.

The candidates be questioned by Iowa Press: moderator David Yepsen and Radio Iowa News Director Kay Henderson.

The candidates competing in the June 2 primary are Mike Franken of Sioux City, Kimberly Graham of Indianola, Theresa Greenfield of Des Moines and Eddie Mauro of Des Moines.

All or most of the hopefuls  there were five, but now four  have participated in at least a half dozen virtual forums over the course of the campaign. The winner of the June 2 primary will face Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in the Nov. 3 general election.

Given the limitations the candidates have faced because of coronavirus, the debate in front of a statewide viewing audience is a big deal, said Kimberly Strope-Boggus, campaign manager for Franken.

Theres a clear difference between a debate and the forums weve done, she said. Candidates can deliver their stump speech in a forum, but a debate is where we differentiate between people with experience and those without.

The debate will be an opportunity for Greenfield to show why shes the best Democrat to take on Ernst, her spokeswoman Izzi Levy said, referring to a Public Policy Polling poll this week that found the Des Moines business woman trailing Ernst 43 percent to 42 percent in a head-to-head contest.

Greenfield has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Shes also raised nearly twice as much money from Iowa than the other Democrats combined.

However, Mauro claims his internal polling shows hes tied with Greenfield for the nomination. The Mauro campaign surveyed 1,000 Democrats on May 2 who had requested absentee ballots. He and Greenfield were in a dead heat within the margin of error at 14 percent. Franken and Graham had the support of less than 5 percent of the early voters. The sampling has a margin of error of 5 percent.

Graham is looking forward to Iowa voters have the opportunity to see all of the candidates.

I love talking about the issues, answering questions and standing up and speaking out about what our nation can do when we elect regular working people to Congress, she said.

A candidate needs at least 35 percent of the primary vote to secure the nomination. If no one receives 35 percent, the nomination will be decided by the partys state convention, scheduled for June 13.
Sherin Khankan, who opened the womens Mariam Mosque in Copenhagen, believes the concept of reform is inherent to Islam.

Editors note: Al Jazeera took down this article as it did not comply with editorial standards.
The Labatt-beer loving markets of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse will be among the first to get a taste of the companys new venture into the super-hot hard seltzer business.

Labatt Blue Light Seltzer is hitting local stores this week in four flavors: Black Cherry Lime, Tropical Grapefruit, Mango Lemon and Blood Orange Blackberry. They are 5% alcohol.

Pilot batches of the new seltzers have been produced at the Genesee Brewery in Rochester, which is owned by Labatt USAs parent company, FIFCO. They will be sold in the selected Upstate markets and in a few markets in neighboring states. Look for them in stores where Labatts products are sold.

This rollout of Labatts first hard seltzers will be tested in these markets and, if successful, distributed across Labatts entire market next year.

Success has been the story of hard seltzers in the past year. Their appeal lies in their light and fruity flavors, combined with low levels of calories, carbohydrates and sugar. They are putting competitive pressure on beer, wine and spirits sales in the alcoholic beverage industry.

We saw an opportunity in the seltzer market," Labatt brand manager Jaime Polisoto said in a statement. People love the low calories, low carbs and refreshment, but are looking for more taste with less bitter aftertaste. Labatt Blue Light Seltzer offers a surprisingly fruit forward aroma and taste that finishes light and refreshing. It tastes less watered down and smoother than other hard seltzers.

Although this marks the first Labatt-branded entry into seltzer, parent company FIFCO is a major player in the category of flavored malt beverages, producing 20% of those beverages in the United States each year. That includes brands like Seagrams Escapes made at the Genny plant in Rochester.

Labatt is launching a new hard seltzer line to be test-marketed across Upstate New York.

Led by brands like White Claw and Truly, hard seltzer became the fastest-growing segment of the alcohol industry in the last year. It grew more than 200% in 2019, with more than $500 million in sales, according to the market research company Nielsen. Some experts say it could triple in the next few years.

Its also a category that seems primed to withstand the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns since most are sold at stores, not bars.

In recent months, several major Upstate New York beverage companies have jumped into  or extended their footprint in  the hard seltzer category.

Most recently, Saranac / Matt Brewing Co. of Utica launched a green tea-infused line of hard seltzers under the name Saranac Green Tea Spiked Seltzers. Southern Tier Brewing Co. near Jamestown has also launched a hard seltzer line.

Constellation Brands, the global beverage giant based in the Rochester suburb of Victor, this year introduced a line of hard seltzers under its Corona beer brand.

And the big Anheuser-Busch InBev brewery just outside of Baldwinsville is the home of Bud Light Seltzer, introduced in January as a director competitor to White Claw and Truly. (A-B also makes the Bon & Viv and Natural Light hard seltzer lines).

Labatt USA is the Buffalo-based company that owns the rights to market and distribute Labatts beers in the United States. It imports Blue and Blue Light made in Canada, but has produced and packaged other Labatt-branded beers in Rochester through its affiliation with the Genesee Brewery. Both are owned by FIFCO USA, the American arm of Costa Rica-based FIFCO.

MORE ON SELTZER

Inside the CNY-based hard seltzer challenge to White Claw

Bud Light Seltzer vs. White Claw: How do they compare?

Beyond White Claw: Whats next in the hard seltzer surge?

Uticas Saranac Brewery launches hard seltzer with a twist

Top drinks trends of the 2010s and how they played out in CNY

Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
Vodafone Ireland has seen a surge in voice calls being made on its network since the introduction of living and working restrictions to counter the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The mobile communications giant said the dramatic shift in online behaviour in Ireland had resulted in a sudden and abrupt change to its mobile and fixed network traffic trends.

It said voice traffic volumes are up 50% during the average working week, with voice volumes from older non-smartphones showing the highest levels of increase. The company said this indicates that the older generation is now relying more than ever on mobile connectivity to stay in touch.

Vodafone has also seen around a 50% increase in fixed data volumes  or people using its network via a desktop or fixed terminal, which is reflecting the switch to home working for many people.

The company also said that use of its network on a smartphone or mobile device has increased by around 30% throughout the average day.

Vodafone Ireland said it generated 838m in service revenue last year, with its overall mobile customer subscriber base increasing by over 2%.

It was a strong year of solid, stable growth for Vodafone Ireland, which saw us increase our customer-base across mobile and fixed broadband, said Vodafone Ireland CEO Anne OLeary.

The Irish operations parent  the overall Vodafone group  has pulled its earnings guidance for this year, but it has kept its dividend relating to 2019 performance, bucking a corporate trend to cut or scrap payouts due to the coronavirus crisis.

On a group-wide basis, Vodafone met expectations with a 2.6% rise in annual core earnings, to just under 15bn.

The company said a drop in international travel due to the virus pandemic had hit its revenues from roaming calls and that it expected customer spending to suffer from the economic downturn caused by the health crisis.

However, it also said it was seeing a surge in data usage and improvements in retaining customers thanks to the speed and reliability of its networks.

Vodafone, which has 65 million mobile contract and 25 million broadband customers in Europe, said roaming in Europe fell by 65% to 75% in April as the pandemic curbed travel.

It said some of its small business customers had requested payment deferrals and some of its larger enterprise customers had sought to delay projects.

- Additional reporting Reuters
Endeavour Silver Releases 2019 Annual Review and Sustainability Report

Posted by Publisher Internet

Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE: EXK) (TSX: EDR) https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/endeavour-silver-corp/ announces the publication of its 2019 Annual Review and Sustainability Report entitled ?Recognizing 15 years of Mine Production.? This marks the eighth consecutive year the Company has reported on its sustainability initiatives, including the last seven under the GRI Standards for sustainability reporting.

Endeavour?s 2019 Annual Review and Sustainability Report is available at https://csr.edrsilver.com or the full report can be downloaded here. The Spanish versions will be available by month-end on the company website. All dollar amounts presented below are in U.S. dollars.

2019 Sustainability Highlights

Safety and Health

70% of all training activities involved safety education, highlighting its importance

Guanacevi received the ?Casco de Plata? safety award last year, the highest safety recognition provided by the Mining Chamber in Mexico, for their performance in 2018

Our People

Provided an average of 47 hours of training for each employee

Completed the suspension of operations at El Cubo smoothly, and transferred 40% of the professional employees to other job opportunities within the Company

Community

Supported 118 Mexican students with scholarships to further their education

Sponsored several events to engage with over 1,000 locals in the communities near Terronera

Fully funded a multi-use recreational facility for the El Cubo community

Environment

Planted 51,000 trees in reforestation projects to reclaim disturbed ground

Recycled over 93% of water used

Economic Value

99% of our workforce is Mexican, spent $42 million in employee wages and benefits.

Spent $164 million on goods and services, 97% of total procurement is from within Mexico.

Paid $5 million in various taxes

Endeavour CEO Bradford Cooke commented: ?2019 marked our 15th year as a producing mining company. However, it was also a very challenging year for our mining operations, which impacted our sustainability performance. We made sweeping changes at each mine and initiated programs to improve our performance in all areas of the business.? As a result, we are already seeing improvements to benefit our sustainability.?

?In the first half of 2020, our safety performance has been much better as there is a higher level of safety awareness across all the mines. We received the ?Empresa Socialmente Responsible? (Socially Responsible Company) distinction from the Mexican Centre of Philanthropy in Mexico for each of our operating mines at Guanacevi, Bolanitos and El Cubo.?

?Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented our prevention and response plan and procedures to mitigate the virus risks in early March and were one of the first companies to be proactive as the health crisis progressed. On the community front, we have been distributing safety kits to high risk households in the areas of our operations and projects with various cleaning supplies and educational materials.?

About Endeavour Silver ? Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that owns and operates three high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Endeavour is currently advancing the Terronera Mine project towards a development decision and exploring its portfolio of exploration and development projects in Mexico and Chile to facilitate its goal to become a premier senior silver producer.? Our philosophy of corporate social integrity creates value for all stakeholders.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and ?forward-looking information? within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward?looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding Endeavour?s anticipated performance in 2020 including changes in mining operations and production levels, the timing and results of various activities and the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on operations. The Company does not intend to and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. ?

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, production levels, performance or achievements of Endeavour and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include but are not limited to the ultimate impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on operations and results, changes in production and costs guidance, national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Mexico; financial risks due to precious metals prices, operating or technical difficulties in mineral exploration, development and mining activities; risks and hazards of mineral exploration, development and mining; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company?s title to properties; as well as those factors described in the section ?risk factors? contained in the Company?s most recent form 40F/Annual Information Form filed with the S.E.C. and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. ?

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued operation of the Company?s mining operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, mining operations will operate and the mining products will be completed in accordance with management?s expectations and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
Hungarys construction sector declined and annual 3-5% in the year to date, according to data compiled by industry association EVOSZ, well under the 15-20% decline for construction companies across the European Union estimated by the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), EVOSZ said.

Last weeks review showed order stock down 18-20% from a year earlier, making the decline in new orders the biggest concern for the sector, it added.



The association noted that the number of public procurements for construction projects Jan. 1-May 6 came to just 999, with a value of 498.6 billion forints, down from 1,489 projects with a value of 509.8 billion in the same period a year earlier.





Photo Credit: Sawinery.net
File image

Auto component industry is likely to witness a second consecutive year of a double-digit degrowth this fiscal mainly on account of disruption in operations due to coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, according to a report.

The counter measures are likely to lead to lower income levels, weaker consumer sentiments, production disruptions, decreased industrial output as well as lesser movement of vehicles, resulting in a decline in global automobile demand and therefore, lower revenue and profitability for auto ancillaries in FY21, India Ratings (Ind-Ra) said in the report on Tuesday.

"Ind-Ra expects that the auto ancillaries industry on an average could record at least 100bp EBITDA margin decline in FY21 and the profitability decline for export focused auto ancillaries could be steeper as exports earn higher margins. The lower commodity prices could aid the profitability for the sector, though only to a limited extent, due to pass-through agreements with OEMs and OEMs' higher bargaining power.

"Also, some benefit may accrue to companies with overseas manufacturing units, as certain economies have announced support measures to meet part of the fixed costs during the shutdown period. A depreciated rupee rate could partly offset the decline in sales volumes; however, the benefit is not expected to be significant," it said.

However, the revenue and profitability of auto ancillaries focused on domestic markets are likely to fare better due to higher content per vehicle on the back of evolving regulatory norms including BS-VI applicable from April 1, 2020, as per the report.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Entities with a large reliance on overseas markets are expected to face a higher demand risk as the key markets of the US and Europe have been the most impacted by the virus, which could lead to uncertain business conditions, it said.

The US, Germany and the UK are the largest export markets for auto components globally.

Besides, India also exports around 12 per cent of the total auto components to economies with reliance on crude oil such as Africa and Latin America.

As much as 27 per cent of the total auto component production in the country is exported to various countries with the US accounting for 25 per cent of the total shipments form India, while Germany's share stands at 7 per cent. The exports to the UK and Italy stand around 4 per cent, each.

Noting that over the past few years, India has emerged as the sourcing hub for many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally due to its cost effectiveness in production and favourable geographical positioning to key markets such as Europe and Middle East, the India Ratings said the growth of exported components outpaced the overall growth of Indian auto components industry in FY18 and FY19.

"In the first half of the previous fiscal (FY20), while the domestic auto components sector recorded a revenue decline of about 10.1 per cent over the year-ago period, exports recorded modest growth of 2.7 per cent y-o-y (in USD terms)," it said.

The domestic components suppliers have also been expanding their exports exposure to diversify their revenue streams and limit dependence on the domestic market, while improving profitability as exports are typically higher margin orders, according to India Ratings.

Furthermore, OEMs could postpone new model launches and investment plans, which would defer order offtake, it said.
Local celebs come together to bring some Raya joy to Malaysians during CMCO.

12 May  2020 marks a lot of firsts for Malaysians, most of which revolve around home since travelling outside of it is discouraged at the moment thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, for the first time ever, the usually festive Raya Aidilfitri will be celebrated on a smaller scale.

While celebrating it with close by family and friends will still be allowed, the gathering must not hold more than 20 people at one go, according to the latest guideline from the local government under the current Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), which is scheduled to end this 9 June, two weeks after the Raya holidays.

To put fellow Malaysians in a brighter mood, several local celebrities have come together to make a short film that is guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face.

Ayda Jebat, Jinnyboy and Amber Chia are among local celebs featured in "Jauh Di Mata, Tetap Beraya".

Called "Jauh Di Mata, Tetap Beraya", the short film from Watsons Malaysia features Watsons Malaysia ambassadors Ayda Jebat and Jinnyboy, as well as local celebrities such as Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan, Sean Lee, Nazrudin Rahman, Alyssa Dezek, Amber Chia, Yaya Zahir, Fiqrie and Nithya.

"I am delighted to continue my second Raya brand film with Watsons, and it has been a great experience shooting from the comfort of my own home and has definitely been a different and memorable experience for me." said Ayda Jebat in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan said of the experience: "It is an unforgettable experience, having a director to e-direct me and everyone else via video call and looking at the final video really makes me feel very happy."

Launched on Watsons Malaysia's Facebook on 9 May, "Jauh Di Mata, Tetap Beraya" can now be viewed on its YouTube page as well. It is described as "a reminder to all Malaysians that the bond between loved ones is stronger than the restriction imposed during these trying times."

Aside from the Raya film, Watsons is also offering RM10 cash points each to the first 100,000 members to sign up at www.watsons.com.my/promo-membercontest. For info on this and other promotions, check out Watsons Malaysia's official website and social media.

If you haven't watched "Jauh Di Mata, Tetap Beraya", click play below and enjoy!
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Rosa Khutor, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2020. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Russian Presidents Spokesman Hospitalized With CCP Virus

MOSCOWKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been hospitalized with the CCP virus, the latest in a series of setbacks for President Vladimir Putin as Russia struggles to contain the growing outbreak.

Yes, Ive gotten sick. Im being treated, Peskov, a key Putin aide, told the Interfax news agency on May 12.

Also infected was Peskovs wife, Olympic ice dancing champion Tatyana Navka. She told reporters that Peskovs condition was satisfactory and that the couple decided to enter the hospital so as not to expose the rest of their family.

He brought it (the virus) from work, Navka was quoted as saying by the Daily Storm online outlet.

Peskov, 52, has been Putins spokesman since 2008 but began working him with in the early 2000s.

Olympic figure skating champion and TV presenter Tatiana Navka (R) and her husband Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov pose at the opening of a skating rink in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 28, 2015. (Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo)

The Tass news agency quoted Peskov saying he last saw Putin in person more than a month ago.

Reporters from the Kremlin pool said on Twitter that Peskov was last seen in public on April 30 at a meeting with Putin. It was not clear whether the two were in the same room because Putin has been conducting his meetings via teleconference in recent weeks from his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow.

Peskov is not the only top government official to come down with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin revealed April 30 that he had tested positive for the CCP virus. The next day, Construction and Housing Minister Vladimir Yakushev, was hospitalized with it, and Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said last week she was self-isolating after getting infected.

The announcement of Peskovs hospitalization came a day after Putin said Russia was slowing the outbreak and announced he was easing some of the nationwide lockdown restrictions.

But new questions are being raised about just how successful the response has been. Health officials reported thousands of new infections, many health care workers are falling ill with the CCP virus amid complaints that protective gear is in short supply, and deadly fires have broken out at two hospitals for CCP virus patients, apparently from defective breathing machines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing a protective suit enters a hall during his visit to the hospital for CCP virus patients in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, on March 24, 2020. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)

Mishandling the health crisis could hurt Putins public approval after more than 20 years in power. It has been declining since 2018 when he rolled out an unpopular reform that raised the retirement age for Russians, and it is currently at its lowest since 2013.

If we start to see mass infections and it turns out that this was a wrong move  it will hit the governments ratings hard, former Kremlin speechwriter turned political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press. People will definitely connect it [to] his (Putins) decision to ease restrictions, he added.

Russia has reported more than 232,000 confirmed CCP virus cases and more than 2,100 CCP virus-related deaths as of Tuesday. Hours before Putin made a televised speech Monday about ending the partial economic lockdown, health officials reported a daily record of over 11,600 new cases.

Lets remember this, opposition politician Alexei Navalny tweeted after Putins speech. Putin lifted nationwide restrictions aimed at curbing the epidemic on the day when a record has been set in new infections. W for wisdom.'

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media after submitting his documents to be registered as a presidential candidate at the Central Election Commission in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 24, 2017. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters)

On Tuesday, health officials once again reported almost 11,000 new infections.

Because of the outbreak, the 67-year-old Putin had to postpone a nationwide vote last month on changes to the constitution that would pave the way for him to stay in office until 2036, if he desires.

On Tuesday, health officials said they were investigating the safety of ventilators after the fires in intensive care units, apparently because the breathing machines malfunctioned, killing a total of six people in the past four days.

A fire Tuesday at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg killed five patients on ventilators. Another blaze Saturday at the Spasokukotsky Hospital in Moscow killed one patient. Both hospitals had been repurposed for treating CCP virus patients, and in both cases, faulty Russian-made ventilators were reported to have started the fires.

A Russian Emergency Situation worker attends the scene of a fire at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12, 2020. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

The government says hospitals have enough ventilators to deal with the outbreak, and Putin said Monday that only a small fraction of Russias ventilator stockpile is being used.

However, doctors in hospitals outside big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg have been complaining about not enough ventilators or their poor quality, as well as about sweeping shortages of protective equipment.

Peskov regularly dismissed those complaints at his daily briefings and maintained that Russian hospitals are well-stocked with everything they need, attributing reports of shortages to isolated incidents that were quickly addressed by the government.

He has been the Kremlins feisty voice in denying Russias involvement in various international scandals, such as the inference in the 2016 U.S. election, the poisoning of Russias ex-spy Sergei Skripal in the UK, and recent allegations of Russian security services plotting to poison Czech officials.

Peskovs infection has raised questions anew about the spread of the CCP virus to top government officials.

In late March, Putin was photographed shaking hands with Dr. Denis Protsenko, head of Moscows top hospital for CCP virus patients. The next week, Protsenko was reported to have been infected with the CCP virus.

By Daria Litvinova

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
India's train network was halted in late March as a lockdown was imposed

Cars drive on the Champs Elysee with the Arc de Triomphe in the background in Paris

Italy: A young hairdresser and a customer wearing face masks and gloves to protect against the coronavirus in a salon in Brixen, Tyrol

Coronavirus has infected more than 4.1 million people and killed over 282,000, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:

ITALY: Italy's daily number of new Covid-19 infections has declined for a fifth straight day.

According to Italian Health Ministry data, there were 744 confirmed new cases registered since Sunday evening.

That number is lower than daily caseloads when contagion containment measures went into effect nationwide in early March.

The country now has 219,814 cases, a tally that experts say is significantly lower than actual infections, since many with mild or moderate coronavirus symptoms did not get admitted to hospital or tested.

In recent days, the number of daily new deaths has also been significantly lower than in early weeks, with 179 registered on Monday, taking the death toll to 30,739.

Italy's transport minister said tourists from abroad will not have to go into quarantine once they are able to visit again.

Presently during pandemic travel restrictions, foreigners can enter Italy for as long as five days but only for work reasons. Then they must leave.

Transport minister Paola De Micheli said that when this restriction can be lifted depends on how coronavirus infection rates are running in specific countries. "We can't insist that a tourist comes and goes into quarantine," the minister said. Ms De Micheli estimated that travel between Italian regions would probably resume sometime in the first half of June.

USA: The White House is recommending that all care home residents and staff be tested for coronavirus in the next two weeks.

Vice president Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, told governors on a video conference call that it is the federal government's strong recommendation that such testing be done.

Dr Deborah Birx, the task force co-ordinator, told governors to focus over the next two weeks on testing all one million care home residents. She said the White House will help states that need it.

Care homes and the elderly have been shown to be especially susceptible to the virus.

SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape province have become South Africa's coronavirus hotspot, accounting for more than half of the nation's confirmed cases. South Africa has confirmed more than 10,600 cases of Covid-19 and the Western Cape province has 5,621 cases. Of the country's 206 deaths caused by Covid-19, 116 have occurred in the province.

Cape Town, with its poor, densely populated townships, is the centre of the cases in the province.

South Africa has the continent's highest number of confirmed cases and has eased its restrictions to allow an estimated 1.6 million people to return to work in selected mines, factories and businesses. However, the concentration of cases in Cape Town may see the city return to a stricter lockdown.

NETHERLANDS: A man from Rotterdam knew just what he wanted tattooed on his leg as soon as coronavirus restrictions would allow.

Local broadcaster Rijnmond reported that Rens van Gastel got inked on Monday with a picture of what he called "the product of the year", a roll of toilet paper.

The 56-year-old took advantage of the government easing coronavirus restrictions to visit the Tattoo Grot parlour in the port city for a picture of a roll of TP on a hanger emblazoned with the year 2020.

INDIA: India reported its biggest daily increase in cases as it prepares to gradually resume train services while easing its virus lockdown.

India's train network was halted in late March as a lockdown was imposed. When services restart on Tuesday, passengers must wear masks and pass health screenings before being allowed to board trains.

The trains will make fewer stops than usual as services are gradually restarted.
B oris Johnson has warned there is no guarantee of a vaccine for Covid-19 despite the UK pouring huge sums into finding one.

The Prime Minister said it may be that the world would need to become more agile and ever smarter in the way the coronavirus is tackled.

While he suggested that it may never be found, Mr Johnson said the UK was at the forefront of international efforts to develop a cure to the illness.

"I'm hearing some very encouraging things from what's going on at Oxford to achieve a vaccine, he said at the Downing Street briefing on Monday evening.

But he added: "This is by no means guaranteed. I believe I'm right in saying that even after 18 years we still don't have a vaccine for Sars.

"What I can tell you is that the UK is at the forefront of concerting international activity to try to deliver a vaccine."

He said the Government was putting "huge sums" into finding a vaccine, but added: "If you ask me am I absolutely certain that we won't be living with this for a long time to come, I can't say that.

"It may be that we have to become ever more flexible, ever more agile, ever smarter in the way that we tackle, not just this infection, but potentially future infections as well."

In March, the UK government committed 210 million to a global effort to find a vaccine.

On developing a vaccine, the Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said it could never be guaranteed.

Speaking at the Downing Street daily briefing, he said: "It's a tough thing to do."

But he said there were therapeutics and drug development programmes under way, adding: "I'd be surprised if we didn't end up with something."

Earlier on Monday afternoon, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK will host the global vaccine summit due to take place on June 4.

Speaking in the Commons during the foreign and commonwealth affairs questions, Mr Raab said: "We want to spearhead the race: the pursuit of a vaccine through the research that's being conducted in this country and if possible manufactured at the kind of scale that would not just deal with UK needs but also those more broadly.

"We are the leading donor in the latest call for donations to make sure, not only that we can provide vaccines for UK nationals here at home, but also make sure that they can be expanded, particularly for the most vulnerable countries abroad."
A passenger in a wheelchair is escorted at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, May 12, 2020.

Indonesia crossed a grim milestone on Tuesday as authorities confirmed that the nations coronavirus death toll passed 1,000, while a government minister said up to 3.7 million workers had been laid off or furloughed as a result of the pandemic.

The countrys infections also surged as health authorities confirmed 484 new cases, taking the cumulative tally to 14,749, according to Achmad Yurianto, spokesman for the country's COVID-19 task force.

There were 16 new deaths, which bring the total number to 1,007, Yurianto told a news conference.

National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said the number of workers who were laid off or furloughed could be as high as 3.7 million.

Our calculation is between 2 million and 3.7 million workers, he said, adding that unemployment figures could reach 4.2 million by the end of the year.

Indonesia, which confirmed its first case of the virus in early March, has reported the highest number of fatalities from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia, followed by the Philippines with 751 deaths and 11,350 infections as of Tuesday.

Globally, more than 4.2 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and almost 290,000 have died as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Since the country of 268 million people confirmed its first two cases of the coronavirus on March 2, only 165,000 tests have been conducted, officials said. Indonesias case-to-fatality ratio is about 7 percent, about double the global average of 3.4 percent.

Some analysts said the death toll was likely to be higher because some patients who died after suffering from COVID-19 symptoms but were not tested were not included in the count. And with low rates of testing, cases are under-reported, they said.

Patients with COVID-19 symptoms are treated as COVID-19 patients and when they die, they are buried in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines, Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, told BenarNews.

From the beginning I have suggested that these deaths be included [as coronavirus fatalities]. I think its important because it can be a measure of the capacity of our health-care system, he said.

Experts raise questions about the curve

Joko Mulyanto, an epidemiologist at Jenderal Soedirman University, said it was hard to conclude from graphics of daily cases whether Indonesias curve had flattened.

Testing rates fluctuate wildly. The ratio of the number of tests and positive cases is at about 10 percent, suggesting too little testing, he said.

Before he declared a state of health emergency in early April, President Joko Jokowi Widodo acknowledged that his government deliberately held back information about the coronavirus cases in the country.

Indeed, we did not deliver certain information to the public because we did not want to stir panic, Jokowi told reporters in March.

Still, as part of the governments emergency measures, authorities imposed social restrictions scheduled to run until the end of May.

But Doni Monardo, the head of the countrys coronavirus task force, said on Monday that residents 45 and younger would be allowed to return to work in designated sectors because data showed they were not vulnerable to the disease.

Monardo said the government was trying to strike a balance between protecting the most susceptible section of the population and keeping the economy running to avoid mass layoffs.

Doni clarified his remarks on Tuesday, saying he was referring to the 11 sectors that the government had allowed to open during the pandemic, including health care, food, energy and logistics.

Why do we recommend that employers give priority to relatively young people? Because the fatality rate among those 45 years and older is high, Doni said.

Even as the government moves to allow some to return to work, Tjahjo Kumolo, the minister of Bureaucratic Reform, said the government had not considered easing social restrictions.

The government regulation on large-scale social restrictions is still valid, he said in a statement.

The greater Jakarta region, home to about 30 million people, West Java and several cities have imposed partial lockdowns including banning large gatherings and restricting travel since last month in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19.

But Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi last week decided to ease travel restrictions, allowing trains, flights and ferries to operate to serve those working in essential sectors, provided that social distancing measures are observed.

Indonesia suspended domestic air and sea travel on April 24 in a bid to curtail infections. The measure had been scheduled to run until the end of this month.

The transportation ministers decision came after the government announced that the economy grew 2.97 percent in the first quarter, its slowest pace since 2001.

Pandu, the epidemiologist, criticized mixed signals sent by government officials.

Officials have been making proposals without rigorous studies, he told BenarNews. At a time like this, what is needed is resoluteness on the part of the government to avoid confusion.

Zainal Abidin, a member of the advisory council at the Indonesian Medical Association, said contradictory statements from government officials showed a lack of coordination.

Regional governments want tighter restrictions, but the central government said they want to reopen public transportation. Even within the government theres no common view, he told BenarNews.

The goal of returning to normal by July hinges on the seriousness of the government, he said.
Quotas for duty-free supplies from Ukraine to EU should be reviewed  Prystaiko

09:40, 12.05.20 4236

Ukrainian producers delivering goods to the bloc are no longer satisfied with the existing limitations.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, May 12, 2020 15:54 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd781e4f 1 National oil-tanker,oil-tanker-fires,explosion,fire-accidents,Belawan-port,Medan,North-Sumatra Free

At least 22 workers were injured and tens of other crew members trapped when crude oil tanker Jag Leela exploded into flames at Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday morning.

The injured victims were immediately rushed to the nearest hospitals, while those who were trapped inside the burning vessel awaited assistance from a search and rescue team.

The explosion occurred when the ship was about to dock at the Waruna Shipyard in the port, according to the Transportation Ministrys Indonesian Coast and Sea Guard (KPLP).

Khaidir, a 27-year-old ship worker who was at the port around the time of the incident, said he heard the sounds of an explosion and saw a column of thick smoke rising from the oil tanker at 8:30 a.m. He immediately ran away from the fire to save himself.

I heard multiple explosions from the ship. Then I saw fire and smoke soon after, he told The Jakarta Post.

Local authorities struggled to put out the resulting flames until 3 p.m. as the remaining oil stored in the ships cargo had caught fire, the police said.

We still couldnt go anywhere near [the scene], because the ship is still on fire. We will [deploy personnel] once the fire has been extinguished to put up police lines, and to search for any remaining victims, Belawan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dayan told the press on Monday afternoon.

Based on preliminary reports, at least 22 people sustained burns from the fire and had since been given medical treatment, he said.

All of the injured victims are currently being treated at Prima Cipta Husada Hospital and Navy Hospital, Dayan said, adding that the authorities were still unable to confirm any casualties.

We are still investigating the cause of the fire, he said.

KPLP director Ahmad said in a statement that several local stakeholders were involved in the evacuation, including the Belawan Port Authority, state-owned port operator Pelindo I and the Belawan Fire and Rescue Agency.

Three ships helped extinguish the flames from the sea, Ahmad said, adding that the ships belonged to Pelindo I and PT Waruna Nusa Sentana. (rfa)
After investigative reporting revealed his undisclosed involvement in shooting at a synagogue with KKK members at age 17, the CEO of Banjo will leave the company he founded.

In a short blog post, the company announced a "change in leadership" and the resignation of its founder and CEO Damien Patton. The Utah-based company will transition "to a new, reconstituted leadership team effectively immediately."

"I am confident Banjos greatest days are still ahead, and will do everything in my power to ensure our mission succeeds," Patton said in the post. "However, under the current circumstances, I believe Banjos best path forward is under different leadership."

Patton leaves the company as valuable contracts with its home state of Utah went on hold in light of the explosive report, published in OneZero. The story revealed that at age 17, Patton drove a KKK member past a synagogue while he shot at the building. He reportedly went into hiding at a white supremacist training camp after the incident.

In a statement provided to TechCrunch, Utah's Attorney General office said it was "shocked and dismayed" at reports of Patton's prior affiliation with hate groups.

The company's CTO, Justin R. Lindsey, who joined the company full-time less than a year ago, will step into the top role.

Even prior to revelations of Patton's past, Banjo had come under scrutiny by privacy advocates for its pivot from a social tech company into a real-time intelligence platform for law enforcement. Last year, the company's director of government affairs for Utah told a group of public officials that Banjo "essentially [does] most of what Palantir does, we just do it live."

In its blog post announcing Patton's departure, the company emphasized its "unswerving commitment" to protecting private data and characterized its work as "technology solutions that protect privacy."
Shia LaBeouf made quite the impression on Dakota Johnson during filming of The Peanut Butter Falcon. In an interview with Marie Claire, the Fifty Shades of Grey star said, "I think Shia might be the greatest actor of my generation." Johnson joked that she'd never say that to his face, though.

In the drama, Johnson and LaBeouf's characters have a romantic spark  and she certainly made an impression on him, too. During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres last year, the Honey Boy actor called Johnson his best onscreen kiss.

"She's a sweetheart," he shared.

For anyone hoping for an offscreen romance between the two, Johnson is still off the market. The 30-year-old actress is dating Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin. During the same interview, she talked about co-directing Coldplay's video for "Cry, Cry, Cry."

"I wrote the story and pitched it to the band like every other director did, and they chose mine  not because theyre partial to me at all," she laughed.

Johnson, who is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, has been dating the 43-year-old musician since 2017.

"When I work, Im constantly thinking about the job. It takes up so much of my brain," the Suspiria star said. "Not all of my projects are only good messages, but all of them have a little bit of something that makes me feel like its an OK thing to pour my heart into."

Johnson explained her "brain moves at a million miles per minute."

"I have to do a lot of work to purge thoughts and emotions, and I am in a lot of therapy," she shared.

Johnson also got candid about her mental health.

"Ive struggled with depression since I was young  since I was 15 or 14. That was when, with the help of professionals, I was like, Oh, this is a thing I can fall into. But Ive learned to find it beautiful because I feel the world," she revealed. "I guess I have a lot of complexities, but they dont pour out of me. I dont make it anyone elses problem."

Johnson's interview, which was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, appears in the Summer 2020 issue of Marie Claire.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
SOLON, Ohio -- The coronavirus pandemic has put a damper on the celebrations that typically take place for graduating high school seniors and their families.

But the Solon City School District is still making every effort to bring meaningful closure to its senior class with a series of virtual events. They were discussed by Fred Bolden, the districts acting superintendent, when the Solon Board of Education met Monday (May 11).

The circumstances of the pandemic have impacted so many events and programs important to our students and their families, Bolden said. So weve come up with a collection of activities to replace those things in a safe way that is more appropriate for the times we are in right now.

As we work to implement the events we can, we do so putting the health and safety of students, families, staff and the community first.

The meeting was held remotely via video conferencing and live-streamed on YouTube and Solon Educational Television.

The virtual graduation ceremony for Solon High Schools senior class is set to be posted June 11 on both the school districts website, solonschools.org, and on Solon Educational TV.

Bolden said the ceremony will include all of the traditional elements of Solon High School commencements, such as the reading of all graduates names, student speeches, moving their tassels and tossing their caps.

We will share that link with the entire community so everyone can enjoy the official graduation program, he said.

On May 28, on what would have been the seniors graduation night, a Pomp and Circumstance Graduation Parade will take place.

The graduates and their families will ride in their cars through a decorated parade route that winds onto the Solon High School campus, Bolden said. Solon teachers and staff members will be parked and socially distant along the parade route on school property to cheer on the graduates.

The parade will culminate in front of the school, where our 414 graduates will receive their diplomas and have a professional photo taken to commemorate this important milestone, Bolden said. Then they will drive forth and head on into the next phase of their lives.

This past week, senior door decorations took place, Bolden said.

On the Solon PTA pages, youll see lots of parents posting the senior decorations that they did for their kids on their doors, he said. We hope you have been enjoying seeing the creative doors and windows senior families have decorated to honor their graduates as much as we have.

This week (the week of May 11) will culminate with Future Friday, a virtual display highlighting the future plans of the Class of 2020, Bolden said.

Every senior has submitted a picture of themselves and their next steps, along with describing what theyre doing, he said. We will share the link to view the virtual wall when it goes live on May 15.

Then next week, May 18-22, the district will have a Light Up the Night event.

Every night, were going to light up the stadium, showing pictures of our seniors and going through our senior awards ceremony that we normally have, Bolden said.

So we really have an exciting collection of events to help celebrate this Class of 2020 in a way that is both safe and well deserved by a bunch of kids that have worked really hard.

Added school board President Julie Glavin: I hope that everyone understands how many moving parts and how much work has gone into creating all these different plans, so that not only our students, but their families, can feel that the entire community is celebrating the graduates with the best type of atmosphere that we can for the kids.

I know that a lot of time and effort has gone into this  weeks and weeks of planning. Good luck, and congratulations.

Little kids not forgotten

Each of the districts three elementary schools will have a clap-out event for fourth-graders on June 4, Bolden said.

Its going to be a drive-by clap-out, he said. Our teachers will be along the drives of the various schools, apart from each other, appropriately distanced in masks, cheering out the kids as they are driven through the parking lot for the last time to say goodbye to the school.

Remote learning ends May 29

Friday (May 8) marked the last day of remote classes for Solon High School seniors. The last day of remote learning for all other Solon students will be May 29, instead of the originally scheduled June 4.

Students have been educated at home, under the guidance of teachers, since Gov. Mike DeWine ordered the closure of all K-12 school buildings in Ohio March 16 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This year, given the nature of everything that has happened, we have decided that we are ending school four days earlier than we normally would, Bolden said. Ending the school year early is not a decision taken lightly.

But closing out the school year safely and in accordance with public health guidelines for social distancing will be more complicated this year. Each of our schools will use the week of June 1-4 for closure activities and to allow for well-spaced schedules for the pickup and drop-off of school materials, technology devices, personal items, awards and projects.

Bolden said students and families have adapted well to remote learning.

We are proud of our students accomplishments this year and grateful for the ongoing partnership with our families, he said. We are also committed to providing our students with a full academic year of learning opportunities, despite the obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The board approved the list of 414 seniors who are candidates for graduation, contingent on each candidates successful completion in meeting all state and local requirements for graduation.

I can tell you that our kids are resilient, and Im very proud of the work that they have done to get this far and to be this successful, Bolden said of the soon-to-be graduates. I know that theyre going to do amazing things, and this is going to be a marking point in history that they were a part of, and its going to be with them for the rest of their lives.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
LONDON (Reuters) - Interpol has issued a wanted notice for Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. diplomat, who is wanted in Britain over a fatal car crash in a case that has caused friction between London and Washington, ITV reported on Monday. 'An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S

LONDON (Reuters) - Interpol has issued a wanted notice for Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. diplomat, who is wanted in Britain over a fatal car crash in a case that has caused friction between London and Washington, ITV reported on Monday.

"An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. intelligence official charged with causing the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn by dangerous driving," ITV reporter Adam Clark said on Twitter.

Interpol's website says a Red Notice is "a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action." Interpol issues such requests at the request of a member country, and they are not an international arrest warrant.

Interpol did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service did not confirm the ITV report but said in a statement that it still wanted Sacoolas to stand trial in Britain.

"We will continue to do everything we can to seek to ensure that happens. We are unable, however, to give any explanation of what steps may or may not be taken, because to do so may compromise operational effectiveness, the spokesman said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman reiterated criticism of the United States for refusing to extradite Sacoolas, saying it was a "denial of justice" and she should return to the UK.

The U.S. State Department has said Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity and that to extradite her would set "an extraordinarily troubling precedent".

The case prompted an intervention from President Donald Trump in October last year, when he hosted Dunn's parents at the White House and tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to meet with Sacoolas, without having given them prior notice that she was in the building.

Asked about the ITV report, Britain's interior ministry said any dealings with Interpol would be handled by the police force local to the incident. That local police force did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

(Reporting by William James, Andy Bruce and Kylie MacLellan, editing by Estelle Shirbon)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The White House on Tuesday denied President Donald Trump was trying to distract from the novel coronavirus pandemic by making the extraordinary accusation over the weekend that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had committed unspecified crimes.

Days after the Justice Department asked a judge to drop the criminal case against Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, Trump asserted on Sunday, without providing evidence, that Obama had some sort of illegal role in the FBI's initial investigation of Trump's first, incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

"The biggest political crime in American history, by far!" Trump tweeted, as he shared another tweet from a conservative talk radio host who said "the outgoing president used his last weeks in office to target incoming officials and sabotage the new administration."

PHOTO: President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with military leaders and his national security team in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, May 9, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

He did not provide details in the tweet, which was among 126 he wrote or shared from others on Sunday -- Mother's Day -- including many from conservative commentators -- his third-highest number of tweets and retweets in one day, according to the data analytics company Factba.se.

Early Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted that "OBAMAGATE makes Watergate look small time!"

MORE: Any Obama officials involved in Flynn 'unmasking' declassified: Source

In an interview Tuesday morning on ABC's Good Morning America, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden said "this is all about diverting attention."

Can you imagine any other president of the United States focusing on this at the moment when a country is just absolutely concerned about their health, the health of their children, the health of their families? Biden told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.

We have an economic crisis, we have a health crisis," Biden said. "This is all about diverting attention. Focus on what's in front of us. Get us out of this, Mr President."

Story continues

MORE: Biden pushes back on Trump's testing claims, labels coronavirus response 'incompetent'

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in response that the way the FBI treated Flynn as it questioned him should trouble each and every American.

PHOTO: Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally to support Michigan democratic candidates, Oct. 26, 2018, in Detroit. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, FILE)

"It is not a distraction to bring this up, McEnany said during an interview Tuesday morning with Fox News.

'Obamagate,' Trump said at a news conference Monday. "It's been going on for a long time. It's been going on from before I even got elected. And it's a disgrace that it happened."

Asked by a reporter exactly what crime he was accusing Obama of committing, Trump would not say.

"You know what the crime is," Trump told the reporter from The Washington Post. "The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours."

Obama on Friday during a private conversation with former members of his administration said that he had concerns with how the Justice Department had moved to drop its case against Flynn, according to an audio recording obtained by Yahoo News.

"Our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk," Obama said, according to the recording. "And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places.

White House denies Trump accusing Obama of unspecified crimes to distract from coronavirus originally appeared on abcnews.go.com


ROME (dpa-AFX) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. slowly started operations at its manufacturing plants in the South American country of Brazil after suspending operations for 48 days due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.



FCA noted that it is resuming vehicle production in Brazil after adopting world-standard measures in sanitation, health, safety and reorganization of processes at all its plants for a safe return to operations.



FCA suspended operations at its three manufacturing plants in Brazil from March 23, when it was producing 1,600 vehicles daily at its Betim Assembly Plant and 1,000 vehicles daily at its Goiana Assembly Plant.



The automaker said in a statement that about 6,400 employees out of the approximately 10,000 employees have returned to work, with about 4,300 workers at Betim factory and 1,500 at Goiana plant. It expects to ramp up vehicle production volume through May.



The same measures were successfully implemented for the approximately 600 employees who returned to work on May 4 at the Campo Largo engine plant in Parana, Brazil.



The automaker is using the experience it gained while resuming production in Italy and Asia to shape the new local standard. It has also initiated health monitoring with the help of a mobile application for constant temperature measurements.



The Group operates over 100 manufacturing facilities and over 40 R&D centers, selling the vehicles through dealers and distributors in more than 130 countries.



The Sevel plant in Atessa, Italy, a joint venture with PSA Group, resumed operations on April 27 after a variety of health and safety measures were implemented to enable return to work of most of the over 6,000 employees.



At the same time, limited activities also resumed at the plants in Cassino, Pomigliano, Termoli and Mirafiori in connection with components supply for the Sevel plant. It also resumed operations is in Turin and Melfi.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2020) - Lodge Resources Inc. (CSE: LDG) (FSE: 3WU) ("Lodge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has completed its second and final closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of units ("Units") at $0.35 per Unit (the "Offering"). At this final closing, the Company issued and sold an aggregate of 1,229,500 Units for gross proceeds of $430,325, and together with the first closing, the Company issued an aggregate of 4,268,911 Units for gross proceeds of $1,494,118.85.

Each Unit consists of one common share (each a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant") of the Company. Each Warrant is exercisable into an additional Share for 12 months at $0.50 per Share.

In connection with the second closing of the Offering, the Company paid a cash finder's fee of $12,355 to eligible finders. Additionally, the Company has issued an aggregate of 35,300 common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to the finders. The Finder's Warrants have the same terms as the Warrants issued under the Offering, but are non-transferable.

All securities issued in connection with the second closing of the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day in accordance with applicable securities legislation ending on September 12, 2020.

The net proceeds received from the Offering will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes.

About the Company:

The Company is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada and the USA.

On behalf of the Company

Howard Milne, Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact Ken Cotiamco, at 604-687-7130 or ken@skanderbegcapital.com.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Such securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

Story continues

Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward looking information or statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to statements relating to its future business plans. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company does not undertake to update forward looking statements or forward looking information, except as required by law.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55723
Armed with data showing high rates of electronic cigarette use among Natrona Countys high schoolers, the school board here voted Monday to pursue a federal lawsuit against vaping giant Juul.

I think a company that  it appears at least  has made a conscious effort to get children addicted to nicotine, which we all know has a long, storied history in this country and causes a great deal of health effects and early death, I think is worthy of us participating in this, board member Dave Applegate told his fellow trustees.

The board voted 7 to 2 to pursue the litigation, which will be handled by Jackson attorney Jason Ochs. Ochs previously represented the cities of Cheyenne and Casper in lawsuits against several opioid giants. The districts Juul lawsuit wont cost it any money, officials said Monday  costs will be borne by Ochs firm, who will get paid should the district receive a settlement or a victory at trial.

The district is the first in Wyoming to pursue litigation against Juul, officials said. Juul, which makes small, nicotine-loaded cartridges that can be loaded into its stick-like devices, is a giant in the e-cigarette industry. It reportedly holds 75 percent of the market.

A company spokesperson said Tuesday that the company did not intend to attract underage users.

We will continue to reset the vapor category in the U.S. and seek to earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes, the spokesperson said in an email to the Star-Tribune. As part of that process in the U.S., we are preparing comprehensive and scientifically rigorous Premarket Tobacco Product Applications, stopped the sale of flavored pods other than Tobacco and Menthol in November of last year, halted our television, print and digital product advertising and support the Administrations final flavor policy.

CNBC reported in October that while sales of e-cigarettes continue to climb, figures have slowed amid negative headlines and pressure from federal regulators.

In an email to the Star-Tribune, Ochs wrote that the lawsuit would be consolidated into the nationwide multi district litigation venued in California, but should the case go to trial, it will be tried in federal court in Wyoming.

Craig Silva, the districts private attorney, said Ochs had proposed the litigation to the board.

Youre going to be the lead school district in the state, youll be the only school district in the state that has at least engaged counsel to investigate and possibly bring action against Juul, Silva told the board Monday. Nationwide, I think this would be the eighth state to have entered and joined the litigation.

As of February, there were more than 300 lawsuits as part of the California litigation that Natrona County will join. The lawsuits allege that Juul marketed its products to juveniles. According to a 2018 reported by the Food and Drug Administration, one in five high schoolers in America had used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days.

In Natrona County, the rates are even higher. A survey conducted last year showed that 60 percent of high schoolers had vaped at least once in their lives. Forty-four percent had vaped in the past 30 days, and 15 percent said they vaped daily. Sixty-two percent said they saw little to no risk in using the e-cigarettes.

The data was sobering when it was presented to the board in January. Shannon Harris, the principal at Natrona County High, said then that kids were addicted and didnt realize the risks associated with e-cigarette use.

But one Juul pod contains the nicotine equivalent of an entire pack of cigarettes, and data shows that vaping can lead people from experimentation with cigarettes to established smoking, according to an analysis in the Annual Review of Public Health.

A Yale article from earlier this year cited a 2019 study, which found that people who use only e-cigarettes increase their risk of developing lung disease by about 30 percent compared with nonusers.

The FDA sent a letter to Juul last year, alleging the company had broken the law for advertising that its products were safer than conventional cigarettes without regulatory approval.

Referring to your ENDS products as 99% safer than cigarettes, much safer than cigarettes, totally safe, and a safer alternative than smoking cigarettes is particularly concerning because these statements were made directly to children in school, the agency wrote. ENDS products are e-cigarettes. Our concern is amplified by the epidemic rate of increase in youth use of ENDS products, including JUULs products, and evidence that ENDS products contribute to youth use of, and addiction to, nicotine, to which youth are especially vulnerable.

FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless further criticized the company in a statement to CNBC.

Regardless of where products like e-cigarettes fall on the continuum of tobacco product risk, the law is clear that, before marketing tobacco products for reduced risk, companies must demonstrate with scientific evidence that their specific product does in fact pose less risk or is less harmful, he wrote. JUUL has ignored the law, and very concerningly, has made some of these statements in school to our nations youth.

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New Delhi: Chinese helicopters were spotted flying close to the undemarcated border between India and China in Eastern Ladakh after around 250 soldiers of both sides were engaged in a fierce face-off near Pangong Lake in the area last week, official sources said.

The situation in the area remained tensed after the violent clashes between the troops on Tuesday evening, they said. Next day, both sides agreed to end the face-off at a meeting of local commanders.

The Chinese military helicopters were seen flying close to the Line of Actual Control on at least a couple of occasions following the clashes after which a fleet of Su-30 fighters of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties in the area, the sources said.

There was no official word on whether the Su-30 jets were rushed in to carry out the sorties in the wake of the face-off and aggressive Chinese posturing in the area.

Following the fracas, both sides brought in additional troops.

The sources said Chinese military helicopters routinely carry out sorties on the Chinese side of the border while Indian Army helicopters also fly in the area.

In the face-off on May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake and even resorted to stone-pelting.

A number of soldiers on both the sides sustained injuries.

It was the first case of troops from the two sides exchanging blows after a similar incident around the Pangong Lake in August 2017.

In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday. At least 10 soldiers from both the sides sustained injuries in the incident.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.

In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding.

Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening the bilateral ties.
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In more than a handful of swing districts, Democrats nominated first-time candidates such as Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) and Jason Crow (Colo.), who, respectively, served as a Navy helicopter pilot and an Army Ranger. They went on to win GOP-held seats and helped propel Democrats to the majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

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Garcia entered Tuesdays special election for this swing district a slight favorite over Christy Smith, a member of the state legislature who has run for multiple offices. Polls did not close until 11 p.m. Eastern time, and strategists on both sides expect the count to last several days before a winner is declared because California law allows votes sent by mail Tuesday to be counted if received by Friday.

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Garcia has painted his rival as a political veteran, and outside GOP groups call her Sacramento politician Christy Smith at the start of every ad.

Career politician Christy Smith did nothing, the narrator says in one ad for the Garcia campaign, accusing her of doing little while in the state legislature. While we suffered, she did nothing, nothing.

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It ends with Garcia approving of the ad as it cuts to a picture of him holding a toddler on a tarmac, an F/A-18 strike fighter aircraft in the background.

Garcias rise demonstrates that some recent trends in congressional politics continue even in the time of a coronavirus pandemic that has cratered the economy.

According to strategists in both parties, voters are still looking to elect a new breed of lawmaker, searching for results-driven candidates with interesting backgrounds and no previous experience in a legislative body.

Were disease vectors: Senators press for rapid coronavirus testing for lawmakers

That stands in contrast to the presidential campaign, in which Joe Biden used his 44 years of combined experience as a senator and vice president to emerge from a crowded field of Democrats, touting himself as the steady hand for these very unsure times.

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But when it comes to Capitol Hill, voters appear to still want to shake things up, making candidates like Garcia, Sherrill and Crow such key recruits for their respective campaign committees.

Also, Smiths campaign shows the limitations of trying to tie first-time candidates to President Trump and his more outlandish statements or claims.

In a more aggressive fashion than Democrats in 2018, Smith has tried to turn Garcia into a Trump clone, particularly with the administrations uneven handling of the health and economic crises.

I absolutely do support the president; I always have, Garcia says in one of Smiths ads, over a montage of news clips showing Trump boasting about his handling of the pandemic while the death toll skyrocketed. I think Trump is a good president, yeah, I support the president.

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Trump is not popular in a district where Hillary Clinton defeated him by seven percentage points in 2016, followed in 2018 by first-time candidate Katie Hills even larger victory over the GOP incumbent, Steve Knight.

Following Hills resignation in the wake of an inappropriate relationship with a campaign aide, Garcia finished second behind Smith in the all-party initial ballot in early March, finishing well ahead of Knight, a career politician whose father also represented the region in Sacramento.

Although he publicly supports Trump, Garcia has focused more on standard conservative issues such as cutting taxes  and with no voting record in office, he became harder to hit on issues.

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In 2018, those first-time candidates fielded by Democrats had an easier time ducking accusations that they were too liberal or too close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and they found success in focusing their attacks on GOP incumbents for their votes on health care and other kitchen-table issues, steering clear of Trump scandals.

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Like many of the 2018 Democrats, Garcia was essentially a self recruit. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had long-standing ties to Knight and, instead, Republicans lucked into having a more interesting candidate.

But Trump may have created a last-minute headache for Garcia by injecting himself into the race with tweets over the weekend accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election by adding an additional in-person voting site.

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Democrats were hopeful that Trumps intervention in the race would galvanize more liberal voters who have taken a passive view of the race.

Democrats privately acknowledge Garcia has run a better campaign, but they also say that Republicans have not recruited enough similar candidates to truly put the House majority in play. And even where they do have good recruits, Republicans face a cash shortage that will make their campaigns difficult to launch.

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Republicans consider Wesley Hunt their prototype for the future: an African-American who attended the U.S. Military Academy and went on to fly Apache helicopters in the Army, before returning home to the Houston suburbs.

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But Hunt had to first fight through a GOP primary and emerged with less than $500,000 left in his campaign coffers, compared with more than $2.6 million held by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Tex.).

Dave Wasserman, the House race analyst for the independent Cook Political Report, calculated the fundraising for 55 races initially targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, finding Democrats hold an average 6-to-1 advantage in cash.

Democrats directly challenge Trump  and GOP incumbents  over presidents handling of pandemic

In a strange twist, Garcia and Smith have already won their partys nomination for the regularly scheduled general election in November, so they will face off again regardless of Tuesdays outcome.

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Which is why neither the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor the National Republican Congressional Committee will spend any time criticizing their candidate, if they lose, because they have to keep working with the candidate for another six months.

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Regardless of Tuesdays outcome, Republicans expect to continue hitting that same theme throughout the fall, labeling Smith as a career politician.

During these frightening times, we cant trust Sacramento politician Christy Smith, the narrator says at the close of one NRCC ad currently on air.

Democrats, however, anticipate the larger pool of voters in November will boost Smiths chances there and, with more time to plan, expect the campaign themes to focus more on those that boosted so many of their candidates in 2018.

They expect it to look a lot more like one DCCC ad currently running.

More than ever, we need a leader who will put our health and safety first, but Mike Garcia would let insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions and hike up costs for lifesaving drugs, the narrator says.

Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak at the daily briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the briefing room at the White House April 16, 2020 in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON  Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease specialist and a key member of President Donald Trump's White House coronavirus task force, reportedly plans to publicly warn states Tuesday that prematurely reopening their economies will cause "needless suffering and death."

On Monday night, The New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg reported that Fauci had sent her an email ahead of his public testimony the following day at a hearing of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

"The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely," Fauci wrote in the email, which Stolberg posted on Twitter.

"If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal," wrote Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

@SherylNYT: Full Fauci email message to me

The email appears to put Fauci at odds with President Donald Trump, who has encouraged states to reopen as soon as it was possible to safely do so. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to an email late Monday night about Fauci's remarks.

The position of the White House is that it should be left to individual governors whether to follow the guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control, which describe criteria that states should reach before they begin a phased reopening.

These include a downward trajectory in the number of "positive tests" or "documented cases" of coronavirus for at least two consecutive weeks. Other recommendations include being able to provide "robust contact tracing" for people who test positive, and "surveillance testing" for high-risk groups.

But many states are reopening despite not having met these criteria, a move that experts like Fauci say puts American lives at risk for only negligible gain.

Texas and Colorado, for example, have yet to see two weeks straight of steadily decreasing cases, but they are nonetheless moving ahead with plans to restart their economies and reopen businesses.

Last week, Trump praised Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to reopen the state when the two men met at the White House.

"Texas is opening up and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I'm not sure that we even have a choice. I think we have to do it. You know, this country can't stay closed and locked down for years," Trump told reporters.

The other three witnesses will be CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield, assistant secretary for health at HHS Adm. Brett Giroir, MD, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Follow CNBC's coronavirus live blog for updates from the hearing.

As of Monday, more than 1.3 million Americans have tested positive for coronavirus, and more than 80,000 Americans have died from it, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Dodging bombs and bullets and surrounded by German enemy soldiers, 19-year-old U.S. Army Pvt. Daniel Zane had one purpose in mind as he bolted 80 yards through an open field on March 2, 1945. A fellow soldier was hurt.

Zane carried the injured man to safety, an act that earned him a Bronze Star.

A long lifetime later, 94-year-old Zane was again unfaltering, never leaving his wife Valerie Zane's bedside during the past year and a half as she neared the end of her seven-year struggle with Parkinson's disease and dementia.

In March, as the novel coronavirus pummeled nursing homes in the United States, Valerie Zane's unit in Haverford, Pennsylvania, had not yet had any cases but decided to close its doors to visitors. To continue to see her, he moved out of his independent living apartment and into a unit below her hospice room. And he stayed, even after a nurse there tested positive for the virus, which causes the disease covid-19.

Daniel Zane did not want his wife of 71 years to die alone.

Weeks after he moved in, Daniel Zane became fatigued and had trouble breathing. He was taken to a hospital.

On April 15, a day after his test came back positive for covid-19, Valerie Zane died. Daniel Zane was already unresponsive.

He died two days later.

"He was someone whose loyalty to others - and in this case, to his partner - made him put his own interests and comfort out of his mind in order to do what he thought was the right thing," said the Zanes' son-in-law Stuart Charme. "He decided his role was beside his wife, and he wasn't leaving under any circumstances."

Choosing to stay by his wife's bedside was a significant risk, given that nearly 1 in 10 nursing homes in the United States has reported a case of the virus, which has swept the globe has particularly affected people older than 65. With a greater risk of serious illness or death from the virus, the Greatest Generation is vanishing - taking with it stories of the Great Depression and World War II. Since 2015, the number of living World War II veterans has plummeted from about 939,000 to a third of that in 2020, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Like Zane, most of these veterans are in their 90s and could be at greater risk of becoming infected by the coronavirus, especially if they have underlying conditions or are living in a hot spot.

A year and a half ago, the Zanes moved from their home in White Plains, New York, to the assisted living community to provide better care to Valerie Zane and be closer to one of their daughters Nancie Zane and son-in-law Charme. Daniel Zane spent his waking minutes of that time doting on Valerie Zane, his family said.

Although he lived in an independent living apartment until their last few weeks, he was at her bedside every morning until she went to sleep at night. He fed her, wheeled her chair around the facility and made sure she was comfortable.

"He was making sure she wasn't alone," Nancie Zane said. "He was right there with her."

The New York couple married in their 20s and had two daughters, Nancie and Robin Zane. Daniel Zane was originally born and raised in New York City. He went to Lehigh University at age 16. He then served in World War II. After the war, he attended Fordham University's law school and was a real estate attorney until his recent retirement. Daniel Zane had his own law firm for about six decades.

Valerie Zane did administrative work in doctors' offices for three decades. Her family says she was a master at playing bridge.

The couple also enjoyed traveling, reading newspapers and talking to their four grandchildren. Daniel Zane was particularly passionate about sharing his 60 years of legal knowledge with his granddaughter Tali Charme-Zane, who is in her first year of law school.

When Charme-Zane looked at the audience at her mock trial tournaments, there was her grandfather, she said. He gave her a book by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and wrote inside the cover that he hoped it would be the first of many in her law library. When she needed to "phone a friend" in law school, Daniel Zane faithfully answered.

"He was always reliable," she said, "always there."

Another constant throughout his life was Daniel Zane's eagerness to share stories of his time serving in World War II. He told his family about how he fought in the decisive Battle of the Bulge and the time he liberated a concentration camp.

One of the few treasures his family has left from that time is a yellowed military document, written in black typewriter ink, that recalls the heroic feat from 1945 when he rescued his injured comrade on the battlefield. He earned a Bronze Star for that deed, and, his family says, one or two more for other heroic acts.

Aside from the document and a few photos, his tales are all they have left of a significant part of American history, his family fears.

"I know he was one of few World War II veterans who were left," his daughter Robin Zane said, "and it worries me in terms of lost history, on a very personal level."

She said the memory of major historical events is under threat with the loss of her father's generation.

"There will come a time when people will say World War II didn't happen, or the concentration camps didn't happen," Robin Zane said. "He showed me pictures of a concentration camp he liberated when I was a little girl. And now it feels like a dream. But I know it happened."
WATERLOO REGION  The Lazaridis Family Foundation has donated $8.5 million to local hospitals to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the purchase of necessary equipment including beds, ventilators and personal protective equipment.

The series of gifts from the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Family Foundation went to Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Grand River Hospital, St. Marys General Hospital and the South Bruce Grey Health Centre early this year, even before the virus arrived in Waterloo Region.

Mike Lazaridis personal help also improved their ability to respond by opening doors to contacts and supply chains around the world, creating bridges to the tech and innovation sector, and providing his insight.

We didnt even have to ask, Grand Rivers president and chief executive officer Ron Gagnon said in a joint statement released Monday announcing the donation.

In late February, before any of our communities had experienced their first confirmed cases of COVID-19, Mike Lazaridis was in contact with us. He was keenly aware of the health care system challenges that were about to unfold.

All four hospitals expanded capacity to prepare for unprecedented numbers of patients, while ensuring staff safety.

When planning for additional space for very sick patients at our hospitals we needed to think big and creatively, said St. Marys president Lee Fairclough.

The hospitals were able to buy the needed equipment early, including for laboratory testing, which Fairclough said will serve patients and the community over the long term.

The urgency of the COVID-19 response pushed hospitals to try new approaches to emerging challenges, such as using newly developed software for screening staff to working with local companies to develop new supply chains for protective equipment.

Taking risks isnt something often associated with hospitals, said Cambridge Memorials president and CEO Patrick Gaskin. The Lazaridis familys gift and Mikes encouragement and connections opened up the opportunity to try new and innovative approaches to solving problems. Our communities will benefit from what weve been able to do long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

Mike Lazaridis said he and his wife Ophelia wanted to help the community at a time of urgent need to make sure hospitals and workers could prepare early.

Were pleased to have this opportunity to enable, and to witness, the passion and innovative spirit of the staff and physicians at these hospitals, he said in the release.

I am also so proud of the entrepreneurs in the Region of Waterloo and how they have stepped forward and worked with our hospitals and health care workers to create new supply chains and solutions to keep patients and providers safe.
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams has been a worldwide superstar since he began churning out hit after hit in the 1980s.

Bryan Adams | Samir Hussein/Redferns

He achieved incredible success with one song in particular that took him hardly any time at all to compose.

The song that wrote itself

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You was the theme song for the 1991 Kevin Costner film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It hit the No. 1 spot in the U.S. and globally on Billboard that year and its success didnt end there. The blockbuster song also won a Grammy for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Its the song hes most associated with, the one he knows fans come to his concerts to hear.

Adams recalled in 2017 that it took him and producer Mutt Lange under sixty minutes to form the lyrics for what would become the iconic song.

I was in the back of a studio, we had a bit of a music from the film, monkeying around trying to make something happen. Literally, the song wrote itself.

Adams joked that he had no idea the song would become so big. I didnt have any idea. If I did, Id be doing it all the time. Songs are very personal to me.

Bryan Adams co-wrote a song with Ed Sheeran

Adams penned Shine a Light with the British guitarist and songwriter for his 2019 album of the same name. He explained to Classic Pop his inspiration for writing the song last year.

It was written as an idea for my parents, he recalled. I lost my father, and I wanted a song that could be a send-off for him, or for anybody else. The message of Shine A Light felt a good way of saying goodbye. Once Id had the idea, I sent it to Ed and we collaborated back and forth on email.

The 60-year-old artist explained how he met Sheeran and how the two worked on the song.

Wed met when we were both in Ireland on tour, he shared. I went along to his show, as I had a night off, so we met up and stayed in touch after. I just thought, I wonder if hed be up for writing a song with me? I sent Ed a note, saying, Ive got this idea And he went, Yeah! Id love to work with Ed again, hes great.

Adams work on the score for Broadway musical Pretty Woman

The songwriter recently dipped his toe into the world of Broadway musicals and wrote the score, along with collaborator Jim Vallance, for his first musical, Pretty Woman, drawn from the Garry Marshall romantic comedy.

Love is such an important message, Adams told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2018 when word got out about his involvement in the show. Its really what this musical is about. Its a big, fat love story. . .

Ive dabbled in love songs over the course of my life, you know, Ive done a couple, and thought that it would be an inspiration to be able to try and make this into a musical. Not that Ive ever done it before, but I love the challenge of it.
In 2016 Adam Lankford of the University of Alabama, published a paper examining the distribution of mass shooting/mass shooters around the world. The published result was the United States had a disproportionate number of these rare events. Lankford's study showed the United States had 5% of the world's population, but 31% of the the mass shootings/mass shooters, as defined by Lankford. It has become clear that Lankford was looking almost exclusively at single perpetrators, though he included about 2% where two people were involved. Lankford excluded terrorist attacks he identified as "sponsored" terrorism, but included some terrorist attacks.

John Lott questioned Lankford's finding based on the definitions used in the paper, which treated mass shootings and mass shooters as equivalents, although it was not precisely clear which definition was of a higher priority.

There is a discussion by both sides featured in Econ Journal Watch from March of 2019. Here is a link to John Lott's and Carlisle E. Moody's critique and Adam Lankford's reply.

Lott and Carlisle's critique relies heavily on definitions. They show, if the definition used by the FBI in its 2014 active shooter report, referenced by Lankford, is rigorously followed, then Lankford's paper is misleading about mass public shootings in the rest of the world. .....
Qualifying K-12 and higher education IT departments can manage unlimited computers  remote devices, classroom workstations, computer labs  free through July 15, 2020

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDeploy, a leading provider of modern endpoint management solutions, today announced that it is providing free SmartDeploy Premium subscriptions to qualifying educational institutions that have been impacted by COVID-19 closures. IT departments can use this unlimited-access subscription, valued at over $5,000, to provision student and faculty Windows devices, safely refresh computer labs to prepare for returning students, and manage remote user devices over the cloud.

"We hope that this free subscription will relieve some stress for IT staff during a time when the school year has been disrupted, spending may be frozen, and summer IT plans are uncertain," says Spencer Dunford, general manager of SmartDeploy.

IT technicians can request a SmartDeploy Premium subscription, which includes unlimited computer imaging, remote IT automation, and cloud services integration through Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive, at http://www.smartdeploy.com/covid19/ by using their school email address. Once approved, schools can use SmartDeploy to manage unlimited endpoints through July 15, 2020.

More than 5.1 million devices across K-12 school districts and more than 2.1 million devices across college and university campuses are currently managed by SmartDeploy endpoint management solutions.

"SmartDeploy zero-touch deployments are especially beneficial in computer labs that need to be reimaged regularly," explains Dunford. "Many schools are supporting a variety of Dell, HP, Microsoft, and Lenovo laptops, desktops, and tablets, both on-premises and remotely. The ability for techs to manage any device, anywhere by using SmartDeploy helps faculty and students learn remotely, regardless of the device type. Our customers appreciate this value and the improved productivity during this pandemic."

For most schools, the three months of summer break are when IT departments can perform annual maintenance on computers and undertake large, strategic projects that would cause disruption if they occurred during the school year. Menasha Joint School District in Wisconsin typically performs 80% of its annual computer reimaging by using SmartDeploy between June and August. "This year, we're getting a jump start on our summer IT projects while the school is empty. I expect we'll have all hardware refresh tasks completed by mid-June, nearly three months ahead of schedule," explains Paul Reed, technology supervisor at Menasha. "We haven't heard a final answer about whether we'll be open for summer school. If we are, the school district expects higher-than-usual attendance, which would make it difficult to complete our normal summer IT projects. With SmartDeploy, we'll be ready," says Reed.

Tim Brothers, technology director at Attalla City Schools in Alabama, is using SmartDeploy's remote imaging to increase safety by not having to touch devices to reimage machines. "With SmartDeploy's remote imaging capabilities via the SmartDeploy Console, I am able to push images to both wired and wireless clients without having to physically touch them or set foot in the schools. Right now, the fewer hands that touch a device, the better," explains Brothers.

About SmartDeploy

SmartDeploy is a leading provider of modern endpoint management solutions that enables centralized, single-image management of Windows and applications. SmartDeploy is the first and only solution to offer computer imaging and ongoing management over the cloud, with or without a VPN connection. More than 3,800 organizations, including Aetna, the US Department of Transportation, Nissan, University of Washington, ETRADE, and GE Healthcare, rely on SmartDeploy for endpoint management. SmartDeploy is a private company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. For more information, visit www.smartdeploy.com. Follow SmartDeploy on Twitter @SmartDeploy.

For any media inquiries and follow up, please send an email to [email protected].

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Mumbai: A 35-year-old Mumbai-based businessman, who runs an export and import firm, was defrauded of Rs 12.29 lakh in a phishing fraud.

The businessman had booked online personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, which are in high demand in the country because of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, from a Ukraine-based e-commerce company that turned out to be fake.

The businessman had ordered PPE kits such as N-95 masks, thermometers and safety goggles from Queen Corporation, which lured him with attractive offers, on April 3.

He transferred Rs 12.29 lakh in tranches between April 16 and 20, but days later his bank alerted him that Queen Corporation was a dodgy outfit and its other clients had filed several complaints.

The bank authorities have informed me that theyve frozen the account, where I had transferred Rs 12.29 lakh. However, they would require an FIR lodged in English to process my refund. I had filed the FIR in Marathi at Borivali police station on Sunday. Ive requested the police authorities to give me an English copy of the FIR at the earliest. Ive also found out that the website is dodgy, as several people have complained against it, the businessman told HT, requesting anonymity.

Laxman Dumbre, senior police inspector of Borivali police station, was unavailable for comment, despite several attempts.
A team of researchers from the United States and Canada has found evidence for 4.55-billion-year-old sodium-rich alkaline fluids in the Tagish Lake meteorite, a unique piece of the Solar Systems main asteroid belt.

The Tagish Lake meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite retrieved from an ice sheet in Tagish Lake, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, in 2000.

Due to the pristine nature and recovery of this space rock, its insoluble and soluble organic compounds such as amino acids, amines, and hydrocarbons are highly important for better understanding of the evolution of prebiotic life in our Solar System.

The team, led by Dr. Lee White from the Royal Ontario Museum, used atom-probe tomography, a technique capable of imaging atoms in 3D, to target molecules along boundaries and pores between framboidal magnetite grains that likely formed on the crust of the parent asteroid of the Tagish Lake meteorite.

There, the researchers discovered water precipitates left in the grain boundaries on which they conducted their study.

We know water was abundant in the early Solar System, but there is very little direct evidence of the chemistry or acidity of these liquids, even though they would have been critical to the early formation and evolution of amino acids and, eventually, microbial life, Dr. White said.

Our research provides the first evidence of the sodium-rich (and alkaline) fluids in which the magnetite framboids formed.

These fluid conditions are preferential for the synthesis of amino acids, opening the door for microbial life to form as early as 4.55 billion years ago, according to the team.

Amino acids are essential building blocks of life on Earth, yet we still have a lot to learn about how they first formed in our Solar System, said co-author Beth Lymer, a Ph.D. student at York University.

The more variables that we can constrain, such as temperature and pH, allows us to better understand the synthesis and evolution of these very important molecules into what we now know as biotic life on Earth.

The study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

_____

Lee F. White et al. Evidence for sodium-rich alkaline water in the Tagish Lake parent body and implications for amino acid synthesis and racemization. PNAS, published online May 11, 2020; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2003276117
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who has sought national attention as an anti-abortion and tough-on-crime crusader, will have his law license suspended for 30 days over allegations that he drunkenly groped a state lawmaker and three other women during a party, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The unanimous court decision said that the states attorney disciplinary commission 'proved by clear and convincing evidence that (Hill) committed the criminal act of battery.'

But the court gave the Republican attorney general a less serious punishment than a suspension of at least 60 days recommended by a hearing officer for his actions during a party marking the end of the 2018 legislative session.

Hill, who has resisted calls for his resignation from Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state GOP leaders, said in a statement he accepted the courts decision with 'humility and respect.' He named his chief deputy to oversee the attorney generals office until his suspension ends 17 June.

Democratic state Rep Mara Candelaria Reardon published her account of the 15 March incident, which occurred at an Indianapolis bar, in The (Northwest Indiana) Times newspaper.

In this 23 October, 2019, file photo, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill arrives for a hearing at the state Supreme Court at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. Hill's law license will be suspended for 30 days over an allegation that he drunkenly groped four women during a party, the state Supreme Court ruled today

Two of the women, Democratic state Rep Mara Candelaria Reardon, left, and Indiana Senate Democrats' communications director Gabrielle McLemore, right, went public on Friday

Reardon has said Hill put his hand on her back, slid it down and grabbed her buttocks

Video courtesy of FOX59

Gabrielle McLemore, the Indiana Senate Democrats' communications director, told The Associated Press that she decided to go public partly out of frustration with Hill's denial.

At the time, the two women also said they acted because they wanted to give other women the courage to confront inappropriate conduct.

Reardon described Hill's behavior as 'deviant' when she encountered him in the early morning hours after the legislative session ended for the year.

She says he leaned toward her, put his hand on her back, slid it down and grabbed her buttocks.

The Munster lawmaker says she told Hill to 'back off,' but he approached again later in the night, put his hand on her back and said: 'That skin. That back.'

At the same party Hill allegedly gave McLemore an unsolicited and unwanted back massage

Hill said in October that he had no intention of stepping down despite calls to do so.

'I am not resigning. The allegations against me are vicious and false,' he said in a statement Friday. 'At no time did I ever grab or touch anyone inappropriately.'

That's at odds with the accounts of both Candelaria Reardon and McLemore.

Hills statement released by his office made no mention of the allegations or the women who accused him of groping them.

'I offer my deepest gratitude to my family, friends and the entire staff of the Office of the Attorney General,' Hill said. 'My staff has worked tirelessly and without interruption and will continue to do so on behalf of all Hoosiers.'

Reardon has said Hill put his hand on her back, slid it down and grabbed her buttocks

Hill has denied doing anything wrong, testifying during a hearing in October that he briefly touched Democratic Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardons back while leaning in to hear what she was saying during the party and was startled to realize she was wearing a backless dress. Hill said 'absolutely not' when asked whether he grabbed Reardons buttocks.

Reardon testified that Hill, smelling of alcohol and with glassy eyes, was holding a drink in his right hand and put his left hand on her shoulder, then slid his hand down her dress to clench her buttocks. 'A squeeze, a firm grasp,' she said.

Hill, 59, also refuted testimony from three female legislative staffers - ages 23 to 26 at the time - that he inappropriately touched their backs or buttocks and made unwelcomed sexual comments during the party.

The court agreed with a finding from the hearing officer, former state Supreme Court Justice Myra Selby, that Hill crossed a line.

'The long, lingering, and meandering touches described by the four women and others, the various reactions of those who experienced or observed those touches, and the numerous other accounts of (Hills) conduct at the bar, all offer ample support for the hearing officers ultimate finding on this point,' the ruling said.

Hills attorneys questioned whether his actions were misinterpreted during the party, where alcohol was flowing along with loud music and conversation. They also argue that he didnt do anything improper as a lawyer and shouldnt face law license sanctions because a special prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against him.

The courts order directs Hill to not undertake any legal matters beginning May 18 for 30 days. The order allows Hill for automatic reinstatement of Hills license, differing from the hearing officers recommendation that Hill go through a reinstatement process that could have taken a year to complete.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a point to Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky, right, while meeting with local and state officials about improving school safety, including, from left Attorney General Curtis Hill (R-IN), Attorney General Pam Bondi (R-FL), and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2018

It is unclear how the decision impacts Hills ability to serve as state governments top lawyer. State law requires the attorney general to be 'duly licensed to practice law in Indiana,' but it doesnt specify whether the person can continue serving after facing professional disciplinary action. The Supreme Courts ruling doesnt address whether he continues as attorney general.

Holcomb said Monday that he still believes Hill should resign from office. He said his legal staff was researching whether he could appoint a new attorney general even though the disciplinary charges were first filed against Hill more than a year ago.

'I am seeking a quick turnaround on those questions to be answered,' Holcomb said.

Hill, who had been viewed as a rising African American star in the Republican Party, is seeking election to a second term this year.

Hill has aimed to build support among social conservatives with actions such as presiding over the burial more than 2,400 fetuses found at Chicago-area properties linked to a deceased Indiana abortion doctor and appearances on Fox News to discuss topics such as San Franciscos troubles with homelessness.

Two Republicans are challenging Hill for the partys attorney general nomination, which is to be decided during the GOP state convention scheduled for June 20.

Some Republicans argue nominating Hill puts the GOPs hold on the office in jeopardy even though Democrats last won a statewide election in 2012.

A top official of the Indiana Democratic Party called Hill a 'disgrace' whose conduct was 'repulsive.'

'Now the uncertainty created by his punishment could tip the state into a constitutional crisis,' said Lauren Ganapini, the partys executive director. 'Over and over, Indiana Republicans failed to remove him. They now own his shameful conduct and the crisis its created.'
The police in Jigawa on Monday said two suspected armed robbers fleeing arrest from a robbery scene were lynched by villagers in Sule-Tankarkar Local Government Area, following desperate moves to evade arrest.

One of the armed robbers, from Niger Republic, was later arrested, the police said.

The police spokesperson in Jigawa, Audu Jinjiri, said the robbers, numbering about nine, earlier robbed and killed a man, Kamisu Idris, at Andau village in Babura Local Government Area, and took to their heels after sighting the police.

The police responded to a distress call that some gunmen had stormed Andau village and robbed people of three motorcycles as well as shooting one dead. The police rushed to the scene. On sighting the police, the hoodlums opened fire and a firefight ensued, the police said.

The superior gunfire of the police forced the hoodlums to abandon the three robbed motorcycles, one AK47 rifle with nine rounds of ammunition, as they took to their heels, Mr Jinjiri added.

Moreover, he said three of the suspects on the run, also shot dead a man, Sabiu Magaji, 30, in a neighbouring village in Sule-tankarkar Local Government Area, in their effort to escape from the police.

Subsequently, the villagers ganged up and lynched two of the suspects. However, the police rescued another suspect by name Abdullahi Usman, 35, from Niger Republic, who sustained severe injury, the police added.

Also, Mr Jinjiri said the police recovered the second AK47 rifle with eleven rounds of ammunition and a handset, suspected to have been robbed.

He added further that two days later, one Salisu Ahmadu 25, of Dorawa Tara village, in Babura Local Government Area, was also arrested. He is strongly suspected to be an informant to the gang, which allegedly came from Niger Republic.

The case is under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department.
GRAND RAPIDS  Living paycheck to paycheck has long been a way of life for Jennifer Gerreds family.

The 35-year-old mother of five has difficulty working because she struggles from chronic respiratory problems, and her longtime partner, Shaun Bowen, has bounced in and out of different jobs over the past couple years. Cash needed to pay bills and make ends meet always seems to be in short supply.

Those challenges have been amplified by the coronavirus pandemic.

The family is keeping food on the table thanks to local nonprofits, and state and federal programs are helping with utility payments and other needs. But the couple is worried about the future. Bowen applied for unemployment at least three weeks ago but has yet to receive any assistance.

Its very overwhelming, Gerred said. No one knows whats going to happen in the future, but theres much more uncertainty than weve had in the past.

Similar worries are no doubt being felt by other families in Grand Rapids and beyond.

More than 1.3 million Michigan residents, roughly a quarter of the states workforce, have filed for unemployment over the past seven weeks as the coronavirus pandemic brought the state and national economy grinding to a near halt.

Waves of layoffs and furloughs have touched all segments of the population. But the economic disruption caused by the pandemic has hit low-wage workers and families with little savings particularly hard.

With no income, Gerred and Bowen are bracing for an uncertain future.

If you are reading this in your Facebook app, use this link to view the entire gallery of photos.

What happens, the couple wonders, if they dont have enough money to make this months $310 car payment?

My main concerns are the house payment and the van payment, said Bowen, 34, a self-employed mover, landscaper and maintenance man whose work dried up in March. Those are the two things that I really cant go without and I really have to have for my family. We can go a couple days without water. We can go a couple days without power. But we cant go without a house.

State, local and federal lawmakers, as well as nonprofits and community groups, have sought to strengthen the social safety net to avoid such occurrences during the pandemic.

Consumers Energy has suspended shutoffs for low-income and older adults through June 1. A new federal law has put restrictions on home foreclosures, and gives residents with federally backed mortgages an opportunity to pause or reduce payments for up to one year.

And local nonprofits such as Kids Food Basket, the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Public Schools and area churches are providing free meals for Gerred and Bowens five children, who range in age from 5 to 13.

Thanks to our community, I know our kids wont go hungry, she said.

The family lives in a single-story brick home on Tamarack Avenue NW that Bowen bought for $140,000 in December 2016. During the spring, summer and fall, the children like to ride bikes in the neighborhood and bounce on a trampoline that Brown purchased a few years back. They also pick fruit each season from apple, cherry, peach and pear trees Bowen planted several years ago.

In between daily runs to local food banks, Gerred says shes doing her best to ensure that her five children, who attend Grand Rapids Public Schools, are following the districts online learning plan now that in-person classes have been canceled for the rest of the year.

Its not that its particularly hard to do the work, said Gerred, whose children are sharing three district-issued mobile computers. I am like computer illiterate, and thats what makes it so hard and frustrating.

Stimulus checks and tax returns have been a lifeline as the couple hopes for a return to normal.

For nine years, Bowen worked at Corrigan Moving Systems in Byron Township. He left last year because he wanted to make a better living, and through connections and word of mouth, he began working as an independent contractor. He helps people move, mows lawns, paints decks, pressure washes houses, and offers landscaping services.

He also dabbles in photography.

But work dried up in March when Michigan was hit by coronavirus COVID-19, which has infected more than 47,000 residents and killed more than 4,500.

Bowen was relieved when he learned that an agreement, between the state of Michigan the U.S. Department of Labor, would  for the first time  make unemployment benefits available to self-employed workers such as him.

However, like many Michigan residents, getting access to those benefits is a challenge.

Bowen says he applied for unemployment three or four weeks ago, but he has not yet received any cash assistance. He says his claim was initially approved, but he was later notified that he had to submit additional documentation to receive the correct amount of pay. Questions about the status of his claim have since gone unanswered, Bowen says.

He says he understands that an unprecedented surge in claims has strained Michigans unemployment system. But hes starting to feel a bit frustrated at this point. A $310 payment on the familys minivan is coming due, and he already used a chunk of his stimulus check to pay for a plumber to repair a broken pipe that recently flooded his basement.

At first I wasnt really worried, because I was like everythings on hold, he said. Now its concerning.

Gerred says shes grateful for the assistance the family has received thus far. But looking forward, shes wonders how much help will remain available  and for how long.

We dont know whats going to happen, she said.

It makes me really nervous, because I dont know what we would do if we cant pay everything.

Read more:

Tuesday, May 12: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Judge denies attorney generals demand to shut down Owosso barber shop

U.P. man calls on businesses to reopen despite Whitmers orders, buys billboards across Michigan
Today, diplomats of the Embassy of Armenia in Georgia took food and first necessity items to the 15 citizens of Armenia who are at Upper Lars border checkpoint and want to leave Russia for Armenia through the territory of Georgia.

The Embassy of Armenia told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the diplomats talked to the citizens, presented the situation created as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions in Georgia and called on them to return to their respective places of residence until the opening of the border.

They also told the citizens that, due to the novel coronavirus, citizens of Armenia abroad are transported exclusively through the coordinated efforts of the Commandants Office for the state of emergency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, according to the timetable and action plan, and that any other initiative that is undertaken in violation of the set restrictions may lead to uncontrollable consequences and undermine the efforts for transporting citizens.
Even though Star Wars began with three movies, made between 1977 and 1983, its grown into a massive franchise. But after Return of the Jedi, it initially seemed like George Lucas wasnt going to make more. As Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian showed in its second episode, Lucas would always shrug when asked about more, not very committed to the concept. However, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy shared what spurred Lucas into creating the prequels, leading to the many films and series fans have today.

Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas on the set of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

George Lucas time working on Indiana Jones reminded him how much he missed directing Star Wars

In the second episode of the docuseries on Disney+, titled Legacy, Lucas was a major topic of conversation. Even though he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, he is still the creator, and without him, none of this would exist. Its only appropriate that theres an episode on his legacy. The topic came up of how Lucas decided to make more Star Wars after he seemingly finished in 1983.

I was around with the movies that were in between [Star Wars trilogies], which is the Indiana Jones movies, Kennedy said. This was during a roundtable discussion with those that have worked on the franchise, including Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. I dont think he ever stopped thinking about whether he would do more Star Wars, and I think what happened during Indy was that he was not on the floor directing. He was not necessarily in it because it was primarily Steven [Spielberg].

Kennedy and Lucas go way back, and she initially was Steven Spielbergs assistant. He enjoyed her production ideas, and she eventually became a producer on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with Lucas. But seeing Spielberg directing made got Lucas want to get back in that seat. He worked on the two Indiana Jones movies before going back to Star Wars for 1999s The Phantom Menace.

New technologies in filmmaking intrigued Lucas as well; he was always pushing those boundaries

In addition to wanting to get back to directing, Lucas was intrigued by all the new technology Indiana Jones was using. Not only with those movies, but Lucass visual effects company ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) also worked on major movies such as Jurassic Park, which was yet another technological breakthrough in the film industry.

With anybody like George, and anyone whos a filmmaker, they get antsy after a while at not being able to be on that floor telling stories, making movies, and his love of pushing the technology, Kennedy said. Obviously, we were doing a certain amount of that with each of the Indiana Jones movies, but it wasnt like Star Wars, and I think that each time we would push the technology, in making those movies, he got the bug to start thinking about what that might mean for Star Wars.

Between hyperdrive, space combat, and all the new possibilities for lightsaber duels, Star Wars is a very different visual effect challenge. One that Lucas wanted to get back to. Kennedy also brought up just how much at the forefront of visual effects Lucas was. She stated that when she started with Lucasfilm, he had over 126 patents, new tech that Lucas created.

The creators then went around the table and listed off things Lucas was the first to do. He had the first CG character, edit droid, and motion control for the miniatures used on Star Wars. Also, Jurassic Park was a seat change for visual effects. Lucas created Star Wars along with the technology that a lot of your favorite movies use today.

Interestingly, Episode I: The Phantom Menace had the most miniatures out of all Star Wars films

Going back to the miniature point, The Phantom Menace had the most practical miniatures out of all of Star Wars. A lot of what you see in that movie isnt CGI. As shown in the docuseries, miniatures make up the podracing set with the crowds on Tatooine. As Insider points out, the heads in the crowd were actually colored q-tips.

As the outlet also notes, the use of miniatures in Star Wars didnt end with Episode I. Revenge of the Sith had the most expensive miniatures in all of the franchise, up until that point. The duels and other effects are far more advanced than anything in the original trilogy, but practical effects like miniatures are still the backbone of the franchise. At least in the prequels, for sure.
[May 12, 2020] Calm Before the Storm: CoreLogic Reports U.S. Delinquency Rates at Record Lows in February

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report. The report shows that nationally, 3.6% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) in February 2020, representing a 0.4 percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with February 2019, when it was 4%. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005226/en/ CoreLogic National Overview of Mortgage Loan Performance, featuring February 2020 Data (Graphic: Business Wire) February marked the 26th consecutive month of falling annual overall delinquency rates. However, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the economy, and claims for unemployment insurance reach record highs, homeowners are at an increased risk of becoming delinquent in the coming months - with the risk for borrowers in negative equity being even higher. While the share of homes in negative equity fell to 3.5% at the start of 2020, home prices are forecasted to slow drastically over the next several months, which could drive down equity. States with already high negative equity share, including Louisiana, Connecticut, Maryland and Illinois, are most at risk for increases in delinquencies. "Delinquency and foreclosure rates were at a generational low in February as the U.S. unemployment rate matched a 50-year low," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. "However, the pandemic-induced closure of nonessential businesses caused the April unemployment rate to spike to its highest level in 80 years and will lead to a rise in delinquency and foreclosure. By the second half of 2021, we estimate a four-fold increase in the serious delinquency rate, barring additional policy efforts to assist borrowers in financialdistress."



To get an accurate view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency. In February 2020, the U.S. delinquency rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows: Early-Stage Delinquency (30 to 59 days past due): 1.8%, down from 2% in February 2019.

(30 to 59 days past due): 1.8%, down from 2% in February 2019. Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.6%, unchanged from February 2019.

(60 to 89 days past due): 0.6%, unchanged from February 2019. Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.2%, down from 1.4% in February 2019. This is the lowest serious delinquency rate since June 2000, when it was also 1.2%. As of February 2020, the foreclosure inventory rate, which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process, was 0.4% - unchanged from February 2019. February's foreclosure inventory rate tied the prior 15 months as the lowest for any month since at least January 1999.

"After a long period of decline, we are likely to see steady waves of delinquencies throughout the rest of 2020 and into 2021. The pandemic and its impact on national employment is unfolding on a scale and at a speed never before experienced and without historical precedent," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "The next six months will provide important clues on whether public and private sector countermeasures - current and future - will soften the blow and help us avoid the protracted, widespread foreclosures and delinquencies experienced in the Great Recession." In February, for the fifth consecutive month, no states posted a year-over-year increase in the overall delinquency rate, and Mississippi and Maine (both down 0.9 percentage points) recorded the largest declines. Only four metropolitan areas recorded small increases in overall delinquency rates and eight recorded increases in serious delinquency rates. The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on June 9, 2020, featuring data for March 2020. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Insights Blog: www.corelogic.com/insights. Methodology The data in this report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through February 2020. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not typically subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. Approximately one-third of homes nationally are owned outright and do not have a mortgage. CoreLogic has approximately 85% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data. The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient's publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient's parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Allyse Sanchez at [email protected]. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources. About CoreLogic CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), the leading provider of property insights and solutions, promotes a healthy housing market and thriving communities. Through its enhanced property data solutions, services and technologies, CoreLogic enables real estate professionals, financial institutions, insurance carriers, government agencies and other housing market participants to help millions of people find, acquire and protect their homes. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005226/en/

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FILE PHOTO: Beef for sale is seen at a Walmart in Beijing

By Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - China has suspended beef imports from four of Australia's largest meat processors, as the trade of several key agricultural commodities suffers in the wake of souring ties stemming from a dispute over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suspension comes after Australia last month called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus and just days after China proposed introducing an 80% tariff on Australian barley shipments.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham described the import suspension as "disappointing", but denied it was retribution by China over Australia's desire for a coronavirus inquiry.

China has rejected the need for an independent inquiry, and Beijing's ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, in late April said Chinese consumers could shun Australian goods in response to Canberra's support for such an investigation.

Birmingham said Kilcoy Pastoral Company, JBS's <JBSS3.SA> Beef City and Dinmore plants, and the Northern Cooperative Meat Company have been banned from exporting beef to China due to issues with labelling and health certificates.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that China's customs agency "continuously" found instances of the Australian companies having violated inspection and quarantine requirements and suspended the imports to "ensure the safety and health of Chinese consumers".

"(China's customs) notified the relevant Australian departments and required them to investigate completely the reason for the problem and to fix it," Zhao said during a daily briefing in Beijing.

He added that the suspension was unrelated to the bilateral dispute over COVID-19.

Labelling issues were also cited by Beijing when the same companies and two others lost their licences to ship beef to China in 2017 for several months.

"Thousands of jobs relate to these meat processing facilities. Many more farmers rely upon them in terms of selling cattle into those facilities," Birmingham told reporters in Canberra.

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Australian Meat Industry Council Chief Executive Patrick Hutchinson said the companies made up approximately 20% of Australian beef exports to China.

Australian meat exporters were aware of Chinese labelling requirements, Hutchinson said.

"Sometimes their tolerance levels go up and down. This time we have a situation where the tolerance is quite low for this issue".

TRADE CONCERNS WEIGH

Worth more than A$3 billion ($1.94 billion), Chinese demand for Australian beef surged in 2019, fuelled by a growing middle class and as consumers switched to eating beef as pork availability fell during a swine fever outbreak which decimated Chinese hog herds.

China is by far Australia's largest trading partner, taking around 38% of all exports in 2019, and the growing spat weighed on the Australian dollar on Tuesday.

"First barley now beef," said Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at AxiCorp. "The Aussie has been under pressure most of the day due to tariff issues with China."

Australia was China's third largest beef supplier in 2019, after Brazil and Argentina. China's beef imports surged in the first quarter of 2020, despite a sharp slowdown in demand as consumers stay away from restaurants following the coronavirus outbreak.

"The impact on China is very small," said a Chinese beef buyer with a state-owned trading firm. "There are a lot of other countries exporting to China. There are no products (from Australia) that cannot be replaced."

"There's too much beef around and prices are weak," said the importer.

JBS said in a statement it was working with Australian officials "to understand the technical issues that China has raised" and would take corrective action.

Kilcoy Pastoral Company, its owner China's New Hope Group, and Northern Cooperative did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China has committed to increase its purchases of U.S. agriculture including beef under a phase one trade agreement with the administration of President Donald Trump.

U.S growers of corn and sorghum could also benefit should Australian barley exports to China be hit by a big tariff. Barley, like corn and sorghum, is often used in animal feed in China.

Australia is China's top supplier of barley, sending it about A$1.5-A$2 billion of the grain each year. China takes more than half of Australia's barley exports.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham; Additional reporting by Huizhong Wu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Tom Hogue, Lincoln Feast and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
The future of ID-check free travel across 26 European countries is at risk if governments do not ease soon the emergency border restrictions they introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus, European Union lawmakers and officials warned on Tuesday.

As the virus outbreaks expanded in Italy in February, the country's neighbors imposed border measures to keep the disease out, without any consultation. Others then followed suit until almost half the members of the zone known as the Schengen area had reintroduced controls of some kind.

Free movement is a jewel in Europe's crown which helps business flourish by allowing goods and people to seamlessly cross borders. Schengen came under pressure as countries introduced measures after the arrival of more than 1 million migrants in 2015, and in response to a series of extremist attacks. Some countries have kept those controls in place.

European officials fear that the coronavirus could be a nail its coffin.

"The risk we are facing seriously today is the death of Schengen," Tanja Fajon, a leading EU lawmaker on the border measures, said Tuesday.

"It is in a very poor and problematic state. It has been hit years ago by the refugee crisis and the virus delivered another blow. We have to restore free travel as soon as possible once the pandemic is over," the lawmaker from Slovenia said, adding that countries need to quickly draw lessons about whether the "very chaotic, selfish and egotistical approach at the borders" early in Europe's outbreak were worth it.

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is unveiling on Wednesday its guidelines for the 26 countries to lift any border restrictions they have in place.

It's likely to recommend that they open in areas of similar low infection rates and based on the resilience of health care systems.

"The challenge which lies ahead of us is restore the integrity of the Schengen area," said Monique Pariat, the commission's Director General of Migration and Home Affairs.

"The process will be complicated. Member states have introduced different measures in a very uncoordinated manner and unwinding these different national decisions will take some time."



A serious challenge is that some Schengen members appear to be willing to lift controls only to people from countries that they consider to be safe from the virus or which might make up an important part of their tourism market. The EU insists that when a border between two countries opens, every resident should be allow to cross, regardless of their nationality.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, for example, said last week that he intends to reopen Austria's borders to "safe countries" like Germany and the Czech Republic, as he seeks to encourage tourists to spend the summer in his Alpine country.

Austria's Tourism Minister Elisabeth Koestinger said Tuesday that "closed borders can't be an ongoing situation. We have always pushed for considerations on how and under which conditions borders could be reopened", according to the APA agency.

In the past few weeks the minister has pushed for the reopening of borders to countries that are as "successful in combating the coronavirus as Austria. This means that we - under continuous observation of infection figures - should go back to open border step by step".

Thousands of German tourists visit Austria each summer, and tourism accounted for 15.3 % of Austria's GDP in 2018.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, however, warned that there can be no discrimination.

"Member states cannot open borders for citizens of one EU country but not for others. This is essential," she told EU lawmakers last Thursday.

Regardless of what happens inside the Schengen area, people from outside Europe will not be permitted to enter until at least June 15.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Herb Hoeptner and his wife, Diane, at UC San Francisco Medical Center the day after she donated one of her kidneys to him. (Associated Press)

Organ transplants plummeted as the coronavirus swept through communities, with surgeons wary of endangering living donors and unable to retrieve possibly usable organs from the dead. Even when doctors were willing and able, hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients were sometimes too full to accommodate them.

Between late February and early April, deceased donor transplants  the most common kind  dropped by about half in the U.S. and plunged 90% in France, researchers reported Monday in the journal Lancet.

Transplants from living donors had a similarly staggering dive, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the U.S. transplant system. There were 151 living donor transplants in the U.S. in the second week of March when a pandemic was declared. By the week of April 5, there were only 16 such transplants, according to UNOS.

Its too soon to know how many people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant may die not from COVID-19 infection but because the pandemic blocked their chance at a new organ. Kidney transplants make up the vast majority of the drop, but heart, lung and liver transplants declined, too.

Living donations might be rescheduled, but missed organs from a deceased donor are lost opportunities, wrote the study team led by Dr. Alexandre Loupy, a kidney specialist who heads the Paris Transplant Group.

More recent counts by UNOS show that transplants started inching back in late April, with U.S. hospitals trying to decide how to safely ramp up.

Geographic variation could offer important lessons, said Dr. Peter Reese, a transplant nephrologist and epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania who worked on the Lancet study.

Transplant centers and patients really want to get going again, but there are all these questions, said Reese, whose team is collecting data from Canada and other parts of Europe for a closer look. We need to be finding places that maintained their transplant rates and finding out what they did.

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Hospitals worldwide postponed all kinds of medical care as they were flooded with COVID-19 patients. Decisions about transplants are among the trickiest. Theyre not elective surgeries, but patients must take immune-suppressing medicines to prevent rejection of their new organ  putting them at greater risk if they encounter the virus.

The larger drop seen in France may be due to more centralized public health policies than in the state-by-state variations in the U.S., Reese said.

That equation changes depending on what area of the country youre in, agreed Dr. Abhinav Humar, transplant chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His transplant center, still running, has taken in patients from New York and other harder-hit areas who needed a new liver, had a willing living donor and cant afford the luxury of waiting two or three months at least in hopes their original hospital could take them back.

In an average month, New York does about 220 transplants statewide. In the first weeks of April, that had dropped to 23, Samantha Delair of the New York Center for Liver Transplantation told a recent UNOS video conference.

In contrast, UC San Francisco has seen small transplant drops, said Dr. Chris Freise, the interim transplant director there.

Were one of the few centers that kept going through all of this, but it was not without a lot of careful thought, said Freise, who needed daily updates in deciding what transplants were safe to schedule. He said he remains on guard as Californias social distancing restrictions are gradually lifted.

Herb Hoeptner after his kidney transplant surgery. (Associated Press)

For example, Freise's team allowed living kidney transplants for people like Herb Hoeptner, who was on the brink of needing dialysis.

When you have kidneys that have nothing left, you either go on dialysis or you die. That was much more of a concern to me than coronavirus, Hoeptner said.

The 66-year-old from Gilroy, Calif., realized only after his March 31 surgery how rare a transplant during the pandemic was.

I was extremely lucky, added Hoeptner, whose wife, Diane, was his donor and rebounded quickly from the surgery.

In places where COVID-19 is more widespread, living donors are understandably nervous. "We dont yet have a way to talk to living organ donors about whats a reasonable risk, Reese said.

Deceased donations are even more complicated. Early on, testing shortages made it hard to be sure would-be donors who died of something unrelated like a car crash were virus-free, a problem that's easing. Still, hospitals dont want out-of-town surgeons visiting to retrieve organs and cant always spare a local surgeon to do the job, or find a plane to fly the organs where they need to go.

Surgeons must weigh if it makes sense to accept less-than-perfect organs that might work but could keep the recipient hospitalized for longer.

Dr. David Axelrod , a University of Iowa kidney surgeon, said his team is trying to be careful about it, trying to make sure that they're organs that we think people can come in and get transplanted successfully and go home quickly.




Vancouver actor Bhavkhandan Rakhra is home from India but worries about the risk he took on a Canadian government repatriation flight that provided no physical distancing between passengers.

The journey from Amritsar, Punjab to Vancouver, B.C., with a short stop in Doha, Qatar took nearly 19 hours.

"Jam-packed plane. Not a single seat empty," said Rakhra, 64, regarding Qatar Airways flight 5481.

Rakhra paid $3,215 for the one-way flight and assumed the hefty price would ensure him a safe seat.

"I don't see how can they justify four times the fare, one-way travel, without any social distancing," said Rakhra, who estimates a one-way ticket usually costs approximately $800.

Rakhra, who travelled to India on February 27 for a film shoot, was scheduled to return to B.C. on April 7 but was stranded when India declared a 21-day lockdown and all commercial flights were suspended.

He returned on May 7 and is now in mandatory quarantine for 14 days at his South Vancouver home anxious and worried that he may have been exposed to COVID-19.

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Busy airport

Passengers were instructed to be at Amritsar's Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport six hours before departure time.

Rakhra arrived at 1:45 p.m. and waited outside the airport for an hour to get inside, while the temperature hovered at 38 C.

There were 40 people ahead of him and within 45 minutes another 150 behind him.

"People were not following that six feet or two metre thing and no one was really enforcing it even though there was the police and airline people," said Rakhra.

Submitted by Bhavkhandan Rakhra

Temperature check

Once in the airport, passengers had their temperature checked and filled out medical forms beyond the regular check-in process  which Rakhra said moved quite smoothly.

Everyone was issued a boarding pass and through security in about two hours, he said.

Then there was more waiting until 7 p.m. and the scheduled arrival of their Qatar Airways plane, while the air-conditioning worked in only one small area of the boarding lounge.

Story continues

"There were mosquitos at the airport. There were birds. There were pigeons flying here and there," said Rakhra who managed to snag a seat in the cooler area.

Bhavkhandan Rakhra

While there was little physical distancing during the wait, at boarding time, Rakhra says, airline staff were very strict with passengers.

"They were telling everyone make one line, stay six feet away and we'll gently load up everybody but if you stay together it will delay the flight," he said.

None of that mattered on the plane, said Rakhra, where passengers were shoulder-to-shoulder.

Appropriate balance, says government

Surrey-Newton Liberal member-of-parliament Sukh Dhaliwal says everyone who gets on a repatriation flight is subject to a temperature check, obligated to wear a mask during the flight and then self-isolate for 14 days after arriving home.

In an email to CBC News, Dhaliwal said the federal government feels it has achieved an appropriate balance between safety measures and the urgent need to get thousands of people back to Canada.

Submitted by Bhavkhandan Rakhra

There were over 30,000 Canadians in India when border closures and flight cancellations began to take effect.

So far, the federal government has faciliated 37 repatriation flights.

During Rakhra's attempts to find a spot on one of those flights, he was stuck in a house in Jalandhar, Punjab, and had locals bring him emergency food and supplies for 21 days.

Rakhra tried to get on charter flights arranged by a volunteer group based in Surrey, B.C., but at the last minute the Indian government revoked its permit for the flights.

Eventually Rakhra, who was born in India, obtained a hard-to-get travelling permit and made it to his hometown of Moga where he could stay with extended family and try to get on a federal government flight.

Bhavkhandan Rakhra

Home sweet home

The first thing he did upon arriving home was shed his travel clothes in his garage, take a shower and put on clean clothes.

Then he greeted his wife and children from a distance and retreated to a bedroom where he will self-isolate for two weeks.

"I didn't even say anything to my dog. He was just looking at me," joked Rakhra via a video-conference call.

The room has it's own bathroom and a deck area where Rakhra can get some fresh air and exercise.

He spends most of his time meditating, reading and online.

His meals are left at the door.

Submitted by Bhavkhandan Rakhra

Rakhra says he feels good and healthy but the 14-day isolation period will be stressful and all he can do is hope for the best.

CBC Vancouver's Impact Team investigates and reports on stories that impact people in their local community and strives to hold individuals, institutions and organizations to account. If you have a story for us, email impact@cbc.ca.
SYDNEY, May 12 (Reuters) - China decision to ban imports from four of Australia's largest beef processors was not a response to Canberra's call for independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, Australia's Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday.

Birmingham had earlier said in a statement that Kilcoy Pastoral Company, JBS's Beef City and Dinmore plants, and the Northern Cooperative Meat Company have been banned from exporting beef to China due to issues with labelling.

The suspension of the beef shipments came as ties between Australia and China publicly soured, although Birmingham said he did not believe it was retribution by China over the call for an inquiry into the orgins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Tom Hogue)
People gather to protest against provisions of a draft law on Vietnam's three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Ho Chi Minh City, June 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

The draft law on public demonstrations in Vietnam, which has been planned for nine years now, will not be submitted to the parliament for discussion in its upcoming session.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a request by the Ministry of Public Security to postpone the date of submission of the bill to the National Assembly (NA).

The ministry has asked for more time to make the bill more coherent, it said in a letter responding to voters who asked about the time frame for submitting the bill to the parliament.

As directed by the government, the ministry has worked with related agencies and learned from the experiences of Russia, China, South Korea and Thailand in working on the Law on Demonstration.

The draft law has received feedback from related ministries and departments, and it has been appraised by the Ministry of Justice, and cabinet members, but there are many issues that need to be resolved, the ministry said.

The issues have to do with the basics of the law  on who is allowed to demonstrate, under what conditions demonstrations can be organized, and who can authorize a demonstration.

"The Law on Demonstration will have a great impact on the social life and attract great attention from the public and thus it needs to be studied carefully and should be realistic.

"Besides, its quality must be guaranteed so that anti-state groups cannot take advantage of loopholes and engage in sabotage," the ministry said.

On the other hand, for the Law on Demonstration to work effectively, other related laws have to be completed including the Emergency Law and the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Combat Gear.

The draft law on demonstration was to be submitted and discussed at the next NA session opening May 20.

Now, in its latest statement, the ministry does not specify for how long the submission will be delayed.

NA delegate Duong Trung Quoc said many countries have laws on public demonstration, which is a basic right.

"I endorse the drafting of this law to prevent illegal demonstrations and create conditions for legal ones to promote social progress," he said.

Multiple delays

The NA gave the nod for drafting the Law on Demonstration back in November 2011.

In February 2016, the Justice Ministry suggested that the NA postpone discussing the bill from March 2016 to the end of that year.

Then in July 2016, the National Assembly Standing Committee said there were still issues with important parts of the draft law and pushed submission until the following year.

Later, at the committees meeting in April 2017, Justice Minister Le Thanh Long said the bill had been prepared by the Ministry of Public Security and it was time for the justice ministry to appraise it. Long said the justice ministry had found that the bill was not qualified enough to go further. Since then, the bill has remained with the public security ministry.

In 2018, large crowds of protesters gathered in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Binh Thuan and other places to protest against provisions of a draft law on Vietnam's three Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Information that the provision would allow foreign investors to lease land for 99 years was the primary trigger for the protests. Vietnams current Land Law allows investors to rent land for up to 70 years.

Many instigators and demonstrators have been jailed after the protests. With Vietnam yet to pass the Law on Demonstration, acts to incite public protests are deemed illegal.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Exro Technologies Inc. (CSE:XRO)(OTCQB:EXROF)(the "Company") invites investors and industry leaders to view an update of the Company's technology and commercialization strategy from its Chief Commercial Officer, Josh Sobil.

In his interview with Andrew O'Donnell, host of the investment program SuperCharged Stocks, Mr. Sobil discusses the long-term move toward electrification in industries which will benefit from Exro's technology, which dramatically improves the performance of electric motors and powertrains. Sobil outlines how, during the pandemic, the company is advancing its strategy to commercialize Exro technology in the automotive, agricultural, e-bike and last mile transportation, recreational markets, and other sectors that rely on electric motors.

"Over the long term, there's not only a need, but I think a want, to move toward electrification," Sobil says in the interview. "So, we're bullish."

The interview can be viewed online here.

About Josh Sobil:

Mr. Sobil has over a decade of experience in the power conversion industry, beginning his career with General Electric ("GE") as part of the Commercial Leadership rotational program with roles in engineering, commercial management and manufacturing as well as rotations centred around GE's large motor business out of Peterborough, Ontario. Mr. Sobil also had roles as Application Engineering for large motors in the Mining, Chemical and Oil & Gas sectors, then moved to Sales Manager for Western North America based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. In late 2014, Siemens Canada hired Mr. Sobil to lead the growth of its Mining business in Western Canada. In 2016, he was promoted to National P&L manager for the Siemens Mining business unit. He is a graduate of McMaster University with a Bachelor of Engineering & Management in Mechanical Engineering. Additionally, he is a graduate of GE's Commercial Leadership Program and has an MBA from Schulich School of Business specializing in Strategy & Finance.

About Exro Technologies Inc.

Exro facilitates the transition to clean energy by providing products and services to manufacturers to increase the efficiency and reliability of power systems, including electric motors, generators and batteries. Exro's patented technology enhances energy systems by dynamically sensing and adapting variable inputs and optimally matching them to desired outputs, creating measurable performance gains and extended lifespan. The widespread applications of the technology apply to optimizing the performance of electric vehicles, UAVs, and ship drives, as well as pumps, industrial motors, and energy capture from wind and tides.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sue Ozdemir, Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT INFORMATION

Canada: Jake Bouma

Jbouma Consulting Ltd.

604.317.3936

United States: Vic Allgeier

TTC Group Inc.

646-841-4220

Email: info@exro.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "believe", "may", "would", "could", "will" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning the Company's intention to commercialize its product in the near term. Such statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual performance or achievements to vary from those described herein. Should one or more of these factors or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

SOURCE: Exro Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589453/Advisory-Exro-Chief-Commercial-Officer-Is-Interviewed-On-Exros-Technology-Commercialization-Strategy
Joint Forces returned fire following each enemy shelling.

Russia's hybrid military forces on May 11 mounted six attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire six times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 12, 2020.

Russia-led forces opened fire from grenade launchers of various types, weapons installed on infantry fighting vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rifles.

Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the towns of Avdiyivka and Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Pavlopil, Starohnativka, Krymske, and Pivdenne.

Read alsoHead of Donetsk art hub Liubov Mikhailova: On Donbas issue, Ukraine seems to be walking the path of "let go and forgive", imposed by Russia

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling. According to intelligence data, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another two were wounded.

"Since Tuesday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near Krymske, using a 120mm mortar, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns, heavy machine guns, and rifles," the update said.

No casualties have been reported among Ukrainian troops since day-start on Tuesday
Cherie Blair today revealed she wishes she'd put more effort into doing her hair and makeup, as well as admitting that success in life is often down to who you know.

The barrister, who spent ten years in 10 Downing Street while husband Tony Blair was British Prime Minister, confessed that she didn't anticipate how much her appearance would matter during that time.

Mrs Blair, who is a QC and has a CBE, said she was taken aback when Labour won the 1997 election and there was such intense focus on how she looked.

The mother-of-four, 65, also revealed she was shocked at how much her humble upbringing in a single parent family in Liverpool initially held her back when she went to train as a barrister.

Cherie Blair (pictured recently) today revealed she wishes she'd put more effort into doing her hair and makeup, as well as admitting that success in life is often down to who you know

Mrs Blair famously opened the door of her Islington home in her nightdress the morning after the Labour election victory in May 1997

Speaking to the Big Issue magazine, she admitted: 'I hadn't realised when Tony became prime minister that there would be such interest in me.

'Of course Tony and I were quite different from our predecessors. I was the first prime minister's spouse to have gone to university. It just wasn't the thing for women to do that.

'We were also different in that we had a young family, our kids went to the local state school. So there was a lot of interest in all of that. I became conscious of what I wore, how I looked.

'I did quite a lot of high profile cases as a lawyer, but there you were judged by your successes or otherwise in court - with the wig and gown it's not a beauty contest.

The barrister, who spent ten years in 10 Downing Street while husband Tony Blair (pictured together centre, with the Queen, left, and Prince Philip, right, outside Downing Street in 2002) was British Prime Minister, confessed that she didn't anticipate how much her appearance would matter during that time

Mrs Blair (pictured with her family in 2001), who is a QC and has a CBE, said she was taken aback when Labour won the 1997 election and there was such intense focus on how she looked

'So it was a bit different being in the public eye when no one was interested in what you said. In fact you weren't supposed to say anything. People tend to focus on how you look.

'So if I could give my younger self advice I'd say learn how to do your hair and makeup.'

Recalling her barrister training after she'd graduated from LSE, Mrs Blair added: 'If I could go back and give my young self advice it might be to understand, which I didn't until I went to the bar to do my pupillage, that in this world it's not just about how much you know, it's also about who you know.

'And I didn't know anyone. I definitely felt the imposter syndrome at times.

'Just little things like going to eat the dinners at Lincoln's Inn [the prestigious London-based body of lawyers]... they presented port at the end and I had no idea what it was. I just didn't know the etiquette of things.

'I only realise now that a lot of what we were doing in the halls and Lincoln's Inn was what they did in Oxford colleges and public schools, but they were completely alien environments to me.'

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, The Big Issue vendors arent able to sell on the streets. You can support The Big Issue by downloading the app, available on Apple Store and Google Play, subscribe online or buying the magazine from leading retailers, with half of proceeds going directly to vendors.
This morning, Snap joined a host of startup accelerators shifting its demo day online amid the COVID-19 quarantine. With its third class of startups, Yellow, Snap's in-house startup accelerator that launched in 2018, brought investors and founders together in private slack channels after a live-streamed presentation.

The event kicked off with a few words from CEO Evan Spiegel and soon transitioned into a succession of live-streamed pitches from the 10 startups in Yellow's latest batch. The group occupies some familiar spaces for past investments, with a focus on niche social communities, mobile media tools and augmented reality.

Snap investment Hardworkers

The 10 startups in Yellow's third batch include:

Brightly : a media platform and community that promotes ethical and sustainable brands.

Charli Cohen : a "next-gen" streetwear fashion brand.

Hardworkers : a professional network for blue-collar workers.

Mogul Millennial : a media startup sharing professional resources for Black entrepreneurs.

Nuggetverse : a web comics media startup.

SketchAR : an augmented reality drawing app with social tie-ins.

Stipop : a rich cross-platform chat sticker API.

TRASH : an app for quickly editing social video cuts using machine learning.

Veam : a social network built around AirDrop.

Wabisabi Design: an augmented reality game studio focused on bit-sized titles.

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to chat with Mike Su, who leads the Yellow program at Snap . Su said that shifting to a fully online program was a bit of a shock to the program, which was about one month in when COVID-19's impact worsened stateside.

Yellow's small batches are much easier to manage than other accelerator behemoths like Y Combinator that are pushing hundreds of startups through their network. Nevertheless, Su says it was an interesting adjustment shifting the accelerator program to a remote setting, though a later program start date gave them the advantage of seeing how others wrapped up their programs. "We tuned into a bunch of different digital demo days; one of our advantages was being able to learn from others," he says.

Story continues

Yellow investment SketchAR

While emerging during a possible recession is far from ideal launch timing, Su believes this class of startups are still in a good position. "When you look across a lot of the companies, actually their work becomes more essential than it ever was before," Su tells TechCrunch, particularly highlighting the program's investment in Hardworkers, which is building a professional network for blue-collar workers who have been particularly affected by the pandemic. Another investment from this batch, Mogul Millennial, is building a media brand around connecting Black professionals with professional resources.

"If you look up and down the class, all the founders aren't just taking after an opportunity, but personally are on a mission to solve a particular problem," Su says. "So I think that foundation made them more predisposed I guess, to be able to push through this kind of environment."

While web comics brands and AR sketching might not immediately seem like huge problems during trying times like the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the startups in Yellow's recent batch are working to solve problems that have proven to be key opportunities for Snap, which has been on a redemptive growth spree since early 2019, locking down young users and seeing its share price surge.

Snap invests $150,000 in each Yellow startup for an equity stake, and while the program does not require batch participants to integrate with Snap's services, the company has used the program to invest in strategic areas that it has also pushed on the product side.

Earlier Yellow bets skewed more toward content investments as Snapchat was scaling Discover. Now Su says he's fielding plenty of augmented reality pitches. Su also notes that the accelerator had its most international batch to date this year, with startups from Lithuania, Korea, Mexico and the U.K. making their way to Los Angeles.

"We always start with top-level strategy, with [CEO Evan Spiegel], figuring out overall direction of where we see the world evolving, where we think there are real opportunities and where we think we can make a difference in supporting these companies," Su says. "And then once we're aligned on the top-level strategy I think Evan puts a lot of trust in myself and my partner in crime Alex Levitt to find good companies that we're excited about."
By Trend

The number of tourists from Turkmenistan visiting Turkey amounted to 1,633 people in March 2020, which is 92.8 percent less compared to the same month of 2019, Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend.

The share of Turkmen citizens in the total number of foreigners visiting Turkey in March 2020 amounted to 0.23 percent.

From January through March 2020, 37,455 tourists from Turkmenistan visited Turkey, which is 42.47 percent less compared to the same period of 2019.

The share of Turkmen citizens in the total number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the first quarter of 2020 amounted to 0.88 percent.

In March 2020, 718,097 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 67.83 percent less compared to March 2019.

In 1Q2020, over 4.2 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 22.11 percent more compared to 1Q2019.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 12:32:34|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Yungang Grottoes to learn about historical and cultural heritage protection efforts in north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed the protection of the Yungang Grottoes as they are the "treasure of human civilization."

Xi made the remarks on Monday during his inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province.

While visiting the cave art site in the city of Datong to learn about historical and cultural heritage protection, Xi carefully viewed sculptures and wall paintings and inquired about the history, artistic style and protection of the grottoes.

The Yungang Grottoes represent the characteristics of Chinese culture and the history of cultural exchanges between China and other countries, Xi said.

Lauding the Yungang Grottoes as the "treasure of human civilization," Xi said protection of the site should be the top priority, and its research and utilization should be based on good protection.

With 45 major caves and more than 51,000 statues, the 1,500-year-old Yungang Grottoes were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

Representing the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art, the Yungang Grottoes are one of the three major grotto sites in China. The others are the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province.

While inspecting Gansu in August 2019, Xi visited the Mogao Grottoes to learn about its history and cultural heritage protection. Enditem
Authorities of some Senior High Schools in the Volta Region were full of praise for the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Zoomlion as their facilities were fumigated on Tuesday.

According to them, the decision to undertake the exercise was timely as most of them had to battle with bedbugs infestation over the years.

The GES in collaboration with leading waste management company, Zoomlion has kickstarted an exercise to fumigate and disinfects Senior High Schools in the region. The two-day exercise is expected to cover 98 schools in various districts across the region.

Speaking in an interview with the media, the Assistant Headmaster of OLA Girls Senior High School, Pious Aweonam, said the exercise comes as a relief to the school especially in the wake of the deadly covid-19 pandemic and bedbug infestation. He commended Zoomlion for the gesture and appealed for the exercise to be conducted frequently.

 This exercise will make the teaching and learning environment conducive for students when schools are asked to re-open

On his part, the Assistant Headmaster of the Awudome Senior High School, Peter Kwame Nambia, called on GES to embark on the exercise more regularly as the school battles with bedbugs due to overcrowding. He appealed to the Ministry of Education to support the school with infrastructure as it struggles with the growing number of students each year.

The exercise saw classrooms, dining halls, dormitories, and administrative blocks disinfected and fumigated.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, in April launched a nationwide exercise to fumigate and disinfect all Senior High Schools in the country in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Since its launch, over 500 Senior High Schools across 4 regions have benefited. The exercise is expected to also cover the Northern, Ahafo, and Oti regions.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has decided to set up a three-member committee to look into the Gujarat high court verdict that invalidated the election of state education and law minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

The minister had been elected from the Dholka assembly constituency in the 2017 assembly elections.

The high court on Tuesday ruled that he won the poll through corrupt practices after a petition was moved by Congress leader Ashwin Rathod, who lost the election to Chudasama by a mere 327 votes.

The petition had alleged several malpractices and irregularities in the election.

The EC has now appointed Umesh Sinha, secretary-general at the Election Commission, to head the panel along with Chandra Bhushan Kumar, deputy election commissioner and Vijay Pandey, director, law, to examine the details of the judgment and present it before the Commission at the earliest.

The Commission has also directed the Gujarat government to initiate disciplinary action against the returning officer Dhaval Jani, who oversaw the election. The proceedings are underway, states the release.

The high court had also made scathing observations on the returning officer, stating that he had allowed himself to be used as a tool by Chudasama adding that he obediently behaved and danced to the tunes of the BJP minister.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expel Chudasama from the party.

Questioning the Prime Ministers silence on the issue, Sibal said if he was serious on ending corruption in the country, he should take strict action against the minister from his home state.

This is an example of how our governments, ministers, Election Commission are engulfed in corruption and Modi ji is silent, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  Metro Manila, Laguna province, and Cebu City will be placed under "modified" enhanced community quarantine from May 16 to May 31, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced Tuesday.

He explained the threat of COVID-19 is still present in these three high-risk areas, but some rules will be relaxed to slowly open up the country's economy.

Under the modified ECQ, authorities will allow the limited reopening of select manufacturing and processing plants. Because there will be work in reopened industries, there will also be "limited transportation services," Roque said without elaborating.

More businesses are expected to be allowed to resume operations when the COVID-19 task force finalizes the list, he added, saying they are business that can observe physical distancing and help boost the economy.

"Obviously pinakinggan natin ang siyensiya kaya nga po modified ECQ tayo. Naka-ECQ pa rin po tayo, bagamat bubuksan natin ang mas marami pang mga sektor ng ating ekonomiya. But we continue to be in ECQ because of the continuing threat," he said in a media briefing.

[Translation: We based the decision on science. It is still ECQ but we are opening more businesses to help the economy. But we remain under ECQ because the threat of COVID-19 is still present.]

Roque described the modified enhanced community quarantine as a "transition phase" to a relaxed general community quarantine, with the hope the COVID-19 risk in these areas will improve in a month so they can fully shift to a GCQ. He said the decision was based on the recommendation of the World Health Organization to gradually lift restrictions.

The public's movement for accessing essential services and work will remain limited, while face-to-face classes will still be suspended for areas under modified lockdown.

Local government officials are given the authority to place high-risk barangays with spikes of COVID-19 cases under stringent ECQ rules.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said several areas will shift from ECQ to GCQ after health officials found that it now takes them 7 to 30 days before the number of COVID-19 cases double. Areas seen as low-risk are no longer under any form of community quarantine, but minimum health standards must be observed at all times, such as physical distancing and mandatory wearing of face masks in public.

'We have to learn to live with COVID'

Metro Manila mayors welcome President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to ease the restrictions in the capital region. Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, Metro Manila Council Chairperson, said it is similar to the third scenario the chief executives pitched to the inter-agency task force.

"We are solving two problems - one on the health side, and the second yung pong ating economy. Kasi kailangan na pong tumakbo 'yung ating ekonomiya kasi marami na pong nawalan ng trabaho at sasabihin natin hindi po sapat yung ayuda na binibigay ng ating gobyerno even national at local," Olivarez told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: "We are solving two problems - one on the health side, and the second, our economy. Our economy needs to reopen because many people have lost their jobs and we'll say the assistance given by the local and national government is not enough.]

Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta said it's about time Metro Manila started transitioning to GCQ, considering that the coronavirus pandemic will not be over soon.

"Kailangan tayo bumalik, kailangan tayo maging normal kahit papaano. We have to learn to live with COVID kasi ito COVID na ito hindi mawawala ito. This will be here for a long time until we find a vaccine," Oreta said.

Coronavirus testing

As more COVID-19 cases continue to be recorded in the country, Roque said the government is continuously boosting its capability to trace contacts of patients, test suspected cases, and treat positive cases.

"Alam natin na hanggang hindi natin nalalaman kung nasaan ang kalaban  ang kalaban ay ang sakit  hindi natin mai-isolate at magagamot ang nagkakasakit," he said.

[Translation: We understand that as long as we don't know where is the enemy -- and the enemy is the disease -- we cannot isolate and treat those who get sick.]

The government admitted it was slow in scaling up COVID-19 testing efforts. Authorities continue to scramble to hit its goal of running 30,000 tests daily by the end of May.

Vince Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the government's COVID-19 response, said as of May 8, the country can conduct up to 12,000 tests per day. Daily tests recorded by the Department of Health, however, are lower than 12,000.

So far, government data shows only 151,080 tests on 137,055 individuals have been done in the country, which has a population of around 108 million.

The country had 11,350 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday  7,286 of which were in Metro Manila. Laguna recorded a total of 390 cases, while Cebu City had 1,484.

COVID-19 recoveries in the country have reached 2,106 while 751 died of the disease.

Duterte first placed Metro Manila under ECQ on March 15, but this was expanded effective two days later to cover all of Luzon until April 12. The Luzon-wide lockdown was further extended until April 30, and then another 15 days in Metro Manila and several 'high-risk" provinces to give the government time to increase the country's testing capacity.
The Hong Kong authorities yesterday confirmed that 230 people were arrested over the weekend in the biggest police crackdown on pro-democracy protests since mid-January, when the city was first struck by coronavirus.

Hundreds of riot officers were deployed to disperse protesters as they gathered for sing-along demonstrations in the city's shopping malls, calling for the resignation of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's leader.

The flash protests, which later spilled on to the streets of the working-class district of Mong Kok, offered one of the first signs that civil unrest is flickering back to life in the Asian financial hub after an enforced lull during the coronavirus pandemic due to social distancing restrictions.

A pro-democracy movement demanding universal suffrage and more freedoms and autonomy from Beijing's rule convulsed the city for seven successive months last year and brought millions to the streets for rallies that often turned violent.

In scenes that recalled that unrest, the police took a heavy-handed approach on Sunday, charging jeering crowds in malls, firing pepper pellets and chasing protesters through busy commercial streets.

Police said those arrested were aged between 12 and 65. Offences included unlawful assembly, assaulting an officer and failing to produce proof of identity.

Expand Close Protesters staging a rally. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters / Facebook

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A 22-year-old man was also found to have materials believed to be intended for making petrol bombs, they said.

Footage on social media showed protesters being held on the ground, scuffles and people bleeding.

At the height of the Sunday evening clashes, officers were filmed throwing Roy Kwong, a Democratic Party legislator, to the ground, with one pressing his knee on to the politician's head. Mr Kwong has often attended protests in an effort to mediate to restore calm, and he is believed to have been trying to negotiate with the police.

His party wrote on its Facebook page that he was to be charged with disorderly behaviour.

The Hospital Authority confirmed that 18 people were treated.

Among them was reportedly a local female journalist, who claimed to have been strangled by an officer as she filmed the police operation, causing her to faint.

Reports and pictures also emerged of journalists being corralled and forced to kneel on the ground.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) said some members of the press were prevented from filming.

"Some journalists who were sprayed by pepper spray were not allowed to receive immediate treatment, and they were requested to stop filming," said Chris Yeung, chairman of the HKJA.

Benedict Rogers, the chairman of the London-based Hong Kong Watch, called for an independent international inquiry to hold the police to account and impose sanctions on city officials.

"If action is not taken urgently by the international community, we will see the death of Hong Kong's autonomy, freedom and the rule of law," he said. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
When the economy slides, graduate school applications typically rise, but the pandemic driving the current slump has halted international recruitment to the University of Texas at San Antonio and scared off some candidates from other states.

So, having set a goal of improving the applicant pool and increasing graduate enrollment by 50 percent, UTSA has begun to offer qualified seniors automatic acceptance into graduate programs.

Were retaining our best and our brightest here, said Ambika Mathur, vice provost and graduate school dean. People are not wanting to leave their cities and their states, so I think were going to be relying a lot on our local community.

Almost 3,800 graduating seniors have been invited to begin masters programs at UTSA in the fall, according to Mathur. Students accept the invitations by filling out a one-page form that mostly asks demographic questions, she said.

As of Monday, 10 percent of those invited had accepted, a number Mathur expects to increase. Some were automatically admitted into multiple programs and are taking time to choose; some are still planning with their families  and some still need convincing that the emailed invitations are legitimate.

Many people thought it was a joke or a scam or something, Mathur said.

The university currently enrolls about 3,200 masters students and 800 doctoral students, but has the capacity to expand graduate enrollment to 6,000, Mathur said. Between 8,000 and 10,000 people apply to UTSAs graduate programs every year, but not all the applicants choose to attend the university or meet its standards.

Accepting UTSA undergraduates is less risky, Mathur said.

These students are our own trainees, so we know theyve been trained to our own standards, she said.

The minimum qualification is a grade point average of at least 3.0, but some programs have higher GPA requirements or require certain GPAs from prerequisite courses. Entrance exams  including the GRE, the GMAT for business students and the TOEFL for students who are not native speakers of English  were not required, Mathur said, adding, We already know theyre high-achieving students.

On ExpressNews.com: New master plan foresees 45,000 students at expanded UTSA campuses

Almost half of UTSA students are the first in their families to attend college. Many who were automatically admitted to graduate programs qualify for need-based financial aid, and Mathur wants to create some graduate scholarships and use federal coronavirus relief funds for others. Research grants also will help.

As more than half the student body is Hispanic, the automatic grad school admissions also support the universitys diversity goals.

The university has a special responsibility to increase participation and success of Hispanic students in graduate programs to enhance an inclusive workforce to better serve our communities, Provost Kimberly Andrews Espy said in a prepared statement.

Mathur expects next year to continue the automatic admissions initiative, named Keep Running With Us as a nod to the roadrunner mascot. She wants to start sending invitations a year earlier, for next years juniors, contingent on maintaining their grade point averages, and hold information sessions tying graduate programs to career options.

Mathur said other local colleges have expressed interest in partnering to get their students automatically admitted to UTSA graduate programs based on grades and transcripts.

This program has actually exceeded my expectations considerably, Mathur said. This is all to improve our San Antonio workforce and get our best and our brightest to stay in this region.

Alia Malik covers several school districts and the University of Texas at San Antonio. To read more from Alia, become a subscriber. amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN
British Airways' owner could slash thousands more jobs as the airline industry faces its 'greatest crisis'.

IAG has already announced plans to axe 12,000 staff at BA after the Covid-19 outbreak forced it to ground most of its planes.

Chief executive Willie Walsh yesterday said those job cuts were part of a 'group-wide restructuring' that is 'not specific to BA'.

Warning: Willie Walsh said job cuts were part of a 'group-wide restructuring' that is 'not specific to BA'

The comments to MPs on the transport committee raised the prospect of similar action at IAG's other airlines, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Spanish flag carrier Iberia.

Walsh warned the MPs that some airlines will not survive because they were 'poorly run' and 'weren't viable' even before the pandemic.

Walsh said: 'I wish every airline well in the current environment. 'I hope to see many of them come through this. I firmly believe that not all of them will, because many of them were poorly run and quite honestly weren't viable in good times.

'I can't see how they would be viable with the changing environment we're all facing.'

Walsh denied IAG was 'picking on' BA. He said: 'It's not specific to British Airways.

'It's group-wide restructuring in the face of the greatest crisis that the airline industry and the airlines within IAG have faced.

'We're not doing anything that we don't think is absolutely necessary to secure the survival of British Airways, and we're doing exactly the same with the other airlines in the group, complying with the law as it is in the countries in which we operate.'

IAG fell 2.9 per cent, or 5.5p, to 184.95p.
The search for another planet with similarities to the one we live on, has led us to what astronomers are calling the new Super Earth. The University of Canterbury astronomers have come across a previously undiscovered planet that is among the handful to have similar size and mass as Earth. The astronomers at the New Zealand university used the solar system as a point of reference, to compare what the Super Earth brings. It has a host star which is about 10% the mass of the Sun. The Super Earth planet has a mass somewhere between that of Earth and Neptune and would orbit at a location between Venus and Earth from the parent star. It has a smaller host star, which means years on the Super Earth are longerone year is approximately 617 days long .

Dr Herrera Martin, the papers lead author, describes the planet-finding discovery as incredibly rare. To have an idea of the rarity of the detection, the time it took to observe the magnification due to the host star was approximately five days, while the planet was detected only during a small five-hour distortion. After confirming this was indeed caused by another body different from the star, and not an instrumental error, we proceeded to obtain the characteristics of the star-planet system, he says.

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Lead researchers in the discovery, astronomers Dr Antonio Herrera Martin and Associate Professor Michael Albrow, both of UCs School of Physical and Chemical Sciences in the College of Science, are part of an international team of astronomers who collaborated on the Super-Earth research.

The hunt for the next earth had earlier let us to an exoplanet called K2-18b. Researchers at the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy had said back in February that K2-18b is right in the middle of a habitable zone in its star system, which means it can possibly hold water. This Super Earth is 124 light-years away from the Earth we reside on and is 2.6 times the radius of Earth. The researchers confirmed the atmosphere to be hydrogen-rich with a significant amount of water vapour. The levels of other chemicals such as methane and ammonia were lower than expected for such an atmosphere and the planet is believed to have an inner core of rock and iron. This research indicates that the layer of hydrogen around the planet is not too thick, which would have made the temperature and the pressure of the water underneath too great to support life.
The Nagaland Health and Family



Welfare department has completed all protocols for setting up of the Bio-Safety Laboratory (BSL-3) for testing of COVID-19 samples at the Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK), an official said on Tuesday.

All measures including infrastructure and human resource training were completed for the BSL-3 set up at NHAK here while the testing of the lab was conducted on Tuesday, said Health and Family Welfare secretary Kesonyu Yhome.

All measures have been carefully completed and sent to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) New Delhi, he said, adding that the department is waiting on further updates on the functionality of the laboratory.

The response from ICMR is likely to come by Wednesday, he said, adding that the department is ready to go ahead with the testing once ICMR gives the green signal and in case further rectification is needed, it would be done accordingly.

Till date, Nagaland has not reported any COVID-19 positive case. The suspected COVID-19 samples are sent to Assam and Manipur for testing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ATLANTA  Local law enforcers are now being investigated in the shooting of a black man who was chased down by two white men in Georgia.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities to probe how local prosecutors handled the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. It took more than two months and the release of a video of the shooting before Gregory and Travis McMichael were charged with murder and jailed.

Unfortunately, many questions and concerns have arisen regarding, among other things, the communications between and actions taken by the District Attorneys of the Brunswick and Waycross Circuits. As a result, we have requested the GBI to review in order to determine whether the process was undermined in any way, Carr said in a statement Tuesday.

Carr also appointed a black district attorney from suburban Atlanta on Monday to take over, making her the fourth prosecutor in charge of a case thats prompted a national outcry over suspicions that race played a role in delaying arrests.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said federal prosecutors also are considering whether hate crimes charges are warranted, and that Carr has been asked to forward to federal authorities any information that he has.

Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes replaces prosecutor Tom Durden, who Carr said asked to be replaced by a prosecutor with a large staff as this case has grown in size and magnitude.

Holmes is based in metro Atlanta, far from the coastal Georgia community in Glynn County where the shooting happened, and is "a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge, said Carr, a Republican.

Holmes served four years a magistrate judge before Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her last July to succeed GBI Director Vic Reynolds as district attorney. The Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council said she's one of only seven black district attorneys in the state.

An attorney for Arberys father, Marcus Arbery, asked Holmes to be zealous in her search for justice.

In order for justice to be carried out both effectively and appropriately in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is imperative that the special prosecutor has no affiliation with the Southeast Georgia legal or law enforcement communities, attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement.

The McMichaels told police they chased Arbrey because they believed he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect caught on surveillance video in their subdivision just outside Brunswick, a working-class port city of about 16,000 that also serves as a gateway to island beach resorts.

Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts, according to an autopsy report released by the GBI; one shot grazed his right wrist, and the other two struck him in the chest. Blood tests for various drugs and alcohol all came back negative.

Many have expressed frustration with the investigation, suggesting the defendants' race and law enforcement ties protected them until the video was shared and outrage grew. Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who worked 20 years as district attorney's investigator before retiring last year.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday. Neither man had lawyers at their first court appearances on Friday, done by video link from the Glynn County jail. With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, a grand jury can't be called to hear the case until mid-June.

Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself because the elder McMichael had worked under her. District Attorney George Barnhill of the neighboring Waycross Judicial Circuit was brought in, but stepped aside about a month later because his son works for Johnson as an assistant prosecutor. Durden then got the case, but it didn't appear to advance until the emergence of the video.

Carr's letter to the GBI accuses the first two prosecutors of leaving his office was in the dark about their actions. Unknown and undisclosed to the Attorney General," it says, Barnhill told Glynn County Police that he didn't see grounds for any arrests.

The phone at Barnhills office in Waycross rang unanswered Tuesday.

President Donald Trump said Monday hes following the case very closely and that Arbery looks like a wonderful young guy.

Certainly the video, it was a terrible looking video to me, Trump said. But you have a lot of people looking at it and hopefully an answers going to be arrived at very quickly.

Wanda Cooper Jones has said she thinks her son was simply jogging in the neighborhood before he was killed.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. A truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one white man standing in the pickups bed with a handgun, and another beside the open drivers side door with what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving briefly out of view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the runner grappling with the gunman in the street. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

A man who says he recorded the video on his phone said hes received death threats. William R. Bryan, identified as a witness in the police report, has not been charged.

I had nothing to do with it, Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview. I was told I was a witness and Im not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.
France on Monday began its "deconfinement," relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions after two months of a nationwide lockdown. Elementary school students returned to school and nonessential businesses were allowed to reopen. But while commuters crowded onto the Paris metro during rush hour and lines formed outside hair salons, for most of the day, there was still an inescapable feeling of emptiness in the normally bustling French capital.

Despite the anticipation that had been building for weeks, the crowds did not spill out onto the streets. France's lockdown is being lifted gradually, region by region, depending on the prevalence of the virus. In Paris, because of a high concentration of confirmed cases, parks remained closed. Some people ventured out to the banks of the newly reopened river quays, and clusters of customers browsed outdoor bookshop displays.
As well as two newborns, victims include children, mothers and nurses in attack condemned by several countries.

Gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital Kabul, setting off an hours-long shoot-out with the police and killing 24 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses.

Photos from the Ministry of Interior Affairs showed two young children lying dead inside the hospital.

An image showed a woman who had been killed lying on the ground still holding tightly to her baby, who a nurse in the unit confirmed to Reuters news agency had survived and had been moved to an intensive care unit at another hospital.

Security forces earlier cordoned off the area as they evacuated more than 80 women and infants from the hospital, where medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) runs a maternity clinic.

Interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, without elaborating.

It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targeted  an attack Arian said was an act against humanity and a war crime.

An Afghan woman is brought to a hospital for emergency care after she was injured during the attack at the Doctors Without Borders clinic [Jawad Jalali/EPA]

At least three attackers wearing police uniforms entered the hospital, throwing grenades and shooting, officials said.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told AFP news agency he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shia neighbourhood that has seen past attacks by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside, the doctor said, asking not to be named.

The unconscionable #war #crimes in #Afghanistan today, targeting a maternity hospital and a funeral, must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face. There must be accountability for these grave crimes, and civilians must be protected. https://t.co/Xrjzc1uQDg  Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) May 12, 2020

In the evening hours, husbands, fathers and family members of the hospitals patients gathered around the hospital, desperate for news of their loved ones.

A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

The neighbourhood is home to many members of Afghanistans Hazara community, a mostly Shia Muslim minority that has been attacked by ISIL in the past, including at a Kabul ceremony commemorating the death of one of its leaders in March.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned both the attacks.

The unconscionable war crimes in Afghanistan today, targeting a maternity hospital and a funeral, must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face, the group tweeted.

There must be accountability for these grave crimes.

Countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan released statements condemning the violence.

Deadly bombing

Also on Tuesday, in a suicide bombing in eastern Nangarhar province, an attacker targeted the Khewa-district funeral of a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack on Monday night, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The interior ministry said the final casualty toll included 24 killed and 68 wounded. The wounded were brought to the Nangarhar provincial hospital, said hospital spokesman Gulzada Sangar.

Khogyani added the dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a politician, was wounded in the attack.

According to Zabihullah Zemarai, another provincial council member, dozens of people, including, politicians, provincial council members and locals had gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, the militia commander.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that the Taliban was not involved in the attack.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost, which killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The bomb was placed in a cart at a local market and remotely detonated, said Adil Haidari, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

ISIL also said it was behind a spate of attacks on Monday in Kabul when four bombs, one placed under a garbage bin and the other three by the roadside, went off in the northern part of the city, wounding four civilians, including a child.

The Afghan intelligence service said in a statement late Monday that the agency arrested an ISIL leader in the region, Zia-ul Haq, also known as Shaikh Abu Omer al-Khorasani.

Afghanistan is also facing violence around the country from the Taliban, even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the armed group.

Taliban spokespeople say they are holding back from attacking urban centres and their operations are aimed at government security forces.
While Earth continues to worry about the COVID-19 pandemic, one researcher is worried about extraterrestrial viruses.

ALSO READ: Chinese Rocket is Failing and Falling Back to Earth After Just a Week in Orbit

While Earth continues to worry about the COVID-19 pandemic, one researcher is worried about extraterrestrial viruses.

Former NASA Ames director Scott Hubbard expressed his concern that future rock samples from Mars need to be checked and quarantined.

"I heard from some colleagues in the human spaceflight area that they can see how the general public could be more concerned about bringing some alien virus," Hubbard told the Stanford News.

ALSO READ: Is Coronavirus Airborne? Not Quite As Scientist Claims Prevailing Winds From Outer Space Are Spreading the Disease

Treat Perseverance rover like a virus

Hubbard, who now teaches aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, said the rock samples delivered back by the Perseverance rover should be "quarantined."

The New York Post reported that when astronauts return from Mars in the 2030s, they'll have to be quarantined as rock samples from the Red Planet could be as dangerous as Ebola. Hubbard said Mars Rover "should be handled like it's the Ebola virus until marked safe."

Items from outer space should also be "baked at a high temperature" before being competently examined, Hubbard said.

However, he said the chance that rocks from Mars that are millions of years old will contain an active life form that could infect Earth is meager.

Hubbard notes that even though heat itself is not enough to decontaminate the items, combining the system with chemical cleaning can be efficient.

NASA, which recently renamed the rover to Perseverance, will release the unmanned rover on July 17, 2020. In March, the pandemic has not yet impacted launch preps, with work "continuing on schedule." The space agency has yet to comment on Hubbard's statement.

ALSO READ: NASA Packs Perseverance Rover Spacecraft Configuration Ahead For Its One-Way Trip

"As for humans, the Apollo astronauts from the first few moon missions were quarantined to ensure they showed no signs of illness," Hubbard explained. Once the moon did not pose a risk, Hubbard said the quarantine was eliminated. Such a procedure will undoubtedly be followed for humans returning from Mars, he added.

Apollo 11 astronauts recalled three-week quarantine

Upon returning from the first mission to the moon in 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins have been quarantined for three weeks. Aldrin lately recounted his experience during the quarantine on social media.

Collins, who said the trio had been "just ordinary astronauts," said the quarantine was dependent upon the health of a "huge colony of white mice" that have been with them.

"The three of us had gone to the Moon - either a national, international, triumph, or it was a total disaster depending on the white mice that we had," Collins said. He added everything was okay if the mice lived.

The Perseverance rover will detect any fossilized proof of extraterrestrial beings on Mars. Once the rover lands on the Red Planet, it will join the nonetheless functioning Curiosity rover and the now-deceased Opportunity rover on the Martian planet. Unlike Curiosity or Opportunity, Perseverance rover will carry the "first helicopter to fly on another planet," NASA said.

NASA's long-term goal is to ship an unmanned journey to Mars in the 2030s.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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I had to go through hell, said Bliss Martin, who was laid off March 31 and was told Monday that her benefits would be coming soon. Mentally, it was exhausting. It was depressing.

Martin and others said they have gone weeks  some even months  without any money from unemployment. Others have received money only to have their benefits abruptly stop.

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How are people supposed to feed their families when they are not getting paid? asked Maria Smith.

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The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the Senate Finance Committee listened for hours on Tuesday to hundreds of residents who expressed frustration with the states troubled system, which launched last month to deal with a surge in claims from the coronavirus shutdown.

For weeks, Maryland lawmakers have been inundated with calls and emails from frustrated constituents who have experienced malfunctions, error messages and confusion over qualifying questions as they try to file claims and update their status.

Sen. Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard), chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, said Tuesdays hearing was a chance for residents to air their grievances publicly. He said he hoped the hearing would lead to improvements.

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Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said last week that while there had been some initial glitches with the system, the problems had been completely fixed.

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Clearly, the system has not been fixed, Guzzone said after the first hour of the hearing.

Ahead of the marathon legislative hearing, the Maryland Department of Labor released an update on its processing and payment of claims.

Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson, who was not invited to participate in Tuesdays Senate hearing but plans to address a House committee on Wednesday, said the state has paid 327,649 unemployment insurance claims since the coronavirus outbreak in March. She said 90 percent of claimants have received checks within three weeks.

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Robinson blamed a series of challenges the department experienced on the surge of claims and constantly changing federal rules. In three months, the state has received double the number of claims it had in 2019, she said.

Marylands experience has been like those of states across the country, Robinson said.

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While we are making progress, there are still many frustrated Marylanders waiting to receive benefits, Robinson said. Please know that we are listening, we know what needs to be improved, and we are focused on getting the job done. We will not be satisfied until every Marylander gets the relief they need and deserve.

Some workers asked who would be held accountable. Amanda Douglas, a single mother, questioned the decision to revamp the system during the pandemic.

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They should have put some of that money into staffing the division, she said.

Douglas was one of 1,100 people who asked to share their stories. About a quarter of them were permitted to participate in the virtual hearing, telling their stories in two-minute limits.

To deal with the overwhelming response, the committees planned to meet for nine hours to ensure that the maximum amount of Marylanders can have their voices heard, Jake Weissmann, a spokesman for Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), said Monday.

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There were as many as 1,400 people who watched the virtual hearing, the first of its kind for the Maryland General Assembly.

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Laid-off workers have repeatedly raised alarms about the states troubled system and their inability to reach anyone by phone to answer questions.

Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince Georges), vice chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, said Marylands system was not designed to deal with this scale of claims.

Its not just the computer, its the system, he said. Many people havent gotten their checks. Many havent been able to get their applications approved.

Nearly a half million people have filed for unemployment in Maryland in the past seven weeks. Last week, more than 109,000 people applied, the largest increase since the pandemic forced many companies and businesses to close. That increase was largely due to the federal stimulus package extending unemployment benefits to gig workers and the self-employed. Last week was the first time since the shutdown that those workers could apply.

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We certainly appreciate our legislators getting engaged on this issue, especially when it comes to all the hurdles here that have to do with new programs and constantly changing federal guidelines, Mike Ricci, a spokesman for Hogan, said in a statement Monday evening. In spite of that, we have been able to help hundreds of thousands of people, and we continue to make improvements on a daily basis.

Marylanders have spent hours  and days  trying to access new jobless claim portal

More than 109K filed for unemployment in Maryland last week

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Residents of Krisnapuram and RR Venkatapuram localities in Visakhapatnam clean their houses after returning home on Monday. Residents from these two localities fled their houses after a gas leak from a factory in the neighbourhood killed 12 people last week. (DC Photo: P Narasimha Murthy)

Vijayawada: The port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would have faced a catastrophe had the violation of safety norms at the LG Polymers factory there went unnoticed for a few more days.

Experts inspecting the aftermath of last week's styrene gas leak have found, much to their shock, that there were other storage facilities at the factory that were vulnerable to a leak of vapour on a larger scale.

Two of the experts deputed by the Centre have certified that styrene was stored in a high-risk present condition at the factory.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday directed the company to immediately take 13000 metric tonnes (MT) of material out of the country. Accordingly, the state government arranged, with the help of the Union Shipping Ministry, a vessel to carry 8000 MT to the company's HQ in Seoul. Another vessel is being arranged to ship 5000 MT out of the factory.

The evacuation will be completed in 3-4 days, said a press release from the Chief Ministers Office.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that two experts deputed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Dr Anjan Ray, director of the Indian Institute of Petroleum, and Shantanu Geete, an industry expert, inspected the storage facilities at the LG Polymers plants as well as on the Vizag port premises.

"It was noticed that polymerization has just begun in another storage facility on the factory premises, said a senior official.

The experts also visited the storage facility in the port and found that not all the required safety and technical parameters were being maintained. Dr Ray, who is an expert on styrene, recommended to the government that material from both the factory and the port should immediately cleared.

The preliminary conclusion is that the storage facilities were not designed to keep the material for a long duration. The plant personnel claimed that the material is emptied every 10-15 days and never stored more than that, industries minister M Goutham Reddy told Deccan Chronicle.

Meanwhile, the high power committee comprising senior bureaucrats Neerab Kumar Prasad and Karikal Valevan began its probe into the mishap. It visited the plant and interacted with the experts. It also invited inputs from people, who can send information they have to convenorhpc@gmail.com.
People are out in Rittenhouse Square park enjoying the outdoor weather on April 25. Anyone out in public are urged to wear a mask and practice social distancing due to the coronavirus outbreak. Read more

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently extended the stay-at-home order in Philadelphia and surrounding counties until June 4. But not everyone is staying at home. Data shows people are increasingly traveling further from home. And as the weather warms up, popular city spots like Lemon Hill are getting flooded with people spreading out their picnic blankets  often inviting friends to join.

Heres the deal: People are going against local guidelines and scheduling social hangouts. Sometimes everyones maintaining six feet of distance from one another, and other times theyre not. Either way, you shouldnt follow suit. If you live in one of the areas where stay-at-home orders remain in place, now is not the time to expand your quarantine circle, warn experts.

Its too early

In Philadelphia, were still seeing significant numbers of patients in our hospitals, and were still so far from normalcy, says Dr. Eric Sachinwalla, medical director of Infection Prevention Control for Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. The more people you interact with at this point, the more your chances are of being around someone whos sick and spreading the virus without knowing it yet.

A person with the coronavirus can be contagious before starting to feel symptoms. This could be your friend, your brother, the guy next to you at the supermarket  virtually anyone. Its also been shown that people can get infected but never have any symptoms at all, and still transmit the virus. Many people who do feel symptoms have mild ones, particularly in the early stages. So your friend could be a little sniffly and sneezy, but assume its just allergies. All of this together makes it too risky to hang out with others right now.

The problem is that we dont have testing for everyone, and were still in the most dangerous part of this epidemic, says Mike Levy, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Theres just no way to calculate your risk right now between households.

Lets say you contract the virus and are fortunate not to have an awful experience. The unfortunate news: You may pass it along to someone who isnt as lucky.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered

What about hanging out at a distance? Doesnt six feet keep me safe?

If youre in a place with a stay-at-home order, youre not supposed to be interacting with people outside of your household except for essential purposes.

Local and state officials are making decisions based off of what the local epidemiological data is telling them, says Dr. Craig Shapiro, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. This is a public health problem. By not following those orders, youre not just affecting you or your household, but youre impacting your whole community, which includes those people who are at higher risk to develop serious complications.

According to the CDC, the coronavirus spreads mainly among people who are in close contact (within about six feet) for a prolonged period of time. But the problem is, that six feet of distance isnt risk-free, and experts say that right now the region is still seeing too many new daily infection cases to test it.

The six feet idea is largely around the concept of droplet transmission  when someone coughs, sneezes, or talks, the droplets from their mouth or nose can infect another person in close proximity, says Dr. Patricia Henwood, associate professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson Universitys Sidney Kimmel Medical College, and leader of the Emergency Medicine COVID-19 Task Force at Jefferson Health. But we dont have a ton of data on six feet for every scenario and how the virus moves through the air, so thats just a minimum recommendation, along with masks and handwashing.

Henwood notes that until infection numbers decrease to a level where officials can do widespread contact tracing, hanging out with people you dont need to be seeing should be kept to a minimum. Contact tracing is the process used to track who an infected person has recently interacted with to determine who else might be at risk of contracting the virus.

The case number is too high right now, but normally wed track back all the people someone [whos infected] has been in contact with, including those theyve hung out with while socially distancing, says Henwood. Then all those people would need to quarantine  that goes for anyone part of the socially distanced hangout, too.

For now, the six-feet-apart rule is meant for when youre exercising outside or are in a situation where you have to be near other people. Outside of that, you should err on the side of caution.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

Looking forward

Is this going to last forever? No.

This pandemic will forever change our world view. But the stay-at-home part? That will be temporary, Henwood wrote in a recent Inquirer opinion piece. Patience with resuming normal activities and expanding social circles will continue to save lives.

But as we practice patience, that doesnt mean we cant look forward. Nows the perfect time to start thinking about how you can plan ahead. When restrictions do start to ease, there will be plenty of in-between steps before we return to social normalcy.

At the start, experts say taking note of exactly who youre interacting with is going to be crucial. This may require you to go through whats essentially a prescreening process.

Is this friend you want to see an essential worker? Are they going to the grocery store every week? Where else have they been in the past few weeks? Are they hanging out with other friends? How many? Are they caretakers for their grandparents or anyone who might be at high risk?

It might feel a little uncomfortable asking these questions, but its likely to be the new norm for awhile, says Shapiro. Hopefully you can trust your close friends and family because without knowing where people have been, youre always going to increase your risk.

Expanding your social circle will likely be a slow process. Levy says to think of your household as if its an island. How can you build as few bridges  pathways for the coronavirus to travel along  out from the island as possible? Can you join forces with just one other household, and both commit to only seeing each other?

Maybe you team up so that you can rotate having one parent watch the kids while the other parents work  this kind of situation is going to be less risky than sending your kids off to summer camp, says Levy. If you open up your island to multiple families, who are also seeing other families, thats going to create this big network, and its just like with Facebook  things can spread really quickly through those networks.

You can also start to think about where youll feel comfortable hosting small gatherings when restrictions start to ease. Outdoor settings, like a backyard, are going to be your best bet. And if you are breaking the rules right now, you should be bearing that in mind already.

If youre going for a walk and able to maintain separation, thats probably safer than being in a confined space for long periods of time, says Sachinwalla. But really, at this point, we should be continuing tele-interactions and following the guidelines being put out.
Heres a quick little note to Gov. Phil Murphy: Dont even think about opening New Jerseys schools this summer in a test run to see how things might go in September. If you do, youre going to basically be sending the message that the most at-risk kids  specifically, special education students  are no more than canaries in a coal mine. Youd potentially be sending them  and their teachers, and their families  to slaughter.

Do I have your attention?

Last week, Murphy made the decision to keep schools closed through the end of June. Its the right call, a no-brainer. But then he started talking about summer programs, and whether theyd be in-person, and this is what he said, courtesy of NJ1015.com: {working} alongside district leaders, educators, local officials and parent organizations to determine whether summer educational or enrichment, or other programs offered at our schools may proceed.

On paper, it makes perfect sense to get summer programs up and running and in-person. We all want a return to normal, and kids going to school is as normal as it gets. Plus, summer programs are smaller than regular school programs. Theres fewer kids, thus more space, thus making it easy to socially distance and test out how the regular school year might work (if there even is a regular school year, I have my doubts).

So whats the issue? Summer programming  and here Im talking specifically about extended school year (ESY) programming  is predominantly the domain of special education students. And I cant think of a worse cohort to send back to school at this point than special education students.

Now are there some special education students who would do just fine with the concepts of social distancing, frequent hand washing, mask wearing, and everything else thats going to be the new normal when our kids go back to school? Sure. Of course.

But other  most other  special education students? Not so much. And believe me, Im speaking from firsthand experience.

I have a nine-year-old intellectually disabled daughter. I would love nothing more than to send her (the hell) back to school. My wife  bless her soul  has been in charge of helping to deliver education to my daughter these last few months. Its not easy, much in the same way its not easy to fly a whale.

But my daughter  and others like her  should not be the test subjects to see how this whole back-to-school thing might work. She understands whats going on, but does she have the wherewithal to adhere to whatever guidelines are put in place? I fear she does not. I also know thousands of others like her do not. As a result, the burden placed on ESY teachers this summer would be of whale-flying proportions.

Asking any small child  but specifically special needs children with sensory, behavioral, and/or intellectual disabilities  to stay six feet from friends and teachers while wearing a mask all day is an unreasonable burden. It will put both students and their dedicated educators at grave and unnecessary risk.

Listen: I want to get back to normal, and obviously, kids have to be in school for that to happen. But there is no way special education students and their teachers  and by extension, the families and friends of special education students and their teachers  should be treated as lab rats for whatever back to normal is going to look like.

Murphy has been smart and methodical during the pandemic. I applaud what hes done so far. I can only assume hell realize what a mistake this would be. He should immediately make the call to keep students at home this summer. Its another no-brainer.
The hearing was the latest development in a lawsuit filed on April 21 by attorneys on behalf of Prince Georges inmates alleging they have been left woefully unprotected from an outbreak of the virus. Xinis did not order immediate remedies at the jail, and encouraged the attorneys to continue trying to work through possible solutions with their counterparts representing jail officials.

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As of Monday, Prince Georges jail officials reported 18 inmates having tested positive for the virus  the same total going back to April 23. That lined up with findings from the jail inspector, who said the outbreak peaked in the jail around April 5 to 10. The jail has conducted 24 total coronavirus tests of inmates, a jail spokesman said Monday.

All 18 have completed quarantine and returned to general population, the spokesman, Andrew Cephas, wrote by email.

He added that 32 civilian and sworn staff members have tested positive for the virus and that 18 of them have returned to duty.

During Mondays hearing, Xinis pushed an attorney for the jail on why more tests werent being conducted in the jail. The lawyer, Shelley Lynn Johnson, said the jail was having trouble getting test kits  saying that as of Monday it had only 24 on hand.

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Xinis asked Johnson to document how many trees have been shaken to get more test kits.

Also at issue Monday were inmates claims, asserted in filings over the weekend, that the jail is housing inmates that local courts have indicated should be released. Xinis ordered the attorneys to provide a list of those inmates to county jail officials.

The lawsuit filed in Maryland by Civil Rights Corps in April urged the release of inmates, asserting the county has allowed unsanitary conditions in the jail and has not followed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Carlos Franco-Paredes, a clinician from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, examined the jail last week as part of the lawsuit. Xinis had given Franco-Paredes wide authority to examine and photograph the jail and speak to inmates and staff members, according to an earlier hearing.

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Franco-Paredes said during Mondays hearing that during his inspection last week, jail officials appeared to be following jail operating recommendations by the CDC.

I think for the most part they were in compliance with CDC guidelines at the time of the inspection, he said.

Franco-Paredes indicated there were inmates beyond those who were tested who had covid-19 symptoms at the time of the peak outbreak last month. The outbreak was really much larger at some point, he said. Recently theres not been any more individuals with any symptoms of covid-19.

Separately on Tuesday, D.C. jail system inspectors reported improved conditions after a federal judge on April 19 ordered an overhaul of health and safety measures. Inspectors also reviewed conditions at the jail in the District after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit complaining of conditions at the facility.

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Inspectors report pandemic-prompted lockdowns have fueled disturbances as inmates have been allowed to leave their cells for just one hour every one to three days, including between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.

The total clampdowns are required because of severe understaffing and the need to enforce social distancing measures to fight the spread of the virus. As a result, the jail has slashed the number of inmates released at any one time to shower, clean their cells, make legal or family calls, or recreate.

At the same time, inmates are facing barriers to timely medical attention, legal calls and adequate cleaning supplies, inspectors said.

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Its a tense environment . . . and a very difficult and stressful situation, for guards and prisoners, court-ordered inspector Grace Lopes said at a teleconference hearing in Washington. She said fights between inmates and confrontations with guards and medical personnel have grown.

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Inmates feel theyre being unduly punished because they are locked down for a significant part of the day. . . . Staff are tired, Lopes said.

Overall, as of Sunday, the D.C. jail system reported a spike of 11 additional inmates testing positive, bringing the total to 177 after a decrease in new infections since mid-April. Nearly 3 out of 4 inmates  873 out of about 1,200  are under quarantine or in medical isolation.

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Im happy to hear the numbers have gone down . . . and also that the [D.C.] Department of Corrections has continued to cooperate [with inspectors]. Obviously that makes it better for all of us to be able to get a handle on all of this, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the District said.

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KABUL - The woman, unmoving, lay slouched against the wall of a hospital room, blood splattered on her face mask. In her arms: a tiny, swaddled baby.

The scene was one of many such images to emerge Tuesday from a busy Doctors Without Borders maternity ward in Kabul after gunmen stormed in and battled security forces for nearly four hours. Sixteen people, including two newborns, were killed.

The same day, in the country's east, a suicide bomber killed 24 people at a funeral.

The attacks cap a deadly six-week period since the Taliban and the United States signed a deal that leaders hoped would lead to a reduction in violence and the start of intra-Afghan talks. Instead, a spike in attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups such as the Islamic State have put the fragile chance for peace in jeopardy.

The Taliban denied responsibility for Tuesday's bloodshed, but Afghan officials appeared to connect the two attacks with rising Taliban violence in other parts of the country. Hours after the siege at the hospital ended, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered his armed forces to resume offensive operations against the Taliban.

"This is not peace, nor its beginnings," Afghanistan's national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib said in a post on Twitter, referring to Tuesday's violence. He said that the Taliban "subcontracted their terror to other entities" and that there is "little point in continuing to engage Taliban in 'peace talks.' "

Those peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government were supposed to begin more than two months ago but have been plagued by delays. Key negotiations over a controversial prisoner swap collapsed in April, and while both sides have continued to release prisoners unilaterally, they don't appear any closer to direct talks.

In a statement Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the hospital attack as "an act of sheer evil" and urged both sides to find a solution to the political crisis.

"The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement read. "As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress toward a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism."

The public text of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal does not include a commitment from the Taliban to reduce attacks against Afghan forces, but U.S. officials have said all sides verbally agreed to bring overall violence down by as much as 80 percent.

Pentagon spokesperson Army Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell said Tuesday that the U.S. military would continue to conduct airstrikes in defense of Afghan forces despite the resumption of offensive operations.

"As the secretary of defense stated recently, this is going to be a windy, bumpy road," Campbell said, adding that a political agreement "is the best way to end the war."

The Taliban released a statement condemning Tuesday's attacks and calling Ghani's announcement a "declaration of war."

"The Kabul regime will be responsible for an increase in the violence," said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He accused the Afghan government of delaying talks and "creating hurdles in the peace process," specifically over prisoner releases.

Any escalation in violence in Afghanistan also will complicate the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Increased clashes will make it more difficult for aid groups to deliver relief, as lockdowns have caused unemployment to soar and put millions at risk of hunger. Previous appeals from the United Nations for a humanitarian cease-fire have been ignored.

The future of armed groups such as the Islamic State in Afghanistan was a critical element of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in the lead-up to the signing of the agreement in February. U.S. negotiators demanded assurances from the Taliban that terrorist organizations with aims of attacking the West would not be allowed to operate in territory under their control.

Ahead of the peace deal, U.S., Afghan and Taliban military pressure on the Islamic State crippled the group's territorial hold and led to a sharp drop in large-scale attacks in Afghan cities. (In the Taliban's statement Tuesday, Mujahid highlighted the role that Taliban fighters played in the military operations, a contribution that even U.S. officials assessed as "significant.")

But recent deadly shootings in Kabul suggest some of the extremist group's networks and cells remain intact.

In March, Islamic State gunmen killed 32 at an ethnic Hazara and Shiite gathering, and later that month gunmen stormed a Sikh temple, killing 25. Like the previous attacks, the hospital targeted Tuesday serves a minority community of mainly Hazara and Shiite Afghans.

And on Tuesday, the Islamic State asserted responsibility for a suicide bombing at the funeral of a prominent local security official in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing two dozen and wounding 68, according to the provincial governor's office.

The funeral was attended by government officials, including a member of parliament. A member of the provincial council was among the dead, according to two local officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media. Nangahar was the focus of the months-long military push against the Islamic State last year.

Similar to previous attacks, the gunmen in the hospital Tuesday held off Afghan security forces for hours. More than 100 patients, family members, doctors and nurses were evacuated from the hospital during the attack. About four hours after the siege began, Afghan forces declared the building cleared.

The head of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, Shaharzad Akbar, condemned the brutality of an attack targeting newborns. She wrote in a post on Twitter, "Among their first experiences [is] being targeted in a war they & their mothers had no part in."

Abdul Habib Faizy, the hospital's nursing manager, said he could hear the gunmen changing their weapons' magazines outside the safe room where he hid.

"It was a horrific situation," he said. "We were waiting to die every moment. Who would kill mothers who had just given birth and their newborn babies?

"They are the enemies of humanity."

- - -

George reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In times of crisis, like the current COVID-19 pandemic, businesses need to make smart decisions about their future. An important question is: Who should provide input to make those decisions? A recent study by MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Abdullah Almaatouq and Alex `Sandy' Pentland, director of MIT's Connection Science program and the MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics group, cautions against using static organizational charts to make decisions. Instead, their study finds that changing the individuals in charge based on the nature of the issue leads to better collective intelligence and smarter decisions.

"In the current crisis, it is not business as usual. Most organizations will be different a year from now, so leaders need input from different people. You can call them your skunkworks or shadow cabinet  but they are not the people in your org chart," says Pentland. "By listening to the right group of people, you can end up smarter than the smartest person in the group."

Almaatouq notes, "Our study reinforces the idea that groups can achieve a higher level of intelligence and reach better decisions than individuals alone. The key is recognizing that the group may need to change based on the problem. Managers need to move away from a static hierarchy to systems with more ability to change in response to feedback."

Their paper, "Adaptive Social Networks Promote the Wisdom of Crowds," was published in PNAS.

The co-authors test the hypothesis that adaptive influence networks may be central to collective human intelligence with two pre-conditions: feedback and network plasticity. "The conditions under which groups outperform their individual members has been the focus of many studies. Our study looks at the conditions under which the interaction network within a group can adapt to leverage the dispersion of individual abilities and promote collective intelligence," explains Almaatouq.

"We found that dynamic networks could adapt to biased and nonstationary environments, inducing individual and collective beliefs to become more accurate than the independent beliefs of best-performing individuals," he says. "We also showed that the advantages of adaptive networks are amplified by high-quality performance feedback. Taken together, our results suggest that details of interpersonal communication -- both in terms of the structure of social interactions and the mechanism of its evolution -- can affect the ability of the system to promote adaptive collective intelligence."

This means, notes Almaatouq, that managers should move away from static organizational charts and decision-making procedures, especially in times of crisis. "Organizations need to change the structure of how information is communicated and provide feedback on the quality of the structure and decisions. This allows them to adapt to changing environments and make better decisions."

Pentland adds, "It's a common pitfall to follow your organizational charts to make decisions, but our research shows that you need different people to address different problems to make better decisions."

The MIT Sloan School of Management is where smart, independent leaders come together to solve problems, create new organizations, and improve the world. Learn more at mitsloan.mit.edu.

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Bengaluru, May 12 : A viral video purported to be of a Karnataka legislator's son, showing him galloping on a horse without a mask, is an old one shot before the imposition of the lockdown to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, a police officer said on Tuesday.

"This is an old video from before the Covid-19 pandemic," Chamarajanagar Superintendent of Police, H.D. Anand Kumar, told IANS, busting the misconceptions surrounding the viral post gaining currency on Twitter.

Kumar said people are circulating the video without bothering to know the genuineness of the footage.

In the video, a young man is seen galloping on a horse on the main road where a traffic sign says 'Welcome to Gundlupet'.

Many netizens identified the man riding the brown horse with white patches as the son of Gundlupet BJP MLA Niranjan Kumar.

Netizens also criticised the rider for violating the lockdown regulations and for not wearing a mask in Covid times.

Located in Chamarajanagar district, Gundlupet is 204 km southwest of Bengaluru.

In the video, people on five two-wheelers were seen trailing the horse as it galloped in the middle of the road and drifted away to the right on the wrong lane as the video ended.

The rider, wielding a stick, could be seen controlling the horse and slowing its pace as he approached what appeared to be the rear portion of an autorickshaw even as a couple zipped by on a two-wheeler from the opposite direction.

Kumar said fake viral posts such as this video are an unwelcome distraction for the police department which is already heavily loaded with Covid-19 related work.

"We are all loaded with Covid-19 work, it is a huge responsibility," he said.

Incidentally, Chamarajanagar is yet to report a Covid-19 positive case.

In April, Karnataka Police had launched a dedicated fake news busting website, urging people to report any such news/video for verification.
WASHINGTON  House Democrats want to "go big" with the next coronavirus relief bill they hope to pass as soon as Friday, a $3 trillion package with billions to help local governments facing massive budget holes, such as Houston and San Antonio, as well as another round of stimulus payments, food and housing assistance, and more.

The bill, which Democrats unveiled on Tuesday, is a marker of where House Democrats want to go as lawmakers continue to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak and as states begin to reopen. At the top of their list is sending $875 billion to states, cities and counties.

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"Most of us in the caucus would prefer we go big," said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat who has served as a presiding municipal judge, a Harris County commissioner, and as a state senator. "Its going to have to be big to take care of local governments. You cant send $10 million to the city of Houston. Theyre spending $400 million already on testing.

The package includes a slew of Democratic priorities, including $3.6 billion in elections funding as they push to expand mail-in voting during the outbreak, as well as $25 billion to bolster the U.S. Postal Service. And it would create a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans threw up their hands as the 1,800-page bill was released  a glimpse of the resistance it will undoubtedly face in the Senate.

They know this bill will never become law or help anyone, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican, tweeted. This country is in crisis, and Democrats are playing politics.

The bill includes $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers and another $75 billion in federal funding for testing and contact tracing as states begin to reopen. It would offer up $175 billion in assistance for renters and homeowners and would bump up the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent.

A BUNCH OF HEAD FAKES: Trump struggles to bail out oil sector after unprecedented drop in demand, threatening Texas

It would also direct another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to taxpayers  and it would direct that assistance to families with mixed immigration status, who have so far been frozen out as Congress has poured $2.5 trillion into coronavirus relief efforts. That change is being championed by Texas Democrats, including Garcia and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.

That needs to get fixed in this bill, Castro said. You have a bunch of U.S. citizens in my district and other districts who are getting nothing. It makes no sense at all. Theres no reason they shouldnt immediately give relief to every American citizen.

But the Democrats proposal will face stiff resistance, as the Republican majority in the Senate opposes many of the measures Democrats are eyeing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said hes not sure its time yet for another relief package and that in the long run, Senate Republicans will insist on narrowly targeted legislation.

Some in the GOP, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, have said theyre wary of sending more money to state governments, viewing it as a bailout for blue states. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, continues to call for a payroll tax cut as Senate Republicans push to include legal protections for businesses reopening amid the outbreak, both of which Democrats have opposed.

McConnell said on Tuesday that Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn will lead the GOP effort to offer up those protections.

Now with the states beginning to gradually reopen their economies, we're staring down the barrel of a second epidemic: one generated by opportunistic lawsuits, crushing legal fees, and drawn out court battles, Cornyn said this week in a speech on the Senate floor. We simply cannot allow a flood of frivolous lawsuits to harm our incredible health care workers or stunt our economic recovery.

OPENING TOO SOON? Fauci warns of serious consequences

Democrats say more help is needed, especially for cities such as Houston and San Antonio, which are staring down budget deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars for next fiscal year. Those cities cant use the aid that Congress has offered so far to close those budget holes and cities across the country are starting to lay off employees and cut programs.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday proposed furloughing about 3,000 municipal workers, deferring all police cadet classes and exhausting the citys $20 million rainy day fund to address a $169 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In San Antonio, which faces a $200 million budget gap, City Manager Erik Walsh has already cut $82 million in spending, furloughed 270 employees and ended funding to all contracts for arts programs.

Republicans have been hesitant to offer up more money for cities and states, though there may be some bipartisan agreement to giving cities more flexibility in how they spend the assistance theyre set to receive so far.

Weve already provided $150 billion, Cornyn said last week, according to the Washington Post. If you generate your revenue in a city or county or state by sales tax, and there are no sales because everybody shut down, I think thats related to the coronavirus and I would favor giving them flexibility.

$169M BUDGET GAP: Turner plans to furlough about 3,000 workers, use entire rainy day fund

U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat, said the next relief package also needs to include assistance for smaller cities, such as Stafford and Missouri City, which are in his district. Federal assistance has so far only gone to cities with 500,000 or more residents. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, only 36 American cities have qualified for direct federal assistance so far.

Also at the top of Greens list is rental assistance funding and money for food banks. Green and Garcia both said theyve been to Houston-area food distribution sites in recent weeks and have seen the massive lines, with many still waiting after the food runs out.

I think we start it as big as we need to and we make adjustments if we have to, Green said of negotiations on the next relief package. We just cannot walk away from people who have rent to pay, and who have to put food on the table and who are not working. We cant walk away from them. That would be a line in the dirt for me, walking away from them.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Federal law protects people's medical privacy. But experts say there are numerous loopholes that allow researchers access to our files. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

To hear President Trump tell it, a COVID-19 vaccine is just around the corner.

"We think we'll have a vaccine by the end of this year and we're pushing very hard," he told Fox News last week.

While many healthcare experts say that's an unrealistically ambitious goal  most say a vaccine for widespread use is unlikely until next year at the earliest  Trump's comment raises a few interesting questions.

How will researchers recruit subjects for COVID-19 vaccine or cure tests? Will scientists await infected or interested people to contact them? Will they use other means to find suitable research participants?

If the latter, it seems fair to wonder how confidential our medical records are. There's no faster way to recruit research subjects than by going through people's healthcare files and seeing who qualifies.

Joel Engel, a Westlake Village resident, suspects this happened to him the other day after he received two calls asking if he wanted to enroll in a UCLA sleep study.

Engel, a writer, said he was treated at a UCLA facility about five years ago.

"The callers said they needed people of a certain age in good health," he told me. "I asked how they knew my age and condition. I couldn't get a direct answer."

Engel's concern is that UCLA violated the federal medical-privacy law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prohibits the unauthorized accessing of people's medical information.

"How else would they know to call me?" he wondered.

It's a reasonable question.

And with a global pandemic raging, perhaps all Americans should be wondering if their medical records are as confidential as they might think they are.

Are we all fair game for research in light of the extraordinary circumstances?

Short answer: No. And yes.

"You can't just fish around in people's medical records," said Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University. "HIPAA prohibits that."

Story continues

Moreover, there's no provision in the law that says a pandemic or any other public health emergency creates an exemption that allows researchers to skirt privacy protections.

"A public health crisis should have no bearing on recruiting for a sleep study," said Mildred Cho, associate director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University.

However, she and other medical-privacy experts noted that loopholes to the law do exist.

Perhaps the most noteworthy HIPAA exception in the age of the coronavirus is what's known as the "preparatory to research" provision.

This allows researchers to examine people's medical records to ascertain whether a sufficient number of potential candidates exist for a study.

The provision does not give researchers the right to contact possible study participants. That would require upfront permission from the patient.

"Usually the only people who are allowed direct contact of patients for research are the patients healthcare provider," Cho said, meaning that only your doctor can reach out in this regard.

But, once again, there are exceptions.

Nancy M.P. King, co-director of the Center for Bioethics, Health and Society at Wake Forest University, said a hospital's institutional review board, which oversees ethical matters, can independently limit a patient's privacy rights if circumstances warrant.

Such boards "have a whole range of protocols for investigators to follow, which could result in calls like your reader mentioned," she told me.

This clearly has implications for the high-speed, high-stakes race for a COVID-19 vaccine.

If researchers believe specific types of patients show the most promise for testing, such work could be greatly accelerated if scientists know whom to contact.

Which brings us back to the question: How would they find you?

Engel said he was told the sleep study he was wanted for was being conducted by the Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, which he's never had any dealings with.

He asked the women who called his home. He contacted the director of the Norman Cousins Center. Nobody could or would say how they'd gotten access to Engel's information.

Phil Hampton, a spokesman for UCLA Health, told me by email that the campus medical center conducts "clinical trials and other research involving patients."

"Consistent with laws governing patient privacy, when seeking patients to participate in research studies, our practice is to contact only patients from whom we have written consent," he said.

I passed that along to Engel, who replied that he has "no recollection of granting them express permission to use my medical records for anything other than medical treatment."

It turns out there's a reason for that.

Acting on a hunch, I asked Hampton if there's any fine print in the routine privacy forms people sign when they're admitted to UCLA medical facilities that authorizes use of their info for research purposes.

He replied: "I can confirm that a patients signature on a privacy practices form authorizes UCLA outreach for the purpose of inquiring about the patients interest in participating in an approved research study."

Bingo.

The practice appears to be widespread. Spokespeople for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and USC told me their patients agree to similar language when they check in. They said this is "standard" among many hospitals.

If so, it's yet another reminder about the importance of reading the fine print of documents. You never know what's lurking in there.

While we'd like to think our medical records are under lock and key, this is far from the case.

"Our records are not as confidential as we think," said Matthew Weinberg, an associate professor of medical ethics at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "Lots of individuals and organizations have legally authorized access to our private medical information."

If this keeps you from sleeping well at night, don't worry. UCLA is researching that.




Dileep V Kumar By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the state is bracing up for the third wave of coronavirus infections, public health experts have warned the pandemic may extend into a fourth or fifth wave. It is high time the state came to terms with the harsh reality that the viral infection isnt going away soon. Experts cite a couple of studies conducted by premier institutes that attempt to predict the path COVID-19 is likely to take in the coming months. An infectious disease expert with a government medical college (GMC) told The New Indian Express that fresh waves of COVID-19 may happen in the state. The curiosity is about how society will become immune to the infection, the doctor said.

Mass immunisation drive is one way. For that, a vaccine will have to be developed and pass various trials. The other is herd immunity, which cant be chosen as a strategy as it develops gradually in the population. The doctor said a study by the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy predicts three scenarios in which COVID-19 could progress. Another study, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, states a resurgence in contagion is possible as late as 2024 even in the event of apparent elimination.

Dr B Ekbal, who chairs the state expert committee on COVID-19, said people will have to learn to live with the virus in society.At the same time, we have to manage them. It will be unrealistic to say that one is immune to the virus and can evade all preventive measures, he said. Experts point out that the state should make remarkable changes to its psychological, sociological, economic and political outlooks to minimise the impact of new COVID-19 attacks, especially when the Centre is set to chalk out a lockdown exit plan. Considerable changes will also have to be made to societal behaviour. At the same time, they say measures like social distancing, limiting gatherings and enforcing various levels of lockdown cannot become preferred options while planning for the long term.

Dr Anish T S of Department of Community Medicine, GMC, Thiruvananthapuram, said that a government should choose a prevention and control strategy according to its strengths and weaknesses.There are countries that enforced total lockdown while some went with social distancing alone. Both have their own merits and demerits. The key is to strike a balance, he said.
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:





To start, assuming that you took these 2 CATs under realistic testing conditions, then you're clearly a strong overall critical thinker - which is great. Quant Scaled Scores in the Q40 - Q45 range mean that your overall Quant knowledge is quite strong, but you're making lots of little mistakes as you work through the Quant section and you're missing out on lots of strategy-based questions. The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test'; it's a critical thinking test that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. This is meant to say that to score at a significantly higher level in the Quant section (and thus, overall), you'll need to change how you "see" (and respond to) that section of the Test. With almost 7 weeks of potential study time, you could potentially improve a great deal.



Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:



1) How many hours do you typically study each week?

2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks? Have you taken any of the Official GMAC CATs yet (from

3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?



GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,

Rich Hi TooBig2Fail,To start, assuming that you took these 2 CATs under realistic testing conditions, then you're clearly a strong overall critical thinker - which is great. Quant Scaled Scores in the Q40 - Q45 range mean that your overall Quant knowledge is quite strong, but you're making lots of little mistakes as you work through the Quant section and you're missing out on lots of strategy-based questions. The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test'; it's a critical thinking test that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. This is meant to say that to score at a significantly higher level in the Quant section (and thus, overall), you'll need to change how you "see" (and respond to) that section of the Test. With almost 7 weeks of potential study time, you could potentially improve a great deal.Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:1) How many hours do you typically study each week?2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks? Have you taken any of the Official GMAC CATs yet (from http://www.mba.com )?3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,Rich
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Linkedin Asip Hasani (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya  Tue, May 12, 2020 09:18 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd760380 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,surabaya-east-java,Malang,surabaya-raya,malang-raya,PSBB,social-restriction,khofifah-indar-parawansa Free

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has decided to extend the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Greater Surabaya for another 14-day period up until May 25, vowing to enforce restriction rules in a repressive approach if necessary.

Greater Surabaya consists of Surabaya and its satellite regencies, namely Sidoarjo and Gresik.

"People's obedience and discipline toward the PSBB rules are the main key factor to the success of PSBB in curbing the COVID-19 spread," she told reporters on Saturday after meeting with Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, Sidoarjo acting regent Nur Ahmad Saifuddin, and Gresik deputy regent Mohammad Qosim who together agreed to the extension.

Khofifah said her administration would impose strict punishments on those violating health protocols during the pandemic, including wearing face masks and social distancing.

Separately, epidemiologist Windhu Purnomo from Airlangga University's school of public health said on Friday that the implementation of the PSBB in Greater Surabaya had failed to flatten the COVID-19 curve in the said areas as the residents lacked discipline in implementing the health protocols.

"We have seen a fake PSBB in Surabaya. We call it fake because we can hardly see any difference between daily life in Surabaya before and after the PSBB was put into effect," he said.

Read also: PSBB fails to flatten COVID-19 curve in East Java: Task force

Windhu, who leads a team of experts tasked with measuring the PSBB effectiveness in flattening the curve, also said recent research showed the SARS-CoV-2 virus infectious period lasted more than 14 days.

"The virus becomes infectious a few days before one shows symptoms up until a few days after the symptoms disappear. Experts have concluded that the virus infectious period is between 21 and 25 days in length," he said, adding that a 14-day PSBB was not enough.

As of Saturday, Surabaya and Sidoarjo saw another jump in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases with 75 and 18 new cases, respectively, bringing the tally to 667 and 170 cases.

On the 12th day of the first period of PSBB, which began on April 28, Greater Surabaya saw an increase in confirmed cases of 72 percent, to 874 from 508, accounting for 62.03 percent of the provinces total of 1,409 confirmed cases.

Surabaya administration secretary Hendro Gunawan said the administration would intensify security patrols in the city to make sure that people adhered to the health protocols.

He said a night curfew would be enforced in a stricter way in the city and physical-distancing rules would be implemented in all markets.

Read also: Surabaya, Bali step up fight against COVID-19

Acting Sidoarjo regent Nur Ahmad Syaifudin said the administration agreed to extend the PSBB as COVID-19 had continued spreading widely in the three areas, especially Surabaya and Sidoarjo, which made them the hardest and second-hardest hit regions in the province.

"We hope that we can curb the virus spread by the end of the extended PSBB so that we will not have to extend it again," he said.

In the meantime, the East Java administration approved on Saturday Greater Malangs plan to impose PSBB. Greater Malang consists of Malang city, Batu city and Malang regency.

"We have seen the detailed plans of PSBB implementation in Greater Malang. We will shortly send a letter to the Health Ministry to ask for the permit for Greater Malangs PSBB," Khofifah said.

Based on three indicators  the infection rate, the emergence of local transmission and the fatality rate  measured by epidemiologists, Greater Malang was eligible for PSBB, she said.

"Greater Malang has scored 10 in a 1-to-10 scale measured by a team of epidemiologists," Khofifah said.

With a population of less than 1 million, Malang city, located around 100 kilometers to the south of Surabaya, is one of the first regions in the country to impose PSBB as a response to the emergence of COVID-19 infections in early March.

Malang Mayor Sutiaji even announced a lockdown policy on March 16, which he annulled a day later.

Read also: East Java girl, 11, becomes youngest COVID-19 fatality in Indonesia

On Saturday, Sutiaji welcomed the agreement among Greater Malang administrations, as well as the governors approval to submit a PSBB proposal to the Health Ministry.

"It is our second PSBB proposal, but this time were proposing it along with Batu city and Malang regency," Sutiaji said.

As of Saturday, there were 71 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Greater Malang. Twenty-two of which were in Malang city. Malang regency, with a population of around 2.5 million has seen 44 cases.

Batu city, with fewer than 250,000 residents, has seen five confirmed cases.

Batu Mayor Dewanti Rumpoko said the city agreed to impose PSBB together with Malang regency and Malang city given their proximity, despite the citys small number of cases. (nkn)
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday said his iconic hit "Don" had evoked discouraging reactions from distributors who weren't happy with the title at the time of its release on May 12, 1978.

Directed by Chandra Barot and written by Salim-Javed, the 1978 film featuring Bachchan in a double rolethat of a mafioso and a simpleton went on to become a blockbuster with its racy music, iconic dialogues and pulsating action.

In his official blog, the actor recalled how many had confused the title with name of an undergarment brand.

"When Chandra and Salim-Javed announced the name of the film as 'Don', no distributor was willing to accept the title. They all thought it to be named after the Dawn underwear, a popular brand during those times. The film 'Godfather' was just making a mark in film circles. The word Don was unknown till then," Bachchan wrote.

The 77-year-old actor said the producer of "Don", Nariman Irani, who had also shot the film, tragically died in a freak accident much before the film was released.

"While he was shooting for a film Nariman Bawa suddenly noticed, that the set where they were working was about to crumble and fall. A young child was playing around it. Nariman, fearing the kid would get crushed, ran and jumped on the kid and saved him but in doing so he injured himself, as he fell.

"He never came out of the complications that arose after that. It was such a sad moment. God's own man, simple, uncomplicated, soft spoken and a master in his craft .. just could not live to see the end of the film 'Don,'" he added.

Bachchan said one of the dance moves in the popular "Khaike Paan" songwhich was added on actor Manoj Kumar's suggestion was based on his son, Abhishek.

"There is a dance move in the song where the steps are me moving sideways, that's a copy of Abhishek. As a little fellow, whenever he heard music, he would dance and do this side step..I copied that from him for the song.

"There is another shot of me dancing and I turn around, show my back and keep moving my hips and look back. That has a story too, but of that some other time."



Bachchan said over the years, the film has had an exceptional life of its own with its "remarkable" music.

"Javed saheb sent me an sms this morning: 'Huzoor 42 saal ho gaye 'Don' ko, hadd ho gayee'. Truly hadd' ho gayee," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A prisoner in Queensland's Woodford Correctional Centre has been charged with murder, following the death of another inmate, whose body was found dead in the facility's laundry last Wednesday.

The body of the 37-year-old male victim was found about 4pm and police launched an investigation into the suspicious death with the help of Queensland Corrective Services.

Support was being provided to the correctional officers who responded to both incidents. (File image)

Police laid the murder charge against the 25-year-old male inmate on Monday and he was due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 20.

Queensland Corrective Services have provided assistance to the Queensland Police Service throughout the investigation.
A majority of Phillips 66 investors voted for a shareholder proposal that asked the Houston refiner to produce information about the public health risks of expanding petrochemical operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The proposal, which was filed by the climate activist shareholder group, As You Sow, argued that building chemical facilities in areas more prone to climate risks such as frequent storms, flooding and sea level rise, could pose financial, health, environmental and reputation risks to the Houston refining and pipeline company.

Some 54 percent of shareholders approved the proposal during the companys annual meeting on May 6. The proposal requests the company assess the measures it is taking to prevent public health effects from chemical releases.

Shareholders are increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change on their portfolio, said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel for As You Sow. Especially for those that have long-term beneficiaries.

The proposal points to chemical releases and plant shutdowns during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 as an example of a climate liability for shareholders. It notes that Houston, where some of its major plants are located, has experienced three 500-year floods in a three-year time period.

Phillips 66 cited Harvey as a major reason for a $123 million decrease in pre-tax income from its chemicals business in 2017.

The Woodlands chemical maker Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. is jointly owned by Phillips 66 and the oil major Chevron and operates the Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown along in the Houston Ship Channel.

Operations can become inundated and pose significant chemical release risks during extreme weather events, the shareholder proposal filed by As You Sow said. Growing storms and the costs they bring to our company are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity as global warming escalates.

Similar proposals will be filed by As You Sow for a vote at Exxon Mobil, which has large refining and chemical plants along the Gulf Coast, and Chevron annual meetings on May 27.

MORE ON PHILLIPS 66: Phillips 66 loses $2.5 billion in first quarter

Phillips 66 did not say whether it would implement the proposal but indicated it will provide more information about the risks of expanding petrochemical operations and investments along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Phillips 66 is currently reviewing its disclosures, and working with (Chevron Phillips Chemical) on its disclosures, to determine how best to incorporate more information as requested by the shareholder proposal, said Dennis Nuss, a spokesperson for Phillips 66.

As You Sow leaders said the majority vote shows that investors fear that the company is not doing enough to protect shareholders from climate risks  and it shows important investors are concerned, not just the activists.

When you get above 50 percent, that signals that some of the largest investors, like BlackRock and Vanguard, are concerned, Fugere said. So, it does help push the company to take the concern seriously.

Institutional investors in the last year indicated climate risks and other environmental, social and governmental issues are a higher priority than in the past. In January, Larry Fink, founder and chief executive of BlackRock wrote in his annual letter to shareholders that the firm would make environmental sustainability a core investment goal.

erin.douglas@chron.com

Twitter.com/erinmdouglas23
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Istanbul, Turkey  Tue, May 12, 2020 10:35 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7665c2 2 World Turkey,Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan,coronavirus,virus-corona,COVID-19,SARS-CoV-2,COVID-19-lockdown,pandemic Free

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday announced a four-day lockdown from May 16 in Istanbul and other major cities as part of measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"There will again be a lockdown in place on May 16-17-18 and 19," Erdogan said in an address to the nation following a weekly cabinet meeting.

Since the start of the outbreak, Turkey has had all-day weekend curfews in 31 cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

May 19 is a public holiday in Turkey, so the government decided to extend the weekend curfew until Tuesday.

Turkey has so far recorded 3,841 coronavirus deaths and nearly 140,000 confirmed infections.

Erdogan said his government had begun taking steps to return the life to "normal" but he warned that nothing would be the same as before.

"We have entered a new period" where rules of hygiene and social distancing need to be strictly followed, he said.

"We have seen the examples in the world of how complacency could lead to big catastrophes."

Last Sunday, anyone over 65 was allowed to go out for four hours -- for the first time since March 21. They will be allowed to do the same this weekend.

On Monday, shopping malls opened in Turkey as well as barber shops and hair salons.

The government hopes the domestic tourism sector can reopen in June after the Eid holiday, which follows the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
A commune-leveled party chief in Vietnams Central Highlands has allegedly murdered a man and use the victims body to fake his own death in an attempt for his family to claim VND18 billion (US$769,300) in an insurance payout.

The Department of Police in Dak Nong Province on Monday organized a press meeting to announce the result of their investigation into the case, in which the prime suspect is Do Van Minh, 49, who is secretary of the Party Committee in Lien Ha Commune of Lam Ha District in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Minh claimed he had previously incurred VND10 billion ($427,500) in debt.

In early April, the man bought a life insurance plan worth over VND200 million ($8,500) a year.

As part of the insurance terms, his family would receive a VND18 billion ($769,300) payout if he passes away.

Minh then came up with a plan to fake his own death so that his family would benefit from the insurance plan.

On April 20, he arrived at a local cemetery with the intention of digging up a corpse for the stunt, but eventually gave up due to exhaustion.

Minh then planned to murder Tran Nho Vuong, 25, who was a nephew of his wife.

Vuong worked at one of Minhs two farms in Dal Glong District in Dak Nong. Minh often visited his farms and had meals with Vuong on the weekend.

The two had dinner as usual on May 3.

At around 5:00 am on May 4, Minh killed Vuong by hitting his head with an axe before driving the victims body on his pickup truck to National Highway 18.

Police in Dak Nong Province, Vietnam hold a press meeting on an alleged murder case involving a man faking his own death to claim insurance benefits on May 11, 2020. Photo: Trung Tan / Tuoi Tre

Minh intentionally crashed the vehicle into the side of the road before wearing his watch on the victims wrist.

He left the corpse and the car key inside and set the vehicle on fire with nearly ten liters of gasoline.

Minh then walked to a nearby house, where he had parked his motorbike in advance, and escaped on the bike to the southern province of Binh Phuoc, where he stayed at a rental house.

As the body was severely burned, Minhs family members and authorities initially thought it was Minh who had been killed in the crash.

His funeral was later organized. Meanwhile, Vuongs mother started to worry as her son was nowhere to be found.

Police officers eventually suspected that it was a staged accident given the evidence they had collected.

Minh was arrested in Binh Phuoc on May 10.

At the police station, Minh claimed he did not have any conflict with the victim.

The suspect also admitted to having bought a new SIM card and pretended to be another person to text his son, in what he said was an attempt to comfort the child over his death.

Minh added he had watched his own funeral as he had the password to access the CCTV system installed at his home.

Police have launched legal proceedings against Minh for murder and are carrying further investigation to verify whether or not other members of Minhs family are involved in the case.

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Britain has issued guidance for wearing face coverings in public on Monday as part of a large plan to slowly reopen the countrys economy.

Boris Johnsons government released the 50-page "Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK government's COVID-19 recovery strategy" document on Monday, detailing guidance for how to make homemade face coverings as well as where they must be worn. The document also said that as of this week, Britons are allowed to meet with one person from outside their household while standing two meters apart.

"Our challenge now is to find a way forward that preserves our hard-won gains while easing the burden of lockdown," Johnson said in a statement to the House of Commons Monday.

"I will be candid with the House. This is a supremely difficult balance."

Opposition leaders have accused Downing street of issuing confusing or inconsistent guidelines on social distancing and plans to reopen the country.

The new guidance lacks specific details on how employers may be required to protect their employees.

The leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have all said they were maintaining the current stay-at-home" message for their constituents.

Britain is nearly tied with Spain for the second-highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world. Over 32,000 Britons have died from the virus, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, second only to the United States.

Boris Johnson was the first world leader to test positive for the disease. He returned to work in late April after weeks of treatment.
After the success of Spider-Man in 2002, actor Tobey Maguire quickly became one of the biggest stars in the world. And he knew it. The actor, who was reportedly paid $4 million for the film, wanted a salary hike for the sequel. But little did he know that his negotiation tactics would blow up in his face after Sony reportedly fired him and reached out to Jake Gyllenhaal to replace him in the role.

In 2003, after learning that Sony was moving ahead with a sequel to Spider-Man, Maguire sent his doctor to a meeting with director Sam Raimi and producer Laura Ziskin, claiming that he had injured himself while filming Seabiscuit, and wouldnt be able to perform the stunts in the sequel. His publicist even released the following statement: After doing two physically demanding films in a row, Tobey has experienced mild discomfort in his back which is in the final stages of healing. With an April 12 start date around the corner, everyone involved wants to be certain he is able to do the intense stunts.

According to a Variety report from 2003, Maguire was unhappy about the fact that Ziskin made more than him from the first film: approximately $30 million.

Also read: The real reason Marvel fired Edward Norton from Avengers, replaced him with Mark Ruffalo as Hulk

But Sony called him on his bluff. The report went on to say that the studio told Maguire that because of his back problems, it couldnt afford to delay the film much longer, and made an offer to Gyllenhaal.

Gyllenhaal was reportedly dating actor Kirsten Dunst at the time. Dunst played Mary Jane in the first Spider-Man movie.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

At that point, Variety reported, Maguires representatives had to step in and save the day. They assured Sony that the actor would behave himself. The actor agreed to undergo medical tests to prove that he was ready for the sequel.

For his part, Maguire always maintained that the reports about this being a negotiation tactic were ridiculous, but he did admit to the Los Angeles Times that the situation had come to the point where he had to look these people in the face and say, Im really sorry. Im going to do whatever it takes.

Also read: The real reason why Andrew Garfield was fired as Spider-Man, replaced by Tom Holland

Maguire reportedly made $17 million for Spider-Man 2, often regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made. Gyllenhaal was cast as the villainous Mysterio in 2019s Spider-Man: Far From Home, opposite Tom Hollands Spidey.

The entire incident was recreated in a season of the HBO series Entourage, in which the actor protagonist tried to pull a similar move and was about to be replaced, by Gyllenhaal, in a sequel to James Camerons Aquaman.

During Far From Homes promotions, a Yahoo reporter told Gyllenhaal that theyd heard he was in the running to replace Maguire years ago, to which Gyllenhaal said, I heard the same thing. The truth of the matter is, in the end, [Tobey Maguire is] Spider-Man. There are so many roles in my career where I was up against another actor, or there was something happened that possibly couldve happened but didnt happen but maybe it would have. Eventually my belief is when an actors played a character, particularly in a movie, the characters theirs, and thats that. But yeah there was talk, he hurt himself and there was talk. There was a slew of actors [possibly up for the part], and I was one of them.

Maguire returned to play Spider-Man in one more film after Spider-Man 2, until he was replaced by Andrew Garfield, who, incidentally, was also reportedly fired.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  Cavite province will see quarantine measures relaxed beginning Saturday, May 16, Governor Jonvic Remulla announced Tuesday.

Malacanang has decided to scale down Cavite to general community quarantine status after two months under strict stay-at-home rules, Remulla revealed ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's official announcement.

He also said nearby Laguna and Metro Manila will remain under ECQ, and that authorities need to coordinate regarding the flow of people and goods through these areas.

Cavite will gradually reopen the local economy, which will include the reopening of malls but with weak airconditioning and no free wifi services to keep people from lounging around, while factories will slowly resume operations.

However, the liquor ban in Cavite remains under GCQ, as well as the requirement for face masks and the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. People with valid work permits will be allowed to leave the house. Rules for public transportation are still being finalized, the local executive said.

"Hintayin po natin na makagawa ng hakbang ang ating gobyerno bago umangal. Huwag muna mag-galak. Bagamat gumanda at umangat ang kakayahan natin, ang 2nd wave ng COVID ay SIGURADONG DARATING. Ipatupad pa rin ang social distancing at good hygiene practices," Remulla added.

[Translation: Let's wait for the government to make the necessary steps before you complain. Don't celebrate just yet  even if our situation and capacity have improved, the second wave of COVID-19 infections will surely come. We will still implement social distancing and good hygiene practices.]

Cavite will also start its targeted COVID-19 testing on Monday. Remulla saying that medical frontliners will be prioritized, followed by police personnel and relief workers.
It expects the Eastern Partnership countries to restore their commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, the fight against corruption and reform processes

European Council approves the conclusions of the Eastern Partnership's policy beyond 2020 Reuters

On May 11, European Council approved the conclusions of the Eastern Partnership's policy beyond 2020, reaffirming its strategic importance, and the joint commitment to building a common area of shared democracy, prosperity, and stability. This was reported by the Councils press service.

According to its conclusions, the Council welcomes the significant achievements of the Eastern Partnership to date and reiterates its incentive- and conditionality-based approach as a means to encourage Eastern partner countries to continue engaging in reforms and increasing efforts in this regard.

European Council also stresses the importance of the future Eastern Partnership being a more strategic, ambitious, flexible and inclusive framework for cooperation, allowing participants to tackle common and global challenges jointly in a wide range of areas, especially in the current unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

It is also worth noting that the Council looks forward to the next Eastern Partnership Summit, which is expected to review the results achieved since the last Summit in 2017.

As we reported earlier, Polands Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz and Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed preparations for an upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit during a telephone conversation.
Chennai, May 12 : After making air braking systems for automobiles, city-based Brakes India Ltd is into making another life-saving device -- a ventilator -- to help fight coronavirus, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

Part of the TVS Group, Brakes India has started manufacturing a low-cost automated respiratory assist device - Sundaram Ventago - at its facility, joining hands with a clutch of partners like Sundaram Medical Foundation and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), Kauvery Hospital, Madras Medical College and with guidance from global educational institutions like MIT, Boston.

"The idea came about to fulfil the immediate and increased demand for ventilators to treat Covid-19 patients. It all started about six weeks back. In collaboration with various organisations and institutions the final product is now ready," Sriram Viji, Deputy Managing Director told IANS.

He said since there is lack of clarity on sourcing of ventilators by the government, it should specify its policy so that industries can scale up to meet the demand for such medical equipment.

A lot of planning is needed to scale up the production, which is not possible at the last moment, Viji said.

Though the company has branded the ventilator as Sundaram Ventago, Viji said whether Brakes India will get into this line of business on its own or outsource the product are yet to be decided.

"When approached, IIT-M readily put in a team for the project. We looked at various guidelines, including USFDA norms. We had several conference calls with officials at MIT, Boston," Viji said.

He said the design was evolved over multiple stages using a rapid product development model where a cross-functional team worked with top anesthesiologists, pulmonologists and intensivists from leading hospitals to integrate clinical inputs into the design. The device is rugged and uses frugal engineering principles.

The device provides respiratory support to patients via controlled and automated squeezing of a self-inflating or AMBU bag and includes functionalities to control respiratory rate (breaths per minute), tidal volume, pressure parameters.

According to Viji, such ventilators are especially useful in remote and rural areas where healthcare facilities are not available.

The Sundaram Ventago works with or without compressed/hospital air and oxygen and requires only a standard power connection to operate (easy to use in non-ICU wards, ambulances, remote/rural areas).

The device can also be used in conjunction with a standard UPS and mounted on a crash cart, wheelchair, bed, in an ambulance to support patient mobility and used as an emergency transport ventilator.

The simple design comprises three major assemblies - the actuator unit, the electronic control module and the ambu bag with patient airway circuit.

Commenting on the technical collaboration, Jayaraj Joseph, faculty of Electrical Engineering at IIT-Madras said the ventilator offers greater precision than manual pumping, even with over 24 hours of continuous use.

The device is versatile and mobile. It constantly monitors and reports respiratory parameters that are important to clinicians and is very easy to use.

"It also provides the needed patient safety features such as audible alarms for line disconnection or in case PIP exceeds a certain threshold. We also performed a detailed risk analysis towards certification of the product," Joseph said.

"We will be supplying the ventilator to our own Sundaram Medical Foundation, our health centres, Kauvery Hospital and Mehta Hospital," Viji said.

He said the first batch of 25 units are under production and capacity can be scaled up to 100 units per day. Further increase in production depends on the government policy, he said.
The defence team of dimanataire Nirav Modi on Tuesday challenged the grounds on which India has sought his extradition to face charges of major financial offences, insisting that there is no prima facie case against him, besides raising the issue of risk to his human rights in a Mumbai jail.

Under the UK-India extradition treaty, the country requesting the extradition needs to establish in the requested countrys court that there is a prima facie case against the person  not a conviction  based on charges that would amount to offences in law in both countries.

Claire Montgomery, who appeared for businessman Vijay Mallya in his extradition case, set out broadly similar objections to Modis extradition on the second day of the five-day extradition trial in the Westminster Magistrates Court.

The objections claimed include lack of a prima facie case against Modi, risk to his human rights in the Arthur Road jail, and the claim that he may not receive a fair trial if extradited. Modi appeared in court via video-link from the Wandsworth jail.

According to her, the incompetence of the Punjab National Bank was responsible for the ways in which credit and loans were extended to Modi and his companies. She quoted extensively from bank documents from 2004, and at one stage accused PNB of misleading the Reserve Bank of India on lending.

Raising objections to documents submitted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer Helen Malcolm, Montgomery claimed that many are inadmissible in court, she told judge Samuel Mark Goozee. There is no underlying evidence in Indias case, she added.

The sovereign assurance given by the ministry of home affairs that Modis human rights would be protected in the Mumbai jail, she said, is inadequate, raising concerns about over-crowding, conditions, availability of medical facilities, and reminding the court that Modi faced serious mental health issues.

Malcolm told the court on Monday that loans and credit were obtained by Modi and his companies fraudulently and when the fraud was discovered, Modi allegedly began a campaign to intimidate witnesses. Mobile phones and a server were destroyed, she said.

Malcolm named bank officials and cited documents to recount Modis alleged laundering of money and transfer of funds through accounts of members of his family, entities and properties in various countries, including in the United States.

According to the CBI, Modi, brother Nehal Modi and two business associates tried to threaten witnesses and destroy evidence, which came to light after nine employees submitted details of how Modi and others took them to Cairo against their will, offered bribes and threatened them.

Modis defence team is due to present witnesses, including expert on prisons Alan Mitchell, who also appeared in the Mallya case.

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Traders are advised to stay cautious instead of following traditional market moves in May, Photo: Dung Minh

Market uncertainties sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an abrupt end of the bull market, leaving investors confidence plummeting through multiple selling sessions.

However, the unprecedented outbreak could set the stage for positive recovery signs. Some sectors that will benefit the most include e-commerce, retail, insurance, healthcare, aviation, and construction.

The current low oil price is acting as a boon for e-commerce retailers to upgrade their last-mile delivery services  one of the key catalysts to match customer satisfaction. Although weak demand will likely hurt retailers to some extent, experts believed that the low oil price may boost sales volumes by enabling more free shipping promotions or even same-day deliveries.

Notably, some brick-and-mortar players are developing their own omnichannels to catch up with e-commerce peers, such as Mobile World Investment Corporation, Masan Group, and VinCommerce. Experts also believed that supporting companies such as FPT Corporation, CMC Corporation, and Viettel Post will be given the green light to thrive.

Meanwhile, the government has banned exclusive COVID-19 insurance packages, taking one profitable business from insurers. However, they are now rolling out new and innovative products to weather the storm stemming from the pandemic.

Last year was the sixth in a row in which Vietnams insurance market witnessed a premium growth rate at over 20 per cent per annum. Hence, investors could opt for insurers due to their substantial potential down the road. Some market movers to watch include Bao Viet Holdings, PetroVietnam Insurance, BIDV Insurance, and Vietnam National Reinsurance.

Besides this, the demand for healthcare protection has surged dramatically during the crisis, leading to some investors betting big and believing in the defensive nature of those firms.

Although we do not expect that the pandemic will create a strong growth trend in personal care in the long term, such high demand will likely continue as consumers are used to practising good personal hygiene, noted researchers at KIS Securities. For example, traders should keep an eye on LIX Detergent which is seeing a bullish breakout since the end of March.

As VIR reported previously, the government has announced shifting eight expressway projects towards public investment, which might enforce appetite for construction stocks.

Hoa Phat Corporation (HPG) seems to be a prudent choice, as investors would bet big on Dung Quat Steel Complex to be a recipe for success of HPG, as well as a game-changer for the entire domestic steel market.

When the two phases of Dung Quat Steel Complex are completed, HPG will shorten the delivery time to Vietnams southern region from seven to three days, which could help the company achieve its 35-40 per cent market share target, said Tran Ba Trung, analyst at VNDIRECT.

Furthermore, firms providing construction stones will also receive much attention.

On the other hand, Vietnams lifted social distancing restrictions have drummed up support for non-essential services to re-open  explaining the recent rally of stocks like Sabeco and Habeco.

Also, the Ministry of Transport removed restrictions on the frequency of domestic flights and passenger distancing, calling for the restart of international flights, which would smooth the path of groups like Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet.

In April, trading value remained flat at average VND4.3 trillion ($187 million) per session on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange but in terms of volume and liquidity saw jumps thanks to low stock prices. Around 285 million shares changed hand in each session in April, the all-time high, showing a strong bottom-fishing demand.

Seasonal effects will be likely ineffective this year and we dont recommend investors to not go short in May. Instead of a correction, we expect an upward sideways month ahead thanks to new local money, said Hieu Tran, analyst at KIS Securities.
The district administration officials came to the rescue of a pregnant woman who, along with her husband, was walking down home in Madhya Pradesh, some 800 kilometres from here, by arranging transport and food for her, officials said.

Deepak Kahar and his pregnant wife had set off on foot to home in Raipur in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh.

The couple had come to Jaipur nearly a year ago to work as construction workers. But will little money in hand to survive the coronavirus lockdown, they decided to leave for their home state on foot.

"As soon as we received the information that a man with his pregnant wife were sitting in a shade at a petrol pump on the city outskirts and were walking down to their home, we made the food and transport arrangement for them," Jaipur district collector Jogaram said.

He said the couple did not face any problem from their landlord for rent. But the husband was finding it difficult to pay the electricity bill and arrange treatment for the pregnant wife, so they decided to walk down home, Jogaram added.

"The couple was taken to Sanganer area from Hathoj where a bus was about to leave for migrant camp in Chhabra, near to Madhya Pradesh border. Officials of Baran district were informed and proper food arrangement was done so that they would reach their home safely," he said.

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

DUBAI (Reuters) - One Iranian warship accidentally struck another with a missile during an exercise, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others, Iran's navy said on Monday.

The incident took place during training in the Gulf of Oman, a sensitive waterway that connects to the Strait of Hormuz through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes. Iran regularly conducts exercises in the area.

The frigate Jamaran fired at a training target released by a support ship, the Konarak. However, the support ship stayed too close to the target and was hit, state broadcaster IRIB said.

"The incident took place in the perimeter of Irans southern Bandar-e Jask port on the Gulf of Oman during Iranian Navy drills on Sunday afternoon, in which 19 sailors were killed and 15 others were injured," state TV said, quoting the navy.

Fars news agency quoted an unidentified military official as denying some Iranian media reports that the Konarak had sunk. The navy statement said investigations were undergoing regarding the cause of the incident, student news agency ISNA said.

Video posted on Twitter purportedly of the Konarak showed a heavily damaged ship with black smoke rising from one side.

Reuters could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video.

IRIB said the Dutch-made Konarak vessel, which was purchased before Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, had been overhauled in 2018, and is equipped with four cruise missiles.

The incident took place at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since 2018, when the United States withdrew from a nuclear deal between major powers and Iran, and Washington re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

Animosity deepened in early January when a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated on Jan. 8 by firing missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq. Later that day, Iran's armed forces shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people aboard, in what the military later acknowledged was a mistake.

Story continues

Many of those killed aboard the airliner were Iranian and postings on social media on Monday drew comparisons between the two incidents.

"Until when does the Islamic Republic want to play with the lives of Iranians," a Twitter user name Sedighe Taheri wrote.

(Additional Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert Birsel, Simon Cameron-Moore and Peter Graff)
Tension simmering in Eastern Ladakh; Chinese helicopters spotted

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, May 12: Sukhoi-30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force were flying in Eastern Ladakh in the midst of escalating tension between Indian and Chinese troops following their violent face-off at Pangong Tso lake area that left many of them injured, sources have confirmed.

The situation in the region remained tense as troops of the two countries maintained a close watch on each other, demonstrating an aggressive posturing even seven days after the violent clash involving 250 soldiers from both sides, they said.

Army says no build up of troops along Indo-China border

The troops held on to their respective positions and even reinforcements were brought in an apprehension of further escalation in tension, the sources said when asked about the face-off which began on the evening of May 5.

The front-line combat jets were carrying out sorties on May 6, the day a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border area after the confrontation between the troops the previous evening, they said.

It is not clear whether the jets were deployed in view of the face-off or due to the spotting of the Chinese choppers. IAF sources said its aircraft have been carrying out routine sorties in the region.

"The situation remains tense notwithstanding the two sides agreeing to disengage during a meeting of local commanders on May 6," said a source adding some troops are being kept by both sides in the area. When asked, an Army spokesperson said: "Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Patrols disengage after local level interaction and dialogue.

Temporary and short duration face-offs occur as boundary is not resolved." "I clarify that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake. There is no build-up of armed troops in the area," he said.

The sources said the spotting of Chinese helicopters in the area was nothing unusual as India too flies a fleet of military choppers in the area from three bases in the region.

IAF sources said a range of its aircraft, which also comprises Sukhoi-30 jets, have been carrying out routine sorties in the region including on May 6, adding there was no violation of Indian airspace in the area by the Chinese side. The IAF conducts routine sorties in the region from Leh and Thoise airbases.

India needs 'whole-of-govt approach' to confront strategic uncertainties: Army Chief

On May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting, sources said, adding a number of soldiers on both sides sustained injuries in the incident. In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday.

At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident. The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it. Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.

In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding. Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening bilateral ties.
- Lionel Messi has once again assisted in the fight against coronavirus

- More than 300 people have died from the infection in Argentina

- Messi earlier promised to give a total of around 1million as a way of supporting medics

The Barcelona playmaker has once again shown his legendary status as he made a whopping donation of KSh 58 million to help in the fight against coronavirus back home in Argentina.

Messi earlier promised to give a total of around 1million as his own way of helping to contain the pandemic with half of the money earlier donated to the Barcelona Hospital Clinic and the rest dedicated to medical facilities in his homeland.

READ ALSO: Not scared but reserved: Manchester city star shares thoughts on EPL resumption

Lionel Messi: Barcelona forward makes KSh 58 million donation for coronavirus fight in Argentina. Photo: Getty Images.

Source: Getty Images

READ ALSO: Andrea Rinaldi: Atalanta midfielder dies aged just 19 R

It has been confirmed that the Argentine captain has released the sum of 500,000 to the Fundacion Garrahan for their campaign Juntos por la salud argentina (Together for Argentine health).

We are very grateful for this recognition of our work, which will allow us to continue with our commitment to public health in Argentina," said Dr. Silvia Kassab, executive director of the Fundacion Garrahan.

Meanwhile, Barcelona players have been given the green light to resume training after coronavirus tests carried out on all the players came back negative on Thursday, May 8.

The Catalans have all been on lockdown since March due to the threat of the virus which has killed many people in Spain and other parts of the world.

According to the report on Goal, no Barcelona player tested positive to the virus with only France international Ousmane Dembele the man who did not go for the test.

Dembele did not get tested as he is currently recuperating from the coronavirus. Photo: Getty Images.

Source: Getty Images

READ ALSO: Odion Ighalo joined by mystery female partner as Manchester United ace exercises

That is because the former Borussia Dortmund winger is currently recuperating from injury and his own test should be done next week Monday.

Although there have not been an official date to when the Spanish League will resume, but the players and clubs are hopeful of possible return soon.

At Real Madrid, players have reportedly being cleared for possible return to training after all of them tested negative to deadly coronavirus.

Los Blancos' stars and even their manager Zinedine Zidane and other staffs are reported to have been tested on Wednesday before their results came out negative on Friday, May 8.

According to the report on ESPN, Real Madrid are now on the verge of returning to active training on Monday, May 11.

Real Madrid stars have been on lockdown at their various houses since March in which they have been training on their own.

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China Expected to Ignore Philippine Protest over Upgrade of a Disputed Islet

By Ralph Jennings May 11, 2020

China is expected to ignore a Philippine protest against creation of an "administrative center" on a disputed islet because Manila has few means to follow up, but the outcry could throttle Beijing's eventual pursuit of more legal control over Asia's most hotly disputed sea.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on April 30 rejected China's "illegal designation" of Fiery Cross Reef as an administrative center, according to the department's website. Chinese officials point to historical usage records as support for their claims to numerous features in the South China Sea where the reef in question is located.

China will ignore the April 30 protest because the Philippines lacks the military might or diplomatic clout to force its hand, South China Sea watchers say.

"China will do what it wants to do, the Philippines will protest, and these incidents will continue again," said Eduardo Araral, associate professor at the National University of Singapore's public policy school. "But the only thing the Philippines can do at this moment is just protest."

Fiery Cross Reef, a human-built islet of 274 hectares, supports a runway and has received flights from the Chinese mainland. It's one of three major islets that Beijing controls in the Spratly archipelago, a group of tiny features in the South China Sea. The Philippines controls 10 islets in the same chain, which is valued for fisheries and energy reserves.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam all contest at least part of China's claims to about 90% of the surrounding 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea. China landfilled Fiery Cross Reef among other features before 2017 to step up its military and civilian presence.

China has the region's strongest armed forces plus the budget to overtake other maritime claimants in building disputed islets for human use.

Since Rodrigo Duterte became Philippine president in 2016, the Philippine government seldom protests openly to Beijing over sovereignty disputes as the two presidents tried to improve relations.

His predecessor filed a landmark world arbitration case in 2013, and three years later a court in The Hague ruled against the legal basis of Beijing's South China Sea claims. China rejected the ruling.

Protests are especially unlikely now as the Philippines accepts Chinese medical aid to fight COVID-19, said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Metro Manila-based advocacy group Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. "People are really preoccupied with the pandemic," he said.

The latest protest is seen as a record of opposition against China's move in case Beijing uses it to seek more legal authority in the Spratly Islands. International courts sometimes admit demonstration of effective use to prove a county's rights to land or sea.

"Legally you need to register your displeasure, your protest and so on officially," said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. "If you don't, you will be seen to acquiesce to whatever the other claimants are doing."

Two Chinese government ministries have already renamed 25 islets and 55 submerged features in the contested sea that stretches from Hong Kong to Borneo, the country's Civil Affairs Ministry said on its website last month.

Analysts believe the Chinese government hopes to solidify its claims to the South China Sea by renaming 25 islets and 55 submerged features

Manila's protest calls Fiery Cross Reef "an integral part of Philippine territory" that belongs to a chain of the Philippine-controlled Kalayaan Island Group. It urged China to "adhere to international law."

China probably called Fiery Cross Reef an administrative region to consecrate its actual control of the islet, said Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo. Chinese officials might eventually redraw their own maps to reflect the new status they just gave it, he said.

"For the Filipinos, they're in a process of trying to delegitimate the Chinese physical control through trying to create a legal argument or a legal case for their administrative control, which means sovereignty," Nagy said.

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Five regions have seen the number of active infections rise above 50 per 100,000 inhabitants within the past week, a threshold set by Ms. Merkel as triggering the need for a local lockdown. In some cases, the affected regions have reinstated restrictions; in other instances, they have taken targeted isolation measures.

The idea is to isolate the virus where it is, while allowing the rest of the country to continue on with a more normal life, which is possible when the overall number of new infections remains low.

If the numbers are very low, even with a reproduction number of two, not all is lost. We still have so much capacity that we will be able to cope, said Thomas Hotz, a professor of statistics at Ilmenau University of Technology.

The reproduction variable is one of several key numbers.

Recommendations on whether to lock down or reopen the economy are not only based on the R0 number, officials at the Koch Institute said. Other numbers are also taken into consideration.

In determining whether an epidemic is manageable, officials also consider the daily number of new cases, the number of intensive care beds available and the number of tests being carried out every day.

Overall, the number of new cases has been going down in Germany. On Tuesday, the institute recorded 933 new cases  for a total of 170,508  as compared with the 2,486 new infections recorded on April 15.

The R0 looks different when there are fewer cases overall, said Hanno Kautz, a spokesman for Germanys health ministry. Of course we take it seriously that the reproduction number has increased again, but one cannot conclude from this that we are now again dealing with an uncontrolled outbreak.
The Chaldean Church adheres to May 14 initiative for the end of the pandemic. A common moment for everyone to "live in peace, security, stability and joy". The renewed hope for a trip by Francis to Iraq and the meeting with al-Sistani. Muslims are asked to join in prayer in the holy month of Ramadan.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - In this "difficult moment", humanity and "in particular Iraqis" marked by months of political crisis need "human solidarity and concentrated efforts" to "eliminate the common enemy, the coronavirus" and others "Complex problems," writes Chaldean patriarch card Louis Raphael Sako.

In the message shared with AsiaNews, he confirms the adhesion of the Iraqi Church to the day of prayer called by the High Committee for Human Fraternity for the day after tomorrow, May 14. The cardinal invites Christians and Muslims to a common prayer, so that "everyone can live in peace, security, stability and joy".

In response to the call of Pope Francis and the imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Chaldean primate "urges believers of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the world to participate in this day by fasting and praying". The cardinal turns "to all Iraqis, most of whom are Muslims" who are observing Ramadan, "to raise their prayers to God" to put an end to "this dangerous pandemic and save it" from the terrible "health consequences, economic, social and political".

In his message, the cardinal recalls the promise of a pontiff's trip to Iraq in 2020, announced last year and then suspended due to political and institutional turmoil and the emergency triggered by the new coronavirus.

"We had hoped - said Card Sako - that Pope Francis would visit Iraq and meet the Shiite supreme leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf". On this occasion, he continues, the two religious leaders were to have "signed the document on human fraternity. We hope - says the cardinal - that this can be achieved in the near future ".

In these weeks the Chaldean Church would have liked to organize an Islamic-Christian ecumenical prayer, also inviting members of other religions "but - underlines Card Sako - the coronavirus pandemic has prevented it".

In a context that remains an emergency, the priests of the capital have decided to donate their salary to the neediest and the patriarchate has allocated an additional sum of 90 thousand dollars.

To fully live the day of prayer, Iraqi Christians will observe fasting "according to our rituals" and, at half past six in the evening "we will recite the Rosary and then mass in the Patriarchate church. The celebration, concludes the Chaldean primate, will be able to assist all the faithful "through the live broadcast of Facebook".
SALT LAKE CITY, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SixFifty, the technology subsidiary of the law firm Wilson Sonsini, today released a legal toolset to help U.S.-based businesses safely transition their employees back to the workplace as authorities begin to loosen restrictions and reopen parts of the economy. The legal toolset includes: (1) an assessment to help businesses determine their back-to-workplace readiness; (2) policies to govern how businesses transition their employees back to the office; and (3) a questionnaire screening system that businesses can use daily to determine who can safely enter the workplace. Businesses can access the Return-to-Work Toolset at www.sixfifty.com/returntowork.

Many states have already loosened or lifted restrictions and allowed non-essential businesses to reopen. Others are preparing to do so as they reach reopening goals. Yet, with newly reported COVID-19 cases still numbering in the tens of thousands daily, employers are faced with a challenging dilemma as they prepare to reopen their workplace and take the necessary steps to do so safely.

"Employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees," said Kimball Dean Parker, CEO of SixFifty. "Fortunately, businesses can take proactive steps to help reduce the risks of COVID-19 spreading in the workplace. We built our Return-to-Work Toolset with Wilson Sonsini so that businesses of all sizes could leverage the firm's employment law expertise to help plan and proceed with their efforts to return employees to the workplace."

SixFifty's automation platform walks businesses through a series of questions regarding the steps they need to take to prepare for employees' return to the workplace. The automation system then produces an assessment that businesses can download regarding their back-to-work readiness. The answers to those questions also determine the customized terms of a return-to-work policy that is provided through the platform.

In addition, SixFifty offers an online questionnaire system to help screen employees for COVID-19 as part of the company's effort to determine who can safely enter the workplace each day. Depending on the employee's answers, the questionnaire system automates instructions back to the employee about whether they are allowed to enter the worksite that day. All actions and communications in the questionnaire system are logged so that employers have a record of their efforts to keep potentially infected employees from infecting others at work.

"It is important that employers take appropriate steps to identify potentially infected and exposed employees and develop protocols for ensuring employee safety at work," said Marina Tsatalis, employment law partner at Wilson Sonsini. "Employers need to take into account guidance and requirements from all levels of government, which are in flux and may vary by location, in sculpting their return-to-work strategy. We are working with SixFifty to prepare the policies and assessments and to keep them updated and current as the legal landscape continues to evolve in this area."

SixFifty's Return-to-Work Toolset is the latest in a series of tools SixFifty has released to help businesses and individuals cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, SixFifty released a free toolset to help businesses transition their employees to work remotely. In April, SixFifty released free tools for renters (www.hellolandlord.org) and homeowners (www.hellolender.org) to delay paying rent and mortgages under the federal stimulus. SixFifty also released tools to help businesses determine whether they are eligible for SBA loans and tax relief. Thousands of individuals and businesses have used SixFifty's free tools since the COVID-19 emergency began. SixFifty's Return-to-Work Toolset is the first offering related to COVID-19 that will not be offered free of charge. Pricing will depend on company size and will start at $9,500.

About SixFifty

Headquartered in the Silicon Slopes area of Utah, SixFifty is a subsidiary of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and combines the expertise of the world's leading technology law firm, made accessible through thoughtful technology. Led by a group of lawyers and software engineers that believe the law should be easier to navigate, SixFifty streamlines complex areas of the law by providing actionable, efficient and affordable solutions for individuals and businesses. For more information, please visit www.sixfifty.com.

For media inquiries, please contact our team at [email protected].

SOURCE SixFifty Technologies

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Twenty-one fresh Covid-19 cases were reported from Punjab on Tuesday  nine from Jalandhar, eight from Fatehgarh Sahib and one each from Rupnagar, Kapurthala and Fazilka. Ludhiana recorded one fresh case on Tuesday and 16 on late Monday night. With this, Punjab tally of confirmed cases has gone up to 1,969.

A 5-month-old girl was among the nine tested positive cases in Jalandhar district, taking the districts tally to 197, including six deaths. Health officials said eight patients were close contacts of Covid-19 patients, while there is no clarity from where a patient contracted the virus as he has no travel history.

One patient was reported from Kapurthala district.

In Ludhiana, a ward boy of DMCH was tested positive for the virus, two days after a colleague of his was found infected. As per the hospital staff, he was among the 100 staff members who were quarantined on Sunday. The total number of positive patients in Ludhiana is now 136. Sixteen cases  14 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and two locals  were found positive in the district late Monday night.

A 60-year-old man of Anandpur Sahib, who had returned from Gurdwara Majnu Ka Tilla in Delhi, also tested positive. He was among the seven people brought back from the Delhi gurdwara on May 11. Five others tested negative while the report of one is awaited.

Breather for SBS Nagars 14 villages

Fourteen villages of Banga sub-division in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district which were sealed after they were declared a containment zone, were unsealed on Tuesday. Officials said no positive case in these villagers was reported since March 26.




President Buhari, Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari

Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari has been appointed as the new chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Prof. Gambari, a Nigerian scholar, diplomat and an indigene of Kwara State was appointed to replace the late Abba Kyari who died after testing positive to CoronaVirus.

Prof Agboola Gambari, was Buharis Foreign Minister and confidant as military Head of State in the 1980s. He played a key role in quelling the diplomatic uproar generated by the failed attempt to kidnap Mallam Umaru Dikko from UK by the Buhari military government.

A scholar and seasoned diplomat, Gambari served as minister of External Affairs between 1984 and 1985. He was appointed by former United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon and the chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur in 2010.

He also served as Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the UN Secretary General. Prior to that, he served as Under-Secretary Generay of the United Natio for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
Musicians have revealed how Brexit is already killing off their tours in the EU, as they warn the industry may not survive tough new immigration rules.

No less than 71 per cent say their bookings for everything from classical orchestras to rock bands were drying up  even before coronavirus struck, closing down venues and putting concerts on hold.

Some are being told EU nationals only, because of vast red tape and extra expense to be imposed by new visa rules when the UK leaves the post-Brexit transition period in January.

British nationals have already joined other third country nationals on the lowest rung of hiring desirability. This is catastrophic for careers and livelihoods, one told a new survey revealed by the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM).

Another said: Noticeable drop off in bookings from EU27 countries since 2016. At present I have now no future bookings at all.

And a third said: We fear Brexit will mean much higher charges and costs which will either price us out of taking the work, or we will have to put our fees up too high and promoters will choose against hiring British bands.

The replies are the first evidence of a predicted tit-for-tat crackdown, after Priti Patel announced a vastly-complex and costly system to replace free movement of EU citizens.

Now the ISM has pleaded with the government to step back from the cliff-edge when the disastrous consequences of Covid-19 will still be hitting livelihoods.

In a report shared with The Independent, the ISM urges ministers to:

Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Show all 66 1 /66 Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A message projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover Sky News/AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Big Ben, shows the hands at eleven o'clock at night AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Nigel Farage speaks to pro-Brexit supporters PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-Brexit demonstrators celebrate on Parliament Square REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU The Union flag is taken down outside the European Parliament in Brussels PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-Brexit supporter jumps on an EU flag in Parliament Square PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU EU Council staff removed the Union Jack-British flag from the European Council in Brussels, Belgium EPA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to 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group New Europeans outside Europe House, central London AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU People celebrate Britain leaving the EU REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A Pro Brexit supporter has a Union Jack painted onto his face at Parliament Square Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Men hold placards celebrating Britain leaving the EU REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporters dance in the street draped with Union Jack flags at Parliament Square Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU An anti-Brexit demonstrator spreads his wings during a gathering near Downing Street AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro EU supporters display a banner ' Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out' from Westminster bridge EPA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-Brexit supporters burn European Union flags at Parliament Square Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man poses for a picture on Parliament Square in a 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Pro Brexit supporters Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporters Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A Brexit supports holds a sign in Parliament Square AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man carries an EU themed wreath Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Ann Widdecombe reacts with other members of the Brexit party as they leave en masse from the European Parliament PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Anti-Brexit demonstrators in Parliament Square PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro EU supporters let off flares from Westminster Bridge Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU British MEPs Jonathan Bullock, holding the Union Jack flag and Jake Pugh leave the European Parliament, in Brussels on the Brexit day AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Newspapers and other souvenirs at a store, near Parliament Square Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Brexit supporters hold signs in Parliament Square AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU protesters hold placards in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU French newspapers PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald with a Border Communities Against Brexit poster before its unveiling in Carrickcarnon on the Irish border PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU National growers organisation British Apples & Pears has renamed a British apple to EOS, the Greek goddess of dawn, to commemorate Brexit day AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU protesters hold placards in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Britain's departure from the European Union was set in law on January 29, amid emotional scenes, as the bloc's parliament voted to ratify the divorce papers. After half a century of membership and three years of tense withdrawal talks, the UK will leave the EU at midnight Brussels time (23.00 GMT) on January 31 Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man poses with paintings on Parliament Square Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU People sporting Union Flags gather in Parliament Square Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man walks with a St. George's flag at Westminster bridge on Brexit day Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A British bulldog toy and other souvenirs at a souvenir store Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU British pro-brexit Members of the European Parliament leave the EU Parliament for the last time Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Jonathan Bullock waves the Union Jack as he leaves the European Parliament EPA

* Seek an extension of the transition period until the end of 2022  something Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted he will not do.

* Negotiate a cheap two-year multi-entry touring visa  to ease the cost and red tape artists planning to play in the UK will face.

* Agree a cultural exemption to allow musicians to easily transport their instruments and equipment across border, without extra cost.

* Expand the list of designated points of entry and exit for musical instruments  alongside animal and plant parts  to include Eurostar, Immingham and Newcastle.

* Extend the existing coronavirus financial support schemes for creative workers until mass gatherings are permitted.

Deborah Annetts, the ISMs chief executive, said its research, in February and March, laid bare the damage that Brexit has already caused to the music sector, even before the current crisis.

The UK music sector, which contributes 5.2bn to the economy each year, is at risk from the dual threats of Covid-19 and Brexit, she said.

In this time of great uncertainty, musicians need to know that their livelihoods will be protected. The purpose of the transition period was to allow time to negotiate new trading agreements and minimise financial shock to the UK economy.

Therefore, to avoid irreversible damage, we call for the government to recover some of the time lost to Covid-19 by requesting an extension to the transition period.

The ISM surveyed more than 600 performers, composers, directors, artist managers, teachers and music technicians, from genres stretching from classical and musical theatre to pop, rock, jazz and folk.

It also found that 56 per cent expected to be offered less work because the UK has left the EU, with 92 per cent concerned about their future ability to work in EU countries.

The society has yet to receive any further detail of how the visa rules will operate in the three months since they were announced  with little over seven months until they kick in.

It warned they would be particularly disastrous for small venues, with bands from EU countries unable or unwilling to visit the UK.
SEATTLE, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Outreach , the number one sales engagement platform, today announced plans to significantly expand its East Coast footprint with the hiring of a key executive, David Rubinstein, who recently joined the company as a regional vice president. His New York City-based organization will focus on solidifying Outreach's East Coast operations and strengthening relationships with customers in the region.

Rubinstein is an industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience in building productive, consultative sales teams. Before Outreach, he spent six years in sales leadership roles at Salesforce, leading their East Coast sales team. Prior to Salesforce, Rubinstein was VP Sales at Velti through its acquisition by Blackstone. Earlier in his career, Rubinstein led category strategy at Yahoo and was Chief Revenue Officer at ExpoTv. Rubinstein holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and a Master in Business Administration from Babson.

"I am thrilled to join Outreach to help strengthen its East Region footprint in one of the most important markets in the world," said Rubinstein. "Outreach is a company I've had my eye on for a while  I've had multiple people tell me they couldn't do their jobs without Outreach. I've been so impressed with the caliber of people at Outreach  their deep knowledge of the sales space and commitment to customer success are incredible. Especially in today's selling environment, sales organizations are going to be clamoring to get the efficiency gains Outreach offers."

Outreach plans to triple coverage in the eastern region by the end of the year. While initially remote, the company plans to open a physical location later this year. This move comes on the heels of Outreach opening its doors to its first international office in London at the end of February .

"We have ambitious plans to expand to all corners of the globe to meet our customers where they are  and as the financial capital of the world, New York is a strategic cornerstone for our expansion," said Anna Baird, chief operating office and chief revenue officer of Outreach. "With his extensive knowledge of SaaS sales technologies, we feel confident we've found the right person in David to lead our expansion into this important market. In today's swirling economic environment, businesses are evaluating technologies that offer the most versatility  and they are demanding that technologies drive immediate efficiency, visibility, and outcomes. We believe Outreach is the best solution to help meet these demands."

The sales engagement company currently employs more than 500 employees and is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. Today, Outreach works with more than 4,000 customers around the globe. Nearly 400 of those are headquartered in New York City.

Outreach's culture is what truly sets the company apart. Outreach recently made Inc.'s Best Places to Work for the third year in a row. Outreach's great workplace culture has also been recognized in Seattle Business Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For and the Puget Sound Business Journal's Best Places to Work in Washington. Its exceptional growth was recognized by Deloitte last year, receiving the prestigious Technology Fast 500 award, which ranked Outreach the fourth fastest-growing technology company in North America. Outreach was also named to the 2019 Forbes' Cloud 100 and LinkedIn's Top Startups list and recently was ranked first in G2s "Best Products for Sales" and third for overall Top Software Products.

About Outreach

Outreach is the number one sales engagement platform that helps companies dramatically increase productivity and drive smarter, more insightful engagement with their customers. Over 4,000 companies such as Adobe, Tableau, Okta, Splunk, DocuSign, and SAP depend on Outreach's enterprise-scale, unparalleled customer adoption, and robust AI-powered innovation. Outreach is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, please visit www.outreach.io .

PR Contact:

Amanda Woolley

[email protected]

SOURCE Outreach

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The first thing to know about the possible links between COVID-19 and stroke is simple, say doctors: We just don't know.

"We have very serious worries that there's a connection," said Dr. Patrick D. Lyden, professor of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "But I want to make it crystal clear that if we stay focused on evidence and datawhich we really need to do more of at this momentwe don't know anything with probability."

Lyden, who wrote American Heart Association guidance for stroke centers about how to handle the coronavirus for its journal Stroke, said doctors anecdotally were reporting "a surprising number of very severe strokes at this time" in COVID-19 patients.

But the reason isn't clear. Many of those patients already had conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes that made them stroke candidates. "So, the question is," he said, "is the virus somehow triggering a stroke in these folks who have the usual suspect risk factors?"

A second related worry, he said, is whether COVID-19 might be causing increased blood clotting, which could cause a stroke.

There have been reports of such strokes striking relatively young COVID-19 patients. The Washington Post highlighted such concerns, quoting doctors from several medical centers and a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.

"I've seen that with my own eyesotherwise healthy young people with COVID infection and a stroke," Lyden said. But he's not ready to declare a link. "I guess the right way to put it is, we've got our antenna up. We're looking and searching. There seem to be observations here that should worry a lot of us, but I'm not ready to say we know what we're talking about."

Dr. Thanh Nguyen, director of neuroendovascular service at Boston Medical Center and a professor of neurology, neurosurgery and radiology at Boston University School of Medicine, agreed that until evidence is stronger, it's too early to link COVID-19 to stroke.

Nguyen, lead author of guidance on interventional stroke treatment from the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology published in Stroke, said she had read the reports about stroke in young people. But she said the COVID-19 patients she'd seen with stroke had the usual vascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes and the type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

So, she believes "the jury is still out" on whether COVID-19 is causing stroke in younger patients or excessive clotting.

Excess clotting could be a result of inflammation caused by the virus, Nguyen said. It also could develop just from being bedbound and immobile. And if COVID-19 were causing such clotting, she'd expect to see more reports of problems related to it. To the contrary, she's "really seeing a drastic decrease" citywide in patients with minor strokes and the mini-strokes known as transient ischemic attacks. Though, that could be related to people avoiding the emergency room out of fear of catching the coronavirus.

Lyden agreed any connection between COVID-19 and stroke might prove to be multi-layered. For example, COVID-19 patients can develop a problem called acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. That alone can put someone at risk for developing blood clots.

Lyden is paying attention to other ways COVID-19 might affect brain health.

"Some of the observations made in China is that the virus may attack the brain directly," he said. When COVID-19 patients appear confused or fall into a coma, doctors have assumed low blood oxygen is to blame. But he's wondering whether COVID-19 might prove to cause encephalitis, similar to West Nile virus. "I'm personally very attuned to this one and asking every neurologist I know to keep an eye out."

Both doctors said anyone with stroke symptoms, such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech difficulty, should call 911. And both emphasized the need for stroke survivors to stick with their medications and to be extra cautious about protecting themselves.

"If you have had a stroke, by definition, regardless of your age, you are in the high-risk group," Lyden said. "And should you become infected with the virus, you're at higher risk of a bad outcome. So, stroke survivors absolutely need to follow social distancing and hygiene to the letter and then beyond."

And, he urged, they need to avoid treatments that have not been recommended by doctors.

Nguyen also said it's important for friends and family members to stay in regular contact with at-risk people who are isolated.

Lyden said the race to understand the links between the new disease and the old nemesis of stroke is just getting startedand the finish line is nowhere in sight.

"I think all we've done so far is understood that there is a racetrack," he said. "I don't think we even knew we were at the starting line four weeks ago. So, we're not off the blocks yet."

Explore further COVID-19 now linked with strokes in young patients

American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org.
As she corresponded with the purported seller, Hanna noticed things that gave her pause. She saw the website described the dog, Kate, as a male, but she wrote that off as a typo. The person claimed via email to be in Texas but said the dog could be picked up in Virginia, which worried Hanna, but she figured the business might work with breeders around the country.
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Nurses Association President Dr. Ernest Grant, who called nurses "warriors without armor" in their fight against COVID-19, will participate in a live fireside chat on Friday, May 15. Dr. Grant will discuss the role of nurses in the global pandemic and his priorities for 2020, "The International Year of the Nurse." This special Newsmaker event will be delivered via livestream as part of the National Press Club's Virtual Newsmaker series.

A recent survey conducted by the ANA of more than 20,000 nurses nationwide found that 66% of American nurses lacked the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to safely do their work. The survey also found employers have retaliated against nurses and other health care workers for raising legitimate concerns about their personal safety and the safety of patients.

This 1-hour program will stream live on the National Press Club's website at 2:00 p.m. ET, and is accessible to both the media and members of the general public free-of-charge. Viewers are invited to submit their questions for Dr. Grant in advance or during the livestream via email to [email protected]. Our moderator will ask as many questions as time permits.

CONTACT: LINDSAY UNDERWOOD FOR THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB; [email protected]; (202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club

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The Maharashtra Congress has borne the travel expenses of nearly 27,865 migrant workers and sent them back to their native places, state party president Balasaheb Thorat claimed on Tuesday.

Arrangements are being made to send 24,000 more migrant workers from Maharashtra to their native states, Thorat said.

"So far, the Maharashtra Congress has paid the travel expenses of 27,865 workers," he said in a statement.

Amid the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, several migrant workers, in a desperate bid to return to their native places, started walking hundreds of kilometres while some took whatever mode of transport was available to reach home.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi last week said her party's state units will bear the cost of rail travel for all needy migrant workers and labourers stranded at their workplaces and seeking to return home.

Thorat said after the announcement, the Maharashtra Congress unit started the process of sending migrants workers back home. The workers were registered at the district level and special trains were made available to take them to their home states.

Shramik Special trains were operated from Nagpur to Muzaffarpur, Lucknow, Ballia and Darbhanga, Wardha to Patna, Pune to Lucknow and Bhopal, Miraj to Gorakhpur, Chandrapur to Patna and Ahmednagar to Unnao.

Besides, the travel cost of majority of the workers who boarded the trains from Mumbai to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar was also borne by the Congress, he said, adding that food, masks and sanitisers were provided to the workers during their journey.

Thorat said state Energy Minister Nitin Raut paid for four special trains, whileMinister of State for Agriculture Vishwajeet Kadam and Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister Sunil Kedar paid for two trains to send migrant workers back to their states.

State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar and Women and Child Development Minister Yashomati Thakur also paid for sending many workers back home, he said.

Thorat also said that 3,567 workers were sent to their native states in private vehicles from Satara, Ahmednagar, Pune,Nagpur, Chandrapur,Kolhapur and Sangli and their travel expenses were also borne by the Congress.

The party also arranged for buses and food for stranded workers from Sangamner (Ahmednagar) to the nearest railway station, he said.

Minister of State for Home Satej Patil made arrangements for food during the journey of stranded workers from Kolhapur, he said.

Thorat said nearly 18,000 workers belonging to Uttar Pradesh have registered themselves with the district level helplines started by the Congress in Maharashtra.

Apart from this, over 24,000 workers hailing from states like Bihar, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal andKarnataka have also reached out to the party for help, the minister said, adding that arrangements will be made for them and they will be sent back home soon.
(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 12 - The foreign ministers of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a joint statement after a video conference meeting on May 11, 2020, stressing the ''strategic importance of strengthening and intensifying their political consultations'' and praising ''the results of the meeting in Cairo on January 8, 2020 for the improvement of security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean, expressing their deepest concern for the current escalation and continuous provocative actions in the eastern Mediterranean'' by Turkey.



The ministers who signed the note ''denounce Turkey's ongoing illegal activities in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone and its territorial waters as they represent a clear violation of international law, as indicated by the United Nations Convention on maritime law. IT is the sixth attempt by Turkey in less than a year to illegally conduct drilling operations in Cyprus' maritime zones''.



They condemned the ''escalation of Turkish violations of Greek national air space, also for flights on inhabited areas and territorial waters in violation of international law''.



Moreover, the ministers condemned ''the exploitation of civilians by Turkey in the attempt to illegally cross Greece's land borders, as well as the constant support of illegal crossings of Greek maritime borders''. They urged ''Turkey to fully respect the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of all States in their maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean'' and stressed ''that the memorandum of agreement on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictional areas in the Mediterranean and the memorandum of agreement on security and military cooperation, signed in November 2019 by Turkey and Fayez El Sarraj, are respectively in violation of international law and the arms embargo of the United Nations in Libya and that both undermine regional stability. The ministers recalled that the protocol of agreement on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea violates sovereign rights of third countries, does not abide by maritime law and cannot produce juridical consequences for third countries''.



The ministers expressed deep concern for the escalation of hostilities in Libya and recalled a pledge to ''abstain from any foreign military intervention in Libya, as agreed in the conclusions of the berlin conference''.



In this respect, the ministers firmly condemned Turkey's military interference in Libya and urged turkey to fully respect the arms embargo of the United Nations and stop the flow of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya''.



''These developments represent a threat for the stability of Libya's neighbors in Africa and Europe''.



The ministers called on the ''Libyan sides to observe a trice during the holy month of Ramadan and stressed their engagement in working for a global political solution to the Libyan crisis under the auspices of the United Nations, and expressed their enthusiasm for the resumption of meetings of the three parts of the Berlin process (political, military and economic and financial). (ANSAmed)
The West Virginia National Guard will assist in conducting tests for the coronavirus starting Monday at a poultry processing plant in a small county where cases have increased, authorities said.

Testing at the Pilgrims Pride plant of about 940 workers in Moorefield will occur on every shift, Hardy County sheriffs office spokesman David Maher said in a news release.

Using guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for meat processing plants, employees will be screened for symptoms on a daily basis and between shifts, the statement said.

We appreciate the ongoing cooperation of Pilgrims Pride and the many folks in our community that work in the processing plant, said Hardy County Health Department administrator William Ours. We have a shared goal of keeping everyone healthy and ensuring the ongoing safe operation of our food processing facilities.

Health officials have not disclosed whether there are any confirmed virus cases at the plant. The number of confirmed cases in the county of about 14,000 residents has increased from three on April 27 to 16 as of Sunday, according to health officials.

Outbreaks have become common at meat processing plants across the United States, infecting thousands of workers, leading to the closure of some plants and prompting meat shortages.

Gov. Jim Justice requested the tests at the Moorefield plant.

Were going to do some extensive testing there and try to nip that in the bud and stop it as fast as we possibly can in order to be able to keep that plant moving, Justice said Friday.

At least 54 people in the state have died from the virus and around 1,360 have tested positive, according to health data.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. For most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Virginia
Canadians from across the country are banding together to call for major changes to the infrastructure and funding of long-term care homes.

A petition launched in early April calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ministers from all provinces and territories to fund and implement best practices for all such facilities in all of Canada. The petition had garnered nearly 55,000 signatures.

A recent report by the International Long-Term Care Policy Network that 62 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Canada were linked to long-term care homes. That number was the highest out of the 13 countries included in the study that collects such data, like Germany and France. Meanwhile, research from the National Institute on Aging found that seniors in long-term care facilities made up 82 percent of COVID-19 related deaths in Canada.

Katerina Cezik and family visit her father who was placed in a long term home in February.

Katerina Cizeks father was placed in a Toronto care home in February, a few weeks before the pandemic was officially declared. Her anxiety started mounting when she began noticing the alarming number of deaths of seniors in facilities coming out of Spain. Then, she read an article that quoted a Canadian geriatric physician who urged people to get their loved ones out of care homes.

The sense wed already made that painful decision to put him in care and then were expected to re-think that decision during a pandemic, was a nightmare. Katerina Cizek tells Yahoo News Canada

While theres been no reported cases of COVID-19 at Cizeks fathers care home, she took to social media to articulate the fear and frustration she felt, and quickly realized that her concerns were far reaching. People from all parts of the country, with loved ones in care homes, were experiencing similar worries. And so, a month later, the petition was launched.

Each of these facilities is its own disaster in its own unique way, sys Cizek. Theres been so many structural issues, the pandemic is just revealing and exposing something that is already very broken in the ways these facilities are run. Theres an overall huge concern and worry and realization of these places completely collapsing. This is very close to home.

Story continues

Katerina Cizek and family peer through the glass of a long term home facility in Toronto where her father has been since February.

I was seeing the writing on the wall

Michelle van Beusekom, whos based in Montreal, helped launch the petition, before both her parents, who are in a facility in Brampton, were diagnosed with the virus.

I was seeing the writing on the wall where this was headed, she says.

She says her parents facility, which is not-for-profit, normally runs thanks to the help of family and community members. Once the lockdown started, van Beusekom began to fear that staff would quickly become overwhelmed. Then, a staff member came to work unknowingly with the virus, which spread to the majority of the other workers and many of the seniors. Van Beusekom says that so far, there have been 10 deaths. Medically trained members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to help at the facility.

Van Beusekom says while the ministry of health has been stressing the importance of testing, there hasnt been nearly enough at the care facility. Her parents, whove been asymptomatic and in quarantine for two weeks, were recently declared to be in the clear, but werent administered a new test to confirm.

Theyre blocked because the Ontario Ministry of Health is not testing and re-testing in long-term care, she says. We know that 80 per cent of deaths in Canada are linked to long-term care and theyre not authorizing testing in Ontario. Its beyond frustrating. Theres a big disconnect between whats being promised and whats happening.

She says not being able to visit her parents or do anything to help made her feel powerless, which is why she helped launch the petition.

It gives a sense that were doing something and its encouraging to see the 45,000 people whove signed on across the country, she says. It just confirmed what we knew when we started this, that these concerns are nationwide. Long-term care is fundamentally broken, underfunded, understaffed. And a big cultural shift has to happen when it comes to valuing the lives of the residents and the workers.
A passenger looks at his phone while waiting aboard a United Airlines plane before taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport on May 11, 2020 in Houston, Texas.

The Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it has received thousands more complaints over airline refunds than usual during the coronavirus pandemic and issued another warning to carriers who skirt their obligations to customers.

"The Department has received an unprecedented volume of complaints from passengers and is examining this issue closely to ensure that airlines' policies and practices conform to DOT's refund rules," Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a news release. "The Department is asking all airlines to revisit their customer service policies and ensure they are as flexible and considerate as possible to the needs of passengers who face financial hardship during this time."

The department said it usually receives about 1,500 air travel complaints and questions in a typical month but that has surged to more than 25,000 in April and May, "many of which concern refunds."

The agency in April warned airlines that they have to offer refunds, not just vouchers, for flights that carriers cancel or significantly change. "Because 'cancellation' and 'significant change' are not defined in the context of ticket refunds, airlines may develop reasonable interpretations of those terms," but the government "expects carriers to honor those reasonable interpretations in implementing their refund obligations," the DOT said.

Airlines have slashed their schedules to get closer to current passenger levels, which are currently down some 90% on the year, according to federal data. Passengers who bought nonrefundable tickets usually don't get a refund or travel voucher if the flight is still operating and the schedule hasn't been significantly changed, the DOT said.

"This is true even if the passenger wishes to change or cancel due to concerns related to the COVID-19 public health emergency," the agency said.

Cash refunds for all travelers who cancel their trips could push carriers toward bankruptcy, Nick Calio, president of Airlines for America, a lobbying group that represents American, Delta, United and other large U.S. carriers, said at a Senate hearing last week.

"We follow and comply with federal law and regulations on this matter. Accordingly, when carriers cancel a flight a refund is offered," A4A said. "U.S. airlines remain committed to making accommodations that are responsive to travelers' needs during this unprecedented time."

In addition to sharp reductions to their flights, airlines have also implemented a number of new policies aimed at protecting travelers and crew members and to address concerns about flying during the pandemic.

Airlines over the past week have started mandating that both passengers and crew members must wear face masks on board and encouraged them to use them in the airport as well.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published recommendations about travel during the pandemic but some lawmakers and labor unions say that they don't go far enough and that the government should should issue rules to protect customers and employees.

"Airlines are implementing policies on the fly with essentially no coordination or direction from the federal government," Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents roughly 50,000 cabin crew members at 19 airlines. "We need a federal plan of action to implement safety measures on masks, social distancing, cleaning, and more."

Dennis Tajer, an American Boeing 737 captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline's roughly 15,000 pilots, said that when the plane "door closes that's our own little world and we don't do well when we have less than definitive rules."

American Airlines, whose face covering policy went into effect on Monday, told pilots and flight attendants that gate agents can deny boarding to travelers who don't wear a face mask but that there are exemptions such as if a passenger has a medical issue or is a child who can't keep a mask on.



"Once on board and off the gate, the face covering policy will become more lenient," American told its pilots. "The flight attendant's role is informational, not enforcement, with respect to the face covering policy."

American told its flight attendants to advise customers about the policy and that if they had health, age, religious or other reason not to wear one no other action would be needed. It added that if "the customer chooses not to comply for other reasons, please encourage them to comply, but do not escalate further. Likewise, if a customer is frustrated by another customer's lack of face covering, please use situational awareness to de-escalate the situation."

United has a similar policy and reasoning for when a passenger isn't mandated to wear a mask.

If the traveler "falls outside these categories yet still refuses to wear a face covering, the customer service agent would pull them aside to further understand their concerns and discuss options," United said in a statement. "This would include things like moving them to a new seat where they could maintain a safe social distance from other passengers. Because the safety of our passengers and employees is our top priority, there could be an isolated situation where a customer may be denied boarding as a last resort, but this would be handled on a case by case basis."

United said it has told its flight attendants also to try to de-escalate and reseat customers if necessary.

In a note to staff, New York-based airline JetBlue Airways said: "We recognize that there will be challenges to enforcing our policy, and it will not be possible for everyone to have a face covering on at all times."

The carrier said that if a passenger refuses to wear a mask it will not require a diversion, they should alert their colleagues on arrival. It advised flight attendants to try to "use your best judgement to uphold our service standards in order to minimize disruptions."
11.05.2020 LISTEN

Amid multifold theories and disinformation spreading around the COVID-19 in Africa, it is important for African governments to consider strengthening the existing health systems and infrastructures, and allocate substantial funds for health research and production of basic equipment, for attaining sustainable development goals set in the African Agenda 2063, according to experts.

Over the years, most African countries with the exception of South Africa, Botswana and a few others have not improved much on their healthcare system since independence, partly as a result of pure negligence on the part of senior officials who prefer to be treated abroad. The leaders of Cameroon, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are notorious for spending long periods of time abroad in hospitals, according to Dr Chipo Dendere, Zimbabwean Professor of African Politics at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

As Dendere further noted in a discussion with IDN, "African leaders have to start thinking seriously about issues of healthcare or people will die. They have to realize that going abroad is no longer an option. In all, it is significant for the leaders to focus on financing sustainable public health system, make investment in the health sector using public and natural resources. Public/private partnerships have never hurt, but have to be seriously considered".

Particularly because Africa's population is growing, and presents future health challenges, she added. Dendere, however, stressed that various debt relief efforts by international organizations should not be an end itself, and instead African leaders must necessarily look for long-term solutions for existing pitfalls in the sector.

In the month of April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) have offered debt relief to African countries. The IMF is set to provide $11 billion to 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have requested assistance in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the region's economies.

These steps by the IMF and its partners  the World Bank, World Health Organization, the African Development Bank and the African Union  will support domestic measures including transfers to vulnerable households, monetary and fiscal policy responses, Abebe Aemro Selassie, the director of the IMF's African Department, said in a statement.

In a similar argument, Charles Prempeh, a lecturer in Africana Studies at the African University College of Communications (AUCC), Accra and doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, explained in an email to IDN that there are a lot of deficiencies  ranging from poor health policies through inadequate funding of health infrastructure to training and research  that have characterized the health sector in Africa.

In his view, amid the fast spreading coronavirus in some regions, it is simply "providential" that the African continent has not recorded high numbers, compared to the western countries. But it is also true that even with the relatively smaller number of cases that most countries in Africa have recorded, they have come under disproportionate strain.

Prempreh argued that over the years, many African leaders travelled abroad (including South Africa) in search of medical care. While many African countries have research institutions, designed for studying so-called orthodox and indigenous medicines, the existence of these institutions has not yielded the expected results of enhancing the quality of healthcare on the continent, he said, adding: "In many cases, these health research institutions have been starved of funding."

Consequently, many countries in Africa are looking up to the west to find an antidote to COVID-19 that has held the world hostage. This has implied that few Africans have invested in exploring the extent to which indigenous medicine could potentially provide an answer to the current health crisis. It is, therefore, not surprising that the COVID-19 pandemic provides lenses to peep into the deep cracks in the entire health system in Africa. It also provides important lessons for African leaders to learn now to invest in the health sector, Prempreh concluded.

Beyond all the arguments raised above, Dr Antipas Massawe, a former lecturer from the Department of Chemical and Mining Engineering, University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, East Africa, strongly insisted that "the scale of the challenges facing the health sector is tremendous, it requires extensive investment of resources and state to direct focus on the development agenda".

Acknowledging that Africa is a huge continent of vast inequality where almost two-thirds still live in abject poverty and years of neglect has left the health system in tatters, Massawe added: "As compared with most of the other advanced countries that have global competitive healthcare systems, African countries spend peanuts within the budget on bolstering health infrastructure in Africa."

The African governments should create the environment conducive for the evolution of competitive healthcare systems through prioritization. Governments have to work toward the empowerment of wealth creation endeavours, adopt system approach that would enable to understand the interdependence of African problems and outline how to tackle questions of the largely weak health as fast as possible, he suggested.

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in a new report on the coronavirus pandemic, underscored that the economic implications of this disease are detrimental not only to public health systems but also the economy and sociocultural lives of the entire population of Africa.

The ECA makes explicitly clear that as the pandemic continues to impact the continent's struggling economies whose growth are expected to slow down from 3.2 percent to 1.8 percent, within this short period it is likely to push close to 27 million people into extreme poverty.

The report launched virtually in mid-April titled, "COVID-19: Protecting African Lives and Economies" says Africa's fragile health systems could see additional costs being imposed on them because of the growing crisis that has to-date, resulted in thousands infected Africans.

Dr Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA said: "To protect and build towards the Continent's shared prosperity, $100 billion is needed to urgently and immediately provide fiscal space to all countries to help address the immediate safety net needs of the populations."

Africa, notes Songwe, is particularly susceptible because 56 percent of its urban population is concentrated in slums or "informal" dwellings and only 34 percent of African households have access to basic handwashing facilities. Among others, she proposes that intellectual property on medical supplies, novel testing kits, and vaccines be shared to help Africa's private sector play its role in the response, and most importantly policies must be firm and clear on good governance to safeguard health systems, ensure proper use of emergency funds.

In a widely circulated letter, various co-signatories in April, including 100 leading academics and writers, have called on African leaders to govern with compassion and see the current global health crisis as a chance for a radical change of direction. "Like a tectonic storm, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to shatter the foundations of states and institutions whose profound failings have been ignored for too long. It is impossible to list these, suffice it to mention chronic under-investment in public health" in Africa notes the letter.

As a continent that is familiar with pandemic outbreaks, Africa has a head start in the management of large-scale health crises. But the belief is that "emergency" cannot and should not constitute a mode of governance. Beyond the state of emergency, however, African leaders can and should propose to their societies a new political idea of Africa, says the letter.

In consequence, it continues, the coronavirus pandemic reveals the deficit of a collective continental response, both in the health and other sectors. More than ever, we call upon leaders to ponder the necessity to adopt a concerted approach to governance sectors related to public health, fundamental research in all disciplines and to public policy.

In the same vein, health has to be conceived as essential public good, the status of health workers needs to be enhanced, hospital infrastructure needs to be upgraded to a level that allows everybody, including leaders themselves, to receive adequate treatment in Africa. Furthermore, failure to implement these reforms would be cataclysmic. For it is in the most trying moments that new/innovative orientations must be explored and lasting solutions adopted.

Today, Africa comprises 54 sovereign countries, most of which have borders that were drawn during the era of European colonialism. In the 21st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has steadily declined.

The improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment in many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline. Africa is now at risk of being in debt once again, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries.

Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa remains the world's poorest and least-developed continent, the result of a variety of causes that may include corrupt governments and policies fraught with dubious methods. Africa is the world's second largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. With an estimated 1.3 billion people as of 2019, it accounts for about 16% of the world's population.
LAWRENCE -- Today, sea-level rise is a great concern of humanity as climate change warms the planet and melts ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Indeed, great coastal cities around the world like Miami and New Orleans could be underwater later in this century.

But oceans have been rising for thousands of years, and this isn't the first time they have claimed land once settled by people. A new paper published in Geographical Review shows evidence vital to understanding human prehistory beneath the seas in places that were dry during the Last Glacial Maximum. Indeed, this paper informs one of the "hottest mysteries" in science: the debate over when the first Asians peopled North America.

The researchers behind the paper studied "choke points" -- narrow land corridors, called isthmuses but often better known for the canals that cross them, or constricted ocean passages, called straits. Typically isthmuses would have been wider 20,000 years ago due to lower sea levels, and some straits did not even exist back then.

"We looked at nine global choke points -- Bering Strait, Isthmus of Panama, Bosporus and Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, straits of Sicily and Messina, Isthmus of Suez, Bab al Mandab, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Malacca -- to see what each was like 20,000 years ago when more water was tied up in ice sheets and glaciers," said lead author Jerry Dobson, professor emeritus of geography at the University of Kansas and president emeritus of the American Geographical Society. "During the Last Glacial Maximum, the ocean surface was 410 feet lower than today. So, worldwide the amount of land that has been lost since the glaciers melted is equivalent to South America."

Dobson has urged dedicated study of this land lost to the sea -- an area of archeological interest he dubs "aquaterra" -- and he thinks global choke points are the best places to begin.

"Look at these same choke points today -- watch the nightly news," he said. "They're centers of ongoing conflict. Notice how the Strait of Hormuz controls the international flow of oil and sparks conflicts. The United States almost went to war a few months ago in a faceoff with Iran over shipping through that choke point. Or, look at the Suez Canal and the role it played in the Suez Crisis of 1956 and Six-Day War of 1967. Choke points, particularly straits, are pivotal to conflicts."

Startling revelations confronted the three authors in all nine regions. In the Bering Strait between Asia and Alaska, for instance, their data led to a "totally new hypothesis" about how people likely migrated across from Siberia to North America. Science writer Fen Montaigne calls it "one of the greatest mysteries of our time . . . when humans made the first bold journey to the Americas." The new study found many unknown, transitory islands that would have acted like stepping stones luring travelers eastward.

"In the Bering Strait only a handful of islands exist today -- but there were literally scores of them at the Last Glacial Maximum," Dobson said. "They started appearing at least 30,000 years ago, and Siberia probably had people about 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. They formed from west to east and then inundated from west to east, which would have pushed them all the way to Alaska. The first islands appeared close enough that Asians could have seen some of them from shore. People might have been lured out to them. Then, more islands kept appearing to their east, so they moved farther step by step. Eventually, even the newest islands were lost to inundation -- so people were forced ultimately to North America."

Three of the study's global choke points surround the Mediterranean Sea. Here, too, draining the ocean uncovers new possibilities for archeological exploration.

On the Isthmus of Suez, the portage between the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where the Suez Canal lies today, would have been 3.5 times as long at Last Glacial Maximum as it was just prior to construction of the canal. The crossing likely would have been displaced by a western route from Foul Bay, Egypt, to the first cataract of the Nile, thence downriver to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Black Sea was cut off from the world ocean as the sea level dropped below the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Rather than today's saltwater channel of 300 kilometers, there was an overland route of 220 miles, one-third of which was a deep lake now submerged beneath the Sea of Marmara. In response, now submerged settlements may have existed west of the current mouth of the Dardanelles, offshore near the eastern end of the Gulf of Soros, and beside the eastern and western ends of the Sea of Marmara.

The straits of Sicily and Messina almost severed the Mediterranean Sea into two separate seas divided 32 miles then versus 88 miles today. The LGM map shows additional islands and coastal plains in an area already known for early settlement. For instance, a 39 feet long, carved monolith at 130 feet depth recently discovered by underwater archeologists proves humans occupied the place about 10,000 years ago.

The KU researcher co-wrote the new study with Giorgio Spada and Gaia Galassi of Urbino University, ocean scientists who applied glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models, accounting for deformation and gravity variations in the sea floor caused by glacial melting and sea-level rise, in order to reconstruct the variation in paleo-topography for the past 30,000 years. Their work yielded much more accurate spacial and temporal resolution as to where land was exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum.

"We have lost an area equivalent to South America in size," Dobson said. "That is an enormous amount of land, and it's even better on average than any continent today. It was all coastal, all flat, and mostly tropical. We have a much better estimate of the size now than we did a few years ago. The difference is because of this new way we calculate sea level. The new model considers how the ocean bottom shifts in response to the weight of the water."

Coastal areas during the Last Glacial Maximum likely would have attracted people, as coastal lands do today. Dobson said archeological exploration is needed to search for boats, ports and settlements - evidence that could revolutionize conceptions of human migration and know-how at that time.

"How much technology was there?" he said. "Were there boats? No boats have ever been found that were that old, but we know people made it from Southeast Asia to Australia 65,000 years ago. So, anthropologists surmise they must have had boats. Even when sea level was at its lowest, the individual hops they had to make were long enough that it would seem likely they had boats. In the new article, we study the history of boats of all kinds based on research published in reputable scientific journals. Maritime travel goes surprisingly far back. So now, what kind of evidence can we find of ports? No one has ever claimed evidence of ports that far back. Of course, ports on coasts 400 feet lower than today would be hard to find, and precious little underwater archaeology has been conducted at that depth. We need to treat boats and ports as unknown and look for the evidence rather than proclaiming whether it did or did not happen."

The KU researcher said choke points should be of interest to geographers, ocean scientists, underwater archeologists, anthropologists and oceanographers because they provide "strategic insights on where to search for submerged evidence of human settlement."

"It's a matter of efficiency," Dobson said. "To understand maritime travel and associated settlements long ago, we can search whole oceans. Underwater searches are expensive, however, so little territory gets searched. Finds are rare because artifacts are few and far between. Choke points funnel travel into narrow corridors, and logically that concentrates the artifacts as well. If there is any evidence, that's where we most likely will find it."

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(Newser)  Anthony Fauci was testifying remotely Tuesday before a Senate panel on the coronavirus pandemic, and he reiterated his concern that states run a huge risk if they reopen too quickly. Some highlights of his testimony, via Politico, the AP, CNN, and the Washington Post:

Consequences: "If some areas, cities, states or what-have-you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," said Fauci. "The consequences could be really serious. ... There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control."

"If some areas, cities, states or what-have-you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," said Fauci. "The consequences could be really serious. ... There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control." Consequences, II: " There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear."

There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear." Children: "We don't know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children, because the more and more we learn, we're seeing things about what this virus can do that we didn't see from the studies in China or in Europe," Fauci said. "I think we should be careful, if we're not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects."

"We don't know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children, because the more and more we learn, we're seeing things about what this virus can do that we didn't see from the studies in China or in Europe," Fauci said. "I think we should be careful, if we're not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects." School: "The idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far."

"The idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far." Not going away: Asked about the notion of the virus going away on its own without a vaccine, which President Trump put forth again on Friday, Fauci said: "That is just not going to happen." Elaborating, he added: "It's a highly transmissible virus. It is likely there will be virus somewhere on this planet that will likely get back to us."

(Read more Anthony Fauci stories.)
Syracuse, N.Y. Manufacturers in Central New York may be allowed to resume operations by this weekend as New York takes the first steps to lift the pause imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Some manufacturers never stopped operating, though, because they were deemed essential.

The Manufacturers Association of Central New York surveyed its 300 members, asking whether they have continued manufacturing during the pandemic. A hundred responded, and of those, 80% reported that they were operating at an average of 75% capacity, according to the association.

So we asked three local manufacturers who have continued operating what advice they would give to those that may be restarting their factories soon.

Gear Motions in Solvay makes gears of all sorts. It employs 50 people in Solvay and another 50 at two facilities in Buffalo. The company is considered essential because its gears go into medical devices, food processing equipment and the electrical grid.

Air Innovations in Cicero makes customized air control systems for the aerospace, military, semiconductor, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. (It also manufactures residential wine cellars, which is not classified as essential by the state and has been temporarily shut down.) The company employs 67 people, though only 52 are working currently because of a reduction in sales due to the pandemic.

Dupli Envelope & Graphics in DeWitt is classified as essential because it prints vote-by-mail applications and materials for banks and insurance companies. It employs 180 people.

Here are the six best practices they said are essential for manufacturing during the pandemic:

Screen everyone

Everyone entering a worksite should undergo a brief health screening to determine if they are showing symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the respiratory disease it causes.

At Gear Motions in Solvay, the temperature of every employee is taken when they enter. Then they undergo a smell test and a taste test.

We make them smell apple cider vinegar, said Dean Burrows, president and CEO of Gear Motions. And then we give them a piece of candy like a wintergreen Life Saver, and then we ask them a series of questions. These are things we learned from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). Younger employees lose their sense of smell and taste and older employees tend to show more of a fever."

Control site traffic

To protect against the virus, companies must control who comes into their buildings. That often means closing off some entrances (while still adhering to fire code requirements for exits).

At Gear Motions, no visitors are allowed into the building unless they are approved by Burrows.

It has to be a business-critical visitor, like if a machine goes down and we need to have somebody come in and fix it," he said. "Besides that, no visitors are allowed.

Gear Motions closed some of its entrances to make sure no one entered without being screened.

We really had to think differently about how we controlled entry into our facility, he said. We used to have multiple doors. Now we have one point of entry."

At Dupli, the printing facility is divided into three segments. Employees enter through doors closest to the segments where they work and are allowed to use only the bathrooms in their segment. They are not allowed to walk through the sections where they do not work.

The whole concept is to eliminate the potential exposure someone might have, said Dupli President J. Kemper Matt Jr.

Enhance hygiene and cleaning

Common areas and high-touch objects such as door and refrigerators should be sanitized multiple times a day. In addition, employees should be given the supplies necessary to disinfect their own work stations, as well as their hands.

If you come into our facility, youll see spray bottles of disinfectant all over the place, said Burrows. Youll see hand wipes all over the place and hand sanitizers.

Matt said interior doors at Dupli have been propped open so workers do not have to touch them. In addition, vending and coffee machines have been shut down, he said.

From left, Michael Wetzel, John Bires and Lou Rabbia hold a manager staff meeting at Air Innovations in Cicero on Monday, May 11, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. Air Innovations

Wear face masks

Where social distancing is not possible, employees should wear face masks to reduce the chances of transmitting the virus to colleagues.

At Air Innovation, employees are required to wear face masks in most areas of the building.

Initially, it was just in the factory because people dont have defined desks, but now were requiring masks in all common spaces, so hallways, bathrooms, meeting rooms, the cafeteria except when youre eating, reception area, any common space, said Michael Wetzel, president and CEO of Air Innovations. If youre at your own personal desk and youre by yourself, you can take the mask off and thats the only time.

Reduce density

One of the easiest ways to make it possible to keep employees at least six feet apart is to reduce the number of workers in any defined area.

We literally went into every conference room and took out half the chairs, said Wetzel. We went into the cafeteria and took out half the chairs. And then you educate people why were doing that and the importance of maintaining that so they dont walk into that room and put all the chairs together.

Initially, Air Innovations cut the density on its factory floor by having some employees work night shifts.

Thats something that many manufacturers can do, especially manufacturers that might only be used to working one shift, Wetzel said. A way to lower the density is to split that shift in half and then half work at night and half work during the day. Now, youve just reduced your density by 50 percent.

Communicate with employees daily

Daily communication with employees is vital to keeping them up to date on safety measures.

We have a daily huddle with every employee in the building, said Wetzel. We cant do it in big groups, so we had to quickly devise a plan to disseminate information by moving it down through smaller groups. But the daily meetings are incredibly important because its the only way to move new information on new procedures that were doing well and procedures that were not following well.

Gear Motions made sure employees were involved in all decisions regarding changes to the companys operations.

We cant eliminate the fear, but we can try to educate them, so we have employee meetings every day," Burrows said. We give them the latest information we get from the CDC or from the governor or from OSHA and we say, Hey, these are the changes that are going on. What questions do you have?

During one such meeting, an employee pointed out the potential risk of the virus being spread via a water cooler.

Youre always touching it, Burrows said. So, we went out and we retrofitted the water fountain with a bottle filler, where you just put your bottle in there and it senses it and it fills the bottle up. It becomes non-touch.

Randy Wolken, president of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, said companies should be prepared to keep the new practices in place for a long time because the pandemic is not likely to end soon.

We dont know how quickly a vaccine is going to be developed or they come up with a treatment, he said. I think the protections will stay. The policies will stay. Its a long-term investment. It makes them more resilient for the long term. So I do think its going to change the way people work."

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Oil prices were up on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia is planning to make deeper cuts in its crude production level to support prices.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $29.88 per barrel at 0647 GMT for a 0.84% increase after closing Monday at $29.63 a barrel.



WTI was at $24.56 a barrel at the same time for a 1.74% gain after ending the previous day at $24.14 per barrel.



Saudi Arabia said it would cut its oil production by an additional 1 million barrels per day (bpd) starting in June to 7.5 million bpd, from 8.5 million bpd that was previously agreed as part of the OPEC+ deal in April.



This would see the world's largest crude exporter's output decline by 4.8 million bpd, or around 40%, from the level in April when it was approximately 12.3 million bpd, Anadolu agency reported.



Despite the output cuts by Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC+ oil producing countries, crude prices continue to remain low due to coronavirus-related weak oil demand around the world.
Newly enhanced remote tools can issue automated alerts, allow researchers to better monitor equipment and data-taking from around the globe

As the COVID-19 outbreak took hold in Italy, researchers working on a nuclear physics experiment called CUORE at an underground laboratory in central Italy scrambled to keep the ultrasensitive experiment running and launch new tools and rules for remote operations.

This Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events experiment - designed to find a never-before-seen process involving ghostly particles known as neutrinos, to explain why matter won out over antimatter in our universe, and to also hunt for signs of mysterious dark matter - is carrying on with its data-taking uninterrupted while some other projects and experiments around the globe have been put on hold.

Finding evidence for these rare processes requires long periods of data collection - and a lot of patience. CUORE has been collecting data since May 2017, and after upgrade efforts in 2018 and 2019 the experiment has been running continuously.

Before the pandemic hit there were already tools in place that stabilized the extreme cooling required for CUORE's detectors and provided some remote controls and monitoring of CUORE systems, noted Yury Kolomensky, senior faculty scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the U.S. spokesperson for CUORE.

The rapid global spread of the disease, and related restrictions on access to the CUORE experiment at Gran Sasso National Laboratory (Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, or LNGS, operated by the Italian Nuclear Physics Institute, INFN) in central Italy, prompted CUORE leadership and researchers - working in three continents - to act quickly to ramp up the remote controls to prepare for an extended period with only limited access to the experiment.

Just days before the new restrictions went into effect at Gran Sasso, CUORE leadership on March 4 made the decision to rapidly deploy a new remote system and to work out the details of how to best maintain the experiment with limited staffing and with researchers monitoring in different time zones. The new system was fully operational about a week later, and researchers at Berkeley Lab played a role in rolling it out.

"We were already planning to transition to remote shift operations, whereby a scientist at a home institution would monitor the systems in real time, respond to alarms, and call on-site and on-call personnel in case an emergency intervention is needed," Kolomensky said, adding, "We were commissioning the system at the time of the outbreak."

Brad Welliver, a postdoctoral researcher, served as Berkeley Lab's lead developer for the new remote monitoring system, and Berkeley Lab staff scientist Brian Fujikawa was the overall project lead for the enhanced remote controls, collectively known as CORC, for CUORE Online/Offline Run Check.

Fujikawa tested controls for starting and stopping the data collection process, and also performed other electronics testing for the experiment from his home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He noted that the system is programmed to send email and voice alarms to the designated on-shift CUORE researcher if something is awry with any CUORE system. "This alarm system is particularly important when operating CUORE remotely," he said, as in some cases on-site workers may need to visit the experiment promptly to perform repairs or other needed work.

Development of so-called "slow controls," which allow researchers to monitor and control CUORE equipment such as pumps and sensors, was led by Joe Johnston at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Now we can perform most of the operations from 6,000 miles away," Kolomensky said.

And many participants across the collaboration continue to play meaningful roles in the experiment from their homes, from analyzing data and writing papers to participating in long-term planning and remote meetings.

Despite access restrictions at Gran Sasso, experiments are still accessible for necessary work and checkups. The laboratory remains open in a limited way, and its staff still maintains all of its needed services and equipment, from shuttles to computing services.

Laura Marini, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley who serves as a run coordinator for CUORE and is now living near Gran Sasso, is among a handful of CUORE researchers who still routinely visits the lab site.

"As a run coordinator, I need to make sure that the experiment works fine and the data quality is good," she said. "Before the pandemic spread, I was going underground maybe not every day, but at least a few times a week." Now, it can be about once every two weeks.

Sometimes she is there to carry out simple fixes, like a stuck computer that needs to be restarted, she said. Now, in addition to the requisite hard hat and heavy shoes, Marini - like so many others around the globe who are continuing to work - must wear a mask and gloves to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

The simple act of driving into the lab site can be complicated, too, she said. "The other day, I had to go underground and the police stopped me. So I had to fill in a paper to declare why I was going underground, the fact that it was needed, and that I was not just wandering around by car," she said. Restrictions in Italy prevent most types of travel.

CUORE researchers note that they are fortunate the experiment was already in a state of steady data-taking when the pandemic hit. "There is no need for continuous intervention," Marini said. "We can do most of our checks by remote."

She said she is grateful to be part of an international team that has "worked together on a common goal and continues to do so" despite the present-day challenges.

Kolomensky noted some of the regular maintenance and upgrades planned for CUORE will be put off as a result of the shelter-in-place restrictions, though there also appears to be an odd benefit of the reduced activity at the Gran Sasso site. "We see an overall reduction in the detector noise, which we attribute to a significantly lower level of activity at the underground lab and less traffic in the highway tunnel," he said. Researchers are working to verify this.

CUORE already had systems in place to individually and remotely monitor data-taking by each of the experiment's 988 detectors. Benjamin Schmidt, a Berkeley Lab postdoctoral researcher, had even developed software that automatically flags periods of "noisy" or poor data-taking captured by CUORE's array of detectors.

Kolomensky noted that work on the CORC remote tools is continuing. "As we have gained more experience and discovered issues, improvements and bug fixes have been implemented, and these efforts are still ongoing," he said.

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CUORE is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics (Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, or INFN), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). CUORE collaboration members include: INFN, University of Bologna, University of Genoa, University of Milano-Bicocca, and Sapienza University in Italy; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Berkeley Lab; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of South Carolina; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and Yale University in the US; Saclay Nuclear Research Center (CEA) and the Irene Joliot-Curie Laboratory (CNRS/IN2P3, Paris Saclay University) in France; and Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

(Note: This is the first part in a recurring series highlighting Berkeley Lab's ongoing work in international physics collaborations during the pandemic.)
They reunited - sans Victoria Beckham - for an acclaimed reunion tour in Summer 2019.

And Mel C has revealed the Spice Girls still have a group chat when appearing on Scott Mills and Chris Stark's Radio 1 show on Tuesday.

Melanie Chisholm, Victoria, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown shot to fame in 1996 and became the best selling girl group of all time.

Forever Sporty Spice: Mel C has revealed the Spice Girls still have a group chat when appearing on Scott Mills and Chris Stark's Radio 1 show on Tuesday

Sporty Spice, 46, said: 'We do have a message group, we did have a WhatsApp group last year but Geri kept calling it "what sip", which kind of put us off so we went back to an iMessage.'

On the awful name for WhatsApp, Mel said: 'But it's like so many bands, so many bands if you think about it, their name is awful but then they just become the name and then that's it. U2, that's rubbish.'

The Wannabe hitmaker also discussed the origins of the iconic band's name, revealing they were called something quirky before settling on Spice Girls.

She said: 'Do you know what we were called before, we were called TOUCH, thank goodness we changed it.

'I think it was a brainchild of Geri's to be spice, because we had our individuality, we were all really different, spicing up things with a bit of variety and there was a rapper in America called Spice, so that's why we added the Girls and became the Spice Girls.'

Is VB in it? Sporty Spice, 46, said: 'We do have a message group, we did have a WhatsApp group last year but Geri kept calling it "what sip", which kind of put us off so we went back to an iMessage'

Scott added: 'TOUCH sounds like one of those band's that might have been out in week 3 of the live shows of X Factor.'

The songstress revealed she had big plans for when lockdown ends, saying: 'I want to go to the hairdressers, the whole nation is going to want to go to the hairdressers,

'It's going to be hard to get booked in isn't it? I tell you where else I want to go, I want to go back to the gym. I'm lifting lots of peculiar things at home trying to get heavyweights. I train 3 to 5 times a week.'

The Spice Girls comeback tour started in Dublin before three final dates at London's Wembley Stadium.

Icons: Melanie Chisholm, Victoria, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown shot to fame in 1996 and became the best selling girl group of all time (pictured 1997)

The only Spice Girl missing was Victoria Beckham, who decided not to join her bandmates Geri, Mel B, Mel C and Emma Bunton, who all earned a reported 12million each for the tour.

Last month Emma revealed the Spice Girls are in talks to do more live gigs and their 'dream' is to more international shows.

Baby Spice, 44, told MailOnline the girl band are hoping to return to the stage once lockdown is over and she's been in regular contact with Geri, 47, to discuss future plans.

In an exclusive interview, she said: 'Hopefully there are still some quite exciting things coming from the Spice Girls. Fingers crossed we can do some more shows.'

Emma said: 'I have been speaking to Geri and the other girls  we have been chatting and talking about other projects.

'We would love to do more live stuff as well. To do more international shows would be a dream.

'The live shows are a bit more difficult to organise at the moment at the time that we're in but there's lots of other little projects going on as well.

'We all have children now, bringing our children on tour was really special so I'm hoping they will get to see a bit more as well.'l

Hear Mel C's full DJ takeover on Scott Mill's Radio 1 show on BBC Sounds
Several Bollywood celebrities, including Ayushmann Khurrana, Kajol, Dia Mirza and Madhuri Dixit, on Tuesday expressed their gratitude to the nursing community on International Nurses Day for working tirelessly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ayushmann said people should "salute" the nurses for being frontline warriors as he called them the "real heroes" of the battle against pandemic.

"We will be forever in debt to the nurses, the medical fraternity across India and the world for putting themselves on line and coming to work when they could also be staying safe with their families. I only want to say thank you to them and their families from the bottom of my heart," the actor said in a statement.

Kajol took to Twitter and said nurses as the heroes behind a mask, who are "saving the world in silence."



"Thank you to all those heroes, thank you to the nurses," she tweeted.

Madhuri said one should be grateful to the nurses who are working round-the-clock amid the pandemic.

"Along with all the other frontline workers and the entire healthcare community, we're grateful to the nurses who are putting their lives at risk to nurse the world back to health. We should value their efforts & be thankful for everything they're doing for us," she tweeted.

Dia said nurses have touched lives with their humanity and even during the pandemic, they continue to "dispense their duties with love, compassion and care."



"Today we celebrate the nurses in healthcare systems across the globe that lead the fight every single day. As they risk themselves to save lives, you too can help them by Staying Home & Keeping Them Safe! Happy International Nurses Day," the actor wrote on Instagram.

Actor Sanjay Dutt noted that countless lives have been saved because of the "selfless work" that nurses and the healthcare professionals are doing.

"Can't thank them enough for putting their lives at risk to save the lives of others," he added.

Shraddha Kapoor called the nurses as "angels in disguise" as she paid her tribute to them.

"Big RESPECT, for the sincerity towards your service. Big SALUTE, for your selfless toil in these challenging times. Big THANK YOU, for the sacrifices you make for our safety. You are, our Angels in disguise," she posted on Instagram.

Calling nurses the pillars of medical fraternity, actor Ananya Panday said they are the ones who stand by doctors and families "through some of the toughest times."



"This #InternationalNursesDay, we celebrate and commend your spirit, determination & compassion," she added.

According to the World Health Organisation, the International Day of the Nurse is observed on the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing. This year marks her 200th birth anniversary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Several killed, injured in naval accident for Konarak vessel off port of Jaask

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 11 May 2020 / 09:38

Tehran (ISNA) - At least a navy sailor has been killed and several injured in a naval accident on a light Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, public relations of 1st zone of Naval Force of the Iranian Army announced in a statement.

According to the statement, the accident happened to Konarak vessel off the port city of Jaask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman.

The accident occurred when a number of vessels belonging to the Iranian Navy were conducting exercises.

The cause of the accident was being investigated and more information would be announced later.

The Konarak, a Hendijan-class vessel had been overhauled in 2018 and was able to launch sea missiles. The Dutch-made, 47-meter (155-foot) vessel was in service since 1988 and had capacity of 40 tons. It usually carries a crew of 20 sailors.

End Item

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Around 1,100 workers at P&O Ferries are to be made redundant as part of a plan to make the business 'viable and sustainable'.

The proposal involves more than a quarter of the workforce losing their jobs, the firm said.

Travel restrictions have resulted in a collapse in passengers on its routes, which include Dover to Calais, Hull to Rotterdam and Liverpool to Dublin.

Stormy weather: Travel restrictions have resulted in a collapse in passengers on P&O's routes

P&O also transports 15 per cent of all goods in and out of the UK. But a number of ships have been taken out of service as the company fights for survival.

A spokesman for P&O Ferries, which is owned by Dubai-based DP World, said: 'Regrettably, therefore, due to the reduced number of vessels we are operating and the ongoing downturn in business, we are beginning consultation proceedings to make around 1,100 of our colleagues redundant.'

It emerged in early April that P&O Ferries was seeking a 150m bailout from the Government to avoid collapse, but no offer was made.

It is understood the firm's proposal was based on running its full complement of 21 ships.

But the company is now only operating 15 vessels, with reduced frequency, and expects to reach an agreement with the Government for a lower amount of money to secure critical supply routes.

It emerged last month that DP World was set to pay shareholders a 270m dividend. P&O began operating ferries in the 1960s.

Before the pandemic, its ships carried 8.4m passengers on 27,000 sailings a year across the Channel, North Sea and Irish Sea.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said: 'This is devastating news and an appalling betrayal of the P&O workforce. What is utterly shameful is P&O have been kept afloat by our members and the taxpayer whilst their owners have been paying out hundreds of millions in dividends in Dubai. The biggest fear is that these jobs will never return to Dover or Hull.'
Hash House A Go Go is excited to welcome guests safely back into their dining room and patio 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).

Menu selections include generous portions of all your favorite brunch and dinner items including Andys Sage Fried Chicken & Waffles, Twisted Stuffed Burgers, oversized flapjacks, Big O Chicken Pot Pie, and more. Of course, a trip to Hash House A Go Go would not be complete without enjoying a BLT Mary or their award-winning Kiwi Watermelon Lemonade!

WHEN: Starting Friday, May 15, days/hours of operation are as follows:

Thursday  Monday

Brunch: 8 a.m.  2 p.m.

Additionally, Dinner service will be offered Friday and Saturday evenings from 5  8 p.m.

WHERE: Hash House A Go Go

6800 W. Sahara Ave.

Reservations are strongly encouraged and can be made by calling 702-804-4646 or online at https://www.hashhouseagogo.com/location/hash-house-a-go-go-las-vegas-nevada-west-sahara

About Hash House A Go Go

Hash House A Go Go brings farm-fresh food with a funky, modern twist to the locals and visitors of Las Vegas. The well-known restaurant is famous for its unusual decor and enormous portions. The restaurant has garnered dozens of local and national Best Of accolades, including, most recently, Best Waffles in the Las Vegas Review-Journals 2019 Best of Las Vegas poll, and has been featured on the Food Network, Martha Stewart, Dr. Phil and the popular Travel Channel program, Man v. Food. For reservations or inquiries, please call The LINQ Resort & Casino location at (702) 254-4646, the W. Sahara location at (702) 804-4646, the Henderson location at (702) 898-4646 or the Plaza Hotel & Casino location at (702) 384-4646, or visit hashhouseagogo.com.
By Rebecca Moss of Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  The Wolf administration on Tuesday unveiled a plan to begin universal testing of staff and residents in the states hundreds of long-term care facilities, which have become the epicenter of coronavirus-related deaths in Pennsylvania.

The announcement is a reversal for the administration, which for weeks has said it did everything possible to protect nursing homes and maintained that only people with symptoms should be tested, despite the known spread of the disease from carriers with no signs of illness.

According to guidance released by the state Tuesday, officials are recommending widespread testing at any facilities with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 to detect potential carriers among residents or staff that could spark an outbreak. At facilities with no confirmed cases, they recommend testing 20% of staff and residents weekly.

The guidance also suggests facilities retest residents who initially test negative and also urges them not to delay testing residents who are exhibiting symptoms. State officials also provided guidance on how to separate exposed and potentially exposed residents.

(The above graphic can also be viewed here.)

Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the testing would be conducted by the state lab in Exton in partnership with private labs and mobile testing facilities provided by the National Guard.

This effort will give us a clearer picture of the extent of outbreaks in nursing homes and a head start at stopping them, Levine said.

In recent weeks, Levine said this type of widespread testing was unrealistic, both because of a lack of supplies and the inaccuracy of tests.

It is not clear universal testing is the answer, Levine told the Senate last Thursday.

Also last week, state health officials released information for families with loved ones in nursing homes, indicating residents should only be tested after two symptoms of the virus had been identified, and after a test for the flu had come back negative.

But officials changed their tune Tuesday morning, when Gov. Tom Wolf told reporters the state would implement a fairly radical plan to conduct surveillance testing once a week for everybody  employees and patients and clients. The guidance, however, did not specifically say all testing would occur once a week.

As of Tuesday, Pennsylvania reported 12,130 cases of COVID-19 inside 540 long-term care facilities. More than 2,600 residents have died.

The reversal comes after a Spotlight PA investigation published Saturday found the state had a robust plan to protect nursing homes from the coronavirus, but never fully implemented it, and has since resisted calls to take the kind of action the administration is now proposing.

Other states committed to widespread testing at nursing home facilities weeks ago.

In late April, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered universal coronavirus testing at nursing homes, including all staff and residents, regardless of whether they had symptoms. The governor also mandated a daily evaluation of all residents. Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Tennessee have also prioritized testing.

Over the weekend, New York state followed suit, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing nursing home staff would be tested twice each week. New Jersey said Tuesday that all residents and staff will be tested for the virus by the end of May.

Also Tuesday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that criminal investigations had been launched into several nursing homes, and he urged those with concerns about criminal conduct to contact his office.

Active criminal investigations are already underway and we encourage people to share relevant complaints with us on our special tip line so we can best protect people in nursing homes, Shapiro said in a statement.

In late April, Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, asked Levine why every person at long-term care facilities was not being tested, despite the widespread understanding of how vulnerable residents and staff are at these homes.

Levine at the time said it would be virtually impossible to conduct widespread testing on a daily or even weekly basis for all staff, saying there were insufficient supplies and too high a rate of false results. A more viable testing solution would be at least six months off, she said then.

Right now, testing everyone who walks in the building every day, we really cant do that, she said.

At a Senate hearing last week, Levine walked that back slightly, saying that testing capacity had improved and the department was rethinking its testing strategies.

Until the past two weeks there have been significant constraints in terms of testing, she said at the hearing.

Still, a number of lawmakers questioned why the department had not taken steps sooner to address the unfolding death toll at long-term care facilities.

In response to Spotlight PAs reporting, Sens. John Yudichak ,I-Luzerne, and Judy Ward, R-Blair, on Tuesday sent a letter to Levine asking the administration to provide the plan it intended to implement in March and information about the discussions within the agency that prevented the plan from occurring.

What the administration knew early in the crisis, but failed to act on, speaks to the lack of an efficient response as it relates to not only the public health, but the economic health as well to Pennsylvania citizens, the senators wrote.

Spotlight PA receives funding from nonprofit institutions and readers like you who are committed to investigative journalism that gets results. Give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate.

More from Pennlive:
Last updated on: May 12, 2020 10:02 IST

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 in the country on Tuesday, registering an increase of 87 fatalities and 3,604 cases in the last 24 hours since Monday 8 am, according to the Union health ministry.

IMAGE: Stranded migrants from Gujarat arrive by a special train during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 at Habibganj railway station, in Bhopal. Photograph: ANI Photo

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 46,008, while 22,454 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.

"Thus, around 31.73 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

A total of 87 deaths were reported since Monday morning -- 36 in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, six each in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal and one each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the 2,293 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 868, followed by Gujarat (513), Madhya Pradesh (221), West Bengal (190), Rajasthan (113), Uttar Pradesh (80), Delhi (73), Tamil Nadu (53) and Andhra Pradesh (45).

The death toll climbed to 31 in Karnataka as well as in Punjab.

Telangana has reported 30 fatalities due to the respiratory disease, Haryana 11, Jammu and Kashmir 10, Bihar six and Kerala four.

IMAGE: A migrant labourer weeps while talking to a relative over his mobile phone, at Nizamuddin Bridge in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Jharkhand and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each, while Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh have reported two deaths each.

Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the health ministry's website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

The total figure of 70,756 includes foreign nationals.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases is from Maharashtra (23,401), followed by Gujarat (8,541), Tamil Nadu (8,002), Delhi (7,233), Rajasthan (3,988), Madhya Pradesh (3,785) and Uttar Pradesh (3,573).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,063 in West Bengal, 2,018 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,877 in Punjab.

It has risen to 1,275 in Telangana, 879 in Jammu and Kashmir, 862 in Karnataka, 747 in Bihar and 730 in Haryana.

IMAGE: An artist creates a painting on the occasion of International Nurse Day for their contribution during the fight against coronavirus, in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo

Kerala has reported 519 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 414 cases. A total of 174 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 160 in Jharkhand.

Tripura has reported 152 cases, Uttarakhand 68, Assam 65, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have 55 cases each and Ladakh has registered 42 coronavirus cases so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has registered 13 cases, Puducherry 12 and Goa seven.

Manipur has two cases, while Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
India Inc on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a Rs20 lakh crore stimulus package was the "need of the hour" as it will pave the way for post pandemic recovery and unleash the next wave of economic growth.

In his speech, Modi announced that the total stimulus India is marshalling together to limit the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy will be a little less than 10 per cent of the GDP and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be announcing the exact details soon.

Industry bodies said the Make In India flagship will emerge as a key catalyst for attracting new investment, driven by much needed bold reforms in the areas of land, labour and liquidity.

"We appreciate that the Prime Minister spoke about the areas of land, labour, liquidity and simplification of laws which are the key challenges of the economy. Reforms in these four areas will truly unleash the next wave of economic growth within this crisis situation," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

Ficci President Sangita Reddy said the strengthening of the five pillars economy, infrastructure, system, demography and demand will pave the way for India returning to a higher sustained growth path again.

"We expect that the contours of the package to be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the needs of the poor and needy, MSMEs and also the industry and common man on the whole. The stress on land, labour and liquidity is what is required to make India self-reliant," she added.

The main focus of the Prime Minister's 33-minute speech, which acknowledged that the coronavirus scare is here to stay for long, was self reliance.

Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said, "The 5-pillars of building a self-reliant India would take us towards becoming a credible global force that reaches out to the world from a position of strength but with a sense of responsibility and humility."



He said along with the economic package, the bold reforms across all the sectors - agriculture, taxation, infrastructure, human resource and the financial system - would go a long way to attract investment and revive demand in the economy. The Make In India flagship would be a key catalyst for new investment, be it local or global, Sood added.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also hoped that a focused package to support the Indian Automotive Industry would be announced by the Finance Minister, when she announces the details of the package.

Nisha Biswal, President, US-India Business Council, said, "At Rs 20 lakh crore, the overall response will go a long way toward stabilising the Indian economy and positioning it for post-pandemic recovery. It will also support industry's efforts to put tens of millions of Indians back to work safely and minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus."



PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry President D K Aggarwal said thestimulus package, at this juncture, is need of the hour to refuel economic fundamentals of the economy and resume the economic activity.

Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra's managing director Pawan Goenka said Modi has caught the attention with the Rs 20 lakh crore number.

"We cannot be hostage to the virus and need to get on with our lives. We have to start buying local and be vocal about it," Goenka, a part of the conglomerate with a global footprint, said in a tweet.

Harsh Goenka of RPG Enterprises called it a powerful booster to the economy and a timely lifeline which will benefit all sections of the people and lift a lot of struggling sections out of trouble.

Adar Poonawala, who leads Serum Institute of India, world's largest vaccine maker, said USD 200 billion stimulus is the right commitment and hoped for proper utilisation of the money to help the needy.

"I hope this money actually ends up in the hands of the people who need it the most, and does not get lost in complicated schemes," he tweeted.

Gautam Singhania of textiles and garment maker Raymond said the country is "migrating from merely battling a pandemic to bringing a paradigm shift in the economic affairs" to become self-reliant and welcomed the vision outlined to make local products global.

Japanese electronics major Panasonic's head for the country, Manish Sharma, said it is a "fairly large package" and appreciated the intent to expand domestic manufacturing and becoming a part of the global supplu chains "considering the geopolitical environment".

Greaves Cotton's Nagesh Basavanhalli said the quantum of the package was a surprise and hoped that it will help the manufacturing sector. "The industry is now looking forward to the finer details of this enormous package," he said.

In a big push to revive the economy, Modi has announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package, which combined the government's recent announcements on supporting key sectors as also measures rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India.

In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said the details about fourth phase of the lockdown will be made known before May 18, adding it will be different from the earlier phases.

The third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sinn Feins Linda Dillon has become the fifth Northern Ireland politician to receive a loyalist threat in 24 hours, her party has said.

Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken and fellow party MLA Doug Beattie, SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone and Alliance MP Stephen Farry were previously informed by police of threats against them from loyalist paramilitaries.

The spate of intimidation against politicians comes days after threats were made by loyalists against journalists at the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers.

Mr Aiken, Mr Beattie, Mr McGlone and Mr Farry had all commented in an article run by the Sunday Life on Sunday about the threat from the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association.

Ms Dillon had subsequently made public comment condemning the threats to her political counterparts and the journalists.

Sinn Feins Gerry Kelly condemned those responsible.

Police have made my party colleague Linda Dillon aware of a threat against her by loyalists tonight, he said on Monday evening.

This comes on the back of a number of threats to journalists and now despicable threats issued against an expanding list of elected representatives for defending the freedom of the press.

Linda Dillon is committed to serving and representing all the people of Mid Ulster and will not be deterred by threats from anyone and neither will any Sinn Fein elected representative.

Everyone should be free to carry out their business free from threats, fear or intimidation and that includes elected representatives and journalists.

The criminal gangs responsible for these threats should immediately withdraw them.

Sorry to hear that @StephenFarryMP - we must all stand up for freedom of speech & we cannot allow our hard fought principles of democracy to be ever undermined by threats of violence or intimidation @julianoneill @patsymcglone @BeattieDoug @uuponline @SDLPlive @allianceparty https://t.co/v8gqkKLLYt  Steve Aiken OBE (@SteveAikenUUP) May 11, 2020

Earlier, Mr Aiken, a former Royal Navy commander, blasted the threats from so-called loyalists.

Having served in the Royal Navy for 30 years and in many operational environments, it is somewhat ironic to return home to Northern Ireland and be threatened by so-called loyalists, he said.

20 years on from the Belfast Agreement there is no such thing as a paramilitary group left in Northern Ireland, there are only organised crime gangs who exist to make money for their mafia bosses, generally by selling drugs.

The Secretary of State and the Chief Constable need to make it very clear  by words and deeds  that this type of threat will not be tolerated in any part of the United Kingdom, and that the people responsible will be on the receiving end of swift and decisive action.

I can confirm that I have also received advice from PSNI regarding a loyalist threat. Solidarity with @patsymcglone @SteveAikenUUP @BeattieDoug None of us will be deterred in anyway from defending freedom of press and standing up to paramilitaries https://t.co/zLs3hqQawz  Stephen Farry MP (@StephenFarryMP) May 11, 2020

Mr Beattie, an army veteran who was awarded the military cross for his service, added: I have been threatened many times while serving my country in uniform and I treated those threats with contempt, as I do with this present threat.

What does concern me is that criminal gangs should feel confident enough to threaten journalists and politicians, and this is a testament to just how little they fear the criminal justice system in this country. This is simply not acceptable in a western European democracy in the 21st century.

Mr Farry expressed solidarity with the other politicians, adding: None of us will be deterred in anyway from defending freedom of press and standing up to paramilitaries.

Mr McGlone said that neither he nor journalists who have received threats will be silenced or censored.

Late last night, I received a call from senior PSNI officers with details about a loyalist threat against me, the Stormont deputy speaker said.

This is not the first time Ive been threatened by paramilitaries, but I can assure those responsible I will not be silenced, censored or intimidated by faceless thugs.

SDLP MLA and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly @PatsyMcGlone has said that he will not be intimidated by faceless thugs after senior PSNI Officers informed him of a loyalist threat against him.https://t.co/ZkCCZrBvu0 pic.twitter.com/3JcEaFMXfZ  Social Democratic and Labour Party (@SDLPlive) May 11, 2020

Ms Dillon had earlier urged anyone with information to take it to police.

Politicians, like everyone, should be free to do their work and represent their constituents free from threats, fear or intimidation, she said.

The people behind these kinds of faceless threats have nothing to offer our society.

DUP junior minister Gordon Lyons also condemned the threats.

Journalists play a very important part in our society and, just like politicians, they should be able to get on with their job, he said.

There is no room no place whatsoever for threats.

It is wrong, those threats should be withdrawn, and people should be able to get on with their lives and on with their jobs.
With 95 accuracy percentage, the Iranian nano test kit is manufactured by knowledge-based companies and can diagnose the virus in 30 seconds, Trend reports Mehrnews.

As Sattari announced, the kit has not achieved any certificates yet.

Islamic Republic of Iran has currently started exporting ordinary coronavirus diagnostic kits to a number of countries including Germany and Turkey.

In line with its humanitarian aids, the Islamic Republic of Iran also donated cargo containing 5,000 corona diagnostic kits to Afghanistan and also Lebanon.

Iran exports corona diagnostic kits at the condition that the country heavily needed to these kits at the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country but with the cooperation of knowledge-based companies, not only Irans requirement to these kits have been met, but also suitable ways have been provided for the country in export of these kits.

Spokesperson for the Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters Kianoush Jahanpour said on April. 12 that the country has developed COVID-19 rapid test kits based on antibody detection, adding that the kits will hit the market soon.

In a tweet Jahanpour wrote, with the efforts of Iranian experts and knowledge-based companies, a rapid test for the detection of coronavirus based on the identification of antibodies will be available soon. These quick, low-cost, and inclusive detection methods will facilitate the step-by-step implementation of Smart Distancing Plan in the coming weeks.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the request by President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow N850 billion to fund the 2020 budget.

The lawmakers at the lower legislative chambers on Tuesday gave the approval during plenary in Abuja.

Also Read: Buhari Writes Reps, Seeks Approval For N850 Billion Loan

Recall that some days prior to writing to the lower legislative chamber, President Buhari had written to the Senate for approval.

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The Senate had given accelerated approval to President Buharis request to raise a fresh loan of N850 billion from the domestic capital market to fund projects in the 2020 budget.
A brave nurse has sent a heartbreaking apology to a church warden who was stabbed to death on a supermarket shopping trip saying: 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you.'

NHS worker Lisa Way, 53, was also injured in the attack inside a village Co-op where grandfather John Rees, 88, was killed as his wife Eunice waited in the car outside.

A floral tribute from Lisa was amongst dozens of flowers laid outside the church where John was a devoted member.

Nurse Lisa Way, 53, was stabbed as she was shopping in the village after completing her shift at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in nearby Llantrisant

John Rees, 88, left his wife Eunice, 87, (both pictured) in their Honda car while he queued up at a convenience store in Pen-y-Graig, south Wales on May 5 for their weekly shop.

Zara Radcliffe, 29, from Penygraig, South Wales who has been charged with the murder of John Rees, 88 at the Co-op store in the village of Penygraig

A card with the flowers said: 'Dearest John, I am so sorry I couldn't save you. I hope you are at peace now. Lisa Way xxx'

Grandmother Lisa works at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, South Wales, and is married to husband Carl, 53.

She was treated at her own hospital after suffering non life-threatening injuries.

John's family paid tribute to him, saying he 'would do anything for anyone' - and was going to help the other victims of the stabbing attack when he died.

Zara Radcliffe, 29, has been charged with murdering 88-year-old church warden John Rees who was stabbed to death in a Co-op supermarket in the Pen y graig area of Tonypandy, south Wales. Victims Gaynor Saurin (left) and Andrew Price (right) pictured

People were socially-distancing in the queue outside when the incident happened today

Nephew Michael Smith paid tribute to his uncle after a 29-year-old woman appeared in Cardiff Crown Court charged with his murder.

Zara Radcliffe, 29, is accused of his murder and the attempted murder of three other shoppers - Andrew Price, Gaynor Saurin and Lisa.

Mr Smith said he reacted with 'absolute disbelief' when he heard how his uncle was killed on the shopping trip.

He said: 'It's incredibly upsetting. You feel sorry for the person impacted, but you have no comprehension about the knock on for the family.'

Mr Rees left his wife Eunice in their car outside the Co-op store in Penygraig, Rhondda, while he did their shop. Eunice, 87, suffers from dementia and she was still there 15 minutes later when police found her.

One note, pictured, read: 'RIP. Heartbreaking losing your life in such a horrific way. Can't stop thinking of your poor wife. Thoughts are with you and your family.'

Eunice Reese, 87, pictured left, was waiting in the car as husband John was stabbed to death, while Andrew Price, pictured right. was rushed to hospital after suffering injuries

Flowers were left at the scene today, pictured, as tributes continued to flood in for Mr Rees

Nephew Mr Smith said: 'My aunt is extremely frail. Eunice was totally dependent on him.

'Even though John was 88 he was physically fit and would often take her out to Pontypridd and they would sit in the Prince's Cafe.

'He was so very well thought of. Everyone knows John. If you can model yourself on him you'd do quite well.

'If you try and think what would he do in a situation and do it, you'll be on the right track.'

Radcliffe was charged with the murder of Mr Rees. She is also accused of attempted murder of nurse Lisa Way, 53, shopper Andrew Price, 58, and fellow nurse Gaynor Saurin, 65, at the Co-operative store.

Radcliffe, of Tonypandy, Rhondda, had her first appearance in Cardiff Crown Court on Monday by video link.

The hearing at Cardiff Crown Court was told the preliminary cause of death for Mr Rees is severe blunt force trauma.

Michael Jones QC, for the prosecution, said a trial date had been set for October 19 at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.

88-year-old church warden John Rees (right) was stabbed to death on shopping trip to a supermarket. His family say grandfather John Rees 'would do anything for anyone' - and was going to help the other victims of the stabbing attack when he died

Radcliffe, who appeared via video link from HM Eastwood Park Prison in Gloucestershire, was represented by Alexander Greenwood.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said she will remain in custody until then.

Radcliffe is mother to a young son and had recently been released from treatment at a psychiatric unit.

A romantic relationship with a man had ended last weekend - and family say Radcliffe had made a complaint to police about it.

She complained that police 'weren't taking her seriously' about an alleged assault against her.

Church warden Mr Rees was described as 'the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community' by his family.

His wife Eunice, 87, was left in their car for 15 minutes until police found her. She has dementia and keeps asking: 'Where's John?'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 13:44:11|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, May 11 (Xinhua) -- UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is appealing for 1.6 billion U.S. dollars to support its humanitarian aid for children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, up from 651.6 million dollars requested in a similar appeal in late March.

"This increase reflects the devastating socioeconomic consequences of the disease and families' rising needs. As the outbreak enters its 5th month, the costs for supplies, shipment and duty of care are increasing dramatically," UNICEF said Monday.

"The pandemic is a health crisis which is quickly becoming a child rights crisis," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "Schools are closed, parents are out of work and families are under growing strain. As we begin to reimagine what a post-COVID world would look like, these funds will help us respond to the crisis, recover from its aftermath, and protect children from its knock-on effects."

Access to essential services like health care and routine immunization has already been compromised for hundreds of millions of children, which could lead to a significant increase in child mortality. Meanwhile, the mental health and psychosocial impact of restricted movement, school closures and subsequent isolation are likely to intensify already high levels of stress, especially for vulnerable children.

According to a UNICEF analysis, some 77 percent of children under the age of 18 worldwide, or 1.8 billion, are living in the 132 countries with some form of movement restrictions in place due to COVID-19.

Risk factors for violence, abuse and neglect are on the rise for children living under restricted movement and socio-economic decline. Girls and women are at increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence. In many cases, refugee, migrant and internally displaced children, as well as returnees, are experiencing reduced access to services and protection and increasing exposure to xenophobia and discrimination.

"We have seen what the pandemic is doing to countries with developed health systems and we are concerned about what it would do to countries with weaker systems and fewer available resources," said Fore.

UNICEF is focusing its response to the pandemic on countries with existing humanitarian crises, working both to prevent transmission and mitigate the collateral impacts on children, women and vulnerable populations, especially around access to health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection.

UNICEF has so far received 215 million dollars in support of its response to the pandemic. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 03:08:42|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, May 11 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Monday said that people and countries rely on the world body more than ever to rise to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"More than ever, people and countries everywhere rely on the United Nations to rise to the challenges of this global pandemic -- a human crisis," Mohammed said at the virtual informal briefing of the Economic and Social Council on "Joining Forces: Effective Policy Solutions for Covid-19 Response."

She added that since the start of the crisis, the UN has mobilized to full capacity through its 131 country teams to immediately support national authorities in developing public health preparedness as well as response plans.

The deputy UN chief noted that going forward, "we will need to keep in mind dual imperatives: to respond urgently to stem the impact of the pandemic, while helping governments and people respond in a way that recovers better, more resilient future."

"We remain guided by the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development. The Sustainable Development Goals remain central to guiding countries on a sustainable track," she said.

Noting that COVID-19 knows no borders, Mohammed said "our response must show borderless solidarity." Enditem
GREENFIELD  Pedal Thru Youth Executive Director and Hampden County Deputy Sheriff Bob Charland and Pelham Police Officer Todd Mongeon brought 50 survival backpacks and 150 blankets to the Greenfield Police Deptartment on Monday.

Police officers will be handing them out to the homeless population in the community.
On Tuesday morning, Minister Carole Dieschbourg held a press conference detailing Luxembourg's launch of a cross-border consultation on the Belgian royal decree for the disposal of nuclear waste.

Belgian authorities have published the draft of a project which seeks to dispose of nuclear waste underground using geological storage.

Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg, explained to press that the plan did not seem to take into account the environmental impact on neighbouring countries, such as the Grand Duchy.

The government are planning a critical analysis of the plan, and have asked that citizens and local authorities submit their objections to the project prior to 13 June. Links to the Belgian site can be found here.

Dieschbourg's primary concern with the plan is the potential impact on the Grand Duchy's drinking water, should the waste disposal affect the sandstone levels prevalent through Luxembourg.

Several of the proposed locations for the nuclear waste disposal are close to Luxembourg's border with Belgium.

The Minister said she had been in touch with ministers in Wallonia regarding the plan, and described their interactions as positive. She also expected to contact German authorities regarding one of the locations, which would affect all three neighbouring countries.
Marathi language will become a compulsory subject from the academic year 2020-21 for classes 1 to 6 in schools of different mediums and education boards in Maharashtra, the state government said on Monday.

State Marathi Language Minister Subhash Desai and Education Minister Varshan Gaikwad on Monday reviewed in a meeting the progress about making Marathi language a compulsory subject, a release said.

Desai and Gaikwad reviewed the progress of the decision though video conferencing which was joined by senior officials of the School Education department, Marathi Language department,and Balbharti, along with the chairman of the Minorities Commission.

Desai instructed that before commencement of the next academic session, class-wise syllabus of the Marathi language, textbooks and training materials for class I and VI should be prepared.

He also asked the School Education department to issue a notification about the compliance of the new law about compulsory teaching of the Marathi subject in all schools in the state.

The law making the Marathi language as a mandatory subject was unanimously passed by both the Houses of legislature in the last Budget session.

At that time, Desai ans Gaikwad had assured that the implementation of this law will start from the next academic year (2020-21), the release said. Gaikwad said a meeting of field officers was conducted to enforce the law and a task force was set up to prepare the rules.

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Hamilton movie coming to Disney+

Dont throw away your shot to see the Tony-winning musical Hamilton with its original Broadway cast. Lin-Manuel Miranda announced Tuesday that the Hamilton movie, a live capture of his 2016 performance on stage at The Richard Rogers Theatre in New York City, will be released on Disney+ on July 3  perfect for the Fourth of July holiday and more than a year earlier than its originally planned October 2021 release date in theaters. Hamilton: An American Musical tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton, his rise in the ranks with George Washingtons army and his famous duel with Aaron Burr, through songs in a variety of genres, including hip hop, R&B, pop, soul, and traditional show tunes. Combining the best elements of live theater and film, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience Hamilton,'" Disney said.

To sign up for the Disney+ streaming service, go to the Disney Plus website to subscribe. Disney+ can be streamed through devices on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku devices, Playstation 4, Xbox One and more. Disney+ is $6.99 a month, with a seven-day free trial; a package that includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ is $12.99 a month, with a seven-day free trial.

Its only a matter of time...



Our Hamilton film.

THIS July 3rd.

On Disney+.#Hamilfilm pic.twitter.com/cXTM949hRr  Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 12, 2020

Jimmy Kimmel addresses Trump feud

Jimmy Kimmel addressed his Twitter feud with President Donald Trump after the late-night host aired a video of Vice President Mike Pence asking to carry empty boxes of PPE just for the camera at a Virginia health care center. ET reports the video turned out to be edited, and a longer version suggested Pence was joking, so Kimmel later removed the video from the ABC shows official YouTube channel and apologized on Twitter Friday.

Apologizing to the Trump administration for spreading untruth is like apologizing to Barry Bonds for using steroids  Its hard, Kimmel said on his show Monday, adding that he received hateful comments and threats from Trump supporters wishing death on me... and my family.

Kimmel said Pences office had asked him to make an apology on air, and Trump  who has criticized Kimmel a number of times  appeared to escalate things by decrying More Fake News, this time from Jimmy Kimmels last-place show! during a 125-tweet rant on Sunday.

He ignored a pandemic and his wife on Mothers Day," Kimmel said. This really is the dumbest time to be alive. I always assumed that if I got involved in some kind of a Twitter feud with the president it would be with President Kanye in 2028. But no, it came early.

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Buzz is a daily roundup of entertainment news from movies, TV, music and celebrity gossip.

YouTube star Corey La Barrie killed in car crash; Ink Master star Daniel Silva arrested for murder https://t.co/NoXt1MNlcF  Geoff Herbert (@deafgeoff) May 12, 2020
Singapore, a global hub for international travel and business, was among the first countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With its first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 23, 2020, the country mounted aggressive public health and containment measures. The country's network of primary care clinics were at the front lines of these measures. In this new report, those physicians share their triage, containment and infection control measures--including protocols they put in place to ensure the safety of health care workers. At the time of writing the report, zero health care workers within their primary care network were infected with COVID-19. The authors describe the framework for how their primary care clinics responded to this pandemic in the hope others may find solutions to their unique needs."

###

COVID-19: Notes From the Front Line, Singapore's Primary Health Care Perspective

Wei Han Lim, MBBS, et al

Raffles Medical Group, Department of Primary Care, Singapore

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/259
An Australian MP said Chinas ban on Australian beef exports is punishment for the Australian prime ministers proposed international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

Its a bastard act, Liberal-Nationals MP George Christensen said. Its just wrong. China has just gone into full, bullying, threatening, coercion mode. Thats what I think.

Australia is set to submit a proposal this month to the World Health Organization asking that an international investigation be launched into the origins of the coronavirus, which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The inquiry, supported by the U.S. and Britain, could send international inspectors to Wuhan. China has vehemently rejected the proposal, saying it is an attempt by the Trump administration to blame China for the pandemic and shift attention away from its own mistakes.

China, Australias largest trading partner, suspended beef imports from the country this week and last month threatened the country with severe tariffs up to 75 per cent on barley if Australia continues to pursue the investigation.

Chinas foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday that the decision to impose the Australian beef ban was in response to violations of inspection and quarantine requirements, and was unrelated to other political concerns.

Chinese customs has continuously found that multiple batches of beef products exported to China by individual Australian companies have violated the inspection and quarantine requirements, Lijian said before warning that Australia could face consequences if it moves forward with its request for an investigation.

Asked whether he was suggesting the beef ban was linked to Australias request for a coronavirus probe, the foreign ministry spokesman punted.

I just made it very clear, he responded. They are two different things, youre making a political interpretation.

More from National Review
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 23:28:36|Editor: huaxia

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KUWAIT CITY, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait has received needed medical supplies bought in China as part of the efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) announced on Tuesday.

Amani Al-Bedah, deputy director-general for Support Programs and Functions at KFAS, said in a statement that the arrival of the medical equipment is an effective contribution in securing the vital requirements for arming the front lines against infection, as well as raising the health system's readiness level to receive critical cases.

She said that the shipment was received on Monday in more than four civil and military aircraft, in addition to devices purchased from the local market.

In March, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah instructed KFAS to allocate 10 million Kuwaiti dinars (32.3 million U.S. dollars) for an emergency response program to mitigate coronavirus fallout.

Kuwait on Tuesday reported 991 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths, bringing the total infections in the country to 10,277 and the death toll to 75, the health ministry said in a statement. Enditem
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio had six cases of the coronavirus in five counties in January, state Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said Monday.

The state data shows cases began Jan. 7 and Jan. 26 in Miami County, Jan. 13 in Montgomery, Jan. 18 in Richland, Jan. 20 in Summit and Jan. 27 in Warren.

The state knows of the cases now only because of antibody testing, which will begin ramping up this week.

All six cases are considered probable because the people have antibodies, but their cases can never be confirmed, said health department spokeswoman Melanie Amato. The patients were interviewed by their county health departments, who asked them when they felt sick.

The dates listed are their best guesses. Theres no way to know whether the patients were asymptomatic for COVID-19 and just had a cold.

We rely on the local health department and the person that tested, Amato said. Its all an interviewing process, when they felt cruddy and when they got it.

One person said they had traveled to California and one to Utah, she said. But health officials dont know if they contracted the virus there. They will likely never know.

Acton announced the new, probable cases in the statehouse news briefing Monday.

We actually have a new date of onset. We have found five cases now when the date of onset of symptoms was in January, Acton said in the statehouse news briefing.

She could not give details when asked at the briefing.

Of the 24,777 cases in Ohio, they range from infants to age 108.

We will learn more and more about this disease, how long it was here in Ohio, how long it was spreading. as we do more and more testing, Acton said.

Ohio announced its first three cases, all in Cuyahoga County, on March 10. On Feb. 2, the first coronavirus tests in Ohio came back negative, for two students at Miami University.

Cleveland.coms Rich Exner contributed to this report.
At a multigenerational level of loss, there are the Jones and Brown families. Within weeks, a Flint elementary school principal, Kevelin B. Jones II, lost his father, Pastor Kevelin B. Jones; his uncle Freddie Brown Jr.; and his cousin Freddie Brown III. At the combined burial for her husband and only child, Sandy Brown waved to the parade of cars that drove by quietly as she stood alone next to two freshly dug graves. Reflecting on the difficult losses, a church elder, Keimba Knowlin, spoke on resilience, a quality that Ive long observed and admired in the people of Flint. Were going to rise above this and get past this, he said.

The will to survive and endure can be the deciding factor between a child who overcomes adversity and thrives and a child who never makes it to adulthood. But how long can we ask people born in the wrong ZIP code to rise above and persevere in circumstances beyond their control, no matter how central the idea of overcoming is to our archetypal American identity? When Hazim Hardeman, a 2019 Rhodes scholar, was asked about his journey from public housing in North Philadelphia, where many of his friends were shot or stabbed to death, he spoke a truth that we all need to hear: Dont be happy for me that I overcame these barriers. Be mad as hell that they exist in the first place.

Surviving lifes hardest blows should not be celebrated  or expected. Recovery and reconciliation require reparations and resources. To expect resilience without justice is simply to indifferently accept the status quo.

Just as the New Deal sprang from the Great Depression and public health best practices were born in response to a previous plague, we need to embrace the bold innovations that are certain to arise.

To begin with, we need to establish policies and practices rooted in science. And science tells us that where you live matters. For children raised in places replete with the stresses of misfortune, these adversities rooted in historic and systemic bias are scarring. Just as new Covid-19 cases can represent a time lag from infection two weeks earlier, adversities in early childhood play out later, filling our hospital beds and deteriorating the publics health.

As this pandemic makes painfully visible, medicine alone  ventilators, pharmaceuticals, defibrillators, I.C.U.s  will not save us. Its always an ego-deflating moment for my medical residents when they learn that medical care contributes only 10 percent to 20 percent to positive health outcomes. Our medical interventions are largely reactive measures  and happen too late. Addressing the upstream root causes is the only answer.
Ankit Sharma/Indiatimes

In one of India's worst-hit states, the novel coronvirus has taken a toll on frontline warriors as well. More than 1,000 police personnel from the Maharashtra Police department have tested positive for coronavirus. In the past 24 hours, the state police added more than 221 cases to its infections tally. The total count of 1,007 cases in Maharashtra Police includes 901 policemen and 106 police officers. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:

1) Doctors Not Paid Salaries For Past 3 Months Despite Their Contribution In Fighting Coronavirus

Representational Image/Reuters

The healthcare workers have a leading role to play in resistance against the coronavirus pandemic across the world. However, despite their efforts and services, doctors of Delhi civic hospitals are not paid their salaries. Read more

2) After COVID-19, Next Challenge For States Is Creating Jobs For Returning Migrant Workers, NRIs

AFP

The nationwide lockdown which came into effect on the midnight of March 24 is being relaxed gradually, despite the number of new COVID-19 cases increasing at a rapid pace. The lockdown is being lifted partly to give some much-needed support to the economy which had been on a standstill for nearly one and a half months. Read more

3) 25-Year-Old Migrant Worker Walking From Ludhiana To Bihar Killed By A Speeding Car Near Ambala

BCCL

A group of migrant labourers told the police that they were headed towards their native village in Bihar's Purnia district from Punjab's Ludhiana on foot when the incident occurred. Read more

4) Man Strangles Pregnant Wife Over Petty Issue, Shows How Much Domestic Violence Is On The Rise

EPA/Representational Image

In another appalling incident that has come to light, a 30 year-old woman in Delhi was allegedly killed by her husband on Monday morning as she had gone to meet one of her relatives in the neighbourhood without informing him. Read more

5) Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharma Begins Phase 3 Clinical Trial Of COVID-19 Drug In India

Glenmark

Glenmark received approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) last month to conduct clinical trials of antiviral drug Favipiravir to check its efficacy on COVID-19 patients in India. Read more
Gandhinagar, May 12 : In a setback to Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday invalidated the Dholka constituency election results in 2017. Chudasama had won the seat by a narrow margin of 327 votes. The result was challenged by the Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay, through video conference proceedings, upheld the contentions of Congress candidate Rathod, who had alleged that the elections were misconducted in violation of the poll code.

Rathod's contention was that the 429 postal ballots, which ought to have been counted initially, had been rejected illegally by returning officer (RO) Dhaval Jani.

He alleged this was done at the behest of the ruling BJP which misused the government machinery. Rathod had demanded re-verification of the postal ballots.

Upholding these contentions, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday invalidated the Dholka election results entirely.

Soon after the HC decision, senior Gujarat Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil tweeted, "Satyamev Jayate." "This is the victory of truth. The Education Minister should now tender his resignation immediately on moral grounds," said Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress spokesperson.

It was not immediately known if the saffron party would challenge the verdict.
By ANI

CALIFORNIA: Tesla chief executive Elon Musk restarted one Tesla factory in California on Monday defying San Francisco Bay Area health officials stay-at-home order and stated that he is willing to be arrested.

"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," the electric vehicle company's CEO tweeted.

"I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."Musk's tweet highlighted the ongoing tussle between the Tesla and local officials regarding the reopening of a manufacturing plant. The factory has been shut since March 23 shortly after Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state-wide stay-at-home order, The Hill reported.

Musk has criticized stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of COVID-19. The car manufacturer has been pushing for an exception allowing the plant to reopen since then.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

On May 9, Musk attorneys filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Alameda County's stay-at-home order.

The business mogul has tweeted that Tesla would be moving out of California because of the handling of the coronavirus.

Echoing a similar sentiment, AutoNation interim CEO, Mike Jackson, said he supports Elon Musk and that US auto plants should be reopened to support the increasing demand for vehicles. AutoNation, the US largest auto dealership chain, sells used Tesla vehicles.

AutoNation's Mike Jackson told CNBC on Monday that U.S. auto plants should be reopened to support the increasing demand for vehicles as the U.S. economy tries to restart from its coronavirus-driven halt.

"It's entirely appropriate that the factories reopen. I fully support it. We need the vehicles," Jackson said "Squawk Box." "As a matter of fact ... I would go so far as to say, I support Elon Musk. Tesla should open."
Amid reports of under-reporting of COVID-19 deaths in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued guidance for the appropriate recording of deaths due to the disease in India.

ICMR said COVID-19 is a new disease and is a pandemic affecting all communities and countries and a robust data is needed in India to measure the public health impact of the ailment and to plan for timely health interventions.

AFP

According to the guidance, COVID-19 would be recorded as an "underlying cause of death" when leading to pneumonia, cardiac injury and clotting in the bloodstream, among others.

Deaths with inconclusive test results, but in which coronavirus symptoms are present will be recorded as "probable COVID-19" fatalities.

Deaths in which tests are awaited with the presence of symptoms will be recorded as suspected deaths, while those testing negative but have symptoms will be mentioned as clinically-epidemiologically diagnosed COVID-19.

BCCL

Its clinical presentation ranges from mild to severe, and fatality depends on the severity of the illness, associated comorbid conditions and age of patients. "Patterns of disease and patterns of death can come from only standardised recording of clinical disease history and cause of death, and therefore epidemiological surveillance of disease and death are important.

"Robust data is needed from every district and state in India to measure the public health impact of COVID-19 and to plan for timely health interventions and protect communities. "At the same time, other health conditions affecting populations need to be also monitored so that the health system is prepared for responding to the needs of the population,"' the document stated.

BCCL

It lists forms where a health facility or a medical practitioner has to mention the sequence of events leading to death, which includes the immediate cause of death, cause of death antecedent to immediate cause, underlying cause of death and the manner of death, among others.

It is likely that COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death (UCOD) that leads to pneumonia in most of the deaths due to COVID-19. Patients may present with other pre-existing comorbid conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, ischemic heart disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus.

These conditions increase the risk of developing respiratory infections, and may lead to complications and severe disease in a COVID-19 positive patient.

AP

"These conditions are not considered as underlying cause of death as they have not directly caused death due to COVID-19. Also, a patient may has many comorbid conditions but only those that have contributed to death should be recorded," the guidance document stated.



Earlier there were allegations that there is a mismatch between the number of COVID-19 death in Delhi hospitals and the numbers published by the government.

While the official death toll in Delhi due to COVID-19 is 73, data from hospitals suggest it is much higher.

Officials of the 10 hospitals treating Covid-19 patients have said the number of people dead due to the virus is higher than what the Delhi government's bulletin reflects.

BCCL

The Delhi government on Sunday warned hospitals and other health facilities of strict action in case of any delay in reporting of coronavirus fatalities and also issued an SOP.

Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev issued the order along with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under which all Covid-19 hospitals and other facilities will e-mail a 'death report' to the district and state surveillance units everyday by 5 pm.
OAKLAND, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OrthoTrophix, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the Company has demonstrated more evidence for disease modification in knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients treated with TPX-100, the Company's leading candidate for a Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD).

An abstract entitled, "Study TPX-100-5: Significant Reduction in Femoral Bone Shape Change 12 Months after IA TPX-100 Correlates with Tibiofemoral Cartilage Stabilization" was published on page S37-S38 in the April 2020 Supplemental Issue of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (Abstract Number 32). The abstract was scheduled to be presented as a podium presentation on May 1 at the 2020 OARSI World Congress on Osteoarthritis, which was cancelled for the coronavirus pandemic.

In this study, three-dimensional (3D) shapes of the femur in knees of OA patients were measured with MRI at baseline (before treatment) and 6 and 12 months after treatment. As previously reported, pathological 3D shape changes in the femur in TPX-100-treated knees were significantly reduced as compared to placebo-treated knees. As now reported, the reduced pathological 3D shape changes in the femur were significantly correlated with stabilization of tibiofemoral cartilage thickness in the TPX-100-treated knees (p<0.01), but not in placebo-treated knees.

As reported previously, TPX-100-treated knees also demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in critical knee functions as compared to placebo-treated knees, which correlated significantly with tibiofemoral cartilage stabilization. Collectively, these data indicate both structural and clinical benefits of TPX-100 in OA knees.

"TPX-100 has shown concordant, positive results in imaging markers and in clinical outcomes. The key dots have been connected," commented Dr. Dawn McGuire, OrthoTrophix' Chief Medical Officer. "Femoral bone shape change has been shown to predict OA onset, progression and the need for knee replacement. Our clinical data suggest that reducing pathological femoral bone shape change and stabilizing knee cartilage go hand in hand with functional improvements for patients. In addition, we previously showed that a robust reduction in knee pain frequency after TPX-100 correlates with reduced patella bone shape changes. These data provide further support for TPX-100 as a disease modifying drug for knee OA."

About OrthoTrophix, Inc.

OrthoTrophix, Inc., based in Oakland, California, is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on development and commercialization of a new class of Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD). Founded by three co-founders in 2011, the primary focus of OrthoTrophix has been regeneration and repair of cartilage and underlying bones in the knee and other joints with its novel proprietary compounds.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements include statements regarding product development and cannot be guaranteed. OrthoTrophix undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect OrthoTrophix' business.

Company Contact

Yoshi Kumagai

President and CEO

Tel: (510) 488-3824

SOURCE OrthoTrophix, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.orthotrophix.com


China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters in Beijing, China, on May 25, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

New Zealand Supports Taiwan at WHO Despite Chinese Rebuke

WELLINGTONNew Zealands foreign minister on May 12 said the country has to stand up for itself after China warned its backing of Taiwans participation at the World Health Organization (WHO) could damage bilateral ties.

Taiwan, with the strong support of the United States, has stepped up its lobbying to be allowed to take part as an observer at next weeks World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHOs decision-making bodya move which has angered China.

Taiwan is excluded from the WHO due to the objections of China, which views the island as one of its provinces.

Taiwans health Minister Chen Shih-chung (C) gives a thumb up as he poses with demonstrators after a press conference on the sidelines of the WHOs annual Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 21, 2018. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Senior ministers in New Zealand last week said Taiwan should be allowed to join the WHO as an observer given its success in limiting the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, drawing Chinas ire which asked the Pacific country to stop making wrong statements.

We have got to stand up for ourselves, Winston Peters, New Zealands foreign minister, said at a news conference when asked about Chinas response to New Zealands position on Taiwan.

And true friendship is based on equality. Its based on the ability in this friendship to nevertheless disagree.

Peters said he did not think the issue would harm diplomatic ties with China, which is New Zealands biggest trading partner.

A masked local resident (2nd L) has her temperature checked as people line up to buy face masks from vending machines at the Xinyi District Health Center in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 14, 2020. (Sam Yeh /AFP/Getty Images)

Taiwan has reported only 440 CCP virus cases and seven related deaths, relatively low figures attributed to early and effective disease prevention and control work.

Peters praised Taiwans response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, and said there was a lot for other countries to learn from.

New Zealands position on Taiwan is about its tremendous success against COVID-19, Peters said.

When asked about Chinas response later in the day, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealands position on Taiwan was only related to its health response to COVID-19.

We have always taken a One China policy, and that continues to be the case, Ardern said.

Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou expressed thanks for New Zealands support, saying both countries were staunch supporters of freedom, democracy, and human rights and that Taiwan would deepen ties with New Zealand.

Taiwan expresses regret at Chinas threats against New Zealand, Ou said, adding the response from Chinas foreign ministry was hysterical.

Ties between neighboring Australia and China have frayed in recent months after Canberra called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the CCP virus that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

By Praveen Menon and Ben Blanchard. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
GREENWICH  As Greenwich takes slow steps toward reopening parts of the community, officials are pleased with the positive trends in the coronavirus numbers for the town.

We are finally starting to see a significant decline, Greenwich Hospital Chief Operating Officer Diane Kelly said Monday.

The number of hospitalized coronavirus patients there has dropped to 43, down from the 56 who were reported on Friday.

Not only is Greenwich Hospital seeing this decline, but the state of Connecticut is, Kelly said. That is one of the indicators that we have been using to see when we can very slowly and very cautiously begin to open some of our outpatient services that we have closed at Greenwich Hospital.

Those hospitalization numbers are the lowest since late March, she said. It represents a steep decline from the peak of 114 coronavirus patients four weeks ago.

The partial reopening of parks is going so far, so good, First Selectman Fred Camillo said. And now he is looking to partially reopen Town Hall on June 1.

Following the reopenings at Greenwich Point, Byram Park and Cos Cob Park for limited use, Camillo said he expects to make more announcements about access to town properties on Wednesday.

Camillo also said that arrows will be placed at Greenwich Point and Byram Park to encourage walkers, runners and bicyclists to travel in the same directions and promote social distancing. Parts of the parks, including the water, playgrounds and restrooms, remain off limits.

The town is working out the details to make Town Hall safe for visitors to go in and conduct business safely, he said. The state is on track do some reopenings on May 20, including outdoor dining at restaurants, salons and barber shops, and some nonessential businesses.

Were going to reopen in a smart way that will be very measured so we make sure we dont take any steps backward, Camillo said. Were already meeting with Planning and Zoning and health and police and fire and emergency operations to go over how were going to do this, how we can help businesses and what are our options available to help them in a way that will be safe.

Camillo said they are also looking ahead to permanent steps to help the business district.

This is a tragic time, but we are working hard to get us through this as safely possible and come out the other side more effective and more efficient and in some cases a more enhanced community, he said.

Any steps would be taken with a lot of thought and an ability to monitor how things are going, he said, And as far as the towns beaches, Camillo said he would hate to see them closed all summer.

In the meantime, Greenwich Hospital is still hoping to see a further decline in the numbers of patients, Kelly said. She said that as of Monday, 451 coronavirus patients from across the region have been discharged from the hospital.

Overall, Greenwich Hospital has done 5,752 tests at its outpatient testing site, with 1,786 cases of coronavirus diagnosed. Those tests include people from all over the region.

In town, 729 Greenwich residents have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, an increase of only 10 from Friday. The state has said that 42 Greenwich residents have died after being diagnosed with the virus as of Sunday. That number has held steady since last Thursday.

Greenwich Hospital canceled elective procedures in March. They will return only after there is a very solid plan in place to promote social distancing there, Kelly said. Check-in and waiting areas will be changed, and masks will be required for everyone, she said.

Kelly said she could not stress enough the importance of continuing to wear masks and practice social distancing.

This is hopeful news, but it will be a changed environment, she said. I say that because I am worried that people think we can just go back to the way it was. That is not in our near future.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
Wisconsin is closer than ever to beginning a multi-phase economic reopening after it met five of six criteria established by Gov. Tony Evers to loosen current restrictions on businesses.

Evers has already started to whittle away at some of the restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

One encouraging sign: The Department of Health Services reported Tuesday that just 3.9% of people tested for COVID-19 had positive test results, one of the key criteria for the state to begin phase one of a multi-phased re-opening. The state reported 193 new cases on Tuesday for a total of 10,611 cases and 418 deaths.

If the state meets all six criteria Evers established for a re-opening in his Badger Bounce Back plan, phase one would allow gatherings of up to 10 people and restaurants to reopen under certain conditions, including limiting the number of patrons and requiring them to sit far from one another. Even though K-12 schools would technically be allowed to re-open, schools are expected to be closed the remainder of the school year.

Tuesdays report of 3.9% positive tests comes as the state has continued to expand testing capabilities and is a significant decrease from the 12.7% of daily tests reported positive on May 1.

DHS on Tuesday reported the state has met four other criteria to begin phase one:

A downward trajectory of COVID-like cases being reported at emergency rooms over a 14-day period.

95% of hospitals affirm that they can treat all patients without crisis standards of care.

95% of all hospitals affirm that they have arranged for testing for all symptomatic clinical staff treating patients at the hospital per CDC guidelines.

A downward trend of COVID-19 cases among health care workers calculated weekly.

The only criteria the state has not yet met is a downward trajectory of influenza-like illnesses being reported at emergency rooms over the last two weeks.

Despite the fact Wisconsin hasnt met all of the criteria, Evers has already relaxed some restrictions, allowing any business to re-open if it can safely offer curbside drop-off services. On Monday, he further loosened restrictions by allowing Wisconsin retailers that arent considered essential businesses to open their doors and allow up to five customers inside at a time.

But even though Wisconsin may be on the precipice of officially launching the first phase of the Bounce Back plan, DHS deputy secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk warned that health officials may need to be less lenient if new community outbreaks emerge.

Specifically, she said the department may work with local health officials to call on residents to stay home to prevent further transmission but stopped short of saying the department would reinstate restrictions that have been rolled back.

We are going to continue to monitor the incidence of COVID from now until we have a vaccine, she said.

Wisconsins current stay-at-home order is set to expire May 26, and its not yet clear what happens with the order if the state meets all six criteria before then.

Phase two of the re-opening plan would allow bars and nonessential businesses to reopen with certain restrictions, post-secondary schools to consider reopening and groups of up to 50 people to gather.

Phase three would eliminate the social distancing requirement and bans on mass gatherings and would allow businesses, schools and daycare facilities to return to normal operations.

The current requirements imposed by Evers stay-at-home order could be struck down any day by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a case brought by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Republicans and many business owners have increasingly pressured Evers to loosen restrictions in order to prevent further economic devastation.
Hyundai Motor President Han Sung-kwon, second from left, poses with Air Liquide Korea president Guillaume Cottet, left, Incheon International Airport Corp. President Koo Bon-hwan, second from right, and HyNet CEO Yoo Jong-soo, after signing an agreement to build charging facilities for hydrogen buses at Incheon International Airport at the airport's headquarters in Incheon, Monday. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Kim Yoo-chul



Hyundai Motor said Tuesday it will install a charging station to fuel hydrogen buses at Incheon International Airport.



The installation has been set for completion in March 2021. Hyundai will support the construction cost of the hydrogen refueling station while providing buses as well as their maintenance and service. Air Liquide will provide two high-capacity hydrogen chargers and supply hydrogen gas.



The South Korean automotive group will team up with French firm Air Liquide, the world's top supplier of industrial gases, for the project, the statement said. When President Moon Jae-in made a state visit to France, on the sidelines of his meetings with state leaders in Europe, Moon and senior presidential aides visited a hydrogen gas charging station in downtown Paris with Air Liquide's CEO highlighting the benefits of the energy technology.



Tuesday's announcement came after Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC), the operator of the country's gateway airport, said it plans to "gradually replace" old-fashioned shuttle buses powered by legacy combustion engines with hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses over the next five years.



Hyundai Motor is one of the global leaders in expanding the lineup of fuel-cell vehicles given its earlier experience in the mass-production of the fuel-cell SUV Nexo. Since the signing of the Paris Agreement, demand is growing for the storage and utilization of hydrogen-based energy.



Hyundai Motor is on track to explore future business opportunities in the energy sector based on its ability to mass-produce fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and EVs. But more precisely, the scope of its business includes hydrogen-based electrolyzers, hydrogen power plants and refueling stations.



Hyundai Motor is aiming to beef up the current capacity of 3,000 cars per year to 11,000 by 2020, 130,000 by 2025, and 500,000 by 2030 with 700,000 fuel cell systems in the same year and it plans to keep prices competitive by making a variety of body types through system miniaturization.



Market analysts and investors cautiously expect Hyundai Motor to get the results it wants after 2030 when cost competitiveness is attained as that year is forecasted to be the time when FCEVs will reach effective commercialization thanks to an increase in total production volume, cost reduction through economies of scale and cost improvements in the supply chain.


SAN DIEGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Invivoscribe is pleased to announce that their LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay was submitted to regulatory authorities in China in April in support of the Astellas New Drug Application (NDA) submission of XOSPATA (gilteritinib) for treatment of adult patients who have relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FLT3 mutation. Invivoscribe also announced expansion of its wholly-owned company, Invivoscribe Diagnostic Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., adding laboratory testing services to support clinical trials and pharmaceutical partners.

Invivoscribe developed the LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay in partnership with Astellas as the companion diagnostic supporting use of gilteritinib to treat adult patients with relapsed/ refractory FLT3-mutated AML.

"This is an announcement of two significant milestones: Submission of our LeukoStrat CDx Assay to the NMPA, and the expansion of our laboratory network into China. The submission itself is a milestone that builds on the LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay as the international gold standard signal ratio assay for comprehensive assessment of activating mutations in the FLT3 gene; one of the most important biomarkers in AML", said Jeffrey Miller, Invivoscribe's CSO and CEO. "Further, the expansion of our company to include a laboratory was done to provide comprehensive test support for our partners conducting trials in China. Testing will include simultaneous assessment of minimal residual disease by both flow cytometry and next-generation sequencing technologies conducted on exactly the same subject specimen. These paired analyses have been requested by regulatory authorities and partners, but have been missing in clinical studies. Invivoscribe's LabPMM laboratories will bring this long-desired capability to fruition in our laboratories in China, Japan, Europe, and the US."

The LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay is the only internationally standardized signal ratio assay that identifies both ITD and TKD mutations of the FLT3 biomarker. It has been approved as a companion diagnostic by regulatory authorities in the US, Australia, and Japan, and is available as a CE-marked kit in Europe and Switzerland. The LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay served as the companion diagnostic in the ADMIRAL, RATIFY and QuANTUM-R clinical trials, which supported approvals of gilteritinib (XOSPATA), midostaurin (RYDAPT) and quizartinib (VANFLYTA). The assay is available both as a service and as a kit. LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 Mutation Assay test services are available from LabPMM locations in Japan, Germany, and the United States.

About Invivoscribe

Invivoscribe has focused on Improving Lives with Precision Diagnostics for more than twenty-five years, advancing the field of precision medicine by developing and selling standardized reagents, tests, and bioinformatics tools to more than 700 customers in 160 countries. Invivoscribe also has a significant impact on global health working with pharmaceutical companies to accelerate approvals of new drugs and treatments by supporting international clinical trials, developing, commercializing companion diagnostics, and providing expertise in both regulatory and laboratory services. With its proven ability to provide global access to distributable reagents, kits, and controls, as well as clinical trial services through our international clinical lab subsidiaries (LabPMM), Invivoscribe has demonstrated it is an ideal partner. For additional information please contact Invivoscribe at: [email protected] or visit: www.invivoscribe.com.

SOURCE Invivoscribe, Inc.

Related Links

www.invivoscribe.com


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Venissieux, 12 May 2020



Due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, restrictions on movement and other government measures, pursuant to Article 4 of Order 2020-321 of 25 March 2020 the Board of Directors has decided to hold the General Meeting scheduled for 2 June 2020 behind closed doors (in camera). This means that shareholders and other persons entitled to attend will not be present, whether in person or via conference call or videoconference.

The notice for the General Meeting, including the agenda, draft resolutions, and the main procedures for participating and voting at the meeting, was published on 27 April 2020 in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires (French BALO) no. 51 (announcement 2001130).

The meeting invitation and all preparatory documents for the meeting will be made available (in French only) on the Company's website by the statutory and regulatory deadlines: https://www.boostheat-group.com.

Given that shareholders will not be able to attend the meeting in person, they are invited to cast their vote by post or grant proxy to the Chairman[1]. These voting procedures are set out in the appendix below. Further details will be provided in the invitation, which cancel and supersede those set out in the aforementioned notice of meeting.

* * *

Shareholders wishing to ask any questions relating to the General Meeting scheduled for 2 June 2020 are invited to write to investisseurs@boostheat.com.

Shareholders are encouraged to regularly check the General Meeting section of the Company's website https://www.boostheat-group.com.

APPENDIX

Terms of participation in the 2 June 2020 General Meeting

The General Meeting comprises all the shareholders, regardless of the number of shares they hold.

Pursuant to Article R. 225-85 of the French Commercial Code, shareholders are hereby informed that participating in the meeting is conditional on the shares being registered in their name, or in the name of the intermediary registered on their behalf, on the second business day prior to the meeting, i.e. by 29 May 2020 at midnight, Paris time.

The registration or recording of the securities in the bearer share accounts held by the authorized intermediary must be confirmed by a shareholding certificate issued by the intermediary and attached to the postal voting form or proxy form.

Voting procedure

Given that shareholders will not be able to attend the meeting in person, they may vote by post, or grant proxy to the Chairman or a designated individual, using the single postal voting form supplied for this purpose. If a shareholder wishes to grant proxy to a specific individual, they should contact the Company. Please note that neither proxies nor shareholders may physically attend the meeting and, as such, must submit their votes by post.

In order to be taken into account, the Company must receive the duly completed and signed postal voting or proxy voting forms (by post or email), together with the shareholding certificate in the case of bearer shareholders, by post or by email at the following address: investisseurs@boostheat.com, or by delivery to the BNP Paribas Securities Services General Meeting department (Service assemblees generales), no later than three (3) days prior to the General Meeting, i.e. no later than 30 May 2020 at midnight, Paris time.

Pursuant to Article 6 of Decree 2020-418 of 10 April 2020, for a proxy granted to a designated individual by a shareholder to be deemed valid:

the Company must receive the proxy forms no later than four days prior to the date of the General Meeting, i.e. no later than 29 May 2020;

proxies must send the voting instructions they have received to the Company no later than four days prior to the date of the General Meeting, i.e. no later than 29 May 2020.

In accordance with Article 7 of Decree 2020-418 of 10 April 2020, if a shareholder has already cast a postal vote, sent a proxy form or requested an admission card or shareholding certificate, they may choose another means of participating in the meeting, provided that their instructions in this regard are received by the deadlines applicable to each manner of participation.

There will be no electronic voting or attendance mechanisms in place for this meeting and, as such, no website as defined in Article R. 225-61 of the French Commercial Code will be created for this purpose.

New procedure for abstentions

French law 2019-744 of 19 July 2019 on the simplification, clarification and updating of corporate law amended the rules for the calculation of votes cast at shareholders' general meetings. Abstentions were previously counted as votes against a resolution, but are now excluded from the votes cast and, as such, are no longer taken into account in the calculation of the majority required for the passing of resolutions.

Written questions

In accordance with Article R. 225-84 of the French Commercial Code, every shareholder has the right to submit written questions to the Board of Directors, which will reply to those questions during the meeting.

Questions must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to the Company head office or, preferably, by email to investisseurs@boostheat.com.

A certificate of account registration must also be supplied.

Any questions, together with this certificate, must be sent no later than four business days prior to the date of the General Meeting (i.e. by 26 May 2020).

Shareholders' right to information

In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, all documents that must be provided at General Meetings will be made available to shareholders by the statutory deadlines at the head office or on the Company's website: https://www.boostheat-group.com.

We encourage you to regularly check the General Meeting section of the Company's website for further information.

Read more about BOOSTHEAT at

www.boostheat-group.com

ABOUT BOOSTHEAT

Founded in 2011, BOOSTHEAT designs, develops, produces and markets heating solutions that are technologically advanced, energy-efficient and sustainable. BOOSTHEAT's new-generation boilers feature a patented thermal compressor, enabling them to achieve efficiency of up to 200% and reducing energy consumption by up to half. They are more environmentally friendly and economical, giving all users the opportunity to achieve an immediate and significant reduction in their environmental impact.

The Company's mission is to accelerate energy transition through its products by making them affordable to the widest possible spectrum of the population. BOOSTHEAT has its head office and manufacturing plant in Venissieux, near Lyon (historically an HVAC* industrial zone). The Company holds the Innovative Company (BpiFrance) and French Fab labels. BOOSTHEAT is listed on Euronext Paris, Compartment C (ISIN: FR0011814938).

*Heating, ventilation and air conditioning





I CONTACTS



ACTUS finance & communication - Anne-Pauline Petureaux

Investor Relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 72 / boostheat@actus.fr

ACTUS finance & communication - Serena Boni

Press Relations

Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 18 04 92 / sboni@actus.fr

BOOSTHEAT - Sabrina Ferre

Tel.: +33 (0)9 82 99 16 13 / sabrina.ferre@boostheat.com

[1]Should a shareholder wish to appoint a specific individual as their proxy, they must contact the Company. Please note that proxies, like shareholders, shall not attend the meeting in person.

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A ll businesses face safety inspections before reopening under new Government plans to get Britons back to work.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma unveiled the measures on Monday after discussions with around 250 firms, trade bodies and unions representing eight different sectors.

The companies are from industries that can reopen in theory, like building sites, factories and food delivery businesses.

But any firm that wants to reopen will undergo an inspection from health and safety officials to check if workspaces have been redesigned to help social distancing, start times have been staggered, and protections for vulnerable staff have been put in place.

Businesses will also face random spot checks from officials, Boris Johnson confirmed during Monday's coronavirus press briefing.

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Alok Sharma / PA

The Health and Safety Executive will receive an extra 14 million from the Government to run the extra checks.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: This guidance provides a framework to get the UK back to work in a way that is safe for everyone.

These are practical steps to enable employers to identify risks that Covid-19 creates and to take pragmatic measures to mitigate them.

And as we are able to reopen new sectors of the economy, we will continue our collaborative approach working with a wide range of stakeholders, to provide guidance for additional workplaces.

A Mr Kipling factory worker in Barnsley / PA

Craig Beaumont, head of external affairs UK at the Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the measures, hailing them as practical, workable and proportionate for small businesses.

But Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, warned that protecting staff and customers would be "a challenge" for many businesses.

He said: Ultimately, the decision lies with a companys directors, and they need to feel comfortable they can operate safely.

Decisions on reopening will not be taken lightly.

"Business leaders want to stand on their own two feet, but most cant operate at anything like normal capacity at the moment, and making adjustments to protect staff and customers will be a big challenge for many workplaces.

A food delivery worker / AFP via Getty Images

Some union leaders have said that businesses could ask employees back to work in unsafe conditions.

But the Government said that health and safety officials would find any exploitative businesses and make them take a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks.

The Prime Minister told Monday's press briefing that people should discuss returning to their workplace with their employers, and that parents should not go back if they do not have childcare.

He stressed that workers should report their company if they think working conditions are unsafe.

Mr Johnson said: Everyone must obey social distancing and were going to have a lot more inspections by the Health and Safety Executive, well have a random spot inspections to check that companies are doing the right thing.

If people find themselves in conditions that they think are unsafe, then they should immediately report it and we will take action, and that goes for all work."
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday



dismissed a public interest litigation seeking door to door testing to screen all residents in the city for COVID-19.

A bench of Chief justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AA Sayed dismissed the plea holding that there weren't any existing WHO guidelines or advisories from the Indian Council for Medical Research that mandated such door to door screening tests.

The plea filed by activist Anil Galgali had sought that owing to the rising number of COVID cases in Mumbai, the authorities follow the model of doorstep screenings which was implemented in Bhilwara in Rajasthan to successfully check the spread of the pandemic.

The HC said the plea did not specify if there existed any similarities between Mumbai and Bhilwara and why or how the same technique could work for both cities.

"The plea does not even refer to any feature in Bhilwara that is identical or has close resemblance with Mumbai. Having regard to the testing times arising out of the pandemic, resources may be scarce for such door to door testing," the bench said.

"Even otherwise, no guidelines and/or advisory of the World Health Organisation or the Indian Council of Medical Research have been brought to our notice, which requires the official respondents to carry out door to door testing of the residents," it said while dismissing the plea.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Richard Galanti, Costcos chief financial officer, said that all workers and customers, known as members, must wear face coverings and that the company had expanded store hours to help reduce crowds.

We continue to make sure the number of members is at safe levels and that they are properly distanced, he said. The concerns at Costco were reported earlier by BuzzFeed.

The workers speaking out say they are pressing for many of the measures they have pushed for since the pandemic began: more generous and accessible sick leave policies, more protective equipment and better hazard pay.

Ms. Breakell, the Starbucks worker in Connecticut, said workers had been trained to handle mobile ordering procedures that the store had adopted for its reopening, which she acknowledged would be safer than having customers order and pay inside. But she said it was difficult for workers to keep a distance from one another and expressed concern that the ordering policy might not last, citing conversations with supervisors.

A Starbucks spokeswoman said the company was taking several steps to ensure that only healthy employees went to work, such as temperature checks and paid leave for those who may be ill. (Others can apply for unpaid leave.) Workers are required  and customers are asked  to wear facial coverings, she said, and the company is trying to adjust schedules with social distancing in mind.

The company has no plans to allow customers to linger in stores, according to the spokeswoman, who forwarded a number of internal messages from employees expressing gratitude and excitement that their stores were reopening.

The frustrations among workers at various companies have motivated some to begin coordinating their protests.
The cast of Smash will virtually reunite on May 20 for a one-night only streaming of Bombshell in Concert.

The event will feature the sold out 2015 live performance of the special that took place on Broadway at Minskoff Theator in New York City.

The cast of the series including Debra Messing, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty will reunite virtually during intermission of the streaming event.

Latest: The cast of Smash will reunite virtually for Bombshell in Concert, a one-night-only streaming event

The special will benefit The Actors Fund, which is helping artist in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will stream on Wednesday, May 20 at 8 pm EST on People.com, PeopleTV and People social platforms - Facebook and Twitter.

Renee Zellweger will introduce the special with Julie Klausner serving as the host of the live intermission reunion segment.

Cast members including Katharine, Debra, Megan, Christian Borle, Jaime Cepero, Leslie Odom Jr, Will Chase, Brian d'Arcy James, Ann Harada, Jack Davenport, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor.

So cool: Renee Zellweger will introduce the special with Julie Klausner serving as the host of the live intermission reunion segment; Renee pictured February 27, 2020 at the Women's Cancer Research Fund's An Unforgettable Evening in Beverly Hills

The series Smash was a scripted series about the fictional Broadway show called Bombshell, which was about the life of Marilyn Monroe.

The show was based on an original idea by Steven Spielberg, who also served as executive producer on the series.

Theresa Rebeck created the show Smash, which began in 2012 and concluded in 2013 for a two-season run.

Hit show: The series Smash was a scripted show about the fictional Broadway show called Bombshell, which was about the life of Marilyn Monroe; Katharine and Megan as Marilyn on the show

Bombshell in Concert, the livestream, is produced by Bob Greenblatt and Neil Meron.

Bob said in a statement to the outlet: 'I speak for Neil Meron and our wonderful creative team of Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and Joshua Bergasse, and we are thrilled to help raise more money for the Actor's Fund and all their good work during this difficult time. Smash and Bombshell in Concert were thrilling experiences for us, and we are overjoyed that fans everywhere will finally get to see these amazing performances. We're grateful to everyone at The Actor's Fund and People for their love of the performing arts.'

The Actors Fund has already provided $10.1 million in emergency financial assistance to over 8,5000 people, according to People.
An Indian businessman, who owns a well-known biryani restaurant here, was on Monday sentenced to six years of jail and six strokes of the cane, nearly five years after conspiring to have the face of a friend-turned-foe slashed after he started selling the same delicacies next door, according to media reports.

Zackeer Abbass Khan, 49, who owns the Zam Zam restaurant was found guilty after a long-running trial of conspiring with several others to have Victory restaurant supervisor Liakath Ali Mohamed Ibrahim slashed and scarred in 2015 for selling the same delicacies next door, Channel News Asia reported.

Before sentencing Zackeer, District Judge Mathew Joseph said the case was a reminder that one should not allow ones anger to cloud ones judgment as the resulting consequences can be severe. The judge also said there was no place in our society for gratuitous violence, The Straits Times reported.

While Zackeer has been jailed, he intends to appeal, his lawyer said.

Zackeer had instructed business associate and long-time friend Anwer Ambiya Kadir Maideen, 50, to attack on Liakath for selling the same delicacies next door.

Anwer, also an Indian-origin, the middleman in the scheme, was given five-and-a-half years jail, Channel News Asia reported.

He had hired secret society (gang) member Joshua Navindran Surainthiran, an Indian-origin, to attack Liakath on the face with a knife on August 26, 2015, for 1,700 Singapore dollars, the report said.

Joshua was jailed for six-and-a-half years and six strokes of the cane for the slashing and other offences in November 2016.

Both Zackeer and Anwer were found guilty of a charge of conspiring to cause grievous hurt to Liakath, who was left with a permanent scar, the report said.

Zackeer was convicted of another charge of criminal intimidation for threatening the victim, saying: I see how you will work here and within one week I will either hit or kill you. Anwer pleaded guilty on Monday to one additional charge of being a member of a secret society, with two other similar charges taken into consideration.

He had joined the gang in 1990 and was a fighter there. Judge Joseph then sentenced him to a total of 5 years jail, The Straits Times reported.

The court heard that after the business failed, Mr Liakath joined Victory Restaurant in 2014 and created problems for Zam Zam by pulling customers away and reporting its staff to the authorities.

After the business failed, Zackeer blamed the victim for being cheated of 80,000 Singapore dollars and tensions increased after the Liakath joined the rival Victory restaurant.

Allegations were tossed back and forth of customers being pulled away, and things came to a head on August 22, 2015, when the police went to both restaurants in North Bridge Road to advise them to stop touting.

Four days later, Joshua slashed Liakath on the face.

For his involvement, he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years jail and six strokes of the cane in 2016, after pleading guilty to several charges.

On Monday, the court granted Anwer his request to defer the sentence as he needed to arrange for someone to take over his restaurant business, which has been suffering because of Covid-19 pandemic.

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New Delhi: Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), a non-profit organization representing the cause of millions of farmers and farm workers of commercial crops across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat on Monday appealed to the central government to save their livelihoods in the present pandemic as the demand for the crop has weakened due to declining volumes of cigarettes and other tobacco products as a result of prolonged lockdowns.

The body has demanded immediate resumption of auction for nearly 130 million kg of flue cured tobacco worth Rs 1,700 crore under prolonged storage and estimated loss of Rs 200 crore to farmers due to deterioration in quality.

More than 330 million kg worth Rs 2,700 crore of tobacco lying in the open sky in Gujarat as famers fail to sell the produce.

It has appealed to the government to immediately sanction a compensation amount of Rs 25,000 to each registered tobacco grower for their survival and re-schedulement of crop loan.

The body has cautioned that the failure to revive demand results in significant price drop in auctions and loss of farmer income, with devastating impact on livelihoods of small and marginal farmers in the drought prone and degraded tracts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka majorly depending on income from tobacco crop.

The Gujarat famers, whose tobacco produce is used in the making of bidi's and other tobacco products are also struggling for their livelihoods.

More than 330 million kgs of tobacco worth Rs 2700 crore is lying in the open fields as the traders are not ready to pick-up the produce because government has banned the sale of tobacco products. The rains are expected in coming days and if the government will not start the sale of tobacco products both traders and farmers will go bankrupt. In Gujarat, tobacco is produced in several districts such as Anand, Kheda, Vadodara, Panchmahal, Banaskantha, and Sabarkantha, FAIFA said.

The farmers have also appealed for reducing taxation on cigarettes to pre-GST levels so that demand can be restored for the domestic legal cigarette industry which is already reeling under penal taxation on account of continuous increases in excise duties and compensation cess.

Adding to the existing woes of tobacco farmers, the government has also removed tobacco export incentives, making India a less competitor in the global market, whereas other countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi are encouraging the tobacco farmers by providing incentives and subsidies.

Javare Gowda, President, Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), said, "We request the government to immediately start the auctions in all the Tobacco Auction platforms. The Government should also direct the Tobacco Board and other concerned officials to coordinate with FCV Tobacco Manufacturers, exporters and traders to facilitate reasonable prices (Pre-Covid market prices) for FCV tobacco produce at the auctions in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka."

"As FCV tobacco farmers' are undergoing severe financial crisis, we request the Government of India to immediately sanction a compensation amount of Rs 25,000 each to all registered FCV tobacco growers for their very survival."

"Failure to bail out the current duress for tobacco farmers will force many of them into debt trap which will virtually kill the ecosystem comprising of marginal farmers, workers, and people employed in handling and transportation activities while pushing the farmers to extreme measures", he further added.


By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 11, 2020 | 04:36 PM | PADUCAH





On Sunday night, officers with the Paducah Police Department were called to a home where a man said he had been stabbed by 29-year-old Robert Donegan.







On Monday, Donegan was located and interviewed by detectives. Officers say that Donegan confirmed some of the details of the incident provided by the victim, but claims he doesn't know how the victim was stabbed.







Dunegan was lodged in the McCracken County jail. He is facing second-degree assault charges.



The 44-year-old victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of a stab wound to his leg.

A Paducah man is facing an assault charge after an investigation into a stabbing.
Breast and cervical smear screening programmes must resume at the point where they were paused due to Covid-19, public health expert, Dr Gabriel Scally, has urged.

Dr Scally said the correct way would be to start the programmes where they left off so that women who had been due to be screened over the last couple of months are not missed.

The author of the report into the CervicalCheck controversy said the decision to pause the screening was correct but that services must be restarted as soon as possible.

He said programmes that involve intimate examinations could not continue during the public health emergency because of the need for social distancing.

Dr Scally was particularly concerned about women needing regular smears and mammograms because of concerns about potential disease. They had to be a "first priority" when services resumed, he stressed.

However, he did not think it would be easy to clear the backlog that had built up because the services would have to double the numbers and that was not possible.

He expected there would be a delay of months for cervical smears and, while that was not ideal, because the screening test was scheduled every three years it did not present an enormous difficulty.

I am much more concerned about women who are developing symptoms at the present time who are going to need to be seen and they should be encouraged to come in as soon as possible when those services reopen.

The Irish Cancer Society urged the HSE to publish a plan outlining how all available capacity in the public and private sector would be used to deal with the backlog in an efficient way.

The decision to pause screening service was made in line with public health advice but as work begins to restart our health system we must now see a detailed roadmap for the safe return of screening programmes, it said.

The ICS said the programmes were initially paused to reduce the number of healthy people attending medical environments at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is now essential that screening is safely returned to full capacity as soon as possible and the backlog is dealt with promptly and safely, it said.

The Marie Keating Foundation said it wanted clarity on when the services could resume safely, the available capacity, and what prioritisation would be given to those who may have had screening or follow-up testing delayed.

The two cancer charities urged anyone with cancer symptoms or concerns to see their GP without delay.

Update: HSE says plans plans are being made to restart screening programmes

Plans are being made to restart national screening programmes that were "paused" in March to protect patients and staff, according to the HSE.

It says staff were temporarily redeloyed to symptomatic services where possible, with some staff moved to support the response to Covid-19.

The national screening service is making plans for recommencing the four programmes - BreastCheck, BowelScreen, CervicalCheck and Diabetic RetinaScreen.

However, the restarting of screening will be based on HSE and Department of Health guidance on Covid-19 as measures to prevent Covid-19 are amended by the Government.

The HSE says BreastCheck's static units continue to operate daily clinics for the large number of women of every age who are presenting at hospital with symptoms of breast cancer.

BreastCheck is helping hospitals work through those waiting lists of women with symptoms who have not yet been seen due to the public health emergency.

"We are prioritising these urgent/high-risk cases," says the HSE.

BowelScreen is dentifying patients referred for surgery and/or surgical opinion. Each patient is being contacted to offer support and a programme contact number.

CervicalCheck has paused sending invitations and reminder letters for cervical screening.

"The pause is for community testing (GPs and clinics) and not for patients already referred to or in the process of being managed within the colposcopy system," the HSE says.

"These patients will continue to be cared for as hospital resources allows. Colposcopy units are prioritising their work in line with clinical need and staffing availability."

The HSE is urging people who are inbetween screening appointments, or waiting reschedled appointments to be aware of and act on any symptoms associated with the conditions being screened for.

Anyone with concerns should contact their GP immediately.
Update: Authorities on Wednesday said Madyson had found safe.

Earlier: Authorities are asking for the publics help in finding a Montgomery teen missing since Monday.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Tuesday issued an emergency alert for 16-year-old Madyson Jones. She was last seen about 3 p.m. Monday. She could be driving a black 2011 Chevrolet Equinox with Alabama license plate 3BC100.

Madyson is a white female with brown eyes and brown hair. She is 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 230 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery police at 334- 625-2651 or call 911.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the crossbench should have better things to worry about as the Greens push to block police chief Mick Fuller's $87,000 pay rise.

Greens MLC David Shoebridge said his party would move a motion to reverse the pay rise in the upper house, as MPs return for a one-day sitting of Parliament on Tuesday to debate the government's COVID-19 emergency measures bill.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, right, defended Commissioner Fuller's pay rise on Tuesday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The motion has a good chance of being successful, with Labor and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers agreeing to support it.

But with Tuesday's sitting focused on the government's bill, it is unlikely the motion will be debated until the next sitting period, which has not yet been scheduled but is expected to be in June.
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automaker's sole US vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him. The move comes as states and cities around the United States experiment with ways to safely reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans out of work.

Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California for Texas or Nevada over his factory's closure. His move has highlighted the ...
House Democrats unveiled a massive coronavirus stimulus package Tuesday offering another round of direct payments to millions of Americans.

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or the ''HEROES Act," includes more than $3 trillion in aid for local and state government, hazard pay for health care workers, in addition to direct payments.

People across our nation are hurting, and Congress must take extraordinary, immediate action to provide them with relief, said Congressman Richard E. Neal. Families are feeling the pain of a terrible one-two punch  a national public health emergency coupled with a historic economic downturn. The gravity of our new reality demands substantial solutions, and thats what Ways and Means Democrats offer in this latest response package.

If passed, the legislation will offer $1,200 for each eligible American, with similar caps on eligibility as the first stimulus payment.

Unlike the first round of stimulus checks - which approximately 130 million Americans have already received - it would increase the household eligibility amount.

Like the previous direct payment, individuals who make up to $75,000 would receive $1,200. The income cap is expanded to $112,500 for those who file as the head of household.

Married couples who file jointly and earn up to $150,000 would receive $2,400.

The rate allotted per dependent was increased to $1,200 for up to three children.

As Neal told The Republican and MassLive in an editorial board meeting last week, the new bill offers a more robust dependent child benefit than the CARES Act, which included $500 payments for every child younger than 17.

The HEROES Act seeks to ensure college students, non-child dependents, and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) filers are eligible for $1,200 direct payments.

If the House legislation were signed into law, a married couple making up to $150,000 with two children would receive $4,800.

A single parent making up to $112,500 with one child would receive $2,400.

A married couple making up to $150,000 with three children would receive $6,000.

Approximately 130 million individuals have already received payments totaling more than $200 billion in direct payments from the CARES Act.

The IRS set a deadline of Wednesday at noon for Americans to submit their banking information through the Get My Payment tool.

Were working hard to get more payments quickly to taxpayers, said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. We want people to visit Get My Payment before the noon Wednesday deadline so they can provide their direct deposit information. Time is running out for a chance to get these payments several weeks earlier through direct deposit.

After the deadline passes, the IRS will begin the process of sending paper checks, expected to arrive by mail to millions of Americans in late May and June.

The proposed legislation is the latest federal action to offset the economic impact of coronavirus shutdowns, which impacted more than 80% of the nation at the peak.

Nearly $1 trillion of funds would be made available to local and state governments to distribute to businesses as a means to prevent layoffs.

For unemployed workers, it would continue the $600-per-week boost through January 31, 2021. The federal benefit currently extends through the end of July. The latest jobs report shows 14.7% of Americans are out of work - a significantly higher percentage than during the 2008-2009 Great Recession and the highest number since the federal government began recording unemployment in the 1940s. The rate remains lower than during the Great Depression, when one in every four Americans were out of work.

A new offering proposed in the HEROES Act is additional supports for essential workers. The bill would allot $200 billion in funding to support child care - and adult day care for families in need - throughout the heath care crisis.

For families receiving nutritional benefits, SNAP benefits would increase by 15%.

It comes less than two months after the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which cost a historic $2.2 trillion and was hammered out by Republican and Democratic leaders. The bill was the third economic boost amid the crisis.

Regarding the latest bills size, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there is monumental" need for relief across the nation.

We have a big need. Its monumental. And therefore, its a great opportunity to say: lets work together to get this done. Theres a way to open the economy based on science, testing, testing, testing and lets get on with it. Thats what were here to do, Pelosi said Monday evening on MSNBC.

A House vote is expected on the bill as soon as Friday.

Ahead of the bills release on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was vocal in his opposition and said it has no chance of passing in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The package differs significantly from one introduced Friday by Democrats in the Senate, including Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

The Senate bill, titled the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, called for monthly checks to millions of 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.

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 was $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.

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New Delhi, May 12 : Digital learning company Pearson India on Tuesday introduced an interactive skill called MyPedia on Amazon Alexa for students and learners of all age groups to learn English.

The Pearson MyPedia skill offers a collection of engaging stories coupled with fun facts, trivia, quizzes and rewards.

"We have worked with Amazon Alexa team to build Pearson MyPedia skill that will help learners improve their English language abilities through storytelling. The skill can supplement reading and writing of the English language in a new, e?ective and fun way," Ramesh Subbarao, Vice President Portfolio, South Asia, Pearson, said in a statement.

The interactive format of the skill can help improve English vocabulary, listening, speaking, comprehension, and storytelling. To get started say "Alexa, open MyPedia", or simply "Alexa, I want to learn English".

It is designed to enhance the interest of students in the English language. The stories used in the skill can inspire them to be authors and be imaginative while writing in English.

The new skill can be accessed on all Amazon Echo smart speakers, Echo Show smart displays, as well as the Alexa app for smartphones.
A ticket office worker at London's Victoria Station has died with coronavirus after being spat at while on duty.

Belly Mujinga, 47, was on the station concourse in March when a member of the public claiming to have Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said.

Within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus.

Ms Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was admitted to Barnet Hospital.

She was soon put on a ventilator but died on April 5, her trade union, the TSSA, said.

Her husband Lusamba, 60, and their daughter Ingrid, 11, never got to say goodbye, according to the Mirror.

Belly Mujinga, 47, died on April 4 / PA

Ten people attended her funeral.

My daughter Ingrid just does not understand what has happened, how we can never be together again Mr Mujinga, a former warehouse worker told the newspaper.

Its terrible to lose the person you love so quickly. We are sure she got the virus from the man who spat on her, and it could have been so easily avoided.

She was spat on while on duty at Victoria Station / PA

British Transport Police said it has now launched an investigation into the incident.

It has not been confirmed that the spitting incident is directly linked to Ms Mujinga contracting the virus.

However, TSSA has reported the incident to the Railways Inspectorate, the safety arm of the Office for Road and Rail (ORR), for investigation and is taking legal advice on the situation.

The union's general secretary Manuel Cortes said: "We are shocked and devastated at Belly's death. She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus.

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"The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, recently announced that 60,000 would be paid to the survivors of health and care workers who die as a result of the pandemic.

"Our view is that this compensation should be extended to the families of all frontline workers who perish trying to keep our country and vital services going.

"Sadly, Belly's is just one of many family tragedies where children have had their parents taken away from them.

Belly Mujinga, 47, died of coronavirus after being admitted to Barnet Hospital / PA

"However, there are serious questions about her death; it wasn't inevitable.

"As a vulnerable person in the 'at risk' category, and her condition known to her employer, there are questions about why she wasn't stood down from frontline duties early on in this pandemic.

"Rather than talking about the easing the lockdown, the government must first ensure that the right precautions and protections have been taken so that more lives are not lost.

"Anyone who is vulnerable should remain at home and home working should be the default wherever possible.

Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images

"Our rail industry needs to have a very serious look at what tasks are deemed 'essential' and must put protections in place for all our members and our passengers."

Angie Doll, Managing Director, Southern Railway and Gatwick Express: We are devastated that our dedicated colleague Belly has passed away and our deepest sympathies are with her family with whom we have been in touch through this very difficult time.

Tragically, many people across the country have now been directly affected by Covid-19, including those in the rail industry who are doing the vital job of ensuring train services can continue.

The safety of our customers and staff, who are key workers themselves, continues to be front of mind at all times and we follow the latest Government advice. We urge people only to travel if it is absolutely essential.

A BTP spokesman said: British Transport Police have now launched an investigation into a report of two members of rail staff being spat at while working at London Victoria station on 22nd March.

"One of the victims, a 47-year-old woman, very sadly died in hospital on April 5th.

Enquiries are ongoing, they added.

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 359 of 11/05/20.
SIOUX CITY -- Northwest Iowa Congressman Steve King said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has agreed to a process by which the nine-term incumbent can get "exoneration" and back on committees that were stripped in January 2019 after King's controversial published remarks about white supremacy.

On April 20, Kevin McCarthy and I reached an agreement that he would advocate to the (Republican) Steering Committee to put all of my committees back, all of my seniority," King said at a forum Monday night.

When Congress comes back into session, when the steering committee can (inaudible) together, I have Kevin McCarthys word that that will be my time for exoneration.

King made the remarks during a Monday evening candidate debate in Spencer, Iowa, as moderated by the Spencer Daily Reporter. That came during his final wrap-up of the 90-minute Iowa 4th Congressional District debate, which comes ahead of an important June 2 primary election involving King and four Republican challengers.

Those four, Randy Feenstra, Steve Reeder, Bret Richards and Jeremy Taylor, also took part in the forum. All four men spoke after King raised the committee issue, and none addressed what he said in their closing remarks.

In a New York Times story on immigration 16 months ago, King was quoted as asking, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization  how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?"

The published remarks fueled a national backlash that prompted GOP House leaders to strip him of his committee assignments for at least two years, and for the full House to pass a resolution condemning white supremacy and white nationalism.

Since then, King has repeatedly insisted the Times reporter misquoted him, and that Republican leaders were too skittish over the fallout to reinstate him to his committees.

King took to the House floor in January 2020 to again criticize McCarthy, describing his treatment by the GOP leader as "unprecedented."

During his speech, King also displayed large graphs that showed a sharp increase in online stories using the term "white nationalism" in the years since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. He argued the political left has adopted a strategy of using the weaponization of language" to attack conservatives and Trump supporters.

Attempts to reach McCarthy by phone were unsuccessful. A message at his Washington office said the phone mailbox was full, and a message at his Bakersfield, California, office said people should attempt to reach McCarthy by the contact information on his website.

As in past attempts by the Journal to reach McCarthy by email, the site says the Republican leader is unable to reply to email from constituents outside his district.

Also on Monday, a poll of the Iowa 4th race by American Viewpoint Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia, was released showing Feenstra had climbed to nearly even with King. A summary by an AV official shared on Feenstra's campaign website showed King led Feenstra, 39 percent to 36 percent, which is in the polling margin of error, which is 5 percent.

The poll was of 350 likely Republican voters, taken on May 7-8.

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An automated respiratory assist



device that will be useful in remote and rural areas where ventilator facilities are not available has been developed jointly by the TVS Group and IIT-Madras among others, the city-based diversified conglomerate said on Tuesday.

The device, "Sundaram Ventago", would have "a great impact" post COVID19 as it can make respiratory support more affordable and available to all, a top group company official said.

The device was developed by the TVS Group, the Sundaram Medical Foundation and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras with the aim of providing quality medical support at an affordable cost particularly in remote and rural areas, the release said.

It has been designed according to internationally accepted medical standards and in collaboration with the Madras Medical College, Kauvery Hospital and with guidance from MIT-Boston.

The device provides respiratory support to patients through a controlled and automated squeezing of a self- inflating bag and includes control of respiratory rate, tidal volume, pressure parameters among others, the release said.

The first batch comprising 25 pieces of device was currently under production at TVS Group firm Brakes India at Padi here, it said adding user training and support will be provided through a dedicated mobile application.

"TVS Group has leveraged its engineering talent and its quality first approach to develop an affordable respiratory assist device," Brakes India deputy managing director Sriram Viji said.

The Sundaram Ventago is a 'Make in India' product with local supply chain, based on proven technology, he said.

Kauvery Hospitals Executive Director S Aravindan said the country was importing more than 80 per cent of medical devices.

"Cost effective ventilators like this manufactured in India will significantly bring down the cost", he said.

IIT Madras Electrical Engineering faculty Jayaraj Joseph said, "we are glad to partner with TVS Group in the design of the Sundaram Ventago project".

"It offers greater precision than manual pumping, even with 24 plus hours of continuous use. The device is versatile and mobile", he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rebel Wilson created a luxurious backyard retreat for her 'first American friend' on Monday's episode of Celebrity IOU.

The 40-year-old Australian actress worked for a month with designers Drew and Jonathan Scott, 42, on an oasis for her pal Nicole Leal, a hairstylist she met early on in her career.

'She saved up all of her money to buy this house, and she had nothing left for the outside,' Rebel told the Scotts as they started. 'And to give back to her in this way is just incredible.'

Australian actress: Rebel Wilson created a luxurious backyard retreat for her 'first American friend' on Monday's episode of Celebrity IOU

The two women called themselves 'more family than friends,' and the care that Rebel took with the renovation made that abundantly clear.

She pitched in on demolition, design and excavation, advising on every aspect of the build.

Four weeks later, Nicole returned from her trip out of town, and ran with Rebel and the Scotts down her new driveway to the completely repurposed backyard.

'What?' she screamed, when she saw that her formerly dingy space had been transformed into a lush retreat, complete with outdoor dining area, lounge and pool. 'This is incredible!'

Helping out: The 40-year-old Australian actress worked for a month with designers Drew and Jonathan Scott on an oasis for her pal Nicole Leal, a hairstylist she met early on in her career

Fun run: Four weeks later, Nicole returned from her trip out of town, and ran with Rebel and the Scotts down her new driveway to the completely repurposed backyard

She broke into tears, telling Rebel: 'It's better than I could have even imagined.'

Rebel and Nicole had met eight years before, right before Rebel's breakout role in the 2011 film Bridesmaids, when Rebel was looking for someone to do her hair and makeup.

Nicole had initially been afraid that Rebel would be mean to her, but soon discovered that she was 'the kindest person,' a feeling that was reinforced when Rebel took her to Australia as her guest during the press tour for her 2017 film Pitch Perfect.

Twin brothers: Drew and Jonathan Scott helped Rebel with the backyard renovation

Getting emotional: Nicole wiped away tears looking at her new backyard

Nicole got to meet Rebel's family and see that she was just 'a solid, normal individual,' she said.

Rebel called Nicole her 'first American friend,' and told the Scott brothers, 'I just remember thinking, 'Wow, this girl's really nice, just like really chill, normal. Compared to all the other crazies that walk around here.'

'She's so genuine and heartfelt, and when she gives me advice, it's from the heart. She doesn't have any vested interest in my career,' Rebel said.

American friend: 'She's so genuine and heartfelt, and when she gives me advice, it's from the heart. She doesn't have any vested interest in my career,' Rebel said of her 'first American friend'

Close bond: Rebel early in her Hollywood career became friends with Nicole

'She is more family than a friend,' Nicole added from her end. 'Even as much stardom as she's gone through over the years, she's still the same person.'

With Rebel's help, the Scotts hoped to overhaul Nicole's 'depressing' backyard, with its sparse grass and gray brick walls, making it look less like a 'jailhouse' and more like a spa.

'This'll be a legendary backyard when we're done with it,' said Rebel, outlining her ideas.

Depressing backyard: With Rebel's help, the Scotts hoped to overhaul Nicole's 'depressing' backyard, with its sparse grass and gray brick walls, making it look less like a 'jailhouse' and more like a spa

The Scotts first decided to create an outdoor living room by covering Nicole's existing patio with terrazzo tiles, adding white paint, plants, a privacy screen, and sleek furniture.

They would then build an exterior dining space and kitchen with a state-of-the-art grill and fridge, abutted by a wood-beam pergola.

Lush landscaping and a gas fireplace would help Nicole and her husband relax 'under the stars.'

Major plans: The Scotts first decided to create an outdoor living room by covering Nicole's existing patio with terrazzo tiles, adding white paint, plants, a privacy screen, and sleek furniture.

Rebel got into the excavation vehicle to start the demolition, and even operated a jackhammer in the backyard.

She was thrilled when she learned that the Scotts could give Nicole a swanky pool, too, and served as judge when the brothers vied to see who could dig the biggest hole in the yard.

'I wish these two were my brothers, and then I could have been a Property Sister,' Rebel said.

The after: The backyard was completely transformed by Drew and Jonathan

Outdoor living: The outdoor space was perfect for entertaining

When all the work was done, she helped them place chairs around the backyard, move tables under the outdoor TV, add the final flowers and pillows, and advise on additional touches.

'To have a whole backyard and front yard done, for her, I'm sure it's like a huge relief off her mind,' Rebel said. 'Now instead of worrying about that stuff, she can just enjoy it.'

'For years I've had to look at just concrete and dirt,' Nicole affirmed. 'The memories that I'm going to be able to have back here with family and friends is just really special.'

Celebrity IOU will return next week on HGTV.
India and Denmark on Tuesday discussed the threat posed by COVID-19 to a globally connected world and vowed to jointly fight the pandemic by exchanging information on medical research, testing kits and development of vaccines.

The two countries also deliberated upon the challenges posed by the "deep global economic crisis" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held his first virtual joint commission with his Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod and reviewed bilateral ties.

This was the third India-Danish Joint Commission Meeting (JCM).

The two ministers noted that the pandemic is posing a significant threat to a globally connected world and forcing countries to restrict travel and interaction, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said.

"Both sides agreed to jointly fight the COVID-19 pandemic by agreeing to share best practices and exchange information on medical research, testing kits and development of vaccines," the statement said.

Jaishankar and Kofod welcomed the dialogue between the Statens Serum Institute in Denmark and the office of the principal scientific adviser in India.

They noted that the challenges of a deep global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also creates new opportunities for green transition and provide a new sustainable way forward for societies of the two countries creating new jobs and growth, the MEA said.

India and Denmark are well placed to take full advantage of such development and show global leadership, it said.

Jaishankar said discussions strengthened focus on clean technology, urbanisation, renewable energy, green solutions and food processing.

"Did my first virtual Joint Commission today. Couldn't be with a better counterpart - FM @JeppeKofod of #Denmark," Jaishankar tweeted. "Would encourage colleagues in other countries to follow suit."



"A productive review of our ties. Strengthened focus on cleantech, urbanisation, renewable energy, green solutions and food processing. And an even stronger political partnership," he added.

The two ministers agreed to work towards establishing a "green strategic partnership between India and Denmark building on existing green and sustainable collaborations under the Joint Commission, which would focus on areas such as climate change, energy, circular economy, water, sustainable food and agriculture, the MEA said.

Close government-to-government cooperation has already been established in water, urban development and animal husbandry and dairy, it said.

In renewable energy, a new five-year India-Denmark Energy Partnership can build on the existing strong cooperation, the statement said.

Both ministers discussed the growing participation in the International Solar Alliance and Denmark expressed its interest in joining this alliance at the earliest.

The ministers reviewed the current state of bilateral relations and noted that the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2019 and the 400-year anniversary of the establishment of the first trading post by Denmark in Tranquebar are being commemorated through various events and programmes.

They agreed to hold Foreign Office Consultations during the second half of 2020 to discuss bilateral relations and issues of regional and global importance and a Policy Planning Dialogue to promote sharing on strategic and global trends of mutual interest at a mutually convenient date in the near future.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the 8 Joint Working Groups (JWG) - on Renewable Energy, Environment, Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, Food Processing, Labour Mobility, Sustainable and Smart Urban Development, Science & Technology and Shipping.

It was also discussed that the recently constituted Joint Working Group on Digitization would meet soon, the MEA said.

Both sides also explored the possibility of establishing a Joint Working Group on Health to facilitate closer cooperation between the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, including institutional collaboration and joint research.

The ministers recognised that there is immense potential for further expanding trade and investments, facilitating wider business-to-business contacts, and intensifying trade promotion and ease-of-doing-business activities, the MEA said.

They agreed that a focus area could be green technologies promoting innovative solutions in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and both sides emphasized the urgent need to increase and facilitate more activities and linkages in these areas, it said.

Both sides discussed the importance of innovative use of online and virtual interaction to ensure continuity of diplomatic and political contacts.

Jaishankar and Kofod expressed views on multilateral issues in this context and shared the common position that there is a need to further strengthen multilateralism and work together to ensure those international organizations like the UN and WHO are strengthened and function effectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mauritius has officially become coronavirus-free with no active case for the past 15 days. According to the countrys ministry of health 3...

Mauritius has officially become coronavirus-free with no active case for the past 15 days.According to the countrys ministry of health 322 people had recovered out of the 332 confirmed cases, while 10 people died, meaning there are no active cases.The Ministry further stated that May 11, 2020, marked the fifteenth consecutive day that no new case was recorded in the country.However, It stated that a lockdown still remains in place to contain any possible spread of the virus.Mauritius is now the second African country to be declared virus-free status after fighting the deadly infection.According to the data from John Hopkins University, as of May 12, 2020, Africas sole virus-free nation is Mauritius, while Lesotho is the sole African country yet to record a case.
New Delhi, May 12 : At least 800 stranded migrant workers were sent to Bihar by the construction giant Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), Rahul Singh, District Magistrate (South-West Delhi), said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Singh said at least 2,200 workers were found at an L&T construction site in Dwarka sector 25 by the SDM Dwarka.

"About 2,200 stranded and distressed labourers were found at L&T construction site in Dwarka by the SDM Dwarka. Initially it was said that they want to start the construction, however, the workers demanded that they want their two months' payment and journey back home," Singh told the media.

He said the district administration ensured the workers are paid the dues and their journey back home in a train, arranged by the state government and for which the company made the payment.

"We ensured that the workers do not have to pay anything and the cost should be taken care of by the organisation. The medical screening was done and about 800 of them were sent home today to Bihar in the first phase without any charges." Singh said while the medical screening of all the migrants was done on Tuesday, a list is being prepared for their home state.

"Out of the 2,200 some are from Uttar Pradesh and some from other states. Their journey will also be arranged in the coming days." Thousands of migrants were stuck in the national capital and other parts of the country due to sudden announcement of the lockdown, which is now extended till May 17.

From last week, the Central government has allowed for the movement of the migrants in special trains.
A City of London worker cleans pavements on Lombard Street in the City of London, after the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people who cannot work from home should be 'actively encouraged' to return to their jobs. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire

Ireland has much to fear from the UK's efforts to get out of both the Covid-19 lockdown over the next few months and the EU entirely by the end of the year. Unfortunately we are not in step on either issue. The lack of a co-ordinated and coherent EU response to both doesn't help our position.

Different rules on travel and quarantine on both sides of the Irish Sea are just one area of contention. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided people arriving into England from Ireland and France will be excluded from quarantine rules which require people to self-isolated for two weeks.

In Ireland, all passengers arriving from overseas are required to self-isolate for two weeks. The Government is also in the process of making it mandatory for all arrivals to fill in a passenger location form so authorities can check up on them.

In Britain, there was confusion yesterday over Johnson's 2,000-word TV address on Sunday night. Some who could not work from home clearly took his advice to return to work but many ignored his call to avoid public transport.

Even the 'Daily Telegraph', which used to lionise its former well-paid columnist, was somewhat critical of his speech.

"The Long Road to Freedom" was the Churchillian sounding front page headline but further down the page an associate editor complained that "yes, we had finally been given a 'roadmap', but one with only vague directions. Ordnance Survey this wasn't".

It got worse when the same paper reported online later that government sources were forced to clarify contradictory comments made by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about returning to work and about contact with family members.

The devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are sticking, for the moment at least, with the UK government's previous call to "stay at home' rather than use the insipid "stay alert" mantra.

Belfast and Dublin have been working together behind the scenes on their responses to the coronavirus and the Assembly is publishing its own detailed plans.

Good communications and relations between both parts of the island are essential to achieve harmony in the fight against the virus but also in making common cause for the eventual full withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.

It is due to leave the single market and customs union by the end of the year. Johnson is demanding the outline of a deal for an EU-Britain summit in June, which is a tall order.

Without a deal the 499km border between North and South becomes a major political issue once again. That's the last thing a new government in Dublin will need as it struggles to find money to reboot the economy.
MANILA, Philippines  Malacanang early on Tuesday aired President Rodrigo Roa Dutertes recorded public address regarding his decision on the fate of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The President ordered Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III to make the announcement on what the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFMEID) has recommended on what is to become of the areas under the ECQ.

Although the chief executive did not directly say it, he gave hints on some areas where restrictions pertaining to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be relaxed.

The president, however, reminded the public of the new normal behavior that every citizen must always exhibit, such as making facemask-wearing and social distancing a habit and a new way of life to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Mayroon tayong mga tawag niyang new normal. Ganito ha, for those who would be allowed to go out and work, and for those na hindi pa talaga puwede, remember na itongthe easing-up of the restrictions, hindi iyan sabihin na wala na ang COVID. Just because we allowed certain people  dahan -dahan lang. Dahan-dahan lang sa ngayon para walang ano, hindi tayo madapa. Dahan-dahan lang. Because we cannot afford, we cannot afford a second or third wave na mangyari, the chief executive said.

Roque and Duque are expected to make the announcement on IATFs Tuesday presser set at 12 noon.  (with inputs from Rosalie Coz) /mbmf

The post Pres. Duterte halts revelation of ECQs fate; tasks Roque, Duque to make announcement appeared first on UNTV News.
Press Bureau of India (PIB) took to Twitter to debunk a false claim that seven districts in Assam including Guwahati have been declared as red zones by Ministry of Home Affairs.

Claim: MHA has declared Guwahati (& 6 other districts) as Red Zone, PIB tweeted. The agency then clarified that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare categorises the districts under zones and not the Ministry of Home Affairs. Assam has no Red Zone District as of now, PIB added.

They also shared screenshots of a local TV channel airing the fake news and a local online news portal making the same claim.

In the same thread, they also shared another tweet specifying that as per a list issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on April 30, only three districts in Assam are under orange zone. The agency further emphasized that there are no districts under red zone in Assam.

Currently the list issued on 30.04.2020 by @MoHFW_INDIA has named only 3 Districts of #Assam under Orange Zone and none under Red Zone.https://t.co/8mKaXwYxo3 @PIBFactCheck @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/US2fLig3FF  PIB in Assam (@PIB_Guwahati) May 11, 2020

People thanked PIB for debunking the false claim and also demanded action against those peddling fake news.

I think there needs to be an authority that takes action against news served without verification, wrote a Twitter user. Why no action is being taken? questioned another.

Also Read | Dont believe that forward about online processing of GST refund, its fake
We are honored to be recognized by the Web Marketing Association as part of its Internet Advertising Competition.

MiniCo Insurance Agency has won an Internet Advertising Competition Award from the Web Marketing Association in the category of insurance integrated advertising campaign. MiniCo was recognized for the multi-faceted marketing campaign that launched the company's newly upgraded specialty business owner policy (BOP) for self-storage risks.

Campaign elements included website content, a white paper, a press release, educational videos for independent insurance agents, emails to agents and self-storage professionals, print advertisements for self-storage industry publications, postcard mailings, social media posts, blog posts, and search engine and social media advertisements.

MiniCo President and CEO Mike Schofield commented, We are honored to be recognized by the Web Marketing Association as part of its Internet Advertising Competition. Since 1975, MiniCo has offered the gold standard in specialty BOP coverage for self-storage risks. When we launched the upgraded policy in 2019, our in-house marketing team played a critical role in communicating the benefits to independent insurance agents as well as policyholders and self-storage professionals."

The Web Marketing Association was founded in Boston in 1997 to help set a high standard for internet marketing and corporate web development. Staffed by volunteers, the organization is made up of internet marketing, advertising, PR, and design professionals who share an interest for improving the quality of advertising, marketing, and promotion used to attract visitors to corporate websites. The association's Internet Advertising Competition was the first award program dedicated to recognizing outstanding online advertising in all its various forms.

About MiniCo Insurance Agency

MiniCo Insurance Agency, LLC, was founded in 1974 as a provider of specialty insurance products and publications for the self-storage industry. Today the company is a managing general agency offering multiple specialty property and casualty insurance products for a variety of unique industries and exposures. MiniCo Insurance Agency, LLC, the parent company of MiniCo Insurance Agency of Canada, Inc., is a member of the Aran Insurance Services Group. For more information, please visit https://www.minico.com.
Lena Olin isnt one for acting on impulse.

I normally will say, I have to think it over, I have to think it through, said the Swedish-born actor, 65, whose film credits include The Reader, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Enemies, a Love Story and the title role in The Artists Wife, due out this summer.

Still, in the late 90s, when her husband and fellow Swede, the director Lasse Hallstrom, suggested that the two needed a break from their busy careers and that a year in Bedford, N.Y., would be just the tonic, Ms. Olin assented immediately.

It was very uncharacteristic, she said.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Guadalajara, Mexico  Tue, May 12, 2020 10:15 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd765eab 2 World Mexico,drug-lord,DrugKingpin,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-death-toll,SARS-CoV-2,novel-coronavirus,pandemic Free

The head of a Mexican drug cartel jailed after decapitating 12 people has died of COVID-19, official sources said on Monday.

Los Zetas leader Moises Escamilla May -- known as Gordo May (Fatty May) -- was serving 37 years in the western state of Jalisco for organized crime and illegally carrying weapons.

Among the offenses for which he was jailed was the beheading of 12 people in the southeastern state of Yucatan in 2008.

"He wasn't suffering from any disease and started showing breathing symptoms on May 6," said the health ministry at the end of last week, without identifying Escamilla.

A day later he was taken to hospital where he died.

A source at the public prosecutor's office in Jalisco confirmed to AFP on Monday that it was Escamilla who had died.

The kingpin was arrested by federal police alongside eight associates in September 2008 in the southeastern seaside resort off Cancun, where he was based.

Many citizens' groups have warned the government about the risks of the coronavirus spreading in often overcrowded Mexican prisons.

Mexico has recorded 35,000 cases of COVID-19 and almost 3,500 deaths.

In April, the Senate approved an amnesty for those convicted of less serious crimes, allowing them to be freed to help prevent the disease spreading.
Russia on May 12 ranked second in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The European Union External Action Service (EEAS) sees no obstacles to the potential delivery of humanitarian assistance for Russia to fight against the novel coronavirus.

"The sanctions imposed on Russia (in the summer of 2014) relate to actions that undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as violations of international law caused by the annexation of Crimea and events in eastern Ukraine. These sanctions do not impede potential humanitarian assistance which Russia at this stage doesn't need and for which it has not asked," an EEAS representative said, according to Deutsche Welle's Ukrainian-language service.

Read alsoU.S. House of Representatives calls for sanctions against Russia over human rights abuse

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 232,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Russia as of May 12, which makes that country rank second after the United States, which has over 1.35 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.

On the same day, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for an Economy that Works for People, assured journalists that the European Union would provide coronavirus-related humanitarian assistance even to countries and regions under sanctions.

"The coronavirus pandemic knows no borders. Only together can we protect the most vulnerable people from this virus and the human suffering that it brings. The European Commission is committed to doing everything in its power to respond to questions from humanitarian operators regarding their activities in sanctioned countries or areas. Humanitarian assistance can reach those in need, even with sanctions in place. The two things are not incompatible," he said on May 12.

The European Commission has already published detailed guidance on how coronavirus-related humanitarian aid can be sent to countries and areas around the world that are subject to EU sanctions. This guidance note on Syria is the first in a series of comprehensive Q&As, which aims to give practical guidance on how to comply with EU sanctions when providing humanitarian aid, in particular medical assistance, to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid the long wait for single



screens and multiplexes to reopen, some members of the Eastern India Motion Pictures of India have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to stop producers from releasing films, primarily meant for theatres, on OTT platforms.

In a letter to the prime minister, the exhibitors' section of the association said producers, who having signed contracts with single screens and multiplexes, should not be allowed to release their films on over-the-top (OTT) sites, as it would add to the financial woes of cinema hall owners.

Single screens and multiplexes had since mid-March stopped screening in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to sources in the Bengali film industry, a number of producers have lined up their ventures for release on OTT platforms.

"Few producers for their personal benefit are releasing movies on foreign OTT platforms... This will be a threat to entire film industry," the letter said.

More than 9,000 single screens and multiplexes might go out of business, and employees could lose jobs, if the trend continues, the association said in its letter.

"Movies are first released in theatres... goes to the OTT platforms after 60 days. But in this difficult time when all the theatre owners are supporting you and keeping their halls closed, why and how, without maintaining the status quo, few (production) houses can go ahead (with release)?" the exhibitors said in their letter to the PM.

Moreover, the government will lose on revenue earned from cinema halls, the letter said.

Ratan Saha, the chairman of the EIMPA exhibitors' section, said, "Releasing a film on OTT by skipping the conventional distribution route will mean that no one is going to watching it again, if screened in cinema halls.

"In West Bengal alone, the trend can deal a body blow to at least 225 single screen theatres. Several employees in multiplexes will be rendered jobless. We will follow up on our request through our contacts in Delhi in the next few days."



Earlier, the Multiplex Association of India, in a statement, had made a similar request to film producers, artistes and content creators.

"We urge all studios, producers, artistes and other content creators to kindly respect the exclusive theatrical window, which has been a time-tested industry practice, agreed to by all stakeholders, not just in India but even globally for several decades," it said.

EIMPA, in response, had pledged its support to the multiplex association.

"This is the time to support each other so that we all can emerge stronger, whenever we make a comeback, Saha said.

A film director, who did not wish to be named, said it was necessary to strike a balance so that everybody is benefited.

"We share their (exhibitors') concerns. Under present circumstances, it is not possible to ask a producer to indefinitely hold back a film, which had been completed before the pandemic. At the same time, we don't want to spoil the joy of watching movies in theatres. We have to strike a balance," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Several years before he was famously commissioned by the tsar to photograph the Russian Empire in color, chemist Prokudin-Gorsky set off on an expedition to what is now Uzbekistan to observe a solar eclipse. The weeks-long trip failed in its main goal after cloud cover blocked any glimpse of the eclipse, but the journey was not a lost cause. With his German-made camera that enabled vivid color images to be produced, Prokudin-Gorsky explored the backstreets and ancient centers of Samarkand and Bukhara, capturing photographs unlike any that had been taken before.

Gorsky perfected an early method of color photography that required three separate images of each scene to be shot with color filters. When the three images were sandwiched together and had red, green, and blue light shone through them, a color image could be projected.

Prokudin-Gorsky made three trips to what is now Uzbekistan but was then part of the Russian Empire.

Prokudin-Gorskys first trip to Central Asia was for the abortive 1907 attempt to record the solar eclipse, the second and third were in 1911 after he received backing from the tsar to photograph the Russian Empire.

Its unclear when the more than 200 photos Prokudin-Gorsky shot in Central Asia were taken, but photos like this -- of Bukhara's interior minister with a ceremonial sword, which required access to government buildings -- were probably made during the 1911 expeditions, when the photographer had a letter of recommendation from the tsar.

The photo was taken just a few meters from the "bug pit" where two British officers were tortured before eventually being beheaded in 1842 by the emir of Bukhara.

Bukharans who owed either taxes to the government or money to other people were held in the prison but allowed out to work until they had repaid their debts.

A local historian told RFE/RL that the building was destroyed during the 1920 Soviet invasion of the ancient city.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Dr. Paul Gamaches office used to see more than two dozen patients a day. He has seen a fraction of that over the past two months.

Ive had maybe five or six emergencies," said Gamache, a Pittsfield dentist who has practiced for 26 years. Thats kind of good. People dont want to come in. Theyre practicing the social distancing, but as far as viability for a business, thats not going to last very long.

Massachusetts dentists are grappling with a new reality during the outbreak. There are empty waiting rooms and a limited supply of face shields for when a patient does come in with an emergency.

Tooth extractions and most other oral surgeries are not allowed during the state of emergency, but Gamache and other dentists predict business and demand for dental service still wont increase even after the restrictions are lifted.

The Baker administrations emergency order halting elective surgeries does allow health care providers some discretion in determining what non-essential but life-preserving procedures can continue, but MDS advised the states more than 6,400 dentists to only provide emergency care.

In the meantime, industry leaders are pitching a partial reopening to a state advisory board and pushing for Delta Dental, a major insurance provider in the state, to offer support to dentists in its network.

In a filing submitted last week to DOI, the Massachusetts Dental Society is calling for Delta Dental to revert to an old reimbursement structure so providers can keep more of the money they earn on emergency dental procedures and coverage to offset the cost of personal protective gear, among other changes.

Theres dire financial need amongst any small business that is closed during this time and we are no different, said Janis Moriarty, president of MDS. She said the organization is asking stakeholders, including Delta Dental, to help in the short-term.

When patients use insurance to cover medical costs, doctors send the bill to the insurance companies for review. Depending on the plan, some insurance companies often negotiate a lower rate and have patients pay part of the cost while reimbursing the rest.

It is unclear whether the DOI will move forward with a hearing on the matter. A spokesman for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, which oversees DOI, did not comment.

Delta Dental donated $2 million to MDS Foundation COVID-19 Recovery Fund, as well as $150,000 to Bostons Resiliency Fund and donations to funds launched by Worcester Community Foundation and the the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Moriarty said MDS is in the finalizing the distribution plan for its relief fund.

One of the requests MDS made was an advance payment program that sends providers 50% of their weekly reimbursement payments received in 2019, multiplied by nine weeks. Delta Dental announced on Friday it would launch an advance payment program for dentists enrolled in its networks, paying up to 50% of their weekly reimbursement payments, multiplied by six weeks.

Convincing the company to reinstate its old fee structure seems less likely.

Dennis Leonard, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Massachusetts, notes that while dentists have been particularly hit hard, the companys offering support through the advance payment program and donations. He argues that MDS supported the fee reduction for dental services, which is now at 8%. MDS argues it was a compromise they reached in 2018 after pushing back against a proposed 20% to 30% fee reduction for dental services.

As for the petition, requesting an emergency hearing, the facts are these  MDS leaders supported the very fee change they are now questioning, and DDMA is the only dental insurer that has stepped up in a significant way to support Massachusetts dentists during the pandemic, Leonard said in a statement. "We will continue looking for ways to assist, but its time for MDS and other insurers to do their part.

Dr. Vincent Mariano, chair of the Valley District Dental Society, argues that dentists have supported lower costs in dentistry by accepting plans like Delta Dental, and that its time for practitioners to get support.

Dentistry has done a lot to give value at lower costs by signing up for a plan, said Mariano, who specializes in tooth extractions and implants at his practice, EmaDental in East Longmeadow.

Mariano, whose colleagues accept Delta and other insurance, argues dentists arent looking for relief from the insurance company, but support after years of buy-in.

MDS surveyed members recently and projects that they would need between $150,000 and $300,000 in financial relief to smoothly reopen their doors to non-emergency care. The federal government has allocated funds through the Paycheck Protection Program, though some dentists have not received that money.

Gamache is one of the lucky ones. He received $60,000 to cover the next few months.

I would not have enough money to make payroll on May 18. I was happy to see it. PPP is saving my bacon," he said.

Long term, however, he said hes unsure what his budget will look like. He and his wife, who own a dental practice, are juggling their mortgage and their three daughters college expenses.

Another unexpected hurdle is the increased costs of doing business, mainly due to the need for personal protective equipment. Gamache used to wear a lab coat and some gloves for his surgeries. Now he needs a face shield, a disposable gown and an N95 mask to protect him as he gets up close to emergency patients.

MDS has received at least two shipments of PPE, about 1,000 items each, from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Moriarty said. MDS asked dentists who are seeing emergency patients to apply and then distributes the PPE.

Gamache suggests insurance companies, such as Delta Dental, could reimburse dentists for PPE costs as a possible alternative to reinstating the old reimbursement structure.

We need to move slower. We have equipment we have to buy. I think thatd be the simplest thing is to acknowledge the cost of dentistry has just gone up, he said. Funding a [PPE] code as a line item might be the easiest way.

Industry leaders are pushing insurance providers to cover PPE, but some company officials suggest that isnt a coverable expense.

Dentists in Massachusetts hope they can resume some operations in a limited capacity, though its unclear how soon that will happen. Gov. Charlie Baker, who introduced a four-phase reopening plan on Monday, said some businesses will get the green light sooner than others.

MDS delivered a 30-minute presentation to the states reopening advisory board last week. Members are waiting to hear back.

Gamache, who furloughed six employees, said he plans to bring back one or two of them for the first few weeks once restrictions lift. Even with the smaller staff, he said he likely wont recuperate his losses.

That whole paradigm of how weve been working through this pandemic is going to change, down to how people come into the office, the money that the office is going to be able to make, Gamache said. Thats the troublesome part, thats an unknown. I really dont know what money will be made, what my income will be this year.

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Western Australias biggest pork producer has applied to expand its operations from eight to nine farms with a proposal to build a boar stud in Bullsbrook.

Four companies account for almost three-quarters of the states pork meat production and Westpork is the largest, with about 180,000 of WAs nearly 800,000 pigs and about 18,000 of its 40,000 sows.

WA produces nearly 61,000 tonnes of pork a year. Credit:Bloomber

Westporks other piggeries are at Gingin, Mindarra, Martup, Moora, Serpentine and Kojonup  all conventional, where pigs live in sheds with slatted floors  and one free range farm at Mount Barker, where the pigs live outdoors.

Westporks last expansion was a year ago when it took over the scandal-ridden West Pinjarra piggery  whose previous owners presided over severe overcrowding and pollution, some of which was filmed by an animal rights activist, and were eventually jailed over smuggling Danish boar semen.
It's been two months since Pour House patrons could rock out to "Dead on the Deck" or since any musical act has performed at the James Island bar and music venue.

Wednesday, that will all change as the outdoor deck once again accommodates patrons for drinks and shows.

With its reopening comes what the Pour House is calling "PoHo-tocols," protocols set in place to encourage social distancing and ensure that patrons and staff members remain safe.

"No handshakes or high-fives, throw up a rock 'n' roll sign instead," is one of the new regulations.

The list includes staying home if you don't feel well, staying 6 feet apart from others, covering coughs and sneezes, keeping your friend circle to eight people or less, visiting the bar briefly and only to order drinks and tossing your single-use drink cup at appropriate receptacles (no refills).

In addition, tables have been spaced 8 feet apart and a sanitizing procedure is in place. The staff also is placing a time limit on tables.

Leashed dogs are allowed, and kids must remain at tables at all times.

"Understand that these PoHo-tocols will be actively enforced until we are instructed otherwise," the venue said in a statement. "Help us help you and keep a good thing going."

Upcoming free deck shows, which will take place 6-9 (or 9:30) p.m., include performances by The Reckoning on Wednesday, Hungry Monks Duo on Thursday, Ward Buckheister on Friday, Gaslight Street on Sunday, The Honeymeads on Monday and tomatoband on Tuesday.

In addition to live shows, The Pour House also is offering a virtual "Digging in the Vaults" series of audio archives and "Po House in Yo House" live video streams of bands performing to the empty venue. For more information, visit facebook.com/CharlestonPourHouse.
COVID-19 has impacted many Houstonians who have faced undue financial hardship because of a loss of wages or income," said Mayor Sylvester Turner. "I am proud that The City of Houston is stepping up by providing resources for immediate financial relief to renters.

Houstonians are also eligible if their pre-COVID-19 household income is less than 80% of the Area Median Income or if they are enrolled in any of the following programs: Medicaid; Public Housing Assistance; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Supplemental Security Income; National School Lunch Program; Head Start or Early Head Start; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; Women, Infant, and Children Program; Federal Pell Grant; VA Pension or Disability; Tribal Assistance; or Harris Health Gold Card.

Landlords have to register their units in order for tenants to be eligible, and Mayor Turner is encouraging all of them to do so.

"Houston landlords are a vital partner in these efforts, and tenants throughout the City of Houston are relying on your participation to obtain the financial relief desperately needed by so many," he said.
[May 12, 2020] Calian Declares a Quarterly Dividend of $0.28 Per Share

OTTAWA, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calian Group Ltd. (TSX: CGY) today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share. The dividend is payable June 9, 2020 to shareholders of record as of May 26, 2020. Dividends paid by the Corporation are considered "eligible dividend" for tax purposes.

About Calian Calian employs over 3,400 people in its delivery of diverse products and solutions for private sector, government and defence customers in North American and global markets. The Companys diverse capabilities are delivered through four segments: Advanced Technologies, Health, Learning and Information Technology. The Advanced Technologies segment provides innovative products, technologies and manufacturing services and solutions for the space, communications, defence, nuclear, government and agriculture sectors. The Health segment manages a network of more than 1,800 healt care professionals delivering primary care and occupational health services to public and private sector clients across Canada. Learning is a trusted provider of emergency management, consulting and specialized training services and solutions for the Canadian Armed Forces and clients in the defence, health, energy and other sectors. The Information Technology segment supports public- and private-sector customer requirements for subject matter expertise in the delivery of complex IT and cyber security solutions. Headquartered in Ottawa, the Companys offices and projects span Canada and international markets.



For investor information, please visit our website at www.calian.com or contact us at [email protected] Kevin Ford Patrick Houston Media inquiries: President and Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Simon Doyle 613-599-8600 613-599-8600 613-599-8600 x 2205



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Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation Tuesday evening on the Covid-19 pandemic said the medicines that India produces are helping save lives across the world.

In the fight for life and death across the world, Medicines supplied by India have infused new hopes in the world. With these steps, when India is being praised everywhere in the world, every Indian feels proud, Modi said.

Amid the lockdown, India has sent loads of medicines to over a hundred countries last month to help them fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

India has supplied nearly 85 million hydroxychloroquine tablets and close to 500 million paracetamol tablets to 108 countries. India is the largest manufacturer of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine or HCQ producing almost 70% of the global output.

Among the countries that India has supplied medicines are the US, UK, Russia, France, Spain and Netherlands.

It has also supplied large quantities of paracetamol to 52 countries including Italy, Sweden and Singapore. In some cases, both HCQ and paracetamol tablets were supplied.

India also sent five lakh HCQ tablets to Afghanistan from the Saarc Covid-19 Emergency Fund set up at Prime Minister Narendra Modis suggestion in March.
The development of live streaming e-commerce, especially amid the pneumonia outbreak, has prompted universities and colleges in China to cultivate professionals in the field.

A student with the Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute sells oranges through livestreaming. (Photo/Wang Biao)

Meeting the growing need, The Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute established the school of live streaming e-commerce in December 2019, the first of its kind in China, setting up an e-commerce major in live broadcast.

As numerous enterprises have resumed work online amid the pandemic, live streaming e-commerce is believed to usher in new opportunities, which means that industries will be lacking professionals in the next few years, said Yan Zhengying, director of the s chool of innovation and entrepreneurship, Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute.

The industry not only lacks hosts, but professionals for the whole chain, including copywriters and operators for the live broadcasts, Yan pointed out.

Considering this, the institute has developed courses varying from marketing and planning, short video production, media operations and music data analysis, calligraphy and floral design.

"We hope to cultivate the market insights and professional abilities of the students and equip them with skills so that they could better suit the market," Yan said.

Working with over 10 brands, the institute has built 47 broadcasting studios so that the students could enhance and sharpen their abilities

The live streaming e-commerce major of the institute provides professional courses, attracting about 30 students, and amateur courses, bringing in roughly 300 students.

The market scale of China's live streaming e-commerce industry reached 433.8 billion yuan ($61.2 billion) in 2019, according to data from iiMedia Research, a Chinese firm specializing in data analysis for new economic industries.

With the growing demand, the number of live streaming users is expected to rise to 524 million this year, with the market exceeding 900 billion yuan ($127 billion).
Islamabad/IBNS: Despite all their designs against India, Pakistan government is facing a dilemma. It is because of a plea from its own people against the banning of Indian raw material for manufacturing drugs in the country, specially at this time when the nation is grappling with COVID-19 outbreak.

Pakistan depends heavily on Indian raw materials to manufacture drugs and if the government bans its import then that will lead to grievous situation in the country.

From 50 per cent loss in drug production to increase in its price, such a move can prove to be deadly for Pakistan, warned representatives of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.

PPMA senior vice chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari was quoted as saying by Dawn News during a press conference that the federal cabinet should not take any decision against the import of medicine raw material from India or from any other country when there had been an unabated increase in Covid-19 patients in the country.

At a time when the federal and provincial governments in the country have been in the process of setting up more and more quarantine centres, isolation facilities, and special hospital wards to accommodate Covid-19 cases, there is a dire need to ensure constant supply of essential medicines to treat coronavirus patients," Syed Farooq Bukhari said.

For this, it is mandatory that the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan should continue with its operations to its full capacity as for this we need a constant supply of raw material from our international clients, he explained.

Any decision to disrupt the international supply chains associated with the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry would negatively affect the ability of countrys medical practitioners to treat the cases of Covid-19, he warned the government.

The situation highlighted how India is directly helping Pakistan even at this age of crisis and constant sponsoring of terrorism in Kashmir.

In reply to a question, former central chairmen of the PPMA Dr Kaiser Waheed was quoted as saying by Dawn News that 95 per cent of drugs were manufactured with the help of imported raw material in which Indian share was almost 50 pc while the rest was met by China and some European countries.

Very few medicines were imported in finished form from India which included vaccines, Waheed said.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the opening of a face mask factory and protective coverall plant owned by Gilan Textile Park LLC, in Sumgayit.

Director General of Gilan Textile Park LLC Mehriban Akhundova informed the head of state and First Lady of the activities of the facilities.

The factory will have an initial daily production capacity of 140,000 disposable masks. The extra equipment will be installed here by the end of May, allowing to increase the production capacity to 300,000 masks per day. The facility created 30 new jobs, with the figure set to reach 50 after the installation of the extra equipment.

The plant will have a daily production capacity of 6,000 disposable protective coveralls. The facility created 210 new jobs.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva then met with a group of workers employed at the facilities.

The head of state made a speech at the meeting.

Speech of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

- In connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the development of the medical industry in Azerbaijan has acquired great relevance. As you know, this sector is underdeveloped in Azerbaijan. In many cases, we were dependent on imports, and this is still the case today. However, the coronavirus pandemic has been a disaster for every country, and all countries, including Azerbaijan, have tried to mobilize their own resources first and began to take the measures necessary to combat the pandemic. I can say that Azerbaijan is one of the countries that took the first preventive steps. It is as a result of these steps that we are still in full control of the situation and the number of those infected is quite low. Of course, in the current circumstances, to ensure and observe the quarantine regime is one of the main goals in the fight against the pandemic. I believe that every country saw in this difficult period and difficult conditions that some countries withdraw into themselves, others try to provide only the domestic market. Of course, there were certain difficulties as well, in particular with the purchase and delivery of medical supplies and medical equipment to the country. We saw again that the development of the medical industry is of great importance. Certain steps have been taken in this direction recently, as two enterprises were launched on the island of Pirallahi: one for the production of medicines and the other for the production of medical syringes.

There was no production of medical masks in Azerbaijan at all. And it wasnt intended to start either. It is gratifying that the private sector, having shown great social initiative, responded to the call of the state and began to produce them in a short time. Masks are necessary both for doctors and for ordinary citizens. The medical masks factory which begins to operate at this enterprise today is the second production site in our country. The first enterprise is also located in Sumgait, on the territory of the Sumgayit Chemical Industry Park. Of course, if we did not have a developed and modern industrial potential, it would hardly be possible to establish such production sites. It was thanks to the policy of industrialization, in particular the launch of modern industrial enterprises in Sumgayit, that the factories have quickly changed their specialization and begun to produce medical masks and protective overalls.

Seven years ago, I attended the opening of this enterprise, and I am glad that the enterprise has functioned successfully over this period. The products of this company are well known in the domestic market and there is also export potential. This suggests that the goods produced at the enterprise are of high quality. I was informed today that the production of overalls would be increased to 6,000 pieces per day, which is of particular importance for the protection of our doctors. Until now, we acquired protective overalls abroad. The problem is not so much with the allocation of funds and spending foreign currency, but the fact is that the acquisition of the necessary means has become problematic during the coronavirus pandemic. Even with money available, the delivery of these means and equipment has turned into a major problem, and we are witnessing that. Despite this, having mobilized all the possibilities, we are still importing the necessary means to our country.

Therefore, I believe that it is a very significant day today, because both the first and the second enterprise for the production of medical masks being launched today should fully address our domestic needs for protective overalls too. It has been possible to achieve this due to the development of industrial potential, of course.

In general, the development of Sumgayit today is largely associated with the industrial potential of the city. I am told that 95 percent of Gilan Textile Park employees are residents of Sumgayit. In recent years, dozens of new enterprises have been established in Sumgayit, and I participated in their opening. Among them, I would like to specifically mention two giant flagship enterprises  a nitrogen fertilizer plant and a polymer plant. The state invested heavily in the construction of these plants. However, the operation of other plants has been organized exclusively by the private sector  of course, with the support of the state which allocates land plots. As you know, there are two industrial parks in Sumgayit - the Sumgayit technology park and the Sumgayit chemical industry park. The Sumgayit Chemical Industry Park covers an area of tens of hectares. New infrastructure projects have been implemented in this completely cleared area. The private sector also successfully operates in this park as several enterprises open here every year. Thus, Sumgayit has become the second largest industrial city not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the South Caucasus. In contrast to the Soviet era, the industrial enterprises operating here today meet all environmental standards.

You are young and do not remember those years. But when people drove past Sumgayit in Soviet times, they rolled up their car windows because their eyes were watery from the smell. In other words, Sumgayit was the center of a great environmental disaster. The ecological situation in Sumgayit was very difficult as a result of a rapid development of the chemical industry and pervasive non-compliance with environmental standards. Several diseases were widespread here. We have turned Sumgayit into a modern and clean industrial city. The air in Sumgayit is cleaner than in Baku today. Of particular importance is the landscaping work carried out in Sumgayit, the creation of new parks, the adoption of environmental measures, the complete cleaning and reconstruction of the Ajidara canal, which had been the source of concern for the people of Sumgayit for many years. Therefore, the image of Sumgayit as an industrial city has completely changed and meets the highest standards today. Along with this, of course, other projects were implemented. Social projects are underway  for several years now, large IDP settlements have been built. I recently got acquainted with the construction of another such settlement. Improvement work is underway. The Sumgayit boulevard has finally started to function. This was my long-time dream and I know that the people of Sumgayit always wanted this to happen as well. It has been a few years since the Sumgayit boulevard was made available to the people of Sumgayit and is an excellent recreation area. In other words, we have a comprehensive approach to this issue. The construction of city hospital No. 2 is under way now. We first wanted to renovate it, but then we saw that it was in a completely run-down state and knocked it down. Hospital No1 is in operation and the construction of the second hospital is nearing completion.

Of course, all of us and the whole world are worried about the coronavirus pandemic today. Azerbaijan is demonstrating an exemplary approach in this area too. This is confirmed both by the people of Azerbaijan, which is evidenced in the thousands of thank you letters addressed to me, and by international organizations. I recently received a second letter from the Director-General of the World Health Organization. He sent me the first letter at the end of March and the second on 7 May. In its second letter, the World Health Organization appreciates the work done in the field of combating coronavirus in Azerbaijan and approves it. Of course, this is a high assessment of the work done. However, I want to say again: the people of Azerbaijan give the highest assessment.

It is not easy to keep things under control today. We have mobilized our efforts on protecting people's health. We can say that from the early days of the pandemic there were no moments of doubt as regards our choice. I unequivocally said that the priority is the life and health of our people. As for the economic situation, it was clear to everyone that the economy would suffer  not only ours, but the global economy as a whole. At present, preliminary estimates are appearing, and they suggest that the economic downturn in developed countries can reach 7-10 percent this year, and this is natural. But our main goal was to protect citizens. Therefore, restrictive measures have played a major role. If we hadnt taken these steps, the situation could have got out of control, as it did in many countries, including developed ones. In countries where the health system is much more developed than ours, there werent enough beds for patients in hospitals. Sometimes hospitals do not accept patients at all. It is no longer a secret that patients with mild symptoms are not hospitalized in many countries. They are offered to stay at home and actually do not receive treatment. In Azerbaijan, however, all patients, all the infected, even those without symptoms of the disease at all, are taken to hospital. We have placed our most modern hospitals at the disposal of patients with coronavirus.

The first modular hospital was opened recently. The number of such hospitals will reach 10. Four of them will be built by the private sector. This once again demonstrates that the private sector, responding to our call, demonstrates social responsibility. At the same time, more than 100 million manats has already been collected in the Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus established on my initiative. Not a single manat has been spent yet. We have also introduced a format of public control over the operation of the fund. This once again shows that citizens and entrepreneurs demonstrate solidarity and unity. Therefore, the adoption of preventive measures has allowed us the opportunity to overcome this situation with small losses at the initial stage. Azerbaijan is in a much better position than other countries, including countries with the same population as ours. But this does not mean that we should be content with our successes. The coronavirus has not disappeared. It is still there. This problem will remain until the vaccine is developed. Therefore, citizens should be prepared for this. Given the positive dynamics of three weeks, on 27 April we began to take mitigating steps because we understand that this is a difficult period for everyone. But we saw that as soon as mitigating measures were introduced, the number of infections began to increase. Why? Because citizens are often irresponsible, do not adhere to the recommended rules, do not wear masks, do not mind the distance, do not use disinfectants, thus putting their own lives and the lives of hundreds of other people they are in contact with at risk. Therefore, I want to once again appeal to the citizens of Azerbaijan: it is not too difficult to comply with these rules. Doctors and experts say that the main thing is to observe personal hygiene, use disinfectants, keep a distance of one and a half to two meters and wear masks. This is not difficult. Therefore, I am asking all our citizens to abide by these rules again. We are currently taking mitigating measures, and as you know, this process is going on all over the world. Even countries where hundreds of victims are lifting restrictions because it is impossible otherwise. We are also gradually moving in this direction. But the main thing here is the responsibility of citizens because the state is doing everything necessary. All the resources have been mobilized. Almost 100 million manats was allocated from the Presidents Contingency Fund for the purchase of medical equipment and supplies, another 150 million manats is in reserve.

The state provides social support to those who have lost their jobs. For two months, 600,000 unemployed, informally employed people and those belonging to the low-income category receive 190 manats from the state. The state pays a significant part of the salaries of 690,000 people in the private sector that have been worst affected by the pandemic. The salary of each of the 900,000 people working in the public sector is paid. We have allocated a total of 3.5 billion manats for these and other measures and we will allocate as much as necessary. The state carries out this work and successfully resolves all organizational issues.

As I have already noted, the World Health Organization, the leading international organization in this area, highly appreciates our work. It is now only up to citizens to show responsibility and be disciplined. Of course, it is necessary to further improve the control mechanism. Of course, as the quarantine regime softens, there are certain problems associated with control. Despite this, all relevant authorities have been instructed to tighten control. But let me repeat that in the current circumstances the responsibility of citizens is the main condition for our success. Otherwise, the disease will get out of control. We must openly say this and know that no matter what the state does, the situation will get out of control, there will be cases of mass infection, people will die in large numbers, there will not be enough room in hospitals and respiratory equipment in intensive care units. Thus, God forbid, we may find ourselves in the situation of countries experiencing a great crisis today. We categorically cannot allow this. Therefore, I urge all citizens again: be responsible, disciplined, do not break the rules, take care of yourself, your relatives and friends, so that we can get out of this disaster with little losses.

I am sure that we will achieve this because for several months now, the pandemic has been a major problem for the whole world, but the fact that we are still keeping the situation under control can be considered a great achievement. I must emphasize that the solidarity we see in society in the current conditions is perhaps at the highest level because the whole society has consolidated in this struggle.

Taking this opportunity, I want to once again thank the representatives of the private sector, public organizations and individuals both for the donations and for the assistance provided to citizens, for organizing the medical industry in a short time in accordance with our interests. Today, the private sector and public organizations provide assistance to those in need. First among them, of course, is the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The Foundation and people individuals help those in need. Everyone should do everything they can. This once again demonstrates the highest qualities inherent in our people. I do hope that the pandemic will sooner or later end and the atmosphere and the spirit of solidarity in our society will become even stronger after that.

I congratulate you on today's opening and wish you continued success in your activity. Thank you!

***

Then the employees of the facility Aygun Maharramova and Karim Babayev thanked President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva for the attention to their city and the conditions created for youth.

***

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. I am very glad that the people of Sumgayit work in this factory. Job creation is one of our priorities. I want to say again that dozens of new modern enterprises have been created in Sumgayit in recent years, and the vast majority of workers there are residents of this city. There are also people coming here from Baku. I said last time that Baku and Sumgayit seem to have merged. Therefore, when introducing the quarantine regime, we viewed Baku, the Absheron district and Sumgayit as one territory, because we are aware that there are people living in Sumgayit and working in Baku, and vice versa.

Of course, the development of modern industrial potential requires modern personnel. Today, youth is precisely such a driving force that ensures the organization of a modern approach, of modern industry. I said that many countries, including ours, are experiencing economic difficulties today. Recently, I met in the form of a video conference with the leaders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It was noted that during the pandemic, Azerbaijan has shown good results in the economic sphere. Suffice it to say that more than 150 countries in the world have turned to international financial institutions for help today. That is, their internal financial resources do not allow for the implementation of the necessary work. Azerbaijan is not on this list. We belong to countries that are struggling with this misfortune on their own. I should also note that we have already assisted more than 10 countries, sent transport planes with medical supplies and disinfection materials to them. Some countries have been given financial assistance. We have sent two donations to the World Health Organization. There are not many countries like that. This indicates our responsibility and demonstrates that we play an active role in the fight against the pandemic globally as well.

As for our economic indicators, of course, January and February were very encouraging. Honestly, I thought that we would end this year with record performance. However, the pandemic intervened in our lives and disrupted all our plans. Despite this  I have already said that the economic situation of many countries remains difficult, the economy is in recession  the results of four months in Azerbaijan indicate that the economy grew, albeit only a little, by 0.2 percent. Of course, this can be considered conditional growth. However, there is no recession yet.

With regard to the development of the non-oil sector, the industrial growth of this sector exceeds 16 percent. This is the result of the work done. It is industrialization and the establishment of new industrial enterprises that open up opportunities for this, including those in Sumgayit. But everyone should know that our foreign exchange reserves have diminished. It will take time to revitalize the economy and restore jobs. Therefore, we are creating 90,000 public jobs, 80,000 families are receiving social assistance from the state, the necessary funds are paid to 12,000 families under the self-employment program. We are doing all this so that unemployment does not increase. However, unemployment has increased in all countries. Even in the most developed countries it grew rapidly. The numbers will probably show that it has grown in Azerbaijan too. Therefore, from now on, our main goals are both to maintain control over the situation related to the coronavirus and to plan on an exit from the pandemic so that it is smooth and effective and we can restore economic activity as soon as possible. Therefore, all state and government agencies are preparing proposals in these three areas today. I believe that we will achieve this.

I congratulate you once again and wish you success.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The benefits of routine lung cancer screenings have been hotly debated in the medical community. After reviewing a national trial published in 2011, the US Preventive Services Task Force introduced a recommendation for systematic low-dose CT lung cancer screenings for people at high risk. At the time, some leaders in the primary care community were not convinced that there was strong enough evidence in the initial trial to support routine screening. A new lung cancer screening cohort study conducted at a large integrated health system suggests that lung cancer screening in primary care is feasible. The study demonstrated low adverse event rates, and 70 percent of diagnosed lung cancer cases were detected at early stages in their development.

"Screening can be highly beneficial but can also create an illusion of benefits even when causing a net harm," notes Mayo Clinic clinical epidemiologist Chyke A. Doubeni and colleagues, in an editorial response to the Handy et al study. The "window of net benefit" depends on a number of factors in the screening and treatment process, including "quality of CT images and quality of interpretation, disease prevalence in the population, patient health status, and the timeliness, safety, and effectiveness of treatment for abnormal screening results."

Still, the authors write, "Family medicine is critical for increasing the reach of lung cancer screenings," and primary care is an "ideal setting to improve access to screenings, particularly for underserved populations." Therefore, family physicians should be engaged and equipped with guidance on best practices in lung cancer screenings and referrals.

###

Results of Lung Cancer Screening in the Community

John R. Handy, Jr, MD, HonD, et al

Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, Oregon

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/243

Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Implementation in Primary Care: A Call to Action

Chyke A. Doubeni, MD, MPH, et al

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/196
NEW HAVEN  Albertus Magnus College has rescheduled its planned commencement ceremony for more than 400 graduates to September.

The commencement ceremony originally was set for Sunday, but because of the coronavirus pandemic it now will take place Sept. 27.

In a statement, college President Marc Camille applauded the class of 2020 for continuing on amid the pandemic.

In their final semester with us, the pandemic forced them to be online only, to move out of residence halls, to work from home, care for family members and friends, face financial hardships and more, and yet they persevered and soared, Camille wrote.

I received numerous student messages, written with conviction, compassion, and respect, asking for us to give them their earned and desired in-person commencement ceremony, he said. In rescheduling the Class of 2020 ceremony to the fall, our Albertus community is filled with faith and optimism that we will be able to come together and celebrate our students milestone achievement, which will be even more momentous with our 95th anniversary celebration.

The college will bestow four honorary doctorates: former trustees Jeanne Dennison and the late Bill Doyle, Yale New Haven Health CEO Marna Borgstrom and commencement speaker Chris Lowney, a former JP Morgan executive.

NAACP New Haven branch President Dori Dumas and Unite for Sight founder Jennifer Staple-Clark will receive the colleges St. Dominic Medal.
First came coronavirus, then the price war; now painful government austerity measures that could prove unpopular.

Some wars cannot be won. Saudi Arabia is learning that the hard way, as evidenced by the kingdoms twin announcements on Monday.

The first involved austerity measures that shift the bulk of the burden of falling oil income squarely onto the shoulders of ordinary Saudis. The second announcement concerned oil output cuts of the voluntary variety  not those mandated by the recent agreement between the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.

In case youre a bit behind on all the drama roiling oil markets this year, heres a brief recap of the highlights:

Prices of global benchmark Brent crude started the year around $66 a barrel. By the close of February, Brent was trading around $50 a barrel as coronavirus lockdowns severely curtailed global oil demand.

Understandably, Saudi-led OPEC wanted to counter this hit with deep supply cuts. But the Saudis could not convince the cartels biggest ally  Russia  to play ball.

Riyadh retaliated in March by lowering the price it charges for crude and announcing it would pump oil with abandon  moves designed to steal market share from higher-cost producers like Russia and United States shale oil firms. Theres a reason they call it a price war. Brent subsequently closed out March around $22 a barrel.

It is possible that oil prices would have fallen that far, that fast regardless of Saudi shenanigans. But many analysts believe the price war almost surely hastened the rout. And it has caused all kinds of upset.

Congressional lawmakers from US states where oil producers cannot compete at such low prices accused the Saudis of engaging in economic warfare. Two US senators introduced legislation that called for the US to remove troops and military equipment from Saudi Arabia if the kingdom did not stop pumping so much crude.

The kingdoms de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), did fall into line, albeit with a nudge from US President Donald Trump, who is up for re-election this year and has vowed to defend the US oil and gas industry.

Last month, OPEC and its allies agreed to cut output by a record 9.7 million barrels per day. But global demand has fallen by around 30 million barrels per day. Prices will likely remain under pressure as long as the glut persists.

This has forced some tough decisions on the Saudis. Though the kingdom can pump oil more cheaply than any other producer, it is not making enough to fund its state budget, which the IMF reckons requires oil to fetch around $76 a barrel this year.

Though they have ample foreign exchange reserves, in March, the Saudis blew through their savings at the fastest pace in nearly 20 years. The kingdom has gone to international debt markets to help close its funding gap, issuing some $7bn worth of bonds last month alone. But it cannot simply borrow its way out of this bind. Belt-tightening is also required.

From borrowing to belt-tightening

After ratings agency Moodys cut the kingdoms outlook from stable to negative earlier this month, Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan warned of painful measures to come.

On Monday, a raft of hurt was unveiled.

The real eye-grabber on the list of Saudi austerity measures involves VAT  value-added tax, which will be hiked to 15 percent in July from its current level of five percent.

Progressive economists disdain VAT because it disproportionately hits less well-off households by gobbling up a bigger slice of their disposable incomes. Not only will Saudis see prices rise because of the tripling of VAT, but those households with a breadwinner employed by the state will also have less money in their pockets because the government also announced on Monday that it is suspending its cost of living allowance for state workers starting in June.

This is tricky stuff for any government, but especially one where the social contract between ruler and ruled pivots on a generous welfare state in exchange for political obedience.

During past bouts of austerity, the government has relied on cuts to capital spending and refrained from hitting the pockets of households for fear of igniting social unrest, said Capital Economics senior emerging markets economist Jason Tuvey in a note to clients on Monday. Despite comments last week from Mr. al-Jadaan that suggested households would be shielded once more, this latest package suggests otherwise.

The austerity knife is also carving away funding for some projects that fall under the umbrella of MBSs highly vaunted but hardly realised Vision 2030  a blueprint for diversifying the kingdoms economy away from fossil fuels and creating sustainable jobs for its youthful workforce.

As long as oil prices remain depressed, Vision 2030 will be pushed further into the future. And Saudi Arabia will continue to face tough choices to close its budget gap.

Oil markets inched one million barrels per day closer to rebalancing on Monday after the kingdoms energy ministry announced that it had told state oil giant Aramco to cut oil output by that much in June. This is on top of the curbs Saudi Arabia already signed on to last month as part of the agreement between OPEC and its allies.

The announcement likely went down well in Washington. Every barrel of oil that is removed from global markets brings beleaguered US shale oil producers closer to a market in which they can compete  and subsequently takes the heat off Trump to do more to protect the US oil patch from Saudi competition.

Meanwhile, green shoots of reviving demand are surfacing as lockdown restrictions are eased and international travel slowly awakens from hibernation. This has helped oil prices start to claw back some of the ground lost this year.

But balance is still a long way off, and a second wave of coronavirus infections could yet scorch those green shoots.

This played out in oil prices on Monday. While Brent got a slight boost after the Saudis announced the additional output cuts, fear of more coronavirus disruptions saw prices fall just over four percent, to see Brent settle just below $30 a barrel.
The FBI along with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a man for allegedly killing a 27-year-old Indian national seven years ago, an official said on Tuesday.

Manpreet Ghuman Singh, a native of Punjab's Majri Kishnewally village in Fatehgarh Sahib town, was working at a gas station in South Lake Tahoe in California when he was shot dead by an unknown assailant on August 6, 2013.

After years of investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the police on Tuesday arrested 34-year-old Sean Donohoe on charges of killing Manpreet.

Donohoe, who lives in Las Vegas, was a resident of South Lake Tahoe city in California at the time of the incident.

In a statement, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department said that on August 6, 2013, an unknown man wearing a face mask walked into the US Gasoline Station at 2470 Lake Tahoe Blvd, shot and killed the clerk, Manpreet Singh of South Lake Tahoe, California.

The killer then strolled out the front door and fled. The case eventually went cold with no leads, the police said.

Thereafter the case was assigned to the El Dorado County Cold Case Task Force, which is a collaboration between the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Science (BFS) and the FBI.

In July 2017, the El Dorado District Attorney's Office posted a video about the homicide in hopes that new leads would be generated.

A witness watched the video and contacted investigators in the summer of 2019. The witness told investigators that Donohoe was responsible for the killing, leading to his arrest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BERLIN, May 12 (Reuters) - Hundreds of German executives who want to get back to China plan to charter a first flight on May 25, with Beijing offering to waive quarantine measures introduced to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, business and diplomatic sources said.

About 500 to 1,000 business managers have been offered an accelerated re-entry procedure by the Chinese government, a German business representative told Reuters on Tuesday, with family members bringing the total to around 2,500 people.

The German Chamber of Commerce in China is in the process of organising a first charter flight with Lufthansa that could fly from Frankfurt to Shanghai on May 25, the representative said.

China has offered to allow the executives to return without having to go into a two-week quarantine, one diplomat said.

Industry representatives said those returning would need to present a negative test for the novel coronavirus, certified by their company doctor, the health department or a laboratory no more than 48 hours before the planned departure.

The German foreign ministry, which has advised against global travel until June 14, said it was examining the offer.

Diplomats said the European Union needed to decide how to proceed, noting the need to clarify whether there can be reciprocity so Chinese managers can return to Europe.

China is Germany's most important trading partner by far, with around 206 billion euros ($223.76 billion) worth of goods traded in 2019.

Even as much of the rest of the world economy has shut down to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which originated in China, factories there have been ramping up production again since the virus started abating. ($1 = 0.9206 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Rene Wagner; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Conversion approvals by Transport Canada follow a similar, recently announced approval for the Dash 8-400 aircraft

Conversions will support airlift of freight in response to COVID-19

Nairobi -based 748 Air Services (K) Ltd is the first operator of the Dash 8-100 Simplified Package Freighter

Images relating to this release will be available at https://dehavilland.com/en/media

TORONTO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited ("De Havilland Canada") announced today that Transport Canada has approved the conversion of Dash 8-100/200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft into Simplified Package Freighters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 748 Air Services (K) Ltd, a well-known provider of passenger and cargo services to humanitarian, natural resources and government sectors in Africa, has ordered the Service Bulletin and conversion kits for their four Dash 8-100 aircraft and globally, will be the first operator for the Dash 8-100 Simplified Package Freighter. 748 Air Services (K) Ltd has also ordered the Simplified Package Freighter Service Bulletin and conversion kits for their three Dash 8-400 aircraft.

Headquartered at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, 748 Air Services (K) Ltd distinguishes itself as an innovative and solution oriented company that effectively responds to demands presented within the industry.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with many challenges including broad government mandates that restrict the movements of both passengers and cargo for an indefinite duration. Movement has been limited to humanitarian cargo only. We have responded with Air Cargo solutions to support the humanitarian, natural resources and government sectors, who will benefit from the conversion of our four Dash 8-100 aircraft and three of our Dash 8-400 (Q400) aircraft into Simplified Package Freighters. We are extremely grateful to De Havilland Canada and Transport Canada for providing these solutions quickly," said Moses Mwangi, Managing Director, 748 Air Services (K) Ltd.

"We're delighted to announce 748 Air Services (K) Ltd as the first customer for the Dash 8-100 Simplified Package Freighter and thank them for their order which also includes conversion kits for their three Dash 8-400 aircraft. We commend them as they reconfigure some aircraft in their fleet to continue their excellent work delivering essential passenger and cargo services in the eastern and central regions of Africa," said Todd Young, Chief Operating Officer, De Havilland Canada. "De Havilland Canada continues to be highly focused on providing solutions to our operators as they seek mechanisms to redeploy their fleets in response to COVID-19. It is gratifying to know that we are succeeding in creating opportunities for our operators in these challenging times."

Approved by Transport Canada, De Havilland Canada's Service Bulletins allow Dash 8-100/200, Dash 8-300 and Dash 8-400 aircraft to be quickly converted into Simplified Package Freighters by the removal of seats and seat track covers in the passenger cabins. The converted Dash 8-100/200, Dash 8-300 and Dash 8-400 aircraft provide total potential cargo capacities of up to 6,500 lb, up to 9,625 lb and up to 17,960 lb respectively.

About De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited

With its acquisition of the Dash 8 aircraft program, Longview Aviation Capital has proudly relaunched De Havilland Canada, one of Canada's most iconic brands. De Havilland Canada's portfolio includes support to the worldwide fleet of Dash 8-100/200/300/400 aircraft, as well as production and sales of the Dash 8-400 aircraft. With its low carbon footprint and operating costs, industry-leading passenger experience and jet-like performance, the Dash 8-400 aircraft, which seats up to 90 passengers, is the environmentally responsible choice for operators seeking optimal performance on regional routes. https://dehavilland.com

Images relating to this release will be available at https://dehavilland.com/en/media

De Havilland, Dash 8, Dash 8-100/200/300 and Dash 8-400 are trademarks of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited.

SOURCE De Havilland Aircraft of Canada
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Scott Grawe expects to see some hiccups as states start to reopen and supply chains slowly rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Robert and Jane Sturgeon Fellow and Chair of supply chain management in Iowa State University's Ivy College of Business says there is no case study, no past experience to help guide this recovery. And the uncertainty and unpredictability that led to shortages of toilet paper and cleaning supplies at the start of this pandemic will continue to disrupt supply chains.

"The supply chain will face some of the same challenges it did going into this mess," Grawe said. "You're trying to predict human behavior and demand at the consumer level, which is a challenge. For example, restaurants may have a hard time getting items or they may be faced with oversupply if consumers are not coming back."

Supply chains work best with predictability, Grawe said. Uncertainty makes it difficult for companies to prepare for what's to come and for suppliers to quickly change course when there is a major disruption. While it is hard to make sense of farmers leaving vegetables to rot in a field or dumping milk down the drain at a dairy, when there are long lines outside of food pantries across the country, Grawe says that is often the most cost-effective option.

"Food supply chains, especially for many staples, are so efficient that any significant change in operation is going to be expensive," Grawe said. "Many dairy farms are not set up to package milk for the individual consumer, and it can be far more expensive to try and make that switch rather than just dump it. It's a different supply chain."

Farmers have to weigh if it's worth the investment, Grawe added, because by the time they've made the change things could be back to normal.

"You don't make supply chain investments unless you have a really strong demand forecast, and right now those forecasts are really, really messy," he said. "People will have a hard time spending large sums of money on a moving target."

Unfortunately, donating milk or other food products to those in need is not as simple as it may seem. Grawe says most food banks are not equipped to accept huge quantities, especially food that needs temperature control.

Will pandemic prompt changes?

Shortages of personal protective equipment and other supplies are raising questions about whether the U.S. is too dependent on China as a major supplier. Grawe says there were similar questions in response to tariffs on Chinese products. The answer in both cases centers on cost, which makes broad changes unlikely.

"This pandemic does raise concerns about flexibility and the need for alternative supply sources," Grawe said. "As customers and businesses demand less expensive products or less expensive health care, it's going to continue to drive business to China."

Explore further COVID-19: The impact on supply chains
[May 12, 2020] Political Campaigns Must Focus On Search Results Now, Lumentus Lightbox Webinar Explains

NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Political campaigns, rewriting the playbook in a post-COVID world, are rapidly discovering that optimizing Google search is one of the most important tactics as Senate, Congressional and statewide races enter the homestretch. Lumentus Lightbox , a new technology platform that empowers professional communicators and campaign staff to streamline and standardize search result analysis and identify strengths and weaknesses in their candidates' online profile, is participating in an upcoming webinar produced by "Campaigns & Elections," the political campaign industry maazine.



Geared primarily for political campaign managers, strategists and consultants at national, statewide and regional races, the webinar, scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon EDT on Thursday, May 14, highlights both the importance of optimizing Google search and providing simple and dynamic recommendations to help them achieve the best results. "As campaigns face a social distancing environment without rallies or door-knocking, they must connect with voters, supporters and donors online," said Jesse Jacobs, chief operating officer of Lightbox. "Even TV spots and social media ads only send potential supporters to their phones or computers to learn more. Lightbox offers campaigns the ability to tap the power of search to raise their profiles, strengthen their reputations and engage more deeply with supporters online."

"Journalists and influential bloggers also depend on search to perform their research on candidates and even campaign staff," Jacobs added. "Campaign search results are their front doors. Staff and strategists need to know not only what appears in the first listings -- but why. Lightbox provides the answers and a roadmap to improvement." Campaign managers and staff, political strategists and all communication professionals are invited to view the event. The webinar will be moderated by Shane D'Aprile, co-owner and co-publisher, "Campaigns and Elections." Panelists are Jesse Jacobs, COO, Lumentus Lightbox and Chris Sonzogni, Business Marketing Director, SmartAsset, former journalist and digital search expert. For more information and registration details, see https://bit.ly/2SSWMRm View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/political-campaigns-must-focus-on-search-results-now-lumentus-lightbox-webinar-explains-301057873.html SOURCE Lumentus Lightbox

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New York state had the highest number of reported anti-Semitic incidents in the country last year, according to an annual audit done by the Anti-Defamation League, a New York City-based anti-hate organization.

The group used reports from community members, news media and law enforcement to gather the total number of incidents. New York comes in with the highest number of reported incidents at 430, followed by New Jersey with 345 cases.

Most of the cases in New York state happened in New York City's five boroughs, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. The organization also created an interactive map, which tracks extremist and anti-Semitic incidents around the nation.

In the Capital Region, the Anti-Defamation League noted the four times white supremacist written propaganda was found in Troy last year that had phrases like "One nation against invasion," "Reject poison," and "America first."

In its interactive map online the ADL also notes more recent incidents, like in February when the Albany Jewish Community Center was one of the many JCCs around the nation that received a vague emailed bomb threat.

Alexander Rosemberg, deputy regional director for New York and New Jersey, said when the group was doing the audit, only 38 of the 438 incidents came from regions north of Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties. But added that discrimination and threats likely occur far more frequently in other parts of the state than the report reflects. The Anti-Defamation League held an online call with reporters Tuesday to discuss the audit.

I think the reason for this is the need for better training and reporting on the part of law enforcement and individuals, Rosemberg said. When something happens to you, you need to report it to law enforcement and agencies like ADL to make sure it doesnt go uninvestigated.

The report found that nearly two-thirds of American Jews feel they are less safe today than they were a decade ago. More than half of American Jews either have experienced or witnessed an anti-Semitic incident.

The 2019 audit found there were on average as many as six anti-Semitic incidences each day in the U.S. last year. This was the highest level of anti-Sematic activity ever recorded by the ADL.

Since the previous audit, there was a 56 percent increase in violent assaults, which involved 95 victims and led to five deaths. More than half of the assaults nationwide took place in the five boroughs of New York City. Brooklyn had 25 of the assaults.

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

One of the most notable assaults was when a man entered a Hanukkah gathering at a hasidic rabbi's home in Monsey, Rockland County in December and stabbed five people, one of whom died.

Keep in mind that New York City has the largest Jewish population than any city on the planet, and this is place where Jews are unfortunately most victimized, Greenblatt said.

Greenblatt said the spike in discrimination and anti-Semitic incidences has much to do with the intense prevalence of cell phones and upbiquitousness of social media. He said people will often video these incidences and spread them around inspiring copycats.

He also notes he believes its important to track beyond high profile and lethal incidences.

"We have now got to pay attention when kids heil Hilter as a joke or when Jewish students are ostracized for supporting Israel on college campuses, Greenblatt said. If we want to put the lid back on the sewers of hate, we must not only fight criminal activity, but the apathy that comes when anti-Semitism is normalized.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 00:46:01|Editor: huaxia

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BUJUMBURA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Burundi on Tuesday recorded eight new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the east African country to 27, a top official said.

Thaddee Ndikumana, health minister, said in a statement that out of a total of 158 people who were screened from May 5 to 8, eight turned out positive for COVID-19.

Ndikumana said the identification of all those who have been in contact with the eight new cases was continuing.

The minister urged the public to remain calm and follow the preventive measures against the disease. Enditem
Coronavirus restrictions will be eased in Senegal, President Macky Sall said late on Monday, with night-time curfews shortened and mosques reopened.

While confirming the rules would change on Tuesday, Sall said in a televised address that Senegalese would need to "adapt individual and collective behaviour" and "learn to live with the virus".

He said the COVID-19 disease would continue to circulate for at least another three months even under the best-case scenario.

Under the new rules, curfews will run from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am, shaving two hours off the current restrictions.

Mosques will be reopened for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, and churches will also be allowed to accept worshippers.

Markets and businesses, which have only been allowed to open a few days a week during the lockdown, will now only need to be closed for a day's cleaning each week.

Restrictions imposed on public transport will also be eased, though schools will not begin reopening until next month.

Senegal has been relatively lightly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, suffering 1,886 cases and 19 fatalities, according to the official figures.

The authorities did not impose a total lockdown but the borders were closed and travel between the main cities was banned.
MELVILLE, N.Y., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon Solutions America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., today announced the addition of three Celero Series Digital Cutters from MultiCam, Inc., an expert in the large format finishing market, to its finishing solutions portfolio. The Celero Series Cutters are manufactured to specifications, allowing print providers the versatility to cut and finish a wide range of graphics in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The operator friendly, advanced flatbed cutting Celero Series Digital Cutters are designed to support both rigid and flexible substrates. Equipped with standard features and options to benefit an entry-level to proficient-level customer base, these three series of cutters allow print providers to choose a system that will meet specifications designed to fit their business model. Each model is manufactured at MultiCam's 108,000 square foot production facility in Dallas which, since 1989, has produced over 13,000 cutting machines.

The additions to the Celero Series Digital Cutters now offered through Canon Solutions America, Inc. include:

Celero 3 Series : An entry-level cutter designed to meet the needs of small to mid-sized print providers. This system can cut both rigid and flexible substrates with the included router and knife system. The modular tooling can process a wide variety of substrates on the 60" x 120" cutting table.

: An entry-level cutter designed to meet the needs of small to mid-sized print providers. This system can cut both rigid and flexible substrates with the included router and knife system. The modular tooling can process a wide variety of substrates on the 60" x 120" cutting table. Celero 5 Series : A mid-level cutting system that can be integrated with a high level of production output from a 60" x 120" table. The 5 Series High Speed option can enhance the cutting speed up to 6,000 inches per minute (IPM), making the 5 Series one of the fastest cutting systems on the market today. The option for the Automatic Tool Changer allows the operator to change knives or router bits through an automated process, increasing productivity.

: A mid-level cutting system that can be integrated with a high level of production output from a 60" x 120" table. The 5 Series High Speed option can enhance the cutting speed up to 6,000 inches per minute (IPM), making the 5 Series one of the fastest cutting systems on the market today. The option for the Automatic Tool Changer allows the operator to change knives or router bits through an automated process, increasing productivity. Celero 7 Series: A highly productive system designed to allow print providers unparalleled routing capabilities as well as one of the fastest knife cutting speeds in the industry. The 7 Series products can cut up to 7,800 inches per minute (IPM). There are three models in the 7 Series range with a variety of cutting table sizes to help meet the demands of high-volume shops. MultiCam manufactures 60" x 120", 127" x 78.74" and 127" x 157" table sizes, which can help reduce operator processing time. Each model of the 7 Series cutters has the option to utilize the Automatic Tool Change Systems (ATC) which can change up to 18 toolsnine knives and nine router bits.

Each model's cutters are equipped with Universal and Oscillating Knives. With the addition of these cutter models, MultiCam, Inc. will continue to support Canon Solutions America, Inc. with technical knowledge and after-sales support. This partnership will provide a high level of technical expertise for print providers.

"The finishing segment of the large format market in the U.S. continues to grow, and we are committed to offering our customers cost-effective, efficient solutions designed for easy workflow integration," said Peter P. Kowalczuk, president, Canon Solutions America, Inc. "This expanded portfolio allows Canon Solutions America, Inc. to furnish print providers with a high level of technical expertise, after-sales support and additional finishing solutions."

To receive additional information, please contact your local Canon Solutions America, Inc. representative, or send your request through our website: https://csa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/csa/contactus

About MultiCam, Inc.

Founded in 1989, MultiCam is proud to have served the global manufacturing industry for over 30 years, delivering high-quality Made-in-America products using American made steel, components, and people. MultiCam has delivered over 13,000 machines, each made to order and built to last. MultiCam supplies innovative CNC cutting solutions for a multitude of industries and applications ranging from sign making to digital finishing, and aerospace to automotive, sheet-metal to plate-steel processing, hardwoods to cabinet making, thermoform trimming to plastics fabrication. MultiCam provides support to their global customers using a network of sales, service and process application experts, including 60 locations worldwide with 20 Technology Centers across North America. MultiCam's product portfolio includes CNC Router, Digital Cutter, Laser, Plasma, and Waterjet cutting machines.

About Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Canon Solutions America, Inc. provides industry leading enterprise, production, and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. Canon Solutions America, Inc. helps companies of all sizes discover ways to improve sustainability, increase efficiency, and control costs in conjunction with high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., Canon Solutions America, Inc. is headquartered in Melville, NY and has sales and service locations across the U.S. For more information on Canon Solutions America, Inc., please visit csa.canon.com .

Canon Solutions America, Inc. Website:

csa.canon.com

For sales info/customer support:

1-844-443-INFO (4636)

Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.



 2020 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Canon Solutions America

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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Tue, May 12, 2020 12:20 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7700f3 2 World Donald-Trump,press-conference,White-House,media Free

US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his coronavirus press briefing on Monday after getting into a testy exchange with an Asian-American reporter.

CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus.

"Why does that matter?" she asked. "Why is this a global competition when, every day, Americans are still losing their lives?"

"They're losing their lives everywhere in the world," Trump replied. "And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK?"

Jiang, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as a "Chinese born West Virginian," pushed back.

"Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?" she said, implying it was due to her race.

"I'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that," Trump said.

He then attempted to move on to another reporter as Jiang continued to press him about his response.

Trump called on another female reporter but then immediately called on someone else.

When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump abruptly ended the press conference and walked back into the White House.

The internet was quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

"I #StandWithWeijiaJiang against Trump's racist tantrums," tweeted "Star Trek" actor and prominent Asian-American activist George Takei.

Reporter and CNN political analyst April Ryan, who has also been on the receiving end of Trump's words, tweeted: "Welcome to the club! This is sickening! It is his habit!"

Trump, who has never been shy about his dislike for the news media, has often locked horns with journalists during his coronavirus press briefings.

More than 80,000 people have died in the US from the coronavirus pandemic, out of more than 1.3 million cases, according to the latest figures on Monday from Johns Hopkins University, by far the highest death toll of any country.
A creepy cafe owner who offered a teenage waitress $200 to have sex with him and made her expose herself at work has been found guilty of indecent assault.

Miguel Dantas De Sa, now 28, was found guilty of indecently assaulting the 16-year-old waitress during an evening shift at the cafe in Adelaide on November 12, 2016.

De Sa had employed the teenage girl three months prior and on her first evening shift asked her to wear a dress.

She told him it was too cold to wear a dress and instead arrived to work at 5pm in jeans and a shirt.

Two hours into her shift, De Sa called the waitress to follow him to the coolroom in the underground car park.

De Sa (pictured) offered the then 16-year-old waitress $200 to have sex with him

He told her to count how many muffins there were and to take them upstairs back to the cafe.

As she stood on a crate to grab the muffins, the victim said De Sa stood 'real close, like pushed behind me' before asking her what she would do for $200.

The victim thought it was a work related question to which she responded that she would clean out the storeroom or rearrange decorations in the cafe.

After about 10 minutes, the pair went back up to the cafe and De Sa gave her $100 to purchase some marshmallows and bread, before telling her to meet him in the storeroom when she returned.

De Sa claims he gave her $20, which the teenager denies.

The teenage girl purchased $30 worth of marshmallows but no bread as there were none of the brand the cafe uses.

Upon returning to the cafe, she met her boss in the storeroom and he asked her to look the door behind her.

She went to give him the change but De Sa told her to 'keep it for now' as he continued to work on the stocktake.

Grabbing her pen and paper she began to help De Sa with the stocktake and went to the drinks, where he was 'hovering over and sort of looking over my shoulder and stuff and bending down with his body behind me', she said

De Sa (pictured) would repeatedly stand really close to the girl from behind and told her to put her pants down while he touched her hips and bare bottom

De Sa asked the waitress how many sexual partners she's had, what type of sex she's had, and how many boys she had kissed while she was sitting on his lap

De Sa then sat down on a chair and called over the waitress to sit on his lap. She moved a little toward him before he asked her again and she eventually sat on him.

He then proceeded to ask her how many sexual partners she'd had, what type of sex she'd had, and how many boys she had kissed.

She awkwardly laughed and brushed off the questions when De Sa then asked her if she would have sex with him for $200.

The then 16-year-old did not respond to De Sa's request which prompted him to ask if she would give him a massage for $20.

She insisted she was't very good at giving massages to which he responded, 'come on, you can't be that bad'.

She then gave him a short shoulder massage for a couple of minutes as he was sitting on the chair.

When she stopped the massage, the waitress said she had to go back to work and went to grab the marshmallows off the table when De Sa came up behind her.

'What colour underwear are you wearing? I think you'd be a gstring type of girl,' he told her.

De Sa was touching the girl's hips and was pushing up against her from behind while looping his fingers through her underwear.

He then asked her to pull her pants down to 'look at her bum', which she did as he continued touching her hips and bare backside.

The victim said she felt that she had to do as he said because De Sa was her boss.

De Sa told the female waitress to reconsider his offer and that he had a 'shack' nearby

The pair eventually went back up to the cafe and finished off their work before De Sa left at 8pm.

As the victim and another female front of house employee were closing up the cafe and picking up chairs from outside, De Sa rang her saying he needed to speak to the other worker.

De Sa told the victim to rethink his offer and that he had a 'shack' nearby and she could negotiate the terms.

He told her she would be his best girl, she would get more shifts if she accepted his offer and not tell anyone.

She said she would have to think about it.

When her boyfriend picked her up from work she told him that her boss was being 'creepy' and he told her to tell her mum.

About 1.30pm on November 13, the teenage girl texted De Sa saying, 'About what we spoke about last night, I don't think it's a very good idea since it would probably be uncomfortable working together and stuff. That's understandable, isn't it?'

De Sa responded, 'Of course it is! I understand and hope I didn't upset you. Sorry if I upset you. Are you upset with me?'

She did not respond to him and De Sa followed up a text asking her size because he wanted to buy her some Victoria's Secret underwear.

Later that night, the teenager wept as she told her mum about what had happened at work.

Her mother rang the police that night and the pair went to their local police station the following Monday to give evidence.

De Sa, who was interviewed in February 18, denied all the allegations and said she wasn't getting any shifts because she was an unreliable worker

De Sa, who was interviewed in February 18, denied all the allegations and said she wasn't getting any shifts because she was an unreliable worker.

His defence lawyer Mr Caldicott told the court that the victim's account had inconsistencies throughout.

Mr Caldicott said that during the police investigation, the $70 that was given to the victim wasn't returned.

He also said there was no telephone records and that the victim was not told to keep the messages.

The victim would also use the terms 'from what I can remember' or 'as far as I can remember' during her police interview.

Judge Chapman said he believed the victim had presented well as a witness.

'Her answers were thoughtful and measured. I consider she was doing her best to remember that evening at work; an evening which remains distressing. I got no sense of her embellishing what occurred.'

Judge Chapman found De Sa guilty of all three counts and he will return to court for sentencing submissions in June.
A FAMILY had an unexpected visitor when a tawny owl fell down their chimney and got stuck in the fireplace.

Abi Winfield discovered the bird after hearing bangs and hooting sounds coming from the chimney at her home in Ewelme, where she lives with her husband Chris and daughter Hannah.

She had thought that perhaps an owl was building a nest at the top of the chimney until she found the bird trapped behind a fireplace grille.

The family called the RSPCA who were able to rescue the owl and release it back into the wild.

Mrs Winfield, 57, said: I was aware over the preceding day or two when I got up in the middle of the night there were a lot of owl noises. I was also hearing them during the day.

She said her family thought she was going loopy, adding: My son Josh, whos stuck in London, was sending me emojis and gifs of owls.

One night at about 9pm I heard a really loud noise which seemed to be coming from our living room. It was startling. I thought Im going to prove to them Im not going completely mad and I recorded it with my phone.

I was calling my husband saying theres an owl. I assumed there was one creating a nest at the top of our chimney and thats what we could hear. It didnt occur to me it was physically in the chimney.

My husband switched the light on and the sound stopped and we thought it had flown away.

A couple of days later there was a lot of soot coming down the chimney and I again assumed it was building a nest on top. We thought we would just leave it be.

Then at about 6am on a Saturday Mrs Winfield heard more noise coming from the living room.

She said: There was this banging noise and then silence and then banging again and I couldnt work out what it was. It was really noisy.

I went into the living room and there was an owl looking at me from behind the grille rather startled and every so often it would do a massive flap.

I was amazed and then thought I knew there was an owl. I thought I had proved a point.

I woke up my husband and daughter and we quietly went to have a look at the owl and discussed what to do.

We werent very keen to lift the grille and open the doors because it could start batting itself against the wall and cause chaos.

Mrs Winfield called the RSPCA and inspector Lauren Bailey came to the house.

She was wearing personal protective equipment and followed social distancing measures as she recsued the bird with the help of Mr Winfield who lifted the grille slightly while wearing gloves and a mask. The operation took only a few minutes. Miss Bailey said: The owl had his feet up against the grille like he was waving and asking for help.

He was very thin and covered in soot so hed obviously been stuck for some time.

The owl, which the family nicknamed Moon, was put in a cardboard box and taken to Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital, near Aylesbury, where he was cared for and made a full recovery before being released.

Mrs Winfield praised Miss Baileys professionalism and adherence to social distancing measures and thanked the RSPCA and Tiggywinkles for their help.

She added: It was a happy owl story during these difficult times. It added a bit of excitement to our lives.

The RSPCA advises people to fit chimneys with a cowl to prevent birds from falling down it.

To help the RSPCA rescue animals and keep its animal hospitals and centres running for emergency treatment during the coronavirus crisis, donate via www.rspca.org.uk/covid
Its important to emphasize that were not out of the woods yet. The battle continues and we must, but we are more prepared. We need to stay vigilant with social distancing, it remains an imperative. We are a resilient nation and I am confident that we will emerge from this pandemic stronger together. Do we have the coronavirus contained? Right now, it depends on what you mean by containment. If you think that we have it completely under control, we dont. I mean, if you look at the dynamics of the outbreak we are seeing a diminution of hospitalizations and infections in some places such as in New York City, which has plateaued and started to come down  New Orleans  but in other parts of the country, we are seeing spikes. So I think were going in the right direction, but the right direction does not mean we have by any means total control of this outbreak. If we dont do better on testing, on contact tracing and on social distancing, will deaths from coronavirus necessarily increase? Of course, if you do not do an adequate response we will have the deleterious consequence of more infections and more deaths. If we do not respond in an adequate way when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that there will be infections that will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence. I would hope by that point in time in the fall that we have more than enough to respond adequately. But if we dont, there will be problems. I think youre all noble public servants, but I worry that youre trying to have it both ways. You say the states shouldnt open too early, but then you dont give us the resources to succeed. You work for a president who is frankly undermining our efforts to comply with the guidance that youve given us. And then the guidance that you have provided is criminally vague. Obviously the plan to reopen America was meant to be followed by more detailed, nuanced guidance. Why didnt this plan get released? And if it is just being reviewed, when is it going to be released? We have generated a series of guidances as you know. And this outbreak response has evolved from the C.D.C. to an all of government response. As we work through the guidances, a number of them go for interagency review and get every agency input to make sure that these guidances are more broadly applicable for different parts of our society. The guidances that youve talked about have gone through that interagency review, their comments that have come back to C.D.C., and I anticipate theyll go back up into the task force for final review. But were reopening in Connecticut in five days, in 10 days. This guidance isnt going to be useful to us in two weeks. So is it this week, is it next week, when are we going to get this expertise from the federal government? I do anticipate this broader guidance, though, to be posted on the C.D.C. website soon. I cant tell you  soon  but I can tell you your state can reach out to C.D.C., and well give guidance directly to anyone in your state on any circumstance that your state desires guidance from. Soon, isnt terribly helpful. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the one size fits all that were going to do a national strategy, and nobody is going to go to school, is kind of ridiculous. We really ought to be doing it school district by school district. So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know whats best for the economy. And as much as I respect you Dr. Fauci, I dont think youre the end all. I dont think youre the one person that gets to make a decision. We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying theres not going to be a surge. I have never made myself out to be the end all and only voice in this. Im a scientist, a physician and a public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence. There are a number of other people who come into that, and give advice that are more related to the things that you spoke about  the need to get the country back open again and economically. I dont give advice about economic things. I dont give advice about anything other than public health. So I want to respond to that. The second thing is that you used the words, we should be humble about what we dont know. And I think that falls under the fact that we dont know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children because the more and more we learn, were seeing things about what this virus can do that we didnt see from the studies in China or in Europe. For example, right now children presenting with Covid-16  Covid-19  who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome, very similar to Kawasaki Syndrome. I think weve got to be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects. So again, youre right in the numbers that children in general do much, much better than adults and the elderly, and particularly those with underlying conditions. But I am very careful, and hopefully humble, in knowing that I dont know everything about this disease. And thats why Im very reserved in making broad predictions.
Since the death of Abba Kyari, the former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, politically conscious Nigerians had been curious about his likely successor.

Mr Kyaris death from complications to coronavirus infection dominated the media space from the incident on April 17, with tributes from friends, colleagues and the media. He died weeks after contracting the novel coronavirus.

Mr Kyari was a powerful presidential aide, technocrat, journalist, administrator, banker and politician.

Following his death, many newspapers speculated on who President Buhari would likely pick to replace him.

READ ALSO:

Those mentioned include Babagana Kingibe, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs, Hammed Alli; and education minister, Adamu Adamu.

However, a retired diplomat, Ibrahim Gambari, was on Tuesday named the new Chief of Staff to the President, according to presidential sources and the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

Mr Gambari, 75, was said to be awaiting an official letter of confirmation. sources.

In a statement by his aide, Abdulazeez Arowona, the Ilorin emir thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Professor Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff.

Early years

Mr Gambari was born in Ilorin, Kwara State on November 24, 1944.

He attended Kings College, Lagos for his secondary education and subsequently attended the London School of Economics where he obtained his Bachelors degree in Economics with specialisation in International Relations.

He picked up a career in teaching, which he began in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany.

Afterwards, he taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State, the second largest university in Africa.

Mr Gambari later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations.

Also, between 1986 and 1989, he was a visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University.

Mr Gambari was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution also in Washington D.C. and a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run center in Italy.

Service

Away from his strides in the academics, Mr Gambari was a renowned diplomat who have represented Nigeria in several international interfaces.

He served as the Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985 when Mr Buhari was the military Head of state.

When asked to validate or discredit insinuations that Mr Buhari was dictatorial, in an interview with The Guardian newspaper 34 years after, he refused, saying I dont know.

As I said, I am not part of the administration now; I am not an official adviser of any kind. I want the administration to succeed, but what I know from experience is that when he was head of state, as a civilian member and a minister in a military government and given a sensitive portfolio of Foreign Affairs, we would meet one-on-one every working day, he said.

Mr Gambari added that Mr Buhari used to see him at least for 30 minutes everyday, during which he would brief him and hand over summary of official telegraphs from all our diplomatic missions and necessary documents to him.

Within 24 hours, I would get a response in his handwriting to category one. That was my experience. I dont know whether that is happening now or not, Gambari told the interviewers.

He was the Chairman of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid between 1990 and 1994, during which he worked closely with African governments to coordinate UN policy to eradicate apartheid, thereby building trust and confidence with governments and policymakers in member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

He was also one of the five members of the Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and your responsibilities at the world body between 1990 and 2012.

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Mr Gambari was appointed by the Secretary-General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and the chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur effective in January 2010.

Speaking on his role in the international space, he told Guardian that he was very privileged to have worked under four Secretary Generals of the UN.

My papers as an ambassador of Nigeria to the UN were first submitted to Javier Perez de Cuellar in January 1990, then Boutros Boutros-Ghali came in and I was the ambassador, and the third one was the late Kofi Annan.

I served partly as an ambassador and later in December 1999, he asked me to join the UN secretariat as an Under-Secretary General, which was the highest grade next to the Secretary General then before the creation of the office of the Deputy Secretary General.

Although Mr Gambari was not always in the news, he has aired his opinion on leadership and the need for African leaders to be committed to the growth of the continent.

Towards the build-up of the 2019 general election, he spoke about previous cases of electoral violence and absence of free and fair elections in Nigeria.

I am concerned for several reasons. Sommetimes, we Nigerians have short memories. In the 2011 general elections, we witnessed real tragedy of violence and in many ways, absence of free and fair outcome. We are proud of the fact that the 2015 elections were credible and peaceful.

That did not happen just by chance; a lot of people were committed to that outcome.I am proud to say that SCDDD constituted a Council of the Wise, headed by retired Justice Muhammadu Uwais, while I served as coordinator, with a member each from the six geo-political zones in the country.

Awards and recognition

He was a recipient of the third highest national honour, Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR).

Also, Mr Gambari was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) form the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut (2002) and Farleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey (2006).

Others include: Honorary Doctorate of Public Service, Chatham University (May 2008) and Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt), University of Ibadan, Nigeria (November 2011).

In 2012, Mr Gambari received South Africas highest national honour conferred on non-citizens, the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo, which was conferred to him personally by President Jacob Zuma on October 26, 2012.

He was also appointed as the first Chancellor, Kwara State University in March 2013.
New Delhi, May 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasized self-reliance and said that humanity will not accept defeat from coronavirus.

"The only way forward is self-reliance. India's self-reliance addresses concerns about world's happiness and peace", PM Modi said during his address to the nation.

The Prime Minister said that even though the situation in the country is unprecedented, humanity will not accept defeat from the pandemic.

"The humankind will not deter. We will have to further firm up our resolve, protect ourselves and march forward," he added.

He said when the crisis began, the country did not manufacture a single PPE and only a few N95 masks were available. "Today two lakh PPE kits and two lakh N95 masks are manufactured in India daily." The Prime Minister said during the challenging time, Indian medicines have come out as a ray of hope. "Due to this step, India is being praised across the world and the Indians feel proud. The world has started believing that India can perform much better." The country has the sources, ability and world's best talent and can make the best products, he added.

In India, there are over 70,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,200 people have succumbed to the viral disease.

The PM expressed his condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones to the deadly virus.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, especially in politics, so Republicans have turned to the Democratic playbook from 2018 in a special election for a House seat outside Los Angeles.

In Mike Garcia, a former naval aviator who flew combat missions over Iraq, Republicans have found a first-time candidate whose biography resembles those of the most successful Democratic candidates from two years ago.

In more than a handful of swing districts, Democrats nominated first-time candidates such as Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Jason Crow of Colorado, who, respectively, served as a Navy helicopter pilot and an Army Ranger. They went on to win GOP-held seats and helped propel Democrats to the majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Garcia entered Tuesday's special election for this swing district a slight favorite over Christy Smith, a member of the state legislature who has run for multiple offices. Garcia has painted her as a political veteran, and outside GOP groups call her "Sacramento politician Christy Smith" at the start of every ad.

"Career politician Christy Smith did nothing," the narrator says in one ad for the Garcia campaign, accusing her of doing little while in the state legislature. "While we suffered, she did nothing, nothing."

It ends with Garcia approving of the ad as it cuts to a picture of him holding a toddler on a tarmac, an F/A-18 strike fighter aircraft in the background.

Garcia's rise demonstrates that some recent trends in congressional politics continue even in the time of a coronavirus pandemic that has cratered the economy.

According to strategists in both parties, voters are still looking to elect a new breed of lawmaker, searching for results-driven candidates with interesting backgrounds and no previous experience in a legislative body.

That stands in contrast to the presidential campaign, in which Joe Biden used his 44 years of combined experience as a senator and vice president to emerge from a crowded field of Democrats, touting himself as the steady hand for these very unsure times.

But when it comes to Capitol Hill, voters appear to still want to shake things up, making candidates like Garcia, Sherrill and Crow such key recruits for their respective campaign committees.

Also, Smith's campaign shows the limitations of trying to tie first-time candidates to President Donald Trump and his more outlandish statements or claims.

In a more aggressive fashion than Democrats in 2018, Smith has tried to turn Garcia into a Trump clone, particularly with the administration's uneven handling of the health and economic crises.

"I absolutely do support the president; I always have," Garcia says in one of Smith's ads, over a montage of news clips showing Trump boasting about his handling of the pandemic while the death toll skyrocketed. "I think Trump is a good president, yeah, I support the president."

Trump is not popular in a district where Hillary Clinton defeated him by seven percentage points in 2016, followed in 2018 by first-time candidate Katie Hill's even larger victory over the GOP incumbent, Steve Knight.

Following Hill's resignation in the wake of an inappropriate relationship with a campaign aide, Garcia finished second behind Smith in the all-party initial ballot in early March, finishing well ahead of Knight, a career politician whose father also represented the region in Sacramento.

Although he publicly supports Trump, Garcia has focused more on standard conservative issues such as cutting taxes - and with no voting record in office, he became harder to hit on issues.

In 2018, those first-time candidates fielded by Democrats had an easier time ducking accusations that they were too liberal or too close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and they found success in focusing their attacks on GOP incumbents for their votes on health care and other kitchen-table issues, steering clear of Trump scandals.

Like many of the 2018 Democrats, Garcia was essentially a self recruit. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had long-standing ties to Knight and, instead, Republicans lucked into having a more interesting candidate.

But Trump may have created a last-minute headache for Garcia by injecting himself into the race with tweets over the weekend accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election by adding an additional in-person voting site.

Democrats were hopeful that Trump's intervention in the race would galvanize more liberal voters who have taken a passive view of the race.

Democrats privately acknowledge Garcia has run a better campaign, but they also say that Republicans have not recruited enough similar candidates to truly put the House majority in play. And even where they do have good recruits, Republicans face a cash shortage that will make their campaigns difficult to launch.

Republicans consider Wesley Hunt their prototype for the future: an African-American who attended the U.S. Military Academy and went on to fly Apache helicopters in the Army, before returning home to the Houston suburbs.

But Hunt had to first fight through a GOP primary and emerged with less than $500,000 left in his campaign coffers, compared with more than $2.6 million held by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas.

Dave Wasserman, the House race analyst for the independent Cook Political Report, calculated the fundraising for 55 races initially targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, finding Democrats hold an average 6-to-1 advantage in cash.

Democrats directly challenge Trump - and GOP incumbents - over president's handling of pandemic

In a strange twist, Garcia and Smith have already won their party's nomination for the regularly scheduled general election in November, so they will face off again regardless of Tuesday's outcome.

Which is why neither the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor the National Republican Congressional Committee will spend any time criticizing their candidate, if they lose, because they have to keep working with the candidate for another six months.

Regardless of Tuesday's outcome, Republicans expect to continue hitting that same theme throughout the fall, labeling Smith as a career politician.

"During these frightening times, we can't trust Sacramento politician Christy Smith," the narrator says at the close of one NRCC ad currently on air.

Democrats, however, anticipate the larger pool of voters in November will boost Smith's chances there and, with more time to plan, expect the campaign themes to focus more on those that boosted so many of their candidates in 2018.

They expect it to look a lot more like one DCCC ad currently running.

"More than ever, we need a leader who will put our health and safety first, but Mike Garcia would let insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions and hike up costs for lifesaving drugs," the narrator says.
T his year's summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of people routinely gather at the neolithic Wiltshire monument on Salisbury Plain to observe the rising of the midsummer sun on the longest day of the year, which typically falls on or around June 21.

But restrictions on public gatherings rolled out as part of the Covid-19 national lockdown mean the event will not be able to take place this summer.

English Heritage, which manages the site, said the sunrise will, however, be streamed online for those still wanting to view the spectacle.

Stonehenge director Nichola Tasker, said she expected the move would not come as a "huge surprise" given the "sheer number of major events worldwide which have already been cancelled across the summer, from Glastonbury to the Olympics to Oktoberfest".

"But we know how much summer solstice at Stonehenge means to so many people," Ms Tasker was quoted as saying by the local Salisbury Journal newspaper.

We have consulted widely on whether we could have proceeded safely and we would have dearly liked to host the event as per usual, but sadly in the end, we feel we have no choice but to cancel.

She added: "We hope that our live stream offers an alternative opportunity for people near and far to connect with this spiritual place at such a special time of year and we look forward to welcoming everyone back next year.

"We know how strong the draw to come is for some people, but I would take this opportunity to say please do not travel to Stonehenge this summer solstice, but watch it online instead.

Stonehenge has been closed to the public since mid-March amid the coronavirus crisis.

The summer solstice traditionally marks one of the rare occasions that English Heritage opens up the stone circle for public access.

Visitors at most other times of the year are usually kept at least 5m away from the ancient sarsen stones and bluestones.
President Donald Trump is expected to visit an Upper Macungie Township medical distributor on Thursday, where hell discuss coronavirus testing and efforts to build the nations stockpile of medical equipment, according to a White House official.

Trump plans to visit Owens & Minor Inc., a 137-year-old Virginia-based medical equipment distributor thats sent millions of N95 masks, surgical gowns, and gloves to hospitals and surgery centers across the country to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The president tweeted on Monday about Pennsylvania, which is considered a key battleground state in the upcoming election and has been ravaged by the coronavirus, especially in the Lehigh Valley and neighboring counties.

His tweet indirectly criticized Democratic Gov. Tom Wolfs orders to keep most of the state shutdown until at least early June.

Trump is expected to tour the facility and discuss the administrations efforts to bolster and use the nations Strategic National Stockpile, which was built to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies, disasters and attacks, but was short on supplies to respond to the global pandemic, according to the White House official.

The president will focus on his efforts to replenish the stockpiles and the administrations efforts aimed at rapidly building up Americas testing capacity, according to the official.

Trump confirmed the visit on Tuesday morning.

Looking forward to being in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. I love the State, and for very good reason!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020

Owens & Minors been a key supplier and partner in the nations fight against the novel pandemic, according to its website. The company is a member of the White House COVID-19 Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force and a member of Project Airbridge, joining distributors to help airfreight personal protective gear into the country and to high need areas of the country.

The majority of Owens & Minors personal protective equipment supply chain is located in the United States and Americas, enabling it to expand its N95 manufacturing capacity by 300% over 2019 levels, according to the company. Its one of five companies awarded a federal contract to supply the U.S. with about 600 million N95 respirator masks over the next 18 months.

Owens & Minor also produced 1 million yards of fabric for medical gowns, which shipped from its Lexington, N.C., facility as part of a public-private cooperation with New York City, the White House and UPS.

This marks Trumps first visit to the Lehigh Valley in office and his 18th presidential visit to Pennsylvania. Neither Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton visited the region during the 2016 election, but voters in Northampton and Lehigh counties proved crucial to his victory.

News of Trumps visit came on the heels of him criticizing Wolf indirectly for failing to reopen the states economy swiftly enough. The Democratic governor is facing increasing pressure within the state to speed up the lifting of restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus.

The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Dont play politics. Be safe, move quickly!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020

Wolf on Monday threatened to withhold certain funding from counties dismissing his orders and opening for business. Several counties, including Berks, have indicated they intend to do so. He likened the coronavirus to a war and called politicians and business owners who ignore the warnings cowards and deserters.

Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increased to 57,154 while at least 3,731 residents have died from COVID-19, according to Mondays update from the state health department.

That includes at least 5,700 cases and 280 deaths in the Lehigh Valley.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Nick Falsone can be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com.
I'm not alone when I say that I've never been through anything like this and didn't see it coming. I had no way of imagin...
W indows across the UK lit up tonight as the country shone a light in honour of nurses across the world.

Tuesday marked both International Nurses Day and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale  the founder of modern nursing. And the timing couldn't have been more poignant.

Nurses have been described as at "the front line" of the coronavirus pandemic, with many falling ill and some losing their lives after contracting the virus.

People across the country have been applauding NHS workers every Thursday night for several weeks. But on Tuesday, they paid particular tribute to nursing heroes.

International Nurses Day 2020 - In pictures 1 /17 International Nurses Day 2020 - In pictures A woman looks at a mural of a health worker with wings holding a globe on International Nurses Day in Melbourne AFP via Getty Images Matrons, staff nurses and sisters of the Salayang Hospital posing for pictures during International Nurses Day at the hospital in Selayang AFP via Getty Images An image of trailblazing nurse Florence Nightingale is projected onto the outside of St Thomas' Hospita AFP via Getty Images Nurses stand together outside St Thomas's Hospital in central London to celebrate International Nurses Day PA Nurses wearing face masks take part in an event held to mark the International Nurses Day, at Wuhan Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, REUTERS NHS Lead Research Nurse, Arlene Lee poses for a picture inside the Naive at Westminster Abbey Getty Images Nurses decorate a picture of trailblazing 19th-century nurse Florence Nightingale, one of the founders of modern nursing, at Rajiv Gandhi hospital in Chennai AFP via Getty Images Nurses light candles at Rajiv Gandhi hospital in Kochi AFP via Getty Images Nurses, wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, make the "love" gesture as they pose for a picture during a ceremony to commemorate International Nurses Day at the Selayang Hospital AFP via Getty Images Nurses take part in a ceremony to mark International Nurses Day, celebrated on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, in Colombo AFP via Getty Images Nurses hold a poster inside G.B. Pant children hospital in Srinagar AFP via Getty Images A nurse lights an oil lamp during a ceremony to mark International Nurses Day, celebrated on the birthday of Florence Nightingale in Colombo AFP via Getty Images Nurses light candles and take oath in front of a picture of trailblazing 19th-century nurse Florence Nightingale, one of the founders of modern nursing, at Rajiv Gandhi hospital in Chennai AFP via Getty Images

The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, were bathed in blue on Tuesday night, as commemorative message was beamed across the iconic London landmark.

While Guys and St Thomas' hospital in London was lit up on Monday and Tuesday with its own image of Florence Nightingale.

The Houses of Parliament lit up with the commemorative message / PA

Meanwhile, Mel Hall, a fundraiser at Acorns Children's Hospice, posted her own more humble photo in tribute.

She said on Twitter: "Shining a light this evening for all incredible nurses past & present. How lucky we are to have such amazing caring people who do so much for so many people every single day.

"So very grateful to you all."

People in the UK and across the world lit candles for International Nurses Day / Mel Hall/Twitter

Louise Brady, who works for the Royal British Legion, took to social media to share a photo of her own.

She added: "Its the darkness that enhances the value of light.

"Thanks to all my nursing colleagues who are shining in the face of adversity. Thinking of all those we have lost."

People around the UK and the world shone a light for International Nurses Day / Louise Brady/Twitter

The social media initiative came as spiritual leaders and celebrities also paid tribute to the work of nurses around the world.

Pope Francis hailed the courage and sacrifice of nurses and said their fundamental importance had been reaffirmed during the pandemic.

The pope noted many nurses have died during the Covid-19 outbreak, and asked world leaders to invest in healthcare as the primary common good, by strengthening its systems and employing greater numbers of nurses, so as to ensure adequate care to everyone, with respect for the dignity of each person.

While back in London, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave a service at Guy's and St Thomas' in honour of Ms Nightingale and all nurses around the world.

The Archbishop said: "Nurses around the world are shining a light in dark places.

"I've seen them at work in deserts, in war zones, in Ebola treatment centres, here at this hospital and trust, bringing light into the darkness.

"To people who despair they bring hope," he added.

Meanwhile US actor Kevin Bacon saw the funnier side of the day, sharing a video of nurses enjoying themselves in their spare time at hospital.

He said in a Twitter post: "If this video doesnt help remind us what type of heroic spirits nurses are, I dont know what does!

"Today is International Nurses Day and and more than ever, we must celebrate them and the incredible, selfless work they are doing each day to save lives and combat this virus."

Elsewhere members of the Royal Family did their bit to raise morale by calling nurses across the UK.

The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other royals all took part in the calls.
Lets say you go onto Grubhub, see that theres a new franchise in town called The Captains Boil, and order a shrimp basket for delivery. Score! But heres what you dont see: The Captains Boil may not have a restaurant in your town. Your lunch was actually made inside a Ruby Tuesday.

This is magic of Franklin Junction, which bills itself as a mixture of Airbnb and Match.com  but for restaurants. The platform finds kitchens with extra capacity and matches them with brands that want to expand into new locations. It was conceived of by Aziz Hashim, founder and managing partner of NRD Capital, which owns more than 700 franchise units in North America. He launched it in January, and originally intended it for his own stores (including The Captains Boil and Ruby Tuesday). But once COVID-19 damaged the restaurant industry, he opened the platform up to any brand, and is now working with Nathan's Famous and exploring other partnerships.

Its a business, but also a bit of a public service, Hashim says. And it might be a peek into the future of franchising  where a brand doesn't necessarily need to open restaurants to thrive. He explains.

RELATED: The Top Food Franchises of 2019

Franklin Junction launched in 2020, but its been in development for two years. Why did you originally create it?

The world has too many restaurants and not enough people. We have seen the rise of delivery, and the rise of other forms of food service, like food courts in Whole Foods, and more and more restaurants keep coming online. Yet the demand for restaurants stays constant, or even goes down. So if you look at net sales over the last few years, you don't see that there's a lot of growth.

How is Franklin Junction a solution?

Restaurants are very expensive to build. If you spent the money, and you don't have as much volume as you would like, the natural tendency is to ask, How can I raise my sales? One way to do it is through discounting, but this is ridiculous. All your expenses have gone up  labor, insurance, rent. But you can't raise your prices. Then we have product innovation. Can you come up with new products that people would want to buy? These strategies have been tried and tried, and they're difficult.

The industry was under capacity by 15 to 20 percent before COVID-19. If you know anything about the retail business, it's all at the margin. If you fill up that last 15 or 20 percent, you make a lot of money. All your fixed costs are covered already. So, can I sell food for other people? The difference between innovating your own food and other people's food is: You get the benefit of the other person's branding!

Can you give me a case study?

There's a brand in Canada called the The Captains Boil, the leading seafood brand in Canada. They didn't exist here in America. We introduced The Captains Boil into our Ruby Tuesday sites two months ago, and now were in 100 units. That expansion would have taken a decade, maybe two decades before. Everyone's making profit, so everyone can contribute a little bit towards branding and marketing.

That all makes sense, but its a big change to how restaurants operate. Whats been the response  do you think restaurateurs are more open to this change because of COVID-19?

Significantly. During this time, with dine-in basically closed, a lot of restaurants have been down 50, 60, 70 percent. The need for sales is tremendous. It's urgent. People need revenue, and they need it today. We're getting flooded with inquiries. We just can't keep up. And we're also getting a lot of inquiries from non-restaurants  a store or a hotel.

A minute ago, you said there were too many restaurants. Franklin Junction isnt exactly a solution to that. In fact, it could create more restaurant brands. Square that for me.

The solution relies on more consumer variety. It's not that America or the world doesn't need new kinds of food. We just don't need to build new restaurants. That's where I'm coming from.

So demand remains static, but now a physical restaurant can get a larger share of that demand  because its offering more options?

Exactly. We like to try new stuff, but in the past, in order for you and me to try new stuff, some poor entrepreneur had to spend $2 million to build a restaurant. Then, if you and I decide we don't like that food, that guy is out of business and he's lost his life savings.

In this case, you've got a new food genre. You bring it to Franklin Junction, we'll try it out for you in 10 or 20 locations. Let's see if there's public desire for this. If there is, wouldn't you feel better about opening a restaurant? A contract with Franklin Junction doesn't preclude you from opening a standard brick-and-mortar. This is a way to actually solve multitudes of problems.

The first thing people tell you is the old adage Youve got to spend money to make money. We're going to spend no money, and we're going to make money. We've got extra kitchen capacity. Let's go sell some other people's stuff, you know?

Related:

How One Franchise Company President Makes Better, Faster Decisions During Uncertain Times

The 5 Top-Ranked Restoration Franchises You Can Start

How to Save Restaurants? Meet "the Airbnb and Match.com of Food"



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Originally live streamed on May 11th, 2020 at 10am PST.

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Guest: George Salamis, President & CEO

Integra Resources Corp. is actively exploring the DeLaMar mine project in Idaho, taking it towards an initial pre-feasibility study by the end of 2021. The company recently announced the restart of drilling and the deployment of three drills to site. We caught up with President & CEO George Salamis and spoke about the response to #COVID-19, the change in the day-to-day business, generalist interest in the sector and of course, upcoming newsflow.

More info at www.integraresources.com

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The water friendship between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh seems to be overdue to water fight on the Srisailam project. The Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao said that the unilateral decision of Andhra Pradesh government to construct a new lift irrigation scheme to lift Krishna water from the Srisailam Project is highly objectionable. He said the decision taken by the AP government is against the AP State Reorganization Act. The CM declared that a legal fight would be initiated against the project to stop it, as it would be severely against the interests of the Telangana State. The CM instructed the officials concerned to file a complaint against the AP Government decision in the Krishna Water Management Board on behalf of the Telangana State government. Sri KCR pointed out that taking a unilateral decision on the inter-state Srisailam project water issue, planning construction of a new project without the consent from the Apex Committee as the mistakes committed by the AP Government. He made it clear the project would be stopped by the Telangana government and it would put in a fight without any compromise.

The AP government, which decided to construct a new Lift Irrigation project to lift 3 TMC of water from the Srisailam project, had already issued a GO in this regard. The CM held a high-level review meeting on this at Pragathi Bhavan here on Monday. Ministers Sri Etela Rajender, Sri Mohammed Ali, Sri Srinivas Goud, Sri Niranjan Reddy, Sri Jagdeesh Reddy, Sri Puvvada Ajay, Rythu Bandhu Samithi State President Sri Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Governments Chief Advisor Sri Rajiv Sharma, Irrigation Advisor Sri SK Joshi, Chief Secretary Sri Somesh Kumar, Irrigation Principal Secretary Sri Rajath Kumar, E-in-C Sri Muralidhar, AG Sri BS Prasad, Additional AG Sri Ramchander Rao, Legal Consultant Sri Ravindra Rao, retired engineers Sri Shyam Prasad Reddy, Sri Chandramouli, CMO Secretary Ms. Smita Sabharwal, OSD Sri Sridhar Deshpande, Irrigation senior engineers participated. They have discussed at length about the proposed project by the AP government. Speaking on the occasion, the CM said since the proposed project by the AP was against the interests of the Telangana state, a legal battle would be initiated to raise the objection and thwart the project.

The AP State Reorganization Act had clearly stipulated that if new irrigation projects are planned in AP or Telangana state they should get clearance from the Apex Committee. But the AP government did not get any approval from the Apex Committee. Srisailam project is AP and Telangana states combined project. Water from these projects should be utilised by both the States. But the AP government without even consulting the Telangana state has decided to lift water from the Srisailam project and issued a GO in this regard. This is highly objectionable. If Krishna water is diverted by the AP government, then united Palamuru, Nalgonda, Rangareddy districts will face a water crisis for both drinking and agriculture purposes. Hence, we file a complaint with the KRMB to issued directives to stop the project from construction, the CM clarified.

Also Read: 2G mobile data services to be restored in Kashmir except in Pulwama, Shopian districts from today

The Telangana State government had extended a friendly hand to the AP stating that river waters should be utilised for the benefit of farmers in both the states setting aside all the differences, disputes of the past. I have taken the initiative by saying there should not be any ego or water basin problems in utilizing the water. It is very painful that despite this, the AP government declared a new scheme without even consulting with the Telangana state to lift water from the Srisailam project unilaterally. This dented the very spirit with which water should be utilised by the two stats with mutual cooperation. There is no compromise when it comes to protecting the interests of the State. We will put up a relentless legal fight to stop this project under any circumstances, the CM declared.

The CM also instructed the official to approach the Supreme Court on the matter as there was a delay happening in the Brajesh Kumar Tribunal. Constructions of projects are going on in the State to utilise 950 TMC of the State share of the Godavari water. Telangana state needs more water. Water is needed for drinking water needs, industrial needs, and for power plants. Hence the CM instructed the officials to request the Centre to allocate 600 TMC of water from the Godavari River Surplus water. He also instructed the officials to complete the forthwith Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation scheme to lift 2 TMC of water daily.

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India, Japan Postpone Fighter Jet Exercise Despite Rising Activities of China in Indo-Pacific

Sputnik News

06:53 GMT 11.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Despite pandemic, China has been carrying out several maritime activities in South China Sea and Indian Ocean in past few weeks. Besides, China and India also engaged in massive border clashes across the Line of Actual Control for past two weeks.

Japan's defence ministry on Monday announced that it was postponing a Japan-India joint fighter aircraft exercise, which was scheduled to take place in Japan. It was concurred to precede with coordination in the last 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting in November 2019.

"In view of the significance of the exercise as it will be the first fighter aircraft training jointly held by Japan and India, the defence ministers of the two countries agreed to resume the coordination as soon as the COVID-19 situation gets resolved and embody the deepening of Japan-India defence cooperation in a tangible way," a statement issued by Japan's Ministry of Defence reads.

The joint fighter exercise with India will be the fourth such endeavour for Japan, following similar undertakings involving the US, UK and Australia.

Nevertheless, the two countries vowed to maintain a seamless defence posture and continue strengthening bilateral defence cooperation to uphold and reinforce a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Last week, Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono talked to his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh over the phone.

The two countries have been expanding their defence co-operation, including joint drills, for the past two years against the backdrop of the increasing presence of China in the Indian Ocean, which is considered India's geopolitical sphere of influence.The two sides were also involved in advanced level talk on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, a logistic sharing pact that allows for the sharing of food, fuel, transportation, ammunition and equipment.

Japan has been increasing security cooperation with India as a counter measure to China's maritime expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.

Recently, China's defence ministry announced the deployment of the Task Force of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in order to carry out anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean Region.

On the other hand, China has intensified its military activities in the South China Sea despite the ongoing pandemic. China claims ownership over significant patches of the South China Sea, while the US (India's major defence partner) countered the claim, saying it prohibits freedom of navigation in the area. The US Navy deployed the USS Montgomery (LCS-8) and the replenishment ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14) in the South China Sea last week.

China has also increased military activities across the Line of Actual Control since 25 April and on Sunday, Indian defence ministry confirmed that troops of the two countries involved in physical clashes in Sikkim and Ladakh sector in which several injuries were reported.

A Sputnik

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Florence Nightingale was a trailblazing figure of modern nursing whose pioneering ideas and reforms, from notions of cleanliness and hygiene to the effectiveness of evidence-based healthcare, are just as relevant today as they were 160 years ago.

Today, two centuries since the birth of the lady with the lamp  so-called for tending to wounded soldiers at night during the Crimean War  the world faces another crisis. The global death toll of coronavirus stands at nearly 300,000, with hospitals and care homes pushed to their limits. As doctors, nurses and scientists race to turn the tide against the virus, some of the principles Nightingale championed in 1860 are the very weapons that will help us eliminate it.

Today, her legacy can be found in nursing standards and hospital design principles worldwide, explains Kristin Buhnemann, assistant director at the Florence Nightingale Museum. She remains an inspiration to healthcare professionals around the world, which is vitally important during times like these.
Prince Harry surprised viewers of The One Show when he appeared with an unexpected and inspiring video message for veterans.

On Monday, the Duke of Sussex appeared on the show with a video message for wounded World War II veterans who are members of the Guinea Pig Club.

He tells them, "Those individuals that signed up and chose to serve and then had life-changing injuries - they didn't stop there - and that's why it's incredibly impressive but yet at the same time so incredibly uplifting."

The Zoom call was from Harry's brand new home in Los Angeles, which belongs to Madea creator Tyler Perry (Oprah Winfrey is a mutual friend).

The $18 million Beverly Hills mansion has eight bedrooms and twelve bathrooms and is gated.

This isn't their only appearance from their new digs. Meghan Markle previously appeared on video alongside their son, Archie, to read one of his favorite books (gifted by Oprah) and celebrate his first birthday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle PDAs 1 /48 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle PDAs Prince Harry kisses Meghan Markle as they leave St George's Chapel after their wedding in Windsor, England on May 19, 2018. AFP/Getty Images The Duchess and Duke of Sussex at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce the birth of their newborn Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George's Hall, May 2018 Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry having a beach date at Bondi Beach, October 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share a giggle and hold hands at the Joff Youth Centre in Sussex, May 2018. Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry visit Redwoods Treewalk in New Zeland holding hands in October 2018. SplashNews.com Prince Harry cheekily (though it could just be the camera angle) ushers his wife onto their plane in New Zealand on October 28, 2018. SplashNews.com Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle hold hands in their wedding carriage. AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get close visiting Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on February 13, 2018. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walk arm in arm while attending a charity fair in Nottingham, England on December 1, 2017. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017, where they appeared publicly for the first time. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a cuddle under the umbrella while watching aboriginal dances in Australia on October 17, 2018. AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go head to head at the UK Team Trials for the Invictus Games in Bath, England on April 6, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during the official photocall after announcing their engagement in London, England on November 27, 2017. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service in King's Lynn, England on December 25, 2017. Getty Images Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands on a walkabout at Cardiff Castle on January 18 2018, in Cardiff, Wales. Getty Images Meghan Markle holds hands with her husband, Prince Harry at the Royal Ascot in Ascot, England on June 18, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry gazing at Meghan Markle in Fiji, October 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arm in arm after Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in Windsor, England on October 12, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sneak a kiss at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club on July 26, 2018 in Windsor, England. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand arm in arm at the Coach Core Awards in Loughborough, England on September 24, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry gazing adoringly at Meghan Markle during her cookbook launch on September 20, 2018. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands while visiting the Nechells Wellbeing Centre in Birmingham, UK on March 7, 2018. SplashNews.com Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hold hands while participating in the unveiling of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy at Tupou College on October 26, 2018 in New Zealand. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands while arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on October 28, 2018. Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hold hands while walking out of Te Papaiouru Marae after attending a formal luncheon on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle secretly holding hands at the Cirque du Soleil Totem premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, January 16, 2019. Getty Images The royal couple have a small cuddle as they watch students play football during their visit to Lycee Qualifiant Grand Atlas, the local secondary school in Morocco Getty Images Meghan and Harry are arm in arm while visiting the Education For All boarding house for girls in Morocco Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk hand in hand for a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Morocco at the British Residence during the second day of their tour of Morocco Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex try some food as they visit a cooking demonstration, where children from under-privileged backgrounds learn traditional Moroccan recipes Getty Images Meghan and Harry walk arm in arm during a visit in Morocco Getty Images Harry fixes Meghan's hair while they meet with an artisan during a visit to the Kasbah of the Udayas near the Moroccan capital AFP/Getty Images The royal couple hold hands on their way to attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey Getty Images

Harry also appeared in a video about the Invictus Games, which has been postponed until 2021, as well as delivering a video message to members of OnSide Youth Zones, telling them that this too shall pass.

The video came out just as news broke that Lifetime is creating another movie about Meghan and Harry, this time focusing on #Megxit.
The government has published a 50-page plan outlining how England and parts of the UK will gradually ease coronavirus lockdown over the next three months.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson revealed his road map for easing lockdown restrictions and unveiled a new five-point COVID-19 Alert system on Sunday evening.

It was followed by the publication of a COVID-19 Recovery Strategy document, detailing three key dates in easing lockdown restrictions - but they will only come into effect if data shows it is safe to do so.

The plans come with a warning that they are provisional and are subject to change. A full lockdown could be implemented if social distancing measures are not working.

Boris Johnson delivered an address on lifting the country's coronavirus lockdown on Sunday evening (Downing Street/AP)

Currently, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not lifted any measures and have instead extended current lockdown measures.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how coronavirus is spreading

The government has unveiled a new slogan - "Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives" - as it unveiled a three step COVID-19 recovery plan. (Getty Images)

Below is a timeline outlining the key dates in the governments COVID-19 recovery strategy in England:

Phase one: 13 May

Workers unable to work from home to return to workplace

People who are able to work from home are told to continue to do so, while those who are not have been advised to go back to their workplace as long as social distancing can still be observed.

People will be advised to wear face masks on public transport and when in enclosed spaces with people outside their households. (Sipa)

Use of face masks in enclosed spaces, workplaces and on public transport

Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces such as public transport and some shops. They should not be worn by the under-twos, young children who will find them hard to manage and those with respiratory conditions.

Unlimited exercise and meeting one family member of friend outdoors permitted

Britons will be allowed outside for unlimited exercise while people will be allowed to meet one member of family or a friend from another household outdoors, providing they are two metres apart. People are not allowed to visit the homes of family members or friends.

Story continues

Britons will be allowed out for unlimited amounts of exercise and are able to meet one family member or friend outside of their household. (PA)

Driving to outdoor locations for exercise permitted

People are also allowed to drive to outdoor open spaces, irrespective of distance from their homes. However, people in England should not travel across the border of Scotland or Wales, as different lockdown rules apply.

Vulnerable people to continue shielding

The government says anyone who has been told to shield because they are "extremely vulnerable" will have to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Compulsory quarantine period for all passengers travelling to UK

Passengers arriving into the UK will be required to supply their contact and accommodation information, and those not on a short list of exemptions will be made to self-isolate for 14 days.

Phase two: 1 June

Schools in England to reopen in phases

Providing infection rates are on the decline, the Government said it would be in a position to start a phased reopening of schools by 1 June. The first phase would see primary pupils back into schools, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

Non-essential shops may reopen

Non-essential retail stores, such as clothing and shoe shops, could be able to open no earlier than 1 June. This will only take place if businesses can prove they can keep people safe.

Cultural and sporting events in England to take place behind closed doors

Cultural and sporting events will be able to take place behind closed doors for broadcast from next month, avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact.

A closed sign is displayed in the door of a restaurant as the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak continues, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2020.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Smaller weddings and gatherings could be permitted in England

The Government is consider how and if people may be able gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings.

Social bubbles and expansion of socialising in groups

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is examining if it is safe to change the rules to allow one household to expand and include one other household in the same group or bubble.

Pubs, bars, restaurants, accommodation and gyms will need to stay closed until at least July. (Matt Crossick/Empics)

Phase three: 4 July

Pubs and hospitality may open

Pubs, bars, restaurants, accommodation and gyms will need to stay closed until at least July. Busy venues such as clubs or concert venues, may not be able to open again at this point or could have to open safely only in part.

Hairdressers, salons and leisure facilities such as cinemas could reopen

Leisure facilities such as beauty salons and hairdressers, may be permitted to reopen, providing they are able to comply with social distancing and safety standards.

A near-deserted Warwick town centre as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Places of worship to reopen

Place of worship - such as churches, mosques and synagogues - will also be permitted to open, providing they follow the same social distancing and safety measures adopted by other public facilities and venues.

Venues crowded by design will not reopen - but can open in part if safe

The Government says that venues which are crowded by design, and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing will not be able to reopen.

However, some businesses can open in part if safe to do so, while the Government said it will carefully phase and pilot re-openings to test their ability to adopt the new Covid-19 secure guidelines.

Coronavirus: what happened today
(Natural News) Healthcare workers who have volunteered to help the state of New York manage its staggering number of coronavirus cases are not qualified for any tax breaks, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.

Were not in a position to provide any more subsidies right now because we have a $13 billion deficit, Cuomo said in a news conference, adding that even if he wanted to give a tax break to the volunteer health workers, it would be an irresponsible move on his part as governor.

So, theres a lot of good things I would like to do, and if we get federal funding, we can do, but it would be irresponsible for me to sit here looking at a $13 billion deficit and say, Im going to spend more money when I cant even pay the essential services, he added. (Related: A warning to the world? New York now scrambling to address Coronavirus outbreak.)

According to Cuomo, New York needs federal aid to cover the budget deficits that resulted from the virus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading to the rest of the world.

If we dont get more money from Washington, we cant fund schools, right, so at the rate, we want to fund them. We are in dire financial need, he said.

This means that the volunteer health workers pooled from all across the nation, will have to pay New York-rate taxes throughout the duration of their stay  even on income that they might make from their home states that theyre paid while in New York.

New York is known for having one of the highest income tax rates in the nation, with the top marginal income tax rate pegged at 8.8 percent.

According to news outlet WPIX-TV, the issue of outside health care workers being required to pay state income tax was brought to light during the construction of a temporary hospital in Central Park by the non-profit charity group Samaritans Purse.

Ken Isaacs, vice president of Samaritans Purse, said it was first brought to his attention by their organizations financial comptroller, who then proceeded to tell him of the existence of a state law that mandates volunteers to pay income tax.

Isaacs referred to the idea as shocking. In his interview with WPIX-TV, he made it clear that their organization is not concerned about the money they will have to pay, but rather, the paperwork involved, noting that the situation could easily become a nightmare for organizations such as theirs and their employees.

What were even more concerned about than the money, is the bureaucracy, and the paperwork, and I think that once thats unleashed  once you start filing that, you have to do that for like a whole year or something, Isaacs said.

According to Lawrence Spielman, a partner at the accounting firm Spielman, Koenigsberg & Parker, LLP, volunteers from out-of-state are required to register in New York, and file for their withholding taxes in the state.

Not every volunteer will be taxed, as out-of-state residents who have come to New York as coronavirus relief volunteers will only be subjected to the tax after 14 days in the state.

Nearly 100,000 volunteers responded to Cuomos call when he sent out a message asking for additional healthcare professionals in late March after the state experienced its first major spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.

I am asking health care professionals across the country if you dont have a health care crisis in your community. Please come help us in New York now, Cuomo said in his March press conference at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which has been transformed into a makeshift hospital. We need relief. We need relief for nurses who are working 12-hour shifts, one after the other. We need relief for doctors. We need relief for attendants. So if youre not busy, come help us, please. And we will return the favor. We will return the favor.

New York, which notched a staggering 319,000 positive coronavirus infections and 26,144 coronavirus-related deaths as of press time, is considered to be a COVID-19 epicenter.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

WashingtonExaminer.com

FT.com

CommunityTax.com

Pix11.com

FoxBusiness.com

CBN.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu
B.C. search and rescue teams are urging 'common sense' as calls spiked 35 per cent during the first week of May compared to the same period last year.

CTV News Vancouver reports the recent surge reported by BC AdventureSmart is "disheartening, to say the least," says the organizations CEO Sandra Riches.

Were an active, healthy province. Were used to being in a fast, higher gear, per say, and its time to come from fifth gear down to second gear. Slow it down and be cognizant of our conditions right now.

But the provincial spike hasnt hit here in the Okanagan, where call volumes are actually sitting at seasonal norms right now, says Ed Henczel, a spokesperson for Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR).

"In this area, and I can only speak to anecdotally in this area, I would say so far this year our call numbers are down. But in the past two weeks as the weather has improved theyve definitely gone up, and I would say were probably at seasonal norms right now. We average about one a week and weve been running at that, if not just a little bit more over the past two to three weeks."

Henczel says they do want people to get outside, but to follow the advice of Dr. Bonnie Henry, and to take all the necessary precautions - something their teams are doing daily.

"We obviously have PPE, so gloves and masks, and we put one on the subject if the subject needed rescuing. We disinfect our vehicles, our bikes, our quads when were done the task. Were sending in smaller teams in general as opposed to larger teams going in. Were trying to reduce the group size so we can still maintain our two metres.

"That said, were still as effective as always, just more small groups as opposed to larger groups. So it has changed things a little bit but were still there 24/7, no charge, but were just [adding] one extra layer of caution on top of what we normally do."

General guidelines when going outdoors include letting someone know where you are going and when you plan to return. Bring the right equipment for the activity and ensure your fitness level matches the activity you'll be participating in, or how far you'll be going, and be prepared for the worst case scenario.

To find out more about outdoor activity recommendations, visit AdventureSmart.ca.

- With files from CTV News Vancouver
An Egyptian MP, Sherine Farag, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the health ministry announced on Tuesday.

Farag, a member of the House of Representatives African affairs committee, has been quarantined at Cairo's Kasr El-Einy hospital, the health ministry's preventive medicine department told the parliaments general secretariat.

All MPs who had come into contact with Farag have been told to undergo 14-day home isolation.

Farag, an assistant professor of medical engineering, is one of 28 MPs who were appointed to the house by presidential decree in 2015.

The parliament resumed sessions on 29 April after more than a month of suspension over coronavirus fears.

Egypt has reached 10,093 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 544 deaths. The first case in the country was detected in February.

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Wuhan has ordered officials to test its entire population of 11 million people after the central Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began reported new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted.



All districts in the city have been told to submit a plan laying out how they will prepare to conduct testing of everyone under their purview within 10 days, according to a document from Wuhans anti-virus department cited in Chinese state media reports.

The plans should prioritize the testing of vulnerable groups and areas like residential compounds, the document is cited as saying.



Six locally transmitted cases, reported on May 10 and 11, were found in people already under quarantine classed as being asymptomatic before testing positive, according to the local government. All six cases emerged from a single residential compound in Wuhan and were the first new infections found in the city since its lockdown was lifted on April 8.



Wuhan was sealed off from Jan. 23 until April 8 in a months-long ordeal that saw scores die as the local health system became overwhelmed, Bloomberg recalls.
MADISON, N.J., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ERA Real Estate, a global franchising leader, opened its virtual FUEL ERA international conference today by honoring five longtime real estate professionals with induction into the ERA Hall of Fame. Established in 2013, the ERA Hall of Fame honors affiliated individuals and companies who have consistently earned high levels of recognition and have made contributions and lasting impact on the culture and history of the ERA brand over the decades.

The 2019 ERA Hall of Fame class includes:

Todd Beckstrom , ERA Wilder Realty, Columbia, S.C. , 21 years with ERA

, ERA Wilder Realty, , 21 years with ERA Ron Darby , ERA Justin Realty, Rutherford, N.J. , 35 years with ERA

, ERA Justin Realty, , 35 years with ERA Anna and Everett King , ERA King Real Estate Company, Anniston, Ala. , 26 years with ERA

, ERA King Real Estate Company, , 26 years with ERA Bruce Taylor , ERA Key Realty Services, Whitinsville, Mass. , 28 years with ERA

"This year's Hall of Fame inductees continue to be instrumental in creating the collaborative spirit of the ERA brand," said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. "The ERA brand has truly grown and is what it is today because of people like Anna, Everett, Todd, Ron and Bruce. These leaders embody what it means to be ERA brand affiliates. They have taken the tools, training, and support from the brand along with their entrepreneurial spirit to create successful, profitable businesses. Their accomplishments and dedication will continue to shape and inform the future of this industry. Congratulations to all of this year's inductees."

Todd Beckstrom, ERA Wilder Realty, Columbia, South Carolina

Years in real estate: 21

Years with ERA brand: 21

Notable awards won during career: 2018 Central Carolinas REALTOR of the Year; 2017 National Association of REALTORS REBAC Hall of Fame inductee; 14-top top agent in South Carolina; 12-time ERA Leaders' Circle

Todd Beckstrom transitioned into real estate after a successful career in marketing, working with iconic brands such as Ralph Lauren and Godiva. A desire for a more "family friendly" career brought him to ERA Wilder Realty where he eventually became the most productive agent in company history. With nearly 1,600 transactions in his career equating to $350 million in sales volume, Beckstrom has been the top ERA agent in South Carolina 14 times and part of the prestigious ERA Leaders' Circle 12 times. Beckstrom is known for his unwavering belief in the "sharing culture" of ERA, along with his passion for helping other real estate professionals improve their businesses. Beckstrom gained acclaim for his entertaining and insightful seminars for ERA's national conventions, at which he has presented continuously for the last 17 years, along with developing training programs and writing about the industry.

"As the leader of a highly successful, top-producing real estate team, I strive to create an environment where the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. Everyone brings specific skillsets that makes each of us better. That is true not only in my team and in my company, but across the entire ERA network as well." -Todd Beckstrom

Ron Darby, ERA Justin Realty, Rutherford, New Jersey

Years in real estate: 53

Years with ERA brand: 35

Notable awards won during career: ERA Commitment to Excellence Award; multiple New Jersey Association of REALTORS honors

ERA Justin Realty is one of the most successful one-office firms in the ERA network and employs a "small franchise with a big heart" ideal. Although retired, Ron continues his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the longtime ERA charity. He embraced the "family feel" of the ERA brand early on, bringing his daughter Jennifer with him to ERA events which combined for family vacations. She joined the company as a co-broker/owner in 2006.

"The family atmosphere within ERA does not exist in other brands. I appreciate the ability to be able to call any broker, at any time, and they would help, and vice versa. Over the years, there were dozens of examples and every time, everyone was there to help. It is has been incredible to be a part of that type of culture."- Ron Darby

Anna and Everett King, ERA King Real Estate Company, Anniston, Ala.

Everett King years in real estate: 50

Everett King years with ERA brand: 26

Notable awards won during career: 2007 Gene Francis Award (highest honor in ERA network); ERA Circle of Light (community service)



Anna King years in real estate: 26

Anna King years with ERA brand: 26

Notable awards won during career: 2007 Gene Francis Award; ERA Circle of Light; five-time top ERA agent

Everett King has led ERA King Real Estate since 1988, after succeeding his father Jack, who founded the company in 1969. The company joined the ERA brand in 1994 to become ERA King Real Estate, a perennial top firm in Calhoun County and Top 15 company within the brand. Anna also was named the brand's top agent five times. The company has grown to more 300 agents working in eight offices throughout the Birmingham region. Their age-old philosophy of "do the right thing" has paid dividends, resulting in numerous ERA honors, including the 2016 ERA Circle of Light award recognizing their "12 Months of Giving" campaign which has included helping more than 125 children with Cerebral Palsy. Along with late ERA Real Estate President and CEO Brenda Casserly, the Kings are credited with creating the "Team ERA" battle cry that is emblematic of the collegial brand.

"We are so humbled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. ERA has been a huge part of our lives and the power and global support we get from the ERA network is one of the reasons we were able to catapult to the #1 market share in Calhoun County. The growth we have experienced could not have happened without the support of the ERA brand and fellow affiliates."  Everett King

Bruce Taylor, ERA Key Realty Services, Massachusetts

Years in real estate: 47

Years with ERA brand: 28

Notable awards won during career: 2014 Gene Francis Award; 2017 Jim Jackson Award (top ERA company for customer service and sales productivity); multiple ERA brand awards; 10-time Top 15 ERA franchisee

Bruce Taylor started his real estate career in 1973 in the mortgage industry and entered residential real estate sales in 1986. He launched his own real estate firm in 1988. The company joined the ERA brand in 1994 to become ERA Key Realty and has since grown to more than 350 agents in 15 offices throughout central and western Massachusetts. Through the years, he engineered more than 20 mergers and acquisitions. Taylor, a longtime member of the ERA National Advisory Council, created a local philanthropic trust that has donated more than $400,000 since its founding 2004.

"We worked in our organization to make everything collaborative. Our core staff was committed to always being available and providing answers for our agents as quickly as possible. Our culture is such a fit within the ERA brand. Over the years, I've seen so many examples of ERA brokers willing to share their thoughts, programs and suggestions. This is the culture of ERA and it makes the brand so special."- Bruce Taylor

About ERA Real Estate

At ERA Real Estate, we don't adapt to change, we create it. We believe that our core business values of collaboration, innovation, diversity and growth are needed now more than ever. As a global leader in the residential real estate industry for more than 40 years, ERA was the first real estate franchise to expand internationally, the first to post listings online, and is the only national company that offers the Sellers Security Plan (SSP) program. The ERA SPP program allows affiliated agents to give sellers of qualified homes the peace of mind to know that their home will sell, and for what price.

The ERA Real Estate network includes more than 35,000 independent sales associates and approximately 2,300 offices throughout the United States and 35 other countries and territories. ERA Franchise Systems LLC (www.ERA.com) which operates the ERA Real Estate system, is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at www.era.com/explore.

Media Contact:

Marie VanAssendelft

201-724-6372

[email protected]

SOURCE ERA Real Estate
Acorn Income Fund Limited

(a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 34778)

LEI Number: 213800UAZN7G46AHQM67

(The "Company")

12 May 2020

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited Trafalgar Court, Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey on 11 August 2020 at 11.15am.

A copy of the Notice of AGM together with the Annual Financial Report for the year ended 31 December 2019 and the Form of Proxy have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM

Enquiries:

Company website: https://www.premierfunds.co.uk/acorn-income-fund-limited



Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

The Company Secretary

Trafalgar Court

Les Banques

St Peter Port

Guernsey

GY1 3QL



Tel: 01481 745001






Martin Ryan talks to leading pedigree breeders about their approach to producing some of the country's highest-quality livestock.

Garrett & Lyndsey Behan - Clonagh and Jennalyn Simmental herds, Ballyfin, Co Laois

Expand Close Clonagh Jubilant Fabulous which set a new Irish record for Simmental heifers when sold for 18,00 and the Simmental Miss World, Clonagh Darling Eyes / Facebook

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Whatsapp Clonagh Jubilant Fabulous which set a new Irish record for Simmental heifers when sold for 18,00 and the Simmental Miss World, Clonagh Darling Eyes





The Behans have a proud record of winning national titles and they took their success to another level last autumn when they landed the Simmental Miss World title in Canada.

Clonagh Darling Eyes was the first European cow to win the global accolade and her success reflects the Behans' breeding ethos of placing emphasis on the female side of the Simmental bloodlines.

"Every female born into the herd is a triumph in prolonging the future generations of our breeding herd," says Lyndsey.

"This week 31 years ago, the first female was bought for our herd, at the RDS Spring Show, Clough Sandra, and she is still a dominant name in the top females in our herd."

And Garrett has clear criteria about what makes a top pedigree cow.

"Overall your females need to be feminine and have a pretty head. She needs to have good legs and feet, good wide hips, presence and locomotion and a nice tight udder," he says.

On the male side, he says "there is an old saying that if you want to know if a bull is any good, put him back on his mother.

"Some of the best bulls we have owned and bred here have shared lineage through selected line breeding.

"By this you can create consistency throughout your herd. You can then use a selected AI bull or stock bull, preferably bred the same way in his own pedigree but an outcross to the herd. By doing this you can achieve pure constancy from every calf born."

Top of Garrett's 'don'ts' list is putting a small bull on a big cow.

"You can end up with either of three outcomes - big, medium or small - so where do you go next? The result is a bull you can sell, but there is no constancy for your customer," he says.

"If you retain the female (calf) she could produce anything and this continues for generations - these females should be culled."

It's all about trial and error, says top Hereford breeder

Expand Close Longford leader: Ciaran and J J Farrell with the Hereford Premier Show and Sale Champion 2018 sold for 4,250 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Longford leader: Ciaran and J J Farrell with the Hereford Premier Show and Sale Champion 2018 sold for 4,250

Listen carefully to the advice of those who have learned from their mistakes in the past. That's the message from JJ Farrell, a renowned breeder with the Trillick Hereford Herd in Co Longford, which has existed for almost three-quarters of a century.

JJ has a well-thought-out list of 'dos and don'ts for those looking to get involved in Hereford breeding.

DOs

* Never be afraid to travel to herds. Each herd has something to offer.

* When choosing your female line, always look at the herd they come from to make sure they're not a one-hit wonder!

* Be wary of overdone animals.

* When choosing a sire it is really important to look for style, colour and milking ability in his Dams line.

* Calving index fingers are hugely important to the dairy sector but they still need to produce a calf which sells.

* Travel to the summer shows to see the animals being exhibited and to meet people, but note there are many herds that don't show who have as good if not better back on their farms.

DON'Ts

* Don't buy an animal from a photo - always see it in the flesh if possible.

* Don't buy a future sire that has been reared by a foster mother (a costly mistake I've made).

* The champion or bulls with rosettes don't always make the best sires.

* Don't be afraid to look down the line - they often make the best prices from the judges outside the ring.

* Don't keep the bull longer than one crop of calves if he's not producing the goods.

'Winning provides happiness and losing provides wisdom'

Expand Close Gold standard: Martin Ryan with his Junior Champion, Goldstar Osanna, sold for 11,000, at the ICCS Premier Show and Sale of heifers in 2019. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Gold standard: Martin Ryan with his Junior Champion, Goldstar Osanna, sold for 11,000, at the ICCS Premier Show and Sale of heifers in 2019.

The Goldstar Herd, run by Martin Ryan and his family at Cabra House, Thurles has been at the cutting edge of Charolais breeding for over 25 years.

As well a producing a stream of National Show champions, the herd has sires in AI centres and has exported stock to breeders in France, UK and the Czech Republic.

"Winning and losing is training for life! Winning provides happiness, and losing provides wisdom," says Martin.

He adds that "the fond memories, great stories and many special awards/achievements with the Charolais over the decades will be long treasured."

Martin's 10 pointers for breeding success are:

1 Define the market you wish to serve (commercial, pedigree or show). Breed accordingly, focusing on excellence (mediocrity is extinction).

2 Purchasers are driven by different motives. These include: passion, goals, resource availability and the operating environment.

3 Have a clear vision of what perfection means and focus on it.

4 Only use sires with reliable proofs (genetic evaluations and/or generations of the desired phenotype).

5 Avoid bulls that are only good at producing only one gender (50pc will be a challenge).

6 Never sacrifice maternal traits (milk/fertility) just to produce a bull. These traits have low heritability and take years to recover. Bad heads and bad legs also take generations to eliminate

7 There is an old saying, a bad bull is like a bad teacher and will leave their mark for three generations.

8 Chase great cows with longevity - the rest will fall into place.

9 Never waste a breeding opportunity without selecting for multiple traits.

10 Breeding is an art as well as a science. Just because you buy the best ingredients, doesn't mean you know how to cook! Year-round attention to husbandry detail is vital."

Easily fleshed cattle are the ones that put euros in your pocket

Expand Close Top seller: Kevin Diffley with the leading price Angus bull, Clooncolligan Rocky, which sold for 3,100 at the Kilkenny Agricultural Society bull sale earlier this year / Facebook

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Whatsapp Top seller: Kevin Diffley with the leading price Angus bull, Clooncolligan Rocky, which sold for 3,100 at the Kilkenny Agricultural Society bull sale earlier this year

Breeders should spend more time studying animals in the flesh rather than relying on the Stars system, insists Kevin Diffley, who runs the Clooncolligan Angus Herd at Bornacola, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.

Breeding of cattle has changed quite a bit through the years, with the modern breeder relying a lot on Stars  these can be helpful but I think people should spend a little more time looking at the animal also, he says.

Weighing up things like the bulls head and shoulders is very important if you want easy calving.

As a breeder of Irish Angus cattle for over 30 years, I am proud to see the breed go from strength to strength. I have showed cattle during all those years and have enjoyed every minute of it.

I have made great friends and met wonderful people who really loved their cattle.

Kevin says Angus breeders should focus more on animal quality rather than power:

We should not compare Angus cattle to other breeds regarding weight gain, he explains.

Quality

We must keep our eye on the ball to maintain the quality of the breed as the clear top choice within dairy herds for cross breeding, because of the quality of the offspring and the ease of calving which is critical in all dairy herds.

Although farming has changed, the Irish Angus cattle have retained their characteristics. Easy calving, short gestation and no dehorning are beneficial to both animal and farmer.

Easily fleshed cattle with exceptional meat quality are characteristics that put the euros in your pocket.

I see a bright future for the Irish Angus beef breed with the Certified Irish Angus Producer group offering a Bonus Scheme when killing these early-finishing cattle.
A second man has been charged over the theft of $3.9 million worth of gold bullion, jewellery and cash in what is considered one of the largest heists in Victoria's history.

Detectives from the armed crime squad arrested a 37-year-old man at his Donvale home, in Melbourne's east, on Tuesday morning.

He was then interviewed and charged with aggravated burglary, theft, perjury and firearms offences and will face court on Tuesday afternoon.

It comes several weeks after the arrest of Karl Kachami, 48, from Hawthorn East, who allegedly held up a CBD gold dealer on April 27 while wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a Glock pistol.
New Delhi, May 12 : Union Tribal Welfare Minister Arjun Munda spoke to representatives of the association of Indian Doctors working in the US, Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America, and discussed measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The doctors praised the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he has saved a large number of people by implementing the lockdown in time. They said that Indians are law-abiding citizens while in the US people took the lockdown lightly and the results are clearly visible.

A large number of elderly people and those who were already suffering from some other disease got infected by COVID-19 in the US, the doctors said.

They explained how they are treating the corona victims in the US and what precautions should be taken while giving treatment.

Doctors from Bihar and Jharkhand also attended the video conference and shared their experiences.

Dr Subir Kumar Paul from Ranchi told IANS, "The doctors in the US were surprised about how we have prevented the spread of the disease. On this, Union Minister shared detailed information with them and said that in January preparations were made on the instructions of Prime Minister Modi. He told them that bringing back the people stranded in foreign countries was part of the preparations." He said most of the doctors were keen to know how tribal areas remained untouched by the virus. Replying to this, Munda said, "The virus spread in the tribal villages is difficult as there are hardly 20 people in one village and the houses are located at a certain distance. The tribal communities maintain distance while gathering at a place and abide by the orders of their chief. They live in the lap of nature and have high immunity." "The mortality rate of corona is only 3-4 per cent while the impact is much more on elderly people. The mortality rate among the senior citizens is almost 60 per cent therefore, we have to save them from the virus attack while the youth have strong immunity," said Dr Paul.

He said such meetings would help in fighting the coronavirus and we can understand the disease in a better way and share our experiences with each other.

More than 20 doctors from the US, Bihar and Jharkhand attended the video conference which included Avinash Gupta, President of the association and Consulate General of India in New York Sandeep Chakraborty.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:29:38|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Yunnan Province plans to pool in 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) to build processing parks for local agricultural products.

The province will focus on eight key industries, including tea, flowers, Chinese medicinal herbs and coffee, according to a government work report.

Yunnan will build 10 processing parks, with each at least two square km in planned area. The authorities will make efforts to ensure that each park will have an annual output value of more than 2 billion yuan. Enditem
[May 12, 2020] FCC Grants Applied Information C-V2X Experimental Licenses for Connected Vehicle Testing in Arlington, TX and Honolulu HI

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)) has granted Applied Information, Inc. two additional experimental licenses for testing Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) connected vehicle applications. The licenses were granted for operations in Arlington, TX and Honolulu, HI. The license for Arlington is for an approximate five-mile (8 km) radius around the heavily traveled Cooper St. corridor where the City Department of Transportation operates 31 traffic signals, two school safety zones and an at grade railroad crossing. The license for Honolulu is for an approximate five-mile (8 km) radius along the Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard segments. This major arterial is 5 miles long and includes 35 traffic signals. The project is managed by the Hawaii Department of Transportation and the University of Hawaii. "These experimental licenses enable our infrastructure partners in Arlington and Honolulu to develop and test new C-V2X applications in completely diverse transportation ecosystems," said Bryan Mulligan, Applied Information President. "Among the unique applications being developed are interactions with at grade railway crossings, traffic queue warnings ad dynamic speed harmonization."



The proposed testing areas of Arlington and Honolulu provide a diverse range of topography, flora, seasonal weather, construction and other potential interferences to radio communications. The C-V2X radios will be operated throughout the specified areas to test, develop, and evaluate C-V2X vehicle communications, transportation infrastructure communications, and chip protypes in real-world scenarios in anticipation of wider-scale deployments following adoption of final rules for C-V2X. In addition to licenses in Arlington and Honolulu, Applied Information holds an experimental license for an approximate five-mile (8 km) radius anchored by the Infrastructure Automotive Technology Laboratory (iATL) in the City of Alpharetta, GA.

About Applied Information - Applied Information is the industry-leading developer of Smart Cities, connected, and intelligent transportation system (ITS) solutions designed to save lives, improve traffic, drive commerce, and help the environment. Applied Information's Glance Smart City Supervisory platform enables cities to manage all their traffic and ITS assets on one web-based application. Key product areas are smart traffic signals, school zone flashing beacons, emergency vehicle preemption, transit, and freight priority and ITS systems. AI's free TravelSafely smartphone app connects drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and the transportation infrastructure for a safer mobility experience. For more information, visit www.appinfoinc.com. Nothing in this news release is an offer to sell or lease any of the equipment or devices referenced herein. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005435/en/

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McDonalds confirmed it will begin the phased reopening of restaurants in Ireland (PA)

McDonalds has confirmed it will begin the phased reopening of restaurants in Ireland.

It will reopen six restaurants in Dublin as drive-thru only from Wednesday May 20.

The reopening has been backed by Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.

The location of the six restaurants will be confirmed next week. There will be a cap of orders at 30 euros per car while contactless payments are advised.

Chief executive of McDonalds UK and Ireland Paul Pomroy said that there has been an incredible response to the news.

Our service will not be as quick as you might be used to, as we adjust to smaller teams and social distancing in our kitchens Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland

McDonalds restaurants closed their doors to the public some eight weeks ago following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Over the last two months we have worked tirelessly to overhaul our operational procedures to enable our teams to return to work safely, he said.

I am pleased to write to you the day before we begin testing our return to the UK and Ireland.

Mr Pomroy said the fast food company will follow government guidelines, adding that he plans to reopen all drive-thru restaurants by June.

Some of the measures the restaurants are introducing include:

 Fewer people in the kitchen and service areas, serving a reduced menu over reduced hours.

 The use of contactless thermometers, with temperatures checked on arrival at work.

 Perspex screens in key locations in the kitchen and service areas.

 Protective equipment for staff, including gloves for customer and courier facing positions and face coverings.

 Additional training on cleanliness practices, including increased frequency of handwashing and extra sanitising of touch points around the restaurant.

Mr Pomroy added: When your local drive-thru does reopen, it will be different.

Our service will not be as quick as you might be used to, as we adjust to smaller teams and social distancing in our kitchens.

Mr Creed described McDonalds as a valued key purchaser of Irish produce and an employer of a large number of people throughout Ireland.

He added: The last couple of months have been undoubtedly tough, both economically and socially but the recent announcement from government on the phased reopening of the country, offers reassurance and hope for brighter days ahead.
A new 249-article law regulating the performance of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the countrys banking sector is expected to be up for a final vote in parliament next week. The law, which has been in the works since 2017, was approved in principle on 4 May when MPs also discussed and approved 50 of its articles.



According to a report prepared by parliaments Economic Affairs Committee, the law aims to reinforce the supervisory powers of the CBE and will raise its capital to LE20 billion to help it exercise its financial obligations.



The law will give the CBE new powers and roles in the areas of centralising deposits, listing and registering government securities, and covering any seasonal deficits in the state budget, the report said.



The law also seeks to increase the number of non-executive members on the CBE board. It stipulates that members of the board are to be independent, neutral, and have no conflicts of interest, the report said, adding that it also tackled the CBEs roles in licensing foreign banks and representation offices in Egypt.



The law stipulates that banks operating in Egypt should have capital of at least LE5 billion and branches should have capital of at least $150 million.



The law creates a new system for settling the conditions for defaulting banks, with the objective of maintaining the stability of the banking sector and protecting the interests and money of depositors, the report said.



CBE Governor Tarek Amer told MPs that the long-awaited law was intended to catch up with the latest developments in the banking sector and operations and services such as e-payments, fintech businesses, and cryptocurrencies.



The introduction of these new services has become necessary in order to be able to effectively cover all areas of credit, finance, and money transfers, Amer said, indicating that there was a section in the new law about e-payments.



The greater use of electronic payments was necessary to improve banking services and reduce costs, Amer said, arguing that the law is set to usher the Egyptian economy into a much better period that will have a positive impact on development plans and job opportunities.



Though the volume of banking deposits and savings in Egypt has soared to LE4 trillion in recent years, most of this financial liquidity has not been fully tapped in setting up development projects, he added.



The draft law is divided into seven sections covering all areas of banking operations in Egypt. The Economic Affairs Committee also introduced a new article stating that a Banking Sector Support Fund and a Defaulting Banks Bailout Fund would also be set up.



While the first fund aims to boost the financial resources of the banks, the second seeks to settle the conditions of defaulting banks, the committee report said, indicating that financial contributions to the two Funds would come from banks operating in Egypt over 10 years.



The banks will have to set aside 0.5 per cent of their deposits over a 10-year period to finance the two funds, the report said, adding that each bank would also contribute one per cent of its net annual profits to them.



Hisham Emara, a member of the Economic Affairs Committee, said the new article serves the general objectives of the law. It aims to grant the banking sector greater stability and security and sends a message to depositors that their money and interests are secure, protected, and guaranteed, he said, indicating that the two funds would be affiliated with the CBE and their boards led by the CBE governor.



The law states that the CBE is an independent and regulatory authority affiliated with the president of the republic. Article one states that the CBE has full technical, financial and administrative powers, is consulted on laws regulating its performance, and seeks to maintain the security of the monetary and banking system in Egypt and the stability of prices in line with the states economic policies, the report said.



Article 48 states that a coordinating council will be formed by the president to take charge of coordinating the CBEs monetary policies and the governments financial policies. The council will comprise experienced representatives from the government and the CBE and will meet at least once every three months and submit an annual report on its activities to the president, it added.



Amer indicated that in the area of reinforcing control and oversight over the banking sector in Egypt, the law makes it clear that the CBE will be allowed to intervene to make sure that deposits in the banks under its control are mainly invested in development projects.



He added that the new law aimed to reinforce data protection and consumer privacy.



The CBE will continue to have the power to set competence requirements for executive board members, according to Article 118. The boards and chairmen of state-owned banks will be appointed by the prime minister and will be subject to the same approvals by the CBE.



The law sets a capital requirement of LE25 million for foreign-exchange companies in Egypt, reducing by half the requirement set by the CBE in previous drafts. The law imposes harsher punishments for black-market dealings on the foreign-exchange markets, including three to 10-year prison terms and fines of up to LE5 million. It establishes a grievances committee to appeal CBE decisions and penalties against the banks.



Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said the CBE should continue not to be involved in politics. According to the constitution, the CBE is independent, but it is one of the state institutions working to achieve financial and monetary stability in the country, he said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Two of the eight workers injured in a boiler explosion at a thermal plant of NLC India last week have succumbed to their injuries, company's Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Kumar said.

Of the remaining six who were injured, one is still critical while four are recovering, he told PTI on Tuesday.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has ordered statutory and non statutory payment of at least Rs 15 lakh to the family of the deceased, irrespective of whether employee was regular or contractual.

In addition to the compensation, the company will offer regular employment to the next of the kin of the deceased.

Kumar said the senior management of the company will contribute their one day's salary to the family of the deceased.

Besides, Kumar said, NLC India will bear the medical expenses of the injured workers.

Last week, a fire broke out at the company's power plant at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, resulting in burn injuries to two regular employees and six contract workers.

The company has roped in former chairman of Central Electricity Authority A S Bakshi to investigate into the explosion incident.

NLC India is a navratna company under the coal ministry. The main activity of the PSU is mining and power generation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, warned of "suffering and death that could be avoided" and further economic damage if states reopen too quickly and said the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus is likely higher than the 80,000 reported.

His comments came during highly anticipated Senate testimony Tuesday as he and other leading federal health officials were pressed on whether the country is ready to reopen. The panel's chairman and witnesses are appearing remotely in an unusual session that includes the first congressional testimony from Fauci, a key member of the White House task force, since President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus crisis a national emergency March 13.

Appearing with Fauci are Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration; Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The hearing before the Republican-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is titled "COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School." But Democrats are also seizing the opportunity to focus on shortcomings in the Trump administration's response.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the panel's chairman, began the questioning by asking Fauci whether college and school administrators could feel safe welcoming students back to campus in the fall, and the likelihood of a treatment or vaccine becoming available by then.

"The idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far," Fauci said. "The drug that has shown some degree of efficacy was modest and was in hospitalized patients."

Fauci said whether students will feel safe returning to school will also largely depend on testing capabilities.

Giroir said he expects the country to have the capacity to conduct 25 million to 30 million tests a month by the fall, which could allow schools to have a surveillance strategy in place to quickly identify and isolate confirmed covid-19 cases.

Pressed by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Fauci warned that states that fail to obey federal reopening guidelines and move too quickly to restart their economies would put themselves at risk of new outbreaks that could be hard to control.

"If some areas, cities, states or what-have-you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "I have been very clear in my message - to try to the best extent possible to go by the guidelines, which have been very well thought out and very well delineated."

Any loosening of restrictions, Fauci added, would lead to new cases, but those new cases could be manageable so long as states have the proper infrastructure in place. "It's the ability and the capability of responding to those cases with good identification, isolation and contact tracing [that] will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen America," he said.

Murray also pressed Giroir, the federal official overseeing coronavirus testing efforts, on a strategic testing plan required to be submitted later this month to Congress under the terms of recent legislation.

Giroir said that the administration had numerical targets in place for testing in each state but cautioned that they stand to be revised based on the course of the virus's spread.

"Yes, there will be targets," he said. "The targets will need to change based on the evidence that we see.  So we really just need to be very humble about this. We need to look at the data."

Fauci said the U.S. death toll is probably higher than the 80,000 deaths officially reported, and added that the virus will not disappear in the fall or winter, contradicting President Trump's claims last week that the virus would go away even without a vaccine.

"I feel about vaccines like I feel about tests: This is going to go away without a vaccine," Trump said Friday, adding that there could be "flare-ups," including in the fall, but that covid-19 would go away regardless.

"That is just not going to happen," Fauci said of the idea that the virus would disappear on its own. "It's a highly transmissible virus. It is likely there will be virus somewhere on this planet that will likely get back to us."

Fauci also agreed with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said many experts have said that the death toll is higher than what's been reported.

Fauci pointed to New York City, where he said the health-care system faced an extraordinary challenge during the peak of the outbreak, and people could have died at home of coronavirus without being officially counted.

Several administration officials, including Trump, have questioned whether the death toll is inflated.

Earlier, Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration, said the agency is working to "bridge the gap" between now and when a vaccine might be available through therapeutics.

The focus, he said, is speeding development and review of antiviral and antibody drugs as well as convalescent plasma products.

Hahn said the agency has created an emergency program to conduct such reviews and is using "every available authority and flexibility that's appropriate."

On testing, he said that the agency has worked with more than 500 developers who have submitted or said they would submit applications for FDA authorization for covid-19 tests - including some involving technologies never used before.

The agency also is cracking down on fraudulent tests and trying to provide more clarity to the public on which tests have been authorized by the FDA and which ones haven't, he said.

Later, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, criticized the Trump administration's news conference Monday heralding its increased testing capacity.

"I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever," Romney told the health officials assembled at the hearing.

Trump and other administration officials Monday regularly pointed to the fact that the United States was conducting more testing per capita than South Korea, which has been widely praised for its early and aggressive testing efforts that helped stem its outbreak.

Romney said U.S. officials were ignoring the fact that South Korea had far higher testing capacity than the United States early in its outbreak, while the United States was "treading water in February."

South Korea has had fewer than 300 covid-19 deaths.

Romney also asked why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data-collection system was so outdated and the agency's director what Congress needed to do to help modernize the system.

He also asked coronavirus task force member Anthony S. Fauci whether it was a "long shot" to hope for a vaccine that would be ready within a year or two.

"It's definitely not a long shot," Fauci replied. "It's clearly much more likely than not that somewhere in that time frame, we will get a vaccine for the virus."

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., the last senator in line to ask questions, sought assurances from all four witnesses that they don't have a confrontational relationship with Trump - a notion that she said has been advanced by the news media and some of her colleagues.

"There is certainly not a confrontational relationship between me and the president," Fauci said. "I give advice, opinion based on evidence-based scientific information. He hears that. He respects it. He gets opinions from a variety of other people, but in no way, in my experience over the last several months, has there been any confrontational relationship between us."

Redfield, Hahn and Giroir all gave similar answers.

"We have a very productive working relationship with each other," Giroir said.
Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on Tuesday announced that the country has the highest recovery rate of coronavirus (COVID-19) because of the comprehensive standards set out by the Service.



Dr Kuma-Aboagye said about 130 patients were awaiting their second positive tests to be declared the full recovery of the virus, compared to other countries who normally conducts only one test of positive cases to be declared full recovery.



The Director-General made the remarks in response to a question about the home management of COVID-19 patients during the press briefing on updates of cases in the country.



He said GHS may revise the double testing protocol when the need arises, stressing that the recovery rate was slow due to the double testing approach.



He said an assessment on the probability that, patients who first tested positive could test negative in their second test proved to be insignificant.



According to the GHS 494 COVID-19 patients have recovered out of the 5,127 case count recorded on May 10.

Out of the total number, 4,611 were active cases with 22 deaths recorded, representing a 0.43 percent mortality rate.



On regional statistics, the Greater Accra recorded 89 new cases while the Ashanti region has 307 new cases. The Central region recorded 27 new cases with the Western and Volta regions recording three and one new cases respectively.



Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that most of the patients receiving treatment at home were in good condition.



Touching on the death rate, he said so far two autopsies have been conducted and the Service was yet to receive the report, adding the report is necessary because it helps us to learn and improve on future use.

Source: GNA









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Governor Ron DeSantis recently said the COVID-19 figures have improved statewide. However, there are huge differences, he said, according to one's location in Florida.

Specifically, the governor said, there are more hospital confinements in Miami-Dade than in Lee, Duval, Collier, Hillsborough, and Pinellas combined. He also added, "And it's not even close."

DeSantis delivered the speech from Lee Health in Fort Meyers where the health care workers, particularly the doctors, claim, elective surgeries now permitted in phase-one reopening are still just about 50 percent of the figure they saw before the public health crisis.

Also according to the governor, hospitals in Florida will be given the Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, although not immediately. Meanwhile, a list from the federal government showed Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York to receive first the said drug.

COVID-19 in Florida

Florida, the governor guaranteed, is going to be in the second batch of states to receive Remdesivir. In addition, DeSantis also said he believes antibody testing will show that the COVID-19 already existed earlier than everyone first believed.

The government official explained he is also expecting a "new antigen testing" to arrive in the state soon. He specified, "The one that just got urgent approval from the Food and Drug Administration or FDA for a 15-minute result, and it can already be produced."

He thinks too that the new rapid testing will be able to be produced in greater quantities, and get results faster.

Presently, according to DeSantis, there are more than 460 COVID-19 patients in Florida hospitals' intensive care adding, 263 of the 6,500 ventilators of the ventilators are currently being used.

Florida's Phase-One Reopening

Early this month, it was announced that the state's phase-one reopening was taking place, on May 4, to be exact. Relatively at that time, the said reopening, as reported, would be in place and remain as was, until a replacement by a "subsequent executive order" took place.

DeSantis at that time, could not still provide a specific timeline for the state's entry to phase two, although he said, he was thinking of weeks and not about months for "each of the three phases."

During the phase one reopening, the safer-at-home order was set to expire but was extended for a couple of days, when the said reopening began.

The new directive would still require that the Floridians restrict their movements, as well as their whereabouts to the companies that were open.

Not the whole of Florida entered the phase one reopening. Technically, according to reports, "Executive Order 20-112 was issued for the entire state."

Nevertheless, the governor was working with the mayors of Boward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties to guarantee they had stricter procedure in place.

One of the differences from President Donald trump's laid out plan was that, the latter "allowed gyms to reopen in phase one," but the governor held back on that, for at least a few weeks. However, one similarity was that, both plans called for phased or step-by-step strategies.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 08:42 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd75ccf2 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,covid-19-task-force,doni-monardo,PHK,social-distancing Free

The government is set to allow people under 45 years old to work outside their homes so as to prevent more people from being laid off amid mobility restrictions in place to curb the novel coronavirus spread.

Indonesia's COVID-19 task force head, Doni Monardo, said on Monday that the people under the age of 45, whom he said were less vulnerable to suffer from severe COVID-19 cases, would be given the green light to carry out their activities outside to make ends meet.

"The young population under 45 years old are physically healthy and they have high mobility," Doni said, "If they are exposed [to the coronavirus], they might not get sick because they show no symptoms."

Those in the age group had the lowest coronavirus fatality rate with 15 percent, Doni said.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients above 60 years of age had an alarmingly high fatality rate of 45 percent, followed by patients aged 46 to 59, with a fatality rate of 40 percent. Both groups were considered more vulnerable to the disease, he went on to say.

"If we can protect both vulnerable groups, it means that we can protect 85 percent of our citizens," Doni said, adding that those considered to be more at risk should maintain physical distancing and stay at home instead.

Those under 45 years old will be allowed to resume activities outside, albeit by taking into account the health protocols, such as wearing masks and washing hands frequently.

"This aims to maintain a balance. [We want them] to be protected from the virus, as well as from the termination of employment," he said as quoted by kompas.com.

The COVID-19 outbreak has hit the country's economy and businesses, affecting millions of workers as mobility restrictions have been imposed to clamp down on COVID-19 transmission.

At least 2.8 million people have lost their jobs as of April 13, according to data from the Manpower Ministry and the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan). More than half were furloughed and place on paid or unpaid leave.

The plan to give more opportunities for those aged 45 and younger to work outside their homes come as the central government mulls over the possibility of easing travel restrictions and gradually lifting social restrictions in June, prompting experts to warn that the war against COVID-19 is far from over.

The delayed results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and the nations low testing capacity have made it difficult to capture the true scale of the epidemic, analysts warned as they called for authorities to carry out further epidemiological studies before deciding to relax the curbs.

The government has since March 15 called for all people to practice physical-distancing measures by working, studying and worshiping from home to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Some regions, including Jakarta, have imposed stronger measures by implementing large-scale social distancing restrictions.

As of Monday, Indonesia recorded 14,265 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 991 fatalities, according to the central government's official count. (vny)
The Department of Homeland Security, on Sunday, announced it has rescheduled hearings for asylum seekers and suspended temporarily a policy requiring some of them to travel to entry ports in Mexico while the COVID-19 is ongoing, for the updated court documents.

As per the Migrant Protection Protocols, asylum seekers are obliged "to wait in Mexico for their hearings" in the courtrooms of the United States.

However, the COVID-19 crisis has led to months of postponement or delay of such hearings. Until Sunday, migrants were still necessitated to arrive at their assigned entry ports to receive new dates for their court hearings.

Nevertheless, policy migration attorneys condemned such a directive as it forced the asylum seekers to travel through Mexico's dangerous areas while social distancing was quite difficult to practice or even impossible.

Temporary Policy

Under the temporary rule, migrants are presently permitted to stay where they are until new dates for their court hearings become available.

Relatively, the asylum seekers are ordered to arrive for their court hearings a month following their current set dates. For instance, as explained in the DHS statement, if the date of hearing is May 10, individuals then, need to show up on June 10.

The department added, the DHS, as well as the "Executive Office for Immigration Review," are seriously committed to guaranteeing aliens' health and safety, as well as the frontline officers', the citizens', and the immigration court professionals'.

Meanwhile, asylum seekers whose court hearing is scheduled on or after June 22 need to proceed as scheduled unless another change is made by the DHS.

The Department's Response to the Pandemic

For several months now, DHS has risen to the new challenges which the COVID-19 pandemic presented. The department expressed how fortunate it is too, that the initiatives of its workforce across its components last week, it has expedited a rapid, "whole-of-government response" to alleviate the spread of the virus.

Additionally, the department, including its components, has continued proving its resiliency, amid these hard times to guarantee a prosperous, safe, and secure Homeland for the Americans.

According to Commandant Admiral Karl L. Schultz from the US Coast Guard, "as the lead federal agency in the maritime territory, the Coast Guard" is continuing to "stand the watch" amid the current worldwide pandemic, fulfilling both military and civil responsibilities for the protection of the country's prosperity, security and other interests of the nation.

The officer added, from the outbreak's onset, they have continued deploying "major cutters" for the enforcement of legislation and treaties, and prevent illegal activities like drug smuggling and unlawful migration.

The US Coast Guard has also rescued mariners who are distress at sea and addressed oil spills. It has backed the entire government too, in its response initiatives to address COVID-19, and retained commerce that flows through the more than 300 seaports, not to mention its "25,000 NM of navigable waterways."

Happily, the Service shared, it has done all of these initiatives while staying keenly concentrated on the preservation of the health and well-being of its workforce and their respective families, as well as the operational readiness of the Service.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Calls for an outside investigation into the fatal police shooting of a Kentucky emergency medical technician are growing, two months after the 26-year-old black woman was killed in her home.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday evening that the states attorney general and U.S. attorney should review the case, because the fact are what the family deserves.

The truth is always the very best answer, Beshear said during his daily briefing on the coronavirus outbreak. I just want to make sure that we get that.

Outrage spread beyond Kentucky borders this week over the shooting of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police during a warrant search on March 13. Some high-profile figures, including California Sen. Kamala Harris, called for a federal investigation. An online petition with more than 90,000 signatures says police performed an illegal drug raid before killing Taylor.

The online petition and some others calling for an outside investigation say police went to the wrong house. But police had a warrant to search Taylors home as part a of drug investigation, though she was not the suspect they were seeking, according to the Courier Journal.

The countys prosecutor, Thomas Wine, Wednesday night asked the state attorney generals office to appoint a special prosecutor in the case to avoid a conflict of interest. Wines office is prosecuting Taylors boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, in the shooting of one of the officers who entered the home. The letter to the AGs office said officers were executing a search warrant at the home when they were shot at by Walker.

Louisville police have declined to answer further questions about the case, citing an ongoing internal investigation.

Police have tried to sweep this under the rug, said Sam Aguiar, a lawyer for Taylors family. The family right now has a very understandable desire to know the full circumstances of what went on that night.

Taylor was shot eight times. Police said they were returning fire after one officer was shot in the apartment and wounded.

A defence attorney for Walker argued in court filings that Walker fired in self-defence because police did not announce themselves and he thought officers were breaking in. Taylor and Walker had no criminal history or drug convictions, and no drugs were found in Taylors apartment.

Walker has been charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but a judge has released him to home incarceration.

Taylors family has hired prominent civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump. Crump has represented the families of other high-profile black shooting victims, including Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot in February on a Georgia residential street.

Beshear said the polices initial investigation into Taylors death should be reviewed by state and federal prosecutors to ensure justice is done.

A lawsuit filed by Taylors family last month said Taylor had posed no threat to the officers and did nothing to deserve to die at their hands. The suit also said police had already located the drug suspect they were seeking, Jamarcus Glover, at his home and detained him before executing the warrant at Taylors residence.

The Courier Journal reported Tuesday that Taylors address was listed in a search warrant based on the investigators belief that Glover used her home to receive mail, keep drugs or stash money earned from drug sales. Police investigators said they had earlier observed the drug case suspect, Glover, taking a package from Taylors home and driving to a known drug house, the newspaper reported.

The warrant was a no-knock, meaning police were not required to identify themselves before entering the home, the Courier Journal reported. Louisville police have said they did identify themselves to the homes occupants, but some neighbours said they heard no such warnings, according to the lawsuit filed by Taylors family.

Another warrant executed on the same night as Taylors death at another house connected to the investigation led to the seizure of several ounces of suspected crack cocaine, marijuana and U.S. currency, authorities said.
Nigerias efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic got a major boost as the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) offered all its 425 health facilities across the country as isolation centres for COVID-19 patients.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, made this known at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday.

The federal government earlier raised concern over the unavailability of adequate bed spaces to accommodate all COVID-19 patients in the country.

As of Monday night, Nigeria has recorded 641 cases of coronavirus. These include 902 people who have recovered and have been discharged as well as150 deaths.

With the increasing number of cases, the government said it was considering the option of home-care treatment as some states are running out of bed spaces.

Mr Mustapha Monday, however, said state governments can now take advantage of the donated facilities to treat patients.

As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres

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Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities, he said.

Boost

Mr Mustapha, who doubles as the chairman of the task force, said the Thisday Dome treatment and isolation facility in Abuja would be inaugurated on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, we hope to commission the Thisday Dome treatment and isolation facility. It will add a total of 270 beds to our isolation capacity in Abuja.

This is a private sector-driven initiative and we commend the efforts of this Thisday, NNPC, Sahara Energy Group, CCECC and all the partners involved in this enterprise.
The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education has asked its affiliated schools to promote all class 11 students as their annual exams could not be completed due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown.

In a letter dated May 11, council president Mahua Das said as decided by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee all class 11 students should be declared promoted to the next class.

The council provides the question papers for the class 11 annual examinations, while the exams are conducted by the schools and papers are checked by internal examiners.

Some of the papers of the class 12 board examinations and class 11 annual examinations, being conducted simultaneously, could not be held on the scheduled dates of March 23, March 25 and March 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government earlier said the higher secondary examinations will be held any day after June 10, while there will be no further annual exams for class 11 in this academic year.

Around 11,10,000 students will be promoted from class 11 to class 12 this year with the governments decision, a council source said.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra high powered committee (HPC) has decided to release 50 percent of prisoners on temporary bail lodged across Maharashtra to decongest jails across the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was taken by the committee comprised of Justice AA Sayed (head), Additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Chahande, and DG prisons SN Pandey. However, the committee has not fixed any time frame for the bail period yet.

The committee was set up after the Supreme Court in March called for the decongestion of prisons across the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The HPC has further also stated that no prisoners who are charged under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will be released under the new guidelines.

The committee's decision comes after over 100 inmates and staff members of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19.

There are a total of 35,239 prisoners in Maharashtra and the prison authorities have released 695 people on emergency parole.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state in India with 23401 cases.
The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) has cautioned the public against committing domestic violence as they observed the stay at home protocol meant to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.



Superintendent of Police, Mr. George Appiah-Sakyi, Central Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU who gave the caution noted that measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 could create anxiety, depression, and uncertainties.



These he indicated were major psycho-social factors that could lead to committing crimes including domestic violence.



According to him, there were therefore an increasing reported cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBVs) Worldwide.



Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Cape Coast, Supt. Appiah-Sakyi said irrespective of the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, no one was permitted to beat, harass, insult, threaten or make derogatory remarks within the domestic setting.



Supt. Appiah-Sakyi acknowledged that the emergence of COVID-19 and the measures put in place to handle it carried both positive and negative ramifications in the domestic setting.



He, therefore, advised Ghanaians to look out for the positives to solidify weak family bonds and repair broken homes.



An ideal home is one with the regular presence of the father, mother, and other householders and such an environment would provide an avenue for a healthy resolution of unresolved conflicts.



Giving an overview of the domestic violence trends in the Central Region, Supt. Appiah-Sakyi said the region recorded 326 cases of domestic violence in the first quarter of 2020 as against the over 500 cases recorded the same period last year.



He said the regional secretariat had over the years embarked on numerous anti-domestic violence sensitisation campaigns tailored to meet the needs of households and reiterated its resolve to step up its sensitisation activities.



He said the office was well-positioned to handle the excesses of domestic violence cases as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but appealed for the supply of communication gadgets to support its wort.

Source: GNA









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The Indian High Commission in Singapore has joined an Indian restaurant, apart from 1,000 Indian families here in packing food for deliveries to frontline workers and foreign nationals amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of 21 people and left 24,671 infected in the country.

On Tuesday, India's High Commissioner Jawed Ashraf joined the Indian restaurant Mavalli Tiffin Rooms in packing food to help the frontline workers, who have been working day and night to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country, The Straits Times reported.

Ashraf said he had heard of the restaurant's efforts and wanted to help out as a way of standing shoulder-to-shoulder and showing solidarity with the front-line healthcare workers.

Restaurant operations director Raghavendra Shastry, who is from Bengaluru, said his staff at the Indian vegetarian restaurant, within the Little Indian precinct have prepared packets of fruits and sent them to the hospitals.

Shastry said he realised after chatting with a surgeon friend that he could contribute on a larger scale by making hot snacks and drinks at the restaurant he runs to deliver to front-line healthcare workers.

This was in addition to the regular work at the restaurant, which is serving food takeaways and delivery services as outdoor eating is not allowed during the circuit breaker period to control the spread of the COVID-19.

"Dry snacks such as biscuits and sweets are readily available to the front-liners in hospitals. But the hot snacks and coffee we deliver can complement these snacks and help keep the medical fraternity going," the newspaper Shastry as saying.

The first set of goodies was sent to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases on April 17. Deliveries are now being made twice a week to various hospitals across Singapore and will continue until at least June 1, the day circuit breaker is scheduled to end, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Sikh Gurdwaras (temples) have been serving two meals daily for students here from India since April 1.

We are serving food (langar) to all Indian students regardless of race, religion and caste, said Harbhajan Singh Goshal, Vice Chairman of a Silat Road Sikh Gurdwara under the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board (CSGB).

The meals are for students, who have lost earnings from their part-time work here to finance their studies, as well as for senior citizens and people in need, said Goshal.

On an average, 1,450 meals are being served, said Goshal, a long-term sevadar at Singapore Gurdwaras.

Elsewhere, Singapore billionaire Peter Lim has joined the community with a 1 million Singapore dollars worth of meals for hospital staff in a show of appreciation and support for their work on handling the COVID-19 cases.

Lim is picking up the food voucher bill for 20,000 workers at the hospital.

Also, over 1,000 Indian families, both from local and expat communities, are cooking and packing food three times a week for the students and foreign workers through the gurdwaras as part of their contribution to support those in need of meals during the coronavirus challenging times, according to Shweta Verma, a business executive.

The contribution of cooked family meals goes a long way for those facing difficulties, she said.

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

As part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by PM Modi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to help businesses, including MSMEs to recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Kerala reported ten fresh COVID-19 cases. The number of confirmed cases in the country has crossed the 70,000-mark with more than 3600 cases reported in the last 24 hours.



The death toll due to coronavirus in India neared the 2,500-mark while the number of positive cases reached 74,281 on Wednesday.
The drug manufacturers in Pakistan have warned against banning raw material from India, saying it will weaken the countrys ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) organised a press conference in Karachi on Monday where they said that import of raw materials for manufacturing medicines should not be stopped from India or any other country.

At a time when the federal and provincial governments in the country have been in the process of setting up more and more quarantine centres, isolation facilities, and special hospital wards to accommodate Covid-19 cases, there is a dire need to ensure constant supply of essential medicines to treat coronavirus patients, PPMA senior vice chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari said.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 31,684 on Monday. Out of these, Punjab recorded 11,568 cases, Sindh 12,017, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 4,875, Balochistan 2,017, Islamabad 679, Gilgit-Baltistan 442 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 86 patients.

A total of 28 more people died in the last 24 hours in the country (between Sunday and Monday), taking the tally of Covid-19 deaths in Pakistan to 667. Another 8,212 recovered so far.

But Pakistan began to lift its lockdown despite a surge in the number of Covid-19 positive ptients.

On Monday, Prime Minister Khan chaired a meeting on the crisis where he was briefed about the latest efforts to control the spread of the disease in the wake of easing lockdown.

According to an official statement, Khan said that lockdown is being eased in a phased manner according to the situation and to keep a balance between business and health needs.

Public transport remains shut, but factories and offices have been allowed to resume operations. Restrictions on mosque attendance had already been lifted.

Khan, however, asked people to take precautions so that the virus doesnt run out of control.
S

hops and restaurants in the Citys historic Leadenhall Market, famed as the set for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies, fear they will go under unless the council stops playing hardball on their rent dues during coronavirus.

A group of 35 tenants in the 14th century marketplace say their landlord, the City of London Corporation, has refused to give them any rent holidays despite their forced closure.

While the market is famous as starring in the Potter movies as the home of the best wizards shops, in the real world, its customers are largely insurance workers from Lloyds of London and nearby brokerages.

Thanks to the magic of technology, these customers are all expecting to be working from home for months, meaning business for the market will be subdued even if the government allows its shops and bars to reopen soon.

Tenants say all the council has offered is to defer a quarters rent, but some, who have been there for decades, say they cannot afford to pay.

Andrea Oriani, whose father opened his first restaurant in the market in 1975, fears his classic Italian cafe, the M Bar, will struggle to stay alive unless the council lets him off two quarters of rent.

He said: They said theyd offer us to pay monthly rather than quarterly to help our cashflow. What cashflow? We havent got any cashflow; were shut! I told them it was disgusting.

Then they offered us to defer the rent but that just means still have to pay it when we reopen and everyone knows takings will be down 30% or 40% when we do.

Restaurants are particularly worried because the sunny spring and summer months are when they do most business as Lloyds staff head out to the markets bars and cafes to meet clients and do deals.

Spencer Miserotti, whose family have run jewellery shops in the City since 1985, has been trading in the market since 1998.

He said: Weve been through plenty over the years; terrorism scares, the 2008 financial crisis, but this looks like it could be the worst. All our clients work in the local tall buildings  the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater. How are they going to return to work when social distancing means they have to queue up for hours to use the lifts?

We need to get a break from paying our rents. If not, a lot of us will be in trouble and some will have to close. And if that happens, they wont be able to re-let. Its far better for the council to come to an agreement with us now.

Tenants said trade started slowing dramatically in the middle of February as offices began testing work from home. One takeaway there handed back the keys on the first day of the lockdown. They just gave up there and then, said a neighbour.

Tenants say they tried to negotiate with the council for rent holidays but to no avail.

They said the council had not even cut their service charge despite the market being closed, although they had received a waiver on a charge for a redecoration of a monument last year.

One said friends with bars in Transport for London and Canary Wharf were both getting three months rent free.

A spokesman for the council said: We fully understand that many of our tenants, including those at Leadenhall Market, are experiencing exceptionally difficult times due to coronavirus and the current lockdown guidance. That is why we agreed in March to provide three month rent deferrals to selected tenants to provide support. We continue to review the measures in place and are proactively considering further support ahead of the June to September quarter.

Councillors say they rely on income from rents to pay for other services provided by the council. It is believed they are considering offering some support packages that would also help restaurant and cafe tenants at other sites it manages as custodian in Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath.

Oriani, who started working at his fathers restaurant in Leadenhall Market when he was 14, now has his own 14-year-old son helping out. My father passed away in 2017 and he handed this business on to me. Its been such a big part of my life and my familys life. If we had to close it I would feel like Id failed him. I just hope it doesnt come to that.
Australias success so far at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the countrys long history of taking a collective approach to public health.

It is an approach that suggests our attitudes and behaviour are different from some other countries, even those with which we have strong cultural ties, such as the US.

A coronavirus test at a drive-through clinic in the car park of Bunnings in West Footscray. Credit:Getty Images

Tens of thousands of years before colonial settlement, Australias Aboriginal people exemplified this notion of survival through the collective  the good of the group was put before the individual in strict rules about food gathering, hunting, marriage, birth and death.

In the more recent past there are many examples in Australias public health policies where the individual and even family rights have been made secondary to the wider community. Australians havent shirked accepting legislation and enforcement to drive behaviour, whether it is making seat belts and motorbike helmets compulsory, introducing smoking bans in public places, or ending family fireworks.
A bill to prevent, control and manage sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria scaled second reading at the Senate on Tuesday.

One of the provisions of the Bill seeks to prevent persons who are carriers (AS and SS) of the diseased gene from marrying other carriers.

The bill, sponsored by Sam Egwu, also seeks to curb preventable massive deaths and avoidable hardships caused by the disease.

This, the sponsor said, will be achieved by placing a statutory duty on the federal government to engage in and encourage the prevention, control and management of the occurrence, spread and effect of sickle cell anaemia.

Statistics

Thousands of the Nigerians are under the grasp of the deadly disease.

Experts have said the disease prevails in the country because of the wrong matching of conflicting genotypes in marriages and procreation.

Sickle cell anaemia is known for distorting the red blood cells which mostly result in severely painful blood clots and is among the top genetic haemoglobin disorders.

The genetically inherited disease which can also lead to death troubles a little less than five per cent of the global population. But for people whose origins can be traced to Africa, the risk is higher.

While over 300,000 babies globally are born with severe sickle cell disease, 75 per cent of that number are born in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nigeria carries 66 per cent of the burden in the region, the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states.

According to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), 24 per cent of the Nigerian population are carriers of the mutant gene and the prevalence of sickle-cell anaemia is about 20 per 1,000 births.

Provisions of the bill

Leading the debate, Mr Egwu said the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria has risen to an alarming proportion, yet little is known about it and far little is done about it.

He said the legislation will enable the Ministry of Health to direct, coordinate and supervise the prevention, control and management of the disease.

It will also empower the ministry to accredit reputable public and private hospitals and medical clinics across the country, including the rural areas, to function as accredited participants in the prevention, control and management of the disease in Nigeria, he said.

The bill empowers the Ministry of Health to receive donations, literature and other relevant materials from persons, organisations and bodies or governments and ensure proper utilisation of such resources for the management of the disease.

The lawmaker explained that the passage of the bill will ensure that experts and other stakeholders are committed to the prevention and control of sickle cell disease in the country through adequate sensitisation and counseling to prevent persons who are carriers (AS and SS) from marrying other carriers, while facilitating uniformity and standardisation of care for those living with the disease.

It will ensure that these campaigns, sensitisation and services are taken to the rural areas across the nation where majority of the citizens are ignorant of this disease and do not carry out the relevant tests to ascertain their genotype before getting married.

Proper sensitisation of the rural dwellers and accessibility of the blood testing services, which this Bill seeks to enhance, will lead to an appreciable reduction in the number of fresh cases in a short time.

It will attract no significant additional cost to the government because it is not setting up any new body or commission; its implementation is to be carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Egwu noted.

It will, however, lead to achievement of better results through better utilisation of resources, stronger political will, greater mutual accountability and more research in the area of Sickle Cell Disease and these efforts will culminate in reduced morbidity and mortality caused by the disease.

By passing the bill, he said, the Senate would have played its part in bringing to an end the unfortunate and preventable hardships and deaths which hundreds of thousands of innocent young Nigerians are subjected to on yearly basis.

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Contributions

Biodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti) said it is time for Nigeria to look inwards to solve some health needs and also support institutions that are doing so.

Going forward, we need to take serious blood testing for intending couples. We will not allow love take away the best part of our marriages, she said.

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Chukwuka Utazi narrated his traumatic experience after he discovered he could not marry a partner at the time.

I knew the trauma. After that incident, for five years I didnt come out of it. So I am speaking from experience and I know how it pains that you have made a choice and you discover that the choice cant work.

Because in Africa, we marry for children, we dont marry for love. A test is done to show the blood group, the genotype before leaving. In the birth certificate of the child, all those things are put in place.

We should not be waiting for when people want to go and marry, that is when they will start checking their genotype and their blood group, it shouldnt be, he said.

A few lawmakers took turns to speak after which the bill passed second reading and was referred to the Senate committee on health for further legislative work.

The committee is to report back in four weeks.
A constable of the Sashastra Seema



Bal (SSB) allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle at Gurpa in Bihar's Gaya district on Tuesday, an officer said.

The 32-year-old constable identified as Lalit Bhati shot himself at the SSB's 29th battalion camp at Gurpa when the other constables were having lunch, Commandant R K Singh said.

Bhati was first rushed to a nearby hospital and then to JPN hospital at Gaya where doctors declared him brought dead, Singh said.

The constable, a resident of Naya Gaon under Sikandara police station of Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh is survived by his wife and two small children, the Commandant said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) and Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) have announced a strategic alliance to help UAE exporters overcome the most pressing challenges they face in the current economic climate.

As per the deal, ADEX and ECI will combine their highly complementary suite of financial and insurance products and services to bring to UAE businesses a full range of credit facilities - direct financing, guarantees and export credit insurance - to maximise their competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Management of both these organisations share a mandate to drive expansion and diversification of the UAE economy by driving growth of national export companies operating outside of the crude oil sector.

The MoU was signed by Massimo Falcioni, Chief Executive Officer of ECI, and Saeed Al Dhaheri, the acting director-general of ADEX.

The signing ceremony was witnessed and endorsed by Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of ADFD and Chairman of the Export Executive Committee of ADEX.

One of the key collaboration areas through this MoU is that ADEX will expand its range of existing buyers credit facilities in the form of loans and guarantees to include loans guaranteed by ECI to stimulate the import of made in the UAE products from foreign buyers.

ECI will offer UAE exporters access to its extensive database of more than 300 million companies worldwide to establish a new customer portfolio.

In addition, the two organisations have committed to work together to develop new joint products to help UAE companies and their overseas buyers address the immediate liquidity and cash flow issues threatening the global supply chain today, it added.

Al Suwaidi said the duo share a common mandate and responsibility to drive the nations economic development and diversification.

"We both have a rich suite of uniquely complementary financial and insurance products and services that are highly relevant to helping business leaders overcome the challenges they are facing in the current Covid-19 economy," he noted.

On the deal, Falcioni said: "Together we can help enhance UAE businesses and exporters cash flow and safely develop business expansions. We can make sure they get paid for those transactions in advance, improving their cash flow."

Al Dhaheri said: "This is a strategic alliance that is all about protecting the best interests of our national companies as well as facilitating their overseas buyers on much-needed international trade."

"We offer overseas buyers of goods and services from UAE companies the benefit of immediate access to financing that is more difficult to secure locally in todays market conditions while protecting our national companies transactions from risks in a time of great economic uncertainty," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
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Denmark is 'very unlikely' to be hit by a second wave of coronavirus, the country's chief epidemiologist said today, after the government laid out plans for increased testing and a contact tracing system.

Despite reopening some public spaces, Denmark's reproduction rate (R-value), which shows the average number of infections one person with the virus causes, fell to 0.7 in the first week of May, down from 0.9.

The Nordic country of 5.8 million people, which has seen 533 coronavirus deaths, was the first in Europe to relax its lockdown almost a month ago. The infection rate and daily number of deaths have continued to drop.

Pictured: Customers enter the Field's shopping centre in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 11. Denmark was one of the first countries to relax its coronavirus lockdown measures, almost a month ago

'No country has seen an actual second wave yet. Some countries have seen the spread go up and down,' state epidemiologist Kare Molbak said at a news briefing.

'But with the knowledge we have today, I find it very unlikely that we'll see second wave,' he said.

Fears that a second wave of infections could thwart the reopening of the global economy were triggered on Monday after Germany, relatively successful in slowing the outbreak, reported that infections had accelerated again after the first tentative steps to ease its lockdown.

Denmark this week began a second phase of relaxing its lockdown which will include reopening of restaurants and shopping malls.

As part of a broader plan to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus, the government said it would further increase test capacity currently at 20,000 tests per day.

'Denmark is well on its way,' Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the briefing.

'From testing relatively few initially, we are now one of the countries in the world with most tests per inhabitant,' she said.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (pictured) spoke to the media after the party leaders had agreed on the next phase of reopening, saying that 'Denmark is well on its way'

To prevent a second wave, health authorities will begin more actively tracking people who may have been in contact with infected people and if necessary put some in isolation in empty hotels, she said.

'We need to isolate the sick, so we can break the infection chains without having to close down society again,' she said.

Early in the outbreak, Denmark shied away from a comprehensive testing and tracing scheme, partly due to a shortage of testing kits, despite calls from the World Health Organisation to ramp up testing.

As of May 11, Denmark has seen 10,711 cases of the coronavirus and a relatively low 533 related deaths.
A woman in the northern province of Tuyen Quang is using traditional music to help local people understand more about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ha Thi My, a health worker in Hamlet 5, Trung Truc Commune of the provinces Yen Son District, teaches her grandchildren to sing in then style.

The 62-year-old Ha Thi My, a health worker in Hamlet 5, Trung Truc Commune of the provinces Yen Son District, has been using then singing practice to spread key health information.

The practice, an intangible cultural heritage of humanity recognised by UNESCO and an essential part in the spiritual life of ethnic groups in Vietnam, is familiar to local people, particularly those from the Tay minority ethnic group, so Mys song with lyrics similar to the smash handwashing hit Ghen Co Vy has become popular locally.

My said the COVID-19 song was not the first one she wrote new lyrics for in a then melody, for example, songs about family planning, nutrition and other Governments policies.

We usually sing those songs during meetings of residents in our hamlet, she said, adding that people were excited to hear such songs and some even wanted to learn the songs.

There are 162 families in Mys hamlet, most of them from the Tay ethnic group.

Over the last 25 years, My has worked as the hamlets health worker who provides local people with not only medical aid but also advice and consultation on family planning, proper nutrition and disease prevention.

My said that when she started working as a health worker, she usually went to every house in the hamlet to tell people about the Governments health policies.

She usually talked to women about family planning, nutrition for pregnancy and breastfeeding, vaccinations for children as well as how to keep their living environment hygienic.

In the late 1990s, almost all people in the hamlet lived difficult lives, paying little attention to health care, she said, adding that the hamlet was far from the communes and districts health centres, which limited access to health services.

My said she and other local health workers usually visited local residents whenever a new policy was launched.

She composed songs after seeing people were more interested and engaged in listening to songs rather than long talks.

Local resident Ha Thi Tham said that thanks to Mys instructions, she knew better how to look after her family.

We are now paying more attention to hygiene, cooking food and boiling water. So we dont get diarrhoea or rashes like previously, Tham said.

When our health is better, we can work more and earn more, she said.

Luong Tung, head of the Hamlet 5s residential group, said My helped local residents improve their health a lot.

For the last few years, all pregnant women and newborn babies in the hamlet were nursed at the communes health centre and all children were vaccinated, Tung said, adding that people were aware of the importance of keeping the environment clean and hygienic.

Tung also said My was a good example for other locals to follow as she overcame difficulties and worked hard to improve her familys life.

Her husband is a veteran in poor health and when her children were young, My was the breadwinner but did not have experience or money to invest in farming.

After learning farming experience from other people in the district, she borrowed bank loans to grow wood trees, fruit trees and raise chickens and pigs.

Now, her family has nearly 8ha of forest, 1ha of grapefruit and raises more than 100 chickens and pigs. She earns about VND200 million (US$8,600) yearly.

My said that to convince people to follow any policy, she must follow it first.

When working as a health worker at the grassroots level, be patient and diversify the ways you communicate with people, My said. VNS

Na Hang: a natural beauty and feast for tourists eyes A boat floats slowly across a mirror-like lake. Sky and water meet to create a feast for tourists eyes. Forests stretch out into the distance. Mountains rise majestically into the distance.
In a quiet outpost of Perths central business district a cutting-edge green tech companys collaboration with Silicon Valley has achieved a game-changer for both the company and for the global construction industry.

ClearVue in West Perth has now not only created "smart glass" that can produce power but has now has a major breakthrough in delivering a substantial boost to how much power is produced.

ClearVue founder and chief executive Victor Rosenberg with the tiny prototypes first produced. Credit:Emma Young

The product is made of ordinary glass panes coated with specialised films, sandwiched between them a clear layer of material that absorbs the sun's radiation and redirects it to solar cells at the edges.

The result is windows that can generate energy to power building processes and help cover running costs, let through less noise than ordinary glass, insulate, and run dimmers and automatic blinds without the need for cabling. They may even make blinds and curtains obsolete one day, being able to turn opaque then back to clear as needed to increase or decrease sunlight on demand.
- Pauleen Luna-Sotto received a heartwarming gift on Mothers Day from her only child, Tali Sotto

- The Kapuso star shared on her social media account Talis awesome gift for her

- Her post shows Tali singing a song and greeting Pauleen on Mothers Day while they were bonding with each other at home

- The celebrity mom uploaded the video of Talis performance on Instagram, where many netizens expressed their admiration for the toddler

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Pauleen Luna-Sotto got a simple but heartwarming gift on Mothers Day from her only child, Tali Sotto.

KAMI learned that Pauleen shared on her social media account Talis awesome gift for her.

It turned out that Tali sang a song and greeted Pauleen on Mothers Day while they were bonding with each other at home.

The celebrity mom uploaded the video of Talis performance on Instagram, where many netizens expressed that they are impressed with the toddlers intelligence, singing skills, and affection for her mother.

Pauleen also penned a short message about feeling blessed to be Talis mommy.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

KAMI previously reported that Vic Sottos bonding moments with Tali amid the lockdown also went viral.

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.

Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters!

Our new episode features a unique challenge: you have to guess the gibberish sentences and phrases! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
The opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh on Monday urged Governor Anusuiya Uikey to direct the state government to ban liquor in the state and withdraw its order allowing home delivery of booze during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The party also said that it would stage a protest on Tuesday against the ruling Congress for its "failure" in fulfilling the electoral promises.

A delegation of BJP leaders led by former chief minister and BJP national vice president Raman Singh submitted a five-point memorandum to the governor urging her to issue directives to the state government, a statement issued by the BJP said.

The demands made by the BJP included: implementation of complete liquor prohibition in the state, withdrawal of the decision of the state government allowing home delivery of liquor; preparing a clear-cut policy for bringing back migrant labourers stranded in other states and providing an interim relief of at least Rs 1000 to each migrant labourer, it said.

The party also demanded that the state government make public its fund-wise expenses in the fight against coronavirus, the memorandum said.

Later, talking to media persons, Raman Singh alleged that the Bhupesh Baghel government was seeking to earn revenue by hiking taxes on liquor in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.

"The state government opened liquor shops to earn Rs 5000 crore revenue. The liquor shops should be immediately shut as the Congress had made the promise to ban liquor in its poll manifesto," Singh said.

He said the government has failed to come out with a proper action plan to bring back 1.60 lakh workers from the state who are stranded in different parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the Congress said liquor shops were opened by the state government during the lockdown following a direction from the Centre.

"The BJP ditched people of the state during its 15-year rule (2003-2018) and now again, being in opposition, it is practicing the same thing," said Dhananjay Singh Thakur, state Congress spokesperson.

He said the Centre was responsible for opening of liquor outlets all over the country and not the state governments.

"It is the Centre which has been deciding the opening and closing of shops and commercial establishments during the lockdown. Why liquor, paan, gutkha and tobacco shops were allowed to open in the third phase of the lockdown?"

"The BJP should go to Rashtrapati Bhawan instead of Raj Bhawan if they want that liquor shops to be shut," Thakur said.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Hospitals in Iquitos, Peru, had already been locked in a months-long struggle against a dengue fever epidemic when Covid-19 hit. The hospitals have been in a dire state since mid-April  an estimated 80% of the departments healthcare workers have fallen ill and they are running out of oxygen and beds for sick patients. One doctor says the situation is out of control.



Iquitos is the capital of Loreto, Perus northernmost department, which is located in the Amazon rainforest. The city, which is home to nearly 500,000 people, is only accessible by plane or boat. There is no entry-route by land. Iquitos ranks amongst the Latin American cities hardest hit by Covid-19, which include Guayaquil in Ecuador, Manaus in Brazil and Tijuana in Mexico, according to news agency EFE.



A recent video filmed in the morgue in the Loreto Regional Hospital looked eerily similar to videos filmed in Guayaquil, the city in Ecuador that has been ravaged by the virus. The Loreto footage shows corpses piling up. In the video, you can see at least 16 bodies wrapped up in plastic bags that had been sitting there for several days. The Loreto Regional Hospital is one of two hospitals in Iquitos accepting Covid-19 patients, alongside EsSalud Hospital.





Bodies wrapped up in plastic bags stack up in the morgue in the Loreto Regional Hospital in Iquitos. This video was posted on April 22.





"About 80% of healthcare workers in Loreto have contracted the virus"Juan Ramirez Arevalo is a doctor at EsSalud Hospital.



We saw the first patients with Covid-19 symptoms in late March. But as numbers grew, the situation became more difficult. It started to get really complicated in mid-April. Every single day, more than 200 new patients with Covid-19 symptoms or pneumonia come to my hospital or Loreto Regional Hospital, which takes the majority of them. We are completely overwhelmed.





Patients sit on the floor and on chairs in the hallways of the Loreto Regional Hospital (this video was posted on April 29).



Story continues

As a rule, the health of the patients when they arrive at hospital is much worse than it was at the start of the pandemic. I think it's because people know that the hospitals are overwhelmed so they try to stay at home. Its only when they start to get really, really ill that they go to the hospital. Essentially, they are coming to the hospital to die.



Every day, 15 to 20 patients suspected of having Covid-19 die in my hospital. The number is closer to 30 at the Loreto Regional Hospital. And thats not even counting the people who die at home. There isnt enough space in the morgue, so sometimes the bodies are just left right where the person died until someone can pick them up.



Healthcare workers wrap up the body of a patient who died in the hallway at EsSalud Hospital. (This video was posted on April 26)



Shortage of beds, medicine and oxygen

We only have 60 or 70 beds in my hospital and only four or five of those are in intensive care. Because we are overflowing, weve had to move patients outside -- currently we are treating about 100 of them outside. Some are in a tent and we set up small spaces on the patio for others. However, just a few days ago, we were able to open up a temporary field hospital with several dozen beds so that should improve the situation.



There are no more beds at EsSalud Hospital, so these patients are being treated outside. (Photo posted on April 22)



"These are photos from the [Loreto] Regional Hospital. They dont even have beds for the patients any more [...]", wrote this journalist on April 22.



Extra beds were set up in the hallways of the Loreto Regional Hospital, shortly after the previous photos showing patients without beds were posted online. You can see more photos by clicking here.



However, we are still low on supplies of oxygen and medicine to treat patients. As you cant get to Iquitos by road, its really hard to get those supplies in. Since last week, military planes have been bringing in medicine every day, but its not enough. Before that, only one or two planes a week were coming in.



The need for oxygen is about four or five times more than usual, so the supply made by a local factory just isnt enough. We worked with the Colegio Medico del Peru [Editors note: the institution that represents doctors in Peru] to buy our own bottles of oxygen from Lima, which started to arrive earlier this week. A priest in Iquitos - who is also trained as a doctor - managed to raise the funds to set up two oxygen-producing stations here. Thats what the government should have done weeks ago.

Lack of doctors

The other big issue is the lack of doctors. Even before the pandemic, there werent enough of us. There are only about 650 doctors in the entire department of Loreto [which has about a million inhabitants]. Of those doctors, 166 have contracted Covid-19, around 60 of them are in quarantine because they are suspected of having the virus and about 150 are in quarantine because they are high-risk for contracting the disease because of their age or other underlying conditions that they have. That means that there are only 274 doctors left in the entire department of Loreto to fight this pandemic, only about 100 of whom are in Iquitos. Generally speaking, about 80% of healthcare workers in Loreto have been infected.



Four doctors in Iquitos just died of Covid-19. One of them hadnt even got his diploma yet. [Editors note: Currently about 20 young doctors who dont yet have their medical school diplomas have been volunteering to treat Covid-19 patients because of the shortage of medical personnel.]

A group of young doctors, who dont yet have their diplomas, have been volunteering at the Loreto Regional Hospital. Theyve been sleeping on site.



Why Iquitos hospitals have been overwhelmed for months

The hospitals in Iquitos have actually been overwhelmed since December because of epidemics of dengue fever and leptospirosis. There havent been enough beds. [Editors note: Since 2019, Latin America has been overwhelmed with the worst epidemic of dengue fever in its history.] But these illnesses were concentrated in several areas in the north and south of Iquitos and the death rate remained relatively low. But now the entire city has been hit by coronavirus.



The situation has, quite simply, gone out of control. Weve been fighting for a larger budget for healthcare for years, but no one responded to our demands. Now we can clearly see the result.







"No one wants to help me [...], help me, please," cries a woman in the hallways of the Loreto Regional Hospital.





Help on the way for hospitals



The Peruvian Minister of the Economy just announced a $26 billion economic support package, which is roughly equivalent to 12% of the GDP, to help the economy weather the Covid-19 crisis. The plan includes support for hospitals, which have been under financial pressure for years because of austerity policies.



According to figures released by the Ministry of Health on May 7, 1,627 people have died of coronavirus out of a total of 58,526 confirmed cases in Peru, which has a population of 32 million. After Brazil and Ecuador, Peru has the third-largest number of deaths related to Covid-19 in Latin America.



In mid-March, the government declared a state of emergency and put in place a quarantine, which was set to be lifted on May 10, as well as a curfew.



Article by Chloe Lauvergnier (@clauvergnier).


Not for distribution in the United States, Japan, Canada or Australia

Regulatory News:

Legrand (Paris:LR) today completed a fixed-rate bond issue for an amount of 600 million with a 10-year maturity and an annual coupon of 0.75%.

This operation raises the average maturity of bond debt to 6.7 years, with the next repayment date set for April 19, 2022, for an amount of 400 million.

The success of this issue, subscribed 3.2 times over, demonstrates once again investor confidence in the soundness of Legrand's development model.

Key financial dates:

General Meeting of Shareholders (behind closed doors): May 27, 2020

Ex-dividend date: June 1, 2020

Dividend payment: June 3, 2020

2020 first-half results: July 31, 2020

Quiet period 1 " starts July 1, 2020

Quiet period " starts July 1, 2020 2020 nine-month results: November 5, 2020

Quiet period1" starts October 6, 2020

About Legrand

Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and sustainable growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings-including Eliot* connected products with enhanced value in use. Legrand reported sales of over 6.6 billion in 2019. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 index.

(code ISIN FR0010307819)

https://www.legrandgroup.com

*Eliot is a program launched in 2015 by Legrand to speed up deployment of the Internet of Things in its offering. A result of the group's innovation strategy, Eliot aims to develop connected and interoperable solutions that deliver lasting benefits to private individual users and professionals.

https://www.legrandgroup.com/en/group/eliot-legrands-connected-objects-program

Warnings

This press release is for information purposes only and is not an offer to sell securities or a solicitation to buy securities in any jurisdiction. The securities mentioned in this press release have not and will not be offered through a public offering and no related documents will be distributed to the public in any jurisdiction.

The circulation, publication or distribution of this press release is forbidden in any country where such circulation, publication or distribution would be unlawful.

This press release may not be published, distributed or transmitted in the United States (including its territories and dependencies, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia). This press release is not an offer for the sale of the securities of Legrand in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned in this press release may not be offered or sold in the United States of America or to, or for the account of or for the benefit of U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the "Securities Act"), without registration except pursuant to an exemption from, or a transaction not subject to the Securities Act. Legrand does not intend to register the offering, in whole or in part, in the United States or to conduct a public offering in the United States.

1 Period of time when all communication is suspended in the run-up to publication of results.

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Eighteen more people have been arrested by Maharashtra Police's CID in the Palghar lynching case, officials said on Tuesday.

Mumbai: Eighteen more people have been arrested by Maharashtra Police's CID in the Palghar lynching case, officials said on Tuesday.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the incident in which three persons, including two seers, who were lynched by a mob of villagers in neighbouring Palghar district last month.

With the latest arrests, the number of those held in connection with the case has gone up to 134. These include 24 arrested so far by the CID after it was handed over the case, a senior official from the CID said.

All those arrested by the CID were "actively involved in the violence and lynching", another official said.

Earlier, 110 people, including nine juveniles, were taken into custody by Palghar Police in the case. The incident took place at Gadchinchle village on 16 April when two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral.

A mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were child-lifters, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot.

Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village. The police used drones to hunt them, an official earlier said.

One of the persons arrested in the case tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and was admitted to a government hospital.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the safe return of lakhs of labourers to their homes and deposit at least Rs 7,500 in their accounts.

He also urged the prime minister to deposit money in their accounts and announce an economic package for the small and medium industry to ensure their livelihoods.

"Prime Minister ji, I request you to announce steps on the safe return of lakhs of labourer brothers and sisters, who are walking on the streets, to their homes. Along with this, to give support to them in this time of crisis, ensure direct transfer of at least Rs 7,500 to the accounts of all of them," he said in a tweet in Hindi posted just as Modi was to begin his address to the nation.

In a video message in the tweet, he said mothers cry whenever their children are hurt.

"Today, Mother India is crying because crores of its children are walking on the streets thirsty and hungry. I urge the government to ensure their safe return home, put money in their bank accounts and to ensure their livelihood, give an early package to the small and medium industry," Gandhi said.

In his televised address, Modi announced a special economic package of about Rs 20 lakh crore, nearly 10 per cent of India's GDP, for "our labourers, farmers, honest tax payers, MSMEs and cottage industry".
Steve Johnson remembers clearly the moment that inspired him to launch the crusade to find his brothers killer.

It had been 17 years since Scott Johnson had fallen to his death from a cliff at North Head, near Manly, in 1988 and still Steve Johnson had no answers.

The last photo of Scott Johnson, who died in a cliff fall. Credit:NSW Police

An initially bungled police investigation and coronial inquest declared the young mathematician died by suicide, a finding Mr Johnson always refused to accept.

It was 2005 and Mr Johnson was at home in the United States when he was contacted by his brothers long-term partner, Michael Noone. A coronial inquest into the unrelated cliff-top deaths of two young men had found they were likely the result of a gay-hate crime.
OTTAWACanada needs to go beyond voluntary guidelines and consider national standards for long term care facilities as the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the need for dramatic reform, the federal health minister said Monday.

Stating the Liberal government is very open to reviewing how seniors and vulnerable individuals are cared for in this country, Health Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters that Ottawa needs to collaborate with the provinces and territories to move from a place of guidelines to a place of standards for long-term care.

I dont think there is a minister amongst us that would disagree that we need to do a better job and that the federal government can play some leadership role in this, Hajdu told reporters on Parliament Hill Monday.

We are having those conversations as we speak, not only in terms of how we renew that system in the future, but also how we better support long-term care, regardless of how that care is delivered or under what model.

Hajdu was responding to a question about for-profit nursing homes. An analysis by the Star has shown that residents of for-profit care homes in Ontario are about twice as likely to catch COVID-19 and die than those who live in non-profit facilities.

The pandemic has taken an especially harsh toll on people in long-term care, with outbreaks at facilities across the country that have seen military personnel deployed to fill staffing shortages in Ontario and Quebec. More than 80 per cent of Canadians killed by COVID-19 as of May 6 lived in long term care facilities, according to the National Institute on Aging at Ryerson University.

A recent study by the International Long-Term Care Policy Network also concluded Canada ranked first among 14 countries for the highest proportion of long term care deaths from COVID-19.

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh calls the situation heartbreaking and said his party will push the Liberal minority government to end the for-profit care model that he blamed for having the worst conditions during the pandemic.

In an interview with the Star on Monday, he echoed concerns from health unions and advocacy groups that staff are underpaid and sometimes must work at more than one facility to make a living  a practice that was temporarily banned in Ontario last month.

While long-term care falls under provincial jurisdiction, Singh said the federal government needs a national care guarantee that includes minimum standards for long term care facilities. These could serve as criteria for federal funding under the Canada Health Act that governs how provincial health systems need to conform to national standards to get money from Ottawa.

He said standards could include requirements for better pay for employees, regulations around the number of staff per resident and how often residents receive one-on-one care.

For-profit long term care homes have no place in Canada, Singh said, suggesting Ottawa could stop renewing licences for private homes or attach conditions to federal funding for long-term care to ensure it is public and universal.

The existing system is wholly inadequate to respond to the needs of seniors and weve got to do something about it.

The federal Green Party has also called for greater federal oversight in long-term care, along with national standards for public and private facilities.

On April 13, the Public Health Agency of Canada released recommendations for long term care homes during the pandemic. These included restricting visitors, requiring staff to wear protective masks, provide training on infection-control measures, and preventing employees from working at more than one location if possible.

Canadas aging population will increase the need for long-term care in the coming years. A 2017 report from the Conference Board of Canada predicted another 199,000 long-term care beds could be needed by 2035  almost double the 255,000 beds in Canada at the time  at a cost of roughly $64 billion.
New Delhi: In communal clashes at Telinipara area of West Bengal's Hooghly district last week, as many as 56 persons have been arrested and police raids are on to nab the culprits. Notably, clashes had erupted in Telinipara area after members of one community were allegedly addressed as "corona" by a handful of locals belonging to another group.

According to reports, Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the area to maintain law and order, while the state administration also suspended

mobile internet services in Chandannagar and Serampore Sub-division.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today slammed a section of BJP leaders for allegedly instigating communal clashes and said that those found guilty will not be spared while addressing media in Kolkata.

She said, "stern action will be taken against those involved in communal clashes amid the lockdown. No one will be spared if found guilty of fomenting trouble."

"People are already under so much stress due to this COVID-19 crisis. Add to that, some leaders are writing provocative posts to create problems. Yesterday, I told the prime minister how some central ministers were trying to invite trouble. A year to go before the assembly elections but one political party is getting impatient," she added.

Sub-Inspector, 4 civic volunteers injured in mob attack

A sub-inspector and four Civic volunteers were beaten up by a mob while enforcing lockdown at the Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas district today. The mob also damaged the police vehicle.

Sub-Inspector Dhananjay Mukherjee and four civic volunteers were reportedly beaten up by a mob with bamboo sticks when they asked a large number of people who had gathered before a tea stall to maintain social distancing at Khiristola under Baruipur police station, the police told PTI.

On getting information about the attack, a big force led by SDPO Baruipur reached the spot and rescued the policemen and sent them to hospital. So far, 18 persons have been arrested for attacking the police personnel.
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Covid-19 pandemic has affected global migratory flows on a scale that no other event has allegedly had since 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The world will not be the same, migration will not be the same are phrases most frequently uttered by experts and practitioners these days, and for a good reason. International and regional organizations operating in the sphere of migration and mobility also recognized the large impact that the pandemic has and will continue to have. Covid-19 is having an unprecedented impact on mobility both in terms of regimes for border and migration management, and the situation of all people on the move, including those displaced by conflict or disaster, IOM said in a statement. More than 20% of the worlds population is in lockdown, parallelly the states have also restricted cross-border mobility or have imposed rigorous checks on the border.

The impact of these actions is observed on all areas of migration, including labor migration, asylum and refuge, return, etc. Migration Data Portal reports of 271.6 million migrants worldwide in 2019; the rise of this figure has been one of the most important phenomena of the past decades. Meanwhile, in the same year 70.8 million out of all migrants are forcibly displaced populations, including 25.9 million refugees, 41.3 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 3.5 million asylum-seekers, according to UNHCR. These populations have been disproportionately affected by the current measures, taking into account already existing vulnerabilities of theirs. Although officials on many levels (e.g. UNHCR, European Commission) have reiterated that the need for international protection should be exempted from travel restrictions and asylum procedures should be implemented with highest caution for health risks, in practice this was not the case in many countries, including EU member states.

Labor mobility has also suffered as a result of these measures. The labor migrants in high-income countries are mostly involved in manufacturing and hospitality areas, which have come to a standstill. The agricultural sphere also suffers as labor shortages caused by the COVID-19 travel restrictions are becoming time-critical in this sector of the economy. Long dependent upon migrant labor, governments across the developed world are working to avoid crop losses. In 2019 migrants have sent to medium and low income countries an estimated $ 550 billion as remittances. The cutting of this cash stream will be felt for these countries in coming months, as often remittances are not becoming long-term investments, but serve for daily expenses of the families of the migrants.

Perhaps the only mobility area that has increased its activities is the area of return. Some countries have implemented the largest repatriation operations in these complicated circumstances. Consular services in different countries have been stretched to their limits, trying to coordinate and organize the return of their citizens and in cases of impossibility of the latter to assist them with accomodation, food, even physiological assistance until the return becomes possible. As in the case of health services, the pandemic has vividly demonstrated the further and sometimes urgent need to staff and finance consular services.

Global challenge, local context

Though the first case of Covid-19 infection was registered in Armenia on March 1, 2020, the Government had already set up an interdepartmental commission to prevent the spread and coordinate the response to Covid-19 on January 30. The first case was detected with an Armenian citizen who had arrived from Iran, a neighboring country and one of the countries that was most affected by the spread of the virus. Prior to that, on February 23, 2020, Armenia had already imposed movement restrictions both across the Armenia-Iran border and air travel, allowing only its citizens and holders of temporary resident permits to return. As in many countries in the world, the Armenian Constitution also guarantees its citizens the right to enter the country, which cannot be subject to restriction (Article 40). Further cross-border movement restrictions were established with Georgia on March 14 and Russia on March 17. As the spread of the virus continued, on March 16 the Government declared a state of emergency in the country and imposed travel restrictions at first with 16 countries, later complementing that list. The exit of the citizens was banned.

Further internal movement restrictions and measures of isolation and self-isolation have been imposed, providing the health system with indispensable time space to reorient for pandemic response. Internal movement restrictions started with establishing quarantine regimes for specific cities (e.g. Vagharshapat, which was one of the centers of the spread of the virus) and later banning all non-essential inter-regional movement. These measures allowed to take the spread of the virus under control, preserve and strengthen the capacities of the healthcare system.

Meanwhile, the global situation and locally taken measures have had a serious negative impact for many businesses, especially in the sphere of services (particularly tourism), which has become an important vehicle for the Armenian economy for the last decade. While Armenian GDP grew at 7.6% in 2019, the services sector, of which tourism is an essential component, grew at 5.2% rate. At the same time the Government has readjusted the budget, changing the prediction of 4.9% growth to 2% decline, with the Ministry of Finance declaring that the increase of public debt is inevitable.

Nevertheless, certain measures have also been taken to alleviate the complex economic and social situation that the country has found itself in. Measures from government-subsadized 0% loans for businesses to directly subsidizing some parts of citizens utility bills have been undertaken. For obvious reasons the overall situation had an enormous negative impact on Armenian seasonal labor migrants, whose traditional migration route lies towards Russia, where they are mainly involved in the spheres of construction and services. The situation has also impacted other migrant populations, including refugees and asylum seekers and for sure has impacted the processes of return, which will be discussed further.

Refugees and asylum

In the case of Armenia, as much elsewhere in the world, refugees are amongst the vulnerable populations affected by the pandemic and the economic and social hardships accompanying it. Among them refugees from Azerbaijan and Syria form specific subgroups given the facts of their long standing difficulties with housing and economic integration problems. Though most of them are citizens of Armenia, many of the people displaced from Azerbaijan and Syria remain as people in protracted refugee situations or in refugee-like situations. In both cases housing is the paramount issue of concern.

In the fall of 2019 the Armenian Government launched a specific program to solve the 30 year-old housing issue of the displaced population from Azerbaijan, issuing Housing Purchase Certificates, allowing beneficiaries to purchase apartments or houses in a scope of given sum of money on the whole territory of Armenia. Though the program was not suspended, beneficiaries currently face enormous difficulties in finding the housing and doing the paperwork accompanying the purchase. Nevertheless, this problem can be solved with the lifting of the emergency situation in the country.

The case of the displaced Syrian population in Armenia is somewhat different. As they have fled civil war in Syria since 2012, they managed to collect with them some of their belongings and some amount of financial resources. These resources have quickly dwindled mainly as a result of housing rent payments. According to one study, more than 80% of Syrian households were renting apartments and houses in Armenia in 2018. The Covid-19 restrictions complicate this situation to a further extent. As most of the displaced Syrian population is predominantly engaged in the service/hospitality sector of the economy, which is strongly affected by the quarantine measures, the financial resources that allowed them to pay the rent fees are gone.

Nevertheless, the Government has undertaken specific measures to overcome social consequences of Covid-19. In this regard all displaced populations have the equal access to the provided social support. The legal status of the majority of people in protracted refugee situations or in refugee-like situations is Armenian citizenship, thus, they have full access to all the social programs initiated by the Government for the alleviation of the social consequences of Covid-19. On the other hand, those whose legal status is refugee also have equal access to this support, as is guaranteed by the law (Article 23, The Law on Refugees and Asylum). Thus, the approach of providing targeted assistance to the population segments most in need was chiefly reserved to social and economic needs and not predetermined by the legal status (at least the status of a refugee), which is rather a non-discriminatory approach.

Covid-19 apparently created complications in the sphere of asylum as well. The asylum system in many European countries has come to a standstill, as the face-to-face services and procedures have been suspended or postponed. In the case of Armenia, which doesnt have very big numbers of asylum seekers, still some complications occurred. Certain cases have been suspended due to the impossibility of conducting face-to-face procedural elements. Some practical recommendations provided by the UNHCR for the management of the asylum system during Covid-19 have been taken into account. The most practical and useful of all practical recommendations in Armenia turned out to be backlog management, as timewise it was some breathing space for the asylum officials to deal with that backlog.

Labor migration

One can note with a good deal of certainty that the implications of Covid-19 on labor migration have most important repercussions in the Armenian context. In statistical terms labor migration is the most complex type of mobility to measure, mainly because one has to rely on the statistics provided by the receiving side and sociological surveys (in both cases not a great problem if the methodology is proper), as administrative statistics is not gathered on the subject upon the exit from the country.

In terms of Armenian labor migrants, the latest study on this subject has been conducted in 2019, which showed that seasonal/circular labor migration (mainly to Russia) is the main mobility trend of citizens of Armenia (R.Yeganyan et al., Assessment of Armenian external migration, 2019), though it gradually loses its vitality characteristic. The dynamic of this migratory flow is the gradual loss of its crucial importance for the Armenian economy, which is well reflected on the remittances/GDP ratio. According to World Bank statistics, in 2004 remittances (from all over the world) equaled to around 22% of the GDP of Armenia, while in 2018 the same figure was around 12%. At the same time, according to the Central Bank of Armenia, around 60% of the financial inflow by private entities have been made from Russia, which gives room for reasonably assuming that these amounts are remittances from Armenian labor migrants in Russia.

Nevertheless, the absolute figures of Armenian labor migrants in Russia remain relatively high. According to the information of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior of Russia, 210 460 Armenian labor migrants have been registered in that country. The seasonal nature of this type of mobility made it more vulnerable to the situation with Covid-19. Armenian seasonal labor migrants were leaving for Russia in spring and returning in autumn. As the spread of the epidemic both in Armenia and Russia took speed in late winter and early spring of 2020, many of these migrants were unable to leave the country. It is impossible currently to provide any statistical estimate concerning the number of labor migrants that were unable to leave. These estimates can be made only when the administrative migration statistics of Russia becomes available in 2021. Meanwhile, the question of the employment of these labor migrants who never left this year remains on the Armenian agenda. One course of action has been suggested by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, to try to engage these people in massive capital construction projects (mainly road construction and repairs) in Armenia, as they are also engaged in similar types of business and employment in Russia. In this case, the issue has always been the relative competitiveness of wages, which are more favorable in Russia then in Armenia, but in conditions where Covid-19 triggered obstacles make the cost of migration much higher if not impossible, this calculation may be disregarded.

In any case, labor migration has been an extremely important factor both in terms of economy and socio-cultural dimensions for many Armenian families, especially in the countryside (regions of Shirak and Gegharkunik are heavily affected by the phenomenon), thus, the coming year will demonstrate how its absence impacts those families and the society at large.

Return

In times of Covid-19 the only type of mobility that has not experienced standstill, but on the contrary, has been very much activated, is return. Legal grounds guaranteeing unconditional entry of the citizens to their countries upon their return exist in the majority of constitutions of states. All over the world the consular services have been at the forefront of organizing return operations and have often been stretched to the limits.

The Armenian case was no exception. Though return operations, under the readmission agreements, of Armenian nationals irregularly residing in other countries (mainly European) have been largely suspended, a few readmission cases have occured. The main trouble was and still is the organization of voluntary return operations of the Armenian nationals. Armenian diplomatic and consular representations (55 representations in 44 countries) around the world have been in contact with citizens in more than 50 countries. In a period of a month (March 14 to April 17), the return of 21206 Armenian citizens has been organized. The return geography is quite diverse, starting from Armenian schoolchildren, studying in the US under the FLEX education program, to labor migrants from Russia. This geography included also Armenian citizens returning from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Czechia, Middle Eastern countries, etc. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up hotlines in all diplomatic and consular representations, providing consular coverage in more than 50 countries. The main complications of such operations are connected with the internal restrictions on movement in the host countries, restrictions in air travel all over the world, as well as limited quarantine capacities of the country. Nevertheless, Armenian diplomatic and consular representations if unable to organize the return of citizens in short time period, register them, try assist in places with accommodation, food, etc., until the possibility of organizing a return operation emerges. This was quite clearly operated in the case of Russia, though with great deal of difficulty, also on the side of returning citizens who wanted their flights to be organized immediately. The matter was resolved with the assistance of the local Armenian Diaspora and charitable foundations. At the same time this situation both in Armenia and across the world shows further need for strengthening consular capacities and resources.

Conclusion

Covid-19 has shown that migration trends can change, can be reversed, but some sort of human mobility in any circumstances, even the most dire, is inevitable. Perhaps, the phrase migration will never be the same is true, but what are the demonstrations of this remain yet to be seen. Nevertheless, some trends in the Armenian context that have been discussed in this paper can be judged to continue or even exacerbate after the restrictions connected with the pandemic are lifted. Refugee protection and the establishment of a well balanced asylum system remains a priority. Meanwhile, the most consequential changes may occur in the trend of labor migration, which has already been losing its vitality for supporting the Armenian economy. The effects that these trends will have on socio-cultural life, especially of the Armenian countryside, may also be significant. At the same time return will further gain more attention of the Armenian Government and the society. The need for further strengthening the capacity for return operation and providing consular support was clearly demonstrated once more.

Armen Ghazaryan

The head of Migration Service of Armenia

This article was first published on Heinrich Boll Stiftung website
Migrant workers employed with Arihant Spinning Mill pelted stones at officials during a protest on Monday night, injuring Malerkotla sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Vikramjeet Singh Panthey and deputy superintendent of police Sumit Sood.

Around three hundred migrant workers of the spinning mill alleged exploitation by the industrial unit and staged a protest.

SDM Vikramjeet Singh Panthey, superintendent of police (SP) Manjit Singh Brar and DSP Sumit Sood tried to pacify the workers.

Labourers alleged that they were not getting any facilities and had to buy ration from a shop inside the factory area at high prices.

We are not allowed to step outside the unit even if we are unwell and the factory owners deduct our salary. We are only being paid Rs 6,000 despite working for years, a protester said.

MEDIATION IS ON: DC

Deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori told Hindustan Times that he had spoken with the mill owners about the issue. A meeting between administrative officials, mill representatives and workers is on, said Thori.

Panthey said he had met around 300 workers in their residential area on Tuesday morning and assured them that their problems will be resolved.

Negotiations are on. Workers are demanding a salary hike and the transfer of some mill officials, said Panthey.

Neeraj Jain, a mill representative from Ludhiana, and some local administrative staff heard the workers demands, the SDM said.
Mobiles mayor and the citys top police officer expressed disappointment Monday after five died in homicides in the city over the weekend, one of the most violent 48 hours in recent years.

Chief of Police Lawrence Battiste said he was extremely disappointed in citizens resorting to violence as a way to solve their problems.

The COVID-19 pandemic is already taking lives so it is really sad to see these citizens engage in activities that ultimately take the life of additional people in our community," Battiste said.

The killings, all of which are under investigation by MPD, bring the total number of homicides in the city for 2020 to 15.

The number of homicides in the city has decreased in recent years. The city saw 28 homicides in 2018, down from 50 in 2017 and 43 the year before that, according to MPD annual reports.

While the violent incidents have come during a period of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson doesnt believe there is a link to the increased violence.

My concern has nothing to do with the Governors release of the safer at home order, Stimpson said during his daily press briefing Monday.

It has everything to do with just the impact of homicide. I dont think the two are connected but as always we are very concerned when you have weekend like we did this past weekend. Its a sad state of affairs when it comes to conflict resolution that many dont know how to handle that and they resort to violence to settle disputes.

Stimpson also said that the violent incidents will not result in a return to a city curfew.

While not in the city, it has been about four years since Mobile County saw similar levels of violence.

In August 2016, five people and an unborn baby were killed in one evening when Derrick Dearman went on a violent and meth-fueled rampage at a house in Citronelle, Mobile County. Dearman was sentenced to death and is currently on death row in Holman Prison in Atmore.

The first of this weekends five deaths occurred a little before 3 a.m. Saturday morning in an area close to Mobile Regional Airport.

The victim, Myron King, 50, was found unconscious by his wife in their front yard. MPD said that he had suffered an unknown injury and was pronounced dead at the scene. Joaquin Jones, 27, has been arrested and charged with murder. Kings sister, Nakia Robinson confirmed her brothers death to AL.com, but declined to comment.

Hours later, around noon, police were called to an underpass on Highway 90 where an altercation between three homeless people also resulted in a death.

During the altercation, one male produced a knife and cut the female, said an MPD report. In defense of the female, one male struck the other male multiple times causing his death. The male that struck the deceased subject was detained by police.

No names have been released in that case.

Sixteen hours later on Sunday, three more people lost their lives.

Nikil Merrida, 42, was found in the street in an area north of the city. A suspect, 27-year-old Joshua Kennedy, was arrested and charged with murder early Tuesday morning, according to MPD.

At a little before 6 p.m. Klintaveus Thompson, 19, was found shot to death outside Johns Seafood near Mobiles downtown district. Titianna Shelton, 24, was charged with murder.

The deadly weekend was rounded off two-and-a-half hours later when Ricky Kidd, 28 died in a hospital after being shot near a Pride Gas Station north of the city. A 26-year-old woman was also shot in the altercation but suffered non-life-threatening injuries. MPD did not release the names of suspects in this case.

Merridas son, Javin, wrote about his father in a Facebook post, saying Ill never in my life forget about u and that seeing his grandson always made yo day.

He added: I love u so much man. My daddy always told me GOD, family, loyalty and respect. U will always be with me.

Addressing how people can avoid similar violence, a spokesperson for MPD said that gathering in large groups can be dangerous and reiterated safe distancing rules.

Certain large gatherings can sometimes lead to violent incidents, said MPD spokesperson Charlette Solis. If police officers see a large gathering, which is still prohibited by state order if cannot maintain a consistent proper six-foot distance between persons, they will ask the crowd to disperse and failure to do so will result in enforcement action.
(CNN)  South Korea issued a warning Monday against leaking the personal information of coronavirus patients after local media speculation linked a recent outbreak to gay people in Seoul.

The country has won praise for its handling of the pandemic, but a fresh cluster of at least 86 cases has been linked to several nightclubs in the capital's Itaewon district.

Several South Korean media outlets reported last week that the venues were "gay clubs," though none of the venues describe themselves as such on their official websites or social media accounts.

Multiple reports also specified the age, district, type and location of work of the coronavirus patient believed to be at the center of the cluster. While the patient's age and district were posted by the city, details about the individual's work information were attributed in local media to unnamed officials.

At a news conference Monday, health ministry official Yoon Tae-ho warned that "leaking personal information of confirmed patients or spreading baseless rumors not only harms other but could be criminally punished," and said there was a trend of "criticism and hate against a certain group to which the infection occurred."

Homophobia is still rife in South Korea and the country is less accepting of same-sex couples when compared to nearby democracies like Japan and Taiwan.

LGBT advocates have strongly criticized the media's reaction to the nightclub outbreak. Advocacy group Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea said in a statement Thursday that "revealing sexual orientation of the patients ... adds stigma of disease upon the rampant homophobia in South Korean society."

The group added that recent reporting would drive coronavirus cases underground, make "self-isolation difficult and is a detriment to testing."

Eighty-six infections had been traced to the nightclubs in Itaewon district as of noon on Monday, South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, adding that 78 of those who tested positive were men and 76 were in their 20s and 30s.

Mayor Park Won-soon told media Monday that Seoul had collected 5,517 names of people who had visited the relevant nightclubs between April 24 and May 6. More than 3,000 people who had visited the clubs in question or came into contact with them have been tested, and a further 1,049 people were currently being tested.

"One must protect the personal information of infected and their family and also respect their privacy," KCDC deputy director Kwon Joon-wook said last Thursday, referring to reporting guidelines drafted by South Korea's journalist associations in April.

Thus far South Korea has managed to handle the pandemic without a strict lockdown. Instead the country has used a combination of widespread testing and contact tracing to contain the disease.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 15:00:50

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ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Aureus, Inc. (OTC PINK:ARSN), a food brand development company focused on acquiring and growing well-established food brands, announced today that Yuengling's Ice Cream ("Yuengling's") is now available at Boyer's Food Markets ("Boyer's"). Yuengling's will utilize the distribution services of SuperValu, which is owned by United Natural Foods ("UNFI").Boyer's is a family and employee-owned group of retail grocery stores with 18 locations in eastern Pennsylvania. Boyer's store footprint is smaller than the large chain stores but are located in prime locations in smaller cities and towns. Boyer's maintains the exceptional customer service and feel one would expect from a small-town, traditional grocery store. And, as their slogan states, "Shop Fast and Save Money", Boyer's makes shopping easy with very competitive prices. Boyer's initially is selling seven of Yuengling's Pint flavors. These include Vanilla, Black & Tan, Butterbeer, Espresso Chip, Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies & Cream, and Cherry Vanilla Chunk."Yuengling's is excited to be working with SuperValu, a wholly owned subsidiary of UNFI. SuperValu/UNFI ships more than 600 million cases annually, through 60 distribution centers/warehouses, and serves thousands of retailers throughout the United States and Canada. We hope this relationship will help us expand our sales in the future," said Everett Dickson, Aureus' President.About Aureus, Inc.Management and ownership recently changed hands. The new focus is on acquiring specific assets in and related to the food industry, with a focus on ice cream. Aureus owns the assets and trademarks of the Yuengling's Ice Cream brand, and the exclusive right to market and sell the products of the brand. The goal of Aureus in the operation to consolidate all factors that are positive for the Yuengling's brand into a synergistic success for Aureus shareholders as well as the next generation of Yuengling's consumers.About Yuengling's Ice CreamDeveloped by American businessman, Frank D. Yuengling, as a dairy business to help support the Yuengling family brewery during Prohibition (1920-1933), Yuengling's Ice Cream has a strong tradition of making exceptional super-premium ice cream products in central Pennsylvania. David Yuengling and Rob Bohorad revived the brand in 2014 and an American classic was reborn. The fan-favorite brand continues advancing its legacy and its renowned dairy quality, by using locally sourced dairy ingredients that contain no added hormones. Yuengling's Ice Cream is a super-premium ice cream, which means it has a butterfat content of 14% or greater. In addition to having high butterfat, Yuengling's also has low overrun (or a lower amount of air). This makes the ice cream less whipped and much more dense. Yuengling's also is constantly working to keep its product as "clean" as possible, by using as few ingredients as necessary, and those that are used are of a very high quality. The brands Yuengling's is most similar to are Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's.The Yuengling's Ice Cream Corporation- as it's been since 1935- is stand alone, and separately owned and run companies from D. G. Yuengling and Sons, Inc BrewerySafe Harbor StatementThis communication contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of US Highland, Inc and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based.Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions.The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.For More Information:Contact & Media Inquiries:404.885.6045SOURCE: Aureus Incorporated
New Delhi, May 12 : Even as the Health Ministry said there were 70,756 cases of novel coronavirus so far in India, health experts on Tuesday said there were various reasons why states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu had reported highest number of cases while others had lesser cases as well as better recovery rates.

Speaking to IANS, Dr Vivek Nangia, HOD and Director of Pulmonology Department at Fortis Hospital, said: "There can be different possibilities -- better control of lockdown, better contact tracing and isolation, lesser number of people returning from abroad and hotspot zones and, finally, a younger population in which recovery rate is higher."

It is pertinent to mention here that Goa is COVID-free since all 7 corona patients were cured and no casualty was reported. Similarly, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram is at present coronavirus-free. In Manipur also, two patients have since recovered.

Kerala set an example of constantly improving recovery rate. It was the first Indian state to report corona positive case and saw a sudden spike afterwards. But, the state not only flattened the curve but bent it. Of the total 519 cases so far, 489 people have recovered, with only 4 deaths. The recovery rate, based on the total cases, till Tuesday is 94 per cent.

Speaking on this trend, Dr Nangia said that the primary reason is better containment strategy adopted by the state. "Kerala specifically has had episodes of Nipah and Zika virus outbreaks in the past. They have learnt how to contain such pandemics in a more effective manner by early identification, contact tracing, and isolation or quarantine."

As for temperature or climate playing an important role in the transmission or killing of the virus, Dr Nangia said" "It is a novel virus -- we are still learning about it. As of now, there does not seem to be much influence of weather or climate on the infection potential of the virus."

Dr. Saurabh Jain of Indegene, a health tech solutions company, told IANS that robustness of health infrastructure, immunity levels among the population, strict adherence to isolation and quarantine, and aggressive testing seem to be the reason for varying rates of infections and recovery in different states.

"States not able to get suspected patients to hospitals early enough or with not enough healthcare infrastructure could have high incidence and low recovery rates. In states which have high public awareness, robust public health system and extensive testing of symptomatic cases could have better outcomes." He added: "Eastern states, especially like Odisha, face a majority of India's natural disasters, which means that crisis precautions were already in place. Most of this infrastructure was used to fight against COVID - 19."

Another expert, Oommen John, Senior Research Fellow at George Institute for Global Health, said: "In some of these states, it is likely that they were able to identify those at risk early on and so intervene early. States with high mortality could be those with a large number of very seriously ill patients at the time of hopital admissions. Therefore, their outcomes are worse." (Sfoorti Mishra can be contacted at sfoorti.m@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- Syndicated from IANS
- Murkomen said the Senate leadership changes were approved by Speaker Ken Lusaka under duress

- The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator said the law was not followed as he claimed the list of senators who attended the Parliamentary group meeting was not provided

- The Political Parties Tribunal had earlier suspended Jubilee-KANU alliance after Jubilee deputy SG Caleb Kositany and other Ruto allies challenged the coalition agreement

Ousted Senate majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of political conmanship moments after Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka approved Jubilee leadership changes.

Lusaka said the changes followed the Senate's standing orders 19 (1) (2) (3), 40 (5) and (7) and met the threshold under standing order 19 (5) there having been a majority of the votes.

READ ALSO: Senator Cherargei dares Uhuru to fire all William Ruto allies from govt: "Stop gerrymandering"

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen speaking in the Senate in the past. Photo: Kipchumba Murkomen.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Samuel Poghisio: Illustrious political, academic profile of new Senate majority leader that spans over 30 years

The Speaker communicated the changes to the House in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 12 as Murkomen said they were approved under duress.

"The minutes showed 20 senators attended the meeting and resolved unanimously to remove Murkomen as majority leader, Susan Kihika as majority Whip and subsequently elected Samuel Poghisio, Irungu Kang'ata and Haji Farhiya as majority leader, whip and deputy whip respectively," Lusaka said.

Murkomen reluctantly accepted his fate as he asked the president to deliver on his mandate now that he was "out of the way".

"I want to say to President Uhuru Kenyatta; now therefore deliver for the people of Kenya, Murkomen is out of the way. If I was your stumbling block, deliver for the people of Kenya," he said.

A file photo of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo: State House.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Mike Sonko hana bahati kila anaposhika pana umeme, MCAs wamruka

The Ruto ally said he was not worried about losing his position.

Mr Speaker, I am not worried, and I have no problem, not being the majority leader; what was only being defended on this side, was the fact that we must follow the rules,"

"Be it as it may, Mr Speaker, if finally you'll disregard the law and make a decision that I am not going to be the majority leader in this house, what I can only say is that I want to thank my colleagues who voted for me, supported me throughout and who have continued having faith in me even amidst a lot of intimidation from the executive," he 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.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  President Rodrigo Duterte's highly-anticipated address televised Tuesday disappointed those awaiting news on which areas will continue to be on strict lockdown and where quarantine rules will be relaxed. He left those details for his spokesman to announce.

Instead, he warned that Philippines cannot bear the effects of another wave of COVID-19 cases should the country slowly ease into a more relaxed community quarantine.

In his hour-long address taped on Monday, Duterte mentioned that some high-risk areas will remain under strict lockdown while other areas will be placed under a general community quarantine (GCQ). He said areas with high transmission rate will be locked down, but he did not elaborate.

The President then tasked his spokesperson, Harry Roque, to thoroughly enumerate the areas that will remain under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) after May 15 with revised lockdown rules. Roque made the announcement hours later.

Duterte said that as some areas of the country shift from ECQ to GCQ, "new normal" rules will remain in place to ensure the COVID-19 cases will not spike as stay-at-home rules are eased.

"Dahan-dahan lang para hindi tayo madapa. We cannot afford a second or third wave na mangyari. Ito ang bagong mahawa at dadami na naman dahil mayroon tayong rules na hindi sinunod," he said in his address, which aired on Tuesday.

[Translation: We will do it gradually so we don't fail. We cannot afford a second or third wave or cases. We cannot afford a spike in cases because we did not follow rules.]

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has claimed the country has started flattening the curve of new cases. However, on Monday, the country recorded nearly 300 new COVID-19 cases.

Duterte reminded the public it is mandatory to wear a face mask or improvised face cover when going outside the house or risk getting apprehended by the police. He also said physical distancing must be observed at all times.

"Ito ang new life until such time na mayroon nang vaccine... Sundin lang ninyo iyan. Importante, whether you are allowed to go out or not," he said.

[Translation: This will be your new life until a vaccine is approved. Follow the rules, whether you are allowed to go out or not.]

COVID-19 Response Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez said the gradual transition to GCQ is important because of the blow of the coronavirus crisis to the country's economy.

"The government cannot endure ECQ for an extended period of time as its resources are very limited hence it has to balance between health and economy," he said.

The Philippine economy pulled back in the first quarter, contracting by 0.2 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic leaves millions of businesses and households paralyzed under lockdown.

Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez suggested hiring more contact tracers to help identify positive cases and at the same time help workers displaced by the COVID-19 crisis.

Metro Manila and other regions and provinces remain under ECQ until May 15. Beyond that, their fate remains unknown pending Roque's announcement. The other parts of the country, meanwhile, are placed under GCQ.

The country has 11,086 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday  7,123 of which were recorded in Metro Manila. Recoveries have reached 1,999 while 726 have died of the disease.
Masterchef star John Torode isn't having much luck cooking during lockdown.

After he caused panic on This Morning when he accidentally started a fire in his kitchen while filming from in his north London home, he's had another snafu while brewing his own special sauce.

The TV cook, 54, was mixing what he called Mr John's Sauce - a red gooey concoction - as he was filmed by his wife Lisa Faulkner.

Kitchen nightmares! Masterchef star John Torode isn't having much luck cooking during lockdown, having caused panic on This Morning recently by accidentally started a fire with a tea towel, and now suffering another snafu while brewing his own special sauce

The pair joked about how the sauce is so good it will go global; but in the next video, posted to Lisa's Instagram, disaster had struck.

'John's had an accident!' Lisa, 48, reported, flipping the camera round to see the sauce all over the floor, walls and countertops.

The chaos was made worse by the couple's dog, Rory, who ran into the kitchen and started licking the mess up from the floor.

Lisa documented the culinary disaster by scanning the kitchen with her phone, noting that it was everywhere - including splattered all over a portrait of Rory.

Splatter! The TV cook, 54, was mixing what he called Mr John's Sauce - a red gooey concoction - which ended up all over the walls

Documenting the disaster: He was filmed by his wife Lisa Faulkner who reported that he'd 'had an accident'. The chaos was made worse by the couple's dog, Rory, who ran into the kitchen and started licking the mess up from the floor

She uploaded another snap to her grid, with the caption: 'Johno had a bit of an accident... his MrJohns sauce all over the floor walls lights ceiling you name it... its there!!'

Two weeks ago to the day, John was making his own version of McMuffins live on This Morning when a tea towel which had been sitting on top of his oven suddenly caught on fire.

Hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield shouted: 'John! Your tea towel is on FIRE! Behind you, behind you, John!'

Saucy! John laughed off the explosion as Lisa filmed him

Cleaning up: Lisa documented the culinary disaster by scanning the kitchen with her phone, noting that it was everywhere - including splattered all over a portrait of Rory

She uploaded another snap to her grid, with the caption: 'Johno had a bit of an accident... his MrJohns sauce all over the floor walls lights ceiling you name it... its there!!'

'Turn around, turn around, behind you, on fire....!' but John did not seem to notice at first because he was so engrossed in his presenting duties.

John then noticed and calmly said, 'Oh, thank you,' as he picked up the flaming rag and Holly and Phil pulled their hands to their faces in shock.

John then carried the tea towel to the sink to put water on it in order to stamp it out and smoke billowed up in plumes.

OMG! Two weeks ago to the day, John was making his own version of McMuffins live on This Morning when a tea towel which had been sitting on top of his oven suddenly caught on fire

Fire! Fire! Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield noticed the fire and tried to alert John as they screamed but he didn't notice at first

He's in the zone: As the tea towel set alight, John was so engrossed in his presenting duties, he did not hear Phil and Holly's screams

'I'm just going to open the back door,' John said.

Holly then said: 'Oh my gosh, are you OK? You were so calm about that.'

'Well, he didnt know,' Phillip said while nervously giggling.

Among all the panic, John's fire alarm then went off as he continued to film live.

Tasty muffins: As John held up his buns, a disaster was taking place behind him

Safety is everything: Springbourne fire station had some wise words to pass on about the incident

John said: 'Brilliant. Its alright. Right, were all back now, all calm. Ok, your eggs are steamed and cooked

Holly said from the studio: 'Ok so Im buttering my muffin

John quipped: 'Is it nice buttering your muffin Holly?'

Later on in the show, John returned to reassure viewers that all was well.

Holly asked him: 'You put it out very calmly in the sink. Are you OK?'

John replied: 'Im really good thank you, Ive cleaned out and washed it away, everything is clean and lovely. The full recipe is up now. Ive got to say Phillip, I think yours was great.'

Phillip said: 'Thank you, you didnt burn yourself did you?'

John replied: 'No, no, the towel itself just caught fire, I put it in the sink. But yeah, all good thank you.'

The people have spoken: A host of memes also quickly materialised shortly after John's mishap

The shock event caused viewers to post a series of memes mocking John, from The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, Everybody Loves Raymond and Mrs Doubtfire to name a few.

People tweeted things like: 'Nothing could have been a better gift today than John Torodes tea towel catching on fire on This Morning.'

'John Torode just cooking whilst his house burns down is a mood for 2020 #ThisMorning.'

'John Torode setting fire to his tea towel live on This Morning is the highlight of my life!!! #ThisMorning.'

SOS! Holly threw her hands to her mouth in horror and Phil tried to stop his giggles as John threw the tea towel in the sink

That could have been terrible: As smoke billowed out of his sink, John's fire alarm started to go off amid the panic

It's fair to say that people only saw the funny side because there was no harm done.

The Springbourne Fire Station tweeted: 'Just watching This Morning with John Torode. Please don't leave tea towels on your hob.

'Accidents can happen to anyone, including professional chefs. His smoke detector did go off which shows the importance of working smoke alarms.'
And high school seniors throughout the area, who were looking forward to proms and graduation ceremonies now have the added disappointment of likely not being able to experience those things, as most have been canceled or changed to virtual events.
- MP Oscar Sudi said it was inappropriate for the president to engage in politics at such a time when his efforts were needed in combating the coronavirus pandemic

- The combative legislator said the head of state was so much interested in power that he no longer paid attention to the needy Kenyans who were struggling to feed their families after COVID-19 broke out

- Sudi said it was inappropriate and unfitting to the president's stature to fight with 'small' people like senators Susan Kihika and Kipchumba Murkomen

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi has hit out at President Uhuru Kenyatta following his action to change the Senate leadership amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, May 11, Senate majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen and majority Whip Susan Kihika were ousted from their positions and replaced with senators Samuel Poghisio and Irungu Kang'ata respectively.

READ ALSO: Matatu driver calls police on passengers who sneaked out of restricted Kilifi county

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi said it was embarrassing and shameful for the head of state to engage in such small fights. Photo: Kipchumba Murkomen

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Watu saba waangamia katika ajali mbaya kwenye barabara ya Kisumu - Busia

In a Facebook post, Sudi said it was not only inappropriate to engage in political battles at such a time but it was also embarrassing that the president was fighting 'small' people.

"We tirelessly campaigned for Uhuru Kenyatta day and night...However, I have never seen a cheap president like Uhuru Kenyatta. How can a whole President fight a woman like Susan Kihika? a young man like Kipchumba Murkomen?

"It is more shameful and embarrassing for a whole president to engage in political battles in the middle of coronavirus pandemic," said Sudi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta held meeting at State House with Jubilee coalition senators and ousted Susan Kihika and Kipchumba Murkomen from Senate leadership. Photo: State House

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Senator Kang'ata says Murkomen, Kihika refused to honour summons to defend themselves

The vocal Rift Valley leader said the president should instead focus his efforts in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic by ensuring people in slums were well taken care of.

He further alleged Uhuru was part of the dynasties that have crippled Kenya's economy by controlling almost every sector.

Sudi claimed the dynasties were now planning to reduce the number of banks to 10 out of which five of them would be run by their families.

Lonely Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika addressing the press outside Senate after they were ousted. Photo: Susan Kihika

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for May 12: Sins that cost Kipchumba Murkomen Senate Majority Leader seat

"I ask the president to tame his greed for power and money as if he'll live this world for 500 years. In fact God will be kind to us if we manage to exceed 80 years of age because we are both consumers of whiskey," he said.

The Jubilee politician expressed regrets in voting for Uhuru saying he had lost focus in his leadership and was busy engaging in unnecessary business.

"People are so determined to remain in power instead of providing basic things to people at this time of pandemic. The churches are still closed yet they have opened bars. Useless Uhuru Kenyatta. I dearly regret why I voted for him," said Sudi.

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
OTTAWAThe COVID-19 pandemic has exposed uncomfortable truths about living conditions within long term care homes but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says its up to the provinces, not the federal government, to lead reforms that address those problems.

On Tuesday, Trudeau highlighted the crisis that has emerged in the homes as the virus takes a deadly toll on seniors who live in them.

We've seen heartbreaking tragedies in long-term care facilities and nursing homes right across the country: overworked staff, understaffed residences, grieving families, he said during his daily pandemic briefing.

There are serious underlying challenges facing these facilities and in the coming months, the federal government will be there to help the provinces find lasting solutions.

Yet just a day after federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that Ottawa could play a leadership role on the issue, the prime minister made clear that it will be up to the provinces to decide on the reforms that are needed.

This falls within provincial jurisdictions, Trudeau said, adding that Ottawa will help provinces look at the options.

It is not up to the federal government to provide a solution ... At the same time, we will be there to help and to support the provinces in looking at the various options.

Trudeaus response disappointed critics who say Ottawa must take a leadership role to ensure that long-standing issues within the homes are addressed.

This is a national problem and it will require a national solution, NDP MP Don Davies, his partys health critic, said in an interview.

Davies called for federal standards for long term care homes, with funding provided to the provinces tied to meeting those standards.

This is a long-standing problem that indicts all governments of all stripes for a long time. What Im really interested in is finding solutions ... its going to take federal leadership, Davies said.

Davies questioned Hajdu on the issue during a Tuesday meeting of Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic and came away encouraged by her commitment that the issue is a priority.

Hajdu told the committee she is talking to her provincial counterparts about the immediate crisis but also about the need for a stronger network of long term or care alternatives that will ensure that seniors have the right and the ability to live with dignity and safety.

The National Union of Public and General Employees, which represents workers in the facilities, has advocated that long term care homes be brought under the Canada Health Act.

Without national standards being established, and funding assistance being provided, provinces will continue to provide their piecemeal patchwork of services, president Larry Brown told the Star on Tuesday.

Trudeau made the comments on the same day he announced that Ottawa is giving an extra $500 to low-income seniors, who have faced extra costs during the pandemic.

Seniors who receive the Old Age Security pension will get a one-time payment of $300 and those getting the Guaranteed Income Supplement will get an extra $200. The cost of the two measures, which could help more than six million seniors, will total $2.5 billion.

Also on Tuesday, the government said it would temporarily extend Guaranteed Income Supplement and allowance payments for those seniors who have yet to file their 2019 taxes to avoid any interruption of benefits.

Trudeau said the measures are meant to offset some of the extra costs seniors have faced for things like drugs and grocery deliveries.

Theres no question that COVID-19 has been taking its toll on seniors both emotionally and financially, Trudeau said.

The government faced questions whether the aid was enough to help seniors through a pandemic that hit Canada more than two months ago and is expected to continue for several months.

Seniors are not generally in a situation where they have lost their income but they are facing additional costs, Trudeau said.

He conceded that if the situation continues for many more months  heaven forbid, on lock down still  the government will have to extend its assistance programs, and not just for seniors.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Deb Schulte, the minister for seniors, noted that some four million seniors had already received the one-time top-up to the Goods and Services Credit in April, worth an average of $375 for single seniors and $510 for couples.

As well, seniors left out of work because of the virus also qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, worth $500 a week for 16 weeks. The government also dropped the minimum withdrawals required for registered retirement income funds by 25 per cent for 2020.

Still, Tuesdays measures fall short of what some organizations had been demanding, such as a complete suspension of mandatory RRIF withdrawals for this year.

Read more about:
After months of staying at home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, many people have binged their way through the expected fare: Tiger King; reality competition shows; the entire Disney catalog; movies about social distancing to watch while social distancing. But theres another world of entertainment for those who are willing to overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, as Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-Ho saidand prepared to stay up until the wee hours clutching a box of Kleenex: Korean dramas.

With cliffhangers in every episode and endless variations of star-crossed lovers, separations and deaths, K-dramas almost always guarantee an emotional roller coaster. While certain storylines remain core to Korean seriesa love triangle (or square), an unsolved murder mystery, a tragic backstoryplenty of recent K-dramas have avoided well-worn tropes and brought fresh narratives across various genres, from rom-coms to crime thrillers to historical series. Created with original soundtracksoftentimes with songs from K-pop artistseach Korean series also boasts a unique audio identity.

In the past year, Netflix has signed contracts with additional Korean production and broadcasting companies as its catalog of K-dramas grows. TIME picked the best ones to watch, from fan favorites of the last decade to new series that only recently finished airing. For the purposes of this list, shows unavailable on Netflix USA are not included.

In no particular order, here are the best Korean dramas to watch on Netflix right now.

Crash Landing on You (2019-2020)

A woman from South Korea was paragliding when a sudden tornado hit, causing her to crash-land in North Korea. Yoon Se-Ri (Son Ye-Jin), a successful entrepreneur who is also an heiress, finds herself in the Korean Demilitarized Zonestuck in a tree above North Korean officer Ri Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun Bin). While the premise is far-fetched, what follows is a convincing romance that steadily tugs at the heartstrings as Jeong-Hyeok attempts to hide Se-Ri and send her back home. The progression of this cross-border relationship drives the plot forward, but Crash Landing on You, with its multifaceted portrayal of North Koreathe series was created with input from North Korean defectorsis far more complex than the average rom-com.

Story continues

Itaewon Class (2020)

Following an accident that kills his father, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) is laser-focused on a mission to bring down the powerful food conglomerate Jangga Group. Its CEO, Jang Dae-Hee (Yoo Jae-Myung), had a hand in both Sae-Ro-Yis expulsion from school and his three-year prison sentence. Despite his past as a convict, Sae-Ro-Yi opens a bar-restaurant and strives to turn it into a top franchise in Korea. He assembles a group of misfitsled by teen influencer Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da-Mi), who becomes the restaurants managerand faces off against CEO Jang. Based on the webtoon of the same name, Itaewon Class begins as a classic underdog story but evolves into a tale on the limits of vengeance and the strength of camaraderie. With its diverse cast, the series also openly addresses issues of discrimination based on race and gender identity.

Mr. Sunshine (2018)

After his parents were killed by aristocrats, a young boy born into slavery boards a warship and escapes from Joseon to America in 1871. Decades later, Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-Hun)now a captain of the U.S. Marine Corps on a political missionreturns to the home country that once rejected him. He falls in love with a noblewoman, Go Ae-Shin (Kim Tae-Ri), who is secretly connected to a network of Korean independence fighters. Set in the years leading up to Japans occupation of Korea, Mr. Sunshine portrays a burgeoning romance in a weakening nation where national identity did not always align with political loyalty. Besides serving up stunning cinematography, the show introduces two of the most dynamic female leads from the K-drama worldone carries a rifle and the other wields a swordalongside a large cast of characters each with a unique position in Joseons fight.

Kingdom (2019-2020)

Ten days after the king mysteriously collapses, rumors that he is dead begin to spread. His son, Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-Hoon), sets out to investigate the truth about the Kings condition. Far from the palace, he discovers that a plague turning the living into the undead has started to infect the nation. The battle against the infected intensifies alongside an equally gruesome fight among powers hungry for the throne. Across its first two seasons, Kingdom takes the most rousing elements of a zombie thriller and reimagines them in this historical drama that raises the question: is the enemy the zombies or the humans?

When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

Dong-Baek (Gong Hyo-Jin) runs a bar-restaurant called Camellia in the fictional town of Ongsan. She is the target of gossip among the women of Ongsan, for operating a business that serves alcohol to men who frequent Camellia, and for being a single mother. When police officer Hwang Yong-Sik (Kang Ha-Neul) falls for Dong-Baek, what begins as a one-sided, cringe-inducing crush develops into a moving relationship providing a respite from the hostility she is accustomed to. Yong-Siks company comes at the perfect time, too, considering that a serial killer is seeking to claim Dong-Baek as his next victim. When the Camellia Blooms blends the light-hearted ingredients of a rom-com with the suspense of a thriller, made more compelling by the convincing chemistry between the lead actors.

Hi Bye, Mama! (2020)

Since an accident killed her five years ago, Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae-Hee) has lived as a ghost. One day, she becomes the subject of a reincarnation project. Yu-Ri returns to her human form, and is given 49 days to get her place in the family back in order to continue to stay alive. She appears in front of her five-year-old daughter and her husband Jo Gang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung), who has remarried. Despite a premise laden with fantastical elements, Hi Bye, Mama! offers a realistic portrayal of grief and loss and a heartrending depiction of a mother-daughter relationship complicated by trauma.

Signal (2016)

CJ ENM

Criminal profiler Park Hae-Young (Lee Je-Hoon) is haunted by the kidnap-murder case of his elementary school classmatethe culprit was never caught. When a present-day Hae-Young finds and answers a mysterious walkie talkie and is connected to Detective Lee Jae-Han (Cho Jin-Woong), speaking to him from the year 2000, he finds an opportunity to solve the case. Soon, their communication across time allows the pair to stop crimes from happening in the first place. Signal smartly weaves real-life incidents in South Koreaa case in the series is inspired by the Hwaseong serial murdersinto a fast-paced narrative that immerses the viewer in multiple timelines, each with its own mysteries.

Prison Playbook (2017)

Netflix

A superstar pitcher in Korea is convicted after attacking a man who tried to sexually assault his sister. Kim Je-Hyeok (Park Hae-Soo), who was days away from making his MLB debut in the U.S., receives a one-year sentence. As he settles into prison life, Je-Hyeok reconnects with Lee Joon-Ho (Jung Kyung-Ho)a childhood friend who is now an officer at the correctional facility. Prison Playbook is a dark comedy that examines corruption in the prison system while basking in the warmth of small pleasures and the comfort of human companionship.

Stranger (2017)

Netflix

When a man with close ties to high-ranking law enforcement officials is murdered, prosecutor Hwang Shi-Mok (Cho Seung-Woo)who has lacked empathy since undergoing brain surgery as a childteams up with warm-hearted police lieutenant Han Yeo-Jin (Bae Doo-Na) to solve the case. As the odd couple searches for a trail left by the culprit, they uncover the sprawling corruption taking place within the structures that profess to keep order. Stranger is a gripping murder mystery that challenges the intentions of the authorities entrusted to defend the law.

The Reply series (2012-2016)

Reply 1988 | CJ ENM

The three seasons of this drama (Reply 1997, Reply 1994, Reply 1988) each revolve around a group of friends and their families, whose lives from the eponymous year of the installment are recounted. The casts transition to adulthood is captured as they navigate relationships against the backdrop of real-life historical events, from the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul to the Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995 that killed more than 500 people. The series is best known for delivering poignant vignettes of the bonds between friends, families and occasionally lovers, packing sentiment and nostalgia into the seemingly mundane activities of everyday life.
[May 12, 2020] Relativity Announces Two New Datacentres and Brings its EMEA Community Together Virtually at Relativity Fest London

Relativity previews Aero UI with 150 new product enhancements and makes key investments in EMEA LONDON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity, a global legal and compliance technology company, today announced at Relativity Fest London that it is opening two new datacentres in Europe in Q3 2020 as it invests in expanding RelativityOne and Relativity Trace in EMEA. The new datacentres in Germany and Switzerland bring Relativity up to a total of 10 datacentres across nine countries. "EMEA is currently Relativity's fastest growing region at scale and we are making significant investments across the business to ensure all of our global customers have the resources they need," said Mike Gamson, Chief Executive Officer at Relativity. "Opening these new datacentres and making investments in security, operations, and product developmentlike Aero UIreinforces our commitment to expanding globally and that we truly value our EMEA customers and partners." Relativity Fest London is taking place from 12-14 May virtually where industry experts from Relativity and the Relativity community will host panels discussing key insights on e-discovery, proactive compliance and surveillance, and operating during a global pandemic. The full agenda is available here. Navigating a Period of Uncertainty

Over the last two months, Relativity has delivered resources like free trainings and certifications, webinars and tips on security, and a new on-demand Learning from Home series. Additionally, in response to customer demand, Relativity recently ecame HIPAA compliant. At the event, Relativity will host the following sessions focusing on COVID-19:



Navigating Through Uncertain Times in e-Discovery  Challenges and Opportunities, 12 May at 2:10 p.m. BST

From Reaction to Recovery: Helping Corporations Accelerate COVID-19 Relief, 13 May at 2:05 p.m. BST

Maximise Cybersecurity at Home, on-demand Aero UI to Launch in August 2020

RelativityOne's Aero UI is set to launch for all RelativityOne customers this August. With 150 new product enhancements, Aero UI has navigation speeds that are 30x faster, sub-second doc-to-doc speeds, a next-generation viewer supporting a wide variety of data types, like short message data, improved workflow-based navigation, automation, and greater API coverage. Relativity is investing in an enhanced user experience to help the e-discovery community be more productive and apply its expertise toward discovering the truth and acting on it. As of today, five RelativityOne customers have upgraded to Aero UI as a part of the Aero UI Advance Access Program and are using the new UI for all of their workloads.

"As an in-house organization, we staff very leanly, which means we wear many hats. Some of us are in Relativity on a daily basis, but others are not," said Joe Obermaier, e-Discovery Information Governance Lead at Broadcom. "One thing that is attractive about Aero is that the intuitive interface has a simplified, easier-to-understand look. Users can jump in and get right to review in the product." Relativity will host the following sessions focusing on Aero UI: Ask the Expert: Aero UI, 12 May at 3:10 p.m. BST

Aero For Developers: How to Get the Most from Relativity's New APIs & UI, 13 May at 1:30 p.m. BST

Aero UI: A Simply Powerful Solution for Any Organisation, on-demand New Global Partnerships Arriving with RelativityOne

With the recent growth of RelativityOne, Relativity continues to develop and grow its partnerships with global service providers. During the keynote, Gamson spoke with KPMG's Paul Tombleson, Global Forensic Technology Lead, and Aileen Chan, Managing Director, Forensic Practice, about how the firm most recently utilised RelativityOne to support clients. "Increasingly complex investigative and litigation requests require a new, more flexible approach to e-discovery," said Tombleson. "The scalability of RelativityOne's cloud-based offering combined with KPMG's unique e-discovery expertise, will help us drive even greater efficiency, and value for our global clients." Relativity Trace Continues to Grow and Transcend Borders

As RelativityOne gains ground throughout EMEA, Relativity Trace, a proactive communication surveillance application, is doing the same. The team working on Relativity Trace has grown from four people in 2018 to more than 30 in 2020, with colleagues across EMEA and the U.S. "We've made tremendous strides with Relativity Trace that have enabled us to grow our team and our presence in Europe. This growth has been key to helping us create a Relativity Trace compatible App Hub as well as develop more than 18 out-of-the-box policies that are readily available for our global customers," said Jordan Domash, General Manager of Relativity Trace. "We look forward to continuing our work with financial institutions and corporate compliance teams in Europe and around the world to ensure they have the best communication surveillance technology at their fingertips." Relativity will host the following sessions focusing on Relativity Trace: Using AI to Elevate Your Communication Surveillance, 13 May at 1:00 p.m. BST

Deep Dive into Surveillance with 1LoD, 13 May at 2:00 p.m. BST

Relativity Trace: Proactive Compliance Monitoring and Communication Surveillance, on-demand About Relativity

At Relativity, we make software to help users organize data, discover the truth, and act on it. Our platform is used by thousands of organizations around the world to manage large volumes of data and quickly identify key issues during litigation, internal investigations, and compliance operations with RelativityOne and our newest offering Relativity Trace. Relativity has over 180,000 users in 40+ countries from organizations including the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 70 Fortune 100 companies, and 198 of the Am Law 200. RelativityOne offers all the functionality of Relativity in a secure and comprehensive SaaS product. Relativity has been named one of Chicago's Top Workplaces by the Chicago Tribune for nine consecutive years. Please contact Relativity at [email protected] or visit http://www.relativity.com for more information. Media Contact

Mike Gilhooly, Corporate Communications at Relativity

Email: [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/445801/Relativity_Logo.jpg

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The characters were intriguing, the stunts were exhilarating, and every frame was bursting with incredible, howd-they-do-that nerve. Mad Max: Fury Road set a new high-water mark for action filmmaking when it came out in 2015, and no summer blockbuster since has been able to match its turbocharged ingenuity.

Even Oscar-winning auteurs have been awed by George Millers operatically staged spectacle. Parasite director Bong Joon Ho said last year that the scale of the movie brought him to tears, while Steven Soderbergh put it more bluntly: I dont understand how theyre not still shooting that film, he said in a 2017 interview, and I dont understand how hundreds of people arent dead.

So how did Miller and his cast pull it off and survive to tell the tale?

Five years after Fury Road was released, I asked 20 of its key players what making it was like. Though its post-apocalyptic plot is deceptively simple  road warrior Max (Tom Hardy) and the fierce driver Furiosa (Charlize Theron) must race across the desert to escape the vengeful Immortan Joe and his fleet of kamikaze War Boys  filming the movie was anything but easy.

Like anything that has some worth to it, it comes with complicated feelings, Theron said. I feel a mixture of extreme joy that we achieved what we did, and I also get a little bit of a hole in my stomach. Theres a level of the body remembers trauma related to the shooting of this film thats still there for me.
(Natural News) A few days ago, President Trump publicly announced that a new vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) would probably be ready by the end of the year as part of Operation Warp Speed. But the president has since changed his tune and is now saying that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) will go away without vaccine.

Even though it typically takes anywhere from three to five years to develop a new vaccine, the Trump administration had appeared fully supportive of developing one in a fraction of that amount of time to address the current global pandemic. Trump himself even indicated that he is pushing very hard to make a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine come to fruition as quickly as possible, even though this accelerated timeline puts many peoples lives at risk.

We are pushing supply lines, Trump is quoted as saying to the media. We dont even have the final vaccine, he further stated, adding that he believes many companies are, I think, close, citing pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson by name.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has largely agreed with Trumps statements, indicating that it is possible to shave a couple of months off that, referring to a proposed 18-month accelerated timeline for the release of a new vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

But, you know, you dont want to over-promise, Fauci added during an interview with CBS News. Well just have to see how it goes.

Not long after this all occurred, however, President Trump switched gears and began to tell the media the exact opposite of what he had stated prior. Without going into specifics, Trump pointed to other viruses and flus that have disappeared before vaccines were ever developed for them, and suggested that the same will happen with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Its going to go away, Trump stated emphatically. And were not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time  Theyve never shown up again, he added, referring to other viruses and flus in the past. They die, too. Like everything else, they die.

What is Trumps real position on vaccines and coronavirus?

Doublespeak on the part of Trump is nothing new, and he has received plenty of criticism over the years for his duplicitous statements, sometimes made just hours apart from one another. On the other hand, some believe that Trump is playing some kind of long game where he intentionally says contradictory things to weed out whos who in his administration.

Long before he was president, Trump publicly stated that he strongly believes vaccines to be linked to autism, which suggests that he does not support the governments vaccine agenda. With that said, Trumps now-stated plan for an accelerated Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by years end could simply be a decoy to bait his enemies into exposing their true intentions.

On the other hand, it could be that Trump simply does not know how to tell the truth and is in a constant state of flux when it comes to his position on any given matter. Is Trump really against vaccines, or was he rallying public support for himself among vaccine skeptics years before he decided to run for president?

As of this writing, Trumps most recent stated position is that a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) will not be needed because the virus is going to disappear for good some other way. And this is the position we hope he sticks with moving forward.

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:

CNBC.com

TheGuardian.com

NaturalNews.com
Needless suffering and death

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert and a central figure in the governments response to the coronavirus, intends to warn the Senate today that Americans would experience needless suffering and death if the country opens up too quickly.

Dr. Fauci, who has emerged as perhaps the nations most respected voice during the coronavirus crisis, is one of four top government doctors scheduled to testify remotely at a high-profile hearing today before the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

It will be his first appearance before Congress since President Trump declared a national emergency in March, and a chance for him to address lawmakers and the public without President Trump by his side. He has been largely out of public view since last week, when Mr. Trump abandoned his daily briefings with his coronavirus task force. (New York Times)

Featured stories

Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities (NBC News)

White House implements stringent mask policy  but not for Trump (Washington Post)

Trump and Pence to maintain distance from each other, official says (ABC News)

US coronavirus death toll passes 80,000 as states move to phased reopening (CNN)

FBI and DHS to warn that Chinese hackers are targeting U.S. COVID research (CBS News)

National news

Senate Republicans break with Trump over Obamagate (Politico)

Elon Musk says hes restarted production at Tesla plant in California, disregarding stay-at-home order (CBS News)

Colorado suspends license of Castle Rock restaurant that defied coronavirus public health order (Denver Post)

Doctors Without Borders dispatches team to the Navajo Nation (CBS News)

Whitmer very disappointed after Michigan panel delays move to ban guns from Capitol (NBC News)

Inmates at one California jail tried to infect themselves with coronavirus, Los Angeles Sheriff says (CNN)

20 million Americans still waiting for their stimulus checks (CBS News)

DOJ to consider possible federal hate crime charges in Ahmaud Arbery shooting (NBC News)

North Carolina sheriffs employee fired after group converged on wrong black teens home (CNN)

World news

As countries consider lifting lockdowns, some in Asia are experiencing a resurgence in coronavirus cases (CNBC)

Hong Kong police arrest more than 200 as pro-democracy protests return (Reuters)

Chinese investment in US drops to lowest level since 2009 (USA Today)

Putin eases Russias coronavirus measures as cases keep mounting (CBS News)

Russia hospital fire kills five ventilated coronavirus patients, state media reports (CNN)

China halts beef imports from four Australian firms as COVID-19 spat sours trade (Reuters)

Coronavirus: PM not expecting flood of people back to work (BBC)

ISIS regional leader Sheikh Khorasani arrested in Afghanistan (BBC)
The coronavirus pandemic is a wake-up call. It has exposed our weaknesses, shown us the vulnerabilities of globalization and the world as we know it. But it also highlights the opportunities for improvement. The current trajectory is unviable because it damages the planet, our very home. As we have gone into lock down or pause mode, we have seen pollution levels plummet to lowest levels in recent times and wildlife re-emerge.

COVID-19 underscores the importance of adopting a holistic approach to tackle a crisis with a broader developmental impact. It will be critical to understand the interconnectedness of development challenges and seek solutions through systemic change. In this regard, innovation has an important role to play, by seeking new ways of doing development and putting people at the centre to ensure that solutions are working, affordable and long-lasting.

The lockdown and working from home have taught us that digital technology can play a pivotal role to both enable business continuity and running of government matters, as well as reducing our carbon consumption. By adopting digital platforms we can get better results without incurring higher environmental penalties. Acknowledging that developing countries have a long way to go in this respect, this digital transformation coupled with innovation will provide tremendous opportunities for retraining, new jobs, social entrepreneurs, public-private partnerships, and expansion of accessibility of internet connectivity to ensure that vulnerable people are not left behind.

With 70 percent of the population younger than 29, Pakistans vibrant youth are eager to engage with a dynamic, open mind to resolve problems and harness creativity to contribute to the shaping of a more equitable and prosperous society, while also addressing climate change. UNDPs National Human Development Report on Youth demonstrates the untapped capital of Pakistani youth and its tremendous potential. The Prime Ministers Youth Programme, Kamyab Jawan, launched to capitalize on this, is an excellent start.

We also now have an opportunity to fully embrace the digital era for administering government institutions and improving public services. Pakistan is well positioned to do this from a technological perspective. What is required is the will to make this transformation happen. While there is no lack of capacity within the country, development partners can certainly help.

UNDP can support the transformation of state institutions and processes into an effective governance system with optimized political-institutional interaction among the executive branch, other powers of the state and civil society. As complex as governance can be, it is often shaped by bureaucratic inertia that is a drag on the certainty of the implementation of public policies and makes it impossible to reach the necessary agreements with speed and focus. This is typical in many overburdened and under-resourced public institutions and this is where UNDPs global experience can help synchronize political vision, policy design, management action, institutional mechanisms, public engagement and tech-based systems.

UNDPs network of Accelerator Labs exists to bring forth innovative solutions to recurrent development challenges in many ways; putting the users at the core of problem identification and solution design, as well as investing in locally developed and low-cost solutions that can be replicated for maximum coverage and impact. In Pakistan, UNDP supported Rehmatullah Kundi, an engineer in Gilgit-Baltistan, to develop a water pump which uses the water-hammer effects to lift water from lower elevations without electricity. The test was so successful that we supported its scale-up. There are now 400 households in 19 villages of Gilgit-Baltistan that have running water and which are irrigating 88.4 acres of land.

UNDPs global presence allows us to learn from each other and connect problems to solutions through South-South cooperation. Rural villagers in Egypt have access to energy using animal manure to produce biogas. Egyptian entrepreneurs are manufacturing biogas burners and specially-trained masons are building biogas units thanks to a technology transfer facilitated by UNDP from India.

While COVID-19 is first and foremost a health crisis, it has a cascading effect on the economy and society. To address this in Pakistan, UNDP is coordinating a socio-economic impact assessment on behalf of the UN system. For this to yield its intended outcome, it is essential that the UN agencies see ourselves as elements of a single unit. Not only is this effective in pulling together the collective expertise of the UN, but it is also most helpful for the government to hear one UN voice. In doing so, it is equally important that we speak on behalf of the most vulnerable, who are likely to suffer most from this crisis, to advocate with the government and use our knowledge and evidence to influence decisions supportive of the marginalized. Meanwhile, our top objective will be to identify the situation of the youth in the socio-economic assessment, reflect their needs in the response to the COVID-19 crisis and then ensure of the youths engagement in its implementation.

The pandemic gives us permission to change. We can achieve this by advising governments and development partners to set up new frameworks that are more inclusive, people-centred and grounded on sustainable economic models.
Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia today launched the Integrated ICT System which automates all the operations of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) in the country at the Jubilee House.



He said this is an information technology solution that would address payment and settlement challenges of MASLOC and bring an air of efficiency into its operations.



The platform which is a collaboration between the centre, the ARP Apex bank and designed by the Eban Capital, the software providers automates end to end process of credit management, loan application, the credit assessment, disbursement of the loan, loan repayment and monitoring and reporting all to make loan assessable.



To apply, applicants would need a business name, TIN, a digital address, passport picture and a valid identity card among others.



The Vice President commended the board and CEO of MASLOC, Mr Stephen Amoah for the initiative as it was in line with the Presidents vision to digitize government operations as possible and all aspects of the economy to make Ghana the most business-friendly economy.



He said before the Covid-19, the government had embarked on aggressive digitization but the pandemic had reaffirmed the position of the President that building a digital economy was the way to go, adding that the Covid-19 has been destructive in many ways but distractive events can catalyze change for the better.



He said businesses would not be as usual after this crisis and that there would be increased reliance and confidence in technology with online payment systems radicalized, leaving institutions with no option but to subscribe to digital service delivery.



Dr Bawumia said Ghana was on course as far the digitization was concerned and that the architecture that Ghana was putting in place was preparing the country well for the post COVID-19 global economies.



He said MASLOC was poised to effectively deliver on its objective by providing funds for SMEs especially the unbanked customers who formed a greater percentage of the informal sector of the economy and also position MASLOC for the next world order of service delivery.



He explained that this would also help enhance governments efforts at formalizing the informal sector of the economy and commended the partnership with ARP Apex Bank because a lot of the SMEs were very much in the informal sector and still unbanked.







Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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As we work towards a plan to re-open racing at the Meadowlands, the SBOANJ has been in constant contact with a number of New Jersey legislators that have consistently been supportive of our program, including Senate President Sweeney and Senators Sarlo and Gopal.

Senator Sarlo has been appointed by Senator Sweeney to head The Strategy for Fiscal Recovery to Restart the New Jersey Economy Committee and both Sarlo and Gopal were sponsors of our Appropriation Bill.

Assemblyman Ron Dancer, a long-time friend of our racing and breeding industry, was one of the invited participants to a special conference call with Governor Murphy this past Saturday, when the Governor acknowledged that he is aware of what we are doing to return to spectator-less racing. Governor Murphy added that his team is reviewing our plan and also commented that his office would follow up this week with more specifics.

In conjunction with Dr. Karyn Malinowski, Director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center, we have submitted an extremely comprehensive Risk Management Plan of safety and sanitation protocols to commence racing at the Meadowlands.

This plan, along with significant information referencing the much needed economic benefit to New Jersey of the Meadowlands return to racing, has been presented to Governor Murphy as well as to the New Jersey Racing Commission and Douglas Fisher, the Secretary of Agriculture.

Additionally, Jeff Gural from the Meadowlands and Dennis Drazin from Monmouth Park, have been appointed to the Tourism Advisory Committee, in regard to the states racing programs, giving us more important representation.

Assemblyman Dancer also advised us that Governor Murphy said he would be making further announcements this week about the restarting and recovery of the New Jersey economy, and we are hopeful that there will be some indication of our future racing prospects.

We appreciate the patience of our racing and breeding community in these most trying of times and we will continue to update you with any pertinent information.

(SBOANJ)
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Nearly a quarter of Americans suffer from arthritis, most commonly due to the wear and tear of the cartilage that protects the joints. As we age, or get injured, we have no way to grow new cartilage. Unlike humans and other mammals, the skeletons of sharks, skates, and rays are made entirely of cartilage and they continue to grow that cartilage throughout adulthood.

And new research published this week in eLife finds that adult skates go one step further than cartilage growth: They can also spontaneously repair injured cartilage. This is the first known example of adult cartilage repair in a research organism. The team also found that newly healed skate cartilage did not form scar tissue.

"Skates and humans use a lot of the same genes to make cartilage. Conceivably, if skates are able to make cartilage as adults, we should be able to also," says Andrew Gillis, senior author on the study and a Marine Biological Laboratory Whitman Center Scientist from the University of Cambridge, U.K.

The researchers carried out a series of experiments on little skates (Leucoraja erinacea) and found that adult skates have a specialized type of progenitor cell to create new cartilage. They were able to label these cells, trace their descendants, and show that they give rise to new cartilage in an adult skeleton.

Why is this important? There are few therapies for repairing cartilage in humans and those that exist have severe limitations. As humans develop, almost all of our cartilage eventually turns into bone. The stem cell therapies used in cartilage repair face the same issue--the cells often continue to differentiate until they become bone. They do not stop as cartilage. But in skates, the stem cells do not create cartilage as a steppingstone; it is the end result.

"We're looking at the genetics of how they make cartilage, not as an intermediate point on the way to bone, but as a final product," says Gillis.

The research is in its early stages, but Gillis and his team hope that by understanding what genes are active in adult skates during cartilage repair, they could better understand how to stop human stem-cell therapies from differentiating to bone.

Note: There is no scientific evidence that "shark cartilage tablets" currently marketed as supplements confer any health benefits, including relief of joint pain.

###

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
Hundreds of thousands of Virgin Australia customers left out of pocket due to cancelled flights may never see their money again.

The embattled airline ceased issuing refunds and travel credits for flights grounded by the coronavirus pandemic after it went into voluntary administration in April.

Accounting giant Deloitte has received 340,000 refund requests from customers since it took control of the cash-strapped airline after 65,000 flights were cancelled between March 1 and April 30.

Administrator Vaughan Strawbridge has proposed to compensate affected passengers with 'conditional travel credit' rather than cash refunds in an affidavit filed to the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Virgin Australia passengers owed a refund for cancelled flights may not get their money back. Pictured are passengers checking in at Brisbane Airport on April 21, the day the cash-strapped airline went into administration

The credit would be valid while the airline is in administration.

Customers who have not claimed or used their credits during the process will be 'unlikely to receive a 100 per cent refund on any restructuring or upon liquidation'.

'The Conditional Credit scheme offers those customers the possibility of realising 100 per cent of the value of their refund by using the credit on a future flight or holiday package,' the court application states.

Mr Strawbridge added credits were 'necessary to preserve as much goodwill associated with the Virgin brand and business as possible for a buyer'.

The decision whether to honour Virgin travel credit or give a refund will be up to its new owners.

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in the collapse of Virgin Australia. Pictured is an empty Virgin Australia check-in area at Brisbane Airport on April 21

'Potential buyers may be motivated to extend these conditional credits as part of any restructuring or recapitalisation of the Virgin Companies' business for the purposes of maintaining and enhancing the customer goodwill associated with the Virgin Companies,' Mr Strawbridge said.

Of the 19 parties that have expressed interest in buying the airline, eight signed confidentiality agreements to gain access to Virgin's books.

Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Indigo Partners, and BGH Capital are among the potential buyers.

The court application also seeks to limit the administrators' liability for debts incurred from Virgin and for essential services such as ground handling, fuel, maintenance and in-flight catering.

The case will be heard in the Federal Court on Wednesday.
Eight of Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's favorite Bay Area restaurants got a huge boost: $100,000 each to help weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The Facebook CEO and his wife, a pediatrician who helms the couple's philanthropy through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, contacted the restaurants personally via email to let them know they'd be getting a gift.

According to Palo Alto Online, the eight restaurants are:

 Dohatsuten, a ramen and Japanese tapas restaurant in Palo Alto.

 Palo Alto Sol, a Mexican restaurant in Palo Alto.

 Fuki Sushi, a Palo Alto Japanese restaurant that, along with Palo Alto Sol, catered the couple's 2012 wedding.

 Chef Chu's, a Cantonese restaurant in Los Altos.

 Vesta, a wood-fired pizza spot in Redwood City.

 Sushi Sam's Edomata, a sushi restaurant in San Mateo.

 La Ciccia, an Italian eatery in Noe Valley.

 The Liberties Bar & Grill, a neighborhood pub on Guerrero Street.

Seiko Alba, owner of Dohatsuten, told Palo Alto Online when she received the email from Zuckerberg she initially thought it was a scam. Further correspondence revealed that it was, in fact, real, and the money was coming shortly for the small business owner. "Thanks to Mark and Priscilla, we can keep going," she said.

The money is for whatever the restaurants need: payroll, rent or even free meals for health care workers and first responders. Both Chef Chu's and Dohatsuten regularly post on Facebook about meal deliveries to local hospitals and police departments.

Although most of the spots are on the Peninsula  Facebook is headquartered in Menlo Park  two spots are in San Francisco. Zuckerberg is a longtime regular at The Liberties, which is located near his Dolores Heights home. La Ciccia, a beloved Sardinian restaurant in Noe Valley, also received a check. The tiny spot is run by husband and wife team Massimiliano Conti and Lorella Degan; Conti is chef and Degan runs front of house.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Katie Dowd is a senior digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: katie.dowd@sfgate.com.
Wei Bertram takes care of stressed-out traders from firms such as hedge fund Bridgewater Associates at her tea, acupuncture and massage business in Westport, Connecticut. When the coronavirus struck, it was the financial industry that let her down.

After struggling for weeks to get a federal rescue loan through JPMorgan Chase, she landed one through electronic-payments firm Square. Vying for JPMorgan's attention alongside bigger companies "felt like I was on a surfboard next to the Titanic," she said. She has kept her business going by offering classes on Zoom and curbside delivery of tea and essential oils.

As millions of entrepreneurs adapt to survive the coronavirus pandemic, many are ending their relationships with major banks that can't keep pace with more nimble upstarts. In the chaotic opening weeks of the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, giants such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America lagged behind in handling applications, leaving desperate applicants to explore alternate sources of financial help. Some found it.

In interviews, business owners across the U.S. who got federal lifelines said they were surprised to learn at least a few technology firms offered faster paths to loans than the banks that already knew them. Some stumbled onto more unusual channels. Many did it while simultaneously reinventing how they conduct business under government lockdowns meant to slow the virus's spread.

The experiences may have a lasting impact on the reputations of big banks, even as they now pull ahead in arranging loans during the second round of the federal program.

Cindie Feldman, owner of 29 Cooks Catering & Culinary Center in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, said she wasn't able to get a PPP loan fast enough through Santander Bank, where she's been a client for over 20 years. She was among entrepreneurs who arranged U.S. funding through PayPal Holdings, which she'd used in the past for very small business loans. She has already made arrangements to move her bank accounts out of Santander.

"I have to innovate when the world isn't normal," said Feldman, who has converted her catering and children's cooking camp business into a restaurant that delivers locally. "I'm just trying to create something that sustains us, and sustains our employees."

Green Planet 21 Utility Services, a telecommunications company based in Oakland, California, got a loan from the Bank of Guam. It normally uses Wells Fargo but had a business relationship with the overseas lender that it was able to lean on, according to Megan Purdy, the company's director of business operations.

Suzanne Citere, owner of RealDance Studio in Lighthouse Point, Florida, said she plans to close her accounts at Wells Fargo after getting a loan through PayPal. "They made such a mess of things," she said of the bank.

Representatives of Wells Fargo, Santander and JPMorgan weren't immediately available for comment.

Some landlords found alternative channels to help struggling tenants get funding. At the Brooklyn Navy Yard, only eight of 500 tenants got access to PPP loans in the first round, said David Ehrenberg, CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. That had implications for tenants' ability to pay rent and retain their employees. Normally about 12,000 people work within the industrial park.

Realizing that existing bank relationships weren't coming through for tenants, the organization started referring them to so-called community development financial institutions including Pursuit, which received PPP funding from Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, as well as Carver Federal Savings Bank and Piermont Bank. At least 130 tenants have received loans in the second PPP round so far, Ehrenberg said.

"As a landlord who's a non-profit and small business, liquidity is a concern for us as well," Ehrenberg said. "The financial strength of our tenants is important."

Jennie Tang, owner of The Workshop Mpls, a ceramics studio in Minneapolis, looked into local banks and city and county grants while trying for almost a month to get a PPP loan from U.S. Bancorp. She, too, eventually found success with Square. The money will let her bring back some employees and continue to find innovative ways to generate revenue.

Still, many local businesses in her area continue to struggle, she said.

When the first round of PPP funding ran out "it didn't surprise me," she said. "It surprised me that we stand on street corners saying 'We support small business,' when we really don't."
Solar Panel Installation The following campus buildings are slated for solar panel installations. Phase 1 1599 Clifton Road Parking Deck Clairmont Residential Center Parking Deck Clairmont Starvine Parking Deck Conference Center Parking Deck Fishburne Parking Deck Peavine North Parking Deck Peavine South Parking Deck 1599 Clifton Road Building Emory Law  Gambrell Hall Heath Sciences Research Building I White Hall Phase 2 Gambrell (Lowergate South) Parking Deck Lowergate East Parking Deck Michael Street Parking Deck Physician Parking Deck Undergraduate Residential Center Parking Deck

Emory University will install more than 15,000 solar panels across 16 buildings on its Druid Hills campus, which will generate approximately 10 percent of Emorys peak energy requirements and reduce Emorys greenhouse gas emissions by about 4,300 metric tons. Emory has awarded Cherry Street Energy a 20-year agreement to install 5.5. megawatts (MW) of solar generation across campus.

Various Emory rooftops and parking decks will soon be home to an array of solar photovoltaic panels, converting our campus into a significant site for clean energy supporting Emorys carbon commitment, says Robin Morey, vice president of Campus Services and chief planning officer at Emory University. This transformational project upholds Emorys commitment to addressing climate change and building a resilient and sustainable future.

The investment supports Emorys newly revised greenhouse gas emissions goals, which now mirror the latest science articulated by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that requires a 45 percent reduction by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Additionally, through innovative financing methods, there are no capital commitments as a result of leveraging Emorys future energy spend.

This is a crucial step for Emory in reaching our sustainability goals and reaffirms our dedication to generate at least 10 percent of energy on campus through clean energy alternatives like solar, furthering our efforts toward 100 percent clean energy in partnership with the City of Atlanta by 2035, says Ciannat Howett, associate vice president of Resilience, Sustainability and Economic Inclusion at Emory. Through this project, Emory will have one of the largest deployments of on-site solar power at a higher education institution in the Southeast.

Cherry Street will install more than 15,000 solar photovoltaic panels on building rooftops and parking structures across Emory as part of a Solar Energy Procurement Agreement (SEPA), an arrangement made legal in Georgia in 2015 that allows a private investor to install, own and maintain solar panels with Emory buying the power at rates lower than charged by the utility. Under SEPA, there are no upfront costs to Emory. Construction begins in May.

Our team welcomes Emorys partnership incorporating renewable power across its campus, says Michael Chanin, founder and CEO of Cherry Street Energy. Emory offers meaningful leadership with this decision, demonstrating how the built environment of the future will incorporate renewable power on every structure that can support it.

Furthering Emorys commitment to economic inclusion, the installation of solar panels will be conducted as part of a recently launched Cherry Street Energy workforce development program. Shine On is a family of programs that helps workers get the experience and training needed to build a career in solar installation. Emorys solar installations will provide critical opportunities to learn the skills necessary to work with cutting-edge solar technologies.

The 5.5 MW solar installation is part of Emorys larger vision for clean and resilient energy on its campuses that has made steady progress over the past five years, including geothermal wells and combined heat and power (CHP) facilities, says Joan Kowal, senior director of Resilience and Utility Strategies at Emory. Emory hopes to tie the solar panels into a campus microgrid with CHP and battery back-up to enhance resiliency for critical campus buildings.

For more information on Emorys sustainability efforts, visit the Sustainability Initiatives website.

For more information on Cherry Street Energy and the Shine On campaign, visit Cherry Street Energy online.
Nigeria Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, has insisted on social distancing during plenary in order to curb the spread of coronaviru...





Nigeria Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, has insisted on social distancing during plenary in order to curb the spread of coronavirus among Senators.He expressed his displeasure at the manner Senators were jettisoning the social distancing rules, saying its a dangerous trend that should be corrected at all cost.Lawan who made the open observation while reading votes and proceedings of Tuesdays sitting for adoption, emphasized that, Senators at the back row must sit far apart from each other in line with the precautionary measures against spread of coronavirus.He said Senators were leaders who must lead by examples given that Nigerians and the world watch how they conduct themselves in the face of the pandemic.The principle is not observed at the back seats going by the way distinguished colleagues interact.Please let the principle be reflected straight away by ensuring the required gaps between the seats,  he said.Few minutes after the admonition, the Senate President was forced to repeat same again when he told Senator Uche Iyom Ekwunife that she was too close to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo- Agege.Lawan added that all the Senators should ensure that their face masks were on at all times in the chamber, noting that any Senator making contribution must do so with face mask.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:31:05|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League on Tuesday condemned the Israeli's decision to close Palestine's official Television office in East Jerusalem and prevent its crew from working in the city and in Israel for another six months.

"It is an attempt to cover the crimes of Israel and its plans to change the legal and historic position of Jerusalem city," said Saeed Abu Ali, Arab League assistant secretary general for Palestine affairs and occupied Arab territories.

He stressed that the move is "a flagrant violation against the Palestinian rights and existence especially amid the Israeli preparations to annex wide areas of the occupied West Bank."

On Monday, the Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation said Israel decided to close the Palestine Television office and prevent its crew from working in Jerusalem for six months.

The Israeli decision was condemned by the Palestinian Ministry of Information, the Fatah Movement, and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Enditem
The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the CBI on a bail plea of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, convicted and serving life sentence in a murder case of a lawmaker.

Yadav, currently lodged in Dehrudun jail, has sought bail on medical grounds. He was awarded life imprisonment by a CBI court in Dehradun in 2015 for his role in the murder of Mahendra Singh Bhati, an MLA from Ghaziabad's Dadri area.

The lawmaker was shot dead at Dadri railway crossing in December 1992.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna issued notice to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought its response on the plea of Yadav by next week.

Advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Yadav said that his client was earlier granted interim bail to undergo a spinal surgery at the Yashoda Super speciality Hospital in Ghaziabad and later surrendered after the spinal operation as per the order of the top court.

He said that in his fresh plea, Yadav has pointed out that he was facing some post-operative complications and even jail authorities have suggested for his treatment at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).

The bench said it would like to hear the CBI on the plea and issued notice.

On October 23, 2018, the top court had directed Yadav to surrender and go back to jail in Dehradun to serve the remainder term of his life sentence.

The top court had taken note of the medical report of the Hospital at Ghaziabad that Yadav had undergone a spinal surgery on October 19 and was likely to be released from the hospital on November 3, 2018.

The court took note of the report and directed that Yadav can remain with his family for two weeks and then will have to go back to the jail to serve the remainder of the sentence.

It also disposed of Yadav's appeal which was filed challenging the Uttarakhand High Court's order declining his plea for interim bail to undergo the surgery.

Yadav, whose appeal in the Uttarkhand High Court against the 2015 trial court verdict is pending, had moved the top court for grant of bail for undergoing the surgery.

The high court, on June 14, 2018, had rejected the bail plea of Yadav.

The apex court, on September 18, 2018, had granted interim bail for 15 days to Yadav on a condition that he will get himself admitted as in-patient in Yashoda Superspeciality Hospital for the requisite pre-operative checks.

It had also asked him to deposit a bail bond of Rs 1 crore and two sureties of like amount for getting the interim bail.

Besides Yadav, the trial court had also convicted Pal Singh, Karan Yadav and Praneet Bhati for offences of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy of the IPC in the murder case.

The case was transferred to the CBI court in Dehradun in 2000 on the direction of the Supreme Court after doubts were expressed about a fair trial in the case in Uttar Pradesh where Yadav was an influential politician.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Berlin, May 12, 2020  Authorities in Northern Ireland must quickly and thoroughly investigate threats made against journalists covering paramilitary activity and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On May 8, Belfast police told several journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers that the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Associationa loyalist, or pro-British, paramilitary groupwas planning imminent attacks against them, according to reports by the BBC and the Irish Times. Those reports did not specify exactly how many journalists were warned or disclose their identities.

At least one of the journalists was warned of a plan to booby-trap their car, according to the BBC.

According to the Irish Times, the threats were tied to the journalists coverage of the paramilitary group and of killings linked to its members. Both newspapers are owned by the Independent News & Media publishing house, according to that report.

Authorities in Northern Ireland should leave no stone unturned in investigating the threats made against journalists covering the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association, and should ensure that reporters can work without fear, said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said, in New York. Reporters for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers must not be intimidated out of covering the regions paramilitary groups.

The news about the planned attacks came just weeks after the first anniversary of the killing of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot while covering clashes between rioters and police in Londonderry, as CPJ documented at the time.

In an email to CPJ, the press office of the Police Service in Northern Ireland declined to comment on the specifics of the threats, but said, We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk.
Kerala on Tuesday



sought openingof domestic air travel,intra-state passenger trains and metro rail services in a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister.

ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan said the time was not ripe to commence inter-state railway services.

The state submitted the suggestions as instructed by the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conference with all the Chief Ministers on Monday.

"However, we have sought special non-stop trains from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and other major cities," Vijayan told reporters here.

The state has suggested intra-district bus service with limited number of passengers and strict health protocols including practice of social distancing.

"The state has suggested intra-district bus service but not inter-district services. The bus service can be allowed by strictly following social distancing. Since the buses will have to ply with limited number of passengers, the fares can be hiked to compensate the loss," Vijayan suggested.

The memorandum also sought to open hospitality services maintaining strict social distancing inside the restaurants with the seats arranged accordingly.

"Industrial and commercial activities should be allowed in rural and urban areas except in the Containment Zones. The government is of the view that the construction work should proceed at a rapid pace and steps to be taken to procure necessary materials. Construction work needs to be completed before the rains," Vijayan said.

The Chief Minister had on Monday suggested to the Prime Minister that states should have the "flexibility" in changing lockdown guidelines and allowing public and Metro rail services by following social distancing norms, except in red zones.

Vijayan, who spoke during the video conference held by Modi with state Chief Ministers, had also suggested that anti-body test be conducted on expatriates before they arrive here from various countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A temporary ban on the sale of firearms and ammunition in Victoria will be lifted at the same time coronavirus restrictions are eased across the state.

From 11.59pm on Tuesday, restrictions on the selling, loaning and hiring of guns will be lifted, with sport and target shooting and recreational hunting allowed to resume.

The ban on sales sparked a fierce reaction from the firearms industry, who feel they have been targeted. Credit:The Age

In a letter to the firearms industry sent on Tuesday morning, Victoria Police's licensing and regulation division reminded shooters that they needed to practice social distancing and should only undertake them "if you really need to".

"It is integral to your health and wellbeing," the letter read.
An Alabama man is behind bars, accused of performing sex acts on his young daughter while the childs grandmother livestreamed it on a pornographic site.

Steven Anthony Jackson, 19, and Lisa Williamson, 41, are both charged with multiple felony crimes. Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms said Williamson is the 1-year-old girls maternal grandmother. While the mother and father are no longer together, Williamson still maintained a relationship with Jackson.

The sheriff said Alabama investigators last week received a tip from the FBI in another state. They were able to identify a general location where the alleged crime had taken place  which was on March 19  and contacted FBI in the Dothan area.

From there, Helms said, they were able to narrow down the location and the suspects. On Wednesday and Thursday, May 6 and 7, the FBI, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Geneva County Sheriffs Office carried out search warrants at the suspects two homes.

Steven Anthony Jackson (Geneva County Jail)

Both Jackson and Williamson live in Hartford. We did find some things we needed to look at as evidence and thats being analyzed in Montgomery, Helms said. Were still early in the investigation.

Williamson is charged with five felony crimes including sex abuse of a child under the age of 12 and production of porn with a minor. Jackson is charged with first-degree sodomy and production of child pornography.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources was involved in the case from the beginning, Helms said, and has taken the child into protective custody. An emergency hearing in that portion of the case has already been held and a judge ruled that the girl would remain in state custody.

Helms said theyve never had any prior dealings with the family. Both suspects remain in jail. Court records do not yet list an attorney for them.

Its awful, Helms said. Its hard to describe it any other way. A lot of evil does exist in this world.

One of the things that bothers me is how many other cases there are like this out there just waiting on a tip from a good citizen to tell us, the sheriff said. Thats the scary part.
Hyderabad, May 12 : An Air India flight with 331 passengers from Britain landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here early Tuesday.

It later took off with another 87 passengers for Delhi, from where they will be airlifted to the US.

Air India flight AI 1839, a Boeing 773 aircraft, arrived via Delhi at the Hyderabad airport at 2.21 am, an airport spokesman said.

The same aircraft departed at 5.31 am with 87 US-bound passengers from Hyderabad to Delhi.

The flight from Britain was the fourth to land in Hyderabad under 'Vande Bharat Mission', the biggest-ever exercise to bring home Indians stranded in various countries due to Covid-19 lockdown.

After the completion of immigration and other formalities, the passengers were transported to designated locations in the city for mandatory 14-day quarantine as per the rules framed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Telangana government in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, various central agencies and the airport authorities made special arrangements to handle the arrivals as per the Standard Operating Protocol issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, airport sources said.

All passengers and aircraft crew were brought out from the aircraft in batches of 20-25. Each passenger was screened by the thermal cameras positioned at the aerobridge exit by airport health officials prior to completion of immigration formalities.

Every baggage was sanitized by a disinfection tunnel integrated to the baggage belt.

Glass shields were provided at each manned immigration counter to avoid any personal contact between the passengers and immigration officers.

The Hyderabad airport has so far handled four evacuation flights from the US, the UK, Kuwait and the UAE that evacuated over 750 Indian citizens stranded off-shore.

Air India flight from Abu Dhabi with 170 evacuees had landed on Monday night while the one from the US (San Francisco) via Mumbai arrived on Monday morning with 118 passengers.

The first flight with 163 evacuees from Kuwait had reached here on Saturday.

A total of seven evacuation flights are scheduled to land at Hyderabad Airport, bringing 2,350 stranded Indians from six countries.

The airport has also handled 12 international outgoing flights with around 1,000 foreigners who were sent to the UK, the UAE, the US, Kenya and Germany.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
WATERLOO REGION  Experts at the University of Waterloo worry about rising COVID-19 cases that are not connected to caring for the elderly.

Cases spreading in the community, outside of hard-hit nursing and retirement homes, bottomed out in mid-April but have risen steadily since. These are transmissions attributed to close contact, to being in the community, and to travel.

The numbers are small but the trend line points the wrong way. New community cases that fell to three per day in mid-April are now peaking at a dozen per day, the highest since the epidemic began.

The trend in community cases is worrying, said Chris Bauch, a mathematician who studies the dynamics of infectious disease. He figures the overall upward trend in community cases over the past month looks clear enough to suggest that it is premature to relax physical distancing measures.

Low testing in April may have masked community infections, experts say. Today, more people are being tested.

Another explanation could be that people are not practising physical distancing as seriously as before, resulting in more new infections, said Zahid Butt, a public health professor who studies infectious disease. We may have to wait for a few weeks to get a clearer picture.

Bauch sees low testing as a possible explanation but also it suggests that community transmission is still happening somehow, somewhere.

It would be good to know whats going on with the uptick in cases, said Craig Janes, director of the School of Public Health. Is this the result of some super-spreading events? He said its hard to know without more tests and better tracing of infection contacts.

Is now the right time to relax pandemic restrictions and physical distancing ?

I think there should be stronger evidence for a reduction of cases in the community before restrictions are relaxed in this region, Bauch said.

Plans to re-open schools and workplaces usually assume that cases have passed their peak due to physical distancing measures, but there is not strong evidence that the K-W region has passed the peak in community transmission.

Butt advises a stepwise process with low-risk areas opening first as compared to high-risk areas, with the provision that they may be closed if there a surge of new cases.

Experts want more virus testing. The regional public health unit has expanded testing slower than the rest of Ontario, achieving only 91 per cent of the average provincial growth in tests, since April 14.

Matching the provincial rate would have meant another 2,721 tests completed locally between April 15 and May 11.

We need to test as widely as possible, Janes said. Without the capacity to do so, the region should strive to test more than just vulnerable or high-risk groups, by also testing people who appear infected based on symptoms, he said.

Bauch sees high testing rates as an important factor in countries such as Germany and South Korea that have controlled their outbreaks. So I think that higher testing rates would help in the K-W region as well, including for the wider community, he said.

Greater testing of close contacts could be very useful in identifying persons who are spreading the virus but not yet showing symptoms, he said.

He recognizes that Ontario needs more laboratory capacity to achieve greater, faster testing. Without that we have no choice but to focus testing on at-risk groups.
We just hope this clearly shows a conflict of interest and hopefully she will resign, said Rodney Bordeaux, the tribal chairman of the Rosebud Sioux in South Dakota.

In a statement, Conner Swanson, a spokesman for the Interior Department, said that Ms. Sweeney had complied with all laws and was upholding her ethical responsibilities.

The decision to allow Alaska Native corporations to benefit from the funds has prompted one of the most significant legal battles between tribal governments and the United States in years. More than a dozen tribes filed lawsuits last month challenging the Treasury Departments decision to allow the corporations to apply for the aid, arguing that they are not federally recognized tribal governments, and therefore do not qualify.

A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction to stop funds from being sent to the corporations during the litigation, all but guaranteeing that some of the aid will remain frozen. The funding was frozen up until last week amid the legal dispute about how it should be parceled out. The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it would begin distributing $4.8 billion in aid, just over half of the funds allocated in the stimulus package.

But that judge, Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, on Monday declined to force the department to immediately distribute the entire tranche of funds, saying that the tribes petitioning for such an order have not carried their burden to show that the secretarys delay thus far is so egregious as to warrant distribution of the relief on Monday.
Saudi Arabia Imposes Austerity Measures

By VOA News May 11, 2020

Saudi Arabia says it is tripling its VAT (value added tax) and suspending cost-of-living allowances.

Riyadh said is initiating the austerity measures to offset dwindling coffers caused by the costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the turndown in global energy prices.

"These are the priorities: the health care of people and the livelihood of people," Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg News Monday. "We want to make sure that we maintain our fiscal strength so that as the economy gets out of the lock-down, we are able to support the economy."

The two-year-old VAT will increase from 5% to 15%, beginning July 1. The imposition of the higher tax comes as residents of the kingdom are dealing with reduced incomes due to furloughs and pay cuts caused by the new coronavirus.

In June, state workers will stop receiving their cost-of-living allowances.

"These measures are painful, but necessary," the finance minister said.

The BBC reports Saudi Arabia's state spending surpassed its income in the first three months of this year, leaving the kingdom with a $9 billion deficit.

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Teachers may be asked to mark Leaving Cert pupils out of 1,000 in each subject.

The plan is to allow scope to differentiate between students of similar standard, under the calculated grades system being introduced to replace the Leaving Cert this year.

Intensive discussions continued yesterday on detailed guidelines for teachers.

They must approach the task of estimating what their pupils would be expected to achieve had the State exams gone ahead in June.

The first step requires subject teachers to award an estimated percentage mark to each pupil and also to rank them against the rest of their class.

This would be done by drawing on a variety of information, such as performance in house exams, as well using their own professional judgment.

All subject teachers in a school will then collaborate to review the estimated marks and rankings and agree a final position, which will be appraised by the principal before submitting to the Department of Education for national standardisation.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) said it understands that in seeking to arrive at a percentage mark, each student may be marked out of 1,000.

"This might be useful in a situation where it would be very challenging to rank a group of students whose attainment is very similar.

For example, it could be where a number of candidates would be expected to achieve the same percentage mark.

"In this case, the approach could be for the teacher to mark the students out of 1,000 and convert the marks to percentages," it has advised its members.

It says that the class ranking for each student in each subject would be generated from the attribution of the marks under this system and, where two or more candidates were attributed identical marks, the teacher would be asked to look again to see what might separate them.

A Department of Education spokesperson said the "guidance is still under discussion".

Meanwhile, Inclusion Ireland is "gravely concerned" about the education of children with intellectual disabilities and autism during the Covid-19 crisis.

It has raised its concerns following a survey of parents of children with disabilities who are trying to home educate. It was conducted last week and attracted 733 responses.

Inclusion Ireland CEO Enda Egan said it was seeking an urgent meeting with Education Minister Joe McHugh to discuss what he described as "the emerging crisis in special education".

The survey found that children with intellectual disabilities and autism were missing school a lot.

For children with complex behaviour and medical needs home education was very difficult or non-existent, despite the best efforts of parents and teachers.

The experience of parents varies widely, with some children having daily class via Zoom and access to educational materials and smart applications from their teacher, but some others were having no contact or education provision.

Parents reported struggling to provide any form of education to disabled children while also trying to work from home, work on the frontline and isolate at home, or minding other children or elderly adults.

Mr Egan said some parents stated that their child presented with behaviours that could be a challenge or had poor attention skills that required the support of a skilled teacher.

Slightly more than 10pc have no access to any technology at all for school work and 45pc have no access to high-speed broadband.

Continued from Page 1
When she was 19, M Ajanya, a student of nursing in north Kerala contracted the dreaded Nipah viral disease, which has a mortality rate of 80%. Ajanya was on a ventilator for a week but didnt give up; nor did her doctors. She recovered.

Now 21, Ajanya, who graduated this year from the Government Nursing College in Kozhikode with a graduate degree in GNM (general nursing and midwifery), is waiting for a job. I am keen to work in a Covid hospital, she says. Her tryst with Nipah, Ajanya says, has only made her love her chosen profession even more. Many prayed for my life (when I was in hospital) and it is time for me to pay back.

The daughter of a farm labourer and an anganwadi worker, Ajanya contracted Nipah while interning at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in 2018. I was in the ICU (intensive care unit) looking after my patients as part of my training. On May 18, 2018, I developed high fever and other ailments and got admitted at the same ward. Two days later I lost consciousness. I was later told Lini Puthussery was in the same ward, she said.

Puthussery, also a nurse, succumbed to the virus later. Last year the state government instituted an award in her memory; the World Health Organization too lauded her dedication.

I consider nursing one of the noblest professions in the world. Becoming a nurse was my childhood dream. I feel I am nearer to my dream. I have applied to several places (for a job) I am waiting for the call. As a beginner, it is time for me to take challenges head on. I would love to treat Covid patients, Ajanya says, adding that she is still in touch with some of the nurses and doctors who treated her.

She was one of the two survivors of Nipah in 2019, from a total of 19 people infected with the deadly virus. The district medical officer Dr V Jayasree remembers Ajanya and the challenge her illness posed. A head nurse stayed at the hospital for a week keeping an eye on her every minute. Its great that she is ready to take up the profession. Jayashree adds that the fight with Nipah has steeled medical professionals in north Kerala.

With no known treatment, and completely blank about the source of the infection, health care workers fought back valiantly.

Ajanya thinks health care workers will eventually get the better of Covid-19 too. Many frontline warriors have fallen prey to the monstrous virus; their sacrifice has inspired people like me and I am sure we will tame it soon.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ramesh Babu Ramesh Babu is HTs bureau chief in Kerala, with about three decades of experience in journalism. ...view detail
Millie Mackintosh stepped out for a stroll with her newborn baby daughter on Tuesday, 11 days after giving birth.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, looked effortlessly stylish in double denim as she enjoyed the walk through West London.

Millie welcomed her 'darling girl' with husband Hugo Taylor on 1 May, but is yet to reveal the name of her bundle of joy.

Relaxed: Millie Mackintosh, 30, stepped out for a stroll with her newborn baby daughter and on Tuesday, 11 days after giving birth

Millie showed off her post-baby physique by teaming a loose denim shirt with skinny jeans, along with a chic black and white scarf.

The star shielded her eyes from the sun with oversized glasses as she pushed her daughter along in her Mamas and Papas pram.

Millie wrapped up in a grey tweed coat, but eventually removed as she headed out for the stroll in the mild weather.

Casual: The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, looked effortlessly stylish in double denim as she enjoyed the walk through West London

Gorgeous: Millie looked flawless a mere 11 days after giving birth to her baby daughter, as she teamed a denim shirt with matching skinny jeans

Happy: Millie accessorised the look with a black and white animal print scarf and white trainers, and shielded her eyes from the sun with cat-eye glasses

New mum: Millie welcomed her 'darling girl' with husband Hugo Taylor on 1 May, but is yet to reveal the name of her bundle of joy

Millie announced the news of the birth on earlier this month to Hello! Magazine, as she and husband Hugo said: 'We are delighted to announce the arrival of our darling girl who arrived on Friday 1 May at 1:21pm, weighing a very healthy seven pounds.

'We are eternally grateful to the doctors, nurses and midwives for taking such good care of us. Mum and baby are both doing incredibly well and we are looking forward to bringing our daughter home and spending time together as a family.'

Just hours before, the then-pregnant Millie and Hugo seen leaving her London home and heading into a cab with suitcases, a new pillow, handbags, a rucksack and gift bags.

Lovely: Announcing the news, the couple said: 'We are delighted to announce the arrival of our darling girl who arrived on Friday 1 May at 1:21pm, weighing a very healthy seven pounds'

Sweet: The couple continued: 'We are eternally grateful to the doctors, nurses and midwives for taking such good care of us'

Need a rest? At one point Millie perched herself on a bench in the part to check on her baby girl

Exciting: The star announced the arrival of her daughter mere hours after she was born earlier this month

The previous day, Millie was in a reflective mood as she looked back at her pregnancy by sharing one month and nine month comparison photos of her bump.

Millie also uploaded a trio of black and white photos cradling her bump and captioned it: 'Signing off for a while - looking back on the last nine months, despite it's challenges, it's been a real blessing.

'The unwavering support I've had from you all as a community has been such a comfort to me. Social media, for all its negatives...

'[It] really has some sparkling gems of positivity along the way and connecting with you all has really helped me through my pregnancy struggles.

'When I return I shall continue to be open and honest sharing my experiences and early days of motherhood. Until then, it's with a huge, heartfelt thank you from me for all the support. Now onto the next part of the journey!

Baby on board: Just hours before, the then-pregnant Millie and Hugo seen leaving her London home and heading into a cab with suitcases

Doting mum: Last month, Millie said while she was uploading 'smiling bump photos', behind-the-scenes she was dealing with a leaky bladder and sugary cravings.

Difficult: She told her fans that having a baby was like 'a miracle that comes with a side portion of crazy old symptoms, soaring hormone levels and physical and emotional challenges'

Last month, Millie said while she was uploading 'smiling bump photos', behind-the-scenes she was dealing with a leaky bladder, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and sugary cravings.

Millie wrote: 'As I come close to the end of my pregnancy, (it feels like I've been pregnant forever) I'm aware I've been posting lots of smiling bump photos but I wanted to be honest about my experience in recent weeks.

'Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of beauty surrounding growing a human, it feels like a miracle. A miracle that comes with a side portion of crazy old symptoms, soaring hormone levels and physical and emotional challenges.'

Exciting: Millie announced she was expecting a girl with husband Hugo last November

Mum: At the time, she said: 'I'm so excited it's a girl. I would've been delighted with either, but when I found out we were having a girl, I suddenly realised this is what I really wanted'

Mrs: Millie and Hugo tied the knot in June 2018 at Hugo's uncle's country estate Whithurst Park, in West Sussex, one year after he proposed during a holiday to the Mykonos

Millie announced she was expecting a girl with husband Hugo last November

At the time, the television personality told Hello!: 'I'm so excited it's a girl. I would've been delighted with either, but when I found out we were having a girl, I suddenly realised this is what I really wanted.'

Millie and Hugo tied the knot in June 2018 at Hugo's uncle's country estate Whithurst Park, in West Sussex, one year after he proposed during a holiday to the Greek island of Mykonos.

The couple briefly dated during their Made In Chelsea days back in 2011 and reunited in May 2016 shortly after Millie's split from her first husband, rapper Professor Green, 35.
Miner Vedanta Resources Limited on Tuesday confirmed that it would take its Indian unit Vedanta Ltd private, as it looks to accelerate simplification of its corporate structure amid the coronavirus crisis.

The company said it will delist the unit from all stock exchanges and was willing to accept shares tendered in the offer at 87.5 Indian rupees ($1.16) per equity share, a premium of 9.9 per cent on Mondays closing stock price, but a discount of 1.7 per cent over Tuesdays closing.

Due to the impact of Covid 19 pandemic, we have accelerated the strategy in this challenging environment to ensure support for meaningful deleveraging and to enable us to continue to invest in the growth of the business, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal said.

Bloomberg had earlier reported here that billionaire Agarwal was exploring a potential deal to take Vedanta Ltd private.

The Indian units delisting will provide Vedanta Resources, which owns a 36.8 per cent stake in the unit, with enhanced operational and financial flexibility, as well as transform its credit profile, Vedanta Resources said.

The delisting is also expected to support an accelerated debt reduction program in the medium term.

In 2018, Vedanta Resources delisted here itself from the stock exchange in London, where it had faced protests and legal action, and said buying out the London listing would simplify its structure and that the Indian market was deep enough to raise capital.

Hindustan Zinc will continue to be listed in India, said Vedanta Resources, which owns a 64.9 per cent stake in the company.
PORTLAND, Ore., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, VR/AR software company The Wild announced they will be hosting a student-focused architecture and design competition to be held at the VR/AR Global Summit Online.

The 1st annual VR/AR Global Design Student Competitionwhich will be held in virtual realityaims to celebrate the creativity of architecture and interior design students throughout the world. This competition provides rising leaders the opportunity to use emerging technologies, showcase their visions for the future, and gain professional exposure. Six student finalists will be selected to share their original 3D models in a live-streamed competition.

The design challenge asks students to design a space that encourages digital socialization or innovative safe social distancing. This design could be the future workplace, an office, a public space, a lobby, entryway, a room or building using smart technology, or another utilitarian design idea.

"As people have been sheltering in place and working from home, there will be a reluctance to go back to the public spaces and offices of yesteryear," says Clay Walsh, Marketing and Communications Director of The Wild. "We wanted to challenge architecture and interior design students to show us their innovative ideas for safe, social-distanced spaces of the future."

Applicants should be currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students in an interior design or architecture program. Ideally, they will have experience with or have a general interest in virtual reality, XR, or other emerging and immersive technologies. Applicants should use Revit or SketchUp, or other leading 3D modeling programs for their design.

The jury includes thought leaders Amy Peck, Sr. Director of Enterprise Content at HTC Vive and Founder of EndeavorVR, and Aubrey Tucker, Director of Innovation and Technology for ETRO Construction.

The application deadline is May 20th, 2020. More information at thewild.com/events.



About The Wild

The Wild, an immersive collaboration platform, uses virtual and augmented reality to enable architecture and design teams to work across distance, and to review and experience their work together, immersed in a shared virtual space. With native support for SketchUp, Revit, and BIM 360, and accessible in real time from the cloud, The Wild aims to support remote collaboration by connecting people and their ideas from anywhere they work.

SOURCE The Wild

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https://thewild.com


African Dream Foundation 2063, in cooperation with the Ramsco Charity Organization, distributed on Tuesday over 500 kilograms of food items to students from the South Sudanese community in Egypt.

The move is part of the third phase of the "One Continent Initiative, One Fate" initiative to support the students in facing the deadly virus, through coordination with the South Sudanese ambassador and the head of the community, read a statement on Tuesday.

The initiative has previously distributed disinfectants to more than 300 African families, as well as organic food packages to the Guinean community in Cairo, said Sally Atef, chairwoman of the ADF, adding that the foundation works in cooperation with several other institutions, businessmen and individuals.

Rawya Mansour, Chairperson of Ramsco for sustainable development and Environmental protection foundation, said that there are many African families whose work has been negatively affected by the virus and are now in need of food.

"The move comes in line with the foundation's role to support the neediest African communities amid the spread of COVID-19," she added.

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Under Armour's CEO told CNBC on Tuesday the company will reopen but then may have to close some U.S. stores again because of the coronavirus.

"We are going to see a gradual opening, and I think there's going to be a few ups and downs in terms of potentially shutting down stores, reopening stores," Chief Executive Officer Patrik Frisk told CNBC's Sara Eisen. "It will be gradual, we believe."

The reopenings begin this week and will continue in phases into June, he said.

He noted that the company has had a "gradual comeback" in China, where pandemic originated, leading him to expect a similar scenario in the United States. As of March 31, it operated 188 stores in North America, including factory outlets.

"Fitness and staying healthy is going to be top of mind for a lot of people," he said. Running and women's [merchandise] have been performing better than other categories, Frisk added.

Frisk spoke a day after Under Armour delivered disappointing first-quarter earnings. It reported a year-over-year sales decline of 23%, as most of its stores remain shut because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Further, management warned the worst is yet to come during the second quarter, where sales could fall 60%, as demand for its sneakers and workout tops is crippled.

"Everybody is going to have inventories building in [the second quarter]," Frisk said Tuesday.

Under Armour said it plans to cut about $325 million from its operating expenses in 2020, as it tries to weather the crisis.

But some analysts think there are too many challenges, some of which were already in place before the pandemic slammed the retail industry. Under Armour has long been working in the shadows of Nike and Adidas.

"The Covid-19 crisis has exacerbated the existing problems facing the Under Armour brand," Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Sam Poser said in a note to clients. "Under Armour does not have the brand consideration or compelling product assortment necessary to reaccelerate sales post the current crisis."

Under Armour shares have fallen more than 57% this year. The company has a market value of about $4.2 billion.
JCPOA withdrawal to be remembered as everlasting US disgrace: Iran FM spox

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 10 May 2020 11:58 PM

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson has slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks praising Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying that the event will be remembered as "an everlasting disgrace" for the US.

"Mark my word: 8 May 2018 will remain an everlasting disgrace for American polity," Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet on Sunday."Only a rogue regime with zero sense of moral responsibility can take pride in dishonoring its international commitments and violating international law," he added.

The Trump administration withdrew from the multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on May 8, 2018, reimposing widespread sanctions previously lifted under the deal.

The deal had been signed between Iran and five other countries  the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China  in 2015, putting an end to more than a decade of heated negotiations over Iran's peaceful nuclear activities.

Mousavi's remarks on Sunday came in response to a tweet by Pompeo praising the measure.

"Today, Americans are safer and the Middle East is more peaceful than if we had remained in the JCPOA," Pompeo said.Pompeo's remarks come as many political figures across the world, including the US, have chastised the Trump administration for sabotaging the deal, arguing that Trump's Iran policy has greatly undermined security in the Middle East.

Ever since withdrawing from the deal, Washington has sought to couple crippling economic sanctions with regional deployments and provocations as part of a campaign of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.

In a notable escalation in January, Washington assassinated Iran's top anti-terrorism figure, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, while on an official trip in Iraq's capital city Baghdad in January.

Iran responded to the assassination by firing volleys of ballistic missiles at two US-occupied bases in Iraq, causing extensive damage and casualties.

The Trump administration, however, did not respond to the Iranian retaliatory strikes despite vowing a "disproportionate" response if attacked in earlier statements.

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Ottawa, May 12 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new multimillion dollar loan program for large companies impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

The program called the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF), is designed to allow big companies to access additional liquidity to keep their operations going, retain workers on payroll, and avoid bankruptcy, though the financing comes with a series of terms and conditions, reports Xinhua news agency.

During his press conference here on Monday, Trudeau emphasized that it was a bridge loan program, not a "bailout", and that the government was "a lender of last resort".

The LEEFF will provide support to employers with annual revenues of more than C$300 million ($213 million) whose credit needs aren't being met through conventional financing.

"Ideally, private-sector lenders are adequate for the needs of large businesses. But in an extraordinary situation when that isn't always enough, we must act to prevent massive harm to Canadian workers and families and the Canadian economy," he said.

"We will not allow millions of people to lose their livelihoods because of unprecedented events that were beyond their control." The program is open to large commercial businesses in all sectors and certain not-for-profit businesses like airports.

But businesses in the financial sector are not eligible, nor are any firms convicted of tax evasion in the past.

Trudeau said the objective of the aid program was to keep Canadian companies up and running. He said the government will ensure the aid is accessible to every sector across the country, with the vow that companies are held accountable, including requiring them to share their complete financial structure when applying.

Canada has reported a total of 69,907 COVID-19 cases, with 4,992 deaths.
11.05.2020 LISTEN

TV3 Mentor former contestant, Chichiz, has given his candid opinion to the seeming tensions arising from accusations that Kofi Kinaata and other big artistes are not doing enough to support upcoming artistes in Central and Western Region.

The Takoradi-based Rapper speaking to Amansan Krakye on Radio Central in Cape Coast was asked if Kofi Kinaata wasn't doing enough to help Taadi upcoming artiste, he opined "In this world, you need a lot of patience to be successful. Sometimes, people say some of the big artistes in Central and Western Region don't help we the upcoming artistes but it also depend on us to put in the efforts.

"I'm cool with Quamina MP and I'm about to record a song with Kofi Kinaata. Even TeePhlow paid me a visit when I was in the TV3 Mentor house. As for me, I can feature anyone of them on my song. It's not about money, it's rather about hard work. Some upcoming guys don't have money but the songs they bring out will make some big artiste conclude that this person is good so let me feature on his song and help him promote it to get the needed recognition.

"The little I can say is that hard work and discipline alongside good luck can make you blow but it's not only featuring TeePhlow, Quamina MP, Kinaata or Ayesem before you can blow as an upcoming artiste".

Sleeky Promotion CEO Saddik Assah who is based in Effiakuma has been served a letter by legal representatives of Kofi Kinaata and TEAM MOVE for defamatory statements made against their client that he's not supporting the upcoming artistes to blow because of selfish reasons.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected all aspects of life across the globe. The moves to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been affected as well, particularly in emerging markets, given that from January until March, investors moved around $90 billion out of such markets, the largest outflow ever recorded according to UN data.

Moreover, global growth is projected to drop by 3 percent in 2020, creating the worst recession since the Great Depression and much worse than during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In an exclusive interview, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat spoke to Ahram Online about how emerging countries, in particular Egypt, will be affected in their attempts to implement the SDG agenda in light of the pandemic and its repercussions.

She told Ahram Online that no country nor institution has the ultimate solution to COVID-19, but that through effective cooperation, developing countries can make progress.

Ahram Online: How could the COVID-19 outbreak affect the efforts of countries in the region to achieve the SDGs, including Egypt?

Rania Al-Mashat: We are very mindful that the COVID-19 outbreak should not derail us from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. On the contrary, the Ministry of International Cooperation has just launched the Global Partnerships Narrative, focused on the goals. The new narrative not only aims to highlight Egypts previous development story but also continues to showcase future cooperation efforts.

The ministry commenced a Global Partnerships for Effective Development Cooperation meeting early on to step up coordination efforts with all multilateral and bilateral development partners on policies and strategies related not only to response efforts but more importantly to the recovery, with the aim of pushing forward the SDGs agenda around a common narrative.

There are some SDGs now which come even more strongly to the fore, such as SDG 3: Good Health and Well Being, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Infrastructure is going to be quite important going forward, as many countries are going to do fiscal stimulus through infrastructure spending.

For more information click here

AO: So, what is the situation for Egypt in particular?

RM: In the case of Egypt, structural reforms have been expedited alongside monetary and fiscal measures to help flatten the recession curve. These reforms will help push forward the SDGs agenda.

For example, structural reforms related to advancing financial inclusion and digitalisation have been fast tracked to address the issues of unorganised labour force and unemployment benefits as well as transitioning from an informal to formal sector.

Similarly, scaling up the social protection and social safety agenda that prioritises the protection of women is another case in point. It is important to underscore that Egypt is the first country to issue a policy paper titled Egypts rapid response to womens situation during the outbreak and a Women Policy Tracker on responsive policies, which has been highlighted by UN Women.

For more information click here

AO: How can the SDGs achievement enhance the regions countries to overcome COVID-19s harsh implications, in particular for economic and social aspects?

RM: The SDGs create a common platform for all countries to be able to reference and benchmark against the COVID-19 implications. Certain themes such as digitalisation and technology have great potential to advance and accelerate SDG progress. The deployment of digital solutions across sectors such as health care, agribusiness, logistics, energy, finance and education, harnesses connectivity, innovation and opportunities for growth. It is also an opportunity for the recovery post COVID-19 to include environmental responsibility and climate action, with a call from all global institutions promoting a green recovery.

Moreover, there are new modalities in education, creating more opportunities for the next generation. In the case of Egypt, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education accelerated the implementation of the reforms by scaling up technology-based learning with the distribution of tablets and enhancing access to increasingly sophisticated digital resources through a state-of-the-art Learning Management System.

AO: What are the efforts of the Ministry of International Cooperation in this regard?

RM: The vision of the ministry is to strengthen Egypts inclusive multilateral engagement with development partners, governments, global policy makers, private sector and the civil society to effectively deliver the 2030 National Agenda, consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, aimed at achieving a circular economy.

This year marks the start of the Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. With that, the notion of multilateralism has become even more important because common problems can only be solved through global solutions. Coordinating on achieving the SDGs monitoring and implementation is also going to be very important going forward, and this is the message that we keep on repeating.

The Ministry of International Cooperation, along with its multilateral and bilateral development partners, is mobilising and streamlining efforts to accelerate the SDGs and identify needs and gaps for future collaboration.

The Ministry of International Cooperation, along with the United Nations and its agencies, is collaborating to meet the call for glocal (global/local) action to prepare for the Decade of Action on the SDGs. The Ministry of International Cooperation co-chairs the UN Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) steering committee in partnership with the UN Resident Coordinator to coordinate and streamline national efforts. There are four results groups that include the themes of prosperity, people, planet and women, with a focus on social inclusiveness, job creation, restoring livelihoods through supporting MSME [Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises] and achieving a green economy.

AO: Is there a room for the private sector to play a role in this regard?

RM: Of course. Building on the importance of the private sector and public private partnerships, the Ministry of international Cooperation has been keen to foster inclusivity, with private sector engagement included in our dialogue with the multilateral development banks.

AO: What is the expected role the P&P&P [People&Projects&Purpose] narrative is to play in helping Egypt to deal with the significant challenges imposed by the COVID-19 crisis?

RM: Egypts development story is one that needs to be told, with more than 247 projects that cut through the 17 SDGs and a future that continues to boost inclusive growth. The new global partnerships narrative positions Egypt in the cooperation space with people at its core providing multi-sectoral assistance to millions of beneficiaries through public private partnerships, projects in action through a well-diversified portfolio which includes education, transportation, water desalination, renewable energy, entrepreneurship, womens empowerment, among others, and purpose as the driver to generate sustained and inclusive growth, stay agile in a rapidly changing world, and deepen ties with our stakeholders.

It is a way to unify our vision as government along with our multilateral and bilateral development partners, so when we tell our story it is a structured, powerful and impactful one that echoes both domestically and globally.

For more information click here

AO: What kind of challenges may Egypt face in resuming its journey to achieving the SDGs, in light of the COVID-19 crisis?

RM: P&P&P is a way to make sure that we are always on message, and that we collaborate in an effective and transparent manner. We have also initiated an SDG Mapping Framework that outlines the approach for the SDG Mapping leading, in line with the UN Official Global Indicator Framework. This mapping exercise will lead to a consistent approach across all development partners which is expected to contribute to a stronger narrative and result in effectively capturing and measuring the goals.

AO: What is the expected role of the international institutions in extending support and assistance for the regions countries to achieve their SDGs?

RM: All countries globally work with each other through bilateral cooperation, and work multilaterally with development institutions to collaborate to push ahead with reform agendas and policies that help in achieving the SDGs. Collectivism plays an indispensable role in the COVID-19 fight, with multilateralism providing a platform for shared experiences, technical assistance and partnerships in launching and executing the projects.

No country nor institution has the ultimate solution to COVID-19. It is through effective cooperation that we can progress towards a better future that serves the people who are the core through projects in action with purpose as the driver.

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New Delhi: Every author writes about the heroes in his/her book. S Giridhar, Chief Operating Officer of Azim Premji University has offering Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers by Westland Publication.

He tells News18.com, There is an overriding narrative where the negative aspects of government school are highlighted, what we need is people to appreciate that hundreds of government school teachers overcome the very difficult circumstances they operate in. Theyve been so committed to their roles, doing their best for children, and people must recognize the heroes in our government schools  the teachers.

For his book, he has selected one hundred and ten from six hundred schools and from March 2017 until November 2018, he visited these schools in Uttarkashi and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, Sirohi and Tonk in Rajasthan, and Yadgir in Karnataka to stitch this chronicle of strength of government school teachers.

S Giridhar celebrates the 'unsung heroes' ones in his new book.

On his tours he found what connects the stories from Hemmadagi in Karnataka to Gangani in Uttarakhand is the proud refrain of the teachers, Idhu bari sarkari kelsa alla or Yeh sarkari naukri nahi hai, (Teaching is not just a government job).

The entrepreneurial spirit of the government school teachers has been likened to the role of CEOs by the author. Goal oriented and ownership towards the schools they have improved the pupil teacher ratio, girl boy ratio and have on occasions put their foot down if there was no safe filtered drinking water unit installed in school. The book has named these heroes who have spent from their pockets with their sheer will against the paucity of conveniences and funds at their disposal transformed schools with fourteen students to a model school.

He found that the impact of such pedagogy and classroom processes on childrens learning brings life-changing changing opportunity as the children from very disadvantaged backgrounds, get admission to the governments Navodaya, Morarji, Adarsh or Rani Channamma schools.

The government school teachers have been awarded at district, block and as well as national level  but they need much more appreciation and support than that.

Teacher preparedness is crucial

Having worked on the ground with rural government schools for years, the author thinks the recognition being given to centrality of the teacher and the need to invest in their professional preparedness is crucial and is also a welcome validation of the criticality of teacher education. Giridhar roots for sustained improvement in school quality, which will not come through fixing few specific aspects but by addressing the core issue which is to create well-equipped, well-prepared teachers.

In his book he said, There are no shortcuts, the path to a complete revamp of teacher education in the country will be long and arduous. How well we can reform teacher education, implement high quality four-year integrated teacher education programmes and create excellent institutions for teacher education will determine the fate of three hundred and seventy million children who will, in a few years, join Indias adult population.

He pointed out in his book that perhaps one of the most crucial aspects that needs to be fixed is our very weak undergraduate education system that fails to equip teachers with subject-matter proficiency. For our teachers to be truly competent in their subjects, our Bachelor programmes ought to provide them with depth and breadth in their chosen disciplines. One cannot discuss quality in school education without acknowledging that the root cause is the abysmal quality of our undergraduate programmes.

NEP: The four-year integrated program for teachers training

The New Education Policy must provide clear recommendations on teacher education, the emphasis must be on the need to invest in teacher preparation and the accompanying systemic and structural reforms, which the author thinks will go a long way in strengthening our public education system.

In the past, we have had Kothari Commission report of 1966, the National Education Policy of 1986, and the National Curriculum Framework of 2005 to ensure equitable quality in education.

The policy should keep in mind the reality of our country, which is that for at least 60 per cent of our children, the government school is the only lifeline, he reiterated in the interview to News18.com that it very important for education to reach the children who are completely dependent on public schools.

He said, The centrality of the teacher receives due recognition in the Draft NEP as it states clear guidelines on teacher qualification, transparent recruitment processes, quality and accreditation. By 2030, the four-year integrated stage-specific, subject-specific teacher degree would be the main route to becoming a teacher.

In his opinion the policy states that substandard and dysfunctional teacher education institutes will be shut down and teacher preparation programmes will be rigorous and take place in vibrant, multidisciplinary higher education institutions.

The author believes radical reforms in teacher education are central to improvement in our education like the Justice Verma Commission report on teacher education, which should be acknowledged as an important beginning in that direction.

It identified the critical shortcomings and pointed us towards some essential steps to reform teacher education. The four-year integrated teacher education degree, the recommendation that teacher education colleges function best when they are integrated within a multi-disciplinary university structure and environment and so on, he said.

Teachers suggest measures for authorities in showing support

The author has conveyed in the book few suggestions from the teachers and the head teachers on the ways in which Block Education Officers and District Education Officers (DEOs) can demonstrate support.

From the teachers point of view there are Many of these schools desperately need more teachers so that teaching and attention to childrens learning can be better. Also they should not be made to plead for such resources especially if they have proven to be performing schools.

Further suggested,In many villages, the head teachers are strained beyond their capacity in trying to get disparate community elements to come together for the common cause of their school. A supervising functionary should help the head teachers in these situations.

Good schools are often the result of a dynamic head teachers leadership so when that leader is transferred and a less effective person steps in, the BEO can guide and enable the new person to ensure that the schools quality does not slip.

All teachers spoke of the importance of winning the communitys trust and confidence, and of increasing enrolment by winning back students from private schools  the biggest affirmation of the communitys endorsement of their quality.

The teachers suggested that BEOs can create teams for communication campaign as only one in five good schools are adept at communicating their attributes effectively to the community, the others need help with this.

On the Annual Day and Independence Day programmes, supervising officers can be seen by the community at these gatherings, it would motivate parents to enrol their children in these schools. Instead of leaving good schools to their own devices, government functionaries and NGOs working on the ground must support them with information, collaterals and ideas that they could use to create campaigns for enrolments, were some suggestions mentioned in the book.

The author hopes that the teachers will get the support and reform due to them.
Afghanistan's floundering peace process appeared further in peril Tuesday, with security forces ordered to resume offensive operations after attacks targeted a maternity ward and mourners at a funeral. At least 14 people were killed -- including newborns and nurses -- when gunmen stormed the maternity hospital in Kabul early in the morning, officials said. Shortly after, a suicide blast in the country's restive east left two dozen mourners dead. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the hospital bloodshed, but the Islamic State group said it had carried out the attack on the funeral for a police commander in Nangarhar province, where dozens more were wounded. President Ashraf Ghani blamed both the Taliban and Islamic State for the carnage. "Today, we witnessed terrorist attacks by the Taliban and Daesh groups on a hospital in Kabul and a funeral in Nangarhar, as well as other attacks in the country," Ghani said in a televised address, using the Arabic abbreviation for IS. He ordered Afghanistan's security forces to end their "active defence position" and "return to offensive postures, and resume their operations against the enemy." The move comes months after Afghan forces pledged to only react defensively to Taliban attacks to show good faith ahead of eventual peace talks. But the Taliban did not reciprocate, instead unleashing a wave of violence that began the moment the insurgents signed a deal with the United States. - Mothers, newborns - Tuesday's first attack saw gunmen storm the Barchi National Hospital as parents brought infants and children for appointments. The three attackers were eventually killed in a lengthy clearance operation. Heavily armed security forces were seen carrying infants -- at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. "The fatalities also include mothers and nurses," interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said. Some 15 people were wounded and more than 100 -- including three foreign nationals -- were rescued, he said. One of the wounded, Jamila, said she had taken a grandchild to the hospital for some vaccinations. "We were outside the hospital. I wanted to go inside when they shot me and one of my grandchildren was killed," said Jamila, who only gave one name. The hospital is in a neighbourhood that is home to Kabul's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of hardline Sunni IS militants. It is supported by the humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and a number of foreigners were working there. "It beggars belief that such a heinous act could be committed when Afghanistan is being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic," UN Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said. About an hour after the attack, a suicide bomber killed at least 24 people at a police commander's commander's funeral in the eastern province of Nangarhar, provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani said. The attacker detonated explosives in the middle of the ceremony. Zabit Amir, a mourner at the funeral, which people reported was attended by thousands, said he was preparing to stand in line for the service "when I heard a big blast and then saw hundreds of people on the ground." "I did not even know who was alive or dead there." The Taliban denied involvement in either attack. - Unravelling peace process? - The latest killings raise fresh questions about the fate of a hoped-for peace process that is teetering just as Afghanistan grapples with a public health crisis. The Taliban have largely refrained from launching major attacks on Afghan cities since February, when they signed a deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government. The accord will see all US and foreign forces quit Afghanistan over the next year. Thousands of US troops have already gone, with a drawdown to 8,600 expected within months. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attacks "appalling" and noted the Taliban's denial of responsibility. "The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice," Pompeo said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell said that "consistent with the agreement, the US military will continue to conduct defensive strikes against the Taliban when they attack" Afghan partners. Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, likened the peace process to a comatose patient with "no one willing to pull the plug but everyone falling all over themselves with hope if they see an eye blink." But, he added, Ghani has no other choices than to return to the battlefield. Laurel Miller, director of the International Crisis Group's Asia program, said she still hoped a peace process can play out, but was concerned it might be "dying a death by a thousand cuts". The violence comes just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child. Those bombings were later claimed by IS. In March, at least 25 people were killed by an IS gunman at a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital.
Photo: Unsplash

Durham is seeing strong demand for registered nurses' skills. Employers posted 46 new jobs for registered nurses over the past week and 312 in the last month, more than for any other job category in the area, according to ZipRecruiter, a leading online employment marketplace.

Local registered nurse also came in seventh in terms of local employers adding new jobs by occupation. In the past month, 21 companies listed open jobs for Durham-based registered nurses.

Top companies seeking local registered nurses include Healthcare Staffing Professionals Inc., TLC Travel Staff LLC and HC Solutions Group. According to a recent job opening posted by HC Solutions Group, "HC Solutions Group specializes in the recruitment and permanent placement of professionals in the health care industry."

This story was created automatically using local jobs data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
This is mentioned in the Strategy of the National Security signed by President Duda

Open source

Polish leader Andrzej Duda has signed the Strategy of National Security, which defines Russian aggression as a key threat. Polskie Radio reported that on May 12.

Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak claimed that based on this document, Polish authorities will develop other decrees regarding the actions of Polish Armed Forces. The Minister added that the National Security Strategy concerns threats that Polish soldiers should be reacting to.

"This threat is, of course, well known. It's Russia's aggressive policy. We stand against this policy, taking an active part in the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance. Soldiers of the Polish Army are stationed on the NATO's Eastern flank - not only in Poland but also in the allied countries in the NATO bloc, creating new units. These are, in particular, the troops of territorial defense. Polish soldiers stand against cyber threats; we created cybersecurity troops", the Defense Ministry chairman said.

The Strategy of the National Security is a document in the free access. Detailed recommendations will be created based on this paper; and these documents, unlike the strategy, will be classified.

The Strategy of the National Security of Poland was developed in 2014.
The Rajasthan government on Tuesday said it arranged buses for migrant workers walking on foot to help them reach their home states.

Fifty-two buses were arranged to pick up migrants walking on foot on the highways in Jaipur, Dausa and Bharatpur districts on Tuesday, an official said.

A total of 1,503 labourers were picked up and dropped off at the Uttar Pradesh border in Bharatpur. The migrants were spotted walking on foot on highways towards their homes, he said.

"The buses were moved to help the migrants reach different state borders. The migrants were also given water bottles and food packets," Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agrawal said.

He said the arrangements were made under the "No to On Foot Movement" initiative on the directions by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

"No one will be allowed to move on foot. We are making arrangements to provide them (migrants) transport, food and shelter. Our teams are taking care of screenings, food and water, and if necessary, shelter is also being arranged," Agarwal said.

Temporary shelters in several schools in Bhusavar, Vair, Dehra Mod and Lulhara in Bharatpur district have been made for passengers coming in buses from Jaipur while camps have been set up in Behnera, Barso, Mai Gujar areas for the passengers coming from Dausa, he said.

"Social distancing norms are being followed and the buses are not overcrowded. It is ensured that migrants wear masks and hygiene is maintained," a Dausa district administration official, Mansingh Amera, said.
The co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus is concerned about the lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden among younger voters and hopes a new alliance with Sen. Bernie Sanders will give him a boost of energy.

I think everybody should be concerned, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast. We need to help Joe Biden establish policy proposals that he really believes in and is convinced about, but that also excite people to believe that government can make a real difference in their lives.

Jayapal will be a member of task force that Sanders and Biden created when the Vermont senator endorsed the vice president last month. The group, whose full membership is expected to be announced this week, could be a vehicle for the former vice president to broaden his outreach to Democratic progressives by possibly moving left on issues important to them.

Jayapal, who backed Sanders in the primaries before endorsing Biden last month, said the task force will try to find some policy positions that, authentically, Joe Biden can feel good about and that we also can feel good about in terms of moving the agenda to really address the needs that people have.

She would like Biden to adopt more progressive positions on the economy, health care and climate change. Jayapal backs Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, both of which Biden has said would be too costly.

Democrats need to help young people and immigrants to feel hope, Jayapal said. Because they will vote if they feel hope, if they feel genuinely listened to, not talked down to, not told that theyre too idealistic and that they cant get everything they want.

She added, I dont think theyre going to vote for (President) Trump. Thats not the issue. But the issue is, we dont want them to stay home.

Sanders did well among younger voters in primaries and caucuses before suspending his presidenial campaign last month. In 2016, when he didnt endorse eventual nominee Hillary Clinton until just before the Democratic National Convention, 10% of his primary voters sided with Trump in the general election, according to a Tufts University study.

Last week, The Chronicle reported that young progressives in battleground states told researchers commissioned by the left-leaning NextGen America organization that they were concerned that Biden wasnt embracing their issues.

Campaign spokesman Matt Hill said in response to The Chronicle story that Biden is running on the most progressive platforms in modern history and laid out bold ideas to tackle climate change, expand health care and make college affordable. Joe Biden knows that young Americans are a driving force of the progressive movement and will work hard to earn their votes.

Jayapal said she had a 50-minute conversation before she endorsed Biden last month, to see what was in his heart. She said she was encouraged by their conversation, but we have some work to do to make sure we get there.

Young progressives also told NextGen America researchers that they were also concerned about sexual assault allegations against Biden by Tara Reade, a staffer in his Senate office in 1993. Biden said the assault unequivocally never, never happened.

He has requested that the secretary of the Senate ask the National Archives to identify any record of the complaint (Reade) alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document.

Jayapal said he should go further.

Joe Biden should call for a full investigation of these allegations by all relevant authorities and the media, Jayapal said. A thorough investigation will benefit Biden, she said, and would be consistent with some of the things hes talked about, including his leadership in passing the Violence Against Women Act in the Senate in 1994.

Not all progressives are on board with Jayapal and Sanders. On Monday, the Los Angeles chapter of Our Revolution, an organization created to reform the Democratic Party after Sanders 2016 presidential campaign ended, announced that it was abandoning the Democrats for the new Movement for a Peoples Party.

The fledgling Movement for a Peoples Party, formed by former Sanders staffers and volunteers in 2017, is not incorporated as a political party. It counts 65,000 people nationally on its mailing list. It does not plan to field candidates until the 2022 midterm elections.

In a statement, the Los Angeles chapter said that because of the Democratic Partys refusal to champion progressive policies even during the extreme suffering caused by the pandemic, Our Revolution Los Angeles members decided that the Democratic Party is irredeemably corporate and must be replaced.

Carol Ehrle, political coordinator for the Movement for a Peoples Party, said the group wasnt encouraging supporters to vote against Biden.

We always tell people to vote their conscience, Ehrle said. Some (Movement members) are Never-Bidens, some will vote for whomever the Demcratic nominee is.

But, Ehrle said, I dont think Biden has a progressive bone in his body.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
Yemeni government welcomes UN Calls for Cease-fire

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1441/9/18 - 2020/05/11

Riyadh, May 10, 2020, SPA -- Yemeni government renewed its welcome of the UN calls for a comprehensive cease-fire and unifying efforts to confront Coronavirus and to limit its spread in the country.

This came during a meeting between Yemeni Undersecretary of foreign ministry Mansour Bjash here today with the ambassador of the Republic of China to Yemen Kang Yong.

--SPA

03:55 LOCAL TIME 00:55 GMT

0038

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DES MOINES, Iowa  Tim Bardole says his grandfather held onto the family farm through the Great Depression. His father shepherded it through the 1980s farm crisis.

Now, Bardole is hoping to keep it intact through a third calamity: the COVID-19 pandemic.

"My family has been farming here for over 100 years. ... I don't want to be the one to screw up," said Bardole, whose farm is near Rippey in central Iowa. "I think a lot of farmers feel the same."

The coronavirus has caused an agricultural tsunami that's ripped through Iowa and the nation. Markets have been disrupted as schools, restaurants and hotels have shuttered, and meatpacking plants are slowing or closing as about 10,500 workers  including 1,650 in Iowa  have tested positive for COVID-19.

Prices have tumbled for Iowa corn, soybeans, pork, beef, milk and eggs. And demand for ethanol, which consumes much of Iowa's annual corn crop, has plummeted along with oil consumption, as Americans have put the brakes on travel.

"At the current prices, you're losing money everywhere," said Bardole, president of the Iowa Soybean Association board.

The economic toll could reach nearly $7 billion this year for Iowa farmers, a 20% cut in livestock and grain producers' revenue, said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agriculture economist who has studied COVID-19's impact.

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Jim Greif looks back over his tractor as he tills one of his fields in Linn County on May 6, 2020. "Farmers are optimists or you wouldn't be farming in this day in age," he said. Despite having half of last year's crop still in bins, Greif said he is planting because "it is what we do."

Ryan Cox, an agricultural lender at CBI Bank & Trust in Muscatine, said some farmers likely have exhausted their options to restructure debt after several years of low prices.

"There will be some farms that wont survive, and that's the sad reality," Cox said.

Toll is financial  and emotional

U.S. corn prices have dropped about 15% since March when COVID-19 cases began spreading across the nation. Soybean prices have fallen 8%, hog prices are down 33%, and cattle prices have dipped 21%.

Story continues

Iowa is especially vulnerable to the economic hit. The state produces the most corn, hogs and eggs in the nation, and it ranks second in soybeans and seventh in cattle. Iowa also is the largest producer of ethanol and biodiesel.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said the impact on farmers is emotional as well as financial. With meat processing capacity cut by 38%, Iowa producers "each week, for several weeks" face destroying as many as 200,000 pigs that can't be moved to packing plants, he said.

Already, some Iowa producers are culling small pigs, Naig said, and getting "closer and closer to widespread depopulation," potentially putting down market-ready hogs that can weigh about 300 pounds.

Farmers are "throwing away eggs and dumping milk," given the loss of commercial food service markets, he said. "It's very stressful. Our livestock producers raise animals  they feed them, take care of them  and they go to a good and important use," feeding families.

Naig has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to compensate Iowa producers for the animals they must destroy. He said he also may ask the federal government to help Iowa farmers euthanize the animals.

With the financial stress mounting, Jim Greif, who farms in northeast Iowa, said he's talked with his lender about deferring some principal payments on his debt for a year. Other farmers he's talked with are doing the same.

"The bank I work with has been proactive, getting some stuff down now," Greif said, adding: "The banks realize they have a problem, and they want to make sure it's not a big problem like the '80s."

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'Friendly fraud': Why it's a risk to small businesses

With ethanol: 'We've never seen a drop-off like this'

In Iowa, about 60% of the corn crop goes into making ethanol, a process that also creates corn oil and a high-protein byproduct that's fed to livestock, said Monte Shaw, president of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

But about half of both Iowa and U.S. ethanol production is down, with plants throttling back because many Americans are working from home and cutting trips to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"We've been through fire before, but this is the biggest challenge we've had to face," Shaw said.

James Mintert, a Purdue University agricultural economist, echoed that assessment.

"We occasionally see some plants temporarily slow down or shut down, but we've never had a drop-off like this," Mintert said. "This is the worst it's been and the most widespread it's ever been."

Trade wars and exemptions for oil refiners, which limited requirements to blend ethanol into the nation's fuel supply, already had cut demand for ethanol for about two years.

"My biggest concern is that the industry didnt have a lot of cash at the start of this," Shaw said. "If there's not some sort of cash infusion, youll probably see some bankruptcies."

The ethanol and biodiesel industry has asked for federal assistance, a request the federal Agriculture Department so far has rejected. Iowa State University estimates the state's ethanol industry will lose nearly $2.6 billion this year.

"I'm extremely concerned about ethanol, and the long-term impact it will have on corn demand," said Cox of CBI Bank & Trust.

After ethanol, livestock is the biggest user of corn, Hart said, and they're both in trouble.

Iowa State estimates pork producers in the state will lose $2 billion this year, and cattle producers will see a $692 million reduction in revenue. Animals are backing up on farms as meatpacking workers sickened and 22 plants nationwide closed at least temporarily at some point during the pandemic.

Even as large plants reopen, they will be unable to process the same number of pigs and cattle, said Will Sawyer, a protein analyst at CoBank. Production lines are operating at slower speeds, with greater distances between workers, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Sawyer estimates that U.S. producers will euthanize as many as 7 million pigs in the second quarter, valued at nearly $700 million.

"This would further diminish meat supplies this fall and add to the billions of dollars of losses from lower livestock prices," said Sawyer, who expects pork and beef prices for consumers to rise 20% above the previous year's level by Memorial Day.

'Things looked like they were turning around'

With soybean prices around $7.85 a bushel, Bardole said he could lose about $100 an acre, based on his average yields. With corn prices close to $3, he could see a loss of about $130 an acre.

"That's if an elevator will buy them," said Bardole, who farms about 2,500 acres with his father, brother and son.

About two-thirds of the 400 farmers that Purdue University surveyed in April said they were worried or very worried about their farms' profitability, given the impact of the pandemic.

U.S. farmers have struggled since 2013 with falling income, a situation that worsened with multinational trade wars that began in 2018 and prompted the Trump administration to provide them $28 billion to offset lost export markets.

This year looked promising, with a new U.S. trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, and China pledging to buy $80 billion more in farm goods over two years in the first phase of ongoing negotiations. But China's U.S. farm purchases so far have lagged behind those in other recent years.

"Things really looked like they were turning around," Bardole said. "We thought prices would get back where we needed them. COVID-19 has thrown a monkey wrench into it. It looks different now than in January, and it will look different this fall. Who knows now if it will be better or worse."

The USDA plans to provide another $16 billion to farmers to help offset COVID-19-related losses, and will buy $3 billion in dairy, produce and meat. Agriculture groups and Midwestern congressional leaders say farmers also need to be included in the next package of U.S. business assistance.

'I'm not as optimistic on my side of the desk'

If Iowa farmers see any ray of sunshine this spring, it's in their fields.

Iowa farmers had about three-quarters of their corn acres planted in early May, the first time in 10 years, and nearly half of the soybean crop was planted, the highest percentage since 1976, the first year records were kept.

Bardole said this is the first season in years when he hasn't had to dig mud out of his planter.

"It's OK with me for it to be a bit dry," Bardole said, citing the adage that has guided farmers for generations: Plant in dust, your bins will bust; plant in mud, your crop's a dud. "Typically, that's pretty accurate."

The good planting weather has buoyed farmer optimism, said Cox, the Muscatine lender  but not his.

"I'm not as optimistic on my side of the desk," he said. "We just don't know how bad it's going to get, and how long it will last."

Naig hopes that farmers will call Iowa Concern for help getting through the downturn. It's a hotline that was set up during the 1980s farm crisis to help farmers facing bankruptcy and other troubles.

Bardole said part of the coronavirus's impact on farmers has been the closure of churches, "one of the few places that farmers will see people and have conversations" about their concerns.

"It helps to get things off your chest," he said.

Greif said he talks with friends and neighbors about challenges.

"Were all in the same boat. The stress level is fairly high. ... My circle of friends will survive, but Im sure there are people who wont."

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Coronavirus: Iowa farmers try to hang on through pandemic
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

If you passed Georgianna Glose on the streets of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, you might have known her as that renegade nun, the one who left her convent to live among the poor and then blew a whistle on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

She was a sister with movie-star looks who roller-skated to work, having shed the nuns habit in 1972 for the curler-coiffed hairdo then in vogue (a look she stubbornly kept).

But if you were homeless, you probably knew her as Dr. Glose, the nun with a doctorate who, until last month, ran a nonprofit on Myrtle Avenue. It was there, for 24 years, that the downtrodden found an anchor in a gentrifying neighborhood.
The village panchayat of Palra in Gurgaon district has donated Rs 21 crore for the Haryana Corona Relief Fund.

A cheque for the amount was presented by Palra village sarpanch Munesh Devi to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here on Tuesday.

Gram Panchayat Palra has collected the money from the people of the village to fight against COVID-19, a state government statement said.

This is the highest donation made by any village panchayat in the state for the Covid Relief Fund.

Earlier, Bal Jattan village panchayat in Panipat district had donated Rs 10.5 crore to the Haryana Corona Relief Fund.

The chief minister praised the people of Gram Panchayat Palra for their contribution.

Palra village falls in Sohna block of Gurgaon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When you think of a stereotypical prison, what first springs to mind is likely something along the lines of New York Citys infamous Rikers Island, which has been used as a model for many Hollywood productions over the years. Prisoners either bunk within two-person cells, in their own solitary confinement cells, or in large, open rooms full of beds. These bland, gray concrete and cinder block spaces are virtually identical, with few adornments or embellishments.

A sunny Audrey Hepburn-themed cell in a Ukrainian prison.

In reality, prison living conditions vary widely, from the inhumane conditions of maximum security facilities to the veritable motels where white-collar criminals are held. In the United States, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world with almost 2.3 million people behind bars, many facilities are deteriorating, overcrowded, and violent places of institutional corruption and abuse of power. Even worse, private prisons house 8.2 percent of all state and federal prisoners, including people detained by immigration officials, making revenues of about $4 billion a year.

The actual material conditions of these prisons make those seen in series like The Wire and Orange is the New Black look like vacation resorts. And its true that many other countries around the world are similarly abusive and exploitative, or worse. But not every prison around the world looks as youd imagine. In Ukraine, even maximum security mens prisons have a surprising amount of personality (and even a sense of domesticity).

A pastel green common area photojournalist Misha Friedman encountered while touring Ukrainian prisons.

A light-feeling Ukrainian prion cell adorned with a large cityscape poster.

A bright pink television room inside a Ukrainian women's prison.

In a recent piece for The New York Times, photojournalist Misha Friedman explores some of these fascinating spaces, and the contrasts he finds with American prisons are sure to shock you.

Friedman writes that he first visited Ukrainian prisons in 2009, while working on a project for Doctors Without Borders. I remember seeing the conjugal rooms and being struck by how no two rooms were alike, he says. I wondered whether we could learn something about a country by observing the places where the incarcerated live. I returned to Ukraine nine years later after securing wide-ranging access to photograph the countrys penal system.

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Female inmates gather to watch television in a bright, spacious-feeling common area.

I visited 17 prisons all over the country: maximum security, pretrial, mens and womens, and one juvenile. Prisoners decorate their own rooms. Theres no budget, no guidelines, or any kind of code that dictates what rooms should look like. The rooms are reflective of not only their taste but also of an impoverished institution. Perhaps a wall is painted green because the warden was able to procure a few cans from the local paint shop, as a barter for some pickled cabbage made in the prisons kitchen. Three of the prisons I visited had only recently closed. I could still feel the essence of the people who had inhabited these spaces.

A photo of boxer Mike Tyson graces the inside of this Ukrainian prison cell.

In the United States, the prevailing attitude about prisons is that theyre full of bad people who made bad choices, and that those people deserve whatever they get. The system is based on punishment rather than rehabilitation, often reinforcing criminality instead of reforming it. Theres little public support for treating prisoners as human beings who can change, given the proper resources.

A fantastical green dragon adorns the wall of this Ukrainian women's facility.

These images of Ukraines prisons reflect something we seem to have lost: recognition of each others humanity. You can see the whole photo essay at The New York Times.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Its Takeout Tuesday, and that means those of us eager for a break from the kitchen have another reason to sample some of the Grand Rapids areas most mouthwatering grub.

This week, were spotlighting a few places serving up pizza, sushi, sub sandwiches and more. While these and other restaurants across Michigan are closed for dine-in service, theyre staying afloat during the coronavirus pandemic by offering takeout service.

Delivery, for restaurants that dont offer it directly, can often be accessed through third-party providers such as Uber Eats, Grub Hub or Door Dash.

Heres a look at five places to check out today:

Jose Babushkas

The East Grand Rapids restaurant, 2232 Wealthy St. SE, offers burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, tacos and more. The burritos range from standard the standard beef and bean option to the more creative Yuccachero, which includes kielbasa and sauerkraut wrapped with fajita vegetables, lettuce and tomatoes in a soft flour tortilla topped with enchilada sauce, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

Theres also a variety of tacos, ranging from shrimp and barbecue chicken to a breakfast taco, featuring chorizo, egg, onion, lime, cilantro and salsa verde.

Takeout orders are available daily, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., by calling (616) 272-4472.

Perrin Brewing Co.

Perrin Brewing Co., located at 5910 Comstock Park Dr. in Alpine Township, is offering several shareable plates, sides and beer to-go. Menu items include beer cheese, wings, avocado fries, and Brew House Nachos, which feature house fried potato chips, pulled pork, shredded cheddar, chopped bacon, pickled jalapenos, scallions and BBQ sauce."

Theres also sides such as fries, salad and onion rings. Customers can also order to-go beer. A 12-pack of Black Ale, for example, is listed at $16.99.

Orders can be made by calling (616) 551-1957 between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Boardwalk Subs

Boardwalk Subs, which has locations in Walker, Wyoming, Byron Center and Kentwood, offers more than 20 subs. Its offerings range from ham, roast beef and turkey to chicken teriyaki, meatball and fajita chicken.

Orders can be made online or by phone. Phone numbers for each location can be found here. Delivery is available through Uber Eats.

Jaku Sushi

Jaku Sushi has two locations  one at 2289 E. Beltline Ave. NE in Grand Rapids, and another at 1671 Market Place Dr. SE in Gaines Township  that offer an array of sushi roles, salads, soup, fried rice, Bibimbap and more.

The restaurant also offers several sushi burritos. One option is the Angry Unagi Burrito, which features eel, spicy tuna, sushi rice, avocado, tobiko, cucumber, eel sauce, sriracha and sesame oil. It costs $14.

Both locations offer takeout service. Preparation takes roughly 30 minutes. Orders can be made online or by phone. The Grand Rapids locations number is (616) 649-0407, while the Gaines Township restaurant can be reached at (616) 656-1800.

Licaris Sicilian Pizza Kitchen

Licaris Sicilian Pizza Kitchen, located at 2869 Knapp St. NE in Grand Rapids Township, offers appetizers such as garlic bread, eggplant rotoli, mussels, as well as a variety of pasta, sandwiches, desserts, wine and pizza.

The restaurant is best known for its pizzas. It offers 18 varieties of pizza, ranging from the Capone (capicollo, salami, pepperoni and house made sausage) to the Michaelangelo (bruschetta, goat cheese, bacon and an olive oil herb sauce). Licaris won the Michigans Best pizza search in 2016.

Orders can be made online or by calling (616) 608-6912.

Read more:

Monday, May 11: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Michigan accidentally paid some unemployment recipients double, is correcting mistake

See flight path the U.S. Navy Blue Angels will take over Detroit, Ann Arbor
Tom Greco became the CEO of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) in 2016. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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.

View our latest analysis for Advance Auto Parts

How Does Tom Greco's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is worth US$8.7b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$7.7m for the year to December 2019. That's less than last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.1m. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$4.0b to US$12b, we found the median CEO total compensation was US$7.4m.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Advance Auto Parts. On an industry level, roughly 18% of total compensation represents salary and 82% is other remuneration. Advance Auto Parts does not set aside a larger portion of remuneration in the form of salary, maintaining the same rate as the wider market.

So Tom Greco receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Advance Auto Parts, below.

NYSE:AAP CEO Compensation May 12th 2020

Is Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 4.8% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 1.3% over last year.

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I would argue that the improvement in revenue isn't particularly impressive, but I'm happy with the modest EPS growth. So there are some positives here, but not enough to earn high praise. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 13% over three years, many shareholders in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Tom Greco is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

The per share growth could be better, in our view. And it's hard to argue that the returns over the last three years have delighted. So many would argue that the CEO is certainly not underpaid. On another note, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Advance Auto Parts that investors should look into moving forward.

Important note: Advance Auto Parts may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.
Representative image

Amid a row over discrepancy in the number of coronavirus patients in West Bengal, the state government has transferred Health Secretary Vivek Kumar to the Environment Department. As per a notification on May 11, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, who was the Transport Secretary, has been named as his replacement, India Today has reported.

The state government notification stated that Kumar will take charge as Principal Secretary of the States Environment Department.

The Centre had earlier criticised Bengal's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, including the number of tests done and the mortality rate.

The Inter-Ministerial Central Team, that visited the state to assess its coronavirus preparation, accused it of low testing rate and discrepancies in the number of cases reported.

Moreover, during the recent video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of politicising the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, she supported the extension of nationwide lockdown and criticised the Centre's decision to commence train services.

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

Till Tuesday, West Bengal had reported 2173 COVID-19 cases. A total of 499 people have been discharged and 1,674 are active coronavirus case. The state has reported 126 deaths.

The state has a mortality rate of 13.2 percent, by far the highest in any state.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that removal of the health secretary suggests that "something was wrong with the state's handling of the pandemic".

Reacting to the development, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, "After being questioned over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the health secretary has been shunted. This proves that the allegations were true and the state government is now trying to clean the mess by using scapegoats."

(With PTI inputs)
On May 2, the theological world lost one of its most unique voices, the Wesleyan Methodist Church lost one of its most ardent sons, and hundreds of students and colleagues lost one of their fiercest friends.

Donald (Don) W. Dayton was by all accounts brilliant, a voracious reader and lover of books, and one of the foremost interpreters of American religious history. Very few scholars produce work that shapes their generation, even fewer break genuinely new ground that has the potential to shape generations to come. Daytons work rose to this level of significance. As a scholar, his contributions in both the historiography of evangelicalism and in the historiography and theological interpretation of the Holiness Movement and Pentecostalism have fundamentally altered our interpretation of American religious history.

Not without controversyin keeping with the nature of any truly groundbreaking perspectiveDon Dayton had a striking genius for reading against the grain of accepted scholarship, unlocking alternative construals and opening up new pathways for interpretation and appropriation often taken up by later scholars.

Not without controversyin keeping with the nature of any truly groundbreaking perspectiveDayton had a striking genius for reading against the grain of accepted scholarship, unlocking alternative construals and opening up new pathways for interpretation and appropriation often taken up by later scholars. Many of his early proposals were rejected by established scholars, only later to be embraced; others continue to wait for the academy to catch up. Don also made major contributions through his extensive ecumenical work, where he advocated for marginal voices and traditions to be taken seriously and given a seat at the table. Moreover, his influence can be discerned in the lives and ongoing scholarship of the hundreds of students whom he mentored with his hallmark generosity and loving patience.

Dayton was born in Chicago on July 25, 1942. His father, Wilber Dayton, launched theological education in the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and Don often traveled with him on his speaking tours, working the projector and endlessly debating the meaning of evangelicalism and the theological legitimacy of inerrancy. Don Dayton earned degrees from Houghton College, Yale Divinity School, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Chicago. Over a 35-year teaching career, he held academic positions at five different seminary institutions and lectured and taught at over 35 institutions on six continents.

The 1960s were a defining period for Don. Through a series of experiences with the civil rights movementincluding working with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1964he became deeply committed to social justice. In the early 70s Dayton stumbled upon the history of 19th century evangelical political radicalism rooted in his tradition. In the pages of what eventually became Sojourners magazine, Don explored that radicalism with a series of articles that turned into his first major contribution, Discovering an Evangelical Heritage.

Don was deeply involved in ecumenical work, serving on the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches for over 20 years. I met Don in 1998 at the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe. Immediately upon being introduced, Don took an interest in me and my own theological passions. The encounter indelibly altered the course of my life. Upon returning home, I decided not to attend Boston University, where I had been accepted into the doctoral program. I enrolled at Drew University to study with Dayton.

From the start, what struck me most about Don was his profound curiosity and generosity. I have never known anyone with a wider bibliographic knowledge. He could not only cite the literatureespecially the obscure literaturebut could offer a sophisticated interpretation of its significance, noting its illumination on some larger religious or social dynamic.

His curiosity spilled over into the lives of his colleagues and students. Squeezing into his office at Drew was difficult due to his 10,000 or so volumes filling the room, but he could always make room for students in his life, holding office hours any time of the day at the Drew snack bar, or the local Chinese restaurant. Don was deeply generous to his students. He gave his time, energy, and sometimes even his funds (he often paid out of pocket for graduate students to attend conferences or fly internationally for research).

His generosity extended to encounters, interpretations, and advocacy of religious movements with which he did not personally identify but nevertheless loved. Don shared with me how he would visit Pentecostal institutions to lecture on one of his most famous books, The Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, only to stun his hearers once they discovered he wasnt a Pentecostal himself.

Don deeply believed that every tradition has a gift to offer to the wider church. Each tradition must be true to itself, and not forced it to fit into preconceived categories. He elaborated in one of his most famous essays, Yet Another Layer of the Onion; Or Opening Up the Ecumenical Door to Let the Riffraff In, a response to his experience at the World Council of Churches in 1987. Dons efforts to let the riffraffamong whom he counted himselfinto the ecumenical conversation bore good fruit as he, with Mel Robeck, opened up dialogue and permanently altered the relationship between the World Council of Churches and Holiness and Pentecostal churches from around the world.

Don was idiosyncratic, even eccentric, and unafraid to hold his ground. He endured many personal tragedies, but as the old Pietist saying (attributed to August Neander) goes: The heart makes the theologian.

For all of his bibliographic knowledge and intellectual brilliance, it was Dons open, capacious, and empathetic heart which guided his vision and work. He believed that all people needed and deserved a place at the table of fellowship. I hope that he now knows how much we enjoyed sitting at the table with him while he sojourned among us.

Christian Collins Winn is associate professor of theology at the Global Center for Advanced Studies, Dublin, Ireland, and Teaching Minister at Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota.
The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is an unprecedented global challenge for both health and economic well-being. As seen in Italy and New York City, the exponential growth of Covid-19 infections can quickly overwhelm health systems and lead to tens of thousands of deaths. Wary of the risk of a fast-spreading pandemic, the Indian government enforced arguably the strictest lockdown in the world. This has slowed the spread and saved lives  but at a heavy human and economic cost.

These costs have now polarised the policy debate around the governments next steps (and similar debates are playing out around the world). Some argue that lockdowns are excessive, hurting us more than the disease itself. Others claim that lockdowns are the only realistic option to prevent a catastrophic increase in cases and deaths. However, framing the debate around lives versus livelihoods is counterproductive because it distracts attention from the most urgent actions we need to take. Specifically, we need a strategy focused on making the public health investments required to reopen the economy safely as soon as possible.

Why we need a public health-driven strategy

India needs a strategy grounded in public health because, at its core, this is a public health crisis. What makes Covid-19 so dangerous is that it takes time for those who are infected to show symptoms, so they remain unaware and active  spreading the virus at scale. This is why governments around the world have resorted to lockdowns as the only option to contain virus spread in a setting where anyone could be a carrier and transmitter.

But a lockdown only slows the spread of the virus. A worrying misconception is that the lockdown will eliminate the coronavirus problem and enable a safe reopening. Yet simply lifting the lockdown after a few weeks will likely lead to a resurgence in the number of cases. Even in green zones with zero active current cases, Covid-19 can reappear and spread rapidly through the community, as seen recently in Singapore and South Korea.

Thus, a lockdown on its own does not solve the problem of the virus. Rather, it needs to be seen as the first step in a long-term Hammer and Dance strategy for a battle expected to last at least 12-18 months (which is the earliest that a vaccine may be available). The hammer (lockdown) phase aims to slow down the spread of the virus enough to buy us time to prepare for the dance phase, when a substantial amount of economic activity can resume but under modified guidelines and under a much stronger surveillance system  based on testing, tracing, and quarantine  to limit the health costs of reopening the economy.

By ramping up testing among both symptomatic cases and in populations who are at high-risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19 (like frontline workers), we will be able to catch cases early and isolate potential spreaders. Ideally all high-risk individuals should be tested. However, given testing capacity constraints, it makes sense to test random samples of high-risk individuals  even if they show no symptoms. This testing needs to be followed up with diligent contact tracing (up to at least two degrees of contacts) and strict quarantine.

Done well, such an approach could lead to sequestering 1-3% of the population, but allow the rest to prudently resume economic activity with precautions like mandatory mask wearing and social distancing in public places, frequent handwashing with soap, a continued ban on large gatherings, and modified protocols for public transport. This is clearly a much better outcome than a blanket lockdown driven by the fear that anyone may be a carrier. Thus, the main value of increased testing is in allowing us to identify and isolate only those at risk as opposed to the entire population.

Across the world and in India, this comprehensive system of testing, tracing, and quarantining is the only approach that has worked to gain the confidence needed to safely lift a lockdown. For instance, Vietnam, which has a comparable GDP/capita to India and had early exposure to the virus, has had zero Covid-19 deaths largely because of a combination of aggressive testing, five degrees of contact tracing, and strict quarantine compliance. This success is now allowing Vietnam to safely open up its economy. Closer to home, Kerala has been a global role model in managing Covid-19 with a largely similar approach.

Investing in a public-health strategy is highly cost-effective

The deepening economic distress has led to widespread demands for a government rescue package. Some, like CII, have suggested this package be worth 15 lakh crore or 7.5% of GDP. But any economic recovery package will only make sense after one is able to open up the economy itself. Thus, just like the best foreign policy for India is an economic policy that delivers consistent 8% or greater growth for multiple decades, the best and most cost-effective economic policy right now is a sound public health policy. Consider the cost of scaling up four key components of the health strategy:

Testing: Indias testing rate is a long way from global leaders, but even ramping it up to test at the rate of Tamil Nadu (which is conducting over 10,000 tests/day) would substantially increase our ability to identify potential super-spreaders before they spread the virus. Doing so would allow us to cover 5% of the population (70 million tests/year) at a cost of Rs 17,500 crore (at Rs 2,500/test).

Contact Tracing: The most effective way to scale up Covid-19 contact tracing and surveillance would be to hire and train additional ASHA workers on a one-year contract. The average cost of an ASHA worker is around Rs 60,000/year but even increasing this to Rs 1 lakh (to augment pay and include training costs) would allow us to double Indias ASHA workforce and hire an extra one million ASHA workers for Rs. 10,000 crore/year.

Safe and dignified quarantine: Studies suggest that a large fraction of Covid-19 transmission happens between family and friends, making high-quality public quarantine centres critical. These centres will be especially important for India, where most people live in packed high-density conditions and social distancing is nearly impossible. Further, the poor, whose families cannot afford the income loss, should be compensated for being put in quarantine in the public interest (for no fault of their own). Even if 2.5% of Indias population (35 million people) are put in a 14-day quarantine in a year, this would cost Rs. 35,000 crore/year (conservatively budgeting Rs. 500/day for public quarantine facilities, and Rs. 200/day for an NREGS equivalent wage payment, yields around Rs. 10,000/person for a 14-day quarantine).

Universal mask wearing: Evidence suggests that universal wearing of a layered cloth mask may be one of the most cost-effective options to significantly reduce the rate of transmission). Providing two high-quality washable and reusable cloth masks to the entire population of 1.4 billion people would cost Rs 10,000 crore (at Rs 35 per mask).

Put together, these investments would cost around Rs. 75,000 crore a year and will allow us to implement a Vietnam, Kerala, or Tamil Nadu model across the country. Since each week of the lockdown costs Rs 200,000 crores, these investments will pay off many times over even if they enable lifting the lockdown just a few weeks earlier. This list is not exhaustive and it would be cost effective to include other public health actions (like increased frequency of cleaning public toilets and spaces, and ensuring easy and reliable access to soap and water). But the key point is that all these investments are public goods that benefit the broader public (by reducing the risk of transmission) and not just the recipient of the benefit. Thus, they are excellent candidates for government provision, and will likely be underprovided otherwise.

More broadly, Indian health expenditure is skewed substantially towards curative spending (which is a private good that only benefits the recipient and immediate family) rather than preventive investments in public health (that benefit many more people, but are less visible). Making these investments may also improve the long-term quality of health expenditure in India by strengthening public health systems. For instance, the extra ASHA workers hired for Covid-19 related surveillance could be retained (based on performance) on longer contracts to improve community health.

Making it Happen

Successfully implementing this strategy requires clarity not just on what to do, but on roles and responsibilities across national, state, and local governments. Based on principles of fiscal federalism, the national government should focus on roles that benefit from economies of scale, and require coordination. These include financing, purchasing and procurement, global coordination (especially ensuring access to vaccines and treatments), and national coordination (such as policies on inter-state travel, and sharing best practices across states). Consider testing: the current low rate of testing is partly driven by low testing capacity, but if the Govt. of India were to use its scale and commit to procuring Rs. 17,500 crore worth of test kits in the coming year, it could dramatically increase supply, reduce costs, and allow us to expand testing to catch potential super spreaders early.

State governments should lead on operational matters such as doing the testing; hiring and training staff for health surveillance; contact tracing and quarantine; and transparent communication regarding public health guidelines and safety protocols. Local governments in partnership with civil society should lead in making the citizen experience as smooth as possible and securing community support for implementing national and state guidelines. Overall, the experiences of Vietnam and Kerala highlight the importance of cohesion among all parts of the government, combined with transparent communication, and community support for effectively implementing a public-health strategy.

While the lockdown seems excessive to many, it is important to remember that, historically, germs and pandemics have caused many times more deaths than wars. In India, the Spanish Flu of 1918-20 is estimated to have caused over 12 million deaths, which is 75 times more than the 160,000 Indian soldier deaths in World War I and II combined. The economic cost of the lockdown is very real, but there is no conflict between prioritizing health and the economy. The two are deeply interlinked and a public-health led strategy is likely to have both the highest return on public expenditure and provide the only sustainable way out of these challenging times. It is therefore essential that we use every single day to urgently make the public health investments that will allow a safe exit from the lockdown.

Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellors Professor of Economics at UC San Diego. Vishnu Padmanabhan contributed to this piece.

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According to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, the country is at the peak of morbidity

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers 24 Channel

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine plans to prolong the lockdown after May 22. Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said this on the air of the 1+1 TV channel.

"Officially lockdown is prolonged until May 22, but this is not the deadline. We will continue," he said.

The Prime Minister added that at that moment the Ukrainian government was working on each further stage of lockdown.

"Today it is difficult to predict. Now we are at the peak of morbidity. We are going even for the last seven or eight days. The number of patients in percentage does not show an increase. We even have a slight fall in the number of patients to those who are already ill. We still have not had a day when the number of those who recovered exceeds or is equal to the number of those who got infected. This is a very important turning point that will allow us to understand that we have passed the peak, Shmygal added.

As we reported earlier, the first easing of quarantine restrictions in Ukraine was applied on May 11.

As of now, the concept of adaptive quarantine is ongoing. This means that local authorities, taking into account the epidemic situation in each specific region, are able to make autonomous decisions in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
NEW HAVEN  New Havens schools will operate with a four-day weekend in February 2021 for its scheduled break that month.

A lot of kids are going to be mad at us for this, said Board of Education member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur.

So, too, will about half of the districts teachers, said New Haven Federation of Teachers President Dave Cicarella. However, he said thats just democracy.

In an April 27 union newsletter, Cicarella suggested the calendar option  which proposes a start of classes before Labor Day and the four-day February break  as the best option.

This calendar aligns with the ACES regional calendar and virtually all other districts opt for this calendar, Cicarella wrote. Aligning with surrounding school districts allows for planning and coordination with surrounding towns. And an early closing in June is always best as after Memorial Day always proves to be a difficult stretch as students become disengaged.

ACES is the Regional Educational Service Center for the area, which offers programming for New Haven and other school districts in the region.

The results of the vote among teachers was close, according to Cicarella: 511 teachers in the union voted for the winning option, but 484 had voted to end the school year later with a full, week-long February break.

School board member Darnell Goldson asked about the process for that vote, saying he heard from a concerned teacher that things appeared off.

Ordinarily, union stewards distribute paper ballots to teachers in their schools, and names are not required on votes. But because schools are closed, Cicarella explained, teachers were emailed ballots and were asked to include an email address with their votes. In total, six ballots came back as duplicates and were eliminated from the tally, he said.

Because of the tight vote and the questions about process, Goldson abstained from the vote. Jackson-McArthur voted against accepting the calendar.

I dont like the winter break shortened, she said.

Student representative Lihame Arouna, who is allowed to share how she would vote on each item, although that vote is not counted, also said she would vote against the calendar.

I know a shortened winter break is not what the students would want, she said.

Board of Education secretary Ed Joyner spoke in support, saying he appreciates the collaboration between the unions, interim Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey and other school districts in the region.

As much as we can do to synch our calendar with the region, its a good thing, he said.

Families in New Haven are likely to have relatives in neighboring municipalities, adding ease to peoples schedules, Joyner reasoned, but also it may help to keep New Haven students out of trouble.

When I was a teacher and a principal, if we didnt do that (align calendars) wed have our kids going to schools where they shouldnt be hanging around, he said.

The calendar passed 5-1, with Goldsons abstention. The 2020-21 school year will be the first time schools will be in recess for Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday observed by Muslims. Although the school board was prepared to adopt the change for the 2019-20 calendar year, the holiday falls on a weekend this year on May 23.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
The Whisky Ambassador launches new online classroom experience

The Whisky Ambassador is known for delivering the worlds first accredited whisky training course, but in light of Covid-19, it has adapted its training methods and is now offering an innovative virtual teaching experience to lift spirits during lockdown.

The Whisky Ambassador aims to promote a better understanding of Scotlands national drink across the drinks and hospitality sector, and perhaps even increase the drinks popularity. However, the course isnt limited just to novices: whisky enthusiasts can also take part, and use the opportunity to brush up on their knowledge.

Each class is limited to 12 participants to encourage one-to-one interaction, and will receive live tuition from an expert tutor. Where local conditions allow, each delegate will also receive a special delivery of whisky samples so they can properly enjoy the experience of nosing and tasting sessions.

The class will cover the production and character of various whiskies, as well as the history and geography of the drink. Afterwards, participants are put through their paces with an exam, including a blind tasting which, if passed, is recognised with an industry-accredited qualification.

The first virtual class took place on the 9th and 10th of May in the Netherlands, and a second has been confirmed in Canada on the 9th and 10th of June. Following this, the course will be delivered from cities around the globe, including New York.

Jo Graham, Manager Director of The Whisky Ambassador, noted that despite the ongoing pandemic, the appetite for skills development is at an all-time high.

Our specially designed programme focuses heavily on hands-on tuition from the tutor, with every delegate encouraged to ask questions and gain as much knowledge as possible. This isnt simply another webinar  this is proper classroom learning from your own home.

To book, visit: www.thewhiskyambassador.com/courses-training/

You can also email train@thewhiskyambassador.com for more information and for prices per location.

12 May 2020 -
Seniors to receive up to $500 in a one-time payment to offset added costs due to COVID-19

Seniors will be receiving a one-time payment of up to $500 to help offset any increases in the cost of living due to COVID-19  and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today promised to help find long-term solutions to the tragedies unfolding in long-term care facilities.

Seniors Minister Deb Schulte said today that seniors who qualify for Old Age Security (OAS) will be eligible for a one-time, tax-free payment of $300, and those eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) will get an extra $200.

Those eligible for both will receive $500.

The direct supports will amount to $2.5 billion and are expected to help 6.7 million older Canadians.

Schulte said seniors are facing extra dispensing fees for prescriptions, added costs for grocery delivery services and taxi fees when they might normally take the bus.

"It's all small amounts, but it adds up," she said.

Seniors who already are receiving OAS and GIS will receive the one-time benefit automatically; they will not be required to apply for it.

Asked by reporters why the aid for seniors took so long to arrive, Schulte said the government already has announced measures for seniors  including a one-time special payment through the GST credit and the reduction of minimum withdrawals from registered retirement income funds by 25 per cent in 2020.

Pandemic taking financial, emotional toll on seniors

During his daily briefing today, Trudeau said COVID-19 is taking a heavy toll on seniors both emotionally and financially, and today's announcement is meant to alleviate some of the stress they're experiencing.

He said there is more work to be done on both short-term fixes and longer-term solutions.

COVID-19 has exposed some "uncomfortable truths" about Canadian society, including how we care for seniors, he said.

"We've seen heartbreaking tragedies in long-term care facilities and nursing homes right across the country. Overworked staff. Understaffed residences. Grieving families. There are serious, underlying challenges facing these facilities. And in the coming months, the federal government will be there to help the provinces find lasting solutions," he said.

Story continues

The novel coronavirus has spread quickly through many long-term care facilities. About 80 per cent of all COVID-19 related deaths have taken place in those facilities.

Halifax senior Joan McDougall called the situation "heartbreaking" and said it makes her more determined than ever to keep living independently for as long as possible.

"I hope I can put that decision off as long as I can," she told the CBC's Rosemary Barton.

As for today's announcement, McDougall said "every little bit counts" when someone is on a fixed income, but she hopes the government comes through with other measures to help seniors.

With instability in the markets, she said she would welcome any measures to help protect investments without penalties.

"With that instability that we're seeing now, that's what causes me the stress and I'm hoping that will be addressed to some extent," she said.

$20M to help counter isolation

The government is also investing another $20 million on the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which funds various community projects for seniors. Schulte said that money will help to mitigate the impacts of isolation with things like virtual exercise programs and tablet laptops.

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said the measures announced today will not require parliamentary authority and the supports are expected to flow within weeks.

Conservative seniors critic Alice Wong accused the government of "letting our seniors down" during the pandemic, saying the help is arriving late.

"We have heard that Canadians are looking for penalty-free access to their savings during this crisis. Conservatives put forward constructive proposals to help, including allowing Canadians to make a special one-time tax-free withdrawal from their RRSPs and waiving mandatory RRIF withdrawal," she said in a statement.

"Conservatives will continue to help Canadians who are falling through the cracks."

NDP seniors critic Scott Duvall said he is "largely disappointed" with the emergency aid plan for seniors.

"Providing a one-time payment indicates the government has decided the pandemic will only last for a month. How are seniors going to meet their increased costs in the following months?" he said in a statement.

"The government should help seniors with an ongoing increase in their OAS and GIS. We are happy the government listened to us in ensuring that no one is cut off GIS come July. Allowing GIS recipients until October 1 to file their taxes will certainly help seniors who are struggling right now."

Marissa Lennox, chief policy officer at the seniors advocacy group CARP, said in addition to added grocery and prescription costs, seniors also are seeing free or discounted community services  such as laundry services, meals at community centres and volunteer tax preparation  dry up because of the global pandemic.

She welcomed today's announcement but urged the government to do more to address the retirement security crisis caused by COVID-19.

"The one-time tax-free payments of $300 and $200 for those who qualify for OAS and GIS, respectively, will serve to support immediate needs around grocery delivery and additional prescription medication costs, but are not solutions for beyond the short term. It's unclear how long this will last," she said.

Lennox said many seniors also have seen their retirement savings shrink because of a drop in the stock market.

CARP had asked the federal government to waive mandatory registered retirement income fund (RRIF) withdrawals in 2020. CARP says the mandatory withdrawals increase the tax liability for the year as seniors struggle with added costs related to the pandemic.

"Anything that is withdrawn from a RRIF is fully taxable, and in this unpredictable time, seniors are looking to maximize their cash, reduce their tax liability and maximize their flexibility in arranging their affairs," Lennox said.

CARP also has urged the government to eliminate withholding tax on RRSP withdrawals for the 2020 tax year and allow two years to repay taxes owed.

The group is asking the government to follow through on an election promise to increase Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments.

During the 2019 campaign, Trudeau said a re-elected government would provide a 10 per cent boost to OAS at age 75 and a 25 per cent increase to the Canada Pension Plan for widows or widowers.

At the time, the Liberal Party said the OAS increase would give Canadians aged 75 and older an extra $729 each year and lift 20,000 seniors out of poverty, while widows or widowers would receive up to $2,080 in additional benefits every year with the increased survivor's benefit under the CPP and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP).

Those changes were to take effect in July, 2020.

Asked about those promised benefits today, Duclos said Tuesday's announcement is meant to provide "quick, solid support" for seniors during the health crisis, and that the government will also deal with financial security for seniors more generally.

Schulte's spokesperson Scott Bardsley said the government has taken steps to support all seniors  especially those who are most financially vulnerable  and that it has more than doubled the financial assistance promised in the election platform ($3.8 billion, instead of $1.56 billion.)

"While the government remains committed to implementing the policies in our platform, at this time we are focused on managing the COVID-19 public health crisis," he said.
You are here: China

Chinese mainland reports no new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Chinese health authority said Tuesday that no new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported on the Chinese mainland on Monday.

One imported case was reported in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

Also on Monday, one new suspected case imported from abroad was reported in Shanghai.

No deaths related to the disease were reported, according to the commission.

On Monday, 27 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases increased by one to 10.

As of Monday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,919, including 115 patients who were still being treated, and 78,171 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Monday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,691 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,611 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 80 remained hospitalized with three in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said three people, all from overseas, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 5,470 close contacts were still under medical observation after 503 people were discharged from medical observation Monday.

Also on Monday, 15 new asymptomatic cases were reported on the mainland. No cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 35 asymptomatic cases, including six from overseas, were discharged from medical observation, according to the commission.

The commission said 760 asymptomatic cases, including 38 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By Monday, 1,047 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 985 patients in Hong Kong, 42 in Macao, and 368 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.
The coronavirus pandemic has placed the education of hundreds of millions of children across the world on hold indefinitely. In South Africa, schools have been shut down in the national lockdown, placing many children at risk of losing out on learning time. Particularly at risk are children with special educational needs and disabilities, who have various difficulties. These include physical, behavioural and learning difficulties.

This is already a vulnerable group that requires specialised, time sensitive education and support. Wide scale, specialised programmes are not available to children with special educational needs and disabilities and generic homeschooling and e-learning solutions may not be suitable.

As elsewhere in the world, the problems faced by children with special educational needs and disability needs are likely to be amplified by the country's national lockdown . They often require specialised education programmes , services and support to which they will no longer have access.

Special educational needs and disabilities can range from learning difficulties to emotional, behavioural or physical challenges affecting a child's ability to learn or socialise. For instance, a child who has been diagnosed with dyslexia will encounter difficulty in reading, writing and comprehension skills. A child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will lack concentration skills.

UNICEF estimates that there are about 93 million children with disabilities worldwide. According to the 2009 general household survey in South Africa, there are an estimated 2.1 million children with disabilities. Of these about 600,000 have never been to school.

Implementing continued educational opportunities for children with special educational needs and disability requires collaborative efforts from both parents and government. Children need tailored measures to ensure learning continues during the lockdown. Teaching must be adapted to accommodate children with various needs through scaffolding  a process of modelling or demonstrating how to solve a problem, then stepping back and offering support to a child as needed. Through differentiation and adaptation of activities parents can prepare work that is user friendly for a child. And they can work alongside the child to build confidence.

Materials, too, must be adjusted to a level of simplicity that is stimulating for the child, with assistance from the parent or caregiver.

Vulnerabilities

Education needs to be delivered time-sensitively and appropriately for their development .

Face-to-face contact lessons with caregivers and teachers are not available during the national lockdown. This puts strain on the parents having to fill in the gap. And some children will lose access to networks of support, leaving them vulnerable to isolation .

Before the pandemic, parents normally had the support of caregivers, teachers and organisations. They also served as a source of information. This was a lifeline for many and helped to facilitate learning and teaching.

A concern for children with special educational needs and disability during the lockdown is the educational capacity of their parents. The government is providing resources such as the COVID-19 Learner Support initiative . But educating South Africa's children now becomes the parents' responsibility.

The pandemic is already placing stress on many South African families. But parents who have children with special education needs face even greater stress without adequate support. Some parents may not have the emotional resilience or the training to cope.

Children with special needs require routine and consistency in learning and development. A small break in special needs education delivery could mean that children's foundation for future development is not adequately laid. If delicate developmental windows of opportunities are missed, children with special needs may never be able to catch up. So it's important to consider their needs and include them in COVID-19 education initiatives.

Read more: How to help students with a hearing impairment as courses move online

Recommendations

These will differ depending on the unique special needs of child. But there are various strategies to reduce stress and sustain learning .

Firstly, parents should talk to their children about COVID-19. They need to help them understand the pandemic using text or pictures and allow for the expression of difficult emotions such as frustration, anger, anxiety or fear.

Secondly, parents should foster calm and create routines for children. Where possible, these should mimic the routines they follow at school or day care or the routine provided by the usual caregiver.

Thirdly, if available, parents should reach out to the child's teachers or carers for specialised advice or input . Communication is key using platforms that are accessible and effective during this time. Various learning resources may also be found online.

Finally, parents should prioritise self-care and reach out to family members or friends when they need support. This could be vital, given the reality of social distancing and limiting physical contact. Parents should also connect with other parents from the same school or even social media platforms that may have similar challenges.

For its part, government should work to make resources and learning materials available to South Africa's most vulnerable children. Some small-scale efforts have been made by nongovernmental organisations and private individuals. But such resources must become widely publicised and readily available and accessible. Various media such as television, radio, internet and WhatsApp groups could be used to deliver information, activity ideas and support to children and families across South Africa.

[email protected] receives funding from the National Research Foundation Thuthuka Fund for a period of 2020-2022.

Dr Bronwyn Mthimunye received funding from the National Research Foundation in 2017.

Ella Bust does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Athena Pedro, Senior lecturer, Psychology department, University of the Western Cape And

Dr Bronwyn Mthimunye, Former Associate Lecturer, Psychology Department, University of the Western Cape And

Ella Bust, Psychological Research Intern, University of the Western Cape
Two people are dead after wrong-way accident in San Antonio on Sunday, according to FOX San Antonio.

About the Wrong-Way Crash

Around 1:15 a.m., officers received calls of a reckless sedan driver traveling Westbound on I-10 in the Eastbound lanes. On the way there, the call was upgraded to a major accident.

Upon arriving, deputies saw that the sedan had collided head-on with an 18-wheeler, causing the sedan to burst into flames and the truck to jackknife the roadway. Another 18-wheeler had then struck the cab of the first truck. According to investigators, the people in the second 18-wheeler were not seriously injured; however, both drivers of the sedan and the first truck were pronounced dead at the scene.

Medical examiners identified one of the victims as Hector Segura, 54, and the other as Olga Casas, 57. An investigation is underway to determine if alcohol was involved.

Large Truck Fatal Crash Data 2016

Information below compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):

At least 39% of large truck occupants killed in crashes were not wearing a seatbelt

Speed was a factor in 17% of truck crashes with at least one large truck occupant fatality

61% of fatal crashes involving a large truck occurred in rural areas

27% of fatal crashes in work zones involved a large truck

6% involved large truck driver distraction as a factor, of which 16% was related to cell phone use

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Tikamgarh: A policeman was allegedly assaulted by a group of people, who tried to kidnap him after he caught two of them smuggling country-made liquor at Jagatnagar check-post in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh district, police said on Tuesday.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Muteen Khan caught two men trying to smuggle a cache of country-made liquor at the check-post on Monday evening, Tikamgarh's superintendent of police (SP) Anurag Sujania said.

However, soon four acquaintances of the duo, including a woman, reached the spot in a car and allegedly assaulted the officer and tried to kidnap him by forcing him into their vehicle, he said.

Villagers in the area raised an alarm, following which more personnel were rushed to the spot, he said.

The police arrested Chalie Raja, Sunka Dhimar and Suman Khangar (woman) at the scene, while Kailash Jadia, Bablu Khan and one other accused, who fled the spot, were nabbed later from their homes, the SP said.

The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the official added.
This article is part of Privacy in the Pandemic, a Future Tense series.

There is an inevitability around the fact that heightened surveillance will be necessary to resume life in any state of normalcy. While there has been concern about overreach from the government and private tech companies offering surveillance solutions, less attention has been paid to another powerful group likely to expand its surveillance powers: employers.

Employers have always held sensitive information like workers Social Security numbers, salaries, and existing medical conditions. Some have also used technology like wearables, flagging tools, automated profiling, and remote activity trackers to further monitor their workers. In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff says the workplace is where invasive technologies are normalized among captive populations of employees. Despite this, employers have largely escaped scrutiny for their extensive monitoring practices from both experts and workers themselves. Since the start of the pandemic, many companies have begun to even more aggressively track their workers productivity, and as workplaces start to open again, it is likely that the scale and types of data collected by employers will continue to increase to combat the threat of COVID-19.

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Essential industries have already started putting in new measures. For example, Amazon and Walmart use infrared cameras to conduct temperature checks for their warehouse workers, and hospitals like Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic are using apps to track staffs health conditions and possible virus exposures. These are in line with guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requiring employers to track cases of COVID-19. Guidance released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission confirms that employers can legally check temperatures and screen employees regarding COVID-19 symptoms as well as require workers to leave if they are sick.

Lots of other tracking tools are being developed and marketed to large employers in industries beyond the front line. There are mobile apps that ask employees to self-report their health symptoms and status, and data on their heart rate and pulse oximetry. Some, like those developed by Pegasystems or Cordata, also analyze or classify a workers risk levels based on responses. Others have integrated these questions into existing processes (Arcoro has included a self-reporting health form in its attendance app when employees clock in for work) or added questions about both symptoms and productivity to their surveys (like Appian).

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Then there are systems that focus on tracing rather than health symptoms, collecting data on a workers location, movements, and proximity to others. The co-working space Knotel recently updated its app with the capability to check members whereabouts. Landing AI developed an artificial intelligenceenabled tool that analyzes video streams from security cameras and sends alerts when employees are not practicing social distancing. Estimote has created a Proof of Health wearable available as a lanyard, wristwatch, or card. The wearable conducts GPS location tracking and Bluetooth contact tracing, and collected information is centrally stored and displayed on a health dashboard that provides detailed logs of possible contacts. Companies like CenTrak and SwipeSense supply RFID-enabled lanyards that record which rooms workers enter or exit, and whether they washed their hands or used hand sanitizer.* Sewio has released a real-time location system that involves a comprehensive suite of sensors to install in the workplace, and portable signal transmitters for asset tracking, fleet tracking, and people tracking as well as accompanying software to monitor all the moving parts.

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There are free solutions available too. For example, security and employment experts have predicted that companies will require employees to download Apple and Googles contact tracing app before they are allowed back to work. But Apple and Googles tool at least mitigates the worst privacy risks by decentralizing and anonymizing the data collected. The same cannot be said for the solutions described above.

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Whether or not these technologies are made explicitly mandatory by employers, in reality it is unlikely that employees will have a choice. Labor is rarely in a position of bargaining power in the workplace due to the United States at-will employment model, and that power imbalance has become increasingly skewed as job security feels precarious and jobless claims have seen a 3,000 percent increase. Employers could also use other incentives to encourage opt-in, like leaving workers with paying higher health insurance premiums if they choose not to participate.

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Additionally, people have extremely limited privacy rights in their capacities as workers. Though there are stricter regulations regarding the collection and use of health information and other sensitive categories, employers are generally legally permitted to collect most types of data from their workers so long as there is a legitimate business reason. For example, there are few federal restrictions on employers collection and use of workers GPS data or other device data, and employers have full rights to any employer-owned equipment, including devices like laptops and phones or accounts on communication channels like email or Slack. Estimote calls its technology less invasive because information is shared only with your employerbut how much of this information should employers have, especially without clear safeguards that the data will not be repurposed or used unfairly?

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Research from Data & Society has found that data collected by monitoring technologies has been used to inform automated assessments about workers behaviors, qualities, or fitness for employment, increasing the potential for workplace discrimination. These technologies could also be used not just to monitor but to control workers. In a client alert, the law firm Ropes & Gray recommended that employers might consider rules that, at least for the near future, do not allow employees who report to a physical workplace to engage in leisure or other activities with other than co-habiting family members. Requiring contact tracing and location tracking could very well be used to enforce these kinds of restrictions, especially in states without extra legal protections against employer GPS tracking or regulation of off-duty conduct.

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Even as surveillance is increased in the name of workforce safety, employees may not feel the benefits. There is currently no federal requirement that an employer advise its employees if a co-worker tests positive for COVID-19, and without guidance from a states health department, it is up to each individual company to make the decision. Warehouse and health care workers have reported learning of infections from rumors or even news reports days after a co-workers positive testing, even though there are easy ways to implement privacy-protecting notification systems instead of keeping employees in the dark. For example, individuals could be asked for their consent before any named disclosures, or general announcements could be made without disclosing the affected individuals identity at all.

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In late April, Republican senators announced plans to introduce a COVID-19 Data Protection Act. While few details have been released, the bill would apparently apply to any companies under the Federal Trade Commissions jurisdiction (employers dont seem to be exempted) and sets out several requirements to protect individuals whose data is collected for the purposes of tracking COVID-19 spread. If introduced as is, it could help mitigate some concerns about data misuse. One requirement is that all personally identifiable information be deleted or de-identified when it is no longer being used for the COVID-19 public health emergency.

However, the bill addresses only data collected for COVID-19-related purposes and does not extend protections to other circumstances. Without holding employers to higher privacy standards for all the data they collect, workers will be left in evermore precarious situations as power dynamics continue to shift away from them in the increasingly surveilled workplace.

Correction, May 12, 2020: This piece originally misspelled SwipeSense.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
By Jane Wardell and Gayle Issa

May 4 (Reuters) - Global coronavirus deaths reached 250,000 on Monday after recorded infections topped 3.5 million, a Reuters tally of official government data showed, although the rate of fatalities has slowed.

North America and European countries accounted for most of the new deaths and cases reported in recent days, but numbers were rising from smaller bases in Latin America, Africa and Russia.

Globally, there were 3,062 new deaths and 61,923 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking total cases to 3.58 million.

That easily exceeds the estimated 140,000 deaths worldwide in 2018 caused by measles, and compares with around 3 million to 5 million cases of severe illness caused annually by seasonal influenza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

While the current trajectory of COVID-19 falls far short of the 1918 Spanish flu, which infected an estimated 500 million people, killing at least 10% of patients, experts worry the available data is underplaying the true impact of the pandemic.

The concerns come as several countries begin to ease strict lockdowns that have been credited with helping contain the spread of the virus.

"We could easily have a second or a third wave because a lot of places aren't immune," Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Canberra Hospital, told Reuters. He noted the world was well short of herd immunity, which requires around 60% of the population to have recovered from the disease.

The first death linked to COVID-19 was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China, after the coronavirus first emerged there in December. Global fatalities grew at a rate of 1-2% in recent days, down from 14% on March 21, according to the Reuters data.

DEATH RATE ANOMALIES

Mortality rates from recorded infections vary greatly from country to country.

Collignon said any country with a mortality rate of more than 2% almost certainly had underreported case numbers. Health experts fear those ratios could worsen in regions and countries less prepared to deal with the health crisis.

Story continues

"If your mortality rate is higher than 2%, you've missed a lot of cases," he said, noting that countries overwhelmed by the outbreak were less likely to conduct testing in the community and record deaths outside of hospitals.

In the United States, around half the country's state governors partially reopened their economies over the weekend, while others, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, declared the move was premature.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who battled COVID-19 last month, has said the country was over the peak but it was still too early to relax lockdown measures.

Even in countries where the suppression of the disease has been considered successful, such as Australia and New Zealand which have recorded low daily rates of new infections for weeks, officials have been cautious.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has predicated a full lifting of curbs on widespread public adoption of a mobile phone tracing app and increased testing levels.

(Reporting by Jane Wardell and Gayle Issa; Editing by Richard Pullin and Lisa Shumaker)
A man and his pregnant girlfriend were shot dead while their two-year-old daughter was nearby and another woman was wounded in a home invasion on Staten Island on Monday afternoon.

The New York Police Department detained a Staten Island man in connection with the fatal shooting of Alafia Rodriguez, 46, and his girlfriend, Ana DeSousa, 33.

Philip Moreno, 43, an ex-convict from Port Richmond, was taken into custody by police as he was leaving the home at 376 Grandview Avenue just after 5pm, according to The Staten Island Advance.

Determine are trying to determine if the home invasion was drug-related.

Alafia Rodriguez, 46, and his girlfriend, Ana DeSousa, 33, were found shot dead with multiple gunshot wounds in their Staten Island home on Monday afternoon

The couple, who had been together for three years, had a two-year-old daughter who was found in the home unharmed

DeSousa was believed to have been pregnant at the time she was killed, according to police

Police found a .22-caliber semi-automatic Ruger handgun in his possession, according to AMNY.

Investigators also discovered a silencer at the location.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots fired from inside the home.

When police arrived, they found the bodies of Rodriguez and DeSousa on the floor in the living room, WNYW-TV is reporting.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, according to investigators.

The couple's daughter, Blue, is seen left with her father in this undated file photo

Rodriguez and DeSousa are seen in the above undated file photo

DeSousa was believed to have been pregnant, according to police. The two had been dating for some three years, according to reports.

A two-year-old girl believed to be the couple's daughter, Blue, was found uninjured inside the home. She was rushed to a nearby hospital.

An unidentified 43-year-old woman was shot in the back, though she is expected to survive.

The woman was rushed to Richmond University Medical Center in the West Brighton section of Staten Island, according to police.

She was listed in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery on Monday night.

Police said that narcotics and drug paraphernalia were found inside the home (seen above)

Charges are pending against a person of interest who was found to have a .22-caliber semi-automatic Ruger handgun (above)

Moreno, the suspect, has a lengthy criminal history.

He spent 14 years in the maximum-security Sing Sing Correctional Facility after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the 1992 shooting death of 22-year-old Theodis Watson.

He has also been arrested and sentenced for various weapons and drug offenses.

Moreno was released on parole in 2017, according to authorities. He was friends with Rodriguez on Facebook.

'The situation at this point is fluid,' Moreno's attorney, Mark Fonte said. 'I have shut down the interrogation of my client. My office is attempting to assess the facts and determine what happened.'

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive of the shootings.

Police said they discovered narcotics - reportedly crack cocaine - and drug paraphernalia inside the home.

Rodriguez's former defense attorney and friend Mario Gallucci told the Staten Island Advance that he first represented him when he was just 16 years old.

Rodriguez reportedly had a history of past drug-related arrests, but according to Gallucci, he had turned his life around.

The lawyer, who according to the New York Daily News last spoke to Rodriguez on the phone on Saturday about their future plans to meet up for a summer barbecue, said Rodriguez was looking forward to becoming a father again.

Rodriguez's mother told the Daily News that her son and his girlfriend were wonderful parents.

'Everything they did was about their kids. Were heartbroken,' she told the paper.

Rodriguez's final Facebook update from dated early Monday morning was a Mother's Day post dedicated to his two late grandmothers.
Anupriya Goenka had a scary start to the lockdown. She was shooting for the sequel of digital show Criminal Justice when shooting was stopped. The shoot halted on March 15, so I wanted to quarantine for two weeks before I went to see my parents who live in Thane, while I stay in Versova. I did not want to come in contact with them for some days. And then, the lockdown began, the Kanpurite said.

It was a tough phase for her as she was not keeping well. I was having breathlessness, bodyache and all. Now, I realise it was just over-exertion. But then, I did not know what to do as there was so much news of the virus around. When I spoke to a few doctors, they said I should wait and watch. I did what best I could do like steam-inhalation, washing hands and quarantining myself. It was a difficult time with a bit of fear but it passed, said the Padmaavat and Airlift actor.

She is not stepping out of her house at all and is managing well with her house-help. I had a lot of pending paperwork to finish from the time when I was pursuing my fathers business in Delhi and Kanpur. I wrapped up his business when I was still in college. Then I de-cluttered my own papers, she said.

The UPite has shot for Prakash Jhas series Ashram in Ayodhya. The series is complete and in post-production. I have shot for the film Mere Desh Ki Dharti with Divendu Sharma and some little work is left in it. We were in the last schedule of Criminal and I hope after shootings start once again, this will be the first thing we do. Besides, there were three-four projects which were supposed to start in April, others in May-June, she said.

Her film War released in February, which was followed by the OTT series Asur. I am happy both the projects did very well. After doing good business in theatre War did great in the digital space too, she said.

These days, Anupriya is doing an actors riyaz which she was not able to on normal days., I have been reading books on acting, watching master-classes, working on some accents and am also practising voice modulation. All these are an actors riyaz that I always wanted to do and was not able to find time. I wanted to pick up painting which I have not been able to yet, but will do some sketching soon, she promised.
Q. If a person is a retired state employee, firefighter, police officer and they collect their pension monthly but also worked a job, but is not working now because of the coronavirus shutdown, can that individual collect unemployment benefits?

 Staying at home

A. The fact that you are drawing a pension should not prevent you from filing for unemployment if you are no longer working because of the business closures caused by the coronavirus mandates put into place by the State of New Jersey.

But you must be sure you qualify for an unemployment benefit first.

In order to submit a claim, an individual must have earned a minimum of $200 per week for 20 weeks during the base period or at least $10,000, said Claudia Mott, a certified financial planner with Epona Financial Solutions in Basking Ridge.

The base period is counted as the first four quarters of a five-quarter period which ends on the date you submit your claim.

The State of New Jersey pays a maximum of 60% of average wages for 26 weeks, with a cap on payments of $713 per week, Mott said. The recently passed CARES Act provides for an additional $600 per week in unemployment payments through July 31, 2020 and extends the length of time for each state to make payments by 13 weeks.

It also opens up eligibility for workers that dont qualify for regular unemployment benefits, such as gig workers and the self-employed.

Mott said your pension may reduce the amount you receive for unemployment.

New Jersey requires that unemployment be reduced by 100% of the value of your weekly pension payment if contributions to the pension fund were made solely by your employer, Mott said. The reduction is 50% if both you and your employer contributed and there is no reduction if your employer made no contributions.

If your weekly pension payment exceeds the cap the state will pay  $713  and the plan was 100% employer-funded, your state unemployment benefit could be eliminated, Mott said.

The best course of action would be to contact the New Jersey Department of Labor by visiting its website to find the appropriate phone number for your region. But keep in mind the phones have been slammed because of record unemployment filings in the state. You may need to apply and wait for an agent to call you if there are questions about your application.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
Appeal against Russian mans sentence for murder threats to judge postponed until June

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

18:05 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court on Tuesday decided to postpone appeal against sentence of a resident of town of Voronezh Mikhail Kvasov for murder threats to Moscow judge Stanislav Minin until June 2, RAPSI learnt from the courts press service.

In early March, Moscows Meshchansky District Court fined Kvasov to 270,000 rubles ($3,600 at the current exchange rate). Prosecutors earlier asked court to fine Kvasov 300,000 rubles ($4,000).

The defendant pleaded not guilty. The man said he had published the incriminating statement in support of rallies and did not imply to threaten the judge.

According to case papers, on September 5, 2019, an Instragram user with the nickname Chimera of All Russia published the judges photo and wrote that Minin had sentenced illegal rally activist Konstantin Kotov to 4 years in prison.

Investigators claimed that between September 7 and 12, 2019, Kvasov having a criminal intent and knowing about public danger of his actions posted a comment to the publication calling to take part in rallies and promising to kill the judge.
O nce a hallmark of teenage life in 50s America, the drive-in movie is rolling into the UK.

Touring across 11 cities in 12 weeks, @TheDriveIn will pop-up its screens from July 2 until September 27, starting with four days in south London, later returning to the capital for a stint in the east from September 17-20.

The experience  which, given punters will be inside their own cars, should adhere to any social distancing rules which may still be in place  will screen six shows a day, with a mix of 80s classics and family-friendly blockbusters on the bill.

Grease, Back To The Future, Joker, Toy Story, Lion King and A Star Is Born will all be shows over the course of the UK run.

Besides the films, there will also be stand-up comedy, bingo and a silent disco running  for those into their seat dancing  with food and drinks available to order, delivered by waiters on roller skates. Tickets begin at 35 per car and must be booked in advance, with the first batch released on Wednesday May 27. Ten tickets per screening will be free for NHS staff and care workers.

Organiser Alan Crofton said: We are incredibly excited to bring our modern day version on the classic drive in to the UK this summer.

Our aim for @TheDriveIn to be an experience that brings real joy this summer and the perfect antidote to a post-lockdown world, and we promise to deliver it within a safe yet fun environment. See you at the drive in.

Among the measures Crofton alludes to are rules for cars to be parked 2m apart, with entry monitored by license-plate checking, meaning direct human contact can be avoided. Given the uncertainty around which events can still go ahead in the coming months, organisers have stressed that full refunds will be given in the event of any cancellation.

The full list of screenings and destinations is below:

London, south: July 2-5

Birmingham: July 9 - 12

Manchester: July 16 - 19

Newcastle: July 23 - 26

Edinburgh: July 30 - August 2

Glasgow: August 6- 9

Liverpool: August 13 - 16

Cardiff: August 20 - 23

Bristol: August 27 - 30

Southampton: September 3 - 6

Brighton: 10th - 13th September 10 - 13

London, east: September 17- 20

How to get tickets

Tickets for the screening go on sale from midday on May 29. They are priced from 35 per car and can be bought here.

For more information, visit atthedrive.in
The founder of easyJet has promised to pay 5 million to any whistleblower who can help him stop the company's multibillion-pound deal to buy over 100 new planes.

In an open letter, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he is 'willing' to pay the cash out of his own pocket, the latest twist in a bitter battle with the company's management.

The Haji-Ioannou family has been using its 34% of the shares in the budget airline to put pressure on top bosses, including chief executive Johan Lundgren.

Sir Stelios, 53, wants Mr Lundgren to cancel a 4.5 billion deal to buy 107 planes from European aircraft maker Airbus.

EasyJet said its Board, 'firmly rejects any insinuation that easyJet was involved in any impropriety.'

In an open letter, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he is 'willing' to pay the cash out of his own pocket, the latest twist in a bitter battle with the company's management (Pictured Stelios Haji-Ioannu on his boat in Monaco)

He claims that easyJet 'simply cannot afford' the deal.

In a blistering letter, Sir Stelios argues that its obligations to pay for the planes will drive easyJet into insolvency by December this year.

He said that some directors, who he regards as 'scoundrels', have 'over-ordered' planes from Airbus, a company he accused of being 'masters of bribery'.

He added: 'If the Airbus contract is cancelled, at least there is a good chance a portion of easyJet's jobs will survive. If the Scoundrels keep paying Airbus and then bankrupt the company, all 15,000 direct easyJet and many more other jobs dependent on easyJet will be lost.'

Sir Stelios, a Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur, said he was willing to pay out to any whistleblower 'who provides useful information that leads to the cancellation of the order'.

Sky News reported that Sir Stelios will release a statement later today in which he will ask for information to be emailed to him 'in full confidence' by any easyJet or Airbus employee or any supplier to the airline, who has inside information.

'As the overwhelming evidence is that easyJet requires neither more loss-making planes nor massive liabilities, we need to establish why easyJet directors still want to pursue this route,' the statement will say, according to Sky.

Sir Stelios is tipped to say that he is willing 'to make stage payments for engaging with any whistleblowers of, say, around 10,000 for some quick wins/tips and will pay more to maintain the dialogue'.

EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren. Sir Stelios, 53, wants Mr Lundgren to cancel a 4.5 billion deal to buy 107 planes from European aircraft maker Airbus

He will also guarantee to pay an informant's legal bills. Full payment of the 5m will be paid out, 'once the Airbus-easyJet contract is cancelled after it has been proven as a result of the information given by the whistleblower that Airbus secured the orders using bribery techniques'.

It is unusual for whistleblowers to be financially rewarded by investors in the company.

However, in the US whistleblowers can be given up to a third of the money that the government recovers in some fraud cases.

The promise from the company's founder comes just over a week before shareholders are set to take a vote that could cost Mr Lundgren his job.

Sir Stelios has called for the chief executive, chairman John Barton, and two non-executives, to be removed from their positions.

Shareholders will vote on his demands next Friday.

It's been a turbulent few months for the budget airline.

In March, Sir Stelios was awarded a 60m dividend while 170m in payments to shareholders were also paid out.

Justifying the 170million payout Sir Stelios, who with his siblings are the largest single shareholders in the carrier, insisted that the dividends were 'legal' and 'rightful'.

He said: 'The reality of the situation is the dividend was legally at the point of no return on the 6th of February, or at the very latest on the 27th of February 2020. The world looked like a much happier place on the 6th of February and the dividend was rightfully paid to all shareholders'.

It emerged in April that the easyJet founder had lost 1.2billion in less than a month as the value of his shares in the airline plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, the business tycoon called for the ousting of the company's chief executive and chairman after bosses pushed ahead with a deal with Airbus to buy 24 new planes.

In a blistering letter, Sir Stelios argues that its obligations to pay for the planes will drive easyJet into insolvency by December this year

Sir Stelios accused the Luton-based firm of behaving like 'scoundrels' over their decision to press ahead with the 1.5billion agreement to purchase the aircraft.

Since the coronavirus pandemic grounded easyJet's entire operation, the company has turned to the Government for a 600 million loan. The Luton-based carrier, has furloughed thousands of staff.

But Sir Stelios warned: 'What the scoundrels are not telling us at all is how much money the company will burn each week after the resumption of flying, which will be well in excess of the 40 million per week that they state that they burn whilst the fleet is grounded.

Flying half empty planes will be heavily loss-making. That 40 million per week of cash burn is before the payments to Airbus...

'UK taxpayers should be really worried now that they will not see any of their money back in March 2021,' he said.

The airline employs 9,000 staff and was the first in the UK to stop all flights and mothball all jets since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Britain.

An easyJet spokesperson told MailOnline:

'As we have previously stated, the Board firmly rejects any insinuation that easyJet was involved in any impropriety.

easyJet has maintained the highest standards of governance and scrutiny in respect of its aircraft procurement processes.

Given the significance of the potential transaction, easyJet appointed external independent accountants BDO to carry out an on-going review of the controls surrounding the fleet selection process which culminated in the 2013 Airbus Contract. The audit report confirmed that robust procurement, project management and governance processes were in place and had been followed.'
The Federal Government on Monday said the country has ramped up testing for the coronavirus to 27,078.

Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health, disclosed this in Abuja at the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in the country.

Mr Ehanire said this has yielded about 4,399 cases in 35 states with a gender ratio of 30 per cent to 70 per cent of men and women. He said 778 persons have been discharged with 143 deaths.

The minister added that personnel in federal hospitals participated in a multi-national teleconference with medical and academic experts in Beijing on the COVID-19 treatment strategy of China.

Our COVID-19 response must become a concerted national collaborative drive to become more effective.

This requires synergies across all tiers of government levels which should be extended and sustained in all states, he said.

Herbal cure

The minister revealed plans by the government to get Madagascars herbal cure for COVID-19.

He stressed that the plan was subject to an analysis to see how the herb works and how it is used.

Concerning the question on the cure from Madagascar, this has been making the news and we have the promise of being able to get a sample of the herb/botanical product for analysis.

And also we probably use that opportunity to speak with the health authorities particularly the scientific community on how they use it.

READ ALSO:

We will also give that to the research community with us here in Nigeria to examine and do what they can do with it.

We will like to compare the sample with the strain here in our country; whether they are identical or similar and see what properties it has. Things like that are normally subjected to analysis to find out how it works, he said.

The World Health Organization has warned that it has not authorised the use of the herbal cocktail, and has advised against self-medication.

It has however proven effective in the East African country with no case of death as a result of COVID-19.

(NAN)
The Syrian Tribes Council and the Independent Kurds League have joined the Syrian National Coalition, although not everyone is happy writes Baladi News.

The Syrian National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC) agreed to allow the Syrian Tribes Council and the Independent Kurds League into its ranks, in a move that did not win everyones approval, sources told Baladi News.

Mudar Hammad al-Asaad, a member of the Syrian Tribes Council, said joining the SNC was designed to allow the group to participate in the Syrian oppositions political decision-making, as well as having representation in the negotiating body.

According to Asaad, it was agreed to give five seats in the SNC to the Tribes Council, and one seat to the Independent Kurds League. He added that it was necessary to pump new blood into the SNC, especially as some members had remained in their seats for years.

He stressed that there were some parties in the SNC that reject new political bodies joining them, but did not name which.

Meanwhile, Rudeif Mustafa, a member of the Independent Kurds League, said that the Kurdish National Council (KNC) rejected the idea of the League joining the SNC, despite it being a similarly Kurdish group, on the pretext that there is a prior agreement between the SNC and the KNC barring the entry of any Kurdish party without its approval.

Mustafa added that as a result of the KNCs position, the matter was referred to a secret vote. In the end, there were 58 votes out of 82 in favor of the Independent Kurds League entering the SNC, although we only needed the approval of 55 to enter.

The Independent Kurds League was founded in June 2016, in the southern Turkish city of Urfa. It formed an administrative council of 31 members, presided over by Abdelaziz al-Tammo. The KNC, meanwhile, was founded in October 2011 in Erbil, the capital of northern Iraqs Kurdistan region. It was composed of 14 parties and factions of Syrian Kurds, and joined the opposition SNC in September 2013.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi on Sunday night over chest pain, was allowed to leave hospital and go home on Tuesday.

The former PM, 87, was admitted after he suffered a reaction to a new medication and developed fever.

His sample was taken for ruling out coronavirus infection and he tested negative for it, PTI reported.

Singh, a senior leader of the opposition Congress, is currently a member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS.

A number of leaders expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: In one of the longest medical airlift operation in the country, 47-year-old Vijay Yasam, a Bank of Baroda employee from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was transported to Chennai from Johannesburg in South Africa.

The four-day round-trip mission carried out by ICATT Learjet Air Ambulance posed a huge logistical challenge of flying over the Arabian sea and Indian Ocean, crossing seven countries, four time zones and 30 hours of flying, said Fahim Husain, marketing head, ICATT Health Solution. Yasam has terminal cancer of his intestines. He underwent an operation there and needed to be repatriated for further treatment.

Unable to get back, Yasams health was deteriorating and officials from Bank of Baroda, South Africa branch sought help from ICATT Air Ambulance. This sort of operation was never attempted and founder directors of ICATT, Dr Rahul Singh Sardar and Dr Shalini Nalwad, both intensive care and aero-medical specialists with past experience of operating in war zones were requested to bring Yasam home.

A special team was selected and flew out on May 8. The challenge was they needed a place for night halt on both directions. All Island countries including Seychelles and Madagascar initially refused, but later Mauritius relented. They landed in Johannesburg on May 9 and left on May 10 and reached Chennai around on Monday, said Faheem.

171 return from Kuwait

Meanwhile, over 170 Indians were brought back in a special Air India flight from Kuwait as part of Vande Bharat Mission. This comes after the first two flights carrying passengers from UAE landed on Sunday post-midnight. All passengers were facilitated for smooth Customs clearance. According to official sources, the passengers have been classified and rooms were allotted to them. A total of 10 flights carrying Indians will land in Chennai.
One day after Newport Beach opened up its beaches to recreational activities, dozens of surfers took to the water at the Newport Pier in Newport Beach on May 7. (Raul Roa/Los Angeles Times)

As Americans start planning summer vacations, health officials in California urged the public to not take leisure trips, including weekend trips, in the middle of the coronavirus crisis.

We are, in fact, asking people in our health officer order to avoid nonessential travel and we would ask that our neighbors across the state and across the country do the same, said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County. Theres probably very few places in the world right now that would like to see travel into their communities.

There is no mandatory 14-day mandatory quarantine for visitors coming to California, as is the case in Hawaii, which is punishable by a $5,000 fine and a year in imprisonment.

But Ferrer requested that people coming to L.A. County do self-quarantine when you come in [and] you do keep yourself away from other people  for that 14-day period.

The San Francisco director of public health, Dr. Grant Colfax, echoed his L.A. County counterpart.

Its best for people to limit their travel to essential travel. This is not the time to go on a trip for recreation or vacation, even to visit family and friends, Colfax said.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin offered a different message in an interview on Fox Business Network, where he said President Trump was looking at ways to stimulate travel.

We want people to travel safely, to be able to visit places safely, Mnuchin said. This is a great time for people to explore America. A lot of people havent seen many parts of America.

The suggestions come as officials are slowing trying to ease stay-at-home rules.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that while there are signs of progress, such as a modest decrease in patients in intensive care, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths remains an obstacle.

Were still seeing lives lost from this pandemic, he said. It is absolutely incumbent on all of us to be thoughtful and judicious as we move into this next phase.

Story continues

California over the last few days has allowed some retail businesses to reopen for curbside service, and local governments have allowed many beaches and trails to reopen with social distancing.

Los Angeles County beaches, which have been closed since late March, will reopen Wednesday with some new rules.

Surfing, swimming, running and walking will be allowed. Biking, playing volleyball, sitting, sunbathing and picnicking will be banned. Coolers and canopies are not allowed. Parking lots, bike paths, piers and boardwalks will remain closed.

Everyone will be required to wear masks and stay at least six feet away from others, officials said.

Crowds did not storm newly reopened businesses, trailheads and parks, Ferrer said. Of 410 reopened businesses surveyed, 162 were found to be in violation, and some were instructed to close.
Joe Dickson says he first stepped into a leadership role when he was 35. Thats when he left his job at the GE plant on Court Street for his first startup, Tegmen.

Since then, Dickson has founded two more companies, hes been recruited to executive roles in other companies and startups, and hes become a sought-after mentor. Hes taught entrepreneurship at Cazenovia College and Syracuse University.
Photo: congthuong.vn



Notably, sliced cassava has growth opportunities because China is reviving the pig raising industry after African swine fever, leading to an increase in feed demand.



Its exports were estimated at 294,000 tons, equivalent to USD65 million, a year-on-year increase of 48% in volume and 63% in value. The average export price of sliced cassava stood at USD221 per ton, up 10% over the same period last year.

Besides, export prices of sliced cassava are continuing to rise due to the continued cassava leaf disease in China. Moreover, as China is now well controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, trade has also become more favorable.

Specifically, the total export volume of cassava and cassava products to China in the first 3 months reached 704,000 tons, equivalent to USD235 million, up 17% in volume and 4% in value over the same period last year. Meanwhile, export to Malaysia reached 13,000 tons, equivalent to USD5.6 million, up 110.2% in volume and 102% in value over the same period in 2019./.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday confirmed that the company had restarted its production in defiance of local orders.

The billionaire said he would personally be on the line, risking arrest.

Over the weekend, Tesla filed a lawsuit against Alameda County, where its factory is, arguing it should be considered essential.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday confirmed earlier reports that the company had resumed production despite local shelter-in-place orders designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," he said in a tweet. "I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

Earlier on Monday, three employees told Business Insider that Tesla asked employees to return to work with phone calls and text messages. If they choose not to return, the workers said, they risk losing their jobs.

It wasn't immediately clear if or how local authorities would respond. Only essential businesses are allowed to operate in California. Musk has repeatedly said Tesla should be considered essential.

Earlier on Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he expected Tesla to start up operations by next week.

"My understanding is they have had some very constructive conversations," he said in a video press conference. "My belief and hope and expectation is as early as next week, they will be able to resume."

Musk later thanked Newsom in a tweet for saying he has "long been an advocate, supporter, and adopter" of the company's technology.

For weeks, Musk has expressed increasing frustration with the shutdown of Tesla's main car factory in Fremont, California. On an April 29 conference call, he said the shutdown should be viewed as a "serious risk" to Tesla's business before going on a profanity-laden tirade about how the shutdowns were antithetical to the principles America was founded on.

Story continues

In response to a lawsuit filed Saturday, local officials in Alameda County said they were engaging with the company in good faith to balance business needs with local safety.

"The team at Tesla has been responsive to our guidance and recommendations, and we look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon," it said. "We need to continue to work together so those sacrifices don't go to waste and that we maintain our gains. It is our collective responsibility to move through the phases of reopening and loosening the restrictions of the Shelter-in-Place Order in the safest way possible, guided by data and science."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Secured head-to-toe in a white protective suit, mask, gloves and booties, animal welfare enforcement supervisor Sean Gallagher entered an apartment in northeast Miami in late March to take custody of a dog.

The 7-year-old German shepherd mix was frightened and snapped at him. The dog's owner had been hospitalized with coronavirus, and Gallagher, along with Miami-Dade Police Department officers, was at the apartment after a family member in New York asked the police to check on the pet.

"The dog was reactive and scared," said Alex Munoz, director of Miami-Dade County Animal Services. "She lost her family."

The shelter named her Linda. They soon learned that her owner died of coronavirus.

Munoz said Linda was the first pup his organization took in who was abandoned because of the pandemic and one of 30 dogs and cats currently housed at the shelter whose owners died from coronavirus or a suspected case of the virus.

Linda's story is playing out across the country, including in places like New York, which is considered the epicenter of the outbreak as it accounts for nearly one-third of coronavirus deaths nationwide. Animal Care Center in New York City said it has taken in more than two dozen pets whose owners have died from coronavirus, while other pet rescues in the city have also opened their adoption centers

Animal shelters emptied from coast to coast after state governments issued stay-at-home orders as many people who now work remotely rushed to adopt cats and dogs.

Now, some shelters are beginning to see an increase in pets that have become homeless after their owners died during the coronavirus pandemic.

"It was an almost creepy silence," said Tiffany Lacey, executive director of Animal Haven, a New York City animal rescue. "My worry was always, where are the animals? What's going on?"

Lacey said it took "about a week or two" before the shelter started receiving calls about people dying and animals being left behind.

"We knew what was going to happen, and it slowly started to trickle, and now the ball is rolling down the hill faster," Lacey said.

Among those who came to Animal Haven: Bo, a 10-year-old blind and deaf pug. The spry senior pug was fed three homemade meals a day from his owner, who cared for him since he was a puppy, Lacey said.

But when Bo's owner died from COVID-19, family members didn't know what to do with him. No one could take him in permanently. They considered euthanizing him because of his age. Instead, he was brought to Animal Haven, which now has more than 30 dogs and cats that have lost their families to coronavirus.

"Something so sad that's happening right now is the amount of people who don't have that safety net at all, whether it's family or friends" to take their pets, Lacey said.

Bo went to a new home on Sunday.

Last weekend, a 55-year-old woman and her brother died at the small apartment in Ridgewood, New York, that they shared with their mother. They were believed to have contracted COVID-19. Their mother, who is also sick and grieving the loss of her children, was left with at least 16 chihuahuas, Lacey said.

Animal Haven sent a team of volunteers wearing white protective suits, gloves, blue booties over their shoes, and masks across their faces to remove most of the chihuahuas. They placed them in carriers and crates to transport them by van to their Manhattan shelter where they were placed in quarantine.

Information about owners can be scarce

"That's happening all over the place right now," Lacey said. "We rescued a cat from an apartment in the East Village. The gentleman had gone to the hospital and never made it out. It keeps coming in."

With some animals that are rescued, like the cat in the East Village, information about their owners can be hard to find.

Winter, an 8-year-old white-furred cat with blue-green eyes, lived with her elderly owner. The cat came to Animal Haven after a neighbor who had been leaving food out for her learned of the owner's death and contacted the shelter.

Winter was hiding beneath a bed, but the shelter was able to coax her out using food and a safe trap. But information about Winter's owner is scarce.

"He loved music and he really loved his cat," said Jenny Coffey, director of community engagement at Animal Haven. "I'm hoping we can carry that forward. Sometimes the people who didn't have support only had their animals. Their animal was the final representation of who they were."

After Linda, the shepherd mix, was picked up by Miami-Dade County Animal Services, she was bathed and placed in quarantine for two weeks.

She's now been transferred to Heidi's Legacy Dog Rescue in Tampa, which placed her with a foster family. Linda has calmed down, they said, and is playing fetch and with toys at her foster home. The rescue group renamed her "Charise, to signify her fresh start," and has placed her up for adoption, according to her adoption page.

In some cases, the shelters are able to connect pets with family.

Kyra Swartz, a 33-year-old digital marketing analyst in New York City and cat rescue volunteer, died in her apartment from COVID-19. Officers with the New York Police Department notified her parents, who told them about Swartz's shy 8-year-old cat named Anderson. The officers took Anderson to ACC.

Her parents contacted the shelter, who confirmed it was Anderson after scanning his microchip. After a 14-day quarantine, ACC facilitated a reunion with the help of a volunteer from another rescue who drove Anderson to Swartz's parents.

Anderson is now living with Swartz's brother, his wife and their two cats, two hours north of the city near Albany.

"The cat was very important to our daughter," said Andrew Swartz, Kyra's father. "We can't say enough about what ACC did for us and did for our family."

Anderson is one of nearly 60 pets ACC has taken in that have been affected by the pandemic.

"It's heartbreaking enough when someone has to surrender an animal, but when you see an animal brought in who is lost and scared and you know they're not ever going to go home it's really hard," said Katy Hansen, a spokeswoman for ACC.

Planning for pets

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends pet owners have an emergency plan in place: Identify a friend or family member who can care for your pet should you become sick, have up-to-date veterinary records and proof of vaccinations, and stock up on food and medications that could last a few weeks.

Last month, New York City launched a taskforce hotline  877-204-8821  along with several animal rescues, to assist people who need help caring for their pets. Services range from temporary boarding to free food deliveries and medical care.

Across the country, some shelters are also hosting food drives for pet owners and offering low-cost medical care for their animals. Their goal is to keep pets with their families rather than have them surrendered.

In Miami-Dade, the animal shelter has held two food drives where they handed out between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds of food.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has held food drives, and in New York City shelters have made food deliveries.

Since the shelters emptied out in March, they have more capacity to handle new dogs and cats. But they're bracing for the possibility that more animals will be surrendered in the months ahead as companies lay off or furlough employees.

The Massachusetts SPCA took in seven pets recently. Three were brought in after their owners died from the virus. Four of the pets were surrendered because their owners could no longer afford to care for them due to financial difficulties amid the pandemic.

Shelters have gone through stresses before from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Super Storm Sandy in New York and the global recession of 2008, but some shelter employees said it's different during the coronavirus pandemic.

"What's so unique about this situation as opposed to other economic situations is we just don't have any idea of when things will be back to any semblance of normal and what things will look like when we get there," said Anna Rafferty-Arnold, associate director of the Massachusetts SPCA Boston adoption center.

"It's unpredictable. We're bracing ourselves for everything."

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The debate of whether or not to cover up continues across the country.

As some states start to slowly reopen amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, not everyone is heeding the advice of the nations top health officials to wear a mask or cloth face covering when in public places where social distancing is not possible.

YouGov, an international data and analytics firm, released a new survey showing where residents are most likely to wear a face mask when going out in public.

While just 17% of Americans surveyed were wearing a mask at the beginning of April, that number had jumped to 63% by the end of the month.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Over the full month, 43% of respondents across the country said they have been wearing masks, with 12 states, including Washington, D.C., boasting higher percentages, indicating that those residents are more likely to cover up.

Americans most likely to wear masks hail from Hawaii (58%), New Jersey (56%), the District of Columbia (56%), New York (53%), California (52%), Rhode Island (52%), Colorado (49%), Maryland (49%), Connecticut (47%), Michigan (46%), Pennsylvania (46%), Massachusetts (46%) and Georgia (45%).

The lowest percentage of people wearing masks can be found in Montana (23%), Iowa (29%), Idaho (31%) and Wisconsin (31%).
DURHAM, N.C. - Engineers at Duke University have shown that nanosized silver cubes can make diagnostic tests that rely on fluorescence easier to read by making them more than 150 times brighter. Combined with an emerging point-of-care diagnostic platform already shown capable of detecting small traces of viruses and other biomarkers, the approach could allow such tests to become much cheaper and more widespread.

The results appeared online on May 6 in the journal Nano Letters.

Plasmonics is a scientific field that traps energy in a feedback loop called a plasmon onto the surface of silver nanocubes. When fluorescent molecules are sandwiched between one of these nanocubes and a metal surface, the interaction between their electromagnetic fields causes the molecules to emit light much more vigorously. Maiken Mikkelsen, the James N. and Elizabeth H. Barton Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke, has been working with her laboratory at Duke to create new types of hyperspectral cameras and superfast optical signals using plasmonics for nearly a decade.

At the same time, researchers in the laboratory of Ashutosh Chilkoti, the Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, have been working on a self-contained, point-of-care diagnostic test that can pick out trace amounts of specific biomarkers from biomedical fluids such as blood. But because the tests rely on fluorescent markers to indicate the presence of the biomarkers, seeing the faint light of a barely positive test requires expensive and bulky equipment.

"Our research has already shown that plasmonics can enhance the brightness of fluorescent molecules tens of thousands of times over," said Mikkelsen. "Using it to enhance diagnostic assays that are limited by their fluorescence was clearly a very exciting idea."

"There are not a lot of examples of people using plasmon-enhanced fluorescence for point-of-care diagnostics, and the few that exist have not been yet implemented into clinical practice," added Daria Semeniak, a graduate student in Chilkoti's laboratory. "It's taken us a couple of years, but we think we've developed a system that can work."

In the new paper, researchers from the Chilkoti lab build their super-sensitive diagnostic platform called the D4 Assay onto a thin film of gold, the preferred yin to the plasmonic silver nanocube's yang. The platform starts with a thin layer of polymer brush coating, which stops anything from sticking to the gold surface that the researchers don't want to stick there. The researchers then use an ink-jet printer to attach two groups of molecules tailored to latch on to the biomarker that the test is trying to detect. One set is attached permanently to the gold surface and catches one part of the biomarker. The other is washed off of the surface once the test begins, attaches itself to another piece of the biomarker, and flashes light to indicate it's found its target.

After several minutes pass to allow the reactions to occur, the rest of the sample is washed away, leaving behind only the molecules that have managed to find their biomarker matches, floating like fluorescent beacons tethered to a golden floor.

"The real significance of the assay is the polymer brush coating," said Chilkoti. "The polymer brush allows us to store all of the tools we need on the chip while maintaining a simple design."

While the D4 Assay is very good at grabbing small traces of specific biomarkers, if there are only trace amounts, the fluorescent beacons can be difficult to see. The challenge for Mikkelsen and her colleagues was to place their plasmonic silver nanocubes above the beacons in such a way that they supercharged the beacons' fluorescence.

But as is usually the case, this was easier said than done.

"The distance between the silver nanocubes and the gold film dictates how much brighter the fluorescent molecule becomes," said Daniela Cruz, a graduate student working in Mikkelsen's laboratory. "Our challenge was to make the polymer brush coating thick enough to capture the biomarkers--and only the biomarkers of interest--but thin enough to still enhance the diagnostic lights."

The researchers attempted two approaches to solve this Goldilocks riddle. They first added an electrostatic layer that binds to the detector molecules that carry the fluorescent proteins, creating a sort of "second floor" that the silver nanocubes could sit on top of. They also tried functionalizing the silver nanocubes so that they would stick directly to individual detector molecules on a one-on-one basis.

While both approaches succeeded in boosting the amount of light coming from the beacons, the former showed the best improvement, increasing its fluorescence by more than 150 times. However, this method also requires an extra step of creating a "second floor," which adds another hurdle to engineering a way to make this work on a commercial point-of-care diagnostic rather than only in a laboratory. And while the fluorescence didn't improve as much in the second approach, the test's accuracy did.

"Building microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices through either approach would take time and resources, but they're both doable in theory," said Cassio Fontes, a graduate student in the Chilkoti laboratory. "That's what the D4 Assay is moving toward."

And the project is moving forward. Earlier in the year, the researchers used preliminary results from this research to secure a five-year, $3.4 million R01 research award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The collaborators will be working to optimize these fluorescence enhancements while integrating wells, microfluidic channels and other low-cost solutions into a single-step diagnostic device that can run through all of these steps automatically and be read by a common smartphone camera in a low-cost device.

"One of the big challenges in point-of-care tests is the ability to read out results, which usually requires very expensive detectors," said Mikkelsen. "That's a major roadblock to having disposable tests to allow patients to monitor chronic diseases at home or for use in low-resource settings. We see this technology not only as a way to get around that bottleneck, but also as a way to enhance the accuracy and threshold of these diagnostic devices."

###

This research was supported by the National Institute of Health (5R01-HL144928-02), the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the United States Special Operations Command (W81XWH-16-C-0219), the Combat Casualty Care Research Program (JPC-6) (W81XWH-17-2-0045) and the National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education - CAPES (the Science without Borders project).

CITATION: "Ultrabright Fluorescence Readout of an Ink-Jet Printed Immunoassay Using Plasmonic Nanogap Cavities." Daniela F. Cruz, Cassio M. Fontes, Daria Semeniak, Jiani Huang, Angus Hucknall, Ashutosh Chilkoti, and Maiken H. Mikkelsen. Nano Letters, 2020. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01051
Denise Welch has expressed her regrets over not being 'wilder' in her youth and her raucous antics beginning in her 30s during an appearance on Tuesday's Loose Women.

The actress, 61, who has previously spoken candidly about her battle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction, admitted she wished she had let loose during her younger years to save her children the 'embarrassment' they endured when she was older.

The star, who is now sober, said: 'I wish that I had been wilder in my youth and not wild as a grown up and saved my children the embarrassment, as a grown-up.

Regrets: Denise Welch has expressed her regrets over not being 'wilder' in her youth and her raucous antics beginning in her 30s during an appearance on Tuesday's Loose Women

'My parents obviously had boundaries and they were maybe more liberal than some of your mum and dads were, but I knew my boundaries, and I didn't have anything to rebel against particularly.

'When I was a grown-up It all went downhill and I just became a very wild person in my 30s, there are no more boxes that I want to tick.

'I just want to un-tick loads of boxes, I've had to put them in a box at the back of my house and I think my children share that.'

The star is mum to sons Matthew, 31, and Louis, 19 with ex husband Tim Healy.

Denise showed off her cheeky side as she flashed her bright pink bra at the end of the segment to reveal she was still wearing underwear in lockdown.

Wild side: The actress, 61, who has previously spoken candidly about her battle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction, admitted she wished she had let loose during her younger years to save her children the 'embarrassment' (pictured 2011)

Candid: The Loose Ladies were in good spirits as they discussed the day's topics

Last week, Denise said that staying sober in lockdown has been her 'toughest challenge yet' after being teetotal for eight years.

The actress, who lives in Cheshire with her husband Lincoln Townley, 47, opened up about her struggle on Loose Women on Tuesday afternoon.

She said: 'I have found in lockdown that this is mine and Lincoln's toughest challenge in eight years.

'At no point have we felt that we'd pick up a drink. We have good times and bad times, it's hard.

'We would like nothing more than to take the edge off.'

She said: 'When I was a grown-up It all went downhill and I just became a very wild person in my 30s, there are no more boxes that I want to tick'

Partier: The star, who is now sober, said: 'I wish that I had been wilder in my youth and not wild as a grown up and saved my children the embarrassment, as a grown-up (pictured 2003)

Family: Denise is mother to sons Matthew, 31, and Louis, 19, with ex husband Tim Healy

Denise has been sober since 2012 and celebrated her eight anniversary on April 20 this year.

To celebrate she uploaded a video message where she said getting sober has changed her life and praised her husband Lincoln who did it alongside her.

In her video, Denise said: 'Today, April 18th I am celebrating being eight years sober and I just want to thank everybody who has supported me on this journey. If it wasn't for my husband Lincoln who got sober with me I don't know where I would be.

Challenging: Denise admitted on Loose Women earlier this month that staying sober in lockdown has been her 'toughest challenge yet' after being teetotal for eight years

Denise gave words of encouragement to anyone struggling with sobriety, insisting it will change their life for the better.

She said: 'If any if you are in the early stages or wherever you are in your sobriety journey I just want to say it will be the best thing you have ever done.

'And for me it just hasn't changed my life, but it has changed the life of all of the people that love me and, indeed, my friends.'

Denise added that her and Lincoln's decision to get sober has also had an enormous impact on their children.

The TV presenter is mother to sons Matt, 31, and Louis Healy, 19, with ex husband Tim Healy, who she divorced in 2012, while Lincoln also has a son from a previous relationship.

She said: 'But by us getting sober we have given our three sons wings to fly without having to worry about us.

'It renewed my relationship with my family which my drinking had somewhat tried to destroy, I was in a very bad place.'

Alongside the video, Denise wrote: '8 yrs sober today!!! Best decision I ever made, not just for myself but for everyone who loves me.'

Denise and Lincoln tied the knot in July 2013 in Portugal, after becoming engaged in August 2012.

Anyone battling similar issues should contact AA on: 0800 917 7650 Email helpline: help@aamail.org
Police in India have been caught on video reportedly forcing a 71-year-old man to do squats as punishment for breaking the countrys lockdown restrictions.

The elderly man was allegedly made to perform the exercise after opening his vegetable shop in Madhya Pradeshs Betul district, the Times of India reports.

A video of the incident shows a man dressed in a white pair of shorts and shirt, who appears to be the greengrocer, squatting all the way to the floor with his hands on his head several times.

At one point the shopkeeper, who is accompanied by a younger man also performing the exercise for a time, puts his hands on his knees as he appears to struggle to get back up.

Three men wearing face masks, including one who looks as if he is wearing a police uniform and another with a lanyard around his neck, watch on as he completes his punishment.

A senior police officer later said the deputy ranger should not have acted the way he did, according to the Times of India.

Reports have emerged of people caught breaking lockdown restrictions imposed since 25 March being forced to do sit ups, squats and the murga punishment  a stress position resembling that of a rooster which involves squatting and looping the arms behind the knees and then holding the ears.

Photographers have captured images of people being publicly shamed as punishment across the country, including in Mumbai, Amritsar, New Delhi and Kolkata.

Indias coronavirus death toll has reached more than 2,200, while it has recorded more than 70,700 cases of the disease.
A group of voters and civil rights organizations filed a suit Monday challenging the states absentee voting restrictions, saying they will unjustifiably risk the voting rights of Texans during the coronavirus pandemic.

Its the latest in a wave of suits launched by Democrats and civic organizations seeking to pry open the states strict voting laws in the months leading up to the general election.

Texas is one of the few states that still require voters younger than 65 to have an excuse to cast a ballot by mail. Fewer than 7 percent of Texas voters mailed in ballots in 2018.

The situation that we find ourselves in is totally inadequate and dangerous to our health if we go strictly by the laws that are now in place, said one of the plaintiffs, Linda Jann Lewis, 73, of Waco. We are months away from November  now is the time for our state government to pay attention to the pandemic and the lives that are at risk.

TEXAS AG ALSO TARGETED: Voters file criminal complaint against AG Ken Paxton over mail-in voting threats

The suits had been multiplying quickly even before the pandemic, and the health crisis has only increased the urgency as Democrats press to reverse the restrictions defended by Texas Republicans who say they are concerned about potential voter fraud.

Public opinion in recent months has favored voting by mail, polling shows. A Pew Research Center poll late last month found that almost 3 out of 4 Americans favor universal access to mail voting during the coronavirus pandemic, including about half of Republicans.

Despite resistance from top officials in the state and from the Trump administration, at least one Texas county has already put aside funding to expand mail-in voting even before the court cases are resolved.

The suit filed Monday challenges four restrictions on Texas ballots submitted by mail: Three of them are requirements that voters pay for postage to return ballots by mail, postmark them by 7 p.m. on Election Day and submit handwriting samples that match. The fourth restriction criminalizes use of third-party assistance in returning marked ballots.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The plaintiffs are represented by the National Redistricting Foundation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Given the life and death consequences of the pandemic with which the nation is still grappling, Texas current absentee voting restrictions must be eliminated because they will severely burden those who wish to exercise their fundamental right to vote, Holder said in a statement. These restrictions force voters into an untenable choice: personal safety or community participation. Under no circumstances should Texas be allowed to force citizens to choose between casting a ballot and staying healthy.

A spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office represents state agencies including the secretary of states office, said in response to the suit: We will continue to uphold the law and protect the integrity of the election process.

Complaint targets Paxton

The plaintiffs include Voto Latino, the Texas State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. They seek a preliminary injunction that would block all four restrictions.

Jann Lewis, one of five individual plaintiffs, said she worries about repeating what happened in Wisconsin, where people were forced to choose whether to risk their health to vote in the states April 7 primary election. More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during that election have tested positive for COVID-19.

Also Monday, two voting rights advocates filed a complaint with the Dallas County District Attorneys Office, alleging that Paxton committed voter fraud in each of the states 254 counties by contradicting a judges order to temporarily expand the availability of mail-in voting during the pandemic.

District Judge Tim Sulak in Travis County on April 17 issued a temporary injunction enabling any voter to request a mail-in ballot by claiming that their health would be jeopardized by going to the polls.

Paxton, a Republican who has argued that voting by mail should be reserved only for those who currently qualify for it, wrote in a filing that Sulaks order was automatically stayed when he appealed it.

Further, Paxton threatened to criminally prosecute local elections officials who use Sulaks order to justify an expansion of mail-in voting. (Paxton himself is under criminal indictment for securities fraud and has been awaiting a trial for almost five years; he was re-elected in November 2018.)

The Texas Democratic Party and voters have filed an identical suit to the one in Sulaks court in federal court. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Friday.

In the meantime, Sulaks order stopped Travis County from preventing its voters from seeking a ballot using a coronavirus-related disability claim. It also prohibited the county and the attorney generals office from publishing any guidance to the contrary in any of Texas other 253 counties.

Thats left enough of a gray area that Harris County is already preparing for expanded mail-in voting. At the end of April, the county budgeted about $12 million to the cause.

No matter what the courts and the state decide for the July and November elections, we must be prepared for an increase in mail ballots, which we are already seeing, County Clerk Diane Trautman said at the time.

A similar battle is playing out at the federal level: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to include up to $4 billion for vote-by-mail ballots in the next pandemic response package.

Senate Republicans and the Trump administration have pushed back hard against the idea of the federal government directing states and have cited concerns about mail-in votings susceptibility to voter fraud.

In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, passed at the end of March, Democrats worked out $400 million for election security grants, which can be used to expand vote-by-mail and early voting, though a fund-matching provision has slowed the process of distributing the funds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cabin luggage will be barred and passengers aged above 80 years not allowed on flights when air passengers services, suspended since March 25 because of the Covid-19 lockdown, resume in the country, according to guidelines drafted by the government for the first phase of the restart of commercial flights.

The draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) proposed by the civil aviation ministry for passengers, airlines and airport operators at a meeting on Monday have done away with the rule of keeping the middle seats vacant in compliance with social distancing norms. Passenger ID checks will also be not required so as to minimise the crowds at terminal gates.

Stakeholders in the aviation business,including airlines and airport operators, have been asked to review the draft, a copy of which has been seen by Hindustan Times, and submit their feedback.

It is clarified that suggestions were sought on a draft discussion paper from airlines and airports. The suggestions have now been received.The final SOP is yet to be issued, said Rajeev Jain, additional director general at the ministry of civil aviation.

The rules make it compulsory for all passengers to arrive at the airport only after completing their web check-in at home. The reporting time for travellers at the airport is proposed to be increased by two hours. Only passengers whose flights are scheduled to depart in the next six hours will be allowed inside the airports.

Cabin luggage will be disallowed, and only one piece of check-in baggage weighing less than 20kg will be allowed per passenger in the first phase of resumed airline operations.Those aged above 80 will not be allowed on flights. According to the draft SOPs, passengers stopped from boarding a flight because of age or if they are found to be running a high temperature will be permitted to change their travel date without any penalty.

Other things such as road transport have to return to normal before commercial flights are resumed, said Sudhakara Reddy, president of the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), noting that some states want the lockdown, already twice extended, to be prolonged beyond May 17, when it is due to end. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night, spoke of an impending Lockdown 4.

If domestic air passenger services begin from next week, only a few passengers having personal vehicles will be able to fly as many states have requested that the lockdown be extended, making road transport difficult after landing, Reddy said. Only a few destinations will be open for all the stranded ones to fly back to their respective cities.

A full service airline official said on condition of anonymity: It is too early to comment on the SOP as it is still being prepared.

Downloading the Aarogya Setu app will be mandatory for all the passengers. Only those with a green status will be allowed to enter the airport.

Airlines have been asked to open check-in counters three hours prior to departure time and close them 60 to 75 minutes prior to departure. Boarding will commence an hour prior to departure time and the gates will close 20 minutes before.

Frisking of passengers has been asked to be minimised and to be carried out only if the door frame metal detector beeps. The draft SOPs also ask the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to not stamp passengers boarding pass in this phase.

The airlines have been told to conduct a secondary temperature check at the boarding gate before the passengers enter their flight.

The document also suggests that the same set of crew (pilots and cabin attendants) be rostered on a flight as long as possible to minimise the risk of infection.

Passengers will not be served meals on board. Water will be available in cups and bottles in the galley.

The last three rows of the aircraft will be kept vacant for isolation of any passenger who develops a medical condition. Crew members handling such cases will wear personal protection equipment.An adequate number of PPEs will be available on board to deal with more than one such case.

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May 12 : Actor Sonu Sood is one big-hearted man. Time and again he has come forward for the service of humanity and has won millions of hearts always. This time amidst the lockdown he has sent 350 migrant workers back home to Karnataka from Mumbai by arranging transport and meal kits for them. His noble gesture is being praised all over and many celebs have congratulated him for his generosity.

Proud of my friend @SonuSood .. organising n sponsoring buses to take migrants back to their homes. Pandemic times also show us who we should continue being friends with  pic.twitter.com/Y5ykPzfhB8  Farah Khan (@TheFarahKhan) May 12, 2020

Choreographer turned Director Farah Khan wrote, "Proud of my friend @sonusood.. organising n sponsoring buses to take migrants back to their homes. Pandemic times also show us who we should continue being friends with"

So so proud of you my friend  amazing work @SonuSood https://t.co/h2XRIGxC0d  Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) May 11, 2020

Sania Mirza congratulated him and wrote, "So so proud of you my friend amazing work @sonusood"

Sanam Teri Kasam fame actor Harshvardhan Rane tweeted," Angel with muscles @sonusood"

Thank u Simranjit  https://t.co/KZxSGMQ89S  sonu sood (@SonuSood) May 11, 2020

National Boxer Simranjit Kaur also wished him and wrote, " Kudos @sonusood pajji. Its a great work for humanity"

'Happy New Year' actor Sonu Sood arranged for requisite permissions from the state governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra and has sent 350 migrant workers in 10 buses back home to a small town Gulburga in Karnataka from Mumbai. He also arranged for the meal kits during travel.

He and his team is also working on sending other batches of migrant workers back home to Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Bihar from Mumbai.

Earlier the actor donated 1500 PPE Kits to the doctors across Punjab and had also opened up his hotel in Mumbai to accommodate frontline workers.
Add to that the degradation of human dignity created by an economic system that had, in the last few decades before Frankl gave his talks, relegated working men and women into mere means, degrading them into tools of making money for someone else. Frankl saw this as an insult to human dignity, arguing that a person should never become a means to an end.

And then there were the concentration camps, where lives seen only as worthy of death were nevertheless exploited as slave labor to their biological limits. From all that  plus the simple fact of collusion with evil leaders  European countries especially were pervaded by a collective sense of guilt. On top of all this, Frankl was acutely aware as a camp survivor that the best among us did not return. That knowledge could easily turn into a crippling survivors guilt. Small wonder camp survivors like him had to relearn how to be happy at all.

From all these insults to reach any sense of meaning ensued an inner crisis, as Frankl sensed, one that led to the comfortless worldview of a nihilistic existentialism  think Becketts bleak postwar play Waiting for Godot, an expression of the cynicism and hopelessness of those years. As Frankl put it, It should not be a surprise if contemporary philosophy perceives the world as though it had no substance.

Fast-forward seven decades or more. These days, various lines of evidence suggest that many young people today are putting their sense of meaning and purpose rst  a development Frankl could not have foreseen given the dark lens that the horrors he had just survived gave him. But these days, those who recruit and hire for companies, for instance, report that more than any time in memory the new generation of prospective employees shun working for places whose activities conict with their personal values.

Frankls intuitive sense of how purpose matters has been borne out by a large body of research. For instance, having a sense of purpose in life offers a buffer against poor health. People with a life purpose, data shows, tend to live longer. And researchers nd that having a purpose numbers among the pillars of well-being.

Whoever has a why to live can bear almost any how, as the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declared. Frankl takes this maxim as an explanation for the will to survive he noted in some fellow prisoners. Those who found a larger meaning and purpose in their lives, who had a dream of what they could contribute, were, in Frankls view, more likely to survive than were those who gave up.

One crucial fact mattered here. Despite the cruelty visited on prisoners by the guards, the beatings, torture, and constant threat of death, there was one part of their lives that remained free: their own minds. The hopes, imagination, and dreams of prisoners were up to them, despite their awful circumstances. This inner ability was real human freedom; people are prepared to starve, he saw, if starvation has a purpose or meaning.

The lesson Frankl drew from this existential fact: our perspective on lifes events  what we make of them  matters as much or more than what actually befalls us. Fate is what happens to us beyond our control. But we each are responsible for how we relate to those events.

Frankl held these insights on the singular importance of a sense of meaning even before he underwent the horrors of camp life, though his years as a prisoner gave him even deeper conviction. When he was arrested and deported in 1941, he had sewn into the lining of his overcoat the manuscript of a book in which he argued for this view. He had hoped to publish that book one day, though he had to give up the coat  and the unpublished book  on his rst day as a prisoner. And his desire to one day publish his views, along with his yearning to see his loved ones once again, gave him a personal purpose that helped keep him aoat.

After the war, and with this optimistic outlook on living still intact despite the brutalities of the camps, Frankl in these lectures called on people to strive toward a new humanity, even in the face of their losses, heartbreaks, and disenchantments. What is human, he argued, is still valid.

Frankl recounts asking his students what they thought gave a sense of purpose to his, Frankls, own life. One student guessed it exactly: to help other people nd their purpose. Frankl ended these lectures  and this book  by saying his entire purpose has been that any of us can say Yes to life in spite of everything.

Excerpted from Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor Frankl. Copyright 2020. Excerpted with permission by Beacon Press.

Available at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org (where your purchase supports independent bookstores), Barnes & Noble (bn.com) and wherever else books are sold.
Three United Nations officials have called on Israels government to release imprisoned Palestinian children amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Some 194 children are currently in detention in Israeli jails, the officials said in a statement released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today.

Most of the children are being held in pretrial detention, according to the UN officials, even though legal proceedings have paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children in detention face heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, with physical distancing and other preventive measures often absent or difficult to achieve, the statement read.

Moreover, since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel, legal proceedings are on hold, almost all prison visits are cancelled, and children are denied in-person access to their families and their lawyers.

The statement was released jointly by the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jamie McGoldrick, UNICEFs special representative in Palestine, Genevieve Boutin, and the head of the UN human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, James Heenan.

The 1989 international Convention on the Rights of the Child says that imprisonment of children must be a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Israel ratified the convention in 1991 but has faced UN criticism on its implementation in the past.

The best way to uphold the rights of detained children amidst a dangerous pandemic, in any country, is to release them from detention and to put a moratorium on new admissions into detention facilities, todays UN statement read.

We call on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to do so immediately.
[May 12, 2020] Nascent Biotech and Manhattan BioSolutions Enter into Collaboration to Advance Vaccine Discovery and Development for COVID-19

SAN DIEGO, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nascent Biotech, Inc (OTCQB: NBIO), a biotechnology company pioneering innovative medicines to overcome and prevent difficult-to-treat cancers and viral infections, and Manhattan BioSolutions, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery of the next-generation therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, today announced they have entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement to initiate a vaccine program for the potential prevention of COVID-19 or other viral infections. This effort will augment Nascents current development plants to investigate the utility of Pritumumab for the treatment of COVID-19 that was announced earlier in March.

Dr. Boris Shor, Chief Executive Officer, Manhattan BioSolutions, commented, Manhattan BioSolutions has a longstanding commitment to advance the basic research of immunotherapies and we are excited to be working with Nascent Biotech on constructing a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 around the world. Our novel platform will be based on the recombinant Mycobacterium Bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (rBCG), genetically engineered to express selected SARS-CoV-2 proteins. BCG is a live non-pathogenic bacterium that stimulates diverse innate and adaptive immune responses and is well-known for its long safety track record as a tuberculosis vaccine. Our experience with the rBCG candidates initially constructed for oncology indications we expect that rBCG against SARS-CoV-2 will be possible to develop. Together, we will be in a strong position to advance the discovery and development of an innovative vaccination platform against coronaviruses. BCG is a well-validated treatment modality used for early-stage bladder cancer as well as the vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG vaccination has been also shown to produce positive heterologous immune effects leading to improved response against other infections. Its utility for the treatment or prevention of other diseases is only beginning to emerge. If successful it will ensure that people across the world, especially in emerging countries, will be protected from COVID-19 and other emerging health threats. Nascents Scientific Advisory Board Chair, Dr. Mark Glasy, said, This collaboration strengthens the infectious disease business platform and provides Nascent with two strong disease research platforms.



We go into this agreement with heightened optimism that we can build shareholder value while researching a treatment platform for COVID-19 and other devastating viral infections. We will soon begin a human clinical study for Brain Cancer with Pritumumab while expanding research through Manhattan BioSolutions into COVID-19, said Nascent CEO Sean Carrick. Under the terms of the agreement, Manhattan BioSolutions will receive up to $200,000, consisting of $100,000 initial payment through an equity transaction to advance the research and development of their recombinant BCG vaccine for the potential prevention of COVID-19 or other emerging coronavirus infections.

About Nascent Biotech

Nascent Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB: NBIO) is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the development of monoclonal antibodies to be used in the treatment of various cancers and viral infections helping millions of people worldwide. Its products are not commercially available. For further information please visit our website www.nascentbiotech.com. Our lead candidate, Pritumumab (PTB), is a monoclonal Antibody (Mab) will be studied in Phase I clinical trial later this year for the treatment of Brain Cancer. Development for PTB as a treatment for COVID-19 has been initiated. For more information, visit www.nascentbiotech.com. About Manhattan BioSolutions

Manhattan BioSolutions, Inc (MBS) is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of immunotherapies that target innate immunity for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. MBS leverages two technology platforms for drug discovery: microbial based genetically engineered immune stimulator platform, and monoclonal antibodies against innate immune sensors that recognize pathogens or endogenous danger signals released as a result of tissue injury or inflammation. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. Forward Looking Statement

Safe Harbor: Statements in this press release about our future expectations constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and our actual results could differ materially from expected results. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, Nascent Biotech Inc's ability to target the medical professionals; Nascent Biotech Inc's ability to raise capital; as well as other risks. Additional information about these and other factors may be described in the Nascent Biotech Inc's Form 10, filed on May 2, 2015, and future subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Contact: Sean Carrick President | CEO

Nascent Biotech, Inc. 6330 Nancy Ridge Dr.

Suite 105

San Diego CA 92121 772.713.0541 Cell

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Travel writer Alex Baackes, a 2007 Shaker High School graduate, is spending her coronavirus pandemic quarantine on Koh Tao, a tiny and remote island off Thailand with a population of about 3,000.

Its a little slice of paradise, but with a downside.

There is no wandering these days for the author of the popular travel blog Alex in Wanderland and creator of an Instagram feed of the same name with more than 79,000 followers.

It feels a bit like were stranded on a desert island in some strange Hollywood movie, said Baackes, 30. In hindsight, I think I made the right decision to stay here, but there were some gut-wrenching moments.

Although there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the island, Baackes faces an existential fear of possibly contracting the disease and the specter of being stuck on Koh Tao (Turtle Island) without a hospital or advanced medical care.

There were moments of anxiety because we rely totally on the mainland for food and access to the outside world, she said. In my scary moments I called friends who owned speedboats and made them promise they would get me off the island if I was starving or had an emergency. 

The other option beside hunkering down was to attempt an arduous 12-hour trip by ferry boat and bus to the international airport in Bangkok  where outgoing flights are sporadic and often canceled  as the countrys travel restrictions tightened and a state of emergency was declared on March 25.

She follows updates on the devastating toll of COVID-19 deaths across New York state and the U.S. I feel lucky being here because everyone is taking the situation very seriously and obeys the rules, she said, including cancellation of all celebrations of Songkran, the Thai New Years national holiday, on April 13 that normally includes a weeklong revelry of epic proportions.

A saving grace of lockdown was that the islands beaches and hiking trails remained open. It helps our mental health, she said.

Baackes weighed ominous email updates from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok with an all-caps warning: RETURN TO THE U.S. IMMEDIATELY OR PREPARE TO STAY INDEFINITELY.

Baackes has earned the title of bad-ass woman, crisscrossing continents solo for a decade, navigating difficult and sometimes dangerous situations, improvising constantly while documenting adventures and building a business around her wanderlust.

The notion of stasis is foreign. Baackes is stuck now on the 13-mile long island, in a lockdown of sorts. It's a shelter-in-place scenario that includes a private swimming pool, pristine white-sand beaches and world-class scuba diving.

Im very fortunate because I feel safe here, I have a lot of friends on the island and it feels like a home away from home, Baackes said.

She has been visiting Koh Tao for the past eight years. It has been a base of operations during her years as an entrepreneurial travel blogger, yoga instructor and scuba diving leader. She built Alex in Wanderland into a viable business with two part-time employees and various revenue streams from branded content sponsors, hotel recommendations and travel articles for tourism boards.

Last year, she launched a spin-off business, Wander Women Retreats, that offers weeklong gatherings in exotic locales that empower women and forge friendships through adventure activities including yoga, diving, photography and sustainability practices. Baackes welcomed 14 women from the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Canada to Koh Tao for a retreat on March 14-21 just as COVID-19 was locking down Thailand.

We were very careful and I felt comfortable running the retreat. The lockdown door hit our women on the way out and everything shut down four days after we finished, Baackes said.

The pandemic forced Baackes to postpone a trip to Sudan and Jordan as well as two retreats in Israel in May. She is hopeful that a womens retreat planned for Key Largo in Florida in mid-July can proceed.

Koh Tao has been economically crippled without tourism, its lifeblood. Baackes is assisting with donated food distribution efforts even as her business suffered a severe financial hit. Web traffic to travel sites is way down, hotels are closed, flights are limited, affiliate programs have been rolled back and my income streams are drying up, she said.

Baackes pivoted to an online format and held a virtual retreat for 56 women from several countries the first week of May with daily yoga, meditation, workshops and activities like making smoothies and creating coloring books. She charged $150 per person and paid the workshop hosts and her two part-time staffers who were desperate for income.

It was a sampling of what we offer in our retreats, she said.

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

Baackes chose Koh Tao as a place to recover and recharge after the death of her mother, Kathryn Allen, of Albany, who died on Oct. 2, 2019 at age 64 after a long battle with brain cancer. Baackes unplugged from her frenetic schedule to live with her mom and serve as her caretaker through her end-of-life journey.

Her mother encouraged her love of international travel, of exploring new cultures and chronicling her experiences through words and images.

It was really hard on Mothers Day, she said. I get homesick, but this is temporary shared pain for all of us. I share my feelings on my blog and it can be cathartic. My readers have responded very positively. They see the authentic me. Its not all pina coladas on the beach.

Baackes praised the early and decisive response by Thai officials to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. The nation of 70 million has reported 3,015 coronavirus cases, with 98 percent of the patients recovered, and 56 deaths since the outbreak began in January. The Thai government early on began widespread testing and health screenings and strong quarantine restrictions.

Some international observers considered Thailand a model in its rapid response.

I appreciate how proactive the government has been, Baackes said, although she chafes at a high level of government censorship and the chilling effect it has on free speech and press freedom.

She spoke to me via Zoom at 7:30 a.m. her time (8:30 p.m. here). Im drenched in sweat already, she said. It was 90 degrees and 75 percent humidity and Baackes swatted tropical bugs as she sat on a veranda hoping to catch the slightest puff of a breeze and a decent internet connection.

The lockdown meant no throngs of dive tourists or fishing pressure. Marine life has flourished.

Baackes took a two-mile swim the day before and saw an amazing variety of tropical fish and normally reclusive blacktip reef sharks.

As she floated in the warm water, she could forget there was a pandemic.

It all felt right in paradise.

Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com
Eighteen more people have been



arrested by Maharashtra Police's CID in the Palghar lynching case, officials said on Tuesday.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the incident in which three persons, including two seers, who were lynched by a mob of villagers in neighbouring Palghar district last month.

With the latest arrests, the number of those held in connection with the case has gone up to 134.

These include 24 arrested so far by the CID after it was handed over the case, a senior official from the CID said.

All those arrested by the CID were "actively involved in the violence and lynching", another official said.

Earlier, 110 people, including nine juveniles, were taken into custody by Palghar Police in the case.

The incident took place at Gadchinchle village on April 16 when two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral.

A mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were child-lifters, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot.

Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village. The police used drones to hunt them, an official earlier said.

One of the persons arrested in the case tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and was admitted to a government hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UKs statistics watchdog has told Matt Hancock to improve the trustworthiness of his testing figures, after widespread questions over his claim to have hit his 100,000-a-day target.

UK Statistics Authority chair Sir David Norgrove told the health secretary that more clarity was needed over whether the figures released by government reflected the number of coronavirus tests actually completed.

The letter was framed in diplomatic language but represents a serious challenge to Mr Hancocks claim to have hit his self-imposed target by the deadline of 30 April.

Mr Hancock announced a tally of more than 122,000 tests, but over 40,000 of these were home-testing kits sent out to private addresses or satellite NHS sites on the day, with no proof of whether they had yet been used. Some users said the kits had arrived without return-addressed envelopes and had to be discarded.

In the following days, the daily total slumped back below 70,000, even as Boris Johnson announced a new target of 200,000 tests by the end of May.

Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Show all 18 1 /18 Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, wearing PPE before going into rooms Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, speaks to a carer at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Carers working at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care worker wearing PPE opens a drink carton Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, sits with a carer Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care staff member wearing PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home looks after a resident SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE uses a speaker Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer helps Jack Dodsley, 79, from his chair Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE helps Jack Dodsley, 79 Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer brings food to a resident at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member puts on PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, puts on PPE before she enters a room SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A bench at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS

It was only yesterday that Mr Johnson announced for the first time that the daily total had once more topped the original target to reach 100,490 on 10 May - again including home-testing kits.

In his letter to Mr Hancock, Sir David said: For the sake of clarity and confidence, it is important that the target and its context should be set out.

It should be clear whether the target is intended to reflect testing capacity, tests that have been administered, test results received, or the number of people tested.

Mr Hancocks Department of Health and Social Care also needs to improve how it presents the data at the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conferences and government websites, said Norgrove.

There is limited detail about the nature and types of testing and it is hard to navigate to the best source of information, he wrote.

It would support trustworthiness for the testing data ... to be more straightforward to find, with detailed breakdowns and richer commentary.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We successfully hit our target to deliver 100,000 tests a day by the end of April and are committed to increasing our capacity to 200,000 a day across our whole testing programme so we can give tests to even more people that need one.

The government has been open and transparent in the way we are presenting data about coronavirus, including testing statistics.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that reopening cities and states too quickly could trigger an outbreak that would get out of control and turn the clock back on efforts to fight the coronavirus.

'You will trigger an outbreak as you may not be able to control,' he warned in his testimony before the Senate, adding 'which in fact will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided but could even set you back and almost turned the clock back rather than going forward. That is my major concern.'

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also conceded the death rate is likely higher than the 80,000 reported.

But with his warning came words of hope as he said scientists aim to know if a successful coronavirus vaccine has been found by 'late fall and early winter.

In his testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Fauci said scientists are already testing possible vaccines in a phase one clinical trial with an eye of going to phase two this summer.

'If we are successful, we hope to know that in the late fall and early winter,' he said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that scientists hope to know if a successful coronavirus vaccine has been found by 'late fall and early winter'

Senators sat at least six feet apart during the hearing with several of them participating via teleconference

Senator Lamar Alexander chaired the hearing from his home in Tennessee after one of his staff tested positive for the coronavirus

He also said there were multiple vaccines being tested.

'There are at least eight candidate COVID-19 vaccines in clinical development. The NIH has been collaborating with a number of pharmaceutical companies at various stages of development,' Fauci noted.

He warned that with the testing could come negative consequences, including the death of patients.

'I must warn that there is also the possibility of negative consequences where certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection,' he said.

He also warned as states begin to reopen - thus pulling back on stay-at-home orders and social distancing - 'you will see some cases reappear.'

'There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear,' Fauci warned, adding the U.S. must be prepared for 'when the inevitable return of infections occurs.'

'We will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,' he noted.

Fauci's testimony came as the United States has more than 1.38 million cases of the coronavirus and more than 81,000 deaths.

The doctor, an infectious disease expert, warned the death rate is likely higher than that.

'I think you are correct that the number is likely higher,' he said in response to a question from Senator Bernie Sanders. 'I don't know exactly the percent higher but almost certainly its higher.'

He noted that, for example, people that died at home early on in the outbreak in places like New York weren't counted as coronavirus victims.

Admiral Brett Giroir, who is in charge of testing, said the U.S. would be performing 40-50 million coronavirus tests by September

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) greet each other with an elbow bump before the Senate hearing

Several senators and witnesses participated in the hearing via teleconference

MITT ROMNEY DEFENDS OBAMA'S RECORD Republican Senator Mitt Romney, during Monday's hearing, defended former President Barack Obama, whom President Trump has blamed for a lack of coronavirus vaccine. Trump has repeatedly argued the Obama administration hamstrung the FDA with regulations that made it difficult to develop a vaccine. He also slammed that administration's response to the H1N1 outbreak. Romney asked Fauci if either Obama or Trump was to blame for the situation. Senator Mitt Romney asked if President Obama or President Trump was at fault for a lack of coronavirus vaccine 'The president said the other day that President Obama is responsible for our lack of a vaccine. Dr. Fauci, is President Obama or, by extension, President Trump, did they do something that made the likelihood of creating a vaccine less likely? Are either President Trump or Obama responsible for the fact that we don't have a vaccine now, or in delaying it in some way?,' Romney said. 'No, senator. Not at all,' Fauci responded. 'Certainly President Obama nor President Trump are responsible for our not having a vaccine. We moved, as you said -- because I described it in my opening statement -- rather rapidly. No one has ever gone from knowing what the virus was to a phase 1 as fast as we've done. So, I don't think that is something that, once you say anybody is responsible for doing anything wrong on that.' Romney was also critical of testing in the United States. His comments came a day after President Trump celebrated the number of coronavirus tests performed in the country. 'I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever,' Romney said. Advertisement

Testing to ramp up in fall

Admiral Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said as the states went through the phases of reopening and the flu season began, more testing would be needed.

The Trump administration offered guidelines for the three phases of states to reopen that would allow for the gradual return to restaurant reopenings, going back to work and schools reopening.

Many states have started to reopen their economies without meeting the White House threshold.

Giroir oversees testing on the virus and said by September, 'we project that our nation will be capable of performing 40-50 million tests per month.'

'As we progressively open, as communities go through phase one and then into phase two, and certainly those numbers will need to go up significantly again in the fall. When we potentially have influenza circulating with with COVID,' he said.

Fauci, Giroir and other members of the Coronavirus Task Force testified remotely after choosing to self-quarantine after being in contact with Karen Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence who tested positive for the coroanvirus last week. Miller is the spokesperson for the Coronavirus Task Force and attended multiple meetings of it.

Fauci said before the hearing began he was going to warn senators of the threat that comes with reopening country too quickly. President Donald Trump has pushed America to get back in business as the economy tanked and more than 30 million people are unemployed.

In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his main intention was to get across 'the danger of trying to open the country prematurely.'

He added: 'If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.'

Fauci has been largely out of public view in the last week since the president put a pause on the coronavirus task force briefings.

Experts have said that rather than a second wave striking in the fall, America could be seized upon by a series of wavelets - acute eruptions of the virus in communities throughout the country which will be impossible to predict.

Trump's efforts to project a confident front in setting out his 'Open America Again' strategy have been hampered by the virus hitting the West Wing.

Two White House staffers tested positive, Miller the Pence spokeswoman, and a U.S. Navy officer serving as one of Trump's valets.

Fauci's words of warning

At several points in the two and half hour hearing, Fauci warned that the virus was not under control and a second wave is 'entirely conceivable and possible.'

He said the key to battling any second wave would be the country's ability to respond to it quickly.

'I hope that if we do have the threat of a second wave, we will be able to deal with it very effectively to prevent it from becoming an outbreak not only worse than now but much, much less,' he said.

And when Senator Elizabeth Warren asked him if the outbreak was under control in the United States, he responded: 'If you think that we have it completely under control, we don't.'

Fauci also warned that a second wave could be worse.

'If we do not respond in an adequate way, when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that there will be infections that will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence,' he said.

'I would hope, by that point in time, in the fall, that we have more than enough to respond adequately. But if we don't, there will be problems,' he added.

Mixed messages from health experts versus President Trump

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut pressed CDC director Robert Redfield on when his state could see official federal guidelines on reopening businesses.

'We're reopening Connecticut in five days so this guidance isn't going to be useful to us in two weeks,' he said. 'When are we going to get this guidance?'

Senator Chris Murphy asked the health experts why they were warning of the dangers of reopening when President Trump declared the U.S. has prevailed over the coronavirus

Senator Elizabeth Warren joined the hearing by remote and was critical of President Trump

Rufus the dog is unexpected star of hearing Committee chairman Lamar Alexander's pooch Rufus became the unexpected star of Tuesday's coronavirus-themed hearing. Rufus, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was spotted lounging on a table-top - and was heard occasionally barking - in the Tennessee Republican's home office, which the senator used as his backdrop for the hearing. Alexander announced that he would self-quarantine 'out of the abundance of caution' after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive of COVID-19. Sen. Lamar Alexander's dog Rufus became the unexpected star of Tuesday's HELP Committee hearing on the coronavirus A 'camera shy' Rufus was also featured in this May 2018 post, standing alongside his senator dad The senator was tested on Thursday and the test came back negative, a spokesperson said. Alexander does not have any COVID-19 symptoms. A majority of senators also participated in the hearing from home, showing off interesting decor like Sen. Bernie Sanders' Red Hot Chili Peppers poster. But the chairman one-upped them all, with a slumbering pooch in the background. Tuesday didn't mark Rufus' on-camera debut, as the dog also slept through Alexander's appearance on 'Meet the Press' this Sunday. Rufus has occasionally been featured on Twitter as well. Alexander introduced 'new friend' Rufus the puppy to the world by tweet on November 2, 2014. The tweet quoted President Harry Truman: 'If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.' A 'camera shy' Rufus was also shown out and about in Cookeville, Tennessee with his dad in a post from May 2018. Advertisement

Redfield reassured Murphy that anyone in the state could call the CDC for help. 'The CDC stands by to give technical guidance to your state or any state. I do anticipate this broader guidance to be posted on the CDC website soon.'

''Soon' isn't terribly helpful,' Murphy responded.

Murphy, a longtime critic of the president, said it was 'infuriating' to hear warnings from the medical experts of the dangers of reopening the country too quickly after President Trump declared the United States has prevailed over the coronavirus.

'It's infuriating to hear experts warn about reopening too soon hours after the president declared we've prevailed. over the coronavirus. I will tell you that's much harder on state leaders to key social distancing restrictions in place,' he said.

'I worry you're trying to have it both ways. The state shouldn't open to early, but many don't give us the resources to succeed. You work for a president who is frankly undermining our efforts to comply with the guidance that you have given us and the guidance you have provided is criminally vague,' he added.

Earlier in the hearing, Redfield said the United States was not 'out of the woods yet.'

'It's important to emphasize that we are not out of the woods yet. It remains imperative. We are a resilient nation and I'm confident that we will emerge from this pandemic longer together,' he noted.

In Rose Garden press conference on Monday, Trump declared victory.

'America has risen to the task. We have met the moment, and we have prevailed. Americans do whatever it takes to find solutions, pioneer breakthroughs, and harness the energies we need to achieve a total victory,' he said.

But, when asked if he was saying 'mission accomplished' on battling the virus, Trump stepped back his remarks and said he was referring to the testing issue.

'No, we've prevailed on testing, is what I'm referring to. That was with regard to testing,' he said.

Many governors have said they are not comfortable fully reopening their states without a greater capacity to test for the virus.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, was also critical in the hearing of the president.

'The president needs to stop pretending that if he just ignores bad news it will go away. It won't. The time for magical thinking is over here. President Trump must acknowledge that the federal response has been insufficient and that more people are dying as a result,' she said.

Before the hearing began, Chairman Lamar Alexander, who chaired the hearing from his home in Tennessee after one of his staff tested positive for the coronavirus, warned senators not to engage in finger pointing.

'This is a bipartisan hearing to examine how well we're preparing to go back to work and to school, and to determine what else we need to do in the united States senate. Such an exercise sometimes encourages fingerpointing,' he said.

'Before we spend too much time fingerpointing, I'd like to suggest almost all of us, the United States and almost every country so far as I can tell, underestimated this virus, underestimated how contagious it would be, underestimated how it can travel silently in people without symptoms to infect other people, how it can be especially deadly for certain segments of our population, the elderly, those with preexisting conditions.'

Fauci slams Senator Rand Paul for 'cavalier' comments on school reopening

Fauci criticized Republican Senator Rand Paul for his 'cavalier' comments on reopening schools. The senator from Kentucky suggested schools reopen this fall because of the 'low mortality' rate in children from the coronavirus.

'As much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end all - I don't think you're the one person who gets to make a decision,' Paul said during his five minutes to question the infectious disease expert.

Paul, an ophthalmologist who tested positive for the coronavirus, said the U.S. should at least be looking at the mortality the virus has on children, arguing it's so low it 'approaches zero.'

'We need to observe with an open mind what went on in Sweden where the kids kept going to school,' Paul said, explaining that the death count in Sweden is lower than some European countries that practiced better social distancing. 'But basically I don't think there's anybody arguing what happened in Sweden is an unacceptable result, I think people are intrigued by it.'

He said in rural states, like Kentucky, 'we never really reached any sort of pandemic levels.'

'And I think the one-size-fits-all that we're going to have a national strategy and nobody is going to go to school is kind of ridiculous,' Paul continued. 'We really should be doing it school district by school district.'

'And the power needs to be disbursed because people make wrong predictions,' he added, blaming British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson for starting the trend of 'wrong prediction, after wrong prediction, after wrong prediction.'

'So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what's best for the economy,' Paul said.

He then commented to Fauci that he didn't believe the doctor was the 'end all.'

'We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side who say there's not going to be a surge and we can safely reopen the economy. And the facts will bear this out,' Paul said.

Paul said closing schools for another year would only hurt the 'poor and under-privileged kids.'

'And I think we ought to look at the Swedish model and we ought to let our kids get back to school, I think it's a huge mistake if we don't answer our schools in the fall,' the senator suggested.

Fauci asked for time to respond, getting the green light.

'First of all Senator Paul, and thank you for your comments, I have never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice in this. I'm a scientist, physician and public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence,' the doctor said.

Fauci added, 'I don't give advice on economic things. I don't give advice on anything other than public health.'

'The second thing, is that you used the word we should be humble about what we don't know and I think that falls under the fact that we don't know everything about this virus,' Fauci continued. 'And we really better be very careful particularly when it comes to children.'
tech2 News Staff

After the Coronavirus outbreak, which originated from Wuhan, brought the majority of the world under a lockdown, many companies have been trying to move their production units from China. As per a report, Apple is also planning to shift 20 percent of its production from China to India.

Apple's senior executives and some Indian government officials have reportedly discussed the move over the last few days, as per Economic Times.

The move also comes after the Indian government recently announced new production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme to encourage local production in the country.

Last month, Japan also announced $2.2 billion in monetary support for its business to shift their productions out of China, according to a BloombergQuint report.

As of now, Apple contracts manufacturers, Foxconn and Wistron, for the production of its devices in India. Per ET, Apple is looking to scale its local revenue to $40 billion in India over the next five years.

Notably, the plans for increased production of Apple devices in India will be only for export purposes.

Apple is also reportedly going to open its retail store in India soon. It is likely to be located in Mumbai's Maker Maxity mall in Bandra Kurla Complex. This store in Mumbai is planned to be the largest store in India. It is apparently three times the size of the largest franchisee store by Flagship Apple Premium Reseller, which was opened in August 2019 is spread across two floors in Mumbai's High Street Phoenix mall.
S ally Rooney has well and truly been our literary saviour during lockdown.

Since the BBCs adaptation of her second novel Normal People dropped at the end of April, we havent been able to get enough of the Irish author.

Now, publishing house Faber has come to our rescue and is releasing two of Rooneys short stories as audiobooks.

Called Two Stories by Sally Rooney, the audio book includes Mr Salary, which was published by Faber in 2019. This is narrated by Aoife McMahon.

The second short story, Colour and Light, appeared in the New Yorker in March 2019 and is narrated by Sam OMahony.

Both of these short stories explore the fleeting, sometimes awkward moments of attraction between people - a common theme in Normal People and Rooneys debut, Conversations With Friends.

The news comes after the BBC announced yesterday that Rooneys debut novel will also be getting the TV treatment, ordering 12 half-hour episodes of Conversations With Friends.

Normal People co-producer Ed Guiney says: We're adapting Conversations with Friends as a television series. It's the same basic team. Lenny's [Abrahamson, who directed the first six episodes of Normal People] going to direct it and is across it as an EP. And Alice Birch and all of us at Element Pictures.

While there is no release date or cast yet, the Two Stories audiobook is available for download now and retails at 14.99. Download it here.
Highlights

Aurizona exploration success offset 2019 mining depletion with Proven and Probable Reserves essentially unchanged at 19.8 million tonnes ("Mt") grading 1.51 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold for 958,000 ounces ("oz") of contained gold

Aurizona Measured and Indicated ("M&I") Resources increased 22% to 844,000 oz of contained gold through the addition of a maiden Indicated Resource at Tatajuba of 2.1 Mt grading 1.62 g/t gold for 112,000 oz of contained gold

At Mesquite, newly identified mineralized material within dumps from historical operations accounted for greater than 60% of gold production in 2019

Immediate additional exploration upside at Mesquite from over 40 million tons of potentially mineralized oxide dump material and new in-pit and near-pit targets

Christian Milau, CEO of Equinox Gold, stated: "Exploration efforts at Aurizona in 2019 successfully replaced mined reserves and increased mineral resources with the addition of a maiden open-pit resource at Tatajuba. Exploration at Aurizona during 2020 will focus on adding further resources along the Piaba trend, expanding the Tatajuba resource and upgrading inferred resources to indicated in the Piaba underground area to support a pre-feasibility study for the potential underground mine. Collectively, these endeavours are focused on extending the mine life, optimizing operations and increasing annual production at Aurizona."

Mr. Milau added: "When we acquired Mesquite in October 2018, gold was $1,200 per ounce and the mine had a three-year reserve mine life followed by several years of significant cash flow from residual leaching. Our exploration team has extended the mine life, identifying ounces in historical mineralized dumps and leach pads with gold grades above our current cut-off grade. As a result of these efforts, after more than a year and a half of mining we still have a reserve mine life of more than two years plus residual leaching ahead of us, with a gold price significantly higher than in 2018. The current 24,500-metre drill program will test further upside in the historical dumps and new targets with the expectation of demonstrating further mine life extension."

Technical reports for each project will be filed within 45 days on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/EDGAR and on the Company's website at www.equinoxgold.com. Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are reported in compliance with CIM Definition Standards (2014) using a gold price of $1,350 and $1,500 per oz, respectively. Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves.

Aurizona Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Update

Aurizona achieved commercial production on July 1, 2019 and produced 75,282 oz of gold in its first six months of operation. Reserve depletion in 2019 was largely offset by mining and processing ore-grade material that was outside of the previous reserve model, and also through successful exploration drilling at Piaba East that identified additional Mineral Reserves. As a result, the Mineral Reserve at December 31, 2019 (Table 1) net of depletion, was reduced by only 1% (~13,000 oz of gold) compared to the 2017 Feasibility Study Mineral Reserve. Mineral Reserve design pits and cut-off grades are unchanged from the 2017 Feasibility Study.

Table 1: Aurizona Mineral Reserve Estimate at December 31, 2019



Proven Reserves Probable Reserves Proven & Probable Reserves Ore Type Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold (koz) Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold (koz) Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

(koz) Laterite 25 1.31 1 434 1.04 14 459 1.05 15 Saprolite 1,482 1.53 72 1,036 1.23 41 2,518 1.41 113 Transition 2,679 1.52 131 944 1.62 49 3,623 1.55 180 Fresh Rock 8,213 1.50 396 4,965 1.59 254 13,178 1.54 650 Total 12,399 1.51 600 7,379 1.51 358 19,778 1.51 958

Notes: This Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is based on the Mineral Resource estimate dated December 31, 2019 for Aurizona completed by Equity Exploration. The Mineral Reserve calculation was completed under the supervision of Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng. of AGP Mining Consultants, who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mineral Reserves are stated within the final design pits based on a $1,350/oz gold price. The cut-off grade used was 0.6 g/t gold for Piaba and Piaba East and 0.41 g/t gold for Boa Esperanca. The mining cost averaged $2.32/t mined, processing costs are $9.98/t for laterite/saprolite, $10.28/t for transition and $12.13/t for fresh rock. G&A was $2.84/t ore processed. The ore recoveries were 92.6% for laterite/saprolite, 92.1% for transition and 89.2% for fresh rock.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are exclusive of Reserves and have increased by 22% to 16.0 Mt grading 1.64 g/t gold for 844,000 oz of gold (Table 2). The increase was from exploration success at the Tatajuba deposit resulting in a maiden Indicated Resource for Tatajuba of 2.1 Mt grading 1.62 g/t gold for 112,000 oz of gold (Table 3).

The Tatajuba deposit is located 2.5 km west of the Piaba open-pit on the Aurizona Shear Zone (Figure 1). The deposit currently measures approximately 700 metres ("m") long, 5 to 30 m wide and has a 300 m down-dip extent. The deepest part of the Tatajuba resource pit reaches 200 m below surface. The deepest drill hole to test the deposit was BRAZD664, which intersected 1.14 g/t gold over 120.0 m (from 122 m; true thickness of 21.0 m) and also a deeper, below-pit interval of 2.47 g/t gold over 69.0 m (from 253 m; true thickness of 27.0 m) including 3.81 g/t gold over 33.0 m (from 270.0 m) highlighting that the deposit is open at depth. Drilling confirmed the geophysical, geochemical and structural interpretation that the deposit is offset at each end by dextral faults (right-lateral offsets). Drill hole BRAZD690, a 600 m step out hole to the west, targeted the offset extension of the deposit and intersected 2.51 g/t gold over 6.0 m (from 54.0 m).

The Tatajuba Mineral Resource estimate has an effective date of January 24, 2020 and was constrained with an optimized pit shell using a $1,500/oz gold price. A summary of the Tatajuba Indicated and Inferred Resources by type of mineralization is summarized in Table 3. The Tatajuba open-pit Mineral Resources were not included in the current Mineral Reserve update.

Table 2: Aurizona Mineral Resource Estimate (Exclusive of Reserves)



Deposit Area Category Cut-off Grade (g/t) Tonnes (kt) Gold Grade (g/t) Contained Gold (koz) Piaba Open-Pit Measured 0.6 2,721 1.25 109 Indicated 0.6 3,339 1.36 146 Inferred 0.6 365 1.65 19 Boa Esperanca Open-Pit Indicated 0.6 445 1.22 17 Inferred 0.6 114 1.28 5 Tatajuba Open-Pit Indicated 0.6 2,144 1.62 112 Inferred 0.6 234 2.98 22 Total Open-Pit Measured 0.6 2,721 1.25 109 Indicated 0.6 5,928 1.44 275 M&I 0.6 8,649 1.38 384 Inferred 0.6 712 2.02 46 Piaba Underground Indicated 1.0 7,317 1.96 460 Inferred 1.0 16,500 1.98 1,052 Total Underground Measured 1.0 - - - Indicated 1.0 7,317 1.96 460 M&I 1.0 7,317 1.96 460 Inferred 1.0 16,500 1.98 1,052 Total Aurizona Resource Measured

2,721 1.25 109 Indicated

13,245 1.73 735 M&I

15,966 1.64 844 Inferred

17,212 1.98 1,098

Notes: Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are reported using a gold price of $1,500/oz. Open-pit Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.6 g/t gold and are constrained using an optimized pit generated using Lerchs-Grossman pit optimisation algorithm using $1,500/oz gold price, costs of $2.32/t mining, up to $12.13/t processing, $2.84/t G&A and gold recovery up to 92.6%. Underground Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t gold and constrained by using a 1.0 g/t gold confining solid. The Mineral Resource statement has been prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo. (Equity) who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mineral Resources from the Piaba Open-Pit, Piaba Underground and Boa Esperanca have an effective date of December 31, 2019. Mineral Resources from Tatajuba have an effective date of January 24, 2020. Numbers may not total due to rounding. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. See Cautionary Notes and Technical Disclosure Statement.

Table 3: Mineral Resource Statement for Tatajuba Deposit at January 24, 2020

Classification Type of

Mineralization Cut-off

Grade (g/t) Tonnes

(kt) Gold Grade

(g/t) Contained Gold

(koz) Indicated Laterite 0.6 135 1.15 5 Saprolite 0.6 526 2.36 40 Transition 0.6 417 1.16 16 Fresh Rock 0.6 1,066 1.50 51 Total Indicated 0.6 2,144 1.62 112 Inferred Fresh Rock 0.6 234 2.98 22 Total Inferred 0.6 234 2.98 22

Notes: Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are reported using a gold price of $1,500/oz gold. Mineral Resources are constrained using an optimized pit generated using a Lerchs-Grossman pit optimisation algorithm. The Mineral Resource statement has been prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo. (Equity) who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding. See Cautionary Notes and Technical Disclosure Statement.

A total of 6,662 m of core (38 holes) was drilled in 2019 in the Tatajuba area bringing the total to 14,072 m (101 holes) in support of the maiden Mineral Resource estimate. Tatajuba represents a potential 4-km extension to the Piaba Trend that hosts the Aurizona Mine (Figure 1). Exploration to date has identified gold mineralization with the same character as that currently being mined at the Piaba gold deposit. The Company has planned a 14,000 m drill program to expand the resource base along the Piaba Trend and within the near-mine concessions with the objective of extending the open-pit mine life.

The Company is also reviewing the potential to extend the mine life and potentially increase annual production by developing the Aurizona underground deposit. As announced on May 7, 2020, the Company has completed a preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") for potential development of an underground mine that may operate concurrently with the open-pit mine using the existing plant and other surface infrastructure, delivering an estimated 740,500 oz of life-of-mine gold production in addition to existing open-pit gold production. Equinox Gold has commenced a 17,000 m drill program aimed primarily at converting underground Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources in support of a pre-feasibility study for the underground mine. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the PEA will be realized.

Figure 1: Aurizona Shear Zone and Gold Deposit Location Map

Mesquite Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Update

A total of 125,736 oz of gold was produced at Mesquite in 2019, of which more than 60% was sourced from the mining and leaching of historical dump material. During 2019 the Company completed 48,045 m of drilling on historical low-grade dumps and leach pads. A total of 13.1 Mt of economic-grade material identified through these drill programs was placed on the leach pad, resulting in 76,900 oz of the total 2019 gold production.

During 2019 the Company also completed a drilling program and reinterpretation of geological domains that was developed to address reconciliation issues with historical information, which led to the application of a more robust and conservative resource and reserve estimation and classification methodology. The new geological model was developed from relogging and interpretation of historical drill data, a new structural model and 20,147 m of infill and step-out drilling. The new model provides significantly improved confidence in the Mineral Reserves and Resources and future gold production plans for Mesquite.

Following 2019 mining depletion and completion of the new geological model, Mesquite Proven and Probable Reserves at December 31, 2019 are estimated at 28.2 Mt grading 0.62 g/t gold for 584,000 oz (Table 4, with Imperial units provided in the Appendix to this news release). When compared to the previous December 2018 Mineral Reserve estimate this represents a 30% reduction net of mining depletion but excludes production during the year from economic-grade material stacked to the pads that was not previously included in the Mineral Reserve estimate. The new model also resulted in a 77% decrease of contained gold in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources to 432,000 oz in 28.9 Mt grading 0.46 g/t gold (Table 5), and a 277% increase of contained gold in Inferred Mineral Resources to 510,000 oz in 47.7 Mt grading 0.33 g/t gold.

The updated Mineral Reserve estimate includes 2.9 Mt of oxide mineralized dump material grading 0.24 g/t gold for 22,000 oz of contained gold that is classified as Probable Reserves. The Company has identified an additional 40 million short tons of potentially mineralized material from previous operations that has not been drill tested. A 24,500 m ($5.2 million budget) exploration program is underway to expand drilling coverage of the Big Chief, Midway and Brownie dumps and also to explore several near-pit and in-pit in-situ targets to identify additional ore-grade mineralized material that can be stacked on the leach pad.

The Company will continue to review and test opportunities to extend the Mesquite mine life, including:

Drilling and resource estimation of mineralized dumps and leach pads from historical operations;

Conversion of resources to reserves within current pits and adjacent areas; and

Drilling of in-pit, near-mine and regional exploration opportunities.

Table 4: Mesquite Mineral Reserve Estimate at December 31, 2019

Ore Type Proven Reserves Probable Reserves Proven & Probable Reserves Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Tonnes

(kt) Gold

Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Oxide 5 0.94 - 13,755 0.42 185 13,760 0.37 185 Transition 40 0.95 1 2,274 0.81 59 2,314 0.81 60 Non-oxide 183 1.27 8 11,943 0.86 331 12,126 0.87 339 Total 228 1.21 9 27,972 0.64 575 28,200 0.62 584

Notes: This Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is based on the Mineral Resource estimate dated December 31, 2019 prepared by Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. The Mineral Reserve calculation was completed under the supervision of Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng. of AGP Mining Consultants Inc., who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mineral Reserves are stated within the final design pit based on a $1,350/oz gold price. The cut-off grade varied by material type from 0.125 g/t for oxide and oxide-transition and 0.281 g/t for non-oxide transition and non-oxide materials. The mining cost averaged $1.60/t mined, processing costs are $2.26/t ore and G&A was $0.77/t ore placed. The ore recoveries were 75% for oxide and oxide-transition, and 35% for non-oxide transition and non-oxide material. Oxide ore contains the reserves identified in dump material.

Table 5: Mesquite Mineral Resource Estimate (Exclusive of Reserves) at December 31, 2019

Type Measured Indicated Measured & Indicated Inferred Tonnes

(kt) Grade

(g/t) Gold

(koz) Tonnes

(kt) Grade

(g/t) Gold

(koz) Tonnes

(kt) Grade

(g/t) Gold

(koz) Tonnes

(kt) Grade

(g/t) Gold

(koz) Oxide - - - 8,501 0.40 110 8,501 0.40 110 10,753 0.40 139 Non-oxide 20 0.73 0 15,148 0.60 291 15,168 0.60 292 10,495 0.52 176 Dumps - - - 5,255 0.18 30 5,255 0.18 30 26,425 0.23 195 Total 20 0.73 0 28,904 0.46 432 28,924 0.46 432 47,672 0.33 510

Notes: Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources were restricted between the December 31, 2019 Reserve pit designs and the ultimate resource limiting pit shell based on a gold price of $1,500/oz, mining cost of $1.60/t mined and a processing cost of $2.26/t ore and G&A of $0.77/t ore. Oxide and oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.09 g/t. Non-oxide and non-oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 35% and cut-off grade of 0.18 g/t. Waste dump material has an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.14 g/tonne. Ali Shahkar P.Eng. of Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the in-situ mineral resource estimation. Robert Sim, P.Geo. of SIM Geological Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the waste dump mineral resource estimation. Numbers may not total due to rounding. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. See Cautionary Notes and Technical Disclosure Statement.

Qualified Persons

Gordon Zurowski, P. Eng. (AGP Mining Consultants Inc.), Neil Lincoln, P. Eng. (AGP Mining Consultants Inc.), Eleanor Black, P. Geo. (Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd.), and Trevor Rabb, P. Geo. (Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd.) are the Qualified Persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101 that prepared the report entitled "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine, Brazil" with an effective date of January 24, 2020 that forms the basis of the disclosure related to the Aurizona Mine that is described in this news release.

Bruce Davis, FAusIMM (BD Resource Consulting, Inc.), Nathan Robison, PE (Robison Engineering Company Inc.), Ali Shahkar P.Eng. (Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc.), Robert Sim, P.Geo. (SIM Geological Inc.), Jefferey Woods, SME MMAS (Woods Process Services, LLC) and Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng (AGP Mining Consultants Inc.) are the Qualified Persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101 that prepared the report entitled "Technical Report on the Mesquite Gold Mine, California, U.S.A." with an effective date of December 31, 2019 that forms the basis of the disclosure related to the Mesquite Mine that is described in this news release.

All of the Qualified Persons are independent of the Company and reviewed and approved of the contents of this news release. The Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates were prepared in accordance with standards as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") in "CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014.

Scott Heffernan, MSc, P.Geo., Equinox Gold's EVP Exploration, is responsible for the drilling programs at Aurizona and Mesquite, is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox Gold and has reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this news release. Adriaan (Attie) Roux, Pr.Sci.Nat., Equinox Gold's COO and Doug Reddy, Equinox Gold's EVP Technical Services, are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 for Equinox Gold and have also reviewed and verified the technical content of this news release.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company with six producing gold mines, a multi-million-ounce gold reserve base and a strong growth profile from two development projects and two expansion projects. Equinox Gold operates entirely in the Americas, with two properties in the United States, one in Mexico and five in Brazil. Equinox Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE American under the trading symbol EQX. Further information about Equinox Gold's portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at www.equinoxgold.com or by email at [email protected].

Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements

Technical Disclosure

Aurizona: Aurizona Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources were reported in the "Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine" (the "Aurizona Technical Report") dated April 27, 2020 with an effective date of January 24, 2020, prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. The Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who prepared or supervised the preparation of the information contained in the report are Eleanor Black, P.Geo. and Trevor Rabb, P.Geo, of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. and Neil Lincoln and Gordon Zurowski of AGP Mining Consultants Inc. Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. The Mineral Resource statement was prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo. of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mineral Resources from the Piaba Open-Pit, Piaba Underground and Boa Esperanca have an effective date of December 31, 2019. Mineral Resources from Tatajuba have an effective date of January 24, 2020. Mineral Resources are reported using a gold price of $1,500/oz. Open-pit Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.6 g/t gold and are constrained using an optimized pit generated using Lerchs-Grossman pit optimisation algorithm using $1,500/oz gold price, costs of $2.32/t mining, up to $12.13/t processing, $2.84/t G&A and gold recovery up to 92.6%. Underground Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t gold and constrained by using a 1.0 g/t gold confining solid. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is based on the Mineral Resource estimate dated December 31, 2019 for Aurizona completed by Equity Exploration. The Mineral Reserve calculation was completed under the supervision of Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng. of AGP Mining Consultants, who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mineral Reserves are stated within the final design pits based on a $1,350/oz gold price. The cut-off grade used was 0.6 g/t gold for Piaba and Piaba East and 0.41 g/t gold for Boa Esperanca. The mining cost averaged $2.32/t mined, processing costs are $9.98/t for laterite/saprolite, $10.28/t for transition and $12.13/t for fresh rock. G&A was $2.84/t ore processed. The ore recoveries were 92.6% for laterite/saprolite, 92.1% for transition and 89.2% for fresh rock. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. See Cautionary Notes. Section 24 of the Aurizona Technical Report includes reference to a preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") of the potential to development an underground mine at Aurizona. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the PEA will be realized. See Cautionary Notes.

Mesquite: Mesquite Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources were reported in the "Technical Report on the Mesquite Gold Mine, California, U.S.A." (the "Mesquite Technical Report") dated March 18, 2020 with an effective date of December 31, 2019, prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. The Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who prepared or supervised the preparation of the information contained in the report are Bruce Davis, FAusIMM (BD Resource Consulting, Inc.), Nathan Robison, PE (Robison Engineering Company Inc.), Ali Shahkar P.Eng. (Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc.), Robert Sim, P.Geo. (SIM Geological Inc.), Jefferey Woods, SME MMAS (Woods Process Services, LLC) and Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng (AGP). Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources were restricted between the December 31, 2019 Reserve pit designs and the ultimate resource limiting pit shell based on a gold price of $1,500/oz, mining cost of $1.60/ton mined and a processing cost of $2.26/ton ore and G&A was $0.77/ton ore. Oxide and oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.078 g/t. Non-oxide and non-oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 35% and cut-off grade of 0.166 g/t. Waste dump material has an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.125 g/t. Ali Shahkar P.Eng. of Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the in-situ mineral resource estimation. Robert Sim, P.Geo. of SIM Geological Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the waste dump mineral resource estimation. Numbers may not total due to rounding. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is based on the Mineral Resource estimate dated December 31, 2019 prepared by Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. The Mineral Reserve calculation was completed under the supervision of Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng. of AGP, who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mineral Reserves are stated within the final design pit based on a $1,350/oz gold price. The cut-off grade varied by material type from 0.125 g/t for oxide and oxide-transition and 0.281 g/t for non-oxide transition and non-oxide materials. The mining cost averaged $1.60/ton mined, processing costs are $2.26/ton ore and G&A was $0.77/ton ore placed. The ore recoveries were 75% for oxide and oxide-transition, and 35% for non-oxide transition and non-oxide material. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. See Cautionary Notes.

Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources

Information regarding reserve and resource estimates has been prepared in accordance with Canadian standards under applicable Canadian securities laws and may not be comparable to similar information for United States companies. The terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" used in this news release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014. While the terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Under United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve calculation is made. As such, certain information contained in this news release concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards is not comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. An "Inferred Mineral Resource" has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and as to its economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "Inferred Mineral Resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. Readers are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "Inferred Mineral Resource" exists or is economically or legally mineable. In addition, the definitions of "Proven Mineral Reserves" and "Probable Mineral Reserves" under CIM standards differ in certain respects from the standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws collectively "forward-looking statements". These include statements regarding the growth potential of the Company. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "upside", "potential", "potentially", "planned", "objective", "would", "can", "budget", "continue", "estimate, "growth" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements as well as phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation of such terms. As well, forward-looking statements may relate to future outlook and anticipated events, such as the results of planned and future drill programs at the Company's Aurizona and Mesquite projects, the Company's ability to expand the existing resource base and extend the mine life at either project, the Company's ability to replace Mineral Reserves, the Company's ability to upgrade Aurizona underground Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources to support a pre-feasibility study, the Company's intention and ability to advance the Aurizona underground mine to a pre-feasibility level , the Company's ability to achieve the production estimates outlined in the preliminary economic assessment and the likelihood of the Company ultimately advancing the underground mine to production. The Aurizona preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results contemplated in the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Forward-looking statements also refer to the Company's ability to advance its development and expansion projects and achieve its growth objectives.

These forward-looking statements involve assumptions, numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control including risks associated with or related to the volatility of metal prices and the Company's shares, risks associated with exploration, development and operating permits, land access and Government regulation at the Company's projects, there being no significant disruptions affecting the Company's operations or projects, risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including government and health authority responses and increased regulations and restrictions regarding the flow of labour, materials and impact on the Company's business, projects and operations, as well as the risk factors identified in Equinox Gold's year-end MD&A dated February 28, 2020, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Additional project-specific risks are outlined in the Technical Report on the Aurizona Gold Mine dated April 27, 2020 and the Technical Report on the Mesquite Gold Mine, California, U.S.A. dated March 18, 2020, both of which are filed on SEDAR, EDGAR and the Company's website. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. The COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly and Equinox Gold will continue to review and adapt its response protocols as the situation unfolds, applying guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization and governments of countries within which the Company operates. The extent to which COVID-19 (or any other disease, epidemic or pandemic) impacts business activity, operations or financial results, and the duration of any such impact, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions required to contain or treat its impact, among others. Except as required by applicable law, Equinox Gold assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Equinox Gold updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.



APPENDIX

Mesquite Mineral Reserve Estimate at December 31, 2019

(Imperial Units)

Ore Type Proven Reserves Probable Reserves Proven & Probable Reserves Tons

(kt) Gold

Grade

(oz/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Tons

(kt) Gold

Grade

(oz/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Tons

(kt) Gold

Grade

(oz/t) Contained

Gold

(koz) Oxide 5 0.0275 - 15,166 0.0122 185 15,171 0.0122 185 Transition 44 0.0276 1 2,507 0.0236 59 2,551 0.0237 60 Non-oxide 201 0.0370 8 13,168 0.0251 331 13,369 0.0253 339 Total 250 0.0352 9 30,841 0.0186 575 31,091 0.0188 584

Notes: This Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019 and is based on the Mineral Resource estimate dated December 31, 2019 prepared by Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. The Mineral Reserve calculation was completed under the supervision of Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng. of AGP Mining Consultants Inc., who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mineral Reserves are stated within the final design pit based on a $1,350/oz gold price. The cut-off grade varied by material type from 0.004 oz/ton for oxide and oxide-transition and 0.009 oz/ton for non-oxide transition and non-oxide materials. The mining cost averaged $1.45/ton mined, processing costs are $2.05/ton ore and G&A was $0.70/ton ore placed. The ore recoveries were 75% for oxide and oxide-transition, and 35% for non-oxide transition and non-oxide material. Oxide ore contains the reserves identified in dump material.

Mesquite Mineral Resource Estimate at December 31, 2019

(Imperial Units)

Type Measured Indicated Measured & Indicated Inferred Tons

(kt) Grade

(oz/t) Gold

(koz) Tons

(kt) Grade

(oz/t) Gold

(koz) Tons

(kt) Grade

(oz/t) Gold

(koz) Tons

(kt) Grade

(oz/t) Gold

(koz) Oxide - - - 9,373 0.012 110 9,373 0.012 110 11,855 0.012 139 Non-oxide 22 0.021 0.5 16,702 0.017 291 16,724 0.017 292 11,571 0.015 176 Dumps - - - 5,794 0.005 30 5,794 0.005 30 29,134 0.007 195 Total 22 0.021

31,868 0.014 431 31,890 0.014 432 52,560 0.010 510

Notes: Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources were restricted between the December 31, 2019 Reserve pit designs and the ultimate resource limiting pit shell based on a gold price of $1,500/oz, mining cost of $1.45/ton mined and a processing cost of $2.05/ton ore. Oxide and oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.0025 oz/ton. Non-oxide and non-oxide transition have an assumed recovery of 35% and cut-off grade of 0.0053 oz/t. Waste dump material has an assumed recovery of 75% and cut-off grade of 0.004 oz/ton. Ali Shahkar P.Eng. of Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the in-situ mineral resource estimation. Robert Sim, P.Geo. of SIM Geological Inc. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the waste dump mineral resource estimation. Numbers may not total due to rounding. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. See Cautionary Notes and Technical Disclosure Statement.

Technical reports supporting the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates for both projects will be filed within 45 days on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and on Equinox Gold's website at www.equinoxgold.com.

SOURCE Equinox Gold Corp.
A day after three people, who recently returned from Rajasthan in a special train, tested positive for the coronavirus disease in West Bengals Malda district, another four have contracted Covid-19 in adjoining Murshidabad on Sunday night.

One of these four patients is a 25-year-old nursing staff from the districts Janpigur state hospital. The rest are men, aged 30, 58 and 65 years.

Murshidabad and Malda districts are among the top contributors to the migrant workforce from West Bengal.

The swab samples of these four patients were collected by Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital on May 6. The results were released on May 10. This is a cause for concern, Dr Koushik Chaki, secretary of the West Bengal Doctors Forum, said.

The state government needs to carry out more tests. More and more doctors and nursing staff across Bengal are getting infected and frontline warriors are not getting personal protection equipment (PPE) in adequate quantity, said Dr Chaki.

The prominent body of physicians wrote its second letter in four days on Monday to chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, highlighting the issue.

Without robust testing facilities all across the state, normalisation of all healthcare facilities cannot be resolved, said the letter.

Incidentally, a train carrying 1,224 migrant workers from Kerala reached Berhampore station in Murshidabad on May 6. The administration collected swab samples from some of the passengers of this train and the test results are awaited.

The three men who tested positive on Sunday night, however, came from Delhi by the road a week ago, health officials said. The patients live in different villages in the Suti-II community block area. The district administration has barricaded these villages.

There are 70 quarantine centres in Murshidabad but most are lying empty, health department officials said. The number of Covid-19 patients in the district has reached five after the new detections.

We may find a quite different number if tests are carried out extensively, said a senior doctor who did not wish to be named.

Chief medical officer of health (Murshidabad), Dr Prasanta Biswas, said, All four patients have been admitted to the Covid-19 hospital in Berhampore.

Three migrant workers, who recently returned from Ajmer in Rajasthan to Malda district, tested positive on Saturday. They came in a train that also carried a large number of pilgrims who went to Ajmer Sharif in the desert state.

Our government has made all arrangement for treatment of the patients, Asok Das, Murshidabad districts Trinamool Congress vice-president, said.
Journalists in Hong Kong have strongly condemned repeated attacks on media workers by the police during a wave of recent pro-democracy protests in the city.



"Violence against journalists has been overwhelming," a joint statement on the website of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) said. "We are filled with indignation."



It said that during a police operation to disperse protesters in Mong Kok on May 10, officers had forced journalists to kneel on the ground and to stop filming, in some cases spraying them with pepper spray at close range.



"The police stifled the right to [carry out reporting activities] by intercepting and attacking, trampl[ing] on the dignity of the media with insulting language and bad attitude," according to the HKJA statement, which was also signed by the Hong Kong Press Photographers' Association, independent commentators and journalism educators, as well as the staff unions of government broadcaster RTHK, pro-democracy Next Media, and the Ming Pao newspaper.



Hong Kong police are required by their own standing orders to "facilitate the work of news media as much as possible and accord media representatives consideration and courtesy," the statement said.



The HKJA said it had recorded the sharpest fall yet in its Press Freedom Index for 2019, citing threats to journalists' safety while covering the protests that escalated in June 2019 in response to plans by chief executive Carrie Lam to allow extradition to mainland China.



While Lam eventually withdrew the hated legal amendments, the movement had already broadened to include demands for an amnesty for arrested protesters, an inquiry into police violence, an end to the description of protests as "riots," and fully democratic elections.



As many as 65 percent of journalists interviewed by HKJA to compile the index said they had faced verbal abuse and/or physical violence while trying to do their jobs, the HKJA found.



Many causes for decline



The drop in press freedom scores was largely due to media owners or management exerting pressure on employees to affect editorial autonomy; threats to reporters when covering the news; the media s access to information; and also whether there are enough legal safeguards for journalists to obtain information required.



Out of 327 journalists, 95 percent said press freedom in Hong Kong had worsened compared to a year earlier, while 72 percent said the ruling Chinese Communist Party's ever- increasing control over the daily lives of Hong Kong people had made them uneasy about reporting dissent and criticism of the authorities.



Nearly 93 percent said they had seen law enforcement officers using violence to hamper their work.



More than 65 percent said they had personally suffered violent treatment at the hands of police or people opposing the pro-democracy movement.



"The violence included having strong lights shone at their eyes, verbal abuse, pushed forcefully, blocking camera lens deliberately, snatching photographic equipment, spraying pepper spray and throwing tear gas projectile at a close range," the HKJA said.



It said journalists had suffered skin allergies, diarrhea, and respiratory problems from tear gas and other chemical substances, while some had bruises, and skin damage, with some admitted to hospital for treatment, including stitches, after being attacked.



Assaults by Beijing supporters



Pro-Beijing and pro-government protesters had verbally abused, shoved, or attacked reporters with fists and feet, hard objects, or corrosive substances, the HKJA found.



They had also covered their camera lenses or tried to wrench their equipment away from them.



Meanwhile, the Foreign Correspondents Club Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the HKJA honored journalists in the city's annual Human Rights Press Awards on Tuesday.



Agence France-Presse, the BBC,and the New York Times were recognized for reporting on the Rohingya, while the Wall Street Journal was awarded for exposing invasive security measures targeting the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.



Our fight for freedom of press has always been an uphill battle, and it will continue to be an uphill battle," Sonny Swe, publisher of the Yangon-based weekly magazine Frontier Myanmar, told the award ceremony.



"Freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression. I will always fight for them because I know  first-hand  how it feels to have your freedom forcibly taken away from you," he said.



Reported by RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning giving way to a few showers late. High 41F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low 27F. SSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
India Steps Up Assistance in Indo-Pacific amid China's Health Silk Road Initiative

Sputnik News

07:53 GMT 11.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): While India and China have skirmished on several occasions since 25 April, leaving many injured, India is now lending a helping hand in the Indian Ocean Region, where China continues to expand its presence.

The Indian government has launched Mission SAGAR to provide medical assistance in countries like the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros. Mission Security and Growth for All in the Region is in line with India's role as the first responder in the Indian Ocean.

The mission was launched after China sent medical assistance to every country in India's neighbourhood as part of its Health Silk Road initiative, which is an extension of its Belt and Road Initiative into the global health sector.

Chinese President Xi had proposed jointly establishing 'Health Silk Road' with the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 2017. China is now using the COVID-19 outbreak as an opportunity to carry of the Health Silk Road initiative to increase its presence across Asia.

Countering Chinese efforts, the Indian government has sent its naval ship Kesari with two medical assistance teams on board, consignments of COVID-19-related essential medicine and essential food items.

The Medical Assistance Teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with the COVID-19 emergency and with dengue fever in the case of Comoros. A team of medical personnel has also been sent to the Maldives to augment the preparedness of the Maldivian Government to fight the pandemic.

Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and the Seychelles will be receiving COVID-19-related essential medicines, while Maldives will receive about 600 tonnes of food from India. A special consignment of Ayurvedic medicine is also being sent to Mauritius.

Madagascar and Comoros will receive Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already delivered to Mauritius, Maldives and the Seychelles following their requests for the drug.

China has been maintaining its presence in Myanmar by providing medical help and sending medical teams to help the South-east Asian nation deal with the pandemic.

Laos and Pakistan have also been receiving supplies and medical teams from China. Nepal has also been dependent on China for medical supplies amid the outbreak. The Beijing Hospital of Tibetan Medicine has donated "Nine-flavor epidemic prevention powder" sachets to Nepal and other Belt and Road (BRI) countries.

On Sunday, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a scuffle following a transgression by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

A Sputnik

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Amaravati, May 12 : If Tuesday's numbers are any indication, Andhra Pradesh appears to be gaining control in its efforts to contain COVID-19 in the state. The state nodal officer reported that 33 cases were detected from the 10,730 samples tested in the 24 hours ending 10 a.m., Tuesday. The positive case numbers on Tuesday are lower than Monday, when the state reported 38 cases.

The majority of the 33 cases reported on Tuesday have a connection with the Koyambedu market in Chennai. The market has been identified as a major factor in the spread of COVID-19 in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Of the 33 cases announced on Tuesday in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Chittoor district, nine in Nellore district, and one case in East Godavari have been identified as persons who had recently visited the Koyambedu market in Chennai.

Chittoor district reported 10 new cases, all of whom have a history of travel to Koyambedu market in Chennai. Likewise, all the nine new cases detected in Nellore district have a travel history to Koyambedu. Other districts which reported new cases over the past 24 hours include Kurnool with nine cases, Krishna with four cases and East Godavari, where the lone case has a travel history to Koyambedu.

The death toll in the state increased to 46, with one death reported from the Krishna district.

Even as the cumulative tally in the state touched 2,051 cases on Tuesday, the number of people cured and discharged from hospital has risen to 1,056. On Tuesday too, 58 persons had been discharged, taking the tally of active cases in the state well below to 1000-mark, to 949.

Kurnool district continues to lead with a cumulative tally of 584 cases, even though the active cases are 284. This is followed by Guntur and Krishna districts with 387 and 346 cases respectively.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[May 12, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis- Robotic Process Automation Market 2020-2024 | Improved Cost Savings for Businesses to Boost Growth | Technavio

Technavio has been monitoring the robotic process automation market and it is poised to grow by USD 7438.17 million 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/20200511005727/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Robotic Process Automation Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will decelerate during the forecast period. Accenture Plc, Atos SE, Blue Prism Group Plc, Cognizant Technology Solutions (News - Alert) Corp., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., IPsoft Inc., NICE Ltd., and UiPath Srl. are some of the major market participants. The improved cost savings for businesses 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. Improved cost savings for businesses has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Robotic Process Automation Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Robotic Process Automation Market is segmented as below: End-user BFSI IT/ITES Telecom Logistics Others

Geography North America Europe APAC South America

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: htts://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43258



Robotic Process Automation 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 robotic process automation market report covers the following areas:

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Robotic Process Automation Market Trends

Robotic Process Automation Market Industry Analysis This study identifies increasing demand for data loggers with displays as one of the prime reasons driving the robotic process automation market growth during the next few years. Robotic Process Automation Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the robotic process automation market, including some of the vendors such as Accenture Plc, Atos SE, Blue Prism Group Plc, Cognizant (News - Alert) Technology Solutions Corp., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., IPsoft Inc., NICE Ltd., and UiPath Srl. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the robotic process automation market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Robotic Process Automation Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist robotic process automation market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the robotic process automation market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the robotic process automation market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of robotic process automation market vendors Table Of Contents: Executive Summary Market Overview Market Landscape Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 - 2024 Five Forces Analysis Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments

Comparison by End user

BFSI - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

IT/ITES - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Telecom - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Logistics - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by End user 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 Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Overview

Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Accenture Plc

Atos SE

Blue Prism Group Plc

Cognizant Technology (News - Alert) Solutions Corp.

Deloitte

Infosys Ltd.

International Business Machines Corp.

IPsoft Inc.

NICE Ltd.

UiPath Srl Appendix Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005727/en/

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President Donald Trump abruptly ended Monday afternoon's press conference in the White House Rose Garden after he got into another heated exchange with reporters.

After speaking with reporters for nearly an hour, Trump, 73, got into a brief argument with CBS reporter Weijia Jiang after she asked the president why he views coronavirus testing numbers as a "competition" with other countries. Trump, who has repeatedly touted that the United States has done more testing than any country in the world, fell back on a familiar talking point he's used to blame China for the pandemic.

"You said many times that the U.S. is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing," Jiang said before asking: "Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we're still seeing more cases every day?"

Trump responded: "Well, they're losing their lives everywhere in the world. Maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, okay?"

"Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically, to ask China?" asked Jiang, who was born in Xiamen, China, and immigrated to the U.S. when she was 2 years old.

"I'm not saying it specifically to anybody," Trump said, claiming that Jiang asked a "nasty question."

Trump had called on CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who let Jiang follow up and ask the president why he specifically suggested she ask China about testing. Instead, when his exchange with Jiang ended and he went to go take the next question from another reporter, he apparently decided to skip Collins and looked for another journalist to call on.

"No, that's okay," Trump said to Collins, who began asking her question. "Next, please."

When Collins continued asking her question despite Trump trying to skip over her, the president said his thanks, turned and left.

Story continues

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much," Trump said before walking away as reporters confusingly responded.

"But you called on me," Collins said to Trump as he turned and walked away with press cameras snapping.

Alex Brandon/AP/Shutterstock Trump takes questions from reporters at the White House on Monday.

RELATED: Donald Trump Tangles with Yet Another Reporter Over Coronavirus: 'Keep Your Voice Down'

Trump has sparred with reporters throughout his presidency, but the number of arguments has risen in recent months as the president has opted to hold daily coronavirus task force briefings where he chooses to take questions from the White House reporters pool.

Specifically, Trump and his administration have had tiffs with both Jiang and Collins in recent weeks.

In late April, Trump told Jiang to "just relax" and "keep your voice down" after the CBS reporter asked him about why he didn't act sooner if he knew about the coronavirus pandemic's potential impact as early as he's claimed.

He also snapped at NBCs Peter Alexander in March after the reporter asked, What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?

I say that youre a terrible reporter, Trump told Alexander. Thats what I say. I think thats a very nasty question.

Drew Angerer/Getty The White House reporters pool sits apart from one another during President Donald Trump's press conference at the White House on Monday.

RELATED: CBS Reporter Responds to Trump's Gripe That Female Journalists Aren't Like '50s Actress Donna Reed: 'True'

Before Trump's April 24 briefing, the Trump administration tried to move Collins' seat to the back of the White House briefing room in an apparent move to punish CNN for what Trump deems "fake news."

Instead, Collins and the reporter she was ordered by White House staff and members of the Secret Service to exchange seats with refused to move because the seating arrangement was agreed upon by White House officials and the White House Correspondents Association.

The day before, Trump lashed out at Collins during the briefing, telling her, "The problem is, you dont write the truth and physically turning away from her while she tried to ask him a question.

No, not CNN," he said. "I told you, CNN is fake news. Dont talk to me.

Trump took his media fit a step further on Monday, walking out of the briefing after another run-in with reporters he doesn't personally like.

Last week, Trump complained about specific CBS reporters in a New York Post interview where he griped that women reporters aren't like "Donna Reed," the actress who starred in the 1946 film It's A Wonderful Life.

Paula Reid, shes sitting there and I say, How angry. I mean, whats the purpose? Theyre not even tough questions, but you see the attitude of these people, its like incredible," Trump complained.

Reid, the CBS reporter, later replied to the president's complaints on Twitter.

"President Trump tells @nypost I am nothing like 50's American archetypal mom Donna Reed," CBS political reporter Paula Reid tweeted last Tuesday. "Fact-check: True."
Five coronavirus patients died in a Russian hospital blaze early today due to a short circuit igniting a ventilator machine.

An inferno swept through an intensive care Covid-19 ward at St. George City Hospital in St Petersburg. A total of 150 patients were evacuated.

All five people who died were connected to ventilators at the time, it is understood.

An inferno swept through an intensive care Covid-19 ward at a hospital in St Petersburg. Pictured, damage to the ward's windows

Eleven in the same sixth floor ward were rescued and taken to lower floor of the hospital.

'An electric equipment malfunction, short-circuit failure, is seen as the preliminary reason,' said an emergency services spokesman.

Fire destroyed 108 square feet inside the hospital after the sudden blaze at 6.20am (4.20am UK time).

A total of 150 patients were evacuated from St. George City Hospital, said the emergency services

Eleven in the same sixth floor ward were rescued and taken to lower floor of the hospital

Smoke was seen pouring from the window at the hospital which had been recategorised to cope with coronavirus patients during the pandemic

Fire rescue crews gathered in the hospital's car park and a nearby road to tackle the blaze

The emergency services later said the fire had been localised.

Smoke was seen pouring from the window at the hospital which had been recategorised to cope with coronavirus patients during the pandemic.

It is the second similar fire in three days in Russia.

Workers of the St Petersburg Fire Service undergo disinfection after a fire at St George's Municipal Hospital

A Russian Emergency Situation worker disinfects two men near the scene of the deadly fire

Fire destroyed 108 square feet inside the hospital (pictured) after the sudden blaze at 6.20am (4.20am UK time)

On Saturday a 95-year-old woman Evdokia Butryakova died in a Moscow hospital when an oxygen balloon supplying a ventilator exploded causing a fire major which led to 295 patients being evacuated.

The charred body of the pensioner was found after the blaze was extinguished at Clinical Hospital 50.

The authorities are examining the causes of both fires.
Mannedorf, Switzerland, May 12, 2020 - The Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN) today announced that it will take part at the following virtual investor conferences in May:

Berenberg Diagnostics Conference, London, UK

Date: 14 May 2020

Lunch Panel Discussion: 12:00 pm BST (13:00 CEST)

Global Fireside Chat: 1:00 pm BST (14:00 CEST)

Presenter: Dr. Achim von Leoprechting, CEO, Tecan

No Webcast

UBS Virtual Global Healthcare Conference, New York, USA

Date: 18 - 19 May 2020

Presentation: 19 May 2020, 7:30 am EDT

A replay of the webcast will be available after the presentation and will remain available for 90 days.

Virtual Berenberg Conference USA 2020, Tarrytown, USA

Date: 20 May 2020

Global Fireside Chat: 9:00 am EDT (15:00 CEST)

Presenter: Dr. Achim von Leoprechting, CEO, Tecan

No Webcast

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics and clinical diagnostics. The company specializes in the development, production and distribution of automation solutions for laboratories in the life sciences sector. Its clients include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments, forensic and diagnostic laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both Europe and North America and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2019, Tecan generated sales of CHF 637 million (USD 643 million; EUR 574 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TECN; ISIN CH0012100191).



For further information:

Tecan Group

Martin Braendle

Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR

Tel. +41 (0) 44 922 84 30

Fax +41 (0) 44 922 88 89

investor@tecan.com

www.tecan.com

Attachment
Wrexham councillor whose entire immediate family caught coronavirus tells of absolutely devastating impact

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, May 12th, 2020

A Wrexham councillor whose entire immediate family fell ill with the coronavirus has spoken out about the absolutely devastating impact it had on them.

Marc Jones, who represents the Grosvenor ward, said his wife and two sons began experiencing symptoms including a cough, temperature and shortness of breath towards the end of March.

As his wife works as a nurse and his two boys in supermarkets, they were able to be tested and it was confirmed that they had contracted COVID-19.

To make matter worse, the Plaid Cymru politician caught it a week later, meaning the household became reliant on a network of volunteers he had previously set up to help others hit by the pandemic to get essentials

Cllr Jones has now opened up about his familys battle with the potentially deadly virus, which nearly resulted in his wife being admitted to hospital.

Speaking in an interview with his colleague Cllr Carrie Harper, which was carried out on the Zoom video platform, he said: They had a cough, temperature, shortness of breath, loss of taste, the usual symptoms I think a lot of people have had.

I thought I had dodged it but went down a week later and to be honest its just left us wiped out, just March / April was completely wiped out. Were just now starting to get back to normal.

Im surprised how few people seem to have experienced it or know people who have got it. Since Ive been getting back on my feet and I think it just hasnt happened for a lot of people.

Until it happens to you, you dont realise its not just the flu, its absolutely devastating.

We were quite lucky, we had fairly mild symptoms, but its still knocked us for six.

Its ironic that we set up a network of volunteers locally and we ended up having to rely on that network of volunteers.

I cant thank people enough  friends, volunteers and neighbours who shopped for us, went for prescriptions and basically looked after us in a way I was expecting to be helping other people.

Its at times like that you really realise the importance of that network to help people along.

There has been some debate during the last week over the different approaches taken by the UK and Welsh governments in easing lockdown restrictions.

However, Cllr Jones said he believed the Cardiff administration had taken the right steps by only easing the regulations slightly.

He has also urged people not to become complacent in protecting themselves against the virus.

He said: We did have some scary moments, I thought my wife would need to be admitted at one stage but luckily not.

I guess the message is dont take it for granted that everythings getting better.

I think the figures Ive seen from the Office for National Statistics show that actually in parts of north Wales and the peak is yet to come and that weve got to be really careful and thats why I think the decision to keep the lockdown, to ease it slightly but keep the lockdown is the right decision.

There are people still dying locally and there are people still being admitted to ICU, but theres also people who are really badly hit by all this and we dont want that to happen to anyone.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme)
One of Mexicos most notorious cartel bosses, Moises Escamilla May, has died from the coronavirus.

The high-ranking member of the dangerous Los Zetas crime syndicate had spent more than a decade in prison after being accused of a string of decapitations.

May was arrested shortly after he was alleged to have beheaded 12 people in Yucatan, Mexico, in August 2008.

The 45-year-old died at a maximum-security prison in the state of Jalisco, west of Mexico City, one week after Covid-19 symptoms began.

Mexican authorities confirmed the death on Sunday, although the ex-cartel boss died on 8 May. He had been diagnosed with Covid-19 two days beforehand.

May, nicknamed El Gordo May which means Fat May in English, was serving a 37-year jail sentence for organised crime, weapons and drugs offences.

He was also in charge of the distribution of cocaine in Cancun.

At the time of his detention he was identified as a regional leader of Old School Zetas, one of the two factions of the notoriously violent cartel.

Los Zetas was regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexicos drug cartels, although in recent times it has become fragmented and seen its influence diminish.

As well as drug trafficking, its criminal activities also covered kidnap, extortion, sex trafficking and gun running rackets.

It was formed by army deserters who began to work for the Gulf Cartel before breaking away to create their own cartel.

After the capture of former leader Omar Trevino Morales, alias Z-42, the cartel split into two factions which were at war until 2018. One of the factions was the Old School.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, Mexico has more than 35,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3,465 deaths
Four Ghanaians Scientists have been named among 29 African scientists awarded Future Leaders  African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowship.



They are Mr Bismarck Dinko, a Scientist at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mr Edem Mahu, and Mr John Kuumuori Ganle, a scientist at the University of Ghana, and Mr Philip Antwi-Agyei, a Scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology,



As second cohort FLAIR Fellows, they would have the opportunity to undertake cutting-edge scientific research that will address global challenges facing developing countries such as Ghana.



It would also enable the outstanding early-career African scientists to build an independent research career in a sub-Saharan African institution and ultimately, lead their research groups.



The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Royal Society, supported by the UKs Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), made the announcement today in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency.



It said the 2020 cohort of FLAIR funded scientists were selected from a competitive pool of more than 400 applicants and their research was diverse, ranging from new techniques for sustainable agriculture and fisheries, managing water shortages to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, improved methods to store cleaner energy and targeting health conditions that were most acute for people living in Africa.



The statement said Mr Dinko research will investigate the growth processes of the malaria parasite using new molecular and histological tools, including its proposed development location in the human bone marrow.



It said Mr Mahus studies would provide scientific advice on Oyster fisheries in the Gulf of Guinea and its sustainable management and adaptation while Mr Kuumuori Ganle will implement interventions to connect women with these services and assess the benefits.



The statement said the research of Mr Antwi-Agyei will seek using mapping tools, soil samples and a community approach to determine how Climate Smart Agriculture might be best applied to Ghana and West Africa, with a focus on soil viability.



The statement quoted Professor Nelson Torto, Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, as saying, The AAS welcomes the new cohort of FLAIR grantees to our growing postdoctoral family. Postdoctoral programmes are vital in training and developing early career researchers into research leaders whose scientific leadership will influence policies that will promote the socio-economic development of the continent.



Dr Judy Omumbo, Programme Manager, Affiliates and Postdoctoral Programmes, says, The announcement of this second cohort of FLAIR fellows is a significant milestone for the postdoctoral programmes team at the AAS. We anticipate that they will find the opportunities for networking and collaborations with other African scientists unique in supporting them in their pursuit of excellence in science for the benefit of mankind.



Professor Richard Catlow, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, says, On behalf of the Royal Society, I would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to this years FLAIR fellows.



Climate change, food sustainability, emerging disease, these are challenges facing us all, but the risks they pose to individuals and ecosystems across Africa are especially pronounced. That is why were proud to be part of a programme that is investing in the next generation of African scientific leaders, as they research solutions and adaptations to these challenges.



This programme extends well beyond the grant recipients themselves. Our first cohort of FLAIR fellows is forging partnerships across institutions and disciplines, supporting young African PhD candidates and postdocs, and helping strengthen the research economies in countries such as Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and the wider continent. We know this second cohort of talented FLAIR researchers will match their success.



The next round of FLAIR applications is currently open and will close on 27 May 2020.

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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Thousands of travellers owed refunds for cancelled Virgin Australia flights may never see their cash again and will instead be issued with travel vouchers under a plan proposed by the airline's administrators.

Virgin stopped giving refunds or travel credits for cancelled flights when it collapsed last month with debts of nearly $7 billion, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to ground almost its entire operations.

Virgin's administrators has proposed issuing credit vouchers to customers. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Accounting firm Deloitte's lead administrator Vaughan Strawbridge wrote in an affidavit filed to the federal Court on Tuesday that Virgin has received about 340,000 requests for refunds after cancelling 65000 flights between March 1 and April 30 due to the pandemic.

He added that a total of 19 bidders were now in Virgin data room weighing up a rescue package. Deloitte had previously revealed that it was working with 20 interested parties but only eight had signed confidentiality agreements that let them inspect the airlines books.
Its a term thats on the tip of many tongues  everywhere from hospitals to warehouses to grocery stores  as the province begins to take cautious steps towards reopening.

Deep cleaning has become part of our new pandemic vocabulary along with terms like social distancing, self-isolation and community transmission.

But what does it actually mean? And how can the public be sure that one places deep clean is the same as anothers? It turns out it means different things to different people, and, while important, shouldnt give you a false sense of security that a place is COVID-free.

Deep cleaning is not a technical term, said Heather Fletcher, senior director of environmental, patient, food and transportation services at Unity Health Toronto. What people might be trying to express is that its going to be more enhanced cleaning on an ongoing basis, she said, getting right to the rafters.

At Unity Health, the hospital network that includes Providence Healthcare, St. Josephs Health Centre and St. Michaels Hospital, they refer to enhanced and terminal cleaning, she added.

The latter is an intense cleaning and disinfection process done in rooms between patients to prevent the spread of germs.

Enhanced cleaning means cleaning in public spaces more often, focusing on things that people touch a lot, like handrails, and areas that see more traffic, like hallways.

For us it feels pretty normal, Fletcher said. Its ongoing attention that will make the difference.

Cleaning staff wipe down surfaces with a diluted bleach product using microfibre cloths, she added. They chose to use bleach just to be really thorough, although theres a whole list of Health Canada approved products for killing COVID-19. And old fashioned elbow grease is always needed.

I dont think you can just wipe on some bleach and youre done, you need to remove the dirt, you need to remove the bio-burden, Fletcher added.

A similar process is used by some outside cleaning companies called in by private businesses, like grocery stores, or factories that have COVID-positive staff members and want to reassure the public, said Christine Harley.

Shes the business manager at Arelli Commercial Cleaning Inc., which does commercial, workplace and warehouse jobs.

Their cleaning focuses on making sure places that people touch a lot are disinfected  your phones, your keyboards, your mouse, your doorhandles, your faucets, your toilet flusher,  after being washed so theyre not just disinfecting or spraying on top of dirt.

The teams work during the night when stores are closed, because they also need to social distance.

They also sometimes do dry fogging if the customer asks for it. They spray disinfectant and it kind of coats the air, she said, parts per million land everywhere.

Her company has been incredibly busy during the pandemic, working from about 8:30 a.m. to midnight every day. And while shes glad for the business, Harley urges the public not to let the promise of a deep clean give a false sense of security.

People still need to take regular precautions like social distancing, and handwashing. Even the most extensive cleaning only disinfects at that moment, she said. A place could be cleaned overnight and contaminated again by lunch.

I would not let my guard down with this invisible disease, she said. You still gotta do your part.

Cleaning companies are not regulated by the government, and standards vary, even as theyve suddenly become an important part of pandemic response.

Everybodys either panic buying or panic disinfecting, or panic something, she added.

It doesnt matter how much money you spend, its not going to help you if things are not done properly.

For some places, like factories or warehouses, it might make more sense just to close down temporarily, or close off the area where the person infected with COVID-19 had been.

You can do all the disinfecting you want, it doesnt mean youre going to get every nook and cranny, Harley said.

If you can cut off access to that area for five days, chances are the virus is probably dead.

The Star contacted several companies that had mentioned deep cleaning in response to staff members recently testing positive for COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the LCBO responded that the term refers to an extensive cleaning process conducted by a third party, which differs depending on the location, and follows Public Health Ontario guidelines. They can take up to a day to complete and measures include thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all interior surfaces, touch points, as well as exterior entry areas.

A fact sheet from Public Health Ontario says surfaces people touch often (like doorknobs and elevator buttons) should be cleaned and disinfected twice per day and, when visibly dirty, using disinfectants that have an eight-digit drug identification number from Health Canada, confirming theyre approved for use. Toronto Public Health has similar guidance.

Pusateris Fine Foods, a high-end Toronto grocery store chain, brought in professionals for a deep clean in late April after a head office employee visited one of its stores before realizing they had COVID-19.

A spokesperson said deep cleaning involves a specific procedure, which includes locking down a store, cleaning first with soap and water, disinfecting through atomized fogging, and a final checklist to make sure nothing has been missed.

A spokesperson for Longos grocery store declined to comment when asked by the Star about deep cleaning. Costco and Loblaws also did not respond to requests for comment.

The good news is SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is fairly easy to kill, said Rennie Kissoonsingh, director of safety, environment and quality at commercial cleaning company GDI Services Canada.

Its an enveloped virus, meaning it has an outer lipid layer surrounding it, like influenza, and any of the disinfectants on the Health Canada approved list will get rid of it.

But, like Harley, he urges businesses to look for cleaning companies with documented procedures and experience in the field and not just go with Joe Shmoe, who suddenly popped up to meet the pandemic demand.

It can be tempting as all of the Health Canada disinfectants are in very short supply and his own company has been so busy its had to turn down some work. But its important to do it right.

Cleaning is a science, he said. I hope people have a lot more respect for what we do out there.

Correction (May 11): This article has been updated from a previous version that gave an incorrect abbreviation for Unity Health Toronto, the network that includes Providence Healthcare, St. Josephs Health Centre and St. Michaels Hospital.
She shared a steamy topless photo the day before, with nothing but a lei and a parakeet to protect her modesty.

Kim Kardashian opted for a more conservative look on Tuesday when she shared a sultry photo to Instagram of herself taken from inside her massive wardrobe at her $60M home in Hidden Hills, California.

The 39-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked ready for spring in a glowing yellow tank top covered in elegant floral patterns.

Kiss kiss: Kim Kardashian, 39, shared a sultry photo to Instagram on Tuesday of herself perfecting her pout in her home's wardrobe while on her knees in a yellow floral top and a black skirt

Kim's top had an upturned collar with a diagonal slit, which was held together with a drawstring.

She completed the look with a black skirt and she appeared to have heels on with straps running up her ankles.

The 5ft3in shapewear mogul had her lips puckered up for a kiss, and her lustrous raven tresses were swept over one shoulder.

She let the picture do the talking and simply captioned it with a kiss emoji to mirror her own lips.

Stretching out: Last week, Kim revealed she has been letting her hair grow and avoiding extensions so that it can 'breathe,' though her locks seem to have gained some length in the photo

Enormous: She posed on the floor of her wide-open closet, which resemble a gigantic changing room with its open space and movable clothing racks

Last week, Kim revealed she has been letting her hair grow and avoiding extensions so that it can 'breathe,' though her locks seem to have gained some length in the photo.

She posed on the floor of her wide-open closet, which resemble a gigantic changing room with its open space and movable clothing racks.

The room is the ideal space for Kim to show off her newest Skims designs. Earlier this month she arranged some of the new slimming outfits throughout the room to show off the new designs and colors.

Baring all: Kim stripped down in a snap posted Monday, going topless and covering her modesty only with a white floral leis

On Monday, she debuted a racy topless look to capitalize on her 'tropical vibes.'

Rather than focusing on her own line Skims or her haute couture looks, the post was dedicated to her KKW makeup products.

Kim covered her bust with a brilliant white lei made of delicate flowers, and she flipped her long dark locks off tot he side.

She even added a green parakeet on her shoulder to complete the photo's tropical feel.
William Kristol, 67, is a neoconservative political commentator and editor at large of the Bulwark. He founded the Weekly Standard and served in two Republican administrations.

Q: You've become a prominent member of the resistance with Never Trumpers, Republicans for the Rule of Law, Meeting of the Concerned. Is that a role you could have imagined for yourself earlier in your career?

A: I think I've always had a kind of heterodox or contrarian streak. I think I've usually been willing to stand up to the powers that be, to some degree. But I don't like it, honestly, when people overdo how difficult and noble this is or something. I mean, God knows, in the big scheme of things, it's nothing compared to what millions of people have done across the world in standing up for their beliefs against leaders and governments. And, in a way, being free from that kind of orthodoxy has been somewhat liberating.

Q: We hear a lot about the difference between Republicans' private vs. public views of President Donald Trump. As someone in a small minority of the party who has spent the past few years trying to rally fellow Republicans, fellow conservatives, to stand up to him, have you been surprised by that?

A: I have been surprised by the total capitulation to Trump. I never liked the, well, in private, they say this. I mean, at some point, that is not an excuse; it's almost meaningless. People's behavior in public, if you're a public official, is your behavior. It really came to a head on impeachment, where we fought hard trying to get Republicans to do the right thing and failed entirely, except for (Sen. Mitt) Romney. I think that brought home to me, and should have brought home to everyone, that Republican members of Congress should get zero credit for saying things in private that they're not willing to say in public. At least the true believers believe it, right? I mean, is going along really a more admirable stance? Is being a cynical apparatchik better than being a true believer?

But, yeah, I guess I am a little depressed by the failure of civic and political courage in standing up to Trump. We're not back in Germany. We're not in the Soviet Union. We're not even in Hungary, in Venezuela. I mean, what are you really putting on the line?

Q: It's astounding for so many people to go along with something that they don't believe.

A: That's a good way of putting it: They don't believe it. But I think they also don't believe it's that damaging. I guess if you had to give a reasonable argument, it wouldn't be that they believe it or that they're intimidated even, exactly, but - and I used to hear this when I talked to these people, which I don't do much anymore: "Come on, Bill, it's not that bad. He's a jerk, and he says stupid things, but the system is the system. It's working adequately." They think they're getting some good policies out of it. "We'll get beyond this. I mean, he's not destroying our institutions. The civility stuff is probably overrated. And anyway, we were losing when we believed in that."

People in both parties and in every institution, whether businesses or the media or anything, you put up with certain things. You have a boss who's a jerk, or even a creep. And, you know, he'll move on. You're not going to leave your job, necessarily. You're going to wait him out, and the institution will produce someone better. You have a bad teacher for your kids one year. It doesn't mean you leave the school. It means you sort of accommodate and get beyond it. That's sort of life, right? It's not a crazy point of view.

I guess the fundamental dispute is how much damage (Trump) is doing to the country. And I do feel like now that's kind of evident. Sticking with him even now, in the midst of this incredibly damaging bungling of the coronavirus, is pretty astounding. The tribalism. I mean, I had low hopes. I didn't really expect people to jump ship even on this, but to see it play out day to day and week to week, it's astonishing.

I've always slightly objected to the - "Well, Trump's just a symptom, you know. The problem is deeper." Of course, that's true in some ways. Hyperpolarization was already there, hyperpartisanship. And it was creating real, genuine dangers and challenges to our system. But he's a symptom who makes the problem much worse. He's the infection that makes the underlying medical issue inoperable. (Laughs.) Which is why you need to deal with the infection first, which is why politically you need to deal with Trump before you can solve other things.

Q: Has this pandemic changed the way you think about the importance of leadership?

A: No, but I think it's reinforced my conservative view that you don't want to put all your eggs in the basket of the federal government or the presidency. For all the problems of federalism in terms of dealing with a national problem like the coronavirus, it's been good that we have states and localities and the private sector and civic institutions and the media and universities and churches; there're some limits to the damage he can do. Now, when you have a national challenge like this, unfortunately, he can do a lot of damage, and he has. Even so, you could argue that (Anthony) Fauci and everyone else are sort of a testimony that the institutions can still ultimately do some good. So that part reassures one a little bit about America.

But having said that, we're really going to pay a price for this terrible failure in leadership. Probably three years ago, I was a little more, look, the institutions are strong, and they will beat him back. But watching the way in which he has corroded the constraints on him within the government and gotten rid of various guardrails and corrupted certain institutions, it reminds you that four years - four years is a lot better than eight years, but it can still do quite a lot of damage.

Q: You were critical in shaping the conservative movement up until now - even in sort of introducing populism into it in blessing the choice of Sarah Palin on the ticket. How do you feel about those contributions? Are there decisions you wish you could take back?

A: My column, the Sunday before (John) McCain made the choice, was to urge him to pick (Joe) Lieberman because I thought a national unity ticket was the way to go. It became clear to me he wasn't going to do that. And then I said, OK, we'll take a gamble on Palin. I regret that. Because she turned out to be much more unsuited for the office than I expected. To be fair, if you look at what she said in 2008, apart from some of the silliness, she was not anti-immigration. She was not xenophobic. She was not isolationist. She was pro-free trade. You know, she echoed McCain. So, in a funny way, if we could have co-opted some of the populism and given them a place in a McCain-nominated Republican Party, maybe that would have been a good outcome. But it didn't work out that way.

But people like me fought (Pat) Buchanan. We fought Ron Paul. I feel like, on the whole, we were pretty alert to the challenges from the right. Pretty alert, but not totally alert. So yeah, there are things that I wish now we did more. Having said that, it's a huge country, and any majority party is going to have 60 million people voting for it. And just as people on the right want to attack Joe Biden because Ilhan Omar said something offensive, it would equally be pointless to go back and find what the equivalent of the right-wing Ilhan Omar said 15 years ago, and why didn't you go more crazy about it?

At the end of the day, this is a party that nominated Bush and Dole and Bush and Bush and, you know, McCain and Romney. You don't look at that and think, Oh my God, this is, like, anti-democratic or illiberal or horrible. But I think (the Republican Party) will be an unhealthy party until there's an explicit repudiation of Trump. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. Even if he loses.

Q: Are you able to go back, then, or do you see yourself permanently outside the party?

A: I don't think going back is really plausible. Three years ago I was using the rhetoric, or terminology, of "going back to," or "saving," or "restoring." Those kinds of words. But Trump's been renominated, and liberating the party from Trump or Trumpism seems awfully far-fetched. Obviously, if he loses in November, things are in more flux, and maybe there's some opportunities. But I can't honestly conceive of working with Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn and Kevin McCarthy. I'm just disgusted by what they've been doing, really, for the last three years, that I don't much look forward to that.

We're in a new moment. Both because of Trump and also because of what's happening now (with the pandemic). It's interesting, intellectually, honestly, trying to think through where one should go on a lot of issues in the country. It's a new set of circumstances. We need to really think in a fresh way.
CHICAGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) today is announcing it has selected 75 organizations to receive funding as part of the BCBSIL COVID-19 Community Collaboration Fund.

BCBSIL launched the Fund less than a month ago with a short turnaround to quickly get the $20,000 grants into the hands of organizations that are providing critical services in the areas of access to health care, hunger and shelter.

"We're providing community support to people most impacted by the emerging health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19," said Steve Hamman, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. "We have a long history of supporting community organizations and know that people turn to local, trusted resources in times of need. We admire and support those who give so much of themselves for the benefit of others."

The funding will increase the capacity of organizations statewide, including: Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless and Aunt Martha's.

Of the 75 grant recipients, 25 represent and address each focus area: hunger, shelter and access to health care. See the full list in our newsroom.

The BCBSIL COVID-19 Community Collaboration Fund is just one of the ways BCBSIL is responding to the developing needs of community partners. We have:

Extended an additional 6 months of funding for our 2019/2020 grant recipients

Donated $1M to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund

to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund Donated $500,000 to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund

To learn more about how we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic for our members, including helping to expand access in areas such as testing, treatment, pharmacy and telehealth related to COVID-19, please visit https://www.bcbsil.com/covid-19.html .

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) is committed to expanding access to quality, cost-effective health care to as many people as possible in Illinois. BCBSIL is dedicated to innovation and exploring, nurturing and activating future possibilities to make the health care system work better for our members and our communities.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Related Links

http://www.bcbsil.com


[May 12, 2020] COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis | Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024 | Innovations in the Hiring Process to Boost Growth | Technavio

Technavio has been monitoring the online recruitment market in US and it is poised to grow by USD 3.52 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005547/en/ Technavio has announced its latest us research report titled Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. CareerBuilder LLC, College Recruiter Inc., DHI Group Inc., LinkedIn (News - Alert) Corp., Monster Worldwide Inc., OPTnation, Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd., Robert Half International Inc., The Select Group LLC, and TopUSAJobs.com. are some of the major market participants. The innovations in the hiring process 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. Innovations in the hiring process has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024: Segmentation Online Recruitment Market in US is segmented as below: End user Recruitment/employers Job Seekers

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=IRTNTR41178



Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024 : Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our online recruitment market in US report covers the following areas:

Online Recruitment Market in US Size

Online Recruitment Market in US Trends

Online Recruitment Market in US Industry Analysis This study identifies increase in the use of AI-powered searches as one of the prime reasons driving the online recruitment market growth in US during the next few years. Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the online recruitment market in US, including some of the vendors such as CareerBuilder LLC, College Recruiter Inc., DHI Group Inc., LinkedIn Corp., Monster Worldwide Inc., OPTnation, Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd., Robert Half International Inc., The Select Group LLC, and TopUSAJobs.com. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the online recruitment market in US are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Online Recruitment Market in US 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist online recruitment market growth in US during the next five years

Estimation of the online recruitment market size in US and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the online recruitment market in US

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of online recruitment market vendors in US Table Of Contents: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market Sizing Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 - 2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments

Comparison by End-user placement

Recruitment/employers - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Job seekers - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by End-user Customer landscape Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

CareerBuilder LLC

College Recruiter Inc.

DHI Group Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Monster Worldwide Inc.

OPTnation

Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd.

Robert Half International Inc.

The Select Group LLC

TopUSAJobs.com Appendix Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005547/en/

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BALLSTON SPA - Waterford Supervisor John Lawler, who is heading up Saratoga County's internal investigation into the pandemic pay scandal, will also lead the county's effort to reopen.

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Preston Allen announced the creation of the 12-member advisory group on Tuesday. It will comprise mostly local elected officials as well as a representative of county health and public safety and two business leaders to guide the countys reopening of the economy once it meets the state's health and safety metrics.
Hog farmer Mike Paustian interacts with some of his piglets in his farm in Walcott, Iowa, on May 17, 2019. (REUTERS/Tom Polansek)

Senators Seek Funding for Pork Producers Forced to Euthanize Livestock

US hog farmers in dire straits as farms face 'animal welfare crisis'

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with 12 of their colleagues, are calling in a bipartisan effort for additional financial assistance for Iowa pork producers who are enduring the brunt of restaurant and meat processing plant closures during the pandemic.

The crisis is immediate, Sen. Joni Ernst said May 11. I sent a bipartisan letter urging additional support for producers who are being forced to depopulate livestock herds.

In a letter to Senate and House leaders, the 14 lawmakers requested additional funding for programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would provide relief for producers who are being forced to depopulate livestock herds.

Pork producers send to market over two million pigs each week. If twenty percent of processing is idle, that means somewhere around 400,000 animals per week must be disposed of in some manner other than processing, the senators wrote. Accordingly, government support is needed in the management of a sensible depopulation of the herd until plant operations stabilize.

U.S. hog farmers are in dire straits and face the tragic need to euthanize animals due to circumstances beyond their control, National Pork Producers President Howard AV Roth, a hog farmer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin, said in a public statement.

Roth continued, We thank Sens. Grassley, Ernst, and Smith for leading efforts to compensate pork producers and help them weather this crisis. Without this and other much-needed assistance, we face consolidation and contraction of a critical farm sector.

The senators urged House Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to compensate the pork producers forced to euthanize their herds.

Given these significant social and economic consequences, we must prioritize funding to indemnify producers who are depopulating herds due to processing plant closures. Assistance is needed for humane euthanization and disposal, which will require the coordination of the human, animal, and environmental health communities, the senators wrote.

National Pork Producers President-Elect Jen Sorenson said, We need significant help to support U.S. pork producers that generate more than 500,000 jobs and $23 billion in personal income across America. We appreciate the tireless efforts of Sens. Grassley and Ernst to help hog farmers throughout this crisis.

After Trump on April 28 signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to keep meat plants open to ensure ample supply amid the pandemic, several major meat plants that were temporarily shuttered due to the outbreak began resuming operations.

According to the National Hog Farmers Association, pork processing plants including Tyson Perry, Iowa; Tyson Waterloo, Iowa; Tyson Logansport, Ind.; JBS Worthington, Minn.; Smithfield Monmouth, Ill.; Smithfield Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Indiana Packers, Ind., reopened after the Presidents executive order.

In the May 11 letter, the senators pointed to the pork industries $5 billion loss due to the pandemic. The senators said that the Wuhan virus has also led to an animal welfare crisis due to the market disruption.

There is still a concern for keeping workers safe and having processing plants working at full capacity, the senators wrote. The downstream impact of idled plants is full farms, creating an animal welfare crisis due to overcrowding and the challenge of providing enough feed and water available to each animal.
Nguyen Van Duong, Chairman of Dong Thap Peoples Committee

Dong Thap has been praised for its stable performance as one of the five best performers in governance quality and the single locality in the top five of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) tally for 12 consecutive years. What is your reaction to these achievements?

In the recent past, the provinces management was heartened as Dong Thap came second nationwide in the 2019 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Index (PAPI) which was rated on by local people. Now, based on the newly-released 2019 PCI ranking the province was consistent with the second position, and continues to be championed among the best performers in governance quality. With such achievements, 2019 could be regarded as a successful year for Dong Thap.

On this occasion, I want to send sincere thanks to the business community for their assessments, that have been a big source of inspiration for our local management to stay consistent in making further strides in the realm of administrative procedure reform acceleration, as well as changing the perception about the role of businesses in driving socio-economic development in the locality.

The most important achievement the province has posted, however, does not only come from our ranking, but also in our accessing careful studies being announced each year which have helped us to notify what we need to further strive to gradually perfect management methods and policies, from there providing better support for business development.

We expect the business community will always accompany local management authorities on a constructive basis, striving to build up an increasingly beautiful and thriving Dong Thap.

How has the province been working towards making Dong Thap a magnet luring in businesses and investors?

For many years, Dong Thap has been taking wide-ranging measures to constantly improve the local investment climate and support business development, making this our management focus.

The provinces key advantage lies in the human factor  that is the management at all levels who always go avant-garde in resolving investment and business activities of enterprises. To better the local investment environment and support business development, Dong Thap has taken businesses as our companions and advisors in propelling provincial development.

Under the slogan Always walking in step with businesses, in past years the province has been impartial in changing the management mindset shifting from the ask-give mechanism into a pro-business approach, from there making businesses feel secure when setting foot and expanding production activities in the province.

Each employee at state management agencies has been making efforts to improve their service quality and is dedicated to supporting business operations. This is the whole journey changing the mindset which stems from the provinces management, then spreading spillover effects into the whole system.

These constant efforts towards ensuring prosperity of businesses and the province alike have helped Dong Thap to stay secure as one of the top five performers in the national PCI tally.

Dong Thaps leadership met with World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione (third from left) to discuss ways for further improving the provinces competitiveness

Constant efforts are being made to make ensure investors receive the latest information

What will the province do in upcoming years to further improve scores in the PCI?

The ranking has had positive impacts on local socio-economic development, so we have set forth a raft of concrete measures for further PCI improvement.

Along with this, right after the tally was announced, the province has made inclusive assessments, looking into limitations and how to tackle as well as acquire useful recommendations on ways to manage the economy and further improve the business climate, and from there presenting new plans to stimulate investment, create more jobs, and lift up local social and economic development.

Dong Thap will also speed up the administrative reform process, helping firms to save time on settling investment and business procedures, striving to put in place pro-business administration to facilitate business development.

One highlight is that Dong Thap has been deploying the model of four stops on one working day referring to the process of receiving, settling, and delivering results of making administrative procedures in business setup and registration.

Efforts also gear towards creating diverse channels to communicate with the business community such as through email, social network connections, and even coffee shop meet-ups.

To learn more about the issues, members of local management agencies have often come to visit businesses, approaching startup projects at cafes based in diverse districts and towns in the province. This is a fresh step promoting the business coffee model in 2020.

We have also come up with other models as timing for home-based implementation of administrative procedures, and sending results to customers via posts, or conducting public services online at one-stop shop divisions combined with communal cultural post offices. As of now, the average time to handle new business setup registration is only 1.27 days and 1.22 day for changes to business registration. All procedures were settled in a timely manner.

Dong Thap is also committed to pushing forward the department and district competitiveness index in order to spread the innovative mindset to the grassroots level. This would help our management to craft out suitable measures to better the provinces PCI ranking in the forthcoming time.

In addition, diverse practical programmes took place recently to promote business startups. Consequently, new business setups amounted to 525 in 2019, with VND3.4 trillion ($149.5 million) in total registered capital.

Due regard has been paid to investment promotion activities to ensure investors receive information in a timely manner. Last year, Dong Thap approved investment proposals of 35 projects valued at VND6.53 trillion ($283.8 million), including two foreign-invested projects. In Dong Thap, our management believes the opportunities of investors and businesses are the opportunities of local government and people alike, so we are doing our utmost to best support them.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As theme parks across the United States remain shut down to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Shanghai Disneyland officially reopened to the public on Monday -- but with many new safety measures in place.

According to a Shanghai Disneyland news release, during the initial reopening phase, the park will institute new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and requiring advanced ticketing and reservations. Other measures include accommodating social distancing in ride queues, restaurants and ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park.

Guests are required to undergo temperature screening procedures upon arrival and must wear an approved mask during the entire visit to the resort -- except when dining, according to the release.

Tourists dine at a restaurant at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Since the reopening of Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel in early March, we have been deeply moved by the encouragement from our guests and Disney fans, said Joe Schott, president and general manager, Shanghai Disney Resort, in a news release. Today, we are extremely pleased to reopen Shanghai Disneyland thanks to the unwavering efforts of our cast members and our community. Todays celebrations will be remembered with joy, as we look forward to welcoming our guests back to this happy place.

Parades and nighttime spectaculars are also returning at a later date. While beloved Disney characters will still appear in the park, close interaction and close-up photos will be suspended during the initial reopening phase.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Social distancing markers are on the ground as tourists visit Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

The theme park is also increasing the frequency of sanitization and disinfection -- with hand sanitizers available at attractions, restaurants and stores.

Guests are required to purchased dated admission tickets prior to arrival, and annual pass holders must make a reservation for their visit date before they go to the park.

Tourists dine at a restaurant at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Theme parks in the United States are awaiting news of when they can reopen in accordance with state and health directives.

Guests planning to visit Six Flags Great Adventure will need to make reservations when the park in Jackson, N.J., reopens.

You can view more photos of the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland below.

Security guards are seen at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists watch a show at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Visitors have their credentials checked as they enter Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists wait on a line with social distancing markers at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists visit Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Shanghai. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists queue to enter Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists enjoy a ride at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists are on a ride at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists visit Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists go on rides at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists read a map at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

Tourists ride in a boat at Shanghai Disneyland after its reopening on May 11, 2020 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)Getty Images

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CARY, N.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Life-threating pandemics create extraordinary challenges for governments, health care systems and supply chains. SAS works with health and government organizations across the globe to respond to COVID-19's unique challenges by putting data to work and supporting analytics-based decisions. These challenges include:

Helping hospitals use predictive analytics to allocate critical, high-demand resources.

Collaborating with public health officials to build epidemiology models that forecast impacts on populations and infrastructure.

Working with governments to optimize medical resources so citizens get the best health outcomes possible.

"The response to COVID-19 is made more complex by the pandemic's constantly changing dynamics, requiring health and government decision makers to quickly understand, measure and react," said Mark Lambrecht, SAS Global Director for Health and Life Sciences. "And this response requires a multifaceted approach, including the ability to rapidly collect data and integrate data sources, forecast peak demand and identify hot spots where inventory and personnel shortages will affect care, and taking action to prioritize and allocate resources."

Policlinico Gemelli Hospital, Italy

Top-level hospitals such as Policlinico Gemelli in Rome have faced an urgent need for information from the services and departments involved in the COVID-19 emergency. This includes predicting in the short term the number of cases; analyzing diagnostic/therapeutic information collected from medical records; reporting and optimizing allocation of resources; and preparing analysis tools with AI to plan a long-term response.

The rapid coordination of medical resources, made possible with SAS, informs data-driven decisions that help make the best choices for patients.

"We are honored to be alongside the Policlinico Gemelli to face this situation together," said Mirella Cerutti, Managing Director of SAS Italy. "SAS' experience and analytical capacity together with dedicated solutions are supporting all departments involved in the pandemic."

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany

Analytical software can help solve one of the greatest challenges of a pandemic by forecasting where and  most importantly  when intensive-care personnel and resources are needed. The Robert Koch Institute's forecasting platform, developed in just a few days with SAS, helps track and optimize use of intensive care beds with ventilators.

Using analytics software, the new information system not only shows the current use of existing intensive care beds but also forecasts the expected demand for resources. This way, government agencies and hospitals can adjust the deployment of resources in advance to meet expected demand. In addition, interactive reporting on the current situation is available to facilitate better planning of staff and supplies.

"SAS has made it a top priority to help the world get through this crisis. That's why we've decided, together with Robert Koch Institute as our partner, to build this platform," said Annette Green, Vice President of the DACH region at SAS.

Cleveland Clinic, United States

Medical-resource optimization is critical in times of crisis. To respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Cleveland Clinic and SAS have created innovative models to help hospitals forecast patient volume, bed capacity, ventilator availability and more. The models, freely available via GitHub, provide timely, reliable information for hospitals and health departments to optimize health care delivery for COVID-19 and other patients and to predict impacts on supply chain, finance and other critical areas.

Unlike some forecasts that focus on a projection based on a single set of assumptions, these analytic models were used to create worst-case, best-case and most-likely scenarios, and can adjust in real time as the situation and data change. For example, the models can factor in social distancing's dampening effect on disease spread.

Cleveland Clinic is using the models to support its decision making. With this information, Cleveland Clinic can predict and plan for future demands on the health system, such as ICU beds, personal protective equipment and ventilators.

Bulgarian Council of Ministers

SAS and its partner Software Group, a global IT company specializing in digitalization, have joined forces to launch an integrated platform to support the Bulgarian government's fight against COVID-19. The system, named COV.ID, is a national centralized register of COVID-19-related cases in Bulgaria to help the Bulgarian Council of Ministers reduce the spread of the virus.

COV.ID digitalizes personal and medical data collection from institutions working with COVID-19-related cases, such as regional health inspectors, border police, Ministry of Interior, general practitioners, hospitals, laboratories and municipalities. The system is integrated with SAS Visual Analytics, which provides interactive, multidimensional visualizations and automated analysis of epidemiological data as well as predictions about the potential impact of the epidemic.

"We are very proud to contribute to the fight against the pandemic," said George Robev, Country Leader for SAS Bulgaria. "By providing a solution that can crunch large amounts of data and give meaningful insights, we help authorities to make the right decisions."

Empowering decisions with analytics

"SAS is more committed than ever to the belief that knowledge is empowering," said Steve Kearney, SAS Global Medical Director. "SAS has a long history of working with health care and life sciences organizations around the world, and we are using our most advanced technology in innovative ways to help our customers make the best decisions to respond to the pandemic.

"We are also focused on the use of analytics to improve situational awareness, ensure demand-planning stability, develop vaccines and support contract tracing to fight the COVID-19 pandemic."

SAS' dedicated COVID-19 Data Analytics Resources Hub includes free analytical models, a public dashboard to monitor the spread of the epidemic, a data discovery environment built on SAS Viya, and access to free training.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries.  indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright  2020 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

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What We Can Learn From Singapore's COVID-19 Containment Response in Primary Care

Singapore, a global hub for international travel and business, was among the first countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With its first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 23, 2020, the country mounted aggressive public health and containment measures. The country's network of primary care clinics were at the front lines of these measures. In this new report, those physicians share their triage, containment and infection control measures--including protocols they put in place to ensure the safety of health care workers. At the time of writing the report, zero health care workers within their primary care network were infected with COVID-19. The authors describe the framework for how their primary care clinics responded to this pandemic in the hope others may find solutions to their unique needs."

COVID-19: Notes From the Front Line, Singapore's Primary Health Care Perspective

Wei Han Lim, MBBS, et al

Raffles Medical Group, Department of Primary Care, Singapore

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/259

Opportunities for Human Connectedness in "Physically Distant" Care

Relationships between patients and clinicians matter, even in telehealth visits. A new article explores how clinicians can invest in relationships during a variety of visit types, from short-term telehealth, urgent care, and emergency department visits to ongoing visits for well care and chronic disease management. In a telehealth visit, for example, clinicians can invest in the relationship by giving "full attention to [the] patient via the screen, or allowing no visual if that's what the patient wants." In a more in-depth chronic disease management visit, clinicians can consider the illness context and the patient's life story in order to help the patient identify personal and community resources for managing their condition.

As patients are more often treated by health care teams, and with the emergence of telemedicine, virtual visits are becoming more common--often with health care providers who do not know the patient or their health history. Investing in relationships in all types of visits can personalize the experience for both patients and providers and may also result in more efficient, less costly care.

The authors conclude, "what we need in a pandemic is not social distancing, but physical distancing with social connectedness."

Physical Distancing With Social Connectedness

Kurt C. Stange, MD, PhD, et al

School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/272

Lung Cancer Screenings Study Shows Low Complication Rates With the Support of a Coordinated Multidisciplinary Care Team

The benefits of routine lung cancer screenings have been hotly debated in the medical community. After reviewing a national trial published in 2011, the US Preventive Services Task Force introduced a recommendation for systematic low-dose CT lung cancer screenings for people at high risk. At the time, some leaders in the primary care community were not convinced that there was strong enough evidence in the initial trial to support routine screening. A new lung cancer screening cohort study conducted at a large integrated health system suggests that lung cancer screening in primary care is feasible. The study demonstrated low adverse event rates, and 70 percent of diagnosed lung cancer cases were detected at early stages in their development.

"Screening can be highly beneficial but can also create an illusion of benefits even when causing a net harm," notes Mayo Clinic clinical epidemiologist Chyke A. Doubeni and colleagues, in an editorial response to the Handy et al study. The "window of net benefit" depends on a number of factors in the screening and treatment process, including "quality of CT images and quality of interpretation, disease prevalence in the population, patient health status, and the timeliness, safety, and effectiveness of treatment for abnormal screening results."

Still, the authors write, "Family medicine is critical for increasing the reach of lung cancer screenings," and primary care is an "ideal setting to improve access to screenings, particularly for underserved populations." Therefore, family physicians should be engaged and equipped with guidance on best practices in lung cancer screenings and referrals.

Results of Lung Cancer Screening in the Community

John R. Handy, Jr, MD, HonD, et al

Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, Oregon

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/243

Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Implementation in Primary Care: A Call to Action

Chyke A. Doubeni, MD, MPH, et al

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/196

A Hidden History of Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care

Artificial intelligence methods are being utilized in radiology, cardiology and other medical specialty fields to quickly and accurately process large quantities of health data to improve the diagnostic and treatment power of health care teams. Compared to other medical specialty fields, primary care physicians deal with a very broad spectrum of illnesses, taking a person-centric approach to care, with fewer diagnostic instruments or tests available. The nature of primary care may pose unique challenges to the meaningful application of AI.

A comprehensive review of 405 studies led by researchers at Western University in Ontario shows that work on AI for primary care is at an early stage of maturity. The scoping review summarizes major trends in primary care AI.

"For the field to mature," the authors note, "value must be placed both on developing rigorous [AI] and on identifying potential impacts...on care delivery and longer-term health outcomes."

"Changing primary care is difficult when only one out of every seven of these papers includes a primary care author," says Winston Liaw, MD MPH and Ioannis A. Kakadiaris, PhD, in an accompanying editorial. "Without input from primary care, these teams may fail to grasp the context of primary care data collection, its role within the health system, and the forces shaping its evolution." Liaw and Kakadiaris lay out seven challenges that primary care AI teams must address in order to move AI forward.

Artificial Intelligence and Primary Care Research: A Scoping Review

Jacqueline K. Kueper, MSc, et al

Western University, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/250

Primary Care Artificial Intelligence: A Branch Hiding in Plain Sight

Winston Liaw, MD, MPH, et al

University of Houston College of Medicine, Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences, Houston, Texas

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/194

#ThisIsOurLane: How Physicians Can Take Action to Reduce Gun Violence

As strategies to curb gun violence at the federal level have stalled, leaders in primary care and health policy have identified the role doctors can play in national gun safety efforts and the prevention of firearm suicide. In this pair of recommendation papers, clinicians place themselves at the front lines of this public health issue and offer a call to action for the medical community. Both papers lay out a grassroots course of action to help physicians engage with their patients and policy makers.

Thomas M. Wickizer and colleagues at the Ohio State University focus on the issue of firearm suicide and how improvements in primary care health screening could enhance physicians' ability to identify patients most at risk. Adding firearm safety questions to mental health screening could make firearm safety a more routine part of primary care. The authors also call on collective advocacy for policy change, recognizing the role that physician organizations have historically played in bringing about state-level drunk driving laws and regulation of tobacco advertising. In the wake of gun violence tragedies, physicians have mobilized on social media, using #ThisIsOurLane. The authors believe the medical community can harness the momentum of their online conversations to collectively influence the political discourse on firearms.

Amy Lynn McGuire and colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, identify barriers that doctors face in addressing the issue of gun safety and violence with patients. State-level legislation has attempted to prohibit physicians from inquiring about a patient's firearm ownership, resulting in long lasting fears of a "gag order" heightening physicians' concerns over potential liability. Additionally, physicians may be concerned that discussing firearm safety could break the trust they establish in the doctor-patient relationship. The authors advocate that discussions about gun safety and violence become a standard component of routine clinical care to step up the effort to protect public safety and improve public health.

The Firearm Suicide Crisis: Physicians Can Make a Difference

Thomas M. Wickizer, PhD, MPH, et al

The Ohio State University, College of Public Health, Columbus, Ohio

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/265

Physician Involvement in Promoting Gun Safety

Amy Lynn McGuire, JD, PhD, et al

Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Houston, Texas

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/262

Trouble Getting a Doctor's Appointment May Drive Medicaid Enrollees to Opt for the ER

The expansion of Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, gave millions of low-income Californians access to health insurance, but this study conducted in Northern California found that new patients may have to wait up up to a month for an appointment with a participating primary care provider, depending on their county of residence. It is not uncommon for Medi-Cal enrollees to visit emergency rooms if they require more immediate care.

This study looks at the variation between contiguous counties in the availability of new patient primary care appointments for Medi-Cal enrollees and at the correlation between primary care access and rates of Medi-Cal patients' emergency room usage. Researchers found that counties where it was more difficult to schedule new patient primary care appointments had higher rates of emergency room usage by Medi-Cal patients. This places a greater strain on already overburdened emergency departments and drives up health care costs overall.

How California's challenges compare with those faced by other states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act is unclear, though the data suggest that "adequate access to primary care will begin to improve health outcomes and control costs among beneficiaries of Medicaid expansion."

Primary Care Access to New Patient Appointments for California Medicaid Enrollees: A Simulated Patient Study

Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH, et al

University of California, Davis, Center for Healthcare for Policy and Research, Sacramento, California

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/210

Arthritis Clinical Trial Shows Support for Dextrose Injection to Alleviate Knee Pain

A randomized controlled trial conducted by a research team at a primary care clinic at the Chinese University of Hong Kong indicates that intra-articular-only injection therapy with hypertonic dextrose is safe and effective for alleviating symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

Over 52 weeks of treatment, the study followed 76 patients who were between 45 and 75 years old who had been diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and who suffered moderate to severe chronic knee pain for at least three months. One group of 38 patients received the hypertonic dextrose injection therapy, while the other had the same therapy only using normal saline. While both groups reported some improvement, the hypertonic dextrose group reported more significant reductions in pain by the conclusion of the study. The researchers note that longer-term follow-up, direct comparison with other injection therapies, and cost-effective analysis are all needed.

Efficacy of Intra-Articular Hypertonic Dextrose (Prolotherapy) for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Regina Wing Shan Sit, MBBS, et al

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Hong Kong

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/235

After Cancer: The Role of Primary Care in Cancer Survivorship Care

Primary care physicians are treating an increasing number of cancer survivors, yet they have no clear guidance on how best to care for such patients. This study considers how primary care physicians perceive their role in delivering care to cancer survivors. The researchers conducted interviews with 38 primary care clinicians and collected data on the 14 practices in which they worked. While most felt cancer survivor care was within their purview, their approaches toward treating cancer survivors varied widely. More broadly, this study brings into question the role of primary care in addressing the complex needs of cancer survivors. Researchers recommend coordinating care between primary care physicians and oncologists as patients transition to long-term survivorship.

Cancer Survivorship Care Roles for Primary Care Physicians

Jenna Howard, PhD, et al

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/202

My Patient Wants to Kill Me

When trying to ease patients off of prescription opioids, primary care physicians may meet with resistance, anger--or worse--from those they seek to help. Dr David Bittleman shares his experience of dealing with a death threat from one such patient under his care at a Veterans Affairsclinic. The VA's existing protocols for responding to volatile situations could protect him while at work, but he felt vulnerable to a possible attack in the world outside the clinic. He ultimately sought a civil restraining order against his patient. While Dr Bittleman's experience did not result in any physical harm, he continues to feel concerned about the dangers that he and other medical practitioners face when treating patients who are prone to anger and violence. He feels that "violence is an important problem in health care, both underreported and understudied." One way to diffuse potential problems before they become dangerous, he suggests, is by allowing patients to express their feelings, including their grievances about their treatment plans, in honest, open conversations with their care teams.

My Patient Wants to Kill Me

David Bittleman, MD

Veterans Affairs San Diego Health Care System, San Diego, California

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/269

Primary Care Practice Transformation Introduces Different Staff Types

The Comprehensive Primary Care initiative was launched in 2012 by the CMS Innovation Center as a four-year multi-payer initiative designed to strengthen primary care. This study examines shifts in staffing patterns, from 2012 to 2016, at 461 primary care practices participating in the CPC transformation initiative with those at 358 non-CPC practices.

Over the four years of the study, CPC practices moved away from a traditional staffing model of physicians with medical assistants as they added a variety of new staff, most commonly care managers or coordinators and behavioral health staff, to support patients with comprehensive, team-based care. Non-CPC practices, by comparison, did not increase their team size or diversity as much as CPC practices did. For example, in 2016, 84% of CPC practices had care managers or care coordinators, but only 36% of comparison practices had them.

The authors suggest that future studies should examine the effect of team-based care and staff composition on health care cost, service utilization, patient experience and the overall sustainability of new staffing models. In addition, future work should also address how practices make decisions about augmenting staff in response to patients' medical and social needs.

Primary Care Practice Transformation Introduces Different Staff Types

Kaylyn E. Swankoski, MA, et al

Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, New Jersey

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/227

Primary Care Case Management Among Frequent Users With Chronic Conditions

Case management is an effective, collaborative, and cost-effective way to help frequent users of health care services integrate all aspects of their care. The research team behind this study developed a program theory to investigate how, and in what circumstances, case management in primary care works to improve outcomes among frequent users who have chronic conditions.

The researchers note that their study only looks at case management in primary care for frequent users of health care, rather than case management use more generally. They also note that further research is still required to examine if the care setting or the professional role of case managers, such as nurses and social workers, may have an influence on the development of the patient-case manager relationship.

Case Management in Primary Care for Frequent Users of Health Care Services: A Realist Synthesis

Catherine Hudon MD, PhD, et al

University of Sherbrooke, Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/218

Innovations in Primary Care

Innovations in Primary Care are brief one-page articles that describe novel innovations from health care's front lines. In this issue:

Electronic Medical Record-Based Referrals to Community Nutritional Assistance for Food-Insecure Patients - More than 2,500 food-insecure households from two outpatient clinics were successfully referred to community food resources using the combination of a brief, standardized screening tool and an integrated referral mechanism in the Hennepin County Medical Center's electronic medical record system.

http://www.annfammed.org/content/18/3/278

###

Annals of Family Medicine is a peer-reviewed, indexed research journal that provides a cross-disciplinary forum for new, evidence-based information affecting the primary care disciplines. Launched in May 2003, Annals is sponsored by seven family medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, and The College of Family Physicians of Canada. Annals is published six times each year and contains original research from the clinical, biomedical, social and health services areas, as well as contributions on methodology and theory, selected reviews, essays and editorials. Complete editorial content and interactive discussion groups for each published article can be accessed free of charge on the journal's website, http://www.AnnFamMed.org.

Media Contact: Janelle Davis

Annals of Family Medicine

(800) 274-2237, Ext. 6253

JDavis@aafp.org

Follow Us:

Twitter: @annfammed

Facebook: Annals of Family Medicine
Bengaluru: After a few weeks of lying low, the coronavirus is now gathering speed in Karnataka with 63 positives recorded on Tuesday, taking the state's total to 925.

Health officials are making a case that the spurt seen in the past few days is on account of easing the lockdown in the green and orange zones which allowed the return of people from other states.

Forty-one of the 63 fresh Covid-19 positive cases recorded on Tuesday have been attributed to people coming in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and Chennai.

And of these 41, some 32 returned after attending a Tablighi Jamat conference at Ahmedabad, while six returned from Maharashtra, two from Orissa and one from Chennai. They all tested Covid-19 positive after returning.

It's now certain that Karnataka will cross the 1000 mark this week, after seeming, a fortnight ago, to have handled the pandemic well enough to avoid the fate that has befallen Maharashtra.

In the past three days, the state has recorded 109 cases, bringing hitherto corona-free districts like Kolar, Chitradurga, Shivamogga and Hassan into the red zone. On Tuesday, Bagalkot has 15 cases, Davangere 12, Dharwad 9, Kolar and Hassan 5 each, Bangalore 4, and Gadag 3.

Of the 4 fresh cases reported in Bengaluru, three are from the troubled containment zone of Padarayanapura. The fourth is a case Mangammanapalya, a goods vehicle driver. Health officials have not yet traced the source of his infection. They are recording an hour-by-hour movement history of the driver.
One of the men convicted in the double murder of a central Oregon couple more than three decades ago will not, after all, be paroled anytime soon.

Mark Wilson, 51, had sought immediate release from prison, arguing among other things that he had been a model inmate for 32 years.

He had a list of supporters who attested to his rehabilitation. Even the Deschutes County district attorney told the parole board that he thought Wilson was capable of rehabilitation.

But none of that was enough for the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. Its five members on Monday set a projected release date for Wilson of Jan. 9, 2027.

The boards decision means Wilson is on track to serve 40 years  the sentence that the family of his victims said he originally agreed to. Wilson was convicted in the killings of Rod and Lois Houser, a Terrebonne couple.

Houser family members said they hoped the decision would close the door on this long and painful process for all of the people of Oregon.

Wilson was 18 when he shot Rod Houser, 53, 20 times with a .22-caliber rifle on the front porch of the couples house in the middle of the night. Co-defendant Randy Guzek shot Lois Houser, 49, with a .32-caliber revolver in the head, heart and stomach after finding her inside the home screaming at the top of a staircase.

Wilson and Guzek then looted the house. They left the familys Bible on Housers chest and cut his neck to make it look like a cult killing before fleeing.

Wilson confessed to the killing soon afterward and pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and felony murder. He was sentenced in 1988 to two consecutive life terms with the possibility of parole.

Guzek was convicted in the killings and was sentenced to death.

Late last year, after a proceeding known as a murder review hearing, the parole board cleared the way for Wilsons eventual release by determining that he is likely to be rehabilitated.

As part of that process, the board needed to set Wilsons tentative release date. Several members of Rod and Lois Housers family argued Wilson should serve 40 years, while Wilson told the board he should be considered eligible for immediate release.

Dylan Arthur, executive director of the parole board, said members look at the case in its entirety. They considered Wilsons time in prison, statements from the victims family and Wilsons age at the time of the crime, said Arthur, who did not take part in the deliberations.

The board also considered Wilsons treatment of the victims family while in prison. The members noted that Wilson had made false allegations against one of the crime victims.

Wilson wrongly said Doug Houser, Rods brother, was, among other things, an associate of a parole board member, according to a lawyer for the family.

In its decision, the parole board said that when Wilson was offered the opportunity to acknowledge the impact of such action, he failed to do so.

Arthur said Wilson can seek an administrative review of the boards decision if he thinks it violated its own rules. He can also seek a reduction of up to 20 percent of the time hes already served  the equivalent of a little more than six years.

He would need to have the support of prison administrators to seek a sentence reduction, Arthur said. Even if he filed a request, the board is highly unlikely to give a 20 percent reduction based on recent cases, he said.

Wilson graduated from the University of Oregon in prison. He volunteered in the prison hospice and served as a jailhouse lawyer for other inmates and a mentor to juvenile offenders transitioning into the prison system. He raised money for the children of a murdered woman he had read about.

Hes had only one discipline write-up while incarcerated: In 1991, he was found in violation of the rules for joining 20 other people in protesting wage complaints by not returning to work for an afternoon. He has had no record of violence or documented use of illicit substances while in prison.

He also literally wrote the book on murder review hearings. The 88-page publication is called A guide to preparing for your murder review hearing.

Bobbin Singh, executive director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, supported Wilsons bid for parole.

He said the parole process has been overly and unnecessarily complicated not only for Wilson but also for the victims family members.

This is a process that unfortunately has been difficult for everyone involved," he said, and it ends up causing more harm.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
By Trend

Death toll from the coronavirus rose by 55 in Turkey on Monday and reached 3,841 as the confirmed new cases of infection continued to decline for another day to 1,114, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Currently, there are 139,771 confirmed cases in the country with 95,780 of them having recovered, Koca said.

On Monday, the Turkish government allowed for the reopening of certain businesses as part of a plan to ease part of the coronavirus measures, the Health Ministry announcing that the outbreak was under control. Since April 22, the number of new cases has been on the decline, dropping from a peak of 5,138 on April 11 to 1,542 on Sunday.

With fewer new cases came more recoveries. According to the Health Ministrys latest coronavirus numbers on Monday, 3,089 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

The figures showed that those who had recovered from the virus made up two-thirds of the countrys total COVID-19 cases.

Koca, along with other experts, has repeatedly warned citizens in the past that the easing of measures did not mean the threat of the virus was over; but rather meant the beginning of a new lifestyle to which citizens would have to adapt.

Earlier on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Turkish citizens that normalization efforts did not mean a return to life as it existed before pre-virus measures were introduced and that people still needed to avoid going out and should continue wearing protective face masks outside.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said intercity travel restrictions on nine more cities had been lifted, as Turkey gradually eases measures taken against the coronavirus.

The restrictions on the three largest cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, will remain in place.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Photo taken on March 10, 2020, shows U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gesturing as he attends a press conference on the COVID-19 at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The vice president "will be a low key for the next couple of days."

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has been distancing himself from others, but is not in self-quarantine, after his press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus, an administration official said Sunday.

"Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine," Devin O'Malley, the vice president's spokesman, said in a statement. "Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow."

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News both used the term "self-isolating" to describe Pence's preventative measure, but NBC News cited a senior official as saying that "Pence's precautions did not amount to self-isolation because there are no restrictions on his schedule."

The official added that the vice president "will be a low key for the next couple of days," according to the NBC News report.

Pence, who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is the latest and highest-ranking member of the administration to take restrictive measures to avoid social contact, after President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, had tested positive for the coronavirus.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller posts a tweet on May 8, 2020, saying that "I'm doing well and look forward to getting back to work for the American people." (Xinhua)

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany referred to Miller only as a member of Pence's staff when talking about her infection at Friday's news briefing. But Trump called the person in question "a press person" during a meeting with congressional Republicans on the same day, saying "Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive."

The diagnosis of Miller, 25, delayed Pence's flight Friday morning to Des Moines city in Iowa state, as six staffers disembarked the plane due to close contact with her, according to U.S. media reports. Two journalists were also summoned to the White House for a rapid test.

A senior administration official reportedly informed the media, before Miller's identity was revealed, that "the vice president and the president have not had contact with this person recently."

In addition to Miller, a personal valet to Trump and an assistant to Ivanka Trump -- the first daughter and Trump's senior adviser -- also had positive tests in recent days, raising concerns about senior administration officials' possible exposure to the contagion.

Photo taken on Jan. 29, 2020, shows U.S. President Donald Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner (L) and Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump attending a signing ceremony of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Trump, who is now undergoing rapid-testing daily for the coronavirus, told reporters Friday that he was "not worried" about the potential transmission of the disease among people close to him, adding that "strong precautions" had been taken in the White House.

The staffers' infection has compelled several administration officials tasked with combating the virus to self-quarantine, among them Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn -- three members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

As for other members of the task force, neither Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Alex Azar nor U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams plans to self-quarantine as of now.

"Secretary Azar will follow the advice of his physicians at the White House Medical Unit," said Caitlin Oakley, HHS spokeswoman. "He has been tested for COVID-19 and the results of the test were negative."

A spokesperson for Adams said the surgeon general has not been in contact with "anyone who has tested positive and at this time, has had no known exposure to the virus." As far as precautions are concerned, the spokesperson said he "already participates in most meetings and events virtually, and will continue to do so."
Harvard Law School Postpones Anti-Homeschool Conference

An invitation-only conference scheduled for June at Harvard University for homeschooling critics has been postponed due to COVID-19, according to a recent update on the schools website.

Sponsored by the Harvard Law School Child Advocacy Program and in cooperation with several child welfare groups, the Homeschooling Summit: Problems, Politics, and Prospects for Reform conference aimed to bring together educators, policy makers, and advocates to discuss child rights in connection with homeschooling in the United States.

The focus will be on problems of educational deprivation and child maltreatment that too often occur under the guise of homeschooling, in a legal environment of minimal or no oversight, the events website reads. Experts will lead conversations about the available empirical evidence, the current regulatory environment, proposals for legal reform, and strategies for effecting such reform.

Harvard Law School has not yet made an official announcement postponing the event. The events attendees, however, appeared to have been informed of the decision via email. Corey A. DeAngelis, director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation, posted on Twitter a screenshot of a now-deleted Facebook update from the Coalition of Responsible Home Education, a group that was invited, stating that the event was not going to take place as planned.

Pedestrians walk past a Harvard University building in Cambridge, Mass., on Aug. 30, 2018. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

The postponement came shortly after an article published in Harvard Magazine titled The Risks of Homeschooling, described homeschooling as an authoritarian and dangerous practice that should be banned by the government. That led to an outcry from not only educators and parents already in favor of homeschooling, but also those who have to support their childrens learning at home as the result of stay-at-home orders.

The controversial article featured an interview with Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet, who is also a speaker of the Homeschooling Summit. She claimed that homeschooling violates a childs right to a meaningful education and protection from potential child abuse, and recommended for a presumptive ban on the practice throughout the nation.

Do we think that parents should have 24/7, essentially authoritarian control over their children from ages zero to 18? asked Bartholet in the interview. I think thats dangerous. I think its always dangerous to put powerful people in charge of the powerless, and to give the powerful ones total authority.

Moreover, she claimed that most homeschooling families are driven by conservative Christian beliefs and that some of those parents are extreme religious ideologues who question science and promote female subservience and white supremacy.

After the backlash, Bartholet took a step back in a new interview with student newspaper Harvard Crimson, saying that she agreed that parents have the right to raise their children within their own religion, but she doesnt think parents have the right to isolate their children from the larger culture.
Jessica Hart is taking her romance with NASCAR driver James Kirkham to the next level.

On Friday, the Australian model was spotted moving house in Los Angeles with her beau.

The 34-year-old was dressed comfortably for the occasion, teaming her oversized T-shirt with a pair of pink leggings and sneakers.

Taking their romance to the next level! Jessica Hart moved house with her NASCAR driver boyfriend James Kirkham in Los Angeles this week... after revealing her plans to start a family

NASCAR driver James was spotted nearby looking over some of their belongings, which were boxed up in the back of a black van.

The move comes just two weeks after she told Daily Mail Australia that she was keen to start a family in Los Angeles.

'I'd be crazy not to want that at some point,' she admitted.

'Los Angeles seems like a nice place to settle down. That's what you come here for. Big yard, big house, instead of an apartment in New York City.'

Jess and James are said to be moving into a new home together in the Hollywood Hills.

Comfortable: The 34-year-old was dressed comfortably for the occasion. She paired her oversized T-shirt with a pair of pink leggings and sneakers

Family: The move comes just two weeks after she told Daily Mail Australia that she was keen to start a family in Los Angeles

Back in February, Jessica shared the exciting news of her new house with her fans on Instagram.

'I bought a house and I'm stoked!' she gushed.

She added: 'Thank you to my amazing realtor Anthony Stellini for your patience with us but mainly for your awesomeness! We love ya.'

A minor adjustment! The sporty supermodel adjusted her leggings as she walked up and down the foothpath

Busy: NASCAR driver James was spotted nearby looking over some of their belongings, which were boxed up in the back of a black van

The post was accompanied by a photo of herself and her realtor standing proudly in front of the new home.

The blonde beauty also confirmed that she was planning to renovate the house, including redoing a 'weird marble bathroom' and turning the closet room into another bathroom.

Jess and James were first spotted together on Valentine's Day last year, when they headed out for dinner in Los Angeles.

Bag it up! James removed a bag from the back of the black van

Off we go! The black van was spotted driving down the road

The couple are quite private about their relationship, but are often spotted out at events together.

James has a young daughter named Wren from a previous relationship.

Jess previously dated billionaire Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III, but the pair split in 2017.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Jess and James for comment.
Virgin Australia would continue to operate an international network flying to Los Angeles and Tokyo under a confidential management plan put to prospective buyers ahead of a Friday deadline for preliminary bids for the airline.

Two sources close to negotiations, who spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on condition of anonymity given the strict non-disclosure agreement signed by those involved, said a resurrected Virgin would also fly to New Zealand, Bali and Fiji under the plan put to interested parties by the airline's management.

The airline's directors put the company into administration last month after it failed to pull off a restructure. Virgin, like airlines around the world, has shut down the vast majority of air travel as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Virgin would keep international flights under a plan put forward by management. Credit:AAP

The plan is contained in an information memorandum distributed to key bidders by the airline's administrators, Deloitte, on Monday. Virgin's administrators have told potential buyers the airline could more than triple annual earnings - to $1.2 billion - in the 2022 financial year, the first following the coronavirus outbreak. The Australian Financial Review last week reported bidders had been told to expect revenues of $5 billion in that year.
OAP Daddy Freeze has reacted to the way the UK is managing the COVID 19 pandemic warning Nigeria against emulating the UK.

UK, having recorded 40,000 deaths, Daddy Freeze believes their approach is the issue and should not be taken by Nigeria which doesnt have the level of healthcare facilities they have.

Read Also: Refund Tithes So Your Members Can Eat  Daddy Freeze Tells Pastors

He tweeted: When I said this last week on my radio show people quarrelled with me, can you all see it?

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The UK failed woefully in their response to Covid19, we can not afford to emulate them. They have the health facilities and ventilators that we dont have. We also do not have their finances
Two special flights bringing a total of 244 Indian students stranded in the Philippines and United States landed here on Tuesday morning.

All these students, stuck overseas since the outbreak of coronavirus and subsequent lockdown, are from Gujarat, said an official release.

While 137 students were evacuated from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, 107 were evacuated from New York.

They were screened upon arrival and sent to their respective districts in buses. They will be placed in institutional quarantine for 14 days.

The state government had announced earlier that around 1,000 students from Gujarat will be brought back from various countries.

The Union Government has launched 'Vande Bharat Mission' to bring back Indian nationals stranded in other countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thiruvananthapuram, May 12 : One of the countrys tallest Islamic scholars, Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, is the Grand Mufti of India and President of the Islamic Community of India. Based in Kozhikode in Kerala, the 89-year-old Islamic scholar is widely respected across the world and has good relations with top leaders cutting across political parties and is a widely travelled personality.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, he speaks on various issues. Here are the excerpts: Q: This is the month of Holy Ramzan, and is generally the month of penance, love and togetherness. However, the Covid19 pandemic has led to a ban on congregations, community prayers and other community movements associated with this holy month. How do you see this? A: COVID-19 has already deeply affected all spheres of our life. Experts believe that this is one of the greatest challenges humanity has faced in its long history. For a believer, it's painful to see mosques being closed, especially in the blessed month of Ramadan.

But Islam already has very strict guidelines for the functioning of its institutions in the time of such calamities. Our beloved Prophet himself had alerted us of such events and issued guidelines accordingly. When I checked in the library attached to my office in Jamia Markaz, I saw several books written specifically on this topic, aiming to be alert and the lifestyle to be adopted during the time of calamities. Most of these legal, medical, and historical texts were written centuries ago. The texts written on the basis of experiences of various communities who lived through pandemics are really eye-opening.

Islam is a religion very much doable in isolation and quarantine. One important factor that facilitates this easiness and flexibility in practising religion in isolation is the profound absence of priesthood in Islam.

Q: Lakhs of our countrymen are abroad and the government of India has commenced one of the largest evacuation operations in history. As a person connected with several West Asian countries where a sizeable population of non-resident Keralites lives, what is your opinion on this? A: As a community that has immensely contributed to the well-being of society and the economy of their homeland, we owe them a debt of extra care. So, one can understand their demand to come back to India. We cannot even think of any other options here, particularly when the whole world is battling a virus. These are the gestures any responsible society and government will show to their fellow countrymen and it is only part of our minimum courtesy towards the 'Pravasis'.

I think we are not very late. We should keep in mind that the current crisis naturally makes one feel to return to one's place of belonging and be among the loved ones at home. I think that's how one should see this evacuation operation.

Q: With around 2.5 lakhs of non-resident Keralites expected to come back to the state, don't you think that it will be a herculean task for the governments -- both at the Central and state levels? Will the governments be able to repatriate and rehabilitate them? A: Migration has been an indispensable phenomenon throughout human history. If you take a global, open-minded approach towards migration, especially issues faced by migrant labourers, their rehabilitation won't be a herculean task. For this to happen, both the host and home countries should join hands together, think of working together in solving their issues. This is equally true in the case of internal migrants. The images of stranded migrant labourers in the metropolitan cities of the country and the reports of their deaths in many parts of the country only show how narrow-minded our policies are towards migrant labourers within our own territory. Many of the initiatives taken by states like Kerala are a good beginning in this regard.

Q: Irrespective of religions, state governments across India have taken stringent action against those who have violated government advisories. However, the action taken against the Tablighi Jamaat leaders triggered a heated debate in India and abroad. What's your take on this? A: My feeling is that if we go by reports available to us, it would not be fully correct to claim that we took a similar approach and legal action against all the people and collectives who had violated the lockdown regulations. We would be able to overcome these difficulties only through structurally assimilating the idea of equality. Now, let's consider the issue of Tablighi Jamaat. I personally disagree with many of its ideas and the way of its functioning. I have had dialogues with them many times in the past. But I disagree with the shady campaign that is going on, linking Tablighi Jamaat with the spread of Covid 19 in India. Of course, the Tablighi Jamaat should have been more careful while organising their congregation at a time when numerous instances of Covid-19 spread had already been reported in our country.

As a Muslim collective, it was their religious obligation to do so. At the same time, we shouldn't ignore the fact that if the Tablighi congregation was allowed to begin and continue at a time when formal restrictions were already in place, then the responsibility should equally be shared by the organizers and the officials who allowed it to happen. Instead, the actions and accusations against Tablighi have turned in part into a vicious vengeance-filled campaign against the entire Muslim community in various parts of the country. There are also reports which indicate that this malicious campaign has turned into physical violence in some areas. This is not how a democratic society deals with contingencies.

Q: There are several reports provided by various Central agencies which confirm that a multitude of foreigners who attended the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz flouted the country's visa norms. Being a responsible religious institution, is it ideal for Tablighi Jamaat to function in this manner? A: I am not aware of the exact details of the particular case that you mentioned. If it is as mentioned in your question, then it should be dealt with in the legal framework of our country which has well established provisions and penalties for such infringements. I expect it to be dealt with as such. Everyone has an equal responsibility to respect the law and order of the country. Nobody can stay away from that duty.

Q: How do you see the Pakistani-sponsored Islam phobia propaganda in West Asia against India? A: First of all, in my view, we need to demarcate between Pakistan-orchestrated propaganda against India and the genuine grievances raised by our countrymen. We need to see what Pakistan does as a part of their foreign policy objectives and this has been going on since 1947. This is an issue which we need to tackle with our proactive foreign policy. But the genuine grievances of our citizens must be dealt with internally within our democratic framework. The dignity of the nation is the pre-eminence of its citizens too. I get many opportunities to represent Indian Muslims in various international forums and I make use of these opportunities to uphold the greatness and tradition of our country. I wish and pray that such opportunities remain in abundance so as to uphold truthfully the traditions and pre-eminence of our country.

Q: Despite the Union government ensuring safety and security of minority communities and extending certain privileges, such as scholarships and other financial aid, there's an attempt to misguide the Muslim youth. Is this an orchestrated move to misguide the youths? A: First of all, there is a problem in seeing reservation and scholarships as a privilege. Rather, such attempts are parts of minority rights in this country. Coming to the second part of your question, I don't think that as a community, Muslim youths in this country can be misguided by anyone. Our historical experiences do not allow us to believe so.

Q: Is there a shift in the leadership of Indian Muslim community from religious supremos like you to the youth, which was evident during anti-CAA campaigns? Do you think this new trend, i.e. the radical youth replacing the mature religious heads, will help the Muslim society in the long run? A: Basically, this question comes from an assumption that ant-CAA protests were carried out by a particular section of Muslims alone. It's not true. As a responsible citizen of this country, I see the anti-CAA protests as a rare platform in the history of post-independent India where people from a variety of backgrounds, irrespective of their religion, caste, age and other backgrounds, came together to extend their support to uphold the democratic spirit and constitutional values of this country. It's true that CAA, which makes religion as criteria for citizenship in this country, may first and foremost affect Muslims. But in the protest against this Act, Muslims were not alone. In many parts of the country elected Chief Ministers led the protests against CAA. I personally had many opportunities to attend such protest gatherings in various parts of the country. Many political observers opined that this was a unique experience in the history of our country. When I got an opportunity to interact with our Prime Minister and Home Minister in their offices in Delhi recently, I personally requested them to take these protests seriously and repeal the controversial provisions in CAA and NRC.

Q: This is the month of Holy Ramzan and Muslims give 'zakath' or donate. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called upon all the religious groups to donate to the Chief Minister's Covid relief fund. Have you as the Grand Mufti of the country called upon the Muslim community to donate to the CM's Covid Relief Fund? A: Islam has many institutional mechanisms such as zakath, swadaqa, hadiya etc. to make sure that Muslims do care for people around them. Caring people with illness is considered a very pious act in Islam. It's a religious obligation for Muslims to donate a certain portion of their wealth each year to charitable causes. Apart from this obligatory order, there is a provision in Islam where people are asked to donate their wealth, in some case entire wealth, that is over and above what is required to provide the essential needs of a person's family.

I had made a request to Muslims to generously donate from the money reserved for charity activities in Ramadan to the government's Distress Relief Funds. We know that fighting catastrophes is really an expensive task and governments alone cannot achieve this. They truly require support from other agencies. Muslims have religious obligation to extend such support and I am happy that many of them are doing it very well.

(Sanu V. George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in)

Latest updates on Eid al-Fitr 2020

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer has been the subject of numerous threats made by residents of the state across multiple Facebook groups ahead of an armed rally planned this week.

According to the Detroit Metro Times, which obtained access to four private Facebook groups, the pages have a combined 400,000 members who encourage acts of violence against Whitmer and defiance of her social-distancing orders.

Several members of the groups have called for the assassination of Whitmer ahead of Thursday's rally, with one man writing: 'Can we please just take up a collection for an assassin to put that woman from Michigan down.'

Other hateful statements include: 'Plain and simple she needs to eat lead and send a statement to the rest of the democrats that they are next.'

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Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer (pictured on May 4) has been the subject of numerous threats made by residents of the state across multiple Facebook groups ahead of an armed rally planned this week

Several members of the group have called for the assassination of Whitmer ahead of Thursday's rally, with one man writing: 'Can we please just take up a collection for an assassin to put that woman from Michigan down'

'It's time to stop talking and do something. What do you think would happen if a thousand armed Patriots showed up in Lansing demanding her resignation. They might get a few but they can't get all of us and it might not get her out that day but it would open up some eyes here in Michigan and more importantly in Washington,' one statement from Mike Pruitt read.

'I wish someone would take her out permanently,' Steve Riker wrote.

According to the Metro Times, Facebook has removed one of the groups called Michigan United for Liberty, which organized a rally at the Capitol last month.

A Facebook spokesperson said the group was removed because it violated the company's policy against inciting violence.

The threats come just days before a planned rally at the Capitol in Lansing on Thursday. Several members wrote in the groups that they will be at the rally and hope others will be 'armed to the teeth'.

News of the threats also comes days after Whitmer said she would support a ban on weapons inside the state Capitol after angry and armed demonstrators protesting her lockdown restrictions, stormed the Capitol building on April 30.

Whitmer denounced last month's chaotic demonstration during an NBC News interview, saying that lawmakers should not feel threatened when they report for work during the pandemic.

'There are legislators who are wearing bulletproof vests to go to work,' Whitmer said Wednesday.

Last month, angry and armed demonstrators protesting the governor's lockdown restrictions, stormed the Capitol building

Hundreds of people descended on Michigan's Capitol building on April 30 to protest against Whitmer extending a statewide stay-at-home order. Photos from the 'American Patriot Rally' made headlines nationwide as many protesters were seen carrying assault rifles

'No one should be intimidated by someone who's bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace. And so there is conversation about changing that law.

'I think it's long overdue, and I absolutely support that change,' she added.

Hundreds of people descended on Michigan's Capitol building on April 30 to protest against Whitmer extending a statewide stay-at-home order.

Photos from the 'American Patriot Rally' made headlines nationwide as many protesters were seen carrying assault rifles, swastikas and Confederate flags.

Whitmer called the scenes 'disturbing' and said they 'depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country'.

Some of the group members also commended Karl Manke for defying the governor's order that his barber shop, along with many other Michigan businesses, remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, a judge rejected a request for a restraining order and said Manke deserves a hearing if the state wants to shut down his business in Owosso, a small town 40 miles northeast of the state Capitol.

Some of the group members also brought up Karl Manke, who reopened his barber shop despite the state's order that has closed businesses for weeks due to the coronavirus

The 77-year-old has become a symbol of resistance to Whitmer's sweeping stay-home order and other restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

'Keep it going. Karl is the Rosa Parks of Michigan,' one person wrote.

Another user said: 'One for the patriots 0 for the tyrannical Dictator Whittless! Keep it coming patriots we will knock her down one at a time until she and her puppets are destroyed!'

On Monday, Manke gave a statement after the judge's ruling, saying: 'I came into this last Monday alone, thinking I'm going to swing in the wind alone.

'I cannot believe the support that I've got. It's overwhelming.'

Supporters outside his shop chanted: 'Karl! Karl!'

Manke reopened his barber shop on May 4, saying he was despondent over not working and that he could make his own decisions.

He was given a cease-and-desist order from state regulators last week.

'I'm going to stay open until Jesus comes,' Manke pledged.

The governor was asked about the barber earlier Monday.

'I also know a lot of people who could use a haircut, yours truly included as well as my husband. ... I expect people to follow the law,' Whitmer said. 'These executive orders are not a suggestion. They're not optional. They're not helpful hints.'

State regulators consider the barber shop to be a danger to public health because of the pandemic and will seek a court hearing as soon as possible, said Ryan Jarvi, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

Manke's attorney, Dave Kallman, said the state has gone too far.

'If you can walk down the aisles at Walmart, you can walk down the aisles in Karl's barber shop and practice the same physical distancing, hand-washing, all the things we've been hearing on and on,' Kallman said.
European Hotels Among Last to Recover? Dont Tell That to Germany

European cities reliance on long-haul travel means their hotels could be the last to recover from the coronavirus downturn in travel, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said Monday during an earnings call. But not every European city is built with the same travel fundamentals.

The general consensus among travel analysts and executives is that domestic and drive-to travel destinations will rebound before markets that depend more on air travel. China and the U.S. have a stronger domestic traveler base than European countries, meaning Europes hotel recovery could take longer, Sorenson said. But Germany is an exception to Sorensons generalization.

Markets with less reliance on international and long-haul tourism will do better, London-based STR Managing Director Robin Rossman said last week during a webinar on coronavirus impact on European hotel performance. Quite a few German cities dont rely on long-haul travel all that much and have a higher proportion of domestic demand.

Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skifts Liveblog

About 76 percent of European hotels were temporarily closed as of the end of April due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions and downturns in demand, according to STR. That was significantly higher than the 16 percent of properties with suspended operations in the U.S. and 38 percent in Asia. The average European hotel occupancy rate, at 11 percent, of open properties in April was also lower than what was reported in the U.S. (39 percent) and Asia (26 percent).

Much short to medium-term recovery [in Europe] relies on airlines, and the outlook there doesnt look good, Rossman said.

The expectation Norwegian Air will severely limit capacity until at least spring of 2021 as well as reduced capacity plans from stronger European long-haul players like IAG, owner of British Airways and Ibera, almost guarantees many European hotels will have to find business from new sources. Nearly a third of the UKs tourism comes from long-haul destinations beyond Europe, according to Tourism Economics. But specific cities fare even worse.

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Forty-six percent of tourism to Paris and Istanbul, respectively, stems from long-haul travel, the highest percentage of any European cities in the Tourism Economics data. Lisbon (44 percent), Rome (43 percent), and Barcelona and Madrid (40 percent each) are also leading cities dependent on long-haul airline operations. But only 21 percent of tourism to Berlin, the only German city to rank in the top 15 European cities for international travel, stems from long-haul traffic.

Germany only relies on 18 percent of its tourism to come from international countries, according to STR. The strong domestic travel base is likely a boon for German hotels, which are expected to begin reopening to tourists later this month. Travel analysts watched the recent Labor Day holiday in China as a model for what is likely to come to the rest of the world.

Its very domestic, 95 percent domestic, but it is helpful to look to what drove recovery there since they controlled the virus about two months ahead of the rest of the world, Rossman said.

Mainland China hotel occupancy got as low as 7 percent in early February but has started a recovery and stabilized around 35 percent in the weeks leading up to Labor Day, Rossman said. Occupancies shot up to nearly 50 percent over the holiday weekend, with the Qiandao Lake region  a 5-hour drive southwest from Shanghai  reporting a 95 percent occupancy rate and tripled daily rates.

Fly-to destinations werent completely ignored in Chinas recovery. The Hainan and Sanya hotel markets, both on Hainan Island, each reported strong occupancy over the Labor Day holiday. Sanya hotels averaged between a 65 and 70 percent occupancy, and daily rates were up 45 percent, STR reported. Hainan hotels ran at an average 75 to 80 percent occupancy, and daily rates were up 20 percent. But even these fly-to markets were heavily reliant on domestic travelers.

Even in the U.S., where some states have begun to relax coronavirus shelter-in-place restrictions, is seeing signs of an early-stage rebound with domestic travelers. Some Marriott properties in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Santa Barbara, California, were on track to hit 50 percent occupancies last weekend, Sorenson said on Mondays earnings call.

Does it mean that occupancies are going to suddenly bounce back to where theyve previously been? No, Rossman said. But it is a positive sign. It does mean demand is there as long as were able to travel again.

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"This is such a new world, of course, but there's no question that smoking makes your situation worse if you catch the virus," said Dr. Irving Kron, senior associate vice president for health sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "If you get it, there is some evidence that smoking will change the propensity of your lungs to get infected. And as you know, if you get your lungs infected with this disease, that's a bad plan."
If you want to celebrate Manitobas 150th anniversary by wearing a kilt, you can wear your provinces colours.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you want to celebrate Manitobas 150th anniversary by wearing a kilt, you can wear your provinces colours.

The Manitoba tartan was officially adopted in The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Act on March 5, 1962, as a plaid of tartan green and a maroon colour, also known as murrey, the colour of mulberries. That year was the 150th anniversary of when the Selkirk Settlers arrived here from Scotland.

Manitobas tartan

According to the Manitoba Historical Society, other colours also make up the tartan with the blue stripes representing Lord Selkirk, the red squares the Red River Settlement buildings, the green squares giving a nod to the provinces forests, agricultural land and minerals, azure blue lines for the Red, Assiniboine and other rivers, and gold lines for wheat crops.

The tartan was designed in 1962 by Hugh Kirkwood Rankine, a postal carrier in Winnipeg. He became interested in tartans during the Second World War while recovering in Scotland after being wounded.

Rankine, with the help of his wife Dorothy, who was a weaving instructor, designed the tartan in 1956. He died in 1998.

As part of the act the tartan was created by, a cloth sample of it is stored in the Archives of Manitoba while it is registered in the books of the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, in Scotland by its official name as the Manitoban Tartan.

The tartan, and the part that people from Scotland played in the creation of the province, is celebrated on Manitoba Tartan Day every April 6.

Manitobas flag is also having a birthday this year, but its birth was part of a protest.

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The provinces flag, which includes in its corner the same Red Ensign used as Canadas national flag until the present Canadian flag was made official in Feb. 1965  is 55 years old.

The Manitoba flag was adopted on May 11, 1965 and was first flown in 1966.

It almost seems hard to believe now, but the birth of the Manitoba flag came about because of criticism of Canadas new flag in the Great Canadian Flag Debate.

Both Manitoba and Ontario were the two provinces most against the adoption of the Maple Leaf as the replacement of the Canadian Red Ensign so, shortly after the new Canadian flag was approved, the Legislature here voted to use the former Canadian flag as part of its new flag. Ontarios flag also uses the Union Jack in its corner.

The rest of Manitobas mostly red flag uses the provinces shield with a bison standing on a rock underneath the Cross of St. George.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Federal prosecutors charged a former San Francisco building commissioner on Tuesday with cheating clients of his engineering firm out of $478,000 by pocketing money that they were trying to send to city agencies.

The newly unsealed criminal charges of bank fraud against Rodrigo Santos follow a civil suit by City Attorney Dennis Herreras office, made public in March, accusing Santos and his firm of stealing money from clients and evading city building-permit requirements for residential housing, endangering construction workers in the process. Santos denied those allegations.

Prosecutors said he was arrested Tuesday morning, appeared before a federal magistrate and was released on $100,000 bond. Santos and his lawyer were not immediately available for comment on the charges.

Santos, now 61, was appointed to the citys Building Inspection Commission by Mayor Willie Brown in 2000 and was promoted to commission president by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004. He left the commission in 2005, and was appointed by Mayor Ed Lee to the City College Board of Trustees in 2012.

A civil engineer by training, Santos was a prominent member of the Coalition for Responsible Growth, a now-defunct political action committee that raised money for moderate candidates in San Francisco. An online flyer for a 2011 mayoral debate and cocktail reception listed him as the groups president.

According to the criminal charges, between January 2016 and March 2019, Santos collected 261 checks from clients that were written to city departments, companies or another individual, then forged signatures on the checks and deposited them in his bank account.

In one case, prosecutors said, Santos asked homeowners to write a $1,341 check to DBI, the Department of Building Inspection, then added his own writing to readdress the check to RoDBIgo Santos and deposited it in his account. They said he also submitted forged invoices to the FBI.

The citys civil suit for damages, which is still pending, was filed against Santos and Albert Urrutia, partners in the Santos & Urrutia engineering firm. The suit included allegations of deceiving both the firms clients and the city.

In some cases, the city said, the firm obtained permits for small-scale projects, like bathroom or kitchen remodeling, but actually performed more extensive excavations that should have required more city inspections and higher fees. In the process, the city said, the firm undermined the foundations of at least three neighboring properties and endangered construction workers.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The suit also accused the firm of using false identifications to deceive city inspectors into believing its trench work was being overseen by specialized, qualified contractors, and of submitting forged safety reports on seven properties. Herrera said the city has ordered new inspections of those properties.

Herrera, whose office supplied information against Santos to U.S. Attorney David Andersons office, said he was pleased that the evidence had led to criminal charges.

Our case against Mr. Santos exposed both how he undermined public safety and how he defrauded his own clients, Herrera said in a statement.

Editors note: This story was amended to reflect that Rodrigo Santos left the Building Inspection Commission in 2005.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 10:03:55|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, May 12 (Xinhua) -- For the first time since COVID-19 officially reached Australia's shores, on Tuesday the hardest hit State of New South Wales (NSW) recorded zero new infections.

Since late February, NSW has clocked up over 3,050 cases of COVID-19, mostly in the capital city Sydney, with just under 7,000 confirmed cases nationwide.

Close to 700 of NSW's total cases were linked to the Ruby Princess cruise ship which docked in Sydney in March and released hundreds of infected passengers directly into the community.

There were also two significant outbreaks at Sydney nursing homes, including Newmarch House, which as of Tuesday had recorded at least 16 deaths, and 69 confirmed cases.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the lack of new infections as a positive milestone but said that there were likely cases within the community yet to be detected.

"We know that there will be people walking around today in the community that will have the virus," Berejiklian said.

"It's our job to make sure that we identify them so if you have the mildest symptoms, please come forward and get tested."

Just over 6,000 tests were administered on Monday, which Berejiklian said she would like to see increase. Enditem
Norwich is hoping to find the key to ending the lockdown by testing all its 140,000 citizens every week for coronavirus.

Scientists working in the citys labs want to be the first in the UK to check every resident so they can track the virus and halt its spread.

They hope their ambitious plan will allow a little more freedom to its residents before a vaccine for Covid-19 is found.

Scientists in Norwich, best known for its impressive cathedral (pictured), want to be the first city in the UK to test every resident for coronavirus

Experts say the scheme is the best way to get rid of the pandemic and save the economy. If successful it could be extended across the country.

Norwich and another provincial city, Southampton, have submitted proposals to the Department of Health to pilot mass testing schemes.

In Norwich, best known for its impressive cathedral and as the home of Colmans mustard, bin men, taxi drivers and Army reservists could be used to deliver and collect swabs from households.

The barcoded samples would be taken to laboratories and processed by a team of biologists in batches. It could cost just 1 per test.

Those who test positive would be asked to isolate and then aggressive contact tracing would take place to try to stop the virus spreading.

The rate of asymptomatic infections, which pose the biggest threat, could be also be tracked  giving the Government vital information about the viruss transmission.

The project would use the same testing method currently used by the Government to detect Covid-19.

The test, done by taking a cheek swab, is sent to a lab to seek evidence of the antigen  the virus causing the illness.

Bin men, taxi drivers and Army reservists could be used to deliver and collect swabs from households in Norwich (Picture: Stock)

The project leaders want to find an estimated 2million in funding, which should allow them to test every resident every week for three months. They are in talks with ministers and private donors.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research centre in London, said testing everyone  not just those with symptoms  is essential for exiting lockdown before a vaccine is found.

And former health minister Sir Norman Lamb said the project could be gold dust in finding a safe way to lift restrictions.

The project was inspired by a letter written by Professor Julian Peto and a group of more than 30 leading scientists to the Government which called for universal repeated testing as a way to leave lockdown and restart the economy.

The letter, published in The Lancet medical journal, suggested urgently trialling the method on a city of around 200,000 people.

If successful, they said, it should be extended nationally with ten million tests per day.

Vo, an Italian town near Venice, managed to eradicate the virus in two weeks through rigorous testing of its 3,000 residents in March.

Prof Peto, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: Its blindingly obvious if you just test everyone you can stop an epidemic.

Its going to cost a couple of bob but the alternative is destroying the economy and having hundreds of thousands of deaths  this will just get rid of the epidemic.

Professor Neil Hall came up with the idea to try the testing project in Norwich last month after one of his colleagues suggested it would be the perfect city for the trial.

Prof Hall, the director of the citys Earlham Institute  where the majority of the testing would take place  spoke to geneticist Professor Enrico Coen, who had also been working on this idea with Sir Norman and his sister Dr Kirsten Lamb, a retired GP.

The University of East Anglia and other local organisations are also involved.

And last week Health Secretary Matt Hancocks office called for an urgent meeting with the scientists.

A Department of Health source said that with spare testing capacity now available, and more likely to come on stream, the proposals by Norwich and Southampton are being considered.

We have had different cities bidding for this, the source said. We may end up engaging with the proposals but it is not something that will happen imminently.
While climate change contributes to the upsurge in disease outbreaks across the world, the current rate of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss will worsen future pandemics like the coronavirus, scientists have said.

Even though climate change did not cause the emergence of COVID-19 they said it could indirectly make the effects of a current or future pandemic worse.

This position was pushed by Arthur Wyns who specialises on climate change, environment and human health with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Mr Wyns who spoke in his personal capacity with PREMIUM TIMES in April said, climate change undermines the environmental conditions we need for good healthaccess to water, clean air, food and shelterand places additional stress on the health system.

The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has said Nigeria is already being hit hard by climate change through rising temperatures and lowered rainfall.

NiMet has also pointed out that these hotter and drier conditions which Nigerians are exposed to will exacerbate floods, droughts and heat waves and hamper agricultural production, which many rely on for their livelihoods.

Worrisome trend

These changing climatic conditions are already causing a rise in malaria and other diseases.

A research titled; Global trend on emerging infectious diseases notes that the total number of disease outbreaks has more than tripled each decade since the 1980s.

It said more than two thirds of the diseases originated in animals and most of those were directly transmitted from wildlife to people.

Habitat destruction like deforestation and agricultural development on wildland are increasingly forcing disease-carrying wild animals closer to humans, allowing new strains of infectious diseases to thrive.

Also, the World Resources Institute said only about 15 per cent of the worlds forests, which are key to maintaining biodiversity, remain intact after degradation from logging, fires and agricultural expansion. Millions of animal and plant species currently face extinction because of habitat destruction.

Scientists

Meanwhile, some scientists have said the COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent instance of how human degradation of wildlife habitats is linked to the spread of infectious diseases.

Tierra Smiley, an epidemiologist at the University of California was quoted by CNBC news to have said, Preserving habitats for wildlife and preserving our world is a human health issue. He also said the orangutans in Indonesia have been known to be on the verge of extinction as a result of deforestation and poaching.

Also, Roger Frutos, infectious disease researcher in France told CNBC, when you cut down trees and remove the forest, you eliminate the natural environment of some species. But those species dont just disappear.

He said we should instead create a patchwork, a mosaic of their environment thats closer to ours, with houses that attract insects or sheds where bats can rest and find shelter.

Research has found that COVID-19 likely originated in a horseshoe bat and was then transmitted through another animal.

Mr Frutos said bats are less likely to transmit viruses to humans when they are in wild habitats, but land conversion has increased their exposure to humans and upped the chances of virus transmission.

Theres now a higher density of bat-borne viruses and pathogens near human dwellings worldwide.

Some researchers estimate that more than 3,000 strains of coronaviruses could already exist in bats and could be transmitted to humans.

According to Ms Smiley, when youre building human homes right up on forest edges, youre destroying wildlife habitats and squeezing animal habitats into smaller areas leading to a more likely transmission of disease to humans.

Preserving habitats for wildlife and preserving our world is a human health issue, not just a wildlife or environmental issue, she said .

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Scott Weaver, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas, said deforestation will increase the risk of many mosquito-borne viruses in areas like the tropics, Latin America and South-east Asia.

Poorer countries will suffer the most from diseases made worse by climate change, since warmer temperatures will increase the spread of viruses like dengue fever in places where people cant afford air conditioning and general protections against disease exposure, he said.

For instance, the West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne disease, replicates a lot faster in hotter climates. Researchers believe that global warming is allowing the virus to spread more efficiently in wild birds, who then infect people.

Mr Weaver also said were in this predicament with the coronavirus because weve under invested in public health across the world and we havent taken scientific information into account in political decisions.

Hopefully the awakening from this pandemic will get people paying more attention to scientists telling us about these risks that could spill over into vector-borne diseases, Mr Weaver added.

Zoonoses

According to the International Livestock Research Institute(ILRI), diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans are called zoonoses. Past zoonoses have included bird flu, SARS, MERS-CoV and Ebola.

The institute said people can acquire zoonoses from direct or indirect contact with animals and from livestock products. In some cases, when a disease jumps species from animals to humans it becomes adapted to humans as it spreads as a human-only disease.

It said HIV was originally a zoonotic disease which mutated to become a human-to-human disease. In other cases, such as rabies, animals remain the source of infection.

The ILRI said zoonoses are more common than most people realise. On average, a new zoonosis emerges every four months, although few in recent memory have been as globally threatening as COVID-19.

Also, the Institute noted that the emergence of COVID-19 underlines the importance of taking a one health approach, based on the premise that animal and human health coupled with the ecosystems they share are inextricably linked and must be addressed together.

Nigeria groping in dark

Meanwhile, Tunde Amole, the countrys director, ILRI, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES in April, said for Nigeria to get things right in the livestock industry, and ensure healthy meat consumption in the country, it must pass the Food Safety Bill that has been in the National Assembly since 2016.

He said this will help checkmate the killing and selling of unhealthy wild animals in the country.

According to data from Worldometer, which tracks coronavirus globally, the COVID-19 has affected 212 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances.

With over 4.2 million confirmed cases so far, the world has witnessed 287,355 fatalities and 1,529,606 recoveries.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:37:34|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish government announced on Tuesday that it will impose a 14-day quarantine on all travelers who arrive from another country as another measure to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The measure was published in the official State Bulletin (BOE), which said that incoming travelers will have to remain indoors and only be allowed outside in order to shop for food, to visit health centers or in a "situation of need," and they would be obliged to do this while wearing a face mask.

The order comes into effect on May 15 and expires on May 24, when the current State of Alarm, which limits freedom of movement in the country, is due to end.

However, if the Spanish government are able to win the support of Parliament for a further extension of the State of Alarm, then the quarantine measure would be prolonged until June 1.

Spain's land borders with France and Portugal have been closed since the State of Alarm was introduced on March 15, with only a very limited number of people, such as cross border workers and lorry drivers, allowed to cross the frontier. Enditem
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New York, May 12, 2020  Tajikistan authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the attack on journalist Avazmad Ghurbatov and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

At around 9 p.m. yesterday, two men wearing medical masks attacked Ghurbatov, a correspondent for the independent new website Asia Plus, near his home in Dushanbe, the capital, according to a report by his employer, news reports, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

The men punched and hit Ghurbatov, and then kicked him while he was on the ground, he said, adding that the attackers fled when he shouted for help.

Ghurbatov sustained cuts on his head and left ear and bruises on both hands and arms, and was treated at a local clinic for burn victims, he said. He told CPJ he first went to three hospitals for treatment, but they were too short-staffed amid the coronavirus pandemic to treat him.

The journalist said he filed a complaint about the attack at a local police station.

Tajik authorities must thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist Avazmad Ghurbatov, determine whether it was related to his journalism, and hold those responsible to account, said Gulnoza Said, CPJs Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. Tajikistan must ensure that journalists can work without fear that they will be attacked on the streets or censored or prosecuted by authorities.

Ghurbatov is seen with injuries after the attack. (Photo: Avazmad Ghurbatov)

After the attack, Ghurbatov, known by his pen name Abdulloh Ghurbati, shared a photo on Facebook of his head injuries.

Ghurbatov recently reported on COVID-19 in Tajikistan, and said he had received several threats over his coverage.

He told CPJ that people identifying themselves as officers of the State Committee for National Security, the countrys intelligence agency, called him and told him to stop working or face criminal prosecution. He also said he received anonymous insulting phone calls and messages online accusing him of being a traitor.

On April 26, a YouTube user named King Eagle, whose identity was not disclosed, uploaded a video showing Ghurbatov interviewing people in the streets of Dunshabe and calling him a provocateur and a traitor who is seeking, like an idiot, a coronavirus that doesnt exist in Tajikistan. The Tajik government denied any COVID-19 cases in the country until April 30, when it disclosed 15 confirmed cases, according to news reports.

Before the attack yesterday, Ghurbatov was planning to meet a source whose identity he did not know, but the person never showed up, he said.

Asia Plus became inaccessible in Tajikistan in 2019 and was forced to change its domain registration, as CPJ documented at the time.

CPJ filed a request for comment via the prosecutor generals official website, but did not receive any reply.
Anyone can be tested who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat; or who has a known or potential exposure to someone confirmed with the virus.

Those who want to be tested must first get an appointment by going through a free screening from a UMMC clinician, either through the C Spire Health telehealth smartphone app or by phone. The fastest and easiest way to get screened and tested is with the C Spire Health app. It's available daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

The newest testing sites for Friday, May 15:

Clarke County : Clarke County EMA, 642 S. Archusa Ave., Quitman

: Clarke County EMA, 642 S. Archusa Ave., Carroll County : J.Z. George High School , 900 George St., North Carrollton

Previously announced testing sites for Wednesday, May 13:

Neshoba County (updated address): Bogue Chitto Facility Building, 13350 Highway 491 North, Philadelphia

(updated address): Bogue Chitto Facility Building, 13350 Highway 491 North, Sharkey County : Rolling Fork Civic Center, 19719 Highway 61, Rolling Fork

Previously announced for Thursday, May 14:

Forrest County : Vernon Dahmer Park , 1000 Country Club Road, Hattiesburg

: , 1000 Country Club Road, Union County : Union County Fairgrounds, 112 Fairgrounds Circle, New Albany

Testing hours are noon-4 p.m. Only those with appointments will be tested.

Hundreds of people in Mississippi communities have taken advantage of the UMMC/MSDH drive-through collection sites. Those numbers include, as of the end of the day May 11, a total 1,900 people at 53 one-day testing states statewide, plus another 4,409 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, for a total of 6,309 tested.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi National Guard are partnering with UMMC and MSDH to coordinate mobile testing sites. UMMC and C Spire have partnered to make the screening free to all Mississippians.

Those without smartphones who want to be screened for testing can call (601) 496-7200.

During drive-through testing, health care professionals will collect specimen samples via a nose swab. Those being tested will not exit their vehicle. For more information about testing, click here.

About the University of Mississippi Medical Center

UMMC is the state's only academic medical center. Its education, research and health care missions share the objectives of improving the health of the state's population and eliminating health disparities. Located in Jackson.

UMMC encompasses seven health science schools, including medicine, nursing, health related professions, dentistry, pharmacy, graduate studies and population health. The Medical Center's health care enterprise includes the state's only Level I trauma center, only children's hospital, and only organ and bone marrow transplant program. The Medical Center also is home to a Telehealth Center of Excellence, one of two in the nation.

For more information, visit www.umc.edu and click here to view news and features stories produced by UMMC Communications and Marketing.

About C Spire

C Spire provides a full suite of world-class, customer-inspired dedicated Internet, IP Voice, data, managed services, cloud services, value added resale and mobile communications to businesses and wireless, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access and related home services for consumers. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at twitter.com/cspire.

SOURCE C Spire

Related Links

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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci told lawmakers on May 12 that the country needs to be careful when making decisions on whether, and when, to reopen schools. The more and more we learn, we are seeing things about what this virus can do, that we didnt see from the studies in China or in Europe. He pointed to children experiencing an inflammatory syndrome linked to the virus. He said that children generally are proving to fare better than adults, or the elderly, or those with underlying conditions, but that he is "very careful, and hopefully humble, in knowing that I don't know everything about this disease."Fauci and other leading U.S. health officials on Tuesday appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to answer questions about safely reopening schools and workplaces. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health Adm. Brett Giroir, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn also spoke before the committee.
Turkey will launch a healthy tourism certification program throughout the 2020 summer season, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said.



"Our certification program shall ensure that our guests in Turkey are going to make their holidays in a safe and hygienic manner and feel comfortable during their visit," Anadolu Agency cited Ersoy as saying.



He added that the program would cover preventive and protective steps including air, marine and land transportation, arrival ports and all holiday facilities, as well as the health condition of employees and the tourists themselves.



"We will encourage all of our transportation and accommodation facilities to take all precautions for a healthy holiday through obtaining the certificate," Ersoy stressed.



He noted that the ministry was planning to start implementing the certification process for hotels as of May, with certified facilities to be listed online as of June 1.



The minister added that this certificate program will demonstrate that Turkey will take a pioneering role in setting the direction for the normalization of tourism.
Broadway has been shuttered by the coronavirus, but that wont stop us from enjoying the Broadway mega-hit Hamilton on TV.

Variety reports that Lin-Manuel Mirandas "zeitgeist-tapping, precedent-breaking, Broadway smash musical will land on Disney Plus on July 3 - just in time for our nations birthday. The look at Alexander Hamiltons life and formative role in American history is being released on the streaming service roughly a year before its originally slated theatrical release of Oct. 15, 2021.

According to Variety, the original Broadway cast was featured in three live performances of Hamilton, shot by Thomas Kail, the shows director.

Miranda said in a statement, Im so proud of how beautifully Tommy Kail has brought Hamilton to the screen. Hes given everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house, reports Variety. Im so grateful to Disney and Disney Plus for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4 weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down. Im so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and Im so glad that were able to make it happen. Im so proud of this show. I cant wait for you to see it.

In 2016, Hamilton swept the Tony Awards, picking up 11 prizes, including the statue for best musical, and the show won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama, reports Variety.

The rights to a filmed rendition of Mirandas award-winning musical cost Disney $75 million, with plans to do a fully mounted big-screen version of the work in the distant future, according to Variety.

Currently, its impossible to experience a live performance of the production, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Variety reports its unclear when productions will resume.

So, considering that even in good times it was difficult to acquire a ticket for Hamilton - the show sold out months in advance, says Variety, and ticket prices were exorbitant - it appears that Disney Pluss monthly fee of $6.99 is a win-win deal for potential Hamilton viewers.

By releasing the film on Disney Plus, which is seen as a family-friendly alternative to Netflix, the streaming service can provide premium content to its viewers at a time when production has shut down, Variety says. Since its launch in November, Disney Plus has attracted more than 54 million subscribers.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sought views from Delhiites on how to ease the curbs after May 17, but said the lockdown cannot be lifted completely as a high number of coronavirus cases were being reported daily in the national capital, which saw the biggest spike in death toll with 13 fatalities in 24 hours.

According to a health bulletin, with 406 fresh instances, the total number of coronavirus cases reached 7,639 while the death toll has risen to 86.

In the bulletin, the Delhi health department, however, carried a footnote that certain figures mentioned in it, including death toll, were subject to change on receipt of additional information.

A 31-year-old Army jawan suffering from coronavirus was found hanging from a tree in the premises of an Army hospital here, police said.

An IPS officer with the Delhi Police has also tested positive for coronavirus. On a positive note, an 88-year-old man from Himachal Pradesh who had worked with the IAF has now fully recovered after successfully battling coronavirus infection at a city hospital here.

Seeking suggestions from people to ease the curbs, Kejriwal said people can send their views by calling toll-free number 1031 or through WhatsApp number 8800007722, or by sending an e-mail to delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com by 5 pm Wednesday.

Sources said the Delhi government received around three lakh messages on WhatsApp within seven hours as well as 25,000 recorded messages on the 1,031 helpline and 5,000 e-mails.

"On one hand, we will have to save ourselves from coronavirus. But on other, we will also have to maintain the health of the economy, Kejriwal told an online media briefing.

Earlier this month, he had said people will have to be ready to live with coronavirus.

"I seek suggestions from the people of Delhi. Obviously, lockdown cannot be lifted completely from the city given the spike in cases of COVID-19, he said.

The chief minister said his government will send a proposal on lockdown relaxations for Delhi to the Centre on Thursday after discussing the suggestions with experts and doctors.

"I want to ask whether there should be relaxation in lockdown (post May 17). How much relaxation should be given and in which areas?" the chief minister sought to know from Delhiites.

He also asked whether buses, metro, taxis and auto-rickshaw should now be allowed to operate in Delhi and if schools, markets and industrial areas should be opened after May 17, when the lockdown 3.0 ends.

Barring COVID containment zones, economic activities should be allowed to resume in the national capital, Kejriwal had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with chief ministers.

During the media briefing on Tuesday, he said the central government has asked all states to submit by May 15 their proposal on lockdown relaxations.

The Delhi government has already demanded from the Centre that all 11 districts of the city not be treated as ''red zones'' so that more economic activities are allowed, the sources said.

They said the city government wants that ''red zones'' in Delhi to be identified as per municipal wards instead of districts, they said.

Recently, the Union Health Ministry classified the entire national capital, which has 11 districts, as a red zone. The city has 272 wards.

Meanwhile, as the Raiways resumed its passenger service after over 50 days, three trains departed from the national capital to Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Dibrugarh (Assam) and Bengaluru carrying people who have been stranded since the lockdown came into force.

Five other trains bound for Delhi left from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, they added.

The Delhi government on Tuesday issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for screening of passengers arriving here from outside in special trains.

In an order, the health department said that only asymptomatic persons coming to the national capital would be allowed to go home after ascertaining that they are asymptomatic.

For passengers found symptomatic, standard protocol for testing and quarantine shall be followed, it said.

Hundreds of passengers gathered at the New Delhi Railway Station with mixed feelings of relief and apprehension, with many arriving before the scheduled train departure.

The Chelmsford Road leading to the New Delhi Railway Station was heavily barricaded by police, as those who had to catch the trains walked with their luggage or hired rickshaws.

The entrance of the railway station was also barricaded by police.

People gathered outside as policemen queued up the passengers to different destinations.

Announcements were made to maintain social distancing as people packed the road outside the railway station.

Swami H B, employed with a bakery in Gurgaon, reached the station hours before the departure of his train to Bengaluru at 9.15 pm.

"I came early as I had to commute from Gurgaon and also because I cannot afford to miss the train, he said.

He said he was apprehensive of his journey forward from Bengaluru to his hometown Chikmagalur.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Its National Hospital Week! This week we celebrate hospitals and healthcare workers who are committed to improving the health of everyone in our community. It is more important now than ever before to honor these incredible human beings, and say thank you for all that you do. We are filled with gratitude for the people keeping us safe and working long hours. Now is the perfect time to post something beautiful on social media for your friend who works in healthcare, send them a note or flowers, buy them takeout, remind them that you see all the work and that it matters. On behalf of all of us at the Viroqua Chamber Main Street, thank you to our friends at VMH and at Gundersen. We appreciate you so much!

***

Thanks to generous donations from Citizens First Bank, Vernon Communications, Jeff and Angie Lawrence and the Viroqua Area Foundation, the Viroqua Chamber Main Streets Economic Development Committee was able to award an additional $20,000 to five businesses via the Stronger Together Grant program. This grant has distributed more than $45,000 to area businesses who have suffered losses due to COVID-19. Community members and businesses are encouraged to participate. To donate to the fund online, visit www.supportsmall.net

***

Wisconsin Main Street has created a website for businesses who offer services online. If you would like your business to be included on this site, please send me an email: nrschmidt@viroqua-wisconsin.com. Visit the site https://www.mainstreetwi.com.

***

The Viroqua Chamber Main Street is still offering Zoom meetings at noon every Wednesday. These meetings are a great place to find useful grant information, and to connect with community members. We are also offering educational sessions, and one-on-one consultations. Please be in touch if you are interested in a meeting to discuss your business needs, nrschmidt@viroqua-wisconsin.com.

County offers zero-interest loan programVernon County Economic Development Committee announced a zero-interest, fast-turnaround relief loan program to help support businesses in the county through the coronavirus crisis.

Our businesses are suffering due to circumstances beyond their control, and its important we at the local level do all we can to help, says Garrick Olerud, Vernon Countys Economic Development Loan Committee Chair. By offering no-interest relief loans of up to $5,000, we hope to help support some of the vital businesses that serve as this countys economic engine through their time of greatest need.

Vernon Countys Business Relief Loan is designed to help local businesses meet immediate financial needs due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and several executive orders from the Wisconsin Governors office. These changes resulted in significant revenue losses for businesses in the County which makes paying immediate obligations difficult. The purpose of this relief loan is to provide businesses small, deferred payment loans at 0% interest to pay for immediate needs such as rent/mortgage payments, utilities, accounts payable obligations, or working capital.

The program was approved Thursday by Vernon Countys Economic Development Loan Committee to offer these relief loans for qualifying businesses located in Vernon County that have been operating long enough to demonstrate financial viability. $150,000 has been allocated for this business relief loan program and due to limited funds, the committee will be scoring applications based on demonstrated business need. Loan applications are available online now and will be accepted until 4:00pm Tuesday May 26, 2020. Awards/decisions will be made in early June.

Program instructions and loan applications can be submitted now online at: https://www.vernoncounty.org/departments/economic_development/vernon_county_business_relief_loan.php

Applications and supporting documentation can also be printed and mailed to: Vernon County, Attn: Christina Dollhausen, 318 Fairlane Drive STE 94, Viroqua, WI 54665

Any questions, please contact Christina Dollhausen, Vernon County Economic Development Coordinator, at 608-606-6552 or Diane McGinnis, Loan Administrator of Economic Development Loan Committee at 608-637-5379.

***

COVID-19 CARES ACT (federal) and state relief information from Viroqua Chamber Main Street member, Julie Emslie of WWIBIC. WWIBIC accepts and processes PPP applications as well as local lenders: Peoples State Bank, Citizens First bank, WCCU and Associated Bank.

PPP loansAs of May 7, there was $127 billion remaining in appropriations for PPP loans. WWBIC is currently accepting applications for this. If you have applied, or are interested in applying with WWBIC, please be in touch.

Additionally, the SBA and Dept of Treasury continue to release new guidance on this program and have addressed/responded to the following issues:

May 5, 2020

+ FAQ #43Extends repayment date for safe harbor to May 14, 2020

+ FAQ #44Clarifies affiliation rules wrt foreign and US affiliates

May 6, 2020

+ FAQ #45Clarifies Employee Retention Credit eligibility for employers who repay PPP loan by the safe harbor deadline.

WEDCs Focus

Forward initiativeThe Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has launched Focus Forward, a digital platform that catalogues resources related to recovery from the economic impact of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. We anticipate that this website, as well as the resources that are highlighted there, will continue to be updated for the foreseeable future with information relevant to business owners.

Below are a couple examples of items developed/initiated by WEDC, and/or can otherwise be found on the Focus Forward platform:

Re-opening guidelines for Wisconsin businesses

Last week, Gov. Evers announced a series of publications that would address best practices and safety guidelines for Wisconsin businesses. With input from national and state health and industry experts, WEDC has compiled this series of industry-specific documents to help in reopening your business (while taking the necessary precautions to maximize safety).

Those documents can be found at www.wedc.org. It is advised to bookmark the page and check back regularly for updates to guidelines and the addition of new industry documents. Note the following industries are already included in the listing: agriculture, gyms & fitness centers, hair & nail salons, manufacturing, hospitality/lodging, retail, and restaurants, along with several others.

Grant program for ethnically diverse micro-businesses

The Ethnic Minority Emergency Grant Initiative is focused on supporting ethnic micro-businesses that are being adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. This emergency fund will provide a one-time grant of $2,000 per company for ethnic minority-owned micro-businesses operating in the retail, hospitality and service industries.

Note: If you recently received WEDC grant funds for your business (through the SB 20/20 program) and/or a PPP loan, you are not eligible for this program. (Please be sure to review other eligibility guidelines before applying.)

More information on this program can be found on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporations website: wedc.org

Tax relief

Just a quick reminder that IRS information on tax relief for businesses can be found at irs.gov
She welcomed her first child, a baby boy, back in October with boyfriend Danny Flasher.

And Chloe Lewis was every inch the doting mum when she shared an adorable selfie alongside her seven-month old son Beau on Monday.

The former TOWIE star, 29, looked gorgeous in the close-up shot where she donned a simple palette of makeup to accentuate her natural beauty and left her curly tresses loose.

So sweet: Chloe Lewis was every inch the doting mum when she shared an adorable selfie alongside her baby boy, Beau, on Monday

The mum-of-one penned: 'So in love with you.'

Her sweet baby was dressed in a white baby grow and looked adorable while resting against his mother's chest.

As well as the photo, Chloe answered questions from fans on her Story and revealed she has 'good days and bad days' in isolation.

Before the imposed lockdown, Chloe jetted to Mauritius with her fiance and son.

The mum-of-one penned: 'So in love with you'

Romantic: Before the imposed lockdown, Chloe jetted to Mauritius with her fiance and son

Whilst there, the beauty revealed Beau had suffered an allergic reaction to sun cream leaving him with a rash on his face.

In a lengthy post, Chloe warned other mums to be 'super cautious' when choosing which creams they should use to protect their babies from the sun, as she shared a snap of beau just before his allergic reaction.

She wrote: 'My Beau blue eyes, so excited to see you grow but at the same time want you to stay small forever.

'This was the last picture of him before he had an allergic reaction to sun cream (I feel like the worst mumma ever)

Hard: Whilst there, the beauty revealed Beau had suffered an allergic reaction to sun cream leaving him with a rash on his face

'Be super cautious of what your putting on your baby's skin it's so important, lesson learnt, now just trying to get my baby better lots of cuddles '

Chloe then shared a video as she cradled her baby boy, and revealed that the reaction sparked a red rash around his eye.

The reality star jetted to Mauritius to relax with boyfriend Danny, after they welcomed their son together in October.

Chloe recently spoke about her pregnancy in a Q&A and said she gained 1.5stone in weight while expecting her first baby.

The star admitted she was 'surprised' at her low weight gain and also shared she fell pregnant just a month into her family planning journey.

Tough: Last week Chloe revealed that little beau had suffered a reaction to sun cream, as she posted the last snap before he suffered the reaction

Important: She warned other mums to be 'super cautious' when choosing products to put on their baby's skin, adding that the reaction made her feel like ' the 'worst mumma ever'

Hard: On Monday Chloe then shared a video of her baby boy, showing that the allergic reaction had caused a rash to flare up on his face

New mum Chloe - who exercised while pregnant - detailed: 'I weighed myself towards the end, I was about 1 1/2 stone heavier. I really thought I was going to blow up pregnant but really surprised myself.'

When asked whether she planned to start a family, the media personality said she 'felt the time was right' as she was content in her relationship with Danny Flasher.

The blonde beauty shared: 'Yes we planned & fell the first month but everyone is different. I don't know if you ever feel the time is right.

'I just was very happy in my relationship & knew it was right & I've always wanted to be a mumma.

'Plus I had lots of practise with my sisters babies, the only difference is I got to give them back.' [sic]
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

What would you do if the person standing next to you suddenly screamed and ran away? Would you be able to carry on calmly with what you're doing, or would you panic? Unless you're James Bond, you're most likely to go for the second option: panic.

But now imagine another scenario: While out on the street, the person walking in front of you suddenly freezesshe stops moving and becomes perfectly still. What would you do?

"Here, the answer becomes more tricky," says Marta Moita, head of the Behavioral Neuroscience Lab at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal. "Even though freezing is one of the three basic instinctive defense behaviors [along with fight and flight], animals don't instinctively know that when others freeze, they are actually responding to a threat."

For social animals such as ourselves, being able to tell if a group member senses a threat can be a matter of life and death. How does this learning happen? To find an answer to this question, Moita and her team engaged in a series of studies. Their most recent findings are presented in two scientific articles, one that was published today (May 12th) in the journal PLOS Biology and another published a few months ago in Current Biology. Together, their results reveal a mechanism by which animals acquire fear of freezing and outline the neural circuitry that underlies the expression of that fear.

"No pain, no gain"

How is it that some fear responses are innate, while others must be learned? The answer is not fully known, but a good guess would be that because the world is ever-changing, animals must flexibly adapt to their environment.

For instance, when an animal freezes, it essentially stops moving. But is lack of motion necessarily a sign of danger? "The answer is no," says Moita. "There are situations where an animal stops moving that are perfectly benign; it might be grooming or observing something. But then, this harmless cue can transform into a sign of danger. We wanted to find out how it happens."

In the study published in the journal Current Biology, Moita and her team tested various experimental scenarios with rats. They found out that first and foremost, the animal has to go through a process called auto-conditioning, meaning that the learning does not happen by observing others, but through first-hand experience. And more than that, it can only happen if specific criteria are fulfilled. "We were a bit surprised by the results, because it turns out that the learning mechanism is quite strict," says Andreia Cruz, the first author of the study.

The team discovered that for a rat to adopt freezing as a social cue, it has to go through a learning experience that consists of two key components: pain and immobility. Either one without the other is not enough.

"For instance, animals that experience a mild foot shock [which is a painful event] and then freeze as a result, learn to recognize freezing in other group members as a threat. But when we prevented the subsequent freezing response by removing the rat from the experimental box immediately after the foot shock, the learning didn't happen," Cruz explains.

It may seem harsh, but in fact, as Moita points out, this manner of learning is an enormously beneficial way for animals to avoid danger. "The rat underwent a single painful experience [a mild foot shock] that taught it that freezing is a response to a negative event. As a consequence, now it doesn't need to learn first-hand the full range of scenarios that can cause painful experiences. Instead, it just needs to be attentive to how its group members behave."

Hearing and fearing silence

Creating an association between freezing and danger means that new neural connections were formed in the brain. But before diving into the neural circuits, there was still an important question that needed to be addressed: Which brain areas might be involved in the expression of this newly learned fear?

"Learning happens by associating cognitive elements that were previously unrelated," Moita explains. "For instance, in the famous Pavlov experiment, dogs learned that the sound of a bell meant that they were about to receive food. So two previously unrelated thingsbell sound and foodbecame associated in the brain."

Moita points out that several cognitive elements may be associated with this newly acquired defensive response, among which is a special kind of auditory cuesilence.

The team previously discovered that rats who learned to use freezing as an alarm cue were actually detecting the sudden onset of silence. "When a rat freezes, it stops moving. Which effectively means that it stops generating sound," Moita explains. "We found that this transition from sound to silence can become a social cue by which rats recognize that another group member is freezing."

Following this line of thought, the team focused on the brain's fear-learning center and the auditory system. Their resultsdescribing a new neural map that spans these structureswere published today in the journal Plos Biology.

A newly discovered neural map

The first question that comes to mind is: How can the auditory system hear silence? Moita explains that to answer this question, you have to think about it in reverse. "We believe that it's not silence per se that the brain is detecting, it's actually the cessation of sound."

The auditory system is made up of many thousands of neurons, each of which has a preference for certain features of auditory information. For example, some neurons respond to high-frequency sounds, others to the onset of sound. And then, there are offset neurons that respond to the cessation of sound. Those are the neurons the team suspects to be the ones that detect silence.

"Offset neurons are abundant in a particular area within a brain region called the auditory thalamus. When we blocked the activity of this area, animals that have adapted freezing as a social cue and would normally respond to the sudden onset of silence, did not," explains Ana Perreira, the first author of the study.

Importantly, this same auditory region connects to the lateral amygdalaa brain area crucial for learning to respond to threatening sounds. Could it also be involved in fearing silence? The team discovered that the answer is yes. "Our results show that the lateral amygdala is not only important for associating sound and danger, but also silence and danger," says Perreira.

The team used these results together with others obtained in this study to generate a map of how the brain expresses fear of freezing. "The pathway we identified expands the network that processes auditory cues in the context of danger," says Moita. "More broadly, our work sets the stage to further our understanding of how sensory stimuli and their behavioral relevance are encoded in the brain," she concludes.

Explore further Study reveals how brain injury can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder

Provided by Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
A young Reynolds School Board member and a lobbyist for a nonprofit Native American center are vying to be Democrats pick to replace Rep. Carla Piluso representing the district that spans East Portland and Gresham.

Piluso, a former Gresham police chief, is retiring after her third term in the Legislature. Ricki Ruiz, the school board member whose day job is community services coordinator for the city of Gresham, and William Miller, an advocacy manager and lobbyist for the Native American Youth and Family Center, both grew up in the area.

Both candidates are the first members of their families to graduate from college. Ruiz says on his campaign website that hed push for more government spending on a wide array of services but particularly K-12 education, which is currently budgeted to receive $9 billion from 2019 through 2021, not including money from a new business tax.

Miller promises on his website to protect education funding and would also prioritize spending on addiction and mental health services, the importance of which is personal to him given his fathers 2006 death from an opiate overdose.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary in House District 50 will face Republican candidate Amelia Salvador, a real estate broker who previously managed the Gresham Farmers Market, in the November general election. She is the only GOP candidate to file for election in the district where Democratic voters far outnumber registered Republicans.

As of Monday afternoon, Miller reported raising $32,000 with the largest contributions from political consultant Eddie Sherman ($9,800), the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association ($5,000), Pilusos political action committee ($1,000) and House Democrats campaign committee ($1,000). Ruiz reported raising more than $26,000 with top contributions from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association ($5,000), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75 ($2,500), Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals ($1,500) and Oregon AFL-CIO ($1,500). Ruiz also received $1,000 from the House Democrats committee.

The two candidates have similar takes on major policy issues before the Legislature in recent years. Both stressed the importance of a newly enacted state business tax to fund public education during the economic downturn, although Miller expressed more willingness to at least look at the impacts of temporarily tweaking the tax. Ruiz advocates the Legislature passing dramatic greenhouse gas reduction goals similar to a mandate in the cap-and-trade plan Republicans killed earlier this year, and Miller says generally that he would pursue legislation that acts strongly on climate change. He also wants changes to make it more difficult for one political party to shut down the Legislature.

Here are the two candidates answers to six key questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What specifically in your track record would you point to that makes you the best Democratic nominee for Oregon and for your district at this time?

Ruiz: I have been elected twice to  the Reynolds School Board. I have built trust, transparency and strong communication with constituents across East Multnomah County and especially in the City of Gresham. I am a proud lifelong Gresham resident who has lived in House District 50 for over 20 years. I have proven my dedication to my community by being the youngest voice at the school board and bringing much needed resources to underserved communities as an advocate for civil rights, immigration, education, youth recreation and public safety. My life, government, non-profit and community experiences and accomplishments set me apart.

Miller: I was raised and have lived in East Portland/Gresham for most of my life. Ive been through its public schools, including higher education at Mt. Hood Community College. I grew up in a family that struggled: financially, with family in the criminal justice system and working through addiction. I seek to bring these experiences, my identities as a queer Native American man and my professional background to deliver real change for my community. My professional experiences set me apart: I have deep policy and activism experience with a proven track record of supporting and empowering our most vulnerable communities.

Oregon businesses have called for a suspension or temporary modification of the new gross receipts tax to fund education. Do you support this?

Miller: Like any important policy decision, I think some more information and economic modeling is needed to adequately access this question. Its important to note that the 2019 Student Success Act, which created this gross receipts tax, is funding schools across Oregon with an additional $1 billion per year and only taxes some of the largest businesses in our state. As our students and educators continue to adapt to distance learning, they need support and tools. Funding to ensure equity in access to technology, training, and new approaches to foster a healthy learning environment are critical now more than ever.

Ruiz: I do not support this. For decades, the public education system has been on the receiving end of budget cuts. Public education funding is crucial, and our students, teachers and families are all depending on it. The primary purpose of the monies is to increase academic achievement for all students to decrease equitable disparities and meet students mental and behavioral needs in the classroom. It is necessary to send out the money to help make distance learning more equitable for all students. With COVID-19, it is important that students and families have access to mental health services.

Oregon has hundreds of public records law exemptions on the books, making it one of the less transparent states in the country. Is there any public records exemption you believe should be removed? Or a new public records exemption you believe lawmakers should add?

Ruiz: As elected leaders of our communities, I believe (its important) to be as transparent as possible. We should be honest and make sure we address law exemptions that move us forward towards effective communication. I am beginning to learn about the exemptions and hope to learn more about how we can progress in making our state a better place for transparency, especially for our Oregonians.

Miller: I dont know about this issue in detail, but I know that having transparency and accountability is critical in making sure it functions more effectively and better serves the people that elect them, and that accountability (is) vastly improved by robust public records laws. Documents, meetings, and decisions funded by the public ought to be available to the public unless there is a credible reason to think release could endanger someone, something or in some other way lead to direct harm.

Republicans succeeded in killing cap-and-trade legislation and Gov. Kate Browns executive order can only accomplish a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions a new law would have achieved. What should the Legislature do next to reduce climate warming emissions?

Miller: It is incredibly sad that Oregon Legislative Republicans chose to walk out and shut down our democratic processes. The Legislature should target reforms that remove the walk-out as a legislative strategy, enact strong campaign finance reform and continue to work at passing legislation that acts strongly on climate change. The legislation worked on during both legislative sessions reflected a bold and ambitious strategy to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, while deeply investing in rural Oregon and our working lands and forests. Overall though, one partys opposition to legislation should not determine if that legislation lives or dies.

Ruiz: We have to consider a more comprehensive approach -- one that includes jobs -- to a cleaner environment. We must also appreciate the health implications of continuing to allow water and air pollution, without being compensated for the damage they cause. Sustainability isnt simply a matter of protecting our communities and our natural areas, but safeguarding the future of the Oregon economy. Supporting the passage of state legislation to change our goals for economy-wide reduction of Oregons greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and at least 50% reduction by 2035 is a way to move towards reducing climate change.

The market downturn has further undermined the funded status of Oregons public pension system, which will lead to further cost increases for public employers. Is there anything further you think should be done to address the problem?

Ruiz: This is an issue with the state at a national level and has worsened because of the Great Recession and is being exacerbated now as we stay home to address the COVID-19 outbreak. If you look at the Tax Foundations state pension rankings, Oregon is in the top ten so there is clearly a need for national action. Congress should have made this part of their consideration as they address the financial impact this time around.

Miller: Its important to note that Democratic lawmakers took steps in 2019 to significantly reduce the PERS system liability. The recession currently unfolding will further complicate the long-term health of the system that supports educators, first responders and other critical government workers in retirement. We need to continue to decrease this liability, but due to past Oregon Supreme Court decisions, we cannot decrease benefits that have already been earned, something I morally agree with as well. Finding financial tools to spread out risk while seeking other revenue tools to supplement the fund are both critical.

Before the coronavirus crisis, the Portland metro area was enjoying a long-term economic recovery. But the benefits were not shared by some Oregonians in rural areas and even many in the metro area remained financially unstable as they depended on the gig economy. Whats one thing you could do as a state lawmaker to bring economic stability to more Oregonians?

Miller: I can speak to the fact that East County has not always felt the same economic growth and opportunity Portlands downtown has felt. In East County, even during an economic boom, these issues were felt by many. One of my biggest focuses if elected state representative is ensuring that our youth and educators have all the tools they need to succeed. Education has so many multiplicative impacts on a students life, ensuring that every single student gets a quality education is critical to community and long-term recovery.

Ruiz: To bring economic stability to Oregonians in both rural and urban areas, I would invest in accessible small business loans for all and fund public schools for workers to learn trades. Oregonians are hard-working people with a lot of creative innovation, and I believe tapping into our states innovation and business creation is the way to go. Oregon public schools and community colleges also need more funding for trades so that the next generation of the Oregon workforce, housing market and economy can thrive for the better.

-- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

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C onservative MP Tobias Ellwood abruptly left a live Good Morning Britain interview during a heated debate with Piers Morgan about the governments most recent coronavirus advice.

The former defence minister had joined the call via video link to debate the new lockdown guidance with two other guests and hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.

When Morgan showed footage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling the public to stay at home if they can but go to work if they have no alternative, Mr Ellwood responded: Youve chosen three or four seconds of an hour and a half press conference.

Morgan asked Mr Ellwood: But what does it mean? It tells people to stay at home or go to work. What does it mean?

Mr Ellwood replied that he did not know what question Mr Johnson was answering in the clip. The key message is absolutely if you cant go to work safely, common sense must apply here, then you absolutely stay at home. That is the message. If you can work safely, then go to work.

Mr Morgan retorted: But he didnt say that. He said stay at home or go to work.

After Mr Morgan played the clip of the Prime Minister again, Mr Ellwood responded: Im sorry Piers, we could take three or four seconds off of you and your performance and say youre not on form. And heaven forbid people might make a judgment on that.

But just as Mr Morgan began to challenge him again, the MP for Bournemouth East left the call.

Weve lost him, hes been vaporised, Morgan joked after Mr Ellwood vanished from the screen.

Piers Morgan slams Miriam Margolyes for comments on Boris Johnson

I think hes gone to find that four second clip, Reid added.

Morgan recently claimed government ministers have been banned from appearing Good Morning Britain after a series of train wreck interviews about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today he branded the boycott disgraceful after Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared on other networks. Mr Morgan apologised to Good Morning Britain viewers, telling them: You are not worthy of the health secretarys potentially life-saving information, guidance and clarifications.

[Mr Hancock] is going to go on every other show so their listeners and viewers will have that information," the ITV programme host said.

I think its shameful and completely wrong, hes not doing our show because the junior ministers couldnt answer basic questions  like how many health workers have died.
Days after the face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in North Sikkim, it seems that China has decided to increase the tension with India and this time Beijing wants to open a new front along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Indian Air Force (IAF) rushed its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were spotted near the Line of Actual Control last week. Sources said the incident happened around the same time the Indian and Chinese troops entered into a violent scuffle in North Sikkim.

The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control. After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area, government sources told ANI here.

Government sources who preferred to remain anonymous remarked that the Chinese choppers failed to cross the LAC into Indian territory.

On Sunday (May 10), the Indian Army sources confirmed that a heated confrontation took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers in North Sikkim a few days ago and troops on both sides received injuries.

A number of personnel on both sides sustained injuries as they exchanged punches, PTI quoted official sources as saying, adding the troops disengaged after a dialogue at the local level. "Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. Such an incident occurred after a long time," said a source. It is learnt that a total of 150 soldiers were involved in the face-off that reportedly took place a few days back.

The sources said temporary and short duration face-offs occur due to different perception of the border by both sides. Naku La sector is located ahead of Muguthang and the area in the region was traditionally not prone to clashes between the soldiers from the two countries.
The Maharashtra government on



Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that migrants can use ration cards from their home states to procure essentials from ration shops here and those without cards can get meals at food camps and Shiv Bhojan Thali centres.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Amjad Sayed was hearing a petition filed by Pune resident Vanita Chavan, raising concerns over supply of food grains to poor during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Chavan, in her plea, claimed that food grains were not properly distributed through ration shops in the state and she sought direction to the government to provide essentials to people without ration cards, including migrant workers and wandering tribes.

The court had last week asked the state government to take a decision on whether it would procure additional food grains from the Food Corporation of India for migrant workers and the needy, who do not possess ration cards, amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

In its affidavit on Tuesday, the government said it has already procured food grains from the Food Corporation of India to meet the requirements of stranded persons and migrants in Pune district.

The government, however, said people who don't have ration cards of any state will not be given food grains at ration shops.

"As far as stranded migrant labourers and other needy persons are concerned, the state government is already taking requisite measures by providing ready food or food grain packets to them," the affidavit said.

Those without ration cards were given meals and food grain packets at shelter camps and they can also get meals at Shiv Bhojan Thali centres across the state amid the pandemic.

The court took the affidavit on record and posted the matter for further hearing on May 19.

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

HYDERABAD: Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy on Monday alleged that the Telangana government was silent over the Pothireddypadu issue despite seeing Andhra Pradesh shift the water illegally.Addressing the media here, he said if the capacity of the Pothireddypadu reservoir increases, severe water scarcity would hit Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Mahbubabad and Nalgonda districts.

When the then Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy tried to enhance its capacity, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao opposed it. But now, as the Chief Minister of Telangana, KCR has been supporting the same proposal of AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Shashidhar Reddy said.He asked both the Chief Ministers to reveal what type of internal agreement they made regarding Pothireddypadu. Former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and former MLA Parigi Rammohan Reddy were present at the press conference.

Former MP AP Jithender Reddy also questioned KCR for keeping quiet when AP issued a GO to lift 10 TMC water to Rayalaseema through the Pothireddypadu and Sangameshwara projects at an estimated cost of `6,825 crore. He questioned his intention behind decreasing the capacity of the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation project from 2 TMC to 1 TMC. He demanded the government to construct a project with a capacity of 20 TMC above the catchment area of the Jurala project and also to complete all pending projects, including the SLBC.

Dont charge migrants air fare, says Uttam

TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy and PCC NRI cell chairman Vinod Kumar asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to bring back Telangana migrant workers from the Gulf without charging them for air fare and quarantine facilities.In a letter to the official, they stated that, On May 9, an Air India flight brought 163 migrant workers from Kuwait to Hyderabad. Most of them were shifted to paid quarantine hotels that charged `1,500. Nine poor workers, who had no money, were forced to sign an undertaking that they would pay later.

Govts helping only rich NRIs

Senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said it was unfortunate that the Centre was only bringing back rich NRIs, who can afford air fare and 14-day quarantine. He also said leaving the poor to their fate was regrettable and discriminatory.
AWAY FROM CHAOS

The Middle East and the Challenge to the West

By Gilles Kepel

In 2016, the French political scientist Gilles Kepel was condemned to die for being an experienced Arabist.

Immediately after the French-born terrorist Larossi Abballa murdered a police officer and his wife, he took to Facebook Live to call for the murder of seven public figures in France, with Kepels name nearing the top of the list. A government security team guarded Kepel round the clock. His crime? Railing against ISIS on television.

The French public knows Kepel well. A public intellectual in a country that still celebrates public intellectuals, he spent years making the rounds on chat shows as a Middle East expert when he wasnt busy teaching and researching at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. His latest book, Away From Chaos, comprehensively surveys the turmoil in the Middle East over the past four decades. While there isnt much new or groundbreaking here, its an excellent primer for anyone wanting to get up to speed on the region, and its devoid of the crippling ideological blinders that sometimes disfigure books about a part of the world so rife with ideology.

Until the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Arab-Israeli conflict defined the region. Afterward, a steep rise in oil prices and profits financed the first wave of a rising tide of radical Islamism. The most pivotal year was 1979, when the Iranian revolution and the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca kicked off a deadly rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh that has yet to abate. Equally momentous that year was the Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan, an accelerant for the movement of international jihadists willing to martyr themselves in battle, this time against heathens from Eurasia.
Travel screeched to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, and millions of would-be travelers are demanding refunds for canceled trips and now-unreachable destinations. But even while pressured by that sentiment, some independent businesses, from tour operators to hotel owners, are offering credits. Credits, they feel, are a fair way to roll forward trip prepayments and deposits, which under normal circumstances might be nonrefundable. And rebooking guests for the future means cash flow now, the only way to survive the period of dormancy.

We have agonized over this question, said Leo Ghitis, the owner of Nayara Resorts in Costa Rica. Nayaras three properties are temporarily closed, but all the employees are still working, with their salaries coming from the nonrefundable deposits that guests paid when they booked their rooms.

We still understand that people would rather have the money in their pockets right now. Then I realized that here I was, responsible for the lives of 350 employees  350 families, said Mr. Ghitis, who is giving guests who prepaid for their rooms at a non-flexible rate a 120-percent credit toward a future reservation. When you come to Nayara, youll have 350 people that will thank you for what you did for them.

Research from the World Travel & Tourism Council paints a bleak picture of the pandemics economic toll, estimating that the global travel and tourism industry will suffer 100 million job losses. The trickle-down effects are enormous; in the United States alone, a $519 billion decline in travel spending this year will translate into a $1.2 trillion reduction in economic output, according to an Oxford Economics report last month. For some countries, including many in the Caribbean, tourism accounts for more than 10 percent of GDP.
The Chinese-made protective masks Temple University Hospital workers use while treating COVID-19 patients are splitting along the seams, sprouting holes, and breaking along the elastic bands that hold the lifesaving equipment onto doctors and nurses faces.

Some medical staff are bringing their own masks to work; others are doubling up masks, or tying surgical masks in front of their KN95 masks. Nearly 200 workers in the Temple University Health System have tested positive for the virus, according to a union representing nurses and other clinical workers, and 58 of them work at the hospital on North Broad Street.

When youre in front of a patient and the mask falls off your face, what are you going to do, cover your face with your elbow?" said Celeste Bevans, a radiology technician and a representative of the Temple University Allied Health Professionals union.

Each medical worker is typically issued a new KN95 daily, Bevans said, and with even one day of use the workers have reported equipment failures.

The masks get their names from the fact that if properly fitted, they should filter 95% of particles the size of the coronavirus.

Just last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration listed as unsuitable dozens of brands of Chinese mask imports that had been authorized under an emergency order, though they did not get the usual vetting process.

 READ MORE: Philly ordered a half-million masks to protect first responders and hospitals from coronavirus. They never arrived.

The KN95 masks used by Temple, which staff members say are manufactured by Trust Loyalty & Glory Epoch Network Technology Co. of Suzhou City, China, meet FDA guidelines and CDC recommendations, said Jeremy Walter, a spokesperson for Temple hospital.

We will continue to monitor the situation and respond appropriately, he said, but did not respond to questions seeking more specifics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested 10 of the manufacturers masks on Thursday, and found all had a filter efficiency of 98.29% or better, above the standard required of N95 masks. The CDC report, though, noted that the masks are held in place with ear loops rather than headbands, which secure N95 masks. Using ear loops can cause difficulties in obtaining a proper fit, the report states, necessary to ensure the best protection against viral particles.

Medical staff who complain they cannot get the masks to fit properly are told by administrators that "were using them wrong, Bevans said.

Trust Loyalty & Glory Epoch is registered as a mask importer with the FDA, but that is no guarantee of quality.

That registration in the context of a COVID health emergency ... doesnt mean very much, said Anne Miller, head of supplier vetting for ProjectN95, a nonprofit that seeks to validate the quality of protective gear in the wake of the crisis.

I feel some compassion for that hospital, she said of Temple, because I really dont think theyre trying to give their health-care workers bad product.

On April 3, the FDA responded to the shortage of medical protective gear with an Emergency Use Authorization order that listed almost 90 Chinese mask manufacturers as suppliers for N95-quality masks. The manufacturers documented that the masks met N95 mask standards through testing in an independent lab.

Some masks that had passed overseas testing and won authorization flunked testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recent weeks, according to the New York Times.

The test results prompted the FDA to withdraw from its authorized list 65 manufacturers who used tests from overseas labs as proof of quality, the agency said. The FDA no longer authorizes masks submitted with overseas lab results.

Trust Loyalty & Glory Epoch products, though registered with the FDA, were not among the authorized manufacturers, so it was not one of the manufacturers removed from the FDAs authorized list Thursday.

The companys U.S. agent, Sungo Technical Service Inc. of Chicago, did not reply to requests for comment. The Trust Loyalty website says it has been manufacturing KN95 masks since 2015.

The companys masks were tested in a Chinese laboratory, according to the website, and reported a particle filtration efficiency better than or equal to 95%.

Across town from Temple, Main Line Health System bought 150,000 masks from another Chinese manufacturer on March 23. That company was among those banned by the FDA Thursday. Few of the masks had been used.

The inability to get basic PPE would have never been a concern in the past, said Chris Torres, a Main Line vice president. Now it will forever change how we look at our supply chain going forward.

Front-line nurses in the University of Pennsylvania Health System said they have been issued masks from 3M Co., the same company the hospitals used before the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for Einstein Health System, which along with Temple has seen a disproportionate share of virus patients, said it had not purchased masks from the FDA list.

 HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you.

At Temple, administrators initially provided worried workers with documentation that the masks complied with 1993 and 2007 European Union directives. Since then, workers have been told that discussing the mask issue again would be repetitive, Bevans said.

I think people have lost the faith that this is going to be fixed, she said.
Photo

New Delhi: Employees of the state-run airline Air India are also suffering from the epidemic. An employee of Air India's commercial department tested positive for corona on Monday, after which Air India's offices at Ashok Road in New Delhi were sealed.

Air IndiaOffice sanitation work is in progress. The practice of cleaning the headquarters of Air India has started after the employee working in the commercial department of the company was found to be positive. The Air India headquarters is being kept completely sealed and clean.

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It is learned that the employee who tested positive for Corona is attached to the office of the General Manager. All Air India employees who come in contact with this employee are also being identified.

A senior airport official said those who came in contact with the employee who tested positive for corona have been identified. The process of sending quarantine to all those people has been started.

Air IndiaIt may be recalled that Air India is fulfilling the mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Vande Bharat) these days.

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Under this, Indian nationals trapped abroad in lockdown are being brought home. In recent days, a large number of Indian nationals have been brought home from different parts of the world.

People are being sent to several cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. The Commerce Department has a very important role to play in this mission due to which most of the employees of this department were coming to the office on this day.
Minorities are "flourishing" in India and have been an equal partner in development without discrimination under the Modi government, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday, dismissing allegations of Islamophobia as an attempt to defame the country.

The "Narendra Modi phobia club has been unable to digest the inclusive growth under the prime minister and is engaged in a "nefarious campaign" in India and abroad through fake propaganda alleging "intolerance, communalism and discrimination" against minorities in India, Naqvi said.

In a blog titled "Islamophobia -- Bogey of Bogus Bashing Brigade", the minority affairs minister argued that the "Modi phobia club" is playing the Islamophobia card" to harm the pluralistic fabric of India, but will not succeed.

Naqvi's remarks come days after a wave of angry reactions on Twitter by citizens and rights activists from various Arab countries following allegations that Muslims are being blamed for spreading COVID-19 in parts of India.

Also, the 57-member prominent international Mulim grouping, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, recently accused India of "Islamophobia".

India has dismissed all such allegations.

"Minorities in India are flourishing equally with all the citizens with a sense of equality, security and prosperity. Misinformation against such a gracious and tolerant country and its effective leadership is nothing but the height of ignorance and mental bankruptcy," Naqvi said.

He claimed that no riot took place in last 5 years of the Modi government and it was after "nefarious preaching" by those who were irked by this that the Delhi riots happened.

Naqvi said the women who sat on protests at Shaheen Bagh cannot be termed "anti-nationals" but they had been "misguided by the bogus bashing brigade.

This brigade pushed these women on a path which had an entry gate but no exit gate, the minister said.

This was a calculated conspiracy by the brigade that wants to defame and disgrace Modi and India, Naqvi said.

He also argued that for the "first time since Independence", India has forged close and strong ties with nearly all Islamic nations and countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Afghanistan, Russia, Palestine, Mauritius and the Maldives have conferred Modi with their highest civilian awards.

"The United Nations has also conferred Narendra Modi with the prestigious 'Champions of the Earth Award'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's global acceptance and popularity doesn't need any certificate," Naqvi said.

The Modi government never planned development on the basis of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or on region and caste, and its priority has been the poor and deprived, Naqvi said, adding that still some people with a prejudiced mindset are trying to defame India by raising the bogey of Islamophobia.

There is not a single incident of discrimination against any section of the society, including minorities under the Modi government, the minister asserted.

All sections, including minorities, are strongly moving forward on the path of development with dignity under the Modi government, he said.

When the challenges due to the coronavirus were in initial stages across the world in early January and several countries, including Pakistan, had not taken care of their people abroad, it was the Modi government that brought back thousands of Indians stranded in Wuhan (China), Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries, Naqvi said, adding that a majority of these people were Muslims.

In the recent Vande Bharat Mission also, the Indian government is bringing back thousands of Indians from countries such as the Maldives, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and other countries which include a large number of Muslims, he pointed out.

"Strong eternal commitment of my country will defeat and demolish the fake and fabricated Islamophobia card of the 'India bashing brigade'," Naqvi said in his blog.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The epicentre of coronavirus in China, Wuhan reported a cluster of new infections on May 10 weeks after lifting restrictions and restoring normalcy. At least five new cases were reported from the same compound triggering fear of a second wave of the deadly pandemic. A day after, on May 11, China reported one new coronavirus case and 15 asymptomatic infections. Wuhan was the first city in the world to report a case of coronavirus and soon after the pandemic spread to the entire country infecting 82,919 people and killing 4,633.

However, Wuhan is not the only place where coronavirus returned after the curve flattened and cases dropped to zero or single digit. Many reports claim that the disease could come back once the lockdown is lifted and many of the infected could be asymptomatic. Currently, Italy, South Korea, Germany among others are fearing a second wave of infections.

What is the second wave of infection?

Considering that there is no vaccine or specific treatment for coronavirus, social distancing is the only way people can avoid contracting the disease. Therefore, countries have announced lockdowns to contain the further spread of the virus. However, once the lockdown is lifted, people become vulnerable to infection again. This is because the virus was only contained, and not treated.

"Once we return to normal activity levels, there is a chance that the infection may begin to rise again. China is seeing this to some extent post easing of some restrictions on travel, Sundaresan, corresponding author of a working paper by researchers at IISc and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, confirmed this in an interview with PTI.

Read: China Reports 16 New Covid Cases As Fresh Wuhan Cluster Emerges Amid Fears Of Second Wave

Why second wave is a serious concern?

During a briefing on April 20, the World Health Organizations Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had warned the worst is yet ahead of us. Later in the month, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield stated that a second wave of the coronavirus would be even more difficult than the original.

Experts have time and again warned that the second wave can be more deadly than the initial outbreak. It cannot be ignored that back in 1918, the second wave of the historic influenza outbreak caused most of the deaths in the pandemic.

Even in the case of coronavirus many people who were successfully treated contracted the disease again after testing negative. What is more frightening is the fact that many of them were asymptomatic, meaning that they aren't showing signs of extreme weakness, fever or difficulty in breathing.

What causes second wave?

Any infectious disease spreads via contact between infectious and susceptible people. If control measures are not in place, the infection can spread as long as the average number of people infected by each infectious person is greater than one.

In case of some diseases, if recovered patients become immune, there will be a trail of immunity and once there are fewer susceptible people, the virus dies out. However, in case of coronavirus where the infection is brought under control through social distancing, only a small portion of the population can develop immunity and as soon as social distancing rules ease the fear of the second wave looms large due to the presence of many susceptible people.

Read: 'Battle Is Won But War Is Not Over': PM Arden As New Zealand Enters COVID-19 Alert Level 2

How can second wave be avoided?

Experts and researchers have been conducting studies to figure out how a second wave of infection can be avoided. Meanwhile, some possible ways to avoid resurgence have been suggested by global experts so far.

Learn from the first wave

The first thing that a country can do is to learn from the first wave, said World Health Organization representative to Russia, Melita Vujnovic, while speaking to an international news agency. She added that the healthcare system will have to work together with the sanitary supervision to track down infected patients until it is clear how immunity is formed. She also emphasized on the need to restrict contacts.

Herd immunity

It is believed that one possible way of avoiding a second wave is by achieving 'herd immunity'. Herd immunity is achieved when a large number of people who recover from the disease develop immunity. In this case, the number of susceptible cases is low and eventually, the disease dies out. However, the human cost of such a method is considerably high and 'unacceptable'.

As per reports, Sweden is somewhat trying to achieve herd immunity as it did not impose strict restrictions. The countrys chief epidemiologist reportedly said that racing toward herd immunity isnt an explicit aim of the policy but its a helpful threshold he thinks could be achieved within weeks.

However, in case of coronavirus, there is little information available about the possibility of immunity as WHO itself said that there is no such evidence yet.

"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," WHO said.

Read: Explainer: How New Zealand's 'elimination Policy' Got COVID Cases Down To Zero In 6 Weeks

Vaccine

Another way to end the pandemic is the rapid development of a vaccine. Several countries have been racing to come up with a vaccine with Israel recently claiming that it has achieved a threshold. A vaccine can also help achieve herd immunity.

Global coordinated response

Another action that can possibly help avoid a second wave of infection is a globally coordinated response to eradicate the virus. This method proved successful in the case of SARS in 2003. However, in the case of coronavirus what poses a big challenge is its wider spread as the virus has affected more than 200 countries and infected over 5 million people worldwide.

Earlier this month, the Dalai Lama said people should come together to give a coordinated, global response to challenges posed by the crisis.

This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning that only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face. I pray we all heed The Call to Unite, he said in a statement released by his office.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also emphasized on the call that the pandemic requires a "strong and coordinated international response".

Testing and isolation

Among all these a viable solution to keep a second wave at bay is to keep testing any person who shows symptoms even after the curve flattens. New cases should be effectively isolated immediately to avoid further spread of the virus.

Quick action

As soon as a second wave is suspected with new cases, quick action can help a country contain the infection. South Korea took a similar measure when it closed all bars in Seoul after recording new cases. Through testing, a country can keep tracking and tracing it's new cases to restrict further spread.

Read: White House COVID-19 Task Force Not Disbanding, Trump Says 'it Will Continue Indefinitely'

Read: From Early Action To 2nd Wave Of Infection: Hokkaido's COVID Response Is Warning To World
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 21:40:11|Editor: huaxia

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by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- After providing emergency relief in the form of loans and wage subsidies to small and medium-sized enterprises, the Canadian government offered support on Monday to Canada's bigger businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new program, called the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF), will provide bridge financing starting at 43 million U.S. dollars for major companies with annual revenues of at least 214 million dollars.

LEEFF is not a bailout, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during his daily COVID-19 news conference. Rather, its purpose is to help large corporations "weather the storm and "avoid bankruptcies," he said. It is "not to fix pre-existing insolvencies or restructurings" or "to provide low-cost lending to companies that don't need it."

At a separate news conference, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said companies that receive the financing "will be required to commit to future climate disclosures and environmental sustainability goals," and will be disqualified if "they've been convicted of tax evasion."

All sectors, including the airline industry but excluding the financial sector, will be eligible to apply for LEEFF, he added.

Trudeau gave reporters further information on the qualification criteria for the bridge-financing initiative. "There will be strict limits on dividends, share buy-backs and executive compensation," he said.

"To stand strong against tax avoidance and tax evasion, we will require companies to share with us their complete financial structure as they apply for funding," he added.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada's left-of-center New Democratic Party, said that any financial support for corporations must have "strings attached," while aid must go toward protecting the jobs of Canadian workers and not end up as CEO bonuses.

During the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the Canadian government provided automobile manufacturers General Motors and Chrysler with more than 9.3 billion dollars in financing to restructure their businesses, and significantly restricted management pay and perks.

Trudeau explained that major employers accessing LEEFF will have to demonstrate that they are protecting workers' pensions and their right to collective bargaining, as well as a commitment to their company's "continued operation" in Canada.

The climate-action aspect of the financing arrangement has been welcomed by Greenpeace Canada.

"It makes sense that companies seeking public support agree to limit dividends and executive pay, forgo tax havens and start aligning their business model with Canada's climate-change targets," Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with the environmental organization, said in a statement.

"Companies funding campaigns to oppose action on climate change should be excluded from the program," he added. Enditem
Himachal Pradesh reported six more coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the infection tally in the state to 66, a senior health official said.

Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said four fresh cases were reported from Kangra district and two from Hamirpur district.

Two men, aged 30 and 50 years, from Hamirpur's Bajrol area have tested positive. Both are asymptomatic and returned from Delhi on May 1, he said.

Four persons, aged 33, 40, 50 and 62 years, tested positive in Kangra. They include a head constable and two persons returned from Punjab's Jalandhar and Pathankot recently, the official said.

They tested positive for the infection at Tanda's Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC).

The state has 24 active cases of the virus -nine in Kangra, six in Chamba, four in Hamirpur, two in Bilaspur, and one each in Mandi, Una and Shimla.

Thirty-nine people have recovered from the infection in the hill state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russian Journalists Union urges to add media to list of industries suffered from pandemic

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

15:06 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI)  A member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights and Chair of the Russian Union of Journalists Vladimir Solovyev states it necessary to include mass media in the list of industries seriously suffered from the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Solovyev submitted the research of problems mass media faced during the COVID-19 outbreak. Over 560 media outlets from 85 regions took part in the research with 66.4% print media among them, the press service of the human rights body reports.

According to Solovyev, 37.5% respondents claimed decrease in broadcast and printing; nearly one third of all editors offices were to lower salaries while 19.2% reduced their staff. In 18.4% media outlets over 20% employees lost their jobs; 38.4% lowered wages more than by 20%, the report reads.

Moreover, advertising incomes of mass media also decreased much, according to the research authors.

Only 13.9% of media outlets reseived support from regional authorities including financing, subsidies, grants and release of rental payment and reduce of tax burden.

Solovyev insists that the research results confirm the need for adding mass media to the list of industries suffered from the pandemic.
(CNN)  It was just another day in lockdown for Craig Barnes.

The personal trainer in Glasgow, Scotland, was gearing up for another virtual fitness class on popular video-conferencing platform Zoom. He conducts multiple classes a day and streams them live on Facebook as he tries to keep people fit and healthy during the global coronavirus pandemic.

While the class was in full swing, however, Barnes' fitness session became "bombarded with disgusting material," he said.

"The first video I saw was an Asian girl who was tied up, and I wasn't too sure what was going on  I was a bit perplexed," Barnes told CNN.

"Remember, I am trying to take a class at the same time  trying to stay professional, and obviously I've got to try and protect the eyes of my clients. So when I removed the video of the girl who was tied up ... I thought that was going to be it," he continued.

He had fallen victim to "Zoombombing." The term refers to a form of cyber harassment, where calls are hijacked by unidentified individuals and trolls who spew hateful language or share graphic images.

Whether it's fitness workouts like those conducted by Barnes, or music, dance or language lessons, online classes are helping to keep people sane during this pandemic. They allow us to maintain old routines and habits as well as start new ones and are a lifeline for many kids who are cut off from school.

However, the shift to living our lives online has thrown many people in at the deep end with technology they're not familiar with, potentially exposing them to trolls and online abuse.

Here are some simple steps you can take to help protect yourself.

Zoom gets more serious on security

Zoom has been used for popular online quizzes, high-profile political cabinet meetings, virtual funerals and more. Zoom's ease of use  where you simply need a URL that you fire to whomever you'd like  has seen its usage soar.

It's that same usability, however, which has opened up Zoom to scrutiny, too.

Earlier in April, the CEO of Zoom, Eric Yuan, had to apologize to millions of its users after the platform came under increasing privacy concerns.

Perhaps most alarmingly, investigations have been launched following reports of meetings being infiltrated by people sharing footage of children being sexually abused, according to the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA).

Other apps like Skype and Webex face similar security issues. However, the cases of Zoombombing, like the incident that had befallen Barnes, seem to be much more common, with numerous examples being highlighted in the media. A Zoom spokesperson said the company was "deeply upset" and "strongly condemned" the incident that disrupted Barnes' class.

Update, update, update

Zoom recently introduced a new update to enhance security on its platform and to help users more easily protect meetings. The newest version of the app, Zoom 5.0, now includes encryption and more security controls for users.

The company said it has made the meeting IDs less visible to help prevent unintended sharing, and have added a new security icon to the controls to help hosts access features that allow them to remove participants and lock rooms.

Cybersecurity experts stress the importance of updating software to reduce vulnerability.

"Update, update, update!" Lisa Forte, a former member of the UK's police cyber crime unit, emphasized to CNN. "It's really important, especially at this time. Zoom are issuing updates continuously  if you don't apply that update, you are leaving yourself hugely vulnerable to being exploited," she added.

Fitness trainer Barnes doesn't blame Zoom for what happened during his class. He said he takes "full responsibility" for it. After all, he put the password to the class on his Facebook page  leaving him particularly vulnerable to malicious trolls.

"It was my fault for not protecting the password. ... But I am just a personal trainer, here to try and keep people healthy. When it comes to social media, I am not the best at it," Barnes admitted.

Who are the trolls, and how do I stay safe?

How can you prevent your class from being hijacked like Barnes' was?

The cybersecurity experts who CNN spoke to believe that video conferencing on the whole is playing a positive role during the coronavirus pandemic.

After all, it encourages human-to-human connection when it might not otherwise be possible. When used properly, many experts thought it could be a great tool.

There is a common theme with trolls and the likes of people who carry out Zoombombings, according to Forte. The culprits are often young people.

"The experience I have from law enforcement and other people, it tends to be young kids," Forte told CNN.

Graham Cluley, who has worked in cybersecurity for almost 30 years, said it's younger people who tend to get a "kick out of doing these things." They wreak havoc on these virtual spaces and then post the videos on internet platforms like 4chan.

He said the videos often used are "probably taped from porn websites." The Zoombombers then use online forums, where they are collecting details of open Zoom meetings with the intention of causing some "mischief," he said.

Steps you can take, according to experts

Use the security measures in place, and make sure they're up-to-date. All the cyber experts CNN spoke to agreed on one thing: the importance of using simple security measures  often found within apps like Zoom  to ensure you are as secure as possible. Lisa Forte said the waiting room and lock functions within Zoom are good forms of protection.

They allow you to vet who comes into your meeting before it gets underway and also freeze out any late party poopers. Additionally, make sure you disable the option that allows people (other than you as the host) to share their screens during the chat; or at least only grant access to trusted class members.

Be careful with your password, and don't share it excessively. Craig Barnes failed to do this. Nishanth Sastry, a privacy network and security expert who is a senior lecturer at King's College London, encouraged using a separate channel for sharing passwords  be it via text message or email. He also encouraged using a time limit if you had to share your password publicly.

Distribute it five minutes, rather than 24 hours, before the start of your online conference to limit the time trolls have to plan and coordinate.

Protect your kids on video-conference platforms. A lot of children also attend video-conferencing classes  making the risk of these sessions being hijacked even greater. Talk openly with children about the dangers of online interactions, and ensure correct security measures are in place for them.

Cluley advised parents to have the computer or tablet in a shared communal area of the house so adults are aware of what the child is watching and can oversee the content.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Online classes are keeping us sane, but there are dangers. Here's how to stay safe."
World marks International Nurses Day and 200th anniversary of the birth of pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale, recognised as the founder of modern nursing, is the subject of celebrations in Italy, the UK and around the world on 12 May, the 200th anniversary of her birth in 1820.

Due to the coronavirus lockdown many initiatives in her honour will move to a digital platform, with virtual exhibitions and online talks throughout 12 May.

In Rome the capital's Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases, symbolic in Italy's fight against covid-19, will be illuminated at dusk on 12 May with a series of screenings dedicated specially to nurses.

The initiative has been organised by the British embassy to Italy which will screen the event live on the UKinItaly Facebook page.

In Florence the Basilica di S. Croce has announced the restoration of its memorial to Florence Nightingale, sculpted by Francis William Sargent in 1913 and a pilgrimage destination of nurses from all over the world.

International Nurses Day is also marked on this date, in tribute to the British nurse and social reformer who was named after the city of her birth, where her wealthy parents stayed for an extended time while touring Europe.

Nightingale came to prominence while managing and training nurses caring for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War when she became known as the 'Lady with the Lamp'.

In 1860 she laid the foundation of professional nursing when she established her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London and she is widely credited with raising the professional status of nurses.

By the time of her death in 1910 Nightingale had become an icon of Victorian culture.

In addition to International Nursing Day, the World Health Assembly has declared 2020 to be the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey is working with a group of leaders from different agencies to expand diversion programs for mentally ill criminal defendants. (Al Seib, Los Angeles Times )

Civil rights leaders on Monday called for criminal charges to be filed against a Los Angeles police officer shown beating a man in the head in a recent viral video, even as the county's top prosecutor asked for patience during a review.

The activists argued the footage was indisputable proof of a felony assault, and that Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey should respond immediately.

"I'm getting social media messages from all across the country wondering why she hasn't filed charges yet based on the video footage itself," South Los Angeles leader Najee Ali said outside Lacey's office Monday afternoon.

Lacey said she is waiting for the Los Angeles Police Department to complete its investigation into the April 27 arrest in Boyle Heights and deliver the findings to her office. Only then will she be able to pass judgment on the officer's actions, she said.

"Anytime you see someone with their hands behind their back and getting hit in the head like that multiple times, that is disturbing. As a human being, I look at that and say: 'How did this happen? What led up to this?'" Lacey said. "But as the lead prosecutor in the D.A.s office, I know that I need to exercise judgment in what I say publicly, because I don't want this office disqualified or recused for prejudging the evidence. So I'm waiting to see all of what's out there."

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, another civil rights leader, said Lacey already has the evidence she needs, and must hold the officer accountable if Angelenos are to believe that cops in the city are held to the same legal standards as everyone else.

"Jackie Lacey can send a message," Hutchinson said. "The message is this: When you violate the law, it doesn't make any difference whether you have a badge, a gun and wear a uniform. You're gonna be arrested, you're gonna be prosecuted, you're gonna be convicted, you're gonna be held accountable. You are not above the law."

Story continues

The video circulating on the internet, recorded by a bystander, shows two officers arresting a man who others have described as homeless and who had been reported as trespassing in the area. At one point, as the man stood with his arms behind his back, one of the officers begins lobbing punches at the man's head. As the man bends down and away to avoid the blows, the officer keeps at it.

The officer has been assigned to home pending investigations by the Internal Affairs and Force Investigation divisions, the LAPD said. Two law enforcement sources, both of whom requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case, identified him as Officer Frank Hernandez, a veteran with more than 20 years on the force who has come into controversy before.

After one of three on-duty shootings in Hernandez's career, there were violent protests in Westlake.

David Winslow, an attorney for the officer in the video, would not confirm or deny the officer's identity; he said his client was threatened by the man, who was struggling just before the first punch.

The use of force is justified because the officer believed he was under attack from the suspect," Winslow said Monday.

Ali and Hutchinson challenged Winslow's account, saying it is clear from the video that the man, who was released after the incident without charge, was not resisting arrest when Hernandez started throwing punches.

"I was horrified that another human being could actually viciously beat someone in that manner," Ali said. "It's inexcusable, and there was no justification or reason that anyone can see for that man to be beaten and assaulted that way by a police officer."

Hutchinson said the officer's actions cannot be justified.

"I saw an officer look like Mike Tyson, wailing away on him," he said. "If you look very carefully at the video, you saw the suspect with his back moving away, walking away, and the officer is still totally out of control, continuing to beat and beat."

Hutchinson said the second officer's failure to intervene was "almost as disturbing."

"What she was doing and what I saw was a code of silence: one officer protecting another officer. That in many ways is just as horrifying," he said.

Police officials have said the second officer is on administrative duty pending the investigation into the incident. They've said footage from the officer's body-worn camera will be released publicly soon.

Ali and Hutchinson said they were concerned Lacey would not charge Hernandez in part because of her past decisions not to file charges in the fatal shooting of Brendon Glenn by LAPD Officer Clifford Proctor near the Venice boardwalk or the beating of Marlene Pinnock by a California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Andrew along the 10 Freeway.

Lacey said that while her office determined charges were not supported in those cases, her office has prosecuted cops when they have broken the law in other cases.

"We're not reluctant to try officers for use of force, but we've learned by experience as prosecutors that we have to wait and look at all the evidence to see what we have," she said.

In the Boyle Heights case, her office will review not just the viral video, but any other video from the scene and any available statements made by the officer, the man who was punched, the second officer and the bystander who shot the video, among others.

Ali said she should make a decision before November, when she is up for reelection, so that this case can be a "litmus test" for voters. Lacey's runoff challenger, former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon, has said the officer should be charged with assault.

Lacey would not say when the evidence review might be completed.

Based on the law and the U.S. criminal justice system, many excessive force cases "boil down" to what was going on in the mind of the officer involved as the events were unfolding, she said.

Determining that is "difficult," she said, and takes time.

Times staff writers James Queally and Richard Winton contributed to this article.
Rutland Police Officer John D. Songy is still in critical condition in St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester and as a show of solidarity, Police Officer Jesse Catino, Johns partner at the Rutland Police Department is organizing a drive for Saturday that he said will have more than 1,000 vehicles attending.

We reached out and figured we do this as a car group. We figured there would be like, you know, maybe 100, 150 cars and then everybody started reaching out and just kind of took off, said Catino. [Now] Im thinking there will be closer to 1,000 [cars].

Songy and Catino are part of car groups that meet each weekend and go for drives. Songy is an enthusiast of the Jeep Wrangler, according to his wife Joanne Songy.

John has been on a ventilator since Saturday and is still in critical condition at St. Vincent Hospital after his body rejected the medication remdesivir, used in some cases to treat COVID-19 symptoms.

He has been fighting coronavirus since he and his wife Joanne, a nurse, both tested positive on April 23.

Joanne overcame the virus quarantining at home. John, however, did not recover and was admitted to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester on Saturday, May 2, around 1 a.m. for shortness of breath.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very, very long line of people between the police departments [and car clubs]. John is a huge Jeep lover, we both are. He belongs to a lot of Jeep clubs, said Joanne. Hes been in the off-road community from many, many years and I have a feeling theres going to be a huge turnout of Jeeps.

On Tuesday, Joanne had a FaceTime video with her husbands nurse at the hospital where he has been put into an induced coma. The nurse was able to turn the camera so she could see her husband.

Details on the Cruise for John Songy Posted by Joanne Songy on Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Joanne was told that his condition is still critical but stable. His liver function and blood sugars show slight improvement, but his kidneys havent.

Fluid is building up and it caused his [oxygen] levels to drop. We had already talked about this yesterday with the doctors. [They said] if they needed to they would have to do hemodialysis, said Joanne.

Hemodialysis is a treatment to filter wastes and water from your blood, as your kidneys did when they were healthy. Hemodialysis helps control blood pressure and balance important minerals, such as potassium, sodium, and calcium, in your blood.

Hemodialysis can help you feel better and live longer, but its not a cure for kidney failure.

So, that is what theyre doing this morning. They called me for consent. They explained to me, you know, what was going to happen. Im very familiar with the process.

Johns daughter, Katelyn Songy recently had a child and Katelyn is concerned that her father will never see his grandson grow up.

I'm really upset about it, said Katelyn. Im trying to keep on going but its getting hard. Especially with my dads condition.

Katelyn is also an essential worker at the Big Y in Amherst and is worried about the exposure to the virus that she and her family endure daily as a result. She tries to put the worries she has to the back of her mind.

My step-mom [Joanne] messaged me asking if I would like to stand at the end of the road as they pass my dads house, said Katelyn. I have the option of doing that.

Katelyn usually works on Saturdays but wants to attend the drive-by and join potentially thousands of others to show the support of John and the healthcare professionals at St. Vincent Hospital.

He's a great-hearted guy, hard worker, strong as a bull one of the best guys in the department, said Catino. Always working with the community. He always helps everybody else. He always has good relationships, good rapport with people. He's always going above and beyond for everybody. He would take the shirt off his back for you.

On Saturday, May 16. Vehicles are meeting at the Naquag Elementary School, 285 Main St, Rutland, for a 3 p.m. departure. The route will pass by John and Joannes cul-de-sac in Leicester and end at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

Related Content:
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Catching the national mood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally announced a Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus plan for a 'self-reliant India.'

At $265 billion, the astonishingly expensive relief package and a half is India's mathematical solution to fight the mindless microscopic organism called the coronavirus and its uniquely evil ways of destroying both human and economic well being.

"The economic package will focus on land, labour, liquidity and law. It will help small business, migrants, farmers," Modi said in a televised address to the nation.

The Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan proposal translates to roughly 10 per cent of the GDP, which is pretty much in line with our ASEAN and Western peers.

SGX Nifty, happy beyond the power of speech, shot up more than 4 per cent within minutes after the announcement.

While the headline number appears bold and ambitious, it's pertinent to note that the package is inclusive of the RBI measures announced last month.

If you recall to mind, India has already announced nearly Rs 6 lakh crore in fiscal and monetary relief (Rs 1.7 lakh crore fiscal stimulus, Rs 3.74 lakh crore package first announced by RBI, and lastly the Rs 50,000 crore liquidity support to mutual fund houses and others). This translates to roughly 3.4 per cent of the GDP.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE

It means Tuesday's announcement on a standalone basis could be over 6 per cent of the GDP or Rs 14 lakh crore.

The crucial details of the package are still hazy and the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to announce it in the days to come.

Given that the first fiscal stimulus, which was a lite-version of the final relief package, was aimed largely at low-income households, expectations are high that the industry will get a lift-up in this round.

Importantly, Modi's 33-minute message had a few gold nuggets for businesses. First among them is the need to implement big bang reforms. "We need reforms to bring rational tax system, simpler laws, better infrastructure, strong financial system and attract investment," he noted.

Taking a subtle jibe at China and its dominance in global trade, Modi also stressed the need for promoting local businesses and products and it was necessary for India to become an important part of the global supply chain.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's relief package which hopes to resurrect MSMEs and ailing sectors such as hospitality and aviation will alter the economic grammar for good or worse.

It also means, the government's slavish devotion to reduce fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP stands junked for a good time.

Perhaps, India will now have to pursue fiscal consolidation by fiscal expansion, which could irk credit rating agencies threatening to reduce India's sovereign rating to junk.

By way of a taster of what's coming our way, the government last week raised its borrowing limits liberally by over 50 per cent to Rs 12 lakh crore. That's because solving the problem within the existing fiscal limitations is nearly impossible.
The cornonavirus has extended



its tentacles to Hassan district, which had till now remained free of COVID-19, with five people including two children testing positive for the virus on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the mid-day situation report, all the five cases are with travel history to Mumbai in Maharashtra and are undergoing treatment at a designated hospital in Hassan.

The five include- two girls aged 4 and 7 years, two men and a woman.

According to officials, four of them belong to a family, and they had entered Channarayapatna border on May 10 from Mumbai and were quarantined in a residential school.

Hassan Deputy Commissioner Girish said they are currently in Hassan COVID Hospital and they have not visited their village or contacted anyone.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Airtel Uganda and Avaya are teaming up to facilitate remote working and learning for organisations across Uganda in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

The agreement will see Airtel Uganda offering full complimentary access to Avaya Spaces, a collaboration app that offers integrated chat, voice video and content sharing services via the cloud. The goal is to allow businesses and educational institutions to continue offering services during the pandemic.

Our partnership with Avaya supports key sectors by enabling organisations to maintain the safety of workers, students and customers as their top priority, while ensuring minimum disruption to everyday business, said Airtel Uganda managing director, V.G Somasekhar.

We have invested in building out the countrys most advanced telecommunications network as an enabler of business continuity. Today, this investment will support the continued delivery of services and ensure that the economy continues developing, regardless of a lack of physical offices or classrooms.

Avaya Spaces can be used on any smart device running on Android or iOS, or on a computer using Chrome or Firefox. It offers virtual meeting facilities, document sharing and task management, as well as enabling users to create digital forums for specific projects.

As the Covid-19 crisis has developed, we have reacted quickly and decisively in providing collaboration technology on a complimentary basis to help those most affected. We aim to help Ugandan organisations minimise the disruption caused by Covid-19 and begin building a brighter future, said Fadi Hani, vice president for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Avaya.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported there were 57,991 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus in all 67 counties as of 12 p.m., May 12, 2020. There are at least 3,806 reported deaths from the virus.

Click the image to see a data page including an interactive maps for the state. (Please click the link in the previous sentence if you cant see the image)

Click here for a ZIP code breakdown of cases provided by the Pa. Department of Health.

Of these cases, 12,130 cases are among residents in 540 of the states nursing and personal care homes. At least 2,611 of those residents have died from the virus. A map of these cases is below. Please click here if you cannot see that map.

The state is also providing detailed hospital and respirator data here for desktop users and here for mobile users.

PennLive is monitoring the new cases over a two-week period, part of the Wolf administrations criteria for reopening the state. A map and a database for these are below. If you cannot see either embed, please click here for the map and here for the database.

Below is a map of the current reopening status of Pennsylvania counties. Please click here if you cannot see that map.

Adams County

167 positive cases and 1,906 negative results with 5 deaths. 23 cases are among residents and 4 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 4 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Allegheny County

1,526 positive cases and 20,058 negative results with 127 deaths. 363 cases are among residents and 104 cases are among employees at 36 nursing home and personal care facilities. 97 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Armstrong County

55 positive cases and 875 negative results with 5 deaths. 5 cases are among residents and 6 cases are among employees at 1 nursing home and personal care facilities. 3 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Beaver County

493 positive cases and 2,513 negative results with 78 deaths. 324 cases are among residents and 25 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 71 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Bedford County

29 positive cases and 352 negative results with 1 death.

Berks County

3,453 positive cases and 7,619 negative results with 172 deaths. 694 cases are among residents and 91 cases are among employees at 24 facilities. 114 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Blair County

30 positive cases and 1,491 negative results.

Bradford County

37 positive cases and 913 negative results with 2 deaths.

Bucks County

4,116 positive cases and 11,656 negative results with 364 deaths. 1284 cases are among residents and 280 cases are among employees at 51 facilities. 295 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Butler County

198 positive cases and 2,799 negative results with 6 deaths. 13 cases are among residents and 10 cases are among employees at 6 facilities. 2 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Cambria County

44 positive cases and 2,041 negative results with 1 death. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Cameron County

2 positive cases and 80 negative results.

Carbon County

198 positive cases and 1,420 negative results with 17 deaths. 53 cases are among residents and 5 cases are among employees at 2 nursing home and personal care facilities. 13 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Centre County

122 positive cases and 1,291 negative results with 2 deaths. 15 cases are among residents and 7 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 1 of the countys deaths was in those facilities.

Chester County

1,929 positive cases and 7,290 negative results with 189 deaths. 640 cases are among residents and 93 cases are among employees at 37 nursing home and personal care facilities. 163 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Clarion County

23 positive cases and 559 negative results with 1 death. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Clearfield County

30 positive cases and 654 negative results. 2 cases are among residents at 2 nursing home and personal care facilities. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Clinton County

41 positive cases and 360 negative results.

Columbia County

330 positive cases and 886 negative results with 28 deaths. 93 cases are among residents and 31 cases are among employees at 5 nursing home and personal care facilities. 24 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Crawford County

21 positive cases and 775 negative results.

Cumberland County

461 positive cases and 2,459 negative results with 33 deaths. 225 cases are among residents and 54 cases are among employees at 8 nursing home and personal care facilities. 32 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Dauphin County

851 positive cases and 6,254 negative results with 38 deaths. 194 cases are among residents and 42 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 26 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Delaware County

5,084 positive cases and 12,356 negative results with 405 deaths. 1419 cases are among residents and 217 cases are among employees at 41 nursing home and personal care facilities. 326 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Elk County

5 positive cases and 222 negative results with 1 death.

Erie County

124 positive cases and 2,734 negative results with 2 deaths. 3 cases are among residents and 2 cases are among employees at 4 nursing home and personal care facilities. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Fayette County

85 positive cases and 2,262 negative results with 4 deaths. 3 cases are among resident at 1 nursing home and personal care facilities. 1 of the countys deaths was in those facilities.

Forest County

7 positive cases and 39 negative results.

Franklin County

522 positive cases and 3,714 negative results with 12 deaths. 70 cases are among residents and 11 cases are among employees at 6 nursing home and personal care facilities. 4 of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Fulton County

8 positive cases and 136 negative results.

Greene County

27 positive cases and 528 negative results with 1 death.

Huntingdon County

190 positive cases and 492 negative results. 1 case is among employees at 1 nursing home and personal care facility. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Indiana County

76 positive cases and 907 negative results with 5 deaths. 13 cases are among residents and 2 cases are among employees at 4 nursing home and personal care facilities. 4 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Jefferson County

7 positive cases and 384 negative results.

Juniata County

94 positive cases and 217 negative results with 1 death.

Lackawanna County

1,211 positive cases and 3,694 negative results with 124 deaths. 525 cases are among residents and 84 cases are among employees at 15 nursing home and personal care facilities. 107 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Lancaster County

2,295 positive cases and 10,076 negative results with 168 deaths. 546 cases are among residents and 144 cases are among employees at 32 nursing home and personal care facilities. 147 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Lawrence County

71 positive cases and 922 negative results with 7 deaths. 0 cases are among residents and 2 cases are among employees at 2 nursing home and personal care facilities. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Lebanon County

825 positive cases and 3,291 negative results with 17 deaths. 67 cases are among residents and 12 cases are among employees at 4 nursing home and personal care facilities. 11 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Lehigh County

3,286 positive cases and 9,255 negative results with 123 deaths. 552 cases are among residents and 105 cases are among employees at 26 nursing home and personal care facilities. 91 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Luzerne County

2,449 positive cases and 7,024 negative results with 120 deaths. 382 cases are among residents and 58 cases are among employees at 19 nursing home and personal care facilities. 87 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Lycoming County

132 positive cases and 1,442 negative results with 5 deaths. 66 cases are among residents and 10 cases are among employees at 2 nursing home and personal care facilities. 5 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

McKean County

8 positive cases and 250 negative results with 1 death.

Mercer County

77 positive cases and 957 negative results with 2 deaths. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Mifflin County

52 positive cases and 870 negative results. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility.

Monroe County

1,229 positive cases and 3,558 negative results with 64 deaths. 133 cases are among residents and 28 cases are among employees at 8 nursing home and personal care facilities. 28 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Montgomery County

5,442 positive cases and 21,911 negative results with 534 deaths. 2014 cases are among residents and 71 cases are among employees at 82 nursing home and personal care facilities. 445 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Montour County

49 positive cases and 2,986 negative results.

Northampton County

2,499 positive cases and 8,301 negative results with 161 deaths. 586 cases are among residents and 139 cases are among employees at 16 nursing home and personal care facilities. 101 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Northumberland County

126 positive cases and 882 negative results. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility.

Perry County

35 positive cases and 394 negative results with 1 death.

Philadelphia County

15,218 positive cases and 37,598 negative results with 871 deaths. 1547 cases are among residents and 8 cases are among employees at 53 nursing home and personal care facilities. 356 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Pike County

441 positive cases and 1,531 negative results with 21 deaths. 31 cases are among residents and 4 cases are among employees at 2 nursing home and personal care facilities. 8 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Potter County

4 positive cases and 102 negative results.

Schuylkill County

117 positive cases and 663 negative results with 5 deaths. 48 cases are among employees at 9 nursing home and personal care facilities. 2 of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Snyder County

33 positive cases and 273 negative results with 1 death.

Somerset County

32 positive cases and 944 negative results with 1 death.

Sullivan County

1 positive cases and 57 negative results.

Susquehanna County

81 positive cases and 429 negative results with 13 deaths. 42 cases are among residents and 15 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 13 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Tioga County

16 positive cases and 352 negative results with 1 death.

Union County

41 positive cases and 675 negative results with 1 death. 1 case is among residents at 1 nursing home and personal care facility.

Venango County

7 positive cases and 307 negative results.

Warren County

1 positive cases and 217 negative results.

Washington County

126 positive cases and 2,747 negative results with 4 deaths. 6 cases are among residents and 2 cases are among employees at 3 nursing home and personal care facilities. 1 of the countys deaths was in those facilities.

Wayne County

117 positive cases and 663 negative results with 5 deaths. 1 case is among employees at 1 nursing home and personal care facility. None of the countys deaths were in those facilities.

Westmoreland County

419 positive cases and 6,052 negative results with 30 deaths. 134 cases are among residents and 34 cases are among employees at 9 nursing home and personal care facilities. 27 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

Wyoming County

31 positive cases and 275 negative results with 3 deaths.

York County

793 positive cases and 9,001 negative results with 14 deaths. 10 cases are among residents and 4 cases are among employees at 6 nursing home and personal care facilities. 2 of the county's deaths were in those facilities.

This data is compiled from the Pa. Department of Health. The state will not be providing recovery data at this time.

Several counties have released their own data maps. Information reported at the county level may not be consistent with the state numbers. Those counties include:

Some medical systems have begun releasing discharge data. Those medical systems include:

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
An 11-year-old class five pupil has been defiled by one Abdul Latif in the Vittin suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region.

The suspect was said to have lured the girl with a gift into his room and defiled her.

The hospital folder of the victim suggested that there was force penetration which resulted in internal damage, breaking of her hymen and vaginal discharge.

The mother of the victim, a trader, is encountering double agony of her daughter's condition and the Tamale Teaching Hospital's doctor's demand of an amount of GH800 before signing the medical form required by the police.

It is unknown whether or not the fee is authorized.

The family was however unable to pay the amount because of poverty, a situation compelling them to resort to home treatment.

The girl, who is traumatized, is hardly talking to family members and unable to walk properly.

In an exclusive interview with the mother of the victim, whose name has been withheld, DAILY GUIDE gathered that sometime last week, she realized that the victim's attitude had changed at home.

She was compelled to pose questions to the victim, answers to which did not come as the girl refused to cooperate.

According to her, the victim felt severe pains in her private part and when she took a look, she noticed several cuts and discharge.

A nurse in their neighbourhood, she said, confirmed that she had suffered forced penetration after examining her.

The mother disclosed that the victim said the suspect threatened to kill her if she reported what happened to her.

The mother said the case was reported to the police in Tamale who issued a hospital form to be completed by a medical officer about his or her observation.

The woman is demanding justice, fearing that the future of her daughter has been ruined.

She is also appealing to the general public to come to the aid of the family to pay the GH800 for the hospital to sign the medical form of her daughter.

The suspect has since not been arrested and is reportedly on the run.

The Northern Regional Police Crime Officer, Supt. Otuo Acheampong, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that the case has been reported.

He however indicated that the police would need a medical report in order to arrest the suspect and subsequently send him to court.

---Daily Guide
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, its financial impact is more measurable. Nearly 60% of consumers already feel household financial repercussions and they expect an average budget shortage of $1,016 , according to our weekly hardship survey. Those same individuals reported that they will not be able to pay their bills or loans in an average of 6.3 weeks. Steven Rick, Chief Economist for CUNA Mutual Group, estimates unemployment will peak at 25% this summer, rivaling levels from the 1930s.

Immediate Responses

While the impact is becoming clearer, the solutions are not as straightforward. Take loan deferment for example. Many credit unions are providing this tool to members on a case-by-case basis. Dozens of credit union websites have homepage graphics urging members to call if a deferral is needed. This is helpful and directly in line with the often used credit union mantra people helping people. But with delivery channels and call center hours reduced, members often face long wait times and a sub-standard experience.

It is important to keep in mind that these same consumers are canceling or adjusting things like car insurance, planned vacations, utility bills, and credit obligations with other lenders. They are also juggling new responsibilities like teaching their children, adjusting to remote work, and caring for at-risk or ill loved ones. As credit union advocates, we should remember that while we think of our members constantly, the reality is we own a small piece of our members mindshare.

Other credit unions have taken a more universal approach, giving payment deferrals to every member, whether requested or not. This is a progressive and generous offer. But credit unions should consider the downstream impacts and unintended consequences of this strategy. Credit unions should consider how the deferral will be reported and viewed by future lenders  and what that means for members. While an individual credit union can make choices on how a payment deferral is considered in the future, they cant predict how other entities will make those same decisions.

Understanding Portfolio Health

Another recurring question has been, how can I better understand the impact this is having on my members and their financial needs? To do this, some credit unions have stepped up the frequency of their portfolio reviews. This allow lenders to see changes in member credit scores more rapidly, but likely leaves out some important financial indicators, which can be uncovered with trended credit data insights.

An increasing number of credit unions are finding ways to use trended data insights to dig deeper into their member base. With insights into members who continue to pay more than minimum due versus those that are building credit balances, credit unions have a new lens to liquidity. Credit unions can also identify members who may be in deferral status elsewhere and proactively help those with changing needs. These are just two examples of how credit unions can better assess member financial health and truly be people helping people.

The Opportunity Ahead

During the Great Recession, credit unions stood out by continuing to lend when other competitors scaled back. This allowed membership and loan portfolios to grow significantly in the subsequent decade. Many credit unions view COVID-19 as another opportunity to show Americans exactly what is meant by the phrase financial first responders.

This new challenge will require new solutions. Many credit unions acknowledge the gap in their existing digital offerings. COVID-19 has accelerated this need, with many credit unions shuttering branches and leaning on digital channels exclusively to deliver financial tools and services. Luckily for credit unions, partners are rapidly adjusting their capabilities to enable credit unions to deliver or optimize digital services like account opening or loan origination capabilities. By aligning themselves with these organizations, credit unions can provide needed financial services as we shift from global health emergency to the recession recovery.

Beyond digital channel evolution, economic opportunities will emerge for credit unions. As financial health moves into the forefront of American conversation, credit unions have the chance to embrace their roots and amplify their impact on the members they serve. Now more than ever, credit unions must understand what data and insights they need to proficiently offer products and assistance to those in need within their communities. COVID-19 presents credit unions with a chance to reimagine their role in community development, small business empowerment and consumer financial health.
The Cook-In RTE TV programme this evening shows award-winning chef Mark Moriarty with frontline workers in Kildare.

Mark video-calls his boss, two Michelin-starred head chef of The Greenhouse, Dublin, Mick Viljanen, to discuss their efforts to feed frontline staff during the pandemic.

The pair, alongside Paddy Lee and supplier Redmond Fine Foods, are busy working on this not-for-profit initiative preparing meals for frontline staff fighting COVID-19 in the ICU of Naas General and Connolly hospitals, as well as four local nursing homes and community support meals via Gardai in Kilcullen.

The service feeds 250 people every day on a budget, with the team cooking everything themselves from the kitchen of Fallons of Kilcullen, serving up a main meal and dessert for everyone.

To finish off, a self-confessed fan of a chipper, Marks final recipe is a delicious ode to his favourite takeaway.

His family feast of Breaded Chicken with Cheese and Garlic Wedges will have every plate clean as it is sure to be a hit at dinner time.

This dish includes a bonus recipe for homemade garlic mayonnaise  using ingredients you already have at home  which pairs perfectly with the crunchy chicken goujons and moreish spicy wedges.

Cook-in with Mark Moriarty is screened on RTE ONE, WEDNESDAY 13TH MAY AT 8.30PM.
If Mr. Garcia emerges the winner, expect Republicans to seize on the victory as evidence that they can win in suburban swing districts and as a way to energize their base.

But the districts changes have been clear for years, as the electorate has become younger and more diverse. Now, nearly half of all voters in the district are black, Latino or Asian. In 2016, the district backed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, over Mr. Trump by seven points  and a Republican win would most likely prompt hand wringing among Democrats, who are counting on suburban voters to take back the White House.

In California, Republicans have consistently lost ground to Democrats in the past several years  the G.O.P. holds just seven of the states 53 congressional seats.

During a pandemic, who shows up to vote in person?

Most of the 25th Congressional District sits in the northern reaches of Los Angeles County, where there were just seven in-person voting centers set up on Tuesday. Several of the polling sites were in large parking lots, with a handful of voting booths set up under blue tents. At the College of the Canyons, in Valencia, Calif., a drive-up coronavirus test site was set up in the adjacent parking lot, just a few hundred yards away. To ease any potential confusion, a sign greeted voters in large black letters: Vote Center  This is NOT a Covid-19 testing site.

A vast majority of poll workers were county employees, rather than the usual volunteers that election officials rely on. Workers donning masks and gloves wiped down the voting machines after each use. A slow but steady trickle of voters showed up with paper masks, bandannas and hand-sewn face coverings, though a few said they resented doing so.

Many voters were there simply to drop off the ballots they had received in the mail, saying they had forgotten to send it back ahead of time. But several said they did not trust the Postal Service and were skeptical that their ballot would be counted without seeing it in the hands of election officials themselves.

The system is rigged, said Robert Buchanan, a 41-year-old Santa Clarita resident who lost his job in film production in March. A staunch Republican, Mr. Buchanan echoed the kind of doubt voiced by the president. This is the only way I can try to make sure that my vote matters, and even then, will it really?
New Delhi: Under the government`s `Mission SAGAR` initiative, Indian Naval Ship Kesari on Tuesday (May 12) reached Male port in the Maldives, carrying 580 tonnes of essential food items. This move is part of a goodwill gesture from the people of India to the people of Maldives during the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.

Sharing it on its official twitter handle, India in the Maldives said, "Mission SAGAR ...touching the first shores! #INSKesari entering into Male port, the first destination of #MissionSAGAR. She carries 580 tonnes of essential food items as a gift from the people of #India to the people of #Maldives."

Mission SAGAR ...touching the first shores ! #INSKesari entering into Male port, the first destination of #MissionSAGAR. She carries 580 tonnes of essential food items as a gift from the people of #India to the people of #Maldives.@PMOIndia @MEAIndia @MoFAmv pic.twitter.com/zcbEw0XuTS  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) May 12, 2020

`Mission Sagar` is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s vision of SAGAR -- Security and Growth for All in the Region.

Earlier on Sunday, India dispatched INS Kesari, carrying on board two medical assistance teams, medicines, and essential food items, to countries in the southern Indian Ocean as part of `Mission Sagar`.

The countries including Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles had requested India for assistance in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical assistance teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with COVID-19 emergency and dengue fever (in case of Comoros), the Ministry of External Affairs said.

After the Maldives, the ship will also deliver consignments of COVID-19 related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.

In the case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is reportedly being sent, the ministry further stated, adding that the consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives, and Seychelles.

India has already supported the efforts of the governments of Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Seychelles by providing them consignments of COVID-19 related essential medicines. A team of select medical personnel was also dispatched to the Maldives to augment the preparedness of the Maldivian government to fight this crisis, the MEA said.

Meanwhile, Indian Navy ship Jalashwa will be evacuating approx 700 Indian nationals from Male to Kochi on May 15, during her second repatriation sortie under the Indian government`s Operation Samudra Setu. The Navy ship already repatriated 698 citizens to India on 10 May during her first sortie.

(With Agency Inputs)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 00:21:53|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has imported 25,000 tonnes of sugar to offset an acute shortage of the commodity being experienced throughout the country, a cabinet minister told parliament on Tuesday.

"About 4,000 tonnes of the imported sugar have already arrived in the Dar es Salaam," Japhet Hasunga, the Minister for Agriculture, told the House in the capital Dodoma.

He said another 21,000 tonnes of imported sugar will arrive in the country at the end of this month.

Tabling his ministry's budget proposals for the 2020-2021 financial year, Hasunga said the delay in delivery of the imports had been caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 that forced vessels to cancel their shipment plans.

On April 24, the government announced indicative prices of the commodity after prices had gone up for the past one month.

The rise in sugar prices was allegedly attributed to traders who had hoarded the commodity in warehouses to create an artificial shortage.

On April 23, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa ordered district and regional commissioners to make sure that they conducted routine checks in markets and ensure that no one hiked prices of the commodity.

Hasunga said Tanzania's sugar demand stood at 470,000 tonnes a year, while the country's five sugar processing factories had the capacity of producing 378,000 tonnes in 2019.

He said the capacity could not be reached due to a number of factors, including breakdowns at some processing lines as well as heavy and prolonged rains which diluted sugarcane sucrose levels. Enditem
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seer, Inc., a life sciences company focused on commercializing a proprietary solution that uniquely enables efficient, unbiased, and deep surveying of the proteome, announced today that Omead Ostadan will join as the companys President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective June 29, 2020. In addition to his role as a company executive, Mr. Ostadan will also be joining the companys Board of Directors. In his new role, Mr. Ostadan will oversee Seers commercial, product development and operations functions as the company prepares for the commercial launch of its Proteograph suite of products. Mr. Ostadan currently serves as Chief Product and Marketing Officer and a member of the executive management team at Illumina.



I am excited to welcome Omead to Seers Leadership team, as we transition from a research and development organization toward a commercial organization with our first-in-class proteomics products for research and clinical applications, said Omid Farokhzad, Chief Executive Officer of Seer. Omead has a demonstrated track record of success that spans over two decades across some of the most successful life sciences tools companies, including the last 13 years at Illumina. His insights and deep experience in developing and commercializing transformative products will be of immense value to Seer as we look to accelerate the on-going revolution sparked by genomics data through our broad and accessible introduction of proteomics data.

Mr. Ostadan, who is presently responsible for Global Marketing at Illumina, joined the company in 2007 as Vice President of Marketing and helped build Illuminas leading position in the genomics space while serving a wide range of executive roles during his tenure. Among those are leading the companys Product Development group from 2011-2015. In 2015 his role expanded to include the companys Global Operations and Quality functions and shortly after to include the companys Corporate and Strategic Planning function.

Prior to joining Illumina, Mr. Ostadan was Vice President of Marketing at Solexa Inc., where he played a central role in the development of the companys product and commercial strategy. Prior to joining Solexa Inc. in 2005, Mr. Ostadan held a variety of marketing roles at Applied Biosystems over a 7-year span, including responsibility for managing the companys high throughput sequencing platforms. Mr. Ostadan earned his BS in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

I have known Seer since its inception, and I am excited to be joining Seer as an executive and a member of its Board of Directors during this pivotal time for the company. Seer has made huge progress toward realizing its transformative vision of providing unbiased proteomics solutions at unprecedented scale and speed; and will have an impact analogous to that of Next-Generation Sequencing today, Mr. Ostadan stated. Seers products address constraints in proteomic data collection to provide an unbiased global view of the proteome which to date has not been feasible economically or at scale. This breakthrough capability has the potential to do for proteomics what Next-Generation Sequencing has done for genomics  enable long-desired but infeasible large-scale experiments that demystify the proteome.

About Seer

Seer, founded by Omid Farokhzad, M.D., Philip Ma, Ph.D. and Robert Langer, Sc.D., with initial investment from Maverick Ventures, is a life sciences company focused on capturing deep molecular insights from the proteome to enable novel insights and breakthroughs in the understanding of biology and disease. The companys novel Proteograph platform allows for the first-ever generation of proteomic information with high accuracy at a scale and speed not previously possible, complementing genomic and other health information, with a goal of enabling breakthroughs in the most challenging research and clinical problems, such as early disease detection.

For Investor and Media Inquiries:

Lynn Pieper Lewis, Gilmartin Group

Lynn@gilmartinir.com

415-937-5402




For the past month, a rice ATM has been automatically dispensing free rice 24/7 to people badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poor people in Da Lat City receive rice from an automatically dispensing rice machine.

This creative effort to make sure no one is left behind has drawn praise and offers of support from nationwide.

The risk of cross-infection of COVID-19 has made it harder than usual for charitable donors to distribute relief aid. The automatic rice dispenser delivers desperately needed food to the hungry at a greatly reduced risk of community transmission.

Since April, thousands of needy people in Lam Dong province have received free rice from a rice ATM set up by the provincial Fatherland Front in collaboration with Linh Quang pagoda and the Hoa Sen Group, one of Vietnams leading steel manufacturers.

Each day, the ATM provides approximately 500kg of rice, which Venerable Thich Dinh Toan, head of Linh Quang pagoda, says was donated by many people.

Even small donations can be a big help for disadvantaged people during this tough time. The free rice gives poor people greater trust in social assistance and upholds the Prime Ministers directive to leave no one behind during this pandemic, said Venerable Thich Dinh Toan.

Tran Thi Tam, a lottery ticket vendor, has benefited from the rice ATM.

My business has been suspended for a month. I have no money to buy food. Im very grateful for the States help during this difficult period. As the saying goes A bite of food when youre hungry is worth a plate of food when youre full, she said.

A rice ATM built by Lao Cai College has been distributing free rice to hundreds of poor families, who are mainly Tay, Mong, and Dao ethnic minorities in Lien Minh commune, Lao Cai province.

Each poor family receives 10 kilos of rice per day. Near-poor families get 5 kilos.

The Rice ATM in Nga Bay city, Hau Giang province

In response to social distancing, most households in the Mekong Delta have restricted their travel. Their biggest concern is finding a way to survive until the end of the epidemic.

80-year-old Ma Thi Sau of Luong Tam commune, Hau Giang province, said, Worrying about having enough food for my family has kept me awake at night. My grandchildren asked me to go get rice from the rice ATM and cook it for them. They were hungry. We are so relieved to get this rice.

Now several free rice ATMs at other localities are running at full capacity to help people survive the pandemic. VOV

Vietnam rice ATMs spotlighted on international news Rice ATMs which have been set up around Vietnam to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic have been featured by international news broadcasters over the last few days.
AKSHAYA MISHRA By

Express News Service

JEYPORE: A lone woman among men inmates in a quarantine centre is a difficult proposition. But, not when the sarpanch of the village takes guard. Sarpanch of Boipariguda village Bhagirath Murjia did it, when a girl was put up at the quarantine centre set up in the local college. He donned the role of a watchman to keep the lone woman in the centre safe.

Murjia guarded the temporary Covid care centre at night for the last five days. The girl had returned from Hyderabad to Boipariguda on Wednesday last and was asked to stay in the facility as per the Covid-19 guidelines.

However, her parents were unwilling to leave her at the facility because of its location and as two more men were lodged there.The sarpanch assured them of taking personal responsibility of the girl and guarded the centre at night till Sunday. It is my duty to keep everyone in the quarantine centre safe including the girl. I did my bit by guarding the centre at night, he said.On Monday, the panchayat office appointed two watchmen to guard the facility.

Lawyers bid to create awareness

A lawyer of Kundra village in Koraput district has prepared a short film on coronavirus in Desia dialect to create awareness among tribals on measures to stay safe from the disease. The film Ghare Ruha, Susta Ruha (Stay Home, Stay Safe), directed by lawyer Kishor Mishra, has attracted praise from different quarters. Mishra took the help of his wife Sabita and son Kaushik to film the six-minute long documentary. The three star in the film that focuses on the life of a tribal man struggling to make ends meet as his sources of income dry up during the lockdown. Besides, messages on social distancing, washing hands, health check-up and mandatory quarantine for migrants, have been woven into the script in a manner that the information is easily understood by tribals.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

An autopsy sheds light on the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a jogger with ties to the CSRA who was shot dead Feb. 23 outside Brunswick.

The autopsy reveals Arbery suffered two gunshot wounds in his chest.

He also had a gunshot graze wound on the inside of one of his wrists. The report shows Arbery did not have drugs or alcohol in his system.

OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE:







The fatal wounds to Arbery  who has family members and friends in the CSRA and is buried outside Waynesboro  were inflicted during an altercation after he was followed by father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael in their pickup. They have told police they thought he was a burglar. They claim Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense.

Many have expressed frustration with the investigation, questioning whether the arrests took so long because the suspects are white and the victim black. The killing happened in a subdivision bordered by marsh just outside Brunswick, a working-class port city of about 16,000 that also serves as a gateway to beach resorts on neighboring islands.

The McMichaels weren't arrested until last week after video of the shooting appeared online and provoked outrage.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.

Its unknown whether the McMichaels have attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, getting an indictment needed to try the men on murder charges will take a while. The soonest a grand jury can convene to hear the case will be mid-June.

A new prosecutor

Meanwhile, the case is now on its fourth prosecutor. Joyette Holmes -- a district attorney in metro Atlanta, was just appointed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

Holmes, the Cobb County district attorney, takes over the case from prosecutor Tom Durden, who the state's attorney general said asked to be replaced by a prosecutor with a large staff as "this case has grown in size and magnitude."

Federal prosecutors are also considering hate crimes charges, the Justice Department said; that would allow for a separate case in federal court.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement: "We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate."

She said the department is also considering Carr's request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to "forward to federal authorities any information that he has."

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighborhood before he was killed.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. A truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one white man standing in the pickup's bed and another beside the open driver's side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving briefly outside the camera's view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

Death threats

A man who says he recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he's received death threats.

William R. Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery's shooting. He has not been charged.

I had nothing to do with it, Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview. I was told I was a witness and Im not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  More than one-third of the people in the United States who have epilepsy are at risk for a deadly complication called sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. That means 1.2 million people are at risk for the complication each year  and it will kill about 4,000 of them. They typically have refractory epilepsy, which means medicines do not bring their seizures under control.

SUDEP is defined as the sudden and unexpected, non-traumatic and non-drowning death of a person with epilepsy.

Now, a Purdue Universityaffiliated startup is working on a device to help stop this deadly condition.

Neurava was co-founded by Jay Shah and Vivek Ganesh, graduate students in the lab of Pedro Irazoqui, the Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue. Shah and Ganesh, Ph.D. students in Purdues College of Engineering, are developing a wearable device for patients with refractory epilepsy, the type that puts them most at risk for SUDEP.

We want to provide a simple device that is easy to use and can save lives, Ganesh said. Our device monitors key biomarkers and then sends a wireless signal to a caregiver when it detects abnormalities typically linked to SUDEP.

The founders of Neurava received a $20,000 award from Elevate Ventures, which will help with prototype development and market research. Elevate is a private venture development organization that supports the development and success of entrepreneurs across Indiana.

The co-founders of Neurava received entrepreneurial support from the Purdue Foundry and are working with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to license the technology.

Purdue continues to provide an amazing community of support for entrepreneurs and innovators who want to take their ideas and turn them into life-saving technologies, Shah said.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park, Purdue Technology Centers and University Development Office. In 2020, the IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The foundation received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

Writer: Chris Adam, 765-588-3341, cladam@prf.org



Source: Jay Shah, shah337@purdue.edu
ATLANTA, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BIAS Corporation, a leading IT Services company and award-winning member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced it has added Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS), Oracle Cloud Applications (SaaS), Oracle Construction & Engineering Cloud Services, and Engineered Systems and Hardware (including Servers and Storage software) to its GSA IT Schedule contract. This addition to BIAS's GSA schedule provides federal agencies, as well as other qualified agencies and participating organizations, streamlined access to Oracle products and services to meet their mission critical requirements.

"We're excited to further extend our 10-year GSA contract to include Oracle Engineered Systems, Hardware and Cloud," said Jeff Harvey, President & Co-founder of BIAS Corporation. "This allows us to increase access for various Federal clients to our portfolio of offerings with complete Oracle solutions on one streamlined vehicle  the GSA."

BIAS has been a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) for nearly a decade. As a 7-time Oracle Excellence Partner of the Year award winner, BIAS was recently recognized as Oracle's Global Cloud Infrastructure Partner of the Year, for their success in migrating large Oracle workloads to the cloud. BIAS partners with Federal agencies to implement Oracle products and technology solutions to deliver on mission critical objectives, enabling them to become more responsive and efficient as they modernize operations and enhance user services.

"We value BIAS and their ability to provide innovative solutions on Oracle technology," said Randy Zewe, Vice President, NA Cloud and Technology Alliances & Channel, Public Sector at Oracle. "We're pleased to work with them as part of our GSA program. BIAS is a trusted advisor to Oracle and federal customers, and through the BIAS GSA contract, they'll be able to offer federal agencies and other participating organizations access to the same award winning and leading-edge solutions that they've been delivering in the private sector."

About BIAS

Founded in 2000, BIAS is a leading Oracle Partner and IT services company with dedicated solution experts around the world. BIAS delivers customer-driven business and IT solutions to optimize and accelerate business value for some of the world's leading companies and public sector organizations. We are a recognized leader in strategic planning for Cloud architecture, database management, managed services, cloud and applications implementation. Our comprehensive approach  from design and implementation to support  allows us to deliver the right solution at the right time. BIAS's unmatched Oracle expertise, focused industry insight and strategic leadership set it apart from traditional IT resellers. We bridge the divide between technology and business to optimize value for our customers.

BIAS serves their federal customers from office locations in Atlanta, Washington DC, Denver, and Honolulu, and has offshore capabilities in India. For more information, please visit www.biascorp.com.

About Oracle PartnerNetwork

Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) is Oracle's partner program designed to enable partners to accelerate the transition to cloud and drive superior customer business outcomes. The OPN program allows partners to engage with Oracle through track(s) aligned to how they go to market: Cloud Build for partners that provide products or services built on or integrated with Oracle Cloud; Cloud Sell for partners that resell Oracle Cloud technology; Cloud Service for partners that implement, deploy and manage Oracle Cloud Services; and License & Hardware for partners that build, service or sell Oracle software licenses or hardware products.. Customers can expedite their business objectives with OPN partners who have achieved Expertise in a product family or cloud service. To learn more visit: http://www.oracle.com/partnernetwork

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Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Media Contact:

Ashley Sherwood

770-685-6212

[email protected]

SOURCE BIAS Corporation

Related Links

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EC3 Brokers announced the launch of its specialty division, with the appointment of Jonathon Lane as head of the division. Lane is joined by Dominic Toogood and Gary Moore. All three joined on May 1 and initially will report to James Murphy, head of broking at EC3 Brokers.

Lane began his career in insurance in 2003 at XL Catlin. In 2010 he founded his own insurance consultancy business specializing in areas such as underwriting strategy and M&A, advising new syndicate start-ups. He joined RFIB in 2018 to review its overall broking strategy and was subsequently promoted to head of financial lines, professional indemnity and cyber, sitting on the RFIB speciality board. (He left RFIB in January 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile).

Toogood has extensive experience in handling and marketing all types of aviation risk, such as major airlines, airports, products manufacturers and general aviation. He joined the London aviation insurance market in 1989 and has since worked for various brokers including Willis Towers Watson, Aon and United Insurance Brokers. Most recently, he was a senior broker at Prospect Insurance Brokers.

Moore has over 40 years experience as a broker, specializing in the marine and energy field. Over the last 20 years he has focused specifically on marine, creating various marine operations in the United States while working at Marsh, Willis, Aon and Integro. Most recently, he was also at Prospect Insurance Brokers.

Jonathon, Dominic and Gary bring an array of experience and expertise to the casualty and cyber specialty division. Their combined knowledge of cyber, aviation and marine insurance is unparalleled and invaluable. This is a fantastic opportunity for EC3 Brokers to expand and excel in this department and we look forward to growing organically, said Murphy.

About EC3 Brokers

Formed in 2013 by its CEO Danny Driscoll, EC3 Brokers is an independent, privately held commercial lines Lloyds broker, headquartered in London with subsidiaries in Dallas, Tex. and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Source: EC3 Brokers

Topics Cyber Agencies Excess Surplus New Markets Aviation Casualty
ANN ARBOR, MI  The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library is asking members of the UM community to submit anything they can to help document the coronavirus pandemic.

The library recently launched the effort to collect varied experiences from UM students, staff and faculty through a number of mediums including video calls, screenshots, journal entries and course assignments, among others, according to a news release.

Our goal is to document the personal experiences of the university community during the coronavirus outbreak, said project archivist Caitlin Moriarty, who is leading the initiative on behalf of the Bentleys University Archives. When future students, scholars and researchers want to understand what it was like on campus during the pandemic, the materials preserved by the Bentley will provide a multidimensional first-person account.

Submissions from faculty can include redesigned course materials for remote delivery and communications with students and colleagues. Staff can submit work completed on campus as an essential employee or documentation of experiences in student services like dining halls, dormitories or other services that were closed.

Students can submit completed course assignments related to the pandemic, photos or videos of moving off-campus or staying in Ann Arbor, remote learning experiences and their reactions to campus events being canceled or delayed.

Students, staff and faculty can submit items to the project by filling out a form using their Umich account, the release states. Donors can submit up to 10 files at a time and can fill out the form as often as needed. For alternative submission methods, contact bentleycv19@umich.edu.

The library is accepting photos, videos, audio and text files. Those who want to submit physical materials will be asked to submit a digital photo first and indicate their wish to give it to the library in the description of the submission form.

Donors will be asked to sign an agreement that will allow the library to preserve their submission. The project will continue throughout the pandemic, according to the release.

Similar projects are being carried out by schools like Michigan State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and University of Virginia.

More information on the project can be found here.

READ MORE:

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Michigans universities and colleges bleeding revenue amid coronavirus closures
Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya defended Elon Musk's reopening of Tesla facilities in defiance of local government orders, telling CNBC on Tuesday that local, state and government officials need to be more clear when setting regulations amid the pandemic.

"The federal government has this specific set of guidelines. People may think they fall into those guidelines. Then states then issue guidelines and then on top of that you have regulations at local levels. When you put them all together it's incredibly confusing," Palihapitiya said Tuesday on "Squawk Box."

"So if you're a business owner and you're trying to figure out how to get back to work, because you believe the risks are manageable, there's no clear way that you can go and actually get the approvals to do so," he added.

Musk has been pushing to swiftly resume production at the company's Fremont, California, plant. On Monday, local TV broadcasters showed employees' cars streaming into the company's parking lots. California governor Gavin Newsom said Monday he did not know Tesla had restarted production before getting the go ahead from Alameda County officials. Musk tweeted a confirmation that Tesla had resumed production Monday afternoon, and dared the local sheriff's office to arrest him.

Though a rush to return has been met with heavy resistance from local authorities, Musk threatened Saturday to pull Tesla out of California amid a dispute with Alameda County over the shutdown. Tesla also filed a lawsuit against the county, asking a federal court to invalidate orders by local authorities that have prevented the automaker from resuming production.

Scott Haggerty, supervisor for the Fremont district of Alameda County, told the New York Times on Saturday that the county and Tesla executives were working on a plan to restart the plant May 18, when several automakers in Michigan plan to reopen. But Musk went ahead and opened Tesla factories up on Monday. Tesla said in a blog post Saturday night that it had developed new health and safety measures to protect its workers.

Palihapitiya said that county officials should be working with Musk in order to resume production in a coherent way.

On Monday afternoon, the Alameda County Sheriff and Alameda County Public Health Care Services Agency said in a statement: "We are actively communicating our feedback and understand Tesla will submit a site-specific plan later today as required under the State of California guidance and checklist for manufacturing issued on May 7. We look forward to reviewing Tesla's plan and coming to agreement on protocol and a timeline to reopen safely."

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
Boris Johnsons most senior aide is facing fresh allegations he flouted lockdown rules by taking a sightseeing trip on Easter Sunday.

The prime minister is facing mounting calls to sack Dominic Cummings amid claims he made several trips to see his family in County Durham, while the country was being told to stay at home.

Ministers vociferously defended Mr Cummings after it emerged he had made the 260-mile journey, insisting he had obeyed the rules by staying in one place while there.

However, an eyewitness told The Observer and the Sunday Mirror he had seen Mr Cummings on 12 April, 30 miles from Durham in Barnard Castle.

Another eyewitness said they saw the prime ministers most trusted aide in Durham on 19 April, days after he had been photographed returning to Downing Street.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border PA UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty

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".
A 32-year old migrant labourer



died and 20 others were injured after the "overloaded" vehicle they were travelling in turned turtle when one of its tyres burst in Kamareddy district of Telangana on Tuesday while they were proceeding to their native Jharkhand state, police said.

According to a police official, a group of 21 migrant workers, hired the light commercial vehicle (LCV) and had left from Hyderabad to Jharkhand's Garhwa district.

But the vehicle which was already "overloaded" turned upside down near Daggi village of Kamareddy district at around 2.30 pm after a tyre of the vehicle burst resulting in the death of one of them on the spot while 20 others, who sustained injuries including three seriously in the incident were shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad, the official said.

In view of the ongoing lockdown, the group of construction labourers, was stranded in Hyderabad and left for Jharkhand "without informing theircontractor and also without taking any permission from the authorities," police added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(CNN) - Canadas National Research Council said Tuesday it would collaborate with China's CanSino Biologics Inc, one of the few companies globally with a vaccine already in clinical trials.

The partnership could eventually see CanSinos vaccine receive approval for human trials in Canada.

"This vaccine candidate holds great promise. Until such time as there is an effective vaccine for COVID-19, the virus will continue to disrupt all aspects of our society and economy," Iain Stewart, President of the National Research Council (NRC) said in statement.

According to the NRC statement, CanSinos vaccine candidate received Chinese regulatory approval earlier this year. That allows CanSino Biologics to move ahead with human clinical trials in China.

It is one of only a handful of vaccine candidates in the world so far approved for initial safety testing in humans.

The NRC said it would scale up production for CanSino's vaccine candidate at a government facility in Montreal, and that CanSino was preparing a clinical trial application to Canadas drug regulator, Health Canada.

The NRC previously collaborated with CanSino in its work on an Ebola vaccine.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Canada works with Chinese company to help develop coronavirus vaccine"
Photo: The Canadian Press Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons Tuesday, February 4, 2020 in Ottawa. McKenna says the government is setting up a new COVID-19 stream out of Ottawa's existing infrastructure programs.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says the government is setting up a new COVID-19 funding stream out of Ottawa's existing infrastructure programs.

It will set aside up to 10 per cent of the $33.5 billion Investing in Canada program  delivered through agreements with provinces and territories  and allow for greater flexibility, faster approvals, and a bigger federal share of the cost.

Ottawa will now pick up 80 per cent of the cost of projects, which will include things like retrofitting and upgrading municipal or provincial buildings, including to allow for things like physical distancing or better hygiene practices to prevent the spread of the virus.

Health facilities, schools, and recreational projects such as parks, trails, bike lanes, or multi-use paths are also on the eligibility list, and projects must be completed before the end of the 2021 construction season.

McKenna says she has spent much of the last two months working with provinces and territories to assess the best ways to use existing programs to respond to some COVID-19 needs.

She says this is not a new stimulus program but an attempt to be smarter and more efficient with existing programs.
A constitution alteration bill seeking to legalise virtual court proceedings has been introduced to the Senate.

The bill was one of the few bills read for the first time at the start of plenary on Tuesday.

The Senate Tuesday passed for first reading, a for the legalisation of virtual court proceedings.

The bill titled 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, sponsored by Michael Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), is aimed at ensuring the much needed corresponding amendment of relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, in giving legal support to virtual court proceedings.

The bill is to amend Section 36(3) of the constitution by adding the following:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall invalidate proceedings of a court or the proceedings of a tribunal relating to matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section (including the announcement of the decisions of the court or tribunal) where same is held by remote hearing or any virtual means now in existence or yet to be developed.

Section 36 subsection(4) is also amended by the addition of sub-paragraph (c) as follows: (c) nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall invalidate proceedings of a court or the proceedings of a tribunal relating to matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section (including the announcement of the decisions of the court or tribunal) where same is held by remote hearing or any virtual means now in existence or yet to be developed.

And Section 36 subsection(12) is amended by addition of the following subsection (13): In this section, remote hearing means proceedings or hearing of court conducted via Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp video or any other social media platform or technological innovation.

The drafter of the bill explains further that section 36(3) is sufficiently controversial enough now in terms of the requirement of public hearing and determination of disputes.

This, he said, endangers the results of proceedings eventually held virtually and except the amendment is done urgently, the whole judicial functions of the nation will remain paralysed.

Mr Bamidele said the bill requires expeditious consideration and passage.

The National Judicial Council in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the inability of Courts to hold courtroom proceedings had taken steps to ensure continued administration of justice through virtual proceedings in accordance with global best practices, with some State Chief Judges coming out to openly adopt and implement the NJC guidelines.

However, Nigerian Lawyers have been divided over this issue as there has been an ongoing debate among legal practitioners as to whether or not virtual hearing is real hearing as provided for in the Constitution while some are insisting that the word public in the Constitution shall continue to mean physical courtroom or other designated place unless and until the relevant provisions in section 36 of the Constitution are amended, he said.

The lawmaker said once copies of the Bill were distributed among senators, they would be able to make their further inputs if any, while the Bill would be subjected to public scrutiny through public hearing for stakeholders both from the bar and the bench to actively participate in fine-tuning it as a very important piece of legislation.

Details of the bill will be deliberated on another legislative day.
Spain will force everyone entering the country to quarantine for a fortnight from Friday to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Travellers will have to self-isolate at a specific address for 14 days - thought to be the maximum incubation period of the virus - under the new rules.

The measure will stay in place until the end of Spain's state of alarm, which currently runs until May 24 but will likely be extended to at least the end of June.

Anyone arriving in Spain from overseas will be forced to self-isolate at a specific address for 14 days starting on Friday, the Health Ministry has announced

Quarantine had already been imposed on Spaniards repatriated from affected countries, but will now apply to all international travellers.

The only people who will be exempt from the new quarantine rule will be air and ship workers who are involved in international supply chains and need to continue their journeys quickly.

The new measures come into force on top of existing restrictions that have effectively banned tourists from entering the country.

Under the rules only Spanish citizens, those who can prove permanent residency in Spain, cross-border workers, and health workers or care workers are allowed in.

Foreigners are currently only allowed to enter the country if they are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices or international organisations based in Spain.

The move will be another blow to Spain's under-fire tourism industry and the chances of Brits enjoying a Costa holiday this year.

Quarantine previously only applied to Spaniards repatriated from other countries (pictured), but will now apply to all arrivals - and comes on top of rules banning tourists

It comes after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced similar measures for people reaching Britain which is expected to be in place by the start of June.

Only certain workers including lorry drivers and health professional will be exempted from the Spanish quarantine measures.

The quarantine rule, published in an official state bulletin on Tuesday, said it was being adopted so 'measures of control' could be reinforced following the improvement of the coronavirus situation in Spain.

It comes after health chiefs announced on Monday that 123 people had died from coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, the lowest rise in the number of single-day deaths since March 18.
Last year, Chevrolet unveiled its new Tech Eyes vehicle diagnostics support system designed to help technicians at dealerships solve complex vehicle repair problems more quickly and effectively. Giving birth to the system in Thailand, the Golden Bowtie brand is now bringing Tech Eyes to the Philippines as part of the brands Complete Care commitment to offer customers nationwide with a superior ownership experience.

Chevrolet press release

The way Tech Eyes works is that it provides service technicians from all of Chevrolets dealerships nationwide with direct access to engineers at The Covenant Car Company, Inc.s (TCCCI) Technical Assistance Center (TAC), who may than provide their expert analysis, guidance and advice during maintenance and repair procedures in real time.

Tech Eyes allows Chevrolet technicians to teleconference with TCCCIs pool of engineers and aftersales experts, and even with offshore GM engineers when needed. Using a wireless headphone/microphone, HD webcam, high-speed internet and communicating via teleconferencing app, dealership technicians are able to receive the support they need, thus reducing diagnosis times by as much as one-third. This means quicker repairs and less waiting for customers.

Chevrolet press release

Aside from modernizing the quality of service at Chevrolet dealerships, Tech Eyes also helps maintain physical distancing measures at Chevrolet facilities, reducing the potential for COVID-19 infection and ultimately enhancing the safety of Chevrolet customers, dealer employees, and TCCCI personnel.

TCCCI plans to introduce the system in the Philippines later this May, when the government is expected to ease its quarantine measures and Chevrolet dealerships are then able to reopen. Chevrolet closed its dealerships in Luzon beginning March 17, in compliance with the governments enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) order.

Chevrolet Thailand was the first to have the Tech Eyes program, launching the system in July of 2019. It is currently one of the few automotive brands in Thailand to offer such a service, with the system becoming a key selling point for attracting new customers and retaining old ones. Chevrolets mother company, General Motors (GM), then systematically applied this practice to other export markets.

Story continues

Chevrolet press release

The introduction of Tech Eyes to the Southeast Asian automotive market reinforces Chevrolets commitment in the region, despite pulling out its manufacturing facilities in Australasia earlier this year.

Photos from Chevrolet Philippines

Also read:
Cyber specialists of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have stopped the activity of a group of Internet agitators who, on the instructions of Russian curators, spread public calls on the Internet to change state borders and overthrow the government in Ukraine, the SBU's press service has reported.

"The pretrial investigation has established that two residents of Khmelnytskyi and Ivano-Frankivsk administered separatist communities on social media. The culprits acted under the 'cover' of a Ukrainian SMM entity," the report said.

According to the report, they spread mostly destructive content on the Internet: fake news about lockdown restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, discrediting public authorities. Most importantly, the agitators inspired protests and promoted the idea of Ukraine's federalization. The results of the linguistic examination of these materials confirmed that they contain public appeals to change the borders of the territory and state border of Ukraine, the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, the SBU added.

Law enforcement officers searched and seized computer equipment and mobile devices containing evidence of damage to the state's information security. Investigative acts were carried out as part of criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

op
When you sign up to go on a reality show, you are pretty much giving up your rights to control the way that the world sees you. Depending on what you do on the reality show and the edit that you are given, you might come out looking like a hero or a villain. Big Ed Brown had to find out the hard way that not everyone on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days is viewed positively.

90 Day Fiance | Instagram @thisisbiged

Brown has gotten a lot of backlash for the way that he treated his Philipino lover Rose Vega throughout the course of their relationship. But instead of getting on his own social media accounts to refute all of the claims made against him, Brown may have created a fake account to do his dirty work.

The backlash against Big Ed

When Brown got to the Philipines to visit Vega, he made a number of missteps. Not only had he lied to Vega about his appearance, but he told her to take an STD test, asked her to shave her legs, and told her that her breath stunk. He eventually addressed the whole leg-shaving debacle.

I woke up last Sunday morning and it wasnt a good morning because all of the haters came out, he told Us Weekly. I had asked Rose if she would shave her legs, and people were really upset about that. And I was having a conversation with my daughter Tiffany, and shes like, Dad, look, thats completely normal. I live in San Diego. Everybody goes to the beach, people laser their legs.  So it wasnt something that I was really used to.

Big Eds response to bullying

Brown did make a video on his own Instagram account responding to his bullies.

Whats up you guys, Big Ed here, obviously, listen Im working my a*s off doing these d*mn Cameos, he said in the video.

Im just trying to share a message. The message is love yourself and laugh at yourself. If you cant do that, youre fu*ked. Excuse my language but you are Im sorry. You know what someone told me today on Instagram. They said Ed, I hope Big Ed gets the Corona. That is hilarious. But its not but it is. Because I know what they mean. They are just kidding. Just love each other.

Did Big Ed make a fake account?

Through some sleuthing, a 90 Day Fiance fan account, 90dayfiancememeage, discovered that Brown may have been using a fake account to trash his ex, Vega.

The account Roctonmcm has been commenting on posts, calling Rose a liar and claiming that fans only defended her because shes a woman. The account also defended Brown against his sexual assault accusations, according to ScreenRant.

Brown even allegedly admitted to using this fake account.

Hey, there are rumors this is actually you Big Ed. Is that true? one fan dmed the account. Not judging. Im a huge fan. About to buy a Cameo for my mom.

A man has to defend himself, Brown allegedly commented. Whats your name on Cameo? Ill make it extra special. There just might be a guest appearance from Teddy himself.

Brown has not publically confirmed these allegations.




Patong police in quarantine as officer confirmed infected with COVID-19

PHUKET: Twenty-four officers of the Patong Police have been placed in quarantine as a precaution after one of their fellow patrol officers was confirmed as infected with COVID-19 on Sunday (May 10).

Tuesday 12 May 2020, 06:09PM

The officers assemble at Patong Police Station before heading off to quarantine. Photo: Patong Police

The officers assemble at Patong Police Station before heading off to quarantine. Photo: Patong Police

The officers are screened before being admitted to stay under quarantine at the Sleep With Me hotel in Patong. Photo: Patong Police

The officers are screened before being admitted to stay under quarantine at the Sleep With Me hotel in Patong. Photo: Patong Police

The 24 officers were swab tested on Sunday as soon as it was confirmed that one of their fellow officers had been confirmed as infected, Patong Police Chief Col Aganit Danpitaksat (first name previously spelled as Akkanit or Akanit) told The Phuket News.

The officers were placed in quarantine at the Sleep With Me hotel in Patong yesterday, he added.

The hotel has been used for months as an official location for keeping people suspected of being infected under observation.

All 24 officers initially tested negative for the virus, but they have been placed in quarantine as a precaution. I want them under observation for at least the next seven days just in case, Col Aganit explained.

I want them to be tested again later to make sure they are all clear, he said.

A further 41 Patong Police officers were to be tested today (May 12), also as a precaution, Col Aganit added.

These 41 officers did not have close contact with the officer who is infected. They worked at different places and were rarely near him, but we want them swab tested to determine whether any of them have contracted COVID-19. I will know their test results in the next two days, Col Aganit said.

However, the 24 officers now in quarantine did work closely with the infected officer, Col Aganit noted.

The 24 officers had high-risk contact [with the patient]. They worked at the same check point, joined activities together, ate at the same table and worked closely together at the police station before the officer was confirmed as infected, he said.

The remaining 146 officers stationed at Patong Police Station are not deemed as at risk, he added.

The officer now confirmed as infected started feeling unwell and finally excused himself from work to present himself at Vachira Phuket Hospital last Thursday (May 7), Col Aganit noted.

Col Aganit added it had yet to be confirmed how the officer had contracted the virus, but noted that police officers are on the frontline in enforcing the restrictions to prevent the virus from spreading.

It is difficult to track down exactly how he became infected as the officer in question was always at risk. Every day for the past two months he had been patrolling areas and in close contact with other Thais, labourers and foreign tourists, he said.

All police officers are at risk, whether on patrol or at a checkpoint. They interface with thousands of people every day, and some of these people might be infected. Further, it is our job to help teams of health officials to identify people who are actually infected.

Health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are strongly observed at Patong Police Station, Col Aganit assured.

Everyone who enters the police station must be checked. They must wear a face mask and they must use the alcohol santiser provided and we check their body temperature, he said.

At the end of each day, all desks and chairs are cleaned with disinfectant, and the whole inside of the police station, including the entrance, is sprayed with disinfectant every three days, Col Aganit explained.

We have been doing this for two months already, he added.

OFFICIAL SILENCE

Patong Police Chief Col Aganit was open and transparent in explaining the circumstances involved in the officer being confirmed as infected and the action being taken to help prevent any further spread of the disease

In contrast, the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department and the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), which currently serves as the Phuket Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Incident Command Centre headed by Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana, on Sunday  and still so far  have instead only reported the police officer as, A Thai man, 29, a public servant who lived in the Patong area.

The officer was marked as Case 224. It was reported that he first became ill on May 2.

As of today (May 12), both official agencies and the Governor had yet to admit that Case 224 was a police officer in Patong.

Of note, for the first time since the outbreak began, the daily national COVID-19 situation report in Bangkok yesterday failed to include Phukets four new confirmed cases as reported on Sunday.

Even the meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee this morning did not publicly discuss the issue.

When called and asked what action, if any, was to be taken in the areas where the four new cases had been confirmed on Sunday, PPHO Chief Dr Thanit yesterday failed to mention to The Phuket News that the Patong case was a police officer.

All four cases reported as confirmed last Sunday were in different areas on the island, and not in any areas under lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.

The four areas of the cases reported on Sunday were identified at Soi Pasak 4 in Moo 4, Cherng Talay; Soi Nasua off Chao Fa West Rd in Moo 4, Wichit; an undisclosed address in Moo 3, Wichit, and in Patong. (Currently the only location in Patong still under lockdown is the Bangla Rd nightlife area.)

However, Phuket health chief Dr Thanit told The Phuket News yesterday, We have already screened those areas and we have investigated the people at risk who were close to these four cases. I will give updates about the new four cases later.

Of the five areas where lockdowns were extended due to confirmed cases in those areas at the time the Tambon Lockdown was lifted on May 30, the lockdown in Soi Bang Chee Lao in Moo 2, Rassada, was lifted on Friday (May 8), Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksaraj confirmed to The Phuket News yesterday.

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipattana announced on Sunday that the lockdown in Moo Baan Prachasamakhee in Koh Kaew will be lifted on tomorrow (May 13).

Dr Thanit yesterday confirmed that the lockdown restrictions in place in Bang Tao, technically Moo Baan 2, 3 and 5 in Cherng Talay, are set to be lifted on Thursday (May 14)  as long as there are no new confirmed infections in those areas.
Maurice Iwu, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has lamented that the federal government is yet to sh...





Maurice Iwu, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has lamented that the federal government is yet to show interest in his COVID-19 cure.

Iwu, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Bioresources Development Group, said government should show interested in the drug.

Speaking at a conference in Lagos via Zoom with the title: Covid-19 and the proposed Vaccination Bill: Implications for Nigeria, Iwu said funds raised from private sector could be deployed in ensuring locally produced antidotes for COVID-19.

The former INEC boss urged the National Assembly to call for public hearing on the issue.

According to Iwu, lawmakers should direct concerned agencies to validate the drug.

He said: Government needs to show interest in our drug, the money raised by private sectors can be deployed, it does not need to come to Prof. Iwu, it is information, the product is ours, but the information is already outside.

There must be interest on the part of government that they want to test the drug, once the government shows interest, every other thing will fall in place.

Iwu had led a group of researchers that discovered a possible plant-based patented treatment for COVID-19.

The drug was recently presented to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday directed that the Madagascars COVID-19 cure, which was sent to Nigeria be picked up.
A Long March 5B rocket lifts off from the the Wenchang launch site on China's southern Hainan island on May 5, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Rocket Size of a Large Van Falls Uncontrollably Back to Earth

The body of a Chinese rocket launched earlier this month reentered Earths atmosphere on May 11, making it the largest uncontrolled object to fall out of orbit in decades.

Remnants of the rocket that survived reentry was about the size of a large van or a small bus, according to the U.S. military, which was monitoring the trajectory of the falling object just off the west coast of Africa.

Chinas Long March 5B rocket was launched May 5 from the Wenchang launch center in the southern island province of Hainan, which extends into the South China Sea. The rocket was fitted with a prototype version of Chinas next-generation crew capsule.

Following almost a week of orbiting the Earth, the core stage of the large rocket re-entered the atmosphere on Monday and landed in the Atlantic Ocean, according to spokesman for the U.S. Space Forces Combined Force Space Component Command.

The Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC), through the 18th Space Control Squadron (18 SPCS), confirmed the Chinese CZ-5B R/B (Satellite Catalog #45601) reentered the Earths atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 08:33 (PDT) May 11, Maj. Cody Chiles told The Epoch Times.

The object was approximately 20 meters squared (the size of a large van or a small bus). The CFSCC used Space Surveillance Network sensors and their orbital analysis system to confirm the Chinese rocket body re-entry, he added.

The body was the largest object to make an uncontrolled reentry since the Soviet Unions 39-tonne Salyut-7 which launched on April 19, 1982, and returned in February 1991, according to Dr. Jonathan McDowell, a satellite expert from Harvard-Smithsonians Center for Astrophysics.

And the TIP message is out, showing reentry at 1534 UTC at location 20W 20N, just before the ground track passed over Nouakchott. pic.twitter.com/wcQ7BmJblk  Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) May 11, 2020

Reports of a 12-m-long object crashing into the village of Mahounou in Cote dIvoire. Its directly on the CZ-5B reentry track, 2100 km downrange from the Space-Track reentry location. Possible that part of the stage could have sliced through the atmo that far (photo: Aminata24) pic.twitter.com/yMuyMFLfsv  Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) May 12, 2020

Dead satellites and old rocket stages regularly re-enter the atmosphere, but re-entering objects with masses of more than a few tons are rare.

Dr. Combs, a Dee Howard Endowed Assistant Professor in Aerodynamics in the UTSA Department of Mechanical Engineering, noted that while the body appeared to have landed safely on this occasion, it is extremely difficult to engineer vehicles that safely survive reentry as it is highly probable that portions of the rocket survive reentry and land somewhere.

While we quite literally dodged a bullet here it does not excuse the reckless design choices that created this hazard, he wrote on Twitter. Unfortunately this is the first of several Long March 5B missions and there is no indication there will be changes made. So well be playing this game again soon.

This is also not the first time Chinese space objects have plunged to earth in an uncontrolled manner. In 2011, the 18,000-pound Tiangong-1 prototype Chinese space station went rogue traveling at 17,000 miles per hour. Tiangong-1, which means Heavenly Palace in Chinese, was launched in September before breaking up in April 2018 and burning in the atmosphere, creating debris that hurtled uncontrollably towards Earth.

The Chinese military continues to invest heavily in its own state-run space programs and is becoming one of the largest investors in private companies, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping has emphasised the importance of science and technology (S&T) innovation, both for rejuvenating China and modernising Chinas military.

In August 2019, the Trump administration warned that the Chinese communist regime has been working to displace the United States as the leading space power.

President Donald Trump re-established U.S. Space Command as the Defense Departments 11th Unified Combatant Command on Aug. 29, 2019, in response to adversaries like China developing advanced anti-satellite weapons.
When Switzerland decided to slash congestion and pollution by removing tens of thousands of cargo trucks from its Alpine highways, it built the Gotthard Tunnel, the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world.

This feat of modern engineering is a boon to civilian and commercial entities alike, but such impressive construction projects arent the only way we can improve the future of transportation and logistics.

Instead, in an increasingly competitive and connected world where just 29% of transportation and logistics (T&L) CEOs are confident their companys revenues will grow in the next year, more and more T& L companies are turning to new, cloud-based machine learning services that can help them become more efficient and drive a better experience for their customers, writes Swami Sivasubramanian, Vice President, Amazon Machine Learning, AWS.

This convergence of the cloud and AI is enabling widespread innovation in autonomous technology, especially in mobility. Thats game-changing, as 68 percent of heads of T&L companies believe that changes in core technologies of service provision will disrupt their industry in the next five years, according to PWC, while 65 percent anticipate progress in distribution channels will do the same.

All told, there are four main areas where machine learning is powering a mobility revolution for the transportations and logistics industry: predicting demand and route optimization; autonomous driving and mapping; robotics; and anomaly detection.

For example, Convoy, which is disrupting the $800 billion trucking industry, optimizes its routes by leveraging machine learning models. Trucking in the United States is a fragmented network of shippers and haulers working through human brokers--an inefficient system resulting in 40% of the 95 billion miles American truck drivers cover each year being driven empty.

Convoy is able to analyze millions of shipping jobs to create the industrys most efficient matches--increasing profits by reducing empty miles, and, crucially, cutting emissions.

But the trucking industry is experiencing a national shortage of at least 100,000 drivers. One solution? Self-driving trucks. At TuSimple, the technology team deployed more than 100 cloud-based AI modules to safely and efficiently make autonomous commercial deliveries of more than 100 miles. Even at 65 miles an hour on a loaded truck, TuSimples advanced AI algorithm can distinguish between types of vehicles sharing the road, and determine their speed, and keep TuSimples trucks safely centered in their lanes with an accuracy of +/- 5 centimetres.

In Southeast Asia, the ride-hailing company Grab wanted to boost its real-time on-demand matching and supply algorithms. It turned to machine learning tools to access to real-time data computation and data streams that support 1.5 million ride bookings, ultimately improving its matching and supply performance by 30%.

Another example of AI and machine learning positively impacting the T&L industry is Lyfts use of an AI-powered time series analytics solution. That technology automatically surfaces anomalies that signal larger business problems, and detects incidents requiring inspection. Lyft has seen huge cost savings by not having to invest in large in-house data science or manually inspect dashboards.

Accuracy of predictions, of course, is a major factor for T&L companies, and at UAE-based Aramex--which provides international and domestic express delivery, freight forwarding and online shopping services--its live transit operations handles thousands of requests every minute.

Taking advantage of Amazon SageMaker, a fully managed machine learning service for building, training, and deploying machine learning models, Aramexs in-house data science team built a data analytics and machine-learning platform on AWS. As a result, Aramax saw a 74% increase in accuracy of transit time predictions, driving down delivery-related service calls by 40%.

Cloud-based machine learning and AI tools are also at the very heart of Amazon.com, successfully and efficiently delivering billions of packages a year--from the moment customers place an order to fulfillment and then to delivery. We use forecasting algorithms to predict what customers might order to ensure we have enough supply in our warehouses. Our AI and machine learning services on AWS also power our fulfillment center robots, the methods for working with our delivery partners, and even to optimize our delivery routes.

The lessons of the last few years are clear: Being competitive in the T&L industry has never been more complex, and profitability comes only with true technology-driven efficiency.

Fortunately, new innovations in AI and ML are providing these businesses a huge advantage by giving them the advanced tools they need to solve their biggest problems and thrive. -- Tradearabia News Service
Click here to read the full article.

Based in Trivandrum, India, Toonz Media Group will partner with Robert Chandlers Space Age Films and Gina Carter & Stephen Frys Sprout Pictures in the U.K. to co-produce an adaptation of the classic tale The Canterville Ghost by celebrated Irish author Oscar Wilde.

L.A.-based Cinema Management Group (CMG) handles international sales.

First published in 1887, Wildes tale is an eerie, heart-warming story with touches of humor, following Sir Simon de Cantervilles ghost, which has been dwelling in his ancestral castle for 300 years. His quiet life will be unsettled when an American familya Minister, his wife and their four children move into the house. The ghost tries with all his might to scare them away, but fails miserably. Moreover, he develops a deep tie with the familys teenage daughter.

First-timer Kim Burdon, an animator on Ethel & Ernest, will direct.

The voice cast will feature a reunion between long-time comedy duo Stephen Fry, who played the Irish writer in 1997s Wilde, and Hugh Laurie (House). The pair will be joined by Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor), Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter), Miranda Hart (Miranda) and Toby Jones (Captain America).

Other works of the Irish author such as The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant, have been the subject of animated adaptations, typically in form of shorts.

Among the live-action adaptations of Wildes The Canterville Ghost is Jules Dassins homonymous 1944 classic, starring Charles Laughton.

Deals already closed include German-speaking Europe, Russia and CIS territories, Poland and Eastern European territories, and the Middle East and Israel. A leading animation sales company, CMGs line-up boasts Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchmans Loving Vincent and Gints Zilbalodis Away.

The film is scheduled to be completed in 2021, announced CMG president Edward Noeltner who, along with producer Kristina Dubin of DubinMedia, brokered the production deal with Toonz which gives The Canterville Ghost the required momentum to fly into production, Noeltner added.

Story continues

According to Toonz Media Groups CEO P. Jayakumar: Toonz brings 20-plus years of experience in animation to this exciting project along with hundreds of skilled animators from India and an accomplished pre and post team in place in Ireland and the U.K.

Founded in 1999 and focused on IP design, development and production, Toonz makes around 170 hours of animated fare a year. They have also recently boarded their third feature film in partnership with Exodus Film Group, Pierre The Pigeon Hawk, whose voice cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Kenan Thompson, Howie Mandel and Luis Guzman.

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ZHENGZHOU -- China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. has delivered the country's largest hard rock tunnel boring machine, which will be commissioned in the construction of a water diversion project in Yunnan Province.

The Zhengzhou-headquartered equipment manufacturer said its independently developed machine named "Yunling" has a tunneling diameter of 9.83 meters.

The machine is 235 meters long and weighs about 2,050 tonnes. It is equipped with geological prediction and harmful gas detection devices and an emergency shelter in case of accidents such as rock bursts, geological deformations and fault fractures.

The company has secured the largest market share in China since 2012, and topped the world in 2017 and 2018 in terms of shield tunneling machine production and sales volume.

The company has exported its products to 20 countries and regions including Italy, Denmark, Singapore, Australia and Algeria.


Since 2017, Glawe served as under secretary and chief intelligence officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In that role, he has been the senior executive responsible for DHS intelligence functions, bulk data technical solutions, program management, budget, and strategic oversight to integrate 22 DHS organizations, such as the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration. In addition, he was responsible for the sharing of information with the private sector and state and local law enforcement.

Glawes extensive background in national security, law enforcement, and management leadership skills made him the right person to lead NICB. Glawe is a proven leader and who has excelled at strategic leadership and execution and is well-positioned to lead NICBs continued transformation, said NICB board chair Mike Capuzzi.

Prior to his appointment, Glawe served as special assistant to the President and senior director for Homeland Security at the White House. He also served as the assistant commissioner and chief intelligence officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Glawe served in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as the deputy National Intelligence manager for Threat Finance and Transnational Organized Crime overseeing analytics. He subsequently served on the Presidents National Security Council as the senior intelligence official implementing strategy on transnational organized crime within the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

Glawe has a proven track record of working with the public and law enforcement community at the highest level, and his knowledge and relationships will help position NICB for the future, added Capuzzi.

Senate Testimony on Threats to U.S. Security Excerpt from testimony by David J. Glawe, under secretary Office of Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Threats to the Homeland on November 5, 2019: Today, I will share with you seven major shifts I see in the threat landscape since 9/11, and the efforts DHS is executing upon to combat them. Specifically, I would like to speak about the threats we face from foreign terrorism, domestic terrorism, malicious cyber activities and the illicit use of emerging technologies, counterintelligence and foreign influence within the homeland, and the broad topic of the illicit movement of people and goods, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, which supports human smuggling and human trafficking, and global illicit drug sales and distribution. Underpinning nearly all these threat vectors is an increasing rise in adversarial engagement from nation-states such as China, Russia, and Iran. I would like to be clear at the outset that we face today nation-state-level challenges to our interests and global democratic principles of a degree that we have not faced in many, many years. These nation-state adversaries seek to undermine, destabilize, discredit and damage the United States through dynamic and multi-dimensional strategies that target not only our physical assets, but also our social cohesion and our confidence in our very way of life.

Glawe was a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a supervisory special agent in the Counterterrorism Division. Earlier law enforcement positions include serving as a federal agent with the United States Postal Inspection Service and a police officer in Houston, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado.

Glawe is taking over for Joe Wehrle, who has served as president and CEO for the past 12 years and will retire in June. Previously, Wehrle served as president of USAA Property and Casualty Insurance Group, which he joined following a 33-year career in the U.S. Air Force.

Glawe is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. He holds a certificate from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. His numerous honors include the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal and the Department of Justice Meritorious Public Service Award. He also previously held insurance and security broker licenses.

NICB helps the insurance industry prevent insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs and public affairs.

NICB, with a budget of about $60 million, is supported by a membership of 1,400 insurers including Allstate, Berkshire Hathaway, Chubb, Cincinnati Financial, Farmers. Hartford, Lemonade, Liberty Mutual, Muniche re, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine, Travelers, USAA and Zurich.
The federal government has given an update on over 600 Nigerians flown back to the country and others being expected. Geoffrey Onyeama, Ni...





The federal government has given an update on over 600 Nigerians flown back to the country and others being expected.Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigerias Minister of Foreign Affairs, disclosed that they were at various isolation centres in Lagos and Abuja.The minister, however, lamented that the facilities had reached saturation point and would not be able to take more.He spoke at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 press briefing on Monday.The number we are able to care for are limited, this means we are going to be staggering flights before bringing others back to the country.Many Nigerians willing to come home are still in China, India, Sudan, Lebanon, Egypt among others; this calls to question our capacity to absorb all of them and also ensure we deliver optimally, Onyeama said.He confirmed that the flight carrying first and second batch returnees from the United Arab Emirate; was already on its way to Nigeria via an American flight.Onyeama hinted that subsequently, the PTF would use Nigerian carrier to airlift the returnees.
"This lockdown is unconstitutional. According to National Disaster Management Act, the Epidemic Act, the Government of India cannot impose lockdown in the whole country; it is against federalism, it is a state subject and I wonder why the State Government is silent," the AIMIM chief said at an online public meeting.He further went on to appeal to the people of Malegaon to stay at home amidst the rise in coronavirus cases in the country. "Due to this lockdown, the migrant labourers are suffering, 16 people have died at the Aurangabad accident. I appeal to the citizens of Malegaon, please stay home," said Owaisi.The AIMIM chief also urged people to not fear quarantine facilities as it "is for your own good". "COVID-19 is something that can impact on any human. Do not be afraid of quarantine, it is for your own good. You will be away for 8-10 days which is fine because it is better for you and for the people around you," urged Owaisi.He also asked the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to 'concentrate on the people' as Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with regard to COVID-19 cases.Emphasising that people has to be more cautious and adhere to social distancing norms, "I request the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the officials to concentrate on the people. But more than the officials, it is the public, who has to take care of themselves and maintain the discipline and social distancing," emphasised Owaisi."I appeal to everyone; we have to fight this virus by social distancing and anything that will keep this virus away. Hate the virus, not the people affected by it. Try to help them, have patience. Come forward if you suspect that you have the virus, do not be afraid," he added.Speaking about the issue relating to a student from Jamia Millia Islamia who was charged under the Unlawful Activities Preventions Act for protesting against the CAA and NRC, Owaisi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah whether the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act is only for anybody "who is against the government"."In Delhi, a student from Jamia Millia was arrested who was four months pregnant, another girl was also arrested for raising their voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registration of Citizens (NRC), they were charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act."I ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shat that is the UAPA only for Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis or anybody who is against the government. And people who state ' Desh Ke Gaddaro Ko' these people are not even arrested leave about charging UAPA act," said Owaisi in an online public meeting.With regard to the communal violence that broke out in Bhainsa in January, he said that the state government must take the matter more seriously. "The incident that happened in Bhainsa will be dealt with by the government. Where there was communal violence, no matter who made a mistake there, I request the Chief Minister of Telangana to take strict action against the people who were at fault," he urged. (ANI)
Fatehpur : , May 12 (IANS) A six-year-old girl and her mother were killed on Tuesday morning in an accident while returning to their village in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra, police said.

Khaga Police Station SHO Satyender Singh said that Sanju Yadav, 33, and her daughter were killed while her huband Rajan Yadav, 36, and two minor sons were seriously injured when the auto-rickshaw carrying the family was hit by an unidentified vehicles in Khaga Kotwali area of Fatehpur district.

The family hailed from Nivada village in Shivrara police station area and was returning from Mumbai to their native place due to the lockdown.

The injured were admitted in district hospital, where their condition was said to be serious. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
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After the Democrats won a House majority in 2018, committees issued subpoenas to Mazars USA, an accounting firm, and Deutsche Bank, which lent money to Mr. Trumps businesses. The president sued to prevent these firms from complying. Despite failing to convince lower courts that the House subpoenas should be ignored, the document handover was delayed while the dispute is litigated.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vance convened a New York grand jury to investigate potential violations of state law, which also subpoenaed Mazars. Once again, Mr. Trumps lawyers failed to convince any lower courts that Mazars should refrain from turning over its documents, but the subpoenas remain unenforced.

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Mr. Trumps lawyers argue that the House has no legitimate legislative purpose but wants to turn itself into a law enforcement body. But then, in fending off the district attorneys subpoena, Mr. Trumps lawyers turn around and argue that the Constitution allows only Congress, not state or federal law enforcement officers, to hold the president to account while he is in office. The upshot is that nobody could hold the president responsible for wrongdoing he may have committed before he took his oath.

In fact, both the House and Mr. Vance have legitimate claims. Congressional subpoena power is broad, stemming from both its oversight and lawmaking roles, which are often linked. Even if House lawmakers intend primarily to scrutinize Mr. Trumps financial history, judges must not discount the possibility that their findings could lead to new laws  say, White House ethics rules, campaign disclosure requirements or sanctions designed to dissuade foreign actors from influencing the next election. The nation has a paramount interest in a well-informed Congress.

Mr. Vances case is even easier. Mr. Trump relies on a Justice Department policy that the president cannot be charged while in office to argue states cant charge, either. Even if that logic held, it would not imply that state prosecutors cannot seek evidence. Mr. Vance points out that if he is denied the power to subpoena even third parties for records relating to the presidents history, that could equate to granting the president permanent immunity for past crimes, as evidence might be uncollected or lost during the presidents tenure.

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The Supreme Court previously declared that President Bill Clinton had to comply with coercive process in the Paula Jones lawsuit, a federal civil case that concerned his activities before he took office. The justices cannot easily turn around and declare Mr. Trump immune from state criminal judicial process regarding his past behavior.

Read more:

Read a letter in response to this editorial: We need transparency from Trump

Ruth Marcus: Will the Supreme Court permit Trump to be above the law?

George Conway: No one in this country is above the law. The Supreme Court is about to teach that lesson.

George F. Will: No president is immune from prosecution. The court has a chance to prove it.

Greg Sargent: Heres what really matters about Trumps despotic claim of total authority
Technavio has been monitoring the RFID tags market for livestock management market and it is poised to grow by USD 1.18 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 13% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005056/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global RFID Tags for Livestock Management Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Allflex Group, Dalton Tags, Datamars SA, Essen Computers Pvt. Ltd., HID Global Corp., Impinj Inc., Ketchum Manufacturing Inc., National Band Tag Co., Omnia Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and SafeTag are some of the major market participants. The regulations regarding animal welfare 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.

Regulations regarding animal welfare has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market is segmented as below:

Type Cattle Goats and Sheep 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=IRTNTR43625

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management 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 RFID tags market for livestock management market report covers the following areas:

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market Size

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market Trends

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the increasing adoption of cloud technologies to improve dairy production in livestock units as one of the prime reasons driving the RFID tags market for livestock management market growth during the next few years.

RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the RFID tags market for livestock management market, including some of the vendors such as Allflex Group, Dalton Tags, Datamars SA, Essen Computers Pvt. Ltd., HID Global Corp., Impinj Inc., Ketchum Manufacturing Inc., National Band Tag Co., Omnia Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and SafeTag. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the RFID tags market for livestock management market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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RFID Tags Market for Livestock Management Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist RFID tags market for livestock management market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the RFID tags market for livestock management market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the RFID tags market for livestock management market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of RFID tags market for livestock management 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 Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Cattle Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Goats and sheep Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

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

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 Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Allflex Group

Dalton Tags

Datamars SA

Essen Computers Pvt. Ltd.

HID Global Corp.

Impinj Inc.

Ketchum Manufacturing Inc.

National Band Tag Co.

Omnia Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

SafeTag

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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President Trump took some time away from the life-and-death crisis preoccupying most of his country over the weekend to weigh in on the minutiae of a close California congressional election.

While Trump and his allies have spent much of the past several weeks trying to thwart the expansion of voting by mail in November, in this case he was objecting to the accommodation of more in-person voting in Southern California on Tuesday for a special election being conducted mostly by mail. Why? Because he fears the location of a particular polling place will help more African American and Latino voters cast ballots.

It was the latest frank confession of a politics that relies not on persuading people to vote a certain way but on preventing them from voting at all. Having gone from insisting on traditional polling places to criticizing them in the space of a few weeks, Trump demonstrated that his only consistent objection is to broad participation.

Absentee voting has long been thought to lean conservative, but in the midst of a deadly contagion spread by interpersonal contact, blocking remote balloting becomes an all too handy and ruthless means of voter suppression. Take Wisconsin, which pressed ahead with a traditional election last month, causing so many election worker no-shows that the number of polling places in Milwaukee had to be reduced from 180 to five.

California should be able to avoid such a spectacle thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsoms executive order Friday requiring counties to send every registered voter a mail-in ballot for the November election. The directive takes advantage of a time-tested means of voting from a safe distance while allowing in-person voting for those who prefer it. True to form, a Trump campaign spokesman attacked the expansion of mail voting as a thinly veiled political tactic  the day before his candidate criticized in-person voting in Tuesdays special election on the same grounds.

While five other states have gone so far as to adopt all-mail elections as standard procedure, California is in a better position than most to enable more voting via Postal Service. Fourteen counties, including San Mateo, Santa Clara and Napa, already mail ballots to all voters while allowing traditional election-day voting at a reduced number of locations. In the March primary, 72% of votes were cast by mail.

Even in less-voter-friendly states, absentee ballots have been in long use and provide a ready means of pandemic-proof voting. In the interests of public health and democratic participation, more states should strive to follow Californias lead and mail every registered voter a ballot. At the very least, every state that persists in maintaining barriers to absentee voting should eliminate them to allow more Americans to exercise their rights without risking their lives. Two-thirds of the states, including California, already provide mail-in ballots to any registered voter who requests one, no questions asked.

Voting by mail works for most people but not, as Newsom noted, everyone. State and local officials therefore have work to do to ensure that those who choose to vote in person can do so as easily and safely as possible.

Questions of electoral procedure are political by definition, tempting all sides to jockey for advantage in normal times. But given the potential of voting by mail to protect our lives and democracy in these extraordinary circumstances, it should have the support of all but the most cynical partisans.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
PHOENIX, AZ and OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - May 12, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Breaking cannabis/CBD Technology stock news - American Green (ERBB:OTC) announced that one of its best AGM Vending Machine Kiosk customers has used the company's technology to keep its employees and customers safe by eliminating all contact with fellow customers and employees while completing a transaction at its stores.

Earthly Mist, like most companies in the retail sector, found itself in a situation when Covid 19 hit, of having to close its stores unless it found a way to continue to serve its clients without risking the health of its employees and customers. Store management came up with a solution to re-deploy their American Green AGM kiosks to carry out a complete transaction without any human interaction whatsoever.



According to Earthly Mist Manager, Danelle Pierce, "Customer and employee safety was our #1 priority. We've used the AGM - American Green Merchandisers - as a way to offer contactless purchases that are compliant within our Covid-19 environment. American Green's AGM has been great for our clients that still need to complete purchases, but who are concerned about interacting with the public. By making our products available day and night, essential workers still in the workforce no longer need to rush in before our stores close. We've informed our clients that even through forced shutdowns due to government restrictions, our popular products will remain available to them to purchase any time of the day or night. Our contact-free solution has greatly relieved consumer anxiety and allowed us to continue to offer access to our products during these uncertain times."

According to Lindel Creed, American Green's head of American Green's AGM Division, "Earthly Mist was forced to become very creative in their business thinking and has put today's technology to optimum use in keeping their business and client base stress free. Using high-tech security cameras and two-way communication with customers arriving at the store, coupled with American Green's proprietary AGM - American Green Merchandiser - Earthly Mist can continue to securely dispense its quality products to customers using the kind of ingenuity that has made American the great country that it is."

When visiting the Earthly Mist Facebook page you can see a flyer made about a possible temporary closure; however, the website and Automatic Dispensing AGM Machines will remain available day and night.

In other news, American Green plans to open up 10 additional major markets to vending operators wishing to sell American Green's CBD line of American-made CBD products. In addition to the AGM smart vending kiosk, the company is also a leading online supplier of America-made, high quality CBD products which it plans to "marry" to its state-of-the-art AGM machines. For a sampling of American Green's high quality product offerings, simply click on the company's online store. If you are an experienced vending machine operator serving a major market and wish to add a complete CBD products to your existing route, you should contact Mr. Lindel Creed at American Green's AGM Division located in Gastonia, North Carolina by writing lindel@americangreen.com or calling Mr. Creed on his direct line at 704-718-3158.

Pick Up Your American Green Mystery Box Today:

American Green Apparel Mystery Box Deals:

*All Mystery Boxes Can Be Combined With Promo Code INVESTOR.

Products listed above also include Free Shipping.

American Green CBD Store Resources

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All Products are THC-FREE (they contain 0.00% THC)

20% Discount For Shareholders (promo code INVESTOR )

) Weekly Deals (new deals every week)

American Green accepts: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diners Club (which are securely processed in the USA).

Shareholders and interest holders may also stay current with American Green Updates:

American Green's Main Website at www.americangreen.com

Twitter: @American__Green (two underscores), or

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americangreenusa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americangreenusa/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicalnipton/

About American Green, Inc.

American Green, Inc. became, in 2009, America's second publicly-traded company in the cannabis industry. American Green now, with its more than 50,000 individual certified shareholders, has more than any other company in the cannabis sector, American Green's mission is to lead the cannabis and premium CBD industry. Leveraging our team of professionals in cultivation management, manufacturing, extraction, wholesale, retail, and community outreach, we strive to develop sustainable initiatives in the cannabis-adjacent and CBD industries, laser-focused on adding company and shareholder value.

For more information -

Contact:

American Green, Inc.

Investor Relations

2902 W. Virginia Ave

Phoenix, AZ 85009

480-443-1600 X555

investor@americangreen.com

NOTES ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Except for any historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports and filings. Certain statements contained in this release that are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by that Act. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because they involve unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as estimates, anticipates, projects, plans, expects, intends, believes, be should and similar expressions and by the context in which they are used. Such statements are based upon current expectations of the Company and speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which they are made.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has been a turning point for many companies, as the disruption and uncertainty caused by the crisis has accelerated the digital transformation that for many was already underway, said the CEO of IBM.



There is no question that this pandemic is a powerful force of disruption and an unprecedented tragedy, Arvind Krishna said. But it is also a critical turning point. Its an opportunity to develop new solutions, new ways of working and new partnerships that will benefit your company and your customers, not just today, but for years to come.



Krishna was speaking in an online presentation at Think Digital. The annual IBM conference had originally been scheduled as an in-person event in San Francisco. But in response to the pandemic, this year it is a two-day virtual conference, with more than 90,000 registrants.



The Covid-19 crisis has exposed many enterprises vulnerabilities, Krishna said. In response, companies are fast adopting artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud-based IT architectures. That is both enabling them to build agility and resiliency into their networks now, and preparing them to embrace emerging technologies like 5G and edge computing, he said.



Im predicting today that every company will become an AI companynot because they can, but because they must, Krishna said in his inaugural keynote address as IBMs CEO.



For enterprises, Krishna explained, digital transformation means putting artificial intelligence at the centre of workflows, and using the insights generated from that process to constantly improve products and services. This transformation is powered by a hybrid cloud architecture using open source software that makes companies more secure, and enables them to quickly adapt to shifting customer demands and changing market conditions.



Krishna said the hybrid cloud model has distinct advantages over other IT architectureadvantages he called the hybrid cloud imperative.



Unlike existing IT networks, he said, hybrid cloud adapts to the infrastructure that enterprises already have, while also freeing them from being locked into any one vendors offerings. Hybrid architectures, which can involve a combination of public and private clouds and on-premises networks, have the flexibility to process workloads closest to where the data is generateda necessity in high-tech factoriesand also make it easier to comply with different regional regulations on data use, Krishna said.
"I offer my deepest congratulations to the outstanding AMCP and AMCP Foundation awardees," says AMCP CEO Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE. "Each one personifies the enduring commitment of our profession to serve millions of Americans, while setting an example for their peers and the next generation of managed care pharmacy leaders."

AMCP and the Foundation present eight awards, with the highest honor conferred to the Foundation's Steve G. Avey Award. The 2020 award recipients are:

Steven G. Avey Award: Recipient David Calabrese, RPh, MHP, is senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer at OptumRx. Calabrese is a sought out thought leader who is widely published and speaks at numerous health care forums and conferences. A long-time AMCP member, David is an active volunteer who has served on numerous committees, mentored students, and participated in AMCP's Legislative Days. From 2012 to 2014, he served on the AMCP Board of Directors where he was instrumental in the creation of the Biologics and Biosimilars Collective Intelligence Consortium (BBCIC).

Distinguished Service Award: Recipient Richard A. Zabinski, PharmD, FAMCP, is vice president of product development and clinical operations of ActiveRadar Inc. Zabinski has advanced AMCP's mission over the past 20 years, including by serving on boards of both AMCP and the Foundation, and numerous AMCP committees.

Individual Contribution Award: Recipient Judy Stein, is a national account director at UCB. Stein serves as president of the AMCP Midwest Affiliate. Her contributions have been a driving force in ensuring the Midwest Affiliate has remained a highly successful chapter.

Spirit of Volunteerism Award: Recipient Iris Tam, PharmD, FAMCP, is senior director and head of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Patient Access, and Value at Coeus Consulting Group. A long-time member of the AMCP Format Executive Committee, Dr. Tam's tireless efforts contributed to the successful release this year of the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions, Version 4.1.

Grassroots Advocacy Award: Recipient Elizabeth Sampsel, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, is senior director of Formulary Decisions Payer and Provider Relations at Xcenda. Dr. Sampsel has been an effective advocate for AMCP, especially around the importance of Pharmaceutical Information Exchange (PIE), which she can easily explain to legislators.

Experiential Education Preceptor Award: Recipient Stephen Lott, PharmD, MS, is a clinical pharmacist specialist with the University of Michigan Prescription Drug Plan and serves as director of the plan's postgraduate year one (PGY 1) pharmacy residency program. Dr. Lott serves as a role model for pharmacy students in addition to his other numerous professional responsibilities.

Managed Care Pharmacy Residency Director/Preceptor Award: Recipient Lisa Haw, PharmD, is principal of Clinical Account Management at MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., where she founded MedImpact's PGY 1 managed care residency program. Dr. Haw's supportive approach and thoughtful strategizing to develop her resident helps to explain the positive culture that surrounds the resident.

Diplomat of the Year: Recipient Tasmina Hydery, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, is clinical consultant pharmacist for Clinical Pharmacy Services, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Hydery served as the first official guest speaker to a newly established AMCP student chapter on the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Worcester campus.

Journal of Managed Care & specialty Pharmacy (JMCP) Award of Excellence (Article from 2019): Winner: "Actionable Real-World Evidence to Improve Health Outcomes and Reduce Medical Spending Among Risk-Stratified Patients with Diabetes" by Elizabeth Garry et al. Honorable Mention: "Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Managed Antidiabetic Deprescribing Program in an Integrated Health Care System" by Rita Hui et al.

AMCP Fellows

Elizabeth Brusig, PharmD, MBA, is a clinical pharmacy specialist at Optima Health Plan in Virginia Beach, Va. Dr. Brusig has chaired several AMCP committees and currently serves on the Professional Practice Committee.

Jessica Daw, PharmD, MBA, is vice president of Pharmacy at Optima Health. Her experience includes medication therapy management, care management programs, formulary and utilization management, value-based contracting, physician risk sharing arrangements, compliance, and PBM oversight.

Michael Pazirandeh, PharmD, is director with the health economics outcomes research team at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he's responsible for conducting health economics and outcomes research.

Tracy McDowd, PharmD, is clinical pharmacist with the Medicare Part D Formulary Operations at OptumRx. Her experience includes working as senior regulatory consultant within a large health system for federal payers, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare.

Read more about each award recipient.

About AMCP

AMCP is the professional association leading the way to help patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. AMCP's diverse membership of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, biopharmaceutical professionals, and other stakeholders leverage their specialized expertise in clinical evidence and economics to optimize medication benefit design and population health management and help patients access cost-effective and safe medications and other drug therapies. AMCP members improve the lives of nearly 300 million Americans served by private and public health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, and emerging care models. Visit www.amcp.org.

About AMCP Foundation

Established in 1990, the 501(c)3 nonprofit AMCP Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP). It exists to advance collective knowledge and insights on major issues associated with the practice of pharmacy in managed health care settings. By facilitating innovative research initiatives and providing educational opportunities to learn about managed care pharmacy, the AMCP Foundation invests in the future of managed care. Visit www.amcpfoundation.org.

SOURCE AMCP; AMCP Foundation
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile has surpassed 30,000 cases of the new coronavirus, the health ministry said on Monday, amid a spike in infections that has put hospitals under stress and raised fears of complications with the arrival of the southern hemisphere winter.

The health ministry said in its daily briefing that total cases since the outbreak began in early March had hit 30,063, while 323 people have died.

The tally puts Chile fourth for confirmed cases in Latin America, according to a Reuters count, behind Brazil, Peru and Mexico, but just ahead of Ecuador.

Chile, the worlds top copper producer, is bracing for a peak in infections as cool temperatures settle across the region. Many homes in poor urban areas depend on cheap firewood for heat, increasing concerns that worsening air pollution could make more people vulnerable to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Health minister Jaime Manalich said in the briefing Monday that the capital Santiago, a city of nearly 8 million and Chile's economic engine, was under particular stress as cases have spiked.

"Our health system, especially in Santiago, is being highly demanded by people sick from COVID," Manalich said. "The situation in Santiago ... has us extremely concerned and busy."

Seventy percent of the countrys cases are concentrated in Santiago, health ministry figures show. A survey of 122 Chilean hospitals by the Society of Intensive Care Medicine showed 89% of critical care beds in the Metropolitan Region were in use and 78% of ventilators.

Chile has sharply increased testing in the past week, resulting in a rise in confirmed cases.

One of Latin Americas wealthiest countries, Chile has been widely praised for its approach to combating the coronavirus, including mass testing, flexible region-specific quarantines and early action to secure additional ventilators.

Towards the end of April, President Sebastian Pinera had outlined a "new normality" including the return to work by public servants and the gradual reopening of schools and malls.

Story continues

But increasing cases and deaths in the past week have led to new quarantines and calls by some medical experts for nationwide lockdowns to ease pressure on the health care system.

"Our hospitals are full ... and our system is being stressed to the max," said Dr. Jose Miguel Bernucci, secretary of Chiles National Medical Association. "This is why it is extremely important to increase isolation measures."

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Natalia Ramos, Editing by Franklin Paul and Grant McCool)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 07:42:38|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 11, 2020 shows empty streets in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The Kuwaiti government announced late Friday a full curfew in the country for three weeks to curb the rapid rise in coronavirus cases. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)
Our social mission is to Solve Tax for Good, and we mean that in every sense of the word. After hearing about the challenges many businesses are facing during todays environment, we wanted to help.

Global tax software leader Sovos today announced that it is offering retailers and direct-to-consumer (DtC) manufacturers one file-ready sales and use tax return for any U.S. state at no cost. The free offering is available throughout May 2020, and aims to alleviate some of the burden that COVID-affected businesses are facing.

"Our social mission is to Solve Tax for Good, and we mean that in every sense of the word, said Pawel Smolarkiewicz, chief product officer at Sovos. After hearing about the challenges many businesses are facing during todays environment, we wanted to help.

The Tax Filing Drain

Sales & use tax filing is complex, with differing regulations by state and local jurisdictions. In fact, businesses with nationwide nexus must track and comply with regulations in each of the 12,000 state and local tax jurisdictions in which they do business.

Moreover, rates and rule accuracy is a continually moving target. Between 2017 and 2018 alone, Sovos identified a 28% increase in the number of jurisdictions reporting a standard rate change. And Aberdeen Research found that about half of companies cite tax filing as a top business drain. Add in todays pandemic crisis, and the filing burden is exponential.

COVID-19 and Increasing Tax Complexity

When the pandemic hit, ecommerce became the only channel to buy products deemed non-essential. Most retail sectors have seen a 74% growth in online shopping in March 2020 compared to the same period last year.

While this growth is a lifeline for many struggling retailers and a welcome boost for essential sellers, an increase in online sales adds more complexity for businesses unfamiliar with the tax ramifications of expanded ecommerce.

Sovos Sales and Use Tax Filing has always enabled retailers and DtC manufacturers to file more returns accurately and on time in every jurisdiction with less effort, said Smolarkiewicz. But we recognize business is more difficult than ever as sales strategies have pivoted, resources are stretched, and teams are working remotely. So, for the month of May, were taking our easy-to-use product a step further with a limited, free service.

Sovos Sales and Use Tax Filing is a finalist for a 2020 SIIA CODiE Award in the best compliance solution category. Retailers and manufacturers can try it for free by clicking here to file now.

About Sovos

Sovos is a leading global provider of software that safeguards businesses from the burden and risk of modern transactional taxes. As tax goes digital, businesses face increased risks, costs and complexity. The Sovos Intelligent Compliance Cloud is the first complete solution for modern tax, giving businesses a global solution for tax determination, e-invoicing compliance and tax reporting. Sovos supports more than 7,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, and integrates with a wide variety of business applications. The company has offices throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Sovos is owned by London-based Hg. For more information visit http://www.sovos.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Whether it works remains undetermined, but many are optimistic about an experimental drug approved for emergency treatment of COVID-19, and its starting to become available in Michigan hospitals.

The first doses of remdesivir arrived at Michigan hospitals Saturday, May 9, state Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) spokesman Bob Wheaton said.

The first vials were slated for delivery to Detroit hospitals. The city has borne the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan with 9,897 confirmed cases and 1,213 deaths as of Tuesday, May 12.

MDHHS created a tiered system for disbursement based on the number of deaths in various communities.

A total of 352 vials were divvied between Tier 1 Detroit hospitals; 26 Tier 2 hospitals in Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland, Macomb and Genesee counties are splitting 1,089 vials; two Tier 3 hospitals in Saginaw are sharing 77 doses; and six Tier 4 hospitals in Jackson, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo are set to receive the remaining 66 doses, MDHHS said.

Michigan received 40 cases with 40 doses each, totaling 1,600 doses, enough for 145 patients to each receive a 10-day treatment, Wheaton said in an email.

There is no formal clinical trial. Hospitals may be asked to provide some basic data to the manufacturer," he said. Patients are receiving treatment, many within hours of hospitals receiving the supply. Medication is given over 5 or 10 days. We have thousands of patients in Michigan that would qualify for the medication but only a small number will receive it from this supply. We are hopeful that we will receive additional supplies from the federal government, but nothing is official yet.

Remdesivir, manufactured by Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences and sold under the brand name Veklury, has been shown in some preliminary trials to reduce recovery time in patients with serious COVID-19 illness. Japans Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare last week expedited approval for use of the drug on patients with severe COVID-19.

Michigan last week joined five other states selected to receive shipments of the medication from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Gilead Sciences donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir in the United States and 1.5 million vials worldwide.

Its up to the states how to distribute it, per MDHHS, but the drugs must go to COVID-19 patients in greatest need  like people on ventilators.

In this study of adult patients admitted to hospital for severe COVID-19, remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits, said the results of an April 29-published Chinese study that involved 158 patients who received the drug. However, the numerical reduction in time to clinical improvement in those treated earlier requires confirmation in larger studies.

Gilead Sciences said this and another Chinese studies were stopped early due to low enrollment."

Several other studies are underway.

Remdesivir has demonstrated in vitro and in vivo activity in animal models against the viral pathogens MERS and SARS, which are also coronaviruses and are structurally similar to COVID-19, the Gilean Sciences website says. "The limited ... data on remdesivir in MERS and SARS indicate that remdesivir may have potential activity against COVID-19.

Remdesivir is an experimental medicine that does not have established safety or efficacy for the treatment of any condition.

Michigan had 48,021 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 4,674 deaths as of Tuesday, May 12.

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PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

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The bride! Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Wedding bells are days away from ringing in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, Netflixs interactive special that reunites us with our favorite mole woman and her three New Yawk pals a year after the end of the original series. The episode  just like Black Mirrors much more depressing Bandersnatch  immerses you in a choose-your-own-adventure narrative where Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) discovers that the Reverend (Jon Hamm), who held her hostage in a bunker for most of her life, kidnapped another group of women and forced them underground just before he went to jail. Choices both big (a chance at sweet, murderous revenge) and small (a Lynyrd Skynyrd song test) inform how the story ends, and if you choose the right combo, Kimmy will be back to marry her British prince in no time.

As the interactive quality of the episode will likely inspire you to rethink your choices as much as possible  selecting the perfect wedding dress for Kimmy is hard  we thought itd be helpful to outline all of the main endings we could identify during our rewatches. But whatever you choose to do, dont worry: Theres plenty of Hamm to go around. Damn it!

The Makeout Ending

When Kimmy gives her fiance a sloppy smooch attack instead of planning her wedding or reading her book, youre gonna get yelled at by Titus, okay? We have a plot to instigate! What is wrong with you? he chides. You know you have to read that dumb book, but you keep making these pasty children tongue down. If youre trying to prove youre straight, its not working.

The Talk to Donna Maria Ending

If Kimmy calls Donna Maria, her fellow former mole woman turned sauce entrepreneur, instead of Gretchen or Cyndee, her friend advises her that PTSD is whats driving her to investigate the book  and she should let it go. Dont let the Reverend do this to you again, okay? she implores. Let this go, and let yourself be happy. A month later, she and Frederick are happily married. This ending also confirms that Kimmy once dated Josh Groban, who sounds a lot different than his singing voice.

The Take Jacqueline With You Ending

Well, this is depressing. With Titus snubbed to join Kimmy in pursuit of the Reverends secrets, Jacqueline suggests the duo takes a private jet flown by her teenage son, who only pretended to have piloting skills to get into USC. (Which sucks, because all he wanted was to be an influencer. Har har.) The jet crashes and they all die on impact and then Titus dies during a tragic treadmill accident. He just cant run that fast.

The Socialize With the Reverend Ending

Listen, wed do anything to get some quality time with Hamm. But when you make Kimmy chat with him, as opposed to getting right down to business, the Reverend takes some Michael Jackson moves out for a spin and proceeds to crack his skull open on the visitors booth. He bleeds to death, forcing Kimmy to give up her journey. That doesnt seem like the right ending, does it? Titus taunts us. Who are you, me at Chipotle? Because youve made some bad choices that affect everyone.

The Wait for the Uber Ending

Kimmy and Titus starve to death and become skeletons after waiting 4,000 minutes. But there are actually two endings for this choice! After you watch the Uber driver curse off their skeletons and give them one star, click again. Youll then witness a very concerning robot uprising.

The Free Bird Ending

Titus does not actually know the virtuosic Lynyrd Skynyrd standard when he and Kimmy visit a rowdy West Virginia bar, instead crooning a song we sang whenever we wanted to off-load a problem bird that he learned as a pet-shop employee (It only walks / It wont fly!). The police are called, and its assumed that the duo is shot by the disgruntled bar patrons.

The Reverend Gets Away Endings

This all depends on if Kimmy reads the book at the beginning of the episode, instead of wedding planning or making out with Frederick. If Kimmy doesnt read the book, then shes unable to deduce certain clues about where the Reverend is hiding the girls. It doesnt matter if you leave the managers baby alone at the West Virginia convenience store or babysit  either way, its too late to catch the Reverend, and he takes the girls to Florida, where everything is legal in his van. This ending also happens if you make Titus read (in Drag Race terms) the baby, rather than reading the book to the baby, at the convenience store to pass the time.

The Kill the Reverend Endings

When Kimmy pursues the Reverend in the West Virginia woods (Titus, meanwhile, gets distracted by food hallucinations or a film set, depending on your choice), he trips and badly falls on a branch, rendering him immobile. Kimmy gets four options on how to handle this, and three of them end in the Reverends death: exploding him, stomping on him, or shooting him. The aftermath of each is different, too. If you explode the Reverend with a bazooka, the original Kimmy also explodes, but Frederick is able to clone her from her hair. His royal family disowns him, and the couple settles in Harrisburg. If you stomp the Reverend, Kimmy is driven to madness after he uses his dying breath to admit the girls are somewhere in the woods. She becomes a hill person, and Frederick, now the king of England, marries Jacquelines daughter, Xanthippe. If you shoot the Reverend, Kimmy barely mourns his passing and sets off to find the girls. She never returns from the woods, and Frederick marries Lillian. Also, if you choose all three Reverend deaths, theres a glorious bonus ending of him in hell, hanging out with Mr. Frumpus and jamming to Sugar Ray. He thinks hes in Heaven, duh.

The Happy Wedding Ending

You win! If you spare the Reverend from death, Kimmy is able to deduce that a fake tree in close proximity to their showdown is a marker for where the bunker is. The girls are freed, the Reverend gets kicked to death in prison, and Kimmy and Frederick get married. And his old chum Kim Jong-un is able to show up! Kimmy thinks shes pregnant.

The Not-As-Happy Wedding Ending

You still technically win! Just like above, Kimmy is able to free the girls after finding the bunker, and her wedding goes off without a hitch. However, a choice you make during the side plot about Jacqueline stalling for Titus during his movie shoot  where she inadvertently brings the Me Too and Times Up movements to an end  leaves things on a more dour note, as all of the female attendees hate her. What the hell? Raggedy Ann gets a happy ending, but everyone hates her young, hot Gen-Z friend? Jacqueline explains. Uh-nuh. Start over.

The Bonus Skip the Theme Song Ending

Surprise, damn it! You thought you could save a few seconds to get back into the interactive fun? Nah-ah, Walter Bankston, the do-ragd gent in the opening credits, tells us. Now you get more theme song. This is technically an Easter egg, as opposed to an actual ending, but the two-minute remix is a total delight that might as well try to chart on the Billboard 200. You know, Walter adds, thats a good-ass theme song.
[May 12, 2020]

Mental Illness Affects 1 in 5 People, Incarcerated Individuals Included - How Correctional Facilities Can Provide Beneficial Resources

FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GTL, a leader in transformative corrections technology that improves outcomes for inmates and facilities, today announced its support for Mental Health Awareness Month. For over 70 years, Mental Health Awareness Month has been recognized in May by organizations such as Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and many others.

Mental illness does not discriminate based on age, race, or gender. It also does not discriminate based on incarceration status. In fact, incarcerated individuals are more likely to have a mental health issue than other population groups. A 2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that 56% of state prisoners, 45% of Federal prisoners, and 64% of jailed inmates suffered from a mental illness. However, only 33% of state prisoners, 25% of Federal prisoners, and 17% of jail inmates suffering from mental illness received treatment during incarceration.

"The 2005 study might seem outdated, but the numbers remain about the sameacross the U.S., there are more individuals with mental illnesses incarcerated than in psychiatric hospitals," said Pelicia Hall, GTL Senior Vice President, Reentry Programs. "However, while not enough, there are many valuable resources available to help reduce the number of incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, to provide treatment to those that are incarcerated, and to offer continuing help to returning citizens after they are released. As a company focused on corrections technology, GTL is dedicated to providing resources and solutions that help to address this problem. With the current pandemic situation affecting everyone in the United States, physical and mental health are of the utmost importance. There is an unfortunate stigma surrounding mental health issues that keeps many from seeking treatment. That needs to change."

There are many national organizations focused on getting help for individuals suffering from mental illness, ensuring their safety and well-being. The NAMI Stepping Up Initiative is a national effort that brings together mental health organizations, substance abuse organizations, and law enforcement associations to divert people with mental illness from incarceration into treatment. Instead of addressing the symptom (the crime committed), NAMI focuses on the root of the problem (mental illness).

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a location-based list of substance abuse and mental health treatment. For others needing treatment but not knowing where to turn, Give an Hour is a national network of professionals who volunteer their time to provide free and confidential mental health care to all populations, increasing the likelihood that those in need receive the support and care they deserve.







GTL is one small piece of the solution, offering resources that incarcerated individuals can access on tablets. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that half of those who experience a mental illness will also experience substance abuse or vice versasomething known as a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders. A June 2017 Special Report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that 58% of inmates housed in state prisons and 63% of those housed in jail facilities met the criteria for drug dependence or abuse. Again, very few (28% of prison inmates and 22% of jail inmates) received any sort of treatment due to barriers faced, including the lack of resources, infrastructure, and staff required to meet drug treatment needs. To assist in breaking down those barriers, GTL has partnered with Breaking Free Group, a UK-based digital health and behavioral science company that has pioneered the utilization in corrections settings of clinically-robust digital behavior change interventions for addictions, to offer the "Breaking Free from Substance Abuse" digital program via secure GTL inmate tablets. The program assists incarcerated individuals in achieving and maintaining recovery from dependence on over 70 different substances, including opioids, stimulants, prescribed medications, and alcohol.

GTL tablets also provide access to the Peace Education Program from The Prem Rawat Foundation, which helps participants discover a renewed sense of purpose, including how to use their own inner resources and lead more fulfilling lives through the exploration of 10 thought-provoking themes: Peace, Appreciation, Inner Strength, Self-Awareness, Clarity, Understanding, Dignity, Choice, Hope, and Contentment. This program can help improve mental health and well-being.

"Mental health issues touch people in all walks of life and all locations, and we must remember that it is okay to not be okay," concluded Ms. Hall. "What is not okay is to ignore the prevalence of these issues without an eye toward meaningful solutions. While struggling with mental illness might feel lonely, there are dozens of national organizations that can pair people with resources, recommend treatment paths, and more. GTL works with many of these community partners to offer mental health resources for incarcerated individuals, and we plan to expand those partnerships. May might be Mental Health Awareness Month, but it should be a focus all year round."

About GTL

GTL leads the fields of corrections technology, education, and intelligence, as well as government payment services, with visionary solutions that integrate seamlessly to deliver security, financial value, and operational efficiencies while aiding inmate rehabilitation. As a trusted industry leader, GTL provides services to over 1.6 million inmates in more than 2,300 correctional facilities in the United States and Canada, including 29 U.S. departments of corrections, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. GTL is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more about GTL, please visit www.gtl.net or social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Press Contact:

Randy Brown

703-215-5383

[email protected]

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SOURCE GTL
KIIS Melbourne's Jase & PJ is Australia's most popular FM breakfast radio show, according to a vote by 2,500 readers of radio industry website Radio Today.

On Tuesday, the website's reader poll survey revealed the duo landed the top spot against their rivals.

Jason Hawkins and Polly 'PJ' Harding secured 60.36 per cent of votes, placing them ahead of their rivals including Sydney's number one breakfast program The Kyle and Jackie O show, Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa and WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda.

Straight to the top! KIIS Melbourne's Jase & PJ have dominated Australia's FM Radio Today listener poll - while Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson place fourth

The impressive result marks their first Radio Today poll win for the duo, who joined the network in 2018.

Triple M's Moonman in the Morning hosted by Lawrence Mooney, Jess Eva and Chris Page received 12.14 per cent of votes to place second in the FM market.

WS FM's breakfast radio duo Amanda Keller and Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones followed in third.

Exciting! The impressive result marks their first Radio Today survey win for the duo, who joined the network in 2018

Despite Kyle and Jackie O's strong performance in the official GFK radio survey in March, the pair have placed fourth in Radio Today's listener poll.

Earlier this year, the KIIS FM duo had an audience share of 9.9 per cent in the GFK survey, placing them well ahead of rivals.

The market share result had marked the twelfth consecutive survey win for the pair.

Shocking! Despite Kyle and Jackie O's strong performance in the GFK radio survey in March, the pair have placed fourth in Radio Today's listener poll

Meanwhile, Hit105's breakfast show Stav, Abby and Matt came in fifth place in Radio Today's listener poll, followed by The Christian O'Connell Show on Gold 104.3 Melbourne.

Nova's Ben & Liam also made the list as one of the most popular breakfast shows on FM radio, followed by Nova's Melbourne show Chrissie, Sam & Browny and Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa show with Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael Wipfli.

Hit929's morning show with Xavier, Pete & Juelz secured the final place on the list.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 11:00:26|Editor: huaxia

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MINSK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The chief of a China-Belarus industrial park is confident about the two countries' cooperation in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), especially in the development of the park, an important BRI project.

Despite the temporary difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Belarus-China cooperation in all areas will continue, Alexander Yaroshenko, head of the administration of the China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Noting that Belarus and China are strategic partners, Yaroshenko said bilateral relations based on trust and mutual benefit show that the two countries are ready to help and support each other at this difficult time.

On May 12, 2015, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the future site of the industrial park, the largest cooperation project between the two countries, Yaroshenko recalled.

That day marked the beginning of the park's history, he said.

Since then, the park has brought together 60 companies from 15 countries, with well-known Chinese corporations such as Huawei, ZTE and China Merchants among its first residents, he said, adding the volume of declared investments is now approaching 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Yaroshenko said that the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected the work of the industrial park, slowing "the dynamics of business contacts" and "the speed of implementation of many projects."

Conferences and negotiations with partners and potential investors have been transferred online, he said.

Still, Yaroshenko said he believes that the park will continue to develop as a nodal platform for the BRI, and that its projects will achieve even better results in the next five years.

Any company in the world can develop and implement their projects in the park -- an open area for international cooperation, he said.

The park's administration would continue to develop the park together with its Chinese partners and participants from other countries, especially in priority areas such as pharmaceuticals, he said.

China has rich experience in the treatment and prevention of different diseases, he stressed, adding that China's unconditional willingness to share its best medical practices is very important.

As for the current pandemic, Yaroshenko said "the situation we have faced in 2020 shows how important it is for all countries to act together and abandon differences."

The China-proposed concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind bears special significance these days, he said.

"Close economic integration is required to overcome the negative consequences as quickly and efficiently as possible," he added. Enditem
No additional deaths caused by COVID-19 were registered for the 27th day in a row on Monday, as the Chinese mainland detected one further confirmed case and another suspected infection among inbound arrivals, according to data from the National Health Commission.

To date, the case count of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on the Chinese mainland has reached 82,919. All three suspected cases on record are inbound arrivals.

Following a daily drop of 27, the number of patients under treatment now stands at 115, and 80 are imported cases. The case count of imported cases has reached 1,691.

A contrast to the continuous decline in number of patients exhibiting severe symptoms, one person was sent into intensive care on Monday, bringing up the number of such patients to 10.

None of the 15 additional asymptomatic cases registered over the course of Monday were inbound arrivals, and 38 of the 760 such cases still under medical observation are imported ones.

Of the 737,599 people that have been traced as close contacts with the infected, 5,470 are still under medical observation.

The Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan province have reported a total of 1,532 confirmed cases, including four deaths in Hong Kong and seven deaths in Taiwan, the commission noted.

Meanwhile, 1,395 recovered patients in these regions have been discharged from hospitals.
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali on Tuesday registered 18 cases of the coronavirus, all discovered in Bamako, the capital, the Malian Ministry of Health has announced, disclosing that there was one fatality case and 21 patients cured
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  More than 2,000 health workers have contracted the coronavirus disease, the Department of Health reported on Tuesday, as the death toll in the sector rose to 35.

The DOH said the number of infections among medical frontliners has increased to 2,067, with 76 additional cases. From this figure, 759 are nurses, 631 are physicians, 129 are nursing assistants, 72 are medical technologists, 39 are radiologic technologists while the rest are barangay health workers, utility workers and administrative aides, among others.

Out of the total, there are 1,389 active cases or workers who are currently experiencing the illness -- 1,026 have mild symptoms, 356 have no symptoms and seven are severe cases.

The new tally means 19 percent of the country total, or one out of five cases, involves health workers. The national case tally is now at 11,350, with 2,106 recoveries and 751 deaths as of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the department recorded another fatality involving a health worker, the first death in over a week.

Some 99 health personnel have also recovered from COVID-19, bringing the number of survivors to 643.

The DOH maintained that the rate of infection among health workers continues to follow a downward trend since April 11, adding that the agency's prevention methods have been "effective" in protecting frontliners.

The agency also continues to allow more hospitals to recruit new workers through its emergency hiring program. The DOH said it approved 3,664 slots in 62 hospitals and quarantine centers, of which 1,187 openings have been filled in 11 of the facilities.

It also deployed 747 nurses across the country.

However, the World Health Organization earlier expressed concern over the country's number of infected health personnel back when the rate of infection was still at 13 percent. It said the number was much higher than the 2-3 percent in the WHO's Western Pacific Region comprising 37 member states including China.
Sree Chandana M By

Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: To monitor the mental health condition of Vizag gas leak victims, the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) officials began meeting patients.

DMHP clinical psychologist Dr Bhavani visited the victims under treatment at Pradhama Hospital and KGH and gave them a crisis intervention counselling on Monday. Giving details of the mental health condition of the victims, Dr Bhavani told TNIE that some of them are showing visible signs of anxiety and depression.

As of now most of them seem stable. However, some people need immediate mental healthcare, said Dr Bhavani.

Some of the victims complained of sleeplessness and loss of appetite, while all of them complained of stress and anxiety. I feel my head is constantly heavy after the incident. The visuals of the incident are flashing in my mind every time I try to sleep. I am not feeling hungry too and I am worried if I will have any long-term health issues because of inhaling the poisonous gas, said N Lakshmi at Pradhama hospital. Other patients expressed concerns such as what happens to their food stock and if the effect of styrene gas will stay for a long time or if they have to relocate their homes.

Addressing the victims, Dr Bhavani assured them of a better life and cleared all the misconceptions and doubts. All the victims will be treated under the DMHP and will be visited fortnightly or monthly for follow-up. We will take the help of community health centres, ANMs, Anganwadi workers and other volunteers to monitor their mental health. As of now, we must give them assurance of a better future and a healthy life, added Dr Bhavani.

The DMHP is planning to collaborate with the Government Hospital for Mental Care (GHMC) and organise group counselling session with more psychologists and officials on the team.
Jerusalem, May 12, 2020 (AFP) -

Comments last week from an unnamed Israeli defense official that Iran was reducing its presence in Syria sparked fierce debate about Tehran's next moves and how the Jewish state should respond.

Iran policy will inevitably be a top concern for the Israeli government to be sworn in Thursday, a unity coalition agreed after more than a year of unprecedented political deadlock.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will be in Israel the previous day, is to discuss Iran with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming defense minister Benny Gantz.

Their focus will inevitably be on Iranian nuclear ambitions, with the US pursuing a campaign of "maximum pressure", backed by Israel, to deter an Iranian weapons program.

But developments in Syria have placed renewed attention on Iranian action in Israel's northern neighbor.

Israel has launched hundreds of attacks in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 -- targeting government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from Tehran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

But in an apparent intensification, six air strikes attributed to Israel have been carried out on Iranian targets in Syria over the past three weeks.

Israel almost never claims -- or denies -- such strikes, consistently telling enquiring reporters that it "does not comment on foreign reports".

But following the most recent bombing last week, outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said: "Iran has nothing to do in Syria... (and) we won't stop before they leave Syria."

Bennett, who may be out of government entirely depending on last-minute coalition negotiations, accused Iran of "trying to establish itself on the border with Israel to threaten Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa".

'Iranians not leaving'

Since the start of the year, Iran has faced multiple crises: the US killing of top general Qassem Soleimani, the region's deadliest coronavirus outbreak with over 100,000 people infected, and tumbling oil prices slashing the state budget.

All of which has some observers wondering whether Iran is trying to reduce the cost of its involvement in Syria.

Such speculation was further fueled by an Israeli defense official recently quoted in Israeli media as saying: "For the first time since (deploying forces to) Syria, Iran is reducing the number of its soldiers there and evacuating bases."

And a US diplomat said: "It would make sense at a certain point that Iran would want to cut its losses and downsize its presence there just because it's increasingly costly to them in terms of life and property."

But not everyone in Israel is convinced that Tehran is ready to abandon Syria.

"The Iranians are not leaving," said Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, who suggested that Iran may instead be relying more heavily on local forces.

"Still the commanders are from Hezbollah and Iran and the cheap soldiers are Shia militia and local Syrians," he said.

Cost-cutting

A source in Jerusalem working on Iran policy agreed that Tehran remains committed to Syria and likely views its investment as a "sunk cost".

"They are waiting for the revenues, they can't withdraw so fast without getting the economic fruit that they think they should get," the source said.

Another source in Jerusalem claimed that Iran was attempting to divert funding for its coronavirus response towards paying its proxies in Syria.

"They are using the virus as an opportunity to increase funds for destabilizing activities in the region," the source said, without giving further details.

In April, sanctions-hit Iran urged the International Monetary Fund to issue a $5 billion emergency loan to help it combat the virus.

Yoram Schweitzer, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said strikes on Syria were either a response to growing Iranian operations or a bid to weaken an enemy already burdened by the pandemic.

But Israel will need to tread carefully, warned the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

"What Israel needs is a defense minister and an IDF (army) chief of staff who can do the necessary risk-management work together, and act to continue to degrade the Iranian military presence in Syria without creating situations that might draw the entire region into renewed conflict," the paper said.
Representative Image

The coronavirus pandemic is making it difficult for some startups to raise funds, forcing them to agree to tougher terms as investors get cautious and seek a greater say in an uncertain economic climate, source have told Moneycontrol.

Startups and venture capitalists (VCs) always drive a hard bargain but some founders, who desperately need money to survive the lockdown, are giving away rights to investors they otherwise would not.

"While founders have become more aware and aggressive about their rights over the years, COVID is making them negotiate less because the money is more important than the terms and valuation it comes with--it is to ensure survival, said Roma Priya, founder of Burgeon Law, a startup focused law firm. COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

For early to growth-stage deals, valuations have fallen 20-30 percent. Some founders are not being too stringent about voting rights, transfer of shares and sharing information with investors, sources said.

In one case, a top VC fund asked a startup for 1.5x liquidation preference against 1x, which is generally the norm. This means if the company were to shut down, the investor will be entitled to 1.5x of the amount invested.

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

Another clause that founders insist on is that investors will not sell their shares to a competing company at least for five years without explicit consent. However, the founder of an online brand waived off the right to raise a Series A round from a well-heeled VC, sources said.

Similarly, when three big investors were joining a startups Series B round, the founder wanted the majority consent voting rights. It basically meant that if the board proposed a motion and the majority of investors agreed, the motion would be passed. But the investors asked for individual rights, so the consent of each one of them is now a must for a proposal to go through. It almost amounts to giving each investor a veto.

Such terms are not the norm but during the lockdown, capital is coming with strings attached.

In most of these cases, the founders did not have the luxury to drive a hard bargain, as both time and money are of the essence, sources said.

Founders asking for more rights has been a feature of the technology ecosystem in India as well as overseas. High-profile founders such as Ubers Travis Kalanick and WeWorks Adam Neumann have been ousted from their companies and investors have often seized control.

Closer home, Sachin and Binny Bansals exit from Flipkart, the company they founded, and the boardroom battles at Snapdeal also made founders more careful about the rights and ownership they give away.

However, many of these conflicts were restricted to large firms--Indias unicorns. For instance, Olas Bhavish Aggarwal refused a further billion dollars from its largest backer- Japans SoftBank Group because he did not want to cede control.

In 2019, Oyos Ritesh Agarwal changed the hospitality firms articles of association to ensure that SoftBank couldnt increase its stake beyond 49 percent without his approval and that of his backers Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Even in the current situation, only some founders, generally young, inexperienced and in need of capital, are ceding more control.

"Early-stage deals generally tend to sway in favour of investors. However, only founders who have lesser runway and have to raise money right now are raising on stressed terms. Second-time founders, experienced folks or founders who have a runway for the next 12 months will still manage to get funding on fair terms, said Priya of Burgeon Law.

The terms of engagement also depend heavily on the business. Prospects for sectors like healthcare, online gaming and online education have improved significantly because of the lockdown and the pandemic.

A gaming firm, which in April raised money from a large VC, refused to grant any non-standard terms to investors. They negotiated as if it is a booming economy, and parties on both sides discussed for weeks until the investor conceded, a bit unusual for early-stage deals in this time, said a person aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane (L) and his wife Maesaiah Thabane sit at the Magistrate Court in Maseru, Lesotho, on Feb. 24, 2020. (Mouse Molise/AFP via Getty Images)

Lesotho PM Thabanes Coalition Folds, He Leaves on May 22

MASERULesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabanes coalition fell apart in parliament on May 11, spelling the end of his tenure and paving the way toward a resolution of a political crisis that has engulfed the southern African kingdom since late 2019.

National Assembly Speaker Sephiri Motanyane announced the collapse of his governing majority and said Thabane, 80, would have to step down by May 22.

The prime minister has been under pressure to resign over a case in which he and his current wife are suspected of conspiring to murder his former wife. His current wife, Maesaiah, has been charged while Thabane has been named as a suspect though he has yet to be formally charged. They both deny any involvement.

Thabanes signature was on the list of those consenting to the deal to dissolve the government and form a new one.

I will not be able to answer on his part for things that happened in parliament, but the list was read in parliament and he confirmed his name, Thabanes spokesman Relebohile Moyeye said by telephone when asked about the signatures.

The murder case has divided his party and triggered sporadic unrest. In a pretrial hearing, Thabane had argued for immunity from prosecution, leading many to suspect he would try to insist on it before leaving office.

The prime ministers prosecution  is not part of this deal at all, we are not even thinking of considering it, Democratic Congress party spokesman Montoeli Masoetsa told Reuters by telephone. It is not even within our scope, and that is entirely with the courts of law.

Sam Rapapa, deputy chairman of Thabanes All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, said all parties had provisionally agreed on Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro to replace Thabane.

Thabane is now a caretaker prime minister until May 22 when a new prime minister is sworn in, Rapapa said.

His exit would calm tensions in a politically unstable country that has experienced several coups since independence from Britain in 1966.

Lesothos conflicts often draw in South Africa, whose central mountains encircle itthe tiny, high-altitude kingdom of two million people is a vital supplier of drinking water to its bigger, drier neighbor.

Members of the ABC, opposition parties, and South African mediators had been pressing Thabane to leave. King Letsie III last week assented to legislation that prevented the prime minister from dissolving parliament and calling an election in the event of a vote of no confidence against him.

By Marafaele Mohloboli
Today was a day of bomb shells in the UK and here in Spain. England was told it cant go on holiday this summer, while Spain introduced a two-week quarantine period for non-Spanish residents which sent shock waves through the tourist industry and associated sectors.

Opposition politicians, already intent of bringing the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez down over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, went into overdrive - in particular the far right party Vox.

Its parliamentary spokesperson, Jorge Campos, slammed the announcement warning that it will ruin the tourist industry.

Campos fears that it could be the straw that breaks the camels back.

He was also quick to point out that the countrys main competing holiday destinations such as Greece and Turkey have not imposed quarantine periods, instead they have done everything possible to encourage tourism by making travel to and from the countries, when possible, as easy as possible while slashing VAT and other fiscal burdens.

He concluded that, if faced with long periods stuck checking-in at airports and the threat of quarantine, Europeans thinking about coming to Spain will opt for the simple option and go elsewhere.

Granted, the quarantine period is only in place between May 15-May 24 but it sends out the wrong message at a time when the state of alarm is being eased.
[May 12, 2020] Avaya Activates Channel in Canada for New Avaya Cloud OfficeTM Collaboration Solution, Names SYNNEX as the First Master Agent in Canada

Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AVYA), a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, today announced that SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading business process services company, will be the first to offer the new Avaya (News - Alert) Cloud Office by RingCentral UCaaS solution through their partner networks in Canada. Avaya Cloud Office is an all-in-one collaboration solution providing seamless communications, file sharing and collaboration capabilities across unified voice, video, messaging, digital customer engagement and meetings. It will be generally available in Canada in the current quarter. Avaya continues to address the unique requirements of the Canadian market with new unified communications (UC) and contact center (CC) cloud solutions provided through its extensive partner ecosystem here. Avaya Cloud Office is a world-class UC-as-a-Service (UCaaS) solution developed as part of the strategic partnership between Avaya and RingCentral (News - Alert). Avaya Cloud Office will be generally available in Canada in June, and provides a seamless journey to cloud-based UC built on the industry's leading UCaaS platform combined with Avaya innovation, device interoperability and migration tools. As a leading Canadian distributor, SYNNEX (News - Alert) is able to drive Avaya cloud communications solutions through its nationwide network of sales agents. "Avaya Cloud Office is a flexible cloud solution enabling communications from anywhere across any device, so teams can be productive and connected, whether working remotely or in the office," said Miles Davis. "As we expand availability of Avaya Cloud Office, there has been tremendous excitement from partners and customers, and we are building on that momentum with new master agents to support our upcoming launch in the Canada market." "SYNNEX is pleased to further extend our agreement with Avaya to assist our customers more fully enable and leverage the rapidly expanding cloud-based unified communications, collaboration and contact center solutions," said Mitchell Martin, President, SYNNEX Canada. "Our dedicated Avaya cloud solutions team can assist customers in a transition that is especially important in the current environment where companies are looking to ensure business continuity through a virtual workforce."



To learn more about Avaya through SYNNEX, email [email protected].

About Avaya Businesses are built on the experiences they provide, and everyday millions of those experiences are built by Avaya (NYSE: AVYA). For over one hundred years, we've enabled organizations around the globe to win - by creating intelligent communications experiences for customers and employees. Avaya builds open, converged and innovative solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration - in the cloud, on-premise or a hybrid of both. To grow your business, we're committed to innovation, partnership, and a relentless focus on what's next. We're the technology company you trust to help you deliver Experiences that Matter. Visit us at www.avaya.com. About SYNNEX SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX) is a Fortune 200 corporation and a leading business process services company, providing a comprehensive range of distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry and providing outsourced services focused on customer engagement to a broad range of enterprises. SYNNEX distributes a broad range of information technology systems and products, and also provides systems design and integration solutions. Concentrix, a wholly owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation, offers a portfolio of strategic solutions and end-to-end business services focused on customer engagement, process optimization, technology innovation, front and back-office automation and business transformation to clients in ten identified industry verticals. Founded in 1980, SYNNEX Corporation operates in numerous countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at synnex.com. Copyright 2019 SYNNEX Corporation. All rights reserved. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo, CONCENTRIX, and all other SYNNEX company, product and services names and slogans are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNNEX Corporation. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo and CONCENTRIX Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Other names and marks are the property of their respective owners. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release contains certain "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking" statements for purposes of the U.S. federal and state securities laws. These statements may be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "our vision," "plan," "potential," "preliminary," "predict," "should," "will," or "would" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control. These factors are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)"), and may cause its actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to the Company's filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. The Company cautions you that the list of important factors included in the Company's SEC filings may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the matters referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this report may not in fact occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. All trademarks identified by , TM, or SM are registered marks, trademarks, and service marks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Source (News - Alert): Avaya Newsroom View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005297/en/

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The wife of a former American soldier charged with terrorism and conspiracy for his role in a failed Venezuelan coup has pleaded with the U.S. government to do everything it can to secure his release.

Airan Berry, 41, was arrested in Venezuela on May 4 alongside fellow American Luke Denman, 34, and six Venezuelans following a foiled attempt to overthrown President Nicolas Maduro.

His wife Melanie Berry has said she and their two teenage children are 'in shock' after learning about his arrest on the internet.

'Our children, especially, are very upset and very sad  they want their dad back,' she told German publication t-online.

Her appeal came as a new video emerged of an March 23 arms seizure in Colombia that has been identified as the point from which the coup, organized by former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau and his Florida-based company Silvercorp USA, began to unravel.

The stockpile was destined for the coup training camps before being intercepted by Colombian authorities.

Airan Berry, 41, pictured with his wife Melanie and their two children. She has called on the U.S. government to do everything it can to ensure his safe release after the former Green Beret was arrested in Venezuela on May 4 for his role in a failed bid to overthrow President Maduro

Melanie Berry has said she was relieved to see former soldier Airan speaking in an interrogation video broadcast on Venezuelan state TV and social media on Thursday

Video has also emerged of the arms seizure in Colombia on March 23, pictured above, that it believed to be the point from which the failed Venezuelan coup began to dismantle

Berry, Denman and Goudreau had all been stationed in Germany together with the 10th Special Forces Group 1st Battalion, before Berry left the military in 2013 and settled in Schweinfurt, Germany, with his family, Melanie explained.

He has lived in Germany since leaving the army after 17 years of service, she added, and had settled professionally in Schweinfurt until Goudreau approached him with the job.

She said that she did not know the details of the job that Berry had taken from Goudreau as he could not reveal any information and she only learned of the coup after his arrest.

'It was his first assignment for a private security firm,' Melanie said.

'My husband knew him from the time they spent together in Iraq and he trusted him.'

'I definitely knew nothing about any set period of time. He couldn't give me any information. He took the job offer, and that's all I know.'

The family is now in contact with the family of Luke Denman and with various agencies hoping to secure their safe release.

'We're hoping that the U.S. government will use all its resources to bring my husband Airan and Luke Denman home,' she wrote to t-online.de.

'They're good men who are worthy of being protected, supported and provided with the kind the help they have so often given to others.

'After all the years that Airan worked to ensure the safety of Americans, he deserves every possible resource to get him home safely to his family,' his wife insisted.

'Since we learned of the arrest, we have been in constant contact with various agencies and organizations, but we don't have any details right now.'

Melanie Berry, pictured, said her husband Airan did not tell her anything about the job he was on and she only learned on the coup after his arrest. She said that Berry knew ringleader Goudreau as they were both stationed in Germany when in the U.S. army

Airan and Melanie Berry pictured with their children. Melanie as said that their teenage children 'want their dad back' and are very upset by his arrest in Venezuela

Denman's family were also unaware of his involvement until his brother Mark spotted his Nordic tattoo in the pictures of the arrest and realized that he was not at his job offshore welding as they had believed.

'The first 24 hours, we had no clue about what was going on,' Mark Denman told the Military Times.

'Every day, we learn a little bit more and by the end of the week, we learned quite a bit.

'I have been making a lot of phone calls to get in touch with folks, embassies in Bogata,' he added.

'The Swiss Embassy. Consular services. The State Department. I have talked to a lot of attorneys about helping out, but I have not seen a clear plan about what they can do. They explain how much their retainers are.'

Airan Berry, pictured, was charged on Friday with terrorism and conspiracy

Berry and Denman were sentenced in their first court appearance on Friday and face up to 25 to 30 years in prison.

On Wednesday and Thursday, video clips of their interrogation by Venezuelan authorities had been broadcast and shared on social media, in which they appears to confess to involvement in the raid.

'Seeing him in that video was a relief,' Melanie said.

'Our hope is that Airan and Luke are treated in accordance with international human rights law.

'My husband Airan and I have been married for 19 years. He means everything to me and our whole family, and he is my best friend.'

'He looked OK,' Denman's brother said of his video, adding that he was relieved that Venezuelans are prosecuting them in court because the country doesn't have a death penalty.

In their interrogation videos, Berry and Denman revealed they had been approached by Goudreau in early December about the plot and they were hired by Silvercorp to meet with around 60 Venezuelans in training camps in Colombia to prepare them for the mission.

The former soldiers flew to Colombia on January 16 and after training, they accompanied the troops by boat to Venezuelan to oversee the plan and ensure that an airport was secured through which Maduro could be flown to the United States.

Airan Berry, pictured top, and Luke Deman, pictured bottom, were arrested on May 4 as part of a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Maduro. Their families have claimed they had no idea of the details of the job and didn't know they were in Venezuela before their arrest

The U.S. had established a $15million reward in March for information that led to the arrest or conviction of the socialist leader.

The incursion was quickly shut down by Venezuelan authorities on Sunday and Monday, however, and 31 arrested, as Maduro revealed that Venezuelan intelligence had facilitated the plot in Colombia and they had been lying in wait for it to launch.

The ill-fated plan showed signs of failure from the off as a video has now emerged of the arms seizure in Colombia on March 23 which sparked the eventual dismantling of the mission.

Colombian police seized a stockpile of weapons being transported in a truck, which rebellious former Venezuelan Army General, Cliver Alcala, claimed ownership off just before he surrendered to face U.S. narcotics charges.

This arms seizure in Colombia on March 23 is believed to be the point from which the plot really began to dismantle. Cliver Alcala, who had been working with Goudreau to lead the coup, claimed responsibility for the guns. Five days later, Venezuelan state TV had shown pictures of Goudreau and appeared to have the names on Berry and Denman.

Alcala is said to have worked with Goudreau on the plot after the pair met in Bogota and Alcala told Goudreau that he was secretly training dozens of Venezuelan military deserters in secret camps.

The stockpile seized in March, worth around $150,000, included spotting scopes, night vision goggles, two-way radios and 26 American-made assault rifles with the serial numbers rubbed off.

Fifteen brown-colored helmets seized by police were manufactured by High-End Defense Solutions, a Miami-based military equipment vendor owned by a Venezuelan immigrant family, according to Colombian police.

High-End Defense Solutions is the same company that Goudreau visited in November and December, allegedly to source weapons, according to two former Venezuelan soldiers who spoke to the Associated Press.

They claim to have helped the American select the gear but later had a bitter falling out with Goudreau amid accusations that they were moles for Maduro.

The AP reported that they could not independent verify their account.

The stockpile pictured was seized on March 23 and included gear from a company that Goudreau visited in November and December, allegedly to source weapons

The stockpile, worth around $150,000, included spotting scopes, night vision goggles, two-way radios and 26 American-made assault rifles with the serial numbers rubbed off

Ringleader Goudreau came on board to oversee the training and continued with the mission even after Alcala surrendered and Venezuelan state TV claimed its government had infiltrated the 'mercenaries'.

It emerged Monday that they even aired photographs of Goudreau on March 28 and had Berry and Denman's names over a month before the coup would be attempted.

Goudreau is now under federal investigation in the U.S. for arms smuggling after identifying himself as the person behind the plot in a video posted to social media and claiming that he had provided the coup members with training and equipment.

The former Green Beret was not able to take part in the plan he hatched after his boat broke down in March and he was forced to return to Florida where travel restrictions because of the coronavirus outbreak prevented him from returning to his troops.

He claims to have signed a $212million contract with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guadio, who is backed as the country's legitimate leader by the U.S., a claim which Guaido has denied.

Maduro has presented an alleged signed contract during press conferences as proof that Guaido was involved in the plot to overthrow him.

Guaido's U.S.-based strategists JJ Rendon and Sergio Vergara handed in their letter of resignation on Monday after Rendon revealed to the press last week that he had given $50,000 to Goudreau as part of an 'exploratory' deal.

He said he signed a preliminary agreement with Goudreau and Silvercorp USA with the idea of exploring whether several members of the Maduro government who are being prosecuted or who have arrest warrants could be captured and brought to justice.

However, he assures that this agreement did not become effective and that they had no involvement in Goudreau continuing with the coup plot.

According to the Associated Press, a person familiar with the situation said the agreement was signed by Rendon and Vergara in October.

Guaido at one point briefly greeted Goudreau via video conference - as evidenced by an audio recording made on a hidden cellphone by Goudreau and which he shared with the Venezuelan journalist.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has used an allegedly signed contract between Guaido and Goudreau to claim that his opposition leader was involved in the botched coup

'Let's get to work!' said a voice that appears to be Guaido in the leaked recording. He makes no mention of any military incursion.

A few days later, the team cut off contact with Goudreau, realizing he was unable to deliver what he had promised and because they were not getting along, the person said. An attempt to reactivate the accord fell through in November because the opposition has abandoned support for a private military incursion, the person said.

The last contact with Goudreau was a few weeks ago when a lawyer on the veteran's behalf wrote Rendon seeking to collect a promised $1.5 million retainer.

Goudreau, through intermediaries, made it known that if they didn't pay up he would release the agreement to the press, the person said.

The Maduro government requested an arrest warrant for both Goudreau and Rendon on Friday.

Guaido and the U.S. government have denied any involvement.
There are business tycoons who, without sparing a thought suggested that people should be working in overdrive, and for about 60 hours a week to revive the economy while donating basically peanuts out of their family wealth.

 BCCL

And then there are business leaders like Azim Premji who has donated almost Rs 1000 Crores in the fight against COVID-19.

 Reuters

Forbes recently came out with a list of personal donors who have donated the most in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, and our very own Azim Premji stood third in the list. Mind you, the list focuses on the entire world. So, who has donated how much, and the question that we're pretty sure everyone has on their minds, how much did Bill Gates & Jeff Bezos donate? Well, read on.

Jack Dorsey - $1 Billion

 Twitter/jack

At just over a billion dollars, Jack Dorsey of Twitter tops the list. He gave away about 25 per cent of his net worth to a charitable trust, that will distribute the massive fortune, in areas and institutions where experts feel it is needed the most. Most of it, has been earmarked for research and development of a vaccine.

Bill Gates - $255 Million

 Twitter/BillGates

The former Microsoft boss has given away a large portion of his wealth over the years, to a number of charitable causes. For the pandemic, Bill Gates has donated about 0.24 per cent of his net worth, funding a number of research and development projects working to make a vaccine, and procuring PPEs for medical workers.

Azim Premji - $132 Million

 PTI

Like we said, Azim Premji of Wipro stands 3rd on this global list. If we look at this list from a percentage basis, as in who has given away most of their individual wealth when compared to their networth, Azim Premji comfortably beats Bill Gates, and is only behind Dorsey, at 2.2 per cent.

George Soros - $130 Million

 AFP

George Soros is an investor who is worth $8 Billion. He made his fortune mainly by trading stocks and investing in unicorn startups which took off really well. Over the years, he has donated over $32 Billion, making one of the most charitable and philanthropic investors in the world. His donation for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is roughly 1.57 per cent of his net worth

Andrew Forrest - $100+ Million

 Wiki Commons

Andrew Forrest is an Australian mining baron and the owner of a number of metal processing plants. At one point of time, he was the richest man in Australia. His donation of over $100 Million is over 1.23 per cent of his net worth.

Jeff Skoll - $100+ Million

 AFP

Jeff Skoll was one of the founding members of eBay, and one of the guys who spearheaded the Dot-Com bubble, the sudden surge in the number of websites that came up in the late 90s. Skoll too has donated well over $100 Million or about 2 per cent of his net worth.

Jeff Bezos - $100 Million

 Reuters

Yes, Jeff Bezos, the richest man on earth, comes in at number 7. Over the course of the year, Bezos has donated $100 million in the fight against COVID-19 or roughly 0.07 per cent of his net worth.

Michael Dell - $100 Million

 AFP

With a net worth of $27 Billion, Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, comes in at number at. The $100 Million he has donated amounts to about 0.37 of his entire net worth.

Michael Bloomberg - 74.5 Million USD

 WikiCommons

Network Mogul Michael Bloomberg, has donated about $74.5 Million. The former mayor of New York, was at one point the 9th richest man in the world, with a net worth of over $55.4 Billion. Bloomberg also tried running for the Presidency of the United States. Bloomberg's donation is about 0.13 per cent of his net worth.

Lynn Schusterman - $70 Million

 WikiCommons

Lynn Schusterman and her daughter, Stacy Schusterman owned one of America's largest energy companies and oil refineries, named Samson Energy. Lynn has donated over $70 Million, which is about 2.06 per cent of her wealth.
Whats new: Starry Lee Wai-king, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, suggested in a Monday press conference that 20 square kilometers of undeveloped land, which is officially part of the mainland, be designated to Hong Kong in order to help ease the citys housing shortage. The land in question is on an island neighboring the special administrative region.

The background: The proposal came ahead of the CPPCC's annual gathering in Beijing later this month. The proposed designated area for "Hong Kong communities" is located on Guishan Island in the Pearl River Estuary and is officially part of Zhuhai city.

Guishan Island

Lee, also chairperson of the largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, added that the designated areas will also create jobs and facilities including schools, shopping malls and senior nursing homes.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)
Rapper Okyeame Kwame says his wife Annica Nsiah Apau is now his mother, after calling her my new mom on Mothers Day.



He got everyone talking on Sunday when he shared a photo of himself kissing her during their workout session and compared her to his real mother, Madam Alice Nsiah.



According to him, she is a younger version of his mother and she does everything her mom did for him.



The couple, who have been married since 2009, are blessed with two children  Sir Kwame Bota and Sante Antwiwaa.



On Mothers Day, the Made in Ghana crooner first shared his image with his biological mother and wrote, Happy Mothers Day Alice Nsiah Bota. U (you) are the best mother in the whole world. You worked three jobs to support your husband. You stomached a lot to stay with your husband (for our sake). You sacrificed yourself to develop your children. U (you) are the most beautiful woman in the whole world. I love You Maa. The beautiful thing about this post is that you will never see it but it will remind some fool who is disrespecting his mother because a spiritualist told him the mom is a witch that He should behave. Love u (you) Mom. Pls (please) be happy in your spirit. Live longer. And watch what true love can do.



Then three hours later, he also shared another photo with his wife kissing and said, Happy Mothers Day to my new mom. @mrsokyeame Younger version of Alice. U do all that Alice did (feed, guide, nurture). Except that you take me in when it is HARD.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The goal of a vaccine is to trigger a response that safely protects against an infection and/or the burden of disease. While this is true for all vaccines, the steps leading to a safe and effective product can be different for each infection. In the case of COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital have found that vaccine design can face specific challenges and that vaccine development approaches require an understanding of how the immune system naturally responds to a specific infection as well as how vaccines might trigger specific protective responses.

The National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's, co-led by Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi and Dr. Peter Hotez, currently are developing coronavirus vaccines. The researchers are applying their years of experience developing vaccines for neglected tropical and emerging infectious diseases such as SARS and MERS to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

"As we proceed with the designing and testing of vaccine candidates, we felt the need to collaborate with a clinical immunologist, who also is engaged in basic and translational research, so that together we can inform our vaccine development efforts and ensure we evaluate both the protective mechanisms and avoid inducing any undesirable immunological responses that have been associated with some respiratory viruses," said Bottazzi, professor of pediatrics and of molecular virology and microbiology and associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor.

Bottazzi and Hotez approached Baylor's pulmonologist Dr. David Corry, professor of immunology, allergy and rheumatology and Fulbright Endowed Chair in Pathology in the Department of Pathology & Immunology. He also is a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

One of the outcomes of their collaboration is the recent publication of two papers, one in Microbes and Infection and the other in Nature Reviews Immunology.

"These publications are the result of an in-depth literature search and analysis that has informed our vaccine development strategy. We highlight experimental and clinical evidence showing some of the challenges toward the development of COVID-19 vaccines -- what we know and what we don't know -- and the critical points we should pay close attention to as we advance and evaluate our vaccine candidates," Bottazzi said. What does a protective response against COVID-19 look like?

COVID-19 is a new disease and while most of the evidence points to natural infection with the virus generating protective immunity, important gaps still remain. Researchers know, for instance, that the mechanism of protection most likely will need to rely on a robust antibody response with neutralizing capacity, coupled with a balanced cellular response and cytokines or immune proteins. In recent studies, rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2 have shown to develop protective antibodies and resistance to reinfection. Previous studies from SARS-CoV in 2003 also showed that persistent antibody responses against the virus spike protein -- the protein the virus uses to bind and invade a cell -- and specifically against a part of the spike protein known as the receptor binding domain, supported immunity.

"We are encouraged by the evidence supporting the likelihood that immunizing against the spike protein's receptor binding domain represents a realistic and viable vaccination strategy. However, many questions remain." said Hotez, who serves as dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor, as well as the Texas Children's Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics.

"Studying the immunological responses triggered in people infected by the virus is one way researchers can select what viral components or antigens are promising candidates to use when designing the vaccine," Bottazzi said. "That, coupled with studies using laboratory models of disease, is how scientists attempt to predict what are the ideal mechanisms of protection triggered by vaccines."

On that basis, the Baylor and Texas Children's teams, in collaboration with the New York Blood Center, developed a vaccine strategy based on this fragment of the viral protein, the receptor binding domain. How to design a vaccine that safely protects against COVID-19

Experimental and preclinical observations made during prior attempts to develop vaccines against respiratory viruses suggest that some vaccine formulations may trigger undesirable responses. Some of these responses may be cell mediated while others may be triggered by antibodies. Cell-mediated responses

Preclinical testing of some experimental vaccines followed by viral infection in animal models showed tissue damage caused by cellular infiltrates after the induction of an immune response.

"Some experimental animals developed an inflammatory response in the lung or liver characterized by significant infiltration of immune cells -- lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils," Corry said. "Our literature search suggests that this cellular infiltration can be associated with IL-6, a cytokine or immune protein that is strongly increased in patients with COVID-19 who experience a cytokine storm, an excessive production of cytokines that can be life-threatening."

"We also found studies that show that type Th17 immune responses likely could account for the cellular infiltrates, including eosinophils, observed in animal models," said Hotez.

This immune infiltration was observed with experimental viral-vectored vaccines. Viral-vectored vaccines use a chemically weakened and different virus to transport components or antigens of the COVID-19 virus into the body to stimulate an immune response.

Although more research is needed to understand the mechanisms of cell-mediated responses and their relevance to clinical outcomes, the potential of significant immune cell infiltration has important implications for COVID-19 vaccine development.

Research also has suggested that the selection of adjuvants -- agents traditionally added to vaccines to boost a positive immune response -- may impact the type of immune response triggered. For instance, in SARS vaccines, using alum reduces cellular infiltration, indicating that this adjuvant could minimize these undesirable responses.

"Based on prior evidence, we also opted to evaluate and use alum in our COVID-19 vaccine formulation since our goal is to ensure we reduce the possibility of inducing an undesirable immune response," Bottazzi said. Antibody-mediated responses

Called antibody-dependent enhancement, this response has been previously observed in dengue and other viral infections.

"Antibody-dependent enhancement in dengue occurs when antibodies bind to the virus and shuttle it inside infection-fighting cells called macrophages. Once the virus coated with an antibody is inside macrophages, it doesn't die. It replicates," Corry said. "The macrophages end up spreading the infection inside the organism as macrophages move around."

Whether this phenomenon is relevant to human coronavirus infection is unclear. In laboratory experiments, antibody-dependent enhancement seems to occur with both non-neutralizing and neutralizing antibodies.

"For this reason, we selected the receptor binding domain of the virus. It excludes the epitopes or sections of viral proteins that might potentially induce antibody-dependent enhancement," Hotez said.

"We have not found any evidence that our vaccine triggers antibody-dependent enhancement in laboratory pre-clinical experiments. Experimental evidence suggests that our vaccine against the receptor binding domain leads to the neutralization of the virus," Bottazzi said. "Preclinical studies performed with our partners at the University of Texas Medical Branch, show that the receptor binding domain on alum is indeed a promising vaccine candidate. It can trigger an immune response that is protective and does not induce undesirable cellular immune responses. We are working to advance this approach into the clinic for phase 1 studies."

"There are many challenges to overcome but like never before, scientists around the world are working together to develop effective and affordable vaccines," Corry said. "We'll get there, it will just take time to do it right."

"We believe that we need to have many vaccine candidates, platforms and trials, so we can evaluate as many vaccine options as possible to select the ones that are the most appropriate and prove to be the most effective and safe," said Hotez.

"We invested almost a decade of research to maximize immune protection and minimize or prevent immune enhancement. Ultimately our goal is that these vaccines are made for the global population, accessible and affordable to all."

###
The Trump administration does not view the new Israeli government's July 1 deadline to begin the process of annexing parts of the West Bank as a "do or die" date, a senior U.S. official tells me.

Why it matters: Israel will want an American green light before making any moves on annexation.

The backstory: The coalition deal that allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government says he can bring "the understandings with the Trump administration" on annexation up for a vote in the cabinet or parliament as early as July 1  but only with the full agreement of the White House.

The latest: Pompeo will meet in Jerusalem on Wednesday with Netanyahu, incoming Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, and incoming Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi.

Pompeo was non-committal on the timetable for annexations in an interview with Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu newspaper.

He's not expected to make any commitments on this issue while in Israel, in public statements or behind closed doors, officials tell me.

U.S. officials tell me their focus is on the coronavirus crisis, and it would be premature to move forward on this issue.

At the same time, the Trump administration continues to warn the Palestinians that their decision to boycott talks will not work out in their favor.
A 70-year-old man was beaten to death allegedly by his son in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on Tuesday, police said.

Maherban was sleeping at his house in Nawla village, when his 35-year-old son Rihan allegedly attacked him with a handpump's handle, said Mansurpur SHO Manoj Chahal.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Rihan is mentally unstable, he said.

A case of murder was registered and Rihan arrested, the station house officer said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[May 12, 2020] Virgin Media Business and 8x8 Sign Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Cloud Communications Adoption Across the UK

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform, today announced a partnership with Virgin Media Business, one of the UK's largest business data network providers and supplier of business communications solutions to more than 50,000 UK businesses. The partnership will allow Virgin Media (News - Alert) Business to extend its Voice and Unified Comms portfolio, providing Public Sector, Enterprise and SME customers with a host of new cloud-based and fully-integrated communications tools from 8x8 (News - Alert) covering voice, video, chat and contact centre solutions. Joining forces with 8x8 enables Virgin Media Business to tap into the rapidly growing cloud communications market and provide clients with a single-platform solution. 8x8's unique technology stack offers a whole host of rich features, without the challenges that on-premises equipment often presents, enabling staff to collaborate faster and work smarter wherever they are. The fully global communications platform supports enterprise-class API solutions and allows Virgin Media Business' customers the ability to add new functionality with ease. By moving to cloud based communications services, businesses will be able to reduce their capital expenditure and move towards a future-proof communications platform designed to scale with their business. Under the partnership, Virgin Media Business and 8x8 will work together to configure and rollout integrated cloud services and provide 24/7 support for customers. John DeLozier, Senior Vice President & Global Channel Chief at 8x8 commented, "We are thrilled to be working with a leading UK partner like Virgin Media Business. This strategic partnership will enable us to help thousands of private and public sector businesses communicate more effectively with cloud-based technology. We're looking forward to helping Virgin Media Business expand further into the clod space in the coming months."



Andrew Halliwell, Product Director at Virgin Media Business said, "This partnership provides our customers with a globally leading cloud communication platform that offers a step change in how businesses communicate with their customers and colleagues. 8x8 is a truly disruptive business whose relentless customer focus and innovative products make them a natural partner for Virgin Media Business." About 8x8, Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact center and enterprise-class API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 empowers workforces worldwide to connect individuals and teams so they can collaborate faster and work smarter. Real-time analytics and intelligence provide businesses unique insights across all interactions and channels so they can delight end-customers and accelerate their business. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. About Virgin Media Business Virgin Media Business provides internet, data and telephone services to more than 50,000 UK businesses. We also partner with the public sector: with local councils and thousands of schools to improve connectivity in communities and support learning, and with the emergency services to enable them to perform their life-saving skills efficiently. Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we're expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which could extend our network to up to 17 million premises. Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones. Virgin Mobile (News - Alert) launched the world's first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global (News - Alert), one of the world's leading converged video, broadband and communications companies. Liberty Global connects 11 million customers through operations in six countries across Europe subscribing to 25 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 6 million mobile subscribers. Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Readers are directed to 8x8's periodic and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) for a description of such risks and uncertainties. 8x8 undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005855/en/

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Editor's note:Read the latest on how the coronavirus is rattling the markets and what investors can do to navigate it.

COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus), has spread across the globe, and as we enter May, several countries and U.S. states are testing ways to relax lockdowns and begin paving the way for economic recovery. While we don't think U.S. states will follow federal guidelines for reopening, we expect the transition to be gradual and that they will quickly reverse any moves that lead to a spike in new cases. Diagnostic testing has improved more rapidly than we anticipated, to around 250,000 a day, and we think a combination of continued social distancing (masks and six-foot rule), steady improvement to 800,000 tests per day by the end of the year (which facilitates contact tracing and surveillance), broader availability of Gilead's remdesivir, and potential targeted antibodies and vaccines by the end of the year in high-risk populations should allow visits to nonessential businesses like restaurants, salons, and retailers to recover to 30% below prepandemic levels by year-end, from a trough at around 65% below in March.

Our new base-case scenario assumes that less than 10% of the U.S. population is infected by the end of 2020, with a 0.7% death rate, as improving levels of testing help control the spread of the disease.

The recent emergency use authorization for Gilead's GILD remdesivir in severely ill COVID-19 patients is a turning point, but efficacy to date does not look strong enough on its own to justify relaxing lockdowns. That said, we project $2 billion in peak sales in 2021, assuming an eventual U.S. price (after donated supplies) of around $500 per treatment.

Vaccine progress has accelerated from an already rapid pace: Moderna MRNA, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, Pfizer PFE, and AstraZeneca AZN could all receive emergency use authorizations by the end of the year. Assuming that at least two succeed, potential broad availability (billions of doses) would allow near-normal distancing measures by mid-2021.

U.S. daily diagnoses have generally flattened between 20,000 and 30,000 per day since March 30, but we think this is primarily due to increases in testing availability and that actual new cases are probably trending down.

We assume that there could be some intermittent reclosures in certain parts of the country if the effective reproduction number Rt (transmission rate) climbs above 1, which is why we assume a step-up in cases in June (after the initial relaxing is taken too far) and September (as children return to school).

Story continues

Morningstar's Coronavirus Analysis: Narrowing Our Three Scenarios

With new cases declining in New York and several states seeing continuing small (if sometimes increasing) numbers of infections, many states are entering May in a position to begin considering how to relax their lockdowns and overcome the economic shutdown. Federal guidelines on social distancing that were put in place in mid-March faded at the end of April, so each state is likely to become a slightly different experiment in how to emerge from lockdown, with varying results depending on strategy, speed of reopening, and buy-in (or lockdown fatigue) from residents. Resurgences in several countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Germany serve as cautionary tales on moving too quickly. There are also many factors that could sway outcomes that are largely beyond a state's control, at least in the near term, such as population density, climate, demographics, and quality of healthcare facilities. We've combined our understanding of tools to fight transmission and lethality of the virus--from simple interventions, like wearing masks, to the most complex, such as developing vaccines--to update our scenario analysis for the emergence of the United States from lockdown. While we think strategies will vary by state, we keep most of our analysis at the overall country level for simplicity.

Our first report in early March focused on understanding the lethality and spread of the new virus and its potential economic impact in the context of past pandemics. Once it became clear that the U.S. was willing to move to more severe stay-at-home measures and lock down part of the economy to mitigate the disease following disasters in countries like Italy, which were only slightly ahead of our timeline, our second report dived deeper into the potential waves of transmission depending on the month-by-month extent of social distancing, nonessential-business closures, and pharmaceutical progress, and how this could hit GDP on an industry-by-industry basis.

As we enter May, we're faced with the challenge of estimating when nonessential businesses will be allowed to reopen and to what extent this will translate to reality--some business owners could opt to stay closed longer. It also remains unclear what demand will be like, as shoppers may continue to distance despite reopenings (roughly 70% of respondents in a recent national poll opposed such reopenings) or, conversely, travel from other states to shop because of continuing lockdown in their home state. If businesses reopen and shoppers return, there's also uncertainty around whether reopening is sustainable and will actually speed the economic recovery; a COVID-19 resurgence could require reopenings to be reversed by the fall. With reopening, diagnostics are becoming more critical than ever, as wider availability will allow us to isolate infected patients earlier, perform effective contact tracing, and perform heavier testing in areas with larger outbreaks. We have a variety of tools that we can combine to limit transmission as we reopen, but we think finding the right balance will take time as well as trial and error.

We're also at a critical point in drug and vaccine development, as drug data has left us with limited options in the near term but high potential in the long run, and vaccine progress has been impressive. Preliminary data offers a mixed view on whether we will have access to drugs or vaccines later this year that could begin to make a dent in transmission and allow for wider, more sustainable reopening. Based on recent data, Gilead's remdesivir looks useful in severely ill hospitalized patients, and as an antiviral it is likely to be useful in earlier-stage patients as well (further data is expected later in May); IL-6 inhibitors like Roche's RHHBY Actemra and Regeneron REGN/Sanofi's SNY Kevzara are more likely to work in patients who are already in critical condition (on ventilators), if they work at all (recent data on Kevzara was discouraging); and the use of malaria drugs chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine will be sharply limited by efficacy concerns and cardiac side effects.

While we have yet to see data on vaccines, continuation of phase 1 Moderna studies at higher doses is a good sign for safety; trials would have halted if there were safety issues so far. We're encouraged by the announcement at several vaccine developers of recent collaborations, funding arrangements, rapid acceleration in manufacturing, and parallel mid- to late-stage trials. We also think it's increasingly likely that the Food and Drug Administration will be receptive to a smaller data set before vaccine approval in high-risk patients if we are still facing the pandemic as we approach the end of the year--as we expect we will be.

We're Wary of Assuming Asia's Successful Containment Can Translate to U.S.

Uncertainty surrounding key assumptions and some improbable simplifying assumptions can make models of the spread of COVID-19 quite variable. Until early May, the frequently cited model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation assumed perfect compliance with social distancing measures until it is safe to relax restrictions (until contained) and did not attempt to predict a second wave; it only showed projections through July. As of April 29, IHME projected that roughly 72,000 Americans would die from COVID-19 through July, well below our base-case assumption of 187,000. These IHME projections were based on the shape of case curves in other countries, not epidemiological analysis of what is happening with transmission of the virus in the U.S. We saw this as too optimistic, based on China's rapid action and South Korea's massive testing rollout.

As of May 4, IHME has significantly changed its method of modeling the outbreak, however, and now uses a hybrid model that incorporates a more traditional method of epidemiological modeling known as a SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infected, resistant) model. This new model also incorporates assumptions of a second wave based on metrics like mobility, temperature, testing rates, and population density. The new analysis assumes a total of more than 134,000 deaths in the U.S. this year, much more in line with our new base-case estimates.

While SEIR models are the gold standard, the uncertainty around key variables in the middle of an outbreak can lead to dramatically different predictions, even with seemingly small changes in assumptions. One SEIR model, developed for The New York Times, results in a range of outcomes even with many concrete inputs. For example, an economic shutdown from mid-March through the end of April, with some standard assumptions on death rate (1%), hospitalization rates (10%), and contagiousness (reproduction number, or R0, equal to 2.5), can result in U.S. deaths ranging from roughly 40,000 to 1.3 million this year, depending on where our assumptions fall on the spectrum included within the moderate portion of intervention level and medium impact of warmer weather on the transmission of the virus. The Center for American Progress used this model to show that we need to use aggressive distancing for 45 days (through mid-May) to keep deaths around 140,000 for the year and 60 days (through end of May) if we want to completely suppress the virus through November. However, it pointed out that the distancing we have used has not been uniform across states, so our actions can't be compared to China's lockdown.

Several factors lead us to believe that even though we can suppress the virus and prevent the spread from rising above a dangerous threshold, the U.S. and many Western European countries won't be able to contain it like a handful of other countries, including South Korea and China, have. First, we didn't see national orders, as we are more decentralized than Asian countries, and states generally waited until cases started to rise to issue lockdowns. The U.S. also did not appear as agile in assisting affected cities, as other Chinese cities assisted Wuhan. Lax standards likely mean a longer epidemic in the U.S. than other countries and more infections. The U.S. also doesn't have the isolation rooms that China built during the outbreak or that Singapore prepared after SARS in 2002-03 (necessary for containing the virus among hospitalized patients). Wuhan was hit hard and not only locked down, but it also built makeshift hospitals and quarantine centers and enforced strict quarantines for everyone who was sick and even those who were exposed, involving family separation that seems unlikely for Western society. The U.S. is also more exposed demographically than China, with a higher percentage of the population over the age of 65 and leading rates of diabetes and obesity that might boost the percentage of cases that are high-risk and require hospitalization. The ability of Americans to follow orders may not be as high as in Asia, and impatience with the economic shutdown in the face of ballooning unemployment (and likely warmer weather) has led to some opposition to stay-at-home orders and protests in state capitals and other cities.

Our Base Case Assumes Some Trial and Error With Reopening, as States Remain Nimble

Our base case assumes that cases at least level off before most states begin to relax social distancing measures. We assume that we may struggle with additional waves of the illness going into summer and fall, but rapid reimplementation of a higher level of restrictions will prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. Overall, our new analysis predicts a faster ramp in diagnostics based on the faster-than-anticipated ramp in April. There were also slightly fewer diagnosed cases in April than we had anticipated, but based on the recent relatively flat diagnoses, we're not assuming as steep of a drop-off as we head into summer, particularly given that quarantine fatigue is leading to more relaxed social distancing even in states that still have stay-at-home orders.

We assume that there will be a second wave in the fall due to the resumption of school, cooler weather, or both. However, this will be muted by improved diagnostics capacity (allowing better testing of workers and contact tracing and more rapid isolation of infected), treatments like remdesivir (reducing deaths in hospitalized patients), and vaccines that could be available for the highest-risk populations (starting with healthcare workers). Even if diagnostic and contact tracing capabilities are not where experts say they should be, we think there will be enough other tools in place that prospects for a massive surge in cases are much less likely.

Nonessential-Business Visits to Remain Depressed Throughout 2020

While essential businesses have stayed open during the pandemic, many nonessential businesses have closed with state lockdowns, and economic recovery will depend on how quickly these businesses can return to normal. Nonessential businesses that have been most affected by the pandemic (uniformly nonexempted by states) have a relatively high ratio of social interactions per unit of GDP and include businesses such as restaurants, hotels, offices, retailers, gyms, and salons.

A key question going forward is, What change in nonessential visits could allow for sustained control of the virus? Research for the University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, based on Google Mobility reports as well as growth rates for the virus before the lockdown, estimate that mobility could rise to 30% below the prior baseline in a best case in San Francisco, rather than current levels 60% below baseline, without triggering a resurgence. This would require continued surveillance for changes in prevalence and the agility to reverse relaxed distancing measures quickly if prevalence begins to rise, but mobility levels could rise even higher if diagnostics capacity and contact tracing are implemented on a wide scale, as we expect they will be.

We think widespread availability of a vaccine or curative treatment regimen will probably be necessary to completely remove our social distancing measures. Regardless of state policies on relaxing restrictions on businesses, we assume that consumer behavior changes should result in a 30% reduction in nonessential visits from baseline by the end of the year. Mobility data from Unacast indicates that nonessential visits declined dramatically in late March in the U.S., falling as low as 65% below the prior baseline before beginning to increase in mid-April. We assume that there could be some intermittent reclosures in certain parts of the country, which is why we assume falling visits again in June (after the initial relaxing is taken too far) and September (as children return to school). Beyond September, treatment and vaccine availability will improve, but we could also be entering flu season, which could strain our healthcare system and make extra capacity for COVID-19 patients more scarce, although social distancing should help reduce the spread of the flu as well. We don't assume anything as severe as the initial lockdown and still assume a trend line toward more normal nonessential visit patterns.

Epidemiologists use reproduction numbers to measure the contagiousness of a virus. The natural (unimpeded) reproduction number for SARS-CoV-2 is probably higher than 2, but societies can change the R number with interventions, yielding a lower effective reproduction number, or Rt. If this number falls below 1, then each infected person goes on to infect fewer than one other person, meaning that the outbreak will fade. Rt is below 1 in most states at this point. We expect that Rt could rise above 1 again in the U.S. as many states reopen in the name of starting the economic recovery, but that states will react rapidly to bring the virus back under control. By 2021, we think a vaccine will be available, which should dramatically reduce Rt to a level that would allow more normal nonessential visits.

Base-Case Fatality Rate of 0.7% to Stay Relatively Steady Throughout 2020

Our assumed fatality rates for the rest of the year are slightly higher on average than our prior analysis. In the near term, fatality rates are assumed to be lower than our prior estimates, based on fatality levels we saw in April. In the long term, however, we don't assume the same steep drop as in our prior analysis, based on several treatment updates since our last report. This includes the consensus on safety issues with chloroquine, discouraging initial data from a study of Regeneron/Sanofi's Kevzara, and incremental (but apparently real) impact of remdesivir on duration of COVID-19. Remdesivir's efficacy so far is impressive and looks likely to reduce mortality rates from COVID-19. However, these improvements fall short of what we considered necessary for our former base-case scenario, which assumed that efficacy would be strong enough on its own to allow wider relaxing of lockdown measures.

Our projections through the end of 2020 have testing rates increasing to 800,000 per day, in line with many proposed guidelines but also within the realm of feasibility. We think that roughly 8% of the population will have been infected by the end of the year and that 0.7% of infected patients will die, resulting in 187,000 deaths in the U.S. this year from COVID-19. While nonessential visits hit a trough at 65% below prepandemic levels at the end of March, according to data from Unacast, this had recovered to only a 45% decline at the end of April. We expect levels could vary as states reopen and potentially add back restrictions if new cases increase, but we do expect the trend to increase closer to normal throughout the year, reaching a 30% reduction from prepandemic levels by the end of 2020.

While reported cases and deaths give a roughly 5% fatality rate (known as a case fatality rate), the infection fatality rate (based on the number infected) is probably much lower. Our 0.7% assumption is in line with New York City's 0.8% rate, which was based on a combination of confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths in the city (numerator) and positive antibody tests on samples of the population to estimate the potential number infected (denominator). But both numerator and denominator are uncertain here, as we are clearly not diagnosing all cases of the disease, seroprevalence studies are prone to error, and we are probably not properly attributing excess deaths to the virus. For example, the death toll in 14 European countries from coronavirus was recently estimated to be 60% higher than reported, based on higher-than-normal death rates during this time of year. Also, a widely criticized seroprevalence (antibody testing) survey in Santa Clara County, California, predicted a less than 0.2% infection fatality rate.

Bull and Bear Cases Cover a Broader Spectrum of Prudence and Impatience

In our base- and bull-case scenarios, we assume that gradually relaxing measures will allow us to find a level that will keep cases steady and prevent spikes. Our bullish scenario assumes that cases fall for 14 days, in accordance with federal guidelines, before significant levels of reopening, allowing each state to gradually reduce restrictions without seeing additional waves. In the bull case, our improvements in diagnostics and contact tracing, as well as increased access to treatments and vaccines, are all stretched over a smaller infected population, making it easier to suppress the virus. The key assumption here is that states are patient enough to wait to relax restrictions and don't relax them too quickly.

In a worst-case scenario, eager governors allow significant reopening and return to work before diagnosed cases begin to decline and positive rates on diagnostic tests fall below 10%, which we think would put states at risk for overwhelming healthcare systems this summer or fall, leading to a potential lockdown/reopening roller coaster that makes it difficult for businesses to regain footing. In this scenario, Americans would also be willing to return to former habits as the lockdown ends. We also assume slightly slower progress with improving diagnostics capacity throughout the year, making it harder to trace new cases as we see a resurgence in the fall.

States Have Responsibility to Guide Reopening, but Many Unlikely to Follow White House Criteria

The White House issued guidelines to help states determine when to reopen, and to what extent, including a decline in flu- or COVID-like illnesses for 14 days; a decline in diagnosed cases for 14 days; a decline in positive tests as a percentage of total tests for 14 days (with a flat or increasing testing rate); all hospitals operating without crisis care; and at-risk healthcare worker diagnostic and antibody testing. Additionally, the government suggests that upon reopening, people should practice good hygiene (including masks in public), and employers should implement best practices (like social distancing and temperature checks). States should have the ability to diagnose, contact trace, handle a surge in the need for personal protective equipment for healthcare providers, and implement plans to protect people from exposure and mitigate outbreaks by moving to an earlier phase.

However, several issues with the White House guidelines could make it more difficult for states to reopen successfully. There is no benchmark for the diagnostic testing capacity needed to show an accurate measure of decline. Importantly, there is no guidance on what to do if there is a resurgence in cases.

Ideally, we would wait until there were only minimal cases outstanding in each state (IHME's very conservative guidance is roughly one total case per 1 million residents) before reopening, as this would ensure that current diagnostics supply is sufficient to test those who are infected and that we have enough public health workers to trace contacts of anyone who becomes infected. But with some states starting to reopen because of economic problems even as cases continue to increase, a conservative scenario is unlikely to be the first choice, making containment much more difficult. The key will be trying to find the right balance of restrictions that will prevent us from overwhelming hospitals with severe cases of COVID-19 but also breathe some life back into struggling businesses.

First, looking at the U.S. position overall, new daily diagnoses have been volatile recently but are generally indicating a stable trend. However, this is during a time of strong expansion in diagnostic testing. If there were an equal number of actual new cases of COVID-19 each day, then expanding testing should lead to a proportional increase in diagnosed cases. Therefore, it appears that actual new cases are probably trending down. This can also be assessed using the positive rate (percentage of tests that come back positive), which has been trending down since mid-April. This signifies that we are improving the bandwidth of our testing.

At the state level, many states are in the processing of reopening or have released plans to reopen later in May. Many states that acted quickly prevented larger outbreaks and are able to begin reopening faster than others. For example, Ohio canceled a fitness expo in Columbus on March 4, before there were any cases in the state, and has kept its cases below those in neighboring states. In mid-April, director Robert Redfield of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that up to 20 states have seen limited impact from the virus and could reopen May 1, and several have begun reopening in a meaningful way.

That said, we think some states could be reopening prematurely, with red flags including increasing cases, cumulative positive rates above 10% (not testing enough people), a trend to increasing positive rates (either increasing cases, or testing fewer people, either of which is concerning), and reopening dates that look aggressive based on the combination of these measures. Several states in the Midwest (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Michigan) and the South (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia) have concerning trends, as do Arizona and smaller states in the Northeast, like Delaware and Vermont. We're less concerned about states that are seeing increases in cases if they are also increasing testing and either maintaining or shrinking their positive rate, although stable situations can quickly turn into accelerating spread if restrictions are lifted too rapidly.

What it means to reopen varies widely by state, and it remains unclear what combination of changes is key to maintaining control of the virus. Some researchers are using cellphone data to track how concentrated shoppers are in certain stores and how long they spend in them; shops with many customers and long stay times would have higher rates of transmission. Others are attempting to balance these risks with the benefits of each type of location to be reopened. However, we expect reopening to be a process of trial and error.

Regardless of population density, we think states have reason to be concerned and need to carefully reduce restrictions. For example, rural states are particularly vulnerable because many have older and sicker populations, and more than half of the counties in the U.S. have no intensive care beds, although lower population density and warmer, humid air arriving in parts of the country appear to have slowed transmission, in combination with social distancing, so far. Rural areas may see more of a benefit from warmer weather, but according to PolicyLab, weather alone has not been sufficient to stop resurgences in bigger cities. In Cook County (Chicago), PolicyLab predicts that we need to maintain at least 50% social distancing (relative to prepandemic levels) if we want to reopen by May 15 and at least 33% social distancing if we reopen June 1. While crowded cities do see higher risk of spreading the disease, they also see increased risk of severe illness, as people are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of the virus initially, from multiple sources (this has been tied to the severity of illness during the Spanish flu in 1918-19 as well).

Relaxing the Lockdown: Tools and Proposed Plans Largely Combine Diagnostics, Contact Tracing, and Flexible Social Distancing

In the absence of a curative treatment or vaccine, our efforts are focused on nonpharmaceutical interventions. Most of these methods have benefits and drawbacks, and the key will be finding the right combination that keeps the virus from spreading but also allows the fastest path to beginning an economic recovery.

At the start of the pandemic, there were a handful of analyses on how we could try to prevent a catastrophic wave of infections from overwhelming our healthcare systems. A March 2020 analysis by Imperial College discussed how basic mitigation policies--like isolating infected people and using social distancing to protect high-risk individuals--would be insufficient to prevent what most countries would consider a catastrophic scenario and instead presented an idea that adds school closures and a 75% reduction in contact rates for the entire population to suppress the virus. This method could be applied intermittently based on hospital statistics, like ICU admissions or death rates, and could be adjusted based on local outbreaks.

Since then, several independent proposals have been published that seek to combine the tools we have at our disposal and to build the tools that are lacking, to find the right way to reopen our society. We think that the most extreme call for millions of tests per day is unrealistic and that we are much more likely to see success by combining multiple methods, such as diagnostics, surveillance of high-risk populations, manual and technology-enabled contact tracing, and continued social distancing on some level, with the option of reverting to stricter social distancing if infections or hospitalizations rise.

Europe's Relaxation Challenges Offer Preview of U.S. Summer

In our last report, we highlighted that China's aggressive containment policies and South Korea's rapid testing and contact tracing technologies allowed them to stop the outbreaks in their countries while cases were still rising rapidly in the West. However, the picture today is slightly different, with Western Europe appearing to have more success in slowing the spread of COVID-19 while the U.S. continues to grow, as declines in New York City are more than countered by increases in the rest of the country.

Europe is starting to relax restrictions in small ways, and we're just beginning to see some information from countries like Denmark and Germany that relaxing (limited) measures is leading to higher rates of spread. Denmark opened primary schools April 15 but then saw the reproduction number (measuring contagiousness of the virus) edge closer to 1, from 0.6 to 0.9, meaning that the country may be more limited in relaxing other measures if it wants to keep the virus under control and prevent transmission from widening. Germany reopened small businesses on April 20 and schools on May 4, although bars and restaurants will stay closed and large gatherings are still banned through August. Masks are strongly recommended, and social distancing and bans on gatherings of more than two people from different households will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Germany was similar in its lockdown to the U.S., as neither implemented full economic shutdowns (factories remained operational in both countries, unlike in France, Spain, and Italy). Germans were also warned to stay home as much as possible on April 28, as the reproduction rate had increased from 0.7 to 1 with recent relaxation measures.

Other European countries are still phasing in their reopening or remain under lockdown. Spain began to ease restrictions on April 13, although only those who cannot work from home are returning to the workplace. Schools, bars, restaurants, and hotels in Spain are still closed, and outdoor exercise is still banned. Italy allowed certain small shops to open in April, with rolling openings like manufacturing and construction, more freedom of movement in parks (May 4), and opening of more shops and museums (May 18), restaurants and bars (June 1), and schools (September). France is on lockdown until mid-May. Some smaller countries that saw smaller initial hits are also removing some restrictions as long as cases stay stable; Austria opened small shops April 14 and larger stores and malls May 1, but masks are required in enclosed public spaces.
Deputies representing the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK) continued to boycott on Tuesday sessions of the parliament in protest against the violent conduct of their pro-government colleagues which they say is encouraged by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

They walked out of the National Assembly last Friday following a brawl involving LHK leader Edmon Marukian and several deputies from Pashinians My Step bloc. One of those lawmakers, Sasun Mikaelian, punched Marukian while the latter spoke on the parliament in the presence of Pashinian and government ministers.

Pashinian deplored the violence but effectively blamed it on the LHK. Marukians party charged in response that he thereby justified, legitimized and encouraged violence against his political opponents. It also demanded the resignation of Mikaelian and two other My Step deputies who also hit Marukian during the fight.

The ruling bloc responded by saying that they will resign from the parliament only if Marukian and two other LHK deputies quit too.

Marukian shrugged off the proposal in a video address livestreamed on Facebook overnight. He claimed that Pashinian wants to get rid of his last opponents in the parliament.

Why should we hand our mandates? said Marukian. Who did we punch? Sasun Mikaelian must definitely give up his mandate because he has nothing to do with politics.

We are victims of violence whereas you are its perpetrators and initiators, he added, appealing to the ruling bloc.

They are not victims, they are a party to the conflict, countered Lilit Makunts, the blocs parliamentary leader.

I am calling on my esteemed colleague to return to the political field and to put the work of the National Assembly back on a substantive track, she told reporters.

Makunts also said that My Step has drawn our conclusions from the ugly incident and expects the same from the opposition party.

None of the 17 deputies representing the LHK showed up for Tuesdays session of the 132-member parliament. The boycott led speaker Ararat Mirzoyan to postpone a planned debate on two LHK bills by two months.
This Is Thoroughly Disgraceful- Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Protest FGs Plan To Import Madagascar COVID19 Syrup



The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has kicked against plans by the Federal government to import the COVID-19 syrup being produced in Madagascar for the treatment of patients with the viral disease here in Nigeria.

President Buhari has given a directive for the importation of the herbal syrup.

In a statement released by its president, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa today May 12, the umbrella body of Nigerian pharmacists said it received with utter disbelief the news of the planned importation of the herbal syrup.

Ohuabunwa said the society is shocked that the Federal government can move swiftly to collect such syrup from an African country that boasts of fewer scientists when they have consistently ignored calls to carry out a clinical evaluation for the drugs some Nigerian pharmacists claim they have developed as a cure for the ravaging viral disease.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has received the news that the Federal Government of Nigeria is about to import a herbal concoction called COVID Organics (CVO) from Madagascar with utter disbelief.

While in principle we would not mind Nigerian government importing any new drug that is proven to cure COVID-19 or indeed any other disease for which we have neither the capacity, nor the technology to produce locally, we are totally appalled that Nigeria is about to spend scarce foreign exchange to import COAL INTO NEWCASTLE.

Even if we are not going to pay for this, it is thoroughly disgraceful that a country that should be the leader of Africa, with the largest GDP will allow itself to be dragged this low. Nigeria has about 174 Universi-ties (43 Federal, 52 State and 79 private), 20 Faculties of Pharmacy and about 69 Federal-Funded Research In-stitutes (including National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research & Development and the National Institute for Medical Research) while Madagascar has only 6 Universities, 1 Faculty of Pharmacy and 9 Research Centers!!! Nigeria has some of the best scientists (Pharmaceutical, Medical, Biochemical, Biological etc.) in the world who have done so much work on natural and herbal medicines.

Nigeria has developed a pharmacopeia of natural and herbal products and has one of the richest flora and fauna  potent sources of phytomedicines.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, a number of them have raised their voices that they have herbal and natural products that can be used to treat or manage COVID-19. Some have patents. Many herbal companies and producers have announced specifically that they have herbal formulations that can do what this invention from Madagascar can do.

We have raised our voices severally that the Federal Government should review these claims and help put them through clinical evaluation as most of these producers cannot afford to conduct clinical trials. We have recommended that a portion of the nearly 25 Billion Naira donated/allocated for the COVID-19 pandemic should be dedicated for local research and development. But our Government has remained essentially silent only waiting to participate in WHO sponsored or mandated trials.

We have been told that Nigeria is participating in the WHO solidarity trial, but nothing on trying our own inventions and formulations. Now we want to import COVID Organics. from Madagascar to try? Why are we like this? If the world can supply us synthetic and chemically-sophisticated medicines which we apparently lack the technology to produce, why must we wait for the World to supply us herbal formulations which we can easily make and which we have similar products.

Ohabunwa appealed to the Federal government to save the pharmaceutical scientists in Nigeria the shame of importing herbs that Nigeria boasts of in abundance

We urge our Government to save Nigerian Pharmaceutical Scientists and other scientists from the shame of having our country import and try herbal remedies which God has given us in abundance and some of which our grandfathers and grandmothers have used for ages. Let us try our own local formulations before we try COVID Organics or any other imported remedy.

Every well-meaning nation has been in a race to find cures, remedies and other medical supplies used for COVID-19, while we seem to wait for other nations to solve our problems. There is much talk but little action. This dependency mentality needs to change and now is the time. We must seize this opportunity to look inwards, build confidence on our abilities, competences and re-orientate our na-tional economic philosophy from import dependency to export driven. And Nigeria can beat India and China in the production and export of herbal products if anyone is willing to lead us down this part.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: A 17-year-old migrant girl from Madhya Pradesh ended her life on Monday after she and her four siblings were left starving for two days during the lockdown in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.

Anita Khemchand Chavan was staying with her father and siblings - three brothers and a sister - at Raisoni Nagar of Jalgaon city, 350 kilometers away from Mumbai.

Anil Badgujar, Police Inspector at Raisoni Nagar police station, said an inquiry revealed that this migrant family from Madhya Pradesh had no food for the last two days.

"When we visited their tin-shed home, the small room had barely anything. Even the plastic bottles were empty. They had neither food grains nor pulses nor anything else left to eat," said Anil Fegade, a police constable.

He said when they asked the young siblings whether they had eaten anything, the answer was no.

ALSO READ | Beating COVID-19 and social stigma, this Malayali nurse is back on duty in the UK

"Then we asked what they had eaten the previous day. They told us they had not eaten during the last two days. They were drinking only water and trying to survive. They were crying because of starvation and asking their elder sister to give them food," Fegade said.

"We were told that social workers and some NGOs provided them food packets but that did not last long. The girl's father was a daily-wager. Since the lockdown, he had no work. So, their hand-to-mouth existence was thrown into crisis," the police officer said.

Anita asked the neighbourhood people to provide her and her siblings' food.

"The neighbours gave them food, but she was ashamed of her plight and was humiliated by the fact that she had to beg every day. She thought that she and her father can work and earn, but the lockdown had crippled their lives. She did not like to beg for food every day. So, one day, when her father was away in search of work, she asked her siblings to go out and hanged herself in the tiny room," said Fegade.

Badgujar said the plight of the migrant family left him and his fellow officers in tears.
The World Health Organisation has condemned the dangerous concept of herd immunity for managing the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHOs health emergencies programme said it was wrong to think that countries can magically make their populations immune to Covid-19.

It was reported in March that the UK government was hoping to achieve herd immunity by allowing the virus to make its way through the population. Health secretary Matt Hancock denied it was ever part of government strategy.

Dr Ryan told a press briefing in Geneva: Humans are not herds, and, as such, the concept of herd immunity is generally reserved for calculating how many people will need to be vaccinated and the population in order to generate that effect.

The WHO director added: So I do think this idea that maybe countries who had lax measures and havent done anything will all of a sudden magically reach some herd immunity, and so what if we lose a few old people along the way? This is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation.

Herd immunity is an epidemiological concept usually reserved for describing how a population is protected from a disease depending on the levels of people vaccinated.

For instance, when between 90 per cent and 95 per cent of the population is vaccinated against measles, this should be enough to protect others who are unable to get an inoculation  such as babies before they reach the age at which they can be immunised.

Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the UK government suggested at the end of April that ministers could still secretly be seeking to create herd immunity, having softened their tests for starting to relax restrictions.

Maybe we are going for herd immunity? In other words, maybe the policy is to allow the virus to spread so that we have a large proportion of our population who have antibodies and, at that point, we will all be resistant to the virus and the lockdown can be removed?

Dr Ryan said he was hopeful that Germany and South Korea would be able to suppress new clusters of the virus and praised their test and tracing surveillance programmes, which he said was key to avoiding large second waves.

Dr Michael Ryan, the World Health Organisation's emergencies programme director (AFP via Getty Images)

Now we are seeing some hope as many countries exit these so-called lockdowns, he told the international news conference, adding that extreme vigilance was still needed.

Responsible member states will look at all their population  they value every member of society and they try to do everything possible to protect health while at the same time, obviously, protecting society and protecting the economy and other things, said Dr Ryan.

He added: This is a serious disease, this is public enemy number one, we have been saying it over and over and over and over again.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of the WHOs Covid-19 response, said preliminary data from studies has shown that very low levels of the population have actually been infected with the illness.

There seems to be a consistent pattern so far, that a low proportion of people have these antibodies, she told the press conference in Geneva.

And that is important ... because you mentioned this word herd immunity, which is normally a phrase thats used when you think about vaccination.

You think what amount of the population needs to have an immunity to be able to protect the rest of the population? We dont know exactly what that level needs to be for Covid-19. But it certainly needs to be higher than what were seeing in seroprevalence studies.

Seroprevalence refers to the level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum.

Dr Van Kerkhove added: What the sero-epidemiologic studies indicate to us is that theres a large portion of the population that remains susceptible.

Additional reporting by agencies
Brandon Lane McCullough, 31, faces federal charges of sexual exploitation of a minor

A Missouri high school teacher was charged after allegedly blackmailing a 14-year-old girl from New Jersey to force her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Brandon Lane McCullough, 31, of Branson, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release from the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

His defense attorney did not immediately return a message left at the public defender's office.

McCullough was formerly a business teacher at Cassville High School and had accepted a position at Hollister High School for next year.

Prosecutors allege McCullough posed as a 15-year-old boy when he began chatting via Kik with the girl in May 2019.

He is accused of threatening to send sexually explicit images to the girl's family and friends, demanding additional images and videos.

The girl, identified only as 'Jane Doe' in court papers, repeatedly pleaded with McCullough to stop, according to the affidavit, telling him 'can you please (just) leave me alone now,' and 'can you just stop' and 'I  dont wanna do that.'

Most recently, McCullough taught business classes for students at Cassville HIgh School in Missouri (above)

McCullough allegedly threatened to 'post everything.'

He also allegedly continued to coerce the victim and demanded images and videos of her engaged in sexual acts with other people, according to federal prosecutors.

Jane Doe told McCullough she was considering killing herself, and that she had taken half a bottle of her mothers pills.

Jane Doe also engaged in a Kik conversation with another user, who was actually McCullough portraying himself as a 17-year-old boy.

Federal prosecutors allege that McCullough posed as a 15-year-old boy on the online chat app Kik and blackmailed a 14-year-old girl into sending him explicit videos and photos

When Jane Doe told this false persona that she was being blackmailed, the affidavit says, he told her to continue meeting his demands.

New Jersey authorities contacted federal investigators in Missouri in mid-February.

On Thursday, law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at McCullough's home seized an external hard drive containing dozens of Kik chats as well as images and videos that were self-produced by child victims.

Prosecutors allege McCullough told officers he could not recall how many minors he had chatted with or how often he had done it because he engaged in the conduct so frequently.
Police have discovered a new clue in the hunt for a married man who mysteriously vanished while camping with his 'beauty queen' friend seven weeks ago.

Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, went camping in Victoria's Gippsland Valley near the Wonnangatta River in March and haven't been heard from since.

Their disappearance has baffled local authorities who found their campsite burned out two days later.

Victoria Police revealed on Monday that Mr Hill bought a drone before going camping and the device has not yet been found.

Police have revealed a new clue in the hunt for a married man Russell Hill (left with drone) who mysteriously vanished while camping with friend Carol Clay (right) seven weeks ago

A picture of the 74-year-old, released by authorities, showed him holding the drone.

'Despite a number of searches over the past seven weeks, the pair have not been located and have not contacted family or friends,' the police statement said.

'These searches are expected to resume in the coming weeks depending on the weather.'

Mr Hill left his home in Drouin, east of Melbourne, on March 19 for a camping trip at various campsites along the Dargo River, with the intention of leaving the region on March 26.

He was last heard from on March 20 via HF radio at Wonnangatta Station in the Victorian Alps.

Ms Clay told her friends she was going away and would be home on either March 28 or March 29.

Victoria Police revealed Mr Hill bought a drone before going camping and it has not yet been found

The campsite of Russel Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, was discovered by police on March 21 burned out but there was no sign of the pair

Police suspect a number of items may have been taken from the campsite (pictured) including a drone which is now missing

It's believed the pair travelled in Mr Hill's vehicle, a white Toyota Landcruiser, up through Heyfield and Licola and then into the valley.

Campers found Mr Hill's Toyota four-wheel-drive with minor fire damage and some possessions belonging to the couple still inside near the Dry River Creek Track on March 21.

Arson chemists were called to the scene but their examination was inconclusive.

Investigators feared the pair may have become lost in the remote bushland, but haven't ruled out foul play - or that they vanished intentionally.

'It is still yet to be determined whether their disappearance is suspicious,' the police statement said.

Two major search operations involving drones, helicopters, mounted police, search dogs and ground crews have come up with nothing.

Friends of devoted grandmother Carol Clay (pictured right) were surprised to learn she had gone camping with one close friend describing her as a glamour queen

Friends of Mr Hill (pictured) who have been out camping with the avid outdoorsman say he knows the area well and would not have strayed far

But friends of Mr Hill who have been out camping with the avid outdoorsman say he knows the area well and would not have strayed far.

They say he is a very experienced and 'well-equipped bushman,' the Herald Sun reported.

Making the case even more peculiar is that Mr Hill's wife Robyn, 71, revealed she had no idea her husband was with another woman when he went missing.

She said her husband had been friendly with Ms Clay, who was once the President of the Country Women's Association of Victoria, for decades but was unaware they were travelling together.

Following the conclusion of the second search, specialist detectives from the Victoria Police missing persons squad were brought in to assist local investigators.

Acting Sergeant Scott Wilkinson who was part of the team looking for the pair, said the search was substantial, but ultimately fruitless.

The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne

Mr Hill's (pictured) friends say he is a very experienced and 'well-equipped bushman' who new the area well

'We were searching every bit of bush and terrain in the immediate area,' he told Nine News.

'The subsequent search has got nothing in the way of evidence, no signs at all of the missing people.

'We are disappointed, we would like to get some result, particularly for the families of the missing people.'

Detective Insp Andrew Stamper of the Missing Persons Squad said police want to speak with anyone who may have seen the couple near the time they disappeared.

'This is a real and traumatic mystery and we need all the help we can get via Crime Stoppers,' Insp Stamper said.

Police said they continue to hold concerns for the pair due to the length of time they've been missing and because Mr Hill suffers from a number of medical conditions.

A burnt out campsite was found in remote bushland in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley
More than 54,000 passengers were issued reservation on special trains scheduled to run over the next seven days, Indian railways said.Nearly after two months, after it suspended operations of passenger trains due to coronavirus crisis, the railways has resumed services with 15 pairs of trains on select routes.

IRCTC began booking tickets for special trains after 6 pm on Monday, two hours after the scheduled opening time. Initially, the railways announced the booking of tickets on the IRCTC website from 4pm, Monday but the website crashed due to huge traffic.

According to news agency PTI, all AC-1 and AC-3 tickets of Howrah-New Delhi train were sold within the first 10 minutes and all seats were reserved in 20 minutes. Bhubaneswar-New Delhi special trains tickets were sold by 6:30 pm. By 9.15 pm, approximately 30,000 PNRs had been generated.

Also read: Railways resumes passenger train services from today; check out details, routes, timings

On Tuesday, the first train from Delhi will start at 4 pm for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. The New Delhi railway station will see the departure of three special trains for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur on Tuesday.

Additionaly, on Tuesday, five other trains bound for Delhi will leave from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Entry to New Delhi station will be allowed only from Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders. No entry for passengers will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side, the Northern Railways said.

On May 13, eight trains will depart from the national capital for Howrah, Rajendra Nagar, Jammu Tawi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Ranchi, Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad. Another train will leave Bhubaneswar for New Delhi.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Spike of 3,604 new cases in 24 hours; COVID-19 tally breaches 70,000 mark

On May 14, the only train leaving New Delhi will head for Bhubaneswar, while one train each will leave Dibrugarh, Jammu Tawi, Bilaspur and Ranchi for the national capital.

On May 15, a train each will leave Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai Central for New Delhi while one bound for Madgaon will depart from Delhi.

As per the timetable, no train is scheduled on May 16 and May 19.

May 17 will see two services - Madgaon to New Delhi and New Delhi to Secunderabad.

The only train scheduled on May 18 is from Agartala to New Delhi, while two trains scheduled on May 20 are from New Delhi to Agartala and Secunderabad to New Delhi.

The Railways has asked passengers to carry their own food, blankets, and bedsheet from home to avoid the risk of coronavirus spread. All passengers will have to wear face masks, download Aarogya Setu mobile app and observe social distancing norms while entering a station and during travel, as per Railway ministry notification.

Also read: Download Aarogya Setu, bring your food, blankets: Indian Railways to passengers
A special train carrying



around 1,000 passengers, most of whom were stranded in Gujarat after lockdown was announced in March, left for Delhi from the Sabarmati railway station here on Tuesday evening.

Twenty-five passengers were not allowed to board as they were found to have high temperature, officials said.

The passengers, who had booked the tickets online, were screened at the main gate of the station to check if they had coronavirus symptoms.

A disinfectant was also sprayed on their luggage.

While special trains for migrant workers are already plying, it had been almost 50 days since a train carrying ordinary passengers left from Ahmedabad, said officials.

The fully air conditioned train will reach Delhi around 8 am on Wednesday after covering a distance of 864 kilometres, stopping at Palanpur, Abu Road, Jaipur and Gurugram on the way.

"During the screening, 25 passengers were found to have high temperature. So we did not allow them to board the train," said Divisional Railway Manager Dipak Jha.

"Some of them were accompanied by family members who did not wish to go alone, so around 40 persons with confirmed reservations did not board the train," he said.

For those who could travel on the train, it was a huge relief.

"I came here from Jaipur to place order for gents' garments and never thought I will have to spend so many days in a small hotel room. I even ran out of money and there was no one in this city whom I could call for help," said Ronak Pancholi, a trader from Rajasthan.

Arun Kumar from Delhi was visiting Ahmedabad just to meet his old friend when lockdown was announced.

"I had planned to stay here for only two days but got stranded. I felt I had become a burden on my friend and his family. My parents back home could not sleep well all these days. Today I am so much relieved," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automakers sole U.S. vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him.

The move comes as states and cities around the United States experiment with ways to safely reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans out of work.

Musk over the weekend threatened to leave California for Texas or Nevada over his factorys closure.

His move has highlighted the competition for jobs and ignited a rush to woo the billionaire executive by states that have reopened their economies more quickly in response to encouragement from U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an email on Monday, Tesla referred to an order on Thursday by Californias governor allowing manufacturers to resume operations and said that as of Sunday, previously furloughed employees were back to their regular employment status.

Were happy to get back to work and have implemented very detailed plans to help you keep safe as you return, according to the email seen by Reuters and titled Furlough Has Ended And We Are Back To Work in Production!

Musk in a tweet said production was resuming on Monday, adding that he would join workers on the assembly line.

If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me, he wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (L) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) are seen in a combination photo. Photo: Reuters

Health officials in Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is based, late on Monday said they were aware that Tesla had opened beyond the so-called minimum basic operations allowed during lockdown, and had notified the company it could not operate without a county-approved plan.

In a statement, officials said they expected a proposal from Tesla later on Monday and hope Tesla will likewise comply without further enforcement measures.

The statement did not specify consequences and said officials would not comment further.

The countys lockdown order says violations are punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.

A spokeswoman for the Fremont Police Department on Monday said her office was enforcing the lockdown order at the direction of the health department and had been advised that the county is working with Tesla directly.

Separately on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said California should do whatever is necessary to help the electric carmaker reopen its only U.S. vehicle factory if it wants to keep the company in its state.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday said he spoke to Musk several days ago and that the Tesla founders concerns helped prompt the state to begin its phased reopening of manufacturing last week.

I have not only known that company but I have known its founder for many, many years, Newsom said in his daily coronavirus press briefing.

I have great reverence for their technology, for their innovative spirit, for their leadership.

A car carrier trailer carrying Tesla electric vehicles departs Tesla's primary vehicle factory after CEO Elon Musk announced he was defying local officials' coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions by reopening the plant in Fremont, California, U.S. May 11, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Tesla, which also has a vehicle plant in Shanghai and is building another in Berlin, on Saturday sued the county, alleging it had violated Californias constitution by defying Newsoms orders allowing manufacturers to reopen.

Musk has discussed opening a second U.S. factory outside California in the past.

In a tweet in February, he solicited comments on potentially opening a factory in Texas.

Since his threat to leave California on Saturday, officials from Texas, Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and Nevada have reached out to Musk on Twitter, encouraging him to relocate to their state.

A Texas official said his county was available immediately to accommodate Tesla and invited the billionaire CEO for a visit.

We have a motivated, pro-business governor, Richard Cortez, county judge of Texas Hidalgo County, said on Monday.

What we no longer have is a shelter at home mandate.

Musk in response tweeted: Note is much appreciated.
Number of people fleeing to Niger from Nigeria almost triples from the last year, says the UN refugee agency.

Violence in northwest Nigeria has forced about 23,000 refugees to flee to Niger since April and raised concerns about the deteriorating security situation, the United Nations has said.

The numbers fleeing to neighbouring Niger have almost tripled from last year when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the first influx of 20,000 people following a rebellion and banditry in northern Nigeria, which killed hundreds and displaced thousands.

The latest influx of mostly women and children came after attacks by gunmen in Nigerias Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states during April.

The deadliest attack killed 47 people in Katsina State, the UN refugee agency said, prompting air attacks by the Nigerian security forces already stretched tackling a 10-year-long rebellion by the Boko Haram in the northeast.

We are working closely with authorities in Niger to relocate at least 7,000 refugees to safety  where water, food, shelter, access to health and other essential assistance can be provided, UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told a media briefing on Tuesday.





Discussions are also ongoing with the authorities to recognise on a prima facie basis the refugees fleeing Nigeria and arriving in the region, he said.

Nigeria closed all land borders in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 4,600 people in the country with 150 deaths.

It first shut parts of its borders last year to fight smuggling, but people could still cross both ways.

The agency said refugees from Nigeria are being allowed to seek protection in Niger despite border closures with people in need of food, shelter and basic services including healthcare.

Overall, Niger hosts more than half a million refugees from Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, according to a recent UN report.

Baloch said approximately 19,000 Niger nationals have been displaced in their own country as they fled, fearing insecurity in border areas. The refugees are found in Nigers southern Maradi region, the agency said.

Many have also been caught up in clashes blamed on farmers and herders over dwindling land in Nigeria which have killed more people than the Boko Haram conflict.
A woman who was allegedly murdered in her home by her estranged ex-boyfriend while neighbours ignored her bloodcurdling screams has been farewelled in an emotional funeral.

The mum-of-three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found dead at her home in Adelaide on April 16.

The 35-year-old's ex-partner, from whom she had been estranged for quite some time, was later arrested and charged with murder.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said neighbours heard the desperate screams of the mother right before her 'horrible, violent death'.

The mum-of-three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found dead at her home in Adelaide on April 16

The woman's heartbroken mother and sisters (pictured) hope her death will raise awareness for domestic violence

An emotional funeral service was held in Adelaide on Tuesday, where the victim was remembered as a loving and selfless mother

At Tuesday's funeral service, the woman's heartbroken family remembered her as a selfless and loving mother.

'Our family could not have imagined that [she] would end up in this nightmare,' her mother told 7News.

'She tried so hard to fight back, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to get her over the line. Now she is at peace with no more suffering.'

The victim's sister called for domestic violence sufferers to reach out.

'Let's bring our daughters up respecting themselves.... let's bring up our sons respecting women, like a real man does,' she said at her funeral.

Her heartbroken mother said at the service: 'God bless you my little Kimmy. Until we meet again, lots of love, mummy.'

Police said neighbours heard the desperate screams of the mother right before her 'horrible, violent death'

It is believed the woman's body lay undiscovered for around 19 hours before it was found by police. Pictured: the victim (centre) with family

It is believed the woman's body lay undiscovered for around 19 hours before it was found by police.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said the motive for the alleged murder was unclear, but said the woman had died a 'really horrible, violent death'.

'An altercation was heard. A person threatening to kill the occupant and at one point a female was heard to cry for help. Sadly the police were not contacted,' Det Bray said.

'She had an injury to her body which is unexplained. It was a sufficient injury to leave an amount of blood at the scene,' he said.

He said while detectives were grateful for what witnesses had told them of the disturbance at the home, it was a 'sad reflection on society' that police were not called at the time.

'I'm at a complete loss to understand why anybody wouldn't do something and go to the aid  or ensure that somebody went to the aid  of a woman who was screaming for help,' he said.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said the motive for the alleged murder was unclear, but said the woman had died a 'really horrible, violent death'. Forensic police are pictured at the scene

The woman's 13-year-old daughter previously described her mother as an 'angel'.

'She always tried for us kids no matter what,' the girl said.

'She would always be laughing or trying to make us laugh. You will always be in our hearts mumma.'

The woman's father said he will think of her every day for the rest of his life.

'She's a compassionate girl who'd been through some very difficult times of late,' he said.

The young girl's father - the murdered woman's ex-partner - said she 'always put her children first'.

'She was always around for me when I needed her and would go out of her way for anyone in need. I loved her, she was family to me even after separating.'
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) ("Forum") is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on the Rio Tinto Exploration Canada ("RTEC") $30 million Option to Joint Venture Agreement (the "Agreement") dated May 8, 2019 with RTEC (see news release dated May 9, 2019).



Rick Mazur, President & CEO commented, "Rio Tinto has demonstrated their commitment to the exploration of the Janice Lake sedimentary copper project by their aggressive evaluation of the full 52km potential strike extent of the Wollaston Copper Belt. We recently completed our annual technical review with Rio Tinto in late April and we look forward to announcing an update on our exploration plans for this year."

Option to Joint Venture Agreement Milestones Reached

RTEC spent $3.7 million dollars on the 2019 exploration program to meet its $3 million exploration commitment over an 18 month period, 10 months ahead of schedule. RTEC must spend $10 million by May 8, 2023 to earn a 51% interest in the property under the First Option.

RTEC made a $50,000 cash payment on signing of the Agreement and paid $170,000 in cash option payments due before the first anniversary of the Agreement. Further cash option payments of $170,000 are to be made by the second anniversary of the Agreement and $100,000 in cash option payments by the third anniversary.

RTEC made a $50,000 cash option payment to Transition Metals Corp. during the year and are assuming a further $150,000 in cash option payments due to Transition over the next two years on Forum's behalf.

RTEC can elect to earn a further 29% interest (total 80% interest) by spending $20 million (total $30 million) in exploration of the property and making a further $150,000 in cash option payments.

Janice Lake 2019/2020 Exploration Program Summary

RTEC completed a 4,318 line kilometre high resolution airborne magnetic survey over the entire 52 km length of the property and drilled 21 holes totalling 5,209 metres under the Option Agreement to earn an 80% interest in the Janice Lake project by spending $30 million in exploration. Nine holes were completed on the Jansem target, nine on the Janice target and three on the Kaz target. Assay results were reported by news releases dated October 1, October 9, October 31, November 14 and December 3, 2019. A table of results are available on the Home Page of the Company's website at:

https://forumenergymetals.com/site/assets/files/3823/2019-rio-tinto-janice-lake-drill-results-to-date.pdf

Significant grades and thicknesses of copper mineralization at surface demonstrating good continuity were intersected in widely spaced drillholes on the Jansem and Janice targets of up to 83 metres in thickness and with grades of up to 1 to 2% over 5 metres. Mineralization at Jansem is hosted in a shallow synform of Rafuse formation metasediments overlying a barren metaconglomerate. Similarly, the Janice mineralization is hosted in moderately to steeply dipping Rafuse formation metasediments overlying a barren metaconglomerate.

Studies of geologic, petrographic, structural, geochemical and geophysical relationships have been undertaken to understand the metallogensis and exploration targeting methodology to be used in exploration. A number of relationships observed from the 2019 program will be tested further in the 2020 exploration program.

Ken Wheatley, P.Geo., Forum's VP, Exploration and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

Stock Options

The Company also announces that, in accordance with the Company's stock option plan, it has granted to Directors, Officers and employees incentive stock options to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,500,000 common shares exercisable on or before May 12, 2025 at a price of $0.10 per share.

About Forum Energy Metals

Forum Energy Metals Corp (TSXV: FMC) explores for energy metals, including copper, nickel, platinum, palladium and uranium in Saskatchewan, Canada's Number One mining province. In addition, Forum has also established a strategic land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. For further information: www.forumenergymetals.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard J. Mazur, P.Geo.

President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact:

NORTH AMERICAUNITED KINGDOM

Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO

mazur@forumenergymetals.com

Tel: 778-772-3100

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ALBANY  U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko wrote a scathing letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commisson, claiming that the agency is denying New York state potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in broadband expansion funding amid the coronavirus pandemic that has exposed gaping holes in the ability of people to work and study online in the Capital Region.

Tonko's May 7 letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai included written statements by Capital Region constituents complaining that a lack of high-speed internet service where they live made their work and schooling difficult if not impossible amid the stay-at-home order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The testimonials came from residents from all over the region, including Ballston Spa, Glenville, Rotterdam, Schodack, Delanson, Duanesburg, Rensselaerville and the Hilltowns of Albany County, and the town of Florida in Montgomery County.

"During this pandemic, I have heard from parents, educators, students and workers that are unable to connect online from their homes," Tonko wrote in his letter to Pai. "I have heard from small businesses unable to operate remotely because they do not have broadband capable of processing payments. I have heard from families worried about isolated seniors and inability to access telemedicine. I implore you not to ignore these people whom we are meant to serve."

The head of technology for the Troy school district said 120 of its students didn't have internet service to participate in online lessons and submit homework, showing that poor internet access is not confined just to rural areas. In fact, many of the areas with high-speed internet problems are considered suburban communities, although the rural areas still suffer from a lack of reliable high-speed internet.

"Students without the internet are unable to receive and complete their schoolwork, they are unable to engage with their teachers, peers, and support staff," wrote Erin Sheevers, who is director of technology for the Troy City School District. "Students without the internet are not only missing out on opportunities for learning but their ability to receive interactions and services essential to their well being."

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The FCC says New York state can't receive broadband expansion funding through a new $20 billion fund. That's because the FCC previously promised New York state $177 million to fund its own broadband expansion program that serves as a model for states nationwide.

Kelly Brooks, a teacher who lives in Delanson, revealed to Tonko that her home internet service is so bad that she has to drive to the parking lot of the local Price Chopper to access its WiFi to run her Google Meet meeting online. She's also worried that her son, a seventh-grader, has struggled without reliable internet access at home. She says when she uses the home internet service "the video comes across blurry and the audio sounds distorted" when she tries to connect to her students.

I dont feel that people that have always had broadband access understand what it is like living without this modern necessity," said Brooks.

Joe O'Neil, the management information systems director for the Duanesburg Central School District said the school has had to buy Verizon's WiFi hotspot devices for students to take home with them so they could connect with the internet.

"Aside from a small public library offering free WiFi, students would have to travel outside of the district in order to take advantage of commercially available free WiFi," O'Neil relayed to Tonko. The result has been thousands of dollars in extra expenses to provide connectivity to them.
Members of the Myanmar Red Cross carry the body of the driver of a United Nations-marked vehicle after it came under attack while delivering test samples for the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Sittwe, Rakhine State on Apr 21, 2020. (Photo: STR / AFP)

The closed-door meeting, planned for Thursday, was requested by the UK. The UN envoy for Myanmar, Switzerland's Christine Schraner Burgener, is scheduled to give comments.

At the end of April, a Myanmar government health worker was injured and his driver - who worked for the World Health Organization (WHO) - was killed when their United Nations-marked vehicle was ambushed as they carried COVID-19 test samples in conflict-ridden Rakhine state.

The country's northwest has been embroiled in an increasingly brutal civil war between Myanmar's military and Arakan Army rebels demanding more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine population.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack. He called for "a full and transparent investigation" and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, his spokesman said in a statement.

The attack came amid increasing calls for a global ceasefire and protection for civilians displaced by the pandemic.

The last Security Council meeting on Myanmar was in February. China, which backs Myanmar and regularly opposes UN intervention in the country, prevented the adoption of a joint statement by the 15 Council members.

Scores have been killed in Myanmar, hundreds injured and tens of thousands displaced since fighting erupted at the beginning of last year, with both sides trading allegations of abuses committed.

Since the start of August 2017, about 740,000 Rohingyas have sought refuge in Bangladesh, fleeing atrocities committed by the Myanmar military and Buddhist militias, in what has been described as "genocide" by UN investigators.

The exact number of Rohingyas killed during the violence is unknown, but multiple NGOs estimate it to be at least several thousand.

During a briefing on Monday on the pandemic, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced that the UN Development Programme and the UN Refugee Agency had reached an agreement with Myanmar's government to extend the Memorandum of Understanding through June 2021 in Rakhine state.

The memorandum "aims to allow for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh."
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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday condoled the death of a municipal teacher due to coronavirus and said that an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore will be given to her family.

The chief minister said that Baikali Sarkar, a contractual teacher of municipal corporation, was engaged in distributing food at a government-run hunger relief centre and died of COVID-19 on May 4.

Under an existing policy, the government gives Rs 1 crore to the family of 'COVID-19 warriors' if they die due to coronavirus.

"She (Baikali) performed food distribution duty for the needy on April 10, 17 and 18. But, she could not come on April 24 as she was unwell," Kejriwal told an online medi briefing.

"First, she was admitted to the Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini, and then to RML hospital where she passed away on May 4... The Delhi government will give an honorary compensation of Rs 1 crore to her family," he said.

Kejriwal further said that the Delhi government will provide Rs 5,000 as financial assistance to the city's construction labourers this month as well.

He said labourers are working at several construction sites in Delhi and that the poor are the most affected by coronavirus.

The amount has been deposited in some people's accounts and others will get it soon, Kejriwal said.

Last month too, the Delhi government had given an aid of Rs 5,000 to construction workers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Police Command in Katsina demonstrating superior fireworks, overwhelmed a gang of bandits numbering about 10 and armed with sophisticated weapons and rescued two abducted women from the crime merchants in Kurfi Local Government Area (LGA), Katsina State. The police responded with urgency to distress calls from the community at the time the bandits struck, leading to the successful operations of encountering the bandits and rescuing those in their hostage. The police were reinforced by the locals vigilante in the rescue operations.

The two women rescued by the Force according to the Katsina Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gambo Isah, were identified as Hajia Huraira Murnai, 60 years, and Hajia Hadiza Murnai, 50 years.

The Katsina Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gambo Isah, had in a statement on Monday, narrated that about 10 bandits armed with AK 47 rifles had invaded Sabon Layi Village on motorbikes, then, kidnapped some women. He indicated that on receiving distress calls from residents of the community about the attack by the bandits: DPO Kurfi led Operation Puff Adder and vigilante group and chased the hoodlums up to Kaguwa village where they engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel.

PPRO Isah said the bandits absconded into the forest when they realised they cannot stand the fireworks of the Police anymore.

The PPRO had declared: Due to the superior firepower of the police, the hoodlums abandoned their mission and escaped into the nearby forest.

In the course of the investigation, the team recovered one Assault Rifle (A.R.) loaded with 14 rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition and a motorcycle Kasea, red in colour, unregistered, with Chassis No. LAELE2413KMG45286 and engine NO. 157FMI190745358 belonging to the bandits.

He said the police have commenced investigation into the attack on the village.
ENGLEWOOD, CO / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Lightwave Logic, Inc. (LWLG), a technology platform company leveraging its proprietary electro-optic polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power, today provided a corporate update in conjunction with the filing of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Recent Company Highlights:

Announced breakthrough test results for the Company's latest electro-optic polymer material, which exceeded target performance at 1310 nanometers, a wavelength commonly used in high-volume datacenter fiber optics.

During COVID-19, the Company temporarily curtailed most of its business operations at its facility from mid-March through May 1, 2020; however, a majority of employees continued to work from home, resulting in the filing of four new patents, extensive chemistry and device simulation, review of fabrication procedure with data analysis, and continued engagement with potential customers and partners.

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Michael Lebby gave a virtual keynote address at the SPIE Photonics Digital Forum in April 2020, providing an industry perspective on how fast and low power electro-optic polymer optical devices are ideally positioned for the next-generation internet.

President Jim Marcelli presented a corporate overview and held 1x1 meetings with institutional investors at the NobleCon16 Investor Conference, hosted by Noble Capital Markets in Hollywood, Florida in February 2020.

The full text of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2020 and can be found here.

Management Commentary

"The first quarter of 2020 was marked by our continued refinement of our proprietary electro-optic polymers, incorporating feedback from potential partners to drive our technology closer to commercialization," said Michael Lebby, CEO of Lightwave Logic. "We are pleased with our development efforts, notably increasing the speed of our modulators while concurrently realizing breakthrough test results for our latest polymer materials, which paves the way for future integration using our seamless technology, as we work to engage tier-1 customers globally."

Story continues

I look forward to continued milestone achievements in the months ahead, working to create sustainable value for our shareholders over the long-term," concluded Lebby.

About Lightwave Logic, Inc.

Lightwave Logic, Inc. (LWLG) is developing a platform leveraging its proprietary engineered electro-optic (EO) polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power. The Company's high-activity and high-stability organic polymers allow Lightwave Logic to create next-generation photonic EO devices, which convert data from electrical signals into optical signals, for applications in data communications and telecommunications markets. For more information, please visit the Company's website at lightwavelogic.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "explores," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, lack of available funding; general economic and business conditions; competition from third parties; intellectual property rights of third parties; regulatory constraints; changes in technology and methods of marketing; delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations; shortages in components; production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components; those events and factors described by us in Item 1.A "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q; other risks to which our Company is subject; other factors beyond the Company's control.

Investor Relations Contact:

Greg Falesnik or Luke Zimmerman

MZ Group - MZ North America

949-385-6449

LWLG@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us

SOURCE: Lightwave Logic, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/589465/Lightwave-Logic-Provides-Corporate-Update




Click here to read the full article.

This story appears in the June 2020 print edition of Rolling Stone.

Theres a refrigerator in the kitchen of Eleven Madison Park designed specifically for ducks. They hang in rows, hooks through their heads, ready to be rubbed down with honey and lavender, and plated like pieces of modernist art. The dish is a specialty of chef Daniel Humm, who took over the Manhattan brasserie in 2006 and turned it into one of the worlds most renowned fine-dining establishments. Its the type of place where meals last three hours and reservations must be bought, like concert tickets.

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A lot of photographers want this shot, Humm says, standing next to the duck refrigerator one afternoon in early April. Hes speaking about a previous life, one that ended only weeks earlier, when Eleven Madison Park and every other restaurant and bar in New York suspended dine-in service indefinitely, and the glass-paneled case in front of him was still stocked with succulent fowl. Now, its filled with towers of cardboard to-go boxes, the kind you might fill up at one of midtowns countless pay-by-the-pound hot bars. The meals inside of them  today its pasta Bolognese, roasted broccoli, and house focaccia  cost around $5 to produce, including labor. A 12-person skeleton crew, drawn mostly from the 300 employees Humm was forced to furlough, hopes to assemble up to 3,000 of them before the day ends. The effort is a collaboration with the nonprofit Rethink Food, which is delivering the meals to hospital workers and others in need as the city combats the coronavirus. When the partnership began on April 1st, Eleven Madison Park almost certainly became the most expensive commissary kitchen in the history of food service.

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It is one of the more surreal examples of how the pandemic has thoroughly upended New Yorks storied culinary scene, where some 26,000 restaurants and their 350,000 workers are scrambling to pay rent, feed their families, and figure out whether there will be a job for them to come back to  and to what extent the industry will resemble the one the virus swept away, like a natural disaster, in March. Even Humm, who ran one of the most successful restaurants in the world, has acknowledged that there may not be a place for Eleven Madison Park in whatever culinary scene emerges from the pandemic. This doesnt mean hes any less determined to play a role in shaping the future of food service. The world has changed, Humm says in a soft Swiss accent. If anyone is out there and hasnt seen that yet, I hate to break it to them, but its changed. This is also exciting. There was a model that we were kind of stuck in. Now we have the blankest canvas you can imagine.

Humm, 43, began working in kitchens at 14, making a name for himself at five-star hotels in the Alps before moving to the U.S. in 2003, where hes been collecting Michelin stars ever since. Which is to say, he would seem to belong to a rarefied set that has the privilege of describing the current crisis as exciting. But he was as shellshocked as anyone when the industry suddenly went dark. Like most restaurant owners, his first thought was taking care of his employees, a consideration that was quickly replaced by the realization that he couldnt  at least not through traditional means. One thing I learned in this whole thing is that you become very alone very quickly, he says. The employees dont understand. They think you could do more, and you just cant.

Eleven Madison Park runs on the same paper-thin margins as the rest of the industry, particularly in New York, which have left restaurants uniquely ill-prepared to weather a prolonged shutdown. Rising rents, rising wages, rising food costs, delivery-service fees, and other factors have left independent owners with almost no cash reserves. Over the last 10 years, restaurants have been so intensely overregulated, says Camilla Marcus, owner of West-Bourne, a cafe in SoHo. Our operating margin is 10 percent, at best. Thats the target for a restaurant. Most businesses cant conceive of 90 percent going out the window. Think about that. That dynamic doesnt exist in any other industry.

Its a precarious business model for a trade that, outside of government and the health care industry, is the largest employer in America, generating four percent of the countrys annual GDP, according to one trade group, and accounting for 12 million jobs (and millions more, indirectly). Though the majority of the nations restaurants are independently owned, single-unit establishments have never had any real lobbying power, partly because the industry is so vast and variegated, and partly because independent restaurant owners simply dont have a ton of time to worry about much more than staying afloat financially. As a small restaurant, its very difficult, says Ignacio Mattos, a James Beard Award-winning chef who owns three restaurants in New York. The system doesnt support small businesses. Theres not really protection. Youre on your own. There are too many sharks in the tank, and the margins are supernarrow.

This has to change if independent restaurants stand any chance of surviving the coronavirus and its potentially yearslong tail of adverse effects. In an op-ed published by The New York Times on March 24th, a group of high-profile New York chefs and restaurateurs estimated that 75 percent of the nations independent restaurants wouldnt be able to open without a more robust relief package than what Congress was offering.

To fight for relief, Marcus, some of the authors of the Times op-ed, and others founded the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), dedicating its efforts to the memory of Floyd Cardoz, an Indian American chef who died from complications stemming from COVID-19 on March 25th. Marcus also helped found Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR) to advocate for change at the state level. The silver lining is that we have coalesced as an industry for the first time ever, in a really distinct and clear and organized way, Marcus says. I think its critical that we have a core advocacy agent to untangle everything that has led to this.

On March 27th, Congress passed the CARES Act, allocating $350 billion into a Paycheck Protection Program meant to assist small businesses. It was a disaster for independent restaurant owners. The fund was exhausted after barely two weeks and favored large corporate hospitality groups, like Shake Shack and Ruths Chris (both later returned the combined $30 million they received). It wouldnt have helped that much anyway, as the program stipulated that loans would only be forgiven if 75 percent of the money was spent on paying employees within eight weeks. Not only does this hinder owners ability to pay rent and other bills, it only provides an eight-week solution for a problem that is going to last months. If restaurants are unable to open their doors and resume business as usual by the end of that compressed time frame, theyll be forced to lay off their just-rehired staff for a second time.

The IRC penned a letter asking Congress to reconfigure the program, but when the PPP was replenished with another $320 billion on April 21st, not much had changed. Today we learned Congress does not care if local restaurants close forever, the IRC wrote in response, noting that former food-and-beverage industry employees accounted for 60 percent of the nations soaring unemployment claims, but less than nine percent of PPP loans went to the hospitality industry.

The mass unemployment that happened overnight poses a threat of being structural and long term, Marcus says. Its not like other businesses. You dont just turn the lights on and everyone goes back. Anyone whos opened a restaurant knows startup costs are high. I think a 50 percent sales drop is a reasonable estimate.

Restaurants able to reopen will face unprecedented headwinds. An impending recession will mean less disposable income. Add to that a lingering hesitancy to gather in confined spaces, as well as the possibility of additional waves of the coronavirus that could lead to more stay-at-home orders. Delivery is going to only grow in popularity. So could cooking at home, an appreciation for which is increasing while Americans are in quarantine. Our 34-seat restaurant can make sense economically if were busy on all 34 seats, says Gabe Stulman, who owns several small restaurants in Manhattan. If were not busy on all 34 seats, it doesnt make sense. If were not busy on 17, it definitely isnt viable. Its just not working.

The industry needed to revamp its business model even before the coronavirus struck. Now its going to have to, and independent owners will need to devise creative solutions as they stare down what could be multiple fallow years. I think a lot of restaurants will be closed after this, and the ones that reopen may realize their model isnt working anymore, Humm says, now slouched in a corner booth of Eleven Madison Parks empty dining area, sipping coffee out of a clear plastic to-go bowl. Im pretty convinced of that. The ones who will stay open are the ones who are going to reinvent themselves. I think well see a big change. I really do. For me, everything has gotten somehow a new meaning. Im asking myself questions.

The type of reinvention Humm is envisioning will ultimately require several answers, but he thinks he may have at least one of them in Rethink. As Humms staff chops broccoli stems and ladles Bolognese, Matt Jozwiak and Winston Chiu sit in an office off the back of Eleven Madison Parks kitchen, dialing into conference calls and taking stock of the restaurants supply of personal protective equipment. Jozwiak was a line cook at Eleven Madison Park before he left in 2017 to found Rethink with Chiu, the organizations chief strategy officer. The nonprofits founding mission was to use food waste from restaurants and grocery stores to make meals for soup kitchens. Rethink sees the coronavirus as providing an opportunity to overhaul how the entire industry operates, which also means overhauling how the industry is perceived.

Restaurants are the entry point to our economy, Jozwiak says. I was from a low-income family. I was in Kansas and I couldnt afford college, so I started washing dishes. Its the only job you can go to and get 15 bucks an hour. Restaurants do workforce training, they teach language skills, they provide meals. If you look at the bare bones of what a restaurant is, its a community. But they just fell underneath the business thing. Its time for restaurants to get more credit. Its not about Michelin stars. Its about getting credit as community centers.

In the short term, Eleven Madison Parks collaboration with Rethink is both feeding those in need and providing a cash infusion  with the help of sponsors American Express and Resy  that has allowed Humm to rehire some of his staff. Humm doesnt see why the model cant be permanent. Food and hunger are obvious things in front of me, he says. Were now producing 3,000 meals a day. There are only 12 people here. In a way its a pretty easy lift. So why are we not feeding people all of the time? Why does it take a crisis? Why do we have hunger in this country? There is enough food. There are enough kitchens.

Rethink wants to replicate Eleven Madison Parks model in restaurants across the United States, and has been negotiating collaborations with owners from Florida to California. We want to get restaurants cash, Jozwiak says. If we can build a baseline revenue stream so a restaurant can keep the lights on and the staff employed, then as things start to open up again theyll have that structure in place instead of being totally cash-poor. Ultimately, Jozwiak and Chiu want the government to subsidize such operations as part of a federal program that would continue even after the pandemic.

The idea of restaurants instituting a catering shift that provides for the food-insecure, even after they may have resumed their typical dining service, is enticing to Humm, who throughout his career has been known as an innovator ready to zig whenever the rest of the industry zags, an approach that landed Eleven Madison Park the title of the worlds best restaurant in 2017. That summer, Humm and then-partner Will Guidara literally tore the space apart and rebuilt it. Humm says he was planning another reinvention this fall, before the pandemic threw the industry on life-support. At this point, I dont even know if theres going to be an Eleven Madison Park, Humm says. We always look for the next chapter. This is it. Its very real. For this restaurant, and for me as a creative person to react, this is my reaction  and its a reaction more from my heart than anywhere else.

Humm isnt the only restaurateur using his resources to feed people in need. Humanitarian chef Jose Andres has been doing it for years through his World Central Kitchen, and on May 5th he teamed up with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and a handful of other legislators to introduce the FEED Act, which would tap federal resources to facilitate restaurants providing meals for vulnerable populations. Other chefs, like Luca Di Pietro, who founded Feed the Frontlines NYC after he was forced to shut down four of his five restaurants in Manhattan, have taken up the effort directly in response to the coronavirus. If I can bring someone back to work and feed people who are food-insecure, its a win-win, Di Pietro says.

Restaurants survival might depend on such holistic, outside-the-box efforts that stem from a desire not just for financial solvency but also to foster community and, of course, feed people  which is why most restaurateurs got into the business in the first place. The pandemic has led many to ruminate on whether those core purposes will be able to continue as the industry reconfigures itself amid the largest crisis it has ever faced.

I wanted to build places where people congregate, where memories happen, where relationships are had, where communities exist, where peoples lives can grow, says Stulman, who is now running a free grocery store of wholesale goods for his out-of-work employees. I could pivot and adjust my model for something thats sustainable for a new world, whether its delivery or home-cooked meals. That may be what works for the industry, but is that what I want to do?

Humm, too, has spent a lot of time thinking about his first years at Eleven Madison Park, when hed get to work in its old kitchen at 6:30 in the morning. In a weird way this feels very, very similar, he says of starting over with Rethink, a process that has required him to spend time working in old kitchens without duck refrigerators for the first time in years; starting in late March, he toured soup kitchens around New York to get a better sense of how they operated.

It was a raw time for Humm. On the Wednesday before his staff started plating meals in brown cardboard boxes, he was in an Uber on his way to Rethinks headquarters in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when his phone began to blow up with text messages.

Hey, did you hear? Humm recalls one of them reading. Floyd just passed away. Floyd Cardoz was a close friend of Humms. His restaurant, Tabla, stood next door to Eleven Madison Park for years. I couldnt feel my body, he says of learning of Cardozs death.

Still in the back of the Uber, his mind began to race. He wasnt wearing a mask. Should he be? What about gloves? Maybe the driver was infected. What about the other people who had ridden in the car before him? The Uber arrived at the Navy Yard. He got out. Hed been there before, but nothing was familiar. Im just standing there, he remembers. Honestly, I didnt know how to move forward. It was a really, really tough moment. There were no people. It was cold and gray. I didnt even know where I was going. I was just paralyzed and in shock. It was one of those moments I will never forget.

He managed to call Chiu. He also managed to remember why he was there. His restaurant was closed, but he knew he could feed people, even if it meant starting over as a soup kitchen with a small fraction of the staff. It was just what I had to do, Humm says. Do you want to just stand there and die, or do you want to take another step? Basically, its just keep it moving. I have to just keep moving.

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Three persons tested positive for



COVID-19 in Jharkhand, taking the total number of cases in the state to 164, according to the official bulletin issued on Tuesday.

Two of the fresh cases were reported from Chakulia in Ghatsila sub-division in East Singhbhum district, said its deputy commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla.

The two persons, who returned from Kolkata on May 8, were referred to the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur, he said.

These were the first cases to be reported from the Kolhan division, comprising of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan districts, health officials said.

The other person found to be COVID-19 positive hails from Giridihs Jamua, district civil surgeon Dr Awadhesh Kumar Sinha said.

He said the person, a migrant labourer, recently came back from outside the state.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Giridih rose to four with this detection. One person from the district has already recovered, according to the bulletin.

The total number of active cases in the state is 83 at present, while 78 people have recovered, it said.

Two persons died of the infection, while one died due to comorbid conditions, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Desperate to return home as soon as possible amid the lockdown, over 400 migrant labourers from different states queued up at the Gurugram Civil Hospital to obtain mandatory health certificates while throwing social distancing norm to the wind.

Health certificates are required for booking train tickets for the return journeys. As labourers queued up outside the hospital in Sector 10 with little space to separate them from others, police and health officials faced a tough situation.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

The Civil Hospital is one of main isolation centre for Covid-19 in the city and considered highly sensitive area on the health front. At least five medical staff have since tested coronavirus positive after treating corona patients.

Besides, Gurugram tops corona-infected districts in Haryana, with 142 positive cases so far. This includes over 20 labourers of Khandsa vegetable and fruits wholesale market.

Asked about violation of social distancing, a labourer of Kadipur said that people like him were facing a precarious situation while stranded in Gurugram since the lockdown with no food and total dependence on others.

In such a situation, who cares about social distancing. We are dying every day without any fault. Foreign returnees brought corona to our country and not poor labourers, but the latter are getting penalised. Hence, we want to go home at any cost, said Rahul Yadav, a resident of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh.

Another labourer Shri Ram Kumar said: Our savings have completely dried up and we are dependent on others. We start the day by queuing up to get food donated by people. It is humiliation we face every day, which has crushed our self-respect. I ask you to stand in a queue for food and experience our plight. It would be wise to stand in a queue to undergo thermal scanning and obtain medical certificates from authorities to return to our native villages. At least, we would stay there with some respect.

The situation in various cybercafes, tour operators offices on the Khandsa Road is similar. A large number of people were found standing in queues to book tickets.

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'He is Free': Zarif Says Scientist Detained by US on Trumped Up Charges Will Return to Iran Soon

Sputnik News

18:58 GMT 11.05.2020(updated 19:12 GMT 11.05.2020)

Sirous Asgari, an Iranian-American scientist and academician, was arrested by the FBI in 2017 and accused of stealing trade secrets. The US government fought and lost its case against him in court, but continued to detain him indefinitely in the years that followed.

Iranian materials scientist Dr. Sirous Asgari has been freed from custody and will return to his homeland on the next flight as soon as he tests negative for coronavirus, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced.

"He is free," Zarif said, speaking to reporters Monday, his remarks cited by Press TV. "Sirous Asgari has been acquitted of his charges and if he tested negative for COVID-19, he could return to the country on the first flight."

However, US Department of Homeland Security acting deputy chief Ken Cuccinelli splashed cold water on Zarif's comments, claiming that the US has actually been "trying to return Sirous Asgari" to Iran, but that it was the Iranian side that didn't want to take him back. "You suddenly SAY you want them back, so how about you send a charter plane over and we'll return all 11 [Iranians in custody] at once?" Cuccinelli tweeted.

US media reported last week that Washington and Tehran were negotiating a prisoner swap, with the US side reportedly seeking the release of former US Navy service member Michael R. White in exchange for Asgari and an unnamed Iranian-American doctor. White was said to have been temporarily released from an Iranian prison in late March after testing positive for COVID-19, and held in the custody of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in the Islamic Republic. He was said to have made a full recovery.

In his comments Monday, Zarif said all measures were taken from the Iranian side to ensure Asgari's return home, and recalled that he had said over a year and a half ago that Iran was "ready to swap all Iranian prisoners who are in jail in the US or other countries under the US pressure with all American prisoners." He added, however, that "the Americans gave no response" at the time.

The FBI began suspecting Asgari of illegal activity in 2013, obtaining search warrants against him in 2013 and 2015. He was indicted in 2017, and accused of withholding information in his visa application, sidestepping US sanctions, and illegally transferring technology to Iran. The charges against him were dropped after the courts found insufficient evidence to convict him and he was exonerated in late 2019, but continued to be held, transferred to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The scientist reported being shuttled back and forth from holding facilities across the country on planes filled with immigrants. In late April, he was reported to have contracted coronavirus, but not allowed to be sent to hospital because he didn't report breathing problems.

White was arrested by Iranian authorities in mid-2018 during a visit to Iran, ostensibly to see his partner, an Iranian woman he'd met online. He was sentenced to ten years in Iranian prison for insulting Iran's Supreme Leader and violating privacy laws. Along with White, at least three other Americans are thought to be held in Iran on various charges as of this moment. About 20 Iranian nationals are similarly believed to be detained in the US.

Following a brief stint of improving relations between 2015 and 2016 after the signature of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran nuclear deal, ties between the US and Iran have sunk to new lows in recent years, particularly after President Trump abandoned the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reinstated tough banking and energy sanctions against the Islamic Republic. In 2019, the two countries stood on the brink of war in the wake of a series of incidents involving tanker sabotage attacks, ship seizures and drone shootdowns. In January 2020, the US assassinated Qasem Soleimani, one of Iran's most senior generals, in Baghdad. Tehran retaliated by targeting US bases in Iraq with missiles, leaving at least 110 US personnel with traumatic brain injuries. Tensions began heating up again last month after the US Navy complained about the "harassment" of US ships by small Iranian gunboats near Iran's coast.

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Vaughan, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - Spyder Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: SPDR) ("Spyder" or the "Company") through its wholly-owned associated applicant, Spyder Cannabis Subco Inc., is pleased to announce that it has received a cannabis retail operator licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (the "AGCO"). Spyder has already applied for its Cannabis Retail Store Authorization, located at 6474 Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls, Ontario and will operate as SPDR Cannabis. The Retail Store Authorization is the next step required in the process to open its retail operation. Spyder will offer a full assortment of cannabis products from licenced producers.

"The issuance of the Retail Operator's License is an important milestone in the company's evolution, and we are excited to commence our growth strategy in the province of Ontario.", said Daniel Pelchovitz Spyder's President & CEO.

Spyder would also like to update the previous press release about the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission authoriziation. The licence previously announced represents a conditional licence until such time as the final inspection of our already built store is completed and the final licence is given.

About Spyder Cannabis Inc.

Spyder is a Cannabis, Vape and CBD retailer that operates in jurisdictions where the products are federally legal in both Canada and the United States. The Company, through its subsidiaries, is a retailer involved in the development of three retail business units. The first is the sale of Cannabis products, the second is the sale of CBD in the United States only, the third is the sale of smoking cessation products in Ontario.

Cautionary Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward- looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Spyder Cannabis Inc.

Dan Pelchovitz

President & Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 1.888.504.7737

Email: corporate@spydercannabis.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55699
Central New York is poised to start its phased reopening after weeks of closures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Though details of how the reopening will work are just now beginning to trickle out from state and local officials, there are some steps any business owner can take now to prepare.

Syracuse.com spoke with Randy Wolken, president and CEO of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York about steps business owners can take now to be ready for an opening date, whenever that may be. As head of MACNY, Wolken leads a local industry that already been allowed to operate at a reduced capacity during the shutdown. Wolken also sits on the regional council that will oversee and monitor the reopening here in Central New York.

Here are some tips Wolken and other experts shared in recent days:

Start planning and put it in writing

Its not yet clear exactly what the state will require from businesses as they reopen.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, who both serve on the regional council with Wolken, said they expect the state to unveil a website or online portal where business owners will go to certify that they understand the states regulations for reopening.

There has also been talk of business owners submitted industry and business-specific plans that they create on their own for the state to have on record, and for health officials to hold businesses accountable to.

Whatever the state ends up requiring, Wolken said its a good idea for businesses to have their plans, to address things like personal protective equipment and social distancing, in writing. Even for businesses that arent sure where they will fall in the reopening phases, planning ahead can be helpful.

Its never to early to start planning, Wolken said.

You dont have to start from scratch

It can be daunting to imagine a plan, especially with so much uncertainty about the states requirements right now. But you as a business owner are not alone.

Wolkens group, which has helped essential businesses keep their workplaces safe for weeks now, has templates and recommendations other business owners can use.

NEWSLETTER: Sign up for the Back In Business newsletter to get small business advice delivered to your email inbox

CenterState CEO, the regions chamber of commerce and business leadership group, has also developed a toolkit to help guide business owners as they develop their own plans. CenterState invites anyone looking for help to contact the organization for advice and counseling. Anyone interested is invited to email support@centerstateceo.com.

Wolken notes that starting the process could be as simple as reaching out to peers in the industry you work in.

Bounce ideas off each other, Wolken said. Reach out to regional chambers of commerce, industry groups and organizations like ours.

Stock up on supplies

Every business will have to operate differently as it reopens.

There are some things most businesses will have in common: things like masks and social distancing rules. So far, public officials have indicated that local health inspectors will be monitoring businesses to ensure they are taking the proper safety precautions.

Wolken said one thing his industry has learned is that when businesses take the right precautions, it works to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Were going to have to live in that new normal, he said.

Business owners can start stocking up on supplies for employees, and any other necessary equipment to ensure social distancing and sanitation protocols.

Communicate with employees, customers

Communicating those protocols and safety plans to employees and customers will be a major step toward reopening, whenever your business gets the green light.

Thats something you can begin doing now.

Prepare your workforce for the expectations going forward, Wolken suggested. You can also use tools like social media and email campaigns to prepare your customers for whatever procedures will be different once youre able to reopen.

Not only can this help with logistics, but Wolken noted people will feel more comfortable patronizing your business if they are hearing now about all the steps you are taking to keep it clean and safe.

Keep checking back for up-to-date information

The regional council members who syracuse.com spoke to about Central New Yorks reopening all emphasized that the rules and regulations are being written in real time.

That means that right now there arent answers to many of your pressing questions  things like how and whether you can petition to reopen in an earlier phase, or who you go to if you have questions about what falls within in the law.

They all encouraged business owners to keep checking trusted sources of information for updates. New York state is continuously updating its website with more information, and officials expect the state to roll out new resources for the reopening.

Syracuse.coms Back in Business team is here to help. Well keep you connected with the latest information and experts to help interpret it. Join our Facebook group to get involved. Well also be hosting a live Facebook Q&A this Thursday at 10 a.m. with Small Business Development Center Director Joan Powers, who will help answer questions about planning for reopening.

Have a question or a story to share about how youre coping through the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown? We want to hear from you. Contact Back in Business reporter Julie McMahon: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992

CNY BACK IN BUSINESS

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The owner of a Vietnamese hair salon franchise is planning to offer free haircuts across the country on a mobile barbershop, seeking to take photos of 10,000 happy customers and raise funds to help the disadvantaged.

Nguyen Thi Hang, the owner of five hair salons in Ho Chi Minh City, has organized charitable events offering free haircuts along the citys streets multiple times.

She now has something bigger in mind. Hang recently turned a truck into a fully equipped mobile barbershop with the aim of driving the vehicle across the country, giving free haircuts to residents along the way.

At each stop on its trip, the truck opens its doors daily from 9:00 am to 8:30 pm.

The aim is to take photos of 10,000 smiling customers with their new haircuts to raise funds to help the elderly, disabled and other disadvantaged groups in the Southeast Asian country.

The interior of the mobile barbershop looks no different than a fixed hair salon, with two barber chairs installed to serve up to two customers at the same time.

Notably, the truck is equipped with an air conditioner powered by electricity from a roof-mounted solar panel, making it a cool respite for its patrons.

A truck is turned into a mobile barbershop offering free haircuts in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

After obtaining permission from local authorities, the mobile barbershop stops at a place for three to seven days before traveling to other places all over the country.

Hang said she plans to give the free haircut service in Ward 8 of Go Vap District next week.

Staff are on a mission to collect 10,000 smiles by taking photos of happy customers with their new haircuts as part of a fundraising campaign to support the disadvantaged.

A charity box is placed within the mobile barbershop, so customers can chip in their money to help people with deprived backgrounds.

Le Huong, a 31-year-old man in Go Vap District, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he usually has his hair cut at home by a trusted barber.

Intrigued by the sight of the mobile hairdressing salon, he took his son for haircuts.

The staff do not take money. There is a charity box on the vehicle, so I made a donation to help disadvantaged people, said Huong.

An employee lowers a collapsible ladder from a mobile barbershop offering free haircuts in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Barbers give free haircuts to customers inside a mobile barbershop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

A barber gives a free haircut to a customer inside a mobile barbershop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Nguyen Minh Phuc (right), a 24-year-old resident in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, makes a donation after getting a free haircut at a Vietnamese mobile barbershop backed by charitable purposes. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

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The same day, in the country's east, a suicide bomber killed 24 people at a funeral.

The attacks cap a deadly six-week period since the Taliban and the United States signed a deal that leaders hoped would lead to a reduction in violence and the start of intra-Afghan talks. Instead, a spike in attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups such as the Islamic State have put the fragile chance for peace in jeopardy.

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The Taliban denied responsibility for Tuesday's bloodshed, but Afghan officials appeared to connect the two attacks with rising Taliban violence in other parts of the country. Hours after the siege at the hospital ended, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered his armed forces to resume offensive operations against the Taliban.

"This is not peace, nor its beginnings," Afghanistan's national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib said in a post on Twitter, referring to Tuesday's violence. He said that the Taliban "subcontracted their terror to other entities" and that there is "little point in continuing to engage Taliban in 'peace talks.' "

The hospital is one of the busiest in western Kabul and houses a maternity ward run by Doctors Without Borders. (Tolo News via Storyful)

Those peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government were supposed to begin more than two months ago but have been plagued by delays. Key negotiations over a controversial prisoner swap collapsed in April, and while both sides have continued to release prisoners unilaterally, they don't appear any closer to direct talks.

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In a statement Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the hospital attack as "an act of sheer evil" and urged both sides to find a solution to the political crisis.

"The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement read. "As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress towards a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism."

The public text of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal does not include a commitment from the Taliban to reduce attacks against Afghan forces, but U.S. officials have said all sides verbally agreed to bring overall violence down by as much as 80 percent.

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Pentagon spokesperson Army Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell said Tuesday that the U.S. military would continue to conduct airstrikes in defense of Afghan forces despite the resumption of offensive operations.

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"As the secretary of defense stated recently, this is going to be a windy, bumpy road," Campbell said, adding that a political agreement "is the best way to end the war."

The Taliban released a statement condemning Tuesday's attacks and calling Ghani's announcement a "declaration of war."

"The Kabul regime will be responsible for an increase in the violence," said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He accused the Afghan government of delaying talks and "creating hurdles in the peace process," specifically over prisoner releases.

Any escalation in violence in Afghanistan also will complicate the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Increased clashes will make it more difficult for aid groups to deliver relief, as lockdowns have caused unemployment to soar and put millions at risk of hunger. Previous appeals from the United Nations for a humanitarian cease-fire have been ignored.

The future of armed groups such as the Islamic State in Afghanistan was a critical element of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in the lead-up to the signing of the agreement in February. U.S. negotiators demanded assurances from the Taliban that terrorist organizations with aims of attacking the West would not be allowed to operate in territory under their control.

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Ahead of the peace deal, U.S., Afghan and Taliban military pressure on the Islamic State crippled the groups territorial hold and led to a sharp drop in large-scale attacks in Afghan cities. (In the Talibans statement Tuesday, Mujahid highlighted the role that Taliban fighters played in the military operations, a contribution that even U.S. officials assessed as significant.)

But recent deadly shootings in Kabul suggest some of the extremist groups networks and cells remain intact.

In March, Islamic State gunmen killed 32 at an ethnic Hazara and Shiite gathering, and later that month gunmen stormed a Sikh temple, killing 25. Like the previous attacks, the hospital targeted Tuesday serves a minority community of mainly Hazara and Shiite Afghans.

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And on Tuesday, the Islamic State asserted responsibility for a suicide bombing at the funeral of a prominent local security official in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing two dozen and wounding 68, according to the provincial governor's office.

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The funeral was attended by government officials, including a member of parliament. A member of the provincial council was among the dead, according to two local officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media. Nangahar was the focus of a months-long military push against the Islamic State last year.

Similar to previous attacks, the gunmen in the hospital Tuesday held off Afghan security forces for hours. More than 100 patients, family members, doctors and nurses were evacuated from the hospital during the attack. About four hours after the siege began, Afghan forces declared the building cleared.

Taliban attacks in Afghanistan surge after U.S. peace deal, inflicting heavy casualties

The head of Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission, Shaharzad Akbar, condemned the brutality of an attack targeting newborns. She wrote in a post on Twitter, Among their first experiences [is] being targeted in a war they & their mothers had no part in.

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Abdul Habib Faizy, the hospital's nursing manager, said he could hear the gunmen changing their weapons' magazines outside the safe room where he hid.

"It was a horrific situation," he said. "We were waiting to die every moment. Who would kill mothers who had just given birth and their newborn babies?

"They are the enemies of humanity," he said.

George reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.

ISIS attack in Kabul leaves 32 dead, more than 80 wounded

Islamic State claims Kabul attack on Sikh minority

More than a dozen staff members in Afghanistans presidential palace test positive for coronavirus

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli during the opening night of the Strictly Come Dancing Arena Tour 2020 at Arena Birmingham on January 16, 2020 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Craig Revel Horwood has shared that the Strictly Come Dancing team are "really gunning" for a return in the midst of uncertainty of the show's feasibility to go ahead due to the coronavirus.

With many shows having had their production postponed or cancelled, there have been concerns as to whether the popular programme will be able to go ahead.

The judge has said that not all dances require partners to be touching each other, and that even if touching weren't possible later in the year, "something else" will happen instead.

Read more: Kathy Burke hits out at charlatan Boris Johnson

Craig Revel Horwood during the opening night of the Strictly Come Dancing Arena Tour 2020 at Arena Birmingham on January 16, 2020 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

He told Heart Breakfasts Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden: Well theres a lot of dances you can do  the Charleston, you can do contemporary, you can do street, modern jazz  theres lots of stuff you can do that doesnt involve touching one another, but Im hoping by October, darling, we might be able to at least get into hold.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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"If thats not possible, something else will happen.

Elsewhere, theres been some happy news in Revel Horwoods personal life as hes set to marry partner Jonathan Myring.

Jonathan Myring and Craig Revel Horwood attend the Pride Of Britain Awards 2019 at The Grosvenor House Hotel on October 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Last week it was announced that Love Island's summer season will not be going ahead as it could've compromised the safety of those involved.

While bosses tried to find an alternative to make the show work it was discovered it was "not possible" to ensure the wellbeing of cast and crew.

Meanwhile, Britain's Got Talent is currently airing its audition stages but the live shows have been postponed to later in the year due to social distancing restrictions.
Commemorating the Work of Nurses, Nationally and Internationally

International Nurses Day 2020 celebrates the work of nurses globally, and also commemorates the life of Florence Nightingale, marking the bicentenary of her birth.

For the first time ever, 2020 has been declared the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife by the World Health Organization. Indeed, 2020 has shown that the work of nurses, nationally and internationally, is key in the fight against COVID-19.

Florence Nightingale, leader and pioneer in nursing, was born in 1820 and died aged 90 in 1910. She is seen as the philosophical founder of modern nursing as well as a female icon, a healthcare visionary, a respected researcher, analyst, innovator, entrepreneur and as a leader.

Her legacy is commemorated annually across the globe. The Gibraltar Health Authority had intended to organise a Commonwealth service to honour her life and to mark the bicentenary of her birth. Regrettably, however, these celebrations have had to be curtailed as a result of COVID-19.

This year, the International Nurses Day takes place in a strange and unfamiliar atmosphere of uncertainty, not only for nurses, but all healthcare workers, who selflessly dedicate themselves to care for people during this pandemic, and some who have sadly even lost their lives to it. The nursing response to COVID-19 has highlighted how nurses are there every step of the way in healthcare, from testing through to critical care, community services, mental health care, Elderly Residential Services and every nursing care pathway in between.

Mrs Sandra Gracia, Director of Nursing and Gibraltar Ambulance Service noted Florence Nightingale inspired and continues to inspire nurses; her work has informed mathematicians, architects, public health workers and activists. In normal circumstances, this would be a time for mass celebration, however as nursing staff across the world stand shoulder to shoulder in responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic, today we must shine a light on the remarkable work that all health and care staff are doing. COVID-19 has brought home how vital the Nursing Profession is.

For his part, the Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Paul Balban stated; Today is a special day that allows us all to express gratitude to all those nurses working round the clock to keep our community safe and healthy. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all nurses who, daily, go above and beyond what is expected of them, especially as they work to defeat COVID-19 - Happy International Nurses Day!
Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk in "Monk." (USA Network)

Here's what happened: Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub reprised his role as germophobe Adrian Monk for Peacock's new quarantine web series  before breaking the fourth wall to reveal he had COVID-19.

On Monday's premiere of Peacock's "The At-Home Variety Show," Shalhoub got back into his "Monk" character to offer a glimpse of what the San Francisco detective has been up to amid the coronavirus crisis.

Monk's quarantine activities include vigorously washing his hands, cleaning surfaces, wearing surgical gloves on his hands  and feet  and putting his produce in the dishwasher, among other extreme sanitation measures resulting from his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Standing at a six-foot distance during a video conference call, he asks colleagues Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), Capt. Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) if they "have any extra hand sanitizer?"

"I'm down to my last 12 cases," he explains. "Its not hoarding, Randy, if you bought them 20 years ago."

Later in the video, Shalhoub drops the Monk act, addressing viewers as himself directly to the camera, with a fluffy pup at his side.

"I hope youre all being careful and following the protocol. We really are all Monk now," he says. "Last month, my wife, Brooke, and I came down with the virus, and it was a pretty rough few weeks. But we realize that so many other people have and had it a lot worse."

After announcing his recovery, the actor celebrated the contributions of healthcare workers and first responders by walking out to his balcony to cheer them on.

"Time to go out and show our appreciation to all the heroes," he says. "Let's go. Stay safe and stay sane."

Shalhoub and his wife, actress Brooke Adams, are the latest of many Hollywood stars to go public with COVID-19 diagnoses. Others who have contracted the respiratory illness include Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Daniel Dae Kim, Andy Cohen, Ali Wentworth and more.

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Last year, Shalhoub won an Emmy for his turn as the onscreen father of fellow Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan in Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." The year prior, he took home a Tony for his leading performance as Col. Tewfiq Zakaria in Broadway's "The Band's Visit."

Hosted by "Family Guy" mastermind Seth MacFarlane, "The At-Home Variety Show" is NBCUniversal's way of showing support "by trotting out some of its biggest stars" for coronavirus relief.

"Remember how pissed everyone was about the Gal Gadot Imagine video?" MacFarlane says in the intro, referencing the "Wonder Woman" star's ill-received attempt to lift spirits with some celebrity karaoke. "Well, we thought it would be a good idea to do that five nights a week for a whole month with lesser-known celebrities."

Peacock, the media giant's forthcoming streaming service, is set to launch nationwide on July 15.
Jaipur, May 12 : The National Human Rights Commission has sought a detailed report from Rajasthan Police in the Tonk minor gangrape case reported in Rajasthan on May 5.

Taking a cognisance of the petition filed in Tonk minor rape case by advocate Sunil Kumar Bainsla on Monday, the National Human Rights Commission, on Tuesday, directed the Rajasthan DGP to collect facts over phone within three days and present action taken report to the commission within four weeks in the case.

Acting prompt on Bainsla's petition, the commission said that an action taken report should be submitted within four weeks from the date of receipt of the letter or else the commission shall invoke its coercive process for personal appearance of the concerned authorities.

The complainant, in his online complaint filed on Monday, alleged about the kidnapping and gang rape of a minor girl on May 5 at about 8 pm in Tonk district.

In his complaint, he alleged, quoting media reports, that the family members of the assailants are pressuring the family members of the victim to settle the matter and not to register the complaint.

The complaint sought an intervention of the commission among other things for a direction to the chief secretary and DGP for expeditious investigation, compensation to the victim, and to provide protection to the victim.
E lon Musk has confirmed his company Tesla has restarted its California factory in violation of local government lockdown orders.

The billionaire boss said that he would be on the assembly line and asked that he be arrested if authorities take anyone into custody.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, he wrote: Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else.

If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

The plant in Fremont, south of San Francisco, had been closed since March 23 under orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Early on Monday, the car park was nearly full at the massive plant, which employs 10,000 workers.

Transporters were driving away loaded with vehicles that may have been produced before the shutdown.

A truck hauling new Tesla vehicles leaves the Tesla factory plant on Monday / AP

The restart violates orders from Alameda County Health Department. It has deemed the factory a non-essential business that should not open under restrictions intended to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Alameda County Sheriff Sergeant Ray Kelly said any enforcement of the order would come from Fremont police.

Geneva Bosques, Fremont police spokeswoman, said officers would take action at the direction of the county health officer.

The Health Department said on Saturday that it was in talks with Tesla to reopen the plant safely.

The restart came two days after Tesla sued the county health department seeking to overturn its order, and Mr Musk threatened to move Tesla's manufacturing operations and headquarters from the state.

Tesla contends in the lawsuit that Alameda County cannot be more restrictive than orders from California governor Gavin Newsom.

The lawsuit says the governor's coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying vehicle manufacturing as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," Mr Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately."

He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.

The Bay Area order calls for limited return of business and manufacturing, with health restrictions, starting on May 18, the same day Detroit car makers plan to restart assembly plants.

Mr Newsom has repeatedly said that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders.

Alameda County was among six San Francisco Bay Area counties that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

Early in the coronavirus crisis, the governor praised Mr Musk as the "perfect example" of the private sector assisting the state in the pandemic, after Mr Musk pledged to provide more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals, a fact Mr Newsom repeated often and called a "heroic effort".

But whether the Tesla chief made good on the promise remains in dispute.

Several weeks after Mr Newsom was touting the ventilators, the state said it had not heard of any being delivered.

Mr Musk responded, demanding on Twitter that Mr Newsom correct the record, sharing tweets and screenshots from hospitals and Los Angeles County thanking him for sending supplies.

He has been ranting about the stay-home order since the company's April 29 first-quarter earnings were released.

He called the restrictions fascist and urged governments to stop taking people's freedom.
French insurer Covea has walked away from its planned $9 billion purchase of PartnerRe, the Bermuda-based reinsurer owned by Exor, the holding firm of Italys Agnelli family, saying it could no longer buy under the terms of their agreement.

The deal is the biggest involving a European buyer to collapse because of market dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has made it increasingly hard for bidders to close pre-crisis transactions due to share price drops.

The global reinsurers stock index is down around 36% since the end of February.

Covea said in a statement it had informed Exor that it could not complete the purchase under the agreed terms due to the current unprecedented conditions and significant uncertainties threatening the global economic outlook.

A source close to the matter said the risk tied to the COVID-19 pandemic had been excluded from the deals material adverse change (MAC) clauses of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Exor and Covea entered into earlier this year regarding the sale of PartnerRe in its entirety.

Exor said in a separate statement that Covea, while trying to renegotiate the deals agreed terms, never suggested the existence of a material adverse change, including pandemic risk, or any other issues at PartnerRe that would explain its refusal to honor its commitments under the MoU.

Exor believes that no such basis exists it said.

Exor said PartnerRe had one of the highest capital and liquidity ratios in the global reinsurance industry and was not expected to be significantly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The board therefore reiterated its strong belief that a sale of PartnerRe on terms inferior to those established in the MoU fails to reflect the value of the company, it said.

A spokesman for Exor said Covea would have to pay an indemnity, or a break-up fee, but added that its amount was confidential.

The MoU included a $175 mln penalty for Covea to get out of the deal, according to a March report in the Italian daily newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

Exor, led by Agnelli scion John Elkann, bought PartnerRe for $6.9 billion in 2016 after a long hostile takeover battle.

Under the original terms of the agreement with Covea, Exor would have received an aggregate cash return of $3 billion from its purchase and disposal of PartnerRe, including dividends paid by the Bermuda-based group since 2016, Exor has said.

According to the MoU, Exor would also have received a cash dividend of $50 million from PartnerRe before the closure of the deal.

Exor also controls Italian American carmaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA), which in December struck a binding merger deal with Frances Peugeot owner PSA to create the worlds fourth largest carmaker.

FCA Chief Executive Michael Manley last week said the two carmakers remained committed to the 50-50 tie-up and that the terms of the deal had not changed.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; editing by Jan Harvey and Paul Simao)

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President Donald Trump and the U.S. Labor Department on Monday directed a board charged with overseeing billions in federal retirement dollars to halt plans to invest in Chinese companies.

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia warned the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board that its current plan to invest federal savings would place "billions of dollars in retirement savings in risky companies that pose a threat to U.S. national security."

The international index that the Thrift Savings Plan is set to start tracking later this year is called the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI, which includes equities in a broad range of developed and emerging markets, including China.

"At the direction of President Trump, the Board is to immediately halt all steps associated with investing the I Fund according to the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI, and to reverse its decision to invest Plan assets on the basis of that international equities index," according to a copy of the letter seen by CNBC.

At issue is the management of the TSP, a retirement savings fund for federal employees and members of the military. A federal investment fund within the TSP called the I Fund, which offers federal employees exposure to international stock markets, held about $41 billion in assets out of a total of $557 billion in the TSP as of the end of March.

"There's a lot of focus on this issue from a national security standpoint, but the investor protection angle is equally important. China is an international outlier in not permitting U.S. regulators to access the audits of its companies listed on U.S. exchanges, which puts our investors at risk," wrote Clete Willems, a former trade advisor to the Trump White House and a partner at Akin Gump.

The Labor secretary, who cited bipartisan calls to restrict U.S. investment in Chinese stocks, wrote that the president is opposed to the board's 2017 decision to allow its international fund to track an index that includes China-based stocks based on national security and investor risk concerns.

"The attached letter, which is authorized by the President's principal economic and national security advisors, establishes that linking the I Fund to the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI would place millions of federal employees in the untenable position of choosing between forgoing any investment in international equities, or placing billions of dollars in retirement savings in risky companies that pose a threat to U.S. national security," he added.
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The survey of more than 8,000 adults reveals a wide range in the assessments of Republican governors, but not for their Democratic counterparts. The disparities appear to be linked not solely to partisanship, but also to the differing paths the governors have adopted as they seek to balance efforts to contain the spread of the virus while trying to limit the damage to their economies.

The contrast is widest in two states won by Trump in 2016. In Ohio, 86 percent of adults say they approve of the way Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who moved aggressively to close down his state and has been cautious about lifting the restrictions, has dealt with the crisis. In Georgia, 39 percent of adults approve of the performance of Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who moved less swiftly than some other governors to mitigate the spread and has been in the forefront of reopening the economy there.

Overall, 71 percent of Americans approve of their governors performances, with majority approval from people in both major parties. A much smaller 43 percent approve of Trumps efforts. In Trumps case, assessments are dramatically partisan, with more than 8 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approving of his handling of the crisis and almost 9 in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents disapproving.

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In the two largest states with Democratic governors, Gov. Gavin Newsom (Calif.) and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (N.Y.) receive positive marks from about 8 in 10 adults. Those lofty positive ratings dip significantly in the two largest states with Republican governors. In Florida, 60 percent of adults give Gov. Ron DeSantis positive ratings, while in Texas, 57 percent say they approve of the way Gov. Greg Abbott has handled the pandemic.

Newsom and Cuomo earn positive marks from people in both parties, although their own party is more favorable. For Cuomo, 93 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of Republicans approve of the job he has done. For Newsom, the numbers are nearly identical, with 89 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of Republicans offering positive assessments.

The lower approval numbers for the governors of Texas and Florida reflect negative assessments from Democrats in their states, according to the Post-Ipsos poll, which was conducted from April 27 to May 4. While at least 8 in 10 Republicans in each of those states say they approve of the performance of their governor, fewer than 4 in 10 Democrats say the same.

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Ohios DeWine has succeeded more than any large-state governor in attracting broad, bipartisan support. He wins 84 percent approval among his fellow Republicans, along with 90 percent approval among Democrats. That is a dramatic contrast with the president, whose handling of the crisis is approved by 89 percent of Ohio Republicans but only 12 percent of Ohio Democrats.

The range across these states is notable given that the survey simply asked people whether they approved of your states governor. The respondents were not prompted with either the name of the governor or the governors political party.

A 74 percent majority of Americans overall say the United States should keep trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus even if it means keeping many businesses closed, while 25 percent say the country should open up businesses and get the economy going again, even if the result would be more infections.

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Across 12 states with sample sizes large enough to break down results, from Pennsylvania to Texas to California, at least 7 in 10 say they prefer focusing on slowing the viruss spread rather than beginning to reopen businesses.

On several occasions, the White House overstated the amount of medical supplies it delivered through Project Airbridge, according to a Post investigation. (The Washington Post)

Yet there is a significant partisan divide on this question. More than 9 in 10 (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they favor closures to deal with the virus, while Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are split almost evenly, with 49 percent saying closures should be the top priority and 50 percent saying businesses should be opened up again.

Abbott, DeSantis and Kemp face blowback for reopening their states on a faster schedule. Nationally, 56 percent of Americans say their state government has handled restrictions on businesses about right, with 28 percent saying restrictions have been lifted too quickly and 16 percent saying they have not been lifted quickly enough. But nearly half of Floridians (48 percent) and majorities in both Texas (59 percent) and Georgia (65 percent) say their state government is lifting restrictions too quickly.

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Ratings for Kemp suffer from a difficult combination: overwhelming disapproval among Georgia Democrats, and lukewarm approval among Republicans.

The poll highlights the degree to which Americans have placed trust in their governors, as well as the difficulties for state leaders in navigating the politics of reopening while Americans widely support continuing to restrict businesses.

As a group, governors appear to have steered through those divisions and won substantial approval among those from their rival party. In states led by Democratic governors, 75 percent approve of their handling of the outbreak, including 91 percent of Democratic-leaning residents, as well as 54 percent of those who lean Republican. In Republican-led states, 67 percent of people give positive ratings to governors, including 80 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats.

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Two other Democratic governors have earned at least moderate support across parties. In Pennsylvania, 72 percent of adults approve of the performance of Gov. Tom Wolf in dealing with the virus, including about 9 in 10 Democrats, along with about half of Republicans. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Coopers overall rating is 74 percent, including more than 9 in 10 of his fellow Democrats and more than half of Republicans.

Partisan divisions are sharper in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has extended stay-at-home orders despite armed protests in the state capital. The Post-Ipsos poll finds 72 percent of residents overall approve of her handling of the outbreak, but the survey sample is not large enough to estimate results by party. A stand-alone Fox News poll in April found 64 percent of registered voters approved of Whitmers handling of the situation, including 90 percent of Democrats compared with 35 percent of Republicans.

The Washington Post-Ipsos poll was conducted through Ipsoss KnowledgePanel, a large online survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Overall Washington Post-Ipsos poll results among the sample of 8,086 U.S. adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus one percentage point. The sample sizes for results in individual states reported here range from 219 in Georgia to 962 in California, with error margins ranging from 3.5 to 7.5 points.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
International Nurses Day: A story about a pregnant lady who serves COVID-19 patients daily

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Bengaluru, May 12: When people are trying to lock themselves in the safest places amid the fatal coronavirus outbreak the police, doctors, nurses are a few among all, who dedicated their lives to save others.

There is no other better opportunity to pay a tribute to a nurse, Roopa Praveen Rao, on the very International Nurses Day.

Karnataka's Roopa Praveen Rao, a nurse at Jayachamarajendra Government Hospital in Shivamogga set an example by choosing to continue to serve the patients amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis being an expectant mother.

Frontline nurse lives life in isolation ward

Rao is nine months pregnant though it did not stop her from serving patients. Living in Gajanuru village she travels every day to Thirthahalli taluk to attend to the patients at the hospital.

"The taluk hospital is surrounded by many villages, people need our service. My seniors had asked me to take leave but I want to serve people. I work six hours a day," she told ANI.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa expressing his gratitude and requested her to go on maternity leave.

"Roopa, I am amazed to learn about your efforts. It is nice to learn that a woman from my district is putting in so much of efforts. At least now please take rest and return to work after delivery... I humbly request you to take rest from today," Yediyurappa told her over the phone.

Meanwhile, Shivamogga, which was under green zone till now, saw a spurt in cases on Sunday with eight people testing positive and one of them was from Teerthahalli.
SPRINGFIELD  MGM Resorts International on Tuesday announced a seven-point plan for reopening its casinos during the coronavirus pandemic including a requirement for masks and social distancing.

The announcement occurs as the MGM Springfield casino remains closed until at least May 18, by order of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. That order is expected to be reviewed by the commission this week.

It also occurs as MGM Springfield has announced that employees could face mass layoffs in late August. MGM Springfield told state labor officials this month that it will lay off as many as 1,887 employees at the end of August, after their temporary furloughs triggered by the coronavirus.

MGM Resorts Seven-Point Safety Plan is designed for the reopening of its domestic properties in conjunction with medical and scientific experts to deter the spread of the virus, protect customers and employees and rapidly respond to potential new cases, MGM Resorts said.

Our properties will not look the way they used to for a while, and thats not only okay, its critically important," said MGM Resorts Acting CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle. "We will continue providing the hospitality experiences we are known for, but we must do so safely. We will continue working with experts and following guidance from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and government officials and regulators as we evolve these protocols based on the latest information.

The seven-point plan for reopening includes:

Employee screening measure to assess signs and symptoms of infection including temperature checks; guests will be asked to abide by a similar self-screening protocol prior to arriving and during their stay.

Mandatory masks and personal protective equipment for all employees; the casinos will "strongly encourage guests to wear masks in public areas and offer masks to any guest who needs one. MGM will ask guests to minimize the time of removing masks when drinking on the casino floor, and to refrain from eating on the casino floor for safety.

Six-foot physical distancing policy wherever feasible with floor guides serving as reminders. In challenging cases, there will be mitigation such as plexiglass barriers for the safety of employees and guests. There will be instructional signage.

Hand-washing and enhanced sanitation, including custom-built hand-washing stations and hand-sanitizing stations. MGM will continue using proven cleaning products in accordance with EPA guidelines for coronaviruses, bacteria and other infectious pathogens and electrostatic sprayers

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls and air quality measures. The measures will continue to be reviewed and adjusted with guidance from local and state officials and MGMs medical experts.

Incident response protocols aimed at reducing the chance infection will spread.

Digital innovations, including contact-less check-ins, and digital menus, will be provided by MGM that are designed to eliminate or reduce the need for waiting in line. The check-ins can be done through the MGM Resorts mobile app, and the digital menus can be viewed on personal mobile devices.

MGM Resorts has 29 unique hotel and destination gaming offerings in the United States and Macau, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, ARIA and Park MGM.
Activists protesting at the detention of asylum seekers in a Melbourne hotel barricaded themselves in a room for about seven hours before being escorted from the building and fined more than $1500 each.

Healthcare workers have previously described the makeshift detention centre housing more than 60 men who were medically evacuated from Manus Island and Nauru as a "very high-risk environment" for transmitting the coronavirus.

Eight activists checked into three rooms at Preston's Mantra hotel on Monday and barricaded themselves into at least one of the rooms from 7.30am Tuesday.

By mid-afternoon, they were escorted out of the building by police and fined $1652 for breaching social distancing rules. They are expected to be charged on summons with trespassing at the property, police said.
Two years after she became the first patient in Kerala to recover from the dreaded nipah virus, M Anjanya, now a qualified nurse, wants to work in Covid hospital as a mark of gratitude to those who had prayed for her.

The nipah virus which had an 80 per cent mortality rate had put her on ventilator for more than a week. But her recovery became a story of her resistance and the resolve of a team of dedicated medical professionals. It was also dubbed as a wonder in the medical world.

Ajanya who was then a nursing intern, graduated from the Government Nursing College in Kozhikkode with distinction in January is waiting for employment.

The 21-year-old GNM (general nursing and midwifery) graduate said, I am yearning to work in a Covid hospital. I am sure we will overcome this challenge also. I love my profession more now. Many prayed for my life and it is time for me to pay back, she said.

Today is the World Nurses Day. Many frontline warriors have fallen prey to the monstrous virus. But their sacrifice inspires people like me and I am sure we will tame it soon, she said.

The daughter of a farm labourer and anganwadi worker she was afflicted with nipah while she was doing her internship at the Kozhikkode medical college hospital in 2018.

I was in the ICU ward looking after my patients as part of my training. On May 18 I developed high fever and other ailments and got admitted at the same ward. Two days later I lost my consciousness. I was later told Lini Puthussery was in the same ward, she said.

Lini, another nurse, was not lucky like her and died. Last year the state government instituted an award in Linis memory and the World Health Organization also lauded her contributions.

I consider it as one of the noblest professions in the world. Becoming a nurse was my childhood dream. I feel I am nearer to my dream. I have applied at several places I am waiting for the call. As a beginner it is time for me to take challenges head on. I would love to care for Covid-19 patients, she said.

Among the 19 infected with nipah Ajanya was the first to come out of the hospital and later Ubeesh, a male nurse, was also discharged but 17 others including Lini succumbed to the disease.

After Linis death it was a big challenge for the medical team. A head nurse stayed at the hospital for a week noting down Ajanyas condition every minute. It is great she is ready to take up the profession, recalled district medical officer Dr V Jayasree. She also said that the nipah battle had made medical professionals in north Kerala bolder.

Nipah was an unknown virus, with no medicine or history of treatment or carriers and health experts hit a blind alley in the initial stages of the outbreak but they fought back valiantly and contained its secondary infection.
Indian-Americans are most likely to be Democrats of any Asian-origin group, with 50 per cent supporting the party and just 18 per cent identifying as Republicans, non-partisan think tank Pew Research has said in a study.

But, President Donald Trump's campaign disagrees, believing this major ethnic community in America is now moving away from the Democrats.

In its latest report, the Pew Research Center said Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing segment of eligible voters of the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

More than 11 million Indian-Americans will be able to vote this year, making up nearly five per cent of the electorate in the US which is going to polls on November 3.

They are also the only major racial or ethnic group in which naturalised citizens -- rather than the US-born -- make up a majority of eligible voters, the report said, based on data of the Census Bureau.

From 2000 to 2020, the number of Asian-American eligible voters more than doubled, growing by 139 per cent.

The Hispanic voters grew at a similar rate (121 per cent), but the black and white electorates grew far more slowly (33 per cent and seven per cent).

Pew Research said 42 per cent of Vietnamese-Americans identify as Republicans compared to Asian-Americans overall of whom 28 per cent support the Republican Party.

"In contrast, Indian-Americans are the most likely to be Democrats of any Asian-origin group, with 50 per cent identifying as Democrats and just 18 per cent as Republican, the American think tank said.

Traditionally, Indian-Americans have voted for the Democratic candidates. However, an Indian-American leader from the Trump campaign disagrees.

"In our experience, surveys do not reflect ground realities. In President Trump, Indian-Americans have the best friend ever inside the White House. It is a myth that Indian Americans vote for Democrats," said Al Mason, co-Chair of Trump Victory Indian American Finance Committee.

"It is President Trump who has now changed the dynamics of India-US relation which is at its peak. Trump is a true friend of India. He is great friends with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. Trump genuinely values and acknowledges the Indian-Americans. His 'Howdy, Modi!' event, his visit to India with First Lady and family showcases his love for India and India for him," he said.

"This has pleased the Indian-American community a lot. Indian-Americans love Trump. Mark my words, they are moving away from the Democrats to Trump," Mason said.

On the other hand, Ajay Bhutoria, National Finance Committee Member of the Joe Biden for President campaign, said the former vice-president and top Democrat is the best bet for Indian-Americans.

"Indian-Americans strongly support Biden to bring a respected leadership on the world stage and reinvigorate our own democracy and strengthen the coalition of democracies around the world including relations with the largest democracy -- India," said Bhutoria, who is also a member in American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Leadership Council for Biden.

Biden has decades of foreign policy experience and the Barack Obama-Biden administration had built a strong foundation of relations with South Asian countries specially India, he asserted.

"In 2014, (the) Obama-Biden administration and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the goal of increasing bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2020.

"The Obama-Biden administration first started Diwali celebration in White House, released a Diwali Stamp, along with celebration of Jain, Sikh and Muslim events," Bhutoria said.

Diwali was also celebrated by Biden at the vice-president's residence, he noted.

The US Asian electorate is a diverse group, with eligible voters tracing their roots to countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Just six origin groups Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese account for the majority of US Asian voters.

According to the Pew Research survey, among the Asian-American origin groups, US-Indian eligible voters have the highest median household income (USD 139,000), while Burmese-Americans (USD 69,000) have the lowest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump voiced strong support Thursday for his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, raising speculation that a pardon may be coming after Flynn's lawyers disclosed internal FBI documents they claim show the FBI tried to intentionally frame" him.

Trump said he believes Flynn should now be cleared in court, but if that doesn't happen, he as president has a different type of power. It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see, Trump told reporters Thursday.

"I'm not the judge, but I have a different type of power. But I don't know that anybody would have to use that power. I think he's exonerated. Trump has long said he is considering pardoning Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

The president spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning retweeting supportive statements of Flynn and condemned the FBI's investigation into his onetime adviser They came at him with 15 buses and he's standing in the middle of the highway.

What they did to this man, Trump said at an earlier event at the White House, without specifying what he meant. "They tormented him. They destroyed him. But he's going to come back.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called into Fox Channel to react to the release of the FBI documents, saying, If true, it is extremely troubling. If all this proves to be true, you will have, certainly, a major, major error on the part of top leadership at the FBI, which could well warrant additional charges against them, he said.

Lawyers for Flynn over the last two days released a series of internal correspondence obtained through a Justice Department review of the handling of the case. They contend the documents bolster their allegations that Flynn was set up to lie when he was questioned at the White House three years ago, and show that agents were prepared to drop an investigation into him just weeks before they set out to question him.

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

Conservative Ex-Google Engineers Bias Complaint Goes to Arbitration

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.

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.

With assistance from Mark Bergen

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

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Tens of thousands of coronavirus deaths in Britain may have been avoided if officials imposed the lockdown a fortnight earlier, a study has claimed.

University of Edinburgh researchers said at least 2,000 lives would have been saved in Scotland, if the measures were brought in on March 9 instead of March 23.

The official COVID-19 death toll in Scotland is 1,862, but the true number of victims is more than 2,800 due to a lag in the way deaths are recorded.

Rowland Kao, professor of epidemiology and lead author of the paper, said there had 'definitely' been enough information about the coming pandemic in mid-February.

He demanded to know why lockdown was not imposed sooner, saying he hoped the country was 'following the right science'.

Professor Kao told MailOnline that if the whole of Britain was forced to stay at home a fortnight earlier it would have a 'similar' effect on the death toll.

Applying the 80 per cent reduction to Britain's 32,490 fatalities suggests almost 26,000 deaths could have been prevented.

The UK did not ban mass gatherings until March 16 or go into lockdown until March 23, despite knowing the virus was spreading between Britons since at least February.

University of Edinburgh researchers said at least 2,000 lives would have been saved in Scotland, if the measures were brought in on March 9 instead of March 23

Professor Kao and colleagues developed a mathematical model which simulated the outbreak north of the border.

It looked at the effect of lockdown on people's movements, the reproduction 'R' value (the average number of people an infected person infects) and deaths.

The team simulated what would have happened to the spread of the virus if the nationwide measures were brought in on March 9.

Lockdown could be needlessly prolonged because of ministers' obsession with 'irrelevant' R-value, MPs and scientists warn Lockdown could be needlessly prolonged because of the Government's 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. 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 they've 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. '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. Advertisement

The model predicted the death toll would have been around 577 in Scotland, almost 80 per cent less than the 2,795 which have occurred already.

Professor Kao told MailOnline: 'We took a large scale simulation model which looked at individuals around Scotland.

'We input information on commuting movements, using Google mobility data, to try to get an understanding of how social restrictions effect spread.

'Not moving so far away from one's home is one of the big impacts of what lockdown is doing.

'We also observed the pattern of the reproduction number, and seen a three-to-four fold reduction since lockdown.

'If you take the effects lockdown has had on movement and the R value and apply it two weeks earlier, you notice that much less deaths would have occurred. We applied these curves across 14 health boards in Scotland.'

Professor Kao said if the UK as a whole imposed the lockdown on March 9 'you would expect a similar effect to the one seen in our research on Scotland.'

Commenting on the findings, Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: 'I doubt you would find anybody to disagree with that.

'If the UK had done what it eventually had to do two weeks early several thousand deaths would undoubted have been saved and we would almost certainly be in a much better position now with cases being a lot lower.

'And maybe we would be returning to normal rather more quickly. But things are always a lot more clear with hindsight.'

The Scottish Government's scientific advisers would have known that a major outbreak was imminent in February, according to Professor Kao.

He added: 'I would say it was very clear very early on how serious this outbreak was. They [ministers] were probably aware of the trade-offs of lockdown at the time.

'There should be transparency in how decisions were made  we need to know if we were listening to the right science.

'What delayed the lockdown, was it really about science or other things? It may have been concern about the economic impact of lockdown, or a lack of preparedness that delayed the decision.'

The University of Edinburgh research has not yet been published in a scientific journal or scrutinised by other scientists.

It comes after NHS England data revealed University Hospitals Birmingham was the worst-hit trust in the country during the outbreak.

At least 820 people have died with COVID-19 at the trust - this is 16 per cent of the total death toll concentrated into just 4.6 per cent of the country's hospitals.

Every major hospital trust has now recorded at least one victim of COVID-19 and some have been hit harder than others.

The 10 worst-affected hospital trusts, in London, Birmingham, Derby and Manchester, account for 4,808 fatalities.

And there are stark geographical trends, too, showing COVID-19 as a disease of cities - 11 of the 20 worst affected hospitals have been in the capital, along with, two in Birmingham, two in Manchester and others in Liverpool, Leeds and Sunderland.

All major NHS hospital trusts except children's hospitals have now recorded victims of the disease, which has spread to every corner of Britain.

The 820 people who have died at the hospitals in Birmingham make up 3.5 per cent of the 23,359 confirmed to have succumbed to the virus in England's hospitals so far.

The death toll there is 47 per cent higher than the next worst affected hospital, Barts Health Trust in central London, where 558 people have died.

Six other hospital trusts in London fill out the majority of the 10 hospitals with the most victims, according to NHS England data.

Those were London North West University Healthcare (550); King's College Hospital (461); Royal Free London (452); Imperial College Healthcare (400); Barking, Havering & Redbridge (379); and Lewisham and Greenwich (374).

The others were University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (424) and Pennine Acute Hospitals in Manchester (390).

Scientists have said since the virus started circulating that the way it spreads means people are more at risk if they live in cities and densely populated areas.

The coronavirus is most likely to spread in cities because people live closer together than in the countryside, and are more likely to come close to large numbers of strangers and to touch surfaces such as handrails or door handles that have been contaminated.

People in cities are also more likely to rely on public transport where they may be exposed to the virus.
Rendon said he gave Goudreau $50,000 to cover some initial expenses, but both say the contract was never fulfilled and he received no more funds.

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The would-be invasion quickly became a publicity coup for Maduro, whose security forces intercepted most of the attackers.

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Guaidos team said in a statement that he accepted the resignation of the officials and thanked them for their dedication and commitment to Venezuela.

Maduro says the objective of the raid was to kill him. Officials say they killed at least six of the mercenaries and arrested dozens of others, including two former U.S. soldiers associated with Goudreaus Florida-based firm, Silvercorp USA.

Guaido, who is backed by the Trump administration among nearly 60 other nations as Venezuelas rightful leader, has denied having anything to do with the raid but has come under pressure to explain what happened.

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Goudreau said he was never fully paid but went forward with the mission to help liberate Venezuela from Maduro, working with a former Venezuelan army general who was recently extradited from Colombia to the United States to face drug charges.

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IMF approves $2.77 billion to help Egypt amid pandemic: The International Monetary Fund has agreed to lend Egypt $2.77 billion in emergency assistance to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, its executive board said. Egyptian officials had requested a one-year bailout loan package last month as the economic shutdown takes a heavy toll on the Arab world's most populous country. Although Egypt, which has recorded about 9,700 covid-19 infections and more than 500 deaths, has not experienced an outbreak on the scale of the one sweeping the United States and Europe, its case count is rising and critical sources of income are vanishing. The IMF said that even with the loan, Egypt needs a boost from multilateral and bilateral creditors to bring its economy back from the edge.

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Israel demolishes Palestinian suspect's home: The Israeli military said its forces demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year. Israel says 22-year-old Qassem Barghouti carried out the attack, which killed 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother near the settlement of Dolev. The military said that as it was carrying out the demolition in the village of Kobar, dozens of Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks and firebombs toward Israeli troops. It said the crowd was dispersed. Witnesses said several Palestinians were injured. The demolition was carried out after Israel's high court rejected the family's petitions against the order.

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French ex-leader investigated over sexual assault allegation: The public prosecutor's office in Paris said it has opened a preliminary investigation over a sexual assault accusation against 94-year-old former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing. A German journalist alleged that Giscard sexually assaulted her during a 2018 interview, the prosecutor's office said. The journalist claimed that Giscard grabbed her buttocks three times and that she tried to push his hand away, according to reports by the French newspaper Le Monde and the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung. Giscard's attorney said last week that the former president "retains no memory" of the alleged incident.

Asylum seekers relocated from Greece to Britain: Sixteen unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and 34 adults left Greece on a flight to Britain, where they were to be reunited with family members already there. The move is part of a program to relocate about 1,600 unaccompanied refugee children to European countries. So far, Luxembourg has taken 12 children and Germany nearly 50, while Finland is to take about 100 later this month. Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, including unaccompanied children, are living in squalid camps on several Greek islands. Many more are housed in camps, apartments and other shelters across the mainland.

 From news services
DES MOINES  Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand today released an audit report on the City of Wapello, Iowa.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Citys receipts totaled $2,508,103 for the year ended June 30, 2019, a 5.9% increase over the prior year. Disbursements for the year ended June 30, 2019 totaled $2,382,249 a 2.1% increase over the prior year. The significant increase in receipts and disbursements is due primarily to the city taking over the operation of the ambulance service during the year ended June 30, 2019.

AUDIT FINDINGS

Sand reported 10 findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds and one finding pertaining to Wapello Fire and Rescue, Inc., a discretely presented component unit. They are found on pages 46 through 53 of the report. The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, the lack of utility reconciliations, disbursements exceeding budgeted amounts and separately maintained records. Sand provided the city with recommendations to address each of the findings.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India on Tuesday said its employees have contributed their one-day salary to combat coronavirus pandemic

New Delhi: Skoda Auto Volkswagen India on Tuesday said its employees have contributed their one-day salary to combat coronavirus pandemic.

The company's employees, supported by the labour unions in Pune and Aurangabad, have contributed a day's salary to raise over Rs 1.2 crore, the automaker said in a statement.

The collected amount will fund 15 full-featured ventilators, 15 monitors and 3,750 PPE kits for COVID-19 hospitals in Mumbai, Pune and Aurangabad, it added.

Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak

The amount raised by the employees is in addition to Rs 1 crore, which was donated by the company earlier.

The company said it has distributed 21 tonnes of dry ration to needy families in Khed and Bhosari villages in Maharashtra and has also donated additional essential medicines to Sassoon General Hospital (Pune) worth Rs 22.34 lakhs.

Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets

The company's engineers are closely working with global experts to manufacture continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, automatic AMBU (artificial manual breathing unit) bags, intubation boxes and retro fitted filtered oxygen masks to aid healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients, it added.
Damen Shipyards Group has unveiled a new workboat for the aquaculture industry. The Damen Utility Vessel (UV) 2613 draws upon the heritage of proven vessels from the shipyards portfolio, such as the Multi Cat and Shoalbuster, to deliver extreme versatility to the fish-farming sector. The vessels scope of work covers everything from harvesting to net cleaning and diving support to de-licing, the company said in a statement.

Damen said it has developed the UV 2613 based on feedback from the market. A forward-facing vessel, with sustainable characteristics, it is, for example, prepared for IMO Tier III. The vessel comes ready for the installation of a Damen NOX Reduction System  selective catalytic conversion technology that can be easily installed during construction or as a retrofit, making the vessel Tier III compliant. The vessel can also be fitted with battery packs for silent shift operations, it said.

The company further said that it is an extremely user-friendly vessel, with lots of plug and play options available so that it can switch quickly from one duty to another. The UV 2613 can be installed with DP1, a multiple mooring system and a towing winch for example. It can even be fitted with a ramp in order to perform ferry duties if required, it added.

An extensive cargo hold of 85 sq m facilitates harvesting as well as dry cargo transportation and storage of diving equipment. The vessels deck is over 110 sq m and can be fitted with multiple cranes with capacity up to 220 t/m. The vessels azimuth thrusters, together with a bow thruster, ensure optimal manoeuvrability, it said.

Damen has paid close attention to safety in the design. The vessel features a high bow height and freeboard of 1 m minimum to avoid deck immersion and safe sailing, even in heavy seas. Additionally, with a beam of 12.8 metres, the vessel is extremely stable, with no need for an anti-heeling system. While the UV 2613 is 26 metres in length overall, its load line length is just 24 metres and the vessel is also below 200 GT (MCA), it explained.

Damen Sales Manager Mike Besijn said: We are very confident in the relevance of the UV 2613 for the growing aquaculture industry. Based on feedback we received from the market we have designed a versatile vessel, able to tackle a very wide range of duties, with a robust application of features ensuring the safety and sustainability of operations. We have already carried out the feasibility studies and completed the detailed engineering of the design  were ready to build this.

Damen Shipyards Group, which operates 36 shipbuilding and repair yards, has delivered more than 6,500 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 175 vessels annually to customers worldwide. TradeArabia News Service
Bombay high court on Tuesday rejected two separate anticipatory bail pleas each filed by Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL Group in the proceedings initiated against them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Yes Bank scam and the purported diversion of funds from Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

The Wadhawan brothers are accused of diverting about 4122 crore from the General Provident Fund (GPF) and Central Provident Fund (CPF) deposits of UPPCL to their company.

They are also accused of fraudulently diverting funds to the tune of 12,700 crore from DHFLs accounts to the firms or companies beneficially owned by them and further diverting the funds to other companies.

The brothers are also named as accused in Yes Bank bribery case. It is alleged that former CEO of the bank, Rana Kapoor, had entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Wadhawans for extending financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank in return for substantial undue benefits to himself and his family members through companies held by them.

The Wadhawans moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail in both the cases after the special courts in Mumbai rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas on April 28.

Their lawyers argued that all the documents concerned are seized and there was no need for their custodial interrogation.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, who appeared for ED, had opposed their pleas contending that the amount of EPF cannot be invested in any other institution except scheduled commercial banks and despite this, more than 50% of the amount was invested in DHFL.

Singh strenuously opposed the pre-arrest bail pleas saying their custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the money trail and the properties acquired by them from proceeds of the crime.

He also pointed out that there are about 79 companies formed by Wadhawans and they have misappropriated thousands of crores.

As regards the Yes Bank scam, the additional solicitor had argued that the bank had invested about 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL and the Wadhawans had in return paid about a sum of 750 crore to the Rana family.

Thus, there was layering from both sides, Singh said opposing their pleas.
A year after the murder of gym trainer and Tik-Tok star Mohit Mor, the special cell of Delhi Police has arrested two alleged gangsters from a village in Punjab in connection with the crime, police said on Tuesday.

Vikas (27) and Rohit Dagar (30), suspected sharpshooters of the infamous Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang, were held from Punjab on Monday, they said.

The duo was allegedly involved in the murder of Mor, who had over 5.17 lakh followers on TikTok, that took place on May 21 last year.

The incident took place when Mor, a gym trainer by profession,had gone to meet his friend at a shop near his residence in Najafgarh's Dharmpura. Three persons wearing helmets reached there on a motorcycle and shot at him at least 13 times before fleeing from the spot.

A juvenile involved in the killing was arrested last year.

The police said Vikas and Dagar were wanted in many cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). A cash reward of Rs 1,20,000 was declared on the arrest of Vikas while Rs 25,000 on Dagar's arrest.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said they received information on Monday that Vikas was hiding in Lohgarh area of Zirakpur in Punjab along with his associate Dagar during the lockdown.

"A raid was conducted in the area of Lohgarh, Zirakpur, Punjab and accused Vikas along with his associate Rohit Dagar was apprehended from there after chasing them for a distance of 500 meters," he said.

On the information given by the arrested duo during investigation, two sophisticated pistols along with five live cartridges were recovered from Delhi's Milakpur area, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Many Masterchef Australia fans have been quick to criticise the three new judges, especially Melissa Leong.

And it appears they're not willing to leave any stone unturned, with trolls now honing in on the way the 40-year-old eats her food.

While some agreed the slurping was 'weird', other fans defended the judge, with some suggesting the criticism was 'racist'.

Trolls: Some MasterChef Australia fans are criticising Melissa Leong for the way she eats her food

'Hate the way Melissa eats her food. Grrrr,' the troll wrote on Facebook.

Another agreed: 'It's seriously weird. I reckon she's been practicing that for a long time to keep her lipstick perfect.'

'I'm pretty sure she can't change the way she eats. George was way worse with the way he held his knife and fork,' a third pointed out, only partially agreeing.

What's next? Masterchef Australia: Back To Win fans have been quick to criticise the three new judges, especially Melissa

But other Masterchef fans were tired of the persistent hate directed at Melissa.

'Seriously... are we just clutching at straws now to find ways to bag out Melissa? Gosh some people are pathetic in here,' one fan hit back.

Another asked: 'Seriously people? Anything else you can pick on? Leave her alone, you're not the friggin' eating police!'

Different opinions: While some agreed the slurping was 'weird', other fans defended the judge, with some suggesting the criticism was 'racist'

'Are we just clutching at straws now?' Other Masterchef fans were tired of the persistent hate directed at Melissa

'Quite honestly, she eats as well as possible on TV. The blokes just shovel it in, but the camera does focus on her mouth much more intently, it seems to me,' a third said.

Others believed her eating style was 'elegant', explaining they were pleasantly surprised at how she kept her lipstick on while eating messy foods.

Some fans even claimed the original post was 'casually racist', as they never mentioned how Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo ate, and Melissa eats the same way many Asian people do.

'Leave her alone': Others believed her eating style was 'elegant', explaining they were pleasantly surprised at how she kept her lipstick on while eating messy foods

'The fact you can't even see how casually racist this post is, is a concern,' one fan alleged.

Another added: 'That's how Asian people eat noodles. My daughter-in-law does it. Culturally acceptable.'

'Shes an Asian woman and eats like an Asian [person] eats. Theres more to the world than white people. I dont think she needs to change at all,' a third said.
11.05.2020 LISTEN

To mark International Nurses' Day on May 12, millions of nurses around the world are calling on governments to commit to universal public health. "As we rebuild from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, we must transform the way societies are organised. We must organise our societies around the capacity to care. We must all recognise the union adage - Touch One Touch All - if our healthcare systems cannot care for all, we are all at risk" rightly said Kate Lappin, Regional Secretary of Public Services International (PSI) for Asia and the Pacific.

This year 2020 becomes significant as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, in honour of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.

Nurses have been on the frontlines of healthcare even during emergencies and other crises situations historically. Despite facing a real danger of contracting the COVID-19, they are also facing the real threats to their labour laws and rights.

walk the talk on celebrating role of nurses in health security

"Along with recognizing the important work nurses are doing, we also need to raise our political demands as we look ahead in the future having to deal with pandemics and infectious disease as part of our lives" said Wol-san Liem, Director of International Affairs, Korean Public Service and Transport Workers Union, South Korea.

South Korean response to COVID-19 was relatively better than most other nations with 2-3% of infections occurring among healthcare workers, 10 of which were among those who were caring for COVID-19 patients. South Korea provides national health insurance which became critical in face of the pandemic, but it does not have enough public hospitals. A closer look exposes the need for more work to be done to ensure nurses and other healthcare workers stay safe so that they are able to continue to save lives said Wol-san Liem.

For instance, by mid-February public hospitals were overwhelmed with the COVID-19 pandemic, putting nurses under acute pressure. There was a severe lack of nursing capacity, particularly of nurses, who were trained in infectious diseases and intensive care management. Several COVID-19 positive individuals who were in-need of healthcare, were not able to get a hospital bed in Daegu City of South Korea. 23% of early deaths happened outside of hospitals, shared Wol-san Liem. The proportion of public healthcare facilities in Korea is among the lowest in OECD countries. Plans for increasing the healthcare workforce have also faltered. The number of doctors at public healthcare facilities continues to decrease. In response to chronic staffing shortages, the Korean government had proposed legislation for the establishment of a national public health and medical university, but lot more action is yet to happen in that direction. Liem demands Personal protective equipment (PPE) for all healthcare workers including those who are subcontracted.

Jibin TC from United Nurses Association in India, said out of over 65,000 COVID-19 cases in the country, more than 1000 have occurred among the nurses (2 among which were in Kerala). PPE for nurses continue to be a persistent challenge, as most of the PPE were being imported from other countries including China. Inadequate quarantine and isolation facilities for nurses remains a challenge. Unions of nurses are not engaged in policy making for infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness in India on the same footing at which medical doctors unions get a seat at the table. Majority of the decisions were being taken by those who are from non-nursing background. As a result of which, nurses could not be informed and trained adequately for COVID-19 response in every healthcare facility in the country uniformly. Guidelines set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, struggle to get fully translated into action when it comes to nurses. Nurses unions had to step in to organize online briefings on COVID-19 management protocols and guidelines. Jibin echoes the shortage of nurses, as the country has 1 nurse for 60-70 beds whereas the national guidelines are for having 1 nurse for 6 patients.

Recognizing violence and harassment faced by nurses and other healthcare workers in India, government announced an ordinance which makes "acts of violence cognizable and non-bailable offences and for compensation for injury to healthcare service personnel."

COVID-19 exposed the need for strong public health services

Judith Kiejda, Assistant General Secretary, New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association, Australia, echoed that the biggest issue facing the nurses community is PPE. One of the major reasons for PPE shortage is that manufacturing is not domestic.

"COVID-19 has exposed the absolute need for strong public health services" underlined Judith. Australian public health system which is relatively better than other nations in the region, is facing some attempts of privatization. Despite opposition against privatization of public health, there are efforts to privatize parts of public health services such as radiology, pathology or care services for kidney-diseases which require dialysis.

Unlike India where unions of nurses struggle to get an equal footing at the policy setting stage, in Australia, nurses have a voice in shaping national pandemic preparedness plan. However, last such plan was made in 2008, so Judith and her association members are calling for regular pandemic planning.

Jillian Roque, Migration Advocacy officer, Public Services Labour Independent Confederation, Philippines, also echoed that nurses are facing serious work exhaustion being overworked and underpaid. Due to lack of PPE, some of them improvise by using garbage bags. With public transport coming to a halt it has added to the woes of the nurses as they struggle to get back home. There have been incidents where they faced discrimination and violence, denied entry into their own homes, or grocery or shops. A nurse was even splattered with chlorine, shared Jillian.

Nurses from the Philippines are also on the frontlines of COVID-19 response in other nations worldwide. "Some of them have gotten sick some are in quarantine, some exhausted, and some have died. A nurse in London working for National Health Services (NHS) had died while undergoing quarantine. A nurse in New York got infected due to lack of PPE and died" said Jillian.

"We want the government to come up with rights-based responses, prioritize PPE to all healthcare workers and frontliners. We demand that they must get just pay, hazard pay, and other benefits accorded to other workers. In terms of long-term steps, we want systemic changes as we need to be away from policies that led to this crisis in the first place" said Jillian. "We do not only need to keep calling our nurses heroes, rather we need decent work, decent pay, and protection of our rights."

gender pay gap

In public sector, salaries for nurses are standardized but in private sector, salaries are not standardized, so many nurses are earning way below than public sector wages. "Nursing or teaching jobs where women dominate in terms of numbers, are usually the jobs not well paid. Nurses are paid lower than police or military for example" shared Jillian, even though their work puts them at risk and nurses are on the frontlines of this public health emergency. Community health workers are also less paid and almost all of them are women, which is not a coincidence but points towards deep-seated gender-based inequalities.

NO GOING BACK

"We need to collectively come together and signal to the government that we do not want this day to be only about applauding nurses, but we also need this day for governments to act and make those words meaningful" said Kate Lappin. She shared that over 100 organizations that represent over 300 million workers have issued a 'No Going Back' call on the International Nurses Day. This call recognizes:

The most important purpose of government is to organise society so that everyone can be cared for

We can no longer tolerate the perverse practice of extracting profits from ill-health

Healthcare must never be dependent on the capacity to pay

Trade must enhance the capacity of nations to provide quality public healthcare, not restrict it

This No Going Back call demands governments to work with nurses and their unions to develop public health reconstruction plans. It calls upon governments to remove all obstacles, including intellectual property rules, in existing trade agreements and rules that hinder timely and affordable access to medical supplies, such as lifesaving medicines, devices, diagnostics and vaccines, and the ability of governments to take whatever steps are necessary to address this crisis. It also asks all governments to support the proposal by the Government of Costa Rica to develop a global COVID-19 commons for all research, data, technology, treatments and vaccines relating to COVID-19 as a non-proprietary shared global resource.

This No Going Back call, demands that the World Bank should stop providing funds for public health to the private health industry and for the International Finance Corporation to stop promoting health privatisation which includes the flawed model of Public Private Partnerships. The IMF should cease directing governments to cut public spending and public sector wages.

"We need to be coming together and demanding responses that are more just and supportive of public health services" said Kate. Touch one  touch all, the old golden value of the unions, have become even more relevant today in crises times. We are all vulnerable - but some are more vulnerable than others - till we can move away from an economy, that, is based on driving maximum profits for few and elevating risk for many more.

Shobha Shukla  CNS (Citizen News Service)

(Shobha Shukla is the founding Managing Editor at CNS (Citizen News Service) and coordinator of APCAT Media (Asia Pacific regional media network to end TB & tobacco and prevent NCDs). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla, or visit www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla )
The statewide sheriffs and police association is backing a Cascade County judge who was sued by the state Corrections Department last month over a dispute involving the transfer of prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Montana Department of Corrections petitioned the state Supreme Court in April to halt District Court Judge Elizabeth Best's order for eight inmates who had been sentenced to DOC custody be delivered to the department's correctional facilities. On Thursday, the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association submitted for and was granted permission to submit its own brief in support of Best, sharing the argument that the Department of Corrections did not have the authority to suspend transfers of inmates across the state.

The law enforcement association and Best argue the move disregards the health and safety of inmates and detention officers at the county level, where facilities are historically overcrowded. In her response, filed April 29, the judge said the DOC's measure, intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in state prison facilities, is simply a continuation of a long-standing use of the county jail there as a "holding pen."

"It is not 'temporarily' using the (Cascade County Detention Center), but rather systematically warehousing human beings who need treatment in an overcrowded county facility," Best wrote.

The Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association said in its filing last week that this case will have implications for law enforcement in every county if the high court grants the Department of Corrections the ability to hold inmates indefinitely in local facilities.

The Department of Corrections has so far reported five confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff and people in DOC custody.

The law enforcement association said it would file its amicus brief by May 14, the same day the Cascade County Attorney's Office, also a respondent in the petition, files its response to the corrections department.
Eight hundred people hailing from Bihar, who worked at a site of a construction major here, were sent to their home state on a train on Tuesday, South West Delhi District Magistrate Rahul Singh said.

They were among 2,200 people working at the company's site. The remaining workers, some of whom belong to Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, are expected to be sent to their home states in the coming week, he said.

The company had approached the South West Delhi district administration for resuming work. But it came to light that the workers at its site were not ready to work and were "agitated", Singh said.

"After talking to the workers and the company, it was concluded that sending them back was necessary," he said.

The district administration also ensured that the workers' pending salary of two months had been paid by the company, he said.

Later, Delhi's nodal officer P K Gupta was approached for arrangements to send the workers home on a train.

"Today after thermal screening and fulfilling other protocols, 800 of the 2,200 workers were sent to Bihar on a train," Singh said.

It is also being "ensured" that the cost of travel is borne by the company and the workers do not have to pay anything, he said.

Gupta said a list is being made of the remaining workers, including those from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. After consultation with nodal officers of the states concerned, they will be sent back to their homes, likely in the coming week, he added. PTI VIT



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N etflix has been churning out the goods in lockdown, with new seasons of Ozark, Dead to Me and After Life premiering alongside new hits like Hollywood, The Eddy and Never Have I Ever.

Now, fans of one of the streaming site's most popular originals are in for a treat, with the fourth and final season of 13 Reasons Why confirmed to be premiering next month.

Heres everything you need to know about the concluding season for the controversial series

Alisha Boe and Brandon Flynn in 13 Reasons Why / David Moir/Netflix

When is 13 Reasons Why season 4 released on Netflix?

The fourth and final season of 13 Reasons Why will arrive on Netflix on Friday, June 5.

It is expected to contain 10 episodes, all lasting around a hour each.

The team working on 13 Reasons Why evidently managed to tape all episodes before the coronavirus lockdown, with a new behind-the-scenes teaser showing the casts emotional reactions to reading the final scripts.

Who's in the cast?

Dylan Minnette in 13 Reasons Why / David Moir/Netflix

The primary cast of Dylan Minnette, Alisha Boe, Brandon Flynn, Miles Heizer, Grace Saif, Christian Navarro, Ross Butler, Devin Druid and more are all confirmed to be returning.

And despite the death of his character in season three, Justin Prentice, who played Bryce Walker, seems to be returning for season four, as he appears in the teaser for the final season.

What happened in season 3?

Miles Heizer and Devin Druid in 13 Reasons Why / David Moir/Netflix

Season three centred around the death of school tormentor Bryce Walker, with the series unfolding the chain of events that lead to his murder.

The culprit was revealed in season three to be Alex Standall, played by Miles Heizer.

On the night of the Homecoming game in season three, it was revealed that Bryce intended to meet Jess (Alisha Boe), who he raped, by the river and give her a confession tape.

However, he never managed to, instead being confronted by Zach (Ross Butler), who assaulted him and broke his arm and leg.

Jess and Alex arrived, and Bryce gave Jess the tape before asking Alex to help him up. However, Alex, in anger over the hurt Bryce has called, instead pushed him into the river, where he drowned due to being injured and unable to swim.

What is likely going to happen this season?

Season four will likely follow the characters trials and tribulations as they move through the intensity of their final year of high school - with everything that entails, including senior prom and graduation.

But things are rarely ever simple for these teenagers, and theyll no doubt be dealing with the fallout from the cover-up of Bryces killing.

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There was also that bag of guns belonging to Tyler that were pulled out of the river at the end of season three, which will likely have major repercussions for Clay and Tony, who threw them in.

Is there a trailer?

Theres no full trailer yet, but there is a behind-the-scenes look at the cast reading the final scripts for the show.

Stars such as Dylan Minnette, Brandon Flynn, Alisha Boe and Justin Prentice are seen in tears as they read through the emotional scripts and say their final goodbyes.

13 Reasons Why will return on June 5.
A harness racing legend has been killed in a horrific midnight blaze in his home.

Dick White was found dead in his home on Port Wakefield Road in north Adelaide by fire and rescue crews on Tuesday morning.

Emergency personnel were called to the home after reports of a fire about 2.45am and arrived to find the house completely engulfed by fire.

Metropolitan Fire Service crews found the 85-year-old dead inside the house, which was extensively damaged in the blaze.

Harness racing legend Dick White (pictured) was found dead in his north Adelaide home after a horrific midnight blaze

A South Australian Country Fire Service spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia firefighters were able to contain the blaze and stop the spread to neighbouring properties.

The spokesperson said the damage bill in Mr White's home was in excess of $120,000.

Fire Cause Investigators attended the scene and have yet to determine the cause of the fire, but say it is not suspicious.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Mr White trained more than 300 wining horses in his illustrious career, with the Legends Trotters Handicap races at the Globe Derby Park named after him.

Harness Racing South Australia chief executive Ross Neal said Mr White was incredibly generous and will be dearly missed.

'He has helped a lot of people progress through the industry,' he told ABC.

'As well as a great harness racing person, his willingness to help people was second to none.

'He was a hard man but an excellent man with a horse.'

The tragedy is the second fatal fire in Adelaide this week, after a 71-year-old man died in a blaze in Two Wells on Saturday.
At least four children have been hospitalized at Bostons Children Hospital with symptoms associated with a mysterious inflammatory illness linked to COVID-19, according to NBC Boston.

The illness, which was first observed in Europe in April, causes fever, inflammation and rash, among other things, in children, according to Dr. Jeffrey Burns of Boston Childrens Hospital, who spoke to the television station.

Its occurring about six weeks after a child has been exposed to the COVID-19 infection, he said.

Medical experts say the condition is similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome, a potentially fatal disease that impacts the eyes, skin and blood vessels.

The long term consequences of Kawasaki can be involvement of the arteries of the heart and thats actually in some ways and many ways the most dangerous consequence and something that kids have to be monitored for long term, Dr. Paul Sax of Brigham and Womens Hospital told NBC Boston.

On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top expert on infectious diseases, said during a Senate hearing on the reopening of the nation, that people shouldnt write off the risk of coronavirus to children.

We dont know everything about this virus and we should be careful, particularly about children, Fauci said. Were seeing things this virus can do ... children presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a strange inflammatory syndrome similar to Kawasaki syndrome.

The State Department of Health in New York last weekend announced that hospitals had reported dozens of cases of predominantly school-aged children coming down with an illness possibly due to COVID-19 with symptoms that included prolonged fever, severe abdominal pain, change in skin color, trouble breathing, racing heart or chest pain, lethargy and confusion.

Pediatricians in Britain, France, Italy and Spain have also reported dozens of similar cases, The New York Times reported last week. Three New York children with the condition died, state health officials reported.

___________

MassLive reporter Benjamin Kail contributed to this report.

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Farmers have been urged to be on the lookout for unusual creatures following an increase in the number of invasive species such as raccoons, wallabies and chipmunks found living in the wild across the country.

Over the past five years the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) has recorded thousands of invasive mammal species living in the countryside, including 21 separate sightings of coypu, a giant South American rat which weighs as much as 9kg and can grow up to 60cm in length.

Nine of the sightings have been in Co Cork, including in Kinsale, Rosscarbery and Cork city. There have also been confirmed sightings in Galway, Tipperary, Limerick, Dublin and Northern Ireland.

There have also been confirmed sightings of wild boar, white-toothed shrew and bank vole in rural Ireland in recent years.

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These species can cause damage to fences and other farm infrastructure, and some can also carry dangerous farm diseases such as foot and mouth and swine flu.

According to Colette O'Flynn of the NBDC, many of these animals will die out after a few years, but some may adapt and reproduce in the countryside.

"In recent years, we are seeing more of these exotic species in the wild," said Ms O'Flynn.

"Recently we are seeing more species that would be known in the pet trade, like chipmunk and coypus, as well as species that are kept on farm holdings for hunting and have escaped, like muntjac deer and wild boar, which are essentially feral pigs.

"Many of these species will simply die out after a few years - the climate may not suit them or their food source isn't there. Often these species don't do well - they might exist for one generation and then they are gone - but there is a small percentage that survive and then thrive and they can take over.

"They can have a significant negative impact, either by competing with native species for space or interfering with the food chain that exists here. It's hard to know what impact they have.

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According to the NBDC the risk of these wild animals transmitting TB is low but a greater risk could come through the spread of other diseases such as foot and mouth and swine flu. Ms O'Flynn has urged farmers to photograph and report any unusual animals or tracks they find on their land.

Tracks and trails

"Farmers would come across unusual species of deer often enough and we urge them to report these sightings to us. We've also started to see an upsurge in coypu in Cork and Tipperary - that's a very large rat which lives close to waterways.

"If a farmer sees unusual animals or tracks or trails they should report it to us.

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"Farmers know their land. So if they come across something unusual we would ask them to take photographs of them and send them to the National Biodiversity Database and we will follow up on them.

"Any hoofed animals, like the feral pigs for example, could carry foot and mouth. You can cull a herd but it is very difficult to deal with an outbreak in the wild. They could also have things like swine flu which could be transferred to the domestic stock.

"We haven't seen any issues with TB but there was a situation where a sable [a species of marten] was brought in from Russia into the Kinsale area and was found to have rabies. So there can be issues."

"Some farmers might also keep some of these wild boar or hybrid pigs and it is very important for them to ensure that they don't escape and make it into the wild.

"Once they get into the wild and become feral they can have a big impact, both on nearby agriculture and on the wildlife as well."

Giant rats, racoons, chipmunks, Chinese muntjacs and wild boar among the invasive species roaming the countryside
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Department of Public Health reported the highest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases Tuesday along with the highest number of tests.

Department Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the state confirmed 4,014 new cases of the disease over the previous 24 hours, a period during which the state processed almost 30,000 tests. She also reported 144 additional virus-related deaths.

That brings the states total to 83,021 cases and 3,601 virus-related deaths since the pandemic first hit Illinois. The disease has been detected in 98 counties.

There were 4,626 people hospitalized for the disease on Tuesday, an increase of 307 from Monday. Of those hospitalized, 1,215 were in intensive care units, a decrease of 33 from Monday. Of those in ICU patients, 730 were on ventilators, the same number as Monday.

Ezike said that for the seven-day period that ended May 9, 18 percent of the COVID-19 tests performed came back positive, a sign that the state as a whole achieved the benchmark of keeping the positivity rate below 20 percent.

But she cautioned there are portions of the state where the positivity rate is higher, particularly long-term care facilities that house large numbers of people at high risk for the disease.

Our earlier story ...

CHICAGO  The Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced 4,014 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 144 additional deaths.

Boone County: 1 male 70s

Clinton County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s

Cook County: 1 male 30s, 4 males 40s, 1 female 50s, 7 males 50s, 3 females 60s, 11 males 60s, 9 females 70s, 15 males 70s, 1 unknown 70s, 17 females 80s, 10 males 80s, 1 unknown 80s, 7 females 90s, 5 males 90s, 1 female over 100

DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

Iroquois County: 1 female 80s

Kane County: 1 male 40s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 80s

Kankakee County: 1 female 90s

Kendall County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 80s

Lake County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s

Macon County: 1 male 70s

Madison County: 1 male 50s,

McHenry County: 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s

Ogle County: 1 male 80s

Randolph County: 1 male 60s

Rock Island County: 1 male 80s

Sangamon County: 2 females 80s

St. Clair County: 1 female 90s

Whiteside County: 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s

Will County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 2 males 80s

Winnebago County: 1 female 40s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s

There have been 83,021 cases, including 3,601 deaths, in 98 counties in Illinois. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 29,266 specimens for a total of 471,691.

Pritzker's plan to reopen Illinois: The steps

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A demonstration against police brutality was held outside Paris, on the first day France lifted the Covid-19 lockdown. Riot police monitored the protest which was called by at least 30 organisations.

Around 250 people demonstrated against police brutality in France, on the first day of lockdown exit in the country. The protests took place around the municipality of Ile-Saint-Denis, in the Seine-Saint-Denis district, north east of Paris.

Police everywhere, justice nowhere, demonstrators chanted, not far from the arrest of Samir on 26 April. The 27-year-old illegal Egyptian worker filed a complaint against police violence last week.

He claims he has been kicked and beaten with batons by seven or eight policemen, after being handcuffed. He was also subjected to verbal abuse, including racist remarks.

These could be clearly heard in a video taken by French journalist, Taha Bouhafs, who filmed the arrest on 26 April. The French police watchdog, IGPN, is currently investigating the case. Meanwhile, two policemen have been suspended.

Working class anger

Over 30 NGOs called for a human chain, on 11 May, as a manner of protest against police brutality in working class neighbourhoods. But the human chain was not allowed as gatherings of more than 10 people are now illegal.

Riot police intervened and encircled a large number of protesters. Anyone going in or coming out faced a 135 fine.

The police are preventing us from observing social distancing rules, the reason why we called for a human chain, said Majid Massaoudene, one of the organisers and an elected member of the municipal council of Saint Denis.

There's a lot of people at this protest because we are fed up with police impunity, we are fed up with the racism and violence in working class areas, he added.

Massaoudene said that seven complaints have been filed against police brutality during the lockdown period while 166 such incidents were reported by civilians.

Protesting against police brutality

The CGT trade union, along with the Human Rights League or global justice Attac movement, figured among the 30 organisations which called for this protest.

The lockdown highlighted crying economic inequalities in France, said CGT's Celine Verzeletti.

According to Massaoudene, the Seine-Saint-Denis department  also referred to as 93 in hip hop lyrics  has been penalised on three fronts: there are fewer hospital beds, this is the region with the most essential workers who are on the frontline fighting the coronavirus outbreak and this is also the area with the highest rate of police contraventions for a range of offences.

The protests ended around 8pm and lasted less than two hours. A local resident told the media that she was shocked by this kind of gathering.

What do these people think they are doing, besides creating a new Covid cluster, she said. Do they really think that the virus has disappeared or that 28,000 is not enough?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 21:32:50|Editor: huaxia

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People carry an injured man to a local hospital in Jalalabad city, Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, May 12, 2020. Twenty-four civilians were killed and 68 others wounded in a suicide bomb explosion at a funeral in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry said. (Str/Xinhua)

KABUL, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-four civilians were killed and 68 others wounded in a suicide bomb explosion at a funeral in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry said.

"Terrorists conducted a terrorist attack against the funeral of commander Shaikh Akram in surrounding areas of Kuz Kunar district, Nangarhar province, at around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday. As a result 24 civilians were killed and 68 others wounded," the ministry said in a statement.

Akram was an anti-militant figure in the region and was heading local pro-government militiamen, who have been fighting militants.

He died Monday night from a heart attack.

The ministry strongly condemned the attack and described it as an inhuman act, according to the statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Militants of both the Taliban outfit and Islamic State (IS) group have presence in the mountainous province. Enditem
Mumbai, May 12 : In a unique tribute to the plight of stranded migrants around the country, the India Post Mumbai will release a special post cover dedicated to them, an official said here on Tuesday.

The Special FDC - which features the migrants working in Mumbai's jewellery sector and Bollywood, as construction labourers and cabbies - will be released by five migrant workers, who represent 'the hands that built Mumbai'.

With the nationwide lockdown in its third phase, the migrant workers, stuck helplessly in different parts of the country are perhaps the most poignant victims of the circumstances arising out of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, said Swati Pandey, Postmaster General, Mumbai Region.

"These migrant workers, coming from the remotest parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have been immensely contributing in building the city of Mumbai," said Pandey.

They have been aiding to make the lives of Mumbaikars smooth and seamless, whether it be the taxi drivers, the construction labourers, the crew of technical help in Bollywood or the designers in Zaveri Bazar, the country's dazzling jewellery hub in south Mumbai, she added.

Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra & Goa Harish Chandra Agrawal and other dignitaries will attend the release of the Special FDC on Wednesday at the historic Mumbai General Post Office (GPO) Building, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

India Post Mumbai has 229 post offices, besides a wide array of services including e-commerce, serving the country's commercial capital.
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Petroleum Marketers in Rivers State have said it will now continue operations in the state, following the approval by the state government.

In a statement by the state Chairman of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria PETROAN, FRANCIS DIMKPA, the Rivers state government said there is no ban on lifting of petroleum products from depots and other receptacles.

DIMKPA said petroleum stations will be operating on skeletal services, as he said members are at liberty to open and dispense to customers while observing the necessary health measures ranging from nose mask, hand glove, social distancing, regular hand wash for both staff and customers.

He advised that all members of PETROAN should always be with their PETROAN identity cards and

ensure to abide by the closing time as stipulated by the state government, as they pledge their full support for the state government in the fight against COVID-19.
Chennai, May 12 : Even as a couple of Shramik specials have left Tamil Nadu carrying about 14,000 migrant workers and others to states like Jharkhand, Bihar, there still remains a vast population who want to be with their families back home. The non-stop special trains pass many cities on their way, where thousands more pine for a way out.

These are migrant workers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Odisha and others part of India.

Unable to stay put without money to buy vegetables and other essentials many out of desperation have decided to walk to their home states with a hope of getting a lift in some trucks.

"We wanted to go back to Himachal Pradesh, our native. There are 11 of us from Himachal Pradesh. We want to be with our family at this hour of crisis," P.Bunty, a migrant worker, told IANS over phone from Salem.

According to him, some trains carrying migrant workers pass through Salem but do not stop here.

"We are hoping that the Tamil Nadu government would do something to help us," he added.

A large number of workers from L&W construction site near Chennai have left by foot for Bihar a couple of days back and they have been put up in a Mandapam by the police near here.

"The police are saying arrangements will be made to send us back by train. We are hoping we will reach home soon. It is too early to say whether I will come back here. First, one has to see whether there is work and then decide on coming back," a migrant worker not wanting to be identified told IANS in Chennai.

He said back home family members are facing difficulty and hence he would like to be there and help out.

Around 90 workers from Bihar left in three buses couple of days back from L&W site.

"We are now near Odisha. There are some people in Chennai and some have decided to walk it down," a migrant worker in one of the buses told IANS.

According to Habib another migrant worker from Bihar working at L&W site said he was not able to afford the bus fare and hence decided to stay back.

Though some term them as guest workers, the way they are being held up against their wishes makes one feel it is as if they are bonded labour.

The one common question from the migrant workers to whom IANS spoke to was -- What is that you can do for us to go back home. It may initially sound rude, but from their perspective they are right to be skeptical.

Speaking to IANS lawyer and activist Gayathri Khandhadai said the issues of migrant workers should be looked at from their perspective.

"When they hear the troubles faced by the family back home, it is nothing but natural for the workers wanting to go back and be with the family. This is human nature. The government should facilitate their going back first rather than trying to hold them back," Khandhadai said.

"While they are provided with rations like rice, pulses, oil and wheat flour, they have to buy vegetables for which they need money," she said.

She said the living conditions of the migrant workers were not great and the drawbacks were not largely seen as during normal working days they come back to their shelter to sleep.

But during the lockdown the cramped shelters are one of the major problems.

In most of the places, the migrant workers come out and protest and would disperse on hearing the assurance from district police officials that they would be sent back.

However, in Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, two police officials were injured when some agitating workers at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd refused to leave the spot and entered into an argument with the police.

To a query whether they would come back after going home the cryptic answer was: "First let us go home."
The Bombay high court (HC) has granted divorce to a 47-year-old Navi Mumbai resident on the ground that his estranged wife had written a letter to his employer, levelling unfounded wild allegations against him, that caused him mental cruelty and in conformity with The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The two-member division bench of Justices VM Deshpande and SM Modak accepted that the wifes bid to write to her estranged husbands employer was actionable cruelty within the purview of Section 13(1) (i-a) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and granted him a divorce on that ground.

The couple had got married in May 1993, and they have two sons. Their relationship soured in May 2006, when the wife suddenly left for her maternal home along with the two sons.

Though several attempts of reconciliation were made, their conjugal ties were irrevocably ruptured in June 2008 after the woman again visited her maternal home for about four days and came back to her house unannounced and broke it open in her husbands absence.

She also wrote to his employer, implicating him of having an extramarital affair.

A few days later, the husband moved the family court at Nagpur, where their marriage was registered in May 1993. Later, he moved the Bombay HC after the family court rejected his divorce plea in March 2012.

The HC accepted his contention that the womans conduct of writing a letter to his employer and making unsubstantiated wild allegations amounted to mental cruelty and conformed with The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and he was entitled to a divorce on that count.

The HC said trust and confidence are foundations of a marriage and if a spouse establishes an extramarital affair with some other person, it is considered as an act damaging the foundation.

And, if one of the spouses makes such allegations and h/she fails to prove it, it is considered as an act causing mental pain to the other spouse and an instance of cruelty, the bench said.

Unfounded wild allegations, particularly about the character of a spouse, has been legally recognised as a ground of divorce on account of mental cruelty, it added.

The bench, however, refused to accept other charges levelled by the husband against his estranged wife such as cruelty and desertion.
May 12 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Tuesday it plans to reopen all its drive-throughs in the United Kingdom and Ireland by early June, as both countries ease coronavirus-led restrictions on road travel after weeks-long lockdowns.

The U.S.-based restaurant chain said it would reopen 30 restaurants in the UK and Ireland, offering services through the drive-through lane from May 20. Meanwhile, it will open 15 pilot restaurants in south-east England on Wednesday but offer services only through delivery via Uber Eats.

McDonald's said https://bit.ly/3fIsRF5 it would cap spend in their drive-throughs at 25 pounds ($30.70) per car, while also encouraging customers to opt for contactless payment methods.

It also said the restaurants would have reduced menu and hours and that service may not be as quick as pre-pandemic levels because of reduced staffing and social distancing measures in kitchens.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a televised address on Sunday, announced a limited easing of restrictions, including allowing people to exercise outside more often and encouraging some people to return to work.

Coffee chain Starbucks Corp said on Monday it would begin a phased reopening of 150 of its drive-thru locations and some takeaway-only stores in the United Kingdom, starting Thursday onwards. ($1 = 0.8144 pounds) (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
Jammu: A CRPF officer committed suicide on Tuesday (May 12) in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district after he feared he might have been infected with COVID-19. Sub-inspector Fatah Singh, a resident of Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, was posted with the 49th battalion of CRPF at Mattan area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

On Tuesday morning, he shot himself with his service rifle to end his life. The CRPF sources said he was immediately rushed to the hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Officials said he left a suicide note behind that read, "I am afraid, I may have Corona." A CRPF spokesman said, "There is no evidence that he had corona infection. We are now waiting for the test report."

Police registered a case and has begun an investigation in the incident.
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Large institutions resist change, and nowhere more so than in the way they pay their bosses.

Despite scandals and crises, executive compensation has remained too generous, too opaque and too loosely linked to long-term goals. The upheaval wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic provides the opportunity for a remake: Simpler, smaller packages with a more significant non-financial component would mark a welcome shift.

The figures are stark. Inflation-adjusted pay for chiefs of the largest US companies climbed 940 per cent between 1978 and 2018, the Economic Policy Institute found, using the more conservative of two methodologies, in a report published last year. Wall Street's benchmark S&P500 index rose about 700 per cent over the same period. Worker wages, meanwhile, increased by less than 12 per cent.

Dizzying numbers: Chief executive pay at the biggest US companies soared 940 per cent between 1978 and 2018. Credit:Tamara Voninski

The size of pay packages is only the most eye-catching part of the problem: Far more important is how corporate leaders are remunerated, and whether that lines up with long-term goals, financial and otherwise.
An intensive care matron has said that post-traumatic stress will 'start setting in' for 'absolutely exhausted' NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis, while some are already suffering.

Sinead Hanton, from North London, appeared on Good Morning Britain today from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where she told that her staff are 'absolutely exhausted' and going 'above and beyond' to cope with the influx of patients.

She said that her team are all working extra hours, with ICU nurses who would usually be looking after one person forced to nurse 'three very sick patients', and that she's already seen 'a lot of stress' from the increased workload.

Intensive care matron Sinead Hanton (pictured) , from North London, has said that post-traumatic stress will 'start setting in' with 'absolutely exhausted' NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis

She appeared on Good Morning Britain today from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead where she told that her staff are 'absolutely exhausted'

'Our staff are absolutely exhausted. Theyre working above and beyond everybody is doing extra hours,' she said.

'Usually intensive care is one-to-one nursing, we have one nurse looking after three very sick patients with help, so the challenges are enormous.

'Ive seen a lot of stress, PTSD is going to start setting in with our staff, we're seeing that now. We do a lot of wellbeing work supporting our staff and we need to refocus on that now.'

The ICU nurse told that the hospital is already preparing for a second wave of the coronavirus, and urged the public to abide by government rules.

She told Dr Hilary Jones (pictured) her team are all working extra hours, with ICU nurses who would usually be looking after one person forced to nurse 'three very sick patients'

She told host Lorraine Kelly (pictured) that she's already seen 'a lot of stress' from the increased workload

'Stay at home if you can, only go out if necessary, work from home if you can, we do not want to see another peak, even though we're preparing for it.

'You can see what the staff and patients have been through and the relatives. We don't want to see another peak, but if people don't abide by the rules we will see another peak'.

The mother-of-one told how she's been unable to see her four-year-old son, but insisted that it's vital we 'all make sacrifices'.

'Like all our staff working in hospitals across the NHS, we're faced with challenges at work,' said Sinead.

'But then not seeing our families, I havent properly seen my four-year-old in six or seven weeks. But we've all had to make sacrifices to make sure our patients are safe'.

The mother-of-one told how she's been unable to see her four-year-old son, but insisted that it's vital we 'all make sacrifices'

The intensive care nurse appeared on BBC2 documentary 'Hospital Special: Fighting Covid-19' last night, and hopes that the film will help the public to understand the importance of social distancing.

She said: 'The message we need the public to realise is we're still in the middle of a public health crisis, social distancing is vital.

'We're already preparing for a second wave. In the evening when I drive home from work and see people in the park in groups, it's upsetting. You see in the documentary how busy we are and how hard we're working to keep our patients safe

'Hopefully last night and tonight again will get across how busy we've been over the last seven weeks.

'The staff have worked incredibly hard, the team are under huge pressure but they've come out the other side and they've done a brilliant job.'
A staff disinfects the door handle of a train connecting Hanoi and the northern port city of Hai Phong, April 24, 2020, as trains resume operation after Vietnam eases social distancing rules. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

With the Health Ministry confirming no new Covid-19 case Tuesday morning, Vietnam began its 26th consecutive day without community transmission of the disease.

The nations Covid-19 tally has stayed at 288 since last Thursday, and the number of active cases dropped to 39 after eight more patients recovered in Hanoi Monday.

Among the active cases, 11 have tested negative at least twice and eight once.

"Patient 91," a 43-year-old British man, continues to be the most critical Covid-19 case so far in the country, but experts said Monday that his lungs have not been damaged to the extent of needing a transplant. The health ministry had said at a meeting last week that a lung transplant was being considered for the man who works as a pilot for Vietnam Airlines.

Hospitalized since March 20, he was on a ventilator for 16 days and, for 36 days, put on a life support machine called Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which involves pumping blood out of the body to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 12,000 returning or coming from abroad, or those who had come into close contact with those arrivals were under quarantine in Vietnam, with 329 in hospitals, over 6,000 at centralized facilities and the rest at home or accommodation facilities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 212 countries and territories thus far, and reported deaths have reached almost 287,000.
Bijnor : , May 12 (IANS) The forest personnel have rescued a three-month-old leopard cub that was caught in a trap set up near a graveyard on the outskirts of the Jahanabad village in Bijnor district.

The cub, rescued on Monday evening, was trapped a day after a leopardess was spotted with two cubs at the Mussoorie village, about 35 km from Jahanabad village.

According to the villagers, someone spotted the cub in the trap and the forest authorities were informed.

Forest authorities rushed to the scene and rescued the cub. They released it into the nearby jungle area so that it could find its way back to its mother.

Bijnor Divisional Forest Officer M. Semmaran said, "Our team reached the spot and rescued the cub. Now, we have released it into jungle area so that it can go back to its mother who seems to be around the spot where the cub was trapped." The area where cub was found is near the Ganga river.

"We have appealed to the villagers not to harm the leopard family," the official said.

The villagers of the Mussoorie village had spotted a leopardess with two cubs lurking in the sugarcane fields on Sunday morning.

Camera traps were installed in the area to locate the leopardess. The forest team set up cages to trap them.

Since the first week of January, there had been no cases of leopard attacks on humans till last week when five villagers were attacked in the Chandpur area.

The villagers there had cordoned off the sugarcane fields, where it was hiding. A joint team of forest and police officials had rushed to the scene and tried to trap the big cat. But the leopard managed to slip away.
President Donald Trump has temporarily withdrawn a controversial dock proposal at his Palm Beach resort that had raised larger questions about the legality of the change of his official residency from New York to Florida.

The decision, which was disclosed in a letter sent to the Palm Beach mayor and town council on Monday, comes three days after The Washington Post published a story that outlined assertions by local attorneys who argue that agreements Trump entered into with the town prevent him from living at the resort, and may have precluded him from legally registering to vote in Florida. (Trump has said he voted by mail in Florida's Republican presidential primary this year.)

Trump had come under scathing criticism from his Palm Beach neighbors and their attorneys who accused him and his legal team of attempting to jam through the dock request at the Mar-a-Lago resort while the nation's attention is focused on the coronavirus pandemic and the town's council is only able to hold meetings electronically. In the letter withdrawing the proposal, Trump's Palm Beach attorney, Harvey Oyer III, cited "the extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in" as a reason for the decision. But he makes no specific mention of coronavirus. The proposal had been scheduled to be heard on Wednesday by the Palm Beach Town Council.

Oyer added, however, that the president would revisit the proposal when the council resumes regular meetings in Palm Beach, a city of 8,000 known for its heavily attended civic meetings. The letter gave no timetable.

Glenn Zeitz, a Trump critic who owns a winter home in Palm Beach, said Tuesday in an interview that he interpreted the vague wording of the letter as an attempt to not directly link a decision to pull back the proposal to the ongoing pandemic because that rationale might conflict with Trump's stated desire to reopen the economy and for businesses to begin resuming normal activities.

"The proposal was noticed during the crisis and it was going down the train track, and it got derailed by the facts and the law," Zeitz said. "It's a lawyer practicing semantic surgery. I have to believe that the letter is written so as to not have to put in a letter that the coronavirus is the reason."

Reginald Stambaugh, an attorney who represents one of Mar-a-Lago's neighbors, said he is hopeful that the president will now permanently drop the dock proposal.

"One prevalent issue remains lingering, whether President Trump still considers Mar-a-Lago Club his residence," Stambaugh said Tuesday. "He still can't have it both ways. It's either a club or a residence - not both. Florida's voting laws apply to citizen Trump. If he resides there, he will have to close the club."

Oyer did not respond to a request for comment.

The battle over the dock proposal stretches back to 2018, and appeared, at the time, to be a mundane local matter focused on complaints about the possibility of disruptive party boats and potential environmental damage. But it was given a jolt of national significance late last year when Trump made headlines by changing his domicile from New York to Florida using the Mar-a-Lago address.

Attorneys and historical preservationists in South Florida immediately began digging into town records, unearthing an agreement that Trump made in 1993 to convert Mar-a-Lago from a single-family residence to a private club owned by a corporation Trump controls. The agreement includes a provision that bans members from using the club's guest rooms for longer than seven days at a time three times a year. Trump's attorney at the time, Paul Rampell, assured council members that he would not live at the club.

The agreement also banned construction of a dock, but Trump was asking for that condition to be waived. Trump's attorney originally argued that the dock was necessary for the president's protection. That claim was included in an application that made no mention of Mar-a-Lago being the president's home. In a later application, the rationale was changed, with Trump asserting that the club is his "personal residence."

"The request is simply to add an accessory structure," his attorney wrote. "A dock for private family use only."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites contributed to this report.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS

"ARE FILIPINO TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR CHINESE PROPAGANDA?"

I am very disturbed that there is a radio program called "Wow China" that airs on Radyo Pilipinas 738, a state-owned AM radio station of the Philippine Broadcasting Service under the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

PCOO should be fulfilling its mandate of helping the Filipino people with relevant and timely information especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. But instead, it is allowing a program that promotes China and its state ideology. Filipino taxpayers should be indignant that we are essentially paying for a radio show that promotes China's policies.

We have let Chinese propaganda reach our shores. Inaangkin na nga nila ang West Philippine Sea, pati ba naman ang radyo natin sa kanila na rin?

It is also very hypocritical how the government is critical of alleged foreign ownership of other Filipino-owned media entities, but is aiding and abetting this clear foreign encroachment in our own.

'Wow China' should be cancelled immediately. PCOO and PBS should likewise be made to explain to Filipino taxpayers why it allowed the airing of Chinese state propaganda in a government-owned radio station.

For me, this is a betrayal of the Filipino people. Our state media should always place Filipinos' interests and welfare first.

link: https://www.facebook.com/128801740656/posts/10164020992850657/?d=n
gettyimagesbank



By Kim Bo-eun



Financial firms are stepping up efforts to get ready for an increasingly digital-oriented world following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transformation has become a pressing task based on concerns that additional waves of infections may occur as the virus could subside temporarily.





Cho Yong-byoung

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung held a series of meetings on digitization from April 21 through April 24. The daily teleconference meetings, in which CEOs of the group's affiliates and employees took part, reviewed the plans of each unit.



Digitization has long since been a key task, but the concentration of meetings last month is seen as efforts to accelerate progress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



Shinhan's brokerage unit began coding classes for all employees this month. Shinhan Investment said the courses are intended to develop a "digital-oriented mindset" among employees.





Son Tae-seung

Woori Financial Group said Chairman Son Tae-seung will head the group's committee on driving digitization. Son, taking the chief post of the committee, signals the group's renewed emphasis on the task.



Woori last month introduced a mentoring system within the group's key affiliates, where employees of the digital division mentor executives. This is a way to familiarize executives with the digital services offered, and improve communication among lower-and higher-level officials to make the organization more flexible for forthcoming changes in a digital world.





Kim Jung-tai

Hana Financial Group under the leadership of Chairman Kim Jung-tai is seeking to work with "insurtech" platform Bomapp, to offer enhanced digital services in insurance. Insurtech, a Korean term combining the terms "insurance" and "technology," refers to incorporating new technology into insurance to maximize efficiency.



Earlier, the group's affiliates invested 8.5 billion won in the startup. Bomapp enables users to check the insurance policies they hold at a glance, file for claims and sign up for policies.



KB Financial Group led by Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo has fully engaged in digitization efforts. Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin has played a key role as the head of the group's digital innovation division.





Yoon Jong-kyoo
Representative Image

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on May 11 issued an advisory warning customers against inadvertently dialling international numbers while joining online conferencing platforms. The regulatory body noted that there have been reports of customers having experienced bill shocks in some cases.

Due to the ongoing lockdown in light of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, several users have taken to online conferencing platforms for work as well as for personal use. Keeping this in view, TRAI has cautioned customers to carefully check the terms and conditions before using the dial-in service provided by online conferencing platforms. It said the cost applicable for contacting the customer care centres of such platforms in terms of tariffs for voice calls and other charges may also be applied by the service providers accordingly.

Track this blog for LIVE updates on the COVID-19 pandemic

"Thus, all the members of public are advised to exercise full caution and make themselves aware of the details of terms and conditions of using the online conferencing services, particularly nature of numbers to which voice calls have to be made for joining the online conference and/or contacting customer support and details of tariff applicable for each of such services," TRAI said in the advisory.

People who use such services may hence have to pay higher rates applicable to premium or international numbers, meaning that ISD tariff rates would be applicable in such cases. The telecom regulatory body has specified that lapses in this regard may lead to bills shocks.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov took part in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS through videoconferencing on May 12, 2020, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the 75th anniversary of the victory over fascism in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the foreign minister added. The people of Azerbaijan also made an important contribution to this common victory.

The memory of everyone who contributed to the victory in the war, one of the most terrible wars in the history of mankind, will live forever, Mammadyarov added. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that we are particularly concerned about the heroization of the Nazi movement and those who cooperate with the Nazi movement in our region in any form, including the erection of monuments. We consider it important to eliminate such disturbing tendencies by joint efforts.

I would like to note that our today's meeting is taking place at a difficult time, amid coronavirus pandemic - COVID-19, the foreign minister said. A pandemic undoubtedly affects international activity. Due to the crisis, some meetings, visits, as well as international events were postponed. However, at the same time, we are witnessing the fact that many meetings are being held in a different format, as today - through video conferencing.

We are all witnessing that the pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need to increase the effectiveness of cooperation, mutual assistance, and coordination at the international level, Mammadyarov said. COVID-19 has become a kind of test of the world's preparedness for the global crisis.

Azerbaijan plays an active role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic both in the country and in the world, the foreign minister said. Demonstrating global solidarity, Azerbaijan has provided voluntary financial assistance to the World Health Organization in the fight against coronavirus in the amount of $10 million. Azerbaijan also provides financial and in-kind assistance to individual countries.

I would also like to bring to your attention information on the operational and preventive steps taken by Azerbaijan to prevent the spread of coronavirus within the country, Mammadyarov said. In accordance with the prevailing conditions, restrictive measures have been taken. So, in February, an operational headquarters was created under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan to prevent the importation and spread of new coronavirus infection on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

From the beginning of March, the educational process in all educational institutions was phased out in the country, the foreign minister added. All mass events planned in the country were postponed or cancelled. Since mid-March, a special regime was imposed, which included a series of measures of social isolation, and since the end of March, a special quarantine regime has been applied.

Today, the Government of Azerbaijan is taking all necessary measures to successfully overcome the unprecedented difficulties that have arisen, Mammadyarov said. All resources of the state are mobilized and effectively implemented in achieving the goals set.

The evacuation of our citizens, who found themselves abroad, to their homeland has become one of the most important tasks during the crisis, the foreign minister said. For the time being, in the current situation, all necessary measures have been taken for the return of our citizens from other countries. These measures are ongoing, and today, about 20,000 Azerbaijani citizens have been returned to their homeland.

The result of periodically toughened restrictive measures was positive, and for the past three weeks, there has been a positive trend in Azerbaijan, Mammadyarov said. I mean, there are more people who have recovered from the coronavirus than infected people. The relatively low mortality rate indicates that the work is carried out in a positive direction. Since May 4, Azerbaijan has proceeded to the second phase of the mitigation of restrictive measures.

I believe that the CIS is an important platform for discussing joint efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus infection, as well as for exchanging experience regarding the actions that we are taking at the national level, supporting each other at the right time and strengthening solidarity between our peoples, the foreign minister said.

Dear colleagues, the current agenda provides for the discussion of pressing issues in such areas of humanitarian cooperation as international youth cooperation, as well as the development of cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports, Mammadyarov said. Azerbaijan pays great attention to these areas. Traditional close ties in the humanitarian sphere and in the field of culture are fertile ground for strengthening cooperation between our countries.

In this regard, I would like to note the importance of signing at today's meeting the Decision on the draft Strategy for the Development of Cooperation between the CIS member States in the field of physical culture and sports for 2021-2030, the foreign minister said. I am sure that this Strategy will allow us to significantly strengthen our cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports, to achieve important results in attracting citizens to physical culture and sports.

As it is know, in a very short time, Azerbaijan has turned into a center of sports competitions, where events at the various international levels are held, Mammadyarov said. The support provided by the state to sports, the implementation of state programs are highly appreciated by international sports structures.

Over the past five years, international events such as the European Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, the World and European Championships, World Cups and Grand Prix competitions in many sports have been successfully held in our country, the foreign minister said. This year, we again started planning to hold prestigious sports competitions. Four matches of the European Football Championship, including one quarterfinal, are among them. However, in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has shifted the dates for the European Championship from 2020 to 2021.

I am confident that the decision 'On the draft Strategy for International Youth Cooperation of the CIS member States for 2021-2030' adopted today will allow us to significantly expand international youth cooperation within the CIS, to more actively involve young people in solving the problems of socio-economic development of our countries, Mammadyarov said.

The realities prevailing today in the world require effective interaction and coordination of efforts of all states in countering new challenges and threats to stability and security, the foreign minister said.

However, the unresolved conflicts existing in the Commonwealth space, in particular the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, do not allow to fully and effectively realize the integration potential within the Commonwealth and are the main obstacle to closer interaction of the CIS member states in countering new challenges and threats, Mammadyarov said.

Recent statements by the Armenian leadership show that the Armenian side is doing everything possibleto impede the activation of the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict, thereby creating new threats to regional stability and security, the foreign minister said.

Azerbaijan is committed to an early political settlement of the conflict, Mammadyarov said. At the same time, negotiations cannot last forever and should not serve for continuing and maintaining the situation that arose as a result of the use of force, occupation, and ethnic cleansing.

I would like to remind once again that Azerbaijan has every right to restore its territorial integrity by all means within its internationally recognized borders, as enshrined in the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and the well-known UN Security Council resolutions, the foreign minister said.

The earliest settlement of conflicts based on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of the borders of states will undoubtedly contribute to strengthening regional and international security, social progress, and economic cooperation in the region, Mammadyarov said.
Supreme Court judge nominee Yonny Kulendi says he has a relationship with President Akufo-Addo regarding the President's name he used as reference on his CV.

He says if the President had not nominated him as a judge of the highest court of the land, he would have still put his name as a reference on his CV in any job appointment.

Answering a question on how his relationship with the president will affect his judgement on matters involving him, Mr. Kulendi who worked in the law chambers of the President told the appointment committee of parliament that bias has not been part of his work culture.

I have a relationship with the President, and several other politicians and presidents. If the president had not nominated me because of the schedules and workings of his office, you would most certainly find his name on my CV. And I must be candid with that.

But for me, judges must hold fidelity to the law and be true to your conscience and that ought to be my matrics I say consider this job. This job is that sacred to me, he said.

Meanwhile, another nominee, Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, has apologised for appearing to endorse President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a durbar in the Volta region early this year.

Justice Honyenuga in his welcome address to President Akufo-Addo at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Afajato South District had commended the President for various developmental policies introduced under his leadership.

He said with the vision of the President and the gains made in his first term, Ghanaians may consider giving him another four years to the loud cheers of people at the durbar grounds.

Many, including legal luminaries, who felt the judge probably erred in this open declaration took to social media to criticize his conduct.

Some media reports suggested the comments were meant to endear him further to the current government for his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Answering questions during his vetting on Monday, the Supreme Court Judge nominee apologised for endorsing the President saying he was only reading a statement handed him on behalf of the paramount chiefs.

In reading that statement, we didnt intend in endorsing the president, our understanding was that we were wishing him wellthis is what has been happening in this country for a very long timeon my part if out of political dissatisfaction some people are unhappy with whatever I am supposed to have said then I am sorry, Justice Honyenuga said.

---starrfmonline
But not now, due in part to reporting by the Tribunes Stacy St. Clair, who went inside Roseland in April with Tribune photographer E. Jason Wambsgans to chronicle the hospitals struggle against COVID-19. We are literally on the front lines and we are being bombarded from every angle, Tim Egan, Roselands president and CEO, said in that story. We are outgunned, outmanned, underfunded, and no one is coming to help us. But we are going to win this war.
Through months of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests last year, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam often became emotional when confronted with accusations that she sold out the former British colony to China.

In appeals to the public, she talked about her personal sacrifices for Hong Kong and called for rebuilding harmony. She took the blame for the "entire unrest" that followed her decision to propose legislation that would've allowed extraditions to the mainland, and pledged to listen more before pushing unpopular measures.

Now, almost a year later, Lam is again pushing ahead with politically divisive policies -- and she's no longer expressing concern about the fallout. At a news briefing Tuesday ahead of a meeting of her advisory Executive Council, she said a controversial bill making it illegal to disrespect China's national anthem would get priority in the city's legislature.

"I'm not afraid of other's criticism or smearing," Lam said. She also said it was necessary for school curriculum reforms that would foster a "national identity."

Lam's defiance matches a more aggressive approach by her bosses in Beijing to rein in a pro-democracy camp that mounted its biggest pushback against Chinese rule since Britain returned the city in 1997. The tactics have included renewed clampdowns on protesters, who are starting to become active again after the covid-19 outbreak prompted the masses to stay indoors.

"The overall impression I have is that Carrie Lam and her team have given up all pretense that they're in control, and all pretense that they are helping Hong Kong defend 'one country, two systems,'" said Anson Chan, the city's former No. 2 official during the transition from British to Chinese rule. "In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, you'd think the government would be refraining from things that could inflame tensions."

The potential for more political unrest also risks further damage to Hong Kong's economy, which is already mired in a deep recession due to last year's protests and the pandemic. And things could get worse: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delayed an upcoming report on Hong Kong's autonomy, which is the basis for special trade privileges that have long helped cement the city's status as a premier financial center.

Under the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, Washington agreed to treat Hong Kong as fully autonomous for trade and economic matters even after China took control. That means Hong Kong is exempt from Trump's punitive tariffs on China and enjoys U.S. support for its participation in international bodies like the World Trade Organization.

Felix Chung, who represents the textile and garments industries as a pro-establishment member of Hong Kong's legislature, didn't see the national anthem law as particularly controversial and thought Lam would avoid doing anything in the next few months that would provoke the U.S. But still, he said, the recent developments made him worry "a little bit" that the city would lose the U.S. privileges.

"This is part of the key for Hong Kong," Chung said. "So without it, Hong Kong is just very similar to the other cities in China, and we're not competitive at all."

Lam and the pro-Beijing bloc in Hong Kong appear to have one eye on elections for the Legislative Council, which are scheduled for Sept. 6. Two of her predecessors last week formed a pro-establishment group called the "Hong Kong Coalition" to influence public opinion that included some of the city's wealthiest men.

At the same time, authorities have continued to arrest pro-democracy activists under rules that restrict gatherings to only eight people, including hundreds on Sunday -- the most detained in a single day since last year's protests fizzled out. Lam brushed off accusations that police were targeting demonstrators while ignoring packed bars downtown, saying she would look into any complaints.

China's more assertive role came after President Xi Jinping in February appointed a former close aide, Xia Baolong, to oversee the city's affairs from Beijing. Since then, China's top agencies responsible for the city -- the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Liaison Office -- have insisted they're not covered by legal provisions against Beijing's interference in local affairs, blasting opposition lawmakers for delaying tactics.

Both Chinese authorities and the local government remain deeply unpopular and the opposition won an unprecedented 85% of seats in local elections in November. Although a relatively successful effort at containing coronavirus infections has helped lift Lam's approval rating from the single digits, only 18% surveyed by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute Survey last month expressed confidence in her leadership.

Democracy activists see Lam's move to push the national anthem law as a potential precursor to bringing in national security legislation, which sparked a previous round of street protests in 2003. Prior statements from pro-establishment politicians about Hong Kong students not being sufficiently patriotic have also fueled concerns among activists that the government might revamp the city's school curriculum to be more pro-China -- another proposal previously shelved after mass rallies.

"It's time for comprehensive review" on whether the curriculum can give students "the ability to know right from wrong, to become responsible citizens, an understanding of national identity and having a global view," Lam said Tuesday.

In an interview with in the pro-Beijing Ta Kung Pao newspaper published Monday, Lam said the government and schools needed to be a gatekeeper because there were people who deliberately spread falsehoods. "Education cannot be left unguarded, it must be tackled if something went wrong," she was quoted as saying.

Emily Lau, a former chairwoman for the opposition Democratic Party, said the U.S. could help most by targeting people who are guilty of perpetuating human-rights violations in Hong Kong rather than taking away the city's special trading and customs status, which "would be game over" for its position as a financial center. Still, she worried that Lam's actions could revive the unrest that plagued the city last year.

"These laws are all very sensitive and very controversial," Lau said. "But you negotiate and talk to people to see if there are any compromises. They just want to ram it down everyone's throat. And that's very stupid, and very dangerous."
If there is cause for concern in these data, though, it came from the Annenberg polls finding that just 49 percent of the public believe the justices decide cases based on the Constitution, the law and facts, as opposed to their personal or political views.

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For the court and the country, it would be better to have that number much closer to 100 percent  which, in turn, is a reason to applaud the opinions Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, liberal Democratic appointees both, wrote for the court last week.

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In two separate cases, Ginsburg and Kagan joined their conservative Republican-appointed colleagues (indeed, with all the other justices) in rulings uncongenial to what many Democrats and progressives might have preferred.

The first case involved Evelyn Sineneng-Smith, a San Jose, Calif., immigration consultant who had been convicted in federal court of encouraging foreigners to immigrate illegally as part of a lucrative visa-fraud scheme.

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TV networks need to ask Joe Biden tougher questions about Tara Reade's allegation of sexual assault, says media critic Erik Wemple. (The Washington Post)

In 2018, the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, a liberal bastion, threw out the conviction on the grounds that a federal ban on encouraging anyone to immigrate illegally was so broad that it could chill all kinds of benign advice to migrants, including that of legal counsel  thus violating First Amendment rights.

The 9th Circuit reached that conclusion, however, despite the fact that Sineneng-Smith did not raise it in her own defense.

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A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit brought up the free speech issue on its own in an order that also asked specified civil liberties groups to brief and argue the matter as friends of the court. Then, in effect, the court ruled in favor of its own suggestion.

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Though Ginsburg is a strong supporter of immigrant rights, she is also a stickler for proper procedure  a sensibility that the 9th Circuits maneuver seems to have thoroughly offended.

No extraordinary circumstances justified the panels takeover of the appeal, Ginsburg wrote. A court is not hidebound by counsels precise arguments, but the Ninth Circuits radical transformation of this case goes well beyond the pale.

To be sure, Ginsburgs opinion leaves progressives the option of pursuing a constitutional attack on the law in another case  but with their jets appropriately cooled by her admonishment that courts do not sally forth each day looking for wrongs to right. [They] wait for cases to come to [them], and when [cases arise, courts] normally decide only questions presented by the parties.

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Kagans lesson, in Kelly v. United States, was that not every sleazy political act is a federal crime. At issue was a dirty trick certain aides to then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) played on the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., in 2013: When the mayor refused to endorse Christie for reelection, Christies minions closed several lanes of the George Washington Bridge between Fort Lee and Manhattan  creating an epic traffic snarl.

Uh, no, Kagan explained: The prosecution had twisted the fraud statute by equating the bridges traffic lanes and the time its employees spent closing them to tangible money or property, then accusing the Christie aides of dishonestly obtaining it.

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This expansive theory would threaten individuals with unduly nebulous liability and the political and legal system as a whole with a sweeping expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction, Kagan wrote.

Kagans ruling embraced those overriding considerations, even if it means that Christie, now an ally of President Trump, gets to crow that the outcome vindicated him and proved that President Barack Obamas Justice Department was ultimately culpable for allowing a prosecutor to weaponize the office for political and partisan reasons.

Republican appointees on the court sometimes rule against their partys interests, too  notably in Robertss repeated refusal to strike down Obamacare.

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Ginsburgs and Kagans opinions last week had comparatively minor policy ramifications but sent the same healthy signal and modeled the kind of judging voters should demand from their next justice, no matter which partys president makes that appointment.

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Read more from Charles Lanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.

Read more:

Randall D. Eliason: On Bridgegate, the Supreme Court got it right

Ruth Marcus: Will the Supreme Court permit Trump to be above the law?

Paul Waldman: The Supreme Court just reminded us why this election is an emergency

George Conway: No one in this country is above the law. The Supreme Court is about to teach that lesson.

The Posts View: Supreme Court justices have taken a symbolic step toward respect and attention
CHICAGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "RegTech Market by Component (Solutions and Services), Application (Risk and Compliance Management, Identity Management, Regulatory Reporting, AML and Fraud Management), Vertical, Deployment Type, Organization Size, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global RegTech Market size is expected to grow from USD 6.3 billion in 2020 to USD 16.0 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.3%. The major drivers for the RegTech Market include the increased cost of compliance, rising need for faster transactions, regulatory sandbox approach to support RegTech innovations, and lower entry barriers with Software as a Service (SaaS)-based offerings.

Browse in-depth TOC on "RegTech Market"

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Regulatory intelligence application to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Regulatory intelligence is the process of continuously monitoring and tracking various regulations and compliances. RegTech providers offer several tools for identifying and interpreting regulatory changes by providing a real-time catalog of various regulatory requirements. RegTech solutions process targeted information and data from multiple sources, analyze this data, and generate an output that outlines the risks and opportunities for formulating the most appropriate regulatory strategy. The adoption of RegTech solutions by financial institutions enables easy management of the changing regulatory environments and minimizes the risks related to non-compliance. The providers of RegTech solutions are incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to automate the tracking of global regulatory data.

Large enterprises segment to hold a higher market share during the forecast period

The large enterprises segment is expected to hold a higher market share, as most publicly traded companies are compelled to adopt regulatory programs. Additionally, as rules and regulations keep altering as per industry and region, keeping a check on all the processes manually is not feasible, which further emphasizes on the importance of RegTech solutions and services. Service and consulting vendors, such as Deloitte, IBM, PwC, and Thomson Reuters assist large enterprises to realize the benefits of efficiently managing their business functions in accordance to the compliance mandates by enabling them to effectively implement RegTech solutions as per their business requirements.

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=63447434

North America is expected to hold the highest market share during the forecast period

As per the geographic analysis, North America is estimated to hold the highest market share during the forecast period. This is due to the early adoption of RegTech solutions by the North American financial institutions to reduce compliance cost by leveraging advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), blockchain, big data, and cloud computing. North America constitutes of developed economies, such as the US and Canada. These countries are significantly advanced in terms of technology and its application deployments. Stringent regulations and the need to comply with them are expected to drive the market growth in North America.

The major vendors covered in the RegTech Market include Accuity (US), ACTICO (Germany), Ascent (US), Ayasdi (US), Broadridge (US), Chainalysis (US), ComplyAdvantage (UK), Deloitte (UK), Fenergo (Ireland), London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) (UK), IdentityMind (US), IBM (US), Jumio (US), MetricStream (US), Nice Actimize (US), Pole Star (UK), PwC (UK), Thomson Reuters (Canada), Trulioo (Canada), and Wolters Kluwer (The Netherlands).

Browse Adjacent Markets: Software and Services Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Anti-Money Laundering Solution Market by Component, Technology Type (KYC Systems, Transaction Monitoring, Case Management, Compliance Management, Auditing and Reporting), Deployment Mode, Organization Size, and Region - Global Forecast to 2024

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/anti-money-laundering-solutions-market-95490454.html

FinTech Blockchain Market by Provider, Application (Payments, Clearing, and Settlement, Exchanges and Remittance, Smart Contract, Identity Management, and Compliance Management/KYC), Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/fintech-blockchain-market-38566589.html

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The Labor Partys shadow immigration minister, Senator Kristina Keneally, called for a restart of Australias migration program in a recent opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age.

The post-COVID-19 question we must ask now is this: when we restart our migration program, do we want migrants to return to Australia in the same numbers and in the same composition as before the crisis? Keneally asked. Our answer should be no.

Keneallys call for immigration cuts was approvingly retweeted by Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus, making clear the trade unions support for Labors divisive demagogy.

This lines up the Labor Party and the ACTU directly behind the drive by governments around the globe, personified by US President Trump, to promote toxic nationalism and blame refugees and immigrant workers for the mass unemployment and poverty that governments and big business are imposing in response to the pandemic.

It also feeds into the promotion of far-right and fascistic groups that demonise foreigners. Senator Pauline Hanson, the founder-leader of the anti-immigrant One Nation party, claimed vindication. She tweeted that she had called for years for reduced immigration and had been labelled a racist for her strong stance on jobs for Australians first.

Keneally criticised the Liberal-National Coalition government from a right-wing nationalist standpoint, saying: Letting lots of migrants come to Australia is an easier way to drive economic growth than increasing productivity or investing in skills and training.

This same government has already demonstrated its own bid to scapegoat and punish foreign workers by excluding all 1.2 million temporary visa holders, together with international students, from its JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, leaving them financially destitute.

Keneally embraced the federal governments reduction of permanent immigration from 190,000 to 160,000 in 2018, under the pretext of stopping congestion in major cities, and scolded it for not likewise cutting the number of temporary visas.

Keneally claimed that temporary visas encouraged employers to bring in low-skilled and underpaid workers, and this was to blame for declining wages. We must make sure that Australians get a fair go and a first go at jobs, she declared.

This serves only to split the working class along nationalist lines, and divert attention from the true cause of the global corporate offensive against workers wages and conditionsthe rapacious drive by the financial elite for private profit and the accumulation of vast wealth.

Exploiting the COVID-19 crisis, Keneally wrote that the government will soon have an opportunity to do something we have never done before: restart a migration program. She praised Conservative Party UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for slashing immigration.

Last year Boris Johnson restricted low-skilled, temporary migration, Keneally wrote, and coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, Australia can seize the opportunity to do something similar for our citizens.

In truth, Johnsons attack on migrant workers borrows from the Australian playbook. His Tory government is introducing a draconian points-based system, which discriminates heavily in favour of wealthy applicants, a system that was formalised in Australia by the Hawke Labor government in 1989.

Reportedly, there were some initial concerns among some Labor MPs that Keneallys article was too blatant in its Australia-first rhetoric, particularly after Hansons endorsement. But Senator Penny Wong, Labors shadow foreign minister, defended her colleague on the Australian Broadcasting Corporations Q&A program.

Wong said: I think the proposition Kristina Keneally was putting was that we need to rethink the balance between permanent and temporary migration and I think thats a sound point to be making.

The Labor Party has a long history of vilifying overseas workers, using xenophobic rhetoric to divide workers along racist and nationalist lines. The Labor Partys founding program formulated the White Australia Policy, which promoted the reactionary illusion of creating a workingmans paradise by banning coloured labour.

The Labor Party has revived its anti-immigrant policy during every period of capitalist economic breakdown. Amid the destruction of workers jobs and conditions following the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the Gillard Labor government proposed cutting immigration and resumed indefinitely detaining refugees on remote Pacific islands, Nauru and Manus.

In run-up to the 2013 election, Labors Prime Minister Kevin Rudd declared: As of today, asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia.

Since another historic electoral defeat last year, the Labor Party has gone even further down this road, as part of the explicitly pro-big business program of new leader Anthony Albanese. As soon as he appointed Keneally as Labors immigration spokeswomen, she began denouncing the Coalition government for supposedly allowing too many refugees to arrive by plane. Last August, Keneally accused the government of losing control of the countrys borders because 80,000 people arriving at airports had sought asylum from persecution.

New Zealands Labour Party, which has a similar dirty history, is pursuing the same path. Labour Party-led coalition government has slashed immigration, including by imposing wealth-based restrictions.

Keneallys latest comments come in a definite context. On behalf of big business, the federal, state and territory governments, Coalition and Labor alike, are pushing workers back into workplaces, despite knowing this will trigger further dangerous COVID-19 outbreaks. Mass unemployment and under-employment also is being used as a weapon to compel workers to accept cuts to wages and conditions, which the unions have agreed to enforce against millions of workers, pledging to give employers everything they want.

The Socialist Equality Party opposes all forms of racism and nationalism, which pit worker against worker, fuel war tensions and blame the most vulnerable layers of the working classparticularly immigrants and refugeesfor the social crisis created by capitalism. As part of the fight for the unity of the global working class, we unconditionally defend the basic democratic right of refugees and immigrants to live, study and work in Australia, or anywhere in the world, with full citizenship rights.

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Piers Morgan has called health secretary Matt Hancock a disgrace for not appearing on Good Morning Britain and accused him of denying viewers potentially life-saving information.

While the Cabinet minister was present on Sky News and BBC Breakfast to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, his absence on GMB provoked a furious outburst from Mr Morgan.

The TV presenter, who claimed that the government has banned all ministers from appearing on GMB, said that Mr Hancocks no-show denied viewers potentially life-saving information.

You are not worthy of the health secretarys potentially life-saving information, guidance and clarifications, he said on Tuesday morning.

[Mr Hancock] is going to go on every other show so their listeners and viewers will have that information.

I think its shameful and completely wrong, hes not doing our show because the junior ministers couldnt answer basic questions  like how many health workers have died.

Mr Morgan went on to claim that the governments lack of GMB appearances was a result of the scrutiny that extremely poor government figures had been subject to on the programme

We got annoyed with them because they didnt know basic things, we got annoyed, frustrated and angry on behalf of the health workers family, he said.

Our punishment for asking difficult questions and holding the government accountable, Matt Hancock is now boycotting the programme, as is every government minister and the prime minister.

It is a disgraceful way to treat you, the viewers, we can only apologise. Its been going on for 10 days now.

The 55-year-old presenter continued: It is a disgrace. They dont want to be challenged, they dont want to answer the difficult questions.

We have the second worse death toll in the world, we have made a series of mistakes and we should be entitled to ask the health secretary why and how can you guarantee you wont make these mistakes again?

It is called accountability it is what journalists to do.

Mr Morgan also accused Mr Hancock of prioritising BBC Breakfast viewers over those who watch GMB.

They dont think your lives matter as much, he said. For the risk of a rough and tumble interview about life and death they dont think your lives matter as much. They dont.

The health secretary doesnt want to tell GMB viewers this information  I think its a disgrace.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Hancock refused to directly answer whether people have a legal right not to go to work if they do not feel safe due to Covid-19.

In response, he said: Well this needs to be a collaborative effort. Absolutely workplaces need to follow the guidelines on making a workplace safe for Covid, so that is very important.

Critically, everybody who can work from home should continue to work from home.

Asked for a second time whether people are protected by law if they felt unsafe in the workplace, the health secretary said: Well, employment law has not changed, but that isnt the point.

The point is that businesses and employees should be working together to make the best of a very difficult situation.
It is a matter of record that the last time the world confronted a pandemic on this scale, the so-called "Spanish influenza", its first major wave hit in March, April and May of 1918.

As Australia and countries around the world have in recent days announced the easing of restrictions on movement and work, it will have been pointed out to officials that it was the second wave of that virus  which raged across the globe between September and November  which caused the most deaths. Its progress was accelerated by countries which refused to lock down for fear of harming their war effort.

Leaders today are having to walk an unenviable tightrope between medicine, which tells them that there are still plenty of people susceptible to infection and even  in countries such as Britain and Russia  no significant flattening of the infection curve, and the severe social and economic effects of lockdown.
Anushree Madhavan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Wiping away the beads of sweat from his forehead, he ties a mask around his face, sanitises his hand and readies himself to lug a sack of groceries to his car. We are going to Kannagi Nagar to distribute food, he announces. In this pandemic-induced lockdown, it is days like these that bring action-oriented hope for Varun Prasad Gokhale, a 19-year-old resident of Anna Nagar. Within ten days of the launch of his website Shubhashish, Varun and his friend Shlok Jagushte have fed more than 1,800 hungry stomachs in Chennai and Mumbai.

I do it just for the blessings, says the second-year Electrical Engineering student at Vivekananda Education Societies Institute of Technology, Mumbai. I have been away from home for two years and used to come here only for festivals. During one such occasion, I realised that there are many unfortunate ones who cannot afford to celebrate. So, I started packing sweets and savouries, and distributed it to the poor people near my house in Anna Nagar. The blessings I got in return made me want to do more.

The boys have served more than

1,800 people in Mumbai and Chennai

Even as he was grappling with the lockdown situation, what stirred up his emotions was the news of the plight of the migrant and daily wage labourers. Realising that his life is abundant with opportunities to help, Varun swung into action. It always made me happy to feed someone. So, I first started off by distributing grocery packets, which bought from my own money, to 11 people in Anna Nagar. But when I learned that there is a possibility of them selling off these vegetables to make money, I had to think of another way, he shares.

After brainstorming with his Mumbai-based friend Shlok, the duo planned to start a site where people could send their donations.



Shubhashish was launched on April 27.



We got in touch with the local police and collected the details of the contact numbers of people who are in need of food every day. We were aware that there were many NGOs and other groups donating food and we didnt want our effort to go waste, he shares.

During one of these rounds of interaction, Varun learned from the K4 police station in Anna Nagar that even though the policemen get about 700 to 1,000 packets of food from NGOs and charitable trusts to be distributed every day, there is still a shortage. Soon, Varun contacted Leo Akashraj, his senior from school. Akashraj, who also runs Pretty Little Hearts, an NGO, connected Varun with the local caterers. We initially wanted to tie up with small eateries because even they are incurring losses at this time. But due to the lockdown, we could not venture out. So I got contacts of small-time home caterers who can help us with packed food (any variety rice). Now, we have tied up with Namma Unavagam in Vadapalani, he explains, adding that Shlok facilitates food distribution in Mumbai.

While the website is primarily used as a medium to receive donations, residents of both cities can place an alert on the duos Facebook page, sharing information about neighbourhoods where people need food. Soon after they set up their initiative, the first request came from Varuns former NCC teacher, who asked for 27 packets of food to be distributed to those living in TNHB quarters in Kovilambakkam. And then came the second request for provisions for a transgender community. Last week, I got a call from Rakshika, a trans nurse, who said that there are 55 trans persons who require assistance. So we procured provisions and made packets containing 2 kg rice,  kg dal,  litre oil and 100 g-200g of salt. We distributed them recently in Kannagi Nagar, Kovilambakkam and Pallikarnai, he says.

Conscious about wastage of food made during bulk orders, the two friends attempt to minimise it by distributing the excess to sanitation workers and police officials on duty. Whenever we have extra packets of food, and if we spot a sanitation worker or a policeman toiling away in the hot sun, we give it to them, says Varun.

While the work has just begun and there are miles to go, and many mouths to feed, Varun recognises that his efforts saw traction owing to the help he received from the local police in locating neighbourhoods where people need food. Gratitude is the only emotion that Varun and Shlok are now breathing. With an intent that is steadfast, they have resolved to feed the poor until the lockdown is lifted. May their tribe grow!

For details visit: https://sites.google.com/view/shubhashish/home, or call: 7397266273, 9930835460, or mail: shubhashish.covid.19@gmail.com Instagram: shubhashish_covid19 Facebook: Shubhashish Covid
Westby Syttende Mai and History Alive Project, Inc. have joined forces for Keep it on the Go  A Virtual Syttende Mai Celebration.

The Westby Syttende Mai Board of Directors made the decision to cancel the 52nd annual Syttende Mai celebration back on March 24, in light of coronavirus and COVID-19 concerns. The annual event highlighting Norwegian heritage was originally scheduled for May 16-17.

The organizations wanted to make sure Syttende Mai was still observed in 2020, but in a different way.

According to a post on the Westby Syttende Mai Facebook page, We want to make sure that our community will keep the tradition and its observance and show off our Norwegian heritage even with the Safer at Home and social distancing rules not allowing for our normal celebration festivities!

This month, Westby Syttende Mai and HAP are inviting all Westby and area residents to decorate windows and almost anything else for the Syttende Mai observance. People may decorate their home, porch, door, window, yard, church site, business, fence, kids bikes, vehicle, etc. Folks are also encouraged to wear their bunads, have their children or their pets dress up in all things Norse, and bake those special Norwegian pastries. Creativity is encouraged.

Participants can take one or more pictures of their efforts and upload them on the Westby Syttende Mai website, http://westbysyttendemai.com/Virtual-SM-Event.php on the Virtual SM Form.

Those who upload photos are welcome to add names, a description of the image or provide other information.

Submissions will be posted in the following locations: the Westby Syttende Mai website; Westby Syttende Mai Facebook pages; and the History Alive Project, Inc. Facebook page.

All of the submitted photos will be forever noted in Syttende Mai history and be a part of the upcoming birthday celebration for the city of Westby. Dave Amundson of HAP will transfer the photos to a DVD.

The DVD will be placed in the 100th Westby as a City Birthday Party time capsule. The 100th Westby as a City celebration is still scheduled for Aug. 22.

Westby Syttende Mai and HAP said they want this virtual project to be fun for everyone while also observing the rules of Safer at Home and social distancing guidelines, so they advise participants not to make a special trip to purchase supplies to decorate with, and use whats on hand at home.

The next Syttende Mai celebration is tentatively scheduled for May 15-16, 2021.

Angela Cina can be reached at angie.cina@lee.net.

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A 25-year-old man allegedly



committed suicide citing loneliness due to the COVID-19 lockdown at Kopar Khairane in neighbouring Navi Mumbai on Tuesday, police said.

Suraj Surve was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home in sector 4 of Kopar Khairane, an official said.

The deceased was an engineer and was working from home in light of the lockdown, while his family was stuck in their hometown, he said.

The police found a suicide note from the scene, in which the deceased said he was lonely, as he could not meet his family because of the lockdown, the official said.

A case of accidental death was registered in this regard, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By the time we have final numbers on cases and deaths we are likely to see that nursing home and assisted living residents together with the staff who work there will account for at least one third of the deaths in the U.S., he said. Data from some states such as Massachusetts already suggest that percentage could be far higher. Yet, this is an industry that has continually and often successfully lobbied for reduced regulation. Their performance during the pandemic suggests the opposite is required.
MONTREAL, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) today held its virtual annual meeting of stockholders. A total of 76,780,845 common shares, or 87.89% of the outstanding shares, were voted at the meeting. Shareholders voted in favor of each proposal, including the re-election of seven director nominees, by a 97.80% majority:











NOMINEE FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN NON-VOTES # of shares % # of shares % # of shares Randall C. Benson 70,113,685 98.1 1,318,929 1.8 35,410 5,312,821 Suzanne Blanchet 70,513,477 98.6 936,628 1.3 17,919 5,312,821 Jennifer C. Dolan 70,397,305 98.5 1,050,752 1.4 19,967 5,312,821 Yves Laflamme 70,528,217 98.7 924,054 1.3 15,753 5,312,821 Bradley P. Martin 70,153,732 98.2 1,280,482 1.8 33,810 5,312,821 Alain Rheaume 69,915,929 97.8 1,528,201 2.1 23,894 5,312,821 Michael S. Rousseau 70,141,677 98.1 1,305,731 1.8 20,616 5,312,821

The other proposals on which stockholders voted favorably included:

The ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the 2020 fiscal year.

An advisory vote to approve compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement.

A vote to approve the company's 2019 Equity Incentive Plan First Amendment, as disclosed in the proxy statement.

About Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products, newsprint and specialty papers, which are marketed in close to 70 countries. The company owns or operates some 40 facilities, as well as power generation assets, in the United States and Canada. Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Resolute has received regional, North American and global recognition for its leadership in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, as well as for its business practices. Visit www.resolutefp.com for more information.

SOURCE Resolute Forest Products Inc.

Related Links

www.resolutefp.com


But the scope of the endeavor underscores official sensitivities about any new flare-up in Wuhan, where the virus emerged in a market late last year. It comes after officials reported six new coronavirus cases in two days, confounding health experts after a 35-day streak without infections.

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It is important to realize that a decisive result does not equal a decisive victory; lowering the emergency response level does not equal lowering defenses, said Wang Zhonglin, a top Communist Party official in Wuhan, according to the state-run Changjiang Daily. We must not be careless or lax, he told a video conference of officials called to respond to a sudden spate of cases in the city.

Chinese lab conducted extensive research on deadly bat viruses, but there is no evidence of accidental release

Local health authorities reported that five people in one residential compound in Wuhan were diagnosed with the coronavirus Sunday, all of them linked to an elderly man who had been confirmed as infected the previous day.

They all lived in the Sanmin compound in the East West Lake district of Wuhan, which Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited in March during his first trip to the city since the outbreak began.

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The infections were the first found in Wuhan since the city emerged from its stringent 11-week lockdown on April 8.

After the cluster was discovered, all 5,000 residents of the Sanmin compound  where 20 people tested positive for the coronavirus during the lockdown  were ordered to undergo nucleic acid tests to screen for the virus and its disease, covid-19.

Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, reported its first cluster of infections May 11 since a lockdown was lifted a month ago. (Reuters)

But Wuhan authorities decided to go further. The citys epidemic prevention and control headquarters issued an emergency notice Monday ordering all district management units to submit plans by Tuesday for completing nucleic acid testing of all residents in their jurisdictions within 10 days.

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This 10-day battle would focus first on vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and infirm, and on densely populated communities, including those with a concentrated migrant population, the notice said.

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More than 1 million residents have been tested so far, the Yicai financial news site reported. It quoted an unnamed Wuhan epidemic response command center official as saying that the local government realized it had to expand the scope of testing to prevent a new wave of outbreaks.

As coronavirus goes global, Chinas Xi asserts victory on first trip to Wuhan since outbreak

The Wuhan cluster has been traced to an 89-year-old man who developed a fever on March 17 but recovered at home within 10 days without seeing a doctor.

He started to have health issues again last month, and last week he was confirmed as having the coronavirus. His wife and two other elderly couples in the compound also tested positive for the virus.

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There have been other prolonged cases similar to the mans case, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Actually, there is more than one such case in Wuhan; the course of disease could last 30 to 50 days for some patients, Wu said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV. The virus could take longer to manifest itself in patients with weak immunity, who are also prone to ons and offs of symptoms.

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Asked whether it is necessary to test the entire population in Wuhan, Wu said testing could be targeted to areas of known infections and that there was no need to do it in residential areas free of cases.

Trump says U.S. leads world in coronavirus testing, but numbers tell a different story

The cluster in Wuhan coincided with a spate of cases of community transmission in northeast Jilin province, prompting concerns about a new surge in infections. Shulan city in Jilin is now in wartime mode to stamp out the virus, according to city authorities, with all public places and public transportation off-limits.

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But Chinese medical experts tried to reassure people that this was not a new wave of the pandemic.

There will not be a new minor peak, Wu said. We have had the epidemic under control after more than three months of efforts and accumulated considerable experience in both diagnosis and [epidemic] notification. Therefore, we will not allow scattered cases to develop into massive outbreaks.

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Others agreed.

Considering the complexity of covid-19, which has an unclear incubation period and is sometimes asymptomatic, such kinds of sporadic cases are quite normal, Wang Peiyu, deputy head of Peking Universitys School of Public Health, told the Communist Party-linked Global Times tabloid.

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Liu Yang and Lyric Li in Beijing contributed to this report.

After trade war and pandemic, China and the U.S. step up fight over journalism

Australias coronavirus disputes with China are growing. So are debates over its deep economic ties to Beijing.

Fearing political dangers, China spent years preparing for this economic crash

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
New Delhi: The government has extended deadline for linking Aadhaar with ration cards till September 30, 2020, an official release said.

The announcement came following a newspapers report that ration cards of those who do not provide Aadhaar number will be cancelled.

The timeline given to all States/UTs, under the Aadhaar notification of the Department of Food and Public Distribution dated 07.02.2017 (as amended from time-to-time) to complete the seeding of Aadhaar numbers with all ration cards/beneficiaries, has been extended up to 30/09/2020 by the Department, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution release said.

The government further clarified that that no genuine beneficiary/household shall be denied from entitled quota of food grains, or their names/ration cards shall not be deleted/cancelled only on the ground of not possessing an Aadhaar number.

It has also issued instructions that food grains under NFSA shall not be denied due to failure of biometric / Aadhaar authentication of beneficiary because of poor biometrics of the beneficiary, issues with network/connectivity/linking or any other technical reasons.

During the current crisis situation, a pragmatic approach is needed so that no poor or deserving person or family is denied access to food grains. In due course linking of Aadhar to the ration card and beneficiaries will ensure that no person entitled to such ration is denied such access, the ministry said.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 12:24:04

Press Release - Boston, London, Nice, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, May 12, 2020

Scientific Beta white paper examines crowding risk of smart beta strategies

Thinking about the economic rationale behind a specific premium should provide ample answers to allay crowding concerns

In a new white paper entitled "Crowding Risk in Smart Beta Strategies," Scientific Beta's researchers have failed to find evidence that smart beta strategies have been adversely affected by a crowding effect.

As smart beta strategies gain in popularity, there are concerns that flows into these strategies will ultimately cancel out their benefits. However, such claims are rarely based on solid empirical evidence. The academic literature has not only documented risk premia for the standard factors but has also provided theoretical explanations for persistence, notably if factors are compensation for taking on additional types of risk. Moreover, precautions against crowding risks can be taken by proper implementation of factor investing and smart beta indices. In particular, the best precaution against crowding seems to be diversification.

It is possible that smart beta and factor strategies can be subject to adverse effects due to a wide following but one can only conclude that this is the case if there is evidence for it. Losses in a given strategy, meanwhile, are not evidence of crowding. Periodic underperformance may be due to normal fluctuations in prices.

Commenting on the paper, Professor Noel Amenc, CEO of Scientific Beta and a co-author of the paper, said, "Claiming that there must be crowding in a factor because it suffers from losses completely ignores the nature of risk premia. A risk premium corresponds to a higher average return that is the compensation for taking on additional risk. Therefore, losses to any factor strategy over any particular period do not imply that the long-term premium has disappeared because of "crowding". Such losses may simply suggest that the reward for holding the factor comes with associated risk. In addition, not only our work, but also work from other researchers shows that factor premia do not disappear when the research that justifies the premia is published."

The Scientific Beta white paper can be accessed through the link below:

Crowding Risk in Smart Beta Strategies, April 2020, Scientific Beta Publication

As part of its policy of transferring know-how to the industry, EDHEC-Risk Institute has set up Scientific Beta. Scientific Beta is an original initiative which aims to favour the adoption of the latest advances in smart beta design and implementation by the whole investment industry. Its academic origin provides the foundation for its strategy: offer, in the best economic conditions possible, the smart beta solutions that are most proven scientifically with full transparency of both the methods and the associated risks.

Scientific Beta, 1 George Street, #15-02, Singapore 049145. For further information, please contact: contact@scientificbeta.com, Web: www.scientificbeta.com.

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A left-wing liberal commentator accuses the government of violating the rights of transgender individuals by proposing restrictions on changing ones biological gender in official documents. A pro-government columnist thinks that the opposition is spreading conspiracy theories to weaken the government.

In a letter to the European Parliament, Gergely Gulyas, Minister in charge of the Prime Ministers Office wrote that the governments proposed changes to the documentation on biological gender do not interfere with the rights of transgender individuals.



Gulyas underscored that transgender individuals in Hungary can live and express their gender identity as they wish. The Hungarian government tabled the omnibus bill (see more here) that proposes that sex in official documents means biological sex, and therefore cannot be changed even in the case of sex adjustment surgery.



Nepszavas Gabor Czene thinks that the governments proposal to prevent the change of biological sex in IDs is in clear violation of the rights of transgender individuals.



The left-wing commentator finds it peculiar that the government uses the coronavirus emergency to restrict the rights of transgender people in an omnibus bill.



Czene recalls that 63 MEPs as well as transgender watchdog organizations called for the withdrawal of proposed legislation that, according to the critics, would severely limit the right of transgender individuals to freely express their identity.



Magyar Nemzets Otto Gajdics, on the other hand, contends that sex reassignment surgery is part of the dogmatic ideology of liberals that rejects all traditional values and authority.



The pro-government pundit believes that liberals want to destroy common sense norms in the name of enlightened rationality, unrestricted freedom and equality.



Gajdics accuses left-wing liberal critics of the government of spreading conspiracy theories in their efforts to delegitimize the government, even if this entails spreading fake news on the governments efforts to contain the coronavirus epidemic and save lives.



This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online.

Click here to Share Your Story




Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan



The following is a speech of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a video conference, May 5, where he spoke on combatting the coronavirus infection as well as on the disasters in Bukhara and Syrdarya regions.  ED.



What we all observe today is how humanity is struggling with both the coronavirus and equally the resulting economic crisis.



A growing number of countries are gradually softening lockdown measures to overcome the difficult situation.

Thanks to the Almighty, the epidemiological situation in Uzbekistan has currently been stabilizing. With each passing day, there are more recovering patients that those sick. So more people leaving the quarantine regime than those getting shut down. As a result, out of 2,204 patients infected with coronavirus, 1,454 or 66 percent of patients have fully recovered.



Eighty-three percent of quarantined people have already returned home. Positive dynamics are evident. All necessary measures are being taken to treat 740 patients remaining in hospitals, restore their health and return them to their families.

All this has been barely easy. To date, we have streamlined 2.025 trillion soums from the Anti-Crisis Fund and $500 million from funds of international financial institutions.



Today, no one in the world knows for sure how long this pandemic will last. Therefore, no matter how difficult it may be, we must learn to work and live in a pandemic, and in accordance with all its requirements.



Now, taking advantage of the fact that the epidemiological situation has changed for the better, we must gradually weaken the lockdown regime in our economy. These restrictions have a huge negative impact on economic development and the life of the population.



In this respect, we have taken the first steps to soften the quarantine requirements in order to create convenience for our people, especially farmers and entrepreneurs.





Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev speaks during a video conference in Tashkent, May 5. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan
The Hungarian government rejects fake news propagated by media outlets abroad, and it also objects to officials of EU member states spreading corresponding lies, Hungarys foreign minister has said.

The foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on Monday, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said on social media, citing the spread of fake news by the international liberal mainstream.



Szijjarto noted that his counterparts in the five countries had expressed support in a letter to the secretary general of the Council of Europe, who had raised concern about Hungarys coronavirus-related law.



Several of them had made individual statements citing lies now verging on the boring such as [the Hungarian government] building a dictatorship or striving for unlimited powers, he said.



The Hungarian nation is over one thousand years old and Hungarians reject pathetically hypocritical patronising, Szijjarto said.



The minister insisted that Hungarians are able to decide what they want and what they do not, adding that the foreign ministers of the five countries had better mind their own business.
Outcome of 2020 General Shareholders Meetings

Brussels, May 12, 2020 - Solvay today held its General Shareholders Meetings virtually.

Shareholders voted in favor of all the resolutions proposed. More specifically, they approved the payment of a gross dividend of 3.75 per share for the year 2019. After deduction of the interim dividend of 1.50 gross per share, paid in January 2020, the balance amounts to 2.25 gross per share, payable as of May 20, 2020.

During the General Shareholders Meeting, shareholders also approved the appointment of Aude Thibaut de Maisieres as independent board member to replace Jean-Marie Solvay.

The Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting granted certain authorizations to the Board of Directors and updated the articles of associations of the Company taking into account the new Companies and Associations Code (CAC).

Details of the resolutions and voting results as well as a replay of the shareholders' meetings are available on Solvay's website, in the Investors section .

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NEW YORK - A fake business opportunity. Twenty-six victims. Nearly a half-million dollars.

That was the latest narrative for perennial fraudster Dana Dray McCann, sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to a single count of identity fraud and ordered to pay $436,000 in restitution to dozens of people across the country he lured into a get-rich-quick business plan centered on so-called fat freezing technology.

It was McCanns fifth fraud conviction and his third in federal court. The first came in 2002 after stealing nearly $2 million from a group of prominent businessmen and an attorney in Western Massachusetts. His scams then focused on a horse farm and real estate deals.

McCann, now 67, was sentenced to eight years in prison for that bamboozle, was released in 2010, went back to prison for two years for scamming a wealthy divorcee out of cash and jewelry, then got out and began posing as a chiropractor and later a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon in New York and New Jersey.

He was arrested last year in South Carolina on a fugitive warrant stemming from an open case in New Jersey. Two women in the southern state worked with authorities to lure McCann to a McDonalds restaurant with the promise of more money, they said during interviews with The Republican. He was arrested and has been held behind bars ever since. McCann was charged in New York late last year in connection with scams in that city.

In fact, three of his victims in the current federal prosecution still referred to him as Dr. Dan during his sentencing hearing this morning, even as they denounced him as a phony and a thief.

Dr. Dan ... This man is a dangerous, reckless, evil man. I am disgusted. I am appalled. I would spit in his face if I could, said Thomas Crompton, an accountant from Maryland who told a judge McCann conned him into being a front man for the Cryoslim company McCann purportedly established.

McCanns defense attorney said his client grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father who was an occasionally employed mechanic and lost the familys house to foreclosure.

The scam in question was simple: The silver-tongued doctor met his marks in various settings: spas, art exhibits and even at church services, convincing them to invest thousands of dollars in fat-freezing equipment. They would reap the rewards with cuts of the proceeds from what was sure to be a flood of patients, McCann told them.

At one point, McCann set up a fake email account and posed as a Chinese investor named Hanzhou Gouw. As it turns out, Gouw was actually a former cellmate of McCann in federal prison with no connection to the scheme, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson.

The fat freezing swindle persisted for four years. Some victims offered up their life savings. For instance Debra Albert, also of Maryland, gave McCann $116,000 she received after her parents died.

Let me tell ya, I came from an alcoholic family but I didnt grow up to be a thief  I am not buying that story at all, and Ive lost a heck of a lot of money, Albert told U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.

Another woman, Samantha Kahn of New York, said McCann stole $6,000 from her and left her with debilitating back pain, to boot, after performing chiropractic procedures.

I am up for another round of epidurals due to some of the things that he did, Kahn told the judge. Being in pain every day reminds me of him.

James Formica, an agent with the Food and Drug Administration, originally began investigating McCann for posing as a physician, then began tracking fraud victims around the country, court records show.

When it was his turn to address Broderick, McCann said he never meant to hurt his investors and vowed to pay their money back.

I hope they come to understand that I had no intent to hurt any of these people, but I did hurt them and that shames me, he said.

McCann never satisfied the restitution he was ordered to pay to his Western Massachusetts victims nearly 20 years ago, according to court records. For his part, Broderick told McCann he was skeptical of his argument that he was conducting business in good faith for much of the time he was marketing the fat freezing venture.

That shouldnt have taken four years and over $436,000 to figure out that this business plan wasnt going to work  and 26 victims, the judge said.
With a record-breaking 226 consecutive wins in the ratings and a string of scandals in his wake, Alan Jones will leave 2GB as the most successful, influential and controversial radio host Australia has ever known.

But while many listeners and conservative politicians will mourn his unexpected decision to resign on Tuesday, few inside Nine Entertainment Co's headquarters will be doing the same.

Outgoing 2GB Breakfast Show host Alan Jones. Credit:Nick Moir

Indeed, his decision to step down for health reasons - just a year after signing a new contract - papers over the financial cracks that have appeared in his program.

Joness resignation is an "out" for a media company paying millions of dollars a year to a broadcaster whose controversial comments about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last year cost his breakfast program large sums of money from advertisers. Some of that revenue has never returned. Nine also owns The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Mexico sent a diplomatic note to the US government on Monday demanding information on whether Mexican government officials knew about the failed 2009-2010 Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in the note that if Mexican officials were aware of the scheme, as some testimony suggests, then they violated the country's laws.

But if Mexico wasn't advised of the operation, then Mexico's sovereignty would have been violated by US agents, the department said.

In the scheme, US federal agents allowed criminals to buy firearms with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations.

But the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, including two found at the scene of the 2010 killing of a US Border Patrol agent.

Authorities who conducted the investigation faced criticism for allowing suspected gun buyers for a smuggling ring to walk away from gun shops in Arizona with weapons, rather than arrest them and seize the guns.

The investigation's failures were later examined in US congressional hearings.

Many of Mexico's drug gang killings are carried out with weapons smuggled in from the United States; the operation had been meant to stem that flow.

The diplomatic note said: The Mexican government asks to be given all the available information on the Fast and Furious Operation, in the framework of cooperation and mutual trust that characterizes the close relations between our two countries.

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

Defence deputy minister Victor Matemadanda has been taken to court by fellow war veteran, Amos Sigauke who is claiming $400 000 damages for criminal defamation.

Sigauke recently issued summons against Matemadanda, accusing him of soiling his character through a newspaper article published in a local daily in July this year.

He claimed Matemadanda accused him and his pressure group, War Veterans Pressure Group (WVPG) of being sponsored to destabilise President Emmerson Mnangagwas government.

The statements were made with the intention to defame plaintiffs and to injure their respective reputations. As a result of the defamation, plaintiffs have jointly and severally the one being injured the other to suffer, been damaged in their reputation and they have suffered damages in the sum of $400 000.

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The statements by the defendant are wrongful and defamatory to the plaintiffs. The statements were understood by the addressees and were intended by the defendant to mean that plaintiffs are dishonest and without morale fibre in that they associate themselves with rapists. Additionally, the statements by the defendant were understood by the ordinary reader to depict that plaintiffs are engaging in acts to subvert a constitutionally elected government through unconstitutional means, Sigauke said.

In the same summons, Sigauke is also claiming interest at the prescribed rate from the date of judgement to the date of full and final payment, as well as 10% collection commission in terms of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

The matter is pending.
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Linkedin Kiyoshi Takenaka (Reuters) Tokyo, Japan  Tue, May 12, 2020 16:15 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd784425 2 World Japan,test-kits,coronavirus,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,COVID-19,COVID-19-test,coronavirus-testing Free

Japan plans to approve its first coronavirus antigen testing kits on Wednesday, a health ministry official said, to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

Fujirebio, a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings, last month applied for government approval for its antigen kit.

Antigen tests scan for proteins found on or inside a virus, and typically test a sample taken from the nasal cavity using swabs. The tests can detect the virus quickly but produce false negatives at a higher rate than the currently dominant PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests.

"It is difficult to keep track of all those who are infected with PCR tests alone," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference on Tuesday.

"We will try and get a good grasp of the infection situation with various measures such as antigen tests and antibody tests."

Japan has reported about 16,680 confirmed infections, including 712 from the cruise ship previously quarantined in Yokohama, and 670 deaths to date, public broadcaster NHK said.

Although those tallies are relatively low given its population of 126 million, critics say the low rate of testing has made it difficult to trace the virus, which has led to a series of in-hospital infections, crippling some facilities.

Japan has conducted 188 PCR tests per 100,000 people, versus 3,159 in Italy and 3,044 in Germany, data from a panel of medical experts advising the government showed.

Faced with criticism, Japan eased access to PCR tests this month. Antigen tests, once approved, will likely supplement PCR tests, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato has said.

It takes about 30 minutes to get a result with Fujirebio's palm-sized antigen test kit, compared with four to six hours for a PCR test, the health ministry said in a statement.

Fujirebio can produce 200,000 kits per week, roughly on par with the number of PCR tests conducted in April in Japan.

Demand for rapid testing kits has surged with governments scrambling to contain the pandemic that has infected more than 4 million people worldwide and killed over 285,000.

The United States has approved its first antigen kit, made by Quidel Corp, while Malaysia has approved the use of rapid test kits from South Korea.

Japan has approved Gilead Sciences' remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, making it the country's first authorized drug to tackle the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government aims to approve by the end of the month Fujifilm Holdings Corp's anti-flu drug Avigan as a treatment for COVID-19.
Iran's ambassador urges EU to take practical measures in support of JCPOA

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 11, IRNA -- Iran's Ambassador to Croatia Parviz Esmaeili in a videoconference on Monday with the non-European ambassadors residing in the country reiterated that EU's single voice in support of multilateralism and JCPOA should be turned into a single resolve and practice.

As the founders of the European Union have reiterated that the union was set up to strengthen multilateralism, ensure common interests and resolve regional and international disputes and crises, world's current situation is a sign of propriety of this goal-setting, he said.

Referring to the motto of the Croatian government during its rotating presidency of the EU; 'Strong European Union in a world full of challenges', he said that Iran has always supported realization of a strong EU in world full of challenges and appreciates the important role of the rotating president in this respect.

The envoy slammed US unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, saying that EU's role in supporting the international role was positive. But the single voice should turn into single action in line with its implementation.

It's only in that case the European Union can be a reliable mainstay for diplomacy, peace and cooperation in the world, Esmaeili reiterated.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, for his part, said during the video conference that peace and security in the Middle East is significant for Croatia and it will support any initiative in the field.

"I believe peace has no replacement. Respecting each other and international commitments are very important and we are duty-bound to reinforce peace processes," he said.

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How would President Obama be reacting to the collapse of the case against Michael Flynn if Flynn were a black teen?

Picture a racist white FBI agent who hates a black student and became enraged when that teen publicly insulted one of the agents close friends. Say the FBI sends two guys over to the teens house, claiming it suspects him of being involved in drug trafficking, and starts asking the kid questions in hopes that the kid will lie.

Suppose the FBI does not read the kid his rights before questioning him. Suppose the FBI discourages the kid from hiring a lawyer and tells the kid its investigation is friendly, not an effort to incriminate him. Suppose further that the FBI, after grilling the kid, still doesnt think he lied (but merely that he forgot details of things hed been asked about). Suppose the FBI then dragged out the case so long that the kid rang up $5 million in legal bills, then threatened to arrest the kids mother. Suppose the FBI withheld exculpatory evidence from the kids lawyers and agreed to leave the kids mother alone if he pleaded guilty  but didnt tell the judge about this side deal.

If the teen finally pleaded guilty to a single count of making false statements, would Obama then say, Aha! Justice is served! The kid admits being guilty!? If the prosecutors, years later, finally dropped the case against the kid, would Obama say, You begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk because he thought the kid deserved everything that had happened to him?

All of the above is pretty much exactly what happened to Michael Flynn. Except the team that went after Michael Flynn didnt hate him because of racial difference; they hated him because of political difference. The personal insult Flynn delivered was when he publicly went after Hillary Clinton, leading the cries to Lock her up at the Republican National Convention. The FBI did indeed fail to advise Flynn that they were targeting him rather than seeking information about phone calls with the Russian ambassador that they had already listened to. They discouraged him from having a lawyer present and didnt read him anything like the Miranda warning. They did indeed pour so much trouble on Flynn that he amassed some $5 million in legal bills (and had to put his house up for sale). They didnt initially think that he had lied, but merely had a faulty memory. Instead of threatening his mother, the FBI threatened to indict his son, and someone leaked this to the media so that Flynns sons reputation would be damaged in any event. And the FBI did indeed withhold exculpatory evidence from Flynns lawyers.

Story continues

The effort to nail Flynn fell under the heading of counterintelligence rather than a criminal case, but either way the state must have a legitimate suspicion of underlying wrongdoing before it can start harassing someone. The Obama administration did not have a legitimate basis for going after Flynn, and its obvious they didnt because of two words that are the political equivalent of Thats what she said  an old punchline called the Logan Act.

No one has ever been convicted under the Logan Act because the Logan Act is pure bushwa. Everyone in politics knows this. Everyone who merely follows politics from the outside knows this. I know this, and I never spent a day in law school. Do you seriously think lawyer and former FBI director James Comey didnt know this, or former constitutional law lecturer and president Barack Obama didnt know this? The discussion between the two of them in the White House on January 5, 2017, about going after Flynn under the Logan Act because he talked to the Russian ambassador does not pass the laugh test. When someone says, Lets indict someone under the Logan Act, he might as well be saying, Lets indict someone under the Abracadabra Act. If the Logan Act were a functioning law, someone would have been convicted under it at some point in the 200 years since it was passed. And Jane Fonda, Dennis Rodman, Jimmy Carter, and John Kerry all would have been busted under it. Moreover, all of these people, unlike Michael Flynn, were not the incoming national-security adviser whose job it is to do things like talk to the Russian ambassador. Constitutional-law professor Jonathan Turley notes, The use of the Logan Act against the incoming national security adviser would have been not only patently unconstitutional but positively ludicrous.

A country that respects the rule of law has to respect the rule of having a good reason to go after somebody. If theres no legitimate cause to suspect the target of anything, the state could come after anybody for any reason  because an investigator is racist, sexist, hates Latinos, hates gays, or just has a personal vendetta. The rule of law is meaningless if the state sets about nailing somebody on a phony pretext, hoping that the process of investigation will cause some crime such as perjury or obstruction to occur. Its a terrible affront to the rule of law when the law is misused to target an innocent black teenager. But the affront is much worse when its a high-ranking public official who gets targeted. The attack on Flynn was an attempt to delegitimize and undercut the lawfully elected Trump administration to aid the prospects of the Democratic Party. This attempt was extremely successful; the Democrats media arm, otherwise known as the media, spent nearly three years promoting the bogus theory that the administration and/or Trump himself had carried out illegal acts of collusion with the Russians.

Our political press is remarkably incurious about tracing the chain of motives when it comes to questionable doings by Democrats, but suspecting Obama of being behind the persecution of Michael Flynn is pretty easy when you remember the backstory of these two mens relationship. Flynn, a registered Democrat, had worked for President Obama as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency for two years, Obama fired him, then Flynn publicly shamed Obama by blasting his ISIS strategy and saying his Iran Deal was terrible. Recall that Obama ran the tightest ship of any president in modern history, demanding and receiving the utmost level of loyalty: Essentially no major leakers damaged his presidency. No one close to him ever published a tell-all memoir undermining him. Then Flynn came along. Obama must have been incensed to see his former official tearing him apart on Fox News, then going full MAGA with his histrionics at the Republican convention, where Flynn was the only major Obama-administration turncoat to speak on Trumps behalf, and gave perhaps the nastiest speech of the entire affair.

It irked Obama that Flynn might wind up on top, with a plum position in the Trump administration. But Obama couldnt undermine Flynn by starting a PR campaign against him, because the position of national-security adviser doesnt require cabinet confirmation. So Obama tried to talk Trump out of hiring Flynn. It must have been painful for Obama to beg for a favor from his worst enemy in order to sabotage another enemy, so he couched the request as friendly advice, as though Obama had any friendly feelings toward Trump. When this failed, Obamas mind perhaps turned to finding a backdoor means of taking out Flynn.

Did Obama break any laws? Maybe not. Was he part of an unconscionable effort to weaponize the police powers of the state against a political enemy? It sure looks that way. How else do you explain that Comey and Obama just casually discussed using the obviously phony pretext of the Logan Act for going after Flynn in the January 5, 2017, meeting while Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general, sat there in amazement that her own supposed underling, Comey, would cook up something so obviously bogus and politically explosive as this case without telling her?

Put it this way: Knowing of Obamas interest in these matters, is it plausible that the FBI acted as it did without his approval? If the media were one-tenth as interested in Obama scandals as they are in those relating to Trump, it would be shouting from the rooftops that the real Russia-collusion scandal was the effort to gin up a fake scandal to either damage Trump politically or take him out. As it is, most of the medias response to the Flynn-Obama debacle has been boredom, shrugging and whataboutism: As Brian Stelter groused on CNN, right-wingers are treating the Michael Flynn story like its a bigger deal than the deaths of 2,000 Americans a day. Youd think someone who works at a 24/7 media company would understand that more than one story can be hugely important.

More from National Review
Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy, who presided over her company with steady force and a passion for books during a time of frequent and traumatic change, died Tuesday morning at age 71.

Her death, from a heart attack, was announced by Dennis Eulau, the companys chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

'Carolyn was both an exemplary leader and a supremely talented and visionary publishing executive,' Eulau said in a statement about Reidy, who joined Simon & Schuster in 1992 and had served as CEO since 2008. 'As a publisher and a leader, Carolyn pushed us to stretch to do just that little bit more; to do our best and then some for our authors, in whose service she came to work each day with an unbridled and infectious enthusiasm and great humor.'

Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy died Tuesday morning at age 71. She is pictured here in May 2018. She is pictured in May 2018 with Stephen King

Reidy joined Simon & Schuster in 1992 and had served as CEO since 2008. She is pictured in 2017

Simon & Schuster is one of the so-called 'Big Five' New York based publishers, with authors including Stephen King, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Bob Woodward, who in an email to The Associated Press called her 'One of the great publishers and book people of all time' and praised her as 'both tough and generous.'

On Twitter, novelist Jennifer Weiner noted that she had worked with Reidy for her whole career.

'She was a trailblazer and a role model and a champion for me and so many other women,' Weiner wrote of Reidy, who at the time of her death was the only woman running one of the Big Five publishers. 'Most of all, she was a smart and passionate reader.'

Reidy confronted many crises and upheavals at Simon & Schuster, whether the rise of e-books, the financial crash of 2008 that happened within months of her becoming CEO or the current coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish said the publisher was up for sale, telling an investor conference, 'Simon & Schuster is not a core asset. Its not video based.'

When she died, Reidy was the only woman running one of the Big Five publishers. She is pictured with novelist Mary Higgins Clark in 2007

In 2017, she was named the industry's Person of the Year by the trade publication Publisher Weekly, which cited her leadership 'through the Great Recession, publishings digital disruption, and a slow-growth sales environment all while keeping Simon & Schuster a commercial and critical success.'

She was an undergraduate at Middlebury College, and received a master's degree and a doctorate in English from Indiana University.

Reidy had worked in publishing for much of her adult life, starting in 1974 in the subsidiary rights division of Random House. Before coming to Simon & Schuster, she was president and publisher of Avon Books.

Reidy's death comes three months after the passing of one of Simon & Schuster's most celebrated editors, Alice Mayhew, and less than four months after the death of longtime Simon & Schuster author Mary Higgins Clark.
[May 12, 2020] Sorenson Responds to FCC Directive to Access 988 Lifeline

SALT LAKE CITY, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Sorenson Communications announced the availability of 988 dialing to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which provides 24/7 emotional support for people in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis.

Sorenson is responding to the directive of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide direct-dialing 988 access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. When Deaf callers dial 988 on a Sorenson ntouch device, they will get confidential access to the Lifeline through Sorenson Relay interpreters. The 988 number is not yet available on a nationwide basis and is available now only for Sorenson customers. As with all calls processed through Sorenson Communications, the FCC mandates complete confidentiality of call content. In addition, Sorenson Relay interpreters are bound by a Code of Professional Conduct, which clearly states that any information in an interpreted setting will be kept strictly confidential. Sorenson always supports Deaf communication access, but especially in critical times of need or crisis, notes Sorenson CEO Scott Wood. We are here to serve customers 24/7 y supporting access to the lifeline and to assist lifeline staff in providing support and awareness.



The 988 number is now added to a host of three-digit, community resource numbers that can be reached through Sorenson ntouch devices. "We want to support our community by providing easy access to 988 and to interpreters, says Sorenson Vice President of Marketing Lance Pickett. We are also working to raise awareness about the availability of this valuable resource. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can also be accessed by calling 1-800-273-8255. For more information about the Lifeline, visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Sorenson Communications, LLC

Sorenson Communications, LLC (www.sorenson.com) Connects Life. Sorenson was founded on the principle that communication and being understood is fundamental to the human experience. Inspired by this belief and the core values of our communities, we develop the most trusted communication offerings, including Sorenson Relay, the highest-quality video interpreting service, and Sorenson Interpreting, which matches qualified sign language interpreters to specific in-person or over-video assignment needs. As the largest private employer of Deaf people and sign language interpreters, Sorenson endeavors to provide each customer with an exceptional communication experience. Sorenson offers innovative, Deaf-specific communication products, such as ntouch videophones and ntouch software applications that connect PC, Mac, and mobile device users to Sorenson Relay. For more information, visit www.sorenson.com . Press Contact Ann Bardsley CaptionCall/Sorenson Communications 801-287-9400 [email protected]

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he reopens Tesla in California, despite state instructions to suspend virtually all industrial plants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes, California approved, but an unelected county official illegally overrode. Also, all other auto companies in US are approved to resume. Only Tesla has been singled out. This is super messed up!" Musk tweeted.

Musk earlier said that he would pull Tesla's headquarters from California out to Texas or Nevada if the decree to close factories was not canceled.

California authorities have already eased quarantine restrictions, allowing industrial production to resume. However, the Tesla plant is located in Fermont, Alameda County, and its authorities have not yet lifted the ban on opening businesses.

The Alameda County Health Department said it was in constant contact with Tesla regarding the opening of the plant and was considering the situation as it would with any other company that violated the lockdown rules.

According to Reuters, Tesla executives sent an email to their employees noting that the decision to open a plant complied with the rules approved by the California authorities.
Pakistan has reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to the earliest possible in an effort to bring back more citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.

Following Prime Minister Imran Khan's directive to bring stranded citizens back home, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), in coordination with the provinces and health professionals, reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to earliest possible, Dawn reported.

According to the paper, passengers will be transported to quarantine centres and will stay there until the return of tests results, after which they may be quarantined or instructed to self-isolate at home as per the provincial health authorities' directions.

This strategy will allow to raise the weekly cap for inbound passengers from 7,000-8,000 to 11,000-12,000 under the current policy, it said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Moeed Yusuf announced the new policy during on Monday and said the authorities were working day and night to resolve problems of stranded Pakistanis.

Inbound passengers will be allowed a preference between two modes of quarantine, free of cost government quarantine centers or paid government regulated hotels/facilities, he said.

Testing will be conducted as soon as possible after arrival at a quarantine facility. The passengers with negative results to be sent home with guidelines on home isolation for completion of 14-day period, it said, adding that symptomatic patients will be treated as per prescribed health protocols.

Positive cases will not be returned to home province until completion of quarantine period.

The total number of passengers planned from May 11 to 21 is approximately 11,000, with stranded passengers being repatriated from at least 22 countries. Countries from which majority flights are incoming are the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the US and Oman.

"We have been able to repatriate about 23,000 Pakistanis so far, with a total of about 100,000 Pakistanis still registered as stranded across the globe," Yusuf said.

On Monday, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) special flight carrying 179 passengers arrived at Islamabad International Airport from Washington after US granted permission to operate chartered flights for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from America.

All passengers and crew members were subjected to thermal scanning test by the health authorities. However, no suspected case of coronavirus was detected.

The United States Department of Transportation has granted permission to PIA to operate 12 round-trip or one-way chartered flights to evacuate citizens stranded in both countries.
Le Tuyet Hang, 64, is escorted by her son to bask in the sun at Hanoi's National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, May 11, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Chi Le.

Hang knew she had nothing to fear from the coronavirus, although shed heard that it had killed people overseas. She was deadly wrong.

Supported by two nurses, Le Tuyet Hang, 64, slowly got out of the bed and stepped carefully and slowly across the hospital floor. They were her first steps in two months  after she was admitted to Hanois National Hospital of Tropical Diseases as a Covid-19 patient on March 7.

Even when she was diagnosed with virus, Hang wasnt unduly worried. She expected to be discharged after a few days. Instead, Hang, Vietnam's 19th coronavirus patient, has undergone the longest treatment of all 288 patients recorded so far in the country, and is still one of its most critical cases.

In the beginning, Hang felt just fine. She remembered eating a bow of vermicelli for breakfast on March 14 and telling her son that the meals the hospital cooked were great, and that eating well would help her recover from the disease faster.

She was wrong, again. A week later, while she was simply watching TV, she fell into a coma.

"I dont even remember when exactly I passed out. One day when I woke up, I was on oxygen and lying in a room full of equipment," Hang said.

She could tell that there was no strength left in her as she tried to muster even the smallest of movements. She felt scared. She had no idea why shed become so weak when shed felt so healthy before, or why the disease had progressed so quickly. By her bed, her two sons were constantly asking if she was alright and if she recognized them.

"I never knew that I was in a critical condition. Doctors told me they tried to resuscitate me dozens of times, but it didnt work. I finally breathed again at the 47th time. They were good doctors," she said.

Le Tuyet Hang, 64, receives Covid-19 treatment at Hanoi's National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, May 11, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Chi Le.

Hang was suffering from severe respiratory failure when she was put into the intensive care unit (ICU), said doctor Mac Duy Hung. She could have lost her life at any moment, so doctors and nurses had to stay on duty and do whatever they can to keep her alive, he added.

Her heart suddenly stopped one night on April 7, forcing doctors to defibrillate her and perform other emergency procedures continuously for 40 minutes.

"Luckily they worked. We thought we would not be able to save her, that she would die then," said Hung.

Hang was infected by her 26-year-old niece, Nguyen Hong Nhung, who was confirmed infected with Covid-19 on March 6, four days after she returned to Hanoi from London. Nhungs case ended Vietnams 22-day streak of no new Covid-19 infection at the time.

"I do not blame my niece for what happened," said Hang. Nhung, Hanois first and Vietnams 17th Covid-19 patient, did not report her medical status upon arrival in Vietnam, despite having traveled to the U.K., Italy and France before. She is believed to have infected her familys housemaid and chauffeur as well.

Hang said her niece was young and did not know better. She wanted people to stop criticizing Nhung, she said.

Right now, all Hang wants is to be discharged and return to her family in Saigons District 9. She had left them late January and gone to visit Hanoi. Her brothers, sisters, husband and sons are all waiting for her return, she said.

"Im still too weak now, so I have to try and get better."

She remained positive despite her unexpected close encounter with death: "Thanks to everyones efforts, I am still alive and get to continue my unfinished business."
The Assam police has issued an



order to district police chiefs to ensure that action is taken against people abandoning their animal companions over COVID-19 fears and against pet shop owners who left animals unfed in locked shops, a police officer said on Tuesday.

The state police headquarters issued the order to the Guwahati city commissioner of police and all superintendents of police following a letter from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to the Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta.

PETA India Emergency Response Team's associate manager Meet Ashari in a press release on Tuesday said, "We thank the Assam police for directing its officials to ensure that those who treat animals cruelly during the COVID-19 crisis are booked under the stringent provisions of the law.

"Breeders and pet shops sell animals to anyone willing to buy them often on a whim no matter their ability to care for them. And now, there's concern that both pet shops and the people who buy animals from them are neglecting or abandoning animals in their care."



According to the Indian Veterinarian Association, the current spread of COVID-19 is a result of human-to-human transmission, Ashari said.

"Till date, there is no evidence that companion animals spread the disease. Therefore, there is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare," the release said.

In its letter, PETA India pointed out that the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had in its March 11 advisory acknowledged that some people were abandoning their pets on the streets without food and water and urged law-enforcement authorities of the states and union territories to take action against such offences.

In another advisory on March 23, the AWBI requested the law-enforcement authorities to ensure that no animals suffer from hunger during the lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak.

The following day it also advised that district authorities must search pet shops in case animals are locked inside without adequate food, water, and ventilation and rescue such animals when necessary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AHMEEK, MI  The man behind a billboard campaign to reopen businesses says he believes in the need to protect the health of people potentially impacted by the coronavirus and in the desire of state officials to minimize harm.

But thats not stopping Erik Kiilunen from openly calling on business owners to defy Michigans stay-at-home order, which prohibits certain businesses from opening.

Kiilunen, a self-described introvert and father of 10 who owns two U.P. businesses -- a roofing and insulation business and a composite rebar business -- calls his message one of peaceful civil disobedience" and not one used to spread anger.

You dont have to be raucous, you dont have to bring guns, but if we stand up peacefully, what are they going to do? Kiilunen said.

Those who have driven through the state recently may have seen digital billboards Kiilunen purchased that read All business is essential. Theyve popped up near Detroit Metro Airport, on highways around the Detroit suburbs, and in downtown Lansing and Grand Rapids.

A crowdfunding campaign to keep the billboards posted has raised over $20,000 and Kiilunen says he hopes to buy more in states outside Michigan as the message spreads to other states where businesses have closed to slow the spread.

The idea of the billboards started when he realized how hurt his business was by the closures. Kiilunen says he bought them because he doesnt think the governors approach to handling the majority of businesses is the right one.

With that in mind, Kiilunen announced May 21 as Michigan Take Yourself to Work Day. A day in which hes encouraging any business owner who feels they can safely be open, to do so.

In the recent past we had the leisure to dedicate a day to taking our children to work in order to show them what puts food on the table and what makes the country run. Its time we reminded ourselves, Kiilunen said in a press release announcing the day. The American citizen has no obligation to sit idly by while his savings and his livelihood are bled dry.

He says one of his companies lost over $600,000 in business when the states orders went into effect and he hasnt been able to recoup that money. In turn, hes had to lay off 10 employees and isnt sure if he can pick up where he left off once business does begin again.

Im a concerned business owner and the decision I made was look if I dont have any business, what do I have to lose? Kiilunen said, adding he knows not everyone is going to support his message. We have a free society, we have the ability to speak our minds, but if you arent willing to do that, you lose it.

Although Kiilunen says the call to reopen is not politically motivated, he admits he thinks the governors orders defy common sense and not enough trust has been given to small business owners to keep their operations running safely.

Im smart enough to know what risk is. The risk up here is minuscule, Kiilunen said.

According to state data, Keweenaw County, where Kiilunen lives, has zero confirmed cases of COVID-19. Directly south is Houghton County, where there are two confirmed cases. Killunen says he understands its dangerous in southeast Michigan, but he thinks people should be able to choose for themselves if they want to work.

Gov. Whitmer has said on numerous occasions that she will only consider relaxing restrictions as data continues to show that state has experienced a reduction in cases and as confidence in the ability of hospital systems to manage the COVID-19 caseload improves. Real estate, construction and manufacturing have all been allowed to reopen as the states caseload shrinks.

A major concern for health officials is a potential outbreak in an area where local health systems cannot handle hundreds of cases of COVID-19 at a time. Re-engagement of the economy is happening according to the governors office, despite what some may say.

The governors office, in a statement sent by spokesperson Chelsea Lewis, said Governor Whitmer acknowledges the sacrifices that Michiganders are making during this unprecedented and stressful time but COVID 19 is still present in 79 out of 83 counties and is still a very real threat to our state. As the governor has previously said, the majority of Michiganders are following the orders.

Were seeing businesses, organizations and countless Michiganders that continue to do their part and because of that weve pushed the curve down dramatically, save our health care system, ramped up our PPE, testing and tracing which has enabled us to safely begin to phase in sectors of our economy.

As of May 10, Michigan has reported 47,138 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,551 deaths.

Still, Kiilunen told employees at his businesses last week that they could return to work if they wanted to. Regardless of if they had business on the books, Kiilunen said he allowed workers to come back and clean up the shops and prepare for an inevitable reopening.

Kiilunen informed management that he will pay whatever fines are assessed and employees who dont want to come back, dont have to, adding their jobs would be waiting for them when they feel safe to return.

As for other business owners, Kiilunen thinks those owners who want to open should partner together with other local businesses to get the economy moving. He believes in strength in numbers and says even if law officers want to enforce the order, he says they cant arrest everybody.

He believes people in Michigan will support the idea because of the support shown for Karl Manke, the Owosso barber who recently reopened his barber shop and defied the governors order. Manke has been fined by local police but has said he wont close until hes arrested or Jesus walks in.

Attorney General Dana Nessels office declined to specifically comment on Kiilunens billboards or the encouragement of businesses to reopen. However, the office issued a statement on businesses that elect to reopen in violation of the governors orders.

The Attorney Generals office continues to work with state and local partners to ensure compliance of the Governors executive orders. Willful violations of those orders are considered a misdemeanor and subject to fines, jail time and licensing penalties for businesses. In addition, we are reviewing potential enforcement action that could be imposed through various state and local agencies should additional measures be needed. A successful COVID-19 response requires we all do our part and work together toward the common goal of protecting human life," said Ryan Jarvi, press secretary for Nessels office in a statement to MLive.

Kiilunen says he knows not everyone is ready to start going back to work or to start shopping at local businesses. For those who feel that way, he says he understands, but life is not without risk and at some point, Kiilunen believes people will have to just learn to live knowing the virus is present.

Its not going away. We have to use common sense to be prepared and do the best we can, he 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.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Monday, May 11: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Michigan tops 47,000 coronavirus cases; 25 new deaths reported

Michigan coronavirus crisis causes delays in other health care, sometimes with deadly consequences
Care in emergency departments (EDs) must now be "upgraded" to ensure social distancing for staff and patients and to allow the segregation of people with infectious disease.

That's according to the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM), which said care in EDs must now be "reset" to allow emergency medical care for those that need it in a safe way for patients and staff.

The organisation said that, as Ireland moves from a pandemic to an endemic state in relation to Covid-19, "three important principles" need to be at the heart of what happens in ED care.

Firstly, it stressed that EDs can not be allowed to become reservoirs of hospital or healthcare-acquired infection (nosocomial) for patients.

As a result, ED infrastructure must be upgraded to allow social distancing for staff and patients and allow segregation/ isolation of those with infectious disease.

The IAEM said that staffing in ED settings must be adequate to compensate for the extra time required in certain patient encounters in safely putting on and taking off personal protective equipment (PPE) and that there must be rapid access to the supports necessary so that patients spend as short a time as possible in the ED.

Secondly, the organisation stressed that EDs and hospitals cannot be allowed to become crowded again.

"Unoccupied beds must be always available so that once a decision is made that a patient needs to be admitted to a hospital bed (25%-30% of those who attend ED), this can occur immediately.

"There must be adequate isolation areas on wards so that patients are not kept in the ED simply because of infection control concerns  this is completely unacceptable," said a statement.

Thirdly, the IAEM said that pathways to treat patients outside the hospital setting should be "consolidated and significantly enhanced".

It said that the risk of nosocomial infection will always be greater in the congregated setting of the acute hospital than in more dispersed community settings.

"This is particularly the case in the ED, which sees undifferentiated patients in whom the diagnosis may not be clear. Large numbers of patients must not be expected to gather in ED waiting rooms with long delays to see a clinician," it said.

The organisation stressed that some patients with certain less urgent conditions should be able to avail of other care pathways and that the ED must be the best place to deliver the right care "at the right time to the right patient, rather than the only place available".
With roughly 10 days to train employees and certify premises as prepped, many Connecticut workplaces are finding the May 20 date for non-essential offices to reopen a little close for comfort.

Under Gov. Ned Lamonts Reopen Connecticut plan, restaurants, malls, salons and offices of all types must use an online form to certify their facilities have checked off a list of requirements, ranging from sanitizers to spacing between work stations, prior to reopening.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development is creating a website for businesses to do so, allowing them to print a badge noting their compliance. The state is taking calls at its 2-1-1 information line for anyone who spots safety lapses that are not addressed by building owners or tenants.

Employers must put up signs in offices noting the information line for workers to report any unsafe practices.

In commercial office buildings, once workers arrive, responsibility for their safety will belong to building owners in common areas and tenants in their own leased premises, under the plan drawn up by Lamonts Reopen Connecticut committee.

Well ... have an enforcement mechanism there, somebody either from the local municipality or from ourselves  state police or otherwise  saying these rules are the executive order, Lamont said Monday afternoon. Maybe well warn you the first time. ... The second time around, itll be tougher than that.

Citing CDC and OSHA guidelines, the Lamont administration is asking employers to keep staff working from home where possible.

Few office tenants will be able to get certified by May 20 to any kind of comprehensive standard, said David Lewis, CEO of the human resources training and consulting firm OperationsInc in Norwalk.

I told my team this morning that we are looking at probably June 15 as a reasonable day, and its not we are opening  its if you want to you can work in the office, Lewis said. If the certification process is not complete and comprehensive and trustworthy ... then people arent going to come to work  or worse, theyre going to come to work and get sick.

For those who require employees at the office, capacity is not to top 50 percent at any point, with the use of staggered shifts encouraged and logs required for all who arrive or leave to assist in any contact tracing should a worker or visitor be diagnosed later with coronavirus.

Employees are to use designated desks at least six feet from coworkers, with workstations required to have barriers if that is not possible.

There are limits to the safety precautions managers can make, however, given interior designs of the past decade that have emphasized packing more employees into less space, and the particular challenges for high-rise buildings with elevators that do not allow for six-foot intervals between riders.

In its initial guidelines, the Lamont administration is advising building owners to post attendants at elevators to limit access and encourage workers to take the stairs if possible, while creating markers in lobbies to keep people separated as any wait for a ride.

BOMA International provides more detailed advice for the building owners and managers it represents, suggesting limiting elevator capacity to four people positioned at each corner; and sanitizing stairwells frequently to encourage more people to make use of them.

Includes prior reporting by Meghan Friedmann and Paul Schott. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]

Democrats tell the national party that the primary will proceed.

New York State will hold its presidential primary on June 23, the states Democratic Party told national party leaders on Monday.

New Yorks Board of Elections, citing public health concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak, had canceled the primary. But a federal judge ordered the primary restored to the June 23 ballot after the former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang sued to block the cancellation.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and his supporters also opposed canceling the primary.

Supporters of Mr. Sanders, who suspended his campaign for the presidential nomination last month, can win key slots at the Democratic National Convention if he captures at least 15 percent of the vote statewide or in each congressional district.

[Coronavirus in New York: A map and the case count.]

N.Y.C. is likely to stay closed until June, the mayor says.

The ban on large gatherings in New York City and the widespread closing of nonessential businesses are unlikely to end before June, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday.

June is when were potentially going to be able to make some real changes if we can continue our progress, he said at his daily news briefing.

City and state data have suggested that New York has made progress in containing the outbreak of the virus and in reducing its transmission. Mr. de Blasio specifically cited decreases in the number of those being hospitalized with the virus and the percentage of people testing positive in the city.

But he said that such progress must continue before officials would consider any reopening.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said it has resumed operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana after around 40 days of closure due to the coronavirus-led lockdown.

Operations at both Manesar and Gurugram facilities were suspended since March 22.

"Production has commenced at the Manesar plant and the first car would roll out today (Tuesday)," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI.

The facility has commenced operations on a single shift basis with up to 75 per cent employees allowed currently, he added.

When asked about the timeline of full-swing operations, Bhargava said that would depend on government regulations like when two shifts would be allowed, when manpower could be increased and when supply chain would become fitter. There are many variables involved."



On restarting manufacturing activities at Gurugram facility, he said "it will start, but not yet".

On April 22, the Haryana government had granted permission to the auto major to restart its Manesar manufacturing facility, but the company had said it will resume operations only when it can maintain continuous production and sell vehicles, "which is not possible at this point of time".

The Gurugram district administration had allowed the auto major to run the facility on a single shift basis, while fixing the total number of employees at plant at 4,696.

MSI's Manesar plant is outside the limits of Gurugram Municipal Corporation, while its Gurugram plant falls within the city limits.

The two plants in Haryana have an installed capacity to roll out 15.5 lakh units per annum.

When asked how the lockdown would impact industry sales this fiscal, Bhargava said that in current circumstances it was too early to forecast.

He, however, pointed that cars in the country were among most highly taxed in the world.

"I have always held that cars are too heavily taxed in India by both the central government as well by the as state governments... The result is that carmakers in India pay much higher taxes than in most other developed parts of world," he noted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Democratic Party plans to adopt new rules Tuesday to narrow the scope of its presidential nominating convention, potentially paving the way for either a limited in-person gathering or a virtual event this August.

The proposed changes, which are expected to be adopted in virtual meeting of the party's rules committee, would allow delegates to participate even if they do not attend the convention in person. No final decision on the convention is expected to be made in coming weeks as organizers await a decision by federal, state and local health officials.

The convention had been planned for July in Milwaukee, but it was moved back a month in hope that restrictions forced by the coronavirus pandemic would ease by then.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said over the weekend that she had told Chair Tom Perez that the nearly week-long event could be held over a single day at an outdoor stadium.

"My suggestion to Mr. Perez was get a gigantic stadium and put people six feet apart so maybe instead of having 80,000 people there you would have 16,000 people there and just do it all in one day," she said in an interview with C-Span.

By adopting the proposed rule changes Tuesday, Democrats would open the door to another possibility - a much smaller in-person event, which can be attended by some but not all of the nearly 5,000 voting delegates and tens of thousands of other guests.

One section of a new proposed resolution to be voted on Tuesday recommends "certain changes . . . so as to safeguard the ability of all validly-elected Convention delegates to participate in the Convention in person or by means that allow for appropriate social distancing."

Party leaders also intend to grant the convention organizers significant powers to make changes to how the convention is run. Among the changes scheduled to be adopted Tuesday is language that will allow "maximum flexibility to plan a safe event that guarantees every delegate can accomplish their official business without putting their own health at risk," according to a briefing paper distributed by the party on Monday.

The new language, if it passes the rules committee, eventually would be voted on by the full Democratic National Committee in the coming weeks. That vote would be conducted by mail, according to a Democratic official familiar with the plans.

The rule changes would also remove two of the five floor votes traditionally required of all delegates at the four-day event. Under the proposed changes, all elected and appointed delegates would still vote to nominate a presidential candidate, a vice presidential candidate and to accept the party's platform.

But the two other floor votes, on the rules for the convention and the credentials for those who can participate, would be passed by smaller subcommittees before the party's full gathering.

The party would also formally accept on Tuesday the new primary dates for five states that delayed their elections because of the novel-coronavirus pandemic. New York, which initially canceled its presidential primary, now plans to have its contest on June 23, after a judge ordered the election restored. Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana and New Jersey have also rescheduled their primaries for June and July.

Under the previous rules, all of those states stood to lose delegate representation at the convention because their primary elections would fall outside the schedule originally set by the party. But Tuesday's meeting is expected to remove those penalties, allowing the states the same representation as if they had held their primary elections as planned before the pandemic.

Both parties have been privately preparing dramatic adjustments to their summer convention plans, given the ongoing pandemic. Republicans, however, have generally followed the lead of President Donald Trump and expressed more determination about holding a traditional in-person event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently asked federal officials to consider providing personal protective equipment to allow the events to operate more safely.

"The president wants to go full-steam-ahead," McDaniel said. "We are full-steam-ahead for in person, in Charlotte."

Perez, her Democratic counterpart, has criticized the protective equipment request as premature, given the ongoing shortages of protective equipment for others, including health-care workers.

"Now is not the time to focus on which political operatives get masks and gloves," he said.

In an effort to tie the fate of their convention to the Republican event starting Aug. 24, Democrats announced last month that they would reschedule the event to start Aug. 17, six weeks after the original July date.

The Democratic rules committee is expected to formally accept this date change Tuesday as well. Even privately, officials were reluctant to get ahead of what health officials might ultimately advise about the later date.

"The city of Milwaukee has been an incredible partner and we couldn't be more committed to highlighting Wisconsin as a key battleground state when we host our convention there this August," said an unnamed Democratic official in a memo distributed to reporters.
Kerala's Kasaragod district, one of



the first COVID-19 hotspots in India, turned coronavirus-free on Sunday.

The north Kerala district, which lacked improved health infrastructure compared to others in the state, had witnessed zero death.

But the relief was short-lived as fresh coronavirus cases were reported from the district on Monday.

Four people who had arrived from Maharashtra were found infected with the deadly virus, commencing the second wave of COVID-19 in the district.

However, top police official Vijay Sakhare, whose "triple lock" strategy helped the district keep the virus at bay, said there was nothing to worry as the situation could very well be managed by implementing the same strategy forcefully.

The triple lock involves a combination of technology and human surveillance and restricting movement of people in three stages.

While Lock-I envisages broader restriction of movement of all people residing in the district, Lock-II is for people living in distinct geographical areas with positive cases and the third stage is targeted effort to keep primary and secondary contacts of COVID-19 patient in their homes.

The IG ranking officer who was deputed by Chief Minister Pianarayi Vijayan as COVID-19 special officer of Kasaragod on March 23, implemented the triple lock strategy and this effective policing measure helped arrest the spread of the virus.

The same strategy was implemented in neighbouring Kannur district and earned positive results when it was turning to become another COVID-19 hotpspot.

In a note prepared by Sakhare on "triple lock strategy", he spoke of the new challenges after people returning through inter-state land borders, including those from red-zones have been permitted to undergo 14 day quarantine at their homes.

The international returnees have been asked to observe mandatory quarantine in institutional centres or hotels.

"Many of these evacuated persons may turn COVID positive after returning home. Some of them may be symptomatic carriers of COVID-19 and a few may be asymptomatic.

In order to meet these challenges and prevent spread of infection in community, 'triple-lock' strategy has to be scaled up," the officer said in the note.

"The new returnees to Kasaragod have to be brought under the umbrella of Lock-III," said Sakhare, the Kochi City Police Commissioner who returned from Kasaragod last week after completion of his special assignment.

Talking to PTI, he said the residences of the returnees should be monitored continuously by stationing police guards in front of select houses, by covering residences of home quarantined people with mobile patrols, which check physical presence of the person at least twice a day.

This would be done by deploying drones in 'drone-beat' over these homes and by using COVID-Safety app.

Legal action should be initiated against the violators and their family members for endangering the lives of others in the society, the senior IPS officer said.

Another challenge is to ensure that those people who stay at 'institutional quarantine centres' observe quarantine properly and do not socialise with each other.

An officer at least of the rank of Sub-inspector should be made in-charge of the centre. He should ensure that no person visited any of the inmates or no inmates stepped out at any point of time.

The COVID Safety app should be installed in every inmate's phone to ensure that the person does not violate quarantine, Sakhare said.

Similar system should be in place in hotels as well.

The hotel staff has to be trained in maintaining quarantine and ensuring that it was observed by the returnees.

Sharing his experience as the COVID-19 officer in Kasaragod district, Sakhare said the results of the triple lock strategy have demonstrated that it was extremely successful in containing the spread of virus.

"The success of strategy can be gauged from the fact that it has brought weekly reporting of cases from 64 to barely 5 with in the span of three weeks - a reduction of 92 per cent.

In succeeding three weeks, only 5,4 and 2 positive cases were reported and in last 11 days since 1st May, no positive cases were reported- which demonstrates the resounding success of the containment strategy," he claimed.

The last Corona positive patient of the first wave of COVID-19 in Kasaragod recovered on May 10 and the district became COVID-free. But few hours later, the second wave of the disease has begun and the district is prepared to meet the challenge.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh calls for India to become a net exporter of technology as DRDO celebrates National Technology Day

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 11 MAY 2020 4:22PM by PIB Delhi

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh stressed the need for India to become self-reliant and "net exporter of technology". He addressed the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on the occasion of National Technology Day (NTD) in here today through video conference.

Shri Rajnath Singh said, "In the last five years, we have set new targets, and worked hard to formulate the right policy framework to achieve them. I am sure that you can see this change in every field of defence research, development and manufacture." He added, "We always have to keep in mind that there is no alternative to indigenous technology and indigenous manufacture. We will be truly self-reliant only when India succeeds in becoming a net exporter instead of a net importer of technology."

While calling upon the country's pool of experts to contribute to make India a technological powerhouse, Shri Rajnath Singh said the Government and people fully support their future endeavours in this direction.

Shri Rajnath Singh said defence organisations are tackling the challenges posed by COVID-19 using state-of-the-art technology. India's defence forces and Research & Development efforts have contributed significantly in finding solutions to the challenges posed by this invisible enemy. He added, "DRDO has developed more than 50 products in the last 3-4 months, like bio suit, sanitiser dispenser, PPE kits, etc through its continuous efforts to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. The indomitable spirit of our defence industry has increased the opportunity for mass production of these high quality products in record time."

The NTD is observed on 11 May commemorating the nuclear tests conducted at Pokhran in 1998 that symbolised successful achievements of home grown technologies and stressed the need for self-reliance in critical areas.

Speaking on significance of the occasion, Raksha Mantri said, "This day is dedicated to the knowledge, talent and perseverance of our Indian scientists, especially those who have made their valuable contribution in finding solutions to the complex national security challenges of the country". He further said, "National Technology Day is an opportunity to take stock of our technological advancements and if we are to emerge as a technological force then we should know what to do. Such introspection is necessary because science and technology have become the most important drivers of a nation's economy." The day reminds us of the continuous effort to achieve self-reliance in important technologies, encourage innovations and maintain technology flow for product realisation, he added.

National Technology Day 2020 was celebrated at DRDO to commemorate and pay tribute to the dedication, determination, and sacrifice of scientists and engineers, who have worked for achieving a national technological identity with the success of Shakti-Pokhran 2. On this occasion, a webinar was held and a Presentation on DRDO technologies to fight against COVID-19 was given.

Member NitiAayogDr VK Saraswatin his address congratulated DRDO for outstanding work done during the first 45 days in fight against COVID-19.He stated that the country has energised S&T infrastructure in this fight.He further advised DRDO to provide more focus on life sciences laboratories and must revive work on bio-defence programme. He emphasised the need for the development of more robotic devices where DRDO has strong base.

Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India Prof K VijayRaghavan in his speech appreciated DRDO and said that it is extraordinary for it to rise to the occasion in the fight against COVID-19. He said that we should develop indigenous capability in all technology areas. He also emphasised the need of developing IT enabled technologies and applications.

Secretary DDR&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated all the teams for their innovative efforts in supporting the fellow citizens, Armed Forces and Corona Warriors in combating COVID-19. He appealed to all to rededicate themselves to the service of the nation by providing cutting edge technologies for making the country strong and self-reliant.

Dr Reddy said that during lockdown, products should be supplied all over the world. Delayed delivery is no delivery. The DRDO has developed 53 products to fight COVID-19. He added that some of the systems were inducted in record time.

Senior officials of MoD and DRDO were also present on the occasion.

ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA

(Release ID: 1622958)

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A grand jury has indicted the former secretary of Maple Heights High School on felony charges that accuse her of embezzling more than $40,000 while she worked at the school.

Karla Hopkins, 49, was charged with a single count of theft in office, a third-degree felony.

Hopkins is accused of siphoning the money between July 2017 and June 2018 from programs including the class of 2018s dues and yearbook fees, auto tech, student council, flag-drill teams and book and ID badge fines, according to prosecutors.

Hopkins was responsible for collecting dues, revenues and fees directly from teachers who were in charge of various programs in the school, and then taking the money to the districts main office, where it would be deposited into the districts main account, prosecutors said.

The districts treasurer in May 2018 called police after discovering money was missing from that years senior class funds. Maple Heights police, the district and the State Auditors office identified Hopkins as the culprit, according to prosecutors.

The school board fired Hopkins at a special meeting on July 2, 2018, according to an agenda of the meeting posted on the districts website.

This individual stole from the students she was employed to assist, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley said in a news release. These disgraceful actions require that she be schooled in the criminal justice system.
French|West|Vaughan has been selected as agency of record for Healthy Pet, which makes small animal bedding and litter products from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued natural plant fiber. FWV and FWV FetchingFWVs division dedicated to pet marketingwill manage external communications including media relations, special events, influencer programming, social media and digital marketing throughout 2020 as an extension of the multi-year partnership between the two organizations. FWV will support Healthy Pets okocat rebrand and packaging relaunch, as well as its Carefresh Gives Back philanthropic efforts. Our amplified partnership with FWV greatly enhances our ability to reach pet parents around the country, said Healthy Pet head of consumer marketing Jane Wasley.

Jenerate PR has been named agency of record for the Hawaii Restaurant Association, which works to unify, represent and support the Hawaii restaurant and food service industry. Jenerate PR will provide strategic communication services to increase awareness of the organization, its resources and initiatives, special events and membership benefits. HRA will also work with Jenerate PRs dedicated social media team to increase reach and engagement across its social channels. HRA executive director Sheryl Matsuoka said that Jenerates impactful work in promoting dining destinations across the islands will aid the organization as we face unprecedented challenges to our industry here in Hawaii.

James Golden

TransMedia Group said it has been retained by New Journey PAC, an organization that aims to make Black Americans Republican again. It also includes MAGA.BLACK, an online destination for one and all. New Journey was founded by James Golden, who under the name of Bo Snerdley is senior producer for Rush Limbaughs talk radio show. New Journeys advisors include former Ohio secretary of state Ken Blackwell and former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC).
In the eyes of Realtor Deborah Baisdens client, a 65-year-old retired banker, the renovated waterfront home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for just under $700,000 checked all the boxes.

But Baisden, a veteran real estate pro whose job is to evaluate properties with logic, not longing, saw issues with the house.

So, after negotiating a deal about a month ago with the seller, who also happened to be a flipper, Baisden did some detective work. While reviewing old photos of the property, she noticed that part of the 200-foot bulkhead was eroded. The damaged area, now replaced with pressure-treated wood, looked new, she said.

But a red flag went up.

I like to dig deep, Baisden said. So, as part of the home inspection process, she brought in yet another set of eyes. My inspector went into the water at dead low tide, she recalled. He delivered bad news. The prior fix was a band-aid. The bulkhead was rotting out below the waterline. It has to be completely redone, the inspector told her. The cost: an estimated $110,000, which her client would have to pay.

Realtor Deborah Baisden of BHHS Towne Realty in Virginia.

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When the pricey cost of the fix was added to the purchase price, the deal didnt make sense anymore.

Baisden advised her client to walk away from the deal. The client agreed.

I had to delicately take away her dream, Baisden said. Sometimes, no deal is better than a bad deal.

In the emotion-fueled world of home buying, there are times it makes financial sense to let a real estate deal fall through

Not all deals get done. One of every 16 (6%) of real estate deals dont close, research from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found. Inspections and lack of financing were the primary culprits. Many deals went south because appraisals came in too low, causing either the bank or buyer to balk.

Story continues

Theres always an out when theres a legitimate reason, said Jay Rinehart, Jr., owner of Rinehart Realty in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

A few weeks back, Rinehart advised a client to back out of a $600,000 purchase after an inspection showed a newer roof was not installed properly. While the roof wasnt leaking, the buyers legal team said the improper installation voided the roofs warranty.

Said Rinehart: We advised them that the roof was only four years old, but the problem is you have to live with it for another 26 years. If it does leak, its on you. His client walked.

Often, the reason a buyer walks away is due to circumstances beyond their control, such as having a bank withdraw funding due to a job loss, furlough, or divorce that interrupts an income stream to make mortgage payments.

Recently, one of my buyers called to say his wife has just been furloughed and we need to stop our search for a home until she is reemployed, Baisden said.

Another deal killer is an agreement to buy a new house thats contingent on selling an existing home, which doesnt happen. The bank might also dig up information that puts the buyers debt-to-income ratio in a less flattering light.

Theres always the possibility of something unforeseen once a lender starts to dig in and verify, said Baisden.

But, more often, buyers walk away because they are being prudent.

Common deal breakers include:

Inspection Issues

Often, its detective work during the due diligence period that either makes or breaks a deal, Rinehart says.

One common reason to rip up a real estate contract is if the home inspection uncovers bad things, such as a crumbling foundation, mold and water-related issues, or shoddy workmanship. Or if the seller wont agree to pay for pricey repairs of needed fixes.

The buyer has to decide if the condition of the house is something they are willing to accept, says Rinehart. If not, they can ask the seller to pay for repairs or lower the price. If the seller refuses, the buyer must decide if the added cost makes sense. The buyer, said Rinehart, should not feel that they are completely locked in.

John Rinehart, Jr. in front of a listing in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Sometimes, repairs might exceed what buyers are willing to accept or afford.

The air conditioning and heating unit might be 20 years old and at the end of its lifespan, Rinehart said. And they might not have $8,000 to replace it. If thats the case, it might be in their best interest to step back and move on to another property.

Low appraisals

Buyers borrowing money from a bank to buy a home often see deals killed by appraisals that come in much lower than the purchase price.

For example, lets say the agreed-upon sales price is $500,000, which means a loan of $400,000 with a 20% down payment of $100,000. If the appraisal comes in at $475,000, the bank will only lend the buyer $380,000, or $20,000 less. If the seller doesnt agree to sell the home at the lower appraised price, or the parties cant meet halfway, or the buyer cant come up with a bigger down payment, the deal will die.

The amount that a home under appraises often will determine whether a deal with fall through or not, Kyle Hiscock of Re/Max Realty Group in Pittsford, New York, explained in a blog post. If its only a couple thousand dollars, normally a buyer and seller can come to terms. If a home under appraises by $10,000, the chances that the deal falls through will go up exponentially.

Of the deals that fell through in the NAR survey, 16% were due to appraisal issues.

Rinehart ran into an appraisal problem recently. Despite an agreed-upon sales price of $620,000, the appraisal came in $80,000 lower. The buyer wanted the house for $540,000. The seller said no. It turns out the appraisal had some glaring errors. The deal is still pending after the buyer went to a new bank to get financing and a new appraisal. I dont know the end of the story, Rinehart said. Hes hoping the new appraisal will be on target so the deal can get done.

Paperwork snafus

Buyers should consider walking away from a deal if document preparation for closing highlights potential problems. Some deal breakers include title issues that put into question the true owner of the property. Or outstanding liens, or money the seller still owes on the property. Or missing heirs who might own a piece of the property the homebuyer wants to purchase.

Rinehart walked away from a deal due to title-related issues involving children that had ownership in a home through an estate, but couldnt be located.

There cant be a deal if the seller cant deliver title, Rinehart said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Homes for sale: Signs you should back out of a house deal
Gov. Charlie Baker is seeking $1 billion to hold over the Massachusetts governments spending gap for the rest of the fiscal year as coronavirus-related costs accumulate.

Baker filed a supplemental budget for fiscal 2020 to authorize spending for personal protective equipment, rate adjustments for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, incentive pay for state workers on the front lines and other expenses. The bill also sets aside money for the states field hospitals and the contact tracing program.

The supplemental budget would also ensure that adequate state spending has been authorized to allow the commonwealth to continue to support our communities until additional federal reimbursements are provided, Baker said Tuesday afternoon after touring MatTek Life Sciences in Ashland, which is producing PPE under the states M-ERT program.

Baker, a Republican, was joined by Senate President Karyn Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, for the tour. She did not issue any comments during the televised news conference. Spilkas office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The House Committee on Ways and Means will review the supplemental budget Tuesday and is looking at the federal guidance and potential reimbursements, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement.

As the Legislature considers this funding package, the House will seek to fully determine the extent and format of federal reimbursements while ensuring that the COVID-related needs of House members are given the attention they deserve, the Winthrop Democrat said in his statement.

The Baker administration has ramped up its staffing for unemployment claims and other critical services in March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, including private businesses such as child care operators and nursing homes. Under the bill, some of the funding would be set aside to cover their pay.

The state offered $130 million to nursing homes that meet requirements on staffing, infection control and other parameters to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The supplemental budget bill also covers payment for the Massachusetts National Guard. The Guard is typically funded by federal agencies, except when activated for state missions. Baker issued an executive order in late March authorizing the National Guard to activate up to 2,000 members to help with the states COVID-19 response.

The state has already activated those 2,000 and is authorized to activate up to 5,000, according to the Guard.

Bakers office said the funding would result in no net cost to the state because it is expecting federal reimbursements, most notably disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The governor said COVID-19 costs that FEMA doesnt reimburse will be supported by the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the Federal Emergency Management Agencys disaster assistance and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.

We need to spend first to get them to reimburse us, Baker told reporters, referring to FEMAs economic injury disaster assistance.

Related Content:
<! Funke Akindele >

By Taiwo Okanlawon

Popular Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele also known as Jenifa has shared a throwback video from the Jenifa movie she shot 12 years ago to motivate upcoming actors and her fans.

The movie which featured top Nigerian celebrities like Daddy Freeze, Kaffy, DJ Zeez, and lots more brought the mother of two into the limelight in 2008.

According to the 42-year-old, she shared the video to motivate people never to give up because success is guaranteed.

She wrote on Instagram; Never despise the days of humble beginnings. Never give up. Keep doing your thing like no one is watching. Success will surely find you. Ignore unhealthy competition. Stay focused!!!

The sky is big for every bird to fly. Thanks, @tundeednut for the memories. Watch more of the #jenifa #series on YouTube: SCENEONE TV.

This is coming barely one month after she was prosecuted by Lagos State government for throwing a party amidst lockdown.

The actress was arrested by the police on 5 April and arraigned at the Ogba Magistrate Court along with her husband, Abdul Rasheed Bello, popularly known as JJC Skillz the following day.

The couple was sentenced to 14-day community service and fined N100,000 each for the offence.

Funke Akindele debuted her acting career after starring in popular United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) TV Series I Need to Know which ran from 1998 to 2002 where she played Bisi, a curious but highly intelligent secondary school student.
DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Growth Opportunities for KSA Healthcare Industry, Forecast to 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Amid the volatility in oil prices and dampened global economic growth due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) healthcare market is expected to grow to $16.1 billion in value at 8.8% in 2020.

This research service provides deep perspectives and bold predictions for the KSA healthcare market in 2020. Pharmaceuticals and biotech, in-vitro diagnostics, medical technologies, medical imaging, and healthcare IT are some of the sectors covered. The analysis captures sectoral and regional trends and offers predictions for the upcoming year. The study provides guidance on where to find the greatest opportunities for expansion.



Key Issues Addressed

What are the top predictions for the KSA healthcare industry for 2020?

What are the market revenue and growth rates expected for the KSA healthcare market?

What are the key projections and growth opportunities for major healthcare segments?

What are the major macroeconomic and demographic factors that will affect the KSA healthcare industry?

What are the key technologies and growth opportunities to watch out for in 2020?

What are the key companies to watch during 2020?

KSA's pharmaceutical and MedTech markets are primarily import driven, therefore the impact of COVID-19 cannot be measured in terms of incidence of COVID-19 in KSA but in terms of the disruption in the global supply chain of the EU and China, which will impact the KSA healthcare industry.



Health and social development is the key sector in the KSA government, as it holds 16.4% of the country's budget expenditure, the third-largest share in 2020. There has been a relative decrease in the allocation of healthcare budget which can be attributed to the increase in private player participation and the focus on preventive care through various awareness programs. KSA free public healthcare system (Saudi citizens and public sector workers) is essentially funded by oil revenue which is under great strain. The rising cost of medical technologies, the changing demographic profile, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and the increasing demand for quality healthcare are putting pressure on the KSA healthcare system to adopt cost-containment measures.



For KSA, 2020 will be a reality check on its National Transformation Program (NTP 2020), the biggest vision realization program of its ambitious Saudi Vision 2030. KSA's top priorities in the healthcare sector are to enhance the role of the private sector through privatization of government healthcare services, to increase public-private participation (PPP) healthcare delivery models, to scale up medical education and training of its local workforce and to boost the adoption of digital information systems, thereby creating a plethora of opportunities for investors, pharmaceutical and MedTech manufacturers, healthcare IT vendors, and support services.



The low level of domestic pharmaceutical drug production (about 20% to 30%), coupled with the ambition to diversify into non-oil sectors (e.g., bioeconomy) will continue to make the localization of pharmaceuticals manufacturing a lucrative opportunity for KSA in 2020. In addition, the disruption of the global supply chain due to COVID-19 outbreak can create a shortage of APIs, drugs, medical products, and equipment. To reduce its dependence on imported drugs, KSA can upscale its manufacturing capacity and strive to become an alternative supplier in 2 to 3 years. Government initiatives to increase local pharmaceutical manufacturing through public-private partnerships have led to the increasing collaboration between the domestic and global pharmaceutical formulation manufacturers, creating a win-win situation for both and making KSA a potential generic manufacturing hub of the MENA region.



Despite the presence of several general hospitals, there are supply gaps for several specialty areas, spurring governments to harness PPP models to build specialty clinics for gynecology, oncology, and cosmetology. Lifestyle disorders and the shift toward wellness and preventive care will boost the demand for remote health monitoring solutions that leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms. This will catapult investment toward non-hospital settings, such as long-term rehabilitation centers, and fitness and wellness centers.



The private sector has a larger role to play in filling the demand-supply gap in healthcare infrastructure and services. The increasing number of private hospitals will bridge the gap of quality and accessibility of healthcare services in public hospitals which is a major concern in healthcare delivery. The increase in investments in enterprise healthcare IT solutions and connected medical devices with AI capabilities that drive efficiencies will play a major role in the shift to a performance-based value system.



KSA will continue to hold the largest share in the MENA healthcare market. An increasingly affluent population will drive the demand for research-based branded generic drugs, connected medical devices, next-gen Imaging equipment, quality point-of-care diagnostic tests, and digital health solutions.



Key Topics Covered



1. Executive Summary

Top 5 Predictions for the 2020 KSA Healthcare Industry

Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on KSA Healthcare Industry Predictions

The Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the KSA Healthcare Industry

KSA Macro Trends

KSA Healthcare Industry Revenue, 2019-2020

Key Growth Opportunities by Sector

Research Scope

2. Key 2020 KSA Healthcare Market Predictions

Prediction #1: KSA will Become the Branded Generics Manufacturing Hub of MENA Region.

Prediction #2: Focus on Wellness and Preventive Care will Catapult Investment Toward Non-hospital Settings.

Prediction #3: KSA Healthcare Expenditure on Diabetes and Other Lifestyle Disorders will Increase.

Prediction #4: KSA Will Emerge as the Fastest Growing Digital Health Market in the GCC Region.

Prediction #5: The Demand for Specialty Clinics and Ambulatory Care Center will Drive Privatization.

3. Overview of the KSA Macroeconomic and Demographic Healthcare Environment

KSA Macroeconomic Healthcare Determinants

KSA Healthcare System Overview

KSA Hospital and Bed Density

Healthcare Financing in KSA

KSA Demographic Overview

4. Market Projections by Healthcare Segment

Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology - Revenue Forecast

Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology - Key Growth Opportunities

Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology - Companies to Watch

In-vitro Diagnostics - Revenue Forecast

In-vitro Diagnostics - Key Growth Opportunities

In-vitro Diagnostics - Companies to Watch

Medical Technologies - Revenue Forecast

Medical Technologies - Key Growth Opportunities

Medical Technologies - Companies to Watch

Medical Imaging - Revenue Forecast

Medical Imaging - Key Growth Opportunities

Medical Imaging - Companies to Watch

Healthcare IT - Revenue Forecast

Healthcare IT - Key Growth Opportunities

Healthcare IT - Companies to Watch

5. The Last Word

Conclusion

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jcwdfv

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday dubbed the stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one that only grabs headlines, while the ruling BJP hailed it as the world's largest holistic package.

The Congress and the CPI(M) said India was disappointed by the PM's silence on migrants' woes as he has failed to address the issue.

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Modi government took decisions in the interest of the country, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was not just a financial package but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul and a thrust in governance.

BJP president J P Nadda said with the announcement, Prime Minister Modi has laid the foundation of India leading the world in the 21st century and an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self reliant India) is the 'mantra' for driving this change.

The Congress, however, termed the PM's address one that gave the country a headline, saying the nation was disappointed by his "failure" to address the woes of millions of migrants.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the PM's announcement would lift the country from the atmosphere of despair.

He said his mantra of self-reliance will inject new energy into the country.

"The 21st century will be defined by India, Hon PM's message today has laid foundation stone for implementing this. AatmanirbharBharat is our Mantra for driving country towards this new change," Nadda tweeted.

"PM has declared the world's largest holistic relief package. The Modi govt has given financial packages of Rs 20 lakh crore to support every section of the society. It is around 10% of the Indian GDP. Hon PM's proactive approach will build a 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'," he added.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the heartbreaking human tragedy of migrants walking back home needed compassion and care.

"Dear PM, What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE," he said on Twitter.

"When the 'blank page' is filled with 'Heartfelt help of people', the nation and Congress party will respond."

"India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity and failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers," he said in a series of tweets.

His colleague, Manish Tewari, tweeted, "PMs speech can be summed up in one word - HEADLINE HUNTING. A NUMBER -20 LAKH CRORES. NO DETAILS."

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, however, welcomed the package.

"The financial package announced by PM Modiji was much awaited. Better late than never. We welcome this," he tweeted.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the prime minister has failed to address burning issues of migrants woes and hunger plaguing lakhs of Indians, even as he has not explained how the package will be used.

"Thousands are walking home, hungry and even dying. We were expecting some relief for them. Where is their free travel? Lakhs are going hungry, they need food. I am disappointed that these burning issues were not addressed," he added.

Shah said the Modi government took decisions in the interest of the country and the relief package will help the poor, the farmers and the middle class.

"In every decision of the Modi government, the interest of the country and the countrymen has been at the centre.

A special package of about Rs 20 lakh crores announced by the Modi government is reflective of this," he said.

Sitharaman said, "We shall convert the pandemic challenge into an opportunity. 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' will integrate not isolate."

"This shall not be just a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance," she tweeted.

"Now, we can confidently engage with the world. We aim at overall transformation and not incremental changes," Sitharaman said.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the package "is the biggest package India has ever seen".

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi tweeted, "If substantially, concretely, new proposal is 10 pc of GDP, it would be great. Both God and devil lie in details, not available. 10 pc should be additional, not counting old pre-corona schemes."

Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "Hoping that the Rs 20 lakh crore package is not scripted with same pen which was used to make promises of giving everyone Rs 15 lakh, cleaning 'Maa Ganga', bringing back black money in 100 days and ending terrorism with demonetisation."

Describing the prime minister's economic package as historic, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Modi has shown a new path for the development of the country and turned despair into hope.

In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, the prime minister announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, saying the coronavirus crisis has provided India an opportunity to become self-reliant and emerge as the best in the world.
Protesters have climbed to the roof of a hotel in Melbourne to demand the release of 65 detained asylum seekers.

In a live video posted on Facebook, about six protesters were seen climbing to the roof of the Mantra Hotel in Preston.

It's believed eight protesters from the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance stormed the hotel about 7.30am on Tuesday.

The group had reportedly checked in as guests on Monday.

They were pictured holding banners and speaking on a megaphone, demanding the release of the more than 65 asylum seekers held at the site.

Eight protesters from the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance checked in to the hotel on Monday

A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia officers are on the scene

Some were barricaded in rooms while others held signs such as 'Justice for Refugees' on the roof.

The supporters are demanding the immediate release of refugees to people who have volunteered to take them into their homes in a socially distanced manner.

Images showed protesters being escorted away from the hotel by police.

Sam Castro, a spokeswoman for the group, said: 'The Australian Government owes us all an explanation. Why are 200 refugees brought over under Medevac legislation being denied medical care and fresh air?

'Why are such vulnerable people being held under unsafe conditions during the Covid-19 crisis? How long will the Australian Government continue to indefinitely detain and torture people fleeing persecution and conflict?'

She said the goal is to open up negotiations to get these men released from detention as well as open up a dialogue regarding medical needs of refugees.

The refugees claim they were held on Manus or Nauru Island for up to seven years before being taken to Melbourne for medical treatment.

Images showed protesters being escorted away from the hotel by police

Eight protester are believed to have checked into the hotel on Monday - but have since been escorted from the property

It is believed protesters occupied the hotel about 7:30am on Tuesday, holding banners and speaking on a megaphone, demanding the release of the more than 65 asylum seekers held at the site

One refugee, originally from Somalia, told Daily Mail Australia he had been held in the hotel for ten months 'without proper medical treatment'.

'The government dumped us this hotel room and denied all the basic rights, we don't even get fresh air or sun light, we are locked up into rooms at least 22 hours everyday,' he said.

He said except for time at the gym the refugees are kept inside their room.

'To the protesters we are grateful to them for their endless support and sympathising for us regardless of restrictions and lock down they found a way to show us their support, we have huge respect for them,' the refugee said.

One refugee, originally from Somalia, told Daily Mail Australia he had been held in the hotel for ten months 'without proper medical treatment'

Eight protesters checked into the hotel on Monday to support refugees held in the hotel

'To the government, I am asking them to set us free, we are human beings, we are detained seven years without crime.

'We aren't harming anyone, we were just looking for safety. We are sick mentally and physically ... it isn't too late yet we are asking them to free us.'

A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia officers are on the scene.

A spokesman from the Australian Border Force told Daily Mail Australia no detainee has tested positive to COVID-19 and there is a focus on health and safety during this time.

A spokesman from the Australian Border Force told Daily Mail Australia no detainee has tested positive to COVID-19 and there is a focus on health and safety during this time

'A range of measures have been introduced to actively manage health, hygiene and cleaning requirements in all detention facilities. These measures are continually reviewed in line with the current health advice,' the spokesman said.

'All detainees continue to have ongoing access to the medical professionals located within facilities, including after hours.

'Anyone who presents with flu-like or potential COVID-19 symptoms is being tested and quarantined, and receives appropriate medical care.

'We continue to follow the prevailing health advice in relation to the preventative measures being applied in detention facilities.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mantra for comment.
Lebanon announced a four-day lockdown today, reversing its previous decisions to open the country back up amid the coronavirus crisis.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced the decision by the countrys executive body, the Council of Ministers, on Twitter today.

The Council of Ministers made the decision for a complete closure for a period of four days, Aoun tweeted.

What the lockdown will entail was not immediately clear. The Interior Ministry will follow with a statement on guidelines and exceptions. It will go into effect tomorrow night, according to Aoun.

The announcement comes during an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in Lebanon following days of low numbers. After several days of fewer than 10 new cases, Lebanon registered 34 on May 6 and then 36 on May 9. Lebanon registered 11 new cases today, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Lebanon still has far fewer cases confirmed than some of its neighbors with 870 total, according to the ministry.

Lebanon began a lockdown in March to slow the spread of the virus while the numbers were still low, which may explain Lebanons relative success. There were fears the virus could spread among the more than one million refugees in the country, many of whom live in close quarters without access to proper hygiene.

The government eased the lockdown in late April, allowing some businesses to reopen and shortening the nighttime curfew after prompting job losses and hunger in a country that already faced economic hardship. Anti-government protests over the weak economy and the plummeting value of the Lebanese pound that began in Lebanon last October resumed immediately.

Restaurants were allowed to reopen last week, but some were unable to do without losing money due to the capacity restrictions. Last week the government extended the measures still in place for two weeks out of fear of a second wave.

There has been an uptick in domestic abuse during the lockdown that has hit other regional countries like Turkey and Israel as well. The number of women calling the International Rescue Committee's gender-based violence hotline more than doubled in Lebanon in March and April, a spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

Lebanon announced it was seeking International Monetary Fund assistance last month to help its economic recovery.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

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.
NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I f Joe Biden is elected president in November, oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, the former vice presidents chief campaign health-care adviser, will almost certainly control the new administrations health policies, perhaps even as secretary of health and human services. That is bad news. Emanuel was a prime architect of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and remains one of the laws most enthusiastic apologists. Readers may also recall his infamous 2014 article in The Atlantic, where he wrote that he wants to die at age 75  implying that we should too  because people after that age become feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic.

That ageist piece is the least of it. More worryingly, Emanuel is a technocrats technocrat who believes that the government that governs health care most governs it best. Toward that end, he wants to erect an all-encompassing medical technocracy in which the federal government, as decided by experts, dictates universal standards of care, establishes prices of physician and institutional compensation, and forces doctors and other health-care professionals to provide controversial services to which they are religiously or conscientiously opposed.

This is not a matter of conjecture. During his long career, Emanuel has been personally involved in, or opined about, the most important health-care controversies of our times  meaning that one need not have prophetic powers to discern the policies he would impose on the country.

Single-Payer Health Care

Emanuel clearly believes in single-payer health care. Yes, he has expressed doubts about current Medicare for All proposals  while claiming that unaffordability is not a reason to oppose it. And it is true that Obamacares centralization of our health-care system that he helped gestate maintained a quasi-market approach.

But do not be fooled. Back in 2009, in an interview with PBS, Emanuel proposed a federal voucher system that would replace employer, union, or private individual polices with coverage determined by the federal government:

Story continues

Our proposal is for universal healthcare vouchers. Its a plan where everybody in America gets a voucher to buy health insurance from an insurance company or health plan or a managed care organization. And they get a basic benefits package. If they want to buy more, . . . they can pay more and they can buy up.

Basic benefits packages sounds constrained. But as we saw with Obamacare, required basics can easily balloon or be wielded as a cudgel to force social change  as in trying to force Catholic nuns to pay for contraception.

It is also worth noting that Emanuel allowed no means of escaping the federal voucher system, telling the interviewer that every insurance company would, to participate [i.e., to enroll purchasers], be required to take the voucher. Predictably, he also envisioned a bureaucratic national health board to determine premiums that the 50 or 60 plans [remaining] throughout the country could charge.

Rule by Experts

Emanuel has extolled Obamacares Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), describing it as a group of smart men and women who know about health care and issue Medicare cost-controlling recommendations that have to go into effect unless Congress votes no. In reality, IPAB was much more powerful than that, and indeed, perhaps the most dangerously technocratic system ever enacted in American history. Perhaps that is why it was repealed in 2018 by a bipartisan vote.

Even though IPAB is dead, it is worth reviewing the extra-constitutional powers with which it was endowed. The boards recommendations would be more accurately described as mandates. When Medicare expenses were projected to rise above a given amount, IPAB was required to submit to Congress a cost-cutting proposal that, without change by House and Senate majority leaders, would be introduced as enabling legislation. Without a three-fifths majority (60 votes) of the Senate, Congress was prohibited from considering any legislation or amendment that did not meet IPAB financial targets.

IPABs powers not only handcuffed Congress. They utterly emasculated the constitutional prerogatives of the president and the courts. If Congress did not pass enabling legislation before August 15, or if the president vetoed the bill passed by Congress, the original IPAB recommendations were to go into effect automatically. Once enacted, the IPAB mandate was not subject to administrative or judicial review. In other words, IPABs word in its area of jurisdiction was more powerful than that of Congress, the president, or the courts.

Biden has said that if he is elected he will propose enacting a public option to reform Obamacare. That would place the federal government in competition with private health-insurance companies. With Emanuel again likely to be at the center of forming policy, we can expect the Biden administration to return to the IPAB approach to cost containment, which could entail the power to establish standards-of-care mandates that the original version lacked.

Promoting State-Enforced Medical-Price Controls

In a coauthored advocacy article in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2012, Emanuel proposed that the federal government issue grants to the states to persuade them to impose sweeping negotiated price controls that would be binding across the breadth of health care, again envisioning a panel of experts to establish and enforce the fiats. From A Systematic Approach to Containing Health Care Spending (my emphasis):

Under a model of self-regulation, public and private payers would negotiate payment rates with providers, and these rates would be binding on all payers and providers in a state. Providers could still offer rates below the negotiated rates. The privately negotiated rates would have to adhere to a global spending target for both public and private payers in the state. . . . We recommend that an independent council composed of providers, payers, businesses, consumers, and economists set and enforce the spending target.

At that point, private health care would essentially cease to exist, as the technocracy seized control of nearly every aspect of the health-care systems of participating states.

Health-Care Rationing

Emanuel is a zealous advocate for the government to establish medical standards of care. He has supported schemes for health-care rationing. In an article in The Lancet in 2009, he proposed that resource allocation  i.e., who receives care and who is denied it  in times of scarcity be prioritized according to what he called a complete lives system. In a matter that is now of acute concern during the COVID-19 crisis, in which our elders are most at risk. Emanuel and his coauthors argued that age would be a splendid means of determining who should be rationed out of care: They meant infants and the elderly alike.

Why exclude care for infants? Because babies have not yet received considerable investments from parents and society. From Principles for Allocation of Scarce Medical Interventions:

Consideration of the importance of complete lives also supports modifying the youngest-rst principle by prioritizing adolescents and young adults over infants. Adolescents have received substantial education and parental care, investments that will be wasted without a complete life. Infants, by contrast, have not yet received these investments.

As for older patients, once they have passed their 40th year, they can be opted out because they have already lived a complete life. In an illustration of the profound injustices sure to be imposed by such a system, during the worst of the COVID-19 crisis, Italian authorities barred intubation of patients over the age of 60, regardless of their health.

Emanuel and his coauthors hedged about immediately imposing a complete-lives rationing system, noting that it would be premature to do so before reducing waste and increasing spending. He wasnt so hesitant in The Hastings Center Report, where he explicitly advocated that guaranteed basic care be denied to the most weak and vulnerable according to quality-of-life measurements (my emphasis):

Services that promote the continuation of the polity  those that ensure healthy future generations, ensure development of practical reasoning skills, and ensure full and active participation by citizens in public deliberations  are to be socially guaranteed as basic. Conversely, services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.

So much for the intrinsic value of human life.

Forced Flu Shots

In an opinion piece in the New York Times in 2018, Emanuel argued that all children should be legally required to receive flu shots every year. He justifies the sledgehammer approach by noting that some children die each year from influenza. From All Children Should Have to Get the Flu Shot:

Some Americans hate government mandates, even when they are demonstrably beneficial. Rand Paul  a physician, no less  argued that mandatory vaccination is a violation of individual rights, claiming, the state doesnt own your children. He called it an issue of freedom. But the freedom to allow your child to contract and transmit a deadly disease is hardly a real freedom worth protecting. In 1905 the Supreme Court recognized the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination  in that case for smallpox. The court made it clear that the state may be justified in restricting individual liberty when great dangers threaten the safety of the general public.

I know the If it saves one life mantra. But good grief, there is a vast factual chasm between the dangers of annual flu and those of smallpox! According to the CDC, only 37 children in the United States died of flu during the 201112 flu season. The deadliest flu season in recent years (201718) killed 186 children, 80 percent of whom were not immunized. Thats tragic, but not a scourge like smallpox, which had a mortality rate of 20 to 60 percent in adults and of 80 percent in children.

I am a huge supporter of immunizations. But if a free society is to remain worthy of the name, reasonable limits must be placed on government impositions. Emanuels easy recourse to legal mandate in a relatively nonlethal circumstance of flu (and dont believe it would stop there) suggests an autocrats desire for imposing overarching government control of everyones health care  a matter of particular concern in emergency times such as the present. After all, once government takes power unto itself, it rarely lets it go.

Government Coercion of Doctors

Emanuel also wants to dictate mandatory procedures for doctors to follow when interacting with their patients. In a coauthored advocacy article in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, he encouraged shared decision making conversations between patients and physicians. That might be a good idea, but Emanuel would require that doctors, when discussing treatment options with patients, use standardized education materials certified for use by the federal government, corroding the art of medicine and devolving the doctorpatient relationship into a check-the-boxes style transaction. As an enforcement mechanism, the proposed rule would reduce the doctors compensation if the proper use of a decision aid was not recorded in the patients file.

Of even greater concern, Emanuel would force doctors to provide medical services that violate their religious beliefs. In a coauthored piece in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2017, he argued that once the medical profession considers particular procedures, including abortion, to be effective, ethical, and standard treatments, doctors have no right to refuse a patients request. In other words, if a Catholic doctor believes it a grave injustice to terminate a pregnancy but a patient wants an abortion, the doctor must perform the procedure anyway. And if doctors dont want to violate their moral or religious beliefs?

Health care professionals who are unwilling to accept these limits have two choices, Emanuel et al. wrote. Select an area of medicine, such as radiology, that will not put them in situations that conflict with their personal morality or, if there is no such area, leave the profession. From the utilitarian technocrats point of view, obliterating medical conscience would have the additional benefit of dissuading students with unwanted values  e.g., pro-lifers and people who hold various orthodox religious beliefs  from entering the medical profession at all.

So, what have we learned, and why does it matter? Emanuel is a health-care technocrat par excellence who hopes to usher in a rule-by-experts health-care system that would make Obamacare look laissez-faire. Everyone would be covered, but the system would become sclerotic, with coverage parameters determined by technocrats. Drug prices would be dictated from central control, meaning less innovation and fewer advances in medicines armamentarium. The experts would determine the compensation for hospitals and medical professionals across the nation. The system would become increasingly coercive, with people compelled to receive certain treatments in the name of wellness or saving even one life. At the same time, doctors would be forced, as a condition of continuing in their profession, to provide controversial interventions that violate their most deeply and sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.

Emanuels ideology matters because, if elected, Biden would almost surely be a figurehead president. He has no principled core, having surrendered most of his previous policy positions to the exigencies of the progressive Democratic electorate. Indeed, Biden stated in a virtual campaign rally on May 1, I view myself as a transition candidate. My job . . . is to bring the Mayor Petes of the world into this administration. . . . And even when they dont come in, their ideas come into this administration.

If that is true of a neophyte to national policy such as Pete Buttigieg, it goes quadruple for a grizzled and connected political veteran such as Emanuel (or another of his ilk), who would almost certainly control Bidens health-care public policy. Caveat suffragator.

More from National Review
A single-car crash in Los Angeles on Sunday night has left one YouTube star dead and led to the arrest of a popular tattoo artist on a murder charge, according to multiple media reports and a statement from police.

The LAPD announced Monday that it had arrested Daniel Silva, who has appeared on the show Ink Masters, one day after police say he lost control of his 2020 McLaren 600LT and smashed into a stop sign and a tree just before 10 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the department.

Silva was behind the wheel, the police say, while multiple media reports say that popular YouTuber Corey La Barrie, 25, was a passenger in the vehicle. Both were taken to the hospital, but La Barrie did not survive.

From the LAPD release:

"On Sunday, May 10, 2020, around 9:39 p.m., a 2020 McLaren 600LT was traveling eastbound on Huston Street at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control. Driver then ran off the road and collided with a stop sign and a tree on the northeast corner of Huston Street and Carpenter Avenue.

The driver of the McLaren exited the vehicle and attempted to leave the scene but was stopped by citizens who came to render aid. No other vehicles were involved in the collision. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and transported both parties involved in the collision to a local hospital for medical treatment.

TMZ also has additional details, but it was not immediately clear if Silva, 27, was still in police custody as of 11:20 a.m. Tuesday.

As for how this happened ... were told police were briefed by witnesses at a party that both Silva and La Barrie had attended earlier in the night to celebrate Coreys birthday. Our sources say people told cops Silva was seen drinking earlier that night, TMZ writes.

Both guys are incredibly popular in their own right, with a massive fan base. Daniels a big hit on IM -- and Corey had hundreds of thousands of followers.
Twitter has appointed Stanford professor and former Google vice president Fei-Fei Li to its board as an independent director. The social media platform said that Li's expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) will bring relevant perspectives to the board. Li's appointment may also help Twitter to attract top AI talent from other companies in Silicon Valley. Li left her role as chief scientist of AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) at Google Cloud in October 2018 after being criticized for comments she made in relation to the controversial Project Maven initiative with the Pentagon, which saw Google AI used to identify drone targets from blurry drone video footage. When details of the project emerged, Google employees objected, saying that they didn't want their AI technology used in military drones. Some quit in protest and around 4,000 staff signed a petition that called for "a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology."

While Li wasn't directly involved in the project, a leaked email suggested she was more concerned about what the public would make of Google's involvement in the project as opposed to the ethics of the project itself. "This is red meat to the media to find all ways to damage Google," she wrote, according to a copy of the email obtained by the Intercept. "You probably heard Elon Musk and his comment about AI causing WW3." "I don't know what would happen if the media starts picking up a theme that Google is secretly building AI weapons or AI technologies to enable weapons for the Defense industry. Google Cloud has been building our theme on Democratizing AI in 2017, and Diane (Greene, head of Google Cloud) and I have been talking about Humanistic AI for enterprise. I'd be super careful to protect these very positive images."

A rising star

Up until that point, Li was seen very much as a rising star at Google. In the one year and 10 months she was there, she oversaw basic science AI research, all of Google Cloud's AI/ML products and engineering efforts, and a new Google AI lab in China. While at Google she maintained strong links to Stanford and in March 2019 she launched the Stanford University Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI), which aims to advance AI research, education, policy and practice to benefit humanity.
Official White House Photo by Andrea HanksBy KATHERINE FAULDERS, MATTHEW MOSK, HALLEY FREGER and ALLISON PECORIN, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- Vice President Mike Pence made a nationwide call for coronavirus testing in America's 15,000 nursing homes, telling governors that he wants to see every state prioritize COVID-19 screening inside the facilities that have been hit the hardest by the new coronavirus.



"I want to say what we're urging with regard to nursing home testing is ... let's just get everybody in the homes everybody on the staff, let's get them tested," Pence said Monday.



Pence said the intense focus on nursing homes may stand as the nation's best chance to reduce the death toll from the outbreak, which has been highest in the long-term care centers that house some of the most vulnerable Americans.



Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the senior health officials helping guide the nation's response to the pandemic, said she believes "all one million nursing home residents," as well as staff, need to be tested within the next two weeks.



"We're really asking for every governor to focus, over the next two weeks, on testing 100% of the residents and workers, then setting up routine surveillance of all of the workers," Birx said.



State data analyzed by ABC News has started to show the totality of the outbreak's deadly imprint on nursing facilities. Available data from the 35 reporting states and the District of Columbia shows that there have been at least 26,013 nursing home deaths, representing 31% of the national death toll. And when adjusted to only include death counts of those states reporting, nursing home deaths make up 40% of the nation's total number of fatalities.



In just four East Coast states -- Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- two-thirds of the 8,447 people who have succumbed to the virus lived in nursing or long-term care facilities.



The ambitious White House call for widespread testing inside the nursing care industry does not offer explanations for how the tests will reach so many residents and staff in such short order. Even in some states that sought universal testing earlier this month, a number of nursing homes are still reporting difficulties in obtaining access to tests.



An official at one national nursing home chain told ABC News the company does not have sufficient tests on hand, at this point, to screen every resident.

"We are still trying to get the tests we need in the states where it has been mandated," said the official, who asked not to be named so as not to jeopardize the company's relationship with state and federal officials.



Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the National Center for Assisted Living, said he hopes the federal government will back up the request for widespread testing with assistance.



"We strongly agree with the vice president and Dr. Birx's recommendation today for testing of all nursing home residents and staff and call on the federal government to help with this endeavor," Parkinson said. "Without access to more testing, long term care providers are at a severe disadvantage in identifying more of these asymptomatic residents and staff who could be contagious and an endangerment to others."



April Verrett, president of a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union that represents health care workers in California, said her members "describe a lack of consistent testing amongst patients and workers, leaving both further exposed to the unknown possibility of transmission."



"Many nursing home workers are parents, too, and go home to families unsure of whether they are carrying the virus," Verrett said.



Birx said obliquely that if governors "have any difficulty in doing this," the federal government will "stand beside you, to help with a federal contract to do that in partnership with you, all to just make sure that we can get 100% [of the people] tested and supported over the next two weeks."



But Dr. Danny Avula, the county health district director who oversaw the outbreak at Virginia's Canterbury nursing home where 49 people died from COVID-19, said that even if the number of tests needed to execute Pence's recommendation are accessible, he's unsure if there will be the necessary staff to administer them.



"The manpower is still a question," Avula said. "I think every health department is going to be in a similar bind where they just do not have the number of nurses and other medical staff to be able to go in and do this in all of their facilities in a two week period of time for example.



Still, Richard Mollot, who heads The Long Term Care Community Coalition, said he considers the new plan "a good step in the right direction."



"We still need to quickly address the basic care and safety issues, such as ensuring that there is adequate staffing and that basic infection protocols are in place," Mollot said.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Representative Image

Amol Agrawal

Amidst all the chaos, the Libra Association (LA) released a new paper on Libra. For the uninitiated, Facebook with other technology players had proposed starting a new currency named Libra. With advent of Bitcoin in 2008, there have been several proposals to start private digital currencies. However, it was Libra which really shook the monetary authorities as Libra was backed by leading players such as Facebook, which could easily bypass the existing central bank-commercial bank nexus by ushering digital payments amidst Facebooks billions of subscribers.

Libra led to not just central banks ushering their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC), but the founders were also summoned and criticised by the US Congress. Based on the criticism of Libra 1.0, the LA has proposed four changes to Libra 2.0.

Libra 1.0 was foremost seen as challenging the authority of sovereign monetary authorities as one could make payments across borders in Libras and not bothered to hold US Dollars, Indian Rupee, etc. The LA has made it clear that their vision always was to make Libra a compliment and not a substitute to the fiat currencies.

Thus, the Libra 1.0 multicurrency project has given way to both single-currency Libra 2.0 and multicurrency Libra 2.0. The single-currency Libra 2.0 will function like existing currencies such as LibraUSD, LibraEuro etc. and will be backed by cash and short-term government securities of the respective countries. The multicurrency Libra 2.0 will continue and be backed by basket of currencies. A multicurrency provides a choice to those who are not included in single-currency Libra and wish to use the Libra network. This new approach will also help countries provide a seamless integration of the Libra network with the CBDCs.

The second major criticism against Libra 1.0 was that it could be used as a platform for money laundering, terrorism and illicit activities. To address this, the association has classified four categories of participants. The first are Designated Dealers authorised by the association. The second are Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) registered in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) member jurisdictions. The association will also start a certification process which will enable interested providers to become Certified VASPs. The fourth are individuals seeking to transact through the Libra network.

The association will initially allow only the first two categories and work towards including the third member. The fourth category enables financial inclusion but could pose risks. So they will be subject to balance and transaction limits.

The third criticism was that Libra 1.0 is an open system without necessary checks which could be threatened by unknown participants, and suffers from a lack of compliance. The association plans to keep this system open and competitive where new players will be able to join the network and compete with the older players. However, the partners of the entire network will now operate on a renewal based system.

The fourth objection to Libra 1.0 was on how it will deal with highly-risky situations such as an economic or a financial crises. Such crises could lead to a run on the Libra network where people try and convert their Libra holdings for fiat currencies. The white paper says that there will be two safety valves to prevent a fire-sale. The Redemption Stays valve will delay redemptions so that assets can be sold without a fire-sale. The Early Redemption Haircuts valve will impose a fee on the holders who want an instant redemption. Moreover, the reserves will be invested in highly-safe securities which have very short-term maturity/low credit risk/high liquidity and will also maintain a risk buffer.

To sum up, Libra 1.0 was criticised sharply and the association has responded with new changes, not giving up the idea of starting its digital currency. However, even with these modified changes, the fiat currency authorities are not going to give up their criticisms of the project.

Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has again led to forces of centralisation, whether in politics or in economics. So projects which aim to create competition or even act as complements to existing currency systems, are not going to find easy acceptance, even amidst the public that supports free-markets.

Perhaps the governments can learn from these projects by imbibing their technology and ideas, as they march towards their own digital currencies. There is news that Chinese and French authorities have kicked the can on their digital currency projects. This might then be a win-win situation for all.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has said Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is not operating in a vacuum with regard to his sustained unbridled attacks on former President John Dramani Mahama.

Asiedu Nketia indicated that he is the tried and tested hatchet man for the dirty job any time his party and government decide to attack the former President.

He said the unrestrained attacks on former President Mahama by Dr Bawumia embodies an age-old propaganda strategy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by which the party tries to draw a higher-raked NDC official down to the level of a lower-ranked official of their party (NPP), in order to obfuscate important national issues.

The NDC chief scribe made this revelation on TV3s Saturday morning show over the weekend.

The host wanted to know his opinion as to why there seems to always be a banter between Mr Mahama and Bawumia when one would have expected such engagements more between President Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama.

Buttressing his point, Mr Asiedu Nketia made reference to one Isaac Edumadzie, who the NPP used for a similar hatched job on the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills in the past. He emphasised that Mr Edumadzies insulting reference to the late President Atta Mills as a chamber pot was as a result of the unconscionable assignment he undertook on behalf of the NPP by going after the then NDC flagbearer at all cost.

He said Edumadzies job was to keep attacking Prof Mills at every opportunity so that if the then NDC leader decided to respond to him, then he (Prof Mills) would appear to be descending to Edumadzies low level.

Mr Asiedu Nketia said Dr Bawumia performs Edumadzies role currently for the Akufo-Addo-led NPP. He explained that Dr Bawumia, since becoming Mr Akufo-Addos running mate, has assumed Edumadzies position as NPPs hatched man against Mr Mahama, with the intention of luring the former President to descend to Bawumias level any time there is an important national issue under discussion.

The NDC General Secretary added this behaviour of the NPP permeates the partys entire communications approach. He said the NPP has made it their stock in trade to send subordinates in the eleventh hour to substitute for their officials invited for media discussions with officials of the NDC. That, according to him, is the reason why, for instance, when the general secretaries of the two parties are invited for a media discussion, it is common to see the NPP send their communications director who is an appointee of the general secretary, at the eleventh hour to engage the NDC general secretary.

He said Mr Mahama does not engage Bawumia in a banter, indicating that it is the vice president who is on an agenda of attacking the former president any time he speaks.

He agreed with the suggestion that President Akufo-Addo himself should engage former President Mahama on the issues, since Dr Bawumia has, by his own conduct, discredited his integrity.

According to the NDC general secretary, Bawumia decided to attack Mr Mahama in an attempt to run away from the critical question by journalists regarding the different sets of economic figures the NPP government presented to the Parliament of Ghana and those the recent $1billion IMF loan received by the government was granted on.

He pointed out that when Bawumia keeps saying the data shows, the data shows one wonders which data he refers to- whether the standardised IMF data which presents the true picture of Ghanas economy and like the NDC flagbearer said, is in Intensive Care Unit requiring a ventilator for survival or the cooked data the government has presented to Parliament.

He said the NDC is not seeking to appoint a running mate of Bawumias stature since that stature is defective.

Mr Asiedu Nketia wonders what logic informs NPPs constant demand on Mr Mahama to name his running mate when they dont have a flagbearer and also have 150 parliamentary candidature positions to fill. This, he said shows the NDC is better prepared for the 2020 elections.

Electoral Commission

Answering a question about the brouhaha that has characterised the Electoral Commissions work towards the 2020 elections, Mr Asiedu Nketia said We are where we are because the EC set out to solve a problem which does not exist. He explained that the EC has no business saddling itself with the idea of compiling a new voters register after it said the current register is credible for the conduct of future elections.

He suggested that even if the EC cannot undertake a limited registration exercise this year because of COVID-19, the election can go ahead since the Commission undertook a limited registration exercise last December.

NDCs Message

Mr Asiedu Nketia said the NDC represents hope to the masses of the people of Ghana. He implored the electorate to give Mr Mahama and the party another chance of power in the 2020 elections to continue the good works truncated by the NPPs assumption of power in 2016.

He assured that the NDC will implement good policies to alleviate the suffering and untold hardships inflicted on then by the failed Akufo-Addo-led NPP government, pointing to the fact that Akufo-Addo is copying Mahamas programmes and policies for the next elections as his non-performing government has ran out of steam.

Source: The Catalyst Newspaper
May 11th.

54 AD  Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or just plain NERO to his friends becomes Emperor of Rome. Nero is know to have married at least one gay male couple in legal ceremonies, with at least one spouse accorded the same honors as an empress. Gay relationships were in fact accepted and institutionalized during this time period.

Early Roman poets and critics wrote about the practice, from Juvenals satire that mentions Gracchus, who arrayed himself in the flounces and train and veil of a bride, to Martial, a first-century poet who observed that homosexual marriage was not uncommon in the empire during the first century. Both Juvenal and Martial gave us accounts of men who played the bride in wedding ceremonies, wearing bridal veils like women.

It was not till much later that homosexuality became the big sinful BAD. (See below.)

1102 AD  The Council of London took measures to ensure that the public, who were quite tolerant of homosexuality at the time, knew that it was sinful, marking a significant shift in church attitudes towards homosexuality, which previously had been more or less indifference, or very mild condemnation. Many priests were homosexuals, likely one of the causes of the change in attitude, as moral reformers such as Bernard of Cluny called for change.

1250  1300 AD  Between 1250 and 1300, homosexual activity passed from being legal in most of Europe to incurring the death penalty in all but a few contemporary legal compilations.  John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980)

1739 and 1755  The Ladies of Llangollen  Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby celebrate joint birthdays and shared their lives for a half century. Both Irish aristocrats, they ran away from their native Ireland to live in Wales together. The subject of several excellent books, they seem to have scandalized and impressed their neighbors as well as London high society.

Rather than face the possibility of being forced into unwanted marriages, they left County Kilkenny together in April 1778. Their families hunted them down and forcefully tried to make them give up their plansbut in vain. They moved to Wales with a servant, Mary Caryll, who lived and worked for them without pay for the rest of her life, and who was buried in the same plot and memorialized on the same grave marker.

Putting their plan into motion, they undertook a picturesque tour of the Welsh countryside, eventually settling in North Wales. Living first in a rented home in the village of Llangollen, they moved in 1780 to a small cottage just outside the village they called Plas Newydd or new mansion.

After a couple of years, their life attracted the interest of the outside world. Their house became a haven for visitors travelling between Dublin and London, including writers such as Anna Seward, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott,

Butler and Ponsonby lived together for 50 years.

Mary Caryll died in 1809. Eleanor Butler died in 1829 at the age of 90. Sarah Ponsonby died two years later, age 76. They are all buried together at St Collens Church in Llangollen.

1999  Billy Bean the former outfielder and left-handed hitter for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres makes headlines in when he became only the second baseball player to publicly come out, three years after his retirement. It was a long struggle to get there. As a closeted pro athlete, he struggled to juggle his secret and his career. He divorced his wife in 1993 and secretly moved in with his first lover. When his lover died of AIDS, Bean didnt attend the funeral because he was too frightened that his secret would be revealed. Why was it so impossible to think that a baseball player could grieve for a man? he later reflected. That was a terrible, terrible decision I made.

His 2003 book, Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball, chronicles the ups and downs of his life as a gay man and baseball player. Bean is currently a real estate agent in Miami.
Brand new apartments are offering eight weeks of free rent to lure in tenants after the coronavirus pandemic sparked an economic downturn.

Newly-built development Marquee, located in Amaroo in the Australian Capital Territory, is offering 107 apartments from $360 per week.

But for the first eight weeks tenants would be paying absolutely nothing.

Real estate agent from Independent Property Management, Liz Harvie, said this is the first time an entire development has offered this kind of deal in Canberra.

This spacious and stylish one bedroom apartment in the new development Marquee in Canberra is offering eight weeks of free rent

Newly-built development Marquee, located in Amaroo in the Australian Capital Territory, is offering 107 apartments with the free rent deal

'It's something we have done in the past but for individual apartments, which we found successful,' she told Allhomes.

Applicants who apply for a two-year lease will receive eight weeks of free rent, meanwhile those that apply for a one-year lease will get four weeks rent-free.

Ms Harvie said the deal was an incentive to attract potential tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It's a way to give prospective tenants that incentive to rent, to save money and make it easier for them to get into the marketplace,' she said.

Ms Harvie said majority of the 107 apartments are one-bedroom but there are also studio spaced and two-bedroom apartments on offer.

'There's also an Aldi downstairs from the apartments, a restaurant and a nail salon which will be convenient to the tenants once it opens,' Ms Harvie said.

The apartments were listed online just one week ago and Ms Harvie said she has since been flooded with applications.

'So far, it's been very busy and I've received over 20 applications,' she said.

Before restrictions on open homes were listed Ms Harvie was conducting back-to-back inspections for prospective tenants, who were keen because of the free-rent.

The rental market has plummeted as many renters left the market due to the coronavirus health crisis.

Ms Harvie said majority of the 107 apartments are one-bedroom (pictured) but there are also studio spaced and two-bedroom apartments on offer

Landlords in major cities have taken drastic action after many renters left the market; either moving back in with parents to save money or expats going back overseas.

With hundreds of thousands of Australians and foreign workers stood down by businesses across the country, many were unable to pay their rent and left major cities.

Consumer researcher Graham Cooke, from Finder.com.au, said the pandemic is creating a 'tenant's market' in major cities.

Mr Cooke said the outlook is improving for lease-hunters, with rents expected to drop by up to 10 to 20 per cent.

Fewer international students, a slow housing market and a ban on Airbnb rental properties in NSW is expected to place downward pressure on rents.

The apartments were listed online just one week ago and Ms Harvie said she has since been flooded with applications

He explained: 'There's been three drivers behind it - student accommodation, there's not a lot of students coming in from overseas.

'We're already seeing a lot of short term rental properties coming onto the long-term rental market after Airbnbs were declared illegal.

'(And) because of the difficulty of selling a house right now, we're probably going to have a lot of people who were trying to sell postponing.

'That will lead to an increase in stock on the market, which will probably, in turn, push rents down'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Harvie and Independent Property Management for comment.
Industry representatives in



Gujarat on Tuesday welcomed the massive financial package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the coronavirus-affected economy, but the opposition Congress was not impressed and dubbed it as a 'hollow promise'.

In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, Modi on Tuesday announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, saying the crisis has provided India an opportunity to become self-reliant and emerge as the best in the world.

The Gujarat BJP also welcomed the Rs 20 lakh crore package saying it has come as a blessing for various sections of the society, including farmers, labourers, middle class and MSMEs.

"Our PM has put forward a great vision for a self- reliant India. Every section of the society will get something out of this stimulus package, which is around 10 per cent of our country's GDP," said Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani.

However, the Gujarat Congress said common citizens expected something concrete instead of such an announcement.

"This country's economy is run by workers. Citizens were expecting some concrete schemes for labourers, who are suffering the most due to the lockdown.

"This package was nothing but a hollow promise for the common citizens," said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.

On the other hand, industrialists welcomed the package.

"This package was much needed for small and medium industries. This package will also boost agricultural and rural economy. The PM's idea of promoting local manufacturing is encouraging," said former president of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jaimin Vasa.

"Since the threat of coronavirus is still there, I believe it will be a challenge for both the government as well as people to restore normalcy," said Vasa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than 14,000 New York City school bus drivers, attendants and mechanics are being furloughed by the private companies that employ them. This will leave these already poorly paid workers not only without incomes, but deprived of medical insurance and pensions at a time when the citys population is reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although exact figures are not available, according to a union statement, a significant number of drivers have become infected and some have died.

New York School Bus workers in 2013

In New York City, private bus companies under contract to the city provide transportation for public, charter and parochial school children, including many with special needs, who cannot take public buses or subways to school.

Since mid-March, when schools were closed, the buses have been idle, and the city is now refusing to pay the companies under existing contracts or to renew the contracts. Initially during the shutdown the companies had been receiving 85 percent of their contracted payments under a provision of the existing agreements covering suspension of service during emergencies such as blizzards. The citys Department of Education (DOE) was supposed to vote on an emergency extension of these payments on April 29, but the item was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.

While the contract extension is supposedly still under review, the companies began to terminate pay and benefits to their employees the next day. The loss of these jobs will throw thousands more onto the citys already staggering unemployment rolls (already officially at 900,000) and deprive them of medical insurance when it is most needed. Some are in danger of losing necessary certifications.

The plight of one driver, Mylda Eugene, was described by the Daily News. Mylda, who for 17 years had driven school buses for Hoyt Transportation, lost her husband, a cab driver, to COVID-19 in late March. She has now lost both her job and her health insurance. The couples 12-year-old twins have tested positive for the coronavirus. Mylda told the Daily News, I dont know what Im going to do right now. I was using my check to pay my rent. Thousands of furloughed school bus workers and their families are facing similar devastation.

The city blamed the state for cutting off the 44 percent share of transportation costs it usually provides to the city. New York City projects a budget deficit of more than $7 billion. Mayor de Blasio, a Democrat, has proposed a more than $800 million reduction to the DOEs budget.

With hundreds dying daily from COVID-19 in New York state and around 1,000 new cases daily, Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announce that all schools throughout the state would remain closed for the rest of the academic year, and possibly beyond. Huge cuts in the state budget, including aid to local schools, will put additional financial pressure on the city. Cancelling the school bus contracts is only one component of the savage austerity to which the citys public schools will be subject, undoubtedly including massive job losses.

Some community groups, such as Class Size Matters, which styles itself as Independent voices of New York City public school parents, have urged the DOE to cancel the school bus contracts as a waste of money, oblivious to the devastating impact on school bus workers. Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters described the payments as money down the drain. She continued, Its spending as though were living in an alternative universe with unlimited funds instead of the reality of where we are with schools closed and headed towards a fiscal cliff. It should be noted that during the last school bus workers strike in 2013 the workers received major support from parents.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer agreed, Given the extreme budgetary pressures faced by the city amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem contrary to all sense of fiscal prudence that the City would continue to pay for services that can no longer be rendered for the remainder of the school year.

In the financial capital of the world, home of Wall Street, where the stock market is booming while millions of workers are being driven into destitution, the repeated refrain that there is no money is not only absurd, but criminal. The broken and grossly inadequate unemployment system will in no way compensate for the loss of income due to the furlough. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) has announced that workers are eligible to obtain medical insurance via the states health insurance marketplace during a special enrollment period. The notoriously inadequate Obamacare plans, known for prohibitively expensive deductibles and copays, will drive school bus workers and their families even deeper into poverty.

Several local politicians have proposed using the school buses to transport essential workers during early morning hours when the citys transit system has been shut down for cleaning during the pandemic. As of this writing, there is no additional information regarding this proposal.

Following a lengthy and bitter strike in 1979, the city implemented the Employment Protection Provision, known as EPP. Under this policy, workers pay and seniority were protected, even when they moved from one bus company to another. Under former mayor Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and erstwhile candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, the policy was eliminated following a month-long strike in 2013 that was betrayed by ATU Local 1181-1061.

The betrayal was justified based on a supposed pledge to the union by the various Democrats then running for mayor, including Bill de Blasio, the ultimate winner and self-styled progressive, that the EPP would be reinstated. That never happened.

Governor Cuomo vetoed a bill to reinstate the EPP that had been passed by the state legislature. The ATU again pushed through a concessions deal last year, despite an overwhelming strike mandate from the membership.

One of the contract concessions agreed to by the ATU was that the union would bargain individually with each company, rather than reach a single agreement with all the companies, as had been done in the past. As a result, competition between companies to win city contracts increased. Wages of existing workers were cut, and companies accelerated the hiring of large numbers of young and inexperienced drivers at even lower pay to replace many of the existing workforce. They then used this to intimidate others into accepting reductions in the terms of their employment. Other changes included elimination of pay for necessary down time between runs.

As was the case in 2013 and 2019, New York school bus workers can place absolutely no confidence in the unions or in the Democratic Party, to which they are bound hand and foot to protect them from destitution. In a completely toothless May 6 letter from ATU Local 1181 President Michael Cordiello to the membership he stated, We continue to reach out to Mayor deBlasio [sic] [and a number of other city officials] to demand that they make the right decision for our members by urging them to extend our employers contracts. Such efforts have yielded nothing but empty promises from city and state officials in the past. They will be equally fruitless now, with even more dire consequences.

Seven years ago, during the 2013 contract struggle, the World Socialist Web Site was the only news source telling the truth about the struggle, in print or online. Our reporters and supporters became well known on the picket lines. We spoke with hundreds of strikers and posted dozens of articles that allowed workers to express their views and communicate with one another while the union and the capitalist media shut them out.

At that time, in response to a call by the Socialist Equality Party, a group of school bus workers took an initial step toward the formation of a rank-and-file committee to take the fight out of the hands of the treacherous union. This effort must be renewed and taken forward. School bus workers cannot defend themselves alone against the ruling-class assault on the entire working population. The COVID-19 pandemic is an international crisis of unprecedented proportions. It cannot be defeated on an industry-by-industry or country-by-country basis. While the federal government has massively bailed out Wall Street, workers are being driven into poverty.

Only through the unity of all workers, public and privateteachers, transit, Amazon, UPS and others in the US and globallybuilding a coalition of rank-and-file workplace and neighborhood committees and fighting for a socialist program to wrest control of society from the financial and corporate elite, can the deadly threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic be overcome.

We urge school bus and other workers to contact the SEP.
Manila, May 12 : The Philippines on Tuesday announced an ease in its COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, although the curbs will remain in force in densely populated urban areas such as Manila and Cebu along with the Laguna province.

The strict lockdown measures which were put in place due to COVID-19 pandemic will continue for a total of 16 million Filipinos until May 31, which includes 13 million habitants in the metropolitan area of Manila, [residential spokesperson Harry Roque told the media.

Roque said that the extension of the strict lockdown measures in these areas would be slightly modified May 15 onwards and some sectors will be allowed to operate with a cap of 50 per cent of its total capacity in an effort to revive the economy, reports Efe news.

"We cannot afford a second or third wave of the coronavirus," President Rodrigo Duterte said in a televised address to explain the new measures.

So far, the Philippines has confirmed 11,086 infections including 726 deaths and 2,000 recovered patients.

Out of these figures, 64 per cent of the cases and 72 per cent of the deaths were reported in Manila, making it a high risk zone for infection.

The Duterte government had extended the lockdown for the third time since March 17 after it had announced strict restrictions in the entire region of Luzon which has a population of around 57 million that accounts for more than half of the country's population.

The lockdown was imposed on March 15 in Manila and it would be in effect until May 31, meaning a total restriction in the capital for 78 days.

However gradual easing on restrictions on the Luzon island is set to begin from Friday whereas other provincial islands in central and southern Philippines began relaxation in curbs May 1 onwards.

Public transport - with half of its capacity - has resumed in these areas while the majority of establishments and shopping malls with high sanitization measures have reopened.

However restaurants were only accepting home delivery orders.

Across the country, the academic year is not expected to begin before August. It usually begins in June.

The Philippine economy contracted 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 amid the strict lockdown measures, making it the first drop since 1998, while 2 million Filipinos have so far lost their jobs.
Areas designated as special alert prefectures are making moves to set their own criteria for easing or lifting restrictions set due to the spread of the coronavirus. While giving top priority to preventing the collapse of medical systems, prefectural governments are accelerating efforts to create exit strategies so that economic activities can be resumed.

The Aichi prefectural government on Monday released criteria for relaxing its request to stay home and suspend business operations. It has set two levels, "caution" and "danger," and will determine the level depending on specific figures in three categories, such as the number of new infections. Using these criteria, the government will consider easing or reissuing requests for restraint.

The three categories are the average number of newly infected people, the percentage of people testing positive in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and the average number of hospitalized patients.

The figures will be taken from the preceding seven days. The "caution" level will be reached if there are 10 people for the first category, 5% for the second category and 150 people for the third category. For the "danger" level, the thresholds are 20 people, 10% and 250 people. If any of the criteria are reached for the "caution" stage, the prefectural government will consider once again asking people to refrain from going out and requesting businesses to close. If all three criteria are met for the "danger" level, it will take the most stringent measures, including instructing businesses to suspend operations.

Aichi Prefecture has already seen its figures in all three categories fall as low as the "caution" level. The government intends to decide whether the restrictions will be eased by also referring to an analysis by an expert panel of the central government. Gov. Hideaki Omura said at a press conference, "Considering the current situation, we're now in the stage of preparing to resume economic activities and reopen schools."

The Osaka prefectural government will lift its restrictions, including a request for business suspensions, if each of three conditions are met for seven consecutive days. The conditions are the number of new infections being below 10, the percentage of people who test positive in PCR tests being less than 7%, and the percentage of hospital beds for patients with severe symptoms below 60% occupancy.

The Ibaraki prefectural government has set six categories such as the number of people with unknown infection routes and the percentage of those testing positive. Similarly, the Gifu prefectural government has set five categories to determine whether to relax restrictions.

Fukuoka Gov. Hiroshi Ogawa said at a press conference Monday that the prefectural government will consider easing current measures, such as a request to shorten business hours, even though the prefecture is not excluded from the designation of special alert prefectures.

On the other hand, the Tokyo metropolitan government plans to continue asking businesses to stay closed through May 31 as the period for a national state of emergency has been extended to that day.

However, the metropolitan government intends to present its exit strategy based on expert opinions. "I would like to present a road map for certain stages in the future," Gov. Yuriko Koike said.

While setting such criteria for lifting restrictions, local governments are also cautious about the mood among the public that has seen them relaxing efforts to stay home, and have indicated thresholds at which they would again ask for self-restraint to prevent possible second wave of infections.
Adapt Relentlessly This pandemic has accelerated the need to adapt more quickly than any of us could have predicted, and old standards of customer experience are not a viable strategy for business continuity.

Pivotree  a leading Global Commerce and MDM Services Provider  today announced the launch of its Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) solution. BOPIS by Pivotree can be rapidly implemented  in a matter of weeks  to drive same-quarter return on investment (ROI) for retailers with online commerce channels. Pivotree is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, whose provincial government announced last week that all retailers with street access will be allowed to sell using contactless pickup, which Pivotrees BOPIS solution enables.

"Currently there is a huge need for 'buy online, pickup in-store' due to COVID-19. Even as some restrictions are lifted, social distancing is expected to come in waves, with another surge predicted in the fall and holiday season. Retailers who have BOPIS capabilities are in a better position to attract and retain customers, and compete with fast fulfillment options that, in many cases, even giants like Amazon can't offer," said Greg Wong, Chief Revenue Officer at Pivotree. "To help companies get back to business and adapt to this new normal, Pivotree is introducing a BOPIS solution that enhances the curbside customer experience and allows retailers to quickly capitalize on the inventory they already have sitting in their stores."

A study from Adobe Analytics found that BOPIS orders increased 208 percent from April 1-20, YoY. In addition to essentials like groceries, shoppers have sought immediate gratification for fast pickup of apparel, electronics, personal care, office supplies, books, toys, and other items. Pivotree's BOPIS solution addresses this heightened demand for curbside/in-store pickup. As a rapidly-integrated, platform-agnostic solution, BOPIS can run parallel to existing systems, with the capability to be switched on and off as needed. The solution features:



BOPIS Curbside Manager: Augments existing BOPIS capabilities to effectively manage the interactive process of delivering the customer's order at the curb or parking lot, focusing on order accuracy, seamless communication, and expedient order delivery.

BOPIS Personal Shopper (Pick and Pack): The solution pulls from the current e-commerce experience and adds a BOPIS option at checkout. Store personnel utilize a Personal Shopper mobile app to pick-and-pack the customer's order, which is then routed through Curbside Manager for pickup.

BOPIS Personal Shopper with a Hosted BOPIS Page: Adds to Personal Shopper capabilities with a form allowing customers to specify pickup store, time, notes, or special instructions to improve the order and pickup process.

BOPIS joins a suite of Social Distancing Commerce Enablement Solutions offered by Pivotree to help companies respond and evolve to a commerce world reshaped by the pandemic. Pivotree integrated BOPIS for one national Canadian retailer earlier this quarter which was deemed an essential service and needed a rapid solution to sell their goods to customers.

At Pivotree we have been helping our clients embrace change and disruption as more businesses move towards a digital future. Our Innovation Team is dedicated to developing solutions that add real business value to clients using new and creative technologies and processes, said Peter Lui-Hing, Chief Innovation Officer at Pivotree. "This pandemic has accelerated the need to adapt more quickly than any of us could have predicted, and old standards of customer experience are not a viable strategy for business continuity. This is why weve developed a process for rapid innovation that delivers expedited time to value that is focused on helping our clients businesses survive COVID-19, and accelerate in the phases that follow it.

To learn more, click here for BOPIS solution details or to request more information.

About Pivotree

Pivotree is a leading Global Commerce Services Provider. It is the only end-to-end vendor supporting clients from strategy, platform selection, deployment, and hosting through to ongoing support: a single expert resource to help companies adapt relentlessly in an ever-changing digital commerce landscape.

Leading and innovative clients rely on Pivotree's deep expertise to choose enterprise-proven solutions  including world-class Commerce and MDM platforms  and design, build, and connect critical systems to run smoothly at defining moments in a commerce business. Pivotree serves as a trusted partner to over 200 market-leading brands and forward-thinking B2C and B2B companies, including many Fortune 1000.

With offices and customers in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, Pivotree is widely recognized as a high-growth company and industry leader around the globe. For more information, visit http://www.pivotree.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:13:17|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- As of Monday, over 1.8 million people have registered as jobless or in short-time work in Austria, said the government in its first weekly job market update during the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday.

A total of 549,662 people are unemployed or in training courses, a slight decrease of almost 40,000 job seekers compared with the peak of unemployment in mid-April, said Minister of Labor Christine Aschbacher when presenting the latest figures at a press conference.

In addition, 1.3 million people have applied for short-time work, said Aschbacher. "We are in intensive talks to further develop and simplify short-time work."

The crisis had shown that Europe must increase its resilience and strengthen its self-sufficiency, according to Minister for Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock.

"It is now important to prepare ourselves for any further crises, whatever they may be. To do this, we have to bring value chains back to Europe -- also for future technologies," said the minister, citing semiconductors, batteries and hydrogen as examples.

As an exporting country, the Alpine republic cannot be completely isolated, she said, calling for a "pan-European approach."

The minister emphasized that a new European competition law is urgently needed to address the new reality. Enditem
A man was stabbed and injured in



a fight over flashing torchlight into the face, police in Nagpur said on Tuesday.

Hariram Landge accidentally flashed his torch into the face of Prashant Landge who picked up a fight, said an official.

"When Hariram's son Maroti intervened, Prashant stabbed and injured him. An attempt to murder case has been registered," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Health insurance giant Bupa will pay a $6 million fine for misleading representations relating to 20 of its aged care homes, after failing to supply or under-delivering services residents had paid for, including hot breakfasts and talking book libraries.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the operator to the Federal Court last year, claiming residents had been spending thousands of dollars on packages for extra services that were not provided.

Bupa Aged Care Australia was taken to court by the consumer watchdog in 2019. Credit:Virginia Star

These included physiotherapy rooms, hot breakfasts, talking book libraries for those with vision and reading difficulties and individually-controlled heating and cooling.

The ACCC commenced its investigation after Bupa self-reported the conduct.
Families were last night urged to cut up old T-shirts to make masks for use in public.

Faces should be covered up on public transport, in small shops and wherever social distancing is impossible.

However ministers say wearing one will not be mandatory and surgical masks should not be used because they are needed by the NHS and the care sector.

Ministers say wearing one will not be mandatory and surgical masks should not be used because they are needed by the NHS and the care sector

Instead faces should be covered by a scarf or a homemade cotton mask. Officials last night released a Blue Peter-style guide on how to make one from an old T-shirt.

Boris Johnson told the Commons yesterday: With more activity outside our homes, we would now advise people to wear a cloth face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and you are more likely to come in contact with people you do not normally meet.

The reason is face coverings can help to protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease, particularly if you have coronavirus-like symptoms.

But this does not mean ... wearing medical face masks, 2R or FFP3, which must be reserved for people who need them. Were certainly not compelling people to wear face coverings. But plainly they can be of benefit to others primarily because they stop the aerosol transmission of droplets which may contain infection.

The guidance on masks comes two weeks after the Governments Sage advisory group found there was some evidence that covering the face can stop transmission.

Yesterdays 60-page document on easing the lockdown states that people should wear a covering when they face short periods indoors in crowded areas.

Pictured: A man wearing a face mask in Sainsburys. Faces should be covered up on public transport, in small shops and wherever social distancing is impossible

It adds: Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of two or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly, for example primary school age children unassisted, or those with respiratory conditions.

Wash your hands before putting them on and taking them off. The key thing is it should cover your mouth and nose.

Public Health England published guidance on how to make a face covering, saying it can be as simple as a scarf or bandana tied behind the head.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth at all times and store used face coverings in a plastic bag until you have an opportunity to wash them, it said.
A vaccine will be essential to stopping the spread of the coronavirus, said the US chief epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking during the meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

However, he warned that it may take some time before the vaccine becomes available, CNBC reported.

What Ive expressed then and again is my concern that if some areas, cities, states what have you jump over those various check points and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks, he noted.

By the way, on Tuesday, Fauci spoke about US government collaboration on a vaccine with biotechnology company Moderna, which had just completed its first test phase. The company's potential vaccine contains genetic material called an RNA messenger, or mRNA, which was produced in a lab. Moderna announced last week that it would begin the second phase of testing soon, and would complete the development of test plans for the third phase this summer.

According to Fauci, US health officials are also working with several other organizations, including researchers from the University of Oxford, who are developing the vaccine.

He also said effective therapeutics are critical to treat patients infected with the virus.

The Food and Drug Administration on May 1 granted so-called emergency use authorization for Gilead Sciences remdesivir drug to treat COVID-19.

In addition to remdesivir, US health officials are developing and testing other new and reusable treatments, including monoclonal antibodies, which are proteins created in the lab that attack certain antigens, Fauci added.

They also plan clinical trials to evaluate the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, and hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin to treat the disease, he said.

These efforts will improve our response to the current pandemic and bolster our preparedness for the next, inevitable emerging disease outbreak, Fauci said Tuesday.
The death toll for the coronavirus pandemic in the US may be even higher than the current estimates, according to the nations leading infectious disease expert and member of the White House coronavirus task force.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Senate health committee on Tuesday afternoon the number [of Covid-19 deaths] is likely higher than the official count as reported by the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

The doctors remarks contradicted those of President Donald Trump, who has reportedly questioned the accuracy of the coronavirus death toll and complained about the way the estimates were being calculated in conversations with his senior aides.

Dr Fauci also warned the consequences could be really serious if states lift stay-at-home guidelines too quickly while failing to adhere to guidelines put forward by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear", he said.

Mr Trump has meanwhile encouraged states to begin reopening in an apparent effort to restart the countrys badly shaken economy, which has seen the unemployment rate soar to 14.6 percent and many industries grind to a halt as workers were furloughed or let go due to lockdown orders.

Health experts have long predicted the actual coronavirus death toll was likely higher than the reported estimates, citing significant issues the federal government faced in distributing testing kits for Covid-19 across the country during the initial months of the outbreak.

More than 81,000 people have died due to complications resulting from the novel virus, according to the latest estimates published by Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.38 million people living in the US have contracted coronavirus.

At least 17 states have not met those CDC requirements, according to an analysis conducted by the Associated Press. However, many of those are either in the process of or preparing to reopen, including Alabama, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma and more.

Dr Fauci also said on Tuesday the country will run the risk of a resurgence if adequate testing and tracing capabilities are not in place by the fall and states continue to reopen businesses to the public.
People of St. Maarten here and abroad, I hereby address you as PriPrime Minister & Chair of the EOC Silveria Jacobs National Address on COVID-19 Developments May 11, 2020me Minister and Chair of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), in an update for today, Monday, May 11, 2020, as part of the process to keep the community of St. Maarten informed about the latest developments and the Governments COVID-19 containment, mitigation and response measures.

I would like to take this time, one-day post Mother's Day, to wish each and every mother, a mother figure, and a person who makes an impact on our youth. Know that you are appreciated every day and that I'm very happy we had the opportunity yesterday, to relax and be put in the sunshine and receive our due as mothers. I wish that each and every person would remember to enjoy their mothers while you have them because the time goes by ever so quickly.

I would like to take this time to thank each and everyone who has tuned in over the past weeks to our broadcast. It is, of course, our pleasure to be able to inform you and our duty during a disaster. I am very happy that we are doing all that we can to mitigate the spread and the measures are working according to plan. We are seeing the numbers going down and I can say that today marks 13 days since we had a positive case.

Collective Prevention Services (CPS) will continue to do its outreach within neighborhoods. However, as per the cases that we know about, we remain at 15 active cases, of which 4 are at the Mobile Medical Pavilion (MMP). According to SMMC, 2 of the 4 patients are already recovered however, they are still undergoing treatments for other issues regarding their health. Eleven persons are in self-isolation at home and I asked that they continue to isolate properly until they have been given the green light by CPS.

I have noticed that even though today was the first day of the openings for this week, I did not see a rush. Therefore, the behavior of our population is now completely in line with our new normal. We are getting accustomed to the way things have been. We will continue to put our health first, and stay at home as much as possible, only going out, if we are working at places rendering essential services or to purchase essential needs.

This morning, in our weekly meeting held with our French counterparts, I sat together with Madam Prefet Sylvie Feucher, President Daniel Gibbs, 1st Vice-President Valerie Damaseau as well as the Minister of Justice Anna Richardson and the Minister of Health Richard Panneflek, together with our support staff. We had discussions pertaining to our weekly updates on the COVID-19 realities including the health situation, border controls, and de-escalation measures which we are both carrying out. As a result of our meeting today, and not having enough time to go in-depth, we have organized a second meeting for this week specifically to go into the discussions on our border controls and the re-opening of our schools.

CPS has now been executing the community outreach program for the past three weeks. CPS has visited a total of 14 neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods, 1915 homes consisting of a total of 5132 persons were visited. Of the 5132 persons, 36 of them reported having flu-like symptoms, 21 of those persons agreed to be tested and of the 21 cases, 1 person has been confirmed COVID-19 positive. Of the 21 cases, 10 persons did not have flu-like symptoms related to COVID-19, 3 of these persons had chronic illnesses and 5 persons refused to be tested. This past weekend CPS reached a total of 5 districts including Belvedere, Bishop Hill, and Middle Region, and will be visiting 6 more neighborhoods. It is great to note that from the beginning of the community outreach testing program only 1 person has been confirmed COVID-19 positive. As we continue to carry out the outreach, we will inform the general public if more confirmed COVID-19 cases are found. that case was several weeks ago.

A multi-disciplinary task force was established whereby, criteria were looked at based on the health, social, and economic needs, and demands, and a rating was given whereby, we came up with 4 phases. We are expected to move directly into phase 2. However, seeing that several new businesses came online that qualify to be open in phase 1, we felt that it was imperative to give them at least a week to get things up and running.

When we state in a particular phase, a business is allowed to be opened, that does not mean that it is mandatory for them to be open. Businesses that are allowed to be open during this week, May 11th, may only do so once all the guidelines are in place and the business or entity agrees to open to serve the public. As such, entities or businesses can decide to defer their opening to a later date as well. Therefore, any persons requiring a particular service, or are questioning whether a service that they need is open, should check if the business is open before leaving their homes.

The guidelines have been printed and shared and stakeholders continue to meet to finalize preparations and plans to be able to open as per the dates listed. I must re-iterate that many businesses have decided and especially as it pertains to the daycare centers, to defer their opening until they can properly put all guidelines in place.

I can update from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports, that they are having meetings together with the school boards to determine when and how schools would re-open. The Ministry is mainly focused on the exam students as several exams have come back online. On Tuesday, May 12, the Ministry of Education will follow up with meetings together with their relative stakeholders. Additionally, the Department of Youth Affairs is currently in discussions with SECDA, known as the organization which regulates daycare centers in order to ensure that the guidelines are completely understood before they open.

Persons requiring the services of daycares or schools should remain vigilant for when these schools make their opening announcements and under what conditions. Some of the guidelines include a maximum number of students per class and adhering to social distancing rules. Many schools will decide not to open, however, as parents, it is totally up to us to decide when our children will return to school. Students who have not been able to follow classes are also a concern for the government and the Ministry of Education. Once more information is forthcoming, either myself or the Minister of Education will give an update as we move forward in this regard.

General guidelines that must be upheld at all times businesses include:

1. Wearing of masks

2. Distance of 2 meters (6 feet) between all persons (incl. Employees & Customers)

3. Implementation of sanitation stations in the entrance and throughout the business in strategic locations

4. Frequent Sanitization of Common Touch Areas & Equipment

5. Wearing of a protective shield in the event the 2 meters distance for service rendering is not possible

6. One-way aisles indications and keeping social distancing in aisles

7. Limiting persons in the establishment to ensure social distancing at all times

8. Markings or barricades on the floor to ensure social distancing

9. Plexiglas to protect workers and shoppers

10. Clear and Visible Signage of regarding COVID-19 directives

The government is also assessing our own situation to determine which members would be needed to come in. As such, the Public Service Center Department will be putting out a schedule as to when and how the public will be able to visit the government offices.

The government has also been approached by persons in the public transportation sector in regard to them being able to resume their services this week. The EOC expected to implement phase 2 this week, however, adding the other businesses in phase 1, there was an oversight, and bus drivers did not get the opportunity to be in that phase. Wed hope that bus drivers would have more time to plan and prepare in order to ensure that they follow the guidelines for public transportation. In the next two days, bus inspection will take place and once all goes well by Wednesday, May 13, 2020, bus drivers will be given the opportunity to operate as well. All busses must be properly marked with the locations they are going and must follow all the directives of the Ministry of TEATT. More information in this regard and concerning inspection will be forthcoming from the Ministry of TEATT.

In closing, I would like to thank the people of St. Maarten. Your great behavior, over the past few weeks during the current State of Emergency or safe at home, youve had a lot of practice in keeping yourself safe. Those on the frontlines, however, not so much. As we move into our new reality, as more persons get the opportunity to be out and about, I ask that you remember to be conscious of the persons around you. Going out in public, where there are people moving, may always lead to a resurgence if there are persons out there with COVID-19 and have not come forward.

Do not be afraid, CPS will look out for you. Your general practitioner or family doctor will assist you if you are having any type of flu-like symptoms. I ask that you get in contact with your doctor or CPS by calling 914 so that you can be properly monitored and others around you can be safe. Contact tracing for all confirmed COVID-19 patients has continued and will continue as any new cases pop up. We hope and pray that that isnt the case, however, it is better to be prepared than to be sorry.

The experience with COVID-19 will forever alter the way we interact as well as our hygiene practices. I know for a fact that it has taught me to be more conscious of everything that I am touching, and all that you may be tracked back into your homes. In the short term, we know that social distancing, mask usage, and practicing good hygiene, will be the norm for St. Maarten and the rest of the world for some time. So far, we have not seen a widespread off the COVID-19 virus on the island. It has been properly contained up until now and that means our measures are working. It also means conforming to our new normal.

For our continued safety, the safety of you, your family, and all those persons whom you love, these measures must be a part of your everyday life. Remember our resilience is not just a word, it is who we are. We always fight back, we always come together, and we always help the weakest among us. So, I am asking you to stay blessed St. Maarten. Never lose hope! We are moving forward and we will conquer this new adversity as no one has ever had to in the past. We will show them in the Caribbean how St. Maarten recovers. Just like always; faster than expected, because of you the people of St. Maarten. Stay Blessed!

Click here to view SXM Safety Plan, English Version.

Click here for LB signed off by Governor Holiday for the reopening of Additional Businesses in phases.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate majority leader, initially indicated he would rather see states go bankrupt than send them additional federal money, but he has since signaled that he would be open to more funding, provided it could not be used to address problems that existed before the pandemic. And while Trump has indicated that he is willing to consider more state and local aid, he has also made plain that he does not relish the idea of helping states that elect Democrats.
Clearly, Nigeria has climbed the plateau of the Coronavirus crisis with the daily upsurge in the confirmed cases and deaths. Nearly the entire 36 states and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are on the infected case chart.

COVID-19 contagion is also now at the community transmission stage. Instructively, this stage of the pandemic is the most dreaded phase because of the potential bigger humanitarian crises that may result if the rate of spread is not curtailed with speed.

In light of the above, drawing government attention to certain factors that can worsen the current pandemic statistics has become imperative. And, this is not about whistleblowing; it is about advocating good policies that can boost national success in the ongoing actions and measures to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission.

Policy One: Against the backdrop of the recent easing of lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States, it is important for the government to note that Nigerians naturally would go back to their old lifestyle of socialisation. Increased movement of people should be expected. Banking halls will burst with customers. Cash transactions will spike and exchange of dirty currency notes, which can contribute to the person-to-person transmission of Coronavirus, should be expected.

In the coming days and weeks, the majority of daily income earners will return to brick and mortar stores, shops and open markets for their essential and non-essential purchases. Cash will be exchanged for purchases. The tradition of price trial and test-fitting of goods will come back in full force.

Asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 will come out to shop and touch a number of goods including groceries, fruits, vegetables, pepper, tomatoes and onions. Sadly, some other persons will buy and carry those infected items home. They and their loved ones will be infected, then the chain of person-to-person and community transmission continues.

While lack of education and knowledge of the virus coupled with zero voluntary testings for Coronavirus remains a major setback for stemming transmission among the low socio-economic cadre, the situation does not look anything better among the so-called elite.

Due to pride or fear of stigmatisation, many of them have refused to submit for voluntary testing. With the ease of lockdown, some of them that are infected will go to the malls, megastores and supermarkets, electronic or automobile showrooms. They will touch things on the shelves, and in the process increase community transmission of coronavirus.

With increased movement of people made possible by the easing of lockdown restrictions, the little gains on social distancing achieved during the period of lockdown would have been lost. In light of the above, the government must, as a matter of urgency, initiate or strengthen existing policy strategy that discourages people from using brick and mortar stores for both essential and non-essential purchases to prevent a further spike in the current high rate of COVID-19 transmission.

The most cost-effective way this can be achieved is for the government to encourage more Nigerians to use e-Commerce platforms for their purchases and transactions. For instance, pan-African leading e-Commerce operator Jumia has strong integrated technology and data-driven online channels and last-mile infrastructure that Nigerians can leverage for purchase of their essentials and non-essentials.

Jumia marketplace, logistics and e-payment platforms like JumiaPay enable customers to make orders online, pay online for goods and get their orders delivered to their offices or homes, as well as receive or transfer money. This way, they can avoid crowded places where the risk of COVID-19 infection is high, and ultimately continue to stay safe and maintain social distancing.

Policy Two: Against the backdrop of presidential restriction of interstate movements, the second important thing is for the government to ensure removal of all obstacles hindering the free and easy movement of goods especially agricultural and medical across borders. While the measure is commendable, it should be pointed out, however, that the enforcement of this policy is a major challenge for farmers, drivers and delivery agents working with e-Commerce companies.

From Ile Ife to Owena, Benin City to Ughelli, truck drivers and delivery agents on essential duties of transporting agricultural products to city centres such as Lagos and Abuja meet difficulties imposed by security agents enforcing the interstate restriction. Even within cities, last-mile delivery workers and those providing logistics and supply of essentials such as groceries, food items and products like electronics have it rough in the hands of security operatives. They are sometimes extorted, harassed, delayed or threatened with arrest if they fail to cooperate.

This ugly trend, if it is not checked fast by the government agencies, poses a major threat to meeting the critical logistics and supply of essentials such as agricultural produce at a peculiar time like this. It can also erode the gain of leveraging e-Commerce as the key driver of social distancing that has been proven to reduce the rate of transmission of coronavirus. It could also, in the long-term, rob Nigeria of the benefits of optimising the potential of e-commerce as a key driver of the digital economy, which is paramount to the Federal Governments economic diversification policy.

On a final note, any act that could cause people to return to brick and mortar malls or stores would certainly erode the sacrifice of our frontline heroes and essential service providers such as doctors, nurses and other first responders, who are in the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

As essential services providers and humanitarian workers, the daily commute of last-mile and logistics workers should be stress-free at this crucial time, and indeed, at other times. It is imperative, therefore, for the government to ensure adequate safety and protection of all workers in the logistics and last-mile value chain including drivers, delivery agents and riders working with e-Commerce operators such as Jumia and others.

With community transmission of COVID-19 escalating, unhindered access of Nigerians to the services of essential services providers like e-Commerce operators is more compelling as online shopping holds the ace to discourage human movement and bolster social distancing.
Older people who are cocooning face a long-term impact on their physical and mental wellbeing, according to Alone.

The charity says it has also received nearly 19,000 calls to a special phoneline set up at the start of the pandemic.

Alone chief executive Sean Moynihan says there has been an increase in calls in the last few days about non-Covid hospital visits.

"The big surge in work this week for the people that we support and the people coming through on the phonelines has been health issues," said Mr Moynihan.

"People needing access to GP services, some people in poor housing conditions, some people for chiropody and some people very de-conditioned and very worried about falls because they have been cocooning for so long."

Mr Moynihan said that the fear of falls is because people are not as confident or steady on their feet as they were.

"We are advising people around health and wellbeing, creating a purpose for your day but also on top of that is we are making sure that people are engaged with hospitals, primary care.

"The big thing is making sure that people have all the medication they need and making sure they are keeping up with prescriptions and adhering to them."
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) heavily infected with CCP virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Md., published on April 2, 2020. (NIAID)

CCP Virus Was in Ohio in January, New Testing Shows

Ohio authorities said they found cases of the CCP virus in the state dating back to January, months before the previously confirmed cases.

Doctors cited testing for antibodies, which are produced by the immune system in response to viruses.

The five cases were each in a different county, Dr. Amy Acton told reporters Monday.

Were doing a lot more investigation. Our disease detectives are going back to take a look at that and see if they were associated with travel, said Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH)

The antibody testing will let officials learn more and more about this disease, how long it was here in Ohio, how long it was spreading, as we do more and more testing, she added.

It wasnt clear who was carrying out the antibody testing. An ODH spokeswoman told The Epoch Times that the department hasnt carried out any antibody testing.

Registered Nurse Janice Tatonetti (R) takes the temperature of Harry Pearson before he votes in Ohios primary election at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 28, 2020. (Tony Dejak/AP Photo)

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said at the same press briefing that the testing was made possible through NetJets, a company that helped obtain the tests from China. The tests were from Cellex.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, emerged in China last year.

If the results are confirmed, theyd be the earliest signal of CCP virus spread in the United States. California authorities previously said autopsy results showed a patient died with COVID-19 on Feb. 6.

Symptoms take between 2 and 14 days to appear after infection.

Antibody tests can help healthcare professionals identify individuals who have overcome an infection in the past and developed an immune response, according to guidance from the Ohio Department of Health for employers.

The testing results may, in the future, help determine that patients are no longer susceptible to the CCP virus, letting them return to work even in areas with restrictions.

Acton told businesses using antibody tests that antibodies may not be detected by the tests in the early days of an infection.

She said employers should only buy tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Two days before the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) on May 9, a radio-tagged male Amur falcon reached the breeding area in northern China from northeast India, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said on Tuesday.

The bird which made a brief stop in Mizoram following its return in the third week of April after completing its winter sojourn in Africa left for China on April 28.

The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a global campaign to raise awareness about migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

Chiulon arrived in the land of the Amurs located 600 km northeast of Beijing on Thursday (May 7). The bird is the first among our current batch of tagged birds, WII scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is currently monitoring the route of the migratory bird, said.

Chiulon clocked 9,600 km in 15 days since leaving the Somali coast on April 23. Whether he will stop here to breed or continue to move further to the North we will have to wait and see.

Chiulon, named after a village in Manipurs Tamenglong district and four other falcons namely Puching, Phalong-both names of villages in Tamenglong district, Irang and Barak - both names of rivers of the district, were radio tagged with satellite transmitters by the forest department in collaboration with WII scientists to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

Though all the falcons are sharing their data during this radio tagging programme, Puching and Phalong failed to transmit any data few days after they were tagged.

Irang was in the mountainous tracts of Myanmars Mandalay region while Barak was last located over Odisha.

On the other hand Longleng, a female Amur falcon named after Nagalands district was radio-tagged in October 2016 in Nagaland was last located 600 km south of Beijing.

I think she will arrive at the same woodland patch to breed which is another 600 km northeast of Beijing, Kumar said.

On WMBD, he said, Migratory birds know no boundary. They connect our planet, connect landscapes and as we know now from our Amur falcons they connect communities. It is one world for all of us.

In their annual migratory flight to South Africa from northern China, Amur falcons pass through northeast India, particularly Manipur and Nagaland.
[May 12, 2020] DreamBox Learning Launches Predictive Analytics to Fill the Void Created by State Test Cancellations

DreamBox Learning, the K-8 digital math company that pioneered Intelligent Adaptive Learning technology, announced today the early access release of DreamBox Predictive Insights for district administrators. Using existing data and without additional testing, DreamBox Predictive Insights empowers educators with grade level spring math test performance predictions that are 85% accurate and reported every month. With schools closed and state tests canceled due to COVID-19, district administrators won't have access to spring test data that they rely on to make decisions about curriculum, intervention and summer school. DreamBox has stepped in to fill the data void by giving administrators early access to predictive reporting that shows which elementary students would have been proficient on the state test if they had been able to take it this spring. Whether district administrators want to use these insights right now for remote learning support and summer school planning, or just want to know where each student is when school resumes, district leaders can rely on DreamBox's predictions without the stress and time burdens that additional testing places on students, teachers and parents. "This is an unexpected new chapter for schools and their personalized learning initiatives. As schools transition to remote learning, educational technology has proven to be an invaluable resource for delivering quality learning experiences at home," said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of DreamBox Learning. "But the reality is that right now teachers have very limited data, if any, about where students are in their learning. DreamBox has always been focused on reporting real-time and actionable insights, and we're proud to be able to bring this innovative predictive solution to our district partners. Whenever schools are ready to safely re-open, learning guardians will need to quickly ascertain how to support each student after a semester and summer of potential learning loss. DreamBox's Predictive Insights provides a snapshot view into where each student is, allowing district administrators to make important decisions based on clear and accurate predictions." Predictive Model Offers Highly Accurate Assessments Available today on the DreamBox administrator dashboard, these new monthly predictive reports enable administrators using DreamBox Learning K-5 Math to access historical reports showing how student predictions have changed each month since the start of the 2019-20 school year. This includes insights showing how students, classes and schools would have performed on their grade level math test if they were taking it oday. The proprietary predictive models were developed over the past three years in partnership with dozens of early partner school districts, using years of in-product data and scores from major state tests and benchmark exams.



"As a former superintendent and someone who speaks frequently with district leaders, it's clear that there is a critical gap in understanding where students are in their learning progression as schools have closed," said Arne Duncan, former U.S. Education Secretary. "These unprecedented times call for us to reimagine education and to think differently. Through innovative use of data and cutting edge technology, DreamBox Predictive Insights is a true catalyst for district-wide action by empowering administrators and educators with information on where students are in their learning and what steps are needed to ensure no student falls behind in this 'new normal.'" Predictions provided by DreamBox are highly accurate and relevant to each state's standardized test, leveraging data from the past several weeks on a rolling basis. Additionally, students using DreamBox continue to develop conceptual understanding, strategic thinking, and procedural fluency with no additional testing required. Later this year, DreamBox will expand DreamBox Predictive Insights to include principal and teacher reporting as well as suggestions for how teachers can differentiate for students.

"Access to data is critical for ensuring growth and success for every student," said Lisa Kotowski, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at Lodi Unified School District and a participant in the DreamBox Early Feedback Program. "Educators are constantly searching for ways to best address the learning needs of their individual students. They are further challenged now that typical data collection approaches aren't occurring in schools. DreamBox Predictive Insights and the information available provide tangible insights that teachers can use to help their students make proficiency gains earlier in the learning cycle, address gaps, and put all students on the right path for learning and achievement." DreamBox Predictive Insights Builds on Intelligent Adaptive Learning Technology DreamBox's Intelligent Adaptive Learning technology personalizes the learning experience for students by adapting to students' learning both within and between math lessons, offering students the right lesson at the right time. Educators using DreamBox Learning K-8 Math can access other reports along with the predictions for a full view of students' comprehension in math. By using DreamBox for just one hour a week, independent research conducted by Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research shows that students improve their math scores by nearly 60% more than expected growth norms on benchmark and state tests. DreamBox is also the only elementary online math program with the highest rating of "Strong" from Johns Hopkins' EvidenceforESSA.org. DreamBox Learning Math is currently used by nearly 5 million students and 200,000 educators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. To learn more about DreamBox Predictive Insights, visit https://www.dreambox.com/predictive-insights. About DreamBox Learning DreamBox Learning, founded in 2006 in Bellevue, Washington, is the only K-8 digital math program powered by students, built by and for educators, and independently proven to positively impact student achievement. DreamBox dynamically adapts and differentiates in real time based not only on students' answers, but also on how they solve problems. Along with actionable reporting and tools that empower differentiation for all learners, DreamBox gives teachers content-specific professional development and provides administrators with insights about how all students are progressing. The company's pioneering platform has won more than 40 top education and technology industry awards and is used by 200,000 teachers and nearly 5 million students in all 50 states and throughout Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit http://www.dreambox.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005267/en/

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"Mr Shipton tried to have his say." May 13, 1985 Credit:David Bartho

But Mr Shipton, although conceding police had asked him to move away from the meeting because they feared a breach of the peace, said the word 'incite' had not been used.

Canberra: The Opposition spokesman on Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Roger Shipton, was accused in Parliament yesterday of behaviour likely to incite a riot after he attempted to address a fiery land rights demonstration outside Parliament House

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on May 14, 1985

He later called for the resignation of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Holding, for alleged mismanagement of his portfolio.

About 600 Aborigines from all around Australia converged on Parliament House yesterday morning to protest against the terms of the Federal Government's proposal land rights legislation.

The chairman of the National Aboriginal Conference, Mr Rob Riley, was addressing a rally opposite Parliament House when Mr Shipton tried to have his say, in response to Mr Riley's disparaging remark about the Opposition's land rights policy.

Police asked Mr Shipton to move away in order to avoid any incidents likely to endanger anyone.

While this was taking place the Aborigines swarmed across the road and surged up the steps only to be held back by a cordon of police.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 23:39:13|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday it has detained a man suspected of preparing terror attacks in the Tver region.

The suspect, born in 2001, is believed to have been plotting arson on government buildings as well as armed attacks against law enforcement personnel, according to the Russian security agency.

The FSB added that at the suspect's home in the town of Kimry, its officers seized a pistol with improvised ammunition, three Molotov cocktails, a machete and diaries containing plans for crimes. Enditem
By PTI

PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Tuesday said the territorial government would bear 15 per cent of the railway fare for guest workers stranded in Puducherry to help them return to their native places.

He told reporters here that 900 workers who had come from West Bengal, 1,100 from Bihar and 50 from Odisha had expressed their intention to return to their respective States.

Also, students and merchants from other States were stranded in the Union Territory.

The government had drawn up a plan to help these stranded people return to their native places, he said adding as far as workers were concerned the government would bear 15 per cent of the railwayfare.

The Chief Minister said he had requested the Union Railway Ministry to run special trains from Puducherry to these States facilitating the return of guest workers, students and traders.

He said irrespective of whether there is an extension of COVID-19 lockdown or not, the people had to take steps to ensure that the contagion doesn't spread.

"Whether there is extension or not of lockdown, it is ultimately in the hands of the people to ensure that spread of coronavirus is kept at bay," he added.

The chief minister said coronavirus is "playing a hide and seek" game, adding though the number of cases was very less now the in Union Territory the people should not be complacent and should not take things for granted.

"The territorial government is implementing all the guidelines of the Centre in letter and spirit.

The people should extend their cooperation by adhering to the lockdown norms by sticking to social distancing, wearing of masks and staying at home," he added.

The government-run Indira Gandhi Medical College hospital was fully equipped with beds, medicines and other infrastructure to handle any rise of COVID-19 cases, he said.

Narayanasamy reiterated his plea to the Centre to come to the rescue of the territorial government by releasing funds as the flow of revenue had been hit during the lockdown.

"Tourism sector in the union territory has been hit due to the lockdown as nearly 1.25 lakh people engaged in tourism industry here were left in the cold with the sector facing a crisis," the Chief Minister said and added that the Centre should come out with a bailout plan to stabilise the economic activity of Puducherry.

Earlier, the Chief Minister and Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao visited the government general hospital to wish nurses on the occasion of International Nurses Day.
Nepal on Tuesday reported 57 new cases of coronavirus, the highest in a single day, taking the total infections in the country to 191, the health ministry said.

Nepal, which has entered the 50th day of its nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus, is among the nations that has the least number of cases of the deadly COVID-19 with no deaths.

"Among the infected, eight persons are from Kapilvastu district, nine from Rupandehi, 39 from Parsa, and one from Bara. All of them are males. This was the highest number of coronavirus cases reported in a day," the health ministry said in a statement.

The total number of infected people in the country has reached 191, the ministry confirmed.

Of the total cases so far, 33 patients have already been discharged after successful treatment and 158 active patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals across the country.

So far there is no death related to coronavirus in the country.

On Monday, the Nepal government said the nation reported 24 new coronavirus cases, including eight who returned from India.

Earlier, some of the confirmed coronavirus cases in Nepal were persons returning from the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi's Nizamuddin area in March.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ROYAL OAK, Mich., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "I got nowhere else to turn. Please, please help me. I am so desperate!"

Those words of anguish are often found in the steady stream of distraught emails that Bob Schwartz has received over the last 12 years. But during COVID-19's economic devastation, Schwartz has seen a remarkable increase in need. He's operated his unique grassroots and hands on Here to Help Foundation since 2008, in Detroit and surrounding communities, and has assisted over 8500 people in his unassuming yet profoundly significant way.

Grantee helped with a car to get to work

"I've seen a lot over the years. From people being minutes away from the Sheriff's knock on the door for eviction or being suicidal or on the verge of losing their job due to transportation issues. But with COVID-19, the loss of basic needs is staggering. It's beyond comprehension."

Schwartz is in the trenches, helping people when all hope has been lost. But it's nothing like what he's seeing now. From essential workers needing a used vehicle to get to work; to those laid off and struggling to pay rent while unemployment benefits have yet to begin; to domestic violence victims fleeing to a new residence and needing furniture; to overdue utility bills of families fearing shutoff, and transportation issues for senior citizens needing to get to medical treatment.

Schwartz has been there to quietly, but heroically, provide emergency assistance in a time of crisis to those in need. He helps people in a myriad of ways including car repairs, rent/security deposit, used vehicles, furniture and utility assistance amongst many other forms of help.

He allows people to face their tipping point and come out on the right side. The side of hope and sustenance. But Schwartz doesn't let the overwhelming nature of the need in his community to overwhelm him. Far from it. He knows he can't help everyone, but he can help a tremendous amount of people. That means fielding hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of emails and phone calls with pleas for assistance as Schwartz is relentless in his approach to help all that he can.

Since mid-March he's been able to help a tremendous number of people who all have desperate stories of both despair and determination. Such as essential worker Alicia Grier, as shown in this recent Fox 2 News Detroit story, battling daily to get to her essential worker job.

Schwartz will remain ready, willing and able to assist for he truly is "Here to Help."

For more information, including helping to spread the feel-good story of people helping people and getting a Here to Help Foundation in your area, contact Bob at [email protected] or (248) 330-7271

SOURCE Here to Help Foundation








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TORONTO, May 12, 2020  As COVID-19 continues to put pressure on the provinces already stretched shelter system, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) today announced it is donating $480,000 to Ontario shelters and shelter-based charities through the Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation. OREAs donation will reach the most vulnerable populations through more than 50 shelters and food banks across Ontario.

Ontarios Realtors are deeply connected to the people, places and happenings that make our neighbourhoods home. With so many local shelters struggling to respond to increased demand, new procedures and outbreaks, we needed to do something to help, said OREA President, Sean Morrison. It is our hope that this donation will help shelters and food banks through this incredibly difficult time. And when this is behind us, Ontario Realtors will still be there, as theyve been for more than 40 years, raising money to support our local shelters and food banks.

The funding will be distributed by the Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation (ORCF), an organization that has supported shelter-based organizations throughout Ontario since 1977 and receives its funding through the generosity of Ontarios Realtors. In 2019 alone, the Foundation raised more than $1.2 million for shelter-based organizations. Todays donation is part of OREAs and ORCFs longstanding commitment to helping families in need of emergency and permanent housing.

Now more than ever, our local communities and shelters need our support, said Kevin Crigger, President, Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation. Id like to thank the OREA Board of Directors for their continued support of the Foundation and for their work in responding to the current COVID crisis. This funding is consistent with the socially responsible leadership that OREA, its 37 Member Boards and its Realtor Members provide to the Ontario communities they serve.

The donation is being redirected from OREAs one-time $5 million dollar grant to the Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation (ORCF) made earlier this year, facilitating a faster and direct distribution of funds at a time of need. The funds will be directed to local charities by OREAs 37 Member Boards.

About the Ontario Real Estate Association

The Ontario Real Estate Association represents 80,000 REALTORS who are Members of the 37 real estate boards throughout the province. OREAs mission is to help Ontario REALTORS succeed in building stronger communities. For almost one hundred years, OREA has promoted higher standards in real estate for the benefit of consumers and REALTORS alike. As one of Canadas largest professional associations, we are Ontarios strongest advocate for home and property ownership, property rights, and prosperous communities. OREA serves its REALTOR members through the production of Standard Forms, top-tier advocacy, award-winning leadership development and other services.

About the Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation

The Ontario REALTORS Care Foundation, formerly the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) Foundation was established in 1967. The Foundation supports shelter-based charitable organizations across Ontario, making a difference in the lives of people and communities where REALTORS live and conduct business.
Even during the coronavirus-induced lockdown across the country, teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Rohini are involved in visiting crime scenes ranging from the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters to various spots in northeast Delhi where communal violence recently took place.

Last week, the team visited nine crime scenes in connection with the probe in nine cases of theft and arson registered at northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad during the communal riots, a statement issued by the lab said.

The team had also visited Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in Nizamuddin last month, it said.

"In this pandemic, with due precautionary measures, crime scene teams of FSL are functional round the clock. Presently we are extending our forensic assistance to Delhi Police 24x7 and our control room is functional round the clock," said FSL director Deepa Verma.

Various divisions of FSL like Biology Division have prepared reports on more than 100 investigative cases pertaining to DNA examination amid the pandemic situation, Verma said in the statement.

The Chemistry Division, Ballistic Division, Fingerprint and all other experts of the laboratory have prepared reports for approximately more than 200 cases, she said.

Incharge, Crime Scene Management, Sanjeev Gupta said, "Even in this crisis, we as an organisation are focusing on early action, protection and prevention (of COVID-19)".

He further said, "We are concerned with our crime scene team and also closely monitoring use of these measures. Our teams are using Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) while proceeding for examination on crime scene.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar, Bali  Tue, May 12, 2020 16:46 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd787c64 1 Health tobacco-ad-ban,tobacco-bill,smoking,smoking-ban,smoking-ban-in-Indonesia,COVID-19,pandemic,health Free

A myriad of inspirational, beautiful and manipulative commercial messages from the tobacco industry greet Indonesian children and youths every day through various channels.

Most models in cigarette ads appear as cool, creative and attractive figures, something these youths are always dreaming of.

All cigarette ads placed in outdoor settings, mainstream and social media, apply sophisticated marketing savvy to make tobacco use and smoking appealing to smokers and potential smokers. These companies continue sponsoring sports, art, music concerts of youth idols and even school activities aimed at directly targeting their potential users.

Indonesia is a paradise for tobacco companies, which produced 341 billion sticks nationwide in 2017.

They have persistently preyed on soft targets  children and adolescents, who are still in the early cognitive development stages. These efforts seem to have paid off with a high number of adolescents aged between 10-18 already active smokers.

The 2018 Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) revealed that the share of smokers among people aged 15 years and above was 33.8 percent in 2018, the highest in the world. The smoking prevalence among males was 62.9 percent; among females it was 4.8 percent.

The most alarming trend is in children aged 10-18, where the share of smokers increased from 7.2 percent in 2013 to 9.1 percent in 2018. The total number of active smokers has reached 67 million out of a 270 million population.

WHO data reveal that tobacco kills 225,720 Indonesian people every year, or about 700 per day.

Fasli Jalal, professor of public health and rector of YARSI University, said the high number of smokers, especially among children and adolescents, was a national and global embarrassment for Indonesia.

On the global public health stage, the Indonesian government is seen as an enabler by allowing our children and youth to smoke cigarettes and nontobacco [products] freely, without strict legal protections, the professor said on the phone.

Indonesia is the only country in the Asia Pacific region and one of just a few countries worldwide not to have signed the WHOs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The FCTC, adopted by WHO member countries in 2003, requiring members to impose a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Currently, it has 168 signatories and 181 parties, excluding Indonesia.

Jalal continued it was disturbing to see children smoking cigarettes as they were copying their fathers and adults as role models. Being exposed to cigarette ads within their surrounding was also a significant factor, he said.

Across the archipelago, you see so many children under 10 years of age already smoking cigarettes, the professor lamented.

Smoking was associated with various diseases, the professor said, adding that extensive evidence showed the negative impacts of smoking and tobacco use on lung health.

These child and youth smokers already have unhealthy respiratory conditions. They are not ready to go through the COVID-19 pandemic. I am so concerned, he said.

Smoking was also detrimental to the immune system and its responsiveness to infections, making smokers more vulnerable to various infectious diseases, including SARS, MERS and now COVID-19, he added.

The COVID-19 outbreak could become a defining moment, for the government to seriously enforce tobacco control in order to protect our future generation, he said.

Jalals strong call for stricter tobacco control is widely supported by more than 40 associations in Indonesia, including public health expert associations, tobacco control activists, consumer protection and child protection CSOs in a series of tweets addressed to President Joko Jokowi Widodo since early April.

Hasbullah Thabrany, professor of public health at the University of Indonesia, agreed it was high time for Indonesia to become a smoke-free country by enforcing strict limits on the promotion of tobacco use.

Tobacco control requires full public participation, self-discipline and communal discipline. It is the responsibility of the government at all levels, academia, public health professionals, schools, parents and the communities and most of all the tobacco industry, the professor said, adding that personal and social behavior played a crucial role.

The Indonesian people mostly lack self-discipline. During the current COVID-19 outbreak, I have visited numerous densely populated areas in Jakarta, and I have found so many people still smoking their cigarettes, ignoring their health as well as that of others, he said.

He was contrasting Indonesias COVID-19 response to that in neighboring countries like Singapore and Vietnam.

The people of these countries are very disciplined, and law enforcement is also effective, he said.

Thabrany, together with Ahmad Ansyori and Citra Yulianti, has assessed the impact of the high prevalence of smoking in Indonesia on medical expenditure.

Their study, entitled The Political Battles of Tobacco Control and NCDs in Indonesia, estimated the economic loss at about three to four times the governments revenue from the tobacco excise.

It is misleading to accept any argument that the tobacco industry helps the country and its people financially. It has more disadvantages than benefits, Thabrany explained.

The study states that medical expenditure due to tobacco-linked diseases and the loss of productivity in 2015 totaled Rp 595.56 trillion (US$45 billion).

Meanwhile, tobacco excise revenue in 2015 was only Rp 140 trillion ($10 billion). The revenue of Phillip Morris Indonesia in 2017 was Rp 99 trillion ($7.4 billion), which compares to the Ministry of Healths 2017 budget of Rp 54 trillion ($3.9 billion), the study reveals.

The study was conducted when the public health and economic situation in Indonesia was normal. Now, during the COVID-19 crisis, the results would be more dismaying, he said.
Scale: An architects rendering of the proposed 29-storey tower at Parkgate Street

State agency Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and local residents have expressed concerns over fast-track plans by developer Joe O'Reilly to construct a 29-storey landmark tower near Heuston Station, Dublin.

Earlier this year, Mr O'Reilly's Ruirside Development lodged plans to construct 481 build-to-rent apartments and 3,698 sq m of commercial office space along with retail and restaurant space at Parkgate Street.

The plan consists of five separate blocks ranging from eight to 29 storeys in height that will accommodate 1,100 residents.

Planning documents lodged with the application state that the development is a 'best in class' residential mixed-use scheme and will provide much needed regeneration and modern residential accommodation in this under-utilised, brownfield city centre location.

However, TII - which has its HQ nearby - has expressed concern to An Bord Pleanala over the plan that includes the 29-storey tower.

Consultants for TII said that as occupiers of the neighbouring office building at Parkgate Business Centre, TII "are concerned about the potential impacts that the proposed development may have on their offices, particularly during the construction phase of the proposed development".

On behalf of TII, BMA Planning said that the relationship between the proposed development and the Parkgate Business Centre shows significant differences in scale and height between both buildings.
A 67-year-old American citizen who was invited to Nigeria by her young Nigerian lover whom she met on the Internet, has died of suspected Coronavirus complications in Delta State.

According to Saharareporters, the lady arrived Nigeria on March 3, but died on Sunday May 10, after manifesting symptoms of the virus. She was reportedly rushed to a private hospital at Osubi, Orerokpe under Okpe Local Government Area of the state.

A security official attached to a police station in the local government, disclosed that the young man and the white lady had been lodged at a hotel in Osubi town since she arrived in Nigeria.

The young man and the American white lady lodged in a hotel in Osubi where they spent some weeks. The white lady fell sick and she began to manifest some symptoms of COVID-19, especially severe coughing. At this stage, her lover rushed her to a private clinic in Osubi but she gave up the ghost this morning. Immediately she died at the hospital, her Nigerian lover carried her corpse in a Venza car to the Orerokpe Police Division and he was arrested by the police. While still at the station, a doctor was brought and took samples from the corpse for test. the security guard who spoke on condition of anonymity said

The Delta state government is yet to comment on the incident.
Actress Mia Goth is not letting life in lockdown keep her spirits or fitness regimen down.

On Tuesday, the actress - who recently reconciled with ex-husband Shia LaBeouf - was seen going out for a jog in Los Angeles, taking a break from quarantine.

Mia, 26, showed off her toned physique while out running, wearing a grey workout ensemble and black trainers.

Working through it: On Tuesday, Mia Goth - who recently reconciled with ex-husband Shia LaBeouf - was seen going out for a jog in Los Angeles, taking a break from quarantine.

She has also been spotted out with Shia, 33, this month, suggesting that they are now back on.

The couple's outing came shortly after Shia was cast in Olivia Wilde's new movie Don't Worry Darling with Florence Pugh and Chris Pine.

The actress and director previously directed the critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy Booksmart.

Back on: Mia was recently spotted jogging with ex husband Shia LaBeouf suggesting they're now back on

On their own: Later Shia was seen out on his own

The film is a psychological thriller 'set in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert,' according to an April report from Variety.

Mia also has an upcoming film of her own with the action drama Mayday, which is currently in post-production.

Shia and Mia confirmed that they had reunited in March, when they were spotted kissing and being affectionate in public.

Back together: Shia and Mia confirmed that they had reunited in March, when they were spotted kissing and being affectionate in public; pictured in 2014

Tumultuous times: They met in 2012 on the Nymphomaniac set and had a Vegas marriage in 2016, but separated two years later and filed for divorce; shown in 2014

The two had previously separated and filed for divorce back in 2018.

The met in 2012 on the set of Lars von Trier's starkly sexual two-part film Nymphomaniac and sparked up a relationship shortly afterward.

The Peanut Butter Falcon star married the High Life actress in a 2016 Las Vegas ceremony, though Clark County of Nevada claimed the two merely had a commitment ceremony and weren't legally married.

Shia hinted that the couple had reconciled in February, when he made an appearance on the Oscars stage and appeared to be wearing his wedding band.

New projects: Shia was recently cast in Don't Worry Darling with Florence Pugh and Chris Pine from Booksmart director Olivia Wilde. Mia recently appeared in the acclaimed Jane Austen adaptation Emma
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla from CNBC's Healthy Returns virtual summit on Tuesday, May 12th.

Mandatory credit: CNBC's Healthy Returns summit.

Realtime Transcription by www.RealtimeTranscription.com

MEG TIRRELL: Well, Albert, thank you so much for joining us today in what is a weird way for us to be meeting. The last time we saw each other was at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, and we hoped to be doing this in person, but it's great to see you virtually.

ALBERT BOURLA: It's great to see you virtually, as well, Meg.

MEG TIRRELL: So, I want to sort of set the stage for folks about where you're coming from, as Pfizer CEO. You were with the company for two decades before you became the Chairman and CEO at the beginning of last year. And already in the first year that you were CEO, you were taking steps to really transform the company, making a big acquisition of a cancer drugmaker for more than $10 billion, spinning off and creating a joint venture of your consumer health care group with GlaxoSmithKline, and, of course, merging your off-patent drug business with Mylan. But then, of course, this year came COVID-19. In my ten years of covering the drug industry, I've never seen anything like this in terms of the speed and the sheer volume of the efforts from the drug industry focused on one problem. Tell us about those early days of decision making at Pfizer about whether to get involved with COVID-19 and how. That was that like?

ALBERT BOURLA: Well, it is like a great privilege, but at the same time it's a great responsibility, and you feel it on your shoulders. When you know that you have the capabilities, particularly a company with the size of Pfizer that has end-to-end from early research all the way to manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and you know that you have the science, and you trust this technology, but you know that you need to deliver; and you know that your success or failure would mean human lives and a great impact in the global economy. So, if you are the CEO and you have to make these decisions, that feels very heavy on your shoulders, Meg.

MEG TIRRELL: I'm sure. So, you sort of went in stages in terms of, you know, jumping in as a company. You laid out a five-point plan to get involved, you started looking through Pfizer's existing assets, and then of course you forged this partnership with BioNTech to develop a vaccine using an entirely new technology. Tell us about the decision making that went into forging that partnership and choosing that technology to pursue this vaccine.

ALBERT BOURLA: Yes, with BioNTech we have great collaboration for the last two years, and -- in the same technology. We were not working together to develop a COVID, of course, vaccine the last few years; but we were working together to develop a flu vaccine. And the reason is because, as you know, in the flu you have different strains every year. And we believe that this technology, because it has tremendous speed in the way that you can go from a new strain all the way to manufacturing a vaccine, it would be ideal and would disrupt, actually, the flu market. Now immediately, when we realized that COVID-19 is about to become pandemic and the size of this disease, we immediately jumped into it and we thought what can we offer as Pfizer. And we looked at the vaccines, we looked at the therapies of new molecules, antivirals, and also we looked at therapies from our existing portfolio. So BioNTech was the first one that came to mind, because the technology is ideal for something like that. So immediately we jumped into place with BioNTech. You have to know that we move with the speed of light. Actually, this is the name of our project. We did that without even having a contract, both parties. We just agreed that that needs to be done, the world is waiting. Before signing a contract, they started selling their strains and we started making investments, and then eventually we signed a letter of intent, and then only after we were already well into this collaboration, eventually we signed the contract between the two of us. And I hope that the fact that -- the work will bring a solution.

MEG TIRRELL: Tell us about these kinds of timelines that we're talking about. When will we see the first data potentially? You've already started human clinical trials in both Germany and the United States.

ALBERT BOURLA: Yes. First of all, the unique thing with our approach is not that it is mRNA, but there is another one that I hope also will be successful, because we need options. The unique approach is that we are testing four different vaccines. And those four different vaccines are combinations of two different antigens; one is the spike and one is what we call the RBD, which is the tip of the spike; and three different platforms. And we started already all of our programs. They are going to go both in the U.S. and in Europe. We are collecting data as we speak, in real time. So we know that we are monitoring the safety of the doses, we are moving very fast into higher doses because the first ones worked well. We are going to start having immunogenicity data as we speak, but I think conclusive data is to which one of the four would be the winner, if any would be the winner. We will have it around June, July. And from then we will scale up, let's say July or end of July, into one or two of the winners, into much bigger trials. And then eventually we will come to September, where we could launch a much broader study of thousands of people. I think that at the same time it's critical that we start manufacturing, because if we don't start manufacturing and we wait to see if any of the vaccines work, then we will not have time, we will not have doses available for the fall, that we believe will be crucial. So if things go well and if we feel that the product is safe and efficacious, and if FDA and EMA feel, and other regulatory agencies, the same, we will be able to deliver millions of doses in the October time frame. And then we are scaling up manufacturing to be able to deliver hundreds of millions in 2021.

MEG TIRRELL: I want to ask you about that manufacturing capacity. Reuters had a story on Friday saying that Pfizer was looking at outsourcing some of its other manufacturing to more of your manufacturing partners, to try to essentially clear capacity for the vaccine manufacturing. Can you talk us through what kinds of efforts are already underway to be able to do this at such large scale so quickly?

ALBERT BOURLA: Yes. Obviously, Meg, when you want to manufacture hundreds of millions of doses in the network that is already very busy, you will have to do a few things right, and there are multiple things that we are doing right now, from ordering raw materials that will be needed to do something like that and making commitments to those third party manufacturers to develop them; also trying to change the production lines and reorganize our current manufacturing so that you can create capacity. As part of that, we may transfer to other manufacturers some of our current manufacturing, making in-house, but it's much more simpler, so that we will be able to focus our efforts in manufacturing the potential vaccine.

MEG TIRRELL: Well, I know that Pfizer also makes, through its Hospira unit, many of these essential drugs for critically patients, what are known as sterile injectables. And some of these, because of COVID-19, but also because of manufacturing issues that Haspira has been dealing with for years, before Pfizer acquired it, are in shortage. I was just talking with the specialist Erin Fox at Utah about some of the drugs that she's concerned about like fentanyl, midazolam, propofol, rocuronium. These are drugs that are needed to support patients on ventilation with COVID-19. As we're facing so many patients still in hospitals and ICU and a potential second wave in the fall, how is Pfizer making sure that you can manufacture enough of those drugs, as you undertake this huge challenge of simultaneously trying to manufacture this vaccine at such large scale?

ALBERT BOURLA: Yes. Meg, from day one we tried to set our priorities. And, of course, like everybody else's, our first priority was the safety of our people. But we understand also that we have an additional role to play, which is the safety of society. So, in addition to the safety of our people, we set our second or third goal, making sure that we maintained the supply of our medicines to those who may need them, with an emphasis on products that we thought would be in high demand in ICUs or other hospital units that are related to COVID-19. And the third priority was to make sure that we developed said solution. We spoke a little bit about the vaccine, but when it comes to maintaining the supply chain, I need to tell you that we have one of the most sophisticated and complicated manufacturing networks in the world, and none of our manufacturing sites became nonoperational during the crisis. We were able to maintain all sites operational. And we had created from day one a list of what we thought would be 77 medicines that we manufacture that would be in critical supply from the hospitals, and we built actually new plants to build up incremental stocks and also to do what you were describing with the vaccine, to move to save production so we can create space to manufacture more of them. I think we did very well so far. We plan -- we are fully committed to maintain this level of rigor so that we'll be able to supply all medicines that are needed by whoever is in need.

MEG TIRRELL: We're still hearing about these shortages of drugs and products needed for emergency use in hospitals, from Hospira; things as simple as sugar water, dextrose, or epinephrine. Where are you, would you say, on fixing those problems from Hospira and alleviating these shortages that we've been observing for years?

ALBERT BOURLA: Yeah, you're right that in the previous years we saw -- some of this from the Hospira manufacturing sites. And during those two years, after we acquired the Hospira manufacturing sites, we have invested billions of dollars to modernize those facilities, and we continue doing that. We have tangible, tangible progress in the number of shortages that we're experiencing right now. Particularly, as I said, with the 77 medicines. They were very sporadic, but in general we're able to supply those that need them.

MEG TIRRELL: One of the things that Pfizer put out in your five-point plan originally to help with COVID-19 was to use your manufacturing capacity to help others manufacture drugs or vaccines if they were approved. Of course, you're trying to do so much yourself at Pfizer, but now we're seeing that Remdesivir, Gilead's drug, has been cleared through the emergency use authorization pathway, and there doesn't seem to be enough of it to go around. Is Pfizer thinking or looking into whether it can help there?

ALBERT BOURLA: Absolutely. I don't want to disclose specific discussions that are between us and Gilead, but I need to tell you that since we issued those five-points plan, more than 350 different companies have reached out to Pfizer asking our support. And the support could be from manufacturing, as you mentioned, or to utilization of some of our intellectual property or some of our tests or some of our knowledge, or sometimes capital. And we are -- the most promising of them we are providing any support we can. This is not business as usual, Meg, and there are two competitors ahead of us right now: The virus and time. Nobody else is competitor.

MEG TIRRELL: With that in mind, this not being business as usual, you know, one of the things that Gilead is encountering now are questions from both the patient advocacy community and then also from Wall Street, about where they're going to be pricing Remdesivir. How do you think -- at this early stage, granted, you're thinking about later this year the potential of this vaccine being available potentially in some form or fashion, how do you think about pricing these things right now?

ALBERT BOURLA: Yes. I didn't even think about it, and we have never, so far, built any sales protections about any of the product we are doing for COVID-19, because this is not what is important right now. From day one, what I said to our people was, we need to think beyond return on investment. It's not a variable at all. All we need to think it is, return on effort; if we could by comparison of effort, make a difference. So the vaccine, for example, -- no idea if we'll be successful. Now, very, very good chance, because of the reasons that I just explained. So, once the product is available, I think we will discuss with our partner BioNTech how we are going to commercialize it. But one thing is for certain, one: There will be no American that cannot get it, or European that cannot get it, once it is available, and because of price. That will be clearly the guideline.

MEG TIRRELL: And, you know, in the little time we have left, I wonder how is this experience, do you think, changing the drug industry, how you all work together; and how is it, if it is, changing Pfizer? Will we be seeing a different version of the company coming out of this?

ALBERT BOURLA: Look, as you said, let me start with the industry. I am very proud of the way that the industry has been responding. I'm very proud that the way all my peers, companies and CEOs, they are working together with academia, with smaller biotechs, to make sure that we deliver a solution. Now, when it comes to Pfizer, as you had said before, Pfizer is transforming, and the last one year likely we are going through one of the largest transformations in such short period of time since, well, the establishment of the company 171 years back. But this is not happening because I came on board. This is only happening because the last decade, under the leadership of the previous CEO, Ian Read, that was part of his legacy, and Mikael Dolsten, who is currently the head of R&D and used to be the head of R&D, we have an effort to revitalize our innovative core, to built a new scientific machine out of Pfizer, and to make sure that we make the company nimble and ready to work. In 2016, for example, when I was surrounding the innovative business in Pfizer, I divided the whole business into six units. They are operating like six small biotechs: The oncology biotech, the vaccines biotech, and as Pfizer we are just allocating resources and appointing the right people to lead those units. The COVID-19 for me is not just transforming Pfizer; but first of all, it's making great, great test capabilities. I do feel that the world was expecting from a gigantic company like Pfizer, with that scale, to be able to move so fast and jump into the phase 1 clinical trial at the same time that it's manufacturing for a vaccine, just in weeks. And that's, again, a new way of operating within Pfizer. When it comes to reputation - I want to close with that - yes, I hope that this crisis could reset the perception about the valuable position that the industry is bringing to society. Look, Meg, last year Pfizer treated with our medicines almost 500 million people. We touched the lives of 500 million families. How many fathers or mothers with cancer, for example, will live long enough to see the graduation of the daughter or the wedding of the son because of us? There is no other industry that can claim that it's bringing to humanity so much good. The reputation was very bad. I think now it's a great opportunity to be able to set it where it should be. I know that reputation is earned in drops, but you can lose it in buckets. And I hope that we will earn it drop after drop. I don't want to declare any victory, but I think people right now across the globe, billions of people, hundreds of businesses -- actually, millions of businesses and hundreds of governments, are investing their hope for a solution to the pharma industry. That should mean something.

MEG TIRRELL: Well, Albert Bourla, we appreciate you being with us today, and we will be watching and eagerly awaiting updates on your efforts in COVID-19 and everything else. Thanks again.

ALBERT BOURLA: Thank you very much, Meg.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Jennifer Dauble  CNBC

201-615-2787

Jennifer.Dauble@nbcuni.com

Emma Martin  CNBC

551-275-6221

Emma.Martin@nbcuni.com


This article was first published in the May 2020 Africa edition of Accounting and Business magazine.

Yvonne Arunga has her hands full at the best of times, but with the arrival of Covid-19 her job could be about to become much more demanding. As regional operations director for East and Southern Africa at Save the Children International, she is responsible for the quality and efficient delivery of the charitys programmes through 12 offices in 14 countries.

Save the Children, now celebrating 100 years of activity, has three core strands to its work: childrens education, health and protection. We want to push education and especially early education, Arunga says. We want children to survive  not to die of preventable illnesses. And we want to protect children from abuse and conflict. Our ambitions are very big and no one organisation can succeed alone. So we link up with governments and other organisations in this sector in the countries in which we work.

Based in Kenya, Arunga holds operations teams on the ground across her region accountable for implementing programmes effectively, and spending donor funds appropriately. My key goals are to drive through the implementation of our projects, ensuring they are implemented to high standards and within the timeframes we have set for ourselves, Arunga says. We are constantly also looking at best practice and driving through continuous improvements  so, whatever we are doing, we ask how we can do it better and faster.

As well as running long-term projects, operations teams deliver humanitarian responses to disasters and emergencies. Arunga is focused on ensuring Save the Children is the partner of choice for governments and other donors, but also on looking for ways to be faster and more nimble. Rapid response to any disaster is essential, so managing an effective supply chain is an extremely important part of Arungas remit. A lot of the success of our work will be driven by how fast we are running our supply chains, she says. So when food disaster hits, its about how quickly we can get food in there to distribute to our beneficiaries. Its also about getting value for money  because donors care that we use their money properly.

Operations teams also work in collaboration with specialists looking at programme development and quality improvement. We  operations  are implementing on the ground, Arunga says. So we work in collaboration with our specialists to drive knowledge within the organisation about what works and what doesnt, and how we can strengthen our interventions going forward. We also transfer learnings from one geographical area to another, even across continents. If a particular approach to pneumonia prevention, for example, has worked well in one part of the world, how do we translate it in an African context?



Challenging role

The role of a regional programme operations director is inevitably challenging. Context really affects our work, involving things we cannot control, Arunga says, speaking in mid-March. Just this morning we were in a meeting talking about how we must change our programmes in the light of Covid-19. We have programmes where we do things with communities and children, but some governments are already saying access to certain places should be restricted or people are to be encouraged to work from home as much as possible. So context really influences our work.

Another contextual challenge relates to the sometimes dangerous environments in which Save the Children operates. Often we are trying to implement programmes in places where the security situation is very volatile, Arunga says. You might be in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, or in Northern Kenya, or Somalia. These are very insecure places to be sometimes. That can be a constraint. We have highly committed and dedicated staff, but getting them to agree to relocate to some of these remote, insecure areas can be a challenge.

Before stepping into her regional role in January this year, Arunga was the country director for Zimbabwe. She sees attractions in both country and regional positions. As country director, you are right there where things happen and can more closely influence things. In my current role at regional office level, I have oversight over several countries  I have a birds eye view of the issues. Some are interconnected, some are not. When we are talking about food insecurity in Southern Africa, theres a lot that is common between Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Then theres a regional locust problem in East Africa.

She likens her regional role to the filling in a sandwich, layered between Save the Childrens London office and the country offices. At a regional level, you have a better view of the discussions that are happening globally and you are able to inform them more easily than you can at country level, where your head is in the weeds, she says.



Getting the job done

Arunga made her move into operations because she was interested in the programming side of things. She explains: Operations are the people who roll up their sleeves and get it done. Finance plays a supporting role and so does HR. I have massive respect for our colleagues in support functions, but I wanted to be on the front line  to be much more involved in the programmes. So if we have a major push for early childhood learning in a country, for example, what kinds of programmes will we be running?

Making the move from a finance role to operations wasnt easy. I had to be very intentional about it, Arunga says. I felt I had been doing finance for a long time and I wanted to contribute more, and to be in a high leadership position within Save the Children. I thought strategically about which stream would get me there. She also demonstrated curiosity about other functions, doing stints in managing change and other interesting roles, showing she had the ability to succeed in an operational capacity.

Although Arunga has moved out of finance, her ACCA training and previous finance experience is still highly helpful. I have a better appreciation of budgeting and resource management, she says. I can quickly understand how well we are delivering within our resource envelope. How better can we budget our proposals? How better can we cost recover so that we are a leaner, more efficient organisation? How can we plan our procurement and everything that falls under the delivery supply chain in a way thats efficient and as cost-effective as possible? Its been valuable to have a finance background.

Arunga chose the ACCA Qualification because of its global strength. I wanted an accountancy qualification that was portable, she says. Although she already had a degree in economics and philosophy from the University of Nairobi, Arunga was attracted by ACCAs partnership with Oxford Brookes University. Her studies gained her a first-class MSc in finance in 2003, and she also won the Matthew Sykes Award for the best research project  a financial analysis of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya. I was quite chuffed, she says. She sat her final ACCA exam in 2004.

Financial analysis is one of Arungas strengths, she says. If there had been more opportunities in such roles in Kenya at the start of her career, its possible she would have gone into investment banking. Somehow I ended up in the development sector, and I have never regretted that, she says. Some of the problems we are trying to solve are not easy. But its very fulfilling to come to work and be part of a network that is pushing for childrens rights.

Interview conducted prior to Covid-19 pandemic.



Sarah Perrin, journalist
The European Commission considers imposing sanctions on Israel if Jerusalem decides to advance its annexation plan this summer. Foreign ministers of the European Union are expected to discuss the issue at their next monthly meeting on May 15, one day after the swearing-in of Israels new government. According to the unity agreement between the Likud and Blue and White parties, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could present a plan for annexing parts of the West Bank as early as July 1.

The issue has not been declared yet on the foreign ministers agenda, but this has often been the case with discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to reports, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is pushing for sanctions, alongside France, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg, but there are other member states opposing such a move.

Speaking at the daily press briefing May 11, EU spokesman Peter Stano refused to go into details, reiterating former statements that annexation is contrary to international law and if annexation goes ahead, the EU will act accordingly.

James Cleverly, British junior Foreign Office minister, said yesterday that the United Kingdom would not support an Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank, as such a move would turn the two-state solution with the Palestinians almost unfeasible.

On April 30, a group of 11 European ambassadors in Israel expressed their countries objections to any annexation plans.

In terms of procedure, the European ministers would need to ask the European Commission and the EU foreign policy division, the European External Action Service, to draw up a list of optional sanctions. But European diplomats have already hinted at some possibilities, mainly in the economic sphere. For example, the EU could threaten excluding Israel from participating in its research and innovation framework Horizon Europe, slated to run between 2021 and 2027. Israel has benefited for a similar research plan that comes to its end this year. In another strong step, the EU could threaten to pull out of the Open Skies Agreement with Israel, an agreement which it has yet to ratify. The EU could also threaten to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, which establishes trade relations between them, though according to European diplomats such a possibility is highly unlikely.

Israeli diplomats who spoke to Al-Monitor believe that the ministers will issue a general warning to Israel on May 15, not entering into details, as more concrete steps would require large approval by the 27 member states. Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and perhaps more member states are expected to reject specific warnings.
A pair of sister cats, Iriss and Abyss, from the United Kingdom, are affected by a harmless condition that causes each of their eyes to be different colors: each right eye is hazel colored, while each left eye is a piercing sapphire blue.

The unusual condition, called heterochromia iridis, has made the female cats famous with the help of their extremely proud dad, Pavel Dyagilev, age 34, of Saint Petersburg, Russia, who launched their very own Instagram page. He lauded them as the most beautiful twin cats in the world.

When I found an ad on social media that two kittens were seeking a new home I never imagined that Id end up with two, he said, according to Metro.

Dyagilev realized it would have been cruel to separate the twin sisters, so he didnt. I looked through the pictures of kittens and saw two twins, always together on the photos, he recalled. And my heart melted.

In researching the reason for their unique different eye colors, heterochromia, Dyagilev learned that the condition is most commonly found in white-colored felines, though that is not always the case. Whats unique about Iriss and Abyss is that both of them have heterochromia, whereas neither their parents nor their other siblings in the litter do.

Since he got them as kittens in 2015, many people have responded to their striking appearance, wondering if the images of them are real or if they were specially bred to look that way. The completely natural cats definitely have an air about them, though, having attracted over 200,000 followers, including some people who arent necessarily cat fans.

Despite all the attention, Dyagilev has no desire to take them out into the world to meet some of their adoring fans. The girls dont feel starstruck by their online following. But they have all the features to be real stars, their proud papa explained.

For the time being, he is just going to keep sharing their everyday lives via social media. They do not go out to exhibitions or crowded places because it is a huge stress for them, Dyagilev explains, adding, our Instagram is a perfect source for the world to meet the unique beauty of Iriss and Abyss.

As far as felines with heterochromia go, Iriss and Abyss arent the only pair with the condition to garner fame on Instagram. A mother-daughter pair of hairless sphynx cats, Rosie and Poppy, has garnered plenty of attention for their striking hazel and blue eyes, not to mention their wrinkly hairless bodies.

Their human mom, Sarah Jenkins, started posting the pictures after getting negative feedback about their hairlessness. I started our cats social media after someone said that they looked weird and mean, she said, as The Daily Mail reported. Jenkins found that Rosie and Poppys striking eyes helped overcome the prejudice that their breed sometimes faces.

I realized that showing how kind and loving they are might help people overcome the negative stereotypes that accompany Sphynx cats and their different appearance, she adds.
Citizen scientists searching aerial images while on coronavirus lockdown have uncovered dozens of previously-hidden Roman, prehistoric and medieval sites.

Archaeological digs are currently on hold due to the pandemic but researchers have found roads, burial mounds and settlements - all while working from home.

Researchers from the University of Exeter asked teams of volunteers to search through LiDAR images and aerial surveys to hunt for signs of ancient sites.

Volunteer amateur archaeologists cross-referenced these topographical images of the Tamar Valley that highlight hidden features with historic maps of the area.

Lead researchers Dr Chris Smart said they were 'redrawing the archeological map of the South West and getting a better idea of how areas developed over millennia.

A probable Iron Age or Roman enclosed settlement (red arrows) and associated field system (blue arrows) revealed by LiDAR data but hidden today beneath woodland in the Tamar Valley

A section of probable Roman road. The roads agger  the raised metalled surface  shows as a straight pale line (red arrows). A line of quarry pits show as black spots (blue arrows) possibly used to gather material for the road

The exact locations of the sites hasn't been made public due to the risk of treasure hunters getting to the sites before they are properly catalogued but they are all in the Tamar Valley

The team have found parts of two Roman roads, around 30 prehistoric or Roman large embanked settlement enclosures, around 20 prehistoric burial mounds, as well as the remains of hundreds of medieval farms, field systems and quarries.

Those leading the project believe they will make many more discoveries in the coming weeks as more images are reviewed - potentially hundreds of new sites.

The team, led by Dr Smart from the University of Exeter, are analysing images from technology used to create detailed topographical maps by the Environment Agency.

Modern vegetation and buildings can be removed from the data, allowing archaeologists to look at the shape of the land surface to find the remains of archaeological earthworks.

The exact locations of the sites hasn't been made public due to the risk of treasure hunters getting to the sites before they are properly catalogued but they are all in the Tamar Valley

'The South West arguably has the most comprehensive LiDAR data yet available in the UK and we are using this to map as much of the historic environment as possible,' said Dr Smart.

They are focusing on the Tamar Valley but are also looking at land around Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor, Plymouth and Barnstaple - an area covering 1,500 sq miles.

The information has helped researchers to realise the region was much more densely populated during the Iron Age than previously thought.

They haven't been selective in the images they have asked volunteers to look at either, so to find so many from a relatively random record is even more exciting.

The research is adding to an evolving database of all known heritage in the South West of England and includes everything from lost field boundaries to prehistoric enclosures and everything in between.

'Ordinarily we would now be out in the field surveying archaeological sites with groups of volunteers, or preparing for our community excavations, but this is all now on hold,' said Smart.

'I knew there would be enthusiasm within our volunteer group to continue working during lockdown  one even suggested temporarily rebranding our project "Lockdown Landscapes",' he said.

'I don't think they realised how many new discoveries they would make.'

New archaeological sites are often found by chance, through digs before a new development, so it is unusual to find so many in one go.

Dr Smart said there is a large gap in the historical map of the South West, as there isn't as much development there as in other parts of the country - so these chance discoveries don't happen as often.

Most of the finds so far have been Iron Age enclosed settlements but they have found dozens of sites dating back to prehistory and as late as the Medieval era.

One regular project volunteer, Fran Sperring, said: 'Searching for previously unknown archaeological sites - and helping to identify places for possible future study - has been not only gratifying but engrossing.

'Although it's a fairly steep learning curve for me - being a relative novice to the subject - I'm enjoying every minute. Archaeology from the warm, dry comfort of your living room - what could be better?'

Dr Smart is working closely with his University of Exeter colleague Dr Joao Fonte, a specialist in LiDAR data manipulation and interpretation.

One regular project volunteer, Fran Sperring (pictured), said: 'Searching for previously unknown archaeological sites - and helping to identify places for possible future study - has been not only gratifying but engrossing

A probable Iron Age or Roman enclosed settlement, defined by a bank and ditch (red arrows). The remnants of the bank show as a pale line on the LiDAR data, and the ditch as a darker line

'Remote sensing is a very powerful tool for archaeological prospection,' said Fonte.

'Whilst I normally work in Northwest Iberia, I'm really happy to collaborate in this project and share my expertise for the benefit of Devon and Cornwall's wonderful landscapes,' he added.

The team are also working with Cornwall and Devon Historic Environment Record teams to find a way to integrate all of this new information into their databases.

It's hoped the work can then be rolled out over more of the South West of England.

When the worst of the pandemic is over the team intend to undertake geophysical surveys at a number of the newly-identified sites as part of the Understanding Landscapes project.

Dr Smart said 'It's hard for us not to be able to carry out the work we had planned this summer  including an excavation at Calstock Roman fort.

'Hopefully this is only a temporary blip and we will be back out in the countryside with volunteers as soon as it is safe to do so.'

There is a wider benefit to using the LiDAR mapping data though. Dr Smart hopes to be able to create a wider-reaching citizen science project that will help map more of the region's history and create a rich record for the future.

He said they were able to make use of existing maps created from a number of aerial surveys and satellite data.

These maps are generated by the Environment Agency for the purpose of flood monitoring, but Dr Smart said the detail is also perfect for spotting historical sites.
A DUBLIN man has been accused of throwing a loaded handgun wrapped in a sock into a litter bin on a city centre street.

Noel Reddington (33) was seen running and discarding something in the bin moments before gardai looked inside and found a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition, a court heard.

Judge Flann Brennan refused to grant him bail at Dublin District Court and remanded him in custody for a week.

Mr Reddington, of Lissadell Green in Drimnagh is charged with unlawful possession of a Grand Power G9A automatic pistol and 15 rounds of ammunition at Liffey Street on May 10.

Detective Garda PJ Gallagher told the court the accused replied "I understand" to one charge and "yeah" to the other.

Objecting to bail, he said gardai were in an unmarked patrol car at 12.10am when they observed the accused from a distance.

He was at Middle Abbey Street and was engaged in what Det Gda Gallagher believed to be an altercation with a person unknown. The car proceeded towards the accused, who was seen running, turning onto Liffey Street, where he had an interaction with another male.

It was alleged he grabbed this man around the neck and used his left hand to discard an object into a bin. A garda exited the vehicle and inspected the bin and its contents.

He observed an object inside it, resting on top of the contents, Det Gda Gallagher continued. It was wrapped in a sock with a knot tied at the end and when he opened it, the garda saw what he believed to be a firearm and a number of rounds of ammunition. The accused was arrested at the scene. He was identified on CCTV and the gun had proved to be a firearm, the garda said.

Det Gda Gallagher said the accused was under the influence of drugs when arrested and said he was "off his head on crack cocaine" and consumed it on a daily basis. He believed the accused posed a "serious risk to public safety" if granted bail.

The allegation was he had a loaded firearm with 10 rounds of ammunition and a further five rounds wrapped in a sock, in a public place while under the influence of drugs, the garda said.

Mr Reddington failed to account for the origins of the firearm or its intended purpose, he said.

Applying for bail, defence solicitor Edward Bradbury said the accused had replied "no comment" rather than failing to account for the firearm, which was his right.

The allegation was not that there was "some type of violent incident", but that "something was discarded" and an object was found in a bin.

Det Gda Gallagher agreed that the entire investigation file was "not together yet." DNA analysis from the sock and other exhibits was awaited.

Mr Bradbury said the accused would be able to stay at the family home if granted bail, and this address had always been available to him.

The evidence suggested a substance having been taken that night but not addiction, he said.

The accused was presumed innocent and would abide by conditions if granted bail, Mr Bradbury said.

He accepted it was a very serious allegation but did not accept guilt, he added.

Judge Brennan refused bail and remanded Mr Reddington in custody, to appear in Cloverhill District Court on May 19.
Reading, PA (19601)

Today

Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night.
With the coronavirus affecting over 1.3 million people so far in the United States, and about 40,000 people in Texas, many of us have had to make great adjustments to the way we live, play and work. Whether it is practicing good hand washing hygiene or keeping six feet apart from each other, doing our best to adapt to this new normal may still not be so easy.

While many companies are encouraging employees to work from home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, working from home can have its own hurdles and difficulties. Maintaining a good productivity level, keeping good mental health and staying focused on work while at home can be quite challenging. Time spent at home was always filled with different tasks such as household chores, playing with kids or even a place for a nap. All things that we associate with home time become easy access and ultimately a distraction for doing effective work at home.

Here are some tips to help navigate and make working from home a little better:

1) Get Dressed: Yes, get dressed! Theres a reason they call it a power suit. Getting out of your PJs is a simple signal to your brain that it is time to work. Continue to wear your daily work clothes or uniform when working from home. This simple act can help boost your productivity because it is a reminder that it is work time.

2) Find a Workspace: Try to find a dedicated and comfortable spot at home to work. The living room with its comfy couch and the bedroom with its relaxing bed are not the best locations. Such areas are natural comfort zones for us and not areas we can easily associate with work. Try finding a spot in your home with good lighting and comfortable furniture that you can isolate yourself in for a few hours. Consider using an area of the home that is rarely utilized such as a spare bedroom, or even the dining room that only gets used during holiday dinners. Working in a part of the home you rarely use may give you the feeling that you went to work.

3) Have a Schedule: When working from home it is important to have a structured daily schedule. Although the hours can be flexible, attempting to mimic your regular work schedule solidifies the commitment that it is time to work. Try creating a list of things to do to keep you on task and remember to schedule regular breaks throughout the day to maintain good mental well-being.

4) Find a Friend: Unfortunately, working from home can make you feel isolated and lonely. One of the benefits of work is the social interaction of working with colleagues. Having someone to chat with may not only be beneficial for your mental well-being, but also productive when you can find someone to help bounce around ideas. Remembering that you are not only one working from home right now and scheduling a FaceTime break with a work colleague as part of your work plan may help keep you going during this difficult time.

Lastly, if you are working from home and you have children with you due to school or daycare closure, the task of balancing everything can be quite a challenge. As you create a work schedule for yourself, it is equally important to create a schedule for your child. Although it may be impossible to recreate a school or daycare curriculum, it is important to show the kids the new routine at home and making them part of your work plan. Try siting down every morning with your child at breakfast and share your work schedule with them so they can understand goals for the day. Develop a schedule for your child that coincides with your work schedule. For example, a work conference call can be timed during TV time or nap time for your child. Or perhaps consider enlisting family members to help. Grandparents can read a book over FaceTime during your childs own virtual meeting while you are in your own with the boss.

It is important to remember that children can process stressers differently. Anxiety can manifest as increased whining, acting up, or temper tantrums. Take time from work to sit down and ask them how they feel and whats on their mind because its easy to forget that having to work from home affects everyone in the family and not just you. Please remember that your health care provider is here for you and your family during these challenging times.

Vy Phan, D.O. is board certified Family Physician faculty member who sees patients of all at Lone Star Family Health Center, a non-profit 5013 Federally Qualified Health Center operating facilities in Conroe, Spring, Willis, Huntsville and Grangerland, and serving as home to a fully integrated Family Medicine Residency Program to increase the number of Family Medicine physicians for Texas and our community.
The Five Challenges

Secure access. State governments typically work with a number of third parties and vendors who are given access to these networks. Logins should be authorized, of course, but there should also be a multilayered approach in place, including multi-factor authentication.

State governments typically work with a number of third parties and vendors who are given access to these networks. Logins should be authorized, of course, but there should also be a multilayered approach in place, including multi-factor authentication. Integrated security. When it comes to threat management, security should be deployed across the entire system, from mobile endpoints to core networks to branch and field offices. Integration of these tools and functions can enable IT teams to handle operations through a single, centralized pane of glass.

When it comes to threat management, security should be deployed across the entire system, from mobile endpoints to core networks to branch and field offices. Integration of these tools and functions can enable IT teams to handle operations through a single, centralized pane of glass. Remote location security. SD-WAN should be employed at branch and remote locations to enhance productivity and reduce costs. The SD-WAN option chosen should integrate security, connectivity and network functionality into a single product that is simple to deploy, use and manage.

SD-WAN should be employed at branch and remote locations to enhance productivity and reduce costs. The SD-WAN option chosen should integrate security, connectivity and network functionality into a single product that is simple to deploy, use and manage. Advanced threat detection. With the speed and complexity of todays cyberthreats, security teams need help in responding quickly to an event. AI-driven automation is key not only for a quick response, but also for maximizing the impact of limited security resources.

With the speed and complexity of todays cyberthreats, security teams need help in responding quickly to an event. AI-driven automation is key not only for a quick response, but also for maximizing the impact of limited security resources. Automated and integrated capabilities. Especially for those jurisdictions that lack adequate cybersecurity staff, it is important that cybersecurity solutions offer a zero touch plug-and-play configuration and fully automated adaptive operation.

When it comes to cybersecurity in government, most conversations have focused on the federal level. However, the moves made at the national level foreshadow whats in store for state and local government. Dig deep into the body of proposed federal legislation, and youll find more than a few references to state and local security needs.This all points to a growing, nationwide focus on what can be done to secure critical infrastructures that state and local governments are responsible for. For most citizens, state and local services are a major part of their daily lives. They include everything from education and public safety to elections, the roads we drive on and the water we drink  and that means cybersecurity must be a foremost concern.Cybersecurity challenges at state and local government agencies may be even more complex than those faced by federal security teams. The broad array of services offered by states, counties, cities and towns means agencies have to support these services with relatively fewer resources than their federal peers. Lets take a look at five important cybersecurity challenges at the state and local level.Water and sewage systems, roads, public transportation, drivers licensing, police and fire departments, libraries and schools are all run by state and local entities. Not only do these organizations provide critical services, but many also collect and store citizens personally sensitive data. By nature of the data collected, these organizations are rich targets for cybercriminals.State, and even more so local, governments are affected by the growing cybersecurity skills gap. This nationwide workforce shortage has an especially acute impact on municipal organizations ability to attract and retain an IT workforce of adequate size and skill  particularly when competing with the private-sector marketplace for talent. In some cases, theres no professional IT and cybersecurity support for local government officials due to resource constraints and the small size of local government.While recent emphasis on improving cybersecurity at the state and local levels has been welcome, growing COVID-related economic pressures mean that states and local jurisdictions, which are legally prohibited from running a deficit, are increasingly likely to relegate cybersecurity to the category of a nice to have but non-essential budget item. This places a premium on ensuring that these governments get the maximum impact from their limited cyber resources, both money and people.Agencies in the midst of digital transformation grapple with more devices, software licenses, apps and services than ever. With the expanding role of IoT and the growth in cloud adoption rates, it seems that digital footprints are expanding by the minute. With so many products and services from different vendors, it is hard to achieve visibility into threat activity, monitor the network and secure environments.With less visibility and control over their expanding network, IT teams are finding that they are more likely to experience compliance problems. Who is operating which device, and does their access comply with regulations or best practices? What apps are being used by agency employees, and are they secure? When considering the number of employees in the typical state and local ecosystem, as well as the fact that most breaches are a result of human error, it is clear why compliance remains a challenge.Agencies also need help choosing and implementing the right tools and services to keep their networks protected. The tools used to secure these networks should be able to address the greatest challenges that state and local government security professionals are facing every day. Here is a short checklist of what these tools should provide:State and local agencies have a unique set of challenges that make government cybersecurity particularly complex. Resource constraints, a rapidly evolving IT environment, increasing citizen demand for digitally enabled services, and a changing threat landscape will continue to challenge state and local IT officials. Preparation for secure and sustainable operations must be integrated into planning starting on day one when state and local governments consider how to build out or expand digital services.
The Cairo Doctors Syndicate has called on health authorities to designate a special isolation hospital for coronavirus patients among medical staff in the capital to help quickly deal with positive cases.

The syndicate follows with great concern the increase in positive cases among medical staff at Cairo hospitals and the lack of a special hospital for the isolation of positive cases among doctors, nurses, and [other] medical staff members, the syndicate said in a statement late on Monday.

The medical syndicate urged the health ministry to take a swift decision on the matter, saying that hospital staff are highly in danger.

It said a special hospital for infected medical staff is a pressing need at the current time to help reassure medical teams, ensure a swift handling of infected doctors and alleviate mental and physical pressure on them.

The designated facility will also help save financial and physical resources of the ambulance authority and the healthcare system [in general] and protect the society from an outbreak of infection, it added.

Egypt has 9,746 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 533 fatalities.

The health ministry has not provided a tally of doctors who have been infected or died from the flu-like virus.

The doctors syndicate, however, has said that nine physicians have died as of Friday, and the latest tally of infections among medical staff it provided in late April was 90. The nurses' syndicate said separately that six nurses have so far died.

Last month, the syndicate criticised steps taken by healthcare authorities to identify coronavirus cases among medical staff and warned against merely relying on rapid tests when examining medical staff working at quarantine hospitals, saying their results have not proved accurate.

The syndicate cited WHOs advice that molecular testing of respiratory tract samples, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, is the recommended method for the identification and laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 cases.

Many hospital staff members have taken to social media to complain from reluctance by hospital managements to conduct necessary tests on them despite having come into contact with coronavirus patients.

A health ministry spokesman said last week that only 12 percent of infected medical staff members contracted the virus while on duty at hospitals, while the rest got infected outside medical facilities.

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The Maharashtra government and



the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that they will inform the court by Friday whether vacant tenements in Mahul in suburban Chembur will be used for quarantining suspected COVID-19 patients, including inmates of Arthur Road jail.

The authorities made the submission before a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Amjad Sayed via video conferencing.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Sharda Tevar, the mother of an undertrial at Arthur Road prison, and by NGO Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan.

The petitioners, through advocate Ronita Bector, submitted that as per reports, state authorities were contemplating using two buildings in Mahul as quarantine facilities.

However, all buildings in the said area, built for rehabilitating those whose homes were affected by various BMC development projects, have been considered uninhabitable by Bombay HC and NGT previously.

"We told HC that these buildings were considered unsafe by the Supreme Court too due to the toxic pollution in the area because of refineries and industries. Now if such people who are suspected to or are suffering from COVID-19 are brought to such an area that is heavily polluted and poses further health risks, then the very purpose of quarantine gets defeated," Bector said.

"Also, as COVID-19 patients have severe respiratory diseases it would be improper to quarantine them in Mahul," she said.

As per the petition, Mahul is a heavily industrialized belt and home to refineries of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

The HC, on September 23 last year, stopped project affected persons from being rehabilitated in these buildings.

Bector also told the court that some reports have claimed that the state government had temporarily rescinded its decision and, hence, it must issue a clarification on the same.

Government pleader Poornima Kantharia and senior advocate Anil Sakhare, for BMC, sought time to take instructions and inform the court at the next hearing on May 15.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Activities and events to be held in China for the upcoming International Museum Day have been released on Monday as the coronavirus epidemic wanes.

Nanjing Museum in east China's Jiangsu Province will host the main event on International Museum Day, which falls on May 18, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA).

A special exhibition with a selection of over 200 cultural relics dating from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) to the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) will be jointly launched by eight cultural institutions, including the Nanjing Museum and Henan Museum, to mark the day, Gong Liang, curator of the Nanjing Museum, said at a press conference.

Themed "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion," this year's campaign for the International Museum Day will also include special activities held around May 18 in other places across China. The aim is to build platforms of communication between museums and the public, the NCHA said.

While paying tribute to medics, a batch of material demonstrating China's collective efforts in the combat against the epidemic will be donated to the Nanjing Museum at the opening ceremony of the main event. According to the NCHA, provincial museums in Hainan, Gansu, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang will also hold exhibitions to honor China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Apart from controlling the scale of the offline main event on the spot and improving the emergency plan, online activities will also be intertwined with offline events for the first time due to the epidemic, Guan Qiang, deputy head of the NCHA, said at the press conference.

Related activities will be livestreamed via the Internet, he added.

A total of 11 Chinese cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Changsha have hosted the main event since 2009.

In collaboration with Xinhua News Agency, the NCHA will launch a platform to show the best of the online exhibitions of China's museums as part of a series of events scheduled for the International Museum Day, Guan noted.

The NCHA will also invite celebrities and experts to interpret the exhibitions and explore approaches to innovatively convert and develop fine traditional Chinese culture through a livestream on the platform, Guan added.
By Geoff Percival and Eamon Quinn

Michael OLearys initiative to get Ryanairs airborne again from July by using Covid-19 screening at airports and mandatory air masks for passengers and cabin crew have had a mixed reception - with trade unions broadly in favour and the tourism industry expressing more scepticism.

The boss of the industry group which oversees Irelands travel agents said the Ryanair plan was a case of too much too soon.

July is too quick; its only six weeks away. I would prefer the airlines to wait and do a very gradual return from the end of July onwards, said Irish Travel Agents Association CEO Pat Dawson.

Mr Dawson said he understood why airlines were looking to get flights restarted, saying that as much as 60% of the proposed flights were already booked and paid for. If the planes fly and passengers dont want to go they wont be refunded, Mr Dawson said.

He said customers will not be clambering to get back onboard planes in the next few months, saying travellers will want to be totally confident about their departure and destination airports.

There was a big problem for large airports where passengers will not be able to avoid queuing, he said, and smaller regional airports might benefit, he said.

However, the unions representing Ryanairs pilots and cabin crew have tentatively welcomed the plan.

Evan Cullen, president of the Irish Airline Pilots Association  or IALPA  said that as long as safety precautions are in line with EU regulations, and that it very much supported the initiative.

The Forsa trade union  which represents both pilots and cabin crew at Ryanair - said it was still in talks with Ryanair over jobs and pay, and that those negotiations were its priority. However, restarting flights were part of the talks.

While the outlook remains very uncertain, we recognise that all airlines must plan ahead and be ready to mobilise services when there is demand, said Forsa spokesman Niall Shanahan.

With the employer we share the objective of wanting to ensure the industry survives the current crisis. Our priority, right now, is the jobs and incomes of our members in Ryanair and throughout the Irish aviation industry," he said.

Mr Shanahan said Forsa was developing a response to Ryanairs proposals on cuts.

In doing so, the union is mindful of the sustainability of Irelands aviation industry in the short term, and the need to ensure there is a functioning aviation industry on this island in the longer term, he said.

Chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, or Itic, Eoghan O'Mara Walsh said the industry "would love" to see international travel starting up again shortly.

But the 14-day quarantine periods that the Irish and British governments and other European countries have imposed on international travellers could at this stage be an insurmountable problem, he said

But ultimately it is a public health issue, he said.

Mr OMara Walsh also said tourist and hospitality firms will need specific help and would need the Governments support measures to last for a long, long time.
Bengaluru, May 13 : Seven South Western Railway (SWR) zone special trains ferried 10,059 migrant workers back home to five Indian states amid Covid pandemic, an official said on Tuesday.

"The first shramik special train from Mysuru left Kabakaputtur station near Mysuru at 2.38 p.m. with 1,428 passengers to Bapudam Motihari in Bihar," said a SWR zone official.

Bapudam Motihari is 154 km north of Bihar capital Patna.

Tuesday's second special train with 1,076 migrants departed Chikka Bannavara station from the outskirts of Bengaluru at 3.30 p.m. to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Haridwar is 53 km south of Uttarakhand capital Dehradun.

The third special train from Malur near Bengaluru to Danapur in Bihar departed at 5:03 p.m. with 1,527 migrants.

"The migrant workers were happy as they could not make it in the earlier 6 special trains that left for Danapur," said the official.

Danapur is 14 km west of Patna.

The fourth special train with 1,520 migrants left Chikka Bannavara station for Lucknow at 5.52 p.m.

Similarly, Tuesday's fifth special train departed Malur station for Purila in West Bengal at 7:15 p.m. with 1,548 migrants.

Purila is 292 km northwest of Kolkata.

Likewise, the sixth train from Chikka Bannavara station to Lucknow departed at 7:58 p.m. with 1,520 passengers.

"This is the 10th special train to LucknowAfrom Bengaluru,a said the official.

The last special train left from Malur to Hatia in Jharkhand with 1,440 migrants departed at 9:10 p.m.

In addition to the Bengaluru and Mysuru special trains, one more such train was operated by the Southern Railway from Mangaluru to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.

Prayagraj is 201 km away from Lucknow.

The special trains are being organized following the Union Ministry of Home Affairs granting permission for the movement of stranded migrant labourers, workers, students, tourists and others.

"As per the list provided by state government, arrangements of train services for approximately 10,059 citizens were made for them to return to their native place from Bengaluru and Mysuru," said the official.

Mobilised in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, each returnee was supplied with victuals of such as two water bottles, dates, cookies and buttermilk for their journey.

Special trains apart, another train with 1,074 passengers left KSR Bengaluru station at 8:30 p.m. for New Delhi, following the partial resumption of normal services.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The collapse of oil prices and outbreak of a pandemic seems to catch Central Asia in an economic perfect storm. Some regional energy exporters will suffer directly from low oil prices and the pandemic; others will face adverse economic consequences more indirectly, in the form of reduced gas demand in China or decreased remittances sent by migrant workers.

BACKGROUND: At the beginning of 2020, Brent oil was traded slightly above US$ 60 per barrel. By March 30, it//www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=@LCO.1"> had fallen to US $22.8, a price last seen in 2002. Despite the historic decision by OPEC+ to cut production, Brent is still traded below US$ 30 as of May 12 and will average $33/b in 2020 according to EIA forecasts. The low and volatile prices will have serious consequences for Central Asia, an important oil producing region.

The pandemic-related economic slowdown also reduced gas consumption in China, by far the most important market for Central Asian gas exports. Previously expected to rise 8.6 percent on a yearly basis, Chinese gas consumption dropped by 17 percent in February compared to the same month in 2019. On March 5, Reuters reported that PetroChina suspended some natural gas imports, mostly from unspecified piped natural gas suppliers. Of Chinas piped gas imports, 98.3 percent or 45 billion cubic meters (bcm) came from Central Asia in 2018. Kazakhstan has announced that its gas exports to China fell by 20-25 percent, as the country received a force majeure declaration from Beijing on gas import reduction on March 6.

Moreover, the pandemic and collapsed oil prices risk throwing Russia, a vital economic partner for the Central Asian region, into recession. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects a 5.5 percent GDP contraction for Russia in 2020. Russias ruble lost a quarter of its value against the U.S. dollar from January 1 to May 1. It will be impossible for the Central Asian countries to avoid the negative economic fallout as the Russian economy contracts and its currency depreciates.

IMPLICATIONS: The collapsed oil prices implies a significant reduction in projected export income for Kazakhstan, which produced 92.2 million tons of oil in 2018. The country needs oil prices of at least US$ 50-55 per barrel to balance its budget. Income from gas exports will also decrease in 2020. The country exported 5.4 bcm of gas to China in 2018 and had a contract to double exports by 2020-21, which now seems unattainable. A similar reduction in energy export incomes in 2015 forced Kazakhstan to allow the national currency tenge to float, decreasing its exchange rate from 188 to 340 tenge/US$ 1 by the start of 2016. This time, the Kazakh government was quick to respond to the dropping oil prices  President Tokayev held a meeting on March 9, 2020 to discuss a crisis plan and the National Bank launched interventions to support the tenge. Despite these efforts, under the pressure of the depreciating Russian ruble and collapsing oil prices, the tenge lost 17 percent of its value throughout March. In April, the currency partially regained its value losses and as of May 12 was traded at 421 tenge/US$1, which remains a significant value loss compared to 380 tenge/US$1 in the beginning of March. In consequence, Kazakhstan revised its economic projections for 2020 to forecast a 0.9 percent contraction from a previously estimated 4 percent expansion. The IMFs World Economic Outlook, published on April 14, offers an even bleaker picture for the country: a 2.5 percent GDP contraction in 2020.

Turkmenistan, whose oil output stood at 10.6 million tons in 2018, will also suffer from the oil price slump. However, the country is expected to suffer even more from the reduced gas demand in China. Turkmenistan exported 33.3 bcm of gas to China in 2018 and may now face a 7-8 bcm reduction in exports. This will add to already existing fiscal difficulties after Turkmenistan lost its other important gas markets in Russia in 2016 (although Gazprom resumed limited imports  5.5 bcm annually  in 2019) and Iran in 2017. The IMF reduced the GDP growth projection for Turkmenistan from the previously expected 6.4 percent to 1.8 percent.

Central Asian non-energy exporter countries also face perils in the current economic storm. The regions poorest economies  Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and to a lesser degree Uzbekistan  depend on remittances sent from Russia by migrant workers. According to official Russian statistics, in 2019 alone, about 3.4 million people came to Russia from Central Asia to work, study or reside permanently. On March 18, Russia barred entry for all foreigners until May 1, and then extended the ban indefinitely. Thus seasonal migrants, who were preparing to move to Russia in spring, must remain in their home countries adding to the already high domestic unemployment numbers. The expected recession in the Russian economy and depreciation of the ruble also means that migrants already residing in Russia will have a fewer job opportunities and the money they send home will lose part of its purchasing power.

These countries faced similar problems in 2015 when collapsing oil prices and Western sanctions triggered an economic crisis and a currency depreciation in Russia. For Kyrgyzstan, money transfers by migrants accounted for some 30 percent of GDP in 2014 and fell to about 25 percent in 2015. The country spent US$ 101 million in currency interventions in 2015, but failed to preserve the exchange rate of its currency, the som. As Kyrgyzstan became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, the number of migrants to Russia has increased and the share of remittances in the countrys GDP rose to 33 percent by 2018. In the first 11 months of 2019, remittances sent from Russia to Kyrgyzstan were about US$ 2.2 billion. As in 2015, depreciation of the ruble and the perspective of reduced remittances has again increased pressure on the som since mid-March 2020. Despite interventions by Kyrgyzstans National Bank, as of April 17 the som depreciated by 16.5 percent compared to the previous month. IMF estimates that the Kyrgyz economy will shrink by 4 percent in 2020 against the previous projection of a 3.4 percent growth.

Remittances accounted for 37 percent of Tajikistans GDP in 2014 but fell to 29 percent of GDP in 2015. In the face of decreased remittances and the depreciated ruble, the Tajik government spent US$ 452 million in 2015-2016, unsuccessfully trying to preserve the exchange rate of the national currency, the somoni. In 2019, Tajik migrants working in Russia sent home US$ 2.6 billion or about 34 percent of the countrys GDP. The somoni gradually started to depreciate in mid-March 2020, and had by mid-May lost close to 6 percent of its value compared to two months before. According to the IMF, the countrys economy will only grow by 1 percent in 2020, compared to the previously estimated growth rate of 4.5 percent.

In comparison, Uzbekistans percentage of GDP from remittances has always been relatively small. In 2015, remittances fell from 9.7 percent in 2014 to 3.7 percent. Since President Shavkat Mirziyoev came to power in late 2016 and Russian-Uzbek relations improved significantly, the number of Uzbek migrant workers in Russia rose again and remittances accounted for 15 percent of the countrys GDP in 2018. Uzbek migrants sent home about US$ 2 billion in the first half 2019. Unlike the currencies of its neighbors, the Uzbek som traded stable throughout March and the beginning of April 2020, yet in mid-April, the Central Bank had to devalue it twice in three days. As of May 12, the soms value was down by over 6 percent. The country relies on its gold and foreign exchange reserves worth US$ 30.5 billion to protect its economy and the currency. However, an increased reliance on remittances in recent years also means that the consequences will be harder to fight off compared to 2015. Last year, IMF projected that Uzbekistans GDP would grow 6 percent in 2020; it now projects a growth of only 1.8 percent.

CONCLUSIONS: The economic consequences of COVID-19-related domestic lockdowns combined with collapsing oil prices, reduction of gas exports and loss of remittances will be dire for all Central Asian countries. In response, some of the regional countries have announced economic action plans to support suffering businesses and provide some income for the poorest segments of society. Kazakhstan presented the largest such package, worth US$ 1.5 billion, on March 17. However, the current crisis is unprecedented in its magnitude and hence presents a much larger economic challenge than anything the region has previously faced.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Azad Garibov is an independent analyst on the South Caucasus and Central Asia, regional trans-national transit corridors and Caspian affairs.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons accessed on 4/27/20
Health officials announced 129 new coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, bringing the statewide total to 5,108.

Officials also confirmed another 669 cases of the virus, for a total of 78,462 across Massachusetts. That figure is based on 6,339 new tests reported on Monday, according to the Department of Public Health. Its the lowest single report of new cases since March 26.

Massachusetts COVID-19-related hospitalizations are now at 3,102, the lowest in a continued slow decline since a peak of 3,965 on April 21.

The new data comes as the state unveiled a framework for reopening the economy. Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday presented the states four-phased approach to reopening, which will begin on May 18  the day the reopening advisory board, helmed by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy, is set to deliver the plan.

In the first phase, a limited number of businesses will reopen with severe restrictions in place; the second phase includes more industries with restrictions and capacity limits; the third phase would be an easing of restrictions; and the fourth and final phase - assuming the public health data is showing favorable trends - is the return to a new normal after a vaccine is developed, Baker said Monday.

The phases are categorized in order as Start, Cautious, Vigilant and The New Normal, respectively.

Baker did not elaborate on a specific timetable for the phased reopening, but said there would be roughly four weeks between phases.

Baker stressed the plan will depend on the rates of new cases, deaths and hospitalizations. Over the past few weeks, administration officials have said that they have seen some downward trends in the percentage of positive cases and hospitalizations from the virus.

I think wed like to see a few more days of the positive trend that were seeing, he said.

Last week, Bakers order mandating face coverings in public took effect.

Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Here are the cases listed by county:

Barnstable County: 1,075

Berkshire County: 478

Bristol County: 4,999

Dukes County: 23

Essex County: 11,432

Franklin County: 296

Hampden County: 4,763

Hampshire County: 688

Middlesex County: 17,774

Nantucket County: 12

Norfolk County: 7,004

Plymouth County: 6,457

Suffolk County: 15,356

Worcester County: 7,818

Unknown location: 287

Related Content:
Walmart WMT stock is up over 4% in 2020, against the S&P 500s 9% downturn, as investors look for stocks that seem immune to the broader coronavirus economic downturn. So the question is should investors think about buying Walmart stock before it reports its Q1 fiscal 2021 financial results on Tuesday, May 19?

Walmarts E-Commerce Business

Walmart has rolled out more delivery and pick up options, alongside a beefed-up overall digital business. The company made these moves in order to compete in a quickly evolving space that continues to use Amazon AMZN as the barometer for e-commerce success. Fellow powers such as Target TGT and Costco COST have made similar moves to grow in the new retail age.

Walmart closed last year with roughly 3,200 grocery pickup locations in the U.S. and over 1,600 delivery locations. The company also launched during fiscal 2020 free NextDay delivery from Walmart.com and a grocery delivery membership option called Delivery Unlimited. Plus, WMT is experimenting with an in-home delivery offering, autonomous delivery, and more.

These initiatives helped the Bentonville, Arkansas-based companys U.S. e-commerce sales jump 37% last year, which came on top of fiscal 2019s 40% e-commerce revenue growth. Meanwhile, its total revenue popped 1.9%, with U.S. comparable sales up 2.8%.

Pandemic Push

WMT then on April 30 announced what it calls Express Delivery, to help expand its reach during the coronavirus. The new service delivers more items from the store than ever before to customers' doors in less than two hours. Investors should note that the service will cost $10 on top of the existing delivery charge, while its Delivery Unlimited customers will simply pay a $10 fee per Express Delivery.

Walmart also said it accelerated the development of the service in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April. The service will expand to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and will be available in nearly 2,000 total stores in the following weeks.

Story continues

Other Fundamentals

Before we look ahead, lets quickly review some of Walmarts other fundamentals. WMT shares have lagged the markets comeback since its March 23 lows, up roughly 8%. That said, Walmart didnt have as much room to climb since it didnt really selloff. In fact, the stock is still up over 4% in 2020 and 24% in the last 12 months.

WMT closed regular trading Monday at $123.67 a share. This puts it about 7% off its 52-week highs and could give it more room to run if its Q1 results or guidance impress. Walmart is also currently trading at a slight discount compared to Target in terms of forward 12-months sales estimates.

The retailer last quarter upped its dividend by 2% and its yield currently comes in at 1.75%. This crushes the 10-year U.S. Treasurys 0.71%. Walmart is also part of an industry that rests in the top 12% of our more than 250 Zacks industries and holds B grades for both Growth and Value in our Style Scores system.

Outlook

Our current Zacks estimates call for Walmarts Q1 fiscal 2021 revenue to jump 4.3% from the year-ago period to $129.24 billion. WMTs Q2 sales are then projected to jump 3%. Both of these estimates would mark the strongest quarterly growth since its revenue popped 3.8% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019.

Meanwhile, its fiscal 2021 sales are projected to climb 3.5% to hit $542.32 billion. Investors should be pleased to note that this would represent WMTs best full-year revenue growth since fiscal 2013, and easily top 2020s 1.8% and 2019s 2.8%.

The bottom end of the income statement looks less impressive, as it spends on its future and deals with the coronavirus. That said, its adjusted Q1 earnings are still expected to pop 1.8%. On top of that, its current $1.15 a share estimate has remained unchanged over the last 60 days, which is a good sign considering the overall earnings picture for the S&P 500.

Bottom Line

Playing a stock for near-term gains around earnings is difficult, especially during these unprecedented times. Yet, longer-term investors might want to consider buying Walmart stock, which is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), because its a safe retail powerhouse that pays a dividend and is prepared to expand its e-commerce business.

WMT is also attractive at the moment for its ability to grow during the coronavirus.

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The Ghana Medical Association before President Akufo-Addo's 9th national address on the measures taken to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the country, in a press statement advised the President to keep to the already restricted measures considering the increase in number of positive cases.



According to the President of the Association Dr. Frank Ankobea, "as an association they are happy with the President's 9th coronavirus update to the nation, by adhering to their suggested findings since it will help them work at the daily trending of the pandemic in the country."



In an interview with UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' program, he insisted that, "government should involve the services of security officials like it did during the partial lockdown period since some citizens have blatantly refused to comply with the various precautionary measures put in place by government."



"Indeed, we are happy with the President's 9th update because even though government has taken bold steps to hold the moving virus, we will suffer as a country when we refuse to practice with all seriousness the laid down measures needed to curb the disease like we see currently," he noted.



Dr. Frank Ankobea mentioned that the sector is still challenged with distribution of PPE's to various hospitals even though some adequate number of local manufacturers have been contracted by government to sew them.

Source: Elizabeth Semiheva/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Alongside focusing on a return to normalcy, Americans believe preparing for future pandemics  not necessarily increasing funding for key workers and looking after the most vulnerable in society  should be a key economic priority moving forward. Americans are also more likely than those in other nations to prioritize growing the economy.

Table: Americans name pandemic preparation as key priority for the future

% Americans who

rank measure: Pandemic

preparation Grow the

economy Get back

to normal Looking

after most

vulnerable Funding for

key workers 1st priority 17% 12% 15% 10% 6% 2nd priority 13% 12% 10% 10% 9% 3rd priority 14% 12% 10% 8% 9%

Importantly, the data also shows that while a majority of Americans (57%) continue to prioritize saving lives over protecting the economy, a growing number (27%, up from 20% last month) now believe the government should focus on averting an economic recession or depression, even if it means the disease will spread. High levels of concern persist about the impact of the virus to the economy.

According to the findings, Americans' reported confidence in the federal government's response has continued to decline, from a net fall in confidence of 6% last month to a net fall of 12% in May. This trend is fueled by both Democrats and Republicans, with only 32% of Republicans saying they have more confidence in central government compared to 43% last month. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also seen a sharp increase in the number of people who say they have less confidence in it (from 21% last month to 30% now). This is mainly among Republicans, mirroring President Trump's remarks about defunding the organization.

The research, carried out among a representative sample of 5,000 adults, including 1,000 in the U.S. between April 27th and May 1st, alongside similar numbers in the U.K., Sweden, Germany, and Japan, also found a persistent belief that businesses are stepping up in response to the crisis (including 59% of Americans).

However, Americans are beginning to call for bolder steps from businesses: 1 out of 3 Americans prioritize executive pay cuts above other initiatives, even above manufacturing hospital equipment and providing cheaper goods/services for the most vulnerable (prioritized by 15% and 16% respectively).

Commenting on these findings, Nicholle Manners, Global Head of Knowledge, Insights, Research & Analytics (KIRA) at Kekst CNC, said: "One of the most striking findings from this research is the split nature of Americans' responses. America's expanding and enduring cultural divide informs responses throughoutleaving leaders to grapple with tough questions about the type of economy and country we want coming out of this crisis. Businesses, especially, will need to consider these questions thoughtfully, with an eye toward diverse consumer preferences."

The U.S. in International Context (as of the time the latest survey was conducted)

American workers remain acutely concerned about the impact of coronavirus on the economy and on their own jobs. Almost one in four Americans say they expect to lose their job, and one third say they expect their company to collapse. Younger American workers face the biggest threat to their economic situation, with 38% of 18-24 year old workers saying they expect to lose their job, and more than half  52% - saying they are worried that the company they work for might collapse.

The public is equally split on believing that government support for business is getting through to those that really need it, with 34% saying it is and 34% saying it is not.

The U.S. is the country where the fewest people think the impacts of the virus will last a long time, among those countries where the survey was conducted. Though more think it will last longer than they did last month, 34% of Americans expect the impact of the virus on their own life to last more than a year, and 43% believing the impact on the U.S. to last beyond a year.

Americans also expressed their desire for less of a change to the economy after the crisis compared to other nations. Specifically, Americans are less likely than their European counterparts to want to see more funding for key workers (only the top priority of 6%) or to look after the most vulnerable in society (10%), with more of a focus on growing the economy (12%) and reducing unemployment (12%).

Methodology and Full Results

Nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults in The United States , 1,000 adults in Great Britain , 1,000 adults in Germany , 1,000 adults in Sweden , and 1,000 adults in Japan

, 1,000 adults in , 1,000 adults in , 1,000 adults in , and 1,000 adults in Fieldwork took place April 27 th  May 1 st 2020

 2020 Quotas and weights on gender, age, and region in each country

Margins of error of +/- 3.3% for all countries

Full results of the survey available at: https://www.kekstcnc.com/insights/covid-19-opinion-tracker-edition-2

About Kekst CNC

Kekst CNC is a leading global strategic communication consultancy. The team of over 250 experienced professionals serve clients from 13 offices in New York, London, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Stockholm. As trusted advisors, the firm contributes its expertise on such high-stake matters as: M&A, shareholder activism and governance, crisis communications, restructurings, regulatory investigations, litigation support, investor relations, IPO communications, issues and reputation management, change management and employee engagement, as well as digital and social communications. For more information, please visit: www.kekstcnc.com.

Contact:

For the U.S.

Nicholle Manners

212-521-4886

[email protected]

For the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and Japan

James Johnson

+447826714286

[email protected]

SOURCE Kekst CNC
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday issued a notice to the Registrar of Delhi University after female students from northeast India alleged that they were forced to vacate hostels and were facing racial discrimination.

The students complained to the DCW alleging that the university administration was putting pressure on them to vacate the hostel, the DCW said in a statement.

"It is learnt that taking cognizance of the matter a Union Minister had assured assistance, but on Monday a fresh complaint has been registered by the girl students to the Commission seeking intervention in the matter," the DCW said.

In the complaint, the students alleged that they were told to vacate the hostel.

"They also complained about the food being served to them in the mess," the DCW said.

The DCW said the students have also complained about racist remarks being made against them.

"In view of the seriousness of the matter, the Delhi Commission for Women has issued a notice to the Registrar of Delhi University. The commission has also asked the University to provide an action taken report and has also asked it to provide all facilities to the students," the commission said.

"Due to the lockdown, they have no choice but to stay in the hostel. The students have also complained to the Commission about racist comments being made against them," DCW chief Swati Maliwal said.

Maliwal said that this was a very serious matter and in view of this, the commission has issued a notice to the university, asking it to immediately take action in the matter.

"Any such discrimination won't be tolerated at all," she said.

The notice to the university said that there are 13 girls staying in the North-Eastern Students House for Women in Delhi University.

"It is alleged that the common facilities of the hostel, including the essential internet room, have been kept under lock and key by the Provost and she has threatened to close down the mess as well," Maliwal said in the notice.

She demanded a report by May 15 on the action taken on the complaint as well as the measures being taken to ensure safe and comfortable stay of the students in the hostel.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

An editorial paper has reviewed evidence and found that most of the UK deaths in doctors from COVID-19 are aged over 60.

The paper, published in the British Journal of General Practice, was co-authored by Professor Azeem Majeed, Imperial College London, and colleagues, including Dr. Bharat Pankhania, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School.

The finding that deaths in doctors is mostly in those aged over 60 raises concerns about the government's campaign to encourage retired doctors to return to NHS Roles.

Dr. Pankhania said: "The data from the Office for National Statistics shows that people from ethnic minorities as well as others who fit a geographical and poverty profile have a higher risk of death following a COVID-19. It is therefore important to profile ALL healthcare staff and thereafter allocate suitable jobs for them, according to their risk profile. Most deaths amongst doctors have occurred in doctors aged 60 years and over. Therefore, it is important to not deploy the returned retired and older doctors in face to face clinical roles. There are many other important roles they can fulfil instead.

"As people with COVID-19 infection can be infective before symptoms start, all healthcare workers who undertake face- to-face clinical work are potentially at risk of infection. It is therefore important to treat all patients as potentially infected and infectious and thus proper PPE should be available in all clinical areas. Patients may be infectious and infect staff and or other patients."

Reflecting that over 100 health and care workers have died so far from COVID-19 they point out that more deaths are inevitable unless urgent action is taken to reduce the risk.

It is particularly striking that nearly all doctors who have died have been from ethnic minority groups. Staff are worried, compounded by the problems many have experienced in obtaining suitable personal protective equipment and the changing guidance.

Research from China shows that when high specification PPE is worn (such as FFP3 masks, face visors and gowns), and where staff are trained to use this PPE correctly, COVID-19 infections and deaths in healthcare workers both fall substantially.

Researchers conclude that: "we need to better protect the health of doctors and other healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic."

The paper is titled "Protecting the health of doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Azeem Majeed et al. Protecting the health of doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic, British Journal of General Practice (2020). Journal information: British Journal of General Practice Azeem Majeed et al. Protecting the health of doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic,(2020). DOI: 10.3399/bjgp20X709925
At the end of April, the three commissioners in West Virginia's Monongalia County sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice with a request.

Would he issue an executive order mandating the use of face masks in the county, which includes West Virginia University, for the 17-day period in May when 12,000 students and their family members were expected to stream back into town to recover their belongings from off-campus housing amid the coronavirus pandemic?

At first, the appeal seemed bipartisan.

The county commission's lone Democrat joined two Republicans to make the request. And West Virginia's top health officials backed it, with Clay Marsh, a physician coordinating the state's coronavirus response, telling the head of the university health system in an email, "I would personally want to do this for the entire state until we have a more definitive treatment or vaccine."

But Justice, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump who is moving to reopen the economy under the mantra, "West Virginia Strong," never responded. As a result, no face-covering requirements are in place as thousands descend on the campus - adding to the unease of some local leaders who worry that political considerations could make their community vulnerable to a spike in coronavirus cases.

"It's very, very disappointing," Tom Bloom, the Democratic commissioner, said of the governor's inaction. "To me personally, I think it's illogical."

But the episode has unfolded according to a blunt political logic that tracks with trends nationwide. With a presidential election fewer than six months away, questions about how politics is figuring in the response to the pandemic have hovered over everything from the allocation of medical supplies to the provision of federal aid to states to the decision to tell residents to stay at home.

Face coverings, which became part of the administration's guidance only after internal debate between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have emerged as a political Rorschach test. Republican leaders are less likely to mandate them, and Republican voters are more likely to forgo, and even scorn, them.

The White House waited until several aides close to Trump had tested positive for the novel virus to require masks or face coverings for its employees - in guidance that does not apply to the president. Of his decision to go barefaced, Trump said Monday, "In the case of me, I'm not close to anybody."

The ideological overtones of requiring masks have been growing louder for weeks. The coverings have taken on such potent social symbolism because, rather than being used solely for self-protection, they serve a more communal function: preventing users, including asymptomatic carriers, from infecting others. Some have chafed at shouldering that burden, decrying orders as government outreach.

In Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has imposed among the most far-reaching statewide directives, requiring businesses to refuse entry to customers not wearing a mask, Russ Diamond, a Republican state lawmaker, recently celebrated shopping for toilet paper "sans mask," as he described his brazen act in a meme on Facebook. "So much winning," he added.

In Texas, the Democratic county judge in Harris County recently amended an order requiring masks after Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, made clear that he would not brook the imposition of fines for not heeding the guidelines.

"Did it become political? Yes," Lina Hidalgo, the county judge, said in an interview, noting that the penalty was mainly aimed at educating the public. She said she cheers the rollout of masks branded with Trump's reelection slogan, "Keep America Great," if it means broad compliance with the public-health precaution. "If folks want to express their opinion through a mask, that's fantastic," she said. "The line is when your political statement harms someone else's health."

In West Virginia, local leaders watching the brief return of students to the Morgantown community say they fear that politics may figure in the governor's lack of response to their request.

"I would hope that it isn't political, but it concerns me when I see that people are taking sides - and when the governor talks all the time about how he's such a supporter of President Trump, and we hear in the media that people don't want to get on the wrong side of the president," Bloom said. "Does that have a role in his decision?"

Bloom said the commissioners thought they lacked authority at the county level to mandate face coverings for the 17-day interval, especially after explicitly seeking the governor's intervention in an effort to "follow professional protocol."

In addition to the state's coronavirus coordinator, West Virginia Health Secretary Bill Crouch also backed the request. "I think it's great!" he wrote in email correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post.

A spokesman for Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

Polling points to a political schism over the issue. In a recent Gallup survey, 75% of Democrats reported wearing a mask outside their homes in the previous seven days, compared to 48% of Republicans who said the same.

Democrats are more likely to live in the dense urban areas where social distancing is impractical. As a result, the divisions over face coverings - which the CDC recommends "in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain" - may be as much geographical as they are political, said Christina Baxter, the chief executive of a Virginia-based emergency response consultancy.

Nevertheless, the patchwork of government regulations undermines public safety, she said.

"If everybody wore masks, then it would provide a benefit," she said. "But where many people don't and then some others do, I'm not sure it really provides a whole lot of benefit."

Efforts to mandate widespread compliance have become extraordinarily vexed, with one dispute over face coverings, at a Family Dollar store in Michigan, litigated at the end of a barrel of a gun. Officials in Stillwater, Oklahoma, reversed course on an order requiring face coverings in stores and restaurants within hours of it taking effect because "store employees have been threatened with physical violence and showered with verbal abuse," according to a news release from this month.

The question of whether to wear a mask has proved challenging for some politicians.

Vice President Mike Pence expressed regret this month after not wearing one during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, even though the facility requires them.

"It really is a statement about the American people, the way people have been willing to step forward, practice social distancing, wear masks in settings where they can't do that," Pence said. "As we continue to practice those principles, all of us together, I know we'll get through this."

The vice president is not the only prominent Republican to have struggled with the optics involved in the face coverings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced blowback when he let one of the straps of his N95 mask dangle below his chin during a public appearance.

Even Republican governors who have been scrupulous about modeling safe behavior have been reticent about compelling it of others. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine quickly backed down from an order requiring face masks to be worn in stores, saying many in the state considered the measure "one government mandate too far."

That view is widely held by some of the president's most vocal online supporters, who have taken to Facebook and other online platforms to organize resistance to stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. More recently, they have taken aim at mandatory-mask rules, for instance compiling lists of businesses with no such rules and pledging to patronize only these establishments. "No mask required!" a user wrote this week of a restaurant in Phoenix, in a Facebook group devoted to reopening Arizona. "Great Italian food!"

Politics is no less at play in pro-mask dogma, said David Holt, the Republican mayor of Oklahoma City, who has encouraged residents to wear masks but has not required it.

"I posted a picture of myself with my family eating a picnic in a park, not within 100 feet of anyone," he said. "A couple of people replied, saying, 'Where's your mask?' "

Wearing a face covering, he said, has become a way to signal faith in medical expertise, while forswearing one "has become some sort of symbol of protest."

"This shouldn't be an issue of which cable news station you watch," he said. "The virus doesn't care how you feel about the presidential election."
The market recovered 153 points from day's low in last couple of hours of trade, but closed lower for the second day in a row on May 12 with Nifty breaking 9,200 levels dented by selling in private banks and Reliance Industries, but

At close, the Nifty50 was down 42.65 points at 9,196.55 and the BSE Sensex fell 190.10 points to 31,371.12.

Here are 5 factors that pulled the market down:

Possible Extention of Lockdown

Investors/traders turned more worried after reports of likely extension of nationwide lockdown till the end of May month on demand from some states in May 11's meeting including Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab etc to control the novel coronavirus spread, but there could be further relaxations in orange and green zones or where there have been no new cases in last two weeks.

After two lockdown periods ended May 3, the government allowed migrants to move back to their own hometowns and lot of people already reached to their states. As a result, some states like Bihar said the new infected cases increased and the beginning of railway travel was the mistake, hence they want the lockdown to be extended till the end of May to make proper arrangements and control the virus. The third lockdown period will end on May 17.

Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, Maharashtra etc favoured lockdown extension given the rising coronavirus cases, while some other states said non-containment zones should be opened with due care etc.

Second Wave of New Infections

India has seen the fast-rising COVID-19 cases in May and on May 11, we reported more than 4,000 confirmed cases in a single day, crossing total 70,000 mark with around 2,300 deaths. However, the recovery rate also looked strong with over 22,000 cases.

But some medical experts/scientists feel there is a risk of second wave of new infections, even though the recovery rate is strong, especially after China's Wuhan city, Germany, South Korea etc reported fresh cases of COVID-19 which is a serious concern. It was after they opened economies to some extent.

It is a new lesson to other countries which want to open their economies amid hope that they seemed to have controlled the virus infections.

Automakers Warn of Sales Slump

Automakers feel the sales in current year could fall sharply compared to previous year and as a result will have drastic impact on economy.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an industry trade body, told government officials last week that if India's economy contracts by 2 percent in the year starting April 1, sales of cars, trucks and motorbikes could decline by as much as 45 percent from a year before.

Reuters said global consultancy McKinsey & Co estimated in April that if India's lockdown was extended until mid-May, the economy could shrink by 2-3 percent in the current fiscal year, while rating agency Moody's said on Friday the country could see 0 percent growth.

Trump and China

The market seems also worried about fresh trade war between world's largest economies US and China especially after some Chinese officials want fresh talks over Phase 1 trade deal signed in January.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed renegotiating the US-China 'Phase 1' trade deal after a Chinese state-run newspaper reported some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalidating the agreement. Reuters reported.

Trump, who himself has considered abandoning the pact signed in January, told a White House press briefing he wanted to see if Beijing lived up to the deal to massively increase purchases of US goods.

"No, not at all. Not even a little bit, Trump said when asked if he would entertain the idea of reworking Phase 1. "I am not interested. We signed a deal. I had heard that too, they'd like to reopen the trade talk, to make it a better deal for them.

Technical View

The Nifty50 recovered smartly in last couple of hours of trade and closed off day's low to form Doji kind of indecisive pattern on daily charts.

Experts feel if the index fails to hold on to 9,100 levels then there could be sharp selling pressure.

"Looking at overall chart structure, we maintain our negative to rangebound stance and till it holds below 9,400-9,450 levels, we expect it to fall towards 9,000 then 8,800 zone in coming days. On the upside, immediate resistance is placed at 9,400 and then 9,550-9,600 zone," Chandan Taparia, Vice President | Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said.
There are no new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand today.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield provided an update on the COVID-19 situation in New Zealand this afternoon.

The number of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1497.

There have been no further deaths. Two people are in hospital, but neither is in ICU.

There are 12 people that have recovered since yesterday. Ashley says 93 per cent of the cases in New Zealand have now recovered.

There are still 16 clusters, four of which have now closed.

Ashley acknowledged New Zealands hard-working nurses on International Nurses Day.

He discussed how hospital visits will work under alert level two restrictions.

On the ground, visits are managed by DHBs.

In high-risk areas, including emergency departments, intensive care and maternity wards, there can only be one visitor at a time, and one visit per day.

In other parts of the hospital there can only be one visitor at a time, but more than one person is able to visit during the day.

People will be able to enter their businesses to prepare for the move to level two on Thursday. Ashley says he has issued an updated amended order under the Health Act.

Jacinda says those needing to use public transport to get to work at alert level 2 should be vigilant.

"Plan your trip, keep your distance and track your journey," she says.

She encourages people to discuss the matter with thier workplace.

Earlier: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in New Zealand this afternoon.

The media update will be live from 1pm.

The country will move to alert level 2 at 11.59pm on Wednesday night.

New Zealand retail, hospitality and public spaces will be able to reopen on Thursday, May 14.

Cabinet has agreed on a staggered move to level 2 - with children returning to school and early childhood centres next Monday, May 18.

Bars will be able to open under strict requirements on Thursday, May 21.

Jacinda says under alert level 2, all social gatherings will be restricted to 10 people.

The Ministry of Health reported three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

Two cases were linked to the St Margarets Hospital & Rest Home in Auckland. The individuals are both nurses at Waitakere Hospital.

The third case is a person who has travelled back from overseas, so is an imported case.

Yesterday, New Zealands combined total of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases was 1,497.

1386 people were reported as having recovered from COVID-19. This is 93 per cent of all confirmed and probable cases.
A man has appeared in court accused of the kidnap and false imprisonment of a woman in Portadown at the weekend.

Lisburn Magistrates Court heard that the woman was allegedly dragged kicking and screaming and put into the boot of a car but twice managed to escape from it.

Appearing at court via videolink, 30-year-old Jeffrey Kelly confirmed that he understood the two charges against him.

Kelly, from Brookehill in Lurgan, is accused of the kidnap and false imprisonment of the woman on May 10.

The charges arise following what a police statement described as some type of altercation or struggle between a man and a woman in the Kensington Park area of the town at around 9.15am on Sunday.

She managed to run away while Kelly allegedly drove off in a red Audi A4 .

A PSNI detective said he believed he could connect Kelly to each of the charges and that he was objecting to a bail application as he believed the accused could interfere with the investigation.

The suspect, he alleged, had "a desire to prey upon lone females and poses a serious risk to the public.

The officer described how the victim said she was walking past an alleyway when she was grabbed by a male and dragged kicking and screaming towards a red Audi which had been reversed up to the alleyway and left with its boot open.

She states that she was dragged for about 21 metres to the parked car, said the officer adding she was put into the boot by the male who she described as being about 6, average build, blonde hair with stubble and wearing dark clothes and a dark hoodie.

The woman managed to get out but her attacker forced her back in and as she continued to fight back fiercely, she managed to kick her way out for a second time and run away.

A member of the public who heard screaming saw a red Audi A4 driving away while the victim managed to note the registration plate and the court heard that following a police appeal on social media, other women have come forward because they believe that they were being stalked by this male.

Police inquiries on the registration plate brought police to Kelly who was arrested, interviewed and picked out of a police video identification parade by the woman he is alleged to have kidnapped.

Kelly denied any involvement in the alleged offences, provided police with two alibi witnesses and claimed there were at least four other cars similar to his in the local area.

The detective said police were objecting to bail because they feared he would commit further offences or would interfere with the witness who had been left extremely shaken by the incident.

Under cross examination from defence solicitor Gabriel Ingram, the detective agreed that while the victim had made a positive identification of Kelly, the other witness had not picked him out in the line-up.

While he agreed that Kelly gave two alibi witnesses, the officer contended that police believe that these statements actually strengthen the police case as they place Kelly in the area around the time of the incident.

Mr Ingram submitted that with a definite alibi at the time of the incident, Kelly could be freed on bail with strict conditions to address police concerns.

Refusing the application however, District Judge Amanda Henderson said the very serious offences amounted to effectively a random enforced snatching of a female from the street.

She said while she was not trying the case, there was evidence that a car allegedly matching Kellys was involved and he had been picked out of a police line-up so Im satisfied that there is evidence to connect him.

Refusing to free Kelly on bail, she had a real fear that theres a risk of reoffending and risk to the public given the random and persistent nature of the actions on this morning.

Kellys case was adjourned to 5 June.




Chinese media recently reported the bizarre case of a 10-yer-old boy who allegedly developed black mold in his ear canal because of wearing earbuds for long periods of time.

You would think that the human body had some way of preventing mould from developing, even in dark and secluded orifices like the ear canals, but it turns out that with the right conditions fungal infections can occur in our ears. Doctors at the Shunyi Women and Childrens Hospital in Beijing recently reported the case of a young boy who came in with his mother complaining of ear pain and stuffiness-like sensation. Upon examination, he was diagnosed with ear canal mycosis, or in simple terms  mold in the ear canal.

Photo: snsforyou/Pixabay

The causes of ear canal mycosis can vary, but in this particular case it was established that the infection had been caused by a combination of factors. The 10-year-old boy had a habit of picking his ears, and routinely damaged the sensitive tissue there. Because he also used in-ear headphones for long periods of time, he also prevented the natural ventilation of the ear canals, and the humidity made it possible for the mould to develop.

Dr. Wu Yuhua, from the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of Shunyi Women and Childrens Hospital, said that the increased humidity and elevated temperature were a side-effect of wearing the headphones for too long, and provided good conditions for mold growth. Still, the mycosis was in no small part caused by the ear-picking as well, which caused local mucosal damage.

Photo: ETtoday

The 10-year-old boy is undergoing treatment and should make a full recovery in a matter of weeks. Still, doctors warn that if left untreated such fungal infections can cause all sorts of problems culminating with hearing loss.
Seguin, TX (78155)

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Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 75F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly to mostly cloudy and windy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 33F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph.
President Michael D Higgins has said it will be awful if people forget the heroic efforts of frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and went back to the way it was before when they were not always fully valued.

The President, who was speaking on International Nurses Day, said everybody has gained hard-won wisdom with regard to the value of frontline workers, such as nurses, and those providing essential services across the economy.

It would be so regrettable, egregious even, if through some form of collective amnesia, we as a society were ever to disregard your heroic efforts, and revert to where we were before the pandemic  a society that sometimes failed to value you fully, he said.

When the public health crisis passes, it is vital that the hard-earned wisdom from the coronavirus pandemic is embedded in whatever form of society and economy emerged.

It will require a cognitive transformation in how we regard the state and public expenditure in areas like health, which have often been presented myopically as a cost, a burden, he said.

On this International Nurses' Day as we continue to tackle the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis, let us all honour the contribution of the nursing profession, and the women and men who continue to risk their lives and their security to support us, as we slowly emerge from this dark period into one of hope.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, warned that Ireland's health service will face even more severe staffing pressures without extra undergraduate nursing places.

Of the 3,700 nurses and midwives added to the register of nursing and midwives last year, 13% had trained elsewhere in the EU while almost half had trained outside the EU.

The INMO said it is likely there will be a drop in overseas recruitment because of the coronavirus pandemic resulting in extra pressures on nurses and midwives in the years ahead.

The number of undergraduate nursing and midwifery places must increase as a matter of urgency to avoid a future staffing crisis, the union has urged.

Nursing Home Ireland chief executive, Tadhg Daly, paid tribute to the specialist nurses who are playing a pivotal role in nursing homes during the public healthcare crisis.

"The State owes a great debt of gratitude to our nurses and their colleagues in nursing home care," said Mr Daly.

Meanwhile, University College Cork's School of Nursing and Midwifery used the day to remotely celebrate the achievements of its students.

The winners of the annual achievement awards were selected based on their exemplary performance in the 2019/2020 academic year.

The Keady Clifford Excellence in Children's Nursing Award was presented to Casey O'Sullivan, a fifth year integrated children's and general nursing student at UCC.

The award, in memory Keady Clifford from Dingle, Co Kerry, who died in a car accident in 2018, recognises exemplary students.

Ms O'Sullivan, who recently started working as a staff nurse in Cork University Hospital, said it is tough at times but what keeps her going is knowing she has contributed positively to someone else's care.
Warning: This article includes content some readers may find disturbing

A little boy was left with critical injuries after being abused for hours by his uncle while his parents were on their honeymoon. Doctors told his parents that he had little chance of survival, but six years after the horrific incident, hes continuing to amaze everyone with his progress.

Little Bobby Webber, of Australia, was born in February 2014. When he was 7 months old, his parents, Elise and Barry, jetted off for a romantic honeymoon to the Gold Coast, leaving him and his older sister Olivia under the care of his maternal aunt and grandmother.

Three days into the trip, Bobbys aunt and grandmother had taken his sister to the movies, leaving his aunts fiance, Andrew Nolan, who had been a family friend for 12 years, to babysit the little boy. When they returned hours later, they found Bobby unwell, and hours later, hed gone limp, Elise told The Sun.

After Elise and her husband learned that Bobby had been admitted to the hospital, they quickly flew back home.

The doctors later told the couple that Bobby had suffered several injuries, including multiple skull fractures caused by blunt force trauma, blood pooling in his eyes from being violently shaken, carpet burn marks on his forehead, fractured vertebrae, shattered ankles, bruised genitalia, and bite marks on his little body, according to the Facebook page Bobby The Brave.

Due to these injuries, the little boy was left with a traumatic brain injury and quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and had lost vision in one eye, Daily Mail reported.

Seeing that Bobby had little chance of survival, doctors told the devastated couple to turn off Bobbys life support five days later. The couple decided to accept the recommendation. However, miraculously Bobby defied all odds and kept breathing.

For the next two months, Bobby continued to make small progress though he suffered multiple seizures per day, according to his Facebook page.

In the years that followed, Bobby surprised everyone with his achievements. The little boy, who has been dubbed Bobby the brave, was even toilet trained.

It is honestly one of his biggest achievements, and it has changed so much for us as a family, Elise told Daily Mail in 2018. We were told all these things, he would never do any of this stuff but here he is doing it.

Elise added that Bobby had been in remission from epilepsy and had joined a special-abilities cheerleading team called Liberty Allstars Iron Heart, where he participated in competitions.

It has given him the opportunity to be in a sport, and he doesnt feel like hes different, Elise said.

With Bobbys amazing progression, the couple decided to enroll him in daycare twice a week before he started going to kindergarten in September 2019.

Bobby, who was classified as non-verbal, has learned to express himself and says no to his parents and older sister. In April 2020, Bobby even learned to speak a new word, Hello, which a delighted Elise posted on his Facebook page.

Our little boy is showing us what he would have been like prior to the injury, Elise told Daily Mail. I never knew what his personality would be like but now I think he would have been just as cheeky.

He understands everything, hes so affectionate. He can follow instructions so beautifully, she added.

At the age of 6, Bobby has also learned to play catch. His mother spends time with him doing physio, vision, and speech therapy.

As the little boy continues to amaze his parents with his progress, Elise refers to him as our miracle boy.

As for Nolan, he was arrested and pleaded guilty in February 2016. However, he didnt provide any reason for abusing Bobby for a four-hour period. The judge later sentenced him to 12 years and 6 months of prison term, according to Daily Mail.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:52:54|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that China has suspended imports of beef products from four Australian companies due to violation of inspection and quarantine requirements.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing that the Chinese Customs has found that multiple batches of beef products from individual Australian companies violated the inspection and quarantine requirements jointly determined by both sides.

"The Chinese side has urged the Australian side to investigate the cause and make corrections," Zhao said. Enditem
An 18-tonne piece of a Chinese rocket used to launch an experimental spacecraft that could send people to the Moon has crash-landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The core stage of the Long March 5B rocket that was sent into space on May 5 fell to Earth at 16:34 BST on Monday, just off the coast of West Africa.

Astronomers say the rocket part, which was 93ft long and weighed 17.8 tonnes, is the most massive object to make an uncontrolled reentry in decades.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics said the last major uncontrolled descent was the 39 tonne Salyut-7 in 1991.

Scroll down for video

The Long March 5B rocket is pictured taking off from the the Wenchang launch site on China's southern Hainan island on May 5. It spent a few days in orbit before splashing down off West Africa

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics said the last major uncontrolled descent was the 39 tonne Salyut-7 in 1991

The Chinese Long March CZ-5B rocket was used to launch a cargo capsule and a new-generation spaceship designed to send astronauts to the Moon.

Its descent was confirmed by the 18th Space Control Squadron, a unit of the US Air Force that tracks space debris in Earth's orbit.

The force said it was notable not just for the size of the rocket but also the extent of the window of its uncontrolled descent.

This uncontrolled descent left trackers guessing exactly where it would eventually land - with speculation it could be in the ocean or on land in Africa, US or Australia.

Before it splashed down in the waters off the west coast of Mauritania the rocket core flew over Los Angeles and New York City.

It was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in China's Hainan province on May 5 and spent several days in orbit before making its descent.

While it is described as 'uncontrolled', the descent wasn't unplanned - space launches are planned with the re-entry of parts of rockets or launch vehicles - sometimes in controlled and sometimes uncontrolled descents back to Earth.

'I've never seen a major reentry pass directly over so many major conurbations,' said McDowell, adding that it thankfully missed any inhabited land.

Astronomers say the chance of it landing in a populated area was only a vague possibility but if it had the rocket core could have destroyed a building.

'For a large object like this, dense pieces like parts of the rocket engines could survive reentry and crash to Earth,' McDowell told CNN.

'Once they reach the lower atmosphere they are traveling relatively slowly, so worst case is they could take out a house.'

The launch was a major test of China's ambitions to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon and included an experimental spacecraft that could ferry crew to the station

The rocket debris was travelling fast horizontally through the atmosphere, making it hard to predict exactly where it would come down, which is why they didn't know for certain until not long before it splashed down.

The US Air Force prediction of the landing time was plus or minus half an hour and in that time it went three quarters of the way around the world, said McDowell.

The rocket was the largest Chinese made launch vehicle ever sent into space and is an indication of the countries ambitions.

Beijing has invested heavily in its space programme in recent years as it plays catchup to the United States, the only country to have sent a man to the Moon.

Assembly of the Chinese Tiangong space station, whose name means Heavenly Palace, is expected to begin this year and finish in 2022.

China also became the first nation to land on the far side of the Moon in January 2019, deploying a lunar rover that has driven some 450 metres so far.

The experimental spacecraft launched by this rocket is expected to be used to ferry astronauts to and from the Chinese space station when it is complete - as well as for possible future Moon landings.
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declared state minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on the grounds of malpractices and manipulation.

The returning officer was "hand in gloves" with the BJP leader and postal ballots were rejected illegally, it said.

Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod had challenged his BJP rival's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of mere 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay also rejected Chudasama's request for a stay so that he could file an appeal.

The high court held that Returning Officer Dhaval Jani "illegally rejected" 429 postal ballots during the counting of votes, while the victory margin was only 327.

The procedure adopted for counting of votes was "against the orders of the Election Commission of India (EC)" and illegal, Justice Upadhyay said.

Further, Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice" under section 123 (7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and was "hand-in-gloves with the then returning officer Dhaval Jani", the judge said.

All three facts materially affected the outcome of the election, it said, declaring it as void.

At the same time, the court also rejected petitioner Rathod's prayer that he be declared as elected from the constituency.

Rejecting Chudasama's request for a stay to the order, the court said an election "cannot be permitted to hold the field any further" where 429 postal ballots were excluded from counting "behind everybody's back, including the Observer nominated by the Election Commission," and election record "systematically manipulated" to conceal this fact.

The RO defied relevant orders and instructions of the EC, including mandatory instructions regarding the procedure of counting of votes, announcement of result and preparation of Final Result Sheet 'Form 20' to conceal this, the court said.

Chudasama is currently the minister for education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the decision will be challenged in the Supreme Court.

"The order of the Gujarat High Court is shocking for all of us. The order to cancel election of Bhupendrasinhji is sad Naturally, Bhupendrasinhji is getting legal advice regarding the order and steps are being taken to appeal against it in the Supreme Court.

"We are confident of getting justice and stay on this order," he said.

State Congress president Amit Chavda said Chudasama won by misuse of power and manipulation of government officials, but the court's order showed that that such interference in the election process will not be tolerated.

"This is a victory of truth and defeat of the manner in which the BJP misuses power and government officers for its gains. Congress candidate had opposed this election saying votes were rejected because they were in his favour.

"But the BJP candidate was somehow declared victorious illegally. After more than two years, the High Court finally rejected Bhupendrasinhji's election, and this clearly showed that the BJP government has always misused power and government officials for its own gains," Chavda said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Superstar Aamir Khan's longtime assistant Amos passed away on Tuesday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 60.

Amos, who had been working with Aamir for the past 25 years, was taken to the Holy Family hospital where he breathed his last.

Aamir's close friend and "Lagaan" co-star Karim Hajee said Amos collapsed in the morning and was rushed to the hospital by the actor, his director-wife Kiran Rao and their team.

"Amos worked with a superstar but was endearing and simple. He was like this to not just Aamir but everyone. He put everyone at ease and was a wonderful person. He had a wonderful heart, was so bright and a hard worker," Karim told PTI.

"He had no major illness, his death is shocking. He died with his boots on. Both Aamir and Kiran are devasted. Aamir had sent us a message and said it is an irreplaceable loss. We were so numb, we will miss him," he added.

Karim said Amos had recently turned grandfather and his death is a huge loss to everyone who knew him.

Amos is survived by his wife and two children.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A passenger wears a mask on the tube in London. (Getty Images)

The Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has warned the UK faces inevitable future lockdowns if the government implements its potentially dangerous coronavirus strategy.

The committee was formed to provide a constructive alternative to the official Sage team, which has come under fire for a lack of transparency over the advice it gives Number 10.

Chaired by the former chief scientific adviser, the 13-strong independent group has argued the governments approach of managing the outbreak rather than suppressing it risks the rapid return of localised epidemics.

Boris Johnson has set out plans for Englands return to a new normal. This includes primary-school children going back as soon as June and outdoor pub areas potentially being opened in early July.

Independent Sage has argued the R number, which officials are using to track the rate of infection and assess restrictions, is three to four weeks out of date.

A teacher wears a mask in Bruz, France. (Getty Images)

Coronavirus: Government approach counter-productive

In a report released on Tuesday, Independent Sage stated: We detect ambivalence in the governments strategic response, with some advisers promoting the idea of simply flattening the curve or ensuring the NHS is not overwhelmed.

We find this attitude counter-productive and potentially dangerous.

Without suppression, we shall inevitably see a more rapid return of local epidemics and face the prospect of further partial or national lockdowns.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

Many have accused the prime minister of setting out a confusing action plan on how the government will ease its extreme restrictions.

The decision to change the advice in England from stay at home to the somewhat-muddled stay alert has inspired countless internet memes.

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Independent Sage wants the recommendations to be advice closely linked to action.

Speaking at a press briefing, Independent Sage member Professor Susan Michie, from University College London, said: The concern with the slogan of stay alert is its not very obvious what this means.

The public wants really clear, behaviour-specific advice about who should be doing what and where.

According to The Guardian, the UKs chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty were not asked to sign off the stay alert message before Johnson announced it on 10 May.

Speaking of the Independent Sage report, its chair Sir David King said: Since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic the government has told us they are following the science, however, in the weeks and months that have followed it has become increasingly apparent that this is simply not the case.

COVID-19 is the name of the respiratory disease that can be triggered by the coronavirus.

During the daily Downing Street press briefings, officials often talk about the importance of bringing the R number to below one.

The R, or the basic reproduction number, is the number of people a patient statistically goes on to infect.

With no restrictions in place, the coronavirus R number is thought to be three, which would cause the outbreak to grow exponentially.

Keeping the R below one means an outbreak eventually dies out.

Contact tracing and community quarantining crucial

Independent Sage has claimed the government is basing its decisions on R numbers with a three to four week lag time, when it should be using real-time models.

At the heart of the report, the committee set out proposals to address the governments failure to implement a policy of testing, tracing and isolating cases.

The UK stopped routinely testing non-hospitalised patients on 12 March.

Sir Vallance said this would allow the epidemic to spread and build herd immunity the following day.

Independent Sage argued contact tracing and community quarantining is critical to stop further waves of the epidemic.

A man wears a mask at a metro station in Moscow. (Getty Images)

Independent Sage has also criticised the inaccurate, incomplete and selective data presented by government officials during the press briefings.

For example, statistician Sir Professor David Spiegelhalter, from the University of Cambridge, previously claimed country-to-country death rate comparisons are deeply unreliable.

A chart presented on 29 April showed the number of COVID-19 fatalities per million people, with the UK appearing to be in a less severe situation than Belgium, Spain or Italy.

The UK figures, however, only included deaths where the patient tested positive for COVID-19. The Belgian statistics were made up of all suspected cases, regardless of whether they had been swabbed.

It is only since 29 April that Englands figures have included deaths outside the hospital setting, like in care homes.

Care home deaths made up 40% of all COVID-19 fatalities in England and Wales in the week ending 1 May.

Independent Sage has called for the Office for Statistics Regulation to assess the data presented so far.

To improve tracing and tracking of community cases, the committee has urged for GPs and other primary care teams to be involved rather than outsourcing patient monitoring to private contractors.

The committee called primary-care medics central to the success of virus control.

Contact tracing is the bread and butter of public health, said Professor Allyson Pollock, from Newcastle University.

It it needs to be done in local communities [where primary care staff] understand the extent [residents] can comply with isolation.

If you want to put out a fire in Blackpool, you dont call a fire engine in London.

Independent Sage also believes anyone who develops the coronavirus tell-tale fever or cough should self-isolate entirely at home for 14 days, in line with the World Health Organizations advice.

Britons have been told to isolate for seven days if they develop signs of the infection, while other members of their household should do so for two weeks.

While the race is on the develop a vaccine, which has been hailed the way out of lockdown, Independent Sage has warned it is foolish to bank on a jab being available soon.

Ethicists have previously said crises are not an excuse to lower standards when it comes to vaccine development.

The government must instead prepare for recurrent local outbreaks for at least the next year by investing in local healthcare, said Independent Sage.

Statistics have also revealed coronavirus-related deaths in England are twice as high in deprived areas as well-off regions.

Many front-line positions  like social care staff and delivery drivers  are poorly paid, with these workers being forced to work in the midst of the outbreak

Independent Sage said poorer people [are] expected to risk their lives to get the economy going whilst wealthier people stay in the safety of their homes.

Johnson recently announced people who cannot work from home, like builders, should be encouraged to go back to the site.

Poorer people more likely to risk their lives, says group

Staying alert does not protect vulnerable groups who have been forced to go out to work, said Dr Zubaida Haque, deputy director of the Runnymede Trust think-tank.

When you have a choice between working in an unsafe environment and feeding your family, you work in an unsafe environment.

We know [the] stay at home [message] has been very effective at protecting vulnerable communities.

This [stay alert] is a reckless message; [it] puts the onus of responsibility on individuals who may not have all the information to protect themselves.

Independent Sage claimed the government should continue its furlough scheme until staff are guaranteed of a safe working environment, which includes public transport.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which supports 7.5 million jobs, has been extended to the end of October, chancellor Rishi Sunak told parliament on Tuesday.

Sunak added that he would allow firms to reintroduce workers on furlough leave on a part-time basis from July to help them recover.

Staff will continue to receive pay subsidies at 80% of average pay up to 2,500 ($3,082) a month, rather than a cut to 60%, as some had anticipated.

His statement said the costs would be shared from July by the government and employers however, with further details on the hit employers will have to take expected by the end of the month.

The Independent Sage report will be sent to Sir Vallance; number 10 Downing Street; the first ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the Health Select Committee.

It is vital the best possible science advice is not only being received by the government, but also by the public, said Sir David.

Following our Independent Sage meeting last week, we have produced this rapid response report with actionable recommendations that we firmly believe if adopted will help the UK bring this pandemic to an end as quickly as possible with the fewest fatalities, something that surely must be the governments primary goal.

Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of the BMJ, added: The committee's report is welcome, not only for its wide ranging recommendations but for the refreshing openness about uncertainties, disagreements and debate on key issues.

I hope the government will take note not only of the content but the manner of its creation and dissemination.

A nurse wears a mask while praying in Selayang, Malaysia. (Getty Images)

What is the coronavirus?

The coronavirus is one of seven strains of a virus class that are known to infect humans.

Others cause everything from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which killed 774 people during its 2002/3 outbreak.

Since the coronavirus outbreak was identified, more than 4.2 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Of these cases, over 1.4 million are known to have recovered.

Globally, the death toll has exceeded 286,600.

The coronavirus mainly spreads face to face via infected droplets expelled in a cough or sneeze.

There is also evidence it is transmitted in faeces and can survive on surfaces.

Symptoms include fever, cough and slight breathlessness.

The coronavirus has no set treatment, with most patients naturally fighting off the infection.

Those requiring hospitalisation are given supportive care, like ventilation, while their immune system gets to work.

Officials urge people to ward off the coronavirus by washing their hands regularly and maintaining social distancing.
Logging and mining operations have accelerated their destruction of sizable patches of the Amazon rainforest during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an NBC News analysis of satellite imagery captured by the European Space Agency.

Environmentalists, who have also warned about the deforestation, said the pandemic has provided cover for the operations, and they blamed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for what they see as his tacit approval of the deforestation. In response to calls to protect the Amazon, Bolsonaro has sent armed forces.

"Government agencies are in quarantine, the population is in quarantine, good people are in quarantine  but the criminals are not, so they are taking advantage of this momentum to increase their activity," said Andre Guimaraes, the head of Amazon Environmental Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservation of the rainforest.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon soared by 55 percent in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Destruction in April was up by 64 percent from the same month a year ago.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The analysis of the satellite imagery and data, conducted by NBC News' Verification Unit, found visual evidence of the deforestation efforts, showing a significant reduction in rainforest in the western state of Rondonia since the pandemic took hold.

Comparing images from Jan. 21 and April 25, there is a clear missing area of rainforest close to the state's capital city, Porto Velho. Each of the highlighted areas represents about 1 square mile, with a total loss of land measuring roughly 448 football fields.

The Brazilian Climate Observatory said the deforestation was conducted in a hot spot for illegal deforestation. NBC News could not confirm whether the deforestation found in the images was illegal.

As Brazil comes to terms with a mounting death toll and its status as one of the new global centers of the coronavirus struggle, efforts to combat deforestation have been complicated by a depleted workforce at its main environmental protection agency, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), according to environmentalists and one of its former heads.

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Increasingly plagued by criticism of his handling of the pandemic, as well as by ongoing corruption allegations, Bolsonaro has responded by deploying the armed forces to protect the Amazon.

Image: The Amazon near Porto Velho (Bruno Kelly / Reuters file)

Bolsonaro's critics, however, argue that his pro-development rhetoric and dismantling of Ibama through budget cuts and the firings of key officials since he took office in January 2019 have only fueled the desire of loggers, ranchers and miners to take advantage of the health crisis.

"The storyline that the central government is sending out basically passes on a message that 'you're free to go, my friend, you can do whatever you want, and we're not going to bother you ...' that's definitely influencing deforestation," Guimaraes added.

Suely Araujo, who resigned as head of Ibama last year in protest against Bolsonaro's attacks on the agency, detailed a culture of interference and harassment from the central government as she sounded the alarm at the latest move to transfer power over environmental operations in the Amazon to the military.

"Environmental inspection is much more sophisticated than putting men on the field," she said. "This decision by the president subordinates environmental agents to the army."

She added: "The government has a vision regarding the Amazon that dates back to the 1970s: occupation accompanied by environmental degradation. This is very sad."

The Brazilian government did not respond to a request for an interview. The Bolsonaro administration has previously rejected criticism of its environmental record, insisting it is committed to conservation.

Sarah Shenker, a researcher for Survival International, an organization that campaigns for the rights of indigenous people, said she and her colleagues are "receiving messages every day" from communities in the Amazon living in fear of the twin threats of the coronavirus: infection and invasion.

"The invaders are thinking that they can get away with these invasions with impunity even more than they could before, because the eyes of the world and others are on the coronavirus," she said. "That's something that indigenous peoples are really trying to fight hard against at the moment."

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The situation could soon deteriorate further, with a pandemic-induced recession potentially providing incentives for deforestation and the Bolsonaro administration still trying to push new laws through Congress, which environmentalists say would weaken safeguards against the incursion into indigenous lands.

Activists are also fearful of the imminent fire season  predicted to be even more devastating than last year's because of rampant deforestation  and the impact on a health care system already overwhelmed by the coronavirus.

Reflecting on what he described as the "perfect storm" of environmental, health and political threats looming over the Amazon, Guimaraes said: "It was urgent last year. This year is urgent multiplied by sevenfold. We have to stop the deforestation in the Amazon now. Now. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Not the day after tomorrow. Now."
Its going to be quite a while before anyone sees Hamilton onstage again.

But theres now another option: Disney announced Tuesday that it plans to stream a filmed version of the stage production beginning July 3 on Disney Plus.

The plan is a pandemic-prompted shift: Just three months ago, Disney announced that it was preparing the film for release on Oct. 15, 2021.

But the cancellation of all live performances, as well as the uncertain appeal of movie theaters, led the company to fast-track the film, moving up the release date by 15 months.

In this very difficult time, this story of leadership, tenacity, hope, love & the power of people to unite against adversity is both relevant and inspiring, Disney executive chairman Robert Iger said on Twitter.
These lecture notes outline the journey of the Danish Systemic Risk Coun-cil ("the Council"), commencing at the roots of its establishment and end-ing at the present time where it functions as the macroprudential authori-ty in Denmark. The lecture notes split this journey into ten sections and casts light on both struggles and successes along the way. Section 1 summarises how the recommendations of the Committee on the Struc-ture of Financial Supervision led to the establishment of a systemic risk council in Denmark. The institutional setup of the Council is elaborated upon in Section 2, which also draws comparisons to the setup of macro-prudential authorities abroad. With the cornerstones of the institutional setup laid out, Sections 3 and 4 proceed by outlining the first year of the Council's work and the Council's two observations on conditions for a rapid build-up of systemic financial risks, respectively. Subsequently, the Council's road to introducing borrower-based measures in Denmark is presented in Sections 5 and 6. In Section 7, the Council's framework for assessing the countercyclical capital buffer is presented along with the recommendations for activating and building up the buffer. The Council's role as a macroprudential authority in the Faroe Islands and Greenland is summarised in Section 8, while Section 9 outlines the Council's part in fa-cilitating the debate on systemic cyber risk and resilience in the Danish financial sector. The last section of the lecture notes reflect on the Coun-cil's work till now and looks into the crystal ball to see what the future may hold. While the future is uncertain, it is clear that the Council's journey is far from over and the full potential of macroprudential policy in Denmark has yet to be seen.
China delivers more medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan to help fight COVID-19

BISHKEK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China has handed over a second batch of medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan to help combat COVID-19, the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said Monday.

The second batch includes detection reagents, KN95 face masks, medical surgical masks, forehead thermometers and protective goggles, the embassy said.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen said that since the outbreak, the two peoples have stood together.

"In accordance with the agreement reached by President Xi Jinping and President Sooronbai Jeenbekov during the phone talk, the Chinese government once again provided medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan to help Kyrgyzstan fight the epidemic," Du said.

She said China is willing to work together with Kyrgyzstan to further strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation, co-build the Belt and Road, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for humankind.

On behalf of the Kyrgyz government, Vice Prime Minister Akram Madumarov, who also attended the ceremony, thanked the Chinese government for its continuous support.

The Chinese government, in addition to providing humanitarian assistance, also provides advisory support, he noted.

"China has provided tangible help and sent medical experts to Kyrgyzstan to share their experience in combating coronavirus," he said.

Madumarov expressed confidence that the medical supplies provided by China will enable Kyrgyzstan to strengthen measures to counter the common threat.

Within the framework of the Kyrgyzstan-China comprehensive strategic partnership, Kyrgyzstan is willing to continue to advance anti-epidemic cooperation with China and strives for an early victory over the disease, he said.

Earlier in March, China donated the first batch of medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan, including rapid tests, thermometers, medical suits and other medical protective equipment.

As of Tuesday, Kyrgyzstan has reported a total of 1,037 confirmed cases with 12 deaths, said the country's health ministry.
The Pakistan government has reconstituted a commission to protect the rights of minorities, including the Hindus, and promote inter-religious harmony in the country, days after a human rights report revealed that they continued to face forced conversions and persecution under the controversial blasphemy laws in 2019.

The Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in its annual report, on Thursday said that religious minorities remained unable to enjoy the freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to them under the country's Constitution.

"For the minority Ahmadiyya community in Punjab, this included the desecration of several sites of worship. Both the Hindu and Christian communities in Sindh and Punjab continued to report cases of forced conversion, it said.

The formation of the National Commission for Minorities was announced on Monday by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.

According to the ministry's notification, the commission will have six official and 12 non-official members.

The number of members in the commission earlier is not clear as it was dormant.

The commission will formulate a proposal for development of a national policy to promote peace and interfaith harmony in the country.

According to a report in the Dawn newspaper, it will formulate proposals for amending laws/policies which are reported to be discriminatory towards religious minorities, recommend steps to ensure maximum and effective participation by the members of minority communities in all aspects of life, ensure effective participation and association of minority communities with their religious and cultural festivals and celebrations.

The commission will also look into the grievances and representations made by the members of any minority community.

Its terms of reference also include ensuring that worship places of non-Muslim communities are preserved and kept in a functional condition.

Chela Ram Kewlani, ex-president of Pakistan Hindu Council and a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the Sindh province, will be the chairman of the new commission.

Besides Kewlani, Hindu members of the reconstituted commission will be Jaipal Chhabria, a social worker in Karachi and Vishno Raja Qavi, a former bureaucrat from Sukkur in Sindh.

Among the three Christian members, Sarah Safda is a former minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw of Lahore and Albert David, chairman of Pakistan United Christians Movement.

The Sikh members are Saroop Singh, a senior official in the Khyber Pakhtunhwa government, and Mimpal Singh from Lahore's King Edward Medical University.

The member belonging to the Parsi (Zoroastrian) community in the commission is ex-senator Roshan Khurshed Bharucha. She belongs to Quetta and had been a minister in the caretaker set-ups in Balochistan and federal cabinets.

Dawood Shah, a social worker, will represent the Kalash community.

Both Muslim members of the commission are clerics from Lahore. They are Maulana Syed Mohammad Abdul Khabir Azad of Badshahi Masjid, and Mufti Gulzar Ahmed Naeemi.

The six official members include one representative each from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Human Rights, Federal Education and Professional Training. The chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs will also be the official members of the commission.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hospital Special: Fighting Covid-19 (BBC2)

Rating:

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Rating:

One of the strangest and most unsettling sensations of lockdown is caused by the telly time lag.

Just as light from distant stars takes months or years to reach us, so do many programmes. We are watching the past.

Normally, we dont notice it, but now even the latest documentaries and dramas arrive looking not just dated, but redundant.

Television programme, Hospital Special: Fighting Covid-19 Pictured: David Levy, consultant

Ricky Tomlinson and Ralf Little, who played father and son in The Royle Family 20 years ago, filmed their Very Northern Road Trip, for the Gold channel this time last year.

They might as well have done it last century  visiting Blackpool to ride the rollercoaster, dropping into charming pubs in the Ribble Valley, and greeting everyone they met with handshakes and hugs.

Heaven knows the British tourism industry is going to need all the good publicity it can get, but this three-part series feels like a postcard from a more carefree age, addressed to England  After The Apocalypse.

It is almost reassuring to see the first post-lockdown programmes beginning to air, even though their subject matter is so grim. Hospital Special: Fighting Covid-19 (BBC2) started filming at Londons Royal Free on March 23, the first day of Britains full shutdown.

Already, the hospital seemed close to breaking point. What was most hopeful and inspiring about this two-part special (the second episode airs tonight) was the determination of all the staff never to give up, no matter how desperate the challenges.

Beds for heart attack patients filled up with coronavirus sufferers. Surgeons were forced to invent procedures far outside their usual scope. Patients lay in queues of ambulances across the car park, and the intensive care unit started at the front door.

It was not only the NHS staff whose courage was inspiring.

Grandfather Peter, an 88-year-old who escaped from Hitlers Germany as a baby with his parents before World War II, was facing his illness with stoic bravery.

The reboot of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on ITV. Andrew Townsley, left, and host Jeremy Clarkson, right

The former wine merchant reckoned hed caught the bug at a dinner party. Its tough nuts, he said with a shrug, before instructing doctors that he didnt want to be put on a ventilator: Ive had a good run, so no complaints.

Thankfully, after several gruelling weeks on oxygen, Peter survived. This documentary wisely focused on some of the Royal Frees success stories, while not disguising the ghastly reality.

We knew the mortuary was full and supplies of body-bags were running out but, like the doctors and nurses, the film-makers chose to accentuate the positives  such as the recovery of a much-loved nurse named Nancy.

At one stage, Nancys case had seemed hopeless. When she walked out of the hospital unaided, her colleagues crammed the corridors to applaud. Thank goodness for something to cheer.

Theres been little to cheer with the return of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (ITV). Four contestants over the first two evenings have gone home with just 1,000 after guessing an answer and getting it wrong.

Host Jeremy Clarkson is desperate to see a big winner, and thats the problem. He urges players to make impulsive decisions, praises them for gambling when they arent sure, and constantly seethes with impatience. Took you long enough! he snapped at one woman, as she finally made her choice.

Clarkson, a man to whom humility is an alien concept, thinks he knows everything and believes everyone else should too. Dreadful blunders are the result: one player lost 15,000.

The plain fact is hes the wrong man for the job.
In brief: Intel has shared a progress update on its Optane and NAND product portfolio, announcing a transition to denser 144-layer QLC tech on all its consumer SSDs by 2021 and a next-gen upgrade to Optane drives that will feature four stacked memory layers for increased storage capacity and PCIe 4.0 support for greater bandwidth.

Intel is seemingly on track with its memory and storage product roadmap as it looks forward to launching the 144-layer 3D NAND QLC flash storage - codenamed Keystone Harbor - later this year. While the new denser 4th-gen modules would initially be available across limited capacities, the company is planning a complete transition to this tech (internally called Arbordale+) for all its consumer SSDs by next year.

Rob Crook, head of Intel's Non-volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG), also revealed that the "tremendous momentum" of this technology had enabled it to surpass 10 million shipments of QLC SSDs, and that development on its 5 bits per cell PLC storage is still underway.

Intel also shared an update on its Alder Stream Optane SSDs, which use the company's 2nd-gen 3D XPoint technology and will ship in single port form later this year, followed by a dual port version in 2021.

These SSDs are expected to deliver at least a 50 percent performance increase over current-gen Optane drives, thanks to a faster controller and PCIe 4.0 compliance. Storage capacities, however, are yet to be finalized, but doubling the memory stack of Intel's current DC P4800X to four layers should theoretically result in a 3TB version for the top-end version.

Intel will reveal more Optane details in an official event slated for next month, where we can also expect to see next-gen DC Persistent Memory with higher speed and capacities than the current-gen 512GB maxed out DIMMs. What's confirmed, however, is that the company won't be expanding Optane to portable drives and will keep its focus on the three market segments it originally targeted for this tech.
Russia moved to ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday despite a surge in cases that has seen it register the world's second-highest number of infections.

Daily figures released by health authorities showed Russia reaching 232,243 confirmed infections, behind only the United States which has reported more than 1.3 million.

Among the new infections was President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who told Russian news agencies he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was being treated.

Officials say the high number of cases reflects a huge testing campaign, with some 5.8 million tests carried out so far, and point to the country's relatively low mortality rate as evidence Russia is managing the crisis.

Anxious to get the economy moving again, Putin on Monday announced an end to a national "non-working" period in place since late March.

- Over 10,000 new cases per day -

Containment measures remained in many parts of the vast country, including hard-hit Moscow which is on lockdown until the end of May, but others began to lift some restrictions.

Officials reopened parks in Novosibirsk in Siberia and in Bashkortostan in the Urals and in Magadan in the Far East residents were allowed to leave their homes to exercise.

In Moscow some half a million construction and industrial workers were allowed back on the job, as wearing masks and gloves became mandatory in shops and on public transport.

Riding a bus in the capital, 25-year-old Tatyana Khan said it was clear why such measures were necessary.

"If everyone had worn masks earlier there probably would be fewer infections in Russia," said Khan, who has been working for the city disinfecting building entrances.

After reporting more than 10,000 new cases per day for more than a week, Russia on Tuesday surpassed Britain and Spain in the total number of confirmed infections.

But with only 2,116 virus deaths reported so far, Russia's mortality rate has been much lower in comparison with countries with similar infection rates.

- Ventilator probe after fire -

Authorities say this is because Russia was able to learn lessons from the experiences of western Europe, moving quickly to isolate travellers and people at risk, convert hospitals to treating virus patients and launch a vast campaign to test and quarantine those infected.

Critics have cast doubt on the numbers, accusing officials of under-counting by blaming virus-related deaths on other causes.

Putin pointed to the low mortality rate when he said it was time to lift the confinement measures that required Russians in non-essential jobs to stay home.

The lockdown move brought uncertainty to an economy already grappling with low oil prices, with business owners struggling to pay full salaries to employees while shutting their doors to customers.

"It is in the interest of all of us for the economy to return to normal quickly," Putin said, adding that the construction, agriculture and energy industries should be restarted first.

Putin has seen his approval ratings fall as Russians grow increasingly concerned about their financial futures.

His government has also been hit by several coronavirus cases. As well as his spokesman, Putin's prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, and two other ministers have tested positive for the virus.

The Kremlin has left it up to individual regions to decide how to proceed with easing restrictions. In Moscow residents will still only be allowed to leave their homes for brief trips or to travel to work with a permit.

Medical workers have warned that despite the increase in capacity, hospitals and clinics have been stretched in dealing with the crisis.

On Tuesday officials launched a probe into ventilators used at some Russian medical facilities after five coronavirus patients, including three attached to the breathing machines, died in a fire at a Saint Petersburg hospital.

Saint Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said it appeared that one of the ventilators at the Saint George hospital had short-circuited and caught fire.

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MBABANE  With no word coming from government on what informs the new guidelines of the eased partial lockdown, Members of Parliament (MPs) have taken it upon themselves to have an urgent sitting tomorrow.



The House of Assembly Sessional Committee yesterday had a meeting where several issues concerning the COVID-19 guidelines were discussed and as a result, the House is expected to meet tomorrow afternoon.



The sessional committee is chaired by the Speaker Petros Mavimbela. According to close sources, one of the burning issues is the confusion over the new church gatherings regulations as on Saturday, the Minister of Home Affairs, Princess Lindiwe, held a press conference announcing that churches could have a gathering of 70 per cent capacity.



However, a few hours later, it was announced through a statement that church services could strictly observe gatherings not exceeding 70 people.



The sources revealed that some MPs were also responsible for the reversal of the 70 per cent capacity, as the ministry reissued another statement which now spoke of 70 people and not the 70 per cent capacity.



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However, some of the legislators are also of the view, in the same as a majority of the public, that 70 people is still too many people, especially if the country is still trying to flatten the curve, said an MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The MP said the legislators had other concerns about some of the guidelines issued by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, when he announced the eased partial lockdown last week Wednesday, where he announced that seven additional businesses would be allowed to operate while others like hairdressing salons, which were considered high risk, would not be allowed to operate.



The MPs further noted that the guidelines were specific that it was only the PM who may vary, from time to time, the number of people who could meet in gatherings and not the minister of Home Affairs.



The MPs stated that they were of the view that ever since the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020 were passed in Parliament, Cabinet was out to abuse them by coming up with guidelines which sometimes did not make sense in that there was no explanation of the thought process behind it.



In fact, during one of the earlier House of Assembly sittings, Matsanjeni North MP Phila Buthelezi submitted that Cabinet or government was using the COVID-19 regulations to do as they pleased. One of the other concerns was the manner in which the guidelines on the issue of wearing masks by every public transport user was initially started, which caused people to start sharing masks, said another MP.



The legislators also complained about the last minute announcements which government seemed to make and not involve them, as MPs, in the process.



According to a memo forwarded by the Speakers Office to the MPs, a sitting has been scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30pm.

The MPs were, however, reminded that due to COVID-19 regulations, a selected number of MPs would be invited as they continued to observe social distancing.



The memo stated that all chairpersons of portfolio and sessional committees would be allowed.

It was further stated that only members who had not attended the last three sittings of Parliament would be allowed in the chamber.



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No member is expected to attend if he or she does not belong to the above mentioned categories otherwise he or she will be ushered to the public gallery, reads the notice.

The legislators were further reminded to wear face masks when they attend tomorrows sitting.



According to the COVID-19 regulations, they shall cease to have effect at the end of the national emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19).



Meanwhile, Section 25 of the regulations states that in order to contain the spread of COVID-19, a gathering of more than 20 people is prohibited.



They read that the PM may from time to time vary and give direction on the maximum number of people who may be part of a gathering. In this regard, the PM has already issued guidelines stating that 70 people can meet in Parliament while in Cabinet there could be a meeting of up to 50.
MIAMI  After spending nearly a week in isolation at a Louisiana detention center in March with the flu, Karina Serrano Rodriguez says she's terrified of becoming infected with the coronavirus.

Serrano Rodriguez, 27, says she fled persecution in Cuba for running a clandestine business to distribute news and information. She's been at the South Louisiana Detention Center, in Evangeline Parish, for seven months, even though she passed the initial screening required to start the asylum process and has relatives in Tampa waiting to take her in.

I feel I have reached a point of collapse. I dont sleep and Im depressed, Serrano Rodriguez said by telephone, adding she's worried about "the day there is a COVID-19 case here."

Serrano Rodriguez is one of thousands of asylum-seekers who have passed an initial screening yet remain in custody for months and even years, despite having U.S. relatives waiting to take them in until their asylum case is heard before a judge.

Karina Serrano Rodriguez (Courtesy Rolando Lopez Turruellas)

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge on Tuesday to hold Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in contempt for violating a court order from September that said the Department of Homeland Security and ICE were in violation of their own policy of granting parole to asylum-seekers.

Its egregious they have had seven months to comply with the order, yet they are still denying parole at such a high rate given the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mich Gonzalez, a staff attorney with the law center in Miami.

The motion stems from a class-action lawsuit filed last May, against the Department of Homeland Security and the New Orleans ICE Field Office  a five-state area  stating they have a blanket parole denial policy.

A binding 2009 policy directs ICE to grant parole to asylum-seekers who have lawfully presented themselves at an official port of entry, passed a credible-fear screening, and do not pose a public safety threat.

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Before President Donald Trump took office, ICE would routinely release most asylum-seekers on parole. Civil rights groups have been legally challenging the Trump administration for keeping asylum-seekers in detention while they wait for a judge to decide their claim, saying it's harder for detainees to prepare for an asylum hearing when they're detained, often without legal resources. The hearings are conducted via teleconference with judges, and are scattered throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

With the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has taken special urgency, the law center and others point out.

Two guards at an immigration detention center in Louisiana died after contracting the coronavirus, raising questions about whether detainees and workers are sufficiently protected.

In a statement, Bryan Cox, the agency's public affairs director for the southern region, said that ICE has taken extensive actions to stem the potential spread of COVID-19, which includes a case-by-case, totality of the circumstances [and] custody determination for all persons, which is always done."

Although ICE does not have a breakdown of how many people have been tested in the New Orleans district, they have tested 1,686 detainees for COVID-19, with 869 testing positive, according to their latest figures.

Gonzalez said around 500 immigrant detainees or their families have contacted the law center's hotline to acquire more information on the lawsuit and seek assistance. Although they come from several countries, including Venezuela and Nicaragua, the vast majority are from Cuba and have sponsors in Florida.

The three groups make up the fastest-growing segments of the immigration backlog, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, with those from Cuba seeing the highest increase, at 374 percent.

For many Cubans, detention comes as a surprise, after spending decades being automatically paroled.

The families tell me they dont understand why this is happening," Gonzalez said. "I have to explain it over and over again."

The number of asylum-seekers in Louisiana has grown after the state cut the number of state inmates in its prisons by enacting sweeping criminal justice overhaul measures. In its place, more local for-profit prisons set up contracts with ICE to house immigrant detainees.

Although the number of parole approvals from those seeking asylum has fallen sharply nationwide, the Southern Poverty Law Center says the approval rate for those detained in the New Orleans field district is particularly low, plummeting from 75 percent in 2016 to 1.5 percent in 2018.

Its not a coincidence that this region has the worst rates of release on parole in the country," said Gonzalez. In a statement, ICE said that the detained population in the New Orleans field district has decreased from 6,120 at the end of March to around 5,200 people now. The population is now 40 percent less than the average daily population for fiscal year 2020 of approximately 8,500.

Gonzalez countered that 5,200 is still twice what ICE had in fiscal year 2019 before the surge last summer.

In the case of Serrano Rodriguez, the Cuban asylum-seeker, she and her husband fled to the U.S. together, but he was released on parole after less than two months of detention in Texas, while she's still being held in Louisiana.

Erlinda Liens Reyes, 42, another asylum-seeker from Cuba, has been in detention at the South Louisiana Detention Facility for nine months after being transferred from Texas. Like Serrano Rodriguez, Liens Reyes' husband was paroled in Texas.

In a phone interview, Liens, who has high blood pressure, said she fears getting infected with the coronavirus. When workers at the facility speak to her, she tries to keep a safe distance. But the close sleeping and eating quarters worry her.

"I tried to do things the right way, Liens said tearfully about her situation, saying she didn't try to illegally cross the border and presented herself to authorities. Liens sister-in-law and sponsor, who lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, is waiting to take her in.

One Nicaraguan American family in Miami feared for their relatives in ICE detention, but they received good news last week.

Image: Alberto Rojas (Courtesy Tirsa Castillo)

Tirsa Castill told NBC News that her cousin, Alberto Rojas, will soon be paroled after 14 months in the LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Louisiana. Rojas and his uncle had taken part in antigovernment protests that rocked the Central American country in April 2018, leaving to over 300 dead, Castillo said.

After the protests, pro-government security forces searched for Rojas and his uncle, she said, and Rojas was beaten and his uncle shot in the arm and genitals. The two men fled Nicaragua and headed for Mexico, where they were kidnapped and held for ransom, Castillo said. Eventually they presented themselves at the border requesting asylum. While Rojas uncle was released on parole after several months, Rojas was kept in detention, worrying the family since he has only one functioning kidney, his cousin said.

Hes a good, decent person with principles, Castillo said. With the coronavirus, the family was "super worried"  until the recent news of his release.

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As digital work instructions continue to grow increasingly complex and data-intensive, manufacturers and maintenance, MRO organizations are challenged with implementing social distancing and eliminating paper from operations processes while delivering accurate, up to date intelligence to workers. Advanced technologies like AR can advance these initiatives, resulting in immediate productivity improvements.

This new partnership provides iBASEt customers with a fast-track solution that can simplify the complex transfer of accurate knowledge and digital work instructions through smart glasses. By offering an unlimited capability for manufacturing workers to ask questions, read materials, and gain insights into production processes, smart glasses can safely streamline the delivery and execution of work instructions. This knowledge transfer can be achieved in both production and sustainment tasks to improve operator efficiency.

Watch this video to learn more about the value of wearables technology on the shop floor.

"We are excited to partner with iBASEt to empower manufacturers to operate with greater efficiency by introducing smart glasses to the shop floor," said Michelle Krogmeier, Vice President of North America - Proceedix. "We look forward to working together to bring new innovative solutions designed to meet the unique requirements of complex discrete manufacturing organizations."

"Partnering with Proceedix is just one in a series of partnerships we're working on to bring the industry's leading advanced technologies to our customers," said Naveen Poonian, President of iBASEt. "We're excited to be strategizing with our customers in choosing investments that expand our manufacturing and sustainment platform to meet their advanced manufacturing needs."

About Proceedix

Proceedix develops and commercializes a SaaS platform to simplify the management of enterprise procedures, work instructions and inspections, while making the remote execution paperless and mobile. The device-agnostic design allows operators to run their instructions and inspections on a Windows PC, Android or iOS smartphone or tablet and on Android wearables and smart glasses. Proceedix empowers the deskless operators of the Industry 4.0 future. Industry leaders such as AGCO, Philips and FrieslandCampina are leveraging the Proceedix platform to facilitate the digital transformation on the shop floor for work instructions, quality management and smart maintenance. Learn more at proceedix.com .

About iBASEt

iBASEt is a leading provider of manufacturing, quality and MRO solutions that enable digital continuity across the enterprise. With 30+ years of experience in highly engineered, regulated industries, iBASEt simplifies the complex by empowering customers to gain real-time visibility, take control, and drive velocity across their operations and extended value chain. iBASEt works closely with industry leaders, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and Patricia Belgian Engine Center. Learn more at iBASEt.com .

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As each minivan, sedan and pickup truck crawled around the backside of Westover Christian Academy on Monday morning, the schools preschool and kindergarten teachers shouted out with glee the name of the child they knew would be inside.

It has been just about two months since the teachers had seen their students, but they still instantly recognized each familys vehicle in the drop-off lane.

For the last several weeks, parents had stopped by the lobby of the school to pick up their childs worksheets from a plastic crate. Monday was the first time that students were able to see their teachers since March 13, when schools across Virginia were closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Dressed in Hawaiian-print shirts with colorful leis and faux grass skirts to give off a summery vibe, the teachers gathered from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. to hand out the last packets of schoolwork for the year.

With every passing car came another smiling face.

This right here is great for them to catch up with their teachers before the end of the school year, said Amber Stowe, who brought her daughters Addyson, 6, and Arizona, 4. I told them this morning when we were leaving, and they were excited.

Teachers also wore masks over their mouths and noses and used hand sanitizer in between visits to cars.

Stowe said Monday morning was another example of how Westovers teachers have tried to make the transition to online learning as easy as possible.

The teachers and staff here have done great about sending work home and doing videos for them so they can keep up and not get behind, she said.

As many of the teachers said throughout the morning, it wasnt the perfect end to a school year, but the event Monday still allowed for a sense of closure.

Its a really good experience getting to see them and kind of wrap up our year on a positive note, said teacher Jessica Beach. Just being able to see them and tell them we love them and miss them, its been nice.

As each car arrived, teachers traded folders with parents  giving them blank worksheets in exchange for work that has been completed. They also used this time to give updates on a loved ones health, discuss how well a child is learning at home, announce that a new baby is on the way or bemoan a home renovation project that is sending noise throughout the house.

Teachers showed off their decorated signs and took selfies with the children. The students stuck their heads and hands out of the windows and sunroofs to wave and flaunt their outfits, stuffed animals and other toys.

Even before the first children arrived on Monday, Paula Perez was fighting back tears because she was both so excited to see her students and so sad to have so little time with them.

Its so hard not having them in class because we do so much hands-on. I dont feel like they can get everything verbally, she said. They dont understand why they cant see me in person, and it breaks my heart because I just fall apart.

Its just a blessing to see them.

Cotton reports for the Register & Bee.

Cotton reports for the Register & Bee.
iD Tech If your child is into making video games instead of playing them, then Virtual Tech Camp may be a good fit. The five-day camp offers courses with live instructors and up to five students per class. The camps cover a multitude of STEM topics for ages 7 to 19, such as making a YouTube channel with animation and storytelling as well as learning the ins and outs of Java Script coding. The courses last up to four hours a day: two hours of instruction and engaging with peers, and two hours to develop a project individually. Prices start at $399. Learn more here.
CNBC's Jim Cramer sounded the alarm about commercial real estate on Tuesday, saying that working from home would be an attractive option even after the coronavirus pandemic is over.

"I see tremendous, tremendous tall office buildings with nobody in them," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."

The restrictions that governments imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus forced millions of Americans to work from home and millions others out of work. Even as some states and cities start allowing some businesses to reopen, some companies are considering letting employees work remotely for longer.

For example, Facebook said last week that it's allowing most employees to work from home for the rest of the year.

Health concerns and the ease of working remotely will make employees reluctant to return to their offices, Cramer predicted. "If the choice is between going to get yourself some Covid by going to the office and pressing the wrong button with too many people on the elevator, side to side, shoulder to shoulder with traders, or sitting at home, having a nice breakfast and then going to work. If you can silence the dog, no crying babies, you're in business."

Cramer said that this trend will put pressure on commercial real estate companies and possibly the financial sector. "You're seeing with these real estate investment trusts, with the exception of Simon Property, distress like you wouldn't believe. And it's yet to hit the banks."

The "Mad Money" host also praised work-from-home technology that has proven to be reliable during the pandemic. The sector has been a favorite of investors since the coronavirus spread around the world, with shares of Zoom Video more than doubling this year.

Disclaimer
Commonwealth Care Alliance Uses Looker to Monitor Impact of COVID-19 on Urgent and Evolving Member Needs

Looker, a leading data platform, today announced that Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, community-based healthcare organization, is leveraging Looker's capabilities to guide and monitor delivery of critical aid to its members and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. CCA's consumer-focused and data-informed approach provides a detailed understanding of how the individuals they serve are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including their potential risks and needs.

Utilizing Looker and Google (News - Alert) Cloud Platform (GCP), CCA has built analytics data architecture that delivers valuable information and predictive insights to its clinicians, who care for individuals with complex health needs. Within a single day, CCA was able to deploy dedicated COVID-19 monitoring dashboards to each clinician, while infusing actionable COVID-19 information across existing dashboards.

"CCA members have significant medical, behavioral health and social needs, so it is important that we innovate, provide and coordinate the highest quality, individualized care in a way that is fast and flexible," said Christopher D. Palmieri, President and Chief Executive Officer at Commonwealth Care Alliance. "As we gather updates on our members and from the community, we can then provide CCA clinicians with almost instant access to critical information. The combination of Google BigQuery and Looker has allowed us to focus our efforts on what matters most - providing the highest quality of care and improving the health and well-being of the individuals we so proudly serve."

Over 400 CCA clinicians have received tailored action boards that consolidate clinical data, including COVID-19 information, and highlight the most urgent matters including environmental and personal risk factors.

CCA's dedicated COVID-19 monitoring dashboard and action boards can focus on virus hotspots and at-risk members based on factors such as location, age, pre-existing conditions and environment. As the pandemic has progressed, the dashboards have evolved to include the growing impact that challenges such as cancelled elected surgeries and changing availability of social support services are having on its members.

"What CCA is doing is a perfect illustration of why reliable data is so important with such a fast-moving virus," said Daniel Mintz, Chief Data Evangelist at Looker. "To help consolidate all the COVID-19 data available now and in the days to come, we created a Looker Data Block. The Block makes it easy for people to integrate these public data sets into existing workflows so they can better understand what's happening and take data-driven actions to react, much as CCA did."

For more information, check out:







Looker is a unified platform that powers data experiences and delivers actionable business insights to employees at the point of decision. Looker integrates data into the daily workflows of users to allow organizations to extract value from data at web-scale. Over 2000 industry-leading and innovative companies such as Sony, Amazon, The Economist, IBM (News - Alert), Etsy, Lyft and Kickstarter have trusted Looker to power their data-driven cultures. Looker joined Google Cloud in February 2020. For more information, connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube or visit looker.com.

About Commonwealth Care Alliance

Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) is the not-for-profit, community-based healthcare organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs by innovating, coordinating and providing the highest quality, individualized care. CCA is a nationally recognized leader in providing care for high-cost, high-needs individuals through a proven model that improves quality and health outcomes while reducing overall costs of care. In Massachusetts, CCA's two health plans serve over 37,000 members who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, and for four consecutive years, CCA's One Care plan earned a top rating from a consumer survey conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Learn more about CCA's pioneering healthcare solutions and validated care model at http://www.commonwealthcarealliance.org/ or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005157/en/
This is the bizarre moment two men emerged from the sea disguised as buoys in France.

The two 50-year-olds dressed up in a bid to break coronavirus lockdown rules by swimming in Hyeres.

But the men were spotted by eagle-eyed police officers patrolling the beach for trouble makers.

While one of the tricksters managed to get away, the other - who goes by the name of Pierrot - was arrested and fined 135 euros.

Two 50-year-olds dressed up as buoys in a bid to break coronavirus lockdown rules by swimming in the sea in France

The men then head to shore before high-fiving and punching the air on the sand, believing they have gotten away with their cheeky ruse

In the clip, shared to Facebook by an amazed onlooker, the men can be seen bobbing around in the water off Almanarre Beach.

The men then swim to shore before high-fiving and punching the air on the sand, believing they have gotten away with their cheeky ruse.

But their rejoicing doesn't last long, as within seconds a high-pitched whistle is heard and the men frantically try to make a break for it.

With their faces almost entirely covered bar a small slit for them to see through, the men struggle to get away quick enough.

The two men (one pictured) put on cream-coloured head pieces to take a dip in Hyeres but were spotted by eagle-eyed police officers patrolling the beach for trouble makers

The men walk away from the shore before a high-pitched whistle is heard, signalling that they have been caught

While one of the tricksters managed to get away, the other - who goes by the name of Pierrot - was arrested and fined 135 euros. Pictured: One prankster talking to the police

One comically falls over as the other starts to run.

Pierrot said: 'I wanted to make a funny video but it took a turn for the worse, Im the one who got the fine.

'As Ive said, I regret it but also dont regret it as its made people laugh and brought joy to a lot of people.'

The mayor of Hyeres Jean-Pierre Giran previously said he would request to reopen beaches yesterday, as long as social distancing was maintained.
RICHBURG, S.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today unveiled an optional hail upgrade to its rigorous FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind standard, a voluntary set of above-code design, building, and retrofitting steps to strengthen homes against severe weather. Now, in addition to helping homeowners guard against wind, FORTIFIED offers a solution to better protect against hailstorms too. Combined, FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail helps homeowners in parts of the country that face multiple threats achieve extra protection from severe thunderstorms that generate high wind, hail, and tornadoes. The result is a stronger roof shown in field and lab studies to reduce the risk of damage.

FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail is based on the latest research conducted at IBHS's state-of-the art research center in Richburg, South Carolina. There, scientists recreate severe weather events with windspeeds reaching up to 130 mph and hailstorms using hailstones manufactured on-site, consistent with those that occur naturally, to understand and identify ways to reduce the damage they cause to residential properties. The hail supplement, now available to be paired with the existing high wind standard, is the result of a new impact shingle test method established by IBHS in 2019.

"Year after year, severe weather wreaks havoc on communities across the country's heartland," says Fred Malik, managing director of FORTIFIED programs at IBHS. "FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail offers homeowners the best-known protection against the combination of weather threats common to this part of the country, providing families their best chance to return home immediately after a storm hits."

The new hail supplement goes beyond typical impact resistance measurements and requires high-performing shingles that rank Excellent or Good in IBHS's 2019 Hail Impact Standard Ratings. FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail requires a roof covering that can withstand hail up to 2 inches in diameter. This gives homeowners added confidence their shingles have demonstrated they can perform under realistic testing scenarios, which mimic how real-world hail attacks a roof. For homeowners who regularly face hail, this can save both the hassle and expense of repeated shingle replacement.

"Not all shingles labeled as 'impact-resistant' perform equally. Existing standardized tests use outdated physics and are unable to replicate all the different kinds of damage we see on roofs," says Dr. Tanya Brown-Giammanco, managing director of research at IBHS. "We've devoted years to better understanding the scientific characteristics of hail, replicating those characteristics in the lab, and analyzing how shingles perform against them to give consumers confidence when selecting an impact-resistant shingle."

Roofs installed to the FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail standard have multiple layers of defenses to prevent a cascade of damage that can start at the roof and impact the integrity of the entire structure during high winds. The beyond-code requirements include:

Stronger connections to hold the roof onto the house Reinforced edges to help protect one of the roof's most vulnerable areas from high winds A sealed roof deck to prevent rain from entering the home, even if shingles are lost High-performing impact resistant shingles that are superior performers based on IBHS's innovative impact test

With this added protection, homes have shown to be durable in up to EF-2 level winds and against up to 2-inch hail.

"FORTIFIED is an effective and affordable option to combat winds up to EF-2 levels, and it's important to note tornadoes rated as EF-4 or EF-5 have very small areas where the winds are that strong," explains Brown-Giammanco, who is also a wind engineer and meteorologist. "In those storms, many of the homes actually face significantly lower wind speeds than those at the core. FORTIFIED can narrow the path of damage so building to this standard has the potential to bring peace of mind to homeowners routinely threatened by tornadoes and high winds."

"A home is the largest investment most families will make, and every year they are threatened by severe weather like hail, high winds, and even tornadoes," adds Malik. "For the extra investment when re-roofing, homeowners can benefit from the science behind FORTIFIED to avoid damage, possibly saving significantly more in repairs the next time storms strike. Oklahomans are among the first in the Great Plains and Midwest to have the added benefit of available mitigation credits on homeowner's insurance policies, specifically for getting a FORTIFIED designation."

IBHS is piloting FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail in Oklahoma City, in conjunction with Oklahoma-based Disaster Resilience Network, but the standard can be followed nationwide. Homeowners can find a FORTIFIED-trained roofer who specializes in resilient roofing at foritifiedhome.org/directory or by having the qualified roofer of their choice follow the building standards for FORTIFIED HomeHigh Wind & Hail. To receive a FORTIFIED designation, which can qualify a home for insurance discounts in some states, including Oklahoma, homeowners must have their roofer, or a FORTIFIED evaluator, submit required documentation confirming the requirements have been met to IBHS. For more information about building stronger to reduce the risk of loss from severe weather, visit fortifiedhome.org/hail.

About FORTIFIED Home

FORTIFIED Home is a voluntary building standard that makes a home stronger and better able to resist the effects of severe weather. The standard prescribes requirements for different levels of protection and provides designations for each. Please visit fortifiedhome.org to learn more.

About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. Learn more about IBHS at DisasterSafety.org.

SOURCE Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

Related Links

www.disastersafety.org


One out of every four workers in New Orleans is without a job because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

The study found unemployment in New Orleans is the highest in the state at 25%, just ahead of Baton Rouge at 21% without jobs and Lafayette at nearly 19%, The Advocate reported.

The unemployment rates estimated for Louisiana metro regions are based on recent first-time jobless claims filed with the Louisiana Workforce Commission analyzed by Stephen Barnes, an associate professor and director of the University of Louisiana Lafayettes Blanco Public Policy Center Director.

One of the reasons New Orleans appears to be doing so poorly is the city is dependent upon tourism, which has been devastated by global efforts to stop the virus.

Those numbers compare to a 14.7% national unemployment rate reported on May 8 that already rivals the Depression-era.

Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge economist and consultant, told the newspaper that April unemployment numbers for Louisiana are gonna be ugly.

Some economists have said a significant portion of the people will be hired back once businesses reopen.

One side that was very positive before we went into this was the national economy was very solid, Scott said.

On May 10, a group of about 50 restaurants and bars took out a full-page ad in the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, urging Gov. John Bel Edwards and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to let them reopen.

We are small businesses and we ask you for your help to save our livelihoods. We ask for a plan that allows us to reopen our businesses safely, the ad read.

The number of confirmed cases in Louisiana exceeded 31,500 on May 10, and virus-related deaths increased to at least 2,213. The number of hospitalized patients dropped to 1,324. The Federal Bureau of Prisons on Saturday announced an eighth inmate from the federal prison complex in Oakdale had died. Prison officials said 67-year-old inmate George Escamilla died Friday after falling ill with COVID-19 at Satellite Prison Camp Oakdale, a minimum-security facility next to Federal Correctional Institution I Oakdale. Escamilla was serving a 13-year sentence on a cocaine conviction from Texas.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For others, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 Louisiana
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

An interdisciplinary team of Kansas State University researchers developed a computer simulation that revealed beef supply chain vulnerabilities that need safeguardinga realistic concern during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caterina Scoglio, professor, and Qihui Yang, doctoral student, both in electrical and computer engineering, recently published "Developing an agent-based model to simulate the beef cattle production and transportation in southwest Kansas" in Physica A, an Elsevier journal publication.

The paper describes a model of the beef production system and the transportation industry, which are interdependent critical infrastructuressimilar to the electrical grid and computer technology. According to the model, disruptions in the cattle industryespecially in the beef packing plantswill affect the transportation industry and together cause great economic harm. The disruptions modeled in the simulation share similarities with how the packing plants have been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When we first started working on this project, there was a lot of emphasis on studying critical infrastructures; especially ones that are interdependent, meaning that they need to work together with other critical infrastructures," Scoglio said. "The idea is if there is a failure in one of the systems, it can propagate to the other system, increasing the catastrophic effects."

The study included a variety of viewpoints to create a realistic and integrated model of both systems. Co-authors on the paper include Don Gruenbacher, associate professor and department head of electrical and computer engineering; Jessica Heier Stamm, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering; Gary Brase, professor of psychological sciences; Scott DeLoach, professor and department head of computer science; and David Amrine, research director of the Beef Cattle Institute.

The researchers used the model to evaluate which supply chain components were more robust and which were not. They determined that packing plants are the most vulnerable. Scoglio said that recent events in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic raise important issues about how to safeguard the system.

"An important message is that after understanding the critical role of these packers, we need to decide how we could protect both them and the people who work there," Scoglio said. "While the plants are a critical infrastructure and need to be protected, taking care of the health of the workers is very important. How can we design a production process that can be flexible and adaptable in an epidemic?"

According to the paper, the beef cattle industry contributes approximately $8.9 billion to the Kansas economy and employs more than 42,000 people in the state. Since trucks are needed to move cattle, any disruption in either cattle production or transportation almost certainly would harm the regional economy, Scoglio said.

"Packers need to be considered as a critical point of a much longer supply chain, which needs specific attention to make sure it will not fail and can continue working," Scoglio said. "Beef packers are a critical infrastructure in the United States."

Explore further Cattle movement estimation study sheds light on disease risk

More information: Qihui Yang et al. Developing an agent-based model to simulate the beef cattle production and transportation in southwest Kansas, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications (2019). Qihui Yang et al. Developing an agent-based model to simulate the beef cattle production and transportation in southwest Kansas,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.092
New Delhi, May 12 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has taken over the probe into the alleged misuse of yoga guru Ramdev's brand name Patanjali Ayurveda.

A senior CBI official told IANS, "The agency has taken over the probe into the alleged misuse and forgery of brand name Patanjali Ayurveda on the directions of Uttrakhand High Court at Nainital." The High Court while ordering a CBI probe on February 20 this year had asked the agency to conduct investigation in scientific manner and submit a status report to the court.

He said, the agency has registered a case under the sections of Indian Penal Code and IT Act against unknown persons.

The official said that Patanjali Ayurveda had approached the High Court that some people were misusing its brand name by using fake websites, email IDs and mobile phones.

The cyber crime unit of Dehradun had initially registered the case of cheating and fraud against unknown persons.
The Kerala high court asked the Union government on Tuesday to explain how the Aarogya Setu can be made mandatory when many do not have smartphones, giving it time till May 18 to file its response and also explain how the personal data of users will be protected.

The hearing pertained to a petition challenging the Union governments notification making Aarogya Setu  a tool meant to trace the contacts of people in case they are infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)  mandatory for when people travel to offices. Since that notification, the government has also made it must for travelling in trains.

There are valid concerns about the mandatory condition on the employers. Many have no smartphones. How do you propose to implement this?, said justice Anu Sivaraman, while also refusing to stay the order -- a request by the petitioners. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, the judge said.

The bench comprised of justices Sivaraman and MR Anitha.

The counsel for the Central government said that they will place a statement on record. A privacy protocol has been developed. It (Aarogya Setu app) has been recognised as the best app in the world fighting Covid-19 right now. Around 130 COVID-19 hotspots have been identified. Lakhs of people are downloading the app every day, the counsel said.

The Union electronics and IT ministry on Monday released a protocol, defining conditions for the access and sharing of the sensitive personal information people provide on the Aarogya Setu. The collection must be strictly for the purpose of governments health responses, and the data can be stored for six months, the protocols said.

The contact tracing app was launched on April 2 and 96 million people registered on it till Monday, according to an IT ministry official who gave the figure during the governments daily briefing on the crisis. The app was developed by a team under the Niti Aayog and is managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Last week, Thrissur district Congress Committee general secretary John Daniel moved the high court saying the Centres April 29 directive for office-goers to download Aarogya Setu violated the fundamental rights of citizens, and that there chances that the personal data could be misused.

We are glad the court has decided to look into the matter and has directed the government to explain based on which considerations the Aarogya Setu app was made mandatory, especially because a majority of Indians dont have access to smartphones, said Devdutta Mukhopadhyay, associate counsel at Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and one of members of the petitioners legal team.

To make having a smartphone a precondition for accessing essential services like the railways has an exclusionary impact. There are also concerns about the technical design of the app such as its centralised model, excessive data collection and weak anonymization. Todays hearing was focussed on practical difficulties that will arise due to Aarogya Setu being made compulsory for all employees, she added.

IFF has detailed in a working paper the privacy and security concerns with the Aarogya Setu, which can potentially lead to surveillance, and the lack of legal frameworks that can allow such a tool to be deployed in India.

Representatives from the IT ministry and NIC refused to comment on the hearing on record.

The data that the Aarogya Setu handles is secure and keeping these concerns in mind, we issued the protocols for the regulation of the app yesterday. The protocols detail how that data is going to be processed and fixes accountability, said a senior IT ministry official, who is working on the governments response to the petition.
Russias Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities greenlighted opening the first car bridge between Russia and China, built across the border river of Amur, between the cities of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe, Ministry for the Development of Russian Far East said.



"The joint Russian-Chinese company was granted permission to open the bridge border crossing. This is the first car bridge between Russia and China. The official permission has been granted by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities," TASS cited the ministry as saying.



However, the bridge will be open after the coronavirus-related restrictions are withdrawn. "Were it not for the pandemic and the closed borders, the bridge crossing would have entered service [immediately] after the permission was obtained. But, because of the difficult epidemiological situation in the world, the bridge will be actually open only after all restrictions are withdrawn," the ministry said.



The bridge is estimated to allow about 3 million people, 6 million tons of cargo or 300,000 vehicles cross the border every year. The bridge is over 1 km long, while the entire border crossing is 20 km long, including 6 km of road in China and 13 km of approaches in Russia.



The construction began in 2016 and was finished in December 2019. The project cost is 18,8 billion rubles ($254,928,000). The bridge expected to pay itself off in 16 years via road tolls.
In the middle of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many The Real Housewives of Atlanta fans were worried last month when Sheree Whitfields mother went missing. Now that she is safe and sound, Whitfield spoke about her mothers disappearance in a recent interview.

Sheree Whitfield | Prince Williams/WireImage

Sheree Whitfields mother was missing last month

Whitfield first publicly revealed the news on Instagram that her mother had been missing for two weeks. In the post, she asked for the publics help and said that she had been working with local police.

In the post, she wrote in part, I was hesitant to post my concerns for my mothers safe return because, although I have been in close contact with the police for the past two weeks, Im also pretty private when it comes to my family. Also, in the past, my mom has taken personal vacations without letting the family know and we respect that side of her.

However, this is the longest she have gone without reaching out to anyone from the family or her friends, she continued. Right now we are leaning on God and staying positive and prayerful for her safe return home.

Outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Ferguson was last seen near a bank in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Over the years, Ferguson had made several appearances on Real Housewives of Atlanta, especially during Whitfields child support battle with her ex-husband, Bob Whitfield.

Two days later, Whitfield announced on Instagram that her mother had been found and was now safe. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that Ferguson had been found in Ohio but no other details were made known. Whitfield was born and raised in Ohio before the family moved to Atlanta.

She spoke about the situation on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live

Whitfield was a guest on the latest episode of Bravos Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. During the interview, Whitfield was asked about how her mother is doing. Shes healthy, shes happy, and shes just doing good, said Whitfield, also adding that shes doing absolutely amazing.

The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star told Cohen that her mother was initially staying with her at chateau Sheree at the beginning of the pandemic. After a while, she left and no one could find her.

Whitfields children, Tierra, Kairo, and Kaleigh, were also staying with her. I dont know, I think we were all getting on each others nerves at some point. I think she kind of needed some time. And thats who she is. Shes unapologetic about it.

She also said that her mother has done this before but typically communicates with them before she decides to go somewhere. We did not know that. She took time and didnt let us know. That was the longest we had gone without hearing from her. And then we had this pandemic going on. So it was just a little scary for all of us, she said.

Were glad that Ferguson is safe and sound as we continue to ride out the remainder of this pandemic.
Its time to modernize the CNE, Toronto Mayor John Tory said Tuesday, reacting to the news the fair will be cancelled this year for the first time since the Second World War.

Its great fun to have the double waffle, double patty, bacon-jam-cognac-maple syrup burger, but at the end of the day, were much more than that, said Tory, poking fun at the food mash-ups for which the Ex is famous.

There is no reason we cant put on a globally admired and wonderful attraction of the calibre of the Film Festival at the CNE.

Tory was speaking at the daily press COVID-19 press conference at city hall, after news broke that the annual fair will be cancelled to prevent the spread of the virus that has killed more than 5,000 people across Canada.

It was a difficult decision, said John Kiru, president of the Canadian National Exhibition Association. Summer wont be the same without the sights and sounds of the CNE.

Kiru said the decision was not made lightly and was made in consultation with the CNE team, board, public health experts and with the support of the city and the province.

Tory agreed its the right move and added that it offers an opportunity to think about what the CNE should look like when it reopens.

I believe it is time for us to have a historic discussion about the 21st-century Ex, Tory said.

He offered few details on what the new fair should look like, other than to say it needs to be reimagined with stakeholders and that he thinks it should return to its historical roots, celebrating the best in Canada, from agriculture to music.

At Queens Park, Premier Doug Ford expressed sadness at the cancellation, recalling time spent at the fair as a summer highlight when he was growing up in Etobicoke.

They didnt have a (Canadas) Wonderland when we grew up and that was the highlight. I remember going to the CNE with $5-$10 in my hand and youd be there all day, Ford said.

Itspart of our culture here, part of our heritage, going back over 100 years.

The 18-day CNE employs 5,000 people each summer and attracts 1.4 million visitors. It was scheduled to run this year from Aug. 21 to Sept. 7 at Exhibition Place.

The Canadian International Air Show, which takes place over Lake Ontario on Labour Day Weekend during the final three days of the CNE has also been cancelled, said Darrell Brown, executive director of the CNE.

Profits from one CNE season are used to pay operating expenses for the next, and funds have been disbursed on the 2020 fair that cannot be recovered, he added.

Brown said he could not rule out layoffs among the CNEs 42 full-time staff, but the organization is taking advantage of the temporary federal wage-subsidy benefit for businesses impacted by the pandemic, and is negotiating bridge financing with the provincial and federal governments.

Weve been resilient. Weve been through SARS, weve been through blackouts, weve been through pandemics in the past and obviously survived all that, said Brown, adding that work on the 2021 fair has already begun.

He is predicting a rebound effect next year.

What our experience has been in the past is that when something untoward has happened, the next fair in the cycle, we get a huge rebound  we usually get banner crowds out and a resounding response with vendors.

Brown said thats what happened after SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and after the widespread Northeast power blackout of 2003.

I think it will be an outlet and a way to celebrate getting back to  hopefully  a semblance of normality.

The fairs and exhibitions industry is reeling from the cancellation of events due to the COVID-19 pandemic  roughly 4,900 events have been cancelled to date, including fundraisers and community activities, representing about $53 million in gross revenue, according to the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE).

It estimates that another 8,800 events will be cancelled if current measures continue to the end of June, representing an additional $116 million in gross revenue

In March CAFE asked the federal government to provide funding to the industry, which includes agricultural societies, seasonal entertainers, vendors and suppliers.

CAFE represented about 700 fairs and agricultural societies in Canada.

A spokesman for the employment website Monster said fairs like the CNE are important employers in Canada and that students this year are facing a much harder time finding jobs as a result of the COVID-19 cancellations.

Its just lost jobs, theres nothing to replace them, said Monster Canadas Kareen Emery.

She said that following national employment trends, job postings on the site declined 10 per cent in March and 30 per cent in April.

The CNE has been an Ontario tradition since 1879. It has operated almost every year since then, including throughout the First World War, according to the CNE press release.

It was closed during the Second World War, when the site was transformed into a training and recruitment centre. It remained closed in 1946 to allow time for the military to move out.

With files from Robert Benzie
Aldermore Bank led a bank holiday barbecue of fixed-rate savings deals, scrapping all non-easy-access accounts as savings rates continue to tumble.

The bank blamed the shelving of all its fixed-rate deals on the economic impact of the coronavirus, while others also cut top notice and fixed-rate accounts either side of the bank holiday weekend.

It is likely that pattern will continue over the coming weeks, meaning savers could be struggling to find a good return for locking away cash.

Up in flames: 62 one, two, three and five-year fixed-rate bonds have disappeared since the start of March, with rates falling an average of 0.18 percentage points across the four terms

The cull means 62 one, two, three and five-year fixed-rate accounts in total - or more than one in 10 - have disappeared since the start of March, with rates across all four term lengths falling an average of 0.18 percentage points in just over two months, according to figures from Moneyfacts.

Two-year bonds have been worst hit, with 26 bonds disappearing from sale and the average rate falling from 1.24 per cent to 1.03 per cent.

The average 12-month deal only pays a smidgen less than that, 1.01 per cent, meaning it may make little sense to fix for an extra year.

Over the last few days it is one-year fixed-rates have been most in the firing line, although the best rate still remains at 1.53 per cent for now.

Marcus Bank's one-year fixed-rate account paying 1.45 per cent, which Goldman Sachs only launched at the end of March, was pulled from sale on Thursday, while its one-year tie-up with Saga was sliced from 1.45 per cent to 1.1 per cent.

RCI Bank cut its one-year rate from 1.5 per cent on Monday, good enough for second place in our best buy table, to 1.25 per cent.

How have fixed-rates changed since the start of March? Date Number of available one-year fixed-rate accounts Average one-year rate Number of two-year accounts Average two-year rate Number of three-year accounts Average three-year rate Number of five-year accounts Average five-year rate 01/03/2020 169 1.16% 156 1.24% 105 1.36% 73 1.56% 01/04/2020 165 1.11% 144 1.17% 93 1.28% 60 1.46% 01/05/2020 158 1.01% 129 1.05% 97 1.16% 61 1.39% 11/05/2020 158 1.01% 130 1.03% 94 1.17% 59 1.38% -11 -0.15% -26 -0.21% -11 -0.19% -14 -0.18% Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk

The one-year fixed-rate market initially held up well despite two emergency Bank of England base rate cuts to a historic low of 0.1 per cent in mid-March.

The top rate has only fallen 0.07 percentage points since then, but the number of accounts paying 1.5 per cent or more has thinned out and rates are buckling, with providers slowly reducing rates on one-year offers.

What are the top rates? These are currently the top deals for each length of time money is locked away for - but they may not be around for long and may require large opening balances: One-year: Zenith Bank - 1.53% Two-year: Investec Bank - 1.6% Five-year: Gatehouse Bank - 1.85% Easy-access: Marcus Bank - 1.2% For a full list, visit out independent savings tables.

Meanwhile RCI Bank cut its two-year fixed-rate from 1.65 per cent, the best in our tables, to 1.45 per cent, Close Brothers pulled its 1.6 per cent-paying account from sale and Vanquis Bank cut its offer from 1.55 per cent to 1.25 per cent.

Although some banks are still offering rates more than 10 times the base rate, the cuts coupled with a cheap Bank of England funding scheme are weighing on savings rates.

The economic shutdown caused by the virus also means banks are lending less, reducing their need for new deposits from already rate-starved savers.

That many businesses are simply borrowing to survive has hit banks which offer asset financing or other small business lending, which often populate our fixed-rate best buy tables, while those involved in commercial or residential property development are also less in need of savers' money at the moment.

Banks further down our tables have also made cuts to their fixed-rate bonds over the last week, but none as notably as Aldermore, which has pulled all its fixed-rate bonds and Isas from sale, despite many of them not being close to best buy levels.

But it kept its 1 per cent easy-access account, which sits in joint-seventh place in our tables.

It suggested easy-access deals were more popular among savers at the moment.

The bank said the move was temporary, and that 'as the current market continues to adapt to the ongoing coronavirus situation, we are taking the temporary measure to withdraw selected products to new customers as we assess the market position.

'Like many others in the sector recently, we are constantly reviewing and monitoring our products to be in step with the rapidly changing economic conditions and the need to react quickly to this.

'We will seek to re-introduce a broader savings product offering to new customers as the current environment evolves.'
The Wyoming Legislature will allow some media into the Capitol for this weeks two-day special session under special guidelines the Legislative Services Office issued on Monday.

The new rules came after the Wyoming Press Association and news outlets raised concern that lawmakers would gather in the Capitol without reporters or the public being allowed in.

Lawmakers plan to meet on Friday and Saturday to determine how to distribute federal relief funding in the state. While the proceedings will be live-streamed for the public, an as-yet-unknown number of lawmakers will gather in the Capitol and join online video conferences from there. The Capitol, however, will be closed to the public for safety reasons. Speaker of the House Steve Harshman told WyoFile on Thursday the exclusion extended to journalists, who would also be limited to using the livestream.

The proclamation signed by Gov. Mark Gordon to call the special session did not include reporters among those allowed into the Capitol, a spokesperson for the governor said on Friday, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Under the guidelines issued today, however, a limited number of reporters are allowed to enter the Capitol. They will be able to observe and photograph the proceedings only from certain seats in the galleries of the House and Senate chambers.

Even those reporters sitting in the gallery will need to follow the debate online, however. All the proceedings will be on a live-stream and the Capitol sound system will not be used, an LSO spokesperson wrote in an email to members of the press.

Lawmakers are being encouraged to participate from home and not travel to Cheyenne, according to the LSO. We expect a small number of legislators to participate from the Capitol Complex, an agency spokesperson wrote.

A designated interview area will be established where those lawmakers who wish to speak to media members can be interviewed by reporters while both parties observe distancing guidelines.

Press advocates worried that keeping reporters out of the Capitol would mean the publics eyes and ears wouldnt be present to observe off-camera interactions between legislators in the building.

As veterans of the Legislature will tell you, much of the actual lawmaking occurs outside the chambers of the House and Senate, the Casper Star-Tribune wrote in a Sunday editorial. It happens in the hallways and in the alcoves, where lawmakers meet informally to devise plans and hash out compromises. When reporters are there, the public can be part of this process.

The Wyoming Press Association wrote a letter to Harshman and Senate President Drew Perkins, both R-Casper, on Thursday night requesting press access. The WPA understands that public safety may behoove the Legislature to bar the public from the Capitol, the letter read, but this makes the presence of the media even more important so that it can serve as the eyes and ears of citizens who cannot attend the Special Session.

In response to that letter, both Perkins and Harshman indicated the Legislature would make accommodations for reporters.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
The crew of coronavirus-hit cruise ship Greg Mortimer -- among them dozens ill with COVID-19 -- will be allowed to disembark in Uruguay to quarantine in hotels, the government said Monday. The Australian-owned ship was expected to dock in Montevideo at around 3:00 pm (1800 GMT), the foreign ministry said. "We finally decided that Uruguay was going to do what it should," Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi told Uruguayan TV at the weekend. "These people can't remain on the high seas indefinitely on a ship where the virus is apparently circulating, spreading and re-spreading, because they are not being cured," the minister said. The crew has remained on board long after the ship's passengers -- including dozens of Australians -- were allowed to disembark in Montevideo and flown home in a protracted mid-April operation. Two seriously ill crew were hospitalized. One, a Filipino, later died of COVID-19. A Polish shipmate recovered and was later flown home. Talvi said the 83 remaining crew will be allowed off on Tuesday, including 37 who have tested positive for the coronavirus. They will be bused to a specially-equipped hotel to undergo quarantine. The remainder who have tested negative will be taken to a separate hotel. They "will have all the sanitary guarantees to comfortably quarantine, isolated in their rooms and given daily medical check-ups," Talvi said. The hotels will be under guard so that "no-one will be allowed to enter or leave." Positive cases who eventually test negative and remain without symptoms for 72 hours can be discharged "either to return to the ship or take a flight home." A cleaning company will, meanwhile, be responsible for disinfecting the vessel and a Uruguayan doctor will remain on board with essential crew to keep the ship running. The cruise ship had been on an expedition to Antarctica, South Georgia and Elephant Island when the tour was called off on March 20 due to the nearest South American countries -- Argentina and Chile -- closing their borders and imposing lockdowns. The ship eventually anchored off Montevideo on March 27 as it was the only port remaining open. However, it was not allowed to dock until April 10.
T he only thing my family has agreed to watch together in living memory is Boris Johnsons addresses. We do a Gogglebox commentary on his appearance (far more recovered and organised than the previous week) and scour the bullet points to discover what the new rules of social engagement, transport and working life will look like.

The cohort least enlightened by Johnsons statements were our university-goers, who should be enjoying summer-term frolics or the bitter-sweet experiences of college life which looked so seductive in TVs Normal People. Never mind the anguished sex, its the luxury of getting books out of the college library and hanging around in the cafe after seminars that feels poignant to the generation who had just struck out on the great college adventure to find theyre back with the Olds again.

Just under two million students are stuck instead with online seminars, and exams that evaporate or are moved to the never-never land of the following year. Their path back to being normal students is tantalisingly absent from the national revival plan. They are the missing link in discussions of trade-off between returning to everyday life and keeping another outbreak at bay.

Government is weird about students. It turns attention sporadically to the Higher Education Sector, which it alternately deems too big, not big enough, world-leading, but also poor quality. A few years ago it took the cap off student numbers to make universities more competitive. Now it wants to put a cap back on in case they get too competitive in the cash-strapped post-Covid world and poach students from weaker institutions. Ministers want to allow weaker poor-value institutions to wither away. But it also wants those in the North of England and the Midlands  Brexit-y areas it promised to relieve  to have access to higher education, and it dare not forfeit the jobs at stake or risk the ill will that closures would bring. It can only juggle things for so long, especially as its emergency plan is bringing forward tuition-fee income, but not a bailout to make up for any lasting shortfall in foreign students.

Anne McElvoy

Universities will also need to sharpen priorities, as residential halls have emptied and the chances of a full return in autumn look dicey at best. Few had thought through the deliverability of courses online, so curriculums are often designed for material that students cannot readily access. Career development in delivering online content effectively has been a preserve of the few but is now the delivery mechanism for the many.

Vice-chancellors and ministers need to work together to shape expectations of what the next academic year might look like under various scenarios. As things stand, students and their parents largely funding them might be chill (as my home-students would say) about an erratic summer term. However, harder questions will be asked about value if courses are still being taught online in the autumn while full fees are charged. Large chunks of courses are being taught in bedrooms or at the kitchen table, so the race should be on to deliver the best digital experience possible.

The path back to being a normal student is missing from the revival plan  with an impact on future jobs

There are plenty of madcap ideas around: the National Union of Students wants a full year of fees refunded, which cannot be delivered without further damaging universities battered finances. Still, it takes academics to come up with the really far-out notions. Cambridge University languages department suggests a virtual year abroad might be taken in the parental home instead of the foray overseas in the third year. Any student offered it might be well advised to crack on with their footnotes and catch up on the fun of romances in Naples or Novosibirsk at a later one. Any parent in the loop, feel free to scream that any additional year of 1am fridge-raiding will shatter the inter-generational solidarity compact for good.

The flimsy silver lining is an early introduction to the survival skill of resilience and self-reliance. Generation Lockdown copes with loneliness, fears of falling short, and a lot less information than the rest of us about what they might expect next. It is also unfairly exposed to a lot of excess parenting it thought it had escaped. So we might include them in the national story as we steer through the risks and rewards of the weeks ahead: the term-time captives with an essay crisis, somewhere near you.

Anne McElvoy is Senior Editor at The Economist
MIRAMAR BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Today, real estate brokers Nathan and Erin Abbott along with their top producing team, are announcing the opening of Abbott Realty Services, a family-owned and operated independent brokerage company in Northwest Florida.

Since the 1950s, the Abbott family name has been synonymous with real estate along the Emerald Coast, starting with the original Abbott Realtor, William W. Abbott, Sr.. Today, Nathan, his wife Erin, his sister Amanda, carry on the real estate tradition as the third generation of Abbott Realtors. "Choosing Abbott Realty Services to buy or sell your next home or investment property means you'll get a team of experts who can provide a true local connection with native real estate experience that is three generations deep within our Abbott family," said Nathan Abbott, Broker and Owner of Abbott Realty Services. "We have an amazing network of business partners and contacts in Northwest Florida who can provide trusted services for anything you may need."

The Abbott Family started one of the first real estate companies in Destin in the early 70's and became the largest employer in Northwest Florida between the 80's to the late 90's. Nathan and Erin Abbott started their real estate careers in 2002 as a husband and wife team. They started expanding their team in 2010 as the Nathan Abbott Team before opening Abbott Realty Services. Their team of local experts continues to perform within the top 1% in real estate sales throughout Northwest Florida and they take pride in Raising a Higher Standard of Expectation for the industry and their customers.

In addition, Nathan also launched Abbott Builder Consultants with TJ Martin, providing a proven track record of success in new home and condo sales throughout the Florida Panhandle. Developers who are looking to successfully launch and sell out their new and upcoming community should schedule a consultation with TJ and Nathan for a unique and results oriented sales process for new constructions.

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Abbott Realty currently serves the Emerald Coast from Pensacola to Destin, Santa Rosa Beach and Panama City Beach, and would be honored to serve all of your real estate needs.

About Nathan Abbott Team

The Nathan Abbott Team at Abbott Realty Services specializes in real estate services along Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast. They are natives to the area and would be honored to serve you. For more information, please call (850) 460-2900, or visit http://www.NathanAbbottTeam.com. The office is located at 9657 Highway 98 West, Miramar Beach, FL 32550. For media inquiries, please call the NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.

SOURCE: Nathan Abbott Team





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As phase I of Indias Vande Bharat mission comes full circle, around 6,000 Indians who were stranded abroad following the COVID-19 pandemic have been transported back to India by means of air and sea, according to government reports.

In a massive coordinated effort, India operated 25 flights and deployed two ships between 7th and 10th May. While the seaways returned 821 Indians, the airways saw 5,163 of them come back home, with Air Indias coordinated efforts forming the backbone of the latter.

On Sunday, Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa brought back almost 700 Indians from the Maldives, while cargo and passenger ship MV Arabian Sea arrived in Kochi from Lakshadweep carrying 121 passengers. Another Indian Navy ship, INS Magar, is expected to dock on Monday with several hundred more.

Of those who have been brought back, 2,000 people returned to Kerala, 883 to Tamil Nadu, 766 to Maharashtra, 354 to Delhi, and 337 to Karnataka, according to the government.

Around 58,638 requests for evacuation were pending from Kerala, 13,796 from Tamil Nadu, 9,981 from Maharashtra, 3,401 from Delhi, and 5,874 from Karnataka - with a staggering 146,200 requests pouring in from Indias 37 states and union territories until 10th May.

64 flights will be operated to a dozen countries to bring back about 15,000 stranded Indians by 13 May.

Indias Housing & Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared one of the missions flights from San Francisco to Mumbai, where passengers in protective gear lauded the efforts of the flight staff and medical professionals who made this possible.

Indian citizens on their way to Mumbai from San Francisco onboard @airindiain flight cheer & applaud members of the crew who were flying them back home.



Warm gestures which inspire our Corona Warriors.



#MissionVandeBharat @MEAIndia @MoCA_GoI @PIB_India @CGISFO pic.twitter.com/cwz8p1Cg2t  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 12, 2020

Several emotional posts were shared on social media - such as this image of a man kissing the ground on making it back home from the UAE.

Haji Sajid who used to work as a dress designer in #sharjah arrived from the first flight under #Vande_Bharat_Mission on Saturday night. Sajid expressed his happinnes by kissing the ground of his #Motherland pic.twitter.com/VQ9hE53qzP  Sumit Kumar (@skphotography68) May 9, 2020

Others chronicled the journeys from destination to destination - such as this flight from Sharjah to Lucknow.

Despite this, not everyones been happy with the Vande Bharat mission.

A substantial number of voices criticised the government for treating NRIs over the horrendous conditions faced by migrant workers - thousands of whom have been forced to endure starvation and a lack of transport while making their way back home after losing work as a result of the lockdown.

Welcome back. Second flight with 169 Medical students from Bangladesh to land today. #Srinagar . @kansalrohit69 https://t.co/lAc9k6QL3t  Shahid Choudhary (@listenshahid) May 12, 2020

No Vande Bharat for migrant labour n the poor in India? Only dande bharat? As in slings n arrows of outrageous fortune??



Sick n tired of meaningless catch phrases n slogans (n pushing Hindi) instead of any thought through plan of action or policy. #Covid19 #Covid19India  Vidya Shankar Aiyar (@VidShankarAiyar) May 12, 2020

Others pointed out that while the mission did bring Indians back, they were still charged exorbitant prices for their tickets.

#VandeBharatMission in the US moves to Day 3. Flight from Chicago departs en route to Mumbai and Chennai to reunite Indians with their families. Commend the hard work of Team India in US @IndiainChicago @cgihou @cgi_atlanta https://t.co/LIKhGs6HTS  Taranjit Singh Sandhu (@SandhuTaranjitS) May 12, 2020

Indian citizens continue to return home.



Today, on Day 5 of #MissionVandeBharat, 1667 people returned on 8 flights from San Francisco, London, Manila, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi & Dhaka.



Great effort by @airindiain, AirIndiaExpress, @MEAIndia & Indian missions abroad. pic.twitter.com/dyUXiRLDfU  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 11, 2020

Regardless of the negative reaction, the government seems to be focused on ramping up the mission come Phase II.

Vande Bharat is to be extended to cover more countries in the second phase starting on 15 May, according to two people familiar with the development.
The reopening will be allowed in one direction for three days

Egypt reopened on Tuesday its border crossing with the Gaza Strip for the first time in nearly a month to allow hundreds of Palestinians stranded by the coronavirus to return home.

One-way traffic through the Rafah crossing into the coastal enclave will be allowed for three days  until Thursday, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said.

All returnees will be put into mandatory 21-day quarantine, Hamas-run health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qadra said.

Dozens of police officers dressed in personal protective equipment as well as intensive care ambulances waited at the border crossing in the southern enclave on Tuesday.

Among the returnees were people who had been outside Gaza for treatment, local Palestinian media reported.

The Rafah border crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for around 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, and is the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.

Egypt has occasionally opened Rafah to allow the passage of students and medical patients, as well as those with foreign passports.

At least 547 people have so far been infected by the coronavirus in the Palestinian territories, including 20 in the Gaza Strip. Four have died.

The Palestinian health minister announced on Tuesday that there have been no new COVID-19 cases for the fifth day in a row.

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Cooperation last year between Hungary and Slovakia turned to be a series of success stories, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a press conference with Richard Sulik, Slovakias deputy PM and economy minister.

Szijjarto noted that Slovakia is Hungarys third largest trading partner, second largest export market and third most important investment target, adding that all political conditions are in place for these success stories to continue.



As a result of bilateral cooperation, the two countries will have completed construction of a new bridge across the River Danube at Komarom-Komarno by August, and six new border crossing facilities by 2022, including three new bridges spanning the River Ipoly, he said.



By 2022, a motorway connection will have been established between Miskolc in Hungary and Kosice (Kassa) in Slovakia, Szijjarto said, adding that he had also come to an agreement with Sulik on linking the two countries electricity grids at two points before the end of the year.



Hungary and Slovakia have removed obstacles to efforts to triple the capacity of gas links from Hungary to Slovakia, enabling Hungary to supply over an annual 5 billion cubic metres of gas starting in 2024, Szijjarto said, noting that Hungary was in a position to buy several billion cubic metres of gas from the Turkish Stream pipeline under an agreement with Russias Gazprom.



Answering a question, Szijjarto said works related to the interconnector are costed at 43 billion forints (EUR 122.9m), adding that the funds are in place to finance the project.



Szijjarto also praised bilateral cooperation related to the coronavirus epidemic, noting that Hungary and Slovakia had helped each others citizens to return to their homelands while opening 11 crossing facilities for people living on either side of the border to commute to work in the other country.



Szijjarto noted that Sulik had not supported the European Parliaments latest attack on Hungary, and thanked him on behalf of the government and the Hungarian people.



Sulik highlighted the importance of energy diversification, adding that his country had received gas supplies only from the east but now it could import gas from the south, too.



MTI Photo
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Roger Ordonez was hospitalized with breathing problems last week.

When his son Enrique came to visit the next morning, the 69-year-old retiree was already being buried by government workers in protective white full-body suits in a cemetery on the outskirts of Chinandega, a city of 133,000 people in northwest Nicaragua.

The hospital warned the Ordonez family to self-quarantine for two weeks but said their patriarch did not have the novel coronavirus, even though they were shown no test results.

President Daniel Ortegas government has stood out for its refusal to impose measures to halt the coronavirus for more than two months since the disease was first diagnosed in Nicaragua. Now, doctors and family members of apparent victims say, the government has gone from denying the diseases presence in the country to actively trying to conceal its spread.

I begged the doctor to tell me what happened to him, Enrique Ordonez said. I needed to know if he was infected. I have an 18-month-old girl, my mother has a variety of ailments and we need to know if it was COVID. His fathers death certificate lists respiratory insufficiency and atypical pneumonia as the cause of death.

The government says this country of 6.5 million people has seen 25 coronavirus cases and eight deaths since its first case was diagnosed. Businesses and government offices remain open and the government has actively promoted sporting events and other mass gatherings.

On Tuesday, Dr. Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies at the Pan American Health Organization, said that the agency is worried because of a high number of patients being hospitalized for severe respiratory infections in Managua and Chinandega and an increasing number of pneumonia deaths in Nicaragua.

The nongovernmental organization Citizen Observatory made up of health workers and activists, said it had identified 1,033 suspected COVID-19 infections in the country through Saturday.

Nicaraguan epidemiologist Alvaro Ramirez, currently living in Ireland, said the number is already far higher and coming days will be decisive for Nicaragua.

He calculates that in two weeks Nicaragua could have some 18,000 infections, of which 890 would be serious.

Plainclothes police and government supporters have detained journalists outside a hospital in Managua and in a cemetery in Chinandega in the past week.

But in Chinandega the pandemic is becoming difficult to hide. White-suited men in pick-up trucks with coffins in the bed have become a more common sight in recent days, residents say. And it seems everyone knows someone who got sick.

A Chinandega doctor, who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation, said she knew four people who had died, including one of her patients, who was buried within two hours of dying.

Everyone they consider a suspected patient who has died of atypical pneumonia they send for immediate burial, she said.

Diagnoses are made based on symptoms and X-rays of patients lungs, because tests for the virus are tightly controlled by the Health Ministry and difficult to obtain.

An informal network of medical colleagues in the city had tallied 25 suspected COVID-19 deaths through Sunday, she said.

Ordonez, an appliance sales executive, said his father suffered from chronic ailments, including hypertension and respiratory problems, but that last week from one day to the next he suddenly struggled to breath. He took him to the hospital Thursday evening and he died that night.

The hospital organized everything, Ordonez said. He had shown up early Friday morning to ask about his fathers condition, but they told him he was already being buried.

I tried to identify the grave the best I could, because there are other bodies there, he said. But we cant raise our voices much. Fear is pervasive in our country.

If something else killed him, then why did the hospital bury him without letting his family be present and why did doctors tell Ordonez to self-quarantine for two weeks, he wondered.

Neighbouring Honduras and El Salvador have taken strict measures to try to slow the virus spread. Honduras has about 2,000 confirmed infections and El Salvador has about 1,000. Costa Rica has more than 800.

A request for comment from Vice-President Rosario Murillo, the governments spokeswoman and Ortegas wife, was not answered.

But it appears the government is beginning to recognize what is coming.

At the end of April, the Health Ministry called a meeting of all the hospital directors and top-level health officials at ministry offices.

They told them this is getting serious, that every hospital needs to prepare, said Roger Pasquier, president of the Nicaraguan Anesthesiology Association. This call is very late. They didnt take isolation measures, they havent protected health workers, there arent sufficient beds in any Managua hospital, nor any regional hospital.

Contrary to what is shared officially, I know through my medical colleagues that we have a great number of people sick in Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa and Chinandega, where there is an outbreak that could be very dangerous, Pasquier said.

Many doctors fear speaking publicly, because of government retaliation. Pasquier said he was speaking freely because Im not being political; we just want to save lives in a dramatic moment for the world.

A doctor at another hospital for the National Police in Managua said there were 18 patients there with suspected COVID-19 infections. None had been tested, but were diagnosed based on symptoms and lung x-rays, said the doctor who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak.

Jose Antonio Vasquez, president of the Nicaraguan Medical Unit, an organization of doctors that formed after the protests of April 2018, said the group had identified 42 doctors, nurses and technicians who have suspected infections.

In Chinandega, fear has deepened in recent days, a combination of more frequent sightings of the white-suited men in pickups and recent deaths of a couple of well-known local figures. The area has sea connections to El Salvador and a corridor for truck cargo with Honduras. Local officials have said nothing.

The local doctor said it appeared as though from Friday to Monday more than half of the citys formal businesses had closed. Doctors, nurses and technicians at the public hospital have been infected due to a lack of protective equipment and early recognition.

If we manage to survive this, its because God is great, the doctor said. Theres no other explanation.

Theres a lot of nervousness here, said university student Pablo Antonio Alvarado, mentioning a couple acquaintances in Chinandega he heard were infected. They say were the epicenter of the pandemic, like Wuhan in China.

He described the white-suited men riding with coffins in pickups as looking like astronauts. The Chinandega doctor said they were hospital orderlies given the task of quickly disposing of the dead.

Ordonez was left with more questions than answers about his fathers death. The doctor told me (the virus) was dangerous, while also insisting the elder Ordonez didnt have it, he said.

I didnt bury him, they buried him, Ordonez said. And before, they had buried others, at dawn, because beside him there were seven or eight more graves.

__

AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Myanmar & COVID-19 Myanmar Begins Investigation Into WHO Driver's Fatal Shooting

he body of WHO driver U Pyae Sone Win Maung is taken to Sittwe Hospital from Minbya Hospital. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

SITTWE, Rakhine StateA committee formed by the Presidents Office to probe the fatal shooting of a World Health Organization (WHO) driver in Rakhine States Minbya Township has traveled to the area and begun its investigation.

The committee arrived in Sittwe by air on Tuesday morning and has started work on the ground, committee member Dr. Aung Thurein said.

We will meet those we should meet and make enquiries. I cant reveal where we will go or whom we will meet. We will release the information only after the investigation is over, he told The Irrawaddy.

The investigation committee was formed by President U Win Myint on April 28. Chaired by U Saw of the Lower House Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens, its members include retired senior adviser to the UN Dr. Su Su Thar Tun, and Dr. Aung Thurein, director of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Colonel Htein Lin, a former Rakhine State security and border affairs minister, serves as the committees secretary.

U Pyae Sone Win Maung was transporting swabs from suspected COVID-19 patients to Yangon when his vehicle came under attack near the Yar Maung Bridge in Minbya Township of Rakhine State on April 20.

He died from his wounds the following day. Another health worker in the vehicle was injured in the attack.

Both the government and military blamed the AA for the fatal attack. The AA denied responsibility and blamed the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw).

With both the government and military blaming the AA for the attack, Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than of the Arakan National Party (ANP) said he would wait and see whether the government formed the committee just for show, in order to ease international criticism.

Many Rakhine people have questioned the credibility of the investigation committee, which includes no respected figures from international agencies or ethnic Rakhine politicians.

However, those who support the decision to form the committee believe it will deliver a report acceptable to the public, as Col. Htein Lin and Dr. Aung Thurein have served in Rakhine State for many years, and have detailed knowledge of the issues facing the state.

We will work with impartiality in doing our job to find the truth, Dr. Aung Thurein told The Irrawaddy.

The committee is ready to meet any witnesses who are willing to come forward to give evidence, and will ensure their security, he said.

In the course of its investigation, the committee plans to seek evidence, interview witnesses, assess post-mortem reports, and consult crime and weapons experts. The committee is also tasked with coming up with recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.

It is authorized to question military personnel, police, administrative officials and anyone else it deems necessary, as well as to request documents and to visit all necessary places.

International agencies have called on Myanmar officials to uncover the truth and hold the perpetrators accountable.

On April 21, a Competitive Pest Service Company vehicle transporting disinfectant from Ann Township to a bank in Sittwe was fired upon near Phar Pyo Village in Minbya Township.

The driver of the vehicle was killed on the spot and another employee died of their injuries five days later at Sittwe Hospital.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Commentary

The U.S. economy is at last moving into the recovery stage from the coronavirus, at least in most states.

One definite pattern has emerged: Republican states are reopening much more swiftly than Democratic states. A most notable case in point is the revival strategies of the four largest states. California and New York are closed for weeks to come; Florida and Texas are getting back in business now.

Unfortunately, most blue-state governors, with a few notable exceptions, are imperiling their states recoveries and the very survival of their businesses by remaining shuttered.

Arthur Laffer and I conducted a study for Laffer Associates that finds the start date for reopening a state will have a significant impact on how deep and long the recession will last. States that start to open up immediately will have fewer small-business bankruptcies and steeper declines in unemployment and poverty rates this summer and fall than states that keep commerce shut down for another month or longer.

The blue states, which already suffer from a steady reverse migration of employers, workers, and capital because of higher taxes and more onerous anti-business regulations, will have more painful recessions, in part because businesses will accelerate their exodus from these closed for business states.

Its vital that when states reopen their economies, they do so with the smart and health-conscious strategies such as masks, gloves, disinfectants, social distancing, screening, etc. This is critical not only to minimize the chances of people getting ill but also to avoid a recurrence of the virus.

Governors such as Ron DeSantis of Florida are adopting the best health practices by allowing people to get out of their homes and enjoy outdoor activities and go to stores, while taking special care to protect seniors in nursing homes. They reject the media narrative that this puts residents in danger. The evidence is now clear, as shown in an analysis by Edward Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute: There is a minimal, if any, relationship between how strict a state has been in stay-at-home orders/business lockdowns and death rates from COVID-19.

The Committee to Unleash Prosperity and FreedomWorks teamed together and constructed a report card on the 50 governors performances by taking into account a range of factors: severity of business lockdown orders, hospital and outdoor activity orders, stay-at-home requirements, and the degree of punitive actions in enforcing these measures. Most importantly, we measure the governors start dates for reopening. We take into account the risk quotient from reopening based on the number of deaths per 1,000 people. It is much safer to open in states such as Idaho, with few cases, than states such as New York, with higher fatalities.

The governors who get an A grade for protecting their economies from devastation go to Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, a Democrat, joined by Republicans Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming. The governors who get an F and have put their states in the most economic peril are Govs. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, Ralph Northam of Virginia, and Tony Evers of Wisconsin.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo received a C grade, which may seem too charitable, but the Empire State suffered the most cases and deaths. These grades are being updated each week on the Committee to Unleash Prosperity website.

Saving lives must remain the highest priority for governors. Still, the blue Northeastern and Midwestern states that are still in economic paralysis need to worry about avoiding a depression scenario. By continuing a lockdown, those states risk high and prolonged levels of unemployment, a surge in the rates of child poverty and economic deprivation, trillions of dollars of reduced wealth and household savings, and millions of small-business failureswith all of the human misery that is associated with these economic maladies.

For a robust national recovery, we also need California, Illinois, and New York to get up and running, now.

Stephen Moore is an economics journalist, author, and columnist. The latest of many books he co-authored is Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy. Currently, Moore is also the chief economist for the Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
In 2004, 60 Minutes aired a segment on what it called virus hunters, scientists searching for bugs that can leap from animals to humans and cause pandemics. What worries me the most is that we are going to miss the next emerging disease, said a scientist named Peter Daszak, describing his fear of a coronavirus that moves from one part of the planet to another, wiping out people as it moves along.

In the intervening years, Daszak became president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit research organization focused on emerging pandemics. EcoHealth worked with Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology to study coronaviruses in bats that could infect humans, and, as Science magazine put it, to develop tools that could help researchers create diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for human outbreaks. Since 2014, the EcoHealth Alliance has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health, until its funding was abruptly cut two weeks ago.

The reason, as 60 Minutes reported on Sunday evening, was a conspiracy theory spread by Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who in March wore a gas mask on the House floor to mock concern about the new coronavirus. On April 14, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlsons Fox News show and claimed that the N.I.H. grant went to the Wuhan Institute, which Gaetz intimated might have been the source of the virus  the institute may have birthed a monster, in his words.

The first of Gaetzs claims was flatly false, and the second unlikely; the C.I.A. has reportedly found no evidence of a link between the virus and the Wuhan lab. But at a White House briefing a few days later, a reporter from the right-wing website Newsmax told President Trump that under Barack Obama, the N.I.H. gave the Wuhan lab a $3.7 million grant. Why would the U.S. give a grant like that to China? she asked.
Rajasthans recovery rate from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has gone up to over 58% and is almost double the national average, the states health minister Raghu Sharma said on Tuesday.

The states tally of Covid-19 as of Tuesday stood at 4,035 and 2,362 people or 58.53% have recovered from the deadly disease, according to its health department. The number of deaths related to the coronavirus disease in the state is 115.

The national recovery rate is 31.15%, that for Delhi is 32%, for Tamil Nadu is 28%, Gujarat is 33% and Maharashtra is 19%.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

Our rate of recovery is over 58%Our growth in the number of positive cases is 2.35% while the national average is 3.92%, Sharma said.

The health minister said the doubling rate, or the estimated number of days it takes for cases to double, too is better in Rajasthan at 18 days while the national average is 12 days.

Regarding the number of deaths, he said it is also below the national average. Our mortality rate is 2.83% as against 3.3% national average, he added.

Sharma said plasma therapy has been started in Jaipur and Jodhpur and it will help bring down the mortality rate.

Going by the data from the health department, the recovery rate has seen a jump in the last 15 days. On April 28, there were 2,364 Covid-19 cases and the number of recovered patients was 770 with a recovery rate of 32.5%.

The number of active cases has also seen a fall. The health department data shows the number of active cases on April 21 was 1435. In the three weeks till May 12, these cases have increased to 1558 which is a slower rate of growth as compared to earlier.

Indias tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crossed the bleak 70,000-mark on Tuesday morning as more than 3,600 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, Union health ministry data showed.

There were 46,008 active cases and 22,455 recoveries or migration along with 2293 fatalities across the country, according to the health ministrys Covid-19 dashboard at 8am, which took the number of cases to 70,756 so far.
The third week of March 2020 was the week when thousands of new COVID-19 cases became commonplace in certain parts of the United States, particularly in the Northeast. Hospitals and health systems underwent financial strain as many elective procedures were deferred. FAIR Health's new brief illuminates the financial impact on hospitals by comparing revenues based on estimated in-network amounts on private insurance claims submitted by facilities in the first quarter (January to March) of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019 (adjusted by Consumer Price Index). The first quarter is analyzed month by month, and March is analyzed week by week. Also studied are discharge volume, settings, and diagnoses and procedures.

The study was based on claims data received by April 30, 2020, which meant some claims for services during the period examined were incurred but not reported (IBNR)valid claims for covered services that had been performed but not yet reported to the insurer. For that reason, the 2019 claims used for the study were limited to those received by April 30, 2019, to produce an "apples to apples" comparison. Notwithstanding the IBNR issue, FAIR Health found that the impact of COVID-19 on hospitals was already substantial and of such public health relevance that it deemed it worthwhile to issue this report. FAIR Health will continue to monitor the data volume in the coming weeks.

Findings include:

In general, there was an association between larger hospital size and greater impact from COVID-19. Nationally, in large facilities (over 250 beds), average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts declined from $4.5 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. The gap was less pronounced in midsize facilities (101 to 250 beds) and not evident in small facilities (100 beds or fewer).

in the first quarter of 2019 to in the first quarter of 2020. The gap was less pronounced in midsize facilities (101 to 250 beds) and not evident in small facilities (100 beds or fewer). March was the month when COVID-19 had its greatest impact in the first quarter of 2020. Nationally, in that month, in midsize facilities, the decrease in average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts in 2020 from 2019 was four percent; in large facilities, five percent.

Facilities in the Northeast experienced a greater impact from COVID-19 than those in the nation as a whole. For example, in the Northeast, the decline in average per-facility revenues based on estimated in-network amounts in March 2020 from March 2019 was five percent for midsize facilities, nine percent for large ones.

from was five percent for midsize facilities, nine percent for large ones. Both nationally and in the Northeast, the decrease in facility discharge volume (i.e., patient discharges) from March 2019 to March 2020 was greater on a percentage basis than the decrease in revenues based on estimated in-network amounts. For example, in large facilities nationally, the drop in volume was 32 percent; in the Northeast, 40 percent.

to was greater on a percentage basis than the decrease in revenues based on estimated in-network amounts. For example, in large facilities nationally, the drop in volume was 32 percent; in the Northeast, 40 percent. Nationally, the decrease in facility discharge volume in the third week of March 2020 from the corresponding week in 2019 grew significantly compared to the first two weeks; it also appears greater than the decrease in the fourth week. But in the Northeast, in midsize facilities, the fourth week of March had a greater drop (34 percent) than the third week (30 percent).

from the corresponding week in 2019 grew significantly compared to the first two weeks; it also appears greater than the decrease in the fourth week. But in the Northeast, in midsize facilities, the fourth week of March had a greater drop (34 percent) than the third week (30 percent). From March 2019 to March 2020 , the outpatient share of the distribution of estimated in-network amounts by settings decreased relative to the inpatient share. The effect was more pronounced in the Northeast than nationally.

to , the outpatient share of the distribution of estimated in-network amounts by settings decreased relative to the inpatient share. The effect was more pronounced in the Northeast than nationally. The third and fourth weeks of March 2020 , compared to the corresponding period in 2019, saw several changes in the most common diagnostic categories in the inpatient and ER settings. Nationally and in the Northeast, in the inpatient setting, diseases and disorders of the respiratory system rose in share of distribution by volume and estimated in-network dollars, while in the ER setting, acute respiratory diseases and infections rose.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "With this second study, we again use our data repository to shed light on the impact of COVID-19. As the pandemic continues to test the entire healthcare system, FAIR Health seeks to provide data and analysis to support all the system's participants."

For the new FAIR Health brief on COVID-19, Illuminating the Impact of COVID-19 on Hospitals and Health Systems: A Comparative Study of Revenue and Utilization, click here.

For the first FAIR Health brief on COVID-19, COVID-19: The Projected Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the US Healthcare System, click here.

Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 31 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health houses data on Medicare Advantage enrollees in its private claims data repository. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Careand How to Fix It and Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:

Dean Sicoli

Chief Communications Officer

FAIR Health

646-664-1645

[email protected]

SOURCE FAIR Health

Related Links

www.fairhealth.org


SORRY FOR YOUR TROUBLE

By Richard Ford

For almost half a century, through 13 books of fiction, Richard Ford has practiced a trenchant and at times thrillingly downbeat realism. A chance encounter of long-ago lovers in a bar; a meeting of writer-artist types, at the end of their careers, to lament the passing of a colleague: His new story collection features people taking the measure of old regrets, and sampling rancors that have lost their bitterness with time.

Sorry for Your Trouble is drenched in retrospection, its narratives shadowed by the passing of all things. In Displaced, an affecting coming-of-age story, death is front and center, the narrator recalling how the long-ago loss of his father broke the family into mismatched parts. Ford favors the metaphor of life as an assemblage  where, either suddenly or gradually, the pieces no longer fit; where you dont fit. Thus the protagonist of Jimmy Green  1992, unexpectedly divorced and removed to Paris, finds himself beaten up by a drunk at a random bar, and feels bemused by the disassembling of life. Ford subjects his mostly middle-aged-male protagonists to jarring dislocations, then lets them cope.

They cope fairly well, albeit with notable detachment. Ambivalence is the default condition of characters whose take on their own lives resembles the hot-then-cool breeze that floats off the Mississippi in Nothing to Declare. Indifference runs rampant. Having an affair, the female protagonist of A Free Day reflects, was just a thing you did, in the end, because you couldnt not.
New Delhi: Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are operating 64 flights in 12 countries under the government's 'Vande Bharat' mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Of these, 42 flights are operated by Air India and 24 flights are operated by Air India Express. These 12 countries include the US, London, Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia. The Civil Aviation Ministry said that 6037 Indians have been brought back so far.

Death toll rises in Delhi, hospitals send death summaries

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, 14,800 Indians stranded abroad will be brought home under the first phase. Community leaders have welcomed this initiative of the Government of India. The government has announced that the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad will be assisted by special flights which will start in a phased manner from May 7 and may continue to operate till May 13. The number of flights will increase in the coming week, due to the travel restrictions imposed due to Coronavirus epidemic, the number of Indian students and people stranded in the US can be congratulated.

Former PM Manmohan Singh's condition improve, discharges from AIIMS

Indian embassies and consulates in the United States recently started making a list of Indians planning to return home. This list is being made through online registration.

10 people of the same family corona infected
Meat plant workers deserve better from their province, Steward, May 5

Gillian Stewards opinion piece highlights the difference between a government for the people and a government for big business.

Albertas government and Premier Jason Kenney should hang their heads in shame for placing the Cargill workers, their families and the community at greater risk of becoming sick and dying from COVID-19.

With more than 900 workers having already been infected there, this government still decided to support Cargill and the livestock producers, all the while ignoring the catastrophic and imminent danger to the workers.

Would Kenny and his cabinet like to volunteer to work a few shifts at the slaughterhouse to show there is no risk?

Since Kenney and his chief medical officer of health refuse to act responsibly to protect these vulnerable workers, the workers and their union must take direct action themselves.

Paul Forder, Midland, Ont.

Read more about:
Stranded for over 50 days due to the lockdown and suspension of passenger train services, many people in the national capital will finally be able to reach their destinations in different parts of the country after the railways resumed services on Tuesday.

Three special AC trains will leave the New Delhi railway station for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur.

The train to Dibrugarh in Assam will leave at 4.45 p.m, while the one leaving for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Bengaluru in Karnataka will leave the New Delhi station at 5.30 p.m and 9.15 p.m respectively.

Entry to the station has been facilitated from the Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders. No entry for passengers holding such tickets will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side, the railways said.

Railway authorities have put barricades outside the station premises and only those with confirmed tickets are being allowed to enter.

All passengers are undergoing thermal screening before entering the station premises. For this purpose, they have also been asked to reach the station 90 minutes prior to the departure of the train.

A senior Railway Police Force officer said every passenger is being subjected to thermal screening. Hand sanitiser machines have also been placed at the entrance and the passengers are being advised to sanitise their hands before entering the station premises.

Syed Yasir, a private retail sector executive, said due to the resumption of services he will now be able to go to Nagpur to be with his family on Eid.

Surendra, an engineer with a PSU, was on an assignment in Agra when the lockdown was announced. After the Railways decided to resume passenger train services, he came to Delhi in a private vehicle to board the train to Bengaluru.

"I was on an assignment in Agra where I was stuck. I have come from Agra in a private vehicle and now going to board the train to Bengaluru," Surendra, who identified himself with his first name, said.

Five more trains bound for Delhi will leave from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the railways said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Air Force was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the Line of Actual Control

New Delhi: After the scuffle between the Chinese People's Liberation Army troops and Indian troops along the LAC in North Sikkim which led to injuries on both sides, China appears to be continuing on the path of belligerence towards India, this time along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

In what appears to be a multi-front deliberate ploy by China to keep India on its toes, the Indian Air Force was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the Line of Actual Control. This incident happened last week, around the same time the PLA troops and Indian Army forces came to blows in the upper reaches of North Sikkim.

"The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control. After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area," government sources told ANI.

Government sources who requested anonymity due to knowledge of frontline operations, informed that the Chinese choppers did not cross the LAC into Indian territory in that particular area, they said. The Indian Air Force frequently flies its Sukhoi 30MKI fighter aircraft fleet from Leh air base in Ladakh along with other planes.

This latest development comes soon after the Indian security establishment noticed that Pakistani Air Force increased its patrols of F-16S and JF-17s along its Eastern Border with India, especially night sorties, after the Handwara terror attack that led to the death of five Indian security personnel. A fear of retaliation by Indian forces was cited as the reason by Indian security establishment sources for this ramping up of PAF air patrols.

The Indian Air Force has two main bases in the Ladakh union territory including, the Leh and the Thoise airbases, where fighter jets are not deployed permanently but detachments from combat aircraft squadrons are operational throughout the year.

There have been several occasions in the past when Chinese military helicopters have entered Indian airspace in the Ladakh sector and deliberately left behind tell-tale signs to stake claim on areas which are part of India. The LAC in this location, like in other parts of the India-China border in the country, is poorly demarcated, hence incursions sometimes are inadvertent as well.

However, the scuffle with Indian troops in North Sikkim was a new front opened up by China which was a cause for concern. Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, Chinese President Xi Jinping is under immense pressure to increase transparency in his country and reveal the real origin of the virus, which some have speculated emanated from a lab in China's Wuhan. Trade wars with countries like USA and Australia have intensified and most multi-national companies have actively begun looking for manufacturing alternative,India being one such preferred destination.

Security sources speculated that this could be the reason behind China's new aggression. Similar muscle flexing was also seen recently when PLA Navy boats entered into disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help individuals and businesses deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown enforced to combat its spread, and to, as he put it, turn the crisis into an opportunity.

Details of the package, which is the equivalent of a little below 10% of the GDP, will be announced over the next few days, starting Wednesday, by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Prime Minister said the package  Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Mission) -- would cover land, labour, liquidity, and laws, industry and businesses of all sizes, and farmers, entrepreneurs, and the middle class. And he repeatedly stressed on the theme of self-reliance and the importance of keeping manufacturing, markets and supply chains local.

When India speaks of self-reliance, it does not advocate a self-centered system. In Indias self-reliance there is a concern for the whole worlds happiness, cooperation and peace, Modi said, adding that local suppliers have met Indias demands in this hour of crisis, and now Indians have to be vocal about local and buy products from them.

The amount includes the ~1.7 lakh crore already announced  a cash transfer and food package aimed at the most vulnerable  and the measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank has announced liquidity infusion and targeted credit measures aggregating anything between ~4.5 lakh crore. That means the package to be announced over the next few days will total around ~14 lakh crore.

While the specifics of the package will emerge over the next few days, a spate of reports over the past few weeks have indicated the kind of initiatives that may be launched: a large fund for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); a well-capitalised bad bank; a loan guarantee scheme for businesses; incentives for local manufacturing; and direct cash transfers to the poor.

The ~20 lakh crore package meets the demand of industry bodies  the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) asked for an immediate stimulus package of ~15 lakh crore on May 9; the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) asked for ~10 lakh crore; and the PHD Chamber of Commerce ~16 lakh crore.

The package, as a proportion of GDP, also compares favourably with the packages announced by other G20 nations. Japan is an outlier with a package that is estimated to be worth around 20% of its GDP but the US and Australia have announced packages estimated at close to 10% of their respective GDPs, and Canada 8.4%. Chinas stimulus is estimated at around 2.5% of its GDP.

The stimulus comes against the backdrop of predictions that the Indian economy will contract this year  securities firm Nomura believes that it will by almost as much as 5.2%  and a record decline of 16.7% in factory output in March, when less than 10 days were affected by the nationwide lockdown.

Modi said that the virus, while ravaging the world, has also provided an opportunity to strengthen Indias resolve and not waver from its goals. We are standing at a crucial juncture. This crisis has a message for us. It has provided us an opportunity... we have to protect ourselves and move ahead as well, Modi said.

The mention of land, labour, and laws by the PM presages significant reforms that could make it easier to do business. Already, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have suspended most labour laws (the former for both existing and new factories and the latter only for new ones) as part of an effort to boost the economy, attract investment, and find jobs for tens of millions of migrant labourers who have fled back home to some of the countrys least developed and industrialised states.

A boost in local industrial and manufacturing activity also fits in well with Modis theme of a self-reliant India. The only way ahead is to be self-reliant, he said. At least some of his meetings over the past month-and-half have looked at ways to boost local manufacturing.

In the speech, the Prime Minister spoke of the five pillars of a self-reliant India: an economy that doesnt grow incrementally but makes quantum jumps; infrastructure development; a technology-driven system; a vibrant demographic mix; and better supply chains to spur demand.

The Union Cabinet is set to approve the package on Wednesday morning.

Several economists welcomed the package as substantial but said they would prefer to see the fine print and disaggregated allocations to gauge the full extent of the impact.

Its welcome despite the government appearing initially to be hesitant. It has yielded to demands of so many economists and industry alike. The only way to go is to revise the fiscal policy (i.e. loosening government spending) so that economic growth can spring back, said NR Bhanumurthy of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

The biggest takeaway is the PMs emphasis on self-reliance. This is a major change in Indias economic policy as we were earlier looking at globalisation. And if this self-reliance is boosted by Indias MSME sector, then we are looking at countering China by its own model. ~20 lakh crore is not a small amount; we need to know where the money will come and how it will be it is a redistributed, said Abhirup Sarkar, an economist with Indian Statistical Institute.

But Vivek Dehejia, a professor at Carlton University, was more sceptical. The speech was skimpy on bold reforms and there was more discussion of the local, self reliance and Make in India (read import substitution). Colour me sceptical at this point, he tweeted.

The Opposition Congress party said that the PM should have shown greater empathy by addressing the plight of thousands of migrants displaced by the lockdown, instead of just giving a headline.

Dear PM, the mammoth heart breaking human tragedy of migrant workers walking back home needed compassion, care & safe return. India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity & failure to address the woes of millions of #MigrantWorkers! the partys chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

But, within the Congress, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot welcomed the stimulus announcement. The financial package announced by PM Modi ji was much awaited. Better late than never (der aaye durust aaye) We welcome this. Now when details emerge, we would know exactly how different sectors would benefit, Gehlot said.

Among a flurry of reactions from members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) praising the PMs announcement, Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said that the ~20 Lakh crore package was the biggest India has ever seen. Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) is the new mantra, he tweeted.
This article, Apple will open some US stores next week, originally appeared on CNET.com.

Apple is beginning to open its retail stores around the globe, another sign that the weeks-long stay-at-home orders we've all been under to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus are starting to come to an end.

The tech giant closed its stores in March as the seriousness of the virus and the speed of its spread pushed many governments to order people to shelter in place, forcing businesses to close as well. The coronavirus has so far killed more than 272,000 patients and infected more than 3.9 million people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Apple has begun opening some stores outside the US, such as in China and Australia, though with social distancing rules in place. The company said in a statement that it plans to open stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina. "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 its statement. Apple's moves were reported earlier by CNBC.

The tech giant's moves mark a possible sign the company believes the US is beginning to move into a new phase of dealing with the virus, during which people will safely be able to venture out of their homes for more than just groceries and essential needs and services. Apple was one of the first companies to raise an alarm that the coronavirus was turning into a worldwide danger, warning investors in a February statement that the virus would likely affect its ability to make and sell products.

Apple's relative vote of confidence comes as the US grapples with how and when to reopen states across the country. Some of that debate has been driven by concerns among some scientists that reopening too quickly could lead to a spike in infections, forcing governments to reissue stay-at-home orders. Polling in the past few weeks has shown that many members of the general public share those concerns, finding that a majority of Americans are worried the country will reopen too quickly.

Apple said it's instituting new safety rules for its stores as they reopen. The company said it'll limit the number of people who can be in a store at the same time. Apple stores tend to attract crowds, and they serve as destinations in many malls. "We recommend, where possible, customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pick up," the company added.
A woman wearing a mask to protect against COVID-19 stands near an advertisement for Huawei mobile phones in Beijing on March 8, 2020. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

US Move to Block Spy Planes From UK Over Huawei Plans Could Be Warning Shot to Other Countries: Defence Expert

Last week, British newspaper The Telegraph reported that the U.S. Senate is considering blocking the deployment of spy planes to Britain as a result of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons decision to allow Chinese telecom giant Huawei to participate in the countrys 5G network.

The move, suggested as a provision to the U.S. National Defence Authorization Act for the next fiscal year, calls for the prohibition of the stationing of new aircraft at bases in host countries with at-risk vendors in their 5G or 6G networks.

If it becomes law, the change would block a plan to station two U.S. squadrons of F-35A Lightning II aircraft in Britain next year. The Telegraph reported that the U.S. is conducting a review of all US security and intelligence assets based in the U.K.

Washington has been pressuring its allies within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (comprised of the United States, Canada, U.K., New Zealand, and Australia) to exclude Huawei from their 5G rollout given the security risks and the companys close ties to the Chinese regime.

In January, Britain granted Huawei partial access to its next-generation 5G network, while Australia, the United States, and New Zealand have banned the company from their 5G infrastructure. Canada has yet to make a decision.

Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and an expert in Canadian and American foreign and defence policy, says Washingtons proposed move could be a push to bring both the U.K. and Canada onside.

When it comes to the U.K.s decision, as with us, it might be a nudge from the U.S. to change behaviour. Post-Brexit, the U.K. might be looking for whatever cards they can play, and I think theyd rather work with the U.S. than the Chinese, Shimooka said in an interview.

It could be a warning shot to other countries, suggesting that if you do this then this might be a consequence, and the country that theyd be pointing to in doing so would be Canada. Thats definitely a possibility.

He adds that given the security concerns, Canada would be wise to steer clear of allowing Huaweis participation in its 5G.

By all reports, a lot of the equipment from Huawei is not very good, and people like [former CSIS head] Richard Fadden have said that we should ban it, and if someone like that is saying that, its more than likely not a good idea to have Huawei.

There have recently been calls from within the U.K.s ruling Conservative Party to block Huawei from any role in the countrys 5G network. The push comes amid wider calls within the Tory Party for a reset of relations with China over the regimes lack of transparency on the COVID-19 outbreak, which fuelled the global spread of the virus.

The Trump administration had already warned its allies that it may limit intelligence sharing with them if they allow Huawei to participate in their 5G networks, due to concerns that U.S. data could be jeopardized by the company, which has close links to the Beijing regime.

We are of course integrated with the U.S., so the U.S. is leaning heavily on Canada, says Christian Leuprecht, a professor of political science at Queens University and a Munk Senior Fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute.

And its not just the Trump administration, its bipartisan. Both Democrats and Republicans, they know that once you have Huawei equipment in the Canadian network, it compromises the entire continent and the entire infrastructure.

A spokesperson with the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canadas security and intelligence organizations, says that while the CSE cant comment on specific companies, an examination of emerging 5G technology and the associated security and economic considerations is underway.

Canadas review will consider technical and security factors, and include advice from our security agencies, and consider decisions from our Allies and partners, Evan Koronewski said in an email.

As for U.K.-China relations, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at a press conference on April 16 that it cant be business as usual with China once the pandemic is over and that Britain will have hard questions for the regime.

Leuprecht says this is a good time for middle powers like Canada to band together on the Huawei issue.

Since there is going to be pushback on China, I think it could be a wise thing to do coordinate in regards to the Huawei decision. Given the ongoing discussion about Chinas role in the virus within this coordination, maybe we can have a side discussion about Huawei in the process. Were not building an anti-Huawei coalition, its a virus one, but it can be tacked onto the agenda, he says.

In terms of what the government should do going forward, he adds, it is this: we treat other authoritarian regimes like Iran, Russia, as adversaries and when it comes to China, we should see China among these adversaries and stop playing nice.
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Edith Richemonds moniker in her Brooklyn neighborhood was Big, not in the mocking way that portly people are sometimes called Tiny or tall ones Shorty, but because of the disproportionately large heart that was assumed to beat within her diminutive frame.

But the nickname alluded not just to her giving spirit. In her tightly knit Haitian immigrant enclave in East Flatbush, she was known as much for her gumption, having arrived in New York with little money or education but with a drive to succeed.

And that she did, ending up investing in real estate and owning two laundromats. To her niece Athalie LaPamuk, her aunt was Big because she was also a big deal in her neighborhood.
Himachal chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur favoured extension of the lockdown during the Prime Ministers interaction with CMs on Monday.

Thakur said the state government will undertake talent mapping of people returning to the state so that their services can be utilised in case the lockdown is prolonged.

Thakur said as many as 55,000 people from the state were stranded in different parts of the country and around 68,000 people of other states stuck in the hill-state.

One lakh people have already arrived in the state from various parts of the country resulting in a spurt in Covid-19 cases, Thakur said, adding that there were 40 cases a week ago and within eight days the number had gone up to 59.

It is a matter of concern for us, but at the same time it is the responsibility of the state government to provide all possible help to the people stranded in different parts of the country, the CM said.

He said the state government had developed a geo-fencing app to ensure that people coming from other states do not jump quarantine.

ALTERNATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR APPLE TRADE SOUGHT

The CM said the economy of Himachal had been severely affected due to the lockdown and government was taking steps to gradually resume economic activities.

Maintaining that the apple season was about to start, Thakur urged PM Narendra Modi to make alternative arrangements for trading operations as Delhis Azadpur Mandi has been affected by Covid-19.

The CM said the state government will ensure that it does not cut down capital expenditure, but at the same time it will adopt austerity measures by curbing unproductive and wasteful expenditure.

He said the state government had started the Mukhya Mantri Shahri Ajivika Guarantee Yojana in the state to provide 120 days of assured unskilled employment to every household in urban areas.

He said the tourism industry was worst affected due to the pandemic. Therefore, the government has decided to waive off electricity demand charges for a six-month period.

Similarly, excise and taxation license fee will be waived off and lifting quota of bars will be on a pro-rata basis, he said.

He said the government will also provide support to HP Tourism Development Corporation by paying salaries of its employees.

In addition to this, token tax and special road tax will be waived off for four months and no penalty will be imposed on the owners of private vehicles on account of delay in renewal of registration and permits. Besides, 55 crore will be provided to the State Road Transport Corporation, he said.

He said the payment of demand charges with respect to industrial, commercial and agriculture consumers for electricity consumption April and May had been deferred till June 30 and will be recovered in three equal instalments.

The PM appreciated the states efforts in combating Covid-19.

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Dear Dr. Fox: I read your recent column regarding riding a bike with a dog on a leash. A number of years ago, a young neighbor of ours was riding his bike with the dog running beside him. When the dog yanked on the leash, the boy fell off his bike and as he fell, his arm yanked up and broke the dogs neck. Ever since then, I have worried when I see people ride with their dogs. I did speak to one man I saw frequently and suggested a harness rather than a collar for his dog, but I could tell he didnt find my suggestion worthwhile.

Have you heard of this type of accident happening, or was this a strange fluke?  S.L., Central Point, Oregon

Dear S.L.: During the lockdown, I hope that people of all ages who are getting exercise on their bicycles with their dogs will take your advice and put their dogs in a harness. I also advise harnesses for small dogs, and for those who like to pull when being walked, to prevent injury to their necks and possible windpipe collapse.
The number of coronavirus cases in the country breached the 70,000-mark on Tuesday. According to the latest figures updated by the Ministry of Health, the Covid-19 national tally stands at 70,756. There are 46,008 active coronavirus cases in the country, 22,454 patients have been cured or discharged while 2,293 people have died from the deadly contagion.

Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra have breached the 23,000-mark while Gujarat, the second worst-affected state has over 8,500 Covid-19 cases.

Heres the statewise breakup of the number of coronavirus cases, deaths, and recoveries.

Also read: Govts Covid-19 crisis stimulus package on anvil

Maharashtra

With 23401 Covid-19 active cases, Maharashtra continues to lead the state tally. The state has recorded 868 deaths so far while 4786 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 8541. While 513 people have died due to the coronavirus disease, Gujarat has seen 2780 recoveries so far.

Tamil Nadu

The southern state has 8002 coronavirus cases. Tamil Nadu has seen 2051 recoveries and 53 Covid-19 deaths.

Delhi

As many as 7233 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the national capital. Seventy-three people have died from the infection while 2129 have made a recovery, as per the health ministrys data.

Rajasthan

Coronavirus cases in Rajasthan touched 3988 on Tuesday. The state has reported 113 fatalities, and 2264 patients have recovered from the infection.

Madhya Pradesh

The state has reported 3785 positive cases of coronavirus. Two hundred and twenty-one people have died from Covid-19 here while 1747 have recovered.

Uttar Pradesh

The number of Covid-19 positive cases reaches 3573 in Uttar Pradesh. While 1758 people have recovered from coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, 80 have died from the infection here.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has witnessed 2018 positive Covid-19 patients and 975 cases of recovery. Forty-five people have died.

West Bengal

The number of infected cases in West Bengal reached 2063 on Tuesday. There have been 190 deaths and 499 recoveries in the state.

Telangana

The number of Covid-19 positive cases reaches 1275 in state so far. Eight hundred people have made a recovery from the virus while 30 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 879. Ten people have died from the infection while 427 were cured.

Karnataka

The state has recorded 862 Covid-19 cases and 31 deaths. As many as 426 people have been cured and discharged.

Haryana and Punjab

The neighbouring states have 730 and 1877 Covid-19 cases respectively. While 31 people have died in Punjab, Haryana has seen 11 deaths. Three hundred and thirty-seven have recovered from Covid-19 in Haryana, 168 in Punjab.

Kerala

As per the health ministry, Kerala reported 519 coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Kerala has witnessed four deaths due to Covid-19 while 489 people have successfully recovered.

In Bihar, 747 people have tested positive for coronavirus, six people have died while 365 patients have recovered. Odisha has 414 Covid-19 positive patients, 85 have recovered while three people have died. Jharkhand has 160 Covid-19 cases, three patients have died and 78 have recovered.

Uttarakhand has 68 coronavirus patients, 46 patients have recovered from the infection, one patient has died. Himachal Pradesh has 59 cases, two patients have died and 39 have recovered. Assam has reported 65 Covid-19 cases, two people have died while 34 people have recovered.

Chhattisgarh has recorded 59 cases of coronavirus and 49 people have recovered. In Chandigarh, 174 people have contracted the Covid-19 disease and 24 have recovered, two people have died. Andaman has recorded 33 coronavirus cases, all patients have recovered.

Ladakh has 42 patients, 21 people have recovered. Goa reported seven cases of Covid-19 disease, all patients have recovered. Puducherry has reported 12 cases, 6 have recovered. Meghalaya has reported 13 cases and one death, 10 patients have recovered. One patient has died.

Manipur had two coronavirus cases, and those have recovered. Tripura, meanwhile, has 152 cases, two patients have recovered.

States and Union territories with just one positive Covid-19 case include Dadar Nagar Havel, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. All patients in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have 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.
(Photo : Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash) South Korea's New COVID-19 Outbreak Focuses On LGBTQ: Gay Men Restricted To Donate Plasma For Coronavirus Trials (Photo : Jasmin on Sessler on Unsplash) South Korea's New COVID-19 Outbreak Focuses On LGBTQ: Gay Men Restricted To Donate Plasma For Coronavirus Trials

A new COVID-19 outbreak struck South Korea, pushing the authorities to investigate bars and nightclubs in the capital Seoul. According to NBC News' previous report, LGBTQ clubs are being investigated by the local officials since homosexuality is often taboo in the country, and the individuals involved may be hesitant to come forward.

Also Read: COVID-19 UDDATE: Concerns Raised as Experts Discover that the Coronavirus is Adapting to Humans

ALSO READ: COVID-19 UPDATE: Scientists Finally Understand Why More Men are Infected with Coronavirus

On Monday, May 11, the government officials of South Korea scrambled to contain a new COVID-19 outbreak focusing on a cluster of cases linked to bars and night clubs in the capital of Seoul, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected. Although South Korea applauded in reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks through its quick and effective action on the pandemic, the local officials are worried about the resurgence of cases that could lead to the second wave of infections.

The officials reported 35 new cases on Sunday, May 10; the second consecutive day of newly infected cases considered as the highest numbers reported in more than a month. 21 of the new cases were connected to several bars and night clubs in Seoul, and many of them catering to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and the LGTBQ community.

South Korea's new COVID-19 outbreak focuses on LGBTQ: Gay men restricted to donate plasma for coronavirus trials

According to NBC News, the LGBTQ clubs raised complications for officials trying to identify those who might be infected by the novel coronavirus in the LGBTQ community since homosexuality is considered taboo, and members are discriminated against, including hate speech and job loss. The local authorities tested 2,450 people who went to the night clubs and bars in the Itaewon neighborhood. However, the local officials are still trying to track more than 3,000 individuals, including hundreds of people who made contact with the club patrons.

"Our top priority is to minimize the spread of the infections," said Chung Sye-Kyun, the Prime Minister, in a meeting with the government officials.

"We should quickly find and test them, and speed is key." added the Prime Minister.

The new coronavirus outbreak highlighted the unintended effect of South Korea's tracing methods, disclosing some of the patient's information, including their recent locations as part of its approach to battle the novel coronavirus. Yoon Tae-ho, a health ministry official, stated that the approach could scare the LGBTQ community since they could be outed and discriminated once they come forward.

On the other hand, the U.K. already restricted gay men from donating plasma used for coronavirus trials. According to NBC News' previous report, bisexual and gay men expressed their disappointment and anger after being excluded and prohibited from donating their plasma to a coronavirus research trial in the United Kingdom.

"Not only is it obviously frustrating, but it's short-sighted. Donating blood, you don't get paid; it's about doing something amazing for other people," explained Ethan Spibey, a blood donation advocate.

The trials based on evidence that COVID-19 patients might benefit from a convalescent plasma donation is led in part by the National Health Service to fight the outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus.

Also Read: COVID-19 Update: China Finds New Wave of Coronavirus Cases After Ease Lockdown

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Min Maalim Al-Islam (Islamic Signposts), Mohamed Farid Wagdi, ed. Mohamed Ragab Al-Bayoumi, Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organisation, 2000, pp336



Mohamed Farid Wagdi (1878-1954) was a traditionalist polymath and devout theologian who edited the monthly Al-Azhar Magazine  initially called Nour Al-Islam (or The Light of Islam)  for many years, writing a column on various aspects of the religious life. Born in Alexandria to an originally Circassian family, he lived between Domiat, Suez and Cairo, working at the Ministry of Endowments and as the owner of a print press, publishing and editing a number of magazines while actively participating in the tumultuous political life of the first half of the 20th century. He wrote, among many other books, a ten-volume Islamic encyclopaedia.



In this book  a Ramadan read as learned as it is accessible  a later Al-Azhar Magazine editor and student of Wagdis, Mohamed Ragab Al-Bayoumi (1923-2011), gathers together Wagdis articles for the magazine. Three of these (dated 1938, 1939 and 1942) discuss the nature and meaning of fasting in Islam  a religious sport beneficial to body, mind and soul, which consists in neither eating, drinking nor engaging in any sexual activity from sunrise till suset  bringing in scientific and ethical perspectives. He points out, for example, that eating two huge and unhealthy meals on fast days, as many Muslims do, defeats the purpose of the fast, which is to purify the body and give its organs a rest from the exertion of continual digestion, and to liberate the mind from the tyranny of material desires.

The books cover is a beautiful painting by the Alexandrian pioneer Mahmoud Said (1897-1964).



Reviewed by Nader Habib

Abd Elouaheb Aissaoui, Al-Diwan Al-Esbarti (The Spartan Court), Meim Publishing House, 2018, pp384Al-Diwan Al-Esbarti (The Spartan Court), the latest novel by the Algerian author Abd Elouaheb Aissaoui, which won the 13th International Prize for Arabic Fiction at a pandemic-lockdown online ceremony on 14 April, is a multi-layered tale with many voices, and an insight into the history of the occupation in Algeria where two colonial powers are struggling to control the country. Its multiple, interwoven narrative lines are among its greatest achievements.The novel follows the fates of five characters whose lives are somehow connected in the period 1815-1833, documenting the last few years of Ottoman, and the first few of French, occupation. The five characters include two Frenchmen, two Algerian men and one Algerian woman. The three Algerian characters have very different views on the Ottomans and the French: Ibn Mayar regards politics as a way of building relationships with the Ottomans and even the French, while Hamma Al-Sallaoui genuinely believes in the revolution as the only way forward, while Douja, the woman, is torn between these viewpoints as she is somehow forced to play a role in the ongoing transformation in Algeria, something she doesnt necessarily approve of though she is unable to leave. As for the Frenchmen, they are Dupond, the French journalist assigned to cover the colonial campaign against Algeria, and Caviard, a former soldier in Napoleons army who is later a prisoner in the city and a major force in the campaign.

The Algerian author Abd Elouaheb Aissaoui was born in Djelfa in 1985. He graduated from the Electromechanical Engineering department of the Zayan Ashour University in Djelfa and works as a maintenance engineer. In 2012, he published his first novel, Jacob's Cinema, which came first in the novel category of the President of the Republic Prize. He won the Assia Djebar Prize, the literary award generally regarded as the most important in Algeria. His second novel was Mountain of Death (2015), which tells the story of Spanish Communists imprisoned in North African camps after losing the Civil War. In 2016, he took part in the IPAF Nadwa (creative writing workshop for talented young writers). His third novel Circles and Doors (2017) won the 2017 Kuwaiti Suad Al-Sabah Novel Prize. In 2017, he also won the Katara Novel Prize in the unpublished novel category, for Testament of the Deeds of the Forgotten Ones. The Spartan Court was published in 2018.

Mohamed Sadek, Ezma, Al-Rawaq for Publishing and Distribution, 2020, pp367With a striking cover designed by Karim Adam showing an antique camera and a notebook and so adding to the suspense of the subtitle, You have nine dares and nine treasure hunts to find me, this is the latest novel by the best-selling author of Hepta (2014), which was made into a blockbuster movie, and other books.The novels protagonist is Eissa Al-Shawaf, an unstable man, recently divorced, who has lost all sense of purpose. On his 36th birthday he receives an unexpected call from his old friend Sira, who wants to give him a collection of videos from his 18th birthday that he had left with her then, asking her to give them to him on his 36th in order to send a message to his older self.

Abdullah Nasser, Al-Aalek Fi Youm Ahad (Trapped on a Sunday), Al-Tanweer Publishing House, 2019, pp106This is a collection of 49 short stories on the theme of time shot through with a sense of surrealism. The Saudi writer Abdullah Nassers philosophical approach to the topic, often replacing causal with sequential chains and sometimes dwelling on the notion of a temporal loop, is brave and refreshing.He is still trapped in Sunday, Nasser writes in the title story, while the whole world moved onto Monday. He fears that the whole week will be altered into seven Sundays, but what he fears the most is that all the Sundays will turn out to be so alike he will not be able to recognise the one that is followed by a Monday and the Sundays will last for another week.In Frida Kahlos Moustache, for example, he writes, He is still in his room and she is still in her room as well. They only come out to eat together, but in silence. Every time a hair falls from his moustache it grows under her nose, until she grows a mustache like Frida Kahlos and it is very clear.Nassers previous collection of short stories, Fann Al-Takhaly (The Art of Abandonment), was published in 2016.

Yahia Shawkat, Egypts Housing Crisis: The Shaping of Urban Space, AUC Press, 2020, pp288Egypt has had a housing crisis for nearly 80 years now, according to the author of this book, the urban policy scholar Yahia Shawkat. In Egypt, which is a world leader in per capita housing production  building to enormous excess at nearly double the Chinese rate, though very few people can afford to buy at all  owning a house can make or break marriage proposals, and housing is the keystone of the economy.Since 1940, the Egyptian leadership established a number of policies to offer adequate housing for the countrys growing population. By the 1970s, housing production had managed to outrun population growth. However, currently large portions of the Egyptian people cannot afford to pay for a decent house.Housing issues in Egypt are a top priority in presidential speeches as well as parliamentary reports and there have always been efforts to resolve the situation like rent control, public housing and sometimes even legal pardons for informal buildings. According to Shawkats analysis, the crisis is largely due to rural-urban migration together with capitalism, corruption and lack of planning.Yahia Shawkat is a housing and urban policy researcher who specializes in legislative analysis, data visualization, and historical mapping. He is research coordinator for 10 Tooba, a research studio he cofounded in 2014 that focuses on spatial justice and fair housing. He also edits the Built Environment Observatory, an open knowledge portal identifying deprivation, scrutinizing state spending, and advocating equitable urban and housing policies. His work has been published in Egypte Monde Arabe and Architecture_MPS, and he has contributed to Mada Masr, Open Democracy, Heinrich Boell, and the Middle East Institute among others.

Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Sheity, Sakhret Heliopolis (Heliopolis Rock), Al-Ain Publishing House, 2019, pp132This is the second novel by Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Sheity, published nearly 30 years after the first, the extremely well-received Woroud Sama Li Sakr (Poisonous Roses for Sakr, 1990), recently adapted to the screen as Ward Masmoum (Poisonous Roses, 2018) by filmmaker Ahmed Fawzi Saleh.Sakhret Heliopolis (Heliopolis Rock) traces the journey of protagonist Youssef Al-Alami  the name is not revealed until very late in the novel  since he was a little boy in Domiat, to his adult life as a resident of Heliopolis, living near Baron Empain resting place in the Basilica church in Korba. It also deals with his two elder brothers Said and Rady, his younger sister Farida, and numerous characters in Domiat, notably in the furniture making industry.Reviewed by Soha Hesham

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly





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Law enforcers are probing into dissemination of personal data of Ukrainian citizens through Telegram chat bots.

Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry has refuted rumors about the alleged leak of personal data from the Diia digital ID mobile application introduced earlier this year.

Officials denied reports as "fake news".

"These rumors are groundless and this is why: Diia has no own database and neither does it accumulate such data (the mobile application only displays data from various registries). There are 9.5 million driver's licenses in Ukraine, of which 6.5 million are in Diia. But it was information on 26 million driver's licenses that leaked online," according to the ministry's press service.

According to the report, the SBU Security Service of Ukraine is already conducting an investigation targeting cybercriminals selling citizen's personal data on the internet.

As UNIAN reported earlier, several Telegram chatbots were activated recently, offering users to buy personal data.

Read alsoSextortion scammers still shilling with stolen passwords  cybersecurity experts

On May 11 came the reports that the leak might be connected to Diia  a universal digital ID application the government introduced as part of the "State in Smartphone" project to facilitate administrative services to Ukrainian citizens.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation previously said the app would incorporate all services that the state provides to citizens and businesses. The ministry said it would move all such services online within five years, while in three years Ukraine would enter the world's TOP 3 countries in the field of open data.

Now, citizens using the Diia app have their driver's licenses, car registration and travel passports digitized.
The webinar will highlight opportunities in Uganda, currently considered as one of Africas most promising oil and gas frontiers; Speakers include Hon. Dr. Elly Karuhanga, Chairman of Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, Gilbert Kamuntu, Chief Commercial Officer of the Uganda National Oil Company and Brian Muriuki, Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Ghana; The webinar is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, 16:00 EAT on 13 May 2020.

Following Totals move to acquire Tullow Oils stake in the Uganda Lake Albert Project, Africa Oil & Power and the African Energy Chamber are hosting a public webinar on the upcoming opportunities in Uganda and East Africas oil and gas industry, as the industry moves forward with the long-awaited deal.

The webinar will take place on May 13, 16:00 EAT.

Hosted under the theme Taking Advantage of Opportunities in Ugandas Oil & Gas Sector, the webinar will highlight the domestic and regional opportunities emanating from the Uganda Lake Albert project, exploration opportunities and associated oil and gas services opportunities including the $3.5 billion East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project.

Speakers include Hon. Dr. Elly Karuhanga, Chairman of the Uganda Chamber of Mines & Petroleum; Gilbert Kamuntu, Chief Commercial Officer, Uganda National Oil Company; NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber and Brian Muriuki, MD & Country Chair of Shell Ghana.

The webinar will be moderated by Eng. Elizabeth Rogo, Founder and CEO of TSAVO Oilfield Services and President of East Africa for the African Energy Chamber together with Caty Hirst, Director of Programming for Africa Oil & Power.

We commend H.E. Yoweri Museveni and the Ugandan authorities for showing a lot of pragmatism in closing the deal with Total and Tullow that enabled Totals takeover of Tullows assets in Uganda. It paves the way for FID, brings Uganda closer to first oil, presents opportunities for good paying jobs and most importantly, signals that Uganda is open for business, said Eng. Elizabeth Rogo, President of East Africa for the African Energy Chamber.

The webinar will also feature initiatives taken by Uganda to attract top talent, modern technology and international investors to its oil and gas sector whilst at the same time adopting common sense and progressive local content regulation.

The World Bank expects Uganda to grow at a rate of over 10 percent per annum from oil production and related activity. This estimation sends the message to investors that there are immense opportunities for comparatively high returns in Ugandas oil and gas sector, despite the current challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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1.8 Metres est. true width at 11,148 gpt AgEq

0.9 Metres est. true width at 2,036 gpt AgEq

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - SilverCrest Metals Inc. (TSX: SIL) (NYSE American: SILV) ("SilverCrest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be restarting exploration and development work at its Las Chispas Project ("Las Chispas") in Sonora, Mexico by mid-May using strict COVID-19 protocols (see news release dated March 30, 2020). This release also announces in-fill and expansion drill results for the Babi Vista Vein ("Babi Vista") at Las Chispas. These holes were drilled prior to the Company's suspension of activities due to COVID-19. The results announced today have expanded the size of the high-grade footprint for the Babi Vista Vein since the Company's news release dated March 9, 2020 (see attached Figures), and continue to show higher-grade vein mineralization to depth, including hole BV20-39 with 1.8 metres (estimated true width) grading 11,148 grams per tonne ("gpt") silver equivalent ("AgEq"; based on assumptions defined in the table below). Based on 42 holes (above cut-off grade, see table notes below) drilled to date, the updated high-grade footprint is approximately 400 metres along vein strike by 200 metres in height grading (uncut undiluted) 20.26 gpt gold ("Au") and 1,590.0 gpt silver ("Ag"), or 3,110 gpt AgEq over an average true width of 1.0 metre, and open in most directions. Within this footprint, is a defined 1,000 gpt AgEq footprint, which includes 12 drill holes, estimated to be 300 metres long by 75 metres in height, averaging an uncut undiluted grade of 27.83 gpt Au and 2,178.8 gpt Ag, or 4,266 gpt AgEq over an average true width of 1.2 metres.

N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and CEO, remarked, "We are looking forward to safely resuming operations at Las Chispas later this month in a staged approach with safety and caution in mind. The Babi Vista Vein continues to add value to Las Chispas as we in-fill drill for resource conversion and expansion of additional high-grade silver-gold mineralization. Babi Vista was discovered in 2019 while constructing the Santa Rosa decline to intercept the Babicanora Vein in the Area 51 zone. With the schedule delays caused by COVID-19 global impact, resource estimation for the ongoing feasibility study has been pushed for completion to Q4, 2020 which allows for additional drill results, including Babi Vista, to be added to the study. More specifically, this additional time should better define the Babi Vista Vein and help in mine design and schedule by accelerating this conveniently located (access via the decline) high-grade vein early in the mine life."

The most significant result for this release is hole BV19-39, which intersected 1.8 metres (estimated true width) grading 78.83 gpt Au and 5,235.4 gpt Ag, or 11,148 gpt AgEq. Also noteworthy is hole BV20-33 at 0.9 metres grading 12.44 gpt Au and 1,103.3 gpt Ag, or 2,036 gpt AgEq. The following tables summarize the most significant drill intercepts (uncut, undiluted) for this release.

Babi Vista Vein, Drill Results in High-grade Footprint for this News Release:

Hole #** From (m) To (m) Drilled Width (m) Est. True Width (m) Au gpt Ag gpt AgEq* gpt BV20-26 271.5 272.3 0.8 0.6 3.29 216.0 463 BV20-33 349.0 350.3 1.3 0.9 12.44 1,103.3 2,036 BV20-35 237.7 238.4 0.7 0.6 1.17 93.0 181 BV20-38 241.2 241.7 0.5 0.4 2.08 232.0 388 BV20-39 329.7 331.9 2.2 1.8 78.83 5,235.4 11,148 UBV20-32 239.2 239.7 0.5 0.4 3.12 302.0 536 UBV20-33 166.6 167.1 0.5 0.4 2.05 148.0 302 UBV20-36 250.9 251.4 0.5 0.4 4.72 401.0 755 Weighted Average 1.0 0.7 28.18 1,945.1 4,058

Babi Vista Vein, All Drill Results to Date within 1,000 gpt AgEq High-Grade Footprint;

Hole #** From To Drilled Est. True Au Ag AgEq* (m) (m) Width (m) Width (m) (gpt) (gpt) (gpt) BV19-03 270.6 284.7 14.1 4.3 17.27 1,364.8 2,660 BV19-04 310.9 315.9 5.0 1.9 5.87 522.0 902 BV19-08 338.5 339.7 1.2 0.9 7.87 702.4 1,293 BV19-11 382.1 382.8 0.7 0.6 0.90 54.0 122 BV19-12 379.0 380.0 1.0 0.8 7.40 566.0 1,121 BV20-18 401.9 403.8 1.9 1.6 45.80 2,395.9 5,831 BV20-19 385.0 385.5 0.5 0.4 10.0 7,834.0 8,540 BV20-26 271.5 272.3 0.8 0.6 3.29 216.0 463 BV20-30 297.8 298.3 0.5 0.4 79.00 5,102.0 11,027 BV20-33 349.0 350.3 1.3 0.9 12.44 1,103.3 2,036 BV20-39 329.7 331.9 2.2 1.8 78.83 5,235.4 11,148 UBV19-30 278.0 278.5 0.5 0.4 425.00 34,566.0 66,441 Weight Average 2.5 1.2 27.83 2,178.8 4,266

Unnamed Veins Intersected while Drilling the Babi Vista Vein:

Hole #** From (m) To

(m) Drilled

Width (m) Est. True Width (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) AgEq*

(gpt) BV-20-32 123.8 124.4 0.6 0.5 2.83 205.0 417 BV-20-33 252.5 253.1 0.6 0.4 1.38 85.0 189 BV-20-38 193.3 193.9 0.6 0.5 0.78 138.0 196 BV-20-39 221.6 222.1 0.5 0.4 2.04 20.0 173 UBV-19-31 1.5 3.7 2.2 1.8 4.07 570.8 876 UBV-20-32 244.4 244.9 0.5 0.4 2.24 220.0 388 UBV-20-33 118.6 119.1 0.5 0.4 5.63 483.0 905

Note: All numbers are rounded. Based on a cutoff grade of 150 gpt AgEq. Some adjustments have been made to previously announced lengths based on ongoing resource modelling optimization.

* AgEq based on 75 (Ag):1 (Au) calculated using long-term silver and gold prices of US$17 per ounce silver and US$1,225 per ounce gold, with average metallurgical recoveries of 90% silver and 95% gold.

** UBV defines underground drill hole.

All assays were completed by ALS Chemex in Hermosillo, Mexico, and North Vancouver, BC, Canada and Bureau Veritas Inspectorate Ltd. in Hermosillo, Mexico. Holes BV20-20 to 25, BV20-27 to 29, BV20-31, and UBV20-34 intercepted veining, but were below the Company's cutoff grade of 150 gpt AgEq. Holes BV20-34 and UBV20- 35 have pending assays.

Unnamed and new vein intercepts are located in the hanging and footwalls of the Babi Vista, Babicanora Main and Babicanora Norte veins, and add to the potential for further high-grade discoveries to be announced in the future.

COVID-19 Update

Due to the impact that COVID-19 has had on the Company, the resource estimate is continuing at a slower pace, resulting in a schedule shift into Q4, 2020 for feasibility study completion. With this extension in the feasibility schedule, the Company plans to allocate extra time to; 1) add further drill results beyond the March 1, 2020 assay cut-off date for resource estimation including Babi Vista results in today's release; 2) optimize resource estimation, mine design and schedule with emphasis on frontend high-grade production including the Babi Vista Vein; 3) finalize site power selection to potentially reduce operating costs; and 4) optimize the process gravity circuit for increased confidence in operations. Other ongoing feasibility work is nearing completion (June 2020) for the process facility design, capital costs and operating costs. The Company also anticipates completing its Basic Engineering study as planned by the end of June 2020. The Company is fully financed to begin major construction, which provides for more flexibility in the schedule to secure long lead time items impacted by supply chain disruptions from COVID-19.

The Mexican government has announced that on May 18, 2020, mines will be allowed to reopen in the State of Sonora with strict COVID-19 protocols. The Company plans on slowly and cautiously restarting activities with an initial remote isolated camp to minimize physical contact with surrounding communities. Re-integration into the local communities will be based on success of the remote camp and local COVID-19 status. The Company plans to begin with seven (7) surface exploration drills, focusing on Babi Vista Vein in-fill and expansion for inclusion in the ongoing resource estimation, reserve and frontend mine schedule. In addition, the Company will restart its construction work with the continuation of raise boring for a ventilation shaft on the Babicanora Vein and construction of administrative offices and warehouse. Underground development, with out-of-state contractors, may restart in early summer, depending on local COVID-19 status and implementation of the appropriate contractor health and safety protocols. The Company anticipates the completion of 15 to 20 drill holes at Babi Vista for an estimated 6,000 metres by the end of June for resource inclusion.

The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and CEO for SilverCrest, who has reviewed and approved its contents.

ABOUT SILVERCREST METALS INC.

SilverCrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico's historic precious metal districts. The Company's current focus is on the high-grade, historic Las Chispas mining district in Sonora, Mexico. The Las Chispas Project consists of 28 100%-owned mineral concessions where all of the resources are located. SilverCrest is the first company to successfully drill-test the historic Las Chispas Project, resulting in numerous discoveries that are being evaluated for economic viability and potential production in the future. The Company is led by a proven management team in all aspects of the precious metal mining sector, including taking projects through discovery, finance, on time and on budget construction, and production.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation. These include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs of the Las Chispas Property, including optimizing and updating the Company's resource model and preparing a feasibility study by Q4, 2020; information with respect to high grade areas and size of veins projected from underground sampling results and drilling results; and the accessibility of future mining at the Las Chispas Property. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: impact and timeline for resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic; the reliability of mineralization and metallurgical test estimates, the conditions in general economic and financial markets; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of expenditures related to rehabilitation and drilling programs; and effects of regulation by governmental agencies. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors including: uncertainty as to the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities; the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.





Figure 1



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Figure 2



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Figure 3



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N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng

Chief Executive Officer

SilverCrest Metals Inc.

For Further Information:

SilverCrest Metals Inc.

Contact: Jacy Zerb, Investor Relations Manager

Telephone: +1 (604) 694-1730

Fax: +1 (604) 357-1313

Toll Free: 1-866-691-1730 (Canada & USA)

Email: info@silvercrestmetals.com

Website: www.silvercrestmetals.com

570 Granville Street, Suite 501

Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3P1

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55730
Two more Cass County residents have died from COVID-19, and hospitalizations in North Dakota due to the coronavirus disease continue to increase, the state Department of Health reported Tuesday.

Separately, state officials approved using more than half a billion dollars in federal coronavirus relief aid, the state Agriculture Department announced an effort to help meat plants, and nonprofit groups again called on Gov. Doug Burgum to help struggling renters.

The deaths of a woman in her 70s and a woman older than 100 raised Cass County's total deaths to 29 and North Dakota's total to 38. Both of the victims had underlying health conditions, according to health officials.

The state categorizes the statewide deaths this way: 25 cases in which COVID-19 is listed as the cause of death, four deaths in which the disease was not the primary cause, and nine cases in which an official death record has not yet been filed. That can take up to 14 days under state law.

Most of the deaths in Cass County have been in people in their 70s or older. About one-fourth of the county's total coronavirus cases have occurred in nursing homes in Fargo. Fourteen long-term care facilities in the city have a total of 198 confirmed cases, and three of the facilities have 30 or more cases. State officials have not said how many of the deaths have occurred in nursing homes, citing privacy.

The state on Tuesday reported 53 more COVID-19 cases statewide, with 44 of them in Cass County, bringing its total to 866, more than half of North Dakota's total of 1,571.

Burleigh County had one additional case, raising its total to 105.

Other new cases were reported in the counties of Grand Forks, Stutsman, Ward and Williams.

A total of 122 people statewide have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, up seven from the previous day; 38 remained so on Monday, up four. Burgum has stressed that coronavirus hospitalizations represent only a small fraction of the state's hospital capacity.

There were 31 new recoveries reported Tuesday, raising that total to 877. However, active cases rose by 20, to 656, after four straight days of declines.

State and private labs have tested 47,832 people for COVID-19, with 46,261 being negative. There were 818 tests handled Monday, less than half the total of the previous day. State officials said the drop reflected mass testing over the weekend that inflated the previous day's numbers.

Most people who get COVID-19 recover, experiencing only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. Others, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, can experience more severe illness, including pneumonia.

More information on coronavirus and COVID-19 can be found at: www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus.

Federal funding

The North Dakota Emergency Commission on Tuesday voted to put about $524 million in funding from the federal CARES Act economic rescue package toward the states COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.

Most of the spending is aimed at supporting economic recovery, according to Burgum, who chairs the group that also includes Secretary of State Al Jaeger and four legislative leaders.

Were in a very fortunate position today to be able to deploy these federal relief funds in a way that can help so many of our citizens and help our economy get rolling again, Burgum said in a statement.

The commission approved requests from 10 agencies: the departments of agriculture, health, human services, corrections, information technology and trust lands; along with the North Dakota Veterans Home, Job Service North Dakota, the state Industrial Commissions Oil and Gas Division and the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.

About $90 million will go toward public health and safety, about $254 million to economic support for businesses, $112.5 to economic support for people, and about $68 million toward telework, cybersecurity and transition to digital services.

The commission also authorized the health department to receive more than $5 million from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the state lab.

Many of the spending approvals need to go before the Legislatures Budget Section on Friday before becoming final.

Meat plants

State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring on Tuesday announced a new program to provide cost-share assistance to meat processing plants in the state. The goal is to help the plants upgrade facilities and equipment to meet an increased demand for meat due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many meatpacking plants around the country have closed temporarily or slowed production due to outbreaks or to pressure from local authorities or their own workers.

The Emergency Commission approved $1.3 million for the North Dakota Meat Processing Plant Cost-Share Program.

"North Dakota has some of the best genetics and quality of livestock, Goehring said in a statement. This program creates more local opportunities to add value.

The program will reimburse plants a portion of expenses dependent on the total amount of eligible applications that are approved. Letters and applications will be mailed to all state-inspected and custom-exempt meat processing plants early next week and also will be available online at www.nd.gov/ndda. A custom-exempt plant can slaughter and process livestock only for the use of the livestock owner.

For more information, contact agricultural development specialist Bradley Dean at 701-955-0181 or bdean@nd.gov.

Struggling renters

Several nonprofit organizations on Tuesday called for Burgum to issue an executive order prohibiting late fees and reductions to credit ratings for struggling renters.

"Doing so would make it a lot easier for North Dakota renters to get back on their feet when the economy rebounds," the groups said in a statement.

The groups include the American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota, North Dakota AFL-CIO, North Dakota Farmers Union, North Dakota United, the Fargo-Moorhead Coalition to End Homelessness and High Plains Fair Housing. They earlier unsuccessfully lobbied Burgum to issue a moratorium on evictions.

Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said in a statement to the Tribune that the governor "understands that its in everyones best interest to find a way to maintain housing stability -- not by suspending the reciprocal rights and responsibilities that exist between renters and housing providers, but by helping the two parties find a way to bridge the emergency disruption with targeted support."

Funding approved by the Emergency Commission on Tuesday included about $5 million for an Emergency Rent Bridge program to be administered by Human Services, Nowatzki said. The program will provide rental assistance to people at risk of eviction due to lost income related to the pandemic. A home heating assistance program also is available to help households struggling to pay utilities.

Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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Gov Gavin Newsom has informed a California county that it cannot reopen after two thousand people defied the state's stay-at-home order to attend a rodeo on Sunday.

Pictures showed large groups congregating at the Cottonwood Rodeo in Shasta County. Many attendees sat close to one another without face coverings.

Don Johnson told KRCR: 'We have constitutional rights. We have inalienable rights given to us by God.'

Daniel Warner added: 'This event has been going on for 50 years, it is a tradition for probably most of us, the rest of them that are here have been tired of being cooped up for months.

'If you're worried about everybody that you've ever came in contact with, why would you even bother going outside?'

The Cottonwood Rodeo said it provided hand sanitation stations and the Shasta County Sheriff's Office confirmed it would not be enforcing the stay-at-home order.

In Shasta County, California the Cottonwood Rodeo drew huge crowds

In California, there are more than 69,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 2,779 deaths.

Once Newsom learned of the rodeo, he announced Monday evening that the event directly led to a delayed reopening for the county.

According to a statement from the Shasta County Public Health officials, the rodeo 'has delayed the county's ability to re-open retail businesses, restaurants and more during Stage 2'.

Shasta County officials said they reached out to the the rodeo organizer last week but 'he refused to cancel'.

Officials noted that the rodeo made national headlines and ultimately caught the attention of Newsom.

'I am not happy and the state isn't happy and it's impacting the approval of our variance,' health officer Dr Karen Ramstrom said in the statement.

Pictures show large groups congregating, close by to one another without face coverings

The Cottonwood Rodeo (pictured) said it provided hand sanitation stations

'We're all frustrated. It was inappropriate and it put the community at risk of disease transmission among attendees and the people they are in contact with, which could include vulnerable people who did not attend.

'It jeopardizes the ability for all Shasta County businesses to move forward into full Stage 2 opening, which delays our economic recovery,' Ramstrom added.

Ramstrom also encouraged those who attended the rodeo to get tested for COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Elsewhere in the US, shocking footage emerged of a Colorado restaurant that was packed with diners for Mother's Day, in defiance of the state's lockdown rules.

Video taken inside Castle Rock's C&C Coffee and Kitchen and shared online shows crowds of people waiting for their food, enjoying drinks at tables and sitting close by to one another, many without masks.

In a Facebook live video owner April Arellano thanked everyone for their support, showing off her packed restaurant. She added: 'So much for some of those people saying nobody would show up.'

But Colorado Gov Jared Polis' office slammed the footage, saying: 'These restaurants are not only breaking the law, they are endangering the lives of their staff, customers and community.'

Restaurants and bars in the state are still limited to takeout only with social distancing restrictions. In the footage people appear to be drinking coffees and drinks at tables inside the restaurant.

Sharing the footage online, Nick Puckett wrote: 'Happy Mother's Day from C& C in Castle Rock, where the owner said this is almost double a normal Mother's Day.'

The health department said: 'We are disappointed that Cookies and Creme has decided to ignore the Governor's Safer at Home order and open up today with no attention to social distancing.'

Video taken inside Castle Rock's C&C Coffee and Kitchen was shared online. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' office slammed the business for breaking the law

It shows as crowds of people wait for their food, many without masks, on Sunday. Restaurants are still limited to takeout only with social distancing restrictions

Owner April Arellano said: 'So much for...people saying nobody would show up'

Businesses that violate the governor's safer-at-home directive are subject to a fine up to $1,000 or a jail term, according to the Denver Post.

A spokesman for the governor told the newspaper that 'Coloradans can contact their local public health department if they believe someone is violating Safer at Home'.

One customer intends to do just that. He said he will file a complaint against the Castle Rock restaurant after witnessing the packed environment.

'I wasnt even going to eat the food even if I had gotten it. I walked in, took the picture and turned right around,' he told the Denver Post.

Additionally, the Health Department said in a statement it plans to 'follow up with this restaurant to ensure that they, like other restaurants in the county, take appropriate steps to protect the public health, by limiting service to curbside and take-out service.

As of Monday, Colorado has reached 972 deaths from the coronavirus, and more than 19,700 people have tested positive for the illness.

State data shows more than 3,600 people have been hospitalized since the outbreak. Fewer than 600 people were in Colorado hospitals with symptoms of the illness as of Friday.

Castle Rock's C&C Coffee customer Holly Burrell told 9News: 'I'm here to support this because I love the fact that we all have choices. That's what being an American is about.

'I think we need to focus on the healthy people being out and the people that aren't healthy to stay in.'

In Ross Township, Pennsylvania, there were long lines outside a local Red Lobster

Gov Tom Wolf is ordering most Pennsylvania residents to stay at home until June 4, extending a statewide order he first imposed April 1 to slow the spread of the new virus

In Ross Township, Pennsylvania, there were long lines outside a local Red Lobster for take out.

Gov Tom Wolf ordered most Pennsylvania residents to stay at home until June 4, extending a statewide order he first imposed April 1 to slow the spread of the new virus.

In Las Vegas restaurants are back pouring drinks as the city begins to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, phase one of Nevada's 'Roadmap to Recovery' officially commenced, with dine-in restaurants, retail stores, hair dressers and nail salons all allowed to open for the first time seven weeks.

Despite the rush on restaurants and barbershops Saturday, the world-famous Las Vegas strip still remains remarkably quiet, given that casinos are still closed.

New Yorkers flocked to Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday. Most families and groups appeared to practice social distancing while at the park, but there were several people who weren't wearing masks.

Meanwhile in Domino Park in Brooklyn, police patrolled the area to make sure people were social distancing.

Photos of the park showed people walking and running with family and friends as officers stood nearby.

In Las Vegas restaurants are back pouring drinks as the city begins to reopen

New Yorkers flocked to Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday. Most families and groups appeared to practice social distancing while at the park, but there were several people who weren't wearing masks

People out on a sunny Mother's Day amid COVID-19 pandemic in Washington Square Park

US coronavirus deaths surpass 81,000 as fatalities are predicted to hit 137,000 by August due to relaxed social distancing measures in majority of states

The US coronavirus death toll surpassed 81,000 on Monday as fatalities are predicted to hit 137,000 by August due to relaxed social distancing measures in the majority of states.

At least 81,612 Americans have died from the coronavirus and there are more than 1.3 million infections across the country.

The new death toll was reported around the same time a top coronavirus model revealed a projected American death toll of 137,000 by August.

The influential model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is projecting a slight increase in expected COVID-19 deaths as a result of increased mobility across the country.

Since the model's predictions were updated this week, the projected death toll has increased by 2,700.

The slight increase comes as some states continue to ease social distancing measures and people start moving more following weeks of lockdowns.

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The influential model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is projecting 137,000 deaths by August due to social distancing measures being relaxed in the majority of states

At least 81,612 Americans have died from the coronavirus and there are more than 1.3 million infections across the country

The director of the institute that created the White House-endorsed coronavirus model says the moves by states to re-open businesses 'will translate into more cases and deaths in 10 days from now'.

Dr Christopher Murray said states where cases and deaths are going up more than expected include California, Illinois, Arizona and Florida.

In California, deaths are projected to double by August to 6,000, according to the IHME model. It is an increase of 1,420 on its projections at the start of last week.

Another 88 deaths were recorded in California over the weekend, bringing the death toll in the state to 2,718. The total number of infections has now reached more than 67,800.

Despite the figures, Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, the county with 40 per cent of the new cases, was packed with sun bathers on Sunday.

'Some good-ish news coming out of New York and New Jersey and Michigan, where the death cases and death numbers are coming down faster than expected,' Murray told CBS on Sunday.

'Some other states where cases and deaths are going up more than we expected - Illinois and then Arizona, Florida, California as examples of that.'

Researchers said the increased numbers in these states were the result of 'a combination of updated daily death and case data, recent actions to ease previously implemented social distancing measures, and steadily rising levels of mobility in many places'.

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Illinois are projected to have the five highest COVID-19 death tolls through August, the model forecasts.

Fewer deaths, however, are now expected in hard-hit New York and New Jersey.

New York, which currently has 21,000 deaths, is projected to have more than 31,000 deaths by August, according to the model.

In New Jersey, the model predicts more than 14,000 deaths by August. The state currently has more than 9,200 deaths.

Fewer deaths are now expected in hard-hit New York (pictured, May 7) and New Jersey. New York, which currently has 21,000 deaths, is projected to have more than 31,000 deaths by August, according to the model

Another 88 deaths were recorded in California over the weekend, bringing the death toll in the state to 2,718. The total number of infections has now reached more than 67,800

The model's latest findings show that, over the last few weeks, five states - Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Georgia - have seen at least a 20 per cent increase in mobility patterns.

Thirteen states have experienced between a 15 and 20 per cent increase: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

'While at least some of these patterns may be related to formal easing of social distancing policies, this upward trend in movement began in several places long before state-level mandates were relaxed,' Murray said.

'Unless and until we see accelerated testing, contact tracing, isolating people who test positive, and widespread use of masks in public, there is a significant likelihood of new infections.'

California was among the first to go into lockdown with some of the strictest measures in the country and has now begun to open back up.

However, it should be noted that its easing of restrictions only began on Friday - too soon to have been picked up in the findings of the researchers.

'The virus has not changed,' LA county health director Barbara Ferrer told the Los Angeles Times. 'It can still spread easily, and it can still result in serious illness and death.'

Some businesses have been able to reopen such as clothing, sporting goods, florists and other retailer stores for curbside pickup.

Governor Gavin Newsom said last week: 'We are entering into the next phase this week. End of the week, with modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum.

'This is a very positive sign and it has only happened for one reason: the data says it can happen.'

Public health officials urged caution despite some recreation facilities and businesses starting to re-open. Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, which has 40 per cent of the new cases, was packed with sun bathers on Sunday

California was among the first to go into lockdown with some of the strictest measures in the country and has now begun to open back up (pictured: Echo Park Lake)

Governor Gavin Newsom said last week: 'We are entering into the next phase this week. End of the week, with modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum.' People are seen basking in the sun on in Los Angeles on Sunday

It is still recommended that those with underlying medical conditions and those ages 65 and older do not participate in any interactions however.

There's still an indefinite stay-at-home order and gatherings in a single location are prohibited.

Dining in at restaurants is still prohibited and only takeout is available. Nonessential businesses must still run only a minimal operation or work remotely. Offices are to remain closed.

Newsom said that different counties would require different measures based on the localized extent of the contagion.

Long Beach is set to reopen its beach bike and pedestrian parks, tennis courts and parking lots for public parks on Monday.

Although beaches and beach parking lots will stay shut. Gatherings and picnics are still banned and those who use the recreational areas will need to stay six feet apart.

It comes as officials in Los Angeles County traced a local COVID-19 outbreak to a birthday party which took place after the lockdown order was issued.

The Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD) said that a disease investigation team discovered more than five laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases and many more ill individuals who were linked to the gathering in the Los Angeles County area.

PPHD said the celebration was attended by a large number of extended family members and friends and the first person identified with the disease, was coughing and not wearing a face covering at the event.

The PPHD said in the announcement on Saturday that guests were also not wearing face coverings or practicing social distancing.

The PPHD did not state what date the party occurred but California's shutdown began mid-March.

In a warning to families in time for the Mother's Day holiday, they advised loved ones not to break social distancing rules by getting together from different households.

The PPHD said that as a result of the close contact, COVID-19 spread among attendees.

But they also used the outbreak as an example of how contact tracing done well can help clamp down on the deadly disease.

'This is an example of how good contact tracing can identify disease clusters and tell us more about the spread of disease in our community,' PPHD epidemiologist Dr Matthew Feaster said.

'We're grateful to our large team of public health nurses, case investigators, and contact tracers who help track the virus and prevent the disease from spreading to other members of our community.'

'Pasadena residents who stay home keep themselves and their loved ones protected from COVID-19,' said Dr Ying-Ying Goh, director and health officer of PPHD.

'Although we are moving forward with small modifications to the Safer at Home Order, gatherings of people who do not live in the same household are still prohibited.

'The virus remains highly contagious. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, and wearing face coverings remain our best defenses against the further spread of COVID-19 in our community.'
Do you want to live your best life now? If you search within your heart and hear what the Spirit is calling you to give at a minimum donation of twice your weekly rent, then God (who we by perfect human reason and logic can prove exists) will abound in your bank account and toilet paper rolls.

Three separate promises. Three separate absurdities. In a world where Christianity is portrayed as the faith of the privileged, the self-help gurus, or the philosophers, it is easy for the Gospel to become convoluted by the absurdities attached to the name of Christ.

And for a moment, as we attempt to untangle Christianity from so many outrageous claims, we are tempted to forget that the Gospel itself is far more absurd in its power and logic than we can comprehend.

Building tensions

Paul, a radical Christian-killing rabbi turned apostle, understood this better than few others. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20, Paul writes, Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

As if the rhetorical questions were not enough, Paul takes it to a new level during his missionary journeys chronicled in Acts. There are plenty of dumbfounding accounts, but Acts chapter 14 sticks out like a sore thumb.

It begins with Paul and Barnabas, having been driven out of Antioch where they had declared Gentiles (non-Jews) were welcome into the Jewish Christian faith, now in Iconium.

Again, they preach to the Gentiles the news about Jesus. The crowd begins to divide. Tensions rise and the people stir up to mistreat and stone the pair. Paul and Barnabas flee again.

An absurdity exposed

They arrive in Lystra and Derbe. Youd think they would adapt their pattern, but they dont.

Paul, seeing a man crippled from birth, heals him. The people observe in awe and declare Paul and Barnabas gods, as they prepare to offer sacrifices to the two men.

Paul and Barnabas tear off their clothes and beg the people to hear about Jesus. Yet in verse 18, the author writes, Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

The absurdity is exposed. Twice fleeing cities from people seeking to persecute them. Now being worshipped as gods.

Yet, Jews from Antioch arrive in Iconium and persuade the very same crowds to stone Paul. They follow through and Paul is stoned and dragged out of the city, but, But when the disciples gathered about him [Paul], he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe (Acts chapter 14, verse 20).

Absurdity embraced

Following Derbe and the treatment of Paul & Barnabas in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, the pair return to all three cities to visit the disciple where they were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts chapter 14, verse 22).

After experiencing the lows of hostility and the highs of idol worship, Paul and Barnabas are unphased, seeking instead to strengthening believers in each place they were reviled.

Why? Why embrace and return to places they were not only chased out, but also threatened with stoning? Why return to places they were not only worshipped as gods, but also stoned?

Paul answers this question a plethora of times in his writing, most likely because the church needs the answer again and again. One beautiful answer is found in Ephesians chapter 1, Verses 19-20, where Paul writes,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when he raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places

This same power, the working of the Holy Spirit, that raised Christ from the dead, and makes our faith possible is the same power that works in each believer. Leading each believer to not only proclaim the Good News that God died in our place, but that He rose again on our behalf and for His glory.

The absurdity of this surpasses the absurdity of the world. The foolishness of the Christian message carries this power. It is no wonder Paul and Barnabas faced such dichotomous reactions, and it is no wonder they persisted.

This is the same Spirit who lives in all of those who believe. If you believe, will you embrace the absurdity of the Gospel?
Panaji:

The Goa government today introduced a Bill amending the Excise Act, which will give the states traditional liquor, feni, the tag of a heritage spirit and also make certain areas no alcohol consumption zones.



The Bill was introduced by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar during the ongoing State Legislative Assembly session which will amend Goa Excise Duty Act, 1964 so as to define the term feni as a heritage spirit.



In the Statement of Objects and Reasons, Parsekar said Goa government has decided to separately define feni and establish its unique and well deserving status by declaring this liquor as the Heritage Spirit of Goa.



Introducing the amendment, the draft bill recalls that feni has multifaceted use in cultural traditions, cuisines, medical purpose and others which is synonymous to the Goan identity.



Government has said the objective of the amendment is to reach out the Geographical Indications (GI) to the primary and traditional stakeholders.



It will also enable trade in world markets and position it on equal footing with other liquor like Scotch whisky and tequila. The draft bill also seeks to amend a sub-section which will seek to empower the government to declare a space, place, area in the state as no alcohol consumption zone.



Government is receiving a number of complaints of consumption of liquor in open spaces, public places, beaches, public roads, State and National highways; mostly by visiting tourists, the bill reads.



Upon consumption of liquor, the bottles and cans are strewn around causing environmental degradation and causing harm to pedestrians accessing the area, it adds.



Such persons after being in an inebriated state, cause nuisance to general public, disturb the peaceful order in the area and cause local tension, thereby posing a law and order situation on regular basis, the draft bill mentions.

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A Power NI reduction in bills of 4.8% that will save households up to 30 a year and may benefit businesses has come too late, it has been claimed

A Power NI reduction in bills of 4.8% that will save households up to 30 a year and may benefit businesses has come too late, it has been claimed.

The reduction - of around just 8p per day - has been enabled by a drop in fuel costs and will begin from July onwards.

It is expected that almost half a million households in Northern Ireland will see their bills dip by around 30 annually.

The energy provider said the saving will benefit the local economy with a boost of around 13m as consumers spend the savings elsewhere.

Power NI said the reduction relates to its domestic customers, but businesses and farm customers are also benefiting from the same underlying reduction in generation costs.

But Roger Pollen of the Federation of Small Businesses said it was too little, too late.

"The price cut is less than 5%, despite the wholesale price of oil having fallen by more than 10 times that amount in the past year," he said.

"The reduction is also not going to take effect until the month after next, meaning that higher prices will have persisted throughout the very worst of the economic lockdown. And this announcement is for domestic customers only, with no guarantee that there will be a reduction for business customers.

"Given that the gas companies slashed their prices to consumers by four times this amount, over two months ago, there will be many who look at this cut as being far too little, far too late."

Power NI's managing director Stephen McCully said: "Today's announcement will enable people to either save more of their own money or to spend elsewhere and put this money back into the local economy."

Mr McCully said the price cut will mean Power NI consumers will be paying "significantly less" than households in the Republic, GB and across Europe.

Power NI claimed the price drop will mean Northern Ireland consumers will pay 28% less than households in the Republic, 19% less than consumers in the UK and 9% less than those living in Europe.

The Utility Regulator welcomed the move during "a tough time for many customers".

Chief executive Jenny Pyper said: "There is so much uncertainty at this time and many consumers are concerned about the potential for rising costs.

"In that context this reduction will put money back into their pockets."

She said that even with the price cap in Great Britain, the annual average bill for Power NI will be 571, compared to 704 in GB and 798 in the Republic.

Paulino Garcia, head of energy policy at The Consumer Council, said: "This a really tough time for both households and businesses in Northern Ireland.

"Our research shows that consumers are concerned about rising prices, cash-flow, and how they will make ends meet.

"Therefore, this saving of around 30 per year, although small, will be welcomed by households."
BROOKLYN, MI -- Whats the status of the annual Faster Horses Country Music Festival now that many summer outdoor festivals and events have been canceled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The answer may come as late as two weeks before the eighth annual event scheduled for July 17-19, 2020 at Michigan International Speedway, according to an email received by one fan.

Kyle Shaffer, a Lansing-area resident who planned to attend the festival with his wife Michelle, sent promoter Live Nation an email last week, asking for an update. He was concerned about a non-refundable deposit due on an RV.

I understand the need to wait out the pandemic a little bit to see if we are (or still can) have the festival take place but ...I have to pay a non-refundable deposit in 11 days (May 17th) of $1,500 for the RV rental and, I am sure I am not the only person in this boat," he wrote.

"I truly hope that management addresses my concern(s) because, they are being echoed by MANY regulars of the festival that we keep in touch with... Please be considerate of your customers, their health and financial well-being.

Live Nation sent a response the next day, but without addressing his financial concerns.

The email said:

"Thank you for reaching out! Our team is committed to the health and safety of our fans, the artists and the community. Faster Horses 2020 is currently proceeding as planned and we are excited to welcome everyone to the event in July. Please be sure to check out our social posts or sign up for our email blast here https://fasterhorsesfestival.com/ for future festival updates.

We understand your concern and as the festival is still proceeding as planned we ask you to reach back out to us as Faster Horses gets closer (within 14 days of the festival). We will then, based on the current situation, let you know if refunds would be available.

Live Nation promoters have been relatively silent during the coronavirus pandemic, only posting sporadically on social media.

In an email to MLive on Monday, Live Nation reps said:

We dont have new news as of right now. As soon as we do we will share with you.

READ: Whats the status of Faster Horses? Proceeding as planned

The Faster Horses Country Music Festival is the reigning ACM Festival Of The Year. It attracts about 40,000 country music fans each day on two stages. Headliners this year include Jason Aldean, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett.

READ: Faster Horses 2020 announces headliners, lineup and new RV campgrounds

Shaffer, 35, who works for the state of Michigan, and is a decorated combat-wounded veteran retired from the U.S. Marine Corp., said he plans to cancel his RV rental.

Live Nation may say that they are committed to our health and safety, but, they apparently have no remorse for the thousands of festival goers that could lose out on non-refundable deposits for rooms, RV rentals and camping areas, he said in a follow up email to MLive.

"I feel that the public needs to be made aware of what their timeline is for getting the word out to their patrons.

What are your thoughts on Faster Horses? Will you attend this year if it is allowed to take place as scheduled? Do you think it should be postponed?

Email me: gonzo@mlive.com.

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Doctors have been advised against admitting elderly people to ICU, but have authorities underestimated their resilience?

Rie van der Have was admitted to a nursing home to recover from cancer when everyone on the first floor of Flevohuis, the institution in Amsterdam, fell ill with COVID-19.

By the time she tested positive, 31 patients had already died. Her doctor told her she would not be admitted to an intensive care unit and had to stay in the nursing home instead.

Rie told me she had already heard on television that old people would not be admitted to the ICU. At 88 and with her bad lungs, she did not think she would have survived a ventilator anyway.

When he heard she had the disease, Helmut, her 91-year-old husband of 67 years, felt like the earth disappeared under his feet.

Holding back tears, he said: I did not want her to die this way.

In late March, the Dutch Federation for Medical Specialists advised medical professionals to be more selective in sending COVID-19 patients to the ICU.

The Netherlands, which has a population of 17 million, only has 1,150 ICU beds and is traditionally more conservative in sending patients to intensive care wards if there is a realistic chance they will not survive the invasive treatment.

With infections spreading around the country and ICU beds running out, authorities have tried to prevent the Italian scenario, which saw many elderly people die in hospitals on ventilators alone, without their relatives by their side.

Doctors were asked to use the fragility scale looking at the overall condition of patients and their ability to take care of themselves. They held conversations with elderly patients discussing the options in case they got infected.

Helmut said he was also asked the painful question.

I called my doctor for something else but suddenly she asked me if I still wanted to go to the ICU in case I got corona. The way she did this so abruptly and expecting an answer right away felt quite harsh to me, he said.

The fit-looking nonagenarian told his doctor he was not planning to die soon and if needed, he would choose to go to the ICU.

Marike de Meij, a palliative care doctor in Amsterdam, says these are very difficult conversations.

You dont want to give people a feeling that we dont value their lives. You have to explain that it will be a shared decision, she said.

It is not clear yet how many elderly patients have died at home; as in many other countries, these deaths have not been added to the official death toll mainly because many COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands have died without being tested.

But statistics show that the largest age group of people admitted to the ICU dropped by 10 years, from 60 to 65 in April compared with 70 to 75 in March  a sign that many elderly patients decided to stay home.

Doctors have now started to register these so-called hidden coronavirus deaths.

De Meij estimates that the real death toll  which currently stands at about 5,500 people  could be twice as high.

She set up a palliative care unit in the hospital where she works to offer elderly patients more care than what they would receive at home.

I think we have been too rigid in telling patients that they only had two options, the ICU or staying at home. We have offered them a third option where we have given them oxygen to be more comfortable, she said.

While preparing to die, some of her patients have managed to recover, much to her surprise. She believes survival chances of elderly coronavirus patients might have been too pessimistic.

We know so little about this disease, we are learning and adjusting every day, she said. We should stop focusing on people in the ICU but pay more attention to elderly patients in nursing homes or at home that are often forgotten.

To everyones surprise, Rie survived coronavirus and has even returned home.

You can see that doctors are making a selection and if they think you dont stand a chance, they wont admit you to the ICU, said her husband Helmut. But even in her condition my wife managed to survive. Something we did not expect at all.

Helmut is already making plans on how to spend his extra time with Rie.

If she is well enough he wants to take her on a boat ride, like the couple has done most summers of their marriage.
DARPA Blackjack aims to demonstrate spy satellite sensors that are low in size, weight, and power, and that can be mass produced to fit on many different buses from many different providers, for less than $2 million per payload.

They want Low Earth Orbit spy satellite network performance that is on par with current spy satellites systems in geosynchronous orbit with the spacecraft combined bus, payload(s), and launch costs under $6 million per orbital node while the payloads meet size, weight, and power constraints of the commercial bus.

DARPA is evaluating buses from Airbus, Blue Canyon Technologies, and Telesat, all of which have progressed through preliminary design review. The final selection of buses will happen in 2020. The program recently completed preliminary design review for Pit Boss, selecting SEAKR as the primary performer for the on-orbit autonomy system. The agency also awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin as the satellite integrator.

Several sensor payloads are under consideration for the Blackjack demonstration sub-constellation, including overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) from Collins Aerospace and Raytheon; radio frequency systems from Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Trident, and Systems & Technology Research; position, navigation, and timing from Northrop Grumman; optical inter-satellite links from SA Photonics; and electro-optical/infrared from L3Harris. The program also recently completed a Small Business Innovation Research contract with Augustus Aerospace to work on an Army Space and Missile Defense Command-related payload.

U.S. Space Force and Space Development Agency, DARPAs Blackjack program is targeting flights to low-Earth orbit (LEO) later this year and 2021. Using a series of small risk reduction satellites, the program aims to demonstrate advanced technology for satellite constellation autonomy and space mesh networks. Blackjack seeks to develop and validate critical elements of global high-speed autonomous networks in LEO, proving a capability that could provide the Department of Defense with highly connected, resilient, and persistent overhead coverage.

The upcoming demonstration flights are all planned as rideshares, catching a ride to LEO on a launch with other missions. The first demonstration, Mandrake 1, is a cubesat that will carry supercomputer processing chips. Mandrake 2 is a pair of small satellites that will carry optical inter-satellite links for broadband data. These could form the basis of future optically meshed computer networks in LEO.

The program also is targeting a risk reduction payload called Wildcard, a software-defined radio that will experiment with links from LEO to tactical radios. A data fusion experiment with the ability to host advanced third party algorithms, known as massless payloads, is intended for an upcoming Loft Orbital mission.

Its important that we get the design right, says Paul Rusty Thomas, the program manager for Blackjack. We focused first on buses and payloads, then the autonomous mission management system, which we call Pit Boss. We anticipate well begin integrating the first two military payloads next summer with launch via rideshare in late 2021, followed by the remainder of the Blackjack demonstration sub-constellation in 2022.

Here is the plans for Blackjack from 2018, which Nextbigfuture reported in 2018.

SOURCES- DARPA

Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com
Dr. Lamm is an outstanding researcher who exemplifies the skills, dedication, and success this award is designed to recognize.

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) announces that the 2020 Borlaug CAST Communication Award goes to Alexa Lamm, an Associate Professor of Science Communication at the University of Georgia. With a long list of accomplishments as a scientist, educator, and writer, Dr. Lamm is recognized nationally and internationally as an acclaimed research scholar. Colleagues and associates praise her intelligence and hard work, and they note that she is a skilled translator---Lamm has a way of making tech and science accessible for all, from policymakers to the general public.

As a leader in the field of social science research, Lamm examines the impacts of communication and educational practices, especially as they relate to technology that advances agricultural production while maintaining a sustainable environment. Much of her work explores how people make decisions about water conservation, water protection, and water policy.

Lamm has published more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, garnered millions of dollars in extramural funding, and presented her findings hundreds of times using traditional and non-traditional media methods. Currently serving as the Executive Editor of the "Journal for International Agricultural and Extension Education", Lamm has conducted educational programs in more than 32 countries. Along with her leadership roles and publications, she has made numerous appearances on radio and television, been actively involved with social media, and communicated in various ways with consumers, farmers, local leaders, and students in the classroom.

Earlier in her career, Lamm produced impressive results at Colorado State University and the University of Florida. Along with her many other duties, she now teaches several science communication courses at the University of Georgia and served as the Graduate Coordinator in their Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication while launching a new doctoral program. Lamm won the National Researcher Award from the American Association of Agricultural Education in 2019, and she has received recognition and awards in many areas including extension, agricultural leadership, education, and communication.

Lamm now joins ten other respected and talented science communicators in receiving an award that honors the legacy of Norman Borlaug. As one of her colleagues said, Dr. Lamm is an outstanding researcher who exemplifies the skills, dedication, and success this award is designed to recognize.

An award presentation will occur during World Food Prize Symposium week in October, 2020. The Borlaug CAST Communication Award honors the legacies of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug and Dr. Charles A. Black, the first president of CAST.
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 11, 2020 | 05:21 PM | GRAVES COUNTY





On Monday, Graves County deputies were sent to the Lynnville community where 71-year-old Cassie Levy of Paducah told officers that she was driving on KY 381 when she stopped at a stop sign and did not see any vehicles coming her way. As she started to cross, she pulled into the path of a vehicle driven by 64-year-old Steve Douglas.





Douglas was taken to Murray-Calloway County Hospital for treatment of injuries. Levy was not injured in the collision.

A Murray man was taken to the hospital after a two vehicle collision in Graves County.
As the unprecedented effort of the elders of the Democratic Party to use the Justice Department and intelligence services to manipulate and then undo a presidential election collapses, their response is a study in the corruption of unchallenged incumbency. The reason the country is in its present impasse is inadequate post-Reagan presidential leadership. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his chosen successor, Harry Truman, got the country out of the Great Depression and salvaged 95 percent of the economic system that had collapsed, did the necessary to assist the democracies to stay in the war against Hitler, and then conducted the American war effort with great skill and put in place the structure of future peace and the institutions that won the Cold War, relatively bloodlessly. When the time came for change, after five Democratic terms, it was gentle change, to Dwight Eisenhower, and almost no discernible policy change. There followed almost a decade of peace and prosperity, as Ike extracted the country successfully from the Korean War and kept it out of Vietnam.

The country reached for bold and vigorous change in moving a whole generation to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnsons New Frontier and Great Society. Civil rights was a triumph for LBJ, but he left Nixon a terrible crisis in Vietnam. Nixon successfully triangulated Great Power relations and withdrew from Vietnam while retaining a non-Communist government in Saigon, but the Democrats, exploiting Nixons mismanagement of the trivial Watergate affair, brought his administration down and abandoned Indochina. The country was not ready for Jimmy Carters forlorn lamentations of a national malady as he urged Americans to wear cardigans and turn down their thermostats during an oil crisis. Ronald Reagan was a more activist and charismatic Eisenhower, though a film star did not have the prestige of a successful World War theater commander. Reagan restored confidence and prosperity and won the Cold War, bloodlessly, by escalating the arms race into defensive anti-missile weapons. He left America content and alone at the summit of the world.

Story continues

Except for Carter, all the presidents from Roosevelt to the first term of Clinton were somewhere between adequate and outstanding. But it had all started to come apart with George H. W. Bush. He was competent and managed the Gulf War very well, removing Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, but he had no program and was an ambiguous leader, and he allowed his party to split badly  the first president to do so since William Howard Taft in 1912. The unbalanced billionaire and political charlatan Ross Perot captured 20 million mainly Republican votes and the Clintons made the giant leap from Little Rock to the White House. Bill Clinton was also a competent manager and an astute political strategist, but he underreacted to the early terrorist incidents, the bombings of the Khobar Towers, the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the attack on the U.S.S. Cole at Aden (1996 to 1998), which killed a total of 260 people and injured about 4,500 (most of them not Americans). He also decreed and legislated the commercially unviable mortgage  the political free lunch of raising home ownership and boosting the building trades at no cost to the taxpayer. Eventually, the greatest economic crisis in the world since the Great Depression was the result.

George W. Bush had committed the country to an almost endless war in and around Iraq that has effectively handed much influence in that country to the Iranian enemy we were supposedly confounding, and generated an immense humanitarian disaster. Barack Obama didnt get a real economic recovery despite a 233 percent increase in the previously accumulated national debt, and produced an unsatisfactory health-care plan, a misguided attempt to appease Iran with a green light to nuclear weapons in another five years, and a self-punitive and inadequately researched commitment to radical environmental goals. Because of his suavity and the earned national satisfaction of having broken the color bar on the countrys highest office, Obama has had a charmed public-relations life. But the brutal fact is that the George W. Bush and Obama administrations were failures, and so was the second Clinton term.

From Reagan to Obama, annual per capita GDP growth declined from 4.5 percent to 1 percent and the post-Reagan Republican presidential candidates were indistinct  the Bushes, Robert Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney; none of them had the prestige of Eisenhower, the political cunning and government experience of Nixon, the panache and eloquence of Reagan. They were essentially also-rans. Bush Senior won what was as close as could be found to a third term for Reagan, and George W. won very narrowly against unprepossessing Democrats  Al Gore and John Kerry. Trump was elected to clean up after the 20 most unsuccessful years of presidential government in American history, worse than the decade before the Civil War and the three terms between Wilson and FDR, both periods that ended in calamities.

Trump was elected because the political class was completely cut off from any grasp of what the average American thought of the flatlined new normal of no growth in income for the middle and working classes, and a great deal of useless human and financial sacrifice in the Middle East. George W. Bush responded to the economic disaster on his watch with this sucker could go down, and millions resented the condescension of Obamas disparagement of the working-class and agrarian-class Americans who relied on guns and the Bible, and his belief that the country could be pacified with just moderate unemployment and cheap gasoline.

Since Trump attacked the entire system, both parties, and the national political media, they have attacked him with unprecedented ferocity  an overwhelming barrage of media hostility, and since the Republican congressional leaders, such as speaker Paul Ryan, were not behind their presidential candidate, the Democrats, confident of victory, went where none has dared to tread in American history before: They used the intelligence services to feed to the press defamatory fiction about Trump collected from unreliable sources in Russia but almost unquestioned because it was the fruit of a spurious counterintelligence investigation that conducted espionage on the Trump campaign and transition team. Once Trump was elected, they tried to sandbag him with a fraudulent special-counsel investigation into the Russian-collusion allegations, which they knew to be unfounded, for the purpose of covering up their own crimes. Obama and Biden were present at the January 5, 2017, meeting where these matters were aired, and they do not have clean hands. Serious crimes were committed by high officeholders. This was as close as America has come to an attempted coup detat and it is all about to blow up, finally.

In these circumstances, it must remain a howling mystery what President Obama was thinking over the weekend when he ruefully announced his uneasiness when a man charged with perjury gets off scot-free and described Trumps management of the public-health crisis as chaos. General Flynn wasnt charged with perjury, he wasnt guilty of anything, but he was ruined and threatened with imprisonment because of his dissent from Obamas and Hillary Clintons mismanagement of the terrorist threat. As for Trumps chaos, Obama is the president who left no emergency medical resources at all, who gave us dissolving red lines in Syria, midwifed ISIS by his petulant withdrawal from Iraq, and modestly described his half-measures of response as American leadership at its best. Obama was an unsuccessful president who is totally invested in defeating Trump because he is now under investigation for having attempted to stop Trumps election illegally. That is what is shocking, and when it is objectively confirmed and legally established, it will demonstrate the danger of running weak candidates against inadequate presidents, and of electing an assortment of unsuccessful presidents to four consecutive terms. George W. Bush and Obama were the first unsuccessful presidents to be reelected; Hoover and Carter were defeated, and succeeded by great presidents, and Franklin Pierce was defeated and succeeded by James Buchanan, who had the decency not to seek a second term as the Union was disintegrating.

Whatever one may think of the foibles of the incumbent, he is cleaning up after much misgovernment, and is persevering despite an illegal assault on his office of a magnitude that no previous American president has faced. It will now fail, but the country and its political class must learn the lesson of it. This is no time for a shower of Pulitzer Prizes, as in the Watergate nonsense. Venal and inept government in both parties and all branches of government came dangerously close to entrenching itself.

More from National Review
It is disappointing to see HRWs unwillingness to stand with those who are working to promote and defend human rights.
Employers group Ibec says the Government needs to step up its pandemic budget plans and to develop more a more ambitious long-term investment plan and social contract.

The call came as Ireland faced its second major economic crisis in less than a decade and one that could leave a long shadow of shuttered businesses and workers without jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

"While economic dislocation has been sudden, its full impact has not yet been felt and is likely to last for years," said chief executive of Ibec Danny McCoy.

"Government must do whatever it takes to offset the significant economic shock of Covid-19," Ibec said. It called for the State to expand its primary deficit by one percentage point for every percentage point by which the economy is expected to shrink.

The first step, the industry group said, was to boost Government spending with new measures equal to around 15bn in addition to the money already allocated.

While the Government recently stepped in with support for businesses to ensure that as many as possible survive and are in position to start investing and hiring again, Ibec noted the scale of public supports to address the liquidity crisis in businesses was "far behind those in most other countries".

"Further measures such as low or zero-cost loans, export credit insurance and extended state guaranteed loans are urgently required," it said.

The call from Ibec came as the Government mapped a tentative path to reopening the economy - starting on May 18 and running in phases for businesses where health risks are greater.

However, the opening of some economies that initially appeared to have experienced a relatively low rate of deaths such as South Korea and Germany, was accompanied by a spike in infections that many feared was the start of a second wave of coronavirus.

The easing of restrictions in other countries has not led to a rapid economic recovery, according to data from Austria and Denmark which shows that people are staying away from public transport and areas that used to be crowded.

Ireland's worst-affected sectors are in food and accommodation. The number of people unemployed or dependent on the State in some form for their income is now 1.1 million - around half the workforce.

A survey by Ibec of 550 chief executives showed that almost three quarters expected to see pre-Covid business levels up to a year after the lockdown restrictions end and that 41pc of those surveyed had laid off workers or put them on short-term working.

However, around half of the businesses say they will not have returned to pre-crisis levels of staffing by the end of the year. One in ten CEOs expected "substantial decreases in staffing levels".
Cancer care has dramatically changed as a result of the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic: many patients have not been going to their GPs, or putting it off, and have been referred to the hospital later. Consequently, a quarter fewer cases of cancer have been diagnosed for several weeks, as found by the Netherlands Cancer Registry based on initial diagnoses in the PALGA pathology database.

Dr. Avinash Dinmohamed of the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL in Dutch) and Prof. Sabine Siesling of IKNL and the University of Twente and colleagues report this decline in diagnoses in the highly regarded scientific journal Lancet Oncology. Prof. Siesling explains: 'This data on cancer diagnoses in the Netherlands is one of the most unique in the world because of the nationwide coverage and the promptness with which it is made available. Based on it, we can respond rapidly to the decline in diagnoses. Other countries may be able to confirm their suspect feelings on effects of the crisis based on the Dutch trends and to take measures to ensure that regular care is resumed covering all parts of the care pathway.'

Sharing the Dutch data with care professionals and researchers throughout the world enables other countries that do not have up-to-date (national) records to respond to the decline in diagnoses. Thanks to the long-standing and close collaboration between IKNL and the national pathological archive PALGA, we gain a comprehension of the number of cancer diagnoses in the Netherlands only two weeks after samples of tumor material (e.g. biopsies) are taken. This system is one of the most unique in the world. The data shows that diagnoses have declined, and the government has, therefore, called upon people to go to their GP if they have complaints. It has also prompted hospitals and GPs to make strenuous efforts to resume non-COVID-related care and, more specifically, cancer care. Most recent data show an increase in cancer diagnosis for skin and breast cancer, but for most other cancer types no increase can be seen.

Decline in diagnoses

At the low point of the corona crisis, cancer diagnoses excluding skin cancer were approximately a quarter fewer than the usual number per week. The decline was probably due to deferred GP visits and referrals and the postponement of hospital diagnosis.

In the case of skin cancer, the number of diagnoses was even more than halved for several weeks. The most common types of skin cancers, such as squamous cell carcinomas, are found particularly in the elderly, who may be avoiding visiting their GP for fear of COVID-19. The potential harm caused by late diagnosis of these most common types of skin cancer would seem to be limited as these are seldom life-threatening. Nevertheless, there is a backlog of care to be provided. For many other types of cancer there continue to be fewer diagnoses and the backlog will need to be dealt with to avoid adverse effects of late diagnosis and treatment.

Internationally unique data

Thanks to expedited review and publication process by Lancet Oncology, the results have been published up to the end of Week 15. These results have drawn the attention of researchers and care professionals across the globe, who can take action based on the information to meet the challenge of maintaining cancer care during the pandemic in their respective countries. The Netherlands Cancer Registry and PALGA are unique internationally because of the nationwide coverage and the promptness with which the data are made available. From the data, we are learning how to improve health care progressively. Also, it enables us to have rapid information on the numbers of diagnoses during the corona crisis. Based on the trends we observed in the Netherlands, other countries can gauge what effect the crisis is having on cancer care there.

In addition to numbers of diagnoses, IKNL monitors the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on treatment patterns and, ultimately, treatment outcomes.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte urged the nation to adapt to the new normal guidelines as quarantine restrictions are eased gradually to restart the economy.

He said some people will be allowed to go out and work while others will be required to stay at home. Some areas, with a high rate of infection, will remain under lockdown after May 15.

Ganito ha. For those who would be allowed to go out and work and for those na hindi pa talaga puede, remember na itong pag-...the easing up of the restrictions, hindi yan (ibig) sabihin na wala na ang Covid. Just because we allowed certain people...dahan-dahan lang para walang ano...hindi tayo madapa, he said in a speech aired Tuesday morning.

Because we cannot afford...we cannot afford a second or third wave na mangyari, he said, referring to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) epidemic in the country.

He said the list of people who will be allowed to return to work will be announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Those allowed to go out will need to adapt to the new normal, such as wearing of face masks at all times and observing social distancing.

Do not go out of your house without a mask. That is a must, must comply. Tatapikin ka ng pulis, hindi naman huhulihin, pero kakahiya sabihin sa yo, tumabi ka muna, wala kang mask, Duterte said.

Kung wala kang mask, you endanger...ipapasubo mo yung kaharap mo. Hindi ikaw. Kung gusto mong mamatay, okay lang. Pero yung kaharap mo, hindi pa nya panahon tapos mamatay lang sa ka-...just because you do not want to comply, he added, shortly after wearing a face mask himself.

The President also stressed the need for social distancing.

Ito yung new life, until such time na meron nang vaccine. Merong mga medisina, but not vaccine, he said.

To those who will not be allowed to go out, Duterte urged for compliance as he stressed that the respiratory disease Covid-19 is fatal in its severe form.

The disease, which is caused by the newly discovered novel coronavirus called Sars-CoV-2, has brought economies almost to a standstill. The virus is highly infectious because people who have contracted it pass it on even before the symptoms appear.

Story continues

Ngayon, kung wala ka naman talagang gawin, Covid is very lethal. Huwag ka talagang magsugal dyan sa Covid kasi pag tinamaan ka, it can go either way. Punta ka sa punerarya o matulog ka sa bahay ninyo, Duterte said.

Emphasizing the threat posed by Covid-19, Duterte noted how family members could not hug an infected person even after death.

He also noted that funeral parlors refuse to cremate the remains of an infected person.

Duterte said the new normal guidelines being imposed by the government are precautionary measures intended to protect the people.

Simple man lang ang hinihingi ng gobyerno. Kung wala ka mang negosyo, lalo nang mga anak ninyo, walang klase...wala, hindi pa ako nag-aannounce ng ano...do not believe in that..may..sa June, he said.

The President said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases still has to decide on the resumption of classes.

Classes were suspended in mid-March after coronavirus infections started to increase in the country. The Department of Education earlier announced that school year 2020-2021 will start on August 24, 2020, not in June.

Covid-19 cases in the country have been increasing at a steady rate. As of May 11, the Department of Health said there were a total of 11,086 cases, including 726 deaths and 1,999 patients who have recovered.

Globally, the virus has killed 278,892 and infected more than four million people as of May 11, according to the World Health Organization. (MVI/SunStar Philippines)
Actor Pierson Fode, best known for romantic comedy "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List", has landed a role in the upcoming movie "Man From Toronto".

According to Deadline, he joins the action-comedy, which already has Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson, and Kaley Cuoco on board.

Patrick Hughes, best known for "The Expendables 3" and "The Hitman's Bodyguard", will direct the movie from a script by Robbie Fox and Chris Bremner.

Fox developed the idea in collaboration with filmmaker Jason Blumenthal.

The story follows a case of a mistaken identity as one of the world's deadliest assassin, known as the 'Man from Toronto', and a New York City screw-up named Teddy run into each other at an Airbnb. A clash of personalities, and a clash with deadly killers, ensues.

Blumenthal will also produce the movie alongside Todd Black and Steve Tisch. Bill Bannerman will serve as executive producer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The World Health Organisation chief said Monday there are around seven or eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing the original thinking two months ago was that it may take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. But he said an accelerated effort is under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organisations and banks for research, treatment and testing.

He said the $8 billion will not be enough, and additional funds will be needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough "to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone - (and) there's no one be left behind." "We have good candidates now," Tedros said. "The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates. We are focusing on the few candidates we have which can bring probably better results and accelerating those candidates with better potential."

Tedros did not identify the top candidates. Since January, he said, "WHO has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development from developing animal models to clinical trial designs and everything in between." Tedros said there is also a consortium of more than 400 scientists involved in vaccine development and diagnostics.

The WHO chief stressed that COVID-19 is "very contagious and it's a killer," with over 4 million cases now reported to WHO and almost 275,000 lives lost. While new cases are declining in Western Europe, they are increasing in Eastern Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and other regions, he said.

Tedros said "the pandemic is teaching us many painful lessons," especially the importance of having strong national and regional health systems. "And yet on current trends, more than 5 billion people will not access these essential services by 2030" - the ability to see a health worker, access essential medicine, and have running water in hospitals, he said.

He stressed that as the response to COVID-19 continues, nations must also lay the foundations for a healthy, safer and fairer world. "The world spends around $7.5 trillion on health care each year, almost 10 percent of global GDP, but the best investments are in promoting health and in preventing disease at the primary health care level which will save lives and save money," Tedros said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the briefing that all nations are "in it together" but the immediate priority must be the most vulnerable countries and communities. She called for a new debt relief program for vulnerable countries so their economies can recover.

She said measures to protect and stimulate the economy, from cash transfers to credits and loans must be targeted at women "who make up the majority of those in the hardest-hit informal economy, and who are at the forefront of the community response." The head of the International Labor Organization said the UN agency estimates the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs will be lost around the world in the second quarter of this year, which ends on 30 June. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder told the briefing that by comparison, only 22 million full-time jobs were lost immediately when the financial crisis hit in 2008-2009, "so you can see we're in an entirely different place".

Ryder said it's also often forgotten that 60 percent of the global workforce of 3.3 billion have jobs in the informal economy, most of them women. He said the ILO estimates that in the first month of the pandemic, with lock-downs and economic shutdowns, "these people have lost on average 60 percent of their income, their revenues from work." And they are concentrated in countries with scarce resources and the weakest social protection systems, he said.

Ryder called for international cooperation to help those most in need and for stepped up efforts to keep enterprises alive, retain jobs, maintain the link between enterprises and workers even when they can't work now.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Coronavirus Live Updates: Lockdown 4.0? PM Modi address at 8pm today; cases-70,756

Also read: Coronavirus: WHO rubbishes allegations of pressure from China to withhold information
The job retention scheme, whereby employers can furlough staff during the coronavirus lockdown, is one of the UKs governments biggest ever financial interventions.

The scheme, unveiled by chancellor Rishi Sunak on 23 March, pays furloughed workers 80 per cent of their wages (up to 2,500 per month), enabling them to keep their jobs and stay afloat even while not working.

However, Sunak announced a number of changes to the scheme on Tuesday 12 May which will affect the estimated 7.5 million people currently furloughed in the UK.

Although, he confirmed, there will be no changes whatsoever to the current arrangements until the end of July.

Will the government reduce my pay?

It had been suggested that the government could wind down the percentage payment from 80 per cent to 60, or even 40, to reduce the cost of the scheme, estimated to be around 40bn over the next three months.

Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride previously told MPs: I just wanted to focus for a minute on how we might unwind the furlough scheme most productively and effectively.

I think the first thing is that we should look at a tapering away of that particular measure from 80 per cent down to 60 per cent and 40 per cent and so on to smooth our exit.

But in Sunaks speech he said there is no plan to reduce the 80 per cent  only that businesses will be asked to start paying a share of the cost.

I want to assure people today of one thing that wont change  workers will, through the combined efforts of government and employers, continue to receive the same level of overall support as they do now, he said.

This isnt the first time the government has told employers they are responsible for topping up wages.

Since the beginning of the scheme the Treasury has said that if employers want employees to be receiving their full pay packet (rather than just the 80 per cent provided by the government) they should be willing to put their hands into their own pockets.

I think it is particularly important that employers should contribute something to the cost of furlough beyond the end of June, said Stride.

I say that because there will be many employers out there who currently have members of staff on furlough and are not having to pay them to be on furlough, and actually have no intention in the medium term at least of bringing them back into businesses.

At present, employers can choose to top up furloughed workers pay by contributing 20 per cent, so that staff are receiving their full wages. However, there is no legal obligation for them to do so.

According to Citizens Advice, although 80 per cent (or less) of a workers regular pay might be below minimum wage, this isnt against the law because theyre not working. Those who are struggling to get by may be able to claim some benefits, even if theyre currently furloughed.

Are there any other changes to the scheme?

It was announced on Tuesday that the scheme will now run till October  it had previously been billed to end in July.

There had also been speculation that the scheme could become more flexible. At present, staff can only be furloughed full time, meaning that they dont work at all.

Businesses had been campaigning to change this to allow employers to furlough staff part time instead, so that the government pays a percentage of their salary only for the hours theyre not working.

On Tuesday Sunak said additional flexibility will be built into the scheme to allow a part-time return to work over the summer but precise details of how this will work are to be released at the end of May.

Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Show all 30 1 /30 Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Shoppers observe a minute's silence in Tescos in Shoreham Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Firefighters outside Godstone fire station PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute's silence at University College Hospital in London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A school children's poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A man holds a placard that reads "People's health before profit" outside St Thomas hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus University College Hospital, London Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute's silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London An NHS worker observes a minute's silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London AFP via Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Belfast, Northern Ireland NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Plymouth NHS workers hold a minute's silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Mater Infirmorum Hospital People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Waterloo Station, London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy's Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Royal Derby Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Leicester, NHS workers during a minute's silence outside Glenfield Hospital Getty

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has been campaigning for this change.

The vast majority of small employers have furloughed staff and theyre telling us loud and clear that the ability to do so on a part-time basis as we move towards recovery will be key to keeping their operations afloat, said FSB chief Mike Cherry.

How many people are currently on furlough?

Sunak said that more than 7.5 million people in the UK are currently on furlough to a cost of 10bn and counting.

There has also been a surge in claims for universal credit for those who have found themselves out of work  ministers have said the government has processed some 2 million universal credit claims since lockdown was first imposed in March.
CHICAGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Apple, the leading Illinois nonprofit committed to preparing, honoring and supporting exemplary educators who advance educational opportunities for students, today surprised Natalie Fry, principal of East Side Intermediate School in Harrisburg, with the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership, presented in honor of founding Golden Apple board member Stanley C. Golder. For the first time in Golden Apple's history, the awardees are being notified differently than in the full-school environment, and Fry was surprised live on-air by a WSIL-TV reporter.

The Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership honors exemplary performance in school leadership by a principal or head of school who has had a significant and sustained positive impact on the school, created a culture of inclusivity and delivered dramatic student growth. Fellow educators, students, parents and community members nominate school leaders for the annual awards.

"Schools that are effectively preparing students for the world of tomorrow generally have at least one thing in common, and that is a leader such as Natalie Fry who empowers students, teachers, parents and staff alike to pursue excellence on a daily basis," said Golden Apple President Alan Mather, the inaugural recipient of the Excellence in Leadership award. "Natalie Fry clearly demonstrated during the evaluation process, conducted prior to school building closures in Illinois, the skills and wisdom of an exemplary school leader."

Leadership award nominations increased 40% over last year and were received from 33 counties. This is the seventh year that Golden Apple has recognized exceptional school leaders with the Excellence in Leadership Award.

"Exemplary school leaders foster an environment in which students are engaged to maximize their potential, while teachers are dedicated to providing their students with the support they need to thrive, no matter the circumstance," said Alicia Winckler, Golden Apple CEO. "Golden Apple is proud to recognize principals with the rare gifts leaders like Natalie possess."

About Natalie Fry

Fry attributes her leadership success to fostering trust, collaboration, communication and a "no-fear" mentality to taking risks among her team. "When we want to try something new, we have each other's backs," she said. As a result, several important academic programs have been implemented during her principalship, including a third and fourth-grade reading room, hiring an intervention specialist (MTSS), implementing academic vocabulary at each grade level, adopting a new rigorous ELA curriculum, co-teaching, integration of Chromebooks/Google classrooms and educating staff on ACES and resilience. These initiatives have elevated East Side's state designation.

The Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership recipient receives a cash award of $10,000, with $5,000 for the school leader and $5,000 to the school for a project of the recipient's choosing. Award recipients also become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community of educators who support current and future teachers and deepen the learning of students. Fellows play an important role in preparing the next generation of teachers by providing instruction and mentorship to future teachers in the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs, each of which is dedicated to addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois.

The nomination period for the 2021 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership is open. All are invited to nominate exceptional Pre-K-third grade Illinois teachers and Pre-K-12th grade school leaders at www.goldenapple.org/awards.

Golden Apple's social media channels will feature surprises for each of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership recipients. Follow the news here: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn. All press materials for the surprise notifications can be found at www.goldenapple.org/awards.

About Golden Apple

Golden Apple's mission is to inspire, develop and support teacher and school leader excellence in Illinois, especially in schools-of-need. Our leading-edge preparation delivers exceptional teachers who make an impact. We help students thrive in the classroom and in life. Since our beginning, we have recognized master educators annually; and, these master educators help prepare the next generation of teachers. Our vision is an Illinois in which every classroom has a great teacher and to realize this, we are committed to making a material difference in resolving the teacher shortage throughout Illinois. Visit http://www.goldenapple.org for more information.

Media contact:

David Pickard

708-305-1910

[email protected]

SOURCE Golden Apple

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The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced the much awaited second economic relief package worth Rs 20 lakh crore to bring the economy back on track and make India 'self reliant' at a time when world is facing its biggest crisis in terms of the coronavirus pandemic. This package is likely to include the earlier economic announcements by the government and the RBI to deal with this emergency. "The announcements made by the Centre over COVID, decisions of RBI and today's package totals to Rs 20 lakh crore. This is 10 per cent of India's GDP," said PM Modi.

The demand for a large fiscal stimulus had been emerging from various quarters and the size of the second fiscal measure is much larger than anticipated. Several industry bodies such as The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) have demanded a stimulus package ranging between Rs 10 lakh crore to 16 lakh crore in order to offset the negative impact of a prolonged lockdown on the economy.

ALSO READ: Making sense of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package

ALSO READ: Financial package for India Inc.: Big industry may have to fend for itself

Anticipating a sharp fall in tax and non-tax revenues, the government has substantially increased its gross market borrowing estimates for 2020-21 to Rs 12 lakh crore from the budget estimate of Rs 7.8 lakh crore, taking a big hit on its fiscal deficit. This is an increase of more than 50 per cent from its budget estimates. However, covering both the revenue slip and financing country's budgeted expenditure of 30.4 lakh crore will be a challenge ahead. "The extra borrowing is unlikely to be enough to cover both the revenue slip and higher spending, and we believe the government will have to resort to more borrowing later in the year," said a Nomura report dated May 10.

According to Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities Research estimates, the government will fall short on revenue (both tax and divestment) by around Rs 4.55 lakh crore after accounting for about Rs 1.86 lakh crore in additional excise duties (including the hike in March 2020). The economy is in dire straits and a bigger question is, where will this money come from? More clarity will come once the Finance Minister will provide the details the on the fiscal package.

ALSO READ: Industry wants tax holidays, export help and low-cost capital

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Local content based incentives on the anvil for manufacturing sector
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 22:46:26|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to build a 140MW geothermal power plant under the public-private partnership (PPP) framework, the state-owned electricity firm said on Tuesday.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) said in a statement that the PPP project entails the development of a geothermal power generation plant on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis.

"The successful bidder will enter into a joint venture with KenGen and will finance, construct, own and operate the power plant and the associated facilities and transfer the project back to KenGen at the end of the operational term," the company said.

According to the firm, five companies have been shortlisted to set up the first phase of Olkaria VI 140 MW Power Plant in Naivasha which approximately 75kms northwest of Nairobi.

KenGen already produces 534 MW from geothermal power.

The company said that due to the heavy capital investment required to develop power projects, it found it necessary to have private investors take an active part in the development of its power projects to achieve fast capacity expansion program.

KenGen noted that besides the usage of private financing, PPP model ensures project cost overruns are not borne by government agencies, bring innovation and better use of appropriate technologies, and ensure better exploitation of assets.

In the past, the electricity generator has financed power projects through syndicated debt funding sourced primarily from multilateral and bilateral institutions, locally raised debt, equity and state-to-state concessionary funding. Enditem
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BREAKING: Solstice Studios wants to be the first to test the movie theater marketplace, setting a July 1 release date for the Russell Crowe psychological thriller Unhinged. The indie production/distribution company has moved the film from its September 4 release date right into the July 4 weekend, a moment where they expect theaters to be open and full of repertory programming. Unhinged will likely be the first to test the waters as theaters try to rebound from the crushing pandemic, and utilize the safety playbooks that NATO and all exhibitors are finalizing to restore customer confidence that it will be once again safe to venture back into a movie theater.

Watch the first trailer below.

More from Deadline

When we green lit this film, I probably figured that July 4th weekend and Christmas would be the two least likely slots, said Solstice chairman/CEO Mark Gill. We were sitting on September 4 and then COVID-19 happened, and A Quiet Place 2 moved out of its original slot and landed on our date. When you are in a speedboat and a giant ship is coming at you, you better move out of the way. We looked at the rest of the year, fall/winter and spring 2021. The release schedule was already crowded, and when you add all the films that have been delayed, it made it think that maybe we go sooner.

Gill knows July 4 weekend is usually the domain of studio behemoth movies, but that isnt the case this year for obvious reasons. The first call was to John Fithian at NATO, whose organization is in touch with state public services departments, and if they had said you cant open theaters, we would have said forget it. We dont want to do anything that isnt safe and expert-guided.

Story continues

Turns out the exhibition crowd was looking for a movie just like this one. Solstice did its own private poll of 1000 moviegoers on how many wanted to return to the theaters in July, and the results were encouraging, as was another study that indicated the movies fans will be most eager to see when things rebound are escapist thrillers. A movie about road rage colliding with pent up moviegoer demand could mean acceptable business in a holiday corridor a picture like this moderately budgeted one sees if it is going for the counterprogramming dollar.

We thought maybe 40% would say they were eager to return to the theaters, but we were surprised to see the number at 80%, he said. We became convinced that enough theaters will have been open for a couple of weeks, playing repertory and not new films. This is a relatively modest budget movie at a $33 million budget, and so if we earn $30 million at the box office, we will be fine. If you made a $200 million movie, that would not be acceptable. The bar for success is modest. It was heartening for us to hear the perspectives of theater owners. We are launching as a company that makes films for the theatrical marketplace, and theres no better way to demonstrate your commitment to theatrical than to be the canary in the coal mine in a post-pandemic atmosphere. We love and support the theaters and the jobs they represent, but from a business perspective, we see an opportunity to have a week or two of clear path before theaters get Mulan and Tenet.

The pic takes an ordinary, everyday incident to its most terrifying conclusion in telling the story of a mother who leans on her horn at the wrong time, to the wrong guy. Road rage doesnt begin to describe what hes about to do to her and everyone she knows. That role is played by Crowe, the Oscar winner who can dial up the intensity like few actors can. Derrick Borte directed the Carl Ellsworth script, and Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson and Austin P. McKenzie also star.

If no other films jump into that corridor to oppose it, Unhinged will benefit from the need to cut down on density in theaters to assure patrons that nobody will be sitting on top of them, and coughing. As Deadline revealed in a Reopening Hollywood column on the preparations being made by theaters, seating will resemble a chess board, with no one sitting next to you, or in front of you. That could cut capacity by 50% or more. If Unhinged is the only new movie in the marketplace, it can take as many screens as needed to get the necessary audience saturation. Theater chains also will make a big showing of sanitizing theaters, eliminating or fully sanitizing traditional points of contact, and using masks and gloves.

We might not be able to do it with 2000 screens, but maybe we need 8000 screens, Gill said. There are 40,000 screens available. As the only new movie in the marketplace at that moment, we expect to be able to have the screens we need.

Solstice will leave the enforcement of safety measures to the theaters, but hes become well informed after numerous conversations with theater owners who are desperate to re-open.

They said theyve survived floods, hurricanes, riots and shootings, things they had to adapt to in the moment, he said. They all say, weve had time to prepare and were going to do this right. They understand theres no getting this three-quarters right. It has to be 100% safe, and their levels of preparation gave us the confidence we needed to do this.

The U.S. release of Unhinged will follow or coincide with theater openings in nations around the globe, including Australia, China, The Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwanwith a number of additional countries likely to announce openings in late June or July.

All of these lofty plans are subject to things proceeding as they are right now, as cities  and theaters  across the country carefully reopen, as are movie theaters in countries around the world. A setback could change these release plans, of course.

I dont see that happening, Gill said. But setting a release schedule is always like playing chess on the ocean, even without a pandemic. Films move, a lot. If states as a public health matter shutter theaters, what are you going to do?

Here is the just-released trailer:

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Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County
Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee has said that there is no certainty that India will gain from shifting of businesses from China in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to a Bengali channel ABP Ananda on Monday evening, Banerjee said that everyone is blaming China for the COVID-19 outbreak as it has origin there.

"China is being blamed now for the coronavirus outbreak. Even people are saying that India stands to benefit as businesses will shift from China and come to India. But that may not be true," the economist said.

Banerjee, who is also a member of Global Advisory Board formed by the West Bengal government to prepare a roadmap for COVID-19 response in the state, said, "What happens if China depreciates its currency. In that case, Chinese products will be cheaper and people will continue to buy their products".

Talking about the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) planned to be spent by the Centre for a relief package, Banerjee said countries like the US, UK and Japan are spending a high share of their respective GDPs.

"India plans to spend less than one per cent of its GDP at Rs 1.70 lakh crore. We should spend much increased proportion of GDP," he said.

The Centre had announced a more than Rs 1.70-lakh crore package to alleviate the hardship of the poor hit by economic disruption due to coronavirus outbreak.

The Economics Nobel Prize winner said main problem is that people of the country do not have high purchasing power.

"The poor people now do not have the money and they hardly have any purchasing power. There is no demand as well. The government should give money in the hands of the common people because they run the economy, not the rich," he said.

Money should be given in the hands of poor people in phases over a period of three to six months, the economist said, adding that if they do not spend that, there is no problem.

Banerjee felt that it is the responsibility of the Centre to look after the migrant workers.

"We have not thought of their problems that they will face. They have no shelter and money in their pockets," he said.

There is a need to issue emergency ration cards to all for a period of three or six months, he said.

"It is the responsibility of the Centre as the migrant workers pass through various states to reach their homes," Banerjee noted.

He said the central government has taken some steps to provide relief to the people, of which extending moratorium on loan repayment is one.

"There is need for taking other steps as well. But the problem is where is the demand," he said.

The MIT professor said there is no dearth of work in India.

"Workers in Delhi and Bangalore are being asked not to leave the states as there are works," he pointed out.

Talking about the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain coronavirus outbreak, he said it has been extended in phases and people were made aware of social distancing and asked to wear masks.

"But that stage is not reached about how to run the economy by maintaining social distancing," he said, adding that it is easier said than done.

Regarding testing of samples, he said India is a big country and the quantum of test should have been more from the beginning.

"We do not know the extent of the coronavirus outbreak as there was no population testing done," he said, adding that more testing should be conducted before lifting the lockdown.

He further said, "More the test, lesser will be the death rates. In West Bengal, the number of tests has increased now. So, incremental death rate is gradually falling".

On increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, he said, "It is rising linearly, not exponentially".

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

By Amy Jo Burns

Read by Catherine Taber

I listened to Shiner, Amy Jo Burnss fierce and moving debut novel, as I walked deserted spring streets, almost tasting the West Virginia whiskey of the title, a jolt like heartbreak at midnight. The audiobooks narrator, Catherine Taber, talks Appalachian with a warm and satisfying twang. I cant swear to the exactitude of the dialect, but Id bet that Taber is from a place where we pronounce it Appa-latch-uh and not Appa-lay-shuh.

Fifteen-year-old Wren Bird lives with her parents outside Trap, W.Va., an exit off an exit where men slip serpents through their fingers on Sunday mornings and pray for God to show Himself, while wives wash their husbands underpants. Wrens father, Briar, is one of these preachers, although his temper flares if Wren calls him a snake handler. Its taking up serpents, he instructs. The first thing my father taught me, Wren recalls, is that a snake is not a snake. Its an agile tapestry, a piece of the wild you can hold in your hand.

Briar is known outside Trap as White Eye, having been struck by lightning as a young man, losing most of his sight in one eye and gaining the faith of those who believed hed been burned with hot coal by an angel while he slept.

Wrens best friend is her mother, Ruby, the dawn of everyones morning, but Rubys best friend is Ivy  a lifelong bond both daughter and husband envy. When they were young, Ruby and Ivy made a plan to escape Trap together  to dump their fathers bottles of whiskey and disappear without a note  but instead Ruby fell for Briar, the day he was blighted by lightning and became a legend.
The Lars Windhorst Foundation is offering families and teaching staff access to psychotherapists in an effort to support their mental and emotional health amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the mental wellbeing of members of the public has been heavily impacted by the many changes they have had to adjust to, from being furloughed to being separated from their relatives for long stretches of time.

Nearly half of adults (47 per cent) have suffered from Covid-related anxiety according to an ONS study , and researchers from the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge have said the pandemic is likely to have major impacts on mental health now and into the future.

Writing in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, the team stated that children, among other groups, may be in particular need of mental health support, saying: The pandemic intersects with rising mental health issues in childhood and adolescence.

Ascertaining and mitigating the effects of school closures for youth seeking care is urgent and essential, given that school is often the first place children and adolescents seek help."

In light of the pandemic and subsequent closure of schools in March, the Lars Windhorst Foundation, which supports non-profit and social organisations to deliver positive sustainable change to improve society, has announced it is offering mental and emotional support to families and teaching staff from local primary schools in London.

The foundation has launched a range of practical initiatives to bring essential help to schools and families, including delivering toys, teaching resources and access to psychotherapists.

The measures have been introduced in association with Light Education Training and the firms team of qualified psychotherapists.

Teaching staff and families will have access to wellbeing sessions facilitated by highly-experienced psychotherapists in child and family health, the Lars Windhorst Foundation told The Independent.

These sessions can offer advice and support, the opportunity to share experiences, and provide practical suggestions to release stress and anxiety, such as body awareness and breathing techniques. One-to-one personal sessions are also available.

On its website, the foundation outlines that these sessions are being offered to families and teaching staff at local primary schools in London.

Coronavirus: London on lockdown Show all 29 1 /29 Coronavirus: London on lockdown Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street Photos Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown An empty street in the heart of Chinatown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Making sure I stay two-meters apart  DArblay Street, Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Communities have been coming together in a time of need Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Stay Safe  Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty streets around Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street, one of Londons busiest tourist streets turns quiet Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub Angela Christofilou

Lars Windhorst, founder of the foundation, said that the organisation has always been passionate about supporting young people and, during this difficult time, I believe it is more important than ever to focus on this.

The coronavirus crisis will cause significant disruption to young people and their families lives, and schools are facing unprecedented problems, Mr Windhorst said.

We hope that by offering this very practical support we can help minimise disruption to education and make this period easier for pupils, families and teachers.

Vanessa McHardy, director of Light Education Training, stated that offering safe spaces to families and teachers where they can share and connect is vital in the current climate.

Tim Mvula, assistant principal of the King Solomon Academy, explained that the school has had to completely re-imagine the ways in which we can provide excellent education for all our pupils, be it remotely, or for the few key worker children that are still attending the school.

Generous help from the Lars Windhorst Foundation has meant that we can increase our impact during home learning tuition online, and pupils on site have access to a wider variety of engaging resources, Mr Mvula said.

On Monday 11 May, the government released guidance on how lockdown measures in England are expected to ease in the coming days and weeks.

The Department for Education stated that by Monday 1 June at the earliest, primary schools in England may be able to welcome back children in key transition years, which includes students in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

However, the department stressed that schools will only be reopened if the virus stays on the downward slope.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a U.N. Economic and Social Council video briefing the original thinking two months ago was that it may take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. But he said an accelerated effort is under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organizations and banks for research, treatment and testing.

He said the $8 billion will not be enough, and additional funds will be needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to produce enough "to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone - (and) theres no one be left behind."

"We have good candidates now," Tedros said. "The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates."

"We are focusing on the few candidates we have which can bring probably better results and accelerating those candidates with better potential," he said.

Tedros did not identify the top candidates.

FILE - In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. After the new coronavirus erupted in China, the World Health Organization sprang into action: It declared an international health emergency, rushed a team to the epicenter in Wuhan and urged other countries to get ready and drum up funding for the response. Many analysts have praised the initial response by the world's go-to agency on health matters. But now, governments have started to brush aside, ignore and criticize WHO recommendations on issues of public policy, like whether cross-border travel should be restricted or whether the public should wear masks. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, file)

Since January, he said, "WHO has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development from developing animal models to clinical trial designs and everything in between."

Tedros said there is also a consortium of more than 400 scientists involved in vaccine development and diagnostics.

The WHO chief stressed that COVID-19 is "very contagious and its a killer," with over 4 million cases now reported to WHO and almost 275,000 lives lost.

While new cases are declining in Western Europe, they are increasing in Eastern Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and other regions, he said.

Tedros said "the pandemic is teaching us many painful lessons," especially the importance of having strong national and regional health systems.

"And yet on current trends, more than 5 billion people will not access these essential services by 2030" - the ability to see a health worker, access essential medicine, and have running water in hospitals, he said.

He stressed that as the response to COVID-19 continues, nations must also lay the foundations for a healthy, safer and fairer world.

"The world spends around $7.5 trillion on health care each year, almost 10 percent of global GDP, but the best investments are in promoting health and in preventing disease at the primary health care level which will save lives and save money," Tedros said.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the briefing that all nations are "in it together" but the immediate priority must be the most vulnerable countries and communities.

She called for a new debt relief program for vulnerable countries so their economies can recover.

And she said measures to protect and stimulate the economy, from cash transfers to credits and loans must be targeted at women "who make up the majority of those in the hardest-hit informal economy, and who are at the forefront of the community response."

The head of the International Labor Organization said the U.N. agency estimates the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs will be lost around the world in the second quarter of this year, which ends on June 30.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder told the briefing that by comparison, only 22 million full-time jobs were lost immediately when the financial crisis hit in 2008-2009, "so you can see were in an entirely different place."

Ryder said its also often forgotten that 60 percent of the global workforce of 3.3 billion have jobs in the informal economy, most of them women.

He said the ILO estimates that in the first month of the pandemic, with lock-downs and economic shutdowns, "these people have lost on average 60 percent of their income, their revenues from work." And they are concentrated in countries with scarce resources and the weakest social protection systems, he said.

Ryder called for international cooperation to help those most in need and for stepped up efforts to keep enterprises alive, retain jobs, maintain the link between enterprises and workers even when they cant work now.
Singapore rejected "herd immunity" as a strategy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and signaled it instead will continue to contain transmission until a vaccine is ready.

"It's too big a price for us to pay," Kenneth Mak, the health ministry's director of medical services, said at a briefing Tuesday. "Even though we have taken many steps to prepare for surges, to expand our capability, it can easily be overwhelmed with a strategy of moving toward herd immunity."

With new cases continuing to climb by hundreds each day, the city-state is opting for a more aggressive testing strategy that pivots from selectively screening those with symptoms of the coronavirus. The government already plans to bolster its testing capacity fivefold, from about 8,000 to as many as 40,000 tests a day by later this year.

The government announced its expanded testing plan as it seeks to re-open an economy that has been hammered by the ongoing partial lockdown. Some workplaces and services, including hair salons, laundromats and pet food shops were allowed to resume operations Tuesday, while certain groups of students will be allowed to return to school next week.

More than 80% of Singapore's workforce has been working from home after the government implemented "circuit-breaker" measures, including closing schools and most workplaces, in early April.

So-called herd immunity is established if enough people in a community develop immunity through prior illness or vaccination. Researchers would have to develop a vaccine that proves safe and effective against the coronavirus, and health authorities would have to get it to a sufficient number of people.

Achieving "herd immunity through natural infection is going to be very difficult and will result in large numbers of infections and complications," said Vernon Lee, the ministry's director of communicable diseases, at the briefing Tuesday. "We will have to wait for a viable vaccine to come out."

While the number of cases in the wider community continues to come down, an outbreak among low-wage migrant workers staying in cramped dormitories has led Singapore to record one of the largest virus tallies in Asia. On Tuesday the health ministry confirmed 884 new cases, the "vast majority" of them in the dorms, pushing the total to more than 24,000.

Infection rates at dorms are stabilizing, Brig. Gen. Seet Uei Lim, commander of the inter-agency taskforce, said Tuesday. The government is creating "clean blocks" of recovered migrant workers who can go back to work when their sectors gradually re-open when the circuit breaker ends, he added.

By the end of May, 20,000 foreign workers will be ready for discharge from care facilities, Development Minister Lawrence Wong said. All of the more than 300,000 foreign workers in the city will be tested, he said.

With steady progress being made in the wider community and in the dorms, the government is in a "good position" to think about easing restrictions in a calibrated manner, Wong said.

"We are continuing to test many workers, including the ones who are asymptomatic," part of the process to clear the dormitories systematically, Wong said. This will be done through mass swab tests and serology tests, with the latter being used in dormitories with high infection rates.

Officials said last week the government is looking at testing vulnerable groups such as residents and staff of nursing homes, front-line medical workers and the homeless. It also will prioritize migrant workers and those in essential services such as waste management, logistics and finance.

Though Singapore is scaling up testing efforts, its game plan is different from the mass testing adopted by countries like South Korea, where people can request to be tested.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said April 24 the city-state is looking at "much more testings for the entire population, and at the same time to take on" additional safe distancing measures.
Relatives of 19 soldiers killed in Gulf of Oman naval exercise accident attend ceremony in Chahbahar.

Iran has held a funeral service for 19 sailors killed during a military training exercise when a support vessel was mistakenly hit by a missile from another Iranian ship.

Mourning relatives of the killed soldiers, along with military and government officials, attended Tuesdays ceremony at a naval base in the southwestern port city of Chahbahar, according to state media.

The navy vessel was struck late on Sunday near the port of Jask about 1,270km (790 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, on the Gulf of Oman.

The missile hit the Konarak when the Hendijan-class support ship came close to a target during a drill, state television said. Fifteen sailors were also wounded in the accident.

Iran regularly holds exercises in the Gulf of Oman, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz, considered the worlds most important oil transit chokepoint.





The fatal test-firing echoed another accident caused by the countrys military in early January when it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner shortly after takeoff from Tehrans airport, killing all 176 people on board.

Irans elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) admitted to the catastrophic error, saying it came as the countys air defences were on high alert after firing a barrage of missiles at US targets in neighbouring Iraq in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

The downing of the plane sent shockwaves across the country at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.

Relations between the two longtime foes have sharply deteriorated since 2018 when President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear deal signed between world powers and Iran in 2015.

Washington then reimposed sanctions on Tehran, crippling its economy.

Iranian and US vessels routinely have tense encounters in the region.

Trump last month tweeted that he told the US navy shoot down and destroy Iranian gunboats that harass US ships. The IRGC promised a crushing response to any US military attacks in the Gulf.
MIDDLETOWN  State and local authorities are investigating the discovery of a mans body found under mysterious circumstances following an early April fire hat destroyed a former auto parts store in the south area of the city.

Firefighters were called to the fast-moving, two-alarm blaze at 3:30 a.m. April 5 at the onetime Car Quest Auto Parts store at 311 Main St. Extension, according to South Fire District Chief Michael Howley.

State police, police and the fire marshal are putting their heads together to solve the mystery, he said.

The unidentified individual who perished in the fire was found inside the structure. Investigators determined the front door was smashed in, he added. No other details were available.

An excavator was used to assist in the removal of heavy rubble, and, as layers of debris were removed, a body was located, Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond said in a press release Monday night.

At one point, the intensity of the blaze caused firefighters to pull back from the building, according to the South Fire District Firefighters IAFF Local 3918 Facebook page.

Because of the age and construction of the facility  the wood frame and balloon construction  the structure was consumed by rapidly moving flames, the chief added. It was just an old timber building.

What remains is a partially standing building surrounded by a pile of metal, brick and concrete. Portions of the brick facade remain, but the wooden frame of the 3,552-square-foot facility built in 1936 has been reduced to a charred rubble.

When the two large metal-frame billboards on the property went up in flames, crews were concerned about which direction they would fall, as well as the safety of fire personnel and apparatus operators. The signs were a staple there for 50, 60 years. They were big and heavy and a hazard for us. It was just a matter of time, before they toppled, the chief said.

Middletown property records show the property is owned by John C. Seagrave.

Seagrave didnt return a request for comment by press time.

Two days prior to the fire, the owner found the window of the front door broken, Desmond said. He searched the building and did not find anything suspicious. The day before the fire, the owner reported the damage to the police and provided pictures of the damage. The incident was documented, she added.

The body has been identified and next of kin has been notified. Once the investigation is complete, city police expect to release more information.

The historic building once housed a machine shop in the back. People would send their wheel drums there to be replaced, the chief said.

There were many flammable materials inside the building, such as paint supplies and machine shop materials.

The cause and the origin will be determined after reports expected to be filed by the states fire marshal office are concluded, Howley said.
Press Release

May 12, 2020 DOCTORS' GROUP LAUDS PRC FOR ENSURING HEALTH CARE WORKERS' WELL-BEING For placing great importance on the need to ensure the health and well-being of health care workers (HCWs) as the country, along with the rest of the world, battle with the Coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic, a group of doctors from Department of Health hospitals lauded the Philippine Red Cross, headed by Senator Richard J. Gordon. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO, has proposed that all medical workers, who are at the forefront of the fight against the disease, must be tested for COVID regularly every ten days or at least every 14 days because they have high risk of getting infected, coming in close contact with COVID patients. "So thankful to Phil. Red Cross for the expedited processing of the PCR tests of our HCWs! Truly blessed by your humble service. May God grant you the joy of service!" Dr. Rica Mirasol Lacague said in a text message. The PRC already opened two testing centers that are both equipped with polymerase chain reaction machines that can run up to a total of 8,000 tests a day. The PRC's testing capacity would expand to 20,000, with the opening of another testing center in Port Area, Manila this week and four others in Subic, Clark, Batangas and Los Banos in the next few weeks. The PRC has partnered with the Philippine Coast Guard in getting arriving and newly-arrived overseas Filipino workers tested for the disease; and also with several local governments in the National Capital Region. Trained PCG and LGU personnel take the swabs and transport them to the PRC for testing. Some hospitals have also sought the Red Cross' assistance in conducting test for their patients and for their health workers. Another doctor also thanked Gordon for providing the vision and the inspiration for making the bio-molecular laboratory a reality; likewise citing the untiring devotion, patience and resilience of PRC's Dr. Monina Nalupta as well as the advice and guidance provided by Dr. Suzy Mercado, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Here's to the true solidarity. Maraming salamat, looking forward to the next run!" Dr. Tricia Bautista also said in a separate text message.
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 11 May 2020 - With the ever-growing craze for all things Korean, Korean language schools in Singapore have been steadily feeding the nation's K-cravings, one lesson at a time. One Korean language school in Singapore is enjoying particular success due to their emphasis on teacher selection, training, and teaching pedagogy. This top-rated institution is none other than Sejong Korean Language School, which has recently expanded its centres from two to three in Singapore. However, founder-cum-principal Ryan Kwak Seong Hoon of the language school is not resting on his laurels just yet.





Today, Sejong Korean Language School runs three centres islandwide. Its headquarters in Tanjong Pagar sees many young working professionals for evening and night classes after work. The Jurong East satellite campus serves the West-side dwellers, while a newly launched campus in Tampines makes Korean learning accessible for those in the East. It has not been long since the opening of their third campus, but their founder is already setting his sights on even further expansion.





According to Mr Kwak, he has plans to further grow the school to meet the rising demand for Korean language courses in Singapore. As the school enters its eighth year of operations, he "still has many plans yet to execute". One of these plans includes an upcoming Korean library within the school's main campus at Tanjong Pagar. He hopes that the library will be a driving force to promote readership and familiarity with Korean texts amongst his students.





Labelling themselves the #1 Korean Language School in Singapore is not all just marketing hype, either. The institution's popularity is well-backed by the numbers. Well over a thousand active students attend their classes each week, which makes Sejong Korean Language School the largest of its kind in Singapore in terms of the size of their student community.





Other notable testaments to the school's reputation are their long list of corporate clients who trust them for providing Korean language training to their employees. Some of these corporate clients also include local banks, law firms, and our national airline.

Story continues





With so many commendable achievements in such a young institution, many wonder what sparked this success. For the team at Sejong Korean Language School, they call it the "Sejong Standard". The phrase refers to their signature teaching approach that is as systematic, structured and efficient as it is fun-filled and engaging. It seems that this tried and proven method is what attracts students to choose the Sejong brand over other course providers.





Achieving their current standards of education is not easy, especially for the teaching team at the MOE-registered private school. In fact, the institution is well-known for its stringent recruitment process when it comes to their Korean language teachers. Prospective teachers are scouted from top employment agencies and universities in South Korea, and they go through multiple rounds of interviews before only the most qualified and passionate candidates are shortlisted. New hires then have to embark on months of in-house training to get them up to mark with the "Sejong Standard" before they are allowed to commence teaching proper.





It is evident that the institution's booming popularity is not just something they take for granted. In fact, it is hard to imagine today that this success had very humble beginnings. The Sejong Korean language school of today was the result of the passion of one young Korean man's quest to make Korean language learning accessible in Singapore.





As a child, Mr Kwak found himself in Singapore when his family migrated here from South Korea. At first, he struggled greatly with learning, communicating, and making friends in Singapore due to his poor grasp of English. Yet, this experience only served to ingrain in him the importance of language fluency for navigating and thriving in society, and ignited his passion for language education.





In 2012, Mr Kwak started his Korean language centre as a one-man show with an 80-hour work week in a single classroom and tiny rented office. His unique background lent him the rare advantage of being able to impart Korean language skills while making it relevant to the local context of Singapore. Thanks to this distinctive edge, his classes are immensely well-received by Singaporeans here. As Mr Kwak continued to hone the structure of his teaching, the popularity of his classes grew, and Sejong Korean Language School has grown from strength to strength since then.





Looking forward, Mr Kwak believes that the demand for Korean language learning is still on the up-trend. He notes that when he first started teaching, many students were K-wave fans who were led by their interest in Korean popular media and culture. But today, a brief inspection of the student demographic of the school reveals a wide variety of backgrounds and goals, ranging from Korean enthusiasts and language lovers, to a surprisingly large number of locals learning for personal purposes such as to communicate with their Korean spouse or partner! Up to a third of the school's students are business professionals looking to upskill themselves.





Interested individuals can get a taste of the "Sejong Standard" for themselves at one of the institution's centres. Sejong Korean Language School offers Beginner to Further Advanced Korean language courses, including SkillsFuture claimable Korean courses.





For more information, please visit: https://www.sejong.com.sg/




KABUL, Afghanistan  The morning was not yet over, but already it felt as if the very cycle of life in Afghanistan was under assault, with attacks at a maternity ward and a funeral serving as grim reminders that its people are in peril from cradle to grave.

First, three militants stormed a hospital in Kabul soon after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, shooting new mothers dead before the newborns in their arms had even seen the light outside the hospital. At least 15 people were killed inside the hospital  mothers, babies, medical workers, and one police officer.

As security forces were scrambling in Kabul, about a hundred miles to the east, in the province of Nangarhar, a suicide bomber walked into the funeral for a local police commander. As hundreds of locals queued in front of the body for the final prayer, the bomber detonated his explosives not far from the corpse.
Former Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. has called on the city of Philadelphia  in an op-ed published by the Guardian  to issue a formal apology Wednesday, the 35th anniversary of the day his administration dropped a bomb on a group of citizens. The action claimed the lives of six adults and five children and burned a neighborhood to the ground.

Both Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council President Darrell L. Clarke have so far remained mum on whether they will respond. They may think there are more important things to deal with at a time of a deadly public health crisis. They might think they didnt participate in the bombing, so why should they apologize? They may wonder what good an apology would do, anyway.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Council President Darrell Clarke silent on whether city should apologize for MOVE bombing

These are fair questions. Still, it is an opportunity for city leaders to acknowledge some hard truths  about how race was at the center of a terrible loss of life and livelihood then, and 35 years later, it remains at the center of a terrible loss of life and livelihood.

On May 13, 1985, the police, after a day-long confrontation with the black radical and naturalist group MOVE, in an attempt to evict their compound on 6221 Osage Ave., dropped an explosive device on the roof of the building. The roof caught fire. Committed to achieving tactical superiority to his mission, then-Police Commissioner Gregore J. Sambor told the fire commissioner to let the fire burn. Eleven people, including five children, died, 61 houses burned, and at least 250 people were left homeless.

The vast majority of victims  MOVE and neighbors  were black.

The former mayor is adamant to this day that he was misled and didnt know about the plan to drop an explosive device on the house, despite conflicting accounts that he approved it.

Heavily armed, and infamous for a confrontation with police in 1978 in which an officer was killed, and a nuisance on the block it occupied, MOVE was not a sympathetic group. But sympathy is not a prerequisite to recognizing injustice.

The bombing isnt the only part of the MOVE story tainted with systemic racism. Neighbors of MOVE had complained about the commune for years but were ignored by the city. After the bombing, the city rebuilt houses that quickly fell apart, leaving many without decent shelter, and the neighborhood physically scarred.

Today, as poverty continues to choke the city, and Kensington residents ask how long homeless encampments would have been allowed in Rittenhouse Square, and as Benjamin Franklin High School parents whose concerns about asbestos were ignored until whiter, Science Leadership Academy students were exposed, its clear that questions of race and class continue to resonate. And long-standing racial health disparities mean that the coronavirus is killing nearly twice as many blacks than whites in Philadelphia.

Mayor Kenney and City Council President Clarke might have not been there on that day in 1985, but they are here today, as heirs to the citys leadership history  and its future. Acknowledging mistakes is a powerful way to move forward and to demand change  even if those mistakes were made by someone else.
The environment ministrys expert committee on forest clearance- the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) deferred the clearance for the 3097 megawatts Etalin Hydroelectric Project (HEP) proposed in Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

Headed by the Director-General of Forest, has sought views of the Ministry of Power on the feasibility of the project, vis-a-vis, the countrys current energy plans. Its priority in comparison to other projects planned in the region and its tariff structure, which the FAC said, was already high at the time of the proposal.

The FAC also sought a detailed cost-benefit ratio analysis for the project. It asked the project proponent- Jindal Power Limited if trees in the projects reservoir area could be spared from felling.

As this is a large-sized project in the Himalayas, inputs of the Impact Assessment division of the Ministry on whether environmental impact of the proposed project and mitigating measures have been considered, will be obtained, the FAC stated. The FAC had appraised the project on April 23 via video-conference and the minutes of the meeting were made public on May 12.

The cost of the Etalin HEP is pegged at Rs 25,296.95 crores and it requires diversion of 1,165 hectares of pristine and luxuriant forest and will lead to felling of over 2.7 lakh trees as per project appraisal documents. A joint venture between the Arunachal Pradesh government and Jindal Power Limited plan will implement the project.

During the appraisal of the project, the FAC accepted the recommendations of a seven-member sub-committee. It constituted to visit the site and examine the concerns of the regional office of the environment ministry regarding the projects ecological impacts. The sub-committee broadly supported approval of the project. Besides, the FAC also accepted the report of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) which submitted a Wildlife conservation plan for the impact zone of Etalin HEP.

The WIIs report, however, had come under criticism from 24 scientists belonging to 14 scientific institutions, who termed the report biased, incomplete and flawed. The FAC had asked WII to do a multiple seasons replicate study to assess the biodiversity of the catchment area of the Etalin project.

WII did a five-month study and did not find the presence of any tigers in their study area. However, the FAC had noted in the past hearings that 12 tigers had been seen using camera traps in the Dibang valley. Tigers are also considered culturally significant by the Idu Mishmi tribes who dont hunt the striped cat. Tigers are considered as brothers by the tribe and they have opposed the Etalin project.

The Dibang valley, where the HEP is proposed, is considered a mega biodiversity hotspot of the world. The project is located at the junction of the Paleoarctic, Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan bio-geographic regions. The state government of Arunachal Pradesh has planned over 100 HEP projects and just this March 12, the union environment and forest ministry granted the Stage-II or final forest clearance for the Dibang Multipurpose Project.

This project, to be built by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd, would have the countrys tallest concrete gravity dam with a proposed height of 278m.
Boeing Co.s top executive sees a rocky road ahead for US airlines, saying its probable that a major carrier will go out of business as the Covid-19 pandemic keeps passengers off planes.

The recovery is going to be slow, with air traffic languishing at depressed levels for months, Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in an interview to be aired Tuesday on NBC. Asked by Today show host Savannah Guthrie if a major airline might have to fold, Calhoun replied, Yes, most likely, according to a preview of the interview provided by NBC.

Something will happen when September comes around, Calhoun added, referring to the month when the US governments payroll aid to the airline industry expires. Traffic levels will not be back to 100%. They wont even be back to 25%. Maybe by the end of the year we approach 50%. So there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines.

Carriers worldwide are facing a dire collapse in demand for flights as governments restrict travel and consumers heed warnings to stay home. Boeing is shrinking its business as the companys airline customers delay orders and rethink their fleets. Calhoun has predicted air travel wont return to pre-virus growth levels until mid-decade, and the Chicago-based planemaker last month announced plans to pare 16,000 workers and slow production of its jetliners.

The CEO was speaking to the general uncertainty in the sector, not about any one particular airline, Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in response to the NBC interview.

The US governments payroll support for airlines expires at the end of September.

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The authorities on Tuesday extended the detention of Dr Kafeel Khan, booked over alleged hate speech under the National Security Act, by another three months.

The Gorakhpur doctor has already spent three months in detention at Mathura Jail under the stringent NSA after allegedly making an inflammatory speech on the Aligarh Muslim University campus during the protests there over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The NSA on Dr Kafeel has been extended up to six months as there is apprehension that his release may lead to law and order problems, a senior official in Aligarh confirmed.

The six months include the three months already spent in detention. The NSA allows preventive detention for up to a year.

Kafeel Khan's brother Adil Ahmed questioned the extension.

I am surprised by the NSA extension grounds that Kafeel's release may lead to unrest, he said.

With all train and air services discontinued and the university closed, how is it possible that Dr Kafeel goes to the AMU campus and disturbs the peace?



Does the extension make any sense in the situation of a lockdown, he asked.

Adil Ahmed also expressed concern over his brother's health, citing reports of coronavirus infection in Agra Jail and the fear of the infection spreading in the overcrowded Mathura prison.

Khan was arrested at Mumbai airport on January 29 in connection with a case registered at Aligarh's Civil Lines police station under section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code.

The section relates to promoting enmity between groups over religion and other differences.

On February 10, Khan was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court but not immediately released by Mathura Jail authorities. His family then moved court in Aligarh, claiming contempt of the HC order.

The court issued a fresh release order on February 13. But before it could be executed, the authorities invoked the NSA against him.

The doctor had earlier faced arrest following the deaths of over 60 children in a week at a government hospital in UP's Gorakhpur in 2017.

About two years later, a state government probe cleared Khan of all major charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:59:52|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend a video meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers Wednesday in Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced at a press briefing Tuesday.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian made the announcement, saying Wang and other member states' FMs will discuss in great depth issues including global cooperation on the fight against the COVID-19, the international and regional situations and the future development of the SCO. Enditem
The scene around Main and State Streets in downtown Doylestown. Read more

TL;DR: A Drexel University team of public health researchers estimated that the first 45 days of Philadelphias shutdown, which began March 23, avoided about 57,000 hospitalizations and saved 6,200 lives. Here is how Pennsylvania decides when counties can reopen. Pennsylvania health officials announced today that they would require mass testing of tens of thousands of nursing home staff and residents.

 Ellie Silverman (@esilverman11, health@inquirer.com)

What you need to know:

 Its still too soon to set a timeline for reopening Philadelphia, the citys health commissioner says.

 Phillys Welcome America festival for the Fourth of July will take place virtually.

 President Donald Trumps planned visit to a Delaware County factory that produces PPE materials was canceled after plant officials expressed concerns about health risks. He is now slated to visit a medical equipment firm outside Allentown.

 Photos: A New Jersey Air National Guard flyover honored COVID-19 first responders.

 Disney is making filmed version of Hamilton streamable in July.

 Nancy Pelosi unveiled a $3 trillion coronavirus aid package, for which the House could vote on as soon as Friday.

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.

Pennsylvania health officials said Tuesday they would require mass testing of tens of thousands of nursing home staff and residents. This announcement comes after Pennsylvania long-term care facilities have been struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus. More than two-thirds of the more than 3,800 Pennsylvanians who have died of the coronavirus were residents of nursing or personal-care homes. "This effort will give us a clearer picture of the extent of outbreaks in nursing homes and a head-start at stopping them, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said. Read more here about Pennsylvanias plan.

A Drexel University team of public health researchers used an interactive model developed by the New York Times to estimate how many hospitalizations and deaths were prevented in 30 big cities, including Philadelphia. The researchers estimated the first 45 days of the citys shutdown, which began March 23, prevented about 57,000 hospitalizations and 6,200 deaths. Staying home until May 22 would prevent 68,000 hospitalizations and 7,100 deaths. Read more here about what the researchers found.

Helpful resources

You got this: Dont expand your quarantine circle yet

Even though Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf extended this regions stay-at-home order until June 4, people are increasingly traveling further from home. Theyre going against local guidelines and scheduling hangouts, sometimes maintaining six feet of distance from one another, and other times not. But experts warn you shouldnt do that. Heres why.

Still want your stimulus check by direct deposit? Heres what you need to do.

 If you lost health insurance when you got laid off, heres how to get coverage.

 Did you eat your two-week food supply? Heres why you need to restock it now.

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

Public schools are struggling to adjust to remote learning, while some private schools have online luxury learning, the New York Times reports. This is widening the education gap across the county.

Twitter will allow employees to work from home forever, BuzzFeed reports.

More than half of Americans say the U.S. government is doing a poor job preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new poll from CNN.

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.
A 36-year-old woman was killed



and her husband critically injured in an attacked by some unidentified assailants at their home in a village in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Tuesday, police said.

The incident took place at around 5.30 am, when unidentified persons allegedly barged into the couple's home in Sonale village and attacked them with sharp weapons, public relations officer of the Palghar police Hemant Katkar said.

While Vaishnavi Gawand died on the spot, her husband Vilas (40) was undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

A case of murder was registered in this regard and further probe was underway, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Gold Springs Resource Corp. (TSX:GRC)(OTCQB:GRCAF) (the "Company), reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations ("MD&A"). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

As at March 31, 2020, the Company has a working capital of $3.63 million, including $3.29 million in cash.

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company reported a net loss of $0.36 million ($0.00 loss per share) compared with net earnings of $0.10 million ($0.00 earnings per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The primary driver in the change in results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 was the non-cash gain of $0.40 million recorded in the 2019 period for changes in the fair value of the arbitration award asset, Class B shares and other arbitration award liabilities.

During the quarter, the Company continued to manage and maintain its costs structure which resulted in general and administrative expenses (excluding non-cash share-based payments) of $0.22 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $0.25 million for the same period in 2019.

Exploration spending during the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.20 million, comprising expenditures incurred solely for Gold Springs. Principal activities revolved around target development, including rock-chip surface sampling of new and existing drill target areas, as well as structural and geological mapping of those areas. The Company also made the project ready for the re-start of drilling later this year.

The Company has deferred certain activities of its 2020 exploration plan, including the 2020 drill program, due to the social and economic disruption caused by the COVID 19 outbreak and its impact on our industry and capital markets. The Company continues to monitor this situation and will assess its decision in the future, in light of the market conditions at that time. For the time being, the Company decided it will be updating its resource estimate for the Gold Springs project during Q2 2020, to include the results of the 2017 and 2019 drill programs, which are not yet included.

Outlook

The Company's focus for 2020 is on the exploration and expansion of the mineral resources at its Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, USA.

About Gold Springs Resource Corp.

Gold Springs Resource Corp. (TSX:GRC) and (OTCQB:GRCAF) is a growth-focused gold exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, U.S.A. Management has extensive experience in global exploration and the mining industry.

Gold Springs Resource Corp. Contact:

Matias Herrero

Chief Executive Officer

info@goldspringsresource.com

+1 (778) 801-1667

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "creating", "view of", "intended", "plan", "believe", "vision", "would", "continue", "will", "estimate", "promising", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources, grade, recovery rates, metal prices, capital and operating costs, and the application of taxes; availability of sufficient financing to fund planned or further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters, including water requirements for operations, as plans continue to be refined; regulatory, environmental and other risks of the mining industry more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form and continuous disclosure documents, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada and Utah; the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for Gold Springs, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this press release describe the Company's expectations as of the date hereof.

SOURCE: Gold Springs Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589432/Gold-Springs-Resource-files-Q1-2020-Financial-Statements-and-MDA
Sydney :

According to a new report on MH370, the ill-fated flight plunged into the ocean at high speedup to 20,000 feet a minutereinforcing analysis that the missing Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in the current search zone.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard.

An extensive underwater hunt in the southern Indian Ocean has not yet found the crash site, fuelling speculation it may be outside the current search zone, particularly if someone was at the controls at the end of the flight.

A manned plane could have been glided down, allowing it to enter the water outside the 120,000 square kilometre area being searched, some experts have suggested.

But extensive testing by aircraft manufacturer Boeing and new Australian defence department data analysis both suggest thatregardless of the possible actions of one or both of the pilotsthe jet dived into the ocean at high speed, The Australian reported.

Once MH370 ran out of fuel and the engines flamed, it slowed before plunging down towards the water in a series of swoopsdropping from 35,000 feet at a rate of between 12,000 feet a minute and 20,000 feet a minute, Boeing said, according to the report.

The sharp dive was confirmed by a new data analysis by Australias defence department involving signals sent automatically between the plane and a satellite, the head of the agency leading the MH370 hunt said.

Australian Transport and Safety Bureau chief Greg Hood said this supported the view MH370 was likely to have crashed in the 120,000 square kilometre area now being searched, the paper said. The area was defined under the ATSBs most likely scenario that no-one was at the controls and the plane ran out of fuel.

The Australians leading the search do not doubt that the pilot may well have been responsible for the jets disappearance but they say critics of the search strategy are wrong to assume that means they are looking in the wrong place, the report added.

Malaysian officials said last week that one of the pilots used a home-made flight simulator to plot a very similar course to MH370s presumed final route, but warned this did not prove he deliberately crashed the plane.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Mumbaiites can expect a three-month delay for Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro -7 (Dahisar East -Andheri East) to get operational, Mumbai metropolitan commissioner RA Rajeev said in a webinar, hosted by a media outlet on Tuesday evening. The two lines were to be operational by December this year.

Though we had a workforce of 11,000 labourers at various sites, the work was stopped for a month or two. Now, many migrant workers are looking at going back to their states. So we are expecting a two to three-month delay. The Metros that were to start in December 2020, might start by March-April next year, Rajeev said.

Though the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had talked about the delay in the two projects when the lockdown was announced in March, this is for the first time that the commissioner has announced revised dates for the two Metro projects.

Rajeev also said that the delay period has been estimated as per the current situation.

If we see another surge [in Covid-19 cases], we will have to revisit the timelines and finances. These are times of uncertainty. There will be cost escalations and delays that have to be borne, he said.

The 18.6-km Metro-2A project is estimated to cost 6,410 crore, while the 16.5-km Metro-7 project is expected to cost 6,208 crore.

MMRDA is the nodal authority for the Mumbai Metro Master Plan, which is looking at implementing a 337-km network in and around the city. MMRDA is also implementing the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)  a 22-km sea-bridge connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Rajeev said that MMRDA has resumed work at many sites in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region now and the workers are taking due precautions.

All the workers are wearing masks and adhering to social distancing wherever possible. Hand sanitisers have been provided at all sites. We take two meetings a day to guide them on the precautions to be taken, he said.

The state agency is also building a make-shift 1,008-bed capacity hospital at the MMRDA grounds and is also planning to construct another one at the Bandra-Kurla Complex, Rajeev said.

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The Peshmerga Ministry of Iraqs Kurdistan Region said it will send a delegation to Baghdad to discuss security cooperation and the situation in the disputed territories.

Maj. Gen. Babakr Faqe Ahmed, general media director at the Peshmerga Ministry, did not specify to reporters today when the delegation would go, saying the ministry was waiting until the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is fully in office.

Why it matters: The Islamic State (IS) launched a spate of deadly attacks in recent weeks against Iraqi security forces and Iran-linked militias, as well as a raid on a peshmerga position. Officials say IS exploits a lack of security cooperation between the peshmerga and Baghdads forces to launch such attacks.

The attacks have put pressure on officials to increase coordination, which largely broke down in late 2017 when the Iraqi military advanced into Kirkuk in reaction to the Kurdistan independence referendum.

Baghdad at the time accused the Kurdistan Region of attempting to annex territories the peshmerga had captured during the war against IS.

The resulting shift in forces left significant gaps between the two sides outposts and patrol areas spanning from the Syrian border in the west to the Iranian border in the east.

The US-led international coalition against IS has encouraged both sides to restore security cooperation, warning that IS militant networks hide out in the disputed areas.

Whats next: Its not clear the two sides will restore full joint security operations anytime soon. An effort to reboot the joint coordination committee by Iraqs previous prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, in December 2018 led to joint surveys of the territories, but subsequent meetings bore little fruit as a dispute over oil revenues further set back relations.

Moreover, the US military consolidation at larger bases in Iraq, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, has reduced Washington's ability to facilitate such coordination on the ground, at least for the time being.

Know more: See Adam Lucente's piece on the increase in IS attacks in Iraq during the coronavirus lockdown.
FELTON, California, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global temperature controlled packaging solutions market size is anticipated to reach USD 16.8 Billion by the year 2025, according to a new report by Million Insights. It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.3% over the forecasted period. Rising demand for fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, beverages, and pre-cooked meals is expected to boost market growth. Also, the increasing requirement for temperature-controlled packaging to shipping vaccines, drugs, and biological samples in the developed countries of North America and Europe such as the U.S. and Germany are expected to increase the demand for such products in the upcoming years.

The region of Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness a significant growth rate for these products owing to the rise in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industry. Further, the rising population in developing countries like China, India, and Japan is expected to surge the need for such products in the future. Moreover, a rise in the number of organized retails in these countries is expected to boost demand.

Please click here to get the sample pdf and find more details on "Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Market" Report 2025.

Rapid advance and technical innovations are crucial factors for the growth of this industry. The majority of the key manufacturers are investing more in R&Ds to develop more effective products. For example, in 2018, Softbox Systems Ltd. launched the MAX range of containers that are manufactured for single use with the latest coolant barrier system. The conventional water-based model is getting replaced by an internal barrier system. Similarly, to cater to the industry of biological and pharmaceutical products, the Sonoco Products Company invented ChillTech, a wide range of reusable packaging. This type of Temperature controlled packaging solution helps to maintain temperature over a period of 2 to 6 days.

The region of North America is anticipated to hold the largest share in the temperature controlled packaging solution market owing to the increasing demand for frozen or packaged foods among the working-class population. Also, the rise of the pharmaceutical industry in this region is expected to boost the sales of such products. Thus, the market for temperature-controlled packaging solutions is expected to grow at a significant growth rate during the forecasted period.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

The product segment of insulated shippers is anticipated to register highest CAGR of 8.7% during the forecasted period, 2019 to 2025.

The application segment for food and beverages is held the largest share of 49.3% in the global market. Also, the segment of healthcare is expected to register highest CAGR of 8.8% from 2019 to 2025.

According to the regional segmentation, North America occupied largest share of around 40% across the global market.

occupied largest share of around 40% across the global market. The key manufacturers such as Cryopak Industries Inc.; Cold Chain Technologies, Inc.; Softbox Systems Ltd. and APEX Packaging Corporation are investing more into R&Ds to focus more on technical advances and product developments.

Browse 150 page research report with TOC on "Global Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Market" at: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/global-temperature-controlled-packaging-solutions-market

Million Insights has segmented the temperature controlled packaging solutions market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

Insulated container



Insulated shipper

Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

Food & Beverage



Healthcare



Others

Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

North America



U.S.



Europe



Germany



Asia Pacific



China





India



Central and South America



Brazil



Middle East and Africa

Browse latest market research reports available with Million Insights:

About Million Insights:

Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place, that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying, is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive.

Contact:

Ryan Manuel

Research Support Specialist, USA

Million Insights

Phone: +1-408-610-2300

Toll Free: 1-866-831-4085

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.millioninsights.com/

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

SOURCE Million Insights
The Congress Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expel Gujarat minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from the BJP after his 2017 election was declared void by the High Court on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal questioned the PM's silence on the issue and said if he was serious on ending corruption in the country he should take strict action against the minister from his home state.

Sibal said Chudasama was declared a winner by 327 votes when 429 of the total 1,356 postal ballots were rejected which, he claimed, altered the result.

The former Union law minister also felt that if such corrupt practices continue to happen in the country and Constitutional bodies weakened, democracy will suffer.

"This is an example of how our governments, ministers, Election Commission are engulfed in corruption and Modi ji is silent," he told reporters at a press conference through video conferencing.

Earlier in the day, the Gujarat High Court declared Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay set aside Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

"There is a conspiracy somewhere in this case....Why does Modi ji not get angry if there is corruption, because he himself had said that he will take to the streets to end it," he said.

"Modi ji talks big at the stages. If Modi ji has the guts to end corruption, he should say that this minister should be thrown out of the party and strict action taken against him and no appeal against this High Court order be filed. But, I have no hope," Siibal said.

The former union minister said even though Chudasama was Parliamentary Affairs Minister, "he is actually a minister for corrupt affairs".

"After this judgement, he is deemed to be a minister for corrupt affairs," Sibal said.

He said Indian democracy runs on elections and the 'first-past-the-post' system means the one getting more votes is declared as the winner. But, he noted, if there are corrupt practices, the entire foundations of democracy are shaken.

"This is a very serious matter. It shows how constitutional structure of this country is being destroyed. The PM who talked about ending corruption is silent today even when corruption is happening right before his eyes," he claimed.

"The way the Constitutional structure is being demolished, the foundations of democracy are being weakened in the country," he said.

Sibal also accused the BJP of indulging in corrupt practices by allegedly bringing down non-BJP governments in states like Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

He also attacked the BJP government for allegedly not being serious in tackling corruption as the anti-corruption ombudsman -- the Lokpal -- was not appointed even 5.5 years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[May 11, 2020] Benjamin Bellwether launches as a fashion trend and education service

NEW YORK, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Benjamin Bellwether, a fashion trend forecasting service based in New York City, today announced the launch of its trend forecasting and business acumen service and release of its first set of insights and educational courses. Customers can explore free articles and subscribe to in-depth market shopping reports and education courses covering topics including Sustainability Basics of Fashion Business and Marketing Basics for Fashion Business. Click here to read our latest Quick Insights trend articles . Bellwether surveys street and runway looks, in-store and online comp shopping, social media and search engine traffic to distill market trends into actionable reports that customers can use to improve their product developent and product processes. The service also uses this data to provide insights about marketing, sustainability and general business practices.



Benjamin Bellwether content includes: trend alerts, industry news, shifts in consumer behavior and other quick insights to inform your day to day decisions;



seasonal global trends, shopping the market analysis, and more reports to make decisions about your product mix; and,



foundations of marketing, sustainability basics, eco-design, and other educational courses to grow your business strategically. "Bellwether is a place where small businesses can learn about the new trends in the market, what's happening next Spring with those trends and then also how to market that idea to a customer," says Bellwether. "We don't use a lot of industry jargon, it's ad-free and we try not to get wrapped up in the new 'chic' thing. We'd rather provide you with current trend information and timeless business know-how; and, have you use your own intuition and make it come to life."

Learn more at benjaminbellwether.com . For more information, images or interview requests, please contact: Benjamin Bellwether

+1 (929) 244-0326

[email protected] About Benjamin Bellwether Benjamin Bellwether provides information and ideas for fashion's product developers. We specialize in sustainability, fashion trend forecasting and marketing. Through our website, you can access free Quick Insights and downloadable courses to educate yourself on sustainability and marketing for your business. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/benjamin-bellwether-launches-as-a-fashion-trend-and-education-service-301057108.html SOURCE Benjamin Bellwether

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When I first began writing this diary, I mentally committed to highlighting the most uplifting elements of life under lockdown. Although the Covid-19 outbreak meant I was forced to suddenly leave Dublin, move home to Cork and finish the penultimate year of my degree without access to the library or other academic supports, I attempted as best I could to salvage some good from the situation.

Having never spent more than a month at home since the summer after my Leaving Cert, I relished time spent with family, taking comfort in the certainty that accompanied familiar traditions. The loss of structure was initially difficult to deal with, but I eventually managed to create some semblance of routine. I tried to find solace in the simple aspects of daily life - pottering about the house, taking afternoon walks, listening to the birds.

Over the past eight weeks, I have devoted myself to extracting all that is positive from a frightening, wearisome and unprecedented public health crisis. The government's recently launched roadmap for lifting lockdown, however, indicates that a return to 'normality' will take months to come to fruition. I will admit that accepting the reality of our new normal has dealt a soft blow to my initial optimism. Up until this point, I've kept busy with studying and research, busily writing essays and preparing for online exams. Focusing on assignments has imposed order on my days, providing a sort of fulcrum around which my afternoons revolve and enabling me to feel as if I am trudging forward. Now, as the academic year draws to a close, I feel an acute sense of mourning for student life.

Trinity announced last week that all large lectures will move online until January 2021. I expect that other third-level institutions will soon follow suit, publicising changes to various ways of operating and restructuring lectures and seminars to enable social distancing.

Throughout quarantine thus far, I've clung to the possibility of returning to Dublin in September. In the moments I've felt overwhelmed or alone, I've imagined the joy of reuniting with my friends, of attending classes, of spending hours ensconced in the library. I now realise the fragility of my daily imaginings and aspirations, how futile it is to plan or project ahead. Coming to terms with the unpredictability that accompanies living through a global pandemic has presented me with the greatest challenge of lockdown to date. And although I am still looking in earnest for silver linings, I am increasingly aware of how difficult and distressing the current situation is.

Before all of this, when confronted with challenges or crises, I often turned to reading for relief. Books were my ultimate escape, the most effective means of retreating from reality and emerging, several pages later, refreshed and ready to take on the world. The Covid-19 crisis has rendered my concentration span short, however, and my abilities to read for pleasure are therefore limited. I've turned to television instead, becoming invested in imaginary storylines and well-written plots.

It may come as no surprise that Lenny Abrahamson's adaptation of Normal People, currently showing on RTE, has provided a welcome distraction. Based on Sally Rooney's novel of the same title, the show depicts the lives of two young people as they navigate the complexities of entering adulthood, moving away from home and beginning university. The series touches on numerous themes: love, power, social class, mental health, communication, vulnerability; each of which are powerfully portrayed and carefully explored. I am most drawn to Normal People, however, for its cinematography - the depiction of ordinary lives in a visually stunning manner. At a time when my world has shrunk to encompass only the family home, the show acts as a catalyst for my memories of Trinity. Its tender representation of everyday actions - walking through a crowd, touching other people, sitting in the pub, studying in the library - has led me to realise how much I took for granted, the variety and dynamism of life before Covid-19.

During this stage of our national shutdown, one in which I find myself struggling to remain optimistic, Normal People has foisted nostalgia upon me. Although I desperately miss the experience of attending university, as well as the social interaction it brings, I've come to feel immense gratitude for the way life was before. I shan't ever again take for granted the privilege of freely moving through Dublin city or hugging my friends or dancing at parties. Until I get back to Trinity, I'll keep immersing myself in the world of Normal People. Nostalgia, it seems, is a necessary antidote to my various quarantine conundrums.
In the same way that a wildfire destroys old growth to make way for whats to come, the first major pandemic of the technological age has incinerated our day-to-day habits, forcing us to do things differently. As the smoke begins to clear, we realize that some of the changes weve adopted will make for stronger businesses, equipped with an increased resilience to economic downturn.

COVID-19 lockdowns have required organizations to evolve their operations to exist online, spurring a strong drive-to-digital across the board. As many jurisdictions prepare to enter the next phase of reopening, it is vital that companies continue to evolve their operations to survive in the new environment. Theres no doubt that their finances will continue to feel the heat. Recession fears result in a pressure to preserve cash, a pressure which is only exaggerated by an increased emphasis on adaptability; you must be able to respond quickly to a quick-shifting landscape. This pressure also means companies benefit from fast, affordable offerings and delivery.

To outrun the blaze, businesses will need to tap into professional networks that offer palatable price points and rapid, reliable execution.

A Major Need

On April 1st, we launched an eCommerce site (https://tincan.shop/). The site allows customers and prospects to transact quickly and engage with us on bite-sized marketing services that they could tackle in this time of need. The service offering was designed to improve its foundation for growth during and after the pandemic.

From this evolution, we realized the greater need of all professional service providers to have a similar capability. But nobody is doing this, at least not effectively. Amazons home and business services offer task-based services, such as house cleaning and furniture assembly, but no professional services. Plus they charge 20% of the service cost to sellers. There has been a huge COVID-related response from the CPG industry; Google has opened its Shopping platform for free to all retailers. However, all these changes are leaving out one major segment of the industry: Professional service providers.

Having just launched the online store for our marketing services, it has become clear just how few online marketplaces of this kind exist  where professional services can be purchased in this fashion. To fill this need, we pivoted the Tin Can Shop offering to also include partner services to help businesses through this unprecedented time. With this, we introduced The Germ Fight Collective. Discover more about the collective in Mercury.

Its Time To Tame The Flames

The world has been forced to quickly adopt new habits. One March survey by Google showed that 24% of shoppers went online to purchase something they would normally buy in-store and 87% of them said theyd try it again. Retail and service businesses have adapted rapidly to provide their products online. eCommerce is here to stay and consumers are poised to expand their roster of products they feel comfortable buying online.

The need for an online marketplace of professional services has been illuminated by this pandemic. Consumers are primed to adopt this fresh way to transact with trusted experts.

Major Tom is developing a marketplace, which features a complimentary list of professional services. These products are curated from Major Tom's most trusted partners and designed to help business leaders make smart decisions quickly. This will allow for the growth of the companies listed as well as a trusted platform to engage in an eCommerce world with organizations that are not otherwise set up this way.

Example service products include:

Remote Interviewing and Selection from Eleven Eleven Talent

29-Point IT Assessment from Ook

Business Health Roadmap from Bellrock Benchmarking

A Trusted Network To Fuel Business Growth

With over 20 years in business, weve built a network of world-class professionals, who weve worked with ourselves and recommended endlessly to others. We're connecting business leaders with our most trusted professional service providers, so that they have the peace of mind that comes with a friend's referral. We're making them available on an eCommerce platform to help implement needed business solutions faster.

While weve been required to isolate physically, we can use this opportunity to build and leverage connections. Together, we can make our companies stronger than ever before. We can use this wildfire as fuel to build a better way to do business.

About Major Tom

Major Tom is a full-service digital agency thats been purpose-built to help organizations thrive in an increasingly complex landscape. With offices in New York, Toronto, and Vancouver, Major Tom has a team of 55 specialists covering the full spectrum of strategy, marketing, development, and creative.

About The Current Germ Fight Collective Partners

Ook Enterprises Ltd.

Ook is a Vancouver-based Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) led by Luis Giraldo (CEO). Ook has served the small and medium business space across different verticals since 2006, delivering full-stack IT services encompassing everything from networks, servers, desktops and support services, to cloud services and infrastructure. Ook has appeared numerous times on elite MSP lists such CRNs MSP 500 and Pioneer 250, ChannelFutures MSP 501, as well as being a recipient of the Canada Growth 500 award in 2019.

Eleven Eleven Talent

Eleven Eleven is a talent collective offering enlightened recruitment and HR services for purpose-led companies. Based in Vancouver, we catalyze transformational experiences in the lives of candidates and companies alike.

Bellrock Benchmarking

Bellrock is a Vancouver-based leadership development firm. But different. They believe that smart, hard-working business leaders deserve to be profitable and less stressed but dont always have the right tools to get there on their own. Bellrock fills the gaps for you and your management team  an MBA in a box, customized to your company  whether the focus needs to be strategy, leadership, sales, or operations. They have the tools and they show you how to use them to get results.
The Gujarat high court on Tuesday declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

IMAGE: Gujarat minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. Photograph: Kind courtesy @imBhupendrasinh/Twitter

Justice Paresh Upadhyay set aside Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

In his election petition, Rathod had alleged that Chudasama indulged in 'corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes'.

Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

According to Rathod's lawyer Sharvil Majumdar, the court observed in its order that the then returning officer (RO) of Dholka constituency flouted guidelines of the Election Commission during the counting of votes, in the manner that it vitiated the entire election.

He said the court also observed that the election was materially affected by the conduct of the then RO to reject 429 postal ballots illegally, when the victory margin with which Chudasama won was 327 votes.

State Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Nitin Patel termed the order as "shocking", and said it will be challenged in the Supreme Court.

"The order to cancel election of Bhupendrasinhji is a sad news. Naturally, Bhupendrasinhji is seeking legal advice regarding the order and steps are being taken to appeal against it in the Supreme Court. We are confident of getting justice and a stay on this order," he said.

State Congress president Amit Chavda alleged that Chudasama won through misuse of power and government officials, but the court's order showed any such interference with the election process will be rejected.

This is the victory of truth and defeat of the manner in which BJP misused power and government officers.

The Congress candidate had then opposed this election saying the votes were rejected because they were in favour of the party candidate (Rathod). But, Chudasama was somehow declared victoroius illegally, Chavda said.

After more than two years, the high court finally rejected Chudasama's election, and this clearly shows that the BJP government has always misused power and government officials, he said.

Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil also hailed the high court's decision.

'Satyamev Jayate' (truth alone triumphs), he tweeted.

'#Gujarats Law Minister declared to be elected unlawfully. Bhupendrasinh Chudasamas election declared illegal, null and void by Gujarat High Court. He had illegally crafted his win in 2017. #GujaratModelExposed,' he said in another tweet.
Gov. Kristi Noem said Monday the state will receive a shipment of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, this week for the states very worst cases of the coronavirus.

The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug on May 1. The treatment is meant for adults and children hospitalized with severe disease.

The company that manufactures the antiviral drug, California-based Gilead Sciences, has said it would donate its stockpile to help the U.S. pandemic response. Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is one of the chief consultants on where the drug will be distributed.

The initial U.S. supply has been reportedly very limited, with more than 1.5 million doses that translate to 5 to 10 days of treatment for 140,000 patients. Gilead is ramping up production.

Remdesivir works by blocking an enzyme that the virus uses to copy its genetic material. No drugs are currently FDA-approved for treating COVID-19, and remdesivir will still need formal approval. Its side effects include potential liver inflammation.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the drug would become a new standard of care for severely ill COVID-19 patients.

Noem said she had a two-hour phone call with Vice President Mike Pence and other governors Monday about testing and supplies.

As Smithfield Foods reopened Monday, Noem said the decision to reopen was good for all those that want to get back to work and also for our producers and our state.

The mass testing site for Smithfield Foods employees and their families saw more than 3,628 people tested for COVID-19 before it closed last week.

Noem said a preliminary result from the testing site showed that 24 percent of those who had tests taken came back positive  approximately 870 people. Health officials said last week that roughly 10 percent of those who were tested were symptomatic.

We have more active cases because we tested a hot spot, Noem said Monday, noting the states new statistics showed 1,393 active COVID-19 cases with 1,181 of those in Minnehaha County.

It reminds us that what we need to focus on is hospitalizations, Noem said. The state has repeatedly shared projections that show a peak hospitalization rate in mid-June for 2,200 beds. The latest data from the DOH Monday showed that 78 people were currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and 263 had been hospitalized in the state at some point.

Noem said the phone calls she had with the workers at Smithfield Foods and with Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon went well.

It was a very good, thoughtful discussion, and I appreciated them taking the time to be on the call, she said.

Malsam-Rysdon reported 76 cases at DemKota, a beef plant in Aberdeen. She said the DOH immediately reached out to the plant when they saw the first cases there and they sent a team to Aberdeen on Friday night to walk through the facility and talk about plans to keep workers safe.

Noem also noted Monday that her previous executive order for seniors and high-risk, vulnerable people in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties would lapse, but recommended those groups to continue to stay home if possible.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci's goal for his testimony on the Hill today  to warn the country of the dangers of reopening too quickly  precisely undercuts what President Trump and the White House are trying to achieve this week.

The state of play: Trump and his team built its messaging this week around convincing Americans that they had enough testing and personal protective equipment to begin to safely return to work  and Trump has been publicly chiding blue-state governors for keeping their states closed longer than he'd like.

Fauci plans to tell a Senate hearing Tuesday Americans will face "needless suffering and death" if the U.S. prematurely reopens its economy during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reports.

The NIAID director will testify via videoconference before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee COVID-19 hearing on when it's safe to return to work and school.

What they're saying: "The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely," Fauci wrote in an email to a Times reporter on Monday night.

"If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," the top infectious diseases expert continued, in reference to the Trump administration's three-stage plan for states.

"This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."

Between the lines: So you have the stark spectacle of the nations highest profile doctor and member of Trumps coronavirus task force addressing the nation without the president by his side.

A big part of the reason some Trump advisers pushed to end his daily briefings  besides the negative political fallout  was because they wanted the public to hear less from the doctors, and more from the economists and the business cheerleaders for reopening.

Today we see Fauci's messaging run headlong into the White House's.

Of note: This will be the key White House Coronavirus Task Force member's first congressional appearance since President Trump declared a national emergency over the outbreak in March.

Background: Fauci, CDC chief Robert Redfield and FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn are testifying remotely while self-isolating  days after Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller and Trump's valet tested positive for COVID-19.

Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is chairing the hearing remotely while in self-quarantine after a staff member tested positive.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
What youre seeing right now is simply a symptom of a much deeper problem facing tribal nations for over a century, said Fawn R. Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians. The failure to fund us has left us incredibly vulnerable.

It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that tribal gaming began to gather considerable momentum, providing tribal nations a crucial source of funding that could not collect taxes.

Some tribes have continued paying their employees despite the closures, in attempts to stave off the economic pain. But after federal authorities delayed providing tribes with their portion of $8 billion in assistance from federal stimulus measures, the losses are accumulating.

But the Treasury Department has been slow to disperse the aid, and tribal leaders have expressed exasperation over the delays at a time when the virus is hitting them hard.

In Michigan, the closure of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Communitys casino has already produced monthly losses of about $2 million, depleting funds for police patrols and the health clinic serving the 3,600-member tribe. As a result, fewer people are receiving basic health care and authorities have had to cancel daily lunches for tribal elders.

In the meantime, tribes are trying to plan for the uncertain weeks ahead.

In Oklahoma, where Gov. Kevin Stitt was already demanding more money from tribal casinos before the pandemic as part of a simmering feud, the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribal nation in the United States, is still paying its employees and planning to open parts of their gaming operations in early June.

But what that will look like remains unclear, said Brandon Scott, director of communications for the tribe. I think it would be irresponsible of us to open the doors and go back to exactly the way we were, he said.
A 1993 police report detailing how an embattled Florida sheriff shot and killed a man in Philadelphia when he was a teenager has surfaced, raising with it a series of doubts over the law enforcement official's recollection of events.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, who is running for re-election, kept the killing of 18-year-old Hector 'Chino' Rodriguez a secret for 27 years.

But earlier this month, it was confirmed that Tony shot and killed Rodriguez when he was just 14, in what the sheriff claims was an act self defense.

A police report recovered by the Miami Herald this week offers a brief summary of the fatal incident and contradicts a number of details shared by Tony about the shooting in the last week.

Sheriff Tony, who is running for re-election, kept the killing of 18-year-old Hector 'Chino' Rodriguez secret for 27 years

A police report recovered by the Miami Herald this week offers a brief summary of the incident and contradicts a number of details shared by Tony in the last week to explain why he never disclosed details about the shooting of Hector Rodriguez (above)

The reports states the defendant, 'Gregory Scott-Toney' - his name spelled differently to now - was involved in an argument with Rodriguez in the build up to the fatal confrontation.

The Florida Sheriff said earlier this week that he was never arrested in relation to the shooting because he was a juvenile at the time.

However, the report says he was arrested on March 6, 1993, the day after Rodriguez's death, after a warrant was issued for his arrest and he turned himself in.

Tony was held in custody as an adult for a week until the case was moved to juvenile court and his bond was set at $15,000. Seven months later, he was found not guilty by a judge at trial, the report says.

Another key detail in the report that differs from Tony's recollection of the shooting is where the incident took place.

According to Tony, Rodriguez pulled out a gun and threatened him and his brother outside of their home. Fearing for his life, Tony says he ran inside to grab his father's gun, and Rodriguez followed him.

It was inside Tony's family home that the sheriff claims he shot Rodriguez dead. However, according to the report, the scene of the homicide is listed as 'in front' of Tony's house, not inside it.

Officers did however note that by the time investigators arrived, Rodriguez had already been driven by others to hospital to be treated for multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body.

The reports states the defendant, 'Gregory Scott-Toney' - his name spelled differently than now - was involved in an argument with Rodriguez in the build up to the fatal confrontation

The Florida Sheriff said earlier this week that he was never arrested in relation to the shooting because he was a juvenile at the time. However, the report says he was arrested on March 6, 1993, the day after Rodriguez's death, after a warrant was issued for his arrest and he turned himself in

Another key detail in the report that differs from Tony's recollection is where the incident took place

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating whether Tony may have violated the law when he failed to disclose the incident in his Coral Springs Police Department application where Tony became a sergeant before his appointment as sheriff.

When asked if he had ever been arrested, charged or detained, Tony checked 'no' in response to each question on his application.

Earlier this year, on a Florida Department of Law Enforcement form, Tony wrote 'false' when asked if he ever had a criminal matter that was sealed or expunged

Florida law allows anyone with an expunged record to keep such details confidential, but there are several exceptions to the rule, including when the person is 'a candidate for employment with a criminal justice agency.'

One affidavit filled out by Tony in January said any untruthfulness shared on the form would be considered a second-degree misdemeanor.

In a statement on Sunday, Tony's re-election campaign focused only on the final line of the report, which references his acquittal and therefore his subsequent lack of a criminal record.

'We are happy to see the release of the police report from the time of the incident,' his campaign said, failing to address any discrepancies between Tony's account of events and the report.

'There is now absolute confirmation of what we have been saying all along: that Sheriff Tony defended himself and his brother's life, and that after witness testimony heard by a judge, he was found not guilty.'

The statement continued: 'Further, it is confirmation that Sheriff Tony has no criminal record. With this concrete evidence fully vindicating the Sheriff, it is time to stop these desperate attempts by opposing campaigns to retry Sheriff Tony based on a traumatic incident from when he was a 14-year old boy, and move on to focusing on the real issues that affect the future and safety of Broward County residents.'

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating whether Tony may have violated the law when he failed to disclose the incident in his Coral Springs Police Department application where Tony became a sergeant before his appointment as sheriff

Tony, meanwhile, has described Rodriguez as a known drug dealer and refuted newspapers reports from the time that they were friends. Rodriguez's then-girlfriend, Martiza Carrasquillo, (left) however, wrote on Facebook last week that Tony and his brother 'would go over the Rodriguez [home] and eat at their table' prior to the shooting.

News of the shooting and the emergence of the homicide record is one of two potentially damaging exposures for Tony in the already rancorous Broward County Sheriff election race.

Days after Rodriguez's death was thrust into public consciousness, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed photos of the 41-year-old and his topless wife attending a series of swinger parties in Miami, that hosts 'underground erotic theme events, pool parties & group vacations for beautiful, bi-sexy women and adventurous couples.'

When approached by DailyMail.com, Tony refused to confirm or deny that the photos were of him and his wife and declined comment. He referred questions to his personal attorney in Tallahassee, Natalie Kato.

Kato said on Monday morning: 'I have no motherf**king comment. I'm not authorized to give any statement.'

She did, however, appear to confirm the photos were indeed of Tony and his wife, saying: 'Whoever is going to use these photos will risk legal action. His wife and the other people on the photos are not a public persons. Only he is.'

Kato also said the photos were on a members-only website, an inaccurate statement.

The photos were taken in August 2015 and April 2016 at monthly 'Liquid Bliss' parties in a secret location in downtown Miami only revealed to couples vetted by organizers for their physical appearance.

Days after Rodriguez's death was thrust into public consciousness, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed photos of the 41-year-old and his topless wife attending a series of swinger parties in Miami

The killing of Rodriguez was investigated at the time by Leon Lubiejewski, who has since retired from the Philadelphia Police Department after 39-years.

Lubiejewski said he can't recall any details from the near three-decade-old shooting, but he vouched for the authenticity of the homicide report.

'There's no doubt about it. It's an official homicide document,' he told the Herald. 'The department has them going back to at least the '60s.'

Tony, meanwhile, has described Rodriguez as a known drug dealer and refuted newspapers reports from the time that they were friends.

Rodriguez's then-girlfriend, Martiza Carrasquillo, however, wrote on Facebook last week that Tony and his brother 'would go over the Rodriguez [home] and eat at their table' prior to the shooting.

She added that witnesses told her Tony shot her boyfriend from 'the top of the steps of his front door.'
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Republican President Donald Trump leads Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden for the 2020 election in Ohio, according to a new poll released Monday.

Trump topped Biden by 3 percentage points in the survey from Emerson College and Nexstar Media, consistent with other Ohio polling, that shows a potentially close race developing in a state once thought firmly in Trumps corner. The president also posted a slightly positive approval rating.

Emerson College and Nexstar Media conducted the poll Friday through Sunday via online and robocalling of 725 registered voters from the voter file. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.5 percentage points. Results were weighted for gender, age, ethnicity, party, education, region and religion based on the 2016 and 2018 turnout.

In the race for the White House, Trump led Biden 46% to 43%, with 11.4% of voters undecided. Including those leaning toward one candidate, Trump led Biden 51% to 49%.

However, 62% of Ohio voters thought Trump would be re-elected to a second term.

An enthusiasm gap persists between supporters of Trump and Biden. Slightly more than 36% of Trump supporters said they were either extremely excited or very excited to vote for the president. Bidens backers were much less fervent, with only 20% saying the same about their candidate.

Thirty-seven percent of voters also said they believed the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Biden from Tara Reade, a former staffer.

That enthusiasm gap could be a problematic for Biden and the Democrats, who experienced a similar situation in 2016 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump beat Clinton by 8 percentage points on Election Day en route to a surprise victory for the GOP.

Those numbers could change if the economy worsens amid the coronavirus pandemic. Thirty percent of respondents said the economy was the biggest issue in the 2020 election.

Trump is pinning much of his re-election hopes on states successfully reopening the economy, including in Ohio, even as testing remains scarce and the threat of a second wave of infections remains prevalent.

Voters also heavily favored administering Ohios general election via vote-by-mail, a departure from a poll from three universities in late April that showed only 31% of voters backed the process. Ohios March primary was abruptly switched to all vote-by-mail by Gov. Mike DeWine on the eve of the election.

Read more cleveland.com politics coverage:

Poll: Majority of Ohioans say theyre comfortable visiting bars and restaurants with spacing requirements

Gov. Mike DeWine delays announcement on re-opening daycare centers in Ohio

Mapping Ohios 24,777 coronavirus cases, updates and trends

State to randomly test 1,200 Ohioans for coronavirus antibodies
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released a Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package to offer guidance to member states in response to Covid-19.

The package is structured around three main pillars: economic recovery, marketing and promotion and institutional strengthening and resilience building.

With tourism among the hardest-hit of all sectors, UNWTO has identified three possible scenarios for the months ahead. Depending on when restrictions on travel are lifted, international tourist arrivals could decline by 60-80 per cent in 2020.

This could translate into a decline in export revenues from tourism of between $910 billion to $1.2 trillion and place 100-120 million jobs directly at risk. The social ripple effect is also feared to be at least equally challenging for many societies the world over.

Against this backdrop, the Covid-19 Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package is designed to support governments, the private sector and donor agencies face this unprecedented socio-economic emergency.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, said: We must support the tourism sector now with real actions while we prepare for it to come back and be stronger and more sustainable. Recovery plans and programmes for tourism will translate into jobs and economic growth, not just within tourism itself but across the whole of societies. This package of support will help governments and business implement our Recommendations for Recovery

Call for action: economic, promotional and institutional measures

Alongside the set of recommendations already released by UNWTO to call for action to mitigate the socio-economic impact of Covid and endorsed by the UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee, the package identified three potential areas of intervention to accelerate the recovery of tourism: economic, promotional and institutional.

The Covid-19 Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package makes the case for policies and measures to be introduced to stimulate the economic recovery of the tourism sector. These should be introduced alongside the development of impact needs assessments and country-specific plans for tourism recovery, among other measures.

In terms of marketing and promotion, UNWTO stands ready to provide technical assistance to identify markets that can help accelerate recovery, addressing product diversification, and (re)formulating marketing strategies and promotional activities.

The third pillar, institutional strengthening and resilience building, is particularly aimed at enhancing public-private partnership and promoting collaborative efforts for tourism recovery, and, enhancing skills in crisis management and recovery.

Tourism for sustainable development

The technical support offered by UNWTO is designed to help members work towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several of these goals directly relate to tourism, most notably the SDGs 8, 12 and 17, on Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Partnerships for the Goals.

UNWTO is also working as part of the wider UN response to Covid-19, emphasising the role tourism can play in shielding developing countries and the most vulnerable members of society from the worst impacts of the current crisis. - TradeArabia News Service
A refugee family  who fled Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria  sit in front of their shelter at the Sayam Forage camp in Niger, May 2016.  UNHCR/Helene Caux

Ongoing violence in parts of north-western Nigeria forced an estimated 23,000 people to seek safety and security in Niger last month (April). This takes the total number of refugees fleeing that part of Nigeria to take sanctuary in neighbouring Niger to more than 60,000 since the first influx, in April last year.

Since April 2019, people have fled relentless attacks by armed groups in the Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states of Nigeria. Most found refuge in Nigers Maradi region.

Fearing and fleeing the same insecurity in the border areas, an additional 19,000 Niger nationals have become displaced inside their own country.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about deteriorating security inside Nigeria and the risk of armed incursions spilling over into Niger.

The latest influx of refugees, mainly desperate women and children, follows attacks in Nigerias Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states during the month of April. Several villages in several Local Government Areas were attacked by gunmen. The deadliest attack claimed 47 lives in Kankara, Danmusa and Dusi-ma Local Government Areas in Katsina State and prompted air strikes by the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Those fleeing speak of extreme violence unleashed against civilians, murders, kidnappings for ransom and pillaging and looting of villages.

Refugees from Nigeria are being allowed to seek protection in Niger despite border closures due to COVID-19. New arrivals are in urgent need of water, food and access to health services, as well as shelter and clothing. Many were barely able to carry anything in the rush to save lives.

Many have also been caught up in the clashes reported being blamed on farmers and herders of different ethnic groups as well as vigilantism. Some 95 per cent of the refugees have come from Nigerias Sokoto state, rest from Kano, Zamfara and Katsina states.

We are working closely with authorities in Niger to relocate at least 7,000 refugees to safety, in villages 20 kilometres away from the border, where water, food, shelter, access to health and other essential assistance can be provided. This will also enable to ease the pressure on host communities in border areas, where basic infrastructure and services are lacking.

UNHCR has been present at the onset, and the emergency response focused on protection and life-saving activities, including registration, protection and border monitoring, education, health, shelter as well as water and sanitation.

UNHCR needs to continue biometric registration of refugees to better assess their needs and lead the humanitarian response. Discussions are also ongoing with the authorities to recognize on a prima facie basis the refugees fleeing Nigeria and arriving in the region.

The violence is not directly linked to armed groups operating in the Lake Chad and in the Sahel. It, however, adds Maradi to other areas in Niger struggling with insecurity including in Diffa, Tillaberi and Tahoua, further straining humanitarian actors financial resources and their capacity to respond.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
21 Costco secrets only die-hard shoppers know

Instead of running themselves ragged in search of deals, millions of Americans get all of their weekly shopping done under one roof: Costco.

One-stop shopping has been more important than ever during the coronavirus pandemic, and Costco is on a very short list of stores that have remained open nationwide. With well over 500 locations in the U.S., you probably wont have to look far to take advantage of the wholesale savings.

The size and style of a Costco store  theyre built like warehouses  can be intimidating. And some people dont like the idea of paying an annual fee just for the privilege of paying more money at the store.

But by following a few lesser-known tips and tricks, you can make the most out of a membership and stretch your government stimulus check further than you might expect. Here are some of the best tips, including a few even outsiders can use.

1. Decrypt the secret code on price tags

pathdoc / Shutterstock

Usually, shoppers only look for one thing on a price tag: a low number.

Costco price tags are different. According to sources cited by Consumer Reports, the numbers and symbols can tell you whether to grab an item quickly or walk on by.

A price ending in .97 means the item is on clearance and probably a great buy.

A price ending in 9, such as .69, .79 or .89 (but not .99) can mean a special deal from the manufacturer. Theyre often new products being introduced at a lower price.

A price ending in .00 or .88 means the store manager probably cut the price because it's the last batch, missing a box or missing pieces. Inspect these items carefully, since theyre marked down for a reason.

An asterisk in the upper-right corner means an item wont be restocked, so you better get it now if its something you want.

2. Dont just save  get paid for shopping

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You may have heard of shopping rewards apps before. After downloading the app on your phone, you just go shopping as normal and get rewards like gift cards for your purchases.

Story continues

Well, the app Ibotta and Costco have teamed up to give you cash back on certain items. You can get anywhere from a quarter back on apples to $4 on packs of beer. Its like your own secret sales flyer.

Even without using the app, being an executive member at Costco gives you an annual 2% store-credit reward on almost all purchases, up to a maximum of $1,000.

3. Dont waltz in with a Mastercard

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Savvy shoppers love to compound their savings with a cash-back credit card, but dont just walk into your local Costco and assume your favorite will work.

The only way to pay by credit at a Costco store is with a Visa card. While it might seem unfair, Costco reportedly cut a deal in order to drastically lower transaction fees. In theory, some of those savings are being passed on to you.

If youre a die-hard Mastercard user  maybe you have one of the new Mastercard debit cards that offer cash back  you can still make purchases on the Costco website.

At the cash register, you can try cash, a debit card or a mobile payment option like Apple Pay or Google Pay.

4. Save on prescriptions without a membership

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Americans spend a lot on drugs. In the U.S., the average person spends about $1,200 per year on pharmaceuticals, says. the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development  roughly $250 more than people in Europe pay.

If youre anywhere near that average, youll want to find the cheapest place to refill your prescription.

One great thing about Costcos pharmacies is that you dont need a membership to get your prescription filled. Your doctor will call the pharmacy, and you can pick it up when its ready.

Costco also lists the prices of popular prescription drugs on its website for easy comparison shopping.

5. Dial up Costcos free tech support

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Weve all been there: The TV decides to go on the fritz in the middle of a movie, or your laptop freaks out right before that big essay is due.

If you bought the device at Costco, youre in luck. Concierge Service is one more perk members get to take advantage of.

Just call the toll-free number, 1-866-861-0450, between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. PST, seven days a week (excluding holidays). Theyll be happy to troubleshoot or help set up products before use.

6. Ask for a 'chub' of ground beef

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No, this isnt a prank to make you sound silly, even if you might feel that way the first time.

If youre looking to seriously stock up on ground beef, try asking the meat department for a 10-pound chub.

According to Reddit user fixxall, Costco normally takes the fat trimmings cut from steaks and mixes it into chubs of beef to increase the fat content  and the companys profits.

The chubs are cheap, but they're not normally put out on the floor. You'll have to ask an associate for one.

7. Channel your inner professional at a Costco Business Center

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The name makes it sound like you need to be a CEO to shop there, but these rare stores are open to anyone with a Costco membership.

Theyre geared toward companies and small-business owners, so the selection can be quite different. You might find less fresh food and clothing but more appliances, individually wrapped snacks and beverages.

The biggest advantage is that Business Centers are open earlier and usually arent as packed. Less foot traffic also means easier parking and faster checkout times.

8. Skip the membership using gift cards

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Dont have a membership? If youve been given a Costco Shop Card, you can just walk right in.

Normally, you would need to enter with a Costco member to gain access. But with a Shop Card in hand, you can show up on your own.

The cards range from $25 to $2,000 in store credit that you can spend on anything in the store.

The one caveat is that only members are allowed to buy and refill the cards, so youll still need to know someone with a membership to shop there.

9. Trust us, eat at the food court

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Instead of spending 10 bucks on lunch before braving the lines at Costco store, go straight inside and hit up the food court.

You can get a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog and a 20 oz. soda (with refill) for $1.50. Yes, a single dollar and 50 cents. Thats as affordable as it gets.

On the other end of the spectrum, you can get an 18-inch pizza for just $9.95. Thats one big pie for you and your family for way less than your average pizza chain.

Of course, none of this would be worth it if the meals were skimpy or gross, but theyre actually pretty darn tasty.

10. Get your eyes and ears tested on the cheap

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Just like Costcos pharmacy, these services are available to non-members as well.

According to data shared by Fair Health, the average eye exam in the United States costs $200. You can get one at Costco for less than half.

Hearing tests are even cheaper: $0.

Youre under no obligation to purchase hearing aids after the test, but if you do want them from Costco, youll need a membership. Same goes for buying glasses after getting your prescription.

11. Get Costco to book your vacation  and print your vacation selfies

Viktoriia Hnatiuk / Shutterstock

Just when you thought Costco had it all, the company adds its own travel agency and photo center into the mix. Keep that in mind for when you're able to travel again.

The trained professionals at Costco Travel will help you find deals on everything from hotels to cruises to rental cars.

Then you can upload photos of you goofing off in Hawaii to the Photo Center. The site makes it easy to use your snaps to create wall decor, greeting cards, mugs  even blankets.

12. Make liberal use of the lenient return policy

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Many stores make it hard to return merchandise, asking you to jump through hoops within a short time frame.

Costco, on the other hand, has one of the best return policies in the retail world.

With few exceptions  for example, electronics have a 90-day limit, and you cant return cigarettes or alcohol  you can bring back almost anything you want, whenever you want.

It may sound too good to be true, but its the real deal. One woman was even able to get a refund on a dead Christmas tree in January, according to Fortune.

13. No need for an exit strategy

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Merchandise isnt the only thing you can return hassle-free at Costco. You can get a full refund on your membership at any time.

Maybe the kids moved out and buying in bulk doesnt make sense anymore. Maybe you moved away, far from any Costo stores. Or maybe you just got fed up with the lines.

Whatever the reason, youre covered.

14. Every time a bell rings, a shopper gets some wings

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Costco can be a pretty noisy place, but try to strain your ears for the sound of a bell.

If you hear one, stop whatever youre doing and make a beeline to the rotisserie chicken station at the deli. According to multiple media reports, a bell means a fresh batch has just been put out, and they tend to go fast.

Why? Costo has kept the price steady at $4.99 since 2009, according to CNN. Its a steal that only gets better with age.

15. Split up servings and save

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Dont think youll eat all 10 chicken breasts? Hate white meat but love dark meat? No problem.

At plenty of Costco stores, you can ask associates to split up packages of meat into more manageable or desirable portions.

Dont forget you can do your own version of this at home.

Sometimes you just dont have the space for 30 rolls of toilet paper or a four-and-a-half-pound bag of chocolate chips. Shop with a friend, then split the goods and the cost. Youll both save for buying in bulk from the store.

16. Get deals delivered to your door

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Costco is popular for a reason. If you hate fighting for a space at the parking lot and standing around in line  especially in these uncertain times  you can order your groceries online using Instacart.

You can get all sorts of items delivered to your doorstep, from fresh produce to packaged meats to personal care items.

Whatever you buy will cost a little more than it would at your local warehouse, and youll have to pay a delivery fee. If you dont have a Costco membership, youll have to order directly from the Instacart website and pay even more, so run the numbers to ensure youre still getting a good deal.

17. Buy fresh, then freeze

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Its hard to justify buying food in bulk if half just goes to waste. Luckily, plenty of fresh foods freeze really well and last up to six months.

Its not just meat that holds up well in the freezer. Many types of bread will be just fine; simply pop a bagel in the toaster when youre ready to eat. Even some produce like spinach and broccoli will keep their flavor, if not their crunch.

Of course, instead of freezing individual ingredients, you can always cook up a delicious meal, freeze that and have dinner ready to go when you need it.

18. Dont overpay for ink

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Ink cartridges are one of those items you never think about until youre printing an important document and the well runs dry. Then you need to make a desperate dash to an office supplies store, where youll shell out upwards of $50 per pack.

Getting a cartridge refilled at Costcos Photo Center starts at $6.99.

The job only takes an hour, depending on how many orders the store has, so you can drop it off before you start shopping and pick it up when youre done.

19. Dont bother with manufacturer coupons

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Thrifty shoppers will try to save wherever they can. Coupons are usually a safe bet.

However, Costco doesnt accept coupons from other companies  in their words, We distribute our own offers and savings.

Instead, use the Costco app to get the best deal on products. You wont need to waste time on a Sunday morning scouring through the newspaper with a pair of scissors. Sorry if you enjoy that sort of thing.

20. Go Kirkland or go home

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Walking through the concrete aisles, youll see a familiar black, white and red Kirkland Signature label on every other shelf. Thats Costcos own brand.

Named after a city in Washington state where Costco used to have its headquarters, Kirkland has just about everything, from food to clothing to personal hygiene items.

Costco keeps its own prices low, but shoppers say the products are almost as good if not better than other name-brand products.

21. Dont get huffy when they check your receipt

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Costco is pretty unusual  not many stores have a line at the exit.

It might seem odd to have an employee check your items and receipt at the door, but the company says it has two very good reasons.

The first is to maintain accuracy with inventory control. The second is to make sure youre not being overcharged or undercharged for your items. Maybe the cashier missed an item or scanned it twice.

And yeah, they do catch the occasional thief this way.

Theres plenty of debate about whether this practice is accusatory or not, but if you want to keep your membership, handing over your receipt is mandatory.
MARYLAND

Metro: Threat led to bus driver's crash

A Metrobus swerved across Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring and struck a sign on a church lawn Sunday after a passenger threatened the driver, a Metro spokeswoman said.

No serious injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. when the passenger came to the front of the Y2 bus, said Metro spokeswoman Sherri Ly. About a dozen passengers were onboard.

As recounted by the driver, the passenger threatened him, and the distraction led to the bus leaving the roadway at Noyes Drive, according to Ly. The driver was behind a plexiglass shield and was not physically assaulted, Ly said.

Photos on Twitter showed the bus intact, with tire tracks across part of the lawn of Silver Spring United Methodist Church. Brickwork that supported the sign appeared damaged.

It was not immediately known whether police had made an arrest. Ly said authorities are investigating.

 Martin Weil

Man fatally shot in Montgomery County

Montgomery County authorities have identified a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot Thursday in Aspen Hill.

The victim was identified as Robert George Dockery, of no confirmed address.

Officers responded to the 3100 block of Hewitt Avenue about 11:35 p.m. and found the man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, police said in a statement. He died at a hospital.

 Justin Wm. Moyer

VIRGINIA

Police officers among four stabbed in Suffolk

Four people, including two police officers, were stabbed while Virginia authorities were serving an emergency custody order Sunday night, according to law enforcement.

Suffolk police officers responded to a home about 9:30 p.m. and spoke to multiple people before being confronted by the suspect involved in the custody order, a statement from the department said.

The man attacked four adults with a knife, and all were hospitalized with serious injuries. Three were treated and released, but one officer remained in a hospital Monday, police said. The man was taken into custody without further incident, and charges were pending, according to the statement.

 Associated Press
Australia has been urged to ensure a proposed new sanctions regime would not allow diplomatic concerns to stand in the way of action against rogue officials in powerful countries such as China.

The Morrison government initiated an inquiry in December into enacting Magnitsky-style laws that would give it the power to seize the assets of human rights offenders and ban them from entering the country. The powers, if enacted, would likely be subject to political considerations such as national security, trade and diplomatic relations.

US businessman Bill Browder was instrumental in the establishment of the US Magnitsky Act. Credit:Bloomberg

Billionaire-turned-activist Bill Browder, who led the push for the US Magnitsky Act and has been encouraging Australia to follow suit, said if it decided to go ahead with a sanctions regime, the biggest risk was that the government would be too cautious in enforcing it. This could be addressed by following the US model, under which the parliament recommends individuals to sanction and the government must give reasons if it decides not to proceed.

Mr Browder said governments were right not to sanction certain human rights abusers for diplomatic reasons but that did not mean individuals in whole countries such as China should be off limits.
This is a real watermark, watershed moment for us, weve just restructured the workforce forever, said Dale Hansen (pictured above), CEO of Austbrokers Coast 2 Coast Insurance Brokers.

Weve had a change in workflow management, [the pandemics] very much changed the way that we work now. So, we dont have people sitting in gigantic ivory towers and offices like weve had in the past. Weve got people being more flexible, he added.

Thats allowing the workforce to be more flexible at home - but the one thing we still have to tackle is the flexible hours that people have to work in. Some people very much need to work 8.30am till 5pm, but does everybody need to work 8.30am till 5pm? I dont think they do.

Hansen believes COVID-19 has revealed how redundant Australias pre-pandemic workforce was with its rigid expectations. He says the insurance industry has lost good people as a result of not being flexible enough in how it enables individuals with different circumstances to work.

I think our whole workplace hours and workplace structure has changed, he said. Now it has the opportunity to change forever and bring a whole lot of people back to our industry that have been lost. Those that have childcare arrangements, carer arrangements, health-related issues. I think, hopefully, this opens up opportunities for them.

I think this situation is forcing a labour market correction thats a long way overdue. I think not just the insurance industry but the whole labour market has an opportunity to make the type of structural changes that come along so very, very rarely through the course of time.

Hansen also argues that workplaces can be more efficient through the utilisation of digital channels and strategies.

I think Skype meetings, Zoom meetings and Zooming into board meetings is the new norm now, he said. I think theres still very much a case for face to face meetings where that is applicable. But weve been writing business all over the world for some years now  we dont need to be physically present in that country at all times, in all places.

Hansen revealed that the majority of his clients are satisfied with being communicated with through digital channels as long as the company remains accessible.

Most of our clients are quite happy as long as we are accessible. Theyre not very volatile if Im talking to them at 3 oclock in the morning. If Im meeting their needs, theyre quite happy with that, theyre not troubled by that at all, he added.

Most of our clients, or all of our clients, have been able to see us, theyve been happy for us to Zoom in, phone in, use a messenger app.

Additionally, Hansen believes the public is becoming more intelligent and resourceful from being forced to stay at home and research their own coverage amid the pandemic.

Their insurance IQ is increasing as this current situation is forcing them to be more resourceful, think for themselves, solve problems for themselves and find a solution for themselves, he explained.

I think a lot of people are becoming more risk resourceful and theyre becoming more intellectually intelligent.

But for Michael Graham (pictured below), CEO at Mercurien, the pandemics greatest casualty is economic in nature.

Obviously the money has stopped going around. I think theres a lot of people who are just sitting on cash, Graham said. I was speaking to someone from Hong Kong just the other day and they said theyre in the event management segment  the losses and claims due to COVID-19 are around US$6.8 billion. Absolutely massive.

Graham believes its going to take some time for the economy and individual businesses to bounce back from the pandemic, but the greatest issue that will hit the sector relates to insurance coverage disputes.

I think its going to be seriously problematic for some insurers and some clients who arent covered for the pandemic, he said.

However, Graham also revealed that he may have one of the very few businesses that has actually benefitted from the pandemic. Because he sells bundled packages of coverage for data and technology, brokers have been attracted to make purchases.

The brokers are looking at taking more than insurance to their clients so, we have this idea of fleet as a service which is a managed service where we take the technology and the data to manage fleets and we insure them at the same time, Graham explained.

And brokers like that sort of bundled idea. So, theres some really good things going on for us actually. Its a relief, he said.

But Graham sees the future of insurers and brokers differently to Hansen  instead of an increase in working remotely, Graham is adamant that brokers, while still wanting to work more flexibly, thrive off in-person contact.

I think brokers in particular have a role to go and walk into a clients premises and go what about that? and what about that?, he explained. I think that will still happen and you cant do that sitting home.

I still think that brokers like to talk  I mean, I know some really great brokers  theyll be working slightly more flexibly but theyll still want to look out and see their clients premises. I think the good brokers will use their client visits as risk management conversation versus annual premium renewals.

Another perspective on the pandemic, and indeed the post-pandemic world, comes from Lucy Terracall (pictured above), partner at Clayton and Utz, who litigates for clients against insurers.

While Terracall admits that she only sees the bad side of the industry through managing disputed claims, she says there are issues arising from ambiguous contract clauses that may lead to scrutiny in Australia.

In my world, I only tend to be exposed to the claims that are problematic where there might be ambiguity in the language of the policy or where theres a potential dispute brewing, she said.

The issue will be how the insurance industry responds to claims by policyholders where there is some ambiguity or cover that maybe they didnt intend to offer but they, in fact, have on the face of the wording.

Terracall highlighted the position in the UK where the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already flagged contractual issues in business interruption policies.

The CEO [for the FCA] is going to take a number of issues that are causing uncertainty to the courts, Terracall explained.  my understanding is that the FCA is currently speaking to insurers to get their agreement to almost take sample business interruption wordings and asking the court for a ruling on what that wording means.

Business interruption cover  something that will see a drastic spike in claims through and after the pandemic  is one of Terracalls main talking points with both corporate and government clients right now.

She says a major point of confusion is that the Quarantine Act 1908, which is regularly mentioned and relied on in business interruption contracts, is actually no longer applicable. Instead, the less-known Biosecurity Act, which was introduced in 2015, is the relevant law when it comes to pandemics.

Now, the problem is that that particular act that is referred to in a vast number of these policies actually is no longer law, she said. It was repealed five years ago and when legislation is repealed it essentially just disappears into the abyss and it means that its no longer law in Australia.

Even though the Biosecurity Act includes some of the subject matter of the earlier act, its a separate act, its a completely separate piece of legislation and its not an amendment to the earlier act.

Terracalls concern with this legislative issue is seeing publications and businesses alike advising industries that there is no cover for COVID-19 business interruption losses from the pandemic, referencing the prior quarantine act.

Thats concerning for us because weve certainly seen policies that do cover losses for and from COVID-19 and, technically, the exclusion that I mentioned before that mentions the quarantine act, does not exclude losses flowing from COVID-19 because of the actual words that are used in this particular exclusion, she explained.

Thats one of the issues that weve been advising clients on.

This nuance makes the business of insurance complex, because, as Terracall mentions  just like every other economic participant, the insurance sector is in the business of making money.

So, when youre talking about questions like are insurers obliged to cover pandemic related losses? I always come back to the fact that the insurers have issued a legally binding contract of insurance to the policyholders, she added.

Their obligations are contained in that legal contract and if the wording of the contract on its face provides cover for COVID-19 losses, in other words, if losses flowing from COVID-19 are included in the agreement of the contract, and those losses are not otherwise excluded, then the policyholder is legally entitled to be indemnified.

She says that while public perception might be that insurers should cover the costs of the pandemic for their consumers, contract clauses override any moral or ethical obligations.

I think insurers are obliged to cover pandemic-related losses if the insurance policy obliges them to, Terracall explained.

Theres no moral or ethical obligation, its not a matter of what insurers should or should not be doing. I completely appreciate that these types of situations, like natural disasters  are, for a number of reasons, very emotional and can impact people on a very personal level  but insurers are in the business issuing legally binding contracts.

I think sometimes the discussion becomes too focused on what an industry like the insurance industry should or ought to do rather than what they are obliged to do because, like every other participant in the economy, theyre a business. They are in the business of making money and they do that by issuing contracts of insurance.

The issue of moral and ethical obligations for the insurance industry is also highlighted by Hansen, who agrees that contracts are legally binding.

Unfortunately, it comes down to the policy, he said. The policy is a contract of law so both parties and all parties have entered into a contract. The contracts are generally clear. There is some vagueness around some that are being legally challenged at the moment and some opinions are being sought on those. But where the situations clear, the situations clear.

Graham, meanwhile, wants flexibility with contractual obligations. He says that the pandemic has brought about an array of disruption and clients should have the right to speak to their insurers about pulling back their cover.

I mean, if you had a car and you werent using it for three months, you as the customer have the right to pull that back and change your cover. You still have to have a cap, you just dont have the usage component, Graham explained.

There might be a moral obligation to be flexible, but I dont know whether there is a moral obligation to cover it if its not specifically stated.

Dale Hansen, Michael Graham and Lucy Terracall will be discussing these topics in-depth, alongside Crawford Australia president Tim Jarman, at the upcoming Broker Connect event. Register now.
There are many golden opportunities for Vietnam to grab to restart the economy following the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, said Tran Hoang Ngan, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies.

Vietnam has achieved positive results in the fight against COVID-19, while many countries across the world are still grappling with the disease, remarked Ngan, who is also a member of the prime ministers economic advisory group.

This is a perfect time for local businesses to seize new markets, fully utilize the domestic market, and take advantage of all support policies the government has to offer, the expert continued.

The pandemic has helped prove the credibility of Vietnamese brands and businesses, as well as the countrys executive and administration capabilities in many sectors, especially healthcare.

This is a chance for promoting Vietnamese trademarks and introducing Vietnamese products to many countries, Ngan stated.

We have to turn the risks into opportunities.

The combined effects of the U.S.-China trade friction and COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in thousands of international enterprises planning to withdraw from China, he continued, adding that Vietnam is now an ideal nation for these businesses to consider.

Several other countries such as India have been preparing for this movement by implementing policies to attract foreign investors.

Vietnam should also boost such policies but should focus more on businesses that have applied digitization, are less labor-intensive, have good technology transfer, and offer good training for Vietnamese laborers.

Authorities should also promote the consumption of Vietnamese goods within the country to support local businesses, especially those that specialize in the export industry as they are still suffering from the negative impact of the worldwide pandemic.

Incentive policies are necessary to support companies that produce import-substituting goods, Ngan said, adding that more investment needs to be attracted to this field.

Tran Hoang Ngan, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Important policies

One of the most important tasks of economic recovery is to establish certain policies that focus on domestic development, such as further developing the connection between regions as well as between local and foreign businesses in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has already suggested new markets that Vietnamese businesses could tap into, and the government will need to support the study into these markets.

We have kept the epidemic under control, thus have time to perform such tasks and seize chances, the expert elaborated.

It is also necessary to continue such fiscal policies as tax holidays and accelerate the disbursement of public investments worth VND700 trillion (US$29.8 billion), he said.

The lawmaking National Assembly is expected to discuss a resolution on supporting businesses in its upcoming session this month.

The State Bank of Vietnam will also reduce refinance rates, which can be very helpful in the current situation, Ngan said.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance has been drafting a resolution regarding the reduction of taxes for small and micro businesses.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
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Market Research Future Published Stem Cell Banking Market report. Stem Cell Banking Market Report gives a clear picture of current market scenario which includes past and estimated future market size. The report provides detail information and strategies of top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study about different markets segments and regions.

Market Highlights

According to MRFR analysis, Stem Cell Banking Market is expected to register a CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period of 2019 to 2025 and is expected to reach USD 12,056.7 Million by 2025.



Stem cells (SC) are a class of undifferentiated biological cells of a multicellular organism that have the ability to produce indefinite cells of the same type, from which certain types of cells (proliferation and replication) can be produced by differentiation in the body through early life and growth. The stem has the potential to develop into several different cell types, from muscle cells to brain cells. Factors representing the growth of the market are rising use of therapeutic potential of stem cells, increasing investments in stem cell-based research, surging number of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) procedures, and growing newborn population. For instance, in August 2018, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the Government of China published a draft of the 2019 Annual Project Application Guide for the Stem Cell and Transformation Research pilot project. The government proposed investing 400 million yuan (around USD 56.4 million) to support stem cell research in China. On the other hand, high operational and storage costs and dearth of awareness about stem cell banking in developing and underdeveloped nations are anticipated to impede the market growth during the forecast period.



Segmentation

The Global Stem Cell Banking Market has been segmented based on cell type, bank type, and application.

Based on cell type, the market has been divided into umbilical cord stem cells, adult stem cells, and embryonic stem cells. The umbilical cord stem cells segment has been additionally categorized into cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta. The umbilical cord stem cells segment will hold the highest market share over the forecast period due to huge demand for umbilical cord blood in stem cell research. Scientists found that the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells and are collected from people of different biological traits.



On the basis of bank type, the global stem cell banking market has been classified into private banks, public banks, and hybrid banks. The private bank's segment would lead the market throughout the forecast period as it generates greater revenue, the cost to retrieve cord blood is free, and has complete ownership rights preserved by the donor. In addition, private banks have flexible collection sites and assured, and secured access offers a competitive advantage over public banks.



By application, the market has been bifurcated into thalassemia, cerebral palsy, diabetes, leukemia, autism, and others. The diabetes segment is likely to witness the fastest market growth due to the rising burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) across the world, thereby augmenting the demand for stem cells. For instance, as per statistics published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), in 2017, about 425 million adults were living with diabetes worldwide, which is anticipated to increase to 629 million by 2045.



Key Players



Some of the key players in the Global Stem Cell Banking Market are Americord Registry LLC (US), CBR Systems, Inc. (US), Cryo-Cell International, Inc. (US), Cordlife (Singapore), Cryo-Save AG (Netherlands), Smart Cells International Ltd. (UK), Global Cord Blood Corporation (Hong Kong), Celgene Corporation (US), BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (US), and Regrow Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. (India).



Access Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/stem-cell-banking-market-8441



Regional Analysis



The market has been divided by region into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The stem cell banking market in the Americas has further been divided into North America and Latin America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada. The existence of key market participants and sophisticated healthcare infrastructure, expanding network of stem cell banking services, and continuous efforts by researchers to explore new therapeutic applications of cord blood cells in the US and Canada is assisting in the dominance of North America. The European stem cell banking market has been categorized as Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The Western European market has further been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe. The stem cell banking market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific is likely to register the fastest market growth over the forecast period owing to surging elder population, increasing product launches, growing investments in R&D projects, and the presence of favorable regulatory policies coupled with commercialization opportunities

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About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
Brian Robinson with his wife Tia Robinson in Garnet Valley, Pa. Brain, was in the hospital followed by a rehab facility for 42 days suffering from the coronavirus. Read more

Some of you have really let your guard down.

I see you out riding bicycles in large packs and jogging in groups as if we werent still in the midst of a pandemic. Many of you have been hanging out with friends and loved ones.

Look, I get it. Were all tired of staying inside and social distancing. Its getting warmer. We want our lives back. But people are still getting infected with the coronavirus and dying from it, even as President Donald Trump accuses Democratic governors of deliberately slowing reopening to hurt him politically.

To everyone itching to stop quarantining, stay the course. Defer to health experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, who is warning that rushing to reopen will cause needless suffering and death.

Remember the experiences of COVID-19 survivors such as Brian Robinson. The 53-year-old father of seven was diagnosed in late March and recuperated in several medical facilities for weeks before finally making it back to his home in Garnet Valley, Delaware County, last week.

It nearly killed me, Robinson told me. Its like a computer hacker. It gets into your body and tries to find things that it can prey on to shut your body down for good.

 READ MORE: Pennsylvania nursing homes are treating coronavirus patients with the unproven malaria drug Trump touted  sometimes without consent

Robinson was hooked up to a ventilator for 15 days. He contracted bilateral pneumonia. His kidneys failed and he had to go on dialysis. Along the way, he lost 30 pounds.

On Day 15, they extubated him, recalled Caryn Cabbler, a registered nurse and Robinsons sister. His vocal cords were bruised. He couldnt talk. He couldnt eat. He couldnt swallow. He couldnt walk. He had to learn to do everything all over again. He was in the hospital for a total of 42 days  from the beginning to getting out of rehab.

All that time, he was quarantined away from his family.

A few times his nurse would let us get on the phone together and talk to him just so he could hear our voices although he wasnt awake, said Dawn Robinson McCall, another sister and the owner of the Redwood Beauty Studio in Bala Cynwyd. We believe he could hear us and it helped him to know that we were  praying for him.

When it was finally time to go home, Robinson managed to walk out of Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. Cheering hospital workers lined the corridor to applaud as he made his way out of the facility on his own two feet.

I had two goals. I wanted to come home to my wife, and I wanted to walk out of there, Robinson told me, adding that he stayed an extra five days to do so. I was so happy to be on my feet.

 HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you.

I caught his emotional victory walk on 6ABC on May 5, and it was something to see. Ive watched it several times since then, and each time Im moved by it. So many COVID-19 patients in New York who got hooked up to ventilators earlier this year, didnt recover.

But there was Robinson, who is a partner in Pizzeria Enza in Wyndmoor, standing tall as he thanked and hugged the health-care professionals who helped him survive. Although he still goes to physical therapy, hes luckier than many since some COVID-19 survivors never completely recover. Robinson, who is uncertain about how he contracted the virus, says people need to continue social distancing.

 READ MORE: Finally, theres help for Pa.s small businesses that doesnt involve a lot of red tape | Jenice Armstrong

These politicians who are telling us that things are ready to be opened, my response to that is, When I see you and your family down at the mall, then youll see me and my family down at the mall,'" he said. "If yall are not going down there, then Im not going down there.

In other words, dont expect certain politicos to look out for you and your family. Do it for yourself.
As the German government is effectively ending the coronovirus lockdown measures, reports about people dying of COVID-19 in retirement and care homes are increasing.

Over the weekend four people, three men and one woman, died of the coronavirus in the Protestant retirement and nursing home of the Inner Mission in Planegg, Bavaria. On Friday, the health department of the city of Monchengladbach confirmed the death of an 82-year-old resident at the St. Antonius retirement home.

German nursing homes have become death traps in the coronavirus pandemic, making clear that is not only in the United States, Italy and Spain where COVID-19 has rampaged out of control.

According to figures from the Robert Koch Institute released on April 23, around 1,500 residents of retirement and nursing homes had died of a coronavirus infection. At that time, this amounted to almost a third of all COVID-19 deaths in Germany and the number of unreported cases is certainly much higher.

There are no official statistics on confirmed coronavirus cases in homes for the elderly and there is no proper register of cases in outpatient care. Around 800,000 people live in retirement and nursing homes in Germany.

Conditions in some of the homes are nightmarish. For example, 23 people died of COVID-19 in the Maternus retirement home in Cologne, according to a report in Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) on April 29. The WDR had received information from staff at the home. The Cologne retirement home cares for 140 people in assisted living quarters and 75 in the care sector. The home is operated by the Berlin-based company Cura GmbH.

A few weeks ago, more than 50 residents of the home and about two dozen staff were infected, including the head of the facility. Employees reported anonymously on their shocking experiences at the start of the coronavirus crisis. Staff brought residents with clear symptoms of the virus to surrounding clinics, from where they were sent back to the nursing home without being tested.

As in almost all nursing homes affected by the coronavirus outbreaks, the lack of sufficient personnel and protective equipment is the main reason for the rapid spread of the virus and subsequent high death rates for residents already in poor health. Staff and residents of the home told the WDR that they were highly fearful for the future.

Dramatic scenes also took place the week before Easter in the Sankt Monika nursing home just a few kilometers away. The home near the city of Bonn is run by Caritas. Thirty-seven of the 70 residents and 38 nurses tested positive for the coronavirus. Infected residents were transferred to hospitals.

The national civil protection department had to temporarily take over care of non-infected residents because most of the nursing staff in the home had been infected. Subsequently, some infected nursing staff were forced back to work from their home quarantine after just one week instead of the prescribed two in order to maintain operation of the nursing home. The procedure has been officially allowed for a few days.

The reprehensible behavior of the care home management and local authorities is not an isolated case. In other regions, care home operators and authorities have also shown indifference to the health risks confronting care workers and residents.

In mid-April it was revealed that 21 out of 104 residents and 15 employees in a home for the elderly in Duisburg were infected. Four residents were taken to hospital and three have died of COVID-19 in the past few weeks. After further tests, the number of infected residents and employees increased to 46.

In Wurzburg, 25 residents in the St. Nikolaus retirement home and 19 residents of another retirement home have died of COVID-19. In the district of Furth, which like Wurzburg is located in the state of Bavaria, 23 people died of coronavirus in one home and 18 in another city in the region.

There are similar cases in other cities and states. Hospitals, clinics and other facilities have been repeatedly affected by outbreaks of the pandemic.

Radio Westphalia reported eight infected patients and employees at the Gollwitzer-Meier clinic in Bad Oeynhausen, a rehabilitation clinic for those suffering from heart and vascular diseases. All 170 inpatients and 170 employees are now being tested for the virus.

Radio Berlin Brandenburg reported on April 30 that 81 patients and 70 employees in the Brandenburg Clinic in Bernau have now tested positive for COVID-19. Fifteen have died of the infection.

According to the Barnim district administration, all of the deceased patients suffered from serious and in some cases incurable illnesses. This is a statement which is used by politicians to downplay the dangers of the coronavirus and divert attention from their own negligence. The fact is that the victims would probably still be alive if they had been properly shielded from COVID-19.
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Three-day-old foal Demi was captured doing the perfect yoga pose as she bent into a downward dog to reach the grass.

The yoga guru found that her legs were too long for her head to touch the ground at her family-owned farm in the Netherlands and discovered that a downward dog helped her to do this.

Demi (pictured), a three-month-old foal at a farm in the Netherlands, got into a perfect downward dog to try and reach the grass her long legs would not allow her to get her

Demi was copying mum, Misha, who lords over her as a huge Irish Cob. Demi does not even need to reach the grass yet because she has no teeth and still drinks her mother's milk

'It's quite common that foals don't know how to use their legs yet but I haven't seen such a perfect downward dog move before,' said owner Lisanne Drost.

Demi was inspired by eight-year-old mum, Misha, who stood next to her daughter effortlessly eating grass.

Despite Demi's resourcefulness she cannot even eat grass yet because she does not have any teeth and still drinks her mum's milk.

The young horse can only hold up her grown up front for so long though after she is later pictured clumsily frolicking in her field.

Demi cannot hold up her adult front for too long as she is adorably pictured frolicking clumsily and much less poised around her field

Lisanne said: 'I decided to film her because it made me laugh and I shared it so others could see it too.

'She is mimicking her mum, foals don't have any teeth yet so she can't eat the grass yet.

'Demi is a really gentle filly who loves to cuddle and is really active, I regularly sit in the meadow to look at them and really enjoyed watching this.

'I got loads of great reactions from people saying how much they enjoyed it so much.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 11)  The Department of Labor and Employment is asking 40 billion from Congress to fund its fresh round of cash aid to workers displaced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Labor officials say some 3.3 million jobless Filipinos stand to benefit from the departments second cash relief program which will be distributed in three tranches.

Meron po tayong iniisip na three months subsidy para po sa mga workers habang halimbawa ang DTI and other agencies of the government are also proposing to assist naman yung ating mga establishments, Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: We are thinking of a three-month subsidy for workers while the DTI and other agencies of the government are also proposing to assist our establishments.]

If Congress approves the DOLE proposal, the displaced workers will each receive 5,000 per month for three months, or a total of 15,000 from June to August.

Dahil sila rin naman ay nalugi, nawalan sila ng puhunan so kailangan din tulungan silang makabangon. (Because they went bankrupt, they lost their investments, so we need to help them recover.) Thats part of the DOLE plan. And we will engage with agencies such as Department of Trade and Industry, also TESDA, for retooling and reskilling of workers dahil marami sa mga kumpanya ang magre-repurpose ng kanilang mga gawain.

The labor department expects more small and medium-scale businesses to either shut down or lay off workers even after the lockdown is lifted.

The DOLE earlier handed out a one-time 5,000 wage subsidy to affected workers, but had to end the program on April 15 due to budget constraints. It had cost the government 3.27 billion, with almost half of the amount from the departments funds.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has a large-scale impact on the global economy, as well as on economic and trade bilateral relations, Turkish and Ukrainian businessmen are looking for ways and algorithms for the active restoration of contacts.

Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha discussed this during an online meeting with members of the Association of Crimean Tatar Business People of Turkey, Ukraine and Romania (TURKSID), according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Today its crucial to analyze the new situation and the reality that have arisen as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in particular in the field of business and mutual trade, to identify possible business processes in order to minimize the consequences of the pandemic for our economic and trade relations. We want to hear opinions, recommendations and perhaps warnings from businessmen who are well aware of doing business both in Ukraine and Turkey, Sybiha addressed the audience.

The Turkish entrepreneurs and business representatives expressed interest in discussing and maintaining dialogue regarding the state of the global economy in the face of COVID-19 and the state and prospects for the development of Ukrainian-Turkish relations, primarily in bilateral trade and the implementation of joint business projects.

The Ukrainian ambassador stressed the need to use the potential of regions and invited Turkish businessmen to take advantage of a Ukrainian business offer bank, which was created by the Embassy in Ankara. We clearly see sectors in which Ukraine is interested, in particular agricultural equipment, mills, elevators, combines and other agricultural machines. We also see that this item of imports from Turkey is growing, the diplomat said.

He focused on the effectiveness of public-private partnerships and the prospects for such interaction. We all see how effective public-private partnerships in Turkey are in the field of healthcare and infrastructure. In the post-quarantine time, we will develop specific projects in this direction," he said.

The ambassador recalled that the current year in Ukraine is the year of the implementation of major infrastructure projects, including the construction and restoration of seaports, airports, roads.

As a reminder, in August 2019, during a visit to Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Turkish business to invest more actively in Ukraine. In early February of this year, Kyiv hosted a Ukrainian-Turkish business forum, chaired by the Presidents of Ukraine and Turkey, Volodymyr Zelensky and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the participation of more than 400 Turkish businessmen.

ish
Some Workers of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) who were retrenched in 2002 have appealed to government to intervene to ensure that they were properly catered for.



They have also called on the Management of the Ghana Ports and Harbours to open another opportunity for some conversations that could bring mutual benefits.



A statement signed by Mr Stephen Ashitey Adjei, leader of the workers and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said the retrenchment had brought about misery and discomfort to families of the affected employees.



The statement said the late President John Evans Atta Mills allegedly agreed to pay the ex-workers, but their joy and jubilations fizzled out, when the former President passed and called on the current administration to take a second look at their plight.



The statement said the aggrieved ex-workers were over 3,000 and blamed former President Mahama for allegedly ignoring a process that late President Mills had started to pay them their unpaid severance benefits in 2012 after Prof. Mills suddenly died in office.



In 2002, the GPHA ex-workers were sent home in a retrenchment exercise without their severance benefits.



They later approached the GPHA and demanded payments of their benefits, but that was not to be.



This led to agitation with leader of the ex-workers, Stephen Ashitey Adjei, petitioning a number of institutions including; Parliament before the ex-workers were constrained to go to court.



The statement said only five people were paid out of over 3,000 ex-workers of GPHA due to many procedural mistakes.



At the last hearing by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, who had presided expressed unhappiness about counsel for plaintiffs long streak of procedural errors.

Before she dismissed the case on grounds of procedural errors, the Chief Justice allegedly asked the GPHA to sit down with the ex-workers and work out a package for them.



The statement alleged that late President Mills ordered the Ministry of Transport to sit down with them to resolve the issue, unfortunately after his death nothing fruitful was done.



Meanwhile, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview a couple of weeks ago on the same issue, Madam Esther Gyebi-Donkor, General Manager of Marketing and Corporate Affairs said the case went through all the court procedures and a verdict was ultimately given.



A verdict was given and I do not want to be cited for contempt of court, so many years after the verdict.

Source: GNA









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Belief by church attendees that Trump was 'anointed by God' on the rise: survey

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The belief that President Donald Trump, as well as presidents in general, were anointed by God has increased considerably among church attendees, according to a recent report.

Among white Protestants who attended church once a week or more, belief that Trump was anointed by God had increased from 29.6% last year to 49.5% this year, according to a report titled Trump the Anointed? that was published by Religion in Public.

Researchers Paul A. Djupe of Denison University and Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University compared survey data from May 2019 among white Protestants to a survey they conducted in March of this year.

Belief in overall presidential anointment had increased among white Protestants regardless of how often they attended church services.

For example, in 2019, 4.3% of white Protestants who seldom attend worship said they believed in presidential anointment; by March 2020, the percentage increased to 11%.

In 2019, 13.6% of white Protestants who attended worship a few times a month believed that Trump specifically was anointed; by March, it jumped to 31.2%.

It is also clear that there remains a gap in believing that all presidents are anointed versus whether Trump was, though it is now much smaller, reported Djupe and Burge.

In 2019, the gap was nearly 40% across attendance categories, though by 2020 the gap was closer to 15%. The religious significance of the presidency is spreading.

On the question of Trump being anointed, the researchers also found similar results in the responses of white Protestants to the general sample in each level of religious practice.

Among weekly worship attendees, 49.1% of the "other" category believed Trump was anointed, which is only slightly smaller than the 49.5% of white Protestants.

Among those who attend services a few times a month, 31.3% of the "other" category believed Trump was anointed, which was slightly higher than the 31.2% of white Protestants.

In the top two attendance categories, the level of belief is effectively identical between the two groups. This is a phenomenon that is sweeping American religion, wrote Djupe and Burge.

Last August, Trump garnered controversy when, during a press conference that included a question about trade negotiations with China, he called himself the chosen one.

I am the chosen one, stated Trump, who then pointed upwards. Somebody had to do it. So Im taking on China. Im taking on China on trade. And you know what? Were winning.

I was put here by people to do a great job. And thats what Im doing. And nobody has done a job like Ive done.

On the same day, Trump retweeted a comment by conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root, comparing the president to the King of Israel and the Second Coming.

Robert George, professor and former chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, was among the many critics of the presidents comparison.

For heaven's sake (I'm speaking literally here), Mr. President you are not like the King of Israel. You are certainly not like the second coming of God, posted George on Twitter at the time.

Support for you is not a test of Jewish loyalty. Why retweet nutty, and to religious ears deeply offensive, talk like this?

Jay Lowder, a Texas-based evangelist who identified as a Trump supporter, called it one of Trumps most disturbing steps and encouraged evangelicals to end their silence on the matter.

Trump is neither the Second Coming of God nor the Messiah. In repeating the profane quote, he gave a narcissistic endorsement and even thanked Root, a well-known conspiracy theorist, for his words, wrote Lowder in an opinion column for The Washington Post last year.

Trump later walked back his comment, claiming in a tweet that he was being sarcastic and that the reporters present knew he was just joking.

They knew the TRUTH...And yet when I saw the reporting, CNN, MSNBC and other Fake News outlets covered it as serious news & me thinking of myself as the Messiah. No more trust! he tweeted.
The British government on Monday published what it said was a cautious roadmap to ease the seven-week coronavirus lockdown in England, notably recommending people wear facemasks in some public settings.

But the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have opted for a more cautious approach, keeping the strictest stay-at-home measures in place to contain the outbreak.

Northern Ireland is due to publish its recommendations as early as Tuesday, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some rules would be relaxed as part of a carefully planned timetable of measures.

Among the first set out in the 50-page plan is the reintroduction of unlimited outdoor exercise from Wednesday. People can also meet one person from outside their household and drive to places for recreation.

It urges those working in construction, manufacturing and other manual jobs to return to work, while encouraging those able to work from home to continue to do so.

The government is now also advising people to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces such as shops and public transport.

In a second phase, nurseries and children up to the age of 11 could then start to return to school from June 1 at the earliest, and some non-essential shops could reopen.

Cultural events and elite sport could also restart from the same day  but behind closed doors, with the aim of re-opening at least some of the remaining businesses, including pubs, from July 4.

 Safe return 

Johnson, who sketched out the details in a television address on Sunday night, urged people to maintain strict social distancing measures of keeping two metres (six feet) apart.

He also announced plans to introduce a 14-day quarantine for people arriving in Britain by air to prevent new infections from abroad.

This plan seeks to return life to as close to normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and fairly as possible, in a way that is safe, he said in a foreword to the proposals.

We must acknowledge that life will be different, at least for the foreseeable future, Johnson added, noting he would put safety first, while trying to bring back the things that are most important in your lives.

But opposition parties, unions and business leaders say there is a lack of clarity about the new recommendations  and have voiced concerns about the safety of people returning to work.

The governments in Scotland and Wales have kept stricter stay-at-home measures in place, out of concern at what are higher transmission rates than elsewhere in the UK.

People there still face fines if they leave their homes for reasons other than to exercise once a day for up to an hour, to help the vulnerable, to go to work or for essential shopping.

 Recipe for chaos 

Britain has been one of the worst-hit countries in the global pandemic, with the government officially recording more than 32,000 deaths of people who had tested positive for COVID-19, with another 210 fatalities announced Monday.

The actual number of deaths from the virus is far higher, with the ONS  which tallies all deaths and releases weekly updates for periods up to two weeks prior  finding the 32,000 toll was reached in late April.

The governments chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said the impact of the changes on the virus transmission rate would be kept under constant review.

The main thing that the science is recommending is to avoid reconnecting households so you end up with transmission between households, he told reporters.

The leader of the main opposition Labour party, Keir Starmer, said Johnsons plan left many questions unanswered and called for more guidelines for workplaces to operate.

The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress umbrella group, Frances OGrady, said the announcement gave employers and employees little time to prepare, calling it a recipe for chaos.

The changes come as an analysis of official figures showed lower skilled workers in parts of Britain appear at greater risk of dying from coronavirus than white collar employees.

The assessment is the latest to highlight significant disparities in the impact of COVID-19 in Britain based on socio-economic criteria, including ethnicity.

SOURCE: AFP
BAGHDAD (AP)  Iraq's judiciary ordered courts on Sunday to release anti-government protesters, carrying out one of the first decisions of the recently inaugurated prime minister just as dozens of demonstrators burned tires in renewed protests against the new leadership.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi also promoted a well-respected Iraqi general, who played a key role in the military campaign against the Islamic State, to lead counter-terrorism operations. Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saadi was mysteriously demoted last year by former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, prompting outrage and sparking popular protests in northern Iraq and Baghdad.

The Supreme Judiciary Council said in a statement that it had ordered the release of protesters detained since those demonstrations erupted, in line with the new prime minister's call.

The council released detainees based on Article 38 of the constitution which guarantees the right to protest, provided that it is not accompanied by an act contrary to the law," the statement said.

In a press briefing Saturday night following his first Cabinet meeting as premier, al-Kadhimi said demonstrators should be protected and that all protesters should be released, except those involved in violence.

Protests erupted in Baghdad and across the country's south on Oct. 1, when frustrated Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, unemployment and poor services. Human rights groups say at least 600 people died in the following three months at the hands of Iraqi security forces who used live fire and tear gas to disperse the crowds.

The demonstrations petered out with the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, though dozens of protesters are still camped out in Baghdad's Tahrir Square determined not to let the movement die.

Al-Kadhimi also said he was promoting al-Saadi to become head of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, just as the country was experiencing an uptick in attacks by the Islamic State group in the north. Previously, the general was a force commander in the the service before Abdul-Mahdi demoted him in September to a post in the Defense Ministry. The Iraqi public considered his sudden demotion a sign of corrupt government practices and took to the streets in outrage.

Story continues

Al-Saadi, 56, was one of the leading commanders in the fight against IS and the battle to retake Mosul, taking the lead in many operations.

In a recent briefing with reporters, American Lt. Gen. Pat White, head of the Combined Joint Task Force responsible for fighting IS, said the group was failing miserably in a renewed campaign to launch more attacks.

IS leadership has stated what their intent is, and they do this every year. They put out what is generally described as a military campaign, he said. To date, they have failed miserably at achieving those goals.

Still, plumes of acrid smoke choked the air Sunday as protesters, unpersuaded by al-Kadhimis decisions, returned to the streets and burned tires on a key bridge leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraqs government.

Protesters said they rejected al-Kadhimi and any candidate chosen by the political establishment and gathered by the dozens near Jumhuriya Bridge, closed off since late last year in a standoff with riot police.
New Delhi:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today told the Supreme Court that banned Ponzi schemes do not fall under its regulatory purview and only the state governments concerned can control them. The stock market regulator also said banned activities cannot be regulated by any regulator and be just stopped, if it is intimated about such schemes or it takes suo moto cognizance.

It is submitted that ponzi schemes do not fall under the regulatory purview of SEBI. The same is banned under Chit Fund and Money Circulation (Banning) Act 1978, and the concerned state government is the enforcement agency of the said law, SEBI said in an affidavit, adding that only Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) are under its jurisdiction and these too can be stopped if not registered.

Banned activities cannot be regulated by any regulator, except to stop the same if made aware of it. It is stated that CIS, within the domain of SEBI, is not banned activity, but is authorized only upon registration/permission of, as the case may be, with SEBI and in the absence of such registration such schemes are not allowed to operate and have to be stopped.

Upon being made aware of the same, or suo moto coming to knowledge of such schemes, SEBI has been taking action by way of interim order and final order, it said.

The response of the regulator came on a PIL filed by NGO Humanity Salt Lake alleging inaction on the part of the government in regulating chit funds resulting in multiple scams across the country.

SEBI also told the apex court in its affidavit that it has been alert and proactive in tackling the menace of unauthorized money mobilization.

During last three years, upon completion of examination with respect to the applicability of the SEBI Act, 1992 and regulations, SEBI passed interim order against 299 entities, including 76 CIS and 223 Deemed Public Issues (DPI), it said, adding that it has referred 1657 cases to various agencies as activities of these entities did not fall in SEBIs regulatory purview.
Leading Jersey Legal Practice Drives Document Innovation Through Zylpha

Respected Jersey based specialist family law practice Claire Davies, Advocate has chosen electronic document bundling software from leading legal software innovator Zylpha (www.zylpha.com). The move has proved extremely timely as the island?s Royal Court (Family division) is now actively encouraging the use of electronic legal document bundles for all hearings. Ideally suited to the Court?s demands, Zylpha is winning many friends and gaining huge interest amongst other local practices.

As a leading family practice Claire Davies, Advocate is committed to providing a first-class service. By utilising Zylpha, it has been able to produce electronic document bundles in a fraction of the time it would take to produce them manually, whilst also making considerable saving across stationery, photocopying, physical storage and the use of couriers. Clients too have expressed satisfaction with the enhanced service levels available. By being ready to capitalise on the acceptance of digital files by the Jersey family court, Claire Davies, Advocate has been able to hit the ground running from day 1 with high-quality professional electronic bundles.

According to Claire Davies herself, the move reflects a significant commitment to both innovation and customer service. In her view, ?The decision to go with Zylpha is part of a broader programme of adopting innovation aimed at driving client service levels. Despite exploring a number of different digital document management solutions, Zylpha was the only document bundling system that offered the robust service levels required here.

?Now that the Jersey family courts are dictating that firms use electronic bundling, complex legal document bundles can be produced in a fraction of the time it took previously with manual systems, in some cases saving days of work. Using Zylpha also includes all the set up and practices for producing bundles whilst working from home without disruption. This is all a major leap forward and the courts themselves are highlighting to others that what we are doing with Zylpha is good practice!?

For his part, Zylpha?s CEO Tim Long welcomed Claire Davies? comments adding, ?Claire Davies, Advocate is one of the leading family legal practices in Jersey, and their commitment to driving innovation is being recognised as a huge credit to the community. We are delighted therefore that having chosen Zylpha the practice is now supported by an appreciative local court system. We look forward to hearing of their excellent work in Channel Islands and of the role Zylpha has played there.?
By Trend





The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has taken measures to stop illegal actions casting a shadow on the activities of authorities, some officials, who, in the name of their interests, harm the states legally protected monuments considered cultural and historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people, Trend reports with reference to the service.

As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Deputy Minister of Culture Rafig Bayramov and Head of the State Service of Cultural Heritage Conservation, Development and Rehabilitation under the Ministry of Culture Zakir Sultanov abused their official powers, committed numerous violations that significantly harm the interests protected by society and state laws, and human rights.

During a search conducted by the State Security Service on May 8, 2020, in the offices and apartments of Rafig Bayramov and Zakir Sultanov, various notes on the amounts of funds accepted by officials of the Ministry of Culture, cash in various currencies, other documents and material evidences of importance to the case, were found.

During the investigation, there were substantial suspicions that Zakir Sultanov was constantly embezzling part of the budget allocated for the necessary work on protection, restoration, reconstruction of historical monuments and cultural samples that are centuries-old cultural heritage and asset of the Azerbaijani people.

As part of the current criminal case, the investigation on materials related to obtaining consent to carry out reconstruction work on architectural buildings that are considered cultural heritage in exchange for money, continues.

The investigation also revealed serious suspicions that Rafig Bayramov, through the heads of regional departments of the Ministry of Culture, arranged extra hours for teachers of music schools operating in the districts, and received funds withheld from their salary, as well as from other illegal sources every month.

It was also revealed that part of the state funds allocated for the construction of music schools, houses of culture, libraries, art schools, galleries, clubs, museums and other cultural institutions in the country were cashed and embezzled personally by Rafig Bayramov and through the heads of regional departments of the Ministry of Culture.

In a criminal case conducted in the State Security Service, Rafig Bayramov and Zakir Sultanov were imposed with a pre-trial restraint as an arrest because of official misconduct, misappropriation of funds and forgery. Both of them are involved in the investigation under the relevant articles of the Criminal Codec of Azerbaijan.

The investigation is ongoing.












Swatara Township police are looking for a black Honda Civic they believe could be connected to the killing of a 66-year-old man during a hit-and-run last November.

Highspire resident Steven Rapp was struck Nov. 12 around 5 a.m. on the 3200 block of Paxton Street, near the Pizza Hut restaurant. The vehicle that hit him fled the scene before first responders could arrive, police said.

Police said the Honda is a vehicle of interest, and believe it was made between 2013 to 2015.

Investigators said a piece of the vehicles bumper was found at the scene.

Anyone with information involving the hit-and-run is asked to contact Swatara Township police at 717-564-2550. Tips can also be submitted online.

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Grandmother arrested after 6-year-old is found tied up in a shed: report
India's manufacturing companies are looking for a financial booster dose to revive major job generating sectors like metals and mining, power, cement, automobiles, petroleum, real estate and infrastructure. An industrialist says that manufacturing industry alone will require at least Rs 5 lakh crore immediately to get out of this crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore for fighting the economic impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. He said the government is working on a package "Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan" for economic revival.

"What manufacturing industry wants now is a comprehensive package, which includes tax holidays, export assistance and low cost capital. It will help in attracting foreign investments as well as boosting 'Make in India', which is yet to take shape," said an executive with an infrastructure company.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Local content based incentives on the anvil for manufacturing sector

Capital is a big issue for manufacturing companies as Indian banks are conservative, despite providing costly capital compared to the rest of the world, said an industry expert. "Companies will not borrow high cost capital to meet fixed costs like salaries. If companies don't provide jobs and pay proper salaries, the recovery from this crisis will be difficult for the country," he said.

Some big companies are good in finding active markets abroad. But small and medium the companies are finding it difficult to locate global buyers. Another demand of a tax holiday, which helped the IT industry to flourish in India in the '90s is expected to attract more investments in manufacturing and infrastructure industries.

ALSO READ: Stimulus to help India be among Top 5 medical devices manufacturing hubs

"If government tries to club the earlier budgeted projects in a different bucket, the real recovery will be a myth in the near term," another executive said. PM Modi reiterated that the package will spur business, attract investment and strengthen Make in India Mission.

Most corporate houses are in the process of suspending their capital expenditure plans for this fiscal. It is a growing concern for industry. The problem that automobile and real estate industries face is the lack of customers. The companies will not be able to make fresh investments at a time when there is no market. The government should take steps to revive customer confidence also.

"Income tax exemptions, allocation of capital for minimum job guarantee and rural development schemes and enhancing minimum support price of agricultural produce are important to strengthen customer confidence," said chief financial officer of a steel company.

ALSO READ: Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore package paves way for massive money printing
Morris Hood III represented Dearborn as a state senator for eight years, from 2011-18, before being term-limited out of office.

He died May 11 after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19

Hood, 54, also served as a state representative from 2003-08. After leaving the Senate he took a job with Wayne County working as a liaison with the state government. While in the Senate he served as the minority floor leader.

His district in the Senate included Detroit, Dearborn and Melvindale.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had kind words to say about her former colleague, and friend.

Morris was a dear friend, she said. He was a proud Detroiter and continued the family commitment to the service of his community. There was not a more loyal friend, thoughtful advisor or quicker wit. Mo was the type of guy that lit up the room and made you glad to be there. He is doing that in his next life now and those of us left here are better having known him. May he rest in peace. My love and prayers go to his beloved family and many friends who grieve this tough loss.

Hood started his work life as a floor worker at Ford, and was always known to be a representative of the people, having risen up from the ranks.

Mo Hood was one of our states very best. He started his career on a shop floor and he never lost that perspective or passion for working people. He would often call on our better angels when tempers flared too hot, and was the first to tell you to take time for your family and those you care about, because you never know when you might lose them. Now the entire state of Michigan feels that loss, and well miss him very much, Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber said.

State Sen. Jim Ananich (D-Flint), who succeeded Hood as the minority leader, also spoke highly of his friend.

We are heartbroken to hear of Sen. Hoods death. Morris was a friend, a confidant and a spiritual rock for our caucus during his time in the legislature. Everyone who served with him has a story of how Morris perspective on life helped them through a difficult personal or political situation, he said.

In 2016 Hood had a kidney transplant, but had recovered from that and returned to work quickly. He had been hospitalized since late April with COVID-19, and on a ventilator for a couple of weeks. At one point he was recovering before the virus took hold and made him sicker in recent days.

His father, Morris Hood Jr., was a longtime state representative for Detroit until his death in 1998. His grandfather, Morrie Hood, was a political activist before that.

Morris was at his best when he was delivering his year-end speeches, encouraging us to stay close to our loved ones and to tell people that you love them, Ananich said. We should honor him by doing just that, every day, especially while the coronavirus continues to steal lives too early from us. Morris was a man with much more life to live, but the years he had with us he lived well. He will be missed.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-12th District) also spoke highly of Hood.

Morris was a brother to me, she said. He loved everyone but he loved (his wife) Angela with his whole heart and soul and now he is at home with her. When John died, there was no one who understood better than he, losing half of yourself, and he just was there as a rock to help get me through. He did so much good for so many, never stopped working for others and our communities will deeply miss him. I cannot express how sad I am that he passed and I have another hole in my heart.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska is preparing to hold the first statewide in-person election in more than a month, offering clues not only about the wisdom of going to the polls during a pandemic but also about the mood of Democrats in a key congressional district.

Despite pleas from Democrats that the state shift to an all-mail election or delay Tuesday's vote as other states have done, Republican leaders insisted the state proceed even as they encouraged people to request absentee ballots.

It will be the first statewide vote since Wisconsin's much-criticized April 7 primary Although that election will be remembered for long lines, a surge of absentee ballots could mean Nebraska's vote will be notable for a ghost town feel at polling places.

As of Thursday, voters had cast 321,528 absentee ballots, surpassing the total vote in the 2016 primary. And given that more ballots are likely in the mail, that probably will mean the few who show up at polling places will have plenty of social distance.

Voter participation in early balloting has reached unprecedented levels, Secretary of State Bob Evnen said.

Apart from Nebraska's statewide election, special elections also will be held Tuesday in Wisconsin and California to fill open congressional seats.

Even if little excitement is expected at Nebraska polling places, the results of the voting will certainly be interesting, especially in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District.

Voters will choose between Kara Eastman and Ann Ashford for the Democratic nomination to face Republican Don Bacon. Eastman is a nonprofit consultant who supports Medicare for all, stricter gun laws and a higher minimum wage. Ashford is a self-described moderate candidate in the mold of likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Eastman lost to Bacon in 2018 by nearly 2 percentage points, as her support in Omaha was offset by Bacon's stronger showing in suburban areas. Although Bacon beat Eastman after portraying her as too liberal for the district, she hasn't shied away from her progressive beliefs.

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In this April 14, 2020 photo, Nadette Cheney picks up a box of printed ballots as others work on preparing mail-in ballots at the Lancaster County Election Committee offices in Lincoln, Neb. Officials in Nebraska are forging ahead with plans for the states May 12 primary despite calls from Democrats to only offer voting by mail and concerns from public health officials that in-person voting will help the coronavirus spread. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) ORG XMIT: NENH208

Its really easy to peg candidates as one thing or another, but the reality is the policies I support and the things I talk about on the campaign trail are widely supported, she said.

Ashford, whose husband Brad Ashford represented the district for one term before losing to Bacon, has taken jabs at Eastman in campaign ads, arguing that Medicare-for-all isnt feasible and that the district needs someone who will work to achieve whats politically possible in Washington. Ashford said she supports a public option, a government-sponsored insurance plan that would compete with private health insurance.

People are looking for realistic solutions, she said. I think they always have, and when candidates throw out pie-in-the-sky ideas, thats not helpful.

A third candidate, Gladys Harrison, hasnt generated nearly as much money or attention as Ashford and Eastman.

Vince Powers, a Democratic party activist and former state chairman, said voters are focused on who can beat Bacon and they're hopeful that many voters have tired of President Donald Trump's polarizing presidency. Despite concerns Eastman is more liberal than the district's voters, Powers said her network of supporters and donors built up in the last election could give her an edge.

Tyler Law, former communication director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the lack of typical campaigning due to the coronavirus also could favor Eastman.

If you already have an advantage, and the dynamics in the race get locked in place because of something like a pandemic, and you cant do the face-to-face campaigning or door-knocking thats so critical in an urban congressional district, I think thats a huge advantage to the incumbent or whoever won the primary previously, Law said.

Law said he doesn't see a contradiction between Democrats nationally who are coalescing behind the moderate Biden and the possibility that those in the 2nd District will nominate the progressive Eastman.

It would be on Kara Eastman to translate and sell her message to a moderate electorate, Law said. But I want to be clear, a lot of progressive candidates across the country won in moderate districts in 2018. It absolutely can be done this year.

Wisconsin's special election Tuesday is in a rural congressional district that didn't experience the same problem with long lines that other places did in the state's April 7 primary.

Trump carried the district by 20 points, more than 20 times his narrow marging in the state four years ago. The seat has been vacant since September, when Trump backer and former reality TV star Sean Duffy retired.

Tom Tiffany, a Republican state senator closely aligned with Trump, is vying for the seat against Tricia Zunker, a Democrat school board president backed by liberals who is seeking to become the first Native American elected to Congress from Wisconsin.

The California race pits Democrat Christy Smith against Republican Mike Garcia for a seat representing a suburban Los Angeles House district. Theyre running to replace former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned after admitting to an affair with a campaign staffer. Democrats see it as a referendum on President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Garcia.

Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska House race may be bellwether for Democrats
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - San Marco Resources Inc. (TSXV: SMN) ("San Marco") is pleased to announce it has intersected wide zones of continuous gold mineralization from its recently completed Phase 1 drill program at its 100% optioned gold/silver/zinc Buck property in north-central B.C.

Highlights of the Phase 1 drill program include:

91 metres of 0.80 g/t AuEq (gold equivalent, gold and silver only) within 156 metres of 0.63 g/t AuEq, including 33 metres of 1.01 g/t AuEq.

81 metres of 0.78 g/t AuEq within 200.7 metres of 0.51 g/t AuEq, including 44 metres of 1.01 g/t AuEq.

2.15 metres of 6.3 g/t Au and 10.0 g/t Ag, including 0.3 metres of 20.7 g/t Au and 48.9 g/t Ag (within 4 metres of the bottom of BK20-002).

Mineralization is hosted in highly clay altered, faulted and fractured, brecciated volcanic tuffs, as wide disseminated zones and high-grade veins. [*]

Very consistent gold and silver grades intersected at shallow depths, some of which are projected to surface.

San Marco's Executive Director, Bob Willis, states "We are very encouraged to see significant intervals of continuous gold mineralization at Buck, which confirms our preliminary findings that this is a large, near-surface gold/silver exploration opportunity. We intend to aggressively ramp up exploration efforts, with our 'boots on the ground' exploration team arriving on site in about three weeks. Our drill program gave us the first opportunity to see fresh core we could log and tie to gold mineralization, and to help target the best host rocks, alteration, and structural setting for gold deposition. We will use this new information to target drilling for Phase 2 and to prioritize numerous attractive, but previously poorly understood, target areas at Buck."

The 1,806 metre drill program was centered in an area of historically explored mineralization and consisted of a total of five holes, where three holes were drilled in an area of known mineralization near surface. An additional two short holes were collared 350 metres to the northwest in an attempt to locate a previously postulated mineralized fault zone. Drill hole locations for the Phase 1 drill program can be seen in Figure 1 and were previously announced on April 8, 2020.

The primary objective of the Phase 1 campaign was to get fresh drill core to identify styles of mineralization and detailed analysis of subtle mineralizing controls that could then be applied project-wide. This has been successful, and these observations will be a key component in the design of the Phase 2 drill program.

Significant shallow drill intersections of gold and silver has shown the robust nature of mineralization, with most of the gold mineralization hosted as disseminations in the host rock, and as high-grade veins, commonly associated with sphalerite and pyrite (see Photo 1). Most of the mineralized system has been classified as felsic lapilli tuffs (volcanic rocks), with various degrees of brecciation. Rocks that are highly faulted and clay-altered have the most elevated gold values. Schematic cross sections can be seen in Figure 2 and Figure 3.

Near-Term Focus

San Marco's plans for the next phase of exploration include:

Continue to compile and analyse drill results and review drill core with assays in hand

Mobilize a field crew to the property in about three weeks

Commence exploration activities to include detailed mapping and sampling, and prospecting new areas radiating out from current drill location

Re-interpret historical geophysical data to be used to assist in new drill target generation

Complete initial 3-D geological model after all drill core interpretation and field work is complete

Generate Phase 2 drill program

Significant intercepts for the Phase 1 drill program at Buck can be found below.

Hole From (m) To (m) Width* (m) AuEq (g/t) ** Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Zn (pct) BK20-001 29.35 30.35 1 1.93 1.87 6.1 0.5% and 60.00 62.00 2 1.09 1.06 2.7 0.1% and 76.50 80.00 3.5 0.54 0.53 1.0 0.1% and 102.30 303.00 200.7 0.51 0.48 3.7 0.2% including 120.00 136.00 16 0.56 0.52 4.0 0.2% and including 123.00 127.45 4.45 0.73 0.68 4.9 0.1% and including 124.35 125.00 0.65 1.84 1.77 7.6 0.2% including 153.80 281.00 127.2 0.62 0.58 4.1 0.2% and including 157.45 238.00 81 0.78 0.73 4.9 0.2% and including 192.00 236.00 44 1.01 0.96 5.1 0.2% and including 192.00 202.00 10 1.07 1.00 7.6 0.2% and including 210.00 212.00 2 1.18 1.13 5.1 0.2% and including 224.00 234.00 10 1.69 1.65 4.8 0.4% and including 224.00 228.88 4.88 2.62 2.54 8.3 0.6% and 343.75 345.00 1.25 0.64 0.61 2.7 0.1%















BK20-002 50.25 56.00 5.75 0.48 0.47 1.8 0.1% including 50.25 50.60 0.35 2.08 1.93 16.1 1.0% and 90.20 90.50 0.3 2.43 2.19 25.2 1.0% and 101.00 257.10 156.1 0.63 0.59 4.3 0.5% including 111.00 202.00 91 0.80 0.75 5.6 0.5% and including 111.00 113.00 2 4.19 4.08 11.2 1.2% and including 132.00 142.00 10 1.01 0.95 6.3 0.2% and including 146.00 147.50 1.5 1.56 1.50 6.2 0.5% and including 152.10 153.60 1.5 1.66 1.62 4.5 1.2% and including 169.00 202.00 33 1.01 0.94 7.4 0.7% and including 169.00 175.20 6.2 1.05 0.98 6.7 1.1% and including 169.00 171.00 2 1.55 1.49 6.3 1.0% and including 173.00 175.20 2.2 1.08 1.00 8.6 1.7% and including 181.00 202.00 21 1.09 1.02 8.0 0.7% including 245.20 257.10 11.9 0.88 0.84 3.9 0.9% and including 248.40 252.00 3.6 2.04 1.99 5.5 1.4% and 325.00 329.00 4 1.39 1.29 11.1 0.4% and 335.90 337.00 1.1 5.69 5.55 14.9 0.0% and 414.50 415.00 0.5 6.21 5.75 49.3 0.2% and 424.65 426.80 2.15 6.40 6.30 10.0 0.0% including 426.50 426.80 0.3 21.16 20.70 48.9 0.0%















BK20-003 84.40 85.00 0.6 1.62 1.48 14.9 2.0% and 134.35 135.60 1.25 1.70 1.56 14.6 1.5% including 134.35 134.65 0.3 5.75 5.37 40.4 3.6%















BK20-004 101.50 103.00 1.5 0.54 0.52 2.9 0.1% including 101.50 101.80 0.3 1.47 1.42 5.0 0.2% and 186.00 188.00 2 0.72 0.70 1.6 0.1% and 211.10 221.20 10.1 0.49 0.42 7.1 0.5% including 211.10 212.25 1.15 1.41 1.28 14.2 1.4% including 220.85 221.20 0.35 2.74 2.61 14.0 2.7% and 272.00 274.00 2 3.10 3.06 4.5 0.3%















BK20-005 165.80 188.80 23 0.63 0.32 33.2 0.4% including 165.80 172.10 6.3 1.08 0.46 65.4 0.5% including 188.50 188.80 0.3 1.30 0.64 70.4 1.0% and 208.20 208.50 0.3 1.10 1.01 9.6 2.3% and 214.00 304.50 90.5 0.35 0.30 5.1 0.4% including 226.00 230.00 4 0.78 0.66 13.6 0.2% including 252.00 304.50 52.5 0.39 0.33 6.1 0.5% and including 262.00 281.00 19 0.51 0.41 10.9 0.6% and including 302.50 304.50 2 0.66 0.64 1.9 0.0% and 324.00 326.00 2 0.61 0.58 3.2 0.3% and 348.00 350.00 2 0.61 0.54 7.4 0.1% and 418.00 420.00 2 1.09 1.00 9.1 0.1%

* Widths are drill core length. Insufficient drilling has been undertaken to determine true widths at this time.

Average grades are weighted by width and calculated with uncapped gold assays.

Average widths are calculated using a 0.2 g/t gold equivalent cut-off grade with less than five continuous metres of internal dilution below cut-off grade.

** Gold equivalent (AuEq) values were calculated using a gold price of US$ 1,600 per ounce and a silver price of US$ 15 per ounce. Gold equivalent values were calculated using the following formula: AuEq = (Au g/t) + (Ag g/t) x (15/1600).

Gold equivalent assumes 100% recoveries.

Quality Assurance

All sample assay results have been monitored through a quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) program. Industry best practices were used for defining a QA/QC program where 5% of the sampling stream was controlled by industry recognized certified reference material (CRM's) and blanks. When necessary, additional QA/QC in the form of 5% of pulp and coarse reject duplicates were selected for laboratory verification. The drill core was logged in detail by geologists utilizing a logging approach designed by senior technical managers. Logging and sampling was completed at a secure facility in Smithers, B.C. by Coast Mountain Geological Ltd. (CMG). Drill core was sawn in half on site and half drill-core samples were securely transported to the ALS Global prep facility in Terrace, B.C. The samples were dried, crushed to 70% (< 2 mm), split to 250g, and pulverised to 85% (<75 m). Sample pulps were sent to the ALS Global lab in North Vancouver, B.C., for analysis. Gold analysis was by 30g Fire Assay with AA finish and automatically re-analysed with Gravimetric finish if Au >5 g/t. Some samples underwent ore grade analysis using the Four Acid method. In addition, pulps underwent Multi-Element Analysis by ICP-AES. ALS Global is registered to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditations for laboratory procedures.

Links to Figures

Figure 1:

http://sanmarcocorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Buck_Drilling_Imagery_May2020_NR_sxns.jpg

Figure 2:

http://sanmarcocorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Simplified_CrossSection_May2020_SectionA-scaled.jpg

Figure 3:

http://sanmarcocorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Simplified_CrossSection_May2020_SectionB-scaled.jpg

Photo 1:

http://sanmarcocorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Buck_CorePhotos.pdf

About San Marco

San Marco is a Canadian mineral exploration company actively pursuing world class gold, silver, zinc and copper projects with a focus in mining friendly jurisdictions in both British Columbia, Canada and Mexico.

The Company's principal focus and asset is the recently optioned Buck Property in north-central British Columbia that has large tonnage gold-silver-zinc potential in a mining-friendly region that includes many former and current operating mines. In addition, the Company's portfolio includes the several prospective, early stage exploration properties in Mexico.

San Marco is committed to environmental and social responsibility with a focus on responsible development to generate positive outcomes for all stakeholders.

Further details are available on the Company's website at www.sanmarcocorp.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Robert Willis, P.Eng.

Executive Director

For further information, contact:

Nancy Curry

Corporate Communications

Sharyn Alexander, M.Sc.

VP Technical Services

info@sanmarcocorp.com

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

This news release has been approved by San Marco's Executive Director, Robert D. Willis, P. Eng. a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and test data, underlying such technical information.

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this document may include forward-looking statements. While these statements reflect management's current plans, projections and intents, by their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the control of San Marco Resources Inc. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. San Marco's actual results, programs, activities and financial position could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[*] Widths are drill core length

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55698






The Spirit of Detroit statue by Marshall Fredericks wears a white ribbon to honor essential workers, first responders and health care workers. / AP

DETROIT  Factory workers began returning to assembly lines in Michigan on Monday, paving the way to reopen the U.S. auto sector but stoking fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections as strict lockdowns are eased across the country.

With millions of Americans out of work and much of the economy at a virtual standstill, a growing number of states are relaxing tough restrictions on commerce and social life put in place to slow the outbreak.

Some auto suppliers in Michigan, the Midwest industrial powerhouse hard hit by the pandemic and its economic fallout, reopened plants on Monday with skeleton crews to get ready for a resumption of vehicle production next week.

Skilled-trades workers and salaried employees also began returning to auto assembly plants to prepare for the wider restart.

"We're starting up our foundry this week in anticipation of the orders coming in next week," Joe Perkins, chief executive of Busche Performance Group, an engineering, casting and machining firm, said in a telephone interview.

Factory workers will be issued face masks, checked for fever and required to submit health-screening questionnaires.

"All of that's ready to go," Perkins said. "The big question is are people going to be buying cars and trucks."

Musk defies lockdown order

The manufacturing reopening approved last week by Governor Gretchen Whitmer was crucial not only to auto plants in Michigan but to vehicle production elsewhere because so many key parts suppliers are based in and around the automaking hub of Detroit.

Detroit's Big Three automakers  General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles  said last week they planned to restart production at North American plants on May 18. The target date was set after tacit approval from the powerful United Auto Workers union, which previously opposed a May restart as "too soon and too risky."

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Ford said it had adopted safety protocols from China, where car production resumed in late February, including personal protective garments on assembly lines, barriers separating employees clustered together and heavily sanitized work areas.

Much is at stake. The auto sector accounts for 6% of U.S. economic output and employs more than 835,000 Americans.

A small but high-profile sector of the U.S. auto industry became a flashpoint in California on Monday as Elon Musk, chief executive of electric carmaker Tesla, defied local health officials and restarted his factory outside San Francisco.

California Governor Gavin Newsom had given the OK for manufacturing to reopen statewide on Friday, but Alameda County's more stringent lockdown orders barring factory operations for another week supersede Newsom's authority.

Musk, who had threatened to move his plant to another state unless officials relented, said on Twitter that production resumed on Monday, adding he would join workers on the assembly line.

"If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me," he wrote.

U.S. death toll climbing

Moves to loosen the clampdown have played out even as the number of lives lost continues to rise. Well over 80,000 people in the United States have died in the pandemic out of more than 1.35 million known U.S. infections reported since Jan. 20, according to a Reuters tally.

Ohio, another industrial state and key player in the U.S. auto industry, reopened its manufacturing last week and said most retail shops could welcome customers back on Tuesday.

Even New York, epicenter of the U.S. crisis, was set to ease some rules, permitting certain low-risk activities like landscaping, tennis courts and drive-in theaters to reopen this weekend in rural areas.

"We took the worst situation in the nation and changed the trajectory," Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Pressure to loosen business constraints has mounted under a rapidly deteriorating economic outlook. The pandemic has put more Americans out of work than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, prompting Congress to pass trillions of dollars in emergency relief.

Masks at the White House

Republican President Donald Trump, accused by Democrats of playing down and mishandling the outbreak, has pushed to swiftly reopen the economy, seen as key to his re-election bid on Nov. 3.

In a tweet, Trump on Monday again accused Democrats of taking their time lifting restrictions to embarrass him, a charge they have denied.

Public health experts have warned that moving too quickly to reopen, without vastly expanded diagnostic testing and other precautions firmly in place, risks fueling a resurgence of the virus. Polling shows a majority of Americans also concerned.

While permitting a return to manufacturing, Whitmer maintained an order requiring residents to remain mostly indoors when not at work. "We've got to remember that continuing to stay home ... is the key to helping us lower the chance of a second wave," the Democratic governor said.

Separately, the White House directed its staff to wear masks at all times in the building, except when at their own desks, a senior administration official said. Trump's valet and Vice President Mike Pence's spokeswoman both tested positive for the coronavirus last week.

The White House situation has had ramifications far beyond the nation's capital. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was following a modified self-quarantine because of possible coronavirus exposure during a White House visit and meetings in Iowa with Pence last week.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker was working from home after a senior staff member tested positive last week. Pritzker tested negative on Sunday, according to his office.
MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nuvo or the Company) (TSX: NRI;OTCQX: NRIFF) a Canadian-focused healthcare company with global reach and a diversified portfolio of commercial products, today announced that at its 2020 Virtual Annual & Special Meeting of Shareholders held on May 11, 2020, all nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated March 27, 2020 were elected as directors of the Company.

The detailed results of the votes by proxy are as follows:

Director Nominees NUMBER OF SHARES PERCENTAGE OF VOTES CAST FOR WITHHELD FOR WITHHELD Daniel Chicoine 2,792,654 294,223 90.47% 9.53% David A. Copeland 2,959,918 126,959 95.89% 4.11% Anthony E. Dobranowski 2,962,488 124,389 95.97% 4.03% Robert Harris 2,880,912 205,965 93.33% 6.67% John C. London 2,791,176 295,701 90.42% 9.58%

About Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Nuvo (TSX: NRI;OTCQX: NRIFF) is a Canadian focused, healthcare company with global reach and a diversified portfolio of commercial products. The Company targets several therapeutic areas, including pain, allergy and dermatology. The Company's strategy is to in-license and acquire growth-oriented, complementary products for Canadian and international markets. Nuvo's head office is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the international operations are located in Dublin, Ireland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada and E.U. approved manufacturing facility is located in Varennes, Quebec, Canada. The Varennes facility operates in a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) environment respecting the U.S, Canada and E.U. GMP regulations and is regularly inspected by Health Canada and the FDA. For additional information, please visit www.nuvopharmaceuticals.com .

SOURCE Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Related Links

nuvopharmaceuticals.com


Seeking to ramp up the nations capacity to administer a possible COVID-19 vaccine, the Trump administration has signed a $138 million deal with the makers of an innovative syringe designed to be used in developing countries.

The goal of the public-private initiative, called Project Jumpstart, is to facilitate the production of 100 million prefilled syringes by the end of 2020 and more than 500 million in 2021 in the event a vaccine becomes available, officials announced Tuesday.

The Health and Human Services Department and the Defense Department are partnering with ApiJect Systems America, which manufactures inexpensive prefilled syringes made of plastic.

The project will "help significantly decrease the United States dependence on offshore supply chains and its reliance on older technologies with much longer production lead times," said Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews.

Vaccines are typically delivered to doctors and hospitals in small in glass vials, which are time-consuming to make and require the use of a syringe to draw out the vaccine. But ApiJect figured out a solution to a problem that has long stymied researchers: how to make an easy-to-produce prefilled plastic syringe.

Nobody has ever used an injectable prefilled syringe made of plastic in the tens of millions or even in the millions, because nobody had ever figured out how to attach a needle to a plastic filled container with a drug, ApiJect CEO Jay Walker said in an exclusive interview with NBC News. The technology to attach the two is the key to the uniqueness of what HHS saw we had solved.

Image: Jay Walker (NBC)

The device consists of an easy-to-attach needle and a plastic single-use container similar to ones used for eyedrops. The plastic syringes are made through a Blow-Fill-Seal manufacturing process, used in high-volume production for pharmaceutical grade products.

According to Walker, ApiJects prefilled plastic syringe will cost less than a dollar to produce, which is significantly cheaper than the cost of other prefilled syringes as well as glass vials.

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The devices will be manufactured in the U.S. and planning is underway to retrofit facilities that already produce eyedrops and other similar items. ApiJect is also raising money to build new plants to help dramatically increase production of the syringes.

The deal comes two months after HHS announced that it selected ApiJect for an award valued up to $456 million for research and development of its syringes.

The new deal "will dramatically expand U.S. production capability for domestically manufactured, medical-grade injection devices starting by October 2020," Andrews said.

For more than a decade, experts in emergency preparedness and national security have warned about an inability to ramp up production of syringes in the event of a pandemic in the U.S.

Yet the U.S. still does not have the supplies or capacity to administer a vaccine anywhere close to the level that would be necessary for the coronavirus. A vaccine is not expected to be available until next year at the earliest, but experts inside and outside the federal government have expressed increasing concerns about the availability of syringes.

The manufacturing of glass vials to hold vaccines largely takes place overseas where costs are lower and environmental regulations are less stringent. It could take more than six months to produce just a few million of them, according to Walker.

They're very specialized and very specific, added Walker. If you need tens of millions or hundreds of millions, they could take way longer to make. So that's a big problem.

Public health experts estimate that a COVID-19 vaccine will require two doses to ensure immunity, requiring about 650 million just for the U.S. population alone.

That's not just an order of magnitude or two from current capabilities, Walker said. That's a whole new world of difference.

In addition to the production of glass vials, the process of putting a vaccine into a container - known as fill and finish - is also complicated. Existing facilities are already running at full capacity and built specifically for a given drug, officials say, and therefore cannot be easily switched over to package a new vaccine.

An HHS whistleblower, Dr. Rick Bright, sounded the alarm in March that the U.S. lacks enough vaccine-delivery capacity. Bright wrote in a whistleblower complaint filed May 5 that he raised the issue with his superiors at HHS earlier this year, telling them the nations stockpile contains approximately 15 million needles and syringes, a mere 2 percent of the required amount.

In a March 12 email to colleagues bolstering his complaint, Bright wrote: It could take two plus years to make enough to satisfy the U.S. vaccine needs for a pandemic.

The federal government first approached ApiJect in early 2019 to discuss the application of the new technology - originally intended for use in developing countries - to prepare for a potential flu pandemic. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, a plan was developed to immediately increase surge capacity in the U.S. in anticipation of a vaccine or therapeutic treatment.

Two top officials with HHSs Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Bob Kadlec and Joe Hamel, helped to spearhead the effort and worked to fast-track the process across agencies.

They're thinking about every possible kind of pandemic and every possible kind of threat," Walker said. "They were stuck in a place where they said, Look, we don't have a way to solve this problem.

The use of pharmaceutical-grade plastic as opposed to glass cuts down on the cost significantly, Walker said, and the containers are adapted from already existing packaging used for consumer eyedrops. Apart from attaching the needle, the syringes require no additional parts and are easy to maintain and dispose of safely, Walker said.

Our product is simple for a really good reason: It's a global health product, he added. Our product is designed to be used by a midwife in a village in rural Africa to save a mother's life.

The $138 million put up by the government represents only a fraction of the expected total cost of the initiative. Walkers company is in the process of raising a billion dollars in private funding to complete the goal of producing more than 500 million syringes next year.

Though the government response to COVID-19 to date has been plagued by problems and delays, Walker says he is confident that they will be able to deliver millions of doses as soon as a safe vaccine is developed.

We are going to do it, Walker said. It's not just feasible and possible. We are underway.
Disruptions to the public sector including the closure of schools continue to be a challenge for Scotlands red meat supply chain, Quality Meat Scotland said.

Discussion surrounding the disruption to the supply chain has been dominated by the foodservice industry, in which 20% of total beef sales disappeared overnight.

But reduced public sector demand is also as a cause for concern, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) explained.

Before the current crisis, one in four people in the United Kingdom had access to a public sector meal each day, it said.

With multiple food-serving organisations closed, the demand decline resulting from food sector closures has been compounded.

QMS chair Kate Rowell explained that UK public service establishments deliver over two billion meals per year and are a significant purchaser within the overall red meat market.

"While care homes, prisons and military bases remain operational, there are some aspects of the public sector, such as the short term closure of many outlets and pressure to limit red meat consumption, that have compromised demand.

"There are fewer general hospital patients and the closure of schools, colleges, and public buildings such as museums, leisure centres and libraries, has further distorted the market, she said.

Although much of the public sector is serviced by wholesalers, downstream suppliers, producers and distributors would feel the effect.

Were experiencing a new normal and what were trying to do is think differently about how we can ensure that there is an equitable return for all parts of the supply chain," Ms Rowell said.

Red meat bodies are working with the Scottish government retailers and wholesalers to find solutions to these issues, but there are 'no quick fixes'.

As part of this QMS are investing heavily in balancing carcase demand with a Scotland-specific 500,000 consumer campaign.

In addition to working on supporting the wholesale market, a major GB national campaign encouraging consumers to Make It with beef will run from May in partnership with AHDB and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).

The 1.2m campaign is a joint response by all three organisations to promote the high value cuts, such as steaks and roasts, again tackling carcase balance challenges.

Ms Rowell said: With loin and hindquarter sales down, it will remain a challenge for the industry to move the entire carcase while minimising impact to the overall value.

"Our collaborative national campaign aims to inspire consumers, who are unable to eat out, to create restaurant-style meals in their homes."

QMS said it would continue to encourage the public to buy Scotch beef and lamb wherever possible.
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The Royal Family have joined forces in paying tribute to healthcare workers across the world on International Nurses' Day.

In a video clip released on the Kensington Royal Instagram page today, the Queen could, 94, could be heard speaking with Professor Kathleen McCourt, the President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, of which The Queen is Patron.

The royal called it 'a rather important day', saying: 'Obviously nurses have had a very important part to play recently.'

The short audio clip of the Queen on the phone to Professor McCourt was followed by members of the royal family including Prince Charles, 71, Camilla, 72, Prince William, 37, and Princess Anne, 61, offering their thanks to nurses across the world.

Kate Middleton, 38, and the Countess of Wessex, 55, joined together to speak to nurses in seven different commonwealth countries, including Australia, India, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Bahamas, Cyprus and the UK.

While speaking with nurses in Cyprus and hearing one of their ex-partners was a school teacher, Sophie joked she would be 'recruited' for Kate's homeschooling efforts, while the Duchess added: 'I would quite like her to come and help me with homeschooling.'

Members of the royal family have paid tribute to the work of healthcare professionals around the world as they celebrate International Nurses' Day

The Queen, 94, joined the royal family's tributes to those in the nursing profession today, with an audio clip of a phone call with Professor Kathleen McCourt, the President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, of which The Queen is Patron, released today

Prince Charles, who is currently isolating in Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, having recently recovered from coronavirus, provided a message for the video thanking nurses across the world.

He said: 'My family and I want to join in the chorus of thankyous to nurses and midwifery staff in this country and all over the country and all over the world.'

Meanwhile Camilla recorded messages of support for nurses from the Royal Naval Medical Service and Roald Dahls Marvellous Children Charity, of which she is respectively Commodore-in-Chief and Patron.

She called nurses 'extraordinary', saying: 'Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people.'

Prince William, 37, (right), was amongst the royals who offered their thanks to nurses across the world on International Nurses Day

The Duchess of Cornwall provided a video with messages of support for nurses around the world, calling healthcare workers 'extraordinary people'

Camilla added: 'Thankyou, from the bottom of my heart.'

Yesterday, The Duchess of Cambridge and The Countess of Wessex spoke to nurses via video call in seven different commonwealth countries.

The calls were facilitated by Nursing Now, a global campaign to improve health by raising the status and profile of nursing of which The Duchess is Patron.

Kate swept her hair into a relaxed half-updo, adding a touch of glamour with a set of drop earrings.

The royal opted for a stunning midi-dress by French designer Joseph Altuzarra which she first wore in 2016 as she made the video call.

Meanwhile Sophie selected a forest green blouse and a set of gold hoop earrings as she joined Kate on the virtual visit.

Meanwhile the Countess of Wessex and Kate Middleton joined together to phone hospitals in seven different countries around the world

Among the phone calls was a video chat with Army nurses in Cyprus, in which Kate and Sophie joking about the challenges of home-schooling her children Prince George, six, and Princess Charlotte, five.

Kate asked how families were doing with the lockdown, with one nurse telling her: 'Fine ma'aam, my ex-wife is a school teacher so she's keeping them busy.'

Sophie and Kate appeared to share a smile, with Sophie adding: 'Oh be careful, she's about to be recruited.'

Kate said: 'I would quite like her to come and help me.'

The royals also dialled into a call with nurses in Queensland, Australia who provide culturally appropriate services to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Princess Anne called it 'a pleasure' to speak to nurses in the Bahamas as she gave her thanks to healthcare workers

They also spoke to nurses at the Aberdeen Womens Centre in Sierra Leone and LV Prasad Eye Institute in India  both of which The Countess of Wessex has previously visited.

Kate and Sophie also spoke with the Apollo Hospital in India and mental health nurses in the Bahamas.

During the phonecall with HIV and maternal health nurses in Malawi, Sophie enquired whether 'the sunflowers are out.'

and when she was told that they were, she could barely contain her joy, saying: 'What a beautiful sight! It's the most marvellous thing.'

They went on to speak with paediatric nurses from the UKs Evelina London Childrens Hospital and Community Services, of which The Duchess of Cambridge is Patron.

And last week Prince William talked to nurses at The Royal Marsden, of which he is President.

Meanwhile Princess Alexandra spoke with the head of the Naval Nursing Services

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Princess Anne called Tanzania to speak with the Programme Manager of a medical ship that provides facilities for those with little or no access to medical care.

The ship is being supported by the Vine Trust of which the Princess royal is Patron.

Princess Alexandra spoke with the head of the Naval Nursing Service in her role as Patron of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS).

On the calls, Members of The Royal Family spoke with nurses about the work they are doing, with many talking about the impact of Covid-19 and how they were coping with the pandemic.

Among the hospitals phoned by Kate and Sophie was the Aberdeen Women's Clinic in Sierra Leone, which the Countess visiting in January of this year

The touching tribute comes as it was revealed that at least 150 NHS and healthcare workers have lost their lives to the virus.

International Nurses Day takes place annually on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth, 12 May, to highlight the vital work done by health staff each day.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and was set to see monumental celebrations take place, as the historic figure is noted as being key in shaping modern nursing.

The public is being asked to shine a light at 8.30pm on Tuesday in tribute to nurses on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. Pictured: An engraving of Florence done during her lifetime

However, due to the pandemic the public has been asked to highlight the occasion by shining a light from their windows at 8.30pm on International Nurses Day.

The tribute to nurses is especially symbolic as Florence Nightingale is famously known as The Lady with the Lamp.

An image of Florence Nightingale is also set to be projected on St Thomass Hospital where she worked, to commemorate the anniversary.
CRYSTAL, N.M. - A group of more than a dozen tribe members filled dozens of dust-covered cars with diapers, flour, rice and water, the bare staples that are sustaining the Navajo Nation as many fall ill and die.

If the novel coronavirus has been cruel to America, it has been particularly cruel here, on a desert Native American reservation that maybe has never felt more alone than during this pandemic. There's a lack of running water, medical infrastructure, Internet access, information and adequate housing. And as of Wednesday, as the Navajo tried desperately to take care of themselves, the promised help from the U.S. government had, as usual, not yet arrived.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, 44, watching over the volunteer operation in a parking lot that day, said the tribe had not received "one cent" of the $8 billion that was allocated to Native American communities as part of the Cares Act passed in Washington on March 18. Nearly 2,700 people had fallen ill, and more than 80 had died, with the 350,000-resident reservation becoming one of the worst-of-the-worst American hot spots. Almost everyone knew someone who was sick, or someone who had died.

"We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves," Nez said. "We're going to help each other out."

Nez was nearly through listing the ravages of the coronavirus on his people when something rendered him silent mid-sentence: Two red-tailed hawks soared majestically above, their wings spread wide against an azure sky. He pointed: "Look!"

Men and women in masks, smocks and gloves paused, eyes to the heavens, and let out a "Wooo!" in unison.

A man's voice broke the silence: "No Huggies!" Everyone snapped back to work.

"We must be doing something right to have this blessing from the creator," Nez said quietly. "Our ancestors looking upon us to say they're proud of what we're doing, helping each other out, just as we did on the long walk."

Later that day, the money came - $600 million delivered to the Navajo, 10 days after it was promised and more than a month after President Donald Trump signed the relief package into law on March 30. Here, on the reservation where the Navajo tribe was forcefully relocated by government decree in 1868, the infection rate is among the highest in the world, with deaths reaching the level of some states with more than 15 times the population. Navajo leadership says the delay in funding has cost lives, the latest in hundreds of years of injustices delivered to their people, first by the colonial Europeans and now by the U.S. government.

The injustice has come by way of slaughter, war, abandonment and, notably, disease.

"If we'd gotten it a month ago, we would have made sure we had the rapid testing we've been hearing about," said Myron Lizer, the Navajo vice president who is the main liaison with the federal government during the pandemic. "We'd have ventilators. We would've had extra staff come in a lot earlier. I have to believe that we could have saved more lives if we had the money earlier."

As of Sunday, 3,122 Navajo were positive for covid-19, out of about 17,000 tests. One hundred people had died.

Nez and a caravan of helpers began its trek to Navajo communities before daybreak Thursday, under the light of the moon. It moved from Window Rock, New Mexico, to Cameron, Arizona, 180 miles through sweeping red rock canyons, twisting mountain roads and past drought-choked riverbeds and numerous isolated one-room homes. Thursday's mission was to serve the westernmost areas of the nation, with several stops in Arizona: Page, at the Coppermine and LeChee chapters of the reservation; K'ai'Bii'To' and Tonalea, at the Ts'ah Bii Kin chapter; and in Shonto, Nez's hometown.

Everywhere the caravan went, the lines were full of Native Americans touched by death and disease.

Toledo Roy, 59, said his cousin lost two of her adult children, and her husband requires oxygen in quarantine. It's impossible to carry on a telephone conversation with her. "We can't call," Roy said. "She's just crying, crying, crying. I don't call anymore."

Eileen Begay, 58, of Page, said two of her cousin's children - sisters in their mid-30s in the Navajo Police Department - have died of the virus. She and her husband, Tully, still have trouble convincing Eileen's 82-year-old mother to stay home.

"We have to sit down and talk to her and tell her you do really have to take precautions," Tully Begay said. "The elders can be hardheaded, and when they make their minds up to go into the store and they want to go, they don't think about how serious the situation is."

Franklin Fowler, president of the K'ai'Bii'To' chapter, said there is a staffer in a local school district who has lost 10 members of his family and quit his job in the aftermath, due to stress.

"It's hit us very hard," said Fowler, 60. "To have the president visit is an inspiration. We have people that are very, very down right now."

In K'ai'Bii'To' on Thursday, the group served its biggest line of the day; More than 200 cars sitting bumper to bumper. Residents are instructed to keep their windows up and to open their trunks for contactless delivery. Elders, among the most-revered Navajo citizens, have the letter 'e' written in washable marker on their front windows while waiting in line. They get more supplies.

Helena Begay, 56, runs the senior programs at the K'ai'Bii'To' chapter house, which began to warn elders in the community about the arrival of the virus in January. They invited a representative from Tuba City Regional Health Care to explain the potential impact.

Health officials believe the largest Navajo outbreak originated at a March 7 religious gathering on the reservation hosted by a church, where Helena Begay worshiped as a child.

"Why did the church do that when they were told no large gatherings before that?" Helena Begay said. "It spread like wildfire after that."

A church representative did not respond to requests for comment.

The Navajo fight against the virus is more complex than in most parts of the country because of a lack of awareness, owing in part to scant Internet access in rural areas. Residents said large chunks of the Navajo Nation don't take the virus seriously or willfully ignore warnings. Those delivering food and water to the backcountry say they hear one predominant question from those they're helping: Is this real?

"That's their big question," said Travis Fuller, a Navajo Nation Ranger, responsible for patrolling the nation's sparsely populated remote lands. "How serious is this? Some have some connection with the outside world through their phones, but many don't. So many people are not aware because of the isolation."

Those are the people Nez is trying to reach. And if he can't get to them, he hopes to convince their children and relatives. At each stop on the aid tour his top communications staffer, Jared Touchin, records smartphone videos for social media of Nez emphasizing, through a mask, the importance of wearing face coverings, washing hands and minimizing nonessential travel. Then the 16-wheelers pack up and move on to the next stop, onion skins blowing across gravel and dirt parking lots in their wake.

Some day soon, Nez and his administration will get off the road and focus their attention on water access, and after that, reliable electricity and broadband Internet access.

"If the federal government is wanting to help with another pandemic in the future, we need these things," Nez said. "This is happening right in the middle of the most powerful nation in the world? We're helping other nations with billions in aid, and the Navajo are still waiting on aid. We should be working on improving quality of life for the first citizens of this country, who are being ignored."

Nez and Lizer have a plan for the federal aid they have received, and it might not adhere to the strict guidelines it came with: They want to improve water infrastructure above all else.

Thirty-six percent of residents of the reservation do not have access to running water, which means more than a third of the Navajo Nation spent the past two months of America's exposure to the coronavirus rationing a limited supply of water, prioritizing drinking water and water for livestock over hand-washing. That also means more than a third of residents travel to reservation's most-populous cities and nearby border towns to purchase water in bulk, potentially exposing others to the virus.

Hospitals on the reservation have been overwhelmed, so some who have covid-19 but are not in critical danger have been moved to overflow quarantine facilities in high school gyms, and many are sent to Flagstaff, Arizona, or nearby Gallup, New Mexico, for treatment.

Gallup, expecting travel from the reservation into town would worsen an already dire situation in its hospitals, limited road access just to residents last week.

"We don't have water rights established for us like the rest of the country," Nez said. "We're fighting for our share of water. The water is being pumped into Phoenix, pumped into farming along the Colorado River, but we don't have the water for our agriculture."

So he wants the federal money, which is earmarked for supplies related to fighting the spread of the virus, for water.

"That $600 million comes with a lot of restrictions - you have to use it for covid supplies - but we're way at the tail end, and we should be thinking about mitigation and preparedness for the next pandemic," Nez said. "Let's use it for water infrastructure. We're going to test them. We'll see. We don't want to get hit hard like this again."

Helena Begay, who doesn't have running water at her home but has helped organize regular deliveries of supplies to more than 90 elders in the community during the outbreak, believes Native Americans have been left behind.

"I don't think our lives are valued by the rest of the country," she said. "When we went on the long walk, the treaty was signed that the government would give us housing, education, health care. . . . We were told we would be taken care of. We still don't have PPE here. It's all donations. It should have been here from Day One. Washington D.C. should have known this was coming here. A lot of people in my community died because they weren't helped right away. The resources weren't there."

Her feeling of being spurned is not uncommon here on the reservation, and external stereotypes and historic prejudices have played a role again during the pandemic, especially in border communities on the edge of the Navajo land.

Some surrounding community leaders have alleged the outbreak has spread because of the Navajo coming into their towns, and others blame the Navajo outbreak on Native American culture. In Page, for example, many have been debating Mayor Levi Tappan's comments on Facebook, which included an attack on Nez: "I wish he would battle alcoholism as hard as COVID-19." Tappan declined an interview request.

"It is not the time to be calling each other out," Nez said. "It is the time to unify, to unite, to push this virus out of our households, communities, cities and out of our nation."

Wilson Stewart, Jr., a Navajo council delegate, said negative rhetoric against the Navajo is nothing new, and he bristled at the idea that the Native American tribe brought disease to U.S. cities.

"It's sad to see, sad to hear about it," said Stewart, 48, as he loaded supplies into waiting cars in Crystal. "We didn't ask you to come over. And you brought us smallpox. We've had to endure."
Chhattisgarh government has arranged 21 Shramik special trains to bring back stranded people, who have been stuck outside the state since the nationwide lockdown restrictions were enforced on March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, officials said on Tuesday.

The trains, which will run between Tuesday and May 19, will bring the stranded people to Raipur, Bilaspur, Champa, Rajnandgaon, and Durg stations in the state from Ahmedabad, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Muzaffarpur, Delhi, Mehsana, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Allahabad, said a senior public relations officer (PRO) of the state government.

Around 1.2 lakh people are estimated to be stranded outside the state since the lockdown restrictions were enforced.

So far, the state government has paid Rs 71,93,230 to the Union Ministry of Railways for nine trains, which will ferry 11,846 stranded people, said Rajesh Kumar Patre, a senior labour department official.

Earlier, the state government had asked the stranded people to get in touch with local administration and register online if they wished to return to Chhattisgarh.

On Monday, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Centre has only given permission for 15 trains so far, even though the state government had asked for 28 trains to bring back the stranded people.

Baghel was speaking during the video-conference that was convened by PM Modi with all the CMs, seeking feedback on whether to ease or extend the lockdown restrictions.

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It is now time to come alongside small business owners and be the hands that lift them up with encouragement. As a faith based business organization, we believe in the power of positivity, perseverance and prayer.

Since the initial stay-at-home order was issued in mid-March, many small businesses have experienced a unprecedented down-turn in their business.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued several loan programs to help small businesses through the CARES ACT, but due to limited funding, not all businesses have been able to secure a loan. So what does this mean for those businesses? Many local businesses have had to shut down permanently because they simply cannot keep up with their normal business expenses due to significant revenue loss.

Amid this pandemic, Local La Mirada accounting firm, Philip L. Liberatore, CPA, has helped hundreds of business clients navigate the CARES Act along with assisting with PPP or SBA loan questions.

"Small businesses are the backbone of America. We have seen them hard hit and depleted over the course of the coronavirus crisis", said Phil Liberatore, CPA. "We have personally witnessed hundreds of our small business clients suffer in frailty and uncertainty. It has been our privilege during this time to provide them with assistance in acquiring necessary government stimulus and financing."

Phil Liberatore and has wife, Dana Liberatore, have come together to pave the way for small businesses to be bold in prayer during this time of crisis.

"It is now time to come alongside small business owners and be the hands that lift them up with encouragement. As a faith based business organization, we believe in the power of positivity, perseverance and prayer", said Phil Liberatore.

Phil and Dana Liberatore will be championing small businesses to come together in prayer at 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 14th in their business parking lot located at 16800 Valley View, La Mirada, CA 90638.

"We will be respectful of social distancing and CDC guidelines as we will be physically spread out across the parking lot."

For more information about the "PRAYER-TEST NOT A PROTEST", go to http://www.liberatorecpa.com/prayer-test.
A migrant worker who walked and hitch-hiked over 1,500 kilometres from Mumbai to his native place in Uttar Pradesh died of exhaustion on Tuesday, just when he reached hometown Khalilabad here, officials said.

Ram Kripal, 65, who worked as a daily wage labourer in Mumbai, had set off for home on foot after he was stranded at his workplace due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, they said.

District Magistrate Ravish Kumar Gupta said Kripal fell down near the hospital gate while he was being taken for a medical check-up under police supervision after he reached Khalilabad.

By the time doctors examined him, he had breathed his last, Gupta said.

His samples were sent for investigation and the body was sent for post-mortem, he said.

Meanwhile, a labourer from Dhanghta village, who had come from Mumbai, tested positive for coronavirus, Gupta said.

There are now 17 active COVID-19 cases in the district, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Earlier this year, Disney won the bidding war for the filmed version of megahit musical Hamilton, which was shot in 2016 and features the original cast. Disney was going to bring the film to movie theaters in October 2021, but its bringing forward the release date by more than a year and skipping cinemas entirely -- Hamilton will drop on Disney+ like a hot mixtape on July 3rd.

Given thats the eve of Independence Day and protagonist Alexander Hamilton helped frame the US Constitution, thats pretty nifty timing. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Hamilton team gave Disney the green light to release the movie much earlier than originally planned, albeit as a streaming exclusive.

Its only a matter of time...



Our Hamilton film.

THIS July 3rd.

On Disney+.#Hamilfilm pic.twitter.com/cXTM949hRr  Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 12, 2020

With Broadway and other theaters closed for now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no ones going to see the hip-hop-heavy musical on the stage any time soon. So its early debut on Disney+ should help Hamilton fans (and those whove been itching to see the show) get their fix at home beyond the audio recording and mixtape.

Its not the first time under the current global climate that Disney has decided to change course with a movie earmarked for theatrical release. Artemis Fowl is also foregoing cinemas to land on Disney+ on June 12th. Both are expensive films (Hamilton reportedly cost Disney an eye-popping $75 million), but they should help Disney draw more subscribers to its already-successful streaming service.
As an investor, mistakes are inevitable. But really big losses can really drag down an overall portfolio. So take a moment to sympathize with the long term shareholders of Mint Payments Limited (ASX:MNW), who have seen the share price tank a massive 95% over a three year period. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 87% in the last year. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 76% in the last three months.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

Check out our latest analysis for Mint Payments

Mint Payments wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years Mint Payments saw its revenue shrink by 6.4% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. The share price fall of 63% (per year, over three years) is a stern reminder that money-losing companies are expected to grow revenue. We're generally averse to companies with declining revenues, but we're not alone in that. There's no more than a snowball's chance in hell that share price will head back to its old highs, in the short term.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

ASX:MNW Income Statement May 12th 2020

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Mint Payments's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 11% in the twelve months, Mint Payments shareholders did even worse, losing 87%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 40% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. For instance, we've identified 6 warning signs for Mint Payments (2 make us uncomfortable) that you should be aware of.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU 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.
42 inmates have been isolated at Industrial Area Remand Prison after coming into contact with two others who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

While appearing before the Senate Ad hoc Committee on COVID-19 Monday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi added that all (over 47,000) inmates in the country are safe.

Only two who tested positive and we immediately removed them to an Isolation facility, and then we removed everyone else who was with them and isolated them to somewhere for a second testing so that they can be allowed to mix with others. I can confirm to you that the entirety of the inmate population in the country are all fine and healthy and are getting their food and the medical department is very active, the CS assured.

Matiangi also told the committee that the government is working to upscale the capacity of the isolation centres in prison from 500 beds to 1,000 beds.

The CS informed the Committee that the prison population has gone down from 54,000 after the government released some 7,000 inmates and petty offenders as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus by decongesting the countrys prisons and correctional facilities.

He said 219 prison staffers have been tested since the exercise began last week.

144 officers have been tested in Nairobi, 27 in Rift Valley and 12 in Coast region. In Nyanza 42 have been tested and 8 in Western.

Matiangi added that some 14 officers who were away on leave or studying abroad when Kenya reported its first case on March 13, were ordered to go into 14-day quarantine before reporting to their workstations.
Italy has the 3rd highest recorded covid19 deaths after the United States Of America and the United Kingdom.

With over 219,814 confirmed cases and over 30,739 deaths and over 106,587 recovered cases.

For the first time in two months, the country has recorded a total number of 1000 cases in their intensive care unit compared to few months back were they recorded over 5000 patients in the ICU since early March 2020.

With about 1000 patients in the ICU , it is recorded as the lowest figure recorded since March 10th which was the beginning of the lockdown.

The Italian Governments has earlier eased the lockdown slightly on the 4th of May

Italy is also talking about reopening bars, restaurants, museums, cultural sites and other businesses by Monday May 18th 2020.

For the first time in 2 months,

The total number of patients in intensive care unit in the whole of Italy is now less than 1,000. At a point they had up to 5,000. Some really good news here for Italy.  #OurFavOnlineDoc ? (@DrOlufunmilayo) May 12, 2020
Narberth ambulance paramedic Tim Mumford,holds the finger of a patient while treating the patient, in the ambulance outside Rosemont Care & Rehabilitation Center in Bryn Mawr. The patient had symptoms consistent with Covid-19. Pennsylvania officials on Tuesday released plans to test every resident and staff member at the state's hundreds of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Read more

Pennsylvania health officials on Tuesday released new guidance to nursing homes, suggesting those with confirmed cases of the coronavirus test all residents and staff.

Secretary of Health Rachel Levine referred to the strategy as universal testing, and Gov. Tom Wolf called the plan fairly radical," but an advisory state officials said was sent to long-term-care facilities across the commonwealth simply noted that testing of all residents should be considered in facilities with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The advisory says that if a facility doesnt have the capacity to do so, patients displaying symptoms should be tested, which long-term-care facilities have been doing for months. The advisory also recommended facilities without a confirmed case of COVID-19 test 20% of residents and staff.

However, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is committed to testing all patients and staff in Pennsylvanias long-term-care facilities, Department of Health spokesperson Nate Wardle said in a statement.

He said via email that the option is there for universal testing for facilities that need to do it, but added that it isnt recommended for facilities without confirmed cases.

The chief executive of a company that owns four nursing homes in Southeastern Pennsylvania said the alert didnt go much beyond what nursing homes have been trying to do, given the limited availability of testing. Its a heads-up for nursing homes to get ready for "the mandate that you must test everyone, said Lisa Sofia, CEO of Premier Healthcare Management LLC.

Levine said Tuesday that the states testing capacity had increased in the last 2 weeks as supplies of testing swabs have become more plentiful. She said tests would be processed by both commercial laboratories and a state-funded lab in Exton, and that the Pennsylvania National Guard will provide mobile testing to facilities that cant test on their own.

"This effort will give us a clearer picture of the extent of outbreaks in nursing homes and a head start at stopping them, Levine said. She did not answer questions about the cost of the mass testing program.

Pennsylvania has 695 nursing homes, with 75,000 residents, and at least 1,200 personal care homes.

Wolf said during a Tuesday call with reporters that the testing of employees and residents would be performed once a week, but the advisory sent to facilities didnt require weekly repeat testing. It says initial testing should be prioritized and repeat testing should be aligned with consideration for testing capacity.

It also recommends that facilities retest residents who display symptoms consistent with COVID-19 but initially tested negative.

Of the more than 3,800 Pennsylvanians who have died of the coronavirus, more than two-thirds were residents of nursing or personal-care homes, according to Pennsylvania Department of Health data. More than 12,000 residents and 1,700 employees of upward of 500 long-term-care facilities have tested positive to date.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Tuesday announced his office has opened criminal investigations into several nursing home facilities in the state, and called on Pennsylvanians to report suspected cases of neglect in such communities.

A handful of other states have required mass testing in nursing homes, including Maryland, which did so in late April. On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said health officials will require all staff and residents at the states long-term-care facilities to be tested by May 26, with a follow-up test a week later. The states health commissioner said last week that under a pilot program in South Jersey, nearly 4,000 residents and staff were tested. Nearly 10% of staff and 24% of residents tested positive. Most were asymptomatic, she said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Sunday the state would require nursing homes test all staffers twice weekly.

 READ MORE: New Jersey to require coronavirus testing in long-term care facilities as state boosts testing, contact tracing efforts

Levine also announced other new requirements, including that hospitalized nursing home patients be tested for COVID-19 before being discharged back to their nursing home. In addition, long-term-care facilities will now be required to report cases and deaths to state officials using the same system hospitals do, with the goal of publicizing case and death counts by nursing home later this month.

The administrations announcement came after weeks of bleak news from long-term-care facilities in the southeastern part of the state.

 READ MORE: Over 9 days, Bucks County saw 100 coronavirus deaths  most in nursing homes

County officials have repeatedly stressed that a large percentage of the COVID-19 deaths in their jurisdictions are seniors in these facilities. In the four counties surrounding Philadelphia, deaths associated with long-term-care facilities make up more than 80% of each countys total deaths from the virus, according to data from the Department of Health.

Officials in both Bucks and Delaware Counties have asked the state to exclude long-term-care facilities from the countys overall case counts that are used as one benchmark for when a county can begin to reopen some businesses. State officials have not committed to do so, but have said there will be some subjectivity in deciding when counties and regions can reopen.

Bucks Countys Neshaminy Manor, the only facility owned by the county, has been hit particularly hard, with 35 residents dying from the coronavirus as of Monday, county officials said. David Damsker, the head of the countys health department, pledged last week to begin testing every resident at the facility as the infection rates soared.

In some of the regions homes with high death figures, the lack of staffing has compounded an unprecedented situation. Some  like the Southeast Veterans Center in Chester County and the Broomall Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Delaware County  have had the state dispatch National Guard members to their facilities to aid their struggling employees. Levine said Tuesday the National Guard has assisted 10 facilities.

The state-run Southeast Veterans Center has seen nearly 30 deaths from the coronavirus since early April as residents families routinely complain of a lack of information from inside. Some have told The Inquirer that critical questions about their loved ones care go unanswered for days.

Broomall has recorded similar numbers: 37 residents have died there from the virus amid similar complaints from outside about a lack of transparency.

Staff writers Harold Brubaker and Pranshu Verma contributed to this article.
As San Francisco flattened the curve of coronavirus infection last month, and New York City reached and fell from the peak of its surge, in Navajo Nation, the pandemics grim statistics were climbing.

The sovereign American Indian nation reported its first confirmed case on March 17, a 46-year-old tribal member near Kayenta, Ariz., about 250 miles north of Phoenix. The same day a second person tested positive, and four days later there were 26 cases of the novel coronavirus spread across four different regions of tribal land.

On March 29, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez issued an emergency order that warned that the reservation was beyond containment and mitigation of risk and the health care system was rapidly exhausting available resources, including supplies and personnel. In the weeks since, cases and deaths have continued to grow. As of May 10, the Navajo Nation has the second-highest infection rate per capita in the United States.

To help combat that surge, 14 nurses and seven doctors from UCSF left the Bay Area for the Navajo Nation on April 22. There, the health care workers are treating COVID-19 patients in emergency departments and intensive care units, supporting local providers in overburdened hospitals and battling the virus in a community particularly vulnerable to its spread.

The curve is quite steep. It is surging, says UCSF associate clinical professor of medicine Dr. Sriram Shamasunder. The question is, when is it going to stop?

The Navajo Nation stretches more than 27,000 square miles over a swath of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, an area larger than the state of West Virginia, with a population of about 180,000. Despite decisive action by Navajo leadership, the coronavirus has raced through the reservation, spreading by exploiting close familial relationships and poverty. As of May 10, the Navajo Department of Health had reported 3,122 cases and 100 deaths  60% more infections and more than double the deaths in San Francisco, a city with five times the population.

On the reservation, the pandemic has placed an extra layer of stress on top of an already strained health system. Even before the coronavirus hit, the treaty-guaranteed Indian Health Service  the federal program for Native Americans and Alaska Natives  was underfunded and understaffed, and federal spending on medical care per capita was less than one-third the spending from the Veterans Health Administration or Medicare.

Native American health has been neglected for as long as the U.S. has been in existence, says Shamasunder. You can see that impact literally in the bodies of the Navajo patients.

Shamasunder is a co-founder of the UCSF Department of Medicines Health, Equity, Action and Leadership (HEAL) Initiative  a two-year health equity fellowship that has been working in Navajo Nation for five years. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, HEAL had 49 current and former fellows on the reservation, about half of whom are Navajo. As infections grew, Shamasunder heard from local hospital leaders that they needed more emergency and critical care nurses to pick up shifts in facilities overwhelmed by the pandemic.

Shamasunder and the other volunteers have stepped in at three high-volume hospitals in Chinle, Ariz., and Shiprock and Gallup, N.M. At the 60-bed Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, the COVID-19 unit is increasing by 16 to 20 new patients every day, Shamasunder says, with the sickest airlifted outside the reservation for treatment. In Gallup, a border town on the Navajo Nations southeast edge, everyone who enters the emergency room at the Gallup Indian Medical Center is a person of interest for infection. UCSF nurses treat patients in makeshift isolation rooms, and doctors intubate those struggling to breathe. Teams of volunteer health care workers visit unhoused community members in motels to keep them out of overburdened hospitals.

Sriram Shamasunder

Even Nez has been exposed. The Navajo leader quarantined himself in April after coming into contact with a first responder who tested positive for the coronavirus.

As in San Francisco, where Latinos have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the pandemic in the Navajo Nation has highlighted historical inequities and been intensified by them. Spread out over a vast rural landscape, many families lack running water and electricity, complicating measures to prevent viral spread like frequent hand washing and contact tracing. For those without refrigeration, following stay-at-home orders also means forgoing fresh supplies.

One of the things we take for granted from a position of privilege is that shelter in place is an inconvenience instead of an impossibility, Shamasunder says.

Rates of diabetes are several times higher than in the larger U.S. population, and patients with chronic conditions may not have internet service to access care online. Cultural traditions like families living together in multigenerational households put community elders at greater risk.

In Chinle, Shamasunder says, there were four generations of one family hospitalized at the same time. Every patient I see, theres a sister thats intubated in Phoenix or a grandmother that had the disease first.

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.

Navajo Nation leadership, state governments and local medical personnel have all been struggling with the surge. In Gallup, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a lockdown May 1 under the states Riot Control Act, closing all roads into the city and instructing residents to leave home only for emergencies.

On the reservation, Nez imposed weekend curfews, requiring all but essential workers to stay home and setting up police checkpoints to issue citations to violators. Masks are required in public, and the nation has tested 8.5% of its population, approximately double the percentage in San Francisco. As the rate of infection ticks higher, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is transforming high school gymnasiums into isolation zones to keep coronavirus-positive patients away from uninfected relatives.

Shamasunder says the UCSF team is bolstering those efforts, supporting a health system ill equipped for the pandemic and local providers whove been slammed for weeks. Some UCSF nurses have asked to take on extra shifts in hopes of giving reservation colleagues the chance to catch their breath  and then keep going.

Theres a level of fatigue, for sure, Shamasunder says. People have been sprinting for six weeks, and theyre not sure when the sprint is going to be over. But hes also witnessed remarkable resilience and perseverance from the Navajo Nation providers and the larger community. Were just here in solidarity in this moment.

UCSFs nurses are scheduled to return home in late May after a month of service, but Shamasunder says some have asked to stay longer, to see the surge through and leave the nation and its medical staff with the worst behind them.

Theres a commitment, he says. If somebodys house is burning down, you cant leave in the middle.

Sarah Feldberg is the San Francisco Chronicles Assistant Features Editor. Email: sarah.feldberg@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sarahfeldberg
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) participates in the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on the COVID-19 response, in Washington on May 12, 2020. (Win McNamee/Reuters)

Rand Paul Challenges Fauci on Predictions at Senate Hearing

Paul urged a less centralized approach to lifting lockdowns and challenged the wisdom of extending school closures

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, clashed with a senator on Tuesday about when to reopen schools in America, acknowledging he did not have the final word on pandemic-related decisions but warning against being cavalier about the danger to children.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee that some predictions put forward by experts as to the path of the pandemic are likely to be proven wrong, and challenged the wisdom of extending school closures.

We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side that are saying Theres not going to be a surge and we can safely open the economy. The facts will bear this out, Paul said during Faucis testimony to the Senate committee.

If we keep kids out of school for another year, whats going to happen is the poor and underprivileged kids who dont have a parent thats able to teach them at home are not going to learn for a full year, he said, adding that he believed it would be a huge mistake if we dont open the schools in the fall.

As much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I dont think youre the end-all, Paul said. I dont think youre the one person who gets to make a decision.

Fauci replied, I have never made myself out to be the end-all, or the only voice in this.

Im a scientist, a physician, and a public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence, Fauci said. I dont give advice about economic things. I dont give advice about anything other than public health.

Fauci then cautioned against jumping to conclusions about a virus with respect to which the scientific community still has blind spots.

We dont know everything about this virus, Fauci said. And wed really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children.

I think wed better be careful that we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects, Fauci said.

Fauci referred to a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to COVID-19, which has killed at least three children in New York and afflicted dozens of others. The syndrome shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which can cause inflammation of arteries of the heart.

Youre right in the numbers that children, in general, do much, much better than adults and the elderly and particularly those with underlying conditions, Fauci said, adding, But Im very carefuland hopefully humbleI dont know everything about this disease and thats why Im reserved in making broad predictions.

Paul also questioned the accuracy of models predicting the pandemics path, citing the example of Sweden.

Per capita deaths due to the virus have been higher in Sweden than in neighboring Denmark, Norway, and Finland, which have stringent restrictions. Yet Swedens COVID-19 counts have been lower than in Britain, France, and Spain, which have all imposed severe lockdowns.

We need to observe with an open mind what went on in Sweden where the kids kept going to school, Paul said, referring to the Nordic countrys softer approach to the outbreak, which was to protect the vulnerable and isolate the sick, and advise people to social distance, rather than shut down the economy.

I dont think theres anybody arguing that what happened in Sweden is an unacceptable result. People are intrigued by it, and we should be, Paul said.

While acknowledging the deadly nature of the virus, Paul pointed to low infection and fatality rates in many parts of the United States and urged a less centralized approach to lifting lockdowns that should take into account the specifics of each school district.

Outside of New England, weve had a relatively benign course for this virus nationwide. And I think the one-size-fits-all, that were going to have a national strategy, that nobody is going to go to school is kind of ridiculous, he said.

As discussions continue about when it is safe to reopen schools in the face of the pandemic, several studies suggest children are not only less susceptible to COVID-19 infections but may also be far from the silent super-spreaders some fear they may be.

Icelandic scientist Kari Stefansson, who studied the spread of COVID-19 in his country, told Science Museum Group in an interview in April that his research revealed not a single case of a child in Iceland infecting his or her parents.

Children under 10 are less likely to get infected than adults, and if they get infected, they are less likely to get seriously ill, Stefansson said in the interview, which took place shortly after the publication of the study he co-authored in The New England Journal of Medicine. What is interesting is that even if children do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults. We have not found a single instance of a child infecting parents.

If the Icelandic conclusions are sound, it would suggest that children may not be at high risk of infection from exposure to one other. The conclusions also imply that teachers may similarly be less likely to catch the virus from their students.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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I think I've always had a kind of heterodox or contrarian streak. I think I've usually been willing to stand up to the powers that be, to some degree. But I don't like it, honestly, when people overdo how difficult and noble this is or something. I mean, God knows, in the big scheme of things, it's nothing compared to what millions of people have done across the world in standing up for their beliefs against leaders and governments. And, in a way, being free from that kind of orthodoxy has been somewhat liberating.

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By trying to reassign seats in the White House briefing room, the Trump administration is attempting to stifle real journalism, says media critic Erik Wemple. (The Washington Post)

We hear a lot about the difference between Republicans private vs. public views of President Trump. As someone in a small minority of the party who has spent the past few years trying to rally fellow Republicans, fellow conservatives, to stand up to him, have you been surprised by that?

I have been surprised by the total capitulation to Trump. I never liked the, Well, in private, they say this. I mean, at some point, that is not an excuse; its almost meaningless. Peoples behavior in public, if youre a public official, is your behavior. It really came to a head on impeachment, where we fought hard trying to get Republicans to do the right thing and failed entirely, except for Romney. I think that brought home to me, and should have brought home to everyone, that Republican members of Congress should get zero credit for saying things in private that theyre not willing to say in public. At least the true believers believe it, right? I mean, is going along really a more admirable stance? Is being a cynical apparatchik better than being a true believer?

But, yeah, I guess I am a little depressed by the failure of civic and political courage in standing up to Trump. We're not back in Germany. We're not in the Soviet Union. We're not even in Hungary, in Venezuela. I mean, what are you really putting on the line?

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Its astounding for so many people to go along with something that they dont believe.

Thats a good way of putting it: They dont believe it. But I think they also dont believe its that damaging. I guess if you had to give a reasonable argument, it wouldnt be that they believe it or that theyre intimidated even, exactly, but  and I used to hear this when I talked to these people, which I dont do much anymore: Come on, Bill, its not that bad. Hes a jerk, and he says stupid things, but the system is the system. Its working adequately. They think theyre getting some good policies out of it. Well get beyond this. I mean, hes not destroying our institutions. The civility stuff is probably overrated. And anyway, we were losing when we believed in that.

People in both parties and in every institution, whether businesses or the media or anything, you put up with certain things. You have a boss who's a jerk, or even a creep. And, you know, he'll move on. You're not going to leave your job, necessarily. You're going to wait him out, and the institution will produce someone better. You have a bad teacher for your kids one year. It doesn't mean you leave the school. It means you sort of accommodate and get beyond it. That's sort of life, right? It's not a crazy point of view.

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I guess the fundamental dispute is how much damage [Trump] is doing to the country. And I do feel like now thats kind of evident. Sticking with him even now, in the midst of this incredibly damaging bungling of the coronavirus, is pretty astounding. The tribalism. I mean, I had low hopes. I didnt really expect people to jump ship even on this, but to see it play out day to day and week to week, its astonishing.

I've always slightly objected to the  "Well, Trump's just a symptom, you know. The problem is deeper." Of course, that's true in some ways. Hyperpolarization was already there, hyperpartisanship. And it was creating real, genuine dangers and challenges to our system. But he's a symptom who makes the problem much worse. He's the infection that makes the underlying medical issue inoperable. [Laughs.] Which is why you need to deal with the infection first, which is why politically you need to deal with Trump before you can solve other things.

Has this pandemic changed the way you think about the importance of leadership?

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No, but I think its reinforced my conservative view that you dont want to put all your eggs in the basket of the federal government or the presidency. For all the problems of federalism in terms of dealing with a national problem like the coronavirus, its been good that we have states and localities and the private sector and civic institutions and the media and universities and churches; there are some limits to the damage he can do. Now, when you have a national challenge like this, unfortunately, he can do a lot of damage, and he has. Even so, you could argue that [Anthony] Fauci and everyone else are sort of a testimony that the institutions can still ultimately do some good. So that part reassures one a little bit about America.

But having said that, we're really going to pay a price for this terrible failure in leadership. Probably three years ago, I was a little more, Look, the institutions are strong, and they will beat him back. But watching the way in which he has corroded the constraints on him within the government and gotten rid of various guardrails and corrupted certain institutions, it reminds you that four years  four years is a lot better than eight years, but it can still do quite a lot of damage.

You were critical in shaping the conservative movement up until now  even in sort of introducing populism into it in blessing the choice of Sarah Palin on the ticket. How do you feel about those contributions? Are there decisions you wish you could take back?

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My column, the Sunday before [John] McCain made the choice, was to urge him to pick [Joe] Lieberman because I thought a national unity ticket was the way to go. It became clear to me he wasn't going to do that. And then I said, Okay, we'll take a gamble on Palin. I regret that. Because she turned out to be much more unsuited for the office than I expected. To be fair, if you look at what she said in 2008, apart from some of the silliness, she was not anti-immigration. She was not xenophobic. She was not isolationist. She was pro-free trade. You know, she echoed McCain. So, in a funny way, if we could have co-opted some of the populism and given them a place in a McCain-nominated Republican Party, maybe that would have been a good outcome. But it didn't work out that way.

But people like me fought [Pat] Buchanan. We fought Ron Paul. I feel like, on the whole, we were pretty alert to the challenges from the right. Pretty alert, but not totally alert. So yeah, there are things that I wish now we did more. Having said that, it's a huge country, and any majority party is going to have 60 million people voting for it. And just as people on the right want to attack Joe Biden because Ilhan Omar said something offensive, it would equally be pointless to go back and find what the equivalent of the right wing Ilhan Omar said 15 years ago, and why didn't you go more crazy about it?

At the end of the day, this is a party that nominated Bush and Dole and Bush and Bush and, you know, McCain and Romney. You dont look at that and think, Oh my God, this is, like, anti-democratic or illiberal or horrible. But I think [the Republican Party] will be an unhealthy party until theres an explicit repudiation of Trump. And I dont see that happening anytime soon. Even if he loses.

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Are you able to go back, then, or do you see yourself permanently outside the party?

I dont think going back is really plausible. Three years ago I was using the rhetoric, or terminology, of going back to, or saving, or restoring. Those kinds of words. But Trumps been renominated, and liberating the party from Trump or Trumpism seems awfully far-fetched. Obviously, if he loses in November, things are in more flux, and maybe theres some opportunities. But I cant honestly conceive of working with Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn and Kevin McCarthy. Im just disgusted by what theyve been doing, really, for the last three years, that I dont much look forward to that.

Were in a new moment. Both because of Trump and also because of whats happening now [with the pandemic]. Its interesting, intellectually, honestly, trying to think through where one should go on a lot of issues in the country. Its a new set of circumstances. We need to really think in a fresh way.

This interview has been edited and condensed. KK Ottesens most recent book is Activist: Portraits of Courage.
COSTA MESA, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jonathan Michaels, founding member of MLG Attorneys at Law, has been selected to be a part of the exclusive list of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. Selection to the list is by invitation only and is strictly for the nation's best litigators.

Jonathan Michaels has been in practice since 1995, and during that time has created an exemplary law firm. By challenging some of the largest companies in the world, Michaels has gained national recognition as the "go to" attorney for high stakes litigation, when everything is on the line.

Michaels has developed a unique practice in the automotive industry, where he has litigated cases against nearly every major automotive manufacturer in the world. This includes cases against GM, Audi, Maserati, Mitsubishi, FCA, Kia, Nissan, Honda, AM General, Isuzu, Toyota, Hyundai, Harley-Davidson, Ford, Acura, Tesla, Volvo, Volkswagen, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Mercedes and Porsche.

Michaels has all but defined the vehicle product liability industry. He authored the best-selling book Automotive 101: The Car Industry Exposed, and has filed some of the largest and most important automotive class action cases in the nation. These cases have led to Congressional hearings, Department of Justice investigations and billion-dollar settlements, as well as the recall of millions of defective vehicles. Michaels' work has drawn attention from a multitude of media outlets, including appearances in The New York Times, Reuters, Fortune, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, as well as feature stories on CBS Evening News and ABC Evening News.

"No manufacturer is above the law, no matter how big they are or how much money they may have," said Michaels. "It is an honor to be recognized for my efforts in obtaining justice for our clients." In being selected for the list, Michaels joins the company of some of the most successful trial lawyers in the nation.

About MLG, APLC

Located in Orange County, California, MLG's team of trial lawyers represent the legal interests of those in the automotive industry. The firm focuses on litigation against car manufacturers, with particular interest in dealership representation, and automotive recalls and defects. Follow MLG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contact:

Sharon Noot

714-527-7735

[email protected]

SOURCE MLG, APLC
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar acknowledged the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) for teachers assigned to identify those suffering from ILI, SARI and other illnesses, to prevent them from the risk of contracting COVID-19.



Minister Kumar wrote to chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar on Monday asking him to ensure that basic facilities such as transport and safety equipment are provided to teachers assigned for the health survey of families.

In the letter, he said that it is tough for teachers to conduct the survey without masks or transport. Areas demarcated to them are far off from their houses. In such a situation, teachers are forced to carry out the census half-hearted and the whole exercise would turn out to be futile, he added.



The minister urged Bhaskar to direct district administrations to provide adequate facilities to the teacher volunteers.

Educational TV channel



The state government has decided to launch a new education channel for students. Suresh Kumar said the decision was taken as the country is looking at a long-haul post-COVID situation, during which it is important to keep students hooked to studies.



The minister has directed the commissioner, department of public instruction, to come out with a detailed action plan within a week.
Californias community colleges chancellor and five college districts across the state sued U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Monday, claiming she is illegally excluding countless students from participating in billions of dollars of federal coronavirus relief aid.

Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley and the college districts, including Foothill-DeAnza in Los Altos Hills, want a federal judge to set aside the eligibility guidelines that DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education established for the $14 billion in federal funding for college students during the pandemic.

The money is part of the federal stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or Cares Act.

Under the rules, only students who are eligible for federal financial aid qualify. That requires a Social Security number, so college students whose parents brought them into the country illegally as children are excluded, as are other noncitizen students.

Im here to follow the law, DeVos recently told an online interviewer.

The California community college officials argue that nothing in the Cares Act authorizes the education secretary to restrict student access to the funds, and that the education department initially agreed that colleges and universities  which receive and distribute the funds  could decide how to allocate the money. Then, say the critics, the department issued guidelines that said the opposite.

The Department of Education ignored the intent of the Cares Act to give local colleges discretion to aid students most affected by the pandemic, and instead has arbitrarily excluded as many as 800,000 community college students, Oakley said Monday in a statement.

The community college officials say those illegally excluded are thousands of students who attend college under the Obama-era DACA program  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals  which allows them to attend school without being deported.

Congress authorized these funds for student expenses related to the pandemic, giving colleges and universities flexibility to help students in need without imposing eligibility requirements, said Tom Epstein, president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.

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.

DeVos and federal officials point to two sections of the Cares Act to support their view, according to an interview with an unnamed education department spokeswoman quoted in Inside Higher Ed, an online publication.

One section, 18004(a)(1), says three-fourths of the money for higher education should go to colleges based on the number of students who qualify for federal financial aid, known as Pell grants, the spokeswoman told the publication.

Another section, 18004(b), says the education department should distribute the stimulus money as it distributes financial aid, the spokeswoman said.

In addition to Oakley and Foothill-DeAnza, the other districts suing DeVos are the Los Angeles Community College District, the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, the State Center Community College District in Fresno and the San Diego Community College District.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
The chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority (HAS), Dr Sharon McGuinness has said that it is important that employers and employees communicate to ensure a safe return to work when Phase One of the lifting of Covid restrictions commences next week.

The road map announced by the government in the Return to Work Safety Protocol is the way forward she told RTE radios Morning Ireland.

Dr McGuinness acknowledged that the return to work is going to be challenging especially in sectors such as the construction industry.

She was responding to an earlier comment on Morning Ireland by assistant professor of architecture Orla Hegarty who called for a more sophisticated plan for the return to work on construction sites.

A more careful approach is required for this sector she said, adding that she has written to the Dails new Covid committee to express her concerns.

Controls on sites, particularly for indoor works, need to be stricter given the level of risk to workers, added Ms Hegarty.

Dr McGuinness said that the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) had signed up to the governments return to work protocol and she warned that if measures are not implemented and complied with then there are actions that can be taken by the HAS with the ultimate sanction being the closure of a site if there is evidence of serious breaches.

It really is in the interest employers and business owners to ensure there is a safe return to work, she said.

If a business or a construction site cannot put safety measures in place then it should not open, she added.
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12 2020

While their livelihoods have already been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the countrys small-scale fisherfolk could also face difficulties as a result of the omnibus bill on job creation, which may put them in unfair competition with larger fishing outfits.



Madina, 47, a fisherman for over two decades in Cilincing, North Jakarta, said that 2020 had, so far, been the hardest year to make ends meet.



The period from March to May is typically a productive season for fishing, even for fishermen with small vessels like himself.



Yet Madina has not been able to find markets or wholesalers willing to buy his catch at normal prices over the past few months, given that many businesses  like restaurants  are suffering financially as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.



Madina said he used to be able to sell various fish at around Rp 18,000 (US$1.20) per kilogram and up to Rp 30,000 for crabs. But now, he can only sell fish for around Rp 10,000 per kg  and sometimes as low as Rp 5,500 per kg  to fish-curing businesses just to get through the day.



The daily catch varies among fishermen, depending on the size of their boats. A small fishing vessel with two to three additional crew members can usually catch 20 to 40 kg of fish per day, according to Madina. Meanwhile, he must spend at least Rp 160,000 a day on fuel and other expenses for fishing.



Because of the pandemic and social restrictions, every [fishermen] here in Cilincing is affected, Madina told The Jakarta Post. But we cant keep wallowing in it.

______



If there are no distinct categories, we fear that larger-scale fishermen will receive the same privileges as smaller fishermen.

______



Activists have warned of another looming threat when the pandemic is over: the omnibus bill, which focuses on luring new investment and revises several provisions in the 2004 law on fisheries and the 2016 law on protections for small-scale fisherfolk.



In particular, it no longer distinguishes between fisherfolk with large boats and those with small boats, which critics say may put small-scale fisherfolk in unfair competition with large-scale commercial fishing operations.



According to the 2004 law, small-scale fishermen are those operating boats under 5 gross tonnage (GT). The 2016 law provides privileges and government subsidies for fishermen with boats under 10 GT.



Activists have also criticized the omnibus bill for requiring small fishermen to have permits.



If there are no distinct categories, we fear that larger-scale fishermen will receive the same privileges as smaller fishermen, Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati) program director Rony Megawanto said in a recent online public discussion.



He warned that the omnibus bill would also encourage overfishing and threaten marine biodiversity.



Not many small-scale fisherfolk realize the impacts the omnibus bill would have on their livelihoods in the long run,

Madina said.



Not to mention, not many of us have access to information about the omnibus bill, he said.



Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry director general for capture fisheries Zulfikar Muchtar said that under the omnibus bill, fisherfolk would instead be classified according to the scale of their businesses.



If we run a simulation based on the scale of business, small fishermen will be on par with micro and small enterprises. These small-scale fishermen will later be exempted from certain regulations [and obligations], just like what the government is doing with micro and small enterprises, Zulfikar said.



He promised to look into the issue and consider the needs of small-scale fisherfolk, who make up about 90 percent of fisherfolk in Indonesia.



According to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry data, there are 572,270 fishing boats in the country, 506,720 of which are boats smaller than 5 GT; 43,696 are between 5 and 10 GT; 17,121 are between 10 and 30 GT; and 4,734 are over 30 GT.



Zulfikar said adjustments favoring traditional fisherfolk could be added by implementing new government regulations (PPs) after the omnibus bill was passed into law.



Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo has encouraged fishermen to apply for loans at the Public Service Agency for Marine and Fisheries Capital Management (BLU-LPMUKP).



Lets make use of the BLU loan which offers an interest rate of only 3 percent, Edhy said during a recent virtual public audience with the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Association (KNTI).

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The figures continue moving in the wrong direction, but their momentum has slowed considerably, particularly when compared to the surge in forbearance activity seen four weeks ago.

Justin Parker, senior vice president of treasury and capital markets at RCN Capital, says the decreases laid out by MBA align with what his company is experiencing.

We have also seen a decline in the growth of requests, he says. The reality is that once all of the COVID-19 chaos began and government moratoriums were messaged, it was natural to see a large flow of requests come through  even if the borrower didnt absolutely need it. Since the shock of the economic impact we experienced, there has been more and more stability, which has allowed the growth rate of requests to stabilize as well.

Mike Frantatoni, MBAs senior vice president and chief economist, acknowledge the slower pace of forbearance requests, but he doesnt feel the industry is out of the woods just yet.

The dreadful April jobs report showed a decline of more than 20 million jobs, and a spike in the unemployment rate to the highest level since the Great Depression, Frantatoni said in comments accompanying the survey results. It will not be surprising if the forbearance numbers continue to rise. As we anticipated, FHA and VA borrowers have been most impacted by the job losses thus far, with the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance at almost 11 percent.
The Kano State Ministry of Health has announced that the states total number of deaths from coronavirus complications reached 32, following six more deaths recorded on Monday.

The ministry, on its Twitter handle, also said 63 patients have so far recovered from the disease and they were discharged from the isolation facility.

Among the discharged in the state included an index case, Kabiru Rabiu, a former Nigerian diplomat. Mr Rabiu was accused of being economical with the truth while explaining his travel history to health personnel in the state.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) late Monday announced 242 new infections across the country with Kano having 64 new confirmed cases.

The NCDC also announced an additional 10 deaths across the country, however, it didnt mention the state(s) where the deaths occurred. Official statements in Kano, however, said six more deaths are from the state.

While Lagos remains Nigerias epicentre of the disease, cases in Kano have continued to increase significantly amidst the governments ease of lockdown on Monday and Thursday.

Also, the state government on Monday extended the lockdown order for a week, to further reduce the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, two million face masks were launched on Monday. One million masks were provided by the state government and the other million masks were provided by the 44 Local Governments Areas of the state.
Despite recent improvements in government-to-government relations, Indian nations are still finding themselves at odds with states and even their own trustee amid the worst public health crisis to hit their communities in decades.

As debate over coronavirus checkpoints in Republican-led South Dakota drew huge headlines in the national media, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation once again found itself in a familiar place on Monday morning. The tribe's sovereignty was under attack at the highest court in the land.

During a lengthy hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court , the state of Oklahoma asserted that the tribe's homelands, which were promised by treaty in the late 1800s, no longed existed as Indian Country. The argument deprives the Creek people of the ability to exercise their inherent rights over their own territory.

Now, assuming the land was a reservation, Congress stripped away all semblance of reservation status," Mithun Mansinghani , the Solicitor General for Oklahoma, told the justices at what was supposed to be an hour of arguments that went well beyond that.

The assault didn't just come from the state. Though the U.S. government has taken on moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust to Indian nations and their people, the Trump administration is walking away from those duties now that the sovereign status of millions of acres are at stake in another Republican-friendly place.

"In preparing the Indian territory for statehood, Congress eliminated all the hallmarks of a reservation," said Edwin Kneedler, the Deputy Solicitor General at the Department of Justice . "Congress broke up the tribe's national domain and extinguished the tribe's interest in it."

The clash was a repeat of one that took place some 18 months ago , long before the coronavirus shut down operations across Indian Country and forced the Supreme Court first to postpone the hearing and then to find another way to hear the case without doing it in person . Tribal interests were advanced by the two same attorneys from the previous proceeding, and the arguments were no less forceful amid the pandemic that has threatened the well-being of the first Americans.

Congress never terminated the Creek Reservation," said attorney Ian Gershengorn , highlighting one of the factors the justices are supposed to consider in cases of this nature, the last of which arose only four years ago and was decided by a unanimous vote in favor of Indian interests

Congress did not transfer criminal jurisdiction to Oklahoma," added Gershengorn, responding to another line of attack that arose when the Supreme Court was unable to come to a conclusion about the status of millions of acres in the eastern part of the state.

A historic morning here at tribal headquarters as Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill and Second Chief Del Beaver listen live to oral arguments before the Supreme Court in McGirt v. Oklahoma. @indianz @IndianCountry @tulsaworld @TheOklahoman_ pic.twitter.com/yJktsi9rF3  Jason Salsman (@RealJSals) May 11, 2020

Riyaz Kanji , who argued on behalf of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, also pushed back against the nation that the tribe's reservation has been diminished. But he too had to react to questions about the potentially significant outcomes the case might have on the ground in Oklahoma -- in other words, how non-Indians would be affected.

"If we prevail, state law does not evaporate in the reservation," Kanzji said. "Under this court's doctrines, state law applies in many situations with respect to -- especially with respect to the non-Indians in the area."

Disruptions in Oklahoma were in fact brought up by Mansinghani. He claimed that more than 3,000 Indian inmates whose crimes were prosecuted in the state system might seek to have their convictions overturned even though some members of the court pointed out that federal punishments are often harsher.

In the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the "risk would be too high" for some of the Indian inmates.

[...] it was very disturbing to see Oklahoma misrepresent the numbers on how many criminals will be released if the #SCOTUS maintains the status quo & concludes the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's reservation still exists." -@MKNAGLE, NIWRC Counsel.



More at https://t.co/4IBx1dzHvq pic.twitter.com/B1jO1Oz3Gu  National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (@niwrc) May 11, 2020

But some of Mansinghani figures were not based on actual data but on mathematical assumptions. Since the population in the eastern Oklahoma is about 12 percent Native American, he reasoned that they will commit an equally proportionate number of felonies in the region.

"So only including crimes committed by Native Americans, that would be 4,000 new felonies a year that the federal government would have to prosecute," Mansinghani said of these so-called "future" crimes.

That number apparently wasn't high enough so Mansinghani decided to double it. "Including crimes where the Native American is the victim, you can take that to about 8,000," he told the court.

Notably, the hearing was Mansinghani's debut before the Supreme Court.

From left: Second Chief Del Beaver, Creek National Council Second Speaker Darrell Proctor, Creek National Council Speaker Randall Hicks, Principal Chief David Hill, Secretary of Education Greg Anderson and Creek Nation Ambassador Jonodev Chaudhuri at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 2020. Photo courtesy Jason Salsman / Muscogee (Creek) Nation

The purported statistics elicited a strong objection from Gershengorn, who is representing Jimcy McGirt, an Indian inmate who is among the 178 -- a far smaller number -- who have actually filed petitions questioning the state's jurisdiction. He noted that Oklahoma raised the figures up for the first time at the hearing.

"The numbers today are mind-boggling and back of the envelope," Gershengorn said. "They don't appear in any of the briefs."

Leaders of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation listened to the hearing from tribal headquarters in Oklahoma . Though they had been in Washington, D.C., on the day their brief was filed with the Supreme Court , the coronavirus made it impossible for them to stand up for their sovereignty in person.

"Important day for our people and for Indian Country," Creek leaders said in a message to Indianz.Com shortly before the hearing began.

Amid #COVID19 pandemic, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 11, 2020, will hear arguments in one of the most important Indian Country cases in decades. Cherokee journalist Rebecca Nagle @rebeccanagle has more in The Atlantic @TheAtlantic. #ThisLand #Sovereigntyhttps://t.co/Pp5IKrs3io  indianz.com (@indianz) May 8, 2020

The National Indigenous Womens Resource was among the scores of tribes, advocates and organizations that supported the continued existence of the Creek Reservation. The group accused the state of Oklahoma of spreading "misinformation" about crime, whose actual statistics show that American Indians and Alaska Natives, women and men alike, are more likely to be victimized than any other racial or ethnic group. The data also shows that the majority of the offenders are non-Indians.

"It is disappointing that Oklahoma is spreading misinformation to insight fear about the consequences that a Creek Nation victory will bring, said Cherrah Giles , a Creek citizen who serves as chair of NIWRC's board. Affirming the tribes reservation will not result in the release of thousands of criminals as suggested, but instead will help to protect and safeguard Oklahomas most vulnerable population  Native women and children.

"During this mornings argument, it was clear that several of the Justices understand the importance of maintaining the Courts current governing precedent that Congress, and Congress alone, can disestablish a reservation created by treaty, added attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who helped submit NIWRC's brief. However, it was very disturbing to see Oklahoma misrepresent the numbers on how many criminals will be released if the Supreme Court maintains the status quo and concludes the MCNs reservation still exists."

A map created by the U.S. Department of the Interior shows the boundaries of the Creek Reservation intact in 1914. Additional maps, dating from 1900 through 1917, submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court as part of McGirt v. Oklahoma, show the existence of similar boundaries.

The case argued on Monday is McGirt v. Oklahoma . It is the second to come before the Supreme Court regarding the status of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

The first was Sharp v. Murphy , which was heard during the court's October 2018 term. But the justices were unable to reach a decision for unexplained reasons, though some have speculated that the absence of Justice Neil Gorsuch from the case prevented the remaining 8 members from coming to a consensus on the dispute.

Gorsuch, whose record in Indian law in unprecedented in Supreme Court history, participated in McGirt. Tribal advocates believe his background, which includes resolving reservation status issues, will help convince his colleagues to arrive at a decision.

With its building closed to the public due to the coronavirus, the Supreme Court is about to wrap up its current term. McGirt is the only Indian law case on the docket.

The October 2019 runs through the end of June so a decision in McGirt should come before then.

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Venezuelan refugee Maria* (centre) poses for a portrait with her family in Medellin, Colombia. Kept inside by coronavirus stay-at-home orders, they are struggling to pay for basics like groceries and rent.  UNHCR/Angela Hurtado

2020 was looking to be a better year for Maria,* a Venezuelan grandmother who was making great strides toward rebuilding her life in neighbouring Colombia. Working as a street vendor, pounding the pavement of downtown Medellin with her snack cart from dusk till dawn, Maria managed to save enough to send for her son, his wife and the couples newborn twins. Plus, the whole family had just upgraded from a tiny rental room to a proper studio apartment.

Then came coronavirus and the lockdown that has prevented Maria from going out to work, stripping the family of their income and subjecting them to hunger and the looming spectre of eviction.

At one point, we didnt even have coffee to help us get through days in which we were eating only one meal, said 55-year-old Maria, who moved into the new apartment on the very day that Medellins stay-at-home order was decreed. Stuck inside, the family had no idea how they were going make money to buy groceries, let alone pay the rent.

The family received emergency assistance from the Colombian government and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which allowed them to resume eating three meals a day. But Maria worries that the global pandemic could reverse all the progress they have made, leaving them even worse off in their new host country than they were back in Venezuela.

Stories like those of Maria and her family are tragically common among the more than five million Venezuelan refugees and migrants currently living outside their country, having fled widespread hunger, violence and insecurity back home.

Without alternative income sources, these workers and their families will have no means to survive.

The pandemic is, or course, taking a devastating economic toll on billions of people and countries the world over. In a recent statement, the International Labour Organization warned that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy  that is nearly half of the global workforce  stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.

Without alternative income sources, the UN agency warned, these workers and their families will have no means to survive.

The Geneva-based organization also noted that refugees and asylum-seekers  the vast majority of whom, like Maria, live in low- and middle-income countries  could become double casualties, at risk of infection and plunged into destitution by the contagion-prevention measures.

Many refugees and migrants just manage to scrape by, hand-to-mouth, in the best of times, with neither a safety net nor a social support network. Now, amid the pandemic that has stripped them of earnings to cover their basic needs, they are often at higher risk than the population at large of eviction, stigmatization, homelessness and malnutrition.

Yilmary, a Venezuelan refugee living in Sao Paulo, has managed to keep her business, a food stall serving Venezuelan specialties, afloat during the pandemic.  UNHCR

Anxiety about all of that is gnawing at Yesica,* a 33-year-old mother of three from Venezuela who sought safety in Ecuador in 2017.

Since she was let go from her job as a waitress at an upscale ceviche restaurant in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, at the start of the pandemic, Yesica has also had a constant headache and upset stomach. While the symptoms sound alarmingly like those sometimes associated with COVID-19, her husband, who has not been called back to his job at a local hotel in over two months, assures Yesica her symptoms stem from the stress they are under.

When their landlord came knocking, they could only give him half the rent. And with the cupboards bare, the family has turned to handouts from a nearby convent to put food on the table.

All I had to feed my children was rice with butter.

All I had to feed my children was rice with butter, said Yesica, who worked as an operating room nurse back in Venezuela, before the familys support for the opposition resulted in threats that forced them to flee.

The couple has toyed with the idea of trying to make a bit of cash for groceries by defying stay-at-home orders to sell face masks on the streets. But fear of how much worse their already difficult situation could become if they were to fall ill keeps them home.

In desperation, many Venezuelan refugees and migrants have already begun to return to the streets to sell or panhandle, their reluctant defiance of quarantine measures turning them into scapegoats and putting them at risk of detention. Others are resorting to survival sex, while others have opted to make the risky and arduous journey back to Venezuela.

Among those seriously considering returning is Aleydi Diaz, a 28-year-old Venezuelan living in Peru. Before the pandemic stuck, she sold bottled water and candies at a busy intersection in the capital, Lima. Her husband worked as a day labourer, some days in construction, others in a warehouse or as a janitor.

But now, they are stuck in the room they share with their three small children, with no savings and little prospect of making any money. And Aleydi knows that even if she did dare sneak out to hawk candies on the intersection, Limas streets are so bare she would be unlikely to sell much.

In Peru, I had hopes of restarting my life and opening a small bakery, she said. Now, Im desperate. I just want to scrape some money together so I can return to Venezuela because I fear for my childrens grandmother. I havent been able to send her money for three months and I worry shes not eating.

We dont have anything here or there, but at least there I would be with her, said Aleydi.

See also: Refugees across Arab world feel economic pain of coronavirus

UNHCR is working across Latin America and the globe to provide emergency assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people hit by the pandemic, providing secure spaces in shelters and, in the most vulnerable cases, cash assistance to help people cover their basic needs so that they are not put in the position of having to choose between protecting their health  and their communities  and starving. The UN Refugee Agency is also joining forces with host governments to promote the inclusion of refugees and migrants in ongoing support programmes.

Timely and flexible support from governments, the private sector and individuals for ongoing humanitarian operations remains critical. The response plan for Venezuelan refugees and migrants is dangerously underfunded, with only 4 per cent of the requested funds received to date.

For Venezuelan refugees and migrants, the pandemic exposes them to even greater hardship as many are now struggling to survive, away from home, said Eduardo Stein, Joint UNHCR-IOM Special Representative for refugees and migrants from Venezuela, in an appeal for additional funding today.

Venezuelans across the region are now faced with hunger, a lack of access to medical care, the prospects of homelessness and xenophobia, he added.

Still, some refugees have managed to adapt amid the uncertainty. Consider Yilmary, a 37-year-old occupational therapist from Venezuela who reinvented herself as a street food vendor after arriving in the Brazilian megacity of Sao Paulo in 2016. Even with stay-at-home orders, she is succeeding in keeping her business afloat in Tentaciones da Venezuela.

By changing up her menu, pivoting toward internet-based advertising and using an online order and delivery service, Yilmary has kept serving up typical Venezuelan dishes.

Its not easy for anyone now, Brazilians or refugees, she said. But together, we can face this challenge.

Reporting by Angela Hurtado in Medellin, Colombia; Jaime Gimenez in Quito, Ecuador; Danielle Alvarez in Lima, Peru; and Miguel Pachioni in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Writing by Jenny Barchfield.

*Names have been changed for protection reasons.
Neuroscientists at the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB) together with colleagues at the Freiburg University show that this is not strictly the case. Instead, they show that prediction errors can occasionally appear as visual illusion when viewing rapid image sequences. Thus, rather than being explained away prediction errors remain in fact accessible at final processing stages forming perception. Previous theories of predictive coding need therefore to be revised. The study is reported in Plos One on 4. May 2020.

Our visual system starts making predictions within a few milliseconds

To fixate objects in the outside world, our eyes perform far more than one hundred thousand of rapid movements per day called saccades. However, as soon as our eyes rest about 100 milliseconds, the brain starts making predictions. Differences between previous and current image contents are then forwarded to subsequent processing stages as prediction errors. The advantage to deal with differences instead of complete image information is obvious: similar to video compression techniques the data volume is drastically reduced. Another advantage turns up literally only at second sight: statistically, there is a high probability that the next saccade lands on locations where differences to previous image contents are largest. Thus, calculating potential changes of image content as the differences to previous contents prepares the visual system early on for new input.

To test whether the brain uses indeed such a strategy, the authors presented rapid sequences of two images to human volunteers. In the first image two gratings were superimposed, in the second image only one of the gratings was present. The task was to report the orientation of the last seen single grating. In most cases, the participants correctly reported the orientation of the present orientation, as expected. However, surprisingly, in some cases an orientation was perceived that was exactly orthogonal to the present orientation. That is, participants saw sometimes the difference between the previous superimposed gratings and the present single grating. Seeing the difference instead of the real current input is here a visual illusion that can be interpreted as directly seeing the prediction error," says Robert Staadt from the Institute of Neural Computation of the RUB, first author of the study.

Avoiding the pigeonhole benefits flexibility

Within the framework of the predictive coding theory, prediction errors are mostly conceived in the context of higher cognitive functions that are coupled to conscious expectations. However, we demonstrate that prediction errors also play a role in the context of highly dynamic perceptual events that take place within fractions of a second," explains Dr. Dirk Jancke, head of the Optical Imaging Group at the Institute of Neural Computation. The present study reveals that the visual system simultaneously keeps up information about past, current, and possible future image contents. Such strategy allows both stability and flexibility when viewing rapid image sequences. Altogether, our results support hypotheses that consider perception as a result of a decision process," says Jancke. Hence, prediction errors should not be sorted out too early, as they might become relevant for following events.

Visual perception underlies decision making

In next studies the scientists will scrutinize the sets of parameters that drive the perceptual illusion most effectively. Besides straightforward physical parameters like stimulus duration, brightness, and contrast, other, more elusive factors that characterize psychological features might be involved. The authors' long-term perspective is the development of practical visual tests that can be used for an early diagnosis of cognitive disorders connected to rapid perceptual decision processes.

###

Funding

The study was partly financed through grants of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 874 at RUB, which is supported by the German Research Foundation since 2010. The CRC "Integration and representation of sensory processes" investigates how sensory signals generate neuronal maps, and result in complex behavior and memory formation.

Original publication

Robert Staadt, Sebastian T. Philipp, Joschka L. Cremers, Jurgen Kornmeier, Dirk Jancke: Perception of the difference between past and present stimulus: a rare orientation illusion may indicate incidental access to prediction error-like signals: Plos One, 2020, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232349, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232349

Press contact

Associate Professor Dr. Dirk Jancke

Optical Imaging Lab

Institute of Neural Computation

Ruhr-Universitat Bochum

Germany

Phone: +49 234 32 27845

Email: dirk.jancke@rub.de
YAKUTSK, Russia -- Russian special police have detained Aleksandr Gabyshev, a shaman in the Siberian region of Yakutia who gained notoriety in 2019 after declaring that he wanted to drive President Vladimir Putin from power.

Aleksei Pryanishnikov, a legal coordinator for the opposition group Open Russia, told RFE/RL on May 12 that at least 20 officers from an OMON police unit of the National Guard had stormed into Gabyshev's home in the city of Yakutsk.

Pryanishnikov said Gabyshev was taken away barefooted and in handcuffs. He said two of Gabyshev's associates were also being held, although the reason for detaining them was unclear.

According to Pryanishnikov, several people who visited Gabyshev's house earlier on May 12 had introduced themselves as physicians who wanted to test him for the coronavirus.

Gabyshev's lawyer, Olga Timofeyeva, told RFE/RL that police had informed her he was being taken to a psychiatric clinic.

Timofeyeva said nobody can be sent to a psychiatric clinic in Russia without a court order.

Last week, Gabyshev posted a video on YouTube that showed him performing a traditional Yakut shaman's dance while declaring, "Very soon you all break out to freedom."

"Guys, in two months, you will not recognize the world, including Russia," Gabyshev says in the video. "Nobody will hold the people's power. The people's power is from nature, from God. And it will sweep out everything in two months. Consider it my forecast, my prophecy.... You will take care of your own destinies yourselves, you will take freedom with your own hands."

Gabyshev made headlines in 2019 when he called Putin "evil" and announced he would march to Moscow in an attempt to drive the Russian president out of the Kremlin.

Starting the journey in March 2019, Gabyshev walked more than 2,000 kilometers -- speaking with hundreds of Russians along the way.

As his notoriety rose, videos of his conversations with people were posted on social media and attracted millions of views.

In July, when Gabyshev reached the city of Chita, he gathered about 700 people together for a rally under the slogan "Russia without Putin!"

At the time, Gabyshev said, "God told me Putin is not a human, but instead a demon, and has ordered me to drive him out."

His march was halted when he was detained in the region of Buryatia in September. Authorities transferred him to Yakutia, where he was sent to a psychiatric clinic and then released.

In October, psychiatrists in Yakutsk said Gabyshev was mentally unstable. But independent experts hired by the shaman's lawyers concluded that Gabyshev was mentally sound, did not need forced treatment in a psychiatric clinic, and was not a danger to society.

In December, Gabyshev and two supporters attempted to resume the march to Moscow, ignoring Yakutia's sub-zero temperatures.

But they were stopped again by the police and forced to return home.

Shamans have served as healers and diviners in Siberia for centuries. During the Soviet era, they were harshly repressed. But in isolated parts of Siberia, they are now regaining importance.
Chancellor prolongs furlough scheme until October as data highlights worsening death toll, with fears for care homes.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the governments job retention scheme  the costly centrepiece of the United Kingdoms attempts to mitigate the coronavirus hit to the economy  by a further four months until the end of October.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Sunak added that the funding would be kept at the rate which offers Britons 80 percent of their wages.

Until the end of July, there will be no changes, he said. The scheme will continue [until October] but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which currently supports more than six million jobs, had been scheduled to expire at the end of June.

Businesses have benefitted from the support the government has put in place, Sunak said. They have been able to retain their employees through using this scheme.

Opposition politicians welcomed the move to extend the programme.

A day earlier, however, as Prime Minister Johnson set out a gradual plan to get the UK back to work, including advice on wearing homemade face coverings, his attempt to lift the coronavirus lockdown prompted confusion.

The governments efforts to support the economy came as the COVID-19 death toll topped 38,000 as of early May, by far the worst yet reported in Europe.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday for England and Wales brought the UKs official death toll to 38,289 as of May 3.

While different ways of counting make comparisons with other countries difficult, the figure confirmed the UK was among those hit hardest by a pandemic that has killed more than 285,000 worldwide.

Such a high UK death toll increases the pressure on Johnson: Opposition parties say he was too slow to impose a lockdown, introduce mass testing and get enough protective equipment to hospitals.

The data painted a grim picture in care homes, which have been hit hard by the virus.

Care homes (are) showing the slowest decline, sadly, ONS statistician Nick Stripe told BBC.

For the first time that I can remember, there were more deaths in total in care homes than there were in hospitals in that week.

The figures showed care homes now account for a third of all COVID-19 deaths in England and Wales.

The UKs epidemic has highlighted how vulnerable some communities are.

On Monday, the ONS said men working in the lowest skilled occupations had the highest rate of death involving COVID-19, with 21.4 deaths for every 100,000 males.

Late last week, the ONS reported that Black people in the UK were more than four times as likely to die from coronavirus than white people. Those of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity also have a significantly higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than white people, even when adjusting for deprivation.
Jury duty is an essential part of the American justice system.

Thomas Jefferson called trial by jury the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.

And yet it is something that most people grumble about, while others try to avoid it all together.

When the summons for jury duty arrives in the mail, how many people scream, 'Yes!' and run to clear the calendar? writer Regina Brett once wrote. None. Our first and only reaction is, 'Oh, no,' quickly followed by, 'How can I get out of this?'

Now, imagine for a second, that you were chosen to be on two juries in less than six years.

And both were first-degree murder trials in which you would have to decide whether the accused would face the ultimate punishment, death in the electric chair at the notorious prison at Sing Sing on the Hudson River.

This photo illustration appeared in the Feb 10, 1929 edition of the Syracuse American along with the interview with Syracuse's "Death Juror," Arthur Poyle. The juror and farmer is seen between the two men he helped send to the electric chair. John Fabri is on the left, Antonio Viandante is on the right.Syracuse American

Arthur Poyle, a mild-mannered farmer from Jordan, found himself in just this situation.

Between 1924 and 1929, Poyle would help to decide the fate of two men, Antonio Viandante and John Fabri, sending both to the death chamber.

For this he was called Syracuses Death Juror.

The macabre nickname was not an indicator of the man.

On his farm, Poyle refused to kill his own pigs and chickens, turned white at the sight of blood and was upset when any of his livestock suffered unnecessarily.

He once caught buck fever, and went out deer hunting. When a big buck pranced before his leveled rifle, Poyle wavered and could not fire a shot. He never went again.

Arthur Poyle said he loved three things. His wife, his farm and his city.

He was 52 years old at the beginning of 1929. He was born in Manlius and, except for six years when he lived in Syracuse while as a foreman for the New York State Railways, had spent most of his life on the farm.

In 1927, he moved to Jordan, onto the old homestead of his wifes family.

He seemed to be the kind of person who would have loved to never have left his farm and his work.

But twice, he was called away. To be a good citizen and to do his civic duty.

In January 1923, Poyle was chosen to be on the jury to decide the fate of Antonio Viandante, a Manlius shoe repairman, who stood accused of stabbing his wife, Rosa, to death in a jealous rage and then, moments later, the local butcher, Frank Vasto, whose shop was below where the couple lived. Vasto was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, nursing a broken leg in a back room, when Rosa came in desperate for someone to help save her life.

It was the first double murder in Onondaga County in over a dozen years.

Poyle was surprised that he was chosen to serve.

I knew Frank Vasto  everybody liked him. I was sure surprised when they let me sit after I told Viandantes lawyers that I knew him, Poyle said. But that didnt affect my decision any.

Viandante was convicted and executed on April 10, 1924.

Incredibly, Poyle received another jury summons just five years later for another murder trial.

In this one, John Fabri was accused of shooting to death Louis Mangino in front of Manginos home in Syracuse after a competitive game of morra, an ancient Italian game played with the fingers, turned violent.

When they picked me for the Fabri case you could have knocked me over with a feather, Poyle said. Lawyers usually dont let a fellow sit who already has sent one man to the chair.

In 83 minutes, one of the swiftest murder verdicts in county history, Fabri was convicted. He was executed on Aug. 29, 1929.

Less than 24 hours after sentencing Fabri to the electric chair, a reporter from the Syracuse Journal, Leon Racht, paid Poyle a visit at his farm.

How does it feel to have to send a man to the chair, the reporter asked the farmer.

Poyles eyes, always thoughtful, now turned somber and it appeared to struggle for an answer.

Thats a pretty hard question for me to answer, he replied. Sometimes I think it doesnt matter to me and then it does. At best, its an unpleasant job.

But then he continued, becoming philosophical, according to Racht:

You know, Ive always believed that if a man deliberately takes the life on another, willfully and with premeditation, be should square the debt with his own. At that, I think it is the best way out for him. Supposing he were to go free, knowing that he killed somebody, wouldnt it be awful bad for him to carry on his conscience as long as he lived.

When asked about the children of the condemned, Viandante and Fabri were stepfathers to their wives children, Poyle took his time to give his answer.

Thats the hardest part of it, I think, and I believe it keeps more men out of the chair then the strongest chain of defense evidence. The kiddies create a reasonable doubt where the lawyers cant.

But, he added, neither Viandantes or Fabris children were related to them by blood, and a murderer should think of them before he commits his crime.

Poyle did not exactly answer Rachts question about whether death in the electric chair was cruel or not, only that it was the easiest death a man could have.

Poyle said that the hardest part of being a jury was to keep his mind off the case until all the evidence was presented. Sometimes the testimony would almost drive you foolish.

During the Fabri trial, the jury he said, found ways to relieve the stress of the case.

They played games while being sequestered and he listened to the famous Syracuse musician, Melville Clark, who was also on the jury, play his harp.

One night we all went to a burlesque show, he said, while his wife looked on in horror. Gee, I didnt think you could see anything in Syracuse like that.

Finally, the conversation came to an end.

Take it from me, I hope they dont ask me to sit on any more juries, Poyle said, standing up to go milk his cows. Im through.

Mrs. Poyle agreed as her husband, the Death Juror, left the house.

Yes, Arthur is not going down there to listen to any more trials  not unless they send somebody to milk the cows.

The Condemned

If you like true-crime stories, be sure to look for our podcast The Condemned" where we explore the stories of five men from Onondaga County who paid the price for their crimes in the electric chair.

Episodes launch on June 1. Bookmark it on our Acast page or on iTunes and Spotify. Want to be one of the first to listen? Make sure to subscribe on your preferred platform to get new episodes as they become available.

Read more

'The Condemned: A new true crime podcast by syracuse.com

1881: Hundreds watch Onondaga Countys final hanging

1920: Dressed in their own homemade disguises, two female inmates escape Auburn Prison

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.

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Rob Nosse, a longtime labor union organizer and three-term Democratic House member representing inner Southeast Portland, is facing a challenge from what could be an unexpected sector: several large public employee labor unions.

Nosse, who works for the Oregon Nurses Association and, before that, was a staff director at the states largest public employee union, is in a showdown with Paige Kreisman, an activist and disabled Army veteran with no prior governmental experience.

Kreisman, an officer in the Portland Democratic Socialists of America and board member of Portland Tenants United who is a trans woman, has rallied for causes including anti-imperialism, trans visibility and renters rights. She has the endorsements of three of the states most powerful employee unions: AFSCME, the Oregon Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers of Oregon.

Nosse, who in the past enjoyed extra-large contributions from the states biggest public employee union, hasnt gotten donations from any public sector unions this time around. And there is one reason: He voted to trim public employee pension benefits, as part of a deal struck by lawmakers seeking passage of the states largest corporate tax hike to benefit education.

House District 42, which stretches from Interstate 84 south to the Brooklyn and Woodstock neighborhoods, is overwhelmingly Democratic. Both candidates say they are champions for workers and unions, for trans people and others who are LGBTQ and for affordable housing and renters rights.

Nosse, an openly gay married father, has raised $194,000, despite not getting a single donation over $5,000. Much of his money has come from health care-related groups, from hospitals to companies that help manage the Oregon Health Plan to nurse anesthetists, which is not surprising given his role as vice chair of the House Committee on Health. Hes also pulled in contributions from realtors, carpenters, CenturyLink employees and Nike.

Kreisman has raised $52,000. Her largest contributor, at $10,500, is the Portland Association of Teachers. Portland Democratic Socialists of American has donated $2,275.

Here are their answers to six key questions posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive designed to help Democratic party voters make their choice in the May 19 primary. Some responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Paige Kreisman, a disabled veteran who was the first woman to serve as an indirect fire Infantryman in the U.S. Army, speaks at a 2019 Portland rally in support of the VA workers union.

What specifically in your track record would you point to that makes you the best Democratic nominee for Oregon and for your district at this time?

Kreisman: Were facing so many challenges in our state  a housing crisis, vast income inequality, systemic injustice and a state Legislature more intent on enriching corporate interests than improving the lives of everyday Oregonians, especially those from marginalized communities.

I believe that working Oregonians own our democracy, not corporations. Thats why our campaign is 100% people powered, and Im proud to be the only candidate in this race not funded by the fossil fuel industry, the healthcare lobby or the landlord lobby. Im running because, together, I know we can build an Oregon that works for all of us.

Nosse: Im ready to continue fighting for working families in Southeast and Northeast Portland. Im a proven progressive Democrat with a record of taking on corporate interests and winning. I led the fight against the pharmaceutical lobby and, despite their attacks, passed landmark price transparency bills that help reduce the cost of prescriptions.

I led on passing the Student Success Act, the biggest investment in our schools in a generation. I also fought for bold action to address climate change. Lastly, I led on passing two things critical during this COVID-19 crisis: statewide paid sick leave and paid family medical leave.

Rob Nosse, a labor organizer and nurses union employee, is running for a fourth term representing inner Southeast Portland in the Oregon House.

Oregon businesses have called for a suspension or temporary modification of the new gross receipts tax to fund education. Do you support this?

Nosse: No. I led on the creation and passage of The Student Success Act, and Im proud of the millions of dollars it invests in Portland schools. Delaying the implementation of the act would hurt our children and working families by further exacerbating our states impending budget crisis. The Student Success Act was designed to provide flexibility in situations like this, as well as ensure our public schools receive critical funding during economic downturns.

Kreisman: No, absolutely not. The massive structural problems that decades of neoliberal austerity politics have inflicted on Oregon arent going away because were in a pandemic. Its more important now than ever that we fight for our schools. The Student Success Act is a modest tax levied on Oregons largest corporations.

Large corporations attempting to use this crisis to escape paying a very small tax for our childrens education has left me more sure than ever -- big corporations have been coddled for too long in Oregon. Theyll get no sympathy from me. Theyll pay their taxes, pandemic or not.

Oregon has hundreds of public records law exemptions on the books, making it one of the less transparent states in the country. Is there any public records exemption you believe should be removed? Or a new public records exemption you believe lawmakers should add?

Kreisman: Transparency is an incredibly important issue, especially for our state. I look forward to working with community leaders to move to a more transparent and accountable state government.

Nosse: I believe Oregon should remove the exemption that excuses lawmakers and legislative offices from responding to public records requests during Legislative sessions.

Republicans succeeded in killing cap-and-trade legislation and Gov. Kate Browns executive order can only accomplish a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions a new law would have achieved. What should the Legislature do next to reduce climate warming emissions?

Nosse: While the COVID-19 crisis is more immediate, climate change is the biggest crisis facing our state and our planet. As a parent and a grandparent, Im fighting for the future for my family and every family in Portland, in Salem.

Im glad the governor took action, but we need to do more. I support a Green New Deal for Oregon, so we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect communities most directly impacted by pollution and build a 21st century clean energy economy. I look forward to dealing with the quorum issue so we can accomplish that.

Kreisman: Oregonians deserve a Green New Deal. Its time to move on from the failed cap and trade proposal. Weak, watered down, market-based solutions are not adequate to address the climate crisis. We cannot use capitalism to solve a crisis inherently caused by capitalisms endless greed.

There is another option. The Oregon Green New Deal is a real policy package that already exists, written and championed by the Oregon Just Transition Alliance. The Oregon Green New Deal not only meets our climate goals but does so while centering justice and equity for workers and front-line communities.

The market downturn has further undermined that funded status of Oregons public pension system, which will lead to further cost increases for public employers. Is there anything further you think should be done to address the problem?

Kreisman: We must protect the pensions of our valuable public servants. Firefighters, nurses, teachers, and many more public employees are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. Now is not the time to cut their pensions. We must elect representatives that will fight for public employees just as hard as they fight for our communities.

The incumbent showed us where he stands when he took part in the successful effort to cut public pensions last year. We cannot afford to send anti-worker, corporate backed politicians to Salem. The stakes are too high, and our public servants deserve better.

Nosse: I believe our nurses, firefighters, teachers and other public employees have earned their pensions and are relying on them when they retire. I support protecting their pensions.

Before the coronavirus crisis, the Portland metro area was enjoying a long-term economic recovery. But the benefits were not shared by some Oregonians in rural areas and even many in the metro area remained financially unstable as they depended on the gig economy. Whats one thing you could do as a state lawmaker to bring economic stability to more Oregonians?

Nosse: In the past I have led on increasing the minimum wage here in Oregon, passing statewide paid sick leave, paid family medical leave, renter protections and more, but I know there is much more work to do.

I believe the Legislature can act to support the rights of all workers to organize and form a union, as well as to create a universal, single-payer health care system for Oregon. Both of these policies will do a great deal to address income inequality.

-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol

-- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A hearse car backs into a refrigerated truck to pick up deceased bodies outside of a Brooklyn hospital on April 1, 2020 in New York City.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Before the coronavirus outbreak, New York City expected to see around 8,000 deaths this spring. Instead, the health department recorded 32,000 deaths from March 11 to May 2.

Around 14,000 of the 24,000 excess deaths were laboratory-confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Another 5,000 are considered "probable" coronavirus deaths  meaning the patients were not tested, but the coronavirus is listed on their death certificates.

That leaves another 5,000-plus deaths that cannot be explained. In a new paper, the New York City health department estimated that those, too, "might have been directly or indirectly attributable to the pandemic."

Some may have been people who got the coronavirus but waited too long to seek medical care  either because of overcrowding at hospitals or the city's shelter-in-place ordinance  and died at home. Hospitals may also have attributed some deaths to underlying health conditions like heart disease or diabetes, when in fact the coronavirus was primarily responsible.

The city's health department wrote that unexplained deaths "require further investigation," but public-health experts say the 5,000 deaths might remain a mystery forever.

Some coronavirus deaths will never be counted

A nurse wipes away tears as New York police cheer for healthcare workers on April 16, 2020.

REUTERS/Mike Segar

The coronavirus hit New York City in mid-March, around the same time flu season was winding down. Since the viruses share some symptoms, it can be difficult to determine whether a person got the flu or COVID-19 without a positive test for one of them.

Story continues

Researchers have already noted the degree to which limited testing early in the outbreak and the difficulty of finding and identifying asymptomatic patients caused many coronavirus cases to go undiagnosed. At the height of New York City's outbreak, hospitals only tested patients with severe illnesses, causing many mild cases to be excluded from the official count. Some public-health experts have estimated that the actual case totals in the US could be at least 10 times higher than the current figures.

Elizabeth Halloran, a biostatistician at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, told Business Insider that New York City probably has a two-week delay in reporting deaths, but even then some deaths won't receive a proper diagnosis.

"You don't have to be real smart once you see the pictures of all those refrigerator trucks with bodies in them to know they must be having more deaths than usual," Halloran said.

"I doubt they're going to do an autopsy on all of them," she added. "There are a lot of deaths that we probably will never know if they were coronavirus deaths or not."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special economic package, and said the recent decisions by the government, the decisions by the RBI combined with Tuesday's financial package announcement come to about Rs 20 lakh crore - nearly 10 percent of India's GDP.

There is unprecedented crisis but India will neither get tired nor give up the fight against coronavirus, Modi said, and asserted that "we have to protect ourselves and move ahead as well".

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Narendra ModiSpecial economic package is for our labourers, farmers, honest tax payers, MSMEs and cottage industry, the prime minister said in a televised address to the nation.

India is standing on five pillars --economy, infrastructure, governing systems, vibrant democracy and supply chain.
The government has been criticised for not introducing testing into care homes sooner after seven residents in a Co Armagh home tested positive for Covid-19.

Relatives of residents in Sandringham Care Home in Portadown were informed by staff on Friday that the seven elderly people had coronavirus, as well as five members of staff.

A daughter of one of the residents at Sandringham, who did not wish to be named, said they were contacted by the home on April 30, and told that all of the residents were to be tested.

A few days later she was informed that her father's result came back negative, but a few days after that she was told that some residents had tested positive. The family of the man are now asking why testing was not carried out at an earlier date.

"With the amount of people who have died in care homes my family and I are really worried about my daddy," she said.

"Ideally we would prefer to take him out of the home with the virus being present but where are we supposed to take him? He heavily relies on the care they give him.

"The staff at the home are brilliant but we would have preferred if testing for the virus had been done much sooner.

"We're six or seven weeks into the lockdown and they were only tested recently. The government should have carried out these tests much sooner. Daddy would be in the vulnerable category of course, and if he did contract the virus it would be very dangerous for him."

A spokesperson for Four Seasons Health Care, which manages Sandringham, explained that the testing was carried out via the Southern Trust and all results were available on May 7.

All 58 residents and staff on duty were tested, while subsequent testing took place as required. "The initial testing showed that a small number of residents, seven, were positive for Covid-19 as well as five members of staff, one of whom has now returned to work after a period of self isolation," stated the spokesperson.

"Management and staff in Sandringham are adhering to the Department of Health and Public Health Agency guidelines.

"Social distancing, PPE use and isolation policies are in place across all of our homes to minimise the risk of transmission and we are closely monitoring the other residents and colleagues in Sandringham.

"Our focus at the moment is on the ongoing care and protection of all of our residents and colleagues."
I never imagined I would see this in my lifetime: so many bodies from a short period of time. These are scenes from a recent burial at a Jewish cemetery in New York. The deceased died of Covid-19. The virus has hit New Yorks ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities particularly hard. Its not in Iran and its not in Syria, and its not what you ever see on YouTube from different countries, where you see bodies lined up. This is New York. Doctors and funeral directors told us they estimate hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews have died in Brooklyn alone. This video from late March shows bodies lined up inside a funeral chapel in Borough Park, a neighborhood with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Brooklyn. Avraham Berkowitz is a Hasidic rabbi, who lives in nearby Crown Heights. He recently attended the funeral of a family member from his car. They told the families they were not allowed to come. They had to stay. Only a few people, and be at a distance. So tragic. Hes recorded at least 39 fatalities in his neighborhood alone. Life has completely stopped in the last few weeks in Crown Heights. Sirens and ambulances  heart-wrenching. The coronavirus is posing unique challenges to these close-knit communities. We belong to a community that thrives on physical proximity and constant interaction at weddings, at bar mitzvahs, three times a day at the prayer, we go to the same kosher restaurants, the same grocery stores. Our kids go to the same schools. We all meet each other, know each other, and its one interactive circle. Now, longstanding traditions are being upended by social distancing guidelines, and are having to be rethought on the fly. People are holding virtual bar mitzvahs, and attending drive-by weddings  as well as funerals. Rabbis and community leaders are telling people to stay home. Follow what God says, and you stay at home. We are fighting an invisible enemy. Theyre urging followers to heed authorities calls to practice social distancing, especially among prayer groups. The hospitals that serve these communities have also had to adapt quickly because of the recent surge in patients. Dr. Sarah Rosanel is a cardiologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park. Maimonides has banned almost all visitors, including family members unless death is imminent, which can make it hard for families to reach their loved ones in time to recite customary prayers. Stories of people dying alone without proper rights drove community members to come up with another solution. We get a lot of complaints that the hospitals wouldnt let any family members in. How can we say final prayers if the people are dying alone? Mayer Berger is the Director of Operations of the Jewish burial society, Chesed Shel Emes. He helped create a hotline with prerecorded Jewish prayers, meant for the final moments before death. People can have a patient rep in a hospital calling the hotline, and put the prayers on speaker right next to the people who passed away. Traditionally bodies are buried within a day of death, but this has proved challenging for Chesed Shel Emes because their caseload has quadrupled over the past few weeks. When Im seeing young people leaving behind seven orphans, this is the hardest part, just thinking about all the families who are being left behind. And the families left behind are now forced to grieve alone, during periods of mourning known as shivas. The whole beauty of the Jewish tradition or religion is after any person passes, youre with your immediate family for seven days, and hundreds and hundreds of people from the community come and visit you and comfort you and bring you food. Suddenly that whole therapy, that whole ritual, that whole religious power of comfort, that is gone. Theyre locked alone with a video camera. I had to do Zoom shiva calls. The ongoing crisis has moved Rabbi Berkowitz to wage a personal campaign, running medical supplies to health care workers. How are you? Do you need masks? Do you need  We could always use masks. OK. I reached out to every major hospital, New York Presbyterian, Methodist, Mount Sinai, every single hospital. If I wasnt helping front-line health care workers get the supplies they need, I would be a complete wreck. Members of the Hasidic community or the Orthodox Jewish community were shuttering the synagogues to save lives. But this virus doesnt know race. It doesnt know religion. It doesnt know color. It doesnt know borders. And if were not going to unite in force, its going to take us all.
The government's $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon.

Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects like the rebuilding of the nation's arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the sudden burst of deficit spending to prop up a damaged economy is bringing the Pentagon closer to a point where it will have to shed older weapons faster and tighten its belt.

It has accelerated this day of reckoning, Esper said in an Associated Press interview.

It also sets up confrontations with Congress over how that reckoning will be achieved. Past efforts to eliminate older weapons and to make other cost-saving moves like closing under-used military bases met resistance.

This being a presidential election year, much of this struggle may slip to 2021. If presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins, the pace of defense cuts could speed up, if he follows the traditional Democratic path to put less emphasis on defense buildups.

After Congress passed four programs to sustain the economy through the virus shock, the budget deficit the gap between what the government spends and what it collects in taxes will hit a record $3.7 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

By the time the budget year ends in September, the government's debt its accumulated annual deficits will equal 101% of the US gross domestic product.

Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says defense budgets were strained even before this year's unplanned burst of deficit spending.

There's no question that budgetary pressure will only increase now for all segments of our federal budget, including defense, Calvert said.

For military leaders, the money crunch poses an economic threat that could undermine what they see as spending crucial to U.S. security.

One prominent example is the Trump administration's plan inherited from the Obama administration to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into replacing every major element of the nuclear weapons complex, from some of the warheads designed and built by the Energy Department to the bombers, submarines and land-based missiles that would deliver the warheads in combat.

Until now there has been a consensus in Congress supporting this nuclear modernization program, which includes replacing the aged communications systems that command and control nuclear weapons. Some House Democrats sought last year to block funding for the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, to replace the Minuteman 3, but they gave in and the project survived.

Nuclear modernization is a fat target for budget cutters. Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, foresees the possibility of calls by some in Congress to reduce the planned fleet of Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines from 12 to perhaps nine.

The Navy has estimated the total cost of this program at about $110 billion, with each boat costing $6.6 billion.

The Navy several years ago accepted a two-year delay in the Columbia program, and according to a Congressional Research Service report last month, the first sub is now scheduled to enter service in 2031 and the number of subs in the fleet will drop to 10 for most of the 2030s as the current fleet of Ohio-class subs is retired.

Esper says nuclear modernization, at a price approaching $1 trillion, is too important to put off, even in an economic crisis.

We're not going to risk the strategic deterrent, he told a Pentagon conference May 5, referring to the overall nuclear arsenal, whose stated purpose is to deter a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The fugitive was wearing iridescent blue and green feathers when he was, for lack of a better word, spotted by a police officer in Boston.

And once he heard the siren, he gave up without a fight.

But the siren in this case wasnt what it seemed on Monday morning during a police encounter with a runaway peacock in the Roxbury section of Boston.

An officer on scene relied on his quick wit to track down a peacock mating call on his cellphone, the Boston Police Department said in a post on its website, successfully luring the bird into a fenced-in yard where he waited patiently for the arrival of Boston Animal Control.

Image An officer played a mating call on his cell phone to lure Snowbank into a fenced-in yard. Credit... bpdnews

The peacock, named Snowbank, had escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo, which is part of Zoo New England and has been closed to the public during the coronavirus pandemic. Zoo officials said later on Monday that he was back home and doing well.
The family of a beef plant worker who died because of the coronavirus has brought a wrongful death lawsuit in a Philadelphia court against JBS SA, the worlds biggest meat company.

Ferdinand Benjamin filed the suit on Thursday after his father, Enock Benjamin, died of respiratory failure caused by Covid-19, according to a copy of the timestamped complaint provided by Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, the law firm representing the family. Enock Benjamin worked at the JBS USA plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania.

JBS treated workers as expendable and placed them standing shoulder to shoulder without basic protective equipment such as masks, attorney Robert J. Mongeluzzi said in a statement.

JBS, based in Sao Paulo, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit. In a statement earlier this week, the U.S. unit said it was doing everything possible to provide a safe working environment for our team members.

The suit may be part of the beginning of a litigation wave against meat companies after thousands of U.S. workers contracted the virus. At least 27 meatpacking workers have died in the coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The family of a meatpacking worker who died brought a wrongful death lawsuit in a Texas state court against Dallas-based Quality Sausage Co. earlier this week.

Smithfield Foods Inc. was sued last month by employees at a rural Missouri pork-processing facility. They argued that the company, owned by Hong Kong-based WH Group Ltd., hadnt done enough to protect workers from the virus. U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays on Tuesday declined to hear the case, saying its up to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the courts, to oversee safeguards for workers.

The meat industry faces the most serious threat to U.S. supplies since World War II. The pandemic highlighted worker conditions at slaughterhouses, where cold, damp factories and crowded workstations make infectious diseases particularly hard to control. The jobs are also low-paying and provide few benefits, further underscoring how labor inequality is one of the most significant rifts brought to the fore by Covid-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that conditions at U.S. meat plants contributed to increased risk of infections, and ultimately more than 4,900 workers fell ill. The agency cited difficulty maintaining social distancing and adhering to the heightened cleaning and disinfection guidance among the factors that increased risks for workers

With assistance from Marvin G. Perez and Lydia Mulvany.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
" " A polar bear walks atop sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Paul Souders/Getty Images

Can we ever regain what has been lost? Thanks to climate change, the Arctic Ocean's ice cover has been shrinking with such speed that scientists expect that sometime in the next few decades, the ice will disappear completely during the summer months. That change could have catastrophic consequences, and not just for the polar bears, seals and other animals that depend upon the ice for survival. As retired Cambridge University professor and sea-ice expert Peter Wadhams details in this Yale Environment 360 article, for thousands of years the Arctic ice's whiteness has helped regulate the planet's temperature by reflecting solar energy back into space.

But as the increasingly blue summertime Arctic absorbs more and more energy, it's turning from a planetary air conditioner into a heater. Already, the decline in the ice "has profound global climatic effects, or feedbacks, that are already intensifying global warming and have the potential to destabilize the climate system," Wadhams writes.

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Arctic ice is declining so rapidly, in fact, that some scientists argue we need to take drastic measures to keep the top of the world white, doing more than just trying to cut human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. In a recent article in the scientific journal Earth's Future, a group of Arizona State University researchers proposes what could be an ingenious, but also massive and costly, solution: They want to make more Arctic ice.

The ambitious plan would require building and deploying millions of wind-powered pumping installations in the Arctic, which during the wintertime would pull water from the warmer ocean depths to the colder surface, where it would freeze and add thickness to Arctic sea ice.

Lead author Steven Desch, a professor in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration, says via email that the key to make sea water freeze faster in the Arctic winter is to pump it from below the ice, where it's 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2 degrees Celsius) up to the surface, where it's below minus 22 degrees F (minus 30 degrees C). Desch's team calculated there'd be enough wind power for one turbine to thicken the ice by 3.3 feet (1 meter) over 25 acres (0.1 square kilometers) over the Arctic winter.

" " A storm approaches as a ship navigates Arctic sea ice. Peter Orr Photography/Getty Images

Desch's background is in astrophysics and planetary science, and he got the inspiration for how to increase Arctic ice while attending scientific conferences on the climate of planets such as Mars and Venus. "Of course, Earth's climate was discussed, too," he says, "and I heard the perspectives of many heavy hitters in the field of climate science. I came away thinking that they had correctly identified the problem, but not the solution. The only thing they wanted to discuss was reductions in CO 2 emissions, which of course is necessary and the purest solution. But I realized that this was not going to work in time to save the ice in the Arctic, the most sensitive part of the climate system. I thought, we can't wait for these guys to fix the problem. We need to save the Arctic now, through other means."

Other scientists have proposed massive geoengineering projects to fight global warming, such as simulating the effects of volcanic eruptions by spreading sulfuric acid droplets high into the stratosphere to block some of the incoming solar radiation. But some worry that tinkering with the atmosphere could disrupt weather patterns. Desch thought it made more sense to come up with a mechanical solution for making more Arctic ice. He says that he teamed up with two like-minded ASU colleagues  Hilairy Hartnett, a geochemist and oceanographer, and experimental astrophysicist Christopher Groppi  to teach a class on the subject, and those efforts eventually led to the pumping plan.

The scientists have calculated that it wouldn't be necessary to add ice over the entire Arctic Ocean. Instead, if wind-powered pumps were dispersed over about 10 percent of the Arctic for a decade, that would be enough at least to stave off catastrophic ice loss. Building the pumps would require about 10 million tons (9.1 million tonnes) of steel, and would cost an estimated $500 billion over a decade's time. Financing and building such a massive project probably would require an international effort.

"These numbers are big, [but] they are not impossible," Desch says. He and his colleagues plan to design and test a pump that disperses water over a wide area without freezing, and includes as few moving parts as possible  and is capable of surviving Arctic winters. "If we can develop a prototype in the next year, we'd like to then test it in the field, perhaps in the Canadian Arctic," Desch says.

Hartnett says she's confident all that can accomplished with existing technology. "Ideally, we have to try to implement something like our idea before the summertime Arctic ice is completely lost," she says.

Now That's Cool Another idea for slowing global warming, described in a 2012 article in Environmental Research Letters, would involve using aircraft and naval artillery guns to release between millions of tons of "albedo modification material" into the atmosphere each year. The estimated cost for that plan? As much as $8 billion annually.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

Supreme Court judge nominee Yonny Kulendi has dismissed speculations that his nomination as a judge to the supreme court will increase his financial fortunes.

Answering questions during his vetting Tuesday, the renowned lawyer who was nominated by President Akufo-Addo stated that he is about to commit financial suicide by accepting to serve as a judge at the Supreme Court.

According to him, there must be a national dialogue on the remuneration for public servants including judges which he said will aid the fight against corruption.

Mr Chairman, People in my village are watching me and they will think that this is an elevation but they dont know that I am about to commit financial suicide, levels will change.

We need to have a national dialogue on where we want to go otherwise the Imams will preach their sermons, the pastors will preach but this demon called corruption will bring us down.

Mr Kulendi also revealed he has a relationship with President Akufo-Addo.

He said if the President had not nominated him as a judge of the highest court of the land, he would have still put his name as a reference on his CV in any job appointment.

Answering a question on how his relationship with the president will affect his judgement on matters involving him, Mr Kulendi who worked in the law chambers of the President told the appointment committee of parliament that bias has not been part of his work culture.

I have a relationship with the President, and several other politicians and presidents. If the president had not nominated me because of the schedules and workings of his office, you would most certainly find his name on my CV. And I must be candid with that.

But for me, judges must hold fidelity to the law and be true to your conscience and that ought to be my metrics. I say consider this job. This job is that sacred to me, he said.

---starrfmonline
Andrea Cattani received free childcare for her two-year-old daughter Logan through Mom's House, an organization that helps single parents so they can continue with their education. Read more

Andrea Cattani and a friend were shopping at Costco when she said she may not return to college because juggling school, work, and childcare costs for her infant daughter were overwhelming. At the time, the single mom was so strapped, she barely had money for gas and diapers.

Then a stranger who had overheard their conversation stepped forward with information that changed Cattanis life. She told her about Moms House, a small, Phoenixville-based charity that provides free day care so low-income, single parents can continue their education.

That night Cattani called Moms House and put in an application. Soon after, she and her daughter, Logan, then 6 months old, were accepted into the charitys program.

I probably would have given up school, said Cattani, 22, of Upper Merion. Now a senior psychology major at West Chester University, she works full-time as a fork-lift driver for Costco and is thinking of pursuing her masters degree.

They give you a sense of independence, Cattani said of Moms House. The community there made me feel stronger.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about half of teen mothers go on to earn a high school degree by age 22. Their children are more at risk for health problems and lower school achievement: They tend to drop out of high school, give birth as a teens, be incarcerated at some time during their adolescence and face unemployment as young adults at a higher rate than others.

Moms House hopes to break that cycle by providing free childcare for children ages 3 months to 5 years old while their single parents continue full-time education  whether theyre in high school, studying for a GED, or attending a technical school or college. Most of the parents choose schools that are close to Moms House, including Immaculata University, Montgomery Community College, and Lansdale School of Business.

Childcare is what we do, but that is not our mission, said Wendy J. McKeon, executive director of Moms House.

The goal, she said, is to keep the family off public assistance and help parents get the education they need for higher-paying careers. The state-licensed day-care serves about 15 children at a time, providing meals, diapers, clothing, and other essentials.

In return, parents must volunteer two hours a week at the day-care, cleaning or helping with office work. Theyre also required to attend monthly parenting sessions, which cover a variety of topics like how to make a monthly budget, cooking, and even resume-writing. To date, the 33-year-old organization has provided assistance to 300 parents and 330 children.

We are basically just here for them, said McKeon, adding that the parents often come from families where education has not necessarily been a priority.

One of those parents, Nancy Fountain, now sits on the executive board of Moms House.

Back in 2009, there was no way Fountain, then 18, could have afforded childcare for her son, Matthew Hammer Jr., now 12, and an apartment on what she was earning.

Fountain, now a senior contract analyst for Accenture, a consulting firm, was a student at Perkiomen Valley High School when a teacher and school nurse helped her contact Moms House. They knew her goal was to be the first in her family to go to college. With the help of Moms House, grants, other funding for school  and a lot of discipline  Fountain was able to graduate debt-free from West Chester University.

 READ MORE: Why abstinence-only sex ed for preventing teen pregnancy doesnt make the grade

"Its a family, Fountain said of Moms House, where the staff, teachers, directors, and volunteers all get to know the children and clients. They were there to help when she needed support and advice. It is so much more than a chain childcare could provide.

Fountain, 31, of Skippack Township, said the program changed her life. After graduation, she bought a house, which she sold when she met and married her husband. Today they have three boys, ages 8 weeks, 3 and 12 years old.

The mission of Moms House recently caught the eye of volunteers at Next Level Trainings, a leadership program whose members help worthy causes. Next Level was able to raise $110,000 for the charity, which relies solely on donors for funding.

The programs volunteers felt a strong connection to the mission of Moms House, said Taylor Barto, 26, of Manayunk, a Next Level member.

To celebrate the conclusion of their fund-raiser, the 38 Next Level volunteers recently hosted (pre-coronavirus) Family Heart to Heart  Poetry for Parents and Kids at Home, a virtual check signing, and a donor-appreciation gala.

Its a celebration of the work theyre doing, said Barto.

When the group contacted McKeon of Moms House about doing a fund-raiser, she was shocked. She had never heard of Next Level and was struck by their generosity.

This will certainly help us as we head into a very uncertain year, said McKeon, referring to the pandemic and possible recession. It makes me want to cry. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

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.
Pretty Woman became an instant hit when it was released in 1990. Since then, people havent been able to get enough of the modern classic that tells the story of Vivian and Edward, two people with different social statuses who strike up a love affair in the lavish surroundings of Beverly Hills.

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts | Buena Vista/Getty Images

Though the premise of the film caught peoples interest right away, Julia Roberts and Richard Geres portrayals of the two lead characters are what makes this movie as iconic as it is today.

While we cant imagine anyone else starring as this dynamic duo, it turns out that Gere was initially dead set on not playing Edward but eventually decided to sign on, all because of Roberts.

Gere turned down the role several times

By now, everyones seen or knows the story of Pretty Woman. The film follows businessman Edward Lewis (Gere), who hires Hollywood prostitute Vivian (Roberts) to be his companion for a week after he gets dumped by his girlfriend over the phone.

After agreeing to stay with him in the lavish Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Vivian experiences the life of the ultra-rich for the first time. She receives etiquette lessons, gets makeovers, goes on shopping sprees, and is given the chance to rub elbows with the socially elite.

While Vivians getting a first-hand look at Edwards lavish world, hes able to get acquainted with her and begins to see that shes a lot more than just an escort.

After getting to know one another on a more personal level, the pair start falling for each other and eventually solidify their love during one of the most memorable movie endings ever.

Though Roberts and Gere did a fantastic job portraying the fortuitous lovers, starring together in the film almost didnt happen.

It turns out that the decision to cast Gere as Edward wasnt arrived at quickly. Before considering the actor to play the male lead, the films director, Garry Marshell, looked to a handful of well-known men to play the part including Al Pacino, Christopher Reeves, and Denzel Washington.

Marshall eventually settled on Gere, who he believed was the best fit for the role. However, the actor didnt feel the same way as he wasnt overly enthused with the character and turned down the part several times.

As a last resort, Marshall flew Roberts out to New York City to meet Gere and try to convince him to take the part.

While Gere was on the phone with Marshall  who was still trying to get him to agree to take on the role  Roberts passed him a Post-It note that read, please say yes. After seeing that, Gere agreed to star opposite of Roberts in the film and the rest is history.

Roberts and Gere built up a solid friendship with filming

While starring as Vivian and Edward in Pretty Women, it was clear that Roberts and Gere had undeniable chemistry that could have easily turned into a real-life romance.

But despite their powerful on-screen connection, the actors never explored a romantic relationship. Instead, they established a close friendship thats remained solid throughout the decades.

You can fake anything in this business except chemistry. When two people kiss, the audience knows if theres chemistry or not, and Richard and Julia had great chemistry, Marshall told The HuffPost in 2012.

Julia and I will always be connected, Gere previously said of their longstanding friendship while sitting down with The Guardian.

And to think, if it wasnt for Roberts convincing Gere to sign on for the movie, who knows if Pretty Woman would have become the rom-com classic it is today.
INDIANAPOLIS  Indiana state Rep. Jim Lucas is defending himself against accusations of racism  again  after he posted a photo on Facebook of black kids dancing with the words "We gon' get free money!"

Jeannine Lee Lake, an African American woman who is running as a Democrat against U.S. Rep. Greg Pence in the heavily Republican 6th Congressional District, was among several people who commented on Lucas's latest Facebook post saying it was racist.

"It makes me want to cry," she told IndyStar. "And that's the truth. I'm just amazed. He's a leader in our state. This is not Indiana. It's not the best of Indiana certainly. And it's sickening."

Reached this morning on his cell phone, Lucas, R-Seymour, said he doesn't see color and doesn't believe his post was racist. He's said he created the meme Monday night to protest federal bailouts that have created more debt for future generations. He happened to find a picture of black kids dancing in the meme generator, he said, but could have just as easily chosen a photo with white kids.

And, as for the language, he said that's how he and other people talk.

"I dont see anything wrong with it," he said. "People who want to find racism are going to find racism in anything."

Lucas, who has a history of controversial social media posts, defended himself similarly from similar accusations last August when he posted a photo of a hangman's gallows on a story about a black man who pleaded guilty to rape.

"This is just like that whole thing of when I used the picture of the gallows," Lucas said, "and everybody made an issue out of that because I used an image of a gallows on a post about a black professed rapist."

Lake pointed out the image is not representative of Lucas's district roughly between Indianapolis and Louisville. Seymour is 84% white, 13% Hispanic and 2% black.

Story continues

"He should know how that hearkens back to black face," she said, "that kind of heralding of mocking one's race. I'm sorry I don't think it's a mistake. I think he knew exactly what he was doing and I hope people express their outrage on his page."

Reaction on Facebook was mixed

As of late Tuesday morning, the meme had 128 comments and 24 shares.

Some folks, like Lake, indicated they were disgusted in the comments.

"This post is patently racist and inappropriate," said one person. "I expect much better from an elected official."

"I thought even you had more integrity than to post something this patently offensive," wrote one. "This is about as low as it gets. No need to respond to my comment. It's just sad that you can post something as offensive and racist as this and still get reelected."

Another said "the racist garbage comes out in you again. You are an embarrassment!"

And another simply asked: "What is wrong with you man."

Many others defended Lucas.

"Jim, you just can't win whatever you do," wrote one. "Hang in there, many support what you do."

Others defended what they saw as his larger point.

"Everyone sees that the dems are trying to buy votes and keep the economy down through the election - at any cost," wrote one. "Were all going to pay for this, not the elite politicians sticking our cash in their pockets."

Lucas adds more memes

Lucas pointed out he created several memes Monday night, including one saying people should think for themselves, one saying the Constitution does not allow for the stay-at-home order, and one expressing skepticism about the economy reopening when the coronavirus curve is flattened.

"It's a vicious circle," he told IndyStar. "The government puts people in a situation that makes them desperate. They shut down the businesses and they take away all of the options and the only option they have is the government giving them money."

After his interview with IndyStar, he created a new post this morning defending the meme, using a photo of the image he found on the meme generator without the added words.

"I used this STOCK PHOTO of a little boy dancing and celebrating," he said in the post, "because the government is handing out free money, to everyone, regardless of their skin color. I phrased it in a celebratory way and have danced and mocked things in that exact same manner myself."

He then posted a photo of several toothless white kids with the words: "We gon' get free money!" Then he posted a picture of himself, smiling, with an oversized yellow cowboy hat saying "We gon' get free money!"

"THIS is the kind of garbage that divides us," he wrote on Facebook. "I dont see nor look at the color of a persons skin and I find it repugnant of those that do. I apologize for nothing and the meme stays."

IndyStar left messages for reaction with the governor's office, the Speaker's office and the Indiana Republican Party.

If youve observed Rep. Lucas long enough," said GOP spokesman Jake Oakman,

"you know that his views are entirely his own.

Jim Lucas, Republican Representative, during the final scheduled day of the legislative session, Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis, Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

Lucas has a history of controversy

Lucas is a Marine, owns an awning company and was first elected in 2012. He's most known for his ardent support of gun rights and has a history of making controversial comments.

In June 2017, he posted a letter to Facebook saying women should arm themselves to avoid becoming victims of rape. While he indicated he wanted to empower women, others accused him of victim blaming.

In January 2017, Lucas was criticized for another Facebook post he shared after the post-inauguration Women's March. The post showed a police officer in riot gear, pepper-spraying a woman in the face, with the overlaying text: "Participation trophies, now in liquid form."

In December 2016, he posted a meme on Facebook of a woman in a car trunk with the caption: "Wanna know who loves you more: your wife or your dog? Lock them both in your trunk and see who's happy to see you when you let them out."

Lucas deleted and apologized for the posts in December 2016 and January 2017 after he received criticism from the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

He later said he believed those posts were blown out of proportion.

Follow Chris Sikich on Twitter: @ChrisSikich

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana lawmaker accused of racism for posting meme about 'free money'
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.
From a local records store and health and wellness business, to others selling clothing, fabrics, candy and gifts, Midland retailers are connecting with customers in a new shopping norm: Curbside pickup.

Records at curbside: Radio Wasteland still selling albums

Customers are still shopping at Radio Wasteland Records in Midland but instead of combing through dozens of crates of albums, they are watching for what's available online, ordering and then picking up their haul at curbside, much like the restaurants do these days.

Owner Jim Gleason said people are still eager to find records.

"Many tell us since they're staying at home so much more, they want new music to listen to," he said. "There's also a lot to be said about the importance of music to one's good mental health. Our curbside pickups on Fridays especially have been pretty busy, and we're finding that as more people find out we're offering it, the more they're taking advantage of it."

Gleason said the independent record store, located at 716 George St., also has been shipping records as well  locally, regionally and throughout the state.

Curbside pickup is offered during the afternoons on Fridays and Saturdays. And if there is enough demand, he hopes to expand to Thursdays and maybe even Wednesdays over the next couple of weeks.

Gleason describes the process this way: Record inventory lists are online (radiowasteland.net) so customers can browse virtually. It's not quite the same as crate digging, but it's the best we can do for now. We've also been posting regularly on our Facebook page  photos and our normal Friday and Saturday videos. Customers will either send a message or call to request records. We've been taking payment online via PayPal or credit card over the phone, then people will call the store when they get here and we'll run the records out to their vehicles.

Gleason said Radio Wasteland is getting hit with a double-whammy. The city has closed George Street for most of the summer for water main replacement and road re-construction. He recommends customers take State Street to Union Street and park at the side of the record store building for their pickups.

His business has taken a big hit with the closure, Gleason said.

"Obviously, a big part of going to a record store is having the ability to physically dig through bins to find (or discover) just the right record," he said. "We're doing OK with curbside pickups and shipping out records, but it's nowhere near the level of business we'd been doing before the shutdown. It's also been very frustrating to know that the big-box stores that sell records are still able to do so, while small, family owned, independent record stores like Radio Wasteland are not allowed to open, an argument I know many other small business that sell various products also have at the moment.

Another setback has been the cancellation of Record Store Day, which Gleason said is his biggest day of the year. Originally scheduled for April 18, the date was pushed to June but then canceled altogether. Instead, there will "RSD Drop Days" in August, September and October. Across those days, all of the exclusive record releases that were supposed to come out in April will be released.

"The aim of spreading out the days is meant to cut down on the crowd sizes turning out for the events," Gleason said. "Since this has never been done before, we'll just have to wait to see how it works."

All in all, Gleason said the store is weathering the closure.

"And I'm fairly confident that Radio Wasteland Records will make it through this shutdown and continue to be here for those looking for new and vintage vinyl in Midland well into the future."

Radio Wasteland Records can be reached at 989-486-9400.

Ways to Wellness: 'We're just happy to have the support'

Ways to Wellness owner Jeff Currier is glad that his business, at 122 West Main St. across from the H Hotel, has been allowed to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery since April 24.

He said that recent sales have helped somewhat to counter a big loss in sales due to a mandated closure of Michigan businesses that were deemed "non-essential" for more than a month.

"Sales are down 88% (since the mandated closure)," Currier said. "(But) during the 'stay home, stay safe' period, we're seeing about 30% more sales with curbside than we were without curbside."

Curbside pickup entails store staff bringing products out to customers waiting in their cars at the curb. In addition, Ways to Wellness offers free delivery (with no minimum purchase) anywhere in the city limits or nearby, and shipping for online or phone orders.

"Everything we carry (is available for purchase)," Currier said, noting that customers can place orders by phone or email and can FaceTime with store staff or find products at waystowellnessstore.com and the store's Facebook page.

"We're just happy to have the support (from customers)," Currier said.

Ways to Wellness, which has been operating for 10 years, is currently open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

"The things here in the store are natural approaches to keep you healthy, both mentally, physically and spiritually," Currier explained. "Our (popular) items are hand sanitizers, essential oils, purple teas, and gift packages to cheer people up."

Midland's Joann store offers masks kits along with curbside pick-up

Joann Fabric and Craft store in Midland is keeping busy with the increased need for face masks. In addition to offering curbside pick-up to customers, the store is aiding in the local effort to flatten the curve.

Weve been doing very well. I think the curbside option has kept us afloat, said Corinna Anderson, store manager.

The Midland Joann store is closed to pedestrian traffic but has been operating on a curbside pick-up basis since March 28. Those interested in shopping at Joann can make an order, including payment on its website and will be directed to the store where their items are available. The stores themselves will fulfill the requisition while the customer will receive an email notification that their order is ready for pickup. For those customers who dont have access to internet, they are able to call the store, but Anderson encourages those who can to make requisitions through the website.

Curbside pickup is available between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Once the customer arrives at the store, they are encouraged to drive up to the curb and call the stores number. An employee, always wearing a mask, will deliver the items, making sure to apply hand sanitizer once they re-enter the store.

Its a contact-free delivery, said Anderson. We drop off either in the trunk or through a back car window.

In addition to the fulfilled order, Joann offers free face mask kits to customers. Each kit contains the materials necessary to make six masks. Customers can either keep them for themselves or return it to stores, upon which the masks will be distributed to local hospitals and nursing homes. Anderson reported that the Midland store has distributed at least 200 completed masks; Joann has given out a total of 160 million.

The Midland Joann store has seen a boom in sales pertaining to making face masks, including thread, fabric and sewing machines.

For the most part, our business is the tools to make the masks, Anderson said. We have no elastic left.

The store did experience a slight lull during the first few days of the pandemic, said Anderson, but no employees were furloughed. About a third of the Midland employees applied for unemployment and the company has offered premium pay to those who choose to work in recognition of the health risks they face.

It shows that our company understands, Anderson said.

Joann is located at 1910 N. Saginaw Road. To place an order, visit www.joann.com or call the Midland store at 989-835-1511.

Heather 'n Holly: Curbside business somewhat helpful

Heather 'n Holly co-owner Aaron Gallagher says that while curbside and delivery sales over the past seven weeks have helped his business stay afloat, that won't be enough to sustain it in the long term.

Heather 'n Holly, a store at 228 East Main St. in Midland that specializes in custom-made gift baskets and candy, was among the businesses that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive order on March 23 closed to in-store shopping because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I'd say it's helpful, but it's not something that would be sustainable for many more months," Gallagher said on Monday of curbside and delivery sales. "It's helpful, but it's not a way we can operate for too much longer. It's a stopgap, something that they're using to get you through the shutdown period."

People can order by phone or online at heatherholly.com, and Gallagher said most customers pay in advance with a credit or debit card, which is the store's preferred method.

In addition to curbside pickup, Heather 'n Holly offers free delivery in Midland for orders of at least $20 by the next business day, and shipping of online orders within two to three days.

Outside of shipping, Gallagher estimates that about 60% of current sales are curbside and 40% are delivery.

"Our caramel corn and our boxes of chocolates (have been the most popular items lately)," Gallagher said.

Heather 'n Holly, which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., can be reached at 989-832-6460.

The ice cream that is popular at Heather 'n Holly in the summer cannot be sold until in-store shopping is authorized again by the governor, Gallagher said.

"We've had inquiries from people wanting to come in for ice cream," he said.
The novelist and essayist James Baldwin (left) talks to James G. Spady at the African American Museum in Philadelphia in March 1986. Read more

The new proposed Philadelphia budget for next year, presented at the beginning of the month in response to the financial havoc wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, eliminates the citys support for the African American Museum in Philadelphia  $231,000 that the museum says is critical to its continued operations.

The museum says the loss would deliver a serious blow to the institution, built by the city in the Bicentennial year of 1976.

Mayor Jim Kenney said that because of declining tax revenues, the city faces a $649 million hole in his original proposed $5.2 billion budget and that he had been forced to make truly painful decisions. City Council must approve the budget before the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.

Patricia Wilson Aden, the museums president and CEO, said that although the museum has radically reduced its reliance on public funding in recent years, the citys annual allocation has formed the bedrock of the museums operating budget of roughly $1.6 million.

At a time when the African American community has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aden continued, and as midsize museums like AAMP are particularly challenged to sustain their operations, the equitable financial support of the City of Philadelphia is even more crucial.

The citys support for the museum in recent years has been through the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, the main public agency nurturing the citys estimated $4.1 billion cultural sector.

The revised budget eliminates that office, and in so doing eliminates the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, a pool of unrestricted money that went to arts organizations in virtually every neighborhood of the city to cover all kinds of daily expenses. Last year, the Cultural Fund distributed a little over $3 million to 349 organizations.

(A petition launched last week at Change.org calls for continued city support of the arts and culture office; as of Tuesday morning, it had attracted more than 11,000 signatures.)

Funding for the African American Museum, the first municipally financed black museum in the country, is not broken out in the city budget. Its funding is part of the money set aside by the soon-to-vanish arts and culture office.

The new budget calls for ending $160,000 in support for Historic Philadelphia (HPI), the nonprofit that revitalized and operates Franklin Square and a string of storytelling locations throughout Independence National Historic Park and the historic district. Historic Philadelphia was funded through the Office of the City Representative, which was also axed in the revised budget.

Amy Needle, Historic Philadelphia president and chief executive, said the entire staff, including herself, is now on furlough. It is our hope that the city will restore some of HPI funding, Needle said. Seasonally, the organization employs about 70 full- and part-time staffers.

The Chinese Lantern Festival, which HPI has brought to Franklin Square every spring, has been postponed this year because of the pandemic, depriving the organization of the vast bulk of its revenue.

The African American Museum is not unfamiliar with rocky times. It went through five directors in its first decade. It lost nearly a half-million dollars in annual state funding. The city subsidy has dwindled from well over $300,000 to its current level of $231,000. At one point about 15 years ago, the museum ran out of money. More than a dozen staff members were laid off, and the institution teetered on the brink of closure.

But a new director, Romona Riscoe Benson, reorganized operations and stabilized the organization. Aden, who succeeded Benson in 2013, has worked to diversify funding sources and has focused the museum programmatically. Exhibitions such as Stephen Hayes powerful installation Cash Crop, and John Dowells Cotton: The Soft, Dangerous Beauty of the Past, have revitalized programming, which is now aimed at diverse audiences.

Kelly Lee, head of the arts and culture office, at least for the next few weeks, declined to comment. She is reportedly moving to another position in the Managing Directors Office.

For Valerie V. Gay, the Barnes Foundations deputy director for audience engagement and former director of Art Sanctuary, the African American Museum is beyond question the leading African American cultural institution in our region, not just the city but the entire region.

Gay said the cut would send a negative message about the citys commitment to fairness in funding, particularly in cultural programming.

The African American Museums position in the city is beneficial to everyone, just as the [Philadelphia Museum of Art] or the Barnes positions are, or the Franklin Institute or the Free Library. Institutions are absolutely important to our community, Gay said. Its disheartening and saddens me that they will be completely zeroed out ... at a time when our city is really starting to make strides around equity.

(The Art Museum receives an annual city subsidy, reduced from about $2.5 million to $2 million in the revised budget.)

Karen Warrington, a dancer and choreographer with Arthur Halls Afro-American Dance Ensemble in the 1960s and 70s, and later a journalist, broadcaster, filmmaker, and communications director for former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. and former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, is troubled by the withdrawal of city funding for the African American Museum.

In the 70s, the black community fought to get the museum built, and in 2020 we cannot lose it, Warrington said. It is just as important and relevant now as it was then, and in these very troubled and uncertain times, it may well be even more important.

City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the museum at Seventh and Arch Streets, said he has discussed the elimination of the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy  and the elimination of the African American Museum subsidy and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund  with his colleagues on City Council.

Were still trying to decipher everything that is cut and zeroed out in the budget, Squilla said Monday. Im not for zeroing out anything. I understand we have to make cuts, and everybody has to live with those cuts.

But coming back from the COVID crisis, he said, is going to be a major challenge for the city, which he said in a sense heightens the importance of enabling the survival of the African American Museum and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

The city needs arts and culture and museums back, places people can go and reimagine themselves, Squilla said.

Were going to need these outlets, our music and cultural activities that we have and that make people feel good about themselves. We need that more now than ever. So, I understand the cuts, and I think Council understands the cuts, and even the organizations understand the cuts, he said.

I think that thats the challenge we in Council are going to have to try to come up with to see if we could enable this to still operate.
Bolsonaro, whose signature campaign gesture was to point his finger to mime a handgun, has at several points since his inauguration last year hinted at deploying military force to maintain order. While protests roiled much of South America last year, he asked the National Congress for authority to use troops to stop any violence that might occur. His son and his finance minister took the rhetoric even further, musing it might be necessary to dissolve the legislature and shut down the press if, as Eduardo Bolsonaro said, the left radicalizes.
Bilzin Sumberg, one of Miamis powerhouses of real estate law, has fueled up its engines.

The Brickell-based commercial law firm has hired seven lawyers  from Stearns Weaver  to create a team focused on construction law. They include Joy Spillis Lundeen, Felix Rodriguez, Kelly Ruane Melchiondo, Johnathan Ayers, Michael Larmoyeux Jr., Alexander Leon and Katrina Flores. Lundeen will lead the group.

We look at the pandemic as the current normal. Our plan is to come out of it stronger than when we went into it, said Al Dotson Jr., managing partner of Bilzin Sumberg. Construction is ongoing in South Florida. Clients also require our counsel across the country and world. We do see an increase in infrastructure-related work, especially a need for construction expertise, [with] clients repositioning assets during construction and demand for construction finance.

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Previously, lawyers from different Bilzin Sumberg divisions worked on construction finance, litigation and contractors pursuing government-related work. Lundeen and her group, Dotson Jr. said, will primarily focus on negotiations for construction contracts and litigation.

Most of the conversations Lundeen has with her clients these days revolve around renegotiating construction time frames, litigation that comes from contract disputes and force majeure clauses, she said. Her clients include the ownership groups of Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Marlins, Codina Partners, the Comras Company, Newgard Development Group and the Bank of America Community Development Group.

Talks started in February between Dotson Jr. and Lundeen. Although the two knew each other since high school  both attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School  neither seriously considered working together until this year.

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A cultural fit is important to us. We also had clients in common, including Related and the Miami Dolphins, and clients recommend her attorneys. When youre hearing it from all corners  from the legal community, clients and personal interaction  that led us to make an offer to Joy and her group, Dotson Jr. said.

Looking ahead, Dotson Jr. said, Lundeen and her team will be working on contracts related to Virgin Trains expansion to Orlando.

Bilzin Sumberg was established in 1998. Lawyers are based in Miami and focus primarily on projects related to South Florida, but they also advise clients on their business and legal challenges throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, Canada, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has divisions focused on real estate, land development, government relations, environmental, corporate law, joint ventures, domestic and international tax and estate planning, business litigation, finance and public-private partnerships.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that "extreme vigilance" was needed as countries begin to exit from lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, amid global concerns about a second wave of infections.

Germany earlier reported an acceleration in new coronavirus infections after it took early steps to ease its lockdown. South Korea, another country that had succeeded in limiting virus infections, has seen a new outbreak in nightclubs.

"Now we are seeing some hope as many countries exit these lockdowns," Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergencies programme, told an online news briefing, but he added that "extreme vigilance is required".

"If the disease persists at a low level without the possibility to investigate clusters there's always the possibility that the virus takes off again," he said.

Governments around the world are struggling with the question of how to reopen their economies while still containing COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the same briefing that lifting restrictions was "complex and difficult" and that the "slow, steady lifting of lockdowns" was key.

Tedros said that Germany, South Korea and China all had systems in place to respond to any resurgence in cases.
YEREVAN.  Mr. Tatoyan, you have mentioned in your report that a woman is an independent, righteous, and dignified person; it was inappropriate, to put it mildly. Vagharshak Hakobyan, a member of the majority My Step faction, stated this Tuesday during the discussion of the Human Rights Defender's 2019 report in the National Assembly of Armenia, addressing the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), Arman Tatoyan.

According to the MP, noting with only a few lines that a woman is a personand a dignified one, in thatimpermissible. "You should have spoken more comprehensively about women's rights, as we [Armenia] have a lot of [respective] achievements (). I hope you will address this in your final report," Hakobyan said, in particular.

Also, he stressed that it is wrong to try to use the increase in the role of women in the public administration system with incomprehensible quotas, and in fact, we should start with upbringing in the society.
Gov't inquiry, dialogue required for resolution



A regrettable feud has erupted between Lee Yong-soo, a 92-year-old survivor of wartime sex slavery by colonial Japan, and Yoon Mi-hyang, former head of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.



Lee made bombshell remarks last week when she said she was quitting the Wednesday rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul that shed light on sex slavery issues. She blamed Yoon -- a lawmaker-elect under the proportional representation system for a party affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea -- for not making sincere efforts to elicit a formal apology from the Japanese government and compensation.



Lee also accused the council of misappropriating money donated for the welfare of the former "comfort women." The council apologized Monday for causing pain and disappointment, but denied the accusation. The council refused to disclose any financial documents, saying nongovernment organizations were not obliged to do so. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family should launch an investigation into the council to confirm the misappropriation allegations.



For her part, Yoon expressed regret, but dismissed another allegation that she pocketed the council's money to finance her daughter's studies in the U.S.



Lee is among the 18 surviving victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery registered with the government. She has been a staunch voice in denouncing the crimes against humanity, contributing to a larger women's peace movement in Korea



The council and Yoon should answer the complaints that they have neglected protecting the rights of the slavery victims and addressing their grievances. Yoon, in particular, needs to pay heed to what Lee said. No one can easily understand why Lee and Yoon, who worked together for the past 28 years to denounce Japan's wartime atrocities, are now at odds with each other.



Lee also raised the issue that Yoon failed to notify the survivors about the 1 billion yen ($9.3 million) compensation that Tokyo had agreed to pay under a 2015 agreement with Seoul. She blasted both Yoon and the foreign ministry for not holding any prior consultations with the victims to gather their opinions about the agreement.



The deal with Japan under the then Park Geun-hye administration was shelved by the Moon Jae-in administration, which stated that the surviving victims had not agreed to it.



Yoon, however, blasted the row with Lee as a political scheme led by the conservative bloc including the main opposition United Future Party to discredit her election as a lawmaker.



Both the ruling and opposition blocs should refrain from attempts to claim the moral high ground in this dispute. No constituent is willing to be party to dragged-out political warfare in these pressing times, when it has the possibility to do more harm than good to Korea.










Australia's treasurer said Tuesday the country faces a sobering economic outlook due to the effects of the coronavirus and will have its largest-ever deficit when a revised budget is released in October.

The 2020-21 federal budget was due to be released Tuesday. But the government was forced to delay it until it assesses the full economic cost of the coronavirus.

Overall, the economic data has been sobering, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Parliament on the first day of a scheduled three-day sitting this week. He said he expects gross domestic product (GDP) will fall more than 10% in the June quarter, representing the biggest fall on record.

Frydenberg did not say what the government's deficit will be. The financial year in Australia ends on June 30.

The federal government allocated more than 230 billion Australian dollars ($148 billion) in stimulus measures, more than half of that aimed at helping eligible employers keep their businesses afloat.

Given the level of uncertainty, our economic measures provide more than financial relief, Fydenberg said. They provide a psychological boost as well. Frydenberg said opposition demands for more support for employers and employees during the pandemic was not likely to happen.

Australians know there is no money tree, Frydenberg said. What we borrow today, we must repay in the future. Temporary and targeted, the new spending measures were not designed to go forever but to build a bridge to the recovery phase.

Frydenberg said the underlying cash deficit at the end of March was A$22.4 billion ($14.4 billion), almost A$10 billion ($6.5. billion) higher than the government forecast in December's midyear budget update.

When Frydenberg released the 2019-20 budget in April 2019, he said Australia was back in the black, with a A$7.1 billion ($4.6 billion) surplus forecast this financial year. But the government revised its surplus forecast to A$5 billion ($3.2 billion) in December -- before devastating wildfires and the coronavirus hit the Australian economy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Newser)  Militants stormed a maternity hospital Tuesday in the western part of Kabul, Afghanistan, setting off an hourslong shootout with police and killing 14 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers, and nurses, Afghan officials say. The AP reports that while the battle was underway, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, per images shared by the Interior Ministry. Soon after the attack started, black smoke rose into the sky over the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighborhood that has been the site of many past attacks by Islamic State militants. Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said more than 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building before it was over, including three foreign nationals. Arian said 15 others, including women, men, and children, were wounded in the attack.

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It was unclear why the 100-bed hospital was targetedan attack Arian said was an "act against humanity and a war crime." No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and ISIS frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved. "The forces are trying to eliminate the terrorists and bring the situation under control," said Arian while the battle was ongoing. A few hours after the attack started, the ministry released a statement saying all three attackers were dead. The foreign ministry of neighboring Pakistan said both that attack and one Tuesday on a funeral in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, in which 24 were killed and 68 wounded, "are particularly despicable as they take place in the holy month of Ramadan and at a time when Afghanistan is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic."

(Read more Kabul stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:46:00|Editor: huaxia

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Li Hao, a Zambian student from Shenyang Aerospace in Shenyang, northeast China, has been broadcasting information on epidemic control through campus TV to help international students. Check out what his life is like amid COVID-19 pandemic #coronavirus #FightVirus
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend

As many as 1,481 people have been infected with 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 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus over the past day.

Jahanpur added that the condition of 2,713 people is serious and critical.

The spokesman said that no deaths were registered in 14 of Iran's 31 provinces over the past 24 hours. One death was registered in 5 provinces.

So far, more than 615,000 tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus.

Iran is one of the countries heavily affected by the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 110,700 people have been infected 6,733 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 88,300 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.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 4, 2020) - SOPerior Fertilizer Corp. (TSX: SOP) ("SOP" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it continues to advance the Blawn Mountain Project in Beaver County, Utah. The Blawn Mountain Project is focused on the exploration, development and production of mineral resources for alunite in order to produce SOP, co-product sulphuric acid and alumina. The Blawn Mountain Project is comprised of 23.5 sections of land owned by the State of Utah, acting by and through the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration ("SITLA"), and covering approximately 15,403 acres (6,233 hectares) of land located in Beaver County, Utah. In the April 24/2017 Blawn Mtn Prefeasibility Report, the NI 43-101 reserves were estimated at 10.6 MT SOP, 24.1MT Sulfuric acid, with 19.4MY of alumina resources.

The Company has spent significant time and effort in advancing various opportunities to fast track the development of the Blawn Mountain Project and is now seeking to position the expertise both from a board of directors and management perspective that will better define the objectives of the Company and advance this large world class project.

Upon closing of the Private Placement, as defined below, it is expected that Mr. R. Bruce Duncan, Olga Nikitovic, E. Richard Klue, Arthur Roth, Andrew Squires and Ian Smith will tender their resignations as directors and/or officers of the Company. Mr. Andrew Squires and Mrs. Olga Nikitovic will continue with the Company in a consultancy role, as needed.

In addition, the Company is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 160,000,000 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at an offering price of CAD$0.025 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $4,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of a Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an Exercise price of $0.10 per Warrant Share at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the date which is four (4) years from the closing date of the Private Placement. The price of $0.025 per Unit is equal to the current market price (as such term is defined in the TSX Company Manual (the "Manual")) of the SOP Common Shares. Currently, SOP has 215,568,839 Common Shares issued and outstanding. Assuming the Private Placement is fully subscribed, the number of Common Shares comprising a part of the Units issuable by the Company will be 160,000,000, representing a 74.2% dilution to the current issued and outstanding Common Shares on a pre-Private Placement basis (240,000,000 Common Shares representing a 111.3% dilution assuming exercise of the Warrants).

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In connection with the Private Placement, the Company may pay certain eligible persons a cash commissions of up to 6% of the proceeds raised by such eligible person and issue finder's warrants equal to 6% of the Units issued to subscribers introduced to the Company by such eligible persons (the "Finder's Warrants"). Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance.

The net proceeds of the Private Placement shall be used primarily to pay outstanding obligations, including without limitation $1,970,000 (US$1,440,000) owing to Lind Asset Management VII, LLC ("Lind") and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Company is proposing to issue 6,000,000 Common Share purchase warrants (the "Lind Warrant"). Each Lind Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire a Common Share at an exercise price of $0.065 per Common Share for a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance. As consideration for the issuance of the Lind Warrants Lind has agreed to forbear on exercising it security over the assets of the Company and purchase 12,000,0000 Units in the Private Placement.

Closing of the Private Placement is subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). In this regard, in the event that the Private Placement could result in the issuance of Common Shares to the subscribers in excess of 25% of the number of currently issued and outstanding Common Shares and would materially affect control of the Company.

Closing of the Private Placement is anticipated to occur on or about May 15, 2020.

The Common Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The Common Shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1993, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold unless an exemption from registration is available. The Common Shares will be issued on a private placement basis pursuant to an exemption from registration provided by Regulation D under the U.S. Securities Act.

The Company is in serious financial difficulty as a result of defaulting under a convertible debt facility provided by Lind in 2017 and the inability of the Company to secure sufficient third-party financing over the last 24 months in the current difficult market conditions. Given the situation, the Company has immediate capital needs and cannot fund its current obligations necessary in order to comply with the terms of the Note and continue permitting work and maintain its Blawn Mountain Project in good standing.

Pursuant to Section 604(e) of the Manual, the Company has applied for an exemption from the shareholder approval requirements of the TSX, on the basis of financial hardship, given that the Company is in serious financial difficulty with limited alternatives and the immediacy of the Company's need to address its financial obligations through the Private Placement does not afford it sufficient time to hold a special shareholders meeting. If granted, the Company will avail itself of the shareholder approval exemption.

The Company expects that, as a consequence of its financial hardship application, the TSX will place SOP under remedial delisting review, which is normal practice when a listed issuer seeks to rely on this exemption. No assurance can be provided as to the outcome of such review and therefore, continued qualification for listing on the TSX.

NEITHER THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

SOPERIOR FERTILIZER CORP.

"R. Bruce Duncan"

Executive Chairman and Director

Contact Information

E-mail inquiries: info@SOPfertilizer.com

P: (416) 362-8640

www.SOPfertilizer.com

About SOPerior Fertilizer Corp.

SOPerior Fertilizer Corp. is a Canadian based exploration and development company with a unique opportunity to develop a SOP and alumina rich material project into long-term mining production. The Company's Blawn Mountain Project consists of four areas of surface mineable alunite mineralization in the State of Utah. Alunite is a sulfate mineral ore rich in both SOP and alumina. Located in a mining friendly jurisdiction with established infrastructure nearby, the project covers approximately 15,404 acres of state-owned land and has a known permitting process. Extensive development was completed in the 1970s including a mine plan, feasibility study and 3-year pilot plant operation. SOPerior has a highly qualified and proven management team in place with significant financial, project management and operational experience and the ability to take projects into production.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com ).

Not for distribution to the U.S. newswire or for dissemination in the United States

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55310
MaskMarket.com Protective masks are essential to stay safe and whether you want to proudly display your companys logo at work or your love for a favorite show or superhero, you can do so comfortably and stylish and with peace-of-mind," said Fred Hajjar, Co-Owner of MaskMarket.com with his brother Mark.

The high demand for face masks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and desire to support frontline workers were motivating factors that led brothers and founders of TVStoreOnline.com and UglyChristmasSweater.com, Fred and Mark Hajjar, to launch MaskMarket.com, one of the first PPE face mask suppliers to offer customized options.

The website will feature a face mask design tool, allowing customers to create a personalized or brandable face masks using uploaded images, logos or artwork. MaskMarket.com ensures fast production turnaround within 24 hours of finalized order and offers standard (four to seven days) and expediated shipping (two to four days) options.

As the world navigates through the era of COVID-19, face masks are standard wear for everyone and my brother Mark and I wanted to supply them to meet the growing demand and support our frontline workers at the same time, said Fred Hajjar, Co-Founder of MaskMarket.com. Protective masks are essential to stay safe and whether you want to proudly display your companys logo at work or your love for a favorite show or superhero, you can do so comfortably and stylish and with peace-of-mind.

For each mask sold, the company will donate a specially produced five-filter version to a frontline worker through the American Hospital Associations 100 Million Mask Challenge. Made in America, MaskMarket.coms protective masks are reusable, machine washable and available with or without anti-microbial filter inserts.

Customized face masks begin at $17.95 per unit with discounted pricing for bulk orders starting at $12.95 per unit for quantities of 25. In addition to customized options, Mask Market also offers an array of stock design ready-to-ship masks for adults and children available with or without a filter insert.

To order or for more information, visit maskmarket.com. For bulk orders, please call 248-888-0996.

About MaskMarket.com

MaskMarket.com produces designs and produces reusable, machine washable PPE face masks made in the U.S.A. Available in stock styles or create a customizable design with a favorite image or logo. For each mask sold, MaskMarket.com will donate a five-layer filter protected face mask to essential workers. To order or for more information, visit maskmarket.com.
Fishing tackle, boats and bait are being prepared for an assault on the deep the length of the Victorian coastline, and nowhere is the activity more intent than in Portland, the states oldest fishery.

Its been frustrating, to be honest, says one of Portlands keenest fishers, Bob McPherson. Hes talking about the ban on fishing that was imposed many weeks ago by the Victorian government as it sought to keep the state in lockdown against the spread of the coronavirus.

McPhersons frustration was compounded by all the spare time he has had on his hands.

Portland Sport & Game Fishing Club member Bob McPherson in his 6.5 metre boat on the harbour Credit:Robin Sharrock

He runs a plumbing business, but for the first time in 37 years, he found the call on plumbing services dropped so markedly that his business was fortunate if there were jobs for just two or three days a week. He had to ask his employees to take part of their long-service leave.
(Bloomberg) --

Twitter Inc. will let employees work from home permanently even after health authorities allow workers to return to their offices when the danger of the Covid-19 outbreak recedes.

Chief Executive Office Jack Dorsey told employees San Francisco-based Twitter was unlikely to open its offices before September, but that even when the company does so, most employees can work from wherever they want, according to a blog to be posted Tuesday. Buzzfeed earlier reported the policy.

If our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen, Twitter said in the post. If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel its safe to return.

The company has more than 35 offices worldwide, including in Paris, New York and Toronto.

Weve been very thoughtful in how weve approached this from the time we were one of the first companies to move to a work-from-home model, Twitter said in a statement. Well continue to be, and well continue to put the safety of our people and communities first.

The announcement follows directives from Alphabet Inc.s Google and Facebook Inc. that their employees should expect to work from home for the rest of the year. The clarity will help employees make longer-term plans about where they decide to live and what office equipment they choose to purchase for their homes.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Technavio has been monitoring the feed yeast market and it is poised to grow by USD 558.26 mn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 5% 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/20200512005578/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Feed Yeast 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. Alltech Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Co., Associated British Foods Plc, Cargill Inc., ForFarmers NV, Kemin Industries Inc., Lallemand Inc., Land O'Lakes Inc., Lesaffre Cie, and Nutreco NV., are some of the major market participants. Although the increase in livestock population globally will offer immense growth opportunities, growing demand for natural feed additives will challenge the growth of the market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

The increase in livestock population globally has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, the growing demand for natural feed additives might hamper market growth.

Feed Yeast Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Feed Yeast Market is segmented as below:

Product Poultry Ruminant Swine Aquaculture Others

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



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Feed Yeast 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 feed yeast market report covers the following areas:

Feed Yeast Market Size

Feed Yeast Market Trends

Feed Yeast Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the growing demand for meat and poultry as one of the prime reasons driving the feed yeast market growth during the next few years.

Feed Yeast Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the feed yeast market, including some of the vendors such as Alltech Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Co., Associated British Foods Plc, Cargill Inc., ForFarmers NV, Kemin Industries Inc., Lallemand Inc., Land O'Lakes Inc., Lesaffre Cie, and Nutreco NV. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the feed yeast market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Feed Yeast Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist feed yeast market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the feed yeast market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the feed yeast market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of feed yeast market vendors

Table Of Contents :

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value Chain Analysis

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market Outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

Market segmentation by product

Comparison by product

Poultry Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Ruminant Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Swine Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Aquaculture Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by product

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Rise in investments by vendors

Growing demand for meat and poultry

Increase in global fish production

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Alltech Inc.

Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Associated British Foods Plc

Cargill Inc.

ForFarmers NV

Kemin Industries Inc.

Lallemand Inc.

Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Lesaffre Cie

Nutreco NV

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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The Dagbon Forum (DF), a non-profit youth development association, has donated sanitary materials to 12 hospitals and three palaces in the Northern Region to help in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).



The beneficiary hospitals are the Tamale Central, Yendi, Sagnarigu, Savelugu and Gushegu, Nanton, Tolon, Karaga, Mion, Kumbungu and Zabzugu hospitals.



The palaces are the Gbewaa, Mion and Yoo-yili.



Among the items donated were Veronica buckets, large quantities of liquid soap, hand sanitisers and tissue rolls.



Significance



The National Vice-President of the forum, Alhaji Sintaro Mahama, said the donation was to complement the governments efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the region and the nation at large.



He said the DF was committed to contributing towards the health of the people in the current trying times.



He called on all sections of society to work diligently towards preventing the spread of the virus, as it posed a threat to lives.



He also urged the people to continue to observe physical distancing, adhere to the other safety measures of handwashing under running water with soap, wearing of nose masks and the regular use of hand sanitisers to prevent the spread of the virus.



Mr Mahama entreated the government, traditional leaders, civil society groups and local communities to work towards addressing the negative economic and social impact of COVID-19.



Appreciation



The Administrator of the Tamale Central Hospital, Mr Abdulai Fatawu, on behalf of the beneficiary hospitals, said the items had come at the right time when the hospitals needed them most.



He said one of the major challenges facing the Tamale Central Hospital was the lack of adequate PPE and gave an assurance that the items would be used for their intended purpose.



He indicated that attendance at the hospital had reduced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A drive-thru clinic for COVID-19 testing is busy again with cars at Ewha University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, as an infection cluster that was traced back to a nightclub area in Itaewon spreads across the country. /Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Concerns are growing at schools as nearly 90 foreign English teachers were found to have recently visited Itaewon in Seoul, a new COVID-19 hot spot connected to more than 90 confirmed coronavirus cases, education officials said Tuesday.





Foreigners wait to take COVID-19 tests at a clinic set up at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The family was on the way to Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh with other migrant labourers amid the lockdown.

Barwani: A 30-year old woman who was traveling from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh in a truck with her migrant labourer husband gave birth to a baby boy in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district, an official said on Tuesday.

The woman, named Deepa, began to have labour pains so her husband had the truck stopped at Balsamud Barrier on the intervening night of 10 May and 11 May, said a local official.

The family was on the way to Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh with other migrant labourers amid the lockdown.

Dr Faizal Ali, a physician based in Ojhar, said he rushed to the spot upon being informed, only to find that the woman had already delivered a baby by the side of Mumbai-Agra Highway (NH-3).

He then took the woman to the Ojhar primary health centre in an ambulance, Dr Ali said, adding that the baby was healthy and weighed around 3.4 kg.

Achhevar Lal, the woman's husband, said he decided to leave Mumbai as he was jobless since the last week of March.

He asked the truck driver to stop as his wife was in unbearable pain and she delivered by the roadside, he said.

Follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak here

The couple already has two daughters, aged three years and one-and-a-half years.

The woman and the baby were discharged from the hospital on Monday morning as other travelers in the truck said they wanted to resume the journey, Dr Ali said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmygal and German Chancelor Angela Merkel held video negotiations - their first talks since the Ukrainian official's appointment

Ukraine's Premier Denys Shmygal and German leader Angela Merkel held their first talks via video connection. The press service of Ukraine's Cabinet reported that on May 12.

These were their first talks since the Ukrainian official's appointment.

The Ukrainian official claimed that European and Euratlantic integration remain priority of Ukraine's foreign political course.

"I hope that Germany, during the presidency in the Council of the EU in the second half of 2020 will provide a clear signal on Ukraine's European future", the head of the government said.

Shmygal also brought up the issue of gaining industrial visa free regime with the EU member countries, as well as Ukraine's entry to the EOP, the NATO's Extended Opportunities Partnership.

The sides talked through joint measures that could be planned in order to withstand the spread of Covid-19 disease. According to Nuernberger-blatt, Merkel promised to consider support for Ukraine.

During the virtual meeting, the sides also discussed issues of transformation of regions that are rich in coal. The German chancellor claimed her country would willingly involve in the pilot project on one of Ukrainian coal mines.
NORTHBROOK, Ill., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Global, the world's premier authority on asset valuation, monetization, and advisory solutions, announced today that H19 Capital, LLC (a joint venture between Hilco Global and NY based Colbeck Capital Management) acquired substantially all of the assets of the transportation and truck leasing company, 19th Capital, in a multi-million dollar transaction which closed on May 1, 2020.

19th Capital is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and provided asset financing for the North American transportation industry, including truck leasing, and fleet management services. In the private sale transaction completed on May 1, 2020, the new H19 Capital purchased thousands of semi-trucks and trailers, all trucking service and support machinery & equipment, all intellectual property, and a substantial portfolio of accounts receivable, including over 600 existing truck leases. Additionally, the deal includes taking over the lease of two truck yards and the 136,000 square foot facility located at 9702 E. 30th St. in Indianapolis, IN with its engine maintenance, detailing, body and paint shops with a total combined yard capacity to store over 1700 trucks.

In an all company meeting held in Indianapolis on May 1, Hilco Global executives announced that they plan to continue to operate the transportation and truck leasing company, and will continue selling and servicing trucks and managing the current lease portfolio while restructuring the operation to be more efficient as a going concern. During the meeting executives indicated that it would save at least 55 jobs that otherwise would have been eliminated by the end of the year.

Steve Tanzi, President of Hilco Performance Solutions said, "The acquisition of 19th Capital demonstrates the unique capabilities of the Hilco Global platform. The Hilco Valuation Services team was able to properly value the business so that we could develop an appropriate performance improvement and restructuring plan to continue to operate the company." Tanzi added, "At the same time, Hilco Receivables and Hilco Commercial & Industrial units will begin monetizing all underperforming machinery & equipment, Account Receivables, and current trucking inventory."

Jason Colodne, Managing Partner of Colbeck noted, "Colbeck is proud to partner with Hilco on the acquisition of 19th Capital. We value our long-standing relationship with Hilco and believe they are among the best in the business of valuing and monetizing assets."

Leading the new going concern in Indianapolis will be Steven Tanzi, President of Hilco Performance Solutions who will serve as Chief Executive Officer; Bryan Courcier Senior Vice President Hilco Valuation Services will serve as Chief Operating Officer; and Buddy Beaman Executive Vice President at Hilco Receivables will serve as Chief Commercial Officer.

Bryan Courcier said, "Hilco has been active in the transportation sector for many years and we believe this transaction provides us with an ideal platform to monetize additional transportation and trucking assets going forward. We look forward to restructuring and expanding operations in Indianapolis."

About Hilco Global : Hilco Global (www.hilcoglobal.com) is a privately held diversified financial services company and the world's preeminent authority on maximizing the value of assets for both healthy and distressed companies. Hilco Global operates as a holding company comprised of over twenty specialized business units that work to help companies understand the value of their assets and then monetize that value. Hilco Global has a 30-year track record of acting as an advisor, agent, investor and/or principal in any transaction. Hilco Global works to deliver the best possible result by aligning interests with clients and providing them strategic insight, advice, and, in many instances, the capital required to complete the deal. Hilco Global is based in Northbrook, Illinois and has 600 professionals operating on five continents.

About Colbeck: Colbeck (www.colbeck.com) is a strategic lender that partners with companies during periods of transition, providing creative capital solutions to meet their evolving needs when traditional sources of capital may not be readily available. Initially founded in 2009 by Jason Colodne and Jason Beckman, Colbeck's principals have over 75 years of experience managing credit investing businesses and have underwritten over $22B of total loan volume. Colbeck has offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

About 19th Capital: 19th Capital Group, including the operating division Quality, provided asset financing and fleet management solutions for operators of Class 8 fleets across the North American trucking industry.

MEDIA CONTACT

Gary C. Epstein

Hilco Global

Executive Vice President  CMO

[email protected]

+1 847 418 2712

SOURCE Hilco Global

Related Links

www.hilcoglobal.com


The NHRC has issued notices to the Delhi government and the Union home secretary over a compliant alleging negligence in treatment of a city police constable who eventually died due to coronavirus.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Human Rights Commission has also observed that the "incident also indicates that perhaps the hospital authorities are lacking in infrastructure and right approach to deal with the COVID-19 patients".

"The hospitals are required to tackle the situation very sensibly with a humane approach," it said.

The NHRC has issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary and the Union home secretary based on a complaint and a media report alleging "negligence in treatment" of the city police constable who died of coronavirus.

"They have been asked to submit a report within four weeks. It is expected to include the standard operating procedure (SOP) adopted by the hospitals for the COVID-19 patients and status of its implementation," it said.

Issuing the notices, the Commission has observed that the police personnel, doctors, paramedical staff of the hospitals who are frontline fighters to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The complainant has said that the deceased, aged 32 years, was taken to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital by one of his colleagues where a test was conducted on him for COVID-19. He was not admitted in the hospital.

The constable later, complained of breathlessness and he was taken to RML Hospital, but he died on the way.

The Commission said it has also come across reports regarding this incident, which claims the constable was taken to a COVID-19 centre at Haidarpur from where he was diverted to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital.

The patient kept waiting for hours and then he was taken to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital from where he was referred to a COVID-19 centre at Ashok Vihar where the doctors agreed to admit him on condition that he will have to manage everything on his own.

The colleague accompanying him told them that he is not even able to talk and will not be able to manage, the report said.

He was taken home and the matter was taken up with higher authorities of Delhi Police. Later, the patient was directed to be taken to the RML Hospital where he could not reach and died en route, it said.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Tuesday mounted to 7,639, with 406 new cases, while the death toll mounted to 86.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As Tesla defies a local order prohibiting the return of manufacturing, the state of Michigan - one of the biggest coronavirus hotspots in the United States - moved to reopen automobile manufacturing on Monday.

CEO Elon Musk stated his company will follow Governor Gavin Newsom's move to Stage 2 of the state's reopening plan, which allows for the return of retail and manufacturing with physical distancing measures put in place. In a Sunday statement, Tesla stated Newsom's plan "is supported by science and credible health data," and criticized Alameda County for enforcing a stricter order that does not permit manufacturing to return.

"All other auto companies in US are approved to resume," Musk tweeted Monday. "Only Tesla has been singled out. This is super messed up!"
China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday said it will launch a platform in collaboration with Xinhua News Agency to show the best of the online products of the country's museums.

The launch will be part of a series of events scheduled for May 18, the International Museum Day, in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, according to the administration at a press briefing.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, museums across the country have been delivering fine cultural products online via various forms such as online exhibitions, virtual galleries and digital museums, which received a warm response from the public, it said.

Based on that, the administration will work with Xinhua News Agency for the first time in collecting and displaying the best online exhibition products on the platform, which will also feature livestreams with celebrities and experts to interpret the products and explore approaches to innovatively convert and develop fine traditional Chinese culture, according to the administration.

China joined the International Council of Museums in 1983 and has held events themed by the International Museum Day annually since.
In the northwest (Idlib province) the February ceasefire is still technically in effect. That has only slowed down the fighting and military buildup. Since February the Turks have sent more than 3,000 more military vehicles into Syria and more than a brigade of troops. There are over 10,000 Turkish troops in Idlib and adjacent Aleppo provinces, along with nearly as many Syrian mercenaries. In March Turkey and Russia forced Syria to agree to a ceasefire in Idlib. That agreement has been increasingly violated by uncooperative Islamic terror groups in Idlib. Turkey is held responsible for this as it is the Turks who support trying to negotiate with the disunited Islamic terror groups trapped in Idlib.

Technically all Islamic terrorists in Idlib belong to the HTS (Hayat Tahrir al Sham), which al Qaeda supports but does not entirely trust. HTS is a coalition of coalitions and many of the factions still do not trust each other. The major fear is that another faction, or even HTS leadership, has made a deal with Turkey which, so the story goes, wants to control HTS as a sort of Sunni Hezbollah and use it to drive Shia Iran and its Lebanese Hezbollah out of Syria. Many HTS leaders do have a history of working with the Turks. Russia and Syria have reason to believe the Turks are actually supporting some of the HTS factions in Idlib. The Turks do support moderate Islamic terror groups but refuse to outright admit it. This policy is unpopular with Israel and Western nations as well as Syria, Iran and Russia. Many Turks also oppose any pro-terrorist policy but the current Turkish government is controlled by an Islamic party that favors cooperation with some Islamic terror groups to protect Turks from the more rabid Islamic terrorists. Syria used to play this game and it did not work out well. It rarely does but, for many shortsighted politicians, it is still an attractive option. Currently, HTS is trying to crack down on uncooperative Islamic terrorist factions in Idlib. This is difficult and so far not completely successful. HTS wants to do this without triggering major armed resistance. So far the worst resistance has been a few bombings. This is a favorite for Islamic terror groups who are feuding. That and assassination of each others leaders.

The Iranian Fade

Israel believes Iran is backing away from Syria. Not exactly abandoning Syria, but not replacing personnel and material losses, mainly from the Israeli bombing campaign. The primary Iranian problem is financial. The sanctions, lower oil prices, mismanagement of the economy back in Iran and now the coronavirus losses have substantially reduced the amount of cash Iran can spend on foreign wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Syria is the most expensive of those foreign adventures and the most unpopular one with most Iranians. Over $15 billion has been spent on keeping the Assads in power and Iranians note that their current poverty would be much more tolerable if all those billions were spent on problems most Iranians face daily. In the last year, Iran has cut payments to Hezbollah by more than fifty percent and reduced the number of mercenaries in Syria as well as cash support for the Syrian economy. Iran is still providing free oil, which the Assads often sell on the black market.

The Quadruple Alliance of Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran that defeated the Syrian rebels is coming apart on how to deal with the last two rebel concentrations. Russia is threatening to cut much, or all, if its support for the Assad government if the Assads do not cooperate and back off on their attacks in Idlib province. Al Qaeda groups hold about half of Idlib province in the northwest and small portions of adjacent Aleppo and Hama provinces. ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) still has scattered, but active, factions in the east (Deir Ezzor province) .

Iran still backs the Assads but is not willing or able to force the Russians to remain in Syria. What also annoys the Russians is the extent of the corruption by the Assads, who have been stealing Russian and Iranian aid as well as portions of the government's budget. The Assad clan seems more concerned about their own survival than they do of Syrias. Iran has been the powerful patron of the Assads since the 1980s and now have more influence over Syrian affairs than the Russians. The Iranians are not willing to do anything about the Assad Clan misconduct, at least not right now.

The Russian alliance with Turkey is coming apart over differences in how to deal with the war in Syria. For Russia, it is a foreign affairs sort of problem. For Turkey, it is very much a domestic issue. The major issue is refugees from Syria. These refugees are not a problem for Russia, but for the Turks it is very different. Turkish public opinion is hostile to the Syrian refugees they host, as well as the smaller number of Afghan, Iraqi and other Moslem refugees. Many of these are not refugees but economic migrants willing to do whatever it takes to get into a wealthier Western nation. Europe no longer tolerates these refugees and Turks are not happy about getting stuck with them. This problem gets worse, especially for the Islamic government Turkey has had for the last two decades. This government became allies with Russia and Iran, two traditional enemies. To no ones surprise, these alliances did not work out. In order to please these new friends, Turkey risked being expelled from NATO. Worst of all, expulsion from NATO would mean the West would regard Turkey as just another poorly managed, Islamic terrorist tolerating and unreliable Middle Eastern nation. One thing most Turks can agree on is NOT wanting to turn away from the West. The policy of being closer to Arab nations and tolerant of some Islamic terrorist or radical groups has also lost any popularity it once held. Turks have long (since World War I) been hostile to getting involved in foreign wars, especially when it involved Turkish troops getting killed. So far in 2020, Turkey has sent a lot more Turkish troops to Syria and more of them are getting killed, often by Russian airstrikes. The Turkish voters have made it clear that the current government is likely to lose the next elections if the Syrian involvement continues. With Syria, Turkey cannot just walk away. Syria is a neighbor and over three million Syrian refugees are in Turkey and Syria itself is still a mess. Turkish and Russian forces have been shooting at each other and the Iranians are not much better. Russia does not have much they can afford to offer Turkey as a solution. That makes this a more difficult situation for Russian diplomats, who are under orders to maintain good relations with Syria and Israel first and everyone else after that.

May 10, 2020: In the northwest (Idlib province) al Qaeda Islamic terrorists launched an attack on Turkish positions, sparking a battle that caused over a hundred casualties before it died down. This was the largest violation of the March 6 ceasefire so far. This battle actually took place in neighboring Hama province where the Islamic terrorist rebels hold some territory. The attackers belonged to Horas al-Din, a rouge faction that refused to recognize the ceasefire.

In Libya the LNA forces ambushed and killed a senior Syrian Turkish mercenary commander and showed off the mans photo ID as proof. The dead commander, Mohamed Hendawi, was in charge of transporting the Syrian mercenaries from Turkey to Libya. The death of Hendawi makes it more difficult to persuade the Syrian mercs to work in Libya.

May 8, 2020: The United States accused Russia and Syria of organizing an Arab mercenary force to use in Libya to reinforce Russian military contractors already there to oppose Turkish Arab mercenaries. So far none of these Russian backed Syrian mercs have showed up in Libya. There the Russian-backed LNA (Libyan National Army) is facing a growing Turkish military force. Russia agrees with the LNA that as long as the Turks are in Libya there can be no peace. The LNA also pointed out that the Turks are not the invincible imperial conquerors of old. The LNA claims to have killed dozens of Turks and hundreds of their Syrian Arab mercenaries. Dozens of Turkish UAVs have been shot down and photographed. The Turks deny these claims but back in Turkey the government is doing its best to suppress news of Turkish military personnel who have died in Libya and buried back in Turkey without any admission of where they died and how.

The Turks have about 8,000 of these Syrian Arab mercenaries in Libya with another 3,000 undergoing training. The mercenaries headed for Libya are men already on the Turkish payroll in northern Syria. A first there was no problem getting these Syria based mercenaries to go to Libya. The pay was higher and at first it appeared to be less dangerous. That is no longer the case. The LNA and Libyans in general are growing angrier at the Turkish invasion and the fact that Turkey is supporting Islamic militias that are unpopular in Libya. That unpopularity is one reason the LNA now controls most of the country. LNA began in 2014 as an opponent to Islamic terrorists and Islamic political militia. The longer the Turkish mercs are in Libya the more unpopular they become. The Libyans are hostile to foreign invaders, especially one that was a former imperial ruler of Libya. The Turks are violating international law and the UN, which created the GNA government the Turks are propping up, is not applying any real pressure against the foreign invaders. Thats why the Turkish mercs are suffering a casualty rate of nearly 20 percent. The Syrian mercs back in Syria can do the math and some are leaving Turkish service rather than be transferred to Libya.

Russia is providing aid to the LNA, mostly in the form of weapons and technical assistance in repairing and maintaining the largely Cold War weapons the LNA uses. There are about a thousand Russian combat troops in Libya but these are military contractors of the Wagner Group and seen as such by Libyans. The Russians are not perceived as foreign invaders. Nor are the Gulf Arabs and Egyptians who have been backing the LNA for the last five years.

Historically the Turks and Russians were always rivals and often at war with each other. Although the Russian and Turk empires dissolved a century ago, the ancient animosities did not. Now Turkish and Russian forces are fighter each other in Syria and Libya. Both areas used to be part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and both because close to Russia during the Cold War, buying most of their weapons from Russia and cooperating diplomatically. Most Syrians and Libyans are more interested in reviving the Russian relationship than the Turkish one.

May 7, 2020: Russia issued another order trying to stop its military personnel from revealing details of military operations, especially in foreign combat zones like Ukraine, Syria, Libya and elsewhere in Africa. The ban also prohibits troops and veterans from ever mentioning on the Internet that they were in the Russian military. This is not the first effort to ban the leaking of information via the Internet and wont be the last. In early 2018 Russian military personnel in Syria were ordered to stop using a smartphone and to replace them as soon as possible with older models that lack GPS, high speeds and other features that are used by many commercial UAVs and quadcopters. The frequencies used by smartphones were being jammed around Russian bases in Syria as part of defensive measures against Islamic terrorist quad copters carrying explosives to be used for mass attacks. It was believed that this would also prevent Russian personnel from posting military information on the Internet. It didnt. The jamming couldnt be maintained all the time because it interfered with other military and commercial electronics. Earlier bans on military personnel posting anything on social media did not work either because friends and family would post items sent to them via email.

May 6, 2020: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) Russian troops are replacing Iranian mercenaries in key areas. Iran appears to have withdrawn some forces from Deir Ezzor province, either to move them closer to the Israeli border or disband mercenary units it can no longer afford to pay and support. Many of these mercenaries re local civilians who go back to lower-paying jobs for local warlords. The Russian presence consists of a few checkpoints and some patrols backed by Russian airpower. The Syrian government is technically in control of Deir Ezzor province but the lack of security forces has enabled some of the ISIL groups hiding out there to assert themselves and terrorize civilians with kidnappings and murder. ISIL wants to civilians to provide support and not cooperate with police or soldiers who come after the Islamic terrorists. In the last week at least nine civilians have been murdered and in over a dozen rural towns and villages

May 5, 2020: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) Israeli airstrikes hit several Iranian targets causing about over 30 casualties and extensive property damage. The explosions were huge and sustained indicating the Israelis had blown up stores of Iranian rockets and ammo.

May 4, 2020: In Syria (outside Aleppo) an Israeli airstrike hit a research center where Syrians and Iranians were working on chemical weapons. Satellite photos later showed the damage was extensive. Further east of Aleppo province, another Israeli airstrike hit an ammo storage site, causing a large explosion.

In the east (Deir Ezzor province), an Israeli airstrike hit the Mayadeen army base and the Iran-backed militia stationed there. Outside Mayadeen ISIL ambushed and killed two Iranian troops.

May 3, 2020: Rami Makhlouf, the wealthy cousin of Syrian dictator Basher Assad, released a video on Facebook in which he pleaded with his cousin Basher to work with him to resolve financial problems Makhlouf is having. This is more than a family feud because Makhlouf was once, and may still be, the wealthiest man in Syria. Much of that wealth is now outside Syria. Basher had Makhlouf detained on corruption charges and is demanding $250 million in cash to release Makhlouf from house arrest. Makhlouf still has Internet access, the better to authorize his foreign bankers and partners to provide the money. Makhlouf says he is broke, having spent most of his fortune to support the fight against the rebels. Basher, or at least his British wife, believes Makhlouf is corrupt as ever and still has considerable assets. Makhlouf is offering to pay the cash to Basher, and not anyone else, especially the British wife, to convince the Syrian leader of his sincerity. This video was very embarrassing for Basher and verified reports that he was losing control of his local allies. A recent opinion poll, conducted in areas where Russia has troops (and could safeguard the pollsters) found that Basher had little support among Syrians, who also blame Assad for the growing corruption and lawlessness in areas under Assad control. Before the 2011 civil war Basher, his brother and Maher and Makhlouf were considered the three most powerful men in Syria and because they were all related, proof that the Assads were still in charge. Maher is still loyal to his brother but serves as a military commander, not a financier and economic expert. Basher also had several Makhlouf allies and subordinates in Syria arrested and Makhlouf wants to get these men freed as well. Makhlouf was supposed to find ways to pay off the nearly $5 billion debt to Russia. While the Russians have provided a lot of free assistance, a lot more of it was provided with the understanding that it would be paid for. Iran was supposed to help with that but Iran is in worse economic shape that Russian and has sharply cut its economic aid to Syria.

The covid19 virus has also hit Syria, at least urban areas the Assads control. This includes Damascus, Aleppo and major ports and towns in the west. No official data has been released but unofficial sources (phone calls, Internet chatter), indicate that economic activity has been reduced and thousands are ill. Most Syrians consider covid19 no worse than the annual influenza outbreak.

May 2, 2020: The overall level of violence in Syria is way down from levels that had been the norm from 2013 to 2017. Instead of over a thousand civilians killed each month, in April the number was less than 80. Military losses are several times that and all the losses are primarily in the northwest (Idlib, Aleppo and Hama) or the southeast, mainly near the Iraqi and Israeli borders.

May 1, 2020: In central Syria (Homs province) an Israeli airstrike triggered large explosions at a Hezbollah ammo storage site.

April 30, 2020: In the south, on the Israeli border (Golan Heights) Israeli helicopters hit Iran-backed militia near the border. The next day more airstrikes hit Hezbollah positions in the Golan Heights.

The U.S. uncovered and disrupted a Quds Force smuggling effort that involved buying a second-hand 150,000 ton oil tanker. Once the tanker was controlled by Quds it could be used to smuggle oil to China, India or Syria. American sanctions officials charged several individuals and companies with complicity in buying the 22 year old tanker for $12 million. The Americans are attempting to seize the tanker and end its smuggling activities. Currently, the tanker is being detailed in Oman.

April 28, 2020: In the north (Aleppo province) a bomb in an oil tanker truck exploded near Afrin , a Turkish controlled town on the Turkish border. Nearly fifty troops and civilians were killed and many more wounded. The Turks blamed Kurdish separatists for the bombing.

April 20, 2020: The U.S. accused Russia of ordering its Su-35 fighters to threaten American P-8A maritime patrol aircraft in international airspace near the Syrian coast. Today and yesterday Russian fighters flew closer than ten meters (32 feet) to the P-8As in an effort to intimidate them. Despite video evidence, Russia insists it was just making sure the P-8A did not move into Syrian airspace (anything within 22 kilometers of the coast).

April 15, 2020: In the west, on the border with Lebanon an armed UAV, believed to be Israeli, destroyed a vehicle crossing the border illegally. Israel often targets lone vehicles in this area because intel has identified the people inside as Hezbollah, Iranian or Islamic terrorists trying to attack Israel.

April 10, 2020: Israel has again warned Syria to keep Hezbollah away from the Golan Heights. A recent Syrian news video showed the Syrian corps commander in charge of the Golan Heights sector personally showing a senior Hezbollah commander around the Golan Heights border. If this was meant to taunt Israel it worked as Israel announced that both these commanders were on the target list as were any Hezbollah personnel found near the Golan Heights. Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights since 1967 when they took the area after Syrian used these heights to attack Israeli territory to the south. In 1981 Israel annexed the area. The UN opposed this but that had no impact on the situation. Israel points out that Syria has never made serious efforts to retake the Golan Heights since 1973. In that respect Israel considers the Golan Heights abandoned property and has absorbed it. Iran ordered Syria and Hezbollah to assist Iran in turning the Golan Heights into a combat zone. So far that has gotten a lot of Syrians and Lebanese members of Hezbollah killed. Recently Iran spent a lot of money to recruit nearly 4,000 Syrians into a Syrian branch of Hezbollah. A similar effort was undertaken in Iraq.
Mumbai, May 12 : Bollywood actor and martial artist Vidyut Jammwal has hinted that he might be getting into a relationship soon! Vidyut was interacting with his fans on a session called "#askvidyut" on Twitter when a fan asked him whether he is single. The actor replied: "#askvidyut yes..but I guess not for too long."

#askvidyut yes..but I guess not for too long https://t.co/TtoasOAdM0  Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) May 11, 2020

Vidyut's response has left his fans, especially the ladies heartbroken. The female heartthrob hinting at getting into a relationship certainly did not go down well with the ladies, a lot of whom responded with teary-eyed and broken hearts emojis! Commenting on Vidyut's tweet, a fan wrote: "Mini heart attack"

Another fan commented: "Dill Tod diya aapne to, aapko koi mil bhi gayee.." (You broke my heart. Did you really find someone) Another fan enquired: "Who is that lucky girl?"

Meanwhile, the actor, in his session addressed queries coming from netizens on topics like back and neck pain, shoulder stiffness, workout timings and martial arts.

#askvidyut The 1st step is to accept faliure, then to congratulate yourself for attempting,then finding all the things you didnt know about making it successful..whilst you do this stay away from people who say failure is bad(2nd part of ur question will be automatically solved) https://t.co/fkJsVxxDtx  Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) May 12, 2020

Reacting to a fan who asked him how to deal with "failure and negativity", Vidyut replied: "#askvidyut The 1st step is to accept faliure, then to congratulate yourself for attempting, then finding all the things you didn't know about making it successful..whilst you do this stay away from people who say failure is bad (2nd part of ur question will be automatically solved)."

-- Syndicated from IANS
A Dallas-based law firm has fired an employee after he posted an apparent gun threat on Facebook targeting local businesses that make patrons wear face masks.

The screed that appeared on Kevin Bain's now-defunct Facebook account last week read: 'No more masks. Any business that tells me to put on a mask (Whole Foods on Lomo Alto) in Dallas will get told to kiss my Corona a** and will lose my business forever.

'It's time to stop this BULLS***. Do I have to show the lame security guard outside of a ghetto store my CV19 test results? I will show him my Glock 21 shooting range results. With Hornady hollow points. Rpicey ammo, but worth it in this situation. They have reached the limit. I have more power than they do.....they just don't know it yet.'

Swift justice: Kevin Bain, 52, was fired by the Dallas-based law firm Thompson and Knight after making an apparent gun threat against businesses that make patrons wear face masks

Bain's employer, Thompson & Knight, released a statement last Friday addressing the administrative manager's outburst, which the firm called 'threatening and offensive,' and announcing his termination.

'This post is a complete violation of the values of our Firm, including our commitment to the health and safety of the communities we serve,' the statement read.

Bain was let go last week after more than a decade working for the large law firm as an administrative manager

'We have terminated this individuals employment and notified the proper authorities about the post as a precaution. We are deeply sorry for this situation. This type of post is not and never will be tolerated by our Firm.'

A graduate of Abilene Christian University with a degree in business, Bain, 52, had worked as a document services manager at Thompson and Knight's Dallas office.

The firm, founded in 1887, currently employees more than 300 attorneys in its Texas and New York offices.

Police in the tony Dallas suburb of Highland Park, where the Whole Foods store referenced in Bain's post is located, told the Dallas Morning News on Monday that they are 'looking into' the alleged threat.

According to his now-deleted LinkedIn page, Bain had worked for 12 years for the New York-based law firm Thacher Proffitt & Wood as a word processing manager, before joining Thompson and Knight in 2009.
Owosso, Mich.  A crowd massed outside Karl Mankes barber shop let out cheers after attorney David A. Kallman delivered some good news for the businessman.

Kallman confirmed Shiawassee County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Stewart had turned down a complaint by the Michigan Attorney Generals Office filed Monday, May 11 to obtain a temporary restraining order against the business.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a Health Protection Order on May 8, against Karl Mankes Barber & Beauty Shop, 421 W. Main St., in Owosso, and made the move for the temporary restraining order in court after he did not close.

Manke reopened May 4 in defiance of one of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive orders.

One of the dozens of executive orders has led to the closure of barber shops and salons amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Owosso barber says shop will stay open 'until Jesus walks in or until they arrest me

"The next step now would depend on if the (Attorney General) appeals or not, said Kallman. I dont know if theyre going to, but for our point of view, the next step is two criminal charges pending against him in district court for misdemeanors.

Manke reopened last week and has received two citations for violation of the order.

Those who violate the order are subject to a 90-day misdemeanor and/or a $500 fine.

Kallman said he would file motions to dismiss those citations at a June 23 court hearing.

Addressing the media Monday afternoon outside his shop, Manke said he had some fear prior to reopening the business.

READ MORE: Owosso barber confirms he was ticketed by police for opening shop

Id gone six weeks without a paycheck with no money coming in. Ive been in this business 59 years...Im 77. Ive always worked, he commented. Ive never looked for handouts. I dont even know what they are. I had somebody call me and say why dont you get on food stamps. I dont want to get on food stamps. I want to work.

Manke grew emotional when talking about the outpouring of support.

I came into this last Monday alone, thinking Im going to swing in the wind alone, he said, calling the governors order to keep non-essential businesses closed oppressive and he doesnt need to be mothered by lawmakers. I cannot believe the support that Ive got. Its overwhelming."

A message from MLive-The Flint Journal to the Attorney Generals Office for comment was not immediately returned.

Kallman referenced the lawsuits filed by state legislators in opposition of the governors executive orders made after the state of emergency expired April 30.

Hes also filed a lawsuit against the orders on behalf of churches, pastors, churchgoers and a former Republican delegate.

READ MORE: Churches sue Whitmer, claim coronavirus orders hinder religious gatherings despite exceptions

Were seeing this around the state, where people are finally saying enough is enough, he said. If you can walk down the aisles at Walmart...you can walk down the aisles at a church, you can walk down the aisles at Karls barber shop and practice the same physical distancing, hand washing, all the things weve been hearing on and on.

Kallman had said in a statement issued earlier in the day they would fight the case all the way up to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

READ MORE: Michigan House, Senate sue Gov. Whitmer after she extends state of emergency without their approval

When asked if people may get sick coming to the barber shop, Manke said everyone is responsible for themselves.

If people dont feel safe, then I think they should stay home, he said.

Manke said it would take heaven and earth moving to get him to shut down.

Im going to stay open until Jesus comes, he quipped.

READ MORE: Whitmer issues orders extending state of emergency without support of legislature
Former Vice President Joe Biden, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, wears a protective mask during a NowThis economic address seen on a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Friday, May 8, 2020.

Former Vice President Joe Biden urged governors on Tuesday to "listen to Dr. Fauci" as they reopen their states' economies while the coronavirus continues to spread.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease specialist and a key member of President Donald Trump's White House coronavirus task force, is expected to publicly warn states Tuesday that prematurely reopening their economies will cause "needless suffering and death."

Trump, going against the advice of Fauci and other health officials, has been urging states to reopen businesses to prop up the U.S. economy, which has been ravaged by the pandemic.

Biden, the 2020 apparent Democratic nominee, said that if he were president now, he would advise governors to heed Fauci's warnings in their plans.

"We're in a situation where there's a great crisis. Dr. Fauci talks about if we open needlessly or open soon, there's going to be needless deaths and we have to have things in place. Everybody wants to open," Biden said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"The governors want to open. But they want to open in a rational way. The president hasn't done his work. The president hasn't done what he's supposed to do."

Biden went on, scorching Trump for claiming in March that "anybody who wants a test gets a test."

Health officials have warned about a shortage of tests across the country. That shortage, along with tight restrictions on who can be tested, has allowed infected people to go undetected and further spread Covid-19, health officials have said.

"Anyone can't get a test around the country," Biden said.

The former vice president also unleashed a withering attack on Trump's response to the outbreak and pandemic.

"Granted, more tests are coming forward but look, this needless complacency the president has engaged in from the very beginning. He knew about this crisis all the way back in January and February," Biden said. "He's been incompetent the way in which he's responded to it. We have 80,000 deaths. We have more of the virus than any nation in the world. What's the story here? I mean, come on. This is just Fantasyland that he's talking about."

As Biden was giving his interview, Trump unleashed a tweetstorm in which he defended the U.S. response to the coronavirus.

"Our Testing is the BEST in the World, by FAR! Numbers are coming down in most parts of our Country, which wants to open and get going again. It is happening, safely!" Trump tweeted.

Tweet

The White House declined to comment.

The Trump 2020 campaign, when reached for comment, called Biden's words a "false attack" and defended the president's response to the coronavirus outbreak.

"President Trump acted early and decisively by restricting travel from China while Biden called it 'xenophobic' and 'fear-mongering,'" Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, told CNBC in a statement. "The President also has called out China and pinpointed it as the source of the virus while Biden fears the exposure of his long record of being soft on the Communist Chinese government."

Murtaugh's statement continued: "President Trump led the hard work to establish the United States as the world's leader in coronavirus testing, while Biden sat in his basement offering nothing but relentless criticism designed to divide Americans and erode their confidence in the government's response. Joe Biden is practicing despicable politics while President Trump is leading the nation in the war against the virus."

The outbreak has spread to dozens of countries globally, with more than 4.1 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 286,336 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has had more than 1.3 million cases and at least 79,528 deaths, according to the latest tallies.
Pupils will begin returning to school in England this week  the first time many children have been in the classroom in months.

On 23 August, the prime minister said the risk to children from coronavirus was very small and that parents should be preparing their children for the start of term.

On Monday, deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said the risk of seasonal flu or a child being involved in a car accident on the way to school was higher than the risk presented by Covid-19.

Pupils in Scotland already returned to full-time education on 11 August, with the Borders and Shetlands schools being the first to reopen.

Although the government is keen to stress the minimal risk to children in the classroom, schools minister Nick Gibb has said fines will only be used as a last resort for parents who keep their children at home.

Mr Gibb acknowledged some parents would still have concerns but said that there was a moral imperative for pupils to return, stressing education was compulsory.

When are schools across England reopening?

On Friday 20 March, three days before the establishment of nationwide lockdown, schools across England were closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Only vulnerable children and children of critical workers were allowed to remain in school from that period.

Some year groups were temporarily allowed back for brief periods before the summer break  but most children have remained at home, doing remote-learning with the help of parents and carers.

Throughout the summer the government has been insistent that the biggest priority for the autumn is getting children back to school, even if this means closing pubs or other locations to stem the virus spread.

Childrens commissioner for England Anne Longfield had said the reopening of schools should be prioritised, insisting they must be first to reopen and last to close during any restriction plans.

Now children will begin returning to school in England after the August bank holiday  either on 1 or 2 September.

Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Show all 12 1 /12 Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Marc Lyons ICU Consultant, East Cheshire NHS Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Emma Kelly Critical Care Nurse, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Laura Arrowsmith COVID-19 Ward Cleaner, Leighton Hospital, Crewe PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Stuart Brookfield Paramedic, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Claudia Anghel Midwife, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Sarah Jensen Chief Information Officer, Barts Health NHS Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Anne Roberts District Nurse, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Ali Abdi Porter, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Jack Hannay Manikum 111 call handler, West Midlands Ambulance Service PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Ade Williams Superintendent Pharmacist, Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Farzana Hussain GP, Project Surgery, Newham PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Roopak Khara General Adult Psychiatrist, West London NHS Trust PA

Can parents refuse to send their children to school?

In May, the Department for Education said: Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time.

Parents will not be penalised if their child does not attend school. We expect schools and other relevant partners to work with and support the relevant families and pupils to return to school.

However on Monday 29 June, Gavin Williamson said that at the start of the academic year, it will be compulsory for children to attend school unless they have a good reason not to.

On Monday 24 August, education minister Nick Gibb said the government will consider fines for parents who keep children out of school as a last resort.

He said teachers should try to reassure parents of the need to send their children back to school but said there was a moral imperative to do so.

Asked whether fines were a possibility for parents who continued to resist, he told the BBCs Today programme: Fines are something that headteachers are very reluctant to use, they only use them as a last resort.

Despite this warning, headteachers and teachers unions have been urged to build confidence with families by not rushing to reintroduce fines.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said that the organisation doesnt believe fining parents if their children do not attend school in September is the right approach.

There will be many frightened and anxious parents out there, and this is very much a case of building confidence that it is safe to return, rather than forcing the issue through the use of fines, he said.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, added that ministers should think carefully before issuing warnings to parents

In May, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), stated that it is important to work with families in a constructive and supportive way.

On the governments website, it states that the usual rules on attendance will apply when the autumn term starts, which includes fixed penalty notices, in line with local authorities codes of conduct.

How much is a school fine?

Current rules allow local authorities to charge parents 60 for a non-attendance of their child.

This rises to 120 if the fine is not paid within 21 days.
Cairo, May 12 : Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has approved a new law to add 10 billion EGP ($635 million) to the state budget for the current fiscal year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The new law also aims to help day and seasonal labourers negatively affected by the precautionary measures taken to contain the pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

The law came as the Executive Board of the IMF on Monday approved Egypt's request for emergency financial assistance of $2.772 billion.

Also on Monday, Egypt's Finance Ministry launched an initiative to support tourism and hotels against the harsh impacts of the health crisis.

The initiative covers the salaries of employees working in hotels and tourist facilities, which have to provide lists with employees' names and bank accounts for their salaries to be directly transferred.

It also covers operation costs and employees' salaries in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Egypt currently has 9,746 COVID-19 cases, with 533 deaths.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to be ratified by the National Assembly (NA) on May 20, the first day of the 14th NAs ninth session, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Tuna is among Vietnam's key exports to the EU

The ministry has also worked closely with the Government Office and the Presidential Office to complete the Presidents report and prepared the relevant content for ratification documents to be submitted to the legislature.

Luong Hoang Thai, head of the MoITs Multilateral Trade Policy Department, said the ministry completed the ratification documents at the beginning of the year and submitted them to the Government for consideration.

It also worked with the Ministry of Justice to update the Governments legal review in service of the EVFTAs implementation.

At an April 21 meeting of the NAs Committee for External Relations on the ratification of the EVFTA, the Minister of Industry and Trade directly reported to and answered questions from deputies.

The EVFTA needs to be ratified by the European Parliament (EP) and approved by the European Council (EC) to become effective.

The EP ratified the deal on February 12, with 401 votes in favour, 192 against, and 40 abstentions.

Then, on March 30, the EC approved the deal, completing the final legal procedure in the EUs internal ratification process.

The deal now only awaits the NAs ratification to take effect in both the EU and Vietnam./.
Some top Democratic senators on Tuesday accused the Federalist Society of supporting a conservative dark money campaign to influence the federal judiciary, including who gets selected to become a judge and how he or she rules once on the bench.

In a sharply worded letter, the senators said they supported a proposal by a judicial ethics panel that would ban membership among judges in the conservative legal group.

The prohibition, the letter said, would help curb the rampant politicization of our federal courts. Nearly 30 Republican senators have already written the panel to oppose the proposed ban, as have more than 200 federal judges, nearly all of them appointed by Republican presidents.

Both of President Trumps appointees to the Supreme Court had ties to the group, as did all but eight of his 51 appointees to the court of appeals, an analysis in March by The New York Times showed.
Masks are once again a hot topic.

Dont worry: Their latest star turn doesnt involve some new culture war clash over how much protection masks provide, when they should be worn or whether, as some of the more excitable social-distancing opponents charge, they are a form of government tyranny.

Rather, it seems masks are finally getting some respect at the White House. On Monday, the White House Management Office issued a memo requiring all of the staff to wear masks while inside the West Wing except when working at their own desks. Visitors will need to cover their faces as well.

The increased precautions came after two White House aides tested positive for the coronavirus last week: one of President Trumps personal valets and Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller. Both had spent significant time inside the cramped, crowded West Wing. Both are now in quarantine  as is Ms. Millers husband, Stephen Miller, who is one of the presidents closest advisers.
Across Canada, provinces are carefully starting to reopen their economies. However, each province is taking a different approach.

One stark difference is that restaurants, bars and cafes may soon offer sit-in service to diners in British Columbia and Alberta, while that may be further down the road for Ontario and Quebec.

But just because restaurants are allowed to open, doesnt mean they will  or want to. Reopening at partial capacity will be a financial burden on many restaurants, and some worry reopening too soon could risk a second wave of COVID-19.

In what is technically phase two of its reopening plan, British Columbia will allow restaurants, cafes and pubs to open in mid-May. In Alberta, these establishments are part of phase one, and will be allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity  with patrons not allowed to order drinks at the bar  as soon as May 14.

A spokesperson for Alberta Health said in an email that the decision took into account factors including the spread of the virus and the ability of the establishments to limit spread while following guidelines. Public health inspections will continue to enforce the restrictions.

In B.C., a Health Ministry spokesperson said in an email that the provinces restaurant association is working on a plan to safely reopen the industry. The plan will need approval from the Provincial Health Officer.

Patrick Schnarr, co-owner of Outcast Brewing in Calgary, doesnt plan to reopen on May 14 despite the provinces progress in terms of new cases.

Its too soon. We need a couple more weeks of this kind of progress, he said.

Schnarrs business closed its taproom and switched to offering delivery only early on. He doesnt think the financial benefits of reopening outweigh the costs.

Because Outcast Brewing doesnt do food, operating the taproom at 50 per cent capacity could be profitable, he said. But he doesnt think customers will want to go out right away.

I dont think businesses are going to be busy, he said.

Meanwhile, in Ontario retail stores are starting to see some loosening of the restrictions, but restaurants have yet to get the go-ahead.

Phase one of the provinces plan is vague, but includes select workplaces that can meet current public health guidelines and essential gatherings. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said via email that the ministry will be consulting with key sectors as it develops the next stages of reopening.

Quebec has announced it will reopen schools, manufacturing, construction and retail businesses in May. However, restaurants have yet to hear when they might be able to reopen. A spokesperson for the Quebec government said in an email that current restrictions require people to be at least two metres from each other.

Opening the dining rooms of restaurants would not allow or would make it difficult to apply this instruction, the email stated.

Jason Fisher, owner of the Indie Alehouse brewery and pub in Toronto, thinks many restaurants and bars will choose not to reopen right away once it is permitted, in part because the restrictions may prevent their business from being viable.

Its probably worse to be half open than closed, he said.

Fishers business has managed to stay afloat and keep around 10 employees working by offering beer delivery as well as food and beer pickup.

He isnt upset that the Ontario government hasnt announced plans to reopen restaurants yet. He prefers being cautious to risking an outbreak of COVID-19 cases just to keep some business owners happy.

A recent survey by Restaurants Canada found many restaurants will need more financial assistance to reopen at all. In an open letter, the organization is asking the government to help with the cash flow and rising debt of Canadas restaurants.

James Rilett, vice-president of central Canada for Restaurants Canada, said restaurants already operate with very slim profit margins  the average is only 4.2 per cent.

Some businesses, such as pizza parlours that have been continuing delivery, may be fine reopening a few sit-in tables, he said, but others may not find reopening worthwhile  especially if they may just have to close again.

Theyre eager to open, but theyre also hesitant to make a false step.

Fisher said businesses that reopen right away may have to change their whole layout, especially sit-in establishments.

It necessitates a changing of your business model, he said.

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Dane County is asking employees to take voluntary furloughs as part of an evolving package to balance a government budget battered by the coronavirus-spurred economic slowdown, and its directing department heads to plan for budget cuts next year of between 2.5% and 5%.

Letters were sent last week to all 2,500 county employees asking them to take between eight and 80 hours of unpaid time off this year, and as an incentive the county is offering an extra paid vacation day to those who opt to take the full 80, with a prorated number of vacation hours for those who take less.

While no one is being forced to take unpaid time off, Greg Brockmeyer, the countys director of administration, notes in a Wednesday memo that if the federal government doesnt approve a fiscal relief program for local governments and the county isnt able to save enough through voluntary furloughs, the county may be forced to implement other measures.

County Executive Joe Parisi said the county is projecting a shortfall of between $20 million and $25 million in its approximately $594 million operating budget, about $68 million of which was expected to be made up of sales tax revenue. With most stores forced to close under the states safer at home order, however, sales tax revenues are down, and local governments, unlike the federal government, are required to have balanced budgets.

Parisi did not have a figure for how much the county hopes to save by instituting the furloughs, which are similar to a program implemented 12 years ago during the Great Recession, but they will be part of a package of budget changes that already includes a hiring freeze. County employees are supposed to indicate by May 20 whether they will take furloughs.

In a Monday memo, Parisi is also asking all county departments but public health and the Public Safety Communications Center to prepare budget scenarios for next year that assume 2.5% less in county general purpose revenue for smaller departments and 5% less for larger ones.

Put simply, this budget will not be like the past several budgets county government experienced where the primary decision points resided in how much additional funds should be allocated and to where they should be invested, he wrote. This budget will look more like spending plans county government managed in the midst of the national Great Recession of a decade ago.

Parisi is also directing departments not to propose any new spending for buildings or other capital projects.

Dane County currently has a reserve fund of about $43 million, or about 9% of the countys general fund.

The city of Madison and Madison School District have so far resisted furloughing employees such as library workers, custodians, and security and crossing guards whose jobs would seem to depend on people using the public buildings that are now closed. Both have instead chosen to redeploy workers. Until last week, Dane County was doing the same, such as by having employees of the county-owned  and currently shuttered  Alliant Energy Center doing extra cleaning and maintenance.

School District spokesman Tim LeMonds said Monday that as of today, there are no plans for furloughs. He did not respond to a question about what district security guards and building custodians are doing.

Mary Bottari, chief of staff to Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, did not immediately respond to an email asking if the city was planning to announce staff furloughs. Rhodes-Conway has already announced actions including a hiring freeze on all positions with exceptions for essential services, additional review and approval for seasonal hiring, and a halt to purchasing of all nonessential supplies and services

The state Department of Workforce Development estimated last month that some 725,000 people across 48,000 private establishments are out of work due to the pandemic and that the unemployment rate was nearly 27%.
NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Marcum LLP, one of the largest independent accounting firms in the U.S., and the Marcum Foundation are partnering with BurgerFi, a national better- burger restaurant group with nearly 125 locations internationally, to deliver up to 20,000 meals to hospital workers and first responders on the frontlines of COVID-19. The collaboration teams the award-winning Marcum Foundation with the award-winning burger concept, to feed healthcare heroes working at the heart of the pandemic in cities throughout the U.S.

The program will launch May 14th in New York City, the epicenter of our country's pandemic. Over 185,000 cases of COVID-19 have been identified in New York City alone. The first delivery of BurgerFi meals will take place at Mount Sinai Hospital located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan beginning 1030AM. Representatives from BurgerFi, Marcum and hospital administration will be on hand for the pre-arranged, safe transfer of food. Nearly 5000 meals will be delivered to New York hospitals alone in the first few days of the campaign. Up to 20,000 meals will be distributed over a two-week period culminating with drops at select VA Hospitals throughout the U.S. caring for Covid-19 cases on Memorial Day, May 25th.

"The COVID-19 crisis has affected all communities throughout the country and abroad. Mount Sinai is proud to be the recipient of the first meal drop funded and organized by the Marcum Foundation and BurgerFi. The entire community of frontline healthcare professionals here at Mount Sinai is very thankful," said Dr. David Reich, President of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens.

The Marcum Foundation provides critical assistance to those in need in Marcum communities, including hunger relief programs such as the annual Marcum Day of Service. BurgerFi was recently recognized by Consumer Reports and other public interest organizations as "Best Burger Joint" for its commitment to antibiotic-free beef  one of only two burger chains in the U.S. to make the list and has been active in feeding front line workers while their dining rooms remained closed during the peak of the pandemic.

"Marcum's partnership with BurgerFi is an expression of our deep gratitude and admiration for the extraordinary contributions of our nation's hospital workers and first responders to protect our families, neighbors and communitiesoften at great personal risk," said Marcum Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Weiner. "We are privileged to recognize them in this way and hope that these meals let them know how much they are appreciated. We applaud the sacrifices they are making on the country's behalf."

"The Marcum Foundation is specifically focused on service to the community, whether that is one local nonprofit or networks of people collaborating for a common goal. Supporting those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic is our priority right now, and BurgerFi is an ideal partner to help us deliver much-needed respite to these healthcare heroes," said Shaun Blogg, chairman of the Marcum Foundation and Marcum's office managing partner in West Palm Beach, FL.

"BurgerFi and its franchisees have been doing what we can for the communities we serve during the COVID-19 crisis. Our industry and our workforce have suffered tremendously over the past two months and while protecting our team members remains paramount, we have proudly distributed over 5000 meals to date to frontline workers in our markets. This partnership with the Marcum Foundation will help to accelerate this effort. We are proud that they have selected BurgerFi for this cause," said Charlie Guzzetta, Chief Development Officer, BurgerFi International. "Serving our award-winning food to hospital workers and first responders on the COVID-19 battle line helps bring back the joy our company and franchised family have missed with our dining rooms closed for nearly two months. We look forward to returning to normal operations in the weeks to come."

About Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP is a national accounting and advisory firm with offices in major business markets throughout the U.S., as well as select international locations. Headquartered in New York City, Marcum provides a full spectrum of traditional tax, accounting, and assurance services; advisory, valuation, and litigation support; managed accounting services; and an extensive portfolio of specialty and niche industry practices. Visit www.marcumllp.com for more information.

About the Marcum Foundation

The Marcum Foundation supports local nonprofit organizations providing critical assistance to those in need through programs and services delivered at the community level. Local charity beneficiaries are nominated by Marcum employees. For more information, including a current list of beneficiaries, visit www.marcumfoundation.org .

About BurgerFi

Established in 2011, BurgerFi is among the nation's fastest-growing better burger concepts with nearly 125 BurgerFi restaurants domestically and internationally. The concept was chef-founded and is committed to serving fresh food of transparent quality. BurgerFi uses only 100% natural Angus beef with no steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals or additives. BurgerFi was named "Best Burger Joint" by Consumer Reports and fellow public interest organizations in the 2019 Chain Reaction Study, listed as a "Top Restaurant Brand to Watch" by Nation's Restaurant News in 2019, included in Inc. Magazine's Fastest Growing Private Companies List, placed in the top 20 on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers list for the past 7 years and ranked on Entrepreneur's 2017 Franchise 500. To learn more about BurgerFi or to find a full list of locations, please visit www.burgerfi.com .

Media Contacts:

Julie Gross Gelfand

[email protected]

(516) 729-8067

Rich Turer

[email protected]

(813) 442-3667

SOURCE BurgerFi International

Related Links

http://www.burgerfi.com


Here are todays leading news stories.

Politics

 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Monday sent a document to authorities in Vietnams coastal cities and provinces, reiterating that Chinas fishing ban from May 1 to August 16 is invalid in Vietnamese waters.

 The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to be ratified by the National Assembly on May 20, the first day of the 14th NAs ninth session, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Society

 The number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Vietnam is still 288 as no new case was reported on Tuesday morning. A total of 249 patients have recovered, while no death from the disease has been confirmed.

 Police in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Monday they had arrested four suspects from an illegal ring that smuggled drugs from Cambodia into Vietnam. Officers also confiscated six kilograms of crystal meth, 900 pills of ecstasy, a pistol, 20 bullets, and three home-made explosives.

 The deputy director of the Vietnam Expressway Corporation has been apprehended for multiple violations regarding an expressway project connecting the central city of Da Nang with neighboring Quang Ngai Province.

 A 28-year-old man in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho was sentenced to nine months in prison on Monday for posting defamatory information about the Vietnamese Party and state, as well as fake news on the COVID-19 epidemic, on Facebook.

Business

 More than 18,600 household businesses in Ho Chi Minh City had to cease operation within the first four months of this year, mostly because of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the municipal Department of Taxation.

 Honda Vietnams motorbike and automobile sales in April plunged by 72 percent and 52 percent year-on-year, respectively, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Nguyen Huy Trung, head of its External Relations Division.

Lifestyle

 The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi has been reopened to the public from Tuesday following a temporary shutdown from March 23 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the mausoleum's management board.

World News

-- The novel coronavirus has infected over 4.25 million people and killed more than 287,100 around the globe as of Tuesday morning, according to statistics. More than 1.52 million patients have recovered from COVID-19.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
[May 12, 2020] Onapsis Expands Mission-Critical Application Offerings to Cover Operational Resiliency, Audit Efficiency and Cyber Risk Assessments

Onapsis, the leader in mission-critical application cybersecurity and compliance, today announced expanded assessments for its Business Risk Illustration service to include operational resiliency, audit efficiency and cyber risk assessments. The new, complimentary Business Risk Illustration assessments provide valuable insights into existing enterprise risk postures across three critical areas in today's business climate. First announced in 2019, the Onapsis Business Risk Illustration was designed to discover and prioritize existing vulnerabilities and misconfigurations on mission-critical business applications and present the business impact. The expanded set of assessments is based on the success of hundreds of Business Risk Illustrations performed by Onapsis at Fortune 2000 organizations, coupled with increased demand from enterprises who want a thorough understanding of their mission-critical application environments. "Mission-critical applications, such as SAP (News - Alert) and Oracle, are the heart of businesses-holding the customer, financial, product, employee and other data needed to keep the organization running," said Ansh Kanwar, General Manager, Products and Technology, at Onapsis. "Keeping these applications available, performing, compliant and secure is essential to the success of the business. Our expanded set of Business Risk Illustration assessments will discover and define where risks and inefficiencies exist within each of these areas and provide clear actions for improvement and cost savings." The new Onapsis Business Risk Illustration assessments include: Operational Resiliency : Onapsis research shows organizations spend $60,000 per system, per year dealing with availability issues. This assessment helps show quality, security and compliance issues in custom code and change processes with a direct correlation of how changes can impact application availability, uptime and integrity.

: Onapsis research shows organizations spend $60,000 per system, per year dealing with availability issues. This assessment helps show quality, security and compliance issues in custom code and change processes with a direct correlation of how changes can impact application availability, uptime and integrity. Audit Efficiency : With organizations processing more than 80% of audits manually, this assessment shows areas of cost savings and automation improvements that can be achieved in preparation and execution of internal and external audits.

: With organizations processing more than 80% of audits manually, this assessment shows areas of cost savings and automation improvements that can be achieved in preparation and execution of internal and external audits. Cyber Risk: According to a recent IDC survey, 64% of organizations have been the victim of an ERP system breach in the past two years. This assessment provides a detailed report of existing vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, highlighting potential exploits and compliance violations.



On the heels of its recent nCase Partner Program launch, Onapsis is also making these Business Risk Illustration assessments available to its system integrators, managed security service providers, technology alliances and value-added reseller partners. This offering will help partners, such as Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, PwC and Verizon (News - Alert), make it easier for global customers to understand risks and inefficiencies in their mission-critical applications that can impact and disrupt their business, optimize costs and improve resiliency.

"We are excited to offer these three new assessment services to our partners as each strategically aligns with the services our partners deliver to their SAP and Oracle (News - Alert) clients," said Darren Gaeta, Vice President of Worldwide Alliances and Channels at Onapsis. "Today's enterprises are reliant on mission-critical applications to support the core functions of their businesses. Our new Onapsis Business Risk Illustrations make it easier for our partners to support their clients by delivering results that enable them to improve application integrity and availability, audit efficiency and security." To learn more about the Onapsis Business Risk Illustration assessment program, please visit https://www.onapsis.com/request-an-assessment. About Onapsis Onapsis protects the mission-critical applications that run the global economy. The Onapsis Platform uniquely delivers actionable insight, secure change, automated governance and continuous monitoring for mission-critical systems-ERP, CRM, PLM, HCM, SCM and BI applications-from well-known vendors such as SAP, Oracle and leading SaaS (News - Alert) platforms. Onapsis is headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in Heidelberg, Germany and Buenos Aires, Argentina. We proudly serve more than 300 of the world's leading brands, including 20% of the Fortune 100, 6 of the top 10 automotive companies, 5 of the top 10 chemical companies, 4 of the top 10 technology companies and 3 of the top 10 oil and gas companies. The Onapsis Platform is powered by the Onapsis Research Labs, the team responsible for the discovery and mitigation of more than 800 zero-day vulnerabilities in business-critical applications. The reach of our threat research and platform is broadened through leading consulting and audit firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, IBM (News - Alert), PwC and Verizon-making Onapsis solutions the de-facto standard in helping organizations protect their cloud, hybrid and on-premises business-critical information and processes. For more information, connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit us at https://www.onapsis.com. Onapsis and Onapsis Research Labs are registered trademarks of Onapsis Inc. All other company or product names may be the registered trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005492/en/

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Young Australians hoping to buy an affordable home after the coronavirus crisis may have their dreams crushed by bargain-hunting Chinese buyers.

An unemployment surge and COVID-19 business closures were expected to trigger a plunge in house prices.

Economists surveyed by Finder forecast Sydney house prices would fall 10.2 per cent by next year, Melbourne by 9.2 per cent and as all other capital cities suffered declines of at least eight per cent.

Apartments in central Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were also expected to suffer from sharp price drops, as border closures cut off international students and deprived landlords of potential tenants, NAB and SQM Research predicted.

But such big drops would not happen if a large number of foreign buyers swooped in to capitalise on a temporarily depressed market - a situation that didn't happen during Australia's early 1990s recession.

Real estate industry adviser Robert Klaric feared this would occur.

'A lot of the mainland Chinese are seeing this as an opportunity to exploit a great deal. That's what they're going to see in the property market in the next six months,' he told A Current Affair.

Chinese buyers are flooding the Australian property market once again in the hopes of picking up a bargain as house prices plunge during the coronavirus crisis. Pictured: People attending an auction prior to coronavirus social distancing restrictions

'What we'll see is the wealthy mainland Chinese will look towards Australia now to secure their wealth, and secure their health.'

Juwai IQI chairman Georg Chmiel said Australia's avoidance of large numbers of COVID-19 deaths had created an image of it being a healthy place to live, which is also appealing to foreign buyers looking to move and not just invest.

'That makes it even more appealing to foreign buyers,' he said. 'Marketers in China are already using Australia's good performance to persuade parents of children who have been studying in the US and the UK to look at Australia instead.'

Melbourne is regarded as the most popular city in Australia for Asian buyers, followed by Sydney and Brisbane, with Australia considered a stable place to invest money.

Mr Chmiel said Chinese buyers particularly liked places close to schools and universities that weren't particularly expensive by Australian capital city standards.

Michael Pallier (pictured with his wife, Lulu) from Sotheby's International Realty in Sydney's eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers

Michael Pallier from Sotheby's International Realty in Sydney's eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers.

'They can't get enough of it. Clean air, clean food, great education, safe environment  it's paradise for them,' he said.

'There is always demand and the Chinese people will always like Australia,' Mr Pallier's wife, Lulu, said.

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets.

The survey of 25 economists by financial comparison website Finder predicted sharp drops in every state and territory, with a majority of the experts declaring now was not the time to buy property.

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets

Sydney is facing a 10.2 per cent slide - slicing $104,695 off the median house price back to $921,723, while Melbourne was forecast to suffer a 9.2 per cent decline, and economists are warning Australians not to buy

Sydney was expected to suffer a 10.2 per cent slide - slicing $104,695 off the median house price back to $921,723, based on CoreLogic's April data.

Melbourne was forecast to suffer a 9.2 per cent decline, which would see mid-point house prices fall $75,330 to $743,476.

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

Despite the big drops forecast in Australia's biggest cities, Hobart was shaping up to take the biggest hit in percentage terms, with a forecast 10.5 per cent drop reducing values by $53,832 to $458,855, wiping out gains made since 2018.

Brisbane was also predicted to be hit, with median property prices dropping 8.4 per cent, or $46,903, to $511,469.

Perth is forecast to suffer a 8.3 per cent slump while Darwin could see median values fall by 9.5 per cent.

Adelaide could cop a 8.1 per cent drop, causing prices to slip by $38,576 to $437,673, while Canberra, Australia's capital and the home of federal bureaucrats who have been largely insulated from job and wage cuts, was expected to suffer the least severe decline of 6.4 per cent.

Even so, that would still see median house prices fall by $44,983 to $657,878.

The Finder survey found 58 per cent of economists declared now was not the time to buy a house, and those seeking a home should wait for the market to reach its bottom next year.

National Australia Bank expected apartment prices to fall at a faster pace than houses by 2021 as landlords struggled to find tenants, with border closures stopping international students from coming to Australia.

NAB predicted capital city property prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months, as unemployment hit levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression

NAB forecast a 12.8 per cent plunge in Sydney's median unit price and a 14 per cent plummet in Melbourne by next year.

SQM Research data showed a record surge in vacancies of inner-city apartments.

In Sydney's city centre, 13.8 per cent of units are empty, with 13 per cent vacant in central Melbourne.

SQM Research chief executive Louis Christopher said the loss of hospitality jobs, from the COVID-19 shutdowns, and international students was devastating for landlords.

'The blow out in rental vacancy rates for the major CBDs suggests a mass exodus of tenants occurred over the course of March and April,' he said.

'This might be attributed to the significant loss in employment in our CBDs plus the drop off in international students.

'We are well aware of a surge in short term accommodation now being advertised for long term leasing.'
Leigh Goldenberg, South Philly Food Co-op board president (right) and Lori Burge, general manager, pose for a portrait outside of the South Philly Food Co-op in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The South Philly Food Co-op has been in the works for 10 years. They were about six weeks from completing work on their grocery store in March when the pandemic shut down construction. Work is getting underway again, and they hope to open the store by the end of the year. Read more

Ten years is a long time to wait for anything, and thats how long the first member-owners of the South Philly Food Co-op have been waiting for the dream of a community-owned grocery store to become a reality.

Lots of strides have been made in that time: 1,250-plus members have signed up, more than $1 million in capital was raised, a site was chosen at Juniper and Snyder after a yearslong search, and groundbreaking was celebrated in April 2019. But a grand opening has proved elusive. Year after year, articles in various publications (this one included) reported the co-op was expected to open within the year.

This time, it just might be for real  if the pandemic allows.

In early March, the co-op announced to its members that the sites contractor was about six weeks from completing work at 2031 S. Juniper St. Then coronavirus hit, grinding construction to a halt.

As we understand from our other co-op compadres around the world, 10 years is pretty much the horizon for a food co-op, said SPFC board president Leigh Goldenberg. We were really assuming we were going to have our doors open by our 10th birthday, which would have been in April, but that didnt quite happen.

We spoke to Goldenberg, one of SPFCs first 100 members, about how the pandemic affects the yet-to-open co-op, what shoppers can expect when it does open, and how the new store will fit into the neighborhood.

This transcript was edited and condensed for clarity.

How are you moving forward after the pandemic-induced construction delay?

Our contractors are permitted to return to work, and we have a meeting this week to figure out what that might look like. Were really conscious about making sure theyre doing so safely and also trying to understand what pieces of the supply chain might be affected.

In terms of the equipment that we [the co-op operators] need now, most of our equipment has been ordered and constructed and some things are even being delivered. Our major refrigeration is built and ready to install, our produce and bread displays are arriving. Its a little bit going out of order from what we would have wanted  you know, we wanted all our drywall to be sealed before we brought in shelves.

So its just at this point of figuring out the new timeline and order of operations for construction. Well then keep moving ahead on all of the other elements: installing our point-of-sale system, figuring out exactly where suppliers are, and what well be getting, the whole pricing structure, hiring, training, and opening.

So depending on when our contractors can get back in there, were looking at probably another three to five months until opening.

It must be surreal to get this close and then have a pandemic hit.

Gosh, you know every construction project has its moments and its hiccups and its surprises, and we havent been immune to that. And the organizing and the capital just takes a lot longer in a cooperative space  we didnt have someone that could personally guarantee or finance the $1.4 million dollars that we needed for this project.

 READ MORE: Why it can take years to open a co-op grocery store

And the longer something takes, the more it costs. These months that construction has been shut down, were still paying our rent, were still paying our general manager, and we have a part-time bookkeeper. So even though we are incredibly nimble and our monthly overhead is not drastic, it still picks up on what our original fund-raising was going to be. Our fund-raising goal was complete, and now we need to revisit what our capital needs are.

I recognize from a member perspective, or someone whos not as dug into the day-to-day as key volunteers and staff might be, that it feels like a moving goalpost all the time. Thats something were really conscious of. We want people to know that were stewarding their money very well and trying to open a store and in a sustainable way. But there are factors outside of our control.

What I think still remains to be seen is how much the supply chain and the way that we need to operate in a post-pandemic world is going to change the assumptions we had when we made our initial pro forma years ago. I can say that we do have the benefit of learning from our other area co-ops. Say that we had opened in March, and then everything turned upside-down and we needed to think about how to take care of our workers, how to employ social distancing in our environment, initiate pickup and delivery and online shopping. Now we have a chance to do that all as were readying to open.

Are there any changes that you made because of the pandemic?

Weve been working on recognizing where theres a gap for our communities. Even though we dont have a store, we already are a co-op with these shared values. Were looking at starting a pantry-staples box to support local suppliers and local businesses and get items out to our community. Thats something that were working on now, to just make sure that were supporting our community even though our doors arent officially open.

 READ MORE: How Weavers Way Co-op thrives in this Amazon age for grocery stores

We had already been searching for an online delivery partner for our web store, so this just makes that feel more critical. I dont believe there are plans to change the layout. Were trying to use as much of the square footage as possible and get as much product in as possible.

How big is the space? Can you compare it to the layout of some other city grocery stores?

Its 3,300 square feet; about 2,500 of that will be the shopping area, and the rest will be back-of-house. Its probably closer to Essene Market in Queen Village, but our space is just one long rectangle when you come into a shop. It feels like a very large first floor of a rowhome.

What kind of food can people expect to buy at the co-op?

Its going to be a full-service grocery store with produce and meat and cheese and shelf-stable items and bulk bin and all of that. Theres going to be a heavy emphasis on organic and local food. Were trying to make sure that we have a good selection of basics, so that people can afford to shop our store.

 READ MORE: Food co-ops on rise in Philly area

I like to always mention that its as much about what we stock in the store as what we dont. We dont want to come in and undercut the prices of an immigrant-owned business in the neighborhood or a woman-owned business or something like that. If we dont carry something, we can point people to the place that does. Well be as much of a one-stop shop as possible, but there might be things that we intentionally say, OK, were going to get this from this local business, or well try to get people going to that other place.

A lot of people have an association with the term co-op, that its more expensive. I know youve done a lot of outreach to the community. With South Philly having gentrified but also having deeply ingrained communities whove been here for generations, how have you approached that?

Thats been on our minds since day one. Everyone recognizes that often the volunteers and people who are doing the work are the people that have that time and resources. So we had to be conscious of that. A few years back we started a food justice and equity committee, an advisory group to our general manager that looks at our practices. And one of the things that we initiated was a community equity fund, so that being a member-owner did not have a financial barrier. We fund raise for that and donations offset the cost of membership for someone who might not be able to afford the $200.

Weve done multiple rounds of surveying for justice and equity, and also advising on how we might accept SNAP benefits. It went from being a group that was really interested in self-education and outreach to now getting into the nitty gritty of what that means for the operations of the store.

How do you join, and what do you get for joining?

Its a $200 onetime lifetime investment. Its not an annual fee or anything, that is your equity safe, that is your share of the business. At this point, we have 1,264 member-owner households, which is amazing. So theres the $200 option, then theres the $25 community equity fund for when the $200 is a financial barrier. With that, you are a voting member, which means you help elect democratically our board of directors  we actually have our election coming up at the end of this month.

Anyone will be able to shop at the store, its not a member-only proposition to be able to come in. But we will have specials for member-owners, certain discount days, certain items.

We have a Shop South Philly program. Theres over 40 local businesses that offer discounts and incentives to our members. So thats anything from you know like $1 off a growler fill to discounted yoga class card.

 READ MORE: Community co-ops are the only truly local grocers | Opinion

And when the co-op is profitable, the board can choose to return profits to its members. Itll be a few years until we are profitable  this is a small-margin business. But what I use as an explanation for folks is if you shop at REI, and youre an REI member, at the end of the year you might get a gift card that is your dividends back to you based on the amount that you shopped there. So well be looking to do something like that.

It must be exciting to have been a part of this for so long and to get this close.

Oh my gosh. Some days its hard for me to imagine what its going to feel like when we ring up our first order there, because it has been like so theoretical for all this time. But when you walk into the store and you see things happening  its getting more tangible. It will happen.

And especially now knowing what a need there is. We knew that food was an important part of being a human, but when you constantly hear how essential workers are and the grocery industry, it feels like we have a real responsibility.

To learn more about the South Philly Food Co-op and join, visit southphillyfood.coop.
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Under Pressure, the highest-profile international series from Latin Americas biggest TV player, Brazils Globo, will turn in Season 4 on the COVID-19 crisis, feature the death of one key cast member, and stress the need for social transformation.

Season 4s coronavirus focus was announced early May by newspaper O Globo. Further details, revealed by Under Pressure lead writer Lucas Paraizo, come as Globo prepares to unleash its latest sales slate of telenovelas, mini-series and series at the 2020 Virtual Screenings from May 12, with one undoubted highlight in Under Pressure Season 3.

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Breaking years-old time-slot records when it bowed in July 2017 in Tuesday 10.30 pm late primetime  a day and grid berth it will retain for Season 4, said Paraizo  Under Pressure (Sob Pressao) signaled part of a revolution at Globo as the TV giant embraced the formats and concentration of ideas and length of international drama, but grounding them in an action-defining Brazilian reality.

So a medical series became war-zone ER, with Evandro and Carolina, a brilliant surgeon and doctor and on-off couple, both with traumas, battling a lack of resources, and an appalling death rate  60,000 people die every year from gun-shot wounds, hospital head Samuel says in Season 2  with a mixture of professional principle, ingenuity and desperation.

In Season 1, Brazils health system was sick, said Paraizo. Season 4 will now show it collapsing. Doctor Vera, whose search for her son provides a first final Season 3 emotional high, will inevitably be even more in the frontline in Season 4 as an infectologist, he added.

One of the main characters will die. But we havent decided which one yet, Paraizo added.

Season 4 will, however, attempt to give people a sense of hope. Under Pressure has always talked about not only problems, but possible longterm solutions: Weaning recent mother Geise off crack and giving Virgilio stomach-contracting bariatic surgery in Season 2 so he can walk down the aisle to give his daughter away in marriage.

Story continues

Anticipating COVID-19, for three seasons Under Pressure has portrayed Brazils overwhelmed, but do-or-die medical staff as heroes.

Season 4 suggests that if theres any solution to COVID-19 crisis and Brazils endemic ills, its not just a question of government relief measures, but of a social transformation, of the way we live in society, instead of thinking about me and you, of thinking about us, and What can I change? Paraizo said.

Just how that plays out should be seen first half 2021, after Globo and Conspiracao Filmes, whose Andrucha Waddington will once more head up the series direction, have shot Season 4.

Paraizo will re-team to write Season 4 with Marcio Alemao, Andre Sirangelo, Flavio Araujo and Pedro Riguetti. Its cinematographers are Fernando Young and Lula Cerri.

Variety talked to Paraizo, a distinguished screenwriter of celebrated recent Brazilian movies (Divine Love, Gabriel and the Mountain), on the eve of Globos virtual screenings.

One thing that sets Under Pressure apart from other medical dramas like ER, House and Greys Anatomy is that its plot is deeply grounded in a social issue realism, instead of providing escapism. How did this came about?

Paraizo: Andrucha Waddington had made a film called Under Pressure, from which the series derives. It was quite successful. Globo accepted the idea of taking its hospital and two protagonists and creating a show. Our first move after that was research. At the beginning I saw ER, Greys Anatomy, House and I confess that I was scared. Theyre such a high level. I wasnt certain how we could make a show like that in Brazil. So when we started doing the research we were guided by Marcio Maranhao, who wrote the book that became the film and the series. Marcio took us through the reality of public hospitals in the projects, which was very tough. We knew it, we knew it from newspaper reports but he brought home the reality.

For three weeks we went to hospitals every day and slowly realized that the social reality of these places was a character of this show, our hallmark, our differential. The show became a hospital with no resources, a hospital that is set in the middle of a favela and a hospital that mostly has to deal with not only health but social problems. Our hospital is not simply to heal illness, but violence, problems of basic hygiene, and so on. We understood that our hospital marked a kind of limbo for a whole society and exactly whats happening today. What we face today is not only a coronavirus crisis, not entirely. The real problem that we face is all the social differences in our country, seen here in a hospital.

When writing Season 1, I didnt know if people would want to watch it when they come back home from work and turn on the TV at 10 oclock and their reality is there. But it worked because were making them think critically but without ever loosing the emotional side. Sometimes I see films and shows that are very critical, but without emotion their critiques loose power. Ken Loach does this amazingly well. Hes one of my favorite directors, can get highly critical but at the same time his films are very emotional.

One of the series appeals is the medical staff, showing Brazilians who are extraordinarily principled and professional  Evandro, Carolina, Samuel  perform their jobs at the highest level. Theres even a suggestion in Season 2 theyre tantamount to miracle workers. Season 4 looks to suggest that even they cant cope with the collapse of the system. But are we reading this correctly?

Yes, in how the story talks about dealing with the tragedy in your personal life, I dont want to give any spoiler, but one of our medical staff will die. We need to show how tragedy gets to the doctors because its also happening a lot in Brazil. Whats missing today is professionals in the frontline. We have to talk about the need to form and educate more doctors, to create more good medical schools. [Brazilian president Jair] Bolsonaro threw out a lot of Cuban doctors about a year ago. Now we need them back. One of the things Id love to talk about in Season 4, though I still dont know how, is how can we change our values, the way we live in society. How, instead of thinking about me and you  and faced by this dilema most of society normally chooses me  and start to think about us. Thats the big change society faces today: To think about such issues collectively. Were facing a paradigm break in society right now. The question is how can we put this into a procedural show. How can you put together all the stories that arrive at that hospital, and that affect the main characters. Im searching for the answers.

What are you research methods at the moment? Whats catching your attention about this crisis?

With re-thinking values, Id add hope. Not as an escape from reality but hope in the sense of looking to one other, the hope thats inside you. What I want to suggest to people is that the solution for the humanist crisis starts with you. People havent realized that yet. Theyre expecting governments, other organizations to do something, and they are doing it. But the question is what I can change. Regarding the research, what were doing now is collecting stories that well eventually adapt for the show. Some of those stories like the transplant in the third episode of the first season, the story of the mother that has accept that her child was killed in a car accident, even when his body is moving, something that happens after brain death. This is a true story on how a mother accepted the transplant of her childs heart. After we screened the episode, I received an email from the system of transplants in Brazil, informing us that normally in Brazil they get 300 people per day that sign to donate organs, and after this episode went on air, it jumped to 8,000 in one day. Nowadays we are talking with a lot of people, our consultant is at a hospital, and he tell us a lot of whats going on. Its difficult to talk with him because reality barges in with so much power and gives a new sense to what Im writing.

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Hong Kong police made a mass arrest of some 230 people at protests on Mother's Day. The anti-government protests, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill last June that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial, have picked back up in the city after weeks of under a coronavirus-related lockdown.

On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered in shopping malls chanting slogans and singing protest songs, while a smaller group of protesters tried to block roads by setting trash on fire in Mong Kok as dusk fell. Police said a 22-year-old man was found to have materials believed to be intended for making petrol bombs.

Police stated about 230 protesters between the ages of 12 and 65 were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, "possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property" and failure to produce proof of identity and various other violations.

Another 19 people were ticketed for having violated the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation, the law that forbids gatherings of more than eight people in any public space. The nighttime street action followed multiple protests at shopping malls earlier in the day.

The authority made a statement, "Police condemn protesters for disregarding the Government's disease prevention and control measures, and participating in or organizing prohibited group gatherings."

Police also fired pepper spray at journalists and activists, and conducted a stop and search operations on members of the public and media.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) said some members of the press were prevented from filming. "Some journalists who were sprayed by pepper spray were not allowed to receive immediate treatment, and they were requested to stop filming," said Chris Yeung, chairman of the HKJA.

During the action, there were some casualties as the Hospital Authority said 18 people were taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, Political scientist Dr Edmund Cheng Wai, of City University, warned that mass arrests would only backfire. "The more people you arrest, the more will be angered," he said, adding that more arrests alone would be unlikely to end protests. "It will sow more seeds of hatred."

There have been widespread concerns amongst democracy advocates in Hong Kong that restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the pandemic will be used by China to further chain down on rights. For example, a contact-tracing app meant to control who comes into contact with infected people may be used to target anti-Beijing protestors, activists have warned.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced mega stimulus worth Rs 20 lakh crore to support key sectors and make India a self-reliant nation. PM Modi said the fourth phase of the lockdown would be enforced but complete details would be out before May 18. The financial package is equivalent to around 10 per cent of India's GDP and would address problems of a wide range of sectors of the economy as well as difficulties of the migrant workers.

Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, reactions started pouring in, with industry bigwigs and prominent personalities hailing the economic package. Let's take a look.

Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said there was something in the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package for every section of our society. "We should make local our mantra. Every big product, branded product, were local sometime. PM Modi is confident that we can do this," she said.
After a week of scorching weather, a sudden downpour hit Hanoi during peak morning hours on Tuesday, causing serious traffic congestion in the capital citys streets.

The unexpected rain began as people left their homes for work, catching them off-guard and forcing them to park their bikes on pavements to don their raincoats.

The situation led to a serious traffic jam that continued even after the normal morning rush hour on many streets, including Nguyen Trai, Le Van Luong, Khuat Duy Tien, Thai Ha, Tran Duy Hung, and Lang.

Police officers struggled to monitor and control traffic at intersections and U-turn areas on these streets.

Vehicles inch forward on Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Video: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Truong Chinh Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Tran Duy Hung Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

A traffic police officer monitors traffic on heavily congested Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Thai Ha Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Traffic congestion on Lang Street in Hanoi, Vietnam after a sudden downpour on the morning of May 12, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

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Some angry residents in Sunyani East constituency in the Bono region are making a passionate appeal to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates in the area not to retain the incumbent Member of Parliament for the area in their upcoming primaries.

According to them, considering the slow pace of development in the constituency, which is seen as the eye of the Bono region, there is the urgent need to change the incumbent MP and vote for his contender, Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, who they believe could deliver to their expectation.

They also raised concerns about the apparent lack of unity and cohesion among some executives and members of the party in the constituency and said the best way of is vote for a new person, who could bring everyone on board, irrespective of ones background.

In separate interviews, the residents wondered why their MP, who is also the Majority Chief Whip and until recently Ghanas Leader to the ECOWAS Parliament has over the years failed woefully to lobby for monumental projects such as tarring and completion of major roads in the area including the New Dormaa road and the execution of some of the governments flagship projects like One-District, One-Factory in the constituency.

Besides, we hardly even hear of him talking on the floor of parliament. When he is Sunyani, he is sometimes heard on the radio talking plenty but when he gets to parliament, we hardly hear him talk. Why? Is he afraid or what?, one resident noted.

A Public Servant in Sunyani, David Owusu-Ansah, described as appalling, the performance of the incumbent MP and said since the Sunyani East seat is not anyones family stool, the MP must be changed so that another person could also occupy it.

What at all has he done here in Sunyani since he became MP for Sunyani East?, he asked, adding that Sunyani deserves better and so you cannot represent us in parliament for three terms running and there is nothing monumental to show for all these years..

A popular radio presenter in Sunyani who spoke on conditions of anonymity said the incumbent MP, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, MUST be changed, because he is not accommodating but rather divisive and vindictive also not grateful at all. He is too emotional in his politicking and that is very bad.

He believes that Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboah has endeared himself to the partys activities over the years and demonstrated a strong unifying character both as a leading member of the NPP and also the Regional President of the Ghana Bar Association.

This is the kind of person Sunyani needs now and Ill humbly plead with the delegates to consider some of these positive qualities of Lawyer Tuah-Yeboah and vote massively for him, he stressed.

Information gathered by this reporter indicates that most of the NPP delegates in the Sunyani East constituency have vowed to teach the incumbent MP a bitter lesson during the primaries for neglecting them after they voted for him the last time.

He only comes around during elections, and after you vote for him; thats all. We dont see or hear anything from him again, one delegate said.
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Maharashtra panel decides to release 50% of prisoners on temporary bail to prevent spread of Covid-19

A high powered committee in Maharashtra has decided to release 50% of the 35,239 prisoners in jails across the state on temporary bail as part of measures to control the spread of Covid-19. Read more.

Glenmark starts clinical trials for potential Covid-19 drug in India

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday it has initiated clinical trials in India of antiviral drug favipiravir, seen as a potential treatment for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), for which it received approval from the countrys drug regulator in April. Read more.

PM Modi to address nation at 8pm today, day after meeting with CMs on Covid-19 lockdown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Tuesday evening. The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) tweeted that the address will take place at 8 pm. Read more.

Don: Amitabh Bachchan copied Abhisheks baby dance moves for Khaike Paan Banaraswala, was on anaesthesia

Amitabh Bachchan is celebrating 42 years of his hit film Don which also features his hit dance number Khaike Paan Banaraswala. The actor has now revealed he had actually copied son Abhisheks baby dance in the song as he danced barefoot after anesthesia shots. Read more.

International Nurses Day: Mumbai Police shares Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. inspired post to thank healthcare workers

International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on May 12 to commemorate the birth of Florence Nightingale. The event was established in 1974 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and it also highlights the important role of nurses in the healthcare. Read more.

Why covid is deadlier for men & the rape which sparked a covid fear in Tihar

Hindustan Times National Political Editor, Sunetra Choudhury brings you the top stories you need to know. Sunetra talks about the number of covid-19 cases in India, governments plan of random testing for community surveillance, new cases in Wuhan and South Korea and more. Watch the full video for more details.

International Nurses Day 2020: The history of nursing and its importance in modern Indian health care

The mention of the word Nurse conjures up the image of a compassionate lady in white uniform who selflessly attends to patients. Administering IV fluids, ensuring that the patients take their medicines on time, and monitoring their health, nurses perform numerous duties. Read more.

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Fossil fuel lobbyists are calling for the government to relax environmental regulations due to the coronavirus, arguing the concessions are necessary to rebuild the post-pandemic economy.

Six peak industry bodies representing the mining sector this week made a joint submission calling on the federal government to streamline environmental regulations in an upcoming review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Six peak industry bodies representing the mining sector this week made a joint submission calling on the federal government to streamline environmental regulations. Credit:Eddie Jim

Pragmatic reforms to the EPBC Act will help reduce delays in project approvals, stimulate investment and fast-track the major projects needed for Australias speedy post-COVID recovery, said chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia Tania Constable, which advocated for changes that would reduce delays in assessment and approval processes of new projects.

She said this would ensure fit-for-purpose regulation  not lower environmental standards.
- In a mysterious turn of events, a married woman died in a Catholic priest's house after she had lied to her husband she was going somewhere else

- The woman, said to be the priest's lover, is also a member of the Catholic Women's league from St Maurice Catholic church

- Father Abel Mwelwa was suspended by the church and also forced to pay for the funeral expenses following the incident

A married woman in Zambia is said to have died inside a Catholic priests house after she lied to her husband she was attending a funeral elsewhere.

TUKO.co.ke has learnt the woman is a member of the Catholic Womens league from St Maurice Catholic Church in Lusaka.

READ ALSO: Nairobi engineer lands multi million project after getting referral from guard he gave a lift

A collage of the priest and the married woman. Photo source: Lusaka Times

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Oscar Sudi: Kizazaa chashuhudiwa nyumbani kwa mbunge wa Kapseret

According to 9ja Live Times, Father Abel Mwelwa invited the woman who also happens to be his lover to the parish house on the night of Holy Thursday, May 7.

Lusaka Times reported that Archbishop Alick Banda suspended the clergyman as the judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of Lusaka moments after the occurrence became public.

An official memo from the church also stated Father Mwelwa had ceased being the parish priest of Kaunda Square parish.

I hereby wish to inform you that I have with immediate effect suspended the Very Rev. Ringford Abel Mwelwa from the priesthood indefinitely. With this suspension he ceases to be Parish Priest for Kaunda Square Parish as well as Judicial Vicar of the Archbishop of Lusaka, a part of the memo read.

READ ALSO: Meet Kenyan entertainer MC Rayan The DJ uniting Africans in the US with Afro-themed concerts

The priest is said to have injected something in the woman in a bid to terminate her pregnancy. Photo: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kisanga mama mkwe kuitisha mzinga mkahawani

A source close to the media said that the clergyman was mandated to pay for the funeral expenses by the deceaseds family.

As at the time of writing this report, the autopsy result for her death was not yet ready as the womans family urged the police to investigate the real cause of her death.

An unconfirmed source, however, said that the priest reportedly injected some substance into the deceased in an attempt to abort her pregnancy.

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 life is in danger, get me out of Saudi Arabia- Sheila Andalo | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Nursing homes, where so many residents and staff have died from the coronavirus nationally, will be receiving a much closer look across Pennsylvania beginning May 17.

Dr. Rachel Levine, the Health Department Secretary, said Tuesday that testing will be required of all residents and staff in the states nursing homes, long-term care living facilities and assisted living facilities starting Sunday. The results will be reported to the state, using the same system that hospitals currently use, and the information will be reported publically, she said.

We have not had the testing capabilities in Pennsylvania to perform this until the last approximately two and a half weeks, she said. "Its been extremely challenging to get the supplies, and the swabs needed, to be able to perform this significant amount of testing,

As that unfolded, the criticism continued to come loudly from a number of central Pennsylvania counties and legislators who are angry that Gov. Tom Wolf hasnt included them yet in the yellow phase of his reopening process, which would allow for some businesses to reopen and for an overall loosening of the broad restrictions that have been in place for weeks.

A state House candidate from Perry County and an alliance of business owners, in fact, have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Wolfs orders not only are unconstitutional but ineffective as well.

And, speaking of angry, this video from a confrontation at an East York Red Lobster showed a customer incensed about waiting for her Mothers Day meal fighting with staff to push inside the restaurant and get her refund.

It was one of a number of complaints voiced on social media about long wait times or unfulfilled orders at Red Lobster locations in Pittsburgh, Mechanicsburg, and in other states, including New York and Illinois.

Here are other PennLive stories on the coronavirus that were published Tuesday:

New United States citizens sworn in outdoors, with face masks

Eight of Lycoming Countys nine COVID-19 deaths were skilled nursing facility patients

Heres whats changed in Pa.'s fight against coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes, long-term care facilities

Data doesnt support keeping businesses in York and Adams counties closed, Republican lawmakers argue

Which states have the most confirmed coronavirus cases (5/12/2020): Where does Pa. stand?

Mid Penn, Capital Area summer swim leagues cancel 2020 seasons due to coronavirus

Philadelphia to hold Fourth of July celebration virtually

Pa. Renaissance Faire venue will present drive-in movies instead of jousting this summer

Wolf urges anybody coming to Pennsylvania to respect our efforts to stay safe as Trump plans a stop

Mega-hit Broadway musical Hamilton will debut on Disney Plus in July  a year ahead of schedule

Will your property taxes increase? Pa. schools face potential $1 billion in lost revenue because of coronavirus

The Penn State Berkey Creamery reopens after closing during pandemic

Steak 'n Shake closes 51 locations due to coronavirus pandemic

You wont have to smile for the camera to renew your Pa. drivers license. PennDOT to use old pics

Commissioner says hes unsure if Dauphin County will reopen early, calls Wolf tone deaf to problems

A Pa. company switched from sewing football jerseys to face masks. Workers walked off, saying the plan was unsafe
By Trend

The price of Azeri LT CIF Augusta, produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil field, amounted to $30.66 per barrel on May 11, which is $0.67 less compared to May 8, Trend reports with reference to the source from the country's oil and gas market.

The price of Azeri LT FOB Ceyhan amounted to $29.58 per barrel on May 11, which is $0.7 less compared to May 8.

Azerbaijan has been producing Azeri LT since 1997 and exporting it via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and Baku-Supsa Western Export Pipeline, as well as by rail, to the Georgian port of Batumi.

Azerbaijan also sells its URALS oil from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, delivering it through the Baku-Novorossiysk oil pipeline.

The price of URALS with shipment from the port amounted to $28.28 per barrel on May 11, which is $0.65 less compared to May 6.

The cost of a barrel of Brent Dated oil, produced in the North Sea, reached $25.47 per barrel, indicating an increase of $0.37.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Good news from Sevens camp today with Home & Away set to resume filming later this month.

Production was suspended in late March due to pandemic restrictions.

A Seven spokesperson said in a statement, Home and Away will resume filming on May 25 at Sevens studios. This follows a seven-week break that was implemented as a precautionary response to COVID-19 but also included Easter holidays.

A range of measures will be in place to minimise risk for cast and crew, to be overseen by dedicated safety officers. The measures include temperature checks on arrival, increased hygiene practices and rigorous cleaning schedules.

Scripts will also be reworked to reduce close contact, in constant consultation with the cast and crew to ensure the health and safety of all.

Georgie Parker recently told TV Tonight, Its all to do with when restrictions will be lessened. We were working right up until about (four) and a half weeks ago and we were doing really well. We had adjusted filming in a very effective manner, adhering to as much spatial distancing as was possible.

She added, You cant do a classic two-shot because you cant have people standing that close to each other. So then everything is about cheating the distance with camera angles, and then its about staggering people in the frame.

This follows Neighbours resuming filming in late April at its Nunawading site, for which it has attracted global media coverage.

While Home & Away is yet to confirm location work, production restart on both soaps puts Australia ahead of UK soaps.

Source: The Daily Telegraph.
WESTMINSTER, Colo., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Larson Financial, dba Larson Tax Relief has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2020 honor by The Denver Post. This marks the ninth year that Larson Tax Relief has been recognized on the Top Workplaces list for the small businesses category.

Brothers and co-owners Jack and Ron Larson have continued to show their dedication and commitment to their employees during these especially difficult times that COVID-19 has presented to the business world. Owners and the management team took fast action and made significant changes to quickly get employees transferred to remote work settings and to continue to provide superior customer service to our clients and those seeking tax relief. Especially noteworthy has been the company's communication with the team to provide resources available to those who need anything from financial assistance to mental health or educational assistance.

The annual Top Workplaces list is based solely on employee feedback and recognizes the area's best places to work. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 drivers of engaged cultures that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection "For more than a decade, the Top Workplaces award has helped organizations stand out among their competitors to attract talent," said Eric Rubino, CEO of Energage.



About Larson Tax Relief

Larson Tax Relief is a leader in the tax resolution industry, assisting clients in all 50 states, specializing in tax resolution strategies and taxpayer representation with the IRS and State Taxing Authorities. The firm, established in 2005, is family-owned and operated by brothers Jack and Ron Larson. Since that beginning, Larson has been successfully building a team of trusted and experienced professionals to provide answers and top-quality solutions for their clients. The team at Larson understands that behind every client there is a real person deserving the best service and representation available. Larson has helped over 10,000 individuals and businesses to resolve their tax liabilities. Their experience, knowledge, professionalism, and customer service are unmatched in the industry. For more information visit larsontaxrelief.com.

About Energage

Energage, a certified B-corporation, offers web-based solutions and advisory services that help organizations recruit and retain the right talent. Home of Top Workplaces research, Energage offers solutions that collect, understand and amplify the voice of the employee, enabling organizations to reduce unwanted turnover, lower recruiting costs and increase retention. Based on more than 13 years of culture research, advanced comparative analytics, and patented algorithms trained on more than 20 million employees at 58,000 companies, Energage has isolated the 15 drivers of engaged cultures that are critical to the success of any organization. For more information, please visit energage.com.

SOURCE Larson Tax Relief

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Conservationists have called for tough new laws and the creation of a wildlife crime unit following the mass poisoning of 22 buzzards, a protected bird species, in West Cork.

The incident around Timoleague, which has been linked to the banned root crop pesticide carbofuran, is believed to be one of the single largest poisonings targeting birds of prey in Ireland.

It has been condemned by Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan as a "callous and criminal incident".

"While the investigation is ongoing, the National Parks and Wildlife Service -NPWS- is confident that this was a deliberate targeting of this flock of buzzards and was not related to any agricultural practices in the area," she said.

Gardai have been informed and local NPWS field staff are continuing to monitor the area in an effort to determine the source of this criminal offence, she added.

"NPWS has pursued successful prosecutions relation to this banned poison in the past."

However, the Golden Eagle Trust said securing enough evidence to bring a case to court is difficult in such wildlife cases and a new approach is needed.

The mass poisoning was brought to the attention of the NPWS by a concerned landowner in Timoleague, leading to the discovery of 22 dead buzzards on adjacent lands.

Toxicology confirmed the birds had ingested carbofuran. The trust said despite being banned, the substance is still being used to deliberately kill birds of prey across Ireland.

Josepha Madigan TD arriving for the Dail at Leinster House last month. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Trust spokesman Lorcan O'Toole said the landowner who raised the alarm in this case was unaware that a third party was leaving the poison out nearby, and they were shocked at the scale of this incident.

"This is the biggest illegal act against birds of prey in Ireland over the last two decades," he said.

"The continued wilful persecution of birds of prey is decreasing the population of peregrines, hen harriers, buzzards and the reintroduced native populations of eagles and kites in some parts of Ireland.

It can be very difficult to find the evidence that could link an individual with an act of poisoning and thereby present sufficient evidence before a judge in order to secure a successful prosecution.

The trust has now called for new laws to make it illegal to be in possession of carbofuran and several other lethal substances, the agricultural uses of which have been banned and phased out.

It has also called on the Department of Culture to consider establishing a wildlife crime unit within the NPWS which could provide specialised advice and expertise in responding to reported wildlife crime incidents.

Apart from the wildlife crime itself, Mr O'Toole said such poisoning incidents also pose a risk to the public, with family groups, dog walkers, and landowners at potential risk of encountering poisoned meat baits.

Buzzards became extinct in Ireland in the late 19th century but re-established themselves in Northern Ireland in the 1930s and have steadily colonised many counties in Ireland over the years.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Some chief ministers sought more coordination from the Centre and a greater say to decide on their own strategies even as most states appeared in favour of the lockdown being relaxed slowly with precautions. In the meeting with PM Narendra Modi, states like Punjab, Bihar, Assam spoke in favour of extension of lockdown.

Supporting the extension of lockdown, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar stressed on the random testing with facilities being provided by the Centre. Skill profiling of migrants is on to create skill-oriented jobs to them, he said.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee requested Modi to maintain the federal structure of the country and not to take decisions unilaterally. The Centre and the state must work together as a team to overcome the Covid challenge. Leaking letters is not in the federal spirit., she said.

Lockdown should continue for two more weeks since relaxation will mean that people take things lightly, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal said. Inter-state movement should be kept limited.

The biggest challenge is poised by the large number of people returning home, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said. Same policies will not work in the whole country. We must continue following some basic guidelines. To keep the virus in check, inter-state movement should be minimised. All states must be allowed to do their own planning.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray requested Modi to restart the Mumbai suburban train service for the essential services. He also sought states share of GST from the Centre. The state has lost around `35,000 revenue in last 40 days. The Centre should extend financial help during crisis situations.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said states needed to be given a greater flexibility in micro-planning.The decision on designating the red, orange, yellow and green zones should be left to the states, which are more aware of the ground realities.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan suggested that stern measures should be adopted for hotspots and containment zones, but relaxation should be allowed in other areas to enable economic activity.
Following the announcement of the first coronavirus case in Yemen, the UN called for a ceasefire between the warring parties in a country where the healthcare system is already petering on the edge of collapse.

The case, recorded 10 April in the southern city of Hadramout, is of a 60-year-old man. No other cases have been registered since in Hadramout, but speculation arose other cases exist and were either unannounced or untested.

Hadramout governor Farag Al-Bohsoni quickly announced strict preventive measures against the spread of the virus, declaring a curfew from 6pm to 8am. Authorities started sterilising markets and public areas and healthcare facilities and the security apparatus were prepared.

In Taiz, Yemenis are suffering on multiple fronts. Diseases such as chikungunya, dengue and malaria have led to multiple fatalities. There are no statistics that reveal the size of the catastrophe in the southwestern city. Moreover, employees are not receiving their pay and are feeling the economic crunch with the pressure of Ramadan and the close advent of the Eid Al-Fitr, the Islamic feast following the holy month.

In Aden and Taiz, continuous skirmishes between the government and the Southern Transitional Council have led to the death and suffering of many residents.

Nonetheless, Taiz is more prepared to fight coronavirus than Aden. Taiz governor Nabil Shamsan formed an emergency committee against the pandemic, with the head of the committee, Ahmed Mansour, announcing the registration of four coronavirus cases on 10 May. Shamsan ordered the infected patients be taken to the Republic Hospital in Taiz, prepared as an isolation hospital. However, before being taken to the hospital, one case died. Mansour said 11 people came in contact with the case that was self-isolating at home, and no recoveries were announced.

Taiz residents have been complaining about the horrific spread of mosquitoes in the city. A local source told Al-Ahram Weekly that mosquitoes spread most in October and November, but because garbage collectors were not paid, trash accumulated in the streets. However, an international organisation paid the garbage collectors dues to save Taiz from the garbage piles, the source said.

Sanaa sources reported coronavirus is spreading in Sanaa with the Houthis keeping the matter under wraps. The private sector has been launching awareness campaigns against the virus and there are screens in pharmacies, malls and supermarkets on which are displayed protective measures against the pandemic. Nonetheless, the city is crowded, with people going out to the markets, one source said.

The Houthis have dedicated Kuwait University Hospital in Sanaa to patients of coronavirus. Another source from Sanaa reported a lack of transparency regarding the number of patients in the hospital. The source said the Houthis refused to hand relatives of coronavirus victims the bodies of the deceased, with guards beating them with weapons to drive them away from the hospital door.

Lise Grande, United Nations residencoordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, stated that, since the first confirmed COVID-19 case, we have warned that the virus is now in Yemen and may quickly spread. The factors are all here. Low levels of general immunity, high levels of acute vulnerability and a fragile, overwhelmed health system.

Head of mission at Doctors Without Borders, Claire Ha-Duong, told DW: Until recently, Yemen was one of the last countries in the world with no detected cases of the coronavirus. This can be attributed to the lack of testing capacity in the country. The virus has probably been in Yemen for some time already, but was not detected.

It is impossible for the country to prepare itself for the epidemic as it does not have personal protective equipment nor the appropriate tests, she added.

The BBC reported, Oxfam said it was a devastating blow, the International Rescue Committee called it a nightmare scenario. Yemen is suffering the worlds worst humanitarian crisis and millions are reliant on food aid. Diseases, including cholera, dengue and malaria, are rife and only half of hospitals are fully functional. News of the first COVID-19 case came a day after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen began a ceasefire, saying it wanted to help stop coronavirus spread and support UN peace efforts.

In Aden, where Yemenis have seen floods and rainstorms, rats and mosquitoes compound the environmental problems in the city, a local source said, adding that medical staffs from the Republican Hospital in Aden left their positions at the hospital fearing infection.

Crater Sky, a Yemeni news website, reported that chaos and horror spread among staff in the hospital after they were told Pakistani sailors were in the hospital on suspicion of coronavirus infection. The medical staff feared they would become infected, amid the lack of personal protective equipment in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Population Nasser Baoum said Yemen has been adopting preventive measures against the pandemic, asking the public to be cautious. Baoum said his ministry registered the entry of 50,342 nationals into the country through 11 land, four sea and four air ports from 18 January to 15 March, with whom precautionary measures were taken.

Baoum added that the Health Ministry has activated quick response medical squads nationwide, raising alert levels at state clinics and emergency rooms.

The Russian news agency Sputnik reported a young Yemeni man, a confirmed coronavirus case, escaped from Hadramouts Ibn Sina Hospital following his return from abroad.

Crater Sky also reported that in Aden 17 bodies were buried on 30 April, 12 bodies on 2 May and four bodies on 3 May, without residents knowing the cause of death, leading them to suspect chikungunya disease, spreading through mosquitos. A local source described the disease as making the patient unable to move, as if paralysed. The cure is a shot worth $200.

He added: All of Adens hospitals are closed and death is everywhere with the absence of the government and the negligence of the Southern Transitional Council. On 10 May, at 11pm, there were protests calling for the resignation of the prime minister and the expulsion of the transitional council from Yemen.

Shallow waters are filling the streets of Aden, leading to the spread of mosquitos, and consequently, many diseases. Aden is a city in ruins, with piles of garbage, rats running amid blow-up of sewage networks and the spread of the pneumonic plague that has killed 72 people.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Hyderabad: The relative of a person who died of Covid-19 on Sunday has refuted the Telangana governments claim in its official daily Covid-19 media bulletin that there were no Covid-related deaths on Sunday. The death was not reported in the bulletin issued on Monday as well.

Aditya Belde, a resident of Ziaguda, said his 51-year-old paternal uncle died of the disease at Gandhi Hospital at around 10 am Sunday. I want to know why his death has not been reported in the official bulletin which was released much later in the day. I think the officials had enough time to update the information, he said.

Belde took to Twitter on Monday to report the death and sought an explanation from the government on the omission of his uncles demise from the health departments report on the Covid-19 situation on Sunday.

Beldes uncle had been suffering from a heart ailment for a few years. On Thursday, May 7, his health deteriorated, so the family took him to a private hospital. There, they were asked to get him tested for Covid-19 at a government hospital.

My relatives took my uncle to Fever Hospital the same day. He was taken inside for just around 10 minutes, after which they said he didnt have Covid-19 and could be taken home, he said.

The patients health continued to deteriorate, and on Friday evening, the family took him to a corporate hospital in Begumpet, where he was treated previously. The doctors at this hospital informed the family that the patient needed to be on a ventilator and that he should be tested for Covid-19.

Accordingly a sample was collected and sent to Gandhi Hospital. On Saturday night, the test results came back and we found he was Covid-19 positive, said Belde.

Almost immediately, his uncle was processed for a transfer to Gandhi Hospital. Belde was told to accompany his uncle to do the formalities there. We reached Gandhi Hospital at around 4:30 am and it took an hour before he was admitted. I wasnt allowed to be near him but I could observe from a distance, he said.

He returned home after a couple of hours. At around noon on Sunday, he got a call from a policeman who told him his uncle had passed away at 10 am on Sunday. By evening, the cremation had been arranged at a local crematorium, which no family member was able to attend.

Nine members of the deceased mans family, including Belde, were transported to an isolation facility at the Government Ayurvedic Hospital at Erragadda as they lived together as a joint family.

Their swabs have since been taken for Covid-19 tests. Belde wonders why the government did not add his uncles death to the official bulletin. It is very confusing. We need some clarity on this matter, he said.

The family is also upset that their sick relative was made to run around various hospitals for three days before he was tested positive for Covid-19.

At Coranti (Fever Hospital) they examined him for just 10 minutes and sent him home. They didnt even collect his samples. Had he been tested earlier, he could have been saved, Belde said.

At the corporate hospital the doctors told them about the test result only after they had made payment for the treatment there. We paid Rs 1.70 lakh for my uncles treatment. Just 15 minutes later, we were told he was Covid-19 positive. We are extremely suspicious about this, to say the least, he said.

Belde said that his uncle had no travel history. Since the lockdown began in March, he left the house only a few times. He only went out to buy vegetables and groceries. He had no travel history, he said.
Over 8,000 thousand passengers travelled to different destinations on Tuesday as the Indian railways resumed its passenger services after over one and a half months of stoppage owing to the Covid-19 lockdown in the country . HT talks some of the people who took a train journey on the first day of the resumption of rail services.

Patna

Dhiraj Kumar Jaiswal, a supervisor at a private company at Ghaziabad, was among those travelling back to Delhi with six members of his family including his two children, wife and two relatives.

With offices opening, I have no alternative but to return, said Jaiswal, who has a masters degree in Business Administration. Jaiswal, 38, stranded at his Patna City home after he came for Holi, and then could not leave when train services were stopped on March 23 midnight.

It was a tough period. I came for Holi festival and got stuck up due to lockdown, he said. Asked if the company paid him for the period, he said, I have to check my salary once I reach Delhi. My mobile was also not working.

Dehradun

Omkar Singh, 20, from Champawat district, was working at a hotel in Vadodara. Singh reached Uttarakhand and was working in Gujarat for two years.

We did not get our salary for the past three months and still had to pay for my accommodation and food expenses. Two years ago, I went to Gujarat empty-handed and now, after two years, I have returned home the same way. I had to face many difficulties to return home, but it finally feels that the situation might improve a little because at least I will be home, said Singh, after reaching Katgodam railway station in Uttarakhand at 11.30 p.m on Monday night from Surat in Gujarat.

Kolkata

PB Verma, 80, and his wife, Prema Verma, had come to Kolkata to stay with their son, Umesh, a senior employee in a nationalised bank. They could not go back because of the lockdown. On Tuesday, they boarded the special train from Kolkata to Delhi and left for their home in Allahabad (which is on the Kolkata-Delhi train route).

We have a house at Allahabad and had come here to stay with our son during Holi. We were supposed to leave in the last week of April. But we got stuck. Today, I am relieved that I am going back home. But I am also apprehensive as Covid-19 is spreading fast and I am travelling in a train with hundreds of other passengers, said Verma.

Mumbai

Nafees Mohammed, 55, travelled from Khopoli in Maharashtra,was on his way from Mumbai to New Delhi. Nafees, who works on a construction site, travelled along with four other co-passengers from Khopoli to Mumbai railway station in a taxi. He arrived three hours before departure of the train Mumbai.

I have come along with people who used to work with me. We have been stuck for 50 days and have no way to go. There are limited sources available in Khopoli and I cant wait to reach Delhi and meet my children. We suffered a lot for 50 days and had little money to commute. Nafees said.

Jammu

Javed Ahmed, 55, with his two brothers, reached Jammu Tawi railway station on Tuesday afternoon from Goa, where he runs a shop of Kashmiri jewellery and trinkets. They decided to return as tourism in Goa is unlikely to pick up in the coming months.

We three brothers are heading home to Srinagar. We have been running a shop in Goa for the past 18 years but now we have to leave. We are happy that they we will reach home soon. We may have to spend a few days in quarantine but that it is not an issue, said Ahmed.

He is not optimistic about his prospects in Goa. If the situation improves across the world, especially in Europe, then only Goa tourism has a chance, Javed, who departed on a Shramik Special train to Udhampur, said.

Amritsar

Rameshwar Parshad Bharadwaj, 24, was worried about his old parents and that was why he wanted to return to Bihar from Amritsar. He, along with his wife and three children, left for his home on a Shramik Express train on Tuesday evening. The train was going to Janjgir Champa in Bihar. He said he has been coming to Punjab every year for the past eight years to work in brick kilns.

Although the work stopped since the lockdown was imposed, we were getting everything necessary to live. We were concerned about my parents at home, he said.

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CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday that he sides with Elon Musk in the Tesla CEO's fight with local officials over reopening the company's auto manufacturing plant in Alameda County, California, south of San Francisco.

"I think he's dead right," Cramer said, in reaction to Musk saying that Tesla restarted production at its Fremont factory on Monday, in violation of a county coronavirus mitigation order against reopening nonessential businesses.

Cramer admitted Musk is a "zealot," referencing rants about state stay-at-home orders since the company's first-quarter earnings were released late last month. Musk has described the restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19 as fascist, and he urged governments to ease restrictions.

However, the "Mad Money" host, who has erred on the side of caution in commenting on the need to get Americans back to work and prevent further loss of life, said it's time to open Tesla's Fremont factory.

Shortly after Cramer's comments on "Squawk on the Street," President Donald Trump tweeted that "California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW. It can be done Fast & Safely!"

TRUMP TWEET

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin backed Musk in a CNBC interview. "He's one of the biggest employers and manufacturers in California, and California should prioritize doing whatever they need to do to solve those health issues so that he can open quickly and safely," Mnuchin said.

For Alameda's part, County Supervisor Scott Haggerty said: "I wish Elon would have waited one more week. So we could have just done this in a methodical fashion that really put people back to work safely."

Musk, in a tweet confirming the resumption of production, practically dared authorities to arrest him.

MUSK TWEET

Tesla's Fremont plant had been closed since March 23.

Monday's restart came days after Tesla sued the Alameda County Health Department seeking to overturn its order and after Musk threatened to move Tesla's manufacturing operations and headquarters out of California.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Brits across the nation have picked up new hobbies to pass the time during location - including the likes of cross-stitching, baking and puzzles.

But if you've exhausted all options and are seeking out activities to help you relax after a day spent in front of the laptop while working from home, Amazon is selling a jigsaw that is sure to keep you occupied for weeks on end.

While the 1000-piece jigsaw may prove tricky in itself, the added challenge is that it is all the same colour, not to mention the size of the pieces.

So it's no wonder the product is called: 'M71-848 world's smallest 1000 piece micro dark hell.'

Amazon is selling a very tricky 1000-piece puzzle that's all the same colour - and comes in either all black (pictured), or all white.

The jigsaw, which also comes in white (pictured), ranges in price from 36.64 and 40.28 depending on the delivery option

Taking to the review section, one person joked: 'I've still not completed it and it's been over a year' (pictured)

The puzzle, is on sale in two colours - black and white - with prices ranging from 36.64 and 40.28 depending on the delivery option.

And many who have previously tried their hand at the puzzle took to the comments section keen to emphasise just how tricky it was.

'If you hate someone, or simply enjoy making them suffer, give them this puzzle. My parents have almost gone insane trying to complete this,' joked one, while a second penned:

'Very cool puzzle, very small, making it difficult but not impossible. Made a great gift.'

Many who have tried their hands at the puzzle were quick to take to the comment section to express how tricky they found it (pictured)

A third added: 'Bought as a present /torture puzzle for grandparents. Very well received and enjoyed!' while a fourth penned: 'For my friend. Hehehehehe so hard.'

Another told how they still haven't managed to complete the video after a year of trying, while a further commented:

Its a 1000 tiny pieces of full black puzzle that will give you a challage to complete, loaded with headache

The puzzle is on sale by a company called Beverly who are stocking it on the marketplace website.
A 34-year-old migrant worker died on board a Pune-Prayagraj Shramik Special train on Monday and his post-mortem has been conducted, officials said on Tuesday.

Akhilesh Kumar, who used to work at a hotel in Pune, was returning to his hometown in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh. He died during the journey and the body was taken off the train at Majhgawan in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district, the officials said.

"The migrant worker died on the Pune-Prayagraj special train and his body was attended to in Madhya Pradesh. Post-mortem has been conducted," RPF DG Arun Kumar confirmed.

He said there was no confirmation yet on whether the migrant had tested positive for coronavirus.

The Indian Railways has operated 542 "Shramik Special" trains since May 1 and ferried home 6.48 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside a branch of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Bank of Ireland <BIRG.I> lost 241 million euros (211.06 million pounds)before tax in the first quarter after putting aside 266 million euros, mainly to cover 86,000 loan repayment breaks in Ireland and Britain, the lender said on Monday.

Ireland introduced stay-home measures at the end of March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, shutting down all but essential services such as supermarkets and banks, and unleashing a six-fold increase in the unemployment rate to 28%.

The bank is the largest Irish lender in Britain, where a similar lockdown is also set to be gradually eased. While the United Kingdom made up about a third of its loan book at the end of March, it accounted for 53,000 or almost two-thirds of all loan breaks, according to a presentation for analysts.

The bank's shares, which have halved in value since Ireland reported its first coronavirus case at the end of February, were 11.1% lower at 1.45 euros by 1010 GMT, having opened slightly up.

That dragged main competitor Allied Irish Banks <AIBG.I>, which reports first quarter figures on Tuesday, down 10.8%. Ireland's third domestically-owned retail bank, the smaller mortgage lender permanent tsb <IL0A.I>, was up 1.5%.

"I guess I have the scars from the last crisis but when I think how we enter this crisis, we have a much stronger balance sheet, it's well diversified, the credit metrics are strong," Bank of Ireland Chief Financial Officer Myles O'Grady told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"As challenging as this is, I think Bank of Ireland enters it as strong as it could be."

The first-quarter charge was almost wholly made up of a 250 million euro management estimate to reflect the deteriorating economic conditions. The bank said it had not yet experienced losses on loans related to the coronavirus fallout, with its non-performing exposure ratio falling to 4.2% from 4.4% in 2019.

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The bank also took a 120 million euro charge in its wealth and insurance business due to falling equity markets and wider credit spreads, contributing to the loss, alongside a 35 million charge incurred from financial instrument valuation adjustments.

Ireland's largest bank by assets, which made a profit of 123 million euros in the same period last year, said it expected more impairment charges and loan losses during 2020, with new lending potentially dropping to 50% to 70% of 2019 volumes.

The bank said that in a range of scenarios its fully loaded core Tier 1 capital ratio would remain above its previous minimum regulatory capital requirement of 11.45%. Its CET1 ratio - a key measure of financial strength - fell to 13.5% at the end of March, from 13.8% at the end of 2019.

Bank of Ireland, 14% owned by the state following the global financial crash a decade ago which hammered Irish banks, reduced costs by 3% year-on-year and said it was maintaining a target introduced in February for more aggressive cost cuts by 2021.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin,; Editing by David Clarke and Ed Osmond)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on April 30. The House Democrats' $3-trillion proposal would provide payments to state and local governments, and another round of $1,200 checks to individuals. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

House Democrats on Tuesday released a $3-trillion proposal that would provide payments to local governments and another round of $1,200 checks to individuals to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus, a plan that Republicans have already brushed off as too expansive and costly.

Members of the House are expected to come back to Washington on Friday to vote on the bill.

Democrats wrote the bill without negotiations with the White House or Republicans, meaning the legislation is more of a Democratic wish list and will need to be changed to pass the GOP-led Senate and be signed by President Trump.

Republicans have signaled they have no interest in enacting a new coronavirus response bill anytime soon, meaning passage of a law could be weeks away, despite mounting unemployment and mortality figures.

"This is nothing more than a messaging exercise by House Democrats," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate.

Democrats strategy has been focused on the idea that the public is eager for more government support and programs  not less  and that Americans will favor their expansive, 1,815-page proposal.

It was clear from the very beginning of this pandemic that its tragic consequences and scope and impact on the American people and the global community [meant] that robust response was essential, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday.

But while Republicans derided the package as a liberal fantasy measure, progressives are not yet embracing it, squeezing Democratic leaders from both ends of the political spectrum. The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Mark Pocan, asked Pelosi to delay the Friday vote so Democrats can debate its merits in person. In a letter to Pelosi, they wrote that they should have time to discuss the bill and any changes "that might be needed to ensure that it truly reflects the priorities and work" of all House Democrats.

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Their top priority has been funding to help employers cover payroll costs for employees.

But other progressives, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and the group of freshman Democrats known as the "squad"  Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)  want to see a new recurring monthly payment.

Called the Heroes Act, the centerpiece of the plan is more than $900 billion for state and local governments. Democrats have focused on ensuring local governments have funding to pay public workers, including transit employees, police officers, firefighters and teachers. Republicans are skeptical of such spending, saying they dont want to bail out state governments that were in a dire financial picture before the COVID-19 pandemic.

It provides a second round of $1,200 economic stimulus payments  expanding the list of people eligible  and extends enhanced unemployment benefits through January.

The bill also provides $200 billion in hazard pay for healthcare workers; $75 billion to expand testing and contact tracing; student loan relief; $175 billion in mortgage and rent help; $14 billion for food assistance; and more than $3 billion for the November elections to be conducted by mail. It also provides $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service, which is in financial trouble.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that he doesnt feel there is a need for an immediate bill.

I dont think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately," he said. "That time could develop, but I dont think it has yet."

McConnell said Tuesday that he's discussing next steps with the Trump administration. When they make a decision to proceed, "that will be the time to interact with the Democrats."

Republicans top priority is protecting healthcare companies and employers from lawsuits from patients, workers and customers who are exposed to COVID-19. They have not yet released a plan, but McConnell said Tuesday that it will include enhanced medical malpractice protections for healthcare providers on COVID-19 cases.

Hoyer identified funding for state and local governments, and payments to individuals as the top priorities for House Democrats when bipartisan negotiations get underway.

That would be a red line for us because thats what we think is critically important, Hoyer said.

Also Friday, Democrats are expected to approve a measure to allow the House to conduct some of its business remotely.

House rules require lawmakers to be in the House chamber to vote on legislation. Under the new plan, which Republican leaders oppose, lawmakers would be able to give another member their proxy to vote on their behalf in the chamber during the pandemic.

The proposal would also allow House committees to do some of their business  including oversight  remotely.
Sheikh Omar Khorasani is reportedly captured with two other IS leaders in a special operation in Kabul.

The leader of the Islamic State group in South Asia and the Far East has been arrested in Kabul, Afghanistan's intelligence service says.

Zia ul-Haq, also known as Sheikh Omar Khorasani, was held with two other senior leaders of the militant group.

The Taliban are the main militant group in Afghanistan but IS has been active in some areas and has carried out several bomb attacks in Kabul.

Correspondents say the arrest will be a major breakthrough if confirmed.

The other two were named as his spokesman Saheeb and chief of intelligence Abu Ali.

The operation was conducted after a tip-off by four recently arrested senior IS members, and based on security and intelligence inputs, a statement by the service said.

The agency "will continue its comprehensive and targeted operations to hunt down senior leaders of regional terrorist groups and destroy the joint hubs of these terrorist networks", the statement said, quoted by Reuters.

IS has carried out several deadly bombings in recent years, targeting Afghanistan's Shia and other minorities and killing scores of people.

A report submitted to the UN last year said Sheikh Omar Khorasani had been replaced by the central leadership of the group because of his poor performance, but this has never been confirmed.

The arrests come as violence continues throughout the country despite the signing of a troop withdrawal agreement between the US and the Taliban in February.

The Taliban, which says it is opposed to IS, has desisted from large-scale attacks since the agreement. BBC
As frustrating as the coronavirus economic restrictions have been, it was probably inevitable that Louisianas shared sense of purpose, so powerful back in March, would begin to fray.

One issue about which we are squabbling is whether to wear masks. Depending on your view, masks are either a vital weapon in our fight against coronavirus or an overzealous government attack on our freedom  or just uncomfortable to wear. But whatever your view, wearing a mask protects you from infection, and it does even more to protect the people you come in contact with  including retail workers who serve hundreds of customers every day. They deserve your help.

The tensions are playing out in the Legislature, where a large group gathers in relatively close quarters. Democrats are generally wearing masks, and some Republicans are not.

But everywhere you go, you see people in a crowd who are not wearing masks.

The state guidelines that recommend mask-wearing didnt originate in the imagination of Gov. John Bel Edwards. They reflect the wisdom of the nations leading epidemiologists, including those who work for the Trump administration.

Either way, nobody is arresting people if they dont wear a mask. Theyre not even arresting publicity-seeking pastor Tony Spell.

So in the end, mask-wearing is more of a recommendation than a mandate.

When Baton Rouge and Lafayette flooded in 2016, and when New Orleans was assaulted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the government did not force boatowners to fan out and rescue their fellow citizens. When our heroic health care workers are hungry, the government did not force local restaurant owners and employees to step up and bring them food. When our hospitals were short of masks, the government did not force folks to find spare fabric and sew away.

We did it out of love for Louisiana and respect for our fellow citizens. We know how to be good neighbors. That's been a theme from Edwards and many other leaders in the past few weeks.

That same spirit should guide our thinking about masks, even after seven vexing and damaging weeks of economic disruption.

If mask-wearing reduces the level or infection, well all be able to get back to work sooner and more safely. As long as Louisiana remains a hotbed for infection, tourists will stay away, festivals will be canceled, and the seats will be empty at Tiger Stadium and the Superdome.
Since May 7, India has operated several repatriation flights to many countries to bring back thousands of Indian nationals who are stranded there. But since March, India had suspended visas of foreign nationals and OCI cards, that provide visa-free travel privileges to the people of Indian-origin.

AFP

This meant that several Indians in the US, either on the H-1B work visa or Green Card having children who are American citizens by birth, are not able to take advantage of the repatriation flights.

According to PTI, an Indian couple in New Jersey who was in the US on H-B Visas is not been allowed to travel to India with two kids aged one and six years who are American citizens. The couple who lost their jobs had gone to the Newark airport on Monday but had to return as Air India refused to give their kids a ticket to fly to India along with them, despite them having a valid Indian visa.

AFP

As per rules after losing their H-1B job, they have to go back to India within the stipulated 60 days. "I would like to urge the Indian government to reconsider their decision on the humanitarian basis," said the Indian national who has lost her job.

This, according to PTI, is the situation several others in the US are also going through. In the case of single mother Mamta (name changed), the situation is graver as her son is just three-month-old. Only she was given the ticket and the infant was not allowed to fly along with her because he carried an American passport. "I would like to request the Indian government to let us fly back home. I don't want to stay in the US any longer," she told PTI hours after being prevented from boarding her hometown Ahmedabad-bound flight from Newark on Sunday.

"I am alone here. I don't have a relative here. It's a difficult situation," she said.

"Vande Bharat Mission is a humanitarian mission. But this is certainly inhuman," said Rakesh Gupta (name changed) from Washington DC. An H-1B professional, Rakesh Gupta has lost his job and needs to return to India within the stipulated 60 days. He and his wife, Geeta (name changed) being Indian citizens, received the confirmation of their seats in the flight but have been told that their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter cannot travel with them as she carried an OCI card. "I don't believe this," he said.

BCCL

Last month, H-1B visa holders, mostly Indians, launched a White House petition urging US President Donald Trump to extend their permissible stay from 60 to 180 days after job loss. However, there has been no decision from the White House so far. While there is no official statistics of how many Indian H-1B visa holders have lost their jobs, it is believed to be substantial.

The US, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is experiencing an unprecedented unemployment rate and more than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last two months. Given this massive job loss, Indians, who have lost their jobs, are unlikely to get one and thus many would have no other option but to travel back home.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

In todays Coronavirus Cinema Collection, were looking films that feature Viking funerals. Some folks think a Viking funeral would be a cool way to send off a loved one. This idealized grand gesture is totally influenced by films churned out by Hollywood studios.

[embedded content]

Gail Rubin, the Doyenne of Death, continues the Coronavirus Cinema Collection of YouTube videos, film recommendations for hunkering down at home. These movies entertain while educating about funeral planning issues and planning ahead for end of life.

As a character in the 2007 film The Living Wake describes it, The Vikings used to put the carcass on a boat, light it ablaze and cast it out to sea. Where did this idea come from? Two films give us the history.

First Appearance: Beau Geste

Beau Geste (1939-Not Rated) stars Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston as three brothers who run off to join the French Foreign Legion.

In a flashback to childhood, the brothers are playing with toy boats on a pond. Beau, the oldest (played by a very young Donald OConnor), knights his younger brother John. Beau thinks a Vikings funeral would be a great way to go. (A clip is included in the YouTube video.)

This idea of being set ablaze with a dog at your feet plays a role toward the end of the film.

Grand Vision Idealized: The Vikings

It wasnt until the 1958 film The Vikings that we see Hollywoods grand vision of a Viking funeral that became idealized in popular culture.

The Vikings stars Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis as two brawling Viking half-brothers. This grand costume drama ends with a mano-a-mano fight that leaves Kirk Douglas dead. Tony Curtis intones, Prepare a funeral for a Viking. (A clip is included in the YouTube video.)

This vision of the Viking funeral has been referred to in a number of subsequent movies.

The Legend Lives On: Rocket Gibraltar

The 1988 film Rocket Gibraltar stars Burt Lancaster as the patriarch of a large, dysfunctional family that comes together at his beachside home to celebrate his 70th birthday. His eight grandchildren ask him what he wants for his birthday. He tells them no ties, no socks, he wants a Viking funeral. On the beach at night, he describes how the Vikings would send off their honored dead, just as depicted in the 1958 film.

The kids are inspired by Grandpas vision. They find an abandoned rowboat, named Rocket Gibraltar, rig it up with a striped sail and embellish the bow with driftwood.

On his birthday, the kids find Grandpa has expired from a heart condition while taking a nap. As the big party gets underway, the kids smuggle Grandpas body out of the house. They hijack the caterers van to take the body the beach and give him his Viking funeral.

When the parents finally figure out whats up, theres a mad dash to the seashore. They arrive upon the scene to find Grandpas already up in flames. Remarkably, they dont discipline their children for what they have done. They just sit down and watch that sucker burn.

Explosions in Eulogy

Eulogy is a comedy from 2004 that brings another dysfunctional family together for the funeral of a wayward patriarch. In this ending, the family takes the body in a casket on a rowboat to a pond. Twin grandsons are in charge of giving grandpa his Hollywood Viking funeral. (A clip is included in the YouTube video.)

In addition to these films, youll see variations on the Viking funeral on water in The Living Wake from 2007, the short film Carpet Kingdom from 2008, and the 1995 film First Knight, starring Sean Connery as King Arthur, who dies at the end.

The Truth About Viking Funerals

Despite these Hollywood depictions, Viking funerals and cremations were held on land. The rituals, including burial and cremation, varied throughout the Viking Age of Scandinavian history, approximately 790 A.D. to 1066 A.D. For wealthy or important individuals, a boat, a cart or horses were buried with the body, as a means of transporting their spirit to the Great Beyond.

When the body was cremated in a boat, the vessel was parked on land. Vikings were often burned or buried with their personal belongings. There are many examples of Norse cremation sites and cemeteries throughout Scandinavia.

So, whenever you see movie with a flaming boat on the water, know that this depiction of a Viking funeral is out to sea.

Other Coronavirus Cinema Collection recommendations feature Funny Films for Funeral Planning and Based on a True Story movies. Subscribe to this channel for more videos with film suggestions.

About Gail Rubin, CT

Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death

Funny films can help break the ice about serious subjects  medical care, end-of-life issues, estate planning, and funeral planning. Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin is a death educator who brings a light touch to serious subjects with humor and clips from movies and television shows that help audiences learn and remember important lessons.

Her presentations qualify for continuing education credits for medical professionals, hospice and social workers, attorneys, financial planners, funeral directors and other professionals who need CEUs. Look for the seal of continuing education credit approval from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice.

Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death, offers a number of film presentations in 60- to 90-minute sessions and longer workshops, both in person and through online webinars. And yes, she does have a license from the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation to legally show films to the public.

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If Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons goal is to intimidate voters and suppress the vote in the July 14 primary runoff elections, he is doing a great job.

It is unconscionable the state would not allow voters to vote by mail because they fear for their health during a pandemic.

Its even more offensive to have Paxton threaten to bring charges against election officials and others for advising those voters who normally wouldnt qualify for mail-in ballots that they may submit a mail-in ballot because of the pandemic even after a judge said they could.

The goal here should be to protect the publics health and democracy, not make voters choose between one and the other.

On April 17, Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak ruled expanding eligibility for vote by mail to those concerned about the risk of coronavirus was justified under the portion of the state election code that lets people with disabilities vote by mail.

That ruling did not sit well with Paxton, and he has appealed the decision to the 3rd Court of Appeals. That is certainly within his purview. What is not is going around making empty prosecution threats while we await that intermediate courts decision.

Paxton argues a strict interpretation of the term disability. He takes the position that voters cannot use fear about contracting COVID-19 to claim a disability and that Sulaks ruling only applies to Travis County. We will have to see if the states argument prevails in court.

Litigation on the issue of mail-in ballots is far from over. A hearing on a separate mail ballot lawsuit is scheduled Friday in federal court in San Antonio. In the end, the courts will make the final determination on who gets to vote by mail.

Paxtons antics are only creating a distraction. In his May 1 letter to county judges and election officials containing his prosecution threats, Paxton starts off by stating, due to misreporting and public confusion, the Texas Attorney General provides this guidance and then goes on to provide the argument he is taking up on appeal.

He did little to clear things up. The only thing his alleged guidance letter did was allow him to promote his political agenda. An attorney generals opinion is just that  an opinion. Its not legally binding.

Until the courts make a final determination, Paxton needs to refrain from the grandstanding and political posturing. The immediate concern is voter suppression and compromising the health and well-being of voters and poll workers. But if voters are forced to stand in line during this pandemic, they may remember the elected officials and party that put them there.
The headteacher from Channel 4 series Educating Yorkshire has revealed that his own attempts at homeschooling during lockdown have been a 'disaster'.

Matthew Burton, who's head of Thornhill Community Academy, in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, told the Radio 2 Breakfast show that both of his young children had been 'left in tears' at his attempts at homeschooling.

The teacher, who was appointed head of his school in April following the departure of previous head Jonny Mitchell, said teaching his four and six-year-old children had been a 'disaster' and reassured parents that they should just 'do your best' during lockdown.

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Mr Burton, aka Matthew Burton, pictured with former pupil Musharaf 'Mushy' Asghar, who featured in the 2013 series of the Channel 4 reality show, says his own attempts at homeschooling during lockdown have been a 'disaster'

The headteacher of the Yorkshire state school said his young children didn't respond well to his 'all-singing, all-dancing' lessons on Lionel Messi and Geography - and admitted teaching in school was easier

Speaking to Zoe Ball, Mr Turner said: 'People say it must be so easy - my wife's a teacher as well - but it's quite the opposite in fact.'

Mr Burton is regularly seen in the fly-on-the-wall series - which places 64 cameras around Thornhill Community Academy - and sees the lives of the Yorkshire teachers and pupils broadcast to the nation. He also regularly documents family life on his Instagram page.

Explaining how his children's learning at home hadn't been easy, he said: 'I did what I thought was an all-singing, all-dancing lesson.

'My little lad wanted to learn about Lionel Messi. My little girl wanted to learn about geography and I thought: "right, I can do this".

He told the Radio 2 presenter: 'Literally, within 30 seconds they were both crying their eyes out.

'To this second, I don't know why. Teaching your own kids is a very different thing from the job at school.'

He said that he'd reassured parents at his school to 'just do your best' with homeschooling.

The headteacher told Zoe Ball: 'People say it must be so easy - my wife's a teacher as well - but it's quite the opposite in fact.' (Burton's wife and two children learning at home)

BBC Bitesize: A huge host of stars enrolled to become tutors for a new BBC homeschooling initiative including Danny Dyer, right, and Rachel Riley, left

Mr Burton is among 200 teachers nationwide who've contributed lessons to the BBC Bitesize scheme, which aims to help parents with homeschooling during lockdown.

More than three million pupils logged on to the BBC platform for the first day of locked down lessons following the Easter holidays in mid April.

The service includes online lessons from celebrities such as Professor Brian Cox, Danny Dyer, Sir David Attenborough, Countdown's Rachel Riley and actor John Boyega.

The BBC unveiled plans in April to support the education of 'every child in the UK' and provide 'rhythm and routine' for their frazzled parents.

The programme includes BBC Bitesize Daily, which will feature six 20-minute programmes each day, aimed at different age groups.

There are also maths and English lesson every day for different age groups, as well as daily education podcasts.
Silly as their feat might have looked, it did resonate. As the video got out and wrangled up some like-minded protesters around the fact that a train outraced by a guy in a snail suit is better off at the dump unless fixed, the authorities promised they'd look into repairing the portions of the tracks blamed for slowing down the train. Only time will tell if the secretly haunted track takes its own revenge.

1 A Man Built A Bomb In The Middle Of A Restaurant To Prove That People Are Too Oblivious Of Danger

According to Ivory Washington of Des Moines, Iowa, people mind their own business too much. To test this theory, he decided in 2019 to build a bomb in broad daylight in a public area of a suburb of Des Moines. For perhaps the first time in history, someone was disappointed that no one called the police on them, so he went downtown, walked into a sushi restaurant, sat down at a table, and did the same thing.

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Again, nobody paid much attention to him, probably because he was acting weird and we've been taught that it's impolite to gawk at weirdos. In fact, that's exactly how the restaurant's patrons said he was acting. The manager noticed that he was moving from table to table and plugging something into the power outlets now and then but thought he was just charging his phone, which would be the normal thing for a customer in a restaurant to be doing with the power outlets.

Frustrated by the fact that the people of Des Moines relentlessly assumed the best of him, Washington eventually called 911 himself to report that *someone* was building a fake bomb in the restaurant and that someone was him. Fortunately, for the first time in this story, police didn't do the reasonable thing and dismiss this fake-bomb self-snitch, because when they got there, they discovered that the bomb was indeed very real and could have been easily accidentally detonated, likely killing everyone within 10 feet of it. Washington finally got what he wanted, which was apparently "charged with building a bomb."

Top image: Braden Collum/Unsplash
Myanmar & COVID-19 Malaysia Deports Nearly 400 Undocumented Myanmar Workers

Undocumented Myanmar migrant workers detained in Malaysia for being in the country illegally arrive at Yangon International Airport on Monday. / Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs

YANGONNearly 400 Myanmar nationals were deported from Malaysia on Monday after being detained at 11 immigration detention centers across the country, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

U Aung Zaw Min, labor attache at the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, told The Irrawaddy that 391 undocumented workers from Myanmar who were in Malaysia illegally were being held at detention centers. The workers were held due to the suspension of flights and lockdown from the Malaysian governments Movement Control Order, issued on March 18 to control the spread of COVID-19.

On Monday, the Malaysian government sent the 391 detainees home to Myanmar on two chartered flights.

In Malaysia, undocumented foreign workers are often jailed for three-to-six months under the countrys immigration laws for staying in the country illegally. The workers are normally detained at immigration detention centers until their identities and citizenship are confirmed by their respective embassies, after which they are released and deported.

The Myanmar labor attache said that the Malaysian government paid for the repatriation flights and that the returnees did not have to pay for their tickets. In the past, Myanmar nationals deported from Malaysia have had to pay for their own return flights.

The workers spent several months in the detention centers and were deported in part because Malaysian authorities are accelerating arrests of illegal foreign workers and need more space in the detention centers, according to the Myanmar labor attache.

There are still many detainees from Myanmar in Malaysias immigration detention centers waiting for citizenship certificates from the Myanmar government or to be interviewed by representatives from the Myanmar embassy.

MOFA said on Monday that region and state governments have facilitated transportation for the 391 deported Myanmar nationals to travel to their hometowns, where the returnees will be placed in facility quarantine for 21 days.

U San Win, chairman Kathpone Free Funeral Services Society, a Kuala Lumpur-based group working on Myanmar migrant rights issues, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that hundreds of Myanmar migrants who have no proper documents are also stranded in Malaysia.

The undocumented migrants also struggle to contact the Myanmar Embassy for help because, according to U San Win, they dont know how to use email, which is the only channel for contacting the embassy. He said that Myanmar nationals in Malaysia have been unable to contact the embassys hotline phone numbers.

[Undocumented Myanmar nationals] all need to be sent home urgently because the Malaysia government is now accelerating crackdown operations against undocumented foreign workers, said U San Win.

Since April 30, the Myanmar Government has organized repatriation flights to bring nationals home who are stranded abroad due to flight suspensions and lockdowns over COVID-19.

As of Sunday, Myanmar has brought home 1,113 Myanmar nationals from more than 10 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, the UK and the US. Tens of thousands more Myanmar migrant workers have returned on their own from Thailand, China and elsewhere.
West Bengal Chief Minister



Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday lauded the contribution of the nurses who are putting themselves and their families at risk while leading the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

She said the nurses are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis.

Today is #InternationalNursesDay. Nurses are playing an important role in our fight against the coronavirus. We salute all those nurses who are selflessly attending to the patients in this time of crisis, putting themselves and their own families at risk, Banerjee tweeted.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the globe on the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to tap the military in distributing the government's cash aid to households badly hit by the Luzon-wide lockdown brought on by the pandemic.

In his televised address aired on Tuesday, Duterte bared that he instructed Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista to let soldiers help in the rollout of the cash subsidy, citing corruption and lack of manpower which delayed the distribution.

"I had a nightmare in the distribution of the COVID-19 cash aid," Duterte said. "Takot ako na makurakot ito...Nangyari nga (I was scared that this would be misused. It really happened)."

"Alam ko walang tao," the President added. "Ang order ko sa kanya, he will request na kapwa niya sundalo noon, magpatulong siya sa Armed Forces sa pagdistribute ng pera."

[Translation: I know that we lack people. I ordered him to request his fellow soldiers and let the Armed Forces help him in distributing the subsidy.]

Duterte appointed Bautista, a retired army general, as the new social welfare secretary in 2018.

Duterte also noted that female soldiers may be commissioned to take part in the aid distribution, saying that women can show "empathy" to people.

"Yung puso ng babae ang gusto ko," he said. "Sa mga babae na miyembro [of the AFP], maybe you will be commissioned to do that."

[Translation: A woman's heart is what I want. To the female members of the AFP, maybe you will be commissioned to do that.]

The DSWD said that over 16.3 million households have so far received cash assistance.

At least 369 local government units  or around 22 percent of all cities and municipalities  failed to meet the deadline to finish the distribution of the first tranche of the national government's cash aid program, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) told CNN Philippines on Monday.

The DSWD also reported that 183 barangay officials are under investigation for alleged corruption in distributing cash aid.

The DILG earlier extended the SAP pay-out nationwide until May 10, as the national government initially targeted April 30 for the completion of the distribution. The DSWD is still awaiting the directive of Malacanang on the second tranche of SAP subsidies.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the national government has allotted 200-billion-worth of aid for those most affected by the pandemic. Subsidy ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 per household per tranche, depending on the minimum wage level in a region. The first tranche was originally scheduled in April and the second one in May.
While most everyone was worried about their safety or liberty, the Democrats of Illinois were making certain that the people of Illinois had neither. As were the Democrats of Nevada and New York and California. Using COVID-19 as an excuse, Democrats shut down their economies and public services and, just in case the people didn't like it, that pesky Democracy, too.

In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker blocked the collection of petition signatures. Of course, the state Legislature went on recess, so even if enough signatures had been collected for a ballot initiative, the Legislature would have been unable to put it on the ballot. No anti-gerrymandering amendment for Illinois this year, not that our Democrat masters would have allowed it onto our ballots.

Pritzker's shutdown has hindered efforts to educate the public about his formerly "fair tax" amendment  formerly, because the revisions to the amendment became so egregious that "fair" had to be removed from the wording. Many organizations planned summer blitzes to get the word out, against hundreds of millions of dollars of propaganda coming from Pritzker's offshore (Bahamian) tax shelters. That effort is now going 100% electronic, but while people still answer their doors, they have grown accustomed to hanging up phones. In my own experience, I can reach 20 people an hour by door-knocking but only a few on the phones. Nothing compares to rallies at train stations, booths at markets and events, and tables outside retailers, but Pritzker is threatening to keep things locked down  no knocking, no markets, no fairs, hindering political activity until after the election.

In Nevada, a recall effort against an abusive Governor Sisolak started in mid-February. The recall effort was previously hindered by Sisolak's bureaucracies moving goalposts and changing the recall rules. The people of Nevada thought they had a recall, but it seems that governors can drag it out indefinitely or change the rules to make it near impossible. COVID-19 has given them a new power. Thanks to Sisolak's "stay at home" order, the normal methods of collecting signatures went right out the window. People must now become aware of the recall effort on their own and then actively find petition drive-in locations at which to sign.

The recall effort gets only one shot, after which Sisolak cannot be recalled. There is a petition on change.org to recall Sisolak after the shutdown ends, but the organizers of that petition and its 1,700 signers obviously have no idea that after May 14, when the current effort fails for lack of signatures, Sisolak will be immunized against recall. No do-overs, no second takes, unless it goes to Nevada's Supreme Court and they decide that Sisolak's executive orders had an undue influence on his recall and give the effort a mulligan. It will be time for another election by then.

Sisolak deserves to be removed. I have it on good authority that ABC News is sitting on a story about Sisolak threatening to see Angela Blass, the recall organizer, in jail. As I heard, eyewitness testimony isn't good enough, and there is confusion over who will be visiting whom.

The recall efforts against California's Governor Newsom have met pretty much the same fate as those against Sisolak. But not just Newsom. There were also recall efforts against other California officials, such as two councilmen in Oceanside. Propositions, a staple of Californian politics, are doomed this year.

Everyone knows that New York tried to cancel its primary, shutting out Bernie and giving all of its delegates to Joe Biden. Not only did the incompetent dictator of New York issue such unlawful edicts (the Court ordered the primary held), but he shut down and overloaded the courts, making it difficult to challenge his dictates.

And the coup de grace: Democrats and their left-leaning advocacy groups are now advocating mandatory, organized election fraud in the form of vote-by-mail ballot-harvesting and other election changes. The leftist advocacy group William J. Brennan Center for Justice is advocating various "COVID-19 election resiliency measures" that are certain to make elections more fraud-prone. The blatantly leftist, Clinton-connected organization Demos (not to be confused with demons) is advocating a massive mail-in fraud effort, and former Clinton lawyers are suing states to force them to mail out ballots, whether they are requested or not, ripe for harvesting.

But it might be too late for Illinois. Our primary went horribly wrong. In Cook County, compared to 942,000 Democrats showing up to vote, only 77,000 Republicans bothered to. Compare those totals to 1,184,000 Dems and 313,000 Republicans in 2016. According to some election judges and poll-watchers, it was a Republican ghost town. People still came out to vote on March 17, three days before Pritzker's March 20 "stay at home" order, but it was Democratic ballot after Democratic ballot. Perhaps it was due to exodus, or perhaps it was Operation Chaos 2020, but Republican votes in the Republican primary were horrendously low  so low that Democrats, ordered by Mike Madigan to infiltrate the Republican primary, may have chosen the Republican candidates for Cook County State's Attorney and for the U.S. Senate.

As a final note, I want to emphasize that these anti-democracy Democrats are the power-holding, elected (or election frauded) Democrats, not the people who vote Democrat. Pritzker's formerly "fair tax" loses instantly among most Democrats who hear about it. Very, very few in Illinois trust Springfield enough to give it carte blanche over their taxes. Sisolak's abuses have enraged Republicans, Democrats and independents; an equal opportunity offender. Newsom has shown a tone deafness and incompetence that has likewise enraged both sides of the aisle. And Cuomo! All the New Yorkers I know, when did you guys start tolerating that level of incompetence? Help the man find the door, already.

Graphic credit: Picserver.
Gen. Kroesen distinguished himself in World War II, advancing from weapons platoon officer to company commander in Europe. He also endured heavy fighting in Korea and Vietnam and worked his way through the ranks during peacetime to command the 82nd Airborne Division and serve as Army vice chief of staff.

In 1979, he was sent to Heidelberg, West Germany, as commanding general of U.S. Army troops in Western Europe and NATOs central army group, which placed him in charge of more than 200,000 soldiers. At that time, U.S. soldiers and top industrial and political leaders in West Germany were targeted for assassination by the Red Army Faction, a radical left-wing militant organization also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group.

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The Red Army Faction, which had about 80 members, gained international attention as they terrorized West German society, mainly in the 1970s, with a string of airline hijackings, bank robberies, car bombings, kidnappings and high-profile killings in brazen attacks in what they described as a war against a pseudo-fascist establishment.

The groups leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, were captured and killed themselves in prison in the mid-1970s. Other members were killed in gunfights with the police, while some fled to East Germany, and the violent attacks became less frequent.

But about two weeks before the attack on Gen. Kroesen, West German officials became concerned that he was under surveillance by militants and provided him with an armored security car to use when he traveled in the country.

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At 7:20 a.m. on Sept. 15, 1981, members of the Baader-Meinhof Group fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Gen. Kroesens car, which was nearing a gate at the entrance to Heidelberg. The grenade pierced the left side of the cars trunk and exited near a rear tire, shattering the back window, where Gen. Kroesen and his wife were sitting.

Neither was seriously injured, although the broken glass caused cuts on the back of Gen. Kroesens head. The armor plating prevented any shrapnel from entering the cabin of the car.

Small-arms fire erupted from the assailants, and another RPG was fired but missed the car before Gen. Kroesens driver sped away from the attack. He required only stitches for his injury, though the attempted killing heightened concerns of a possible resurgence of the Baader-Meinhof Group.

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In 1991, German authorities charged a former top member of the East German Stasi secret police and several of his associates in connection with the attack on Gen. Kroesen. The Red Army Faction formally disbanded in 1998.

That same year, in an interview conducted for the oral history archives of Rutgers University, his alma mater, Gen. Kroesen referenced his World War II experience when speaking of the attack. Its not the first time the Germans shot at me and missed, he said.

Frederick James Kroesen Jr. was born Feb. 11, 1923 in Phillipsburg, N.J., and finished high school in Trenton. He was 17 when his father died, and his mother then supported the family by taking over his job with the New Jersey unemployment compensation commission.

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Gen. Kroesen spent his formative years as a member of a Boy Scout horse-mounted unit. He graduated in 1944 from Rutgers, where he participated in an advanced ROTC program, and soon enlisted in the Army. During his military career, he received a masters degree in international affairs from George Washington University.

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His military decorations included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart.

After his active-duty retirement in 1983, Gen. Kroesen did international security consulting work but also maintained his connections with the military through the Association of the United States Army, serving as a senior fellow and writing a column for its Army magazine.

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Many of his columns and essays focused on his concerns over the effects of military budget cutbacks on the ability of Army combat infantry soldiers to hold territory in war zones.

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 76 years, the former Rowene McCray, both of Alexandria; two daughters, Karen Klare of Atlanta and Gretchen Tackaberry of Springfield, Va.; 10 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 23:54:39|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Two Angolan nationals had been arrested in Namibia after they were found in possession of six elephant tusks and 112 porcupine quills, the environment ministry said on Tuesday.

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a statement that the suspects are charged with contravening sections of the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act 9 of 2008, as amended.

The two suspects were remanded in custody following their appearance at the Rundu Magistrates' Court last week.

Namibia has lost 11 rhinos and one elephant to poaching since the beginning of the year, according to the latest figures provided by the ministry. Enditem




The Chairman, Five Star Group, Emeka Okonkwo aka E-Money has been dragged into messy water of alleged mismanagement of public personnel.

Naija News learnt that the billionaire, who is the brother to a popular musician, Kingsley Okonkwo aka K-Cee, was said to have drawn the ire of the police boss for using policemen like domestic servants.

It was gathered that Adamu directed the Lagos Police Command to commence an investigation into the young billionaires sources of income following allegations that he used his police escorts like domestic servants.

The policemen, said to be drawn from B Operations, command headquarters, were alleged to have reduced themselves to carrying umbrellas, handbags and even doing other menial jobs for E-Money and his household.

Known for his philanthropic works towards the downtrodden, E-Money has never shied away from displaying his luxury cars and mansions, including the multibillion palatial he unveiled during the yuletide at his hometown in Uli, Anambra State.

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Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on April 30 announced its fundraising plan of Rs 53,125 crore through a rights issue. The issue has been priced at Rs 1,257 per share with a share ratio of 1:15, implying one rights equity share for every 15 fully paid-up equity shares held by the eligible equity shareholders of the company on the record date. The company fixed May 14 as the record date for the proposed issuance of 42,26,26,894 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each. While announcing the record date, RIL had said in the same regulatory filing that the opening and closing dates of the rights issue will be informed separately.

Payment breakup

Shareholders interested to subscribe to the issue will have to pay 25 per cent on application and the rest in one or more tranches. The total amount payable per rights equity share on application is Rs 314.25 -- face value (Rs 2.50) and premium (Rs 311.75). For one or more subsequent calls as determined by the company board or committee of the board from time to time, the total amount payable per rights equity share is Rs 942.75 -- face value (Rs 7.50) and (Rs 935.25), RIL said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

Fractional entitlement

"If the shareholding of any Eligible Equity Shareholder is less than 15 equity shares or is not in the multiple of 15 equity shares, the fractional entitlement of such Eligible Equity Shareholder shall be ignored for the computation of the rights entitlement," RIL also said.

"However, the Eligible Equity Shareholders whose fractional entitlements are being ignored, will be given preferential consideration for the allotment of 1 (one)additional Rights Equity Share each if they apply for additional Rights Equity Shares over and above their rights entitlement, if any, subject to availability of additional Rights Equity Shares in this Rights Issue," RIL said.

RIL has reportedly appointed nine investment banks to manage its rights issue including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Axis Capital and ICICI Securities. The rights issue is expected to be part of RIL's plans to become a zero-debt company by the year-end. The net debt of the company stood at Rs 1.53 lakh crore as of December 31, 2019. The rights issue is credit positive for RIL as earnings are expected to fall on account of coronavirus lockdown, Moody's recently said. RIL's Jio Platforms recently raised Rs 60,596 crore from leading technology investors -- Facebook, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners.

Shares of RIL were trading at Rs 1,518.30, down 58.45 points, or 3.71 per cent on NSE at the time of reporting.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: 45,533 tickets worth Rs 16.15 crore booked for special trains, says Railways

Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Metro to resume operations soon? Special staff deployed to clean stations
Jacinda Ardern accidentally had Kiwis in fits of laughter on Tuesday when she urged them to stay 'spaced out' as lockdown restrictions are eased.

While the New Zealand prime minister meant that people should try to remain socially distant, some joked that she was encouraging them to get high.

Ms Ardern made the gaffe during Monday's announcement that New Zealand's lockdown laws would be lifted to level two on Thursday.

'People will be at the movies but they'll be spaced out,' Ms Ardern said.

'You'll see bars and restaurants open but they'll be required to have people seated and spaced out.'

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) announced yesterday New Zealand would be easing coronavirus restrictions on Thursday and moving to a level two lockdown

Pictured: Twitter users joked Ms Ardern was making 'stoner' references after encouraging New Zealanders to remain 'spaced out' under the eased restrictions

The viral comments led users to joke the prime minister was referencing cannabis use

Her comments quickly went viral online, with one Twitter user joking: 'Level 2 sounds like a stoner's dream!'

Another wrote: 'New Zealand's new normal: spaced out.'

A third person tweeted a fake quote from the prime minister: 'New Zealand can get a little spaced out, as a treat' - Jacinda Ardern.'

People also pointed out New Zealand would be holding a referendum for legalising recreational cannabis use in September.

Twitter users also pointed out New Zealanders would be voting in a referendum on recreational cannabis use in September

One user observed: 'Interesting the cannabis referendum is happening in conjunction with group gatherings required to be spaced out.'

Another person said: 'Are they legalising cannabis with this announcement? A lot of people are going to be spaced out.'

One commenter asked: 'Cannabis referendum or Covid Level 2?'

A Twitter user wrote: 'Trust New Zealand to take Jacinda's 'spaced out' in a different way.'
We write to inform the Presidency, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Parliament House of Ghana, and the Stakeholders of Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) that, SLTF is not in a good condition to pay its beneficiaries.

Pursuant to our Press release dated, 27th January 2020 of which a lot of things concerning the well-being of Tertiary Students who are beneficiaries of SLTF were enumerated, the said release was responded by the management of SLTF on 28 January 2020.

On Paragraph 3 of their press release (response), the management of SLTF stated categorically that, there has been a delay in the release of funds from the outfit of Ministry of Finance and also GET FUND to the Trust Fund.

The current situation of SLTF looks uninspiring and does not inspire hope to some of us.

As a coalition, we plead with the Ministry of Finance and the management of GET FUND to immediately release Funds to SLTF so that it can pay its beneficiaries. We are giving both Ministry of Finance and GET FUND, 5 working days to respond to our issues, and also do the needful or else, we will advise ourselves as beneficiaries in the coming days.

We will also take this opportunity to plead with the President to intervene immediately. And we also expect leadership to intervene immediately in order to prevent some future predicaments.

George Ferguson Laing

Head of Public Relations

Students Loan Trust Fund

About Students Loan Trust Fund

The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) was established in December 2005 under the Trustee Incorporation Act 1962, Act 106. As part of reforms to make accredited tertiary education more accessible to the majority of qualified Ghanaian students, the Government of Ghana passed the Student Loan Trust Fund Act, Act 820 (2011) for the efficient and effective disbursement of financial resources to tertiary students. The Trust Fund has the responsibility to recover loans from students after the completion of their tertiary education.

The principal objectives of the Trust Fund are to provide financial resources for the sound management of the Trust for the benefit of students and to help promote and facilitate the national ideals enshrined in Article 25 and 38 of the 1992 Constitution.

Thank you

Signed.

Aggrieved Students Loan Beneficiaries

Adjei Boakye

(Convener)

Enning Richnard Aboagye

(General Secretary)

Adjei Shadrack.

(Head of Communication)
Tokyo:

Japan summoned Chinas ambassador today after the countrys ships were spotted near disputed East China Sea islands for a fifth straight day.

Foreign minister Fumio Kishida called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijings envoy to Tokyo, the foreign ministry saidthe second such summons since Friday.

The situation surrounding the Japan-China relationship is markedly deteriorating, he told Cheng, according to the ministrys statement on its website. We cannot accept that (China) is taking actions that unilaterally raise tensions.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over the uninhabited islets known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

The move comes after repeated protests by Japanese foreign ministry officials since Friday over what Tokyo calls intrusions by Chinese ships in the territorial and contiguous waters of the rocky islands.

Cheng was also summoned on Friday by vice minister Shinsuke Sugiyama after two Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels entered Japans territorial waters.

On Tuesday morning, the Japan Coast Guard said it spotted Chinese ships in the countrys territorial waters surrounding the islands and about a dozen others nearby.

The Japanese coastguard a day before caught sight of 15 Chinese coast guard ships near the islandsthe highest number ever spotted.

Some 230 Chinese fishing vessels and seven coast guard ships, including four apparently carrying weapons, sailed into waters close to the disputed island on Sunday. It is rare for so many Chinese fishing vessels to be seen in the disputed waters.

Tensions over the islands have been a frequent irritant and have strained bilateral relations, though tensions had markedly relaxed over the past two years as two sides took steps to ease the pressure through dialogue. But the fundamental divide over the islands remains unresolved.

Japans Kyodo News reported Monday that Japan wants high-level talks with China over the incursions as they have not stopped despite Tokyos protests.

Citing a government source, it said that Japan wants to bring up the issue in talks between the countrys leaders and foreign ministers.

Japan protested in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.

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Pakistan has reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to the earliest possible in an effort to bring back more citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.

Following Prime Minister Imran Khan's directive to bring stranded citizens back home, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), in coordination with the provinces and health professionals, reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to earliest possible, Dawn reported.

According to the paper, passengers will be transported to quarantine centres and will stay there until the return of tests results, after which they may be quarantined or instructed to self-isolate at home as per the provincial health authorities' directions.

This strategy will allow to raise the weekly cap for inbound passengers from 7,000-8,000 to 11,000-12,000 under the current policy, it said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Moeed Yusuf announced the new policy during on Monday and said the authorities were working day and night to resolve problems of stranded Pakistanis.

Inbound passengers will be allowed a preference between two modes of quarantine, free of cost government quarantine centers or paid government regulated hotels/facilities, he said.

Testing will be conducted as soon as possible after arrival at a quarantine facility. The passengers with negative results to be sent home with guidelines on home isolation for completion of 14-day period, it said, adding that symptomatic patients will be treated as per prescribed health protocols.

Positive cases will not be returned to home province until completion of quarantine period.

The total number of passengers planned from May 11 to 21 is approximately 11,000, with stranded passengers being repatriated from at least 22 countries. Countries from which majority flights are incoming are the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the US and Oman.

We have been able to repatriate about 23,000 Pakistanis so far, with a total of about 100,000 Pakistanis still registered as stranded across the globe, Yusuf said.

On Monday, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) special flight carrying 179 passengers arrived at Islamabad International Airport from Washington after US granted permission to operate chartered flights for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis from America.

All passengers and crew members were subjected to thermal scanning test by the health authorities. However, no suspected case of coronavirus was detected.

The United States Department of Transportation has granted permission to PIA to operate 12 round-trip or one-way chartered flights to evacuate citizens stranded in both countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two weeks after nominating late Tobias Chukwuemeka and 37 others as members of the board of the Federal Character Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a replacement for the deceased nominee.

In a strange development, the president had written to the Senate on April 28, seeking confirmation of the appointment of the deceased and 37 others.

Mr Chukwuemeka, from Ebonyi State, was a former member of the House of Representatives. He died on February 27 after battling an unknown illness. He was 59.

His posthumous appointment generated controversy among Nigerians who criticised the president.

Mr Buhari, however, wrote to the Senate seeking confirmation of four new nominees to replace the four earlier appointed from their respective states  including the Mr Chukwuemeka.

His message was conveyed in a letter which was read out by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at the close of plenary on Tuesday.

In compliance with the Provision of Section 156(1) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I write to request for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of the following four nominees as members of the Federal Character Commission as replacement of my earlier submission for Delta, Ebonyi, Lagos and Nasarawa States, part of the letter read.

The nominees are, Moses A. (Delta), Afamefuna Osi (Ebonyi), Wasiu Kayode (Lagos), Alakayi Mamman (Nasarawa).

Mr Lawan thereafter, referred the names to the Senate Committee on Federal Character for further legislative work.
Weve already explored some ways in which you can make Alexa more companionable during our current stay-at-home existence; naturally, there are plenty of ways to do the same with Google Assistant.

If you like, you can change the sound of Google Assistants voice (a trick that Alexa cant do, aside from celebrity cameos), teach it your nickname, and even engage in some surprisingly authentic back-and-forth with her (or him, depending on which voice you choose).

Change the sound of Google Assistants voice

If youve grown tired of the vaguely sterile sound of Google Assistants default voice, switching to a new one is an easy way to get a fresh start. Ten different voices (including the standard Assistant voice) are available, with both male and female options, plus the voice of American or British accents. You can also pick the voice of Issa Rae (co-creator of HBOs Insecure) to take on a few of Google Assistants standard duties, including answering questions, giving you weather reports, and telling jokes.

To change the sound of Google Assistants voice, open the Google Home app, tap Settings, then scroll all the way down and tap More settings. Tap the Assistant tab, tap Assistant voice, then swipe the slider to pick an option, anything from Red (the standard Google Assistant voice) and Orange (a male voice) to British Racing Green (a British voice) and Sydney Harbour Blue (a voice with an Australian accent).

Tell Google Assistant your nickname

No, you cant change Google Assistants wake word as you can with Alexa, but you can change what Google Assistant calls you. By default, shell call you by the first name listed on your Google account, but if you like, you can have her call you by a nickname or any other name you like. (If my eight-year-old had her druthers, shed make Google Assistant call me stupid-head or another pithy second-grader name.)

To change your nickname for Google Assistant, open the Google Home app, tap Settings, scroll all the way down and tap More settings, then tap Nickname under the You tab. You can then either spell out your nickname or record it to help Google Assistant learn to pronounce it.

Turn on Continued Conversations

Its hard to maintain the illusion that youre actually chatting with Google Assistant when youre having to say Hey Google every single time you say something to her. Luckily, Google Assistant has a setting that makes it easier to forget that youre talking to a machine. Once you enable the Continued Conversations feature, Google Assistant will keep listening for follow-up questions after an initial command.
Ormat Technologies (ORA) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.51 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.50 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.51 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 2%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this geothermal company would post earnings of $0.56 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.24, delivering a surprise of -57.14%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Ormat Technologies, which belongs to the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry, posted revenues of $192.11 million for the quarter ended March 2020, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.27%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $199.04 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Ormat Technologies shares have lost about 15.3% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -9.3%.

What's Next for Ormat Technologies?

While Ormat Technologies has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Story continues

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Ormat Technologies was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.42 on $173.94 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.86 on $726.18 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Alternative Energy - Other is currently in the top 23% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



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While the federal government can run budget deficits, states do not have that option.

Republicans are divided over whether to help at all and how much aid to provide, as well as what conditions to place on the money. Much of the dispute  unfolding just months before the November elections in which control of the Senate is at stake  is being driven by the political bent of the states that stand to benefit or lose.

Mr. Trump has said that were in no rush to produce another round of federal pandemic relief, and branded Democrats stone-cold crazy.

If such a package materializes, Kevin Hassett, one of Mr. Trumps senior economic advisers, told CNN on Sunday, I think President Trump has signaled that while he doesnt want to bail out the states, hes willing to help cover some of the unexpected Covid expenses that might come their way.

Republicans like Mr. Romney are pushing for a substantial infusion with few restrictions, arguing that the money is desperately needed throughout the country, not only in predominantly Democratic places. His poster, which showed an analysis published by Slate using data from Moodys Analytics, showed that a number of Republican states  including Louisiana, Kansas and Kentucky  are likely to face some of the largest budget shortfalls, in part because of a loss of tax revenue and use of state rainy day funds.

Large state budget shortfalls could prolong a recession, economists have said, by prompting a cascade of layoffs that ripple across the economy. In April, state and local governments laid off one million people, a number that could continue to climb without additional assistance.

This is not a partisan issue, said Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. This is not a red or blue issue. This is an issue about providing essential services to the people that rely upon them  and thats the entire country.

But Mr. Scott and other Republicans want to place strict limits on any funding to steer it away from heavily Democratic states, such as barring aid from being used to cover pension obligations. That would disadvantage states like California, Illinois and New York, whose huge obligations to public employee pension systems are worsening their financial problems. The Democratic leader of the Illinois Senate, for instance, has asked Congress for a more than $40 billion lifeline, including $10 billion to bolster the states pension system.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday said he differed with Centre's revised policy for discharge of coronavirus patients and has ordered that those with even mild cases need to test negative before being discharged.

The revised discharge policy for COVID-19 cases announced by the Union health ministry in consultation with the Indian Council of Medical Research had said coronavirus- infected patients developing severe illness or having compromised immunity will have to test negative through the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) before being discharged by a hospital.

However, moderate cases of COVID-19 and pre- symptomatic, mild and very mild cases need not undergo tests before being discharged after resolution of symptoms.

I have issued an order that we do not accept this. Till the time we get a negative result at least once, we are not going to discharge the patients from hospital, Vij said when asked about the revised policy for discharge of COVID-19 patients.

He said the objection was to mild cases not needing to undergo tests.

Commenting on the findings of a probe initiated by his department into alleged discrepancies in some COVID-19 test results conducted by a private laboratory, the minister said, Our report has come and the private lab's test reports have been found wrong.

We will also write to the ICMR about this. I will have a look into the MoU signed between the state government and the lab, and see what action can be taken, he said.

The private laboratory in question had asserted that it stood by its findings and was open to getting the samples re-tested at any government lab.

The Haryana government had last month ordered a probe after few samples reported positive for coronavirus by the private lab, tested negative in confirmation tests done at different government labs in the state.

On allegations that a government doctor in Hisar, who held the post of local COVID-19 quarantine in-charge, was transferred to the district malaria control unit under political pressure, Vij said, I will get the matter investigated.

one thing I want to assure my doctors and those on the frontline of COVID-19 duties, I cannot allow a single corona warrior' to be demoralised, he said.

The Hisar doctor had claimed that his transfer was politically motivated. He alleged that he along with a team of the health department went to the house of a politically well-connected man to paste 'home quarantined' poster as the man had returned from Gurgaon, which has seen a surge in coronavirus cases.

But the health team had to face opposition from the family members, and a day later, he learnt about his transfer.

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

There were smiles everywhere, as Air India flight IX474 carrying 177 passengers from Bahrain touched the tarmac of the Cochin International Airport. The time on the airport clock showed 11:32 pm. Formalities were in plenty.

Glass shielded immigration counters, special health desk manned with doctors and nurses, thermal scan, predetermined health protocols, DRDOs ultraviolet baggage disinfecting system and then comes the mandatory 7-day institutional quarantine.

All of the 177 passengers and the five infants on board the flight IX474 will have to go through all these formalities before they could give a warm hug of relief to their anxious relatives back home.

But, even though the pandemic has discouraged them from running up to their kits and kins with hands wide open, the relief was all evident on their faces. Nevertheless, they are back home. All else is passable.

30 pregnant passengers

There were 30 pregnant women among the 177 passengers from Bahrain including 5 infants, 152 persons and 25 children from 13 Kerala districts. Four of the passengers requiring emergency medical care were moved to a hospital, while pregnant women, children and senior citizens, as per norms, were transported to their homes.

Rest of the passengers were shifted to quarantine centres in Kochi. Before the arrival of the flight, the entire terminal was cordoned off by police officers, who further ensured necessary personal protection for all at the terminal.

Upon arrival, travellers were escorted by police officers from the aerobridge to their respective destinations, after subjecting them to thermal tests and allowing them to undergo customs and immigration checks.

Health officials are assigned to ensure that passengers are following the mandatory quarantine measures. Landing in the South Indian state of Kerala yesterday was first of the two flights scheduled from Bahrain.

This was also the second flight of the day to land in Kerala from the Gulf region as part of massive exercise undertaken by the Government of India to bring back hundreds of thousands of Indians stuck abroad through a mission christened Vande Bharat.

The mission kicked off on Thursday with two flights landing in India from the United Arab Emirates with 345 Keralites. The third flight arrived at Karipur by 8:00 pm yesterday bringing back 152 passengers including 84 pregnant women, 22 children and four infants.

They all boarded from Riyadh after conducting thermal tests, though none was given COVID-19 tests. According to reports, five people having health issues were shifted to a medical college hospital in the city.

Ten passengers from neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also travelled in the flight from Riyadh. All passengers were subjected to COVID-19 rapid tests at the airport before transferring them to their respective destinations.

The ongoing effort according to CIAL (Cochin International Airport Ltd) officials is also the biggest ever carried out by India since the Kuwait war which saw the government bringing 1.5 lakh stranded Indians back to safety by flight.

It was done in 59 days, from 13 August to 11 October 1990, involving almost five hundred flights. Vande Bharat aims bringing back some 15,000 nationals from 12 countries on planes and naval ships which also saw the civil aviation ministrys website crash Wednesday as panicked citizens rushed to register.

CIAL (Cochin International Airport Ltd) officials in Kochi said elaborate arrangements are in place to receive passengers. Separate parking bay and aerobridge are ready for incoming aircraft. Health desks have doctors and nurses to screen passengers.

Up to 10 officials are stationed at immigration counters to screen the passengers, while their baggage gets disinfected by an ultraviolet disinfecting system developed by DRDO. Baggage arriving through conveyor belts will get a sodium hypochlorite treatment first, which will then pass through two separate tunnels with Ultraviolet machines.

Only after these procedures, baggage with reach the carousel area where passengers can retrieve them. Onboard the flights, Air India crew members were fully protected with protective gear to reduce the risk of infection.

Earlier, five passengers from the first batch of passengers arrived in Kochi suspected to have contracted Coronavirus were taken to COVID-19 hospitals but were released around midnight after completing further checkups.

Later, all passengers went into quarantine centres. Eight-five of the 177 passengers arrived at Karipur on day 1 were allowed to remain in quarantine at their respective homes, said state minister KT Jaleel.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates the energy industry in the oil state, has not taken any action regarding the control of production after hearing proposals from oil companies to declare some of the output of crude oil in the state economic waste, Reuters reports. This declaration would allow drillers to keep their leases.

According to the Commission, no vote has yet been taken.

Crude oil leases typically require the holder to perform certain activities, such as drilling a set number of wells over a given period, or risk losing the right to the land.

In addition to declaring some production waste, oil producers proposed to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to mandate output cuts. The commission has not decided on that proposal, either.

Due to a last-minute amended application by the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance, or OEPA, the parties in the case will now have until May 18th to file comment on the changed application.

Interestingly enough, the regulator last month already adopted an emergency order, under which drillers could declare some oil economic waste and shut in wells to curb their losses. In fact, one commissioner dissented officially against the emergency order, arguing it was replete with fatal errors.

There are opponents to the proposals among oil companies as well. According to Crawley Petroleum Corp, the order that allows companies to declare some production economic waste could lead to lawsuits, Reuters reports.

The notion that we dont have the right to do this (shut wells) absent of this order is a fallacy, the companys chief executive Kim Hatfield said.

The situation within the industry is the same as it is in Texas and other oil states; while some producers insist that the state authorities act to support the industry, others are against any regulatory interference.

Also, like in Texas, the regulators seem wary of ordering production curtailment, not least because drilling in Oklahoma is already down substantially. According to the American Petroleum Institute and the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, drilling is down by as much as 90 percent from pre-crisis levels.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Global fund manager Nuveen Real Estate has defied market uncertainty with the sale of a major stake in a Brisbane shopping centre to a family-run business for $285 million.

In one of the first major deals in the retail sector since the coronavirus hit, YFG Shopping Centres has bought the 75 per cent of the centre at Mt Ommaney it did not already own.

Nuveen Real Estate is one of the largest investment managers in the world, with $180 billion of assets under management globally. YFG bought its 25 per cent stake in the centre late last year from Vicinity Centres.

YFG Shopping Centres will take full ownership of Brisbanes Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre following the $285m deal.

It comes amid market expectations that major landlords Scentre and Vicinity could look to raise capital through asset sales to stem sales losses due to the impact of the coronavirus on tenants.
[May 12, 2020] National Academy of Arbitrators Appoints New Officers; Dan Nielsen Succeeds Barry Winograd as President; Susan Stewart Named President-Elect

Dan Nielson was installed as President of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA), www.naarb.org, the official North American organization of labor and employment arbitrators, it was announced following a May 9, 2020 Board of Governors meeting. Arbitrator Susan Stewart (Toronto, ON (News - Alert)) became President-Elect. She will succeed Nielsen at the NAA's 2021 Annual Meeting and Education Conference scheduled for April 21-24, 2021 in Marina del Rey, CA (News - Alert). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NAA Annual Meeting and Education Conference in Denver, CO was postponed, delaying the scheduled election of new officers. In order to ensure a seamless transition, President Barry Winograd resigned his position and Presiden-Elect Nielsen succeeded to the office on the same day his term was previously scheduled to start. Following Winograd's lead, the other Officers and Governors scheduled to end their terms offered their resignations, which were accepted by Nielsen. Nielsen then appointed the previously-nominated slate of Officers and Governors to their respective positions, pending their formal election at the rescheduled business meeting in October 2020.



In addition to President-Elect Stewart, the incoming Officers and Governors include: Vice Presidents: Amedeo Greco, Madison, WI; Joshua Javits, Washington, DC; Executive Secretary-Treasurer (2nd term): Walt De Treux, Philadelphia, PA; Governors: Christopher Albertyn, Toronto, ON; Ruben Armendariz, San Antonio, TX; Melissa Biren, Maplewood, NJ; and Jules Bloch, Toronto, ON. About the National Academy of Arbitrators

The National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA), www.naarb.org, is a professional and honorary organization of more than 600 labor and employment arbitrators from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1947, the NAA fosters the highest standards of integrity, competence, honor, and character among those engaged in the resolution of labor-management and other workplace disputes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005478/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
New Delhi, May 12 : The Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his absence of empathy towards migrants, alleging that his address, in which he announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package, "only gave a headline to media'.

Congress Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a statement, said: "What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE.

"When the 'blank page' is filled with 'Heartfelt Help of People', the Nation & Congress Party will respond," he added.

Stressing that the "mammoth heart breaking human tragedy of migrant workers walking back home needed compassion, care and safe return", Surjewala said: "India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity and failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers." Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday announced a massive financial package to revive the country's economy by announcing a total stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, or 10 per cent of the country's GDP.

This amount also includes the earlier packages announced by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India.

Addressing the nation for the third time during the lockdown, the Prime Minister said that it is now the time to make India self-reliant in every way.
A longtime foreign policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden argued today that President Donald Trumps withdrawal from the nuclear deal has proven both the accords supporters and detractors wrong about a critical thing.

Advocates and defenders of the [deal], myself included, thought that when the Trump administration pulled out and imposed unilateral sanctions, that those sanctions were not likely to be as effective, because the Trump administration wasnt bringing the rest of the world along with them, said Jake Sullivan, Bidens former national security adviser at the White House. That didnt turn out to be true. Actually, those sanctions have been very effective in the narrow sense of causing deep economic pain on Iran.

Still, Sullivan noted that the sanctions themselves have not produced the magical outcome that the Trump administration is looking for beyond hammering Irans economy. He also argued that opponents of the deal were wrong because reinstating sanctions turned out to be a fairly straightforward thing after Trumps withdrawal.

His remarks came during a virtual interview at the conservative Hudson Institute.

Why it matters: Sullivan, who is informally advising the Biden campaign, helped oversee the Iran deal negotiations under President Barack Obama. Biden has vowed to reenter the nuclear deal and lift Trumps sanctions if he wins the US election in November and if Iran returns to compliance with the accord. (Since Trumps withdrawal, Iran has tripled its stockpile of low-enriched uranium allowed under the deals limits.)

Whats next: Sullivan went on to argue that a future Democratic administration should immediately reengage nuclear diplomacy with Iran and look to establish something along the lines of the [deal], but immediately begin the process of negotiating a follow-on agreement.

That follow-on agreement, in my view, should deal with the timelines for the restrictions [sunset provisions] and extend them, said Sullivan. It should also try to address other elements that we have learned subsequently could be strengthened. And I think that is a perfectly plausible available strategy and a far wiser course than basically demand Iran come out with its hands up  until you get to the brink of war.

Know more: Learn more about the views of Sullivan and Bidens other foreign policy advisers in Bryant Harris profile of the campaigns foreign policy brain trust.
Irish wool merchants are unable to offer farmers a price for wool at the moment

The wool trade has collapsed as Covid-19 restrictions in Britain pile pressure on what were already record low prices for the fabric.

Sellers were quoted as low as 50c/kg last year. Wool merchants now say they are unable to quote prices and instead are taking wool into storage or telling farmers to store it themselves until the market rallies.

A significant amount of Irish wool is sent to Britain for treatment before being exported to China.

"Staff at wool-washing and blending plants in the UK have been put on furlough because of Chinese plants being shut," Kevin Dooley of Dooley Wool in Roscrea told the Farming Independent.

"As a result Irish wool merchants are unable to offer farmers a price for wool at the moment. Instead we are opting to take wool into storage until at the market opens back up again. Farmers may opt to store wool and if they do, they need to make sure it is properly stored in a dry environment."

He added that sales at the British wool marketing board have been "very poor lately".

'Pathetic'

"The last few sales have seen a drop in nearly 50pc in price compared to this time last year, with a 30pc reduction in wool been offered.

"European wool will also come on board in the next few months which will cause a stockpile and it may take several months for this clear."

Another wool merchant described the current situation as "pathetic".

"This the worst I've ever seen the wool trade. People I sell wool to in China say that the situation won't be back to normal for two years. It's impossible to sell large quantities of wool at the minute - there's some interest from small cottage industries but this isn't near enough."
As the flow of Keralites



returning home from other countries and states continued, five people, including four who came from abroad, tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday, talking the total number of those under treatment to 32.

The other infected person had returned from Chennai, the state government said.

Of the total 32 people presently under treatment for the infection, as many as 23 had come from outside Kerala, including 11 from abroad.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 70 per cent of the positive cases were those who had come from outside the state and the remaining infected through contact.

Giving details, he told reporters that there were 32 cases at present. "Of this, six people had come from Chennai, four from Maharashtra, two from Nizamuddin, besides 11 foreign returnees".

Nine were infected through contact. Six of them are from Wayanad district where a truck driver, who had returned from Koyambedu market in Chennai, tested positive and had infected his close relatives and two of his contacts.

The total COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 524 and 31,600 people were under observation, including 473 in various hospitals.

Of the five cases on Tuesday, three are from Malappuram and one each from Pathnamthitta and Kottayam districts.

With the Railways commencing limited passenger service from Tuesday, Vijayan said there was a possiblity of the infection spreading in air-conditioned trains and this was the experience the world over.

"It is better to have non-AC trains and Non-AC vehciles to bring back the stranded Keralites. We will bring this to the notice of the Centre and railways," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Steak 'n Shake has closed more than 50 restaurants, citing the coronavirus pandemic as a reason for a massive drop in business.

The Indianapolis-based chain of restaurants experienced a $59million decrease in revenue in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same time last year, according to a report from Biglari Holdings Inc.

They stated that most of their restaurant dining rooms across the country were closed by March 17, 2020 with the remainder closing before the end of the first quarter. So far, 57 of 610 have shuttered and 553 remain.

The company did not specify which locations had shut down.

Steak 'n Shake has so far permanently closed 57 locations. During the first quarter, they closed the dining rooms in all of its restaurants. However, most restaurants remained open with limited operations such as takeout, drive-through, and delivery

'The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our operations and financial results,' the company stated. 'During the first quarter, we closed the dining rooms in all our restaurants. However, most of our restaurants remained open with limited operations such as takeout, drive-through and delivery.'

Biglari  which acquired Steak 'n Shake in 2008 and also owns Western Sizzlin'- said the company lost $7.9million during Q1.

Biglari, which is chaired by Sarman Biglari, noted the COVID-19 pandemic could cause disruptions to the Steak 'n Shake supply chain as meat factories work on reduced operations due to coronavirus social distancing measures and ill employees.

Biglari said they cannot predict how the outbreak of COVID-19 will alter the future demand for their burgers and milkshakes.

Now company-owned restaurants are being transitioned to franchisees. One has already been sold to a franchisee and 10 others to operating partners.

Biglari Holdings Inc noted the COVID-19 pandemic could cause disruptions to the Steak 'n Shake supply chain

Biglari Holdings Inc said in its first quarter report that they cannot predict how the outbreak of COVID-19 will alter the future demand of products. They have turned over 11 venues to franchisees so far and 51 stores had shut down by March 31, 2020

As of March 31, there were 39 franchise partner units, compared to three franchise partner units on March 31, 2019.

Steak n' Shake was founded in Illinois in 1934 and the first franchisee location opened five years later.

The company said the cost of food decreased as a percentage of net sales by 3.2% during the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, but it was primarily attributable to fewer promotional items.

Restaurant operating costs decreased as a percentage of net sales by 3.7% during the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. However that was primarily because of reduced labor costs.

They attributed reductions in marketing and general and administrative costs to the decreased advertising and the closure of venues.

The company said the closures were also responsible for impairments to long-lived assets (property they intended to keep for longer than a year - worth $10,300 in Q1 2020, compared to $1,900 in Q1 2019.

In an annual report released in February, the chairman didn't mention the COVID-19 outbreak as he said 'over the past three years, however, results have gone from bad to worse'.

'Last year's performance was dismal because our largest subsidiary, Steak n Shake, was once again a drag on results. Our net operating loss of $15.4 million in 2019 compares with a loss of $13.8 million in 2018,' Bilgari said. 'Whereas Steak n Shake was the engine of compound growth from 2009 through 2016, in the last two years it has recorded significant losses.'
An international team of researchers has discovered and dated the remains of Homo sapiens and associated artifacts  including pendants manufactured from cave bear teeth that are reminiscent of those later produced by the last Neanderthals of western Europe  at the Initial Upper Paleolithic cave site of Bacho Kiro in Bulgaria. Published in two papers in the journal Nature and the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the findings add clarity to the arrival of Homo sapiens into Europe and to their interactions with the continents indigenous and declining Neanderthal population.

Bacho Kiro Cave is located 5 km west of Dryanovo, on the northern slope of the Balkan mountain range (Stara Planina) and about 70 km south of the Danube River.

The site formed at the mouth of a large karstic system and its deposits encompass late Middle Paleolithic and early Upper Paleolithic occupations.

Bacho Kiro Cave was excavated by the archaeologist D. Garrod in 1938, but is best known from more extensive excavations in the 1970s by a team and archaeologists led by B. Ginter and J. Kozowski. The excavations in the 1970s yielded fragmentary human remains that were subsequently lost.

In 2015, a research team led by archaeologists from the National Archaeological Institute of Bulgaria and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology resumed work at Bacho Kiro Cave with the goals of clarifying the chronology and the biological nature of the makers of the artifacts.

The researchers uncovered thousands of animal bones, stone and bone tools, beads and pendants and the remains of five human individuals.

The animal remains from the site illustrate a mix of cold and warm adapted species, with bison and red deer most frequent. These were butchered extensively but were also used as a raw material source, said team member Dr. Rosen Spasov, a paleontologist at New Bulgarian University.

The most remarkable aspect of the faunal assemblage is the extensive collection of bone tools and personal ornaments, added Dr. Geoff Smith, a zooarchaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Cave bear teeth were made into pendants, some of which are strikingly similar to ornaments later made by Neanderthals in western Europe.

The scientists then examined teeth and bones from Bacho Kiro Cave to ascertain which species occupied the site.

Using a state-of-the-art technology called Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), they identified human bone fragments and concluded that they were at least 45,000 years old  a period coinciding with the arrival of multiple waves of Homo sapiens into Europe.

Subsequent shape analyses of the tooth and DNA examination of the fragments determined that they belonged to Homo sapiens and not Neanderthals, whose presence was not evident among the discovered fossils.

ZooMS allows us to identify previously unidentifiable bone fragments as some form of human, said team member Professor Shara Bailey, a researcher in the Department of Anthropology at New York University and the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

From there, we can apply more sophisticated techniques to identify the species and more accurately date human bones.

Given the exceptionally good DNA preservation in the molar and the hominin fragments identified by protein mass spectrometry, we were able to reconstruct full mitochondrial genomes from six out of seven specimens and attribute the recovered mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from all seven specimens to modern humans, said team member Dr. Mateja Hajdinjak, a postdoctoral researcher at the Francis Crick Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Interestingly, when relating these mtDNAs to those of other ancient and modern humans, the mtDNA sequences from Layer I fall close to the base of three main macrohaplogroups of present-day people living outside of Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, their genetic dates align almost perfectly with those obtained by radiocarbon.

The Bacho Kiro Cave site provides evidence for the first dispersal of Homo sapiens across the mid-latitudes of Eurasia, said team co-leader Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Pioneer groups brought new behaviors into Europe and interacted with local Neanderthals.

This early wave largely predates that which led to their final extinction in western Europe 8,000 years later.

Our findings link the expansion of what were then advanced technologies, such as blade tools and pendants made from teeth and bone, with the spread of Homo sapiens more than 45,000 years ago, Professor Bailey said.

This confirms that Homo sapiens were mostly responsible for these modern creations and that similarities between these and other sites in which Neanderthals made similar things are due to interaction between the populations.

_____

J. Hublin et al. Initial Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria. Nature, published online May 11, 2020; doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2259-z

H. Fewlass et al. A 14C chronology for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria. Nat Ecol Evol, published online May 11, 2020; doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-1136-3
Bhubaneswar, May 12 : The Odisha government has decided to introduce three ordinances soon to bolster agri-economy of the state, said an official on Tuesday.

A decision in this regard was taken at a high-level review meeting on COVID-19 chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister said additional funds will be diverted to strengthen the rural economy.

He directed for wider implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and increase activities of Mission Shakti.

The Chief Minister also directed different departments to prepare plans for creating more job opportunities.

The meeting decided that labour intensive work would be given focus in the coming days.

It was decided to engage one lakh people in plantation activities during the next one month.

The state government has also decided to give a brief certificate course on Covid- 19 management to the returnee migrants quarantined in different temporary medical camps of the state.

With the training, the inmates can work as volunteers after coming out of quarantine, said the Chief Minister.

He asked the officials to enhance bed strength in the Covid care centres in districts like Ganjam, Balasore, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balangir within a week.
The Congress on Tuesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modis address as one that gave the country a headline and said the nation is disappointed by his failure to address the woes of millions of migrants.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the mammoth heartbreaking human tragedy of migrant workers walking back home needed compassion, care and safe return.

Dear PM, What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE, he said on Twitter.

When the blank page is filled with Heartfelt help of people, the nation and Congress party will respond.

India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity and failure to address the woes of millions of migrant workers, he said in a series of tweets.

His colleague Manish Tewari also tweeted, PMs speech can be summed up in one word - HEADLINE HUNTING. A NUMBER -20 LAKH CRORES. NO DETAILS. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, however, welcomed the financial package announced by the prime minister.

The financial package announced by PM Modi ji was much awaited. Better late than never. We welcome this. Now when details emerge, we would know exactly how different sectors would benefit, he tweeted.

Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said his party had asked for a fiscal injection last month and gave comparative figures of other countries and bemoaned a measly 0.7 per cent of GDP. If substantially, concretely, new proposal is 10 pc of GDP, it would be great. Both God and devil lie in details, not available. 10 pc should be additional, not counting old pre corona schemes, he tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, Hoping that the Rs 20 lakh crore package is not scripted with same pen which was used to make the promises of giving everyone Rs 15 Lakh, cleaning Maa Ganga, bringing back black money in 100 days, transforming Varanasi into Kyoto and ending terrorism with demonetisation. In a big push to revive the economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package, which combined the governments recent announcements on supporting key sectors as also measures rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India.

In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said the details about the fourth phase of the lockdown will be made known before May 18, adding it will be different from the earlier phases.
The man who was shot and killed by a trooper over the weekend in Mesa County has already been identified as Jayson Thompson, 33 years old, and a resident of Bisbee Arizona. This was according to the office of the Coroner.

The shooting took place, a little past 9 a.m. on Saturday, "near Highway 50 and 29 Road." Relatively, a trooper from the Colorado State Patrol shot Thompson fatally.

According to reports, the trooper did not acquire any injury, although the authorities have not given further information about what caused the shooting. Currently, investigation of the incident is the 21st Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team.

About the Shooting

A squad of law enforcement investigators in Mesa County was looking into a shooting incident that took place on Saturday Morning in a community at southern Grand Junction also known as Orchard Mesa.

During the occurrence, at the US Highway 50 and 20 Road intersection, a Colorado State Patrol trooper shot a man that reportedly caused his death.

Both the CSP and the office of the Mesa County Sheriff referred to the then unidentified man as a suspect. However, no further details were provided about the alleged dealings of the person or the incident's other circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Critical Incident Response Team members are tasked to carefully review the incident. It is composed of personnel coming from the Fruita Police Department, Office of the Mesa County Sheriff, Grand Junction Police Department, Palisade Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado State Patrol, and the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office

It was the Office of the Mesa County Coroner that released the identity of the man who was shot to death, publicly.

Reports also said that the "cause and manner of death" followed the autopsy which the coroner conducted. More so, the trooper, who has also remained unidentified, has reportedly been put on administrative leave.

Crime Rate in Mesa County

In 2019, a news site reported that the violent crime statistics showed that as "the crime was up at the state level in Colorado," Mesa County's crime rate was said to be going down.

Based on the data from the CBI, drug busts and crimes have increased at the state level from 2017 to 2018. However, in Mesa County, it was a bit different story, following the law enforcement's push last year.

Todd Rowell, the Mesa County Undersheriff said, when the report about the decreasing crime rate in the county came out, no cop wanted to show up "and take a report of something that already occurred."

He added it was an ambitious goal although the main concentration for the office of the Mesa County Sheriff is a bit different.

Incidentally, the annual crime statistics report of CBI showed that violent crimes were down by 31 percent from 2017 to 2018. Then, in 2018, 179 violent crime cases recorded, compared to the 2017 report's 262 cases.

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The Stormont Executive is to set up a working group to help ensure the smooth travel of airline passengers during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Stormont Executive is to set up a working group to help ensure the smooth travel of airline passengers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It follows the announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnston that passengers coming into the UK will be required to isolate for two weeks, although those arriving from France and the Republic would be exempt.

But officials in the Republic have insisted a similar exemption will not be reciprocated for people travelling to the Republic from Great Britain.

Sinn Fein junior minister Declan Kearney told the Executive's daily Covid-19 press conference that Stormont has been working closely with London and Dublin over air travel.

"Conversations were held last week in relation to how this particular issue would and should be addressed. There is an acceptance amongst all the administrations that there is effectively a common travel area between these islands, that's the appropriate stance to adapt.

"However, individuals who would travel into these islands from abroad will then be expected to accept a two week lockdown and isolation period.

"We have made the point to the British Government that in circumstances where perhaps someone has travelled into Britain from continental Europe or elsewhere who may then travel on to a destination in the 26 counties that their details are shared with authorities in the south in order to maintain a consistency in their approach to dealing with individuals who should be adhering to a two week isolation."

DUP junior minister Gordon Lyons added: "There will be a working group set up to ensure the proper exceptions are in place. It is obviously important that the common travel area is maintained and that will require further conversations with our own government and the Irish Government as well."

Meanwhile, in the Republic it has emerged that gardai will be given the power to check up on air passengers arriving from overseas. This could include gardai calling to the addresses of passengers to ensure they are self-isolating for two weeks after their arrival.

Strict new regulations are being drafted to make it a legal requirement for anyone arriving in the Republic to self-isolate and give the authorities details of where they will be staying.

Using emergency legislation to allow gardai to police the new rules is a key proposal in the plans being discussed by senior ministers.
Prosecutors control inspection of St. Petersburg hospital fire circumstances

 RAPSI, Natalia Vaneyeva

10:58 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI)  Prosecutors took the control over the check of compliance with law due to the fire in the St. George hospital in St. Petersburg that resulted in the death of 5 people, the press service of Russias Prosecutor Generals Office reports Tuesday.

Reasons and conditions of the blaze are to be set during the check as well as legal assessment of the persons responsible for the fire safety is to be conducted, the statement reads. The fire occurred early on Tuesday in one of the intensive care units of the St.George hospital.

As a result, 5 patients died. The hospital in particular gives treatment to the coronavirus infected people.




Despite the hefty fines and possible jail time which people could face for breaking their qu
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has contributed $15 million to San Franciscos COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, which distributes money from private donations to people and businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus.

The donation, channeled through Start Small, a limited liability company Dorsey is using to fund COVID-19 relief efforts, more than doubles the $11.3 million Give2SF had raised to date. Last month, Dorsey said he would pump $1 billion of his Square equity into Start Small, a figure representing about 28% of his fortune, he said.

Dorseys net worth is estimated at $4.6 billion, according to Forbes.

City officials said Tuesday that Dorseys donation would be split evenly across Give2SFs priority areas, with $5 million each going toward food security, housing access, and small businesses and worker support. The fund also provides aid to undocumented people who may not be able to access social safety-net programs.

COVID-19 affects us all, but disproportionately affects those who were already in need, Dorsey said in a statement. Its important to acknowledge this fact and provide more support to those who are struggling.

Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color in San Francisco have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Undocumented individuals and families face an even steeper burden given their inability to apply for federal stimulus relief or loan programs because of their immigration status.

This donation will make a critical difference in the lives of thousands of undocumented, mixed-status and low-income San Franciscans who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor London Breed said. With the $15 million from Start Small, well help people get food on the table, remain in their homes and receive the financial assistance they need to make it through this emergency.

San Francisco officials said Dorseys $15 million will support 5,000 households with over three months of grocery gift cards, meals and other food-related support; 1,250 households with up to $3,000 for housing costs and utilities; financial relief for immigrant workers, and 0% interest loans to small businesses.

Dorseys donation comes comes amid growing calls for San Franciscos ultra-wealthy to increase their contributions to charitable endeavors helping to ease some of the pain caused by the pandemic and the rippling economic effects of the region-wide shutdown.

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.

Last year, a report from Wealth-X, which tracks data related to the extremely affluent, found that San Francisco had the highest number of billionaires per capita of any city in the world, with one person in the 10-figure club for every 11,600 residents. The city has the third-highest number of billionaires in the world, at 75, behind New York and Hong Kong, according to the report.

On Monday, Dorsey donated $10 million to Reform Alliance, a prison-reform nonprofit founded by rappers Meek Mill and Jay-Z and businessman Mike Rubin.

Dorseys charitable activities have drawn scrutiny in the past, in large part because his purported philanthropic efforts have been difficult or impossible to verify.

San Francisco officials confirmed that the money had already been wired to Give2SFs accounts. The fund has disbursed $8.95 million to date.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
Boeing's CEO is predicting that a major US airline will go under by the end of the year and says it will take between three to five years for the industry to bounce back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with NBC's Today on Tuesday, CEO Dave Calhoun said the threat of COVID-19 on the airline industry was 'grave'.

When asked if he thought a major US airline would fold as a result of COVID-19, Calhoun said: 'Yes, most likely.'

Calhoun, who did not name any specific airlines, predicted that something would happen by September, which is the month when the US government's payroll aid to the airline industry is set to expire.

When that aid expires, it could result in widespread layoffs among various airlines.

Calhoun said he doesn't expect passenger traffic to reach even a quarter of its pre-pandemic levels by September, creating the need for airlines to make 'adjustments' as they weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the threat of COVID-19 on the airline industry was 'grave' and said it was likely a US airline would fold as a result of the pandemic

'Traffic levels will not be back to 100 percent. They won't even be back to 25 percent. Maybe by the end of the year we approach 50 percent,' he said.

'So there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines.'

Calhoun said the situation was 'grave' but the airline and aviation would bounce back.

'Apocalyptic does actually accurately describe the moment but I don't think it describes the recovery and I don't think it describes the medium or long term for the airline or aviation industry,' Calhoun said.

'We believe we will return to a growth rate similar to the past but it might take us three to five years to get there.'

Calhoun said his view of the future of the industry differed from that of billionaire Warren Buffet who sold off his entire $4billion stake in major US airlines earlier this month.

Buffet, at the time, said the 'world has changed' for the airline industry.

'I don't happen to share the view,' Calhoun said. 'I share the near-term turmoil. Near-term for me doesn't mean a few months.

Airlines have been devastated by the pandemic with a near 95% drop in domestic passengers to travel restrictions and government lockdowns. Pictured above is an empty George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on Monday

A passenger looks at his phone while waiting aboard an empty United Airlines plane before taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Monday. Airline executives have already warned of a slow recovery even after the virus is contained and have said demand may not recover to 2019 levels for years

'I believe it's three full years before we return to the traffic levels that we had just in 2019, and then probably another two before we begin to return to the growth rates that we used to have.

'I'm hopeful that somewhere between here and there, there's a vaccine, and that the moment of high anxiety begins to really subside. But I still believe in the future of the industry.'

Calhoun acknowledged that the air travel experience would be very different, saying that face masks would likely be required as well as temperature checks in airports.

He said the interior of a plane with its air circulation was designed to 'prevent transmission of exactly this kind of airborne carrier'.

'The cabin itself replaces its air every two to three minutes,' he said.

'By the time you layer those protections and you consider the responsible actions of the public themselves, I believe you do gradually get back to the same level of confidence that we've had before.'

Airline executives have already warned of a slow recovery even after the virus is contained and have said demand may not recover to 2019 levels for years.

US airlines have seen a near 95 percent drop in domestic passengers as travel restrictions and government-mandated lockdowns across the world have brought demand to a virtual standstill.

American Airlines, United, Delta and Southwest all reported large quarterly losses and are on track for a dismal second quarter.

US airlines have canceled hundreds of thousands of flights, including 80 percent or more of scheduled flights into June as US passenger traffic has fallen by 95 percent since March.

They are conducting additional cleaning measures and requiring all passengers to wear facial coverings.

The federal government awarded nearly $25 billion in cash grants to airlines to help them meet payroll costs in exchange for them agreeing not to lay off workers through September 30.

Major airlines have warned they will likely need to make additional cuts later this year to respond to a long-term decline in travel demand.

United Airlines Co has said it planned to cut at least 3,450 management and administrative workers on October 1, or 30 percent of those workers, and has also said it will reduce hours for thousands of other workers.

Meanwhile, Boeing Co has said it would cut 16,000 jobs by the end of the year, while GE Aviation plans to cut up to 13,000 jobs and airplane supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc is cutting 1,450 jobs.
Ahmaud Arbery (L) poses with his mother, Wanda Cooper, in an undated photograph. (Courtesy of S. Lee Merritt)

Ahmaud Arbery Was Hit Twice in the Chest by Gunshots, Autopsy Shows

Ahmaud Arbery was struck twice in the chest by gunshots, according to an autopsy completed by Georgia authorities.

Arbery, 25, was shot dead in Brunswick on February 23. A former police officer, Gregory McMichael, and his son were arrested for the shooting last week.

One wound from a shotgun blast was on the lower chest while the other was on the left upper chest, according to autopsy results obtained by The Epoch Times from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Division of Forensic Sciences.

Both holes were described as gaping.

A third shot grazed Arbery just above his right hand, leaving a deep, gaping wound.

The victim suffered multiple abrasions to his face, arms, and hands.

Erica Smith, of Brunswick, Ga., leaves a small paper sign on a memorial at the spot where Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed Fri., May 8, 2020, in Brunswick Ga. Two men have been charged with murder in the February shooting death of Arbery, a black man in his mid-20s, whom they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. (John Bazemore/AP Photo)

Arbery died of multiple shotgun wounds sustained during a struggle for the shotgun, Edmund Donoghue, the regional medical examiner, concluded. The manner of death, he said, was homicide.

Blood tests for alcohol and drugs came back negative.

Investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at the request of local police, are probing the case months after the killing occurred.

Video footage captured by a bystander showed the McMichaels approaching Arbery before shooting him.

Authorities said over the weekend theyre reviewing additional footage as well as photographs as part of the active case.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the case. A department spokeswoman said the department is assessing evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate.

This image from video posted on Twitter Tues., May 5, 2020, purports to show Ahmaud Arbery stumbling and falling to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Ga., on Feb. 23, 2020. The AP has not been able to verify the source of the video. (Twitter via AP)

Carr said Monday he appointed Cobb County Judicial Circuit District Attorney Joyette Holmes to lead the prosecution of the accused.

Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge, and the Cobb County District Attorneys office has the resources, personnel, and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done, he said in a statement.

Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson was first set to prosecute the case but recused herself because Gregory McMichael worked under her in the past. District Attorney George Barnhill of a nearby circuit was appointed but stepped down because his son works for Johnson.

The third prosecutor, District Attorney Tom Durden, recognized that another office is better suited from a resource perspective to now handle the case, Carr said in his statement announcing Holmes was replacing Durden.

An attorney for Arberys father, Marcus Arbery, asked Holmes to be zealous in her search for justice.

In order for justice to be carried out both effectively and appropriately in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is imperative that the special prosecutor has no affiliation with the Southeast Georgia legal or law enforcement communities, Benjamin Crump, the attorney, said in a statement.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told "Axios on HBO" that there isn't yet enough information to determine whether or not the coronavirus outbreak resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.

What he's saying: "I'm not ruling out that it could be a lab accident, and some experts have not ruled it out either," said Rubio. "Though I can't prove it and no one can because we don't have enough information to disprove it or prove it."

The backstory: Rubio expressed far less certainty than some top U.S. officials have in recent statements.

President Trump said on April 30 that he has a "high degree of confidence" that the outbreak originated in a lab accident in China.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on May 3 that there was "enormous evidence" that a lab accident was to blame for the epidemic.

Why it matters: U.S. allies with access to shared intelligence have said it is "highly unlikely" that a lab accident was the cause, fueling concern that the U.S. government might be pushing the theory for geopolitical reasons.

Based on scientific evidence, the leading theory is still that the virus originated in a bat and spread to humans via an intermediary animal.

Go deeper: U.S. statements on coronavirus origins diverge from allies
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies walk outside the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

At least 21 inmates in the same module at a Los Angeles County jail tested positive for the coronavirus, one week after security footage showed inmates sharing water from the same cup and sniffing the same face mask.

The inmates allegedly tried to get themselves sick so more inmates could be released.

At least 357 inmates across all LA county jails have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

At least 21 inmates at a Los Angeles county jail caught the coronavirus after drinking from the same cup, several news outlets reported. According to CNN, security videos show inmates at the North County Correctional Facility sharing cups of water.

According to the Los Angeles Times, 21 of the 50 inmates in the module tested positive. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva alleged at a press conference that it was a deliberate attempt to infect themselves, meant to pressure the jail to release more people.

The positive cases came a week after the security footage of the incident, on April 26.

"It's sad to think that someone deliberately tried to expose themselves to COVID-19," Villanueva said according to the LA Times. "Somehow there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment  and that's not gonna happen."

Villanueva said the inmates could face criminal prosecution.

"Every inmate has access to their own cup of water which they jealously guard," the Villanueva said according to CNN. "It's not something they share person-to-person, and anyone who practices basic hygiene doesn't do that anyway," Villanueva said. "So, in this environment, and then considering the fact that the 21 tested positive out of that module, shows what their intention was."

Story continues

CNN added that inmates may use the cup to make instant coffee or instant noodles.

Another security tape from another module shows three inmates sharing the same Styrofoam cup and breathing into one mask, according to the LA Times. While the video was not dated, Lt. John Satterfield told the LA Times it was taken on April 15.

Since April 30, the number of inmates in LA County jails who have tested positive for the coronavirus has tripled to 357.

Additionally, 4,500 inmates across all LA County jails are in quarantine, 2,000 of which are at the same prison where inmates appear to have deliberately tried to infect themselves. Those in quarantine either shared a cell with someone whose positive for the virus or are waiting on test results.

According to CNN, only inmates who showed symptoms were tested for the virus at the time of the videos, however, everyone started being tested on May 3.

The LA Times reports that while Villanueva may have reduced the prison population, some are still critical that the county isn't doing enough to protect inmates. A class-action lawsuit was brought against LA County and claimed prisoners lack soap, are unable to social distance, and are not being tested even when they have symptoms.

Read the original article on Insider
A campaign that was meant to take place at the United Nations' New York headquarters has instead been conducted at six in the morning, Stott Despoja sitting in front of a bookcase filled with Senate hansard books in her study in Henley Beach, Adelaide.

Natasha Stott Despoja in her makeshift campaign headquarters - her Adelaide study - along with Merkel the German wirehaired pointer. Credit:Ben Searcy

Over the past three months, Stott Despoja has held bilateral meetings with more than 70 countries, combining Australia's diplomatic savviness with her admirable credentials to campaign for a spot on the United Nations' coveted Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

On the day the former Australian Democrats senator speaks to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, she has already been interviewed by representatives from Eswatini, Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador.

"At least three days a week, I'm up at 5.30am getting ready for work," says the former senator. "I log on to a virtual call with the Australian Mission to the United Nations by 6.15am and then by 6.30am we are having our first bilateral meeting with a member-state."

In roughly 20 minutes, Stott Despoja has to persuade diplomats and ambassadors that her record - her 13 years as a centrist senator; her period as Australia's ambassador for women and girls; and her time as founding chair of Our Watch, Australia's peak body in the prevention of violence against women - justifies a position on CEDAW.

Natasha Stott Despoja, along with an election officer and representative from Australia's mission to the United Nations, speaks to a Cape Verde diplomat.

Her dog, Merkel the German wirehaired pointer - named after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel - sometimes interrupts the call. The internet sometimes, but thankfully not too frequently, cuts out. Instead of meeting in the foyer of the UN's New York building, an image of the lobby is used as a Zoom background. And unlike in-person campaigning, Stott Despoja cannot hand out the Haigh's chocolates she usually gifts ("I promise, nowhere near enough to constitute a bribe!").

It's no ordinary campaign. If successful against the 21 other candidates vying for 11 CEDAW positions, Stott Despoja would be the first Australian in three decades to sit on the committee. Elizabeth Evatt, Australia's first female federal court judge, was a member from 1984 and committee chair for two years from 1989.
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Jenny Kim, a veterinarian oncologist, listens to the heartbeat of Danny Boy, a Labrador that she has treated with lymphoma, in the exam room at NorthStar Vets in Maple Shade Township. Read more

My Virtual Veterinarian, founded by Wharton School graduate Felicity Johnson, is a veterinary portal for pet owners, and allows animals to receive medical care any time they need it  all through telemedicine.

My Virtual Veterinarian won the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton Schools latest entrepreneurship competition this year, which, like the winning idea, was done virtually amid the COVID-19 health crisis.

The app, which received a $30,000 prize plus $15,000 in legal, accounting and strategy services, connects pet parents with doctors for video and chat appointments, providing what has become an essential service during the pandemic.

Johnson founded the company in 2019 while studying for her MBA at Wharton. Years earlier, shed experienced time-consuming medical visits when her cat, Tiffany, was diagnosed with cancer.

I was living and working in New York City, and it was difficult bringing her to her appointments, said Johnson, a native of Australia whose family moved to Philly when she was a child. She graduated from Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square and Villanova University. I was very fortunate to be working at Rent the Runway, an online fashion company that allowed flex time working from home.

Thats the challenge a lot of pet owners face: The vet appointments are in the middle of the work day.

The virus has accelerated the tele-doctor trend already popular with humans, she said.

On March 24, regulators gave her idea a surprise boost.

The FDA suspended regulations that required vets to establish a client-patient relationship before practicing telemedicine, she said. That is just unprecedented. Before the pandemic, vets really were not using telemedicine  they were extremely wary.

The market was ripe for innovation. The American Pet Products Association data show that two-thirds of 84.9 million U.S. households have at least one pet, offering steady demand for routine veterinary services.

.

Americans spent more than $25 billion on vet services in 2018, according to data from Freedonia Group, and that number should increase. Industry growth between 2015 and 2020 averaged 2.9% annually, according to IBIS World.

Through the My Virtual Veterinarian iOS app, pet parents can access their primary veterinarian, or find a different one who is available, and schedule an appointment. This flexibility extends to the veterinarians, who can schedule appointments that fit their schedule.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

Competitors include AirVet and TeleTails, but Johnson contends that the competitors apps "lock you into using only one veterinarian. With us, you can choose your own vet, or any vet available as long as they sign up for the platform.

Her company makes money by taking a percentage of appointment fees, which vary among animal doctors. We dont charge the vets to use the app, we charge the pet parents, she said, generally 30% of the appointment fee.

With 150 million dogs and cats in America, and an average cost of $50 per appointment, MyVirtualVet apps goal is a little more than $14 in gross profit per visit.

So far, My Virtual Veterinarian has completed 51 appointments and 16 chats with doctors. The company has four employees, including Johnson, who taught herself to code.

Plans for growth include hosting Paws for Wellness pop-up wellness clinics in major cities to introduce pet parents to the platform, as well as partnerships with groomers and insurers.

And, of course, custom poop bags in local dog parks to advertise the service.

Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship winners

My Virtual Veterinarian won out in a field of eight finalist teams  including tropical fruit ice cream and curated flower rental companies  who advanced from almost 30 semifinalists in the competition.

The finalists:
Sydney, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2020) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) (the "Company") announces that workers of Union No. 1 and No. 2 at Austral Gold's Chilean Guanaco/Amancaya mines went on strike on Monday as the previous seven days of mediation talks failed to reach an agreement on the new collective labour agreement covering the next three years, including the amount for a one-time cash payment for each unionized employee known as the end-of-conflict bonus. Both Unions represent 261 employees out of the 370 unionised employees at the mines.

The Company's compensation proposal was filed with the Chilean Government Labour Authorities last week as part of the formal process. The two Unions at the Guanaco/Amancaya mines did not accept the Company's proposal and decided to walk off the job on Monday.

The Guanaco/Amancaya mines currently has three Unions. As announced in the March 2020 quarterly report, the remaining Union representing the mines supervisors accepted the Company's proposal during the quarter.

Austral Gold's Chief Executive Officer, Stabro Kasaneva said: "We and the Union's representatives are making our best efforts to reach an agreement soon. We believe that the Company's proposal is fair and in line with our size and current financial situation. During the strike, all activities will be temporarily suspended except those essential activities regarding security and environment."

About Austral Gold

Austral Gold Limited is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco/Amancaya project in Chile is a gold and silver producing mine with further exploration upside. The company also holds the Casposo Mine (San Juan, Argentina), a ~26.46% interest in the Rawhide Mine (Nevada, USA) and an attractive portfolio of exploration projects including the Pinguino project in Santa Cruz, Argentina (100% interest) and the San Guillermo and Reprado projects near Amancaya (100% interest). With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange. (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's website www.australgold.com.

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Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Release approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Austral Gold, Stabro Kasaneva.

For additional information please contact:

Jose Bordogna

Chief Financial Officer

Austral Gold Limited

jose.bordogna@australgold.com

+54 (11) 4323 7558

David Hwang

Company Secretary

Austral Gold Limited

info@australgold.com

+61 (2) 9698 5414

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical and consist primarily of projections - statements regarding future plans, expectations and developments. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import tend to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include the statement that during the strike, all activities will be temporarily suspended except those essential activities regarding security and environment. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, business integration risks; uncertainty of production, development plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency fluctuations, the state of the capital markets especially in light of the effects of the novel coronavirus,, uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates, Austral's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure requirements for mineral properties; unpredictable risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or mineral property that are beyond the Company's control, the availability of capital to fund all of the Company's projects and other risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on the ASX and on SEDAR. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Austral cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Austral's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and Austral does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55721
DGP Dinker Gupta

Chandigarh :The Punjab Police has busted a major narco-gangster module with the arrest of three persons, allegedly linked to the 532 kg Attari drug haul.Six illegal weapons have been seized from the accused, and a case against them at Police Station Bhikiwind , under sections 27 of NDPS Act, 25, 54, 59 of Arms Act, 188, 269, 270, 506 of IPC and 51B of Disaster Management Act, DGP Dinkar Gupta said on Tuesday.

File PhotoGupta said that a team of DSP/Detective and In-charge CIA, Tarn Taran arrested Gurpreet Singh s/o Jaswant Singh, r/o vill. Bhikiwind, PS Bhikiwind; Sukhdev Singh s/o Lakhvir Singh, r/o vill. Jeoneke, PS Harike; and Sarabjit Singh s/o Sukhdev Singh, r/o vill. Wara, PS Bhikiwind. The weapons recovered from them included a 12 bore double barrel rifle, a 32 bore Beretta pistol, two 32 bore pistols, a 12 bore pistol and a 315 bore pistol, along with 2 live rounds of 315 bore and 2 live rounds of 32 bore.

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Gurpreet was reportedly in direct contact with several gangsters and drug smugglers currently in prison.Giving details, the DGP said that Gurpreet Singhs questioning had revealed that he was in direct contact with Shubham, a Batala based gangster and a prime accused in the case of armed robbery of nearly Rs. 7 crores from a jewellery shop in Amritsar in 2018. Batala was arrested in 2019 and is currently lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar. Based on the forensic and technical investigation conducted so far, it has been found that Gurpreet Singh was in contact with Shubham, and supplied weapons to his associates in Tarn Taran and Ferozepur areas.

DGP Dinkar GuptaThe DGP further said that on the basis of investigation done by the team led by SSP Dhruv Dhaiya, three other associates of the gang, all resident of Ferozepur, had been identified. They were found to be actively involved in supply of weapons into Harike, Patti and Bhikiwind areas of Tarn Taran. He said Surya, r/o village Katora under police station Arifke, Ferozepur , had been identified as another key associate of Shubham, who was involved in the illegal weapons supply, in coordination with Gurpreet Singh.

Investigation revealed that Gurpreet Singh was in direct contact with Kuldip Singh @ Babbu s/o Harbhajan Singh r/o vill. Havelian, PS Sarai Amanat Khan, Tarn Taran, who is the brother of Ranjit Rana, the prime accused in the 532 kg heroin Attari drug haul case, and arrested recently by Punjab Police.

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curfewGupta further stated that Kuldip Singh, an accused in three cases of NDPS Act, including a case of 22 kg heroin registered in 2014 by SSOC, Amritsar, is currently lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar. Links of Gurpreet Singh had also been traced to Sarabjit Singh alias Saaba s/o Sukhdev Singh r/o Lahore Chowk, PS City Patti, Tarn Taran, who is an accused in a case of 13 kg heroin and is also now lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar. Gurpreet Singh has repeatedly procured commercial scale heroin consignments from the above smugglers.

The DGP said that in-depth forensic and technical analysis of the mobile devices of Gurpreet Singh and his associates was being conducted. The links of the gang with gangster Shubham and major drug smugglers, including the accused of the 532 kg heroin haul from Attari border, was also being investigated further.Reiterating the firm commitment of Punjab Police to eliminate the scourge of drug trafficking and smuggling from the state, Gupta said that since enforcement of curfew on March 22,

15.802 kg heroin had been recovered in the Tarn Taran district. Further, the district police had been rigorously pursuing cases of freezing and forfeiture of illegally acquired properties of major NDPS drug smugglers, under provisions of NDPS Act.

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Gupta said the properties of 12 NDPS drug smugglers worth around Rs. 6.22 crores had been frozen by the district police since the imposition of curfew in the state. Besides, 11 new cases of freezing of property, worth around Rs. 17.42 crores, had been recently prepared and sent to the Competent Authority, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, while 7 new cases worth around Rs. 5 crores would be sent during this week.

Overall, illegally acquired properties of 51 major NDPS drug smugglers, worth around Rs. 54.46 crores, have been frozen by the district police in the past nine months, upon receipt of confirmation orders from the Competent Authority in New Delhi, said Gupta, adding that further cases are being actively identified and pursued expeditiously.

Apart from the action against drugs, 13 illegal weapons have also been recovered by the district police since the curfew was clamped and action against gangsters and illegal weapons smuggling was being pursued vigorously with a zero tolerance approach by the district police, added the DGP.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 00:21:53|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese aircraft loaded with medical supplies landed at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, on Tuesday.

It was the second batch of China's medical assistance to Indonesia after the first batch was transported in March.

The donated supplies included medical masks, surgical masks, KN95 respirators, medical goggles, medical protective screens, protective jumpsuits, waterproof isolation gowns, medical boot covers, nitrile gloves, infusion pumps, portable knapsack sprayers, infrared forehead thermometers and thermal imaging thermometer helmets.

Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian and Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto were present at the hand-over ceremony.

As of Tuesday, the death toll of COVID-19 in Indonesia surpassed 1,000. Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed cases increased to 14,749 in the country with Jakarta, home to some 10 million people, recording the highest deaths with more than 400. Enditem
A thief had a part of his tongue bit off by a woman he was trying to rape after breaking into the victims house in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh last week.

Police officers in Cau Ke District, Tra Vinh said on Sunday that they were detaining a local man, 23-year-old Son Sa Rot, for questioning on suspicion of theft and rape.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Rot was walking around Phong Thanh Commune in Cau Ke district with the intention of stealing money and other property on May 7. The man claimed he was flat broke.

He set his eyes on the residence of T.T.T., a 38-year-old local woman, and waited until the neighborhood became deserted to break into the back of the house.

Rot had managed to steal a mobile phone when he saw T. sleeping in the house and proceeded to sexually assault the victim.

The woman woke up, fought back and bit off a part of the perpetrators tongue, prompting him to flee.

Rot was later taken into police custody while at his house in Cau Ke District.

The man has confessed to his alleged crimes, according to the districts police officers.

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Frederick "Fritz" Kroesen, a retired four-star Army general who led combat infantry soldiers in three wars and survived an assassination attempt in 1981 by a far-left militant group in Germany, died April 30 at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 97.

He had Parkinson's disease, said his son, Frederick Kroesen III.

Kroesen distinguished himself in World War II, advancing from weapons platoon officer to company commander in Europe. He also endured heavy fighting in Korea and Vietnam and worked his way through the ranks during peacetime to command the 82nd Airborne Division and serve as Army vice chief of staff.

In 1979, he was sent to Heidelberg, West Germany, as commanding general of U.S. Army troops in Western Europe and NATO's central army group, which placed him in charge of more than 200,000 soldiers. At that time, U.S. soldiers and top industrial and political leaders in West Germany were targeted for assassination by the Red Army Faction, a radical left-wing militant organization also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group.

The Red Army Faction, which had about 80 members, gained international attention as they terrorized West German society, mainly in the 1970s, with a string of airline hijackings, bank robberies, car bombings, kidnappings and high-profile killings in brazen attacks in what they described as a war against a "pseudo-fascist" establishment.

The group's leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, were captured and killed themselves in prison in the mid-1970s. Other members were killed in gunfights with the police, while some fled to East Germany, and the violent attacks became less frequent.

But about two weeks before the attack on Kroesen, West German officials became concerned that he was under surveillance by militants and provided him with an armored security car to use when he traveled in the country.

At 7:20 a.m., on Sept. 15, 1981, members of the Baader-Meinhof Group fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Kroesen's car, which was nearing a gate at the entrance to Heidelberg. The grenade pierced the left side of the car's trunk and exited near a rear tire, shattering the back window, where Kroesen and his wife were sitting.

Neither was seriously injured, though the broken glass caused cuts on the back of the general's head. The armor plating prevented shrapnel from entering the cabin of the car.

Small-arms fire erupted from the assailants, and another RPG was fired but missed the car before Kroesen's driver sped away from the attack. The general required only stitches for his injury, though the attempted killing heightened concerns of a possible resurgence of the Baader-Meinhof Group.

In 1991, German authorities charged a former top member of the East German Stasi secret police and several of his associates in connection with the attack. The Red Army Faction formally disbanded in 1998.

That year, in an interview conducted for the oral history archives of Rutgers University, his alma mater, Kroesen referenced his World War II experience when speaking of the attack. "It's not the first time the Germans shot at me and missed," he said.

Frederick James Kroesen Jr. was born Feb. 11, 1923, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and finished high school in Trenton. He was 17 when his father died, and his mother then supported the family by taking over his job with the New Jersey unemployment compensation commission.

Kroesen spent his formative years as a member of a Boy Scout horse-mounted unit. He graduated in 1944 from Rutgers, where he participated in an advanced ROTC program, and soon enlisted in the Army. During his military career, he received a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University.

His military decorations included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart.

After his active-duty retirement in 1983, Kroesen did international security consulting work and maintained his connections with the military through the Association of the United States Army, serving as a senior fellow and writing a column for its Army magazine.

Many of his columns and essays focused on his concerns over the effects of military budget cutbacks on the ability of Army combat infantry soldiers to hold territory in war zones.

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 76 years, the former Rowene McCray, of Alexandria; two daughters, Karen Klare of Atlanta and Gretchen Tackaberry of Springfield, Virginia; 10 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and a great-great grandson.
Hathras : , May 12 (IANS) At least ten members of a family, including four children, have tested positive for the coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, a health official said on Tuesday.

Chief medical officer, Hathras, Brijesh Rathore, said all the new infected patients are relatives of a cancer patient, who had earlier tested positive for Corona after he returned to the city from a Noida hospital.

The family members of the cancer patient had then alleged that they were not quarantined for over 24 hours, even after they had informed the health department about the positive status of the patient.

Rathore, said, "Around 27 people were quarantined after one family member tested positive for corona and of these 10 have been found to be infected after the reports came in on Monday evening." The district now has 19 COVID-19 cases, official added.
Akbar al baker, Qatar Airways CEO

Qatar Airways has said it will give away 1 lakh free tickets to frontline healthcare professionals to thank them for their work during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.

The giveaway will open at 00.01 am on May 12 and close at 11.59 pm on May 18 (Doha time). Healthcare workers can register on the Qatar Airways website by submitting a form to receive a unique promotion code, offered on a first come, first served basis.

Healthcare workers from all countries will be eligible for these tickets, with each country receiving a daily allocation of tickets, depending on its population size, staggered over a seven-day period between May 12 and May 18.

Professionals who receive the promotion code can book up to two complimentary Economy Class return tickets on flights operated by Qatar Airways to anywhere on the airlines network.

Eligible healthcare professions include doctors, medical practitioners, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, lab technicians and clinical researchers. They would have to present a valid employer ID at the airport at the point of check in.

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

However, the tickets must be booked before November 26, with travel valid until December 10, 2020.

We at Qatar Airways are incredibly grateful for the commitment and hard work of healthcare professionals around the world who looked after people in these times of uncertainty. Their heroic display of kindness, dedication, and professionalism has saved hundreds of thousands of lives around the world, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said in a statement.

Additionally, healthcare professionals will be offered a voucher with 35 percent discount to redeem at Qatar Duty Free retail outlets at the Hamad International Airport in Doha.
In addition to the usual check-ins and security checks, travelers flying on Emirates to Tunisia from the Dubai International Airport last month underwent a novel new screening before they were allowed on board: a rapid coronavirus blood test.

While in the U.S. airlines institute a patchwork of measures like mandatory masks and temperature screenings in attempts to safeguard their passengers and crew, virus testing is already being conducted for a small number of travelers by airlines or in airports in a few foreign countries in some of the first steps in hopes of buoying an industry that has been decimated by the pandemic.

But while the new protocols could help bring some travelers a measure of comfort, aviation and public health experts said that tests are unlikely to be the silver bullet that will revive the industry in the near term.

"It's a wonderful soundbite and a photo opportunity," John Grant, a senior aviation analyst with aviation data firm OAG, told ABC News. "But the practicalities of administering such a process when you have literally tens of thousands of people arriving in a two or three hour window, and segregating them, socially distancing them, and administering such a process, seems to be unworkable."

MORE: Senate to grill Fauci, other admin officials on reopening via videoconference

PHOTO: Emirates in coordination with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will be introducing additional precautions. Emirates is the first airline to conduct on-site rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers. (Emirates)

Some new testing around the world

Emirates, the state-owned carrier based in the United Arab Emirates, said in April it was the first airline to test passengers for the virus before their flight, and had results available within ten minutes. Working with the Dubai Health Authority, it said it hoped to expand the procedure to additional flights in the coming weeks.

The testing measure would complement other safety steps the airline is taking from temperature screenings of all passengers and employees, to physical distancing indicators, to "enhanced aircraft cleaning and disinfecting."

In Austria, the Vienna International Airport started voluntary diagnostic tests for travelers entering and leaving the country. For  190, about $206, travelers can schedule a PCR test that is designed to look for traces of the virus in samples -- and get their results within three hours -- along with a certificate that proves they tested negative.

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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.

Hong Kong has been testing all incoming air travelers since late April, shuttling them from the international airport to a nearby testing center, before they enter mandatory self-quarantine, which is enforced using electronic bracelets.

MORE: Tokyo Olympics closing 5 souvenir shops; downsizing another

PHOTO: Emirates in coordination with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will be introducing additional precautions. Emirates is the first airline to conduct on-site rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers. (Emirates)

As other countries begin to reopen, expanded testing and even immunity passports to certify a travelers health are increasingly seen by some as tools to help bring travelers back to the skies worldwide.

We need a vaccine, an immunity passport or an effective COVID-19 test that can be administered at scale, Alexandre de Juniac, the director general and CEO of International Air Transport Association, which represents nearly 300 airlines and 82 percent of the worlds total air traffic, said in a recent statement on safety recommendations.

But with the U.S. still rationing COVID-19 tests for front line workers and vulnerable populations in some communities, its unlikely that the countrys airlines will be in a position to test passengers for the highly-contagious disease anytime soon, experts told ABC News.

The U.S. is conducting roughly 250,000 tests each day, but some public health experts have said daily testing capacity needs to be doubled or tripled to consider reopening the country safely. Testing flyers would be an additional, monumental undertaking on its own -- nearly 2.5 million people passed through TSA checkpoints to travel in a day last May.

Without testing, were really flying blind when it comes to the virus, and where the virus is and where its going, Dr. Anand Parekh, the chief medical advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center and former Department of Health and Human Services official, told ABC News about the importance of testing generally.

MORE: Like stationary cruise ships: Prisons, factories emerging as deadly coronavirus transit hubs

PHOTO: A traveler arrives at a nearly-deserted O'Hare International Airport on April 2, 2020, in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The nature and quality of some tests is also a concern to some experts.

Emirates referred ABC News' questions about the testing program -- including what specific tests were used and the current status of the program -- to the Dubai Health Authority. Officials at the authority, as well as UAE embassy officials, did not provide comment as of this report.

Experts suggested that the quick blood tests referred to in the April press release are likely antibody tests that screen for the presence of prior COVID-19 exposure, rather than current infection.

The virus is almost never in the blood. So you have to get the nose or throat swab to find the virus. If they're only using blood, then it would be an antibody test, Dr. Daniel Lucey, a member of and spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), an association of 12,000 public health experts, told ABC News. I don't think [an antibody test] would provide anything reliable, any information that's reliable."

"There's a lot we don't know about antibody testing, said Dr. Angela Caliendo, a professor and vice chair of Medicine at Brown Universitys medical school, , who sits on IDSA's board of directors and often serves as an infectious disease expert panelist for the groups virtual media briefings on COVID-19. "We don't have the data at all to suggest that if you have antibodies, you're not infectious, if you have antibodies, you're protected from infection.

The World Health Organization has raised concerns about the use of antibody tests for immunity passports, given the lack of evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 are immune.

For diagnostic tests that are designed to detect current infections, the possibility of some false-negative tests could also allow infected travelers slipping through the cracks, Laura Albert, an industrial and systems engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told ABC News.

There will be a small proportion of passengers who will fit in that bucket, she said, adding that asymptomatic passengers could also be a concern.

In the air over the US, a patchwork of policies

For now in the U.S. currently no airports or airlines are conducting any coronavirus tests for travelers.

But airlines have implemented a range of social distancing and mitigation measures, including mandatory mask-wearing, and temperature checks for patients.

On Monday, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines began requiring mask-wearing for both passengers and the airplane crew.

The three U.S. airlines now join the ranks of competitors who've already made masks a requirement: Air Canada, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Lufthansa Group, Cape Air and Frontier Airlines, the latter of which will be the first airline to require mandatory temperature checks beginning June 1.

Frontier, which dropped plans to charge passengers $39 to guarantee social distancing, recently rolled out a new temperature check program. The mandatory checks will screen both passengers and crew members, and prevent anyone from boarding with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or greater.

The hodgepodge system of safety measures and screenings has frustrated Democrats on Capitol Hill, who are pushing the Trump administration to set a required standard for the entire industry to follow.

MORE: Mike Pence: Test all nursing home residents, staff

PHOTO: Two travelers wear face masks at Denver International Airport, May 3, 2020, in Denver during the coronavirus pandemic. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Airlines for America, the trade organization representing the countrys largest carriers, called for temperature checks to be conducted by Transportation Security Administration workers at airports on travelers and customer-facing employees for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak.

"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," the group said in a statement.

While temperature checks were among the earliest coronavirus mitigation measures implemented on travelers this year -- specifically on international travelers arriving to the United States -- the screenings can still miss infections in people who have yet to show symptoms, or are asymptomatic.

Despite some reports of recent crowded flights, even were the U.S. to institute robust and accurate testing, its unlikely that air travel will return to pre-pandemic levels any time soon without a widely-distributed vaccine, according to public health experts and aviation analysts.

In China and Australia, where new COVID-19 cases have dwindled, domestic air travel demand remains low, at 40 percent and ten percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, respectively, according to the IATA.

"The new normal is probably very akin to 9/11," said Grant. "There was a great deal of uncertainty, and concern, quite rightly, amongst passengers that wanted to feel safe and feel comfortable, and in the space of two or three months, we began to see traffic building back up, and demand recover."

Absent a vaccine, Grant said that air travel could slowly increase as travelers become more comfortable with safety and health protocols, "although they will take a long time to get back to where they were in 2019, for sure."

Some would-be travelers may stay home if they're worried about the possibility of contracting COVID-19 at their destination, or on another leg of their trip,Robert Mann, an aviation analyst, told ABC News.

People are very sensitive to their personal safety. They will not travel, or if they have to travel, will exclude a means of travel, if they dont think its safe, he said.

What to know about the 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

Would airport coronavirus testing get people flying? Not alone, experts say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
ADDISON, Texas, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Society for Heart and Transplantation, which publishes the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, named Daniel R. Goldstein, MD, the new editor-in-chief of the Journal. Dr. Goldstein is the Eliza Maria Mosher Collegiate Professor in Internal Medicine and Director of the Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S. He also serves as a Research Professor for the Institute of Gerontology.

The selection was made after a global search. Dr. Goldsteins first issue as editor-in-chief will be the January, 2021, issue of the JHLT.

I am truly honored and very excited to become the next editor-in-chief of the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, said Dr. Goldstein. I am humbled to take over from Dr. Mehra, who has greatly elevated the stature of JHLT. I very much look forward to assembling my editorial team, communicating with Elsevier and importantly interacting with ISHLT members to take the Journal to the next level during the next five years and beyond.

Dr. Goldsteins priorities for the Journal include making it the premier translational medicine journal in all areas related to advanced lung disease and extracorporeal support, advanced heart failure and mechanical circulatory support, lung and heart transplantation and pulmonary hypertension. In addition, he's committed to ensuring a rapid, thorough and thoughtful review process and enhancing the publications social and digital media presence.

Dr. Goldstein will take over from longtime editor, Mandeep R. Mehra, MD, the William Harvey Distinguished Chair in Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who is also the founding medical director of the Brigham Heart and Vascular Center. Dr. Mehra led the Journal through a period of significant growth and impact. Under his leadership, the Journals impact factor rose to 8.578 (2018), the highest of any global journal in transplantation or sub-specialty in surgery.

As my decade-long term as Editor of JHLT comes to a close, I am pleased to leave the Journal in the safe hands of Dr. Goldstein, said Dr. Mehra. During this time, we have become recognized as the premier journal in transplantation in the world (Citescore rank #1), enjoy top rank among surgical journals (Citescore rank #2) and those in the field of respiratory (Citescore rank #3) and cardiovascular medicine (Citescore rank #8). This stature is due to the incisive work of our volunteer members, editorial board consultant and our office editors. I am grateful to the ISHLT for having provided me with this intellectually stimulating opportunity for all these years and for enduring the difficult decisions that we have had to make during these times. Above all, I am glad that we have brought the JHLT to the forefront of the fields academic curiosity, and in that I have my reward of this tenure.

Dr. Goldstein founded the Goldstein Lab at Yale University to examine the role of the innate immune system immune system in organ transplantation. The Lab, which he now leads from the University of Michigan, is credited with having made numerous groundbreaking findings on the impact of aging on inflammation and disease.

ISHLT is the worlds largest multi-disciplinary organization committed to improving the care of patients with advanced heart and lung disease.

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About ISHLT

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. With more than 3,800 members in more than 45 countries, ISHLT is the worlds largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of end-stage heart and lung disease. ISHLT members represent more than 15 different professional disciplines. For more information, visit www.ishlt.org.

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New Delhi, May 12 : Weddings across the globe have been put on hold for the time being, resulting in a "Domino Effect", thanks to the pandemic.

Most weddings are expected to be pushed to the latter half of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. However, on the brighter side, in lieu of the nationwide lockdown to-be-weds can utilise this time to better plan their wedding once the virus threat is down to negligible.

The 'New Normal' for celebrating weddings in the post-COVID-19 world is going to be different. With social distancing becoming the norm, weddings will be smaller, more intimate, and with emphasis on top-notch hygiene standards as well as ensure contactless services. Given this situation, to limit risks and ensure safety, couples who plan to celebrate their weddings during the latter half of the year will have to consider altering their wedding plans.

Image Source: IANS News

"In the aftermath of COVID-19 and once the lockdown is over, we expect many couples to tie the knot, however, the way they do it will change. Couples will forego the 'big fat' wedding for an intimate, more cautious wedding, adhering to social distancing norms. To ease our consumers' worries during the pandemic, we are engaging with them virtually by conducting digital meetings and venue recess, offering more flexibility in terms of booking and rescheduling weddings for a later date. We hope such measures benefit everyone who is looking to tie the knot" says Sandeep Lodha, CEO, OYO-owned Weddingz.in.

"There are multiple reports citing that the Coronavirus outbreak has brought the wedding industry to a screeching halt. This is only partially true, in terms of execution and wedding events being held at the moment. However, despite the pandemic or the lockdown, we at Weddingz.in are seeing couples enquire about venue bookings for the latter half of the year or early next year. Weddings, as we know it is a big milestone for families in India, leading to many couples rescheduling their wedding as opposed to cancelling them," Lodha added.

Here are some precautionary tips and measures to help couples plan their big day with utmost caution in the aftermath of the virus.

Image Source: IANS News

Open-air venue and well-spaced out table arrangements In the post-pandemic era, people will look forward to socialising again, however, they are still expected to be skeptical about attending mass gatherings. In such a world full of heightened cautiousness, wedding planners or couples need to take all precautionary measures while organising mass gatherings,especially weddings. An open-air or outdoor wedding means plenty of space, which could help people maintain physical distancing as compared to an indoor wedding. Furthermore, a well-thought-out seating arrangement is essential to reduce risks. Venues should organise bigger tables with limited seating to maintain distance between people. For instance, a table for 10 should be assigned to 5 guests only.

Tweaking the buffet-style service The highlight of any Indian wedding is its lavish buffet. In an effort to comply with physical distancing measures, this is about to change too. While some couples may still opt for buffet-style service, precautionary measures like a contactless serving of dishes will be the norm. For example, one designated server will be assigned to serve a dish each at the buffet to avoid guests touching the cutlery/spoons.

Opting for family-style entrees or sides at the table is another way to ensure the safety of guests, thereby avoiding serpentine queues at the food counters, where people tend to gather in close proximity at weddings. Needless to say, if it's a buffet-style service, line marking to maintain six feet distance between two people will be important. Besides this, caterers will also have to ensure that the raw materials or ingredients for food preparation are sourced from trustworthy suppliers, who ensure utmost cleanliness while delivering the stock from the farm to the venue.

As weddings go local, they also go virtual In the aftermath of the pandemic, we can expect couples to opt for local weddings in their hometowns, instead of destination weddings. Additionally, overseas guests may prefer being a part of the celebration virtually, due to restrictions for non-essential travel. Furthermore, live streaming wedding ceremonies are a foreseeable trend in the near future. Therefore, wedding planners and venue operators can expect a surge in demand for such services post-COVID-19.

Impeccable hygiene standards Right from the entry to exit, venues need to place sanitizers and hand napkins at every point. Guests should be able to sanitize their hands on arrival, have access to cleaning and protective equipment at their tables, ample availability of handwashes and sanitizers should be made in the washrooms. To avoid overcrowding the washrooms, guests should have a designated waiting area where they can maintain physical distance from each other. All venues should diligently disinfect spaces pre and post the wedding function.

Apart from venue hygiene, even makeup artists and photographers documenting the wedding will have a certain SOP to follow in the post-pandemic phase. To ensure that the bride feels safe, makeup artists and hairstylists will wear masks and sanitise their products. With regards to photographers, the wedding party will prefer a smaller team to cover the wedding. Additionally, as weddings are set to be more intimate, a large team won't be required at the venue.

Adapt to a post-COVID-19 culture Societal norms call for handshakes and hugs during milestones and celebrations like weddings. With the entire world maintaining social distancing, couples will prefer to opt-out of the gift-exchange and photo sessions that typically occur at wedding receptions.

The new normal for weddings across the world is going to be significantly different. In the meanwhile, it's time to stay educated, make more informed decisions and rethink safer ways to plan happy and safe celebrations post the pandemic.

(Aditi Roy can be contacted at aditi.r@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
Wilson, a two-time mayoral candidate who runs a medical supply company, has offered to sell millions of disposable face masks to the city of Chicago. He has also donated a large number of masks to aldermen and community groups in the city to hand out, while sparring with Mayor Lori Lightfoot over how best to make sure Chicagoans are able to comply with the face covering requirement.
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BERLIN, May 9 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a newspaper interview on Saturday there was a growing risk of a hard Brexit in the midst of the coronavirus crisis as negotiations between Britain and the European Union so far on the future trade relationship had yielded hardly any progress.

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," Maas told Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

"It's simply not on, because the negotiations are a complete package as it's laid out in the political declaration," he added.

Maas said there was currently neither common ground on how to shape a comprehensive trade deal nor on whether to extend the negotiation period beyond the end of the year.

"The British government is still refusing to extend the deadline," 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."

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Friday 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. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber Editing by Frances Kerry)
Shannon Banks scout group aim to climb Mount Everest to raise awareness and monies for Pieta House.

Hike for Hope was launched by Scouting Ireland volunteers to raise much needed funding for Pieta House.

Grace OBrien, of Shannon Banks scout group, said she is part of a team of scout volunteers participating in the initiative.

Our team of Shannon Banks scouts, cubs and scouters aim, between us all, to hike the equivalent of Mount Everest to raise awareness for Hike for Hope.

For the past ten years, nationally, scouts have been marshalls for the Darkness into Light fundraiser events and this year we wanted to continue to virtually marshal our communities to raise funds for Pieta House through Hike for Hope, said Grace.

To climb to the summit of Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres high, would be the equivalent of 44,240 steps or walking 3,160 steps of stairs.

To support all in Shannon Banks scouts efforts over the weekend please search Hike for Hope Go Fund Me to donate online.

The Shannon Banks scouts are pictured in happier non-social distancing times on a hike in Cratloe last November.




A 12-member Chinese medical team of experienced experts in management of Covid-19 arrived yesterday with a consignment of test kits and protective gear to help Zimbabwe respond effectively to the pandemic.





The team was received at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Deputy Minister David Musabayana and Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Guo Shaochun





The medical team comes from Hunan Province in south central China, which borders Hubei Province where Covid-19 patients were first diagnosed, and so was involved in Chinas successful battle against the pandemic almost from the start.





They will be in the country for the next 14 days and brought a consignment of PCR test kits, personal protective equipment and other supplies.





During the 14 days, the team is expected to meet President Mnangagwa and others involved in the national Covid-19 response initiative, including medical professionals, with whom they will share experiences, and will visit isolation centres.





China has been resuming production without renewing the pandemic and so the team will hold seminars with Chinese businesspeople on how to resume production within the recommended guidelines and standards.





The Chinese medical team leader, Dr Yimin Zhu, said their mission was not only sharing experiences and helping medical professionals in Zimbabwe, but would also strengthen the already existing diplomatic relations between China and Zimbabwe.





The Chinese medical team is not only here to share experiences and exchange ideas with our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters but also to convey a message of our commitment and strong friendship said Dr Zhu.





Ambassador Guo Shaochun thanked his Government and hospitals in Hunan Province for sending the medical team and the consignment of drugs and PPEs to assist the country in combating Covid 19.





I would like to take this opportunity to thank the central Government of Hunan Province, and also say thank you to the leading hospitals and medical institutions of Hunan Province, for organising such a team. I would also want to thank all the doctors in this team for coming all the way to join us in the fight against Covid-19, said ambassador Shaochun.





Zimbabwe. In his acknowledgement speech, Minister Moyo, who is chairman of the taskforce responsible for resource mobilisation, thanked the Chinese Government for its continuous assistance towardsZimbabwe.





You have demonstrated that we are all-weather friends and the donation that you are bringing today is very valuable in that you are bringing professional medical staff who have been on the frontline in fighting Covid-19 in your country. In addition to that, you are also bringing some of the stuff that is key in our response and that is personal protective equipment. This donation will bolster our efforts to fight against the pandemic, said Minister Moyo.




Founded by hair stylists for hair stylists, Innersense Organic Beauty established the fund to assist its essential salon partners who have been forced to shut doors during the pandemic. Active salons and stylists can use their gift allotment on in-stock retail inventory, backbar products and samples.

"This is not a fund to offer credit, promotion or loans. It's a no-strings attached gift to help our hard hit salon and stylist community," says Greg Starkman, Innersense Organic Beauty founder. "Our salon partners are the heart and soul of our brand. This program allows them to get back behind the chair, with product in hand, without worry, financial burden or any sort of payback."

"It's what they need right now so they can get back to doing what they love, and that's doing hair."

Founded as "self care for caregivers behind the chair," the clean beauty brand is maintaining its intimate connection with the holistic hair community during the pandemic by enlisting stylists to serve as live hair consultants on its US website and contributing financial assistance to the Professional Beauty Association COVID 19 Relief Fund .

Beauty professionals Greg and Joanne Starkman founded Innersense Organic Beauty to bring clean, pure and toxin free hair care to salons, stylists and consumers seeking to make healthier choices. A leader in the clean hair care movement, the brand can be found in salons, specialty beauty retailers and e-retailers across the globe. Visit innersensebeauty.com to learn more.

For any questions or immediate requests, please contact: [email protected].

SOURCE Innersense Organic Beauty

Related Links

https://innersensebeauty.com


Women in Arkansas are being blocked from getting abortions due to new rules forcing them to track down a test for coronavirus and get a negative result beforehand.

A federal judge has upheld the rules after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the state over the new policy and stated it infringes the constitutional right to having a pregnancy terminated.

The ACLU, which represents the only abortion clinic in the entire state, argued the coronavirus tests are very difficult to procure and abortions are timely procedures which should not be delayed by the obstacle of obtaining a test.

Holly Dickson, legal director at ACLU of Arkansas, hit out at the judges decision to uphold the new rules.

She said: The urgency of the situation in Arkansas cannot be overstated. People cannot pause their pregnancies, and this politically-motivated restriction is already pushing care out of reach. This ruling will extend that harm.

Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Show all 13 1 /13 Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Cheryll Mack, 46, a registered nurse in the emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift outside the hospital where she works. "The Covid-19 spread has affected a lot of livelihood, a lot of people's lives. It has created a crisis, death in general. So I would like to ask not one single person, but all people worldwide, to converge and join the platform that this is something that nobody can fight individually," said Mack. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Dr Laura Bontempo, 50, an emergency medicine doctor wears her personal protective equipment she uses when she sees patients, while posing for a photograph after a nine-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moments have actually been separating families from patients, there is a no-visitor policy now and taking people away from their loved ones is very challenging," Bontempo said. "I'm used to treating sick patients. I treat sick patients all the time. It's very different knowing that the patient you are treating, is actually a risk to you as well. That's the main difference here. No one who works in hospitals is afraid of treating sick people. Just want to keep staff safe and the patients safe at the same time." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Ernest Capadngan, 29, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment unit poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment during the shift was just seeing Covid patients die helpless and without their family members beside them," Capadngan said. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Martine Bell, 41, a nurse practitioner in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a six-hour shift outside the hospital where she works. "The hardest thing in all of this, has been taking care of fellow healthcare providers. It really hits home and it's really scary when you see someone that could be you coming in and now you're taking care of them. It's also hitting home that once healthcare providers start getting sick, who is going to be taking care of the public," Bell said. "It's very stressful, everyone is on edge. We don't know who's coming in next, or how sick they're going to be, or if we are going to get a whole bunch of people or if we're not going to get no one. It's a really stressful and just a completely unusual time for all of us." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Kaitlyn Martiniano, 25, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment poses for a photograph after a 12.5-hour shift, outside the hospital. "We have a lot of patients and they are pretty sick right now but we have not yet been hit as hard as New York or Seattle, so I feel like we are very lucky with that so far. Every day you have to just be optimistic." Said Martiniano. "I think the reason that we are not being hit as hard right now is because so many things are closed, and because so many people are staying at home." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Tracey Wilson, 53, a nurse practitioner in an intensive care unit (ICU), poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "I had a patient fall out of bed today and I had to call his wife and tell her and she couldn't come see him, even though she pleaded and begged to come see him," Wilson said. "There is a lot of unknowns and with that unknown is a lot of anxiety and stress that we're not used to dealing with." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Meghan Sheehan, 27, a nurse practitioner in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "I think the hardest moment has been the fear that lives within all of us. There is a lot of unknown right now. We fear what's going to happen tomorrow, how the emergency department will look next week when we come in. We have fears about our own colleagues, whether they will fall ill. We also fear that we could be asymptomatic carriers and bring this virus home to our families and our loved ones. There has been a lot of fear over our supplies and whether we'll run out. And then obviously there is the fear that we will see patients and not be able to do everything we normally can to help save patients' lives," Sheehan said. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Kimberly Bowers, 44, a nurse practitioner in an ICU, poses for a photograph after a 13-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment was a young woman who died and her family wasn't able to be here with her," Bowers said. "I think right now, it's just frustrating and scary just not knowing what comes next." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Tiffany Fare, 25, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment unit poses for a photograph after a 13-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "One of the hardest moments was having to see a family member of a Covid patient, say goodbye over an iPad, rooms away. That was a tough one, I can't imagine how hard it would be to be saying goodbye, you can't see your loved one and then they're gone," Fare said. "My team has been really great to me. We've worked really well together and we've really come together in this crisis. We don't really know each other, we all come from different units within the same hospital, so for us to come together and work so well as a team, it's been a journey but I think that's what is giving me hope." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Dr Kyle Fischer, 35, an emergency medicine doctor, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where he works. "Since it's a new virus, we don't have any experience with it. For most diseases I am used to seeing it and taking care of it and this, I don't have any starting place. I know what I'm hearing from New York, I've read all of the papers it seems like, but no one knows what the correct answers are, so there's a huge amount of uncertainty and people are really, really sick. So it's hard to second guess whether or not you are doing the right thing when you think you are but you never quite know," said Fischer. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Julia Trainor, 23, a registered nurse at a surgical ICU, poses for a photograph after a 14-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment was having to put a breathing tube in my patient who could no longer breathe for herself and after the breathing tube went in, we called her family and the husband, of course, couldn't visit her because of visitor restrictions at the hospital. So I had to put him on the phone and hold the phone to her ear, as he told her that he loved her so much and then I had to wipe away her tears as she was crying," said Trainor. "I'm used to seeing very sick patients and I'm used to patients dying but nothing quite like this. In the flip of a switch, without the support, they're completely isolated. They're very sick. Some of them recover and some of them don't. But the hardest part, I would think, is them having to go through this feeling like they are alone." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Lisa Mehring, 45, a registered nurse who works in a biocontainment unit with Covid-19 patients, poses for a photograph after a 12.5-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works in Maryland. "Seeing these new moms have babies has been the hardest moment along with having do their pumping for the new moms and them not being able to be with their newborn children, it's hard to think of the family that they are missing," Mehring said. Photos Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Jacqueline Hamil, 30, a registered nurse in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift outside the hospital. "The hardest moment of my shift today, I was in charge, and we had a really sick patient that was in a really, really small room and usually, when we have sick crashing patients, we can have a ton of resources and a ton of staff go in and help with the nurse and the doctors that are taking care of that patient. But due to the patient being ruled out for the coronavirus, we could only have five or six people in the room at a time and putting on all the gowns and gloves and masks and face shields to protect us in case the patient does have coronavirus, it takes a while, so the nurse that was in there, ended up being in the room for you know 6, 7 hours with minimal breaks and it was hard being in charge and knowing that she was stuck in the room and really nothing I could do to help her," Hamil said. Reuters

The ACLU argued the new policy could force some women into postponing their abortions until a date which is beyond the states legal deadline for having the procedure. The cutoff point is 21 weeks and six days after a womans last period.

Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLUs Reproductive Freedom Project, said: Make no mistake, Arkansas politicians are outright barring people who have decided to have an abortion from getting one and instead forcing them to stay pregnant and have a child against their will.

A state should never prevent people from making a decision about a pregnancy that is best for themselves and their families. But doing so during the pandemic, when people are losing their jobs and doing everything they can just to keep their families healthy and make ends meet, is beyond cruel. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that people can get the care they need.

Brian Miller, the district judge, concluded the choice was agonisingly difficult to reach due to the new rules curbing peoples freedom but argued the need to safeguard public health during a global pandemic made the policy acceptable.

He said: This directive applies equally to all surgical procedures and does not single out abortion providers or surgical abortions.

Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general, said the policy which demands a negative coronavirus test result for women who require abortions was one element of wider state rules which necessitates negative test results for any individual who needs to have any form of elective procedure.

Ilyse Hogue, president of Naral Pro-Choice America, fiercely criticised the policy and argued tests remain out of reach. In Arkansas, a new law requires a negative #COVID test within 48 hours of a scheduled appointment to be able to get an abortion, she tweeted. Also in Arkansas, you cannot get a Covid-19 test if you are asymptomatic and no one is turning tests around in 48 hours. See what they did there? Terrible.

Lori Williams, director of the abortion clinic, submitted an affidavit which explained she had been striving to help women track down Covid-19 tests for weeks but was struggling.

She said she had got in touch with more than 15 testing services but had not been able to find one which was able to provide tests for patients who are not showing symptoms of coronavirus and give results back in the space of 48 hours. This forced her to turn away eight abortion patients who were unable to conform to the new rules, Ms Williams said.

Arkansas, a state in the south of America, limited elective abortions during the coronavirus crisis but the restriction was relaxed at the end of April.

Politicians and abortion rights campaigners across the US have used the Covid-19 emergency to roll back abortion rights and attack womens sexual and reproductive freedom. A slew of states have attempted to capitalise on coronavirus to introduce abortion bans.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 11, 2020 -- Vehicle subscription provider Fair today named Bradley Stewart as CEO as the company continues growing its flexible-use vehicle platform to meet the digital-first demands of today's auto consumers. Stewart most recently served as CEO of XOJet, a leading on-demand private aviation services platform.

"It is clear to me that Fair is meaningfully improving both vehicle access and the driving experience, while offering real value for consumers," Stewart said. "Its high engagement among digital natives, exclusive focus on the more affordable pre-owned market, and innovative financing structures create a seamless experience that offers freedom and flexibility  both highly desired attributes among today's modern consumers. Fair and its products are perfectly positioned to capture several powerful trends in mobility, and I am proud to join this dynamic company at such an exciting moment."

Stewart served as CEO of XOJet from 2013 to 2018, eventually steering the company through an acquisition by its parent company, Vista Global. He replaces Fair's interim CEO Adam Hieber, who will resume his role as an operating partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and remain on Fair's board of directors.

"More than ever, people are looking for ways to access mobility in a digital, contactless and financially flexible way. Fair delivers on this by leveraging an unparalleled level of data and operational discipline, leaving Brad and the team well-positioned to seize the gigantic opportunity in front of them," Hieber said. "Leading Fair and its world-class team over the past six months has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my life. Their passion for customers and focus on innovation are apparent every day, and I look forward to supporting them to grow Fair into a great household brand."

Fair's subscription model allows users to shop affordable pre-owned cars on their phones or via the internet, get approved in-app or on the web, sign for the one they want with their finger, and drive it for as long as they want. A Fair subscription is an alternative to a traditional lease or loan, which often lock consumers into long-term contracts that are not compatible with today's unpredictable financial reality.

"Fair is transforming the car from an owned asset that loses much of its value over time into a service that can be turned on or off like the countless other subscriptions people access on their phones," said Fair Founder & Chairman Scott Painter. "Brad's passion for Fair's unique offering is evident and exciting, and his experience innovating a mobility model that eliminates unwanted elements of ownership makes him the perfect choice to lead Fair into the future."

Before joining XOJet as its president in 2010, Stewart was an executive with Parthenon Capital Partners, and prior to that worked at McKinsey & Company. He graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and earned a master's degree in business from Columbia University.

About Fair

Fair offers a new way to get a car in response to consumer demand for more freedom. Fair gives customers the flexibility to drive the car they want for as long as they want and lets them walk away any time, eliminating the long-term commitment of traditional financing. Fair allows users to select their car, miles, and view their monthly paymentsall in a mobile and paperless end-to-end experience that's simple, transparent and affordable. Every Fair subscription comes with roadside assistance, a limited warranty and routine maintenance included. Fair is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, please visit www.fair.com and follow us at @fairtheapp.

SOURCE Fair

Related Links

http://www.fair.com


Ambassador of Georgia to Ukraine Teimuraz Sharashenidze held a meeting at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry before leaving Kyiv and informed the Ministry about the position of Georgia in connection with the appointment of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.

It is unacceptable that a person convicted in Georgia is appointed to a political post in a country that is a strategic partner. As for relations with Ukraine, the Georgian side will make every effort to maintain partnership relations with Ukraine and even deepen them. Our Ukrainian partners share this position. We have common views on the most important issues for us, such as Euro-Atlantic integration, de-occupation, strengthening democratic institutions, and we enter the international arena with this unity, Sharashenidze told Georgias First Channel.

As the Ambassador noted, the Ukrainian side said at the meeting that Mikheil Saakashvili was a citizen of Ukraine but the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had understood the position of official Tbilisi and expressed hope for further continuation and deepening of bilateral partnership.

As reported, on May 7, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Mikheil Saakashvili as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Reforms Council.

On May 8, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia David Zalkaliani announced that, by the decision of Georgias Government, Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine Teimuraz Sharashenidze would be summoned for consultations in Tbilisi after the appointment of Saakashvili.

In January 2018, the Tbilisi City Court found Saakashvili guilty of abuse of office in Sandro Girgvliani case and sentenced the former president to three years in prison. According to the investigation, in 2009, the then President of Georgia Saakashvili bypassed the Pardon Commission and illegally pardoned four employees of the Constitutional Security Department convicted for the murder of Girgvliani.

The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the ruling.

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The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Shani Cooper, has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government for the manner in which they are handling the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19).



She said the leadership was doing great and had been straightforward, firm and decisive.



Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra, the Ambassador said handling the COVID-19 pandemic involved a lot of things, including human lives, the security of health workers, the environment, the economy and the future, saying all those needed tactfulness and a high level of experience to handle.



She said any decision taken could solve the problem, worsen it or make no impact at all, adding that put on the scale, the government had done well with the steps it had taken.



Mrs Cooper said the situation also had some emotional aspects, which could not be taken for granted, especially people not being able to touch their loved ones, grandmothers not being able to hug their grandchildren and families and friends not being able to visit one another.



In all these, she said, what every leader would do was ensure that the decisions taken would yield positive results, adding that the Ghana government had proved that it was in control.



PPEs



The Ambassador said Israel had supported the COVID-19 response programme in Ghana with 800 nose masks and 375 medical gowns.



We are now moving away from immediate emergency aid to sustainable cooperation, and we are using available local materials and labour, she said.



Ghana Beyond Aid



Mrs Cooper disclosed that Israel had supported the Ghana Beyond Aid policy.



In line with the bilateral relations between Israel and Ghana, she said, a knowledge sharing programme started, but it had to stop because of the COVID-19 pandemic.



However, she said, some of the projects were carried on and 70 Ghanaian students were currently in Israel for training in agriculture.



When they returned, she said, another batch of 70 students would travel to Israel for the same training.



She explained that the programme provided opportunities for students to gain knowledge and experience in innovations, as well as Diasporan affairs.



We are currently working with start-ups, she added.



National Day



The Ambassador noted that the usual celebrations that characterised the Israeli National Day could not come on last week because of the pandemic.



Israels Independence Day is celebrated annually to commemorate the establishment of the State of Israel on April 28, 1948.



Connection



Mrs Cooper commended Ghanaians for their hospitality and said the connection between the peoples of Israel and Ghana was very spiritual and something very deep.



She said when Israelis met Ghanaians, they felt very free and so much at home.

Source: Daily Graphic









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Bausch + Lomb, the global leader in contact lenses and lens care solutions, awards Kinnect - India's foremost independent digital marketing agency, with its complete digital media mandate. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch, and will be serviced out of the agencys #KinnectDilli office.

As part of the mandate, Kinnect will manage all Digital Media Planning and strategic requirements for the brand, including Social Media Management, Outreach, and Online Reputation Management. In addition to this, it will also be responsible for strengthening the brand's presence amongst its digital audience through the deliverance of effective campaigns for reaching consumers across paid, earned and owned media.

Bausch + Lomb is the market leader in contact lenses and lens care solutions in India. The company has a global history spanning more than 160 years and has always been dedicated to protecting and enhancing the gift of sight for millions of people around the world. Bausch + Lombs world class contact lens offerings span the entire spectrum of wearing modalities and include such well-known brand names as Ultra, Biotrue, PureVision-2, Soflens, iConnect, Lacelle in the colored contact lenses segment and ReNu and BioTure in Lenscare category.

We are delighted to partner with Kinnect as we move forward on our journey of building an integrated consumer experience through digital media. Their passion for building engaging, creative-led consumer journeys and a strategic approach for building solutions that work for the brand, will add a strong impetus to all our marketing initiatives and accelerate our efforts to expand the category to help more people to See Better Live Better, said Rohan Binny Arora, Marketing Head, Vision Care .

Commenting on the account win, Rohan Mehta - CEO, Kinnect said, The vision wear/care market in India is on the threshold of new ideas and disruptions. We are excited to partner with Bausch + Lomb in their journey to be at the forefront of these innovations. The brand has shaped its growth around trust, goodwill, and product innovation - values that we resonate with the most. Having identified digital as a key medium to engage with millennials and the Gen Z audience, we will devise an optimised digital plan with strategies that leverage precision targeting, and communication that complements their vision for the brand.

Also Read:

#FightBackCorona: Businesses need to empathise & communicate clearly: Rohan Mehta

TikTok India awards Digital Marketing Mandate to Kinnect
KAMPALA  The tightening of the general isolation measures that have been in place in Uganda for a month to combat the global COVID-19 outbreak has led to an economic recession in the entire country, especially in Kampala, the capital city.

To support people who stay at their homes because of the isolation measures, 1,000 food parcels prepared by T?KA were delivered to the National Task Force for Combating COVID-19, which operates under the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda.

The food parcels, which contain flour, beans, and sugar, were delivered by the Republic of Turkeys Ambassador to Uganda Fikret Kerem ALP and T?KAs Uganda Coordinator Yahya ACU to Mary Karoro Okurut, Minister in Charge of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda.

In his statement, the Republic of Turkeys Ambassador to Uganda Fikret Kerem ALP said that the food parcels would be distributed to those in need and that they also continue to support the Ministry of Health.

Minister Mary Karoro Okurut expressed her gratitude to Turkey for its assistance on behalf of the Republic of Uganda.

Related
Canadas official unemployment rate has risen to its highest level in over four decades, after almost 3 million workers lost their jobs during March and the first three weeks of April.

Released last Friday, the latest employment figures from Statistics Canada revealed that 1.9 million workers lost their jobs in April alone. A further 1.1 million people were not included in StatCans official jobless total because they have stopped looking for a job. Had these discouraged workers been included in StatCans calculations, the jobless rate would be 17.8 percent rather than the current official figure of 13 percent.

As horrific as these numbers are, the scope of the social disaster produced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the manifest failure of Canadas big business governments to prepare for it is even greater. Nearly 7.6 million workersequivalent to one-third of the countrys total labour forcehave applied for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the utterly inadequate, temporary $2,000 per-month stipend that Ottawa is providing to workers who have lost their jobs or are unable to work due to the pandemic.

Certain regions of the country have been especially hard hit by the job losses. In Quebec, unemployment more than doubled from 8.1 percent in March to 17 percent in April. The greater Toronto region lost over 500,000 jobs, while the jobless rate in British Columbia rose from 7.2 percent to 11.5 percent. More than one in four young people are now out of work, with the official jobless rate for 15 to 24-year-olds surpassing 27 percent.

The ruling elite expects high unemployment to remain a key feature of the economy for the remainder of the year and beyond, even as it recklessly forces workers to return to their jobs amid a raging pandemic.

The increased competition for jobs, combined with the desperate social and financial crisis facing workers and their families, will be used to intensify the exploitation of the working class. (W)e forced this on the economy, Economics professor Mikal Skuterud told CTV News, but thats going to have permanent ripple effects, specifically on manufacturing and the construction sectors. Theres serious concern that this isnt going to be just a quick bounceback; there could be long term effects.

The jobs massacre and social misery triggered by the pandemic are the inevitable product of the policies pursued by the Trudeau Liberal government, with the support of the entire political establishment and corporate elite. The government did nothing for almost two months to prepare the health care system for COVID-19, yet it proved able in March to rush through bailout measures for the major banks and big business totalling more than $650 billion. Meanwhile, workers and their families have been placed on rations. The health care system has likewise received only a pittance. No more than $4 billion in additional funding has been made available to fight the pandemic and develop hospital surge capacity.

Yesterday, the federal Liberal government announced yet another measure to bolster big businessa multi-billion-dollar program that will enable companies with annual turnover of more than $300 million to access loans or loan guarantees of more than $60 million.

Having orchestrated the greatest heist of public funds in Canadian history, the federal government and its provincial counterpartsled by the hard-right governments of Quebec and Ontarioare spearheading a back-to-work campaign, prioritizing big business profit over workers lives. They are doing so even as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases approaches 70,000 and the death toll reaches 5,000. More people have now died from the coronavirus in Canada than in China, which has a population more than 35 times larger and where the pandemic first erupted.

The twin threats of economic destitution and the cut-off of CERB benefits will be used by big business and their political servants in government to pressure workers to return to work under unsafe conditions. Although the Trudeau government has said it is considering extending the CERB beyond its original June 15 end date, powerful sections of the ruling elite are urging that the benefit be scaled back or made conditional on recipients proving they are looking for work. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Conservative federal leader Andrew Scheer have denounced the meagre benefit as too generous because it provides low-paid workers, including many essential long-term care, grocery and logistics workers, more than they are paid in a month of full-time work.

Quebecs Labour Minister has bluntly declared that workers who refuse to report for work when summoned by their employer will lose their entitlement to the CERB, even if they fear for their safety.

Under these conditions, the trade unions are continuing to expand their corporatist collaboration with the Trudeau Liberal government and big business at the expense of workers interests, and indeed their very lives.

The same day Statistics Canada revealed record job losses in April, the CLC published a lengthy document on its website endorsing the ruling elites reckless back-to-work campaign. Cynically entitled Health and safety conditions for reopening sectors of the economy, the statement accepted without question the right of the bosses to put the lives of workers and their families at risk by organizing a precipitous return to work that flies in the face of all medical and scientific advice.

A return-to-work, said the CLC statement, is a monumental challenge in the era of COVID-19, but it is a challenge we must meet.

The challenge the union bureaucrats have set themselves is to use bluster about ensuring a safe workplace, to suppress the growing worker opposition to a premature return to work and thereby ensure that Canadian capitalism can resume raking in massive profits.

The CLC and Unifor, the countrys largest industrial union, committed last month to partnering with government and employers to ensure that Canadian businesses come roaring back. In a statement issued jointly with the federal Labour Minister, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Bankers Association, they declared, We agreed that as the situation continues to evolve, we must remain flexible and adaptable  and, above all, we must continue to work together. Our meeting reinforced the fact that we have common goalsto protect the health, safety, and well-being of Canadian workers and keep Canadian businesses ready to come roaring back and ensure the economy can recover by getting people back to work quickly and in a safe manner after the crisis ends.

Workers have no common goals with the corporate elite, who have thrown millions of workers onto government rations, while gorging themselves on vast state handouts.

The capitalist elite is exploiting the coronavirus crisis to intensify the class war it has been waging for decades. This has included: the gutting of health care and other essential social services through round after round of austerity; massive tax cuts for big business and the rich; the effective abrogation of workers right to strike; and the diversion of massive resources from meeting social needs to funding Canadian imperialisms participation in a long series of predatory US-led wars and a massive rearmament program.

The unions plea to work together with the bankers and bosses who have cashed in with hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout funds is, as they themselves admit, focused on helping businesses come roaring back. That is helping them corral workers back on the job amid the pandemic and to step up the exploitation of their workforces so as to produce bumper profits for investors and shareholders.

Workers must reject this course with the contempt it deserves. They must advance their own class program to deal with the crisisa program aimed at meeting the health and social needs of the vast majority, not bolstering corporate profits. All nonessential production must be shut down until the pandemic is contained, and all workers laid off or unable to work must be provided full pay. Societys resources must be mobilized to strengthen the health care system and ensure that health care and other essential workers have personal protective equipment and all else that is needed to ensure their safety. To finance this program, the vast sums of wealth hoarded by the banks and major corporations must be seized and directed toward meeting social needs.

These necessary demands will only be realized through a political strugglethe mobilization of the working class against the capitalist profit system and its institutions, and the fight, alongside workers in the US and around the world, for a workers government committed to socialist policies.
STOCKHOLM, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Credit, through its Direct Lending investment strategy, is pleased to provide committed senior debt facilities to support Gilde Buy Out Partners ("Gilde") in its acquisition of Corilus Group ("Corilus" or the "Company").

Headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Corilus is a leading medical software provider, developing an intelligent and efficient care system by connecting care providers, patients and stakeholders to one other. The Company offers software solutions to the healthcare sector, such as practice management systems, communication tools, electronic patient records, as well as data exchange and billing systems.

Corilus serves a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals in the Benelux region and France, including pharmacists, general practitioners, nurses, midwives, dentists, ophthalmologists, opticians, physiotherapists and veterinarians. The Company's solutions are also used in healthcare centers, hospitals, laboratories and elderly homes.

Ralph Betz, Managing Director at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, commented: "We were particularly attracted by Corilus' strong competitive position and impressive track record of growth. This transaction represents another example of the Credit platform's ability to provide long-term capital as a committed partner to sponsors and management teams as they continue to grow their businesses."

Paul Johnson, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Credit, added: "Corilus is a well-established player with a strong software suite in the Benelux primary care sector. EQT has a long history of supporting strong businesses in the healthcare sector and the Credit platform is delighted to be backing Gilde and the management team on this deal and look forward to supporting them in their continued development of the Company."

About EQT

EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management across 19 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,00 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com

Follow EQT on Twitter and LinkedIn

About EQT Credit

EQT Credit invests through three complementary strategies: Senior Debt, Direct Lending, and Special Situations. Since inception, EQT Credit has raised over EUR 7 billion of capital and invested in over 160 companies. EQT Credit's Direct Lending strategy seeks to provide flexible, long-term debt solutions to support European businesses, across a wide range of sectors. These businesses include privately-owned companies seeking growth capital as well as those that are the subject of private equity-led acquisitions or refinancings.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com/business-segments/credit/strategies/

Contact:

Paul Johnson

Partner at EQT Partners

+44-20-7430-5520

EQT Press Office

+46-8-506-55-334

press@eqtpartners.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-credit-completes-unitranche-financing-for-corilus-group,c3109292

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LAS VEGAS, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TRAX International Corporation ("TRAX"), a leading provider of professional and technical services to U.S. federal government agencies, today announced it was awarded a contract to support the Battelle CCDS Critical Care Decontamination Systems in the fight against the pandemic outbreak.

"TRAX has a long history of delivering services and solutions when and where they are needed to support essential missions around the world," said Brian J. Clark, CEO and president of TRAX. "We are very excited to bring what we do best to this mission-critical effort as we join the front lines to protect first responders and medical personnel in the nation's battle against COVID-19."

TRAX is currently operating Battelle CCDS units in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Robstown, Texas, and Topeka, Kansas. The company partnered with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) at the onset of its recruiting campaign to find skilled candidates to fill these critical positions. Through its career counseling program, WWP identified warriors who currently represent nearly half of the TRAX staff on this contract.

"TRAX is providing a valuable opportunity for warriors who are working and serving this country, just like they did when they were in the military," said WWP Financial Wellness Vice President Tom Kastner. "We're grateful to TRAX for empowering this group of warriors to begin their next mission."

The Battelle CCDS can decontaminate thousands of N95 masks per day using concentrated, vapor-phase hydrogen peroxide. Inside a specially outfitted steel storage container, masks are exposed to the validated concentration level to kill biological contaminates, including SARSCoV-2. The system can decontaminate the same mask up to 20 times without degrading the mask's filtration performance.

About TRAX International

TRAX International Corporation (TRAX) is a leading provider of professional and technical services for U.S. federal government agencies, and energy solutions for commercial clients. TRAX specializes in test and evaluation, IT and engineering, and logistics and outsourced services. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company has approximately 1,300 employees at operations located across the U.S., Central and Latin America, and Asia. Please visit www.traxintl.com for more information or to apply for an open position.

Media Contacts

Joyce Bosc

[email protected]

Joelle Shreves

[email protected]

SOURCE TRAX International

Related Links

https://www.traxintl.com


Cattle going out to grass in the springtime often have to deal with very challenging weather conditions. But I can't remember ever seeing my cattle looking so happy and content as they relaxed in the beautiful sunshine which greeted them this year.

The ongoing lockdown has really changed the pace of everything on the farm. We no longer need to rush so much as we can literally go nowhere and we have all the time in the world to get there

That said, I am quite busy tackling jobs which have been piling up for ages. In a strange way it is a great opportunity to get these jobs sorted

Old slats which were replaced two or three years ago are now all neatly stacked for removal. My old electric fencing system has also been upgraded Luckily my 35-year-old 'Power 260' energiser which I had reconditioned last year still packs a punch which would put most new fencers to shame

The cattle are happy and appear to be doing well although I have noticed a brown-coloured hue developing in the coats of a small number of stock.

When I checked their cards, they turned out to be a group of five Friesians I bought late last September. If I were to make a guess, I would say they are more likely a mixture of Friesian and Jersey with perhaps a dash of Angus.

While not very tall, they have long deep bodies, but unfortunately narrow hind quarters. They did surprisingly well over the winter and continue to thrive since going out to grass. It will be interesting to see how they get on when they get to the factory, and hopefully that lesson won't end up costing me too much

As far as grass is concerned everything looks good at the moment. Even before the late arrival of the April showers, grass supply was fine with the nice weather conditions allowing me to graze out the paddocks well. This has resulted in grass on my second round of grazing being nice and fresh.

Something I have noticed a lot recently is the amount of media coverage and publicity which women who own and run farms are receiving. This is very welcome and long overdue as women have made a huge contribution to Irish farming down the decades.

The amount of work and support which farming wives have contributed has been phenomenal. In fact, we are all probably aware of situations where farms which would have failed years ago were kept afloat because of a wife's input and hard work.

In more recent years, the annual Teagasc reports show that in very many cases it's a farming wife's off-farm income which keeps food on the table and often pays many of the farm bills.

I was reminded of this recently while listening to an excellent farming programme on our local community radio station. The presenter was interviewing a local Teagasc adviser who just happened to be a woman. They had a really excellent discussion covering a large number of farming issues, many of a highly technical nature.

Off-farm incomes

However, what made me really sit up and listen, was when the Teagasc advisor warned listeners that for the duration of the current virus outbreak, farmers should be aware of the potential financial implications of the lockdown on their farming businesses.

She explained that with so many people losing their jobs, many farm households could now find themselves without the extra income generated by wives working off-farm.

Some farmers will now have to factor the cost of food and other household costs into their annual financial plans.

To me this was just another painful reminder that, in spite of receiving billions in EU support, many Irish farms - particularly in the beef sector - are no longer capable of generating enough income to feed and clothe families and must rely on off-farm income to keep going.

Current policies have failed miserably to solve what has now become a never-ending crisis in the cattle sector.

I believe that the time has come for those responsible to 'think outside the box'. They should act proactively and give Ireland's independent farm consultants a crack at addressing the highly unfortunate situation on our cattle farms.

The Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) should be asked to appoint a small number of their more experienced members to come with a new policy document on the future of cattle farming in Ireland. This group, I believe, would be prepared to make hard decisions and be singularly focused on the business of creating a decent living from cattle farming.

This body of independent advisers should be properly resourced and have access to the most up-to-date research data available, including data generated from our own internationally renowned Teagasc research facilities.

Most importantly, they should be totally free from all forms of political interference

The alternative for cattle farmers is to continue down the path we are currently on and it's pretty obvious where that is taking us!

John Heney farms in Kilfeackle, Co Tipperary; heney.john@gmail.com
New Delhi: Actress Nidhhi Agerwal, who is all set to make her debut in the Tamil film industry, is making sure she knows the language well. In a Twitter post, Niddhi revealed that she is learning a new language and asked her fans to guess it with a picture of a paper in which she noted down some Tamil translations of commonly used English words like Who, What, Where, Why, How, When among others. We must say, Niddhi is utilising her quarantine break to the fullest.

Learning a new language.. can you guess which one? Niddhi captioned her post. Check out what she shared:

Learning a new language.. can you guess which one pic.twitter.com/ryYkuFSCOf  Nidhhi Agerwal (@AgerwalNidhhi) May 11, 2020

People were quick to guess that she is learning Tamil, but a section of the internet also asked her to learn Telugu, since she works in works predominantly in Tollywood. Soon, she gave a reply in Telugu and said that she knows the language.

I know telugu guys.. naku chaaaaala baag telugu vastundi  Nidhhi Agerwal (@AgerwalNidhhi) May 11, 2020

Niddhi entered the film industry with 2017s Munna Michael opposite Tiger Shroff. After her first Bollywood film, she shifted her focus to Telugu films and starred in Savyasachi, Mr. Majnu and iSmart Shankar.

She will now make her Kollywood debut opposite Jayaram Ravi with Bhoomi, which was earlier scheduled to hit the screens on May, but the release date had to be shifted due to coronavirus pandemic.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Three immigrants detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pulled back the curtain Monday on whats happening to inmates in custody across the state when they contract the coronavirus.

Their testimony came in a day-long hearing in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, which has asked a judge to release 20 ICE detainees. Of those 20, 18 have tested positive for coronavirus, and two have inconclusive tests but are showing strong symptoms of the virus.

All have underlying health conditions, and none face criminal charges, only civil immigration charges.

While Mondays hearing in U.S. District Court in Columbus focused on ICE detainees in the Morrow County Jail, their testimony is indicative of issues happening at jails and prisons throughout the state and across the country.

The detainees testified that conditions in the Morrow County Jail in central Ohio make it impossible to get proper medical care and practice appropriate social distancing.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning, and I cant believe Im in America, ICE detainee Dwayne Roman testified, later adding. This cant be America, what theyre doing.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison in Columbus ordered the release of three of the inmates last week. Morrison said at the end of Mondays hearing that she would soon decide on the others.

Roman and two others  Mohamed Abdi and Juan Conteras-Moran  testified that they are unable to monitor their symptoms, are sometimes unable to get basic medicine like Tylenol and that jail staff doesnt clean their cells regularly. They get clean clothes every three or four days.

Corrections officers take their temperatures, not nurses, and the thermometers used are more than three years beyond their expiration dates.

ACLU of Ohio attorney Elizabeth Bonham argued that because nurses do not work on nights or weekends, the inmates may not be able to get emergency care if their conditions worsen. She called the situation a constitutionally and morally unacceptable threat to their health, and possibly to their lives.

They cant manage the illness or access care that will prevent serious consequences while theyre in this jail, Bonham said.

ICE attorney Christopher Yates argued that managing coronavirus in jails and prisons is difficult, but that officials are able to take steps to minimize the risk of spreading the virus. He told the judge that the Morrow County Jail is abiding by the CDC and Ohio Department of Health standards.

This facility is doing its best, Yates said. It presents no greater risk to these individuals, in fact less of a risk of caring for them and observing them than if they were to be sent off to an unknown friends house or family or hotels.

Of the 78 inmates in the Morrow County Jail, 50 contracted coronavirus. Its the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in any jail in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The Cuyahoga County Jail, which houses 1,100 inmates, has 52 inmates with coronavirus as of Monday, with another 58 that tested positive and recovered or were released.

There are at least 125 inmates with coronavirus in Ohio jails and 4,437 in the states prisons, according to the ODRC. At least two county juvenile detention centers in Franklin and Cuyahoga counties have youth with coronavirus and 24 inmates at juvenile prisons in Ohio contracted the virus.

The three inmates testified that they sleep in such cramped quarters that they can reach out and touch four other beds. Roman testified that despite being in the area of the jail that houses coronavirus patients for 16 days, no jail employee had cleaned the area.

Abdi, a 23-year-old from Uganda, testified that he hasnt been given an inhaler for his asthma, even after testing positive for coronavirus. He testified that despite testing positive for the virus, he has yet to see a doctor, either in person or in a telemedicine visit.

Sometimes Ill just feel really, really bad like my body is aching and it hurts just to get up or just to move around, Abdi said. So I try not to move around.

Juan Antonio Contreras-Moran, a 22-year-old from Mexico, was shot in December and the bullet pierced an artery in his heart. He had surgery shortly before ICE officers detained him. He testified that corrections officers told him he had to by Tylenol to manage his pain with commissary money, rather than nurses dispensing the medication.

He testified to watching cellmates become despondent or unable to move because of the coronavirus. He said some dont get treated right away. One of his cellmates was moved from jail to a local hospital hours after it became clear to Contreras-Moran that the man was severely ill.

Im scared for my life, Contreras-Moran said.

Read more from cleveland.com:

ACLU sues ICE to release detainees from Morrow, Butler county jails due to coronavirus

Two more test positive for coronavirus at Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center

Ninth inmate dies of coronavirus at Elkton federal prison in Ohio
"Misleading": Ministry on air carriers' reports about resumption of flights from Ukraine in late May

16:40, 12.05.20 4340

It is necessary to focus on official statements and government decisions, the message says.
A special flight from Manila



carrying 139 Indian students stranded in Philippines due to the travel restrictions landed at the Ahmedabad airport on Tuesday morning, the Gujarat government said.

These students from the state had gone to Philippines for higher studies and got stuck there due to lockdown.

A release from the Gujarat government said "139 students were evacuated from Manila, the capital of Philippines. They reached the Ahmedabad airport on Tuesday morning in a special flight."



After their arrival, they were sent to their respective districts where they will be kept under institutional quarantine for 14 days, it said.

State authorities earlier announced that nearly 1,000 students hailing from Gujarat will be brought back from different countries.

The Union government recently started the 'Vande Bharat Mission' to evacuate Indians stranded in different parts of the world due to travel restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, May 12 : Indian fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi used 13 companies in the UAE and six in Hong Kong for the purpose of round tripping money, the prosecution told a London court on the first day of the five-day trial on his extradition.

The jeweller, who was arrested by Scotland Yard in the UK in March 2019 on an extradition warrant by India over charges of fraud and money laundering, attended the court using a videolink from his prison in Wandsworth, London. He has been denied bail five times so far. The businessman has also applied for political asylum in the UK, sources in London told IANS.

Indian investigative agencies Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking Nirav Modi's extradition are being represented by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK.

The CPS, represented by Barrister Helen Malcolm, told the court that Nirav Modi in connivance with some of the PNB officials, embezzled around $2 billion and bribed PNB bank official Gokulnath Shetty. She told the court that Nirav had also threatened to kill a witness if he gave any statements against him.

Explaining the modus operandi of the fraud, Malcolm told the court that on the pretext of buying material at a cheaper rate, like pearls for example, Nirav Modi borrowed from local banks in India.

"The bank guarantees required to get loans in the form of MOU's were signed off by corrupt bank officers of the PNB and the money secured in this manner was used to pay an earlier loan instead of buying raw material," she said.

"Each borrowing was paid off later by greater borrowing," Malcolm said adding that this is how Nirav Modi had built his empire on a "ponzi scheme".

Malcolm also told the court that after his extradition, Nirav would be lodged in barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Queensland tourism bosses are pleading with the federal government to extend JobKeeper payments beyond September as thousands of jobs are on the line.

The $130 billion initiative, announced on March 3 to save jobs amid the crippling economic fallout induced by the coronavirus crisis, is due to end on September 27.

JobKeeper- passed from businesses onto staff- offers all workers a flat rate of $1,500 a fortnight, regardless of their usual earnings.

But tourism bosses say the date is premature, and the 'decimated' industry will not survive if payments are not extended.

Village Roadshow CEO Clark Kirby said thousands of its workers could lose their jobs if the JobKeeper payment is not extended. The company owns popular theme parks Movie World (pictured), Sea World, and Wet 'n' Wild

Clark Kirby, CEO of Village Roadshow which owns Sea World, Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild theme parks, said payment is vital to keeping thousands of company's workers employed.

'My number one priority is keeping team members on the books so we can get back to business as soon as possible. JobKeeper allows us to do that,' he told the Courier Mail.

'Thats why its crucial that this policy is extended until the Federal Government can give us certainty.'

The State Government has announced that theme parks can reopen from June 12 but only 20 visitors are allowed unless they have an approved COVID-19 'safe plan'.

Mr Kirby said when the parks could completely reopen remains unclear, leaving businesses and staff in limbo.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council boss Daniel Gschwind said tourism supports one in ten jobs across the state.

He said the industry had been decimated by the crisis and desperately needs continued support from the government.

'Our industry has been decimated by COVID-19 - things wont be back to normal for years,' he said.

The JobKeeper payment, which was introduced in March to save jobs amid the coronavirus crisis, is due to end in September. The initiative was launched alongside a JobSeeker payment, to help Australians struggling financially

Mr Gshwind said the federal government must take action to save thousands of Queenland jobs and companies from going under.

He added that while JobKeeper was a good government policy, it would prove pointless if the workers it intended to save are inevitably sacked.

It comes a day after it was revealed Prime Minister Scott Morrison is considering phasing out the JobKeeper payment as early as June, as restrictions lift and the economy slowly reignites.

The stimulus package has come under review as the treasury has run $20 billion over its expected budget, with Canberra now exploring alternative financing options.

Rather than phasing the scheme out completely, payments could be slashed to model New Zealand's wage subsidy, which offers employers $585.80 per week for full-time staff and $350 for part-timers.
President Donald Trump is hoping to persuade a Supreme Court with two of his appointees to keep his tax and other financial records from being turned over to lawmakers and a New York district attorney.

The justices are hearing arguments by telephone Tuesday in a pivotal legal fight that could affect the presidential campaign, even with the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting economic fallout.

Rulings against the president could result in the quick release of personal financial information that Trump has sought strenuously to keep private.

The justices have been hearing cases by phone this month in an effort to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Six of the nine Supreme Court justices are over the age of 65.

President Donald Trump is hoping to persuade a Supreme Court with two of his appointees to keep his tax and other financial records from being turned over to lawmakers and a New York district attorney

Trump has resisted calls to release his tax returns since before his election in 2016.

Now, joined by the Justice Department, he is appealing lower court rulings that determined subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives and the Manhattan district attorney to his longtime accounting firm and two banks for years of tax returns, bank records and other financial documents are valid.

The president is advancing broad arguments to try to stymie House Democrats. In the case involving the criminal investigation launched by District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., Trump is asserting that while he holds office he cannot even be investigated.

His Supreme Court arguments draw on law review articles that will be very familiar to one member of the court. 'At the end of the day, 'a President who is concerned about an ongoing criminal investigation is almost inevitably going to do a worse job as President,'' Trump's lawyers told the court, quoting from a 2009 article written by now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The Trump-appointed Kavanaugh previously worked on independent counsel Ken Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton, which led to Clinton's impeachment in 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate the following year.

Kavanaugh is quoted five times in Trump's main Supreme Court brief in the Vance case. Justice Neil Gorsuch is Trump's other high-court appointee.

Trump has so far lost at every step, but the records have not been turned over pending a final court ruling.

The case about congressional subpoenas has significant implications regarding a president's power to refuse a formal request from Congress.

The justices have been hearing cases by phone this month in an effort to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Six of the nine Supreme Court justices are over the age of 65

In the case involving the criminal investigation launched by District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (right), Trump is asserting that while he holds office he cannot even be investigated

In a separate fight at the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., over a congressional demand for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn, the administration is making equally broad arguments that the president's close advisers are 'absolutely immune' from having to appear.

The House argues that Congress has very board subpoena powers and that courts should be reluctant to interfere with them.

'Many momentous separation-of-powers disputes have come before this Court,' the House wrote in its primary Supreme Court brief. 'This dispute ... is not one of them.'.

In two earlier cases over presidential power, the justices acted unanimously in requiring President Richard Nixon to turn over White House tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor and in allowing a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton to go forward.

In those cases, three Nixon appointees and two Clinton appointees, respectively, voted against the president who chose them for the high court. A fourth Nixon appointee, William Rehnquist, sat out the tapes case because he had worked closely as a Justice Department official with some of the Watergate conspirators whose upcoming trial spurred the subpoena for the Oval Office recordings.

Trump's Supreme Court arguments draw on law review articles that will be very familiar to one member of the court. 'At the end of the day, 'a President who is concerned about an ongoing criminal investigation is almost inevitably going to do a worse job as President,'' Trump's lawyers told the court, quoting from a 2009 article by now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh (above)

The subpoenas are not directed at Trump himself. Instead, House committees want records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, as well as the Mazars USA accounting firm. Mazars also is the recipient of Vance's subpoena.

Appellate courts in Washington, D.C., and New York brushed aside the president's arguments in decisions that focused on the fact that the subpoenas were addressed to third parties asking for records of Trump's business and financial dealings as a private citizen, not as president.

Two congressional committees subpoenaed the bank documents as part their investigations into Trump and his businesses. Deutsche Bank has been one for the few banks willing to lend to Trump after a series of corporate bankruptcies and defaults starting in the early 1990s.

Vance and the House Oversight and Reform Committee sought records from Mazars concerning Trump and his businesses based on payments that Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged to keep two women from airing their claims of affairs with Trump during the 2016 presidential race.
Health Minister: The more information we can give the public about whats actually happening, the more likely people are to follow the rules

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, May 12th, 2020

Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said all people now leaving hospitals to go into the care home sector will be tested for coronavirus, as new data shows the gap in such testing.

Today we asked the Health Minister about internal dashboard health data for North Wales seen by Wrexham.com and if he would be open to making more such data public.

One subset of data is pictured below, it shows a range of per-hospital (blurred) information for people with confirmed Covid-19 covering current inpatients, discharges including deaths and and in-hospital deaths.

That information is totalled, and split between the West, Centre and East of the North Wales health board area, and is cumulative from the start of the pandemic.

Previously the Welsh Government have promised to share more data as and when they can, while pointing out that will not happen if people can be identified. Public Health Wales have set a boundary of five people for previous data releases, below which they feel anonymity could be compromised.

Wales-wide data is already public, or referenced by Welsh Government, for those in hospitals currently and even specific to use of ITU beds by Covid-19 patients.

The R figure has been put at the front of the public awareness campaign to manage lockdown response, with the public told only a Wales-wide R number will be given. The Minister explained localised information such as hospital admissions was known to the Welsh Government to give a more specific guide to the spread rather than just the R number, however that information is not public.

Statistics for Wales has also published further information this afternoon that shows the difference between North and South Wales in terms of deaths per week, and a visualisation per-health board:

The @ons also publish death registration and occurrences by LA and LHB. As with the national data there are various reasons the ONS COVID-19 data are higher than the @PublicHealthW rapid surveillance data. https://t.co/G6nebXrtfP pic.twitter.com/L8sSc701k1  Statistics for Wales (@StatisticsWales) May 12, 2020

Currently the public are given details on extra confirmed cases in North Wales despite only 1,193 tests taking place in all of Wales yesterday. That data was split to include per-health board information in April, a move that made the health board realise some deaths there were not being counted correctly.

First Minister Mark Drakeford told us at the time that such underreporting had affected ministerial perception.

Today we asked the Health Minister why he wont make more localised anonymous data public, to let people know what is going on in their locality and perhaps reenforce the reality of the virus, as lack of information can affect perceptions.

The Health Minister said: I think were being really open and are publishing more and more information, and made a significant publication of the scientific evidence recently, we have given indications already of the number of people that have recovered from Coronavirus.

Well continue to look at what information we have and how we can make more of that information available to help inform the public because I think the more information we can give the public about whats actually happening, the more likely people are to both, follow the rules and understand how and why governments are making really difficult choices.

Im not aware of all the detail that youre expressing about information in North Wales. But, Im more than happy if you or others want to contact the government with suggestions on how we can make more information available, for us to consider those, to make sure were providing useful and robust information that really is informing not alarming the public.

We also referenced another set of data on the dashboard, which shows the discharge destinations for patients and if they were tested and the outcome of that test.

Our question related to the above information that we verbalised, that shows people discharged to non-NHS residential care or nursing homes with just 63 tested, and one resulting in a confirmed case.

We asked the Minister, bearing in mind coronavirus can be asymptomatic, if he was just crossing fingers and hoping the untested people, and people like them, dont have Covid-19 before discharging them to the care sector.

The Health Minister replied: This is a classic case of not being able to answer a question as I dont understand the data that youre referring to, the timeframe over which it is.

We changed our policy on discharge of people from hospital into the care home sector, at which point test will be done, done on all people now leaving hospitals to go into the care home sector. So youre going expect to see more consistency on that.

And that wasnt the evidence said that we should do that, it was actually about maintaining confidence within the care home sector to make sure that the system doesnt freeze. Because if we cant discharge people from hospital then harm will be caused to those people who are staying in a hospital bed when its no longer the right place for their care to take place.

So well want to make sure that we maintain confidence in our whole system. And again, this point about having a transparent approach to data is exactly where we are. Theres certainly no crossing of fingers when it comes to our approach on coronavirus.

For all the difficulties, we still have to have an approach that is founded in the evidence of doing the right thing to keep as many people safe, well and alive as possible.

The data in the dashboard we have seen includes information that points to swabs taken in HMP Berwyn not being processed promptly, with tests from early April still down as awaiting result. Further data is included, along with the top map of confirmed cases by postcode of residence.

We have taken up the offer by the Minister and will be suggesting the localised information as above is made public, or even a step further looking to Belgium, France or even Manchester for ideas on how open data can be on a local level. We will also feedback how many comments direct and indirect via social media appear to believe the local impact of the virus is minimal.

New cases of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester are levelling off says @MayorofGM:

 136 people in ICU  down from 190 last week

 827 people in hospital  down from 942

 117 deaths per day

 287 alerts in care homes in GM  an increase of 31 on previous week @GranadaReports  Hannah Miller (@hannahITV) April 29, 2020

As usual you can view the full briefing from this lunchtime below, including the Q&A session:
Addressing a virtual briefing, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in some countries. He added that extreme vigilance is required as countries plan exits from lockdown.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently urged the nations to show extreme vigilance when it comes to lifting the lockdown and easing the restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the good news is the number cases are now slowing down in many countries and many lives are being saved. Countries like Spain and France have already started reopening from the lockdown after a decline in the number of cases.

WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan said that though there is a decline in the number of cases still extreme vigilance is required in lifting the lockdown imposed due to coronavirus outbreak. Ryan also said that all the countries should amp up the public health responses to ensure that they can identify a fresh cases, trace it on time and isolate with all their close contacts. This is the only way left to avoid the second wave of coronavirus.

If the virus persists in countries at a low level, there is still a risk that the disease will take off again. Senior world health officials said that many countries are driving blind in reopening the economies and lifting the lockdown without setting up counters for the strong tracing of the new cases of COVID-19.

Also Read: Italian scientists claim to have developed COVID-19 vaccine that kills virus in human cells

Ryan later added that shutting your eyes and driving straight from this pandemic is not easy. It is silly that the countries are actually doing it. He said that he is concerned that these countries will land up in serious problems in the next few months if they continue like this to reopen the economies.

For all the latest World News, download NewsX App
The diverse opponents of qualified immunity have thrown their weight behind at least five appeals now awaiting the Supreme Courts attention, each considered a potential means of removing or softening the doctrine.

One of them is the case of Alexander Baxter, a homeless man arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, during a Jan. 8, 2014, home break-in. By Baxters account, he had already put up his hands in surrender when police released a service dog that then rushed Baxter and bit him, resulting in an injury that required hospital treatment. The officers said they did not see his hands raised before they released the dog.

While serving the 12-year prison sentence arising from his conviction for attempted theft on the night of the alleged attack, Baxter  originally representing himself  sued the cops in federal court, alleging that they used excessive force by setting the dog on him.

A federal district court judge hearing Baxters case allowed it to move forward. But in a Nov. 8, 2018, ruling, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, granted the officers immunity. Baxter then petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court. I felt like the officers were wrongly getting away with spilling my blood, Baxter told Reuters in a handwritten letter sent from prison in Tennessee.

Now, the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and the libertarian Cato Institute are providing legal support for Baxter. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian advocacy group, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, a civil rights group, and a diverse collection of legal scholars are also backing some of the cases awaiting the high courts attention.

In the Baxter petition, one of 11 qualified immunity appeals the Supreme Court plans to discuss on May 15, the ACLU has explicitly asked the justices to consider whether qualified immunity should be narrowed or abolished. Cato, meanwhile, has filed friend-of-the-court briefs for Baxters case and others like it as part of a campaign to end qualified immunity.

If the justices were to take up Baxters case or another like it, the ACLU, Cato and other foes of qualified immunity are ready with arguments that the doctrine is improperly and inconsistently applied; that it has no basis in civil rights law; and that its purported benefits  to avoid second-guessing officers or saddling them with distracting lawsuits  do not justify trampling civil rights.

The critics do not universally agree on what could replace the doctrine, or, if the justices refuse to abolish it, how it can be improved. Some suggest removing protections for officers that have been built up over years to avoid disclosing evidence, for instance, or assessing whether they acted in good faith. Others call for a rethink of the two-question test for deciding requests for qualified immunity.

I dont know we know the right answer yet, said Emma Andersson, the lead ACLU lawyer on the Baxter appeal.

(Edited by John Blanton and Janet Roberts.)

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement
Riddhima Kapoor has been revisiting memories of her time with late father Rishi Kapoor. She has now shared a childhood picture with Rishi and one from mother Neetu Kapoors birthday celebrations on her Instagram stories.

Rishi breathed his last on April 30. He had been battling leukemia for the past two years. He had returned from New York after a year-long treatment and was even declared cancer free last year.

The childhood picture shows Riddhima as a young girl, twinning with Rishi in white. The other picture shows Neetu sitting in front of a cake on her birthday. Riddhima is seen sitting close to her while Rishi, Riddhimas husband Bharat Sahni and daughter Samara are standing behind them.

Rishi Kapoor with family.

Last week, Riddhima shared a selfie with her brother, actor Ranbir Kapoor, and their mom. Sharing the picture on her Instagram stories, Riddhima wrote: Got your back ma. Your pillars. She had also shared a couple of monochrome pictures recently. One of the images has Rishi holding his mother, the late Krishna Raj Kapoors hand while dancing. Captioning the image, Riddhima wrote: Reunited with his most favourite person. The other image was from Rishi and Neetu Singhs wedding celebrations.

Rishi Kapoor with Neetu and Krishna Raj Kapoor.

She arrived in Mumbai from New Delhi on May 2 by road to be with her mother and Ranbir Kapoor. Riddhima did not get permission to fly down due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, and could not be in Mumbai on time to attend her fathers last rites.

Also read: Mahabharat: When Nitish Bharadwaj, Roopa Ganguly consoled a weeping Arjun on last day of shoot. Watch

Owing to the lockdown, Riddhima, who lives in Delhi, had to travel over 1400 km by road all the way to Mumbai, in order to be with her mother, in the time of bereavement. She couldnt attend Rishis last rites. She later accompanied Neetu, Ranbir and his girlfriend Alia BHatt for the immersion of Rishis ashes at Banganga.

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Japan will usher in a magnetic levitation of a new era for high-speed trains. But now the billion-dollar mammoth project to build a path for the "Maglev encounters" between the industrial cities of Tokyo and Nagoya on problems, Japanese media reported on Saturday. The train, the competition for the German Transrapid system to connect Tokyo, 2027, with the Nagoya. It is expected that he will pace will drive in normal operation, a maximum of 500 kilometers per hour. In Germany, the Transrapid had been projects after a long planning phase cancelled.

The majority of the planned 286-Kilometer-long route to Nagoya will lead through the Tunnel. However, due to environmental concerns, the Governor of the province of Shizuoka has to pass through the the path, his consent for preparatory work so far refused, as Japanese media reported after a Meeting of Governor Heita Kawakatsu, the head of the railway company JR Tokai. As a result, the actually for the 2027 scheduled start-up of the magnet threatens to delay the monorail, it said.

local residents feared that the construction work to the environment could have resulted in damages in Japan's southern Alps. Through the underground Work of ground water threatening to penetrate in a planned Tunnel, thereby improving the water management of the concerned river could be affected, it said. Including could, in turn, the suffering, the cultivation of green tea and oranges, for the province of Shizuoka is known. The Governor was not against the mammoth-project, but call for further consultations with experts, it said.

the planned route would reduce the travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya in just 40 minutes. The Shinkansen, Japan is currently the fastest train, currently required Twice the time. By 2045 the route to the million city of Osaka is to be expanded. Should, however, delay the construction of the line to Nagoya, would be affected, the timetable for the route expansion to Osaka in may, it said in the Report.

Updated Date: 29 June 2020, 02:20
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Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 15:25 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd77d32c 1 Business Indonesian-tourists,tour-guide,COVID-19,survival Free

With the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and calls to cancel travel plans still in place, tourism workers have had to resort to temporary jobs to survive.

Tourism is one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. No fewer than 1.4 million workers in the sector have either been furloughed or laid-off, while more than 300,000 informal workers are affected by the ongoing health crisis, according to Tourism Ministry data.

With no sign of recovery in the sector, affected workers have taken available jobs such as selling food and farming to make up their dwindling income.

Kadek Ayu Parwati, 29, a tourist guide working in Bali, has opted to sell food and ready-to-cook ingredients online with her husband, a tour driver, as the pandemic takes its toll on the countrys biggest tourist destination.

Kadek, who was born and raised in Bali, can no longer make a living off tourism, the islands leading economic sector. Jobs in Bali, which mostly revolve around tourism, are scarce, with many hotels, villas and tourist destinations closed.

At first, I followed the governments instruction to stay home. But after two months, it was hard to meet my household needs [without income], she told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The daily earning from the new venture, ranging from Rp 25,000 (US$1.67) to Rp 50,000, is still lower than her previous income as a tour guide, when she could take home up to Rp 400,000 daily.

Although our earnings are not as much as from our tourism work, we are grateful, she added.

Similarly, Elisia Digma Dari, 41, a tour guide in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, who lives near renowned tourist spots like Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park, has to sell staple food to get by as there are no tourists visiting the area amid the pandemic.

We still hope for disbursement of any form of help from the government, but we dont know when it will come, she said, adding that she expected the government to provide cash aid.

Foreign tourist arrivals plunged 64.1 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 470,898 visitors in March, the latest report from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) shows. The monthly figure is the lowest in the last decade, according to BPS head Suhariyanto.

The Tourism Ministry previously stated that the hardest-hit tourist destinations were Bali, Riau Islands and North Sulawesi, the provincial capital of which, Manado, was the rising star among Chinese visitors that used to dominate foreign arrivals.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandio said the decline was in line with the ministrys projection.

The ministry is currently working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and implementing the mitigation plan for the tourism and creative economy sector, which has been hit by the pandemic, he said in a press statement.

The Tourism Ministry previously stated that it aimed to prioritize help for the formal workers who were furloughed or laid off in the form of the governments preemployment card program.

The preemployment card program aims to provide relief for workers and small business owners hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, allocating Rp 20 trillion from the 2020 state budget to 5.6 million eligible recipients.

Recipients of the program get Rp 3.5 million over four months, including Rp 1 million for training made available by eight partner platforms and the rest is cash assistance.

Meanwhile, the ministry is seeking to include informal workers in the governments wider social safety net program during the pandemic, including the staple food card and Family Hope Program (PKH), among others, for which it is allocating Rp 110 trillion.

Indonesian Tour Guide Associations (HPI) secretary-general Osvian Putra criticized the form of aid available for workers provided so far.

The government has only offered the preemployment card, which, as we read into it, does not meet our expectations. We dont understand how the government does not have any other form of fitting relief apart from the preemployment card, he said.

Considering the current situation, the association is encouraging members to find alternative income for the next several months, with the assumption that the pandemic impact might linger.

So far, the association members have had to resort to farming in villages, becoming food sellers, or ojek (motorcycle taxi drivers) partnering with ride-hailing companies, according to Osvian.

The Indonesia Tour Driver Association (Peparindo), with its 6,800 members, also criticized the governments choice of aid for workers in the tourist sector.

We are really disappointed with the preemployment card [program], because what is needed now is cash aid, not funding for training, Peparindo chairman Okto Feri Saputra said.

He said that the association had contacted the Transportation Ministry and Tourism Ministry to ask for aid for its members, to no avail.

The drivers are especially vulnerable to the situation as they rely on daily income, Okto pointed out.

They have no fixed salary, they only get paid for every trip they make. Meanwhile, since March, there has been almost no tourists at all, Okto said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 03:48:13|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno on Monday said he named Rommel Salazar to serve as the new director of the National Risk and Emergency Management Service, after its former head resigned earlier in the day due to allegations of corruption.

Alexandra Ocles is under investigation for his involvement in a possible kickback scheme that saw the agency buy food kits at inflated prices for distribution to households affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

Prosecutors launched the investigation last week.

Ecuador on Sunday reported 2,127 deaths from the coronavirus as the number of confirmed infections reached 29,559. Enditem
US Official Tells Zarif 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is' Regarding Prisoners

Radio Farda May 11, 2020

Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security has responded to Iran's foreign minister on the issue of prisoner's by telling him to act to take back Iranian citizens he wants repatriated.

In recent days Mohammad Javad Zarif and other senior Iranian officials have been raising the issue of a possible prisoner swap with the United States, particularly speaking about Sirous Asgari, in U.S. custody.

In a tweet today, acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli responded to Zarif by accusing him of just talking and not taking real actions to take back Asgari and others he claims are "illegally" imprisoned in the U.S.

He told Zarif the U.S. has been trying to return Asgari and Iran has been dragging its feet. "How about you put your money where your mouth is?", Cuccinelli wrote.

Almost immediately Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi responded to Cuccinelli on Twitter saying Zarif proposed a prisoner swap back in September 2018, and called Iranians arrested in the U.S. on criminal charges "hostages".

Iran is holding several Western citizens and dual-nationals on dubious national security or spying charges. They have been tried without due process of law and are believed to be held as bargaining chips with the West. International human rights organizations have repeatedly called for their release.

Some prisoners have been reciprocally released since December, but Iran claims it wants a comprehensive prisoner exchange.

U.S. sanctions have pushed Iran's economy to the brink and COVID-19 has put further pressure on Tehran, which has been deprived of its oil income, with more than 50 percent deficit in its budget.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/us-official-tells- zarif-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is- regarding-prisoners/30606451.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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LOS ANGELES, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Extreme Music announces LIFE, an explosive new production music label powered by Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.

Since 1989 Peter Gabriel's Real World has been renowned as the globe's preeminent ethno-music incubator responsible for connecting music fans to stunning artists and voices such as Pakistan's Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Congolese soukous star Papa Wembe, Colombian legend Toto La Momposina and famously bringing Afro Celt Sound System and the Blind Boys of Alabama to the attention of Pop music fans and transforming them from cult heroes to Grammy-winning legends.

With this partnership, RW and EM will release more than 200 of these artists via LIFE for licensing to the TV, Film and Media industry exclusively on www.extrememusic.com. The first four albums featuring AYUB OGADA, JOJI HIROTA, LOS DE ABAJO and RIZWAN-MUAZZAM QAWWALI are slated for release in May 2020.

"When I was growing up 'foreign' food was a plate of spaghetti or a curry, and a few prawns drowning in tomato ketchup and mayonnaise served in an unripe avocado, was both radical and luxurious," said Gabriel. "Then we realized that food didn't have to be part of a boring monoculture and great dishes and chefs were found from all over the world. London went from being one of the worst and least exciting food capitals to one of the most vibrant."

"So it is with music," Gabriel continued. "Part of the pleasure of mixing things up is working with so many cultures, tastes and flavors and so many brilliant artists from all over the world. We have also tried to create warm and welcoming studios that would make all musicians feel at home and able to give great performances that are the heart of any great music.

"It's been our hope that we could make some of this wonderful archive of music available in a library, both in instrumental and vocal form; to offer its magic to all sorts of other projects. We are now very happy to be able to realize this as LIFE with our partners Extreme Music. LIFE is a box full of real treasures and I hope you have as much fun exploring it as we, the artists had in creating it."

"Real World are the undisputed masters of Global music and with more than 200 artists that connected the dots from Armenia to Senegal there is no doubt LIFE will provide music supervisors with a deep ethnocoustic well. We could not be more excited to bring this opportunity to the professional music community," commented Russell Emanuel, CEO/Chief Creative Officer at Extreme Music.

About Extreme Music

From humble punk rock beginnings in Camden Town, London, Extreme is today renowned as production music's poster child and a trusted media industry tastemaker since 1997.

Around our water cooler you'll find notorious titans of talent such as Quincy Jones, Hans Zimmer, Sir George Martin, Snoop Dogg, Labrinth, Rodney Jerkins, Ramin Djawadi, Clint Mansell, Harry Gregson-Williams, Christopher Lennertz, Sasha, John Digweed, Michael Giacchino, Timbaland, Amon Tobin, John Powell, Marco Beltrami, James S. Levine, Xzibit, Blues Saraceno, Junkie XL, and Atticus Ross, among others.

Extreme's relentless quest to curate a collection of strictly-legit specialist labels has gained them a reputation for delivering Grade-A cuts more useful than park assist and cooler than the other side of the pillow. Their extraordinary roster and tireless pursuit for authenticity attracts discerning users and brands. Their clients understand that casting an Extreme track means they're choosing music that has been lovingly hand-stitched by world-renowned maestros and producers who have passionately crafted a catalogue that won't leave a hair on your neck lying down! With years of expertise, a deep history in music production and a monumental multi-Grammy award team, Extreme continues to ascend in and redefine the production music industry.

About Real World Records

Real World Records was founded in 1989 by WOMAD and Peter Gabriel to provide talented artists from around the world with access to state-of-the-art recording facilities and audiences beyond their geographic region.

At the beginning it was the musical relationships generated at the WOMAD festivals that gave Real World Records confidence that something of this special spirit could be translated into a recording context. Consequently, the Real World label has become renowned for bringing together musicians who share an empathy with music in general, rather than simply a shared cultural background.

Real World Records continues to push back the boundaries with new artists to discover, new ways of recording, new meeting points.

Since 1989, Real World Records has grown into a label of wide-ranging, world-class music from all corners of the globe. Many of the label's releases are recorded at Real World Studios where the live interactive spaces provide an environment capable of capturing the excitement and vitality of musicians in performance.

Now, via the internet and through streaming services you can find music from every continent with ease. In a changing music industry Real World has continued its own exploration of outstanding music. There's an enormous variety of styles, moods and genres within the music catalogue that bears the famous colour bar logo, but they all have one thing in common the quality of the recording and the superb production.

Whilst there is a tendency for people to pull together this diverse range of releases under the banner 'world music', the reality of the Real World output extends beyond this categorization. Great music is enjoyable to listen to irrespective of the nationality of artists creating it. Indeed, many of the most exciting sounds that you will discover on the label are the result of collaborations between musicians from many different countries.

Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12821990

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Extreme Music

Related Links

http://www.extrememusic.com


When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, expressed reluctance to fund coronavirus relief for hard-hit cities and states, suggesting they would be blue state bailouts, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had a quick retort.

We put into that pot $116 billion more than we take out, Cuomo said. Kentucky takes out $148 billion more than they put in. Senator McConnell, whos getting bailed out here?

The debate sparked a furor on social media and has generated a great deal of discussion about a report published by my team at Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York System. The annual report tracks federal revenue and spending in each of the states, showing which states send more to the federal government than they receive.

Balance of payments calculations like this have been a part of the federal spending policy discussion for over 40 years.

Over that time, the rankings have changed little, except during times of crisis when a states economy takes a hit or federal aid pours into the region. A few states, primarily in the Northeast, have long received less than they paid in.

To understand why, its important to understand where the funding that flows into the federal government comes from and how it flows back out to the states.

Money in, money out

The majority of the money flowing into federal coffers comes from taxes paid by state residents and businesses.

About 90% of federal revenue comes from individuals income taxes and payroll taxes for social security, Medicare and unemployment insurance. Corporate income taxes and excise taxes represent the rest.

When money flows back out of the federal government as federal spending, its through four channels: The first and largest is direct payments to individuals through programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The second largest are grants to state and local governments to fund programs such as Medicaid, highway spending, education, and other social safety net programs. The final two are contracts and federal wages, which are distributed more heavily to areas where the federal government is a major employer.

Story continues

The difference is known as the balance of payments.

A positive balance of payments means the states residents, businesses and municipalities receive more in federal government spending than they pay in taxes. Our report refers to these states as the getters.

On the other end are giver states whose residents and businesses pay more in taxes than the state receives in federal spending.

A crisis can shift the balance

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat, introduced the balance of payments calculation in 1977 to demonstrate that his state was being shortchanged in federal spending.

Two years earlier, President Gerald Ford had threatened to reject federal funding to help New York City stem a financial crisis, inspiring the famous newspaper headline: Ford to City: Drop Dead. He later signed legislation approving federal loans, which the city paid back with interest.

Moynihans annual reports, called The Fisc, tracked the impact of federal spending and tax collection on the states.

The lineup is driven by demographics. States with a larger share of higher-income residents will consistently pay more in income taxes. States with older populations will receive more through social security and medicare. A states position can also shift during times of crisis, such as after a hurricane, when federal assistance flows into the region.

Why are a few states such big givers?

The biggest givers in our latest report, based on 2018 data, were New York, which paid in US$22 billion more than it received; New Jersey, which paid $12 billion more; Massachusetts, which paid $9 billion more; and Connecticut, which paid $8 billion more than it received.

Combined, these states paid over $50 billion more in taxes than they received in federal spending. For each dollar workers and businesses paid in taxes, the states got an average of 90 cents back. (When Cuomo cited the differences between New York and Kentucky, he was looking at four years of data.)

That negative balance of payments in the Northeast is driven by the large concentration of high-income residents.

The U.S. has a progressive income tax structure, and individuals in these state have a higher income-tax burden. As a result, the revenue side of the states balance of payments calculation is higher than the spending side.

Why do some states get more?

The getters can be broken down into two categories: those with both high incomes and high levels of federal spending, and those with low incomes and high federal spending.

Virginia and Maryland are two high-income states with higher than average per capita tax burdens, but they also receive high levels of federal funding because they are adjacent to Washington, D.C. and benefit from contract spending and federal worker wages.

The low-income states that receive a lot of federal spending per person are primarily in the Southeast and include Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama.

With lower-than-average income levels, residents in these states contribute less through income taxes. They also receive higher-than-average levels of spending from programs such as Social Security, Medicare, social assistance grants and contracts.

Why does it matter?

A states financial relationship with the federal government can have profound long-term policy implications for the state, its residents and businesses.

Thats especially true now as the coronavirus crisis sends costs soaring for local and state governments, while slashing their income and sales tax revenues. It isnt just in New York, Illinois and the other Democratic-leaning states with large urban centers  the virus is creating financial stress on state and local governments across the country.

Understanding the balance of payments data will help inform policymakers as they renegotiate these state-federal financial relationships through federal assistance in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis and subsequent economic recovery.

This article has been updated to align the paragraph with state data to 2018 balance of payment numbers.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:



Rockefeller Institute receives funding from the New York State Division of the Budget to produce the annual Balance of Payments report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:55:16|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported nearly 1.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of fruits and vegetables in the first four months of this year, posting a year-on-year decline of 8.7 percent, according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Tuesday.

Major export markets of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables included China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Vietnam is striving to gain 5 billion U.S. dollars from selling fruits and veggies offshore this year, said the ministry.

In the four-month period, Vietnam spent 382 million U.S. dollars importing fruits and vegetables, down 41.2 percent against the same period last year, with China and Thailand among the largest suppliers, according to the ministry.

In 2019, Vietnam reaped a total of nearly 3.8 billion U.S. dollars from exporting vegetables and fruits, down 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to the country's General Statistics Office. Enditem
[May 11, 2020] Hamilton Beach Brands Subject of GPM Investigation Following Disclosure of Internal Investigation and Accounting Irregularities

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company ("Hamilton Beach Brands" or the "Company") (NYSE: HBB) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Hamilton Beach Brands investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information here or contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, via email [email protected] or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On May 11, 2020, Hamilton Beach Brands disclosed that it could not timly file its first quarter 2020 quarterly report due to "certain accounting irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at its Mexican subsidiary." The Company also revealed that its "Audit Review Committee has commenced an internal investigation" regarding "the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary."



On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.03, or nearly 9%, to close at $10.43 per share on May 11, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Hamilton Beach Brands should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email [email protected]. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters (News - Alert), the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005973/en/

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 23:19:01|Editor: huaxia

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YANGON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities brought back 67 more nationals from Thailand by a relief flight on Tuesday, according to a statement of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In order to retrieve the Myanmar nationals from Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with the Myanmar Embassy in Thailand and Myanmar's government ministries under the guidelines of the National Level Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19, the statement said.

The returnees from Thailand will be put under quarantine at designated facilities or hotels for 21 days under the management by the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, the Ministry of Health and Sports, and the Yangon Region Government.

According to the statement, it is the second batch of Myanmar nationals from Thailand after the first batch of 135 Myanmar nationals went back home on May 6.

So far, Myanmar has reported 180 COVID-19 cases with six deaths since the infectious disease was first detected in the country on March 23. Enditem
Jean-Paul Sartre is seen during a press conference for the initiative called "A Boat for Vietnam," at the Lutetia Hotel in Paris on June 20, 1979. (Michel Clement/AFP via Getty Images)

Its Hard to Be a Liberal

Commentary

Eighty years ago, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre identified a particular human behavior that undermined the personal freedom and responsibility he insisted every person assumes right up to the instant of death.

Sartre was an atheist and a radical. He admired Stalin and loathed the United States. His personal life was chaotic. But his analysis of a type of self-deception nicely explains the peculiar state of denial into which 21st-century liberals have fallen.

He called it bad faith (mauvaise foi) and devoted several pages to it in his masterwork, Being and Nothingness. The language in the book is dense and existential (Being and non-being, the flight from anguish, the Other, pure nihilating freedom), but the illustrations of bad faith are accessible.

In one of them, a young woman, attractive and proper, is asked out on a date by a roving man and she accepts. His intentions are clear, Sartre says: He wants to seduce her. The young lady, however, chooses not to notice his desire. Shes not naive, but she feels better when she interprets him as respectful and discreet. Its just a friendly overture, she prefers to think, a chance to relax and converse.

At dinner in a restaurant, they talk and laugh, his interest grows, and he wonders when to make a move. That will be the moment when the date turns overtly sexual and she will have to respond. She will have to signal yes or no, but until that time, she pushes the prospect out of her mind. Unconsciously or half-consciously, she ignores that eventuality, reading every step toward it as innocent. (This was 25 years before the sexual revolution.)

In fact, shed rather not think about sexual desire at all. From the very start, something goes click in her head and the sexual basis of his invitation dissipates. She interprets his advances as pleasantries, thats all. His compliments sound like the nice remarks of her friends. She will not follow them to the final step.

He anticipates getting her alone; she wont imagine anything beyond the present moment at the table with waiter and guests nearby. Even when he reaches across the table and touches her fingers, the denial continues, but in a new mode. It forces a decision, but not a happy one.

To leave her hand there is to consent in herself to flirt, Sartre says, and shes not ready for that yet. But to withdraw it is to break the troubled and unstable harmony which gives the hour its charm. Neither option works.

So, Sartre continues, she concocts a third way: She actually disengages herself from her own hand. He calls it a divorce of body and soul, her hand inert between the warm hands of her companionneither consenting nor resistinga thing. Meanwhile, she herself becomes all intellect. Its as if shes watching someone else receive his attentions.

She is in bad faith. She wont acknowledge his sexual nature or her own, either. Its not that shes lying to herselfSartre says that nobody can really lie to him or herself; you have to believe your own lies, to trust what you are saying is true. Or, when inconvenient facts pop up, you twist them into a better reality, mostly unconscious of what you are doing. You go along with the pretense by pretending its not a pretense, though you may sense how fragile it is. You get a little nervous, perhaps, but maintain the illusion. This is her strategy.

Now, look at the situation of liberals today and the number of pretenses they must respect. Diversity is our strength  It doesnt matter who [sic] you love  Tolerance and inclusion  Everybody welcome  the catechism never stops.

The messages appear outside the liberal churches in my town, fill the columns of newspapers, and echo in the mouths of college presidents and CEOs and politicians. Those patent falsehoods slide smoothly through left-wing zones with nary a whisper of challenge. They are as regular as the rosary and the Pledge of Allegiance, and just as authoritative and routine. They are spoken and absorbed, period.

Nobody probes and audits those slogans, in spite of the liberals pride in his intellectual rigor. If in reply to It doesnt matter who you love, you said, Wait, what about a woman who loves a man who abuses her? it would stop the ceremony cold. People would look at you as an outsider. You have broken etiquette. You are guilty of wrong-think.

Its a curious ritual for a liberal to undergo. The obedience certainly doesnt fit the ideal mold. The great liberals of the past from Voltaire to John Stuart Mill to H.L. Mencken to Richard Rorty wouldnt allow it. They valued science above tradition, evidence over convention. Dogma was for the benighted past, they insisted again and again. You cant be a liberal and shield beliefs from scrutiny.

What to do, then, about these sacred axioms of the left? How does a liberal accede to them in the sanctioned credulous manner and still remain an enlightened, evidence-based, rational liberal thinker? Bad faith is the solution.

Bad Faith and Diversity

Consider what happens to a liberal when he hears, Diversity is our strength. Straight off, he cannot entertain it as a supposition. Those who voice it dont put it forward for consideration. No, its to be accepted as an established fact.

But for our liberal to take it in as an article of faith, he must expel the experiences he has had in which unity and uniformity proved necessary to success. At critical moments, he has seen, people in a group must come together, think and act as one, suspend their differences, and drop the diversity insistence. Common sense tells them so.

In the middle of the diversity litany, though, that kind of common sense must stop. What our liberal has seen and heard with his own eyes and ears must fall out. Concrete evidence gives way to moral acclamation. To join it, he must deny his own memory.

Thats just one self-deception. Mr. Liberal also has to skip the sensible semantic question: What kind of diversity are we talking about? The liberal has in mind diversity of thought and opinion, the cornerstone of Mills marketplace of ideas and intellectual progress. But, of course, thats not what Diversity is our strength signifies. It calls for multiple identities, not multiple perspectives. Diverse skin colors count more than diverse outlooks. Contemporary diversiphiles want group representatives in the room, not unique individuals.

That poses a problem for our liberal, for group identity crosses the traditional liberal focus on individual rights. Yes, liberals often support programs that treat individuals as members of a group, for instance, initiatives to increase the hiring of women in Silicon Valley, but thats because they believe that individual females have suffered discrimination in tech workplaces. Approaching the problem with announcements such as Diversity is our strength obscures the single person too much, turning the remedy of anti-discrimination into our benefit instead of this and that victims compensation.

This requires of the liberal another mental somersault. He favors diversity of outlook, but he cant attach specific outlooks to racial or sexual identities, for that would commit the no-no of biological essentialism. Instead, he must suppress the What kind of diversity? query entirely. In other words, he must turn off his critical thinking.

Finally, because liberals tend to reduce politics to policy, our man is inclined to wonder about where the diversity declaration goes once it is implemented. What policies does Diversity is our strength encourage?

Well, if the mantra is true, then we must create programs that will foster it: affirmative action in admission and hiring; grants for women and minorities in science; diversity training in corporate America  Thats a no-brainer. But it poses yet another discomfort for our liberal. It shifts the focus from opportunity to outcomes, measuring success not by the removal of discrimination but by the simple tabulation of demographic results. Access is secondary, the proportionate presence of identities primary.

Liberalism doesnt like that. It doesnt try to ensure happiness for all, only the pursuit of happiness. Properly applied, liberalism doesnt control what people do (apart from a nudge here and there); it only guarantees a level playing field in which people are free to make their own decisions. Diversity is our strength isnt satisfied with that kind of equal opportunity.

The prophets of diversity go further, well beyond where liberals want to go, and liberals once again must suppress the implications. Like Sartres young lady, they cling to the situation with an all-intellect eye, in the abstract. The messy sausage-making of a sufficiently diverse student body and workplace, awards nominations and political leadership, boardroom, and club membership is best not examined too closely.

It makes them uncomfortable, and the feeling is getting worse. Liberals like the benign version of diversity, tolerance, gender fluidity, open borders, etc. The hard versions disturb them. When diversity slides into quotas, tolerance acts intolerantly, and cancel culture spreads, they close their eyes. Conservatives know the process is inevitable, that inclusion evolves into coercion and expulsion, but liberals prefer not to witness it. They dont like it when conservatives point it out, either.

Bad faith is their solution. Its a compromise, whereby the liberal accepts the principle and ignores the practice. He wont face the consequences and details that unfold as leftists take control.

Consequences

Our liberal watched the left turn the Brett Kavanaugh hearings into a perversion of due process, he ignored the precedent it set, and now, he cant decide how to manage the allegations against candidate Joe Biden. He deplores discrimination, but looks the other way when leftist hacks go through many years of a persons Facebook and Twitter accounts in search of embarrassing material. (Liberals regard the wall of privacy as fundamental; leftists breach it all the time.) He favors same-sex marriage, but denies that Obergefell v. Hodges might be used as a bazooka against conservative Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

What will he do in the future, though, as the left pushes illiberal practices ever harder?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) isnt going to stop, no matter how uncomfortable she makes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Progressives recruited liberals to the same-sex marriage movement, and many libs assumed that once the Supreme Court ruled their way the sexual debates would settle down. They never saw the trans-issue coming. Several liberal historians have objected to The 1619 Project as bad history, but the main adviser to the project just won the Pulitzer Prize.

The progressive ball keeps rolling. Nevertheless, liberals havent stopped thinking that as progressives win one battle after another, progressives will slow down. They wont. The gap is widening.

How long can liberal bad faith hold up? As the left gets more aggressive, the energy required to sustain bad faith goes up and up. Does it rest upon a shared abhorrence of President Donald Trump? Is that what holds left and liberal together? Maybe its the lefts brand of fusionism, in which case, when the common enemy departs the fission will commence.

At a small dinner awhile back, someone said, Lets stop fightinggive the left all it wantslet them loose  and then watch them make a mess of everything and turn on one another. I believe that once Trump is gone, the left will triumph over and over, yes, but the cannibalism my friend envisions is exaggerated.

Still, the position of liberals in the civic sphere will change, and bad faith will not serve them well. Even in milder forms of ideological conflict, once conservatives are out of the theater, the time for self-deception will be over.

Mark Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory College. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, TLS, and Chronicle of Higher Education.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
[May 12, 2020] New Partnerships in Q1 Accelerate Digital River's Reach into the Ecommerce Ecosystem

Digital River (News - Alert), the most experienced global ecommerce enabler for established and fast-growing brands, saw strong success in Q1 of 2020 as the company continues to grow its partner ecosystem and implement its modular strategy. That includes Digital River's newest partnership with Magento, an Adobe (News - Alert) company and leading provider of commerce innovations for merchants and brands across industries. Digital River's extension to the Magento platform allows brands to build a customizable solution to expand into new global markets using Digital River's world-class global payments and risk protection services. Additionally in Q1, Digital River secured $50 million in incremental funding, led by Siris Capital Group, LLC, to advance Digital River's modular strategy and support acquisition opportunities that will enhance Digital River's position as a leader in global payments and back-office solutions for ecommerce brands. Reliability through unprecedented times The end of Q1 2020 brought companies worldwide unprecedented challenges, with a particularly fast-moving and dangerous global pandemic. Digital River has addressed that challenge head on, putting it on solid footing heading into Q2. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, Digital River already had a crisis management team in place as well as a detailed business continuity plan that included contingencies for a global pandemic. As a company used to working remotely worldwide, Digital River employees were well-positioned as shelter at home orders were issued in various countries and states. Over the past year Digital River updated employee laptops, strengthened VPN capacity, and moved operations entirely to the public cloud, which enables employees to work remotely and securely with ease worldwide. These steps allowed Digital River to continue serving its customers without interruption. "Worldwide, the need for ecommerce has never been greater, or more apparent," said Digital River CEO Adam Coyle. "Our customers and partners will remember how we performed during this crisi, and that is a powerful opportunity for Digital River to demonstrate our commitment to both as we navigate this uncharted territory."



Additional ecosystem partners The success of Digital River's strategy hinges on the continued expansion of its partner ecosystem, which saw robust growth in Q1 2020. Digital River is strengthening existing partnerships in addition to entering into new agreements with system integrators that enable brands to connect with Digital River's API-powered solutions. The newest members of the Digital River ecosystem include:

Magento - combining Digital River's world-class global payments and risk protection services with the flexibility and control of the Magento platform.

WordPress VIP - provides Digital River's enterprise clients with the infrastructure they need to seamlessly deliver content-rich digital experiences at scale. With an emphasis on agility, flexibility and security, WordPress VIP's experts bring over a decade of experience powering high-traffic applications for top brands.

In addition, Digital River entered into partnership with nearly a dozen system integrators in Q1, representing work in the top ecosystems worldwide. CO-WELL Earth Technology eWave Fortuitas Isobar (News - Alert) PixelMEDIA rtCamp Sau/Cal Silk Tryzens Wagento

"Having a strong partner ecosystem allows us to give our customers best-of-breed options and the most flexibility for the best possible outcome for their business," explained Mike French, vice president of partnerships and alliances at Digital River. "It's a powerful combination that respects a brand's expertise in shaping their customer experience while Digital River shoulders the risk and complexity of entering new global markets." What's new for customers: Digital River is constantly innovating to ensure customers have the tools needed to maximize growth. In Q1 that included new payment methods on its APIs: Korea Cyber Payments, encompassing Payco, bank transfer and cards. Additionally, Digital River has expanded Klarna, an efinancing option, to locals in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Share the knowledge Be sure to listen to Commerce Connect, Digital River's podcast showcasing the brightest minds in ecommerce who share their journey to success. Available wherever you get your podcasts. About Digital River With 25 years' experience, Digital River has mastered the ins and outs of global ecommerce. Established and fast-growing brands alike rely on our flexible, API-powered solutions to sell direct to their customers, whether they live around the corner or around the world. Our modular platform, global expertise, and advanced partner ecosystem lets brands focus on creating seamless buyer experiences, while we work behind the scenes to manage orders and fulfilment, process payments, mitigate fraud, and handle taxes and compliance on your behalf. Brands benefit from our unique business model, expertly designed to help brands accelerate global expansion, grow revenue, and protect their business from risk. Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details, visit https://digitalriver.com. Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners. Twitter (News - Alert) Tags: #ecommerce, #headless, #partner @DigitalRiverInc Click to Tweet: @DigitalRiverInc marks a successful Q1 expanding its partner ecosystems to give brands best-of-breed solutions for 2020 and beyond. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005193/en/

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After Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack asked for clarification from county court at law judges regarding a request for a Texas Attorney General opinion on pay parity, commissioners agreed Tuesday the judges should be paid like their fellow district court judges for their years on the bench.

However, all agreed waiting on the opinion was the best move.

House Bill 2384, which passed through the 86th session of the Texas Legislature, allowed for a tiered pay increases for district judges related to years of service, or longevity, to bring them to the level of those across the nation. In the legislation, it states county court of law judges were to be paid not less than $1,000 less than a district court judge.

However, another state statute says longevity pay for county court at law judges is at the discretion of county commissioners.

Noack placed the item on the agenda for discussion Tuesday with no action after learning last week the Montgomery County Board of County Court at Law Judges requested County Auditor Reakesh Pandley to seek an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons office on whether longevity pay, which is received by district court judges, should be a factor in calculating the pay of county court of law judges.

I hate that we have these judges who feel they are entitled to this pay and we are just kicking it down the road, Noack said.

County Court at Law Judge No. 2 Claudia Laird who also serves as the administrative judge for the Montgomery County County Court at Law Board of Judges said there are two statute regarding pay for county court of law judges but they contradict.

Laird added the reason the issue wasnt brought to the court before the opinion was requested is because the court followed the interpretation of the statutes from County Attorney B.D. Griffin during the court last budget session. She said until the AG responses, there was no action to be taken.

According to Assistant County Attorney Amy Dunham said the AGs office has six months to respond to the request for the opinion.

(We) just want to know what the law is and are we compliant, Laird said.

Commissioners agree and felt the judges should be paid for years on the bench.

I think anybody who has 12 years, or three terms, deserves longevity pay, said Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley.

I agree 100 percent, Precinct 4 Commissioner James Metts said.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Congress and Janata Dal(S) have warned the Karnataka government against bringing an ordinance to amend the existing labour laws or the APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) act. The warning by the opposition parties comes a day after the government constituted a 15 member special investment task force aimed at attracting companies looking to relocate from China following the pandemic. One of its tasks was to examine existing labour laws with a view to amend and modify it to make Karnataka an attractive destination for investors.

Speaking at two separate press conferences, the Congress and the JDS leaders said they would protest any move to dilute or amend the existing laws without a discussion. Former CM and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy said that CM B S Yediyurappa should act in the interest of the people of the state instead of trying to please the Central government or BJP party bosses.

He also accused the state government of succumbing to the pressure from big industries and the capitalists.

Our silence should not be construed as weakness. Any amendment to the APMC act will be detrimental to farmers and help only big business. Amendment to APMC act alone will cause a loss of 600 crore to the exchequer, Kumaraswamy alleged.

Similarly, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President D K Shivakumar and the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Siddaramiah, also demanded that a special session of assembly be called to discuss all measures including any proposed amendments to the labour laws and said they would take to streets even amidst a lockdown in case an ordinance was promulgated.

Since the term of gram panchayats is expiring on May 24, Congress has demanded a six-month extension for existing panchayats as holding elections in the prevailing circumstances is not possible. Pointing out that several elections, including those of assembly and even Rajya Sabha, have been postponed due to current circumstances, it warned the government against dissolving the existing gram panchayats and nominating its party members in their place till elections are held.

There is a provision to extend the term of such bodies in special circumstances like the current one, Shivakumar added.

Siddaramiah said the Central government had failed in containing the spread of Covid-19 and the economic challenges it poses.

Who gave the permission to hold the Tablighi convention? 35,000 crore has been collected into the PM CARES fund including 3000 crore from Karnataka. But why is the government not able to offer free trains to poor migrants who want to go back to their states? he questioned.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus pandemic, it will result in "needless suffering and death."

Fauci is among the health experts testifying to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus' spread.

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the U.S., is testifying via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been pressuring states to reopen.

Fauci, in a statement to The New York Times, warned that officials should adhere to federal guidelines for a phased reopening, including a "downward trajectory" of positive tests or documented cases of coronavirus over two weeks, robust contact tracing and "sentinel surveillance" testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes.

"If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines...then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," Fauci wrote.

"This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."

Other senior health officials scheduled to testify before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee will also appear via video link after going into self-quarantine, following their exposure to a White House staffer who tested positive. The chairman of the committee, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, also put himself in quarantine after an aide tested positive. He'll participate by video, too.

Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus "testing czar" at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Even before the gavel drops, the hearing offers two takeaways for the rest of the country, said John Auerbach, president of the nonprofit public health group Trust for America's Health.
On Saturday, postal workers fanned out across Western Virginia as normal. One of them dropped a mass-mailed letter at my house. You may have gotten one, too. The envelope identified the sender as President Donald J. Trump and the Republican National Committees Presidential Advisory Board.

Inside was a solicitation for donations. It resembled one from the Republican Presidential Task Force, which they sent early in January. With it was a three-page letter, signed by Trump and datelined Friday morning. In it, Trump wrote, I believe the state of the nation is great.

Also enclosed was a STATE OF THE NATION SURVEY with 15 questions.

Those touched on a variety of issues: tax reform; a border wall; trade agreements; federal judges; investigations by Democrats against the president; and the aforementioned partys radical Liberal policies.

Guess what words were entirely absent from Trumps letter, and among those survey question? Heres a handful: coronavirus; COVID-19; pandemic; national crisis; 1.35 million sickened; and tens of thousands dead.

Under the circumstances, its kind of extraordinary none of those would rate a mention in a state-of-the-nation survey, eh?

Thats akin to an Easter Sunday sermon in which the preacher ignores the Resurrection. Or a book report on the Titanic that doesnt note its maiden voyage outcome.

Try to imagine a news account of Ted Bundy that excludes the term serial killer. Or a college history paper on President Richard Nixon that omits he resigned in disgrace, to avoid being impeached by the House of Representatives.

Like Trump already has been.

Feast your mind on the implications of those omissions, because they tell us something: Somebody actually thought those questions and Trumps letter were bright ideas.

Monday, I called the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., to find out more. Among other things, I was curious who approved that reality bending mailer. They must have the IQ of a turnip.

Unfortunately, the calls got me nowhere.

The committees voicemail system advised press 5 for the RNCs communications shop. When I did, a female electronic voice noted, Sorry, this number does not answer.

Next I pressed 6 for the political division. No one is available to take your call, the disembodied voice said.

I got another menu, and pressed 7 for RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniels office. That line rang, but nobody answered either. A male electronic voice came on and said, I am sorry, but nobody is available to take your call. Please leave your name and number after the beep.

There was no beep. Instead, another voice said, You cannot record a message. This mailbox is full.

Maybe McDaniel is still self-quarantining amid the COVID-19 pandemic, like she was two months ago. Perhaps her voicemail box is full thanks to angry Americans who received the mailer and left messages asking, What are you smoking?

Because some of the survey questions are so absurd, its conceivable they would prompt angry eruptions.

No. 2 is, Do you believe America is headed in the right direction under the leadership of President Donald Trump?

Are they joking? Could anyone honestly answer that question Yes with a straight face? American workers have filed 30 million unemployment claims in the past six weeks. Thats the wrong direction, not the right one.

No. 5 reads, Do you believe our country is more secure and our economy is stronger than it was under the leadership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden?

Its a daring question, considering that on April 30, angry and yelling demonstrators  some armed with rifles  filled the Michigan Senate gallery in Lansing to irrationally protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home order that sought to stem the pandemics spread. (Trump later called them very good people.)

Heres No. 10: Do you believe our nations economy is on the right track to grow and create more jobs because of the Trump Administrations reductions to regulation and red tape?

If your answers No, join the club. Our unemployment rates approaching 15%. When Barack Obama left office in 2017 it was 4.8%. Thats the wrong track.

Question No. 15 lists nine issues of importance and asks respondents to choose three priorities. Although theres a blank for other at the end, pandemic recovery isnt among the listed options. Repeal and replace ObamaCare is, however.

Meanwhile, on page two of his letter, Trump writes: Im proud to say: We are WINNING  big time. (I didnt add those ellipses. Theyre in the letter.)

How should someone respond to something so wrongheaded at its core? Heres what I did.

I picked up a blood-red felt marker. On the survey, in capital letters, I scrawled:

ARE YOU KIDDING?

1.35 MILLION SICKENED

80,516 DEAD

30 MILLION JOBLESS CLAIMS

15% UNEMPLOYED

THE PRESIDENT HAS MADE IT WORSE!

And then I folded the thing, stuffed it in the self-addressed envelope, stuck a postage stamp on it and put it in the mail. If you received this monstrosity, you might want to do the same. Maybe if they get lots of those, itll get a message through some thick skulls at the RNC and the White House.

Because Americas not nearly winning. Right now were on life-support.

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There were six record low temperatures last night, and many areas that dropped well below freezing.

Here are the record low temperatures:

City Low Temperature Last Night Flint 29 Saginaw 27 Muskegon 29 Alpena 22 Gaylord 22 Pellston 18

The oldest record low temperature rewritten was Alpenas record low this morning, with the old record dating back to 1934.

The record low temperature rundown doesnt do justice to the severity of the cold last night. Here is a temperature map from 4:15 a.m. today.

Temperatures at 4:15 a.m. today, May 12, 2020.

The fruit growing areas of northwest Lower Michigan had extreme cold, with four to six hours in the lower 20s. That length of deep cold will likely do some damage to northwest Michigans fruit crop. The Thumb had extreme cold for mid-May with several hours in the mid-20s. Farmers in the Thumb are concerned about the sugar beets that have been planted for six weeks and are up out of the ground. Some of those sugar beet fields will have some cold damage and may need to be replanted.

The fruit growing areas of southwest Lower Michigan didnt get extremely cold. Temperatures cooled to around freezing for a couple of hours.

The National Weather Service at Grand Rapids put out an extensive rundown of low temperatures across southwest Lower Michigan.

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One more frosty morning is ahead for Wednesday morning. The coldest temperatures will shift to the southeast corner of Lower Michigan.

After Wednesday morning, a dramatic temperature flip-flop is coming, with 80-degree days enjoyed very soon in Michigan and Ohio.
COVID-19 patients from over 10 leading government and private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study

are being enrolled for the study Trial completion and study results expected by July/ August 2020

Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given an approval by the regulator to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials in India on Favipiravir Antiviral tablets for COVID -19 patients

MUMBAI, India and MAHWAH, New Jersey, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a research-led integrated global pharmaceutical company, has initiated Phase 3 clinical trials in India on Antiviral tablet Favipiravir, for which it received approval from India's drug regulator DCGI in late April. Glenmark is the first company in India to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials on Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India. Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation. Clinical trials have commenced and over 10 leading government & private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. Glenmark estimates study completion by July/August 2020.

Glenmark has successfully developed the API and the formulations for the product through its in-house R&D team. Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses and has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections. The molecule if commercialized, will be marketed under the brand name 'FabiFlu' in India.

Commenting on this development, Dr. Monika Tandon, Vice President & Head, Clinical Development, Global Specialty/Branded Portfolio, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said, "Several health and medical experts, both in and outside of Glenmark are eager to see the effect that Favipiravir has on COVID-19 cases. We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus." She added, "The data we get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to COVID-19 treatment and management."

Further, Mr. Sujesh Vasudevan, President, India Formulations, Middle East and Africa, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. mentioned, "Our effort is to launch a treatment for COVID-19 patients as soon as possible and control the spread of the pandemic. We will do all it takes to ensure accessibility of the product across the country if the clinical trials are successful."

Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given an approval by the regulator to start the trial on COVID-19 patients in India. As per the approved clinical trial protocol, 150 subjects with mild to moderate COVID-19 will be randomized in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care. Treatment duration is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum of 28 days from randomization.

About Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GPL) is a global research-led pharmaceutical company with presence across Generics, Specialty and OTC business with operations in over 50 countries. Glenmark's key therapy focus areas globally are respiratory, dermatology and oncology. It is ranked among the top 80 Pharma & Biotech companies of the world in terms of revenue (SCRIP 100 Rankings published in the year 2019). For more information, visit www.glenmarkpharma.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/451507/PRNE_Glenmark_Logo.jpg
Smoke billows from a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2019. (Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

Brazil Launches Military Operations to Protect Amazon Rainforest in Dry Season

BRASILIABrazil deployed thousands of soldiers to protect the Amazon rainforest on Monday, taking precautions to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, as the government mounts preventative measures before the dry season and high forest fire risk sets in.

The armed forces, alongside environmental officials, police, and other government agencies, began with an operation in a national forest in Rondonia state, near the Bolivian border, Vice President Hamilton Mourao said at a news conference.

Brazils Vice-President Hamilton Mourao announced at a press conference in Brasilia today that operations began in the National Forests of Jacunda and Vila Samuel, in the state of Rondonia. pic.twitter.com/leGYyGIq9s  Embassy of Brazil in the USA  (@BrazilinUSA) May 11, 2020

Deforestation in Brazils Amazon hit an estimated 11-year high last year, spurring outcry that Brazil was not doing enough to protect the worlds largest rainforests.

President Jair Bolsonaro authorized the deployment, sending in troops three months earlier than in 2019, when Amazon fires grabbed global headlines.

Frances President Emmanuel Macron and Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro attend an event on womens empowerment during the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo said the armed forces are establishing bases in three Amazon cities, with 3,800 troops mobilized against illegal logging, illegal mining, and other environmental crimes, at an initial operational cost of 60 million reais ($10 million).

Azevedo said each base was also assigned five specialists in chemical warfare to help avoid spreading the novel coronavirus through the operations.

The military is currently authorized for deployment for 30 days ending June 10. That could be extended with the approach of the dry season, when forest fires generally spread, and the military will seek to assist in fire prevention, Mourao said.

We have no doubt this problem will continue to exist, he said. We dont consider this the best job for the armed forces, to be always engaged in this type of action, but unfortunately its the means we have to limit these crimes from happening.

The armed forces will continue to be used until environmental agencies, like the main enforcement agency Ibama, increase their staff, Mourao said. An economic downturn and budget restrictions have prevented Ibama from hiring new agents, thinning its ranks.

Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said he was confident the governments actions under Mouraos direction would succeed in lowering deforestation.

By Jake Spring
Online food delivery platform Swiggy has indefinitely suspended its subscription service Super that was aimed at retaining customers and rewarding loyalty, sources said, as the coronavirus and lockdown continues to take a toll on business.

Current Swiggy Super subscribers can avail the service but new subscriptions and renewals have been withdrawn. An attempt to renew the membership leads to a page that says, We ran out of subscriptions, will be back with more soon.

The programme stands suspended as of now. Internally there is no clarity yet when it will be brought back, if at all, or if the company will move into any other form of membership product, said a source. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Swiggy did not respond to Moneycontrols queries on the reasons for the move.

Swiggy Super was launched in 2018 as a response to Zomatos subscription offer Zomato Gold.

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

Unlike Gold, Super was designed for home deliveries and meant to encourage repeat orders. Gold started as a dine-in offer but was later extended for deliveries as well.

Gold would continue to play an important role in users choice of food for delivery, dining, and restaurants were also open to continuing these partnerships, Zomato chief operating officer Gaurav Gupta said.

Zomato has offered Gold customers a six-month extension

Super, on the other hand, was meant to encourage repeat orders and to ensure customers stayed with the Bengaluru-based firm at a time when Uber Eats and Zomato were trying to aggressively capture market share.

In January 2020, Zomato acquired Uber Eats in India.

Our consumer surveys had shown that Swiggy Super was really liked by the consumers and the price at which it was initially offered was extremely attractive, said an industry consultant who tracks food delivery as a sector.

There was a significant share of deliveries happening on Super before COVID-19 upset all the plans for this sector. COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

Swiggy did not share the number of Super users. The company had significantly hiked its Super charge in January 2020.

The monthly plan available at Rs 79 was hiked to Rs 149 and the three-month charge was almost doubled to Rs 349 from Rs 179 but it seems it didnt make the vertical sustainable.

Running an offer for free deliveries at a time when consumers are ready to pay delivery charges is not a great business idea. Also, we were not being able to guarantee the ordering experience of our pre-COVID-19 days, said the source quoted first.

Multiple restaurants have been shut and the company is still short of its delivery fleet in several cities as lockdown restrictions vary from state to state.

While restaurants have just started deliveries, industry insiders say overall order volumes are down more than 40 percent.

Zomato is confident that when things get normal, its users will find value in Gold while eating out. The company is already stressing on a contactless dining experience.

We do believe that once the situation eases, while there would be a keen focus on safety and hygiene, users will want to use their gold memberships for dining as well. We are working on a combined offering of both Gold and contactless dining to render a safe and seamless dining out experience for users, said Gupta.

The company did not share the number of Gold subscribers but said 26,300 users renewed membership in April.

The Gurgaon-based company gave Rs 2.64 crore, earned through membership fees, to support 3,200 restaurant workers from 390 restaurants.

The two food delivery majors in India seem to be looking at their subscription models differently.

There is a difference between the two programmes. On Zomato Gold, consumers get to order more from their partner restaurants, while on Swiggy, they were getting free deliveries. No wonder the two companies have taken two different trajectories in these critical times, said Rohan Agarwal, director at startup advisory firm Redseer.

Before the pandemic hit the industry, Swiggy and Zomato were aggressively chasing market share in food delivery.

Strategies like flat discounts on all orders, attractive subscription packs and expansion of cloud kitchens were various parts of the jigsaw puzzle for market dominance.

But the viral outbreak has forced a reality check, pushing these startups into a cash-conservation zone.

This had to happen. These companies were running aggressive campaigns which made no business sense. No wonder now they are bringing down costs by stopping offers and subsidised subscriptions. I am sure there are more changes to come, said the founder of a cloud kitchen startup that works with the delivery platforms.
Housekeepers are not considered essential workers, but she helps support her young children and family back in Indonesia. Although her husband is employed, she cant afford to lose her job. And she asked not to be identified in this article, for fear of losing work.

Now, three times a week, she takes the bus from her home in Alphabet City to clean an apartment on the Lower East Side. When the bus is full, its very concerning to me, she said. I dont want to get too close to people.

But her family makes her smile, even when days are challenging. She has been waking at 3:30 a.m. to prepare breakfast for her children. Im a mom, she said, laughing. Were always the first person up.

After she gets home in the afternoon and takes a shower, she soothes herself by preparing the iftar meal. The familiar smells of kentang balado, potatoes with hot red sauce, and ikan acar kuning, yellow fish, remind her of Indonesia.

Before Ramadan, she bought a 25-pound bag of tapioca to make her own bubble tea. Her three children wanted some, and delivery looked expensive. But, oh, its so much work, she said.

One night, she used some of that tapioca to make her favorite meal, bakso meatballs. She put ground beef, tapioca and egg whites in a food processor with garlic, salt and white pepper. Her children devoured it. She loves praying with them, and cherishes the meals they share.

She has not spent a Ramadan with her family in Indonesia for many years because school vacations do not always line up with the holiday. Sometimes she cries when she reads the Quran. One year, before her children are grown, she hopes they will celebrate with their grandparents again.

Qusay Omran, a volunteer with Havenly Treats, translated between Arabic and English for Nieda Abbas. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
China has formally rebuked New Zealand for its support of Taiwan rejoining the World Health Organization, escalating a diplomatic row.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing 'deplores and opposes' New Zealand's position as one of several countries - including Australia - to back a return of Taiwan to the WHO.

New Zealand backs Taiwan's right to contribute its success in combating COVID-19 at next week's World Health Assembly, joining key allies including the United States.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing 'deplores and opposes' New Zealand's position as one of several countries - including Australia - to back a return of Taiwan to the WHO

Taiwan's membership of the WHO has become a front in a geopolitical fight between the US and China, which claims Taiwan comes under its jursidiction.

Mr Zhao said New Zealand's position severely violated the one-China principle which was 'the fundamental underpinning of the progress achieved in bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties'.

'China urges New Zealand to strictly abide by the one-China principle and immediately stop its wrong actions on Taiwan-related issues to avoid damaging bilateral relations,' he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who put off comment on the matter for days by saying she was focused on her country's response to COVID-19, stressed New Zealand's support for the one-China policy but said the world should be able to 'gather that knowledge' from Taiwan at the global health body.

'In the same way, the world learned a lot from China's response,' she said.

'Their use of a lockdown in Wuhan demonstrated their ability to control the spread of the virus in a way that probably saved a large number of lives.

'Equally, a place like Taiwan has used some particular approaches that have demonstrated also success in their management.'

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stressed New Zealand's support for the one-China policy but said the world should be able to 'gather that knowledge' from Taiwan at the global health body

Kiwi Foreign Minister Winston Peters was talking tough last week, telling China's ambassador in Wellington to 'listen to her master' in reponse to other criticism.

On Tuesday, Mr Peters likened New Zealand's position to a famous 1970s stand-off with France.

'The Kirk government put a frigate into the Pacific to protest against the French nuclear tests,' he said.

'We didn't back off our responsibility to our neighbourhood, and dare I say it to humanity.

'We have got to stand up for ourselves and true friendship is based on equality.'

New Zealand's row comes as China moved to suspend selected Australian beef imports and place an 80 er cent tariff on Australian barley in a separate barney.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:13:07|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China needs more nurses and should strengthen the education and training of nurses to meet society's needs, said a senior nurse Tuesday in Beijing.

"We should enhance the publicity to attract more people to join us, the school curriculum needs improving and the course content has to be more practical," said Wu Xinjuan, head of the nursing department in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, at a press conference.

China had 4.45 million registered nurses by the end of 2019, an increase of 350,000 from 2018, said Wu, who was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in 2011.

"The COVID-19 outbreak taught us that we need to pay more attention to areas such as the public health nursing process and emergency response," said Wu.

Wu called for efforts to train more nurses in elderly care, rehabilitation care, community services and intensive care.

China's elderly population, people age 65 and over, has reached more than 170 million, of whom, over 40 million are disabled or semi-disabled, said Wu.

Nursing schools should work closely with the hospitals to encourage the students to start clinical practice as early as possible, Wu suggested.

She also stressed the importance of on-job training for the nurses due to the rapid development of technology and the medical care industry. Enditem
Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Aboagye has disclosed that 3 fishermen from Moore have tested positive to Coronavirus.



This was revealed at a press briefing held by the Information Ministry on May 10, to update the country on measures being taken by the government to manage the coronavirus pandemic in the country.



The three cases according to Dr. Aboagye were out of a total number of 148 fishermen who were kept under a 14-day quarantine.



Currently at about 148 fishermen were under quarantine at Moore, after a 14-day follow up, three tested positive. They are currently at our isolation center undergoing recovery, he said.



Meanwhile, the Central region has recorded 27 new cases were from enhanced surveillance.



Affected districts in the central region are KEEA, Cape coast, Ejumako, Ewim.



In an overall figure, Ghana has recorded 427 new Coronavirus cases, increasing the country's case count to 5127.



Of the 5,127 cases, 1,474 were recorded from routine surveillance, 115 are travelers who were put into mandatory quarantine upon arrival and the remaining 3,538 were identified from enhanced surveillance.



Recoveries and deaths, however, still stand at 494 and 22 respectively.

Source: Ghanaweb









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EMPG, the parent company of the UAE property portal Bayut, has announced the acquisition of Lamudi Global, an online real estate platform with an excellent market share in the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico.

Lamudi was founded in 2013 as an online property platform focused on emerging markets, and eventually expanded to 34 countries.

A well-recognised brand, Lamudi boasts a combined total of $55.1 billion real estate transactions in these countries per year, with a potential commission pool of over $2.3 billion that EMPGs real estate partners can benefit from.

These are also densely populated geographies with a combined population that is just shy of half a billion people, said the statement from EMPG.

Confirming it, EMPG said the acquisition took place before the groups recent merger with OLX Groups businesses in Mena and South Asia that raised its valuation to $1 billion, making it one of the few unicorn businesses in the region.

This news comes almost a year after Bayuts parent companys acquisition of Lamudis Middle East and Pakistani businesses, which they have already successfully integrated with their other portals in these markets.

MPG CEO Imran Ali Khan said: We welcome the Lamudi Global teams to the EMPG family. They bring with them a lot of experience and domain knowledge, and we value the people who have been with the business since the beginning."

"We look forward to working with the team to continue growing the business, and EMPG will provide strategic, technological and financial support as needed," he stated.

The acquisition also signalled EMPGs intent to focus on Southeast Asia in addition to its core regions.

Our aim is to build a strong presence in the region with these acquisitions. Southeast Asia is a bustling, happening market with tremendous potential, and we look forward to providing the best experience to both professionals and consumers, said Khan.

The company had also acquired Thailands top marketplace Kaidee in February, which  along with the Lamudi Global transaction  marked the groups strategic expansion into emerging Southeast Asia markets.

On the takeover, Lamudi CEO Kian Moini pointed out that EMPGs expansion into the region would raise the bar for online marketplaces.

"It has built highly successful businesses in all of its geographies, and the groups strategic depth and advanced tech are two major assets Lamudi looks forward to as we begin this next phase of our journey, he stated.

Welcoming Lamudi Global into the fold, Bayut CEO Haider Ali Khan and EMPG Mena Head, said: "These are very exciting new regions for us, where there is potential for technology to make a significant difference and add value. We look forward to working closely with the local teams and providing the necessary support to enhance their presence using advanced technology and extensive market research."

"At EMPG we have a strong service-oriented culture, and Lamudi Global also operates with a very similar ethos. We want to build on this synergy and bring greater sophistication to support the needs of our customers and consumers in these populous and promising new markets," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
New Delhi, May 12 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that his government will provide Rs 1 crore to the family of the contract teacher who was working with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and died due to COVID-19.

Kejriwal paid condolences to the family of the teacher, who lost her life due to coronavirus on May 4 and was helping in serving food to the poor.

"She was an MCD contractual teacher and was appointed for food distribution duty in a Hunger Relief Centre. She served her food distribution duty for the needy on April 10, 17 and 18. But, on April 24 she could not come to the duty as she was unwell," Kejriwal said.

He said first the lady was admitted to the Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini, and then to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where she passed away on May 4.

"May God give strength to her family to face this irreparable loss. We all are proud of COVID warriors like her. The Delhi government will give an honorary compensation amount of Rs 1 crore to her family," he said.

The contract teacher was working with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and died due to COVID-19, the MCD announced on Sunday.

Kejriwal also announced that the Delhi government has also decided to provide Rs 5,000 as financial assistance to the construction labourers in May as well.

"Labourers are working at several construction sites in Delhi. The poor are the most affected by corona. Last month, the Delhi government had Rs 5,000 in the bank accounts of construction workers as financial assistance. This month, we will be providing Rs 5,000 as financial assistance to them. Money has been sent to some people's accounts and those who are left will also get it soon," he said.
Law enforcement agents stormed Bolivia's most dangerous prison and prevented a riot following the deaths of three inmates, who died from symptoms related to the coronavirus.

Residents in the city of Santa Cruz recorded the moment police vehicles rushed inside Palmasola Rehabilitation Center on Monday night as most of the jail's 5,000 inmates gathered in a courtyard to demand better preventive measures from the government.

At least three detainees were rushed to a local hospital. One of them died inside the bus they were transported in after waiting nearly two hours outside the medical facility, according to Radio Splendid.

Inmates staged a massive protest Monday inside Palmasola Rehabilitation Center in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, after three detainees died in a span of three days after developing symptoms related to the coronavirus. So far, authorities have been able to only link one of the deaths to the global pandemic

An ill prisoner is rushed out of Bolivia's Palmasola Rehabilitation Center, considered the worst detention center in the nation. The jail has a population of 5,000 and at least 70 percent of inmates are being held without bail while another 600 completed their sentences but have not been released

A separate video recorded by a prisoner showed detainees chanting 'we want to live' while holding large cardboard with written messages.

In another video, a sickened inmate sat on a wheelchair while a male individual pushed him out through a gate. Additional footage showed what appeared to be an ill detainee struggling to stand up straight moments after he had returned from a medical facility.

The Bolivian Police announced 200 to 250 inmates, who were exposed to the three detainees who succumbed to the deadly bug, were placed in isolation.

The government has so far been able to only confirm that the coronavirus caused the death of the 58-year-old male detainee who died last Friday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities still had not revealed the causes behind the deaths of the other two prisoners who died Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Palmasola Rehabilitation Center in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is known to be the most dangerous jail in the country. It's been marred by drugs, guns and escapes

The pandemic had generated 122 deaths and 2,831 confirmed cases throughout Bolivia as of Tuesday evening.

According to a March data released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 18,108 men and women are incarcerated in Bolivia's overpopulated prison system.

Furthermore, 6,423 are serving sentences and 11,685 are being held without bail.

At least 600 prisoners have completed their sentences, but for unknown reasons have not been released. Close to 70 percent of the population at Palmasola Rehabilitation Center was denied bail in court.
The boss of Australia's peak body for travel agents has told members A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw 'needs to be given a firm uppercut or a good slap across the face' for running a series about customer refunds.

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Jayson Westbury was speaking to stakeholders about how the organisation is dealing with negative publicity since the coronavirus took hold.

Immediately after making the remarks in the audio clip, obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Westbury clarified he did not mean it literally.

A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw (pictured) has been reporting on the the travel industry's refund scandals

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Jayson Westbury (pictured) told members in an online seminar that A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw 'needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face' for running a series of negative stories about the industry. He immediately walked back the comments and said he did not mean it literally

'Things have continued this week,' he said, referring to the ongoing coverage of the industry's struggles to refund customers for cancelled airfares and accommodation.

'There have been some pretty ordinary A Current Affair stories going on about members of AFTA, look as far as I'm concerned no one is guilty of anything.

'I won't ever be watching it (A Current Affair) again. I think that Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a good slap across the face, and I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldn't want to invoke any violence on anyone.

'But, I mean, some of the behaviour and some of the language that's being used on that program is just outrageous.'

Since the coronavirus crisis was declared a pandemic in early March, the global travel industry has been decimated.

According to Pew Research, over 90 percent of the world's population are now living with some form of travel restrictions.

Anyone entering Australia from overseas is now required to undergo 14-days of quarantine to. Pictured: Stranded crew from cruise ship are being sent home on repatriation flights in Sydney

In Australia, even regional domestic travel has been banned across most of the country to slow the spread of COVID-19.

With would-be holidaymakers cancelling their pre-booked trips in droves, some have been unable to get a full refund from their travel agents.

The Age reported a Melbourne midwife was left 'crying for days' after being left out-of-pocket and losing half the money she spent to book a dream $20,000 family holiday to Europe and Disneyland.

In the audio, Mr Westbury said he would like to address these issues on the A Current Affair program to share the industry's side of the story.

'We are doing what we can from the point of view of talking with their producers and various reporters,' he said.

'We have said very clearly that we will go on the program but only if it is live.

'I'm not prepared to have a pre-recorded (interview) for them to cut and paste the bits that they would like to suit their story and of course they are not very happy about that.'

Australian residents returning from Indian are pictured being escorted by a member of the Australian Navy

Australian Law firm Slater and Gordon has launched a class action lawsuit against major airlines, travel agents and tour companies who have refused to issue monetary refunds and instead opted for travel vouchers and credits.

'We understand that everyone is doing it tough at present, including the major airlines and travel companies, but that doesn't give them an excuse to take advantage of their customers,' Slater and Gordon Practice Group Leader Andrew Paull said.

The law firm believes major travel providers may have breached their legal obligations by putting in place travel voucher schemes that significantly disadvantage their customers.

'We believe cash refunds should be returned to customers, who almost certainly need that money right now,' Paull said.

Why you might NEVER get a refund from Virgin Australia: Airline plans to hand customers credits instead of cash for cancelled flights

Hundreds of thousands of Virgin Australia customers left out of pocket due to cancelled flights may never see their money again.

The embattled airline ceased issuing refunds and travel credits for flights grounded by the coronavirus pandemic after it went into voluntary administration in April.

Accounting giant Deloitte has received 340,000 refund requests from customers since it took control of the cash-strapped airline after 65,000 flights were cancelled between March 1 and April 30.

Administrator Vaughan Strawbridge has proposed to compensate affected passengers with 'conditional travel credit' rather than cash refunds in an affidavit filed to the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Virgin Australia passengers owed a refund for cancelled flights may not get their money back. Pictured are passengers checking in at Brisbane Airport on April 21, the day the cash-strapped airline went into administration

The credit would be valid while the airline is in administration.

Customers who have not claimed or used their credits during the process will be 'unlikely to receive a 100 per cent refund on any restructuring or upon liquidation'.

'The Conditional Credit scheme offers those customers the possibility of realising 100 per cent of the value of their refund by using the credit on a future flight or holiday package,' the court application states.

Mr Strawbridge added credits were 'necessary to preserve as much goodwill associated with the Virgin brand and business as possible for a buyer'.

The decision whether to honour Virgin travel credit or give a refund will be up to its new owners.

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in the collapse of Virgin Australia. Pictured is an empty Virgin Australia check-in area at Brisbane Airport on April 21

'Potential buyers may be motivated to extend these conditional credits as part of any restructuring or recapitalisation of the Virgin Companies' business for the purposes of maintaining and enhancing the customer goodwill associated with the Virgin Companies,' Mr Strawbridge said.

Of the 19 parties that have expressed interest in buying the airline, eight signed confidentiality agreements to gain access to Virgin's books.

Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Indigo Partners, and BGH Capital are among the potential buyers.

The court application also seeks to limit the administrators' liability for debts incurred from Virgin and for essential services such as ground handling, fuel, maintenance and in-flight catering.

The case will be heard in the Federal Court on Wednesday.
Bernie E. Hanley, age 84, of Batavia, N.Y., passed away peacefully on May 7 at the home of his daughter while under the care of hospice and his family.

Hanley was born on Feb. 9, 1936, in Fulton, N.Y., a son of the late Laurence and Mary (Welch) Hanley. After graduating from Batavia High School, he went on to honourably serve his country in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Upon returning stateside, Mr. Hanley got involved in harness racing in the 1960s and bought his first horse to compete at Batavia Downs, a pacer named Chief Maynard (2:00.3, $138,342). He was one of the best top-class pacers in western New York at the time and found the winners circle many times. He also raced Macs Miss Mary (1:55.3, $150,794), Irish Dancer A (1:59, $117,693), Overnight Guy (2:01.3, $64,985) and several others during his career.

Although Hanley was well known on the local harness racing circuit as an owner and trainer for many years, most would remember him and his wife Mary Ann as the owners of Hanleys Restaurant, which was conveniently located directly across the street from Batavia Downs. Hanleys was the 'horsemens hangout' after the races for decades where wins were celebrated, races were relived, and many longtime friendships were formed.

Upon retirement, the Hanleys moved south to Florida and enjoyed the sun for close to 30 years. While there, Hanley was a member of the Deland Amvets Post 13 and the Deland Elks Lodge 1463. He was also a member of the Glenn S. Loomis American Legion Post 332 in Batavia.

Hanley had many friends both in and out of harness racing and will be remembered by all as a hard-working man who loved his family deeply.

Hanley is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Mary Ann (Musshafen) Hanley of Batavia; children, Patrick (Carol) Hanley of Alabama, Elsie (Greg) Lee of Batavia, N.Y., and Dr. Greg (Angela) Hanley of Tennessee; brother, Larry (Mary) Hanley of Akron, N.Y.; 10 cherished grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, a Mass of Christian Burial will take place at a later date.

Memorial contributions in his memory can be made to Home Care & Hospice, 26 Liberty Street, Batavia, NY 14020 or at http://www.homecare-hospice.org.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the friends and family of Bernie Hanley.

(Batavia Downs)
PITTSBURGH, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers are always looking for better ways to help students learn, particularly when it involves difficult math concepts like geometry. With that in mind, an inventor from Maplewood, N.J., who is also an educator, decided to implement an idea that would ease the learning process.

He developed a prototype for GEOGRAM specifically to provide hands-on experience for learning geometry. As such, it affords teachers limitless possibilities in designing lessons for collaborative learning. It enables students to investigate geometric forms to improve their spatial perception and understanding. At the same time, it allows for instant feedback. In addition, it is convenient, effective and easy to use.

The inventor's professional experience inspired the idea. "In my career as an educator for over 20 years, I found geometry to be one of the most difficult subjects to learn," he said, "and thought this concept would help students bridge that gap."

The original design was submitted to the New Jersey sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 18-NJD-2052, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com.

SOURCE InventHelp

Related Links

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The Senate has urged the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Muhammadu, to investigate the alleged complicity of security officers in the breach of the curfew and ban on non-essential interstate travels and bring to book anyone found wanting.

The Senate also made the call to to heads of all security agencies charged with enforcing the ban on interstate travel.

This was one of the resolutions adopted by the lawmakers on Tuesday.

It followed deliberation on a motion titled Need to Enforce Presidential Order Banning Interstate Movement sponsored by Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu).

Mr Ekweremadu decried the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a Proclamation Order banning non-essential inter-state passenger travels until further notice in order to contain the deadly novel Coronavirus. He had also imposed a dusk to dawn curfew all over the country

This is part of the phased easing of lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory and some states.

Mr Ekweremadu expressed worry at the numerous reports and trending videos on the flagrant breach of the curfew and ban on interstate travel.

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has raised alarm over what it described as Increased level of interstate movement, worsened by the dubious concealment of people in food-carrying vehicles. The Nigeria Governors Forum has equally raised serious concerns over the way Nigerians crisscross the country in their numbers despite the subsisting order to the contrary

Conscious of the very grave implications of the brazen breach of the presidential order restricting interstate movements and equally conscious of the fact that the nations security agencies, particularly the police, have the responsibility to enforce law and order, including the presidential ban on interstate movement

We are worried about reports of alleged complicity in the said breaches by those who are supposed to enforce compliance with the directives of the president.

Lawmakers who contributed to the motion, emphasised the need for Nigerians to adhere to the presidents directives as well as other health advisories.

While the Senate condemned the barefaced breach of the presidential order on interstate movements, it urged Nigerians to strictly comply with these orders for their own safety and to quicken the nations victory over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate also urged Messrs Adamu and Muhammadu to fully enforce presidential orders on curfew and ban on nonessential interstate travel as well as ensure that their various commands cooperate with respective state authorities in enforcing the presidential orders and other protocols aimed at rolling back the COVID-19 pandemic.
As if the Flyers needed another nail in their hopes of this season becoming something...
<! Doctors attending to Coronavirus patient >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Nigeria has recorded 242 fresh cases of Coronavirus, taking its total infections rate to 4,641, with Lagos still leading.

Of the figures released by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, late Monday night, Lagos recorded 88 new cases, with Kano coming close with 64 fresh cases.

Katsina recorded 49 new cases, while Kaduna ramps up 13 fresh infections.

Others are: Ogun, nine cases; Gombe, six cases; Adamawa, four cases; FCT, three cases, while Ondo, Rivers, Zamfara, Borno and Bauchi have one case each.

According to the NCDC, seven new deaths were recorded on Monday, while the total number of people discharged so far has reached 902.

How States Stand

88-Lagos

64-Kano

49-Katsina

13-Kaduna

9-Ogun

6-Gombe

4-Adamawa

3-FCT

1-Ondo

1-Oyo

1Rivers

1-Zamfara

1-Borno

1-Bauchi
Probe opened into deadly fire in Moscow Region private hospice

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:59 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI)  Investigation was launched into the fire in a private hospice in the Moscow Regions town of Krasnogorsk that led to the death of over 10 people, the Investigative Committees press service reports Tuesday.

A criminal case is opened over provision of services failing to comply with safety requirements resulted of two or more deaths by negligence. Punishment for this crime is up to 10 years in prison.

According to investigators, on May 11, the fire occurred in the hospice for old persons. During the blaze 9 people in the age from 66 to 90 died; 9 more were hospitalized. Later, two persons died in a hospital.

The hospice organizer was arrested.
In a bid to encourage new mothers to reboot their careers and get back to the workforce, Great Learning, Indias leading EdTech company for professional education today announced the launch of its new initiative, #HerFreshStart. As a part of the initiative, the company will offer a scholarship of up to 80% to selected mothers to enroll for their choice of career-critical programs like Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Digital Marketing.

According to a report by KPMG, 58% of women feel less confident about getting back to work after pregnancy. The long gap that starts 2-3 months before delivery and lasts till 6 months or more after the delivery, takes its toll. This initiative by Great Learning aims to help mothers on a career break regain confidence in their professional abilities through upskilling. Great Learning is inviting people to nominate recent mothers (Mothers who have taken a professional break due to maternity) in their circle to comment on our posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #HerFreshStart and tag Great Learning and JobsForHer. The nominees can then submit their form with a Statement of Purpose (SOP) with a brief introduction of their background and why they believe they deserve the scholarship. People can nominate deserving mothers for #HerFreshStart between May 7 and May 10, by visiting Great Learnings social media channels- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Mothers can also self-nominate themselves.

Hari Krishnan Nair, Co-Founder, Great Learning said, Motherhood should be just a pause in a womans professional journey and not a full stop. Through this campaign, we aim to amplify the voices of new mothers  their stories, proud moments and career aspirations, and encourage them to return to work strengthened with better skills and credentials. Upskilling could be a game-changer for new moms, with opportunities continuing to open up in fields like Analytics, AI, Digital Marketing and Cloud Computing.

Note to the Editor:

The nominee should be a recent mother (birth certificate/hospital statement < 6months old), and have >60% marks in X, XII and graduation.
New updates have been posted on social media regarding graduation events for the Montgomery and Willis school districts.

Montgomery Independent School District posted plans to host the Lake Creek High School graduation ceremony at 9 a.m. on June 4. Montgomery High School has its ceremony scheduled for the following day at 9 a.m. on on June 5.

Both ceremonies will be held at the MISD Stadium, according to the school district.

THE LATEST: Montgomery County extends disaster declaration amid COVID-19 crisis

MISD Assistant Superintendent Duane McFadden said in an email to The Courier that many factors were considered when deciding to hold the graduation ceremonies in June. The main reason behind the decision included the parent survey responses for a traditional ceremony and the districts desire to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of its graduating seniors.

Early on in the crisis, it seemed we may not have the opportunity to do a traditional graduation in May. We immediately surveyed our students and families to find out what their preferences were for recognizing our graduates. The overwhelming response was to postpone it hoping we could provide a somewhat traditional ceremony in the summer.

Once TEA provided guidance to the district that as long as we complied with Executive Order GA-21's specifics requirements, we could hold an in-person outside graduation ceremony, we felt we should do so as soon as possible, he continued. We did not want to risk the COVID-19 situation worsening in our area and the opportunity to hold an in-person outside ceremony to be missed.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: These are the latest COVID-19 death projections for Texas

All graduates will have the opportunity to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. The ceremony will be livestreamed and recorded and place on the MISD website for viewing and downloading, McFadden said.

Willis ISD posted it has postponed its graduation ceremony following guidance from the governors office citing in-person graduations cannot begin until May 29.

The majority of you have asked for us to provide a graduation that most closely resembles the traditional format, Willis ISD stated. Therefore, we want to let you know that the May 22 graduation is officially postponed. We have an alternate venue lined up for June and July.

The district stated it hopes to have the June date and other details, including about tickets and seating finalized this week.

Our plan is to have this information to you by this Friday, May 15, Willis ISD stated. Thank you for your patience as we work through this. At this time, we are awaiting confirmation from the Cynthia Woods Pavilion.

The school district originally planned to host the event at Sam Houston State University, where it has been held for the past few years, but had to cancel the ceremony at the venue due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Thousands of Houston-area students lose contact with schools during pandemic shutdown

On Friday, the Conroe Independent School District also announced it plans to host all of its graduation ceremonies in June.

The 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, a previous article in The Courier stated.

Last week, the Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath provided new guidance on class of 2020 graduation ceremonies for Texas school districts.

The TEA provides four different pathways for schools to celebrate graduating seniors.

Each district is at liberty to determine if any of these options best serve the needs and desires of their community, information from the governors office stated.

Those four pathways include completely virtual ceremonies, hybrid ceremonies, vehicle ceremonies and outdoor in-person ceremonies. Full details of the TEAs graduation ceremony guidance can be found on the TEA website.

Between May 15 and May 31, an outdoor ceremony may take place in a rural county that has an attestation as described in the Governors Report to Open Texas that remains in effect 7 days prior to the ceremony, the information stated. An outdoor ceremony may take place in any Texas county on or after June 1.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
In response to Covid-19, Saudi Aramco has prioritised the safety, health and wellbeing of its 70,000 men and women, as well as its communities around the world, while keeping its supply chains uninterrupted to ensure safe delivery of materials.

The world's largest oil producer has implemented measures to reduce the risk of infection and to mitigate the viruss impact on its people and business. Its inbuilt systems for managing global crises ensure all its sites remain operational.

Amin Nasser, Aramcos President and CEO, says: The world has encountered unprecedented complexities as a result of Covid-19, which have required high levels of agility and adaptability. The safety and wellbeing of our people has always been Aramcos top priority and we continue to put them first in every decision we make.

I am proud of how Aramco has responded to the challenge with a strong, united and compassionate approach, which stems from our deep-rooted community values. Covid-19 has no doubt created physical barriers, but it has also brought many of us closer together.

We stand by our promise to do all that we can in the fight against Covid-19, helping those around us and delivering the worlds energy throughout this pandemic.

Aramco has a number of measures in place at each of its locations, including active prevention programmes, detailed contingency plans and leading medical support services to minimise risk and ensure the best possible care.

All these measures are in line with government and official health advice in each of its operating jurisdictions, alongside its own internal health measures, which are guided by advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia.

Aramco has a joint venture with Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH), whose facility at its Dhahran headquarters is integral to the companys medical preparedness and response to Covid-19.

The company has worked with JHAH to roll out a company-wide health awareness campaign, including weekly updates, and ensure all its employees have access to the latest accurate information about preventing transmission of Covid-19, actions they should take if they display symptoms, tips on caring for themselves at home and where to receive medical assistance.

In addition, Aramco has also launched a Covid-19 Mental Health Tool Kit, an online resource for people in isolation or quarantine, their family and friends. This provides guidance and practical steps on how to care for their emotional health during this stressful time.

The company has facilitated working from home wherever possible, including employees considered to be at higher risk from infection, to reduce the in-office population, all in line with social distancing instructions issued by authorities in each of our locations. Managers have also been directed to ensure that their business continuity plans prioritise employees as part of the companys our long-standing commitment to staff safety.

To protect those working at its facilities, Aramco has intensified sterilisation efforts, applied social distancing rules and ensured strict health practices are adhered to. There is also 100 per cent thermal screening of employees and contractors across all facilities and company transport to limit the possibility of contagion at both onshore and offshore sites.

Aramco is also working with the communities in each of its geographies, and in line with relevant government measures. The company is providing support that includes much-needed medical equipment such as ventilators, high-efficiency air purifiers and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Saudi Arabia: On April 1, 2020 Aramco and its subsidiaries presented SR200 million ($53 million) to the Health Endowment Fund of the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia to support efforts to combat COVID-19. In particular, the endowment focuses on providing ventilators for intensive care units.

Aramco and its subsidiaries have also launched an employee donation campaign, Stay Home Stay Safe, to support vulnerable people during this unsettling time through the provision of basic foodstuffs, preventative equipment such as masks and hand sanitiser, and educational materials. The campaign has raised over $1.7 million, a figure that has been matched by the company, and the total amount of more than $3.4m will be used to supply essentials to more than 20,000 households in over 15 cities across Saudi Arabia.

Aramco tanks are also being used to store raw sterilising materials for the Food and Drug General Authority ahead of being needed for manufacturing products that counter the spread of COVID-19.

Globally, Aramcos offices have together committed to contributing more than $3.5 million to support healthcare and disaster relief organisations.

Asia: Aramcos Asia office facilitated donations of cash and critically needed medical supplies to the Red Cross Society in China. Aramco Korea has made a donation of $800,000 to South Koreas Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

S-Oil, of which Aramco is the largest shareholder, has donated $400,000 to South Koreas relief efforts.

Europe: Aramco Europe has donated funds to Italys Fondazione Buzzi for intensive care units and other medical supplies.

Aramco Overseas Company in London has delivered essential healthcare items such as masks and sanitisers to more than 500 Company-sponsored students in the UK. Remote and in-person medical services are also being provided.

Americas: In Detroit, home to one of Aramcos Global Research Centers, more than 2,000 protective masks were donated to Harper Hospital in collaboration with the North American Association of Chinese Engine Engineers (NAACEE).

Aramco Americas has also provided 30,000 KN95 masks for the city of Houston, where it has its headquarters.

Aramcos subsidiary, the Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, has continued to operate safely and efficiently, producing ethylene, which is being used to make medical supplies that are in high demand. In addition, it has donated 1,200 PPE suits to the Regional Emergency Operations Center for COVID-19 testing sites across Southeast Texas.

The Motiva Refinery team has created an employee fundraising and company matching initiative in support of the Houston Food Bank.

The staff of AramcoWorld magazine have provided classroom guides and other multimedia sources to support online teachers. Tradearabia News Service
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 16:39:54|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on March 18, 2020 shows the container dock of Yangshan Port in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday released a new list of U.S. products that will be exempted from the second round of additional tariffs on U.S. products.

This is the second list of U.S. goods to be excluded from the second round of tariff countermeasures against the U.S. Section 301 measure, according to a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of China's State Council.

The exemption will be valid from May 19, 2020 to May 18, 2021, it said.

Tariffs that have already been levied will be refunded, said the statement.

The remaining U.S. products subject to China's second round of additional tariffs will not be excluded for the time being, it said.

For U.S. products that are not on the first two lists, the commission advised enterprises to apply for the exemption of additional tariffs following a specific product list that applies to domestic firms which plan to sign deals to purchase and import these products from the United States in a market-oriented and commercial fashion. 
- Man United and Man City have both been tracking down Saul Niguez for months now

- United, however, appear to have beaten their rivals to the signature of the Spaniard

- Reports contend an agreement over the transfer of Niguez to Old Trafford has already been reached

- His imminent arrival is certain to leave Pogba's future in jeopardy and could bring his spell at the United to an end

Man United are on the verge of sealing a sensational 70m transfer swoop for Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez.

Niguez has widely been linked with a switch to United for months now and it appears the Red Devils are close to landing their target man.

READ ALSO: Declan Rice: Chelsea to make move for West Ham star if they lose N'Golo Kante to Real Madrid

READ ALSO: Odion Ighalo: Shanghai Shenhua want Nigerian striker back in China before league kickoff

According to Express UK citing sources in Spain, talks between United and Atletico over the transfer of Niguez are practically closed.

And the agreement will reportedly be made official by the end of the currently suspended campaign when the window reopens.

The Spaniard had a buyout clause of 142m but Atletico are willing to accept a lower fee following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic which has seen the players value drop significantly.

READ ALSO: Ex-Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson forgoes KSh 1 million debt K'Ogalo owes him

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Meanwhile, news on the playmaker's imminent arrival to Old Trafford is certain to fuel speculation over the future of Paul Pogba.

Pogba's future at the Red Devils remain unclear, with Real Madrid and Juventus all understood to be keen to sign him.

It was previously reported the Frenchman was open to staying at United for another year but with his contract winding down, the club could be tempted to sell him.

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.

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The Ayawaso East Metropolis on Tuesday received some relief items from Access Bank Ghana.

The items donated included rice, cooking oil, sanitisers, tin tomatoes, etc.

The delegation was led by Mr. Jude Atubigah, Head of Enterprise Business Services of the bank.

He said the items donated cannot solve all the problems but can at least do something to put smiles on the faces of people in need. "That's the little that the bank can do to support its clientele in its catchment areas and beyond".

It is indeed the people that support our institution to grow and we, therefore, see it as a responsibility to go to their aid during challenging times.

Mr. Jude observed that Ayawaso East Metropolis has so many people with vulnerability and that he was hopeful the items shall be donated to those who deserved it the most.

Mr. Jude bemoaned that it is unfortunate that the world over we are wearing masks as we talk to each other as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added that it is the responsibility of each individual to stay safe and adhere to the social distance protocol as well as other precautionary measures as advised by the government and health experts.

In her response, Hajia Salma Mohammed Sani Kuta, the Ayawaso East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) commended Access Bank for the gesture.

She, on behalf of the Municipality, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the bank and assured them that the items shall be distributed to the poor and needy in the society.

The MCE called on other corporate institutions and philanthropists to emulate the kind examples of Access Bank Ghana to support those in need in their respective communities.
California Rep Maxine Waters' sister died from coronavirus at a Missouri nursing home where staffers have staged protests against poor conditions.

Velma Moody, 86, succumbed to the virus at Grand Manor Nursing Home in St Louis on May 1.

Waters shared her grief at the crushing loss in an interview with The Grio, calling it 'one of the most painful things that I've ever had to experience in my life'.

'She had suffered. And so we are going through a very difficult time,' the Democrat congresswoman, 81, said.

'It was not easy, but in many ways, I'm so glad she's out of pain.'

Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, first announced that her sister had contracted the virus when took the podium on the floor of the House of Representatives to express her support for the Healthcare Enhancement Act on April 23.

California Rep Maxine Waters revealed that her sister died from coronavirus at a nursing home in St Louis, Missouri, earlier this month

'I'm going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri right now, infected by the coronavirus,' Waters said.

Two weeks later she revealed that Moody had died during the interview with The Grio, where she lamented on the fact that care homes have become hotbeds for COVID-19.

'The nursing home is the only place we have for many of our seniors, many of whom have outlived their families,' Waters told the outlet.

'That's where they go. And now these nursing homes are like a petri dish for the continued development of this virus that is killing us.'

Grand Manor has recently been roiled by protests by staffers demanding that they receive paid sick leave if they contract coronavirus.

One worker, Cynthia Whitfield, died from the virus on April 21. The 58-year-old's family claimed she was compelled to continue reporting to work even after she showed symptoms because the facility refused to give her paid leave.

Dozens of residents and a handful of employees have tested positive for COVID-19, according to media reports. Grand Manor has not released specific numbers.

Nearly a third of the nation's more than 81,700 coronavirus deaths are said to have occurred in nursing homes.

Grand Manor Nursing Home in St Louis (pictured) has recently been roiled by protests by staffers demanding that they receive paid sick leave if they contract coronavirus

Since the pandemic took hold in the US, Waters has been outspoken about the disproportionate toll its taken on the black community.

She told The Grio that she's lost several friends and loved ones to the virus, and those losses have further strengthened her resolve to prioritize health care for black Americans.

'I want Black people to do everything that they can to take care of themselves,' Waters said.

A visitation for Moody - one of Waters' 12 siblings - will take place on Wednesday at Ozella J Foster Funeral Services in St Louis, according to local news outlet KSDK.

Funeral directors have asked anyone who plans to attend the service to wear a mask, and said they will only be allowed to walk through and not congregate.

A private family service will be held on Thursday. It's unclear whether Waters will fly in from Washington, DC, for that event.

Waters, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, first announced that her sister had contracted the virus when took the podium on the floor of the House of Representatives to express her support for the Healthcare Enhancement Act on April 23 (pictured)

Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren also lost one of her siblings to coronavirus last month.

Her eldest brother, Donald Reed Herring, a decorated Air Force veteran who fought in Vietnam, died aged 86 on April 21.

'I'm grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it's hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say 'I love you' one more timeand no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I'll miss you dearly my brother,' Warren tweeted.

The family told the Boston Globe that Herring had been hospitalized for pneumonia in February, before being moved to a rehabilitation center to recover, where there were patients with active coronavirus cases.

Herring then tested positive for coronavirus in early April, but did not show any virus symptoms until 11 days later.

He was then transferred to a hospital ICU on April 15 and died six days later.
HELSINKI, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- When it reopens in spring 2022, the shopping centre Lippulaiva will offer much more than just shopping. The shopping centre will house a wide range of private and public services. One of the most significant public services will be the new Espoonlahti regional library.

Citycon and the City of Espoo's Facility Services have signed a lease agreement for the opening of the Espoonlahti regional library in the shopping centre Lippulaiva in spring 2022. The library will be on the third floor of Lippulaiva and cover a total of about 3,000 square metres. A Service Point of the City of Espoo will also open in the library.

The Espoonlahti regional library will be an innovative and unique library specially designed with the needs of families with children in mind. The library will have a comprehensive children's and young people's literature department, kitchen workshop and multi-purpose facility for 200 people that can be used for different events. One speciality of the library will be its own yard area on the southern side of Lippulaiva that is reserved for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Local residents will participate in the more detailed planning of the library activities so that the library serves its users as comprehensively as possible.

"The Espoonlahti regional library will really compliment the diverse service offering of Lippulaiva. Lippulaiva is not only a shopping centre but the most significant service cluster in the entire Espoonlahti area where the local residents can easily use the services and run multiple errands in one visit. Lippulaiva can be reached easily by car, on foot, by bicycle and by public transport. It is also an important public transport hub, since the new Espoonlahti metro station and the feeder bus terminal are located in the shopping centre," says Mari Laaksonen, Commercial Director at Citycon.

"At the Espoo City Library, we are thrilled with this addition to our library network. It is great that the people of Espoonlahti will be served by the long-awaited full-service library and its modern facilities," says Jaana Tyrni, Director of Library Services at the Espoo City Library.

Citycon is currently carrying out a comprehensive redevelopment project for the shopping centre Lippulaiva; the old, demolished shopping centre will be replaced by an entirely new modern and urban shopping centre double the size. The new Lippulaiva will have a total of 44,000 square metres of leasable area and approximately 80 different shops, cafes, restaurants and services. Lippulaiva will focus on a strong grocery and daily shopping service offering that will serve the everyday shopping needs of the growing number of residents in the shopping centre's catchment area. In addition to the library, the anchor tenants of the shopping centre include shops such as K-Supermarket, Prisma, Lidl and Tokmanni.

Further information:

Mari Laaksonen

Commercial Director, Citycon

Tel. +358-(0)20-766-4434

mari.laaksonen@citycon.com

Jaana TyrniDirector of Library Services

Espoo City Library

Tel. +358-(0)50-330-1762

jaana.tyrni@espoo.fi

Mauri Laurila

Head of Properties, Facility Services, City of Espoo

Tel. +358-(0)40-552-3293

mauri.laurila@espoo.fi

Citycon is a leading owner, developer and manager of urban grocery-anchored shopping centres in the Nordic countries. The total value of the property portfolio managed by Citycon is approximately EUR 4.4 billion. Citycon is the leading shopping centre owner in Finland and among the market leaders in Norway, Sweden and Estonia. Citycon has also established a foothold in Denmark.

www.citycon.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/citycon-oyj/r/new-espoonlahti-regional-library-to-open-in-shopping-centre-lippulaiva-in-spring-2022,c3106237

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The Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shiksha Mitra Association moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the Allahabad High Courts verdict in the case related to recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers.

The petition, filed by Supreme Court advocate Gaurav Yadav, has sought a stay on the Allahabad High Court verdict.

Earlier, a caveat was filed in the apex court on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, stating that the apex court should not issue any order on the petition filed against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court without hearing its side.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier confirmed the state governments decision of keeping higher cut-off marks for recruitment of 69,000 teachers in the primary schools of the state. After that, the path of recruitment of assistant teachers in the Basic Education Council schools in the state was cleared.

The cut-off was due to a dispute related to marks. In this case, the Allahabad High Court had justified the decision of the state government to increase the cut-off.

Apart from this, the recruitment process has been ordered to be completed within three months.

After the decision of Supreme Court on July 25, 2017, the Uttar Pradesh government amended the state Basic Education Rule 20 and 22.

The order of the government was challenged in the High Court on July 1, 2019, in which the court rejected the governments order. (ANI)
Update:

San Antonio police identified a man arrested in connection with a Southeast Side bus stop shooting.

Jason Jackson, 36, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to police, Jackson was waiting to board a bus on the 3800 block of E. Southcross at around 10:20 a.m. Tuesday. The bus driver told Jackson he could not enter the bus without a mask.

Passengers began to get upset. A 38-year-old man exited the bus and argued with Jackson, then attacked him, police said. Jackson told police that he fell on the ground and his gun fell from its holster. Jackson then picked up the gun and shot the man, according to police.

Jackson remained on scene until officers arrived. The victim was transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center in stable condition.

Police are investigating the incident.

Original:

One person is in critical condition after a shooting at a VIA bus stop on the Southeast Side, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

Police were called to the 3800 block of E. Southcross for a shooting in progress at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday.

The shooting took place outside a VIA bus that had stopped to pick up passengers, according to SAPD spokesperson Alisia Pruneda.

The bus driver told one of the people waiting to board, a man in his 30s with a license to carry a firearm, that he was not allowed to enter because of COVID-19 protocols.

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Since April 22, the transit agency has required all riders to wear face coverings. Police did not say whether the mask mandate was the reason the man was not allowed onboard.

A passenger got off the bus and initiated a verbal argument with the man, which escalated into a fight, police said.

The armed man then pulled out his gun and shot the victim, a man in his 30s who was a passenger that had already been on the bus, according to police. The victim was transported to a local hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his upper torso.

A VIA spokesperson said neither the shooter nor the victim was employed by the transit agency. Police did not say what led to verbal altercation.

Barbara Harr was taking her mother to an appointment nearby when she noticed police vehicles massed around the bus stop.

I live out in the country for this reason, Harr said. I came to town, I didnt know what all this was. Crazy.

The men did not each other prior to the incident, police said. The shooter was taken into custody and faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Mark Dunphy is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy
Gov. Tom Wolf announced the continuation of the stay at home order for Pennsylvania for another 30 days. He made the announcement on May 7, after 8 p.m. since the original Emergency Declaration was due to expire at midnight.

This announcement is yet another decision that Gov. Wolf has made that is counter to the progress that has been made in battling the COVID-19 virus and the achievement that has been made in flattening the curve. Since the curve is flat in Pennsylvania and our hospital system is not overwhelmed, why are we being told to continue to quarantine for another 30 days?

On May 6, just the day before the Wolf announcement, detailed information was released by the Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Turzai.

This information is very specific about the vulnerable population of Pennsylvania, and the risk of exposure for those living in a care facility. Of the 3,106 people that have died of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, 68% or 2,108 people lived in nursing homes, personal care facilities and assisted living residences. Of the 3,106 people that died of COVID-19, 89% also had at least one comorbidity, and 63% had more than two comorbidities.

The most common comorbidities of the deceased were hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and chronic pulmonary disease. We now know the most vulnerable residents in Pennsylvania are not in a particular county, they are residing in a nursing or care facility.

Gov. Wolfs efforts should be directed at protecting senior citizens in nursing facilities, if he is truly following the data-driven approach that he seems to repeat at every press conference.

Gov. Wolf has ceased to act in the best interest of Pennsylvania, and is putting some other agenda ahead of the health, economic welfare and constitutional liberty of all Pennsylvania residents. The continued forced closure of local businesses including clothing stores, hairdressers, dog groomers and dentists as big-box businesses have continued to operate safely can no longer be tolerated in any county.

Legislation has been introduced in the House, HR 836, and Senate, SR 323, to terminate the disaster emergency. Passing this legislation is the first step in limiting the governors power, and beginning to safely open Pennsylvania.

The disaster declaration was based on flattening the curve. The curve is now flat, and hospital beds are widely available. According to the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) there are 37,000 hospital beds available with 2,572 of these beds being occupied by Covid-19 patients, which amounts to 6.95%. There are 539 patients in the hospital on ventilators, which amounts to 1.46% of all hospital beds.

According to the PA Emergency Services Management Code (35 Pa C.S. 7301(c)), The General Assembly by concurrent resolution may terminate a state of disaster emergency at any time. Thereupon, the Governor shall issue an executive order or proclamation ending the state of disaster emergency.

Over 1.3 million Pennsylvanians are now out of work, and Gov. Wolf does not have a clear plan for where we go from here. It is time for the General Assembly to assert its ability to check the governors authority by using their legal power to terminate the state of disaster emergency.

Renee Chesler is a former township supervisor in Limerick Township.
WASHINGTON - Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that reopening the economy too soon during the coronavirus pandemic will result in needless suffering and death.

Fauci is among the health experts testifying Tuesday to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the viruss spread.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said as the hearing opened that what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the U.S., is testifying via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been pressuring states to reopen.

Fauci, in a statement to The New York Times, warned that officials should adhere to federal guidelines for a phased reopening, including a downward trajectory of positive tests or documented cases of coronavirus over two weeks, robust contact tracing and sentinel surveillance testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes.

If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines ... then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country, Fauci wrote. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.

A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark for loosening restrictions  a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.

Fauci put himself in quarantine after a White House staffer tested positive for the virus. Alexander also put himself in quarantine after an aide tested positive.

Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  both in self-quarantineand Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump will not be controlling the agenda.

Eyeing the November elections, Trump has been eager to restart the economy, urging on protesters who oppose their state governors stay-at-home orders and expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.

The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are driving blind into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems  South Korea, Germany and China  have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.

WHOs emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations  which he did not name  have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.

Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as Ive seen, Ryan said. Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.

Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labour-intensive human work.

U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000, including more than 150,000 in Europe, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. Experts believe those numbers are too low for a variety of reasons.

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece and Parra from Madrid. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Julia Hughes stood at the mailbox, tapping the non-writing-end of her pink Elvis pen against her chin and scrunching up her face in thought.

Hmmmmmmm. What spot should I choose? she asked her dad, Dave, who was standing nearby. I mean, I cant do the same one as before.

For the 11-year-old, this was serious business: Everyone knows that a key strategy to winning tic-tac-toe is choosing the first move appropriately. So she drew her X in the top middle square on the piece of paper she had pulled from a scratch pad and taped to the inside of the mailboxs door. Then she closed the door.

There! Now its their turn, she said with a giggle.

Your move, Britton Farms Neighborhood Mail Carrier in Hilliard, Ohio. Your move.

This is one way that the Britton Elementary fifth-grader has escaped the boredom of the coronavirus stay-at-home order and pandemic. (She also learned to fry churros and made cards and signs for all the neighbors.)

After taping her first tic-tac-toe win to the side of her family's mailbox, Julia Hughes, 11, contemplates her first move in the next round against her neighborhood's mail carrier.

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So I saw this thing on YouTube about people leaving treats for the Amazon and FedEx people, Julia explained  adding in an old-soul, stage whisper and with a dismissive flick of her hand, Dont worry, they had Clorox wipes and everything.

She continued: Me and my friends had been playing tic-tac-toe on Zoom, so I decided to play with the mail lady. Shes nice for delivering our mail each day, and I thought it would be fun.

Julia put her first board in the mailbox on April 30  with a key at the bottom that read O=You X=me  and left the Elvis pen inside. And then she waited.

That afternoon, LaTeasha Wright drove up in her postal service truck.

When I opened the mailbox, I said to myself, Oh, how cute! But I dont know if thats for me,  she recalled with a laugh. I saw the pen in the mailbox, and I smiled, but I just put the mail in the box and drove off.

Julia ran down several times that day to check to see if the carrier had played along. Once she heard the truck go by, she ran down again.

Story continues

The first day, the lady didnt do it, she said with a shrug.

Undeterred, she left the board to try again.

The next day when Wright pulled up, the family was in the driveway waving and asking her how her day was going.

They told me it was for me to play! said Wright, who, after more than two decades in the medical field, has been a mail carrier just since February. So she marked her first O, laughing the whole time, she said.

That stop at the Hughes house now brightens each day of her route.

It makes me smile. Its a nice thing to know she cares, Wright said. Every day after I make my 'O,' I give a little wave and a smile in case theyre peeking out the window.

On Tuesday, Julia won Round 1. She taped the board to the side of the mailbox to show off her victory, and then on Wednesday, she started the new board.

Now, she said to her dad, I need to make a tiny little scoreboard.

Contact Zachariah at hzachariah@dispatch.com or on Twitter at @hollyzachariah.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How a tic-tac-toe game is cheering up mail carriers during coronavirus
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 00:04:12|Editor: huaxia

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OTTAWA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The medical supplies donated by the Chinese government to Canada arrived at the Hamilton International Airport in Canada, the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa said on Tuesday.

The supplies include medical protective clothing, goggles, gloves as well as N95 masks, surgical masks, and disposable face shields, the embassy said in a press release.

At the most challenging moment in its fight against the outbreak, China received assistance and help from Canada, and "the Chinese side will always remember such expressions of friendship," said the Chinese embassy.

As the pandemic is spreading in Canada now, the Chinese side is actively providing support and assistance to Canada, said the release.

"We all live in a community of a shared future, and the pandemic is the common enemy of all mankind. China is willing to work with the international community, including Canada to safeguard the global public health jointly. As long as all countries unite and cooperate together, mankind will defeat the pandemic," it said. Enditem
A 28-year old woman,



who was lodged in a COVID quarantine centre in Odishas Ganjam district after her return from Surat in Gujarat, gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday, officials said



The woman and her husband have been lodged in the institutional quarantine centre set up at a High School at Mardhakote in Beguniapada block of the district since their arrival in the state on May 6, an official said.

Before doctors and paramedical staff reached the quarantine centre, ASHA and Anganawadi workers who were on duty in the facility helped in normal and smooth delivery, he said.

The woman along with her baby were shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital here after she gave birth to the baby, said Beguniapada Block Development Officer (BDO), B Pradhan.

The condition of both the mother and child was good, he said.

The woman along with her husband was under quarantine since May 6, after they returned from Surat by a special Shramik Express train.

Since she was placed under quarantine, the doctors from CHC Kodala were regularly examining her health. The woman, however, did not tell them the expected date of delivery.

The BDO said in the morning hours on Tuesday, the doctors had also checked her health. The woman did not show any symptom of giving birth then, but developed labour pain before 30 minutes of delivery, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The proximity to Wisconsin  a state that poses stringent legal barriers to abortion  was a critical factor in choosing the location, Welch said in a statement. (Planned Parenthood of Illinois) strives to reach patients where they live and work and to provide the health services and resources they need to lead healthy lives. This new health center in Lake County is part of PPILs commitment to expanding access to vital reproductive health care and to improving health outcomes for all individuals  no matter what.
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CALGARY, AB and SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Nexera Energy Inc. (TSXV:NGY)(OTC:EMBYF) (the "Company" or "Nexera") reported that Hugo A. Gutierrez Jr. ("Hugo" or "HAGCO") has acquired the 50% interest owned by CWS Energy Resources Ltd. ("CWS") in the Duval County Ranch Company ("DCRC") project, and Hugo now owns 100% of the DCRC project. Nexera is the operator of DCRC and retains a 10% after payout interest.The DCRC project consists of 5 leases totaling 896 acres in the Piedre Lumbre and Petrox-Government Wells fields, first discovered by Humble Oil in Duval County Texas. An oil major still owns the surface and deeper mineral rights on the lands, while Hugo and Nexera own the shallow rights, to depths just below the Mirando Sand (approx. 2,600') to the surface.In partnership with Hugo and CWS, the Company began operations at DCRC in September, 2019, and development to date has taken place primarily on the 320 acre "E" lease. We have drilled the first four new wells, re-entered one existing well, and surveyed eleven additional locations for future drilling. In addition to the cash flow generated to Nexera as the operator of the project, it is estimated that the "E" lease has the potential of 300 - 400 bopd, (net 30 - 40 bopd to Nexera, after payout).About Nexera Energy Inc.Nexera Energy Inc. (TSX Venture: NGY) is an energy company with oil producing properties in Southwest Texas. Nexera is owner and operator of the Lavernia, Wooden Horse and Nash Creek Projects. Additionally, the Company owns and operates various working interests in the HugoCellR, Cotulla, and MarPat partnerships. The Company also owns 75% of Production Resources Inc., a South Texas oil company.For further information, please contact:Nexera Energy Inc. President, Shelby D. Beattie, by telephone at (403) 262-6000Email: info@ ebyinc.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Nexera Energy Inc.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

A joint team of Police and Operation Conquered Fist personnel in Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region have arrested three suspected criminals during a swoop at Kopela, a community in Binaba.

The suspects, Amidu Salifu 23, Salifu Tongere 24 and Nuhu Azumah 14 are all Fulani herdsmen.

The three suspects were arrested when the team conducted a series of searches in the district to clamp down on criminals who have been terrorising market women and mobile money vendors in the area.

A search on them led the team to retrieve one single barrel gun, one pump action gun, thirty (30) live BB cartridges, two Lenovo laptops, seven (7) assorted keypad mobile phones and face mask which were in their possession.

The Zebilla Police Commander, Superintendent Ahmed Adam Mahama, speaking to ModernGhana reporter in Zebilla after the exercise said, the suspects, upon seeing the team abandoned the items and took to their heels.

He said, after a hot chase, the team managed to arrest them.

Superintendent Ahmed added the first two suspects were arrested near a bush which is about 400metres away from their hideout (shelter) at Kopela who led them to arrest the remaining suspect at their hideout where the items were found in their possession.

The suspects have since been processed and arraigned before Court.

Supt Ahmed stressed that the police and Operation Conquered Fist personnel will not rest on their horses as they plan to continue with their intelligence gathering patrols to bring all persons terrorising the township and making life unsafe to book.

According to him, the exercise is a directive from national headquarters to all divisional, districts and unit commanders to make sure criminals are brought to book, an exercise they have taken it upon themselves to ensure no criminal find the place a safe haven to commit their crimes.

He added that they have doubled their steps on activities in and around the Zebilla township and warn persons engaging in all manner of criminal activities to desist from such negative attitudes or face their wrath.

Superintendent Ahmed Adam Mahama, called on residents of Zebilla to assist them with information to help flush out criminals.
Two charity collection boxes were stolen from a church in Cork and the young man who took them was sentenced to nine months in jail today.

Matthew Ginnifer, aged 25, of St Vincents hostel, Anglesea Terrace, Cork, who also has a Charleville address, pleaded guilty to the theft of two charity collection boxes from the Society of African Missions church in Wilton.

Sergeant John Kelleher outlined the background to the thefts at Cork District Court yesterday.

The sergeant said the young man entered the church and stole two charity collection boxes containing a large amount of coins  the precise value of which was not known.

Sgt Kelleher said the accused was seen on CCTV making his way to the nearby Wilton shopping centre and going to coin-counting machine where he placed the stolen coins to be exchanged for cash notes.

When questioned about the thefts he admitted the offences.

Sgt Kelleher said Ginnifer had 108 previous convictions, including 21 for theft and five for burglary.

Frank Buttimer, defence solicitor, said the defendant recently pleaded guilty to a number of offences for which he was given an eight-month jail sentence last month.

Mr Buttimer said the accused man was not appealing this sentence and intended to serve it out.

The solicitor said that even though the accused admitted this crime at the church to gardai he wrongly entered a not guilty plea at an earlier stage which meant that the charge could not be taken into consideration in last months jail term.

Judge Kelleher measured the sentence at nine months yesterday and backdated it to January 26 when the accused first went into custody.
National Pen, the Dundalk-based merchandise branding company that announced 176 jobs losses in the County Louth town on Friday, has advertised call centre jobs at its facility in Tunisia, a Sinn Fein TD has revealed.

Deputy Ruairi O Murchu said he had been contacted today (Tuesday) by workers at the Dundalk call centre to alert him to the fact that National Pen has advertised for Italian, French, German, Spanish and English-speaking agents at its branch in Tunis.

The jobs, posted on www.toplanguagejobs.com/Top-Language-Jobs/All-Top-Language-Jobs/Tunisia/ in the last 24 hours, offers Spanish, German, Italian, French and English-speaking roles in Tunisia and comes a day after the firm removed similar jobs from another website, tanitjobs.com after they were contacted by the media.

The tanitjobs.com positions were advertised two days before workers in Dundalk were told of plans to reconfigure the National Pen call centre.

In addition, Deputy O Murchu said he had been in touch with workers who have been chosen to represent their teams at negotiations with management, starting on Thursday May 14, who have been refused union representation by National Pen.

The Sinn Fein TD said he there is growing anger among staff at the refusal of management to allow workers the option of having representation from unions who are better versed in EU and Irish employment law.

Mr O Murchu said he is also concerned about the fate of around 50 Japanese workers at the facility because their visa status in Ireland is directly linked to their jobs in National Pen.

There are fears, he said, that the only offer that will be made to these staff is redeployment in Japan.

He said he is angered by the tactics of National Pen who have so far not responded to a request from him and his colleague, Imelda Munster TD, to meet to discuss the situation in Dundalk.

The Sinn Fein TDs have written to Business Minister Heather Humphreys outlining their concerns about the negotiations and to alert the department to the jobs advertisements.

National Pen, and the situation faced by workers at the plant, is expected to be raised in Leinster House this week by Louth TDs.

It is understood that three Japanese workers will represent their 50-strong team, with a further representative each from ten teams, including the main European language teams, some of which have 30 to 40 members.

Mr O Murchu said: Workers are angry that they had been told, out of the blue, on Friday that because of a global downturn in small and medium businesses  which form the backbone of National Pens order book  that lay-offs would have to happen, only for them to discover their jobs were already being advertised in Tunisia.

'When this was brought to National Pens attention, by myself and others, the jobs were removed from one website and put up on another. Deputy Munster and I have written to National Pen seeking that the workers be afforded union representation and experience at these negotiations but I understand that has been refused.

The company has offered workers specific training on the role of the representatives and have ruled out workers being able to draw on unions experience. This is absolutely outrageous and among the worst industrial practices I have ever heard of.

To ask people, the majority of whom are not from Ireland and have no experience whatsoever in negotiations on Irish employment law, to take part in negotiations with a globally-experienced management team is beyond comprehension.

The whole process, which had been handed to staff as a take it or leave it mechanism, is weighted against the workers. Government has to step in and ensure that National Pen, which received 1.5 million from the State in grants since 2015, provides a level playing field for staff in these negotiations.

And every effort has to be made to ensure that, in the first instance, these jobs can be kept in Dundalk.
Press Release - Boston, London, Nice, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, May 12, 2020

Scientific Beta white paper examines crowding risk of smart beta strategies

Thinking about the economic rationale behind a specific premium should provide ample answers to allay crowding concerns

In a new white paper entitled "Crowding Risk in Smart Beta Strategies," Scientific Beta's researchers have failed to find evidence that smart beta strategies have been adversely affected by a crowding effect.

As smart beta strategies gain in popularity, there are concerns that flows into these strategies will ultimately cancel out their benefits. However, such claims are rarely based on solid empirical evidence. The academic literature has not only documented risk premia for the standard factors but has also provided theoretical explanations for persistence, notably if factors are compensation for taking on additional types of risk. Moreover, precautions against crowding risks can be taken by proper implementation of factor investing and smart beta indices. In particular, the best precaution against crowding seems to be diversification.

It is possible that smart beta and factor strategies can be subject to adverse effects due to a wide following but one can only conclude that this is the case if there is evidence for it. Losses in a given strategy, meanwhile, are not evidence of crowding. Periodic underperformance may be due to normal fluctuations in prices.

Commenting on the paper, Professor Noel Amenc, CEO of Scientific Beta and a co-author of the paper, said, "Claiming that there must be crowding in a factor because it suffers from losses completely ignores the nature of risk premia. A risk premium corresponds to a higher average return that is the compensation for taking on additional risk. Therefore, losses to any factor strategy over any particular period do not imply that the long-term premium has disappeared because of "crowding". Such losses may simply suggest that the reward for holding the factor comes with associated risk. In addition, not only our work, but also work from other researchers shows that factor premia do not disappear when the research that justifies the premia is published."

The Scientific Beta white paper can be accessed through the link below:

Crowding Risk in Smart Beta Strategies, April 2020, Scientific Beta Publication

As part of its policy of transferring know-how to the industry, EDHEC-Risk Institute has set up Scientific Beta. Scientific Beta is an original initiative which aims to favour the adoption of the latest advances in smart beta design and implementation by the whole investment industry. Its academic origin provides the foundation for its strategy: offer, in the best economic conditions possible, the smart beta solutions that are most proven scientifically with full transparency of both the methods and the associated risks.

Scientific Beta, 1 George Street, #15-02, Singapore 049145. For further information, please contact: contact@scientificbeta.com, Web: www.scientificbeta.com.

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A hungry elephant has been filmed casually walking into the reception of a hotel in Zambia to reach its favourite fruit tree.

The incredible sight was filmed by Ian Salisbury, 68, a safari guide at Mfuwe Lodge, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

The elephant wanders through the hotel, taking the time to stop and look at a receptionist at the front desk, before continuing on its way.

The elephant was heading for a Wild Mango (Cordyla africana) tree in the lodge grounds.

Shortcut: A hungry elephant has been filmed casually walking into the lobby of a hotel in Zambia to reach its favourite fruit tree

Elephant in the room: The elephant wandered through the reception of Mfuwe Lodge, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia in search of a specific wild mango tree

Safari guide Ian Salisbury, 68, filmed the incredible footage and said it was a unique wildlife experience

Despite an abundance of mango trees in the area, elephants often make the trip through the hotel in the period of October to December in search of one specific tree on the property.

Three generations of a single family of elephants make the yearly trip.

Ian said: 'Even though there are many of these trees in the area to choose from, some elephants have, for many years, laid claim to this particular lodge tree.

'Although there are a number of routes to reach the fruiting tree, there is one particular pathway that is favourite- up the entrance steps and straight through the enclosed, reception area of the building, with hardly a care for the lodge's human inhabitants.

Three generations of a single family of elephants make the yearly trip in search of the mango tree

The hotel is used to the yearly visits from elephants between October and December who instinctively return to the same fruit tree. Pictured: The elephant wanders over to the reception desk and looks at the receptionist

'The elephants obviously remember from year to year that certain trees provide abundant food at certain times.

'Even though I have been watching elephants for forty years, and have seen just about every aspect of their behaviour, I still find the fact, that they will willingly come into such close contact with us, to be quite remarkable.

'I think anyone who spends time around elephants appreciates their intelligence and almost human characteristics.

'I tend to believe that this particular behaviour, of happily entering the lodge, reinforces the rather unique relationship that exists between elephants and people, especially those that they trust us not to harm them.

'This unusual behaviour is something that all our guests want to witness and photograph.'

The wandering elephant even had time to have a look behind the reception desk and have a nose around with its trunk
Tata Starbucks believes in the importance of human connections and recognizes that the most special, warm and important connection is the one with mothers. With an aim to reciprocate the affection and unconditional love of a mother, Starbucks devised a heart warming social media campaign by virtually replicating its iconic in-store experience to honour mothers and make them feel special on the occasion of International Mothers Day.

As an extension to its successful digital campaign #ReconnectwithStarbucks, Starbucks brought alive its unique coffeehouse ritual of partners calling out the customers orders by urging its fans to share their mothers favourite Starbucks beverage along with a reason why Starbucks is so special to them. The Instagram entries received a sweet surprise from the brands partners in the form of a personalised video message calling out the customers mothers name with their favourite beverage and wishing them `Happy Mother's Day`. Once again it was a great way for the brand to stay connected with its customers on this special occasion bringing alive a cherished offline ritual, online. The campaign was conceptualised and executed by WATConsult.

Commenting on this initiative, Deepa Krishnan, Head of Marketing, Digital, Loyalty and PR at Tata Starbucks, said, At Tata Starbucks, we constantly endeavour to curate personalised and immersive experiences for our customers which in-turn strengthens our bond with them. This mothers day, we wanted to express gratitude towards all the strong and beautiful mothers for being a part of our family.
No one likes to admit it was Stalin who defeated Nazi Germany. Stalin killed far more people than Adolf Hitler, including 6 million Ukrainians liquidated in the early 1930s and four million Muslims during the war.





by Eric S. Margolis





President Donald Trump claimed last week that the US and Britain had won World War II. This was a shameless lie and distortion of the facts.









Many Americans and Canadians like to believe their nations won the war in Europe and give insufficient recognition to the decisive Soviet role. Most Europeans would rather not think about the matter. By contrast, Russians know that it was their soldiers who really won the war. They remain angry that their military achievements are ignored by American triumphalists and myth-makers.





Not only did Stalins Soviet Union play the key role in crushing Nazi Germany, its huge sacrifices saved the lives of countless American, British and Canadian soldiers. Were it not for the USSRs victory, Nazi Germany might be alive and well today.





Lets do the numbers. The Soviet armed forces destroyed 507 German divisions and 100 allied Axis divisions (according to Soviet figures). These latter included the pan-European Waffen SS whose largest numbers came from Belgium, Holland, Scandinavia, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland and a division from Spain.





Soviet military historians claim their forces destroyed 77,000 enemy planes, 48,000 enemy tanks and armored vehicles. The Red Army accounted for 75-80% of Axis casualties in World War II.





In the process, 1,710 Russian cities, 70,000 towns and villages, 31,850 factories and 1,974 collective farms were destroyed. Add 84,000 schools, 43,000 libraries and 65,000 km of railway.





The leading Russian military historian Dmitri Volkogonov revealed during the Gorbachev years that Russias total losses from 1941-1945 were 26.6 to 27 million dead. Ten million of them were Soviet soldiers dead or missing. Compare this to the total US dead in the European theater of 139,000.





No one likes to admit it was Stalin who defeated Nazi Germany. Stalin killed far more people than Adolf Hitler, including 6 million Ukrainians liquidated in the early 1930s and four million Muslims during the war. The Soviet gulag was grinding up victims well into the 1950s.





Today, seven decades later, we are barraged with films and reports about Germanys concentration camps while Stalins far more extensive and lethal gulag is ignored. Roosevelt spoke warmly of Stalin as Uncle Joe. Churchill kept silent.





When American, British and Canadian troops landed at Normandy in June, 1944, they met Germany forces that had been shattered on the Eastern Front and bled white. Under strength German units had almost no gasoline and were low on ammunition, tanks and artillery.





Equally important, the Allies had absolute air superiority over the Western European battlefields. Under strength German units could only move at night  when they could find fuel. By 1944, both Germany and Japan were crippled by a calamitous lack of fuel. Planes could not fly, tanks and trucks could not move, and warships were forced to stay in port.





The reason Germany had no air cover at Normandy was because most of the once potent Luftwaffe had been destroyed on the Eastern Front, its best pilots killed, and aviation fuel scarce. Germanys advanced ME262 jet fighter that should have swept the skies was grounded because of fuel shortages.





Had Germanys Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe not been largely destroyed in Russia, the Normandy D-Day invasion would likely have been pushed into the Channel. Britain may have been invaded well before June, 1944. Hitlers foolish notion that Germany and the British Empire should be allies saved the beaten British Army in France in 1940, allowing it to escape across the Channel while leaving its French allies in the lurch.





By the time the Allies established themselves in France, they outnumbered degraded German forces by 2:1. At least 67,000 German soldiers died in the Normandy operation. In a heartbreaking but little-known statistic of war, 6.7 million German horses were killed on both fronts.





Soviet Ukraine bore the brunt of the war, losing some 5 million soldiers and 6 million civilians  roughly half of total Soviet losses.





By April, 1944, Germany still maintained 214 divisions on the Eastern Front facing the advancing Soviet and just 60 divisions (mostly under strength, many only brigades in reality) on the Western Front.





At that time, both Roosevelt and Churchill lavished praise and thanks on the Soviet Union, admitting its gigantic effort in defeating Hitlers Germany. Today, however, we have chosen to forget who really won the war in Europe.





Just as much, we have totally ignored the huge Soviet contribution to the war in the Pacific Theater. The US Navy swept the seas of the Imperial Japanese Navy in a series of brilliant actions that rate among the greatest feats in naval history, but Japan still held large parts of China and Manchuria.





On 9 Aug, 1945, the Soviets unleashed one of the wars largest campaigns. Some 1.57 million Red Army troops in 89 divisions, backed by 27,000 guns, 5,500 tanks, and 3721 warplanes stormed south in a giant, 2,500-km long arc from Outer Mongolia to Korea. Soviet tank armies raced across desert, mountain ranges and forests in a giant pincer movement that enveloped Japans Manchurian-based 600,000-man, 25 division Kwantung Army.





In only eleven days of blitzkrieg, the once-feared Kwantung Army  Japans largest  was crushed. Soviet forces reached Port Arthur in northern China, much of Manchuria and right up to Koreas 38th parallel. Five years later, a proxy war between the US and Soviet Union would begin over divided Korea.





The shattering of the Kwantung army is believed by some historians to have contributed to Japans surrender. Other historians suggest that Americas use of two nuclear weapons against Japan was a hasty effort to make it surrender before the Red Army landed in Japan.





While making it plain that the western democracies have no kudos for Soviet leader Stalin, and disapprove of Vladimir Putins machination in Ukraine and Crimea, it should still have been possible to acknowledge the mighty Soviet contribution to our victory in World War II. At the very least, Russias valiant soldiers deserve a sharp salute from us. They defeated Nazi Germany and saved many of our men from death.




New Delhi, May 12 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hailed the role of the nurses on the occasion of the International Nurses Day and called them unsung heroes fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as the first line of defence.

Shah took to twitter and said, "On International Nurses Day, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of Covid-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts." Rahul Gandhi also hailed the effort of the nurses saying they are unsung heroes and they are working tirelessly amid the Covid-19 pandemic crisis to help save lives.

"Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid-19 virus. On International Nurses Day I thank and salute each and every one of them for their hard work and dedication," the Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad said in a tweet.

--IANS aks/dpb

--

Thanks and Regards

Anand Singh

Special Correspondent

IANS (Indo-Asian News Service)

Mobile: +91-9643464275

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Nick Offerman wears a white lab coat as he introduces the documentary "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics," but the faint smile that the actor - playing a nameless "scientist" - struggles to suppress betrays the lack of solemnity of this film. As goofy as it is good-natured, "Good Trip" aims to entertain, not educate, as it presents a star-studded parade of celebrity reminiscences about taking hallucinogenic drugs. Mostly, it succeeds.

The famous folks who have been brought in front of the camera by filmmaker Donick Cary, a writer and producer known for his work on "Late Night with David Letterman," "The Simpsons" and "Parks and Recreation," come mainly from the world of comedy, and include Sarah Silverman, Nick Kroll, Rob Corddry and Paul Scheer (with the last two playing each other, in re-enactments of their drug trips). Along with some amusing animations, such re-enactments include a scene featuring Brett Gelman as a talking acorn, in a story told by the late actress Carrie Fisher. Other subjects include musicians (Sting, A$AP Rocky and others); pioneering LSD researcher - and LSD user - Timothy Leary's son Zach Leary; doctor, author and advocate for alternative medicine Deepak Chopra; the late chef, author, raconteur and TV host Anthony Bourdain; and, in a perfunctory nod to the world of non-boldface names, psychiatrist Charles Grob.

It's Grob who talks about the potential of psychotropic drugs in medicine, especially as a treatment for depression and other mental illness. Sting seconds that notion, calling his overall experience with tripping - both the good and the bad kind - "valuable."

More often, however, the stories range from the crazy - if less than consistently hilarious, as Offerman promises at the top of the film - to the downright scary at times. Bourdain spins a wild tale in which a young woman drops dead, from drugs he and his friend provided. That unhappy ending is an outlier: For the most part, the stories in "Good Trip" end without incident or long-term damage. Overall, the gist of the film is that media coverage of hallucinogen use is often hysterical. A running gag is a satire of an "Afterschool Special" in which teens (played by Maya Erskine of "Pen15" and other actors) are shown taking drugs and immediately jumping out of the window.

In addition to all the anecdotes, the film offers a handful of tips for safe tripping too, some useful, and some not so useful:

Don't do acid and drive.

Control your set (i.e., the people you're tripping with) and setting.

Don't ever look in the mirror - or, alternatively, do look in the mirror.

And, as Marc Maron says he was once told, during a bad trip: Just hang in there, man. According to Maron, that's advice he still gives people today, although it sounds pretty banal.

Is tripping for everyone? Clearly not, says A$AP Rocky, who tells one of the film's funniest stories - and the one most inappropriate for a family newspaper. According to Ben Stiller (whose frequent comedy collaborator Mike Rosenstein is the film's producer) the actor has only ever tripped once, and that was more than enough. "Probably could have just watched this," he jokes.

- - -

Two and one-half stars. Rated TV-MA. Available via Netflix streaming. Contains lengthy discussion of drugs, a little sex talk, and one story about an overdose, with some strong language sprinkled in. 85 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.
The police in Kaduna State on Tuesday confirmed the killing of 15 persons by suspected bandits in Gonar Rogo village in Kajuru Local Government Area of the State.

The police, in a statement issued by the command spokesperson, Mohammed Jalige, vowed to apprehend the culprits.

Mr Jalige said the command received a distress call on Tuesday through the DPO Kajuru that a group of armed men on motorbikes invaded Gonar Rogo, a remote village in Kufana district, Kajuru LGA.

The attackers started shooting sporadically, attacking the villagers and in the process shot and killed 15 persons, and injured five others, he said.

He explained that, on the receipt of the information, the command promptly mobilised a combined team of PMF personnel, conventional police in synergy with the army and the local vigilante to the area.

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While we embarked on an intensive manhunt for the fleeing attackers, both the dead and the injured victims were evacuated to hospital, he said.

According to him, reinforcement has been drafted to the area for intensive combing and patrol, with a view to forestalling further breakdown of law and order or reprisal attacks, as well as the arrest of perpetrators.

The command calls on members of the public to continue to assist the police with useful information that could help in addressing these challenges and for the possible arrest of these criminals, Mr Jalige said. (NAN)
A fraudster who used photos of rescued animals and claimed them as her own to raise money has been reported to the police.

Emma Haswell, the owner of Brightside Farm Sanctuary in the south of Tasmania, issued a warning to the scammer requesting she stop stealing her photos.

Ms Haswell claims she has dozens of screenshots of animals the scammer is using to raise money.

Emma Haswell (pictured), the owner of Brightside Farm Sanctuary in Tasmania, issued a warning to the scammer requesting she stop stealing her photos.

'From the bottom of my heart and the animals too, thank you for all your kind donations,' a screenshot read.

'All of your donations do DIRECTLY to the animals and what they need so very much appreciated.'

A frustrated Ms Haswell took to Facebook to warn the woman to stop committing fraud.

'Attention, I know you follow our page and I know you take our animals photos and stories,' Ms Haswell wrote on Facebook.

'I know you change their names and pretend they are your rescues. I know you ask for donations for yourself.

'This is fraud. The police have been informed. Stop immediately.'

The scammer used a photo of Tipsy (pictured) asking for money to help look after it

The con artist insists in her posts that the money goes 'directly' to the animals and what they need

Ms Haswell said the woman would have scrolled back almost six years through the Brightside Farm Sanctuary Facebook page to find photos.

'The first one was Tipsy, which is a bizarre choice because she would be one of the best known dogs in Tasmania,' Ms Haswell told The Mercury.

'She changed her name to Lady Grace, but used my descriptions of taking her to the vet.

'There's even photos she's posted of Tipsy on my bed, claiming she's with her. It's very creepy.'

After reporting the distressing matter to police, Ms Haswell was told to issue a complaint on the Federal Government's cyber fraud website.

She claims she has an address for this 'real person living in Northern Tasmania' and some friends from Western Australia knew of her too.

Ms Haswell said it 'blows me away' that someone would look at the heartbreaking images of the rescue pets and think they could make money off them.
On Wednesday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon will be keynote speaker of the webinar Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris.

The Congressman and other cannabis and industry leaders will speak during a two-program, which begins 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). For tickets register here.

On Tuesday, House Democrats announced a new COVID-19 stimulus bill with a provision incorporating the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow banks to offer financial services to legal cannabis businesses The House passed the SAFE act in September but has been collecting dust in the Senate.

The inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act is recognition that cannabis businesses have been classified as essential," Blumenauer said. Prohibiting these businesses from banking and forcing cash-only transactions in the middle of a global health crisis is irresponsible and wrong.

NJ Cannabis Insider first reported last month that lawmakers were trying to include the bill in the next stimulus legislation. The argument was that many patients using legal marijuana were at high risk of being infected with the coronavirus and forcing them to deal in cash also put employees in jeopardy.

Along with the congressman, several industry power players will be taking part in webcast, produced by NJ Cannabis Insider in collaboration with Advance 360.

Heres the lineup of speakers and panels:

Keynote speaker

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR

As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Blumenauer has been a leading advocate for cannabis policy reform in the House of Representatives. He and Ed Perlmutter, D-CO, recently introduced the Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act in the House of Representatives.

Panel: Industry/Regulatory

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?

Steve Hoffman, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission

Hoffman is the chairman of the MCCC. He 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.

Katie Neer, Acreage Holdings

Neer is 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.

Chris Melillo, Curaleaf

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.

Paul Josephson, Duane Morris

Josephson, a partner at Duane Morris, has been counseling a wide range of highly regulated industries for the past seven years. He advises industry-leading multistate operators active in New York and across the country, investors and non-cannabis businesses concerning investments, licensing, regulations and public policy. As policy counsel for the N.J. Cannabis Industry Association, Josephson has been a key advocate reforming New Jerseys medical cannabis program, establishing a comprehensive framework for adult use regulation, educating public officials on cannabis regulation, and advising industry associations in other states.

Panel: Advocacy

Whats the state of cannabis and hemp reform among states in the U.S. in the time of COVID?

Karen OKeefe, Marijuana Policy Project

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.

Imani Dawson, Minorities for Medical Marijuana

is vice president and managing partner of MJM Strategy, a minority-led strategic consulting group for the cannabis industry; and the founder and president for Tribe Called Curl Media and as communications director for Minorities for Medical Marijuana.

Joy Beckerman, Hemp Ace International

Beckerman is 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.

After the live event, attendees will have an opportunity to continue the discussion and network in a closed forum, moderated by journalists covering the 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 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.
A 1-year-old girl and her father are recovering after both were shot while visiting with family on the front porch of a North Birmingham home.

Rylee Millers mother said shes thankful both werent hurt worse or killed, and she has advice for parents everywhere. Love your kids every day, Denise Miller said. Love on them every day because this could have gone so wrong in so many ways.

The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. Monday at a house in the 2300 block of 34th Avenue North. Miller said she was running some errands after work when a family member called her about 6:15 p.m. to say Rylee had been shot. I was like, What do you mean shot? Bullet shot? and she said, Yeah, she got shot in the leg.

Miller was in downtown Birmingham because she was about to pick up groceries for her mother at Publix. She was told to come to the house where the shooting happened. I jumped on the freeway, of course doing way above the speed limit, only to get there and the ambulance had already pulled off with her, she said. Police directed me around the barricades so I could get out and get back on the freeway. I rushed back to Childrens and I actually beat the ambulance there.

She got to see her daughter quickly. She was pretty calm about it. I could tell they had given her something in the ambulance because she was in real chill mode. She wasnt crying or anything, Miller said. She was actually doing better than me. She was a trooper. Shes a tough little cookie.

Rylee and father, Robert Caldwell, and other family members were visiting on the front porch when, police and relatives say, they were shot by the neighbor who lives across the street. His name is being withheld pending formal charges, but police say he suffers from mental issues.

He just opened fire, Miller said.

Caldwell was holding Rylee when the shots rang out. From my understanding, he yelled, Im hit, and he passed her to her granddad to get her out of harms way, Miller said. When he (the grandfather) took her in the house, he noticed she was shot also.

Caldwell was struck in the wrist and his left ankle. Rylee was hit in the right ankle. Both are in pain but are expected to recover.

After the shooting, the man retreated into his home where he held police at bay for more than four hours. Shortly before 11 p.m., however, he surrendered, said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin. The man was taken to the hospital for mental evaluation.

Miller said she was shocked by the ordeal. As a parent, Ive never been in this situation. You read about things like this, but you dont ever assume you will be on this side of the story, she said. It was heartbreaking. There was a lot of emotion yesterday. I was a complete wreck.

The bullet struck Rylee in the ankle. Miller said the bone is still intact, though the shot did touch Rylees growth plate. She will have to grow some more before they can determine the long-term impact of the injury. Theyre just going to let it heal from the inside out, she said.

Rylee is resting and could be discharged today. When the pain meds wear off, she is in a lot of pain. She doesnt want you to touch her leg. She doesnt want you to go near it, Miller said. But with the meds, shes pretty chill. Now shes sleeping.

Miller said she doesnt think her daughter understands what happened. Shes such a baby. I think she knows something is wrong, something is hurting, she said. But mommys here and Ive been trying to comfort her. They have been letting me hold her as long as I keep her legged propped up. She just wants Mom.

Rylee is the third child to be shot in the city in less than one month.

On April 26, 1-year-old Liberty Hall was wounded while she and her mother, Kathraine Hall, were driving in the Fountain Heights community. Hall said she had gone to a friends house to pick up money and was driving home when gunfire erupted.

Gunshots just started popping off in the area, Hall said. I was scared. I didnt know what to do.

Hall said Liberty was in her car seat in the backseat when the shooting happened. Evidence markers at the scene indicated dozens  as many as 60  shots were fired. They drove to their apartment complex where police and fire medics responded. A 20-year-old man has been charged in that shooting.

On Saturday night, a 7-year-old boy was shot, and his father killed, at their Wylam home. Birmingham police on Sunday identified the victim as Roderick Smith. He was 32, a father of three and lived in the Wylam home where he was slain. His 7-year-old son was also injured in the gunfire but is expected to be OK.

"My brother was sweet, loved and caring,'' said his sister, LaTonya Murray. He used to pop up at my house to make sure I was OK and see if I needed anything every chance he got and now some low-life dudes killed him and wounded his son.

The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the 1200 block of Gulfport Street. Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin said when officers arrived on the scene, they first found the 7-year-old boy had been shot. He was transported to Childrens of Alabama with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers then found Smith inside the house. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead on the scene. Family members said he was a hospital security guard. No arrests have been announced in the case.

Miller said there is no rhyme or reason to what happened to Rylee and her father. She wasnt in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was with family, with loved ones, enjoying herself, Miller said. I just think you never know.

I do honestly believe everything happens in the will of God and whatever His reason was for allowing this to happen, well all learn a lesson from it, she said. I just give God the glory because He protected us.
Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber has donated a consignment of PPE to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to help protect the doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel on the frontline in the fight against the Corona Virus.

PPEs have become essential for frontline healthcare workers all over the world and is in short supply in many parts of the world given the high demand for it. The items will go a long way to protect.

Ghanaian frontline healthcare workers who are doing all in their power to provide support and treatment to COVID Patients. The items donated include Surgical Masks, Disposable Gloves, Disposable Gowns, Disposable Coveralls, Protective Goggles, Shoe Covers, Head Covers, Face Shields, Croc Slippers, and Wellington Boots.

Receiving the items on behalf of the hospital, the Chief Executive Officer of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Daniel Asare, said the items could not have come at a more opportune time. He expressed the hospitals appreciation to the Upstream Petroleum Chamber and said the Infectious diseases unit would benefit immensely from the comprehensive range of PPE provided them.

Presenting the items, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Mr. David Ampofo said COVID19 has really turned every aspect of life on its head and requires the collaborative effort of all stakeholders to successfully reduce the incidence of the disease. He said the oil and gas industry is a leader in the area of health and safety and was happy to be able to support the government's efforts at combating COVID 19.

The membership of the Chamber includes Tullow Ghana Ltd, Kosmos Energy, Anardarko Ghana, Aker Energy Ghana Ltd, Vitol Upstream Ghana Ltd, ENI Ghana, MODEC Production Services Ghana JV, Subsea 7 Volta Contractors Ltd, AGM Petroleum Ghana, and Cirrus Energy Ltd.

The Upstream Chamber represents the shared interests of companies involved in oil and gas exploration and production as well as oil field services in the country.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during the 11th Democratic Party 2020 presidential debate in Washington on March 15, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Sanders Says Likelihood of Another Presidential Run Is Very, Very Slim

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this week said the odds of him launching a third presidential campaign are very, very slim after suspending his current campaign last month and endorsing Joe Biden.

Speaking at a live-streamed Washington Post event on May 11, Sanders was asked whether hed consider a third consecutive presidential run in 2024, but confirmed the chances of it happening are highly unlikely.

I think the likelihood is very, very slim at that, Sanders replied. I think next time around youre going to see another candidate carrying the progressive banner. I think its very, very unlikely that Ill ever be running for president again.

Sanders, who describes himself as a Democratic socialist, first ran for president in 2016. Despite entering the contest with far less recognition than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he gained a lot of support from young voters.

Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (L) and former Vice President Joe Biden, participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 25, 2020. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

He had initially been the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in February 2020 after winning the New Hampshire primary and gaining a landslide victory in the Nevada caucuses, but after Biden won a series of sweeping victories, the senator announced that he was suspending his campaign and acknowledged that the path toward victory is virtually impossible.

At 78, Sanders was the oldest candidate running for the presidential nomination this cycle, and, if he had eventually run, would have been the oldest president ever elected.

Elsewhere during the interview on Monday, Sanders said he hopes Biden will look to the Congressional Progressive Caucus to staff key members of his cabinet, if he is elected.
Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright says abuse 'still hits him hard'

A teenage boy has handed himself in to police after Ian Wright shared racist messages he received online.

The former Arsenal and England striker, 56, posted the Instagram messages to his 1.7 million Twitter followers yesterday.

He wrote: "I know I'm not meant to look at them but these messages still hit me so hard man. This is a child!!! This kid has a direct line into me & is able to send this without any worry."

The messages included a number of racist terms and one that read: "If I get corona I will cough in your face."

Yesterday Irish police said a "male adult teenager presented themselves voluntarily" at a police station in Ireland and was interviewed. A file is now being prepared for the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions, the force told Sky News.

The force said no official complaint had been made, but they are still looking into the matter. Instagram also confirmed it is investigating the account in question.

Wright received an outpouring of support from fans and fellow stars after revealing the messages, with his original post getting 20,000 retweets.

He thanked them in another post, which read: "Thanks everyone for your kind and supportive messages. I'm normally better at ignoring it, but that one got to me. There has to be consequences. Each one teach one!! Peace and love."

Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby condemned the abuse.

He said: "Ian Wright has put his head above the parapet again and I saw him on Match of the Day with Gary Lineker a few weeks ago talking about the racist abuse he suffered as a player.

"It shows racism is society's problem and unfortunately it has been on the rise. People have been staying at home but it doesn't stop them abusing people on social media and this is a shocking example of that."

Former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor was also sent an abusive and racist message on Instagram, with Kick It Out calling for those who targeted him and Wright to be punished.

The anti-racism group said in a statement: "We are appalled during this very trying time by the disgraceful abuse directed at Ian Wright and Gabriel Agbonlahor and their families. Racial hate speech and violent threats are totally unacceptable but have become sadly normalised on social media."
Go. C Personal Hand Sanitizer Available Now on Kickstarter

Kickstarter, the website turning ideas into a funded reality, will host the Go. C campaign. Interested backers can choose multiple tiers of support from as low as $19. All backers can receive up to 48% off on their Go. C sanitizer. For a preview of all pledge tiers, visit the Kickstarter page today.

Go. C arrives at a time of high demand. Most customers looking to buy small and portable hand sanitizing bottles are finding that these products are unavailable or sold far above the market value. But, even if a purchase is made for one of these products, the bottles end up in landfills after their one-time use. Go. C hopes to not only offer a suitable product to fill this growing demand but also provide one that is affordable and friendly to the environment.

In connection with the global outbreak of COVID-19 disease, all efforts at this time are focused on lessening the spread of this virus, therefore there is an urgent need for the constant use of antiseptic agents to minimize the risk of infecting. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Wellness & Innovations Labs recognizes that hand sanitizer has become more crucial and more important than ever for the public to keep on-hand. Not having a sanitizer with you when you are out in public threatens the health of you and those around you. Go. C provides customers a convenient and eco-friendly option to keep themselves and their surroundings safe.

Because Go. C is funded completely through backer support, it is essential that customers back this project and pledge their support before the project deadline. For a list of benefits, pledge tiers and rewards, and more information, please visit the Go. C Kickstarter page here.

Wellness Innovation Labs are a research and developmental center established to conceptualize and bring-to-market medical device prototypes for recreational consumer and medical use. This product is made in collaboration with HOKORD, an R&D company in Sunnyvale California, USA. For more information or to contact Wellness & Innovation, please visit

https://www.wilabsinc.com / https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wilabs/goc-personal-wearable-hand-sanitizer
With many businesses across the country closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a national conversation is taking place about industries and workers hit especially hard by work stoppages and how to help them. Unlike other industries, however, no federal bailout money is earmarked for pornography. Instead, the adult community, led by the industry's main trade association, the Free Speech Coalition, is coming together to take care of its own.

Established in 1991, the Free Speech Coalition is dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of pornography producers, distributors, retailers and performers - individuals who have long been the target of government-led obscenity crackdowns and antipornography crusades. It also oversees a network of national testing sites that screen performers for HIV and sexually transmitted infections to ensure performer safety, providing a model for how organized testing and tracing works.

These networks and connections are ideally suited for combating covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. On March 15, the day Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order instructing all nonessential businesses in the state to close, Michelle LeBlanc, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, called for an immediate voluntary production hold for all pornography filmed on set and launched a fundraising drive to financially assist performers and crews affected by the halt. With the support of individual donors and companies such as Pornhub, the organization has raised more than $144,000 for worker relief, with donations continuing to roll in.

In many respects, the adult community is better situated than other industries to undertake such an effort. For over a half-century, it has worked together to fight for its First Amendment rights and advocate for the health and safety of performers in the face of concerted government campaigns to censor and undermine it.

While demand for pornographic material has existed for centuries and the government has long attempted to censor material deemed obscene, it wasn't until the 1960s that a nascent pornography industry began to emerge.

By the late 1960s, sex was increasingly making its way into public view through a rapidly expanding sexual consumer culture and "adults only" media, such as nudie-cuties - plot-driven films featuring sensuous strip teases and naked women - art cinema and low-budget sexploitation films. As American society became more sexually permissive, the result of shifting sexual mores and norms borne out of 1960s countercultural movements, efforts to combat the "smut industry" and its allegedly destructive forces intensified.

Despite these growing concerns, little was actually known about pornography and its effects and what role, if any, government should play in regulating it.

It was against this backdrop that President Lyndon Johnson, in 1967, established a Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. The commission's mandate was not to go after pornography, but to move beyond popular rhetoric and analyze pornography in a social scientific manner to broaden the factual basis for future discussions and legislative recommendations.

In 1969, as the commission studied, a group of adult film producers, distributors and exhibitors founded the Adult Film Association of America, becoming what one of its founders cheekily described as a kind of "Nudie NATO." Concerned about ongoing harassment from law enforcement, including vice raids and arrests of theater owners, one of the group's first actions was to hire three leading First Amendment attorneys who put together a legal kit for members.

In 1970, the commission released its findings, which caused an immediate uproar.

The majority report found no evidence to suggest pornography was harmful, and called for the immediate repeal of all laws prohibiting adults from accessing sexual materials. The report's dissenters described it as a "Magna Carta for the pornographer," and the Senate voted overwhelmingly to reject it. Vice President Spiro Agnew, speaking on behalf of the administration, assured Americans that as long as Richard Nixon was president, "Main Street is not going to turn into Smut Alley."

The report provoked outrage because it flew in the face of decades of opinion on the dangers of pornography, stoked by pro-censorship groups that viewed such content as undermining the stability of both the family and the nation.

Despite the efforts of these groups, the 1972 release of "Deep Throat" moved hardcore pornography from the cultural margins into the mainstream. The film became a cause celebre and helped usher in the era of "porno chic." Yet, despite becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time, backlash continued to brew - in part because as more Americans became exposed to pornography more people were inspired to join the fight against it.

Empowered by the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Miller v. California, which affirmed the place of local community standards for judging whether material was obscene, numerous local jurisdictions tried to ban the film, which encouraged more people to see it. Feminists also began organizing in opposition to what they saw as pornography's message of female degradation, presaging the rise of an organized antipornography feminist movement several years later.

The pornography industry remained in legal and political crosshairs throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s. By the mid-1980s, adult video had overtaken film as pornography's dominant format, moving the viewing of adults-only fare from public theaters into the privacy of people's homes. To reflect these shifts, the Adult Film Association of America underwent several name changes, becoming the Adult Film and Video Association of America in 1986, before changing its name again to the Adult Video Association. In 1991 the organization merged with the Free Speech Legal Defense Fund to become the Free Speech Coalition.

Alongside these changes, battles over pornography increasingly shifted from the courtroom to the ballot box. By the late 1990s, federal obscenity cases began to dwindle, in large part because of the challenges of pursuing them in the Internet age, in which community standards - murky under the best of circumstances - became even more difficult to define due to the Internet's geographically unbounded and global reach.

Today, opponents increasingly position pornography as a public health crisis, and strategies to contain its allegedly harmful effects are focused in the legislative arena, such as Measure B, the 2012 ballot initiative in Los Angeles County, which made condoms mandatory for all adult films shot there, and Prop 60, a similar statewide measure, which, had it passed in 2016, would have allowed California residents to sue individual performers for not wearing condoms.

While some claim to be driven by public health concerns, others argue that such measures are an effort to destroy the industry by making it more difficult to work.

The organization of the adult industry itself has also changed dramatically over the past two decades. Due to various economic and technological shifts, including the 2008 economic crash, rampant piracy and the availability of free Internet porn, the traditional studio system has waned. By contrast, adult webcamming and clip sites - such as OnlyFans and ManyVids, which can be shot from the comfort of one's home and allow for personalized content, greater interactivity and performer control - have flourished. Today, porn stars are better thought of as what one researcher describes as "porntropreneurs," small-business owners who are responsible for shooting and marketing their own content, and building and maintaining their personal brands across a number of different social media platforms.

Given this decentralization, the Free Speech Coalition is doing what it can to keep performers safe and provide some economic relief to those most in need during this uncertain time. As Mike Stabile, the organization's director of communications, noted in an interview, the adult community has long relied on taking care of itself and has built an infrastructure to do so. "We are not necessarily going to be saved by some outside benevolent force."

Covid-19 may prove to be, in Stabile's words, a "real inflection point" for the industry, not only in terms of its response but also in positioning performers as small business owners and the real center of the industry.

If so, the Free Speech Coalition will probably continue to adapt, providing the resources and support these small businesses need to fend off industry critics and weather this uncertain time as safely as possible.

- - -

Comella is an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the author of "Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure" and co-editor of "New Views on Pornography: Sexuality, Politics, and the Law."
A 91-year-old woman has become a YouTube star after modelling her favourite quarantine outfits in backyard fashion shows.

Betty McDonald lives in Georgia, where businesses like gyms and bowling alleys have begun opening up, before shelter-in-place orders ended on April 30.

Betty McDonald has gone viral with fashion shows during social distancing in the USA. Photo: YouTube/ A Good Neighbor

Bettys advanced age makes her vulnerable to the virus, and staying home has dampened her spirits, particularly given her penchant for elaborate outfits and perfect presentation.

Ms. Betty is used to social interaction  going to church, the senior citizens centre, and Cracker Barrel with friends, caretaker and neighbour Kim Taylor tells Yahoo.

Not being able to dress up, she has been bored, so I suggested doing a fashion show outside.

That was music to my ears, Betty tells Yahoo. After a few twirls in her Albany yard wearing her fanciest garb, Taylor decided to introduce her to YouTube.

In two videos posted to Kim Taylors YouTube channel, Betty shows off a variety of Goodwill outfits from her three closets.

The first is a black-and-white jacket with a patterned skirt, the second a blue hat with jewelled hearts and a red blouse with a white blazer, plus chunky and glittery jewellery to finish it off.

In a touching twist, the fashion shows are actually a tribute to her husband John Henry McDonald who died in 2007 after serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. The couple of 58 years met at a USO dance at Tyndall Air Force in Panama City, Florida.

We danced, we dated, and four months later, we married, Betty explains in an April 22 video, adding the pair loved dressing up for outings to the movie theatre and dance club.

He was my best friend and he was my personal chef, she says in the video. This is for you, dear John. God bless.

To preserve her energy, Betty and Kim film each outfit on separate days, then Kim edits and posts them on YouTube. Reading the positive comments has invigorated Betty, who looks forward to dictating each reply as Taylor types on her laptop.

Story continues

The fashion shows have distracted the 91-year-old from worrying about the coronavirus pandemic, says Taylor.

She is a wonderful lady and when she does her fashion shows, the cares of the world fade away.

She may be an internet sensation, but Betty is still somewhat tech illiterate, with Kim doing the legwork when it comes to uploading the fabulous clips.

She asks me, Whats on YouTube? today, says Kim, saying she is teaching Betty how to send text messages on her flip phone, however, she doesnt have an internet connection.

Now, Ms. Betty calls me her producer, she says. I joke that when shes famous, well need [professional] camera equipment.

I feel like a natural star, the 91-year-old quips.

One of McDonalds childhood dreams is to ride in a convertible car, so a test drive might be in their future, although Kim will take the wheel  no true star can drive to their own red carpet after all.

I will sit in the back and wave, says McDonald.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller embarked on what he called an adventure Monday, taking to the air in a vintage airplane to bless churches across San Antonio.

Moments before takeoff, he said all of the 170 parishes in the diocese would reopen for daily Mass on May 19.

It is with great joy that I am able to restore this sacrament of life, our local church  I do so aware of the care that this requires and the ongoing danger of COVID-19 infection, Garcia-Siller said at the Stinson airport Monday, before boarding a bright yellow 1942 SNJ-4 aircraft.

Now Playing: San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller flies over The University of Incarnate Word chapel in a vintage 1942 SNJ Texan airplane of the Tex Hill Wing of the Commemorative Air Force on May 11, 2020. Video: Jordan McMorrough, San Antonio Archdiocese

The reopening is scheduled for the day after Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to permit the reopening of gyms, and a 50 percent occupancy at restaurants. Sunday liturgies will also open to the public the weekend of May 23, Garcia-Siller said, the Feast of the Assension weekend.

Church services have been shut down for weeks, with many churches opting to live stream services amid the pandemic.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

After his announcement before a few dozen locals, Garcia-Siller went on a two-hour flyover to bless San Antonians in a socially distanced way - from 1,000 feet up.

Residents across the city might have heard a clamorous noise and gazed out their windows to see a bright yellow plane in the sky. And if they had binoculars, they mightve been able to make out the flying archbishop.

He rode in the back of Ole Yeller, a World War II-era training plane. The adventures name? Mission Hope.

During the flyover, the archbishop prayed for an end to the suffering brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ole Yeller is a great, great diplomat to make people happy. Its an airplane, its yellow, its loud and everybody notices it when it flies around. It also helps us tell American history, said Nathan Gershon, spokesman for the Tex Hill Wing, the local chapter of the Commemorative Air Force.

The Tex Hill Wing owns the antique plane and uses it to help train a local group of cadets who are interested in pursuing a career in flying. Ole Yeller was used to train Navy pilots in World War II, Gershon said. In Hangar 3, where the archbishop took off, were wings and other parts of another historic plane that the Tex Hill Wing is assembling.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio archbishop to fly above the city and offer a COVID-19 blessing

The Air Force Thunderbirds are expected to take a flyover here at 1:20 pm Wednesday to honor healthcare workers, first responders, and other people on the front lines of the pandemic.

Darren Bond, the Tex Hill Wing leader and a Southwest Airlines captain, flew the archbishop over 32 designated San Antonio landmarks, including churches, universities and nursing homes.

Some of the churches rang their bells as he flew by. The Catholic Charities childrens home, St. P-Js, stretched out a large heart banner as he flew across. St. Rose of Lima Church on the far West Side parked cars in the shape of a cross for him.

The archbishop landed safely and on time as a few dozen onlookers applauded his return.

He and Bond said hundreds congregated to watch the archbishop fly above.

Mission Hope, Gershon said to the smiling archbishop. Is complete.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. To read more from Silvia, become a subscriber. sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 22:03:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JOHANNESBURG, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven people have been killed in a vehicle crash in Durban on Tuesday morning, according to paramedics.

One person who sustained very serious injuries was admitted to a nearby hospital.

Garrith Jamieson of Rescue Care paramedics told Xinhua that when paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident, which is on the M19 Umgeni interchange, they found eight people trapped inside the wreckage.

"It's not clear where they were travelling to," said Jamieson.

He said at this stage, the cause of the accident remains unclear. Police are investigating the matter.

Last month, the transport minister noted a huge reduction in road accidents since nationwide lockdown measures were imposed at the end of March. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan has sent humanitarian aid to the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation in the form of domestic goods, Trend reports with reference to TASS news agency.

The cargo included vegetables, beverages, textiles and construction materials that were manufactured by Turkmenistan's industrial enterprises, as well as commercial, chemical and gas sectors.

Humanitarian aid was sent with a total capacity of 1,200 tons. Part of these goods will be transferred to organizations that provide social support to citizens with coronavirus, and the other part to medical institutions.

The cargo was supposed to arrive in the Astrakhan region earlier, before Victory Day, but was delayed due to bad weather.

Earlier, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed an order on the donation of food and various goods produced in the country to Russia.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
The backpedaling might have something to do with the fact that the USPS has been rated America's favorite federal agency every year Gallup has included it in its survey of voter sentiment on federal institutions. Or perhaps, not being one for figures, there was someone who explained how important a role USPS plays in rural towns across the country  many of which Trump carried in 2016 and will need to win again in November.

Much like the president's relationship with the truth, his relationship with the United States Postal Service is complicated. In a freewheeling bill signing ceremony , he said, "The Postal Service is a joke because they're handing out packages for Amazon and other Internet companies." Three hours later, perhaps at the urging of his aides, Trump tweeted : "I will never let our Post Office fail."

Confusion about injecting toxins aside, his recent outburst against the U.S. Postal Service, combined with his party's refusal to provide USPS much-needed funds in recent COVID-19 relief legislation, is a true disaster. The U.S. Postal Service provides a vital lifeline for many across America, particularly for rural communities. The Republican Party's inability to understand this vital lifeline does not bode well for our country.

I have given up trying to decipher whether the words coming out of the president's mouth have any semblance of truth  or even resemble his actual position on an issue. Four years into Donald Trump's presidency, we must resign ourselves to the fact that what he says one minute can change  or be denied entirely  the next. After all, this is a man who said doctors could look into injecting people with disinfectants to treat coronavirus only to turn around and say he was being "sarcastic."

Being in the midst of a pandemic, as we are, and with an election looming, reliable mail service will enable Americans across the country to remain safe at home while still participating in democracy come November.

The president has acknowledged, as recently as April 5, that rural America has an internet accessibility problem. This likely contributes to the fact that 18 percent of Americans pay their bills by mail  a not insignificant portion of the population, and a larger group than those who pay bills via online banking.

There are reasons beyond convenience to support a well-funded and competently managed national postal service  reliable mail service quite literally saves lives. With fewer and fewer health care facilities in rural communities, 20 percent of Americans rely on the mail system to receive prescription medications. In 2019 alone, the USPS delivered 1.2 billion prescriptions, including nearly 100 percent of the prescriptions ordered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

There are other health benefits to having access to the USPS. Being in the midst of a pandemic, as we are, and with an election looming, reliable mail service will enable Americans across the country to remain safe at home while still participating in democracy come November. USPS has a longstanding policy of delivering ballots even without correct postage  neither snow nor rain keeps our nation's hardworking postal workers from ensuring the voices of the public are heard.

But this can only continue to happen if Trump and congressional Republicans allow it to happen, which is why it is so concerning that the integrity of the USPS seems wholly reliant on the president's ever-changing mood.

If President Trump is concerned with public health, why not empower people to stay home? Encouraging vote-by-mail and shoring up the USPS so it can fulfill their critical role during a presidential election would go a long way in achieving this end. (We saw a preview of in-person voting during a pandemic with the Wisconsin primary.) And if he is concerned with voter fraud (which there is scant evidence to justify), he might consider asking his party to pass the not one, not two, but three election security bills they rejected last year.

Of course, we could take Trump at his word: he's scared increased vote-by-mail means he will lose. And he's willing to trade the wellness of those who rely on the mail for prescription medicine, families and small businesses that use the mail to pay bills, and the public health of an entire country to stop that from happening. Normally, I would be disinclined to take anything he says at face value, but the president is nothing if not self-serving  so this time, I'll make an exception.

Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013-2019 and is co-founder of the One Country Project.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Toyota on Tuesday said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in its annual operating profit this fiscal year as it suffers "significant" fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese auto giant declined to give a net profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2021 but noted that the impact of the crisis on its business was "wide-ranging, significant and serious". The company now expects an annual operating profit of 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion), down 79.5 percent from the 2.44 trillion yen logged in the past year to March. Toyota forecast a near-20 percent drop in annual sales to 24 trillion yen, compared with 29.93 trillion yen achieved in the past fiscal year. The company's net profit for the past year to March came to 2.076 trillion yen, up 10.3 percent on the year. "As for the global economy going forward, there is concern that there will be a sharp decline in many countries and regions due to the impact of COVID-19," Toyota said in a statement. "While we assume that the global automobile market as a whole will gradually recover after bottoming out during April and June of 2020... the impact of COVID-19 is wide-ranging, significant and serious, and it is expected that weakness will continue for the time being." Toyota has said it expects its business to suffer a 'wide-ranging, significant and serious' hit because of the coronavirus pandemic
(Natural News) The U.S. economy is currently in a precarious situation, and what states will do next can either make it or break it.

According to Mark Zandi, the chief economist of global financial intelligence firm Moodys Analytics, many states are taking a huge risk by reopening from the lockdown. A new outbreak, he warns, can tank the economy further.

If we get a second wave, it will be a depression, he said on CNBCs Trading Nation. We may not shut down again, but certainly it will scare people and spook people and weigh on the economy.

In particular, 12 months or more of double-digit unemployment comprises a depression, according to Zandi.

Employment falls sharply across all industries

The latest report from the Department of Labor showed that the jobless rate for April rose to 14.7 percent, with non-farm payroll (a statistic that represents the number of people employed in the U.S.) dropping by 20.5 million.

While the job crunch affected all broad business sectors, the report indicates that women, high-school dropouts and Hispanics were particularly affected. (Related: Coronavirus pushes unemployment to highest levels since the Great Depression.)

Economists have said that while Aprils job loss data will be worst during the pandemic, its a long road to recovery. Many predict that it could take months for the labor market to start adding jobs, and it would take years to fully replace jobs lost in the pandemic.

Zandi predicts that the job market will start to rebound by Memorial Day weekend, and gains will be felt through the summer into early fall  provided the U.S. does not have a resurgence of cases.

Despite the record job loss figures, Wall Streets three major indexes posted gains last week.

The market is casting a pretty high probability of a V-shaped shaped recovery, he added. The horizon may be a little short term: Next month, the month after, the month after that.

He also noted that both consumers and businesses are on edge, given the uncertainty around the virus and its potential to further impact lives.

Were going to see the market reevaluate things at some point, Zandi said.

No other choice but to reopen

But for many businesses, waiting for restrictions to be lifted isnt an option they can afford, as they grapple with falling behind on rent, letting employees go and their community down.

In interviews with the Epoch Times, business owners who flouted the lockdown rules said that they had no other choice, as the economic fallout from the lockdown meant they were fighting for survival. Supporters, including businesses that can stay afloat after the lockdown, were sympathetic, saying they understood the pressures the owners were facing.

Twenty-six states have already allowed some businesses to reopen: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

For many who flout the measures, they agreed the restrictions are effective; however, they said that their lives cant continue without them getting income. In fact, many of these businesses are eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a loan designed to provide small businesses with incentives for keeping their workers. (Related: Can you say fraud? Large companies stepping in to take coronavirus relief loans meant for SMALL businesses.)

I have not heard of a single business owner that I know or work with that has actually received any PPP money, said small-business owner Chuck Roulet, speaking to the Epoch Times via email. No PPP money and no income means they have to reopen.

We are more concerned about our financial futures than the virus  that is how I feel, and it is how my small-business owner clients feel as well.

Pandemic.news has more on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

WSJ.com

TheEpochTimes.com

BusinessInsider.com


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At least eight candidates for a coronavirus vaccine are in the clinical development stage, and some could be ready as early as the late fall, Anthony Fauci, the US top infectious disease expert, has told senators.

The [National Institutes of Health] has been collaborating with a number of pharmaceutical companies at various stages of development, Mr Fauci said, in testimony on Tuesday.

The White House infectious disease guru also suggested that his previous projection that it would take at least a year to 18 months before a vaccine was ready does not appear to be accurate.

The NIH trial moved very quickly, Mr Fauci said.

On January 10 the sequence was know. On [11 January] the Vaccine Research Centre met and developed a plan. On the 14th of January, we officially started the vaccine development. Sixty-two days later, we are now in phase one clinical trial with the two doses already fully enrolled. The phase one will directly go into phase two, three in late spring and early summer. And if we are successful, we hope to know that in the late fall, and early winter, Mr Fauci said.

Not all of the eight candidates are likely to succeed, he added.

We have many candidates that hope to have multiple winners. In other words, its multiple shots on goal. This will be important, because this will be good for global availability, if we have more than one successful candidate, he said.

The Trump administration is attempting to fast-track the development and production of a vaccine for the Covid-19 that would give the US the ability to inoculate 300m people by January 2021.

The administration is calling the Manhattan Project-style vaccination programme Operation Warp Speed, Bloomberg News reported in April, and is hoping to cut the time before rolling out an effective vaccine to the masses by as many as eight months.

As part of that plan, the administration is moving ahead with production of the vaccines at risk, meaning that companies will be manufacturing large quantities of doses before scientists know for certain whether theyre effective.

Well be investing considerable resources in developing doses, even before we know any given candidate or candidates work, Mr Fauci said. I must warn that theres also the possibility of negative consequences, where certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection, he said.

The general public will not receive doses of any ineffective or harmful vaccines.

The administration is betting that such waste is a relatively small price to pay in order to speed the mass production process, get the American public inoculated much more quickly, and thus begin shedding many of the social distancing restrictions that have crippled the US economy.

The vaccine programme coordinates and streamlines the efforts of dozens of pharmaceutical companies, the US departments of Defence and Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Food and Drug Administration. It would divert the monetary risk of failed vaccine prototypes from drug companies to taxpayers, and is likely to cost billions of dollars, per reporting by multiple news outlets.
(Photo : Screenshot from: The Elon Musk Facebook Account)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has decided to reopen the company's California assembly plant while ignoring lockdown orders implemented by the government. He also offered to be arrested and told law enforcement where they can find him.





Read Also: Doctors Say Inflammation Might be the Root of COVID-19 Along with Other Diseases Such as Cancer and Dementia





A lawsuit has been filed

Musk tweeted saying that "Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Alameda County on Saturday, May 9, in federal court right in the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that the county is violating the Fourteenth Amendment, which is the due process clauses and equal protection, and asked the court to give the company the ability to continue operating despite local orders.

Musk also said in a tweet that he does not believe country health officials have the authority to keep Tesla closed. And before the court could actually rule, Musk took matters into his own hands.

According to Wired's report, "California on Friday began to ease shelter-in-place restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Bay Area has maintained many of its restrictions. In a statement, Alameda County Public Health Department spokesperson Neetu Balram said the department was aware Tesla had restarted production, but that it hoped the company would comply with public health orders "without further enforcement measures." Balram said Tesla was due to submit a site-specific plan to reopen on Monday."

Fremont's police department is in charge of enforcing shelter-in-place orders. Geneva Bosques, the spokesperson, has said that the department is aware of reports that Tesla has started to reopen the factory, bit also added in the statement that "We are not at the factory."

Read Also: [WATCH] COVID-19: Video Shows Particles From Cough Can Reach 12 Feet, Social Distancing Of 6 Feet Not Enough, Experts Say





Some local officials have sympathized with Musk

"Musk has been skeptical of the risks of COVID-19 and critical of California officials' response. In March he tweeted that 'coronavirus panic is dumb' and predicted that US cases would 'negligible' by the end of April. (They were not.) On an earnings call with investors last month, he called the state and local shelter-in-place orders 'fascist,'" Wired added.

However, some local officials sympathized with Musk, which includes Fremont Mayor Lily Mei. The Mayor wrote in a statement over the weekend that the city encourages the county to try and engage with their local business to come up with acceptable guidelines when it comes to reopening their local economy.

Almeda County has already reported at least 2,101 cases of COVID-19 along with 71 deaths. Tesla published a plan on Saturday to reopen the factory safely plus some procedures in increased shift changes and cleaning to maintain social distancing.

Read Also: NASA's X-37B Space Mission Will Be Joined By Space Force's Solar Power Transmission Test; Microwave Energy Will Be Converted Into Electricity

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Russian Emergency Situation worker attends the scene of a fire at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12, 2020. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Russia Examines Ventilator Type Sent to US After Fires Kill 6

MOSCOWMoscow has begun investigating the safety of a Russian-made medical ventilator, some of which have been sent to the United States, after six people died in hospital fires reported to involve two such machines.

Five people died at Saint Georges Hospital in St Petersburg on Tuesdayincluding four in a CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus intensive care unit, according to a local lawyer. A source told the TASS news agency that the blaze erupted after a ventilatorused to help severely ill COVID-19 patients breatheburst into flames in the ward.

A similar firecaused by the same model of ventilator, according to a law enforcement source speaking to TASSkilled one person in a hospital in Moscow on Saturday.

Russian Emergency Situation workers attend the scene of a fire at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12, 2020. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Roszdravnadzor, Russias healthcare watchdog, said it would check the quality and safety of the ventilators in the two hospitals, and the St Petersburg hospital said it would stop using the model in question for now. The manufacturer urged people to avoid rushing to conclusions.

The model in question, the Aventa-M, was among those sent to the United States from Russia at the start of April to help it cope with the pandemic caused by the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. It is made by a firm that is under U.S. sanctions.

The Ural Instrument Engineering Plant (UPZ) in Chelyabinsk, 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Moscow, confirmed that the Aventa-M is one of its products and had been supplied to Saint Georges Hospital.

We have no official data about which devices were installed in the zone of the (St Petersburg) fire, a spokeswoman added.

Russia is relatively well stocked with ventilators, and has increased domestic production since the virus outbreak.

Data experts and some medics say many machines in use outside Russias big cities are oldbut TASS said the ventilator in St Petersburg was new and had been installed this month.

Radio-Electronic Technologies Concern (KRET), which controls UPZ, said its ventilators had passed all the necessary tests and had been used by medical facilities in Russia since 2012 without any safety concerns.

Were looking at different scenarios: the state of the (electricity) network, the medical institutions engineering infrastructure, the medical equipment, and compliance with fire safety rules, it said in a statement.

We call on the media and other interested parties not to rush to conclusions and wait for the results of official checks.

A Russian Emergency Situation worker disinfects a fire department car near the scene of a fire at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12, 2020. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

U.S. firms and nationals have been barred from doing business with KRET since July 2014.

Russia has reported 232,243 cases of the virus and 2,116 deaths.

By Andrew Osborn and Alexander Marrow

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report
Thousands of new coronavirus infections are being reported daily, many of them job-related, even as President Donald Trump urges people to return to work.

There are plenty of new infections outside the workplace, including in nursing homes, and among retired and unemployed people. Yet all of the 15 U.S. counties with the highest per capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5 are homes to meatpacking and poultry-processing plants or state prisons, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

Theres been a spike of new infections among construction workers in Austin, Texas, where that sector recently returned to work. Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of Trumps valets and Vice President Mike Pences press secretary.

Here are some of APs top stories Tuesday on the worlds coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.

WHATS HAPPENING TODAY:

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, warned Congress Tuesday that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus pandemic, it will bring needless suffering and death. Fauci was among the experts who testified before a Senate panel.

 As the pandemic stretches on, a new type of internet matchmaking is helping hospitals get scarce supplies. Numerous online platforms and charity projects have popped up to match hospitals in need with exchanges, loans or donations of personal protective equipment, ventilators and even doctors.

 Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is leading a nationwide crackdown on people seeking to use the virus to perpetrate frauds, from selling counterfeit products to fake cures. It has opened over 370 cases and so far arrested 11 people in an effort it calls Operation Stolen Promise.

 Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

 The economic paralysis caused by the coronavirus led in April to the steepest month-to-month fall in U.S. consumer prices since the 2008 financial crisis  a 0.8% drop that was driven by a plunge in gasoline prices. On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package that would provide nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, hazard pay for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals. Top GOP senators flatly rejected the House bill.

___

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

Here are the symptoms of the virus compared with the common flu.

One of the best ways to prevent spread of the virus is washing your hands with soap and water. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends first washing with warm or cold water and then lathering soap for 20 seconds to get it on the backs of hands, between fingers and under fingernails before rinsing off.

You should wash your phone, too. Heres how.

TRACKING THE VIRUS: Drill down and zoom in at the individual county level, and you can access numbers that will show you the situation where you are, and where loved ones or people youre worried about live.

___

ONE NUMBER:

 5: A fire at St. George Hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, killed five coronavirus patients. Emergency officials said all five had been put on ventilators. Russia has reported more than 220,000 confirmed cases and 2,009 deaths  but international health experts say those numbers undercount the countrys outbreak.

IN OTHER NEWS:

 RECLINER DJs: Retirees in multiple states have become volunteer DJs for a new online radio hour known as Radio Recliner. The 60-minute show began airing last month, starting with retirees in middle Tennessee, recording from their recliners while quarantined.

 HOME OFFICES TO STAY: When workers around the world eventually return to their desks, theyll find many changes due to the pandemic. For a start, fewer people will go back to their offices as the coronavirus crisis makes working from home more accepted, health concerns linger and companies weigh rent savings and productivity benefits.

___

Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
The head of Dublin City Council (DCC) says the local authority will deal with legal challenges brought against emergency Covid-19 measures.

Footpaths have been widened and more cycle tracks added in the capital while there are proposals to temporarily close College Green and ban cars from certain areas after 11am.

Chief executive of DCC, Owen Keegan, told councillors last night that the measures are needed for social distancing.

"It is important that we are sensitive to the needs of businesses," said Mr Keegan.

"We believe that there are alternative, satisfactory loading facilities but we could be a bit more proactive in making sure that they are aware of those.

"There has been one or two legal challenges, I intend that we deal with those. These are being put in as emergency measures."

The Irish Parking Association (IPA) has accused DCC of using the Covid-19 pandemic to ram through changes which it has described as anti-business.

Keith Gavin, chairperson of the IPA, says it will do serious damage to businesses that are already struggling.

"We find it really hard to believe that the council are using the cover of the pandemic to ram through these proposals that they have long tried for," said Mr Gavin.

"These measures are simply anti-car and anti-business."

Mr Keegan says there has been demand from the public for the changes.

"I think it's appropriate when the roadspace isn't being used that we respond to it.

"We expect that there will be an ongoing requirement for social distancing so these are temporary but temporary could persist for quite a long time."
On May 13, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court is set to hold its final hearing in the appeal of ethnic Uzbek human rights activist Azimjan Askarov against his life sentence.

Askarov, who also contributed to independent news websites, has been behind bars for nearly 10 years on what human rights and media-freedom watchdogs described as trumped-up charges.

Askarov, who turns 69 this month, has insisted that his case is politically motivated.

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, human rights defenders reiterated their calls for the activist's release, saying his health has dramatically deteriorated.

Human Rights Watch said Askarov "suffers from cardiac and respiratory conditions and has not received appropriate medical attention in prison," and warned that the inmate was at high risk of contracting COVID-19, a disease that disproportionately affects older people and individuals with underlying illnesses.

"There is also one more compelling reason: It is the right and just thing to do," the New York-based watchdog added, saying Askarov was sentenced to life following "a deeply flawed trial and credible allegations of torture which were never investigated."

Prominent Kyrgyz rights activist Tolekan Ismailova said it was "heartbreaking to see him -- at high risk due to his declining health and having endured torture -- losing hope for a fair trial and release."

In 2010, a Kyrgyz court sentenced Askarov to life in prison after finding him guilty of creating a mass disturbance and involvement in the murder of a police officer during deadly ethnic clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.

More than 450 people, mainly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed and tens of thousands more were displaced during the violence.

The UN Human Rights Committee has found that Askarov was arbitrarily detained, denied a fair trial, and tortured, and ruled the activist should be released immediately and his conviction quashed.

However, Askarovs conviction was upheld after several appeals.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister



Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the massive economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will provide a big support to various sections of the society including youth and farmers.

In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, the prime minister has announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore in his televised address to the nation.

"AtmanirbharBharat banana ki aur bada kadam badhate hue PM Shri @narendramodi ne Rs 20 lakh crore ke vishesh aarthik package ki ghoshna ki hai, jiske liye me unka hardik abhinandnan karta hun". (This is another major step to make India self-reliant by announcing a package of Rs 20 lakh crore for which I congratulate Narendra Modi," Chouhan tweeted.

"This package will give youth, farmers and all sections of the society #Sambal (support). The country will emerge more powerful than earlier," he said.

The move has clearly shown to the world that India is not only capable of meeting all challenges but also has a capable roadmap to fight it, he said.

"On the one hand systems in large and powerful countries are getting demolished, while on the other hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a package of Rs 20 lakh crore to give message to the world that India is not only ready to face all challenges but it also has an powerful roadmap to fight it," Chouhan added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Federal guidelines do not specify how much of the countys CARES Act funding can be allocated to the county, municipalities or other types of organizations.

That is your call, Simonson told commissioners. There is no guidance; there is no right or wrong answer.

Peters said after the meeting that it could be a couple of weeks until the county determines how much CARES Act funding will be made available for nonprofits and businesses.

There is talk in the U.S. Congress about either establishing a new COVID-19 relief package or modifying the existing one to allow for funds to be used by government entities to cover losses in revenue, Peters said.

The Tulsa County fairgrounds, for example, has lost significant revenue due to the cancellation of events, Peters noted.

So what would happen is wed probably be slow in putting out how much money is going for nonprofits and how much money is going for businesses for a couple of weeks, anyway, until the decision is made in D.C., Peters said.

Commissioner Karen Keith said she would like to focus on using the CARES funding to shore up small businesses.
Make technicians mobile and managers data-driven. Our commitment is to serve these maintenance workers as they lead the charge molding the post-COVID world around us.

UpKeep, the award-winning platform for maintenance and operations teams, today announced it raised $36M in Series B funding. UpKeep is transforming the way frontline and deskless technicians manage their work and collaborate by replacing tedious paperwork and outdated systems with an easy-to-use mobile app. The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from existing investors Emergence Capital, Battery Ventures, Y Combinator, Mucker Capital, and Fundersclub.

Since UpKeeps Series A in 2018, the company has continued to see rapid growth across users and its customer base:



10 million work orders have been created on the UpKeep app

400,000+ users

2,000+ paying businesses

Ranked the #1 Maintenance Management Software by Capterra/Gartner and G2 based 1520+ 5-star reviews

UpKeep customers span 61 countries and range from local small businesses to large corporations, including many essential businesses such as manufacturing plants, hospitals, and wastewater treatment facilities

Notable brands include Unilever, Siemens, DHL, Thermo Fisher Scientific, McDonalds and Jet.com

206% revenue growth last year

At UpKeep, we know maintenance and facility managers are typically only thought of when something at a facility is broken so badly that its out of commission, said Ryan Chan, UpKeep founder and CEO. The truth is, maintenance and facility workers are part of the backbone of every industry, in every country in the world. They make a huge impact on all of our lives, every single day, whether were aware of it or not - and thats never been more apparent than now as they work on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Today, and every day, our commitment is to serve these maintenance workers as they lead the charge molding the post-COVID world around us.

COVID-19 is bringing the importance of maintenance into the spotlight, underscoring UpKeeps mission. We are incredibly proud to support Ryan and his team at this critical time as they build out their platform and expedite offerings to help their customers navigate post-pandemic realities, said Deven Parekh, Managing Director at Insight Partners. We believe UpKeep will continue to be instrumental to the industries and people that keep our world safe and running.

As a software solution designed with the technician at the forefront, UpKeep is now focusing on innovation to empower technicians to keep their facilities safe and help managers retain business in a changing global health and economic climate. Particularly, Customer Success Managers at UpKeep are uploading critical resources, like maintenance and sanitation checklists, to customers UpKeep accounts, at no additional cost.

When we first met Ryan, we were impressed by his passion for changing the lives of deskless workers in maintenance and operations functions. He and the rest of the UpKeep team are, for the first time, bringing great software to this important part of the workforce, said Kevin Spain, Founding General Partner at Emergence Capital. We are proud of UpKeep for the incredible growth they've experienced so far and are excited about what this round will allow them to build for their customers.

The financing allows UpKeep to continue to provide support for essential maintenance workers worldwide, as well as invest in their teams, communities, and products to scale operations.

Clint Jantz, a Clinical Engineer at a hospital in Colorado shared how UpKeep has been instrumental in tracking essential equipment during uncertain times: At the end of the day, it's about our patient care. He explains that with UpKeep, If I have a director come in and ask me how many IV pumps we have, I can pull those answers up quickly and have documentation for him on UpKeep.

Jantz captured the necessity of maintenance software for the essential workforce: We utilize UpKeeps software to make sure that we can mitigate issues prior to them becoming fires. And that has been great, and that's exactly what a CMMS is supposed to do, help us mitigate the issues that are going to arise."

For the past decade, maintenance and facility managers and field workers have been largely overlooked by technology innovation, says UpKeeps Founder, Ryan Chan. The legacy technologies available to this industry have been outdated, clunky, and inconvenient-to-use web applications that do not translate to mobile.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

About UpKeep:

Founded in 2014 by Ryan Chan (Forbes 30 Under 30), UpKeep is unlocking the potential of maintenance and facilities teams by offering them the simplest and smartest way to manage their work and collaborate, all from their pocket. Unlike some clunky, legacy software vendors and DIY solutions, UpKeep was built to give technicians everything they need to manage their work on-the-go while empowering managers with the insights to make better decisions, faster. UpKeep is backed by leading investors, including Insight Partners, Emergence Capital, Battery Ventures, Y Combinator, Mucker Capital, and Fundersclub. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with offices in San Francisco, the UK, and Canada.

UpKeep is the #1 Maintenance Management Software by Capterra/Gartner and G2, with 1,360+ positive reviews, named #1 Facility Management Solution By GetApp, and awarded Top 100 Fastest-Growing Products by G2.

UpKeep is free for anyone to use, available in the Apple App Store or Google Play. Get a personalized demo today!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

About Insight Partners:

Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insights mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit http://www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.
TORRINGTON  An array of solar panels soon may be part of the East Pearl Road landscape. The project, developed by Verogy, a Hartford-based firm that works with the solar energy industry, is in the planning stages with an application to the Connecticut Siting Council.

Before the company applies for siting council approval, however, its principals want the public to be aware of what theyre doing. While the siting council has jurisdiction and makes final approval over projects like Verogys Torrington Solar One, the company is working closely with city leaders in the projects development.

Torrington City Planner Martin Connor is fully aware of Verogys plans.

They havent made a formal application to the siting council yet, Connor said. We wouldnt get anything from them, any formal notification, until they file an application. Its in the talking stages now. I know theyve done some reaching out to the neighbors, but its not officially a project until they file with the council.

If a resident has a question or concern, now is the time to ask, said Will Herschel, Verogy founder and CEO, and co-founder Bryan Fitzgerald.

If a resident came to us and they were concerned about it, wed try to figure out why, and try to give them the information they need so they can understand it and what were doing, Herschel said.

If theyre excited about it, wed be happy, he said. Its going to be producing clean energy, thats going on the (electricity) grid, and lower a demand for fossil fuel.

The solar array is planned for 11 acres of a 66-acre property at 236 E. Pearl Road, across from St. Peter Cemetery and near Bishop Donnelly Field. A total of 7,150 panels would be installed on the 11 acres.

Its got great southern exposure, with very little slope, Fitzgerald said. For a general permit from the siting council, that was a key factor. Its also fairly clear, and we dont anticipate cutting any trees. Its also close to (utility) infrastructure on Torringford Street, and well connect to Eversource utilities once the project is completed.

Verogy chose to build the solar project in Torrington because of the propertys location, Herschel said. The town has been fantastic to work with so far, and we look forward to continuing to work with them, he said. We did plan on doing a public information meeting, and what weve done now is shift that information to a digital format, and put out an online campaign to property owners.

The project can be viewed online at www.verogy.com/torrington-solar-one. Everything is available for download from that site, Herschel said. All our contact information is also there.

Verogy representatives already have made contact with East Pearl Road residents. Initially we had some conversations with people on East Pearl Road, and we discussed the project and timeline, Fitzgerald said. Were fielding new inquiries as they come in.

We will try to take any concerns people have into consideration as we work on this project, Herschel said.

A solar array is a good neighbor, Fitzgerald added. Its clean  its a benefit to the community.

For people who might think theyll directly benefit from the solar project, the partners said the panels wont be directly used by homeowners. The utility will benefit from the energy (the solar array produces) and that will lower the amount of fuel used, so they will benefit from it through Eversource, Fitzgerald said. From a physical reality, its unlikely that a solar array would be used by homeowners directly. Thats a misconception people might have, thinking theyre going to get a lower bill.

In their experience, the biggest concern voiced by neighbors of a solar project is what it will look like.

Its always visual concerns, Herschel said. Weve worked to reduce the size of the area were going to take up on the parcel, and make it more interior, with more distance between other properties.

When installing solar panels, developers often look for flat land thats not hampered by hills or large numbers of trees.

From the start, we look for minimum environmental impact on the land  no clearing, Herschel said. We want to use land that fits. The Torrington land is flatter, and it will be easier to work with.

He also noted that erosion control, such as catch basins and berms often required with properties that are sloped or hilly, wont be needed here. A solar array on higher elevation is harder to do, Herschel said.

Connor stressed that the siting council has the final say on the project. Once they file with the council, the city will have the ability to comment on it.

Its like a cell tower (project), he said. We can comment on it, but the siting council decides.

Verogy is looking to submit a formal application to the siting council this month, and hopes to have a decision by September. Construction would begin in October, with the project completed by January 2021.

Residents with questions about the approval process can contact Verogy Director of Development Bryan Fitzgerald at development@verogy.com or 203-257-3375; or visit www.verogy.com/torrington-solar-one .
100 years ago

Resignation explained

The Saratoga Springs Police Department had a response to the resignation of Patrolman Hugh Dorsey, who said he had been framed by certain people within the department for conducting a personal investigation into illegal gambling in violation of a direct order: it definitely was a sting operation.

Police Superintendent Edward T. Carroll said he had received several complaints that the married Dorsey regularly met a married woman at the sundial in Congress Park, and that their flirtation was well known. He was sent a decoy note proposing the usual rendezvous, but when he arrived he was arrested by his fellow police officers. (Adultery is still technically a crime in New York state in 2020.)

Commissioner of Public Safety John E. Gaffney said that had Dorsey not resigned he would have been fired.

 Times Union, May 13, 1920

50 years ago

No waiving of bar examination

In a rare and final order, the Court of Appeals on May 12 refused to waive the state bar examination requirements for any law students attending schools shut down by anti-war protests. The seven justices unanimously held that students must take an "authentic written examination in each of his courses of study in accordance with previous practice in the school" to be admitted to the July bar exams.

Many law schools across the nation had been closed for the semester or had been boycotted by striking students. Albany Law School students would not be affected by the Court of Appeals order since a new system of final exams adopted by the faculty, students and dean would meet the court's strict requirements.

 Times Union, May 13, 1970

Looking Back is compiled by C.J. Lais Jr. and Azra Haqqie. For questions about this feature contact tblydenburgh@timesunion.com
View live politics updates

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So consider the courage of Zhang Xuezhong, a legal scholar who on Saturday posted an open letter on WeChat addressed to the National Peoples Congress, Chinas rubber-stamp legislature, which is due to meet later this month. Mr. Zhang not only sharply criticized the handling of the epidemic by the regime of Xi Jinping; he called on the legislature to order the release of political prisoners, legalize political parties and nonstate media, and begin drafting a new constitution.

The best way to fight for freedom of expression is for everyone to speak as if we already have freedom of speech, Mr. Zhang wrote, according to the South China Morning Post. He was echoing Vaclav Havel, the famed dissident in Communist-era Czechoslovakia who became the countrys president after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc.

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The result was entirely predictable: After his manifesto circulated widely online, Mr. Zhang, 43, was taken by security forces from his home in Shanghai on Sunday night, the Hong Kong-based newspaper reported. He must have known he could be in for harsh treatment. Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize after writing a similar appeal in 2008, was imprisoned from then until weeks before his death in 2017. Mr. Zhang was released late Monday. But his letter was removed from all Chinese social media sites, and it wont be a surprise if he faces further consequences.

Mr. Zhang has been challenging Chinas totalitarian political system for some time. In 2013, he was fired from his teaching post at East China University of Political Science and Law for criticizing the constitution. Last year, he was barred from legal practice after he acted as a defense lawyer for several dissidents, including human rights lawyer Guo Feixiong.

But Mr. Zhang appeared to be galvanized by the regimes response to the covid-19 outbreak, including the silencing of doctors and journalists who tried to call attention to it. Twenty-two days before the authorities imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, Mr. Zhang wrote, they were still investigating and punishing citizens who had disclosed the epidemic . . . showing how tight and arbitrary the governments suppression of society is.

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Read more:

Kathleen Parker: The coronavirus has helped us finally see China for what it is

The Posts View: How Chinas authoritarian system made the pandemic worse

The Posts View: True honor lies not with Chinas rulers but with Liu Xiaobo

The Posts View: Hear Chinas totalitarian cruelty in this widows sobs

Rukiye Turdush: How China tried to stop my freedom of speech  in Canada
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) - The Quezon City government places 20 areas in five barangays under 14-day "special concern lockdown" starting Wednesday, May 13 due to the high number of coronavirus cases.

The city government said that certain areas in Barangay Bahay Toro, Barangay Culiat, Barangay Sauyo, Barangay Batasan Hills, and Barangay Tatalon will be included in the lockdown.

Areas placed under the lockdown are:

Bahay Toro

- Sitio Militar

Culiat

- Vargas Compound-Adelfa

- Metro Heights-Abanay

- Ancop Canada

Sauyo

- Lower Gulod

Batasan Hills

- 318 Dakila St.

- 2nd Alley Kalayaan B

- Masbate St.

Tatalon

- Victory Avenue

- ROTC Hunters

- BMA Avenue

- Agno St.

Quezon City Assistant Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo said the areas were selected by the City Health Department based on the results from the community-level testing.

"Imbis na mag-total lockdown ng buong barangay, pagtutuunan natin ng pansin ang mga partikular na lugar sa loob ng barangay na may clustering ng mga kaso ng COVID-19, maaaring ito ay isang kalsada, block, o compound," Kimpo said.

[Translation: Instead of a total lockdown for the entire barangay, we will focus on specific areas within the barangay with a clustering of COVID-19 cases, this could be a road, block, or compound.]

"Isa rin sa titingnan natin ay ang high-density population na hindi nakakapagpractice ng tamang quarantine protocols, kung saan malaki ang posibilidad na magkahawaan, kaya kailangan din sila isama sa containment. Mula doon, higit nating paiigtingin ang community-based testing at pag-quarantine," he added.

[Translation: We will also be looking at [areas] with high-density population where proper quarantine protocols are not being followed, where the possibility of infecting others is high, so they also need to be included in containment. From there, we will intensify community-based testing and quarantine.]

Kimpo assured residents of affected areas that the city government will provide food and other assistance during the lockdown, while QC-ESU head Dr. Rolly Cruz said they will conduct intensified testing and monitoring in these areas to make sure they are coronavirus-free after the 14-day lockdown.

Quarantine officers, composed of members from the City Health Department, Quezon City Police District, Special Action Force, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Task Force-National Capital Region will help ensure strict implementation of the lockdown in affected areas.

More than 200 members of the QCPD-AFP-SAF contingent will undergo training on the process of implementing quarantine rules and monitoring of confirmed and possible COVID-19 cases, Cruz said.

Quezon City has the biggest population among cities in Metro Manila, and currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region at 1,641, based on data released by the Department of Health on Tuesday.

But Kimpo earlier disclosed that not all of the COVID-19 patients there are residents of Quezon City. He said some are patients who have been admitted to the city's hospitals but actually reside elsewhere.

The local government also experienced challenges in distributing cash aid to the 377,000 beneficiaries under the first tranche of the governments social amelioration program.

On Sunday, photos circulated online showing beneficiaries lining up at the gate of Barangay Pag-asa Elementary School to receive cash aid. While physical distancing protocols were observed inside the school, they were not implemented in the queue.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte called out her city's barangay officials for not strictly enforcing physical distancing protocols during the distribution of cash aid.

Belmonte said that she gave her city's barangay officials the flexibility to determine the best way to distribute the funds in their areas, but lessons must be learned to avoid the same situation during the rollout of the second tranche of cash assistance.

She added that she will hold accountable barangay officials who allegedly mishandled funds for cash aid.

"I dont want to dwell too much on the crowds or the lack of social distancing, I think its more important that they give the money to the right people," Belmonte said. "I received complaints that the barangay official gave the money to their relatives or friends over those who really needed that help, some even asked for commissions from those who received. I think it's a grave, grave misconduct, negligence of duty."

CNN Philippines' senior correspondent Lois Calderon contributed to this report.
ATLANTAAs the state investigation into the killing of a black jogger welcomed a new prosecutor, the U.S. attorney for Georgias Southern District previewed possible federal hate crimes against the father and son accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.

Also on Monday, the man who shot the video capturing Arberys death spoke out for the first time, and the owner of the home construction site in Glynn County that the victim is believed to have entered minutes before he was shot Feb. 23 said, through his attorney, there had been no thefts on the property.

It made for a dizzying array of developments in a case that, for more than two months, seemingly had none. Now, a woman of colour will shepherd the criminal trial against Greg and Travis McMichael; a month ago, a local prosecutor was convinced the former cop and his son had acted lawfully. Federal involvement could mean more charges and potentially stiffer sentences for the accused killers, whose story was challenged by a part-time neighbour.

Greg McMichael, 64, said that there had been several break-ins in the Satilla Shores neighbourhood just south of Brunswick and he suspected Arbery was responsible. Arbery appeared on surveillance video that showed a burglary in progress, McMichael, former investigator with the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, told Glynn County police. He provided gun cover for his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery three times. The McMichaels were arrested Thursday and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

Video of the shooting, posted online last Tuesday morning, drew widespread condemnation and prompted the state to take over what had been a local investigation. It was filmed by Satilla Shores resident William Roddie Bryan, who, according to Greg McMichaels statement to police, attempted to block (Arbery), which was unsuccessful.

Bryan wouldnt say how he ended up on the scene, with such a clear view of the confrontation, but denied being involved in any type of plan.

I had nothing to do with it, Bryan told a Jacksonville TV station. Im trying to get my life back to normal, and its been smeared for the last week.

His attorney, Kevin Gough referenced issues in the neighbourhood, an apparent nod to alleged burglaries. The elder McMichael told police he recognized Arbery from surveillance video.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot to death in February 2020. Two arrests were made in the case in May.

Attorney J. Elizabeth Graddy, who represents Larry English, owner of the home under construction, said a motion-activated camera installed at the site captured no criminal activity.

Even if there had been a robbery, however, the English family would not have wanted a vigilante response, Graddy said. They would have entrusted the matter to law enforcement authorities. On February 23, the English family was two hours away from the Satilla Shores neighbourhood and was unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding.

Arberys family said he was an avid jogger and thats what he was doing in the neighbourhood that day. Graddy said English doesnt know the McMichaels.

Graddy spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday to try to correct the mistaken impression that English had shared the video or other information with the McMichaels prior to the Feb. 23 confrontation. English had no involvement with the senseless killing of Arbery and he did not call 911 the day of the incident, she said. He was in Douglas, where English, 50, lives with his family.

The report he made to police in the months before the incident was on a non-emergency line and he reported that his motion-sensor camera taped someone on the property, but there was no evidence of anything taken, Graddy said.

He never used the word burglary, she said. He never shared any of this information with the McMichaels, whom he did not even know. Nothing was ever stolen from the house which, again, was a construction site.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday reported that a security video on a home across from the construction site taped someone that appeared to be Arbery entering the construction site minutes before the shooting. He was on the property for less than five minutes and didnt appear to take anything.

It remains unclear how Bryan may have gotten involved. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said Friday that Bryan is under investigation and could be subject to arrest.

The decision whether to prosecute him now falls in the hands of Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, who on Monday became the third prosecutor appointed by the state to lead the criminal investigation.

Holmes will bring a different perspective to the case, just as she has to the DAs position in Cobb. Last June, she became the countys first female and African American district attorney after Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to replace Reynolds.

District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said, and the Cobb County district attorneys office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice said it is considering Carrs request to review the actions of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who recused herself from the McMichael probe four days after the shooting, and George Barnhill, DA for the Waycross Circuit, who was appointed as her first replacement.

The AGs office alleges Johnson invited Barnhill to review evidence in the case and provide guidance to Glynn police before he was officially appointed.

Johnson, in a statement, said she welcomed federal intervention.

There is a public misperception about the case due to false allegations against our office by those with an agenda, Johnson said. Last week, two Glynn County commissioners told the Journal-Constitution that Johnson prevented police from pursuing charges against the McMichaels. We are confident the true facts will come out in the investigation.

And could another investigation be in the works? Additionally, DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec said federal authorities are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate.

Georgia is one of four states without hate crimes legislation. Former federal prosecutor Tom Withers said its too early to tell whether the DOJ will launch any additional investigation related to Arberys death.

More likely theyll step back and let the states case play out before making a decision, said Withers, now in private practice in Savannah.

He said a corruption case against local officials, even if investigated by the feds, would likely be prosecuted by the state.

Its hard to see what they might have here besides obstruction and violation of oath of office, Withers said.
Representative image

Much against the conventional wisdom that investors claw back during rainy days, several venture capital (VC) funds are out shopping, striking deals and writing cheques even as the coronavirus outbreak continues to hurt the economy, pushing businesses to the brink.

Surplus capital, soft valuation of startups, a shift towards tech in a post-coronavirus world and family offices looking to diversify asset base in times of economic uncertainty are some of the reasons for the ongoing funding activity.

Take the example of online vernacular competitive test preparation startup Pariksha. The company signed term sheets, a non-binding document that spells out the broader contours of the arrangement, with investors for an extension of its pre-Series A round at the beginning of March.

On March 24 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a lockdown on national television, the founders got jittery. Some of the promised money was in the bank but the rest was yet to come.

While they were trying to figure out the impact of the announcement on their funding, some of the investors called, one of the founders, Karanvir Singh, told Moneycontrol.

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

Among the callers was Saahil Bhatia, the director of venture capital fund Temasek. The rest of the money would be transferred soon, he assured Singh.

In less than a week, the entire sum was in the bank, Singh said, without disclosing the amount. Over a dozen investors, including INSEAD Angels, IIT Kanpur Angels, Nikhil Vora and Swati Mehra from Sixth Sense Ventures, besides Bhatia and existing investor Venture Catalysts, concluded the deal.

Testing times? Not really

Founded in 2105 by Singh, Utkarsh Bagri, Vikram Shekhawat and Deepak Choudhary, Pune-based Pariksha says it helps 13.6 crore people in small towns and villages prepare for state government job exams every year.

With governments increasingly shifting such tests online, more and more job-seeking youngsters want to familiarise themselves with the medium as well as tech without leaving their homes.

Investors, too, sensed a growth opportunity--online preparation will not only be helpful during the lockdown but also after that, when social distancing will be the norm, at least for some time.

Singh's venture is not the only one to have received venture capital funding. Dozens of startups across sectors such as health, fintech, gaming and education have received funds in the last couple of months while several unicorns face uncertainty.

Over $120 million worth of deals were struck across 48 rounds across consumer, fin-tech and ed-tech space in April alone, startups data tracker Tracxn said. The data is for companies that are not older than five years.

"Everyone understands that a down phase is the best time to invest in any asset class. Historically, we have seen most of the unicorns come up during these times whether it was the 2008-09 crisis or 2001-02 bubble bust. Cases in the example are companies like Uber, Policybazaar, Airbnb and Whatsapp," said Anuj Golecha, founder of domestic startup incubator and early-stage investor Venture Catalysts.

Online financial services portal Policybazaar, founded in June 2008, became a unicorn, or was valued at $1 billion, ten years later. The company is among the few tech-firms currently disrupting the dominance created by state-owned or even private insurance firms.

Venture Catalysts itself claims to have invested in at least three startupsQin1, which conducts online classes for children, and health supplement firm Power Gummies and Pariksha in the last one month.

"Overall in 2019, we did 69 deals. I don't see that number falling this year," Golecha said.

The startup cushion

Even family offices that have businesses across multiple verticals are trying to place their bets on startups.

A fund manager who works for a leading family office with interests in the real estate sector said given the slowdown in his core business, the owner was looking to diversify into startups.

A lot of business houses are struggling. Startups are a new kind of avenue for many of them, especially across the COVID-positive segments such as healthcare, education and financial solutions in the mid to growth stages, he said, requesting anonymity.

There is a fair amount of money to be deployed, with multiple venture capital funds having closed their funds in the last one year.

According to VCC Edge, India-focussed private equity and venture capital funds raised $11.7 billion just in 2019.

These include funds such as Accel Partners, which raised $550 million in December, Singapore-based Vertex Venture Holdings that got $230 million for technology startups in Southeast Asia and India and domestic venture capital fund Blume Ventures, which closed its opportunity fund at $41 million earlier this year.

There is a fair amount of capital waiting to be deployed. Some investors are aggressively scouting for deals, some are in the wait-and-watch mode. But everyone is evaluating something or the other. There couldnt be a better time to enter with such realistic valuations, said Pankaj Karna, managing director of boutique investment banking platform Maple Capital Advisors.

However, investors are being careful as restrictions on movement are coming in the way of due diligence. They are now relying on virtual data rooms and mostly reference checks to close deals.

It is not that everyone is getting funded. Investors are smart enough to recognise startups that are resilient, agile and adaptive. Silicon Valley calls them camels. They will be able to weather the storm and when the tide turns, they can grow very fast, said Nimesh Kampani, president, LetsVenture Plus, a growth platform launched by deals syndication platform LetsVenture.

Launched in early May, LetsVenture Plus will allow ultra-high net individuals and family offices to invest in growth-stage startups.

So far, LetsVenture has focussed on early-stage deals and claims to have closed 14 such agreements since March.

Even for the growth stage, a good amount of investor interest has already started to pour in for businesses with a moat. People want to diversify their asset base, both across different classes and geographies, said Kampani.

Singh, who just closed the funding round for Pariksha, vouched for it. He has got plenty of investor queries for the growth round. Every investor who does not have ed-tech in its portfolio is currently looking to make an investment in this sector, he said.

Some investors are, however, sticking to internal rounds. Bertelsmann India Investments, which counts hospitality firm Treebo, music-streaming company Saavn and online lending platform Lendingkart among its portfolio companies, is keeping the powder dry for its existing companies.

It is a well-known fact that the market has become skewed and investments will only flow towards a specific direction. In such a scenario, we have to look for the well-being of our own companies first, Bertelsmann India Investments managing director Pankaj Makkar said.

He, however, declined to comment if the company had made any internal investments in the last couple of months.

There are also instances where rounds are taking longer to conclude but investors say they are happening nonetheless.

All in all, investors have realised that it is a buyers market and there is cautious optimism. Valuations have softened and even the startups realise that money in the bank is much better right now given the uncertainty around, said Anup Jain, managing partner at Orios Venture Partners.

The recent $8 billion funding for RILs Jio Platforms from social media giant Facebook and private equity firms Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners has helped boost the confidence of investors.

As India faces its worst medical emergencies in recent times that also threatens its economy, the startup sector holds out hope for Brand India.

: Reliance Industries Ltd., which also owns Jio, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
(Natural News) A new report published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering revealed that implementing international travel bans helped Europe tamp down its COVID-19 caseload. The study, led by computer modeling experts at Stanford University, predicted over a million cases in Europe alone had air travel not been limited across the continent.

Global network mobility models, combined with local epidemiology models, can provide valuable insight into different exit strategies. Our results demonstrate that mathematical [modeling] can provide guidelines for political decision making with the ultimate goal to gradually return to normal while keeping the rate of new COVID-19 infections steady and manageable, said lead author Kevin Linka.

The researchers used a mobility model, which followed passenger air travel, and an epidemiological model that tracked susceptible, exposed, infectious and recovered cases to understand how the outbreak traveled across Europe, as well as the effectiveness of measures to control it. In particular, the team looked at the impact of air travel limitations during the early stages of the pandemic.

Our simulations show that mobility networks of air travel can predict the emerging global diffusion pattern of a pandemic at the early stages of the outbreak  the emerging pattern of the COVID-19 outbreak closely [follows] global mobility patterns of air passenger travel, they wrote in their report.

In addition, their model also predicted the outcomes of lifting the restrictions too early. For instance, had the European Union relaxed its international travel ban on April 5 (the time the report was written), around 0.2 percent of populations in countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus could be infected by April 20.

This meant that Spain, which currently has 219,329 confirmed cases  the highest in Europe  could see its caseload rise to over 900,000. Meanwhile, Italy, which has 213,013 COVID-19 cases, would have had more than 1.2 million in cases in the same period.

While the team was quick to point out that the figures can change daily, they noted that the outcomes predicted by the new model could help countries as they start rolling out plans to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. The researchers even noted that data can be adjusted to simulate what happens when travel restrictions are lifted between countries, states and even individual communities.

There is a well-reasoned fear that easing of current (travel restriction) measures, even slightly, could trigger a new outbreak and accelerate the spread to an unmanageable degree, added corresponding author Ellen Kuhl.

Hits and misses in Europes coronavirus response

The study also looked at the response of each country against the coronavirus, in terms of how the spread was contained following the implementation of travel restrictions. The researchers found that from Italy, where the first COVID-19 case in Europe was recorded, the outbreak spread through international hubs like Germany, Spain and France. Less connected countries, such as Estonia, Slovakia and Slovenia, were among the last areas to be affected by the pandemic.

The team also observed a correlation between the infection rate of COVID-19 and the rate that passenger air travel was reduced. As of April 18, all four of the hardest-hit countries in Europe  Germany, France, Italy and Spain  had reduced their flights by around 90 percent.

Strikingly, our results suggest that the emerging pattern of the COVID-19 outbreak closely followed global mobility patterns of air passenger travel, Kahl said. Unconstrained mobility would have significantly accelerated the spreading of COVID-19, especially in Central Europe, Spain, and France.

The team also pointed out significant flaws in Europes containment measures; in particular, how many countries enforced travel restrictions a week after their first confirmed case.

As a natural consequence, unfortunately, no European country was protected from the outbreak, said Kahl.

While air travel isnt the only factor that comes into play when it comes to outbreak dynamics, the team believes that a persons movement, as a whole, should be considered when it comes to planning for, and after, a pandemic. (Related: As more countries emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, concerns arise about second wave of infections.)

Learn more about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

EurekAlert.com

TandFOnline.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu


CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing has transported more than 150,000 personal protective equipment or PPE units from China to the U.S. as part of the company's COVID-19 airlift missions.



The aerospace and defense giant said it deployed thee Dreamlifter aircraft to transport protective eye goggles and face shields to frontline health care professionals in South Carolina.



Boeing worked in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina or MUSC to deliver the PPE supplies to frontline health care professionals in the MUSC system.



The MUSC Health team will use the PPE for their statewide COVID-19 community testing and outreach efforts as they ramp up diagnostic testing and antibody testing across South Carolina.



Boeing noted that the MUSC Health team was first in the U.S. to launch a combined virtual urgent care platform and drive-through specimen collection site. They are now bringing a version of this successful model to the communities that need it most.



Boeing has used the Dreamlifter, a converted Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter, for its current and previous airlift missions. The medical cargo was transported in the lower lobe of the aircraft, while 787 component parts were flown in the main deck cargo hold.



Boeing said it has donated the cost of the mission transport, while Atlas Air operated the flights on behalf of Boeing.



The company has scheduled additional flights to deliver a total of 400,000 units of PPE to MUSC in the near future.



Last week, Boeing resumed all 787 operations at its South Carolina facility that were temporarily suspended on April 8 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.



Boeing has also resumed operations in production facilities in Philadelphia as well as the Puget Sound-region.



The airplane maker had said in late April that it would not seek additional funding through the capital markets or the U.S. government options after it successfully raised $25 billion in a bond offering.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13)  Signal No. 1 was raised in Northern Samar, northern portions of Samar and Eastern Samar, a day after 'Ambo' developed into a tropical storm.

In its 11 a.m. update, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said light to heavy rains will prevail over Eastern Visayas, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate.

The agency warned that sea travel is risky over the seaboards in the affected areas due to rough seas.

The Office of Civil Defense asked local governments in areas that will be affected by 'Ambo' to prepare more evacuation sites.

OCD administrator Ricardo Jalad said Wednesday that LGUs must ensure physical distance can still be maintained to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in temporary shelters.

PAGASA forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said Ambo, the first tropical cyclone this year, is expected to intensify into a typhoon before making landfall in the Bicol area between Thursday night and Friday morning.

The weather specialist said the storm is seen to exit PAGASA's monitoring area by Monday.

The storm was last seen 360 kilometers east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar, carrying maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 105 kph.

Meanwhile, most parts of Luzon will continue to experience hot and humid weather, with the heat index ranging between 40 degrees celsius and 50 degrees celsius, Aurelio told CNN Philippines' New Day earlier in the day.

Heat index is defined as the apparent temperature the human body feels, Aurelio said.
The government on Monday released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant

New Delhi: The government on Monday released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the Finance Commission.

"This would provide them with additional resources during the coronavirus crisis," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The grant had been released for 14 states including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Sikkim and six North Eastern states, excluding Arunachal Pradesh.

The ministry gave a break up of the amount to be given as to cover deficit on post-devolution revenue account in 2020-21 as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission on a monthly proportionate basis to 14 state governments in May.

The government on May 11, 2020 released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. This would provide them additional resources during the Corona crisis. pic.twitter.com/9W9kUorB62  NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) May 11, 2020

The Centre released advance payments of over Rs 1,276 crore to Kerala, over Rs 952 crore to Himachal Pradesh and over Rs 638 crore to Punjab. Assam received Rs 631 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 491 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 423 crore, and West Bengal got Rs 417 crore.

Other disbursed amounts include Rs 23,533.33 lakh for Manipur, Rs 4,091.66 lakh for Meghalaya, Rs 11,850 lakh for Mizoram, Rs 32,621.66 lakh for Nagaland, Rs 33,541.66 lakh for Tamil Nadu, Rs 26,966.66 lakh for Tripura and Rs 3,733.33 lakh for Sikkim."
[May 12, 2020] Open Source Software Leader the Eclipse Foundation Announces Transition to Europe as Part of Continued Global Expansion

BRUSSELS, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Eclipse Foundation, one of the worlds largest open source software foundations, today announced it is cementing its commitment to global expansion by establishing itself as a European-based organization. Through the creation of Eclipse Foundation AISBL based in Brussels, the international non-profit association will be uniquely positioned to leverage its recent international growth and foster global industry collaboration on open source projects in strategic technologies, such as the cloud, edge computing, artificial intelligence, connected vehicles, telecommunications, and the Internet of Things. With this move, the Eclipse Foundation, which is already the largest open source organization in Europe, aims to build on its existing international membership base to accelerate the growth of its open ecosystem of developers, companies, and public sector entities collaborating to advance technologies that are expected to have a major impact on global economies.

Over the last several years, the Eclipse Foundation has grown its membership with technology leaders from around the world, particularly in Europe, said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. Open source is driving international innovation and collaboration, and has become strategic to European industry. It was an easy decision to focus more resources on this critical geography while continuing to welcome and support new members from around the globe. From our new base in Europe, we look forward to continuing to foster the growth of a global, sustainable open source ecosystem that delivers broad benefits to developers and the many industries we serve. Open source is proven to be the most viable way to deliver complex, sustainable technology innovation and adoption across industry sectors. As outlined in its new white paper , the Eclipse Foundation recognizes the important role open source will play in driving the digital and industrial transformations called for by the European Commission in its recent strategies. Contributions from a broad cross-section of European companies and governmental organizations to open source projects will be key to ensuring that these emerging technologies are fit for Europe, designed with consideration for the privacy and security of individuals and organizations, and have environmental impact in mind. The Eclipse Foundation has a long track record of fostering industry collaboration between global organizations and developers who share the goal of creating scalable open source software, said Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. As a founding strategic member of the Eclipse Foundation, SAP actively participates in several Eclipse projects and working groups. With the legal move of the Eclipse Foundation to Brussels, we expect more international collaboration across industries in an open environment. We look forward to collaborating with members from around the world to create and innovate together. Supported by over 300 members globally, the Eclipse Foundation has an established international reach and reputation, and a track record of enabling co-innovation earned over more than 15 years. The Foundations more than 375 open source projects have resulted in over 240 million lines of code  a more than 13 billion shared investment. The organizations members include industry leaders who value the Foundations open innovation processes and its unique Working Group governance model that makes it possible to share intellectual property without the threat of antitrust and regulatory challenges. The Eclipse Foundations new home will enhance all its global members abilities to participate in European projects via open technologies. This will provide new opportunities for all, in a competitive global level playing field, to bring new solutions to the global market. The Eclipse Foundation is vital to millions of developers worldwide, as are Eclipse projects to companies in many industries, said Todd Moore, vice president of Open Technology and Advocacy, IBM. The Eclipse Foundation is taking steps to expand its global presence and reach. IBM welcomes the initiative and is providing support. The establishment of the new legal entity is expected to be finalized by July 2020. More information on the Foundations plans and how interested parties can get involved can be found at eclipse.org/europe .



Quotes from Members and Supporters ADLINK

"ADLINK embraced Eclipse as the open source foundation of choice a few years ago and since then we have worked closely with the community to advance the state of the art in IoT and Edge Native Technologies, said Jim Liu, CEO, ADLINK. We applaud the Eclipse Foundations decision to become a European organization as this will positively impact the growth in collaboration and sharing of great quality open source software.

Bosch

As a Strategic member of the Eclipse Foundation, weve seen first-hand this organizations ability to spur innovation, provide pragmatic governance, and build new open industry ecosystems - particularly relevant for the cross domain Bosch IoT strategy, said Steffen Evers, Bosch.IOs director of Open Source and member of the Eclipse Foundation Board of Directors. This is why we are excited the Eclipse Foundation is making the move to Europe. Adopting the open source model is critical to the long-term competitiveness of European industry on the world stage. We are confident the Eclipse Foundations expansion will serve as a catalyst for collaborative innovation and digitalization in multiple industries across the continent. DLR

Open source software is a key enabler for our work in helping to create environmental policy, create safer cities, and drive the adoption of new mobility concepts. For many years, the Eclipse Foundation has been an outstanding partner and community leader supporting our efforts, said Prof. Dr. Katharina Seifert of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). With Eclipse SUMO at its core, the openMobility Working Group is just one example of the Eclipse Foundation bringing together researchers and diverse industry players to collaborate on a common platform in an open, vendor-neutral environment. We are thrilled that they have chosen to establish a new base in Europe and look forward to partnering with the EU team for many years to come to build a global connected and automated mobility ecosystem. Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS)

For the institutes of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the leading research organization for application-oriented research in Europe, open source plays an important role in many research areas. What counts for us in our research is practical applicability and at the same time scientific excellence. Numerous results of Fraunhofer research are based on the idea of open source software or contribute to it. The establishment of the Eclipse Foundation in Europe will certainly further strengthen its role not only in terms of its international significance, but also particularly for European and German research," says Dr. Tom Ritter, deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS. Huawei Technologies

We congratulate the Eclipse Foundation on moving to become European, said Bryan Che, chief strategy officer, Huawei Technologies. Through this move, the Eclipse Foundation will provide an ideal platform for Europe to build global open source technologies while supporting digital competitiveness along with increased opportunities for global companies to collaborate in and with Europe. At Huawei, we strongly support open source and open governance to develop innovative technologies for the shared benefit of everyone. And, with our over 13,000 employees across the continent, we look forward to partnering with the Eclipse Foundation to invest in the future of open source in Europe. IOTA Foundation

We are very excited about the move of the Eclipse Foundation to its new base in Brussels, said Dominik Schiener, co-founder of IOTA Foundation. Home to some of the leading advocates and policy makers for digital rights, data privacy and open source, the EU is helping to shape the future of the internet and beyond. Being based out of Brussels will help to further strengthen and advance the position of the Eclipse Foundation and will support the entire open source community to gain further adoption and recognition not just within enterprises, but also on a policy level. Linux Foundation

We applaud the global expansion to bring more open source governance options to Europe and look forward to collaborating across foundations in the future, said Chris Aniszczyk, vice president of Developer Relations at the Linux Foundation and CTO of CNCF. Obeo

Open source is at the core of our corporate philosophy, said Cedric Brun, CEO of Obeo. As a strategic member of the Eclipse Foundation, we are deeply delighted to see the organization expanding to Europe. Open collaboration with a global ecosystem of innovators will keep Europes strategic industries on pace with the very latest developments and trends. OpenForum Europe

OpenForum Europe warmly welcomes the Eclipse Foundations move to Europe as it is a major recognition of the large and growing role of open source in Europes efforts to digitise industry as well as society at large, said Sachiko Muto, CEO, OpenForum Europe. One of our organisations primary goals is to encourage increased exchange and understanding of open source technologies between European governments, the EU institutions, and open source stakeholders. We believe that the Eclipse Foundation will be an important source of experience and knowledge in Europe, and in particular Brussels. Open Source Initiative

Open source software is now clearly a global, transformative phenomenon that requires international representation, said Josh Simmons, president, Open Source Initiative. I'm thrilled that the Eclipse Foundation has stepped up to fulfill this role for Europe. A well-governed foundation within the European Union further strengthens open source efforts around the world and helps to ensure more choice and diversity in software development. Red Hat

The Eclipse Foundation and its governance have been critical to the success of many of the innovative open source projects in which we participate, said Chris Wright, Red Hats CTO. As a Strategic Developer member, we are pleased to support their continued expansion. The new European-based organization will serve to strengthen and expand our community partnerships within the foundations global ecosystem. SprinD

The open source model, and the collaboration upon which it depends, are the very foundations for innovation and growth across multiple global industries, said Rafael Laguna de la Vera, director, Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, SprinD GmbH. These guiding principles are critical to the task we are undertaking to jumpstart innovation here in Germany and beyond. Partners like the Eclipse Foundation are an incredibly important part of our work, so we are very happy to see them investing in the EU and expanding globally to help us leverage open source technologies to jointly bring the future to life. About the Eclipse Foundation

The Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organizations with a mature, scalable, and business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. The Foundation is home to the Eclipse IDE, Jakarta EE, and over 375 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, digital ledger technologies, open processor designs, and many others. The Eclipse Foundation is a not-for-profit organization supported by over 300 members, including industry leaders who value open source as a key enabler for their business strategies. To learn more, follow us on Twitter @EclipseFdn , LinkedIn , or visit eclipse.org . Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Media contacts

Weber Shandwick Belgium

Ruta Emilija Malinauskaite

Manager, Media Relations

T +32 492 46 73 04

E [email protected] Weber Shandwick Germany

Matthias Wowtscherk

Account Director, Media Relations

T +49 30 20351245

E [email protected] Nichols Communications for the Eclipse Foundation, Inc.

Jay Nichols

[email protected]

+1 408-772-1551



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Some of the increase is because a handful of pollsters have decided to start weighting by education, a prominent example being the Monmouth University poll. But more of the change is because of the high volume of state online polls, which have always been likelier than state telephone surveys to weight by education.

What could be worse than in 2016: new online polls

There has been a surge in new online-only state polls. Over the last month, there have been 13 such surveys, representing nearly half of the pollsters who have conducted state polls over this period. In contrast, only 10 online-only pollsters conducted surveys over the final three weeks of the 2018 election, which was about 10 percent of all of the pollsters who conducted surveys in that period.

Online polling isnt necessarily bad. Many are sophisticated and comparable in quality to a typical live-interview telephone survey. But most of these new state polls take a simple approach: Contact the members of a large online panel, then weight those respondents by standard census demographics and maybe recalled vote choice in 2016 (more on that later). This is inexpensive and easy, but most pollsters have concluded that its not great. The panels just arent sufficiently representative, especially in small states, to expect a simple methodology to yield a high-quality result.

Until recently, few pollsters have tried to use this approach in state polling (Morning Consult is the most prolific example of a pollster that has done it nationally). But the early evidence suggests that these kind of state polls might lean to the left.

Perhaps the best early data is the AP/NORC/VoteCast polling ahead of the midterms, which combined a traditional telephone survey of 40,000 respondents with a large nonprobability online sample of 110,000 respondents. The online-only element of the survey was fairly comparable to most of the online surveys released in recent weeks, and it wouldnt have fared well without calibration using the live-interview surveys. It would have overestimated the Democratic result by an average of about five percentage points across 71 races.
Mayor of Taoyuan Wen Tsan Cheng (far left) at the court side prior to the Chinese Professional Baseball League game between Rakuten Monkeys and Fubon Guardians at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on May 07, 2020 in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Gene Wang | Getty Images

Taiwan is campaigning furiously to attend the next World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting to be held from May 18 as the island's successful coronavirus containment strategy has attracted the world's attention. There is just one problem: China, which claims Taiwan as its province with no right to its own diplomatic representation on the global stage and in international organizations. The WHA is the decision making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency. Taiwan joined WHA meetings as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when a president deemed to be friendly with China held office. It had campaigned for years before its inclusion at the time. This time, Taiwan said it has not been receiving first-hand information from the WHO on the coronavirus outbreak, putting the health of Taiwanese at risk. But that didn't stop the self-ruled island just across a narrow strait from China from executing a plan using early detection, border controls and intensive contract tracing that has won plaudits the world over. Taiwan wants an observer seat at the next WHA meeting.

Admitting Taiwan to the WHA meeting "will be an occasion where Taiwan can share our experience in areas such as testing, diagnosis, border control, and community outbreak prevention. To avoid a repeat of the current pandemic and effectively ensure global health security, the world must take action to improve communication and transparency," Chen Shih-chung, Taiwan's Minister of Health and Welfare said in a statement. Despite the lack of diplomatic allies, voices from a number of countries have come out to back Taiwan's participation in the meeting. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has lobbied for Taiwan's inclusion in the meeting. Other countries expressing their support include Japan and New Zealand. Even though it's near mainland China, Taiwan  which has not implemented any strict lockdowns  has reported just 440 cases and seven deaths so far in its population of 24 million. In comparison, South Korea has reported almost 11,000 cases so far while Singapore in Southeast Asia has recorded over 20,000 cases.

China will decide if Taiwan can join the meeting

However, Taiwan's participation in the meeting is not one WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus can decide as member states need to approve the move. Despite the U.S. being the largest donor to the WHO, China has been making diplomatic inroads into international organizations such as the UN, garnering support from and influencing various member states. "China has always been the arbiter of whether or not Taiwan can participate in WHA meetings, and it makes that decision based on its own political calculation of the state of cross-Strait relations, rather than concern for global public health," said Drew Thompson, a former U.S. defense department official responsible for managing bilateral relations with China, Taiwan and Mongolia. The current Tsai Ing-wen administration in Taipei is deemed to be independence-leaning  a taboo for Beijing. Tsai won Taiwan's presidential election in January on the back of anti-Beijing sentiment due to concerns over eroding freedoms in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. With Beijing-Taipei relations the frostiest in years, this does not bode well for Taiwan's inclusion in the WHA meeting. On Monday, the WHO's lawyer told an online press briefing that director general Tedros has "no mandate" to invite Taiwan to take part in the meeting next week, Reuters reported. Beijing has repeatedly said that Taiwan is adequately represented by China. "On the Taiwan region's participation in WHO activities, China's position is clear and consistent. It must be handled according to the one-China principle," said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry at a scheduled press conference last week, according to an official transcript. Hua said Beijing has made "proper arrangement" for Taiwan to deal with local or global public health emergencies in a timely fashion, but Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was pushing for independence. "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the DPP authorities have been engaging in political manipulation and constant hype-up over the issue of Taiwan's participation in WHO and WHA," said Hua. "The real intention is very clear. They are taking advantage of the virus to seek independence," she said.

Taiwan's mask diplomacy
New Delhi, May 12 : The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre to examine the plea of a pregnant woman seeking immediate repatriation via a scheduled May 13 Air India flight. The Centre told the apex court it will seriously attempt to assist the family of the woman to board the flight from San Francisco to Bangalore on May 13.

A bench of Justices Nageswara Rao, Abdul Nazeer and Sanjeev Khanna asked the Centre to act on the petition, but did not pass any order.

Advocate Anand Sanjay Nuli, representing the petitioners, contended before the bench that his client is in an advanced stage of pregnancy and she is stuck in the US along with her 18-month-old daughter and husband, and any delay in her repatriation is likely to have an adverse effect on her health.

The plea contended that the petitioner is in the third trimester of her pregnancy and is living in an extreme state of uncertainty and in a condition proving fatal to herself and the fetus.

Last week, while hearing a plea on behalf of many pregnant Indian women seeking return from Saudi Arabia, the apex court observed that women who are in the final stage of pregnancy must be given top priority during repatriation.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that taking note of the health condition of the petitioner, a serious attempt is being made to assist her to board the flight from San Francisco to Bangalore scheduled to leave on Wednesday.

The petition contended Pooja Chaudhary and her family had return flights to India after a composite business trip on April 6. However, due to restrictions imposed by the Director General of Civil Aviation on the operation of international flights, the petitioner and her family have been stranded in the US.

The petitioner sought "appropriate arrangements" for the family's travel to India via "Air India Flight No. AI 174 which is scheduled to depart from San Francisco on May 13 or at the next earliest possible opportunity. The petitioner also sought direction from the top court to ensure that she has access to proper medical facilities. The apex court has been taking up petitions of several stranded Indian citizens, in various countries, since the lockdown was imposed and international cross-border air travel was also closed.
KYODO NEWS - May 11, 2020 - 22:58 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan is arranging to simultaneously lift the nationwide state of emergency declared for 34 out of Japan's 47 prefectures over the novel coronavirus on Thursday after consulting a panel of experts, government sources said Monday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated some prefectures could be taken off the list of those placed under the state of emergency before its May 31 expiry. Speaking in parliament, he said Japan is on a "steady" path toward ending the coronavirus epidemic.

Of the remaining 13 prefectures which have been designated by the government as requiring special caution due to their large number of infections, Ibaraki and Gifu prefectures are also being considered, the sources said.

"We are planning to hear expert opinions on May 14 and announce if any partial lifting will be possible," Abe told a session of the lower house budget committee.

The premier initially issued a monthlong state of emergency until May 6 for seven urban areas including Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. He expanded it to all 47 prefectures in mid-April and extended it by about a month until May 31 in the hope there would be a downtrend in new cases, thereby easing the strain on hospitals.

The government has divided the 47 prefectures into two groups. The first group, numbering 13, is made up of prefectures such as Tokyo and Osaka, while the remaining 34 are not on such a special alert.

Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told the same parliamentary session that the emergency declaration could be lifted in "many" of the 34 prefectures if the infection situation is judged to have stabilized. The same can be also said of the other 13 prefectures, Nishimura said.

Even if the state of emergency is removed, however, the government will continue to ask people to refrain from moving across prefectural borders and holding large gatherings.

"If the number of infections rises and signs of 'overshooting' emerge (in a prefecture where the state of emergency has been lifted), we'd have to consider placing it under the declaration again," Nishimura said. Japanese officials use "overshooting" to mean an explosive increase in virus cases.

The government has faced the difficult challenge of pursuing the containment of COVID-19 and the resumption of some economic activities at the same time.

Amid increasing calls for more emergency measures to support struggling businesses and students and another extra budget to fund them, Abe said he will act "boldly if judged necessary."

He told the parliamentary session that the government will take additional steps to extend support to students who are struggling financially and whose income depends on part-time jobs.

Last week, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito proposed to Abe that the government should shoulder part of the rent for small and midsize companies hit by sharp revenue falls due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, pressed Abe to make multiple cash distributions to all individuals, to which the prime minister said he will consider further steps based on the assessment of the panel of experts.

Under the state of emergency declaration, prefectural governors can request businesses to shut, though there are no penalties for noncompliance, seen as a limit of the current legal framework.

In the 13 worst-hit prefectures, local governments have asked people to refrain from nonessential outings and businesses.

Some governors have already set out their own criteria for relaxing curbs on business activity. After Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura took the initiative, the governor of Aichi, the central Japanese prefecture that is home to Toyota Motor Corp., followed suit on Monday.

Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura set three criteria -- the numbers of new cases and hospitalized patients and the percentage of those testing positive for the new coronavirus.

Omura said he will ease calls for self-restraint if the three criteria are met, regardless of whether his prefecture remains designated by the central government as an area needing "special caution."

"The number of infected people has been falling since April 25. We've entered a stage in which we need to prepare for economic activity to resume and schools to reopen," the governor said at a press conference.

If the number of new cases stays below 10 a day, the percentage of those testing positive below 5 percent, and the number of patients in hospital below 150 for seven straight days, the governor will consider relaxing the curbs.

Osaka has similar criteria: the number of cases with untraceable routes, the percentage of those testing positive and the bed occupancy rate for patients with severe symptoms.

Japan has avoided an explosive surge in infections and recent data suggest that the epidemic may be leveling off. But the government panel of infectious disease and public health experts has said the pace of decline in new cases is not rapid enough and it is too soon to relax vigilance.

Abe said clinical trials of a vaccine are expected to begin in Japan as early as July, adding that the University of Tokyo, Osaka University and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases are developing one.

The total number of cases, including about 700 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo in February, has surpassed 16,500, with over 640 deaths.

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A Missouri man was indicted Tuesday on hate crime and arson charges after allegedly destroying an Islamic Center on the first day of Ramadan.

Image: (Cape Girardeau Police Department via AP)

Nicholas J. Proffitt, 42, allegedly targeted the Cape Girardeau Islamic Center on April 24 because of its religious character, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said.

None of the dozen or so people who were at the center were injured in the fire, but the property was declared a total loss, the Islamic Center of Greater St. Louis said. A few families who lived there lost everything, the group said.

Cape Girardeau is roughly 120 miles south of St. Louis.

Proffitt was arrested April 30, court documents show. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 14.

Additional details about the charges weren't immediately available. A lawyer for Profitt did not respond to a request for comment.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 13:56 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7752a0 1 National Jokowi,Joko-Widodo,COVID-19,novel-coronavirus,coronavirus,blood-plasma Free

Indonesia is gearing up for a large-scale trial on convalescent plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients amid a global rally to find a cure for the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, President Joko Jokowi Widodo has said.

The blood plasma, extracted from recovered patients, would be donated to severely ill COVID-19 patients to give their immune systems a boost. Researchers have claimed the method effective in treating COVID-19 patients since the convalescent plasma from the novel coronavirus survivors produced antibodies that could combat the virus.

I have seen significant progress in blood plasma treatment trials. The treatment would be clinically tested within a large scale in several hospitals, President Jokowi said in a virtual limited meeting on Monday.

President also added that trials on stem cells to endogenously treat COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia would also be done alongside the blood plasma trials.

He also lauded the advancement in genome sequencing by Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biologys laboratory as part of the initial stage for vaccine development.

I urge all sectors to fully support these research and innovation programs. Licensing should be done faster and integrated, he said.

A team of researchers from Eijkman Institute and Pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma, alongside a number of international partners, has been working to develop convalescent plasma that contains antibodies at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

Doctors have been using convalescent plasma transfusions to help patients fight diseases since the 1918 Spanish Flu and recently the procedures also worked on patients with SARS, Ebola, and H1N1.

The Jakarta administration also plans to provide hospitals with supplies of the plasma in the capital city, with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in charge of distribution.

Researchers have urged COVID-19 survivors who are symptom free for 28 days to donate their blood plasma to help the those who are severely ill. (trn)
Down to 1 millisecond using JPEG-XS: the new MediorNet MuoN FusioN will transmit video in studios and around the world, every day, at the lowest latency!

intoPIX, the leading provider of innovative image processing and compression technologies, is happy to announce that RIEDEL has integrated the new TICO-XS solution. Riedel will deliver a new range of JPEG-XS-enabled SFPs and processing hubs for ST 2110 live production.

"For broadcasters who want to create full IP workflows and truly replace uncompressed video and SDI, intoPIX JPEG-XS is an outstanding solution enabling to transmit video without losing image quality, with less than 1 millisecond of latency. This intoPIX technology enabled us to achieve a true breakthrough with our MuoN devices: with 64 JPEG-XS encoders per RU, our solutions now boast the highest density on the market" said Renaud Lavoie, Managing Director at Riedel Montreal.

The JPEG-XS standard has been co-created by intoPIX and will significantly accelerate the transition to professional media over managed IP networks. It enables live production workflows to move from traditional SDI to networked IP and target COTS equipment. Compared to uncompressed video, JPEG-XS will generate cost savings, allow greater network scalability, simplify connectivity and facilitate the capability to increase quality with no impact on latency.

Both Riedel and intoPIX are showing new products powered by JPEG-XS. The two companies welcome everybody to contact their respective sales team to sample the intoPIX JPEG-XS technology and the new Riedel MuoN and FusioN products.

Download here the Press Release images

About Riedel Communications

Riedel Communications designs, manufactures, and distributes pioneering real-time video, audio, data, and communications networks for broadcast, pro audio, event, sports, theater, and security applications. The company also provides rental services for radio and intercom systems, event IT solutions, fiber backbones, and wireless signal transmission systems that scale easily for events of any size, anywhere in the world. Riedel is headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany, and employs over 700 people in 25 locations throughout Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.

Further information about Riedel and the company's products is available at www.riedel.net

About intoPIX

intoPIX is a leading technology provider of innovative compression, image processing and security solutions. We deliver unique FPGA/ASIC IP cores and efficient software solution (on CPU GPU) to manage more pixels, preserve quality with no latency, save cost power and simplify connectivity. We are passionate about offering people a higher quality image experience. Our solutions enable the Broadcast industry to build new bandwidth-efficient live production workflows, reducing operating costs in HD, 4K or even 8K, replacing uncompressed video, enabling remote production and preserving always the lowest latency and the highest quality.

More information on our company, customers, technology and products can be found on www.intopix.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005361/en/

Contacts:

Press contact:

Raiffa Lanove +32 10 23 84 70

press@intopix.com
A couple has shared their secrets to a happy marriage after celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary with a surprise car parade while quarantined in their retirement community.

Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio from Naples, Florida, were honored by their family and friends with a drive-by procession of nearly two dozen cars on May 3  the day of their milestone anniversary.

'Never in a million years did we think 73 years later we would be celebrating our anniversary with a parade in Naples, Florida,' Yolanda, 96, told Good Morning America.

Look of love: Joe and Yolanda Tenaglio from Naples, Florida, celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary on May 3

Special: They were honored by their family and friends with a drive-by procession of nearly two dozen cars

The Tenaglios met at a dance on May 3, 1946, and they wed exactly a year later on May 3, 1947, at a Catholic church in their home state of Pennsylvania.

After more than seven decades together, Joe, 98, credits the success of their marriage to 'the two famous words': Yes, dear.

His wife, however, believes their constant communication has been what has helped them weather the occasional storms in their relationship over the years.

'Along the way you have a few scraps but you get over it,' she said. 'You have to communicate and if you don't, it's sad.'

Seven decades: The Tenaglios met at a dance on May 3, 1946, and they wed exactly a year later on May 3, 1947, at a Catholic church in their home state of Pennsylvania

Paying tribute: The Tenaglios' nieces organized the surprise parade with the help of the couple's former neighbors who have stayed in touch with them

'And say, I love you, every night. That's it,' she added.

The couple never had children of their own, but they are part of a large family and have nearly a dozen nieces and nephews as well as grand and great nieces and nephews.

The Tenaglios' nieces organized the surprise parade with the help of the couple's former neighbors who have stayed in touch with them after they moved to the retirement home.

'The line of cars blowing their horns and all the people there, wow, it was beautiful,' Joe, a retired carpenter, told GMA of the special moment.

Secret: Joe, 98, credits their successful marriage to 'the two famous words': Yes, dear

Talk it out: Yolanda, 96, believes their constant communication has been what has helped them weather the occasional storms in their relationship over the years

Their neighbors have also been scheduling socially-distanced visits to chat with them while they are quarantined in their apartment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

They bring chairs and umbrellas and post up outside  making sure to sit more than six feet away from Joe and Yolanda while they catch up.



'Thank God we have a lot of good friends because it does get lonely,' Yolanda said, but the retired secretary noted that she and her husband are just grateful to be alive and together.

'We have a lot to be thankful for,' she said. 'I'm sure there are a lot of people that have a lot more to worry about than us.'
On May 8, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced visa restrictions for mainland Chinese journalists employed by non-U.S. media restricting their work visas to 90 days, in what is seen as the latest retaliatory measure against China. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expresses concern about the escalation of the situation and the impact on media freedom as it obstructs the free flow of information during a global pandemic.

This measure taken by the U.S. is one in a series of retaliatory moves between China and U.S., that involves media and journalists and threatens the free flow of information. Under the new rules, Chinese journalists are eligible to receive only 90-day work visas, with visa extensions limited to a maximum of 90 days.

In March this year, the IFJ reported Chinas decision to revoke the press passes of American journalists from mainstream organisations like The New York Times and Washington Post, among others, which came only days after three journalists from the Wall Street Journal were expelled from China over an opinion piece on Covid-19, despite not working on the article.

The expulsion of the journalists by China was seen as an act of retaliation against the U.S. In February this year, the Trump administration announced that five major Chinese state-run entities with US operations, will be treated as foreign embassies, with the need for them to register their employees and US properties with the State Department. This move was reportedly taken to curb the promotion of Chinese soft power overseas.

IFJ said: The instability in Sino-American relations has escalated the media controls between the two countries, threatening press freedom and journalists rights, which damages the free flow of information. The IFJ condemns the use of such tit-for-tat measures that attacks journalists rights as, during the pandemic, they must be provided with better platforms to exercise their duty of informing the citizens.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks as President Donald Trump listens during the daily White House coronavirus press briefing in Washington, on April 1, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

China, Russia Exploit CCP Virus Pandemic to Advance Interests in Italy: Defense Secretary

US Defense Department provides humanitarian aid to Italy: Esper

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Italian newspaper La Stampa in an interview on May 4 that Russia and China are using humanitarian assistance provided to Italy to advance their own interests.

Russia provided medical assistance to Italy but then attempted to use that assistance to drive a wedge between Italy and its allies with a disinformation campaign, Esper said.

According to researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) stories alleging that the virus is a hoax, that it is man-made, or that it is a U.S.-made biological weapon are examples of Russian disinformation.

I have repeatedly called for Russia and China to be transparent with information during this crisis, Esper said, adding that he recommended that their donations to other countries be of quality and come without strings.

The issue of exploiting the vulnerability of NATO allies due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, was also discussed during the recent NATO Defense Ministers meeting attended by Esper. The United States and NATO Allies will take steps to ensure the health crisis does not turn into a security crisis, Esper said.

US Provides Humanitarian Aid to Italy

Cleaning personnel in protective gear disinfecting patients beds in one of the tents from a newly operative field hospital for coronavirus patients, in Cremona, southeast of Milan, on March 20, 2020. (Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)

Esper authorized the Department of Defense on April 20 to provide humanitarian support to Italy including transportation of medical equipment, fuel, or food, providing medical supplies, the involvement of U.S. military personnel in humanitarian operations conducted in Italy, remote clinical services provided to Italian medical facilities, and medical services to non-COVID-19 patients in Italian hospitals, according to a Defense Department statement.

President Donald Trump ordered his administration on April 10at the request of the Italian Governmentto provide COVID-19 relief to Italy, and aid to mitigate the economic damage made by the pandemic.

The assistance to Italy, one of the closest and oldest Allies of the United States, will not only help Italy to fight the CCP virus outbreak but will also counter the Chinese and Russian disinformation campaigns, and lessen the risk of re-infection from Europe into the United States, Trump said.

The humanitarian aid to Italy leverages the current presence of 30,000 U.S. military personnel and their family members in Italy so it will affect neither the readiness nor health of the military force in the United States nor their participation in the domestic response to the CCP outbreak, Trumps order says.

General Tod Wolters, the U.S. European Command commander and other commanders in that region were tasked to provide assistance to Italy in combating COVID-19, Esper told La Stampa.

Military Personnel Accompany Russian COVID-19 Assistance to Italy

Russia provided medical aid to Italy, following a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, according to experts at CSIS.

The delivery of medical supplies from Russia to Italy was accompanied by over 100 Russian military personnel trained in biological, chemical, and nuclear decontamination, reported CSIS.

Esper told La Stampa that some actors may seek to use the pandemic and resulting economic challenges we all face as an opening to invest in critical industries and infrastructure, which in turn may affect long-term security.

NATO defense ministers agreed during a meeting that potential adversaries will almost certainly look to exploit this situation to further their own interests and try to sow division in the Alliance and in Europe, Esper told La Stampa.

The Russian military personnel sent to Italy were headed by Sergei Kikot, a deputy commander of Russian radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, and they include virologists and epidemiologists, according to Russian state news agency TASS, as well as intelligence personnel, according to La Stampa. La Stampa also reported that some critics argue 80% of the aid provided by Russia was of little use to Italy.

Massive Propaganda Campaign Accompanies Chinese COVID-19 Assistance to Italy

Members of a Chinese Anti-Epidemic medical expert team attend a press conference after landing at Milan  Malpensa airport in Ferno, near Milan, Italy, on March 18, 2020. (Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)

Chinese deliveries of medical supplies to Italy have been accompanied by a massive propaganda campaign.

According to Dean Cheng, a Senior Fellow Researcher at the Heritage Foundation, the goal of the Chinese communication campaign is aimed at boosting its reputation abroad in order to build 5G networks in key countries around the world.

Esper told La Stampa that Reliance on Chinese 5G vendors  could render our partners critical systems vulnerable to disruption, manipulation, and espionage. It could also jeopardize our communication and intelligence sharing capabilities.

The United States has been working on the development of an alternative 5G technology solution and encourages its allies to do the same, Esper said. These technologies are being currently tested by the U.S. military, he added.

It is not by coincidence that one of the earliest recipients of Chinese medical attention was Italy, Cheng said in his report. Italy is the only one of G7 countries that joined the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or One Belt, One Road) aimed at expanding the Chinese political and military sphere of influence through opaque lending practices leading to debt traps.

Chinese company Huawei has already been establishing 5G testbeds in a number of Italian cities, Cheng said.

The Chinese embassy in Italy has been posting videos, vignettes, slogans, and messages, and the Ambassador has been giving interviews and releasing messages of support to the Italian society, according to Francesca Ghiretti, a researcher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). The Chinese propaganda also targets politicians and decision-makers, Ghiretti said.

Although the propaganda is aimed at boosting the Chinese Communist Partys image abroad, the first concern of the CCP and its leader is regime survival, according to Ghiretti. Thus, a lot of the Chinese propaganda we see in the West is actually aimed at domestic audiences in China (and its diaspora), she said.
JERUSALEM  The explosion flung him skyward, legs first, before he crashed to the ground.

It was June 2002, at the height of the second Palestinian intifada. Dvir Musai, then a 13-year-old Israeli schoolboy from a religious Jewish settlement, was on a class cherry-picking trip in the southern West Bank. On his way back to the bus, he stepped on a mine laid by Palestinian militants and was gravely wounded, along with two other boys.

There was a lot of smoke, clumps of earth falling, a smell of burning and gunpowder, Mr. Musai, now 31, recalled.

Decades of agony followed. Mr. Musais right foot felt as if it were permanently afire. And then last year, a surgeon offered him hope  and a disquieting disclosure.

In pre-op at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Dr. Madi el-Haj told his patient that the anatomical atlas he would use to guide him through the intricate nerve pathways had been produced by Nazis. Its illustrations are believed to be based on the dissected victims of the Nazi court system under Hitlers Third Reich.
The 911 caller told police on Monday evening that shots had been fired inside a modest two-story home on Staten Island where a pregnant woman lived with her boyfriend and three children.

Police officers arrived to find a man rushing down the front stairs and quickly took him into custody. He had a gun.

When investigators entered the homes living room, they found a grisly scene, the police said: The pregnant woman, Ana Desousa, 33, and her longtime boyfriend, Alafia Rodriguez, 46, had been shot and killed. Their 1-year-old daughter, Blue, was found unhurt nearby. Another woman was clinging to life with a gaping chest wound.

The man who was arrested, Phillip Moreno, 45, of Staten Island, was charged on Tuesday with murder and assault. Court records show Mr. Moreno had been released from prison in 2007 after serving a 14-year sentence for manslaughter. The police said he was on parole and had at least three other convictions involving the illegal possession or use of firearms.
After the first year, she understood that this was the way she was going to live her life out, Patrick Chesley said. She made herself satisfied.

Arlene Chesley moved into Charles County Nursing and Rehabilitation  now Sagepoint Senior Living  in 1999. Doctors told her after the aneurysm that she would be lucky to live for five years, her son said. But she lived another 21, years filled with bingo, music  Diana Ross and the Supremes were her favorite  and visits from her six grandchildren.

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Chesley died of covid-19 on May 6 at Charles Regional Medical Center. She was 78.

She was one of 34 Sagepoint residents who have died of covid-19, according to state data released last week. The facility has the highest death toll of any nursing home in Maryland. The 165-bed facility in La Plata, Md., was fined $10,000 a day by the state for violating infection control protocols.

Too few masks, tests and workers: How covid-19 spread through Maryland nursing homes

She wasnt ready to go when this coronavirus took her, said Patrick Chesley, who is among family members who say Sagepoint failed to protect their loved ones or communicate what was happening at the facility.

Patrick Chesley, 55, said that when he demanded to visit his mother at the nursing home in late April  donning full personal protective gear  he could see that many of the rooms that usually had two residents only had one. Behind closed doors, he said, he could hear people groaning.

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That was the eeriest feeling I had ever had in my life, he said. It was stifling.

Sagepoint did not respond to requests for comment.

Chesley was born in Philadelphia and moved to La Plata after the first grade. After high school, she went to cosmetology school and became a licensed cosmetologist, doing hair for a living. Later in life, she also became an assistant special-education teacher, her son said.

She raised him and his brother as a divorced single mother. He said she loved cooking, planting flowers and, after he and his brother had children, seeing her grandchildren.

Even though she never regained the ability to speak, Chesley was protective of her fellow residents at Sagepoint, he said. She would often instruct her son to wheel her around the facility to check on them.

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She would keep pointing, and we would get to someones room on the other side of the nursing home, and she would sit there and look at them to see how they were doing, he said. She was persistent. She cared about others more than she did about herself.

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He said he knows that he wants justice for his mother and the other Sagepoint residents who died, even though he is not yet sure what that would look like. Mostly, he knows that he wants them to be remembered.

I want to make sure that my mother and the other 34 people who died do not become forgotten ghosts, he said.

Report details deficiencies at Maryland nursing home with highest covid-19 deaths

Too few masks, tests and workers: How covid-19 spread through Maryland nursing homes

Md. nursing home with most deaths to be fined $10,000 a day since March 30

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Neither Professor Chris Whitty or Sir Patrick Vallance were asked to approve Number 10's Government's confusing 'stay alert' message, it was claimed today.

The 'stay alert, control the virus, save lives' slogan was unveiled on Sunday, replacing the 'stay at home' message that was in place since lockdown on March 23.

But the top experts in the fight against COVID-19 were allegedly not asked to sign off Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new slogan, The Guardian reports.

This is despite both Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick having advised ministers on how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic for several months.

It has led to concerns that officials are no longer 'following the science' - the defense the government has given for every move during the crisis.

Ministers have refuted the chief medical officer and chief scientific advisor were not involved with the new branding - even though the Department of Health confirmed it was not within their job roles.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock this morning said the pair did sign off on the slogan, saying that he remembered 'very carefully' a meeting which the chief medical officer and chief scientific advisor attended.

But added that 'ordinary people' had also been involved with the creation of the new slogan.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday denied the claims Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick were not involved in making the slogan

However, hours later at the press briefing, Professor Whitty appeared to brush off the concerns by saying neither he nor Sir Patrick were 'comms experts'.

It follows First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's revealing frustrations that she had not been conferred with about the new slogan before it was pushed out to the public.

'Stay alert, control the virus, save lives', was unveiled on Sunday in place of the 'Stay at home' message which has been in force since the lockdown on March 23

Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance were not asked to approve the Government's confusing 'stay alert' message, it's been claimed.

Mr Johnson dropped the powerful 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives' slogan on Sunday ahead of a slow ease of some lockdown measures.

But he was forced to defend it before his 7pm address to the nation after it quickly attracted a backlash for lacking in clarity and being much too soft to guard against a deadly and very contagious disease.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would not be adopting 'the PM's new slogan' and that she would continue to use the 'stay home' message.

She tweeted: 'The Sunday papers is the first I've seen of the PM's new slogan.'

Whitehall sources claim neither Professor Whitty or Sir Patrick were asked to give the go-ahead for the shift in messaging, The Guardian reports.

The key experts have been at the forefront of communicating important information to the public. Both of them have a background in science.

The slogan was developed by No 10 and the Cabinet Office, and the reported lack of involvement of critical scientists 'beggars belief', critics said.

It also brings fresh doubt about the government's persistent claim it is 'following the science' to deal with the coronavirus.

Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson, said: 'The government's failure to secure the approval of the chief medical officer or the chief scientific adviser for this significant shift in public health messaging beggars belief.

'If the government is following the science as it has repeatedly claimed to be, working closely with the CMO and CSA on all public messaging should be a given.'

The Twickenham MP added: 'The new "stay alert" message is deeply confusing, out of step with other UK nations and it's unclear what scientific guidance  if any  informed this decision.

'Ministers must explain the basis for the new messaging and who exactly was consulted about the change.'

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: 'If they werent involved in this key decision then how can you continue to claim that you are following the science?

'To make such a point that you are following the science and then not involve your two most senior scientists in a key decision like this would strike me as being worrying. Its substantial mixed messaging.'

The top experts in the fight against COVID-19, pictured yesterday, were allegedly not asked to sign off Prime Minister Boris Johnson's new slogan - despite advising ministers on how to tackle the pandemic for months

MATT HANCOCK DEFENDS THE ROADMAP AS 'CLEAR' Matt Hancock has been involved in a series of ill-tempered live TV and radio interviews today where he appeared frustrated when repeatedly asked for 'clarity' on how Britain would be eased out of the coronavirus lockdown. The Health Secretary was grilled on whether the Government's 'road map' was confusing and even appeared to roll his eyes ahead of his appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning. Mr Hancock's off-guard moment came as host Louise Minchin said Labour had demanded 'more clarity' on how people would return to normal life - and his look to the sky appeared to be aimed at someone behind the camera. He said during the programme, in which he was grilled on various aspects of the plan, 'The principles are really clear and the public has been sensible so far. 'The Great British public have really understood what social distancing means, why we need to do it... the principles are outside is better than inside, stay two metres away, wash your hands and clean the surfaces, and see as few people as you can, outside of your household because that virus spreads but we do also at the same time need to get people back to work.' Around half an hour later on BBC Radio 4 he was asked about the confusion surrounding whether people should have returned to work on Monday or Wednesday and said: 'I think that if that is the biggest complaint the Today programme has then I think things are fine', adding: 'I think weve been clear throughout.' Advertisement

This morning LBC Radio presenter Nick Ferrari asked Matt Hancock if Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick signed off the slogan.

The Health Secretary replied: 'Well they're involved in all of the decisions.'

Mr Ferrari said: 'So they did sign off on this actual wording?'

Mr Hancock said: 'Well yes, I remember the meeting very carefully.

'We were all that meeting when the slogan was presented, but actually, the slogan was worked on with a lot of input from ordinary people and listening to what people actually understood and responded to and people get it. People get it.'

It comes after Mr Johnson denied the allegations entirely when pressed on the matter by MPs in the House of Commons yesterday.

Liberal Democrat acting co-leader Sir Ed Davey asked: 'Will he (Mr Johnson) confirm new reports that neither the chief medical officer, nor the chief scientific adviser signed off yesterday's shift in the public health message from "stay at home" to "stay alert"?'

Mr Johnson responded: 'That's not right.'

But at the Downing Street press conference later on Monday, Professor Whitty appeared to contradict the Prime Minister's answer in parliament.

He said: 'We've been involved in all stages of the process.

'Neither Sir Patrick nor I consider ourselves to be comms experts, so we're not going to get involved in actual details of comms strategies, but we are involved in the overall strategic things and we have been at every stage.'

When asked whether he approved of the change of guidance, Sir Patrick, England's chief scientific advisor, said: 'Science has had input to the whole plan.'

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed today that 'it is not the CMO's role to approve government strategy or branding'.

It added that the new messaging was part of the lockdown exit roadmap which had been developed 'using scientific and medical advice'.

Critics suspect if the CMO and CSA had input in the branding, it would have more clarity and potentially save lives.

Professor Hunter said: 'Maybe if they had asked for the involvement of the CMO and CSA they might actually have got a message that people could understand.

'"Stay alert" is a pretty meaningless phrase that doesnt mean much to most people or to professors of medicine.'

Union leaders accused Mr Johnson of sending mixed messages after the Sunday speech which could have 'lethal' consequences.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said the new 'stay alert' slogan was meaningless rhetoric.

He added: 'That wasn't a message from the Prime Minister. It was a message from big business and those who put profit before people.

'Never mind being led by the science, the British response is now being led by the money.'

John Philips, acting general secretary of the GMB, said: 'More mixed messages from the Government - saying there's no end to lockdown, but asking everyone to go back to work.

'The overall message is contradictory and confusing, when what people really need is clarity.'

Officials say the 'stay alert' message means staying at home as much as possible, but when you do leave the house, to maintain social distancing.
A care home in London is believed to be the first to close due to coronavirus pressures, including staff shortages.

Friary Lodge in Barnet, north London, has asked residents to move out by the end of May, ITV News reported.

The home told residents: "It is no longer possible to provide you with care and support that you need because of ongoing staffing issues and operational difficulties due to Covid-19."

Friary Lodge is closing temporarily and residents are reportedly already moving out.

Residents are being asked to move out by the end of the month / PA

Mary Masters, 91, moved from the home on Monday and was "very sad", according to her daughter Susan.

Susan said her "biggest concern" was that she might "lose" her mother because of the move.

Friary Lodge's solicitor said that the care sector and residents have been "greatly let down by the government" and that "many will die".

They added: "The government has provided too little support to care homes, and too late.

Many care homes are struggling with costs and staff shortages / Reuters

The news comes as another care home has warned that without further cash injections from the Government the home will close within eight weeks.

Wren Hall near Nottingham told ITV that 15 residents had died after catching coronavirus and that the home has spend 13,000 on PPE in the last six weeks.

Care homes have seen a surge in coronavirus-linked deaths in recent weeks, with some staff complaining of a lack of protection for them and residents.

More than 40 per cent of Covid-19 fatalities in the week to May 1 took place in care homes, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

The Standard has contaceted Friary Lodge and Wren Hall for comment.
It is well documented that the fashion industry has a plus-size problem. You only need to look at editorials, advertising campaigns and clothing rails to see the glaring lack of representation, despite the plus-size market being worth around 6.6 billion in the UK alone.

However, a cultural shift towards inclusivity and body positivity in recent years has forced the fashion industry to start listening. Things are changing, which is why comments in a recent Guardian interview with Twiggy, a British fashion icon famously known for setting the stage for the thin model revolution, are tired and outdated.

When asked whether the fashion industry still needs to change to focus on different body shapes, Twiggy argues that it already has, claiming rather vaguely that there are so many more ads now while pointing out that her clothing line with M&S went up to a size 22.

While this is admirable given that so many high street brands still refuse to accommodate plus-sizes, the 70-year-olds comments on the luxury fashion market are all too telling, resorting to the age-old snobbery towards curvy models and their place on the runway.

She said: I dont think the high fashion industry will ever go completely away from slimness but I think other parts of the industry have started to use different shapes and sizes, and I think they should.

This separation between high street and high fashion is emblematic of an antiquated attitude towards plus-sized women, one that implies that they should be hidden from view in the back of a catalogue, with no place on a catwalk or in designer clothing.

It plays into a sense of othering that fashion houses have already started to reject, as curvy models like Ashley Graham, Candice Suffine and Precious Lee walk for major labels like Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger and Christian Siriano. This year at Paris fashion week, Chanel featured a plus-size model for the first time in a decade, while Fendis first ever plus-size models made fashion history during Milan fashion week.

This isnt to say that Twiggys views arent still held by major players in the industry, or that weve achieved inclusivity. Curvy models made up just 1.4 per cent of representation during Fall 2020 shows, falling by 1.5 per cent on the previous season. But given the fact that in 2017, Emme Aronson, the worlds first plus-size supermodel, admitted that curvy women were once banned from the catwalk, its important to celebrate the significant shift.

Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion Show all 7 1 /7 Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-6.jpg Photos Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-1.jpg Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-5.jpg Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-4.jpg Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-2.jpg Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-3.jpg Peter Lindbergh Peter Lindbergh: Photographer who altered the landscape of fashion taschen-Peter-Lindbergh-book.jpg Peter Lindbergh

Take Victorias Secret. The brands outdated lingerie show, known for its slender, predominantly white models walking the runway wearing wings, once had cult status, but it has struggled for years to stay culturally relevant. Comments from an executive at the lingerie chain on how plus-size and transgender models should have no place on its catwalk helped to seal its fate, while the success of Rihannas lingerie line Savage X Fenty and its inclusive show helped deal the final blow, as Victorias Secret cancelled its own in 2019. The Savage X Fenty show is lauded for its racial and size diversity, so much so that it received a $50 million investment in 2019 and a lucrative Amazon Prime deal for its show.

Companies like Savage X Fenty are arguably the new face of fashion and have seen huge success so far, much to the surprise of plus-size model critics. Rihanna believes that tapping into a relatively untouched market is not only gainful financially, but important culturally. In a post-show interview with Business of Fashion, she said: "There are a lot of women out there who are feeling in the dark, invisible. I cant try that on because Im not made like that this is where you feel safe, right here at Savage.

Whether Twiggy likes it or not, high fashion has already started to stray from its reliance on slimness, and it will need to continue doing so to appeal to its growing Gen-Z audience, who now make up 40 per cent of the worlds purchasing power and, importantly, put social causes at the heart of their consumer needs. Size inclusivity is happening, albeit at a glacial pace, and the sooner the industry can accept that, the sooner we will all benefit from it.
GUANGZHOU, China, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In early April 2020 on the social media platforms, PHNIX released a sheet metal low power swimming pool heater named ExpertLine-Mini. This product is very portable as the height is only as tall as an adult's knee, which will allow people to lift it up easily. It is used for heating swimming pools from 5 ~15 m. In addition to placing it beside the built pools, the user can take it where they like to heat a removable pool.

Once ExpertLine-Mini was launched, PHNIX had received many consultations and orders. Mr. Liu, PHNIX Production Director, said that now it had been put into mass production. What's more, according to PHNIX oversea distributors, users have had a positive experience with this new product, so customers' purchase demand for it are keeping growing. Until now, ExpertLine-Mini are still being created one by one on PHNIX's production line and will be shipped around the world soon to serve customers.

Packing up swimming supplies, going out and driving to a satisfying public swimming area is not so convenient or time-saving. Therefore, more and more people plan to build their own household swimming pools. However, most of the heaters on the market are of high power and huge size that are not suitable for small pools. ExpertLine-Mini filled this demand gap well.

About PHNIX ExpertLine-Mini

Plug & Play

ExpertLine-Mini comes out from the factory with a power cord, so users can put it into use as long as receiving the unit.

Ingenious Wind Inlet & Outlet Way

ExpertLine-Mini adopts upward wind inlet & sideward wind outlet way. With this special design, though in a confined space, it still can perform heat exchange well.

Sheet Metal Cabinet

ExpertLine-Mini adopts high quality sheet metal to produce its cabinet, which integrates anticorrosion, lowest aging, lowest fading, smooth and bright appearance and long service life.

Bluetooth Display & Control

With the PHNIX self-developed App, users can see the timely situation of the unit and control it by mobile phone.

About PHNIX

As a leading manufacturer of heat pumps in China, PHNIX is an international enterprise specializing in the R&D and production of heat pump products and energy-saving solutions. Nearly 50% of PHNIX products are exported to Europe, North America and other overseas markets. For more information about PHNIX and its products, please visit www.phnix-e.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166012/ExpertLine_Mini_swimming_pool_heaters.jpg
London, May 12 : UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak will on Tuesday reveal the future of the government's job retention scheme, amid growing calls to extend it amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently more than six million people are having up to 80 per cent of their wages paid by the government while they are temporarily on leave from their jobs due to an ongoing lockdown imposed due to the pandemic, reports the BBC.

Sunak had previously warned the furlough scheme, due to end in June, was not "sustainable" at its current rate.

The government is encouraging people in England to return to work if safe.

On Monday night, it published aguidance for making workplaces "COVID-19 secure", including requiring employers to carry out risk assessments before they can reopen.

However, speaking at Monday's Downing Street daily briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a "sudden big flood" of people returning to work was not expected, describing the latest measures as "baby steps".

This latest development to the scheme comes as the government continues to defend its return to work message, issued in its latest coronavirus guidance for England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC on Tuesday that ministers were being "incredibly cautious" about the changes, and insisted that everyone who can work from home should continue to do so "because obviously that's the safest place to work".

Asked whether people are protected by law if they felt unsafe in the workplace, Mr Hancock said employment law had not changed but that "businesses and employees should be working together to make the best of a very difficult situation".

As of Tuesday morning, there were 224,332 COVID-19 cases in the UK with 32,141 deaths.
Care homes have been abandoned to coronavirus and forced to accept infected patients with little means of preventing outbreaks, a survey reveals today.

A third of homes have taken hospital patients with the virus, despite fewer than half being able to isolate them and control further spread.

Deaths in care homes have also outstripped those in hospital.

Three quarters claim GPs are reluctant to visit and nearly half are not confident they can get enough protective clothing.

Dedicated care home workers at Pilgrim Wood Residential care home in Surrey are sleeping in tents to protect their residents from catching the coronavirus

Care worker Adriana Bucur holds the hand of resident Doreen Woodman, 95 and Harry Woodman, 93, at Pilgrim Wood Residential care home in Surrey. Also pictured on the right is care worker Baptiste Hardy

The survey of 105 care homes by the Alzheimer's Society also found that one in four had struggled to get residents seriously ill with the virus admitted to hospital.

Kate Lee, chief executive of the charity, said: 'It's tragically clear care homes were left to fend for themselves against coronavirus  and, unfortunately, still are. Despite the heroic efforts of care workers, the precious lives of people with dementia and all those in homes are still being put in danger.

Number of all deaths linked to outbreak tops 50,000 More than 50,000 Britons have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic  at least a quarter of whom were never even infected, official figures reveal. Experts suggest the indirect deaths are 'collateral damage' of the Government's 'Stay At Home' slogan, which has led to heart attack and stroke victims avoiding hospitals. The Office for National Statistics yesterday said there were 50,979 'excess deaths'  the number recorded above the normal level for the time of year  across the UK in the five weeks to May 1. Around 28 per cent were not directly caused by the virus, the data revealed. And, in a sign of the tragedy unfolding in the country's care homes, the figures also showed, in the week to May 1, the total number of deaths in homes  both coronavirus and non-coronavirus related  exceeded those in hospitals. Nick Stripe, the ONS's head of health analysis and life events, said: 'For the first time I can remember there were more deaths in total in care homes than there were in hospitals in that week... I've never seen that before.' The data shows the UK's coronavirus death toll stood at 40,496 as of May 8, significantly higher than any other European country. But statisticians are particularly alarmed at the thousands of indirect deaths which have occurred in addition to those directly caused by the virus. In a stark warning, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, said many of these patients 'may well have lived longer had they been able to get to hospital'. He added: 'When we look back at this whole episode, this rise in non-Covid, extra deaths outside of hospitals is something I hope will be given really severe attention. Many are indirect deaths, collateral damage of the health service disruption. While some of those will have been under-diagnosis, we have got a huge number of unexplained deaths in homes and care homes. This is extraordinary.' He explained thousands of non-Covid deaths had been 'exported back to the community because of the almost-closure of hospitals'. His own analysis of the figures shows 30,000 of these excess deaths in the last five weeks have occurred in hospitals and care homes. 'That's a staggering burden compared with the normal 22,000 they would expect,' he said. Meanwhile Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University said: 'It has never been as quiet in frontline health care as I've seen in 20 years. 'This suggests the message of 'Stay At Home' has potentially been interpreted by people, who have been unwell, [to stay] at home and potentially led to excess deaths. Part of this is potentially people with cardiovascular disease, so the message is anyone with chest pain or abnormal shortness of breath should present in urgent care.' Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said the excess deaths could be 'where symptoms of Covid-19 were less obvious, but people were infected and underlying health conditions were exacerbated'. He added: 'They could also be deaths where normal care pathways have been interrupted. This may have led to additional deaths... that might have been preventable normally.' Advertisement

'Up to 70 per cent of people in homes have dementia, and it feels like they are being written off.'

Figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed nearly 10,000 care home residents have died from coronavirus so far, although this is likely to be an underestimate.

The data also revealed that the total number of deaths in care homes had overtaken hospital deaths for the most recent week  which one statistician said he had 'never seen before'.

Care homes accounted for 40 per cent of all covid deaths in the week to May 1 and, although they are starting to fall, they are declining at a much slower rate than deaths in hospital. The Alzheimer's Society survey found 32 per cent of care homes had taken covid-positive patients from hospitals since the outbreak started.

Several managers have explained how they felt pressured to accept these patients either directly by NHS or council officials or through an underlying sense that it was their duty to society.

But 58 per cent of homes did not feel they could effectively isolate infected patients, putting them at risk of triggering outbreaks.

Another 75 per cent said GPs had been 'reluctant' to visit during the outbreak, either to see sick residents or sign death certificates.

One care home manager said doctors preferred to treat patients remotely as well as sign death certificates over the phone to avoid contracting the virus.

The survey, which was completed by care home managers across the UK in the past fortnight, also found that just 43 per cent were not confident they could get hold of enough personal protective equipment (PPE) in the coming weeks.

One home said staff had resorted to taping bags around their arms, hair and feet, while another sourced visors from a school.

A further 25 per cent said there were occasions when residents who were seriously ill with coronavirus should have been admitted to hospital, but weren't.

But the fact that a third accepted covid-positive patients despite not having adequate PPE or measures to stop the infection spreading will raise serious concerns.

Last Saturday, the Mail revealed how the Care Quality Commission watchdog was investigating whether hospitals had sent covid-positive patients into care homes without telling them.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: 'The way in which patients with covid-19 were sent back to care homes ill-equipped to respond looks like a catastrophic mistake. The fact that this survey suggests some care homes were pressured to take these patients in is really worrying and regrettable.'

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across healthcare, said: 'Care homes have not received the support they need during this crisis. We have a fractured system which does not encourage joint working. There are great examples of GPs, community nurses and infection control nurses as well as geriatricians offering fantastic support and advice. But it is not universal and the divide between health and social care often gets in the way.'

Mike Padgham, who owns a care home in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said it had admitted a patient with coronavirus who died after infecting other residents.

'I don't think the NHS had a handle on it about how important it was to test residents before they were discharged into care homes.

'They didn't realise that care homes were going to be more susceptible than anywhere. Care home owners get caught in this dilemma where they want to help society and the NHS but they don't want to infect staff and residents.

'It feels as though care homes have been forgotten about.'

ilgrim Wood Residential Home near Guildford in Surrey

Yesterday, research by Sky News found that some councils were threatening to withhold vital funding from care homes unless they agreed to accept Covid patients.

Darren Somauroo, director of D&L Care Homes in Uxbridge, west London, said NHS managers tried to force him to take these patients, but he refused. He told Sky News: 'There were raised voices, they were threatening, telling us we had to take these residents.

'I made it clear we were not going to buckle under this.

'Our duty was to make sure we didn't spread it in the home. Unfortunately other providers felt they had no choice.'

'There is so much death... it's horrific': Nurse's desperate diary strips bare the scandalous state of our care homes as she reveals the agony of watching coronavirus-hit residents saying goodbye to their loved ones on the phone

Laura Hibbard for the Daily Mail

Coronavirus has ravaged Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield, where half of the residents have tested positive. Clinical lead nurse Laura Hibbard recounts a harrowing week on the front line...

FRIDAY: 'He grasps my hand as he passes away'

Last week, 16 of our 30 residents had tested positive for coronavirus, so I'm not sleeping well at the moment. Yesterday we lost Richard, a bright resident with a great sense of humour who deteriorated suddenly. He was our fourth coronavirus death since the outbreak began.

My alarm goes off at 5.45am and I arrive at Newfield at 6.50am. I'm told to keep a close eye on two residents, David and Edna, who are Covid-positive and have deteriorated.

I change into my uniform. The only PPE we wear full-time is gloves and a plastic apron  we only don mouth masks and visors to enter the room of a Covid-positive resident. We were told we wouldn't get more masks until June, and a delivery from Sheffield City Council last week failed to materialise.

Clinical Lead Nurse Laura Hibbard manages the Newfield Nursing Home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

I'm covering for the manager, who is on week seven of a 12-week isolation, and I oversee around 60 staff. At 8.30am I start the medication rounds, while the care staff serve breakfast and help people with their hygiene.

'Morning David!' I say chirpily as I check on him. 'Good morning,' he replies.

David, who is 84, is a charming, well-mannered gentleman who is particular about having his hair neat, but today he is sedate.

This morning staff sit with him. If he takes a turn for the worse, we have a plan in place with the family for him to remain with us and not enter hospital.

I visit David at three o'clock. His breathing rate has changed, he looks ashen and his skin is mottled. From experience, I know the end is close, so we contact his family.

Usually relatives would come in. But at the moment, partners  and even children  of the residents are at an age where they're at risk of coronavirus themselves.

We use David's phone to set up a FaceTime video call with his daughter, and my colleague holds the phone up so they can say their goodbyes. His daughter tells him she loves him. It's a distressing call and very brief.

After the call, I sit with David for a while and hold his hand. He suddenly grasps my hand, then shortly afterwards he passes away. It's 4.30pm. Sitting with someone like this means we're one staff member short on the main floor, but we would never want someone to be on their own at this time.

I'm trained to verify death, so after someone's passing I complete the paperwork and inform the GP and the family. Then we freshen him up, change his clothes and call the funeral directors, who are very busy at the moment. They arrive at around 6pm.

Whenever the funeral directors come, we usher residents into their rooms and make sure all the doors are closed. We follow the trolley out of the building and stand by while the body is placed in a private ambulance, then watch it drive off.

Our team debrief usually starts at about 6.45pm, and we hand over to the night team at 6.55pm. Before leaving, I throw my PPE in a hazardous waste bin, shower on site and put my uniform in a carrier bag.

At 8pm I drive home and wash my uniform at 60c. It takes 40 minutes to wash, then another 45 minutes to dry, so sometimes I don't relax until after 9.30pm.

To try to come down from the day, I have a glass of red wine and watch light television.

Saturday: 'I'm sorry, you've tested positive'

During this morning's handover, I am told that Edna passed away in the night. She was 88. The funeral directors are on call 24 hours a day, so she had already been taken away by the time I got to the home.

I'm told that one of our younger residents, Joseph, showed coronavirus symptoms overnight, so at 7.30am I visit him. He has a dry cough and a temperature of 38.2c.

Clinical Lead Nurse Laura Hibbard dressed in basic PPE

We're lucky in that, unlike most care homes, we have access to swab-testing kits because we're an NHS overspill home. I wear a full-face visor and mask to swab Joseph's nostrils and throat. The swab is then sealed to be taken to the labs.

The courier only works weekdays, so today we use a local cabbie to deliver the samples. The taxi firm knows its cargo's contents and the driver wears a mask and gloves.

Joseph is 57 and here temporarily for health and social care reasons. He talks a lot about going home and likes to watch old game shows on TV in the communal room. I take my daily break at 3pm, and two hours later we get a phone call from the lab with Joseph's results.

'Joseph, unfortunately you've tested positive,' I tell him. But because we had chatted it through earlier, he takes it well.

Tomorrow was supposed to be my day off but we're short-staffed and can't get cover, so I'm going back in. Last week, one colleague went into hospital with coronavirus and now he's in intensive care.

Sunday: 'Two residents are at end-of-life'

This morning I'm drafted into our sister care home, Westbourne House, and told immediately that there are two Covid-positive residents, Barbara and Edward, who are at end-of-life.

As soon as I check on Edward, at 8am, I can see he won't be with us for much longer. I make sure he isn't in any pain before asking a member of staff to sit with him. Edward's wife and son had wanted to come and say goodbye but can't because they're self-isolating.

After a while, the staff member asks me to come into the room. There's no breathing and I check his pulse. By 9am Edward has passed away, aged 82.

As it's a Sunday, I need to call 111 and not the GP to proceed with the death verification process. I call the funeral directors and Edward's son to break the news. He was expecting it but it's still a shock and he is very distressed.

When I go into Covid-positive residents' rooms, some of them are confused about why we have so much PPE on. They don't see a smile; only our eyes. It's difficult communicating with people who are hard of hearing, who usually rely on our facial expressions and lip movements.

Throughout the day I've done checks on Barbara and made sure she is comfortable. Unfortunately, she too reaches the end of her life, and a staff member is with her when she passes away at 4.45pm.

When someone resides here, a conversation has been had with the family and GP about whether they should be resuscitated. Would they like to die in a hospital or in their own room here, with staff they've known for weeks, months or sometimes years? Here, it's more of a family environment.

Barbara was 92 and her next of kin was her neighbour. I go through the routine: verify the death, call the next of kin, the doctor and the funeral directors, do the paperwork. At 8.30pm I'm still here, waiting for the funeral directors to arrive.

We're not used to dealing with so much death. It's horrific. I now recognise a typical 'coronavirus death': coughing, breathlessness and they really do seem to fight for their lives. I'm concerned about the spread of the virus and how many more lives we'll lose.

Monday: 'What would I have done without you?'

We're preparing to reopen the care home to hospital discharges  people who are medically well enough to leave hospital but need care before they can return home.

We're apprehensive because we believe the home was infected in the first place by people returning from hospital. We had to halt discharges because our staffing levels fell to such a degree that at one point nearly 40 per cent of our staff were off sick.

It's scary, but we know the acute sector is struggling. To protect against the virus, we have a floor to quarantine hospital discharges while the other residents are on a separate floor. This also helps us ration the PPE.

We've been told that everyone will be swabbed before they leave the hospital. But will we know the result of the swab before they come to us? A swab is only accurate at the time it's done. People could pick up coronavirus in the ambulance on the way here.

This afternoon we have the good news of our own discharges  two residents who are well enough to go home. One is a 92-year-old who survived coronavirus and is going back to be with his family.

We are especially pleased to be able to wave goodbye to Alice, who is in her 80s and has been with us for three months. During that time she caught the virus and was very ill for 17 days.

To nurse someone back to health, we encourage fluids and rest. But we also jolly on the residents with success stories  the people who survived. Alice became one of those success stories. As she leaves, she tells us: 'I don't know what I would have done without you these past few weeks.'

Tuesday: Red nail polish and Nat King Cole

TODAY is one of those days  a rarity now  when everything is calm. At 6.50am, before my shift begins, I have time for a cup of tea with some of the girls.

At the briefing, I'm told everyone slept well and is settled.

We have a decent number of staff on today, and at around 3pm two of our girls who are former hairdressers decide to have a pamper session with some of the ladies.

They set their hair in rollers and paint their nails. We have a box of colours but the ladies always go for pink and red. The residents are delighted with the makeover and have pictures taken to send to their families.

Another lady loves to sing and wants music, so we put on CDs  old crooners like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. The staff have a singalong with her in her room. It's a morale boost when we can have a bit of fun like this. After work, I have a video call and some drinks with two close friends.

Wednesday: 'In a face visor, I meet two Covid patients'

AT 10.30am we welcome the first of three hospital discharges from the Northern General Hospital, two of whom are Covid-positive.

They were in hospital for other reasons and contracted the virus there, but as their symptoms are mild they're deemed medically fit to be discharged. Likewise, residents may come down with it here but either aren't poorly enough to go to the hospital, or they and their family have decided they won't be admitted. We keep a close eye on people to monitor them.

I've heard some hospitals have been discharging patients to care homes without telling them they are Covid-positive.

Early in the pandemic, people weren't tested before they were sent to us, so who knows? But in the past week people have been tested before they come to us.

When I welcome someone to the care home, I like to make them feel comfortable. But now there's an added barrier because I'm wearing full PPE and a face visor throughout the conversation.

My parents, who I live with, are scared for me. I'm worried about my own health but I try not to think about it. I stay in one room in the house  it's isolating but no different from what everyone else is experiencing. My parents understand I'm needed in my job. I haven't hugged them in weeks.

Some people ask why I want to be a care home nurse, but I've wanted to be a nurse since I was at school. I love working with the elderly  I have a lot of respect for that generation. They've done so much for us and sometimes they get a rough deal at the end. Anything we can do to make their lives better is hugely important to me.

Care providers are the forgotten sector. Reflecting on the beginning of the pandemic, we were definitely forgotten about  especially how the people dying of Covid weren't counted. In the past couple of weeks I think people are realising the work care homes do.

Thursday: 'Thank you for getting her home'

From 10am I'm preparing for Julia, who is 86, to be discharged from the care home.

She has been with us for two months, having first been discharged from hospital, and every day her husband Reginald calls her on her mobile phone. They've been married for almost 60 years and before she went into hospital they'd never spent a night apart.

This month she had a temperature and a dry cough, and swabs came back positive. Two days later she couldn't eat, drink or talk. We didn't think she was going to make it. Reginald tried to call Julia multiple times a day and I spoke to him every time he rang.

Julia was ill for a week, then suddenly rallied overnight. By the morning she was almost her usual self. That was six days ago and now she's ready to leave.

We have a false start at lunchtime when the wrong type of ambulance arrives to collect her, but by four o'clock she is leaving.

I speak to Reginald on the phone one more time.

'She's on her way,' I tell him.

'Thank you so much for getting her better and getting her home,' he replies.

I can tell he is over the moon.
Gov. Phil Murphy will hold his daily briefing Tuesday in Trenton to provide updates on the coronavirus pandemic that has led to 9,310 deaths in New Jersey.

The 1 p.m. press conference at the Trenton War Memorials George Washington Ballroom will be streamed lived on the governors YouTube channel.

Murphy is expected to discuss the states plans for increased coronavirus testing and contact tracing - two key components of the reopening strategy he outlined.

Murphy will be joined by state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, health communicable disease service medical director Dr. Edward Lifshitz and State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

State officials reported 139,945 positive cases of COVID-19 at Mondays daily briefing.

Gov. Phil Murphy has continued to say that the near-lockdown orders in place for several weeks have slowed the outbreak with the number of new daily cases trending downward.

The number of new cases has shown continuing moderation, Murphy said, noting slower rates of spread across the state.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.

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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
(TNS)  The Maine Department of Transportation is bracing for a massive drop in revenues from fuel tax and motor vehicle fees that fund a large share of the states road repair budget as both residents and tourists stay home and buy less gas during the coronavirus pandemic.The department is preparing for a revenue drop of $125 million, or 24 percent, over the next 18 months for the states Highway Fund, which is derived largely from per-gallon fuel sales and motor vehicles fees. That loss comes at a time when Maines $675 million annual highway budget is already roughly $232 million lower than it should be to meet the backlog of maintenance, repair and replacement projects, according to Maine DOT.The impact also will ripple through the municipal budgets in Maine cities and towns, where officials are being warned that the amount of Highway Fund money they receive for local road maintenance will be significantly reduced. That funding is one of many revenue sources expected to decline as local officials try to set annual budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1.The state transportation department is bracing for a $74 million, of 40 percent, drop in revenue in the next six months, said spokesman Paul Merrill. The projected revenue drop of $125 million over the next 18 months represents a 24 percent decline and includes the $74 million decrease anticipated over the next six months.We were already in dire straits with funding, Merrill said. Things were not good and COVID is making things worse.The department received $17 million from the Federal Transit Authority, which provides financial assistance to local public transportation systems, but that money cannot be used to cover revenue shortfalls, Merrill said. Of that money, $2 million went to the Maine State Ferry Service and the rest is earmarked for transit.The state received $1.25 billion from the federal CARES Act, but none of that money can be used for the state highway fund. Commissioner Bruce Van Note is working with Maines congressional delegation to see if there is any flexibility, Merrill said.The analogy that gets thrown around the office is its like your roof caves in and you get a pot of money, but you can only use it to put an addition on the house and not replace the roof, Merrill said.The revenue loss means there will also be a drop in payments to local municipalities from the Local Road Assistance Program, which is used to pay for capital improvements to local roads.Each year, 9 percent of the state Highway Fund goes to the Local Road Assistance Program, which is distributed to each municipality based on how many miles of roads it maintains. After the Legislature determines the highway budget, towns and cities are notified by July each year what their LRAP allocation will total.The department recently issued a notice of a possible reduction in funds for the Local Road Assistance Program, which is usually received by towns in late November. The Maine Municipal Association warned its members that the impacts to LRAP will not be known until after many municipal budget adoption deadlines.The state fuel tax, which provides the bulk of the revenue for transportation purposes, was already inadequate to meet MEDOT projected needs due to lower receipts caused by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency, the Maine Municipal Association said in a notice to its members. The COVID-19 health emergency has brought fuel tax revenue collections to a near halt, and with tourism season in question, there are likely to be re-adjustments to final allocations.For fiscal year 2021, the Local Road Assistance Program was set to receive more than $21.3 million, down 1.4 percent from the previous year. The department expects to know how big of a hit the program will take after state forecasts for revenue losses are released, possibly in July, said Peter Coughlin, a Maine DOT engineer.What this is going to have for an impact, we simply dont yet know, he said.Many southern Maine towns and cities receive $200,000 or more from LRAP annually. In fiscal year 2020, Biddeford received about $202,000, South Portland took in $270,000 and Scarborough received $331,000. Portland received more than $522,000.James Bennett, the city manager in Biddeford, said local roads are one of several revenue streams municipalities are looking at as they anticipate revenue losses that will impact spending and potentially property taxes. For many communities, the largest source of revenue that could take a hit is municipal revenue sharing, a share of state sales and income tax revenue that goes to communities and fluctuates with the economy. Revenue from excise taxes is also likely to be down, he said.There are only two choices for communities when that happens: Either you dont spend the money on a project or you raise property taxes to make up for it, Bennett said. Where people are right now, particularly given everything thats going on, I think theres going to be a real reluctance to do much, if any, increase in property taxes. I think most municipal officials will try to do everything they can to minimize or eliminate additional financial pressure on taxpayers.
President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated 42 people as ambassador-designate, all of them career officers.

The Nigerian Senate received an executive communication from President Buhari, seeking confirmation of career Ambassador-designates.

Also Read: Buharis Incompetence, Backseat Governance Destroying Nigeria  PDP

Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, while reading the letter during Tuesday plenary said, the nomination was in line with the relevant sections of the constitution, hence, Senators should do justice to the request.

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In the letter, President Buhari also said the profiles of the nominees would be forwarded to the Senate.

Some of the names are Nwachukwu C. A.; A. Kefas; Y S. Suleiman; G.M. Okolo; G.E. Edopa, among others.
University of California President Janet Napolitano is recommending that the 10-campus system drop the SAT and ACT testing requirement and replace those standardized tests with a newly created admissions test in a move that could swiftly reshape the contentious college admissions process nationwide.

Napolitanos plan, released Monday in a Board of Regents agenda, calls on university officials to create a new University of California-specific entrance exam by 2025 or ditch standardized testing for good. Either way, if regents adopt the recommendation at their May 21 meeting, high school juniors applying to University of California schools would never again need to take the SAT or ACT.

The recommendation follows years of debate surrounding the college admissions process, with pressure building from critics who say standardized tests put low-income and minority students at an inherent disadvantage.

Nearly 1,200 universities nationwide have made SAT and ACT test scores optional, including a recent wave of schools forced to be flexible by the coronavirus shutdowns, said Robert Schaeffer, interim executive director of FairTest, an anti-testing advocacy group.

If adopted, Napolitanos recommended strategy could hearken nationwide change, Schaeffer said.

The University of California is the most prestigious public university system in the country  it will serve as a model for schools both public and private across the U.S., Schaeffer said. Everybodys been watching California and waiting to see what the regents will do.

In Napolitanos plan, students entering in the fall of 2021 or 2022 would have the option of submitting test scores for admissions, but those who choose not to submit scores would not be penalized.

The testing requirement for current high school juniors had already been waived due to COVID-19. Both ACT and the College Board, which administers the SAT, have canceled spring exams, with plans to resume tests this summer and fall.

In 2023 and 2024, University of California schools would become test blind, meaning test scores would not be used for admissions decisions, although students could submit them for scholarship or course-placement purposes.

Finally, in 2025, officials would implement the new test that better aligns with the content UC expects applicants to have learned and with UCs values. However, if no such test is yet available, the universities would eliminate altogether the use of standardized testing in freshman admissions, Napolitano recommended.

In February, a report from the Academic Senates Standardized Testing Task Force recommended keeping current admission test requirements in place until the UC system developed its own test  a process the committee said could take nine years.

Napolitanos plan differs not only because it would eliminate the testing requirement before a new test is developed, but it would cut the time frame for creating that test nearly in half. The tightened timeline is necessary in light of COVID-19 challenges, the recommendation said.

The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the University to respond quickly and decisively has resulted in an unanticipated shift in policy, the president wrote. Suspending the standardized testing requirement acknowledges new realities that were not present earlier this year.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The admissions process at competitive schools also came under scrutiny amid the cheating scandal that rocked elite colleges nationwide, including UCLA and UC Berkeley. One parent shelled out $100,000 for someone to ace the SAT for his UC Berkeley-bound son in a rare, yet telling case of how wealth can rig the testing system.

Schaeffer said he thinks Napolitanos approach is smart in part because it strikes a compromise that allows both sides to prove their arguments.

Universities that have already opted for optional test scores in the admissions process get a more diverse class of applicants representing a broader range of socioeconomic backgrounds, first languages, ability levels and race and ethnicity, Schaeffer said.

Eliminating that hurdle will help kids from historically excluded groups have a better chance at being admitted to one of the UC schools, he said.

Meanwhile, ACT CEO Marten Roorda said in a January letter to the UC regents that the test is a trusted, accurate and fair tool, and becoming test-optional could have unintended consequences that would strain the system with new problems.

Decades of research have shown that the combination of high school grades and standardized test scores is the single best predictor of first-year college success, he wrote.

Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2
The Ukrainian government expects the talks with the IMF will end before May 15.

Ukraine hopes to sign a new memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"It's not just financial support. This is a guarantee of receiving funds from other international financial organizations and an indicator that we are on the path of systemic reforms," he said during a video conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to the Ukrainian Cabinet's press service.

Shmyhal expressed the hope that cooperation with the Fund under a new stand-by arrangement, which is being discussed, will let Ukraine get a new US$5 billion loan package. Of the amount, US$3.5 billion is intended to go directly into the 2020 national budget, he said.

Read alsoReuters: Ukraine discussing $5 bln deal with IMF for 2020-21  finance minister

The parties also tackled the economic situation, in particular, overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Shmyhal thanked Germany for its consistent financial support, emphasizing that since 2014 the country had provided EUR 1.4 billion in assistance to Ukraine, of which EUR 150 million (available funds) will be used to help Ukrainian hospitals purchase medical equipment and support small- and medium-sized businesses amid the coronavirus crisis.

"Backing small-sized businesses can be another area where the funds will be funneled. For example, to reimburse bank interest on loans taken by small businesses. Or to develop certain industries that have been affected by the coronavirus," he said.

During the online conference, the parties raised the issue of the transformation of coal-mining regions. In particular, the possibility of assistance in implementing a pilot project at a Ukrainian coal mine. The German Chancellor assured that Germany would be happy to take part in such a project.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian government expects the talks with the IMF will end before May 15.
Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: With 98 new coronavirus positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Pune district of Maharashtra grew to 3,232.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that there will be a fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown, but with new and different rules. His announcement came on a day when the number of confirmed cases in the country jumped to 70,756 and the toll reached 2,293.

Modi also observed that the crisis has taught everyone the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains. "All our demands during the crisis were met 'locally'. Now, it is time to be vocal about the local products and help these local products become global," he said.

Calling the coronavirus outbreak "a crisis unimaginable for mankind", he said that the only way forward was turning the crisis into an opportunity and making India self-reliant.

A day after interacting with chief ministers over the way forward in the battle against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs.20 lakh crore economic package aimed at making the country self-reliant.

This package is "for the country's labour, farmers who have worked in every condition and every weather and round the clock for the fellow countrymen, for Indias middle class who pays tax honestly and for industries," he added.

"With the package, various sections of the society and economic links will get support," he said, adding, "land, labour, liquidity and laws are in focus in the package and it will support India's cottage industries, home industries, small and medium enterprises (SMEs)."

Narendra Modi shed some light as to the intended recipients of the massive economic package announced on Tuesday evening.

The app, available on Android and iOS, allows people to self-assess their symptoms of the infectious disease by answering a set of questions. It then uses this information to alert users if they have come in contact with a COVID-19 infected person.

India's COVID-19 tracking app Aarogya Setu has reached 100 million users in just 13 days of its launch on 2 April.

He further highlighted the need for enhanced surveillance and contact tracing in view of migrants and expats returning home.

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase across the nation, the doubling rate has improved to 12.2 days over the last three days from 10.9 days in the past two weeks, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.

Addressing the nation for the fifth time since the coronavirus outbreak in India, Modi Tuesday announced a massive Rs 20 lakh crore package.

The focus of the package will be on labourers and small scale sectors, according to sources. The Centre wants to ensure employment, maintaining the demand and supply chain and ensure consumption of non-essential goods, added the sources.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a press briefing later on Wednesday to provide the fine-print of the economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, CNN-News18 reported. However, official statement on the time of the press conference yet to be announced.

The COVID-19 support measures announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday is not only a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quoted by All India Radio News.

The countries consist of nearly all low-income and lower-middle income ones, as well as several that are upper-middle- and high-income, the drugmaker said. Afghanistan, India, North Korea, Pakistan and South Africa are among the countries.

The pacts allow the companies - Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd, Cipla Ltd, Hetero Labs Ltd, Mylan NV and Ferozsons Laboratories Ltd - to make and sell the drug in 127 countries.

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Tuesday it has signed non-exclusive licensing pacts with five generic drugmakers based in India and Pakistan to expand the supply of its experimental COVID-19 treatment Remdesivir.

He further, "Today, we look forward to the FM filling the blank page. We will carefully count every additional rupee that the government will actually infuse into the economy."

Yesterday, the prime minister gave us a headline and a blank page. Naturally, my reaction was a blank!" said Chidambaram.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram took a potshot at Narendra Modi after the prime minister on Tuesday announced an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crores to provide relief to the people and help the country fight the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

He further added that a thorough examination of what will be received by the bottom half of the Indian population or 13 crore families, in terms of real money, will be done.

"The first thing we will look for is what the poor, hungry and devastated migrant workers can expect after they have walked hundreds of kilometres to their home states," said the former finance minister.

P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that a careful scrunitisation will be done of the COVID-19 economic package, announced by Narendra Modi, to examine the recipients of the massive stimulus.

With new COVID-19 deaths being reported in the state since Tuesday, the toll stood at 117, said Rajasthan Health Department.

After 87 more individuals tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 4,213 on Wednesday.

She further dubbed the COVID-19 economic package a "reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a self-reliant India will include everyone - a hawker/street vendor, a trader, a MSME, an honest tax paying middle class, a manufacturer etc., tweeted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce details of an economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore, aimed towards achieving the mission of a self-reliant Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at 4 pm on Wednesday at National Media Centre.

"Directions given to investigate and take action against organizers if social distancing norms and section - 144 were violated," Praveen Bhuria, ASP Sagar says,

A huge crowd gathered in Banda, Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, to welcome a Jain monk on Tuesday. According to police, the incident was being investigated to see if social distancing norms were flouted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday welcomed the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the COVID-19-hit economy. He said it will be the way forward in overcoming challenges posed by the pandemic.

The evacuation flight carrying the students from Dhaka will land directly in Srinagar on Wednesday. This will be the fifth flight from Bangladesh, which will depart from Dhaka.

A batch of 169 Indian students, stranded in Bangladesh due to the lockdown imposed in view of the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday will board a special Air India flight under Vande Bharat Mission for home.

As many as 101 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Odisha, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 538 on Wednesday. This is the highest number of cases confirmed in a single day in the state.

Three deaths have been reported due to the infection so far from the state.

According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha government, of the total 538 confirmed cases, 419 were active cases. So far, 116 patients have been cured and discharged so far taking the recovery rate to 22 percent.

"Poor people, labourers, medium and small industries of the country have been given special consideration in this package. Middle class has also been given consideration, this package is historical and will become the basis to give India an economic quantum jump," said the BJP president.

Nadda dubbed the financial package "historical" and said it would provide a "quantum jump" to the Indian economy.

BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday welcomed the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the COVID-19-hit economy.

The COVID-19 toll stood at 106 after 20 patients succumbed to the viral infection.

359 more individuals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases in the National Capital to 7,998 on Wednesday.

With this, the COVID-19 recovery rate in the Union Territory was at 36 percent.

Since Tuesday, 346 COVID-19 patients have been discharged in Delhi, taking the total number of recovered cases to 2,858, said health minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.31, then gained ground to touch 75.30, registering a rise of 21 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 75.51 against the US dollar.

Forex traders said PM's economic booster aided sentiments. Besides, a positive opening in domestic equities also supported the local unit.

The rupee appreciated 21 paise to 75.30 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package enthused investors.

The passengers were taken to their chosen place of accommodation in KSRTC buses.

They were advised to maintain social distancing as per the health protocol. All the foreign returnees were screened as per the standard operating procedure to ensure that they were asymptomatic.

There were 12 medical emergency cases and 38 pregnant women among them, they said. The district administration had made arrangements for receiving the passengers, who were provided with sanitizers and masks.

The first repatriation flight to Mangaluru from Dubai with 177 passengers landed at the international airport. The total passengers, including 88 men, 84 women, five children, and two infants arrived by the Air India Express flight IX 384 late Tuesday night, airport sources said.

With these figures, India has crossed Canadas overall count of 69,156 COVID-19, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) list. India is just below China now where the disease originated in December, 2019.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the number of positive cases stand at 74,281 in the country. The ministry also said that 2,415 people have died due to the disease as of Wednesday.

India is now the 12th most affected country by the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of confirmed cases was inching closer to 75,000 on Wednesday.

The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries in 2014 and is headed by veteran Indian banker K V Kamath.

The New Development Bank of the BRICS countries has fully disbursed USD one billion emergency assistance loan to India to help it contain the spread of COVID-19 and reduce human, social and economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that 18,54,250 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the country till 9.00 am on Wednesday.

The Nagaland government has said that they will offer Rs 10,000 to those residents who opt not to return to the state right now. A press statement by Chief Secretary Temjen Toy on Tuesday said that many bodies (civil societies, tribal hohos and NGOs) in the state had appealed to stranded citizens not to come back unless it is unavoidable', reports Indian Express.

The total number of people infected by the novel coronavirus has climbed to 217 in Nepal with 83 new cases, the highest number of confirmation of virus transmission in a single-day, Joint Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, Samir Kumar Adhikari said on Tuesday.

Nepal, which is under nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus, is among the nations that have the least number of cases of the deadly COVID-19 with no deaths.

Nepal registered its highest single-day increase in the coronavirus cases with 83 new infections, including 26 from the Indo-Nepal border area, taking the total COVID-19 tally to 217 in the country, health officials said.

Besides, three more persons died of COVID-19 in the district, raising the toll to 95, Chief Medical and Health Officer Praveen Jadia told PTI.

At least 91 more people tested positive for coronavirus in Indore in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of such cases in the worst-hit district of Madhya Pradesh to 2,107, an official said on Wednesday.

Given the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on respiratory function, they sought to understand the prevalence and the effects of COPD in COVID-19 patients.

The researchers from the University College London in the UK noted that an estimated 251 million people worldwide are affected by COPD.

Being a current smoker or having a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an increased risk of severe complications and higher death risk from COVID-19 infection, according to a study. COPD is a common, persistent dysfunction of the lung associated with a limitation in airflow.

The person admitted for coronavirus treatment was a worker in private industry in Puducherry. Already the hospital was treating two active cases in addition to the one in Karaikal region.

Secretary to Health Prashant Kumar Panda told reporters here that the 36-year-old patient has since been admitted to the Indira Gandhi government medical College hospital.

One more person, hailing from neighbouring Arumbathpuram village tested positive for the COVID-19, taking the total cases of the infection to four in Puducherry, the health department said on Wednesday.

As many as three COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the infectious disease so far in Chandigarh.

Two more, including a seven-year-old boy, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Chandigarh on Wednesday. With this, the total number of confirmed cases in the Union Territory is now at 189, said the health department.

The couplet roughly translates to: "He sold the old couplet/lion with a new name; He sold piles of dreams again."

He tweeted a Hindi couplet to express his views on the subject.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a jibe at the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package and "Self-reliant India Mission" announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as being nothing new but a repackaged version of "Make in India" initiative.

So far, the state has registered 32 fatalities while 442 COVID-19 patients have been discharged, taking the recovery rate to 46.5 percent.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka climbed to 951 after 26 more individuals tested positive between 5 pm on Tuesday till 12 pm on Wednesday, said the state health department.

In a big push to revive the COVID-hit economy, Modi on Tuesday announced massive new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore.

She further noted that "the new fiscal package is upsized and its scale lends a positive surprise, at a bigger-than-anticipated size with emphasis on making the economy more self-reliant via local manufacturing and improved supply chains.

Modi outlined a Rs 20-lakh-crore which is 9.7 percent of GDP support package, of which new allocations could only be 50-60 percent of the offer. But until more details are known, financing burden will fall on the bond markets, Radhika Rao, the economist at Singaporean lender DBS Bank said in a note on Wednesday.

Of the Rs 20-lakh-crore package that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to defend the economy against coronavirus disruptions, fresh support may be only around 60 percent of the offer as it counts the first financial stimulus and liquidity support that Reserve Bank has given already, and will overburden bond market, says a report.

The exam was originally scheduled to held on 22, 23 and 24 April but, was postponed due to the nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Karnataka Common Entrance Test (CET) 2020 will now be held on 30 and 31 July. The announcement was made by Deputy Chief minister and Higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday.

The state witnessed an increase in the total number of positive cases by 26, thereby taking the overall count to 951, the health department said on Wednesday.

With the death of a 60-year-old man in Kalaburagi, the COVID-19 toll in the Karnataka city climbed to 32 on Wednesday. The man passed away on 11 May. He later tested positive for the infection after being brought to a hospital in Kalaburagi.

There are at least 566 containment zones in the state. Of them, Kolkata has 326 containment areas.

"The red zones would be further divided into three categories. Steps would also be taken to restart the 100-day work scheme in the non-containment areas," said Mamata.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the red zone areas in the state will be further divided into three categories. However, she said the red zones will see relaxations as they will be divided into three parts.

"Dont think we will get relief from the COVID-19 crisis anytime soon. We should have a three-month short term plan in place to tackle the situation," she said after a review meeting with state officials.

Asserting that it was unlikely to find a remedy to the COVID-19 crisis anytime soon, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called for a three-month plan to tackle the situation.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens will now sell only indigenous products. This will be applicable to all CAPF canteens across the country from 1 June, 2020. With this, 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh CAPF personnel will use indigenous products," he said.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said the decision has been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for opting for local products and being self-reliant.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that all canteens of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and the BSF will sell only indigenous products from 1 June to 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh personnel.

The spokesperson further said, "The past few months have proven we can make that work. So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen."

A Twitter spokesperson was quoted by the Guardian as saying, "We were uniquely positioned to respond quickly and allow folks to work from home given our emphasis on decentralization and supporting a distributed workforce capable of working from anywhere."

Twitter will allow its employees to work from home "forever", chief executive officer Jack Dorsey said in a company-wide email Tuesday. This means Twitter employees will be able to work from home even after the pandemic ends.

The foreign ministers and diplomats attending the meeting from eight different countries are expected to discuss the global challenges, preparedness, and response to the coronavirus pandemic.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries on Wednesday to discuss cooperation to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The HC on Tuesday said the special teams to be formed by the authorities shall inform either the district collector or the concerned police commissioner or superintendent of police about the number of stranded persons.

Justice Madhav Jamdar of the Nagpur bench of the high court was hearing a petition taken up by suo moto (on its own) on the plight of migrants, daily wage labourers and other stranded persons who are heading towards their home states on foot on highways and other roads.

The Bombay High Court has directed all district collectors, council authorities and police commissioners in Maharashtra to form special teams to monitor highways and arrange travel till the state border for migrant workers and others who are trying to walk back to their native places.

After three COVID-19 patients succumbed to the viral infection since yesterday, the toll in the state reached 120 so far

With 152 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan as of 2 pm on Wednesday, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 4,278, said the health department.

The finance minister is addressing a presser, where she is expected to give out the details of Rs 20 lakh crore economic package from the Centre. The prime minister announced the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package that will focus on making India self-reliant on Tuesday.

"The Direct Benefit Transfer, Microinsurance schemes, PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat and Ayushman Bharat were all transformative reforms which have benefited the poor in a big way," she said.

As the nation waited for the details of the Rs 20 lak crore economic package, Finance Minister revisited some of the previous schemes brought in by the central government. From PM Garib Kalyan Scheme to IBC and GST reforms.

"For MSMEs needing handholding, a Rs 50,000 crore 'fund of funds' through 'mother fund - daughter fund' framework is being created, to expand their capacity and to get listed on markets which they choose," Sitharaman said.

Due date of all IT Return filings extended have been extended from 31 July to 30 November. The last date for Vivad se Vishwas one-time tax settlement scheme has also been extended till 31 December, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced.

Till 5 pm on Wednesday, Karantaka has reported 959 COVID-19 cases and 33 deaths. 34 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours, Dharavi has recorded 66 new cases. Total cases in the slum have exceeded 1,028 and 40 deaths have been reported there.

ANI quoted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as saying after Nirmala Sitharaman's announcements, "People were expecting to get relief, but it is a big zero. There is nothing for the states."

Tamil Nadu records 509 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours, taking the total cases to 9,227 in the state. Three new deaths have been recorded in the State, taking the total death count to 64. Meanwhile, Chennai recorded 380 new cases, taking the numbers to 5,262 cases.

The finance minister's schemes announced on Wednesday will provide relief for MSMEs that need immediate succour for their survival as well as help those enterprises that need a fillip to grow.

The government on Wednesday unveiled a major booster dose entailing a series of initiatives for micro, small and medium enterprises, including Rs 3 lakh crore worth of collateral-free automatic loans for businesses. The sector has been hit hard by the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of units staring at the prospect of closure and the threat of job losses.

"In view of the COVID-19 situation, we will take an appropriate decision by holding discussions with public representatives and others to extend the lockdown beyond May 17," Indore district collector Manish Singh told reporters. Singh also informed that commercial and industrial activities are being restored in Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh.

The current lockdown in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district, which has so far recorded 2,107 COVID-19 cases and 95 deaths, looks set to be extended at least till May 31, a senior official said on Wednesday. The third phase of the coronavirus-induced national lockdown will remain in force till 17 May.

Four people tested positive for coronavirus in Chandigarh on Wednesday, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in the Union territory to 191.All four, including a seven-year-old boy, are residents of the Bapu Dham colony, the worst-affected area in the city. Two more coronavirus patients have been discharged after being fully cured of the infection, taking the number of those recovered to 32, as per a bulletin. A total of 154 cases are active in the city, the bulletin stated. So far, three people have died of coronavirus in Chandigarh, it added.

With 98 new coronavirus positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Pune district of Maharashtra grew to 3,232, PTI quotes a health official.The death toll reached 175 with seven succumbing to the infection on Wednesday, the official said. As many as 175 patients were discharged in the district from different hospitals on Wednesday after completion of the isolation period. With this, the number of COVID-19 patients that have been discharged so far grew to 1,533, he said.

At least 20 people were booked on Wednesday for allegedly attending an Iftar party in violation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions at a locality in Wayanad district, recently categorised as a hotspot, police told PTI. A case has been registered against these people for participating in the Iftar party at a house in Nenmeni area, which was declared as a hotspot for coronavirus on Monday in view of rise in the cases.

Reduction in rate of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) & Tax Collection at Source (TCS): Central Board of Direct Taxes pic.twitter.com/R1tjtyFHCV

One more area in Shahdara has been removed from containment zones; the total number of containment zones in the national capital now stands at 79, reports ANI. There has been no new addition in containment zones today.

Over 400 healthcare workers in the National Capital have been affected by the novel coronavirus till date, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday. Interacting with reporters, he also said that the 20 COVID-19 fatalities reported on Wednesday, took place over a period of time, and were based on death summaries sent by hospitals to health department authorities in the last few days. Nearly 8,000 people in Delhi have tested positive so far, while 106 people have died of the coronavirus infection.

As hospitals are having a hard time coping with influx of coronavirus patients, health officials have stumbled upon over two hundred unused beds lying in a godown at the civic-run Naidu hospital in Pune. Officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation's health department discovered the beds in the godown at the backside of the hospital when the were checking if the place could be converted into a quarantine facility for new patients.

A senior police officer of Dwarka district tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, officials said here. This is the first case of a police officer testing positive for COVID-19 in Dwarka. He is an SHO-rank officer, they said. Police said the officer was on leave for the past couple of days. He is fine and currently under home quarantine, a senior police officer said. Five to six personnel, who came in contact with the officer, have been sent to home quarantine, the police said.

four of them were found positive, the official said. The state now has 87 active cases and 87 others have recovered from the disease. Two persons died of the infection while one succumbed due to comorbidity condition since the outbreak of the pandemic on 31 March in the state.

Four more people of Jharkhand tested positive for novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 177, PTI quotes a health official as saying. Of the new cases, two were reported from Ranchi and two from Koderma. A total of 680 samples were tested during the day and

The Odisha government on Wednesday shifted Health and Family Welfare Secretary N B Dhal in the middle of the state's fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Dhal, a 1993-batch IAS officer, was transferred and posted as the principal secretary in the energy department, according to a government notification. Removal of Dhal midway during the war against coronavirus has raised many eyebrows as the state government's COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi in March had highly praised the officer for joining the duty within 24 hours of his father's death.

Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: With 98 new coronavirus positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Pune district of Maharashtra grew to 3,232.

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said rapid testing found seven new coronavirus cases in state. The samples have been sent for further confirmation. Goa was declared a green zone on 1 May as all seven patients found earlier had recovered.

Two deaths and 41 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in Telangana on Wednesday,pushing the number of cases in the state to 1,367.The number of people who succumbed to the virus rose to 34 with the fresh deaths, a government bulletin said

Rajasthan on Wednesday registered 202 new coronavirus patients, including one BSF personnel, pushing the state total to 4,328. Four persons also died due to the viral infection taking the toll in the state to 121.

Mumbai's count of coronavirus cases crosses 15,000 mark to 15,581 with 800 new patients; toll reaches 595 with 40 deaths, PTI quotes the BMC as saying.

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported the single-day highest 1,495 new COVID-19 cases and 54 deaths, 40 of them in Mumbai alone, taking the overall case count to 25,922 and the number of fatalities to 975, a Health department official said.

The finance minister's schemes announced on Wednesday will provide relief for MSMEs that need immediate succour for their survival as well as help those enterprises that need a fillip to grow.

Dharavi has reported 66 new cases taking the total number of coronavirus cases in Asia's largest slum to 1028.

Over three lakh migrants have returned to Uttar Pradesh in 268 special trains so far, the highest in the country, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Mamata Banerjee said after Nirmala Sitharaman's announcements, "People were expecting to get relief, but it is a big zero. There is nothing for the states."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the statutory PF contribution is being reduced from 12 percent to 10 percent.

Government to infuse Rs 50,000 crores liquidity by reducing rates of TDS, for non-salaried specified payments made to residents, and rates of Tax Collection at Source for specified receipts, by 25% of the existing rates.

In order to provide more take home salary for employees and to give relief to employers in payment of PF, EPF contribution is being reduced for businesses and workers for 3 months, amounting to a liquidity support of Rs 6750 crores. This means that the previously announced benefits for eligible firms, will now continue for three more months.

Taking another step towards self-reliance, the central government today announced that global tenders will now be disallowed in government procurements for tenders up to Rs 200 crores.

"The definition of MSMEs is being changed for their advantage so that they can grow in size and get benefits. Investment limit which defined MSMEs have been revised upwards. Additional criteria being brought in is turnover size - earlier differentiation between manufacturing and service MSMEs will be categorised similarly," says Sitharaman.

"Bold reforms have been brought about for six years. It is being done now and will continue till India is atma-nirbhar," says MoS Finance Anurag Singh Thakur.

The finance minister is addressing a presser, where she is expected to give out the details of Rs 20 lakh crore economic package from the Centre. The prime minister announced the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package that will focus on making India self-reliant on Tuesday.

Twitter will allow its employees to work from home "forever", chief executive officer Jack Dorsey said in a company-wide email Tuesday.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that all canteens of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and the BSF will sell only indigenous products from June 1 to 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh personnel.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said the decision has been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for opting for local products and being self-reliant.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens will now sell only indigenous products. This will be applicable to all CAPF canteens across the country from 1 June, 2020. With this, 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh CAPF personnel will use indigenous products," he said.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a jibe at the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package and "Self-reliant India Mission" announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as being nothing new but a repackaged version of "Make in India" initiative.

He tweeted a Hindi couplet to express his views on the subject.

The couplet roughly translates to: "He sold the old couplet/lion with a new name; He sold piles of dreams again."

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka climbed to 951 after 26 more individuals tested positive between 5 pm on Tuesday till 12 pm on Wednesday, said the state health department.

So far, the state has registered 32 fatalities while 442 COVID-19 patients have been discharged, taking the recovery rate to 46.5 percent.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that 18,54,250 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the country till 9.00 am on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday reported 48 new COVID-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the state is now 2,137.

The rupee appreciated 21 paise to 75.30 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package enthused investors. Forex traders said prime minister's economic booster aided sentiments. Besides, a positive opening in domestic equities also supported the local unit.

359 more individuals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases in the National Capital to 7,998 on Wednesday.

The COVID-19 toll stood at 106 after 20 patients succumbed to the viral infection

As many as 101 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Odisha, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 538 on Wednesday. This is the highest number of cases confirmed in a single day in the state.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce details of an economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore, aimed towards achieving the mission of a self-reliant Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at 4 pm on Wednesday at National Media Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a self-reliant India will include everyone - a hawker/street vendor, a trader, a MSME, an honest tax paying middle class, a manufacturer etc., tweeted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

She further dubbed the COVID-19 economic package a "reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance."

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram took a potshot at Narendra Modi after the prime minister on Tuesday announced an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crores to provide relief to the people and help the country fight the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Yesterday, the prime minister gave us a headline and a blank page. Naturally, my reaction was a blank!" said Chidambaram.

He further, "Today, we look forward to the FM filling the blank page. We will carefully count every additional rupee that the government will actually infuse into the economy."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a press briefing later on Wednesday to provide the fine-print of the economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, CNN-News18 reported. However, official statement on the time of the press conference yet to be announced.

The focus of the package will be on labourers and small scale sectors, according to sources. The Centre wants to ensure employment, maintaining the demand and supply chain and ensure consumption of non-essential goods, added the sources.

Addressing the nation for the fifth time since the coronavirus outbreak in India, Modi Tuesday announced a massive Rs 20 lakh crore package.

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase across the nation, the doubling rate has improved to 12.2 days over the last three days from 10.9 days in the past two weeks, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.

He further highlighted the need for enhanced surveillance and contact tracing in view of migrants and expats returning home.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that there will be a fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown, but with new and different rules.

His announcement came on a day when the number of confirmed cases in the country jumped to 70,756 and the toll reached 2,293.

In his address to the nation, Modi also announced a relief package of Rs.20 lakh crores, amounting to almost 10 percent of the GDP which he said will address problems of a wide range of sectors. The details of the package will be announced by the finance minister, he said

India reports 3,604 cases, 87 deaths in 24 hours

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 in the country on Tuesday, registering an increase of 87 fatalities and 3,604 cases in the last 24 hours since Monday 8 am, according to the Union health ministry. The total figure of 70,756 includes foreign nationals.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 46,008, while 22,454 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.

"Thus, around 31.73 percent patients have recovered so far," PTI quoted a senior health ministry official as saying.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the fatality rate is 3.2 percent while the doubling rate had now improved to 12.2 days. He, however, highlighted the need for enhanced surveillance and contact-tracing in view of migrants and expats returning home.

Of 87 deaths were reported since Monday morning, 36 were in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, six each in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal and one each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the 2,293 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 868, followed by Gujarat (513), Madhya Pradesh (221), West Bengal (190), Rajasthan (113), Uttar Pradesh (80), Delhi (73), Tamil Nadu (53) and Andhra Pradesh (45).

According to the health ministry's website, more than 70 percent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

According to the health ministry data update in the morning, the highest number of 23,401 confirmed cases is from Maharashtra, followed by Gujarat (8,541), Tamil Nadu (8,002), Delhi (7,233), Rajasthan (3,988), Madhya Pradesh (3,785) and Uttar Pradesh (3,573).

However, according to a PTI tally at 9.05 pm, 12 hours after the health ministry's update, the countrywide case count had touched 74,029 while the toll had climbed to 2,338. According to the news agency, 23,938 persons had been cured and discharged.

According to data released by the state health department, Maharashtra reported 1,026 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 24,427 while the death toll rose to 921.

With 53 fresh deaths, 28 of them in Mumbai alone, the number of fatalities shot up to 921, a health official told PTI. Mumbai also reported 426 new cases, pushing the total number of infections in the country's financial capital to 14,781.

In neighbouring Gujarat, 261 more people contracted the viral infection in Ahmedabad district while 21 persons died due to the disease. So far, Ahmedabad has reported 6,353 cases and 421 fatalities.

Meanwhile, confirmed cases in the National Capital shot up to 7,639, with 406 new cases recorded till Tuesday morning, Delhi also reported its highest single-day spike in fatalities as 13 people died due to the viral infection, taking the toll to 86.

New cases were also reported in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, among others. The number of cases in Tami Nadu shot up by 716 to 8,718 and eight deaths were recorded.

Kerala, which had stopped seeing fresh cases till a few days back, saw five new cases as the flow of Keralites returning home from other countries and states continued.

PM announces economic package, says lockdown 4.0 will be different

A day after interacting with chief ministers over the way forward in the battle against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs.20 lakh crore economic package aimed at making the country self-reliant.

Calling the coronavirus outbreak "a crisis unimaginable for mankind", he said that the only way forward was turning the crisis into an opportunity and making India self-reliant.

Modi also observed that the crisis has taught everyone the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains. "All our demands during the crisis were met 'locally'. Now, it is time to be vocal about the local products and help these local products become global," he said.

"I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'. The announcements made by the government over COVID-19, decisions of the RBI and today's package totals to Rs 20 Lakh Crores. This is 10 percent of India's GDP." he said.

The prime minister said that the economic package will lay emphasis on land, labour, liquidity and laws. He further said, "This package is for our cottage industries, small and medium industries, which provide livelihoods to crores of people."

The prime minister also hinted at economic reforms and said that the details of the economic package will be announced by the finance minister in the next few days. These reforms include supply chain reforms for agriculture, rational tax system, simple and clear laws, capable human resource and a strong financial system. These reforms will promote business, attract investment, and further strengthen Make in India, he said.

The prime minister also said that there would be a fourth phase of the lockdown which would have new rules, which would be announced after incorporating suggestions given by the states.

"Scientists say that corona will be a part of our lives for a very long time. But we can't let our lives remain confined around the virus. We will wear masks and maintain social distancing but we will not let it affect us. So lockdown 4 will be in a new form with new rules," he said, adding that the details of the same will be revealed before 18 May.

Railways restarts passenger trains

Meanwhile, the Railways cautiously resumed its passenger service after over 50 days, as three trains chugged out of New Delhi and five others left for the National Capital, each carrying around 1,100 passengers who first underwent screening and followed other norms necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, under the strict vigilance of authorities.

In an unprecedented measure, the railways, which is called the lifeline of the country, had suspended passenger service from March 22 midnight due to the pandemic, leaving lakhs of people stranded as road and air services were also stopped during the the coronavirus lockdown.

Passengers at the boarding stations expressed mixed feelings of relief and apprehension, with many arriving hours before the scheduled train departures.

The Railways has issued new guidelines for travel on these special trains , asking passengers to carry their own food and linen and arrive at stations at least 90 minutes before departure for health screening in the wake of the pandemic. The railways also made it mandatory for passengers to download the Aarogya Setu App.

Shramik special trains for migrants also continued to operate, with the first Shramik special train from Mysuru division of South Western Railway with leaving for Bihar on Tuesday with 1,428 migrant workers on board. Around 2,400 migrants from Surat and Pune have been brought in two special trains to Uttarakhand, officials told PTI.

Centre to repatriate Indians under second phase of Vande Bharat Mission

Under the Union governemnt's Vande Bharat Mission, total of 6,527 Indians from the Gulf region as well as countries like the US, the UK, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Maldives, PTI quoted sources as saying.

The sources also said that the Centre plans to repatriate Indians from 31 countries in 149 flights in the second phase of the mission, between 16 and 22 May. The government will bring back people from Canada, Oman, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Tajikistan, Singapore, the US, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Kuwait and Italy, the said.

With inputs from agencies
Agra, May 12 : Two days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered senior bureaucrats to camp in Agra for COVID-19 containment, the city on Tuesday reported dip in the coronavirus cases, bringing down the tally to 13, a health official said.

District magistrate P.N. Singh said that of the total 765 cases, 336 have recovered and discharged. So far 9,520 samples have been collected, while 404 patients were under treatment. The number of hotspots in Agra stands at 44.

Health authorities said pool sampling was continuing at a faster pace now. Test reports of 15 jail inmates is being awaited after death of one inmate two days ago. The Agra Central jail management is busy upgrading and streamlining medicare and standards of hygiene in the premises.

With initiative for policy planning and execution of a comprehensive strategy transferred to a new power centre comprising six senior bureaucrats dispatched by Adityanath to Agra, the overall situation in the district may now see some improvement and direction, health activists and representatives of dozens of voluntary groups hope Tuesday morning.

The special team has had wide ranging consultations with all stakeholders, the members have begun visiting hot spots in the city to get acquainted with the ground realities.

The state government has directed the local administration to involve private medical practitioners, and acquire private hospitals if there was a need for more beds.

With more people arriving on a daily basis by special trains and gradual opening up of some sectors, the fear of infection rate going up, has alarmed health workers.

The city meanwhile, has seen strict enforcement of the lockdown, almost curfew-like, after the arrival of the special team which is busy plugging all lapses and holes to bring the situation under control within a specific time frame. The team has been sending comprehensive reports to the Chief Minister twice a day.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has bemoaned the rate at which some of its members are contracting the novel coronavirus in their line of duty; some have succumbed to the disease, officials say.



The association says, so far, up to fifteen of its members, including nurses and midwives have contracted the disease while at work, urging the government to consider raking in all health professionals into the definition of who a frontline worker is.



Speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM ahead of the associations 60th Anniversary Celebration and International Nurses Day on Monday, the chairman of the GRNMA in the Ashanti Region, Mr Jones Afriyie-Anto decried the frustrations of nurses and midwives in their daily activities and called for urgent action to correct the anomalies, including nurse-patient ratio and access to basic working equipment.



I can assure you that, those who fall within the so-called frontline among the infected are a few, but all of them contracted the disease in the course of attending to patients, so I call on the government to take a second look at the definition of frontline because recognition is necessary in everything, Mr Afriyie-Anto said.



The chairman of the association indicated further that, since the outbreak of the COVID, Im not sure any frontline worker has died who was not a nurse; I tell you there is a death in Ghana who was a nurse, but I wont say where it happened because of confidentiality issues and I think that as the lab results continue to come out, many more are bound to happen.



"It is time for us to take advantage of and better the lot of nurses and midwives; the issue is if you dont take good care of the nurse, the work in the health sector will not be successful because the success of even the doctors depend on the nurses, so I plead with government to use the occasion of our International Nurses Day to make the year of the nurse and midwife as declared by the WHO for 2020, meaningful for the Ghanaian nurse and midwife, he advocated.



The International Nurses Day is an annual celebration of the crucial work and role of nurses around the world.



It is especially important in 2020 as nursing professionals continue to lead the frontline charge against the coronavirus pandemic.



The annual event, which was first marked in 1965, was created by the International Council of Nurses to mark the hard work of nursing staff around the world.



Since January 1974, the global celebrations have traditionally been held on 12 May.



This is to mark the anniversary of the birth of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.



In the wake of the COVID-19, the Government of Ghana outlined what many Ghanaians believed to be a juicy offer for all health professionals working on the frontline against the disease in April



President Akufo-Addo in a televised address on Sunday April 6, announced packages that have been lined up to cater for those risking their lives on the frontline even as the nation determines to conquer the disease by the earliest time and best means possible.



An insurance package, with an assured sum of three hundred and fifty thousand cedis (GH350,000) for each health personnel and allied professional at the forefront of the fight, has been put in place, with a daily allowance of one hundred and fifty cedis (GH150) being paid to contact tracers.



Government has also decided that all health workers will not pay taxes on their emoluments for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June.



Furthermore, all frontline health workers will receive an additional allowance of fifty percent (50%) of their basic salary per month, i.e. for March, April, May and June.



The March allowance will be paid alongside that of April. The Ministry of Transport is also making available, for free, Aayalolo buses to convey health workers in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa to and from work, along specific routes, for the entire duration of the restrictions, the President said.



But the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) in the Ashanti region says, government could still do better.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Need to catch a bus or train? Dont forget to book a seat.

That could be the new normal for New Yorkers as the MTA continues to develop plans for how to best ramp service back up while maintaining a safe, healthy environment for riders and transit workers alike as New York City begins to reopen after the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

On Tuesday, MTA chairman and CEO Pat Foye appeared on The Wall Street Journals The Journal podcast, offering a glimpse into what the citys mass transit system could look like three months from now, when ridership is expected to be on the rise, but still well-below normal levels.

RESERVED SEATS

Among the most alarming possibilities outlined by Foye is that riders could be asked to reserve a space on a bus or train ahead of time in order to reduce density and facilitate social distancing.

I think agencies around the world have done things like metering. I think there ought to be consideration of reserving a space at least for some period of time on a subway of bus, using for instance the technology that we are all familiar with that TicketMaster uses, Foye said.

FACE MASKS

Additionally, the chairman said on the podcast that he envisions every person on the subway platform will be wearing masks, with the stations likely still reeking of cleaning products from the night before.

I think you are going to see, everybody, every employee and every passenger having a mask or a bandana or a scarf or a facial covering. I think thats de rigueur and I think there will be great social pressure in every context including transit to wear your mask," Foye said. "I think its likely that the cars and the stations will have been disinfected the evening before, the night before, so I think there will be the smell of bleach or the application of antimicrobial products.

SPECIAL MARKINGS

The agency is also exploring the possibility of installing markings on subway cars to indicate where riders should be standing and how many people should be within a certain area.

I think there is likely to be indications on the floor of the subway car as to enter here and leave here, in this area there ought to be no more than X passengers, said Foye on the podcast.

TEMPERATURE MONITORING

The MTA is likely to retain and expand its Temperature Brigade program, a group of medically trained personnel who check employees temperature as they report to work.

Weve been been taking temperatures at facilities, subways, buses, Metro-North, a Long Island Rail Road, Bridges and Tunnels, as well -- we have taken temperatures of about 18,000 employees, and employees have welcomed it -- we have had in that group about 46 employees who have been directed to go home because they had a fever above 100.4. I think thats likely to continue, Foye told the Wall Street Journal.

NO CASH

In addition, rear-door boarding on local buses and cashless transactions are also likely to stick around, according to Foye, as they effectively distance riders from drivers and reduce the number of touch points throughout the system.

The agency has been working with the citys business community to potentially implement off-peak work hours as a way of mitigating the typical morning and evening rush hours.

If you go back to the 1918 pandemic, staggered hours were something that were put in place by New York City and the State at the time. I think its an easy way; its a common-sense way to do that. My sense is talking with employers, large and small, I think that will be welcomed, Foye said.
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Chandigarh : The Punjab Government has issued advisory for people involved in the frequent interstate/intrastate movement in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Giving Details, a spokesperson said that Corona virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease caused by a novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), transmitted in most instances through respiratory droplets, direct contact with cases and also through contaminated surfaces/objects.

Though the virus survives on environmental surfaces for a varied period of time, it gets easily inactivated by chemical disinfectants. Thus, correct and timely information and knowledge about the corona virus is the key to control the pandemic. The Government of Punjab has imposed severe restrictions on free movement of people and vehicles in the larger public interest of controlling the spread/transmission of Corona virus through the imposition of Curfew in its all 22 districts.

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The Government has, however, allowed essential activities and movement of people working in essential government offices so as to ensure the smooth functioning of the state-related activities.

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As per the advisory:

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1. All the persons are requested to avoid travel, if possible. In cases where the travelling is essential, one should not move around unnecessarily and should avoid moving in groups/large numbers.

2. The travelling persons shall ensure, before travel, that either they fall in the exempted category as per the extant instructions issued by the Department of Home Affairs & Justice, Government of Punjab or have the due requisite permission to travel. However, even in the case of exempted categories, the requisite documents stipulated by the Government shall always be readily available with the traveler.

3. Travel should be avoided in cases where the traveler has fever/cold/cough/difficulty in breathing. Such a person should contact the nearest medical facility immediately.

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4. The travelling persons should always keep in mind the norms of social distancing as laid down by the government, i.e., maintain a physical distance of at least 1 meter from everyone else.

5. The four-wheeler vehicle is allowed to carry only two persons along with the driver so as to ensure the adequate social distancing.

6. The passenger/driver should wear cloth mask at all times immediately from leaving the house till the entry back into the house. The mask shall be worn throughout the journey.

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7. The masks shall be worn in a manner that it snuggly covers the nose as well as the mouth.

8. The cloth mask should be washed with soap and water daily after use.

9. The driver and the passengers are advised not to indulge in any handshakes or hug to greet/see-off each other.

10.Wash the hands with soap for at least 40 seconds by applying the soap gently on the palm and back of the hand including web spaces between the fingers and space between the finger and the thumb and the wrist wherever and whenever the opportunity to wash the hands is available. However, a two-hourly hand wash is recommended.

11. The hands should preferably be washed in the manner prescribed above by the drivers/passengers before they board the vehicle for their journey.

12. Alcohol-based sanitizer (minimum 70% ethyl alcohol) can be carried by the passengers/drivers in the vehicles to sanitize the hands. The sanitizers are to be refilled/replaced frequently. Use a minimum of 3 ml of the sanitizer (approximately 2 pushes of sanitizer dispenser) on DRY HANDS for at least 30 seconds for good hygienic hand disinfection.

13.Sanitize the hands even if they appear to be apparently clean.

14.The driver and passengers should either sanitize or wash their hands whatever is feasible and available frequently.

15. The driver and passengers should mandatorily hand wash/sanitize in the manner prescribed before touching the refreshments during tea-break/lunch-break etc.

16. The air-conditioners can be used in the vehicles along with one open window so as to ensure adequate ventilation.

17. Do not smoke or chew tobacco based products such as gutka, pan masala etc. during the travel/halt.

18. In case of a cough/sneeze, follow the respiratory etiquettes. Use handkerchief to cover the face which shall then be kept in his/her own pocket/purse in a manner that the surface of the handkerchief exposed to the cough/sneeze shall not touch the other parts of the belongings directly.

19. In case someone is not carrying the handkerchief he/she should cough/sneeze into the flexed/bent elbow.

20. In either case, immediately hand-wash with soap in the manner prescribed the hands/other exposed surfaces to cough/sneeze.

21. Do not touch your face, mouth, nose and eyes with hands at all times.

22. Do not spit except when absolutely essential and only in the washbasin of the toilet which shall then be rinsed and washed away.

23. The drivers and the passengers should comply with the thermal scanning available to all the inter-city borders. The normal human body temperature is 97.7 to 99.5-degree Fahrenheit or 36.5 to 37.5-degree centigrade.

24. All the persons should declare their travel history at the inter-state/city checkpoints regarding whether they have visited any containment zone in the last 14 days.

25. Only asymptomatic persons should be allowed to move further after the thermal screening and they should not be kept in any quarantine facility.

26. All the persons are advised not to meet/interact with people who are symptomatic or are under home/facility quarantine.

27. Do not indulge in gossip/rumors with regard to COVID-19 without verifying the facts. All the persons should mandatorily download COVA app (along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi activation) for correct, authentic information as also for regular monitoring of their health status.

28. In case a co-worker is diagnosed as COVID-19 with whom one had a contact during the journey/waiting time etc, there shall not be panic. One should report to the Helpline No. 104/State Control Room No. 01722920074/08872090029, detailing the exact nature of exposure so as to assist the medical facility to undertake further necessary actions.

29. The employer in case a worker/employee is diagnosed as corona positive and such a worker/employee has attended the shift shall immediately inform the Helpline No. 104 / State Control Room No. 01722920074 / 08872090029 along with all the facts about the worker and the contacts he might have during the shift. The employer shall therefore maintain a complete and proper record of all workers on any particular day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a consolidated economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore to help make India self-reliant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and pitched for promoting local businesses, as he flagged that the deadly virus may be part of our lives for a long time. The nationwide COVID-19 tally in the meantime crossed 74,000.

The death toll also crossed 2,300, while nearly 24,000 people have recovered from the disease so far.

In his third address to the nation on COVID-19 crisis, Modi also said the fourth phase of the lockdown, beginning May 18, would be totally different with new rules and guidelines that would be announced later after taking into account feedback from all chief ministers.

Modi said the coronavirus cannot be allowed to dictate the people's lives even as experts have warned it is going to be a part of our lives for a long time.

Nearly 7,000 new cases have been detected since Monday morning while more than 100 people have lost their lives in this time period, as per the numbers made public by various states and union territories.

Several states including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi continued to report large number of new cases, including among those who have moved from other states in special trains and buses as also among those airlifted from abroad under a massive evacuation programme being undertaken by the government to bring back stranded Indians and expatriates from various countries.

While details of the economic package would be announced by the Finance Ministry over the next few days, beginning Wednesday, Modi said it would cover all sections of the society including corporates, cottage and small scale industries, MSMEs, labourers and the middle class.

The consolidated package of Rs 20 lakh crore would include measures already announced by the government and the RBI so far to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. However, there was no clarity on from where these funds would come and what impact it might have on the fiscal health of the country.

Among various measures, the Finance Ministry had earlier announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package, mainly for providing food grains and cash support to the poor.

In its daily update, the Union Health Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll rose to 2,293 and the positive cases climbed to 70,756, registering an increase of 87 deaths and 3,604 cases in the last 24 hours till Tuesday 8 AM.

However, a PTI tally of numbers announced by different states and UTs put the total number of confirmed cases much higher at 74,029 and the death toll at 2,338, as of 9 PM.

A day after interacting with chief ministers over the way forward in the battle against COVID-19, Modi said it is an unprecedented crisis, but we not only need to protect ourselves in this battle, but also have to keep moving forward.

He said the special economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore is equivalent to almost 10 per cent of India's GDP and it will provide a much needed boost for making India self-reliant. The package will also focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws, he said.

Leaders of the ruling party, BJP, pointed it was the biggest every package announced by any country.

Ever since its emergence in China last December, nearly 42 lakh people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus so far while more than 2.75 lakh people have lost their lives. India figures among the 15 biggest hit countries, while the US is the worst hit so far.

The prime minister further said several bold reforms are also needed to make the country self-reliant, so that the impact of crisis such as COVID can be negated in future.

These reforms include supply chain reforms for agriculture, rational tax system, simple and clear laws, capable human resource and a strong financial system. These reforms will promote business, attract investment, and further strengthen Make in India, he said.

Modi observed that the crisis has taught everyone the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains.

"All our demands during the crisis were met 'locally'. Now, its time to be vocal about the local products and help these local products become global," he said.

Modi said several experts and scientists have said that the virus is going to be part of our lives for a long time.

"But, it is also important to ensure that our life does-not revolve only around it," he said, while exhorting people to work towards their targets while taking precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

On the fourth stage of lockdown, he said that its contours will be completely different from those seen yet. On the basis of recommendations received from states, new rules will be framed, and information about the same will be conveyed before May 18, he said.

Modi had first announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown on March 24 during his first address to the nation on COVID-19. This was later extended till May 3 and then further till May 18 with some relaxations in the third phase, especially in areas with nil or less cases.

While the cases have continued to rise during the lockdown period, government officials have been saying that the tally could have been much higher but for the containment measures and a targetted testing strategy.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the testing capacity has increased to 1 lakh tests per day with 347 government laboratories and 137 private labs being used. Cumulatively, more than 17.6 lakh tests have been done so far.

There are also concerns that the outbreak may spread to rural areas with train services being resumed to take migrant workers and others stranded in different parts of the country to their native places.

So far, big urban centres including Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai have reported relatively larger number of cases, while the deadly virus outbreak has been detected in other parts of the country as well.

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 1,026 new COVID-19 cases and 53 deaths, 28 of them in Mumbai alone, taking the overall case count to 24,427 and the number of fatalities to 921, a health department official said.

Of the total coronavirus cases and deaths recorded so far in the state, Mumbai alone accounts for 14,947 infections and 556 fatalities. Dharavi slum sprawl in Mumbai reported 46 new COVID-19 cases and one death, taking the case count to 962 and the number of fatalities to 31.

Gujarat reported 362 new COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths, including 21 in worst-hit Ahmedabad.

Tamil Nadu reported 716 fresh cases, pushing the state tally to 8,718.

The national capital also reported over 400 new cases and at least 13 more deaths. In Delhi, the government received around 3 lakh messages on WhatsApp within seven hours of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking suggestions from the people on lockdown relaxations post May 17. The government has also received 25,000 recorded messages and 5,000 e-mails.

In West Bengal, officials said at least eight people have died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll in the state to 126, while over 100 more people tested positive for the deadly virus.

Kerala, which had stopped seeing fresh cases till a few days back, saw five new cases as the flow of Keralites returning home from other countries and states continued.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An American pilot died after her light plane crashed into a lake Tuesday while delivering humanitarian supplies in Indonesias easternmost province of Papua, police said.

The pilot, Joyce Chaisin Lin, 40, apparently had technical problems two minutes after takeoff from Sentani airport in the provincial capital of Jayapura, Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said.

He said she sent a distress call and requested to return to the airport, but the control tower then lost contact with her.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

Kamal said Lin, an information technology graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who grew up in Maryland, was the only person on the plane, which was carrying food, books and school kits for indigenous Papuan people in the remote village of Mamit.

She has dedicated her life to transporting humanitarian supplies and missionaries to hard-to-reach areas in Papua, Kamal said.

The U.S.-made Quest Kodiak 100 single-engine plane operated by the Mission Aviation Fellowship was on a one-hour flight from Sentani to the mountainous district of Tolikara when it crashed into Lake Sentani.

Rescuers found her body two hours after the crash at a depth of approximately 13 meters (43 feet).

Flying is the only practical way of accessing many areas in the mountainous and jungle-clad easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea, was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. A small, poorly armed separatist group has been battling for independence since then.

___

Corrects that Lin was from Maryland, not Ohio.

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By our estimation, Motorola's first flagship in four years is a decent, if not completely compelling high-end phone. Not everyone will like the Edge+'s signature "waterfall" display, and its vaunted stereo speakers could be better. The good news is that Motorola is addressing one of the Edge+'s other notable flaws ahead of the phone's May 14th launch.

In an email to Engadget, a spokesperson for Motorola said the company plans to furnish the device with at least two major Android platform upgrades. Previously, Motorola had only committed to updating the phone to Android 11, which goes into public beta this June. With the new policy, Edge+ owners will be able to look forward to using Android 12 on their new Moto flagship.

The new policy doesn't propel the Edge+ into a category of its own, but it does make it at least competitive against some other Android devices. For instance, like most of Samsung's high-end devices, the recently released Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip will receive two major Android upgrades. If software updates are the thing you care about the most, then Google's Pixel's lineup is still unmatched -- at least when it comes to Android.

Still, this is at least a step in the right direction for Motorola, particularly for a phone that will cost $1,000 when it comes out. Since Google sold the company to Lenovo, it hasn't had the best track record of updating its devices in a timely matter, nor has it done a great job of supporting them over time. But between today's announcement and the Android 10 update the company released for the Razr, things are starting to look up.
Japan Takes Delivery of Accident-Prone V-22B Osprey Tiltrotor Aircraft

Sputnik News

19:05 GMT 11.05.2020

Japan's first two V-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft were delivered to the US Marine Corps (USMC) station at Iwakuni last week. However, Tokyo's adoption of the unique aircraft has not been without hesitancy and protest, both inside the government and out, due to the Osprey's history of deadly accidents. The May 8 delivery was no exception.

On Friday, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) accepted delivery of its first two V-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The vehicles arrived aboard a transport ship, their propellers and wings folded tight for storage. Video footage released by the US Marine Corps, which operates Marine Corps Station Iwakuni, where the Ospreys were delivered, shows the careful process of delivery.

In May 2015, Japan requested to buy 17 V-22B Block C Ospreys via the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program, becoming the aircraft's first foreign buyer. Five were contracted for construction two months later at a cost of $332 million. As late as 2018, "four or five" of the aircraft were ready for delivery, but Tokyo continued to hesitate, retired Lt. Gen. George Trautman, an adviser for Osprey manufacturer Bell Boeing, told Defense News at the time.

A unique aircraft design, the V-22's rotors are capable of rotating to face either vertically or horizontally, enabling it to take off and land like a helicopter, but transition to plane-like flying once in the air. While affording the Osprey unequaled mobility, the design has also presented unequaled problems, with the US Marine Corps spending 18 years ironing out enough of the flaws to begin fielding the aircraft.

V-22 Ospreys bound for Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) units arrive in Japan at Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, May 8, 2020. The V-22 off-load marked the first time JGSDF V-22s arrived on Japanese soil.

Since the first V-22 flew in 1989, the aircraft has suffered at least 23 major accidents, resulting in dozens of deaths. With the first USMC Ospreys being deployed to Japan, several of those accidents happened over or near the country, resulting in the aircraft earning the last mistrust and ire of local residents as well as government officials.

"I read about Osprey accidents and wonder why these things are allowed to fly around," Tokyo resident Yuriko Inoue told Japanese national broadcaster NHK in an October 2019 story about popular safety concerns about the aircraft. "Are the authorities doing anything to avoid accidents or improve safety? My neighbors are all scared."

At one point in August 2017 following a deadly Osprey crash off the coast of Australia, the Japanese government asked Washington to halt its Osprey flights over Japan - a request commanders at Okinawa's Marine Corps Air Station Futenma declined to heed.

The two Ospreys' arrival at Iwakuni was, accordingly met with protest. Tokyo daily The Asahi Shimbun reported on Saturday that roughly 20 local residents protested outside the base's main gate during the unloading of the aircraft.

At the moment, the Japanese Defense Ministry is not even sure where the Ospreys will be based. Plans to base the aircraft at Saga Airport in the country's southern Chiba Prefecture have been foiled by fishery owners who own property near the airport and refused to sell to the government the land to build necessary support facilities for the Ospreys, Asahi reported in May 2019. As a result, the planes will be temporarily based at the nearby Camp Kisarazu.

The delivery comes at a time that the USMC is weighing ending the use of much of its Osprey fleet. As Sputnik has reported, the entire service branch is undertaking a decade-long reconstruction of its forces in order to focus more on naval warfare. USMC Combat Development Command spokesperson Maj. Joshua Benson told USNI News in late March the restructuring includes significant cuts to the Corps' ground forces, but also its aircraft squadrons, including helicopters, V-22s and perhaps even some of its F-35s.

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The Supreme Court is hearing a set of landmark cases over whether President Donald Trump may keep his tax records shielded from investigators.

The president is asking the justices to reverse three lower court rulings that would require his banks and longtime accounting firm to turn over his financial documents to Democratic-led congressional committees and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.

The arguments, which began at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday and will take at least two hours, are being conducted by phone as a precaution against the spreading coronavirus, and streamed live to the public. Decisions are expected over the summer, as Trump makes his case to voters to give him a second term in office in November's election.

Read more: Supreme Court hears arguments over whether Trump can keep tax records shielded from Congress

The cases have the highest profile of the court's term and are the first in which Trump's personal financial dealings have come to the justices. The Supreme Court's nine-member panel has a conservative majority, with five justices appointed by Republicans and four by Democrats. Two, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, were appointed by Trump.

According to David Cole, the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, at stake in the cases are "two of the most fundamental principles of the American constitutional system. Checks and balances on the one hand, and the rule of law and the notion that no one is above the law on the other."

For the first hour or so, the court is hearing arguments in two cases involving subpoenas issued by Democratic-led congressional committees to Mazars USA, the president's longtime accounting firm, and two of his banks. The committees have said they are pursuing investigations into whether Trump lied about his finances before he became president in addition to possible foreign money laundering.

In the second hour, the court will hear arguments over subpoenas issued by Vance to the Trump Organization and Mazars. The Manhattan district attorney has said he is investigating potential violations of New York state law related to hush money payments to two women, who have said they had affairs with the president, ahead of the 2016 election. Vance has not named specific charges or targets.

Attorneys for the president have argued that none of the subpoenas should be enforced for at least as long as Trump remains in office.

In the congressional cases, they have argued that House Democrats have essentially taken on the role of prosecutor, rather than legislator. The attorneys argue that the committees lack a valid legislative purpose for their subpoenas. In the New York case, Trump's attorneys argue that allowing every local prosecutor in the country to investigate a sitting president would burden the office.

In response, the congressional Democrats have said they are well within their rights to pursue an investigation that could lead to relevant legislation. And Vance's office has argued that its subpoenas are unlikely to burden the president because they are directed to third parties, concern information unrelated to his job as president, and do not require him to take any action.

The consolidated congressional cases are Trump v. Mazars, No. 19-715 and Trump v. Deutsche Bank, No. 19-760. The New York case is Trump v. Vance, No. 19-635.
EU financial aid to coronavirus-affected states as well as less oversight of funds are likely to lead to increased fraud and corruption, the EU chief prosecutor said.

Although the details of the EU COVID-19 stimulus package are still being developed, it is expected that leaders will agree on up to EUR 2 trillion in the coming weeks, and funds will come from the EU budget.

For Laura Codruta Kovesi, head of the newly created EU prosecutors office, this is a recipe for unforeseen consequences: increased fraud and corruption.

There are a lot of reasons to believe that our jurisdiction will increase, Kovesi, who made her name as a relentless and highly successful anti-corruption prosecutor in her native Romania, told Reuters.

If there are more funds, and if there is more flexibility in how to use them, then indeed I anticipate that we will have more work to do.

The European prosecutors office does not plan to begin full-fledged work before the end of this year. Kovesi is still creating a team of prosecutors and headquarters in Luxembourg.

But the body already has jurisdiction and will lead the investigation of major cross-border crimes, including VAT fraud, which is estimated to cost member states as much as EUR 64 billion a year.

According to Kovesi, there are already signs that the response to COVID-19 involves less transparent practices, including the conclusion of procurement contracts without open tenders or the use of fake documents to purchase medical equipment or medicines with artificially high prices.

Currently, her office has received a budget for a little over 32 prosecutors, which is an absurdly small number given their responsibilities.

Kovesi said that on the first day of operation - currently set for November - her office expects to be handed 3,000 cases by member states to investigate.

And each year after that, about 2,000 more cases. We need more money and more prosecutors, she said, declining to put a figure on the number but suggesting hundreds.
NORTHAMPTON  Florence Bank prides itself on being a local bank with local decision makers and personal service.

But to handle Paycheck Protection Program loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration as quickly as possible, it outsourced work to online processor Kabbage, said Florence Bank President Kevin R. Day.

But Kabbage got a slow start, missing out on first-round funding from the coronavirus relief program and frustrating local borrowers and Florence Bank itself.

We executed as best we could but it just didnt go as well as wed hoped, Day said in an interview. Sometimes the government forces you into a situation. Its been unfortunate and frustrating.

U.S. Rep. Richard E.Neal, D-Springfield, is chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and one of the authors of the most recent coronavirus relief bills. He said last week in a meeting with reporters and editors that hes aware of frustrations with the PPP program.

I never said it was perfect, Neal said, stressing the speed at which the program had to roll out. But it is getting better.

The SBA said to expect more guidance this week.

Day said he picked Kabbage to make things quicker for applicants. But he said the company had trouble working with the SBA.

We thought we had a great process that would help (customers), Day said. Im sorry it worked out the way its worked out.

The Boston Business Journal reported that Florence Bank was the largest bank in the state not to participate in the first round of PPP.

East Boston Savings Bank told the Boston Business Journal about a similar experience with Kabbage.

The bank noticed the problems and stepped in to begin processing applications itself. It will continue to do applications manually alongside Kabbages effort, and Kabbage has said it expects fewer issues with applications in the second round, said East Boston Savings Bank CEO Dick Gavegnano.

Kabbage didnt reply to an email from The Republican seeking comment. Small Business Administration officials in Boston said they didnt know of Kabbage being shut out of the first round of PPP loans.

The SBAs website lists Florence Bank as participating in the program and its online ZIP code-driven search tool for participating lenders yields a listing for Florence Bank.

PeoplesBank, headquartered in Holyoke, also partnered with Kabbage. PeoplesBank president and CEO Tom Senecal said on a Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce conference call last month that the volume of applications nationwide had complicated the process.

It takes about 20 minutes once the application is uploaded to Kabbage. They must manually enter that information into the SBAs E-Tran system, he said April 8. I understand Kabbage has 27,000 loans in their queue.

Florence Banks partnership with Kabbage is working out now, Day said. He didnt share specifics, but said the online servicer has handled 500 to 600 Paycheck Protection Plan loans for Florence Bank customers in the past few weeks with an 80% success rate. Day said he hopes the remaining 20% will get money as more funds open up in round two of the program.

Florence Bank itself stepped in to process PPP loans for some customers in a few circumstances.

Day said the bank chose Kabbage quickly  shortening a service procurement process that usually takes months to just a few days  in hopes of getting its customers access to loans quickly.

Other banks processing PPP loans themselves  they get a processing fee from the federal government  often have staff work long days and weekends.

Day said he thought Kabbage with its technology could speed the application process. Plus, he was worried about availability of staff members and their health, although as it turns out Florence Bank has had very little absenteeism.

He also wanted to free staff members up to work with customers that have existing business loans or home mortgages and are unable to pay all or portions of those monthly bills due to job loss or business losses stemming from COVID-19.

He said Florence Bank has done more than 1,000 loan deferrals, keeping businesses going and people in their homes.

There is a lot of activity going on to help customers across the board, Day said. That is the Florence Bank that customers know.

Florence Bank has $1.5 billion in assets with 11 branches in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, West Springfield and Springfield. It is a mutual bank, owned by its depositors, founded in 1873.

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The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said



the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was needed, but added that he should have also talked about giving the states their Goods and Services Tax (GST) share.

Maharashtra, worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic, should get a major share of assistance, said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.

The NCP, Sena's ally in Maharashtra, said it hoped the package did not meet the fate of the one announced by Modi for Bihar in 2015.

In a big push to revive the economy, Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore package which combined the government's recent announcements on supporting key sectors as also measures rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India.

"He should have talked about that (states' GST share). There is criticism of PM Cares Fund as it is not under the Right to Information Act. He should have talked about that too," the Sena spokesperson said.

"The most affected states like Maharashtra should be given more share....Mumbai is the country's financial capital. We expect they will give more (money) to Maharashtra and give GST share to the state," she added.

Kayande also said that the prime minister should have explained how the fourth phase of the lockdown will be implemented.

"Let's see how it unfolds. We will wait for the details. But it should not go the way Bihar's package went," Maharashtra Minister and NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

Modi had announced a Rs 1.25 lakh crore package for Bihar in 2015, but opposition parties had questioned how much it actually amounted to.

"It should be a separate package. It should not be like an advanced payment. It should be a package," Malik added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cash-strapped Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG is warning that UK government plans to impose a two-week quarantine on international arrivals will deliver a dangerous blow to an already struggling airline industry.

Chief executive Willie Walsh has said the company would be forced to review its plan to resume flying in July if the quarantine goes ahead  adding that aviation was facing the deepest crisis in its history.

The industry has changed and anybody who believes that were going back to the way things were in 2019 misunderstands the scale of the challenge that is being faced, Walsh said.

Weve probably exhausted every avenue that I can think of at this stage to shore up our liquidity  The cash has been reducing significantly and that will be the case as we go through May, June and July.

Summer flights in doubt

In line with travel restrictions, Europes major airline groups this summer planned to add flights to their schedules  with most flights having been grounded since March.

The largest increase was to come from IAG, who were seeking to operate at 45 percent of capacity between July and September. In comparison, Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM expected to operate at about 20 percent.

Both IAG and Air France-KLM, who together reported over a billion euros in losses for the first quarter, say it will likely take years for demand to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.

A collective letter signed by the British aviation industry bosses at easyJet, Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as industry associations, warned that an open-ended quarantine imposed by Britain, with no set end-date, would worsen an already critical situation.

Under such circumstances, Walsh predicts demand for a minimal capacity only, adding an enforced quarantine would exacerbate the companys already-stretched finances. IAG was not yet in a position where it needed to ask for a government bailout, though.

Walsh was fielding questions from the parliaments transport committee after British Airways announced measures to axe 12,000 staff, or 30% of its workforce, following the grounding of most of its planes due to the coronavirus.

Job losses could follow at IAGs other airlines, Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Irelands Aer Lingus, he warned. The Irish airline was on Tuesday engaged in talks with trade unions on its plans to cut what some fear could be as many as 900 jobs.
Festo VTUG with CTEU

Festo announced that Shepherd Controls & Associates, Allen, Texas, has become its latest distribution partner. The 35-year-old company will supply Festo products to customers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

In addition to distribution of quality pneumatics and electrical components, Shepherd Controls provides engineering support for panel design, software applications, and multi-component system design and development. Its value-added department and 80/20 framing services save customers time and lower risk through turnkey design, assembly, testing, and integration services. Shepherd is a leader in vision-aided motion and inspection technology and supports this segment of its business with a state-of-the-art vision lab. The company excels in motion control and robotics.

Becoming a Festo distribution partner will enhance our solutions in terms of innovation, quality, and customer support and improve our customers productivity and lower their downtime, said Bill Benko, Vice President of Sales, Shepherd Controls.

Festo and Shepherd Controls are committed to helping customers reduce engineering overhead, achieve faster time to market, and maximize overall equipment effectiveness, said Mark Snyder, Channel Director Festo Corporation. Both companies place a premium on employees who embody a customer-service ethic.

Festo is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of pneumatic and electromechanical systems, components, and controls for process and industrial automation. For more than 40 years, Festo has continuously elevated the state of manufacturing and processing.


Oregon announcement by state health and safety officials follows federal restriction

May 9, 2020

SALEM, Ore.-- Following a federal decision to restrict the use of KN95-style respirators for medical use in the United States, Oregon health and safety officials advise medical professionals to stop using KN95 respirators, in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance.

Under an Emergency Use Authorization, the FDA previously allowed the use of KN95s for U.S. health care workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, the FDA revoked that authorization for more than 65 of the 80 authorized manufacturers, citing poor quality. The FDA guidance can be found here.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Oregons Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) want to inform Oregonians this guidance applies only to the use of KN95 respirators. The FDA announcement does not impact other personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, which are safe to use.

The previously certified KN95 respirators are in circulation in Oregon. Oregon Health Authority on Friday notified health and dental providers around the state who received KN95 respirators from the state stockpile and warned them that these are not for use as respirators. State officials also contacted counties, Tribes, and other recipient partners about the new restriction.

KN95s can continue to be used as face coverings (similarly to the use of cloth, paper and disposable face coverings), but KN95s should not be used as respirators for health care professionals.

In health care settings, personnel are sometimes required to use respirators for protection, said Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA. In such cases, medical personnel should only use KN95 respirators that are on the FDAs approved list.


The World Health Organisation highlighted that nurses are at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics, stating that the COVID-19 is a reminder of the important role nurses play.

International Nurses Day is organised on 12 May to celebrate the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. Each year, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) comes up with a theme to honour nurses. For 2020, the theme chosen for International Nurse Day is 'Nursing the world to health.'

History of International Nurse's Day

Florence Nightingale was the first person to turn the nursing profession into an organised sector with standardised roles and responsibilities. In 1854, she brought 38 volunteer nurses to care for soldiers during the Crimean War. Prior to that, both male and female nurses were usually untrained family members of soldiers who tended to the ill and the wounded.

Nightingale is credited with founding the modern professional nursing, being instrumental in improving sanitation, hygiene and nutrition of the ill.

The day was first proposed by an officer with the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Dorothy Sutherland in the year 1953 and subsequently proclaimed by the then president Dwight D Eisenhower. International Nurse's Day was first celebrated by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in the year 1965.

In the UK, a service is held in Londons Westminster Abbey in honour of nurses and healthcare workers. A symbolic lamp is taken from the Nurses' Chapel and handed from one nurse to another.

This years International Nurses Day is special because it marks the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted that nurses are at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics, stating that the COVID-19 is a reminder of the important role nurses play.

WHO stressed that without nurses and other health workers, the battle against outbreaks will not be won and the world will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or universal health coverage.
The government of India is considering bringing in an incentive system based on the level of local content for the manufacturing sector as the country looks at increasing self reliance while enhancing its competitiveness in the global economy.

"There is an opportunity for India to emerge stronger in manufacturing from this crisis (coronavirus pandemic) and the success in mobile phone manufacturing is a good example to follow," said a senior official from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). "Imports can be reduced in a variety of industries especially in the supply chain and the right policy with adequate incentives will help us attract companies looking beyond China. With India's large consumer base as a core, there will be sufficient scale to play with."

The system could be on the lines of the production linked incentive scheme recently announced for large scale electronics manufacturing in the country where an incentive of 4-6 percent on incremental sales of goods manufactured in the country is offered for a period of 5 years.

"For some large sectors, the incentives could also be in the form of graded taxes," the official said.

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0 will be imposed with all-new guidelines, measures: PM Modi

The need for self reliance was the central theme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on Tuesday night where he announced a bumper Rs 20 lakh crore relief package for the industry. While the details of them would only be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the days to come, Modi repeatedly said that local manufacturing needed to be encouraged as the economy needed a quantum jump.

"Self-reliance will prepare the country for tough competition in the global supply chain, and it is important that the country wins this competition. The same has been kept in mind while preparing the package. It will not only increase efficiency in various sectors but also ensure quality," Modi said during his 33-minute speech. "The crisis has taught us the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains. All our demands during the crisis were met locally. Now, its time to be vocal about the local products and help these local products become global."

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi announces economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore; 10% of GDP

While the Indian industry has made rapid progress in developing local manufacturing and supply chains in the last few years, there is scope to enhance this further. A study by Frost and Sullivan on India's appliance and consumer electronics industry says employment generation in the sector can increase by 62 percent in the next 5-6 years by increasing the level of localisation in manufacturing.

"Majority of compressors are imported and it accounts for 23 per cent of EBOM (engineering bill of materials) in room air conditioners. Local production from Highly Electrical Appliances India Private Limited meets less than 5 per cent of the demand as most of its production is exported. If local manufacturers are able to meet the quality parameters, it is likely that OEMs will start sourcing domestically," the report says. "Similarly in the case of PCBs (printed circuit boards) many companies prefer to source from their global location, majorly from China. However, if laminate manufacturing and design activities are moved to India, the whole PCBA value chain can be developed here."

Another industry where localisation can see a significant increase is in the $ 120 billion automobile sector. India imported components worth $ 17.5 billion in fiscal 2019 with more than a quarter coming in from China.

"A significant proportion of the industries in the auto component sector are MSMEs. We are committed to making the Prime Minister's vision of self reliance through localisation, global competitiveness, vibrant local manufacturing, and A robust local supply chain a reality," said Deepak Jain, president, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA). "Reforms in land labour, liquidity and laws are critical to make India a driver of global economy." of global economy."
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra  Tue, May 12, 2020 18:00 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd78f9d0 1 National oil-tanker,oil-tanker-fires,Belawan-port,Medan,North-Sumatra,fire,shipyard,casualty,identification Free

The authorities have confirmed that at least seven crew members were killed in a fire on board the crude oil tanker Jag Leela at Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday morning.

A search and rescue team recovered on Tuesday the bodies of seven crew members in several different parts of the ship, including on the deck.

Indra, a member of the SAR team deployed to the scene, said the team had only managed to identify one of the recovered bodies.

Of the seven bodies weve found, only one has been immediately identified as Soewondo. The rest have been severely burned, Indra told The Jakarta Post, adding that the victims were presumably trapped inside the ship during the fire.

The SAR team has also been spraying water onto the ship to ensure the safety of the evacuation operation.

North Sumatra Police spokesperson, Adj. Sr. Comr. MP Nainggolan, said the bodies of the seven victims had been transferred to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in the city for identification. The number of casualties may still increase as the search operation is still under way.

Read also: Crude oil tanker bursts into flames in Medan, injuring 22

Bhayangkara Police Hospital deputy head, Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulhairi, said the hospital had identified another body, without providing any further details.

The hospital set up an emergency post to gather data on the victims from their relatives to help them identify the remaining bodies.

Those who fear that they might have lost a family member in the fire can submit their fingerprints, ID cards or diplomas [to the emergency post], said Zulhairi.

Previously, authorities confirmed 22 crew members were injured while several others were trapped in the oil tanker. The injured victims were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals.

Witnesses said an explosion occurred on Monday morning when the ship was about to dock at the Waruna Shipyard in the port. A column of thick smoke began rising from the oil tanker at 8:30 a.m.

Local authorities struggled to put out the resulting flames until 3 p.m. as the remaining oil stored in the ships hold had caught fire.

The police are still investigating the cause of the blaze. (rfa)
LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's cabinet has urged OPEC+ countries to further reduce oil production rates to restore balance in global crude markets, state news agency (SPA) reported early on Wednesday.

"The cabinet affirmed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's endeavor to support the stability of global oil markets," according to a statement.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's initiatives aim at urging the countries participating in the OPEC+ agreement and other producing countries to adhere to the cut rates and to provide more reduction in production in order to contribute to restoring the desired balance of the global oil markets."

OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, decided in April to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June, a record reduction, in response to the 30% drop in global fuel demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would add to existing cuts by reducing output by another 1 million bpd next month -- equivalent to 1% of global oil supply -- slashing total production to 7.5 million bpd, down nearly 40% from April.

The slump in oil prices has caused significant pain to the kingdom's budget.

(Reporting By Raya Jalabi in London; Editing by Chris Reese and Sam Holmes)
FERNDALE, Mich.Adult products distributor Nalpac has partnered with WOW Tech for week two of its F*ck Covid19 Campaign.

Under the partnership, WOW Tech will offer social media giveaways, webinars and more from WOW Tech brands We-Vibe and ROMP. Nalpac is also running a special spending promotion through June 11. Any customer who spends the designated amount will be eligible to win a $100 UberEats gift card at the end of the promotion. WOW Tech's newest addition, ROMP products are semi-exclusive to Nalpac and are carefully designed to meet the highest standards. Users can add color to sex with nine new SKU's from ROMP, including Shine, Switch, Free, Jazz, Hype, Flip, Beat, Juke,= and Wave.

As Americans, we are resilient, strong-minded and capable of rising out of this pandemic! F*ck Covid19 is our contribution to retailers to rise up, open your doors and kick ass. We are excited to be focusing on ROMP this week with several high-quality products at affordable prices! said Amy Lazzara, Nalpac creative director.

Nalpac is also presenting two pre-recorded webinars from WOW Tech this week hosted by Kitty that are now availableone for WOW Tech's luxury brand WeVibe and one for their newest brand ROMP. They can be seen here and here.

"In times like these, loyalty and compassion are more important than ever, and WOW Tech is happy to help our partners throughout these challenging times, said Kitty Gondek, WOW Tech representative. We decided to partner with Nalpac's F*ck COVID-19 campaign by running a We-Vibe promotion. We are offering retailers the opportunity to support their local restaurants and maintain social distancing by ordering through delivery services such as UberEats. We are committed to protecting our communities and supporting those impacted by COVID-19, and we hope that our partners are healthy and safe."

Nalpac's F*ck Covid19 Campaign will run for more than 12 consecutive weeks and will feature a different manufacturer and promotions each week. Each week participating manufacturers are offering various deals in combination with orders. Nalpac will also be focusing on social media during the F*ck Covid19 promotion with original content and extra giveaways to keep people engaged and excited about reopening their stores and businesses.

Nalpac customers with questions about the F*ck Covid19 Campaign, its other items and PPE, may contact their Nalpac sales representative. New and prospective Nalpac customers may email [email protected] to get an account set up. To sign up for the Nalpac email newsletter and take advantage of special promotions and online education tools, please visit Nalpac's blog at www.nalpac.us.

Nalpac is on Twitter @NalpacWholesale, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Nalpac, on Instagram @Nalpac and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/nalpac.
In a move that Oregon restaurant and bar owners are desperate to copy, Washington state has temporarily allowed the sale of cocktails to-go during the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board announced that the state would join California, Idaho and dozens of other American states and municipalities in allowing bars and restaurants to sell pre-mixed cocktails to-go, so long as food was purchased with each drink order. Previously, Washington restaurants and bars had only been allowed to sell cocktail kits with mixers and spirits in factory-sealed bottles.

Already, many of Washingtons best-known bars, including Canon and Lady Jaye Bar in Seattle, have jumped at the chance to reopen and sell their signature products. And in Southwest Washington, dozens of restaurants and bars were preparing to roll out their own takeout cocktail programs, the first such businesses to be allowed to do so in the Portland metro area.

The Grocery Cocktail & Social, a top craft cocktail bar in downtown Vancouver known for using Washington-distilled spirits, is jumping at the chance to sell their signature item. Thursday, the bar will hold a pop-up," serving their signature burger alongside 16-ounce sidecars, mules and other cocktails canned with help from a machine borrowed from Brothers Cascadia Brewing. Under the new law, the cocktails must be placed directly in the trunk of the vehicle or beyond the immediate reach of the driver.

It just goes to show that things can change, said Grocery co-owner Chris Salty Reed, who had hoped for the shift. It means a lot to us just because it is such a big part of our business, its something that were known for.

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

Ricky Gomez, owner of the Cuban-inspired cocktail bar Palomar, has pushed Oregon to follow its immediate neighbors in allowing takeout cocktails. He says hes happy for his friends in Washington, since the previous allowed cocktail kits werent as profitable as they might have appeared from the outside.

Im wondering whats holding up Oregon, Gomez said. Ive learned a lot through this process as far as seeing where certain political allegiances lie, and how some people believe that the service industry just isnt worth this change. Its discouraging to see the inaction from our elected officials, to be honest. Its baffling."

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission fast-tracked several additional allowances for Oregon businesses, including the ability to offer same-day delivery of beer, wine and cannabis. Late last month, Oregon distillers were allowed to sell their own spirits for takeout and delivery, including canned cocktails. But the agency has said that allowing restaurants and bars to sell their own pre-mixed cocktails to-go would require a special session of the Oregon Legislature to change the phrasing in the statute that governs the sale of liquor.

Meanwhile, the economic crisis created by COVID-19 has hammered Oregons service industry, with an estimated 127,000 people laid off since March 17, when Gov. Kate Brown put a stop to on-premises dining at restaurants and bars. Restaurants and bars were allowed to continue selling food for takeout and delivery, but without the profit offered by cocktails  often the most profitable part of a restaurant  theyve done so with skeleton crews.

Gomez has previously said he hopes to rehire two members of his 14-person staff to prepare and package drinks. If the state required that alcohol sales be accompanied by food, he could bring back two or three additional kitchen workers to make medianoche sandwiches and other takeout-friendly Cuban specialties.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
For several weeks, the media hounded President Trump about testing, often citing the large-scale testing operation South Korea had in place, wondering why we were so far behind. (See here at the 1-min mark, here, and here for a small sampling.)

Recently, as we've ramped up testing, Trump is letting it be known that the United States is doing more testing than any country in the world  in fact, more than all other countries combined. Right on cue, the media now badger him about why he's being competitive about it, as in "Why should it matter if we're doing more than anyone else?"

During Monday's press conference, a CBS News "reporter" asked Trump why he keeps talking about how the United States is doing more testing than any other country, while suggesting it's inappropriate for him to speak of such things, given the fact that Americans are dying from the virus.

This is exactly why President Trump has stopped holding these briefings.



Why do these reporters still not understand that Coronavirus came from China and spread all over the world because of their lies?



This isnt hard. pic.twitter.com/PyrS28m2cN  Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 11, 2020

So, after making the testing issue competitive, the press now cries foul. As our testing capacity and accomplishments have now eclipsed South Korea and elsewhere, suddenly it's inappropriate to point this out.

But it didn't stop there. (It never does.)

Trump told the reporter, Weijia Jiang, she should ask China about all the deaths, and now the media are pouncing on him, crying (wait for it), "Racism!!!" CNN is making this bogus claim because the reporter was born in China. (The "reporter" also suggested Trump was singling her out and responded as he did because she's originally from China.)

CNNs Brian Stelter claims Pres. Trump routinely targets reporters who are women and people of color: pic.twitter.com/nrmTAY2iZs  Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) May 11, 2020

Then CNN's Brian Stelter, in his usual hysterical manner, with Wolf Blitzer looking on with his look-how-serious-my-face-is face, took it one step farther and accused Trump of routinely targeting women and people of color at pressers.

The beauty of Trump is that he will smack down nonsense no matter who dishes it out. In this way, he's very anti-discriminatory, because he doesn't care if you're black, white, male, female, etc. He will unapologetically call out the media when they serve up crap.

But as long as people want to play the victim card, they will forever be victims  not because Trump treated them that way, but because they live that way in their heads.

Photo credit: Twitter video screen grab.
Faulty vehicle lifts in Northern Ireland did thousands more MOT tests than manufacturers recommended, an independent report said.

New equipment was purchased after cracks discovered in 52 out of 55 of the existing machines led to large numbers of roadworthiness checks being cancelled.

The defects were caused by fatigue, engineers said.

Another report found that the overall standard of record management observed within the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) was less than satisfactory.

Reminder: DVA is processing refunds for cancelled MOT tests however due to the significant number to be processed and the impacts of COVID-19, this is taking longer than we would like. Refunds will be made as quickly as possible. https://t.co/XvmPZWafMt pic.twitter.com/oiuWQ0ENID  Dept Infrastructure (@deptinfra) May 6, 2020

A review said: The lifts have clearly undertaken significantly more than the 22,000 design load cycles.

Inspections have been undertaken every six months.

Use of the lifts equated to approximately 150,000-160,000 cycles since their installation in 2011/2012, a report said.

The manufacturers operating instructions said its standard version was designed for 22,000.

It said the maximum period of normal use in relation to the possible product life expectancy should be evaluated and scheduled by a qualified person during the annual safety inspection.

The engineering company behind the review added: WYG would recommend that all lifts exhibiting signs of fatigue are taken out of service and replaced.

We would not advocate any short-term localised repairs due to the presence of fatigue in the scissor legs around the pivot.

In many instances, remedial works in the form of steel plates had been welded onto the lifts, preventing a thorough inspection.

Another recently-published report from the Civil Services internal audit team identified several instances where key discussions and decisions were not formally documented.

We consider that, although the standard of record management in certain areas such as fault logging / H&S (health and safety) was of a good standard, the overall standard of record management observed was generally less than satisfactory.

It is also concerning that the report finds that the overall standard of record management observed within DVA was less than satisfactory Nichola Mallon

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said the review raised important questions around DVAs approach to some aspects of its lift maintenance and inspection regime, including in relation to setting target dates and timescales.

She added: They need careful attention so that lessons are learned and to prevent such disruption to the public from ever happening again.

It is also concerning that the report finds that the overall standard of record management observed within DVA was less than satisfactory.

That is not acceptable, not least given the recent focus on the importance of good record keeping.

The new lifts are now ready for installation on a phased basis but all MOT centres were offered to the NHS for use as Covid-19 testing centres, the minister said.

She warned: This has meant that the replacement programme requires very careful management and new lifts will only be installed in those centres that the Department of Health and the Trusts have confirmed will not be required as part of our Covid-19 response.

If, at some later point after lifts have been installed, those centres are needed I have assured the health minister and our health care workers that the offer still stands and that they will have priority use of our MOT centres for the duration of this crisis.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kord, a Centauri company, announced today that it has been selected to receive an FY2019 Nunn-Perry Award, alongside Raytheon Company, by the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). The prestigious award recognizes Kord's superb performance as a participant in the OSBP Mentor-Protege Program (MPP).

The Nunn-Perry Awards are presented to recognize Mentor-Protege teams who have demonstrated exemplary effort in providing products and services to our warfighters. This year eleven Mentor-Protege teams participated in the competition and six were selected.

"[Kord's] performance during FY19 has truly made an impact on the Departments Industrial Base and Technology Transfer," said Shannon C. Jackson, associate director of the Mentor-Protege Program.

Kord joined the program in 2017 as a protege to Raytheon Missile Systems in support of Missile Defense Agency. Kord was acquired by Centauri in 2019. This year, Raytheon and Kord are further advancing capabilities and Infrastructure through the Mentor Protege Agreement.

"Raytheon's mentorship contributed, in tandem with our investments and technology insertion for our Advanced Materials Lab, to generating capability for the warfighter in hypersonic defense," said Lisa Dobson, VP of Missile Defense, Cyber and Intel. "We want to thank Raytheon for their support in being our mentor."

The program contributed to Kord's rapid growth and advanced technology development. During the Mentor Protege Agreement, Kord achieved goals for CMMI L3, ISO 2001:2015 certification, and AS9100 Certification. The program also provided a model for success in expansion, leadership and corporate training.

The OSBP Mentor-Protege Program is the oldest continuously operating federal mentor-protege program in existence. Originally established in the midst of the First Gulf War, the MPP helps eligible small businesses expand their footprint in the defense industrial base.

About Kord:

Kord, a Centauri company, is an integrated defense and aerospace company creating results for our clients in a fast-changing world. Kord delivers an extensive portfolio of directed energy, missile defense, space, cyber, and defense technology to Federal Government customers across the United States.

About Centauri:

Centauri is a high-end engineering, intelligence, cybersecurity and advanced technology solutions company headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia with offices Nationwide. We work with our customers in the intelligence and national security communities, helping them solve their most difficult challenges. Our agile, mission-first approach empowers our advanced technical and operational teams to meet the real-time demands and high-impact missions of national defense agencies across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace.



SOURCE Centauri

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https://www.centauricorp.com


Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 (9:14 am) - Score 3,085

Frustration has erupted in Shropshire (England) after it emerged that 1,800 premises covered by several street cabinets in Shrewsbury and Ludlow would not gain access to superfast broadband (FTTC/P) ISP technology from Openreach (BT). The cabinets had been due to benefit from the operators commercial UK roll-out.

At present around 94% of local premises can already access a 24Mbps+ capable superfast broadband connection (up from around 25% in 2013) and a big chunk of that has been achieved via the state aid supported Connecting Shropshire programme, which is backed by Building Digital UK and has contracts with both Openreach and ISP Airband.

NOTE: Virgin Media and Full Fibre Ltd. are also operating in the county and looking to cover some of the gaps.

On top of that Openreach have also been conducting a complementary commercial deployment, which until now has mostly focused upon the roll-out of slower hybrid Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2 and G.fast) than pure gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology.

As part of that commercial deployment several street cabinets in Shrewsbury and Ludlow were all due to be upgraded (assurances were still being given as recently as October 2019), which also meant that those cabinets had been excluded from the Connecting Shropshire programme.

Sadly the Shropshire Star reports that Openreach has recently done a u-turn and thus left 1,800 premises to continue suffering from slower broadband speeds.

A Spokesperson for Openreach said: With new technologies and ways of working being introduced all the time, we often re-visit areas yet to be upgraded  such as these last few cabinets in Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth  to see if we can find an affordable and practical solution. Weve not managed to do so yet, but locations such as these are still very much on our radar. Were always looking at ways to extend the reach of our broadband network and regularly announce new locations (we announced 200 in January) to benefit from our build, particularly full fibre. Full fibre is not only faster, but its also more reliable and future-proof. Openreach hopes to reach four million premises by March 2021.

In fairness roll-out plans are always tentative and frequently go through changes, which can result in some areas being removed and new ones added. Since 2018 the increasing focus on full fibre FTTP technology has also resulted in Openreach taking the decision to gradually move away from inferior hybrid fibre FTTC and G.fast solutions. Inevitably there would be some casualties.

On top of that we have the governments new target for gigabit (1Gbps+) capable broadband coverage to reach every UK home by the end of 2025, which is not possible via FTTC (VDSL2) and is extremely difficult to achieve via even ultrafast G.fast technology (you can do it via an FTTdp approach but the network would become complex and this doesnt fit with the wider push to retire copper in favour of FTTP).

Unfortunately the decision has come during the latter stages of the Connecting Shropshire project, which makes it difficult to see the area being re-scoped into that programme, at least not for another year or two. We suspect they may have to wait until contracts are signed under the Governments new 5bn gigabit scheme or hope for more clawback/gainshare (i.e. public funding returned by BT for reinvestment due to high take-up) via the original BDUK contracts.
(CNN)  Millions of people in Wuhan will be tested for the novel coronavirus within the coming days, after a new cluster of cases emerged despite a strict 76-day lockdown that was intended to eliminate the virus from the central Chinese city.

Over the weekend, six new cases were reported in the city, the first in 35 consecutive days. None of the new cases were imported from overseas, sparking concern that the infection could still be spreading in the city where the virus is thought to have first emerged.

In response to the outbreak, authorities in Wuhan will conduct city-wide nucleic acid testing over a period of 10 days, according to an emergency notice issued by local authorities and circulated by state run media outlet The Paper.

Nucleic acid tests work by detecting the virus' genetic code, and can be more effective at detecting the infection, particularly in the early stages, than tests which examine a body's immune response, though the latter are easier to conduct.

The ambitious screening drive, described in the report as a "ten-day battle," could see up to 11 million people tested.

Wuhan was the first city in the world to enter into lockdown and great effort has been expended in an attempt to eliminate the virus.

The city has been gradually returning to normal after that 76-day enforced lockdown lifted on April 8, with residents finally permitted to go outside, though many businesses remain closed.

Despite the ongoing economic pain and trauma, however, Wuhan had been held up as a poster child of China's effective response to the pandemic, emerging "like a phoenix," in the words of one state-backed newspaper.

The reemergence of the virus has already had ramifications for the local government. State media reported Monday that Zhang Yuxin, chief official of Changqing, the area where the new cases had been detected, was removed from his post "for failures in epidemic prevention and control work."

While no new cases of the virus were reported in Wuhan as of Tuesday, any major increase in numbers as a result of the new testing will raise serious questions over the accuracy and transparency of the city's previous figures. Officials are already facing accusations of covering up the severity of the virus in the earliest stages of the pandemic, and confusion over China's national figures has been created by several shifts in diagnostic and reporting procedures.

Nor is Wuhan the only part of the country where new cases have been detected. The city of Shulan, in Jilin province in the country's far northeast, was put under "wartime control mode" Sunday, after 11 people were confirmed to be infected with the virus.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, previously thought to be largely on top of the virus, has also faced a setback this week, with a cluster of new cases detected in Seoul. The country's president, Moon Jae-in, said Sunday that the fight against coronavirus is "not over until it's over."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Wuhan to test all residents for coronavirus in 10 days after new cases emerge"
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LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Trent Lee, a business broker, and business appraiser, who holds the designation of Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) was named the # 1 business broker in the country. The IBBA Board Chair and Chief Governance Officer Barry J. Berkowitz announced "This year's honorees have proven themselves to be outstanding business brokers and it's a privilege to recognize their accomplishments. It's with great honor that we recognize and honor their high standards of skill and excellence which the IBBA strongly promotes." Mr. Lee, who also received the IBBA Chairman's Circle award and IBBA Top Deal Maker of the Year award has set a new record for more closed deals than any other business broker in the country. His unique valuation process and deal structuring are changing the way business brokers are putting deals together, the results are so significant that he is being asked to consult, teach and train other competitors in other cities in order for them to implement his system.He is an agent with First Choice Business Brokers. A business brokerage that has fast risen to become the largest Business Sales Organization in Nevada since 1994. First Choice Business Brokers is a well-positioned member of the Institute of Business Appraisers, International Business Brokers Association, and a member of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Trent Lee, a committed and licensed professional is keeping with his vision of helping others sell their businesses in integrity, accountability, and with all sense of responsibility. He says, "If you are interested in selling, buying, or franchising a business, I would love to serve you. I have the expertise, the experience, and the connections to assist you in the process of selling your business. I will evaluate your business, find the right buyer, and manage the sale for you and all of this at no cost until we close a deal. I can achieve all of this while maintaining complete confidentiality." A few clients who have used the Las Vegas business broker's expert services confirm his claims. Alvin Norwood reviewed "I could not have found a better buyer for my business without Trent Lee! He is one in a million business broker! I had a wonderful experience with him. He was quick to follow me up on updates and paperwork to get me to the next steps. Trent would be the first person I'd call if any of my friends or family needed to sell or buy a business. I'm referring all my friends and acquaintances to him already."Linda Carter also commented, "We recently had Trent value and sell one of our businesses. First of all, Trent gave me absolute confidence that I was in great hands. The team was very professional and they sure have great communication with their clients. They stayed with us every step of the way making it a surprisingly stress-free event. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone thinking of taking the plunge and selling their business." ABOUT TRENT LEETrent Lee is a business broker with First Choice Business Brokers, in Las Vegas Nevada. He is the recipient of the IBBA's award as the #1 business broker in the country, for the most closed transactions. His website is www.SellBusinessinLasVegas.com and can be reached via e-mail at Trent@ fcbb.com and on phone at (702) 505-2789.CONTACT:Name: Trent LeeOrganization: First Choice Business BrokersAddress: 5420 W Sahara Ave #2015 Las Vegas, NV 89146 United StatesPhone:(702) 505-2789Email: trent@ fcbb.com Website URL: http://sellbusinessinlasvegas.com/ SOURCE: First Choice Business Brokers
A 53-year-old Indian national in Singapore, who was tested positive for coronavirus, died after suffering a cardiac arrest, the health ministry said on Monday.

The man died on May 9. His COVID-19 test report came on May 10 after his death, the ministry said.

The cause of the man's death was ruptured myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombosis, it said.

The ministry said COVID-19 fatalities in Singapore include only those cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death to the viral infection.

"This is consistent with international practice for classifying deaths. In 2018, 86 male foreign workers aged 25 to 59 passed away due to heart disease in Singapore," the Channel News Asia quoted the ministry as saying.

Meanwhile, a 68-year-old Singaporean man died from complications due to COVID-19 infection on Monday.

The man was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection on April 5 and had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, the ministry said.

Twenty-one people have died so far in the country from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

On Monday, Singapore reported 486 new COVID-19 cases, 481 of which were foreign workers living in dormitories, taking the national total to 23,787.

The number of positive cases was lower on Monday due to fewer tests being processed, as one of the laboratories was recalibrating its apparatus for one of the test kits, the ministry said in its daily update.

On Sunday, the Ministry reported an "apparatus calibration issue" for one of the test kits at a laboratory which resulted in 33 "false positives".

"Subsequent retesting at the National Public Health Laboratory confirmed that these were negative cases. The laboratory has stopped all tests and is working to resolve the calibration issue," it said.
'There was already a cash crunch and this (lockdown) has created more trouble.'

IMAGE: Migrant workers and their families wait for their turn to get tokens in Ahmedabad to board buses for their homes in Uttar Pradesh, May 11, 2020.

'There will be a severe shortage of labour in the next three months after the lockdown is lifted,' warns Subhash Chander Ralhan, president, Hand Tools Association. Photograph: PTI Photo

Ludhiana-based Hand Tools Association, part of what is called the micro small and medium enterprises, has moved the Supreme Court of India challenging the validity of the Modi government's order directing employers to pay full wages to workers during the lockdown.

The government's order has come at a time when many businessmen and factory owners are complaining that they do not have money to pay salaries because there is no business activity going on for the last one month due to the ongoing lockdown.

"In April, our earnings was zero, so how will we pay salaries?" Subhash Chander Ralhan, president, Hand Tools Association, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.

What is the reason for filing a public interest litigation stating that you cannot pay salaries during the lockdown?

The industry was already in crisis for the last one year and all of a sudden COVID--19 surprised everyone, to which the government declared a lockdown.

In Punjab, the lockdown was declared on March 22 and on March 29 the order came from the Union home ministry that employers will have to make full payment (salary) and cannot mark labourers as absent.

After this order we have been taking up the matter with the Government of India. We also gave a presentation to the chief minister of Punjab. He also wrote to Prime Minister Modi that if MSMEs are forced to pay full wages of employees for April 2020, then they will go bankrupt.

And when the central government did not hear our plea, we had to go to the Supreme Court.

And what exactly is your plea?

Our plea is that we are paying for workers social security and insurance under the Employee State Insurance Corporation of India. 80 percent of the share is paid by employers.

So now when the crisis has hit the country, we thought we should seek relief under Section 46 of the ESIC Act which says that if a worker is unable to reach the factory and does not do anything, then ESIC is supposed to pay 60 percent of the wages of the employees.

Suppose a worker falls ill and he is declared sick, then 60 percent of his salary is cleared by ESIC.

It is the law and these things have been practised in the past.

Now we are saying the government must pay the wages as it is the duty of the government.

Workers are a part of our family and we are giving them food in these times.

Salary is a huge chunk (to bear).

The amount in salary is around Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 2.5 crore for MSMEs depending how big their staff is.

In April, our earnings was zero, so how will we pay salaries?

There was already a cash crunch in the market and this (lockdown) has created more trouble.

Are you saying you are not bound by the Disaster Management Act to pay salaries?

In the DMA serial number 10 and 12 it is clearly mentioned what the government has to do. Nowhere is it written that the government can give instructions to private companies to pay salaries to their employees.

The job to be done by the government is clearly defined in this Act.

One lawyer who I interviewed told me that employers have to pay salaries.

He must have not read the DMA properly. You read section 12 of the DMA (external link.

Also, we are covered by the Industrial Disputes Act of 1948 and the DMA is contrary to that.

How can the DMA interfere with our working?

Moreover, under the DMA it is the government's duty to feed and show that they are feeding and taking care of every citizen of the country.

You had also asked for a waiver of electricity bills.

The Punjab government has already done that for us, I don't know about other states though. This was the only benefit given to us.

How long do you think it will take for businesses to recover?

It will take a minimum of one year for business to recover.

When the lockdown is lifted, migrant workers will go to their villages. We will be left with only 25 percent of the labour force.

Every worker is keen today to be back home to meet their parents. There will be a severe shortage of labour in the next three months after the lockdown is lifted.

But it seems inhuman to not pay employees their salaries.

We are not making money from the business.

We are giving advance to labourers and we are telling them to give it in writing.

They are like our family, but we cannot pay their salaries. We are giving them food to eat in this crisis time.

But the message that goes out is the employers are avoiding paying salaries in these times of crisis.

You talk to any industrial worker and you will find that every industrialist is giving advance money to each and every worker. Here in Ludhiana that is what is happening for sure.

Nobody can be inhuman in India when it comes to workers's salary. Exceptions though are always there.

What should the government have done, in your opinion?

ESIC has plenty of funds lying with them, and 80 percent of that money belongs to the employers.

Now the employer at this moment needs some assistance from the government. There is a law also that the government must pay wages through the ESIC.

Right now, as I am talking to you, I just got the message that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is likely to step in to resolve this issue.
The WHO's Dr Michael Ryan warned there was a higher amount of patients suffering significant illness after being infected than previously thought. (Keystone via AP)

Fewer people may have been infected with the coronavirus than expected, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

A larger amount of patients have also suffered a significant illness after being infected than previously thought, according to Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease that can be caused by infection, has already killed at least 286,000 people, having infected 4.1 million based on official statistics, Johns Hopkins University data shows.

Dr Ryan said on Monday he was concerned by talk that tests in the future will show most people had been infected and the world could return to normal.

Clinical studies have actually shown the opposite, he insisted.

He told a briefing on Monday he was worried about this narrative, there was an assumption as this disease spread around, that we are really just seeing the severe cases and the difficult cases.

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When the sero-epidemiology comes it will demonstrate that most of the people have been infected and this will all be over and well go back to normal business.

Well the preliminary results from the sero-epidemiologic studies are showing the opposite, its showing the proportion of people with significant clinical illness is actually a higher proportion of all those whove been infected.

Because the number of people infected in the total population is probably much lower than we expected... that means we have a long way to go.

Dr Ryan described COVID-19 as public enemy number one, and said the world needs to recalculate its view of the coronavirus as a mild illness.

He also took aim at notions of herd immunity, which was brought up by Sir Patrick Vallance, the governments chief scientific advisor, in March.

Story continues

Sir Patrick said that because the vast majority of people get a mild illness, (the governments aim is) to build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission, at the same time we protect those who are most vulnerable to it.

But it was later denied by health secretary Matt Hancock that herd immunity was part of the strategy, after it caused controversy.

Herd immunity happens when enough of the population is immune to a disease, typically through vaccination, that those who cannot be immunised are protected because enough people have resistance and stop the disease transmitting to those vulnerable people.

Ultimately, ministers decided to put the country into lockdown with an Imperial College London study showing 250,000 deaths would take place without major restrictions on the population.

Sir Patrick spoke about herd immunity in March. (PA Images)

Dr Ryan pictured with WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Maria van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHO's Health Emergencies programme. (Keystone via AP)

Humans are not herds and as such the concept of herd immunity is generally reserved for calculating how many people would need to be vaccinated in a population in order to generate that same effect, Dr Ryan said.

So I think we need to be really careful when we use terms in this way around natural infections in humans because it can lead to a very brutal arithmetic which does not put people and life and suffering at the centre of that equation.

Although Dr Ryan did not mention countries by name, Sweden has adopted a distinct approach compared to other countries, where it has introduced many forms of social distancing but not imposed a severe lockdown like the UK, France or Italy.

He said: I do think this idea that maybe countries who had lax measures and havent done anything will all of a sudden magically reach some herd immunity, and so what if we lose a few old people along the way, this is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation, and not one I believe most member states are willing to make that arithmetic.

Responsible member states will look at all their population, they value every member of their society, and they try to do everything possible to protect health while at the same time obviously protecting society, protecting economy, and other things.

We need to get our priorities right as we enter the next phase of this fight.

Coronavirus: what happened today
Actress Kriti Sanon is all set to play a surrogate mother on screen in her next, Mimi. Even though it's quite early for an actress like her, who has been in the film industry for just six years, to play a mother, Kriti feels super-excited about her role. She said, "I play a young girl who aspires to become a Bollywood actress."

"Yes, Mimi has dreams of her own and there is a reason why she agrees to become a surrogate. It's the most beautiful script I have come across and Mimi was one of those films which I agreed to be a part of in the first narration itself," added Kriti, while speaking to Mumbai Mirror.

Speaking about her character, Kriti revealed, "I had my own take on the emotions required to bring out her dilemma, and discussions with Laxman sir (director Laxman Utekar) really helped. It was interesting to discover feelings as an actress that I had never experienced in real life."

In the same interview, Kriti said that whenever she stepped out of her comfort zone, it has worked for her, wonderfully. While giving an example of Bareilly Ki Barfi, Kriti said, "It was the first time I played a small-town character and it got me a lot of love from the audience."

Kriti Sanon Reacts To Fans' Request To Maintain Her '15 Kilos Plus' Look: They Call Me Chubby Sanon

"Things changed in a good way after the film's release. Ditto, Luka Chuppi, which was a risky subject as it was exploring live-in relationships in another small-town set-up, but in a lighter way," asserted Kriti.

Speaking about her next projects, the Heropanti actress said that she is looking for scripts that have something meaningful to say and also give her the platform to showcase herself as a performer.
A 28-year-old man was rescued Saturday after accidentally cutting himself with a machete while hiking in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, deputies say.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office said the man called 911 after hitting himself in the leg with the machete. He and his hiking partner wrapped the wound and started hiking out, deputies said, but the duo was a couple miles from the trailhead.

The man walked as far as he could and met responders on the trail, according to the sheriffs office. He was given aid and wheeled to the trailhead in a litter.

An ambulance that was at the trailhead took him about a half-mile to a waiting helicopter, which took him to a hospital.

The sheriffs office said in a Facebook post that the man was hiking northwest of Camp Sherman, but it didnt specify his destination.

Deputies reminded people that statewide search and rescue resources are stressed during the coronavirus pandemic.

We ask people to please be extra cautious during this time and to choose where they go wisely, the sheriffs office said.

All developed recreation areas in most of Oregon and Washingtons national forests are closed to the public, including all trailheads, boat ramps, day use sites, sno parks and campgrounds.

Forest service roads and dispersed areas are open to the public, as well as trails not accessed by developed trailheads.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Amazon is betting big on insurance and is working with Bengaluru-based startup Acko to offer a wider range of products and a smoother buying experience to customers on its platform in India.

The deep integration with the online insurance company will be the next big financial offering from the American ecommerce major after it launched digital payments through Amazon Pay. It will make insurance, like payments, an integral offering.

 we are constantly evaluating new areas and opportunities to connect with and serve our customers, insurance being one of them. We are looking at various insurance solutions that provide a convenient and seamless experience for our customers, an Amazon Pay spokesperson said.

At present, Amazon Pay offers products like merchant payments, recharges, FASTags and gift cards. It will soon add insurance for vehicles on the platform and this is being powered by Acko.

It is not the first time that Amazon will sell insurance. It sells cover for gadgets, accessories and other goods on the platform. But with Acko, Amazon is looking at an integration that will offer a seamless buying experience to consumers.

The work was on and it would take some time for the product to go live, sources told Moneycontrol. It might be tested first for Prime members and then extended to others. Amazon Prime is the company's subscription platform.

The plan is to offer insurance as a category on the home screen of Amazon Pay.

India is one of the key markets for Amazon where bill payments, mobile recharge and similar services are splashed on the home screen. Insurance could find a place there as well.

Amazon had in 2019 received a corporate agents licence from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India to sell third-party products.

It has been selling insurance products from companies such as OneAssist and Acko. It also allows payments of premiums for almost every insurance company in India.

This integration is a step forward for the ecommerce giant, which has big plans for the fintech domain for its Indian business.

Products like bike and car insurance would open as a drop-down on the Amazon home screen, a source said.

For customers, buying and activating insurance would be much easier.

At present, the insurance is purchased on Amazon but the buyer has to go to the companys website to activate the policy.

Being a digital insurer, we create innovative products that help customers in protecting themselves from different types of risks. We partner with digital ecosystem players to enable us in this journey of offering relevant products and delivering a seamless experience, an Acko spokesperson said.

In May 2018, Amazon led a $12-million funding round in Acko and the two have since been working closely.

Acko was founded in 2016 by Varun Dua who had first started an insurance marketplace Coverfox.

Backed by Accel Partners, Saif Partners, Binny Bansal and few other marquee investors, the startup is trying to broaden its footprint in Indias $10-billion insurance industry.
Trump had come under scathing criticism from his Palm Beach neighbors and their attorneys who accused him and his legal team of attempting to jam through the dock request at the Mar-a-Lago resort while the nations attention is focused on the coronavirus pandemic and the towns council is only able to hold meetings electronically. In the letter withdrawing the proposal, Trumps Palm Beach attorney, Harvey Oyer III, cited the extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in as a reason for the decision. But he makes no specific mention of coronavirus. The proposal had been scheduled to be heard on Wednesday by the Palm Beach Town Council.

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Oyer added, however, that the president would revisit the proposal when the council resumes regular meetings in Palm Beach, a city of 8,000 known for its heavily attended civic meetings. The letter gave no timetable.

Glenn Zeitz, a Trump critic who owns a winter home in Palm Beach, said Tuesday in an interview that he interpreted the vague wording of the letter as an attempt to not directly link a decision to pull back the proposal to the ongoing pandemic because that rationale might conflict with Trumps stated desire to reopen the economy and for businesses to begin resuming normal activities.

The proposal was noticed during the crisis and it was going down the train track, and it got derailed by the facts and the law, Zeitz said. Its a lawyer practicing semantic surgery. I have to believe that the letter is written so as to not have to put in a letter that the coronavirus is the reason.

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Reginald Stambaugh, an attorney who represents one of Mar-a-Lagos neighbors, said he is hopeful that the president will now permanently drop the dock proposal.

One prevalent issue remains lingering, whether President Trump still considers Mar-a-Lago Club his residence, Stambaugh said Tuesday. He still cant have it both ways. Its either a club or a residence  not both. Floridas voting laws apply to citizen Trump. If he resides there, he will have to close the club.

Oyer did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump made Florida his official residence. He may also have created a legal mess.

Mar-a-Lago isn't just Trump's vacation spot; it's his second White House (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

The battle over the dock proposal stretches back to 2018, and appeared, at the time, to be a mundane local matter focused on complaints about the possibility of disruptive party boats and potential environmental damage. But it was given a jolt of national significance late last year when Trump made headlines by changing his domicile from New York to Florida using the Mar-a-Lago address.

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Attorneys and historical preservationists in South Florida immediately began digging into town records, unearthing an agreement that Trump made in 1993 to convert Mar-a-Lago from a single-family residence to a private club owned by a corporation Trump controls. The agreement includes a provision that bans members from using the clubs guest rooms for longer than seven days at a time three times a year. Trumps attorney at the time, Paul Rampell, assured council members that he would not live at the club.

The agreement also banned construction of a dock, but Trump was asking for that condition to be waived. Trumps attorney originally argued that the dock was necessary for the presidents protection. That claim was included in an application that made no mention of Mar-a-Lago being the presidents home. In a later application, the rationale was changed, with Trump asserting that the club is his personal residence.

The request is simply to add an accessory structure, his attorney wrote. A dock for private family use only.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
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Russias largest oil producer, Rosneft, will slash its investments for 2020 by 21 percent from earlier plans, due to the dramatic situation on the oil market and the new OPEC+ deal in force since May 1, Rosnefts chief executive Igor Sechin told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Considering the dramatic state of the global oil market and the decision to cut oil production, Rosneft will have to optimize its capital expenditures, Sechin told Putin, the Kremlin said today.

Rosneft will try to keep its investment program for this year at around US$10.2 billion (750 billion Russian rubles), down from US$12.9 billion (950 billion rubles) in capex planned earlier, Sechin said.

Rosnefts boss also asked Putin to look into ways to make obtaining credit easier, to help producers, contractors, and suppliers.

Sechin also asked if the government could defer oil exploration-related taxes to a future period, in order to help oil companies to go through the current crisis, and recalibrate oil transportation tariffs to the current price of oil. Currently, transportation costs account for 32 percent of Rosnefts final cost of oil, Sechin said.

Oil executives in Russia, including Sechin, have often criticized the OPEC+ pact, which began its efforts to fix the market and prop up prices in January 2017. Russian firms have argued that the OPEC+ cuts only serve to prop up U.S. shale production with higher oil prices, giving America more share on the global market at the expense of Russia and its OPEC allies in the OPEC+ deal. Many analysts saw Moscows refusal in early March to back a collective 1.5-million-bpd cut from all OPEC+ members as the end of the Russian patience for propping up U.S. shale.

As part of the latest OPEC+ pact, Russia will have to cut its oil production from around 11 million bpd to 8.5 million bpd in May and Juneand many analyst expect Russia would not be able to fully comply with its share of the cuts, again.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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ALBANY - The city cut around 50 crossing guards Friday, the first possible move as it faces an estimated $18 million revenue shortfall this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The guards, who were being paid but not working since the city reduced its active workforce to only essential employees, are part-time employees, who work about 10 months a year while school is in session, city officials said. The move will save the city about $40,000 a month.

The city has had discussions with other city departments, including police and fire, about other cost reductions but it was not immediately clear if that means more layoffs in the immediate future.

City officials estimate that without federal aid, Albany could be facing as much as a $20 million shortfall this year, which will force layoffs in every department. Mayor Kathy Sheehan said last week she had asked each department to plan for layoffs, service reductions and salary cuts.

On Tuesday, Greg McGee, president of the police department's patrol union, said Sheehan had a brief conference call with all of the presidents of the city's unions last week, asking them to help lobby the federal government for additional aid.

One possible cost-cutting measure the city will likely pursue is a smaller than planned academy this summer for new police recruits, McGee said. The department is short over 50 police officers and had hoped to open its new police academy with a class of 45 to 50 recruits. Instead, the class may only be around half of that size. With several dozen officers eligible for retirement this year, that could leave the city with the same staffing issues next year.

The city estimates its sales tax for the year could fall 20 percent and departmental income could fall as much as 39 percent. Budget officials are planning on a possible 20 percent reduction in unrestricted state aid as well.

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

Albany city officials have estimated $8 million in fund balance that could be used to temper some of the losses. But the city also wants to keep some of that reserve in case it faces a difficult 2021 budget year.

The scenario is playing itself in local governments across New York state as the economic shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic lays waste to incoming revenues.

Last month, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy said his city was looking at cutting dozens of police officers and firefighters to help fill a $9 million to $11 million hole. Both Troy and Saratoga Springs are also examining furloughs and layoffs to deal with budget shortfalls.

The cities, as well as many counties in the state, are lobbying for the federal government to pass another round of coronavirus aid to stem some of their losses.
James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called Kabila has replied the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding their boycott of Peace FM's flagship programme 'Kokrokoo'.



The National Communication Bureau of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) issued a press release informing "all of its Communicators, Media Monitors, and Officials that the Party has boycotted Peace (104.3) FMs morning show (Kookrokoo) effective today, Wednesday, 6th May 2020".



They accused the host of the programme, Kwami Sefa Kayi, of treating them unfairly and referred to him and his production team as "dictatorial Host and his poodle".



"Although we appreciate the production and editorial discretion of the station to give their platform to whoever they deem fit, we consider it unfair for the NPP to maintain their two (2) slots on Fridays while the NDCs two slots on Wednesdays are reduced to one (1), to satisfy the whim of a dictatorial Host and his poodle. In protest to this flagrant disregard for fairness by the Host and Production Crew of the program, the National Communication Bureau of the NDC has decided to cease the placement of party communicators on the 'Kokrokoo' show forthwith," portions of the party's statement read.



Addressing the issue, James Kwabena Bomfeh wondered where the NDC got their description of the host who is beloved by many Ghanaians for his professionalism on the programme.



According to him, it is expected to have disagreements with the host and state your point but not to resort to name calling.



Kabila, speaking on Monday's edition of 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM stressed it is inappropriate to describe Mr. Sefa Kayi as a "dictator".



"I reject it. You are not a dictator," he told 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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The DAISY Foundation is thrilled to welcome its first international advocate, Health Carousel, who will assist the foundation in expanding the global reach of DAISY recognition for nurses. To start, Health Carousel will be supporting the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union who will present the first 6 of 24 annual DAISY Awards to compassionate nurses in front of the country's President today. Expansion of the international advocacy partnership is underway allowing the DAISY program to honor nurses in additional countries, hospitals and schools of nursing worldwide. Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Co-founder and CEO of The DAISY Foundation, "We have been looking for the right partner to support DAISY's global growth in under-developed countries whose leaders see the value of meaningful recognition for nurses but do not have the means for the program. In Health Carousel, we have the right partner, doing this for the right reasons. With the addition of nurses in Uganda thanks to the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union, DAISY is now honoring nurses in 29 countries."

Bill DeVille, CEO and Co-Founder of Health Carousel stated, "We are delighted to be able to help the country of Uganda honor their compassionate nurses through sponsorship of DAISY awards. It has never been so evident as during these uncertain times of COVID-19, that successful organizations such as Health Carousel have a social responsibility that heightens as they grow. Internally we like to say we do well by doing good. Sponsoring DAISY Foundation awards for the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union is one example of this concept put into practice and aligns with our broader Light the Way initiative which supports global healthcare professionals in many ways," concluded Mr. DeVille.

Earl Dalton, Chief Nursing Officer of Health Carousel was also on hand to comment. "We are extremely proud to expand our relationship with The DAISY Foundation and in supporting DAISY Awards for the compassionate Ugandan nurses honored today." Dalton added that Uganda is the first of several International Advocacy programs being launched with The DAISY Foundation over the coming months.

About The DAISY Foundation

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from Nurses while he was ill inspired the creation of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing Nurse recognition and thanking Nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in nearly 4,500 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of direct care Nurses, Nurse-led Teams, Nurse Leaders, Nursing Faculty, Nursing Students, Lifetime Achievement in Nursing and through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and Medical Mission Grants. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.

About Health Carousel

Health Carousel is a leading healthcare workforce solutions company serving the talent and workforce technology needs of hundreds of US healthcare organizations large and small. Over the past sixteen years Health Carousel has grown to become one of the largest providers of physician and nurse temporary staffing as well as long-term healthcare talent across the globe. In 2020, the company redoubled its efforts to ensure the sustainability of nursing globally and reaffirmed its commitment to legal, ethical recruitment practices by launching its Light the Way initiative. For more information on services provided by Health Carousel and its efforts to support healthcare professionals and patients worldwide visit https://healthcarousel.com/.

Contact:

The DAISY Foundation

Tena Barnes Carraher

(404) 285-9158

[email protected]

DAISYfoundation.org

SOURCE Health Carousel; DAISY Foundation

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https://healthcarousel.com


Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been the target of dozens of death threats posted to Facebook groups with hundreds of thousands of people over the last several weeks, many of whom appear to have attended armed rallies at the state Capitol in Lansing to protest the coronavirus shutdown of the state's economy.

Meanwhile, Ms Whitmer said she was "very disappointed" on Monday as the state's Capitol Commission voted to effectively delay many state lawmakers' request to ban guns from the Capitol complex after previous armed protests on 15 April and 30 April.

The commission voted on Monday to establish a panel to examine whether it has the state constitutional power to ban guns at the Capitol, essentially kicking the decision to a later date, NBC News reported.

More protests are planned for this weekend.

Some lawmakers have been wearing bullet-proof vests when they go to the state Capitol, Ms Whitmer said in an interview with ABC News last week.

The governor's stay-at-home orders have so riled some Michiganders that several have threatened on private Facebook pages to lynch her, shoot her, and put her under the guillotine, the Detroit Metro Times reported after gaining access to the groups.

We need a good old fashioned lynch mob to storm the Capitol, drag her tyrannical ass out onto the street and string her up as our forefathers would have, a profile belonging to John Campbell Sr. posted in the private Facebook group People of Michigan vs. Gov Gretchen Whitmer, which had nearly 9,000 members as of Monday morning, the Metro Times reported.

Other commenters in private Facebook groups shared similar feelings.

Drag that tyrant governor out to the front lawn. Fit her for a noose, another person wrote.

Some commenters said Ms Whitmer should face a gun.

Plain and simple she needs to eat lead and send a statement to the rest of the democrats that they are next, a profile apparently belonging to a James Greena wrote.

Wonder how long till shes hit with a shotgun blast, a profile for Chris Parrish speculated.

Matthew Woodruff had another idea: Can we please just take up a collection for an assassin to put that woman from Michigan down, he asked.

In one group, "Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine," which has more than 385,000 members, according to the Metro Times, a profile belonging to a Dave Meisenheimer appeared to lament that there hadn't been any violence at the Capitol yet.

We havent had any bloodshed yet, but the populous is counting to three, and the other day was two, Mr Meisenheimer wrote. Next comes watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants, the post read.

Facebook has removed one of the groups, "Michigan United for Liberty," which rallied at the Capitol in April, for violating the site's terms of service, the Metro Times reported.

Ms Whitmer has said the state needs to do more to ensure the safety of Michigan's state lawmakers while they're at the Capitol.

"No one should be intimidated by someone who's bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace," she said in her ABC News interview last week. "There is conversation about changing that law. I think it's long overdue, and I absolutely support that change. You shouldn't be intimidated going to be the voice of the people who elected you," Ms Whitmer said.
To pave the way for harmonious relationships, he said its important for parents to acknowledge the distress their children are undoubtedly feeling from the hardship of being ripped away from the lives they were living to a new life. Being attuned to that process and expressing sympathy and empathy can go a long way toward heading off disputes, he said.

Carl Pickhardt, a psychologist and author of the Psychology Today blog, Surviving Your Childs Adolescence, said that for young adults, returning home can feel regressive as they move from living independently to living dependently. The closer the quarters, the more little differences can be abrasive. He recommended setting ground rules for living together and bridging lifestyle differences. This includes devising a contract for managing household responsibilities, like how a family will share the same bathroom, washer and dryer and refrigerator.

Instead of complaining that the grown child is being messy and irresponsible, which can be inflammatory, he said parents are better served by discussing how and when the kitchen is used and making clear that dirty dishes must be washed and put away after meals.

Generalities can escalate conflict. Specifics can calm it down, he said. Requests should be phrased politely, instead of as an edict: We know you both like staying up later than we do. We would like to ask that you keep the volume on the TV down so we can sleep.

Rosalind Wiseman, co-founder of Cultures of Dignity, which works with parents, educators and young people to successfully navigate the challenges of young adulthood, said its important for parents not to return to old patterns of patronizing their adult children and instead treat them more as equals. Clinging to the concept that Its my house and youll do what I say, that dominating paradigm doesnt work, she said. During a time when families are cooped up together with nowhere to go, she suggests regular family meetings that any family member can initiate if theyre experiencing a problem. These can be a check-in where everyone takes one minute to describe how theyre feeling, describing one thing they would like to see changed and how all they can contribute to that change.
UPPER THUMB - Joseph Smith, store director at the Hampton Township Meijer and Andy Picard, store director at the Bay City Meijer, recently presented a check for $10,000 to the McLaren Bay Medical Foundation in support of Emergency Response Fund.

"Meijer is focused on enriching lives in the communities we serve and the Bay City and Hampton Township Meijer stores are pleased to support the McLaren Bay Medical Foundation's efforts to provide resources to support their essential frontline medical workers," Smith said. "We share a commitment to our team members, customers and communities in the fight against COVID-19."

"We are so grateful for the generous donation from our community Meijer stores," said McLaren Bay Medical Foundation director Lynn Weaver. "So far, our community has given over $50,000 to the Emergency Response Fund and fundraising efforts are still underway."

Those looking to participate can mail a gift to:

McLaren Bay Medical Foundation Emergency Response Fund, 1900 Columbus Ave., Bay City, MI 48708 Online donations are also accepted at www.mclaren.org/bayemergencyfund.

All contributions go directly to helping McLaren Bay Region caregivers and patients fight the virus. Thousands of face masks, gowns and face shields are vital to keeping everyone as safe as possible. Hand sanitizer, test kits and other personal protective equipment is also needed.

As the health care crisis closes doors in our community, the doors of McLaren Bay Region remain open for our community.

Every day, staff arrive at McLaren Bay Region with one intention - to care for patients. The McLaren Bay Medical Foundation is here to help - ensuring the hospital has the funds to purchase what it needs to see us through this crisis.

Emergency Response Fund gifts will allow McLaren Bay Region to access and quickly deploy resources, including equipment, supplies, and education to meet urgent and emerging needs that best serve our community in this time of crisis.
Berlin, May 12, 2020 (SPS) Leader of the German Left, Katja Kipping, argued that Europe can contribute to a solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, without bias or support for the Moroccan regime, stressing that the time has come "to break definitively with the policy of support for despotic regimes which present themselves as border guards and use it to blackmail Europe".

"Europe can contribute to a solution to this conflict. Without bias or support for the Moroccan regime," wrote Katja, in a column published on Sunday on her Facebook account, taken up by the media claiming that Europe " ignore "human rights violations in occupied Western Sahara.

The German politician addressed in her text "reports from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which denounce large-scale arrests and torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention, in addition to criminalizing journalists, bloggers and human rights activists. "

"The time has come to definitively break with the policy of supporting despotic regimes which present themselves as border guards and use it to blackmail Europe," she insisted.

In addition, Katja Kipping adds, "Morocco continues to occupy for more than four decades a large part of Western Sahara in violation of international law".

In her publication, which coincides with the celebration of the 47th anniversary of the founding of the Frente POLISARIO (May 10 of each year), Katja Kipping noted that Morocco's violation of international law in Western Sahara often occurs in cooperation with European companies involved in the looting of natural resources, such as phosphates, in a gross violation of international law due to the current deadlock in the UN-led peace process.

Western Sahara has been placed on the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations and therefore on the agenda of the Fourth Committee and the Special Committee of the UN General Assembly on Decolonization (C-24), since 1963 as a non-self-governing territory to which the Declaration on the granting of independence of colonial countries and peoples applies (Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960) , in accordance with international legality and the resolutions of the United Nations. SPS

125/090/TRA


Virtual soup lunch for Sheringham Christian Aid

The Methodist Churches in the North Norfolk Circuit are calling on all friends to join them in a Virtual Soup Lunch this Friday to celebrate Christian Aid Week. Tony Rothe reports.



People are requested to provide soup of their choice and invite a virtual friend from across the world. For example, a Rohindra refuge from a camp in Bangladesh or a young Syrian trying to access education or a Philippine fish woman combatting the effects of climate change. Ideas for virtual friends can be found on Christian Aid website News/blogs).



The idea is to have your soup lunch at 12.30 pm on Friday May 15 in the comfort of your own home, following which there is an open invitation to join a Zoom meeting at 2 pm for a discussion and prayer for the work of Christian Aid.



Anyone wishing to donate can send a cheque, payable to Christian Aid, to Deacon Brenda Hayes, 22 St Josephs Road, Sheringham, NR26 8JA.



Further details are available on the North Norfolk Methodist circuit website .



For those wishing to join the meeting, the Zoom Meeting ID is: 834 7780 3853

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83477803853

No password is required.



Or join by telephone: 0203 481 5240, 0131 460 1196, 0203 051 2874 or 0203 481 5237





The image above is courtesy of Security on pixabay.com.





Do you have a news story or forthcoming event relating to Christians or a church in North Norfolk?

If so, e-mail tony.rothe@networknorwich.co.uk with details and, if possible a suitable picture.

Tony Rothe, 12/05/2020
Ratri Anindyajati had plenty of things to worry about when she, her sister and her mother became the first three people in Indonesia to catch the coronavirus. Little did she know that personal abuse and social stigma would be among them.

But that was exactly what came her way after President Joko Jokowi Widodo revealed to a stunned nation on March 2 that Indonesia had recorded its first two infections. Though he did not name the victims, their details soon leaked out; Anindyajatis younger sister Sita Tyasutami and her mother Maria Darmaningsih were cases one and two.

The announcement was like a bombshell to many Indonesians, the shock made greater by the fact that their government had at the time still been downplaying the threat of the virus (on grounds it would later justify as not wanting to spread panic). Many responded by blaming the women themselves.

Ratri Anindyajati. Courtesy of Ratri Anindyajati

Soon people they had never met were blaming them for bringing the plague into the country and insulting them on social media, questioning their virtue with slanderous remarks about how they liked to dance in nightclubs and insinuating they were prostitutes.

The vitriol shocked and saddened Anindyajati, who said the three of them were easy targets, first because they were women, and second because they were involved in the dance industry: Anindyajati, 33, is an independent arts producer and a traditional Javanese dancer; Tyasutami, 31, is a performing arts manager and dance instructor; and Darmaningsih, 64, is a lecturer at the Jakarta Institute of Arts and a trained contemporary and classical Javanese dancer.

Ratri Anindyajati doing a traditional Javanese dance. Photo: Handout

The dance industry is viewed with suspicion by some traditionally minded Indonesians, and the womens misfortune in catching the virus served to reinforce some deeply held prejudices. University of Indonesia cultural studies researcher Devie Rahmawati, who has studied aspects of colonial rule in Indonesia, said she believed these views harked back to the countrys experience under foreign control when some local dancers were forced to serve as prostitutes. Indonesia was colonised by the Dutch for several hundred years and occupied by the Japanese during World War II.

Story continues

All of a sudden, the three women found that not only were they fighting a deadly disease, but a privacy invasion too. Photographs of them and their home address were shared on WhatsApp groups after they were taken to hospital. One of the photos of the women that was spread most widely involved a Brazilian dance featuring revealing costumes. Anindyajati finds this particularly annoying as Tyasutamis social media pages included many pictures of her performing traditional Indonesian dances, but these went uncommented on.

The stigma that we got was not being shunned by our family or neighbours, but insults from outside communities who did not know us, Anindyajati said.

There were hundreds [of negative comments] on our Instagram, especially on my sisters because she won the lottery by being the No 1 patient, so she got the most insults.

Among the abuse left on her social media pages were comments blaming the women for infecting the whole country. Others said they had deliberately got infected because they were social climbers. Then there were comments that could not be published in a family newspaper, as well as one from a man asking if she would like to hang out sometime.

Anindyajati, Darmaningsih and Tyasutami. Photo: Handout

FROM FEELING NORMAL, TO HOSPITAL

As of Friday, Indonesia had reported more than 13,000 coronavirus cases, and nearly 1,000 deaths  more fatalities than any other Asian country except China. But while Jakarta is now making every effort to get to grips with the disease  it has tested more than 103,000 people, imported a million pieces of personal protective equipment from South Korea and banned travel at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan  its initial response to the outbreak was one of denial.

Even long after neighbouring countries began confirming infections, Indonesia was still claiming to be free of the coronavirus, with Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto in February attributing the seemingly miraculous state of affairs to the countrys prayers.

Against this background, perhaps it is not surprising that to this day the chains of transmission that led to the three women being infected remain a mystery.

Anindyajati, who is based in Vienna, believes she may have been infected first in New York, where she attended an international performing arts conference from January 7 to 17. There, she contracted a fever of up to 39 degrees Celsius. She returned to Vienna on January 18 and rested in bed for 10 days.

However, Anindyajati does not rule out the possibility of being reinfected when she returned to Jakarta for a holiday on February 13. She began feeling really weak on February 16 and went back to resting in bed until February 23. At this point, she had mild flu symptoms and developed a fever that left her feeling weaker than at any time she could remember. She originally planned to be in Indonesia until March 29 before heading back to Austria.

Ratri Anindyajati doing a traditional Javanese dance. Photo: Handout

However, her sister and mother, whose symptoms were more severe, believe they were infected in Indonesia.

While it remains unclear who infected who, Anindyajati met Tyasutami at a Jakarta restaurant after her return from Austria, and it seems likely their cases are linked.

While Anindyajati felt her symptoms easing, and was well enough to hold work meetings again about 10 days after her return from Austria, her sister and mother began to feel worse, developing fevers and coughs.

By February 27, Tyasutami felt worried enough to ask a local hospital to test her for the coronavirus, but was turned away because it did not have any kits. On the same day, the doctor diagnosed Darmaningsih with typhus and Tyasutami with bronchopneumonia, and both were admitted to hospital.

A day later, both asked to be tested for the coronavirus after discovering they had been in the same room as someone who had then tested positive for the virus in Malaysia. On March 1, both Tyasutami and her mother were transferred to the specialist Sulianti Saroso Hospital.

Ratri Anindyajati with her mother and younger sister. Photo: Handout

Anindyajati meanwhile was growing increasingly suspicious about her own symptoms. She too was tested and went into a period of self-quarantine at home while she awaited the results. On March 7, five days after President Widodo had announced Tyasutami and her mother were the countrys first cases, Anindyajati learned she too had the virus.

Anindyajati, who was taken into Sulianti Saroso to join her sister and mother, now feels a measure of guilt that as an asymptomatic carrier she may have unknowingly helped to spread the disease.

It was said that [asymptomatic] carriers like me were riskier in spreading the virus than other people who got sick, she said.

Because for those who were really sick, the symptoms were highly visible. They coughed, had flu and all that, so they were more aware they were sick. Whereas I did not even know I was sick, did not know I had the virus, so for people like me it was business as usual.

Despite criticisms in the media about the preparedness of the countrys health care services, Anindyajati found doctors, nurses and laboratory staff at the hospital to be very professional and very understanding.

Maria Darmaningsihs isolation room. Photo: Handout

Anindyajatis body temperature, blood pressure and oxygen saturation were monitored daily and she was visited by a lung specialist once a day.

Boredom was another problem she encountered; she found herself endlessly pacing around her isolation room, stretching her body and shifting position on her bed. So discombobulating was the experience that when the hospital finally gave her the all clear after 10 days she found it hard to accept. Still, when she looks back now all she feels is gratitude.

We were really lucky to be the first three patients because we were put [in Sulianti Saroso], she said.

They were professionally and mentally prepared to deal with people with these kinds of diseases. We are all very grateful to have been treated there.

LIFE AFTER CORONAVIRUS

The virus reminded Anindyajati of her priorities in life, and since her recovery she has spent as much time as possible with her family.

She has also done her best to use her experience  including all the negative comments  for good, donating blood plasma to researchers at a hospital in Jakarta and sharing her story in speeches on various occasions.

Last month, she shared her experience of the disease on Instagram Live to mark Kartini Day, the birthday of the late Raden Adjeng Kartini who championed womens rights during the Dutch colonial period. She also held an online seminar on Zoom aimed at encouraging positive mindsets and attitudes among millennials.

Anindyajati has also been appointed as an ambassador for Indonesia Dance Networks Saweran Online programme. The network was launched by the Jakarta Arts Council and is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

She has also started a keep positive campaign on her Instagram page, which now has more than 10,000 followers  10 times as many as she had before falling ill. Positivity was exactly what the country needed in the present climate, she said.

Ratri Anindyajati. Photo: Handout

Meanwhile, weeks after the disease left her, stigma remains even if now it is largely concentrated on her choice of profession.

There are still those who say that dance is zina [adultery], or that we have brought foreign culture to Indonesia, or that we are devil women, Anindyajati said.

But while she may have won her fight against the coronavirus, she has learned to accept that some battles cannot be won and that many of her more judgmental critics may never change their minds. Our inner circle, our professional circle, is really supportive, she said. So, we dont worry too much about the rest.

This article has been updated to include an attribution to University of Indonesia cultural studies researcher Devie Rahmawati.

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This article Coronavirus survivors: they said we brought the plague to Indonesia, say countrys first patients first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
After reports of an uptick in COVID-19 cases, a strike team tested more than 400 employees at a Postville, Iowa, kosher beef plant.

Results of those voluntary tests  of almost the entire workforce  had not been released Monday morning, employees said.

The testing was requested by Agri Star in April but was not done until May 5 because testing was being done first at other facilities across the state, according to a news release from the company and Allamakee County Emergency Management.

Agri Star employees were tested for current and earlier exposure to the virus.

This testing was requested as an additional step in the plants efforts to protect its employees and ensure its ability to continue operations, according to the new release.

The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting 112 positive cases of COVID-19 in Allamakee County, which has a population of 13,880.

The testing will provide some confidence to the employees to start to see the scope of the virus activity within the community and within the plant, Reynolds said at her daily news conference Monday.

Testing to identify positive COVID-19 cases will help plant management make changes in its operations and help employees that test positive to begin on a road to recovery, she said.

Agri Star did not immediately respond to questions about the testing and the governors comments.

Rumors of COVID-19 at the plant have been circulating for weeks in the community of about 2,100 on the Allamakee-Clayton County border about 85 miles north of Cedar Rapids, Mayor Leigh Rekow said.

In mid-March, Agri Star, the nations largest kosher meat processor, responded to a report in Yeshiva World newspaper of growing panic in Postville after three members of the Jewish community tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from New York City, where they had attended a private party.

At that time, Agri Star confirmed a Postville couple and their adult son were immediately quarantined after showing symptoms of COVID-19 upon their return from New York City. Others who came in contact with the family also were quarantined, but Agri Star said they did not show signs of COVID-19.

The company said it would implement additional sanitizing and hand-washing procedures.

Agri Star will continue to follow recommendations from the CDC and the Iowa Department of Public Health, while continuing to supplement those recommendations with our own enhanced guidelines, Agri Star said.

A spokeswoman for Allamakee County Public Health said staffers had visited the plant to educate employees on precautions and had been using social media to spread information.

Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, 92, the founder of the processing plant under its former name, Agriprocessors, died of COVID-19 in early April. He lived in New York. It was not known whether he had contact with the Postville family who tested positive for COVID-19.
12.05.2020 LISTEN

A three-year-old boy is nursing several deep open wounds inflicted on him by his father.

His father on Sunday, 10 May whipped him with a wire and cane causing the little boy to bleed.

The father, who is currently in the grips of the police in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, where the abuse happened, vented his anger on the little boy for being stubborn, wetting his bed and also being a financial burden on him, reported Class91.3FMs regional correspondent Maxwell Attah on Tuesday.

Apart from his back, which is covered with deep open sores, the little boy also suffered injuries on other parts of his body from the merciless beatings at the hands of his father.

According to Maxwell Attah, the parents of the boy are separated and, so, each takes custody of him on different days.

So, the incident happened while the boy was spending the weekend with his father.

According to Maxwell Attah, the childs mother broke up with her abusive boyfriend after she gave birth to their son.

---classfmonline
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has total assets worth Rs 143.26 crore, including moveable and immovable, but he does not own a car, according to his election affidavit submitted before the Election Commission of India for state Legislative Council polls. The Maharashtra CM is not a member of either Houses of the state Legislature currently, and is contesting his first election ever. Thackeray is all set to enter the Legislative Council unopposed as the Congress on Monday announced it would withdraw one of its two nominees.

As per the affidavit, Thackeray has Rs 2.05 lakh cash in hand. Thackeray family's -- excluding Uddhav's two sons -- moveable assets are worth Rs 60.89 crore while immovable assets are Rs 80.3 crore. The family's liabilities are worth Rs 15.50 crore, including loans. Thackeray's personal assets are worth Rs 76.59 crore -- Rs 52.44 crore immovable and Rs 24.14 crore movable.

His wife, Rashmi Thackeray, who's the editor of party mouthpiece Saamana, has assets worth Rs 65.09 crore, including Rs 28.92 crore immovable and Rs 36.16 crore movable. The affidavit states she earns her income from various resources and businesses. Through Hindu Undivided Family, the CM has Rs 1.58 crore worth movable assets.

Thackeray, who has availed loans worth Rs 4.06 crore in his name, has listed salary, interest, dividend and capital gain as sources of income. In total, there are 23 police complaints against the Sena chief, 14 of which are for publication of "defamatory" content or cartoons in 'Saamana' and its sister Hindi newspaper 'Dupahar Ka Saamana'. Both his sons, Aditya Thackeray and Tejas Thackeray, are not dependent on him, so no information has been given on their assets. His elder son Aaditya Thackeray is his cabinet colleague in the state assembly.

Notably, it's important for polls to be held on May 21 because as per rules, Thackeray needs get elected to either house before completing six months in office of the chief minister. Otherwise, he will cease to be a CM. The council polls will be held for nine Assembly seats on May 21. The opposition party, BJP, has fielded four candidates, while Congress-Shiv Sen- NCP coalition -- also known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- has fielded candidates on five seats, which means these polls will go unopposed. The governor has allowed polls to be held after the Maharashtra CM talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over political situation in the state.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Lockdown 4.0? Maharashtra to release 50% prisoners; PM Modi's address at 8 pm today

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 4.0: PM Modi to address nation today; when and where to watch live streaming

Also read: Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases jump to 70,756 ; check state-wise tally, deaths

With PTI inputs
A lawsuit claims Oregon Gov. Kate Browns coronavirus emergency orders have plainly exceeded a constitutional limit, but experts say the legal issues are thornier than they ostensibly appear.

The complaint, filed by 10 churches and several pastors and congregants, argues that Browns restrictions on gatherings should already have expired because she didnt obtain legislative approval to extend them beyond 30 days, as required by Article 10-A of the Oregon Constitution.

The plaintiffs filed the suit in Baker County Circuit Court on May 6. A hearing on the plaintiffs' preliminary injunction motion is set for Thursday at 8 a.m.

Ray Hacke, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that good intentions are no excuse for violating the constitutions catastrophic disaster provision, which is meant to be a check on the governors power.

Its easy for someone in her position to get drunk on power and infringe on religious liberty and other liberties in the name of health and safety, Hacke said. There is very serious infringement on religious liberty here.

The Oregon Legislature granted additional legal authorities to the governor to deal with general emergencies and public health crises, but the plaintiffs argue those earlier statutes are narrowed by a constitutional amendment approved by Oregon voters in 2012.

Under that provision, a catastrophic disaster declaration only remains effective for 30 days unless its extended by three-fifths majorities of the House and Senate before expiring.

Hacke contends the change was meant to ensure the executive and legislative branches work as a team, but because the current emergency orders werent legally extended, that means theyre no longer effective.

She missed the window, he said.

Brown has cited a number of statutes  particularly ORS 401.165 and ORS 433.443  in declaring an emergency and exercising executive power.

While its true that constitutional articles will override contradictory statutes, legal experts say its not certain such a conflict exists in this case.

First, its generally understood that emergency powers granted by the constitution establish a minimum floor that can be enhanced with additional authority, rather than a maximum ceiling for the governors authority, said Steven Kanter, emeritus dean and professor at Lewis & Clark Law, who specializes in constitutional law.

That is the normal manner that most constitutional provisions are interpreted, he said.

Also, laws are generally interpreted as working in harmony with each other unless lawmakers explicitly nullify one in favor of another, Kanter said.

Implicit repealers are disfavored in the law, he said. Courts usually try not to find a conflict unless its evident and necessary.

In other words, the 2012 constitutional amendment doesnt necessarily sweep away the powers granted by the earlier emergency statutes unless theyre flatly irreconcilable with it, Kanter said.

Its possible the catastrophic disaster powers described in the constitutional provision are in a separate category from the emergency statutes being used to address the coronavirus, he said. You may have a limited notion of what a catastrophe is, which may or may not include this.

Its likely that Gov. Brown will argue that she chose to invoke the earlier emergency statutes rather than the constitutional catastrophic disaster provision, said Paul Diller, a law professor at Willamette University specializing in legal structures and public health.

Specifically, the constitutional provision would have endowed the governor with greater fiscal powers she hasnt yet tried to use, such as spending kicker funds, re-allocating gas tax money and exceeding the states debt limit, he said.

It gives her additional powers at the cost of having an expiration date of 30 days before calling the Legislature into session, Diller said. If you just look at the text, as I have done, it looks like an additional power, not an exclusive power.

The plaintiffs case may be bolstered by the legislative history behind the constitutional amendment, which was referred to voters by lawmakers, he said. If the legislative history shows lawmakers intended the 2012 provision to be the governors exclusive emergency power, that would strengthen the lawsuits arguments.

However, if lawmakers wanted to abolish the earlier emergency powers, they could have just made their intention clear in the text, Diller said. Im skeptical because the Legislature did not rescind the other emergency statutes.

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The Delhi High Court on Monday held that the Delhi government will have to give a reason for keeping a person in quarantine for more than 14 days, else lift the lockdown on the person, observing that the period of 14 days is not mandatory but to serve a general guideline.

Justice C Hari Shankar said that as of now, there is no certainty of opinion regarding the extent of virulence of the Covid-19 virus, its actual period of gestation, the period taken for symptoms, in an infected person, to manifest themselves, or the period for which a person, once infected, remains a potential source of infection to others. It remarked that the medical community, the world over, is yet to come to grips with this virus, and isolate its individual characteristics.

The court was hearing a plea by photojournalist Amit Bhargava, who had sought formulation of quarantine rules for the people while indicating whether the quarantine starts from the day of contact with the infected person or the date of diagnosis of the infected person.

Also read: PM Modi to address nation at 8pm today, day after meeting with CMs

In a judgment passed on Monday, Justice Hari Shankar said it is unwilling to hold that in each and in every case, the period of home quarantine must stand limited to 14 days, and no more while also observing that unjustified quarantine also has deleterious civil consequences.

this court is of the opinion that, at this juncture, the interests of justice would be abundantly protected by a direction, to the effect that if any person, who does not display Covid-19 symptoms, and has not tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, is home quarantined for over 14 days, he shall have a right to represent to the authorities against such continued quarantine and, if he so represents, the authorities would be bound either to lift the quarantine forthwith or to explain, to the person concerned, as expeditiously as possible and without any undue delay, the reason for keeping him in home quarantine for over 14 days, the court said in a 22-page judgment.

Advocate Shyel Trehan, appearing for the petitioner, contended that the persons, who are under home quarantine, are unaware of the officer, who is required to be contacted, should any exigency arise during the period of home quarantine.

Following this, counsel for the Delhi government, advocate Shobhana Takiar, submitted that a helpline number, on which persons, under home quarantine, can establish contact with the Ministry/Departments, would be displayed on the official website of the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD).

The judge also said that in formulating and implementing its policy to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic the executive administration is traversing uncharted territory.

The executive must, in such a circumstance, be afforded the requisite play in the joints, so as to formulate, and implement, its policy as meaningfully and efficiently as possible. Absent any legal or constitutional infraction, therefore, courts have necessarily to be slow in subjecting executive action, taken in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, to searching judicial scrutiny, the court said.

It also said that the Delhi government should have issued a show-cause notice to anyone who is found to have breached the quarantine or the lockdown, even before the issuance of a warning to him to desist from doing so.

Besides the fact that the law does not require the issuance of any such notice before issuing a warning, any such mandate, if issued, would have the potential of seriously derailing the efforts, of the executive administration, to enforce discipline during the period of lockdown/quarantine, the court said.

The plea had contended that the petitioner was kept under quarantine beyond the necessary period of 14 days and the authorities had wrongly calculated the quarantine period. He also stated that on April 20 he got a disciplinary notice from the SDM, warning punitive action if he violated the norms.

There appears to be no basis for the calculation of a home quarantine basis for a period of over 30 days from the date of contact with the infected person, either clinically, or in law, the plea had said.
This spring, we're all craving symbols of normal life, and for wine lovers, that usually means bottles of chilled rose. But wait. Will there be enough of it-or any at all-in this age of coronavirus?

Well, yes, but I have a few caveats.

Shipping is slower than usual, so some wines of 2019 vintage may not arrive for a while. The 25% tariff will push prices for faves from Provence slightly higher, and restaurants that once bought thousands of bottles of rose to pour by the glass may, sadly, never open again.

I caught up by phone with Los Angeles chef Joachim Splichal of Patina restaurant, who has been making two delicious roses at his Domaine de Cala estate in Provence since 2016. In lockdown in L.A., he's been unable to get to France, and he outlines how the tariff and covid-19 are hitting the rose business.

First off, the tariff that the office of the U.S. trade representative slapped on French, German, and Spanish wines last October already meant distributors were planning to buy less rose than they did the year before, figuring they'd have to boost prices and then have trouble unloading it. The possibility the USTR would raise tariffs to 100% caused even more uncertainty.

Normally, American importers and distributors send out presale offers in January and February to retailers and restaurateurs, who then put in orders. Shipments start arriving every few weeks. The 100% tariff threat froze business, causing many outlets to delay ordering or order much less. That means producers, which plan on a certain level of sales, have to start looking elsewhere to unload the unsold wines-not an easy task.

In the end, the USTR decided in mid-February to keep the tariff at 25%, but for many producers, especially smaller ones such as Splichal's, the damage was done. The February shipment from his chateau in France to his U.S. distributor was one-third the normal amount. His planned March shipment didn't happen at all because of the tariff, and then, in the middle of the month, covid-19 hit. Restaurants closed just as the rose season was about to begin, so they didn't order.

"Ninety percent of my two wines go to restaurants, hotels, and beach clubs," Spilchal sighs. "We're a small estate, and everybody [else] is cautious. People don't have the cash flow to make a lot of new purchases."

Some small producers in Provence were already planning not to ship to the U.S. because of the tariffs, he says. For others, packing shipments with members of a smaller crew standing six feet apart slows things down, and even bottling poses problems, as the operations typically rely on mobile bottling trucks, which haven't been readily available. A lot of new rose will have trouble getting overseas from France.

Still, Splichal said he remains optimistic that business will pick back up for him and other producers in a couple of months. After all, drinkers' demand for rose seems as hot as ever. Global rose consumption soared 40% from 2002 to 2018, reaching an all-time high in 2018, the latest year covered in the 2020 Rose Wines World Tracking report. At the same time, consumers are drinking more wine at home than normal: Nielson reports that in the retail stores it measures, wine sales grew 36.5% in the most recent week vs. a year ago, and the hottest price category runs from $20 to $25. That's rose's sweet spot.

And from the imbiber's perspective, there are plenty of bottles from the 2018 vintage in U.S. warehouses. Even if you can't find the latest vintage of your favorite brand, you won't have to go without rose.

As evidence of how much pink wine has become a marker for the good life, luxury companies took a deep investment dive in Provence last year. Chanel, owned by the billionaire Wertheimer brothers, bought highly esteemed Domaine de L'Ile on the tiny island of Porquerolles, south of Saint Tropez, while LVMH bought a controlling share in Chateau d'Esclans, which makes popular Whispering Angel.

Don't worry about being able to get a bottle of that best seller or about having to pay more for it. Sacha Lichine, co-owner of Chateau d'Esclans, solved the logistics and tariff issues by shipping the wine to the U.S. in bulk, in temperature-controlled tanks, to be bottled here. That neatly avoids the 25% tariff because it doesn't apply to wines in containers larger than two liters. Lichine predicts that beaches and outdoor restaurants, where people consume rose, may open faster than other locations.

Consider the list of top rose recommendations below. There are now more diverse offerings than ever-from Italy, Spain, Germany, and the U.S., as well as more ultra-premium bottles, and dozens of roses in cans.

2018 Domaine Guion Bourgueil Rose ($13)

Vibrant fruit and wild strawberry aromas are the hallmarks of Stephane Guion's bone-dry cabernet franc rose from the Loire Valley. This wine is earthy but lush and fruity, from organic grapes, and offers a layered, terroir-driven rose at an astonishingly low price.

2019 Mateus Dry Rose ($13 for 750 ml; $4 for 187 ml)

Don't just say no, thinking this is the sweet, slightly fizzy Portuguese pink wine that was wildly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. This is Mateus's new fresh, fruity dry rose. It's widely available and can be found for as little as $10 a bottle.

2018 Studio by Miraval ($16)

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie split, but their partnership with star Rhone winemaker Marc Perrin at Provence's Chateau Miraval survived. This first vintage of their third and cheapest rose is intense, peachy, and more sophisticated than you might expect. It is named after the music studio on the property-where Pink Floyd once recorded.

2019 Domaine de Cala Classic Rose ($19)

In Provence's Coteaux Varois appellation, 88% of all wine made is rose. This bright, savory, food-friendly, grenache-based blend is the domaine's value-priced version.

2019 Rose de Haut-Bailly ($22)

Top Bordeaux chateau Haut-Bailly, in the Pessac-Leognan region, doesn't produce a rose in every vintage, but it did in 2019. The wine is always filled with seductive fruit and floral aromas, and will be arriving in the U.S. shortly.

2019 Chateau Minuty Prestige Rose ($25)

Just launching nationally in the U.S., this super-pale pink Provence rose is the kind of wine that makes you dream of afternoons at seaside restaurants. (Remember them?) A step up from Minuty's ubiquitous "M" cuvee, it's loaded with elegance and salty, succulent, chalky-fruity flavors that make you crave another glass.

2019 Just Pink ($25)

Last year, I touted Azur, a sophisticated California rose made by Napa winemaker Julien Fayard, who was born in Provence. On May 1, he launched this zingy, flavorful, less expensive California pink cuvee with a screw cap. It's perfect for outdoor picnics.

2018 LVE Cotes de Provence Rose ($26)

This intense, rich, pink wine announces, "Hey, I'm rose!" with the first sip. LVE stands for Legend Vineyards Exclusives, a brand that award-winning musician John Legend launched with French-American winery owner Jean-Charles Boisset in 2015. Legend's suggested music pairing pick for this rose is All of Me.

NV Loimer Brut Rose Reserve ($29)

I tasted this subtle sparkling wine as part of an Austrian Zoom event with top sommeliers. A lush blend of zweigelt, pinot noir, and Sankt Laurent grapes grown biodynamically, it has delicate notes of tart cherries and fresh strawberries.

2019 Tablas Creek Dianthus Rose ($30)

This pioneering winery in California's Paso Robles region produces two delicious roses made from organic grapes. This one, a brilliant fuchsia pink color, reflects rose traditions of the southern Rhone Valley, with more power and richness than paler Provence-style examples.

Wine Deal of the Week

My favorite New York wine bar, Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, is offering packs of superb, hard-to-find wines from its imaginative list at terrific prices. Top bets are the Vol. 17 six-pack ($125) and the Vol. 5 12-pack ($250); both include delicious roses.
Other than launching its new MateBook X Pro laptop, Huawei also announced that two more tablets will be coming soon. Along with the MatePad Pro that was launched last month, Huawei has made the new MatePad and MatePad T tablets available in Malaysia too. The two tablets will start selling on 16 May 2020 for RM1399 and RM559, respectively.

First, let's take a look at the MatePad, an affordable mid-range tablet that's more for mainstream users. It comes with a Kirin 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and a large 7250mAh battery to keep it going. Its 10.4-inch display has a max resolution of 2000 x 1200 and comes with the Huawei ClariVu Display Enhancement technology to improve image quality.

In terms of features, the MatePad has four Harman Kardon and the Histen 6.0 audio technology to deliver 3D stereo sound effects. Additionally, it has an 8MP camera and quad-microphone array, which goes well with the Huawei MEETime feature for video calling. Of course, it'll also support the optional smart magnetic keyboard and M-Pencil.

Next up is the MatePad T, a basic tablet that will be great for keeping kids entertained. This a more modest entry-level tablet sporting a MediaTek MT8768 chipset, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. Its has an 8-inch with a max resolution of 1280 x 800 and a battery capacity of 5100mAh, which is more than enough for many hours of videos and other apps.

Of course, it's got a feature catered to children called Kids Corners too. It's a 'dedicated space' that allows kids to learn and enjoy, with parents able to control the options and apps made available to the kids. The MatePad T also comes with a simple 2MP front and 5MP rear camera, so video calls are also possible.

Interested in either one of these tablets? You can find get it from the Huawei online store when it officially releases on 16 May 2020. With that said, are you a regular tablet user? What do you normally use tablets for? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.
Nearly 300 Venezuelans living in Chile have been camping outside the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago for more than a week, asking authorities to facilitate their return home.

Many people in Chile have lost their jobs, including Venezuelan migrants, as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leaving them without means to pay for housing or other basic needs.

Some of them did not even have tents to protect them from the elements at night, and were forced to sleep on the floor.

"We want to leave because we don't have jobs," said Jana Villa on Tuesday.

The migrants pitched tents in close proximity as they camped outside the embassy hoping that the government would somehow provide them a way to return to their homeland.

Among them were young children and elderly people, and many others with their belongings in suitcases and bags.

The same scene took place a few days ago with Bolivian nationals, prompting the Chilean Foreign Ministry to arrange to have them transported to northern Chile for 14 days of quarantine before continuing their journey to Bolivia.
Jim Callaghan, an underrated UK prime minister, put it best just before the 1979 general election. "You know there are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of. I suspect there is now a sea-change and it is for Mrs Thatcher."

Give or take a few years, his analysis was spot on. Looking back from the winter of discontent, he knew that the major shift to greater government influence in economic affairs that the Depression and Second World War triggered had run its course. He did not know what would cause it, but he also understood that the Reagan/Thatcher experiment that was turfing him out of power would be time-limited, too.

The economic impact of the pandemic will be felt for decades to come. Credit:Rob Homer

These sea-changes are never watershed moments, but an accumulation of finally unstoppable forces book-ended by crises. The Depression and global conflict transformed what the public wanted to create in the post-war era; the rolling crises of the Seventies provided the intellectual justification for the new small-state philosophy that followed; and it has taken 12 years from financial crisis to COVID-19 to see the pendulum swing back again to the economic and social order that will most likely dominate the next 30 years.

What might this new order look like? My investment strategy colleagues at Fidelity have just published a paper, The New Economic Order, which predicts three key features of the new world: state intervention, fiscal activism and continued Asian economic strength.
Sevnica, Slovenia, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. OTC:(PRTT) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Hotel Albons in Spain. This 25 million Euro property is located in the heart of the historical region of Catalonia, Emporda Girona, about 25 kilometers south of the French border. The location was one of the favorite places of impressionist painter Salvador Dali. The hotel has a magnificent swimming pool overlooking the Montgri Massif and is surrounded by rural landscapes. The property contains more than five hectares of owned land surrounded by olive groves next to the stunning beaches of Costa Brava.

The contemporary architecture of the Hotel was designed by the firm of Pigem, Arranda & Vilata. Owing to its original concepts and modern innovative forms that harmonize the landscape, the Hotel Albons received the Fad award for architecture and interior design.

The Hotel Albons is a five-star property that opened in February 2020 and is currently operated by CMC Hospitality and is in the process of joining the portfolio of a first-rate international brand.

The newly-acquired property will allow the company to not only add value and revenue, but to showcase its award-winning vineyard products. This increased scale of operations is expected to substantially add to existing shareholder value.

Contemporaneous with the acquisition, the company is also pleased to welcome its new Director of European Operations, Angela Savcenco, who holds an international degree in hotel management. Ms. Savcenco is currently an executive with New Helen Spain Holdings.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as may, will, to, plan, expect, believe, anticipate, intend, could, would, estimate, or continue, or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risk, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our managements beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with OTC Markets. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

For more information contact:

Protect Pharmaceutical Corp.

info@agropharmacy.com



Attachment
A leading scientist today warned it was still uncertain and debatable whether it is safe to reopen schools after the Government said it hoped that primary-age children could start to return next month in class sizes of no more than 15.

Epidemiologist Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, said the lack of clear evidence about the safety of pupils returning to the classroom meant it should only be done very carefully.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that ministers need to look closely at the impact of school reopening programmes in continental Europe. He said so far there had been mixed messages on whether they contributed to a resurgence in the epidemic.

Boris Johnson said in his televised address on Sunday that children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in primary schools might begin to return from 1 June at the earliest. Further guidance yesterday revealed plans to widen this to all primary year pupils, but with a warnings of delays if insufficient progress is made in tackling the virus.

Details set out by the Department for Education show classes will be divided into groups of no more than 15 pupils  and these small groups will not mix with other pupils during the school day.

The guidance says children should be kept two metres apart if possible.

There will be staggered break and lunchtimes, and different times for starting and finishing the school day.

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But the National Education Union has rejected the reopening plans as reckless.

Parents who choose to keep their children at home will not face fines.
Approximately 100 protesters marched Saturday to the Manitoba Legislative Building, in a "Rally for Freedom and Human Rights, organized by a group called Winnipeg Aware.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Approximately 100 protesters marched Saturday to the Manitoba Legislative Building, in a "Rally for Freedom and Human Rights," organized by a group called Winnipeg Aware.

For more than an hour they congregated, demanding COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns be lifted, claiming in a news release there is no scientific basis for social distancing and it is "counterproductive to the development of the natural immune system."

Protesters ignore social distancing, call for end to restrictions Click to Expand Approximately 100 people attend an anti-lockdown rally at the Manitoba Legislature. A group called Winnipeg Aware is calling for the COVID-19 restrictions be lifted in the province, claiming the restrictions are more harmful to human health than the novel coronavirus. Posted: 5:56 PM May. 9, 2020 Protests calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions made their way to Winnipeg Saturday. Just over 100 people congregated at the Manitoba Legislative building for A Rally For Freedom and Human Rights hosted by a group calling itself Winnipeg Aware. The group is demanding lockdowns be lifted, saying there is no scientific basis for social distancing and counterproductive to the development of the natural immune system, the group said in a press release. Read Full Story

Itd be easy to call this a "fringe" group  Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont called participants "selfish, paranoid, and misinformed"  but it represents four things in our community we cannot ignore.

One: some Winnipeggers dont care about health-care providers. Leading up to the Mother's Day weekend, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin warned Manitobans of potential outbreaks of COVID-19, and residents should "certainly avoid large groups, even outdoors."

Two: virtually all of the rally attendees were white, and appeared to define middle class: healthy, with income and homes where clean, suitable clothing is available. Since Indigenous and poor people are among those disproportionately impacted by the virus, its clear supporters of Winnipeg Aware dont care about (or reflect) those citizens.

Three: although clearly breaking City of Winnipeg bylaws for ignoring a public health order (a fine of $486 per individual), no police, bylaw officer nor any of the almost 50 active community service ambassadors intervened or forced the crowd to disperse.

Four: Winnipeg Police Service public information officer Const. Jay Murray said Saturday the WPS "was aware of the event and monitored it accordingly." He said the WPS recognizes Winnipeggers have a right to peaceful assembly, adding other groups had gathered before and after the pandemic without police response.

Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press Event organizer Gerry Bohemier (middle), a retired chiropractor, speaks to a group of around a hundred people attending an anti-lockdown rally at the Manitoba Legislature. The event was hosted by a group called Winnipeg Aware People with a Passion for the Truth. May 9, 2020.

Recently, the only protests have been a few "honk-bys" delivered in cars (such as April 25 at the legislature against public-sector cuts) but on April 12 around 70 (mostly Indigenous) people gathered for a vigil - not a protest - at the intersection of Lagimodiere Boulevard and Fermor Avenue, where 16-year-old Indigenous youth Eishia Hudson was shot to death by police after allegedly stealing liquor. WPS was there.

While some attendees did carry "protest" signs, virtually all practised social distancing (and were encouraged by vigil organizers via social media to do so).

Police attended  not to hand out tickets but to establish vehicular blockades to the area, discouraging attendees who had to walk relatively far to join in.

Manitobans split on allowing civil disobedience Click to Expand Rail blockades near Belleville, Ont., Feb. 24: A poll suggests more than half of Manitobans favour letting police use whatever force is necessary to end disruptive forms of protests. (Lars Hagberg / The Canadian Press files) Posted: 4:23 PM May. 11, 2020 More than half of Manitobans polled indicated they favour police using "whatever legal force is required" to end disruptive displays of civil disobedience, such as February's rail blockades in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline through unceded territory. The survey was conducted by Probe Research and polled 1,000 Manitobans on the issue between March 10 and 24. Read Full Story

Had police gone further and shut down the vigil, they likely would have had public support. A recent Probe Research poll commissioned by the Winnipeg Free Press found more than one-half of Manitobans (57 per cent) agree police should be empowered to use any amount of legal force necessary to remove protests and blockades.

The poll also found 42 per cent feel it is acceptable for "members of the public to step in and remove blockades if they see them taking shape."

When white, privileged people protest, police and the public step aside.

When brown, disenfranchised peoples protest, forces in society intervene to disrupt it.

For more, see the recent "reopen America" protests south of the border. These have been led mostly by white, lower-/middle-class men carrying semi-automatic weapons into city downtowns  even state legislatures  with little resistance.

Imagine a group of Indigenous (or African-American, Latino or any brown) men entering any government building on this continent carrying the same weapons.

Police, citizens, and government would not only act swiftly, but with deadly, "legal" force.

When white people protest, its "freedom," a "right," and how to "Make America Great Again." (Which, by the way, was the slogans on red hats a handful of Winnipeggers wore Saturday.)

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.

Imagine a group of Indigenous (or AfricanAmerican, Latino or any brown) men entering any government building on this continent carrying the same weapons.

Meanwhile, Indigenous-led pandemic response checkpoints on highways  which resemble the blockades Canadians detest so much  are saving lives across North America. Still, they are framed often as a threat.

In nearby South Dakota, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has called COVID-19 checkpoints installed by tribal leaders on roads passing through Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux territories "illegal" and threatened them with removal.

Indigenous leaders have refused, stating checkpoints are their only method to stop virus outbreaks. In a statement, chairman of the Cheyenne River tribe Harold Frazier pronounced: "We will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death."

Those perpetuating uncertainty and death might be 100 or so neighbours, friends, and fellow citizens who might share more with us than we think  especially when we sit idly by.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Did you clap for the president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for his excellent nationwide live broadcast yesterday about the updates of Covid-19?

I watched the live telecast of the presidential address to the nation in my home in Toronto-Canada on May 10, 2020 via Myjoyonline.com and I should say I love the president for educating me on eating certain Ghanaian foods to boost my immune system to withstand the fight against the novel virus in far away Canada.

Exactly, we in Canada have been taking vitamin C, vitamin B6 and 12; Zinc, vitamin D3, vitamin A and vitamin E to enable us stay healthy against the virus as we stay home to also avoid getting infected with the covid-19.

The president Nana Akufo Addo is working very hard to defeat the Covid-19 in Ghana and we owe him and his government a debt of gratitude for his excellent policies and programmes that are putting the pandemic under control and has made Ghana an example for other African countries to emulate as far as fighting the pandemic is concern.

Should there be any fed up complaints about the ban on public gatherings and lockdown in Ghana and its borders, it should come from people who are locked up in foreign countries where they are greatly at risk to the Covid-19 and not Ghanaians who are being protected by the lockdown restrictions.

Ghanaians should thank the president for the lockdown restrictions which was quick and has saved the country big time compared to America and Italy.

President Donald Trump [a.k.a Kwaku Ahoufe] and his country America joked about Covid-19 and today United States of America [U.S.A.] is like hell where no one wants to go there.

The Prime Minister Mr. Justin Trudeau[a.k.a Ohene Abrante]and Canada right from the outbreak of Covid-19 imposed harder restrictions in Canada and today the government is coming out with plans to ease the restrictions slowly.

Because residents in Canada strictly observed the lockdown rules the Covid-19 curve is flattening which has given the government the opportunity to consider easing the restrictions slowly to the comfort of all.

Let Ghanaians be warned that if they fail to observe the lockdown restrictions more infected persons would enter the country to infect more Ghanaians and the curve will rise beyond control and the president wont consider lifting the restrictions.

Again, let us all support the president and his government by strictly observing the lockdown rules to flatten the curve for him to also open the borders and other facilities for us all to enjoy.

So let the law enforcement agencies be empowered to force the restrictions on the public even total stay home for one week and the country will see great improvement.

Let me use this opportunity to say a big thank you to the president for his excellent hard work in fighting the pandemic in Ghana. Though some of us would have loved to visit our children, parents and loved ones, in Ghana this summer, we have to obey the president for us all to stay safe.

We pray for the president and his government to defeat the pandemic, we thank all frontline workers for putting their lives on the line to safe us all and mother Ghana.

May God bless Ghana to win the fight against Covid-19.May God bless the president and strengthen him to defeat the coronavirus and May God blesses us all as we observe lockdown rules to defeat the pandemic together.

CONTACT: Stephen A.Quaye,

E-MAIL: [email protected]
A top infectious disease expert has predicted that coronavirus will continue to spread until some two thirds of the world's population has been infected.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, issued the dire prediction in an interview with USA Today on Monday.

'We all have to confront the fact there's not a magic bullet, short of a vaccine, that's going to make this go away,' he said. 'We're going to be living with it. And we're not having that discussion at all.'

Osterholm said that without a vaccine, which is likely more than a year away, the virus will continue to spread until it is halted by herd immunity, which he estimates would kick in after 60 percent to 70 percent of the population has been infected.

Dr. Michael Osterholm (left), director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, issued the dire prediction in an interview on Monday

'This damn virus is going to keep going until it infects everybody it possibly can,' Osterholm said. 'It surely won't slow down until it hits 60 to 70 percent.'

Herd immunity stops the spread of a pathogen when enough of the population has immunity to cut off its ability to infect new carriers.

Post-infection immunity to coronavirus is still not well understood, but people who recover from closely related SARS and MERS are typically immune for several years.

Osterholm said that even if cases drop off over the summer, it could be a sign that coronavirus is seasonal, like influenza, and that cases could surge again in the fall.

'It's the big peak that's really going to do us in,' he said. 'As much pain, suffering, death and economic disruption we've had, there's been 5 to 20 percent of the people infected, ... That's a long ways to get to 60 to 70 percent.'

Antibody testing in New York City indicates that about 20 percent of the population there, or 2.6 million people, have been infected and safely recovered from coronavirus.

Medics take a patient in severe respiratory distress to an ambulance from a group home next to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn on Monday

Coronavirus causes mild or no symptoms in many people, but for the elderly and those with underlying conditions, it can cause serious complications or death.

Osterholm's predictions come as many states debate how to attempt reopening their economies, balancing the threat of the virus against the economic devastation caused by the lockdowns.

At least 30 million Americans have been put out of work since the start of the outbreak, sending the unemployment rate to its highest level since the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, coronavirus has killed more than 82,000 people in the U.S. and nearly 1.4 million have tested positive for the infection.

Osterholm acknowledges that the nation 'can't lock down for 18 months' and said political and business leaders need to find a way to resume activities while adapting to a virus that won't soon disappear.

His warnings echo the latest projections of White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, who said another wave of the virus is 'inevitable'.

Osterholm is the co-author of a recent paper that predicts the pandemic will persist for 18 to 24 months.

Only once roughly two-thirds of the population has been infected, and herd immunity has been reached, will the disease finally fizzle out, the paper claims.

For the paper, the authors studied the four influenza pandemics which have unfolded since the early 20th Century - in 1918-19, 1957, 1968, and 2009-10.

By basing their modelling on these past examples, the scientists forecast three potential scenarios as to how this epidemic will likely unfold.

In the first scenario, the epidemic will continue in a series of 'peaks and valleys', gradually waning over time until it dies out in 2021.

'The occurrence of these waves may vary geographically and may depend on what mitigation measures are in place and how they are eased,' the report states.

In the first scenario, the epidemic will continue in a series of 'peaks and valleys', gradually waning over time until it dies out in 2021

Worst-case scenario: In the second scenario, the current outbreak will be eclipsed by a much larger peak in the fall or winter of this year in echoes of the 1918-19 Spanish Flu pandemic

The third and final scenario is what scientists call the 'slow burn', where the virus gradually wanes without defined waves

'Depending on the height of the wave peaks, this scenario could require periodic reinstitution and subsequent relaxation of mitigation measures over the next 1 to 2 years.'

In the second scenario, the current outbreak will be eclipsed by a much larger peak in the fall or winter of this year in echoes of the 1918-19 Spanish Flu pandemic.

Smaller peaks will then follow before the infection rate is wrestled down with more lockdown measures.

'This pattern will require the reinstitution of mitigation measures in the fall in an attempt to drive down spread of infection and prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed,' the scientists wrote.

The third and final scenario is what scientists call the 'slow burn', where the virus gradually wanes without defined waves.

While cases and deaths would continue to occur, it is not believed this scenario would would warrant total lockdown to be reimposed.
Instead of announcing the end of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), President Rodrigo Duterte said in a televised public speech today that he is offering a PHP2 million (US$39,700) reward to anyone who could help in the capture of leading communist rebels.

If you have killed a commander or you were able to pinpoint a sleeping commander [somewhere], just tell me and [I will give you] PHP2 million, as long as its a top commander, the president said in English and Filipino.

He said anyone who is able to do so will become a protected witness, and will be transferred to another town in the country so they could live without worrying about their safety.

I will remove you from your placeI will give you land. Because if I dont, you will get killed. When that happens, the squealer will be given a new identity under the witness protection program, Duterte added.

Dutertes speech was supposed to have been broadcast last night, but Malacanang Palace postponed its airing to today. Filipinos have been waiting for his speech because the ECQ, which has been imposed in Metro Manila and other areas, is scheduled to end on May 15. There have been reports that two Metro Manila cities will be downgraded to the general community quarantine, a less strict form of the lockdown, but Duterte did not confirm this during his address.

Read: Interior Dept may downgrade quarantines in Valenzuela, San Juan, Quezon province

However, the president said that easing restrictions will be done so very slowly.

Its going to be very slow, very slow. So we dont trip. Really slow. We cannot afford a second or third wave to happenDo not go out of your house without a mask. That is a must. Must comply, he said.

If you dont wear a mask, your companion will be in danger. Not you. If you die thats fine, but how about the one in front of you, the chief executive added.

Story continues

Then the social distancing. This is our new life until there is such a time that we have a vaccine. We have the medicine but not vaccine. Follow that. Thats really important, he said.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque is expected to deliver a public speech later in the afternoon to provide more details about the lockdown.

This article, Duterte offers PHP2 million reward for capture of communist rebels, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!
The race to find a vaccine and cure for coronavirus has reached its zenith. Many companies and countries have made significant strides in the search for a vaccine for COVID-19. The search for a vaccine seems like a race against time as countries, including India, prepare to open up and relax restrictions that have been in place for at least a month. India is heading towards the end of its third phase of lockdown. The country has over 70,000 cases, with more than 46,000 active cases. More than 2,200 people have died in India, while 22,454 people have been discharged according to the Ministry of Home and Family Welfare.

Here's a lowdown on where India and the rest of the countries stand on their search for corona vaccine:

INDIA

To begin with, Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Government of India told India TV that India is well on course to find a vaccine. He reiterated that finding a vaccine usually takes years and painstaking efforts. However he mentioned in the interview that if all goes well and the process is followed thoroughly, India is very likely to have a corona vaccine the next 8 months in its hands. He added that once it is developed, the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to the other parts of the world too. India is collaborating with other nations as well, he added.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: PM Modi may detail graded lockdown exit at 8 pm as India's total cases near 80,000

Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) along with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) are working together to develop a coronavirus vaccine. A vaccine called CoroFlu is already being tested by the biotech firm. BBIL is working with the University of Wisconsin to develop the vaccine. ICMR also stated that it has transferred the virus strain isolated at NIV, Pune to BBIL.

According to reports, a researcher from Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak has stated that she has designed a vaccine, the '3CL Hydrolase-based Multi-Epitope Peptide Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2', at the Centre for Medical Biotechnology at MDU. "This is a protein-based vaccine which will strengthen our body's immunity by raising the generation of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Utmost care has been taken to ensure that the epitopes used in the vaccine are non-toxic and non-allergic," researcher Dr Renu Jahkhar told The Tribune. Her research paper will be published by the Journal of Medical Virology.

Additionally, the Serum Institute of India said that it is planning to produce 6 crore of potential corona doses of the vaccine that is under clinical trial in the UK. University of Oxford is conducting trials for its vaccine.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: List of 5 COVID-19 treatment frontrunners

GLOBAL

World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing that there are currently seven or eight top candidates for coronavirus vaccine. He added that efforts are underway and is supported by $8 billion that was pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries. "We have good candidates now. The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates," he said.

Meanwhile, Germany has pledged 750 million euros to help in the search of a COVID vaccine. The primary goal of the new funding, approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel, is to include as many volunteers as they can to test the coronavirus vaccine.

US-based Novavax has received $4 million from Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to identify and manufacture coronavirus vaccine. In early April, Novavax had stated that it had identified a vaccine called NVX-CoV2373 that had already shown success in animal models. The subunit vaccine is injected into the body that creates antibodies to protect against COVID-19. Novavax plans to start Phase I of clinical trials in mid-May.

Additionally, Moderna RNA vaccine, Oxford University's vaccine, Pfizer's BNT162 vaccine, University of Pennsylvania and Inovio's vaccine as well as Sinovac's vaccine are in various stages of clinical trials.

Also read: Coronavirus: Glenmark to test Favipiravir on COVID-19 patients, sell drug as 'FabiFlu'
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Foundation, with funding from the Australian Government, has renovated the VIP ward of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital to provide more convenience for clients of the hospital.



The 22-bed capacity facility would also house staff of the Hospital, who might fall sick or contract the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and subsequently need isolation.



It has five rooms for accommodation, a reception, an outdoor place, a bathroom, and consulting room.



Mr Andrew Barnes, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, said the High Commission funded the project with GH100,000.00 and was elated that it could contribute significantly to the nations COVID-19 fight, which had put considerable pressure on the health systems across the globe.



The Ghana Psychiatric Hospital, he said, was an amazing partner, working hard to ensure the wellbeing of mental health patients.



He expressed gratitude to the contractors for their swift work in ensuring that they completed the renovation within the stipulated time of two months.



Mr Barnes commended government, health workers, journalists and all frontline workers for the efforts put in place to manage and contain the COVID-19, adding that, the steps taken to control the disease in the country was unique and was something Ghana should be proud of.



Though your work doesnt get enough recognition from the public, continue to do your best to work as heroes and heroines, he advised.



Dr Gina Teddy, the Country Director of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Foundation, said the Foundation after recognising the infrastructural needs of the Hospital engaged them to ascertain the areas that needed immediate support.



They tried to seek funding from the Australian High Commission after reaching an agreement with the Hospital to have the VIP ward renovated.



She believed the ward would make patients feel at home and recover quickly due to the serene and convenient nature of the facility.



Dr Pinamang Appau, the Director of the Hospital, said infrastructure was a major challenge the Hospital faced.



Its VIP ward did not befit the name, therefore, she said the renovation helped to redefine the true name of the ward.



The wards used to be a dormitory with many people, but it now has a room for only two people. The toilet facilities are better and will improve the quality of care we give to patients.



I believe the ambience of the facility alone would give the patients strength to recover early and we will forever be grateful to the Australian High Commission and the Foundation for the support, she said.

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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On the day before Mother's Day, Yu Yan, the owner of flower store Beijing Zhuofan Floral Studio, is busy assembling bouquets of carnations for her customers.

"Sales began to pick up around the May Day holiday, and Mother's Day also contributed to the increase in orders. In just a few days, sales revenue has exceeded several thousand yuan. I think between May 1 and Chinese Valentine's Day [Aug. 25] will be peak season," Yu told China.org.cn.

For the past few months, like thousands of other florists in Beijing, Yu Yan has been dealing with the fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak. Her store was forced to close during the Spring Festival holiday back in February and only allowed to reopen in April.



"The outbreak hit us hard, leading us to lose at least 80% in revenues. The demand for flowers plummeted, even for Valentine's Day and Women's Day. We got by because of online orders from a few regular customers. There were almost no new customers, let alone anyone visiting the shop," Yu explained.

"In previous years, we'd offer flower arranging classes for companies in the run up to holidays such as Valentine's Day, Women's Day and Mother's Day. This year, however, many companies had to cancel these team-building activities as part of the controls to prevent the spread of the epidemic, and more likely, also because of reduced corporate revenues."

"In order to get through this difficult period, I had to let go of two employees. We managed to hold out and finally sales started to rise in May," said Yu.

It has also been a tough few months for those working in the flower industry at Kunming Dounan Flower Market, Asia's largest wholesale fresh flower market, located in southwest China's Yunnan province.



According to the Dounan Flower Market Electronic Trading Center, influenced by the coronavirus outbreak, the market halted all trading, tourism and catering services on Jan. 26, and then suspended its auction services on Feb. 6. Vendors have gradually been allowed to return to the market and resume operations starting in late February.

Li Fei used to run a B&B and sell local specialty foods in Kunming. Affected by the outbreak, he lost most of his business because of the dramatic fall in the number of visitors to the city. He decided to change course in March and opened a Taobao store to sell flowers online as the epidemic was gradually brought under control.

"I started preparing in the middle of March, and the Taobao shop was officially launched on April 6. Within a month, I saw orders gradually start to increase," Li said.


remaining of

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A Business Studies student from Zambia has been named as one Britain's youngest coronavirus victims, while news of another health care worker's death has been announced.

Kapalu Musenyesa, 22, was found lifeless in his north London flat on April 20, hours after complaining about having a fever and breathing difficulties.

The Middlesex University's family flew over from southern Africa on Monday for his funeral, with the support of a 6,000 fundraising page in his memory.

Kapalu 'Kaps' Musenyesa, was studying Business Studies at Middlesex University, he was found dead at his north London flat in April after contracting Covid-19

'Kaps' had arrived in the UK from Zambia to study, he is the fourth Zambian national to die in the UK from the coronavirus pandemic

Family friend Agnes Mutale wrote on the page: 'Kapalu, a 22 year old international student from Zambia, was found dead in his room.

'He was studying business studies at Middlesex University here in the UK. Covid 19 claimed his life.

'Please help us with the donations which will go towards funeral arrangements and processions.

'This will also cater for sending Kapalu's remains to Zambia where his parents are.

'We are so humbled with the overwhelming support we are getting through from friends and relatives.'

Mr Musenyesa is reported to be the fourth Zambian national to die in the UK. Three others are said to be in intensive care units.

Friend Chabala Kakungu wrote on Facebook: 'I never pictured myself wearing a mask but after Covid-19 took my brother Kapalu Musenyesa I think its time we took this whole thing seriously.

'Stay home or wear a mask if you want to step out and make sure you wash your hands every chance you get.'

A six-week-old baby is believed to be the youngest person to die from coronavirus in Britain.

Previously a five-year-old child, and London teens Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, 13, and Luca Di Nicola, 19, were named among the youngest victims.

A day before Mr Musenyesa, known as 'Kapu' to his friends, was laid to rest, ambulance workers in Oldham were mourning the loss of 60-year-old Phil Rennie.

Father and husband Phil Rennie, from Oldham, died on Sunday after contracting Covid-19

Husband and father-of-one Mr Rennie, a patient transport service care assistant for North West Ambulance Service in Oldham, contracted Covid-19 and died at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury on Sunday.

The service's chief executive Daren Mochrie, said: 'Phil leaves his wife Karen, son Adam, and extended family.

'He has been part of the NWAS family since 2015 and has dedicated his career to serving the public, previously working in local authority and public services.

'Phil was extremely proud to work for NWAS, offering comfort and care to those in need.

'Our role is a privileged one, we meet people at their most vulnerable, and I am sure there are many people whose lives were touched by Phil during his career.

'We have been supporting Phil's family during this terrible time and they are in the thoughts of everyone here at NWAS - our deepest sympathies go out to them. Phil will be sorely missed by us all.

'I would like to thank our hospital colleagues in Fairfield General Hospital for their care, compassion and professionalism while caring for our friend, and I know they will also feel the loss of a colleague from the NHS family.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock outlined a programme to help families where a loved one who worked in the NHS has died.

He told the daily press briefing: 'We now have a programme of support that we've been able to put in place that is for everybody who is from a family where somebody has died whilst in service, including across pharmacy and social care.

'I think that's a really important thing for us to do is to recognise the sacrifice of those who put themselves at risk by going to work in what can be dangerous conditions where they might be working with those who have Covid-19.'
Sex appeal is used to sell cars, beer, and clothesso why not a home? Arkansas homeowners Shayne and Jennifer McKinney are attempting to coax a buyer out of the shadows and into their dungeon.

The McKinneys live in the sleepy town of Van Buren, AR, and they're selling their family home with a sexy surprisea BDSM dungeon they built themselves.

Their fully realized "Fifty Shades" fantasy is the culmination of a project the McKinneys took on to increase the market value of their home.

The 2,837-square-foot residence recently landed on the market for $225,000. For comparison's sake, the current median list price in this west Arkansas town close to the Oklahoma border is $135,000.

In addition to their interest in often taboo topics, the couple are real estate investors and have other ambitions, too. To capitalize on their passions, the McKinneys shot a scantily clad companion video of themselves renovating the space and submitted it to television producers.

Their pitch? A sultry home renovation show with an emphasis on creating spaces to foster a healthy sex life for couples. The proposed title is "Working In the Kinks."

The McKinneys painting the dungeon red YouTube/Mckinneys

The couple show off their basement. YouTube/Mckinneys

"We've been together for 18 years," Shayne says. "It works because we make an effort."

Shayne is convinced there's an underserved real estate market for couples who want a spicy space where they can connect. Perhaps his theory has been validated by the interest in their home.

The four-bedroom ranch has been on the market for just a few days, and has already racked up thousands of views.

According to the couple, it has also generated a slew of phone calls from interested buyers. Jennifer is the listing agent and told us that she's constantly fielding calls for tours.

Secret door to dungeon realtor.com

Dungeon realtor.com

Entertainer's pole realtor.com

Exterior realtor.com

Kitchen realtor.com

Owner's suite realtor.com

Owner's suite bathroom realtor.com

The McKinneys have owned the house for the past 15 years and raised their two teenage sons there. They're now looking to head someplace warmer.

Miami is a candidateit was where the idea for their basement makeover took hold, after they visited a BDSM establishment in the Sunshine State.

"I had this dream the Scott brothers came and renovated our house," Jennifer says.

She told Shayne about her vision, and that sparked the idea to build an adult play area in their basement. The secret room comes complete with a bara critical element, since the home is in a dry county.

A hidden door gives access to the dungeon, leading down a spiral staircase. At the bottom is a full nightclub, outfitted with an entertainer's pole, along with custom-BDSM furniture Shayne made himself.

The couple says the neighborhood is quiet and an excellent place to raise a family.

Some of their neighbors know about the dungeon, and a few have been invited over. The space isn't a dirty secret, and the couple is happy to talk about it with anyone who shows interest.

Despite the fact that the surrounding community is largely conservative, Shayne says the couple has had "zero negative feedback "

He added that they're willing to keep the house on the market for a while, to fetch the best price. The only deadline he has set is to leave Arkansas before next winter.

If this house attracts a ton of gawkers, it won't be the first time a BDSM dungeon catapulted a home listing into the stratosphere.

In early 2019, a suburban Philadelphia home was listed with pictures of its own basement dungeon.

Melissa Leonard, the listing agent, made the bold choice to be upfront about the home's salacious secret, and to include photos of the adult play area with the listing.



Watch: Tour the Basement That Made This Home a Viral Sensation



The result was a viral sensation. The listing was so popular, in fact, the owner decided to take it off the market and use it as a BDSM party destination rather than selling it.

The listing not only helped unlock the hidden value in the property, it boosted Leonard's reputation in the community, too.

"It comes up at parties," Leonard says. "I'm glad I did it, and I don't regret anything."

Now the McKinneys are ready to apply the same formula and use a hint of sex appeal to sell their family home ... and perhaps realize their television dreams in the process.

The post Will Sex Sell? Couple Hope BDSM Basement Will Bring Top Dollar for Family Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Newly released surveillance footage appears to show Ahmaud Arbery walking into an open construction site before jogging away empty handed, moments before he was killed.

The video's release follows the arrests of Gregory and Travis McMichael for murder and assault more than two months after Mr Arbery's death, following widely shared video of the killing of the young unarmed black man that sparked international outrage and renewed calls against racist violence and modern-day "lynchings".

Following the shooting, white 64-year-old retired police officer Gregory McMichael  who along with his 34-year-old son had armed themselves before pursuing Mr Arbery on 23 February  told police that he believed Mr Arbery was responsible for a rash of burglaries in the area.

In footage from a home security camera, a person believed to be Mr Arbery walks into an open construction site and looks around before jogging away from the area, consistent with his family's account of the moments leading up to his killing  that he entered the neighbourhood, stopped at the under-construction property, then jogged away, minutes before the two men got into a truck and followed him.

According to his family's attorneys, the footage "appears to show a person, believed to be Ahmaud Arbery, entering a property under construction. The individual remains on the property for under 3 minutes before continuing to jog down the road. This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us."

The statement said: "He engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property."

Attorneys said that the video "confirms that Mr Arbury's murder was not justified and the actions of the men who ambushed him were unjustified."

In a statement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation  which is now handling the case following the recusals of two prosecutors who had previously worked with the elder McMichael  confirmed that the agency is reviewing additional video evidence as part of its investigation: "We are indeed reviewing additional video footage and photographs as part of the active case. It is important to note that this footage was reviewed at the beginning of the GBI investigation and before the arrests of Gregory and Travis McMichael."

The footage was released as the US Justice Department announced it's "assessing all of the evidence" to determine whether to apply federal hate crime charges against the McMichaels.

In a statement on Monday, agency spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said the department "will continue to assess all information, and we will take any appropriate action that is warranted by the facts and the law."

 The McMichaels are arrested for murder of Ahmaud Arbery

The GBI and District Attorney Tom Durden are reviewing law enforcement officials' handling of the case, while other officials and civil rights groups have called for a federal investigation, after the two recused prosecutors reportedly told police to delay arresting the McMichaels for the killing.

One day after the shooting, prosecutor George Barnhill had told police that he believed the McMichaels had just cause to pursue Mr Arbery, who was unarmed, and that they acted in self-defence, a claim that legal experts have dismissed as invalid.

Larry English, the man who owns the house under construction, told The Washington Post that the structure was not burgled, and that the McMichaels' accounts of robberies at the site are "completely wrong."

"I've never had a police report or anything stolen from my property, or any kind of robbery," he said.

In a statement to The Independent, Mr English's attorney J Elizabeth Graddy said Mr English "wants to correct the mistaken impression that he had shared the video or other information with the McMichaels prior to the McMichaels' decision to chase Mr Arbery."

The statement continued: "The homeowners had not even seen the 23 February video before Travis McMichael shot Mr Arbery. When homeowner Larry English saw the photos of Mr Arbery that were later broadcast, his first impression was that Mr Arbery was not the man captured on video inside the house on 23 February, and he said that to a neighbour."

"The homeowners were shocked and deeply saddened by these events, which they learned of after-the-fact," the statement said. "The homeowners are parents, and they are heartsick for Mr Arbery's mother and father. Larry English and his family are praying for the Arberys."

Police also confirmed that no previous reports were made in the neighbourhood; Mr English had called a non-emergency line to report a break-in after a motion-activated camera captured video of a person at a largely empty construction site in the months prior to Mr Arbery's death.

According to the attorney, a motion-activated camera "had captured videos of someone inside the house (which was and remains a construction site) at night" though Mr English "has never said that Mr Arbery was the person or persons in those videos, and he does not see a resemblance now."

"Nothing was ever stolen from the house  which, again, was a construction site," the statement said. "Even if there had been a robbery, however, the English family would not have wanted a vigilante response. They would have entrusted the matter to law enforcement authorities. ... The only crime that the homeowner has seen captured on video is the senseless killing of Mr Arbery."

In another video, two people can be seen near a pickup truck in a nearby driveway close to the construction site.

Gregory McMichael told police that he was in the front yard when he saw someone "hauling ass" down the street before the two men armed themselves, got into the truck and followed Mr Arbery.

After the person believed to be Mr Arbery can be seen running down the street, a truck that resembles the one driven by the McMichaels follows in the same direction.

Four minutes later, a police cruiser is seen heading in the same direction, followed by another, as well as an ambulance and more police cruisers.

A block away from the residential area in which the surveillance footage was recording, Mr Arbery was jogging towards a truck blocking the road before the McMichaels confronted him. Three shots were fired, and Mr Arbery was killed.

On what would have been Mr Arbery's 26th birthday on Friday, hundreds of people crowded the Glynn County Courthouse to urge the criminal justice system to take action more than two months after his death.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:02:51|Editor: huaxia

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MWANZA, Malawi, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The government of Malawi has sent four buses to rescue Malawians who are stranded due to a lockdown in South Africa.

According to Mwanza border spokesperson, Pasqually Zulu, the buses will take Malawians stranded in Cape city, Kwazulu Natal and Johannesburg.

"The evacuation buses are anticipated to reach Mwanza border this weekend, after medical scrutiny and recommendations, they will proceed to Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Mangochi districts," he said.

The development has come after growing concerns from the people living in South Africa that they have run out of basic materials to support their daily life because of the lockdown.

Last month, a group of Malawians went to Malawi's High Commissioner's office in Johannesburg for help to send them back home.

Meanwhile, the government has assured relatives of people staying in South Africa that the government will try to bring its people back. Enditem
Hundreds of migrant labourers were seen outside major railway stations in Mumbai and in surrounding region, expecting to board north-bound trains. Crowds of men, women and children were seen outside Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Bandra, Borivali and Panvel stations. Shramik speicial trains were scheduled to leave from these stations, a police official said, admitting that it was impossible to enforce social distancing in such situations.Migrant workers gather for transport to the railway station for their onward journey to their home states, at Dharavi slum in Mumbai. (Image: AP)
Some experts are saying that First Nations across Canada should consider amending their election codes to include measures that would allow an election to be postponed in case of an emergency.

The advice comes as leadership in some First Nations like the Acho Dene Koe, in Fort Liard, N.W.T., pop. 685, face controversy over postponing their elections to later this year.

Floyd Bertrand, a former chief of the First Nation, said there is a lot of shock and disappointment by nation members at chief and council's decision to postpone the election  but very little they can do about it.

Maggie Wente

"This chief and council is just doing whatever they want," Bertrand told CBC a few days after the decision was made.

"A lot of people are offended because they elected this chief and council and they're supposed to consult with us."

First Nations in Canada have three sets of guidelines they can use to regulate their elections: the guidelines set out by the Indian Act, the First Nations Elections Act or the creation of a custom elections code, which reflects the traditional governance style of that nation.

There is no way, under either the Indian Act or the First Nations Election Act, to postpone or cancel an election in case of an emergency. In comparison, Canada's Election Act gives the country's chief electoral officer the power to amend parts of the act in case of an emergency in order to safeguard the right to vote and be counted.

Maggie Wente, a partner in the law firm Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, has helped many First Nations draft their custom election codes. Wente said some First Nations are now facing a catch-22, where they should consider amending their elections codes to include a section on emergencies but cannot vote for any amendment in a group setting until after the pandemic.

Submitted by Hayden King

The N.W.T. government has banned indoor gatherings, and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people, during the pandemic.

Regulations show 'paternalism' of federal government

Story continues

Hayden King, executive director of the Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University, said the federal government originally advised First Nations to proceed with their elections, then in a second policy directive advised them to postpone but did not provide any mechanisms to extend chief and council's terms.

This move had the potential to create a so-called governance gap where First Nations would be left without leadership.

Reid Southwick/CBC

By April, the federal government created a new set of regulations that would allow the chief and council of any First Nation to extend their mandates by up to a year if elections had to be postponed during the pandemic.

"First Nations shouldn't really have to be told by an Indian Affairs minister that they can or can't hold their election." - Hayden King, executive director of the Yellowhead Institute

Chief and councils of First Nations with a customs election code, like in Acho Dene Koe First Nation, could also apply for this exemption.

In a statement, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said the final decision to postpone an election "ultimately lies with community leadership." The department, Miller continued, would work with Indigenous leaders no matter what decision they made.

The reversal of the government's position, King says, showcases the "larger paternalism" that still comes from the department of Indigenous Services.

"First Nations shouldn't really have to be told by an Indian Affairs minister that they can or can't hold their election," King said. "That paternalism, that ongoing colonialism  has brought that confusion into focus during this time. "

CBC contacted Indigenous Services Canada to find out more about why they decided to draft the new regulations, but they did not respond to the request.

First Nations should prepare for next emergency

Max Faille, a partner at the law firm Gowling WLG, said First Nations have largely not been talking about emergency preparedness, including when elections should be held.

He said now is the time to change that.

"This particular emergency has highlighted that the unpredictable can happen and there may be some situations where it would be very, very unsafe or impossible to hold an election," Faille said.

"If that date is a very, very firm one, then it can cause some problems."

The lesson for Wente is to help First Nations prepare for the next emergency.

"You can bet that every single time I help a First Nation with a customs elections code after this, there will be a provision for emergencies," Wente said.

Wente said the emergency provision in custom election codes could look similar to regulation set out by the federal government, which include a clear timeline for the extension as well as an understanding of what the First Nation considers an emergency.

Bertrand said that he wants Acho Dene Koe First Nation to hold public sessions after the pandemic to review the election code. The First Nation has already agreed to review the election code after their next election, in November.
For now, the bulk of that impact is being felt in basements, kitchens and bedrooms across the country, as work-from-home employees  as well as their recently unemployed counterparts  continue to struggle with the realities of boredom, frustration, anger, hopelessness and isolation. While many have turned to others to help them through this difficult period, many people are reluctant to seek outside help because of long-held beliefs about treating mental health or a feeling of embarrassment about their own personal issues.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

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Linkedin Sarah White (Reuters) Paris, France  Tue, May 12, 2020 16:04 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd782aa4 2 Lifestyle luxury,luxury-brand,Paris,France,coronavirus,COVID-19,Hermes,Dior Free

At an Hermes store on one of Paris's swankiest streets, shop assistants greeted customers through face masks on Monday with sanitizer gels and a polite refrain: "May I refresh your hands?"

As France began to exit its strict coronavirus lockdown, many of its luxury brands also opened their doors, giving sanitary protocols a makeover and testing people's appetite for splurging after a shutdown that has rocked economies worldwide.

At Louis Vuitton's store on Paris's grand Place Vendome square, which sells everything from 645 euro ($700) cocktail shakers to jewelry worth hundreds of thousands, a few local clients kept business ticking over.

"It's a friend's birthday and we're buying her a wallet," said Paris resident Hajar. "It'll be the first time we've seen each other in two months."

At the Hermes shop on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, there was even a semblance of business as usual.

A shop assistant discreetly kept count of the number of people milling around at any one time - around 50 at one point in early afternoon, across two floors.

And one shopper said she had been told to make an appointment if she wanted to discuss buying a pricey "Kelly" handbag.

"They always make things difficult at Hermes," said Blessing Williams, a 23-year-old model from Nigeria who lives in Paris. She still came away with a pair of sandals.

But travel restrictions and the resulting dearth of international tourists will remain a major drag for months to come on luxury shopping capitals such as Paris, or Milan, where fashion firms are set to reopen stores on May 18.

Depending on the brand, foreign tourists usually make up between 35 percent and 55 percent of luxury labels' revenue in Europe, according to Jefferies analyst Flavio Cereda.

Read also: Dior turns its hand to face masks in coronavirus battle

Handbags in quarantine

In Germany, where small stores have been open for three weeks, well-heeled shoppers looking for luxury are still few and far between, suit maker Hugo Boss said last week.

The plush changing cabins at Vuitton's Vendome shop, now regularly disinfected, were a lot less busy than usual on Monday, assistants said on Monday.

A nearby Chanel store was quieter than before the crisis too, staff said. Hermes boss Axel Dumas, mingling with employees at the Faubourg Saint-Honore shop, declined to comment on how the first few hours of trade had gone.

Despite signs of recovery in China, the industry's biggest market, global sales of luxury goods are expected to slump by up to 50% this year, the consultancy Bain forecast last week.

For now, brands are focused on easing into new hygiene routines, including making the use of face masks compulsory.

At Vuitton in Paris, owned by the LVMH conglomerate, clothes that are tried on are set aside to be steamed, and handbags are put in a 48-hour quarantine.

Cleaning protocols for other items vary, depending on how close they come to people's faces or the materials involved.

Christian Dior, another LVMH label, and Chanel, a privately owned group, have also erected plexiglass shields by the tills.
Priyanka Chopra finally stepped out on Monday after a two-month long quarantine with husband Nick Jonas at her home in Los Angeles. The actor shared a new selfie which showed her wearing a mask as life slowly returned to normal in the US which has witnessed over 80,000 deaths due to coronavirus pandemic.

Sharing the photo on Instagram, Priyanka wrote in the caption, Eyes are never quiet. #FirstDayOutIn2Months Thanks for the masks @avoyermagyan. Designer Manish Malhotra even commented to the post, Your eyes sparkle always.

Just a week into the isolation, Priyanka had shared her state of mind in March. She had said in a live video, This is such an insane time and all of our lives have been completely turned upside down and it feels like, something out of a movie, but its not. Nick and I have been home for the last week and this is day 8 of self-isolation for us. We have always had such crazy schedules and had so many people around us all day and all of a sudden, this being our reality, it just feels crazy. I am sure all of you feel the same way. We are taking all recommended precautions right now, we are safe, we are healthy, we are practising social distancing.

Back home, her mother Madhu Chopra had expressed concern about the actors well being in US which was among the worst hit with the coronavirus pandemic.

Also read: Sunny Leone flies to the US with kids, says we felt they would be safer against this invisible killer coronavirus. See pics

The actor had wished Madhu and her mother-in-law Denise Jonas on Mothers Day and wrote about not being able to hug or celebrate my mother or my mother in law or all the mother figures in my life today makes my heart heavy. She had added, So for the lucky ones who are at home with their families, hold them extra tight.

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With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating effect on humanity, the world was obviously caught unawares and became distraught. People of this generation had never witnessed such a devastating pandemic of monumental proportions as this. So there had to be an explanation for it even if it meant concocting one just to defend the vulnerability and the unpreparedness of the entire world. That was quite understandable!

However, no matter the theory anyone is propagating as the reason for the outbreak of the coronavirus and the vulnerability of the human race to it, such a theory should be factual, evidence-based and scientifically proven. That is because if factual, it will help the world to defeat the virus and defend itself against a similar outbreak in the future, but if not, the world would wallow in the darkness of ignorance concerning it while also losing what should be the huge benefits of the 5G network, a system that has had the misfortune of bearing the blame for what it does not seem to know anything about.

Although there has been theories linking 5G to the global coronavirus pandemic, trends in the world have come to prove that such linking is vacuous and untenable as most countries in the world that have rolled out the 5G network have experienced some of the sharpest and most significant decline of the pandemic even while they are increasing the deployment of 5G.

For example, South Korea which is one of the countries with the highest deployment of the 5G network, deploying to 85 cities as at January, 2020, did not suffer any coronavirus infection until February 19, 2020 when 27 cases tested positive. The country suffered her highest number of infection, 851, in a day on March 3, 2020, but has since experienced a steady decline to the extent that she recorded no single infection on May 6, 2020, despite not suspending her 5G deployment.

More interesting is that of Sweden which went live with the 5G network since December 2018 but only suffered her first coronavirus infection one year and 3 months after on March 3, 2020 with 15 cases testing positive. The place of common sense here is, if it were true that 5G had any link whatsoever to the COVID-19 pandemic, why then did it wait one year and three months after deployment in Sweden before it started affecting the citizens, and only after the scourge had become a worldwide pandemic? When one also considers the fact that a country would have done testing of the deployment years earlier before going live, then we can safely conclude that 5G in Sweden is not responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19 just like it is not in any country anywhere in the world!

Although Estonia, like Sweden, went live full blast with 5G in December 2018, the country did not record any case of coronavirus until March 5, 2020 when she recorded 3 cases. That was another one year and three months after the launch of 5G in the country. And since then, the country has experienced a rapid and steady decline in the number of people infected by the virus to the extent that on May 10, the country recorded only six cases. This is in spite of the fact that the country has never suspended 5G services. While 5G services are going up, the pandemic in Estonia is going down. This is a clear indication that 5G is never responsible for COVID-19.

On her part, Japan had a target of launching its 5G mobile service in 2020, and her largest wireless carrier, NTT DOCOMO, began its quest for 5G in 2010 with initial experiments. The company rolled out pre-commercial 5G services in September 2019 and with its success, started offering consumers 5G services on March 25, 2020.

In is instructive to note that a country that is as advanced in research, science, technology and medicine would not have been as callous as offering her citizens 5G from March 25, 2020, in the climax of the coronavirus pandemic, if, indeed, 5G had any link with the novel virus. Like many other countries, Japan has since seen her worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she recorded her highest infection of 743 on April 11, 2020 but has since experienced decline in the number of infections to the extent that she recorded 114 cases on May 9. The most interesting part of this is that, while Japan started experimenting on the 5G network in 2010, she never recorded any COVID-19 case until 10 years later, in the aftermath of the outbreak worldwide. If 5G was responsible for coronavirus pandemic, it would not wait ten years to strike in Japan.

I am still just trying to make commonsense of this technological advancement

Although China has some of the highest numbers of infection, she has experienced a speedy and steady decline since February 12, 2020 when she had 14,108 cases in a day, and had no single case for a long time despite her 5G services still being very active.

There is no way the United States of America would not have cancelled her 5G services having recorded the highest number of coronavirus related deaths in the world if truly there was any link between 5G and the virus. These are countries that place premium value on the lives of their citizens and would do anything including outright cancellation of any technology that so much ravages their citizens. It is time to stop being scared of technological advancements, it is time o embrace them tightly.

Contrary to the rumours making the rounds, it is not true that Switzerland has placed an indefinite moratorium on the use of 5G network because of health concerns. In fact, according to Swisscom, the largest telecoms firm in Switzerland, a whopping 90% of Swiss population already enjoys 5G services with such cities as Lutzelfluh, Bern, Davos, Nyon, Zurich, Burgdof, Basel, St Moritz and Estavayer already covered with over 2,000 antennas installed last year alone. Only few cantons in the country have expressed concern about placing the 5G equipment in their locality, hence, prompting the countrys Environment Agency to write the government on what steps to take with further testing in order to assure the few cantons that have expressed concerns.

Denying placing a blanket ban on 5G in Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment described reports of such ban or suspension as misleading. It went further to say that although it wrote a letter to the government, such letter did not contain any recommendation to stop the permitting of 5G base stations. Rather, it sets out how the cantons can proceed with the permitting of 5G and adaptive antennas until FOENs enforcement aid on adaptive antennas is available.

In all these, the advantages of having the 5G network cannot be overemphasised. It will certainly change how we do things radically, making life easier and better. With unprecedented speed of up to 10Gbit/s over time, a response time that will fall from the current 25 to 35 milliseconds to just a few milliseconds, with more devices enabled to transfer far more data which could mean we can transfer as much data in a day as we currently do now in one week, its efficiency and many other merits of the new network, it would be economically suicidal, socially asphyxiating and technologically retrogressive if we allow the rest of the world to leave us so far behind because of some unfounded fears over a technology that we should be racing to embrace rather than demonise.

The coronavirus pandemic like every other pandemic that has hit the world in the past will soon pass. When it does, the 5G network will remain and the world would be better for it. The earlier we embrace it, the better. While I understand the fears of people and sympathise with them on their fears for 5G, evidence from around the world where 5G has since been in operation show that the network is innocent of all the charges leveled against it.

[email protected] ; Twitter: @StJudeNdukwe
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 12, 2020 | 03:17 PM | LOUISVILLE

After temporarily closing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky will reopen its 66 retail stores and donation centers Wednesday, May 20. All stores, including ones in Paducah, Mayfield and Murray, will operate under normal business hours.In addition to opening its retail locations, the nonprofit will reopen its Centers for Education & Employment, which exist to serve Kentucky job seekers who have disabilities or other barriers to entering the workforce.

"Reopening our doors allows us to jump-start our mission to help job seekers earn paychecks. Ninety cents on every dollar generated from our retail stores is used to fund employment programs for struggling Kentuckians, and this mission is more important now than ever," said Goodwill Industries of Kentucky CEO & President Amy Luttrell. "Although we are excited to open our doors to the public, safety is our top priority; we plan to continue to follow all provisions put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our local government."

Goodwill is monitoring and updating its health and safety guidelines and best practices as they change. Visit https://www.goodwillky.org/goodwill-industries-of-kentucky-to-reopen-retail-stores-employment-centers/ to see the current precautiony measures Goodwill is taking to keep employees, customers and participants safe.

In March, the organization furloughed approximately 1,000 of their 1,700 employees across 66 stores statewide. More than 90 percent of those employees will return to work this month.
I was in 6th grade in 2007-2008. That year changed my life.

I remember sitting in Ms. Fellmans Language Arts class in 6East at WMS reading Peppermints in the Parlor and realizing that I wanted to be a 6th grade Language Arts teacher.

A majority of that dream came true: in August 2018, I started my career as a 6th grade social studies teacher in Greenbelt, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.). While I know the subject has changed, the reason for my drive to be a teacher definitely has not (or if it has, it has only amplified and matured).

On March 12, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that all Maryland schools would be closed for two weeks.

On the last day of school for at least two weeks, teachers were tasked with not only teaching their regularly scheduled lessons, but also with preparing for the unprecedented two-week break.

I gave my students group work while I put together two-weeks worth of work for my Honors, Comprehensive, and Special Ed students; all while finding time to give my students a melancholy parting speech and wishing them well.

On March 15, I escaped the COVID-19 hotbed of D.C. and arrived in Winona. I have been here since then, one of millions of teachers across the country learning the ropes of distance learning and the challenges that it brings.

As a teacher, during this time, most of my waking hours are dedicated to refiguring my online classroom. On weekends, I plan lessons that are suitable for the multiple levels I teach, while also keeping in mind that 60% of my students do not have access to online learning platforms.

Weekday mornings are spent grading optional  yet somehow also mandatory  work on Google Classroom with Zoom open on my computer, waiting for students to drop into my office hours.

Afternoons are reserved for staff meetings.

For students who do not attend my virtual classes, I call home, with calls often going to voicemail as their parents are either working or overworked by their new role as a homeschool teacher.

My nights have been sleepless with worries about the well-being of my students, some of whom struggle even in the best of times. You can well imagine that just as I am doing this with my students a full-time zone away, the Winona school teachers are facing the same challenges.

However, while distance learning has a plethora of downsides, one upside I have found solace in, is the WAPS community.

I started following WAPS on social media when I started teaching because I wanted to be a part of this community from the point of view of a teacher.

Since I have been back, I have had email exchanges with high school teachers and I even had the great fortune of running into Ms. Fellman while on my daily social distancing walk.

While I am not at home in D.C. with my students and colleagues, it is reassuring to have a sense of professional belonging among my own teachers.

Seeing my teachers on the WAPS website and comparing notes about our teaching experiences has helped me stay motivated with my online engagement with my students, as well as helped me realize how important my K-12 teachers were in shaping who I am today.

It is not a coincidence that I have been reflecting on my Winona education in the beginning of May. National Teacher Appreciation was last week. While a student, it did not occur to me to thank my teachers. I would like to take the time now.

I would like to recognize all of the teachers current and past in WAPS who made a difference in my life. As students, we see our teachers at face-value: liking them when they praise us for giving insightful answers during discussion, or disliking them when they give us a pop quiz because they know we didnt study.

But looking back on my 13 years in the school district, so many of both of those kinds of teachers influenced me as either the person, or the teacher, I am today.

As I page through my old school work and report cards reading the glowing or painful, yet true comments, I can only hope that I will have the same impact on the young people I teach, as my Winona teachers had on me.

Winona native Raizl Campbell teaches middle school in Greenbelt, Maryland.

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Nimish Sawant

In the last part of this series, we looked in detail at the Aarogya Setu app. This is the contact tracing app that has been made by, and is heavily endorsed by, the government of India. Racing towards the 100 million download mark, this is the only digital contact tracing app that has achieved such traction in such a short while. There are even talks of making it mandatory, which is being debated.

The Aarogya Setu app uses a centralised approach to digital contact tracing. When installed and in use, certain parameters or data (Bluetooth IDs and GPS location in this case) are collected and stored periodically on the users device. The app also scans the area using Bluetooth and GPS for other users, and stores their IDs as well. If a user declares themselves positive, all this data (virtual Bluetooth IDs of the user and those stored on the user device + GPS locations) are sent to a central server. The stored Bluetooth and GPS data is analysed, and other users of the app  scanned from the positive users phone  are sent a notification that they should get tested, or consider quarantining themselves, since theyve been in proximity of an infected person.

Centralised approach in a nutshell

After taking the consent of the app user, their Bluetooth and GPS data are uploaded to a server, where the matching takes place and eventually notifications are sent from the server to user devices. Decisions are taken at the server side.

(Also read: Aarogya Setu: Whether we like it or not, the app is here to stay, but it's still riddled with privacy issues that need strong answers)

A lot of government-driven approaches have gone with this method, as it lets them collect location data to combat the spread of COVID-19. Apart from India, some other countries that are using this approach are Singapore, China, Taiwan, South Korea and more recently, the UK and France. The argument for this method is that it lets authorities identify COVID-19 hotspots and take corrective action.

But the centralised approach is being questioned by privacy activists as a ploy by governments to hoard patient data which could be used beyond the stated purposes of the contact tracing app. The counter to this method is the decentralised approach.

(Also read: Aarogya Setu app guidelines for data processing issued by centre as privacy concerns pile up)

Decentralised approach in a nutshell

After taking the consent of the app user, only their Bluetooth ID is sent to the server, NOT their GPS data. And this is done only if the user has declared themselves COVID-19 positive. The Bluetooth IDs of other phones which the infected user has been in contact with isnt uploaded either. Every phone in this decentralised system is also downloading a list of the Bluetooth IDs of COVID-19 positive patients regularly. The matching process of Bluetooth IDs stored on the phone with a COVID-19 positive Bluetooth ID list thats downloaded daily, takes place on the phone. In other words, decisions are taken on-device.

A decentralised approach also does not rely on GPS data, which is one of the major data points with the centralised approach, and with Aarogya Setu. Communication happens only via Bluetooth handshakes between user devices.

Centralised vs Decentralised: Which approach is the right way to go?

The jury is still out on that, as both methods are yet to see mass adoption or deliver concrete results.

Asian countries including China, Singapore, Taiwan have tried a mix of contact tracing apps and on-ground response. All three have used the centralised approach, and two of these (China and Taiwan) were able to contain the spread - but the on-ground response in both countries was also intensive. The Singapore government was the first to develop a centralised contact-tracing app, but given just 20 percent of the population downloaded this app and a second wave of COVID-19 cases there, its not really the best model for studying the centralised approach. South Korea and Taiwan also used CCTV footage and techniques such as electronic fencing - practices which wont fly in a lot of Western democracies.

Lets take a look at who is doing what.

What is the Apple-Google approach and how does it work?

One of the unprecedented things that has happened as a result of the pandemic is the collaboration between technology rivals Apple and Google. Both the Valley giants had announced in mid-April that they were working on an application programming interface (API) to assist public health authorities with digital contact tracing. More recently, both companies even shied away from the term contact tracing and began calling their system an exposure notification tool.

Some of the guiding principles behind the Apple-Google decentralised approach are:

Explicit user consent required

Doesnt collect or use location data from your phone

Bluetooth beacons and keys dont reveal user identity or location

User controls all data they want to share, and the decision to share it

People who test positive are not identified to other users, Google, or Apple

Will only be used for exposure notification by public health authorities for

COVID-19 pandemic management

Doesnt matter if you have an Android phone or an iPhone - works across both

The basic operating principles are the same as contact tracing apps. If you have downloaded an app made by your regional public health authorities, which uses the Apple-Google API, your phone will send out a beacon via Bluetooth LE, which will have a random Bluetooth identifier called a Temporary Exposure Key. This is, basically, a string of random numbers that arent tied to a user's identity and changes every 10-20 minutes for added privacy protection. Other phones in your vicinity will be listening to your beacon as well as broadcasting their own. Every user receiving this beacon will record and securely store it on their device. At no point is any Bluetooth key stored on your phone able to identify a specific user.

Once every day, each phone will download a list of keys for the beacons which have been identified as belonging to people who are COVID-19 positive. These keys are called Diagnostic Keys which are a subset of the Temporary Exposure Keys. These Diagnostic Keys are uploaded to the cloud after gaining consent from an infected user. Temporary Exposure Keys of the other phones stored on the device are not uploaded to the cloud. The app, which is built atop this API, will have a means to record a COVID-19 positive status.

The downloaded Diagnostic Keys are constantly checked against the list of keys that are already stored on the device. If there is a match between the keys stored on the device with the keys that have been identified as COVID-19 positive, then the user is notified and health authorities advise on the next steps. This PDF illustrates the process quite well.

How long should you have been in the vicinity to be given the notification for getting tested? Google and Apple have left that decision up to the health authorities who are building their apps atop the API.

Public health authorities will set a minimum threshold for time spent together, such that a user needs to be within Bluetooth range for at least 5 minutes to register a match. If the contact is longer than 5 minutes, the system will report time in increments of 5 minutes up to a maximum of 30 minutes to ensure privacy. To approximate distance, the system compares the Bluetooth signal strength between the two devices in contact. The closer the devices are, the higher the signal strength recorded, says the white paper by Google and Apple.

A common API by Apple-Google means that irrespective on which mobile OS you use, the apps will be able to communicate with each other while protecting user privacy. In the first phase, users will need to download an app which is built atop this API.

In the second phase, the API will be baked into Android and iOS at the OS level to enable broader adoption. After you have consented to the use of these APIs in the second phase, the phone will send out Bluetooth beacons as it did in the first phase. Its just that in the second phase, you may not need to download an app built on the API.

If a match is detected the user will be notified, and if the user has not already

downloaded an official public health authority app, they will be prompted to download it and advised on next steps. Only public health authorities will have access to this technology and their apps must meet specific criteria around privacy, security, and data control, says the whitepaper.

Both Apple and Google have said that privacy and preventing governments from using the system to compile data on citizens was a primary goal. The system uses Bluetooth LE signals from phones to detect encounters. Apple and Google have said that they will not allow use of GPS data along with the contact tracing systems.

The countries that have expressed interest in the Apple-Google API approach include Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Canada as well as Italy. Germany, after backing a centralised approach along with France, changed its stance at the last moment to go with a decentralised, privacy-first approach.

While this method has been appreciated by a lot of countries in Europe, some such as the UK and France remain skeptics, as they want more location-centric data to guide their response.

UKs NHS and France StopCovid have decided to go ahead with the centralised approach

The UK has already rolled out a beta version of its app, NHS Covid 19. Health workers, council members and volunteers in the Isle of Wight  an island located south of the mainland with a population of 141,000  have been asked to download and start using this app. This app will send details of the logged Bluetooth IDs to a UK-based computer server managed by the National Health Services (NHS) which will do the contact matching, according to a report in the BBC. This is a centralised approach, where data is being shared with a central authority. In principle, this is somewhat similar to what the Aarogya Setu app is also doing.

Why is the UK using a centralised approach? According to Prof Christopher Fraser, an epidemiologist advising the NHS, this approach will help in auditing the algorithms and adapting the system more quickly, as scientific evidence accumulates, he told the BBC. He claims its easier to only inform those who are at the most risk using a centralised system. The UK also hopes to spot geographical hotspots where the disease is spreading fast with this approach.

Things arent as rosy according to others. The creation of the COVID-19 datastore  a centralised government database  means that the UK government, the National Health System (NHS), and a group of tech companies are collecting, aggregating, and mining confidential and sensitive data of UK citizens on an unprecedented scale, said Forrester senior analyst Enza Iannopollo. According to her, the leaked documents of the COVID-19 datastore point to the fact that the amount of data collected are disproportionate compared to the stated purpose of the project.

The company which is behind the software for this app is Palantir, a government-friendly big data operator, which is going to work with Faculty, a British AI startup, to consolidate government databases to help ministers deal with the pandemic. While the NHS claims that no data will be shared with outside entities, Palantir and Faculty will be dealing with anonymised datasets for data analysis. Given Palantirs track record with regards to surveillance, the partnership between it and NHS has struck privacy activists as odd.

France is another European nation which is going with a similar approach and has discarded the Apple-Google decentralised method. France is planning to launch the StopCovid app on 2 June. It had requested Apple to allow it to let the app access the iPhones Bluetooth radio in the background, but Apple hasnt been forthcoming on that front. As a result, France has accused Apple of not being co-operative and its digital minister has even gone so far as to say that France will remember this when the time comes.

Translation: Apple will face the consequences of not cooperating with the French government.

If governments are already sending out these passive-aggressive signs even before the apps are launched, whats to prevent them from going back on their privacy-related stand in the future?

While AI and technology can contribute to design and implement better responses, governments must develop approaches that encompass people, processes, and measures that allow them to control the virus. The lessons we learned so far from Germany, Hong Kong, and few others show us just that, said Iannopollo.

Even in the US, certain states such as New York, California, and Massachusetts, have decided to go with their own apps with a larger focus on manual contact tracers rather than relying on Apple-Googles decentralised APIs.

Feature phone users have been left out of the loop completely

The centralised and decentralised approaches both assume that the end user will have a smartphone which has the Bluetooth Low Energy feature. But large swathes of the populace do not own a smartphone to begin with. In India, for instance, around 500 million people use feature phones which have no GPS or Bluetooth functionality. According to the BBC, the UK figures stand at 12 percent of mobile users.

Globally, around 2 billion phone users wont be able to participate in either centralised or decentralised contact tracing as their phones either dont have GPS, Bluetooth, or if they are smartphones, they are on older versions of the smartphone OS and dont have the latest Bluetooth LE chip. According to Neil Shah from Counterpoint Research, Most of these users with the incompatible devices hail from the lower-income segment or from the senior segment, which actually are more vulnerable to the virus.

In India, JioPhone users (around 90-100 million in number) which are using smart feature phones based on KaiOS platform, could soon be getting a contact tracing app which is under development, according to MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh. For other feature phone users, theres a round-about way of calling an IVRS number and answering questions for the process of self assessment.

Bottomline: Contact tracing apps are an experiment in progress

Which method wins out will only be determined as time goes by and these apps see mass adoption. Also, this is a rapidly evolving situation and just like Germany did, any country may decide to switch its approach from centralised to decentralised, or vice versa.

The question that remains is: Will we have to let go of certain privacy privileges as digital contact tracing becomes more mainstream?
By Lawrence Hurley and Matt Scuffham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considers three blockbuster cases concerning efforts by the Democratic-led House of Representatives and a grand jury working with a prosecutor in New York City to obtain copies of President Donald Trump's financial records.

By Lawrence Hurley and Matt Scuffham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considers three blockbuster cases concerning efforts by the Democratic-led House of Representatives and a grand jury working with a prosecutor in New York City to obtain copies of President Donald Trump's financial records.

Unlike recent presidents, Trump has refused to disclose his tax returns and other materials that would shed light on the scope of his wealth and his family-run real estate business. The cases test the limits of presidential power in relation to Congress and state prosecutors.

Here is a look at what is at stake in the cases.

What are the three cases?

Two of the three cases concern attempts by House committees to enforce subpoenas seeking Trump's financial records from three businesses: Trump's longtime accounting firm Mazars LLP and two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One.

The Supreme Court has consolidated these two cases and will hear them together in a scheduled one-hour argument.

The other case concerns another subpoena issued to Mazars for similar information, including tax returns, but this one was issued as part of a grand jury investigation into Trump being carried out in New York City. The justices will hear a second one-hour oral argument in this case.

Rulings are due by the end of June.

In all three cases, lower courts in Washington and New York ruled against Trump.

What does the House subpoena to Mazars seek?

The House Oversight Committee in April 2019 issued a subpoena to Mazars seeking eight years of accounting and other financial information in response to the testimony before Congress of Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer. Cohen said that Trump had inflated and deflated certain assets on financial statements between 2011 and 2013 in part to reduce his real estate taxes. The committee said it wanted to find out whether illegal actions had taken place. Cohen was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to charges including violating campaign finance law, bank fraud, tax evasion and lying to Congress.

What about the House subpoenas to the banks?

The House Financial Services Committee has been examining possible money laundering in U.S. property deals involving Trump. In a separate investigation, the House Intelligence Committee is investigating whether Trump's dealings left him subject to the influence of foreign individuals or governments.

The two committees issued 12-page subpoenas in April 2019 requiring Deutsche Bank to hand over the banking records of Trump, his children and his businesses. Lawmakers requested documents that identify "any financial relationship, transaction or ties" between Trump, his family members and "any foreign individual, entity or government," according to the subpoena.

Investigators hope the records will reveal whether there are any financial links between Trump and Russia's government, sources familiar with the probe said. That would include whether any loans to Trump by Deutsche Bank were back-stopped by Russian entities - a financial arrangement that can be considered a form of insurance, the sources said.

Senior sources within Deutsche Bank have denied any Russian connections to loans it made to Trump.

Deutsche Bank was the only major lender to conduct business with Trump in recent years - doing so despite the fact that he defaulted on loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars the German bank made to him between 2004 and 2008.

At the time of his January 2017 inauguration, Trump owed Deutsche Bank around $350 million, according to sources. Many of the loans were granted through Deutsche Bank's New York-based private banking division, which also lent to Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

The Financial Services Committee also issued a subpoena to Capital One, which also had maintained a long-term relationship with Trump and has come under scrutiny for some of its business practices.

What is at stake in the House subpoenas cases?

If Trump loses, the material would need to be handed over to Democratic lawmakers, most likely before the Nov. 3 election in which Trump is seeking a second four-year term. The ruling would make clear that a president, at least when it comes to information held by third parties, cannot block House subpoenas.

Trump's lawyers have advanced several arguments, including that Congress had no authority to issue the subpoenas, a broad assertion of presidential power. No sitting president has ever had his personal records subpoenaed, they said. They also said that even if Congress could issue the subpoenas, it lacked a valid legislative reason for doing so and had not stated with sufficient detail why it needed the documents.

If the court were to embrace Trump's broadest arguments, it would severely weaken the ability of Congress to conduct oversight of a president.

What is the New York prosecutor investigating?

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, in September 2019 sought nearly a decade of tax returns. It is part of a criminal investigation that began in 2018 into Trump and the Trump Organization, the president's family real estate business, spurred by disclosures of hush payments made to two women who said they had past sexual relationships with him. Those women are pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump and his aides have denied the relationships.

What is at stake in the New York case?

Trump's lawyers argue that his records cannot be handed over because of his authority as president under the Constitution, contending he is immune from any criminal proceeding when in office. They have downplayed prior Supreme Court rulings regarding limits on the reach of presidential authority and point instead to Justice Department guidance that asserts that a sitting president cannot be indicted or prosecuted. In a lower court hearing, Trump's lawyers went so far as to argue that law enforcement officials would not have the power to investigate Trump even if he shot someone on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Vance has countered that his investigation is at an early stage and that there is a risk that documents would be lost if prosecutors cannot access them now.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Matt Scuffman; Editing by Will Dunham)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
[May 12, 2020] StorONE Publishes Enterprise Storage Pricing Online

StorONE today announced S1:TRUprice, a transparent pricing model that simplifies the enterprise storage purchasing process. S1:TRUprice provides customers with true upfront pricing and enables them to configure the S1 Enterprise (News - Alert) Storage Platform for their chosen performance, capacity, and resiliency requirements. Typically, only the largest cloud providers provide their pricing online, forcing IT professionals looking for on-premises solutions to struggle with estimating their total cost of ownership and leaving them unsure as to whether they are getting a fair price. With the launch of S1:TRUprice, IT professionals are able to know exactly how much StorONE's S1 Enterprise Storage Platform will reduce their TCO, eliminating the cost-guessing game. "Buying an enterprise storage system shouldn't be as hard as buying a car, but should be as easy as buying a smartphone," said Gal Naor, StorONE Co-Founder and CEO. "S1:TRUprice simplifies the storage procurement process. No more back and forth haggling over solution costs. No more wondering if you would have gotten a better deal at the end of the quarter. S1:TRUprice allows enterprises to get the best pricing, upfront, while also getting the best performance and data resiliency features they need." StorONE's new S1:TRUprice website enables customers to build, step-by-step, a complete, turnkey, enterprise-class storage system designed to meet their needs as well as their budget. Customers can quickly and easily create their chosen S1 Enterprise Storage Platform by: Picking the capacity they need (from 10TB to 15PB)

Selecting their specific use case (all-flash, ybrid or all-HDD)

Choosing their preferred server hardware



News - Alert), HPE, Mellanox, Seagate and Supermicro. StorONE then ships the whole system to the customer for contactless, remote installation and training. "We encourage customers to take our price analysis challenge," said George Crump, StorONE's Chief Marketing Officer. "They can come to our site, price out their exact solution and compare it to what they are paying now. In most cases, we are confident they will find that the 3-year TCO on our solution will be less than what they are paying for one year of maintenance with their current vendor."

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Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Tuesday said that COVID-19 testing in the United States is impressive and enough to begin going back to work.But millions more rapid tests created by new technologies are needed to give the rest of America enough confidence to go back to work and back to school, Senator Alexander added.Senator Alexander made his remarks today during the Senate health committee hearing  COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School  which featured testimony from Administration officials from the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, about what federal, state and local governments are doing to help Americans go back to work and back to school as rapidly and safely as possible.Senator Alexander said, According to Johns Hopkins University, the United States has tested over nine million Americans for COVID-19. That is twice as many as any other country  we dont know what China has done  and more per capita than most countries including South Korea, which several committee members have cited as an example of a country doing testing well.Here is what impressive means in Tennessee. First, anyone who is sick, or a first responder or a health care worker can get tested. Governor Bill Lee is also testing every prisoner, every resident and staff member of a nursing home, offered weekend drive-thru testing, and has done specific outreach to increase testing in low-income neighborhoods. A Tennessean can get a free test and a free mask at the local public health clinic. Tennessee has tested 4 percent of its population. The governor hopes to increase that to 7 percent by the end of May.That impressive level of testing is sufficient to begin Phase I of going back to work in Tennessee, but as I said last week, it is not nearly enough to provide confidence to 31,000 students and faculty that it is safe to return to the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus in August.That is where the new Shark Tank at the National Institutes of Health that we heard about at our hearing last Thursday comes in. Swimming around in that shark tank are dozens of early stage proposals for new ways to create diagnostic tests.Senator Alexander discussed how Congress gave NIH $1.5 billion and BARDA $1 billion to create and manufacture millions of more tests, with quick results like the diagnostic test the FDA authorized last week using saliva a person provides at home instead of a nose swab or blood, or an antigen test, like the ones used for flu or strep throat.This is a bipartisan oversight hearing to examine how well we are preparing the country to go safely back to work and to school and to determine what more we need to do, Senator Alexander said noting that the hearing should also explore how we improve our response now and in the fall when this virus is expected to return.Such an exercise sometimes encourages finger pointing. Who did what wrong? Before we spend too much time finger pointing, I would like to suggest that almost all of us  the United States and every country  underestimated this virus. Underestimated how contagious it would be. How it can travel silently without causing symptoms. How it can be especially deadly among certain segments of the population, including the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, and minority populations.Senator Alexander concluded, My preacher once said: Im not worried about you on Sunday, its what you do during the rest of the week. Im afraid that during the rest of the week  between pandemics  we relax our focus on preparedness. We become preoccupied with other important things. Our collective memory is short. Just three months ago the country was consumed with impeaching a President. Now that seems like ancient Roman history.Now, while this crisis has our full attention, I believe we should put into law this year whatever improvements we need to be well prepared for the next one. If there is to be finger pointing, I hope fingers will point in that direction.Staying at home indefinitely is not the way to end this pandemic. There is not enough money available to help all those hurt by a closed economy. All roads back to work and back to school lead through testing, tracking, isolation, treatment, and vaccines.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, providing nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, hazard pay for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals. Read more

WASHINGTON - House Democrats unveiled a sprawling coronavirus rescue bill Tuesday that would direct more than $3 trillion to state and local governments, health systems, and a range of other initiatives, setting up a huge clash with Senate Republicans and the White House over how to deal with the sputtering economy.

The bill would also send a second round of stimulus checks to millions of Americans and include more funding for the Postal Service. Not every component of the bill would include more government spending. Some parts would aim to address the coronavirus pandemic in other ways, such as by requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes and public transit.

Republicans rejected the legislation even before they saw it, describing it as a liberal wish list that would go nowhere in the Republican-led Senate. For example, the bill would suspend a tax provision for two years that limits tax breaks for upper-income households in high-tax states, something Democrats have tried to change since for several years. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was at work on crafting liability protections for businesses instead. "This is not a time for aspirational legislation," McConnell said.

The massive new Democratic bill was assembled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her top lieutenants without input from Republicans or the Trump administration. It's less an opening bid in a bipartisan negotiation than an expression of House Democrats' priorities that they hope will resonate with the public as the nation suffers through the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression.

As health officials and economic advisers warn that the pandemic and economic fallout will likely drag through the summer and at least into the fall, lawmakers from both parties are eyeing how the government's response to the virus could impact the November elections.

The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, pushing the unemployment rate up to 14.7 percent. Many experts believe the rate will go even higher in the coming months as many Americans remain unsure about returning to work or spending money as the government continues to try to contain the pandemic.

"We must think big for the people now, because if we don't it will cost more in lives and livelihood later," Pelosi said at a news conference. "Not acting is the most expensive course."

The 1,800-page legislation, which the House is expected to vote on Friday, would devote nearly $1 trillion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments and establish a $200 billion "Heroes Fund" to extend hazard pay to essential workers. It would also send a second - and larger - round of direct payments to individual Americans, up to $6,000 per household.

Other parts of the bill would increase nutrition assistance benefits by 15 percent and provide $175 billion in housing assistance, among other things. A $600 weekly increase in unemployment insurance would be extended through January, and the bill directs another $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing.

Other provisions include $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service - a frequent target of attacks from President Donald Trump - and a new requirement for passengers and employees on airlines, public transit systems and Amtrak trains to wear masks. Protections are included for legitimate cannabis-related businesses, and there is $3 billion to increase mental health support, and $400 million to help the Census Bureau deal with coronavirus-related delays in the 2020 census.

The Democrats' legislation also includes provisions to ensure that all voters can vote by mail in the November election and all subsequent federal elections, an idea that Trump and many Republicans have rejected because they say it invites fraud.

It would be Congress' fifth coronavirus relief bill, building on the $2 trillion Cares Act passed in late March. But while the first four bills were the result of urgent bipartisan compromise in the early days of the pandemic, now the two sides aren't even talking and are moving in radically different directions. It's unclear when they will come together to produce another bipartisan response, but some Republicans suggested it might not be anytime soon.

Asked Tuesday if the Senate needs to pass a bill before Memorial Day, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, "Oh God no." Many Republicans argue that having spent around $3 trillion already in the laws passed thus far, they need to pause and see how those programs are working before doing anything further.

Speaking on the Senate floor on Tuesday, McConnell described the House Democratic legislation as "a big laundry list of pet priorities." He said it was "exactly the wrong approach."

McConnell said Senate Republicans would be producing legislation to offer legal liability protections to businesses, health care providers and the makers of protective gear, to prevent what he warned could be "a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits."

Many business groups have asked for this liability protection to serve as a shield against lawsuits from employees who might become infected while at work.

Pelosi has said Democrats are not interested in offering liability shields to businesses, arguing that businesses can avoid lawsuits by following appropriate safety protocols. The Democratic bill requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a strong national standard within seven days requiring all workplaces to implement infection control plans and prevent retaliation against workers who report problems.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., lashed out at Republicans for their unwillingness to take further action. "What is it going to take for Mitch McConnell to wake up and see that the American people need help and need it now?" Schumer asked at a news conference.

Trump himself has sounded more open to additional legislation. Asked on Monday about a second round of direct payments to individuals that's part of the House Democrats' bill, Trump said, "Well, we're talking about that with a lot of different people. I want to see a payroll tax cut. I want to see various things that we want. I want the workers to be taken care of. But we are talking about that. We're negotiating with the Democrats. We'll see what happens."

Democrats say that the White House is not, in fact, negotiating with them. And the payroll tax cut that Trump has repeatedly talked about is probably a non-starter on Capitol Hill, with even Senate Republicans rejecting it.

However, there are some programs now in effect that Republicans are eyeing changes to, which could help force congressional action in June. Two-month loans issued under the small business Paycheck Protection Program, created as part of the Cares Act in late March, will begin to expire, and some Republicans would like to see their time period extended. The $600 billion program itself, which already ran out of money once, forcing Congress to step in and add more in its most recent coronavirus bill last month, could also run short of funding again.
WASHINGTON  Dr. Anthony Fauci warned a Senate panel Tuesday that easing stay-at-home restrictions must be done carefully and treatments and vaccines are likely eventually, but not before school starts in the fall.

The director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases was one of four top health officials who described guidelines for reopening the economy for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Social distancing restrictions meant some senators, Fauci and other witnesses participated by video conference from their homes and officers. Several senators attended the Washington hearing in person, but GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander led the meeting from his home in Tennessee.

Here are six key points from the hearing:

Fauci: Ignoring guidelines may lead to 'suffering and death'

Fauci said not following federal guidelines such as testing people for infection, tracing their contacts and isolating them to prevent the disease from spreading could lead to "some suffering and death that could be avoided.

Guidelines to states include waiting until cases have declined for at least two weeks before easing restrictions. Communities also have to be capable of adequately responding when the virus inevitably returns, he said.

HEROES Act: Democrats' $3 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal includes more $1,200 checks, money for state and local governments

But Fauci warned that if states reopen without precautions, it presents a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak, which could hurt the economy again.

You can almost turn the clock back, rather than going forward, he said. That is my main concern.

Fauci on coronavirus: 'We dont have it completely under control'

Despite declines in infections and hospitalizations in some areas, Fauci warned about spikes and said the virus is nowhere near being contained.

We dont have it completely under control, he told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Story continues

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., criticized the contrast between health experts warning about the dangers of opening states too early mere hours after Trump said the country prevailed against the virus.

This is infuriating to many of us because it comes hours after the president declared that we have prevailed over coronavirus, which Im just going to tell you is going to make it harder on state leaders to keep social distancing restrictions in place, he said.

Trump promoted the countrys testing Monday in a Rose Garden news conference, saying the 9 million tests so far made America a worldwide leader.

We have met the moment, and we have prevailed, said Trump, who later said he meant the country prevailed on testing.

Trump going to PA: Donald Trump to visit Allentown, Pennsylvania factory as he pushes message on reopening

Murphy also slammed the lack of detailed federal guidance as states begin to reopen. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said state officials could contact his agency with their questions. He said nationwide recommendations are under review and would be released soon.

Murphy said soon wasn't good enough.

You work for a president who is frankly undermining our efforts to comply with the guidance that you have given us, Murphy said. Then the guidance you have provided is criminally vague.

Senators listen as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks remotely during a virtual Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, Tuesday, May 12, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Seated from left are Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., center, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (Win McNamee/Pool via AP) ORG XMIT: WX222

Fauci: Finding a vaccine 'definitely not a long shot'

Fauci expressed optimism Tuesday that a vaccine will be found for the coronavirus within a year or two. His confidence stemmed from the fact that most people can fight off the virus themselves, offering scientists an opportunity to devise a way to get the body to combat it better.

Its definitely not a long shot, Fauci said. It is much more likely than not that we will get a vaccine.

Fauci also dismissed the prospect that the virus might disappear without a vaccine, a claim trumpeted by President Donald Trump.

That is just not going to happen because its such a highly transmissible virus, Fauci said. Even if we get better control over the summer months, it is likely that there will be virus somewhere on this planet that will eventually get back to us.

Coronavirus: Pandemic protocols vary from the White House to the Supreme Court as Trump pushes states to reopen

Fauci said better testing will be available by fall to identify and trace who is sick and there will be time to stock up on emergency supplies.

I hope that if we do have the threat of a second wave, we will be able to deal with it very effectively, to prevent it from becoming an outbreak not only worse than now, but much, much less, Fauci said.

Vaccine, treatment unlikely by start of school year

While Fauci is optimistic about scientists developing a vaccine, he doesn't expect one in time for the start of school in August.

In this case, the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of bridge too far, Fauci said. Even at top speed that were going, we don't see a vaccine playing in the ability of individuals to get back to school, this term. What they really want is to know if they are safe.

Health officials said the key for students to feel safe in returning to school will be more widespread testing, to isolate students who get infected, and good health practices such as social distancing.

Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services for health, said the current rate of 10 million tests per month could be expanded by 40 million or 50 million by September to provide more surveillance.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaking via teleconference remotely during the May 12, 2020 Senate HELP Committee hearing on 'getting back to work and school.'

Romney: Testing nothing to celebrate

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said U.S. testing for coronavirus is nothing to celebrate because the country treaded water during the early stages of the pandemic while other countries such as South Korea tested people aggressively to curb the outbreak.

Trump said Monday the U.S. prevailed in testing for the virus because it has conducted 9 million tests so far, which is the most of any country and more per capita than most countries.

But Romney said by March 6, the U.S. conducted only 2,000 tests while South Korea completed 140,000. Romney said more aggressive testing was part of the reason why South Korea has had 256 deaths, while the U.S. has more than 80,000.

'Classless': McConnell says Obama 'should have kept his mouth shut' on Trump's handling of coronavirus

But Romney said while he understood why a politician would frame data for political gain, he didnt expect that from an admiral such as Giroir.

Yesterday you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita even than South Korea. You ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, while we treaded water during February and March," Romney said. I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever.

Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., speaks remotely via a teleconference during the May 12, 2020 Senate HELP Committee hearing on 'getting back to work and school.'

How to address future pandemics

Alexander, the committee chairman, said more hearings are likely to learn from the current pandemic about how to prepare for the next one.

Future hearings will cover issues such as how to develop treatments and vaccines faster, he said. Lawmakers will study what ought to be part of the national stockpile of emergency supplies and who should manage it  and how to prevent states and hospitals from selling off emergency equipment between crises. He also said Congress should address how to avoid driving hospitals into bankruptcy and how lawmakers should fund its priorities.

I want to make sure that we do that this year and our collective memory is short so while we are all worried about this we need to not only deal with this crisis but get ready for the next one, Alexander said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Fauci talks vaccines, school openings in Senate hearing
Facebook has agreed to pay a $52 million settlement to thousands of moderators who developed mental health conditions while helping the social media giant keep to disturbing content off of its platform.

In a preliminary settlement filed on Friday in San Mateo Superior Court, Facebook agreed to compensate 11,250 current and former US-based moderators, with each receiving a minimum of $1,000, The Verge reported.

Some moderators diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or any similar condition will be eligible to receive additional compensation, which will range from $1,500 to $6,000, to help cover the cost of any treatment.

Moderators with qualifying diagnoses who are able to show evidence of injuries they suffered while reviewing posts depicting acts of suicide, murder, child abuse, and other types of disturbing content while at Facebook could claim up to $50,000.

As part of the agreement, the social network also agreed to provide more mental health support and counselling to moderators still under their employ - whether staffers or third-party contractors.

In a preliminary settlement filed on Friday in San Mateo Superior Court, Facebook agreed to compensate 11,250 current and former US-based moderators, with each receiving a minimum of $1,000, the Verge reported

In addition to monetary payouts, the Mark Zuckerberg-founded company also pledged to roll out a series of changes to its content moderation tools in a bid to mitigate the impact of viewing harmful images and videos.

The tools, which will include videos automatically muting and changes images to black and white, will be made accessible to 80 percent of moderators by the close of 2020, and a 100 percent by early next year.

Moderators who are tasked with viewing graphic content on a daily basis will be given weekly access to one-on-one counselling sessions with a licensed mental health professional. Those experiencing a mental health crisis will be given access to a licensed counselor within 24 hours.

Facebook says it will also make monthly group sessions available to all of its moderators.

Other measures the social media company will implement include screening applicants for moderator positions for emotional resiliency as part of the hiring and recruiting process; posting information about psychological support at each workers station; and informing moderators about how to report violations of Facebooks workplace standards by the vendor theyre working for.

The settlement covers moderators working in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida between 2015 and now.

Members of lawsuit will now have time to comment on the settlement proposal and request any amendments before it receives its final approval from a judge, which is slated to happen by the end of the year.

We are grateful to the people who do this important work to make Facebook a safe environment for everyone. Were committed to providing them additional support through this settlement and in the future, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

Facebook was sued in September 2018 by former moderator Selena Scola, who said she developed PTSD from viewing large quantities of harrowing content. The case became a class action and eventually led to Fridays settlement proposal.

Some moderators diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or any similar condition will be eligible to receive additional compensation, which will range from $1,500 to $6,000, to help cover the cost of any treatment (Facebook staff pictured in the company's Berlin office)

Facebook was sued in September 2018 by former moderator Selena Scola (above), who said she developed PTSD from viewing large quantities of harrowing content. The case became a class action and eventually led to Fridays settlement proposal

The lawsuit following months of mounting scrutiny for the working conditions endured by the moderators, employed by a third party, who spend their working days sifting through graphic violence, hate speech and sexually explicit images for as little as $15 per-hour in some instances.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg initially dismissed stories of moderators developing PTSD, calling them a little over dramatic during a Q&A session last year.

But in March he voiced concern about the potential impact that closing down Facebooks offices amid the coronavirus could have on workers who are forced to sift through extreme content while in isolation.

During a press conference, Zuckerberg spoke about the emotional challenges moderators face while combating posts that contain everything from suicide to self-harm to child exploitation.

The firm is now moving moderation of its most sensitive content from contractors to full-time employees during the pandemic and plans to rely heavily on artificial intelligence.

The firm's shutdown began at its Seattle headquarters on March 5th after a contractor working in the building tested positive for coronavirus, with other offices following suit shortly after.

'It is emotionally challenging for our moderators,' Zuckerberg said during the press conference. 'In the office we have built up mental health support, resiliency training and force people to take breaks to get time to recover.'

'Now we can't set the guidelines on how they work since they are working from home.'
An 88-year-old man from Himachal Pradesh who had worked with the IAF has now fully recovered after successfully battling coronavirus, hospital authorities said on Tuesday.

K S Jaswal, hailing from Una district, had tested positive on April 27 for COVID-19.

"He has recovered fully from coronavirus infection. He was discharged on May 9 from Kolmet Hospital, a facility affiliated with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) here, after testing negative for COVID-19," a senior official of the SGRH said.

Born in March, 1932, Jaswal had worked with the Indian Air Force. He leads a disciplined life by doing yoga twice a day and does not suffer from any major ailments, he said.

Jaswal said, "I am thankful to doctors for my recovery."



According to the COVID-19 team at Kolmet Hospital who treated him, "It was really encouraging and heartening to see an octogenarian walking out safely to his home after fighting a deadly infectious disease like COVID-19."



"As we all are aware that this disease is essentially severe in the elderly and people with comorbidities but Jaswal could make it probably because of a disciplined lifestyle, strong willpower, lack of major illnesses and good supportive care," the SGRH said in a statement.

From Tuesday, City Hospital (also affiliated with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital) has also commenced operations, it said.

With 116 beds and 13 ICU beds, this hospital was made ready within one week only for COVID-19 patients, on a war footing, the statement said.

Elderly people are at a higher risk of COVID-19 due to their decreased immunity and body reserves, as well as multiple associated comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bill Gates urged Donald Trump to make national preparedness for a pandemic a priority just weeks before he entered the White House, the Microsoft co-founder claims.

Gates met with then-President-elect Trump at Trump Tower in New York City in December 2016.

The billionaire philanthropist said that he made his pitch to Trump as well as his opponent in the presidential race, Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to The Wall Street Journal.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trumps response to the coronavirus pandemic has been widely criticized as the nations death toll and case count continue to rise while readily available testing appears far off.

Bill Gates says that he warned President Trump before he took office that the United States needed to be prepared for a pandemic. Gates is seen left at Trump Tower in New York City on December 13, the day he met with then-President-elect Trump at his residence

More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits while Americans have become accustomed to images of miles-long lines of cars waiting outside food banks.

More than 80,000 Americans have died of COVID-19-related illness  with the death toll expected to surpass 100,000 in the next few weeks.

The president, meanwhile, has claimed that his administration is testing more than any other country in the world, though statistics do not bear this out.

Trump has also touted a travel ban he imposed on China, which he claims saved millions of lives.

The president has also been on the defensive amid reports that he was warned about the dangers of a pandemic as early as January.

Trump is reported to have dismissed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as alarmist after he tried to warn the president of the seriousness of the situation.

The above image shows women in a barber shop in Orlando, Florida, on Monday. States are beginning to reopen businesses that were shut down during a weekslong lockdown

Peter Navarro, Trumps top trade adviser, wrote two memos  one in late January and another in late February  also warning of a pandemic reaching American shores.

Trump has denied the reports that he ignored early warnings of the pandemics arrival.

Meanwhile, Gates on Monday lamented that he did not do more to alert the world of the dangers of a fast-spreading infectious disease  even though he gave a famous TED talk in 2015 warning that humanity was not ready for a pandemic.

I wish I had done more to call attention to the danger, Gates told the Journal.

I feel terrible.

The second-wealthiest man in the world added: The whole point of talking about it was that we could take action and minimize the damage.

During that TED Talk, Gates predicted a global pandemic would kill many people and grind the world economy to a halt.

He said that if the wealthiest nations had prepared for a pandemic with the same urgency that they prepared for nuclear war, the current crisis could have been avoided.

'If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, its most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war, Gates said at the time.

Not missiles, but microbes.

Gates said that the prospect of a global pandemic was overlooked by governments, even after recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus.

Ebola killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Gates said that the world was lucky that the Ebola outbreak was limited to West Africa.

Ebola, unlike coronavirus, renders those carrying it as too ill and weak to walk around and infect others.

Medics take a patient in severe respiratory distress to an ambulance from a group home next to Maimonides Medical Center in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn on Monday. Gates says he regrets not doing more to sound the alarm about the pandemic

Gates also chalked it up to sheer luck that Ebola didnt spread into urban areas.

Next time, we might not be so lucky, the multi-billionaire philanthropist said.

Gates urged Western governments to view pandemics the same way they view military threats.

He noted that while countries run drills known as war games to prepare for future military conflict, it should also run simulations known as germ games to be better prepared for widespread illness.

Gates warned: We've invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents, but we've invested very little in a system to stop epidemics. We are not ready for the next epidemic.

Since stepping down from his role as the top executive at Microsoft, Gates has devoted himself to philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

One of the organizations main functions is to eradicate disease in underdeveloped parts of the world.

Gates newfound expertise on infectious diseases has made him a frequent commentator on television during news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spread of the coronavirus is the most dramatic thing ever in my lifetime by a lot, Gates told the Journal.

Gates said that the pandemic has disrupted his foundations earlier projects which included eradicating polio and vaccinating children in low-income countries.

The foundation has so far committed $305million toward research for a vaccine.

Gates pledged that before the pandemic is over, we will end up spending a lot more.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates gave a TED Talk in 2015 warning that the world was ill-prepared for a global pandemic

He realizes that while he has more resources than most people, governments are the only entities that can marshal the necessary tools to find a solution.

Im putting hundreds of millions of the foundations money into this, he said.

But its really a governmental thing, just like the defense budget is there to help with an outbreak of war.

Gates said that during his discussions with world leaders, they agreed with him on the need to be prepared for the pandemic.

But most countries were reluctant to spend the necessary funds to protect themselves because there did not appear to be an immediate threat.

I wish the warnings that I and other people gave had led to more coordinated global action, he said.

Melinda Gates slams Trump administration for creating 'chaos' and showing lack of leadership in coronavirus response

Gates, 55, recently spoke to Today's Savannah Guthrie and Politico about federal government's response to COVID-19

She accused Trump administration of lack of national leadership and gave its handling of the crisis a 'D-minus' grade

Gates cited Germany as an example of a country that has been able to keep certain sectors of its economy open thanks to its leadership

Gates bluntly said she was 'disappointed' by President Trump's response to the pandemic, which she said has created 'chaos'

Melinda Gates openly condemned the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying that a lack of leadership at the national level has led to 'chaos' across the board.

The billionaire philanthropist, who co-chairs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation along with her Microsoft co-founder husband, did not mince words when asked to weigh in on America's handling of the global health crisis in an interview with Today Show's Savannah Guthrie on Friday.

'I'm both surprised we werent better prepared, but quite honestly Im surprised weve wasted so much time. That we havent had leadership at the national level to get out tests in the right way, protective gear in the right way, contact tracing in the right way,' Gates said.

'With lack of leadership, there are 50 homegrown state solutions, and that just shouldn't be.'

Melinda Gates was interviewed via Skype by Savannah Guthrie on NBC's Today on Thursday about the government's response to the coronavirus

Gates slammed President Donald Trump for lack of leadership, claiming that his government has been behind the ball on everything from testing to contract tracing

The Bill ansd Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $300million to develop treatments and vaccines targeting COVID-19

Gates, 55, cited Germany with Chancellor Angela Merkel at the helm as an example of a country that has been able to keep certain sectors of its economy 'safely' open thanks to its national leadership, which has been guided by science.

'That's the kind of leadership we should expect as citizens in this country, and we're not getting it,' Gates added. 'And so youre seeing whats happening. And its chaos.'

When asked by Guthrie if she blames President Donald Trump, Gates replied: 'Im disappointed in what Ive been seeing, yes.'

In a separate interview with Politico on Thursday, Gates awarded the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic a lackluster grade of 'D-minus,' citing its failure to coordinate efforts at the top.

She argued that the government needs to invest more money in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, as well as in vaccine development, in order to safely reopen the country.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement to Politico that Trump had taken an 'unprecedented approach' to working with governors to deliver the states the critical supplies they need.

'The White House has been working with Governors and their teams since January on this whole-of-government response,' the spokesman told the news outlet.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which was launched 20 years ago to eradicate diseases like polio and malaria around the world, in February committed $300million to help find treatments and vaccines targeting COVID-19.

In her interview on NBC's Today last week, Melinda Gates said she believes the US is still in the beginning stages of the pandemic and urged caution.

'To reopen, we need to do far more testing and tracing, and we need to be very careful and go very slowly as we reopen,' she explained.

'You should never be reopening in places where you go accelerating disease.'

When asked about the ongoing search for a vaccine, Gates said the timeline she's been hearing from scientists is 12-18 months, but she added there are 'a few good candidates.'

As of Monday afternoon, there have been more than 1.3million confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide and more than 80,000 deaths.

In April, the Trump administration, which has been eager to jump-start the hobbled economy plagued by soaring unemployment numbers, announced the launch of Operation Warp Speed, which seeks to rapidly develop, produce and distribute 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021.

Guthrie told Gates during the interview that she was recently told by Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has been leading the national response to the pandemic, that the timetable of the operation laid out by the government was feasible.

When asked for her take on the plan, Gates sounded highly skeptical.

'Boy, that would be lucky to have hundreds of millions of doses by January,' she said.

'I'm not sure how likely that is. These things take time because we have to know that there are safe. So, I'm hopeful...would I say it's likely? I'd hesitate a bit on that one.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:23:18|Editor: huaxia

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Israeli soldiers are seen during a search operation in Ya'bad near the West Bank city of Jenin on May 12, 2020. An Israeli soldier was killed during a predawn raid in the West Bank by a stone thrown at him, the Israeli military said on Tuesday. The incident took place in the town of Ya'bad, west of Jenin city in the northern West Bank. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua )

JERUSALEM, May 12 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli soldier was killed during a predawn raid in the West Bank by a stone thrown at him, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in the town of Ya'bad, west of Jenin city in the northern West Bank.

A military spokesperson issued a statement saying the soldier was killed by a rock thrown at his head "during operational activity" in the town.

The spokesperson identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Ygal, 21, from the Golani Brigade Reconnaissance Unit, adding that his family has been notified. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant 1st Class.

The violence came amidst increasing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Enditem
Mumbai: The Maharashtra CID on Tuesday (May 12) arrested at least 24 more accused who absconding in connection with the lynching of three seers in Palghar last month. With this, at least 133 people have been arrested in the case so far.

According to the police, nine minors have also been arrested among the 133.

Earlier, the Palghar SP was sent on leave whereas five policemen were suspended and 35 others were transferred for dereliction of their duties on the incident.

On May 1, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Maharashtra Police arrested five more persons in connection with the lynching of sadhus in Palghar. A day later, the police found that one of the accused arrested in the case, and was ket at the Wada police station, to be infected with coronavirus COVID-19. The accused was first admitted in an isolation ward of Palghar rural hospital and was later shifted to a prisoner ward at JJ Hospital.

Although it was not confirmed, the accused was believed to have contracted the infection as almost 20-30 accused were lodged in a single cell at the prison.

On April 16, two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral. At Gadchinchle village, a mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot. Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village. According to an official, the police used drones to hunt them.
Faced with a rise in coronavirus cases, the Delhi police has started a round-the-clock tele-service for its personnel to seek medical advice for themselves and their family members on how to avoid contracting or cope with the infection, officials said on Tuesday.

Police personnel run a high risk of viral infection given the very physical nature of their work and frequent public interaction. Once infected, they can transmit the virus to their family members.

So, under the new initiative, the Station House Officers in 15 districts have started the service. They maintain a list of doctors who have volunteered to be a part of the system and suggest measure to police personnel to take in case they show COVID-19 symptoms.

The doctors share timely guidance with the SHOs and the police personnel suspected to have contracted the virus. They also offer counselling to reduce anxiety and stress, the officials said.

More than 100 Delhi police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19.

Of them, 35 have recovered and resumed duties, according to police.

The demand for remote-diagnosis and treatment through telemedicine has peaked since the coronavirus outbreak as it helps maintain social distance and reduces the risk of virus spread.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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I am an orthopedic surgeon in New Jersey and recently started a new practice. Less than a week after starting, news of COVID-19 arriving in NYC was everywhere. My family, my hospital system, and the rest of the country was trying to get a handle on this virus when my daughter spiked a fever that weekend. I spent an hour calling DOH at 5 a.m. trying to figure out if it was safe to go into my office because my three year old may have a potentially lethal virus. I imagine in the background the entire medical community was similarly fumbling for answers.

The following week was spent launching telehealth. Unfortunately, my patient population does not necessarily have access to great Wi-Fi or smartphones. My now afebrile three-year-old had been at home for over a week with no end in sight. My husband was still working as a physical therapist. We checked our temperatures and pulse ox daily before leaving for work. The only thing keeping us going was knowing data suggested that children are largely spared the worst of COVID. We try to help our daughter understand why she cant see her friends while stumbling along blindly, along with the rest of the world, worrying about our health, our livelihood, and the faltering economy.

There is a discussion of canceling our yearly academic meeting. Other medical bodies are canceling their meetings, and this is unheard of. These meetings dont get canceled. It represents a years worth of research and work. Flights and hotels are booked already. In hindsight, this is a blip in the story of COVID, but at the time, the fact that people much smarter than I am were so concerned was terrifying.

It is the third week of March, and Im watching tents and refrigerated trucks go up outside the hospital. Friends from medical school are posting stories of PACUs being used as ICU extensions. Everyone is working remotely, and the news is telling us to stay home. We are on a nationwide pause. It has been the longest March in the history of my 35+ years.

I keep hearing hospitals are getting overwhelmed. Im young, healthy, and available. My kids are healthy, and my husband is seeing patients anyway. I can risk exposure. I reach out and ask to put where I can be of use. Im an orthopedist. I cant run vents and you dont want me running codes, but I can run supplies, call families, or be trained for anything else. Less than 24 hours later, Im covered head to toe in a cap, N95 mask and surgical mask, plastic goggles, isolation gown, and gloves. I get deployed to a COVID unit calling patients families starving for information on loved ones they cannot visit and who are too short of breath to speak on the phone. These families were immensely grateful for those calls. I made zero treatment decisions, but the families thanked me profusely anyway. The unit clerk and nurses were grateful to be able to offload calls without having to stop in the middle of their workload. I received numerous calls and texts of gratitude from my administration. I did not think then and do not think now that I did anything extraordinary.

A week later, I was asked if I was willing to help the respiratory team. I reflexively agreed. My husband asked me to explain what the respiratory team does and what exactly I would be helping with. I told him that among other things, respiratory responds to all the codes because if a patient is intubated, they set up the vent. He paused, then repeated, so you are responding to codes  codes on COVID-positive patients. I paused, realizing that he was concerned for my increased exposure, and nodded my head.

The following morning I met up with the respiratory team and saw how clearly busy they were. I followed one person trying to orient myself. The only problem was that every time we got called to a code I could not bring myself to pay attention to the equipment I was supposed to be helping with. There was a person doing chest compressions and shouting instructions at the same time. I can do chest compressions. I cannot set up the vent, I am not going to attempt to run the code, and there is a person literally dying in front of me, so I do the one thing I know how to do: I jump in and do chest compressions relieving the person who knows more than I do. I did this six times in two hours. That was with one respiratory therapist on one morning. This one therapist out of several was at six codes in two hours.

At a certain point, someone in the ICU saw me drenched in sweat and patted me on the shoulder, asking if I was OK. I nodded, asked where the water was, and walked away. There have been maybe four times in my life where I stopped to take in my surroundings and wondered out loud, What the hell am I doing here? This was one of them. My arms were killing me, I was covered in sweat, and I could not breathe under the two layers of masks. My body was reminding me that I dont normally do this. I heard codes called overhead several times an hour for a couple of weeks. I watched one code team in action over and over again, and after a certain point, they did not even look phased. This was becoming the new norm. That is terrifying.

I have a phenomenal support network. Even with that, nothing will undo what I have seen COVID do to families, doctors, nurses, children, everyone. I spent five weeks basically as an intern and medical student again. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but Im hoping I am never needed in any capacity other than as an orthopedic surgeon again.

Nicole M. Montero Lopez is an orthopedic surgeon.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
By Jeff Jensen

As the United States Attorney for Eastern Missouri, Ive been in a unique position to observe the heroic efforts of countless public servants over recent weeks. Law enforcement, corrections officers, the judiciary, the defense bar and our prosecutors have put themselves on the line to ensure that the criminal justice system continues to function during a global pandemic.

We have adjusted to court-by-videoconference. Federal prisons and local jails have done a remarkable job in keeping the coronavirus out of their facilities. Law enforcement officers continue to go hands-on with violent criminals despite the likelihood of exposure to the virus.

I salute these selfless men and women for all they do  particularly as we honor officers this week, during National Police Week. We owe them an immense debt of gratitude.

Unfortunately, Ive also seen many individuals attempt to exploit the chaos of the day for their own ends. There are those who would prey on vulnerable Missourians with cyberscams and counterfeit treatments. Others have engaged in hoarding, price-gouging and similarly nefarious activities. To make matters worse, the rate of violent crime in the St. Louis area remains intolerably high, even at a time when were supposed to be sheltering-in-place.

As for criminals who are already behind bars, many have sought to use the pandemic as a literal get-out-of-jail-free card. For weeks now, the courts have been flooded with motions from prisoners seeking release based on both real and imagined concerns about the coronavirus. Similar petitions have come from pretrial detainees, who are being held because a judge found them to be a danger to the community or a flight risk.

Responding to these requests is no simple task. Each case must be evaluated individually, balancing an inmates health and other risk factors with the potential danger of releasing a known criminal. Multiplied across the hundred-plus requests for release weve received so far, this issue already has consumed an enormous volume of time and resources.

Though these challenges are formidable, I want Missourians to know that federal law enforcement  and this office in particular  is ready to answer the bell on both fronts.

Regarding the recent wave of requests for release, we will not stand by and allow criminals to escape justice solely based on generalized fears about the pandemic. The rule of law has taken on even greater importance during these difficult times, and we cannot abide the wholesale release of offenders onto the streets. At the same time, I recognize our obligation to protect the health and safety of those in confinement.

Thankfully, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and local detention facilities have implemented proactive measures to prevent the transmission of the virus, including screening and isolation measures. Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons is currently reviewing all inmates with COVID-19 risk factors to determine suitability for home confinement and, to date, has transferred more than 2,200 prisoners to home confinement after determining they would not pose a danger to the community. These quick actions have revealed the false choice asserted in many of the requests between immediate release and certain demise.

In light of these considerations, federal prosecutors have taken a balanced approach. Given that we deal with some of the most violent criminals in the country, this office has fought for continued detention or incarceration when releasing a criminal would pose a danger to the community. In other cases, where defendants have demonstrated that they are not dangerous and face particularized and significant health risks related to the pandemic, we have worked toward temporary releases. Through it all, we remain guided by the overarching goal of ensuring that justice is done.

As for ongoing criminal activity, this office has been working with our partners across the state to ensure that those who attempt to perpetrate coronavirus schemes are put behind bars. Despite the challenges presented by this pandemic, we are still investigating, charging and prosecuting folks who have committed serious offenses, particularly for violent crimes in the St. Louis area.

Long story short, coronavirus or not, we are and will continue pursuing justice.

Jeff Jensen is the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.
New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Tuesday rejected the pre-arrest bail plea of DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj in Enforcement Directorate (ED) case over Yes Bank corruption issue.

The businessmen-brothers are facing charges of financial irregularities in cases filed by both Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI.

Both the brothers are currently in CBI custody in connection with the Yes Bank scam in which former Yes Bank CEO and co-founder Rana Kapoor is also a co-accused.

Last week, the CBI custody of the Wadhawan brothers was extended till May 8.

The promoter duo have been charged by the ED in two cases  alleged irregularities in the investment of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) and the other relates to laundering of over Rs 4,000 crore through Yes Bank.

On April 27, a special CBI court in the city had remanded Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan to custody of the agency till April 29 in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

The ED will get the duo's remand after their CBI custody ends.

Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were arrested by the CBI with the help of Satara district authorities from Mahabaleshwar, a popular hill station located more than 300km from Mumbai.

With PTI Inputs
People are reflected in a store window in New York City's Times Square on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Governors across the nation have faced armed protesters and death threats as they have struggled with how to begin easing coronavirus restrictions on residents and businesses without creating new outbreaks of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, as the nation's top health officials warned that moving too quickly could lead to more infections and deaths, new polling indicated that Americans overwhelmingly approve of how the nation's governors are handling the coronavirus outbreak, particularly those who have been the most cautious.

Despite pressure from protesters and the business community to reopen the economy, nearly three-quarters of Americans approved of their governors performance, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Washington Post and Ipsos.

Governors who acted swiftly to shut down their states in the face of the pandemic and have been cautious about reopening received the highest marks from their constituents  Republican Mike DeWine of Ohio with 86%, and Democrats Andrew Cuomo of New York with 81% and Gavin Newsom of California with 79%.

The governors of Florida and Texas, who are opening up their states in more rapid phases, fared worse, but still got high marks from more than half of respondents from their states. In Georgia, which drew alarm from health officials and the Trump administration for opening up hair salons, bowling alleys and restaurants last month, 61% of respondents disapproved of Gov. Brian Kemp's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump, whose approval rating was 43%, took at least partial credit for governors high marks.

Remember this, every Governor who has sky high approval on their handling of the Coronavirus, and I am happy for them all, could in no way have gotten those numbers, or had that success, without me and the Federal Governments help, Trump tweeted Tuesday. From Ventilators to Testing, we made it happen!

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, many state leaders have implored federal officials for assistance including, initially, ventilators, personal protective equipment and hospital beds. They continue to ask for a federal testing plan and supplies, as well as federal relief for state and local governments battered by increased expenses and lost revenue during the crisis.

Story continues

Such relief was part of a $3-trillion proposal unveiled by House Democrats on Tuesday that also includes additional stimulus payments of $1,200 to most individuals.

Effective and widespread testing and contact tracing are considered essential for safely reopening economies, and continue to lag as state leaders decide what restrictions to lift on individuals and businesses. More than 82,000 people in the U.S. have been confirmed as dying from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Trump, who for weeks had downplayed the risk of the novel coronavirus, has repeatedly called for the economy to reopen, despite the fact that few states appear to have met federal guidelines for safely reopening, notably a 14-day decline in new infections. He has chastised Democratic governors, claiming without evidence that they are moving slowly for political purposes.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, warned that if states move too quickly, they risk a resurgence of the virus.

There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control, Fauci testified during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.

Fauci testified remotely because he is self-quarantining after contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Harris Little washes Matt Kim's hair at 2Qute Hair Salon in Atlanta on April 27. (Getty Images)

Several governors and local officials unveiled new responses to the pandemic on Tuesday, a broad array of strategies that illustrate how differently the virus has impacted  and is perceived  in different parts of the country.

In Georgia, Kemp further eased restrictions on restaurants and child-care facilities. In Texas, the states attorney general warned officials in three counties and two cities that some of their local restrictions have grossly exceeded state law to impose their own will on private citizens and businesses.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that the northern part of the state  the Washington, D.C., suburbs most impacted by coronavirus  could delay reopening until May 29.

And in California, as Newsom announced new rules that will allow restaurants, pet groomers and car washes to reopen in some counties, the public health director in Los Angeles County announced that a stay-at-home order would almost certainly be extended through the end of July.

Though the president has claimed that coronavirus infections are declining across the nation, infection rates appear to be increasing in nine states and Washington, D.C., NBC News reported based on an internal Department of Homeland Security analysis it obtained. The May 7 analysis named an additional nine states and Puerto Rico as locations to watch.

Thousands of people are catching the infection in the workplace, according to an Associated Press analysis. The 15 counties across the nation with the highest per-capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5 are home to meat and poultry processing plants or prisons, the AP found.

Additionally, scientists are monitoring a new way the virus is impacting children  a development that could have repercussions on whether schools reopen in fall.

Once thought to be largely immune to the virus, children in more than a dozen states have been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection leading to a toxic-shock-like response in their bodies, resulting in the inflammation of blood vessels and heart problems.

In New York, three children have died and about 100 have been diagnosed.

It's no time to get cocky, no time to get arrogant. This virus has deceived us every step of the way, Cuomo said during his daily briefing. We have been behind this virus from the very beginning. And it still surprises us. We thought initially that it didn't affect children, we're now dealing with an issue that's very disturbing.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has turned to residents of the national capital to help the government on the decision to lift lockdown restrictions. The Chief Minister took to social media to urge Delhiites to send in their suggestions and weigh in on whether the lockdown should be lifted or partially lifted.

"Should there be relaxation of lockdown restrictions after May 17? To what extent should the restrictions be relaxed? WhatsApp me on 8800007722 with your suggestions by 5pm tomorrow or record your suggestions by calling on 1031," said the CM on Twitter.

17           ?    ?    8800007722     5   whatsapp ,  1031         https://t.co/VfFEyoux6b - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 12, 2020

The Chief Minister during his virtual interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stated that economic activities should be allowed in Delhi except in the containment zones. During the PM-CMs video conference meet, Kejriwal batted for lifting of more curbs. All the districts of Delhi have been earmarked red zones to signify a high concentration of coronavirus cases.

Kejriwal voiced the same sentiments last week when he said that Delhi is ready to re-open. Arvind Kejriwal said, "Time has come to re-open Delhi. We will have to be ready to live with coronavirus."

So far, Delhi has put in place all the restrictions imposed by the central government. All public transport including Delhi Metro has been shut down as per the regulations. However, standalone liquor stores were allowed to reopen in the third phase of lockdown. As liquor stores opened up, crowds of people rushed to buy alcohol, violating social distancing protocols. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has reiterated that Delhi needs to follow all the restrictions as cases are increasing every day.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi has 7,233 cases, with 2,129 recoveries and 73 deaths.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Coronavirus Live Updates: Lockdown 4.0? PM Modi address at 8pm today; cases-70,756

Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Metro to resume operations soon? Special staff deployed to clean stations
A Virginia man has been charged with illegally concealing a dead body after police said they found a days-old corpse in an Arlington County home.

The body was found Friday in a residence in the 200 block of North Piedmont Street after officers were dispatched to the address for the report of suspicious circumstances, Arlington police said in a statement. The condition of the corpse in the home indicates the death occurred days prior, the statement said.
It took Phuong Linh, a twelfth grader at Hanoi-based Yen Hoa High School, a couple of days to digest the bitter reality before pulling herself together and preparing for the coming graduation examination in August.

Students and parents look at the candidate list at Trung Vuong High School in HCM Citys District 1 during the 2019 national high school examination.  VNA/VNS Xuan Du

Final-year students and their parents experienced three weeks of turbulence stirred up by constant changes of the national high school examination just before returning to school after a lengthy closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considered a major event in Vietnam, the annual national high school examination is attended by some 900,000 candidates  both twelfth graders and non-students  in seek of slots at domestic higher education institutes. With the power invested in it, the exam is believed to decide whether one will make it in life.

In 13 years, from 2001 to 2014, final-year students had to consecutively take two intense examinations each year  the high school graduation examination in June and the national university entrance examination in July, which took place on the same dates, used the same tests and results to process students applications for all universities nationwide, also known as three commons.

The university entrance examination back then was a fierce competition in the scorching summer between candidates and complicated tests which required days and nights of preparation as well as the 12-year-long efforts and hope of thousands of families wrapped up in two days.

A ground-breaking change was made in 2015 with the introduction of the two-in-one national high school examination, annually scheduled in June, which has its results used to decide whether candidates are qualified for high school graduation and determine admissions to universities and colleges.

The adjustment was expected to ease the mental and financial pressure on candidates and their families. Instead of taking two separate exams, they only need to sit for one. Instead of going to appointed venues, mostly in big cities where the schools are located, they can stay in their localities.

A student and her father pray at Hanois Temple of Literature which hosts the Imperial Academy  Vietnams first university, ahead of the 2019 national high school examination.  VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Dat

This year, the seminal examination was announced to be held in early August following the disease-caused interruption. The delay, however, is only the first upheaval candidates have to face on the path to their dream schools.

It felt like riding a roller-coaster, Linh recalled about the moment she learned of exam plans by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) on April 14, when Hanoi was still under strict social distancing measures.

At the time, the ministry expected to conduct the national high school examination from August 8 to 11 if the pandemic is brought under control. Otherwise, the exam would be cancelled and localities would take responsibility to decide criteria of high school graduation.

On April 21, final-year students were shocked when MoET planned to replace the national high school examination with the high school graduation exam, with the sole purpose of recognising students who finish the high schools education programme. Candidates would have to do four tests on Mathematics, Literature, foreign languages and social sciences (history, geography and civic education) or natural sciences (biology, physics and chemistry). Each combination of three subjects would receive one mark. The proposal was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc the following day, triggering students uproar as it meant they would have to learn up to six subjects instead of focusing on three  which would have be used to process their enrollment  as planned.

Many non-student candidates witnessed their future disappearing without knowing whether they would be qualified for the examination. Some of them even got desperate and planned to give up.

Even universities got confused and switched between admissions methods. While HCM City University of Education and Technology preferred scanning students high school transcripts over using the test scores, Vietnam National University  Hanoi (VNU  Hanoi) announced to hold their own competency assessment exam.

It was definitely a heart-dropping, U-turn from MOET, said Linh. Many of us know that giving one mark for a combination of three different subjects will cause difficulties for universities and colleges to set minimum entry scores.

The pandemic has taken away many days of our final year but even the exam preparation has not been done as we wanted it to be. I was confused and helpless, she added.

On April 27, after a meeting with Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam, Minister of Education Phung Xuan Nha decided to keep three marks for three subjects of each combination. The purpose of this years exam, however, was kept unchanged.

VNU  Hanoi on May 4 withdrew the plan on a competency assessment exam and decided to use the 2020 high school graduation results, international standardised tests of SAT, A-level, IELTS and other secondary criteria to enroll students.

Hanois prestigious Foreign Trade University, which Linh intends to apply for, also opted for a combination of admission methods after the independent assessment exam which they planned to co-host with VNU  Hanoi was cancelled.

At that time, the Law on Education and the Law on Higher Education came into effect for a month. The two laws allow universities to enroll the students by themselves instead of using high school examination results for university admissions as before, explained Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do.

However, teachers questioned the ministrys decisions and failure to ensure consistency in compiling examining policies.

These changes are unreasonable and unfair for the class of 2020 when they were made four months prior to the actual exam and right before students came back to campus after a prolonged school closure, said Van Trung, a mathematics teacher of Thai Phien High School in central Quang Nam Provinces Ha Lam Town.

Insecurity and uncertainty are common amid the COVID-19, especially for final-year students who are studying for their deciding examination, he added.

Parents wait for their children as they sit for the 2019 national high school examination at Hanois Vietnam  Germany High School.  VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyet

A doomed generation

They are a doomed generation, exclaimed Phuong Thuy in central Quang Tris Cam Lo District whose son will apply for HCM City University of Architecture and Van Lang University.

Both their most important life events have happened in times of pandemics, she said, adding: When they were born, SARS were sweeping over Asia. Now, their education is being interrupted by COVID-19.

In this time of darkness, MoETs indecisiveness and inconsistency push students and their families deeper into despair, she said, adding that this years exam might be the most unfair to ever happen.

Online studying sounds easy for students in cities but not those living in rural areas, Thuy said.

Only 15 of some 40 classmates of her son had access to lessons on the conference hosting platform Zoom.

In akrong  a mountainous district of Quang Tri, Ho Thi Suong and Ho Thi Tam, two twelfth graders of akrong High School, had to set up a tent on a high hill near their village to catch a 3G signal.

From Monday to Friday, they carried a backpack full of books and climbed up the hill to study inside that makeshift classroom.

It was a nightmare for us to use up free 3G, said Suong.

Le Chi Thong, principal of akrong High School, said only 65 per cent of their 225 final-year students have smartphones and 3G SIMs. However, many of them could not access online classrooms as the mobile signal in their villages was too weak.

MoET said they would streamline the grade 12s second semester programme out of the 2020 examination.

On Thursday, a set of official illustrative tests were released by the ministry with lower levels of difficulty compared to previous years.

For this years illustrative English test, only 10 per cent of questions require high ability of using English, mostly in the reading part while the level accounted for about 20 per cent of last years test, said Vo Van Linh, a teacher of Nguyen Thai Binh High School in Quang Nam Province.

Anh Khoi, a twelfth grader of HCM Citys Go Vap High School, said after all those ups and downs, it is the time to ramp up studying for the exam.

My classmates and I are trying our best to cover the second semester programme as soon as possible and work on previous years tests although MoETs decisions shocked us and placed heavy burdens on us, he said.

Thuys family could finally breathe a sigh of relief when HCM City University of Architecture announced that they would not host an independent assessment examination.

My son will only need to take a drawing test in HCM City as well as have his transcripts and high school examination results screened for admission, Thuy said.

At least, we do not need to travel back and forth between Quang Tri and HCM City for universities own examinations, she added.

The fight, however, has just begun. VNS

Khoa Thu

Universities want to use graduation exam results for enrollment With the school year ravaged by COVID-19 induced school closures nationwide, the all-important high school examinations are set for a slight shake-up, but universities want to stand pat.
Loren Brovarnik will not stand for any slander of her baby on her social media platforms, she made clear on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old 90-Day Fiancee star and her husband Alexei Brovarnik welcomed their first child Shai in mid-April.

The reality star shared a troll's message - 'Ugly baby that will have Tourettes because the parents are selfish aholes that should have adopted' - on her Instagram story before clapping back with a powerful message.

No baby slander: Loren Brovarnik will not stand for any slander of her baby on her social media platforms, she made clear on Tuesday

'Its one thing to TRY and bring me down (insert chuckles)  but bring my son into this  youre messing with the WRONG mama bear!' she began.

'Troll or not, get a fking life! And get some water because youre thirsty as hell! You are the ahole here!' she concluded.

She also shared a photo of her baby Shai and added, 'Shai is NOT phased by [this].'

Wrong mama: 'Its one thing to TRY and bring me down (insert chuckles)  but bring my son into this  youre messing with the WRONG mama bear!' she began

Loren Goldstone and Alexei Brovarnik were featured on the third season of TLC's 90 Day Fiance, following couples who have applied for K-1 visas and have 90 days to marry one another.

Loren, a New York native, and Alexei, a Ukraine native living in Isreal, first met while Loren was on a Birthright Isreal trip.

The couple were married in both the United States and Israel, and announced in October 2019 they were expecting their first child, Shai.

Featured: Loren Goldstone and Alexei Brovarnik were featured on the third season of TLC's 90 Day Fiance, following couples who have applied for K-1 visas and have 90 days to marry one another

First child: The couple were married in both the United States and Israel, and announced in October 2019 they were expecting their first child, Shai

Shai was expected to arrive in May, but the couple told US Weekly that, 'Everything happens and doesn't for a reason.'

'We were meant to meet our baby boy earlier! With everything going on right now with the virus, this is the smile and light we needed!' she added.

'Baby Brov made his grand debut on 4/14/20 at 4:26 p.m. We are so beyond in love with him and even more in love with each other!' she concluded.

Bavy Brov: 'Baby Brov made his grand debut on 4/14/20 at 4:26 p.m. We are so beyond in love with him and even more in love with each other!' she concluded

Earlier: 'We were meant to meet our baby boy earlier! With everything going on right now with the virus, this is the smile and light we needed!' she added

The couple currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with Loren explaining how excited she was after announcing her pregnancy in October.

'Its a surreal moment in our lives,' she said. 'For me, I see a lot of people I know (personally) announcing their own exciting news, and now its my turn.'

'Im excited, terrified, over the moon, nervous and so much more! Alex is hands down the best partner I could have ever asked for during this time,' she added.

First: The couple currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with Loren explaining how excited she was after announcing her pregnancy in October
New York City's lockdown executive order is slated to expire on May 15. Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted a steep decline in admissions to the hospital and fatalities due to COVID-19 during Sunday's daily briefing with reporters, even with the fact that he had to address the NYC's rising death counts in nursing homes, following a state order requiring nursing homes to take on positive novel coronavirus patients.

According to Cuomo, the newly-arrived hospitalizations were on the same standing as of March 20, when the "New York State on Pause" executive directive locked down NY.

Therefore, the New York governor is starting to gradually reopen his state's economy following the one-time epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak recording a steady decline in fatalities and infection rates.

He reported on Monday 161 deaths from the coronavirus in New York throughout the past 24 hours, marking the first time the daily death rate in his state had decreased below 200 ever since the end of March.

New York State reported 488 recent confirmed COVID-19 cases reported for the past 24 hours alongside 161 deaths connected to the coronavirus-related illness. Cuomo remarked that it was the best daily metrics registered since March 19.

"That is just about where we started this horrific situation, before we went into the abyss of the COVID virus," according to Cuomo on the daily coronavirus briefing on Monday. "We're on the other side of the mountain. It's an exciting new phase we're all anxious to get back to work."

New York has "the beast on the run" now regarding the deadly coronavirus, said the state's governor.

Also Read: 66% of Coronavirus Patients in NY Stayed Home

The good news is that New York is finally ahead of the coronavirus, he remarked at a press briefing at Marist College in Poughkeepsie.

The tally reportedly takes them back to where they started on this "hellish journey," Cuomo affirmed. "March 20 is when we did the close-down order, and where we are today with the number of new cases is basically right where we were when we started."

The daily death toll was well under the daily peak of roughly 800 fatalities daily during early April.

From the governor's perspective at his daily coronavirus briefing, New York is now on the other side of the mountain.

He continued that numerous areas of upstate New York have exhibited progress in mitigating the coronavirus pandemic and are geared to slowly reestablish economic activity by the week's end.

The entire state was imposed to be shut down on March 22 as the NYC region surfaced as a global crisis hot spot, but the pandemic has reportedly become less severe affected within the state's smaller cities and rural areas.

The governor exclaimed that they have proved that they can control the beast on the run. They have yet to kill the beast, but they are leading it.

He indicated that the vulnerable downstate, including New York City, would still not continue operations for quite some time.

"Upstate New York, the numbers are dramatically different" than the coronavirus statistics of downstate, Cuomo observed.

Related Article: American Scientists Not Allowed to Enter China to Investigate Coronavirus

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Shimla, May 12 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said that with one lakh people returning to Himachal Pradesh from across the country, the number of active COVID-19 cases has spiked to 25 in the hill state.

At a virtual meeting with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Thakur said till May 1 there was only one active case in the state. With the arrival of one lakh people from outside the state the number of active cases rose to 25.

He said the doubling rate of COVID-19 patients a week ago was 99 days which has come down to 12.5 days.

The Chief Minister said the state is doing 1,478 tests per million, higher than the national average of 1,367 per million.

He said the state has identified COVID-19 hospitals to ensure that patients with other ailments get adequate opportunity for their treatment. He said the Active Case Finding Campaign, launched by involving 16,000 ASHA and health workers, helped in tracing the suspected cases.

Thakur said 35 patients have been cured in the state. Two people have died in the state, out of them one was a chronic patient and another was suffering from a kidney ailment.

The state has made institutional quarantine mandatory for people visiting the state from those parts of the country classified as red zones.
A Southwest Research Institute scientist recently modelled the atmosphere of Mars and found that the planet is not likely to be habitable by life of any kind, including humans. According to the research published in Nature Astronomy, the scientists concluded that the salty pockets of water present on the Red Planet are likely not habitable by life as we know it on Earth.

The team of researchers, which also included scientists from Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the University of Arkansas, helped allay planetary protection concerns about contaminating potential Martian ecosystems. As per the research, the scientists believe that due to the low temperatures and dry conditions in Mars, a droplet of liquid water on its surface would instantly freeze, boil or evaporate, unless the droplet had dissolved salts in it.

READ: Perseverance Rover To Get The Most Advanced Pair Of 'eyes' Ahead Of NASA's Mars Mission

According to the press note, Dr Alejandro Soto, a senior research scientist and co-author of the study said, Our team looked at specific regions on Mars -- areas where liquid water temperature and accessibility limits could possibly allow known terrestrial organisms to replicate -- to understand if they could be habitable.

He added, We used Martian climate information from both atmospheric models and spacecraft measurements. We developed a model to predict where, when and for how long brines are stable on the surface and shallow subsurface of Mars.

Reduce risk of exploring Mars

As per the research, the scientists found that the Mars hyper-arid conditions require lower temperatures to reach higher relative humidities and tolerable water activities, which are measures of how easily the water content may be utilised for hydration. The researchers noted that the maximum brine temperature expected is -55 F, at the boundary of the theoretical low-temperature limit for life.

READ: Indian-origin Girl Names NASA's First Mars Helicopter That Will Accompany The Rover

Furthermore, the research team also concluded that even extreme life on Earth has its limit. Soto said, we found that brine formation from some salts can lead to liquid water over 40% of the Martian surface but only seasonally, during 2% of the Martian year. This would preclude life as we know it. According to the research, pure liquid water is unstable on the Martian surface. The scientists also pointed that the model showed that the stable brines can form and persist from the equator to high latitudes on the surface of Mars for a few per cent of the year for up to six consecutive hours.

Soto said, "These new results reduce some of the risk of exploring the Red Planet while also contributing to future work on the potential for habitable conditions on Mars.

(Image: Pixabay)

READ: China Names Its Mars Mission Tianwen-1 Ahead Of Its Planned Launch This Year

READ: Climate Change Scientists Waiting For 'all Clear' To Restart Arctic Research Mission


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:19:11|Editor: huaxia

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DUNDO, Angola, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A 171-carat diamond was extracted from Angola's Lulo mine in eastern Lunda Norte province Monday.

The gem was extracted in block 6 of the mine, the national diamond company of Angola (Endiama) said in a statement.

It is the 15th dimond weighing over 100 carats that have been found in the mine and the second of more than 100 carats extracted in 2020.

The stone is also the 4th largest since the mine started operations in 2016.

Blocks 6 and 8 produced 13 of the 15 stones of more than 100 carats found in the same mine, including the largest diamond with 404 carats ever found in Angola in 2016.

Domingos Machado, CEO of Lulo Mineira Society, said the company expects to intensify the prospecting operations in the southern part of the block 6 and 8 where there seems a greater propensity of this kind of large stone.

Lulo, the 4th largest diamond mine and one of the most important diamond mines in the world, is a joint venture. The Australian operator Lucapa Diamond Company owns 40 percent, Angola's state-owned Endiama has 32 percent and the private Angolan company Rosa e Petalas owns 28 percent. Enditem
LONDON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Telecoming, a leading company in the development of digital services monetization technologies, has analyzed the role of connected objects in the new subscription economy. In 2020 there will be more than 10B[1] connected objects in Europe and this figure will grow by 25% each year until 2023. The European IoT hardware and software market will exceed $ 26B in 2020, representing 25% of the global market estimated at more than $ 105B for this year. With an average year-on-year growth of 18%, the European market will reach 41B in 2023.

Experts agree that the IoT has different ways to monetize itself, and subscription is a real alternative. This model can convert hardware into services, as it has done before with products like albums or movies.

IoT strongly embraces the subscription model as a profitable alternative

24/7 connectivity of IoT products is the key to recurring revenue business models. Subscription to services is a consolidated reality in other industries supporting the trend known as subscronomics.

An IoT subscription model introduces business as a service for a system made up of software and hardware. The collection of data and constant communication with the client allows companies to offer new functionalities and personalized services. This customization can occur with flexible models.

According to Roberto Monge, Chief Operations Officer at Telecoming, "The monetization of connected objects is one of the significant challenges of the future. Besides, businesses have changed radically in recent years giving rise to what is known as subscronomics. IoT opens the door to consolidate this social-economic movement promoted by technology and new users' habits."

Subscronomics, when customer intentions drive the economy

Technology has driven business models based on subscriptions. The Economic Theory of Innovation and social changes have promoted a new movement: SUBSCRONOMICS. It is a term used to define the crucial role that technology has in models based on recurring revenues. The modern society welcomes this trend driven by significant changes in consumer consumption models.

About Telecoming

Telecoming is the leading technology developer in digital services monetization. Since 2008, the international company leads the innovation of mobile billing solutions and AdTech in 13 countries. The London Stock Exchange has acknowledged the firm as one of the most Inspiring European Organizations. Moreover, it's among Europe's 5000 fastest-growing companies, according to Morningstar's Inc.5000 Ranking, 2018. More info at www.telecoming.com

[1] Data from Juniper Research
A three-month-old baby girl is among six people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Chandigarh on Tuesday, pushing the total in the Union territory to 187, officials said.

Among the new cases, three, including the baby, are residents of the Bapu Dham colony, the worst-affected area of the city.

A 25-year-old woman residing in sector 26, a 44-year-old man of Kachi colony and a 24-year-old man living in sector 16 are the others who tested positive for the infection, as per a bulletin issued here.

Two patients were discharged after being fully cured, taking the number of those who have recovered to 30, it said.

With this, the number of active cases reaches 154.

A total of 2,276 samples have been tested so far and of these, 2,069 samples are negative while the reports of 19 samples are awaited, the bulletin stated.

So far, three people have died of coronavirus in the city.

Chandigarh Adviser Manoj Parida said people returning from abroad in the coming days would be mandatorily tested for coronavirus.

Necessary arrangements are being made for accommodation of foreign returnees in a range of hotels with various price ranges, Parida said in a release here.

All the returnees will be mandatorily tested for coronavirus even though such testing has not been suggested by the Central government, he stated.

Around 5,000 non-resident Indians are expected to return to Chandigarh from different countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after witnessing a dip,



Karnataka on Tuesday recorded a new all-time single-day high of 63 new COVID-19 cases, most of them returnees to the state from other parts of the country, as the total breached the 900 mark, the health department said.

Hassan that had remained coronavirus-free district so far, reported five cases, including two children, as the state's tally rose to 925, including 31 deaths and 433 discharges, it said.

After highest single day spike of 54 cases on Sunday, the state saw a decline on Monday with 14 people testing positive but only to clock a new record high.

"Today is again it not a good day in terms of numbers... most cases are those with the travel history to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Odisha and Chennai," Minister S Suresh Kumar, the spokesperson for COVID-19 in Karnataka, told reporters.

He said most of them were those who got stranded somewhere (outside Karnataka) and came back recently.

"After their return, we placed them under quarantine. On screening and testing them during quarantine, they turned out to be positive," he said.

Deputy Commissioners of all districts have information about people who will be coming from outside in the days to come and accordingly they will make quarantine arrangements, he added.

According to the health department's bulletin, out of the 460 active cases, a total of 449 COVID-19 patients were in isolation at designated hospitals and stable while 11 were undergoing treatment in intensive care units.

Seven patients who have recovered, were discharged on Tuesday.

Bagalkode reported the highest of 15 cases on Tuesday followed by Davangere (12), Dharwad (9) Hassan and Kolar (5 each), Bengaluru Urban (4), Gadag (3) Dakshina Kannada, Yadgir and Bidar (2 each), and one each from Ballari, Chikkaballapura, Mandya and Kalaburagi.

As amany as 32 of the new cases are with travel history to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, six to Mumbai, two to Odisha and one to Chennai.

Among the others, fifteen are contacts of patients already tested positive, two are from containment zone in Bidar and one with history of Influenza Like Illness (ILI). Contact tracing was in progress for four persons.

Asked whether the sharp spike in cases will make the Karnataka government reconsider its decision on relaxing lockdown, Kumar said after May 18, whatever the decision may be on lockdown, measures like quarantining, hospitalisation of specific cases, will stay with us for a long time.

"Because of lockdown relaxation these people (stranded outside) were able to come to the state, but on returning they were placed under quarantine, which avoided the spread, we will not relax that," he said.

Responding to a question on those stranded in foreign countries coming back to the state, the Minister said arrangement for paid quarantine would be made at the place chosen by them.

Bengaluru Urban continue to top districts in most number of COVID-19 cases with 182, followed by Belagavi 113 and Mysuru 88.

Out of the total 433 patients discharged so far, maximum 91 are from Bengaluru Urban, 84 from Mysuru and 44 from Kalaburagi.

A total of 1,16,533 samples had been tested so far, out of which 4,938 were on Tuesday, the bulletin said.

So far 1,11,264 samples have been found negative and out of them 4,797 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the government issued orders directing that all COVID-19 suspected cases whose test reports are inconclusive should not be kept in dedicated COVID hospitals till their repeat test result and put up in dedicated health centres.

Also, the Project Director of Karnataka AIDS prevention Society has issued directions to all Districts AIDS officers to utilise the contact phone numbers shared by the government for reaching out and carrying out health checkup of AIDS patients during this COVID-19 period.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Down in Mexico, my friends are worried about the economy, crime, and the virus. Therefore, it caught a few of us by surprise that President Andres Lopez-Obrador brought the "Fast and Furious" back to life.

I've heard a couple of responses to this. Some say President Lopez-Obrador needs a distraction. Others say Mexico never really accepted the Obama administration's explanation of how 2,000 high-powered rifles traveled south of the border.

This is from Cam Edwards:

Something tells me the Trump administration may be far more eager to help Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador get to the bottom of the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal than the Obama administration ever was. The administration that implemented the program that sent thousands of guns across the border under the direction of the BATFE and the Justice Department headed by then-Attorney General Eric Holder never said much about how much information they gave Mexico about the fact that the American government was arming Mexican drug cartels. Lopez Obrador said during a press conference on Friday that he wants to get to the bottom of who, if anyone, in the Mexican government was informed of the operation before it was revealed after the death of border patrol agent Brian Terry in December of 2010 by a member of a Mexican drug cartel using a firearm that the BATFE had allowed to enter into Mexico in the hands of a gunrunner.

Honestly, Mexico is a bit late to this. I think they found President Obama more friendly on immigration and border issues and did not want to make a big deal about the issue. Then they spent too much time criticizing President Trump over this and that.

President Lopez-Obrador is correct. Mexico is entitled to an explanation.

We learned that the Democrats were saying something different in private from what they were saying in public about Russia collusion. It'd be fascinating to know what A.G. Holder told President Obama about this program.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
Broking Manager enables brokers to instantly produce a cyber financial loss report on millions of companies, while providing information to help brokers articulate their clients cyber exposures, CyberCube said. Broking Manager also lets brokers educate their clients on potential loss classes, recent cyber events, and benchmarking of cyber risks against their peers. The application uses advanced models that draw on data from a large number of sources.

With Broking Manager, we set out to tackle the most fundamental question facing brokers today: what coverages and limits do companies need? said Oren Schetrit, director of product for CyberCube. Weve had considerable interest from the broking community internationally, so we felt the time was right to build and launch this product.

Cyber insurance as a line of business is still in its early stages of growth, and there is a clear need for a solution to help companies make informed decisions on what they need to buy, said Ashwin Kashyap (pictured), co-founder of CyberCube and head of product and analytics. As trusted advisors to companies on their cyber insurance purchases, insurance brokers play a very important role in the ecosystem by connecting insurance buyers with carriers. CyberCube has built a solution to enable the growth of the cyber insurance market and support this important segment in the insurance value chain.

Broking Manager is the third product in CyberCubes suite of applications, which also includes Portfolio Manager and Account Manager. Portfolio Manager is used by insurers to stress-test portfolios of cyber risks. Account Manager is used during the underwriting process to provide a detailed analysis of cyber risk.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty

It is unknown if the Supreme Court will finally issue a ruling on Thursday about whether it is legal to fire LGBTQ people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also unknown if Aimee Stephens will be alive to hear their decision.

Stephens, 59, is presently receiving end-of-life hospice care at home in Michigan, her wife Donna at her side.

Stephens is one of three cases before the court, bought on behalf a trio of LGBTQ peopleStephens, the family of Donald Zarda, and Gerald Bostockwho claim they were fired because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Their lawyers argue that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sex, also applies to discrimination against LGBTQ people.

Inside the Supreme Court Discrimination Cases That Could Change LGBTQ Rights

Their former employers and the Trump administration disagree. The case is a test of whether a rightward-tilting SCOTUS will vouchsafe equality for LGBTQ Americans or seekin the spirit of the present administrationto undermine it.

About five years ago, Stephens developed kidney disease that required frequent dialysis. A GoFundMe campaign, launched to support Donna and Stephens other loved ones to cover the costs of her care and eventual funeral, states: Her health continued to deteriorate and she is now in stage four renal failure. She has discontinued dialysis Sadly it appears that Aimee will never see the result of her valiant and difficult fight for transgender rights.

In a statement issued Monday, Donna Stephens said: Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, generosity, and keeping my best friend and soulmate in your thoughts and prayers. Aimee is an inspiration. She has given so many hope for the future of equality for LGBTQ people in our country, and she has rewritten history. The outpouring of love and support is our strength and inspiration now.

Chase Strangio, deputy director for trans justice and a member of Aimee Stephens legal team with the ACLUs LGBT & HIV Project, said: It has been devastating to learn about Aimees declining health. The entire ACLU family is thinking of both Aimee and her wife, Donna. We will continue to seek their guidance on the type of support they want and need.

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An opportunity to share a positive message with Aimeea woman who has inspired millionsshould be announced soon. No matter what the Supreme Court decides, Aimee has earned a place in history. I have been honored to be on her team and to learn from her and her incredible advocacy.

A video, with messages of support from Stephens supporters (including well-known advocates like Laverne Cox), will be released imminently, after being played for Stephens herself at home, said Jay Kaplan, Stephens friend and staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigans LGBT Project.

Kaplan told The Daily Beast that Stephens had expressed a number of times that she hoped to live to hear SCOTUS decision but had a lot of health complications and had recently suffered a couple of falls.

Kaplan last spoke to Stephens two weeks ago, to discuss her work for LGBTQ elder advocacy group SAGE Metro Detroit, whose board Stephens had recently joined. She was very much looking forward to work for transgender older people, said Kaplan.

Stephens told Kaplan that staff from the hospice were about to visit the house. She was emotional about it, understandably, Kaplan recalled. Aimee is now resting most of the time. The nurses have said it could be any day now and have said that now might be the best time for loved ones and family members to say goodbye. They will probably be increasing pain medication over the next couple of days.

Kaplan said that whatever SCOTUS decision is, Stephens is determined that the fight for transgender equality, and LGBTQ equality generally, continue. She read all the legal briefs and thought the cases had been presented well. Her opinion has always been: Put up a fair fight. If the Supreme Court doesnt get it, we will fight on, and make sure that other trans people dont have to go through what she did, and be fired for who they are.

Prior to SCOTUS hearing the three cases on Oct. 8 last year, Stephens described what had happened to her in a powerful interview with The Daily Beast.

After contemplating suicide in November 2012, Stephens had informed her boss, via letter, that she was transgender and would henceforth be dressing according to the firms female dress code.

She was no longer willing, she told The Daily Beast, to lead two different lives, one for work and one for home.

For the previous six years, Stephens had worked as a funeral director for R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes in Michigan. Stephens claimed she was fired after her boss read the letter.

In March 2018, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Stephenswhose case is being supported by the ACLU and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC)was unlawfully fired and that federal sex discrimination laws protect transgender people. The funeral home is challenging that ruling at the Supreme Court.

Unfavorable treatment of a gay or lesbian employee as such is not the consequence of that individuals sex, the Justice Department has argued, but instead of an employers policy concerning a different traitsexual orientationthat Title VII does not protect.

The Department of Justice also filed an amicus brief in support of Stephens employer, meaning that the federal governmentas well as arguing it should be legal to fire and discriminate against someone just because they are transgenderis effectively arguing against itself, as the EEOC is on Stephens side.

Prior to SCTOUS hearing the case, Ria Tabacco Mar, senior staff attorney with the ACLUs Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project, told The Daily Beast: I certainly know better than to predict what the Supreme Court is going to do, but I do think LGBT folks have reason to be optimistic here. I think were right on the law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination because of sex, and I think as the lower courts rightly recognized, it is impossible to disentangle discrimination because of sex and discrimination because of sexual orientation.

Over 200 well-known American businesses have submitted testimonies to the Supreme Court arguing in the LGBTQ employees favor in their cases.

When we spoke last September, Stephens told me she was hanging in there. She had a terrible cough and was resting after one of her regular dialysis treatments, her kidneys having failed in 2014. Ive had a few good days in the last week, so all in all Im OK, said Stephens. Its very draining. I come home exhausted and take a nap after each treatment. I guess I will be on dialysis as long as I live.

Getting fired from the funeral home bothered me a lot, said Stephens, because I had been doing my job and doing it well, and I didnt understand why what was happening had any effect on my job performance. Basically, they fired me because I was transgender.

In a lower court, Stephens discovered her employer had used the reasoning that she didnt adhere to the dress code.

I was perfectly willing to adhere to the womens dress code. His problem was he didnt see me as a woman. He saw me as a man, and therefore if I did not wear a coat and tie, I wasnt adhering to his dress code. He never got to see me as a woman.

Aimee knew what wasnt fair. Her firing was a wrong that needed to be righted

On Monday, Kaplan recalled to a reporter leaving the Supreme Court after the presentation of arguments last Oct. 8.

The most amazing thing for Aimeeand it had been a few days of incredible things and experienceswas leaving that building and having thousands of people cheering for her and showing their support, Kaplan told The Daily Beast. It touched her so much. I asked her what the highlight of the last few days had been, and that had most moved her.

Stephens had also been moved, said Kaplan, by the many well-wishers, who had written to her or made videos for her, thanking her for the stand she was taking.

Through the whole process, Aimee felt this was not only her story but the story of so many other transgender people. Her job in this case, in her view, was to benefit the entire community. To hear support from so many people was very meaningful and moving for her. She was a shy person but really blossomed as a spokesperson.

Kaplan noticed, having sat with Stephens through many media interviews, that she did not just repeat the same quotes over and over again. She always found something slightly different to say to each reporter, Kaplan said. She reminded me that she originally studied to be a minister, so doing sermons came naturally to her.

The day before the Supreme Court hearing, Kaplan recalled Stephens giving 10 back-to-back interviews before feeling too sick to carry on. Aimee summoned whatever strength and energy she had, because that was the commitment and energy she felt towards this case. She knew what wasnt right. Aimee knew what wasnt fair. Her firing was a wrong that needed to be righted.

She did her job well, and she was proud of how she did it. It was part of her identity. It was part of her mission to make the grieving process easier for families. The SCOTUS case was another missionto right a wrong and make things better for the transgender community. Thats quite a legacy.

At this moment, Kaplan said, Stephens has held out for as long as she could, awaiting word from SCOTUS. I hope she is at peace, resting comfortably, and when she feels ready to let go will let go.

Aimee is a very spiritual person, said Kaplan. She knows about religion and has seen a lot of death too. I think she has a healthy outlook on this, it is not necessarily a fear for her. One time we were discussing it, she mentioned the issue of being able to pay for her funeral. I think she knew this was always a possibility.

From my interactions with her, I found her a very calm person, a person who knew who she was and what she was about. Since coming out and living her authentic life 24/7, there was a sense of confidence about her too.

That confidence was clear during our conversation last September. Stephens told me she hoped that the Supreme Court justices would look at the history of favorable lower court rulings, uphold those rulings, and once and for all say there are protections for LGBTQ people. I hope they recognize the protections are there and that being transgender is not new. Weve always been here. It is just now theres enough of us to come forth and that its open for discussion.

Were human beings. We deserve the same basic human rights as everyone else has. Thats all were asking for. We are not asking for anything special. We just want the basic human rights that we should already have anyway.

If I had to do it all over again I would, Stephens told me. And to other transgender people on the verge of coming out, wondering what to and how to do it, I would say, more than anything else you have got to be true to yourself. If you cant be true to yourself, youre not only not going to be true to yourself, youre not going to be true to anybody or anything else. Its not easy, it never will be, but its something thats worth it in the end.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE T he Supreme Court last week, in Kelly v. United States, unanimously tossed the convictions of two former aides to Chris Christie for federal wire fraud and federally funded program fraud arising out of the Bridgegate scandal, in which they closed lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political payback against a Democratic mayor who declined to endorse Christies reelection as governor of New Jersey. The decision is not that interesting politically: The scandal quite deservedly ended with the firing of everyone involved, and with extensive political damage to Christie that killed his presidential campaign before it started. Nothing the Court said undermines any of that.

It is also not that surprising legally, which is why it was unanimous. The Court has consistently refused to extend the various general federal fraud statutes beyond frauds to line the pockets of the defendant in one way or another, either by diverting money or property away from the victim, or by taking bribes or kickbacks. As Justice Kagans opinion noted, the prosecutions theory that the Bridgegate defendants commandeered the Port Authoritys employees and property (bridge lanes, toll collectors) for nakedly political purposes did not actually involve theft, bribes, kickbacks, or any other form of enrichment. This was simply an abuse of public power for political ends. The Court suggested that state-law crimes in New Jersey might still cover the same conduct.

The more interesting question is whether it should be a federal crime for state officials to abuse public resources for purely political purposes. In 1987, in McNally v. United States, the Court struck down the theory of honest services fraud (i.e., that public officials committed mail or wire fraud by taking bribes and depriving the public of their honest services), but on the textual ground that the fraud statutes had never been written to cover the theory. Congress immediately passed a statute defining fraud for the purpose of several federal criminal statutes as including schemes to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.

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In 2010, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling challenged that statute as unconstitutionally vague, and the Court responded by explicitly limiting the statutes reach to bribes and kickbacks. The Court rejected the governments theory that the statute covered broader forms of undisclosed self-dealing, and Justice Ginsburgs opinion expressed some concerns about how a statute with that aim would work:

If Congress were to take up the enterprise of criminalizing undisclosed self-dealing by a public official or private employee, . . . it would have to employ standards of sufficient definiteness and specificity to overcome due process concerns. The Government proposes a standard that prohibits the taking of official action by the employee that furthers his own undisclosed financial interests while purporting to act in the interests of those to whom he owes a fiduciary duty, so long as the employee acts with a specific intent to deceive and the undisclosed conduct could influence the victim to change its behavior . . . That formulation, however, leaves many questions unanswered. How direct or significant does the conflicting financial interest have to be? To what extent does the official action have to further that interest in order to amount to fraud? To whom should the disclosure be made and what information should it convey? These questions and others call for particular care in attempting to formulate an adequate criminal prohibition in this context.

The justices were unanimous on this point, although Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy criticized the Court for not sending the entire honest-services statute back to Congress to write it more clearly. The justices have been vigilant, and unanimously so, about other efforts to expand the scope of these prosecutions. In 2000, in Cleveland v. United States, the Court ruled that state video-poker licenses and other state permissions were not the states property such that individuals could be prosecuted for mail fraud for lying in applications to get them. Justice Ginsburg wrote:

[The prosecutions theory] invites us to approve a sweeping expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction in the absence of a clear statement by Congress. Equating issuance of licenses or permits with deprivation of property would subject to federal mail fraud prosecution a wide range of conduct traditionally regulated by state and local authorities. We note in this regard that Louisianas video poker statute typically and unambiguously imposes criminal penalties for making false statements on license applications[U]nless Congress conveys its purpose clearly, it will not be deemed to have significantly changed the federal-state balance in the prosecution of crimes.

In 2015, the Court unanimously threw out the convictions of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell for taking bribes in exchange for official acts. The Court rejected McDonnells argument that the honest services statute was unconstitutionally vague so long as the charges defined bribery and official acts specifically enough, but found that he had been prosecuted under an unduly vague and open-ended theory of official acts. As Chief Justice Robertss opinion warned:

[The bribery statute] prohibits quid pro quo corruption  the exchange of a thing of value for an official act. In the Governments view, nearly anything a public official accepts  from a campaign contribution to lunch  counts as a quid; and nearly anything a public official does  from arranging a meeting to inviting a guest to an event  counts as a quo . . . But conscientious public officials arrange meetings for constituents, contact other officials on their behalf, and include them in events all the time. The basic compact underlying representative government assumes that public officials will hear from their constituents and act appropriately on their concerns  whether it is the union official worried about a plant closing or the homeowners who wonder why it took five days to restore power to their neighborhood after a storm. The Governments position could cast a pall of potential prosecution over these relationships if the union had given a campaig contribution in the past or the homeowners invited the official to join them on their annual outing to the ballgame . . . The Governments position also raises significant federalism concerns. A State [has] the prerogative to regulate the permissible scope of interactions between state officials and their constituents. Here, where a more limited interpretation of official act is supported by both text and precedent, we decline to construe the statute in a manner that . . . involves the Federal Government in setting standards of good government for local and state officials. (Quotation and citations omitted).

At every turn, the justices have tried to turn away from questions of Congresss constitutional authority by reading these statutes narrowly. But at some point, Congress  and perhaps the Court  needs to decide exactly how far federal authority can and should go in regulating misgovernment in the states that do not involve clearly defined forms of self-enrichment. The McDonnell situation seems an easier call: The feds can go after direct forms of bribery, while states concerned more broadly about officials taking too many personal favors from contributors can just write conflict-of-interest statutes to prohibit accepting them. Thats a step many states have already taken.

The problem with creating a federal criminal offense for situations like Bridgegate is that its extremely rare to get slam-dunk proof (of the kind that existed here) that an official action was taken for political favor-trading purposes without any arguable public-policy justification and without being a part of the log-rolling process of democracy. In Bridgegate, the prosecution was able to prove that the traffic study pretext for the lane closures was completely pretextual: Not only did the Port Authority customarily use computer models to do traffic studies and the defendants put their true intentions in writing, but the defendants also never even bothered to read the study they had ordered. Moreover, Christies aides werent trying to pressure the mayor of Fort Lee to take some official action they favored for possibly good public-policy reasons: They just wanted a campaign endorsement.

It is much commoner for cases built around this theory of prosecution to end up attempting to second-guess policy choices or (as happened in the case of the ridiculous state prosecution of Rick Perry) ignore the fact that using public resources for political leverage is sometimes a tool of good government. In other words, a federal statute aimed specifically at the Bridgegate fact pattern could easily end up doing more harm than good. Which leaves us with a narrower type of statute: no using public resources solely to get campaign support. But even that is likely to involve an awful lot of gray areas.

The important thing in Bridgegate is not that it was prosecuted, but that it was exposed  and that kind of political exposure is primarily the job of journalists, whistleblowers, legislative oversight bodies, freedom-of-information requests, and adversarial politics. Sunlight is still a better disinfectant than yet another avenue for criminalizing politics.

More from National Review
British actor Rory Kinnear has revealed that his sister Karina has passed away after a brief battle with coronavirus.

In a column for The Guardian, the 44-year-old actor said that Karina died in a hospital after testing positive forCOVID-19 last week. She was 48.

Due to the social distancing guidelines, Kinnear said the family bid their goodbyes to her over FaceTime and the telephone.

"Iplayed Karina one of her favourite songs and told her how proud I was to have been her brother and what gratitude I felt for what she had taught me about life.

"We had wanted to be with her together as a family and, under lockdown conditions and knowing my mother's strengths lie in areas other than navigating Zoom meetings it was as good as we could have hoped," he added.

Kinnear said Karina battled health problems since her birth when she was left severely disabled after suffering a lack of oxygen that caused severe brain damage.

She became paralysed from the waist down aged 19 following a lifesaving operation on her spine. She also suffered kidney damage after a battle with sepsis in 2014.

"And yet every time, when you thought she couldn't possibly take any more, she defied us. Along with my mother's ferocious determination to keep her alive, she defied medicine, she defied doctors, she defied prognoses, she defied the capacity of human endurance.

"And she would look at you and smile, as if to say: 'Yep. I did it again'. She was heroic and continually inspiring. In fact she had a daredevil's spirit, forever finding joy in activities many might have shied away from," the actor said.

He added that Karina hadn't visited hospital for once in the past 18 months.

"It was coronavirus that killed her. It wasn't her 'underlying conditions'. Prior to her diagnosis, she hadn't been in hospital for 18 months an unusually care-free period for Karina.

"No, it was a virulent, aggressive and still only partially understood virus that was responsible, a virus that is causing thousands of people, despite the unstinting bravery of the medical staff of this country, to say a distanced goodbye to relatives who would still be alive had they not contracted it," Kinnear said.

The actor hoped that the pandemic would make people realise about the safety of those "most in need of our care and compassion", as it is making their lives "harder" and "even more fearful".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
11 people have been arrested for allegedly scamming people out of more than 2.4 million euros in a number of countries via the Internet.

They allegedly deceived employees by sending an email pretending to be their boss and asking them to transfer money.

The suspects have been charged with alleged fraud, money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.

More than a hundred bank accounts were allegedly used to defraud companies in Italy, the Czech Republic, the United States, Lebanon, China, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands.

An investigation was launched in mid-2018 after complaints were made against a group of alleged cybercriminals specialising in phishing fraud.

They reportedly set up a complex network of 150 bank accounts involving intermediaries and mules" to hide the source of the money and hid the identification of the final addressees.

Researchers identified 16 people, one in Palma, another in Maspalomas in Gran Canaria, two in Ibiza and twelve in Valencia. 11 of them have been arrested and the other five are still under investigation but have been released.
Academic life is not just about discovery and excitement. In a recent article in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Lisa M. Jaremka (University of Delaware) and colleagues share a collection of personal stories about their experiences with repeated rejection, impostor syndrome, and burnout.

Repeated Rejection

From submitted manuscripts to grant proposals and job applications, these scholars have learned that rejection is not failure, writes APS Fellow Kate Sweeny (University of California Riverside). Sweeny recommends taking a break before moving on to the next step, not dwelling on rejection, not being afraid or ashamed to seek help if the stress of rejection becomes overwhelming, and discussing ones experiences with trusted colleagues.

APS Fellow Josh Ackerman (University of Michigan) writes about creating a shadow CV that includes every rejection. This can be disheartening, he acknowledges, but it can also help scholars recognize the progress they have made. Moreover, sharing a shadow CV with others might help to break the silence around rejection and normalize discussions about these experiences.

Sharing a shadow CV (including every rejection) with others might help to break the silence around rejection and normalize discussions about these experiences.

Josh Ackerman (University of Michigan)

Ludwin Molina (University of Kansas) emphasizes the importance of understanding that rejection is aimed at ideas and not individuals. Besides not taking rejection personally, he also recommends trying to find the positives in a rejection and writes about the need to pump the brakes on the publish-or-perish approach in our field.

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome refers to the feeling that one is pretending to be something they are not. Nick Rule (University of Toronto), believes that academic culture pushes scholars to trudge forward to the edge of perfectionisms mirage, and how the costs of these efforts, combined with constant rejection, can compound to make scholars feel that their rare successes are exceptions rather than evidence of their ability. Others help feed our impostor-syndrome beast, he adds, noting that when he was admitted to Dartmouth as an undergraduate, his neighbors and boss told him he was not smart enough to survive an Ivy League school. He suggests that overcoming impostor syndrome may require each of us to recognize the myth that an academic acts or sounds a certain way instead of internalizing those messages to the point that we ascribe to them ourselves.

Linda R. Tropp (University of Massachusetts Amherst) comments on her impostor syndrome experiences as a full professor. She says she often feels grateful for her achievements instead of feeling she deserved them and has been surprised when people show interest in her work. She recommends that scholars feel the fear and do it anyway and remember that others are not likely to see them as impostors.

Diversifying examples of successful career paths to include faculty positions at liberal-arts colleges, community colleges, and nonprofit and private-industry organizations can help to reduce impostor syndrome in academia.

Brooke Vick (Muhlenberg College)

Brooke Vick (Muhlenberg College) believes her impostor syndrome derives from holding herself to high standards and, as a result, being prone to paralyzing perfectionism. She says it may also reflect her sensitivity to social cues and comparison to others. These personal characteristics may be exacerbated by social factors, such as being a woman of color working in predominantly White institutions in higher education. She suggests, among other strategies, diversifying examples of successful career paths to include faculty positions at liberal-arts colleges, community colleges, and nonprofit and private-industry organizations.

Burnout

Bertram Gawronski (University of Texas at Austin) writes that the experience of burnout is different from simply feeling fatigued or exhausted; it typically stems from a lack of perceived control that leads people to feel overwhelmed and at the end of their rope. He experienced serious burnout when he was a graduate student and his research was not going well. From conversations with other academics, he gathered that this is a common experience, especially toward the end of graduate school when students are getting ready to apply to jobs in a competitive market. He found that it was helpful to know he was not the only one feeling burnout and also to have a physical space that did not remind him of work.

Jaremka attributes lack of sleep as a major contributor to her burnout, along with an intense pressure to succeed that led to work-life imbalance. After graduating, she started a postdoctoral position, where the 9-to-5 work schedule suggested by her postdoctoral mentor helped her regain a healthy relationship with her work and academia. However, Jaremka experienced a second bout of burnout as an assistant professor. Academic culture needs to change  to make these experiences less common, she writes, suggesting that mentors acknowledge the importance of taking time off and that employers focus on quality over quantity of work when hiring or promoting employees.

Academia should redefine achievement, provide funding for graduate students to guarantee a living wage, emphasize collaboration over competition, and provide training in professional skills, such as grant writing and teaching.

Molly Metz and William Ryan (University of Toronto)

Molly Metz and William Ryan (University of Toronto), married early-career psychologists with teaching-focused positions, discuss their experiences with burnout, informed by their training, relationship, and identities. They suggest engaging in introspection, minimizing social comparison, distancing oneself from the sources of burnout, seeking help from a therapist, and finding meaning in helping others. They also recommend that academia should redefine achievement, provide funding for graduate students to guarantee a living wage, emphasize collaboration over competition, and provide training in professional skills, such as grant writing and teaching.

The scholars hope that sharing their personal stories in this article will be an impetus for additional research on these topics, specifically focused on the experiences of academics. They also hope to encourage fellow academics to share their negative experiences in academia.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) Holding immediate hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise case will not guarantee an "automatic renewal" of the media giant's license, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Tuesday amid renewed calls to finally tackle the long-pending measures in the lower chamber.

"To those calling for an immediate hearing on this matter, including my colleagues in Congress, let me just be very clear - a hearing does not mean automatic renewal," Cayetano wrote in a statement posted on his social media page.

In a letter addressed to Cayetano earlier in the day, 14 lawmakers who have authored bills on ABS-CBN's franchise bid urged the Speaker to green light the committee hearings, saying the move would help put an end to "uncertainties" amid the country's current health crisis.

Cayetano, in response, said the resumption of panel discussions will only let the network and other concerned parties present their arguments. He said that it is important for Congress to allot time to review the case, and that only a series of "proper" hearings and comprehensive discussions can shed light on the issues hounding it.

The House leader an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier vowed to ensure the network's franchise will not be renewed has come under fire from critics who blame him for the delay in the hearings.

READ: Duterte to ABS-CBN: Next year, you're out

"The serious concerns that have been raised can no longer be swept under the rug, and it is absolutely necessary for Congress to give this matter all the time and attention it requires. Without a series of proper hearings we will never be able to put an end to the uncertainties and doubt," Cayetano said, noting that the chamber will remain cognizant of the pending franchise case.

'House responsibility to end uncertainties'

In their letter, the lawmakers, who have crossed party lines, appealed for the immediate convening of the House committee on legislative franchise, where numerous ABS-CBN franchise renewal bills remain pending.

"We firmly believe that the House now has the primary duty and responsibility to put an end to the uncertainties and confusion brought by the pendency of the application of renewal of the ABS-CBN's franchise," the lawmakers wrote in the letter, while also expressing frustration on the National Telecommunications Commission's controversial flip-flop decision on the company's operations.

READ: House panel to NTC: Explain why you shouldn't be held in contempt for ABS-CBN closure order

The appeal comes a week after ABS-CBN officially went off air, in compliance with the NTC's cease and desist order due to the expiry of the media company's legislative license.

The development was met with a flurry of protests from netizens, who have called for the upholding of press freedom, as well as lawmakers, who warned of the additional burden this may cause to the current COVID-19 crisis.

Measures have been filed before the House since November 2016 to extend ABS-CBNs franchise to continue airing on radio and free TV. But Cayetano earlier this year said lawmakers were too busy with more urgent measures, with the Taal Volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic issues on deck.

The bills' authors argued that resolving ABS-CBN's case is "equally important given the impact, economically and politically, of its continued shutdown in this time of crisis."

ABS-CBN, through a 46-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, on May 7 sought relief from the Supreme Court in a bid to nullify the order that forced it to go off the air. Senators on Monday also signed a resolution asking NTC to revoke its shutdown order on the media company, citing the need for news access as well as to save the jobs of thousands of workers.

CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.
Around 1200 migrant workers from Uttarakhand arrived in Kathgodam in Nainital district in a special train from Surat in Gujarat, officials said.

The train reached Kathgodam late on Monday night. It was the first special train by which migrants have been brought to the state.

They were taken to the international stadium at Gaulapar soon after their arrival at the Kathgodam railway station and provided food.

They were examined by medical teams in the presence of senior officials including Nainital District Magistrate Savin Bansalat the stadium where they also spent the night,Deputy Director, Information, Yogesh Mishra said.

The migrants arebeing sent to their respective districts in 46 Uttarakhand Roadways buses while strictly following social distancing norms, he said.

Another special train carrying migrants from Pune is likely to reach Haridwar by 3 pm.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An 88-year-old grandfather with COVID-19 was praised for his 'dignity and courage' as he reflected on life after being told he might not survive the virus.

Speaking on BBC documentary Hospital last night, Peter said he has 'so many good memories' and that he has 'had a good run' as he 'chewed over life' from his bed at London's Royal Free Hospital.

The grandfather, who was months away from celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary, had been told he was already receiving the maximum amount of treatment and that there was nothing more that could be done to help him.

In one heart-wrenching moment a registrar phoned Peter's daughter, Lisa, to deliver the difficult news that her father might not pull through. Peter had asked to see his family but was told he could not due to restrictions on hospital visitors.

Stoic: Speaking on BBC documentary Hospital last night, Peter said he has 'so many good memories' and that he has 'had a good run' as he 'chewed over life' from his bed at London's Royal Free Hospital after being told he might not survive the coronavirus

Viewers praised Peter for remaining courageous in the face of terrifying news, pictured

Despite being in what doctors described as the 'last chance saloon', Peter was able to pull through and was discharged from hospital at the end of the episode.

'We're coming up for 60 years married and I want to be there,' he said of returning to his wife. 'I'm very lucky I'm going home then we'll see what happens next.'

The emotional journey struck a chord with viewers at home, with one tweeting: 'I don't think I've ever been so heavily invested in anyone I've seen on TV as I was watching Peter on #hospital tonight well done BBC for a remarkable documentary.'

Another wrote: 'Brilliant to see #Peter pull through. Dignified, proud, brave & extremely grateful throughout #hospital.'

A third added: 'Peter's dignity and calmness in facing a very dangerous new virus, alone is astounding #hospital.'

BBC cameras followed patients and staff at the hospital, which is a world leader in treating infectious diseases and one of the first trusts in the UK to receive COVID-19 patients, in the days after the start of the government lockdown in March.

The grandfather, who was months away from celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary, had been told he was already receiving the maximum amount of treatment and that there was nothing more that could be done to help him. Pictured, in his hospital bed

Peter had asked to see his family but was told he could not due to restrictions on hospital visitors. Pictured, a photo of Peter's wife, who he was unable to see while in hospital

In one heart-wrenching moment a registrar named Johnathan, pictured, phoned Peter's daughter, Lisa, to deliver the difficult news that her father might not pull through

Despite the bleak outlook, Peter kept his spirits up as he spoke to his granddaughter, pictured

Peter was admitted with respiratory problems after contracting COVID-19 from a dinner party guest. 'I caught the brunt of it obviously,' he said calmly. 'So it's tough nuts.'

Consultant Tim Lockie was very worried about Peters condition and initiated a difficult conversation with him and his family about his prognosis.

Peter insisted he did not want to be put on a ventilator or be resuscitated as it would be futile given the strength of the virus. Instead his body was 'kept alive' by oxygen and medics faced the agonising wait to see whether he could fight back.

At one point Peter was told that his oxygen level had been increased once again and that it was 'not a good sign'.

The grandfather was left alone with his thoughts and admitted it could be 'lonely' in the room but said 'one doesn't need to get depressed'.

Despite being in what doctors described as the 'last chance saloon', Peter was able to pull through and was discharged from hospital at the end of the episode. Pictured, off oxygen

'I'm listening to music,' he continued. 'One chews through ones life as well... So many good memories. Nothing but good. We've had a good run so no complaints.'

BBC crew were able to visit daughter Lisa, who revealed her father and his parents had fled Nazi Germany to move to the UK.

She spoke of the difficulty of not being able to be by his bedside.

'It's very scary when someone goes into hospital,' she said. 'It's been really frightening and awful. You just want to be there holding his hand.

'You don't have a sense of whether he's feeling scared, or feeling safe, or feels like he's making progress.'

However, after being on oxygen treatment for 12 days, Peter's oxygen levels dramatically and he was able to be discharged.

The consultant spoke of just how close he had come to losing his battle with the disease and said he had survived 'against all the odds.

'Without the supplemental oxygen he wouldn't have survived hours,' he said. 'Peter was in the last-chance saloon, as it were...'
CALGARY - WestJet Airlines Ltd. is extending its suspension of thousands of flights by another four weeks until July 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A passsenger waits at the WestJet end of the Calgary airport after the company laid off nearly 7000 employees, in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, March 25, 2020. WestJet Airlines Ltd. is extending its suspension of thousands of flights by another four weeks until July 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - WestJet Airlines Ltd. is extending its suspension of thousands of flights by another four weeks until July 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Calgary-based carrier is halting all U.S. and international flights, as well as more than 40 domestic routes as travel controls and public health concerns continue to choke off demand.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The latest round of schedule scrubbing follows WestJet's announcement on April 22 to suspend some 18,000 flights between May 5 and June 4 amid record-low passenger numbers.

Air Canada cancelled all flights to the United States late last month after Ottawa extended its U.S. border closure by 30 days, with most international flights also halted and seat capacity down more than 90 per cent.

Air Transat, Porter Airlines and Sunwing Airlines Ltd. have cancelled all trips until late June.

The International Air Transport Association predicts global revenues will fall by US$314 billion this year, or 55 per cent, from 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC, TSX:TRZ)
Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed bosses are 'really gunning' for the show to return despite the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking on Heart Radio the star, 55, reassured fans that couples may be able to perform some dances that don't require physical contact, but admitted they may have to self-isolate for the series.

It comes after numerous reports about whether Strictly will go ahead this autumn with social distancing measures still in place, with bosses allegedly considering making stars enter quarantine and wear face masks.

Worries: Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, 55, has revealed bosses are 'really gunning' for the show to return despite the COVID-19 crisis

Asked about Strictly's future, Craig told Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden that bosses are still hopeful viewers will get to see the famous ballroom on their screen this autumn.

The star suggested that celebrities could still take to the floor with professional dancers in non-contact dances such as the Charleston or contemporary.

He said: 'Well there's a lot of dances you can do, the Charleston, you can do contemporary, you can do street, modern jazz, there's lots of stuff you can do that doesn't involve touching one another but I'm hoping by October darling we might be able to at least get into hold.

'If that's not possible, something else will happen. We've done it in Australia and that worked really really well, where they were dancing in isolation.

Drama: The judge said the couples may have to isolate to perform in the series, but reassured fans that some dances can be performed without physical contact

'The couple have spent the two weeks together, making sure that they were safe obviously, and in their hotel rooms rehearsing and then they filmed it on top of the hotel, on the rooftop and it was amazing.'

Craig also touched on reports that bosses are considering filming Strictly without a studio audience, saying he knows producers are 'gunning for it to happen.'

He added: 'Well let's face it, Anne Widdecombe didn't touch many people, she was mainly flying in the air when she danced. I'm just saying.

'So there are ways around it and plus it will be the same format but a different guise, it will be interesting I think and it will be very, very exciting and of course, the nation want it.

Views: He said: 'You have to remember that we all want it to happen, we're really gunning for it to happen because people need something wonderful to look forward to'

'You have to remember that we all want it to happen, we're really gunning for it to happen because people need something wonderful to look forward to on a Saturday night leading up to Christmas...

'No one wants to be miserable so it's nice to have something on telly that's family friendly number one, because we're all stuck at home and they can really watch and be entertained with.'

On Sunday BBC bosses revealed they're pulling out all the stops for the show to return later this year, and have been considering various contingency plans.

Plans: It comes after BBC bosses revealed producers are still assessing measures such as enforcing a face mask rule and dancing two metres apart (Craig pictured with the judges)

BBC Director of Content Charlotte Moore has revealed producers are still assessing measures such as enforcing a face mask rule, dancing two metres apart and even quarantining celebrities and professional dancers.

Charlotte told The Times: 'We're looking at how that would work. Could you quarantine people? Can we test everyone before filming? There's a lot of work being done. It's a big task.'

She also said fans could see the show go on-air without a live audience, with the BBC also looking into testing participants' temperatures and installing glass divides inside the studio 'so that people feel even more protected.'

Which UK shows have stopped filming? EastEnders Line Of Duty Peaky Blinders Doctors Casualty Holby City River City Pobol y Cwm Hollyoaks Vera Call The Midwife The Only Way Is Essex Lorraine Loose Women Emmerdale Coronation Street Advertisement

Insiders previously claimed keeping participants in isolation was not plausible due to family ties.

They told MailOnline: 'Strictly are looking at options. At this stage, there's no chance they could isolate as individuals or couples. That would leave any married or parent dancers not seeing their families for up to three months.

'At the moment, it's not being considered. No one knows where we'll be in the world - if the series is a much shorter run, say. The isolation is not something that's currently on the table.'

Despite the recent claims, Charlotte insisted the option could now be on the table to enable filming goes on without breaching government guidelines.

A BBC spokesperson said: 'We will continue to review all productions on a case by case basis and will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organisation and Public Health England.'

Tune into Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, weekdays from 6:30am - 10am.
YPSILANTI, MI  Kennedy Dixon is heading into her senior year this fall at Eastern Michigan University, but she is getting some real-world, hands-on experience soon with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Dixon was chosen by MDHHS to conduct contact tracing during the coronavirus pandemic, and the process aims to help with the education and prevention of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Health professionals reach out to people who are assumed to be contacts of people who tested positive for the virus, said Dixon, a public health major and human biology minor from Brighton. So, what you would do is call somebody who has supposedly had contact with this person and let them know that they have potentially had contact with someone who has tested positive.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dixon said she signed up as a volunteer on MDHHSs website since it was her main source of information. About a month later, she got a call from them asking for help with contact tracing.

Since then, Dixon said she has been completing training and background checks while MDHHS continues to build its system for the contact tracing. Dixon said she received an email from MDHHS last week which said people will be starting by the end of the month.

Its my first time doing something like this, so Im pretty excited, Dixon said.

More information about contact tracing through MDHHS can be found here.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

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.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE:

Eastern Michigan University institutes test-optional admission policy for fall 2020 applicants

Expense reductions due to significant losses from COVID-19 announced by Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University alumni group donating $2M to 2020 graduates, incoming freshmen

Eastern Michigan University athletics helping hospital with laundry during coronavirus pandemic

Eastern Michigan University regents authorize sale of Gary Owen Building for $2.7M

Eastern Michigan University expands online summer class grant to include graduate students

Eastern Michigan University students, professors making masks, face shields for health care workers
I was very excited as a citizen of this country when I heard the news that, "the Export-Import Bank (EXIMBank) Ghana is set to collaborate with Entrance Pharmaceuticals and Research Center, a member of the Tobinco Group of companies, to produce Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin locally to treat Covid-19 patients." These drugs which are imported, we are told are very effective in the treatment of the dangerous coronavirus disease.

However, it's an evidential fact that the government of H.E John Dramani Mahama in 2016 established the Ghana Export and Import (EXIM) Bank under (Act 911, 2016) to support the Government of Ghana's quest for feasible and sustainable export-led economy. The bank is to facilitate the transformation of Ghana's economy into an export one, by supporting and developing trade between Ghana and other countries, overseas investments by Ghanaian companies and eliminate critical market failures in the Ghanaian economy, thereby making Ghana competitive in the global marketplace.

The bank currently provides support in the following areas of the Ghanaian economy:

 pharmaceutical manufacturing

 poultry production

 palm oil and cassava production and processing

 pineapple and mango production

 cashew, cocoa, shea butter production, and processing

This good news of the Bank extending its helping hand to the pharmaceutical company comes after the former had extended similar interventions in several aspects of the country's economy in the past.

Find below the links that say it all about this well-intended & calculated and visionary bank established by the JM administration:

http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/2968-president-mahama-inaugurates-ghana-exim-bank-board

https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Ghana-Export-Import-Bank-launched-in-Accra-491506

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/ghana-news-ghana-exim-bank-to-build-100-greenhouses.amp.html

https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Government-EXIM-Bank-to-support-1D1F-734515

https://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2018/October-16th/exim-bank-commits-gh92-million-to-shea-industry.php

https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Ghana-EXIM-Bank-facilitates-Ghana-Beyond-Aid-agenda-659898

https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-astek-to-be-revamped-with-1m-exim-bank-loan.html

Unlike the Construction Bank which was launched in mid-2017 by the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, and COLLAPSED in 2018, the JM's EXIM Bank is still operational and providing the necessary support to the various industries even in this crisis of COVID-19 to boost the Ghanaian economy as originally planned in 2016. By the way, should I commend this Nana Addo led government for not collapsing this bank too?

Sadiku Katadatu

NDC Youth Activist

Ejura-Ashanti
Still waiting for your stimulus check? Heres how to get it in the next round.

To receive a coronavirus stimulus check by direct deposit, eligible Americans must submit their banking information through the Get My Payment tool by noon on Wednesday.

Were working hard to get more payments quickly to taxpayers, said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. We want people to visit Get My Payment before the noon Wednesday deadline so they can provide their direct deposit information. Time is running out for a chance to get these payments several weeks earlier through direct deposit.

Approximately 130 million individuals have already received payments totaling more than $200 billion, the IRS said.

After noon on Wednesday, the IRS will begin the process of sending paper checks, expected to arrive by mail to millions of Americans in late May and June.

The Get My Payment tool also allows Americans to check their payment status.

To track the status of your payment, you will need to enter the following information:

Social Security Number

Date of birth

Mailing address

It also allows those who filed their tax return in 2018 or 2019 but did not provide their banking information on their return to submit direct deposit information, allowing for direct payments rather than waiting for a mailed check.

Those who want to add their bank account information to speed receipt of their payment will also need to provide the following additional information:

Their Adjusted Gross Income from their most recent tax return submitted, either 2019 or 2018

The refund or amount owed from their latest filed tax return

Bank account type, account and routing numbers

Most American adults will receive at least $1,200, while married couples who have filed their tax returns jointly will receive $2,400. Adults with children will receive $500 for children under the age of 17.

The checks are part of the $2.2 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act hammered out by Republican and Democratic leaders and signed by President Donald Trump in late March. The bill was the third economic boost amid the crisis, and lawmakers have said they are already at work on another package thats likely to expand unemployment benefits and include more direct payments to Americans.

House Democrats are set to unveil another round of economic for relief for Americans later this week.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, in an editorial board meeting with The Republican and MassLive last week, said lawmakers are considering a second round of direct payments for Americans in the latest coronavirus stimulus package.

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.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced a bill on Friday, 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.

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I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries, but we do live in a moment where, you know, the people of Illinois, the people of the United States deserve to get their pastime back, to watch anyway, on television, Pritzker said. I, you know, if theyre able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League Baseball that works, I hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to recognize that this is (an) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us want to have during the summer  to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams. We need that back, that normalcy back, and hope theyll be reasonable.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 11:48:58|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Three suspects were captured with 33.6 kg of heroin seized in a recent drug trafficking case in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Tuesday.

After receiving a tip-off that drug dealers were planning to transport a batch of drugs from Yunnan to the city of Jiaxing in east China, police set up a task force to investigate.

Police caught the three suspects in Longling County, Yunnan, on April 26, with 31 packages of heroin weighing 33.6 kg seized from a suspect's motorcycle.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

Yunnan is a major front in China's battle against drug crime, as it borders the Golden Triangle known for its rampant drug production and trafficking. Enditem
The U.K. government's new "stay alert" coronavirus safety campaign is being mocked on social media.

When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new advice on Sunday, which replaced "stay at home," it was met with widespread confusion. Devolved nations Scotland and Wales rejected it and communication experts were baffled by its meaning.

The full message of the new campaign reads: "Stay alert, control the virus, save lives," replacing "Stay home, protect the NHS (the National Health Service), save lives."

Johnson defended the change at a press briefing on Monday, stating: "For those who think that the stay alert is not the right message, I think it is absolutely the right message for our country now."

Despite this, the shift in language has sparked parodies across Twitter.

The account Scarfolk Council, linked to a fictional English town, posted: "Very practical, life-saving advice from the government. Sneak up, shout at the virus, then run."

@scarfolk: #StayAlert Very practical, life-saving advice from the government. https://scarfolk.blogspot.com

Another user wrote: "This government is doing the bare minimum it can get away with so that at the inevitable public enquiry, they can shrug and say 'we did run a comms campaign, not our fault if nobody followed the advice'," with an image that stated: "Be vague, cover our backs, shirk responsibility."

@dylan_patel: Fixed it. This government is doing the bare minimum it can get away with so that at the inevitable public enquiry, they can shrug and say 'we did run a comms campaign, not our fault if nobody followed the advice'.

Comedian Olaf Falafel posted a "slogan generator," on Twitter, writing: "It appears some of you idiots can't follow a simple instruction so here's the new and much clearer government Covid slogan generator."

@OFalafel: It appears some of you idiots can't follow a simple instruction so here's THE NEW AND MUCH CLEARER Government COVID Slogan generator

NHS worker Julia Prague urged the U.K. public to listen to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, highlighting that Scotland's advice was still to "stay at home," despite Johnson's change of message.

@julia_prague: As a frontline NHS doctor I plead with you, PLEASE:

Johnson recorded a message about easing the U.K.'s lockdown, broadcast Sunday night, in which he stated that people who can't work from home  such as those in construction or manufacturing  were encouraged to go to work. However, he also encouraged people to social distance and avoid public transport.

British comedian Matt Lucas recorded a video parody of Johnson's speech, in which he stated: "So we are saying: don't go to work, go to work, don't take public transport, go to work, don't go to work, stay indoors, if you can work from home go to work, go outside, don't go outside, and then we will, or won't, something or other."

@RealMattLucas

Actress Meggie Foster posted a parody of the speech on TikTok, featuring a copy of George Orwell's book "1984" and the words of former British Prime Minister Theresa May: "Nothing has changed."

@meggiefoster: Bedtime with Boris: 'Stay Alert' ft. Theresa

Meanwhile, another Twitter user mocked the Prime Minister's new, five-tier coronavirus alert system, also presented on Sunday.

@loveofhuns: Almost half way girlies
HALDEN, Norway, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloudera (NYSE: CLDR), the enterprise data cloud company, today announced that the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), an independent international research foundation located in Norway, has chosen Cloudera Data Platform (CDP) to power its digital transformation initiative. With Cloudera Data Platform, IFE will enable any nuclear facility that is part of the OECD Halden Reactor Project to experience powerful analytics in a self-service, private cloud environment.

IFE is one of the world's foremost research organisations on energy, with a wide range of capabilities including simulation, data visualisation, predictive modelling, cybersecurity, human-centred digitalisation and safety. The organisation is hosting the OECD Halden Reactor Project, a joint undertaking of nineteen (19) countries around the world under the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD. The project is aimed at generating safety and licensing assessment in nuclear fuels and materials, based on years of data collection and expertise at the Halden Reactor facility, as well as human factors and digital safety systems research for improved nuclear safety, using the Man-Technology-Organisation laboratories at Halden.

The Halden Reactor Project has a vast collection of historical unstructured information in the form of technical drawings, paper reports and time series databases. IFE will use CDP to create a data lake environment with a diverse set of data assets, which will enable scientists to gather valuable insights and see correlations between datasets. CDP will power IFE's data analytic capabilities and advance scientific R&D efforts across a variety of sectors, including Industry 4.0, Smart Cities and Nuclear Energy.

"Any nuclear organisation that is part of the OECD Halden Reactor Project can rely on these next-generation analytics to better assess historical experiments," said Petter Kvalvik, Business Manager Digitalisation at IFE. "The analytics portal, powered by CDP, will provide scientists with access to data discovery and cataloguing tools, with the opportunity to perform data science tasks to better understand critical functions and processes."

In addition to using the CDP for the Halden Reactor Project, IFE will rely on the open source based Cloudera Data Platform to collect, analyse and model data from several research infrastructures in strategic areas like Industry 4.0, the energy system, smart cities and space," said Per-Arne Jrgensen, Senior Engineer, at the Risk, Safety and Security department at IFE. "We establish a reference architecture for data collection, storage and analysis with CDP at its core. Our teams are now able to gather, analyse and share valuable insights across our different research labs and data sources."

"The enterprise data cloud is key to helping create the most valuable and transformative business use cases," said Stephen Line, VP EMEA, Cloudera. "Efficiency, collaboration and holistic management are all vital to enterprises that want to innovate by unlocking value from their data."

About Cloudera

At Cloudera, we believe that data can make what is impossible today, possible tomorrow. We empower people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. Cloudera delivers an enterprise data cloud for any data, anywhere, from the Edge to AI. Powered by the relentless innovation of the open-source community, Cloudera advances digital transformation for the world's largest enterprises. Learn more at Cloudera.com.

Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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In a recent interview, the chief economic adviser (CEA) to the finance ministry, Krishnamurthy Subramanian defended Indias limited covid-19 relief-cum-stimulus package, citing the fear of ratings downgrades in case of high fiscal slippages. Subramanian pointed out that most countries which have announced big fiscal packages have better ratings than India has.

A Mint analysis of fiscal packages offered across the world suggest that Subramanians statement is only half-true. While richer countries, which have better sovereign ratings, have indeed offered more generous support to their citizens and firms, there is considerable variation in fiscal packages announced by countries on the same ratings scale. Several countries that have similar or lower ratings than India have offered more generous fiscal packages, the data show.

The accompanying chart here is based on the sovereign ratings from S&P but the trend is similar even if one used the ratings assigned by Moodys or Fitch Ratings. To be sure, the data here includes all government spending for covid-relief (including government guarantees on loans and reallocation of previously budgeted spending). Estimates by economists at Nomura suggest that new spending by most Asian economies is in fact quite smaller than the total spending announcement. Yet, even on that metric, Indias spend so far (about 0.5 percent of GDP or gross domestic product) is relatively low.





But if we consider Fridays announcement of additional government borrowing of roughly 4.2 trillion rupees as indicative of a fresh stimulus program, Indias stimulus plans appear slightly more respectable. Estimates from Barclays suggest that the new borrowing (along with hiked fuel taxes) could offer the government room for an additional stimulus package worth 0.9 percent of GDP (after factoring in revenue losses because of the downturn in economic activity).

Nonetheless, a combined fiscal stimulus worth 1.4 percent of GDP might still be quite conservative compared to most emerging market peers.

One reason for this conservatism may lie in Indias relatively vulnerable fiscal position. Indias public debt and deficit (net addition to debt) numbers are considerably worse than most emerging markets, data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show. Yet, IMFs latest projections for debt numbers, published last month, show that debt-GDP levels are expected to worsen for almost all emerging markets this year.





Thus on a relative scale, Indias debt-GDP ranking will not change much even if India borrows a bit more than what it does in other years, at a time when debt metrics for all countries are expected to deteriorate.

To be sure, this does not offer a license for unhinged borrowing or spending. But it does mean more room to deliver an impactful fiscal package. It is also worth noting that the evolution of the debt-GDP metric depends not just on the net addition to debt but also on the net addition to GDP. If the denominator (nominal GDP) falls more than expected, this will worsen debt-GDP levels regardless of how fiscally conservative a government is. And thats the risk that India faces at this stage.

The ratings agency Moodys highlighted precisely this risk in their note on Indias outlook dated 8 May. A significant worsening of Indias fiscal metrics would occur in the context of a prolonged or deep slowdown in growth, and would invite a ratings downgrade, the ratings agency warned.

If Indias fiscal stimulus is well-aimed to boost growth and is seen as a temporary aberration to deal with the ongoing crisis, it may not invite any ratings action, economists said. Rather, such steps might be needed to prevent a downward spiral in growth and ratings.

There will be pressure on ratings because of fiscal slippages," said M. Govinda Rao, former director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). But the rating agencies will take into account the relative situation as well. Every country is undergoing a serious crisis, and fiscal metrics everywhere will be under pressure. This is a temporary aberration and if the government convinces the rating agencies that they have a credible plan to return to austerity, there may not be a downgrade."

Ratings agencies themselves appear to have factored in fiscal slippages in the current fiscal.

The ability of emerging markets to use fiscal stimulus to support growth varies a lot," said Shaun Roache, chief Asia-Pacific economist at S&P. In some cases, including India, high levels of debt and reliance on foreigners to fund current account deficits limits the space to cut taxes or boost spending. Still, using fiscal policy to limit the damage, especially to protect jobs, will be essential if policymakers set the economy up for a recovery later this year."

Measures taken by the U.S. Fed and other large central banks to boost liquidity have reduced upward pressure on the dollar, allowing emerging markets such as India more space to lower interest rates and raise public borrowing, Roache added.

The fiscal metrics are after all only one set of metrics that determine a countrys sovereign ratings. Growth and external vulnerabilities are other crucial determinants. Thanks to low oil prices and the cushion of a comfortable forex cover, Indias external vulnerabilities are low right now. So far, growth downgrades for India have been in line with other emerging markets but the lack of an effective fiscal stimulus could change that in the coming months.

Without a credible plan to revive the economy, the government risks undermining growth as well as fiscal metrics. A sharp decline in growth over the medium term would crimp government revenues and lead to much wider deficits than anticipated. It would also likely add to the growing pile of bad loans, strain an already fragile financial sector, and raise the eventual bank recapitalization costs for the government. The risk of a sovereign downgrade will become much more acute under such circumstances. India would harm rather than improve her rating prospects by walking down that path.

At the moment, fiscal prudence demands higher spending, not belt-tightening.

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- President Rodrigo Duterte greeted all the moms a Happy Mothers Day during his nation address

- He also remembered his late mother, Soledad or Nanay Soling who passed away in 2012

- The President also expressed his sympathy to the mothers who lost a child fighting against COVID-19

- He mentioned that the frontliners who passed away combating the deadly coronavirus must be proud for their service

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

President Rodrigo Duterte greeted all the moms a belated Happy Mothers Day during his televised address that was taped on Monday night but aired on Tuesday morning.

KAMI learned that the President also remembered his late mother Soledad Nanay Soling Duterte.

I greet all the mothers belatedly, though, happy mother's day! he said.

I remember my mother, Soledad. She was a good mother, look naging Presidente pa ako. She must be smiling or she must be in a state of wonderment at the face of my father. Ano ang nagawa natin sa gag*ng ito?" He added.

In a live video on Facebook, the President also sympathized with mothers who lost their children fighting COVID-19.

You have our kind thoughts and prayers, the President said.

You are given the chance to serve your fellow men before going to the universal sky is something to be proud of, he said to the frontliners who died combating against COVID-19.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

In a previous report by KAMI, President Duterte was said to be neutral regarding the issue of ABS-CBN shutdown.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte is the current and 16th President of the Philippines. His mother, Soledad, passed away on February 4, 2012.

In this new episode, we explain to you the symptoms of COVID-19 that everyone should be aware of amid the pandemic. Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
by Biju Veticad

Repatriation is forcing all levels of government to apply different mechanisms to deal with the COVID-19 threat. The federal government has set strict conditions, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The Catholic Church is doing great work helping returnees under quarantine.

Delhi (AsiaNews)  The last plane with civilian passengers landed in India on 22 March before the countrys lockdown came into force. Now the government is implementing a plan to repatriate Indians stranded abroad.

Operation Vandhe Bharat is the largest repatriation of Indians since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait when the Indian government brought home 150.000 of its citizens over 59 days, between 13 August and 11 October 1990, in almost five hundred flights.

Starting 7 May, Vandhe Bharat could repatriate up to a million people with military aircrafts and Navy ships, with 15,000 people repatriated from about a dozen countries in the first week.

Given the huge number of people registering at Indian embassies around the world, the mission could take several weeks to complete. Increasingly, both professionals and workers are asking to be repatriate because they lost their job as a result of the economic impact of lockdowns.

The Home Ministry has already made public the procedures to prioritise the repatriation of those who have "valid reasons to return. The people whose visas are about to expire, who risk expulsion, with family emergencies, medical problems including pregnancy and students who lost their accommodation will go first.

The first flights with returnees arrived in the state of southern India in Kerala on 7 May. A special Air India flight from Saudi Arabia arrived in Kozhikode, Kerala, with 152 people from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Border officials reported that 84 of the passengers who returned from Riyadh were pregnant women who required the assistance of gynaecologists and nurses. A Navy ship with 700 people arrived yesterday from Male (Maldives) also with many pregnant women and children.

Repatriation is forcing every level of government to apply various mechanisms to deal with the COVID-19 threat. The federal government has laid down strict conditions, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

In Kerala, the local Health Department has alerted 207 hospitals across the state to be on stand-by, and made arrangements with 125 private hospitals in case they are needed at a later stage.

Up to 11,000 isolation beds and 1,700 intensive care beds are ready for returning Keralites. In addition, around 200,000 beds are ready for mandatory quarantine.

The federal government organised the first 64 flights which began taking off on 7 May bringing back some 15,000 Indians from a dozen countries over the following week.

The first phase includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Subsequently, the programme will be extended to other countries like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla are overseeing the coordination process with foreign governments, Indian missions and state governments.

The External Affairs Ministry will place all information about returnees on a digital platform that will be accessible to other ministries and state governments.

Data on those who lost their jobs will help state governments reintegrate these workers by including them in nation-wide or state government employment programmes or private sector jobs.

A large number of Indians working overseas perform humble jobs and have been left jobless by the pandemic. Oil-rich Gulf states rely on millions of cheap labourers, mainly from South Asia who tend to live in squalid conditions on the outskirts of cities.

The Catholic Church has been doing a great job helping returnees under quarantine. Several spiritual retreat centres in southern India have been provided for free.

By contrast, many states in northern India are struggling to organise mandatory quarantine for their returnees. Faced with major difficulties in organising free confinement, states like West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha are blocking movements within the country.

Travel on trains and private vehicles has started inside India. Due to tensions and protests by migrant workers across the country, Indias railways plan to resume passenger train travel tomorrow.

In various parts of the country However, thousands of people are not on any passenger list and receive no support from the authorities.

As a result, long queues of people on foot or bicycle can be seen on roads. Like Indian expats, they dream of going home, but far too often they are victims of road accidents.
The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February

Kabul: Militants stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police and killing 14 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses, Afghan officials said. While the battle was underway, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, according to images shared by the Interior Ministry.

But the day's spasm of violence extended beyond Kabul. A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province  a hotbed of the Islamic State group  targeted a funeral ceremony, killing 24 people and wounding 68. And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February, which envisages the start of talks among key Afghan figures, including government representatives, and the Taliban.

Relentless, near-daily attacks have also left Afghan authorities ill-prepared to face the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 4,900 people in the country and killed at least 127.

Soon after the Kabul attack started, black smoke rose into the sky over the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighborhood that has been the site of many past attacks by Islamic State militants. The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building before it was over. Arian said 15 others, including women, men and children were wounded in the attack.

Three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, he said, without elaborating. It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targeted  an attack Arian said was an "act against humanity and a war crime."

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and the IS frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved.

Photos shared by the Interior Ministry during the Kabul attack show newborn babies and their mothers being carried out of the hospital by Afghan security forces. "The forces are trying to eliminate the terrorists and bring the situation under control," said Arian while the battle was ongoing.

By mid-afternoon, the ministry issued a statement saying three attackers had stormed the hospital and that one was shot and killed while the other two were still resisting arrest. The first floor of the clinic was cleared but the operation was ongoing to secure the rest of the building, the statement said.

A few hours later, the ministry released another statement, saying all three attackers were dead and that the operation was over.

In the evening hours, husbands, fathers and family members of the hospital's patients gathered around the site in Dashti Barchi, desperate for news of their loved ones. A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

In the suicide bombing in the eastern Nangarhar province, the attacker targeted the funeral in Khewa district of a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack on Monday night, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The Interior Ministry said the final casualty toll included 24 killed and 68 wounded. The casualties were brought to the Nangarhar provincial hospital, said hospital spokesman Gulzada Sangar. Khogyani added that the dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded in the attack.

According to Zabihullah Zemarai, another provincial council member, dozens of people, including, lawmakers, provincial council members and locals had gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, the militia commander. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that the Taliban were not involved in the attack.

Also, no group claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost, which killed a child and wounded 10 people. The bomb was placed in a cart at a local market and remotely detonated, said Adil Haidari, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

The IS, meanwhile, claimed it was behind a spate of attacks on Monday in Kabul when four bombs, one placed under a garbage bin and the other three by the roadside, went off in the northern part of the city, wounding four civilians, including a child. The Afghan intelligence service said in a statement late Monday that the agency has arrested an IS leader in the region, Zia-ul Haq, also known as Shaikh Abu Omer Al-Khorasani.
Way back in February, the Labor Department reported that employers added 225,000 jobs in January. The employment climate was looking up. According to a report in the New York Times, Michelle Meyer, chief United States economists for Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, Not only is there demand for labor, theres supply to fill that demand, and thats a very positive narrative. Then coronavirus slammed the economy. Businesses shuttered, and the positive outlook turned into dismal projections. Last Friday, the April jobs report showed a staggering loss of 20.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 14.7%, the highest rate since the Great Depression.

For the more than 1.3 million students expecting to graduate from college in the spring, the news was devastating. For new graduates entering the workforce in a recession, reports indicate that their earnings are 10% less than they would have made during a solid economic climate. And the negative effects could last close to 10 years.

To help combat the economic challenges facing its graduating class, according to a report in Marketplace, The president of Colby College, a small liberal arts college in Maine, has developed an initiative to find jobs for 100% of its graduates. President David Greene explained, Wages are often depressed for 15 years or more when they come out in a substandard job. One of the ways that they often catch up is by job-hopping. So, if we can avoid that for this graduating class  and I think we can  then itll make a huge difference for them.

The initiative, Pay it Northward, has enlisted 30,000 of its alums and called on its entire fundraising team of 45 staff and recruited 50 others on campus. Green expects to find 300 jobs. Two hundred seniors already have jobs within a class of 500.

As many graduates struggle with the weight of college tuition, and student debt  Colby runs around $74,000 a year  aggressive assistance in job placement can make a huge difference, not only for the individuals involved, but for the long-term health of the economy. Other schools might look to this example and consider generating similar initiatives for its students.
Breach and Attack Simulation Vendor Recognized in Analyst Firm's Research Designed to Highlight Interesting, New and Innovative Vendors, Products and Services

HERZLIYA, Israel, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- XM Cyber, the multi-award-winning breach and attack simulation (BAS) leader, was recognized as a "Cool Vendor" in Gartner's May 2020 "Cool Vendors in Security Operations and Threat Intelligence" report.

"XM Cyber is proud to be recognized in this Gartner report. To us, being named one of Gartner's 2020 Cool Vendors validates that XM Cyber is really one of a new breed of breach and attack simulation," said Noam Erez, CEO, XM Cyber.

XM Cyber brings innovation to the security industry with patented products that address the unique gaps that arise in large, complex networks. By safely and continuously simulating attacks, XM Cyber exposes real-life security issues that arise from vulnerabilities, human error and misconfigurations. Remediation recommendations are prioritized based on criticality and relation to the customer's most critical assets. The customer achieves a continual cycle of security posture improvement, optimizing security investments and human resources, and lowering exposure and risk.

Gartner, Inc.'s 2020 Cool Vendors in Security Operations and Threat Intelligence research report states that security and risk management leaders "consider Cool Vendors of security technology to meet evolving requirements to detect and respond to threats."

"We believe this analysis is a recognition that our product is not only innovative but is becoming a new type of BAS solution helping our customers improve their security posture both on-prem and in the cloud," he added.

Gartner's Cool Vendor research is designed to highlight interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services.

"XM Cyber allows organizations to see their network from the eyes of the attacker, running continuously 24/7 to find and show all the hidden attack vectors. XM Cyber's ongoing and prioritized actionable remediation of security gaps really helps improve the security posture in a way that is actually viable," Erez explained.

To download the full Gartner 2020 "Cool Vendors in Security Operations and Threat Intelligence" report, visit the XM Cyber website here.

Gartner Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About XM Cyber

XM Cyber brings innovation to the security industry with patented products that address the unique gaps that arise in large, complex networks. By safely and continuously simulating attacks on premise and in the cloud, XM Cyber exposes real-life security issues that arise from vulnerabilities, human error and misconfigurations. Remediation recommendations are prioritized based on criticality and relation to the customer's most critical assets. The customer achieves a continual cycle of security posture improvement, optimizing security investments and human resources, and lowering exposure and risk. XM Cyber was founded by top executives from the Israeli cyber intelligence community and has offices in the US, UK, and Israel.

For more information: www.xmcyber.com

Follow XM Cyber: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

Media Contact

Fusion PR (for XM Cyber)

Brian Janson

E: brian.janson@fusionpr.com

T: +1(646)-452-7111

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 04:30:25|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage in the Middle East on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases in Turkey surpassed 140,000, while the tally in Iran crossed 110,000.

Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced 1,704 new COVID-19 cases, as the tally of infections in the country rose to 141,475 and the death toll surged to 3,894 after 53 more deaths were recorded.

Also, 98,889 patients in Turkey, the worst-hit country in the region, have recovered from COVID-19, while 1,045 others are still under intensive care at hospitals.

In a televised speech, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to be on high alert over the COVID-19 pandemic.

He urged Turkish citizens to wear facemasks outside, follow the social distancing and hygiene rules, avoid going out unless necessary, and keep away from crowds.

In Iran, Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said 1,481 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of infections to 110,767.

Iran's death toll from the novel coronavirus reached 6,733, after 48 more fatalities were added, while the number of recovered patients rose to 88,357.

Despite the continued rise in infections, Iranian Ministry of Education announced that all schools in the country will reopen as of May 16, after almost three months of closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Saudi Arabia, the hardest-hit Gulf state, reported 1,911 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 42,925. The death toll from the disease in the kingdom climbed to 264 after nine more fatalities were recorded.

Saudi Interior Ministry said that a 24-hour curfew will be imposed during the five-day Eid al-Fitr holiday on May 23-27 following the fasting month of Ramadan.

Qatar's Health Ministry announced 1,526 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 25,149, of which 22,116 are under treatment. Also, 179 more people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 3,019, while the fatalities remained at 14.

Kuwait on Tuesday reported 991 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths from the virus, bringing the total infections to 10,277 and the death toll to 75.

Kuwait has received much-needed medical supplies bought in China as part of the efforts to combat COVID-19, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences announced.

The United Arab Emirates announced 783 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 19,661, which includes 6,012 recoveries and 203 deaths.

Egypt's total number of COVID-19 cases surged to 10,093 after 347 new infections were recorded on Tuesday. The death toll rose to 544, after 11 fatalities were added.

Egypt also witnessed a daily record of recoveries as 154 patients were cured of the disease, increasing the total recoveries to 2,326.

Bahrain reported 173 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 3,218. Bahraini Health Ministry said it will increase the number of beds for treating COVID-19 patients from 4,257 to 5,489.

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 148 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 3,721.

Morocco reported 137 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections in the country to 6,418, including 2,991 recoveries and 188 deaths.

In Baghdad, the Iraqi Health Ministry confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 2,913. So far, 112 people have died from the disease in Iraq, while 1,903 have recovered.

Israel's Ministry of Health said the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Israel dropped from 209 to 198, which is below 200 for the first time since March 15.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Israel increased to 16,529, after 23 new cases were added. Also, the number of recoveries increased to 12,083, while the death toll soared to 260.

Israel's Culture Minister Miri Regev announced that the theaters and cinemas across the country will reopen on June 14.

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 11 to 870. The Lebanese cabinet announced that it will completely shut the country down for four days from Wednesday night until Monday morning amid a resurge in COVID-19 cases.

Yemen's pro-government Health Ministry reported nine new COVID-19 cases in the war-ravaged Arab country, bringing the total number to 65. Enditem
Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, has said the government is not considering any alternative plan to hold on to power if election 2020 is not held as a result of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.



He stated that the government was deep-rooted in the rule of law and would only seek the extension of its mandate to govern for the next four years through safe, free, fair, and transparent elections.



Speaking at the Meet the Press on COVID-19 update, Mr Nkrumah said the government rather than hiding behind COVID-19 and contemplating an unconstitutional arrangement to cling to power, was focusing its energies to exploring innovative ways to ensure free, safe, transparent elections.



If countries like South Korea and Mali have successfully conducted elections in the midst of COVID-19 and Serbia, Ivory Coast, Burundi and the United States of America were looking for novel avenues to holding elections, our country will focus on finding way to conduct the 2020 December polls, he said.



Meanwhile, the Minister said the government had requested the mission abroad to compile data on Ghanaians, who were stranded in countries to inform government policy direction and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the end of the week would receive the data.



The Minister, however, said it was untrue that data gathering process meant the government was going to evacuate the persons from their locations to Ghana.

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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Colorado health officials have shuttered a restaurant that allowed dozens of people to dine without face masks or social distancing on Mother's Day.

On Friday, officials declared that eateries could only offer take-out services, but just two days later, C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen packed its booths full of people and failed to enforce rules aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

The Tri-County Health Department said the restaurant's actions were 'disheartening' and 'not fair to the rest of the community' who had been following the government's advice.

Jesse Arellano hands a breakfast burrito to his friend and regular, Robert Taylor, from the front door of his restaurant, C&C Breakfast and Korean Kitchen, in Castle Rock, Colo. yesterday

It shows as crowds of people wait for their food, many without masks, on Sunday. Restaurants are still limited to takeout only with social distancing restrictions

Video taken inside Castle Rock's C&C Coffee and Kitchen was shared online. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' office slammed the business for breaking the law

'We sincerely hope that C&C will choose to cooperate with the rules under which they are allowed to operate so we can lift this closure order,' said TCHD Executive Director John M. Douglas, Jr., MD.

The department said if the owners refuse to comply, further legal action would be taken against the restaurant that could include the revocation of its license.

Businesses that violate the governor's safer-at-home directive are subject to a fine up to $1,000 or a jail term, according to the Denver Post. A spokesman for the governor told the newspaper that 'Coloradans can contact their local public health department if they believe someone is violating Safer at Home'.

Owner April Arellano said: 'So much for...people saying nobody would show up'

The closure follows widespread condemnation from government officials, fellow businesses and members of the public.

State Gov. Jared Polis' office slammed the footage, saying: 'These restaurants are not only breaking the law, they are endangering the lives of their staff, customers and community.'

He added yesterday that they were 'causing an immediate health hazard,' and its business license will remain suspended until the restaurant is no longer a threat.

'We're walking a tightrope between protecting all of our health and of course trying to grow our economy,' he said. 'It's hard enough to walk without folks shaking the rope because of their own ideological or anti-scientific views, which they choose over the lives of our brothers and sisters.'

Restaurants and bars in the state are still limited to takeout only with social distancing restrictions. In the footage - uploaded by owner April Arellano on Sunday - crowds of people are pictured waiting for their food, sitting close to each other, many without masks.

In Shasta County, California the Cottonwood Rodeo drew huge crowds

Pictures show large groups congregating, close by to one another without face coverings

The Cottonwood Rodeo, pictured, said it provided hand sanitation stations

In the Facebook Live video, Arellana thanked everyone for their support, showing off her packed restaurant. She added: 'So much for some of those people saying nobody would show up.'

In a tweet to President Donald Trump, the restaurant's owners said they were standing up for America, small businesses, the Constitution and against Polis' overreach in response to the outbreak.

The owners, Jesse and April Arellano, could not be reached for comment by telephone on Monday. After laying off most of their staff during the outbreak, Jesse Arellano told KCNC-TV on Sunday that they wanted to stand up for small businesses and get the attention of lawmakers. He acknowledged they could face sanctions for their actions but said they wanted to know much support they had.

'We figured if we're going to crash, we're going to go down and see how many people stand with us,' Jesse Arellano told the station.

While restaurants in Colorado are not allowed to offer sit-down service under Polis' latest order, the state has allowed restaurants in western Colorado's Mesa County to open tables to customers - though only at 30% capacity - because of its low number of cases.

Mesa County has not had any coronavirus deaths. Douglas County, a wealthy county that is a mix of suburban and rural areas, has had 28 deaths due to the virus, about 3% of the statewide count.

Sharing the footage online, Nick Puckett wrote: 'Happy Mother's Day from C& C in Castle Rock, where the owner said this is almost double a normal Mother's Day.'

One customer intends to do just that. He said he will file a complaint against the Castle Rock restaurant after witnessing the packed environment.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis makes a point duiring a news conference to update the state's efforts to check the spread of the new coronavirus yesterday in Denver

'I wasn't even going to eat the food even if I had gotten it. I walked in, took the picture and turned right around,' he told the Denver Post.

As of Monday morning, Colorado has reached 972 deaths from the coronavirus, and more than 19,700 people have tested positive for the illness.

State data show more than 3,600 people have been hospitalized since the outbreak. Fewer than 600 people were in Colorado hospitals with symptoms of the illness as of Friday.

Castle Rock's C&C Coffee customer Holly Burrell told 9News: 'I'm here to support this because I love the fact that we all have choices. That's what being an American is about.

'I think we need to focus on the healthy people being out and the people that aren't healthy to stay in.'

And there were similar scenes around the country. In Shasta County, California the Cottonwood Rodeo drew huge crowds despite restrictions.

Pictures show large groups congregating, close by to one another without face coverings. Don Johnson told KRCR: 'We have constitutional rights. We have inalienable rights given to us by God.'

Daniel Warner added: 'This event has been going on for 50 years, it is a tradition for probably most of us, the rest of them that are here have been tired of being cooped up for months.'

The Cottonwood Rodeo said it provided hand sanitation stations and the Shasta County Sheriff's office confirmed it would not be enforcing the stay-at-home order.

In Ross Township, Pennsylvania, there were long lines outside a local Red Lobster

Gov. Tom Wolf is ordering most Pennsylvania residents to stay at home until June 4, extending a statewide order he first imposed April 1 to slow the spread of the new virus

In Ross Township, Pennsylvania, there were long lines outside a local Red Lobster for take out.

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered most Pennsylvania residents to stay at home until June 4, extending a statewide order he first imposed April 1 to slow the spread of the new virus.

In Las Vegas restaurants are back pouring drinks as the city begins to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, Phase One of Nevada's 'Roadmap to Recovery' officially commenced, with dine-in restaurants, retail stores, hair dressers and nail salons all allowed to open for the first time seven weeks.

Despite the rush on restaurants and barbershops Saturday, the world-famous Las Vegas strip still remains remarkably quiet, given that casinos are still closed.

New Yorkers flocked to Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday. Most families and groups appeared to practice social distancing while at the park, but there were several people who weren't wearing masks.

Meanwhile in Domino Park in Brooklyn, police patrolled the area to make sure people were social distancing.

Photos of the park showed people walking and running with family and friends as officers stood nearby.

In Las Vegas restaurants are back pouring drinks as the city begins to reopen, pictured

New Yorkers flocked to Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday. Most families and groups appeared to practice social distancing while at the park, but there were several people who weren't wearing masks

People out on a sunny Mother's Day amid COVID-19 pandemic in Washington Square Park

One local, who saw the crowds at C&C Coffee and Kitchen and left, told The Denver Post: 'It was unbelievable. I wasn't even going to eat the food even if I had gotten it. I walked in, took the picture, and turned right around.'

On Saturday, a host of Denver businesses  from clothing stores to hair salons  opened their doors for the first time in nearly two months as Mayor Michael Hancock's stay-at-home order expired, The Denver Post reported.

Business owners who have been hard hit financially say it's the only way to stay afloat as they try to recoup lost sales while giving their employees a much-needed paycheck.

Retail stores won't be able to just resume normal activity. Shops can only have a limited number of customers browsing, and shoppers must wear masks and stay 6 feet away from others.
Next time you're in the city, take a look at 145 Macquarie Street. Jack Mundey saved this 1848 building from demolition in the early '70s. It was the home of John Fairfax. - Catherine Eslake, Hazelbrook Let's hope a state memorial service in honour of the late Jack Mundey will be held as soon as social isolation restrictions are eased. The people of Sydney owe a great deal to this man. - Josephine Revai, Paddington Janice Creenaune (Letters, May12), it would seem, hasn't been to Wollongong lately. - Patricia Slidziunas, Woonona Jack saved our heritage so Gladys could tear it down. - Donald Hawes, Peel At the time of the green bans, my youngest brother had several neck ties that I regarded as much too loud. I used to call them his "Jack Mundey Ties"  they clashed with everything. This is by no means a criticism. - Robert Wallyn, Warilla

Vale Jack Mundey. Clover Moore, surely we can name something to commemorate what he did for Sydney? - Peter Le Marquand, Meadowbank Moronavirus an infection we can do without Just as pride comes before a fall, any capitulation to those screaming for freedom from lockdown would come at a potentially terrible cost. The violent Melbourne protests featuring weird conspiracy theories and imitating protests by armed anti-lockdown thugs in the US show what a tiny, vocal minority could perpetrate to undo all the good work done to contain the spread of COVID-19. Left unchallenged, such behaviour could result in second-wave clusters, needless deaths and further economic strife. - Ron Sinclair, Bathurst Congratulations Peter FitzSimons (''Direct from the US, moronavirus is here'', May 12), I think you're on to something. While COVID-19 has disrupted our lives for the past few months, the moronavirus has been slowly but surely infecting the population with major outbreaks occurring on special days such as Australia Day. As TV images from the US show, we still have a long way to go to achieve the extreme outbreaks, but as you assert, luminaries like Malcolm Roberts and occasionally Barnaby Joyce do us proud. We have slavishly embraced many American habits without much harm but the moronavirus is one we could do without. - Max Redmayne, Russell Lea Peter FitzSimons is right to call out our own far-right nutters and humorous derision probably strikes the right note. But I'm guessing he is also aiming for a serious warning. While our home-grown bunch are few in number and may be safely corralled, what is happening in the hinterlands of our great and powerful ally across the Pacific is very important. Shaun Carney aptly described America as being on a strange and self-absorbed trajectory (''Self-reliance the only way forward'', May 11) and this element of its mindset is not benign. We do need to be alert. - Margaret Johnston, Paddington

Peter FitzSimons reckons we have become the 53rd state of the US. Curious what he thinks the other two states are? - Robert Sroczynski, Braddon (ACT) Nice work Fitz. It would be totally laughable if it wasn't so serious. I howled with laughter until I could howl no more. - Shane Nunan, Finley I share Peter FitzSimons alarm at the spread of moronavirus creeping through our community.

Hopefully we can flatten the curve before 43 per cent of the infected believe injecting Dettol is the go. - Mark Paskal, Clovelly Thirty years of certain think tanks, media outlets and politicians convincing people to reject climate science and evidence-based reasoning shows the moronavirus was already here and infecting the upper echelons of society. - Graeme Finn, St Peters Moronavirus is spreading southwards faster than cane toads. - Sue Dyer, Downer (ACT)

Time to invest in medical research A core task for any Australian government is ensuring its citizens enjoy the best possible healthcare, while being fiscally responsible to current and future generations. At no time has this become more apparent than in the wake of the global pandemic. As Anthony Albanese proposes a vision for a post-COVID-19 Australia, one that focuses on job security and local industry we, the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR), urge bipartisan support from government in paying particular attention to the health and medical research sector in this "once in a political lifetime" opportunity. Investment in health and medical research produces preventative and screening strategies, shorter hospital stays, better treatments and cures for disease. The government has done well in preventing catastrophic health scenarios in Australia in recent weeks and a strong healthcare system has played a part in this. However, the number of full-time equivalent health researchers supported by the major funding scheme of the NHMRC has dropped dramatically in the past three years. Most startlingly, a workforce survey commissioned by the ASMR in November 2019 revealed almost a quarter of participants did not know if they would still have a job in the following year. COVID-19 may have solidified this fear.

The health and medical research sector has a strong track-record in returns on investment for both the health and economic benefit of our nation. More than $3 is returned for every $1 invested into health and medical research and, remarkably, this ratio increases with greater investment. Now is the perfect time to re-imagine our commitment in the medical research sector and create jobs, support the economy, and ensure Australian's long-term health. - Kiri Beilby, executive director, ASMR Another groundhog day for Josh Frydenberg and the Coalition, with the same old ideological solutions wheeled out for reviving the economy post-COVID-19. The different world we will face needs far smarter, future-oriented practical action. Did he ever consider boosting funds for scientific research, combating climate change, reinvigorating the ABC, revamping the NBN or anything else that may benefit the public rather than private interests? No lessons learned. It will be business as usual until the next crisis renders the same devastation and the same response. - Jonathan Tanner, Darlinghurst A rare quality During the bushfires I was sceptical about the number of times the supposedly unique Australian value of "mateship" was mentioned. It seemed to me that there was nothing uniquely Australian about trying to save the lives of the vulnerable, or expressing grief at the deaths of emergency workers. Now my reaction to the word "mateship" has changed. When I look to so many countries which are seemingly relaxed about letting the elderly and vulnerable die and sacrificing the lives of their front-line medical workers through insufficient PPE, or simply allowing their facilities to be overwhelmed, I'm having second thoughts. I still don't think this trait is uniquely Australian, but maybe this quality we call "mateship" is indeed much rarer than we thought. - Tim Payne, Kareela Government advice seems focused on social distancing and smaller group gatherings in order to respond effectively to COVID-19. The purpose of this advice is to decrease the prospect of transmission of respiratory droplets. Clearly, the consistent wearing of masks in public would have a positive effect. Why don't public health authorities promote "wear a mask when you're out"? A physical barrier must increase the prospect of a better result. - John Golden, Newport

Cheap, not cheerful Peter Pitt (Letters, May 12) I would have thought that the "myth about hiring cheap workers from overseas" had been well and truly confirmed by the steady stream of successful legal actions against Australian employers, large and small, routinely underpaying their employees. A close look at the employees suffering this abuse reveals they work in industries over-represented by employees that are migrant and temporary visa holders and where there is no job security and little trade union membership. - Elfriede Sangkuhl, Summer Hill Undervalued fighters On International Nurses Day yesterday, the federal government applauded the tireless work of Australia's nurses during the pandemic (''I treat all my patients like they are my family", May 12). The Prime Minister's quote was "our nurses have been on the front line in this tremendous fight against coronavirus etc". Meanwhile, nurses' meagre 2.5 per cent pay increase for 2020 is in danger of being frozen. Astounding. There can't be many that are working harder or under more stress than nurses in hospitals right now. - Tim Egan, Mosman While politicians would be happy to talk about the vital role nurses are playing during this pandemic, it's not that long ago that nurses were mounting a campaign to get a better nurse-to-patient ratio and to be able to spend more time with patients instead of on paperwork. Seems they weren't seen as so valuable then. - Joan Brown, Orange

In the midst of all this current ugliness, a depiction of beauty on your front page. Kudos to Kate Geraghty and Talyna Smith. Goodness radiating. Vermeer would be envious. - Juliette Banerjee, Mortdale Over and out He hasn't died, so why are politicians being so nice about Alan Jones's retirement from radio when he has been chiefly responsible for the level of political nastiness in this country? Are they afraid he might go against expert opinion, yet again, and reverse his decision? - Neil Reckord, Armidale I imagine many will rejoice at the retirement of Alan Jones. My pleasure will be derived from no longer having to listen to the conga line of obsequious sycophants who regularly delighted in entering his kingdom. - Charles Hargrave, Elizabeth Bay It is the wrong time for Alan Jones to retire when we are not permitted to dance in the streets. -

Terry Goulden, Wentworth Falls

Stand by for an ugly feeding frenzy from the left. Those who never listened to Alan Jones will shout the loudest. Thank you Alan, you raised issues that lazy and conformist journalists shied away from. - Garrett Naumann, Cammeray So Alan Jones has decided to retire after listening to expert advice. Now he has more time to read all the expert advice in relation to climate change science. - Peng Ee, Castle Cove Put out your chaff bags for Alan? - Peter Fyfe, Enmore Has rollout been absorbed? I'm not sure how proud NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell should be at providing the Department of Education's 2200 schools with 20,000 rolls of toilet paper (''Students kept 1.5m apart as class resumes'' May 12). At an average of nine rolls per school, they have probably run out by now.

- Ian Robinson, Katoomba

Not so smart app How smart is the COVIDSafe app? Since I downloaded it, I have received daily SMS messages asking me to download it. - Philip Fitzgerald, Lapstone X marks the spot As a resident of the area for many years, I can tell you that Canoelands is reached by driving to Glenorie along Old Northern Road and turning onto Canoelands Road for several kilometres (Letters, May 12). It has few residents, but large blocks of land. If your correspondents want somewhere else few have heard of, how about Fiddletown? - Michelle Reefman, Castle Hill I wonder what Google Maps will make of everyone searching for Canoelands. - Yvonne Kuvener, Wentworth Falls
/ -- A deep analysis of any business ecosystem brings out facts that show the path for a complete overhaul which will sustain the economy and will further strengthen it. One such keen observation of the current times is that the age-old strategies in family managed businesses that have worked well in the past may not be suitable to keep the businesses going in the future and needs a major turnaround.

In fact, the focus remains to deeply understand and appropriately deliver Indian Family Businesses a strategic path to transform and grow their business while they play an important role in India's growth. To tide over such transformation with ease and understand the emerging need of Family-run businesses, Pravin Dalal School of Entrepreneurship & Family Business Management was established in 1999.

The School offers multiple programs, stated below, and nurtures future leadership through its pioneering ecosystem of well-respected faculty, futuristic curriculum, subject matter expert talks, peer group learning, personal development workshops, intensive international exposure and social connect programs.

MBA (Entrepreneurship & Family Business)



Integrated MBA (Entrepreneurship and Family Business)



MBA (Entrepreneurship)Weekend Family Managed Business Administration Program (FMBA)Pravin Dalal School is an initiative of 'The School of Business Management' (SBM) of NMIMS Deemed-to-be-University which offers best management in the country to the individuals who want to make the key transition in their careers.

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) was established in 1981 by Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) to meet the growing demand for management In 2003, NMIMS was declared a Deemed to be university under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. With the legacy of 40 years, NMIMS has become one of the Top-10 B-schools in India and has emerged as a multi-disciplinary, multi-campus University with 17,000+ students and 750+ full-time faculty members.

The objective of the '2 Year Full-time MBA (Entrepreneurship & Family Business)' program is to assist family-owned businesses in understanding the changing dynamics of competition as well as the organization, brought about by globalization. The program intends to develop family business successors as enterprising and knowledgeable owners of the businesses of their forefathers. The program is primarily aimed at offering entrepreneurial and leadership skills to individuals who wish to begin and be successful in the challenging environment of current businesses.

MBA (Entrepreneurship & Family Business): It's a 2 Year course with a judicious mix of classroom lectures, case studies, project assignments and industrial visits.

Program Highlights:



To develop skills in successfully initiating, expanding, diversifying and managing an enterprise with a focus on understanding real-life business situations & practices



To inculcate among students entrepreneurial competencies including self-confidence, goal setting, planning, information seeking, problem-solving and planned risk-taking



To provide intensive personal counselling to develop a competent entrepreneur and a successful business executive of tomorrow



With its consistent efforts of transforming and enabling the development of leadership skills, for sustainability and scalability of respective Family-run businesses., AACSB has recognised Pravin Dalal School of Entrepreneurship & Family Business Management with the 'The 2020 Innovations That Inspire'. The School is one of the today's global face of higher and serve as catalysts for innovation. The journey of students at NMIMS Pravin Dalal School is an unparalleled experience of intensive learning and provides a deeper perspective through holistic learning.

Admissions are open and students can register for the program at https://family-business.nmims.edu/



About NMIMS



With the legacy of 40 years, NMIMS Deemed to be University has grown to being not only one of the top-10 B-schools in India but also emerged as a multi-disciplinary, multi-campus University at Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Indore, Shirpur, Dhule, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chandigarh and seventeen constituent schools that include Management, Family Business, Engineering, Pharmacy, Architecture, Commerce, Economics, Law, Science, Liberal Arts, Design, Performing Arts, Mathematical Science, Agricultural Science, Hospitality Management, Branding & Advertising and Distance Learning. In addition, we have nine Centres of Excellence as well at the University.

Photo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166934/1802944_NMIMS_Family_Business_Students.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allegiant Gold Ltd. (ALLEGIANT) (AUAU: TSX-V) (AUXXF: OTCQX) will be hosting a webcast/conference call on Thursday, May 14 at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT) to discuss the state of the junior mining and exploration markets.

Given the recent upswing in the precious metals, there has been a renewed interest in the mining and exploration markets. We are at the very early stage of an emerging bull market in the sector and it is important for investors to get prepared for possibly participating in the next boom cycle, commented Peter Gianulis, President & CEO of ALLEGIANT. The call will focus on various aspects of the junior exploration market and will not exceed one hour (including 30 minutes for Q&A). Topics to be discussed include:

Current state of market for exploration companies Importance of understanding cycles Role of institutional investors, financings & brokers Important learning lessons and investment principles when investing in juniors The next 3-5 years

Prior to joining ALLEGIANT, Mr. Gianulis served as President of Carrelton Asset Management and was a former Partner of the Salomon Brothers Hedge Fund Group (1996-2005). Mr. Gianulis Fund was selected as one of the Top Long/Short Equity Fund (less than $250 million in assets under management) for the three-year periods ending in 2010 and 2011 by Barclays Hedge. The Fund invested in over 150 junior companies including five companies that were merged or sold to a major. He brings over 20 years' experience in the junior mining and exploration market as an investor, advisor, board member and executive.

Conference Call Details

Interested participants may access the conference call by registering and joining the call via the web at https://zoom.us/j/91387206757?pwd=cWV1L1AzNVVNVVR0UmpkQy90MzNHZz09

or by dialing any of the following numbers:

Topic: Allegiant Gold - Investing in the Junior Mining & Exploration Markets

Time: May 14, 2020 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Dial by your location

+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+44 330 088 5830 United Kingdom

+44 131 460 1196 United Kingdom

+1 647 558 0588 Canada

+1 778 907 2071 Canada

+1 438 809 7799 Canada

Meeting ID: 913 8720 6757

Password: 729794

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/91387206757?pwd=cWV1L1AzNVVNVVR0UmpkQy90MzNHZz09

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/al1VUdcXB

ABOUT ALLEGIANT

ALLEGIANT owns 100% of 10 highly-prospective gold projects in the United States, 7 of which are located in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Nevada. Three of ALLEGIANTs projects are farmed-out, providing for cost reductions and cash-flow. ALLEGIANT's flagship, district-scale Eastside project hosts a large and expanding gold resource and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure. Preliminary metallurgical testing indicates that both oxide and sulphide gold mineralization at Eastside is amenable to heap leaching.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Peter Gianulis

President & CEO

For more information contact:

Investor Relations

(604) 634-0970 or

1-888-818-1364

ir@allegiantgold.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Portland Public Schools is bracing for a multimillion-dollar budget gap for the coming academic year, the result of an expected dip in state tax revenues as the coronavirus pandemic batters Oregons economy.

Deputy Superintendent of Operations Claire Hertz said in mid-April the deficit may reach $60 million. For every $1 billion the state cuts, Hertz told the school board last week, the district expects to lose roughly $30 million in funding.

Gov. Kate Brown on Monday said Oregon agencies should brace for cuts of up to 17% as she anticipates the states budget shortfall may reach $3 billion.

Portland district officials say 100 teaching positions cost roughly $10 million to maintain. Thats about how much Portland Public Schools plan to furlough its employees for one day per week will save this year, easing the burden on officials in the budget office as they prepare the 2020-21 spending plan.

Though the district will feel sure financial pain, it is better positioned than most Oregon districts to keep teachers employed.

Voters have consistently approved and reapproved a local operating levy to supplement the per-student funding that all districts receive under the state funding formula.

This year, that local property tax is bringing in an estimated $96 million to fund 800 teaching positions. And unlike state funding, which is based largely on volatile personal income tax collections, property taxes are one of the steadiest forms of tax revenues available.

Although Hertz was reticent to identify areas where the states largest district may trim as the state readies a May 20 budget forecast, she told the school board that personnel account for about 80% of expenses.

This is a magnitude of a budget shortfall that will require severe reductions in our system, Hertz said.

Even then, Hertz said, Brown may call a special session of the Legislature to address expected shortfalls in state revenue, which may alter how much the district will need to trim.

Nevertheless, state law requires Portland Public Schools to adopt a budget by June 30 even if a legislative session extends into the summer. The district may amend its spending plan after its approved by the school board.

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero was originally slated to propose a budget to the board on April 21. Now, that wont happen until May 26.

The district pushed public input sessions, which will be conducted digitally, to June 11. They were originally supposed to begin this week.

Budget cuts are going to be very tough on this community. We need to maximize this time to share their grief or losses, school board member Julia Brim-Edwards said.

The Community Budget Review Committee will also delay its report to the school board, from May 19 to sometime during the week of June 9. The school board is expected to vote on a 2020-21 budget shortly afterward.

COVID-19 has forced districts across the state to perform an about-face from where their budgets were just months ago.

In January, the state Department of Education was accepting and processing districts applications for approximately $500 million in funding from a $1 billion per year corporate tax package the Oregon Legislature passed last year.

Portland was supposed to receive $39 million in Student Success Act funds. The district planned to hire dozens of teachers, counselors and school psychologists.

It remains to be seen how much of the corporate activity tax will bring in as business leaders across the state have pushed Brown to hold off on collecting. Late last month, the governor announced that businesses owing less than $10,000 will not have to pay until April 2021.

District spokeswoman Karen Werstein said its still too soon to tell just where Portland Public Schools will trim for the coming school year.

We are still too far away to know the exact impacts yet, she said, and we will do everything we can to reduce the impact on classrooms and students.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano

Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.

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MADILL, Oklahoma  Sick with pneumonia, agitated and confused, Johnny Leija refused to return to his hospital room.

Moments later, with three police officers pinning him on the floor, Leija was dead at age 34.

Staff at the local hospital in tiny Madill, Oklahoma, had called the police in the early evening of March 24, 2011, for help giving Leija an injection to calm him. Security cameras captured much of the ensuing encounter.

The officers, after shooting Leija with a stun gun, follow him down a corridor, shock him again, and wrestle him to the floor. One officer then straddles Leijas back, trying to handcuff him as the others struggle to pull back his arms. They get one handcuff on. Leija goes limp. The officers step back. Hospital staff drop to Leijas side and begin a futile effort to resuscitate him.

Cause of Death

The Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiners Office determined that Leija, his lungs already compromised by pneumonia, was starved for oxygen in his struggle with the police and died from respiratory insufficiency.

The county sheriff and the Madill police chief defended the officers actions as appropriate to the situation. The cops were not charged with any wrongdoing.

REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT: When Cops Kill, Redress Is Rare, Except in Famous Cases Some high-profile cases are outliers, resulting in generous settlement offers and sometimes even criminal charges. A United Front Takes Aim at Police Immunity From Lawsuits Opponents of qualified immunity are watching five appeals now awaiting the Supreme Courts attention.

Erma Aldaba, however, blamed the officers for her sons death. My son wasnt a criminal, my son was sick, she said in an interview.

So Aldaba took the only other route open to people in her situation: She sued. Her lawsuit in federal district court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, alleged that the three officers used excessive force, violating her sons civil rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

But almost immediately, her case hit a formidable obstacle: a little-known legal doctrine called qualified immunity. This 50-year-old creation of the U.S. Supreme Court is meant to protect government employees from frivolous litigation. In recent years, however, it has become a highly effective shield in thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold cops accountable when they are accused of using excessive force.

At first, it looked like Aldaba would clear the hurdle. The judge hearing her case, and then a federal appeals court, rejected the officers claim of qualified immunity.

Qualified immunity has become a highly effective shield in thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold cops accountable when they are accused of using excessive force.

The appeals panel based its decision on a two-question test courts use to weigh police requests for immunity. The first is whether the evidence shows or could convince a jury that the officers used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The second question is whether the officers should have known they were breaking clearly established law  a Supreme Court coinage for a court precedent that had already found similar police actions to have been illegal.

To both questions, the court determined, the answer was yes.

Then, at the officers request, the Supreme Court intervened. The justices ordered the appeals court to reconsider its ruling, indicating that they disagreed with the lower court.

Back at the appeals court, Aldabas lawyer argued, as he had the first time around, that the cops treatment of Leija was clearly established as illegal. To support his argument, he cited earlier cases in which police were held liable for using excessive force on unarmed, mentally compromised people. Not similar enough, the court now said, so the cops had no reason to think they were breaking the law. The police got immunity. Aldabas case was dead.

Six Takeaways From Reuters Investigation of Police Violence and Qualified Immunity Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Their names are seared into Americans memories, egregious examples of lethal police violence that stirred protests and prompted big payouts to the victims families. But for every killing or injury that grabs national attention, there are hundreds of others that do not. In these, police departments face far less public pressure to pay damages, and officers are even less likely to be disciplined. That leaves one option for victims or their families to seek justice: sue the cops for civil rights violations under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A new Reuters investigation, however, has found that more often than not, these last-ditch excessive force lawsuits fail to win victims any redress  all because of a little-known legal defense called qualified immunity. This 50-year-old creation of the U.S. Supreme Court is meant to protect government employees from frivolous litigation. In recent years, though, it has become a highly effective shield in thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold cops accountable for using excessive force. Here are six takeaways from our investigation: Even as cellphone video taken by bystanders has turned a national spotlight on extreme police tactics, the qualified immunity doctrine  painstakingly erected over the years by the U.S. Supreme Court  is making it easier for officers to kill or injure civilians with impunity.

The Supreme Courts decisions have had far-reaching effects that tilt the scales in favor of officers. Reuters conducted the first-ever comprehensive review of hundreds of appeals filed in excessive force cases in federal courts. We found that police won 56% of cases in which they claimed qualified immunity from 2017 through 2019. Thats up sharply from the three prior years, when they won 43% of the time.

Even when U.S. courts confirm cops violated a victims civil rights, police can still escape liability. Thats because the Supreme Court has continually raised the bar for challenges to the qualified immunity defense. Reuters found dozens of examples of this.

Cops win these cases so often that plaintiffs lawyers say they are reluctant to take on clients harmed in violent encounters with police.

A growing chorus, spanning the political spectrum, is calling for the Supreme Court to make changes. Among the critics are two of the courts own justices: the liberal Sonia Sotomayor and the conservative Clarence Thomas. Sotomayor, in a 2018 dissent, wrote that the courts decision favoring cops sends a dangerous signal: They can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.

The high court is now indicating it is aware of the outcry over qualified immunity. Multiple appeals backed by the doctrines critics have piled up before the Supreme Court. The justices are scheduled to discuss privately as soon as May 15 which, if any, of 11 such cases they could hear later this year. (Editing by John Blanton and Janet Roberts)

It makes me feel that there was a mistake, but we cant win, Aldaba, 60, said. We cant win fighting the cops.

Effective Barrier

Aldabas lament has become an increasingly common one. Even as the proliferation of police body cameras and bystander cellphone video has turned a national spotlight on extreme police tactics, qualified immunity, under the careful stewardship of the Supreme Court, is making it easier for officers to kill or injure civilians with impunity.

The Supreme Courts role is evident in how the federal appeals courts, which take their cue from the high court, treat qualified immunity. In an unprecedented analysis of appellate court records, Reuters found that since 2005, the courts have shown an increasing tendency to grant immunity in excessive force cases  rulings that the district courts below them must follow. The trend has accelerated in recent years. It is even more pronounced in cases like Leijas  when civilians were unarmed in their encounters with police, and when courts concluded that the facts could convince a jury that police actually did use excessive force.

Reuters found among the cases it analyzed more than three dozen in which qualified immunity protected officers whose actions had been deemed unlawful. Outside of Dallas, Texas, five officers fired 17 shots at a bicyclist who was 100 yards away, killing him, in a case of mistaken identity. In Heber City, Utah, an officer threw to the ground an unarmed man he had pulled over for a cracked windshield, leaving the man with brain damage. In Prince Georges County, Maryland, an officer shot a man in a mental health crisis who was stabbing himself and trying to slit his own throat.

The increasing frequency of such cases has prompted a growing chorus of criticism from lawyers, legal scholars, civil rights groups, politicians and even judges that qualified immunity, as applied, is unjust. Spanning the political spectrum, this broad coalition says the doctrine has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights.

The high court has indicated it is aware of the mounting criticism of its treatment of qualified immunity. After letting multiple appeals backed by the doctrines critics pile up, the justices are scheduled to discuss privately as soon as May 15 which, if any, of 11 such cases they could hear later this year.

Sotomayor and Thomas

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the courts most liberal members, and Clarence Thomas, its most conservative, have in recent opinions sharply criticized qualified immunity and the courts role in expanding it.

In a dissent to a 2018 ruling, Sotomayor, joined by fellow liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote that the majoritys decision favoring the cops tells police that they can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.

In that case, Kisela v. Hughes, the justices threw out a lower courts ruling that denied immunity to a Tucson, Arizona, cop who shot a mentally ill woman four times as she walked down her driveway while holding a large kitchen knife.

A year earlier, Sotomayor in another dissent called out her fellow justices for a disturbing trend of favoring police. We have not hesitated to summarily reverse courts for wrongly denying officers the protection of qualified immunity, Sotomayor wrote, citing several recent rulings. But we rarely intervene where courts wrongly afford officers the benefit of qualified immunity.

Sotomayor was responding to the majoritys decision not to hear an appeal brought by Ricardo Salazar-Limon, who was unarmed when a Houston police officer shot him in the back, leaving him paralyzed. A lower court had granted the officer immunity.

Insurmountable Defense

The Reuters analysis supports Sotomayors assertion that the Supreme Court has built qualified immunity into an often insurmountable police defense by intervening in cases mostly to favor the police. Over the past 15 years, the high court took up 12 appeals of qualified immunity decisions from police, but only three from plaintiffs, even though plaintiffs asked the court to review nearly as many cases as police did. The courts acceptance rate for police appeals seeking immunity was three times its average acceptance rate for all appeals. For plaintiffs appeals, the acceptance rate was slightly below the courts average.

In the cases it accepts, the court nearly always decides in favor of police. The high court has also put its thumb on the scale by repeatedly tweaking the process. It has allowed police to request immunity before all evidence has been presented. And if police are denied immunity, they can appeal immediately  an option unavailable to most other litigants, who typically must wait until after a final judgment to appeal.

You get the impression that the officers are always supposed to win and the plaintiffs are supposed to lose, University of Chicago law professor William Baude said. In his research, Baude has found that qualified immunity, as a doctrine, enjoys what he calls privileged status on the Supreme Court, which extends to cases the court decides without even hearing arguments  a relatively rare occurrence. In such cases, the court disproportionately reversed lower courts denials of immunity.

All nine current justices declined to be interviewed for this article. They have offered few explanations of the courts stance on qualified immunity beyond writing in opinions that the doctrine balances individuals rights with the need to free officials from the time-consuming and costly burden of unnecessary litigation.

Clearly Established

The main challenge for plaintiffs in excessive force cases is to show that police behavior violated a clearly established precedent. The Supreme Court has continually reinforced a narrow definition of clearly established, requiring lower courts to accept as precedent only cases that have detailed circumstances very similar to the case they are weighing.

We have repeatedly told courts not to define clearly established law at a high level of generality, the court wrote in a November 2015 opinion, repeating its language from an earlier ruling. In that 2015 opinion, the justices reversed a lower court decision and granted immunity to Texas State Trooper Chadrin Mullenix, who had stopped a high-speed chase by shooting at a vehicle from an overpass, killing the driver.

Critics of qualified immunity say the high courts guidance has created a ludicrously narrow standard. Even some judges feel constrained. In a 2018 decision, James Browning, a judge in federal district court in New Mexico, said he was ruling with reluctance in favor of an officer who had slammed an unarmed man to the floor in his own home while he was yelling at the police.

The force the cop used, Browning ruled, was excessive. But the officer had to be granted immunity, he said, because of subtle differences with the earlier case Browning had considered as a possible clearly established precedent. Those differences included the distance between the men and the officers and what the men were yelling. Even the locations of the respective incidents could be a factor, the judge noted, the earlier case having occurred in a Target parking lot.

In his ruling, Browning criticized the high courts approach because a court can almost always manufacture a factual distinction between the case it is reviewing and an earlier case.

In February, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio, granted immunity to an officer who shot and wounded a 14-year-old boy in the shoulder after the boy dropped a BB gun and raised his hands. The court rejected as a precedent a 2011 case in which an officer shot and killed a man as he began lowering a shotgun. The difference between the incidents was too great, the court determined, because the boy had first drawn the BB gun from his waistband before dropping it.

In other recent cases, courts have sided with police because of the difference between subduing a woman for walking away from an officer, and subduing a woman for refusing to end a phone call; between shooting at a dog and instead hitting a child, and shooting at a truck and hitting a passenger; and between unleashing a police dog to bite a motionless suspect in a bushy ravine, and unleashing a police dog to bite a compliant suspect in a canal in the woods.

The Supreme Court in 2009 raised the bar even higher for plaintiffs to overcome qualified immunity. In Pearson v. Callahan, it gave judges the option to simply ignore the question of whether a cop used excessive force and instead focus solely on whether the conduct was clearly established as unlawful.

Fourth Amendment

In the decade since then, the Reuters analysis found, appeals courts have increasingly ignored the question of excessive force. In such cases, when the court declines to establish whether police used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, it avoids setting a clearly established precedent for future cases, even for the most egregious acts of police violence. In effect, the same conduct can repeatedly go unpunished.

The case of Khari Illidge shows this perverse dynamic at work.

One cool spring evening in 2013, sheriffs deputies in Phenix City, Alabama, a suburb of Columbus, Georgia, responded to a trespassing call. They found Illidge wandering along a quiet, tree-lined road. The 25-year-old was naked, covered in scratches and behaving erratically.

In the encounter, the deputies shocked Illidge six times with a stun gun before he fell to the ground. As he lay face-down, one deputy shocked him 13 more times as two others struggled to handcuff his wrists, according to their testimony. They then shackled his ankles with leg irons and fastened them to his handcuffs  an extreme form of restraint, known as a hogtie, that many police departments across the country have banned.

A 385-pound officer then kneeled on Illidges upper back until he went limp. Illidge was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The autopsy report lists cardiac arrest as the cause of death.

They treated him like an animal, Gladis Callwood, Illidges mother, said. Or maybe even worse.

Callwood sued the police, alleging excessive force. The cops claimed qualified immunity. They said they did what was necessary to subdue an aggressive man who resisted arrest and who, according to a friend who had seen him earlier, had probably taken LSD. A toxicology report found no traces of the drug in his blood.

You have to make split-second decisions, Ray Smith, one of the deputies who had shocked and hogtied Illidge, told Reuters. Hesitation can be deadly, he said.

Judge W. Harold Albritton in federal district court in Montgomery, Alabama, sided with the cops. In his ruling, the judge said there was no precedent establishing that the officers treatment of Illidge was unlawful.

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed  even though it had heard a case involving hogtying in Florida in 2009. In that earlier case, Donald George Lewis died after West Palm Beach cops hogtied him on the side of the road where they had found him disoriented and stumbling through traffic. But the appeals court in that earlier case granted immunity without addressing whether the force police used was excessive. As a result, the court didnt establish a precedent that could apply in subsequent cases  including Callwoods.

By allowing judges to consider only the question of clearly established law in excessive force cases, the Supreme Court created a closed loop in which the case law gets frozen, said lawyer Matt Farmer, who represented Lewiss family.

In October 2018, the Supreme Court declined to review Callwoods case. Her lawsuit, like Aldabas, was dead.

High-Profile Outliers

Police have difficult, high-risk jobs. Few would dispute that. Qualified immunity is essential, proponents say, because police need latitude to make split-second decisions in situations that could put lives, including their own, at risk.

It is very easy to second-guess the decision making of a police officer when you are sitting at a desk, said Chris Balch, an Atlanta-based lawyer who represents police departments in civil rights cases.

Larry James, general counsel of the National Fraternal Order of Police, said the trend in appeals courts to favor immunity reflects the high volume of meritless lawsuits civil rights lawyers file. Plaintiffs lawyers sue everyone under the sun, irrespective of the facts, he said.

Even so, as the Reuters analysis found, appellate courts have ruled in favor of plaintiffs, denying cops immunity, in 43 percent of cases in recent years. As opponents of qualified immunity point out, denial of immunity doesnt automatically mean cops will be held liable for alleged excessive force. When such cases go to trial, juries may side with police after weighing the facts of a case. Also, local governments or their insurers, not the cops themselves, typically bear the financial burden of litigation, settlements or jury awards.

The U.S. government does not maintain comprehensive data on civilians killed or seriously injured by police. According to media organizations and police-accountability groups that compile numbers from police reports, news accounts and other sources, the number of deaths alone is about 1,000 a year.

A handful of those incidents draw national attention to police tactics  for example, the 2014 death of Eric Garner after New York City police put him in a lethal chokehold. In such high-profile cases, qualified immunity rarely comes into play. Instead, police departments, often under heavy political pressure and facing public protests, typically offer big dollar settlements to victims or their survivors. The cops may also face disciplinary action or criminal charges.

In the far more numerous incidents of alleged excessive force that dont make national headlines, police departments are under less pressure to settle, and officers are even less likely to be prosecuted or otherwise disciplined. In those cases, federal civil rights lawsuits provide the obvious avenue for holding cops accountable.

The United States first allowed citizens to sue government officials for civil rights violations in a law passed in 1871. These so-called Section 1983 lawsuits were intended to give citizens a path to justice when state and local authorities in the post-Civil War era turned a blind eye to  or even participated in  acts of racist violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

Nearly a century later, the Supreme Court introduced qualified immunity, articulating the doctrine in a 1967 ruling to limit Section 1983 lawsuits. The court reasoned that police should not face liability for enforcing the law in good faith. The court refined the doctrine in 1982 to include the clearly established test.

Today, after decades of Supreme Court tweaks to how excessive force cases are judged, plaintiffs lawyers say the deck is unfairly stacked against their clients. Why are there so many police shootings? said Dale Galipo, a prominent California civil rights attorney. I would say one of the reasons is theres no accountability, theres no deterrent.

Several lawyers told Reuters they decline to take cases they think may have merit in large part due to the high barrier of qualified immunity. I have turned down dozens of police misconduct cases and have routinely referred the potential plaintiffs to qualified immunity as a major problem, said Victor Glasberg, a civil rights lawyer in Virginia.

The American Association for Justice, the plaintiff bars main lobbying group and a backer of efforts to curb qualified immunity, knows that its members would like to pursue cases where people are treated unjustly, said Jeffrey White, the groups senior associate general counsel. But, he added, lawyers must think carefully when the chances of obtaining justice are tilted heavily towards defendants.

Gentle and Loyal

Johnny Leija spent his life in small towns in the dry, flat farming and oil country on both sides of the Oklahoma-Texas border, quitting school after junior high to take a series of temporary construction jobs.

He was gentle and fiercely loyal to his family, friends and relatives told Reuters. They recounted the time Leija ended up with a broken leg after sticking up for his sister in a fight with her abusive boyfriend. In his early 20s, he spent a year in Marshall County jail for marijuana possession. After that, his family said, he never indulged in anything harder than the occasional Bud Light.

Leija moved to Madill in early 2011 with his girlfriend, Olivia Flores, and the four children they were raising  one of their own and three by Flores from an earlier relationship. He soon got a job welding and painting horse trailers, but money was tight. Leija, Flores and the children were sleeping on the floor of their still-unfurnished house. In late March, when Leija started complaining about pain in his chest and torso, Flores had to pawn a radio to buy medicine.

On the morning of March 24, 2011, after Leija spent most of the night vomiting, he and Flores headed to the emergency room at Integris Marshall County Medical Center, now called AllianceHealth Madill. Details of what happened over the next 12 hours come from a review of hundreds of pages of medical, police and court records and interviews with people involved.

When first examined, Leija was agreeable and alert, but his blood oxygen levels were dangerously low. He was put on oxygen and given antibiotics through an intravenous line. He soon seemed on the mend and was admitted to a room down the hall.

Flores left midafternoon to pick up the children from school. Soon after, Leijas breathing became labored. His blood-oxygen level plunged again. He became distressed and aggressive. The doctor on call, John Conley, prescribed over the phone an anti-anxiety pill. Leija refused it, claiming that the hospital staff was trying to poison him. I am Superman, he yelled. I am God!

He somehow cut the IV line and told a nurse that he needed to leave. Conley, again by phone, told nurses to give Leija an injection to calm him. The hospital had no security staff, so a nurse called the police to help restrain Leija for the shot. Conley arrived minutes later, finding Leija in the bathroom still insisting he had to leave the hospital.

Madill Police Officer Brandon Pickens and Marshall County Deputy Sheriffs Steve Atnip and Steve Beebe were eating dinner at La Grande, a Tex-Mex joint on a highway north of Madill, when they got the call about an unruly patient at the hospital.

They had little information when they arrived. Beebe thought Leija, dressed in a white T-shirt and pajama bottoms, was a visitor, not a patient.

According to the officers accounts, Leija pulled the gauze from his IV site and yelled, This is my blood! as it dripped on the floor.

The officers ordered Leija to his knees. He did not comply. Beebe aimed his Stinger stun gun at Leija and fired, hitting Leija in the chest.

It had little effect. Leija hollered out, shook a bit, a nurse later testified. Beebe, Pickens and Atnip then grabbed Leija, 5 foot 8 and 230 pounds, and pushed him against a wall, where Beebe pressed the Stinger against Leijas back and shocked him again. The four toppled onto the lobby floor with a thud.

Pickens and Atnip were holding Leija face down and Beebe was trying to handcuff him when he grunted and stopped moving. Clear fluid poured from his mouth and pooled on the floor around his head.

Conley and staff spent 40 minutes trying to revive Leija. At 7:29 p.m., he was pronounced dead, a Stinger dart still stuck in his chest.

Marc Harrison, a forensic pathologist with the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiners Office, testified in a sworn deposition that Leijas manner of death was natural, but that it would be reasonable to assume that two shocks with a stun gun and Leijas physical struggle with police would have required an elevated need for oxygen. Through the medical examiners office, Harrison said he stands by his opinion.

Stern Denials

When Aldabas lawsuit against the officers landed in federal court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the officers lawyers quickly asked that the case be thrown out on the grounds of qualified immunity.

It was abundantly clear that the force used on Leija was not excessive, the police lawyers argued. Further, they said, no established precedent put the officers on notice that they would violate Leijas rights by attempting to subdue an individual so that medical staff could properly treat him.

Judge Frank Seay disagreed. He noted that officers accounts differed from each other about the extent of the threat Leija posed and what the officers knew about his medical condition. For instance, the two sheriff deputies said Leija was slinging blood and had challenged them to fight, but officer Pickens did not make those claims. And while all three officers said Leija was bleeding heavily, two nurses present testified that he wasnt.

Leija was a hospital patient. He was not armed in any fashion. While it is alleged that he was using his blood as a weapon, there is no evidence that any blood spattered on any of the officers, Seay said in his April 5, 2013, ruling. The case against the three officers could now move forward.

Beebe, the deputy who twice shocked Leija, said in an interview that his biggest regret about the fatal encounter was not having more details on Leija and his medical condition. Maybe we could have done things different if we had that information, Beebe said. The last thing you want to do is end up with somebody dying. He added: Im sad for the family. We all live in the same community.

Beebe also serves as pastor at a Southern Baptist church in a nearby town  a role that he said has helped him understand the need to de-escalate stressful situations.

In the encounter with Leija, however, he and the other officers did the right thing to protect themselves and the people in the hospital, he said. I think we need to be held accountable, Beebe said. But when we go out, sometimes we have to use force. We shouldnt have to worry about being sued every time.

Pickens, now a firefighter in Madill, directed questions to his police superiors. City Manager James Fullingim, who was police chief at the time of Leijas death, said immunity is important for officers to perform their jobs. The officers absolutely did not do anything wrong, he said.

Atnip died in a motorcycle accident in 2015. Conley, the doctor who treated Leija, declined to comment.

The police took their case to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. That court was no less stern in denying the officers appeal, faulting their decision to Tase and wrestle to the ground a hospital patient whose mental disturbance was the result of his serious and deteriorating medical condition. Leija did not commit any crime, the court said, and he posed a threat only to himself, passively resisting the officers. The situation the police officers faced in this case called for conflict resolution and de-escalation, not confrontation and Tasers, the court said.

The officers then petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case. Their appeal arrived just as the justices were weighing the case of Texas State Trooper Mullenix, the cop who shot and killed a fleeing driver from an overpass.

The lower courts had denied Mullenix immunity, saying it was unclear how much of a risk the driver had posed. But on Nov. 9, 2015, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts. Ignoring whether the force used was illegal, the justices focused on whether Mullenixs actions had been clearly established as illegal. It concluded that none of the three car-chase cases it had previously decided were similar enough.

The same day, the justices ordered the 10th Circuit to use the Mullenix ruling as a guide in reconsidering whether qualified immunity should apply in Aldabas case.

Aldabas lawyer, Jeremy Beaver, pointed out to the appellate panel a handful of strikingly similar rulings from the 10th Circuit going back nearly 20 years that provided ample warning to the police that their actions were unlawful.

Case law since 2001, Beaver noted, required police to consider a persons diminished mental health or capacity when determining what force to use. A 2007 case denounced the beating and Tasing of an unarmed, nonviolent person who was not fleeing. So did a similar case from 2010.

Mr. Leija had a clearly established right to be free from Tasering and tackling while he was a hospital patient who had committed no crimes, was unarmed, was not a threat to the officers or the public, and was mentally and physically compromised, Beaver argued in court papers.

That wasnt enough. The revised appeals court decision, written by Judge Gregory Phillips, dismissed Beavers arguments because the offered cases differ too much from this one.

Phillips said the cases Beaver cited involved force to detain people for non-medical reasons and did not involve hospital personnel standing by observing the incident. We have found no case presenting a similar situation, the judge wrote. Phillips did not respond to a request for comment.

The outcome, Beaver said, highlights the painful paradox of qualified immunity. Aldaba had to live with the fact that at every stage, every judge that reviewed the case determined that there were constitutional violations that had occurred, he said. Despite that, she still couldnt have a trial.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in Madill, Oklahoma; Lawrence Hurley in Washingont, D.C.; Jackie Botts in Los Angeles; and Andrea Januta and Guillermo Gomez in New York. Edited by John Blanton and Janet Roberts.)

Topics Lawsuits Texas USA Law Enforcement Oklahoma
Spletna mesta Dela d.o.o. uporabljajo piskotke z namenom zagotavljanja spletne storitve in funkcionalnosti, ki jih brez piskotkov ne bi mogli nuditi. Ali soglasate z namestitvijo piskotkov na omenjenih straneh?

V redu
Another Ruby Princess passenger has died of coronavirus in New South Wales.

The 81-year-old woman caught the virus on the ship which docked in Sydney on 18 March and is connected to 22 coronavirus deaths.

The latest death is Australia's first in a week and takes the national toll to 98.

New South Wales recorded six new cases of the virus on Tuesday, three from known sources and three unknown.

Another Ruby Princess passenger has died of coronavirus in New South Wales. Pictured: The ship after reaching the Philippines

A special commission on the Ruby Princess fiasco is expected to deliver its final report by mid-August.

The Ruby Princess arrived in Manila late last week a fortnight after departing from Port Kembla in NSW.

It comes after a report found 1.5 million COVID-19 antibody tests bought by the federal government aren't accurate enough to be used in Australia.

The antibody tests were supposed to be distributed soon after they arrived in March, but a report commissioned by Health Minister Greg Hunt said they were not ready for widespread deployment, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Beachgoers pictured at Bondi Beach enjoying the water and sun for exercise only

Australian National University Professor Carola Vinuesa, one of the report's co-authors, says the tests are not useful.

'At the moment, the quality does not seem to be good enough for these tests to be deployed in large scale,' she told the newspaper.

'The sensitivity is not very good. They are not useful in being able to say 'you were infected'.
Dear Editor,

From the May 9, 2020, newspapers:

Two White House Coronavirus Cases Raise Question of if Anyone Is Really Safe: If it is so hard to maintain a healthy environment at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then how can businesses across the country establish a safe space for their workers?

 New York Times https://nyti.ms/2LgjeQ5

(T)he United States plays the loser. Unwilling to do the hard work needed to beat the pandemic, we are quitting: forcing people back to work without protections people in other countries enjoy. This is state-sanctioned killing. It is a conscious decision to accept 2,000 preventable deaths every day.

 Columnist Dana Milbank, Washington Post https://wapo.st/2LcuIDY

(M)uch 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.  Google and Facebook employees were told Thursday that they could stay home until next year.  The moves reflect the reality that no one is sure how the coronavirus pandemic will evolve.  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.

 New York Times https://nyti.ms/3bcHn4w

At a Facebook Town Hall live event Friday afternoon, (Dutchess County Executive Marc) Molinaro addressed specific goals of reopening, including a plan to institute phase one of the countys business and government reopening on May 15 and then to reevaluate every two weeks thereafter.

 Daily Freeman https://bit.ly/3fIeVeq

May 15? Really?

It is way too early to be talking about easing up on the brakes. On Friday, Ulster County reported 54 coronavirus-related fatalities, and 1,482 confirmed cases and only 682 recovered cases, and Dutchess County reported 96 deaths, 3,233 confirmed cases, and only 951 recovered cases.

It appears the yahoos marching with weapons in state capitals have stampeded Hudson Valley officials into premature signaling and anticipated action that could have tragic consequences.

The task remains the hard work of getting continued compliance from an understandably confused public, not sacrificing lives for political expedience.

Tony Adamis

Kingston, N.Y.

The writer is the Freemans former managing editor.
A couple who drove 80 miles from North Wales to Yorkshire to pick up a caravan have had it seized by police.

The pair bought the caravan before setting out to collect it, Wales Online reported.

However, they were caught by North Wales Police this week after their vehicle broke down on the A55 motorway.

The motor home was seized after it appeared that they had allegedly driven it without insurance.

While the couple's journey was legal in England, Wales still has a ban on all but essential travel during the coronavirus lockdown.

It comes after the UK Government outlined its new stay alert message, while the first ministers of Scotland and Wales, Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford, urged the public to stick with the stay at home message.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said any divergence on lockdown measures across the UK should only be for a short period of time.
As Haftars air raids end, analysts say the installation could be used as a forward base by GNA ally Turkey.

Tripoli, Libya  In late December, just weeks after signing a military cooperation agreement with Libyas internationally recognised government, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an unexpected visit to Tunisia.

Analysts suspect the trip was aimed at giving credence to Erdogans pledge to deploy troops to the war-wracked country in support of the then-embattled, United Nations-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA), with Tunisia being the closest friendly country from which to feed the military effort.

200104110325735

With the benefit of hindsight, Tuniss eventual rejection of a foreign military presence on its soil and outside meddling in Libya was rational, if only because the countrys bleak economic outlook made it particularly susceptible to being pressured by any of the world powers involved in the Libyan conflict.

Still, the episode highlighted an important dilemma for Ankara, which has backed the Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj since April 2019, when eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched his assault on the capital: How long could Turkey go supporting the GNA from its home bases in the Anatolian peninsula?





The answer to that question, analysts say, is becoming clearer now that GNA-aligned forces have expelled Haftars Libyan National Army from much of Libyas western coast and advanced on the strategic al-Watiya airbase.

The Turks havent fully committed a real force in Libya, said Libyan military expert Hisham Abu Hajar.

GNA control of al-Watiya gives them an opportunity to commit ground troops and a safe location to build up a military presence in Libya.

Ending Haftars air raids

Built by the United States during World War II, the base is among the countrys most important military facilities.

Its location southwest of the capital Tripoli and at an equidistance of roughly 50km from Zintan, Zwara and Assa, make it difficult for enemy forces to reach it without incurring heavy human and material losses.

The late former dictator Muammar Gaddafi sought to expand the base with a view to enhancing the power projection capability of his country  itself located at the intersection of several migratory and trade routes in North Africa.

The airbase was spared the chaos and destruction that befell other military installations during the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Gaddafi.

Libyas armed forces announced plans to refurbish the base, only for the deteriorating security situation to force the countrys transitional authorities to shelve the modernisation plans.

In 2014, and shortly after pledging allegiance to Haftar, fighters from the city of Zintan overran the base. That came after Haftar called on Libyans to rise up against the countrys elected parliament in what critics described as his first attempted coup.





Though focused on consolidating his control in eastern Libya, the septuagenarian kept a close watch over his new asset in western Libya, foreshadowing his April 2019 campaign to take the capital.

The GNAs recapture of al-Watiya will put an end to Haftars hope of ever controlling western Libya, said Naeem al-Gheryani, a lawmaker with the Tripoli-based parliament.

It also stops Haftars use of the base to launch air raids that target civilians and GNA forces defending the capital.

Gheryani, who is also a member of the house foreign relations committee, said the airbase, once retaken, would relieve the GNA from the burdensome task of defending the western front and allow its troops to focus its attention on areas south of the capital.

Resumption of talks

For now, the battle for al-Watiya has proven to be a challenge for the GNA. A ground assault launched on May 5 has so far failed, with GNA-aligned forces suffering heavy losses.

I do not believe a ground offensive even with air cover will be able to successfully take the base, said Abu Hajar, the military expert.

The GNA strategy will be to surround the base and cut off the supply lines coming into it with air attacks. Haftars forces there will eventually have no choice but to eventually give it up.

On Friday, more than 70 troops were either killed or wounded by air strikes, according to GNA military spokesman Mohamed Gununu.

Omar Alghazeli, a member of the Zintan military council, told Al Jazeera that negotiations with the Tripoli government to hand over the base are already ongoing.

It was initially hoped the GNAs recapture of vast swathes of territory would force Haftar to rethink his strategy and, indeed, return to the negotiating table.

But with military power shifting after Turkish support to the GNA, it is officials in Tripoli who are refusing to negotiate with Haftar.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the speaker of the Tripoli-based parliament wrote: Any call for dialogue before the end of our military operations will not be heard. We will not accept any dialogue in which Haftar may be a key partner in the coming stage and the political future in general.

There are now growing signs Haftar, an Ajdabiya native, would rather maintain his control of eastern Libya than resume talks with his foes.

In a speech in late April, Haftar announced his withdrawal from the 2015 Skhirat agreement, which paved the way for the GNAs creation.

He said he had a popular mandate to govern Libya after supporters thronged the eastern city of Benghazi.

Despite his failure to capture Tripoli, the prospect of him remaining in power is not likely should his foreign supporters  which include the UAE, Egypt and Russia, among others  continue to bankroll him.
Dominic White has been the CEO of KCR Residential REIT plc (LON:KCR) since 2017. 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. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

View our latest analysis for KCR Residential REIT

How Does Dominic White's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, KCR Residential REIT plc has a market capitalization of UK8.7m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK278k over the year to June 2019. It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists almost entirely of the salary, worth UK278k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below UK162m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be UK274k.

Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. On an industry level, roughly 46% of total compensation represents salary and 54% is other remuneration. Speaking on a company level, KCR Residential REIT prefers to tread along a traditional path, disbursing all compensation through a salary.

So Dominic White receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at KCR Residential REIT, below.

AIM:KCR CEO Compensation May 12th 2020

Is KCR Residential REIT plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, KCR Residential REIT plc has shrunk earnings per share by 15% each year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 138%.

As investors, we are a bit wary of companies that have lower earnings per share, over three years. On the other hand, the strong revenue growth suggests the business is growing. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. We don't have analyst forecasts, but shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Story continues

Has KCR Residential REIT plc Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 63% over three years, many shareholders in KCR Residential REIT plc are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Dominic White is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

We would like to see somewhat stronger per share growth. And it's hard to argue that the returns over the last three years have delighted. So it would take a bold person to suggest the pay is too modest. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've spotted 7 warning signs for KCR Residential REIT you should be aware of, and 3 of them can't be ignored.

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.
RYANAIR has challenged French government help for Air France-KLM, in its latest legal attack on allegedly unfair government support for favoured national carriers amid the Covid-19 crisis.

The Irish airline said yesterday that it has filed a lawsuit at the European Union's General Court seeking to topple the EU's approval for a programme delaying aviation tax payments for companies with a French licence.

The tax break will mostly benefit Air France and excludes Ryanair and easyJet, which fly many routes from French airports but are based elsewhere.

Ryanair has also complained that similar Swedish and Danish programmes unfairly discriminate against other European carriers.

European governments are planning to pump billions of euro into airlines after the coronavirus outbreak halted most air travel.

These subsidies for Air France, Alitalia and Deutsche Lufthansa are "going to hugely distort the level playing field for aviation" by keeping inefficient airlines alive while rivals like Ryanair risk burning through cash reserves, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said earlier this month.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it would defend its decision in court.

A spokeswoman for Air France-KLM declined to comment.

French government officials also had no immediate comment.

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said last week that government aid including billions in loans and guarantees as well as payroll support and tax measures are essential to the carrier's survival.

France will allow French airlines to defer some 200m in aviation tax payments due from March and December this year, according to the European Commission.

They won't need to pay it until the end of 2022 and France estimates that it could cost the airlines some 29.9m to obtain the same funding on the market.

Bloomberg
Peoples eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic are providing food for thought in a new piece of research led by the University of Wolverhampton.

The Food, Mood and You study is looking to survey people over the age of 18 each day for a single week in which they note their activities, their emotions and how they are eating.

The research will look at how emotions such as frustration, stress and boredom which have arisen during the pandemic have affected the way people approach eating and food.

The results for the UK will be collated over the next two weeks and volunteers can register and take the survey online.

The study is being rolled out internationally across countries including UK, Australia, Canada, USA, Finland, Spain, Italy, Russia, Portugal, China, Taiwan, Philippines and Korea.

Professor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science, Tracey Devonport, from the University of Wolverhampton, has been working with colleagues from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland (Dr Montse Ruiz) and University of Northampton (Dr Jo Chen-Wilson) to develop the project.

Professor Devonport said: It is likely that we have all heard friends and family talking about eating more during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are experiencing emotions such as boredom, stress or frustration. We wanted to develop a research project that explores emotions and eating and in doing so provide simple interventions that may help manage emotional eating during these challenging times.

People who are aged 18 and over who would like to know more about how their emotions are related to their eating behaviours are being invited to participate in this study.

If you would like to take part, or know of other people who may be interested, the survey can be taken online (please copy and paste the link into Google Chrome): https://northamptonspych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dii3gioZ9SwzBml
Anaconda native Jessica Klapan always knew she wanted to do something to help people.

But it was when she went to work at BSW Inc. as a habilitation technician, helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, that she learned exactly what.

That's when she decided to go to nursing school.

She did just that, at Montana Tech, first getting her LPN, then her RN, then her bachelor's in nursing.

She worked full-time while going to school, at BSW and at Mercury Street Medical, and at the Montana State Hospital and at the Montana Chemical Dependency Center.

But she kept her eyes on the goal she wanted more than anything -- to work with the population she had worked with at BSW, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"I am ecstatic to be working with this population," she said. "There aren't many nursing jobs that would allow me to do that."

She has worked at AWARE since February 2011. Now, she's nursing coordinator.

She's also manager for a medically intensive group home, which includes the first group of people to come from MDC in Boulder when the changes in that program took place.

But her nursing coordinator job means that she's also doing a lot of training.

"We have all these other clients who are aging and having more medical needs," she said. "As folks need more medical care, we need to do more."

Even though she still supervises the work at the medically intensive group home, she now goes to a lot of group homes around state, helping to manage the medical care of many clients.

Klapan is mostly in the Butte and Anaconda area, although she does travel elsewhere to consult at group homes on occasion.

"Much of my work is finding creative solutions to the challenges we find," she said. "We have to be prepared to deal with whatever comes up."

She credits her "remarkable team of coworkers."

"They are all very invested in what we do," she said. "Everybody is on the same page. We want the best we can provide for all of our clients."

She said that some of her clients are nonverbal. "You get to know them really well, though," she said. "Then you can tell with particular signs or behaviors that something might be wrong.

"You just want to help them."

Part of her job, she said, is to advocate for better care.

"Some doctors are really good" with the population, she said. Others don't always understand.

"Someone not used to the population may believe that the quality of their lives is generally not as good. But that's always based on that person's perception."

"Circumstances are different for everyone. I wish everyone could see that. But they all have the same rights as any other individual."

Klapan is grateful for the team at AWARE. "The majority of people who stay in this field really believe in the cause of the clients," she said. "We have great employees."

Klapan works closely with Dr. Jean Justad, who is medical director for many of the group homes. "We're able to take care of so many things right away," she said.

Taking care of AWARE clients "brings me so much joy," Klapan says. "I wish everybody understood theyre people like everybody else they didnt have any choice what hand they were dealt. They deserve the same treatment as everyone else."

"I don't feel like it is work," Klapan said. "It is fun to be with the clients, to help them, to get to know them, understand their personalities.

"I feel like the lucky one."

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A migrant labourer was killed while another was seriously injured when a car hit them on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway near Ambala Cantonment on Tuesday morning, police said.

A group of migrant labourers told the police that they were headed towards their native village in Bihar's Purnia district from Punjab's Ludhiana on foot when the incident occurred.

The driver of the car fled the spot along with the vehicle after the incident, the police said, adding that they have got inputs about the vehicle and the driver would be nabbed soon.

The deceased was identified as Ashok Kumar (25) while the injured labourer was admitted to the civil hospital at Ambala Cantonment, they said.

One of the labourers, who was part of the group, said around a dozen of them had commenced the journey on foot from Ludhiana two days ago as they were not able to register themselves for boarding one of the special trains of the Indian Railways.

The railways is running "Shramik" trains from various places for migrant labourers who want to go back to their native states.

One of the labourers said they decided to go back to their village in Bihar as the owner of the factory where they worked removed them from their jobs and there was no arrangement for their accommodation or food.

After the post-mortem examination, the body of the deceased will be kept in the mortuary at the civil hospital, the police said, adding that his relatives were being informed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of "BoBoiBoy Movie 2" on Netflix.

12 May  Malaysian animation company, Animonsta Studios, has announced that its 3D-animated film "BoBoiBoy Movie 2" is set to be released on the popular streaming platform, Netflix.

The good news was announced yesterday on Monsta's and BoboiBoy's official social media, as well as the Facebook of Animonsta Studios CEO Nizam Razak.

However, at the time of writing, Animonsta has yet to reveal the movie's exact release date on the streaming platform.

Fans congratulated them for the success and expressed positive feedbacks and excitement to catch their favourite animated film on Netflix.

Aside from being good news for fans of the "BoboiBoy" movie and series, it also gives the production an opportunity to promote a high quality Malaysian animated film on a global platform.

Last year, "BoBoiBoy Movie 2" made history when it collected RM27.7 million after just 26 days of screening, making it the highest-grossing local animation at the time.

In other news, Nizam Razak has also expressed his gratitude when a media agency in Japan made a coverage on animated series "Fly With Yaya" recently.

The series is a spinoff of the "BoBoiBoy" dan "BoBoiBoy Galaxy" franchise, featuring Yaya in her adventure of exploring the beauty of Japan.
A holy anticipation moving on the wind, touching the ends of the earth and uniting worshippers in celebration of a Kingdom coming, Revival's In The Air-the 15th live recording from GRAMMY-nominated, Dove Award-winning worship collective Bethel Music-will be available everywhere May 29.



Continuing a legacy of Spirit-led recordings that have shaped the signature sound of Bethel Music and engaged the global Church in corporate worship for more than a decade, Revival's In The Air was recorded live at Bethel Church in Redding, California. Executive produced by Bethel Music co-founder Brian Johnson and CEO Joel Taylor, with assistant producers David Whitworth, John-Paul Gentile and Matthew Ogden, the album is a declaration of steadfast faith in the promises of God.



The sprawling, 17-track project showcases Bethel Music's renowned cadre of songwriters and worship leaders, including Brian and Jenn Johnson, Cory Asbury, Jonathan David and Melissa Helser, Josh Baldwin, Kristene DiMarco, Paul and Hannah McClure, Brandon Lake, Bethany Wohrle and Dante Bowe. Additionally, Revival's In The Air features songwriting contributions from such leading names as Matt Redman, Phil Wickham, Leslie Jordan (All Sons & Daughters), Ben Fielding (Hillsong Worship), Rita Springer and Ethan Hulse, among others.



The album is overarchingly inspired by the title-cut, an invigorating call to renewal penned by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser, along with their son, Cadence. Teeming with expectation, the anthem proclaims, "Revival's in the air/oh catch it if you can/it's moving on the wind/the dawn is breaking."



"The last two years we've been through a lot of really difficult things as a community, but we have felt the presence of God so strongly through it all," Brian Johnson says. "We started our new album during all of this and have watched the Lord guide us through each stage of the process. This album began with a theme, 'God of Revival.' Although we changed things as we tried our best to follow what He was saying, we always came back to REVIVAL."



"Then COVID-19 happened," he continues. "Although this time has been difficult in many ways, we've watched God move, disrupt and REVIVE-in family time, the global spread of the Church in homes, personal awareness of what we need to work on, priority checks, a worldwide reset, fresh hunger and total dependence on God. Through this shaking, people are being awakened. REVIVAL is in the air."



"We don't know what you're going through right now, but you are not alone and God is working all around you," Jenn Johnson adds. "We love you and pray this album awakens your heart and lights your soul on fire for more of God."

Bethel Music has debuted three singles from the recording to date: album opener "God of Revival," led by Brian and Jenn Johnson; Cory Asbury's "Egypt," a celebration of God's faithfulness; and the Brandon Lake-led "We Praise You," speaking peace in the midst of panic and uncertainty. The project's highly anticipated fourth single is set to bow later this week, followed by one new song each day beginning May 24 until the album's release.







About Bethel Music

Bethel Music is an 11-time Dove Award-winning and GRAMMY-nominated Christian worship ministry formed as an extension of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Beginning in 2001, Bethel Music has grown from a local church music ministry to a global outreach comprising a collective of songwriters, artists and musicians. In 2019, Billboard named Bethel Music among the top record labels in Christian music.



To date Bethel Music has released 14 corporate worship albums, seven of which reached Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart, each carrying a unique expression of worship to inspire and unite the global church. Along with the label's 11 Dove Awards, "This is Amazing Grace" was named ASCAP's Christian Music Song of the Year in 2015, with Cory Asbury's "Reckless Love" earning the same honor in 2019. "Reckless Love" was also nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award and was Billboard's fourth most popular Christian song of the decade.



In addition to touring and ministering globally, Bethel Music hosts the annual Heaven Come Conference; a one-week Bethel Music Worship Conference held on the campus of Bethel Church; and songwriting retreats in a personal setting with experienced writers. WorshipU, Bethel Music's online school of worship, offers ongoing teaching and training programs at worshipu.com.



For further information, visit bethelmusic.com or turningpointpr.com. Follow Bethel Music on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Tags : Bethel Music to Release "Revival's In The Air" Revival's In The Air bethel music bethel music new album brian johnson jenn johnson hillsong worship cory asbury jonathan david and melissa helser Josh Baldwin kristene dimarco
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said Texas will begin testing all nursing home residents and staff for the new coronavirus, following public pleas and a directive from the White House to boost surveillance at the facilities nationwide.

In San Antonio, however, such testing has been going on for nearly three weeks, leaders and health officials said.

We were way out in front of that, San Antonio Metro Health Director Dawn Emerick said at the daily city-county briefing Monday evening. We have partnerships with the state that are identifying nursing homes (for testing) and that is a part of our local plan as well. Were already doing it.

Advocates for residents welcomed the governors move, saying it was long overdue.

I will applaud this action by the governor, but its only a half-hearted measure, said Brian Lee, executive director of the Austin-based nonprofit Families for Better Care. This could have been done weeks ago. It should have been done weeks ago.

Nursing homes have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with infections and deaths mounting across the country. Nearly half of the reported COVID-19 deaths in Texas have been at nursing homes or assisted living centers, according to records.

IN-DEPTH: As 11 residents died of COVID-19, College Station care home left families guessing

One of the nursing homes that has had the worst outbreaks of the disease was San Antonios Southeast Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, where 18 residents who tested positive have died. And Sunday, Dorothy Davis, a nurse at the facility, died after a six-week battle with the disease. Overall, more than 70 residents and 25 workers at the nursing home tested positive for the virus.

County Judge Nelson Wolff noted that because of the increased testing, there will be an increase in cases of the disease.

As we test people that do not have symptoms we can expect a rise in cases. So when that rise comes dont be shocked by it, Wolff cautioned. Always keep in mind that were looking at how many we tested and the percent of those we tested that have COVID.

Emerick couldnt immediately say precisely how many tests have been conducted at the nursing homes or the results, but Mayor Ron Nirenberg indicated the numbers are significant.

Theres literally hundreds of tests that have already been run and the vast majority of those are coming back negative, Nirenberg said.

Earlier on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence recommended that governors in all states ramp up testing at nursing homes in the next two weeks. President Donald Trump later said he would mandate it, if necessary.

Abbott, a Republican, called on state health officials to figure out the details and implement a plan. He did not provide a timeline for the testing, or indicate how frequently it would occur.

Texas is working to rapidly expand our testing capacity  especially among vulnerable populations in Texas nursing homes, he said in a statement. This important collaboration among (agencies) will ensure that any potential clusters of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are quickly detected and contained.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

States such as New York, Maryland and Oklahoma have already begun mandating widespread testing at nursing homes. In New York, the epicenter of the nations outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said facilties that dont test their employees at least twice a week will lose their licenses.

About 200 Texas nursing homes have reported cases of COVID-19, and advocates believe there are many more where the virus is spreading. The state has about 1,200 nursing homes, not including assisted-living facilities, according to Patty Ducayet, an ombudsman for the Health and Human Services Commission.

Im very pleased with this announcement, Ducayet said. I think it shows people are absolutely listening to the call from advocates to sort out who is healthy and who is not. This is really going to tell us where we stand in our facilities and where we need to respond.

Until now, the state has prioritized testing for all residents and staff at facilities where cases have been confirmed, Ducayet said. In other facilities, those who show symptoms are being tested.

The Department of State Health Services, which is managing the pandemic response, did not immediately respond to a request for details on how the new testing push will occur.

Ideally you want rapid tests being done in all our facilities in a systematic way, done in correlation with local health authorities so that residents and their families know whats going on, Ducayet said. Its really important that residents and their families have information.

The health commission has so far released only limited details about nursing home outbreaks, citing concerns about confidentiality. Families and caregivers say they have been left in the dark.

Lee said the state should be supplying all facilities with rapid-response tests that they can administer routinely, to spot outbreaks when they first occur. That is especially important for staff who travel between facilities and their communities, he and Ducayet said.

Testing staff is absolutely critical because they have to leave the facilities and go see their families, Ducayet said.

Staff Writer Diana R. Fuentes contributed to this report.
[May 12, 2020] Pie Insurance Named a Winner of the Colorado Top Workplaces 2020 Award

DENVER, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pie Insurance, one of the nation's leading insurtechs providing workers' compensation insurance to small businesses, is a Colorado Top Workplace 2020 according to The Denver Post. Inclusion on the Top Workplaces list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by Energage, LLC, the employee engagement technology partner of The Denver Post. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 drivers of engaged cultures that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution, and connection. "We are honored to be included on the list of Colorado's Top Workplaces, especially after only three years in business," said John Swigart, CEO of Pie Insurance. "It's one thing for the careers page on our website to state that we are a great place to work, but it means more for the talented people who work at Pie to collectively agree." Pie Insurance has 133 employees based in the Denver metro area, in addition to 34 baed in Washington, D.C and elsewhere.



About Pie Insurance

Pie Insurance provides workers' compensation insurance directly to small businesses and also partners with local, regional, and national insurance agencies to provide coverage to their clients. The company began offering policies in 2018 with a goal of helping small businesses experience true savings and an unmatched level of service. Pie operates as a managing general agency for Sirius America Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Sirius Group, offering A.M. Best "A-" (Excellent) rated workers' compensation insurance. Pie's investors include SVB Capital, Greycroft, Aspect Ventures, Sirius Group, Moxley Holdings, and Elefund. About Energage

Energage, a certified B-corporation, offers web-based solutions and advisory services that help organizations recruit and retain the right talent. Home of Top Workplaces research, Energage offers solutions that collect, understand and amplify the voice of the employee, enabling organizations to reduce unwanted turnover, lower recruiting costs and increase retention. Based on more than 13 years of culture research, advanced comparative analytics, and patented algorithms trained on more than 20 million employees at 58,000 companies, Energage has isolated the 15 drivers of engaged cultures that are critical to the success of any organization. For more information, please visit energage.com .

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pie-insurance-named-a-winner-of-the-colorado-top-workplaces-2020-award-301057214.html SOURCE Pie Insurance

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Technavio has been monitoring the drilling rig market and it is poised to grow by USD 18.35 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005062/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Drilling Rig Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Archer Ltd., China Oilfield Services Ltd., Helmerich Payne Inc., KCA Deutag Alpha Ltd., Nabors Industries Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Inc., Noble Corp. Plc, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc., Transocean Ltd., and Valaris Plc. are some of the major market participants. The growth in oil and gas demand 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.

Growth in oil and gas demand has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Drilling Rig Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Drilling Rig Market is segmented as below:

Application Onshore Offshore

Geography North America MEA Europe APAC 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=IRTNTR40382

Drilling Rig 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 drilling rig market report covers the following areas:

Drilling Rig Market Size

Drilling Rig Market Trends

Drilling Rig Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the growing demand for new-generation automated drilling rigs as one of the prime reasons driving the drilling rig market growth during the next few years.

Drilling Rig Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the drilling rig market, including some of the vendors such as Archer Ltd., China Oilfield Services Ltd., Helmerich Payne Inc., KCA Deutag Alpha Ltd., Nabors Industries Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Inc., Noble Corp. Plc, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc., Transocean Ltd., and Valaris Plc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the drilling rig market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Drilling Rig Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist drilling rig market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the drilling rig market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the drilling rig market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of drilling rig 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 Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Onshore Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Offshore Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Application

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA 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

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Archer Ltd.

China Oilfield Services Ltd.

Helmerich Payne Inc.

KCA Deutag Alpha Ltd.

Nabors Industries Ltd.

National Oilwell Varco Inc.

Noble Corp. Plc

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.

Transocean Ltd.

Valaris Plc

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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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:46:18|Editor: huaxia

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Nurse Long Bifei works at Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 12, 2020. Tuesday marked the International Nurses Day, which is celebrated on May 12 every year. Numerous nurses across the country were still sticking to their posts on the day. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
Industrial activities will be



allowed to resume in Rajkot city from May 14 as coronavirus pandemic is under control in the area, the Gujarat government announced on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a video conference with district officers and secretaries involved in the fight against coronavirus and discussed various measures suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting with chief ministers the day before.

"Rajkot was already in the orange zone. But the state government had taken a decision not to allow lifting of curbs in the city," said secretary to the chief minister Ashwani Kumar.

"However, as coronavirus situation is under control in the city the government has decided to start industrial and commercial activities as per norms in orange zone from May 14," he added.

Rajkot has so far reported 97 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. Out of 97, 46 people have been discharged.

No new case was reported in the city in the last three days.

During the video conference, the chief minister informed that life in municipal corporations of Jamnagar and Junagadh and as many as 156 nagarpalikas along with rural areas is coming back to normalcy in terms of activities related to farming, trade and commerce, and employment.

Four municipal corporations -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Bhavnagar -- and six municipalities are in the red zone in Gujarat, where strict lockdown is being enforced.

In orange and green zones lockdown has been relaxed as per the central government's guidelines.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After barely surviving a decade-long financial crisis, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) is once again suffering losses at the hands of the lockdown situation.

The PRTC has faced a revenue loss of around 36 crore in the 42-day long hiatus so far. The daily average loss has been pegged at around 85 lakh.

It may be mentioned that once on the verge of extinction, PRTC came back on track both financially and institutionally last year, after it started recording operational profit for the first time in the last 10 years.

Just before the state government disbanded public transport services in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic on March 20, the corporation had recorded its daily receipt of income worth 1.40 crore (monthly income estimated around 42 crore).

PRTC deputy controller (finance) Prem Chand said since the lockdown, the corporation is facing an estimated loss of revenue worth 80 lakh per day.

The figure is calculated after deducting the operational cost (including maintenance and expenses on diesel) from last generated per day income of 1.40 crore, he said.

The deputy controller said since there has been no income from the past over 40 days, they have somehow managed to fulfil committed expenses of worth 46 crore per month.

One of the officials, seeking anonymity, said the corporation has exhausted its savings and funds to pay salaries and pensions to its employees for the months of March and April.

The financial situation is so grim that the PRTC would cramp to arrange funds to meet its committed liabilities in the coming months, the official said.

Meanwhile, PRTC chairman K K Sharma said the present period could be termed as the golden era of PRTC, but tough days were ahead for the corporation due to the Covid-19 mess as far as the finances were concerned.

We will chalk out a strategy once the situation gets normalised. It is going to be a huge challenge to bring back PRTC financially where it was before the lockdown, he said.

Sharma said presently, they are providing all possible logistics to the state government to deal with the pandemic situation.

It may be mentioned that in the past two years, besides tapping increase in daily receipt and monopoly routes, the image-building of PRTC among the people helped the corporation to generate a sizeable profit.

For the first time in past decade, PRTC was running its full fleet of 1,073 buses under its nine depots  Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Chandigarh, Patiala, Bathinda, Budhlada, Barnala, Faridkot and Sangrur.

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The release came on the same day that Trumps lawyers argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that the president should be able to shield his tax returns and private business records from subpoenas issued by Democratic-led House congressional committees and the Manhattan district attorney. They argued the president should be immune from requests he believed were political attempts to harass.

Supreme Court hears arguments on Trumps tax returns, personal financial records

The filing in New York was also a pointed reminder that Trump continues to quietly battle two women in court who allege he sexually assaulted them, fighting their efforts to obtain testimony and documents that could shed light on their accusations. The women, Summer Zervos and E. Jean Carroll, are among more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of unwanted physical contact in the years before he was elected.

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Trumps efforts to fend off their legal claims come as his allies have sought to spotlight allegations that his Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden, sexually assaulted a Senate aide in 1993, a claim he has denied.

Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, declined to comment on the Zervos and Carroll cases.

This weeks filing came in a defamation case brought by Zervos, a former contestant on the reality show The Apprentice, who alleges that Trump aggressively groped and kissed her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007, at what she thought would be a meeting to discuss a job opportunity at the Trump Organization.

She first made the allegations in October 2016 after the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women between their legs.

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Trump denied her claims, calling her and other women who accused him of sexual misconduct liars who are motivated by politics and money. In 2017, Zervos filed suit against the president, arguing that Trump defamed her by accusing her of lying about the episode.

Since then, the case has been slowly making its way through the New York court system. So far, lower-level state courts have rejected Trumps immunity arguments and allowed evidence to be gathered.

New York appellate court allows Summer Zervoss defamation suit against president to proceed

Phone records released as part of the case last year showed that Trump and Zervos exchanged six telephone calls over a three-month time period around the time when she said the assault took place, including on a day when Trumps calendar showed he was visiting Los Angeles.

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A judge had ordered that Trump be deposed in the case, and he had been scheduled to give sworn testimony about his interactions with the California restaurant owner by Jan. 31.

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But the deposition was put on hold when a panel of New York judges agreed that Trumps immunity argument should be heard by the states highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. Both sides have filed written briefs in advance of oral arguments before the court.

It is not expected to be heard until early 2021, although the coronavirus pandemic may delay proceedings even further, according to a spokesman for the court  meaning that the litigation is on hold until after the November election.

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Arguments in the case have centered on the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in Clinton v. Jones, which found that a sitting president has no immunity against civil litigation. As a result, then-President Bill Clinton sat for testimony in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones.

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The deposition later figured in Clintons impeachment after he lied in his sworn testimony about his relationship with a White House intern.

Trumps lawyers have argued that the Clinton ruling should only apply to civil lawsuits filed in federal court, like the Jones case. They argue presidents should not face lawsuits from private individuals in state courts while in office, and so Zervoss litigation should be either dismissed or put on hold until Trump leaves office.

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In the latest filing, Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz argued that state judges cant exercise any control . . . over the President while he or she is in office.

Trump has also been fighting a lawsuit brought by Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and author who last year accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s, which he has denied. The case is likewise in a holding pattern while a trial court judge in Manhattan determines how the Zervos case could affect it.

Magazine columnist accuses Trump of sexual assault more than two decades ago, an allegation he denies

Carroll sued Trump in 2019 after writing in her book What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal that she was raped by Trump in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a famous high-end Fifth Avenue department store, in 1995 or 1996.

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Trump said that hed never met Carroll, although they were photographed at the same event in the late 1980s.

In a statement to The Washington Post this month, Carroll said Trump had damaged a reputation it took me decades of hard work to build.

In addition to denying her claims, Trump had derided Carroll, now 76, as not his type.

I have been mocked and doubted, harassed and threatened, and am now seen by many as some crazy old bat who is not his type and who made up a story of rape in order to sell more books, she said. Every day that goes by with me unable to prove that I was telling the truth and that Donald Trump was not  is another day of waiting to obtain the justice that I deserve.

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Carrolls lawyers have said the presidents lawyers have imposed delaying tactics from the start, writing in a February court filing that Trump has done everything he can to stop the truth from ever coming out.

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The president sought a dismissal on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that he couldnt be sued in New York because he is a resident of Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago residence was declared his official home.

Carrolls attorneys have also sought to collect Trumps DNA, so it can be compared to material found on the dress she says she was wearing the day she says she was attacked, a request that is now on hold pending the judges decision about whether Carrolls suit could be determined by Zervoss arguments.

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At one point, they said, Trumps team argued that the Carroll and Zervos cases were so different they could not be handled by the same judge. Later, his attorneys argued the cases were so similar that Carrolls needed to be on pause until the Court of Appeals ruling in the Zervos matter.

Carroll lawyer Roberta Kaplan wrote that the presidents takes on this case and Zervos have been remarkably inconsistent (even contradictory), but that he deserves credit for consistently doing everything possible to avoid proceeding.

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Kasowitz, Trumps attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump is cherry-picking immunity argument in personal lawsuits, accusers lawyer contends

Trumps position in court stands in sharp contrast with the political arguments being made against Biden by the presidents GOP allies. In recent weeks, they have pressed Democratic lawmakers to answer whether they believe former Biden aide Tara Reade and demanded that the presumptive Democratic nominee do more to answer the claim against him.

In an appearance on Fox News earlier this month, Lara Trump, the presidents daughter-in-law and a campaign adviser, suggested that people innocent of sexual assault charges would engage in radical transparency to prove the allegations false.

I would think if you were being accused of something and you were totally innocent you would go to any length possible . . . to try and clear your name, including allowing people to open up files like that and make sure youve turned over every single leaf to prove your innocence, she said.

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Biden requested that the secretary of the Senate search for and release any records related to a harassment complaint that Reade has said she filed against Bidens office. The Senate secretary replied that federal law would not allow for such documents, if they exist, to be released.

Reades attorney this week sent Biden a letter asking him to open up his Senate office archives, maintained at the University of Delaware, and authorize a search any relevant records.

Former Senate aide Tara Reade calls on Joe Biden to withdraw from presidential race

Trump himself has sounded more sympathetic to his Democratic rival, saying on Fox & Friends last week that Biden is is going to have to be able to prove whatever he has to prove, or she has to prove it, but thats a battle he has to fight.

Ive had many false accusations made, I can tell you that, Trump added. Many. And maybe it is a false accusation. Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake.
TDT | Manama

His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday tasked the ministerial committees, each in their own capacity, to prepare plans for the post-coronavirus (COVID-19) phase.

HRH the Premier directed the committees to come up with ways to enhance readiness for continuing the development process and ensuring that it is back on track in the economic, social, educational and health sectors.

These came as HRH the Prime Minister chaired the weekly Cabinet session, which was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.

HRH the Premier lauded the Kingdoms address to the virtual summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), noting that it reflected His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas keenness to put forward a preemptive strategy to ensure optimal dealing with various circumstances and developments.

Deputy Premier HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa delivered a keynote speech on behalf of HM the King during the summit, which was called by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, the chair of the current session of NAM.

Meanwhile, HRH the Prime Minister praised the sacrifices made by the Kingdoms medical staff at the frontlines of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He affirmed that they deserve every appreciation for the tremendous efforts they are exerting for the sake of the nation and its people, in the midst of the exceptional circumstances during and pressure under which they have to work.

HRH the Premier marked International Nurses Day, which falls today. He commended the efforts made by nurses while they are performing their noble humanitarian duties at the frontline of the health system and extended thanks to the Minister of Health as well as to the Ministrys medical, nursing and administrative staff for their commendable efforts.

During the session, the Cabinet endorsed a recommendation by the Civil Service Council, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, to modify the organisational structure of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs by creating the position of undersecretary.

The competent authorities were requested to take the necessary procedures and prepare the required legal tools for this. The Cabinet approved the electronic system launched by the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments to exchange correspondence.

This electronic system aims to ensure the easy and speedy communication between the Justice Ministry and the courts on the one hand, and other ministries and government departments on the other, which would lead to the fast-tracking of judicial procedures.

The Cabinet also approved a draft decree on ratifying the agreement between Bahrain and Kenya to establish a joint committee for bilateral cooperation.

This committee aims to enhance friendship and cooperation between the two countries, said a memorandum that was submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs and presented by the Deputy Premier and committee chairman.

The session discussed a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the exchange of information on refugees and asylum seekers between Bahrain and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the draft MoU was referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs. The Cabinet discussed a draft law on amending some provisions of the decree-law regarding the transfer and transplantation of human organs, which was prepared based on a proposal by the Council of Representatives.
The heartbroken parents of a baby boy given just weeks to live due to a rare gut condition have never been able to see him at the same time - due to coronavirus social distancing rules.

Luke Evans, 30, and wife Sophie, 27, have been forced to take it in turns spending time with four-month-old son Arlo in his final days due to hospital regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tragic tot was born six weeks premature in January via emergency c-section and was diagnosed with rare genetic condition, Kleefstra syndrome, which caused his gut to rotate, at birth - later suffering from bowel tissue death before a severe cardiac arrest which left him with brain damage at four weeks old.

Sophie Evans holds baby son Arlo, who was born six weeks premature in January via emergency c-section and was diagnosed with rare genetic condition, Kleefstra syndrome

The rare genetic condition caused his gut to rotate, at birth - later suffering from bowel tissue death before a severe cardiac arrest which left him with brain damage at four weeks old

His parents, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Gtr Manchester, are devastated they have never been able to spend time together in the same room with him due to government policies in place at Manchester's St Mary's Children's Hospital, which state only one parent can visit their child in a neonatal intensive care unit at a time.

Dad-of-three Luke said: 'Arlo was born premature so he was underweight, meaning that we couldn't take him home, then he got worse at four weeks old.

'Now we don't know how long he's got and it's awful that we can't take him home.

'It's one parent at a time allowed in so we can't even spend time together just the three of us.

'It's sad because we should be having family time.

'We haven't even been able to take him outside and he's never been home.

'Me and Sophie wanted to take him for a walk together so he could see the sky for the first time but we can't even do that.

'This whole situation is ridiculous. It's such a frustrating time.

'We do understand why there are restrictions because it will safeguard and benefit some children, but the logistics in hospitals don't seem to make sense.'

Due to his rotated gut, Arlo developed a serious bacterial condition called Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) which caused part of his bowel tissue to die and left him needing one six-hour operation and one three-hour operation to remove part of his intestine.

At four weeks old, the tot also suffered a severe cardiac arrest due to a high temperature and struggling to breathe, leaving him with global brain damage.

Arlo has never spent time outside of hospital and other family members were banned from visiting him at St Mary's Children's Hospital.

WHAT IS KLEEFSTRA SYNDROME? Kleefstra syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects many parts of the body. Characteristic features include developmental delay and intellectual disability, severely limited or absent speech, and weak muscle tone. People with Kleefstra syndrome may also have structural brain abnormalities, congenital heart defects and a tendency to develop severe respiratory infections. * US National Library of Medicine Advertisement

In his final precious days, while only one parent at a time is able to spend time with him in hospital, the other stays at a hotel nearby.

He was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital to receive end of life care as doctors say nothing more can be done for him.

His two siblings, aged five and seven, have only met him twice before the social distancing restrictions become more stringent.

Luke said: 'His two sisters aren't able to spend time with him, they've only seen him once or twice just before things got really serious.

'It's too high risk to take him anywhere, so we're just waiting for him to die peacefully.

'The only time we'll get to spend time together the three of us is if he's dying imminently, but the hotel is a 20 minute drive from the hospital so we might not even make it.

'We're all gutted - it just isn't fair.'

Father Luke Evans and wife Sophie have not been able to visit their son together due to the social distancing rules currently in place across the UK

Arlo has never spent time outside of hospital and other family members were banned from visiting him at St Mary's Children's Hospital due to the social distancing restrictions

Current social distancing guidelines for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are set out by the government and not specific hospitals.

The current guidance is that only one parent is allowed to visit their baby at a time, as long as they don't have Covid-19 symptoms.

Sophie and Luke are now raising money via GoFundMe to help fund Arlo's funeral and have already raised more than 3,000 with any leftover donations will be donated to the NICU at St Mary's.

They are also campaigning to raise awareness of Necrotising Enterocolitis, which affects three in every 1,000 babies, with Necrotising Enterocolitis Awareness Day taking place on May 17.

Luke said: 'It's going to take our son away from us. You can't imagine losing a child just from bacteria in his gut.

'People take their gut for granted. You think you eat food and it comes out and that's that, but that's not the case at all. Without it, you can't process food or drink and can't survive.'

To donate to the family's Go Fund Me page, click here.
The war of words between Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified on Monday after the West Bengal chief ministers outburst against the Centre during Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with chief ministers.

Both parties sharpened attacks on each other, with the TMC targeting PM Modi for an ill-planned lockdown and late response to the Covid-19 situation and the BJP hitting out at the state government for not doing enough during the coronavirus pandemic and a collapse of the administration.

The PM held no meeting with the chief ministers before announcing the lockdown. The centre thought they could handle the situation in 15 days and would then alone take the credit of it all, Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjees nephew and TMC youth wing chief, was heard saying in a video clip released by the party.

Meetings with chief ministers are being held before announcing the second and third phase lockdown because the situation is not in control. Why didnt they think of and plan for the migrant workers before announcing the lockdown? Abhishek Banerjee asked.

There are apprehensions about the fallout of letting long-distance trains run. They Centre should provide all with more clarity, TMC secretary-general and state education minister Partha Chatterjee said.

He, too, alleged that BJP was busy playing politics when the focus should have been on putting up a unit fight against Covid-19.

Mamata Banerjee had hit out at Centre in the afternoon during the video-conference with Modi, alleging it was trying to gain political mileage at the expense of the state government.

We as a state doing our best to combat the virus. The Centre should not play politics in this crucial time. We are surrounded by international borders and other bigger states and have challenges to deal with All the states should be given equal importance and we should work together as Team India, she said adding that the federal structure should be respected.

In the evening, BJP leaders targeted the state government of minority appeasement, mismanagement over bringing migrant workers back, implementing a lax lockdown and failure in managing the public distribution system.

The Centre is not playing politics. The Centre had to intervene because the state was failing its people. The state played hide and seek with data and the real Covid-19 scenario, let the lockdown be easily violated, corrupted the public distribution system and also wanted to leave the migrant workers at lurch, BJPs state unit president Dilip Ghosh said.

In every case, the state acted after the Centre intervened. The government has failed in most critical aspects  health and home affairs  and both portfolios are held by the chief minister, Ghosh added.

Its not a time for politics. Its a national crisis and the time is for uniting under the leadership of the prime minister and fight Covid-19, BJP national executive member Mukul Roy said.

All senior leaders of the West Bengal unit of the BJP, including central observers Kailash Vijayvargiya, Shiv Prakash and Arvind Menon, Union ministers Babul Supriyo and Debasree Chaudhuri and members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, also took digs at the Mamata Banerjee government for utmost failure.

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President Hassan Rouhani fired his Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Reza Rahmani on Monday May 11 without offering any explanation about his abrupt decision.

Nearly all Iranian news agencies and daily newspapers covered the event and came up with various hypotheses about why Rouhani chose to fire one of his economic ministers about one year before his term of office as President and in the middle of an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 epidemic.

It was said during a debate at the Iranian Parliament, Majles, on Tuesday that the 54-year-old Rahmani fell victim to his failure in controlling the vehicle market in Iran.

This could be a valid hypothesis as the rise in the price of Pride, a sub-standard car copied from an outdated South Korean model, rose from around 400 million rials in February to nearly one billion rials in May. In the meantime, many analysts in and out of Iran mentioned this as an example of a total failure of the Iranian economy under president Rouhani.

Meanwhile, the press reported the mishandling of the market for the car as they suspected the ministry has been manipulating the website that sold the car to both end users and investors.

In a letter which has been circulating on social media since Rahmani's dismissal, he told Rouhani that presidential Chief of Staff Mahmud Vaezi had threatened him that he should resign if he cannot convince the Iranian Parliament to agree to establishing a Trade Ministry in order to make the burden on Rahmani's shoulder lighter and to make the Rouhani administration agile.

He said in the letter that Vaezi had told him to take advantage of his ethnic Azeri background to influence the Azeri MPs at the Majles. However, Vaezi's office denied the accusation and said it had played no part in the firing of Rahmani but threatened that the office might reveal the role three of the people close to Rahmani played in dealings with the Majles, although it did not elaborate.

Rouhani himself did not say a word about the dismissal and simply appointed a caretaker for the Ministry, Hossein Modarres Khiabani, a former Deputy Minister who specializes in trade but has no background in industry or mining. This strengthens the possibility that Rouhani was not happy with Rahmani's performance in the area of trade.

Rahmani was seriously criticized by officials and the media in March for his failure to supply personal protection equipment including face masks to Iran's medical staff facing serious shortages. He was also harshly criticized for exporting millions of face mask to China while his own country was in dire need.

Nevertheless, there is another possible reason the press has ignored. Rahmani was fired within minutes of coming out of a meeting with the powerful head of Iran's Judiciary, Ebrahim Raeesi (Raisi), who has been Rouhani's political rival since the 2017 Presidential elections.

Rouhani may have been enraged by the meeting particularly if he did not know about it beforehand.

After the meeting with Rahmani, Raeesi told the press on Monday that he issued orders to sort out misappropriations in the area of trade. Raeesi spoke with the demeanour of a president and an executive, issuing several economic orders.

In one of the latest developments about the dismissal, former Culture Minister Ali Jannati, the son of the Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, wrote in a tweet that Rahmani's colleagues at the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade were not happy about his performance.

Jannati, a close ally of Rouhani, supported Rahmani's dismissal and said the measure was "right but was taken too late." Jannati further accused Rahmani of "incompetence and weakness in management" and "lobbying with MPs against national interests," but did not elaborate further.

He suggested that "those who criticize Rouhani for the dismissal should talk to the ministry's senior managers to find out about Rahmani's incompetence and grafting." Considering Jannati's shared political affiliation and long-term ties with Rouhani, this could be , by far, the closest thing to Rouhani's reason for firing his Industry, Mining and Trade Minister, if he ever choses to talk about the matter.
Cedar Meats asked 350 workers to attend an indoor all-staff meeting at its abattoir site on May 1, two days after the Health Department ordered it to shut and just days before dozens of workers tested positive for COVID-19.

About 260 workers attended the meeting to learn where they could get tested and how to self-isolate. In the period from May 4-8, more than 60 of the total 85 cluster cases were recorded. The incubation period for the virus is anywhere from one to 15 days, and the median incubation period is five or six days.

The Cedar Meats cluster has become Victoria's largest outbreak, and the state opposition has criticised the speed and cohesion of the government's response.

A number of Cedar Meats employees who are unable to safely isolate at home have been put up in hotels, including Rydges in Swanston Street.
Despite a rocky month, the Trump campaign has erased former Vice President Joe Biden's March fundraising advantage as the president hauled in over $1m more than his expected general election foe in April.

Mr Trump's re-election campaign and the national Republican Party netted $61.7m last month despite a skyrocketing number of coronavirus cases and deaths, and his own uneven performance leading the country. But as he often does, the president appears to have turned those perceived negatives in a positive.

Mr Biden and Democrats scored big in March, bringing in $73m in campaign contributions. That came after Mr Biden had elbowed progressive hero Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont out of the race as he became the clear frontrunner for the nomination.

The former VP's campaign raised $43.5m of that total, with the Democratic National Committee taking in another $17m.

On the GOP side, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have not released a more detailed breakdown of how much each entity raised.

Mr Biden, in a statement, tried to describe his fundraising base as wide, saying "the average online donation to my campaign was only $32.63."

"For my part, I promise I will do everything I can to make Donald Trump a one-term president. We can overcome four years of Trump. But if he's given eight years? I fear we won't recognise who we are as a nation after that," Mr Biden said.

"That's why I get up every day -- and my campaign gets up every day -- laser-focused on building the strongest campaign possible. Because I'll be damned if I'll let Trump win again," he added.

He leads the president in just about every swing state and has opened up a 4.4 per cent national lead, according to RealClearPolitics average of several polls.

For their part, Trump campaign officials touted the $225m the incumbent and GOP have on hand.

"Once again the Trump campaign's colossal fundraising haul reaffirms that President Trump will lead an unstoppable juggernaut this November," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. "While the do-nothing Democrats have recklessly held up funds for our nation's small businesses and played political games with the lives of the American people, President Trump's consistent record of unprecedented action is met with overwhelming enthusiasm and support."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has issued a statement on the organizing of the return of citizens of Armenia abroad.

Once again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reminds that the Upper Lars border checkpoint remains closed for foreign citizens, including citizens of Armenia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the citizens of Armenia wo are currently at the border checkpoint to return to the places in which they were residing before this and get listed at the embassies or consulates of Armenia which are coordinating the efforts for their return to Armenia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that the transport of citizens of Armenia abroad due to the situation created as a result of the novel coronavirus is being carried out by the Commandants Office for the state of emergency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, according to the drafted timetable and action plan. Such coordinated efforts provide the opportunity to ensure the health and safety of citizens for transport and the uninterrupted work of the healthcare system in Armenia. In this sense, the organizing of the return of citizens of Armenia from different countries is ongoing and according to plan.

Certain initiatives that are not part of the coordinated efforts of the Commandants Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are in violation of the restrictions set by different countries may lead to uncontrollable consequence and undermine the efforts for transporting citizens. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on citizens of Armenia abroad to organize the return to Armenia through the scheme of the Commandants Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and refrain from undertaking own initiatives, the statement reads.
Get ready for another thunderous military flyover to salute workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Jersey.

The 177th Fighter Wing of the state Air National Guard plans to fly over 14 sites around the state Tuesday from Sea Girt to Bergen County and other nearby sites, then south through Cherry Hill in Camden County and as far as the U.S. Coast Guard training center in Cape May County before concluding the flyover in Atlantic City.

The aircraft will include three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst.

The flyovers begins at 11:20 a.m. over Sea Girt and will cover key COVID-19 locations including testing sites, state veterans homes, hospitals and mortuary affairs, a guard public affairs spokeswoman said.

The flyby is part of a nationwide Air Force campaign to honor first responders.

Residents can see the flyover at the following approximate times and locations:

 Sea Girt  11:30 a.m.

 PNC Arts Center  11:35 a.m.

 Millstone  11:40 a.m.

 NJ Convention Center  11:45 a.m.

 Menlo Park  11:46  a.m.

 Kean University  11:48 a.m.

 University Hospital  11:48 a.m.

 Expo Center  11:49 a.m.

 Bergen County College/Paramus  11:51 a.m.

 Vets Haven North  12:01 p.m.

 New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs  12:07 p.m.

 Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital  12:13 p.m.

 U.S. Coast Guard Training Center  12:27 p.m.

 Atlantic City Convention Center  12:32 p.m.

The National Guard flyover follows one by the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels earlier this month in which 12 military jets crossed the state to salute health care workers. The flights passed by five cities in four statesNewark, New York City, Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington.

This is just a way of honoring those who are leading those challenges daily to say we care and we see what youre doing and we applaud you and thank you for your service, said Donna Jeffries, a spokeswoman for the 108th out of Joint base MDL.

Jeffries said the flight is part of planned training for the pilots and did not incur an additional cost outside of already appropriated funding.

The military released a map of the flyovers but cautioned the times are estimated for when the jets will be visible. The map also incorrectly shows Sea Girt much closer to Atlantic City, which makes it appear the flyover will cover most of the coast  which it wont. Sea Girt, which is scheduled to have the first flyover at 11:30 a.m., is 73 miles north of Atlantic City.

It also shows the southern route of the flyovers passing north of Wildwood. There is actually a flyby south of Wildwood at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May City at 12:27 p.m., five minutes before the last scheduled site of the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Social distancing requirements are still in place and officials continue to warn people to adhere. Violations of the emergency orders constitute a disorderly persons offense carrying a potential sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

New Jersey has now lost 9,310 lives to the coronavirus outbreak as the total number of cases continued to climb to 139,945, according to the latest update from state health officials on Monday.

The totals include 59 new deaths and more than 1,453 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, though officials have cautioned about lags in reporting particularly over the weekend.

This map shows Sea Girt much closer to Atlantic City than Asbury Park. Sea Girt is 73 miles from Atlantic City and seven miles from Asbury Park. The map also shows the southern route of the flyovers passing north of Wildwood. There is actually a flyby south of Wildwood at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May City.

Staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com.
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Hundreds of migrants seeking asylum are held in a temporary transition area in El Paso in 2019. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The 17-year-old Guatemalan boy in a California detention center for migrant children has been held for more than 400 days.

He's one of the longest-held of the roughly 1,800 minors in the U.S. immigration detention system  the largest in the world, and one now riddled with the novel coronavirus.

Under a decades-old legal settlement, the government is required to hold migrant children in safe and sanitary conditions and make prompt and continuous efforts to release them and reunify families. Two federal judges in recent weeks have ruled that the administration has violated the terms of that agreement in its handling of migrant children.

The Guatemalan teen  detained at the center in Fairfield, in Solano County  has been held by the Trump administration far longer than contemplated under the settlement.

It's not for lack of someone wanting to take him. When Bryce Tache and James Donaldson read on social media about the teenager, whom they call Mariano to protect his identity, the Minneapolis couple quickly applied to sponsor him, which would allow him to be released.

That was six months ago.

Now they fear the administration is using the pandemic to try to keep the boy until he turns 18, when officials can more easily deport him.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the detention of unaccompanied minors, denied making any policy changes amid the pandemic to prioritize enforcement actions against migrant children and parents.

"HHS is a child welfare agency, not a law enforcement agency," spokesman Mark Weber said Friday. "If there is a delay in unification, it is for public health reasons."

Across the country, however, lawyers who represent migrant kids say the administration is refusing to release children to ready sponsors. Court documents and lawmakers back them up.

Trump administration attorneys have argued in court that children are safer from COVID-19 in custody  even as the government quietly ramps up efforts to deport them. In recent weeks, officials have pulled scores of children and parents from detention in secretive operations to remove them from the U.S., according to lawyers, migrants' affidavits and the receiving countries. Some were sick. A number were challenging administration policies in court.

Story continues

Since March, when Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus, the administration has cut the population of detained kids and families by about 2,400, according to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, the agency in the HHS department that Congress charged with the care and placement of unaccompanied migrant minors, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which detains migrant kids with their parents.

But releases of kids to sponsors, already slowed under Trump, have nearly stalled during the same time period, recent litigation shows.

After the administration essentially sealed the U.S. border in March as part of its coronavirus response, few new children and families have entered the system: The number of unaccompanied migrant children turned over to the refugee resettlement office has dropped roughly 97%.

At the same time, ORR has released far fewer kids to sponsors than in previous months, and those left behind are being held longer.

Since March, the agency lists about 50 children as having been removed from the U.S. and roughly 180 more as having been transferred to ICE custody. ICE wouldn't say how many minors it had deported.

The U.S. data appear to conflict with numbers from the countries receiving U.S. deportees. From March through May, Guatemala's immigration officials, for example, report that the U.S. has deported 417 minors to that country alone.

We dont get notice from the government when families get dragged from their rooms in the middle of the night, said Shay Fluharty, director of the Dilley Pro Bono Project, a legal clinic at an ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, that holds kids with their parents.

Laura Pena, a former ICE attorney, now works as pro-bono counsel with the American Bar Assn.'s Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project, which helped represent an unaccompanied 16-year-old recently deported to Honduras.

Its outrageous, trying to deport this child and deny them rights during a pandemic, Pena said, a few hours before the girl was removed from the U.S. Why?

The Times reviewed extensive court records and spoke with more than 20 officials, lawyers, potential sponsors and immigrants for this story. Many spoke on condition of anonymity for fear the administration would retaliate against children and families in custody.

In one case, officials in the ORR blocked a detained teen from speaking to a reporter, despite the permission of the teen, her parent and her legal representatives. The individual risk posed to the minor seems to far outweigh the benefit of an interview, the agency said.

ICE provided data on families and COVID-19 cases in custody but did not respond to questions about its policies.

Lawyers across the country said that under the cover of the coronavirus, the ORR is coordinating with ICE to target kids in custody for removal.

Just as all of this craziness happened with the coronavirus, said AKiesha Soliman, a lawyer with the unaccompanied minors program at Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services in El Paso, Texas, it seems like theyre ramping up deportations of children who wed normally have more time to find relief for.

Soliman warns young clients that despite legal rules designed to protect them, they can be removed at any time.

In Mariano's case, the ORR has refused to consider the Minneapolis couples application because they aren't legal guardians or immediate relatives and didn't have a prior relationship with the teenager, according to Ricardo de Anda, the boy's attorney.

Mariano's parents gave permission in an affidavit for him to be released to the Minnesota family. Grinding poverty in the Guatemalan highlands led them to abandon Mariano when he was a boy, de Anda said. They gave him to another man who tried to pass him off as his biological child while entering the United States last spring, court documents say.

Federal rules require additional checks for victims of trafficking as well as for potential sponsors who didn't know a minor before he or she arrived in the U.S.  but neither disqualifies a child from being placed with a family.

De Anda helped Mariano sue, arguing that the government was violating his rights by denying him sponsorship and protections.

You have good-hearted Americans who take this child under their wings, de Anda said. But its like pulling teeth.

Tache and Donaldson and their two teenage sons have moved into a larger home so that Mariano would have his own room. The couple hopes to win guardianship of Mariano by attesting that as a trafficking victim, he is eligible for a Special Immigrant Juvenile visa.

With the government restricting transportation of migrant children amid the crisis, they said they are prepared to drop everything and drive to California to pick Mariano up.

For now, they talk with him at least once a week by phone. The teen describes some detention staff as wearing masks but not practicing social distancing. Hes increasingly depressed.

What if he gets sick tomorrow or the next day? Tache said.

I personally believe the governments end goal is to send everyone back to their country of origin," he said. The right thing and safe thing for him right now is to be with a family who can help him.

* * * * *

Late last month, two federal judges  including District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles, who oversees the Flores agreement, the legal settlement that sets standards for civil detention of migrant children  ruled that the administrations actions toward migrant kids and parents amid the pandemic violate the agreement and federal law.

That same week, a third federal judge threw out a suit to force nationwide releases from detention facilities that health experts and judges have called tinderboxes for the virus.

Almost all the kids are being held significantly longer than the Flores settlement allows, according to the recent litigation. The vast majority, as well as the parents detained with them, are asylum seekers, and many have legal orders in place known as stays of removal, intended to protect them from deportation. Most have relatives in the U.S. ready to sponsor them. The government has not provided evidence that they are flight risks or a danger, Gee noted in her ruling.

Administration officials say they are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Migrants, their advocates, health experts and lawmakers, however, have documented a lack of sanitation, personal protective equipment and medical attention.

Government attorneys argue that the minors are safer detained.

Dr. Amanda Cohn, a CDC official, submitted a written declaration in the case before Gee that releasing unaccompanied children, likely increases risk of exposing [them] to COVID-19 relative to remaining in custody.

As of Wednesday, ICE had reported 943 coronavirus cases among migrants in custody, with more than 50% of those tested coming up positive. About 6% overall have gotten a test.

April Grant, an ICE spokeswoman, said Friday there were no cases of the virus in its three family detention centers but declined to say how many kids and parents had been tested. Families at the sites have undergone tests and are currently quarantined, lawyers told The Times.

About 1,500 unaccompanied migrant kids are held at nearly 200 federally contracted facilities across the U.S. supervised by the ORR. From late March to May, confirmed cases of COVID-19 among those minors increased from four to 68, according to agency data. About one in three children tested were infected, but the government has tested only 12% of those in the agency's custody.

* * * * *

Every time Esvin talks with his 4-year-old daughter, she cries.

Its been nearly six months since officials separated them at an immigration detention facility in Raymondville, Texas, he recounted.

Why did you leave me here? she asks him over the phone.

I didnt leave you, he explains. They took you away from me.

Esvin, who asked that his full name and the identity of his child not be published for fear of reprisals, left Guatemala in November because of violence, he said. After a week of detention in Texas, officials told him they were taking away his child, citing a roughly decade-old charge in Guatemala for which he was never convicted.

Esvin spent months at three immigration detention centers in two states before he was released on bond in early March from a Mississippi facility that now has 15 confirmed coronavirus cases. He currently lives with his aunt, uncle and their two children at their home in New Jersey.

He has tried to reclaim his daughter but has been met with repeated roadblocks.

First, his application was delayed for a month because officials said they were not conducting home visits during the pandemic. Then a social worker told him the agency had forgotten to take the fingerprints of everyone in the New Jersey home.

The government just keeps giving me excuses, Esvin said in Spanish. They want this document. I give it to them. Then they ask for something else.

Since March, the ORR has issued orders to stop placements in California, Washington state and New York and more recently has limited out-of-state releases or transfers.

The agency also added requirements for fingerprinting most potential sponsors and shared information with the Homeland Security Department  a practice Judge Gee noted wasnt required and that other officials warn discourages families from coming forward. The agency also demanded home studies, then discontinued doing them, despite the possibility of virtual visits.

Officials also delayed the release of minors from detention facilities that have cases of COVID-19, which a medical expert testifying for migrants suing the government likened to leaving them in a burning house rather than going in to rescue them.

Gee agreed the government shouldnt rush to release migrant kids en masse or stop vetting potential sponsors amid coronavirus. But the governments policies have unnecessarily delayed kids release, she ruled.

"Under the current extraordinary circumstances in the midst of a pandemic, ORRs obligation to release minors without unnecessary delay requires moving with greater speed ... where a suitable custodian exists," Gee wrote.

Lawyers say the government is neglecting the specific needs of detained children.

In some cases, babies and toddlers have been provided adult-sized masks, if any. In others, according to court filings, outbreaks have led officials to stop classes or activities for young children or impose isolation, which medical experts and judges assess as traumatic.

Just put yourself in my shoes, said Esvin. She is my daughter. Shes not an object to be played with. She is a human being."

At the ICE facility in Dilley  the largest detention center in the United States  one Honduran mother had been vomiting and coughing for weeks before she lost consciousness in front of her 4-year-old son.

The woman fled Honduras with her son to seek asylum in the United States. Immigration officials initially detained them in Arizona, where she first started showing symptoms. In the early hours of April 17, guards sent the sick woman and her toddler straight from Dilleys small medical clinic to a deportation flight.

Senora, get up, time to leave, one guard said, grabbing her roughly by the arm, according to the womans legal declaration.

Ultimately, the Honduran woman was so ill that ICE officers pulled her and her son off the flight. An ambulance brought them and another sick family to a tent clinic, where the woman was tested for the coronavirus. Then they were driven back to Dilley and put into quarantine with other families who lawyers say are being held incommunicado.

In recent weeks, ICE has moved to deport dozens of these kids and parents, despite many being plaintiffs in existing lawsuits, according to the lawyers.

No one has told the woman her coronavirus test results; they didnt test her son. After spending almost 24 hours a day in isolation, he has started kicking the walls, becoming "inconsolable and aggressive," she testified. My son is losing his mind."

Said Fluharty, director of the Dilley legal clinic: "It really is a prison for these kids, and still theyre not safe.

O'Toole reported from Washington and Carcamo from Los Angeles.

For the record:

3:59 AM, May. 15, 2020: An earlier version of this article said a 17-year-old boy had been held for more than 400 days in a federal migrant detention center in California. Some of his 400 days in custody have been at detention centers in other states.


A High Court judge has complained about the protective perspex screens erected on judicial benches at the Four Courts in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy who was hearing application at Court One off the Round Hall in the Four Courts complex said the perspex screens which are directly in front of the judge and the registrar are half an inch thick and it has an impact on the ability to hear .

The screens which have been put up in front of the judge and the registrar, but dont run the length of the bench are part of the measures introduced in courts in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Another judge in the Four Courts last week in a courtroom streaming with sunlight said the screen in front of him was distracting as he could see his own reflection in it as he conducted proceedings.

Ms Justice Murphy was hearing an application by a Limerick prison officer seeking to bring a legal challenge to a decision of the Prison Service that an injury he sustained when a prisoner resisted attempts to take him from his cell to go to court was not a workplace injury.

David Kennedy SC for prison officer Michael Delaney who is based at Limerick Prison told the court his client is entitled to enquire into the decision-making process as a result of which he lost out. The injury, Counsel said was a bad enough shoulder injury for which the prison officer needed surgery.

The prison officer has brought proceedings against the Prison Service, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General.

The prison officer in an affidavit read to the court said he was in in charge of D wing at Limerick Prison on August 30,2019 and was arranging to escort prisoners to Limerick court. One prisoner became aggressive as an attempt was made to take him from his cell and Mr Delaney was bitten, headbutted and suffered a shoulder injury in the violent struggle that ensued.

He later had to have surgery on the right shoulder and was unable to work. In November of that year he was told he had exhausted his sick leave pay entitlement and a decision was made that he was not entitled to avail of the Prison Service policy for occupational injury.

He claims a finding was made in relation to a colleague assaulted in the same incident that the officer had sustained an occupational injury.

He has claimed in his judicial review proceedings the decision was unreasonable and irrational and he is seeking an order quashing the decision refusing to treat his absence from work as occupational injury related.

Ms Justice Murphy granted leave to bring the legal challenge.

The case will come back before the court on June 16 next.
Gurugram, May 12 : After 48 days of the Covid-induced lockdown, country's largest manufacturing company Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) restarted its production on Tuesday. One employee will do the work of three, says company official amid strict social distancing norms.

The company restarted with 3,500 employees in Sector 18 Gurugram plant and 2,500 employees in the Maneser plant. MSIL has developed a digital app called "Wellness Mitra" to contact thelabouers.

"Since social distancing is of utmost priority, the company is using 30 per cent manpower to restart plants at both the places. On Day One, we want to prepare plan of production with limited resources, keeping in mind social distancing," Kuldeep Jhangu, the general secretary of Maruti Suzuki Kamgaar Union (MSKU) said.

"The employees are given training about how to work on manufacturing belt in given period of time. In this case, one employee will do the work of three persons," Jhangu said.

Jhangu said that Gurugram plant has roughly 13,000 employees while 9,000 in Maneser. In normal days, both these planted have manufactured 1.5 lakh vehicles in one month. With limited resources, he admits that production will go down significantly.

Rahul Sharma, an employee of Maneser plant said after morning shift: "Car production with small team is challenge for everyone in the plant but we will be committed to execute assignments given by seniors. Protection with ongoing Coronavirus outbreak is our priority." Restarting of MSIL has given huge relief to vender companies dependents on it. Around 3,000 auto component companies are directly or indirectly associated with MSIL.

Amit Khatri, the district magistrate of Gurugram said: "Under the guidelines of MHA, we have given approval of 1,330 industrial units to restart production. With this, 1 lakh labourers are expected to get employment in them. It will also give positive message to labouers wanting to return homes.

"We have given clear instructions to company to maintain social distancing, thermal scanning of employees and sanitisation during productions. Their activities will be monitor through dedicated teams under district labour commissioner," Khatri said.
A father-of-two who called his landlord a 'money hungry old hag' and a 'c*** of a human' has been fined $500 for the harassing emails he sent her.

Ricky John Jackson, 24, pleaded guilty to sending his landlord a series of emails between February 26 and June 8 2019 after she raised his rent following the floods in Townsville.

Jackson was evicted as a result of the cost increase.

He sent her several emails regarding his bond and rent, the court heard, according to the Townsville Bulletin.

Ricky John Jackson, 24, pleaded guilty to sending his landlord a series of emails between February 26 and June 8 2019 after she raised his rent following the floods in Townsville (stock)

The prosecutor read some of the emails out for the court.

'Listen up you money hungry old hag, we cleaned the house  we don't owe you any rent,' one email read.

'You rented out the place for more money  you are an absolute c*** of a human.

'If you take offence I will come around late and use your house for some target practice.'

He said if the landlord wanted to get 'physical' he was happy to as well.

Jackson also threatened to go to the landlord's home and shoot her horses.

Jackson's lawyer Danny Burke said there was significant tension between his client and the landlord following the raising of the rent (stock)

He said he would go to her house with a group to get his money back and since he has police friends he could 'do whatever he liked'.

Jackson's lawyer Danny Burke said there was significant tension between his client and the landlord following the raising of the rent.

Mr Burke said as a result of the cost increase his client was evicted and had pent-up frustration for not having a roof over his family's head.

Mr Burke said the behaviour was out of character for Jackson.

Jackson was fined $500 and a conviction was recorded.
Studies of metal complexes with organic ligands at Kazan Federal University were initiated back in the 1970s by Professor Andrey Popel. Current research, headed by Associate Professor Tamara Bychkova and Associate Professor Valery Shtyrlin, concentrates on complex compounds of transition metals in aqueous and aqueous-organic solutions. So far, data has been obtained about the composition and stability of complexes of cobalt (II), nickel (II), copper (II) and vanadium oxide (IV) with mono-, di- and tetrahydrazides of various nature (aliphatic, aromatic, and macrocyclic) in aqueous, aqueous-dimethylsulfide, aqueos-dimethylformamide, aqueous-ethanol, and other media. Special software tools created at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry - CPESSP and STALABS - are used to calculate equilibrium parameters in solutions. In some cases, based on the analysis of stability constants and kinetic characteristics of complex formation, conjectures have been put forth about the structure of complexes; lately, quantum chemistry apparatus is widely used for this purpose.

The article presents the results of a study of complex formation processes in aqueous solutions containing copper (II) as a complexing agent and two ligands - dihydrazide (malonic or adipic) acid and amino acid - L-histidine. Heteroligand complexes of 1: 1: 1 composition with the zwitterionic form of L-histidine and adipic or malonic acid dihydrazide in neutral form were found. Despite the pH restrictions created by the solubility of the ligands (hydrazides are salted out from solution above pH 5), a heteroligand complex with adipic acid and the anionic form of L-histidine was also detected. The stability of the first two heteroligand complexes is consistent with statistics (we always carry out a statistical analysis of equilibrium constants, guided by the generally accepted approach), but for the latter complex there is some extrastabilization. In the general case, this means that the presence of one ligand in the internal sphere of the complexing ion favors the entry of another, that is, one ligand "positively" affects the other. The next question is what is this influence? Unable to isolate the complexes unchanged from the solution, we performed quantum-chemical calculations of the structures. From these calculations, several interesting conclusions follow: 1) copper (II) ions in heteroligand complexes with the indicated ligands are pentacoordinated (a discussion over the coordination number of copper (II) ions in water has been going on for many years), 2) a chain is realized in some isomeric forms of complexes hydrogen bonds between the protonated imidazole group of histidine and the oxygen atom of the hydrazide fragment through an axially coordinated water molecule; 3) the cis-structure of heteroligand complexes with malonic or adipic dihydrazide acid and negatively charged L-histidine are energetically more beneficial than the corresponding trans-structure. This fact is explained by the manifestation of trans-influence in copper (II) complexes, in which the strongest trans-agents (NH2 groups in this case) avoid being located on the same coordinate. Such an effect was previously established for homoligand complexes of copper (II) with L / DL-histidine. The manifestation of transfusion in heteroligand complexes of copper (II) with histidine and dicarboxylic acid hydrazides was established for the first time in this work.

Information on the presence of trans-influence as a type of stereoselectivity, which manifests itself in the formation of copper (II) complex compounds with malonic and adipic acid dihydrazides and L-histidine, contributes to a deeper understanding of the properties of coordination bonds, structural features of complex compounds in general and their existence in solutions in particular.

"The material accumulated to date in coordination chemistry allows us to speak about many aspects of the complex formation of transition metals with confidence, but there are still many unsolved problems. We plan to continue research on heteroligand complex compounds of essential 3d metals with biologically significant organic ligands," explains co-author Nikita Troshanin. Such complexes are interesting both from the point of view of fundamental chemistry (they can serve as models of biological systems, for example, compounds of proteins with metals), and for solving a number of practical problems (primarily in pharmacology). The literature describes many examples of how the biologically active properties of organic substances, mainly bacteriostatic, are enhanced by complex formation. However, not all complexes formed in solution can be isolated in solid form; therefore, biological tests are either impossible or impractical. "We hope that someday we will be able to get at least a few crystals of our heteroligand complexes, and then they will be studied comprehensively," concludes Mr. Troshanin.

###
A grandmother has become a social media star thanks to her adorable snaps of her giant poodles and grandchildren.

The Japanese woman, known as Tamanegi, delights followers with photos of her standard poodles, Kuu, 13, Rickun, 11, and Gakkun, three, granddaughter Mamechan, three, and one-year-old grandson Mugikun, as they play games and have tea parties together.

She also writes a blog about their adventures and documents the touching moments on YouTube, where she has more than 10,000 subscribers.

Here, FEMAIL shares a selection of the most popular snaps.

Day out: The Japanese woman, known as Tamanegi, delights followers with photos of her standard poodles, Kuu, 13, Rickun, 11, and Gakkun, three, granddaughter Mamechan, three, and one-year-old grandson Mugikun. Pictured, the group on an outing to a rapeseed field

Game on! Mamechan challenges one of the poodles at the shogi board that belonged to the grandmother's father, which has since become a family treasure

I'm late! Another photo shows the grandchildren and poodles sitting enjoying a tea party, while dressed as characters from Alice In Wonderland

In full bloom! A snap taken in spring shows one grandchild holding white flowers, while sat between two white poodles

Matchy matchy! Another adorable photo shows the poodles coordinating their outfits with Mamechan, as they gather their mugs for a drink

Poodle playtime! One photo shows the grandchildren and poodles dressed up as characters, while sitting around a cardboard cat

Spot the difference! Another snap shows the trio of pooches and a grandchild wearing matching polka dot suits

Furry protector: A sleeping baby in a basket being guarded by a poodle, racked up almost 80,000 likes on Instagram

Best friends: One snap shows the grandchildren having fun with the poodles, as they wrap themselves in blankets
Bengaluru, May 12 : In a sudden development, the Karnataka government transferred state Labour Department Secretary P. Manivanan to Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Department with the same designation (Secretary) in less than a day, an official said on Tuesday.

"Captain P. Manivanan is posted with immediate effect as Secretary in the state Animal Husbandry and Fisheries department on waiting for posting after his transfer from the Labour department," said state personal department official G. Shayma Holla in an order.

Manivanan succeeded incumbent A.B. Ibrahim, who was relieved from the concurrent charge.

The hamstrung state labour department has been grappling with the crisis arising out of the coronavirus outbreak and the prolonged lockdown since March 25 when it was suddenly enforced and extended twice till May 17.

With the simultaneous suspension of buses, trains and flights and ban on movement of the people, thousands of migrant workers, construction labourers and blue/white collar workforce from across the southern state were not only stranded over 40 days, but also faced hardship in surviving without work, job and cash in hand.

As the labour secretary, the 1998-batch IAS officer was in-charge of the migrants' welfare, including food, water and shelter at hundreds of relief camps across the state because they were not allowed to travel to their native place till April 30.

"As the former Army captain had to look after thousands of the stranded people in coordination with multi-agencies, various state departments, non-government organizations (NGOs), voluntary groups and civic activists, he was carrying the onerous task by following the rule book, which ruffled other stakeholders, including officials and the ruling party legislators," another official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Distribution of food and ration kits to migrants was also a bone of contention between the department and other stakeholders, including city civic bodies following complaints of the succour not reaching all the needy day in and day out.

"A section of the legislators also complained against the secretary to state Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar that the food packets and ration kits were not reaching the migrants staying in relief camps that were located in their assembly segments or civic wards," the official added.

Though the state government sent over a lakh of local migrants to their native place in the southern state by ferrying them free in the state-run transport corporation's buses from May 2-7, hundreds of them remain stranded in cities and towns as the service has been stopped suddenly after May 7.

"Thousands of migrants from other states remain at the relief camps waiting for special trains to take them to their far away native place after being stranded over 45 days due to the extended lockdown," added the official.
A Manitoba man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for his role in the shooting deaths of two suspected drug dealers.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for his role in the shooting deaths of two suspected drug dealers.

Jason Andrew Bruyere, 29, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the February 2017 killings of Jody Brown, 34, and Steven Chevrefils, 35, at a St.-Georges home.

Last month, Claude Francis Guimond, the shooter and a former school principal in Sagkeeng First Nation, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years.

Court heard Monday that Bruyere visited the home knowing Guimond would be following him inside minutes later with a gun. Bruyere told police it was their plan only to scare the two victims, not kill them.

Bruyere was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

"(Bruyere) was the one who went there knowing the people in the house," Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft told provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs.

"What we cannot say is that (he) definitely knew when they went there that Claude Guimond was going to use the firearm or what would happen when they arrived," he said.

Court heard Bruyere had been drinking and taking drugs for days when he and his girlfriends father, Guimond, who had also been drinking, came up with a plan that night to "scare" the victims.

Bruyeres 21-year-old sister was addicted to meth when she died of a drug overdose just months earlier, said defence Jonathan Pinx.

"Mr. Bruyere believed the victims in this case were the local dealers of such substances in the community and his intention was to scare them so they would stop dealing," Pinx said.

Court heard Bruyere had entered the home on the pretext of buying drugs when he was followed minutes later by Guimond, armed with an assault rifle and wearing camouflage clothing.

Guimond confronted the two victims in the basement where there was a marijuana grow operation. Guimond shot Brown once in the chest and Chevrefils twice in the head and chest. One of the bullets ricocheted through the basement ceiling, grazing a woman in the head.

Police initially arrested Bruyere, who they believed was the shooter, but later focused their attention on Guimond, who had denied ever being in the house.

After a lengthy investigation, police surreptitiously obtained a sample of Guimonds DNA, matching it to bullet fragments and shell casings found at the scene.

Later, while in custody, Guimond was caught on the phone admitting to a family member he had been at the house that night.

"The RCMP investigation was exhaustive and left no stone unturned," Vanderhooft said. "We might have proceeded against Jason Bruyere if it wasnt for the willingness of the RCMP not to have tunnel vision, to step back and look at the whole investigation."

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Support letters provided to court described Bruyere as a well-intentioned, community-minded man and dedicated father.

No matter their lifestyle, Brown and Chevrefils didnt deserve their fates, Heinrichs said.

"They did not deserve to be killed in what might be described as vigilante fashion," he said.

Combine intoxication, bad judgment and firearms "and its not completely unforeseen that something more than scaring (the victims) would have happened," he said.

Bruyere received credit for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to three and a half years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Churches in New Zealand to re-open without religious services amid pandemic (AFP or licensors)

The Bishops of New Zealand express their disappointment that churches will re-open allowing only private prayer with a 10-person limit amid the pandemic.

By Vatican News

After weeks of restrictions in New Zealand due to the coronavirus, 338 churches in the country will re-open their doors beginning on Thursday.

In a letter sent to parishioners and priests on Tuesday, the Bishops of New Zealand said that from 14 May people will be able to go to churches for private prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Phase Two

Public Masses, however, are still suspended under the Alert Level 2 phase.

Under the new Level 2 guidelines announced by the Government on Monday, religious gatherings must be kept to a maximum of 10 people.

Last week the Government had stated that Masses and other religious services would have been possible with a 100-person limit.

Restrictive measures

Following this latest announcement, the Bishops have expressed their disappointment at the limited number allowed to assemble in churches, calling the latest measures too restrictive.

The Bishops letter noted that the Government will reconsider the limit of 10 people at religious services in two weeks.

It also said Catholic bishops are joining with the Anglican Church in asking the Government to look again with urgency at increasing that number.

While this is a difficult and challenging time, the Bishops said they continue to be encouraged and inspired by the number of people who have taken the opportunity during this lockdown time to deepen their spiritual life and re-evaluate their daily lives as individuals and families.

All celebrations of Mass were suspended on 20 March and churches closed five days later as New Zealand was locked down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the announcement of these latest rules, the online streaming of many Masses is likely to continue for some time.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 14:30:29

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ENGLEWOOD, CO / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Lightwave Logic, Inc. (OTCQB:LWLG), a technology platform company leveraging its proprietary electro-optic polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power, today provided a corporate update in conjunction with the filing of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.Recent Company Highlights:Announced breakthrough test results for the Company's latest electro-optic polymer material, which exceeded target performance at 1310 nanometers, a wavelength commonly used in high-volume datacenter fiber optics.During COVID-19, the Company temporarily curtailed most of its business operations at its facility from mid-March through May 1, 2020; however, a majority of employees continued to work from home, resulting in the filing of four new patents, extensive chemistry and device simulation, review of fabrication procedure with data analysis, and continued engagement with potential customers and partners.Chief Executive Officer Dr. Michael Lebby gave a virtual keynote address at the SPIE Photonics Digital Forum in April 2020, providing an industry perspective on how fast and low power electro-optic polymer optical devices are ideally positioned for the next-generation internet.President Jim Marcelli presented a corporate overview and held 1x1 meetings with institutional investors at the NobleCon16 Investor Conference, hosted by Noble Capital Markets in Hollywood, Florida in February 2020.The full text of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2020 and can be found here.Management Commentary"The first quarter of 2020 was marked by our continued refinement of our proprietary electro-optic polymers, incorporating feedback from potential partners to drive our technology closer to commercialization," said Michael Lebby, CEO of Lightwave Logic. "We are pleased with our development efforts, notably increasing the speed of our modulators while concurrently realizing breakthrough test results for our latest polymer materials, which paves the way for future integration using our seamless technology, as we work to engage tier-1 customers globally." I look forward to continued milestone achievements in the months ahead, working to create sustainable value for our shareholders over the long-term," concluded Lebby.About Lightwave Logic, Inc.Lightwave Logic, Inc. (OTCQB:LWLG) is developing a platform leveraging its proprietary engineered electro-optic (EO) polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power. The Company's high-activity and high-stability organic polymers allow Lightwave Logic to create next-generation photonic EO devices, which convert data from electrical signals into optical signals, for applications in data communications and telecommunications markets. For more information, please visit the Company's website at lightwavelogic.com Safe Harbor StatementThe information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "explores," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, lack of available funding; general economic and business conditions; competition from third parties; intellectual property rights of third parties; regulatory constraints; changes in technology and methods of marketing; delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations; shortages in components; production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components; those events and factors described by us in Item 1.A "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q; other risks to which our Company is subject; other factors beyond the Company's control.Investor Relations Contact:Greg Falesnik or Luke ZimmermanMZ Group - MZ North America949-385-6449LWLG@ mzgroup.us SOURCE: Lightwave Logic, Inc.
Owner of Moscow Region hospice pleads guilty in deadly fire case

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

13:10 12/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 12 (RAPSI) - An owner of a private hospice in the Moscow Regions town of Krasnogorsk pleaded guilty and repented as part of a case over the fire that had led to the death of 11 patients, the press service of the Moscow Regions Investigative Committee directorate reports Tuesday.

Charges are brought against the man, the statement reads.

Earlier, a criminal case was opened over provision of services failing to comply with safety requirements resulted of two or more deaths by negligence. Punishment for this crime is up to 10 years in prison.

According to investigators, on May 11, the fire occurred in the hospice for old persons. During the blaze 9 people in the age from 66 to 90 died; 9 more were hospitalized. Later, two persons died in a hospital.
Peter Slavin, owner of Ice Sculpture Philly, walks away after placing his unicorn ice sculpture on the fountain at Logan Square on Sunday. Read more

In the walk-in freezer at Ice Sculpture Philly, in an industrial corner of West Philadelphia, ice sculptures meant for dozens of weddings, concerts and conferences sit trapped in suspension  some of them generic decorations, others custom-made for celebrations that have been delayed for months or may not happen at all.

Theyre like ghosts, ice sculptor Peter Slavin said.

On a crisp Mothers Day morning, Slavin decided to set one free.

He loaded the glistening, 200-pound ice LOVE sculpture into his truck and delivered it to a plywood-covered pedestal overlooking the Schuylkill, where a politically controversial Viking statue had loomed until it was toppled and submerged a few years back. Then, with a swipe of a blowtorch, he polished it to glassy clarity, stepped back, and let the selfies ensue.

Slavin and his employees, who used to churn out around three dozen sculptures a week, have been out of work since the coronavirus shut down events two months ago. So, Slavin has been making new sculptures, a few each week, to install around the city. This guerrilla ice sculpting is Slavins way of connecting, sending out little sparks of hope and humanity amid the gloom.

Instead of getting depressed," he said, "were trying to do what we can do  to have some fun, get my guys working, and keep my brain flowing.

Slavin, 56, a former chef, made his first ice sculpture when he was 18, for a St. Patricks Day promotion at a l Bennigans in Cherry Hill.

In the 30 years since, he has built Ice Sculpture Philly into something halfway between manufacturing facility and sculpture studio. He makes his own crystal-clear ice blocks from Philadelphia tap water, uses a CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine he installed in a freezer to carve them into shapes like unicorns and LOVE sculpture knock-offs, and then uses chisels and custom drill bits to add hand-carved details.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus blight, transformed by art: Across Philly, signs of solidarity

His company would make a few dozen wedding sculptures each week  the trend up until March 15 was, youre not allowed to bring your dog to the wedding reception, so everybody wants me to sculpt their dog." Other regular gigs included carving the logos of bands performing at venues like the Met, as part of the green room spread.

Now, his venues are the Broad Street median, the Logan Square fountain, a friends front porch in Mount Airy, the middle of Rittenhouse Square. A woman scolded him for that last one, fearing it could cause people to cluster  so now he exercises caution, trying to find sites for this ephemeral street art that will get exposure but not draw crowds.

As sunlight reflected off of his sculpture near Boathouse Row, it caught Kevin Bennetts eye. Its good to see something. We been in the house and cant get out, the 57-year-old Germantown truck driver said as he snapped a few photos, then turned around for a selfie.

Jim Fennell, 77, came by next, squinting at what he thought at first had to be plastic, or glass. Ill Instagram this, he said through his mask.

Suhag Shukla, 49, relishing a morning walk and the rare escape from work-from-home life, slowed to a stop to marvel at the installation. Its such a pleasant surprise, she said. It looks like a jewel.

For Slavin, taking in that praise was also a reprieve.

This is my sanity. We miss that. Normally we go and set it up, and people are like, Oooh! Ah! Now, everything is sitting in the freezer."

 READ MORE: Free beer, weird costumes: These Philadelphians are spreading cheer in dark times

Hes hoping some corporation will sponsor his pop-up installations, so he can do more of them and call back his staff. Hes been reaching out to hospitals, too, trying to get permission to deliver sculptures in places where they might brighten the day for staff and patients.

At some point, he expects hell also start calling the couples whose weddings are on ice, offering to deliver the sculptures, turning them into temporary lawn ornaments.

Its easier to focus on this than on the larger picture for his business, where the electric bill alone, to cool those massive freezers, costs $600 a month.

How long will it take for weddings and corporate events to get back up to speed again? It could be years," Slavin said. Is my business really going to come back?
The medical staff of the hospital in Maralik town of Armenias Shirak Province is holding a protest Tuesday.

According to nurse Anna Ayvazyan, after COVID-19 was detected in more than 20 employees of the hospital, some of them were sent to an infectious disease hospital, and the hospital management had called on the rest to self-isolate.

"We had to self-isolate," she said. But now the management says that we shall get a salary based on a bulletin; this means that we will receive 80% of the amount due. (). We want the Minister of Health to issue a message and clarify how legal all this is.

Lab assistant Armine Ayvazyan, in her turn, added that at the very beginning of the pandemic, the medical staff was not provided with protective equipment, including gloves.

Anahit Hakobyan, an ambulance staff, said that the real increase in the salaries of medical workers from the promised 30 percent increase was only 20 percent.

And Vram Melikyan, former acting director of the hospital, stated that he had been asked to temporarily ensure the hospitals activities so that the local population would not suffer.
Mwjtbhc.hzzycm.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

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A Cambodian court has found former Australian teacher Garry Mulroy guilty of a lesser charge of indecent assault and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, but allegations of child prostitution have been dropped.

'He was prepared for the verdict. He is upset but doing okay,' his risk management adviser Ross Milosevic told AAP on Tuesday.

Mulroy had faced up to 15 years' imprisonment on allegations he had molested six boys at a home school he was building. The court in Siem Reap ordered that time served be taken into account.

A Cambodian court has found former Australian teacher Garry Mulroy guilty of a lesser charge of indecent assault and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, but allegations of child prostitution have been dropped

Mulroy will be eligible for release in June next year, but he is considering an appeal, according to friends.

The more serious charge was dropped after Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) withdrew legal representation, despite initially accusing the former Australian Catholic teacher from Lismore of child sex offences against the boys, aged 11-14.

Police chief Colonel Chea Heng of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Division in Siem Reap also failed to attend any of the hearings.

'Indecent assault - which is considered a misdemeanour - sadly, Garry was found guilty of this. We were half expecting this result as it allows the judges and the police to save face and justify Garry's detainment,' said long-time friend Joel Saye from Australia.

Mulroy's case had generated enormous interest in Cambodia and Australia where an independent report undertaken by Milosevic and commissioned by the defence found the charges were a bid by police, NGOs, judiciary and government officials to extort money.

He had previously worked for an orphanage but had left amid a disagreement over finances and treatment of the children and had decided to establish his own school, Education House, which led to petty rivalries among foreign-run NGOS in northwest Siem Reap.

Mulroy had faced up to 15 years' imprisonment on allegations he had molested six boys at a home school he was building

The report also said police interviews with the boys were not conducted with any adult supervision and made 'under extreme duress, intimidation and extortion' to secure charges against Mulroy.

'The charge of indecent assault is ridiculous because all the boys have said three times in the prosecutor interview, investigative judge interview and directly in court that they were never touched by Garry,' Milosevic said after the verdict.

Copies of the report have been sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne, among others.

Australia has classified Cambodia as a level-four country, the lowest of rankings. Its online travel advice includes: 'If you travel to this location, you're at a high risk of death, imprisonment, kidnapping or serious injury.'
China's state broadcaster has accused the US of smearing and attacking Beijing 'crazily' over the coronavirus pandemic as it fans the flames of anti-America sentiment.

A new commentary from China Central Television Station demanded 'certain American politicians' ditch their 'Cold War mentality'. It claimed that 'blackmail or threats won't work' on Chinese people.

Political tensions between China and the US have erupted in the past few months as the two nations condemn each other's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

China Central Television Station demanded 'certain American politicians' ditch their 'Cold War mentality' in a commentary. It claimed that 'blackmail or threats won't work' on Chinese people

The war of words has heated up between China and the US over the coronavirus pandemic. The two country's leaders are pictured meeting with each other in Japan on June 29, 2019

The US accuses China of covering up the initial epidemic, hiding the virus's origin and taking advantage of the crisis to push its territorial ambitions.

China accuses the US of carrying out 'smear campaigns' and avoiding its responsibilities in containing the disease. A spokesperson has suggested that the virus was planted in Wuhan by the US troops.

Beijing's scathing new opinion piece was aired by China Central Television Station (CCTV) today.

It began by quoting Max Baucus, a former US ambassador to China, who likened the Trump Administration to the McCarthy era due to their 'rhetoric against China'. Mr Baucus made the comments in an interview with CNN last week.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured on May 6) has said that there was 'enormous evidence' showing the coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged in December. China denied the allegation and called Pompeo 'evil' and 'insane'

Zhao Lijian (pictured on February 24), a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has accused the US military of bringing the virus to Wuhan in a Twitter post

'More than 70 years later, in order to exculpate their dereliction of duty in their resounding defeat of the controlling of the epidemic, certain American politicians who hold onto the Cold War mentality use China as the target again, attacking and smearing China crazily' the Chinese anchor read.

The CCTV commentary accused some American politicians of 'openly resurrecting McCarthyism', creating anti-China tensions and twisting the knowledge about China in the US society.

'[They] are using all of their might to drag the US into a bigger disaster,' it criticised.

The newsreader said China and the US should have been 'comrades' instead of 'enemies' on the counter-epidemic 'battlefields'.

'Today, in the 21st century, the American people are allowing a minority of anti-China politicians to use their McCarthyism-style tricks, leading everyone to fear for their lives and harming others without benefiting oneself. It can only be said that it is the sorrow of the United States.'

Who was Senator Joseph McCarthy and what was McCarthyism? Senator Joseph McCarthy, pictured, in 1954, held 36 days of televised hearings in an effort to uncover a secret communist plot to undermine the United States Senator Joseph McCarthy started an anti-communist witch hunt after he delivered a Lincoln Day address in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9, 1950. McCarthy had been relatively anonymous during his period in the Senate following his election in 1946, until he claimed there was a secret plot by communists to overthrow US democracy. During his speech, McCarthy claimed he had a list of communists who had infiltrated the State Department with the aim of undermining US foreign policy. The Senate established a special committee to investigate McCarthy's claims, but these were soon dismissed as 'a fraud and a hoax'. Yet, when Kim Il-Sung launched his surprise attack on Seoul in June 1950, public opinion in the United States had shifted. Communist North Korean forces backed by Soviet fighter pilots surprised the US government. It was feared at the time that Korea was the first act in an attempted global communist takeover. This paranoia was fuelled by the conviction of State Department worker Alger Hiss, who was accused of passing secrets to a communist spy ring in the late 1940s. In 1950, he was convicted of perjury, but this was enough to launch a second investigation. In 1952, McCarthy was re-elected to the Senate and was appointed chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where he probed allegations of espionage and subversion. It culminated into televised hearings over the course of 36 days in 1954. The lack of evidence behind any of his claims destroyed the Wisconsin senator's political career and resulted in him receiving an official rebuke. In total, some 2,000 US government employees lost their jobs as a result of the hearings and his investigations. Advertisement

The op-ed hinted that Beijing would not back down during the diplomatic dispute.

It said : 'The Chinese nation has endured many hardships in history and has never been crushed. Instead [we] grew braver and braver, and rose in tribulations.

'Chinese people didn't grow up being intimidated. Any blackmail or threats won't work.'

The commentary is the latest in a series of columns published by Chinese government organs or state media outlets to condemn the Trump administration.

On Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 'lies' by some leading US politicians over its handling of the crisis.

China and the US are locking horns in an intensifying diplomatic dispute over the coronavirus pandemic. US officials have claimed that China had withheld information about the new coronavirus and that it had originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured in 2017)

The Ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by US politicians, especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that China had withheld information about the new coronavirus and that it had originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan.

A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the ministry website repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the press briefings, and began by invoking Abraham Lincoln, the 19th century US president.

'As Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,' it said in the prologue.

The article also cited media reports that said Americans had been infected with the virus before the first case was confirmed in Wuhan. There is no evidence to suggest that is the case.

China's President Xi (pictured on March 10 in Wuhan) is facing widespread doubts that his government has covered up the true scale of the outbreak. An internal report has warned Beijing it faces Tiananmen-like global backlash and even 'armed confrontation' with the US

Keen to quash US suggestions that the virus was deliberately created or somehow leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the article said that all evidence shows the virus is not man-made and that the institute is not capable of synthesising a new coronavirus.

The article also provided a timeline of how China had provided information to the international community in a 'timely', 'open and transparent' manner to rebuke US suggestions that it had been slow to sound the alarm.

Despite China's repeated assurances, concerns about the timeliness of its information have persisted in some quarters.

Dr Li Wenliang, 34, died of the coronavirus in February after being punished for sounding the alarm over the outbreak. The police accused Dr Li and other medics of spreading fake news

The article rejected Western criticism of Beijing's handling of the case of Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor who had tried to raise the alarm over the outbreak of the new virus in Wuhan. His death from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, prompted an outpouring of rage and grief across China.

It said Li was not a 'whistle-blower' and he was never arrested, contrary to many Western reports.

It did mention that the police reprimanded li for 'spreading rumours'. Though Li was later named among 'martyrs' mourned by China, an investigation into his case also drew criticism online after it merely suggested the reprimand against him be withdrawn.

A bombshell report in Der Spiegel claims Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) personally asked World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom (left) to 'delay a global warning' about the threat of COVID-19 in January. The pair are pictured together in Beijing on January 28 of this year. Both China and the WHO have denied the allegation

Rejecting suggestions by US President Donald Trump and Pompeo that the new coronavirus should be called the 'Chinese virus' or 'Wuhan virus', the article cited documents from the World Health Organization to say the name of a virus should not be country-specific.

A report by Der Spiegel magazine last Friday cited Germany's BND spy agency as saying that China's initial attempt to hold back information had cost the world four to six weeks that could have been used to fight the virus.

It also claimed that China's president Xi Jinping 'personally asked the WHO to hold back information about human-to-human transmission'.

The WHO released a statement shortly after the publication of the shock claims, calling them 'unfounded and untrue'.

A spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the German newspaper of 'spreading fake news' during a press briefing on Monday.
Doctors Without Borders has sent a team to the Navajo Nation, after the community became badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisation sends doctors to areas of international conflict, and has healthcare professionals stationed in 70 countries worldwide.

However, a team of nine doctors have been sent to Navajo Nation, a Native American territory in the US that covers parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, as communities are struggling there amid the outbreak.

According to CBS News, Navajo Nation, which has a population of around 170,00, has the worst coronavirus cases per capita in the US.

The Washington Post reported that as of Sunday, upwards of 3,122 people had contracted Covid-19 in the area, and more than 100 people had died.

Jean Stowell, who is the head of the organisations US based Covid-19 Response Team, told CBS News that Doctors Without Borders needed to intervene.

There are many situations in which we do not intervene in the United States, but this has a particular risk profile, she said.

Recommended Why the Navajo Nation has one of the highest coronavirus death rates

One in three people in the Navajo Nation are estimated to not have access to running water, and because not much grows in the area, communities are heavily dependent on outside help for food.

Ms Stowell added that this means that situationally, the Native American communities are at a much higher risk for complications from Covid-19 and also from community spread because they dont have access to the variety of things that make it possible to self-isolate.

You cant expect people to isolate if they have to drive 100 miles to get food and water, Ms Stowell added.

The Doctors Without Borders team is planning on staying in the area until at least the end of June, but the outlet report that they are able to stay longer if the situation continues to badly affect the communities.

When were looking at the epidemiologic curves from the rest of the world, we know that this is a long haul, Ms Stowell said.

So, at this point, that team is planned to be there until the end of June. Whether that will continue really has to do with how effective the measures that are taken are in reducing the infection rate, and the capacity of other actors.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.3 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 80,897.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts at an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Monday afternoon visited an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City during his inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province. He also visited a village in the city's Xiping Township to learn about poverty alleviation efforts.

In Yunzhou District, part of the extremely poor area in the Yanshan and Taihang mountains, growing daylilies -- a kind of edible flower and traditional Chinese medicine for soothing nerves -- has become a pillar industry.

The daylily growing has a history of 600 years in Yunzhou, but there was no large-scale plantation before 2010. Over the past 10 years, the area of daylily flowers in the district has grown tenfold to around 10,000 hectares.

"My life now blossoms thanks to the daylily," said Tang Wan, a local farmer. By growing 2.67 hectares of daylilies, the once poor Tang was able to support his three children in going to college.

"The flowers have changed the lives of many. And poverty no longer bothers us," said Tang, adding the village has many "daylily college students," "daylily cars" and "daylily houses" -- phenomena that were rare before the flower was found a cash cow.

Impoverished counties in Shanxi have developed the planting of apples, potatoes and daylilies into industries to guarantee farmers stable jobs and incomes. More than 1 million people have been lifted out of poverty, said Wang Zhiqiang, a poverty alleviation official with the provincial government.

China aims to eradicate absolute poverty this year. An increasing number of industries are hiring impoverished people, bringing them jobs as well as fortune.

In a workshop of the biotech company Haifa in Yunzhou, home to 32,000 registered poor people, workers were busy sorting, drying, disinfecting and packing worms.

The dried yellow mealworms, which are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, have been exported to the Republic of Korea, the United States and other countries.

"All the process, including the worm raising and processing, is strictly monitored, with the nutrition, microorganism and other criteria meeting the edible standard," said company chairman Wang Xizhan.

Haifa is a leading company engaged in poverty alleviation in the district by hiring 300 workers from local poor households. Li Dongxin, 44, is one of them.

Suffering from partial paralysis after a traffic accident, Li is unable to toil in the field. He is assigned with easy work in Haifa, such as feeding the worms and cleaning the worm trays.

"It is not tiring at all. My health condition has improved since I came to work," said Li, who earns 2,000 yuan (283 U.S. dollars) per month.

China sees rural impoverished areas as the biggest challenge of completing the tasks of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.

During his inspection tour to the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in July 2016, Xi said industries should be fostered according to local conditions, as a fundamental way to advancing poverty alleviation.

From 2013 to 2019, the country lifted more than 93 million rural people out of poverty through precision measures, pairing-up aid, fostering industries such as produce processing and tourism, and relocating those in barren and remote mountainous areas to more habitable places.

By the end of last year, there were still over 5.5 million people living under the poverty line across the country.

Despite the COVID-19 impact, China is approaching its goal. A number of provinces, including eastern China's Anhui and Jiangxi, announced that all remaining listed impoverished counties have shaken off poverty this year.

As China's traffic network and internet penetration expand, more farm produce becomes available both online and offline, bringing more cash to the growers.

In Shibazi Village of Ningqiang County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Peng Huiling was livestreaming at her black fungus greenhouse.

"I just want to show how the fungus is grown," said Peng, adding that she plans to sell fungus bags so that netizens may plant black fungus themselves.

Peng and her husband, who used to be impoverished themselves, have more than 40 such greenhouses now, helping more than 30 households out of poverty.

While inspecting Shaanxi Province last month, Xi applauded the fungus planting as "small fungus, big industry."

Wen Yinxue, director of the Shaanxi provincial poverty alleviation office, said apart from its three pillar industries of apples, dairy goats and controlled-environment agriculture, the province has developed poverty-alleviation industries with local characteristics, such as tea leaves, walnuts, kiwis and edible fungi.

Wei Baigang, head of the development planning department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said 90 percent of the registered impoverished population received industrial and employment support, more than two-thirds of whom successfully cast off poverty by working in cities or local industries.

Every impoverished county across China has developed two to three major industries for poverty alleviation with local characteristics, bringing abundant jobs, Wei told a press conference on April 28.

By February, the number of poor counties had been reduced from 832 in late 2012 to 52.

Learning the worms he had raised were exported and made into different kinds of food, Li felt excited and proud.

"I hope I can travel abroad someday in the future, buy some worm products and have a taste," he said.
FP Trending

The Poco F2 Pro smartphone will be unveiled today, that is, 12 May. Poco informed users about the launch of the new device on Tuesday. The company released a teaser on Twitter where it said that it was inspired by users to innovate after the launch of its first phone in 2018. The teaser showed messages by some users to the company, demanding a Poco F2. The launch event will kick off at 5.30 pm IST.

Poco has scheduled the launch event in Spain, said several media reports. The phone will not come to India.

Hey POCO Fans, hit  now if you want to experience the simplicity of life powered by innovations that truly matter. BTW, a hidden message at the end of the video.#POCOisBACK #PowerfullyCool pic.twitter.com/FoF3zrLpd3  POCO (@POCOGlobal) May 7, 2020

A recent report suggested that the smartphone may be the most expensive one yet from Poco. The smartphone is expected to be priced at 570 (which roughly translates to Rs 47,000).

It is believed that the Poco F2 Pro will be a rebranded version of Redmi K30 Pro and that the 128 GB variant of the phone would cost EUR 570. F2 Pro will come in four colour options - White, Purple, Grey, and Blue.

From what we know so far, the Poco F2 Pro will feature a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 60 Hz or 90 Hz refresh rate. It will also feature a 20 MP pop-up selfie camera and a quad-camera setup on the back.

The main camera on the back may be of 64 MP and may be paired with a 13 MP ultra wide-angle lens, a 5 MP macro lens along with a 2 MP depth sensor. The smartphone will be equipped with a 4,700 mAh battery with 33 W fast charging support and powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor.
South Korea has earned global praise for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but a new cluster of 86 cases that have been linked to several nightclubs in Itaewon has put the LGBT community into the spotlight and has started a series of homophobic acts.

On May 11, South Korea issued a warning against leaking the personal information of coronavirus patients after most of the new cases were traced back to gay nightclubs in the district.

K-pop girl group member's action sparks debate

A former member of a K-pop girl group Kara admitted to having gone clubbing in Itaewon without a mask during the recommended social distancing period in Seoul.

The K-pop idol, Park Gyuri, was present at one of the clubs that a confirmed carrier of coronavirus was also at. A video shows Park Gyuri dancing to one of her group's songs that were playing and in the video, she was not wearing a mask. A media outlet has reported that former KARA member Park Gyuri is the idol in question who went clubbing in Itaewon without a mask during the recommended social distancing period in Seoul.

The idol admitted that she was the woman in the video and apologized for the incident, but the revelation of her identity has led some people to dig the personal information of the other people in the said gay club, thus violating their privacy and outing them without their consent.

Media outlets in Korea reported that the virus has spread in gay clubs, but none of the venues named describe themselves as such on their company websites or social media accounts.

Also Read: Hot Weather Dries Up COVID-19 Droplets, But Virus May Travel Farther in Windy Days

Numerous reports specified the age, district, type, and location of work of the coronavirus patient that is believed to be the one who recklessly spread the virus in the area. While the age and district of the patient were posted by the city, other personal details were posted in local media to unnamed officials.

Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho warned that leaking personal information of confirmed patients or spreading baseless rumors are punishable by law. At the news conference, the official said that there was a trend of criticism and hate against a certain group to which the infection occurred.

Homophobia amid the pandemic

Homophobia is still rampant in South Korea compared to nearby countries like Taiwan and Japan. Numerous LGBT advocates have criticized the media's reaction to the nightclub outbreak. An advocacy group Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea said in a statement that revealing the sexual orientation of the patients adds stigma of disease upon the homophobia in the society.

The advocacy group added that the recent reporting of the outbreak would drive coronavirus cases underground, as infected people will hesitate to get tested because of the fear of being outed. It can also make self-isolation difficult and is a detriment to testing.

There have been 86 infections traced to the nightclubs in Itaewon as of May 11, according to South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or KCDC. The agency added that 78 of those who tested positive were men and 76 were in their 20s and 30s.



Related Article: Renewed Outbreaks in South Korea and China Shows Risk of Easing Coronavirus Measures

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Madhya Pradesh's Micro, Small and



Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector and soybean industry welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore announced on Tuesday to tide over economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the resultant lockdown.

Pramod Dafaria, the president of the Association of Industries, which represents about 16,000 small and medium industries in Madhya Pradesh, said the sector was going through a tough phase due to the outbreak.

"We hope the special economic package presented by the prime minister will prove to be a lifeline for our region. We want the government maintain availability of cash in the MSME sector. The sector should be given relaxation of one year for depositing Goods and Services Tax (GST)," he told PTI.

Davish Jain, chairman of Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA), said the package was the need of the hour.

Madhya Pradesh is the largest soybean producer in the country.

"We hope the government will take adequate measures to curb the import of edible oils through this package so that domestic processing industries can be strengthened and we can move forward in becoming self-reliant," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the second phase of the



repatriation mission by the Indian navy, more than 200 Indian citizens stranded in Maldives due to the COVID-19 pandemic arrived here by a Naval ship on Tuesday evening, officials said.

"The second Indian Navy ship under 'Operation Samudra Setu' - INS Magar with 202 evacuees from Maldives arrived at Cochin Port on Tuesday at 5:45 pm," a Cochin Port Trust statement said here.

There are 91 repatriates of Kerala, 83 of Tamil Nadu and 28 belonging to 15 other states and Union Territories, it said.

The vessel is berthed at BTP Jetty and the disembarkation procedures, including examination and clearance by PHO, Customs and Immigration, are being carried out inside the Terminal.

The Ernakulam District Administration, Police Department and other Government agencies are coordinating transportation, quarantine facilities and ambulances.

People belonging to Tamil Nadu will be moved in buses arranged by the Tamil Nadu Government, officials said.

One of the men, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has a fractured leg.

INS Magar was deployed for second phase of repatriation of Indian citizens from Maldives as part of Indian Navy's Operation Samudra Setu under the Union government's Vande Bharat Mission.

In the first phase, INS Jalashwa had evacuated 698 Indian nationals stranded in the Maldives on May 10.

Meanwhile, a Defence official said INS Jalashwa will be evacuating approximately 700 nationals from Maldives on May 15 during her second repatriation sortie.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Butte is beyond lucky to have Theresa Dennehy working as a public health nurse.

Her love for her native Butte, wide experience in all aspects of nursing, and dedication to public health make Dennehy a jewel beyond price for the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department public-health team.

Its the latest step in a varied nursing career that all began at Buttes Vo-Tech, the predecessor to Montana Techs nursing program.

Theresa ONeill was born and raised in Butte, one of 11 children. As she was finishing up at Butte High, she wasnt quite sure what she wanted to do. But her sister, Mara Uggetti, was a really good nurse, Theresa says, and that was enough to get her interested.

It didnt take long for Theresa to know shed made the right choice.

She did her clinical training at St. James Healthcare, and after graduation, she went to work there as a nurse on the medical-surgical floor and in the cardiac unit.

After a few years, she moved to Seattle to take a job at Valley Medical Center, where she worked in the burn unit.

I loved it, she said. I learned lots of good stuff. It really taught me a lot. Working in a hospital setting is awesome experience for any nurse.

Paradoxically, she would meet her husband  Kelly Dennehy of Butte  while she was in Seattle. After their first son was born, they decided to move back to Butte and be closer to family.

Upon their return, Theresa went to work part time, on-call nursing at Easter Seals-Goodwill Hospice. Again, Dennehy says simply, I loved it.

In 1994, a job became available with Butte-Silver Bow County. She went to work as a home health nurse, providing skilled care to homebound patients. She would provide wound care, diabetic and medical teaching, and health assessments.

The job deepened her love of Butte, and her connection to it.

Many of the patients were elderly, many of them on Medicare. I learned so much from them, talking and visiting about their families and Butte history, she said. Butte people are so close. A lot of them knew my grandparents and parents, Dennehy said.

Dennehy would also do early-childhood home visits for a time, before transitioning to her role at the Health Department.

For years, she has helped with chronic disease prevention, including breast and cervical cancer screening, as well as helping those living daily with chronic diseases. She encourages and teaches living a healthy lifestyle.

For example, in order to interest patients in walking, she teamed with the Butte-Silver Bow Parks Department and the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives last year to present Hike Through History, a series of walks around Butte, guided by experts in many facets of the citys history.

The hikes were a big hit, and this year she and her partners in the project had intended to expand the program  but COVID-19 has thrown that into doubt. This year, they may have to settle for virtual hikes, she said.

Usually, being a successful public health nurse is pretty low-profile. Instead of taking satisfaction from seeing patients heal and be cured, a public health nurses job is partly making sure that people never become patients in the first place.

We see our results in data, Dennehy said  whether its fewer cases of the flu than have been projected, or fewer patients with chronic diseases like diabetes.

But now, like almost no one living has ever experienced, public health is at the forefront of everybody's concerns.

The past two months have passed like a blur for Dennehy. She has been involved in contact tracing  investigating Butte-Silver Bow's 11 confirmed COVID cases, who they were in contact with and when.

Now, she is also reviewing businesses' reopening plans, making sure the businesses are taking proper precautions. She evaluates businesses' plans, then visits the businesses to go over them. The businesses, she says, are being great about complying with requirements.

"Butte has been amazing," she said. "The positive cases we've had have been good about isolating at home and others have quarantined, observing the rules."

She credits that community response with Butte's cases holding steady at 11, saying that because people have been careful, we've avoided community spread of the virus.

Now, as businesses begin to open back up, she's worried. Social distancing needs to be maintained, Dennehy says -- even though it comes with sacrifices.

"I haven't seen my grandchildren in a couple of months," she said ruefully.

As for the rest of her career, Dennehy hopes to stay with the Health Department until she retires.

"We have such a great team here," she said. "And I really love my work."

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Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Tuesday formally endorsed Joe Biden for president, in the latest endorsement to come despite sexual assault allegations against Biden by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.

Vice President Biden is the leader America needs  a leader who will restore dignity, competence and compassion to the Oval Office while restoring Americas moral leadership around the world, Abrams said in a statement distributed by the Biden campaign. I look forward to continuing my strong support for his candidacy and doing all I can to make sure he is elected this November.

Abrams, who has been publicly advocating for herself as a possible vice presidential pick, also reiterated on Tuesday that she does not believe Tara Reades allegations against Biden.

The question I got was not only the question of Joe Bidens character, but of my character, Abrams said in an interview withA Vice. And if I believed that he had done what hes accused of doing, I would not be in any other conversations, because thats wrong. What hes accused of doing, and that he has flatly and clearly denied, and I believe his denial, speaks not only to who he is but to who I am.

Reade alleges that Biden sexually assaulted her in spring 1993. Statements by friends and former neighbors, and a court document from 1996 show that Reade had discussed an alleged assault in Bidens office at the time, although there is no evidence that directly confirms Bidens involvement.

Other possible vice presidential candidates, including Senators Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), have also declared their support for Biden despite Reades allegations.

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Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has passionately appealed to his people to strictly obey the protocols of COVID-19 including wearing of face mask, personal hygiene and Social Distancing.

Ganduje who flagged off the distribution of two million face masks to residents within the eight Local Government Area of Kano municipality noted that, total lockdown will stop the spread of COVID-19 if the people refuse to obey the protocols.

According to him, total lockdown without wearing of face mask, personal hygiene and Social Distancing is COVID-19-impossible.

He said government at the state and Local Government Area levels is producing more face-masks that will go round the 44 Local Government Areas in the state.

According to him, no amount of lockdown will break the chain of transmission of the virus until our people are ready to do their own part, until our people do obey the all the protocols of COVID-19, otherwise, all the efforts we have made, eventually, the result will not be achieved.

I know the lockdown has constituted a number of problems to our people, but this is a sacrifice that we must do. However, the lockdown must be fine-tuned. Complete lockdown is COVID-19-impossible. There must be some fine-tuning, there must be some adjustment so that livelihood will also be given attention.

But what is important in order to relax the lockdown, eventually, we must make the rules and regulations as part of our tradition and as part of our culture.

He added thaf, this disease is certainly affecting the tradition and culture and we must accept it. We had earlier informed members of the public that very importantly is the social and physical distancing.

Social Distancing is making the transmission of the virus very difficult, because a virus coming from the body, going into another persons body is being ineffective in terms of transmission if Social Distancing is maintained.

If we abide by personal hygiene and obey the protocol of COVID-19 in the state, then we will be able to move around freely without transmission.

Everybody in Kano must use the face mask. We are distributing this house-to-house. We are producing more. We are going to ensure wider and deeper distribution of these materials.

This is an important occasion for the launching and distribution of over two million face masks to the people across the 44 Local Government Areas. For now, we are starting with the eight Local Government Areas within the Kano metropolis.

This measure is part of the preventive capacity which the state government is building against COVID-19 pandemic.

Tailors across the state will be engaged by the government for the production of the material. We will mandate them to bring samples for the mass production so that the distribution will be widely and effectively implemented.

We request you to be diligent and plan how you will distribute these materials effectively. We have already recruited 1000 Sanitation Vanguards that will engage in the distribution of the materials in the eight Local Government Areas within the municipal. They will also ensure effective utilization of the face masks.

Kano is a mega city. What is happening in Kano is not different from what is happening in other mega cities across the world.

We must contain this virus, we must fight this virus. We must break the chain of transmission across and within the communities. But this is not possible without the use of face mask and other preventive materials and measures.

Ganduje who said the Kano abbatoir will be open Mondays and Thursdays so that people can slaughter their animals, however, said security operatives and health experts would be deployed to monitor activities there, just like other designated markets.

Commissioners and Special Advisers from Gandujes cabinet were selected to supervise the distribution of the face mask and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) across the Local Government Areas.
Highlights Honor 9X Pro has been launched in India

The smartphone gets a 48-megapixel lens-based triple camera set-up

The 9X Pro is Honor's first Huawei AppGallery totting device in India

Adding to the list of phones announced today, Honor 9X Pro has also been launched in India. The new smartphone has been announced as a mid-segment device and comes to the country after the phone was announced globally earlier in the year.

The Honor 9X Pro was launched earlier in the year as the company's first Huawei Mobile Service (HMS) powered smartphone globally. Honor 9X Pro is also the company's first smartphone in India to come pre-installed with the AppGallery. The company claims that the Huawei AppGallery aims at providing seamless hardware and software experience to consumers with its "dynamic design and advanced technology, in terms of security, privacy, reliability and performance."

The phone comes running Huawei's 7nm Kirin 810 AI chipset, a 48-megapixel triple camera and a 6.59-inch Honor FullView Display for enhanced user experience with upgrades across performance, gaming and photography.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Charles Peng, President, HONOR India said "We are excited to introduce the company's official AppGallery to India market. Not just that, we have also launched Honor 9X Pro, a promising addition to brand's most celebrated X series smartphones. We, at Honor, believe in bringing new innovation to the fingertips of our users and with Honor 9X Pro, featuring brand's self-developed AppGallery, we aim to empower our consumers with a choice to experience new innovation."

Honor 9X Pro: Price and availability

The Honor 9X Pro is available in Midnight Black and Phantom Purple colour variants, exclusively through Flipkart. While the company hasn't announced availability details yet, it is hosting a special early access sale that will run from 21st May 2020 12 pm to 22nd May 2020 at 12 pm.

The price of the Honor 9X Pro has been set at Rs 17,999. However, during the special early access sale, registered consumers will get a Rs 3,000 discount and no extra cost on availing EMI options up to 6-months. Honor is also extending benefits of a one-time free screen replacement offer on accidental damage valid for 3 months and 7 days return policy, from the date of purchase.

To avail of the early access offers, consumers will have to register on Flipkart. The registrations are open already and will close midnight on 19th May 2020.

Honor 9X Pro: Specifications

The Honor 9X Pro gets a 6.59-inch display with a screen-to-body ratio of 92 per cent, and an IPS-LCD FullView Display working at a resolution of 2,340x1080 pixels.

The latest smartphone from Honor is powered by a 7nm Kirin 810 AI Chipset, the first processor that is built upon Huawei's brand-new computing architecture. The smartphone integrates GPU Turbo 3.0 technology and 6GB RAM, which enhance and improve the gaming and multitasking experience of the users. GPU Turbo 3.0 further enables AI algorithm to strike a balance between heightened image processing performance and energy efficiency.

For photography, the Honor 9X Pro offers a triple-camera setup. The primary camera is a 48-megapixel primary sensor. This is sat next to an 8-megapixel Super Wide Angle Camera (with 120-degree FOV) and a 2-megapixel depth-assist lens. It comes with features such as the Super Slow Motion mode which facilitates shooting videos at 480fps with up to 16x slow motion. Honor 9X Pro also gets AIS Super Night Mode, 4-in-1 light fusion technology, AI Stabilization and ISO level that reaches up to 102400. At the front, the Honor 9X Pro gets a 16-megapixel pop-up camera with EIS.
Monique Hernandez, a nurse at Riverside Community Hospital, attends a candlelight vigil for nurse Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The decision that Celia Marcos made, the one that would ultimately steal years from her life, had been hard-wired after decades working as a nurse.

On the ward that she oversaw at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, a man with COVID-19 had stopped breathing. Marcos' face was covered only with a thin surgical mask, and obtaining a more protective N95 mask before entering his room would have wasted valuable time, her colleagues say.

The 61-year-old charge nurse knew the chest compressions and other breathing treatments the patient needed would likely spew dangerous virus particles into the air that could land on her face and clothing. She would be at high risk of catching the coronavirus.

Marcos raced into the room. Fourteen days later, she was dead.

Marcos died in the same hospital where she had worked for more than 16 years, one of at least 36 healthcare workers in California who have succumbed to COVID-19.

In one version of her story, she is a selfless caregiver who chose her patient's life over her own by rushing into his room without an N95. But staff at Hollywood Presbyterian say the reality is much bleaker.

As charge nurse, Marcos was required to respond to patients who stopped breathing, but she wasn't provided an N95 mask at the beginning of her shift, her coworkers say. The masks are scarce, and staff who do get them are often asked to reuse them over multiple days, they said.

"The hospital wasn't giving us appropriate PPE  the N95s were locked," said one nurse, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity after expressing fear of retaliation from hospital administrators. "It's just too painful for everybody, what happened to her."

Though all front-line workers are vulnerable to the coronavirus, Marcos' death illustrates the way that risk has been amplified by a national shortage of personal protective equipment. Such exposures have been cataloged at hospitals across California.

Story continues

"I was the one right in front of his face," Marcos wrote in a text to her niece reviewed by The Times. Concerned she had been infected, Marcos put hand sanitizer in her hair after leaving the patient's room, and showered as soon as she got home, she said in the message.

Nurses attend a vigil for Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center on Wednesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood Presbyterian officials denied that Marcos treated COVID patients without proper protective gear and said the hospital adheres to all local and federal recommendations. "Despite these efforts, and our commitment to following all guidelines, we still lost one of our own to this terrible virus, and we feel this loss very deeply," administrators said in a statement to The Times.

The nurses union SEIU 121RN filed a complaint with the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration that called Marcos' death "the result of inadequate PPE provided to staff. The union also alleged in a separate complaint to the state health department that Marcos received substandard treatment once she became a patient at the hospital.

Lying in her hospital bed, surrounded by colleagues who had become her caretakers, one of the last things Marcos said was: "I don't want to die."

*

Marcos began working at Hollywood Presbyterian in 2004, three years after immigrating to the U.S. with her family. Back home in the Philippines, she had trained to be a nurse, her longtime dream, according to her sons.

At the Los Angeles hospital, she was known for her sweet nature and ability to heal rifts and remain cool-headed, no matter the situation. Filipino colleagues called her ate  big sister in Tagalog.

"She's the type of person who in an emergency you can really count on," said another colleague, who also asked for anonymity for fear of retaliation. "She's the calm that we can look to in order to get through."

On the night of April 3, Marcos was asked to put those skills to use.

A man admitted on her floor with COVID-19 had been complaining that he wanted to go home because he didn't feel sick. Two hours later, he stopped breathing, Marcos wrote in a text to her niece Andrea Gian Lardizabal, who works as a nurse in the Philippines.

Marcos worked on a ward that took coronavirus patients when the COVID units were full. Because her floor wasn't primarily for COVID patients, N95s weren't regularly given to staff, and instead preserved for those treating COVID patients, staff say.

Sydnie Boylan, another charge nurse, initially worked on Marcos' floor but worried about the lack of protective gear. She switched to the COVID unit "because thats where the PPE is," she said. "Even if we dont have enough, we have more than everybody else.

With only a surgical mask, Marcos stayed in the patient's room for at least 30 minutes while he was resuscitated and eventually placed on a ventilator to help him breathe, before being moved to the ICU, her colleagues say. Marcos strapped an oxygen mask on the patient, who had "almost died," she told her niece in a text message.

"Celia was called to a COVID-19 isolation room while wearing only a surgical mask  not the required N95 respirator, gown, face shield, and booties that her hospital should have given her for her protection," said SEIU 121RN President Nina Wells said in a statement to the Times. "Now we know she gave her life to try to save a life."

Hospital officials dispute that Marcos, or any staff members, were under-equipped. They did not say if Marcos wore an N95 mask that day, but said that nurses responding to code blues are provided with them. A hospital investigation determined Marcos did not have "unprotected exposure to COVID-19 at the hospital," they said.

The discrepancy may be due to a recent change in CDC guidelines around the coronavirus. Early in the pandemic, the agency recommended that N95 masks were needed for treating all suspected COVID-19 patients, but amid a severe shortage of gear, switched to recommending the masks only for high-risk procedures.

The rules have created a gray area that allows hospitals to instruct staff that in most cases, surgical masks are all that is needed to protect them from the coronavirus, nurses say.

"Imagine you get inside the room just wearing those. Do you feel protected?" said one COVID-19 nurse at Hollywood Presbyterian, who added that she had been repeatedly told she didn't need an N95 for most patient visits. "I don't trust the CDC anymore."

Hospital staff said they did not blame Hollywood Presbyterian, but viewed the facility as a victim of national shortages. At St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, supervisors did not provide N95s to some nurses treating COVID-19 patients last month and the nurses refused to enter the rooms.

"I don't think my hospital is worse than anyone else's hospital," Boylan said. "I don't know who threw out the rule book when it comes to infection control."

Marcos' experience on April 3 seemed to rattle her. In a text message to Lardizabal, Marcos described the patient's rapid deterioration and warned the younger woman to stay home and wash her hands.

"No wonder a lot of covid patients get intubated and some die in just a few days," she wrote in a text. "Pls be extra careful."

*

Marcos began feeling sick three days after she treated the man with COVID. She told her niece that she was doing steam inhalation twice a day as a preventive measure.

But on April 11, she told her oldest son, Donald Jay Marcos, that she had a headache and difficulty breathing. He urged her to see a doctor.

Before the pandemic, Marcos and her two sons had planned a trip to the Philippines for last month. Marcos loved to travel to new places, but spent most of her savings visiting her family.

Donald, 41, didnt hear from his mother again until April 15, when she answered his video call from her hospital bed. She told him she had developed pneumonia in both lungs.

Her labored breathing made it difficult for her to talk, Donald recalled. Through their screens, the two watched each other cry.

Marcos had no health conditions other than high blood pressure, which she controlled with medication. She was healthy, vibrant and lived with her partner, who is also a nurse, her son said.

Celia Marcos with her grandson, Drujay. (Donald Jay Marcos)

On April 17, Marcos' heart stopped repeatedly, requiring staff to resuscitate her multiple times. News of her rapid deterioration spread through the hospital. A colleague received a call that Marcos was crashing.

"I said, 'Don't ever say that to me,'" and I was crying," said the nurse. "I was like, 'Don't ever say that to me.'"

Some have suggested there were problems with Marcos' care and that some staff were scared to treat her for fear of catching the virus themselves.

In a complaint filed last week with the state health department, representatives from SEIU 121RN said that nurses who took care of Marcos said a doctor refused to provide necessary care, including intubation to help her breathe, "prior to her ultimate demise from COVID19," according to documents reviewed by The Times.

Hospital administrators said they could not comment due to patient privacy laws, but added that their "goal is to provide excellent care to all of our patients." The doctor could not be reached for comment.

In the waning daylight Wednesday, staff filtered out of Hollywood Presbyterian in scrubs and masks to pay tribute to Marcos at a vigil outside the facility's entrance. Despite social distancing recommendations, nurses packed in to watch the ceremony, saying that inside the hospital, they are always close together.

At the beginning of the first shift without Marcos, on April 20, the administration gathered the nurses on her floor to say a prayer for her. The gesture was a painful reminder of her absence, said one nurse.

"It's difficult to even fathom that Celia is gone," the nurse said. "I still think of her as being on vacation. It is easier than having to lose someone."

The death has made waves at the hospital. Another nurse who treats COVID-19 patients said staff members began demanding better protections after Marcos' death. Some have have refused to work without proper gear, she said.

Supervisors are providing more PPE and staffers are no longer reprimanded for bringing their from home, the nurse said. She added that they will continue to fight for more safeguards.

"I love my job, but I'm not trying to die a hero," she said.
KidsPost has been encouraging kids to tell us what they have been doing during the coronavirus outbreak. Some of you created newspapers. A lot of you shared poetry with us. Now we want to give those who enjoy drawing and painting an opportunity to create something.

View live politics updates

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We are joining with the kids section at Die Zeit newspaper in Hamburg, Germany, and the International Museum of Childrens Art in Oslo, Norway, to collect artwork from kids worldwide about their coronavirus pandemic experiences.
Nominee to the Supreme Court Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu - Bonsu has said nobody had contacted her for appointment as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission ( EC ) as it was rumored prior to the appointment of Madam Jean Mensah as EC boss.



She made the statement today in response to a question by Hon Alhassan Sayibu Sohuyini MP for Tamale North when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.



Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu said she wouldn't have accepted the offer even if she had been approached to be offered the post as EC Chairperson because the position of EC Chair is equivalent to the position of a Court of Appeal judge which she is aspiring beyond based on her track record.



"That was a very difficult time for me, nobody approached me but yet there were stories about me, people were calling me to hold a press conference and I said what was I going to deny, but let me say that I won the popular votes, the nominee stated.



Responding to a question about sexuality, Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu said educating children about sex is very necessary because children are endangered if they are not educated about sex as there are many sexual predators in town ready to pounce on their victims.



Prof Mensa Bonsu is a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana, Legon, and President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated law lecturer, Professor Henrietta Mensa Bonsu, and three others for Parliament's consideration for appointment to the bench of Supreme Court.



In her profile, it stated that Prof Mensa-Bonsus maiden name is Banful, is the immediate past Director of Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) and the President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS). She is the third female to hold the position of President of the Academy.



She attended Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast from 1970 to 1977, then proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon, where she graduated with Bachelor of Law (LLB) First Class Honours degree in 1980.



From there she pursued the professional law at the Ghana School of Law from 1980 to 1982 and was called to the Bar in 1982. In the course of time, she went to Yale University in the United States of America (USA) where she obtained a Master of Law (LLM) in 1985.



Prof Mensa-Bonsu came back to Ghana the same year she had her LLM and was employed by the University of Ghana, Legon, as a lecturer with the Faculty of Law and rose through the ranks to attain full professorship in 2002 and in 2003, she was elected a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.



Prof. Mensa-Bonsu teaches Criminal Law, Jurisprudence and Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, and serves on a number of Boards of the University.



She has served both on local and international platforms including serving on the Legal Committee of the Ghana National Commission on Children and represented Ghana on the Inter-governmental Meeting of Experts on the Draft African Charter on the Rights of the Child.



She also served as a member of the National Reconciliation Commission and the Emile Short Commission to investigate the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence.

Source: Emmanuel Akorli/Parliamentary Correspondent/Peace Fm









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An investigation began in February 2020 after a tip-off from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and resulted in the AFP Child Protection Operations team arresting a 29-year-old man from Sydney, NSW

A tip-off from American police has led to the arrest of four Australian men allegedly part of a paedophile ring involving young boys and dogs - and four children being rescued.

An investigation began in February 2020 after a tip-off from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and resulted in the AFP Child Protection Operations team arresting a 29-year-old man from Sydney.

They allegedly found child abuse material on his electronic devices, which police allege he also distributed.

When police searched his electronic devices, they discovered he was communicating with a man, 28, from Hervey Bay, Queensland on an instant messaging application.

The Queensland Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team investigated the man's online activities which led to his home being raided on May 6.

He was charged with transmitting and possessing child abuse material and will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 3.

When police searched his electronic devices, they discovered he was communicating with a man, 28, from Hervey Bay, Queensland (pictured) on an instant messaging application

He was charged with transmitting and possessing child abuse material and will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 3

A covert interrogation of the Hervey Bay man's tablet and laptop identified another Sydney man, 29, and police executed a search warrant at his address on May 8 and removed a child from harm

A covert interrogation of the Hervey Bay man's tablet and laptop identified another Sydney man, 29, and police executed a search warrant at his address on May 8 and removed a child from harm.

Police will allege this man had been sexually abusing a boy known to him at that location and creating and producing child exploitation material.

It will be alleged he had been transmitting and sharing videos and photographs of the alleged abuse of the boy, as well as other child abuse material.

Police will also allege that the 29-year-old has sexually abused three other young boys he had contact with.

He is also accused of engaging in sexual acts with two dogs, which have also been removed from harm.

In total, the man has been charged with 10 offences including having sexual intercourse with a child under 10, transmitting and possessing child abuse material and bestiality.

The 10 offences have potential maximum penalties ranging from 14 years imprisonment to a life sentence.

The man has been remanded in custody to reappear in Central Local Court on 9 June.

Police will allege this man had been sexually abusing a boy known to him at that location and creating and producing child exploitation material.

It will be alleged he had been transmitting and sharing videos and photographs of the alleged abuse of the boy, as well as other child abuse material, abusing three other boys and engaging in sexual acts with two dogs.

Further inquiries led police to search the Sydney home of a 48-year-old man, who is allegedly known to the 29-year-old.

A preliminary search of his computer uncovered images and videos allegedly depicting child abuse material.

The 48-year-old was charged with possessing, controlling, producing or supplying child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.

AFP Acting Commander for ACCCE and Child Protection Operations Paula Hudson said the efforts of all the ACCCE, AFP and State police in NSW and QLD involved in the investigation had saved four young boys from further harm.

'It is heartbreaking to think of any child being sexually abused or exploited to satisfy an adult's criminal impulses, but it strengthens our resolve to hunt down perpetrators and bring them to justice,' she said.

'Sexual abuse has a devastating and lifelong impact on the child victims and their families and that abuse is amplified each time images or videos detailing the crimes are shared.'
Since announcing, along with her husband Prince Harry, that she would be stepping down from her role as a senior working royal, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has been laying low. Though the former actress returned to the U.K. briefly for her final royal engagements, since then, shes been living a relatively low-key life in her hometown of Los Angeles, California.

Though the duchess had hardly been seen publically since Megxit, her brief appearances for various charities have caused an absolute frenzy online.

The duchess Zoom hairstyle was all the rage when she briefly made an appearance for her SmartWorks Charity. Likewise, the evil eye necklace that she wore immediately sold out. Though many people have attempted to disparage Meghan, she has positioned herself to be one of the most influential women in the world.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are eager to make their mark outside of the royal family

Though their plans have been stalled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Sussexes do have major plans for the future. In fact, they have already announced their new Archewell brand. Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of Archethe Greek word meaning source of action,' the couple said in a statement. We connected to this concept for the charitable organization we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our sons name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters. Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon.

In fact, many royal experts believe that as soon as Archewell launches, the Sussexes popularity will skyrocket even further. The couples future isnt certain, The Atlantics Caitlin Flanagan explained. They are hugely appealing and glamorous. Everyone in Hollywood is eager to host them. The first few years of this plan are going to be heady. But  as Harry has often said  as soon as Williams three children become old enough to emerge as individual figures, the klieg lights will immediately turn to them. He is in a rush to make his mark and seems to treat life as a race, too.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry couldve made a ton of money on Instagram

Before shuttering their Sussex royal Instagram account which bolstered over 11 million followers, the Sussexes were poised to make a fortune.

Before the account went dark, influencer marketing platform Inzpire.me and The Sun ran the numbers. The Sussexes Instagram account could rake in as much as 85,271.19 (thats approximately $109,808) for each sponsored post, they said at the time.

However, considering the fact that the Sussexes will need to make millions per year in order to maintain their lifestyle without help from the royal family, we believe they are setting their sights higher.

The Markle Sparkle could make Meghan Markle the most prominent influencer on the planet

Though they do need to tread lightly with the royal family amid Megxit, and the duke has vowed not to take on any projects that embarrass the royals, the duchess influence, in particular, is magnetic.

The Markle Sparkle, is the kind of marketing you cannot buy, Town & Country reports. Obviously anybody would give them anything, but I think theyre going to be really careful, fashion journalist Elizabeth Holmes told the site. I think that Meghans power as a dresser will continue. There are so few peopleeven among celebritiesthat have the kind of economic power to move merchandise the way that royal women do, so I hope and I think shell choose carefully.

We highly doubt well see the duchess stepping into the KarJenner level of sponsored posts, but she could stand to be very influential while making a ton of money if she uses the Markle Sparkle to her advantage.
In separate incident, Israeli security forces shoot and wound a Palestinian after an alleged stabbing attack.

A Palestinian rock-thrower killed an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday and police wounded a Palestinian who tried to stab security staff at a checkpoint, Israeli authorities have said.

The separate events marred a relative lull in West Bank violence during the coronavirus outbreak and came a day before planned US-Israel talks on plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians and Israelis have restricted their movements and, to a degree, cooperated on measures in response to the crisis.

On Thursday, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to swear in a new coalition government whose agenda includes a possible declaration of sovereignty over Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank  a de facto annexation.

The Israeli military said 21-year-old Amit Ben-Yigal died after being struck in the head by a rock thrown from a rooftop in Yabad village, near Jenin, as his special forces unit withdrew after detaining four wanted Palestinians.

Palestinian security sources said that clashes had erupted overnight when Israeli forces raided the village.

The Israeli military said troops were back in the village later on Tuesday, searching for the rock-thrower, and Netanyahu said on Twitter that Israel would settle the score with him.

Residents of Yabad clashed with the troops, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Separately, a Palestinian tried to stab Israeli security staff at Qalandiya checkpoint, around 50km (30 miles) to the south on the West Bank boundary and was shot, an Israeli police spokesman said, adding that no Israelis were wounded. The Palestinian was taken by ambulance to hospital in critical condition, an Israeli emergency service said.

A Palestinian man was in a critical condition after the incident at Qalandiya checkpoint [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Pompeo visit

The Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future state and deem Israeli settlements there illegal, as do most world powers. Israel and the United States dispute that view.

US-backed peacemaking between the two sides broke down in 2014.

Israels proposed territorial steps in the West Bank are expected to be discussed during a one-day visit on Wednesday by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will meet Netanyahu as well as the prime ministers designated coalition partner, Benny Gantz.

We [also] hope that we can convince the Palestinian leadership that they should engage with the Israelis on the basis of the [Trump] Vision for Peace, Pompeo told the Israel Hayom newspaper in an interview.

President Donald Trump unveiled a new plan for Israel-Palestine in January, but his administration has been boycotted by the Palestinians, who see bias in moves such as his 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The plan, categorically rejected by the Palestinians, gives Israel the green light to annex Jewish settlements and strategic areas of the West Bank.



For much of the international community, such a move by Israel would amount to a grave violation of international law and crush hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It could also further inflame regional tensions.

The initial Israeli raid on Yabad was launched to arrest Palestinians suspected of previously throwing rocks at Israeli cars and of other offences, the military spokesman said.

By midday, 16 Palestinians had been arrested in the Jenin area, Palestinian officials said.
'Bit of a squeeze'

John Cameron, the barn-storming pilot who flew under the Harbour Bridge the previous day, also flew under the Gladesville Bridge  which has only an 80-foot clearance above the water. "It was a bit of a squeeze. But it was just there a nice thing to fly under," said Mr Cameron. His flight was to commemorate the death of one of Australia's pioneer pilots, Sid Marshall, who, in 1934, was the first man to fly between Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Great Scott, a rip-off

Thieves stole a truck after loading it with 25,000 rolls of lavatory paper in Smithfield at the weekend. The rolls, in 416 cartons, were valued at $5500 and were stolen from a Bowler-Scott warehouse on McCredie Road. Police said the thieves forced a wire door at the rear of the warehouse, loaded the goods on to a truck parked in the grounds and drove away. In another robbery, cigarettes valued at $6000 were stolen from a warehouse in Marrickville.

Chemists' plan to curb smoking




Six Killed As Armed Herdmen Attack Benue Village



At least six persons, including four of the suspected armed herdsmen, have been killed after soldiers repelled an attack on a village in Benue State.

The gunmen, on Monday night, killed two villagers in Agasha community in Guma Local Government Area of the State.

It was gathered that the attackers invaded the village at about 11:30pm and shot sporadically, killing the two persons and injuring few others.

Witnesses also said an old woman residing close to the Primary School in Agasha was also shot by the attackers during the invasion.

Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, told journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday that; some suspected armed herdsmen infiltrated Agasha in Guma LGA of Benue State and killed two villagers overnight.

Operation Whirl Stroke troops on patrol in the area immediately mobilised to the scene but the herdsmen had fled before their arrival. Troops subsequently tracked the assailants through some of the nearby communities overnight while other troops deployed at Tomatar across the river also in Guma blocked the escape route towards Nasarawa State.

At about 6:00am this morning (Tuesday), troops had contact with the armed herdsmen at a make shift camp close to the Benue River during which four of the assailants were killed, while troops recovered two AK 47 rifles, four magazines and 65 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the bandits.

Yekini added that no casualty was recorded on the part of the troops, stressing that the troops are currently on search and destroy operation in the general area.
AIRLINE INDUSTRY

March passenger count at 20-year low

U.S. airlines carried 51 percent fewer passengers in March amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the lowest air travel level in nearly two decades, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Airlines carried slightly more total, domestic and international passengers in March 2020 than in September 2001, the month of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. In total, airlines carried 38.7 million passengers in March, down 51 percent from March 2019. Before March, air travel had risen for 29 consecutive months year over year dating back to October 2017. Since March, U.S. air travel has fallen further, down about 94 percent, while total flights are down by about 70 percent.

In March, domestic travel fell to 34.1 million passengers, from March 2019, when airlines carried 69.6 million passengers. International travel fell from 9.9 million in March 2019 to 4.6 million passengers this March.

 Reuters

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook targets virus product posts

Facebook said it has removed 2.5 million posts since March 1 offering masks, sanitizers, cleaning wipes and covid-19 test kits, in an attempt to prevent posters from price-gouging or selling counterfeit and dangerous products.

To do it, the social media company relied on the same image-recognition technology it uses to remove sales of guns and drugs. Facebook has had to quickly train its artificial intelligence to handle an increase in coronavirus content that violates company policies, including hundreds of thousands of posts removed for displaying information that could lead to physical harm, such as encouraging users to drink bleach as a cure.

The coronavirus statistics released Tuesday are the latest addendum to the companys twice-yearly report about enforcement to combat the dark side of the way its platforms are used.

 Bloomberg News



ENERGY

U.S. oil forecast decreases for 2020

The United States trimmed its 2020 oil production forecast by a modest 70,000 barrels a day even as drillers are scaling back activity to historic lows.

Production will average 11.69 million barrels a day through December, down from a previous forecast of 11.76 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday. The agency also pared its 2021 output estimate by 130,000 barrels a day to 10.9 million daily barrels.

The agency also revised lower its 2020 U.S. oil demand forecast by about 800,000 barrels a day as coronavirus-related containment measures disrupt travel and economic activity.

The forecast comes as the number of rigs in operation across the United States sinks to an all-time low. Explorers including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Continental Resources are enacting sweeping cuts in the countrys biggest shale fields.

 Bloomberg News
A Yale University professor said the Trump administrations mishandling of the coronavirus resembled genocide and questioned whether officials could be held responsible under international law.

What else do you call mass death by public policy? Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, a professor of law and epidemiology at Yale, asked in a tweet last week.

So, what does it mean to let thousands die by negligence, omission, failure to act, in a legal sense under international law? Gonsalves continued. And I am being serious here. What is happening in the U.S. is purposeful, considered negligence, omission, failure to act by our leaders. Can they be held responsible under international law?

In a separate thread, Gonsalves queried how many people will die from the virus over the summer and before Election Day and wondered how many of the deaths will be minorities.

How many people will die this summer, before Election Day? What proportion of the deaths will be among African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color? This is getting awfully close to genocide by default. What else do you call mass death by public policy? #COVID19 #coronavirus  Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said minorities have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic due to economic and social conditions combind with their overrepresentation in service industry jobs that cannot be performed from home.

The effects of COVID-19 on the health of racial and ethnic minority groups is still emerging, the CDC said. However, current data suggest a disproportionate burden of illness and death among racial and ethnic minority groups.

Story continues

A Rutgers University professor last month accused the Trump administration of deliberately killing minorities.

Brittney Cooper, a Womens, Gender and Sexuality Studies associate professor at Rutgers said the coronavirus outbreak is all about a gross necropolitical calculation that it is Black people who are dying disproportionately from COVID.

The Trump administrations early attempts at widespread testing were plagued by logistical difficulties as medical testing companies admitted they became overwhelmed with a backlog of tests to analyze, forcing patients and doctors to wait to obtain a test. Early rounds of test kits distributed by the CDC were defective, causing further delays in testing capacity that continued until the virus was already widespread around the country.

More from National Review
The world is reeling under the burden of COVID-19 for the past 40 days now and the resulting lockdown has hit the slum-dwellers and daily wage earners the most. At a time like this, an organization, BrandIt, is doing its best to help some of the NGOs do their part in alleviating this crisis. BrandIt is doing so through its data-driven, results-oriented strategies, which are executed through high-performing digital campaigns.

While some organizations are providing dry rations, there are others who serve cooked food to the needy. Still some more NGOs are distributing COVID care kits, arranging temporary shelter and organizing medical attention for the affected populace. At the same time, these organizations are also facing funding crisis during this economic slowdown, which has choked aid budgets and donations. A young woman entrepreneur is working hard to ensure that the needy get the desired help through these NGOs by working to raise additional funds and clearing bottlenecks.

One of the finest brand agency, BrandIt thrives to deliver end-to-end services for a holistic brand development. The company positions itself as a strategic and creative partner that helps a brand build its own powerful, verbal and visual stories that not only resonate with the audiences but also connect to their target patrons.

While the current lockdown may not affect the more fortunate among us, like the ones with a secure job, a roof over their head, a well-stocked refrigerator, etc. But people who used to go out of their huts and tenements daily, in search of two square meals a day are the ones hit the hardest.

But there are also many who dont have this cocoon, and neither the option of stepping out to earn their daily wage. In this extended lockdown which has virtually shut down a 2 trillion economy, slum dwellers and daily wage workers are struggling to earn their daily bread.

It is Komal Raturi, Founder-CEO of BrandIt, who was adamant at playing her part in the societys fight against COVID-19. She informs, BrandIt has been promoting and raising awareness about these NGOs & Humanitarian organizations all over the social media world. Increasing their presence helps them raise crucial funds for their operations.

BrandIt is a power-packed, all-women core team, which provides crucial support to the following NGOs, among others 

1. Shree Jay Jalaram Ram Roti Bhandar Trust  provides monthly rations to 5000+ families.

2. Narsingh Group  helps youths from minority communities to develop their skills and be independent.

Besides, BrandIt, Mumbai is also targeting a larger customer outreach in order to raise funds on its own for these NGOs. Komal explains, The challenges are multiple, because there is a complete freeze across the city. Before this lockdown, a NGO/Social Worker sticker on vehicles of these humanitarian organizations would help them travel on road and reach out to the needy. Now they need to provide more documents in order to get a government pass for each person on the ground. This, she says, has limited the good work that these NGOs should be doing in these hard times. BrandIt is running digital campaigns, social media adverts and general awareness in support of these NGOs. This helps resolve a lot of their day-to-day issues and helps them to provide succor to the really needy people in the times of COVID-19.

So, while the fortunate among us should be thankful to God for the goodness in life, just like BrandIt, we must also not forget the less fortunate among us and do every bit to pull them out of the pitfalls of lockdown.

Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT journalist was involved in the creation of this content.
RodeoHouston has a new CEO. Chris Boleman, the organizations chief mission officer, will replace longtime president and CEO Joel Cowley, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced Tuesday.

Cowley will be pursuing an opportunity that has a direct impact on the agricultural industry, he said, but will remain a lifelong supporter of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He has been with the organization for 15 years, including seven in his current leadership role. During that time, RodeoHouston set record attendance numbers and diversified its musical lineup.

But this year, eight days into the rodeos 20-day run, Mayor Sylvester Turner ordered organizers to shut it down due to concerns about coronavirus. A Montgomery County police officer who attended the barbecue cook-off tested positive for COVID-19, setting off a eries of Houston shutdowns.

Boleman has served as chief mission officer since August, and he recently took a lead role in the reorganization structure of RodeoHouston. He has also served as executive director of the Agricultural Educational Competitions and Exhibits Division. Prior to joining RodeoHouston, Boleman was state leader for the Texas 4-H Organization and a professor at Texas A&M University, his alma mater. Boleman earned a Ph.D. in agricultural education from A&M.

In 2019, RodeoHouston had operating revenues of $160.8 million and offered almost $20 million in scholarships and grants.

Cowleys last day as president and CEO is May 22. Boleman will assume the role of president and CEO on May 25 and will be leading a full-time staff of 130 and a volunteer force of more than 35,000. His wife serves as a volunteer.

When hiring Chris three years ago, it was done with potential succession in mind, Cowley said. I can think of no one better to lead this great organization into the future.

The 2021 RodeoHouston is scheduled for March 2-21.

When this years lineup was cut short, K-pop act NCT 127 was the last to take the stage, leaving a dozen shows canceled, including Lizzo, Marshmello and Luke Bryan.
They stand five feet apart, cannot hold hands, kiss or simulate a brawl, but the cast and crew of Neighbours  a long-running Australian soap opera that returned to production in late April amid coronavirus restrictions  still hope to convey the same heightened conflict, intimacy and drama that the shows fans have come to love.  [The series] could set an important precedent for the global screen industry as it tries to figure out how a phased reintroduction to shooting television series and films might work.  The New York Times
The government may soon provide clear guidelines on foreign direct investment (FDI) from Chinese companies, according to a Mint report

Businesses had been seeking clarity on rules related to 'beneficial ownership' after the government recently said FDI from countries sharing a land border with India or any 'beneficial owner' of such investment in India will only be allowed through the approval route.

Also Read: New FDI law sends dealmakers into a tizzy

A modification had been made to the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) to that effect. The amended guidelines had left too many loose ends for guess-work and interpretation by the industry. One of the most prominent is the term beneficial owner which is not defined. The rules cite the term beneficial interest only in the context of any investment made by Indian residents.

Government is in receipt of industry representations seeking clarity on what percentage of shareholding in an investment vehicle will constitute beneficial ownership. It's a policy-level decision on whether the intent is to scrutinise all flows from China or prevent an acquisition of Indian companies at depressed valuation," an official told the publication.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Companies Act, 2013.

The report said one suggestion is to keep the shareholding threshold for "beneficial ownership" at 10 percent, as specified under the

"The other is to keep it at 25 percent, which is the minimum threshold defined under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act. The government will also clarify on the aspects of indirect acquisitions so that it does not affect genuine fund infusion," a source told the paper.

The new rules have also placed uncertainty on fresh funding for startups, which frequently receive investments from Chinese companies such as Alibaba's Ant Financial and Tencent.

Several private equity funds have asked the Indian government minority stake investments of up to 24 percent in startups without government approval, the report said.
New Delhi, May 12 : To acknowledge the contributions and commitments of the nurses, the World Health Organisation announced 2020 as the "Year of Nurses and Midwives".

With limited sleeping hours, extra responsibilities, and added pressure, the nurses have been on toes ever since the pandemic broke. They are at the forefront and working relentlessly under pressure, fear, exhaustion, isolation, and emotional trauma. The stress and fatigue is bound to impact mental health, safety, and ability to provide the best possible care.

On this International Nurses Day, IANSlife spoke to Usha Banerjee, Group Director of Nursing at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital shares some tips to ensure mental and physical well-being of the nurses.

Acknowledging stress

To understand stress better it is important to acknowledge that one is experiencing stress, anxiety, and grief. It helps build will power and endurance

Exercise self-compassion and recognise that almost everyone impacted by an emergency will experience psychological distress. These reactions are by no means an indication of weakness

Understand that anyone helping during this time is susceptible to excessive stress and trauma, as a nurse, you are also vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress

Know that you may also experience moral distress as you have to make difficult decisions pertaining to your personal and professional lives

Ensure well being

Practice breathing exercises

Eat regularly scheduled meals and avoid foods that increase inflammation in the body

Try a mind-body practice like mindfulness or yoga

Talk to family and close ones about your feelings of any kind of distress

Take Time for Your Mental Health

Create ongoing supportive connections with colleagues who can validate and normalise your stressful experiences

Schedule time for self-care, such as talking with a friend or meditating

Seek out a trained mental health professional to help ensure that you are acknowledging your extreme stress

(Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
Fellow nurses attend a candlelight vigil for Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 6. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: The death of nurse Celia Marcos, who rushed to resuscitate a COVID-19 patient despite not having ready access to an N95 mask, should not have happened.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we had the opportunity for a nationally managed process to provide protective equipment to all healthcare workers. The president had the power to make this happen, but he let an important opportunity pass him by.

No amount of denial or distraction by the president will change the facts. It was clear these masks were needed. It's the same situation with testing  remember "anybody that wants a test can get a test"? He speaks in sound bites and does not seek out facts prior to blurting out what he believes serves his personal interests.

Our president cares about the economy, the stock market and getting reelected. Does anyone think he cares about working people?

Sid Pelston, Marina del Rey

..

To the editor: I was on many code blue teams in my 35 years as an intensive care unit registered nurse.

The first person to enter the room would put on an N95 mask and gloves, and then begin CPR. As others arrived, they donned full personal protective equipment, and that first nurse in the room was able to leave, wash his or her hands and also put on the required PPE before returning.

In this case, N95 masks were not even readily available to Marcos. Shame on our healthcare facilities for putting workers' lives at risk, and shame on President Trump for not taking control of the supply line in January when he was told of the coming pandemic.

Suzanne Brugman, La Habra Heights

..

To the editor: Reading of nurses dying without appropriate protective gear brings back memories of the Iraq war, where our military sent many of our soldiers over without the right body armor.

As insurgent bombs took a growing number of American lives, there were delays in funding and procurement. Contracts were awarded to vendors that were unable to deliver. When advised they should procure ceramic plating for their Humvees, the Army decided to produce their own steel plates, which were unable to protect our troops against the larger explosive devices.

Be it wildfires, earthquakes or whatever disasters confront us, we seem to quickly forget our administrative failures that made matters worse, leaving us vulnerable time and again. Lives are lost, when they need not be.

Russell Kraus, Rancho Palos Verdes
The next government must set aside another 15bn of exchequer funds to help the countrys businesses recover from the Covid-19 crisis and adapt to the new reality of living once it passes, according to Ibec.

That money  which is in addition to the billions of euro worth of supports already committed - needs to be invested this year and next, it said.

In a wide-reaching blueprint for Irelands recovery and rejuvenation, the business representative group has put the direct cost of the crisis to the exchequer at 15bn. However, it has also called for a large injection of non-exchequer funding.

It said the current budget of the National Development Plan (NDP)  which sits at 116bn  should be increased by 25bn over the next seven years. That money, Ibec said, should come from a variety of largely non-exchequer sources such as European Investment Bank loans, European Commission money and increased use of public-private partnerships  or PPPs.

Ibec wants the next government to put in place a reboot plan within its first 100 days in office, with the 15bn stimulus package invested over the course of the remainder of this year and 2021.

Government must do whatever it takes to restore the economy and should endeavour to offset the collapse in GDP with increased public spending, tax supports and investment, Ibec said.

The scale of the package is both affordable and necessary and would be in line with international expert opinion and best practice.

The 15bn should go on a variety of things, Ibec said. These include an extension to the wage subsidy scheme, debt cover, tax measures to support business investment, a re-start grant for SMEs, re-employment and retraining projects, urban and rural regeneration spending, an export credit insurance scheme and the reduction to 9% and expansion of the hospitality sector Vat rate.

Ibec has also called for a new Commission on Taxation to be in place by the end of this year and wants much stronger private sector engagement with government over the management of future crises. A new social insurance system is also needed, it said.

The business group also said the NDP is too reliant on exchequer funding and a new PPP pipeline to cover transport, housing, education and health projects should be developed. Ibec also wants a 50% reduction in delivery time of projects of national importance.

It said the NDP should also be used to better adapt Ireland to new living realities  covering tax reliefs and supports for remote working staff; delivering greater funding for childcare and investing in the digital economy, for which it said there should be a dedicated minister for digital affairs.




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Founded by automotive journalist, concours judge, and classic car insurance consultant Andy Reid, the Isolation Island Concours D'elegance (IIC) launched in April as a way to foster community during these times of social distancing caused by the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic. Using a Facebook page as a hub, a team of 30 qualified judges (most with real Concours judging experience) review diecast and resin automotive models every two weeks. Each person is allowed to submit one car for each event, and winners are declared for numerous classes. Round 4 is currently open for entries until May 19, 2020.

The IIC is open to 1/43-, 1/24- and 1/18-scale model cars with a price limit of $350. Each entry requires four to six photos of the car, and participants are suggested to make a small donation to a first responders' charity or community food bank. Thus far, the IIC says it has raised more than $40,000.

In order to win a real trophy and be honored during the virtual awards presentation, each entrant must first follow a set of rules. After finding the specific class for the model car, the owner must make a comment on that class post/page. Below that first photo/comment, additional photos are posted as replies. Only one entry is allowed per event, not per class, and no repeats of the same car are allowed, unless it is in a different livery or color. Each class is limited to 25 entrants on a first-come basis, and French judging rules mean the engine bay is not included in the judging criterion. Finally, in addition to the photos, each entrant must explain the significance of the car, what it means to the person, and how they acquired it.

McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty, is the Chief Judge, and other notable names include Amelia Island Concours founder Bill Warner, Global Head of Design at Fiat Chrysler Ralph Gilles, Head of BMW Group Product Communications Thomas Plucinsky, and President of IMSA John Doonan.

Rounds one and two of the competition took place in April, round three occurred in early May, and round four is currently open for business. A few past winners include a 1967 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Prototipo, a 1966 Jaguar XJ13, a 1936-1937 Auto Union Type C, a 1938 Phantom Corsair, and a 1959 Aston Martin DBR1. For a full list of past classes, winners, and the judges, visit isolationislandconcours.com.
In a rare incident, two persons were arrested on Tuesday in Pakistan's Punjab province for hoisting an Israeli flag atop the roof of their house.

Police said Muzamil Ali Kambhu, a resident of Panwana in Sialkot district, has been arrested along with his father for displaying the flag in violation of the country's law.

He said the suspects could not offer any plausible reason to display the flag of the enemy country.

Displaying a flag of an enemy country is a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. Violations are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The breadth of the exemption is staggering, said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She seemed shocked by the facts of one of the cases before the court: Teacher Kristen Biel, who has since died, said she did not have her contract renewed at a Los Angeles-area parochial school after telling the principal she had breast cancer.

Kristen Biel lost her job after a cancer diagnosis, then died. The Supreme Court will decide if her lawsuit is valid.

Ginsburg, a cancer survivor, added: What I find very disturbing in all this [is] that the person can be fired or refused to be hired for a reason that has absolutely nothing to do with religion, like needing to take care of chemotherapy.

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The school disputes that is why Biel was not retained. But its lawyer, Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said the Constitution guarantees religious organizations the right to decide who teaches the faithful without second-guessing from government.

If separation of church and state means anything at all, it must mean the government cannot interfere with the churchs decisions about who is authorized to teach its religion, he said. In this country, it is emphatically not the province of judges, juries or government officials to decide who ought to teach Catholic fifth-graders that Jesus is the son of God or who ought to teach Jewish preschoolers what it means to say, Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. 

Biels estate is suing under the American with Disabilities Act, and another teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, said she was let go because of her age. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said neither was covered by the ministerial exception and their lawsuits could continue.

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Stanford law professor Jeffrey L. Fisher, representing the teachers, told the high court to be wary of what the schools and the Justice Department were requesting.

The schools argument would strip more than 300,000 lay teachers in religious schools across the country of basic employment law protections and necessarily included in this number are teachers who teach so-called secular classes, Fisher said.

In the high courts 2012 decision recognizing the exception, the justices said lower courts should examine a number of issues to determine where an employee fit: the employees title, whether the organization considered the employee a minister, whether the employee considered herself a minister and whether the employees duties included important religious functions.

Supreme Court says discrimination laws dont apply to certain religious employees

Rassbach and Justice Department attorney Morgan L. Ratner said the last will likely be the most important. The touchstone of the ministerial exception should be whether an employee performs important religious functions, Ratner said.

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Conservative justices seemed to be in sync with the argument. Justice Clarence Thomas, who in a separate opinion in the 2012 case urged deference to the religious organization, said sorting employees is not for the courts.

How would it determine between a teacher who is a nun, and all would agree is covered, and a lay teacher who conducted her class in a parochial school in an identical way, he asked.

Justice Elena Kagan said she was struck by the governments argument that an employee would not need to be a member of the faith for the ministerial exception to apply.

If a position can be filled by any old person, not by a member of a faith, isnt that a pretty good sign that the employee doesnt have that special role within the religious community? she asked.

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But Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. indicated that he felt almost all teachers at religious schools would qualify.

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For a school that is set up by a religious body, the teaching of religion is central, Alito said. Thats the very reason why these schools are set up. Otherwise, there would be no reason.

The cases are Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel.

NaN klahoma Indian land

The court for the second time also considered whether a large portion of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation, which has major implications for criminal prosecutions in the state.

The court heard a similar argument last term, with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch recusing himself because he had confronted the case as a lower-court judge. Apparently deadlocked, the justices took a new case, so Gorsuch seems likely to cast the deciding vote.

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The land at issue contains much of Tulsa, the states second-largest city, and about 1.8 million people. The question is whether Congress officially eliminated the Creek Nation reservation when Oklahoma became a state.

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The case is brought by Jimcy McGirt, who was convicted in state court of molesting a child. Because the crime occurred on the land in question, McGirt said state courts have no jurisdiction and the federal government would have to prosecute.

The state said that there are thousands of similar cases and that a ruling in favor of McGirt would cause havoc in the criminal justice system.

But Gorsuch, who in the past has shown a keen interest in Indian law, questioned the parade of horribles that the state advanced.

Ian H. Gershengorn, representing McGirt, said the concerns were overblown. But they also should not factor into the courts study of the law and treaty.

Congress knows how to do this, and the job to fix any consequences if the court perceives them is with Congress, he said.

The case is McGirt v. Oklahoma.
Many middle-power countries have been swapping details of their responses, supporting shared solutions  like coronavirus vaccines  and starting to look ahead

Sydney: When Australia started pushing for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, no other countries were on board, and officials had no idea how it would work or how harshly China might react.

Europe soon joined the effort anyway, moving to take up the idea with the World Health Organisation later this month. And Australia, in its newfound role as global catalyst, has become both a major target of Chinese anger and the sudden leader of a push to bolster international institutions that the United States has abandoned under President Donald Trump.

We just want to know what happened so it doesnt happen again, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, describing his conversations with other nations.

Confronting a once-in-a-generation crisis, the worlds middle powers are urgently trying to revive the old norms of can-do multilateralism.

Countries in Europe and Asia are forging new bonds on issues like public health and trade, planning for a future built on what they see as the pandemics biggest lessons: that the risks of Chinas authoritarian government can no longer be denied, and that the United States cannot be relied on to lead when its struggling to keep people alive and working, and its foreign policy is increasingly America first.

The middle-power dynamic may last only as long as the virus. But if it continues, it could offer an alternative to the decrees and demands of the worlds two superpowers. Beyond the bluster of Washington and Beijing, a fluid working group has emerged, with a rotating cast of leaders that has the potential to challenge the bullying of China, fill the vacuums left by America, and do what no lesser power could do on its own.

Australia is resetting the terms of engagement so we have more strategic freedom of action, and in order to do that, you need to build a coalition of like-minded nations, said Andrew Hastie, a backbencher in the Australian Parliament who leads its Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

To act on the global stage as a middle power, you need to do it from a position of strength  that includes strength in numbers, Hastie said.

Morrison has insisted that his call for a global inquiry is not directed at any one country, but all available evidence points to China as the birthplace of the pandemic, which means Australia could hardly have chosen a more sensitive subject for its leap onto the world stage.

Chinas leaders have made clear that they see criticism of their initial response to the coronavirus  which included a cover-up that allowed the contagion to spread  as a threat to Communist Party rule.

Even a fact-finding mission appears to be too much for Chinas leadership. The countrys ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, called the inquiry proposal  which China is expected to block at the WHO  a dangerous move that could lead to an economic boycott.

If the mood is going from bad to worse, he said, people would think Why should we go to such a country that is not so friendly to China? The tourists may have second thoughts. He added that Chinese consumers might refuse to buy Australian wine and beef or to send their children to Australian universities.

The economic pain, if actually meted out, could be severe. China is Australias No 1 export market, its largest source of international students and its most valuable market for tourism and agricultural products. On Sunday, the countrys grain industry warned that China is threatening to place a hefty tariff on Australias barley exports in what some members of parliament are describing as payback.

Australian officials, however, are betting that China will remain a major customer, including for the coal and iron ore it needs to spring back to life post pandemic. And they are convinced that the Australian public will tolerate some Chinese punishment if it means relying less on a country that, according to polls, it had already distrusted  a negative view that is widely shared in Western Europe.

The frustrations have been building for years. Under President Xi Jinping, Chinas hacking and intellectual property theft have increased.

Communist Party proxies have tried to interfere in the domestic politics of Australia and other countries, while Beijing increasingly demands obedience across the globe  leaving no room for either foreign companies or countries to question its policies.

Peter Jennings, a former defence official and the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that COVID-19 had stripped away the last illusions of a benign China  the idea that a country could do business with China without worrying much about how it was governed.

By suppressing information about the virus when it appeared in Wuhan, Chinas government put on full display the dangers of its authoritarian system, not just for its own people but for the world. And instead of acknowledging its missteps, it has doubled down  spreading conspiracy theories, insisting that its response be celebrated, and stridently attacking anyone who suggests otherwise.

Our senior leaders, to use an Australian saying, have had a gutful of China, Jennings said. Frankly, I think theyre just fed up.

In such situations, Australia would usually turn to America. For the seven decades after the end of World War II, the United States was seen as a defender of transparency and cooperation.

But relying on Washington for that kind of leadership seems impossible now. Much of the world views with disappointment and sadness an America laid low by the virus and Trumps erratic response.

The president has shown little interest in working with any other country. He has said his administration is conducting its own investigation of China, but that move is widely seen as an effort to shift blame away from his own botched handling of the pandemic.

Trump has also said he is temporarily halting funding to the WHO, and the United States did not contribute to a recent fundraising effort led by the European Union for research into vaccines.

Further undermining US credibility, Trump has floated outlandish treatments like disinfectants, while pushing an unsubstantiated theory that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab  a claim that Australian intelligence officials discounted as unlikely.

Normally, however imperfectly, America would also have mobilised the world, Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister, wrote in a recent essay. This time, in Americas absence, nobody did.

That void predates the pandemic. In 2018, after the United States had pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, 11 countries  including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Vietnam  signed a trade pact of their own as a hedge against China. But COVID-19 has accelerated that interaction.

Many middle-power countries have been swapping details of their responses, supporting shared solutions  like vaccines  and starting to look ahead.

On Thursday night, Morrison joined a call with leaders from nations that are calling themselves the first movers  countries that acted quickly against the pandemic and have flattened their curves of infection, including Austria, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Singapore and New Zealand.

Australian officials have also been part of a weekly dialogue on the post-pandemic future with a group of countries that includes India, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The United States is also involved, but notably as a participant, not the groups leader, said Rory Medcalf, a former diplomat and the head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.

Historically, Australia, a country of 25 million people, has seen itself as too small to exert much influence on the world stage, though its economy is nearly as large as Russias. In interviews, officials described an ingrained ambivalence competing with nascent confidence, built in large part on their sense that Australia has forged a track record of resistance and survival in relation to China  one that much of the world could learn from.

Australia was among the first countries, in 2018, to ban the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from supplying its 5G network. It has also passed sweeping foreign interference legislation.

The push for a coronavirus inquiry, however, represents a leap up. The idea emerged, somewhat ad hoc, when Marise Payne, the foreign minister, announced it on a Sunday morning news show. She surprised the world.

Frances leader, Emmanuel Macron, initially told Morrison it was not yet time for an investigation, though he appears to have since come around to support the proposal.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the idea, suggesting (incorrectly) that Australia was supporting a US investigation, highlighting one of Australias enduring obstacles: The informed perception that Morrison is too eager to please his ally Trump.

Making the inquiry a reality may require more proof of independence and the kind of sustained, careful effort that Australia has yet to master.

The real test will be: What does Australia do next? Jennings said.

He argued that if the proposal died at the WHO, Australia should create, pay for and lead an independent commission of investigators from all over the world.

Ultimately, it is unclear just how much a group of middle-power countries without fixed leadership can accomplish. At some point, Australia and the other nations will have to decide whether to focus on reforming the old system or trying to build something new.

Skepticism already surrounds the WHO. It has been accused by many countries, including the United States and Japan, of being too trusting of the Chinese government and of ignoring early warning signs of the pandemic from Taiwan, which China barred from the organisation.

Many of its critics believe the way out  of the pandemic and the intensifying US-China conflict  may involve new forms of organisation drawn from countries that are already trying to revive global cooperation to defeat a killer that does not respect national borders.

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, a federal lawmaker in Australia who has often been a tough critic of China, said the world needed to be bold and resist business as usual.

For the rules-based international order to mean anything, it needs to be upheld, she said. If the world doesnt respond and act now, when will it ever act?

Damien Cave and Isabella Kwai c.2020 The New York Times Company
ALBION, MI  The Esham Family farm is usually bustling with business during the spring.

Goats are born around this time, and customers want to come see and take yoga classes with the animals. But this year is different.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the baby goats born March 15 came into a world slowed down. As the pandemic continued and public gatherings were canceled, owner Tina Esham got an email from a yoga-class regular.

A farm in California had resorted to goat Zoom calls to make up for the lack of business. Three weeks ago, Esham decided she would try it too.

Im very thankful that my customer reached out to me and shared it with me because we are definitely in a lot of unknown and dont know how long this is going to last, she said.

Eshams family has bred goats for more than 13 years and the yoga studio farm site currently has four Nigerian Dwarf goat mothers and eight babies. Her new Zoom call service provides a live feed with no audio of the goats as they wander around for 20 minutes.

I really try to customize it for what the customer wants, Esham said.

Family and friend Zoom calls that allow an unlimited number of people 20 minutes of access to the live feed have been the most popular. The customer sends Esham the link to a Zoom call and she joins on her phone with the goats in her vicinity.

Corporate Zoom calls work the same way. For schools, Esham has been hosting virtual farm tour field trips over the videoconferencing application.

Businesses say theyve got to keep the lights on -- well, we have to keep the animals fed, healthy and taken care of, too, Esham said.

Calls with unlimited guests cost $45. If customers want a tour to see the animals on the farm, between four and 10 people can be on a call for $5 per person. Corporate and family tours that include animals and learning about the farm cost $90. Esham Family Farm also is volunteering to do virtual field trips for teachers and students for free.

In three weeks of providing the service, the farm has had multiple return customers, including Janet Fink from New York, who has done five calls in the last three weeks with family and friends.

Fink found the Albion farm in what she calls, a happy accident. After hearing about a similar service on the news, she searched for animals and Zoom calls online. The first link led to Esham Family Farm. She scheduled a Zoom call that week with family members spanning age 6 to 78, and surprised them with the goats.

Everybody loved the goats, Fink said. Theyre really active, so theyre not dull. They sometimes come up to the camera or sometimes theyll go jump around.

As she does more calls with her loved ones, Fink is noticing they provide a calming tone to the meeting and get people to show up on time, she said.

Theyre really great for participating in the beginning because sometimes it takes a while for people to join, Fink said. As people are waiting for others to join, it gives them something to talk about.

Fink has plans to continue her goat Zoom calls as long as they are offered because it helps to support a business and adds something fun to her day, she said.

Looking forward, Esham isnt sure how this year will look for her semi-seasonal family farm.

It's uncertain times for sure, she said. That's why we're trying to come up with another facet to be able to reach out to people and be able to reach more people.

The next set of goats are typically born in November. A large part of making sure the baby goats are friendly for goat yoga is having the goats interact with people. Goats are cuddled and bond with the Eshams from birth so they dont start fights during yoga.

There's a big difference between having friendly goats and just having goats, Esham said. We spend a lot of time with our goats.

The down time provided by the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed for plenty of bonding, she said. But it will likely cost them business too.

Unfortunately, we are a not a recession-proof business, Esham said. If people need to spend money on food and the necessities of life, they can cut out coming to goat yoga. I think its going to be a challenge for us to come back to where we were

To schedule a goat Zoom call, visit the Esham Family Farm website.
(Natural News) President Trump is now ordering officials and visitors to wear masks in the West Wing of the White House, according to a Wall Street Journal report, but only after months of refusing to wear masks, during which the coronavirus spread to at least two White House officials (and multiple secret service agents).

The WSJ reports:

The White House directed officials to wear masks at all times inside the building except when sitting at their own desks, administration officials said Monday The directive, which officials said was delivered in a memo, comes as White House officials have largely resisted wearing masks in public and in private.

Because we live in a cause-and-effect universe, actions have consequences. Refusing to wear masks allows the virus to rapidly spread in indoor environments. Ordering officials and visitors to start wearing masks will surely help prevent future spread of the virus, but it cant reverse the infections that have already occurred.

Informed people have known for at least two months that masks are very effective at halting the spread of the coronavirus indoors. Trumps refusal to embrace the wearing of masks has also apparently inspired his many followers to become anti-mask advocates who refuse to wear masks as they gather in public protest.

Want evidence that masks work? Nations that have embraced mandatory mask policies in shared spaces are doing very well handling the virus:

 while nations that have rejected or ignored mask policies are doing very poorly:

Source: EndCoronavirus.org

The coronavirus is spreading through the White House because thats what happens when ignorant people dont wear masks

Thanks to the anti-mask policies that existed until today, a high ranking official in the White House has now contracted the coronavirus, according to The Sun:

Correspondent April Ryan tweeted: Im hearing on good authority that #coronavirus is more rampant in the #WhiteHouse than the public is being told.

An isolated Trump is said to be spooked that the virus has made it to the White House after Mike Pences press secretary Katie Miller was diagnosed, reports The Guardian.

President Trump shouldnt be surprised that the coronavirus has spread around the White House while his own people were refusing to wear masks. By the same reasoning, people who refuse to wear seat belts shouldnt be surprised when their faces get smashed into steering columns and windshields following unexpected traffic accidents. If youre not going to wear protective gear, dont be surprised when bad things happen to you.

Masks work. Thats why surgeons wear them during surgical procedures, by the way. And it seems insane that our own president took 2-3 months to figure out something that nearly all the other countries in the world  including many Third World nations  figured out long ago.

I sure hope we dont get involved in a nuclear conflict during Trumps presidency, or well all have to sit the president down and teach him about the atom so that he doesnt take months to figure out how radioactive fallout works. (And dont even try to teach him about the half life of a radioisotope)

Then again, Trump isnt a dementia patient like the Democrat nominee, but Im really not sure whats worse: Having no knowledge or having no mind.

Either way, it seems were all screwed. With leaders like this, who needs international enemies? Is there an option on the ballot for a candidate who understands the basics of science, medicine, economics, history, and who isnt a liberty-hating globalist pedophile? Now that would be a reason to get out and vote.
Joe Biden on Tuesday defended his decision to continue campaigning from his Delaware home, arguing that President Donald Trump has been reckless with his public appearances during the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" when he expects to get out on the campaign trail, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee replied, "We're on the campaign trail now."

"I mean, everybody says, you know, 'Biden's hiding,' " he continued. "Well let me tell you something: We're doing very well. We're following the guidelines of the medical profession."

Biden declined to put a timeline on when he might begin holding live events.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned against mass gatherings during the pandemic, as have stay-home orders in many states. Even so, Trump and his allies have sought to depict Biden's decision to campaign from his house in a negative light.

The former vice president has been participating in live-streamed discussions, interviews and other videos from cameras set up in his home, where he has remained as the novel coronavirus has swept across the country. He appeared in the ABC interview remotely from his converted basement studio.

Biden noted public opinion polls that showing him defeating Trump, disputing any notion that his lack of travel has hurt him politically. "I reject the premise that somehow this is hurting us. There's no evidence of that. I'm following the rules," he said.

"The president should follow the rules instead of showing up at places without masks," Biden said. Trump appeared at a White House news conference Monday without a mask, even as everyone around him wore them.

The president has started leaving the White House, traveling recently to Camp David in Maryland and to Arizona.

In Tuesday's interview, Biden was pressed on other topics, including former Senate aide Tara Reade's accusations that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden has repeatedly denied the allegation.

"What do you say to Americans who believe Tara Reade and won't vote for you because of it?" ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked him.

"Well, that's their right," Biden said. "I think women should be believed. They should have an opportunity to have their case and state it just forthrightly, what their case is. Then it's the responsibility of responsible journalists like you and everyone else to go out and investigate those."

He once again denied the claim, saying: "This never happened. I assure you. That's the truth."

Biden also weighed in on Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser who had faced charges that were dropped by the Justice Department last week. Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

"What did you know about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn, and was there anything improper done?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn," Biden said. He accused Trump of trying to divert attention from the coronavirus crisis.

Stephanopoulos followed up, pressing Biden on his reported presence at a January 2017 meeting in which he and President Barack Obama were briefed on the FBI's plan to question Flynn.

"I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted. I'm sorry," Biden responded. "I was aware that there was . . . an investigation. But that's all I know about it."

Asked whether the Justice Department was right to drop the charges, Biden was critical of the agency, but he added, "I don't know the detail of where we are right now."
If hes going to channel his inner Mussolini, then at least he should make the trains run on time.

Im talking about our governor. Lately Phil Murphy has taken on a manner reminiscent of that dictator from the country where he has a vacation villa.

The latest example came last week when he was discussing calls for the removal of his labor commissioner.

All I would say to anyone who thinks that: Go to another state, said the governor who labels those who disagree with his orders knuckleheads.

Murphy channeled Il Duce earlier last week as well. That came when he said he has no timetable for ending the lockdown he has imposed.

"Weve got to do it responsibly, he said. But then he added whether you like that or not.

Gerry Scharfenberger doesnt like it. The Republican assemblyman who represents Murphys own Monmouth County is one of a number of legislators arguing that the reopening of the state should happen sooner rather than later.

Wasnt it originally that we had to flatten the curve? Scharfenberger asked. Now its dropping precipitously and he extends that lockdown.

The curve in question involved hospitalizations. On March 17, Murphy said in reference to hospital space,Weve got to flatten the curve, social distancing aggressively  weve got to make sure we have enough capacity.

Almost a month later, on April 14, Health Commissioner Judy Persichelli announced at the daily briefing that the curve was still going up. Hospital admissions were projected to rise to almost 16,000 by April 25, she said. And Murphy said that might mean keeping the state shut till July.

Instead, admissions started dropping on that very day. Now theyre a bit above 4,000. The curve isnt just flat. Its dropping like a ski slope. The other leading indicators are all dropping as well. (The state Covid-19 website shows more downhill runs than Vail and Aspen combined.) Meanwhile testing has risen far above the rate two months ago.

But Murphy doesnt want to take yes for an answer. Instead of lifting the lockdown and reviving the states economy, the governors sticking to the plan that was based on those faulty projections.

Scharfenberger has put together a plan of his own for reopening the economy. But as a minority party assemblyman he doesnt have much chance of getting it adopted.

But then theres Murphys fellow Democrat, Steve Sweeney. The Senate president heads what is supposed to be a coequal branch of government. However with Murphy running the state by executive order, the Legislature is out of the loop.

Ive asked for a month to be given a briefing on this with the Assembly Speaker and the two minority leaders, Sweeney told me when I called him Monday. Its wonderful news that the numbers are down, but are we waiting till the cases reach zero?

The governor last week appointed nine committees to plan the reopening of the economy. But theres already plenty of guidance on how to reopen while maintaining social distancing, Sweeney said.

With Memorial Day approaching, its urgent to get the Shore economy going, said Sweeney, who represents a district not far from the South Jersey Shore area.

Cape May County has put out a plan. So has Atlantic County, he said. We dont need the committees to meet and give an opportunity to open when its safe.

In the case of restaurants, theyre already planning to reduce capacity by moving tables outdoors, he said. Retail stores can follow the example of big-box stores like Walmart and Target, he said.

And now that hospitalizations are down theres no reason to maintain limits on elective surgery.

Youve got people scared to death dealing with all kinds of serious health issues, he said. Meanwhile emergency rooms are at half capacity and are furloughing doctors and nurses.

Scharfenberger, whose district includes the northern Shore areas of Monmouth County, seconded Sweeneys call for the economy to reopen by Memorial Day.

Its critical because a lot of the businesses at the Shore have a very limited time to meet their bottom line, he said. If they dont begin in May, they may never recover.

You could say the same for the state. If tax collections keep dropping, the only way to balance the budget will be through massive layoffs.

At his press briefing Monday, Murphy bemoaned the prospect of such layoffs. But even though Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced reopenings in parts of upstate New York earlier in the day, Murphy was noncommittal on reopening New Jersey.

We will soon have some hard dates to when we can begin our road back, was all he would promise.

I want to open up as much as anyone, he added. But lets do it together.

Yes, lets.

That would certainly be a first.
BOSTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Economists at The Brattle Group have released today an assessment through April 2020 on the impacts and implications of COVID-19 on the energy industry. The report provides an update to an earlier compilation and assessment on the initial impacts through March 2020 of the pandemic on the industry.

7 ISOs Electricity Load in FebruaryApril 2020 Relative to Load for Prior 4 Years (20162019)

The updated Brattle assessment shows that oil has experienced by far the greatest impacts on demand and price; in addition, demand has declined for electricity, and to a lesser extent for natural gas. Specifically, due to COVID-19 there was an average electric load reduction in April 2020 of -6.5%, about double the -3.3% effect seen in March 2020, as measured by the average impact on seven ISOs. Due in part to the essentiality of electric service, this drop may reflect the low ebb in average load reductions from social distancing, which is now starting to be relaxed (though further economic declineand local conditionscould drive more load loss in some regions).

Other key findings of the Brattle assessment are as follows:

Residential electric demand is up about 7%, while the demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors is likely down about 15%. Because residential customers face mostly volumetric pricing while C&I customers have more fixed charges, it is likely that utility revenue losses will be smaller than load losses.

Forward oil prices may not return to pre-COVID-19 levels seen last winter until 2026 or later.

There are no clear COVID-19 effects on overall demand for natural gas. Residential usage was up this month compared to last year (with April being cooler than normal for most of the country), while industrial demand was down about 7%. Natural gas generation was down about 14% from March of this year, but up 4% compared to April 2019 .

. Coal-fired generation appears to have the greatest lost production, due to reduced load and lower competing fuel costs, with some forecasters predicting it will decline 25% this year.

There has not been a discernable reduction in renewable generation due to COVID-19, but there will likely be delays in renewable expansion currently signaled by renewable industry unemployment claims and reports of supply chain disruption. The adverse effects of such delays could be materially amplified by expiring tax incentives at year-end 2020. Industry consolidation may be one result of these conditions.

due to COVID-19, but there will likely be delays in renewable currently signaled by renewable industry unemployment claims and reports of supply chain disruption. The adverse effects of such delays could be materially amplified by expiring tax incentives at year-end 2020. Industry consolidation may be one result of these conditions. In April 2020 , 10 additional U.S. states set mandatory service termination moratoriums, bringing the total up to 32 states. The remaining 18 states have voluntary suspensions of utility shutoffs. Many states are reviewing expanded decoupling mechanisms for COVID-19-induced revenue losses.

, 10 additional U.S. states set mandatory service termination moratoriums, bringing the total up to 32 states. The remaining 18 states have voluntary suspensions of utility shutoffs. Many states are reviewing expanded decoupling mechanisms for COVID-19-induced revenue losses. Most economists anticipate material improvements to the economy in the latter part of this year, possibly ending the year as a whole about 67% down in GDP. However, there are structural reasons to worry whether the recovery can be this fast, due in part to lagging testing and contact tracing infrastructure for the virus.

There is more optimism in the stock market. Volatility has declined since its peak in March 2020 (but stays elevated at 20082009 levels), and the S&P 500 has rebounded to roughly September 2019 levels, with utility stocks also increasing but to a lesser extent in April 2020 than the overall market.

(but stays elevated at 20082009 levels), and the S&P 500 has rebounded to roughly levels, with utility stocks also increasing but to a lesser extent in than the overall market. Bond rates remain at historic lows. The investor-owned utility sector has been given a "negative outlook" by S&P, but only 3 utilities have had downgraded ratings. The public power sector has been deemed "stable" by Moody's.

"Impacts and Implications of COVID-19 for the Energy Industry: Assessment through April 2020," is authored by Brattle Principals Frank Graves and Robert Mudge, Associate Josh Figueroa, and Research Analysts Tess Counts, Lily Mwalenga, and Shivangi Pant.

About Brattle

The Brattle Group analyzes complex economic, finance, and regulatory questions for corporations, law firms, and governments around the world. We are distinguished by the clarity of our insights and the credibility of our experts, which include leading international academics and industry specialists. Brattle has over 350 talented professionals across three continents. For more information, please visit brattle.com.

SOURCE The Brattle Group

Related Links

http://www.brattle.com


By Express News Service

PUDUCHERRY: Stating that only 12 per cent of the monthly revenue has been realised in the months of March and April in Puducherry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi being non-committal on fiscal assistance to states despite them apprising him of the fiscal sufferings during his video conference on Monday, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said that the only option for Puducherry was to avail loans through Reserve Bank of India to tide over the current fiscal crisis.

Addressing a press conference, shortly after interacting with Prime minister, last night, Narayanasamy said that he had urged the prime minister to increase the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management) limit to five per cent from the existing three per cent to facilitate Puducherry to avail a loan, besides taking steps to grant moratorium on repayment of loans and interest for six months.

Despite constraints, the government has implemented welfare schemes and supported all sectors of people besides paying full salary to government employees. But there is a severe shortage of funds in May as adequate revenue is still not coming despite reopening shops and industries. This is because trade and industries are delaying payment of GST as the Finance Ministry has extended filing of GST returns and composite returns of GST till June. With no excise revenue either as liquor shops are yet to be permitted to open, the government is compelled to avail loan through RBI, said the Chief minister.

Further to revive the economy, he sought financial assistance from Central government and inclusion of Puducherry in 15th Central Finance Commission and compensation for revenue loss in March and April, said Narayanasamy

As per the directions of Prime Minister, Puducherry Administration will soon send a detailed note to the Centre with regard to the classification of red, orange and green zones based on the situation in the UT, so that more economic activity could be permitted.

Every year, the Puducherry government faces a necessity to repay Rs 1,300 crore to the Centre to settle the loan and the interest, said Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao stressing on the need for a moratorium on repayment of loans and interest.

Now with the revenue from the excise sector and also other sources of revenue having dried up because of the closure of liquor shops, hotel industry yet to resume, the flow of revenue to the government has dried up. Normalcy in commercial activities is expected to return after a year or two, he said justifying the necessity for a moratorium on loans and interest.
Though their marriage may never be repaired, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are putting aside their differences to plan for their daughter Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's 14th birthday.

A source told Hollywood Life that the former couple lives close to each other, so it's going to be easy for Shiloh to spend time with both of them on her birthday.

Though what Shiloh wanted was to throw a birthday party and invite all her friends, they reportedly have to put it off until the lockdown ends.

"But both Brad and Angelina will make the day special for her, regardless, and it will be totally up to Shiloh how she wants to divide her time."

According to the source, Brad Pitt will be whipping up some traditional breakfast on the morning of Shiloh's birthday, while the almost 14-year-old might have dinner with Angelina Jolie.

"She's a teenager now, so they are trying to give her as much autonomy as they can."

And as for the other Jolie-Pitt children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and the twins, Vivienne and Knox, will throw her a sibling-only party, and Brad will reportedly make it fun for all of his children.

Another source told the news portal that the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star wants her eldest biological child's birthday to be extra special on May 27.

"As much as he has ideas for them, he also wants them to be able to do what they want to do and be together as a family and do something eat and just talk and hangout."

"He wants to celebrate and show them all that they can have as much fun as possible, even in quarantine."

Though the source didn't reveal what exactly he has in store for Shiloh, the source told that Brad is already getting things ready and is hoping that Shiloh and the rest of her siblings will come over to celebrate with him.

One Thing Brad Pitt Can't Accept About Shiloh

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's wardrobe choices are not very common for girls her age. According to different reports, Brad Pitt reportedly has issues with her fashion choices.

In the past, Shiloh has been spotted wearing pants, hoodies, and suits, instead of cute dresses and gowns, especially on the red carpet. She had always dressed like that when she accompanies her A-list parents out and about.

An insider told Woman's Day magazine that though Shiloh wants to repair her relationship with her father, Angelina Jolie is worried about Brad and his issues with how their 13-year-old dresses.

"Brad has always struggled to accept Shiloh. He looks a bit hippie and quirky at times, but don't forget he was raised in an ultra-conservative Baptist family in the American Midwest, and some of the values and beliefs have stuck with them."

On the other hand, Angelina Jolie has no problem with how Shiloh likes to dress herself.

Even the "Maleficent" actress once said that Shiloh always wanted to hang out with her brothers and dress up like a boy.

However, Shiloh is reportedly getting professional help as she deals with how she is growing up, aside from having to deal with her parents' divorce.

READ MORE: Jerry Stiller, Father of Actor Ben Stiller, Dies at 92
When the coronavirus vaccine becomes available, medical staff in every country have to get vaccinated first.

In 1918, when the St Marylebone Infirmary in London was under the immense pressure of a Spanish flu outbreak, Dr Basil Hood, the infirmarys medical superintendent, wrote: Each day the difficulties became more pronounced as the patients increased and the nurses decreased, going down like ninepins themselves.

In the midst of todays COVID-19 pandemic, a similar scenario is playing out. The outbreak has already killed more than 260 nurses. It is believed that between 90,000 and 200,000 healthcare workers have been infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide.

Faced with an aberrant shortage of medical equipment, health workers from around the globe have struggled to protect themselves from the virus, often forced to use their disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) many days in a row. And that is if PPE is even available in the first place.

In New York City last month nurses were forced to put on rubbish bags for the lack of protective gowns. Its like something out of the Twilight Zone, one nurse said.

Photos of medical workers from around the world with bruises on their faces after working endless hours battling COVID-19 have been circulating on the internet. And there are other scars which have remained hidden: The crisis is having a devastating effect on the mental health of healthcare workers.

In one Chinese study conducted with medical staff working with COVID-19 patients, 71.5 percent reported distress, 50.4 percent said they had symptoms of depression, 44.6 percent presented symptoms of anxiety, and 34 percent suffered from insomnia.

Health workers have gone to extreme lengths to protect the rest of the population and they have been lauded as heroes for their response to the coronavirus pandemic. People have clapped, banged pots, draped signs at their windows to thank doctors, nurses, hospital and care homes staff, and any other essential worker that has kept our health systems running, while COVID-19 hit with all its thunderous power.

While there has been a renewed appreciation of the role of health personnel in society, this is far from enough. The long-term safety of health workers across the world must be guaranteed. It is crucial that we give our modern superheroes more than praise and messages of gratitude. We have to make sure they are properly protected.

Currently, there is a global effort to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which is estimated to take 12 to 18 months. Once it becomes available, however, it is clear that there will not be enough supply for the entire world, at least in the short term.

Indeed, it will take at least 12 months to vaccinate the world, starting from the moment a vaccine is approved for use. In past pandemics, like the H1N1 more than a decade ago, wealthy nations sought to monopolise the global vaccine supply and hoarded large amounts of it. Some, like Australia, even refused to export it in the beginning.

While there have been pledges for a fair distribution of the vaccine from the European Union and other institutions, we know there is little chance of this actually happening. Therefore, a provisional solution must then be found  one that recognises populations that need to be given priority.

A functioning health system is the best tool that countries have to tackle, or at least slow down, the pandemic. A functioning health system depends for a vast majority of its operations on people: nurses, doctors, cleaners, cooks, technicians, and any other support personnel. All of these people face a tremendous risk of contagion and are at a higher risk of fatal outcomes from the COVID-19 disease.

These are the people we need to ensure are vaccinated first in every country without exception. This will not only guarantee that health systems continue to function well and are able to treat infections, but it will also help run a smoother vaccination process for the rest of the worlds population.

This is the reason why today, on International Nurses Day, medical workers from all over the world are joining a citizens call to demand that the World Health Organization (WHO) ensures priority vaccination for health workers across the globe, regardless of their nationality. Global cooperation is needed more than ever and for that to happen WHO member states have to come to a consensus.

Now is the time to show our real gratitude to medical workers by pressuring our governments to commit to vaccinating medical staff first, not just in our countries but across the world. We need to make sure there is an international agreement on this and no exceptions are made.

On May 18, the World Health Assembly will convene. They must hear the call for solidarity of the people of the world, demanding that health workers receive the vaccine first. No country, no health worker should be left behind. It is time for the WHO and world governments to step up and protect the angels of COVID-19. Stand by them, join the call.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
In a major relief for Zafarul Islam Khan, Chairperson of the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC), the Delhi High Court on Tuesday (May 12) ordered the police to not take any coercive measures against him in a FIR with the charges of sedition over an alleged controversial statement on social media.

The High Court granted interim protection to 72-year-old Islam till June 22, 2020. The Court passed the direction while hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by advocate Vrinda Grover on Islam's behalf.

Islam stirred a big controversy with his latest Facebook post, where he threatened "Hindutva bigots" of complaining to "Arab countries and the Muslim world" about the "hate campaigns and lynchings and riots in India". The DMC Chairman also said that "bigots will face an avalanche".

In one of his recent social media posts, Islam Khan wrote, "Tablighi inmates and many others have completed 28 days in corona isolation, rather detention centre, which is twice the mandatory 14 days quarantine period for corona suspects as per US and WHO guidelines. Keeping people in isolation, who tested negative and spent twice the mandatory period in corona isolation centres, is tantamount to illegal detention."

In another post, he wrote, "Govt happy to take plasma of Tablighis but lock them inside flats like hardcore criminals." He also termed quarantining Tablighi Jamaat workers as "illegal detention".

On Wednesday (May 6), Delhi Police's Special Cell had to face massive protest during their visit to Islam's residence in Jamia Nagar. The Special Cell had to return without even starting the probe.
??Regresan a casa! Gracias al trabajo articulado con @pcmperu , @Minsa_Peru , @indeciperu , @GoreMadreDeDios y apoyo de @LATAM_PER con vuelo humanitario, personas vulnerables viajaron a #PuertoMaldonado . Ministra @FabiolamunozD superviso todo el proceso de retorno. ?? Dale clic ?? pic.twitter.com/dVAxbtbWqD

Alrededor de 180 personas llegaron a Pucallpa - Ucayali, su region de origen, desde Lima por via aerea y alrededor de 100 personas regresaron a Lima desde Pucallpa en el marco de los #TrasladosHumanitarios dispuestos por @pcmperu.#PeruEstaEnNuestrasManos pic.twitter.com/KGnEmiw9RZ
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in many parts of the world, a new study shows that smoking may not play a significant role in increasing the severity of illness in these patients. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020.

It is now well known that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, is more likely to cause severe pneumonic illness often leading to acute severe respiratory distress, multi-organ dysfunction, or both, leading to death. The predisposing factors to serious or critical illness include older age, underlying medical conditions like asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

However, does active smoking increase the risk? Not much is known about the role of this factor, which prompted the current study.

Smoking Could Increase Viral Entry  But Does It?

Smoking increases the expression of the molecule angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the tissues of smokers. ACE2 is known to be the major receptor for viral attachment to and entry into the host cell in humans. Logically, it would seem that smoking increases the risk of infection.

SARS-CoV-2 virus binding to ACE-2 receptors on a human cell, the initial stage of COVID-19 infection. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock

A few studies contradict this assumption, however, instead indicating the opposite. In Chinese studies, for instance, only about 1.4% to 12.6% of COVID-19 patients are smokers. Similarly, only about 5% of New York patients, who are part of a very severe outbreak, were smokers.

Compared to national smoking statistics in both countries, at about 25% and 17% respectively, as taken from https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/smokingrates-by-country, these are so low that the absence of a straightforward link becomes clear. The current study is driven by the need to examine the presence of an inverse association between smoking and the chances of infection with COVID-19.

How Was the Smoking-COVID-19 Study Carried Out?

The researchers carried out a retrospective study on about 440 patients with COVID-19, all admitted consecutively to a tertiary-level center in Parma, Italy. All of them had confirmed infection with nasopharyngeal swabs proving positive by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR).

The investigators extracted demographic, clinical, laboratory, and mortality data from the hospital electronic health records. They also attempted to confirm smoking data by direct contact with patients or their relatives, in 423 of 441 cases.

What Did the Smoking Study Show About COVID-19?

The results show that about 62% of patients were male, and the median age was 71 years. 35% of the patients died during their hospital stay, with 65% being discharged after clinical recovery.

About 5% of them were actively smoking at the time of the study, while 10% had been smokers but had quit. The rest were never-smokers.

With a closer analysis of the clinical characteristics, it was observed that many more males died of the disease. Though they made up 62% of the total number of patients, they accounted for 72% of the fatalities and only 59% of the survivors. Those who died were also older, at a median age of 76 years, compared to 67 years for those who survived. However, this was not statistically significant.

Again, the presence of certain coexisting medical illnesses was significantly more common among the fatalities. For instance, patients with a history of cardiovascular disease accounted for 21% and 10% of those who died and survived, respectively.

While hypertension was present in 61% and 56% of fatalities and survivors, respectively, while diabetes was present in 26% and 18% respectively, these were non-significant.

Median levels of D-dimer, which is an inflammatory marker, was almost double the value in those who died compared to those who survived. There was a much smaller but significant rise in the median level of C-reactive protein, which also increases in inflammation, among those who died.

With smoking, however, about 6% and 4% of those who died and lived were current smokers, meaning there was no significant difference. Similarly, the number of ex-smokers and never-smokers was near-identical in both groups.

What Does This Study Mean for People Exposed To COVID-19?

Italy has experienced the second-highest number of COVID-19 fatalities in the European Union (EU). However, in this retrospective study, only 5% of patients were current smokers, though the population prevalence of smoking is 24% in Italy. This finding, therefore, agrees with those of earlier studies in China and the US.

The study did not include asymptomatic patients by design, and therefore the conclusion should be limited to only hospitalized or symptomatic cases of COVID-19.

The researchers say, The current study suggests that smokers may carry some type of protective mechanism from symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, as the scientists caution, carefully designed controlled studies alone can validate this impression.

The mechanism underlying the low prevalence of smoking in this population of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is purely speculative at present. It may be argued, for instance, that smoke exposure suppresses immune responses, which contributes to low systemic inflammation compared to never-smokers.

By modulating the normal intensity and spectrum of the immune system to the virus, because of continuous inflammatory insult, the cytokine storm may be less likely to occur in COVID-19 patients, making them less prone to severe or symptomatic illness.

The importance of confirming a protective role for smoking in this pandemic is that, according to the researchers, it could help unravel the underlying molecular mechanism predisposing to SARS-CoV-2 infection, then also potentially exploitable by newly-conceived targeted protective drugs.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
YORK, Pa.  Two days after state Rep. Mike Jones, R-York Township, told York County business owners he thought they had Gov. Tom Wolf on the ropes, Wolf punched back.

He listed consequences, from losing discretionary federal stimulus funds to putting liquor licenses at risk, in a Monday statement for counties and businesses that try to move to yellow before the state allows.

I cannot allow residents in a red county to get sick because their local officials cant see the invisible risk of the virus in their community, Wolf said. So, I must, and I will impose consequences if a county locally lifts restrictions when it has not yet been given the go-ahead by the state.

Wolfs actions came after elected officials and businesses in many counties not named to move to yellow on May 15 started to fight back.

Scattered restaurants opened for in-house dining Sunday which as Mothers Day is one of the biggest days of the year for them.

Reopening: Central Pa. beginning to mutiny against Gov. Wolf's shutdown orders

Coronavirus updates: Gov. Wolf has harsh words for those who 'surrender' to COVID

District attorneys said they wouldnt prosecute businesses that opened and followed mitigation guidelines, so law enforcement shouldnt even issue criminal citations.

Jones defied CDC guidelines against large gatherings by hosting approximately 150 business owners to discuss how they could reopen now.

Republicans are voting for business; the Democrats arent, Jones said at the meeting. But weve seen some cracks in the armor.

Jones admitted they dont have the veto-proof votes or even complete Republican support to vote the right way on everything.

The representative said Saturday that when you call his bluff and you fight, they cave.  The bark is way, way worse than the bite.

But Wolf showed his teeth with the threat of lost licenses, insurance and discretionary funds on Monday.

He said the following could happen to counties that do not abide by the law to remain closed:

Story continues

Counties will not be eligible for federal stimulus discretionary funds the state receives and he intends to provide to counties for populations of fewer than 500,000.

Businesses in counties that do not abide by the law will no longer be eligible for business liability insurance and the protections it provides.

Restaurants that reopen for dine-in service in counties that have not been authorized to reopen will be at risk of losing their liquor license.

County residents receiving unemployment compensation will be able to continue to receive benefits even if their employer reopens.

At a Monday news conference, Wolf had strong words for elected politicians who want to take things into their own hands. He called their actions cowardly and said they are engaging in behavior that is both selfish and unsafe.

And he had additional warnings for business owners who want to follow those elected officials.

By May 15, there will be 37 counties that will have transitioned from the "red" to "yellow" phase of Governor Tom Wolf's color-coded plan.

Along with the potential to lose a liquor license, business owners who open early could find themselves at risk of losing their health department certificate and certificate of occupancy.

All of these depend upon you doing everything you can to keep your patrons safe, Wolf said Monday. And by opening before the evidence suggests you should, you are taking undue risk with the safety of your customers.

Its not only morally wrong, its also really bad business.

Senate leaders quickly pounced on Wolfs statements, urging him to stop name-calling and to instead engage with elected officials.

You can only govern to the willingness of the people to be governed. Gov. Wolf has lost that, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-25, and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-34, said in a joint statement.

Pennsylvania residents have done an outstanding job of rising to the cause of reducing community spread and flattening the curve. Instead of threatening local officials and communities, the Governor should listen to the outcry in response to his dogma.

Scarnati and Corman said elected officials are the ones Pennsylvania residents are turning to with their concerns. And, because of that, Wolf should talk with elected officials because they are the best measure when it comes to knowing if their communities can return to their livelihoods in a safe way.

I respect the governor, but it is the state Legislature who ultimately controls the purse strings," said Jones. "By unnecessarily decimating the economy, he has ironically rendered himself a toothless lion. With looming massive budget shortfalls and constituents reaching their breaking point, the governor lacks both the financial and political capital to follow through on any of his threats against our counties or businesses.

Want to talk more about politics?: Join our Facebook group: Across the Aisle, Across the Nation.

Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine have said they are making reopening decisions based on the advice of scientists, medical professionals and the states epidemiologists. They are factoring in case counts, modeling, geographic location, contact tracing and testing capabilities for counties, regions and the entire state.

Each county is considered individually before deciding on placement into the red, yellow or green phases, the governors news release said.

Scarnati and Corman said the decision to open a county shouldnt come from Wolf and Levine, it should come from the people who best know the community.

And proposed legislation will do that, they said. The pair said the Senate will move ahead with legislation this week to allow counties, with help from local emergency and health officials, to make reopening decisions for their communities.

This includes allowing employers to reopen if they adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pennsylvania Department of Health safety requirements, the senators said. This legislation is not only the right approach, but is the best approach for the public health emergency with which we are dealing.

Follow Shelly Stallsmith on Twitter: @ShelStallsmith.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Pa. Gov. Wolf punches back with consequences for reopening too soon
12.05.2020 LISTEN

The Jirapa Municipality in the Upper West Region has recorded five new cases of meningitis.

This brings the case count to 90 with nine deaths.

This is according to the Jirapa Municipal Director of Health Services, Florence Ansongwmine.

She told Citi News the current case included a three-year-old child.

Currently, our district is having 50 suspected cases of meningitis, out of which 20 are confirmed. Out of the 20, we have nine deaths, she confirmed.

The health official also called for a concerted effort from government and all other stakeholders to nib the disease in the bud.

She said, Fighting meningitis and COVID-19 is not a one-man thing. The Ghana Health Service cannot do it alone. We plead a concerted effort. We can do all the community education but if the community members are not adhering to it, it will not lead to anything.

On his part, the Member of Parliament for Jirapa, Dr. Francis Bawanaa Dakurah accused the government of not showing enough commitment in the fight against COVID-19 and meningitis in the municipality.

He spoke after presenting some medical suppliers to the municipality to help fight COVID-19.

The resources are not there to deal with the pandemic. Ideally, we should be able to get every person in Jirapa a hand sanitizer but it is not possible. A small hand sanitizer in Accra is about GHS15. It is expensive. That is the challenge we are facing, he noted.

Meningitis in the Upper West

The Upper West Region has recorded over 250 cases of the disease and over 35 deaths.

An earlier release issued by the Regional Health directorate cited the Nadowli Kaleo district and the Nandom municipality as the hardest-hit areas.

Even though the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has disclosed that the current outbreak of Meningitis in the Upper West Region is caused by a new strain of bacteria that has no vaccine, it has commenced an audit of the 37 Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) related deaths currently in the Upper West Region.

The Upper West Regional Director of health services, Dr. Osei Kuffuor Afreh said the outcome of the audit will enable the Ghana Health Service review treatment protocols on the endemic to prevent the recurrence of the high incidence of deaths in the region.

---citinewsroom
P risoners in the United States have been caught on camera deliberately trying to infect themselves with coronavirus in a bid to secure an early release.

Groups of inmates being held inside a unit at the Los Angeles County jail in Castaic, California, were filmed sharing a water bottle and taking turns breathing through the same face mask.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva said in a statement on Monday that the prisoners' actions had resulted in 21 inmates within the unit testing positive for coronavirus within a week.

Mr Villaneuva said that would not result in those individuals being released from prison ahead of time, however.

"Somehow there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive there was some way that it would force our hands and release more inmates," he added.

"That is not going to happen."

Officials at the Los Angeles County facility last month witnessed a sudden outbreak of coronavirus cases after having previously registered no instances of the virus until then.

When they subsequently studied surveillance footage, they saw inmates passing around and sniffing a face mask and drinking from a shared bottle.

Mr Villaneuva said the footage captured revealed inmates were "deliberately attempting to infect themselves with the Covid-19 virus".

"It is sad to think that someone would deliberately try to expose themselves to Covid-19," he said.

US Vice President Mike Pence self-isolates after coronavirus exposure

A statement from his office added that multiple men were seen sipping from a "single bottle of hot water", with inmates accused of attempting to elevate their temperatures shortly before being checked for Covid-19 symptoms by a nurse.

"The bottle and a secondary cup of hot water were passed among the men inside of a day room, which is a common area next to a housing area with beds, akin to the living room of a house or apartment," the statement said.

"There was plenty of space in which to observe physical distancing, however, the men chose to interact close to each other, making their intentions obvious."

The developments came after hundreds of prisoners in Los Angeles County were released in recent weeks as part of preemptive measures taken to try and curtail coronavirus outbreaks in detention facilities.

Early release was granted to inmates with less than 30 days on their sentences.

As of Monday, 4,590 inmates had been quarantined within the Los Angeles County jail system, 317 of whom were isolated, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the outbreak erupted, officials in the area have recorded 357 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among inmates serving time in its jail system.
The Rainier School Board on Monday night cut four days from the end of the school year, started the search for an interim superintendent and raised concerns about debt for operations of the Briarcliff Pool.

Superintendent Michael Carter also told the board that the classified and administration staffs have joined Work Share Oregon for the rest of the school year. Under Work Share, the state will pay partial unemployment benefits to workers who lose hours. Classified staff and administration will be furloughed from one day per week for the rest of the school year, saving the district more than $40,000, Carter told the board.

The district would save another $120,000 if the teachers union joins Work Share, but so far it has not discussed the matter.

Scotti Erickson, business manager, told the board the district is close to closing a $260,000 budget deficit projected last December.

Despite opposition from board Chairman Darren Vaughn, the board cut four days off the end of the school year, a step Carter said will save $120,000. However, the board also agreed to add the days back if the teachers union decided to join the work share program in the near future. Of the four days, students will only lose 1.5 to two days, while staff members will lose four.

It feels like students are already missing days, lamented board member Elaine Placido, saying distance learning is not the same as in-person learning.

The board also learned that the Friends of Rainier Pool owe the district $11,000 for operating the Briarcliff Pool for the swim team only. Carter said if payments do not come in soon, the district will ask for an audit of the nonprofit. Kari Hollander, president of Friends of Rainier Pool, said the group has full intention of paying but wants to see documentation of expenses so they spend peoples donations wisely.

Erickson said she was working to fulfill the records request, which came in on May 6.

Finally, the board board announced it is hiring the Oregon School Board Association to find an interim replacement for Superintendent Carter by July 1. Board members Hollander, Placido and Amber Downey will serve on the screening committee with two staff members from Hudson Park Elementary School; two staff members from the high school; a staff member from North Columbia Academy; one administrator; and one community member.

The committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. on June 1 and at 5:30 p.m. on June 9. It will also create a survey for the pubic to suggest what they would like to see in a candidate.

The board listed 10 general qualities they want in an interim superintendent.They include leadership experience, collective bargaining experience and good communication skills. The full list will be available on the district website.

The board will advertise the position with a salary range of $110,000 to $130,000.

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The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming rose by three on Tuesday.

The confirmed cases come from Fremont (two) and Campbell counties.

Another three new probable cases were also reported. Four were announced in Laramie County but one was subtracted from Natrona Countys total.

Twenty-three new confirmed coronavirus recoveries were also announced, alongside three probable recoveries. The 23 confirmed recoveries are the second most added in a single day since the virus was first confirmed in Wyoming. Twenty-two of the total new recoveries come from Fremont County.

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.

There are now 675 cases  513 confirmed and 162 probable  and 477 recoveries  343 confirmed and 134 probable  recorded in the state, as well as seven deaths.

More than two-thirds of confirmed patients have fully recovered, a number that grows to 70.7 percent when factoring in probable figures.

Officials caution that the reported numbers are low, even with the addition of probable cases.

On April 2, the Wyoming Department of Health began restricting testing to six priority categories; potential patients who dont fall in one of those categories had to be tested by private laboratories. However, the department announced April 23 that it would be able to resume testing patients outside of those six categories, although priority patients samples remain at the front of the line.

Patients have tested positive for coronavirus in 21 of Wyomings 23 counties. Only Platte and Weston counties are without confirmed cases. Wyoming has the lowest recorded number of coronavirus deaths of any state. Alaska has the second fewest deaths related to the virus, with 10, according to the New York Times and state health departments.

More than 13 percent of Wyomings cases required a hospital stay. In 18.5 percent of the cases, health officials dont know if the patient was hospitalized.

The virus has disproportionately affected people of color throughout the United States, a trend that is also reflected in Wyomings data. Less than 51 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are white, 31 percent are American Indian, 13.1 percent are Hispanic, 1 percent are Asian, and 1.6 percent are black. The racial identities of 9.2 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are not known, and 2.9 percent of confirmed cases identified as other races. According to 2019 census estimates, Wyomings population is 83.8 percent white (not Hispanic/Latino), 10.1 percent Hispanic/Latino, 2.7 percent American Indian/Alaska Native, 1.3 percent black, 1.1 percent Asian and 2.2 percent two or more races.

In 49.7 percent of the cases, the patient came in contact with a known case. In another 12.1 percent of the cases, the patient had traveled either domestically or internationally. Community spread has been attributed to 15.8 percent of the cases. In 11.3 percent of Wyomings cases, health officials dont how the person was exposed to the virus, and 14 percent.

Wyoming has more cases per 100,000 people (116) than six states, a number that was once as high as 20, according to the Times, which includes probable counts where they exist.







Cases in Wyoming by county (probable in parentheses)

Albany: 8

Big Horn: 2 (1)

Campbell: 17 (13)

Carbon: 5

Converse: 14 (9)

Crook: 5

Fremont: 182 (11)

Goshen: 4 (1)

Hot Springs: 1 (2)

Johnson: 11 (4)

Laramie: 111 (59)

Lincoln: 8 (3)

Natrona: 38 (9)

Niobrara: 1 (1)

Park: 1

Platte: 0

Sheridan: 12 (4)

Sublette: 1 (2)

Sweetwater: 13 (7)

Teton: 67 (31)

Uinta: 7 (2)

Washakie: 5 (3)

Weston: 0







Deaths in Wyoming by county

Fremont: 4

Johnson: 1

Laramie: 1

Teton: 1







Rate of spread

This graph shows the rate at which confirmed and probable cases in Wyoming have been announced, as well as the number of patients who have fully recovered.

Keep in mind, however, that state and medical officials say the true number of COVID-19 cases is surely higher than the official numbers due to testing limitations.







Testing statistics

The Wyoming Department of Health has published the following data:

As of Monday, there have been 14,546 tests performed for COVID-19 in Wyoming.

Wyoming Public Health Laboratory: 6,524

Commercial labs: 8,022

CDC: 1







National cases

There have been more than 1.3 million cases nationally, with about 81,000 deaths, according to the New York Times running count.







Know the symptoms

COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is a respiratory illness. Its symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms appear within two weeks. If you have contact with a person who has COVID-19, you should self-isolate for 14 days.







Follow the Wyoming Health Departments tips

Stay home when sick and avoid contact with other people unless you need medical attention.

Follow advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what to do if you think you may be sick.

Follow current public health orders.

Follow commonsense steps such as washing your hands often and well, covering your coughs and sneezes, and cleaning and disinfecting.

Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other healthcare facilities should closely follow guidelines for infection control and prevention.

Older people and those with health conditions that mean they have a higher chance of getting seriously ill should avoid close-contact situations.
Utilities and marine company Sembcorp Industries has secured an energy offtaker for its Tengeh Reservoir project.The Sembcorp Floating Solar Singapore unit of utilities and marine group Sembcorp Industries has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 60 MW floating solar plant it is planning at Singapore's Tengeh Reservoir. The deal was signed with national water agency the Public Utilities Board (Pub), which selected Singapore company Sembcorp for the project in late February. The price to be paid under the PPA for the solar electricity generated was not revealed. The floating ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
One of two prisoners who stabbed jailed drug boss Tony Mokbel in a jail-yard attack was harbouring "underlying anger" at the time because his family had failed to visit him the day before, a psychologist has told a Melbourne court.

Eldea Teuira, 22, and Teira Bennett, 21, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury intentionally in circumstances of gross violence after punching, kicking and stabbing Mokbel with a prison-made shiv on February 11 last year.

Tony Mokbel spent weeks in hospital after he was stabbed in prison. Credit:Nine News

The pair attacked Mokbel at 3.40pm after celebrating Bennetts 21st birthday in a prison-approved party earlier that afternoon. Mokbel had briefly attended the party.

The court has previously heard the attack came a day after the Herald Sun newspaper published a report saying Mokbel was an enforcer in prison and had disrupted an extortion racket involving Pacific Islander prisoners.
Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley on Tuesday announced that revenues for April were less than the monthly revenues from the previous year. Overall state revenues for April were $1.3 billion, which is a negative growth rate of 39.75 percent compared to last year and $693.8 million less than the state budgeted.

"The signs of economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic have begun to appear in Tennessees April tax receipts, Commissioner Eley said. April sales tax revenues, reflecting March taxable sales activity, were weakened as the state began to withdraw from its usual patterns of consumer spending by mid-month. Franchise and excise tax receipts, along with Hall income and business taxes are also notably reduced due to filing extensions that will allow individuals and businesses to report their taxable activity later in the year.

It has been 10 years since an economic downturn has impacted state revenues. The states large monthly revenue surpluses built up throughout the beginning of the year will now be tested as the pandemics impact begins to erase those gains. Yet, we remain committed to keeping the state's budget in balance despite the current challenges.



The Tennessee Department of Revenue extended the due date for certain taxes on April 6 and can be found on their website at https://www.tn.gov/revenue/news/2020/3/31/tennessee-extends-certain-tax-deadlines-due-to-covid-19.html

General fund revenues were less than budgeted estimates by $650.9 million, while the four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $42.9 million less than the estimates.

Sales tax revenues were $61.2 million less than the estimate for April and they were 6.01 percent less than April 2019. For nine months, revenues are $182.4 million higher than estimated. The year-to-date growth rate for nine months is 4.83 percent.

Franchise and excise tax revenues combined were $486.6 million lower than the budgeted estimate in April, and the growth rate compared to April 2019 was negative 70.61 percent. For nine months, revenues are $249.2 million lower than the estimate and the year-to-date growth rate is negative 16.50 percent.

Gasoline and motor fuel revenues for April decreased by 1.4 percent compared to April 2019 and they were $5.6 million less than the budgeted estimate of $108.7 million. For nine months revenues are more than estimated by $33.4 million.

Motor vehicle registration revenues were $10.8 million less than the April estimate, and on a year-to-date basis they are $1.6 million less than estimates.

Tobacco tax revenues were $3.2 million less than the April budgeted estimate of $18.8 million. For nine months, they are $1.3 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Mixed drink taxes were $7.4 million less than the budgeted estimate of $12.5 million.

Hall income tax revenues for April were $62 million less than the budgeted estimate. For nine months, revenues are $55.5 million less than the budgeted estimate.

Privilege tax revenues were $7.2 million less than the April estimate, and on a year-to-date basis, August through April, revenues are $34.4 million more than the estimate.

Business tax revenues were $50.4 million less than the April estimate. For nine months, revenues are $41 million less than the budgeted estimate.

All other tax revenues exceeded estimates by a net of $0.6 million.

Year-to-date revenues, August through April, are $88.1 million less than the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for nine months is negative 0.89 percent. General fund revenues are $164.2 million less than the budgeted estimate and the four other funds are $76.1 million more than estimated.

The budgeted revenue estimates for 2019-2020 are based on the State Funding Boards consensus recommendation of Nov. 26, 2018, and adopted by the second session of the 111th General Assembly in April 2019. Also incorporated in the estimates are any changes in revenue enacted during the 2019 session of the General Assembly. These estimates are available on the states website at https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/finance/fa/fa-budget-information/fa-budget-rev.html.

On Nov. 19, 2019, the State Funding Board met to hear updated revenue projections from various state economists. Following this meeting, on Nov. 26, 2019, the board decided to adopt revised revenue growth ranges for the current fiscal year. The recurring growth ranges adopted include a low of 3.10 percent to a high of 3.60 percent for total taxes and a recurring range low of 3.20 percent to a high of 3.75 percent for general fund taxes.

On March 19 in the second session of the 111th General Assembly, the Legislature passed the 2019-2020 budget, which included the Funding Boards current year revised ranges and also the administrations amendment to the proposed budget. The administrations amendment, in an effort to recognize the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, included a reduction of $153.8 million of previously projected revenue to acknowledge potential shortfalls. The governor signed the budget bill on April 2.

With the passage of the appropriations act, Public Chapter 651, the General Assembly recognized in the current fiscal year an additional $396.1 million in total revenue and a corresponding increase in general fund revenue in the amount of $345.9 million.
Pennsylvanias attorney general is investigating several nursing homes for alleged neglect of patients and residents.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the investigations Tuesday.

His offices Care-Dependent Neglect Team has jurisdiction on matters of criminal neglect, and the office is stepping up to protect older Pennsylvanians during the coronavirus pandemic, Shapiro said in a news release.

We will hold nursing facilities and caretakers criminally accountable if they fail to properly provide care to our loved ones. While we salute and appreciate nursing home staff on the front lines during this pandemic, we will not tolerate those who mistreat our seniors and break the law, Shapiro said.

Neglect of a care-dependent person is defined by law as when a caretaker fails to properly provide for their health, safety, and welfare. The attorney generals office receives referrals for criminal investigations from local officials, the Department of Health, and the public.

The office is asking people to report complaints via to a special public email: neglect-COVID@attorneygeneral.gov. For emergencies involving immediate danger to a patient or client, people should call 911 or 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

Concerns about wellness checks, adequate PPE, or COVID-19 testing within a facility should be directed to the state Department of Health at 1-800-254-5164.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
New Delhi, May 12 : To deal with the growing demand for water amid the rise in mercury in the national capital, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has pressed into service 1,077 tankers to supply water at 8,738 locations across the city.

According to an official from the DJB -- the body responsible for fulfilling the need of potable water in Delhi -- drinking water in areas where piped water supply networks are not in existence and other water deficient areas during the summer are being supplied by deploying water tankers.

"As many as 1,077 water tankers are being deployed during the peak summer, including 407 contracted stainless steel water tankers, 420 hired water tankers and 250 department stainless steel tankers," the official told IANS.

Also, the DJB has maintained an "efficient mechanism" to monitor the movement of the tankers with GPS system. The peak summer is between April and July and with the Covid-19 infection spreading in the city, the demand for water has also increased as washing hands for 20 seconds with soap has been recommended to stop the spread of the virus.

"At least 8,738 supply points for delivery of water through water tankers have been identified for their efficient deployment. However, day-to-day locations of daily supply points could be much higher depending on the requirement and the schedule for day-to-day supply," the official said.

Also, depending on the requirement during the peak summer, daily trips of the deployed water tankers will be optimised to supplement drinking water demand in both water deficient areas and in the areas which do not have piped water supply networks.

"Tanker filling capacity at each filling point has been optimised. There will be 155 tanker filling hydrants in operation for improved efficiency in deployment of water tankers. In addition to deployment of water tankers, 117 water ATMs and e-Piaos have been installed and are in operation for availability of drinking water in deficit areas and strategic locations," the official said.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the city, DJB tankers are ensuring that people follow social distancing, another official told IANS.

"The DJB is following all the norms for social distancing and is also ensuring that people do not gather around the tankers. We ensure that constables accompany the tankers during the supply of water. They have to see that people are standing in a queue maintaining distance from each other," the official said.

While the DJB is supplying piped water to about 93 per cent of the city, about seven per cent of the area is dependent on the tankers for water supply. The areas where piped water cannot reach are mostly unauthorised colonies or JJ slum clusters where, according to the DJB, it is not feasible to deliver piped water.

According to government data accessed by IANS, about 675 JJ clusters and 100 unauthorised colonies in the city are yet to get piped water supply.

Also, these colonies and clusters are densely populated and hence, social distancing is important. Among the 70 assembly constituencies, north-west Delhi's Kirari has the highest number of daily supply points -- 1,568. It is followed by south Delhi's Chhatarpur constituency having 1,406 daily supply points and Palam with 568 supply points.

The maximum temperature in Delhi has already reached 40 degree Celcius in the last few days.
TOKYO  The Japanese Health Ministry is set to approve antigen coronavirus testing kits on Wednesday, a ministry official said on Tuesday, in a move to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

Fujirebio, a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings, last month applied for government approval for Japans first antigen coronavirus testing kits.

Antigen tests scan for proteins that can be found on or inside a virus.

They typically test a sample taken from a nasal cavity using swabs.

The tests can detect the virus quickly but produce false negatives at a higher rate than the currently dominant PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament on Friday that antigen tests, once approved, will likely be used to supplement PCR tests.

Japan has reported about 16,680 confirmed infections, including 712 from the cruise ship previously quarantined in Yokohama, and 670 deaths to date, public broadcaster NHK said.

Although those tallies are relatively low given its population of 126 million, critics say the low rate of testing has made it difficult to trace the virus, which has led to a series of in-hospital infections, crippling some facilities.

Japan has conducted 188 PCR tests per 100,000 people, compared with 3,159 in Italy and 3,044 in Germany, data from a panel of medical experts advising the government showed last week.

The United States last week approved its first coronavirus antigen kit, one made by Quidel Corp.
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja have been self-qauarntining themselves at their Delhi house ever since their return from London. The couple has been spending quality time together and the actress has actively been giving her fans inside glimpses of how she is spending her lockdown days.

The duo recently celebrated their wedding anniversary on a video call with their friends. And now, Sonam took to her Instagram to share a series of pictures, giving her Instafam a sneak peek into her and Anand's house. In the photos, Sonam can be seen cooking and reading a book while Anand is working on his desktop. She captioned the post, "Snapshots of Quarantine; @vegnonveg for @hypebeast .. #StayHomeSnaps #ShotOniPhone"

Check out the post here:

Sonam and Anand got married in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony on May 8, 2018. The wedding was followed by a lavish reception, which was attended by the whos who of Bollywood.

Earlier, Sonam has said that she was tricked into meeting Anand during the promotions of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in 2015 and her friends were actually trying to set her up with his best friend. I saw Anand and his friend. His friend was tall like me, liked reading like me and was a huge fan of Hindi movies. He was an educated and a nice guy, she told Filmfare, adding that the man her friends wanted to set her up with reminded her too much of her brother Harshvardhan Kapoor.
New Delhi: A day after interacting with chief ministers on ways to boost economic activity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (May 12) announced an economic package of Rs 20 Lakh crore, and added that this will be 10 per cent of India's GDP.

READ | Lockdown 4 to tackle coronavirus COVID-19 to have new norms and rules, details before May 18

PM Modi said, I announce a special economic package today. This will play an important role in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'. The earlier announcements made by the government over COVID, decisions of RBI and today's package comes to Rs 20 lakh crores. This is 10% of India's GDP.

READ | Highlight of PM Narendra Modi's speech | PM Modi quotes on economy, relief measures

In his fifth address, including a video message, to the nation, PM Modi said: "Starting tomorrow, the finance minister will apprise you on details about the package meant to drive the country's 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan'."

READ | Every big international brand was once local, time to be vocal for our products: PM

Watch video on PM Modi's address to the nation

He said this will be based on land, labour, liquidity and laws to strengthen MSMEs besides strengthening the hands of labourers and farmers who toil hard for people of the nation.

He also referred to five pillars for strengthening Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography and Demand to meet the power of demand and supply.

The Prime Minister said, "India has turned a crisis into opportunity. India talks about self-reliance as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). India's self-reliant is about comfort and peace of the entire world."

He added. "It is our responsibility as well as the duty to see that the 21st century belongs to India. We need to be self-dependent."

He also informed that announcement about lockdown 4 will be made before May 18.

Earlier in the day, the PMO said on Twitter, "Shri @narendramodi will be addressing the nation at 8 PM this evening." He last addressed the nation on April 14.

In his virtual meet with chief ministers on Monday, Modi said the challenges are two-fold -- reduction of the transmission rate of the novel coronavirus and gradual increase in public activities while adhering to all guidelines.

The Prime Minister said that the Centre and states will have to work towards achieving the twin objectives,

In his March 19 address, he announced a "Janta curfew" on March 22, and on March 24, he had announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown, while on April 14, he had extended the lockdown period till May 3.

On April 3, in a video message, PM Modi asked the nation to light lamps for frontline corona warriors on April 5, and the Union Home Ministry further extended the lockdown till May 17.
A news desk staffer at the Egyptian state-owned Television and Radio Union  popularly known as Maspero  passed away on Tuesday of complications from the coronavirus, her family announced.

Rasha Helmy, a news desk staffer at state TV, died on Tuesday after contracting the virus, her husband, Khaled Galal, also an employee at state TV, said in a Facebook post.

Helmy had contracted the virus a few days ago and was referred to a fever hospital, before her case deteriorated later.

Egypts Media Syndicate mourned Helmys death, describing her as a clear example of commitment in media work.

Helmys death is the first reported death inside the state-owned media company.

Maspero reported its first coronavirus case last month after a nurse working in the medical care department contracted the virus. She was sent to an isolation hospital to receive treatment.

The pandemic has also hit the press syndicate, which reported two new coronavirus cases among journalists last week, coming just a week after the first journalists death from the virus in the country.

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University of Arkansas Electrical Engineering Professor Simon Ang was arrested on charges of wire fraud

A professor from the University of Arkansas has been arrested on charges of wire fraud over alleged close links to China.

Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 63, who worked as a professor at the Fayetteville campus, reports KNWA.

Ang allegedly had close ties to the Chinese government and Chinese companies, and failed to disclose those ties when required to do so in order to receive grant money from NASA he complaint reads.

A press release from the FBI revealed that Ang is alleged to have made 'materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas' resulting in a number of wires that facilitated Ang's scheme to defraud.

The charge says Ang received more than $5 million in federal funding for research projects but failed to disclose payment from Chinese universities and Chinese companies in violation of UA policy.

The charge also stated that he failed to disclose this outside income.

Ang has taught at UA since 1988 and was director of the High Density Electronics Center in the Department of Electrical Engineering, the building of which is pictured

If Ang is convicted, he could face a maximum jail term of 20 years behind bars although the overall length of his penalty will depend on a number of factors including whether Ang has a criminal record

Ang did disclose some of his work in seeking Chinese scholars, but not all.

The University says he should have disclosed potential conflicts from outside contacts with UA, particularly with Chinese companies.

Ang's arrest came after collaboration between the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas David Clay Fowlkes, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Diane Upchurch of the FBI Little Rock Field Office.

'These materially false representations to NASA and the University of Arkansas resulted in numerous wires to be sent and received that facilitated Ang's scheme to defraud,' said the DOJ in a statement.

If Ang is convicted, he could face a maximum jail term of 20 years behind bars although the overall length of his penalty will depend on a number of factors including whether Ang has a criminal record.

The FBI is still continuing to investigate the case.

Ang has taught at UA since 1988 and was director of the High Density Electronics Center in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

He received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching in 1994 from the Arkansas Alumni Association.
WESTPORT  The Water Rat Swim Team and Westport/Weston YMCA will host a Bridgeport Rescue Mission Stuff-A-Truck Food Drive on Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Westport/Weston YMCA parking lot

This pandemic has affected all of us on almost every level. Many families have been hit hard financially, mentally and emotionally.

Another area to be hit hard is the food pantry that services the homeless and low income families. It's times like these that donations stop coming in and their pantry becomes empty.

Wed like our swim community and the greater YMCA community to come together to support the Bridgeport Rescue Mission in filling their pantry back up. The Bridgeport Rescue Mission is a nonprofit organization that is located in Bridgeport.. They have a full kitchen and meal service location as well as a food pantry for low income families to come collect food items if they need. More families are using these services at this time.

Please consider ordering/shopping for any of the items needed and dropping them off at the Westport Weston Family YMCA Parking Lot Saturday, May 16 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The list of needed items can be found at :

https://bridgeportrescuemission.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-Stuff-A-Truck-List.pdf
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

Georgia is getting ready to welcome international travelers from July 1 by creating 'safe corridors', Trend reports citing Georgian media.

Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava has met with the heads of regulatory services of the transport sector to discuss how to prepare to transport both Georgian citizens and foreign guests comfortably and as safely as possible.

Turnava said that of the 36 airlines operating in Georgian market, 18 have already reached a preliminary agreement with the ministry of economy on resumption of flights.

"Of course, this should be preceded by agreements between states through our diplomatic channels on the principles of creating a safe corridor, but, most importantly, airlines are ready to resume flights. This means that we will be ready to open the tourist season", Turnava said.

She added that implementation of all medical guidelines is an important precondition for opening the tourist season in Georgia.

Georgian government has set the goal of making Georgia the first country to open its doors to foreign tourists after months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and to welcome international travelers with a new slogan "Georgia - Safe Destination!".

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Health, Social Justice and Women & Child Development Minister KK Shailaja honoured nurses from COVID-19 designated medical colleges from across the state as part of The New Indian Express initiative on the occasion of International Nurses Day.

P Vishnu Kumar, General Manager, The New Indian Express, Saji James, Editor Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika, a sister publication of The New Indian Express, and Mohammed Rafi, Sales Manager, Medimix, also attended the function held at the minister's chamber.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailaja said the services of nurses during epidemics was priceless. She also appreciated the initiative of The New Indian Express.

The nurses honoured included Reshma Mohandas from Kottayam Medical College who helped the state's oldest COVID-19 patients recover. Following this, the 32-year nurse was infected with the virus and later recovered.
CHESTER  State Rep. Christine Palm, D-Chester, is leading an effort in the House of Representatives to urge General Assembly leadership to expand absentee ballot provisions.

She said a statutory change is needed to ensure that every Connecticut resident can vote safely, confidently and legally in both the upcoming primary and the November general election, according to a press release.

Working with House colleague, attorney and state Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, Palm crafted a letter sent this week to all 151 members of the House, asking them to sign on. In it, the authors call upon both House and Senate leaders to convene a special session in order to vote on amending state statute language that currently allows an elector to vote absentee only if unable to appear at the polls because of his or her illness, according to the news release.

The authors believe the statute should be broadened to bring it more in line with the intent of the Connecticut Constitution, which allows absentee voting because of illness, Palm said in the prepared statement.

Palm and Blumenthal say a reasonable fear of contracting or spreading COVID-19, and the lack of proven immunity to it, are legitimate reasons for people to stay home on Election Day.

Given the uncertain trajectory of the pandemic, nothing is more important right now than finding a way to give everyone the option of voting absentee, she said in the statement. The state statute governing voting procedures was written long before this epidemic, and needs to be updated to reflect our current reality. Its our duty to find a way to safeguard both the citizenrys health and their right to exercise their civic obligation.

Blumenthal agreed. The right to vote is one of the most sacred of American rights, enshrined in both our federal and state constitutions, he explained in the release.

He believes keeping the statute as written would, unacceptably, cause disenfranchisement for those forced to choose between their health  and the health of those they love  and their vote, he said.

Where there is disenfranchisement, a grievous wrong is done to the citizen, he added, quoting the Connecticut Supreme Court.

The General Assembly must, by law, convene to vote on a Deficiency Bill, (a technical budgetary implementation) and the authors feel a vote on state statute should be added to the special session agenda later this summer or as soon as it is safe to convene, Palm wrote.

These freshmen legislators said several dozen House colleagues signed on within hours of the letters arrival in their in-boxes.

We are hearing loud and clear the express wishes of our constituents on this matter: that the sanctity of the right to vote, and our democracy, must be protected, the statement concluded.
As the number of migrant workers returning to their native states begins to swell, several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states are preparing to address the challenge of creating jobs for the returnees.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced that the state government is making efforts to provide jobs to 20 lakh migrant workers. In Bihar, where the BJP is in alliance with the JDU, the state has issued orders to draw up a plan to cater to a similar number, while in Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 16 lakh workers have already been given work under the MGNREGA.

According to a person aware of the details, the issue of providing employment to the workers, most of whom had to undertake harrowing journeys, was flagged at the meetings that the party high command had with the state units.

Apart from the immediate help such as cash and food for workers who have been out of jobs owing to the nationwide shutdown, states have been asked to ensure that employment avenues are tapped and that people are not left without work and means to earn their livelihood. Unemployment can lead to social unrest, said a party functionary privy to the details.

While states such as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were criticised for amending existing labour laws, the governments in these states have defended the move on the grounds that it will pave the way for more employment avenues.

Care is being taken to ensure that while newer investment gets a boost; the rights of labourers are protected too, the functionary quoted above said.

But are states, struggling under the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, equipped to bear the strain that reverse migration will exert on their coffers?

In UP, where over nine lakh migrant workers have returned so far, minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the numbers are not unrealistic as the state already has schemes that can absorb the additional workforce. He said, the UP chief minister had set up a task force under the agriculture production commissioner, which includes people from the Panchayati Raj, the MSME sector, rural development, labour and skilling ministries to work out areas, where through coordinated efforts jobs will be generated.

There are various schemes in existence already, for instance the MSME has the one district, one product scheme, there are many schemes under rural development that are linked to MGNREGA; we have also set a target of skilling about 20 lakh people and offering them stipend. Targets have been given, we are also mapping the migrant quarantining facilities and so it doesnt seem difficult to generate jobs, he said.

In Bihar, a massive data collation exercise is underway, said minister Sanjay Jha. He said the administration is collecting details of all those who arrive at the quarantine centres set up across all blocs in the state to get a sense of the skills and proficiency of the workers.

When the workers began to arrive, the chief minister gave instructions to make a data bank of their skill sets so that as soon as avenues for investment open up, we can go all out to ensure they are gainfully employed, he said.

Jha said the scepticism over reverse migration is unfounded since a lot of workers who have returned to Bihar from other states, showed inclination to stay back.

In Haryana, a party functionary said efforts are underway to ensure economic activity picks up in the industrial belt so that workers who left for their native places are encouraged to move back.

If states dont make efforts to reboot quickly, there will be a massive labour shortfall, the second functionary said.

Prof Amitabh Kundu, a distinguished fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries, said the reverse migration is only temporary.

It is good if state governments create jobs. But reverse migration wont last because there is massive regional inequality between the Northern and southern regions. Also, in states such as UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc the population growth is much above the national average; whereas the southern states have stabilised their growth. So migration will occur again, he said.
China sent two satellites into orbit to test the space-based Internet of Things (IoT) communications technology.



The satellites, Xingyun-2 01 and 02, were launched today by a Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket at 9:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. They have successfully entered their planned orbit.



Developed by the Xingyun Satellite Co., the satellites will conduct tests on technologies including space-based IoT communications, inter-satellite laser communications and a low-cost commercial satellite platform, Xinhua reported.



They will also carry out initial pilot IoT applications, according to the company.



Tuesday's launch was the ninth mission of the KZ-1A carrier rocket.
Iran s officials revealed that hackers compromised and damaged a small number of computers at the port of Shahid Rajaei in the city of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian officials announced on sunday that hackers damaged a small number of systems at the port of Shahid Rajaei in the city of Bandar Abbas.

Bandar Abbas is the capital of Hormozgan Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, and it is the location of the main base of the Iranian Navy. Bandar Abbas is also the capital and largest city of Bandar Abbas County.

Iranian officials did not reveal details of the cyber attack that took place last week.

Local authorities, including the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) in the state of Hormozgan, confirmed that operations at the port were impacted by the cyber attack.

Initially, officials denied the cyber-attack, but due to media pressure that later admitted the cyber intrusion.

Speaking to ILNA news agency, the Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization revealed that the cyber-attack failed to penetrate the Ports and Maritime Organizations systems (PMO). The Managing Director explained that the attackers were able to compromise only a limited number of computers at the ports.

The organization is well protected, but still needs to continuously strengthen and update the layers of protection to minimize the risk of a cyber-attack, he added.

The authorities did not attribute the attack to a specific threat actor, Irans Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development stated that he did not have any information about the origin of the attack.

Currently, the distribution of cargo in northern ports is good; although the performance of all southern ports is negative. Mohammad Rastad.

In the same hours an apparently unrelated incident took place in the same area, The Iranian support ship Konarak was hit by a new anti-ship missile being tested by the frigate Jamaran during an exercise on Sunday.

The Konarak had been putting targets out in the water and remained too close to one, according to the reports. Nineteen sailors have been killed and 15 others injured in the incident.

Local media speculated that the two incidents could have been linked, for this reason, Iranian authorities decided to disclose the cyber attacks and officially explain that the two incidents were not related.

In December 2020, the New York Times revealed that the US carried out a cyberattack in June on a database used by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to plot attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.

The attack took place on June 20, 2020, the US hackers had interfered with the cyber capabilities of Irans paramilitary arm to target the shipping in the Gulf. The database was used by Iran Guards to choose the tankers to target.

In December 2019, Iran foiled two massive cyber-attacks in less than a week, the countrys telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi revealed.

The news was reported by both the ISNA and Mehr news agencies, the Iranian minister defined the attacks as really massive and attributed them to a nation-state actor.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  Iran, hacking)
OTTAWAThe federal heritage minister says if new tools are needed to get digital giants to pay for Canadian content, they will be built.

Steven Guilbeault says he is watching how other countries are trying to get companies such as Facebook and Google to pay for the copyrighted content that appears on their online platforms.

Australia and France have moved ahead on measures to help domestic media outlets, which often say they are losing ad money to international digital giants.

With a global decline in ad dollars due to the COVID-19 pandemic, calls are growing louder for Canada to follow suit.

Guilbeault says Australia and France have regulatory or legislative options that might not be on the table in Canada.

But he told the House of Commons industry committee Monday night that he is reviewing what is, or what might be needed.

Facebook and Google have both said they are strong supporters of local journalism, pointing to related funds and causes they support in the countries where they have a presence.

But Guilbeault says the government is still examining the issue closely.

Weve said for many months that we want the web giants to do their fair share, and clearly right now theyre not, he said in response to a question from fellow Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.

If we can use existing tools to make that happen, we will, and if we need to create new tools, we will.

Earlier this month, several Canadian publishers banded together and published an open letter demanding the government force digital companies to share advertising revenues with Canadian media outlets.

While the sector was already struggling ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, a dramatic decline in advertising revenue has placed significant additional pressure on the companies.

One estimate suggests 50 community newspapers have closed since the outbreak of the pandemic, with 100 media outlets making cuts to operations in a six-week period.

As many as 2,000 people have also lost their jobs, indicates an analysis conducted by the local news research project at Ryerson Universitys School of Journalism, the journalism news site J-Source and the Canadian Association of Journalists.

In March, the Liberal government announced a $30-million ad campaign for COVID-19 awareness as a stopgap measure as it moves to roll out additional support to the media industry in the form of tax credits announced last year.

Guilbeault said the ads were placed in more than 900 newspapers, on 500 radio and television stations and in 12 different languages.

Altogether, 97 per cent of the money was spent in Canadian media, he said. He did not say where the remaining three per cent of funds were spent.

Both Facebook and Google have, in the past, pointed to their own financial support of local journalism, both in Canada and other countries.

Facebook has given $5,000 U.S. grants to around 80 Canadian news outlets in recent weeks as part of a major financial effort to support COVID-19 related journalism here and in the United States.

Google has also allocated funds from its news initiative program to some Canadian media outlets, including The Canadian Press.

While those two companies are the most common targets of lawmakers around the world as the dominant players in online advertising, any legislative or regulatory move could affect other social media companies or search engines as well.

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond for comment.

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To the Editor:

I am a proud postal retiree. During this coronavirus pandemic, my former frontline co-workers still go to work every day, even in these dangerous times, to serve the people who rely on us.

The public Postal Service receives no tax dollars, running its operations solely on postal revenue. The pandemics economic impact has resulted in a massive drop in mail volume and a 50% reduction in revenue. Without urgent funding, the Postal Service will run out of money this summer, ending our ability to deliver for you with life-saving medications, Social Security checks, packages, vital health information and other important communication.

Thus far Congress has provided $3 trillion in combined stimulus money, including $1 trillion in bailouts for private companies. Yet bipartisan Congressional efforts to provide real financial relief to your public Postal Service were shamefully stopped by this administration and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

I know the public greatly appreciates and supports the Postal Service. Please contact your Congressional representatives and urge them to fight for the relief the public Postal Service needs to survive. Postal workers want to continue our mission of binding the country together and providing universal service at reasonable rates to every home and business.

Bob Kimm

Editor

The Salt City Post, Local 257

American Postal Workers Union

Taft Road General Mail Facility

Syracuse

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PHOENIX, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DeShon L. Pullen, owner and founder of DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC, will be interviewed during this Thursday's segment of Sonoran Living, airing on ABC15 (KNXV, 1015 HD on Cox) at 9 a.m. PST to discuss family law matters and what sets the firm apart in the Maricopa County area, as many individuals are still facing life-changing family law issues during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pullen's experience and unique approach to family law make her a well-respected attorney among clients and other law firms in the community, as backed up by various awards the firm receives.

During this Thursday's segment of Sonoran Living, DeShon L. Pullen will discuss the following topics:

The uniqueness of a certified family law specialist and how family law clients benefit from this differentiator in terms of the requirements, testing and recertification needed to maintain this distinction  approximately 5% of attorneys fit into this category, and Pullen elaborates on the distinction and its importance in helping clients.

Although DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC is an all-female firm, Pullen explains how this was not necessarily by design and how her mix of clients is pretty much split between male and female clients.

Possible reasons both men and women feel the firm is the best fit and why retaining DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC proves to be the best decision for both men and women facing various family law issues.

Charity of the month and philanthropy efforts at DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC, as well as why some clients choose to give even more.

30-minute free consultations being offered to prospective clients as the community is impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Regarding the firm's philanthropy efforts and the charity of the month that has been a part of their mission for more than 10 years, DeShon Pullen says, "It is our way of giving back to the community and providing personalized, exceptional family law services to individuals in Maricopa County."

DeShon Pullen was recognized by the Arizona Super Lawyers and listed for the past eight consecutive years, and DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC was named among the Best Law Firms in Arizona list in 2019. Additional accolades of Pullen's include Top 25 Women Lawyers in AZ in 2015, Family Law Litigator of the Year by the Volunteer Lawyers Program in 2011 and Small Firm of the Year Award in 2007. In 2002, the Maricopa County Bar Association and the Volunteer Lawyers Program named her Sole Practitioner of the Year, and she was also named Volunteer Lawyer of the Year by these organizations in 2001.

Should you have any family law questions or need to discuss your legal matter, DeShon Pullen can be reached by phone at 602-252-1968, by email at [email protected] or online 24/7.

Related Links

COVID-19 & Family Law

Custody & Visitation During COVID-19

SOURCE DeShon Laraye Pullen PLC
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 12:00:52

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Gold Springs Resource Corp. (TSX:GRC)(OTCQB:GRCAF) (the "Company), reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations ("MD&A"). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.As at March 31, 2020, the Company has a working capital of $3.63 million, including $3.29 million in cash.During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company reported a net loss of $0.36 million ($0.00 loss per share) compared with net earnings of $0.10 million ($0.00 earnings per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The primary driver in the change in results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 was the non-cash gain of $0.40 million recorded in the 2019 period for changes in the fair value of the arbitration award asset, Class B shares and other arbitration award liabilities.During the quarter, the Company continued to manage and maintain its costs structure which resulted in general and administrative expenses (excluding non-cash share-based payments) of $0.22 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $0.25 million for the same period in 2019.Exploration spending during the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.20 million, comprising expenditures incurred solely for Gold Springs. Principal activities revolved around target development, including rock-chip surface sampling of new and existing drill target areas, as well as structural and geological mapping of those areas. The Company also made the project ready for the re-start of drilling later this year.The Company has deferred certain activities of its 2020 exploration plan, including the 2020 drill program, due to the social and economic disruption caused by the COVID 19 outbreak and its impact on our industry and capital markets. The Company continues to monitor this situation and will assess its decision in the future, in light of the market conditions at that time. For the time being, the Company decided it will be updating its resource estimate for the Gold Springs project during Q2 2020, to include the results of the 2017 and 2019 drill programs, which are not yet included.OutlookThe Company's focus for 2020 is on the exploration and expansion of the mineral resources at its Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, USA.About Gold Springs Resource Corp.Gold Springs Resource Corp. (TSX:GRC) and (OTCQB:GRCAF) is a growth-focused gold exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the Gold Springs project in Nevada and Utah, U.S.A. Management has extensive experience in global exploration and the mining industry.Gold Springs Resource Corp. Contact:Matias HerreroChief Executive Officerinfo@ goldspringsresource.com +1 (778) 801-1667Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "creating", "view of", "intended", "plan", "believe", "vision", "would", "continue", "will", "estimate", "promising", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources, grade, recovery rates, metal prices, capital and operating costs, and the application of taxes; availability of sufficient financing to fund planned or further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters, including water requirements for operations, as plans continue to be refined; regulatory, environmental and other risks of the mining industry more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form and continuous disclosure documents, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada and Utah; the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for Gold Springs, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this press release describe the Company's expectations as of the date hereof.SOURCE: Gold Springs Resources Corporation
SK Innovation developers hold newly developed electric battery cells at the company's Seosan plant in South Chungcheong Province. / Courtesy of SK Innovation



By Kim Hyun-bin



SK Innovation has been signing major deals with global automakers to supply its batteries to them and has been expanding its production lines overseas to better meet demand.



Recently, the company agreed to invest and construct a second battery plant in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 2017, SK Innovation was only able to produce 1.7 gigawatt hour (GWh), but with the construction of a plant in Seosan the production rate more than doubled to 4.7GWh.



In addition, the firm finished construction of 7.5GWh production plants both in China and Hungary increasing its total global production rate to 19.7GWh.?



With strong technology as its base, the company's battery products have been well acknowledged by the international market and swift investment decisions by the company has established a firm base to move beyond the 20GWh mark globally.



SK Innovation is currently building battery plants in China, Hungary and the U.S. in efforts to expand its global presence.



By 2023, the firm is expected to increase production to 71GWh, which is enough to equip 1.4 million 50 KWh electric vehicles.



It's not just the battery production lines that have been drastically enhanced in recent years, SK Innovation has been making its presence known globally. At the end of last year, the company's battery plant in China dubbed "BEST" inked a deal with a BAIC Motor Corporation Limited, a major motor corporation based in Beijing, for its battery to be used in the next generation electric car "ARCFOX" SUV, a move that was praised by local media.



In addition, the battery was able to receive subsidies from the Chinese government. This marks the first time since 2016 that a Korean firm has inked a deal with a major Chinese car manufacturer while receiving subsidies from the government.

?

Market share also has been rising at an explosive rate. According to market tracker SNE Research, SK Innovation ranked 7th in the global electric car battery sector recording a 4.5 percent market share, marking the first time to be placed in the top ten. The number is significant as the company only accounted for 0.8 percent of the market share in 2018 and 1.7 percent in 2019 which more than doubled each year.



The rapid rise is due to the opening of plants in China and Hungary late last year; and the firm aims to be placed within the top five in the coming years. The two plants' accumulated production rate is 15GWh. SK Innovation is close behind Samsung SDI which ranks fourth in the sector.



The company is currently constructing additional plants in China, the U.S. and Hungary which will increase its production rate from 19.7GWh to 40GWh by the end of the year. When the two Georgia plants are completed the total production is expected to further increase to 71GWh by 2023.



With the firm aggressively investing and constructing battery factories, its profit and loss margins have been improving. The company's battery sector saw an operating loss of 104 billion won in the first quarter, but this was down 7.5 billion won from the previous quarter. The reduction in losses amid heavy investments is an indication that battery sales are starting to gain momentum.



The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to reduce sales, but SK Innovation's battery sector is expected to exceed the 1 trillion won mark in sales for the first time this year.



As the battery business continues to show growth, it is expected to become one of the main pillars of the company along with other cash cows including the company's oil refinery and chemical units, which will create a platform for SK Innovation to establish a diverse business portfolio to further expand its global presence.


A group of 'around 150 to 200' people appeared to snub social distancing rules on Tuesday to attend a noisy funeral procession in Chelsea.

Despite the Government's light easing of lockdown restrictions this week, social distancing rules are strictly still in place with the coronavirus pandemic still causing havoc. Coronavirus has killed more than 30,000 people in the UK.

But it seems some people are still willing to flout the social distancing rules after a large gathering met in Ixworth Place in Chelsea. It is claimed they refused to keep their distance and did not wearing any protective equipment, such as masks.

A group of 'around 150 to 200' people snubbed social distancing rules on Tuesday to attend a noisy funeral procession in Chelsea

A witness told MailOnline: 'I work in an office and we are going in because we sell things online and we need to get the orders out. We went outside at 12pm and there was just this huge group of people, like 150 to 200 people all wearing black with a hearse.

They were playing music and had these purple balloons which they let off into the sky. They were there probably about half an hour.

'But I just went downstairs for a cigarette and theyve all come back. Theyre having a kind of party on the street.

'Theyve put chairs outside this house and theyve pulled up their Boris bikes and are chatting amongst each other.

No social distancing whatsoever, no one is wearing masks and theyre having a kind of street party.'

A statement from the Metropolitan Police read: 'Police were called at 15:08hrs on Tuesday, 12 May to Ixworth Place, SW3.

'It was reported that 20 people were not social distancing following a funeral.

'Officers attended, no offences disclosed and the group dispersed'.

One witness told how those in attendance were playing loud music and pulled up chairs for a chat outside a house

Police are still closely monitoring the size of gatherings in outdoor places with fines for people who flout lockdown rules in England to increase to a minimum of 100 per offence from tomorrow.

A 50-page strategy document issued by the government on Monday stated that the new fines are hoped to control the 'increased risk' of rule-breakers as schools and businesses go back to work over the coming weeks and months.

From tomorrow onward Britons are permitted to meet with one person from outside their household in an outdoor setting, as long as they maintain social distancing.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:20:55|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has approached Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa to mediate in its long-standing border dispute with Zambia, government-controlled media reported Tuesday.

DRC special envoy Marie Nzeza on Monday met Mnangagwa at State House to brief him on the situation.

Mnangagwa is the current chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

DRC and Zambia have had misunderstandings over a part of their common 1,600km border, the latest arising from a late 1980s attempt to demarcate the frontier with beacons.

Mnangagwa said after the meeting that both countries were seeking SADC's intervention on the matter.

"A special envoy from my brother Tshisekedi of the DRC briefed me on the situation in DRC, in particular in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic and how they are tackling it.

"There is also the security situation where DRC and Zambia want the Organ on Defence and Politics to look at a small matter which is existing between the Republic of Zambia and DRC," he said.

Nzeza, who is also the DRC Foreign Affairs Minister, refused to shed more light into the issue saying that she was not at liberty to share what had been discussed in her meeting with Mnangagwa, according to the Herald newspaper.

This is not the first time that SADC has been approached to discuss border disputes between two member states.

In the 1990s, the regional bloc intervened in the dispute between Botswana and Namibia over ownership of an island on the Chobe River, which forms part of their border.

The matter was subsequently referred to the International Court of Justice, with the World Court ruling in 1999 that the island belonged to Botswana. Enditem
Sukey and Jen looked at each other. Sukey took a swig from her can, extended one of her long legs, pointed the toes, turned the foot this way and that. Jen grabbed a shrimp from Tesss cup and popped it in her mouth.

I stared at the shrimps little black eyeballs on their stalks.

Watch. Theyll be fighting over who gets to hook up with that Aryan douchebag, said Low, as he and I walked away.

When push came to shove, the yacht kids were just too WASP for him. He was a jewel of Kazakh youth, he liked to saystudied history so he could boast about Mongolian hordes. Hed mailed a cheek swab to some genetic-testing service, and the results suggested he was Genghis Khans nephew.

Some generations removed. But basically, yeah, he said.

Jack and I went down the beach so he could look for periwinkles (rough, northern yellow, and European, he informed me). He was a bit afraid of the waves, so he didnt wade in the surf the way I did. Instead he sat by a tide pool for hours, searching for fish and other small creatures. He carefully replaced each rock he moved, worried that he might hurt a crab.

Me, I sat and gazed at the breakers and sky. That was my preferred activity at the seaside. I tried to disappear into the stretches of water and air. I pushed my attention higher and higher, through the atmosphere, till I could almost imagine I saw the earth. As the astronauts had when they went to the moon.

If you could be nothing, you could also be everything. Once my molecules had dispersed, I would be here forever. Free.

Part of the timeless. The sky and the ocean would also be me.

Molecules never die, I thought.

Hadnt they told us that in chemistry? Hadnt they said a molecule of Julius Caesars dying breath was, statistically speaking, in every breath we took? Same with Lincoln. Or our grandparents.
Kate appears to have been working harder during the lockdown. (Getty Images)

The Duchess of Cambridge is stepping up her workload during the coronavirus pandemic according to the court circular.

The Royal Family has been affected by the pandemic, with all engagements off for the foreseeable future and its members working from home.

The Queen has been forced to self-isolate and has been staying in Windsor Castle with her husband Prince Philip since the middle of March.

At 94 and 98 respectively, they are considered at high risk of the disease.

Although it was feared she could be out of the public eye for the longest period in her reign, the Daily Mirror reports she is determined to return to frontline duties.

Royal sources told the paper she is more determined than ever to return when the time is right.

Read more: Queen reminds nation to 'never give up' in VE Day broadcast as she praises COVID-19 response

In the meantime, the public is seeing more of the other members of the Royal Family, and it appears Kate has stepped up the most.

Yahoo UK crunched the numbers from the court circular to see the differences in their roles in the last year.

Kate, 38, carried out engagements on seven days from 22 March until 12 May 2019, the equivalent period to this years lockdown.

But in the lockdown this year, she has carried out engagements on nine days so far.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

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Her husband William matches days like for like, at 11, but some of his engagements dont appear to be listed  for example his appearance on BBCs Big Night In.

The Queen has fewer days of engagements listed, as would be expected during her self-isolation.

However, her workload may not be lower, as she still receives the red box from government every day.

Her television broadcasts and her Easter message are not listed in the circular, and she had two weeks without her audience with the prime minister, when Boris Johnson was in intensive care.

Story continues

Charles and Camilla led the two-minutes VE Day silence from Scotland. (Getty Images)

Charles and Camilla are slightly down on their engagements, but its not a surprise as last Spring saw them go on several royal tours, including a few days in Germany.

However this year, theyve had to postpone the trips that did fill their diary. Camilla called her husband a workaholic and given he continued working from his desk even when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, he is likely to have duties which arent listed on the circular.

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is overtaking her husband Prince Edward on days of official work so far, and shes been seen conducting lots of voluntary work in private too.

Read more: Viewers praise 'relatable' Duchess of Cambridge as she discusses homeschooling three young royals in television interview

She also joined up with the Duchess of Cambridge to call nurses around the world ahead of International Nurses Day on 12 May.

Sophie has also been featured heavily on the Royal Family instagram page, offering various tips for homeschooling resources as the majority of children learn at home.

Anne, usually the hardest working royal, has taken on fewer days of work compared to last year according to the circular, but did continue in person engagements longer than other members before lockdown.

Princess Anne kept up many engagements before the lockdown including this one on 16 March. (Getty Images)

Shes down to 10 days compared with 30 in the same period last year.

Many members of the Royal Family have virtually opened NHS Nightingale Hospitals, the field facilities set up across the country to cope with the numbers of coronavirus patients.

Coronavirus is not the only thing to impact the Royal Familys work in the last year.

Read more: Coronavirus: Prince Charles makes donation to charity tackling pandemic in conflict zones

On 22 March 2019, a year before lockdown started in the UK, the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex still worked together under one household.

Now Prince Harry and Meghan live in LA, having stepped back from royal duties.

Prince Andrew was still carrying out senior duties in 2019. A year on, he has stepped back indefinitely.

Overall, it means there are fewer names on the Court Circular this year compared to last.

Prince Harry and Meghan have carried out the types of calls and engagements with charities in the UK from their home in LA that may once have appeared on the circular, but no longer do, as they no longer represent the Queen in their work.

Yahoo UK used the court circular to work out engagement levels in 2019 and 2020. Yahoo UK counted the day as a single engagement and only counted it if the royal was present themselves, not represented by someone else. It does not include travel days.
At least 69 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Tuesday, taking the number of cases in the state to 830, a health department official said.

In the last 24-hours, 82 people who were infected with the novel coronavirus were discharged after full recovery. The total number of recovered patients is 383 now, officials said.

Of those who tested positive are six personnel of the Bihar Military Police's 14th Battalion at Khajpura locality in the Bihar capital, a hotspot which accounts for nearly half of the 78 cases reported in Patna district till date, according to Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar.

The policemen are all in the age group of 30 to 50 years, he said. The fresh cases raise the total number of infected BMP-14 jawans to 20. Belchhi in rural Patna also reported one fresh case.

Khagaria reported the highest number of 17 cases during the day and the district's total has reached 28, the principal secretary said.

West Champaran district, situated close to the foothills of the Himalayas, along the Indo-Nepal border, reported 13 fresh cases and the district's tally has now jumped to 24.

Thirteen people tested positive in Rohtas district, where the total number has now reached 85, making it the second worst affected after Munger which accounts for 115 cases.

Madhubani reported four fresh cases while three persons tested positive in Muzaffarpur, raising the respective tallies of the districts to 30 and 12. Gopalganj, Aurangabad and Bhagalpur reported two cases each.

Banka, Saran, Siwan, Katihar, Arwal and Purnea reported one case each.

There has been a steep rise in the number of cases reported during the last 10 days which have seen the state's tally grow by more than 300.

Much of this is attributed to the heavy influx of migrants who have been returning by special trains and other modes of transport.

The health department has been very attentive to the arrival of migrants from other states and analyzing data on a continuous basis, the principal secretary said.

Kumar said the number of migrants testing positive from May 4 till 10 am of Tuesday was 190.

Most migrants testing positive have come from Delhi (55), Gujarat (46), Maharashtra (44), West Bengal (16) and Uttar Pradesh (11).

The districts accounting for a high number of migrants testing positive are Begusarai (26), Nalanda (15), Munger and Bhagalpur (13 each), Saharsa and Patna (11 each) and Khagaria (10).

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged the Centre to run additional trains besides coordinating with states for plying buses so that all desirous of a journey back home can return in the next seven to eight days.

Of the 38 districts in the state, all but one have reported COVID 19 cases. Out of these Buxar and Lakhisarai are now left with zero active cases. The recovery rate of Buxar has been noteworthy as the district had reported 56 cases.

The number of samples tested so far is 37,430.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BENTLEY MOTORS RESUMES PRODUCTION | "THE REBOUND IN CHINA IS QUITE ASTONISHING"

Editor's Note: In China. Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark says China's rebound from coronavirus-induced lockdowns has been "astonishing," resulting in a surge in demand for ultraluxury models from the automaker In one week in April the order intake for us was greater than any individual month in the six months leading up to it," Hallmark told BBC Radio 4 on Monday. "Its fair to say the rebound in China is quite astonishing.

Over 1,700 Bentley colleagues on-site to start a phased production ramp up

Colleagues experience new working environment, fully trained in the 250 new hygiene and social distancing processes successfully in place

Production starts at 50 per cent capacity with double stage times, to maintain social distancing

Robust safety measures include one way paths, compulsory facemasks for all colleagues, and health temperature checks for staff

Re-start continues Bentleys journey into the future of luxury, sustainable mobility

Crewe, 11 May, 2020; In Crewe UK. Bentley Motors today resumed production at the companys headquarters in Crewe, England, with over 1,700 colleagues following the 250 comprehensive and wide-ranging hygiene and social distancing guidelines implemented to enable a safe return. This represents the next stage in Bentleys Come Back Stronger programme, a phased production ramp up following the biggest changes to daily working life in the companys 100-year history.

Before the restart, last week, colleagues received an insight into their new working patterns, operations and environment during socially distanced briefing and training sessions. They returned to a redesigned manufacturing facility that allows two-metre distance between workers, and one-way movement paths and traffic flows. Even the washrooms across site have been reconfigured to reduce the number of people being able to use them.

Running from today, the Bentayga and Mulsanne production lines will be joined by the return of the Continental GT and Flying Spur line next week.

On each line, production will be running at approximately 50 per cent for a number of weeks as the takt time of each car - the average start time from one manufacturing stage to the next - has doubled. In addition, each production cell now spreads over two stages rather than one, ensuring adequate distance between colleagues.

The remaining manufacturing workers, over 500, are anticipated to return by the middle of June based on current assumptions and government guidance. All colleagues, during the shutdown, or returning later, have been kept fully updated with the changes through a home-issued guide, video tutorial and a newly created Employee News app designed to ease any uncertainty that this challenging period prompts.

Commenting on the production restart, Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors, said: Now is the right time for the business to come back stronger. We have introduced extensive new working measures to protect our colleagues, our families and our customers and we are confident, following the work of so many people, that being at Bentley will be as safe for our colleagues as being anywhere else.

We have a strong order bank, around eight months of customer orders to manufacture, established parts supply routes and patient customers who are looking to receive their extraordinary cars as soon as possible. We will ramp up in a controlled, measured way to ensure we manage this continued demand, and look ahead and in spite of this interruption continue on our journey to lead sustainable luxury mobility in the future.

The key process changes behind the Come Back Stronger employee programme impact all areas. Facemasks are now compulsory in all factory and office areas, while Bentley will maintain a work from home policy for those who are able to.

The robust measures will ensure Bentley staff stay as safe as possible at all times. Personal protection equipment  including facemasks, gloves, goggles - are provided as necessary, both to colleagues and in parallel donated to the local care sector, as well as health temperature checks for staff. There is also an enhanced cleaning routine and clear guidance to the workforce on limiting the risk of infection on areas such as meeting governance, site access and travel.

In relevant office areas and catering facilities where distancing is more challenging, plastic partitions - designed and manufactured by Bentley workers  now offer segregation between colleagues in addition to control measures limiting capacity, staggered times and distanced seating.

There are also new, stringent measures to control the population density on site at any one time with all entry and exit points reviewed and reconfigured to disperse the volume of people.
Like some of the previous episodes, the face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Sino-Indian boundary in Sikkim doesnt appear to be a coincidence. In all likelihood, these incidents are planned days in advance at a higher level in China which are then translated into action by the army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The showdown in Sikkim came on the heels of a slew of decisions by the Indian government which certainly did not enthuse Beijing. India has begun to lure business houses planning to leave China. Some media reports, quoting anonymous sources, claimed that India is developing a land pool nearly double the size of Luxembourg for the purpose. Existing industrial land in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are included in the scheme.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms have been changed to prevent the takeover of Indian firms during the lockdown which has elicited a sharp reaction from China. India has also cancelled orders of half a million rapid testing kits for Covid-19 following complaints of fault.

It cannot be denied that such episodes like the face-off in Sikkim carry a message from China. Sometimes there is a pattern but at the same time incursions by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) have also taken place without any reason, said a government official who was posted at Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. He explained that there have been several occasions when the Indian army had stepped into China since the border is disputed at several points.

It is worthwhile to recall the incident at Ladakh when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India four months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014. As Xi arrived in India, over 1,000 Chinese soldiers entered a disputed area in northern Ladakh, triggering a stand-off with Indian troops. They pulled back only when the president wrapped up his visit after three days during which he declared that Beijing was committed to working with New Delhi to maintain peace and tranquility" until the border issue could be settled and pledged greater investment from China.

Xis assurances notwithstanding, the Chinese army continued with its aggressive patrols along the LAC. Last year the government informed Parliament that there were 326 instances of incursion by the Chinese soldiers into Indian territory in 2018 which was less than 426 in 2017 but higher than the figure recorded in 2016.

Among government officials, there are two schools of thought on the implication of such incidents along the LAC. Most Indian diplomats dismiss these face-offs as insignificant and routine that would not have any adverse impact on the ties between the two neighbours. But intelligence officials are not as optimistic even as they point to the infrastructure being upgraded by China along the LAC, making it increasingly easier for the PLA to mount patrols right up to the border. They are apprehensive that specks of territory could be lost since India is yet to catch up with the progress being made on the other side.

The difference is most palpable at Anjaw district in Arunachal Pradesh which witnessed action during the Chinese aggression in 1962. Locals at the border village of Kaho are of the opinion that the build-up across the border has been increasing over the years with a four-lane highway now linking the place with other regions.

The same state of affairs is also observed across the LAC at Bumla, Mechuka and Taksing in the border state which would soon be connected by a highway originating at Chinas southwestern province of Yunnan. Motorable roads have been built in a majority of the passes along the LAC that are of military significance.

Whether this network of roads would lead to a spurt in incursions by Chinese soldiers remains to be seen. But certainly Beijing is in no mood to resolve the border dispute very soon. The talks are likely to continue indefinitely without any result and they could also be interspersed with Wuhan-type summits and declarations.
Iraqi police in the southern province of Basra stormed the office of the Thar Allah al-Islami militia Monday and arrested all the members in the office, including its leader, Yusif Sanawi. Militia members were accused of shooting protesters from their office on Sunday.

Thar Allah was established in 1995 and was active against Saddam Hussein. It was a part of a sectarian war in southern Iraq after Saddam was ousted in 2003. The militia was dismantled and Sanawi was arrested in the Battle of Basra military campaign under then Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in 2008. But Sanawi was able to escape to Iran, where he stayed for years, before he returned and reactivated the militia in 2014. Sanawi formed a political wing and participated in the 2018 election but did not win any seats.

The office of new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi later announced that he had ordered the attack on the Thar Allah militia. With direct oversight by Commander-in-Chief PM @MAKadhimi, Iraqi security forces today conducted a dawn raid on a building in Basra Province from which bullets were fired earlier at demonstrators, killing one protestor and injuring others, his Twitter account said.

The security forces arrested all those inside the building and confiscated their weapons and ammunitions. Those detained have been referred to the judiciary, it added.

In his first Cabinet meeting, Kadhimi ordered the release of all protesters arrested during the last few months and formed a special committee to identify the militias that have shot and abducted protesters. He returned Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi to the Special Counterterrorism Force and made him head of the force. Saadi's removal last year by then Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi triggered the mass protest movement that began in October.

In his government plan approved by the parliament, Kadimi put restricting the arms to the state at the top of his priorities, promising to identify, prosecute and try all militias involved in violent attacks against the protesters during the last seven months.

Kadhimi also kept under his direct supervision the four main security apparatuses  the National Intelligence Service, the National Security Agency, the counterterrorism apparatus and the Popular Mobilization Units.

Kadhimis first priority is clearly national security, and an essential part of this is stopping foreign intervention in Iraqi state affairs. Iraq had become a battleground between the United States and Iran, and the latter had been using its militias to attack US bases and interests.

The new prime ministers message in the abovementioned decisions and actions is that he is serious about enforcing Iraqi sovereignty, and that foreign intervention in Iraq would not be allowed.

In the section about sovereignty in his government plan, he emphasized the principle of reciprocity with all countries, in which no regional and international conflict should occur in Iraq

His plan is a benchmark for the Irans Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, as well as others who may want to interfere in Iraqi affairs.

The killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis by the US in January may have set back Irans influence in Iraq.

Last month, four PMU factions known to be close to top Iraqi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani left the PMU and asked to be integrated into the Iraqi state forces. Iran attempted to change their decision but has been unsuccessful.

Some other PMU factions, including groups close to Iran, have been trying to send a positive message to Washington, asking the United States to help Iraq overcome its economic and security challenges. The head of the Badr Organization bloc in the parliament, Muhammad al-Ghabban, asked the United States to give priority to Iraq to provide all possible help to overcome the country's challenges.

Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a tweet that some saw as a sign of willingness to calm the conflict with the United States and reduce tension in the region. Khamenei praised the second Shiite imam, Hassan, for his brave action involving early caliphates, adding, Due to his actions, #Islam remained as a religion that is against oppression, and is uncompromising, undistorted and genuine.

The appointment of Kadhimi, which was also supported by pro-Iran forces in Iraq, as well as by Tehran, is a clear sign of a change in policy in Iraq where the Quds Force has no pretensions of being in charge of Iraq and in which relations with Iraq instead would be dealt with based on mutual respect and reciprocity.
" " Conspiracy theorists may think the moon landing was an elaborate hoax by Stanley Kubrick, but this astronaut seems to be enjoying it. inhauscreative/Vetta/Getty Images

What is it about some movies that makes them urban legend magnets? According to conspiracy theorists, dozens of seemingly innocent Disney animated films contain subliminal adults-only messages. "The Wizard of Oz" has spawned countless myths, ranging from suicidal Munchkins to alternate Pink Floyd soundtracks. "The Shining" is another big one -- the 2013 documentary "Room 237" features at least nine conspiracy theories connected with Stanley Kubrick's classic 1980 horror film. Was it actually about the Holocaust? A study of American imperialism? Or -- as the most elaborate theory goes -- an apology for Kubrick's role in helping NASA fake the first moon landing?

The "fake moon landing" theory is so widespread there's even a mockumentary (2002's "Dark Side of the Moon") poking fun at it. The story goes like this: NASA, desperate to best the Soviet Union in the "space race," secretly hired Kubrick to film two fake moon landings in 1968. Kubrick spent almost a year and a half creating an elaborate series of phony movies in a studio in Huntsville, Alabama, during which time he also filmed "2001: A Space Odyssey." On July 16, 1969, the Saturn V rocket carrying Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins onboard launched from the Kennedy Space Center but actually went into a low orbit instead of speeding to the moon. NASA then released Kubrick's footage to the media, completing a hoax so massively successful that people believe it to this day. Kubrick was tormented by his role in the stunt but faced dire consequences for letting the cat out of the bag. To ease his conscience for deceiving the world, he decided to add secret messages in to "The Shining."

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The theory is Kubrick couldn't be explicit in this apology, so he had to keep things subliminal (a handmade Apollo 11 sweater is the only overt reference in the film to Kubrick's shame). Kubrick envisioned the two main characters (Jack and his young son Danny) as two sides of himself -- Jack as the practical one and Danny as the dreamer. The Overlook Hotel represents America, the harsh winter symbolizes the Cold War and the Overlook's haunted room is a manifestation of the secret NASA soundstage. But after these broad strokes, Kubrick really gets down to the nitty-gritty with all kinds of hidden messages.

In Stephen King's novel, the Overlook's haunted room was number 217. Kubrick apparently changed it to 237, because the distance to the moon is 237,000 miles (it's actually 238,857) [source: Lamb]. The hexagonal pattern on the hall carpet is a reference to the Apollo 11 launch pad design. The twin ghosts in the movie (as opposed to the novel's solo ghost) are a shoutout to NASA's Gemini program. Numerous appearances by stuffed bears represent the Soviet Union. All of these moments, according to the theory, are Kubrick's desperate attempts to express his regret.

It's definitely a far-fetched scenario. Stanley Kubrick died in 1999, so he can't weigh in on its truth (and even if he could, would he dare?). One of his assistants on "The Shining" has gone on the record to refute the theory, but it has certainly provided an entertaining rabbit hole for thousands of movie buffs and conspiracy theorists.
Browse the menu on your phone, order and settle down, your companion just about within earshot and the rest of the crowd in the restaurant unseen and possibly unheard too high on tech and low on people connect, this is perhaps what contactless dining' will look like in the immediate post-corona future.

The futuristic tomorrow, perhaps envisaged only in books, is here and contactless dining' is the centrepiece of furious debate with some restaurateurs dismissing it as a contradiction in terms, others looking to introduce the concept and aggregators such as Zomato aggressively promoting it.

As the industry ponders the uncertainties of the future where cosy dinners and large celebrations have both faded away, at least for now, contactless is the buzzword for the times contactless delivery of groceries, food and essential, and now dining too.

But contactless dining -- being pushed by aggregators, including Paytm, Zomato, and Dine Out, and aimed at reassuring customers -- is not practical in the dining out experience, say several restaurant owners.

Anurag Katriar, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), said the sheer thought that dining can be contactless is rubbish.

It's like somebody saying, 'Can I have chilli chicken without chilli or chicken'? Katriar told PTI.

While the process will allow customers to browse the menu, place an order and make payments, all through their phones, contact during certain elements of the dining experience, including the food being cooked, served and consumed at the restaurant table is inevitable.

Essentially whatis being proposed is an ordering system wherein you don't look at a physical menu, you order your food digitally from your own phone. The idea is great, but it cannot qualify to be contactless dining.

The menu is one of the hundreds of touch points consumers go through right from the time they enter the restaurant, so the idea is good but the nomenclature is absolutely a misnomer, Katriar explained.

The right word could perhaps be digital ordering, he suggested.

It could also be called smart dining, said Karan Tanna. Or less contact dining, added Priyank Sukhija.

Tanna, founder of Ghost Kitchen, said dining is an experience and not possible without any contact.

In fact, he said the so-called new concept is nothing more than a slight shift of events to the digital.

Customers can use their phones to see the menus, place an order and make payments. This will avoid contact with hard copies of menus, restaurant menu tablets and bill folders. Besides this, nothing really changes. Preparing the food and serving the food will be done by humans, he said.

Sukhija, who owns restaurant chains, includingLord Of The Drinks,Caf Jalwa,Tamasha, Lazeez Affaire,RPM, andFlying Saucer, agreed with him.

There will always be someone who will be making your food, plating it and serving it. So you can't avoid that part of the dining process. There would be times when people might want to instruct the server regarding certain customisations less spicy, more cheesy etc.

Besides, when you are at a restaurant, you use the washroom, you might give your car to the valet, so youcannot completely avoid contact, he said.

However, Sukhija admitted he was indeed looking at aggregators to introduce the concept of ordering digitally across his restaurants as soon as they are allowed to open.

It's all about leveraging technology, believe Paytm and Zomato, which recently announced plans to introduce an additional option on their respective apps for contactless dining in the post lockdown world.

Post the lockdown, the nation will require a safe and hygienic food ordering and dining experience which prompted us to build a Contactless In-store Ordering' for restaurants and eateries.

We're leveraging technology to make the entire experience of ordering food contactless, and eliminate physical contact with menus, servers, bills and cash, said Paytm Vice President Nikhil Saigal.

Zomato explained the concept further in a blog post.

Contactless dining minimises customer contact with anything that someone else might have touched by eliminating the use of high-touch elements at restaurants. Imagine a full-stack tech enabled dining experience, but with the least risk to health and safety, it said.

Sukhija is also planning to go the extra mile to assure his customers of top notch hygiene at his restaurants.

His customers will have access to the live feed of the kitchen, and their own food being prepared, a feature that is also being incorporated by Roseate Hotels and Resorts.

The link to the video of their food being prepared will reassure our guests that utmost care is being taken with their food, said Ankur Bhatia, executive director, Roseate Hotels & Resorts.

The practice of pre-booking tables and selecting from the menu on restaurant tablets was prevalent before the pandemic and is likely to become more popular in the coming days, said Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director and CEO of Select Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (Select Citywalk).

With the upcoming changing dynamics this concept will certainly gain pace and will be practicedin most of the restaurants across India, he said.

Customers are key to the whole concept working out.

And those like 28-year-old Shiuli Chakravorty are apprehensive and also sceptical about hygience practices in restaurants.

Getting the menu, bill, and placing orders through the phone is cool, but not a solution to the hygiene fears that people have.

At the end of the day, they will have to bring me my food, the cutlery, the napkins etc. If a medicine or vaccination is out in the market, I will go out immediately. But before that, even if the government opens the lockdown, I won't be eating outside for sure, she said.

Gurgaon-based homemaker Prisha Mandavaya echoed her, saying she doesn't see herself or her family dining out anytime soon.

It is good to know that restaurants have started brainstorming on this and are coming up with innovative ways, but the risk will always be there. When out, we can't be not using the place's furniture, crockery and other things, the 44-year-old said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Strong 80% Organic Growth in 2019

Focused on Three-Prong Strategic Growth Plan for 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:PACV) (the "Company"), a food and beverage holding company specializing in the distribution of consumer food, beverage and alcohol-related products, is pleased to announce that it has filed its Annual Report 10-K for the year ended 2019, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

To access the filing, please click here:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/882800/000149315220008094/0001493152-20-008094-index.htm

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $5,918,337, an increase of $2,706,764, or 84%, as compared to $3,211,573 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The Company's acquisition of Seaport Meat Company did not close until December 18, 2019, so included just 13 days of its operation to the 2019 annual results. For the entire 2019 year, Seaport Meat Company generated $28 million revenue.

Ms. Shannon Masjedi, Pacific Venture Group's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our growth strategy for 2020 focuses on a three-prong approach that we believe will add value for our shareholders; (1) incrementally increase sales and profitability of San Diego Farmers Outlet and Seaport Meat Company, (2) expand Snobar production and distribution and (3) acquire additional food production or distribution companies that are synergistic with San Diego Farmers Outlet and Seaport Meat Company. With almost 5 months under our belt as a newly combined company with Seaport Meat Company, we are well on our way. Our operating team has done a terrific job identifying and executing efficiencies and opportunities for growth. Our management team and Board have created a robust potential acquisition pipeline to complement our organic growth. We look forward to reporting our progress as it unfolds throughout 2020."

Background Information and Highlights from the 2019 Annual Report 10-K

Story continues

San Diego Farmers Outlet covers a large market area servicing Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, which we have estimated to be a $2.5 billion addressable market.

Unlike some larger distributors who make their customers receive products on a day and time convenient to the distributor, SDFO delivers daily and pays attention to what the customer wants. SDFO added products to meet the needs of restaurants, Hotels, Clubs and bars, Resorts, food trucks and caterers. Free delivery was added to demonstrate that Farmers Outlet had customers interest first in mind.

SDFO provides a wide array of products to serve customers of all types. However, they do have a niche in providing fresh produce and food products. Farmers Outlet provides specialty produce that the larger distributors do not carry on a daily basis.

SDFO covers a large market area servicing Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, which we have estimated to be a $2.5 billion addressable market. Farmers Outlet currently services the San Diego territory and has over 125 active customers, and no customer represents more than five percent of Farmers Outlet gross revenues.

The company services customers in high, middle and low-income communities with a specialty in providing food and fresh produce to customers serving small to medium size restaurants of all nationalities, including Chinese, Korean, Mexican, American, Japanese and Thai.

Pacific Ventures intends to expand its business through the acquisition of other food manufacturing and distribution companies that serve the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego area, thereby combining and expanding upon a combined customer base with an expanding range of products and services.

Seaport Meat Company, a California Corporation with over thirty (30) years in business servicing restaurant and retail, and institutional customers in Southern California and Arizona. Seaport Meat is a USDA meat processing plant that supplies quality meats, seafood, dry goods, dairy and produce. Seaport Meat Company built a state-of-the-art food distribution and manufacturing facility in Spring Valley, California and owns the land and the building. The 17,000 square foot facility is HACCP-compliant and is a USDA Licensed processing facility with on-site daily inspections. HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. Having a USDA certified facility allows consumers to be confident that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency in the USDA, ensured that meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged

SMC customers range from a wide variety of restaurants, including many well known in Southern CA, to institutions, schools and re-distributors such as U.S. Foods and Sysco as well as to local distributors. They supply wholesale food and restaurant supplies to San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside and offer same day service. In addition, they have clients in Arizona and Colorado that come to their facility to pick up their orders.

Because SMC can efficiently add new product lines, it is expected that this will expand the distribution of Pacific Ventures' San Diego Farmers Outlet and SnoBar product line, thereby accelerating Pacific Ventures' revenue growth. We believe the combination of a distribution and product company is unique in the San Diego area and will position the company for rapid growth.

SMC manufactures and wholesales custom processed beef, pork, chicken, lamb, veal and seafood. In addition, they are redistributors of a wide variety of dry goods, frozen foods, disposables and janitorial products. Their sales, distribution and finance processes are very efficient and can be expanded to add new product lines, including fresh produce and dairy.

About Pacific Ventures Group, Inc.

Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:PACV) is focused on expansion within the consumer products, food, beverage and alcohol-related industries. For more information on PACV, please visit www.pacvgroup.com. (You need to be at least 21 years of age (legal age to consume alcohol) to visit the section of the web site dedicated to SnoBar.)

Safe Harbor Statement

Forward-Looking Statement: This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which include but are not limited to, the inability of the company to obtain financing sufficient to maintain its operations and execute its acquisition strategy; the inherent uncertainties associated with smaller reporting companies; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investors Contact:

ir@pacvgroup.com

SOURCE: Pacific Ventures Group INC





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/589400/Pacific-Ventures-Group-Reports-Full-Year-2019-Results




Americans play to win all the time, George Patton told the Third Army in the spring of 1944. Thats why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.

That was in another time, another country. When Patton spoke the United States was still ascending, a superpower in the making. But once our ascent was complete, our war making became managerial, lumbering, oriented toward stalemate. From Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan to all our lesser conflicts, the current American way of warfare rarely has a plan to win.

Those foreign entanglements are mostly wars of choice; the struggle with the coronavirus is a war of necessity. But though this invader is killing our civilians and hammering our economy on a scale unseen in any of our 20th-century wars, were currently headed toward the same sort of un-Pattonian strategy that weve pursued in other conflicts.

Were containing the virus, limiting the damage, preventing worst-case scenarios  but we arent trying to actually stamp it out. Instead, were on a path to just live with it (and sometimes die with it) until we get a vaccine or herd immunity, choosing management and mitigation over suppression, a year of stalemate over a campaign to win the war.
A central Pennsylvania man who was shot by a police officer while he was in handcuffs has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the trauma he claims he and his mother, who saw the shooting, have suffered.

Ryan Smiths filing of the U.S. Middle District Court case comes as the cop who shot him, 58-year-old Officer Stuart Harrison of the Southwestern Regional Police, awaits trial on a simple assault charge lodged over the incident.

Smith, 34, of York Countys Jackson Township, meanwhile is serving a 3-to 6-year state prison term for a probation violation unrelated to his wounding.

In his suit against Harrison, the police force and Spring Grove Borough, Smith claims Harrison shot him in the leg with no justification after tasing him repeatedly on May 30, 2018 on the property of a Santander Bank in the borough.

State police said Harrison had responded to a complaint that Smith was trespassing at the bank. They said Smith was tased several time before and after Harrison and another officer tackled and handcuffed him.

Smith kept struggling, police said, and Harrison claimed he intended to tase Smiths leg to get him to bend it so he could be placed in a cruiser. Troopers said Smith claims in the suit that he has a history of mental health issues. At the time of the shooting, he had just been released from the psychiatric ward at a hospital and was irrational and delusional during the encounter at the bank, he contends.

Smith says he went to the bank and asked to withdraw $500,000, even though he didnt have an account. Bank employees called 911 to report he was being belligerent and threatening, the suit filed by attorney Timothy L. Salvatore states.

When Harrison arrived, he opted to escalate the conflict rather and de-escalating it, Smith claims. He insists the officer began tasing him without cause. He says his mother Christine arrived at the scene and told the officers her son was mentally disturbed.

Harrison wasnt in any danger when he acted rashly and shot him in the thigh, shattering his femur, Smith contends. At no time during his encounter with defendant Harrison on May 30, 2018,

did plaintiff Ryan Smith do anything that warranted the use of deadly force against him, the suit states.

Smith claims the shooting was an unconstitutional use of excessive force. He says his mother was standing nearby when he was shot and that his blood splattered onto her clothes, causing her great emotional distress.

The Smiths seek unspecified financial damages.
The US government is donating up to 1,000 ventilators to South Africa to help the country respond to COVID-19 as the Trump administration addresses criticism that it hasn't done enough for countries in need.

South Africa is the first country in the world to receive this state-of-the-art equipment from the National Security Council and USAID, the US Embassy said in a tweet. Last week, however, Mexico said it received a US shipment of 211 ventilators as part of aid promised by President Donald Trump.

The US soon will make similar donations to countries around the world, according to embassy officials.

South Africa has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa with more than 11,300, including more than 200 deaths. Virus cases across the 54-nation continent are now above 66,000.

For weeks, US officials have indicated that the virus crisis at home has delayed the shipment of crucial medical equipment to other countries.

But in recent days the Trump administration has been making plans to ship some 8,000 of the breathing machines to foreign countries by the end of July.

The White House has not said how many have been shipped, and it's unclear if some nations would pay for the ventilators, which cost USD 5,000 to USD 30,000, depending on the model.

Trump has spoken with the leaders of South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Kenya in recent days about the pandemic.

Nigeria just called. We're giving them 250 ventilators, Trump said last week. In a tweet, he said Ethiopia also had asked for the machines.

Africa has some of the world's weakest health systems, and experts have warned they would be rapidly overwhelmed by the virus.

African countries have joined forces with each other and the private sector to compete with richer countries around the world for scarce medical equipment, including badly needed testing kits.

Some African nations also are turning to manufacturing needed equipment themselves, a development that could help speed up industrialization of a continent that has long imported much of its medicines and other health items from abroad.

The US-produced ventilators donated to South Africa are valued at $14 million, and with accessories, service plans and shipping the total donation is worth $20 million, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement Tuesday.

The donation brings the total U.S. government financial support to South Africa's COVID-19 response to more than $41 million, according to the statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 08:03:01

With reference to our press release of 25 February 2020, Awilco Drilling PLC is pleased to confirm that a contract has been signed with Serica Energy (UK) Limited for the provision of WilPhoenix for a one well workover on the Rhum field. The contract has an estimated duration of 70 days including preparatory works and will commence around 15 September 2020. WilPhoenix is expected to be available for future work from early December 2020.



WilPhoenix is one of Awilco Drillings two Enhanced Pacesetter semi-submersibles and is equipped for drilling in water depths up to 1,200 ft. Awilco Drilling also has two new build rigs on order of Moss CS60 ECO MW design equipped for drilling in harsh environments, and independent options for additional two rigs of the same design.

Aberdeen, 12 May 2020





For further information please contact:Jens Berge, CEOPhone: +44 1224 737900

Cathrine Haavind, IR Manager

Phone: +47 9342 8464

Email: ch@awilcodrilling.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
Two passengers of



Shramik Special trains died of cardiac arrest in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

A migrant worker travelling to Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district and another person returning to Bihar's Aurangabad district died in special trains in the last two days, an official said.

Akhilesh Kumar Rana, who worked at a hotel in Pune, was returning to his hometown in Gonda district, when he fell ill and was disembarked at Majhgawa railway station in Satna district on Monday, he said.

Doctors declared him dead and initial investigations revealed that he had suffered a cardiac arrest, he said.

In a similar incident, a man travelling from Tamil Nadu to Bihar's Aurangabad district was declared dead at Aamla Railway station in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district.

Nandkumar Pandey (62), who was travelling with his wife and daughter, had boarded a special train to Bihar from Kathpadi in Tamil Nadu, Aamla's tehsildar Neeraj Kalmegh said.

However, he suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday night after the train left Nagpur and he was disembarked at Aamla railway station, where doctors declared him dead.

The deceased's wife Indu said they were in Tamil Nadu for her husband's treatment, but were stranded there because of the COVID-19 lockdown and had decided to head home after special trains were announced.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Technavio has been monitoring the fast casual restaurants market and it is poised to grow by USD 63.25 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 12% 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/20200512005061/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Fast Casual Restaurants Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc., Noodles Co., Panda Restaurant Group Inc., Potbelly Corp., Shake Shack Inc., and YUM! Brands Inc. are some of the major market participants. The demand for gluten-free dining 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.

Demand for gluten-free dining has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Fast Casual Restaurants Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Fast Casual Restaurants Market is segmented as below:

Cuisine North American Italian Mexican Others

Geographic North America APAC Europe South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41067

Fast Casual Restaurants 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 fast casual restaurants market report covers the following areas:

Fast Casual Restaurants Market Size

Fast Casual Restaurants Market Trends

Fast Casual Restaurants Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the demand for innovation and customization in food menus as the prime reasons driving the fast casual restaurants market growth during the next few years.

Fast Casual Restaurants Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the fast casual restaurants market, including some of the vendors such as Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc., Noodles Co., Panda Restaurant Group Inc., Potbelly Corp., Shake Shack Inc., and YUM! Brands Inc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the fast casual restaurants market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Fast Casual Restaurants Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist fast casual restaurants market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the fast casual restaurants market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the fast casual restaurants market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of fast casual restaurants 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 Cuisine Type

Market segments

Comparison by cuisine type

North American Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Italian Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Mexican Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by cuisine type

Customer landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Volume driver Demand led growth

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc.

Godfather's Pizza Inc.

McAlister's Franchisor SPV LLC

Noodles Co.

Panda Restaurant Group Inc.

Potbelly Corp.

Shake Shack Inc.

The Wendy's Co.

YUM! Brands Inc.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005061/en/

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Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

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Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
From next month Ben Fordham will replace Alan Jones on 2GB, after the king of talkback radio announced his retirement from the airwaves on Tuesday.

And Ben's former Today show co-star Lisa Wilkinson jumped at the opportunity to congratulate her former colleague on the exciting news.

Taking to Instagram, The Project host wrote: 'huge congrats to my very good buddy Ben... you'll nail it!'

'Huge congrats!' Lisa Wilkinson (left) pens message to former Today show co-star Ben Fordham (right) as he replaces 2GB's Alan Jones

Lisa said it was impressive that Ben is set to become 'the new host of the highest profile breakfast radio show in the country'.

Lisa shared a group photo alongside her congratulatory message, in which Ben appeared to have his eyes closed.

Lisa joked: 'sorry about the pic Ben, but this will probably be the last sleep youll have for a very long time, so I just want you to enjoy!!'

They go way back! Lisa and Ben worked together on Nine's Today show. Pictured in 2014 with Lisa's former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic

'Sorry': Lisa shared a group photo alongside her congratulatory message, in which Ben appeared to have his eyes closed. Lisa joked: 'sorry about the pic Ben, but this will probably be the last sleep youll have for a very long time, so I just want you to enjoy!!'

On Tuesday, Alan announced his retirement from radio after 35 years on the airwaves. He will step away from the microphone at the end of May.

He made the shock announcement to his 2GB listeners, telling them he had been advised by doctors that his job was becoming detrimental to his health.

Alan will be replaced on the breakfast shift by Ben, who is currently the drive host. It was long expected he would be succeeded by 2GB morning host Ray Hadley.

New role: From next month, Ben Fordham will replace Alan Jones on 2GB

Saying goodbye: On Tuesday, Alan announced his retirement from radio after 35 years on the airwaves. He will step away from the microphone at the end of the month

'I have listened to the experts and I am taking this opportunity to indicate to my radio family that I will be retiring from radio at the end of this month,' Alan said.

He also told listeners that he will still be writing columns in The Australian and making regular appearances on Sky News.

'We are delighted that Ben is stepping up to host 2GB's breakfast program,' Nine's Managing Director of Radio Tom Malone said in a media statement on Tuesday.

2GB breakfast airs weekdays from 5:30am to 9am via AM 873 and Digital Radio
SANTA FE  Eleven more adults died in New Mexicos coronavirus outbreak  eight from the northwestern part of the state  pushing the statewide death total to 219, health officials said Tuesday.

They also announced that testing had confirmed 143 additional virus cases, about 59% of which were in McKinley and San Juan counties, where the Navajo Nation has been hit particularly hard.

The new cases come as New Mexico moves slowly to ease business restrictions in most of the state.

Three counties in northwest  San Juan, McKinley and Cibola  have been exempt from the slight relaxation of public health orders this month.

Five of the 11 deaths announced Tuesday were adults from McKinley County and three were from San Juan. The state also said two Bernalillo County residents had died and one from Santa Fe County.

Eight of the 11 had underlying medical conditions of some kind, a risk factor for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Five of those who died were residents of group living facilities, such as a nursing home.

The numbers also had a touch of good news  just 199 patients are hospitalized, down from 207 on Monday.

Altogether, the state has confirmed 5,212 cases of the virus since March 11.

The state Department of Health has designated 1,434 people as having recovered from the virus.

State officials are urging people to stay home to help slow the spread of the disease. They are also suggesting that workers  especially those at grocery stores or interacting with others  get tested for the virus, if they want to.
A mother-daughter duo allegedly at the centre of a coronavirus-fuelled stoush over toilet paper at a Sydney supermarket have pleaded not guilty.

Treiza Bebawy, 60, and Meriam Bebawy, 23, were charged with affray after an altercation with another woman at a Woolworths store in Chullora on March 7.

The pleas were entered on Tuesday in Bankstown Local Court and the case was adjourned to June 9.

Meriam Bebawy (left), 23, and mother Treiza (right), 60, pleaded not guilty at Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday after they were charged with affray over a Woolworths supermarket brawl

Pictured: The Bebawy family members allegedly scuffled with Tracey Hinckson, 49, at a Woolworths supermarket in Chullora after collecting a sizeable amount of toilet paper

Footage of the incident went viral on social media in March amid widespread panic buying of toilet paper.

Accused: Mariam Begawy

Police allege the Bebawys' conduct was such that it 'would cause a person of reasonable firmness at the scene to fear for his or her safety'.

The other shopper, Tracey Hinckson, was not injured in the fracas.

Police allege the pair used 'unlawful violence' towards the woman, causing her to 'fear for her safety'.

The Bebawys are facing up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

The video was taken shortly after the store opened, with police called at about 7am.

It came as Australians cleared supermarket shelves of toilet paper to an 'unprecedented' extent - sparking store shortages across the country.

The panic buying was sparked by fears the coronavirus pandemic would lead to citywide shutdowns.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Read more

WASHINGTON  The latest on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing Tuesday on the coronavirus pandemic:

12:25 p.m.

Dr. Anthony Fauci had a sharp retort for Sen. Rand Paul after the Kentucky Republican said that Fauci was not the end all in knowledge about the coronavirus, and that its kind of ridiculous to suggest children should be kept out of school in the fall.

While agreeing that children on the whole do much better than adults with COVID-19, Fauci noted recent reports of severe disease among children and said its still really not well understood.

We dont know everything about this virus and we really better be pretty careful, particularly when it comes to children, Fauci said. I think we better be careful (that) we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune from the deleterious effects.

___

11:30 a.m.

Trump administration testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir tells the Senate that the U.S. could be performing at least 40 million to 50 million tests per month by September.

But that would work out to only between 1.3 million to 1.7 million tests per day.

Harvard researchers say the United States must be doing 900,000 by this Friday in order to safely reopen.

Giroir is assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services. He spoke via video conference Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.

____

11 a.m.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, says states that ignore the national guidelines for reopening the economy run the risk of spikes in coronavirus cases that may turn into new outbreaks.

The consequences could be really serious, Fauci tells the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions committee. Problems will escalate if states do not have the hospital capacity to treat patients and to isolate people exposed to the virus.

There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances ... you will [see] some cases appear, as communities reopen, Fauci said. The guidelines are based on 14 days of gradually decreasing cases.

Fauci spoke by video conference to the hearing. He is self-quarantining after a White House staffer testified positive for the virus.

___

10:30 a.m.

A Senate hearing featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top health officials got underway in a storied hearing room, but thats about all that remained of Congress' pre-pandemic way of conducting oversight.

The senators running the event, Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Patty Murray of Washington, were isolating at their homes and they spoke remotely.

Same for the marquee witnesses  Fauci, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration. Each of the three were exposed to a White House aide who had tested positive for the virus last week.

A few senators, such as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, attended the session in the hearing room. They wore masks, as did an array of aides buzzing behind them.

-

10:30 a.m.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19.

We have many candidates and hope to have many winners, he tells the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. In other words, it is many shots on goal.

But despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees.

The big unknown is efficacy, he said.

Fauci heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the governments leading expert on the pandemic. He says he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.

Fauci spoke by video conference to the hearing. He is self-quarantining after a White House staffer testified positive for the virus.
One in six healthcare centres around the world lack safe handwashing facilities and nurses, at the front line of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, are struggling to wash even their own hands, an international aid group has warned.

As the world celebrates International Nurses Day on Tuesday, Water Aid said nearly half of all healthcare facilities in the poorest countries do not have clean water available. This has resulted in one billion people being forced to seek care where there is no clean water.

Doctors and nurses are on the front line of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 286,000 people and infected more than four million worldwide. Many healthcare workers have also died after contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

To prevent infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended basic hygiene such as regularly washing hands with soap and water, covering the mouth with an elbow when sneezing or coughing, and physical distancing.

Thousands of healthcare workers in developing countries are facing down this crisis with no clean water or soap to wash their hands, Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid, said in a statement.

The vital role of good hygiene in preventing hospitals becoming breeding grounds for disease is being woefully overlooked as part of the global response to COVID-19. This is putting the lives of doctors, nurses and patients at risk and will likely extend the duration of the pandemic.





Uphill battle

As the pandemic continues to spread, medical workers have documented the uphill battle they face while working long hours under difficult conditions.

Governments have also come under fire for failing to provide sufficient personal protective equipment  face masks, gowns, gloves and goggles  to their medical staff.

Right now nurses across the UK and the world are risking their health to protect ours in the fight against #coronavirus On this #InternationalNursesDay and every day, we say thank you for all that you do for us all pic.twitter.com/5NmQwVen9x   Angela Rayner  (@AngelaRayner) May 12, 2020

For many nurses in developing countries, access to clean water is a major concern.

The water problem is really the biggest problem we face because we cant make sure we meet all the hygiene standards. No matter how determined I or the staff are, without safe water our role is limited, Salimata Dagnogo, a 32-year-old nurse in Mali, told WaterAid.

Rhoda Phandama, a nurse and midwife in Nkhotakota, Malawi, said: We do not have enough soap for the people to wash their hands thoroughly. We need to have enough supplies so that we are protected and that the clients who come here with issues like injuries and other diseases do not end up catching coronavirus.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) and the International Council of Nurses called on governments to commit to ensuring the protection and safety of nurses and other healthcare workers, especially in resource-poor, disaster and conflict settings.

Nurses are the worlds life-savers. They are risking their own health and too often sacrificing time with their family to help those suffering from COVID-19, Robert Mardini, ICRC director-general, said in a joint statement issued by the organisations.
Four roadside bombs detonated in less than 90 minutes Monday in a northern district of Afghanistan's capital, wounding four civilians including a child, police said. Militants have carried out several roadside bombings and rocket attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country in recent weeks, but Monday morning's blasts appeared to be the first coordinated effort for some months. Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said a clearance team was at the site of the blasts, which had not yet been claimed by any group. The bombings were in an area where Afghanistan's intelligence agency recently busted a joint Islamic State-Haqqani network cell accused of carrying out several attacks. The Taliban has not carried out large attacks in Afghan cities since February, they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace. Under the agreement, the Taliban promised not to target forces from the US-led coalition, but made no such pledge toward Afghan troops. The insurgents have stepped up attacks in the provinces, however, as they seek to press their advantage amid stalled talks with the Afghan government. Washington has repeatedly called for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan in a bid to preserve the accord and has already started a drawdown of troops as President Donald Trump vows to end America's longest war. Monday's blasts come as authorities are trying to impose a lockdown on the capital to curb the spread of coronavirus.
A man wearing an ankle monitor was arrested after allegedly stealing a car at gunpoint and leading Houston police on a lengthy chase throughout the city Monday night.

The suspect carjacked another man along Fountain View Drive near the Southwest Freeway around 10 p.m., according to Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson. Officers swarmed the area and spotted the stolen car, but the driver fled as they attempted to pull him over, Crowson said.
Democratic convention planners have emphasized that no final decision has been made on the structure of the event, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 17 in Milwaukee. In a normal year, the event would draw as many as 50,000 people, including nearly 5,000 delegates and about 20,000 members of the media.

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This resolution will give the convention the tools necessary to ensure that every delegate is able to conduct their official business without putting their health at risk, whether by participating in person or by other means to allow for social distancing, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said at the start of the call.

The partys key subcommittee also took steps to streamline the convention proceedings, changing rules to remove two floor votes from the schedule.

All elected and appointed delegates, whether or not they attend the event in person, will still vote to nominate a presidential candidate, a vice presidential candidate and to accept the partys platform. But the other two traditional floor votes, on the rules for the convention and the credentials for those who can participate, will now be passed by smaller subcommittees before the partys full gathering.

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Joe Solmonese, the chief executive of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, said in a statement Monday that he supported the changes.

This resolution provides our team with increased flexibility to adjust our plans, ensure that every delegate is able to accomplish their official business without putting their own health at risk, and enables us to chart the most appropriate course forward as we work to launch our nominee to victory in November, he said.

Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, reiterated Tuesday in an interview with North Carolinas Spectrum News that the party would be guided by health advice.

I hope Im going to be able to go to Milwaukee, Biden said when asked about the potential for a virtual convention. I hope were going to have it beyond virtual. But look, we have to follow the science.

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The convention had originally been planned for July, but it was moved back a month in hopes that restrictions forced by the coronavirus pandemic would ease by then.

Our top priority has always been to ensure the health and safety of convention participants and the people of Milwaukee, Jim Roosevelt, a co-chair of the rules and bylaws committee, said before the vote.

The committee, which governs the structure of the presidential nominating process, also voted to approve new primary dates for five states that have delayed their elections because of the pandemic. New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Louisiana and Delaware will be able to hold primaries in June and July, later than planned, without any change to the number of delegates they are allowed to send to the convention.

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Two other states, Connecticut and Puerto Rico, have not rescheduled their primaries, though Democratic leaders have indicated that they will be similarly receptive to date changes before the convention.

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The subcommittee took further steps to give state parties flexibility in their delegate selection process after primaries or caucuses. Under the new guidance, state parties can use remote meetings and online voting for most of the delegate selection process.

One section of a resolution that passed Tuesday recommends certain changes . . . so as to safeguard the ability of all validly-elected Convention delegates to participate in the Convention in person or by means that allow for appropriate social distancing.

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Both parties have been privately preparing dramatic adjustments to their summer convention plans, given the ongoing pandemic. Republicans, however, have generally followed the lead of President Trump and expressed more determination about holding a traditional in-person event in Charlotte, beginning Aug. 24. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently asked federal officials to consider providing personal protective equipment to allow the events to operate more safely.

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The president wants to go full steam ahead, McDaniel said. We are full steam ahead for in person, in Charlotte.

Before the vote, Perez criticized the protective equipment request as premature, given the ongoing shortages of protective equipment for others, including health-care workers.

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Donald Trump and Ronna McDaniel repeatedly downplayed the severity of this crisis and scoffed at making changes to their convention, Perez said. They are eager to advocate for federally funded personal protective equipment while dismissing the thousands of doctors and nurses in hospitals across this country who face significant shortages of PPE.

He said Democrats would behave differently, though he has not ruled out accepting personal protective equipment from the federal government.

Unlike our Republican counterparts, we will not have our public health heads in the sand, Perez said.
Spanish banks such as BBVA and Santander are reopening branches and letting staff return to work, although employees at their headquarters will still mainly work remotely as the country starts to ease lockdown measures.

BBVA, one of the first banks in Spain to move staff out of Madrid to protect against the coronavirus outbreak, on Monday said about 200 employees at its corporate centre in critical functions would return to their offices this week.

"They include a part of the global markets team in the trading room of CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking) and infrastructure/operational employees in the engineering area, among others," it said in a statement.

However, BBVA said 98% of BBVA's HQ employees in Spain - around 7,000 people - would continue working remotely.

At Santander, the euro zone's second-biggest lender in terms of market value, almost all its workforce at the corporate centres in Spain - more than 10,000 people - are still working from home, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

"The safety of our employees and customers is our utmost priority and we continue to work with the authorities to ensure that any return to work is done safely," a spokesman for Santander said.

"While the majority of our employees will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future, to ensure continuity in the business and support customer services we are implementing measures that will allow a group of employees to gradually return to corporate centre offices in the coming days."

Spain has so far reported nearly 27,000 deaths, one of the highest fatality rates in the world, with about half of Spain's 47 million people progressing to the so-called Phase 1 of a four-step plan to relax the lockdowns on Monday.

BBVA reopened 250 branches in Spain between this and last week and by the end of this week, 3,300 employees from the branch network in Spain will be working onsite, 21% of the total workforce.

The bank has drafted a return-to-work plan based on five principles, focused on safety for all employees returning gradually to their normal workplaces.

"The only employees to return to work will be those who have not tested positive, are symptom-free, and are neither in quarantine nor part of a high-risk group," it said.

BBVA also said it would follow an approach that included serology testing and PCR virus detection.

Santander reopened 189 offices on Monday and so far 1,900 have opened, around 60% of its total branches in Spain, the Santander spokesman said.

State-owned Bankia also aims to gradually increase the number of employees currently working at branches to 60% of its total workforce over the next weeks, a spokeswoman said. She expected around a third of the current 1,900 employees at its headquarters in Madrid to return to work in about four weeks.

"The de-escalation at the HQ starts on May 18 but with employees having to sit 2 metres apart from each other, this allows us to reach a third of our regular workforce there."

Caixabank, the country's third-largest lender, which has opened 95% of its network, expects by the end of May to have 75% of its staff working in branches compared to currently 60%. Working remotely will remain the preferred option at its HQ, it said.

On Monday, Sabadell, the fifth biggest bank by assets, reopened 146 branches bringing the total to 1,441, with around 65% of the lender's staff working from home, it said.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited has started the process of conducting phase 3 clinical trials of Favipiravir among Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in India to test the safety and efficacy of the antiviral drug, the company said on Tuesday.

According to Glenmark executives familiar with the development, who didnt want to be named, the company will be looking at recruiting patients from hospitals in the red zones of states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi where the Covid-19 case load is high.

The drug, if commercialized, will be marketed under the brand name FabiFlu in India.

Glenmark is looking at enrolling patients from at least 10 government and private hospitals from across the country for conducting the trials, and is expecting results by either July or August.

Glenmark is the first company in India to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials on Favipiravir for Covid-19 patients in India. Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation. Clinical trials have commenced and over 10 leading government & private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. Glenmark estimates study completion by July/August 2020, the company said in a statement.

Favipiravir is an antiviral medicine used to treat influenza in Japan. What Glenmark is producing is a generic version of Avigan. It has successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulations for the product through its in-house research and development team.

Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing the benefits of Avigan and built a huge inventory of it, despite there being no evidence as yet that the drug, which was developed as a possible cure for Ebola, works on curing any disease in humans.

Glenmark received approval from Indias drug regulator general on April 30 for conducting the trials.

Several health and medical experts, both in and outside of Glenmark, are eager to see the effect that Favipiravir has on Covid-19 cases. We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus, said Monika Tandon, vice president and head, clinical development, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

In the past few months, after the outbreak of Covid-19, multiple clinical trials have been initiated on Covid-19 patients in China, Japan and the US.

The data we get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to Covid-19 treatment and management, Tandon added.

As per the approved clinical trial protocol, 150 subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 will be randomized in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care. Treatment duration is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum of 28 days from randomization, which is the process of assiging patients to groups that recieve different treatments.

Our effort is to launch a treatment for Covid-19 patients as soon as possible and control the spread of the pandemic. We will do all it takes to ensure accessibility of the product across the country if the clinical trials are successful, said Sujesh Vasudevan, president, India formulations, Middle East and Africa, Glenmark.

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More than 4 million homeowners are now delaying their monthly mortgage payments as part of both government and private lender relief programs  but some have been put into forbearance by mistake and are having a hard time getting out.

While the programs cannot, by law, hurt their credit scores, they can keep borrowers from refinancing their loans or procuring new mortgages.

In a rush to help consumers who have been impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic, the government authorized a massive mortgage bailout under the CARES Act. It specifically states that servicers should not ask any questions of their borrowers, nor can they require any documentation of hardship in order to accommodate them.

Borrowers can simply call their servicers or go online and be granted an immediate 90-day payment delay. That rush to relief resulted in quick help for borrowers but also in a lot of mistakes.

Some borrowers' inquires were misunderstood, and some servicers, swamped with hundreds of thousands of calls, just put the borrowers into the program. That's precisely what happened to a Massachusetts borrower who called his servicer to get information and later found out his mortgage was in forbearance.

The borrower, who did not wish to be identified, said he sent an email to Wells Fargo, which services his loan, in early March because he was concerned that his wife, a teacher, might no longer be paid.

"I was asking to be educated on what my options were. Someone put me in this and never told me what it was," said the borrower, who declined to be named due to privacy concerns. "No one ever used the term forbearance, and the email specifically said there would be no negative impact on my credit report."

It turned out his wife did not lose her salary, so they could continue paying their mortgage.

"I go to make my April payment, and it tells me that I can't. There is not an eligible account to make the payment on," he said.

After multiple calls, the borrower was able to start making payments again and was told the loan was "fine," and there must be "a website issue."

Then he decided to refinance, hoping to take advantage of record low mortgage rates. His mortgage broker informed him that the loan was in forbearance, and he was therefore unable to refinance. The borrower again contacted Wells Fargo and asked to be removed from forbearance. That was April 23, and he says his loan is still listed as in forbearance.

While there was no hit to his credit score, the note on his credit report saying the loan is in forbearance makes it impossible for him to refinance. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which, along with the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, fund or insure the vast majority of mortgages from lenders, do not allow borrowers with a loan in forbearance to either refinance or obtain a new loan until one year after the loan payments are up to date again.

"Some consumers that made calls to inquire were misunderstood and put into forbearance," said Debra Still, CEO of Pulte Mortgage, a division of Pulte Group, one of the nation's largest homebuilders. "Some continued to make their payments and when a credit report is done for a consumer in forbearance, the loan still shows as current, but there is a note on the credit report that says the borrower is still in forbearance."

Still has been vocal in the industry, trying to get the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, to help lenders understand how to treat this unprecedented wave of borrowers in forbearance.

"My inquiry has been around formal guidance, so that we know how to lend properly to some of these consumers who never needed their forbearance and want to buy a new home," said Still. "We want to keep the economy going, we want to be selling homes. Let's not put unnecessary barriers in front of future homeowners."

It also puts barriers in front of homeowners who could really benefit now from refinancing and saving on their monthly payments. Servicers are swamped with those requests as well. Applications to refinance a home loan are currently up more than 200% from a year ago.

"We want customers who need assistance due to COVID-19 to be able to request and receive a payment suspension quickly and easily. If a customer no longer needs that assistance, we will be happy to remove them from the payment suspension," said Tom Goyda, a Wells Fargo spokesman. "The vast majority of customers who have asked to be removed from a forbearance initially requested a payment suspension but later determined that they would prefer to continue making their payments."

Since early March, complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have soared, with mortgage complaints leading the charge. Roughly 60% of those are categorized as "struggling to pay mortgage." A scan of some individual complaints show borrowers getting "form letter" email responses from servicers that do not address specific questions.

One example:

I obtained forbearance during the COVID-19 quarantine from Wells Fargo. I was told that I would be able to make payments as a result of asking for a short-term payment suspension; I have the call recorded and am willing to submit the call as evidence. Now I am unable to make a payment despite being told by an Agent of Wells Fargo that I would be able to make a payment.

The CFPB and the Mortgage Bankers Association both have web pages with information about how to apply for forbearance and what the options are for borrowers.
A 23-year-old girl, who had recently returned from Gurugram to Haldwani in Uttarakhands Nainital district, tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive on Tuesday, state health officials said.

The hill state has reported 69 Covid-19 positive cases so far, and the first to be recorded in the past two days. This was also the first Covid-19 positive case in the Nainital district after 18 days since April 24.

The 23-year-old female patients swab samples tested positive at Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) in Haldwani. She recently came to Haldwani from Gurugram, said the daily bulletin issued by the state health department.

Uttarakhand has tested 10,471 swab samples so far, including 1,228 from the Nainital district that has reported 11 Covid-19 positive cases.

On Sunday, a migrant, who returned to Uttarkashi district from Surat on May 7, tested Covid-19 positive.

The district lost its green zone tag after its first Covid-19 positive case was reported.
The 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron, located at Dyess Air Force Base, will fly over hospitals in West Texas to salute American heroes, such as medical professionals, first responders and other essential workers this Friday, according to a press release.

A B-1B Lancer will fly over hospitals in Midland and Odessa 12:07 p.m. and 12:04 p.m., respectively.
Lucknow, May 12 : The Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) has launched a mobile app called 'Bagwaan Mitra' to help mango growers, farmers and other stakeholders during the lockdown.

Field visits by scientists have been limited due to the corona outbreak and one-to-one meetings between farmers and experts have stopped.

The app is simple and user friendly with a special feature to convert speech into text.

"The app will help farmers who cannot type. As soon as they speak, the institute will receive the text message through the server," said Shailendra Rajan, director, CISH.

At times, farmers are not able to describe the problems or diseases in their crops. The app will allow farmers to send pictures of the diseased plants along with the message. This will also help scientists in diagnosing and identifying the correct disease.

This mobile app will also offer information on common pests, diseases and disorders along with their control.

Weather forecast based suggestions will be one of the most important features for the users.
Suspicion over official COVID-19 numbers grows as critics accuse govt of of failing to inform public on true extent.

Arusha, Tanzania  Omari*, a motorcycle taxi driver, stopped outside a house in Arusha City, a tourist hub in northern Tanzania and pointed to a large, grey gate.

A person here died from COVID a few days ago, he said, before starting up his engine again and continuing down the citys pothole-riddled dirt roads.

He slowed down at another house and loudly mumbled through his blue protective mask: The father here drives the bus between Arusha and Dar es Salaam. He picked up COVID in Dar and he died about a week ago.

This is becoming very serious, he added. This disease is killing a lot of people.

No one knows for sure if these claimed deaths are just rumoured to be the result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus that has so far infected more than four million people worldwide and killed almost 300,000, or if they are indeed coronavirus-related fatalities that have not been included in Tanzanias official death toll.

According to government records, 509 people in Tanzania have so far contracted the virus and 21 have died. But the official numbers, which are provided in increasingly rare updates, are being regarded with great suspicion.

Several opposition leaders and activists in recent weeks have accused the government of failing to inform the public on the extent of the diseases outbreak and covering up the true number of fatalities.

The government has denied the allegations but many Tanzanians also told Al Jazeera, in private and behind the safety of closed doors, that they did not trust the governments data.

Videos purporting to show night burials in cemeteries and corpses wrapped in plastic body bags carried out of homes by men in full personal protective equipment (PPE) suits are shared widely on WhatsApp groups and social media, raising fears about the true extent of the crisis.

The government is hiding the number of deaths, this is 100 percent proven. How many [theyre hiding] is more difficult to say, Zitto Kabwe, the leader of the ACT-Wazalendo opposition party and a member of parliament, told Al Jazeera.

The health system of the country is completely overwhelmed. The situation is not very good and the government has completely controlled the data so we havent been able to access independent information on whats really going on.

Government denial

Zakia Mshare was placed in a government quarantine centre for suspected COVID-19 patients in the Njiro suburb of Arusha when she fell ill after returning from a trip last month to the coastal city of Dar es Salaam.

A day after arriving at the facility, the 64 year old slipped into a coma and passed away two days later. Mshare was tested for COVID-19 but the family was told that the results were inconclusive. Still, officials said her body would be handled and buried by the government.

The family arrived at the Njiro cemetery at 10am (07:00 GMT) on April 27 and began digging the grave to prepare for Mshares remains. They waited there until 8:45pm (17:45 GMT) when her body, along with 14 others suspected or confirmed to have died from COVID-19, arrived in a government convoy, according to Nasri Mshare, the womans son.

There were four government workers with PPE suits on who unloaded the bodies and put them in the graves one by one, Nasri Mshare said, adding that he had seen a tag attached to his mothers body which detailed her name and cause of death as suspect.

She was put into the grave with the body bag still wrapped around her. The family members were able to grab short videos and blurry photos before being told they were not permitted to take any footage.

Godbless Lema, MP of Arusha City constituency for Tanzanias main opposition party Chadema, told Al Jazeera he had also witnessed night burials being conducted by the government at the Njiro cemetery. According to Lema, two bodies were buried there on April 13, one on April 14 and 13 more on April 18.

So many people are dying [of COVID-19] in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma and many other places in Tanzania, Freeman Mbowe, the chairman of Chadema, told Al Jazeera.

We are not sure the number of deaths on a daily basis, but there are many, Mbowe said, estimating that the daily death toll in Dar es Salaam was no less than 30 or 40. The figure could not be independently verified but Mbowe said the estimate was based on citizen testimonies sent to Chadema and attempts at counting the number of bodies being buried by the government.

Hassan Abbas, the Tanzanian governments chief spokesman, told Al Jazeera that any allegation of the government covering up COVID-19 deaths was a nonsensical argument based on [the] politicisation of everything.

If someone argues we have more deaths than the 16 reported [then] where are the relatives of those unreported deaths? Bring the names and all the details, he wrote in a WhatsApp message.

To us, its insanity to hear such an argument.

Despite the pandemic, not much appears to have changed in Tanzanias daily life [Ericky Boniphace/AFP]

The government has closed schools, including universities, across the country as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Passenger flights have also been suspended and the health ministry has promoted physical-distancing rules. But besides hand-washing stations installed outside shops and more Tanzanians wearing face masks, not much has changed in the countrys daily life.

Meanwhile, President John Magufuli has encouraged Tanzanians to continue gathering in places of worship and to put their faith in God to protect the country from the virus, while urging people to continue working.

Magufuli has also ordered the suspension of allowances for politicians who refuse to attend parliament after opposition legislators stopped attending sessions following the deaths of three MPs in a span of 11 days, with many suspecting COVID-19 as the cause.

Burying body after body

Mussa Kwikima, a retired high court judge, passed away on April 27 at the Kairuki Hospital in Dar es Salaam. The 81-year-old was tested for COVID-19 following his death and two days later the family was notified on the phone that the results had come back positive.

Yet his death certificate, which was seen by Al Jazeera and dated on May 4, has natural as the cause of death.

Abdul*, a close relative of Kwikima, said when they visited the department of health at the Ilala municipal council on April 30 to discuss the burial, they saw the worker on duty open a book titled Mazishi ya COVID-19- Swahili for COVID-19 burials  and that Kwikima was the 256th name in the book.

At about 11pm (20:00 GMT) that night, the remains of Kwikima were brought to Kisutu cemetery, along with two other bodies. According to Abdul, the workers said they had been delivering bodies to cemeteries since the morning, and in just Ilala district they had buried 16 bodies that night  all either positive or suspected cases of COVID-19.

I felt bad for those government officers who were carrying the bodies, Abdul said. You can see how hard it is on them. They were just burying body after body all day. They looked completely exhausted. You can see it in their faces that theyre being drained by this work.

People look at newspapers without adhering to physical-distancing guidelines in Dar es Salaam [Ericky Boniphace/AFP]

Mbowe, the Chadema chairman, argued that the disease has gotten out of control and blamed the governments lack of preparations for it. Magufuli, he alleged, had failed to take the pandemic seriously from the start and has still not presented a supplementary budget to Parliament that would allocate resources to combating the virus spread.

So now theyre trying to conceal the truth. They dont want the world to know what is happening here, Mbowe added.

Last month, Amnesty International called on the government to end a crackdown on journalists, citing examples of reporters and media outlets who had their licences suspended for reporting on COVID-19. Meanwhile, Tanzania media reported on April 29 that a prominent lawyer in Arusha had been arrested over remarks he made about the coronavirus situation, hours after a local official directed police to arrest anyone sharing information on the coronavirus that conflicts with government data.

Amid reports of further arrests, Baruani Mshale, Mshares nephew, also said his family was worried about going public about their experience. Tanzanians are too scared to talk about their experiences. Even though Im only describing the facts of what happened, people are still warning me to be careful about talking about it at all, he said.

Its scary, but its important, Mshale added. We [Tanzanians] need to share our stories, communicate them and keep documenting them.

Fatma Karume, a prominent lawyer and a government critic, told Al Jazeera that the clampdown on the public sharing of COVID-19 information was a continuation of Magufulis policies since his 2015 election win.

Rights groups have accused Magufulis administration over the years of using increasingly repressive laws to stifle freedom of speech, media freedoms and access to information, including manipulating statistics and denying citizens alternative sources of independently verified data.

During an event last week in Chato, Magufulis village in northwest Tanzania where he has been residing for the last several weeks, the president questioned the accuracy of Tanzanias COVID-19 test kits and the credibility of technicians at the countrys national health laboratory after secretly sending non-human samples for coronavirus testing.

He said a sample taken from a goat and a pawpaw had tested positive for COVID-19, suggesting the kits were unreliable and that some who had tested positive were not actually infected with the virus.

The following day, Nyambura Moremi, the head of the laboratory, the only facility in Tanzania with the capacity to test for COVID-19, was suspended from her post as Magufuli launched an investigation into what he called a dirty game in the laboratory.

The removal of Moremi is ensuring that we do not get a different narrative than the particular narrative that Magufuli wants us to have, said Karume, former president of the Tanganyika Law Society.

This is not only about keeping mouths quiet, keeping the newspapers from writing about it, or even keeping Tanzanians from talking about it; this is to the point of not allowing the scientists to research it, she added, accusing the government of lying about the extent of the infections.

We need to know the real numbers, she said. We need to know how badly this disease is impacting this country.

*Name changed to protect the persons identity
Having been a prosecuting attorney in Oregon for 40 years, I was profoundly disappointed by your endorsement of the inexperienced social reformer Mike Schmidt over proven crime-fighter Ethan Knight for Multnomah County district attorney (Mike Schmidt for Multnomah County District Attorney, April 29). The job of the district attorney is to prosecute criminals and protect the innocent, not to use the office for risky sociological experiments at the expense of public safety.

Local residents daily report on the Nextdoor blog about the uptick in neighborhood crime, especially car prowls, thefts, break-ins and vandalism. These are the types of so-called "low-impact" offenses that would receive less priority or no priority in Schmidt's soft-on-crime approach. When it comes to law enforcement, you get what you vote for. Philadelphia, San Francisco and other cities recently elected "reform" DAs on similar dreamy promises of more safety through less prosecution and incarceration. The result has been more crime in those cities as lawbreakers simply return to the streets.

Ethan Knight has the overwhelming support of present and past prosecutors and police officers. For 20 years, Ethan has vigorously prosecuted all types of violent and nonviolent crimes, whereas his opponent spent his brief tenure as a prosecutor without trying a single violent felony to a jury. Our local law enforcement personnel know and trust Ethan to protect the community by pursuing real justice against dangerous offenders, not pandering and apologizing to them on ideological grounds, as Schmidt advocates.

Stephen F. Peifer, Portland

Peifer is a retired assistant U.S. attorney, former Multnomah County deputy district attorney and former Oregon assistant attorney general
DURHAM, N.C. - Electrical engineers at Duke University have devised a low-cost method for passively locating sources of radio waves such as Wi-Fi and cellular communication signals.

Their technique could lead to inexpensive devices that can find radio wave devices like cellular phones or Wi-Fi emitters, or cameras that capture images using the radio waves already bouncing all around us.

The results appear online on May 12 in the journal Optica.

"In this paper we achieved spectral images of microwave noise sources themselves, which means we can locate radio and microwave sources, like antennas, while simultaneously characterizing what frequencies they are emitting over," said Aaron Diebold, an electrical and computer engineering research assistant at Duke, who led the research. "At optical frequencies, that would be like getting a color image of a hot object like a stove burner. While that is pretty simple optically, it takes different techniques in the radio and microwave regime."

Locating sources of these types of waves is already possible, but the techniques and equipment required are complex. Such devices traditionally use an array of many small, power-hungry antennae that cause these devices to become bulky and expensive. And because radio waves are so much larger than light waves, the methods used in optical frequencies are prohibitively complex and would result in extremely large detectors and other machinery.

In the new paper, the researchers turn to metamaterials instead. Metamaterials are synthetic materials composed of many individual engineered features, which together produce properties not found in nature through their structure rather than their chemistry. In this case, the metamaterial is a collection of squares containing inlaid wires in specific shapes that can be dynamically tuned to interact with radio waves passing through them.

By having some squares allow radio waves to pass through and others that block them, the researchers can create what is known as a coded aperture.

"We use the different patterns to encode data into a single measurement, which boosts the signal strength relative to what you would get with just a single, small antenna," said Mohammadreza Imani, a research scientist at Duke who will be joining Arizona State University as an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering later this year. "We also use the metamaterials to 'stamp' the different frequencies of the data, which allows us to tease them apart."

To understand how a coded aperture boosts signal, consider the grade-school experiment of looking at a solar eclipse by using a hole punched in cardboard to create an image on the sidewalk. As anyone who has ever done this knows, the smaller the hole, the sharper the detail of the eclipse. But a smaller hole also makes it dimmer and harder to see.

The solution is to make many tiny pinholes to create an array of eclipses, and then to use a computer to reconstruct them into a single image. This way you get the sharpness of the tiny pinhole with the brightness of a large pinhole. The key is in knowing the pattern of the holes -- also known as the coded aperture -- which the researchers control with the metamaterials.

The metamaterials also modulate various frequencies differently as they pass through the coded aperture, which allows the researchers to deduce the frequencies of the waves being detected.

The researchers demonstrated the usefulness of this approach in the paper. They first showed that they can "see" and identify the shape of radio waves emitted by a smiley-face-shaped antenna. They then showed that their system can work in the real world by locating radio wave sources in three dimensions relative to one another.

The researchers plan to continue to refine their methods in the hope of eventually being able to take "pictures" of objects and scenes with nothing more than the radio waves bouncing off of them.

"Passive imaging occurs in situations where you don't control the source, like taking a photo using light from the sun or light bulbs," said David R. Smith, the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke. "At microwave frequencies, there are lots of signals bouncing around constantly. These ambient RF waves could provide enough illumination for a metasurface imager to reconstruct images using the techniques described in this research."

###

This research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-18-1-0187).

CITATION: "Passive Microwave Spectral Imaging With Dynamic Metasurface Apertures," Aaron V. Diebold, Mohammadreza F. Imani, Thomas Fromenteze, Daniel L. Marks, and David R. Smith. Optica, DATE 2020. DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.386516
WASHINGTON, D. C. - Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge joined with several of her Democratic colleagues on Tuesday to introduce legislation to expand voting options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation that she introduced with colleagues including Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan would require states to provide no-excuse mail-in absentee voting for the 2020 elections, maintain an early in-person voting period of at least 20 days for the 2020 elections and give states $2.5 billion to fund those programs.

It would also implement and promote curbside voting, improve access to voter registration and ensure voting access to individuals with disabilities, American Indian voters, Alaska Native voters and rural voters.

While the health and safety of voters is a top priority during the current public health emergency, we must make sure the pandemic does not impede full, unfettered access to the ballot box, said a statement from Fudge, who chairs a House election subcommittee that conducted hearings last year that concluded there were widespread voter suppression efforts around the country. Voters must have safe, accessible options and sufficient time to cast their ballots without unnecessary confusion and potential voter disenchantment."

The bill is likely to get more traction in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, where its main sponsor is Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, than in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, where its main sponsor is California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris. Organizations supporting it include the American Civil Liberties Union, MoveOn, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Common Cause.

In Ohio, coronavirus concerns shuttered polling places where voters were supposed to cast ballots in the states March 17 primary election. Ohios General Assembly extended balloting until April 28 and converted it to a vote-by-mail election.

A group of Ohios elected Democrats are seeking policy changes in the state that include expanded voter registration and streamlined ballot requests to prepare for a November election that could be upended by coronavirus. The Democrats said their proposed changes would boost the number of Ohioans who vote early and reduce Election Day lines, which would be useful whether or not further coronavirus outbreaks shutter polling places.

Typically, about one-third of voters in Ohio vote early, and the Democrats said theyd like to see the number get closer to one-half.

Ohios Republican Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, backs some of their suggestions, like establishing an online application process for voters to obtain mail-in ballots, providing postage-paid envelopes for applications and mail-in ballots, and increasing money for local election offices. He disagrees with their proposal to allow third party groups to collect and deliver ballots, arguing it would create opportunities for cheating.

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12.05.2020 LISTEN

Gomoa Central District Assembly in the Central Region has intensified Wear Your Face Masks Campaign as a way of curbing the spread of Coronavirus infections in the District

According to the District Chief Executive, Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo, the Assembly in collaboration with the Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Hon. Naana Eyiah, enough Face Masks have been given Free of Charge to the Communities for distribution to individuals

"This explains why we want to enforce Wearing of Face Masks to wall off the spread of Covid-19 infections in the District

Even though Gomoa Central District has not recorded confirmed cases, we will not wait till we are taken unaware before rushing into operation.

Our neighbouring Assemblies, Gomoa West, Agona West, and Effutu have recorded confirmed cases respectively, so we ought to be extra careful and to stay safe"

Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo stated these when he led Gomoa Central Covid-19 Risk Management Team to visit Gomoa Afransi Market to interact with the Market Women and to encourage Wearing of Face Masks

He stressed the need for everyone to wear Face Masks adding the Government was doing everything possible to eradicate the virus from the system.

" His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led NPP government is doing everything within its power to ensure total eradication of Covid-19 pandemic which is gradually draining the nation's coffers.

Enough public education on the COVID-19 pandemic has been given to us. Every Ghanaian knows that Covid-19 is real.

Thank God most people are adhering to the protocols being regular washing of hands, the use of hand Sanitizers, social distancing, and Wearing of Face Masks.

Unfortunately, Social Distancing and Wearing of Face Masks is what every Assembly is fighting to enforce in its operational area"

Apart from the Assembly's Covid-19 Risk Management Team, our Member of Parliament, Hon. Naana Eyiah has also set up Covid-19 Community Education Team to ensure compliance of the protocols"

The DCE lauded Gomoa Central Member of Parliament for her immense contribution towards the fight against Covid-19 infections in the District adding it has enhanced programmes and activities of the Assembly in the wake of the deadly pandemic

In a related development, the Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) of Ghana Port and Habour Authority at Takoradi, Captain Ebenezer Baise Afedzi has donated 1,500 Face Masks to Gomoa Central District Assembly for distribution to Gomoa Achiase, Biseadze, and Afransi Communities as his contribution towards the fight against Covid-19 infections in the District.

Captain Ebenezer Baise Afedzi in an interview with newsmen noted that the donation was to support his brothers and sisters in the beneficiary Communities.

He encouraged the people to wear face masks adding the would prevent them from coronavirus infections.

Captain Afedzie assured the Assembly that he will be assisting the District with whatever necessary to combat the covid-19 pandemic

DCE for Gomoa Central, Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo thanked Captain Ebenezer Baise Afedzie for the donation

He disclosed that the 1,500 Face Masks he has donated would be distributed to individuals in each household in the beneficiary communities.

Nana Otoku Appiah V, Abaatanhene of Gomoa Afransi on behalf of the Communities thanked Captain Afedzie for his concern about the safety of his brothers and sisters especially the aged in Gomoa

" On behalf of Nana Obranu Kwesi Atta VI, Chief of Gomoa Afransi, I wish to express our profound gratitude to Captain Afedzie for remembering us in these crucial times.

We assured him of fair distribution of the face masks to serve the purpose"

Present were Hon. Kweku Nyarko Koomson, Presiding Member for Gomoa Central District Assembly, Hon. Fifi Duncan, Assembly Member for Afransi Electoral Area, Mr. Bashirudeen Wahab Aidoo, Head of Community Development in Gomoa Central and Mr. Francis Adarkwa, Head of Gomoa Central Environmental Health Department
Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both New Mexico Democrats, have introduced legislation to designate 446 miles of the Gila River and its tributaries as wild and scenic.

The M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act is named in memory of the longtime Gila River conservation advocate.

We worked closely with community members, private landowners, small business owners and agencies to identify where the designation boundaries should be, Udall said in a call with reporters Tuesday, adding that the measure would protect water quality, wildlife habitat and existing grazing and irrigation practices.

New Mexico currently has about 120 river miles  portions of the Jemez, Pecos, Rio Chama and Rio Grande  designated as wild and scenic.

The Gila bill would not interfere with current plans by the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity to divert water from the Gila River for municipalities, farmers and ranchers. Existing irrigation systems on the river are also excluded from the bill.

The legislation includes river segments on land managed by state and federal agencies.

All private property is excluded from the legislation, unless the property owner specifically requested that their land be included. Prior to the change, some ranchers had been concerned that a wild and scenic designation could affect their water rights or grazing rights.

The most important part of this legislation are the words that charge the agencies with how they will manage the segments, Heinrich said. Just as important is the map (of river segments), which was informed by thousands of hours of community members going out and making sure on the ground that what we think is there is actually there.

Jamie Crockett, co-owner of Gila Backcountry Services and part of a local coalition formed in support of the bill, said the designation would boost southwest New Mexicos growing industry of outdoor recreation.

The greater protections for river corridors improve opportunities for businesses like mine to offer a wild experience in the nations first wilderness, Crockett said. Future infrastructure support with things like signage and more thorough trail maintenance  those little things improve access to the river for the whole community.
Some beachgoers actively use the beach while others relax, despite Gov. Newsom's active-use-only order at Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Huntington Beach is pressing ahead for an injunction against Gov. Gavin Newsoms decision last month to close the citys beaches.

After the governor ordered Orange County beaches closed, citing crowds who appeared to violate social distancing requirements, Huntington Beach, Dana Point and Seal Beach reached an agreement last week with state authorities to reopen their coastline to active recreation. Under the agreement, people can walk, jog, surf and swim at the beaches but cannot sunbathe or linger on the sand.

Michael Gates, the city attorney for Huntington Beach, argues such an arrangement is untenable, discriminating against people whose disabilities dont allow them to remain mobile and mothers who want to sit with their small children in the sand.

Moreover, Gates said in an interview Monday, the issue at the heart of the citys lawsuit is one of executive overreach.

Rather than working with local governments, Newsom has simply ordered them around, he said, like when he announced in a televised briefing he was closing Orange County's beaches  a directive that caught municipal authorities off guard. In an emergency session held that night, the Huntington Beach City Council voted to seek an injunction against the order.

Its governor control, governor control, governor control," he said. "Thats simply not supposed to happen in our constitutional government. The governor cant step on the toes of our local officials.

In court papers filed last week, Jennifer Rosenberg, a deputy attorney general who represents the state government in the lawsuit, said Newsom has broad authority to steer the state through an unprecedented, once-in-a-century public health crisis that has brought normal life to a halt.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Nathan R. Scott heard arguments Monday afternoon and is expected to issue a written ruling by the end of the week, Gates said. Scott declined to issue an injunction the day after Newsom's order.

A point of pride for Huntington Beach at any time, in those as stressful as these, Gates said, the coastline should be fully open to city residents. For many of them, for most of them, the beach is an escape, he said.

Times Community News staff writer Hillary Davis contributed to this report.
The tally of coronavirus cases in



the city increased to 14,781 on Tuesday with the addition of 426 new infections, while the toll rose to 556 with 28 more deaths, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The BMC said 613 new suspected coronavirus patients were admitted at various city hospitals.

Also, 203 more COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered people to 3,313, a BMC release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lindt cafe siege survivor Louisa Hope spent months at the Prince of Wales Hospital in 2015 and is devastated she won't be there on Tuesday for International Nurses Day to thank the staff who helped her during a traumatic period in her life.

Louisa Hope spent months in hospital after the Sydney Siege.

I was wounded, shrapnel and everything through my body  I thought I was going to lose my foot, quite frankly," she said of her involvement when Man Haron Monis walked into the busy cafe in Sydney's Martin Place and took 18 people hostage.

The stand-off ran for nearly 17 hours before the siege ended in blood and gunfire, leaving cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson dead, while three other hostages, including Ms Hope, suffered life-changing wounds.

After three months in hospital and rehab, Ms Hope had recovered and her treatment motivated her to start something for the nurses who had looked after her.
3 1 of 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Show More Show Less 2 of 3 LI WENLIANG/Getty Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Ector County officially confirmed its 100th positive case of coronavirus Monday. The Ector County Health Department website reported five new positive cases over the weekend, making the total 100. There are three probable cases at this time. ECHD reported that 72 people have recovered. There have been 1,572 tests taken with 1,393 negative results and 79 pending results. ECHD has contacted 1,233 people during contact tracing.

The drive-thru at the Ector County Coliseum received nine positive cases. Of the 87 tests done, 78 are negative and zero are pending. In Ector County, 239 people have called the triage center for testing.




The Navy plans to look into possible impact of radioactive contaminated water on its operations, officials said Tuesday, amid concerns over Japan's planned release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.







Japan has been preparing to release contaminated water from the power plant devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 into the ocean. More than 1.1 million tons of tainted water is reportedly in temporary storage at the Fukushima plant.







According to the notice of a bid posted on the government's procurement system site, the Navy plans to commission research into potential impacts of radioactive water within operational areas on its maritime operations and ways to stably carry out missions.







"We've seen a growing possibility of contaminated water being released into our operational areas and we need to assess its impact on the health of our sailors and military hardware, among others," a Navy official said.







It is the first time that the Navy has taken steps to look into the Fukushima case, though it did not specifically mention the Japan case in its plan to commission the research.







"The planned study is meant to devise detailed guidelines and response manuals in general terms," the officer said. (Yonhap)


Prayagraj : , May 12 (IANS) As many as 12 out of 15 members of Allahabad University's (AU) Executive Council, the apex decision-making body of the varsity, are not in favour of changing the name of the central university to Prayagraj University.

The Union ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) recently asked the university administration to seek opinion of all members of its Executive Council (EC) through e-mail.

The move comes after Allahabad was renamed as Prayagraj by the Yogi Adityanath government in October 2018.

The university, however, continued as Allahabad university.

PRO of Allahabad University, Shailendra Mishra, said that the EC members were requested to inform about their stand by the registrar Prof N K Shukla following instructions from the HRD ministry.

Twelve members have conveyed their unwillingness on changing the name of the university, he said.

Three remaining members of the executive council did not respond, the PRO added.

He said that the views of the EC members had been conveyed to HRD ministry on Monday.

As per rules, the proposal to change the name of Allahabad University has to be passed by the EC and sent to HRD ministry, following which it will be tabled in the Parliament since it is a Central university.

After being passed by the Parliament, the proposal would be sent to the President for approval and necessary changes can be made in the university's act, statues and ordinances.

The HRD move was being seen as a precursor of the Centre formally seeking a proposal in this regard from AU if majority of EC members were found in favor of changing the name.

The fresh communique from HRD ministry is in continuance of its two earlier letters on the issue.

In an earlier letter dated December 4, 2018, then chief secretary, Uttar Pradesh government, had requested for AU's name change.

HRD ministry had also mentioned a letter of former commissioner, Allahabad division, Ashish Goyal dated November 27, 2019 wherein he had sought change in the name of the university.

Former dean (science) Prof AK Srivastava had taken to the social media to air his opposition to the proposed move.

He had pointed out that the name change would in no way help students and the society as a whole.

However, dissenting voices started emanating from student leaders and former or present teachers of AU.

A senior member of the executive council said, "At a time when we are fighting a global pandemic, exams are still pending, admissions have to be done, we are being asked to express opinion whether we support changing the name of AU. Even if everything had been normal, none of us would have agreed to change the name. We are identified by the name 'University of Allahabad' and that should remain intact." Former faculty member Prof. M C Chattopadhyay said, "AU has a rich legacy of 133 years. The institution is popular and known world over by this name. Names of many cities have been changed but the names of eminent institutions have remained unchanged." Many students and teachers have also started a signature campaign against the proposal. The online petition has been signed by over 4,500 students in just 24 hours of its launch.
One hundred and fifty years ago, on May 12, 1870, the Manitoba Act received royal assent and became law. This Act of the Canadian Parliament made Manitoba Canadas fifth province, the only province to join Confederation through the actions of an Indigenous people, the Metis. Its a day to reflect on our past with celebration, but also a day to look forward with hope toward our future.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

One hundred and fifty years ago, on May 12, 1870, the Manitoba Act received royal assent and became law. This Act of the Canadian Parliament made Manitoba Canadas fifth province, the only province to join Confederation through the actions of an Indigenous people, the Metis. Its a day to reflect on our past with celebration, but also a day to look forward with hope toward our future.

This year, the Metis Nation, led by the Manitoba Metis Federation, has prepared itself to ensure that Manitoba 150 is celebrated, and the role of the Metis people in bringing Manitoba into Confederation is recognized by all Manitobans and Canadians.

It is our goal to ensure the role the Metis Nation played in creating the beautiful province of Manitoba is both understood and highlighted as Manitobans and all Canadians celebrate this milestone year.

It was through the courage of president Louis Riel and his Metis provisional government in 1869 that the Metis were able to take their place in shaping western Canadas future. The Canadian government was encroaching westward and had taken the legislative steps to assert its governance over the Northwest without consulting the people of the Northwest.

It was the through the dedicated work of the provisional government and the determination and vision of Louis Riel that democracy would prevail for the people of the new province  no matter what race or creed. Riel made sure French-language and denominational-school rights were protected. He was a defender of minority rights, not just the rights of Metis.

We know all too well that not all the promises of rights in the Manitoba Act were respected. The guarantee of Metis land rights of 1.4 million acres was not honoured, but nonetheless created the opportunity generations later for us to fight for those rights through the courts and win.

We know that we endured a long, difficult period in Manitoba, a time when Metis people were not respected. Riel himself was elected three times to the House of Commons without being allowed to take his seat. In fact, the government of Canada placed a bounty on his head of $5,000.

However, the Metis Nation and the Manitoba Metis government have worked hard to fight for the respect Metis people deserve as the founders of this province. And today, we can express our pride outward to all Manitobans, to Canadians and to the world.

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As Louis Riel said in the second session of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia on April 26, 1870: "We desire at all times to hear public opinion and, as far as possible, to be guided by it. Our wish is not merely to invite public confidence, but to show ourselves worthy of it by doing what we can to promote the welfare and prosperity of all."

In the spirit of those words, the Metis Nation vows to continue to work hard for its rightful place in Manitoba and across the Metis homeland, and for the opportunity to build a good life and envision a bright future.

So today, let us remember the efforts, resilience and strength of the Metis Nation, one of Canadas founding nations, and specifically the Manitoba Metis community that brought Manitoba into being as the fifth province in the Canadian federation.

The Metis Nation and the Manitoba Metis community have so much to be grateful for  we are a vibrant people, united by the relationships with our families, communities and culture throughout the Metis Nation homeland. Our history represents both the trials and triumphs we have faced together and our resilience to look ahead to our future in the beautiful province of Manitoba that we share with all other Manitobans and Canadians.

On behalf of the Metis Nation and Metis people across the Metis homeland, we wish all Canadians a happy Manitoba Day!

David Chartrand is president of the Manitoba Metis Federation.
ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of SNA International LLC (SNA) today announced two new members of its executive leadership team.

Ryan Hayes, President of SNA Cecily Sullivan, Chief Growth Officer of SNA

Ryan Hayes, MBA, president of SNA, is a senior leader with over 20 years of experience supporting high-impact missions. Before joining SNA, Hayes held a variety of operational leadership positions, including president for Inflow, vice president of forensic intelligence for PAE, vice president of identity operations for A-T Solutions, deputy technical director at the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) and serving in the US Navy. Ryan helped establish and lead the TEDAC, Combined Explosive Exploitation Cell, and Naval Forensics and Biometrics programs for the Department of Justice and Department of Defense. Hayes earned a bachelor's in political science from the University of Mary Washington and a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hayes commented, "I'm excited about the opportunity to lead SNA into the future. SNA is known for scientific, technical, and professional excellence, and has a sterling reputation in the government industry. I'm looking forward to working with SNA's customers, partners, and employees to continue and enhance this culture of excellence while creating new growth for both the company and its employees."

Steve Niezgoda, chief executive officer of SNA, expressed, "Ryan brings a deep understanding of forensic science and identity intelligence. With a proven track record building and leading organizations that deliver scientific and technical excellence, Ryan's expertise will benefit not only SNA's customers, but its employees and partners, as well. We are fortunate to have him join SNA to lead the company into its next phase of growth."

Cecily Sullivan, MFS, chief growth officer of SNA, has 19 years of senior leadership, management, and technical laboratory management/operational experience in the defense, intelligence, and state and local law enforcement communities. Sullivan held numerous positions across the years at PAE, MRIGlobal, Signature Science, the Austin Police Department Crime Laboratory, the Texas Department of Public Safety Austin Crime Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Most recently, Sullivan was a director of business development at PAE where she oversaw all the new business for counter-threat solutions area. Sullivan earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from New Mexico State University and a master of science in forensics criminalistics from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Sullivan commented, "I'm looking forward to building on SNA's past successes. The company is delivering highly differentiated scientific work in complex mission environments and has a motivated and qualified workforce. SNA is poised for growth, and I'm excited to help lead the company into new customers and markets."

Niezgoda observed, "Cecily is both a respected scientist and a proven business development leader. SNA's markets demand scientific and technical excellence, and Cecily's experience creating innovative solutions that meet scientific quality standards will generate tremendous value for both our customers and partners. We are fortunate Cecily is joining SNA as we will greatly benefit from her scientific expertise and vast knowledge of the defense, homeland security, justice, and intel markets."

About SNA International LLC

SNA International LLC, headquartered in Alexandria VA, specializes in forensic, biometric, and identity intelligence solutions. Founded on lessons learned during post-9/11 human identification efforts, SNA combines forensic science and information technology to create innovative, cost-effective solutions that meet and exceed scientific quality standards. SNA personnel have supported highly visible human identification operations (including 50+ mass fatality events) and currently serve some of the largest federal forensic laboratories. In 2019, SNA was recognized by Inc. Magazine as a Top 500 Fastest-Growing Company and named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as Region III Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year.

SOURCE SNA International

Related Links

www.sna-intl.com


BOCA RATON, Fla., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) held its Annual Issues Symposium today (AIS Virtual). The eventthemed "A New Decade In Sight"featured NCCI's chief actuary, Donna Glenn, FCAS, MAAA, who delivered the company's highly anticipated State of the Line Report. NCCI's State of the Line Report provided a detailed description of the 2019 workers compensation industry results, market trends, and the impact of the pandemic.

"The workers compensation system faces significant uncertainty because of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic fallout," Glenn said. "COVID-19 is a shock to the industry, impacting almost every aspect of workers compensation." Nevertheless, NCCI's chief actuary said she is confident the system will respond effectively.

In the presentation, Glenn said that total workers compensation premium is expected to decline going forward as unemployment rises, with varying impacts by industry. As rules continue to change with respect to compensability, these changes could put upward pressure on system costs.

As presented in this year's State of the Line Report, the Calendar-Year 2019 workers compensation combined ratio was 85% for private carriers. This is the sixth consecutive year that the workers compensation line of business posted an underwriting gain.

"The workers compensation industry had another good year in 2019," Glenn said. "Declining claim frequency for the year, a strong industry reserve position, and favorable metrics in the residual market characterize the health of this line of business. I believe the line is well positioned to weather the challenges ahead."

On an accident-year basis, the industry-reported 2019 workers compensation combined ratio was 99%. NCCI expects the 2019 accident year's combined ratio to develop quite favorably over time.

Other market indicators and trends highlighted in NCCI's 2020 State of the Line Report included the following:

Total net written premium volume for the workers compensation line declined between 2018 and 2019 to $47 billion .

. NCCI estimates that reserves held by private carriers as of year-end 2019 are $10 billion redundant.

redundant. During 2019, on a preliminary basis, lost-time claim frequency across NCCI jurisdictions declined, on average, by 4% from the prior year.

During 2019, on a preliminary basis across NCCI jurisdictions, average accident-year indemnity-claim severity increased by 4% relative to the prior year. Medical lost-time claim severity increased by 3%, on average.

The workers compensation Residual Market Pool premium volume was just under $1 billion in 2019, representing a market share of about 7%.

The official AIS Virtual hashtag is #ncciAIS.

For more information about NCCI's State of the Line Report, please visit ncci.com or contact us at [email protected] .

About NCCI

Founded in 1923, the mission of the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) is to foster a healthy workers compensation system. In pursuit of this mission, NCCI gathers data, analyzes industry trends, and prepares objective insurance rate and loss cost recommendations. These activitiestogether with research, analytical services and tools, and an overall commitment to excellencehave positioned NCCI as the trusted source for workers compensation information. To learn more about NCCI, please visit ncci.com.

Contact: Cristine Pike

Manager, Communications

561-893-3631

SOURCE NCCI
A truck driver from Uttarakhand spent more than 40 days in his vehicle due to the nationwide lockdown before reaching his home district Champawat.

He reached Champawat after 47 days on Saturday where the administration put him under home quarantine for 14 days.

Sunil Kumar is a resident of Munch area and has been working for a transport company based in Delhi for the last six years.

According to Sunil, he was stuck in the lockdown and spent 40 days and nights in his truck near the Rajasthan border.

I left for Hyderabad from Delhi on March 22. When I reached Shahpura area near Delhi-Rajasthan border on March 23, I was stranded there due to imposition of lockdown, said Kumar.

Rajasthan Police didnt allow me to proceed and Delhi Police didnt allow me to go back. So I had nowhere to go. So I decided to wait in the truck itself. We keep a stove and ration for a few days in our truck. I cooked food in the truck and later bought food items from a grocery shop nearby, he said.

Kumar said waiting for such a long time was very difficult. The difference of day and night didnt seem to matter anymore. Sometimes I would spend my nights by counting stars. I was hoping that lockdown would end on April 24 and then I will be able to go home or Hyderabad. But it was extended further and so did my difficulties, said Sunil.

Kumar said he faced many problems while being stuck in the truck. He said he could not charge his mobile phone after some time and so couldnt talk to his family members.

Somehow I managed to spend 40 days and 40 nights in my truck. It was a very difficult time. Weird thoughts would cross my mind. I missed my family, especially my pregnant wife. There were times when I thought if I would someday reach my home or not, he said.

Kumar said that finally when the lockdown was relaxed and commercial vehicles like trucks were allowed to ply on May 3, he left for Delhi and reached there on May 5.

In Delhi, I left my truck in my transport office. I registered for return on the website of my state government. My health screening was conducted and I boarded a bus for Uttarakhand. With the help of the authorities from my state, I finally reached Champawat, my home district on the morning of May 9, he said.

Here, the local authorities quarantined me in a shelter house and took my sample for the coronavirus test. When my report came negative on Sunday, they sent me for home quarantine for 14 days, he said.

I am feeling very happy that I am finally home. Now I will go to Delhi only after my wife delivers the baby. Sometimes in the sleep, I still feel I am in the truck, he said.
Civil society calls for extension to evictions moratorium

Dozens of organisations have endorsed a letter to the National Command Council asking for the moratorium on evictions to continue during alert level four

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) is a civil society organisation based at the School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. CALS is also a law clinic registered with the Legal Practice Council. As such, CALS connects the worlds of both academia and social justice. CALS vision is a socially, economically and politically just society where repositories of power, including the State and the private sector, uphold human rights.

Since the declaration of the ongoing National State of Disaster, CALS has sought to assist and support government in ensuring the continued respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution), while containing the spread of COVID-19. CALS continues to support the roll-out of governments programmes to combat COVID-19, and addresses this correspondence in the spirit thereof.

This correspondence is the product of engagement by CALS with its partner organisations, and follows on from previous similar correspondences. These include 

An initial letter proposing an urgent moratorium on evictions signed by such organisations (including CALS) dated 20 March 2020; and A letter from the C19 Peoples Coalition, an alliance of over 290 social movements, trade unions, community organisations and NGOs dated 4 April 2020, which proposed various amendments to a previous version of the Regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002.

Since the publication of the Regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, published as GNR 480 in Government Gazette 43258 of 29 April 2020 (the Regulations pertaining to Alert Level 4), CALS and its partner organisations have raised and received numerous queries and concerns about the application thereof. Of particular concern is Regulation 19 regarding evictions.

The correspondence of 20 March 2020 emphasised that 

[E]victions and displacement will place a greater number of vulnerable people at risk. One cannot practice physical distancing should you find yourself and your belongings on the side of the road or in and open space and exposed to the public with no means of protection. One cannot practice a heightened level of hygiene by washing hands in the recommended manner where the only access to water is a communal standpipe and shared ablution facilities in an informal settlement or in a transitional relocation area.

...It cannot be disputed that the lack of stable housing is a major barrier to being healthy. In the context of a crisis of unknown proportions, housing is more important now than ever before and the State must take measures to prioritise protecting the most vulnerable by preventing evictions into homelessness. Research worldwide has shown that homelessness is closely linked to exposure to infectious diseases, specifically respiratory illnesses such as Tuberculosis and immunodeficiency. Covid-19 is no exception.

We note that government responded favourably to this argument, including through the introduction of a broad moratorium on evictions in the Regulations pertaining to Alert Level 5. This was necessary to inter alia support the need for persons to remain in their dwellings to combat the spread of COVID-19.

However, in the Regulations pertaining to Alert Level 4, that moratorium has been narrowed in Regulation 19, which reads as follows 

A competent court may grant an order for the eviction of any person from land or a home in terms of the provisions of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of1997 and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998: Provided that any order of eviction shall be stayed and suspended until the last day Alert Level 4. unless a court decides that it is not just and equitable to stay and suspend the order until the last day of the Alert Level 4 period.

Given that the premise of a national lockdown remains the status quo under Alert Level 4, the relaxation of the moratorium on evictions appears unjustified. In the circumstances, CALS respectfully believes that Regulation 19 requires amendment, clarification and/or further detail.

In particular, we submit that 

Any execution of an eviction order during Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown could never be deemed just and equitable by a court; the continued restrictions on inter alia movement and transport are underscored by the need to Stay at Home, and thus necessarily render any eviction unjust in the current context. For this reason, the reference to this possibility in the Regulation is irrational and thus unlawful; Even the institution of eviction proceedings during Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown would operate unjustly against the defendant; the continued restrictions on inter alia movement and travel operate to prevent defendants from accessing legal services to aid their defence during Alert Level 4. Any institution and hearing of an eviction application would thus violate the defendants right of access to the courts. For this reason, the Regulations implied reference to this possibility is irrational and thus unlawful; and Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown was instituted on 1 May 2020. The government has not communicated the date on which Alert Level 4 shall conclude. Moreover, it remains possible that this period will be succeeded by a further period of Alert Level 5, rather than a relaxation into Alert Level 3. This uncertainty renders the Regulations reference to a stay of eviction orders until the last day of the Alert Level 4 period irrational and thus unlawful.

Given the above, we recommend that Regulation 19 be amended to reflect a full moratorium on the institution and hearing of eviction proceedings, as well as the execution of eviction orders and all home demolitions, for the entire duration of Alert Level 4. We accordingly propose that Regulation 19 be replaced in its entirety by the following:

No person may have their home demolished or be evicted from their place of residence, including in terms of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 or the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998, and regardless of whether it is a formal or informal residence or a farm dwelling, for the duration of the Alert Level 4 period.

CALS continues to offer our support to government, and trusts that our input on the Regulations will be given the urgent consideration we feel is due in the spirit of this engagement.

Please note that the following organisations have endorsed this correspondence:
On Monday, US President Donald Trump stormed out of a press conference after getting into an altercation with an Asian American reporter.

CBS' Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus. To this, Trump replied saying that the reporter should ask the same questions to China, and not him. Jiang pushed back and asked why Trump was specifically telling that to her, implying her race. But Trump did what Trump does best, ignored her for the rest of the briefing. When he couldn't take her questions anymore, he stormed out.

This is not the first time Trump has berated a female reporter. Of course, he is hostile to all reporters in general. But he seems to really have a problem when female reporters attempt to speak to him, or worse when they question him.

From the US President flipping over comments by the media to bizarre solutions to coronavirus which have no scientific basis whatsoever, Trump's press briefings are a sight to behold.

But there is one other thing that thousands around the world have observed - the differential treatment meted out to men and women at the briefings. It is not just different, but also quite disrespectful at times. On countless occasions, Trump has called female reporters names like horrid or nasty for simply asking challenging questions, names that he hasn't called their male counterparts.

A few days ago, Trump had asked the same reporter, Jiang, to keep her voice down when she questioned why the US President hadn't acted earlier despite knowing that about the imminent threat from the virus. When the President of the United States of America tells a woman to keep her voice down, for merely doing her job and asking the right questions, you know that stems from deep-seated patriarchy which dictates that women should be meek, soft-spoken and accept whatever is thrown their way - no questions asked.

Take for example, his interaction with CBS reporter Paula Reid. When Reid asked Trump why he had decided to close down the biggest economy in the world in January when apparently the US had no coronavirus deaths, Trump was left dumbfounded. When she egged on and asked why Trump hadn't used all this time to prepare the country for the chaos that the pandemic would cause and strengthen the healthcare infrastructure, Trump's response was mansplaining. And he called Reid disgraceful.

An article by New York Times wrote about how Trump's line of defense against the virus is an attack and almost every time, it is a woman on the receiving end of his wrath. Whenever Trump is questioned about his policies, he gets angry and offended. More so if the person raising these questions is a woman. And his retaliation is usually personal and even vindictive.

So, why doesn't Trump like women reporters? He answers this question himself in an interview to New York Post.

He named the aforementioned reporters and said that they were no Donna Reed. For the unaware, Donna Reed was the personification of the perfect American housewife back in the 1950s. Clearly, to Trump, women should adhere to the conventional stereotypes and any woman who doesn't, strikes him as unusual.

Paula Reid had a fitting reply to this:

President Trump tells @nypost I am nothing like 50's American archetypal mom Donna Reed. Fact-check: True. pic.twitter.com/sUTgWwsNX9  Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) May 5, 2020

Forbes refers to a study to explain why Trump is acting out against women reporters. The study in question suggests that whenever people on the losing end of a contest or a debate, they might fixate on the qualities of the opponent which they believe go against stereotypes and use that to bring them down.

Not just the coronavirus crisis, Trump has had a problem with female journalists ever since he came into power. In 2017, Trump interrupted a call with the Irish Prime Minister to compliment a female reporter. He was on the call when journalist Caitriona Perry caught his eye. He referred to her and her colleagues as the "beautiful Irish press" and asked Perry to come forward. He asked her name and what she did. Then, Trump told the Irish PM that the journalist had a "nice smile" and therefore must be treating him well. Reducing the reporter to just her smile simply devalues her as a professional.

In 2016, a female reporter, Megyn Kelly had asked Trump why he called women he disliked "fat pigs" and the like. However, he had dismissed her as an angry woman later in an interview. Yes, Trump has also been interrogated by male reporters. And they often ask similar questions, much like their female colleagues. But women just seem to annoy Trump more.

Nevertheless, it seems Trump has met his match in these fiery women reporters. And that scares him.

We're not the only ones who feel this way. This is what Twitterati have to say:

Trump when approached by female reporters lol pic.twitter.com/iYGoIk4CSj  TheReal Bubba18 (@ScottE18) May 11, 2020

I wish all major news organizations would agree to ONLY have their female reporters cover tRUmp's (de)pressers for a few go rounds, and really take it to the fool. I'm pretty sure it would make him lose it- BIGLY  After tRUmp-Conservatives for America (@wkpixley1) May 11, 2020

After listening to trump today who just now abruptly ended the briefing because he was called on his lies, & began to insult 2 female reporters one Chinese, the other Kaitlynn Collins , I guess I can feel secure in the fact, trump is still a lying coward who cant handle truth  katherine  (@katherineOma) May 11, 2020
Overnight reports from Jacksonville police:

 Three men were cited after being accused of showing up at an East Water Street residence to start a fight.

Samuel G. Brinkley, 26, of 1007 W. Monroe St. in Auburn, William H. Pierce, 21, of 15850 Downing Road in Waverly and Steve E. Tieman, 20, of 26271 Hunter Road in Hettick were cited on disorderly conduct-fighting charges at 8:26 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of East Water Street, police said.

Tieman was arrested on a charge of criminal damage to property after police said he drove a vehicle into a fence at the property, according to a police report.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Champignon Brands Inc. (Champignon or the Company) (CSE: SHRM) (FWB: 496) (OTCQB: SHRMF), a human optimization sciences Company with an emphasis on ketamine and psychedelic medicine, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Dr. Roger McIntyre as Chief Executive Officer.



Dr. McIntyre is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. Dr. McIntyre is also Executive Director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation in Toronto; Director and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) in Chicago, Illinois.; Professor and Nanshan scholar at Guangzhou Medical University; and Adjunct Professor at the College of Medicine at Korea University. Furthermore, Dr. McIntyre is a Clinical Professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, and a Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine.

Dr. McIntyre had the vision to implement and develop Canada's first ever treatment center, the Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence (the CRTCE), providing rapid-onset treatments for persons with mood disorders. The CRTCE is involved in knowledge application (using existing scientific research to improve outcomes in depression, PTSD and substance and alcohol use disorders [DPS]); knowledge generation (new research and development); and knowledge application (educating health care providers throughout North America and the world on new rapid-onset treatments for DPS).

The CRTCE is the only center in North America and globally to demonstrate that rapid-onset treatments improve health outcomes in one to two weeks and get people back to work, which is of enormous importance to individuals, as well as payers in the private space.

My overarching aim as Chief Executive Officer is to establish Champignon as the apotheosis of integrated ketamine treatment delivery and the commercialization of our own IP psychedelic-based treatments. The clinical infrastructure, complementary asset base and human capital that Champignon has acquired leaves me very confident we will provide life changing treatments for persons with depression, all the while contemporaneously rewarding our investor base, stated Dr. McIntyre. I have been honored as a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto, as well as a Professor at Universities across the United States and Asia and currently head the worlds largest clinical R&D network in Depression. The Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence, that I envisaged and successfully implemented, is the worlds first integrated clinical and R&D centre in ketamine and psychedelic-based treatments and is identified as the most influential scientific centre for depression research.



Clarivate Analytics has named Dr. McIntyre one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds each year from 2014 to 2019. Dr. McIntyre is widely regarded as the world's most recognized psychiatrist in relation to mood disorders. He has extensive experience collaborating with private sector partners, including, but not limited to, entities within the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry and the health care industry in Canada, the United States and globally.

According to expertscape.com, a professional research database and repository of medical journal/scientific publications which objectively ranks people and institutions by their expertise in more than 29,000 biomedical topics, Dr. McIntyre is the top ranked expert worldwide as it pertains to depression.

Dr. McIntyre has published over 600 articles on the topic of mood disorders, along with an extensive number of books and chapters, and he has delivered thousands of lectures nationally and internationally on the topic of mood disorders.

We are extremely pleased and fortunate to be able to bring Dr. McIntyre aboard as CEO, commented Gareth Birdsall director of Champignon. Dr. McIntyres is the worlds leading authority on depression and associated mood disorders, which is further crystalized by his foresight in founding Canadas first integrated mood disorder treatment and integrated research center in the CRTCE. Dr. McIntyres clear ability to execute and his entrepreneurial nature, along with a demonstrated capacity to lead and delegate in dynamic and growing organizations, represent the skill sets that Champignon needs as it moves towards our North American clinic expansion and maturing novel drug discovery initiatives.

The Company also announces that Gareth Birdsall has relinquished the role of CEO to Dr. McIntyre and will maintain his directorship of Champignon. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Birdsall for his services throughout his tenure as CEO. Furthermore, the Company announces it is contemplating a name change to better reflect its diverse business lines and operating subsidiaries.

About Champignon Brands Inc.

Champignon Brands (CSE: SHRM) is focused on the formulation and manufacturing of novel ketamine, anaesthetics and adaptogenic delivery platforms for the nutraceutical and psychedelic medicine while being supported by a leading psychedelics medicines clinic platform. The Company is pursuing the development and commercialization of rapid onset treatments capable of improving health outcomes, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as substance and alcohol use disorders. Under a collaborative research agreement with the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, the Company is conducting preclinical studies and eventual human clinical trials, with the objective of demonstrating safety and efficacy of the combination of psilocybin and cannabidiol in treating mTBI with PTSD or stand-alone PTSD. Champignon continues to be inspired by sustainability, as its medicinal mushroom-infused SKUs are organic, non-GMO and vegan certified. For more information, visit the Companys website at: https://champignonbrands.com/ .

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Roger McIntyre

Chief Executive Officer

T: +1 (613) 967-9655

E: info@champignonbrands.com

FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES:

Tyler Troup

Circadian Group

E: SHRM@champignonbrands.com

FOR CHAMPIGNON BRANDS FRENCH INQUIRIES:

Remy Scalabrini

Maricom Inc.

E: rs@maricom.ca

T: (888) 585-MARI

The CSE and Information Service Provider have not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement
What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

__________________

Planning an expansion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kellys Roast Beef has still been able to build relationships with prospective franchisees, who have reached out from as far as Florida.

Just before Massachusetts began reporting widespread cases of COVID-19, Kellys Roast Beef in early March announced it was planning to expand, eyeing locations Worcester, Natick, Quincy and Providence, Rhode Island. The nearly 70-year-old iconic Boston eatery hopes to have as many as 50 total locations open and operating in the next five years.

Since then, Kellys Roast Beef, which lays claim to having invented the modern roast beef sandwich, says excitement has bubbled, with people reaching out from beyond New England interested in having a location.

But, restrictions in place because of the pandemic have altered how Kellys Roast Beef is connecting with these interested parties.

When we announced that Kellys was franchising, I had never seen anything like it before, Neil Newcomb, the CEO of Kellys Roast Beef franchising. Its very evident that this is a brand people love and feel connected with, whether they are Boston locals or transplants who have moved to new areas. The reaction has been really exciting, and even despite the pandemic, we are building relationships with prospective franchisees who are ready to join the family.

Newcomb has been connecting with prospective franchisees to build relationships despite not being able to meet in-person yet, according to a news release.

Kellys Roast Beef is an iconic brand that we take a lot of pride in, so we are taking the process of adding franchisees to our family very seriously. We want to form close connections with any new owners coming on board, added Newcomb. The virus has made this a little bit more difficult, but I have been fielding a lot of interest and having great phone conversations with people who are interested, and look forward to meeting with them in person once its safe to keep things moving.

Currently, existing Kellys Roast Beef locations have been adapting to restrictions in place because of the pandemic. The locations are offering delivery and some have drive-thru and take-out options. Additionally, all staff members are getting paid an extra $2 an hour. The brand is confident in its ability to withstand and continue growth even with social distancing in place, the news release read.

Kellys Roast Beef currently has locations in Revere, Danvers, Saugus, and Medford.

Including a franchise fee of $40,000, the total initial investment to open a Kellys franchise is $900,000 to $1.7 million. For the first 10 franchise agreements signed, the royalty will be 3% year one, 4% year two, and 5% for the remainder of the term, according to the news release.

Kellys Roast Beef founders Frank McCarthy and Ray Carey first worked together in 1951 at the Paul Roger House in Revere Beach. They decided to start a business together and opened a hot dog stand next door while continuing to work at the inns restaurant.

Its estimated that across multiple locations, Kellys sells one million sandwiches a year. During peak season, a busy location can sell upwards of 20,000 roast beef sandwiches a month

MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

Related Content:
12.05.2020 LISTEN

The Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists has presented a number of homemade herbal remedies for COVID-19 to appropriate quarters for clinical testing.

According to the associations President, Dr. Anthony Mensah, they are awaiting test results from these institutions.

The government through the Ministry of Health has contracted practitioners to submit several remedies that we believe would have a very good effect in our fight against COVID-19.

He said a number of submissions have been made through the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners.

The Ministry [of Health] has also subsequently forwarded same [the sample remedies] to the Centre for Plant Medicine Research for further testing. What we are awaiting now is the outcome of the testing, he added.

Dr. Mensah further expressed hope that these homegrown remedies will be up to standard to help in COVID-19 treatment.

Once these are homegrown solutions that we are testing, what we believe is that it should be finalised and be finalised quick so that we know the outcome of same because we are very optimistic. Support from government

Indications from the government are that it will accept herbal medication that is up to standard.

The Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, said he was open to the use of herbal medicine to treat persons infected with the virus provided they are vetted and proven to be effective.

Most of the time, the issue has been the science of the herbal medicine, Dr. Okoe Boye noted during his vetting for the portfolio he currently holds.

COA FS controversy

The Centre of Awareness Food Supplement (COA FS) gained some popularity because it was reported to be an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus.

The Executive President of COA FS, Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, had stated in an earlier interview that the supplement could cure the novel coronavirus.

But the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) came out to say it had neither independently tested nor verified COA FS as a treatment for the virus.

The product was later recalled from the market when some tested samples revealed E.Coli contamination. Madagascar tonic

In Madagascar, a plant-based tonic was released by the state and described as a herbal coronavirus cure.

But Madagascar's national medical academy cast doubt on the efficacy of the concoction because scientific evidence had not been established.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also said there was no proof of a cure for COVID-19 after Madagascar's president launched the herbal medication.

But Nigeria has had a positive response to the treatment.

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to accept the consignment of a herbal tea touted as a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from the government of Madagascar.

The Federal Government says the product will be examined thoroughly before it can be deployed.

---citinewsroom
Thousands of NHS staff could be unknowingly infected with coronavirus, research has suggested.

Experts swabbed more than 1,000 medics at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge over three weeks in April. None of the doctors or nurses were considered to be unwell and all of them were deemed fit for duty.

But results showed three per cent of them tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Two-thirds of infected medics either had no symptoms, or symptoms so mild they didn't notice they were ill. The other third had returned to work after a period of self isolation - but had not had symptoms for at least seven days.

It raises the possibility NHS workers were spreading disease to vulnerable patients without knowing.

If applied to the 500,000 NHS frontline workers across Britain, the data suggests 15,000 may have tested positive for the killer infection last month.

But it is not known whether Cambridge is a particularly hard-hit region or if it has escaped lightly, meaning the rate of infection could be different elsewhere.

Researchers have now called for NHS workers to be tested every day for COVID-19, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Experts have called for routine testing of NHS staff after a study found three per cent unknowingly had the coronavirus in April. Lead author Dr Mike Weekes said: 'All staff need to get tested regularly for Covid-19, regardless of whether they have any sort of symptoms.' Pictured, a health worker at Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport

NHS workers, including those working directly with COVID-19 patients, are currently only tested for the virus if they develop a cough or fever.

They are given the same advice as all others Britons and are told to self-isolate until the results of their swab come back, which can take several days.

Nearly 853,000 workers and their household members have been tested either at a drive-through facility or with a home kit, of which around 160,000 were positive.

The new study shows many workers may not recognise very mild symptoms of the disease or are only 'silent carriers'.

University of Cambridge academics took swabs of 1,200 workers at Addenbrooke's, 75 per cent of which were women.

The researchers used the gold stand of testing - called PCR - which looks for genetic material of the virus on swab samples taken from the nose or mouth.

Workers were asked about any symptoms of COVID-19 and were divided into two groups.

Of those who had signs of the disease (169), 15 per cent tested positive.

But of the 1,032 staff members reporting fit for work because they did not have symptoms, three per cent tested positive for the infection.

Around 20 per cent of those who received a shock diagnosis reported no symptoms of the virus, which means they could have unknowingly spread the disease to patients.

Some 40 per cent had very mild symptoms that they had dismissed as inconsequential, and a further 40 per cent reported symptoms that ended a week before.

They potentially transmitted the virus to co-workers, family members and patients, during the month of April.

Nevertheless, Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific advisor to the Government, yesterday reiterated around four per cent of Britons have antibodies, and therefore have had the virus.

He first revealed the figure last week, but said more people in London had developed antibodies - around 10 per cent.

Antibodies indicate someone has built up immunity to the virus after fighting it off and can be detected with a blood test.

The results, from the Government's own sampling scheme, are from at least three weeks ago, and therefore would apply to people who were sick in March.



NHS workers, including those working directly with COVID-19 patients, are tested and excluded from work only if they develop symptoms of the illness. Pictured a testing centre

Pictured: Frontline NHS staff in PPE at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust where seven medics on one ward were struck with COVID-19

Dr Mike Weekes and Professor Stephen Baker senior authors of the study at Addenbrooke's, said that hospitals need to introduce screening programmes across their workforces.

'OUT OF DATE PPE' ON WARD WHERE SEVEN MEDICS GET COVID-19 Nurses caring for coronavirus patients have been forced to use out-of-date face masks which were relabelled with new expiry dates - at an NHS Trust where seven medics were struck down by the virus on one ward. Staff at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust discovered boxes of face masks which expired in 2012 had been relabelled with 2022 expiry dates and deemed fit for use. Nurses who work on the frontline in Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals also claimed they have been told to wash and reuse PPE due to shortages across the Trust. Photographs taken inside a hospital show an expiry label reading September 2022 on one box of face masks had been scratched off to reveal the original date, September 2012. One nurse, who contracted Covid-19 while caring for infected patients, said: 'I have just returned to work after taking a two weeks off after testing positive for the coronavirus. 'When I got back I was unable to use one of the masks and was given a box of the others that they are using and was shocked to see that stickers had been placed over the expiry dates. 'The top sticker said they expired in 2022, then under that 2019, before it actually showed they had expired in 2012. The filters in these masks expire over time and I understand that in these particular ones, they can dissolve within five years of the expiry date. 'I did not feel comfortable using expired PPE, so I asked management for the evidence that these masks have passed a safety test. I was told the government would not provide unsafe equipment. 'I asked them numerous times to see the evidence, saying I wouldn't use the masks until I did. I was even told that because I have already had the disease that I would 'have some immunity so I shouldn't worry'. 'But even if I was immune I don't want to be spreading the virus to my patients, family or others. 'Later I was given a small box of high end face masks. It was very strange, because they obviously have face masks that are not expired and safe to use, so why are they not giving all of the staff these?' The nurse added staff on the ward have counted back the days to establish when they contracted coronavirus, and believe it may have been on-shift potentially while using expired PPE. 'Around seven of us on the same ward where we are treating coronavirus patients tested positive at the same for the virus,' they added. 'Looking back and knowing now that we could well have been using expired PPE, I believe that this could be the only reason that I contracted it in the first place.' NHS England claims only PPE items which have passed 'stringent' tests to demonstrate they are safe are issued to staff. Dr Peter Reading, the chief executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, added PPE stocks have to be managed carefully but said the safety of staff and patients is 'absolutely paramount.' Advertisement

Dr Mike Weekes said staff need to be tested regularly 'regardless of whether they have any sort of symptoms'.

'Test! Test! Test! And then test some more,' he said.

'All staff need to get tested regularly for COVID-19, regardless of whether they have any sort of symptoms - this will be vital to stop infection spreading within the hospital setting.'

The study, published in the journal eLife, also found that staff who work in 'red' areas - those with COVID-19 patients - are three times more likely to test positive than in COVID-19 free 'green' areas.

It is not clear whether this genuinely reflects greater rates of transmission from patients to staff in red areas. Staff may have instead transmitted the virus to each other or acquired it at home.

Those working in the 'red' areas were also swabbed earlier in the study, closer to when the lockdown was first initiated, so the higher rates of infection in this group might just be a symptom of higher rates of virus circulating at the time.

The authors described one worker who had worked on four wards, none of which were red and tested positive for COVID-19.

She reported she'd had no symptoms in the past three weeks, and none came on during a 14-day isolation period, representing a 'true asymptomatic infection'.

Commenting on the findings, Daniel Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said: 'Focus on testing symptomatic cases poses an actual risk of missing the significant spread of infection by people who have no clue theyre infected.

'This has such enormous implications for how we move forward in our hospitals and care homes.'

Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology, University of Nottingham, said: 'This perfectly highlights how important aggressive testing can be in identifying, and therefore controlling, coronavirus spread.

'The study also highlights the benefits of routine testing of healthcare workers as these people are most at risk of becoming infected and can also be potential sources for hospital outbreaks.'

A separate pilot study by the Francis Crick Institute is screening health workers at University College London Hospital to see how many are positive but without symptoms.

Professor Charles Swanton, who works at the Francis Crick Institute, underlined the importance of screening healthcare workers for COVID-19 in an article published in the Lancet on April 15.

He called for high-risk healthcare workers to be screened every week or fortnightly.

He said: 'Increased testing capacity will enable all staff who are self-isolating unnecessarily to bolster a depleted workforce. Asymptomatic health care workers (HCWs) are an underappreciated potential source of infection and worthy of testing.

'In one small sample, only one in seven self-isolating HCWs were found to have the virus.

'HCW testing could reduce in-hospital transmission.'

Professor Swanton, who is also Cancer Research UKs chief clinician, added that the number of asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 is significant, and transmission before symptoms start is occurring.

Evidence is starting to show transmission from presymptomatic and asymptomatic patients accounts for between 40 to 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases.

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UKs executive director of policy and information, said screening NHS workers would allow for normal health services to resume quicker.

It would also give patients who regularly need treatment at hospital the reassurance to go there without picking up the killer infection.

She said: 'These figures are not surprising but they are concerning because this is what we anticipated was happening.

'To truly have a safe environment to treat vulnerable patients, and to offer patients the right level of reassurance, asymptomatic staff need to be frequently tested in case they carry the virus without knowing.

'The sooner we have adequate testing for all NHS staff and patients, including those without symptoms, the sooner COVID-free cancer hubs can diagnose and treat cancer effectively, and patients can be reassured its safe to go to hospital.'
A Jewish organisation in Ukraine has accused the countrys police of open antisemitism after it emerged a high-ranking police official requested a list of all Jews in the western city of Kolomyya.

The request was reportedly made to the head of Kolomyyas Jewish community, Jacob Zalichker, on 18 February.

Eduard Dolinsky, director of the Ukrainian Jewish Comittee in Kiev, tweeted a photograph of the document on Sunday. He said: Ukraines National Police department demanded from the Jewish community of Kolommya to provide police the list of all Jews with addresses and mobile phones and Jewish students in universities with addresses and phones.

It is explained as fight against transnational crimes.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), the letter reads: Please provide us with the following information regarding the Orthodox Jewish religious community of Kolommya, namely: The organisations charter; list of members of the Jewish religious community, with indication of data, mobile phones and their places of residence.

The document was signed by Myhaylo Bank, a top police officer in the national police force whose unit deals with organised crime.

On 25 February, Mr Zalichker reportedly declined to provide the requested information and said he would only comply when presented with a court-ordered warrant.

Mr Dolinsky told JTA: Its a total disgrace and open antisemitism. Its especially dangerous when it comes from a law enforcement agency that we have to fight the very thing it is perpetrating.

Joel Lion, Israeli ambassador to Israel, said he was made aware of the document and brought it to the attention of the president of Ukraine, as well as Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said: I received phone calls from the highest officials of Ukraine strongly condemning this act of anti-semitism. We will work together to better educate police about anti-semitism.

Mr Dolinsky later tweeted the National Police of Ukraine had launched an investigation into why the police department had asked for the list

During the Second World War, over a million Jews were killed by Nazi forces when they occupied the former Soviet state.

Ukraines first Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was elected last year.
Drug treatment facilities have seen a drop of more than 50% in the numbers of people looking for help between Jan and Mar, according to a new study.

Opioid users particularly stopped seeking treatment throughout this period, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), found when examining the impact of the coronavirus crisis on drug users.

However, here in Ireland more people reported an increased wish to seek support with their addiction post-Covid outbreak than in any other country surveyed, which included Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

Although the intention to seek professional support to reduce or abstain from use  like through counselling or drug treatment  remained unchanged for most respondents, here, 15% of those surveyed reported an increased intention to seek help.

New study: the impact of #COVID19 on drug services and help-seeking in Europe, showing reduced availability and provision of treatment and harm-reduction services, but an increase in innovation.

News release:https://t.co/GEqldDIIoe

Download the study:https://t.co/iiWoaGS8iQ pic.twitter.com/MnAiDG8MgS  EU drugs agency (@EMCDDA) May 12, 2020

And 6% of the overall sample reported higher use of remote professional help, including phone, video or web-based drug services, with most of these respondents living in Spain (19%) and here (14%).

20% of the 261 respondents who reported injecting a drug in the previous 12 months, said that clean injection material has become less accessible as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.

Data from four countries  Ireland, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Portugal  revealed an overall reduction of more than 50% in clients entering drug treatment between Jan and Mar 2020.

Confinement measures have made it difficult for clients to reach treatment centres, with travel from rural areas being particular problematic. Public health advice on social distancing and reduced staff numbers have also decreased the range of services usually available to drug users.

But the study, called The Impact of COVID-19 on Drug Services and Help-Seeking in Europe, also highlights innovations made by various bodies to help drug users throughout the pandemic. It found that the increased use of telemedicine has been a success and may be retained post-pandemic. And Ireland's system of delivering prescription drugs to stabilise users who are isolating is also seen as a positive development.

Drug deliveries and isolation units reduce Covid infection among homeless drug users

Drug deliveries and isolation units provided to people who use drugs and are homeless in Dublin helped keep the number of Covid-19 cases among this group far below expected levels with no known virus-related deaths.

Seven residential units were quickly established where symptomatic people who are homeless can isolate and where others who are non-symptomatic but who are vulnerable due to underlying health conditions can 'cocoon'.

These isolation units were established by the Health Service Executive, Dublin City Council and NGOs and NGO workers were redeployed to run them. A clinical lead was also appointed with responsibility for COVID-19 and homelessness in Dublin. The changes led to a drop in waiting times from 12 weeks to 2-3 days for opioid substitution therapy, specifically methadone, for people who were homeless and opioid-dependent.

Benzodiazepine stabilisation prescriptions were also provided to those in isolation or cocooning and prescriptions were delivered by two NGOs to people who are homeless and isolating in accommodation across Dublin.

Tony Duffin of the Ana Liffey Drug Project and Dr Austin OCarroll said that providing accommodation and making prescription drugs more accessible helps to stabilise people and encourages them to remain in isolation which ultimately helps reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Thank you Minister @Paschald,@AnaLiffeys team have worked hard. We will continue to do all we can to support people to stop the spread of #COVID_19; and to reduce drug related harm.

Led by HSE CHO9 & CHO3, partnership has been key to all our work on the ground.#StayAtHome https://t.co/bnh4sm0TMY pic.twitter.com/uuFD0fyVxU  AnaLiffey (@AnaLiffey) April 20, 2020

As of April 24, in Dublin City, 33 people who used drugs and were homeless had been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the beginning of the crisis.

Three clusters involving just two cases each of COVID-19 were identified within homeless accommodation. There were no known COVID-19 related deaths among this group as of Apr 24. And the number of COVID-19 cases was lower than had been anticipated among this group.

In the week of Apr 24, nearly 200 COVID-19 cases had been expected, but only four cases were reported. Similarly, Covid-19 related deaths had been expected among this group and more clusters of cases in homeless accommodation had been anticipated.
The National Human Rights Commission says 11 persons were killed extrajudicially in Nigeria between April 13 and May 4 by security agencies enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as other non-state actors.

In a report on Tuesday, the commission said the police caused seven of the deaths, while the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Non-state Actors and the Abia State Task Force on Covid  19 were responsible for 1 death each.

The commission noted that an investigation was still on-going as of the time of the report to unravel the perpetrator of an extra-judicial killing in Jigawa State.

It said out of the 11 documented incidents of extra-judicial killing, four of them were recorded in Abia State alone.

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Delta State recorded 2 deaths, while Niger, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra and Rivers States recorded 1 death each, the report stated.

According to the commission, out of 104 complaints/incidents of human rights violations received and documented within the period, 49 were received/documented within the first week of the extended lockdown period (i.e. from April 13  20); while 33 complaints were received in the second week (i.e. April 20  27). During the third week (i.e April 27 May 4), 23 complaints/incidents were received/documented by the Commission.

The report noted that the documented figures showed a weekly reduction in complaints received.

The report also found that the police accounted for 59.6 per cent of the total cases of violations; followed by non-state actors (i.e. mostly private individuals in sexual and gender-based violence-related cases) which accounted for 18.3 per cent of the total cases.

It also pointed out that the various task forces on enforcement of Covid-19 Regulations across the country accounted for 10.5 per cent of the cases; while the Nigeria Army and NSCDC accounted for 7.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

NSCDC personnel used to illustrate the story

The Department of State Services (DSS) also accounted for 1% of the total cases, while a perpetrator representing the other 1% was yet to be determined as at the time of this report, it stated.

The report also indicated that 18 incidents of violations representing about 17.3 per cent of the complaints have been resolved by different security agencies and the Commission.

Enugu State, according to the report, recorded the highest number of cases with 13 incidents, unlike Lagos State that had the highest cases with 28 incidents in the earlier report released on April 14 by the Commission.

The record is followed by Imo State which had 12 incidents. Akwa Ibom and Nasarawa States recorded 10 incidents each, while Delta and Abia States recorded nine and seven incidents respectively.

Lagos State recorded five cases, while FCT Abuja and Benue State recorded four cases each.

The commission also recorded three cases each for Niger, Zamfara, Osun and Rivers States.

Other states such as Anambra, Jigawa, Bayelsa and Edo states recorded 2 incidents each; while Ogun, Kogi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Kano, Cross River and Ekiti States recorded 1 incident each, the report further noted.

The commission, however, observed that the current report showed an improvement of the state of human rights in the enforcement of COVID-19 Regulations by law enforcement officers, task forces on COVID-19 and other non-state actors.

This improvement is attributed to the level of awareness created by the Commission following the release of its initial report of 14/4/2020 as well as efforts to ensure accountability and adherence to the rules of engagement on the part of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), the report indicated.

Torture sexual and gender-based violence

The complaints documented by the commission include extra-judicial killings, violation of right to freedom of movement, unlawful arrest and detention, seizure/confiscation of properties, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and extortion.

Other types of violation recorded within the period include 34 incidents of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, 14 incidents of violation of right to freedom of movement, unlawful arrest and detention, 11 incidents of seizure/confiscation of properties, 19 incidents of extortion and 15 incidents of SGBV.

The commission also observed that the various human rights violations arose as a result of excessive use of force, abuse of power, corruption and non-adherence to international and national human rights laws and best practices by law enforcement agents.

Accordingly, a protocol has been established between the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Commission to ensure accountability for the violations in line with the statement of the President that all alleged human rights violations will be investigated and accountability brought to bear for them, the commission said.

Armed Nigerian Police Officer

To date, all the alleged violations have been communicated to the oversight Ministries of the law enforcement agencies for full investigation and accountability. These are namely, Ministries of, Police Affairs, Defence and Interior. The accountability steps taken by each of the law enforcement agencies should be communicated to the Commission within one month of the release of this report, and subsequently on a monthly basis. The Commission will henceforth give monthly updates on the reports from the various Law Enforcement agencies of accountability steps taken as well report where no action is taken.

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In spite of the violations, the commission commended law enforcement officers who had shown restraint and professionalism in the face of provocation by members of the public during the lockdown, as the report also showed some restraint and regards for the human rights of citizens by law enforcement agents, citing a viral video where a DPO was being harassed by a woman.

However, the woman should have been arrested gently and made to face the law, the commission added.

Several local and international bodies have in recent past rated the countrys human rights records low, particularly due to extra-judicial killings by the police, torture and arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances and unlawful infringement on citizens privacy rights.

A 2019 report of the U.S. State Department on Nigerias human rights record noted criminal libel, violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists, as some of the rights abuses in the country.

Special anti robbery squad of the Nigerian police force used to illustrate the story. [Photo credit: Pulse.ng]

Amnesty International, Nigeria, has also chronicled a myriad of abuses by agents of the government.

In its 2019 report, it noted that torture and other ill-treatment remain pervasive within the Nigerian criminal justice system.

The Nigeria Police especially the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the military and the State Security Service (SSS) continue to subject detainees to torture and other ill-treatment, it said.
The US now has the largest number of confirmed cases and fatalities of COVID-19 in the world, and is the current epicenter of the pandemic. Its reluctance to promote global cooperation to tackle the lethal virus has made it a less credible and consistent partner for the international community. Experts and officials around the world have criticized the nations egoism amid a global pandemic, condemning its failure to protect its own people, as well as its hindering of joint global efforts to stop the virus spread.

(Photo/Xinhua)

According to a poll conducted by Business Insider in May, 55% of Americans now say the US government was unprepared to handle the coronavirus pandemic. Just 27% say it is doing a better job at containing the virus than other developed countries.

"The US is not helping anyone. The US isn't even helping itself, much less other countries. And, thanks to 24/7 global communication, that is visible for all the world to see," Cynthia Schneider, who was the US ambassador to the Netherlands from 1998 to 2001, told Business Insider.

US egoism amid global pandemic

Despite being the worlds leading power in medical technology, the US has turned a blind eye to the global crisis, sabotaging joint efforts to tackle the lethal virus. Amid swirling questions over whether the US government ignored warnings from the WHO and countries like China about the virus potential severity, the White House has sought to assign blame elsewhere, creating obstacles for international cooperation on pandemic control.

President Trumps decision to cut WHO funding in April led to an outcry in the international community. Even in the US, voices criticizing the US egoism amid the global pandemic have become increasingly loud. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, was quoted as saying by Aljazeera that such selfish behavior is not the type of thing you do in the middle of a pandemic.

"Fighting the epidemic globally requires nations to unionize and act in synchrony and coordination, and the Trump administration has failed to have America activate any conventional international consortium to confront the epidemic," Jack Chow, who was a US ambassador for global HIV/AIDS during the George W. Bush administration and is a former World Health Organization assistant director-general, told Business Insider.

In addition to blaming others for its own mistakes, the US has also been taking the lead in scooping up much needed medical resources, leaving other nations, even its allies, in despair.

According to a Financial Times report in April, the US reportedly diverted a shipment of masks intended for the German police, which Andreas Geisel, the interior minister for Berlin state, called an act of modern piracy.

This is no way to treat trans-Atlantic partners. Even in times of global crisis there should be no wild west methods, noted Geisel.

Germany is not the only nation to have suffered a shortage of medical resources as a result of the US modern piracy. Jean Rottner, a doctor and president of the GrandEst regional council in France, was quoted as saying by the Guardian that US buyers waving wads of cash managed to wrest control of a consignment of masks as it was about to be dispatched to one of the worst-hit COVID-19 areas in France.

On the tarmac, they arrive, get the cash out, so we really have to fight, he said.

Despite other nations protests against these acts of selfishness from the US, President Donald Trump still criticised 3M, the worlds leading mask manufacturer, for sending masks to countries other than the US, while Mike Roman, the companys CEO, snapped back that stopping shipments to other nations would pose a humanitarian risk.

"It's like one of your family members (says), 'OK, you go starve and we'll go feast on the rest of the meal. I'm just so disappointed right now. We have a great relationship with the U.S. and they pull these shenanigans? Unacceptable," said Doug Ford, Ontarios Premier.

Unqualified to lead the world

While smearing other nations efforts to promote global cooperation to tackle COVID-19, the US has lagged behind in offering help to virus-stricken nations.

When the pandemic situation was at its worst in Italy, the Italian government made a direct appeal on March 23 to Defense Secretary Mark Esper for US military aid to help combat the virus. Instead of responding to the plea, the US Air Force quietly flew millions of swabs for COVID-19 testing kits from Italy between March 16 and April 6. It was not until April 10, when the pandemic in Italy had gradually eased thanks to the help of countries like China and Russia, did the White House step up and promise to help, with an emphasis on demonstrating US leadership in the face of Chinese and Russian disinformation campaigns.

While holding bias and harboring a grudge against China, the US is also pressuring its allies to side with it on assigning responsibility for the outbreak, as well as stopping pandemic cooperation with China. According to a Reuters report on May 8, US officials have warned Gulf Arab states that they should consider their relationship with the United States when dealing with China.

"The US is not there to help others. We are not a global power in this pandemic, and people will remember that," Cynthia Schneider told Business Insider.
Is Congress a coequal branch of government that deserves the federal judiciarys respect when acting pursuant to its constitutional powers? Or is it a crude assembly of partisan hacks hellbent on destroying Donald Trumps presidency that deserves no judicial deference whatsoever?

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court posed variations on this question in Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutsche Bank, the most important cases about presidential power since the Nixon tapes. Mazars and Deutsche Bank ask whether the House of Representatives has constitutional authority to subpoena Trumps financial records. The answer should obviously be yes. To reach that conclusion, however, the court must trust the House to exercise its powers responsibly. And it is unclear whether a majority of the court believes the chamber can be trusted.

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Mazars and Deutsche Bank involve the Houses long-running efforts to obtain financial information from the president and his businesses. After Democrats won a House majority in 2018, several committees subpoenaed these banks to aid with investigations into potential conflicts of interest, foreign interference, and fraudbut Trump intervened, urging federal courts to quash the subpoenas. (Trumps Justice Department then intervened on his side, too.) The presidents lawyers argued that the House failed to justify its subpoenas, rendering them invalid. Every lower court ruled against him; now the Supreme Court will have the final say.

Although these cases involve sensitive political issues, they are not especially difficult from a legal standpoint. SCOTUS has long held that Congress power to conduct investigations is inherent in the legislative process. This power of inquiry, the court has explained, is an attribute of the power to legislate, because lawmakers must gather information before writing laws. SCOTUS has expressly permitted Congress to issue subpoenas so long as they relate to some legitimate legislative inquiry. Courts cannot search for a secret, illicit motive behind a subpoena; so long as it is valid on its face, the judiciary must enforce it.

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The House committees provided several justifications for its subpoenas here. The Oversight and Reform Committee sought to determine whether Trump accurately reported his finances so they could craft stronger ethics laws. The Financial Services Committee sought to investigate potential money laundering to bolster banking laws. And the Intelligence Committee wanted to learn about Trumps entanglement with foreign entities to help stop election interference. It is entirely possible that these committees had mixed motives. Under decades of precedent, though, that doesnt matter, because the committees still gave legitimate legislative reasons for their subpoenas.

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Yet Patrick Strawbridge, who argued for Trump on Tuesday, questioned whether Congress can ever subpoena the president. His radical position took Chief Justice John Roberts aback. Do you concede any power in the House to subpoena personal papers of the president? Roberts asked Strawbridge. I think it is very hard to imagine that the House is ever going to have the power, Strawbridge responded, because, quite frankly, the House has limited powers to regulate the presidency itself.

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Justice Stephen Breyer asked the obvious follow-up: What about Watergate? Sen. Sam Ervins investigation into Nixons misconduct in 1973 rested on his legislative power to subpoena the executive branch. Are you saying that Sam Ervins subpoenas  were unlawful, that a court should not enforce them?

Strawbridge responded that the Watergate investigation involved impeachment, not legislation. Thats not truebut before Breyer had a chance to retort, Justice Samuel Alito hopped on the line. Can a house of Congress, Alito asked, justify a subpoena for a sitting presidents personal records on the ground that it wants to use the president as a case study for possible broad regulatory legislation? Strawbridge said no, claiming that would open the door to all sorts of oppressive requests. Alito lobbed another softball: Does Congress have any power to regulate the conduct of the president, which is an office that is created by the Constitution itself and not by Congress? Strawbridge responded that Congress does not have very much power to regulate the president. (By regulate, both men seemed to mean conduct basic oversight.)

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor then told Strawbridge that there is a long, long history of Congress seeking records from a sitting president and getting them. The practice goes as far back as 1792. So why should the court outlaw this practice today? Before Strawbridge got out a coherent answer, Roberts called on Justice Elena Kagan, who captured the case in a single sentence.

What it seems to me youre asking us to do, she said, is to put a kind of 10-ton weight on the scales between the president and Congress and essentially to make it impossible for Congress to perform oversight and to carry out its functions where the president is concerned.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pressed this point. One must investigate before legislation, she told Principal Deputy Solicitor General Jeff Wall, who weighed in for Trump. The purpose of investigation is to frame the legislation. You dont have the legislation in mind. You want to explore what is the problem, what legislative change can reduce or eliminate the problem.

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But the conservatives seemed to struggle to distinguish oversight from outright harassment. Wall warned that if courts dont second-guess Congress justifications, legislators might start harassing and undermining the president. Once the House has this weapon, Wall said, it will harm and undermine the presidency of the United Statesnot just this president, the institution of the presidency going forward.

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At this point, Strawbridge and Wall seemed to be losing. Then Douglas Letter, the bumbling general counsel for the House, began to talk, and the ground shifted. Roberts asked Letter for one plausible example of a subject that you think is beyond any legislation that Congress could write. Letter floundered for a while, then said there would be a limit if Congress is interfering with the presidents ability to carry out his Article 2 functions. But when does Congress interfere with the presidents constitutional duties? Justice Clarence Thomas then cast doubt on the entire constitutional basis for legislative subpoenas. He asked Letter for the first example of Congress issuing a legislative subpoena to a private party for private documents. Letter said he could not remember off the top of my head.

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Ginsburg asked Letter for the limiting principle that would prevent Congress from harass[ing] a president from the opposing party. Letter indicated that if there is harassment, the courts can take care of that. Alito sounded shocked. Well, thats not much protection, he told Letter. In fact, thats no protection, isnt it? He then reminded Letter: You were not able to give the chief justice even one example of a subpoena that would not be pertinent to some conceivable legislative purpose, were you?

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So the end result, Alito concluded, is that there is no protection against the use of congressional subpoenas for the harassment of a president.

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This exchange was a disaster for Letter that may have turned the tide of arguments. Previously, Strawbridge and Wall sounded extreme when asserting a presidential prerogative to ignore congressional subpoenas. Suddenly, it was Letter who sounded extreme: He couldnt name a single limitation on Congress power to subpoena the president. Sotomayor tried to stop the bleeding, telling Letter theres no congressional power to expose for the sake of exposure. And the other side points of some hypotheticals that are troubling.  Tell me what we say to ensure against those hypotheticals. But Letter couldnt give a straight answer.

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Justice Neil Gorsuch picked up the thread. Normally, we use law enforcement investigative tools like subpoenas to investigate known crimes, he said, not to fish around for a certain individuals secret misdeed. Im wondering what limiting principle you offer us here that can prevent that danger. All Letter could give him was the pertinent legislative purpose test. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also asked if Congress has limitless authority here. Just about everything can be characterized, in terms of a subpoena, as pertinent to a legislative purpose, he said. I dont think you could answer the chief justices question about something that wasnt. Kavanaugh asked if a presidents medical records would be pertinent. Letter wasnt sure. Nobody was satisfied.

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Letter did not have to wither under this questioning. He couldve proposed a balancing test that weighs Congress interests against the presidents. Instead, he took a hard-line position that plainly alienated a majority of the justices. By doing so, Letter lent credence to Alitos fears that Congress will use investigations to regulate the president instead of conducting lawful oversight. The conservative justices needed reassurance that Congress wont exploit its subpoena powers to harass the president. Several seem to share Trumps view of the House as a hotbed of dirty political operatives who will use every tool at their disposal to take down the president. Letter needed to assure the justices that the courts can restrict Congress subpoena power in some meaningful way. He failed.

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There is irony in the fact that SCOTUS is so skeptical of Congress integrity when it is the president who is accused of committing crimes. These subpoenas present an existential threat to Trumps presidency: They could reveal that he committed egregious fraud and financial misconduct, as his former associates have alleged. That, presumably, is why Trump is so desperate to keep them secret. If the House obtains proof of wrongdoing and presents it to the public, it could tank Trumps reelection chances. If SCOTUS lets Trump conceal that evidence, Trump can continue to insist that he is perfectly innocent, framing these investigations as presidential harassment.

It is still possible that the House could win this case. Roberts might create his own rule, honoring these subpoenas while drawing a line in the sand for the future. He could dismiss the case as a political question outside the courts reach (though that seems unlikely). Or he could establish a new standard for congressional subpoenas, then send the case back down to the lower courts to apply it. If Roberts has five votes for a punt, he could run down the clock on Trumps presidency, ensuring that the House never gets its hands on his financial records. Without a clear command from SCOTUS, Trump will never let Mazars and Deutsche Bank turn over those papers. A muddled ruling will only help the president, giving him new reasons to stall. Unfortunately, Tuesdays arguments brought the court no closer to clarity.
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 14:41 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd778d4b 1 National environment,sustainable-development,financing,green-investment,Kehati-Foundation,omnibus-bill-on-job-creation Free

Indonesia needs a regulatory framework that supports its mission to attract green investment, experts say, as awareness about sustainability grows among the general public.

Green investment, as the name implies, is a form of socially responsible investing where investments are made in companies that support or provide environmentally friendly products and practices.

As more people become aware of the importance of green investing, the government faces greater pressure to change the rules to support companies following the path toward sustainability, according to the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI).

KEHATI executive director Riki Frindos said there needed to be more regulations that supported environmental protections if the nation was to build up its credibility as a destination for green investment.

Global trends have shifted toward green investment, Riki said, with Google searches for environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics in financing rising tenfold between 2014 to 2019.

This is supported by a 2017 Global Investor Study by the Schroders asset management company that found that 86 percent of millennials saw sustainable investing as more important now than five years prior. Also, 70 percent of millennials have increased their investments in sustainable funds.

KEHATI itself has introduced a Sustainable and Responsible Investment Equity Index (SRI-KEHATI) that benchmarks the sustainable practices of companies in the Indonesian stock market and picks the top 25 to be included in the index.

This in turn guides would-be investors to invest in only those companies that have qualified to be green investment stocks.

The index, the only one of its kinds in the nation, has shown promising yields, having generated returns of 173.66 percent between Dec. 30, 2009 to Dec. 30, 2019.

There has also been more government acknowledgement of green investment.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) published the Roadmap for Sustainable Finance in Indonesia 2015-2019, which defines sustainable financing as efforts, including in financial services, to mitigate the impact of climate change, among other things.

The OJK also issued OJK Regulation (POJK) No. 60/POJK.04/2017 that lays out the standards for green bonds issuance, and POJK No. 51/POJK.03/2017 that requires corporations to prove their sustainability credentials every year to the authority.

The Finance Ministry also began issuing green sukuk in 2018 to fund environmentally friendly projects, raising US$3.25 billion over two issuance periods.

But some of the governments more recent regulatory plans threaten to undermine such efforts and could slow the momentum behind the growing green economy.

The contentious omnibus bill on job creation, for instance, looks to strip away current environmental oversight measures.

In particular, the mandatory requirement for companies to obtain an environmental impact analysis (Amdal) document to operate is targeted for removal, while most other oversight powers granted to regional administrations are to be centralized.

If [the omnibus bill is solely] for the sake of investment and environmental protections will be loosened as a result. It could dampen the momentum we have for green investment growth, Riki said.

Separately, the chairman of the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Fitrian Ardiansyah, said that environmental protections were an important sign that a government was serious about wanting responsible green investments.

While Indonesia is still considered a developing country that continues to rely on revenue for development, the government should nonetheless promote responsible investments that are conducive to conservation efforts, he said.
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be expected to live up to promises that the national herd will be protected and agriculture must not become a "sacrificial lamb" in any deal to slash carbon emissions, farming organisations are warning.

It comes as talks continued last night about a possible coalition involving the Green Party, which wants more ambitious plans for cutting greenhouse gases if it is to do a coalition deal with the two Civil War parties.

There is concern in rural areas that this could involve culls of cattle to help achieve average emissions cuts of 7pc a year.

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Tim Cullinane told the Irish Independent it was not his organisation's job to decide who goes into government.

But he reminded Fianna Fail and Fine Gael of commitments their leaders made to the IFA at its AGM in January.

"Both Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar gave a clear commitment that in the event that they were to go into government with the Greens, that both of them would protect the national herd."

He said he "absolutely" expected both parties to live up to that commitment.

Mr Cullinane argued that new scientific evidence suggested methane emissions from the bovine herd did not have the same long-lasting impact as carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and transport. And he said agriculture could actually help as farmers were eager to become involved in renewable energy and grassland was an "excellent sequester of carbon".

Separately, the president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA), Colm O'Donnell, has written to Green Party leader Eamon Ryan telling him any attempts to cull "environmentally sustainable traditional suckler herds will not be tolerated".

Mr O'Donnell last night said it was "crucial that the agri-food sector does not become the sacrificial lamb as the target to solve all our emission reduction projections".

He said the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) recommended the national bovine herd should reduce by up to 500,000 cows and this should be suckler cows as they're not as profitable as dairy.

He said he hoped the Green Party would defend suckler cows reared in "an extensive sustainable farming system", arguing they increase biodiversity.

Green Party spokesperson Pippa Hackett last night said her party had "not proposed to cut the national herd" while "any future government" may have to consider a "targeted reduction" if "we can't meet the reductions necessary by other means".

She said: "Our policy in agriculture is to reduce emissions, regenerate biodiversity, and to improve animal welfare, while securing a viable future for farmers and for rural areas."

She said a "holistic approach" needed to be taken which would include supporting farm diversity into areas like horticulture and tillage, rewetting bogs, planting trees and managing land in a way that maximises sequestration.

Teams from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party discussed justice issues when they met last night.

Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton has been added to Fine Gael's team for talks.
New York, May 12 : America's top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, cautioned on Tuesday that it would be a "bridge too far" to think that treatment or vaccines would be ready in time to re-open schools and colleges in the Fall session this year, at a highly anticipated US Senate hearing on the domestic coronavirus outbreak.

"The idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the full term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far," Fauci said.

He explained that the drugs that have shown efficacy so far have been used on hospitalised patients and are not even close to being used as prophylaxis or treatment for students.

"Even at the top speed we're going, we don't see a vaccine, playing to the ability of individuals to get back to school this term," Fauci said, putting an official stamp on the medical questions surrounding the swirling debate over school reopening.

Fauci warned the Congress that reopening the economy too soon during the pandemic will result in "needless suffering and death." He urged the states to "go by the guidelines", referring to the detailed rubric put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but reportedly shelved by the White House.

Fauci, who is self-quarantining after a White House staffer tested positive for the virus, is one among four health experts testifying remotely to a Senate panel.

"At least eight candidate Covid-19 vaccines are in clinical development," Fauci said during his opening remarks. Fauci remained "cautiously optimistic" that at least one vaccine candidate will deliver an "efficacy signal".

Fauci is a crucial member of the White House coronavirus task force leading America's response to Covid-19, which has killed more than 80,000 people in the US.

America leads the world in coronavirus caseload. More than 1.3 million Americans have been sickened by the virus since the first reported case in January on the country's West Coast.
Struggling landlords and tenants in New South Wales could be set for financial relief as the state government proposes a $2,500 hardship allowance.

Labor's upper house leader Adam Searle on Tuesday suggested offering landlords whose tenants couldn't pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic a $2,500 pay packet.

That subsidy would allow landlords to offer rent relief to tenants who have found themselves out of work or disadvantaged as a result of COVID-19.

Landlords would be eligible for the one-off payment if they could prove their tenants had lost 25 per cent of their income, had less than $5,000 in savings and generally spent 30 per cent or more of their income on rent.

Struggling landlords and tenants in New South Wales could be set for financial relief as the state government proposes a $2,500 hardship allowance

A rent strike sign is seen on a wall in in Newtown on May 07 amid the coronavirus crisis

The Greens suggested a series of amendments to the proposal, including protecting tenants who still could not pay council rates.

The New South Wales government introduced legislative changes to about 40 state laws in an attempt to ease the economic blow from the lockdown.

Other discussions focused on payroll tax exemptions for JobKeeper payments which businesses are passing on to stood-down workers, and ensuring employees are still accruing annual leave.

Anybody who has been exposed to the virus would be required to undergo further testing before entering courthouses in NSW under the proposed rules, as well.

At least one million workers found themselves unemployed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and required government assistance. Pictured: Centrelink queues following business closures on March 23

The registrar of births, deaths and marriages would also have to notify the health secretary of all deaths, to help identity potential virus clusters.

The NSW Legislative Council sat past midnight and into early hours of Wednesday morning to debate the proposals, and made a number of tweaks.

The opposition's other amendment ensures that annual leave of workers stood down without pay continues to accrue throughout the pandemic.

Politicians are required to socially distance in the scaled-back NSW parliament, with just 23 MPs allowed in each of the two houses at any one time.

The upper house will resume later on Wednesday morning, with their tweaks to return to the lower house for debate later.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 11:59:03|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported no more COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, with the total number of confirmed and probable cases remaining at 1,497, as the country is poised to restart economy.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference the death toll remained at 21 in the country, and 93 percent of the country's cases have recovered from the virus.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern praised nurses working on the frontline fighting the virus on Tuesday's International Nurses Day at the press conference.

The government also announced that Budget 2020 delivers the biggest ever increase in funding for District Health Boards, as well as additional funding to deliver approximately 153,000 more surgeries and procedures, radiology scans and specialist appointments to help clear the COVID-19 backlog.

New Zealand will move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 on Thursday and reopen most businesses in 10 days, Ardern announced on Monday. Enditem
The entire 23-school California State University system, which includes five Bay Area universities, will keep campuses closed to students and faculty through the fall semester, CSU Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday.

All schools have shifted to online courses for most students, and that form of virtual instruction will continue at least through the end of 2020. There will be "limited exceptions" made for students whose schooling requires a in-person presence, such as those in nursing programs or those who need access to a lab.

Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis, White said. That approach, sadly, just isnt in the cards now as I have described.

The policy change affects nearly half a million students across the state of California and beyond. In a meeting with board trustees, White said the decision was based on researcher forecasts suggesting subsequent waves of COVID-19 in the summer and the fall, coupled with the slim likelihood that a vaccine would be ready and ubiquitous ahead of the following school year. As a result, CSUs should move to prepare for online courses now, White stated.

There are some people today who say we are moving too far and too fast in our planning, he said. I acknowledge and respect that point of view, but we sit with a different reality.  It would be irresponsible to wait until summer to plan for virtual learning.

CSU officials will work with individual schools on what combination of in-person and virtual learning makes the most sense for each. Some with less spatial challenges could be allowed flexibility for clinical and lab classes or even modified facilities for arts courses. It remains to be see what the five Bay Area schools  San Francisco State, San Jose State, Sonoma State, Cal State East Bay and Cal Maritime  will do to accommodate those majors.

At San Francisco State, department chairs are currently working to identify which courses could potentially offer modified in-person instruction. SFSU President Dr. Lynn Mahoney says, however, that students should be prepared for the fact that "COVID-19 will be with us for many months."

"Public health officials have urged us all to continue to be vigilant," she wrote in a message to students Tuesday. "We remain vulnerable until better treatments are developed, a vaccine is created and the majority of people have acquired immunity."

CSU officials, including White, have not yet specified any changes to tuition costs despite criticism that schools continue to charge fees associated with on-campus amenities, like gyms and student unions. According to KTLA, those fees ranged from $850-$4,000 for CSU students for the 2019-20 school year.

At this point, it's unclear whether the UC school system will follow CSU's lead. The UC Board of Regents is set to meet next week to discuss the fall quarter, EdSource reported.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira


Rolls Royce said: With many of the worlds airlines and business jet operators temporarily grounding their aircraft as a consequence of the global Covid-19 pandemic, a careful and structured approach to engine preservation is vital to ensure peak performance is maintained once more normal service resumes.

During the crisis, Rolls-Royce is supporting customers by providing them with expert advice on how to prepare for extended periods of engine downtime and how to make sure their engines are fit to fly once they take to the skies again. This process requires careful compliance with technical procedures to ensure that operators are able to maximise the flying potential of their engines without delay, and to avoid any maintenance liability for preservation-related deterioration. This applies to all types of aircraft engines used for commercial and business aviation.

Similarly, the de-preservation of engines is another area where Rolls-Royce offers customers careful guidance in putting the right process in place to ensure a smooth take-off.

According to Dr Christopher Lobley, Rolls-Royce Chief Lifecycle Engineer, the support team at the Availability Control Centre (ACC) in Derby remains fully operational 24-7. They are working with a network of engineers across the globe and with many of the worlds major carriers to improve preservation procedures by standardising materials and introducing alternative methods to meet individual airline needs

Dr Lobley said: Time spent preparing an engine for a period of extended shutdown will yield dividends when the aircraft re-enters service. Temperature and humidity are key factors, so minimising the impact of the environmental conditions is a key priority.

Check list for preservation

In the same way that aviation is governed by procedures and check lists with the aim of ensuring safety, a similar approach applies to aircraft when they are on the ground, especially for an extended period. So too for when they return to the skies.

Basic steps for engine preservation include the correct installation of inlet and exhaust covers, which prevent windmilling, the ingress of sand or animals, and potential foreign object damage. Applying these procedures for regular engine running will also help to combat the effect of moisture penetration into engine components including the oil and fuel systems.

Cloud-based tech enables risk mitigation

Central to the success of Rolls-Royces customer care strategy for engine preservation and de-preservation is a clear understanding of individual needs based upon dialogue and feedback. Peter Breitzmann, Head of Services Engineering at Rolls-Royce North America, said: Communication with our customers is critical at any time, but given the current practical constraints, having a clear plan which is delivered and monitored through cloud-based technology is essential. This enables our three-stage approach covering Parking, Managing Parking, and Return to Flight phases. All of this is carefully monitored to mitigate risk of compliance using our proprietary Engine Preservation Dashboard.

The dashboard is informed by data drawn from Cirium, iAuditor, Maximo, and EHM packages which in turn illuminates traffic light alerts reflecting an engines maintenance needs. This informs an Action Plan where engineering service interventions can be brought to life around the world.

New collaborative work practices made possible through IntelligentEngine vision

Wherever aircraft are currently parked and for whatever duration, Rolls-Royce has established an efficient solution for engine inspections and customer care. Extraordinary times have called for increasing and evolving the use of the new digital tools already pioneered as part of Rolls-Royces IntelligentEngine vision.

Many businesses have had a steep learning curve in identifying methods to allow successful remote working, but Rolls-Royce had already been using a new collaboration tool where still pictures and video imagery from a probe inside the engine can be shared between a customer and its engineering teams. It is ideal for times when a specialist Rolls-Royce engineer cannot be on site, allowing customers to continue to benefit from teams expertise remotely.

Whilst it is difficult to predict when airlines will fully return to the skies, Rolls-Royces dedicated engineers both at the ACC and in the companys network of Customer Regional Teams around the world remain fully accessible throughout. The same level of support will remain on hand to offer guidance on the critical issue of engine de-preservation and re-entry into service once conditions allow.
by Sumon Corraya

A public meeting will not be held because of the lockdown. Even without Mass, Catholics can pray to defeat the pandemic. The crisis is making people rediscover their spiritual side. There is concern over the reopening of shopping malls during the Eid al-Fitr festival.

Sylhet (AsiaNews)  Bangladesh's religious leaders welcomed Pope Francis' invitation to pray together on May 14 to defeat the coronavirus, this according to Bishop Bejoy N DCruze of Sylhet, who also chairs the Episcopal Commission for Christian unity and interreligious dialogue.

At present, an actual prayer meeting between all religious representatives is not planned. The government has imposed strict social confinement measures, and public meetings are banned.

So far 15,691 cases of infection have been reported in the country, with almost 3,000 people in hospital and 239 deaths.

For Catholics, it is hard not to be able to attend Mass, said Bishop DCruze, but this hasnt prevented them from praying to Almighty God to help them against the disease. I can say that the faithful of other religions are doing the same.

According to the bishop, the crisis is causing believers to rediscover their spiritual side, which is usually sacrificed to earthly things. People spend more time with loved ones, taking care of them, praying together.

People can now also value more the environment, something especially important in a highly polluted country like Bangladesh.

The partial lockdown of factories and restrictions on vehicles have in fact improved air and water quality. In the Gulf of Bengal, fishermen have even spotted dolphins, something not seen for years.

However, the imminent restart of some economic activities is a source of concern. According to the bishop of Sylhet, the government is making a mistake in allowing shopping centres to reopen on 23 May.

This is the day of Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month dedicated to fasting and prayer.

As contagions are already on the rise, reopening large stores is likely to worsen the situation. For Bishop DCruze, "The authorities should help small shop owners, not the big ones. This is not the time to do business, but to save lives.
Teachers and Leaving Cert candidates cannot have any further discussions about the students performance in the past two years, nor can they talk about the estimated mark that the teacher will award a pupil under the new calculated grades system.

Updated advice from the Department of Education also confirms that no additional work can be accepted from the students after May 11, the official date for the end of tuition for the Leaving Cert class of 2020.

However candidates remain students of the school and can continue to access wellbeing and other supports provided via the Student Support Team until the end of term.

The latest advice comes ahead of detailed guidelines for teachers about how to approach the unprecedented task of providing calculated grades for their pupils, as an alternative to the Leaving Cert exams.

In a new FAQ posting on its website, the Department has defended the use of calculated grades as the fairest way possible to tackle the effects that lack of schooling and other problems caused by Covid-19.

And it also seeks to calm any student apprehension about the unprecedented process of awarding end-of-school grades.

Students have had a very broken schooling experience - some have had access to schooling through online learning, others havent, it states in a new FAQ on its website.

It says that teachers will review several pieces of information about students work over the last two years and will have to keep a record of the evidence that they used to come to the estimated mark as well as the students overall class ranking.

Once teachers have agreed a percentage mark and class ranking for each student, there will be a further review by the principal, following which the school will send its "results" to the Department of Education, which will conduct a national standardisation process.

That process will involve a series of checks and balances, taking on board two other pieces of data: the pattern of the schools performance in the Leaving Cert over the past three years as well as the Junior Cert results of the current Leaving Cert class.

In its updated advice, posted as an FAQ on its website, the Department seeks to reassure students that the standardisation process does not favour any type of student or school.

No matter how good you are and no matter what your school is like, if your school gives us an accurate estimate of your expected performance and gives accurate estimates for the rest of your class too, then you will all be treated fairly, it states.

It says that the most important information about each student is the estimated marks and ranking that the school provides and the standardisation process serves to make sure that the school has been not been too harsh or too lenient.

If you are a particularly strong candidate in your class  irrespective of the school you attend  then you will still emerge as a particularly strong candidate, and your calculated score will be as close to what you would have achieved in the examinations as it is possible to calculate, it states

While some of the estimated marks may be adjusted up or down within the standardisation process, the Department says that will depend on the accuracy with which your teachers and school have made their estimates, not on the kind of school you are in.

For example, we expect it to be quite common that the estimated marks in one subject from a school will need to be moved up and the marks in another subject from the same school will need to be moved down.

The Department says that all the assembled information will be used to predict the level of achievement that you as a group would have been expected to reach in that subject if you had sat the Leaving Certificate examination in the normal way.

This means that if your class is a particularly strong class, the expected level of achievement of your class would reflect that fact and so the standardisation process will take full account of it. If the schools estimated marks reflect this properly, then we will not need to move them up or down.,

It says research and statistics allow them to understand the extent to which groups of students in a school have results that are similar from one year to the next and for account to be take of the fact that individuals within those groups can have levels of achievement that can vary quite a lot.

It adds: The statistical process we are using will not impose any predetermined score on any individual in the class or school. No matter how good you are and no matter what your school is like, if your school gives us an accurate estimate of your expected performance and gives accurate estimates for the rest of your class too, then you will all be treated fairly. 
NGO stresses halt to violence is only way to ensure an effective response to the pandemic in conflict-affected areas.

The international communitys attempts to forge a global ceasefire to help curb the spread of the coronavirus have been a catastrophic failure, Oxfam International said in a new report published on Tuesday.

Oxfam said fighting continues across many conflict-torn countries despite a March appeal from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for warring sides to lay down their weapons.

The problem was compounded by a diplomatic failure at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), years of weak investment in peace-building efforts and arms continuing to flow into conflict zones, Oxfam said in the report: Conflict in the time of Coronavirus.

We expected leadership from the Council as well as many of those countries who say they support a ceasefire, but who nevertheless remain active participants in conflicts around the world, conducting military operations, selling arms and supporting third parties, said Oxfam Interim Executive Director Jose Maria Vera.

On May 8, the United States, one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, refused to vote on a UN resolution for a global ceasefire. Oxfam said this was merely the latest in a series of failures that are sustaining conflicts at a time when peace and international cooperation are needed.

The report argues that only a halt in violence would allow an effective response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the UNSC that the coronavirus pandemic was a threat to international peace and security potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to fight the disease.

Guterres, who called for a ceasefire in all global conflicts on March 23, said the pandemic had hindered all regional, national and international conflict resolution efforts exactly when they are needed most.

Investing in peace efforts 

Oxfam said two billion people living in fragile and conflict-affected states were now at heightened risk from the illness, including in areas where health systems are crippled and hospitals bombed, forcing them to flee into crowded camps.





In the last year alone, the international community spent more than $1.9 trillion on their militaries. This would have paid for the UNs coronavirus appeal more than 280 times, according to Oxfam.

Arms exporting countries must stop fuelling conflict and instead make every effort to pressure warring parties to agree to a global ceasefire and invest in peace efforts that can bring a meaningful end to conflict, Vera said.

The report highlights the situation in the Central African Republic, where the UN announced a suspension of its humanitarian response in areas where armed groups have broken ceasefires; in Myanmar, where the army has rejected domestic and international calls for a comprehensive ceasefire; and in Yemen, where parties involved in the conflict continue fighting despite a unilateral truce.

The WHO on Monday ordered its staff in Houthi-led areas to stop work, citing credible risks and perceived risks to their security.
Valentina, a nine-year-old girl who disappeared Thursday near Peniche, was found dead on Sunday morning.

Antonio Jordao, coordinator of the judicial police (PJ) of Leiria, said at a press conference that the child's father and stepmother, aged 32 and 38, were "strongly suspected of murder and the hiding of corpses, in particular."

According to a Portuguese newspaper, the father told the PJ that the daughter was having an attack, which he described as spasms, and that the parents then panicked. According to investigation, there is no trace of blood in the house.

Antonio Jordao also stressed that, on the basis of the initial elements of the investigation, the girl "would have died in the house" on Wednesday, and that the body was transported to the place where it was found "at the end of day".

Death from Asphyxiation

Asphyxiation (being deprived of oxygen) is the main cause of death, but only an autopsy can confirm this hypothesis and check if the victim has also been abused.

As for the circumstances which led to the death of the girl, the chief of the PJ declared that the parents are still under investigation, but that, until now, the information gathered reveal "internal family-related problems".

The father finally confessed to having killed his daughter whose body was not buried, but "covered" with eucalyptus branches a few kilometres from her father's house in Atouguia da Baleia near Peniche, where she lived temporarily.

Representatives of the GNR (Republican National Guard) and the civil protection of Leiria indicated during the press conference that about 600 people, including police, firefighters, scouts, hunting teams and drone operators, had participated in the search operation, covering an area of approximately four thousand hectares of land.

Nonetheless, it was only the father's confession that allowed the investigators to locate the girl's body.
SAN ANTONIO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GlobalSCAPE, Inc. (NYSE American: GSB), a worldwide leader in the secure movement and integration of data, today announced that its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on May 12, 2020 (the "Original Meeting"), was adjourned until May 26, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (the "Adjourned Meeting"). In light of the restrictions on in-person meetings in the City of San Antonio at the present time, the Company determined to adjourn the meeting to provide stockholders the opportunity to attend the meeting in person at a later date following the lifting of the City of San Antonio's current stay-at-home order related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Adjourned Meeting will be on May 26, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, held at GlobalSCAPE's headquarters, located at 4500 Lockhill-Selma Road, Suite 150, San Antonio, Texas 78249.

A quorum was present for the authorization of the Original Meeting and, as of the date and time of the Original Meeting, there were sufficient proxies to approve the Company's proposals presented at the meeting.

Important Information

This material may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the Adjourned Meeting to be held on May 26, 2020. In connection with the Adjourned Meeting, the Company has filed a definitive proxy statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 30, 2020. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ADJOURNED MEETING. The definitive proxy statement has been mailed to stockholders who are entitled to vote at the Adjourned Meeting. Stockholders will also be able to obtain a copy of the definitive proxy statement free of charge by directing a request to the Company's Secretary. In addition, the definitive proxy statement is available free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov.

About GlobalSCAPE

GlobalSCAPE, Inc. (NYSE American: GSB) is a pioneer in securing and automating the movement and integration of data seamlessly in, around and outside your business, between applications, people and places, in and out of the cloud. GlobalSCAPE provides cloud services that automate your work, secure your data, and integrate your applications  while giving visibility to those who need it. GlobalSCAPE makes business flow brilliantly. Visit www.globalscape.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The words "would," "exceed," "should," "anticipates," "believe," "expect," and variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause the actual results of the operations or financial condition of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the overall level of consumer spending on our products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; the Company's ability to protect patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights; any breaches of, or interruptions in, our information systems; legal, regulatory, political and economic risks in international markets and global public health crises that reduce economic activity (including the recent coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak); the results of our reduction in force; the discovery of additional information relevant to the internal investigation; the possibility that additional errors relevant to the recently completed restatement may be identified; pending litigation and other proceedings and the possibility of further legal proceedings adverse to the Company resulting from the restatement or related matters; the costs associated with the restatement and the investigation, pending litigation and other proceedings and possible future legal proceedings; and our decreased "public float" (the number of shares owned by non-affiliate stockholders and available for trading in the securities markets) as a result of share repurchases. More information on potential risks and other factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date hereof.

GlobalSCAPE Investor Relations Contact:

[email protected]

GlobalSCAPE Public Relations Contact:

Zintel Public Relations

Matthew Zintel

[email protected]

SOURCE GlobalSCAPE, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.globalscape.com


Its always a comfort to know there is a kind of scope and sequence in place, said Jennifer Farrington, president and CEO of Chicago Childrens Museum on Navy Pier. We are certainly looking forward to learning more about whether there will be specifics, whether there will be guidelines that are industry specific or sector specific.
PropertyGuru

66% of Malaysians surveyed are looking for a brand-new property, but why? We take a look into the top 3 reasons, and some of the great developments that are due for completion in 2022!
China urges New Zealand to discard illusions and stop wrong commentary on Taiwan island-related issues

Global Times

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/11 19:03:40

China urged New Zealand to strictly abide by the one-China principle, and immediately stop wrong commentary and misdeeds on Taiwan island-related issues, so as not to damage China-New Zealand relations, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a routine press conference on Monday, commenting on reports that New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that the country formally supports Taiwan's case to join the World Health Assembly as an observer.

Wrongful commentary made by New Zealand has severely violated the one-China principle, and China has expressed strong opposition and lodged solemn representations to New Zealand, Zhao said.

Handling of Taiwan region's participation in World Health Organization (WHOactivities must follow the one-China principle, which is the clear and consistent position of China regarding the matter, Zhao said.

The Chinese Central Government has made proper arrangements for the region's participation in global health affairs, to ensure that Taiwan is able to respond to a public health event whether it's on the island or globally, in a timely and effective fashion, Zhao said.

"Taiwan authorities" are seeking separatism using the pandemic, which is a purely political maneuver, Zhao said, commenting on Taiwan's recent hype-up of its participation in WHO activities and re-joining the WHA.

Zhao stressed that the one-China principle is the political cornerstone of China-New Zealand relations, and a basic guarantee for the rapid development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Peters is also reported to have attained "promises" from Chinese high-level officials that New Zealand would not be met with obstacles.

Zhao said that he had no clue how Peters came up with such an illusion.

No one should have any illusions on matters related to China's core interests. It is hoped that the involved personnel from New Zealand stop spreading rumors and creating chaos, and do things beneficial to mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries, rather than the other way around.



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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Restaurant-patio dining opens officially Friday, May 15, in Ohio. The only question is how many people will venture out and if Mother Nature will be accommodating.

If you are a restaurant, bar or brewery owner planning to open a patio for dining on Friday, let us know. Email restaurants@cleveland.com. Use the subject line: Patios.

Related coverage: 50-plus Northeast Ohio restaurants opening today for patio-outdoor dining

Tell us know your hours and if your inside dining room will be open Thursday, May 21 - the first day for permitted indoor dining.

Include restaurant name, address, phone number, and whether a full or abbreviated menu will be offered, along with other details we should know. We'll try to include in a story later this week.

Here's a glance at a few places with patios that offer cool vantages or a comfy setting. All are scheduled to be open Friday, weather-permitting. Call to check on reservation availability:

Boss Dog Brewing Co.Marc Bona, cleveland.com

Boss Dog Brewery

This spacious brewery's patio is tucked behind the brewpub in the heart of Cleveland Heights.

Info: online, 2179 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-321-2337

Creekside Restaurant & BarMarc Bona, cleveland.com

Creekside Restaurant

Step out onto the patio deck and you're in the middle of a peaceful wooded setting.

Info: online, 8803 Brecksville Road, Brecksville; 440-546-0555

La Dolce Vita John Petkovic/The Plain Dealer

La Dolce Vita

The restaurant in Little Italy is opening 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. Sweet life indeed.

Info: online, 12112 Mayfield Road, Cleveland, 216-721-8155

EdwinsThe Plain Dealer

Edwins Restaurant

The French restaurant will be offering dining al fresco. Outdoor (tented, rain or shine) dining will be available. Reservations are available via OpenTable. The grill menu will be served 5 to 8 p.m.

Info: online, 13101 Shaker Square, 216-921-3333

Lago East Bank Brenda Cain, cleveland.com

Lago East Bank

Head down to the restaurant's patio, near its front door in Cleveland's Flats East Bank.

Info: online, 1091 West Tenth St., Cleveland, 216-862-8065

Lindey's Lake HouseMarc Bona, cleveland.com

Lindeys Lake House

Lindey's is in the spot formerly occupied by Coastal Tacos. The restaurant, which underwent a cool revamp a while ago, offers a great view of the water.

Info: online, 1146 Old River Road, Cleveland, 216-727-0158

A view from Luca Italian CuisineThe Plain Dealer

Luca Italian Cuisine

Fantastic Italian food, a nice glass of wine, and a wonderful view of downtown Cleveland as well. The restaurant plans to open at 5 p.m. with full menu (no happy hour for now). OpenTable reservations are strongly recommended.

Info: online, 2100 Superior Viaduct, 216-862-2761

Luca WestMarc Bona, cleveland.com

Luca West

The western-suburban outpost for Luca Italian Cuisine plans to open at 5 p.m. with full menu (no happy hour for now). OpenTable reservations are strongly recommended.

Info: online, 25600 Detroit Ave., Westlake, 216-201-9600

Nuevo Modern MexicanThe Plain Dealer

Nuevo Modern Mexican

It's a cool feeling knowing you're just a few feet from Lake Erie, and the Rock Hall and everything else in Cleveland is to the south. Sip a quality tequila as you take in the view.

Info: online, 1000 East Ninth Street, Cleveland, 216-737-1000

TownhallThe Plain Dealer

Townhall

The Ohio City joint is ready to go with its non-GMO-focused menu and great selection of beer.

Info: online, 1909 West 25th St., Cleveland, 216-344-9400

Tremont Taphouse John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer

Tremont Taphouse

A comfy-cozy patio to be sure, with a space that once offered Yappy Hour for pooches during Cleveland Beer Week.

Info: Online, 2572 Scranton Road, Cleveland, 216-298-4451

I am on cleveland.coms life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, heres a directory on cleveland.com.
As lockdown relaxations are gradually being eased, Delhi Metro might also resume its services soon. In a tweet, Delhi Metro stated that it is deploying special staff to clean areas of mass movement at stations. These housekeeping teams will clean lifts, escalators as well as AFC gates.

"Specially trained housekeeping staff are deployed in stations to clean passenger movement areas and associated equipment such as AFC gates, lifts and escalators to begin safe operations," tweeted the Delhi Metro.

Specially trained housekeeping staffs are deployed in stations to clean passenger movement areas and associated equipment such as AFC gates, lifts and escalators to begin safe operations. pic.twitter.com/E6z3Lof3Oa - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) May 11, 2020

The Delhi Metro tweet comes on a day when Indian Railways is resuming its passenger services. While inter-state movement of passengers is gradually being opened up, public transport has still not resumed. When it does open, it is likely that the government would issue orders to passengers to wear masks and download the Aarogya Setu app.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has resumed construction work on its already-delayed Phase IV as well as the Airport Express Line (AEL) and Grey Line that will connect Dwarka to Najafagarh, according to The Times of India.

As per the ministry guidelines in-site construction was permitted by the government. A DMRC official told the daily. The official said that around 3,500 workers are available across five-six different sites in the city.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Spike of 3,604 new cases in 24 hours; COVID-19 tally breaches 70,000 mark

Delhi Metro is also following all the necessary guidelines issued by the government such as social distancing, wearing masks, using hand sanitisers and thermal scanners. The sites have also put up banners displaying precautionary guidelines.

The Grey Line connecting Dwarka and Najafgarh was scheduled to open in October last year. Construction from Dwarka Sector 21 to exhibition-cum-convention centre at Dwarka Sector 25 is underway to extend the AEL.

Also read: PM Modi asks CMs to share ways to lift coronavirus lockdown; key highlights from video conference
The Calcutta High Court on



Tuesday ordered that a board of administrators headed by mayor Firhad Hakim will act as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) caretaker board till July 20.

A division bench comprising Justices I P Mukerji and T Ghosh extended the term of the caretaker board till July 20.

A single bench had on May 7 directed that the board of administrators, which was appointed by the West Bengal government following completion of its five-year term, would function for four weeks.

In an interim order on May 7, Justice Subrata Talukdar had directed that in order to ensure that the functions of the KMC were carried out smoothly during the extraordinary situation arising out of the coronavirus breakout, the caretaker board would look after its day-to-day operations for a month.

Challenging the order, petitioner Sharad Kumar Singh had moved the division bench.

The writ petition challenged a notification by the state government to appoint city mayor Firhad Hakim as the chairperson of the board of administrators of the KMC.

The government had appointed the board since elections to KMC could not be held owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

The petition claimed that as per the Constitution of India, no elected member can continue in office for more than the stipulated period of five years and so Hakim's appointment was illegal.

The petition also claimed that the West Bengal government had on May 6 illegally appointed members of the outgoing mayor-in-council and mayor of the KMC as the members and chairperson of the board of administrators of the KMC respectively.

Seeking quashing of the notification, the petitioner claimed that there was no provision for appointment of administrator in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.1 per cent lower at 5403 points on Tuesday, nearly wiping away all the gains made on Monday. The index dropped on the open and spent the rest of the session stuck within a narrow band. Volumes were moderate at nearly 860 million trades. At the end of the session 154 companies were lower.

The best gains were with CSR, up 10 per cent to $3.72, as traders anticipate a wave of positive analyst notes tomorrow from today's trading update. ResMed gained 5.2 per cent to $26.04, GUD gained 3.9 per cent to $9.48.

Among the declines, Virgin Money UK fell 9.4 per cent to $1.40, while Webjet, Corporate Travel, and Jumbo Interactive all dropped more than 7 per cent.

However, the points were taken away by a 2.6 per cent drop in BHP Group, now at $30.72, a 2.9 per cent drop in NAB, and a 4.1 per cent drop in Macquarie Group.

The financial and material sectors both declined by 2 per cent, but energy was the worst performer, down 2.5 per cent. Only healthcare and consumer staples ended the day higher.

Portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners, Jun Bei Liu, "We've had a very strong comeback in equities markets both in Australia and globally over the past month and a half but now that's easing a bit because of the data that is coming through"

"There were hopes of a V-shaped recovery but it is now swinging back because of the news flow we're seeing."

The latest NAB monthly business survey found business conditions declined further in April to -34 points. The latest unemployment data comes out on Thursday.

"We're hearing more and more jobs data, we're seeing more corporate news, more economic news, and there's also been a pick up in talk about the trade war."
British Museum guards have reported hearing things go bump in the night with doors swinging open, midnight fire alarms and unnerving patches of cold air in a series of terrifying hauntings.

Mysterious footsteps, music and ghostly crying have plagued the halls of the 18th century institution as night security teams patrolled the galleries, which are home to more than eight million artefacts from Ancient Egypt to the Aztec Empire.

Glowing, white orbs have been spotted hovering above a staircase in the Great Court in the dead of night, only visible through CCTV footage.

Meanwhile foreign visitors have reported spotting the chilling ghost of a female dwarf in the reflection of a glass case after taking a photograph of a 16th century mechanical galleon.

These stories have been brought together by artist Noah Angell, from North Carolina, who has spent four years hearing tales of the museum's supernatural occurrences from more than 50 people.

These ghostly artefacts will surely be running rampant in the British Museum at the moment, as it has been closed for weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

British Museum guards have reported doors swinging open moments after being bolted shut in the Sutton Hoo gallery, which contains treasures from an Anglo Saxon ship buried in Suffolk between the fifth and sixth centuries. The discovery, in 1939, was one of the most exciting in British Archaeology and 'profoundly exploded' the myth of the Dark Ages. Reports state archaeologists were prompted to dig up the mound after ghosts were seen dancing on it. It is thought a gallows also stood above the treasures between the 8th and 9th centuries

Lingering patches of cold air have been noted near a pair of winged bulls from Khorsabad at the entrance of the Assyrian gallery (pictured). The pair once guarded the entrance to the royal palace of Kind Ashurnasirpal II (883 to 859BC) in Nimrud, Northern Iraq. The Assyrians believed that the two bulls would keep evil from entering the monarch's home, according to the British Museum

Those who patrol the London museum at night have noted strange occurrences, including one guard who bolted the doors to the Sutton Hoo gallery - only to be told by a CCTV operator that they stood wide open again moments later.

The gallery, which traces the story of Europe as the Roman Empire broke down in the west and thrived as the Byzantine Empire in the east, contains the treasures of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial which was discovered in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk in 1939.

Lingering patches of cold air have been noted near a pair of winged bulls from Khorsabad at the entrance of the Assyrian gallery, 1843 Magazine reported.

In the African galleries, a security guard also reported fire alarms sounding throughout the museum after he was compelled to point his finger towards the figure of a two-headed dog on two occasions.

The figure is believed to have been made by the Bakongo in the 19th century and features the faces of two dogs carved into wood alongside dozens of blades.

Others have noted hearing mysterious footsteps, music and crying throughout the halls of the tourist attraction, which receives more than 17,000 visitors per day when open.

In the Clocks and Watches gallery, a Dutch couple reportedly once took a photograph of the mechanical galleon, a model ship from 16th century Germany, only to discover the ghost of a female dwarf reflected in the glass case.

In the African galleries, a security guard said fire alarms sounded after he was compelled to point his finger towards the figure of a two-headed dog (pictured). The artefact, unearthed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and thought to date to the 19th century, was used as a mediator between the world of the living and the dead. The British Museum says in Bakongo culture a blade would have been driven into the back of the object as an invocation was said in order to instruct a spirit to complete a particular task

A Dutch couple reportedly once took a photograph of a mechanical galleon (pictured) only to discover the ghost of a female dwarf reflected in the glass case. It was made in Augsburg, Germany, by Hans Schlottheim. It is thought the machine was used to announce a banquet, by being allowed to travel along a table. It was once decorated with trumpeters and drummers

Phil Heary, who had worked at the museum for 29 years, added he once felt the temperature dramatically fall for an unknown reason in the Ancient Egypt gallery, where 19 mummies were on display (above, stock image of the Egyptian collection). The British Museum holds a vast collection of Egyptian artefacts dating from 5,000BC to after Alexander the Great's conquest in 332BC. It is widely rumoured that those who discover Egyptian mummies can be cursed, and have been attached to the sarcophagus of a priestess of the god Amun-Ra

Phil Heary, who worked at the museum for 29 years, added he once felt the temperature dramatically fall for no known reason in the Ancient Egypt gallery, where 19 mummies were on display.

'It was like walking into a freezer,' he said. 'My stomach turned over. The feel of the gallery was  you wanted to get out. I'm a great believer that, wherever youre buried, you should stay there. A lot of the mummies there should be back in their graves.'

Mr Angell has been investigating hauntings at the British Museum since 2016 after first learning of the supernatural stories at a pub in London.

'I thought that there would be a half dozen or so stories which everyone knows, and they circulate around the museum, and little variations and mutations are created,' the 39-year-old said.

Glowing, white orbs have been spotted hovering above a staircase in the Great Court (pictured) in the dead of night, only visible to the naked eye through CCTV footage. They were reportedly chasing each other through the air. The Great Court was constructed on an outdoor space in the museum and opened on 6 December 2000 by her Majesty the Queen

Museum staff have noted seeing visitors attempt to communicate with the Statue of Goddess Sekhmet (pictured) inside the sculpture gallery, as if they believe the exhibit has otherworldly power. The lion-headed goddess represented warriors and healing to the Ancient Egyptians. The British Museum has 30 such statues, mostly recovered from a temple at Karnak, modern-day Thebes, begun around 1500BC.

But Mr Angell has now spoken to more than 50 employees and visitors about these unnatural events, and he gives two-hour walking tours of the museum detailing their locations.

Another supernatural occurrence took place at around 3am above a staircase in the Great Court, when the overnight security team heard an alarm sound from a disabled bathroom.

A CCTV operator then called to tell the team they could see large balls of white light - or orbs - surrounding them, though the security guards couldn't 'see anything' of the sort.

The Elgin Marbles (pictured), which were removed from the Parthenon in the 1800s by the Earl of Elgin, were reportedly heard weeping in the crate as they were transported to the UK. They were removed from the Parthenon, on a hill within the Greek capital Athens, between 1801 and 1812 and transported by sea to Britain. Their ownership has been a subject of dispute between the Greek government and the British Museum

From chilling ghosts to blasts of cold air: Where hauntings have taken place inside the British Museum The Great Court The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, often referred to as the Great Court, is the central quadrangle of the British Museum. Security teams have reported spotting glowing, white orbs on CCTV footage above a staircase after hearing a fire alarm sound in a disabled toilet. The African Galleries Ghostly activity has been reported around the figure of a two-headed dog inside the Sainsbury African Galleries. The figure is believed to have been made by the Bakongo in the 19th century and features the faces of two dogs carved into wood alongside dozens of blades. A security guard reported fire alarms sounding after he was compelled to point his finger towards the figure on two occasions. The Sutton Hoo and Europe Gallery The Sutton Hoo Gallery, which traces the story of Europe for 700 years from 300AD, contains the treasures of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial which was discovered in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk in 1939. Those who patrol the London museum at night have noted strange occurrences, including one guard who bolted the doors to the exhibit - only to be told by a CCTV operator that they stood wide open again moments later. The Assyrian Gallery Lingering patches of cold air have been noted near a pair of winged bulls at the entrance of the Assyrian gallery. The human-headed sculptures are from a gateway in the citadel wall at Khorsabad, Iraq, with panels showing a winged divine figure about to anoint with a 'cone' and magical fluid from a bucket. The Ancient Egypt Gallery Phil Heary, who worked at the museum for 29 years, said he once felt the temperature fall for no known reason in the Ancient Egypt gallery, where 19 mummies are on display. Advertisement

It was considered at the time whether these mysterious orbs could be connected to a white, wrought-iron gate from a concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany which formed part of an exhibition from October 2014 to January 2015.

The First Egyptian Room has also been the subject of reporting hauntings, with many wary of the mummy case of a high priestess of the Temple of Amen-Ra.

The 'Unlucky Mummy', donated to the British Museum in July 1889, has been credited with causing death, injury and even disasters such as the sinking of the titanic in 1912, though there is little evidence to suggest these are true.

Museum staff have also noted seeing visitors attempt to communicate with the Statue of Goddess Sekhmet inside the sculpture gallery, as if they believe this exhibit has otherworldly power.

It has been suggested that any hauntings at the British Museum are 'manifestations of disquiet about the institution's heritage', though Mr Angell said he hasn't witnessed any 'guilt' or 'anger' from employees about the objects they care for.

He has, however, been alerted to stories of questionably found items, such as statues removed from the Parthenon in Athens by the Earl of Elgin in the 1800s.

According to legend, the sculptures were heard weeping from inside the crate as they were transported to London.

In 2016, a legal bid to pressure the UK to return the Elgin Marbles to the Greek capital was thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights as the alleged theft took place more than 150 years before the UK signed the convention.

Jim Peters, collections manager at the Britain, Europe and Prehistory department, said he 'agrees to a certain extent' with this idea of 'restless objects', while insisting it is 'very important the pieces are here.'

The curator of the museum's Middle East department, Irving Finkel, said the British Museum could potentially attract ghosts for 'lots of reasons,' adding a belief in so-called 'spiritual lingering' comes naturally to humans.

The British Museum, which features extensive, changing exhibitions on art, culture and human history alongside a permanent collection of eight million works, was established in 1753, largely based on the collection of scientist Sir Hans Sloane.

It first opened to the public at Montagu House, on the site of the current building, in 1759 and has expanded steadily over the subsequent 250 years.
Joint Incidents Assessment Team issues a statement regarding allegations against Coalition Forces

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1441/9/18 - 2020/05/11

Riyadh, May 11, 2020, SPA  Joint Incidents Assessment Team has issued a statement regarding allegations that Coalition Forces targeted Souq Al-Raqou in the Directorate of Munabih in Saada Governorate, two fishing boats near the island of Zaqar off the Yemeni coast, in Sohar Directorate in Saada, and bombed a house in the area of Mahdaidiya in the Directorate of Baqim. Following is the text:

Regarding case number: 188 and with regard to the statement of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen issued on (25/12/2019) entitled (a third attack within a month on (Souq Al-Raqou) in (Saada) governorate, that caused the deaths of at least (17) civilians, which includes that the initial field reports indicate that an attack on (Souq Al-Raqou) on (24/12/2019) caused the death of at least (17) civilians, including (12) Ethiopian citizens, and the injury of at least (12) others, and this is the third attack on the same market within one month, when (32) civilians were killed and injured in the attack that occurred on (27/11/2019).

Coalition Forces also referred to JIAT the results of one of the targeting operations in the area of operations, for the possibility of accidental losses and collateral damage on Tuesday (24/12/2019), during the clash with hostile elements that infiltrated into the Saudi borders.

JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including procedures and rules of engagement, daily mission schedule, after mission report, satellite images, border monitoring images, records of artillery and mortar units, video recordings of the reconnaissance for (Souq Al-Raqou) area after the date of the claim, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, JIAT's visits to the relevant units, interviewing and listening to the statements of the relevant personal of operations on (27/11/2019) and (24/12/2019), and assessment of evidences, JIAT found that on Wednesday (27/11/2019), the Coalition Forces carried out the following tasks:

1. An aerial mission on a military target consisting of (gatherings of elements of Al-Houthi armed militia) in the (Baqem) district in the (Al-Jawf) governorate, which is (35) km away from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

2. Artillery shooting at a military target (firing source) in (Qataber) directorate of (Saada) governorate, (16) km away from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

3. Mortar shooting at a military target (firing source) in (Monabih) directorate of (Saada) governorate, (9.5) km from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

By studying the satellite imagery, border monitoring images, and the reconnaissance video, after the claim date for the location of the claim and the location of military operations carried out by the Coalition Forces on (27/11/2019), JIAT found the following:

1. (Souq Al-Raqou), the place of the claim, is located in (Monabih) directorate at the north western part of (Saada) governorate, and at the international border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and it is not a (market) in the known meaning, but it can be described as a slum location that includes shops, services, and housing.

2. No signs of targeting were observed on (Souq Al-Raqou).

JIAT studied and evaluated the artillery operations of the Coalition Forces, and air missions for the previous day and the day after (27/11/2019) and found the following:

1. On Tuesday (26/11/2019), the day before the date of the claim, the nearest mission was carried out by the artillery units on a military target, (15) km away from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim, while no air missions were carried out on (26/11/2019) inside Yemen.

2. On Thursday (28/11/2019), the day after the date of the claim, the nearest task carried out by the artillery units on a military target, (16) km away from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim, and an aerial mission was carried out on a military target in (Kitaf) directorate of (Saada) governorate, (50) km from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

With regard to the claim that this was the third attack on the site within a month, JIAT has already announced the results of its investigations regarding what was stated by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, issued on (22/11/2019), that an attack occurred on (Souq Al-Raqou) in the (Munbih) district of (Saada) governorate on (20/11/2019).

As for the claim on Tuesday (24/12/2019), JIAT examined the events and operations implemented by Coalition Forces and found the following:

1. One of the border units was subjected to intense shooting by combatants who infiltrated into the international borders of Saudi Arabia.

2. It was not possible to deal with the source of fire with direct weapons, due to the lack of mutual visibility and the use of mountainous terrain by infiltrators as a cover and a veil for them, which forced the border units to request support for artillery fire to put out hostile fire sources immediately for self-defense, accordingly the Coalition Forces implemented indirect fire with (3) mortar shells (120) mm, on a military target (combat elements) inside the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who were shooting at one of the Coalition Forces units.

By studying the satellite imagery of the location of the claim, and the location of the military operations carried out by the Coalition Forces on (24/12/2019), JIAT found the following:

1. The specific coordinate of (infiltrated combatant elements) is located at a distance of (90) meters from (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

2. Two mortar shells traces were observed at the location of the coordinate of the target at the foothill inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia territory.

By studying the videos and pictures published of the claimed location in the open sources, JIAT found the following:

1. The damaged site is a medium-sized building, a burning of its interior walls was observed, and the tinplate roof was damaged.

2. The internal damage to the claimed location is greater than of the mortar impact.

3. It was reported in a televised interview, that two shells landed at the foothill at the opposite of (Souq Al-Raqou), and one shell landed on the damaged site.

By assessing the military mission executed by the mortar, JIAT found the following:

1. Civilian objects are located outside the scope of the projectile side effects used to deal with the military target, and the distance is considered safe compared to the type and size of the shells used.

2. (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim, is at the same direction as the projectile.

3. JIAT was able to determine the location of two mortar shells impact points, but was unable to determine the third mortar impact point, and it is likely that it landed on (Souq Al-Raqou) due to a technical defect, or the possibility of it being subjected to changing weather conditions.

In light of that, JIAT found the following:

1. The Coalition Air and Land Forces did not target (Souq Al-Raqou) in (Monabih) district of (Saada) governorate on (27/11/2019).

2. The Coalition Air and land Forces did not target (Souq Al-Raqou) in (Menabah) directorate of (Saada) governorate on (24/12/2019), but the Coalition Land Forces dealt with (combatant elements) that infiltrated into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia border, and were shooting at one of the Coalition units on (24/12/2019) with indirect weapons for self-defense, as it was the only means available to deal with the threat.

3. it is likely that one of the mortar shells landed on (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim, on (24/12/2019), and that the projectile miss was due to a technical defect, or the possibility of it being subjected to changing weather conditions.

4. JIAT sees that it is appropriate for the Coalition States to provide assistance for human and material losses, that occurred due to the possibility of the projectile falling on (Souq Al-Raqou) of the claim.

Regarding case number: 189 and with regard to what was stated in:

1. (Human Rights Watch) report issued on (21/08/2019) which states that (in mid-August 2018), the Coalition Naval Forces attacked two fishing boats near (Al-Zaqr) island off the Yemeni coast, in the waters controlled by the Yemeni government.

2. What was reported in an article in the New York Times that on (August 18), a warship opened fire on the boat named (Al-Ameerah), killing three fishermen, the bullets left at least (26) holes in the (Al-Ameerah) boat, attached a photo of the boat, the diameter and shape of the holes were identical to that of heavy and medium machine guns, which are the same type of weapons found on warships, the next day an attack helicopter sank a boat named (Al-Rannan), killing four of the ten fishermen on board.

The JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including procedures and rules of engagement, the daily events log for the Coalition Naval Forces, the event log for the Coalition Naval units, visit to the concerned units and meeting with the specialists, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and assessment of evidences, JIAT found:

1. The coalition ships were in the restricted naval area south of the Red Sea, carrying out the mission of maritime embargo, as well as escorting and protecting oil tankers.

2. Intelligence reports to the Coalition Naval Forces indicated that Al-Houthi armed militia were about to carry out operations to target Coalition Forces ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea.

3. At (4:43) p.m. on Saturday (18/08/2018), one of the coalition ships spotted a boat heading towards the convoy of the warship and oil tanker, after arriving at a distance that posed a threat to the convoy, the boat was warned via loudspeakers not to approach, but did not obey, then the ship fired warning shots at it to turn away from the convoy, but again the boat did not obey and continued to head towards the convoy, until it reached a distance that posed imminent danger to the convoy, where it was dealt with using (50) mm machine gun, to neutralize its danger to the convoy, in accordance with the Coalitions rules of engagement, and the legitimate right to self-defense.

4. At (5:52) p.m. of the same day, while the Helicopter attached to one of the coalition ship conducting armed reconnaissance in front of the convoy, it spotted (3) boats approaching the convoy of the warship and oil tanker, the aircraft captain informed the ship of that, and after the boats crossed a distance that posed a threat to the convoy and after he took direction from the captain of the ship, it was warned by warning shots, and as a result two of the boats responded to the warnings and turned away and were not dealt with. However, the third boat did not change its course and continued to head towards the convoy, and after reaching a distance that represented an imminent danger to the convoy, it was dealt with by the Helicopter using a (20) mm gun, in accordance with the Coalitions rules of engagement, and the legitimate right to self-defense

5. The Coalition Naval Forces took the necessary precautions in dealings with the two boats according to the rules of engagement, by warning them against approaching the convoy with loudspeakers and warning shots, but in both cases the two boats did not change their course and continued heading towards the oil tanker and the warship convoy, when they reached a distance that posed an imminent danger to the convoy it was dealt with, the boats that complied with the warning and turned away from the convoy were not targeted.

6. The ship carried out search and rescue operations in both targeting areas in compliance with the coalition rules of engagement, and in accordance with Article (7) and (8) of the Second Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, but no survivors were found due to the state of the sea, and the height of the wave on that day due to the bad weather.

In light of that, JIAT found that the procedures taken by Coalition Forces, in dealing with the legitimate military target (the two boats), that posed an imminent danger to the maritime convoy on (18/08/2018) were correct, and in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules.

Regarding case number: 190 and with regard to what was stated in:

1. The report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen No. (S/2018/68) issued on (26/01/2018), that at (02:00) on (01/11/2017) a bomb was dropped from a military plane, on or near a hotel inside A crowded night market, in (Sohar) district of (Saada) governorate, killed (31) civilians and wounded (26).

2.The annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights No. (A/HRC/39/43) issued on (17/08/2018) that on (01/11/2017), an air strike targeted a hotel in (Souk Al-Lail) in (Saada) governorate, killing more than (50) civilian men, and wounding (50) others.

The JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including procedures and rules of engagement, daily mission schedule, after mission report, satellite images, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and assessment of evidences, JIAT found that on Wednesday (01/11/2017), intelligence information from reliable sources were available to the Coalition Forces on the presence of a group of operators, technicians and ballistic missile experts, one of whom was identified as (Qais Al-Qimantar) at a specific location, in (Sohar) directorate of (Saada) governorate, which is considered to be a legitimate military target of high value, that the destruction of it would achieve a military advantage based on Article (52), paragraph (2) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.

Verification degrees were also available through intelligence information about the presence of a high-value military target which is (a building in which a group of operators, technicians and ballistic missile experts) in a specific location, and through the implementation of the (reconnaissance and surveillance) operation, which confirmed the intelligence information received, based on customary rule (16) of customary International Humanitarian Law.

The legal protection of the civilian objects (a building in which a group of operators, technicians and ballistic missile experts) lost due to the effective contribution to military actions, and the fact that the target was of high value, in accordance with Article (52), of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.

Accordingly, the Coalition Forces carried out a reconnaissance mission on the target, and at (02:00) AM on Wednesday (01/11/2017), the Coalition Forces targeted (a building in which a group of operators, technicians, and ballistic missile experts), using one guided bomb that hit its target, the Coalition Forces took all feasible precautions to avoid accidental loss of or damage to civilian objects, or to reduce them in any case to a minimum, by choosing the appropriate time to target at (2:00) AM, as markets closes and civilians movement is least, as well as using a single guided bomb which proportional to the size of the target, in accordance with Article (57) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, and customary rules No. (15) and No. (17) of customary international humanitarian law.

The targeting resulted in the killing of the ballistic missile expert (Qais Ali Al-Qimantar) and several operators, technicians, and ballistic missile experts, , thereby achieving the desired military advantage.

By analyzing the satellite images of the military target site and comparing it with what was published in the media and the reports issued, JIAT found the following:

(1) The target site corresponds to the photos published in the media, as well as the photos attached to the reports issued by international organizations, which is (a building in which a group of operators, technicians, and ballistic missile experts).

(2) The bomb struck the military target directly.

(3) The buildings adjacent to the targeted military target were not affected.

In light of that, JIAT found that the procedures taken by Coalition Forces, in dealing with the legitimate military target (a building in which a group of operators, technicians, and ballistic missile experts) were correct and in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules.

Regarding case number: 191 and with regard to what was mentioned in the letter submitted by Mr. (A.A.W), in which he requested compensation, as a result of the wrong strike that targeted his house in (Saada) governorate, in (Dhul-Qa'dah 1437), his father and (5) members of his family were killed, in addition to the destruction of the house and its accessories.

The JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including procedures and rules of engagement, daily mission schedule, after mission report, video recordings of the mission, satellite images, interviewing and hearing the statements of those concerned, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and assessment of evidences, JIAT found that the period of the claim witnessed Houthi armed militia infiltrating, and attacking the guard posts and defensive points of the Coalition Forces, located on the international borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using medium weapons and mortars to attack the defensive positions of the Coalition Forces, Moreover the Houthi armed militia mobilize their fighters and posting them on the mountain peaks overlooking (Elb) border port.

Moreover, The Coalition Forces received intelligence information which confirmed that Al-Houthi armed militia mobilized its fighters in the (Baqim) directorate to attack the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that there were fighters from Al-Houthi armed militia inside (a building) using it as a starting point for carrying out hostile operations on the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the (Baqem) directorate, which is considered a legitimate military target whose destruction achieves a military advantage in accordance with Article No. (52), paragraph (2) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions and customary rule No. (8) of International Humanitarian Law.

The Coalition Forces achieved degrees of verification, through ground sources of the legitimate forces inside Yemen, stating that fighters of Al-Houthi armed militia were inside (a building) in (Baqim) directorate, based on customary rule No. (16) of International Humanitarian Law.

The legal protection for civilian objects (the building) lost for the use of it to support the war effort, and the effective contribution to military actions, by the presence of fighters from Al-Houthi armed militia inside it, and using it as a starting point for military operations, in accordance with Article No. (52) paragraph (3) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.

Accordingly, at (10:55) am on Friday (12/08/2016), the Coalition Forces carried out a mission against a target consisting of (fighters of Al-Houthi armed militia inside a building).

The Coalition Forces took all feasible precautions to minimize losses and collateral damage, by ensuring that no civilians were at the target area, and using a guided bomb commensurate with the size of the building, in accordance with Article No. (57) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions and customary rule No. (17) of International Humanitarian Law.

By studying the satellite images of the targeted building, and the targeting video for the task carried out, JIAT found the following:

1. The military target (the building) of the claim, which elements from Al-Houthi armed militia were present inside it, was in a semi-isolated area from the urban areas.

2. Obvious damage to some parts of (the building) of the claim, before the date of targeting.

3. No movements of civilians or civilian vehicles were observed before and during the targeting.

4. The bomb hit the designated point of the military target (the building) of the claim.

In light of that, JIAT found that the procedures taken by Coalition Forces, in dealing with the legitimate military target (fighters of Al-Houthi armed militia inside a building) of the claim, in (Baqim) directorate of (Saada) governorate on (12/08/2016) were correct, and in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules.

--SPA

13:26 LOCAL TIME 10:26 GMT

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Nearly a third (29%) of organisations still see usernames and passwords to protect access to their IT infrastructure, two years after the inventor of the complex static password admitted they dont work.

According to the 2020 Thales Access Management Index  Europe and Middle East Edition1 in fact, 67% of respondents indicate that their organisations plan to expand its use of usernames and passwords in the future.

Surveying 400 IT decision-makers across Europe and the Middle East, Thaless new research found that the majority (57%) of IT professionals revealed that unprotected infrastructure is one of the biggest targets for cyber-attacks.

Therefore, any organisation utilising it, as a result of business pressure driving them to adopt digital transformation technologies, are likely to be putting themselves at a higher level of risk.

With the Covid-19 global pandemic causing many companies to work from home, IT departments are battling to provide employees with both security and convenience.

In fact, over two-thirds (67%) of IT leaders say their security teams feel under pressure to provide convenient access to applications and cloud services for users, but still maintain security  an indication theyre struggling to balance their digital transformation and security priorities.

To this end, 96% believe that strong authentication and access management solutions can facilitate secure cloud adoption.

This view is particularly widely held in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with just over three-quarters (76%) of respondents from these markets believing that cloud access management for cloud and web applications is definitely conducive to facilitating cloud adoption.

Over three-quarters (76%) also revealed employee authentication needs to be able to support secure access to a broad range of services including virtual private networks and cloud applications.

While some organisations still rely on legacy authentication methods like usernames and passwords, growing awareness of the threats is prompting action with almost all (94%) organisations having changed their security policies around access management in the last 12 months.

Staff training on security and access management (47%), increasing spend on access management (43%), and access management becoming a board priority (37%), have all seen an increased focus.

This is set to pay off in compliance terms too, with two thirds (66%) of UAE and KSA respondents who think that controlling who has access to specific types of data will help them to meet data regulation requirements like GDPR and pass security audits.

As more and more businesses move to adopt cloud-based services for CRM, email, employee collaboration and IT infrastructure as part of their digital transformation strategies, the struggle to extend old solutions, designed to protect internal resources, to the outside world becomes very problematic.

Often, in an effort to adapt to the new working habits of users connecting from anywhere, which is increasingly pertinent right now and will become standard moving forward, businesses tend to revert back to old password-based logins for cloud services in despair.

This is knowingly increasing their security exposure to credential stuffing and phishing attacks, said Francois Lasnier, Vice President for Access Management solutions at Thales.

Looking ahead, some IT leaders are set to potentially use their influence at board level more wisely, with investment in the use of more secure methods such as biometric authentication (75%) and smart SSO (81%) set to increase in the next year.

When it comes to providing more data for a smart SSO, respondents in the Middle East are far more likely to allow any data to be collected and held if it resulted in a secure smart SSO, with 42% of UAE and KSA respondents stating they would be happy for their organisation to collect and hold more data about them if it resulted in a secure smart SSO solution, and only 4% saying that they wouldnt allow any more data to be used.

This was followed by France with 40% of respondents stating they would happy to share more personal data with 10% saying that they would not allow any more data to be used. These numbers are almost twice as high as those seen in UK (21%), Germany (21%), Belgium and Netherlands (20%).

However, a third (67%) still plan to expand their use of usernames and passwords, which is a similar size to those intending to further utilise passwordless authentication methods (70%), and almost half (48%) of organisations in UAE and KSA would allow employees in their organisation to log on to corporate resources using their social media credentials.

For a long time, the biggest battle IT leaders have faced is increasing board awareness around taking the threat of security seriously, Lasnier continued. Now that they have that buy in, the focus should be on highlighting the importance access management plays in implementing a zero trust security policy to their executive management. With this in place, risk management professionals will be able to put in place a Protect Everywhere - Trust Nobody approach as they expand in the cloud. -- Tradearabia News Service
On the occasion of International Nurses' Day, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday lauded nursing professionals for their continuous work during theCOVID-19 pandemic, calling them the "strong and pivotal pillars" of the healthcare delivery system.

"Without nurses and other health workers, we will not win the battle against epidemic outbreaks," the minister said.

Vardhan also stressed on the need for nurses to apprise themselves of all the protocols, information about this disease, about infection prevention and control, so that not only they can protect themselves ably but also provide the best advice to all.

Stating that the strengths of nurses are being put to great challenge due to the current COVID-19 health crisis, Vardhan said, "I am reminded today of bravehearts like Jyoti Vithal Raksha, Staff Nurse from Pune, Anita Govindrao Rathod, Assistant Matron, Pune and Margaret, Nursing Officer, ESI Hospital, Jhilmil, whom we have recently lost. I offer my condolences to their families.

"I also stand with you to resolve that we will continue to fight this disease, keep our morale high, and also take necessary precautions and trainings to protect ourselves by following protocols."



To protect the frontline healthcare workers, Vardhan said an ordinance has been promulgated to protect healthcare personnel against any violence.

The ordinance provides for making acts of violence against doctors and healthcare and sanitation workers cognizable and non-bailable offences. It also provides compensation for injuries to healthcare service personnel and for damage to or loss of the property in which healthcare service personnel may have a direct interest in relation to the epidemic.

Additionally, the government has also approved the 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19' to provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh for ninety (90) days to a total of around 22.12 lakh public healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact with COVID-19 patients and who may be at risk of being impacted by the virus, he said.

It will also include accidental loss of life on account of contacting COVID-19.

The minister also urged that nurses should take full benefits from the various webinars organised by AIIMS, Delhi and the Indian Nursing Council to apprise themselves about all the precautions that are needed to be taken while working during the pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Asia Laos Pushes Ahead With Sixth Mekong River Dam Project

Activists and villagers protest against Laos plans for a dam on the Mekong River outside of Loei, Thailand, on October 29, 2019. / REUTERS

BANGKOKLaos has submitted plans to build a new hydropower dam on the Mekong River, with construction expected to start later this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Monday.

The Sanakham hydropower plant, with an estimated cost of US$2.073 billion (2.9 trillion kyats), will be developed by Datang Sanakham Hydropower company, a subsidiary of Chinas Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd., MRC said.

Hydropower development is central to the Laos governments plan to export around 20,000 megawatts of electricity to its neighbors by 2030. The latest project would be the sixth proposal of nine planned mainstream Mekong dams inside Laos.

Laos has completed two dams on the Mekong Riverthe 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam and the 260-megawatt Don Sahong Damdespite objections by environmental groups.

Objectors said the dams threaten a river system whose fisheries, sediment and seasonal flooding for agriculture support some 60 million people.

Sanakhams proposed site is located 155 kilometers north of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and is projected to produce 684 megawatts of electricity once it start operating in 2028.

The Sanakham dam is the sixth project that has been put forward to the prior consultation process with the MRC, an intergovernmental agency that works with regional governments.

China has funded numerous hydropower projects inside Laos, and it has built 11 dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong River inside Chinese territory that have come under scrutiny for allegedly altering the rivers natural flow.

The Sanakham project will now have to go through an MRC prior consultation process, which normally lasts for six months, where other MRC members including Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam can review the project and assess any cross-border impacts.

While they can suggest changes, the MRC consultation process cannot veto any project.

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Amid Hydropower Boom, Laos Moves Ahead on Latest Mekong Dam
NORFOLK, Va., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Military nonprofit, Troopster, is poised to help America's COVID-19 front line heroes by sending PPE medical essential kits. Using their warehouse and package production capabilities the company plans to raise $1.1M to send 50,000 medical kits containing PPE equipment, protein bars, snacks, and other items to COVID-19 caretakers across the country.

Troopster medical essential kits to support healthcare workers

"To date, we have raised $43,000 for our initiative, received pledges of more than 50,000 hygiene items, and have purchased our first round of N-95 masks which we are prepping to send in the first batch of 600 medical essential kits," said Chelsea Mandello Founder and CEO of Troopster. "With the money raised from our national GoFundMe campaign and thanks to corporate product donations, Troopster has the infrastructure to support these healthcare heroes."

Experienced in sending more than 12,000 care packages around the world to deployed military personnel, Troopster is a veteran-owned and operated online care package shopping platform. In April, Troopster, while still dedicating its efforts to sending care packages, included a new focus to address the immediate needs of America's Doctors, Corpsmen, Nurses, Volunteers, EMT's, Policeman and Firefighters.

Mandello says she has worked closely with health care employees, nurses, doctors, corpsmen and subject matter experts to identify health care facilities across the country in the greatest need and is ready to move forward but needs help in affording the upfront costs associated with this project.

Statement by ICU Nurse (ret.), Elaine Banerjee:

"As a retired intensive care nurse, I have volunteered to come out of retirement to help fight again the Corona Virus. Together we stand united to defend the most vulnerable among us," said Banerjee. "What we do today and how we join together to protect those most vulnerable will define us. It's important that we stand together to help our healthcare workers who have been called to duty, leaving their safe havens behind to fight this virus."

Troopster is seeking individual and corporate contributions as well as excess inventory donations. Individuals interested in supporting this mission can contact Chelsea at [email protected] or via phone at 757-276-1337. Contributions can be made by visiting the Troopster fundraiser at https://www.gf.me/u/xvjnxs or by texting 'COVID19' to 855-202-2100 to get a link to donate.

Troopster is a leading cause-driven organization that supports the U.S. military community through the vanguard of care package services. Troopster has sent more than 12,000 care packages to troops deployed across more than 22 countries. Founded in 2015, Troopster is veteran-owned and operated, and headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, home of the largest naval military installation in the world. To learn more about Troopster or to send a military care package, please visit www.troopster.org.

Media Contact:

Chelsea Mandello

Phone: 757-276-1337

Email: [email protected]

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 07:32:59|Editor: huaxia

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Customers wearing protective face masks queue outside the Louis Vuitton store before its reopening on the Champs Elysee avenue in Paris, France on May 11, 2020. France started to ease restrictions on movement from Monday through "a very gradual process" which would stretch over several weeks. (Photo by Jack Chan/Xinhua)
Press Release

Nokia extends commitment to datacenter networks with contributions to SONiC ecosystem led by Microsoft

Nokia making significant development investments in the datacenter networking space

Chassis-based SONiC implementation leverages Nokia's strength in delivering robust networks at massive scale

12 May 2020

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced its collaboration with Microsoft as part of the SONiC initiative, an open source network operating system based on Linux that has been production-hardened in the data centers of some of the largest cloud-service providers.

Leveraging over 20 years of experience building some of the world's largest IP networks, Nokia has developed a robust chassis-based SONiC implementation focused on the requirements of high capacity data centers. Nokia is strongly committed to delivering the most robust network infrastructures possible with a keen focus on resilient and efficient operations at scale.

Sri Reddy, President of IP and Optical Networks at Nokia, said: "The SONiC initiative represents yet another dimension of our collaboration with Microsoft, and is consistent with our commitment to customers building the biggest and most advanced datacenter infrastructures. We are happy to bring our experience to bear in delivering the most robust and capable chassis-based SONiC implementation possible."



Yousef Khalidi, CVP Azure Networking at Microsoft Corp., said: "We are pleased to be working with Nokia as part of the SONiC initiative. Their contributions to the community on chassis-based SONiC are raising the bar on what is possible and what is needed. We are happy to see networking suppliers like Nokia, with over a million routers deployed, contributing to our community."

Resources:

Webpage: Microsoft SONiC community Wiki (https://azure.github.io/SONiC/)



About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks.

Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.1 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,000 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia.

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For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Teslas California electric car factory resumed operations Monday in violation of Alameda County's shelter-in-place order as CEO Elon Musk tweeted: "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."

The parking lot at the massive plant in Fremont, which employs 10,000 workers, was nearly full Monday. It appeared to have a similar number of vehicles as it does when the factory is fully operating. A normal complement of workers would violate orders from the Alameda County Health Department, which has deemed Teslas Fremont factory a nonessential business. This means it cant open due to restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus.

TESLA WOES: Elon Musk says Tesla will sue 'irrational' Alameda County, relocate headquarters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at his regular Monday press briefing he didn't know the plant was open. Reporters asked him repeatedly about the matter.

As it was just mentioned, I need the details of that," Newsom said. "My understanding is when I walked up to the podium today that wasnt the case. Im trying to monitor hundreds of thousands of businesses all throughout the state of California."

Newsom said he believes Alameda County and Musk will come to agreement over the dispute and that the plant may be able to reopen as early as next week.

An hour after Newsom's comments, Musk shared his tweet inviting arrest, saying, "Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else."

A statement posted by Tesla on its website Saturday night said the company has started the process of resuming operations but didnt say when manufacturing would actually begin. The company wasn't immediately available for comment.

The full parking lot on Monday came two days after Tesla sued Alameda Countys health department seeking to overturn the order, and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move Teslas manufacturing and headquarters operations out of the state.

Our employees are excited to get back to work, and were doing so with their health and safety in mind, Teslas Saturday statement said.

Tesla contends in the lawsuit that Alameda County cant be more restrictive than orders from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The lawsuit says the governors coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying vehicles and commercial ships manufacturing as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.

Frankly, this is the final straw, Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.

He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.

PRODUCT LIMITS: Costco temporarily limits meat purchases to 3 items per member

Newsom has said repeatedly that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders. Alameda County was among six San Francisco Bay Area counties that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the companys April 29 first-quarter earnings were released. He called the restrictions fascist and urged governments to stop taking peoples freedom.

The Bay Area order forced Tesla to close the plant starting March 23 to help prevent the virus spread, and it was extended until the end of May. Public health experts say the orders have reduced the number of new coronavirus cases nationwide.

Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday he didnt know if Tesla has reopened and that this is in the attorney phase. Any enforcement would come from Fremont police, he said. Fremont police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mayor Lily Mei, who has expressed support for Tesla, also did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 per day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

On Monday, the county Health Department referred to a statement it made Saturday saying it was working with Tesla to develop a safety plan allowing the Fremont plant to reopen.

The department said it looks forward to reaching agreement on a plan to reopen very soon," but noted that given the sacrifices made to protect public health, it is our collective responsibility to move through the phases of reopening and loosening the restrictions" in the safest way possible.

Tesla says it has safety procedures to protect workers including increased cleaning, enforcement of social distancing, providing face coverings and gloves where needed, installing barriers between workers when necessary and worker temperature checks at some locations.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
By ANI

KOLKATA: A CISF official in Kolkata died of coronavirus, taking the death toll due to the disease in the paramilitary forces to six with 18 fresh cases being reported on Tuesday, officials said.

The total active COVID-19 cases in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), with the latest additions and as per data accessed by PTI, stands at 779 now.

CISF Assistant Sub Inspector Jharu Burman, 55, posted at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSEL) security unit in Kolkata, died of coronavirus on Monday, a senior official of the force said.

The GRSEL is a strategically important warship building facility on the banks of the Hooghly river that caters to the combat requirements of the Navy and the Coast Guard.

The CISF was deployed here in 2016 to proving an anti-terror cover to the facility.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Burman was under treatment at a Kolkata hospital since he tested positive for the disease on May 5, he said.

The official was a resident of Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal.

Earlier, a Central Industrial Security Force ASI posted at the Indian Museum in Kolkata and a head constable-rank official posted to guard the Mumbai international airport had died of COVID-19.

This is the sixth death due to COVID-19 in the CAPFs or paramilitary forces, under the command of the Union home ministry, with two casualties in the Border Security Force and one in the Central Reserve Police Force.

The CISF, with about 1.62 lakh personnel, also saw five new cases of the disease over the last 24 hours, all of them in a unit that guards the Delhi Metro.

The maximum of COVID-19 cases in the CISF, at 29, are in the Delhi Metro security unit followed by 28 in the contingent that guards the Mumbai international airport.

The force has 68 active cases now.

The BSF, which has the maximum positive cases among the CAPFs, saw nine fresh cases since Monday.

It has a total of 288 active coronavirus cases now apart from one trooper who has recovered from the infection.

The country's largest paramilitary, the about 3.25 lakh personnel strength Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), saw two fresh cases from its units based in Delhi, taking the active number of cases in its establishment to 243.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control with China, saw two fresh cases, taking the number of its active COVID-19 cases to 159.

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the 80,000 personnel strong force guarding Nepal and Bhutan borders, reported no fresh case on Tuesday and its active cases are 21 at present.
Representative Image

Major global pension funds have paused their plans to invest in India due to uncertainties surrounding the economic fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Many are waiting for their portfolios to stabilise since markets are currently volatile, and putting their plans on hold till they assess the full extent of the economic damage, The Economic Times reported.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Australian Super and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), among others, had set aside billions of dollars to invest in India, the report said.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic

The funds were planning to invest either directly, or via private equity (PE) and other funds, the report added.

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

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

Canadian pensions were exploring investment opportunities in renewable energy and private debt spaces, The Economic Times reported.

"All commitments to investments in illiquid assets  direct or through a fund  have been put on hold," a PE manager told the paper.

Some pension funds said they continue to have "long-term" plans for India, the report said.

"India is an attractive investment destination for Ontario Teachers," said Ben Chan, regional managing director, Asia Pacific, at OTPP told the paper.

CPPIB refused to comment on the story while CDPQ and Australian Super have not responded when contacted by The Economic Times.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here
White House tries to block government pension fund investment that includes Chinese firms under scrutiny in Washington.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pressing a board charged with overseeing billions in federal retirement dollars to halt plans to invest in Chinese companies that Washington suspects of abusing human rights or threatening United States security.

At issue is whether administrators of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement savings fund for federal employees and members of the military, should allow its international fund to track an index that includes some China-based stocks of companies under scrutiny in Washington.

The TSPs administrators, known as the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), decided in 2017 to make the investment shift in the second half of 2020 to boost returns. They have begun opening custodial accounts abroad to channel the investments.

But China hardliners in Washington have pushed back. They argue that US federal employee pension dollars should not fund companies like aircraft and avionics company Aviation Industry Corp of China, which supplies Chinas military, as well as surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, which was sanctioned by Washington for human right abuses.

They also point to heightened risk for investors, since Chinese companies do not have to comply with strict US financial disclosure rules.

US Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia on Monday sent a letter to Michael Kennedy, the chairman of FRTIB, telling him to put a stop to efforts to implement the investment change, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters news agency.

The investment shift would place millions of federal employees, retirees, and service-members in the untenable position of choosing between forgoing any investment in international equities or placing billions of dollars in retirement savings in risky companies that pose a threat to US national security, Scalia wrote.

At the direction of President Trump the board is to immediately halt all steps associated with the investment, he added.

FRTIB spokeswoman Kim Weaver acknowledged the letter had been received, but provided no further comment.

The correspondence was sent after National Security Adviser Robert OBrien and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow wrote to Scalia expressing opposition to the investment move, according to a copy of that letter seen by Reuters. It cited significant and unnecessary economic risk of investing in Chinese companies, noting the possibility of future sanctions will result from the culpable actions of the Chinese government with respect to the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Trump has accused Beijing of failing to alert the world to the severity and scope of the virus, which has killed more than 80,0000 Americans and was first reported in the city of Wuhan, China late last year. China has denied the allegations.

The news was first reported by Fox Business News and Bloomberg News.

The letters come amid mounting pressure on the White House to stop the investment move. Reuters reported last month that lawmakers and former officials were making a last-ditch push to halt the plan, via letters and calls from Republicans and a sharply worded memo shared with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Legislation to prevent the change last year languished in Congress.

Earlier this month, the White House named three nominees to sit on the FRTIB, which could have paved the way for a reversal of the investment decision. But it is unclear when their confirmation processes will move forward.

Roger Robinson, who was a White House official in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and who has fought to halt the investments in Chinese companies, praised the move. The White House letter ending this TSP debacle implicates directly the broader issues of Chinese corporate bad actors in our capital markets and noncompliance with federal securities laws, he said.

Some investors see the move as a logical way of punishing China amid rising tensions over the coronavirus.

If this administration wants to make China the boogeyman  instead of another increase in tariffs that would end up hurting consumers already under pressure, you use other tools like limiting the number of investments US-based institutions can have in the Chinese system, said Patrick Esteruelas, head of research at New York-based Emso Asset Management.

Trillions of dollars worldwide passively track benchmarks that are compiled by third-party index providers based on a range of criteria, including companies market capitalisation, as opposed to fund managers picking the individual stocks.
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Department of Veterans Affairs said a registry for veterans exposed to airborne toxins now includes more than 200,000 people as advocates contend better health care is what veterans need, not lists.

"I don't feel that it's a milestone. It may be for them, but not for anyone sick and dying," said Rosie Torres, co-founder of Burn Pits 360, a nonprofit advocacy group that fights for VA health care benefits for veterans exposed to smoke from burn pits during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The military used burn pits as waste disposal sites on bases primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of most of the trash created there, which included diesel generators, medical waste, computers and day-to-day trash from service members. The smoke generated from the pits contained toxins that can cause short- and long-term health complications.

The registry, which began in June 2014, allows veterans and service members who deployed to certain regions in Southwest Asia as early as 1990 to self-report their exposures and health concerns in an online questionnaire that can be used to initiate discussions of health concerns, according to the VA's news release about reaching more than 200,000 registrants.

"It helps the VA check off the box, but it doesn't help any one of our families in any way, shape or form," said Torres, whose husband Army Reserve Capt. Le Roy Torres spent years fighting the VA to connect his chronic respiratory and health conditions to his service in Iraq.

About 3.5 million veterans and service members are believed to have been exposed and could potentially join the registry, according to VA estimates. The registry website states 203,525 have filled out the questionnaire as of April 28, or nearly 6% of those eligible.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement that veterans who join the registry can gain further understanding of "the impact of deployment-related exposures on health."

"Concerns about the long-term effects of exposure to burn pits remain a priority," he said.

Though Burn Pits 360 advocated to Congress for the registry, Torres said it is not as helpful as when it was conceived because the list doesn't track mortality nor is it connected to any epidemiological studies.

The VA did announce in July that its new Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence in New Jersey will analyze the registry data to monitor VA's overall clinical response to exposure concerns.

Tom Porter, executive vice president of government affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, or IAVA, said the one of the biggest problems with the registry is it is voluntary and it requires people to know about it.

As they have in the past, IAVA will continue to ask the VA to describe the scope of its outreach regarding the registry, he said.

Between his work with IAVA and as a commander in the Navy Reserve, Porter said he travels the country often and always asks veterans whether they know about the registry.

"Nine out of 10 times the answer is no," he said. "We looked around and we just knew that the communications coming out of VA were very lacking because they ... didn't have any campaign about this registry and why people should sign up for it."

Last year, IAVA and about 15 other veteran service organizations campaigned for the Burn Pits Accountability Act, which would require the Defense Department to ask service members about exposure during health assessments and enroll them in the registry, if applicable. The law passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2020.

Just in advocating for the accountability act, Porter said he watched the registry numbers rise as IAVA representatives addressed the issue on Capitol Hill and in the media.

"You can't just have a program and expect people to go find it," Porter said. "There needs to be aggressive outreach to those that are affected."

The VA credited the increase in registrants to a Defense Department letter sent to more than 700,000 active-duty, Guard, and Reserve members to encourage participation, according to the department's news release.

IAVA and Burn Pits 360 are part of a coalition of 25 veteran service organizations advocating for toxic exposure support from Congress. The group planned to announce "ambitious legislation" in March though the coronavirus pandemic has put those plans on hold, Porter said. The legislation is supported by comedian Jon Stewart, who testified before Congress on behalf of similar legislation for first responders exposed to airborne toxins during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"The blueprint is already there," Torres said of following the hard-fought success of the first responder bill after years of failing to pass through Congress. "It's great to get their support because they've lived it."

Burn Pits 360 also is drafting legislation to grant presumptive connections between certain exposures and cancers, Torres said. Now, the VA handles each veterans' claim on a case-by-case basis, which can be slow and uneven, she said

Porter said IAVA and other members of the coalition know it's going to take a lot of pressure and public education to get legislation about toxic exposure through Congress.

"It's all part of paying for war. Don't forget about those obligations when we get back," he said.

Read more: Army Pilots Invention Enables Hyper-Realistic Low-Visibility Flight Training
From Good Housekeeping

The royal family marked International Nurses Day on Tuesday (12 May) by thanking NHS healthcare workers for their hard work in a series of phone and video calls throughout the day  and sharing snippets of their conversations in a lovely clip on Instagram.

The four-minute video  featuring not only Her Majesty the Queen, but Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne, Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex  was shared on the @KensingtonRoyal Instagram account, alongside a simple message of thanks in the caption: "From The Queen and The Royal Family this #InternationalNursesDay: Thank you."

The video begins with the words of the Queen, who can be heard acknowledging how hard nurses have been working during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Prince Charles then speaks directly to the camera, saying: "On this International Nurses Day, my family and I want to join in the chorus of thank yous to nursing and midwifery staff all over the country, and indeed the world."

The remaining royals, including Camilla, Princess Anne and the Duchess of Cambridge, then say their thanks straight to camera, before a series of moments from their various conversations with nursing staff across the globe are shared.

Photo credit: @KensingtonRoyal

For their conversations, Kate and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, teamed up on joint video calls, speaking to nursing staff in Australia, India, Malawi, Cyprus and the Bahamas, as well as in the UK.

"It's amazing that you're able to still continue the support and the care that you would normally provide, even under these circumstances," Kate says to nursing staff in India.

At one point, Kate and Sophie joke about the pressures of homeschooling their kids, telling one healthcare worker in Cyprus that they would appreciate the help of his school teacher partner right now...

Photo credit: @KensingtonRoyal

"I would like her to come and help me out with homeschooling!" joked Kate, as Sophie laughed along with her.

Story continues

The royals spoke to nursing staff across the UK, including in London and Aberdeen, thanking them for all of their hard work and asking them how they're coping.

The video finished with a final message of gratitude from Prince Charles, who said: "Thank you so much for the diligence, the courage that you have shown."

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Amid a nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 infections, four armed assailants robbed a rural bank in Mathura on Tuesday and decamped with over Rs 21 lakh cash, officials said.

The four robbers looted Damodarpura branch of Gramin Bank of Aryavarta in the afternoon when only three staff members were present, they said.

A bank staff Narendra Chaudhary was among those present in the branch when the incident took place.

Chaudhary said one masked person entered the bank branch and put a gun to his head.

Soon after, three other people came inside the bank and pointed pistols at assistant manager Neelam Singh and cashier Srishti Saxena, threatening them to stay quiet, he said.

Chaudhary said the assailants then took their mobile phones and locked him with the assistant manager in the washroom.

Then they forced the cashier to open the strong room and later fled with Rs 21,07,127 cash, Chaudhary, a Bank Mitra, said.

Mathura SSP Gaurav Grover told reporters that five police teams have been formed to solve the case and the bank's CCTV footage is being examined.

All the entry and exit points of the area have been sealed, however, the looters are yet to be traced, the senior superintendent of police said.

After receiving information, Inspector General Satish Ganesh also reached the spot and issued guidelines of action to the district police.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: Over 40 people, including two newborn babies were killed in two terror attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday (May 12). Several gunmen disguised as policemen attacked a Kabul hospital killing 16 people in the early morning today. Notably, part of this hospital run by an international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders.

In another attack, a suicide bomber targeted the funeral of a police officer in the Nangahar province, killing 24 people. The government and police officials were also present at the funeral when the attack took place.

India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement to express strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

It said, "India strongly condemns the barbaric terrorist attacks against innocent civilians, including women and children, at the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital maternity ward, funeral in Nangarhar province and the Army check post in Laghman province on 11-12 May. Such reprehensible attacks, including on mothers, newly born children, nurses, and mourning families are appalling and constitute crimes against humanity."

The attack was in retaliation to the Afghan security forces' action to arrest top ISIS Commander Zia Ul-Haq, also known as Abu Omar Khorasani, along with two other top Daesh leaders.

In a joint operation, Afghan police and National Directorate of Security (NDS) special forces apprehended Khorasani, who is Daesh leader for the south and east areas of Asia and an Afghanistan citizen, in the Kart-e-Naw area of Kabul city. The two other terrorists- the terror group's head of public relations and its intelligence head--were also apprehended.

Counter-terror operatives from India and Afghanistan believe that Pakistan agencies could be behind the attack.

National Security Advisor of Afghanistan Hamdullah Mohib said that the Afghanistan government and International partners have a responsibility to hold the Taliban and their sponsors accountable.

National Security Advisor of Afghanistan Hamdullah Mohib tweeted, "The attacks of the last two months show us and the world that Taliban and their sponsors do not and did not intend to pursue peace. Their attacks this spring against Afghans are comparable to the level of fighting seasons. International partners have a responsibility to hold the Taliban and their sponsors accountable. The reason to pursue peace is to end this senseless violence. This is not peace, nor its beginnings."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. Taliban has denied its involvement in both the attacks.

According to Indian security agencies, the Taliban will deny so that they are projected as a responsible organisation in line with the US Taliban agreement. ISI will use the name of ISKP or unknown outfits to claim the responsibility.

A statement said, "There can be no justification for such continued acts of terrorism. The perpetrators of such heinous acts and their sponsors and supporters should be held accountable and brought to justice. They should be forced to eradicate safe havens and sanctuaries that have abetted terrorism in the region for decades and caused immense miseries to an untold number of people in the region."

Earlier, Indian security agencies had expressed apprehension that after the withdrawal of US troops, Pakistan's agencies will carry out attacks on Indian embassies/consulates in Afghanistan.
A Chinese doctor whose skin suddenly turned dark after he fell critically ill with coronavirus is seeing his colour returning to normal gradually.

Dr Yi Fan, who caught the virus through work in January, was reportedly discharged by a hospital in Wuhan last week after beating the killer infection.

A spokesperson said Dr Yi's abnormal skin tone was caused by an antibiotic he had received during the treatment.

Pictures presented by a spokesperson at a press conference on Saturday shows Dr Yi Fan on May 9 (left) and on April 6 (right). The medic is seeing his skin tone slowly returning to normal

Dr Yi's colleague Dr Hu Weifeng, whose skin also turned dark, was still hospitalised, according to the spokesperson.

Dr Yi and Dr Hu, both 42, caught the novel coronavirus while treating patients at the Wuhan Central Hospital nearly four months ago.

Footage released by Beijing TV Station shows both medics lying in their sickbeds with their dark skin on April 6 in Wuhan's Tongji Hospital.

Dr Yi (pictured on the left before falling ill) beat COVID-19 after being hooked to a life-support machine for 39 days. He is seen after being revived in a clip released by Beijing Satellite TV

A recent picture of Dr Yi shows the medic almost looking like his old self on May 9.

Prof Duan Jun, the deputy director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, said the medical team had given Dr Yi and Dr Hu Polymyxin B, a last-resort antibiotic, during their treatment.

He said the drug had caused hyper-pigmentation in the doctors' body, but the condition would slowly disappear as they recovered, according to a televised clip of the briefing.

Previously, doctors thought that their abnormal skin colour was caused by hormonal imbalances after the virus had damaged their livers.

Dr Hu Weifeng (pictured on the left before falling ill), a colleague of Dr Yi, also saw his skin changing colour during his COVID-19 treatment. The medic was recovering, said Prof Duan

Dr Yi and Dr Hu were both diagnosed on January 18.

They are colleagues with late whistle-blower Li Wenliang, who was reprimanded by police for sounding the alarm of the virus and then died of the disease on February 7.

The pair were taken first to the Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital and then transferred to Tongji Hospital's Zhongfa Xincheng branch, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Dr Yi, a cardiologist, saw his condition improved after doctors had hooked him to a life-support machine called ECMO for 39 days.

ECMO is a drastic life-support procedure which replaces the function of the heart and lungs by pumping oxygen into the blood outside the body.

Dr Yi and Dr Hu were saved by a life-support machine called ECMO. The picture shows medical staff treating a critical patient with an ECMO at the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan on March 1

Speaking to CCTV from his hospital bed on April 20, Dr Yi said he had mostly recovered.

He said he could move in bed normally, but was still struggling to walk independently.

Dr Yi confessed that the ordeal of battling the deadly disease had, to a certain degree, traumatised him.

He told a reporter: 'When I first gained conscious, especially after I got to know about my condition, I felt scared. I had nightmares often.'

He said he was trying to overcome the psychological hurdle. He added doctors often comforted him and had arranged counselling for him.

Dr Yi told his doctor that he was recovering well and his wounds had largely healed on April 6

Dr Hu was not able to speak at the time, but he shook hands with his doctor to thank him

Footage released by Beijing TV Station shows Dr Zhan Qingyuan from China-Japan Friendship Hospital talking to Dr Yi and Dr Hu in their wards on April 6 in Tongji Hospital.

Beijing-based Dr Zhan had been treating the pair and was checking on them before he and his team left Wuhan and returned to the capital city.

Dr Yi told Dr Zhan he was recovering well and his wounds had largely healed while Dr Zhan told Dr Yi it was his responsibility to 'save his comrade'.

Dr Hu was not able to speak at the time due to his poor health, but he shook hands with Dr Zhan to express his gratitude.

Dr Yi, a cardiologist, and Dr Hu, a urologist, work for the Wuhan Central Hospital. The file photo show a doctor checking the condition of a COVID-19 patients in Wuhan on February 13

Dr Hu's condition was more serious.

The urologist had been bed-bound for 99 days by late April, and his overall health was weak, said Dr Li Shusheng who treated Dr Hu.

Dr Li said he was worried about Dr Hu's mental health.

'He could not stop talking to the doctors who come to check on him,' Dr Li said.

Dr Hu underwent ECMO therapy from February 7 to March 22 and regained his ability to speak on April 11.

He was still recovering in hospital, said Prof Duan at the press conference on Saturday.
With monsoon just a month away and no signs of a partial lifting of lockdown, a new crisis seems to be brewing up in Mumbai and its suburban areas.

During the lockdown 3.0, hundreds of autorickshaw and taxi drivers had left for their homes, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

The autorickshaw and taxi drivers are very much part of the transportation system of India's financial capital.

Many of them have gone in these vehicles itself -- as walking down was full of uncertainties.

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, during lockdown 1.0 and lockdown 2.0, they have been virtually left with no source of income or bank balance to rely on.

According to various estimates, nearly 50,000 taxis and over two lakh autos ply in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), spread over 6,355 sq km. While the population of MMR is over two crore, nearly 80 lakh plus people use Mumbai's suburban network daily for commuting.

Since a large population stays in MMR suburbs, they are heavily dependent on autos for commuting from home to suburban stations and from stations to offices and back. Those who work within 10 to 15 km of their residence, too, are heavily dependent on autos.

In Mumbai City, district taxis perform the same function as autos are not allowed.

"From the developments, we can expect that the lockdown will be lifted in a month's time. But, it will coincide with the onset of monsoon. Going to workspaces skipping autos, that too during monsoon, is not possible," says Kalyan Chatterjee, a resident of Vasai.

Auto driver Jagdish Singh, last week, travelled 1,800 km from Mumbai to Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh on his bike - that took him nearly three days. "There is a lot of uncertainty. We are not sure when the lockdown will end and when normal life will start. I was running out of money. Back in the village, I will not starve," said Singh, currently under quarantine.

More than 3,000 taxi drivers have left Mumbai, says AL Quadros, the president of Mumbai Taximen's Union.

According to Shashank Rao, president of Autorickshaw Chalak Malak Sangathana Sanyukt Kruti Samiti, the auto drivers were not left with any option. "Many have left in their autos with their families," he said.


imprisonment place Open source

On April 27, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced for parliamentary consideration draft law No. 3397 "On amnesty for convicts (in connection with the prevention of the spread of acute respiratory disease Covid-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus)."

We should note that the document has not yet been considered, but it can be predicted with 99% certainty that it would be accepted soon.

If this happens this time, 3009 people will go free, which approximately corresponds to a tenth of all prisoners. Persons, who were minors at the time of committing the crime would be among the lucky ones. Or those pregnant at the time the law enters into force (if we are talking about women). Or those who have disabilities, AIDS, and cancer. Or those who have reached retirement age. The amnesty also covers combatants, Chornobyl liquidators, and persons with parents over 70 and/or minor children. Amnesty does not affect those convicted of serious crimes.

Liberty or death

And now lets speak more about the motives of the authorities. Although the Ministry of Justice reports on a number of anti-epidemic measures (restricting access to unauthorized persons to the jails, constant temperature screening, and monitoring the physical condition of prisoners), such control is useless. Former chairman of the State Penitentiary Service Serhiy Starenky said it in an interview with the Ukrinform news agency.

The first thing that Starenky draws attention to is the unsanitary conditions of places of imprisonment. There is no proper cleaning, ventilation, sewage. This is a klondike for viruses, they can spread quite quickly.

There is no algorithm of action if the colony is embraced by an epidemic. There is no way to treat prisoners on the spot. And this means that they must be put to the medical institutions. But for this, we need both appropriate transport and a convoy. And Ukraine would definitely suffer from their lack.

Actually, Starenky believes that that the idea of the authorities to give amnesty is quite late. And even if bill No. 3397 is adopted soon, time will still be missed in vain. In the meantime, all prisoners will be kept together. Indeed, although Minister of Justice Denys Malyuka might think that prisons in Ukraine are empty, and therefore they (with the exception of two in all of Ukraine) must either be closed or sold, in reality, this is not so. Because places of deprivation of liberty are quite crowded.

In a word, the verdict of people who are versed in this area is unequivocal: the release of minor criminals is necessary.

Italian riots in the Ukrainian context

But, perhaps, the imperious team would not have gone for the early release of prisoners, if not for foreign experience. Our president, as you might know, loves making cosplay from world leaders. In particular, Zelensky is impressed by the image of his French colleague Macron.

Since mid-March, in France, more than 6,000 people were released from prisons ahead of schedule. But with regard to the United States most affected by the virus, there, according to US Attorney General William Barr on April 3, some of the convicts from correctional colonies have now been transferred to house arrest.

A thousand prisoners in the most densely populated region of Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia  was released. And such measures are not exclusively European. For example, the central authority of India in March called on all states to inspect prisons and determine the contingent of prisoners who can be released on parole. The UN, in turn, recommended that states take such a step to prevent death among staff and prisoners sentenced to prison terms.

Many listened to this appeal, but, for example, Italy almost made a fatal mistake. This country is known to be the most affected by the coronavirus among European neighbors. At a certain stage, the authorities decided to resort to preventive steps and prohibit the prisoners from the meeting. This decision caused only prison riots, while about 6,000 people were drawn into clashes with the personnel of the colonies. And 16 prisoners even managed to escape due to riots.

Ukraine decided not to take a risk and to transfer them from the "real" mode to online mode. For this, prisoners, as an exception, were even allowed to use the Internet. However, this permission alone is not very valuable. In the budget of the colonies, no one laid and does not lay the appropriate equipment. And since it is forbidden for individuals serving sentences to have individual gadgets, it is not clear how they will get out of this situation.

"Savchenko's Law"

But the issue here is that people are released without an amnesty. More precisely, criminals are released, and not only those who committed a minor crime. We owe this to the so-called "Savchenkos law", adopted in 2015 and repealed in 2017. Despite the fact that the law is repealed, it continues to operate.

The essence of this law is simple: Nadia Savchenko's associates, while she was still in a Russian prison, registered a legislative initiative on her behalf, according to which one day in the previous conclusion should count for two. After sentencing, this significantly reduced the time for convicted persons. Because under Ukrainian law, stay in a pre-trial detention center is included in the sentence.

Now the court has taken a break in considering the cassation of, perhaps, the most famous killer in Ukraine - former Lieutenant General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Oleksiy Pukach. The one who was found guilty of the death of journalist Georgy Gongadze. Pukach seeks to replace his life sentence with a 15-year term, as well as to apply the Savchenko Law to him. If the court gives the go-ahead for this, the criminal can be released already this year - just on the 20th anniversary of the Gongadze murder.

But if Pukach is only waiting for a decision, then former Interior Ministry official Oleksandr Balakirev, convicted in 2019 for the murder of a 2-year-old child of his cohabitant, is already freed. When considering the Balakirev case, it was said that he probably raped the boy, and the baby died from his injuries. The evidence of rape was not provided, but there was evidence of beating the child. The crime was qualified under Article 121 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Intentional grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the victim"). According to this article, Balakirev received ten years in prison.

However, by a decision of the court of appeal, the period of his pre-trial detention from May 18, 2016, to October 21, 2019, was counted as a day in two under the Savchenkos Law. As a result, by the end of the fall, he served more than 2/3 of the appointed term and was released on parole at the request of a lawyer. Already in February, Balakirev disappeared, and law enforcement officers did not know his place of residence.

Despite the fact that the Savchenkos law was repealed almost three years ago, its provisions are in force by virtue of Article 58 of the Constitution. This article declares that the law is not retroactive, unless they mitigate or cancel the liability of a person.

This means that the law continues to apply to all persons taken into custody prior to its cancellation, that is, until June 20, 2017. Among them, as we see, there are all categories of criminals, including murderers and rapists.
The coronavirus crisis has highlighted a sad yet simple truth: our world is incredibly unequal. In the UK, while some who hide their profits in tax havens are now asking for bailouts, our heroic key workers who are underpaid and short of necessary equipment have been offered little more than a badge.

In the Global South, families are crowded into refugee camps and slum settlements, and those in countries with health systems unable to cope with this crisis are at risk of being forgotten altogether. With the economic fallout of this crisis projected to see up to half a billion people pushed into poverty, it is clear the impact will not be felt equally.

Despite what some might say, the process of tackling coronavirus has exposed the myth that we are all in this together. If that were the case, hedge funds would be following the lead of the G20  and, as a first step, suspending the debt repayments for the rest of 2020 from those countries who owe them. In reality, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who have already been hit hardest, and for whom the impact of Covid-19 will have long-lasting and, in many cases, life-threatening consequences.

The virus itself may not discriminate, but when it comes to access to healthcare, safe and sanitary living conditions, and a global economic downturn, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who suffer most acutely.

This crisis has brought to light a distinction between the mega-rich  who avoid paying their fair share of tax, and lobby governments to line their pockets  and ordinary people who play by the rules but are hamstrung and pushed down by factors outside their control.

In the UK, our dependency on universal public services such as the NHS is at the forefront of our minds, but the only way to sustain such services is for everyone to contribute their fair share. Sadly, public services have been under attack over the past 10 years  not just here in the UK but around the world. As this global pandemic is showing, we are only as strong as our weakest link; we must work together, across national borders, to overcome it. Resilient public services save lives  not only through their immediate work but also in their cumulative efforts to create a safer, healthier world.

Preventing a crisis is quicker, cheaper and more effective than trying to deal with it once it has spread. Thats why actions like the call by the UN for a global ceasefire are so important. It is also why we need to mobilise resources to the front line as soon as possible.

We have seen how the UK has struggled with the health crisis even with the NHS. Imagine what it will be like for countries where there are only 13 ventilators to support the whole nation (Sierra Leone), or just 15 intensive care beds (Somalia), or one doctor per 2,000 people (Bangladesh)  one of the lowest rates of formal medical care in the world. This is relevant now, but it also shows us how much work we have to do to support other countries develop strong health systems in the future.

There is also a real danger that, because of a lack of genuine international leadership, there will now be a free-for-all, with countries scrambling to procure whatever equipment they can for themselves rather than working together to increase global supply. The people who will be harmed most are the worlds poorest and most vulnerable.

At this historic moment, I am so honoured to have been appointed as shadow secretary of state for international development. The role of my government department around the world could hardly be more important at this juncture, and our response will show what kind of Britain we want to be. Be it the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis or growing extreme poverty, we can only hope to overcome the challenges facing the world with global cooperation  cooperation which puts people, families and communities at the heart of our efforts.

That means working with our international partners at the broadest levels of global government and supporting the necessary actions led by those who live there. Many local actors such as womens rights movements, faith groups and trade unions are already stepping up; now they need our support.

During this time of crisis, I will work constructively with the government and the international development community to push for social justice in the UK and abroad. I will work towards a system where our country is once again a leader on the world stage of international development.

A country guided by a moral compass rather than being an introspective island.

A country that protects rights and speaks up for the most vulnerable and marginalised  and one that recognises and protects universal human rights.

Preet Gill is Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston and shadow international development secretary
The Rs 20-lakh crore economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will provide boost to demand and growth of India's economy once again, auto industry body SIAM said on Tuesday.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also hoped that a focused package to support the Indian automotive industry would be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, when she announces the details of the package.

"India has delivered in the fight against COVID-19 on the medical front. Now, the promise of Rs 20 lakh crore comprehensive economic package announced by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, focusing on economic activities and an overall aim of a self-reliant India, will provide the right boost to demand and growth of our economy once again," SIAM President Rajan Wadhera said in a statement.

Drawing attention to the Indian automotive industry, he said the sector is "a strong pillar of Make in India with huge contributions to GDP (gross domestic product) and employment and relies on its highly indiginised supply chain".

"We are hopeful that a focused package to support the Indian automotive industry would be announced by the Hon'ble finance minister, when she announces the details of the package," Wadhera said.

With the auto sector suffering one of the longest slowdowns in the past one year followed by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, SIAM has been seeking government support to help the industry.

It has called for reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on automobiles and bringing the scrappage policy among others to help spur demand.

In his address to the nation, Modi said the special economic package will amount to Rs 20 lakh crore that is nearly 10 per cent of GDP. It is for "labourers, farmers, honest tax payers, MSMEs and cottage industry".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni shared pictures of her and brother Ranbir Kapoor paying obeisance to their father Rishi Kapoor at a prayer meet held for him at their residence in Mumbai. Sharing a picture of herself next to a garlanded photograph of Rishi, she wrote, Love you always Papa

Another picture, which had Ranbir and Riddhima performing a puja, was captioned, Your legacy will live on forever... We love you.

The prayer meet was attended by Alia Bhatt, Karisma Kapoor, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and her daughter Navya Naveli Nanda, Randhir Kapoor and his wife Babita Kapoor, Armaan Jain and his wife Anissa Malhotra, and Rima Jain and her son Aadar Jain.

Rishi died at a Mumbai hospital on April 30 after a two-year battle with cancer, his family said in a statement. They requested fans and well-wishers to remember him with a smile instead of tears.

Also see | Rana Daggubati announces engagement with Miheeka Bajaj: She said yes

Riddhima, who lives in Delhi, drove down to Mumbai after hearing the news but could not make it to his funeral at the Chandanwadi Crematorium, owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. In a heartbreaking Instagram post, she wished that she could be there to say goodbye to him one last time.

Papa I love you I will always love you - RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you everyday I will miss your FaceTime calls everyday! I wish I could be there to say goodbye to you ! Until we meet again papa I love you - your Mushk forever, she wrote, sharing a picture with him.

Riddhima has been remembering Rishi with their old family photos. She said in her Instagram stories that she and Ranbir are standing by their mother Neetu Kapoor like a rock, during this difficult time. Got your back Ma #yourpillars, she wrote, sharing a picture of the three of them.

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The FTSE 100 closed up 1 per cent or 55.04 points at 5,994.77 and the pound was at $1.23 against the dollar.

The blue chip index finished higher as Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed the employee furlough scheme is being extended by four months to October.

Telecoms giant Vodafone has given out a dividend despite recording a 455million loss for the 2020 financial year. However, this loss was much lower than the previous year, which was 7.64billion.

Ryanair has announced a plan to restore 40 per cent of its flight schedule from July 1. It would involve nearly 1,000 flights per day being operated and 90 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 route network being restored.

Supermarket chain Morrisons has reported a 5.7 per cent rise in group like-for-like sales in its latest quarter, with demand boosted by the country's coronavirus lockdown. It comes after the company cut its petrol prices to below 1 a litre.
During an academic career that has included teaching elementary grade, high school and college students, Victoria Kent Worth has read her fair share of books.

The Ashfield educator understands the collective need for shared experiences, she says reading is, for the most part, a deeply personal choice.

Many people are, during this time of COVID-19 pandemic, out of some wish to experience something familiar, perhaps in the hope to gain some sense of perspective on disaster or clues for survival, seeking those essential pandemic texts she said, offering as examples Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, The Plague by Albert Camus Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Blindness by Jose Saramago or Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.

But she and others have their own must-read titles, recommended for this time of social distancing. They also offer a comments about each of their recommendations.

Worth recommends:

Saturday by Ian McEwan. This terrific book, written by one of the finest contemporary authors, is set during one long day. This day is not, as we all are experiencing, like all days: too similar. It is unusual, compelling and thrilling. A great ride. It may go too quickly since we have so much time on our hands, and its compelling to run rapid through the pages. But resist the temptation.

How Proust Will Change Your Life by Alain de Botton. If you had trouble tackling Proust and could use some further education, you will thoroughly enjoy this fantastic insight into the advantages of reading In Search of Lost Time. Here, you will find out how literature can improve your attitude to life should you invest a little on changing your perspective. Everyone in your inner circle will appreciate it!

Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett. How could the mundane be so beautiful? Find the answer in this thoroughly beautiful and daringly innovative novel that focuses on the authors immediately humble surroundings and her elegiac reactions to it. Set on the west coast of Ireland, Bennetts solitude provokes a liberating adventure into the kind of language that I can only describe as similar musically to symphonic rhapsody. Random moments are intensified, not only from deep concentration, but also from the kind of lyrical prose that must have once been poetry, now turned inside out. Self-acceptance has never been so stunning and affirming at the same time.

Also offering book suggestions was Lisa M. Ruch, assistant dean and professor of liberal studies at Baypath University in Longmeadow. She is chairman of the Liberal Studies Department, which includes English.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This sweeping epic mixes humor and tragedy as we follow seven generations of a family in a fantastical village. A classic of magical realism.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This novel casts a long shadow over popular culture and deserves to be read. Not only is it a Gothic masterpiece, but its also beautifully written and raises thought-provoking questions about society and ethics.

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Theres not one wasted word in this classic novella. From the opening lines, Kafka pulls the reader in to a bizarre world where the protagonist comes to know himself only after undergoing a massive and unexpected shift in his reality.

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. A classic of the Golden Age of detective fiction, this novel not only features an engrossing puzzle but also depicts a community coming together in a time of crisis.

Lost Horizon by James Hilton. A favorite of Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was his inspiration for the name Shangri-La for what is now Camp David. Its a fun adventure tale but also brings in interesting philosophical questions about life and spirituality. Hilton is not read much today, which is a shame.

And from Sue Dickman come the following suggestions.

A freelance writer based in Easthampton, her work has appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor and Amherst Magazine.
BUCKS COUNTY, PA  Twenty new coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Bucks County on Monday, as county officials continued their push to speed up reopening.

The Bucks County Health Department reported 82 new cases of the virus on Monday. Of those, 49 were among residents of long-term care facilities, three were employees of those facilities and eight were the result of community spread.

Get the latest updates on coronavirus in Bucks County by signing up for Patch news alerts.



Eight people caught the virus from someone in their household, four were infected at work, two are healthcare workers and one is a prison inmate, county health officials said.

"While we continue to sympathize with the families of those who have lost loved ones, we remain on a positive and consistent track with regard to low numbers of community spread in Bucks County," said health department Director Dr. David Damsker.



Over the weekend, Bucks County officials met with state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine and staff from Gov. Tom Wolf's office over the weekend, pushing to have coronavirus-related social distancing measured relaxed soon.

Bucks County officials said they've asked for an answer from state officials by Wednesday.



Workers doing contact tracing were unable to reach seven of the newly infected people, but will make further attempts, officials said.



The new cases pushed Bucks Countys total to 4,003. Of those, 1,765 have been residents or employees of long-term care facilities, officials said.

The deaths reported Monday were of 11 men and nine women, between the ages of 58 and 100. Seventeen of the 20 lives in long-term care facilities.

A total of 332 Bucks County residents have now died in the coronavirus outbreak  274 of them in long-term care faciliites.

On Monday, 183 people remained hospitalized with the coronavirus in Bucks County, with 19 in critical condition and on ventilators. A total of 1,071 people in the county have been confirmed to have recovered from the virus.

Story continues

Also Monday, county-run Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home said that a total of 35 residents who tested positive for the coronavirus have died there since the pandemic began.

County officials recently conducted mass testing at Neshaminy Manor, resulting in 82 residents testing positive and 141 testing negative. Eight of those who tested positive have fully recovered, while "most of our other residents are slowly improving," the facility said Monday.



Fifty-eight staff members at Neshaminy Manor have tested positive for COVID-19, 46 of whom have fully recovered. The others are still being monitored by the county health department.

Statistics, charts and other coronavirus-related information for Bucks County can be found on the county's coronavirus data portal.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania

This article originally appeared on the Bensalem Patch
Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, and her husband, Ian Turpin, have donated $1 million to the University of Texas School of Nursing to assist students affected by the new coronavirus and to support care for the geriatric population.

Johnson and Turpin, longtime benefactors of UT, are donating the funds in memory of their mothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Rita Turpin, and in honor of Marion Douglas and Sabrina Mikan, the UT nursing graduates who cared for them. Rita Turpin was also a longtime nurse who served in World War II in Glasgow, Scotland, and across Europe.

Nurses have always been vital to the health of the patients they serve, especially older adults, the pair said, but the importance of nursing has become even more apparent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nurses are on the forefront of caring for those who are most vulnerable, Johnson said. Knowing that they still choose to risk their lives and potentially encumber the lives of those they love, shows a valiant devotion to their fellow human beings that just cant be measured, and neither can my admiration or Ians.

The gift will specifically support the nursing field of gerontology and provide funds for aging initiatives focused on the health of those 65 and older. It also will provide scholarships for students pursuing masters degrees in nursing with a focus on gerontology and for students who have been financially affected by COVID-19.

It wasnt immediately clear how many would be eligible for aid. The nursing school reported it had 806 students, 84 faculty and 80 staff members in 2018.

The money also will help UT clinics with an emphasis on programs for those 65 and older affected by COVID-19 and will help with unexpected needs related to the pandemic, such as instructional support for students and faculty members and hiring additional faculty members.

Johnson said she has always been interested in nursing and studied it at various intervals in college. Her mother was a longtime proponent of nursing. In the years before her death in 2007, Lady Bird Johnson lost much of her sight and suffered from immobility. Luci Baines Johnson said watching how the nurses cared for her mother only expanded her appreciation of the profession.

Ive kind of had the chance to first hand see what a difference a skilled and loving nurse could make in an older persons life, especially one who is exceedingly bright and loved the world and yet had been robbed of her ability to see, from macular degeneration, ability to speak via stroke, and ability to move via arthritis and aging issues, she said.

UT Nursing School faculty and students have been hard at work during the pandemic, balancing clinical care while also moving instruction online. Johnson and Turpin said they hope their gift can alleviate some of the financial stress the student nurses are feeling and want to give them the support and encouragement they deserve.

Without a doubt, theyre in the front lines of the war against this virus, and theyre overworked and underpaid, Turpin said.

A lot of our student nurses are just having huge financial issues that they hadnt gambled on having as a result of COVID-19, Johnson said. I want to empower them to hang in there and to provide their skills and widely and joyfully and safely as they can.
[May 12, 2020] Theresa Fredericka Announced as Difference Maker Award Recipient

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Management Council Difference Maker Award recognizes a public official who has demonstrated foresight and tenacity in advancing education in Ohio, with emphasis on recognizing the opportunities, and importance, afforded by the implementation of information technology for academic, career, and administrative pursuits. The Management Council proudly presented the 2019-2020 Difference Maker Award to Theresa Fredericka at the annual Membership Meeting on May 8, 2020. Terri has served as a grassroots member o INFOhio from its inception and was appointed Executive Director in 1996. Committed to equity and dedicated to improving information access and library media services to all Ohio students and educators, Terri was instrumental in growing a statewide partnership with Libraries Connect Ohio, a critical component of INFOhio's digital library resources.



Terri's career with INFOhio has truly been remarkable. Under her direction, the INFOhio program has grown from a library automation service to a robust portal that provides equitable access to digital content, web tools, professional development, and support. She has become a much beloved and admired advocate, initially for library automation and related services, and subsequently for an array of digital teaching and learning resources. She is retiring in June this year and leaves behind enormous shoes to fill. "For living out the mission of the Management Council through her steadfast support of the learners, teachers, and leaders in Ohio, as well as for her enduring support of the Ohio Education Computer Network, it gave me great pleasure to bestow the second annual Difference Maker Award to Theresa Fredericka," said Geoff Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of the Management Council.

Terri has dedicated her career to making a difference in the lives of learners, teachers, and leaders. Ohio's education community will remain forever grateful. About the Management Council

Ohio's Information Technology Centers (ITCs) work together through a statewide network known as the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN). The Management Council coordinates and supports the collaborative efforts of the OECN, which implements a broad spectrum of academic and administrative technologies across Ohio's PreK-12 education system. www.managementcouncil.org Contact: Jessica Madison, The Management Council

Phone: 614.840.9810

Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/theresa-fredericka-announced-as-difference-maker-award-recipient-301057167.html SOURCE The Management Council

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But a number of hospitals are not bringing back all their surgeries at once, as they work through backlogs and rebuild their capacities, while ensuring they still have enough beds for COVID-19 patients. Some hospital leaders also fear that many patients will continue to defer surgeries out of fear of visiting hospitals while COVID-19 continues to spread.
Maharashtra has entered into a deal to allow migrants from 11 states to port their ration cards for receiving rations in the western state on cards issued by their native states instead of going through the trouble of getting new ration cards issued in Maharashtra.

The portability of ration card, initiated as a reform in the PDS, however, doesnt provide any immediate succour to wandering tribals or nomads as they do not hold ration cards at all, the state government told the Bombay High Court in an affidavit.

The affidavit, filed on Tuesday in response to a petition by Pune social activist Vanita Chavan seeking provision of ration for the wandering tribals during the lockdown, said it wasnt possible as the system for distribution of foodgrains and oil required an individual to hold a ration card issued by a ration office.

However as the wandering tribals do not have a ration card, during the lockdown the state is providing cooked meals for migrants, homeless and needy at specified food camps in each district, which the wandering tribals could benefit from, said assistant government pleader Bhupesh Samant.

Samant further informed the division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice A A Sayed that the state of Maharashtra was implementing the National Food Security Act diligently. The act stipulates that anyone holding a valid ration card is eligible to get subsidised ration provided by the government. Samant said that Maharashtra had entered into an agreement with 11 states to allow their natives living in Maharashtra to draw rations based on ration cards issued in their home states.

After hearing the submissions, the bench directed the petitioner to file a rejoinder and posted the matter for hearing on May 18.
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch told CNBC on Monday that the pharmaceutical company's global supply chain experienced "minimal disruption" during the coronavirus pandemic.

"As Covid hit different areas of the world at different points in time, [being] able to navigate and leverage the different aspect of our supply chain, really allowed us to really have minimal disruption," Bresch said on "Closing Bell."

Bresch said Mylan has more than 40 facilities across the world, which allows the company to be "near patients that need the treatment." Supply chain diversification over the last decade has been beneficial to Mylan, Bresch said.

The global nature of medical supply chains, and whether it could contribute to potential drug shortages, came into focus during the outbreak of Covid-19, which has infected 4.1 million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University data. At least 285,000 people have died.

Trump administration officials such as White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has for weeks been discussing the need to relocate medical supply chains to the U.S. Additionally, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Congress have introduced legislation to develop more U.S. manufacturing of drugs.

Bresch said some countries may have more domestic manufacturing than the U.S., but argued "no country's capable of ... making all the medicines they need for their populations." She said the current pandemic underscores the need for strategic alliances among countries.

She added that she believes countries should be taking proactive steps to build up a "strategic supply" of crucial medications, potentially between 100 to 200 products across a variety of uses.

It is important whether there is a second wave of Covid-19 infections, "or just for whenever the next crisis happens," she said, stressing that U.S. administrations for years have not done this "basic blocking and tackling to make sure we have products when we need them."

"But at the end of the day, Mylan's global platform has really positioned us to be able to continue to fill patients' needs with these critical medicines .. . during these unprecedented times," she said.
Afghanistan arrests 3 senior members of South Asian branch of Daesh

Iran Press TV

Monday, 11 May 2020 5:55 PM

Afghan security forces have detained at least three senior members of the South Asian branch of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The General Directorate of National Security, known as the NDS, and the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the militant group's head of South Asia, Abu Omar Khorasani, was arrested in Kabul alongside the group's spy chief and public relations officer.

"NDS will continue its comprehensive and targeted operations to hunt down senior leaders of regional terrorist groups and destroy the joint hubs of these terrorist networks," the statement said.

The Daesh branch of South Asia is mainly focused on a small presence in Afghanistan, largely in the north, though it has carried out high-profile attacks further south in the capital.

On May 6, the Afghan security agency in two separate raids busted a sleeper cell that was jointly run by the IS-K, the Afghan branch of Daesh and Haqqani network, the most ruthless branch of the Taliban. The NDS said five militants were killed and eight others detained when security forces stormed two hideouts  one in Kabul and the other outside the city.

The cell had been involved in carrying out several deadly attacks on places of worship and other targets across the country.

In recent years, Daesh has established a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan. The terrorist group has mostly been populating Nangarhar, from where it has carried out attacks at major population centers across the country.

In February 2018, months after the group's defeat was announced in Iraq and Syria, the Associated Press reported that the US military was pulling its forces from a base in Iraq and shifting them to Afghanistan.

The report flew in the face of US President Donald Trump's campaign promises to end Washington's intervention in Afghanistan.

Taliban intensify attacks despite deal with US

Separately on Monday, there were four roadside blasts in the capital that wounded four civilians, including a child, according to Kabul's police.

Haroon Yousufzai, a local military spokesman, said clashes in the eastern province of Laghman between security forces and the Taliban killed six members of security forces and wounded five over the past few hours. The Ministry of Defense said the Taliban also suffered heavy casualties.

Official data shows Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased by 70-percent since the militant group inked a peace deal with the United States in February.

Under the Washington-Taliban deal, the militants agreed to halt their attacks in return for the gradual US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The group, however, accuses Washington of failing to honor the agreement.

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By Express News Service

BENGALURU: As the number of COVID-positive cases is increasing steadily, ministers from Karnataka and Kerala, which have managed the situation comparatively better than other states, exchanged notes on Monday. Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja discussed best practices adopted by both states in fighting the pandemic and challenges before them once the lockdown is lifted completely.

Kerala has done well in the rate of recovery and also keeping the mortality rate lower than most states in the country, while in Karnataka, the rate of recovery is higher than most states in the South and also the country. However, the mortality rate is a cause of concern for Karnataka and the government has constituted a team of specialist doctors to monitor the treatment of patients admitted in intensive care units across the state. On Monday, the state reported 14 new cases, taking the total to 862, including 31 deaths and426 discharges.

During the video-conference that lasted 50 minutes, both the ministers explained to each other measures taken to contain the spread of the virus and treatment practices. Quarantining methods, testing and treatment of patients with respiratory ailments, cooperation of private medical colleges and quarantining of international passengers too were discussed.

Sudhakars office stated that the Kerala minister appreciated measures taken by Karnataka in providing better treatment and use of technology for contact tracing and quarantining. Shailaja, meanwhile, said good healthcare facilities at taluk level helped her state fight the virus and made it easier for officials to quarantine and treat the infected people at various levels. On challenges before the states as migrant workers are returning to their hometowns from different parts of the country and also abroad, the Kerala minister said that better cooperation between states will help tackle the situation.

Both the ministers discussed ICMR guidelines for treating pregnant women and senior citizens and the dilemma they faced. The ministers decided to appeal to the Centre for guidance on uniform measures on such issues, a note from Sudhakars office stated. They agreed to have a dialogue regularly to exchange information on disease control and quality treatment of patients. Additional Chief Secretary Jawaid Akhtar and other senior officers were present during the video-conference.
Attorney Aram Vardevanyan said that the arrest measure of restraint against Armenian ex-president Robert Kocharyan should be immediately canceled

According to him, following the trial on May 8, the following developments took place:

1) The number of infected people increased by 509, unfortunately, four people died in this short period of time.

2) Robert Kocharyan, being at risk of coronavirus infection, was again operated on today at Izmirlyan MC.

3) According to information obtained as a result of advocacy, although the prosecutors office considers the detention center a 'safe place', three cases with all symptoms of coronavirus infection were recorded in the Yerevan-Kentron detention center.

These developments make it even more obvious that the measure of restraint in respect of Robert Kocharyan as arrest should be immediately canceled," he noted.
On Thursday, May 7, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia in northwest Russia rejected an appeal and ruled in a closed hearing that Yuri Dmitriev, a well-known historian of the Stalinist massacres in Sandarmokh, Karelia, will remain in detention until at least June 25.

The detention seriously endangers the health and life of the 64-year-old Dmitriev as COVID-19 cases have exploded in Russia in recent days. The first cases of the virus have already been confirmed in the prison in Petrozavodsk where he is detained.

Yuri Dmitriev

Dmitriev is the victim of a blatant state frame-up, aimed at undermining and discrediting his work to uncover and locate the mass graves of Stalinist massacres in Karelia and identify their victims. In late 2016, he was charged with child pornography, a transparent attempt not only to frame him, but also to destroy him personally. The charges had to be dropped in 2018 for lack of evidence, but a court found him guilty of possessing parts of a firearm. Dmitriev was arrested again in mid-2018 for allegedly violating the rules of his release and then charged with sexual assault of a minor. He has been in prison since. The hearings in his case have proceeded with exclusion of the media.

Friends and family have warned that his life is in serious danger because of the coronavirus. Dmitriev is elderly, and his health has significantly deteriorated over the winter; he suffered a serious cold in February. A petition demanding his immediate release from jail has received over 11,000 signatures as of this writing. An open letter demanding his release, which was published on Wednesday, was signed by over 150 Russian intellectuals and artists, including director Alexander Sokurov, actress Chulpan Khamatova and writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya, as well as several members of the pro-US party Yabloko.

The director of the city museum in Medvezhyegorsk and head of the memorial at Sandarmokh, Sergey Koltyrin, who had closely worked with Dmitriev, was also charged with sexual assault of a minor and had been detained since 2018. Having been sentenced to nine years in prison, he died in early April in a prison hospital of an unspecified serious illness.

The NKVD order to Matveyev to shoot the Solovki prisoners

The state campaign against Dmitriev must be unequivocally rejected and his immediate release demanded. Behind the vicious campaign are the efforts of the Russian state and oligarchy, which originated in the Stalinist counter-revolution against the October revolution of 1917, to suppress all efforts to uncover the truth about the crimes of Stalinism.

Alongside the frame-up of Dmitriev, the former far-right minister of culture Vladimir Medinsky, has led a systematic effort to propagandize the historical lie that Sandarmokh is not the site of Stalinist crimes, but rather of Finnish executions of Soviet soldiers during World War II.

In reality, the shootings at Sandarmokh in 1937-1938 were among the largest massacres during the Great Terror, the Stalinist political genocide of hundreds of thousands of socialist workers, intellectuals and artists. In the Moscow Trials of 1936 and 1937, the most famous leaders of the October Revolution were put on trial and accused of sabotage and counter-revolutionary activities. The main defendant was Leon Trotsky, who had co-led the revolution with Vladimir Lenin. After Lenins death, Trotsky had formed the Left Opposition to fight against the nationalist betrayal of the revolution by the Stalinist bureaucracy. Trotsky managed to form the Fourth International in 1938 before his assassination in Mexico by a Stalinist agent in August 1940.

Though they were hounded, suppressed and imprisoned, Trotsky still had many supporters in the Soviet Union throughout the 1930s. Virtually all of them were murdered in the Great Terror, together with the leaders of the October Revolution and the vast majority of the old Bolshevik party. In many cases, their families were killed as well. As the Soviet writer Varlam Shalamov put it, the terror was directed against all those who had remembered the wrong parts of Russian historyabove all the history of the revolution and the struggle of the Left Opposition.

Grigory Shklovsky, an Old Bolshevik and member of the United Left Opposition

Sandarmokh, located north of Leningrad close to the Finnish border, was one of the biggest killing sites outside of Moscow. The largest single operation was the mass shooting of 1,111 political prisoners from the Solovki camp on the direct order of Nikolai Yezhov, the head of the Soviet secret police NKVD at the time. In the so-called First Solovki stage, the 1,111 prisoners were first deported to a prison that was designed for just 300 people in Medvezhyegorsk. Here, they were stripped naked and cruelly tortured.

Several died from the torture. The others were brought in groups to the Sandarmokh shooting sites 19 kilometers outside the village where pits had been dug for them. They were all executed in five days by firing squads that shot them from behind in the neck. In a macabre demonstration of the conscious counter-revolutionary character of the Stalinist terror, the killings were timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the October seizure of power by the Russian working class under Bolshevik leadership in 1917: they took place on October 27 and November 1-4, 1937.

Among those murdered in these massacres were hundreds of major intellectuals, scholars, politicians and artists, including hundreds of Ukraines leading intellectuals of the 1920s. According to one historian, approximately half of those who were shot were simple workers from Petersburg [Leningrad].

One of the largest groups shot in this operation were 248 political prisoners who had been sentenced to death for counter-revolutionary Trotskyist terrorist activity, having retained their old counter-revolutionary positions, [and] seeking to resume counter-revolutionary work.

NKVD mug shots of Ivar Smilga and Nadezhda Smilga-Poluyan

Among them was Nadezhda Smilga-Poluyan, an Old Bolshevik and the wife of Ivar Smilga, who had been a close collaborator of Lenin in 1917 and leader of the Left Opposition in the 1920s; the Old Bolsheviks Grigory Shklovsky and Georgy Yakovenko, who had signed declarations of the Left Opposition in the 1920s; Revekka Shumskaya and Noi Volfson, party members since the first years of the Soviet Union who had earlier been expelled from the party and arrested for support of the opposition; and Martin Yakobson and Aleksandr Blaufeld, Old Bolsheviks who had fought for socialism in Estonia since the revolution of 1905.

Other victims of the mass shootings in Sandarmokh included the famous Russian linguist Nikolay Durnovo, the pioneering Soviet meteorologist Alexei Vangengeim, Alexander Anissimov, a leading art historian and restorer, and many other writers, scholars, and scientists from various parts of the USSR and other countries. Overall, people from 60 different nationalities were shot at Sandarmokh. Several priests and former Tsarist officials were killed as well.

The NKVD documents about these mass shootings were not uncovered until the mid-1990s. A search expedition in 1997, in which Dmitriev participated, found 236 burial pits. Based on the documents, they established that between August 11, 1937, and December 24, 1938, well over 9,500 people must have been shot and buried there. The number has since been revised upward. Together with other historians, Dmitriev has published a list of names of those murdered in Sandarmokh and written several books on what happened there during the terror. Many memorials have since been set up at Sandarmokh.

Revekka Shumskaya

Dmitriev and his co-researchers also established the names of the leaders of the shooting squads and of the members of the troikas, extra-judicial courts of three which were set up to sign death sentences on behalf of the bureaucracy. At the height of the terror, a troika could hand down up to 200 death sentences a day, sometimes even more.

The most notorious butcher of Sandarmokh was Mikhail Matveyev, who led the shooting squads in the Solovki operation. After a brief arrest in 1938, Matveyev was put in charge of the NKVD internal prison system during the Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War II. Among those who died in the Leningrad prison at the time was the major Soviet poet Daniil Kharms, who miserably starved to death. Matveyev was awarded the Order of Lenin after the warthe highest decoration in the Soviet Unionand lived on a state pension until his death in 1971.

Matveyevs fate was not the exception, but the rule. In fact, not a single hangman of the purges was ever tried, not before and not after the end of the USSR. The shootings that occurred as part of the mass operations of the NKVD during the terror were treated as a state secret throughout the Soviet period. The relatives of those who were killed in Sandarmokh were never told what had happened. The official note they received upon requests, from 1939 onward, was that their loved ones had been sentenced to 10 years of prison [lishenie svobody] without the right to correspond.

Mikhail Matveyev, leader of shooting squads at Sandarmokh

This policy was reconfirmed in 1955 by a special order even as the bureaucracy began to partially rehabilitate some of the victims of the terror, and shortly before the general secretary of the party, Nikita Khrushchev, was forced to acknowledge some of the worst crimes of Stalin in 1956. This policy did not change until the very final stages of the crisis of Stalinism in the late 1980s when the bureaucracy moved toward a full-scale restoration of capitalism.

In June 1988, the Stalinist press acknowledged that Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Karl Radek and Yuri Pyatakovleaders of the October revolution who had been among the main defendants of the Moscow Trialshad, in fact, been the victims of frame-ups. That same year, the restrictions on information about the shooting victims of Sandarmokh and similar massacres were partially lifted for relatives, and the first human remains were discovered in Sandarkmokh.

At the time, a vast amount of historical material about the terror was released in Soviet periodicals and newspapers. Much of this material would form a critical basis for the history of the Left Opposition by the Soviet sociologist Vadim Rogovin. However, decades of Stalinism had severely undermined the political consciousness of the Soviet and international working class, enabling the bureaucracy to resolve its staggering crisis in its own interests, destroying the Soviet Union and transforming itself into a new ruling oligarchy.

This counter-revolution has inevitably shaped and delayed the process of establishing the historical truth about the crimes of Stalinism. To this day, the sites of the NKVD shootings have officially remained a state secret and lists of all the shooting sites of the NKVD have never been released. Some historians assume that any such lists may have been destroyed already.

Cover of the Fourth International journal leading with the official rehabilitation of Kamenev and Zinoviev

Dmitriev carried on with the work in the 1990s. He worked directly for Ivan Chukhin, who had earlier headed the local Soviet interior ministry and in the 1990s became a parliamentary deputy in parliament for the party The Choice of Russia, which backed the shock therapy of Boris Yeltsin. Since Chukhins death in 1997, Dmitriev has worked with several other local historians and researchers. In 2014, Dmitriev and one of his closest co-workers endorsed the US-backed coup in Ukraine. In an interview in 2015, Dmitriev acknowledged that he was a nationalist in the widest sense of the word.

These political views, which reflect the substantial disorientation in sections of the intelligentsia, have no doubt influenced the focus of Dmitrievs work. He has primarily worked on the victims of the so-called national operations of the NKVD. These operations targeted the Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian, Finnish, German and other minorities, such as the local Karelian population. While thousands of communists from these countries were murdered as part of these operations, many thousands were also killed randomly, simply based on their surnames and baseless denunciations. In the wake of 1991, the revelation of the scale of these horrendous crimes by Stalinism could no doubt be exploited by right-wing nationalist and anti-Communist forces in the Baltics, Poland and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the work to establish how many active and former Left Oppositionists and socialist opponents of Stalinism were murdered in Sandarmokhwhich is central for a political understanding of the Great Terroris still only in its early stages. The vast majority of the names and political biographies of the Left Oppositionists who were killed at Sandarmokh and elsewhere remain unknown. The same goes for many other leading revolutionaries who were killed in the terror.

The vicious vendetta by the Russian state against Dmitriev is driven by the fear that any revelation about the Stalinist counter-revolutionary terror, however limited in its political analysis, works to undercut the false equation of Stalinism with socialism, the major lie of the 20th century. The current pandemic, which has ruthlessly revealed the brutality of the capitalist system to billions of workers, acutely raising the specter of world socialist revolution, has only exacerbated this fear.

Memorials at Sandarmokh

The oligarchy is keenly aware of the growing interest in the October Revolution and the Left Opposition, and regards the suppression of this historical truth as essential to the survival of its own rule and capitalism as a whole. For years, a state-funded campaign has been underway to glorify Stalin and justify the terror as a legitimate and necessary measure to defend the country against external and internal enemies.

In 2017, the centenary year of the October revolution, the Kremlin funded a vile anti-Semitic propaganda mini-series defaming Leon Trotsky. In 2018, the discovery of volumes of documents by Left Oppositionists in the Verkhne-Uralsk political prison generated significant public interest. That same year, it emerged that Russian authorities had ordered the destruction of archival files of victims of the Great Terror.

For workers internationally, the defense of Dmitriev is a matter of principle. In its struggle for socialism, the international working class needs to know and understand the full truth about the crimes of Stalinismabove all the brutal repression of its socialist and Trotskyist opponents.
A girl (16) is in a serious condition in hospital after being rescued from the sea in Bray, Co Wicklow this evening.

Gardai confirmed that they were called to the beach off the promenade of the seaside town around 6:45pm to assist in crowd control after a number of people gathered at the scene.

A spokesman for the Irish Coast Guard said it was alerted after receiving a call regarding an unconscious girl on the beach.

A Coast Guard unit then assisted paramedics in bringing the girl up from the beach and into an ambulance, he told Independent.ie.

Gardai said the girl was rushed to St Vincents Hospital in south Dublin where she remains in a serious condition.

An investigation into the incident are ongoing.
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - At least six people were killed in Kayes, 500 km west of Bamako, during a demonstration by youth, who were protesting against the murder of an 18-year-old teenager on Monday by an off-duty police officer, PANA learned from local sources
Most feel as the movement of people normalises, the in-patient volumes in hospitals will grow and by the end of May, occupancy should be around 50 per cent, and 75 per cent over a period of time.

IMAGE: A staff member walks past a notice board inside the premises of Wockhardt Hospital, after it was declared a containment zone as some of its medical staff tested positive for coronavirus, in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

With revenues dwindling during the lockdown, private hospital chains are now gearing up to return to business as usual as the country gets ready to live with new coronavirus.

Most feel as the movement of people normalises, the in-patient volumes will grow and by the end of May, occupancy should be around 50 per cent, and 75 per cent over a period of time.

Another pillar of the post-lockdown strategy is to aggressively test patients who come for even day-care admission. Analysts feel this would not only protect front line healthcare workers from asymptomatic cases but also act as a revenue stream.

Several hospitals had to be sealed in Mumbai (including P D Hinduja, Breach Candy, and Wockhardt) after their staff tested positive for coronavirus.

The share of labs run by private hospitals is growing on the list of those that have permission to test reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Permission is given by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

For example, the laboratory services at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Delhi (a public-private hospital) and Shri Ganga Ram Hospitals clinical lab services in Delhi have received the nod from the ICMR.

Similarly, the laboratories at Zydus Hospital in Ahmedabad; HN Reliance, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, PD Hinduja Hospital, and Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai; and Apollo Gleneagles and Emami Group-run AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata are among those that have received the nod from the countrys apex health research body.

This is critical, say hospitals, in treating patients and protecting their staff.

Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, managing director and chief executive officer of Fortis Healthcare, Indias second-largest private hospital chain, said: In the new normal we have to assume that every patient is potentially infected and because of that we have to create capacities. On the diagnostics side, we have the capacities.

Fortis-owned SRL Diagnostics has been testing Covid-19 patients from the beginning when private laboratories got into it.

Alok Roy, chairman of the Medica Group of Hospitals, which runs hospitals in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar, said the group had approached the ICMR for approval to test in its laboratory.

Does he see this as a steady revenue stream as analysts seem to suggest? Roy said the idea was to do the tests for cost in addition to a 10 per cent margin.

I do not see this as a significant revenue stream because we need to also test our doctors and staff periodically. The revenue we make would be lost in internal testing, Roy said.

Meanwhile, the cost of testing would be lower for private hospitals because the reduced collection cost. Industry insiders say for a hospital the cost of testing per patient on PCR will be not more than Rs 2,500.

Reports, however, suggest overcharging by many hospitals, including Mumbais Nanavati Hospital, which has now come under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations observation after several complaints related to inflated bills.

Industry insiders point out that hospitals are using the other clause to test asymptomatic patients when they fill up the ICMRs V9 form, which lists the categories of patients who can be tested.

Out-patient departments are slowly coming back to life.

The Apollo group of hospitals is planning to resume tertiary and secondary operations from Monday. As the lockdown is lifted, the hospital is hoping to achieve 75 per cent occupancy.

We are opening up fully... We will take all safety precautions as in any case we expect only a gradual scale-up over the next month, Akhilesh Krishnan, chief financial officer, Apollo Hospitals, said.

The number of patient numbers too is growing. From 100 patients per day, Medica is getting 180-200 in the past seven week since it opened its OPD.

By the end of May our in-patient occupancy will reach 50 per cent and by the end of June it aims to touch the pre-Covid levels, Roy claimed.

Some hospital chains, however, caution about a gradual revival.

Raghuvanshi says hospitals need to create physical barriers, increase the distance between people and between beds, and have a rotational duty roster. Using personal protective equipment and such processes would restrict the number of patients who could be serviced at the hospital, he said.

Analysts feel the same say.

Business as usual for hospitals may be a distant scenario... we believe procedure pipelines are likely to remain dry through H1FY21 and earnings will remain subdued through FY21, said Ankit Hatalkar of Edelweiss.

At the other end of the spectrum, smaller hospitals are scrambling to get government approval to start their Covid-19 wards.

Delhi-based Akaash Healthcare wants a dedicated 40-bed floor and is waiting for an inspection before it is allowed to undertake testing Covid-19 patients.

The floor we have created has separate air-conditioning and all the other precautions have been taken, said Aashish Chaudhry, managing director of Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital.
Ryanair was last night accused of cynically avoiding a multi-million pound bill for refunds by announcing plans to operate 1,000 flights a day this summer.

The budget carrier plans to restore 40 per cent of its flights from July 1, despite indefinite travel restrictions and warnings that summer holidays are effectively cancelled.

Chief executive Eddie Wilson boasted the flights would restart Europes tourism industry.

Ryanair have announced they will be restoring 40 per cent of its flights from July 1, thereby running 1,000 flights a day, but the airline have been accused of avoiding a multi-million pound refund bill

Passengers on Ryanair flights this summer will need to ask permission from a steward (pictured) to go the toilet in order to comply with social distancing regulations

Ryanair said passengers will have to ask permission to use the lavatory under strict new social distancing rules on flights this summer.

Travellers will also have to pass temperature checks before boarding and wear face masks or coverings.

The airline will not leave middle seats empty after boss Michael OLeary described the proposal as idiotic and hopelessly ineffective.

But consumer groups said the move would deny passengers their right to a refund  while allowing Ryanair to keep millions of pounds it would otherwise have to pay out.

Under EU laws, passengers can only get a refund if their flight is cancelled.

Despite concerns over the maintaining of social distancing on planes, Ryanair confirmed they will not be keeping the middle seat spare with airline boss Michael O'Leary calling the suggestion 'idiotic'

Otherwise, they face losing money or settling for a time-limited voucher towards a future flight.

Airlines face a 7billion bill for refunds, and Ryanair alone faces a backlog of 25million claims since March.

The announcement by Ryanair caused surprise a day after the Government confirmed plans for a 14-day quarantine of all UK arrivals.

Even if flights do run this summer, the Foreign Office is advising against all but essential global travel.

Despite the announcement regarding the thousands of scheduled Ryanair flights taking place this summer, the UK Foreign Office is advising against all non-essential global travel

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: Expanding flight schedules now is likely to leave many families, who booked summer holidays months ago, with expensive flights they cant take and no way to get their money back.

Even if these flights are cancelled, customers face a fight for their money from an airline that has already been breaking the law by delaying refunds for customers.

The aviation regulator and Government must stand up for passengers rights and start taking action against any airlines that are flouting the law around refunds.

Ryanair declined to comment.
President condoles martyrdom of Iranian Navy forces

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 11, IRNA -- President Hassan Rouhani in a message on Monday expressed condolences over martyrdom of a number of Iranian Navy forces on a vessel and wished the wounded sift recovery.

His condolence message addressing Army Commander Abdolrahim Mousavi read that the tragic accident for a vessel of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy and the martyrdom and injury of a group of Navy personnel that took place during a naval exercise to increase national security and maintain and strengthen the country's defense readiness, caused deep grief and sorrow.

Praising the services of the homeland defenders, he said, "I offer my heartfelt condolences to you, the zealous soldiers, and the bereaved families."

Nineteen crewmen were killed and 15 others injured in an incident involving the Iranian Navy's Konarak logistic vessel in the country's southern waters.

The incident occurred on Sunday when a number of Navy vessels were conducting exercises near the waters lying close to Jask and Chabahar ports, the Navy said in a statement on Monday.

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S ir Richard Bransons airline Virgin Atlantic has launched its flight programme for summer 2021.

The airline will operate 24 routes next year from London Heathrow, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast and it expects to steadily increase flights in the second half of this year, before a further, gradual recovery in 2021.

Chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said: As the Covid-19 crisis stabilises and demand gradually returns, we are looking forward to welcoming our customers back and flying them safely to their favourite destinations.

We have taken the opportunity to pause, reflect and reshape our 2021 flying programme looking at efficiencies in our fleet and connectivity across our network, to ensure it is fit for the future, flying to the destinations we know our customers love to fly.

Were delighted that our popular Tel Aviv service, which launched in September 2019, will now increase to double daily, whilst regional flying from Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast will continue to play an important part in offering choice to customers and connecting UK travellers to Orlando, Barbados, Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles.

Flights for its summer 2021 schedule will be on sale from Saturday.

The airline has weathered a tough storm throughout the pandemic so far, with its Gatwick base closing in early March and Branson coming under fire for asking the government for a suspected 500m commercial loan , despite being worth 3.5 billion himself.

Yesterday, it emerged that Branson has agreed to sell shares worth around 405 million in his Virgin Galactic space business to raise funds for Virgin Atlantic after he previously indicated he would be willing to remortgage his private Caribbean island home on Necker Island to raise funds.

Additional reporting by PA.
TIANJIN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Zhengyong, former chief of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a former senior national legislator, stood trial Monday at the First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin Municipality for taking bribes.

Zhao was accused of abusing his powers in former positions he held between 2003 and 2018 in Shaanxi to seek benefits for certain organizations and individuals in project contracting, job promotion or transfer, business operation and other matters.

In return, Zhao accepted money and valuables worth over 717 million yuan (about 101.32 million U.S. dollars), including 291 million yuan he has not received, according to the prosecutors.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence which Zhao and his defense attorneys examined. Both sides have fully expressed their opinions, according to the court.

Zhao pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in his final statement.

The trial was attended by legislators, political advisors, press and members of the public. The verdict will be announced on a later date.
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumin PDF, a software company that enables cloud PDF editing and e-signatures, is partnering with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy to help containment and recovery efforts related to the novel coronavirus. CEO Max Ferguson announced on May 12 that the company will donate $20,000 to the non-profit's COVID-19 Response Fund, with an additional $10,000 in subscription-based pledges.

Lumin PDF's contribution helps the CDP continue their invaluable work providing food and medical supplies to communities hit hardest by the pandemic.

Through the COVID-19 Response Fund, the CDP delivers vital services to communities across the United States that are impacted by the outbreak of the coronavirus. The organization is working closely with nonprofits to support health care workers, provide meals and social support to vulnerable populations and quarantined individuals, and grow public awareness of sanitation and hygiene to limit the spread of the disease.

"It's important to us to support other small companies through this difficult time," says Ferguson. "Many other small businesses, including many of our customers, are strongly impacted by the virus outbreak. Aiding the efforts of emergency health care workers to contain the virus is vital to help small businesses pull through."

The company has also pledged a portion of its revenue from new sign-ups. They will donate $5 from each Personal subscription and $10 from each Professional and Team subscription, up to $10,000.

"We are grateful to Lumin PDF for their support," said Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. "Our Fund is already providing critical resources to people and organizations on the front lines of the crisis and to those in need. Their donation will help us continue this important work."

Founded in 2013, Lumin PDF offers a suite of cloud-based PDF tools that empower users to seamlessly collaborate on, edit, and sign PDF documents. Individuals, teachers, and organizations rely on Lumin PDF to take care of their PDF needs easily and move on to the work they do best.

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Two newborn babies have been killed along with at least 12 mothers and nurses after gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Three gunmen entered the building dressed as police officers before throwing grenades and opening fire with rifles, leaving 15 including men, women and children injured. The attackers were later shot dead.

ISIS - which also carried out a series of attacks in the Afghan capital on Monday - is suspected of being behind the attack, though has yet to claim responsibility.

The Taliban, which is due to enter into peace talks soon having signed an agreement with US forces in February, has denied involvement.

Two newborn babies were among 14 people killed including mothers and nurses after three gunmen stormed a maternity clinic in Afghanistan (pictured, a baby is evacuated)

Fifteen men, women and children were also hurt in the attack while another 100 were evacuated after gunmen dressed as police officers walked into the hospital, threw grenades and opened fire

After opening fire on civilians, the gunmen then got into a shootout with security forces which ended several hours later when all three were shot dead (pictured, the scene inside one of the wards)

ISIS, which carried out four bomb attacks in Kabul on Monday, is thought to be behind the latest assault after the Taliban - which is due to enter into peace talks soon - denied involvement

Meanwhile in the eastern state of Nangarhar a suicide bomber targeted the funeral of a famed pro-government warlord, killing 24 people and wounding 68.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, but the area is a hotbed of ISIS activity. The Taliban again denied involvement.

A third attack then struck Khost province after a bomb planted under a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 more. No group claimed responsibility.

However, ISIS did lay claim to a series of attacks across Kabul on Monday which wounded four civilians, including a child.

The near-daily attacks in Afghanistan are threatening to undermine a peace process which was due to begin after the US and Taliban signed a deal to end America's longest-running conflict in February.

The attacks have also left Afghan authorities ill-prepared to face the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 4,900 cases of the virus have been detected in Afghanistan so far, while at least 127 have died from it.

The Afghan and Pakistani governments condemned the attack in Kabul as a 'crime against humanity' (pictured, blood stains inside one of the wards)

Afghanistan is suffering near-daily attacks during the holy month of Ramadan while threatens to derail fragile peace talks between the Taliban, the government, and US forces (pictured, a baby wrapped in a bloody towel is evacuated)

Bodies of some of the victims from the hospital attack are laid on the ground after security forces killed the gunmen

A suicide bomber also targeted a funeral elsewhere in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 24 and leaving 68 wounded (pictured)

Speaking about the hospital attack, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said over 100 women and babies were evacuated before it was over.

Three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, he said, without elaborating.

It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targeted - an attack Arian said was an 'act against humanity and a war crime.'

Photos shared by the Interior Ministry during the Kabul attack show newborn babies and their mothers being carried out of the hospital by Afghan security forces.

Once the gunmen were dead, husbands, fathers and family members of patients gathered outside, desperate for news of their loved ones.

A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

Neighboring Pakistan condemned the Kabul attack, calling it an 'inhuman and cowardly terrorist attack.'

Bullet holes line the wall of a maternity hospital in Kabul after it was stormed by suspected ISIS gunmen on Tuesday

Afghanis gather in a courtyard at the maternity hospital close to where one of the gunmen was shot dead

Smokes rises from a hospital after a gunmen attacked in Kabul, Afghanistan, around 10am Tuesday

Two more attacks elsewhere in Afghanistan on Monday targeted a market and a funeral procession, killing at least 25 others

A foreign soldier keeps watch among armoured vehicles outside a hospital which came under attack in Kabul, Afghanistan

The foreign ministry said both the Kabul hospital attack and the one on the funeral 'are particularly despicable as they take place in the holy month of Ramadan and at a time when Afghanistan is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.'

In the Nangarhar attack, the funeral was being held for a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack on Monday.

The Interior Ministry said the final casualty toll included 24 killed and 68 wounded.

A government spokesman added that the dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded.

The attacks also come after Afghan intelligence services said they had captured IS leader Zia-ul Haq, also known as Shaikh Abu Omer Al-Khorasani, late Monday.
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New Delhi, May 12 : Ecommerce giant Amazon's Cloud arm Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday announced the general availability of Amazon Kendra, an enterprise search service powered by machine learning.

Amazon Kendra uses machine learning to enable organisations to index all of their internal data sources, make that data searchable, and allow users to get precise answers to natural language queries.

Amazon Kendra is currently available in US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), and EU West (Ireland), with other regions coming soon.

"We're excited to make Amazon Kendra available to our customers and enable them to empower their employees with highly accurate, machine learning-powered enterprise search, which makes it easier for them to find the answers they seek across the full wealth of an organization's data," explained Swami Sivasubramanian, Vice President, Amazon Machine Learning, AWS.

Companies like 3M, PwC and Allen Institute are among the customers and partners who are already using Amazon Kendra.

According to AWS, businesses can use Amazon Kendra to search internal documents spread across portals and wikis, research organisations can create a searchable archive of experiments and notes, and contact centers can use Amazon Kendra to find the right answer to customer questions across the complete library of support documentation.

Amazon Kendra requires no machine learning expertise and can be set up completely within the AWS Management Console.

"Using keywords is counterintuitive, and the results returned often require scanning through many irrelevant links and documents to find useful information," said Sivasubramanian.

Amazon Kendra provides a wide range of native cloud and on-premises connectors to popular data sources such as SharePoint, OneDrive, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Amazon Simple Storage Service, and relational databases, with more being added throughout this year.

Developers can quickly and easily add data sources to their Amazon Kendra search index by selecting the connector type, and those connectors will maintain document access rights.
New decree comes as violence grinds on in Mexico, with 3,000 murders recorded in March alone.

Mexicos president has ordered the armed forces to tackle security on the streets for another four years, extending a policy he had previously criticised as his government struggles to curb violence in the country.

In a notice published in the Official Gazette on Monday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the armed forces participate in an extraordinary, regulated and complementary manner with the National Guard in public security tasks.

The National Guard is a military police force created in 2019 amid criticism of serious rights abuses by Mexican soldiers and marines, with activists pressing authorities to train and equip enough civilian police to take over from the military.

Mondays notice said the armed forces will operate under the command of the National Guard and that the order will last until March 2024.

The decision means soldiers will be on Mexican streets until almost the end of the presidency of Lopez Obrador, a political veteran who came to power in December 2018. He had often criticised former President Felipe Calderon for deploying soldiers and sailors, beginning in 2006, for public security and to fight drug violence.

Juan Ibarrola, a security specialist, said Mondays notice was a sign Lopez Obradors security strategy is not working.

That is why he has had to order with this decree for the armed forces to support public security, Ibarrola told the Milenio newspaper.

Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, won office vowing to adopt a more conciliatory security strategy focused on the root causes of crime, in particular by reducing poverty and corruption. But the violence has continued during his first year and a half in charge, with a record 34,582 people murdered in 2019.

Some 3,000 homicides were recorded in March this year, the second-biggest number of monthly murders ever and the highest since Lopez Obrador assumed power.

There are about 100,000 guard members, the vast majority of whom were supplied and trained by the army. The force is scheduled to expand to an estimated 120,000 members by 2021, and to 150,000 by 2023.

The president is also still allowed to use the armed forces in extraordinary circumstances, as long as they are subordinate to and supervised by civilian authorities.

However, Alejandro Hope, a Mexican security analyst, said Mondays decree did little to justify the extraordinary circumstances and did not provide for the outside supervision of soldiers.

It says they should be supervised, reviewed and subordinated, but by who? By themselves. The Defense Department regulates itself, he told The Associated Press news agency.

It evades the requirement that they be regulated, reviewed, subordinated and complementary. It not only violates the intention of the legislators, it violates international jurisprudence.

However, Hope said on the ground, this decree doesnt change much. The armed forces already detain people, set up phone taps, they set up checkpoints and detain migrants.

Alfredo Lecona, a member of the civic group Security Without War, wrote that for those who already knew that the armed forces would be performing police roles until 2024 under the National Guard reform, that is not an argument or justification for AMLO to grant them a blank check of opacity.
The decomposed bodies of a 20-year-old woman and her friend were found in a wheat field on the outskirt of Duhal Kohna village in Bhikhiwind subdivision on Tuesday.

The deceased are Jyoti and Jugraj Singh alias Jugga of Duhal Kohna village. The duo was missing since past four days. Police have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC against the Jyotis mother Sukhi and her cousin Gurbhej Singh at Khemkaran police station.

SHO Tarsem Masih said the case was registered on complaint of Juggas father Kulwant Singh. Sarpanch Avtar Singh said, The bodies were partially burnt. Jyoti was married to a man of Bharariwal village in Amritsar, but was living at her maternal home since past few months.

On May 8, the duo had gone missing. Bhikhiwind DSP Rajbir Singh and SHO Masih reached the spot and started investigation. The DSP said, The duo was in a relationship. We found some poisonous substance near the bodies. Probe is on to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths.

He said, It seems they have died around two day back. However, postmortem reports are awaited. Juggas family has accused the womans family of killing the duo.
T witter will warn its users if posts on coronavirus are controversial or contain misleading information about the virus.

Some posts will be marked with a warning underneath, while others will be covered entirely with a label, the company said in a blog post on Monday.

The labels will link to different pages - like public health sites, curated tweets or news articles - that offer fact-checked information on the virus.

Only harmful tweets will be removed altogether, company leaders added, and the measures will be taken on a case-by-case basis.

Twitter will only remove posts containing information found to be harmful / REUTERS

Nick Pickles, who works on Twitter's public policy, said: People dont want us to play the role of deciding for them whats true and whats not true but they do want people to play a much stronger role providing context.

The move is the latest step by big internet companies to curb the spread of coronavirus misinformation online.

Twitter, which has around 330 million users, already takes down posts with misinformation about coronavirus cures and false claims about the ineffectiveness of social distancing.

A doctored video of Nancy Pelosi was removed from Twitter / AP

And it has begun labelling tweets that contain doctored or manipulated footage, after an edited video circulated on the site of US House leader Nancy Pelosi appearing to slur her words.

Google and Facebook automatically direct people who search for "coronavirus" to the websites of the World Health Organisation and local public health bodies.

Several misleading theories about coronavirus have circulated online since the outbreak began, including possible cures, stories about how the virus started and links with 5G networks, which have been dismissed by experts.

Professor Philip Howard, director of the Oxford Internet Institute, told MPs recently that an item of fake health news online can reach roughly as many people as a BBC article.
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The global gold nanoparticles market is anticipated to reach USD 1.52 billion by 2026 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 10.2 % from 2018 to 2026. Gold nanoparticles market is anticipated to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Growing demand for nano technological medical products, inherent advantages of gold nanoparticles, as well as growing application portfolio in medical field are expected to boost market growth. The global growth in the electronics industry are also expected to contribute to the overall market growth.

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About a quarter of Ontarios hospital sites have reported outbreaks of COVID-19. Now, the province has just decided what that actually means  releasing its definition of when to declare a hospital outbreak of the novel coronavirus more than three months into the epidemic.

The long-awaited definition  two cases in patients or staff, identified within 14 days and likely acquired in hospital  will help bring clarity but also signals why identifying and communicating outbreaks in hospitals is so much thornier than in other settings. Compared to facilities like nursing homes, hospitals are bigger and more complex, with both staff and patients streaming in and out on a daily basis.

And when it comes to public reporting, the balance of concerns is far trickier. Disclosing a hospital outbreak informs the public, which improves trust and transparency. But doctors also worry about misconceptions that could scare people away from seeking care  a problem that will only worsen the scope of illness and death caused by this pandemic.

Not all outbreaks are equal and its not the Hollywood picture of an outbreak, said Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious disease physician at Michael Garron Hospital, who works in infection prevention and control. Hospitals are still safe places and just because theyve called an outbreak, doesnt mean that the hospital is overrun with COVID.

I know it seems weird, but we should be really thankful when hospitals identify outbreaks, said Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious disease specialist at Sinai Health and University Health Network. The problems are when hospitals dont identify outbreaks.

As long as there have been hospitals and infectious diseases, there have been nosocomial outbreaks, which refer to outbreaks that originate inside a health-care facility. More than 70 communicable diseases are reportable to public health units across the province and in late January, COVID was added to this list.

To date, 73 COVID outbreaks have been reported by hospitals, according to provincial statistics, with some reporting more than one. But in the absence of a standard definition, many have been working with their local health units to apply their own criteria for declaring COVID outbreaks, resulting in a patchwork of definitions.

Toronto Public Health, for example, has been defining an outbreak as two health-care associated cases identified within a 14-day window, though some hospitals have declared outbreaks after finding just one case. At Trillium Health Partners, a COVID outbreak is declared when there are two confirmed cases of staff or patients within a five-day period and a reasonable epidemiological link between the two, said Dr. Lorne Small, medical director of infection prevention and control.

With many hospitals across Ontario and Canada erring on the side of caution during COVID-19, we are seeing more health-care organizations, including hospitals declare outbreaks more frequently, Small said in an email.

On Monday night, however, the province finally released a definition for a hospital outbreak of COVID, which it provided in advance to the Star: two or more laboratory-confirmed cases in either patients or staff, identified within a specific area in a 14-day period, where both could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital. The definition was released in the provinces latest COVID-19 guidance document for acute care facilities.

But arriving at this single-sentence definition was a lengthy process that required collaboration and consensus from several expert bodies, including Public Health Ontario and the Ontario Hospital Association, according to the ministry of health.

Part of the difficulty is that while it is crucial to identify a COVID outbreak as quickly as possible, there are also downsides to declaring one prematurely or unnecessarily, said Dr. Dominik Mertz, medical director of infection control at Hamilton Health Sciences.

Once you pull the trigger and say there is an outbreak, you have to sometimes put pretty significant measures in place, he said. You want to be specific enough not to overcall outbreaks and harm people by closing units ... (or) shutting down part of the hospital for no good reason because in fact its not an outbreak, its just a single case. Finding that balance is challenging.

At Toronto Western Hospital, where four outbreaks have been declared in five units since April 18, the first was identified when a non-COVID patient started developing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, despite having already been hospitalized for more than 14 days  the outer limit of COVIDs incubation period, said Dr. Susy Hota, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network, which includes Toronto Western.

After consulting with Toronto Public Health, the hospital decided to declare an outbreak, even though it was just a single case at that point, Hota said. Subsequent investigations and expanded testing did eventually reveal a second case  the first patients roommate  and other infections in patients and staff, some of whom were asymptomatic, she said.

Its important to act quickly with this infection, Hota said. What youre seeing today is reflecting what happened probably a week earlier.

But news of the outbreak had unintended ripple effects. One day after Toronto Westerns outbreaks were publicized, visits to the hospitals emergency department plunged by nearly 40 per cent, said Dr. Erin OConnor, deputy medical director of the UHN Emergency Department.

ER visits have remained low ever since, she said. Meanwhile, at Toronto General  which is also operated by UHN and staffed by the same doctors  ER traffic has remained relatively consistent.

The outbreaks didnt happen because people came through the emergency department, OConnor said. Im not a believer in hiding the truth, I think that its important for us to be clear and transparent with the public ... (But) I think its very, very important for us to educate about what the (outbreak) numbers actually mean.

While the word outbreak is scary for the public, the term is used in the infection prevention and control (IPAC) field to describe a pattern and allows health-care organizations to take additional actions and steps, said Small with Trillium Health.

When outbreaks are declared, its not as though everyones running around in a haz-mat suit, McCready said. Its very measured and focused, just more testing and really trying to investigate where that case could have come from.

She said outbreaks are often contained in specific wards and, once declared, a hospitals already-rigorous infection-control measures will be ramped up and significant resources are poured into identifying and containing further spread.

In some scenarios, being in an outbreak hospital is safer, in a sense, than being at a grocery store, said Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician who does infection control at St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton. But that may not be the impression of the public, because the word outbreak instills a lot of fear.

When hospital outbreaks do occur, its often because of a breakdown in routine practices, McCready said  a missed handwashing moment or a surface that was overlooked for cleaning. Investigations will often try to hone in on where lapses in protocol might have occurred.

Investigators will also probe whether health-care workers might have infected each other, Metz said. He has heard from people that gaps tend to occur when they are winding down with colleagues, perhaps over lunch breaks or while smoking together.

I think the mindset is very much that the risk to health-care workers is the patients and not the colleague, though the problem is the colleague may also be incubating COVID-19, he said. Bottom line is were all social beings, right, and sometimes we lower the guard in situations where we probably should not have.

But while hospitals are well-practised in responding to nosocomial outbreaks, there are certain features that make COVID a particularly worthy adversary, Hota said.

We now know COVID cases can be asymptomatic or contagious prior to showing symptoms, making it particularly difficult to discern whether a patient was infected at the hospital or already incubating when they were admitted, she said.

During a hospital outbreak, investigators might find a positive case on one side of the unit and another on the far side, with no obvious common link in between. What you end up getting is a number of cases happening but the only common thread is that theyre associated with that unit, she said.

At UHN, officials have also cast a wide net for testing both patients and staff, Hota added. This makes it difficult to tease out whether health-care worker infections occurred at work versus in the community, she said. When you look, you find, she said. With health-care workers, we do test a lot more than the general public and we find a lot more for that reason.

Hospitals deal with outbreaks every year, including of respiratory viruses like influenza, Hota said  and as long as the coronavirus continues circulating without an available vaccine, hospital COVID outbreaks will likely remain a fact of pandemic life.

I think this is the unfortunate reality; were going to have to deal with COVID outbreaks, she said. This will continue to happen and short of testing everybody every day, all the time, theres no strategy that would actually help you get on top of that.




The appointment of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as the new Chief of Staff came as a shock to many Nigerians.

Naija News recalls that several names and top Nigerian politicians have been linked to the position of New Chief of Staff before the appointment of Prof. Gambari.

This online platform Understands that Professor Gambari is a seasoned scholar and a Diplomat per excellence with an illustrious career, spanning over academia, government, and international diplomacy.

However, here are ten great facts about Buharis New Chief Of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari

He was the first Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was former Nigerias Minister of External Affairs between 1984 and 1985. He was the President of the Executive Board of UNICEF in 1999. He is from Kwara State. On March 4, 2013, Ibrahim Gambari was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University, KWASU, making him the ceremonial head of the university who presides over convocations to award degrees and diplomas and also supports the vision and mission of the university in all respects, including fundraising, social, economic and academic goals. He is currently the Founder/Chairman of the Savannah Centre. He was the former Head of the UN Mission in Angola and Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Gambari attended Kings College, Lagos. He subsequently attended the London School of Economics where he obtained his B.Sc. (Economics) degree(1968) with specialization in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations. He taught at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.

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(Newser)  The Colorado restaurant that flouted the state's order and opened its doors for dine-in service amid the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in crowds of diners on Mother's Day, has been shut down. Gov. Jared Polis on Monday ordered C&C Breakfast and Korean Kitchen in Castle Rock to close, the AP reports. The restaurant's license was also suspended indefinitely. Polis said the business was "causing an immediate health hazard" and would be shut until that is no longer the case.

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"Customers will return en masse when they feel safe," Polis said, per Colorado Public Radio. "When people see videos of people packed into a restaurant with no social distancing and no masks, people feel less safe and the widespread economic pain will only be prolonged." The local health department said if the restaurant's owners (who have appealed to President Trump in the past and say they are trying to get lawmakers' attention about governmental overreach) do not comply with the order, further legal action will be taken and the restaurant's license could be revoked entirely. (Read more coronavirus stories.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday offered up to P2 million reward for anyone who can provide information that would lead to the arrest of top communist leaders.

Kapag ikaw ang nakaturo at nahuli ang commander na mabigat, may hati ka diyan sa pera, Duterte said in a taped address.

[Translation: If you gave the tip and a commander is arrested, you will get your share of the bounty.]

The President said informants will have to move houses and get a new identity to protect them from the New Peoples Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Yung mga (the) squealers, you will be given a new identity, Duterte promised. I order that you be taken as a witness [under] the protection program.

Duterte made the announcement after two soldiers escorting aid workers in Aurora province were killed by NPA guerillas in April. The President said the incident was a sign of lawlessness, and if these attacks continued, he would declare martial law.

He earlier vowed to finish all communist rebels before his terms ends in 2022.

The NPA declared a unilateral ceasefire in response to the call of the United Nations for a global truce so all states can focus on the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The ceasefire lasted until April 30, two weeks after the government's own suspension of hostilities ended.

The CPP has been waging an insurgency in the country for over five decades.
Green River Art Student Receives Award from UWs American Heritage Center

Ben Nathan, a University of Wyoming senior from Green River, is the winner of this years UW American Heritage Center Undergraduate Research Award. (UW Photo)

University of Wyoming art student Ben Nathan, from Green River, received an award from UWs American Heritage Center (AHC) for the best undergraduate research project.

The Undergraduate Research Award, given each spring, is based on collections held by the AHC.

Nathan, who will graduate this weekend with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in visual arts, is a student of Professor Mark Ritchie in the UW Department of Visual and Literary Arts.

Typically, the students projects are research papers, but they can take many forms, such as creative writing, artistic productions, websites or even group exhibitions, says AHC Director Paul Flesher.

Nathans project, titled Views of the West: Then and Now, is a print-art project that draws upon imagery evoked by personal journals -- including one from an infantryman in the 1800s -- that are now housed at the AHC.

The project was from Gerhard Luhns elk hunt recorded in Luhns diary when he was an infantryman stationed at Fort Laramie, located near Lingle, in the late 1860s. Nathans other source of inspiration was a three-day automobile journey from Cheyenne to Denver, Colo., taken by Edith Clark in 1916, described in her journal, during the time she served as Wyomings superintendent of public instruction. Both journals are housed in AHCs collections.

Nathan used an art form known as intaglio, in which the artist creates a copper plate and then makes a series of different prints with it using a variety of inks, colors and other elements to make each image distinctive. Each of the two series of multiple images is contained in a specially created binder to display and protect it, all packaged within a leather cover.

Bens project is ambitious. It sustains a single focus over a series of images. Presenting this suite of images required that Ben then consider presentation. The book structure keeps these images together in a sequence but allows them to be easily removed from the group and experienced as individual images, Ritchie says. It really was a continuation of some of the image/object concerns that Ben has been considering for a time but taken to a new level with a specific task.

This is among Ben Nathans intaglio prints reflecting his artistic interpretation of the elk hunt described in a diary from Gerhard Luhn, who was an infantryman stationed at Fort Laramie in the 1860s. The diary is housed in the UW American Heritage Center. (Ben Nathan Photo)

Nathan received a $500 award from the AHC.

By studying the diaries and journals from the Luhn and Clark collections, we saw that Ben was able to connect with the views held by the two writers as they looked upon and experienced the western landscape, Flesher says. The print-based artwork he created from them shows not just his familiarity with these primary materials, but his willingness to consider their authors character and the way they interacted with their surroundings.

More of Nathans intaglio artwork can be found on the UW Department of Visual and Literary Arts BFA online exhibit at www.uwyo.edu/art/bfa-online-exhibition/nathan-benjamin.html.

UW art faculty members may nominate one or two of their students for the AHCs Undergraduate Research Award, and students may nominate their own work as well.

For more information, visit the AHC website at www.uwyo.edu/ahc/grants/undergrad-award.html.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Idlib in Syria was the worlds worst humanitarian emergency. Three months ago we saw people freezing to death in open fields as they fled from the Idlib crisis that has been going on for 13 months. Like winter, war and economic catastrophe, Covid-19 is just another enemy humanitarians must battle to keep people in Syria alive.

As developed Western nations struggle to fight the global pandemic, the impending coronavirus outbreak hangs like the sword of Damocles over the people of war-torn Idlib. For NGOs, its not a case of preparing for if, its a case of preparing for when Covid-19 strikes. In fact, we cannot be sure if coronavirus hasnt already arrived, due to lack of transparency and testing capacity. What we do know for certain is that when it does arrive, the impact will be devastating.

There has already been confirmed cases and deaths in the government-held south and the largely Kurdish-controlled north west. Rebel-held Idlib is surely next, and one of the least prepared areas of the globe to deal with it. We fear that there will be an explosion of cases in Idlib, due to 3.5 million people living in a confined area, with poor access to clean water and 1 million people homeless and crowded into displacement camps or other temporary shelters. The widely accepted health advice to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is almost impossible to follow in Syrias north west province of Idlib. How can someone who is homeless and living in a tent with another family quarantine themselves? How can someone wash their hands regularly when they have barely enough water to drink?
Wuhan, the Chinese city where the deadly novel coronavirus emerged in December last year, has decided to test the city's entire 11 million population after new cases were reported for the first time in weeks, sparking fears of the second wave of the virus attack.

IMAGE: Nurses wearing face masks pose for pictures during an event held to mark the International Nurses Day, at Wuhan Tongji Hospital in Hubei province. Photograph: Reuters

The city has prepared a 10-day plan to test all its residents after six new coronavirus cases were reported in a residential community, official media reported on Tuesday.

Hubei province and its capital Wuhan on April 8 lifted a prolonged lockdown clamped on January 23 as the disease spread through the region like wildfire.

In all 4,512 people, including 3,869 in Wuhan, have died due to the COVID-19 in over three months of devastation caused by the vicious virus.

Hubei province had reported 68,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,339 in Wuhan.

Besides reporting new clusters of cases, Wuhan also reported 650 asymptomatic cases.

Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

Peng Zhiyong, director of the intensive care unit of the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, told the state-run Global Times that he has not received the details of the testing plan.

He said testing everyone would be costly, so the testing is very likely to focus on key groups and communities such as close contacts of patients and their family members, medical staff, the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at the Wuhan University, expanded the scale of its testing in April and tested targeted groups of people.

"About three to five million residents have been tested and proved healthy, and thus Wuhan is capable to test the remaining 6 to 8 million in 10 days."

Yang believes the city-wide test may be unnecessary as "you'll never know if people were infected after testing negative."

So "It's essentially an epidemiological investigation to determine the current situation."

Wu Zunyou, an epidemiologist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that large-scale screening and testing is unnecessary. Wu told state television CCTV that he believes the main battlefields are in key communities and certain groups of people.

Wang Zhonglin, the head of the ruling Communist Party unit in Wuhan, said learning from recent new cases will prevent a rebound and is the best way to ensure people's health and safety.

Globally, the death toll due to COVID-19 has gone up to 287,158 with over four million infections reported so far.

The United States is the worst affected country, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.
At least four special trains



will ferry stranded migrants from Aurangabad in Maharashtra to different cities of Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Tuesday.

While two trains will leave Aurangabad on Wednesday, two more will depart on Thursday, the official said.

"A train each will depart for Baliya and Gorakhpur on Wednesday, while two trains will head to Unnav and Agra on Thursday," nodal officer for Aurangabad Appasaheb Shinde said.

A similar proposal was also under process for trains to Bihar and Jharkhand, he said.

"Each train with 1,600 passengers will directly go to its destination without any stops," he added.

Earlier, two trains were sent to Madhya Pradesh with 1,200 passengers each.

The ticket costs of all these trains will come out of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, a district official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday sought suggestions from people on how to ease the curbs after May 17, but made it clear that lockdown cannot be lifted completely given that the city was recording a high number of coronavirus cases daily.

The chief minister said that his government will send a proposal on lockdown relaxations for Delhi to the Centre on Thursday after discussing the suggestions with experts and doctors.

People can send their suggestions by calling toll-free number 1031 or through WhatsApp number 8800007722, or by sending an e-mail to delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com by 5 pm Wednesday.

"On one hand, we will have to save ourselves from coronavirus. But on other, we will also have to maintain the health of economy, Kejriwal told an online media briefing.

"I seek suggestions from the people of Delhi. Obviously, lockdown cannot be lifted completely from the city given the spike in cases of COVID-19, he said.

Delhi recorded 13 fresh deaths due to COVID-19, the highest single-day spike in coronavirus fatalities for the city, authorities said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the total number of cases rose by 406 to reach 7,639.

"I want to ask whether there should be relaxations in lockdown (post May 17). How much relaxations should be given and in which areas?" the chief minister sought to know from Delhiites.

He also asked whether buses, metro, taxis and auto-rickshaw should now be allowed to operate in Delhi and if schools, markets and industrial areas should be opened after May 17, when the lockdown 3.0 ends.

He said it was clear that social-distancing norms will have to be strictly followed post-May 17, and wearing masks for everyone in the city will be compulsory.

"I know that many people have been facing difficulties due to lockdown. People should send their suggestions by 5 pm on Wednesday," the CM said.

Barring COVID containment zones, economic activities should be allowed to resume in the national capital, Kejriwal had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with chief ministers.

During the media briefing on Tuesday, he said the Central government has asked all states to submit by May 15 their proposal on lockdown relaxations.

The Delhi government has already demanded from the Centre that all 11 districts of the city not be treated as ''red zones'' so that more economic activities are allowed, the sources said.

They said the city government wants that ''red zones'' in Delhi to be identified as per municipal wards instead of districts, they said.

Recently, the Union Health Ministry classified the entire national capital, which has 11 districts, as red zone. The city has 272 wards.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samsung was the leader in global shipments of 5G smartphones for the first three months of this year, reports The Korea Herald. Among the Top 5 companies, only Samsung is not based in China.

The South Korean tech giant shipped 8.3 million units out of the total 24.1 million for the quarter. This works out to 34.1% market share.

Huawei is a close second with 8 million 5G phones shipped between January and March, securing a 33.2% share. Huawei had an early lead last year with 6.9 million 5G phones, slightly ahead of Samsungs 6.7 million.

Next up are vivo and Xiaomi, which are also in a heated battle with 2.9 and 2.5 million units, respectively. Oppo rounds off the Top 5 with 1.2 million 5G phones and a 5% share. All the other players manage just 5% combined.

Source
Guwahati: The North-East, home to around 3.5% of the countrys population, is staring at a major challenge as thousands of stranded people are set to return to their respective native places amid the Central governments bid to ease lockdown restrictions, which were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

Inadequate testing facilities in the entire region, comprising seven states, have become a cause for concern, as most of them are dependent on Assam.

The state governments in the region are worried about the daily spike in Covid-19 positive cases from other parts of the country from where the stranded people are trying to return home.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu sought the Centres support in procuring an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-approved TrueNat machine during Mondays video-conference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had convened to seek all the CMs feedback on whether to ease or extend lockdown restrictions.

TrueNat, which has been used to detect tuberculosis (TB) and also approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is a small battery-operated user-friendly machine that can conduct Covid-19 tests and the results are obtained within an hour.

Khandu said that the machine is needed for conducting faster and effective tests amid a rise in interstate travellers entering Arunachal Pradesh.

The CMs concerns stem from the fact that Arunachal has only one Covid-19 testing laboratory in Naharlagun, whose daily capacity is around 70. The state is completely dependent on neighbouring Assam to test more swab samples.

We expect around 12,000 stranded people to return home and each one of them needs to undergo a Covid-19 test. However, we dont have the bandwidth to conduct so many tests in such a short span of time. Were working on setting up another laboratory in the eastern part of the state by end-May to ease the burden on the Naharlagun facility, said Arunachal health minister Alo Libang.

Arunachal has recorded only one Covid-19 positive case to date and the patient has also recovered. But, the remote and the largest state in the north-east could be staring at a healthcare emergency, as thousands of stranded people are expected to return home soon, as concerns are raised about scant testing facilities.

Other states in the region are also feeling the heat due to screening and testing inadequacies, as the stranded people are headed home after the government announced the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Around 10,000 people are expected to return to Mizoram and all of them will undergo tests. However, they cant be tested at one go. Initially, all the returnees will be quarantined and then the tests will be conducted on a priority basis. Were working overtime to set up more laboratories, said Mizoram CM Zoramthanga.

Mizorams lone Covid-19 positive patient, a pastor, has also recovered. So far, the state, which has its lone laboratory in the state capital Aizawl, has conducted only 206 tests.

Meghalaya is expecting around 13,000 people to return to the state. Though the state health authorities plan to screen all the returnees, tests will be conducted only on symptomatic patients.

Meghalaya, too, had only one laboratory at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in the state capital, Shillong, till recently. A second laboratory, set up at Tura in the Garo Hills, however, has become functional.

The daily testing capacity at the NEIGRIHMS and Tura is over 200 and below 100, respectively, said Meghalaya health minister AL Hek.

Assam is expecting nearly one lakh people to return home and the state government is pulling out all stops to ramp up its screening and testing facilities. Plans are afoot to allow a staggered entry of returnees in a bid to ensure an effective administrative control.

The state government has requisitioned five trains from Indian Railways to bring back stranded migrant workers. The trains will repatriate up to 10,000 people, who have been stranded in Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad, from Tuesday. The trains will run till May 24.

Though Assam has seven testing laboratories  the highest in the region  neighbouring states such as Arunachal, Meghalaya and Nagaland are also utilising these facilities.

Around 17,000 stranded people from Tripura have registered themselves on the state government portal, seeking to return home at the earliest.

Tripura has a single testing laboratory at Agartalas GB Pant Hospital, and two more are likely to become operational soon. The state government plans to conduct mandatory and random tests on symptomatic and asymptomatic people, respectively.

Manipur has two testing laboratories in its state capital Imphal, but the state government is under tremendous pressure, as around 34,000 stranded people are planning to return home soon.

Nagaland, which has not registered a single Covid-19 positive case yet, launched a state government-run website on May 7, urging the stranded people to register on the portal if they wish to return home. The registration closed on Monday, and around 18,000 are waiting to come back to Nagaland.

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(HealthDay)Until now, cities such as New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and New Orleans have been hot spots for COVID-19 outbreaks in the United States.

But the coronavirus threat is growing in America's rural areasand in many ways, the risk there is even more dire than it has been in big cities, experts say.

That's because people tend to be older and sicker in rural areas, and have far less access to the health care services needed to help them get well and prevent community-wide spread of COVID-19, said Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association.

"Rural America is a geographic area that continues to face significant health care workforce shortages at a time when the population is elderly, with a higher percentage of chronic health issues," Morgan said. "You've got that population most at risk for COVID-19 in a location together where you have a lack of health care access. It's unfortunately a perfect storm."

The risk posed by coronavirus to rural areas is not as remote as one might think.

Four of the 10 counties with the highest COVID-19 death rates are in the rural South, according to statistics gathered by the Washington Post. They include three in rural Georgia and St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana.

"As of last week, 86% of rural counties had at least one COVID-19 case, and one-third of rural counties had at least one COVID-19 death," said Carrie Henning-Smith, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota.

New data shows coronavirus racing through smaller towns

And things are getting worse. Data that the White House coronavirus task force is using shows infection rates are hitting new highs in smaller communities across the country, NBC News reported Tuesday.

The 10 top areas recorded surges of 72.4% or greater over a seven-day period, a set of tables produced for the task force shows. They included Des Moines, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; and Central City, Ky., which saw a whopping 650% increase in cases, NBC News reported.

The spiking infection rates suggest the coronavirus is spreading quickly outside major coastal cities that were early hot spots.

Morgan noted that COVID-19 has invaded rural America in a succession of waves.

The first wave came in rural communities that depend on tourism, such as ski resorts in Colorado, Utah and Idaho, experts said.

"You had people who didn't live permanently in the town, but were coming to visit for recreational purposes and spreading COVID-19 and suddenly overwhelming the health care systems and grocery stores and other resources in those places," Henning-Smith said.

The next wave involved rural areas located next to large metropolitan areas, Morgan said, pointing to St. James Parish in Louisiana as one example.

"People in St. James commute to either Baton Rouge or New Orleans, and they brought it back into the community," Morgan explained.

After that, COVID-19 started cropping up in rural communities with interstate highways running through them, where large truck stops serve as a revolving door for truckers from all parts of the country, Morgan said. Batesville, Ind., is one small town that saw a huge leap in coronavirus infections thanks to highway travel.

Meatpacking plants, prisons are hotbeds for infections

Now, COVID-19 outbreaks are starting to occur in rural workplaces such as meatpacking facilities, as well as in prisons out in the country, Morgan said.

Country folks don't live on top of each other as their city cousins do, but they do congregate in places where they could readily pass coronavirus from person to person, Morgan said.

"When you say rural America, everyone thinks about farmers and ranchers in Wyoming and Montana, right? These are the people who pioneered the concept of social distancing. They got that down," Morgan said. "What we're really talking about are these hundreds of small towns across the U.S., with two to four stoplights."

People in these communities "are all going to be at the same Walmart. They're all going to be at the same grocery store. They're all going to be at the same post office. It really is a bad situation," Morgan said.

At the same time, rural folks live far enough apart that it can be tough for public health officials to do the sort of investigative work needed to head off outbreaks, like contact tracing and viral testing, Henning-Smith said.

"It's really challenging to do track-and-trace when you have to drive 45 minutes to an hour to get to the next town," Henning Smith said. "It takes more time and a lot more effort to reach people in places where people are not living close to one another."

Folks living in rural areas also tend to be older and sick with chronic health conditions, which puts them at greater risk of dying from COVID-19, Henning-Smith said.

Meanwhile, local hospitals are struggling

They also have to travel farther for health care, usually, and whatever local hospitals and clinics they have are struggling to stay open, experts added.

There are about 2,000 rural hospitals in the United States, and two-thirds of them have 25 or fewer inpatient beds available, Morgan said.

More than half these rural hospitals operate in the red on an annual basis, Henning-Smith added.

"Since 2010, 128 rural hospitals have closed, eight in 2020 alone," Henning-Smith said. "At least three have closed since the pandemic began."

The lockdowns required to keep COVID-19 from overwhelming the U.S. health care system also unfortunately robbed these rural hospitals of a key source of income.

Hospitals had to cancel elective procedures and stop treating outpatients, which represented up to 80% of the revenue of rural hospitals, Morgan explained.

"Rural hospitals were in trouble already, even before all this happened," said Leighton Ku, director of the George Washington University Center for Health Policy Research in Washington, D.C. "It could be that the losses right now are that extra little thing that would push them off the edge. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some more rural hospitals or very small hospitals, this was the thing that pushed them into bankruptcy."

Supplies hard to come by

To make matters worse, rural hospitals are not in a good position to deal with a sudden COVID-19 outbreak.

Small-town hospitals and clinics have to work harder to locate and buy the equipment they need, Henning-Smith said.

"You have a lot of very small clinics and hospitals, many of which are independent. They just don't have the buying power to jump to the front of the queue or to negotiate a reasonable price for additional equipment," Henning-Smith said.

These facilities also tend to be very lean operations, and the loss of some staffers to COVID-19 infection during an outbreak would put them squarely behind the eight ball, Morgan said.

"We've done a great job of building efficient small-town hospitals. By efficient, I mean absolutely no surge capacity," Morgan said. "For the facilities that have faced the pandemic, a common thread is one or two of the clinicians become COVID-19-positive. You have no room for error, and you start losing clinical staff. It compounds the problem, from a small town's perspective."

The federal government is distributing $10 billion in emergency relief to rural hospitals and clinics, and both Morgan and Henning-Smith are hopeful that money will help keep rural health care open until social distancing requirements are eased.

"What we're hearing from our membership, many are restarting their elective procedures and are taking outpatients again," Morgan said. "In a perfect world, this works out. As they utilize these federal funds, they're beginning to have revenue come back in their doors. Hopefully this is a glide path to keep rural hospitals open during this crisis."

"Rural hospitals have taken matters into their own hands as well, in some places forming buyers' consortiums so that they gain some extra leverage getting tests, ventilators, gloves, masks, gowns and other needed supplies," Henning-Smith added.

"Clinics banding together to make up one big order can be a big help here," she said. "Otherwise, many rural providers just won't come up to the top of the queue."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about COVID-19

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Ahmaud Arbery (pictured), 25, was shot dead on February 23 while out for a jog in a Georgia neighborhood

Two Georgia prosecutors who first handled the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, before charges were filed more than two months later, were placed under investigation Tuesday for their conduct in the case.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and federal authorities to investigate how Brunswick Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson and Waycross Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill handled the killing of 25-year-old Arbery.

Arbery was pursued by father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, before being shot on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick.

Arbery's relatives have said he was merely jogging through the subdivision at the time.

The McMichaels weren't charged with murder until last week, after the release of a video of the February 23 shooting.

'Unfortunately, many questions and concerns have arisen' about the actions of the district attorneys, Carr said Tuesday in a statement.

As a result, the attorney general asked the GBI to review the matter 'to determine whether the process was undermined in any way'.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said federal prosecutors have asked Carr to share any results. Federal officials are also considering whether hate crimes charges are warranted.

Scroll down for video

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate how Brunswick Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson (left) and Waycross Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill (right) handled the killing of Arbery

Arbery's death made headlines in recent weeks with thousands of protesters taking to the streets to demonstrate against his killing

A woman is seen holding a sign while watching a rally to protest the shooting of Arbery on Friday

Johnson defended her office's involvement, which she insisted was minimal because the elder McMichael worked for her as an investigator before retiring a year ago.

That relationship required the office to step away from the case.

'I'm confident an investigation is going to show my office did what it was supposed to and there was no wrongdoing on our part,' Johnson told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday.

Johnson said Glynn County police contacted two of her assistant prosecutors on the day of the shooting, seeking legal advice.

She said her assistants immediately responded that they could not get involved because of the conflict of interest.

Asked if anyone in her office told police not to arrest the McMichaels or suggested the shooting may have been justified, Johnson said: 'Absolutely not.' She said it was the police who brought up self-defense during their call.

Gregory McMichael (left) and his son, Travis McMichael (right), were just arrested in the case last week

Their arrests came only after the release of a video of the February 23 shooting (pictured, Arbery collapsing on the ground)

'The police represented it as a burglary case with a self-defense issue,' Johnson said.

Police were seeking 'guidance on how to proceed and whether to make an arrest. Our office could not advise or assist them because of our obvious conflict'.

Johnson said she reached out to neighboring Barnhill, asking if his office could advise Glynn County police. Because it was a fatal shooting, she said: 'I didn't want the case to stall.'

The attorney general ended up appointing Barnhill to take over on February 27, four days after the shooting.

But in his letter Monday asking the GBI to investigate possible misconduct by the prosecutors, Carr said he was never told that Barnhill had already advised police 'that he did not see grounds for the arrest of any of the individuals involved in Mr. Arbery's death'.

Weeks after Carr appointed him to the case, and just a few days before recusing himself on April 7, Barnhill wrote that the McMichaels 'were following, in "hot pursuit," a burglary suspect, with solid first hand probable cause, in their neighborhood, and asking/telling him to stop'.

'It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia Law this is perfectly legal,' Barnhill advised in the undated letter, to Glynn County police Capt Tom Jump. County officials released the letter last week.

Johnson said she could not recall if she had told Carr's office that she enlisted Barnhill's help before recusing herself.

Barnhill had the case for about a month before he stepped aside under pressure because his son works for Johnson as an assistant prosecutor.

People pray during a rally on Friday to protest the shooting of 25-year-old Arbery

Arbery's death has sparked outrage across the nation and prompted the #IRunWithMaud campaign

A makeshift memorial is seen on Friday at the spot where Arbery was shot and killed

Tom Durden, the district attorney in nearby Hinesville, next took the case and had it for more than three weeks before the video became public and he called in the GBI.

On Monday, Carr replaced him with Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes, one of only seven black district attorneys in Georgia.

She's based in Atlanta, far from the coastal community where the shooting happened, and is 'a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge,' said Carr, a Republican.

Gregory McMichael told police he and his son armed themselves and pursued the young man because they they thought he matched the description of a burglary suspect.

According to the police report, Gregory McMichael said Arbery attacked his son before the younger McMichael shot him.

The autopsy showed Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts. All three shots can be heard on the video, which clearly shows the final shot hitting Arbery at point-blank range before he staggers and falls face down.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday.

Neither had lawyers at their first court appearances. With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, a grand jury cannot be called to hear the case until mid-June.
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the shopping habits of Vietnamese consumers, many of whom are moving online, experts said.

Vietnamese switch to online shopping amid the difficulties caused by COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the shopping habits of Vietnamese consumers, many of whom are moving online, experts said.

Minh Phuong, who lives in District 7, HCM City, said she used to go to supermarkets for buying daily requirements, but has changed this habit since social distancing was ordered.

She told Viet Nam News that her shopping habit has changed greatly.

I now buy everything online on Instagram, Facebook and e-commerce sites. Supermarkets also offer online shopping services, and many companies like Grab help me shop.

Social distancing has stopped but I still keep shopping online.

Phuongs story is indicative of the fact that Vietnamese are relying on e-commerce to meet their everyday needs as they live, work, and play from home.

In a report on four major e-commerce trends in 2020, e-commerce giant Shopee said: The retail landscape in Viet Nam has been transformed by increased social distancing efforts, as the community combats the spread of Covid-19.

As a result, brands and sellers are venturing online in search of growth, while consumers turn to e-commerce to meet their shopping needs.

On average, people are spending 25 per cent more time on Shopee every week.

This reflects an increasing reliance on e-commerce, which provides users with one-stop access to essentials, health products and more. The top purchases include make-up removers, smartphones, milk, diapers, and pots and pans.

Brands and sellers are venturing online while exploring new strategies to reach and engage with consumers.

Tran Tuan Anh, managing director, Shopee Vietnam, said: Brands and sellers across the region are stepping up their digitalisation efforts, with e-commerce becoming a key channel for them to sustain and grow their businesses.

More consumers go online to fulfil their everyday needs from groceries to home appliances.

The Shopee report revealed that brands and sellers in the grocery, home appliances and home and living categories are seeing strong growth.

Those offering earphones and accessories and floor and vacuum cleaners got nine and eight times more orders in the first quarter than in the same period last year.

Brands and sellers are actively exploring new ways to reach consumers.

Another trend seen during the COVID-19 pandemic is that shopping preferences are also changing as consumers look for convenience on e-commerce during this period.

Online shopping activity has peaked on Wednesdays and Fridays in recent months, indicating the preference among Vietnamese to complete shopping before weekend.

There has been a concomitant increase in cashless payments as consumers value speed and reduce physical interactions, with users increasingly using options such as AirPay Wallet.

During the time, there was increased social interaction and engagement among online shoppers. It is now ever more important for e-commerce platforms to bring people together.  VNS

Online shopping: no boom in first quarter as expected Three out of four of the largest e-commerce sites saw the numbers of visits decreasing in Q1, a time when experts predicted would see a boom as the COVID-19 epidemic reached its peak.
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Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) of Telangana has written to the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, condemning the witch hunt of Dr Zafarul Islam Khan by the Hindutva brigade.

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CLMC General Secretary Lateef Mohammed Khan called out to the well-planned campaign of defaming rights workers and police action against Muslim activists, reminding that Dr Khan had only reported the anti-Muslim hate sentiments on Arab social media owing to his duty of a minority rights protector. He praised the Delhi Minorities Commission Chairman for his prompt action and commendable work beyond religion, caste and creed. He stated that the sedition charges and raids at Khans house is a malafidely motivated campaign targeting him to suppress his voice, and any attempt to suppress his voice is violation of the Indian spirit.

Referring to the systematic manner of propaganda carried out by mainstream media against Muslims, the Committee said it was no less than active violation of the spirit of the Indian Constitution. It has extended full support to Dr Khan, resounding that through his post thanking the Kuwaiti authorities for action against hatemongers, Khan did not violate any rules and norms, rather he protected the customs and as a cultured personality he expressed his gratitude to the national and international community for responding positively for his appeal. The statement iterated that the United Nation Human Rights Commission and National Human Rights Commission always adopted similar practices as that of the Delhi Minorities chief.

CLMC has strongly opposed the miscreants and ill-minded elements those who want to propagate hate to settle their political aims in Delhi, indicating that the hate speeches made by BJP leaders that triggered the Delhi pogrom require legal action.

Addressing Kejriwal directly, CLMC urgently demanded him to honour the services of Dr Khan as the Chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission and come to the rescue of a brilliant mind like him who is committed to the protection of human rights.
The arrest follows a three-decade search for truth by Steve Johnson, who never believed the original police theory of suicide, a conclusion accepted by the first coroner but ultimately rejected by a third inquest in 2017, which found Scott was thrown, hounded or frightened off the cliff by at least two people motivated by hatred of gays. Steve Johnson said from his home in the US on Tuesday: "I'd like to start by thanking Commissioner Mick Fuller and lead investigator DCI Peter Yeomans for this near-miracle bringing justice today to my brother Scott, who died at the cliffs of North Head in Manly more than 31 years ago. "Especially while grappling with this terrible pandemic, DCI Yeomans and his team managed an heroic feat building this case and apprehending Scott's alleged killer. Scott's family and I deeply appreciate their commitment to finding justice for Scott Johnson. Police undertake a search at North Head near Manly on Tuesday following an arrest. Credit:AAP "Scott would be pleased to see how far the gay community has come toward living openly and freely ... Despite the sometimes fierce institutional resistance to investigating the death of my brother, the Australian people have always welcomed me with open arms and embraced this case.

"Many dozens of people in the US and Australia worked hard for justice for Scott not only for this wonderful human being whose life ended too soon but because Scott died violently as so many other gay men did in the 1980s and 90s in a world full of anti-gay prejudice and hatred. All the men who died need a voice and in some small way I hope Scott has provided it." Commissioner Fuller personally notified Steve Johnson of the arrest. Loading "Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight  Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honour to be part of his fight for justice, the Commissioner said. "While we have a long way to go in the legal process, it must be acknowledged that if it wasn't for the determination of the Johnson family ... we wouldn't be where we are today."

Police wrongly advised the first coroner that the area around the cliff was not a gay beat, a place where homosexual men gathered for sexual liaisons. Had it been a beat, that coroner was told, it would also have attracted people who wanted to harm gays. The third inquest established that it was not only a gay beat but also heard from gay men that it was indeed frequented by gay-bashing gangs. Police undertake a search at North Head near Manly. Credit:AAP Scott Johnson, a mathematics prodigy, was completing his PhD at the Australian National University at the time of his death. On the morning of Saturday, December 10, 1988, his body was found at the base of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, near Manly. A second inquest in June 2012  prompted by Steve Johnson's campaign - returned an open finding.

The campaign also led to an investigation into the deaths of more than 80 gay men in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It established about a third of them were "bias" crimes or suspected bias crimes targeting gay men. In mid-2018, it referred 23 cases to the unsolved homicide squad. Scott Johnson's death was not then among them. At the third inquest, NSW Police advised the then state coroner Michael Barnes to make an open finding again, but Mr Barnes rejected that and found Scott died because he was pushed, hounded or frightened off the cliff. Steve Johnson, the brother of murdered Scott Johnson, speaks during a police media briefing in December 2018. Credit:Jessica Hromas In 2015, Mr Barnes demanded the removal of Detective Chief Inspector Pamela Young from the investigation after an ABC Lateline television interview in which she questioned the priority being given to this case. DCI Young, then of the unsolved homicide team, accused former police minister Mike Gallacher of improperly "kowtowing" to the demands of Steve Johnson. She claimed it was wrong of the then minister to give priority to one case over hundreds of others  an assertion Mr Gallacher denied.

Mr Gallacher, a former police officer, told The Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday: "The Johnson family have never given up seeking justice for their brother Scott. Today's announcement reinforces the need to keep an open mind on cases such as this. Well done to the new team of NSW Police investigators who have pushed this cold case with a fresh set of eyes." Steve Johnson, after a tense relationship with NSW Police for many years, lauded the shift in the investigation under the leadership of Commissioner Fuller. "After state coroner Michael Barnes determined in 2017 that Scott had been killed, overturning the original officers' suicide assessment, Commissioner Fuller pledged to me that he would do

everything possible to solve Scott's homicide," he said on Tuesday. "By doggedly pursuing Scott's case, the NSW Police is telling the gay community  indeed, to everyone in Australia  that times have changed. A recognition that all of us deserve equal protection and justice under the law, and equal standing with each other without prejudice.
This short segmented discussion to preserve the Second Amendment right and safety for government employees can be viewed below in this short video: Below.

Should Beaufort County employees be allowed to Conceal Carry on Beaufort County property that does not otherwise provide security? No, Beaufort County employees should be denied their 2nd Amendment rights in favor greater governmental control. Yes, Beaufort County employees should be allowed to protect themselves, and their workmates at all times. "What, me worry?" 73 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



Beaufort County Commissioners decided by a vote of 3 to 4 to defeat a resolution which would allow Beaufort County Employees to Conceal Carry on most of the campuses, and within the premises of Beaufort County government buildings; excluded from this provision are the Beaufort County government properties of the Beaufort County Court House, the Beaufort County Community College and all the campuses with the Beaufort County Schools system. The vote on this issue, which Commissioner Stan Deatherage explained this initiativeThe losing vote for this 2nd Amendment initiative was Commissioners Hood Richardson (R), Stan Deatherage (R) and John Rebholz (R) voting to support the Second Amendment and greater county government employee safety; with Commissioners Jerry Evans (R), Jerry Langley (D), Frankie Waters (R) and Ed Booth (D) voting against.Commissioner Deatherage argued that by allowing our County Employees to Conceal Carry, which is already their Second Amendment right to do so, would provide the county governmentCommissioner Jerry Langley countered at some point thatCommissioner Jerry Evans appeared to be confused that this initiative was to allow all Beaufort County employees to Conceal Carry, and that it would create a dangerous situation toIf you are interested in our Archive of the Beaufort County Commissioners' General Meetings can be found here in this aforementioned enhanced format.Additionally, if you wish to catch up on some of the most important Beaufort County Commissioners meeting of 2019 through 2022, click here
We are suffering  businesses are drowning, livelihoods are crumbling, and health systems are being stretched beyond their limits. Everyones pain is valid; society is anguished by COVID-19 victims and the shuttered economy. The country must reopen, but failing to hamper the contagion of COVID-19 will result in thousands of additional, preventable deaths. The disease has already killed more Americans than the Vietnam War, and weve only seen its first wave. Rather than protesting for or against reopening, we should all demand a sensible exit strategy to lift us from the throes of the pandemic.

According to Devi Sridhar, professor and Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, there are three possible exit strategies to emerge from economic shutdown:

Immediately reopen the economy and let COVID-19 run its course  in this case, thousands more will die.

Building off of #1 as the health system is engulfed, the state will have no choice but to cycle through shutdown and release. This will have even more devastating effects on overall health and the economy; rampant social unrest will ensue.

Implement vigorous mass testing, contact tracing, and isolating to contain COVID-19. As disease surveillance becomes available, economies can slowly reopen.

To ensure the best possible outcome for Americans, our leadership must prioritize mass testing, contact tracing, and isolating. Mass testing will allow for contact tracing, the identification of people whove had close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. Once located, close contacts will also be tested and, if positive, isolated for 14 days to prevent further infections.

Contact tracing and isolating, also known as the Leicester Method, has a long history of infectious disease mitigation when vaccines arent available; contact tracing and isolating were used to help contain outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, measles, smallpox, and plague. Its also been used to successfully contain COVID-19 in South Korea, New Zealand, Vietnam, and several other countries. The federal government nor the Wolf administration have begun funneling resources into mass testing, contact tracing, and isolating initiatives  which are absolutely critical for returning to some semblance of normalcy.

National and Pennsylvania leadership must follow Massachusetts model: Gov. Charlie Baker has enlisted Partners In Health (PIH), a Boston-based community healthcare nonprofit, to hire, train, and deploy thousands of contact tracers as part of a Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC). They received 9,000 applications in three days, indicating the publics desire to fight COVID-19 through gainful employment. These tracers, paid at $27/hour, are identifying and supporting those that need to be isolated; in their first week, theyve been able to test up to 5,000 people per day and trace over 1,000 close contacts. The Baker administration is also looking to provide isolation units in dormitories and hotels, as well as adequate food delivery and child care thats needed for people to effectively isolate.

If CTCs are funded and implemented, we will see a light at the end of the tunnel. Employing testers, tracers, and other community health, hospitality, transport, food, and childcare workers to carry out disease control will break the cycles of COVID-19 transmission, allowing the economy to gradually reopen  this will also create thousands of jobs for those bereft of work.

These CTC workers must be empowered to control COVID-19 transmission as well as the repercussions of economic shutdown  which has incubated spikes in domestic violence, drug overdoses, and adverse mental health. If we neglect those for whom remaining shut inside is just as dangerous as falling ill from COVID-19, we will disintegrate any lasting trust in democracy. There are thousands of compassionate, eager and unemployed Americans waiting to be hired for these crucial efforts.

If youre fed up with the shutdown or infuriated by a lack of comprehensive government response, call, email, Facebook message, and Tweet The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Health Secretary Rachel Levine, Gov. Tom Wolf, and Lt. Governor John Fetterman to insist on the following four demands:

Create a Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC). Fund community health centers to hire thousands of dislocated Pennsylvanians to conduct mass testing, contact tracing, and isolation support.

Pay CTC workers a census-taker wage (at least $20/hour ).

Employ hotels, drivers, restaurants, and caregivers to ensure constituents can effectively isolate without further financial burden.

Source enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so these new workers can safely provide mass testing, contact tracing, and isolation support.

Through the same channels, contact Sens. Bob Casey, Pat Toomey, and your districts representatives to demand they support the Warren-Levin proposal, which will mobilize the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Labor to build a containment corps that would facilitate a national COVID-19 contact tracing program. Similarly, demand they support the Gillibrand-Bennet proposal, which will allocate $55 billion per year to employ hundreds of thousands of people who would help carry out testing, contact tracing, and eventually vaccinating to fight the coronavirus.

If the past few months have taught us anything, its that a solution to the COVID-19 shutdown and health emergency will not miraculously appear. We, the people, must demand one.

Fiona Mortell holds a Master of Science in Public Health degree and lives in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
This article was originally published by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletter, or follow The Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter.

Prison food is notoriously bad, even in the best of times. This isnt the best of times, especially in the 40-plus Texas prisons where people are locked in their cells all the time because of coronavirus.

Their food now arrives at odd hours in paper bags, cold, mushy and without a hint of green (except perhaps for some iffy-looking hot dogs). Mostly its stale white bread and mystery meat, with the occasional helping of raisins or prunes.

This is what people inside have been telling The Marshall Project since the first of the lockdowns began in early April. To prove their points, they started sending out photos.

An official manual outlines the recommended calories for wholesome and nutritious meals, and includes a narrow assortment of suggested items that mostly sound palatable. But in our pictures, the sloppy joes look like the peanut butter sandwiches, except for the corn kernels. The hot dogs are wrapped in smushed white bread, the milk comes in powdered form and any semblance of a fresh fruit or vegetable is utterly absent.

But even though it doesnt look like food you or your dog would want to eat, prisoners and their families say theyre not getting enough of it. In the middle of a pandemic, they say they are going to bed hungry.

The conditions are so bad in here, it seems third world, one man wrote to his fiancee. The nutrition is far from adequate especially for COVID-positive inmates. You would think we would at least be given vegetables and hearty protein, something with a vitamin content.

A prison spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. But in the past he has denied allegations that prisoners have received insufficient food.

The quality of the prison food in Texas took a nosedive in 2011 when officials tried to make up a budget shortage by chopping $2.8 million out of the allotment for meals. One document described the planned changes: replacing hot dog and hamburger buns with white bread, switching out liquid milk for milk powder, and feeding inmates only twice per day on the weekends at certain facilities.

At the time, prisoners noticed, and cobbled together a petition to send to the American Civil Liberties Union.

But it didnt do any good.

Not only did the regular food get markedly worse, but so did the lockdown meals. Every time a Texas prison locks downwhether its for a weeks-long contraband search, an unexpected disturbance or a mass quarantinethe mess halls close. Bagged lunches known as johnny sacks replace regular cafeteria meals.

Now, every time someone inside tests positive for coronavirus, the entire prison goes on lockdown for at least two weeks and everyone gets johnnies. And for weeks, inmates have been complaining that theyve been banned from buying food from the commissary because prison brass are treating the lockdowns like a punishment. (Earlier this month, the prison spokesman said officials are trying to operate the commissaries as normally as possible.)

The upshot of all that is that by early May, thousands of incarcerated people had not seen the sunlight or eaten a warm meal in weeks. Many said theyd only had sporadic access to phones, mail and showers.

In theory, the johnnies include a breakfast which is typically boiled eggs, dry cereal and raisins, while lunch and dinner are typically two sandwiches eachsome combination of a chicken or beef patty, mystery meat or peanut butter which prisoners report is sometimes watered down with cooking oil. It sounds like a reasonable (if unbalanced) amount of foodbut it doesnt really look like it in photos.

The johnny sacks are very bad, Theodore Cigo Crews wrote in a letter to his daughter that she shared with The Marshall Project. Once, he said, We only got a foam cup of BBQ chopped beef. Thats all.

We will not die by COVID19 but we die by hunger!! TRUTH!

After looking at the pictures (which did not come from Crews or anyone at his unit), a former prison official confirmed they appeared to be Texas prison johnny sacks.

Theyve always been subpar, the ex-official said. Theyre shitty. Although each prison is required to set aside a sample of each meal for three days in case there are later questions about the quality of the food, the official said, those samples arent always representative.

Prisoners on locked-down units say their weird food has been arriving at weird times: one prisoner told his mother hed received breakfasttwo boiled eggs and a peanut butter sandwichat 3 a.m.. His next packet of sandwiches didnt arrive until 4 p.m.

Weeks after the lockdowns began, prison officials told family advocacy organizations they would begin offering occasional treats from the commissary. One prisoner reported his treat had arrived: a single peppermint stick.
Dear Annie: I know that these are trying and difficult times. For most of us, we have not seen hardship like this in our lifetimes.

My husband is an essential worker, and we worry daily that he could get this illness, as he and our youngest have asthma and any upper respiratory illness is dangerous for them.

This past weekend, my husband and I got up early to go to the store. Many news stories urge people to shop for just what they need for two weeks of groceries to minimize their time in public. We decided this was the best course of action for our family to reduce our chances of exposure.

Annie, we have a family of six, plus pets. I made a careful list and menu, and we made sure to purchase only what we needed, and any items that asked that customers only purchase one of, we did. When shopping for two weeks, where five or six people are home for three meals a day, yes, our basket was on the full side, but we were NOT hoarding. It might have looked that way because we had a couple of large items, such as pet food and toilet paper, which made our basket look a lot more full than it was.

I was honestly concerned for our safety because people were giving us hostile looks, muttering about hoarders and getting out their phones to take pictures. Our cashier was extremely surly to us and made us feel awful.

I urge everyone to please, take a step back, treat others with compassion and stop judging. Maybe people with full baskets are shopping for two weeks, or maybe they are shopping for more than one household because they have an at-risk family in another house. Whatever you do, please don't make them feel unsafe, don't take pictures or videos, don't glare at them and don't try to shame them. The only way we can get through this is with kindness.

Thank you for being a sane voice in this world, Annie, and please, continue to thank those first responders and essential workers, everyone! -- Feeling Judged in Texas

Dear Feeling Judged in Texas: Let's start by thanking your husband for being on the front lines. I am sorry that you had to encounter that type of judgment from people at the grocery. No one should take another person's picture in a public store to shame them when they don't know what is happening on the other side. You could have been buying supplies for a food bank.

It sounds like you took all the proper steps by writing a list, planning your meals and following the store's guidelines. As long as you know in your heart that what you were doing was right, try not to worry about what other people think. When you place your head on your pillow at night, you know that you are not hoarding and you're supporting your family. The people who tried to shame you won't have that same peace.

One practical solution to avoid this unnecessary headache could be for you and your husband to use separate shopping carts while you are in the store together. He could put all the large items in his, and you could put the food in yours.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM
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A worker scans a passengers cell-phone app generated health code as well as screens his body temperature before the passenger can take a taxi at Hankou railway station in Wuhan, China on May 12, 2020. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Wuhan Orders Testing of All City Residents to Contain Viruss Spread

The central Chinese city of Wuhan is requiring nucleic acid tests for the CCP virus for all residents, totaling more than 10 million. Authorities plan to complete testing within 10 days.

Due to the timing of Chinas upcoming Lianghui political meeting on May 21, some analysts believe authorities want to conduct widespread testing in order to avoid any infected officials from traveling to Beijing for the conference.

Since early April, second wave outbreaks have been reported in northeastern provinces, southern Guangdong province, and Wuhan, where the virus first broke out.

Testing

The Wuhan government urgently notified all districts in the city to perform a so-called ten-day battle, according to an internal document dated May 11 that was leaked online. City authorities instructed that all residentslong-term and temporarymust take a nucleic acid test. Testing must be completed by May 22.

The city asked each district government to report their testing plans before noon on May 12.

Residents line up at Sanmin Residential Compound, like for receiving a nucleic acid testing, after six residents were diagnosed with CCP virus there in Wuhan, China on May 12. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese state-run media The Paper quoted a Wuhan district government official saying that he arranged for testing overnight on May 11.

Some Wuhan residents from the Gexin neighborhood, located in Dongxihu district, posted online notices they received from local authorities, which said: The tests must not leave out anyone. All people must be covered.

For residents who already took the test within the past seven days, the notice instructed them to register with their previous test results.

Wang Chen, a respiratory specialist and vice president of the state-run Chinese Academy of Engineering said during an April 28 national meeting about virus response: The results of the nucleic acid test is more important than a passport. It is important evidence to allow people to move between cities.

U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan noted that given Wuhans large population, the city alone likely does not have the capacity to test all samples.

Tang predicted that samples will have to be shipped to other cities for testingmeaning the decision to test all Wuhan residents requires national coordination, and thus, central government approval.

I think the Beijing regime has two purposes [for this decision]. One is to keep track of Wuhan residents who go to Beijing, Tang said.

Currently, Wuhan residents are not allowed to travel to another city without taking a nucleic acid test. As testing is to be completed within the next ten days, residents cannot readily leave the city in the meantime.

The second purpose is to find out all the infections. Although the regime only announced a cluster outbreak at one residential compound, locals have reported several other outbreaks. I believe that authorities want to take this chance to find all asymptomatic carriers, Tang added.

Outbreak In Wuhan

After Wuhan lifted lockdown measures on April 8, the city government did not announce any new cases for weeks, encouraging people to return to work as soon as possible.

On May 6, the government reopened high schools, technical schools, and vocational schools for senior students, promoting the reopening as a sign that the outbreak was under control.

However, on May 10, authorities announced that an 89-year-old man was diagnosed with the virus on May 9. A day later, authorities announced five more patients, who live at the same residential compound as the elderly man. The government locked down the compound, sent hundreds of other residents to quarantine centers, and arranged all 4,900-plus residents to take nucleic acid tests.

On May 12, Hubei Province, where Wuhan is capital, announced 11 new asymptomatic carriers. without indicating where they were diagnosed.

On the same day, the island province of Hainan announced one imported asymptomatic carrier, who traveled to the island from Wuhan by plane on May 10, which suggested that he was infected with the virus in Wuhan.

Chongqing city in southwestern China also announced two imported asymptomatic carriers on May 12, who traveled from Hubei.

These official announcements indicate that the virus is still spreading in Wuhan and other Hubei cities.

On May 11, Wuhan locals posted a video on social media platforms, showing several security guards in front of a local supermarket on Jinghan avenue.

According to the posts, the supermarket was locked down after a staff inside was diagnosed as an asymptomatic carrier.

On the same day, the local branch of Chinese panel display manufacturer China Star Optoelectronics Technology opened its doors to recruit workers.

As hundreds of people lined up to inquire about the jobs, the company suddenly announced that recruitment was canceled, without providing a reason. Wuhan netizens said they believed it was due to fears of the virus spreading.
RIO DE JANEIRO - Flipping through the news several weeks ago, Carlos de Lima Belucio grew alarmed. People were panicking over a strange new disease. Other countries were locking down. Then it hit him: There was only one way to save the country. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had to stage a military takeover.

Ignoring warnings to stay inside, Belucio began joining demonstrations urging Brazil's armed forces to remove the institutions that impede Bolsonaro's rule. Using violence, if need be. The country, he said, must stay open.

"The pandemic is just a smokescreen," said Belucio, 43, who lives in the northern city of Belem. "With a military regime, it would all be better."

As Latin America's largest nation grapples with its gravest health and economic challenges in a generation, and Bolsonaro flounders under the pressure, the specter of the armed forces is looming larger over public life than at any time since the fall of the military dictatorship in 1985.

As scandals have engulfed his presidency, the right-wing populist, a and former Army captain, has broadened the portfolios of the generals and former generals in his administration, allowing one to introduce a large economic aid package, undercutting his own finance minister. His most radical supporters are urging a military takeover of the government - and Bolsonaro has attended their rallies, amplifying their calls.

"We are not going to tolerate interference - our patience has ended," he told a crowd in Brasilia calling this month for the removal of congressional leader Rodrigo Maia. "We have the people on our side, and we have the Armed Forces on the side of the people."

The threat of military force in domestic affairs - no matter how unlikely - has further unsettled the unpredictable political situation in this nation of 210 million. More than 11,000 people have died of a disease the president has dismissed as a little flu. The economy is collapsing. Many hospitals have reached capacity. The jobless poor are worried about going hungry.

As allies abandon Bolsonaro and calls for his removal gain momentum, the political lines are being drawn. Critics are calling Bolsonaro a mortal threat to democracy. Supporters counter that Bolsonaro is, in fact, the only man who can save Brazil - from a corrupt ruling class, from officials imposing restrictions on movement and commerce, from checks and balances that have blocked the mandate Bolsonaro won with 55 percent of the vote in 2018.

In Bolsonaro's recent moves, analysts perceive a reckless gambit for political survival. His approval ratings are cratering. Two powerful and popular officials, with the crucial portfolios of health and justice, have left his Cabinet. The supreme court has authorized an investigation into allegations made by one of them, former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, that Bolsonaro improperly tried to influence the federal police to potentially protect political allies, including his sons.

Now more than ever, the thinking goes, he needs the military - not only for its resilient popularity, but also to scare off impeachment calls.

"His latest actions look to me like someone who has so isolated himself that, desperately, he's trying to turn people and the armed forces against other institutions," said David Magalhaes, political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. "I don't know what could happen from here."

Bolsonaro, whose signature campaign gesture was to point his finger to mime a handgun, has at several points since his inauguration last year hinted at deploying military force to maintain order. While protests roiled much of South America last year, he asked Congress for authority to use troops to stop any violence that might occur. His son and his finance minister took the rhetoric even further, musing it might be necessary to dissolve congress and shut down the press if, as Eduardo Bolsonaro said, "the left radicalizes."

Analysts and former military officials say it's unlikely Bolsonaro will marshal a military takeover of the country. Such a move would be opposed by the people, the Brazilian elite and the military itself.

"The Navy, Army and Air Force are state bodies that believe that independence and harmony between government branches is essential to govern the country," Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva said in a statement after the Brasilia rally. "The Armed Forces will always be on the side of law, order, democracy and liberty."

But the fact that discussion of such an intervention has even entered the public debate indicates the enduring appeal of the military in a country that has never fully reckoned with what occurred during its 21-year rule.

From 1964 to 1985, the U.S.-supported government sharply curtailed political and press freedoms, institutionalizing censorship and torture. A truth commission in 2014 found that opponents were shocked with electric prods, had insects introduced into their bodies and were even crucified. More than 430 people were killed or disappeared.

Unlike Latin American countries that aggressively pursued, prosecuted and jailed former military leaders for their roles in dictatorship crimes, Brazil hasn't fully held to account the perpetrators of political violence.

Brazilians disagree bitterly over what transpired during that time, down to the semantics. To historians and human rights investigators, it was a military dictatorship. But to apologists, it was the "military regime" - a time they say when the problems of today's Brazil were far less prevalent. Crime was far less pervasive, their argument goes. So was corruption. Communism was held at bay.

One of the most vociferous defenders of the dictatorship has been Bolsonaro. As a young man, he served 15 years in the Army. As an older man in Congress, he talked endlessly about the military. He defended the dictatorship. He said its actions, if anything, weren't extreme enough. His rantings relegated him to the fringes of political life.

"He always says, 'we people, of the military,' but for a lot of time, that wasn't so," said Joao Roberto Martins Filho, one of Brazil's most respected military analysts. "He plays up a reverence for the military, but the reality is that he uses the armed forces."

In recent years, as the country has been through one political convulsion after another,nostalgia for the military regime - and calls for a military intervention - has steadily grown. Soaring gang violence,corruption scandals ensnaring a succession of presidents, the impeachment of one and the imprisonment of another: All of it contributed to the feeling that Brazil had lost control. A strong, even authoritarian, hand was needed to right things.

Bolsonaro tapped into that political current, riding it from the fringes to the presidency. The military, which once considered him an eccentric who didn't represent its ranks, quickly fell in behind his bid.

"The root of this problem now was the moment that military legitimized the candidacy of Bolsonaro," Filho said. "But why did the armed forces, and particularly the military, accept this? They did because they saw in him their only possible chance for the right to claim victory. The military is conservative and has always been hurt that it was removed from politics."

But how Bolsonaro has suddenly thrust it back into politics - in the middle of a pandemic, as extremists call for a takeover - isn't what many in its ranks wanted, analysts and former commanders said.

Roberto Sebastiao Peternelli Junior, a former general who's now a congressman, said there was no legal basis for either the removal of Bolsonaro or a military takeover. Nearly everyone in the Armed Forces, he said, agreed with him.

"All of us in the reserve, we were schooled in the same principles of ethics and morals," he said. "I can't see the military acting in any other way."
In continuing with my Triple Crown memories, I am reprinting one of my favorite columns written after California Chrome's Kentucky Derby, as I feel it sums up the Cinderella story behind the horse as well as the dreams of all those who own horses.

The 2014 Kentucky Derby was about dreams and fate, an improbable hero from humble parentage, memories of Derbys long ago, and a favorite owned and trained by underdogs. In short, it was about life and its quirky twists and turns that lead us to places envisioned only in dreams and guided only by fate.

Thoroughbred racing was once dubbed The Sport of Kings. Well, there are no more kings and we are trying desperately to convince the world we are still a sport. There are only mere fragments left of past dynasties, as we witnessed in last year's Derby. For the most part, the nobility that was once racing has morphed into a sport dominated by "dumb ass partners." Working stiffs Steve Coburn and Perry Martin are the first to admit it by branding themselves as such.

The California breeding industry has for years been considered by the elitists as the other side of the tracks, where obscurely bred horses grow up, race, and die in relative anonymity. A colt by a $2,500 stallion, out of an $8,000 claiming mare, owned by a couple of burly guys from Topaz Lake, Nevada, and Yuba City, Calif., who actually get up at the crack of dawn and go to work, fits right into the landscape that is California breeding.

So, what happens when these two good ol boys with their humble 3-year-old are offered $6 million for majority interest in their colt? They say "No?" Are you kidding? Then they are offered close to double that several weeks later and this time they say, "Hell, no?"

That escalates the pursuit of a dream to a new "dumb ass" level.

But there are those rare occasions in life when money becomes secondary, as insane as it may seem to others and even to ourselves as we make decisions that defy all rationality. We who love this sport and the beautiful creatures that inhabit it realize that horses are embedded in our soul from childhood, whether through equine heroes such as The Black Stallion, Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, and even TV stars Trigger, Silver, and Mister Ed.

We as kids hop aboard our rocking horse and continue to build up speed until we feel as if we are airborne. We no longer are sitting atop a piece of wood, but atop Secretariat or Seattle Slew. Imagine at that point if someone approached you and asked what you would pay to have that rocking horse come alive and be transformed into Big Red or Slew. And you owned him.

Coburn and Martin started off with a cheap rocking horse and saw it come to life, just as Coburn had envisioned in his dream, describing the unborn foal to his wife right down to his color, white blaze, and four white ankles. When they went to see the newborn foal, Coburn's wife walked over to the stall, took a look inside, and told her husband to come take a look. "There's your dream," she said.

It hadn't been an easy birth for his dam Love the Chase. The mare had lacerated the wall of her uterus and could not be re-bred that year. She was bright and active and outwardly unaffected by the ordeal, but she and her foal had to remain confined to the stall for an extended period of time while the mare was treated and recovering. As a result, the foal wasn't able to be out with the others to socialize and run around, so he became more focused on people than he was on horses and developed an amiable personality. He never lost that and was always a pleasure to be around and work with.

Martin and Coburn's golden steed, who they named California Chrome, began to get faster and faster, and Coburn and Martin found themselves back on that rocking horse, feeling that speed and that rush of adrenaline. It built to such a frantic pace they could no longer see dollar signs, only the Twin Spires beckoning in the distance, and even that elusive Triple Crown trophy that has become tarnished by years of sitting in storage. Coburn felt California Chrome was invincible, truly believing his deceased sister was the colt's guardian angel, guiding him every step of his journey.

With each race, their rocking horse kept building up speed. Even those who have never had a rocking horse surely have ridden a flashy, blazed face horse on a carousel, its eyes with that wild look to them and mouth wide open. With all the horses to choose from, when you hopped aboard yours, didn't you feel as if it were your horse, chosen just for you?

Coburn must have felt that at some point in his childhood, and he was able to relate to it now, as he talked about how special it was to see that brass ring on the merry-go-round turn to gold and Art Sherman reaching out and grabbing it.

He concluded by saying with the utmost gratitude, "God bless you, Art, for doing what you've done with this horse."

Sometimes, even dreams need a little outside help, and Sherman was living his own dream, returning to Churchill Downs nearly 60 years after accompanying the great Swaps by train to capture the roses. Whether feeling that rush as an 18-year-old exercise rider or as the oldest trainer at age 77 to win the Derby, you never lose that child in you when it comes to horses. You always reach out for that brass ring, because at the other end could be a Swaps or a California Chrome. And that is why Sherman, after arriving in Kentucky, went to visit the grave of his beloved Swaps located behind the Kentucky Derby Museum and said a little prayer. What he prayed for was that California Chrome could become another Swaps. A few days later on the first Saturday in May, Sherman found his Swaps.

And what is more important than sharing dreams with those you love. Perry Martin stood by the rail following the Kentucky Derby waiting for his 83-year-old mother, Catherine, and then helped her into a wheel chair. He walked behind her as she was wheeled across the track to the winner's circle, trying hard to fight back the tears that were welling up. His brother had driven her to Kentucky from Michigan. He tried to speak but nothing would come out. All he could do was shake his head and say with a quavering voice, "I have to go after my mom."

Many frowned upon California Chrome's humble lineage. But Coburn, especially, could see that it was not about names and race records. The blood of the Thoroughbred is infused with speed and stamina and courage, and a wild spirit not seen in any other breed. That blood goes back a number of generations, and on rare occasions, as is the case with California Chrome, it all flows into one special place, like tributaries into a mighty river. A closer look actually shows the blood of classic champions in America and Europe coursing through his veins.

A lot has been made of California Chrome's slow time and closing fractions. Time is perhaps the most relative aspect of racing, because it is based on so many variables, such as the headwind in this year's Derby. Time also has a way of fading into some deep corridor of our mind as a horse goes on to further accomplishments. Alysheba and his crop were considered slow and inferior after a 2:03 2/5 clocking in the Derby (only a fifth faster than California Chrome) and a final half in :51 2/5 (same as California Chrome). That is now considered one of the great 3-year-old crops of all time and you can learn more about Alysheba on his plaque in the Hall of Fame. Also up on that wall is Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, who came home his last half in the Derby in :51 3/5. Spectacular Bid, who holds the world record for 1 1/4 miles, ran his Derby in 2:02 4/5, with a final half in :50. Canonero II ran his Derby in 2:03 1/5 and everyone was convinced he was nothing more than a slow plodder. Two weeks later he ran the fastest Preakness in history.

The time of one race is not a true indicator of a horse's ability. A horse is often measured by what is inside him. We have the ability to scan a horse's heart to get an idea how it might assist performance in a physiological way and we can attempt to discover qualities about a horse such as lung capacity. But when dealing with an animal that has taken on mythical qualities over the centuries and has bonded with humans in an almost spiritual manner, one can easily resist scientific explanation and just believe that once in great while a horse like California Chrome can come along from seemingly humble beginnings to become the ragamuffin who would be king.

No one has placed any crowns on California Chrome's head just yet, and it is still too early to know whether he will be sitting atop the throne. But for now, he has entered a place where few before him have ventured-into our imagination. The storybook is already being written. No one knows what the upcoming chapters will bring, but even now it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Romantics and poets have a way of creating their own endings and making people feel and envision the beauty they are trying to portray with their words.

And is there any poetry more soothing to the soul than the image of a Thoroughbred in action, whether it be made of flesh and bone or a piece of wood? Coburn and Martin may look like two hulking cowboys who rolled the dice on a dream, but in reality they are just like us, or at least who we used to be-kids on a rocking horse going faster and faster and enjoying the ride of their lives.
In a major administrative reshuffle, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday removed health secretary Bhadrani Jayawardena with immediate effect and appointed a military administrator with a background in medicine in her place.

The reason for Jayawardena's removal is not known.

Her removal came amid easing of the nearly two-month coronavirus lockdown in the island nation.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe has replaced Jayawardena, who has been transferred to the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Affairs in the same capacity, officials said.

Before assuming his current position, Munasinghe was serving as the Director-General of the Army Medical Services. He is also a former Colonel Commandant of the Army Medical Corp.

Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa ordered easing of the lockdown, which was in force since March 20 to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The deadly virus has claimed nine lives and infected 863 people in the nation.

A 24-hour curfew was lifted on the island, except for Colombo district.

The state and private sector offices were asked to follow strict health guidelines under quarantine ordinance.

Public transport operation was less than normal on Monday.
Boosting your mood and improving your happiness can be as simple as putting on a colorful garment.

When it comes to happy fashions, there's nothing more uplifting than the exuberant, joyful patterns and colorful prints of French designer Christian Lacroix and Barcelona-based brand Desigual.

Just in time for post quarantine adventures, the two collaborated on a cheerful summer collection.

When it comes to happy fashions, there's nothing more uplifting than the exuberant, joyful patterns and colorful prints of Parisian designer Christian Lacroix and Barcelona-based brand Desigual

Desigual has launched its newest collaboration with Monsieur Christian Lacroix for the ss20 season.

The latest collaboration between Christian Lacroix and Desigual transforms Lacroixs art and inner world into pieces made for a fresh, creative tropical summer

His prints are an ode to wild nature filled with life. Femininity is at the core of each piece that is filled with color that transports us to a Bali paradise

Desigual has launched its newest collaboration with Monsieur Christian Lacroix for the ss20 season.

This collection marks nine years that Desigual and Christina Lacroix have been collaborating together.

The latest collaboration between Christian Lacroix and Desigual transforms Lacroixs art and inner world into pieces made for a fresh, creative tropical summer.

His prints are an ode to wild nature filled with life. Femininity is at the core of each piece that is filled with color that transports us to a Bali paradise.

'Desigual invited me to come to Barcelona and I fell in love. It was love at first sight,' said Christian Lacroix.

'We have so much in common, the mixing and matching of patterns, prints, colors We dont try to start trends, were not here to create the it bag, we stay in touch with the streets.'

Christian believes designers will incorporate colors and prints into their collections but interpreted for their audience.

'Maybe for them it's more polished, streamlined and graphic, whereas for me its closer to pictograms, kitsch, overloading and saturation.

'Baudelaire once said, "The beautiful is always strange," and it is this difference which gives Desigual its appeal and attracts attention'

'Maybe for them it's more polished, streamlined and graphic, whereas for me its closer to pictograms, kitsch, overloading and saturation'

'But it is precisely these different facets which justify the companys name: Desigual. It is something different, unique, almost unbalanced.

'Baudelaire once said, "The beautiful is always strange," and it is this difference which gives Desigual its appeal and attracts attention.

'If you try to impress everybody, ultimately nobody will like you, because youll lose your soul and your energy.

'You must take a stance, make key decisions, stick by them and dare to implement them. You need to know how to protect the precious treasure that is at the heart of the brand and has shaped its image and success.

'As the saying goes, "You have to give the people what they dont yet know they want." And, to me, thats what Desigual truly means.'

The range consists of accessories, tops, pants and dresses that retail from $79.95 - $179.95.

Christian Lacroix also teamed up with activewear brand Ultracor.

The spring/summer 2020 collection marks the third time the label has teamed up with the French designer.

The colorful collection is exactly what you need to get excited about at-home workouts or walks around the block.

Christians hypnotizing and colorful designs paired with Ultracors high tech fabrics create a collection that is sure to be a must have for athletes and fashionistas alike.
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Linkedin Nina Larson (Agence France-Presse) Geneva, Switzerland  Tue, May 12, 2020 10:30 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7661f6 2 World WHO,coronavirus,virus-corona,COVID-19,novel-coronavirus,COVID-19-lockdown,infection,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2 Free

The World Health Organization on Monday hailed dwindling COVID-19 infection rates and deaths in some countries, but called on nations to show "extreme vigilance" as they begin loosening their restrictions.

Swathes of Europe began the long process of reopening from coronavirus lockdowns on Monday, with officials in countries like France and Spain emboldened by declining death rates.

"The good news is that there has been a great deal of success in slowing the virus and ultimately saving lives," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.

WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan meanwhile hailed the gradual lifting of the lockdowns as a sign of "hope".

But he cautioned that "extreme vigilance is required."

More than 280,000 people have died out of the more than four million known COVID-19 infections worldwide.

And while the drastic measures implemented by many countries have allowed them to get a tentative handle on the virus, there are widespread fears that there could be fresh waves of intense transmission.

Ryan urged countries to boost their public health responses, ensuring they can identify fresh cases, and trace and isolate all contacts, which he said could help "avoid a major second wave".

But he warned that while "many countries have made very systematic investments in building up their public health capacities during the lockdowns, others have not."

No 'herd immunity'

"If disease persists in countries at a low level without the capacity to investigate clusters, identify clusters, there is always the risk that the disease will take off again," he said.

Without naming names, Ryan decried that some countries were choosing to "drive through this blind" by not dramatically ramping up their capacity to test and trace cases while they have the chance.

The WHO warned against the notion in some countries that even if they do not take the measures needed to halt the spread of the virus, their populations will quickly build so-called "herd immunity".

"Early serological studies reflect that a relatively low percentage of the population has antibodies to COVID-19," Tedros said, pointing out that this means "most of the population is still susceptible to the virus".

More than 90 so-called serological studies, which reveal the presence of antibodies in the blood to determine whether a person has had a past infection, were being conducted in several countries.

The WHO's COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said that while the UN agency has not yet been able to critically evaluate the studies, initial data released showed that between one and 10 percent of people had antibodies.

"There seems to be a consistent pattern so far that a low proportion of people have these antibodies," she said.

Ryan agreed, saying the early results belied the widely-held assumption that most cases of the virus were mild and going undetected.

Preliminary results were "showing the opposite... that the proportion of people with significant clinical illness is actually a higher proportion" than previously thought, he said, stressing that "this is a serious disease".

"This idea that maybe countries that have lax measures... will all of a sudden magically reach some herd immunity, and so what if we lose a few old people along the way... is a really dangerous, dangerous calculation," he said.
SAGINAW, MI  A man who says his job with the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw was impacted after he reported a sex-abuse complaint against a priest has filed a lawsuit against the diocese.

In the suit, Gabriel Villarreal alleges he was retaliated against by the diocese and its agents for reporting a relative had been assaulted by the Rev. Robert J. DeLand. A jury acquitted DeLand of charges related to the relative, but DeLand was convicted of sexual assaulting a different person in a separate case.

Villarreal is a maintenance worker for the diocese.

Detroit attorney Jonathan R. Marko in March filed the suit in Saginaw County Circuit Court on behalf of Villarreal. The suit is seeking at least $25,000, plus interest, attorney fees, and exemplary damages.

Contacted by MLive-The Saginaw News, the diocese declined to comment, apart from saying it had not yet been served the complaint and would not comment on matters of litigation.

Villarreals relative testified in DeLands March 2019 trial that the priest called him into a coatroom and when they shook hands it was very low near the persons groin. Villarreal later addressed the matter with a diocesan nun. He and the relative spoke to police about the incident after news broke in February 2018 that DeLand had been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting another person.

DeLand was later charged with attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct relating to the handshaking allegation. DeLand in September 2018 pleaded no contest to the charge and six others related to the assaults of two other males, though he later withdrew those pleas and faced trial. A jury acquitted him on the charge relating to the handshake.

With two more trials scheduled, DeLand then pleaded no contest to single counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between two males, and manufacturing or distributing an imitation controlled substance. That case involved a different person.

The lawsuit states that Villarreal had been a model diocese employee before he went to the authorities about DeLands conduct in February 2018.

As a result of his complaints of protected civil rights activities, the sexual harassment, and attempted abuse of his (relative), the Defendants retaliated against Mr. Villarreal and began to harass him, the suit states.

The diocese also cut Villarreals work hours, his pension benefits, his medical benefits, and his paid time-off, and took away his job responsibilities, the suit alleges. Villarreal remains employed by the diocese, Marko told MLive-The Saginaw News.

Robert J. DeLand Jr.'s prison mug shot

The suit levels three counts against the diocese  two counts of violating the Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act and one count of public policy violations. Regarding the former, one count specifies Villarreal was subjected to a hostile work environment and the other states he was the victim of retaliation.

The lawsuits next court date is pending.

Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson in April 2019 sentenced DeLand to two to 15 years in prison. DeLand, now 73, is currently incarcerated at Marquette Branch Prison in the Upper Peninsula. His earliest possible release date is April 23, 2021, and his maximum is April 23, 2034.

Villarreals lawsuit is the second pending against the Saginaw diocese in light of DeLands actions. In September 2018, attorney Todd J. Weglarz filed a suit in Saginaw County Circuit Court named the diocese, DeLand, and former Bishop Joseph Cistone as defendants.

Weglarz filed his suit on behalf a juvenile and an adult representative, alleging DeLand at his condo in February 2018 had inappropriately touched a teen boy by groping and fondling his crotch and buttocks, feet and toes. The boy fled the condo and police arrested DeLand the same night.

That suit is scheduled for a case evaluation before Circuit Judge Andre R. Borrello on July 23.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, headquartered at 5800 Weiss St., covers 11 counties in eastern mid-Michigan: Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac, and Tuscola.

In the aftermath of DeLands arrest, the diocese named 22 clergy as having been credibly accused of sexual misconduct going back decades. Many of those are now deceased.

Related:

Suspended Catholic priest gets two years for sexual assault of teen

Catholic priest pleads no contest to sex assault charge, avoids second trial

Jury acquits Catholic priest Robert DeLand of sexually assaulting 2 teens

Teens testify Catholic priest sexually assaulted them

Lawsuit against Father Bob, Saginaw Diocese moved to state court

Saginaw Catholic diocese stonewalled investigators in alleged sex abuse case, prosecutors say

Priest is 22nd in Saginaw Diocese credibly accused of sexual misconduct
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
[May 12, 2020] Ereztech Expands U.S. Footprint; Opens Precursor R&D Lab and Adds Domestic Manufacturing Capability

ATLANTA, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ereztech, a leading provider of complete metal-organic solutions to the semiconductor industry, today announced the opening of its new research and development (R&D) lab in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. The facility will augment the companys existing Europe-based manufacturing operations by serving as a second source of products for U.S.-based semiconductor materials suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Additionally, it will allow Ereztech to extend its core expertise of synthesis and analysis of air-sensitive metal-organic precursors to additional metal alkyls and hydrides, including pyrophorics, as well as an expanded palladium, platinum and other noble metal offerings.

This expansion brings our advanced and cost-efficient development capability close to our U.S.-based customers, allowing for not only a broader product selection, but accelerated compound development and >50% reduction in response times, said Roman Rytov, CEO of Ereztech. This new facility allows us to foster partnerships and intensify cooperation with our U.S.-based customers to deliver solutions rapidly. Dr. Robert Todd, a well-known industry veteran, will lead the new operation. He brings more than 25 years of experience in formulation development and production to the company. At Sigma-Aldrich and ProChem International LLC, Dr. Todd led teams pursuing the synthesis of air-sensitive reagents and homogenous catalyst development for the fine chemicals, pharmaceutical and industrial markets. His expertise, combined with Ereztechs semiconductor know-how, will allow the company to better serve our customers with a broadened application expertise to address not only leading-edge semiconductor applications but the broader advanced materials and catalysis opportunities. Myprimary focus is on the development of novel homogeneous catalysts, building blocks and reagents that enable energy-efficient and economically sustainable chemical transformations of various compounds, said Dr. Todd. I look forward to helping our U.S.-based customers achieve next-generation geometries with their MOCVD and ALD processes leveraging novel materials.



As semiconductor device geometries continue to shrink, manufacturers are looking for new precursor materials to achieve finer features during deposition processes such as MOCVD and ALD. For almost 10 years, Ereztech has partnered with leading tier-one materials suppliers, OEMs and fabs and foundries on new molecule development and introduction. The company has more than 50 chemists who have developed more than 500 methods of synthesis using reliable and scalable processes to create a product portfolio of more than 800 high-purity compounds. Ereztechs 25 Grams program for rapid new molecule introduction exemplifies its approach to working with customers and helps set the company apart from other chemical solutions providers. Leveraging its extensive expertise in metal-organic molecules, Ereztech works in close collaboration with customers to perform custom synthesis in multiple trial runs of 25 grams each. Once a 25-gram trial passes customer testing, it is put into production of quantities from 40-100 kilograms.

About Ereztech

Ereztech is a leading provider of world-class organometallic precursor R&D and manufacturing. The company's proprietary Bridge Forward approach featuring its 25 Gram program allows for rapid metal-organic molecule development, from feasibility analyses for synthesizing complex molecules to high volume production scale-up. Ereztechs offerings include a wide range of organometallics, metals, air-sensitive materials, rare-earth derivatives, ligands and other building blocks used in deposition precursors during the production of electronics, photovoltaics, and fine and specialty chemicals. Learn more at Ereztech.com . The Ereztech logo, Bridge Forward and 25 Gram are trademarks of Ereztech, Inc. All rights reserved. Company Contact

Steve McGuigan

[email protected]

Media Contact

Eric Lawson

+1 480 276 9572

[email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bccc91fe-99d3-434c-8446-72f8ec21f01a

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China has suspended imports from four large red meat abattoirs, fuelling concern of a campaign by Beijing against Australian producers in response to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's push for an independent coronavirus inquiry.

The meat export freeze follows China's threats to impose severe anti-dumping tariffs on Australian barley exports, worth $600 million due to drought last year.

China has suspended imports from four Australian beef processors. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Political tensions between Australia and China have ratcheted up sharply since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, culminating in a warning last month from China's ambassador, Cheng Jingye, that Chinese consumers could choose to boycott Australian products such as beef and wine out of a patriotic sense of duty. Australia will push for a global independent probe into the origins of COVID-19 at the World Health Assembly this week.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud on Tuesday said the government was notified late on Monday that four Australian meat establishments  two Queensland abattoirs owned by Australia's largest meat processor, JBS, as well as Kilcoy Pastoral Company near Brisbane and Northern Co-operative Meat Company at Casino, NSW  had been suspended over labelling and health certificate requirements.
Prince Charles has bounced back after an early coronavirus diagnosis and appears to be embracing lockdown at Birkhall Cottage like a seasoned influencer.

The heir to the throne has shared glimpses of life in Scotland with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during the pandemic, including video calls from his office (iPad balanced on a stack of books), chats with the postman, their dogs Bluebell and Beth and Thursday night clapping for the NHS.

Now, he's shared his favourite brunch recipe.

To mark the final day of the British Cheese Weekender, a celebration of UK-made cheeses, the Prince of Wales shared the recipe for indulgent Cheesy Baked Eggs to the Clarence House Instagram account.

The recipe came with a message from the Prince of Wales - who has been Patron of the Speciality Cheesemakers Association for nearly 30 years - encouraging people to support British produce.

British cheesemakers need our support during this time of great uncertainty, and we can all help in the simplest way," the caption read.

"By sourcing British cheese from local shops and cheesemongers, and directly from producers online, you can make a vital contribution to keeping these small businesses afloat during the prevailing crisis.

Ingredients and instructions for one of his "favourite recipes" - Cheesy Baked Eggs - were shared to the Clarence House account, which features cherry tomatoes, double cream, hard cheese and spinach.

The recipe added that "where possible" organic ingredients should be used.

Charles has long been an advocate for eating and growing organic food - his Duchy Originals range, much of it organic, is sold in supermarkets with profits going to charitable causes.
DENVER, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Balanced Health Botanicals (BHB), a family of hemp-derived CBD brands, today announces the official rebrand of their flagship brand CBDistillery, one of the top CBD brands in the nation.

As 80% of Americans are unaware of the benefits of CBD*, the rebrand includes an updated design to the brand website and packaging to better educate the masses on the value CBD can bring to their lives, as well as to showcase how consumers can take control of their health with the use of CBD.

As leaders of the #CBDMOVEMENTTM, CBDistillery is on a mission to be the premier educational resource and "one-stop-shop" for consumers curious about hemp-derived CBD from purchasing product to simply wanting to learn more, which starts with their product packaging. In fact, according to a recent survey of CBDistillery customers, 84% feel that the new packaging better educates them about the benefits of CBD compared to many other packages in the marketplace.

"Through CBDistillery growing to serve over a million customers, we have learned how CBD has enabled a countless number of people to take better control of their health," said Majid Boroujerdi, Vice President of Brand and Consumer Insights. "It's because of these insights that we've decided to redesign our packaging to reflect what consumers really want to know and help broaden consumers' awareness on the many benefits of CBD such as relief and relaxation."

Balanced Health Botanicals owns and operates some of the largest brands in the hemp-derived CBD industry, including CBDistillery, the flagship brand of BHB, CBDistilleryRx, an exclusive line of broad-spectrum hemp-derived CBD products to help improve overall health and wellness and BOTA, a line of luxurious plant-powered, hemp-derived CBD skincare products and supplements.

For more information on BHB's CBDistillery, please visit: https://www.thecbdistillery.com/.

About Balanced Health Botanicals:

Balanced Health Botanicals (BHB) is a family of hemp-derived CBD brands that includes CBDistillery, BOTA, and CBDistilleryRx. Flagship brand CBDistillery was founded in Denver in 2016 to pursue a rapidly growing and predominantly untapped market. It has since evolved into one of the largest and most cost-effective brands in the CBD market, sold in retailers nationwide. CBDistilleryRx is a retail-exclusive line of broad-spectrum hemp-derived CBD products that combines the power of CBD with proven, effective ingredients to help improve overall health and wellness. The all-new BOTA is a line of premium plant-powered skincare and supplements that combines powerful natural botanicals with hemp-derived CBD. BHB's mission is to provide the highest quality, U.S. grown, hemp-derived CBD products at fair prices and to be the premier CBD education resource. BHB has made significant investments in its infrastructure, supply chain capabilities, world-class manufacturing facilities, and product portfolio to solidify itself as the leader of the #CBDMOVEMENT

*Based on national MMR survey of 997 respondents

SOURCE Balanced Health Botanicals

Related Links

https://www.balancedhealthbotanicals.com


LONDON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a previous CRU Insight, we discussed the effect that the South African lockdown, announced 26 March, would have on the chromium market. Since then the price of both UG2 and 44% concentrate has increased in line with our expectations.

From the 16 April, an amendment to the Disaster Management Act allowed a ramp up of production at mines and smelters to 50%. By 23 April, the movement to a level 4 exit plan allowed open cast mines to move to 100% production on 1 May. Below we detail what this will mean for chrome ore prices in the short to medium term.

What do South African restarts mean for chrome ore prices (PRNewsfoto/CRU)

Disruptions will cause 2020 supply to fall

Social distancing measures in response to COVID-19 has seen disruptions to mining in South Africa. Even before COVID-19, there were some price-related reductions mine curtailments, in particular at UG conventional miners.

UG2 has seen significant price rises but CRU understands that this is mainly for sales of existing port or mine stocks. The lockdown period has caused a fall in liquidity through the supply chain due to logistical and labour restrictions, meaning many mines are unable to mine fresh material and ship it. There is a significant lag between shipment of existing stocks versus fresh material, which could be substantially delayed as mines slowly ramp up.

This helps explain the change in mentality of Chinese buyers. Despite circa 4 million tonnes of chrome ore stocks in China and reduced downstream demand globally for stainless steel, worries remain that output from UG mines will be under pressure in the coming months. Especially since nearly 1 months' worth of material has been effectively lost due to the lockdown.

CRU believe some South African open cast mines will be restarting at reduced capacity and chrome ore supply will be tighter than the pre COVID-19 levels. Although higher prices could lead to some small parties, who need cash flow, increasing output. However, weaker medium-term fundamentals could mean production at open cast mines remains reduced.

Read the full story:

https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2020/what-do-south-african-restarts-mean-for-chrome-ore-prices/

Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU

About CRU

CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events.

Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China.

CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia  our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018.

When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response.

CRU  big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers.

SOURCE CRU
Hyderabad: During prime minister Narendra Modi's six-hour videoconference with chief ministers, the firmest suggestion came from the Telangana chief minister: Don't run trains.

The Railways on Monday began running trains to clear the rush of migrant workers wanting to go home while the cities cope with the coronavirus breakout.

Chandrashekar Rao pointed out that a majority of Covid-19 cases were being detected in big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. Running passenger trains now would only spread the infection and make containment more difficult.

It will be difficult to monitor passengers travelling by train. Neither are we equipped to conduct tests on everyone nor can we keep them in quarantine facilities. It will be better if the Centre decides against operating passenger trains for now, the chief minister said.

He reiterated his demand for rescheduling of loans taken by the state governments, increasing the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limit and also facilitating transport of migrant workers to return to their home states.

Chandrasekhar Rao explained how revenues have plunged due to the pandemic, leaving the state governments in no position to service their debt. He made a case for rescheduling states' debt and sought an increase in the FRBM limit which would allow states to borrow more.

Chandrashekar Rao urged the prime minister to declare districts that do not have positive or active cases as green or orange zones, allowing the states to restore normalcy in such districts and the Centre to change the zones as per requests from the respective state governments without any delay.

He said efforts were underway to manufacture a vaccine for Covid-19 and several Hyderabad-based companies were making good progress in this direction. The chief minister said he was optimistic that the vaccine would be developed by July or August in India, most probably in Hyderabad.

He felt that the current situation in the country would change only after a vaccine is made available to the people. All states should be sympathetic and humane towards migrant workers, he said, because migrant labourers left their families in their native places to work in faraway locations for a livelihood. Under these trying times, they will definitely want to visit their families. If we allow them to travel to their native places, they will meet their families and return to work peacefully, failing which, there will be unrest.

Appreciating the Centres decision to operate Shramik Special trains for transportation of migrant labourers, the chief minister said that the Telangana government was making travel arrangements for workers after taking all precautions. He told the Prime Minister that workers from Bihar who visited their families had returned to Telangana state to work in the rice mills.
The arrival of COVID-19 has provided a nuclear-level stress test to the American health care system, and our grade isnt pretty: at least 80,000 dead, 1.3 million infected and 30 million unemployed; nursing homes, prisons and meatpacking plants that have become hotbeds of infection. The actual numbers are certainly far higher, since there still hasnt been enough testing to identify all those who have died or have been infected.

By all accounts, a number of other countries have responded  and fared  far better.

In some ways, COVID-19 seemed the biological equivalent of 9/11  unthinkable until it happened. Who would have thought individuals would fly jets filled with people into skyscrapers filled with workers? Likewise, who would have predicted the onslaught of a new virus that was stealthy, easily transmissible and also often perilous?

Actually, many public health specialists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, did. And yet, our system failed in its response. Heroic health care providers were left to jury-rig last-minute solutions to ensure that the toll wasnt even worse.

But the saddest part is that most of the failings and vulnerabilities that the pandemic has revealed were predictable  a direct outgrowth of the kind of market-based system that Americans generally rely on for health care.

Our system requires every player  from insurers to hospitals to the pharmaceutical industry to doctors  be financially self-sustaining, to have a profitable business model. As such, it excels at expensive specialty care. But theres no return on investment in being primed and positioned for the possibility of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.

Combine that with an administration unwilling to intervene to force businesses to act en masse to resolve a public health crisis like this, and you get what we got: a messy, uncoordinated under-response, defined by shortages and finger-pointing.

No institutional players  not hospitals, not manufacturers of ventilators, masks, tests or drugs  saw it as their place to address the COVID-19 train coming down the tracks. Meanwhile, the Trump administration, loath to deploy the Defense Production Act, did so only sparingly and slowly, mostly relying on backchannel arm-twisting and incentives like forgiving liability to get business buy-in. Thats because, in the current iteration of American health care, tens of thousands of people dying is not incentive enough.

Pull Quote COVID-19 has laid bare a market that is broken, lacking the ability to attend to the public health at a time of desperate need and with a government unwilling  in some ways unable  to force it to do so.

Lets look at the failures.

1. Ventilators. As images of overwhelmed Italian hospitals flashed across screens, American hospitals projected they might not have enough ventilators for their mounting caseload. They turned to government, which didnt have enough either. President Donald Trump castigated the states and hospitals for not being prepared.

But, operated as businesses, hospitals have zero incentive to stockpile. Like hotels, they aim to keep their beds full, or nearly so, with well-paying customers, such as those in need of artificial-joint or heart procedures. Supply-chain management dictates they stock for those needs. A vast storeroom in the basement filled with ventilators that might be needed once in a generation or never?

Long ago, before hospitals had lucrative revenue streams from billing and insurance, they relied on philanthropy to meet urgent health needs. The March of Dimes helped finance the treatment of polio victims and the development of improved iron lungs. Today, hospitals instead solicit donations for more glamorous projects  cancer centers, new wings, genomics research  with donors names affixed.

Indeed, in a 2017 paper, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the country needed a better strategy for stockpiling ventilators, highlighting a practical problem: Hospitals must accept responsibility for the costs and resources needed to manage and maintain an excess of ventilators that are likely to be unused in the absence of pandemic-related surges in demand.

They are unlikely to do so unless government requires them. Weve long required ocean liners to have lifeboats and life preservers even though their operators hope to never hit an iceberg.

2. Testing has proved the persistent Achilles heel in the U.S. response. Even in hot zones, because of a shortage of tests, they were often rationed to the very ill or essential workers. That makes it difficult to guide treatment and nearly impossible to reopen society. In January, fearing that the virus would hit the United States, researchers at university labs  notably the University of Washington  jumped in and developed a test. But the commercial and hospital labs that deal with the actual bloodwork and viral analysis in this country did not. Why would they? There was no market.

At that time, it wasnt clear that the coronavirus would produce a pandemic, and there was no billing code for a test and no sense of the price it could garner. With requirements for Food and Drug Administration approval expensive and cumbersome, developing a test was a business non-starter. Indeed, months later, after the billing code was created and the Medicare price was set at $51, labs complained that it didnt cover costs and wasnt attractive enough to motivate adequate response. The price was doubled. (Even that most likely seemed somewhat paltry for labs that often charge $200 for basic blood tests.)

On March 16, the Trump administration set aside the FDA approval requirement, bringing a host of new players into the fray. But in our market-driven, decentralized system its every provider for himself, and there is no efficient way to connect the new supply with demand. Despite the fact that the administration appointed a national coordinator, by mid-April newly able labs were taking to Twitter to plead for business, like this one in Ann Arbor, Michigan: We have restructured our lab to help with testing. The problem has become finding samples! Cant get in touch w/ anyone who needs us.

In contrast, South Korea, with its national health system, engaged its private test manufacturers with a plan in January, promising them quick approval for a coronavirus test and the widespread use of it in nationally organized and financed testing. With a guaranteed market, 10,000 tests a day were available within weeks, allowing the country to avert a shutdown. The federal government or the CDC might have played that role in the United States, but did not.

3. Testing components and PPE. The Trump administration insists that there are plenty of tests that states are not using. Governors say they cant do nearly enough tests and need help. Thats partly because conducting tests involves access to a number of components  kits, chemical reagents, swabs, personal protective equipment, known as PPE, and sometimes custom cartridges for machines. Miss any one of those things and testing becomes impossible. Its like trying to make bread with all the ingredients except yeast.

Just as we patients pay item by item  the blood test, the X-ray, the acetaminophen pill  hospitals and doctors offices also order item by item, with different sources for each component, as they search for the best deals. And medical manufacturers, which make dozens of products  some very profitable and some not  have no incentive to produce low-margin items in excess of usual needs. In recent years, this has increasingly led to intermittent shortages during which hospitals find themselves competing to procure IV fluids, cheap old anti-nausea meds and some cancer drugs. So it is no surprise that a similar phenomenon is handicapping a coronavirus response that has required a huge increase in simple accessories like masks.

Pull Quote Most of the failings and vulnerabilities that the pandemic has revealed were predictable  a direct outgrowth of the kind of market-based system that most Americans rely on.

The private sector can directly purchase personal protective equipment from manufacturers and distributors, as they normally do, a press officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in late March, explaining why the president chose not to use the Defense Production Act even as states like New York were begging for help, facing over 5,000 new cases and nearly 100 deaths a day.

Initially they could not find enough of that equipment, and when they did, it came at a price  as market forces would dictate: When demand for the items exceeded supply, prices rose and bidding wars began. In our market, you get companies to ramp up production of low-margin items by offering ever higher prices. So $1 masks cost $6. Without a national system for such purchases in a crisis, we are essentially forcing hospitals and states to negotiate the price of water during a drought. (Alternatively, we could require all hospitals to have a 90-day supply of essential response items on hand, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has now done.)

4. Hospitals did not coordinate. Early on, New Yorks elite hospitals  staring down a crisis themselves  did not jump in to set up outpatient testing centers. That task was left largely to the public hospitals, resulting in crowded lines, which may have risked more infection spread. The elite hospitals also generally did not share precious protective gear with those harder hit.

In our market-based system, hospitals are primed to compete, not coordinate. They compete for patients who need lucrative procedures and for ratings in magazines like U.S. News & World Report. While legally they have to treat anyone who turns up in the emergency room, they are not eager to treat infectious diseases like COVID-19, which disproportionately hits people with poor insurance and carries a stigma. No. 1 in COVID-19 Treatment! is bad for the brand. The lack of coordination likewise meant that in California, one hospital had the beds and protective equipment to continue doing elective procedures, while another  75 miles away  was overwhelmed by COVID-19. In a national or nationally coordinated health system they would have been obligated to help each other.

Pull Quote In our market-driven, decentralized system its every provider for himself, and there is no efficient way to connect the new supply with demand.

5. The hospital rescue. Hospitals will receive tens of billions of dollars as part of coronavirus relief packages passed since late March. This is partly because they have delivered extraordinary treatment of COVID-19 (which doesnt pay well) but also because theyve had to cancel high-profit procedures like joint replacements and sophisticated scans to make room for this low-profit-margin illness.

In the past quarter-century, we have evolved a reimbursement system that showers cash on elective and specialty care and discourages hospitals from serving the health needs of society. That is true even though two-thirds of our hospitals are tax-exempt because they  in theory  perform community benefit. In a functioning health system, pandemic preparedness and response would be part of the expected job. In the 1980s when HIV/AIDS was overwhelming hospitals in New York, treating those patients was simply part of each systems obligation  though some did so far better than others.

All this doesnt necessarily mean that we need a government-run health system or should eliminate all market influence in health care. In fact, Medicare for All would not by itself solve the above problems, since its mostly a payment system that largely relies on providers to come through with services when needed.

But the COVID-19 stress test has laid bare a market that is broken, lacking the ability to attend to the public health at a time of desperate need and with a government unwilling  in some ways unable  to force it to do so. This time around, thousands of medical professionals have stoically answered the call to treat the ill, doing their best to plug the long-standing holes and vulnerabilities that the pandemic has revealed.

Whether regulated or run by the government, or motivated by new incentives, we need a system that responds more to illness and less to profits.

Contact Elisabeth Rosenthal at or follow her on Twitter @rosenthalhealth.

[Editors Note]: This story also ran on The New York Times.
Zhang Xuezhong had also called on the countrys legislative body to draft a new constitution while urging more freedom.

China briefly detained a noted constitutional scholar based in Shanghai, after he published a letter calling on members of the National Peoples Congress to draft a new constitution, and criticised Beijings handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zhang Xuezhong was reportedly detained by police on Sunday night, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper, but Yaxue Cao, who runs the website China Change, said early on Tuesday that the respected lawyer had since been released.

The China Digital Times also quoted Zhang as writing on social media saying, I saw so many friends showing concern for my current situation. Thank you so so much. I am now home and all is well. Good night everyone.

Zhangs letter calling for constitutional reforms, freedom of expression as well as the release of political detainees, was widely circulated in China after it was posted on the popular messaging app, WeChat.

His call for reform came in the run-up to next weeks meeting of the National Congress.





In the post on social media, Zhang was quoted as saying that the spread of the coronavirus in the country illustrated the flaws in the countrys current constitution, which was why it should be revised.

The best way to fight for freedom of expression is for everyone to speak as if we already have freedom of speech, he was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying.

Zhang also criticised the way in which the Chinese government had punished Dr Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor who first raised the alarm over coronavirus and later died from the disease.

Sensitive to criticism

Since taking over the helm of the party in 2012, President Xi Jinping has cracked down heavily on free media and civil society, jailing many of journalists, lawyers and non-governmental activists.

More recently, it has gone after those who criticised the governments response to the coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan late last year.

In April, a prominent Communist Party member, who indirectly referred to Xi as a clown over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, was investigated on suspicion of a severe violation of discipline and law.





Ren Zhiqiang is a former head of state-run real estate conglomerate Huayuan Group and a party member who has become known for speaking out on sensitive topics such as press censorship.

Rens friends said he has been missing since mid-March, after publishing online his essay, which was critical of the government.

China has insisted that it has been transparent about the Wuhan outbreak.

Tight control of society

The government has officially reported at least 4,633 fatalities across the country since the outbreak began. Almost 83,000 people were infected in China, while more than 78,000 have recovered.

Zhang, the legal scholar, complained that the government framework in China prevented independent voices from the medical field, as well as the media, from providing more information to the public about the dangers of the coronavirus.

#ZhangXuezhong, legal scholar, former prof at East China Univ of Political Science & Law, was taken away by police in Shanghai earlier today after calling the upcoming NPC to start a process for a national constitutional assembly. https://t.co/hIjVrfVWhL https://t.co/Dh10ORPH80  Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) May 11, 2020

It only shows that the governments long-term tight control of society and people has almost completely destroyed the organisation and self-help capabilities of Chinese society, he was quoted as saying in the letter.

Zhang had previously earned the ire of the government for his criticism of the Chinese constitution, resulting in his removal as a political science professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai.

He was accused by the university of forcibly spreading his political views in the university.

In 2019, he was also stripped of his licence to practice law, after defending several human rights activists and fellow human rights lawyers.
The California man who wore a Ku Klux Klan hood to a grocery store in lieu of a mask in a disturbing stunt earlier this month will not face any criminal charges for his actions, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced Monday night.

The man, who has not been identified by police, was seen wearing the pointed white KKK hood with two holes for his eyes while shopping at a Vons grocery store in Santee, California, on May 2, the day after San Diego County ordered people to wear masks in public settings including grocery stores. Store employees asked the man repeatedly to remove the hood until he finally complied at checkout.

In interviews with sheriff's investigators, the man "expressed frustration with the coronavirus and having people tell him what he can and cannot do," the sheriff's office said in its statement.

"He said that wearing the hood was not intended to be a racial statement," the sheriff's office said. "In summary, he said, 'It was a mask and it was stupid.'"

Police faced immediate pressure from groups such as the local NAACP chapter to respond to the incident and launch a full investigation. But after consulting with the U.S. attorney's office and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, the sheriff's department concluded there was "insufficient evidence" to bring criminal charges. Typically, cases involving hateful symbols or speech must involve some type of verbal threat to rise to the level of a crime. After speaking with witnesses, the sheriff's office apparently found none in this case.

To explain its decision, the sheriff's department cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court freedom of speech case, Matal v. Tam, in which the court ruled in favor of a band trying to trademark the name "The Slants" while federal trademark authorities claimed it was hate speech. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the opinion cited by the sheriff's department, "Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express 'the thought that we hate.'"

Still, the sheriff's department wrote, "this incident should serve as a reminder for anyone contemplating wearing or displaying items so closely associated with hate and human suffering that our society does not hold in high regard those who do so."

"Santee is a city of families and the community is rightfully disgusted at this man's despicable behavior," the sheriff's department said in its statement.

The city, according to the Los Angeles Times, had such a history of racially motivated attacks or skinhead activity that it previously earned the nickname "Klantee." Just days after the disturbing incident in the Vons store, another man entered a Food 4 Less store in Santee with a swastika on his face mask.

The back-to-back racist incidents led the mayor of Santee to recommend at a city council meeting this week that the community policing committee focus on "the issue of intolerance in the City of Santee."

"There is no room in our society for racial prejudice, and these incidents are not indicative of the people of Santee. Citizens of Santee and visitors alike deserve to feel safe," Mayor John Minto said in a video statement Saturday.

Racial justice groups have viewed the incidents within the larger context of discrimination during the covid-19 crisis, amid emerging reports that police are enforcing social distancing restrictions disproportionately against people of color, and that black men wearing masks have reported being racially profiled or have feared they will be.

"From biased enforcement in beaches and parks to KKK hoods in the grocery store, COVID-19 hasn't changed racism and discrimination in our society," the San Diego NAACP chapter wrote on Twitter earlier this month.

As The Washington Post's Justin Jouvenal and Michael Brice-Saddler reported Sunday, early data, though not comprehensive nationwide, shows that police in some jurisdictions are overwhelmingly issuing citations or arresting black and Hispanic over social distancing violations. As one example, the New York Police Department released figures on Friday showing more than 80% of coronavirus-related summonses were issued to black and Hispanic residents.

High-profile violent arrests of black people for social distancing infractions have underscored the concern about inequitable enforcement. In one case, a woman was body-slammed to the floor by officers at a Walmart in Birmingham, Alabama, for not wearing a mask and allegedly acting disorderly. In another instance, a woman on a San Diego beach faced scrutiny for walking in an area where unleashed dogs were prohibited from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and was thrown to the ground by officers who later charged her with resisting arrest and public intoxication, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Over this past week, the NAACP San Diego Branch has become greatly concerned about what appears to be racial discrimination by law enforcement in enforcing the social distancing mandate," the chapter's president, Francine Maxwell, said in a statement.

The sheriff's department said Monday night it would continue responding to all racial incidents with the same urgency and would bring charges when it could.

Some in the legal community, such as trial attorney Lisa Bloom, have argued that wearing a KKK hood is a threat in and of itself and should be sufficient for an arrest.

"This KKK hood is a threat of violence to people of color," she wrote on Twitter at the time of the incident. "POC are already under the strain of disproportionately high COVID deaths. Arrest him."
Admissions to post- graduate medical seats has already begun but ahead of the release of the first seat allocation list in the state, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) on Tuesday shared a welcome news with students.

While PG medical aspirants in Maharashtra were worried about having to surrender their all India quota (AIQ) seat even before being assured of the release of the state seat allocation list, the MCC on Tuesday afternoon clarified that students now have time till May 18 to surrender their seats.

The AIQ seats is 15% of the total seats in each state and students from outside a particular state can apply for these places.

Keeping in view that many state counselling have been delayed/not completed in schedule time due to Covid-19 outbreak, it has been decided that students who were allotted a college in round one (of AIQ) to resign from their allotted seats by 5pm on May 18, stated a circular released by MCC.

The original date for surrendering seats was May 12, 5pm.

As per rules, PG medical aspirants who have already bagged a seat through the AIQ) have a choice to either stick to the institute already allotted through AIQ, or release the seat in the hope of a seat in another institute under the state quota closer home. At present, the status of the first list by the state Common Entrance Test (CET) cell is uncertain because CET cell authorities are still reworking the seat matrix, said an official.

As per law, the AIQ seats are allocated first and if students want to be eligible for state quota seat, they have to surrender their AIQ seat. Anyone would prefer a seat in one of the top Institutes in Maharashtra but the uncertainty of the first CET list is unnerving, said Rishabh Jain, a PG medical aspirant from Mumbai.

In a circular released late in the third week of April, the state CET cell had requested state medical and dental institutes to share contact details of staff handling admissions and also make arrangements for a payment portal online so that students can pay the fees and confirm admissions once the seat allotment list is released on April 24, after 6pm. This process was held by the Bombay high court following a petition that highlighted discrepancies in quota allocation of seats.

Once the seat matrix is ready, we will release a seat allocation list and students will have the option of competing the admission process online this time, appropriate provisions have been made accordingly, added the CET cell official.

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Fortune favoured smaller companies at last in April, as funds and investment trusts holding them bounced back after a torrid time.

Their rebound came after smaller companies were battered by the coronavirus stock market storms in February and March, falling harder and faster than shares in larger firms.

Smaller companies are known to shine in recovery, but investors are asking whether it's different this time as coronavirus leaves large parts of the economy all but shut and bigger firms may be better placed to ride out lockdowns and tap into government help.

Smaller companies funds across the globe have been extremely volatile since February

During the stock market falls between February and March this year, the [smaller company-focussed Russell 2500 fell some 9 per cent more than the S&P 500 while in Asia and emerging markets, smaller companies fell by 8.5 per cent more than larger companies.

Meanwhile during the two months to 1 May, there was a drop in every smaller companies fund and investment trust sector listed by the IA and AIC, respectively, except for Japanese Smaller Companies.

Falls ranged from an 8.5 per cent drop for IA European Smaller Companies to a 17 per cent fall for the AIC North American Smaller Companies sector.

But figures are now looking more positive despite Covid-19 still remaining a threat across the globe and millions of smaller stock market-listed businesses being potentially at risk of not surviving the pandemic.

The FTSE Small Cap index is down 11 per cent since the start of 2019, versus a drop of 14 per cent for the FTSE 100.

This reflects the make-up of the UK market, with a bias towards energy and financial stocks, which have both been hit hard recently.

Despite their more volatile prices, smaller companies are often perceived to provide the best opportunity for returns over the long-term, but at the moment investors may need to be cautious.

Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said: 'Smaller companies can be an excellent investment for investors with a long-term investment horizon and who are willing to take on more risk and the valuations are certainly more compelling right now.

'However, this recession is likely to be very deep, and no one knows how long it will last, so there are bound to be many businesses that struggle and go bust.

'That said, there are always winners, and those that do survive could find themselves in much stronger positions going forward.'

As always, good stocking picking skills will be paramount, and investors might like to consider smaller monthly contributions rather than a larger lump sum at this stage.

Fidelity's Tom Stevenson said larger companies may be more favourable

Tom Stevenson, of Fidelity International, also highlighted that economic recovery does tend to favour smaller and more out-of-favour stocks, as seen following other market downturns such as the global financial crisis.

However, he noted the uniqueness of the current situation and certain factors that are putting extra pressure on smaller companies.

'Small businesses will likely face difficult decisions about whether they can afford to keep staff employed once the Government's furlough scheme comes to an end.' he said.

'It might make sense to rotate more to the smaller end of the market, however, a recovery is likely to be more protracted and shallower than investors initially hoped.

'This explains the change in sentiment at the beginning of this month. In a slower, flatter recovery, investors will continue to favour big reliable companies with pricing power. This argues for larger rather than smaller companies.'

A recovery is likely to be more protracted and shallower than investors initially hoped Tom Stevenson, Fidelity

Meanwhile, Lee Wild, of Interactive Investor, also warned the worst may not be over yet, amid concerns that the coronavirus support on offer may favour bigger firms.

He said: 'No one truly knows what will happen next, but a U-shaped or W-shaped recovery seems more likely than a dramatic V-shaped rebound.

'There is little doubt that April was one of the best months for returns in living memory, certainly for hard-hit small-caps, but it is important to remember that another sharp fall not beyond the realms of possibility as the true economic impact of the pandemic remains unknown.'

Total returns of small cap funds and trusts to 1 May (%) Sector 1m 2m 3m 3yr 5yr 10yr IA European Smaller Cos 14.46 -8.46 -13.57 -3.72 28.86 120.74 IA Japanese Smaller Cos 11.42 1.49 -8.02 11.05 60.91 161.85 IA North American Smaller Cos 17.57 -8.24 -13.11 12.69 53.83 175.34 IA UK Smaller Cos 13.48 -13.51 -22.00 -2.56 28.10 151.00 AIC UK Asia Pac Smaller Cos 9.11 -16.34 -21.00 -19.64 -2.16 98.25 AIC European Smaller Cos 18.00 -8.66 -17.20 -0.58 42.12 160.58 AIC Global Smaller Cos 15.98 -2.84 -9.15 3.40 12.88 156.17 AIC Japanese Smaller Cos 10.49 3.63 -10.95 25.91 65.83 202.37 AIC North American Smaller Cos 15.53 -17.04 -24.47 -1.60 42.04 117.17 AIC UK Smaller Cos 11.53 -14.08 -24.89 -8.38 28.08 172.89 Source: FE Analytics (Total return in sterling)

A recovery for smaller companies is likely to look different on a country by country basis too.

For example, there has been a significant performance shortfall by smaller companies in the US. Since the start of last year, the S&P 500 is up 13 per cent while the Russell 2000 smaller company index is down 7 per cent.

Meanwhile, Japanese small-cap funds haven't been hit as hard since the pandemic started impacting markets, while those investing in Europe or the UK have suffered extreme volatility.

Smaller company funds were down, on average, by 13.5 per cent in March, though this has almost completely turned around since. Smaller company investment trusts haven't quite recuperated their March losses yet.

Georgina Brittain manages a number of small and mid-cap funds at JPMorgan AM

Small and mid-cap specialist and fund manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, Georgina Brittain, said both her 173million JPM UK Smaller Companies fund and 178million JPM Smaller Companies investment trust suffered in February and March, due to the FTSE 250 being hit particularly hard.

She said: 'We run a fairly concentrated portfolio, which tends to suffer more in the short term.

'However, in the main we have chosen to maintain what we believe is a portfolio of long-term winners, and we believe this will be borne out over time.

'We have tried to keep a balance, after rigorously analysing the balance sheets of our investments, so that the funds can benefit on the way up when markets do rally.'

In order to protect both portfolios she has reduced exposure to consumer-facing companies, and increased exposure to individual companies where she feels the market has 'overreacted'.

She added: 'As you would expect, we have gone through all the companies we own to try to ensure that they will prove to be the long-term winners, who will come out of this experience stronger than before.'
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the worlds largest aluminium smelter outside China, has been honoured with British Safety Councils International Safety Award with Merit - 2020 for its commitment to good Health and Safety management during 2019.

Alba is one of the 250 global organisations that were awarded a Merit in the 2020 International Safety Awards, it said in a statement.

Commenting on this occasion, Albas Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali said: Alba Safety culture is a reflection of the individual and collective efforts of our employees as well as contractors. We are pleased that British Safety Council has recognised our 2019 Safety achievements with the International Safety Award with Merit  2020.

We aim to continue with this momentum, despite the challenging situation of Covid-19, and get closer to our dream of becoming the worlds safest and largest smelter.

The International Safety Award recognises organisations from around the world, which have demonstrated their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year.

It is worth noting that Alba has achieved over 21.25 million working-hours without LTI as of to-date, the statement added. TradeArabia News Service
Like many working mothers, Ada Nicodemou has been able to spend more time at home over the past few weeks due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

And while the Australian actress is missing the Home And Away set, she is appreciative of what downtime has brought her.

Speaking to Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, the 42-year-old said she is relishing in every single moment at home with her son Johnas, seven.

Home And Away's Ada Nicodemou (pictured) reveals what she loves about lockdown and many people will be able to relate

While Ada usually takes school summer holidays off to be with her son, she said the last time she had this much quality time with Johnas was a long time ago.

'The last time it was maternity leave that I was off set,' she said.

'It's been nice having so much time with him, the great conversations and the laughs and an endless supply of cuddles, its been really nice.'

'The last time it was maternity leave that I was off set': While Ada usually takes school summer holidays off to be with her son, she claimed the last time she had this much quality time with Johnas was when he was born in 2012

Homeschooling: Ada, like many other parents in Australia, has been helping out with her child's education from lockdown

Ada is one of the Seven soap's longest-running stars.

The actress, who plays Leah Patterson, celebrated her 20th anniversary on Home And Away in February.

She started on the popular beachside program shortly after wrapping her breakout role as Katerina Ioannou on Heartbreak High.

Throwback! In 2000, Ada (right) began playing Leah Patterson on Home And Away after wrapping her breakout role as Katerina Ioannou on Heartbreak High

'Any spare time you have, you want to be spending it with your child': After filming wrapped on the show's 2019 season finale, the actress chose to take a summer holiday in Greece with her seven-year-old son Johnas

After filming wrapped on the show's 2019 season finale, the actress chose to take a summer holiday in Greece with her seven-year-old son Johnas and her millionaire boyfriend Adam Rigby.

'Any spare time you have, you want to be spending it with your child,' she said at the time to Woman's Day.

Home And Away airs Monday to Thursday on Seven from 7pm
Fighting between government forces and southern separatists surged in Yemen on Tuesday, just a day after the authorities declared Aden, the de facto capital of the south, to be infested with the coronavirus.

Yemens healthcare system has already been ravaged by a five-year civil war between the internationally recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthi rebels who control Sanaa and swathes of the north.

Further pressure has been piled on the countrys few remaining medical facilities in recent months after fighting erupted between factions within the Gulf alliance.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12)  The chief of the Philippine National Police said the organization is looking forward to boosting efforts to protect its personnel with the opening of its own reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test laboratory.

"To enhance PNP capability to keep 205,000 personnel COVID-19 resilient, we sought the DOH (Department of Health) and the WHO (World Health Organization) and their approval to develop and operate our own RT-PCR testing laboratory," said PGen Archie Gamboa at a Tuesday press conference.

Gamboa added that proficiency tests for the laboratory will be done within two weeks.

READ: PH Red Cross targets 15,000 tests daily as more COVID-19 testing centers set to open

As for cases of infected PNP personnel, Gamboa said, "The 35.7 recovery rate of PNP COVID-19 cases has been consistently well above the national average, while the mortality rate is kept at the barest minimum."

About 140 PNP personnel to date have COVID-19, according to the DOH.

Gamboa also appealed to the public to continue observing quarantine regulations including social distancing to mitigate the spread of the virus.

According to the Department of Health, the country can now conduct over 8,000 COVID-19 tests daily.

There are now 23 accredited laboratories nationwide performing real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for the viral disease, with UP-PGH Medical Research Laboratory, Singapore Diagnostic, and Cebu TB Reference Laboratory recently getting the green light from the Health department.

In a previous Inter-Agency Task Force meeting presided over by President Rodrigo Duterte, the government bared its plan to operate at least 78 laboratories by the end of May.

Deputy COVID-19 task force implementer Vince Dizon stressed the need to speed up the accreditation process of testing facilities.

He added that before the country eases lockdown restrictions, it is crucial that it is first capable of immediately identifying and isolating coronavirus patients.

Apart from the licensed facilities, there are 35 more laboratories currently on stages 3 to 4 of the accreditation process, based on a DOH report. During stage 3, hospital personnel undergo training, while stage 4 is the proficiency test.
BEIJING, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE: STG) ("Sunlands" or the "Company"), a leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education, today announced that it will report its first quarter 2020 unaudited financial results on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, before the open of U.S. markets.

Sunlands' management team will host a conference call at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, (7:30 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time) on May 27, 2020, following the quarterly results announcement.

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

International: +1-412-902-4272 US toll free: +1-888-346-8982 Mainland China toll free: 400-120-1203 Hong Kong local-toll: +852-3018-4992 Hong Kong toll free: 800-905-945

Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. When prompted, ask to be connected to the call for "Sunlands Technology Group". Participants will be required to state their name and company upon entering the call.

A live webcast and archive of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of Sunlands' website at http://www.sunlands.investorroom.com/.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live call until June 3, 2020, by dialing the following telephone numbers:

International: +1-412-317-0088 US Toll Free: +1-877-344-7529 Replay Access Code: 10144118

About Sunlands

Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE: STG) ("Sunlands" or the "Company"), formerly known as Sunlands Online Education Group, is the leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education in terms of gross billings in 2017, according to iResearch. With a one to many, live streaming platform, Sunlands offers various degree and diploma-oriented post-secondary courses as well as online professional courses and educational content, to help students prepare for professional certification exams and attain professional skills. Students can access its services either through PC or mobile applications. The Company's online platform cultivates a personalized, interactive learning environment by featuring a virtual learning community and a vast library of educational content offerings that adapt to the learning habits of its students. Sunlands offers a unique approach to education research and development that organizes subject content into Learning Outcome Trees, the Company's proprietary knowledge management system. Sunlands has a deep understanding of the educational needs of its prospective students and offers solutions that help them achieve their goals.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Sunlands Technology Group

Head of Investor Relations

Daisy Wang

Email: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Phone: +1 (212) 481-2050

Email: [email protected]

Ross Warner

Phone: +86-10-6508-0677

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sunlands Technology Group

Related Links

www.sunlands.com


By William James and Andy Bruce

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a cautious plan on Monday to get Britain back to work, including advice on wearing home-made face coverings, though his attempt to lift the coronavirus lockdown prompted confusion and even satire.

The United Kingdom has one of the world's highest official COVID-19 death tolls and, after criticism that he was slow to impose a lockdown, Johnson is wary of triggering a second wave of infection.

"Our challenge now is to find a way forward that preserves our hard-won gains while easing the burden of lockdown," Johnson said in a statement to the House of Commons.

"I will be candid with the House. This is a supremely difficult balance."

Responding to Johnson, opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the government had been issuing conflicting guidance that did not answer the public's basic practical questions about going back to work.

"What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance, but at the moment both are in pretty short supply," he said.

Earlier, the government published a 51-page document entitled "Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Governments COVID-19 recovery strategy".

The plan includes a staged undertaking to allow businesses to reopen, advice on avoiding public transport and wearing face coverings as well as an 14-day quarantine for most international arrivals.

There was a lack of specific detail, though, on what employers should do to ensure the safety of workers. The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said they were sticking with the existing "stay-at-home" message.

Opposition parties said Johnson's new "Stay Alert" message was meaningless against a virus invisible to the naked eye and that Johnson's messaging was confusing. Lawyers said some employers were confused about who should be working and when.

'FACE COVERING'

After weeks of declining to tell the British people to wear face coverings amid contradictory scientific advice on the use of such masks, the government said they should be worn in enclosed spaces where distancing is impossible.

Story continues

"Homemade cloth face-coverings can help reduce the risk of transmission in some circumstances," the plan said. "Face-coverings are not intended to help the wearer, but to protect against inadvertent transmission of the disease to others if you have it asymptomatically."

Public Health England even published an accompanying description on how to make a face covering from an old T-shirt, along with cutting advice and how to sew a homemade face covering. It said a sewing machine was optional. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering

Trade union leader Len McCluskey said Johnson had confused people. "Millions of people this morning will be completely dumbfounded," McCluskey said.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the only modification she was making to lockdown measures was to allow people to exercise more.

A stern televised address to the nation by Johnson on Sunday evening prompted satire.

"So we are saying dont go to work, go to work, dont take public transport, go to work, dont go to work," comedian Matt Lucas said in a short video which was watched almost four million times on Twitter. "If you can work from home, go to work."

"And then we will or wont, something or other."

(Additional reporting by David Milliken, Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and Kate Holton; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Addison)
Superstar Salman Khan on Tuesday released his latest romantic single "Tere Bina" featuring Jacqueline Fernandez while in quarantine at his Panvel farm house.

The actor, along with close family and friends from the industry, including Iulia Vantur, Waluscha De Sousa, is living in the farm house. This is the second song Salman has released amid the coronavirus pandemic, after "Pyaar Karona."



"About seven weeks ago, when we came to the farm, we didn't know we will be here under a lockdown. So we wanted to do things to keep ourselves busy. That's when we decided to do these songs. We launched 'Pyaar Karona' and now, we are launching 'Tere Bina'," Salman said in a statement.

The song, sung and directed by Salman, is composed by his friend Ajay Bhatia and written by Shab bir Ahmed.

The actor said he had the song "Tere Bina" with him for quite a while but because it wasn't fitting into any of his film, he decided to release it now.

Jacqueline said she didn't think they would be able to shoot the song, which they finished in four days of evening shoots, with such limitations.

"We are used to shooting songs on a large stage with grand production costs. There are costumes, hair, make up. All of a sudden, we find ourselves with a team of three people. For the first time, I was checking lighting and moving props around. It was a great experience and it taught us how to make the most of what we have," she said.

Salman recently sent out food packets and ration from his farm house to those affected by the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"As travel restrictions wane, more travelers will be booking trips and buying travel insurance. Easily identifying travel insurance plans with broader coverage and flexibility is vital," says InsureMyTrip Travel Insurance Expert Meghan Walch. "While using comparison tools on our site or speaking directly with an expert is always available, this simple checklist can help travelers better understand what they are buying  and how it will best protect them."

Cancel For Any Reason Coverage

For the opportunity to cancel a trip for reasons other than those listed as "covered reasons" on a policy, a traveler may consider a plan that includes an optional Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) benefit. This upgrade will include the option to cancel a trip due to concerns over COVID-19 whereas traditional trip cancellation coverage does not.

CFAR is an optional time-sensitive benefit available on some plans that allow a traveler to cancel a trip for any reason, up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled departure. Reimbursement is usually 50-75% of the prepaid, non-refundable trip cost. A traveler must meet specific eligibility requirements and must purchase a policy with CFAR selected within a certain number of days after making an initial trip payment or deposit.

Financial Default Coverage

Financial default coverage is already included in many comprehensive travel insurance plans. This specific coverage is designed to help travelers in the event their travel supplier has stopped business operations due to financial reasons.

Usually, airlines, cruise lines and tour companies are the kind of suppliers that financial default would be covered under a travel insurance plan. Financial default coverage reimburses in-full only if the traveler is unable to make alternate arrangements to continue on with travel plans. If a traveler is unable to book another flight, for example, benefits would then be adjusted according to the specific terms of the policy.

Note: Financial default is not the same thing as bankruptcy. While some travel insurance plans may also provide coverage for bankruptcy, most offer only financial default benefits.

MORE: Coronavirus & Travel Insurance Information Hub

Financial default coverage is usually considered a time-sensitive benefit. This means it may only be available within a specified period of time after making an initial trip payment. This time period varies by plan and provider, but is typically around 10-21 days. Coverage must be purchased prior to any announcement of financial issues made by the travel supplier.

In addition, policyholders may be subject to a waiting period after your policy goes into effect. If that's the case, most plans will not allow benefits to go into effect until after the waiting period has ended.

Finally, some companies only offer coverage for the financial default of select travel suppliers. Contact travel insurance companies directly for questions about a travel supplier's eligibility.

Quarantine Coverage

Quarantine coverage is less widely talked about, but is a valuable coverage that can trigger Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, and/or Travel Delay benefits to apply. It is designed to provide coverage in the event a traveler is forced into quarantine, typically by a physician's order. Only select travel insurance plans will offer this.

Emergency Medical Coverage

Emergency medical coverage is already included in comprehensive travel insurance plans. This coverage is designed to help cover the cost of unexpected hospital or doctor visits while on a trip. It is important to read your policy carefully to understand any exclusions, as some travel insurance plans may exclude coverage related to COVID-19 pandemic.

Travel Insurance Expert:

Meghan Walch

401-773-9210

[email protected]

About InsureMyTrip

It's simple. InsureMyTrip finds you the right travel insurance plan, every time. InsureMyTrip is the authority on travel insurance. We are committed to empowering travelers to make the best possible insurance decisions by leveraging our technology, data intelligence, and expertise. InsureMyTrip is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau.

SOURCE InsureMyTrip

Related Links

http://www.insuremytrip.com


This is not the time, as chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin would say, to throw a big party. Not even one for a birthday as notable as this, 150 candles on the cake, one for each year since the day the Manitoba Act received its royal assent, bringing Canadas fifth province into Confederation.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This is not the time, as chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin would say, to throw a big party. Not even one for a birthday as notable as this, 150 candles on the cake, one for each year since the day the Manitoba Act received its royal assent, bringing Canadas fifth province into Confederation.

And in truth, even in normal years, the date passes without too much attention. Tuesday may be designated Manitoba Day, but its not a holiday, and rarely marked by any big campaigns. Teachers, museums and politicians may seek to acknowledge it, but for the average Manitoban life goes on as normal, the dates significance muted.

This year was supposed to be different, in a way. The original slate of Manitoba 150 events and celebrations aimed to, among other things, draw our attention to the history of the province in which we live, to carry its legacy closer to the surface of our thinking. But now thats all been postponed until next year.

In keeping with the times, there are a few online offerings to mark the 150th anniversary of the Manitoba Acts royal assent. The province has posted a printable Manitoba flag colouring page for kids on its website; the archives have unveiled a digital event featuring old films of Manitoba life, captured in various places and various times.

The province has posted a printable Manitoba flag colouring page for kids on its website. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

And the Association of Manitoba Museums is taking part, assembling an online exhibit it dubbed A Museum Called Manitoba. The site features images and descriptions of 150 artifacts, taken from collections held in museums from across urban and rural Manitoba, each one casting light on some aspect of life in the province.

So let this Manitoba Day be a quiet celebration, then. Not going anywhere special, just staying in. Still, drowned as it is by a flood of pandemic news, the date ought not pass without pause. What happened on May 12, 1870 charted the course for the community we know today; where we come from shapes who we are.

The pandemic itself has brought this into focus, in a strange sort of way. We are sealed off now, at least in spirit: the U.S. border is closed. Visitors from out of province have to quarantine for 14 days. The COVID-19 numbers we pay closest attention to are those within our borders, and their rise or fall is what most impacts our day-to-day.

We have listened to Manitoba health officials speak about their challenges sourcing enough personal protective equipment. We have argued over the provinces decisions on what or even whether to cut, or which places and services should stay closed and which can remain open. The virus has had the effect of encouraging us to look inward.

So while it is not the time for a big party, and not the time for all the festivities that had until recently been planned, perhaps it is the perfect time to consider the milestone of Manitobas entry into Canada. Without the Red River Resistance, and the Manitoba Act it engendered, our lives now would look much different.

Through the last 150 years, Manitoba has carved out a unique place for itself within Canada. It has always been a place stuck in-between, not fully in step with the West but often disconnected from the East. A bridge between old divisions, rarely at the top of the Canadian imagination, and often left to, more or less, do its own thing.

Instead of partying in the streets, read up on the complex legacy of Louis Riel and the Red River Resistance, while taking time to consider how Manitobas political and social landscape still reflects the events surrounding the provinces creation.

Ours is a province ushered into existence by an act of resistance. It is a province still bearing the scars of its mottled history, chief among its injustices being the dispossession of First Nations and Metis people; though reconciliation is now a matter of some attention, those old scars are thick and gnarled, and healing is slow.

At the same time, ours is a province that has been marked by perseverance.. It has been, to many who came and remain, a refuge from persecution; a place to start fresh; a chance to build hope. For most of Manitobas history, it hasnt been able to dangle the promise of unusual riches, but it can whisper of stability and space to grow.

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So, on this milestone anniversary, how should we pay our respects to what came before? Check out those online exhibits. Read up on the complex legacy of Louis Riel, and the Red River Resistance. Take time to consider how Manitobas political and social landscape still reflects the events surrounding the provinces creation.

And take time, too, to think about why its important to remember, especially when that takes so much more effort than the forgetting. The past is the road we have travelled; its course has been shaped by many. But while we are heirs to Manitobas history, we are also its authors, its current path shaped by all who live here today.

So lets take a moment and celebrate a place that, while deeply imperfect, has been a cherished home to so many.

For 150 years, Manitoba has been a province. We are still discovering what that means, or perhaps it would be better to say our understanding of what it means has changed along the way. If Tuesday offers little in the way of festivities, it at least offers a reminder of where our community came from, and what its endured along the way.

So make a wish, Manitoba. Blow out the candles, and try to have a happy, albeit socially distant, birthday.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
CROMWELL - If they cant go to school, school can come to them, even if for only a moment.

Separated one from another by emergency actions amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cromwell teachers organized a mobile pep rally to reach out to their students, to let them know they are not forgotten and how much they are missed.

The Friday afternoon event was organized by kindergarten teacher Amy Carta, band director Raymond J. Sinclair and preschool teacher Karen Ambler.

Karen, Amy and I were thrilled to put together this parade for our students, Sinclair said in an email. After witnessing a similar teacher parade taking place, I thought the students in Cromwell would love to see their teachers.

Once word got out about the idea, the towns emergency services stepped up and provided support, including having fire apparatus, an ambulance and police cruisers join the parade.

It was a team effort, with the involvement of Mayor (Enzo) Faienza and the police and fire departments, Ambler said.

Above all, the teachers embraced the idea.

We were 197 cars strong, Ambler said.

It rained during a portion of the parade, but the rain didnt dampen the Cromwell pride! Ambler said. Families watched tail gating from cars, under pop-up canopies and holding umbrellas lining the street.

It was a thrill to see so many staff come out to celebrate and recognize the students and all of their efforts with virtual learning, Ambler said. We have missed the students so much, so this was a great way to reconnect and hopefully encourage them.

More than just a chance for teachers to say hello to their students, it also gave students - and their families - a way of saying thank you to the teachers who are so important in their young lives, and to say in turn how much the teacher, too, are missed.

It wasnt just students and their parents who got caught up in the event, Ambler said.

There were townspeople watching who no longer even have children in the district, she said.

To accommodate people who wanted to see the parade but who did not live along the route, both St. John Church and Hilltop Congregational Church, among others, opened their parking lots.

The teachers decorated their vehicles with signs and balloons.

Students in turn created their own signs, some personalized to their own teachers, and others held endearing sentiments to all teachers, Ambler said. Some of the signs were hilarious, such as Save Me! Send Help! and I Want My Teacher Back, she said.

It was such a special day in Cromwell, Ambler said. The whole community came out to show their support and that meant so much to all us.

Pam Grande, the school nurse at the Edna C. Stevens elementary school, will be retiring at the end of the school year, capping a 25-year career. She told Ambler, I have been involved in many events over the past 25 years, but Friday was by far the best. It will stay in my heart forever.

Ambler shared that emotion.

We did this for the students and families, and yet we got so much in return. It felt like one long hug that we all needed! she said.

jmill@middletownpress.com
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that migrants can use ration cards from their home states to procure essentials from ration shops here and those without cards can get meals at food camps and Shiv Bhojan Thali centres.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Amjad Sayed was hearing a petition filed by Pune

resident Vanita Chavan, raising concerns oversupply of food grains to poor during the COVID-19 lockdown. Chavan, in her plea, claimed that food grains were not properly distributed through ration shops in the state and she

sought direction to the government to provide essentials to people without ration cards, including migrant workers and wandering tribes.

The court had last week asked the state government to take a decision on whether it would procure additional food

grains from the Food Corporation of India for migrant workers and the needy, who do not possess ration cards, amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

In its affidavit on Tuesday, the government said it has already procured food grains from the Food Corporation of

India to meet the requirements of stranded persons and migrants in Pune district. The government, however, said people who don't have ration cards of any state will not be given food grains at ration shops.

"As far as stranded migrant labourers and other needy persons are concerned, the state government is already taking

requisite measures by providing ready food or food grain packets to them," the affidavit said.

Those without ration cards were given meals and food grain packets at shelter camps and they can also get meals at

Shiv Bhojan Thali centres across the state amid the pandemic. The court took the affidavit on record and posted the

matter for further hearing on May 19.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 07:50:40|Editor: huaxia

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People enjoy drinks in the outdoor space of a restaurant in Prague, the Czech Republic, on May 11, 2020. Shopping malls, outdoor spaces of restaurants, museums, galleries, and hair salons in the Czech Republic were reopened on Monday after more than one month of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Dana Kesnerova/Xinhua)
FOOD business Eight Fifty Food Group, backed by Seamus Fitzpatrick's CapVest, has agreed a deal to buy Irish pork processor M&M Walshe Holdings.

The Eight Fifty Food Group was created from the merger of UK-based pork processor Karro and the Youngs Seafood brand.

The group aims to become a major supplier of protein products on a European scale.

It is understood the deal was in train ahead of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The deal for family owned Walshe's is its first Irish acquisition and will take annual takeover to 1.4bn (1.6bn).

Speculation earlier this year linked CapVest to a possible deal to buy cooked meats producer Carroll's Cuisine, though in the end no deal emerged.

The Walshe family have operated M&M Walshe, based in Fethard, Co Tipperary, since its foundation in 1981, and will remain involved with the business following the sale.

The Irish pork processor's brands include RibWorld, Callan Bacon and Stirchley Bacon, which are sold to the retail and food service markets in Ireland and the UK.

The business includes a specialisation in producing vacuum-packed meat for sous-vide - a type of in the bag cooking popularised in high-end restaurants and now growing in popularity in the wider food service sector.

M&M Walshe has about 550 employees at operations in Tipperary, Kilkenny and in Redditch in the United Kingdom. It has sales of 100m a year.

The CEO of Eight Fifty Food Group, Di Walker, said the companies had worked together for more than 30 years.

M&M Walshe's John Walshe (inset right) said: "The interest shown in our business is a great reflection of the quality of our products, our people and our loyal customer base.

"We look forward to working with Di Walker and the Eight Fifty team and seeing the business flourish under new ownership."

CapVest also separately owns Valeo Foods Group, which owns household food brands like Kelkin, Roma, Jacobs and Odlums.

In addition, CapVest's Scandi Standard poultry business owns Manor Farms, one of Ireland's biggest poultry ventures, bought from the well-known Carton family in a 70m deal in 2017, who remain involved in the Irish business.

The deal is subject to conditions including approval from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

Prodigious dealmaker Mr Fitzpatrick, who is originally from Cavan, is a co-founder and managing partner of the CapVest private equity group in London.

Although it has specialised in food, the company had a shareholding in the Mater Private hospital business, which it sold in 2018 to the investment fund InfraVia Capital Partners.

Mr Fitzpatrick's firm has also acquired the confectionery division of Finnish business Raisio, adding the likes of Fox's Glacier mints and Poppets to its portfolio.
Oneida, N.Y.  Roxanne Whaley had worked at the Super 8 in Oneida for more than 20 years.

The 68-year-old scrubbed the bathroom floors on her hands and knees, for minimum wage. The work was hard, but honest and predictable. Until December.

Thats when the hotel began housing dozens of migrant farm workers from Green Empire Farms, a sprawling indoor greenhouse, she said. The workers lived in three hotels, jammed four to a room and two to a bed.

At least 169 Green Empire Farms workers became infected with the Covid-19 virus.

The virus got Whaley, too. She fought off an infection for weeks, going to the doctor twice before she was offered a coronavirus test, she said. It came back positive April 29.

By then it spread to her husband, Lansing Lanny Whaley. He spiked a fever that night; she stayed up with him.

He was already weak from a bout with pneumonia and a years-long battle with Stage 4 bladder cancer.

Lanny died May 7, a week after he went into St. Josephs Hospital.

Over the days in which the largest coronavirus outbreak in Upstate New York exploded, authorities talked with relief about how none of the farmworkers became seriously ill.

But no one spoke about Lanny and Roxanne Whaley, who were counting on more time together.

Roxanne and Lanny met when she was in eighth grade. She was 18 when they married. She talked to him that first time because he was cute. But she stayed because he was kind.

They had two sons, four grandkids and two great-grandkids. He loved cars, the kids and her. Now, he is gone. There will be no big funeral. No procession of shiny classic cars.

Roxanne Whaley reluctantly talked to Syracuse.com for this story, and she did not want their photo published. They are private people. She is not angry at the hotel or the workers. But to her, it seems wrong the way the farmworkers were forced to live so close together for so long while the virus lurked.

I know they are trying to make a living, but dont put them in those conditions, she said of the farm workers. It was a bad situation.

Public health officials in Madison County last week brought in state help to test greenhouse workers. But its unclear how much testing has been done of employees at the three hotels. (Two are in Madison County and one is in Oneida County.)

Madison County Public Health Director Eric Faisst said last week that the county tested 16 hotel workers and none of them was positive for the virus.

When Whaley and her family heard that, they were confused, she and her son, Michael Whaley, said. She was sick. She had a positive test. She had a public health nurse checking in on her every day. Her husband died. Surely they must know she has the virus and she works at the hotel.

On Monday, Samantha Field, a spokeswoman for Madison County, confirmed there are hotel workers who tested positive for the virus  just not among the 16 workers who were tested with the greenhouse workers. She did not say how many hotel workers have tested positive.

County officials recently asked the state whether the hotels should be considered migrant living quarters and held to those standards under New York State Public Health Law, which also requires a permit for migrant farmworker living quarters.

Most of the 250 migrant workers were brought to town by MAC Contracting, an Indiana labor company that provides farm workers for several large greenhouse farms run by Green Empires parent company from Canada, Mastronardi Produce.

The company put up the workers at three hotels  the Super 8 and Days Inn in Madison County and the La Quinta in Verona.

Whaley has no question about where she caught the virus.

I know I caught the virus there, she said of the Super 8.

Whaley said she had been sick on and off since March. At first, her doctor told her it was a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics and steroids, she said. No one suggested a coronavirus test. Whaley is high-risk for complications from the virus: She has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which makes it hard to breathe.

The antibiotics seemed to help some, but the infection nagged at Whaley. She returned to urgent care April 27, she said. She had run a fever the previous week, one of the criteria for getting a coronavirus test in some counties. Two days later she got a phone call that her test was positive.

That day, April 29, was the same day county public health officials heard that local hospitals were seeing a spike in cases from greenhouse workers who lived at the hotels.

Whaley knew some of the risk she was taking when she went to work. But they had bills and a mortgage. She told Harry Patel, her boss and the owner of the hotel, that she was worried.

I told him I was scared. He said we need the money, you need the job, Whaley said.

So Whaley did what she could to protect herself.

She said Patel could not get masks for the hotel workers, so she brought her own from home. Patel did supply gloves, she said, which Whaley wore except when changing the sheets. She also brought her own hand sanitizer and disinfecting sprays.

There were signs before April that farmworkers at the hotel were not well. Near the end of March, some workers were moved to different rooms and the doors were covered in plastic wrap, Whaley said.

She said she was told the workers had pneumonia and were quarantined. Patel said this was true.

Patel said he, too, told the migrant contractor, MAC, that he was concerned about having so many men crammed into the rooms with the coronavirus circulating.

He asked them to look elsewhere, but the company could find no other place for the dozens of workers.

In recent weeks, Patel became sick, too.

He tested positive for Covid-19 and was hospitalized, he said. He is still quarantined.

Whaley said the migrant workers told her they were scared. A few spoke English; some used Google Translate to communicate with her.

Whoever brought them here shouldnt have had them sleeping like that, Whaley said.

She said the workers were mostly respectful, but the hotel rooms werent made to be lived in by that many people for so long. They cooked on hotplates and often ate at the hotel desks in their rooms, Whaley said.

She said most of the rooms were four men to a room, two to each bed, as county officials have said. There was at least one larger room with five or six men.

Most of the migrant workers were bused out to the greenhouse May 2 for tests.

By then, Lanny Whaley was in the hospital and getting worse.

And Roxanne Whaley could not leave their home in the Madison County countryside. She could not go see the man whod been by her side since before she was old enough to drive a car or drink a beer.

Hed been hospitalized a few weeks before for pneumonia and been tested for the virus then. He was negative. He came back home, he got better.

He mowed the whole lawn by himself. He was so proud, she and her son said.

Cars were Lanny Whaleys business and his passion: He ran Rolling Hills Street Rods and Restoration until he retired in 2018. He had a 1934 Ford Coupe that he still took to car shows.

When it was clear Lanny was near the end, the couples sons were allowed to see their dad. But not Roxanne because she had the virus.

Her last words to her husband were through a video chat. The boys held up the phone so Roxanne and Lanny could see and hear each other.

Lanny could no longer talk. Roxanne told him she loved him, so much. I tried to give him comfort, she said.

Then they said good night. Lanny Whaley died the next morning.

Roxanne is still in quarantine. Shes done with the hotel, she said.

But she worries about the workers, who are now quarantined in the rooms she cleaned on her hands and knees.

Whaley remembered making small talk with a new worker a few weeks ago.

Can I ask you a question? the young worker said. How can they make us sleep together in the bed?

I dont know, Whaley said she told him. That isnt up to our boss. Its your boss. The one that hired you and brought you here.

He told her he was worried hed get sent home if he spoke up. And he wanted to work.

He asked her: What can I do?

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246.
An African grey parrot - Tony Tilford /Getty Images

An Alicante man has retrieved his beloved parrot after a neighbours attempt to hold the bird to ransom prompted a hidden-wire police swoop worthy of a Hollywood thriller.

The unnamed man said he had been heartbroken to find that Mika, his five-month-old female African grey parrot, had flown out of his apartment, leading him to plaster the neighbourhood with notices asking for information.

He received a call from a woman who claimed she had bought Mika and wanted 500 before she would give the bird back. Short of money as he and his partner have both been temporarily laid off due to Spains Covid-19 crisis, the owner offered to pay in instalments  but this was refused.

Mikas owner stopped negotiating and turned to the police when he was sent a photo of his pet looking emaciated, probably because her captor was not able to hand-feed her gruel as he had been doing.

They had her in a small cage, in bad condition and my heart sank, the unnamed man told the newspaper El Mundo.

Following police instructions, the handover was arranged to take place in a city street, despite Spains strict lockdown still being in force in Alicante.

The woman approached Mikas owner holding a cage with the bird inside. Until I get the money, I wont hand you the parrot, she said.

Mikas owner spoke into the microphone connected to an unmarked police van nearby to confirm that his parrot was in the cage, upon which the officers swooped to catch the suspect.
ERGIL, an Aager brand, has completed factory acceptance test for the surge vessel and deliver them successfully to Star Refinery of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR in Turkey, local media reports citing Aagers website.

ERGIL has collaborated with SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. (SOCAR Turkey), a subsidiary of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) on a project that includes the designing, fabrication and supplying of stainless steel 16.5 bar surge vessel system with 3 cubic meter capacity with unique design that provides optimum performance thanks to its buthyl bladder. Surge vessel is used for balancing the water pressure in the refinery. System vessel is installed with heat tracing and insulated with aluminum cladding in order to avoid freezing or temperature fluctuation, reads the message.

A surge vessel or water hammer is a standpipe or storage reservoir at the downstream end of a closed aqueduct or feeder or a dam or barrage pipe to absorb sudden rises of pressure, as well as to quickly provide extra water during brief drop in pressure. Surge vessels (surge tanks) are important assets in the water treatment process, though incorrect maintenance and management can lead to issues in pipelines costs and the water industry millions every year, causing burst pipes, structural damage, negative pressures and colossal water wastage. Negative pressure directly contravenes Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) legislation due to the risk of contamination.

The opening ceremony of the Star oil refinery took place on October 19, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.

The total refining capacity of the refinery is 10 million tons. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday (May 12) arrested four terrorist associates linked to proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad from in Awantipora in Pulwama.

A police spokesman said the arrested persons were involved in providing shelter, logistics and other kinds of support to the active terrorists of JeM operating in the areas of Khrew and forest areas of Tral.

The terrorist associated have been identified as Shabir Ahmad Parray, Sheeraz Ahmad Dar, Shafat Ahmad Mir and Ishfaq Ahmad Shah - all residents of Bathen area of Khrew in Awantipora, Pulwama.

Incriminating material including explosive material and ammunition have been recovered on their disclosure in Bathen area.

A case under relevant sections of law was registered at the Khrew police station in this regard. An investigation has also been initiated in the case.
Striking sanitation workers on Monday renewed demands for hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic as a major city vendor acknowledged that it signed a deal to pay their prison labor replacements less than the minimum wage outlined in its contract with the city.

For the past week, a group of about a dozen workers has gathered outside the New Orleans East headquarters of Metro Service Group, a waste disposal company that has a $10.7 million annual contract to collect trash in a wide swath of the city's east bank.

Pictures of the demonstrators have circulated widely on social media. In one image, they hold the I AM A MAN signs that Memphis workers carried during the 1968 sanitation strike that ended with Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination.

+2 New Orleans leaders, workers fear prospect of prolonged tourism slump on regional economy Things were looking good for Sammie Big Sam Williams as he looked at the year ahead in February. The veteran horn player had a standing week

The striking workers, called hoppers, are employed through a staffing agency and do not have a collective bargaining agreement. They said they have continued to receive low pay even as the novel coronavirus brings new danger to their jobs. They also say they have only occasionally received protective gear, although the sanitation company says its amassed a stockpile of masks and gloves that it gives to workers.

We feel like we're putting our health at risk, said sanitation worker Jerry Simon. Every time we go out there, we could catch the virus.

So far, the dispute shows no signs of ending. The workers and their employer can't even agree on whether they were fired.

Simon said the workers went on strike on May 5 and the staffing agency, PeopleReady, fired them the next day. But the staffing company and Metro Service Group both disputed that the workers had actually been terminated. PeopleReady said the workers were welcome to come back at any time.

With some regular workers off the job, last week Metro Service Group filled their positions with state work-release inmates placed through a private company called Lock5 LLC. The inmates come from around the state, but theyre housed in a detention center that the Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office leases to Lock5.

The work-release inmates were set to receive $9.25 an hour, according to Lock5 manager Hootie Lockhart. He said he usually tries to secure more pay, but the economic crisis has made it hard to find well-paying jobs.

The inmates stand to keep much less than that at the end of the day, moreover. In an arrangement outlined in state law, Lock5 takes up to 64 percent of inmate pay to cover its own expenses, Lockhart said.

Lockhart said he had no idea he was entering into a labor dispute when he sent inmates to New Orleans. He said he pulled the workers off the job when he found out.

I did not know that there was a strike going on. That was never relayed to us, he said. We wont be back. Not as long as theres a labor issue.

A Metro spokeswoman said there had been no service interruption because of the strike or the departure of Lockhart's workers.

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Richard's, Metro win new 7-year sanitation contracts in New Orleans The two companies that have long hauled away thousands of tons of New Orleans residents trash will continue to do so for the next seven years

Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration said that under its contract, Metro Service Group is supposed to pay employees at least $10.25 an hour. In a statement on Monday, the company acknowledged that it signed a contract to pay the inmate laborers $9.25 an hour. The company said the inmates' pay, which has yet to be invoiced, would be "amended" to meet the minimum.

"We'd like to add that, while hoppers went on strike and while we were unable to secure a regular stream of private sector workers to fill their spots during their strike, we are pleased to be able to provide work-release-approved inmates with meaningful work at a good wage so that they can more easily transition back into society," said a company spokesman.

A Cantrell spokesman voiced no objections to the use of work-release inmates  noting that the city uses them during Carnival season  but New Orleans City Councilman Jason Williams said he was disappointed.

He also said he was "deeply concerned" about the original workers' situation.

"These folks are as front-line as a janitor in a hospital," Williams said. "They are taking contaminated materials away from our homes every day."

The original workers employed by the temp agency, PeopleReady, said they want to meet with Metro Service Group to discuss their demands, which include a $15 hourly wage and $150 a week in hazard pay during the pandemic.

Simon said his group is open to compromise  but so far, the sanitation company isn't talking.

If we could talk, get a meeting, we could start getting somewhere. Were ready to come back to work, Simon said.

'The system has failed me': Frustrations persist with Louisiana jobless agency even as it makes improvements The overburdened Louisiana Workforce Commission continues to make strides in making payments to all jobless workers who have filed claims, but

Metro Service Group said it never received complaints from the workers before they went off the job. The company said it bought masks and gloves at its own expense, and both Williams and the city backed them on that point.

Metro said the workers could come back to their jobs at any time, but it didn't commit to paying them more.

"We stand by their right to strike," said the company spokeswoman. "Unfortunately, the financial terms our contract with the city, which was awarded based on a low bid process, does not leave room for a dramatic increase in hourly pay beyond the living wage in the city ordinance. And, again, the hoppers' claim of lack of access to (personal protective equipment) is false."

Metro and Richard's Disposal have been the city's primary trash collectors since 2006, when then-Mayor Ray Nagin awarded them deals that split the city into roughly equivalent chunks. Metro's service area includes Lakeview and most of the city downriver from Esplanade Avenue. Both firms signed seven-year contracts in late 2016, toward the end of then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu's tenure.
Several indicators debunk a body of analysis in international and Arab media interpreting the US announcement of withdrawing some US Patriot missile batteries deployed in Saudi Arabia as Washington censuring Riyadh, ostensibly because the latter caused the USs oil crisis by competing with Russia to drive the price of global oil into the ground. The first indicator is that the oil pricing war between Moscow and Riyadh ended nearly one month ago. US President Donald Trump tweeted 13 April: And the World gets back to business from the Covid-19 disaster, the Energy Industry will be strong again, far faster than currently anticipated. Thank you all of those who worked with me on getting this very big business back on track, in particular Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Trumps gratitude to Saudi Arabia, especially, negates any theory that he is punishing Riyadh. Washington understands that the oil crisis is due to several reasons that Saudi Arabia is not responsible for. The Covid-19 pandemic and closures across the globe was certain to send oil prices into a tailspin. The drop in prices, even if it hurt the shale oil industry in the US and benefits its rival China  which imports nearly 12 million barrels a day  has enabled the US to greatly pressure Russia and Iran which heavily rely on oil exports for revenue. Also, Washingtons oil reserves have reached full capacity at the lowest price.

A second indicator is the refusal of US officials to link the withdrawal of Patriot systems to Saudi Arabias role in the oil crisis. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: This step is not intended to impact the security of Saudi Arabia. We are doing all we can to guarantee its security and providing it with air defence systems so Iran cannot threaten it.

It is difficult to accept the punitive interpretation of the move because it does not make sense, in light of Trumps repeated admission that Saudi Arabia is picking up the tab for deploying Patriot missiles in Saudi Arabia and protecting the kingdom from the Iranian threat. He would not shoot himself in the foot amid the ongoing gruelling economic crunch and take a decision that halts lucrative revenue for the US.

A third indicator is that withdrawing a small number of Patriot batteries is not a significant reduction of the massive US military presence in the Gulf region. Reports show there are five US military bases in the Gulf region, and 54,000 US soldiers in 12 military bases in the Middle East. The decision to withdraw the missiles did not include another 12 Patriot batteries and one THAAD battery that can intercept ballistic missiles at high altitudes.

All this means US presence in the region remains strong and can protect Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries from any Iranian military threat.

Another reason mentioned in some media about the decision is that the US believes the Iranian threat against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region has subsided recently, therefore reducing US military presence in the Gulf makes sense. However, this interpretation is unfounded since withdrawing such a small number of missiles cannot be considered a real reduction of US military presence in the Gulf, and there are regional developments that could force Iran to focus pressure on Washingtons allies in the Gulf, and increase the Iranian threat on Saudi security especially. This would prevent the US from reducing its military commitment in the region to safeguard its interests first, and its Gulf allies second.

For example, an article published in Israel Times on 5 May reported that unnamed Israeli officials said Israels military effort in Syria appears to be bearing fruit since Iranian troops have started to evacuate several military bases under their control. If this is true, it means that Iran has decided to de-escalate in Syria, perhaps to focus on a more important battle with the US and its Gulf allies. This would be a game-changer and raise the threat against Gulf countries, not curb it.

Trump does not want to reassure Iran. After Congress voted in March to rein in Trumps powers to attack Iranian targets to avoid all-out war, Trump responded with a veto and finally Congress failed to reverse his veto last week since Republicans control 53 votes versus 47 Democrats, and a two-thirds majority is required to reverse a presidential veto.

In conclusion, there is no other explanation for the much-debated US move to withdraw Patriot systems from Saudi Arabia than to look at it as a routine rearrangement of US forces overseas. It should not be seen as a sign of deteriorating relations between the US and Saudi Arabia, or Washington shirking its duty of protecting the Gulf in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular. In fact, Washington took a similar decision in September 2018 by withdrawing four missile batteries from Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain without a murmur. Washingtons explanation that this was routine maintenance, replacement and upgrades was accepted, which are the same reasons given by US officials for last months decision.

Two years ago, observers were not as animated about the withdrawal as they are today, even though statements by US Navy Commander Sean Robertson assert: The [Pentagon] 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.

Even Trump reassured: Well, I dont want to talk about it. But were doing some things. Were making a lot of moves in the Middle East and elsewhere. Were doing a lot of things all over the world, militarily. Weve been taken advantage of all over the world.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Appointment

12 May 2020

Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City has appointed Elliot McKenzie as its new Food & Beverage Manager.

Before moving to Dubai and Radisson Blu one year ago (as Front of House Manager), McKenzie spent two years at InterContinental London - The O2 having previously spent five years at the Celtic Manor Resort in a variety of roles from Chef de Rang to Assistant Reception Manager.

In his new role McKenzie will be responsible for a team of 90 including and will oversee the hotels F&B outlets (Certo, Icon Bar & Lounge, Rooftop Tamanya Terrace & Chef's House) M&E operations and outdoor catering as well as drive new projects & overall guest satisfaction.

Being part of the F&B team is helping Elliot to take one step closer to his dream; to one day run a disable friendly hotel in his hometown in Wales.
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 13 2020

A viral video showing the burial at sea of an Indonesian crew member who allegedly endured poor working conditions aboard a Chinese fishing vessel has exposed the lack of regulations that could have protected him and other migrant workers on the ship.

The video, which went viral last week, was confirmed by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi who said that the fisherman in the video was one of four Indonesian crew members registered to Chinese long-liner Long Xin 629 who had died between December 2019 and April this year.

Indonesian sailors who had worked aboard the vessel spoke anonymously to South Koreas Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). They said the migrant workers aboard the ship had endured poor living conditions, such as having to work for 30-hour stretches. They said they were also made to drink filtered sea water aboard the ship, which eventually took a toll on their health.

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Internationally acclaimed writer Haruki Murakami is set to host a special program on the Japanese radio to lift the spirit of the island nation amid the coronavirus lockdown.

According to reports, the 'Stay Home Special' will be aired in Japan on May 22 and in the course of the two-hour show, Murakami will play some of his favorite songs as well as take questions from listeners. The name of the show is inspired by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koikes recent plea, asking residents to stay at home in a bid to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read: Japan Set To Approve First Antigen Testing Kits Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Beating Coronavirus Blues

Haruki Murakami, while promoting the radio show wrote on his webpage, said that he intends to help people forget some of the coronavirus related blues that have been piling up for months now. The Japanese writer owned a small jazz bar in Tokyo before giving it up to pursue a career in literary arts.

Murakami is known for some of the best works of the century such as Sputnik Sweetheart; Kafka on the Shore; Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; Norwegian Wood; South of the Border, West of the Sun and has been a popular contender for the Nobel prize in literature among literary enthusiasts.

Read: Japan PM And US President Agree To Cooperate Closely To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus in Japan

The radio show announcement came as Japanese officials notified that some regions in the country will be allowed to reopen as early as this week if infections remain under control. The initial state of emergency that was announced last month only applied to seven of Japans 47 prefectures and was later extended nationwide. It is scheduled to end on May 31.

According to figures by the Worldometer website, Japan has recorded 15,847 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, of which 633 people have lost their lives. As per data, 6,921 cases of infection in the country are currently active, while 267 patients remain under critical condition. However, Japan has also successfully treated 8,293 people to date which gives a ray of hope to many.

Read: Japan PM Shinzo Abe Considering Early 'exit Strategy' As Infection Rate Slows Down

Read: Japan Could Lift Coronavirus Restrictions In Some Areas Ahead Of May 31 Deadline
New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has been swiftly rebuked for suggesting COVID-19 might bring an end to the iconic Maori greeting, the hongi.

Mr Peters, a proud Ngati wai iwi member and the most senior Maori in Jacinda Ardern's government, made the claim on Tuesday as New Zealand considers the reintroduction of social norms.

'One of the things you've got to have regard for is whether the hongi in this circumstance is ever going to come back again,' he said on Tuesday.

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has been swiftly rebuked for suggesting COVID-19 might bring an end to the iconic Maori greeting, the hongi. Meghan Markle is seen receiving a hongi from Jerry Mateparae, the High Commissioner of New Zealand to the UK, in 2019

'There's a famous old saying which says that cultures that don't adapt, die.

'We've got to be oh so, so careful.

'Our lives and all people's lives are on the line here,' Mr Peters said.

'In terms of colds, flus, influenza and COVID-19, it surely makes sense for us to consider it.'

Mr Peters referenced the devastating impact of the Spanish Flu in New Zealand a century ago, when Maori died at rates 'eight times' that of the Pakeha (European) population.

The world-famous nose-pressing practice, like all social interactions, has been on ice during New Zealand's lockdown due to fears it could spread the deadly coronavirus.

Prince William is greeted with a hongi by Jacinda Ardern at an Anzac Day service in Auckland last year

What is the hongi and why is the traditional Maori greeting so sacred to the people of New Zealand? The hongi is the traditional Maori greeting that sees two people welcome each other by rubbing or touching noses. It is a New Zealand tradition that comes from the Maori legend on how women were created. The hongi is an important part of New Zealand's culture and those who are offered the greeting should always accept, because of its significance. If a New Zealander should perform the hongi would you, it means that you are to be 'unified' with the person and that you are now more than a guest. Hongi roughly translates to 'sharing of the breath' and when you complete it as a guest, you are given a sense of responsibility for the island. To display this, you may be given some tasks to complete to show your loyalty and appreciation. In the past, you may have had to fight on the island's behalf but in modern times you must complete personal tasks such as no trace on the island and respecting its natural beauty. Advertisement

The government has included the Maori practice in its lockdown advertising, plastering posters across the country with the statement 'Do not shake hands, kiss hello or hongi.'

Labour's deputy leader Kelvin Davis, a Ngati manu iwi member and the Maori-Crown Relations Minister, backed the reintroduction of the practice, within time.

'There will always be a place in Maori society for the hongi,' he said.

'It's up to Maori to decide when it would be appropriate to reintroduce ... to go back to our traditional ways.'

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern agreed, saying it was up to community leaders to decide on their own 'tikanga', or cultural practice.

'I have seen iwi leaders, actually determine for themselves how they are going to keep their people safe, and what they wish to do with cultural practice in this environment,' she said.

'I give complete support to that and have complete faith in them.'

Opposition leader Simon Bridges, the first Maori man to hold the National party leadership, joined his Labour rivals to support the hongi's return.

'There's still absolutely a place for hongi,' he said.

'Just as there is for hugs and kisses between family members and loved ones.

'I accept we're in special circumstances now and we are seeing our freedoms gradually given back to us but I reject the idea that this is a permanent position where loved ones, family and whanau, can't embrace in the future.'
Two Native American tribes are defying South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's order to remove roadside checkpoints that tribal leaders claim are necessary to keep the coronavirus from infecting reservations, officials said Monday.

If the Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes don't take down their checkpoints on state and federal highways, the government in Pierre will take them to court, the governor said.

Delivery personnel, property owners, ranchers and highway maintenance workers are being slowed or turned around, Noem said.

"We need people that are just driving through the area to be able to do so," she told reporters Monday afternoon. "These checkpoints have been an issue allowing these kinds of services to get through."

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

There are no plans for state police or other law enforcement action, a spokesman for the governor told NBC News on Monday.

Image: Kristi Noem (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images file)

Noem's staff issued memos Friday and Sunday to make it "perfectly clear it is unlawful to interrupt the flow of traffic on these roads," according to the most recent communication.

"The checkpoints on state and U.S. highways are not legal, and if they don't come down, the state will take the matter to federal court," senior adviser and policy director Maggie Seidel wrote Sunday.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier told MSNBC on Sunday that federal-tribal treaties allow the tribe to monitor who comes through reservations and to turn away travelers if they're from areas known to be coronavirus hot spots.

Image: Harold Frazier (Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images file)

"We have every legal right to do what we're doing," he said. "We're just doing preventative action. It's nothing to try to hinder people."

Frazier said that with few hospital beds on its reservation, his tribe believes the checkpoints will save lives.

"When we talk about rights, one of the greatest rights is the right to live," he said. "And that's all we're trying to do is to provide that right for our residents on this reservation."

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Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner said tribes have been in regular consultation with state authorities, but he insisted that Pierre ultimately has no authority over their actions.

"The Oglala band is ready to stand against foreign intrusions in our daily lives. We have a prior, superior right to make our own laws and be governed by them," Bear Runner said in a video message over the weekend.

"We are not moved by threats when they come from a position of weakness."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:57:21|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa called on enhancement of bilateral cooperation with Iran to ensure border security in a telephonic conversation with Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Pakistani army said on Tuesday.

Bajwa expressed concerns over a recent terrorist attack on Pakistani security forces near Pak-Iran border, a statement from the army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

On Friday, six Pakistani security personnel were killed in a roadside bomb attack in southwestern Balochistan province during a routine patrolling near the Iranian border.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement posted on social media.

The army statement said that both commanders, who spoke on Monday, "resolved to enhance security measures on either side of the border."

Bajwa told the Iranian commander that Pakistan has started fencing the border but bilateral cooperation is required to ensure border security and stem smuggling activity which is also used by terrorists and traffickers for covering their movement, according to the statement.

The Pakistani army chief reiterated Pakistan's desire for regional peace and stability on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference and equality, the statement said. Enditem
Less time teaching, dramatically reduced exposure to new learning material for students living in poverty, and lots of Zoom lessons.

Thats the emerging picture of public K-12 education in America under the coronavirus, according to a new nationally representative survey of the nations educators from the Education Week Research Center.

Since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to combat the pandemic on March 13, 48 states, four U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense have ordered or recommended school building closures for the remainder of the academic year, affecting nearly 51 million public school students. The sudden shift to online and remote learning that resulted was marked by sharp disparities between wealthy and poor schools, previous iterations of the EdWeek survey have found.

Nearly two months into the new normal, fatigue appears to be setting in. Student engagement dropped considerably when the pandemic first hit. And over the last two weeks, 60 percent of teachers said its declined even more.

Following are eight key findings from the EdWeek Research Centers latest survey, completed online by 908 teachers and district leaders on May 6 and 7.

1. Teachers are working less than before the pandemic hit.

Overall, the nations teachers reported working an average of seven hours a day, compared with nine hours a day before schools closed due to the coronavirus.

As with just about every other facet of schools response to the crisis, though, there were sharp disparities among districts. Teachers who live in rural areas, towns, and cities, for example, reported working seven hours per day, compared with eight hours per day for their suburban counterparts.

Likewise, teachers in the highest-poverty districts reported working seven hours per day, one less than their counterparts in the lowest-poverty districts. Thats a switch from the pre-COVID era, when teachers in districts where 75 percent or more of students came from families living in poverty reported working nine hours per day, compared with eight hours per day among teachers in districts where less than a quarter of students come from families living in poverty.

2. Teachers are spending less time teaching new material, especially in high-poverty schools.

A significant number of studentsespecially those in the countrys highest-poverty school districtsappear to be missing out on core content they would have been taught had schools not closed their doors due to the coronavirus.

All told, 69 percent of teachers reported spending less time presenting new, standards-aligned material to their students than they did prior to school closings. In districts where at least three-fourths of students come from families living in poverty, however, that figure shoots up to 76 percent, compared with 55 percent in districts where less than one-fourth of students come from families living in poverty.

By contrast, most teachers reported spending more time on review and tech troubleshooting.

And what about the total learning time? Teachers reported that students now spend three hours per day learning, down from six hours per day prior to the coronavirus closures. For students in the highest-poverty schools, that figure drops to two hours per day.

3. Student engagement is plummeting.

Forty-two percent of teachers said student engagement is much lower than it was before the coronavirus. Thats worse than a month ago, when 34 percent of teachers reported lower student engagement.

The EdWeek Research Center also asked teachers in early May how student engagement had changed just over the preceding two weeks. Sixty percent described a drop-off, including 22 percent who said engagement had declined a lot.

4. Teachers are most likely to say videoconferencing tools are very effective for teaching math and English.

Despite concerns over privacy, security, and equity, Zoom and other technology tools that allow for live videoconferencing have taken off in K-12 schools since the coronavirus. Teachers seem to think thats a good thing: 63 percent described such tools as very effective for teaching English/language arts, and 57 percent said the same for teaching math.

More than half of educators also said that tools for sharing and collaborating on documents, such as Google Docs and Word Online, are very effective.

Less highly regarded: Digital games, print novels, and on-demand video lessons from external providers, all of which were deemed very effective tools for teaching ELA during the coronavirus shutdown by about one-fourth of teachers.

5. Truancy remains high.

Teachers reported that 23 percent of their students are essentially truant, down slightly from 25 percent at the end of April.

Those figures remain significantly higher in the nations highest-poverty districts, where teachers reported that 28 percent of students are truant, than in the lowest-poverty districts, where teachers reported that 11 percent of students are truant.

High school teachers also reported higher truancy rates (27 percent) than elementary teachers (19 percent.)

6. Access and connectivity gaps are still a big problem.

As the reality of extended school-building closures sunk in, districts across the country scrambled to provide devices to students for use at home. But such efforts barely seem to have dented the access-to-technology gap nationwide: 59 percent of teachers said their schools had at least one device for every student in May, just two points higher than the 57 percent who said the same in February, before schools began to close.

Device access varies significantly by district income levels: 72 percent of teachers in the countrys lowest-poverty districts reported that their schools offer 1-to-1 computing, compared with 44 percent of teachers in the highest-poverty districts.

The EdWeek Research Center also found significant variation by grade level, with high school teachers somewhat more likely than their middle school counterparts, and dramatically more likely than elementary teachers, to say their schools offer 1-to-1 computing.

7. Teachers give themselves positive reviews.

In a survey administered in April by the National Education Association, the nations largest teachers union, 54 percent of parents strongly approved of the job their childrens teachers were doing handling the coronavirus crisis, and 48 percent said the same of principals and school support staff.

In the latest EdWeek Research Center survey, the nations educators gave themselves even more positive reviews. Sixty-two percent strongly approved of how the teachers in their district were handling the crisis, 60 percent strongly approved of their districts principals, and 64 percent strongly approved of their school support staff.

8. Uncertainty reigns when it comes to planning for 2020-21.

Seven in 10 district leaders said their current planning for the 2020-21 school year includes preparations for multiple scenarios, including continued building closures, a return to full-time in-person schooling, and reopening schools under new conditions to accommodate social-distancing and other public-health guidelines. Just 9 percent of district leaders said their planning was focused exclusively on starting next year with full-time remote learning. Alarmingly, more than a quarter of the nations school district leaders said they havent yet done any planning at all for next school year.
The US Supreme Court appears split on whether a New York prosecutor suing for President Donald Trump's tax records should be granted his request. Mr Trump's lawyer, however, believes the president should have total immunity from any subpoena requiring him to produce his tax records.

The justices presented their oral arguments on Tuesday during a nearly 3 and a half hour session in which they discussed three cases that involved subpoenas aimed at gaining access to the president's tax history.

According to Reuters, the first two cases discussed dealt with subpoenas filed by the US House of Representatives against Mr Trump's accounting firm, Mazars LLP, and two banks - Capital One and Deutsche Bank.

The court - which has a conservative majority of judges by a count of 5-4 - appeared to be mixed on whether the House Democrats leading the charge should have access to the president's records.

During their arguments, the conservative majority seemed cold to the idea of allowing the House to access the records, suggesting it was an attempt to harass the president by the minority party.

However, the justices - who include two Trump appointees - seemed much more open to the subpoena filed by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who is seeking the record as part of a grand jury investigation.

Mr Trump's lawyers are pushing for the Supreme Court to side with their assertion that Mr Trump be granted immunity from the subpoenas by virtue of his position as president.

Several justices pushed back on the lawyers' arguments.

Justice Neil Gorsuch - who was appointed by Mr Trump - pointed out that President Bill Clinton was not given immunity during his sexual harassment lawsuit during his tenure in office, and questioned why a modern court should treat Mr Trump any differently.

Jay Sekulow, Mr Trump's lawyer, said that the two weren't comparable, because criminal cases can result in the loss of liberty - imprisonment, in particular - whereas civil cases can only lead to monetary damages.

Justice Elena Kagan reminded Mr Sekulow that a "fundamental precept of our constitutional order is that the president is not above the law."

Regarding the House's subpoenas - which are part of a broader investigation into potential money laundering and dishonest reporting on financial statements - the justices questioned a House lawyer as to why their demands were anything other than harassment of the president.

The House's lawyer, Doug Letter, argued that lawmakers have a broad authority with which to investigate the president for the purpose of writing laws.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr wasn't swayed by Mr Letter's perspective and suggested the House needed to remember it was dealing with a co-equal branch of the government.

"Your test is not much of a test. It's not a limitation," Mr Roberts said.

Mr Trump's lawyers believe he should be shielded from all subpoenas while he is in office, regardless of their provenance, and that lawmakers attempting to justify their investigations into the president as executing their authority to check the executive branch's power should have their motives scrutinised by a court.

Mr Roberts and Mr Gorsuch were sceptical of that argument.

"Why should we not defer to the House's views on its own legislative purposes?" Mr Gorsuch asked.

Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer argued that had Mr Trump's lawyers' interpretation of the law existed during the Watergate investigation, the US Congress would likely not have been able to properly examine the criminal actions of President Richard Nixon.

Ms Kagan agreed.

"What it seems to me you're asking us to do is to put a kind of 10-ton weight on the scales between the president and Congress, and essentially to make it impossible for Congress to perform oversight and to carry out its functions," Ms Kagan told one of the lawyers.

While Mr Gorsuch questioned the president's defence arguments, he wasn't overly antagonistic to Mr Trump. He questioned whether lawmakers were correctly using the power of the subpoena, saying they were normally used as law enforcement tools "to investigate known crimes and not to pursue individuals to find crimes."

The ruling on Mr Trump's tax records will likely be made in a few weeks. Thus far, lower courts in New York and in Washington have ruled against Mr Trump in all three cases.
That is his "life's work", resulting in Siegfried Dietrich has also in the past few weeks, as the end of the FFC Frankfurt came as a pure women's football club getting closer and closer, never a secret made. The 22-year-long Era, which was marked in the first few years of a lot of success and in the last decade of a culture change within the club, came at the unfortunate home defeat (0:2) against SC Freiburg to an end. A result that is not reflected necessarily in the course of the game, but the need for the merger with Eintracht Frankfurt has shown.

So much Potential and the game wit the team proves again and again: There was a lack of maturity and playful class, in order to fulfil its own claim to play again in the medium term internationally.

the occurrence That the FFC women sometimes compelling and "hectic" as it is formulated coach Niko Arnautis, at the same time, was not a new finding in the stadium at the Brentanobad. However, the last official game as a pure women's football club, especially in the light of a final assessment of the past: the rise in the world's top professionalization of women's football, Champions League title and significantly higher social visibility  the merits and successes of the FFC should be for the last Time in a nostalgic manner, and celebrated the effort, even if the "big Party" could not take place due to the Corona-crisis in the Form of how the long-time companions would have liked.

What remained was a large poster on the empty category fan, in which head coaches and Team captains was paying homage to, as well as the presence of some of the protagonists of that unprecedented rise of the unknown SG Praunheim up to the four-time European Cup winners ' Cup: started in the former coach Monika Staab, the Dietrich until today, glad to have him, "the door to the women's soccer opened" up to influential players like Nia Kunzer or Kerstin Garefrekes, as the concentrated FFC wool-history, finally, in front of the club, bow has you and your sports provides a milestone in terms of General acceptance.

that's why Dietrich made it clear before the game that the result on that day was secondary. He regards "the greatest possible gratitude for what we were able to move in the women's football". Melancholy was therefore not the dominant feeling, as Dietrich puts it: "Even if our name changes: the FFC will live in unity more."

Wolfsburg unbeaten, Cologne rises

And to then be able to offer eventually, VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich, the forehead, made as in previous years, the ranks one and two: The FC Bayern accompanied champion VfL Wolfsburg, according to in the coming season in the Champions League. On the last round of the women's League in Munich on Sunday at SGS Essen came to a clear 3:0 (1:0)-success and secure place. With Bayern's second Champions League spot rival TSG Hoffenheim lost to Turbine Potsdam 1:2 (1:1).

Updated Date: 28 June 2020, 14:19
Lingering uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting some Canadian post-secondary students to reconsider their plans for the fall, even as more schools announce strategies to navigate evolving health and safety measures.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

McGill University campus is seen Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in Montreal. Some Canadian universities say classes this fall will be offered primarily online as uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic continues. In recent days, McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Ottawa and others have laid out broad plans for how they will handle the fall semester amid evolving health and safety measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Lingering uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting some Canadian post-secondary students to reconsider their plans for the fall, even as more schools announce strategies to navigate evolving health and safety measures.

In recent days, several universities  including McGill University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa  have unveiled broad plans for the fall that centre on offering classes primarily online.

In Montreal, students at McGill will see classes delivered largely through remote platforms, while the French-language Universite de Montreal said only a few courses or parts of courses will take place on campus. Concordia said it is still finalizing its plans for the fall.

Larger classes will be held online at UBC, the school said, with a select number of smaller classes conducted in person in accordance with physical distancing and other guidelines.

The University of Ottawa, meanwhile, said all its classes, with some exceptions, will include a distance-learning option in September.

The University of Toronto said it is developing a number of scenarios, including a potential return to classrooms and remote learning.

However, a survey released Tuesday suggested a significant number of students are rethinking their plans for college and university due to the financial impact of the pandemic, as well as concerns over limited support and the comparative quality of remote learning.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 prospective and returning post-secondary students, found 30 per cent said they might change their plans about enrolling this fall.

Half of respondents said the pandemic has made it more difficult to afford tuition and living costs, according to the survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Federation of Students.

"Among those students who say they will still be able to afford their tuition fees and living costs, a large number  about 75 per cent  are worried that distance learning will create a poor learning experience," David Robinson, the CAUT's executive director, said in a statement.

Alexandre Denis, a journalism and anthropology student at Concordia University in Montreal, said he's thinking of taking fewer courses than he'd originally intended next semester if the school sticks to online courses.

Denis said he believes some classes, such as photography and video, won't be as useful when taught remotely.

"It's definitely making me reconsider how many classes I want to take at once," he said. "I definitely don't think that online learning at its current state is a proper replacement."

Students will also be deprived of the valuable social and learning opportunities offered by campus clubs and associations, he said.

"As a student journalist, I feel like what I do working at a student publication or student radio is significantly more useful in my professional development than a lot of my classes," he said.

Chloe Maas, a student at McGill studying psychology and linguistics, said she's also considering a reduced courseload in September, but for financial reasons.

"My original goal was to move out this coming fall semester, but given the fact that jobs are pretty limited over the summer, I'm not sure that I'm going to have enough money. So, probably, what I would do is take a reduced course load and maybe just try to work," she said.

"But I definitely still want to stay in school because I feel if I take a year off, it's going to be a lot harder to go back."

Jacob Williams, who just finished his first year of law school at the University of Manitoba's Robson Hall, said he had previously contemplated transferring to an Ontario law school for the fall term but is now weighing his options to factor in each province's timeline for easing COVID-19 restrictions.

Ontario, one of the provinces hit hardest by the pandemic, may be slower in allowing campuses to reopen than Manitoba, which has seen fewer cases of the virus, he said.

"Law school costs almost twice as much in Ontario. If the cheaper school has in-person learning...that has to be considered," Williams said in an email, noting he finds online learning less effective.

While the Nova Scotia Community College has not yet said how it will deliver classes this fall, Louise Andrews said she has no choice but to continue her geographic sciences program, since the school won't allow students to defer their studies for a year.

But online-only learning doesn't quite deliver on some aspects of the intense program, such as learning to use equipment that's only available on campus, she said.

"In a four-year program you have more time to make up some important stuff that you might miss, but with the two-year program that I'm in, they jam so much stuff into those two years that if you lose half a course, you might lose out on a really important skill that you need out in the workforce," she said.

Andrews said even with the financial relief offered by the federal government, her finances have been affected by the pandemic, adding it would be a big help if schools offered reduced tuition.

New data on the impact of COVID-19 on post-secondary students show that while Ottawa's announcement of the Canada Emergency Student Benefit late last month brought a drop in the number of students who were very concerned about their finances, a notable number still reported significant concerns.

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The data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada show 73 per cent of participants were very or extremely concerned about using up their savings before the CERB was announced. That fell to 61 per cent after the program was unveiled, the agency said.

The proportion of participants who reported significant concerns about paying tuition next term, increasing their student debt or paying for current expenses also dropped by 10 to 14 percentage points after the CERB, it said.

The data were collected through online crowdsourcing involving more than 100,000 post-secondary students between April 19 and May 1.

Post-secondary institutions across Canada were forced to close their campuses in March due to the COVID-19 health crisis, and rapidly shifted their classes online.

Provincial governments have recently announced plans to gradually ease restrictions and reopen their economies, with most steps hinging on a continued decline in COVID-19 cases.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 12, 2020.
New Delhi, May 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a massive financial package to revive the country's economy by announcing a total stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, or 10 per cent of the country's GDP.

This amount also includes the earlier packages announced by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Addressing the nation for the third time during the lockdown, the Prime Minister said that it is now the time to make India self-reliant in every way.

Modi also talked about new infrastructure and systems for a quantum leap of growth.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The central Chinese city of Wuhan where the coronavirus first emerged late last year will test all its citizens for the virus after six new cases were reported over the weekend for the first time since early April.

The citys government issued a directive late on Monday, directing local health authorities to carry out nucleic acid test for its 11 million residents over the next 10 days.

The province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan have reported over 68000 (50339 in Wuhan) of the nearly 83000 Covid-19 cases in China.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

The virus has killed 3869 in the city, state media outlet, The Paper, reported.

As many as 4633 people have died in China of Covid-19.

The city reported its first cluster infection in a community for the first time since the strict lockdown implemented on January 23 was lifted on April 8.

The housing complex where the cluster case was discovered had earlier reported a total of 20 confirmed Covid-19 cases, and authorities said the new cluster could be linked to past community infection.

According to the Sixth Tone news website, the government official in charge of the area in Dongxihu district where the six cases were detected was sacked Monday for ineffective lockdown and control management.

According to the directive (in Chinese), the key focus of the nucleic acid tests should on old communities, densely populated communities, and areas with concentrated floating population. The scope of the investigation should include permanent residents and floating population in the jurisdiction.

Among the first to be tested are the 5,000 are residents in and around Sanmin residential community, where the cluster was discovered, and another 14,000 from the nearby market named Duoluokou.

The new cluster case has triggered a fear of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the city, which was lifting restrictions in a staggered way in the past one month.

Meanwhile, a laundry worker in northeast Chinas Jilin province is likely to have infected a dozen others with the coronavirus after she was infected by contaminated clothes during her work, experts have told Chinese state media.

According to the tabloid, Global Times, the 45-year-old woman is said to have worked at a laundry service for a local public security bureau in Shulan city where officers had close contact with visitors from Russia between April 8 and 30.

The virus has now spread from the woman to her husband, three sisters, other family members and close contacts of those confirmed cases, according to the local health authority.

The city of around 630000 people have been put under a partial lockdown since Saturday.
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Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are being denied access to land for housing to accommodate natural population growth, reflecting Israels policy of confining Palestinian communities even beyond the occupied territories, says a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

The US-based rights group said on Tuesday the Israeli governments policy favours Jewish citizens as decades of land confiscations and discriminatory policies have restricted Palestinian citizens to densely populated towns and villages that have little room to expand.

It also said the Israeli government nurtures the growth and expansion of neighbouring predominantly Jewish communities, many built on the ruins of Palestinian villages destroyed during the 1948 Nakba, what Palestinians call the catastrophe that befell them in the war that led to the establishment of Israel when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes.

Israeli policy on both sides of the Green Line restricts Palestinians to dense population centers while maximising the land available for Jewish communities, said Eric Goldstein, acting Middle East executive director at HRW.





These practices are well-known when it comes to the occupied West Bank, but Israeli authorities are also enforcing discriminatory land practices inside Israel.

Despite the fact that Palestinian citizens of Israel constitute 21 percent of the countrys population, Israeli and Palestinian rights groups estimated in 2017 that less than 3 percent of all land in Israel falls under the jurisdiction of Palestinian municipalities, the report said.

The Israeli government directly controls 93 percent of the land in the country, including occupied East Jerusalem. A government agency, the Israel Land Authority (ILA), manages and allocates these state lands, according to HRW.

Nearly half of the ILAs members belong to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), whose explicit mandate is to develop and lease land for Jews and not any other segment of the population, HRW noted.

Additionally, many small Jewish towns have admissions committees that effectively bar Palestinians from living there. These committees are usually legally authorised and have the power to market state lands and determine prerequisites for residency.

This is also the case in Palestinian Bedouin villages in the Negev, most of which are unrecognised. Israeli authorities regularly carry out demolition orders in the Negev on the premise that these villages lack building permits, which residents say are impossible to obtain.

Words on paper

Since 1948, Israel has authorised the development of more than 900 Jewish population centres, compared with just a handful of townships and villages for Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.

It has also approved the building of roads and other infrastructure around Palestinian communities, further preventing expansion.

Omar Shakir, HRWs Israel and Palestine director, said it is very clear that Palestinian towns and villages are being boxed in.

Israeli planning policies and land confiscations over many years have reduced them to a series of dense population centres while Jewish communities are allowed to thrive, Shakir told Al Jazeera.

The Arab Centre for Alternative Planning, based in Israel, estimates that 60,000 to 70,000 homes in Israel, excluding Jerusalem, are at risk of demolition.

While the Israeli government has recognised in recent years that this a serious problem, Shakir said there have not been any concrete steps to implement plans and proposals that would help alleviate the problem.

What is needed is significant investment in these communities and allocation of state land, Shakir added.

Similar policies have also been used to limit the growth of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, the report noted, where home demolitions, land confiscation, and the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements have not subsided.
New digital technology could be used to reconstruct 3D images of important Indigenous rock art sites destroyed by bushfires that ripped through eastern Australia last year and early this year.

While coronavirus restrictions have forced surveys to be postponed until September, experts still fear thousands of rock art sites, some dating back 4,000 years, have been destroyed.

Part of an image of the Magnificent Gallery rock art site in Cape York, Queensland, created using photogrammetry. Credit:Andrea Jalandoni

Where rock art has been damaged or destroyed, technology including laser scans and software that merges existing photographs could help create 3D images and even replicas of important sites.

Professor Paul Tacon, head of the Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit (PERAHU) at Griffith University, said some accessible rock art sites, such as Baiame cave near Mount Yengo in the Hunter region, had been visited and found to be undamaged. But he is concerned about important sites such as Gallery Rock and Eagles Reach in the Wollemi National Park, 200km north-west of Sydney, which is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area ravaged by fire.
Germany's coronavirus rate of infection has dropped below the critical threshold of 1, after previously climbing amid the easing of lockdown measures.

The country's 'R' figure - known as the rate of infection - stood at 0.94 on Tuesday.

It will come as a welcome relief for officials after remaining above 1 for three days in a row - meaning the number of new daily infections was on the rise.

Statistics showed the rate was 1.1 on Saturday before climbing to 1.13 on Sunday. It stood at 1.07 yesterday.

'So far, we do not expect a renewed rising trend,' the Robert Koch Institute said in its daily report, adding that the overall number of cases in Germany was falling.

The number of new daily cases of coronavirus climbed to 933 across Germany as of Tuesday - nearly three times the 357 recorded the day before

The country's number of daily deaths was recorded 116 on Tuesday, a rise of fivefold from 22 on Tuesday

The number of new cases of coronavirus climbed to 933 across Germany as of Tuesday- nearly three times the 357 recorded the day before.

The country's number of daily deaths was recorded 116 on Tuesday, a rise of fivefold from 22 on Monday.

The numbers are higher despite the lower R rate because of a statistical lag in recording cases.

The Institute said that the fewer the overall number of infections then the greater the impact of an outbreak, much like those recently reported among slaughterhouses.

Fears had been expressed over Germany's rate of infection amid the easing of the country's lockkdown measures.

At least 336 confirmed cases were found among meat workers at the three slaughterhouse plants, with hundreds more results pending, local media DW reported.

The same day pubs, gyms and cafes were allowed to reopen in the most populous state of North-Rhine Westphalia as other states began to allow people to socialise with those outside their homes and for large shops to reopen.

Three outbreaks of coronavirus have been uncovered at slaughterhouses in Germany, with 205 cases reported at a single location (pictured, workers are tested for the virus)

Gyms in the city of Cologne filled up overnight as they were allowed to reopen for the first time in weeks as Germany walks back its lockdown measures

Union representatives claimed most meat workers in Germany are migrants who are housed together in cheap accommodation, making social distancing impossible.

Some 205 cases were uncovered at a single plant in Coesfeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, prompting officials to delay easing lockdown restrictions in that area.

Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed the widespread ease of lockdown restrictions last week following discussions with the leaders of the countrys 16 states.

'We are at a point where our goal of slowing the spread of the virus has been achieved and we have been able to protect our health system ... so it has been possible to discuss and agree on further easing measures,' Merkel told reporters at the time.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses to media during a press conference. She said the 'first phase of the coronavirus pandemic is behind us' as she announced the latest easing of restrictions - but said social distancing measures would remain until at least June 5 while border checks have been extended

Under measures agreed with Germany's 16 federal state leaders, people from two households will be allowed to meet, and more shops will open, provided hygiene measures are in place. But guidelines on keeping a distance of 1.5 metres and wearing mouth and nose masks on public transport will remain.

More schools will also be allowed to reopen across the country with increased virus testing for children.

Testing firm Centogene said it will be giving pupils at one school in Neustrelitz, in the country's north, a virus test twice per week.

Results will be provided the same afternoon, allowing them to quickly detect if a child is infected.



A man gets a haircut at a salon in Berlin on Monday, after Germany allowed some shops and schools to re-open at the end of April and start of May

Germany has the sixth-largest COVID-19 caseload in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world.

It has so far seen close to 173,000 confirmed cases of the killer bug, and nearly 7,700 deaths.

The number of deaths pales in comparison to other European countries like the UK (nearly 33,000 deaths), Italy, (around 31,000) and Spain (more than 26,700).

Germany has largely managed to contain fatalities from the highly infectious respiratory disease thanks to widespread and early testing and a healthcare system that is well-run and well-funded.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the impacts of coronavirus vary throughout the country and the decision to reopen schools should follow the dynamics of the pandemic at the local level.

Fauci, the nations top expert on infectious diseases, made the comments Tuesday during a Senate hearing on the reopening of the nation amid an outbreak thats killed 80,000 Americans, and as health officials in New York investigate more than 80 cases of a severe COVID-19-related inflammatory syndrome in children.

Faucis remarks followed a swipe from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who cited other countries, including Sweden, which have not closed schools amid the pandemic. Paul also emphasized that the mortality rate of the virus is far lower in children than in adults and said it would be ridiculous to keep schools shuttered nationwide another year.

If we keep kids out of school for another year, whats going to happen is the poor and underprivileged kids who dont have a parent thats able to teach them at home are not going to learn for a full year, Paul said, urging a school district-by-school district approach. I think its a huge mistake if we dont open the schools in the fall.

Paul added that Fauci, who warned that opening the country too rapidly could lead to uncontrollable outbreaks and needless death," was not the end all on U.S. policy related to COVID-19.

Fauci responded that he never made himself out to be the end all."

Im a scientist, a physician and public health official. Im not the end all, he said.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984, added that he doesnt give advice about economic things, but discusses public health risks associated with lifting stay-at-home orders and business re-openings across the country.

We dont know everything about this virus and we should be careful, particularly about children, Fauci said. Were seeing things this virus can do ... children presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a strange inflammatory syndrome similar to Kawasaki syndrome.

The State Department of Health in New York last weekend announced that hospitals had reported dozens of cases of predominantly school-aged children coming down with an illness possibly due to COVID-19 with symptoms that included prolonged fever, severe abdominal pain, change in skin color, trouble breathing, racing heart or chest pain, lethargy and confusion.

Pediatricians in Britain, France, Italy and Spain have also reported dozens of similar cases, The New York Times reported last week. Three New York children with the condition died, state health officials reported.

Fauci, who did not suggest schools remain closed nationwide, added that he was very humble. I dont know everything. Im very reserved about making broad predictions.

He told Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana that when it comes to schools, we have to see on a step-by-step basis as we get closer to fall exactly where we are in the dynamics of the outbreak.

We have a very large country. They dynamics of the outbreak are different in different areas, and the process to open schools would likely not be the same everywhere, Fauci said.

Cassidy noted that keeping children at home came with a host of its own risks, including potentially losing out on nutrition, parents missing work, less frequent monitoring of child abuse and children not learning and having the brain formed optimally.

Cassidy acknowledged the risk of Kawasaki disease but asked Fauci if officials had examined risk-benefit ratios of returning to school versus a missed year of education.

Fauci acknowledged that Cassidy had a very good point and said it was important to consider the unintended consequences of trying to do something that broadly is important in trying to prevent an outbreak.

We fully appreciate that. I dont have an easy answer for that, Fauci said.

Fauci emphasized that the dynamics of the pandemic regionally should dictate how and when schools open. And he added that the availability of a vaccine was not a prerequisite for reopening schools.

Health officials are currently working on several candidates for vaccines and treatments at a historically quick pace, Fauci assured lawmakers.

Hopefully our research efforts will get us quickly to an end to this terrible ordeal that were going through, he said.

Related Content:
Betty Yee grew up keeping track of the finances of her familys laundry and dry-cleaning business and now she keeps track of the finances for the fifth largest economy in the world. As California state controller, she sits on 70 different boards and commissions and is now helping to maneuver the devastating financial impacts that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the states budget. Her scope of duties as state controller is immense, working on everything from taxes and retirement funds to pollution control and wildlife financing. But she does not just use her financial expertise to make her impact.

Betty Yee grew up in a San Francisco, Calif., household that did not speak English, and yet she received a sociology degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She arrived in Sacramento to work in the state Senate and noticed a gender disparity in the financial arena, and yet she now holds one of the top financial positions in the state.

Throughout her life, she has been overcoming obstacles and continually redefining what is and is not possible for Californians. When I look at particularly California, and my own personal journey, about how I had the opportunity to go to a first class university, Cal Berkeley, and public institution, to be able to have a career in public service and, now, being able to give back in my service, thats something that every Californian should be able to aspire to.

Even in the face of an unprecedented financial crisis, Betty Yee finds opportunities for growth and betterment. She hopes that as California rebuilds its economy, it uses this opportunity to attend to communities that have been ignored in the past. Our economy is only as strong as the financial health of each and every Californian.

Listen to her episode to hear more about her journey to becoming state controller, the coronavirus impact on Californias economy and, despite it all, serving with compassion.Governing
Representative image

In good news for liquor enthusiasts in Maharashtra, the state government has allowed home delivery of alcohol.

In an order dated May 11, the government has allowed liquor licence holders to home deliver alcohol.

The notification states that a person delivering liquor must wear a mask and use hand sanitiser on regular intervals.

"Maharashtra government hereby permits the licensee holding the licensees in form FL-II, FL/BR-II, FL/W-II, as appended to the Bombay Liquor Rules 1953, to sell the IMFL - spirits, beer, mild liquor, wines, to the permit holders by effecting delivery at the home address of the permit holders, subject to the conditions," the notification said.

"The order shall be in force and effective until the orders of lockdown issues by the government from time to time under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 or any other act are in force in the state. The government may at any time and at its discretion either modify or rescind the same," it added.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

The move comes weeks after thousands lined up outside alcohol stores as the government permitted the sale of liquor.

The state excise department has also started an online token system on a pilot basis for the sale of liquor in Pune city to avoid crowding at shops.

Under the new token system, a person has to register on the state excise department's portal and then visit the shop to buy liquor.

The move aims to reduce long queues outside liquor shops. The government plans to issue a limited number of tokens for sale of liquor to avoid crowding on the streets.

The system will be initially started on a pilot basis in Pune and if successful, it will be emulated in other parts of the state.

(With inputs from PTI)
On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation amid the ongoing phase three on lockdown. But while most Indians waited with bated breath for details on the fourth extension of the lockdown, the PM chose to speak instead about a new economic scheme called "Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan".

But it looks like some Indians did not really understand what he meant. Or at least are struggling to do so.

In his speech, the PM announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package under the "Athmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" with the aim of aiding the country out of the coronavirus crisis bt making it self-reliant.

As per the PM, the amount was equal to 10 percent of India's GDP. "Starting tomorrow, the finance minister will apprise you in detail about the package meant to drive towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan'", he said.

While the address was heard by millions of Indians across platforms, some seemed to struggle with understanding the meaning of some of the Hindi words used by him in the address. Within an hour of the speech, searches on Google spiked with many Indians looking up the meaning of terms like "aatmanirbhar" (self-reliant).

A look at Google trends suggests a spike in searches for the term in the last hour since Modi's speech at 8 pm. Among those searching, residents of Karnataka Telangana logged in the highest number of searches. Meaning many of the residents in the state seemingly had problems understanding what the PM meant.

States like Maharashtra and Gujarat followed with the third and fourth highest searches for "aatmanirbhar" respectively.

Not just Google, many even turned to the microblogging site Twitter for some immediate answers.

what is aatma nirbhar someone tell me pls Andrea Wilson (@AndreaWilson97) May 12, 2020

Mr Ravi, what is that Aatma Nirbhar Bharat? Can you translate that to Kannada or English for those like me who dont understand Hindi. Single Idly (@SingleIdly) May 12, 2020

What is Aatma Nirbhar ? preetam hegde (@preetamhegde) May 12, 2020

What is Aatma Nirbharata? Plz translate the speech for your fellow south Indian Millennial (@Blmillennial) May 12, 2020
The Australian share market finished session lower on Tuesday, 12 May 2020, amid growing concerns over the risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections in countries that are easing restrictions. A ban on beef imports from four large Australian meat processors by largest trading partner China also weighed on the market's sentiment. Losses were across nearly every sector with energy, materials and financials sectors were down the most. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 58.17 points, or 1.07%, to 5,403.05. The broader All Ordinaries dropped by 61.82 points, or 1.11%, to 5,497.31.

The risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections resurfaced after an increase in new infection cases in countries that have loosened business restrictions, such as China, South Korea, France, and Germany.

The resurgence of the virus comes as Australia readies to partially open up public places in New South Wales, its most populous state, while Victoria is set to resume face-to-face teaching weeks earlier than expected.

A ban on beef imports from four large Australian meat processors by largest trading partner China also weighed on the market's sentiment.

The suspension came as ties between the two countries soured over Canberra's support for an inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak's origin, although the Australian minister for trade denied the ban was retribution.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia NAB Business Conditions Weaken In April Australia's business conditions fell to -34 in April from -22 in March, survey results from National Australia Bank showed Tuesday. Overall conditions were deeply negative in all industries outside of mining. The fall in conditions was driven by all three components of the index namely trading conditions, profitability and the employment index. The employment conditions indicator decreased 15 points to -35. However, the business confidence rose to -46 in April from -65 a month ago. However, it was twice as weak as the trough in the 1990s recession.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.648 after its decline from levels above $0.654 yesterday.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Azerbaijani writer, screenwriter and film director Magsud Ibrahimbeyov, the author of such books and scripts as "Our teacher Jabish", "Last night of childhood", "Mesozoic story", "You, my song", "Who will go to Truskavets?"," For all the good - death" would have turned 85 years old today. Magsud Ibrahimbeyov was born in 1935 in Baku, he received a B.A. in Industrial and Civil Construction from Baku Polytechnical Institute, worked as a civil engineer, then attended courses for advanced screenwriting and directing in Moscow. He was awarded the title People's Writer of Azerbaijan and Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1976 he became a laureate of the State Prize of Azerbaijan SSR.

Former Russian Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoy told Vestnik Kavkaza: "Magsud Ibrahimbeyov gave me the manuscript of his last book shortly before his death. The hero of the book reminded Magsud himself, there was a story about his generation, about people who came to this world shortly before The Great Patriotic War and they left it being already in another country, not where they grew up. The book was gut-wrenching because Magsud knew how to make a lyrical statement epic. His characters in the poetry of the 1960s - it was confessional literature. At the same time, Magsud had a feeling of a vast global space, a vast extension of life. He examined each person in an amazing approximation, in amazing detail, but at the same time on a huge scale of the changes that are taking place in his world, in his country, in himself. The scale of Magsud is a special phenomenon, he was a very wise man. He was not a politician in the straight sense of the word, but his presence in the Milli Majlis was important because he was a wise man able to bring peace in any dispute, find a compromise in the most difficult situation."

In Magsud Ibrahimbeyov's many works, there is a trace of the Great Patriotic War. "... All world religions have one common drawback: the hell described in them in the eyes of a professional sinner looks like a correctional institution where essential details were not thought out enough. Eternal slow-burning in fiery hell or an equally long stay in a boiling cauldron, like other varieties of eternal torment, make a strong impression at first, but only on people with a well-developed imagination, among which inveterate sinners are extremely rare, as a rule. ue to the lack of the necessary experience, people are not able to imagine what it is like - an eternity, and therefore treat these types of punishment with respectful distrust. Moreover, almost all descriptions of hell do not mention such effective punishments as round-the-clock exposure to cold, constant malnutrition, and sophisticated forms of humiliation turn a person into a creature ... "

"... When I got home that evening, my mom told me that our new neighbor's husband had died on the frontline. She had received the note about her husband's death yesterday. That day we stopped playing war in our yard..."



"About the war - it was so disarmingly strong and simple! .. Today Magsud Ibrahimbeyov would have turned 85 years old ... And although 'for all the good - death', not everything that is good is mortal. And among the immortal good is the Word of our writer, his good name. And the love of readers," says the poet Leyla Begim, who dedicated poetry to Magsud Ibrahimbeyov.

Let me touch the pages -

Get caught in a storm of Caspian waves

To say goodbye to the fisherman at the rocks

And run into the yard,

Where spring has faded, and another one

With sirens wailing, kids screaming

Where the pain from an unplayed game

Just never stops...

Let me sit in the shadow

Of your pistachio dream

And take on the old streets

Where you wandered with your heroes

Under the starry sky, under the moon ...

Let me be with them today ...

Let me stay with them ...
A national cohort of education groups, including charter organizations with schools in New Orleans, are urging Congress to provide more funds for distance learning as the coronavirus forces many students without access to reliable internet to try and complete work from home.

In a letter signed late last month, more than 50 organizations, including The Schools Superintendent's Association, IDEA Public Schools, the KIPP Foundation, Teach for America and local affiliates of the National Education Association, wrote in support of a bill that would appropriate $2 billion to help schools and libraries provide broadband access to students at home.

Called the Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020, the bill would fund additional WiFi hotspots, modems, routers and other devices through the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program, created with bipartisan support in 1998 to keep schools and libraries connected to the internet.

"Time is of the essence to provide remote and distance learning support," the advocates wrote in an open letter to lawmakers. "An estimated 9 to 12 million students and some of their teachers currently lack home internet access and are unable to participate in their classes that have been moved online."

The bill, introduced into the House on April 21, remains in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

As part of their support for the bill, the education groups warned that the "homework gap," or digital divide, caused by lack of access to necessary technology could have profound consequences on students forced to learn at home due to coronavirus-related school closures.

The problem is particularly acute in Louisiana. U.S. Census data show that Louisiana is one of ten states with the lowest rates of household broadband access, according to data provided by the educators.

A Louisiana Department of Education survey released last month showed 28% of public school students lack access to a computer or tablet at home to assist with distance learning, and 33% don't have internet. Other studies have shown lower rates of high-speed internet in black and Hispanic homes.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

According to a Pew research study conducted in 2017 and 2018, the homework gap affected somewhere between 8.5 to 12 million K-12 students around the country.

+14 Traditions in tatters due to coronavirus, high schools find creative ways to celebrate graduates Slidell High School senior Georgia Peck was preparing to don her cap and gown Monday for a day she had long regarded as the pinnacle of her hi

Without access to home internet, some researchers have warned that when students eventually return to school, they'll also have lost some of the academic gains they made in the previous school year. This so-called "summer slide," or academic regression, typically happens to some degree every year when school lets out for the summer months. But The Northwest Evaluation Association, a research group, said that because of coronavirus, the decline is likely to be steeper.

"Preliminary forecasts parallel many education leaders' fears: missing school for a prolonged period will likely have major impacts on student achievement," the researchers wrote.

Other school leaders with the national coalition School Board Partners, co-founded by Orleans Parish School Board President Ethan Ashley, had also asked Congress and President Donald Trump for emergency coronavirus-related aid for schools in late April.

In a letter sent to the White House, 41 school board leaders in 12 states asked for $200 billion to fund new technology and an expansion of school hours, among other things.

Local school leaders join chorus asking President Trump for $200B in coronavirus funding Metro New Orleans school board members have joined forces with school leaders around the country to urge President Donald Trump and Congress f

In an interview, Ashley noted that the federal response for schools hadn't been what educators hoped for  and that there were still local students in need  but he praised his district's efforts to keep students connected to their teachers and classmates amid the pandemic.

The Orleans Parish School Board in March allocated $5 million of its money to local schools, much of which has been used to purchase 10,000 laptops and nearly 8,000 WiFi hotspots for students in need.
BREA, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Envista Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NVST) today announced results for the first quarter 2020.

For the first quarter ended April 3, 2020, net loss was $17.2 million, or $0.11 per share. For the same period, adjusted net income was $5.0 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.

Sales for the first quarter were $547.2 million, a 17.1% decrease as compared to the same period year-over-year. Core sales declined 14.6% over the same period. We estimate that the COVID-19 global health pandemic adversely impacted sales in the quarter by approximately 16.0% with impacts to all major regions.

Amir Aghdaei, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Revenue exceeded our expectations in the first two months of the year, but the ongoing global health pandemic had a significant adverse impact on the business in the last three weeks of March. We have taken immediate steps to ensure the safety of our employees, support our customers and partners, and preserve our financial strength. These actions will help protect our growth investments in clear aligners, implants and emerging markets, structurally improve margin, and accelerate our portfolio transformation."

Mr. Aghdaei continued, "The ability to achieve our strategic objectives and create value is directly dependent on the strength of our employees, relationships with our customers and partners, the Envista leadership team, and our EBS foundation. Our team is fully committed to navigate through these challenging times while building a stronger Envista."

Contributions Towards COVID-19 Relief Efforts

Envista's employees have donated thousands of masks and other personal protective equipment in their local communities worldwide. The Company was one of the first companies to donate infection prevention products to the Wuhan government and its Orascoptic business donated eye protection to hundreds of healthcare professionals in the U.S. Metrex, Envista's infection prevention business, has taken actions to increase shipments of medical grade disinfection products used by health care professionals globally.

Financial Actions

In March 2020, the Company borrowed $250 million on its revolving credit facility to provide additional liquidity to manage through the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company entered into an amendment with its existing lenders that provides, among other things, for the suspension of its debt leverage covenant through Q1 2021.

The Company has implemented temporary cost reduction measures of more than $100 million including pay decreases, furloughs and aggressive management of non-essential spending. The Company is also moving forward with plans to improve its financial position through a structural cost reduction program targeted to reduce its overall expenses by more than $100 million on an annualized basis. These actions are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2020.

Guidance

As disclosed in a Form 8-K filed April 2, 2020, Envista has withdrawn its guidance for 2020 due to the uncertainties surrounding the current operating environment and the unknown duration of the COVID-19 global health pandemic. The Company is not providing further guidance at this time.

Envista will discuss its results during a quarterly investor conference call today starting at 2:00 P.M. PDT. The call and an accompanying slide presentation will be webcast on the "Investors" section of Envista's website, www.envistaco.com, under the subheading "Events & Presentations." A replay of the webcast will be available in the same section of Envista's website shortly after the conclusion of the presentation and will remain available until the next quarterly earnings call.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing 866-648-5306 within the U.S. or by dialing +1 602-563-8479 outside the U.S. a few minutes before the 2:00 P.M. PT start and referencing conference ID # 2488658. A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call until June 12, 2020. You can access the replay dial-in information on the "Investors" section of Envista's website under the subheading "Events & Presentations." In addition, presentation materials relating to Envista's results have been posted to the "Investors" section of Envista's website under the subheading "Quarterly Earnings."

ABOUT ENVISTA

Envista is a global family of three companies and more than 30 trusted dental brands, united by a shared purpose: to partner with professionals to improve lives. Envista helps its customers deliver the best possible patient care through industry-leading dental consumables, solutions, technology, and services. Our comprehensive portfolio, including dental implants and treatment options, orthodontics, and digital imaging technologies, covers an estimated 90% of dentists' clinical needs for diagnosing, treating, and preventing dental conditions as well as improving the aesthetics of the human smile. Envista's companies, including KaVo Kerr, Nobel Biocare Systems, and Ormco, partner with dental professionals to help them deliver the best possible patient care.

Envista separated from Danaher in September 2019, bringing the proven Envista Business System (EBS) methodology, an experienced leadership team, and a strong culture grounded in continuous improvement, commitment to innovation, and deep customer focus to meet the end-to-end needs of dental professionals worldwide. Envista is now one of the largest global dental products companies, with significant market positions in some of the most attractive segments of the dental products industry. For more information, please visit www.envistaco.com.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

All "Adjusted" amounts including core sales and free cash flow are non-GAAP items. Calculations of these measures, the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and other information relating to these non-GAAP measures are included in the attached supplemental schedules.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conditions in the global economy, the markets served by us and the financial markets, developments and uncertainties in U.S. policy stemming from the U.S. administration, such as changes in U.S. trade and tariff policies and the reaction of other countries thereto, contractions or growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, fluctuations in inventory of our distributors and customers, loss of a key distributor, our relationships with and the performance of our channel partners, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and services, the potential for improper conduct by our employees, agents or business partners, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including regulations relating to medical devices and the health care industry), the results of our clinical trials and perceptions thereof, penalties associated with any off-label marketing of our products, modifications to our products that require new marketing clearances or authorizations, our ability to effectively address cost reductions and other changes in the health care industry, our ability to successfully identify and consummate appropriate acquisitions and strategic investments, our ability to integrate the businesses we acquire and achieve the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, contingent liabilities relating to acquisitions, investments and divestitures, significant restrictions and/or potential liability based on tax implications of transactions with Danaher, security breaches or other disruptions of our information technology systems or violations of data privacy laws, our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property, the impact of our restructuring activities on our ability to grow, risks relating to potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, currency exchange rates, tax audits and changes in our tax rate and income tax liabilities, changes in tax laws applicable to multinational companies, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property and environmental, health and safety matters, our ability to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, risks relating to product, service or software defects, risks relating to product manufacturing, the impact of our debt obligations on our operations and liquidity, commodity costs and surcharges, our ability to adjust purchases and manufacturing capacity to reflect market conditions, reliance on sole or limited sources of supply, the impact of regulation on demand for our products and services, labor matters, international economic, political, legal, compliance and business factors (including the impact of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU), disruptions relating to war, terrorism, man-made and natural disasters, public health issues and other events, pension plan costs, and our ability to attract, develop and retain talented executives and other key employees. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2019. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and except to the extent required by applicable law, we do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.

CONTACT

John Bedford

Vice President, Investor Relations

Envista Holdings Corporation

200 S. Kraemer Blvd., Building E

Brea, California 92821

Telephone: (714) 817-7000

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED AND COMBINED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) ($ and shares in millions, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Sales $ 547.2



$ 659.7

Cost of sales 268.8



296.6

Gross profit 278.4



363.1

Operating expenses:





Selling, general and administrative 268.7



274.9

Research and development 34.7



43.3

Operating (loss) profit (25.0)



44.9

Nonoperating income (expense):





Other income 0.1



0.1

Interest expense, net (3.3)





(Loss) income before income taxes (28.2)



45.0

Income tax (benefit) expense (11.0)



7.1

Net (loss) income $ (17.2)



$ 37.9

(Loss) earnings per share:





Basic and diluted $ (0.11)



$ 0.30

Average common stock and common equivalent shares outstanding:





Basic and diluted 159.2



127.9



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) ($ in millions, except per share amounts)



As of

April 3, 2020

December 31, 2019 ASSETS





Current assets:





Cash and equivalents $ 353.6



$ 211.2

Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for credit losses of $26.6 and $22.8, respectively 365.9



443.6

Inventories, net 312.3



277.9

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 82.4



69.2

Total current assets 1,114.2



1,001.9

Property, plant and equipment, net 289.5



290.3

Operating lease right-of-use assets 193.1



200.1

Other long-term assets 93.0



74.4

Goodwill 3,292.5



3,306.0

Other intangible assets, net 1,258.6



1,285.6

Total assets $ 6,240.9



$ 6,158.3

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY





Current liabilities:





Short-term debt $ 3.5



$ 3.9

Trade accounts payable 194.8



208.0

Accrued expenses and other liabilities 383.9



470.6

Operating lease liabilities 26.7



26.7

Total current liabilities 608.9



709.2

Operating lease liabilities 179.5



186.0

Other long-term liabilities 419.5



399.3

Long-term debt 1,546.7



1,321.0

Commitments and contingencies





Equity:





Preferred stock, no par value, 15.0 million shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding at April 3, 2020 and December 31, 2019 





Common stock - $0.01 par value, 500.0 million shares authorized; 159.2 million shares issued and outstanding at April 3, 2020; 158.7 million shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2019 1.6



1.6

Additional paid-in capital 3,596.1



3,589.7

Retained earnings 75.9



93.1

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (189.9)



(144.2)

Total Envista equity 3,483.7



3,540.2

Noncontrolling interests 2.6



2.6

Total equity 3,486.3



3,542.8

Total liabilities and equity $ 6,240.9



$ 6,158.3



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED AND COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) ($ in millions)



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Cash flows from operating activities:





Net (loss) income $ (17.2)



$ 37.9

Noncash items:





Depreciation 9.5



9.8

Amortization 22.5



22.5

Stock-based compensation expense 6.0



4.1

Amortization of right-of-use assets 7.8



9.8

Change in trade accounts receivable, net 73.0



1.2

Change in inventories, net (36.7)



(7.7)

Change in trade accounts payable (10.7)



(39.4)

Change in prepaid expenses and other assets 11.4



(24.7)

Change in accrued expenses and other liabilities (118.8)



(11.8)

Change in operating lease liabilities (9.1)



(10.7)

Net cash used in operating activities (62.3)



(9.0)

Cash flows from investing activities:





Acquisitions, net of cash acquired (41.6)





Payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (13.6)



(15.6)

Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment 



0.3

All other investing activities 3.8





Net cash used in investing activities (51.4)



(15.3)

Cash flows from financing activities:





Proceeds from borrowings 249.8





Repayment of borrowings (0.1)





Proceeds from stock option exercises 3.3





Net transfers from Former Parent 



24.3

All other financing activities 5.5





Net cash provided by financing activities 258.5



24.3

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and equivalents (2.4)





Net change in cash and equivalents 142.4





Beginning balance of cash and equivalents 211.2





Ending balance of cash and equivalents $ 353.6



$ 



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION SEGMENT INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Sales





Specialty Products & Technologies $ 272.6



$ 348.8

Equipment & Consumables 274.6



310.9

Total $ 547.2



$ 659.7









Operating Profit (Loss)





Specialty Products & Technologies $ 7.8



$ 66.1

Equipment & Consumables (19.3)



(12.2)

Other (13.5)



(9.0)

Total $ (25.0)



44.9









Operating Margin





Specialty Products & Technologies 2.9 %

19.0 % Equipment & Consumables (7.0) %

(3.9) % Total (4.6) %

6.8 %

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)

Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss)



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Consolidated





Operating (Loss) Profit $ (25.0)



$ 44.9

Pretax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A 22.5



22.5

Restructuring costs B 12.3





Adjusted Operating Profit $ 9.8



$ 67.4

Adjusted Operating Profit as a % of Sales 1.8 %

10.2 %







Specialty Products & Technologies





Operating Profit $ 7.8



$ 66.1

Pretax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A 14.7



14.5

Restructuring costs B 0.8





Adjusted Operating Profit $ 23.3



$ 80.6

Adjusted Operating Profit as a % of Sales 8.5 %

23.1 %







Equipment & Consumables





Operating Loss $ (19.3)



$ (12.2)

Pretax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A 7.8



8.0

Restructuring costs B 10.8





Adjusted Operating Loss $ (0.7)



$ (4.2)

Adjusted Operating Loss as a % of Sales (0.3) %

(1.4) %

See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)

Adjusted Net Income



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Net (Loss) Income $ (17.2)



$ 37.9

Pretax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A 22.5



22.5

Restructuring costs B 12.3





Tax effect of adjustments reflected above C (10.9)



(5.3)

Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments D (1.7)



(3.0)

Adjusted Net Income $ 5.0



$ 52.1



See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share



Three Month Period Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Diluted (Loss) Earnings Per Share $ (0.11)



$ 0.30

Pretax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets A 0.14



0.14

Restructuring costs B 0.08





Tax effect of adjustments reflected above C (0.07)



(0.03)

Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments D (0.01)



(0.02)

Dilutive impact of IPO and conversion shares as if issued at beginning of period E 



(0.07)

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.03



$ 0.32









See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

Adjusted Diluted Shares Outstanding



Three Months Ended (shares in millions) April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Average common stock shares outstanding - basic 159.2



127.9

Assumed exercise of dilutive options and vesting of dilutive restricted stock units F 2.6





Dilutive impact of IPO and conversion shares as if issued at beginning of period E 



34.4

Average common stock and common equivalent shares outstanding - diluted 161.8



162.3



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)

Adjusted EBITDA



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Net (Loss) Income $ (17.2)



$ 37.9

Interest expense, net 3.3





Income taxes (11.0)



7.1

Depreciation 9.5



9.8

Amortization 22.5



22.5

Restructuring costs 12.3





Adjusted EBITDA $ 19.4



$ 77.3



See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

Core Sales Growth 1

Consolidated % Change Three Month

Period Ended April 3, 2020 vs.

Comparable 2019 Period Total sales growth (17.1) % Less the impact of:

Acquisitions (0.2) % Discontinued products 0.9 % Currency exchange rates 1.8 % Core sales growth (14.6) %



Specialty Products & Technologies

Total sales growth (21.8) % Less the impact of:

Acquisitions (0.4) % Discontinued products 1.3 % Currency exchange rates 1.5 % Core sales growth (19.4) %



Equipment & Consumables

Total sales growth (11.7) % Less the impact of:

Discontinued products 0.4 % Currency exchange rates 2.1 % Core sales growth (9.2) %







1 We use the term "core sales" to refer to GAAP revenue excluding (1) sales from acquired businesses recorded prior to the first anniversary of the acquisition ("acquisitions"), (2) sales from discontinued products and (3) the impact of currency translation. Sales from discontinued products includes major brands or products that Envista has made the decision to discontinue as part of a portfolio restructuring. Discontinued brands or products consist of those which Envista (1) is no longer manufacturing, (2) is no longer investing in the research or development of, and (3) expects to discontinue all significant sales within one year from the decision date to discontinue. The portion of sales attributable to discontinued brands or products is calculated as the net decline of the applicable discontinued brand or product from period-to-period. The portion of GAAP revenue attributable to currency exchange rates is calculated as the difference between (a) the period-to-period change in sales and (b) the period-to-period change in sales after applying current period foreign exchange rates to the prior year period. We use the term "core sales growth" to refer to the measure of comparing current period core sales with the corresponding period of the prior year.

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)

Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flows to Free Cash Flow



Three Months Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Net Operating Cash Used in Investing Activities $ (51.4)



$ (15.3)

Net Operating Cash Provided by Financing Activities $ 258.5



$ 24.3









Net Operating Cash Used in Operating Activities $ (62.3)



$ (9.0)

Less: payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (capital expenditures) (13.6)



(15.6)

Plus: proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment (capital disposals) 



0.3

Free Cash Flow $ (75.9)



$ (24.3)



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

A The pretax and after-tax amounts related to amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets are shown below for the following periods ($ in millions). Only the pretax amounts set forth below are reflected in the amortization line item above:







Three-Month Period Ended

April 3, 2020

March 29, 2019 Pretax $ 22.5



$ 22.5

After-tax $ 15.4



$ 17.2



















B We exclude costs incurred pursuant to discrete restructuring plans that are fundamentally different (in terms of the size, strategic nature and planning requirements, as well as the inconsistent frequency, of such plans) from the ongoing productivity improvements that result from application of the Envista Business System. These restructuring plans are incremental to the operating activities that arise in the ordinary course of our business and we believe are not indicative of Envista's ongoing operating costs in a given period.



C This line item reflects the aggregate tax effect of all pretax adjustments reflected in the preceding line items of the table using each adjustment's applicable tax rate, including the effect of interim tax accounting requirements of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 Income Taxes.



D The discrete tax matters relate primarily to excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation, changes in estimates associated with prior period uncertain tax positions and audit settlements, tax benefits resulting from a change in law, and changes in determination of realization of certain deferred tax assets.



E In connection with the initial public offering ("IPO"), an additional 30.8 million shares were issued on September 20, 2019. This line item reflects the dilutive impact of these IPO shares as if outstanding as of the beginning of each period presented. In addition, certain Envista employees were previously granted Danaher Corporation ("Danaher") equity awards. On December 18, 2019, Danaher completed the split-off exchange offer of all the common shares of Envista held by Danaher in exchange for shares of Danaher common stock. As a result, the equity awards held by certain Envista employees to purchase Danaher shares have been converted into equity awards to purchase Envista's shares. The dilutive impact of these equity awards are included in this line item to reflect the potential dilution as if outstanding as of the beginning of each period presented.



F The Company was in a net loss position for the three months ended April 3, 2020, therefore no shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options or vesting of restricted stock units were included in the computation of diluted loss per share as their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. However, given that the items noted in footnotes A-D resulted in adjusted net income for the three months ended April 3, 2020, the dilutive impact of stock option and restricted stock units is being included to arrive at adjusted diluted shares outstanding.

Statement Regarding Non-GAAP Measures

Each of the non-GAAP measures set forth above should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, the comparable GAAP measure, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Management believes that these measures provide useful information to investors by offering additional ways of viewing Envista Holdings Corporation's ("Envista" or the "Company") results that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, help our investors to:

with respect to Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss), Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA, understand the long-term profitability trends of Envista's business and compare Envista's profitability to prior and future periods and to Envista's peers;

with respect to Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, provide investors with improved comparability for Adjusted Diluted EPS as share counts under GAAP are calculated using a weighted average approach;

with respect to Adjusted Diluted Shares Outstanding, allows for the impact of the IPO shares and dilution related to the conversion of Danaher equity awards into Envista equity awards to be presented as if they were outstanding for all prior periods presented and for the dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock units as the Company is reporting adjusted net income compared to a net loss under GAAP;

with respect to Core Sales, identify underlying growth trends in Envista's business and compare Envista's revenue performance with prior and future periods and to Envista's peers;

with respect to Adjusted EBITDA, help investors understand operational factors associated with a company's financial performance because it excludes the following from consideration: interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and infrequent or unusual losses or gains such as goodwill impairment charges or nonrecurring and restructuring charges. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, as a supplemental measure for assessing operating performance in conjunction with related GAAP amounts. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is used in connection with operating decisions, strategic planning, annual budgeting, evaluating Company performance and comparing operating results with historical periods and with industry peer companies; and

with respect to Free Cash Flow (the "FCF Measure"), understand Envista's ability to generate cash without external financings, strengthen its balance sheet, invest in its business and grow its business through acquisitions and other strategic opportunities (although a limitation of free cash flow is that it does not take into account the Company's debt service requirements and other non-discretionary expenditures, and as a result the entire free cash flow amount is not necessarily available for discretionary expenditures).

Management uses these non-GAAP measures to measure the Company's operating and financial performance.

The items excluded from the non-GAAP measures set forth above have been excluded for the following reasons:

With respect to Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss), Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA:

We exclude the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because the amount and timing of such charges are significantly impacted by the timing, size, number and nature of the acquisitions we consummate. While we have a history of significant acquisition activity we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, and the amount of an acquisition's purchase price allocated to intangible assets and related amortization term are unique to each acquisition and can vary significantly from acquisition to acquisition. Exclusion of this amortization expense facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly-acquired and long-held businesses, and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies. We believe, however, that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation and that intangible asset amortization related to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized.



We exclude costs incurred pursuant to discrete restructuring plans that are fundamentally different (in terms of the size, strategic nature and planning requirements, as well as the inconsistent frequency, of such plans) from the ongoing productivity improvements that result from application of the Envista Business System. These restructuring plans are incremental to the operating activities that arise in the ordinary course of our business and we believe are not indicative of Envista's ongoing operating costs in a given period.



With respect to the other items excluded from Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss), Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA, we exclude these items because they are of a nature and/or size that occur with inconsistent frequency, occur for reasons that may be unrelated to Envista's commercial performance during the period and/or we believe that such items may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.

With respect to core sales, we exclude (1) the effect of acquisitions because the timing, size, number and nature of such transactions can vary significantly from period-to-period and between us and our peers, which we believe may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult, (2) sales from discontinued products because discontinued products do not have a continuing contribution to operations and management believes that excluding such items provides investors with a means of evaluating our on-going operations and facilitates comparisons to our peers, and (3) the impact of currency translation because it is not under management's control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends.

With respect to the FCF Measure, we exclude payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (net of the proceeds from capital disposals) to demonstrate the amount of operating cash flow for the period that remains after accounting for the Company's capital expenditure requirements.

SOURCE Envista Holdings Corporation

Related Links

https://www.envistaco.com


CALIFORNIA  In an effort to salute first responders working during the coronavirus pandemic, four fighter jets will fly low across much of California Wednesday, producing rumbling in the skies over several cities.

Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, four F-15C Eagle jets from the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing will take off from a Fresno air base and pass over medical facilities in the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento and the Bay Area.



They will cover the towns and cities of Reedley, Selma, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, Richmond, Oakland, San Jose, Monterey, Paso Robles, Templeton, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield, Visalia and Clovis, and then return to Fresno.

Look up! Tomorrow morning, four fighter jets with the California Air National Guard will perform a flyover in the Bay Area and other parts of California. Why? To salute those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/5HXnEpuDcS[Map: @144thFW] pic.twitter.com/f078Dsmy33

 Brendan Weber (@BrendanNWeber) May 12, 2020

The jets will do a low pass over a few locations, including the state Capitol, the Governors Office of Emergency Services and the California Highway Patrol Academy, all in Sacramento.

The flyover was initially planned to include Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California, but that segment was canceled Tuesday afternoon to accommodate a different event by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, who plan to fly over Southern California at some point in the near future.[RECIRC]

Officials urged the public to watch the flyover but maintain social distancing, following reports of large crowds gathered to watch similar flyovers in New York City last month.

Officials encouraged the public to share photos and videos of the flyover on social media, using the hashtags #144FW, #AmericaStrong and #CalGuard.



Story continues

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch
Amber Dean had recovered from a mild bout of the coronavirus and her family of five had just ended their home quarantine when her oldest son, 9-year-old Bobby, fell ill.

At first it was nothing major, it seemed like a tummy bug, like he ate something that didn't agree with him, said Dean, who lives with her husband and three young children in the western New York town of Hornell. But by the next day, he couldn't keep anything down and his belly hurt so bad he couldn't sit up.

At the local hospital emergency room, doctors suspected an appendix infection and sent him home with instructions to see his pediatrician.

It was only later, after Bobby's condition took an alarming turn for the worse, that doctors realized he was among the small but growing number of children with a mysterious inflammatory syndrome thought to be related to the virus.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that New York is now investigating about 100 cases of the syndrome, which affects blood vessels and organs and has symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock. Three children in the state have died and Cuomo advised all hospitals to prioritize COVID-19 testing for children presenting with symptoms.

In New York City, which has reported at least 52 children sick with the syndrome, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday urged parents to call their pediatricians promptly if their children show symptoms including persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting.

That's what Bobby Dean's family did, even though they live in Steuben County, which has only 239 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and is in a part of the state set to start reopening some workplaces on Friday.

The family doctor performed a coronavirus test the day after his trip to the emergency room, but the results would take 24 hours. By that night, the boy's fever had spiked, his abdomen was swollen, he was severely dehydrated and his heart was racing. His father, Michael Dean, drove him to Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester, 90 minutes away.

At Rochester they did a rapid COVID test and it came back positive, Amber Dean said. For the next six days, she was at his hospital bedside while Bobby was hooked up to IV lines and a heart monitor. He came home on Mother's Day.

It never affected his respiratory system, it was his heart that it affected, Dean said. Inflamed lymph nodes caused the abdominal pain, she said. They're hoping he pulls through with 100% recovery but they said there have been children with lasting effects.

Children elsewhere in the US and in Europe have also been hospitalized with the condition known as pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome.

In New York, the syndrome has been found across a wide range of young people. A 5-year-old boy, 7-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman have died.

About 23 percent of cases have occurred in children under age 5, about 29% between the ages of 5 and 9, about 28% between ages 10 and 14 and 16% between the ages 15 and 19.

This is a truly disturbing situation and I know parents around the state and parents around the country are very concerned about this, and they should be, Cuomo said. If we have this issue in New York it's probably in other states.

Dr Juan Salazar, the physician-in-chief at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, said two patients there are believed to have the rare condition, which he said often appears to present itself two to four weeks after a child has recovered from COVID-19, often without ever being diagnosed with the infection. Yale Health has said it's treating three children believed to have the syndrome.

Cuomo announced last week that New York is developing national criteria for identifying and responding to the syndrome at the request of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In testimony Tuesday before a Senate committee on the administration's coronavirus response, Dr Anthony Fauci said children in general do better than adults and the elderly, but he warned there is still much to learn about the virus.

For example right now, children presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome very similar to Kawasaki syndrome, Fauci said. I think we better be very careful that we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.

As Bobby Dean's boisterous energy and sardonic sense of humor returns, his mom is vigilant for signs of illness in her younger children, aged 7 months and 3 years.

It's a pretty scary thing, watching your child be hooked up to all these wires and IVs and there's nothing you can do, Dean said. In my opinion, right now, I would not let your child out in public.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VANCOUVERBritish Columbia is changing its workers compensation system to make it easier for those sick with COVID-19 to make claims for lost pay  the type of reforms Ontario workers have been seeking for more than a month.

All workers in industries deemed essential by B.C. will be able to make a claim to workers compensation without having to prove they got the disease at work.

Its a matter of adding COVID-19 to a list of presumptive conditions acknowledged by WorkSafeBC  the provincial occupational health and safety body.

Critics in Ontario say its another reminder that their province could be doing more to protect essential workers fighting COVID-19 on the front lines.

We now have over 2,000 health care workers who have tested positive for COVID-19, reads a May 5 letter sent by Ontario Federation of Labour president Patty Coates to the premier and two ministers.

They and other essential workers need to know that your government has their back  that if they get sick or need to be quarantined, our workers compensation system will fully support them.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) first asked the province to ramp up its workers compensation program in a written proposal on April 3. It included the demand that essential workers sick with COVID-19 should not have to wonder whether their claims for compensation will be accepted.

When Ontario workers get sick or injured on the job and lose pay because of it, they make claims with the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB), the provincial body that adjudicates claims and administers payouts. Usually, the onus is on the worker to prove that the injury or illness took place at work  otherwise their claim could be denied.

But there are exceptions. Certain conditions are presumed to be work related for insurance purposes in specific job categories. For example, a firefighter who develops cancer can get workers compensation without having to prove the cancer was related to smoke exposure  its presumed thats the case.

For Jennifer Whiteside, a spokesperson for B.C.s Hospital Employees Union, which represents care aides and other health-care workers, the new changes are a crucial step to keeping workers physically and financially safe.

It means they will have fewer hoops to jump through to get their claim accepted, she said, adding it would hopefully help ensure the worker uses the time they are sick to stay home and get well, without feeling pressured to get back to work too early.

We cant afford to be losing health-care workers for long periods of time due to illness, she said.

Although a positive measure, Whiteside says its not the same as guaranteeing sick pay provisions to workers in all essential industries  where the standard number of paid sick days varies across industries and workplaces. And she wants to see presumption applied to mental health conditions related to working through a pandemic also.

The addition of COVID-19 as a presumptive condition will also take six months to kick in  a delay that could be significant, especially for low paid workers.

The B.C. governments emergency powers give it the authority to swiftly act to protect workers  both the essential workers weve asked to show up throughout this pandemic, and those who return to work as we enter the next phase, B.C. Federation of Labour president Laird Cronk said in a press release. Its time to use those powers.

WSIB and WorkSafeBC both published data last week on the number of COVID-19 related claims they had received since the beginning of the pandemic. The Ontario body received 3,004 COVID-19 related claims as of May 5, while the B.C. body received 340 as of May 6.

Health-care workers represented 428 total coronavirus cases in B.C. at the end of last month, while the number in Ontario is more than 2,200.

Coates, the OFL president, referred to B.C.s action in her May 5 letter and urged the province to follow suit.

Read more about:
IRVING, Texas, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) (the "Company") today announced that management will participate in upcoming BMO Global Farm to Market Virtual Conference.

Randall C. Stuewe, Darling's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present on May 14, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET and will host one-on-one meetings throughout the day. Mr. Stuewe will be joined by Brad Phillips, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and James Stark, Vice President Investor Relations.

The investor presentation will be webcast and accessible via the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://www.darlingii.com.

About Darling

Darling Ingredients Inc. is a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, creating a wide range of ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy and fertilizer industries. With operations on five continents, the Company collects and transforms all aspects of animal by-product streams into useable and specialty ingredients, such as gelatin, edible fats, feed-grade fats, animal proteins and meals, plasma, pet food ingredients, organic fertilizers, yellow grease, fuel feedstocks, green energy, natural casings and hides. The Company also recovers and converts recycled oils (used cooking oil and animal fats) into valuable feed and fuel ingredients and collects and processes residual bakery products into feed ingredients. In addition, the Company provides environmental services, such as grease trap collection and disposal services to food service establishments and disposal services for waste solids from the wastewater treatment systems of industrial food processing plants. The Company sells its products domestically and internationally and operates within three industry segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients and Fuel Ingredients. For additional information, visit the Company's website at http://www.darlingii.com.

For More Information, contact:

James Stark, V.P. Investor Relations

972-281-4823

[email protected]

SOURCE Darling Ingredients Inc.

Related Links

http://www.darlingii.com


U.S. Atty. Gen. William Barr testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press )

Atty. Gen. William Barr ignited yet another firestorm last week by dismissing all charges against former national security advisor Gen. Michael Flynn. Then Barr threw more gas on the fire when CBS Catherine Herridge asked him, When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written?"

Well, he replied, history is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who's writing the history.

It turned out that the full quote was less cynical than the ubiquitous soundbite. Barr added, I think a fair history would say that it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law. It  upheld the standards of the Department of Justice, and it undid what was an injustice.

My own view of the Flynn episode is that the former decorated general behaved poorly  by his own admission lying to the FBI  but the FBI behaved terribly, too. Flynn was caught up in a counterintelligence investigation that became a politicized criminal investigation without sufficient evidence of a crime.

I believe its possible that Barr is doing what he thinks is best for the Justice Department and the country. Whether hes made the right decisions, however, is something historians will debate for years.

Which brings us back to that hoary cliche about the winners  or the victors  writing the history. I hear that phrase all the time and it drives me crazy, University of Massachusetts historian Vincent Cannato tells me. Sure, theres some truth to it, he concedes. If the Romans conquered some Celtic backwater, the Romans wrote their history. The hitch, Cannato notes, is that nowadays, plenty of history gets written by the losers. Much of the historical profession today is dedicated to recovering the voices of [formerly] marginalized groups.

The victors in the settling of North America were clearly the European intruders, and for a while, the story of noble white men battling savages dominated. Thats gone, now. One doesnt have to be a fan of Howard Zinn to believe some correction was long overdue. The 1619 Project  which just won a Pulitzer Prize  was not exactly a story told by the winners.

Story continues

Whats vexing about Barrs use of the aphorism is that hes applying a claim that works somewhat for ancient military history, to democratic politics and the rule of law. The suggestion, even with his caveats, that his decisions will only be vindicated by history if his side wins is disturbing.

Thats not how it works. For instance, the Hollywood writers who lost their jobs during the McCarthy era were obviously not the victors. But they ultimately got to write the history of their defeat. Standard textbooks today teach, and Hollywood constantly insists, that they were heroic martyrs of a fascistic moral panic over communism (let me avoid a whole brouhaha by simply saying the actual story is somewhat more complicated).

Then theres the specific question of how historians will treat the Trump presidency. If you talk to some in the administration, youll occasionally hear that history will vindicate them. Most days, I find it difficult to contain my skepticism about that.

Indeed, even those who say it tend to avoid claiming that history will be kind to Trump himself. Rather, they say that certain policies will be recognized as justified, or that individuals who sacrificed much to keep the White House on the rails will get some sympathy. This may well be true. Still, if I had to bet, once Trump is out of power, the vast majority of administration memoirs will be self-serving and thus quite damning of Trump himself.

On the other hand, something Cannato told me makes me think I could be wrong. In the modern era, the victors didnt write the history for the losers. The losers wrote separate histories of their own. After World War I, he notes, the Germans wrote their own version of events  about how they were stabbed in the back by traitors and Jews  which is one reason we got World War II. Similarly, Japan lost the second World War, but they wrote their own history and have thus failed to address the legacy of imperial Japan.

The culture war is not a civil war, but it shares a similar dynamic. Each side subscribes to wildly different narratives about the country and the times. If today you actually believe Trump is a truly great president, you probably wont stop thinking it tomorrow, particularly when so many people believe that being hated by people you hate is proof of greatness. History may just end up being more fake news.

If theres one thing the Trump era has demonstrated, its that if theres a market for something, there will be politicians eager to provide it. I still think history will be very unkind to our current president, but it may take a very long time for that to be an uncontroversial opinion.

@JonahDispatch
ODNI Declassifies List of Former Obama Officials Behind Unmasking of Flynn

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declassified a list of former Obama administration officials who allegedly were involved in the unmasking of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in his communications with the former Russian ambassador during President Donald Trumps transition period, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) confirmed to The Epoch Times.

The revelation was first reported by ABC News, which cited an unnamed senior U.S. official who said Grenell had brought the list to the Justice Department (DOJ) last week. Another unnamed source familiar with the intelligence told Fox News that the move to declassify the list is part of a larger plan to declassify several pieces of intelligence information in stages.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, also citing an unnamed source, reported that names on that list may be released at any time.

The ODNI directed The Epoch Times to the DOJ regarding inquiries about the release of the list; the DOJ didnt immediately respond.

The release of the list would likely renew a partisan debate regarding whether unmasking requests made by Obama administration officialsof identities of members of the Trump campaign in intelligence reportswere made for legitimate or for political purposes.

In the course of monitoring communications with foreign officials, the conversations of U.S. citizens are at times incidentally collected by intelligence agencies. The identity of these people is usually redacted in transcripts or intelligence reports if theyre not the subject of surveillance. Unmasking refers to the process of revealing the name of the U.S. citizen.

Data from the ODNI shows that the National Security Agency had unmasked the identities of U.S. persons in response to requests by another agency about 9,200 times in 2016, 9,500 in 2017, 16,700 in 2018, and 10,000 in 2019 (pdf).

Obama administration officials have previously acknowledged that they requested the unmasking of the identities of Americans in intelligence reports.

In 2017, Susan Rice, the national security adviser under former President Barack Obama, had made dozens of unmasking requests for the identities of members in Trumps election campaign, collected from intercepted communications. They began in July 2016 and increased following the election. Those requests raised concerns over the possibility that the information was used for political purposes, an accusation Rice has denied.

The decision to declassify the names of the officials comes days after the DOJ dropped its criminal case against Flynn.

Flynns conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in late December were subject to unmasking requests and were illegally leaked to the media. The leak is believed to have eventually triggered the controversy that led to Flynns dismissal as Trumps former national security adviser.

Flynn was accused of lying to investigators, claiming he didnt discuss Russian sanctions during a call he had with Kislyak before Trump took office. It was revealed in intercepted transcripts from the Obama administration that Flynn did discuss sanctions.

In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying in the FBI interview about his call with Kislyak but afterward sought to withdraw that plea. Flynns lawyers argued that he had been entrapped by the FBI in the interview.

Recent documents pertaining to the Flynn case released by the DOJ included handwritten notes that revealed top officials in the agency had questioned whether the goal of questioning Flynn was to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?

The documents also revealed that Peter Strzok, the FBIs then-deputy assistant director for counterintelligence operations, urgently reached out to agents handling the Flynn case to advise them not to close the case after the agents determined there were no more leads to follow in the Flynn probe.

In the DOJs court filing to dismiss the case, Timothy Shea, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, argued that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynna no longer justifiably predicated investigation that the FBI had, in the Bureaus own words, prepared to close because it had yielded an absence of any derogatory information.

Shea added that since the government wasnt persuaded that the FBI interviewed Flynn with a legitimate investigative basis, Flynns guilty plea was irrelevant. He said to be a crime, a lie needs to be material, which means it has to have probative weight on the investigated matter.

Attorney General William Barr has received backlash for the decision to drop the case, with about 2,000 former DOJ officials calling for his resignation.

Barr defended the departments decision to drop the case against Flynn in an interview with CBS on May 7, saying that the decision was a good one because it upheld the rule of law.

The attorney general said that he was committed to restoring an equal standard of justice in the United States and that that standard requires the department to dismiss the case against Flynn.

I wanted to make sure that we restore confidence in the system. Theres only one standard of justice, he said.

Joshua Philipp and Petr Svab contributed to this report.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2020 / Omni Commerce Corp. (FRA:0MZA) ("Omni" or the "Company") announces that further to its news releases dated April 17, 2020 and April 27, 2020, it has completed an amalgamation transaction (the "Amalgamation") between 1230165 B.C. Ltd. ("0165"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and 1204970 B.C. Ltd. ("4970"), a private British Columbia corporation which is a creditor of Dreamfields Brands Inc. ("Dreamfields"). The Amalgamation was completed by way of a three-cornered amalgamation, whereby 4970 and 0165 amalgamated and will continue as an amalgamated company named "1230165 B.C. Ltd." which will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Omni intends to work with Dreamfields to assist them with pursuing alternate business plans, and to protect the amounts owed by Dreamfields to Omni.

The Company also announces the resignation of Alan Reynolds as director of the Company. Mr. Reynolds will continue to act as advisor to Omni. The Company would like to thank Mr. Reynolds for his contributions to the Board over the past years.

The Company also announces that further to its news release dated April 27, 2020, the parties have agreed to extend the deadline for entry into a definitive agreement with CBLT Inc. with respect to the proposed acquisition of an interest in the Northshore Gold Property to May 15, 2020. The deadline was extended to allow for the completion of due diligence.

About Omni

Omni is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and is a reporting issuer in British Columbia and Alberta.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

OMNI COMMERCE CORP.

Per: "John Veltheer"

John Veltheer, CEO

For further information, please contact:

John Veltheer

Phone: (604) 562-6915

Email: john@veltheer.com

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian legislation. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including, without limitation, the Company's plans to work with Dreamfields and protect the amounts owed by Dreamfields to the Company. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable and reflect expectations of future developments and other factors which management believes to be reasonable and relevant, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that Dreamfields is willing to work with the Company and that the amounts owed to the Company can be protected. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These risks include the inability of the Company to protect the amount owed to it by Dreamfields, and other risks which are described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Omni Commerce Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589438/Omni-Acquires-Creditor-of-Dreamfields-Brands-Inc
WASHINGTON (AP)  Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that reopening the economy too soon during the coronavirus pandemic will result in needless suffering and death.

Fauci is among the health experts testifying Tuesday to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus's spread.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said as the hearing opened that what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.

FOOD RAGE: Woman arrested after damaging vehicle for Whataburger

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the U.S., is testifying via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been pressuring states to reopen.

Fauci, in a statement to The New York Times, warned that officials should adhere to federal guidelines for a phased reopening, including a downward trajectory of positive tests or documented cases of coronavirus over two weeks, robust contact tracing and sentinel surveillance testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes.

If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines ... then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country, Fauci wrote. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston company asked by House Democrats to return federal funding

A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark for loosening restrictions  a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.

Fauci put himself in quarantine after a White House staffer tested positive for the virus. Alexander also put himself in quarantine after an aide tested positive.

Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  both in self-quarantineand Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump will not be controlling the agenda.

Eyeing the November elections, Trump has been eager to restart the economy, urging on protesters who oppose their state governors stay-at-home orders and expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.

The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are driving blind into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems  South Korea, Germany and China  have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.

WHO's emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations  which he did not name  have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.

Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as Ive seen, Ryan said. Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.

Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work.

U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000, including more than 150,000 in Europe, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. Experts believe those numbers are too low for a variety of reasons.

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece and Parra from Madrid. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
A new law criminalising FGM was recently issued in Sudan, but in order for it to be effective the mentality supporting the practice has to change

Sudanese Foreign Minister Asmaa Mohamed Abdallah has announced that the countrys transitional government has criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM) following decades of struggle against this still highly prevalent crime against women in Sudan.

The announcement was hailed as historic by the UN Childrens Fund UNICEF.

The fact that it was Sudans foreign minister, together with the Information Ministry that made the announcement, has led many observers to believe that the move is designed to indicate the new path the new government has adopted following the April Revolution in Sudan that overthrew the three-decade rule of former president Omar Al-Bashir.

Article 141 of the Sudanese Criminal Code now punishes with a three-year prison term anyone who removes or mutilates a womans genitalia, resulting in its partial or total dysfunction, be the act practised in a hospital, clinic, or otherwise.

Those found guilty of performing FGM will also be fined and the place where the crime took place shall be closed.

This is not the first time that FGM has been criminalised in Sudan since a similar law was passed by the British colonial administration in 1946.

That law was a colonial ploy because it didnt criminalise the FGM that Sudan describes as sunna [an act taken after the Prophet Mohamed], said Nahid Gabrallah, director of the Seema Centre for Training and the Protection of Women and Childrens Rights.

Gabrallah is a human-rights activist who has long been fighting against violence against women and FGM in Sudan. The colonial law stipulated that the genital mutilation had to lead to death or disability before it could be penalised. Therefore, it could only be applied to one per cent of cases, she said.

The 1946 law wasnt put into effect because the colonialists didnt want to clash with the countrys conservative leaders at a time when the national movement was intensifying the call for the independence of Sudan, said Hassan Saleh, a Sudanese lawyer.

To control Sudan, the British used tribal leaders under the civil administration system to enforce the law, including the law criminalising FGM. These tribal leaders could not change the prevalent culture supporting FGM, making the application of the colonial law against FGM impractical.

For three decades following Sudans independence in 1956, the violent practice was performed until womens rights activists raised their voices demanding the criminalisation of FGM.

It became more difficult to fight the practice with the rise of the Islamists in the 1980s, said Gabrallah.

Former Sudanese president Gaafar Numeiri conducted a national reconciliation in 1977 between his regime and a number of opposition parties, including the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood led by the late Hassan Al-Turabi, which had benefitted from financing from the Islamic Faisal Bank and other Islamic banks.

Numeiri announced the application of Islamic Sharia Law in Sudan in September 1983. He was toppled in April 1985.

A coup later took place in June 1989 masterminded by Al-Turabi and under the leadership of Al-Bashir. The new regime implemented an extremist ideology against women.

According to Gabrallah, civil-society associations then suggested enforcing Article 13 of a childrens law passed in 2009 that criminalised FGM. But Al-Bashir responded by abolishing the article under the pressure of extremist clerics.

A year earlier, the National Council for Child Welfare in Khartoum had suggested a strategy to eliminate FGM. Its 2008-2018 plan focused on social awareness and had positive results among the countrys middle classes. At the same time, the countrys Medical Council banned FGM in hospitals and state clinics.

Nonetheless, Sudans Islamic Jurisprudence Authority affiliated to the Sudan Scholars Association issued religious edicts supporting FGM.

Nine out of 10 Sudanese married women between 15 and 49 years of age have undergone FGM procedures, according to UNICEF. However, according to Sudans 2010 healthcare census, 34.5 per cent of girls aged between five and nine have experienced FGM, down from 41 per cent in 2006.

Based on the Seema Centres initiative, Sudan is now likely to see fewer such invasive operations among young girls in cities and among the middle classes. But unfortunately the practice is still exercised among other classes, Gabrallah said.

It may be that the new Article 141 of the Criminal Code will meet the same fate as previous laws on FGM. It is unlikely to be followed in regions controlled by civil administrations, such as the major part of west Sudan, and regions suffering from civil conflict such as Darfur, Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains to the south.

It is also futile to adopt the path of raising public awareness against FGM without effective policies to eliminate poverty.

According to the UN, the Egyptian experience has been the most successful in this regard in Africa. FGM dropped in Egypt from 99 per cent in 1995 to 61 per cent in 2014 among girls aged 15 to 17, the age group that most commonly undergoes FGM operations. It is expected the percentage will further drop in Egypts 2021 census.

In 2008, Egypt issued a law defining FGM as a misdemeanour. The punishment was increased in 2016 to seven years in prison and the practice was deemed a crime. If the procedure results in death or disability, the crime is punishable by 15 years in jail.

Egypt has been launching anti-FGM campaigns for years, and the government has banned its practice in state hospitals since the 1990s.

The law is a powerful tool to challenge the culture. I believe fewer girls will suffer from FGM in Sudan from now on, Saleh said. It is true there will be difficulties in applying the law in regions far from the capital, but it is worth trying, he added.

Society raises the awareness of individuals in time, making it possible to fight crimes such as FGM, he concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A worker wearing a face mask checks passengers' temperatures aafter their arrival at Hankou railway station in Wuhan - AFP

Officials in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began, have ordered a citywide nucleic acid test for Covid-19 over a 10-day period after a resurgence of infections over the weekend.

Health authorities ordered every district in the city of 11 million to submit a detailed testing plan by Tuesday for their respective area. The ambitious plans will require all tests to be completed within 10 days.

China is taking swift action to take control of the resurgence of infections, and the urgent directive came a day after Wuhan reported six new Covid-19 infections over the weekend.

On average, Wuhan has conducted about 47,000 nucleic acid tests each day since the lockdown was lifted, Reuters calculations based on reports by the city's health authority show.

New confirmed cases reported in China since April have been low compared with the thousands every day in February, thanks to a nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine.

Wang Zhongli, a Wuhan city official said: We need to strengthen nucleic tests in the communities and widen the scope of testing."

China's health authority said on Tuesday that the reappearance of local clusters of coronavirus cases suggests that counter-epidemic measures cannot be relaxed yet.

Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health Commission, said that while prevention and control efforts have normalised, that does not mean measures can be eased.

People must still wear face masks and stay 1.5 metres away from each other, although there has been no mention of reinstating the draconian measures seen earlier this year.

The new cluster of the outbreak has ended the city's record of 35 days with no reported infections.

The flareup is the city's first resurgence of the virus since the government lifted the citywide lockdown on April 8.

The city went into quarantine on January 23, which saw residents banned from leaving the city and schools and businesses close.

Story continues

Wuhan's health officials said the new cluster includes two couples in their 70s and 80s and two women aged 46 and 29, all of whom live in the same residential compound.

Another member of the cluster is an 89-year-old man with a history of hypertension and cerebral infraction, who began experiencing symptoms such as a fever and chills on March 17. State media reported that he stayed home, didn't seek medical attention and self-medicated for 10 days until the symptoms disappeared. One month later, he lost his appetite.

He was taken to a medical centre and tested for Covid-19 on May 6, which came back positive.

Officials said the compound had previously had 20 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, and that they believe the source of the infection came from a previous community outbreak.

Hundreds of asymptomatic cases are also being monitored.

China's state council dispatched an inspection team to Wuhan on Sunday and said in a statement that the team aims "to quickly cut off the transmission route, and resolutely prevent the spread of the epidemic."

It is a setback for China's effort to contain the pandemic as the nation attempts to gradually return to normal and two weeks before the country's annual parliament session.

China's health authority reported just one new coronavirus case in its daily tally on Tuesday, down from 17 a day earlier.

The total number of cases in China now stands at 82,919, and the death toll is 4,633.
WASHINGTON  The nations intelligence chief has declassified an Obama-era document related to President Trumps former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in a highly unusual move that prompted accusations that he was trying to discredit the Justice Departments Trump-Russia investigation.

Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, declassified the document  a list of Obama administration officials who sought to learn the identities of Trump associates swept up in surveillance of foreign officials  and gave it to the Justice Department, officials said. The department does not intend to release it, a senior department official said, and Mr. Grenells office declined to a provide a copy. But Republican lawmakers could demand that Mr. Grenells office release the list.

Mr. Grenells move came as Mr. Trump and his associates have in recent days intensified their efforts to change public perception about the Russia inquiry from a scandal involving Mr. Trump to one involving his predecessor. They argue that the Obama White House, the F.B.I. and the news media acted improperly as they sought to learn more about Mr. Flynns ties to Moscow.

It is part of the struggle over who controls the narrative of the investigation of the 2016 election, said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government classification at the Federation of American Scientists. It is putting the spotlight on the investigators rather than the investigated. It is saying what is irregular here is not the extraordinary contacts with the Russian government but the attempt to understand them.
KABUL: Gunmen stormed a hospital on Tuesday in an attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, as a suicide blast killed 15 people at a funeral in the country's restive east.

Special forces rescued 80 people including mothers and babies from the Kabul hospital after three gunmen launched a morning assault, killing at least four people, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Heavily armed forces were seen carrying babies wrapped in blankets away from the scene, as the clearance operation continued.

The facility, which has a large maternity ward, is located in the west of the city, home to the capital's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group.

The flare-up in violence comes as Afghanistan grapples with myriad crises including a rise in militant operations across the country and a surge in coronavirus infections.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told AFP he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building.

"The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside," he said, asking not to be named.

The maternity services at the hospital are supported by humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

"Hospitals and health workers must not be attacked. We call on all sides to stop attacking hospitals and health workers," said deputy health minister in the city, Waheed Majroh.

Around an hour later, a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at the funeral of a local police commander in the country's eastern Nangarhar province, according to provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani.

The attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the ceremony.

Zaher Adel, spokesman for the government hospital in Jalalabad, earlier said 12 bodies had arrived from the blast site and more than 50 people were being treated for injuries.

Amir Mohammad, who was wounded in the blast, said thousands of people had gathered for the funeral, an event which often draws huge crowds in Afghanistan.
Pick which New Mexico youd rather live in.

A New Mexico with a healthy $3 billion safely tucked away in reserves and no overspending? Or a New Mexico that is facing a budget crisis, with about $2 billion of excess expenses and no way to cover it?

Unfortunately, were all in the second scenario, thanks to the reckless spending spree of the majority of the state legislature last January. How on Earth did we get here?

Lets try to unpack this together.

Financial studies show that the most our state budget can safely grow is 4 percent each year. But the majority in control passed a 20 percent increase in just the last two years!

This house of cards was built on unpredictable revenue from the then-high price of oil, but now prices are near an all-time low. Add in a weakening of our economy because of the pandemic, and its nothing short of a financial disaster.

I sounded the alarm the last two budget cycles, proposing alternative spending plans  ones that would not increase your taxes and would not count on unreliable oil prices. But it fell on the majoritys deaf ears.

This summer, the legislature must realign our budget with our drastically reduced revenues. So how will we do that?

The latest news is that the majority in control wants to pass unprecedented tax hikes and take money out of your pocket to pay for their mistakes.

Where in the world do they think working families will get the money for tax hikes? Many New Mexicans have endured heartbreaking losses.

Many have lost their jobs  more than 90,000 unemployment claims in New Mexico in the past month  many have been sick and had medical expenses, and many are struggling to just keep their pantry stocked. You cant get blood from a turnip.

The legislative majority might also resort to their past fixes. They might raid funds from your kids schools again.

They might force public employees to take unpaid time off again. And they may eliminate teacher raises.

But there is a better way. This is our chance to correct what never should have happened in the first place.

We Republicans want a new budget that will be based on reliable sources of revenue, will provide assistance to our local economy and will let you keep more of your hard-earned money. We will be advocating for:

New Mexico tax relief/stimulus for you and your family.

Assistance to New Mexico small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Help for small businesses in navigating red tape and accessing federal loans from the federal COVID-19 relief bill.

A six-month delay in renewal dates for teacher licenses that expire this July 1, and other similar professional licenses.

Now is the time to put families ahead of politicians and lobbyists. Now is the time to put people before party lines.

Pick the New Mexico you want to live in. Then contact your state legislators and give us our marching orders.

(New Mexico Rep. Jason Harper is a Republican representing District 57, which encompasses much of Rio Rancho.)
By Express News Service

KURNOOL: In a blunder, Kurnool government general hospital staff buried the body of a man who tested negative for COVID-19 instead of a man found positive for the virus, leading to protests by family members of the former. District collector G Veera Pandian said a three-member committee has been formed to probe the incident.

Though officials said the incident may have happened as the two patients were having a similar name, the protesting family members asked how the authorities could perform the last rites of a 66-year-old when the age of the person whose burial was supposed to be performed was 36.

According to hospital staff, Ram Babu, 66, of Budhawarapeta in Kurnool city was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 on May 7 and died on May 9. However, samples taken from Ram Babu tested negative for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, a 36-year-old man from S Nagappastreet in Kurnool city got admitted to the hospital on May 9 and died the next day. His samples tested positive for COVID-19. The results of the two samples came on Monday.

On Monday night, the Kurnool GGH mortuary staff shifted the body of Ram Babu for burying at the selected site and performed the last rites as per protocol. On Tuesday morning, the relatives of Ram Babu arrived at the mortuary to receive the body but found that it was of another person and questioned the hospital staff.

The hospital staff reportedly left the scene after which Ram Babu's relatives staged a protest at the mortuary against the negligence of hospital authorities. They later staged a demonstration in front of the Gandhi statue at the collectorate demanding justice.

"I could not get a chance to perform the last rites of my father as per our tradition. The staff should be held responsible for this and action should be taken against them," Ram Babu's son Ramesh demanded.

He also alleged that the hospital authorities had entered the wrong name on the death report initially and corrected it after they pointed out the mistake.

Responding to the incident, Kurnool district collector G Veera Pandian asked the hospital authorities to probe the issue and submit a detailed report over the incident.

"A three-member committee comprising GGH superintendent Dr Narendranath Reddy, district medical and health officer Dr Ram Giddiah and Kurnool medical college principal Dr P Chandrasekhar was constituted to probe the incident," the collector said.
Beetle X, which was eventually incorporated into the world's biodiversity register. Credit: A. Staverlkk

It took seven years, countless beetle penis field investigations, and hours upon hours on hands and knees in coastal wetlands. This is the story of all the research that has to happen before a new species can finally get its official name.

It was the shape of the penis that first set insect scientist Frode degaard on his multi-year odyssey.

The year was 2013, and he and colleague Oddvar Hanssen were poring over a massive amount of insect material that had been collected on coastal wetlands in southern Norway. Their task was to identify the species and count and record them to find out how important coastal beaches are for endangered insect species.

It was when he saw the penis of a specimen of the leaf beetle Galerucella tenella in profile that he began to wonder.

Before you ask: Yes, studying insect penises is something bug researchers do.

Many insect species look practically identical on the outside, but have genitalia that are completely different. The purpose for that is to provide reproductive isolationin short, to prevent related species from mating.

"Sometimes I use the technique of preparing insect genitals to accurately determine a species right away. The shape of the beetle genitalia functions almost like a key for identifying insects," says degaard. He is an associate professor at NTNU's Department of Natural History.

Blunt or pointed? Nature is smart: The purpose of the difference is to prevent related species from mating with each other. Credit: A. Staverlkk

Unknown American?

In this case, however, the shape did not agree with the key. Galerucella tenella has a penis that is thin and pointed as seen from the side. On the other hand, the beetle penis degaard had before him had a thick and blunt profile. That got him pondering.

Could this specimen be a variant of the common species? Could it be a foreign species that had spread north or been introduced by humans? Or could it simply be a whole new and as yet undescribed species?

degaard quickly became sure that this was not just a variant. As he studied the insects more closely, he found further subtle differences. The colour of the antennae was different, their wing cases had denser hair, and the depth of the indentation in the rearmost abdominal segment was different.

"The next stage involved trying to find out which species this unknown shape actually belonged to," the researcher said.

"My first suspicion was that it could be an American species, so I contacted Canadian and American leaf beetle researchers, but they quickly ruled out that this was a species from their home area," he said.

A big deal

degaard then examined the Russian and Chinese leaf beetle literature, but neither provided an answer to the true identity of Beetle X. Farther south in Europe and in tropical regions there were no other known species in this subgenus. Suddenly, the improbable became probable: everything indicated that this beetle was a whole new specieswhich is far from an ordinary occurrence for a Norwegian insect scientist.

Being a bug researcher can require the patience of a saint. What kind of plant does this possible new species thrive best on? Credit: Agne degaard

"It was a big deal. It's really rare to find completely new beetle species in Norway. Usually you find species that are known from other places, and that are only new to Norway," he says.

degaard had now come a step further in solving the mystery of the blunt-tipped beetle penis, and the investigation entered a new phase.

Searching for Beetle X among hundreds of thousands

Describing a new beetle for science is no glamorous job. You need to find out where and how this new species lives, which isn't that easy when dealing with a small crawly bugs.

The researcher returned to southern Norway in 2014, but the results were disappointing. He didn't find a single specimen of Beetle X, although he combed the meadowsweet wetlands where Galerucella tenella thrives, and netted thousands of beetles.

"It felt like looking for a needle in a haystack, trying to find deviant shapes among the hundreds of thousands of beetles that need to be distinguished from each other under the microscope," he said.

But degaard didn't let himself become discouraged. The following year he travelled back to southern Norway, and this time he made a breakthrough. He found two specimens of Beetle X on the short part of the coastal wetland and realized that it lived on a low-growing plant. However, it wasn't until the next summer that he found out which one.

"This time it was really clear that these critters were jumping into the net when I'd bring it down over the silverweed (Potentilla anserina) plants. And I was able to quickly confirm it when I first found feeding marks and then adult beetles on the plants," he said.

Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)  the plant that proved to be the host plant for the new species of beetle. Credit: Aslaug Viken

Almost like living in Linnaeus' time

Now degaard had found the host plant, an important part of describing a new species. However, it bothered him that he had only found the two species in separate locations. Would the two speciesBeetle X and Galerucella tenellastick to their host plant if they were free to choose?

More field studies were needed. In 2017, degaard went to Fredrikstad and spent an entire day kneeling with his nose to the ground and picking leaf beetles off their plants. He sorted the beetles into containers according to which plant he found them on.

"Once I was home I could check the identity of the beetles, and I found that all the specimens were true to their host plants. Then the species description could finally begin," degaard said.

That took some time, too. The research world is characterized by an endless rush of projects and deadlines, and it isn't easy to find time for a writing project without a deadline. In March this year, the species description was finally published in the international journal Zootaxa. With that, Beetle X was incorporated into the world's biodiversity register under the name Silverweed leaf beetle Galerucella anserina.

After almost seven years of work, there is no doubt that success tasted sweet for researcher Frode degaard.

"Discovering and describing a new species for science feels like real pioneering work. Almost like living in Linnaeus' time and getting a taste of the great discoveries that were made over 200 years ago," he said.

More information: Frode degaard et al. Galerucella (Neogalerucella) anserina degaard & Hanssen, sp. nov., a new species of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) from Norway, Zootaxa (2020). Journal information: Zootaxa Frode degaard et al. Galerucella (Neogalerucella) anserina degaard & Hanssen, sp. nov., a new species of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) from Norway,(2020). DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4755.2.8
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Thirty nine more coronavirus cases were reported in Kazakhstan on May 12, 2020, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Healthcare.

New coronavirus cases were confirmed in Almaty city (26 cases), Shymkent city (6 cases) and Zhambyl region (7 cases).

The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 5,279 cases. This includes 2,108 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 32 patients who passed away.

Distribution of overall coronavirus cases in Kazakhstans regions:

Total infected Total recovered Total deaths Nur-Sultan city 1 103 416 3 Almaty city 1 622 456 9 Shymkent city 245 138 6 Akmola region 110 91 4 Aktobe region 176 54 Almaty region 183 87 Atyrau region 340 121 East Kazakhstan region 51 15 1 Zhambyl region 192 93 1 West Kazakhstan region 255 107 Karaganda region 197 99 3 Kostanay region 68 30 1 Kyzylorda region 231 165 Mangystau region 130 17 1 Pavlodar region 154 89 2 North Kazakhstan region 36 29 Turkestan region 186 101 1 TOTAL 5 279 2 108 32

The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.

The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Afghanistan Not to Release More Taliban Prisoners Until Reciprocated by Armed Group

Sputnik News

12:20 GMT 11.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Afghanistan government and the Taliban signed a US-mediated peace pact in February. As part of the agreement both sides agreed to release prisoners  the government would release 5,000 Taliban and the armed group would release 1,000 pro-government captives.

A spokesman for the Afghanistan National Security Council Javid Faisal said on Monday, that the government will not release more Taliban prisoners until the group reciprocates with the release of 200 more pro-government captives, TOLO News reported.

So far the government has released 1,000 Taliban prisoners, while the Taliban has released 105 members of the security force.

On Saturday (9 May) Faisal said it was now the Taliban's turn to accelerate the release of prisoners, stop killing Afghanis and start face-to-face talks soon. He added that the government had released prisoners to fight COVID-19 and advance peace. "Delays are no longer justifiable," he added.

The US-brokered peace deal signed on 29 February pledged the gradual withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country in exchange for security guarantees from the armed group. The swap deal of prisoners was part of the agreement.

 Sputnik

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A man who claims to be homeless has been charged with being outside without reasonable excuse during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sultan Monsour, 45, faces trial after pleading not guilty to an offence under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations.

They make it illegal for anyone to leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.

But the law states that the restriction does not apply to any person who is homeless.

A judge challenged the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over the charge during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

The court heard that Mr Monsour, of no fixed address, was arrested at Londons Liverpool Street station on 5 May.

Prosecutor Malachy Pakenham said he initially told police he lived in Stratford and was on his way home, before claiming he was homeless.

He was seen at Liverpool Street station before, when he was travelling, and warned, he added.

The officer who warned him then saw him 10 days later and his patience ran out.

District judge Alexander Jacobs asked: Is it not a defence that the regulation doesnt apply to a person who is homeless?

If he is homeless then the charge that he left the place he was living, namely no fixed address doesnt make sense to me.

The man was arrested outside Liverpool Street station in the City of London (Simon Calder)

Mr Pakenham replied: He told police he had an address, which seems to satisfy the conditions.

But the judge said that an account given by the arresting officer said he was arresting him for breaching coronavirus conditions because he had no address.

He told the defendant: Mr Monsour, Im inviting the prosecution to look at the charge again and make it plain how they put the charge against you.

The prosecutor returned after an hour and said the CPS would be proceeding with the charges to trial.

The charge reads: On 05/05/2020 at the entrance to Liverpool Street Station, London, during the emergency period, without reasonable excuse, other than as permitted by the regulations, [you] were outside of the place where you were living, namely no fixed address or refused to provide your address details.

During the same hearing, Mr Monsour admitted possessing an offensive weapon  a claw hammer  in a public place during an unrelated incident at Stratford bus station in February and was fined 200.

He was granted unconditional bail until a case management hearing on 22 June.

A CPS spokesperson said: We are very clear on what the regulations state around homelessness but believe, in this case, there is sufficient evidence to proceed. Details of the disputed facts will be heard in court in due course.

It is one of several cases under coronavirus laws against people listed as of no fixed address, although the designation is also used for people who have not confirmed where they live.

Last month, a rough sleeper in Manchester had a charge of breaching the Health Protection Regulations withdrawn after the court was told it could not apply to homeless people.

Coronavirus: London on lockdown Show all 29 1 /29 Coronavirus: London on lockdown Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street Photos Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown An empty street in the heart of Chinatown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Making sure I stay two-meters apart  DArblay Street, Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Communities have been coming together in a time of need Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Stay Safe  Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty streets around Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street, one of Londons busiest tourist streets turns quiet Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub Angela Christofilou

The Manchester Evening News reported that John Wesley Brogan, 41, was convicted of being drunk and disorderly after verbally abusing police officers and hugging a member of the public.

He says he was in the city centre looking for an outreach worker to help him find accommodation, however, he started drinking and things deteriorated from there, said defence barrister Robert Moussalli.

There have also been several wrongful convictions under the separate Coronavirus Act 2020, which can only apply to potentially infectious persons.

The Liberty human rights organisation said the lockdown regulations were too broad.

This is the latest case of blunt police powers and confused guidance leading to perverse decisions from authorities, at a time of increased anxiety for all of us, said policy and campaigns manager Sam Grant.

The regulations must be clarified and limited to prevent even more confusion and injustice. Homelessness is not a lifestyle choice, its poverty.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As countries across the world begin to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, many schools are taking extra precautions when students return to the classroom.

New York school buildings are closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year and students have moved to remote learning.

A small school in Montana reopened its doors to students last week -- one of the first schools in the United States to reopen during the pandemic, according to a report from KRTV Great Falls. About 40 out of 56 total students returned to the school when it reopened and school staff greeted students at the door with temperature checks.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

As the coronavirus infection rate begins to lessen in other countries, many are beginning to reopen.

Schools in these countries are implementing various measures, including temperature checks, face masks and social distancing.

According to The New York Times, one school in Germany is requiring students to self-test for coronavirus twice a week. If tested positive, they would need to stay home for two weeks. Students who test negative wear a green sticker that indicates they can be in the school building without a face mask.

Teacher Michaela Kiesz directs returning sixth-graders at the GutsMuths Grundschule elementary school during the coronavirus crisis on May 4, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Getty Images

According to Insider, classes have already been underway in Norway, Japan, Denmark, China and Taiwan. Israel has reopened schools for children with special needs, students in first through third grade and juniors and seniors in high school.

Some schools are taking temperatures at the door, closing playgrounds, spacing out desks to be six feet apart. Teachers are holding classes outside in small groups whenever possible. In addition, class sizes are often cut in half.

The QSI International School of Dongguan in Guangdong, China, recently shared a video that details what students will be subject to when returning to school -- such as having their temperature checked, wearing a face mask all day, and washing hands thoroughly, followed by hand sanitizer.

SAFETY MEASURES

Insider reported that students in Denmark, Israel and Norway are spacing student desks six feet apart. Denmark schools are having children enter through different building entrances, and parents arent allowed inside the school. In Israel, students arent allowed to have contact with their peers or staff.

In eastern China, students are given hats that measure three feet across to remind them of social distancing, Insider reported.

Students wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, following the reopening of high schools in Athens, Greece, on Monday, May 11, 2020. (Orestis Panagiotou/Pool via AP)AP

Students are required to have their temperature checked before entering school buildings in Japan, Taiwan and China. In Beijing, Insider reported, students fill out a survey on an app that calculates risk of infection  and they can only go to school if the app says they are in good health.

Parents need to sign a health form in Israel to confirm their child doesnt have COVID-19. If a family member has it, the student cannot go to school.

STAGGERED SCHOOL DAYS

Countries have implemented staggered school return dates -- such as allowing just high school students, or elementary-aged students into schools first, before opening up the school to allow more grades, according to Insider.

Ninth-grade students listen to their teacher -- seen wearing a mask -- during a class at an elementary school in Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, May 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)AP

Schools in Sydney, Australia, are also opening in staggered stages, according to the Times. That means the country is having schools hold classes one day a week for a quarter of its students from each grade.

Germany is allowing all students back in the coming weeks, with class sizes cut in half. The New York Times reported that hallways are one-way systems, breaks are staggered, teachers wear masks, and students are dressing warmly as windows and doors stay open for air circulation.

HAND WASHING AND SANITIZING

Many countries are making sure students maintain good hygiene. Denmark has installed hand-washing stations outside of schools. Students have to wash their hands at least once an hour, Insider reports.

Some schools in Taiwan require face masks at all times, while Israel has some grades wear protective masks in school buildings, except in the classrooms.

A security guard takes the temperature of a student arriving for the reopening of school in Beijing on Monday, May 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)AP

Staff are disinfecting classrooms and toys multiple times a day, and some kids cant check books out of school libraries, borrow supplies from a classmate, or play games where social distancing measures cant be met, Insider reported.

When it comes to lunchtime, students either sit a distance apart in cafeterias, or eat in their classroom to reduce risk of spreading coronavirus.

SCHOOLS CLOSED IN NEW YORK

All New York schools, colleges and universities will remain closed for the rest of the academic year, with remote learning set to continue, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced May 1.

Whether or not summer school programs will be able to operate in-person will be determined later in the month.

Schools in New York are now being asked to start developing plans to reopen next academic school year with precautions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

We want schools to start now developing a plan to reopen and the plan has to have protocols in place that incorporate everything we are now doing in society and everything that weve learned. Were going to ask businesses to come up with plans to protect workers when they reopen; we need schools to come up with plans also that bring those precautions into the school room," the governor said during the May 1 press conference.

In addition, Cuomo recently announced that New York state is collaborating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to reimagine what schools will look like in the future.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
[May 12, 2020] Sun BioPharma, Inc. Provides a Business Update and Reports Q1 2020 Financial Results

MINNEAPOLIS, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sun BioPharma, Inc. (OTCQB: SNBP), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapeutics for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer, today provides a business update and reports financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

First-Line Combination Pancreatic Cancer moves into expansion phase prior to COVID-19 pause

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company completed enrollment in an added fourth cohort that was intended to study a dose schedule more conveniently aligned with the standard gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel regimen, and immediately began enrollment of subjects in the expansion phase of this clinical trial. This trial, a Phase 1a/1b combination of SBP-101 with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients previously untreated for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), is being conducted at sites in the United States and Australia. In early April 2020, as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the conduct of clinical trials around the world, the Company announced a pause in enrollment of new patients. Patients already enrolled in the clinical trial continue to be treated, and the Company intends to resume recruitment in the near future. We continue to monitor the situation in communities where our trial is in progress, noted Michael Cullen, MD, Executive Chairman, President and CEO. We expect to resume enrollment in the second quarter; that timeline is dependent on the course of the pandemic. 

Financial Results for the Three months ending March 31, 2020 Operating Results

General and administrative (G&A) expenses increased 54.5% to $468,000 in the first quarter of 2020, up from $303,000 in the first quarter of 2019. The increase is due to resumption of normal salary levels following a voluntary reduction of salaries for a part of the first quarter of 2019, in addition to higher stock compensation and legal expenses. Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 70.9% to $598,000 in the first quarter of 2020, up from $350,000 in the first quarter of 2019, primarily due to an increase in clinical trial costs. Other net expenses were $824,000 and $999,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The net expense in the quarter ended March 31, 2020 is composed primarily of a foreign currency exchange loss on the intercompany receivable balance. The net expense in the quarter ended March 31, 2019 is primarily the amortization of debt discount on convertible notes sold in December 2018 and January 2019, all of which converted into equity securities in 2019. Net loss in the first quarter of 2020 was $1.8 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Total cash was $1.3 million and $2.4 million as of March 31,2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Total current assets were $2.1 million and $3.1 million as of March 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively. Current liabilities decreased to $1.4 million as of March 31, 2020, compared to $1.8 million as of December 31, 2019, primarily as a result of payments made on vendor balances.

Net cash used in operating activities was $1.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $0.8 million in the same period of the prior year. The net cash used in each of these periods primarily reflected the net loss for these periods and was partially offset by the effects of changes in operating assets and liabilities. About SBP-101

SBP-101 is a first-in-class, proprietary, polyamine analogue designed to induce polyamine metabolic inhibition (PMI), exploiting a high affinity for the compound specific to the exocrine pancreas and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Sun BioPharma originally licensed SBP-101 from the University of Florida Research Foundation in 2011. The molecule has shown signals of efficacy in US and Australian metastatic pancreatic cancer patients, demonstrating complementary activity with an existing FDA-approved chemotherapy regimen. SBP-101 is expected to differ from current pancreatic cancer therapies in that it does not appear to exacerbate the typical adverse events of bone marrow suppression and peripheral neuropathy. Management believes that SBP-101 may effectively treat patients with primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer, and may be effective in combination with other agents, and in other types of cancer. The safety and PMI profile demonstrated in Sun BioPharmas current clinical trial support evaluation of the compound in a randomized clinical trial. About Sun BioPharma

Sun BioPharma Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapeutics for urgent unmet medical needs. The Companys development program is currently focused on pancreatic cancer; the Companys initial product candidate is SBP-101 for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. SBP-101 was invented by Raymond Bergeron, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida. Sun BioPharma has scientific collaborations with pancreatic disease experts at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the University of Rochester in New York, Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center in San Diego, California, the University of Florida, the Austin Health Cancer Trials Centre in Melbourne, Australia, the Ashford Cancer Centre in Adelaide, Australia, The Blacktown Cancer and Haemotology Centre in Sydney, Australia and the John Flynn Private Hospital in Tugun, Queensland, Australia. The Companys independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) is Chaired by James Abbruzzese, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Chief, Division of Medical Oncology at Duke University School of Medicine. Professor David Goldstein, FRACP, Senior Staff Specialist at the Prince Henry & Prince of Wales Hospital / Cancer Care Centre in Sydney, Australia is Co-Chair of the DSMB. Further information can be found at: www.sunbiopharma.com . Sun BioPharmas common stock is currently quoted on the OTCQB tier of the over-the-counter markets administered by the OTC Markets Group, Inc. under the symbol SNBP. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: believes, may, expects, or plans. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding the Companys plans with respect to the timing of our clinical trial. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, 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 and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: (i) our ability to obtain additional funding to complete Phase 1 clinical trial; (ii) progress and success of our Phase 1 clinical trial; (iii) the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to complete enrollment in our current clinical trial; (iv) our ability to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our SBP-101 product candidate (v) our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for our SBP-101 product candidate in the United States, the European Union or other international markets; (vi) the market acceptance and level of future sales of our SBP-101 product candidate; (vii) the cost and delays in product development that may result from changes in regulatory oversight applicable to our SBP-101 product candidate; (viii) the rate of progress in establishing reimbursement arrangements with third-party payors; (ix) the effect of competing technological and market developments; (x) the costs involved in filing and prosecuting patent applications and enforcing or defending patent claims; and (xi) such other factors as discussed in Part I, Item 1A under the caption Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any additional risks presented in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement or reasons why actual results would differ from those anticipated in any such forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Contact Information:

Investor & Media Contact:

Tammy Groene  Sun BioPharma, Inc.

952 479 1196 Sun BioPharma, Inc

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (unaudited)

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts) Three months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Percent Change Operating expenses: General and administrative $ 468 $ 303 54.5 % Research and development 598 350 70.9 % Operating loss (1,066 ) (653 ) 63.2 % Other income (expense): Interest expense (4 ) (1,033 ) -99.6 % Other income (820 ) 34 -2511.8 % Total other income (expense) (824 ) (999 ) -17.5 % Loss before income tax benefit (1,890 ) (1,652 ) 14.4 % Income tax benefit 92 71 29.6 % Net loss (1,798 ) (1,581 ) 13.7 % Foreign currency translation adjustment (loss) 797 (32 ) -2590.6 % Comprehensive Loss $ (1,001 ) $ (1,613 ) -37.9 % Basic and diluted net loss per share $ (0.27 ) $ (0.31 ) -12.9 % Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 6,631,308 5,072,397 30.7 %





Sun BioPharma, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)

(In thousands, except share amounts)

March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 ASSETS (Unaudited) Current assets: Cash $ 1,296 $ 2,449 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 389 283 Income tax receivable 406 361 Total current assets 2,091 3,093 Other noncurrent assets 45 51 Total assets $ 2,136 $ 3,144 LIABILITITES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 271 $ 597 Accrued expenses 308 304 Term debt 91 116 Unsecured promissory note payable 742 742 Total current liabilities 1,412 1,759 Stockholders' equity: Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 10,000,000 authorized; no shares issued or outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31 2019 - - Common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 authorized; 6,631,308 shares issued and outstanding as of both March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 7 7 Additional paid-in capital 42,671 42,331 Accumulated deficit (43,056 ) (41,258 ) Accumulated comprehensive income 1,102 305 Total stockholders' equity 724 1,385 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 2,136 $ 3,144

Sun BioPharma, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited)

(In thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (1,798 ) $ (1,581 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Stock-based compensation 112 10 Amortization of debt discount - 974 Amortization of debt issuance costs - 6 Non-cash interest expense - 48 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Income tax receivable (97 ) (74 ) Prepaid expenses and other current assets 97 38 Accounts payable 546 (193 ) Accrued liabilities 20 (11 ) Net cash used in operating activities (1,120 ) (783 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from the sale of convertible promissory notes, net of debt issuance costs of $7 - 810 Repayment of demand note - (25 ) Repayments of term debt (26 ) (27 ) Net cash provided by financing activities (26 ) 758 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (7 ) (1 ) Net change in cash (1,153 ) (26 ) Cash at beginning of period 2,449 1,405 Cash at end of period $ 1,296 $ 1,379 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Cash paid during period for interest $ 2 $ 5 Supplemental disclosure of non-cash transactions: Warrants issued for future services $ 228 Beneficial conversion feature on convertible notes $ - $ 353 Warrants issued with convertible notes $ - $ 419 Common stock converted into convertible notes payable $ - $ 25

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 23:09:25|Editor: huaxia

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COPENHAGEN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Denmark's Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Simon Kollerup unveiled on Tuesday a multi-million dollar "helping hand" to the country's travel industry.

Supported by nearly all the parties in the Danish Parliament, the travel industry gets access to grants worth 725 million Danish kroner (105.7 million U.S. dollars) for canceled trips.

Six hundred million Danish kroner have been added to the Danish Travel Guarantee Fund for extraordinary situations, such as covering package holidays that had been canceled as a result of the coronavirus crisis before April 13.

A further 125 million Danish kroner have been earmarked as an additional "financial float" in the fund.

"The travel industry was among the first to experience that the coronavirus pandemic affected not only our health but also the economy, and therefore they need a helping hand," said Kollerup.

The new agreement introduces collective responsibility for loans abandoned and replaced by an individual repayment model scheme through the fund.

In this way, individual responsibility avoids the previous situation where a well-functioning travel company became liable for a competitor unable to pay back their loan.

The new rules will apply to journeys that were to start between April 14, 2020, and May 10, 2020.

The agreement also provides for financial coverage of extra costs incurred by travel providers, including re-booking and return transport.

In addition, a scheme is proposed, where consumers can receive a voucher in the form of a guarantee or gift card for a paid trip canceled due to the travel restrictions. After a year, these vouchers can be exchanged for cash if still unused.

As part of the agreement, the Danish Parliament also agreed to petition the European Union (EU) to propose changes to its travel rules. (1 U.S. dollar = 6.86 Danish kroner) Enditem
Residents of a town that sits on the Virginia-Tennessee state border are dealing with coronavirus lockdown restrictions quite differently despite living on the same street.

The town of Bristol has different lockdown restrictions depending on what side of State Street a person is on.

For example, on the Bristol, Tennessee, side of State Street people have already started dining inside restaurants after the state reopened most of its businesses on April 27.

Meanwhile, on the Bristol, Virginia, side of State Street, restaurants aren't allowed to accept customers for dine-in options.

Virginia is expected to start lifting some restrictions on businesses, mainly stores and salons, as well as churches, beginning May 15.

Residents of a town that sits on the Virginia-Tennessee state border are dealing with coronavirus lockdown restrictions quite differently despite being just 50 yards away. State Street divides Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia

For example, on the Bristol, Tennessee, side of State Street (pictured) people have already started dining inside restaurants after the state reopened most of its businesses on April 27. On the Bristol, Virginia, side of State Street, restaurants aren't offering dine-in options

Joe Deel, of Virginia, who owns Burger Bar, told CNN: 'If there's a virus over there, it's over here.'

Travis Penn, the owner of Delta Blues BBQ in Tennessee, also told the network: 'I really would like to see the other side open. I know there are some businesses that are competitors, but it's good for everybody. I believe if we're all open, I want to see everybody do well.'

Tennessee Gov Bill Lee allowed restaurants to operate at a reduced capacity beginning April 27.

Since then, other businesses like gyms, salons and retail outlets have reopened.

But Virginia Gov Ralph Northam announced that phase one of the state's reopening process won't begin until Friday.

Restaurants and bars will be allowed to open their outdoor dining areas at 50 per cent capacity in Virginia beginning Friday.

According to CNN, Beth Rhineheart, the president and CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, said the COVID-19 cases in Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee are pretty low.

Rhineheart believes Gov Northam should take a regional approach to reopening.

Tennessee Gov Bill Lee allowed restaurants (file image) to operate at a reduced capacity beginning April 27. Since then, other businesses like gyms, salons and retail outlets have reopened

But Virginia Gov Ralph Northam announced that phase one of the state's reopening process won't begin until Friday. A foot massage shop in Falls Church, Virginia, remained shut on Monday

'We've been told that he's not really interested in a regional approach for a number of different reasons. But for us here, I mean when it impacts you at face value, you have a restaurant that can look out the window and 30 yards across the street, there are people walking into businesses, dining, shopping, and so that's a challenge,' Rhineheart told the network.

In Tennessee, there are more than 15,500 cases with at least 251 deaths. However, in Virginia, there are more than 25,000 cases with at least 850 deaths.

Northam said at a news conference Monday that the state continues to see positive trends in key metrics related to the virus' spread, hospital readiness and testing capacity.

He said the state is almost ready to begin a gradual reopening of nonessential businesses, houses of worship and other places currently closed.

'If our numbers continue to trend in the direction they are ... I anticipate that will go into phase one on Friday,' Northam said.

People wearing face masks check their phones in the street amid the coronavirus outbreak on Monday in Alexandria, Virginia

But he added while the same trends are moving in the right direction in northern Virginia, he is still concerned about the region's elevated number of cases.

For example, Northern Virginia reported more than 700 cases in the previous 24 hours, Northam said, while the rest of the state reported less than 300.

The regions political leaders wrote a letter to Northam on Sunday asking the governor to allow northern Virginia to move at a slower pace in easing restrictions. Northam said hes happy to work with those leaders and plans to provide more detail about what northern Virginias eventual reopening will look like on Wednesday.

He also asked residents of northern Virginia to avoid traveling to other parts of the state, if their reopening schedules are different.

The northern Virginia region shares a border with Washington, DC, and Maryland, whose leaders have not given a specific date for reopening.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 11, 2020 | VERSAILLES

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 11, 2020 | 07:48 PM | VERSAILLES

Eligible students attending one of the 16 colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) will soon receive information about how to request emergency funds for education-related expenses created by COVID-19.



The funding is available through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump.



The CARES Act provides assistance to college students, who beginning on March 13, 2020, experienced hardships caused by COVID-19 related to housing, childcare, medical care, course materials or technology, extended program length (to accommodate clinicals/labs), or food insecurity (due to shutdown of college food pantries).



KCTCS, in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, will make CARES Act funds available to students who would otherwise qualify for federal financial aid.



Eligible students will receive a communication from their home college with information on how to request funds.



Based on U.S. Department of Education requirements, applicants must be current KCTCS students who are eligible for Title IV financial aid and have experienced hardships created by disruption of campus operations and COVID-19. They must complete a request form and upload it to their college's Financial Aid Office as soon as possible.



Each college has an application review committee that will prioritize aid by financial need. In addition to following Department of Education guidance, the KCTCS plan follows guidance from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA.)



Students who have questions or need help should contact their college's Financial Aid Office. Completion of the request is not a guarantee of funding.
Nurses are being celebrated today for their bravery, skills and dedication.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingales birth.

This year, the annual celebration takes on more meaning than ever before.

Our frontline workers have been celebrated with regular clapping events to thank them for their work during the crisis recently.

Today President Michael D Higgins says it is a privilege to recognise the contribution that the 67,000 nurses and midwives in Ireland have made to our society.

"There can be no doubt that working in a profession such as nursing brings profound responsibilities, and is demanding physically, intellectually and emotionally," President Higgins said.

"To embark on such a career requires certain qualities in order for it to be a fulfilling and enriching experience for both patient and professional.

"Yet, it is something that people choose to do because they have the strength of character, the compassion and the commitment to make such a positive contribution to society.

"Having a career in which you use your knowledge and skills to relieve a persons suffering is such a positive contribution to make, and one we have come to appreciate more fully in recent times."

President Higgins said that as the country emerges from the Covid-19 crisis it is vital that there is a change in how we regard the state and public expenditure when it comes to health.

"We have all gained hard-won wisdom with regard to the value of frontline workers, such as nurses, and those providing essential services across the economy.

It would be so regrettable, egregious even, if, through some form of collective amnesia, we as a society were ever to disregard or forget your heroic efforts, and revert to where we were before the pandemic  a society that sometimes failed to value you fully.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is highlighting the shortage of nursing in the sector.

General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha says it is an ongoing problem, heightened by the crisis.

"We have been highlighting the shortage of nurses since before the pandemic so obviously that is going to worsen.

"Clearly we have a huge reliance in Ireland on overseas nurses, we are very reliant on nurses particularly from India and the Philippines to keep our services going and we are worried that we now have to make plans because that workforce won't be available to us."
The nation is about to emerge from the swaddle of weeks of mostly stay-at-home living and many new insights have been learned about the coronavirus in that time.

Knowledge is power against this lethal virus and the more we know the better equipped we are to take those first steps to exit lockdown.

Silent carriers

When we entered lockdown in March the extent of the threat from asymptomatic carriers - people with the virus but little or no symptoms - was still unclear.

The main emphasis was on sick people coughing and sneezing spreading the infection. That is still a route for transmission but it is now reckoned between 30pc to 50pc may be asymptomatic.

Read More

If you are talking to someone at close quarters for more than 15 minutes there could be droplets in the air which you could inhale.

Physical distancing works

In the absence of a vaccine the two-metre physical distancing rule, combined with other measures like hand washing, has suppressed the virus here.

Lockdown takes physical distancing to intense levels and the test now will be to see how it can be applied in much trickier settings as measures are loosened in the coming months. But the basic message about staying apart gives grounds for optimism that it will be possible to reopen society if this defence is followed.

Face coverings

Guidance is due from the National Public Health Emergency Team on the wearing of face masks, or more likely face coverings for the general population.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has confirmed the face coverings will not be mandatory.

The UK was as ambivalent as our public health officials about the merits of face covering, but this week it suggested wearing them on public transport or in shops where physical distancing may be difficult.

Age and illness

The death toll from the virus has been the most tragic part of the crisis to bear. But Irish hospitals now have a bank of knowledge not available weeks ago.

Statistics show the numbers of deaths from the virus increases with age from around 70 years upwards. It is highest among people in their 80s.

Doctors have found people with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma and cancer were most likely to end up in intensive care.

Extra care is needed for those most at risk.

Living in close quarters

We have learned that congregated settings like residential centres, nursing homes or direct provision housing can be breeding grounds for the virus.

When it comes to nursing home residents, they can be infected but without classic symptoms of sudden cough and fever.

Staff may feel fine but be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic.

This increases the risk of transmission. Now that the virus is being contained the responsibility to prevent a second wave rests with nursing home owners and HSE managers to ensure relentless surveillance.

Immunity and how long its lasts

Once people are infected with the virus and recover they can develop antibodies which could provide protection from reinfection. There is still some debate about this but there is something of a consensus emerging that there could be protection for some months or even one or two years.

Stay away from work or shops

We know now that the virus if highly transmissable. Anyone who has potential symptoms should self-isolate and not risk passing it on.

The criteria for testing now means anyone in the population, who has even one symptom such as sudden cough, fever or breathing difficulties, can contact their GP and be assessed for a test. The advice is not to delay in contacting the GP because it could mean the difference of accidentally passing the infection on or not.

Sunny weather

The warmer temperatures are unlikely to have any impact on the virus. It is continuing to hit sunny hotspots like Florida in the United States. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the US looked at different research studies and found no evidence to offer a basis to believe summer weather will interfere with the spread of the coronavirus.

Wild infection

The term wild infection applies to cases where a person contracts the virus but has no idea where they picked it up.

This kind of transmission accounts for over 60pc of cases. People have not contracted it from another person who is positive or from travel.

The message as we move out of lockdown is to never let the guard down and continue physical distancing and hand washing.

All counties have cases of the virus

The highest number of cases is recorded in Dublin but no county has escaped the infection.

There is more research to be done to give a better picture of how it is affecting different counties and urban versus rural areas.

Treatment

Doctors across the world are doing trials to find a treatment for patients who are sickest.

There are early results showing some existing drugs can shorten the recovery time for some patients but there are no drugs that have been able to kill it off.

Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland

Coronavirus can fall and rise

The first steps out of lockdown next week will be modest but there are already sobering reports from countries like Germany, which was ahead of us in relaxing restrictions.

Some local authorities there are bringing back lockdown measures after coronavirus infections spiked.

The fact the increase has been detected so soon means there is good surveillance in place through testing.

Vitamin D

Dr Rose Anne Kenny of Trinity College yesterday said there is currently strong circumstantial evidence associating enough vitamin D with reducing the severity of illness and even death rates.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has begun the partial reopening of the state economy, which will inevitably deepen the spread of COVID-19 within workplaces and lead to a surge in the number of deaths in the state. Last Friday, Wolf lifted restrictions on 24 counties located in the north-central and northwestern parts of the state, with plans to extend this reopening to the 13 counties in the southwest quadrant of the state this coming Friday.

Pennsylvania has the sixth highest infection and death rates in the US. Over the past week, the state has reported about 7,500 new cases, an increase of 17 percent. As of Monday, there were 57,154 confirmed cases and 3,731 deaths, according to the Department of Health.

Largely underreported, Philadelphia is the hardest hit area of the state. As of Saturday there were 15,008 cases and 857 people who have died in the county. The surrounding counties account for another roughly 14,000 cases and 1,253 deaths.

The northeastern part of the state, which includes Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazelton, Allentown and Bethlehem, is also being devastated, with nearly 5,000 cases and over 300 people killed by the virus. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, has 1,511 known cases and 123 people who have died.

At least a third of the reported deaths have occurred at nursing and other long term care facilities, yet the Wolf administration continues to block the publishing of the specific details.

The reopening process entails three stages categorized as red, yellow and green. Counties in red are still under stay-at-home orders. Ostensibly, for a county to move to yellow requires that particular metrics are met, including having fewer than 50 new confirmed cases per 100,000 people reported to the state government over the past 14 days; having enough testing available for individuals with symptoms, and targeted groups such as the elderly, health care workers and first responders; a systematic case investigation and contact tracing foundation in place; and identifying high-risk institutions and assurance from facilities in providing formal staff training, screening, and supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment) for workers.

Counties meeting these requirements will be moved to the yellow phase, in which businesses and childcare centers will be allowed to reopen, though some restrictions will apply such as the continued closure of gyms, barber shops, nail salons, casinos and theaters. The final phase is green, which entails a complete lifting of restrictions.

Most of the counties lifted from the stay-at-home orders are primarily rural and sparsely populated. The generally low number of COVID-19 infections in those areas attests to the fact that social distancing and the stay-at-home orders have been effective and should not be prematurely lifted.

In fact, none of the counties meet the criteria to move to the yellow phase, as nowhere is the contact tracing and testing required in place. It is entirely unfeasible to fully understand and document the amount of cases in the state without a comprehensive testing and contact tracing initiative. Moving 37 counties to the yellow phase by Friday, far from providing safety for workers and their families, will only accelerate the spread of the virus in Pennsylvania.

Small right-wing protests in Harrisburg and at Wolfs home were recently staged by small-business owners demanding the immediate opening up of the economy. Republican lawmakers have failed to overturn the stay-at-home order at the state Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court.

On Monday, local officials from seven Republican-led counties that were still designated redLancaster, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Schuylkill, Beaverannounced that they plan to reject the order and lift restrictions independently, while the Cumberland County and Perry County Sheriffs Offices have said on a Facebook post that they will not enforce the shutdown any longer. In total, these counties have a combined 5,809 cases and 356 deaths.

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to support the Republican officials, tweeting: The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. ... Dont play politics. Be safe, move quickly!

Wolf has responded by stating that he will cut off state funding to any counties that defy his orders, and that individual businesses could lose their health department certificates, liquor licenses or certificates of occupancy.

Wolf's decision to lift stay-at-home orders in part of the state is being presented in the media as a rational alternative to the moves by Republican governors to lift stay-at-home orders throughout their states.

However, Wolf is fully aware that reopening the economy will produce a spike in the number of workers becoming infected and dying for corporate profits. Proclaiming the future creation of a civilian corps to combat the virus, Wolf said, As businesses begin to reopen, were walking a tightrope between health and economy. This is a false dichotomy as it is possible to have safe working conditions, but it would require broad testing and contact tracing, among other steps, none of which are being done adequately.

While Wolf says the corps purpose will be to conduct testing and contact tracing, he would not say how many people the corps would employ, when it would start hiring or why he is reopening the economy well before the corps starts operations in late September.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the US, is still incapable of mass testing and contact tracing, the principal methods that the World Health Organization (WHO) has decreed necessary to eliminate the virus. In total, only 256,000 people have been tested in the state, or a meager 2 percent of the population.

Lacking copious supplies of personal protective equipment, the state government has explicitly stated it will not provide hospitals with sufficient masks, gloves and other equipment.

At a state Senate hearing last Monday, Secretary Rachel Levine said begrudgingly, Teams have been literally scouring Pennsylvania and the nation and the Earth to try to get [PPE] In the past, that has gone to hospitals. And we will give out to hospitals when necessary now, but the focus ... is on long-term-care living facilities.

As the state reopens, workers will be forced to go back to work under unsafe conditions or quit and become ineligible for unemployment benefits. According to Wolf, himself a businessman, the workers have the ultimate sanction to say, Im not coming to work  and they have the ability to petition the federal government, the state government, and the local government if they feel unsafe.

Amazon workers in Pennsylvania have issued many such complaints about the abysmally inadequate safety conditions in the companys warehouses. An Amazon worker at AVP1 told Pennlive, Believe meweve complained and complained and complained. What does it mean? What will they actually do? A worker at the Syncreon Apple fulfillment center in Cumberland County said, Im thankful I have a job, but it was stressful enough already. Now theres a threat of exposure [to COVID-19]. Its flat-out greed.

Meatpacking workers in Pennsylvania also face horrendous safety conditions, with the state leading the US in the number of food processing plants with confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Among the 22 meat- and poultry-processing plants, 858 workers have contracted the virus and many workers have died. On April 9, Enock Benjamin died at the Souderton Facility, and on April 28 a worker died at Bell & Evans in Fredericksburg.

Another worker, Rafael Benjamin, who worked at the Cargill plant in Hazleton, was forced by the company to remove his facemask at work and died on April 19. Benjamins coworkers told Bloomberg that the company listed several reasons for prohibiting face masks: that only sick people should wear them, that nurses and doctors need them more, and that it elicits fear in the workplace. The CDC has said nationwide over 4,900 meatpacking workers have tested positive for the virus and at least 20 deaths have tragically happened.

Across the US, nursing homes have been ravaged by the virus, but Wolf still insists on lifting restrictions. One of the largest nursing homes in the western part of the state, Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, had assumed the entire facilityabout 800 peoplehad contracted the virus, forcing the nursing home to stop listing the number of deaths and infected patients and staff.

Likewise, a Delaware County nursing home near Philadelphia had to call in National Guard nurses and medics to assist in caring for patients. Broomall Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has refused to reveal the number of deaths or infected employees and patients at its facility.

Rural areas are, moreover, still highly vulnerable to the virus. The health care infrastructure in rural counties has been decimated by inadequate funding for decades by both Democrats and Republicans, forcing shutdowns, layoffs, and long commutes for patients. Alarmingly, rural areas over the last two months account for 7,500 deaths.

Workers have responded to the demands that they sacrifice their lives for profit with a growing number of strikes, protests and demonstrations to demand safe conditions, the shutdown and cleaning of factories and adequate PPE. In Pennsylvania, since the start of the pandemic, sanitation workers have struck in Pittsburgh, nursing home workers struck in Northhampton County, Beaver County, and in South Philadelphia, Amazon workers protested in Hazleton, Hershey Chocolate workers struck in Palmyra and meat-processing workers staged a sickout near Easton.
The U.S. Space Force has been granted access to work alongside California-based SpaceX to get a detailed look into how the company makes its commercial and civil launches successful.

Earlier this month, SpaceX was awarded an $8.9 million contract "for non-National Security Space (NSS) Fleet surveillance," according to the May 6 award notice from the Defense Department. "This contract provides for non-NSS Fleet surveillance efforts across the Space Exploration family of launch vehicles for non-NSS missions."

Space Force officials will gain insight into SpaceX's launch methods at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and at Vandenberg, California, and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, the contract announcement states.

Related: Space Force Has Launched Its First Recruiting Commercial

The work is expected to be completed by November.

"It's really just a matter of continuing to ensure that we have the confidence we need in the processes, procedures and performance of all of these systems when we put national security assets [into space]," Gen. David "DT" Thompson, vice commander of Space Force, said Tuesday.

He explained that the Space Force wants to have access to this critical data as it gears up for its own launches.

"We feel like ... as you know on the commercial side, there are ways to protect ... yourself, which often include insurance and other things," Thompson said during a Mitchell Institute "Aerospace Nation" chat, responding to questions about the partnership. "We just want to make sure we have enough insight and understanding to be able to say with confidence that ... when [these assets are at] their greatest risk, which is [before and during] launch, that we have confidence that that's going to happen with a high probability of success."

The sixth, and newest, military branch launched its first national security satellite in March.

That month, the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency, or AEHF, satellite launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

The AEHF-6 is the final satellite in the communications constellation giving tactical and strategic support to troops and allies around the world, including protected "tactical warning attack, emergency action message dissemination, missile defense and warning, near real-time targeting, communications range extension, and special operations support," according to the Air Force.

SpaceX has received multiple contracts over the last several years to work with the government through the National Security Space Launch program, including a 2019 contract for $297 million to launch three national security satellites, according to Space News.

A spokesman said those three launches will give the government the ability to analyze SpaceX's data, as well as observe its launch vehicle systems, without disclosing proprietary information or data rights to its systems, Space News reported.

The satellites should launch in fiscal 2021.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Read More: As Military Recruiters Embrace Esports, Marine Corps Says it Won't Turn War into a Game
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will provide $3.6 million to assist the Indian governments response to the Covid-19 epidemic, including prevention and preparedness activities in the country.

This initial tranche of funding from the CDC aims to strengthen and support the Indian governments efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology, said a statement issued by the US embassy on Tuesday.

The funding will also be used to support the development of infection prevention and control (IPC) centres of excellence that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect Covid-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring.

The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support Indias capacity to respond to the current pandemic and future threats.

The scope of support will include planning for health emergency operations centres to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities. In addition, the CDC India program will provide technical assistance for the government of Indias ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts, the statement said.

Since early January, the CDCs India office has collaborated with sub-national and national government bodies to support the Covid-19 response. These efforts have focused on laboratory strengthening, infection prevention and control, health workforce development, emergency management, risk communication, and community engagement.

The CDC has conducted training courses across India for healthcare administrators, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on preparedness and response, infection prevention, laboratory operations, and field epidemiology to equip frontline workers with skills to collect, analyse and interpret data, and contribute to evidence-based decisions.

The goal of the CDCs global health response to Covid-19 is to limit human-to-human transmission and minimise the pandemics impact through partnerships with country and non-governmental partners to mitigate vulnerabilities.

The CDC has a long-standing technical collaboration with Indias health ministry to control HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, eradicate polio, and prepare responses to influenza and other pandemic diseases. Over the past two decades, this partnership has deepened mutual cooperation through the exchange of scientific knowledge and technology.

In India, US government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the CDC and other department of health and human services agencies, have provided more than $1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 15:28:55|Editor: huaxia

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by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, May 11 (Xinhua) -- As nearly 20,000 confirmed cases and 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in Colorado, the western state's newest emerging battlegrounds are prisons and nursing homes, a trend also seen across the United States.

On Monday, a second inmate, 61, died at Sterling Correctional Facility in northeastern Colorado, and the number of active cases among inmates there has swelled by more than a third to 327, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC).

The update was posted online on Monday as part of a new state prisons database reporting the results of coronavirus testing at prisons across the state.

Last week, an 83-year-old inmate died from COVID-19, CDOC officials said.

Since May, the pandemic has been hitting prisons hard. In Ohio, more than 20 percent of the people infected with coronavirus were prisoners. In Arkansas, almost half of the state's cases were in prisons and nursing homes, according to a CNN report.

More than 1,000 inmates have tested positive for the virus, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, and 876 of them were in one prison facility.

CASES SURGE

Recent weeks have seen a rapid jump of infectious cases in nursing homes across the United States.

CNN last week reported that more than 30 percent of Arkansas' coronavirus deaths were nursing home residents. In New Hampshire, long-term care facility residents accounted for around 80 percent of the state's fatalities.

Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health reported that 688 nursing home residents had died and an additional 50 deaths were reported among residents of other adult residential facilities.

Louisiana recorded 30,399 COVID-19 cases and 2,167 related deaths, Johns Hopkins University's data showed.

In the country's northwest, more than 50 percent of New Jersey's deaths came from long-term care facilities, according to data posted by the New Jersey Department of Health.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he spoke with the National Guard over the possibility of using non-medical members to assist nursing homes.

"Based on our numbers in long-term care to date, we took some very aggressive action early on and I think at this point it's time to take further steps to address some of the long-term care testing issues," New Hampshire Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette was quoted by CNN as saying.

"To date, we have tested over 1,000 nursing home residents across the state, which is a great number, we want to test more," Shibinette said.

About 111 people have died in New Hampshire, near 80 percent of whom were related to long-term care facility outbreaks, said Shibinette.

CALLING FOR TRANSPARENCY

With the caseload from nursing homes growing, officials have been addressing requests from family members for greater transparency and communication.

"As the coronavirus continues to isolate families from their loved ones, providing swift and accurate information on coronavirus cases should be the bare minimum we expect from nursing home facilities," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a letter to the federal government last week.

Becerra said he wanted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to get on board with accurate, timely information to concerned family members.

"These facilities house some of our most vulnerable populations, we must do everything we can to protect them," Becerra wrote.

"While California is already taking steps, it's important that CMS act immediately to implement and enforce new national guidelines that will increase transparency and ensure family members are notified by nursing homes as coronavirus cases occur," he added. Enditem
The president of the Cehat national hotels confederation, Jorge Marichal, said on Tuesday that it was understandable that the Spanish government should have decided to oblige foreign travellers to quarantine themselves for fourteen days while the state of alarm is maintained.

Quoted by Hosteltur, Marichal said that the health ministry's announcement of the quarantine might at first seem "absolutely contradictory to the message you want to give out, but it is understandable". Spain remains in a state of alarm, and this extraordinary measure is linked to this. While there is a state of alarm, people who fly should be subject to health security measures in the same way that Spanish residents are.

He added that the situation will change. The de-escalation plan is under way, and once international conventions* establish new security protocols and the state of alarm is lifted, there can be travel in the situation of the "new normal" that can allow tourism to restart.

* The European Commission is due to issue its guidelines on Wednesday.
SOUTH HADLEY  A portrait of alcohol and drug use among town teenagers was painted in a newly released Hampshire County Prevention Needs Assessment Survey.

According to the South Hadley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, 327 town students took part in the survey. Overall, 2,958 students in the county participated in the assessment. The data goes back 10 years.

The Strategic Planning Initiative for Families and Youth survey examines drug and alcohol use by preteens and teenagers.

Coalition members Susan Cook and Heather Warren presented the latest finding during at the May 4 School Committee meeting.

Acting Superintendent Diana Bonneville said the district conducts the survey every two years. Students take a 45-minute risk-assessment that identifies programming and students needs.

Cook said the survey uses tricks to ensure the results are valid, with an eye on exaggerations, fake drugs, inconsistent answers, an honesty question and consistency among schools. The survey examined alcohol, marijuana, opioid and cigarette use.

Alcohol and marijuana use in the past 30 days for eighth graders falls between 6 and 7%, while opioids and cigarettes are around 2% or less. Not enough data exists for vaping or e-Cigarettes, according to Warren.

For 10th grade, alcohol use dropped below 20% while the marijuana figures rose some since 2017, also around 20%. Again, cigarettes and opioids are barely negligible.

The survey showed a climb in alcohol use by grade 12.

Over 40% of 12th-grade respondents said they drank alcohol in the past 30 days. In 2009, the data showed that nearly 70% of 12th graders used alcohol. Marijuana usage is below 30%, a 1% percent drop since the last survey.

Cooks added that students at all grade levels dont smoke or vape. She attributed the decline in vaping to Gov. Charlie Bakers ban on flavored pods.

Cook was curious about the effect social distancing and stay-at-home orders would have on the 2021 assessment.

South Hadley students fared better compared to the overall e-cigarette rate in Hampshire County.

However, females nationwide are using e-cigarettes at a higher rate than males, according to Warren. Its a real turnaround from what we used to see, she said.

Cook added that foreign vaping products falsely claim zero nicotine. When tested by U.S. labs, nicotine pops up in the results. Kids are duped into thinking that its OK, Cooks said.

The coalition formed to collaboratively initiate, coordinate and sustain prevention and intervention efforts that reduce youth substance use and abuse in South Hadley.

Cook said the organization promotes collaboration, collects and shares data, adheres to evidence-based prevention, and fosters a culture where youth are supported to make healthy choices.

She said a brain continues to develop until 25 years old and that substances can lower grade point averages, raise dropout, delinquency, and early pregnancy rates.

Youths 13 and under who drink alcohol are five times more likely to develop a dependency than those who held off until 21.

Marijuana can be addictive, and its the number one reason youth seek substance abuse disorder treatment in Massachusetts, she said. Opioid drug misuse in young adults may have its roots in earlier substance use.

Cook said risks to youths include easy access to alcohol, pro-use messaging and advertising, contact with adults who use drugs and alcohol, permissive parents, struggles in school, early drug and alcohol use, and a lax attitude.

She suggested parents define clear rules on drug and alcohol usage, build strong relationships, and set limits and expectations. Youths should also participate in positive school and community activities with like-minded peers.
CAIRO  They are regarded as heroes, their fallen colleagues as martyrs. But for doctors and nurses still dealing with Irans growing number of coronavirus infections, such praise rings hollow.

While crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. government left the country ill-equipped to deal with the fast-moving virus, some medical professionals say government and religious leaders bear the brunt of the blame for allowing the virus to spread  and for hiding how much it had spread.

Those medical workers say they were defenseless to handle the contagion. And as a result, doctors and nurses in Iran have been hard hit by the virus. During the first 90 days of the virus outbreak alone, about one medical staffer died each day and dozens became infected.

We are heading fast toward a disaster, said a young Isfahan doctor who has been working tirelessly, checking dozens of suspected coronavirus patients before referring them to hospitals.

It is no secret that Iran has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Official government figures show that around 100,000 people were infected by the virus and around 6,500 have died. But a report by the research arm of Irans parliament said the number of cases could be eight to 10 times higher, making it among the hardest hit countries in the world. The report said the number of deaths could be 80% higher than officials numbers from the Health Ministry, about 11,700.

The Iranian government is currently reporting a decline in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in many areas, even though local authorities are expanding cemeteries in places like Tehran where the municipal council said it had to add 10,000 new graves to its largest cemetery, Behesht e-Zahra.

Interviews with more than 30 medical professionals and a review of communications by doctors on messaging apps and other documents by an Associated Press reporter in Cairo revealed many previously unreported details. The reporting paints a fuller picture of the roots and extent of the countrys disjointed response as the deadly virus spread throughout the population.

In the beginning, medical staffers faced the outbreak with very limited equipment. Some washed their own gowns and masks or sterilized them in regular ovens. Others wrapped their bodies in plastic bags they bought at the supermarket.

The makeshift equipment didnt help. Further complicating the situation, the Health Ministry said millions of pieces of protective gear ordered by the agency were stolen and diverted to the black market.

The result: Dozens of medical professionals without adequate protection died along with their patients.

Irans leaders, several medical professionals said, delayed telling the public about the virus for weeks, even as hospitals were filling up with people suffering from symptoms linked to the virus. And even as doctors and other experts were warning the Iranian president to take radical action, the government resisted, fearing the impact on elections, national anniversaries, and the economy.

They wanted to send people to the streets, said a Mazandaran-based nurse and activist.

One doctor interviewed by The Associated Press  who, like all medical workers interviewed for this story, spoke only on the condition that they not be named for fear of persecution  said he and his colleagues were even discouraged from using protective equipment. He said government officials claimed wearing masks would cause panic.

The countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed on March 10 that the doctors, nurses, and medical staffers who died in the fight against the coronavirus in Iran were martyrs. Pictures of deceased doctors have been placed alongside those of soldiers who were killed in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, which claimed the lives of a million Iranians and Iraqis.

They are normalizing death, a Tehran-based health consultant said.

A list compiled by a group of Iranian doctors found that a total of 126 medical staffers have died since the virus was first reported, mostly in the provinces of Gilan and Tehran, while over 2,070 contracted the virus. The AP verified 100 of the deaths by piecing together scattered news reports in local media outlets, statements from health institutions and social media messages of condolences.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour acknowledged the deadly toll of COVID-19 on the medical profession in Iran, telling the AP the total number of deaths is 107. Jahanpour said 470 had tested positive for the virus. But he placed the blame on the U.S. Remember this is a country under sanctions, he said. Iran has maintained throughout the crisis that its own industries made enough protective material to fight the virus.

Iran reported its first two cases on Feb. 19 in the city of Qom  140 kilometers (88 miles) south of Tehran and home of highly revered Shiite shrines. It would become the epicenter of the outbreak.

The announcement apparently was made under some duress. A doctor there named Mohammed Molei filmed himself next to his bedridden brother, insisting that his brother be tested for the virus. That coincided with a visit by a Health Ministry delegation to the city.

But doctors interviewed by the AP say that before the official announcement, they started to see cases with the same symptoms as the novel coronavirus and warned the national Health Ministry that it needed to take action.

Some doctors shared with the AP letters sent to the ministry. The doctors at first said they attributed the respiratory problems among patients and deaths to the H1N1 flu. Days later, they started to call for testing for H1N1 and other diseases to rule them out; the rate of infections and deaths seemed unusually high.

Through channels on the Telegram messaging service, they exchanged data. They reached out to the Health Ministry and proposed a set of recommendations and actions. At the top of the list: a quarantine and restricting travel and flights with China. But it would be another two weeks before the government took action.

We gave a lot of information to the government through letters and communication channels, said a Mazandaran-based activist and doctor. He said he and other medical professionals were ignored by government officials.

Two days after announcing the first cases, Iran held its parliamentary elections where thousands lined up to vote. That same day, doctors in Gilan  one of the worst hit areas in Iran  appealed to the governor for help, saying their hospitals were flooded with patients amid a shortage of masks and other protection equipment.

The health personnel of the province are exposed to a huge threat, a letter sent by the doctors read.

But government officials played down the danger of the virus, calling the physicians plea for a quarantine medieval and floating unfounded conspiracy theories that the U.S. created the coronavirus to promote a fear-mongering campaign.

The feared paramilitary Revolutionary Guard kept health facilities under tight control and medical statistics were treated as top secret, the medical staffers said.

Death certificates were not recording the coronavirus as the cause of deaths  either because not all severe cases were tested or just for the sake of keeping the numbers down. Thousands of unaccounted deaths were attributed to secondary causes like heart attack or respiratory distress.

And a doctor in Tehran said the Health Ministry gave orders not to refer critical cases to hospitals to be tested for the virus  to keep the numbers low, she said.

We suppose they (want to) say theyre doing good, she said.

A Tehran-based radiologist said that he had access to medical files of patients at different Tehran hospitals. The reports include CT scans and blood tests that pointed to the coronavirus. But tests were not done.

These are 40% of the cases, he said, Its just difficult to prove.

The number of real patients with COVID-19 in Iran, from the beginning  until today is much more than what has been reported, he said, echoing similar sentiments by most medical workers interviewed by the AP.

He estimated that the numbers are three to four times higher than the figures released by the government.

The authorities believe they are doing great and they try to keep things out of spotlight, a medical scholar said.

Clinics and hospitals became hubs of infection, even as parliamentary elections and national celebrations went on:

 In Khorasan, the head of the medical science school which oversees hospitals receiving corona patients, Ali Asghar, told a local news agency that a total of 600 people died between Feb. 19 and April 4. The government number through March 22 was 42.

 In Golestan, AbdolReza Fazel, a top health official, told local media that 230 had died though April 2, while the government recorded just 10 cases.

 In Isfahan, Tahereh Changiz, the head of the medical school, told the IMNA news agency that the total number of deaths reached 400; the official figure was just 87.

 According to one health official and two doctors, the total deaths in Gilan have surpassed 1,300 so far. The last breakdown provided by the government on March 22 said the total did not exceed 200.

Gilan wasnt ready at all, said one physician there. It was a catastrophe.

Said another doctor: The first weeks, the system has collapsed, with patients sleeping in the corridors and doctors forced to make painful choices. A nurse at Shafa Hospital in the provincial capital of Rasht said ventilators were removed from dying patients to let others live.

Death certificates were written before they died, the nurse said with a hoarse voice. On the death certificates, the doctor scribbled, heart attack or respiratory distress as a cause of death.

It was my worst day in my life when they cut the oxygen. After work, when I went back home, I could do nothing but crying, she said.

A psychologist in Tehran told the AP that many medical staffers were traumatized. Images of the dying patients left them with a deep sense of guilt, suicide thoughts, and panic attacks, he said.

He recalled one nurse who had a recurring nightmare of burying her parents alone. Another said she dreamed she was looking into a telescope, anticipating with horror a meteor strike.

ICU doctor Gol Rezayee appeared in a March 29 video that went viral on social media as he tried, but failed to revive a dying patients heart.

On Telegram, he wrote the last words he exchanged with the victim. Doctor, if I die, tell my husband to take care of the kids, he recalled the woman saying. He is careless and naughty.

Rezayee said he responded: Its just like a cold. You will live 120 years. Hours later, the woman was dead.

Medical professionals also watched as their own colleagues succumbed to the virus.

As the outbreak in Rasht unfolded during the last week of February, patients packed the clinic of the citys most popular physician, Mohammad Bakhshalizadeh, who often treated the poor for free, set up the first association for physicians in the province and volunteered during the war with Iraq.

As the virus spread, the 66-year-old doctor examined an average of 70 patients each day, largely without protective gear.

A week after Iran officially announced the first two official cases in Qom, Bakhshalizadeh developed a fever and had trouble breathing. Initial tests for coronavirus were inconclusive. Another test showed that his lungs were turning white.

He later drove himself to several hospitals until he found one with an empty bed.

Days later, on March 10, he died.
COVID-19 has shown all levels of government can quickly develop and implement policies. In the N.W.T., that was apparent when liquor laws were changed to limit sales of alcohol.

Penny Gurstein, a professor at the University of British Columbias school of community and regional planning, argues Canada can take advantage of the pandemic to make homelessness a one-time occurrence in history.

The B.C. government has now moved all the people who are in these homeless camps into hotels, Gurstein told Cabin Radio. Whats going to happen after the worst of this? How can we actually use the kind of quick decision-making thats being done to address homelessness in a way that would have some permanent solutions to it?

In Yellowknife, similar projects have been advanced during COVID-19: A former hotel is being converted into transitional housing, while the citys sobering centre and day shelter ran a successful 30-day managed alcohol project. Another apartment block was converted into temporary housing for the citys homeless.

The N.W.T.s member of Parliament, Michael McLeod, said emerging from the pandemic with an economic strategy for northerners  with employment driven by infrastructure work like housing projects  will be important. He says there are already commitments to build more housing as part of that.

Were really keen on getting housing construction under way once the restrictions are lifted, said McLeod.

We had a number of discussions with the federal government and the GNWT on this being their employment generator.

Its an opportunity for us to move forward so we can see construction starting in communities (and) its an easier one than some of the bigger major projects were targeting.

Gurstein said policies need to exist that ensure housing works for everyone, especially those in marginalized communities. She wants governments to look beyond the private market for housing solutions.

Its very uncertain what the real estate market is going to be, post-COVID-19, said Gurstein.

At least for the short term, we need to be thinking of other ways of addressing the housing system and not just the real estate market.

McLeod said housing strategies for Indigenous communities need to be a top priority. Many N.W.T. communities are working on housing plans with the N.W.T. Housing Corporation while others, like the Yellowknives Dene, are developing strategies of their own.

McLeod added $60 million in federal cash has been earmarked for co-operative-style housing. He said that dollar figure was the floor, not the ceiling.

Housing is a big issue in the Northwest Territories. In every community that I attend, every meeting that Im at, once housing hits the discussion table, it doesnt fall off, he said.

And if were going to deal with some of the challenges in housing in our regional centres, we have to address the housing needs in the communities at the same time.

A spokesperson for the N.W.T. Housing Corporation said applications from the territory for that $60-million fund are in various stages of the approval process.

To date, there have been no funding allocations under this program for the N.W.T., said the corporation. The N.W.T. Housing Corporation looks forward to seeing these active applications approved by the federal government in the near future to support the delivery of additional affordable housing units for the territory.

In an interview with UBC News, her universitys own news outlet, Gurstein worried that REITs  real estate investment trusts  could try to acquire more multi-unit properties. She fears municipalities looking to make a quick dollar may sell properties to the private rental market, which she thinks is a mistake.

It really was a major stimulus for the call to action, said Gurstein, referring to a letter her housing research group sent to the federal government last month.

Its very concerning when governments (or) municipalities are talking about the need to sell off their land in order to keep their municipalities afloat. That is very concerning. That is the last thing (municipalities) should be doing, giving up lands that are in community control.

As yet, there has been no suggestion of N.W.T. municipalities taking such action. However, some municipalities farther south are in stormier financial waters.

Even so, some politicians in the Northwest Territories feel REITs are dominating local real estate  making it harder to solve homelessness.

Northview, one of the territorys largest private landlords, holds a major share of the N.W.T.s rental market. In Yellowknife alone, Northview maintains more than 1,000 units.

In a February address at the legislature, Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson referred to Northview as monopolistic.

A dominant landlord reinvesting rent collected in the North into properties located in the south has a significant impact on the people living in a territory with one of the highest costs of living in the country, Johnson said.

In addition ... the high cost of construction in the North limits the building of any new rentals. This means that a competitor emerging is not going to happen.

Gurstein thinks REITs who control large numbers of homes can do what they want to raise rents, making it harder for some to hold down housing.

Instead, she wants more direct funding for Indigenous governments so they can play a role and deliver the housing.

The Dene Nation, among others, has been seeking exactly that kind of funding in recent months.

The pandemic hit just as the federal government was completing work on a budget to come out on March 30. That budget would have included more detail on whether such funding exists  and how much.

McLeod said the amount of money spent by the federal government on the pandemic makes him unsure whether Ottawa will have the money to transform housing when the budget is eventually finalized.

Im not sure when thats going to happen and what its going to look like, now, he said.

As we start slowly talking about economic recovery, Ive tried to make sure that housing is a priority, (that) housing is a way to get shovels in the ground.

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Karnataka BJP general secretary N Ravikumar, who is also a member of the states legislative council (or Upper House), hit out at Tablighis and Ajmeris for spreading coronavirus in the state by entering like thieves.

Criticising what he called as the mentality of those who infect and kill themselves apart from others in the society - if it is not a conspiracy, what is it then?

Ravikumar made these remarks while addressing the media. He said that the nearly 1,900 Tablighis and 500 people who had attended the Urs at a dargah in Rajasthans Ajmer were behind the second wave of the virus as they had entered the cities like thieves.

Questioning why so-called intellectuals and community leaders were not chiding the actions of Tablighis and Ajmeris, Ravikumar said that those assaulting ASHA workers and other Covid-19 warriors should be given the strictest punishment.

Responding to a question on both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappas statements that the spread of virus should not be identified with any particular community, the BJP MLC responded saying that the stand of the party and government need not be the same.

Fourteen new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Karnataka on Monday, even as data revealed that 76 per cent of the total 862 Covid-19 infections in the state are asymptomatic.

As of 5:00 PM on May 11, cumulatively 862 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 31 deaths and 426 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said, out of 404 active cases, 395 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while nine are in ICU.
The accommodation apocalypse that hit short-stay Airbnb apartment owners and operators in Sydney and Melbourne is leading to an oversupply of long-term rentals, sharply driving down rents.

The sudden halt to international and local travel in March is flooding key inner Sydney and Melbourne markets with an extra 1000 former Airbnb and short-stay apartments a week.

Short term rentals are suffering a huge correction." Credit:

For quite a number of weeks we were getting over 1000 new listings coming on to the rental market. Last week it dropped to around 700. There has been a huge increase overall, said Edwin Almeida, director of Sydney-based Ribbon Property Consultants.

Melbournes waterside apartment haven, Docklands, is seeing a similar deluge.
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court was unanimous eight years ago when it decided that certain employees of religious organizations were not protected by federal discrimination laws. But there was considerably more disagreement among the justices Monday about who qualifies for what the law calls the "ministerial exception."

Liberal justices seemed particularly worried that lawyers for the Trump administration and Catholic schools were greatly expanding the definition of those who performed important religious functions and thus would not be protected by the law.

"The breadth of the exemption is staggering," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She seemed shocked by the facts of one of the cases before the court: Teacher Kristen Biel, who has since died, said she did not have her contract renewed at a Los Angeles-area parochial school after telling the principal she had breast cancer.

Ginsburg, a cancer survivor, added: "What I find very disturbing in all this [is] that the person can be fired or refused to be hired for a reason that has absolutely nothing to do with religion, like needing to take care of chemotherapy."

The school disputes that is why Biel was not retained. But its lawyer, Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said the Constitution guarantees religious organizations the right to decide who teaches the faithful without second-guessing from government.

"If separation of church and state means anything at all, it must mean the government cannot interfere with the church's decisions about who is authorized to teach its religion," he said. "In this country, it is emphatically not the province of judges, juries or government officials to decide who ought to teach Catholic fifth-graders that Jesus is the son of God or who ought to teach Jewish preschoolers what it means to say, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one.' "

Biel's estate is suing under the American with Disabilities Act, and another teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, said she was let go because of her age. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said neither was covered by the ministerial exception and their lawsuits could continue.

Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, representing the teachers, told the high court to be wary of what the schools and the Justice Department were requesting.

"The school's argument would strip more than 300,000 lay teachers in religious schools across the country of basic employment law protections and necessarily included in this number are teachers who teach so-called secular classes," Fisher said.

In the high court's 2012 decision recognizing the exception, the justices said lower courts should examine a number of issues to determine where an employee fit: 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."

Rassbach and Justice Department attorney Morgan Ratner said the last will likely be the most important. "The touchstone of the ministerial exception should be whether an employee performs important religious functions," Ratner said.

Conservative justices seemed to be in sync with the argument. Justice Clarence Thomas, who in a separate opinion in the 2012 case urged deference to the religious organization, said sorting employees is not for the courts.

How would it determine between a teacher who is a nun, and all would agree is covered, and a lay teacher who conducted her class in a parochial school in an identical way, he asked.

Justice Elena Kagan said she was struck by the government's argument that an employee would not need to be a member of the faith for the ministerial exception to apply.

"If a position can be filled by any old person, not by a member of a faith, isn't that a pretty good sign that the employee doesn't have that special role within the religious community?" she asked.

But Justice Samuel Alito indicated that he felt almost all teachers at religious schools would qualify.

"For a school that is set up by a religious body, the teaching of religion is central," Alito said. "That's the very reason why these schools are set up. Otherwise, there would be no reason."

The cases are Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel.

- - -

The court for the second time also considered whether a large portion of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation, which has major implications for criminal prosecutions in the state.

The court heard a similar argument last term, with Justice Neil Gorsuch recusing himself because he had confronted the case as a lower-court judge. Apparently deadlocked, the justices took a new case, so Gorsuch seems likely to cast the deciding vote.

The land at issue contains much of Tulsa, the state's second-largest city, and about 1.8 million people. The question is whether Congress officially eliminated the Creek Nation reservation when Oklahoma became a state.

The case is brought by Jimcy McGirt, who was convicted in state court of molesting a child. Because the crime occurred on the land in question, McGirt said state courts have no jurisdiction and the federal government would have to prosecute.

The state said that there are thousands of similar cases and that a ruling in favor of McGirt would cause havoc in the criminal justice system.

But Gorsuch, who in the past has shown a keen interest in Indian law, questioned the "parade of horribles" that the state advanced.

Ian Gershengorn, representing McGirt, said the concerns were overblown. But they also should not factor into the court's study of the law and treaty.

"Congress knows how to do this, and the job to fix any consequences if the court perceives them is with Congress," he said.

The case is McGirt v. Oklahoma.
Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a target for colorectal cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy uses the body's immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. Considered the future of cancer treatment, immunotherapy is less toxic than chemotherapy. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women, yet chemotherapy remains the standard of care as limited numbers of patients respond to current immunotherapy treatment options.

The findings published May 7 in JCI Insight could provide additional treatments for a larger number of colorectal cancer patients via a new immunotherapy pathway. Researchers identified ST2 as a novel checkpoint molecule that could help T cells become more effective.

The research is a collaboration between IU School of Medicine cancer researchers Xiongbin Lu, PhD, Vera Bradley Foundation Professor of Breast Cancer Innovation and of Medical and Molecular Genetics, and Sophie Paczesny, MD, PhD, Nora Letzter Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology.

Immune checkpoints are an essential part of the immune system with the role of preventing immune cells from destroying healthy cells. T cells are immune system cells that attack foreign invaders such as infections and can help fight cancer. But cancer is tricky, and often the tumor microenvironment creates ways to prevent T cells from attacking cancer cells by misusing several factors including the activation of checkpoint molecules.

Within the tumor microenvironment, the body's immune system knows something is wrong and sends a stress signal such as the alarmin IL-33, which brings in immune cells called macrophages that express ST2 (the receptor for IL-33) to help. What is at first a "good" response is quickly overwhelmed and the macrophages become the enemy in fighting colon cancer.

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The authors investigated using patient tumor genetic data and found that T-cell functionality, one of the key factors in fighting the cancer using the adaptive immune responses, is reduced in patients displaying high ST2 levels. Using tumor tissue samples from IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center tissue bank, researchers found abundant expression of ST2 in macrophages in tumor tissue samples from early to late-stage colorectal cancer.

"In all of the patient samples, we were able to identify ST2 expressing macrophages, which would potentially mean that targeting these ST2 macrophages would be relevant to the patients," Kevin Van der Jeught, PhD, said. Van der Jeught is a post-doctoral researcher in Lu's lab and first author of this study.

In preclinical mouse models, researchers found that by targeting the ST2-expressing macrophages, they were able to slow tumor growth. By depleting these inhibitory cells, the T cells became more active in fighting cancer.

Research collaborator and scientist at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Paczesny's previous research led to the discovery of ST2 and is the subject of her National Cancer Institute "Cancer Moonshot" grant focusing on immunotherapy for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). While leukemia and colorectal cancer are very different diseases, researchers have found commonality and collaboration in the ST2 protein.

"This research is bringing together the pathway in two different diseases," Paczesny said.

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Lu's research focuses on cancer cell biology in diseases such as triple negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

"We have to develop new tools and new approaches for solid tumors, and this is the kind of collaboration we need for advancing future treatments," Lu said. Researchers from two other institutions, the University of Maryland's Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research in Belgium, have contributed to this publication.

Researchers also are exploring combination therapy with existing immunotherapy, such as PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, which work to boost T cells directly, while attacking ST2 on macrophage cells increased T cells by stopping the inhibitors.

"Potentially through a combination of two checkpoints at work on different immune cells, we could enhance the current response rates," Van der Jeught said.

The researchers plan to explore these findings further and pursue the development of ST2 for cancer immunotherapy.
PHOENIX  A gun-control advocacy group co-founded by Mike Bloomberg announced Tuesday it will spend at least $5 million on Arizona political campaigns this year.

Everytown for Gun Safety said the money will support Joe Bidens presidential campaign, Mark Kellys Senate bid and candidates running in five legislative districts.

Its part of a $60 million spending spree Everytown plans around the country. Arizona is increasingly being targeted by big-spending political groups as the former Republican stronghold emerges as a political battleground.

Everytown officials say theyll focus on advertising and grassroots organizing, especially in Maricopa County, where the group sees a receptive audience in the fast-growing suburbs of Phoenix. Theyll try to appeal to women, young people and Spanish-speaking voters, among others.

Everytown is investing heavily in Arizona because the political calculus in the state has dramatically shifted, said John Feinblatt, Everytowns president.

The presidential campaigns are eyeing Arizonas 11 electoral votes, and the Senate race between Kelly and Republican Sen. Martha McSally is a top-tier contest will help determine control of the upper chamber of Congress.

Everytown also says it will target Legislative District 6 in northern and eastern Arizona, along with Districts 6, 17, 18, 20 and 21 in the Phoenix area.

Sam Zager, a spokeswoman for Trumps campaign, said it shows Democrats need help in Arizona.

They know theyre so far behind Republicans in Arizona, theyll take whatever out-of-state help they can get, Zager said.
A German national who was stranded at the transit area of Delhi airport for the last 55 days due to the lockdown, left for Amsterdam on Tuesday.

According to sources, Edgard Ziebat left on an early morning KLM flight to Amsterdam after testing negative for COVID-19 before boarding.

Ziebat had been living in the international transit area at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi for almost 54 days after he got stuck due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The authorities concerned had made appropriate arrangements for the foreign national living at the airport and had also initiated an investigation against him.

During the interrogation, Ziebat had said that he came from Vietnam on March 18 by Vietjet airline and had a connecting flight to Istanbul in Turkey.

But there were no flights available for Istanbul as India had suspended all commercial flight services due to COVID-19, he told the authorities.

Later on, the airport authorities had also asked the 40-year-old German national to board a special flight to Germany, which was operated under the Germany embassy in Delhi, but neither the embassy nor the airlines agreed to take him on board.

Turkish Airline also refused to take him on board because he was not carrying a Turkish passport.

Airport operator DIAL had provided all basic amenities including foods, clothes, toiletries items and a recliner for sleeping to the German national.
Detroit residents are attempting to lift the spirit of residents, by throwing socially distanced costume parades, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The city currently has a stay-at-home order in place, that is set to run through 28 May, despite Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer announcing that parts of the economy will start to reopen next week.

In order to give local residents a boost, Detroit resident Sarah Ignash has organised costumed walks with a group called the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club.

The group, based in the Detroit suburbs, has thrown seven parades since it formed in March, where residents put on inflatable costumes and parade through the streets.

Music is played as they walk, with The Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian and Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was), a couple of the songs played so far.

The inflatable costumes worn by residents in the seven walks, include a crocodile, a T-Rex, a unicorn and an alien from Toy Story.

Ms Ignash told the Associated Press that with life under lockdown quite monotonous, the purpose of the group is to just do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

She added: Its so much fun. Nobody can really see, (because) I have my mask on. And when I walk, Im just smiling from ear to ear.

Ms Ignash confirmed that the members of the parade make sure that they abide by social distancing measures, and added that every member of the group wears a mask underneath their costume.

A lot of us are very large and we have very long tails, she said. So, maintaining social distancing is very easy in these.

Ms Ignash told the AP that the walks are done at different times, and are used to surprise people in their neighbourhood.

We do not tell anybody where were going to walk, where were meeting or the time that were going to walk, she said.

Thats just really why were doing it. Its just something thats very unexpected. And people need something a little bit different to break up the day, I think, Ms Ignash added.

According to Googles dedicated coronavirus page, Michigan has more than 48,021 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 4,674 deaths.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.3 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 80,897.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

Elektrogas LLC, an Azerbaijani-Chinese joint venture, producing heating systems, practically suspended its activity since April of this year due to lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic, the companys Director Elnur Jamilli told Trend.

Jamilli added that in addition, China fully suspended export of respective raw materials to Azerbaijan, which also impacted on suspending the plants activity.

According to him, the plant will restart at full capacity in June 2020.

We expect to resume the production in early June. Earlier, it was planned to restart the enterprise in April, but due to extension of the quarantine regime the enterprises work was fully suspended, Jamilli said.

There is a great demand for the plant products in the domestic market, therefore, we are going to significantly increase production after the plant starts operating again at full capacity," the director noted.

He said that last year the enterprise sold more than 3,000 units of combi boilers domestically.

The plant produces combi boilers with power from 24 through 52 kW. In the future, we are going to increase these indicators to 100 kW. The enterprise produces six types of combi boilers, three of which are intended for export. The cost of one combi boiler in the local market is 450 manat [$264.7], with a two-year warranty period, added Jamilli.

The plant for production of combi heating systems established through the support of the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterpises was opened in August 2019.

Local and Chinese investments in the amount of 2 million manat (over $1.1 million) were attracted to establish the company. In the future, it is planned to increase investment to 11 million manat ($6.4 million).

The Elektrogas LLC is located in Bakus Zabrat settlement.

The production capacity of the plant, which is a joint Azerbaijani-Chinese venture, is 120,000 units per year.

The current number of employees at the plant is 30, and further its planned to open another 200 jobs.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 12)
A total of 68 unaccompanied children have tested positive for COVID-19, the Office of Refugee Replacement [ORR] announced Monday.

The federal agency said confirmed coronavirus cases increased from four in March to 68 as of May 7.

'Presently, a total of five unaccompanied minors have tested positive for COVID-19 and are in medical isolation,' ORR said in statement.

According to the Office of Refugee Replacement, there are 1,500 undocumented children being held at about 200 facilities that it has contracted. Nearly one out of every three children who were examined tested positive for the deadly bug that has left 80,897 people dead and infected 1,351,200 in the United States.

File image from July 17, 2019 shows Border Patrol agent at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, Texas, holding a migrant child who was intercepted after attempting to enter the country with a male individual who lied and said the child his son

File image from July 18, 2019, shows a Honduran migrant mother carrying her seven-month-old child while awaiting in Monterrey, Mexico, for a bus to transport her and other migrants, who are seeking asylum from the United States

ORR said 63 of the infected children have recovered from the global pandemic and are no longer being isolated.

The agency added that 14 of the children have been reunited with their patents, sponsors, family members or shelters authorized by ORR.

Of the 68 confirmed cases, ORR registered 43 in Illinois and reported 11 in New York, eight in Texas and six in Pennsylvania.

The Office of Refugee Replacement said that 136 staff members have also tested positive for COVID-19.

DailyMail.com reached out to ORR for comment.

File image from October 10, 2019, shows Central American migrant children sitting outside the Puente Nuevo border station in the municipality of Matamoros, Mexico.

File image from February 27, 2020, shows children playing at a Matamoros, Mexico, refugee camp

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent surveys a Salem, North Carolina, warehouse during a June 19, 2018 operation

The Los Angeles Times reported that since March, the agency has ordered to shut down the placement of unaccompanied children at centers in California, New York and Washington state.

ORR has also worked to limiting the out-of-state releases or transfers in its attempt to stop the spread of the epidemic.

While immigration court judges have sided with lawyers who seek the immediate release of undocumented children being held,

Since March 1, 20003, under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Office of Refugee Replacement has been placed in charge for the wellness of undocumented children who are detained by Department of Homeland Security for unlawfully crossing the Mexico-United States border without their parents.
SALT LAKE CITY

May 11, 2020

$5M

Austin Waters

Australia

Dan Lambert

Jeffrey Smith

April Larson

$350M

Utah

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- PathologyWatch announced today aseries A funding led by SpringTide Investments and Rock Creek Capital with additional funding by individual investors. PathologyWatch is emerging as the groundbreaking leader of intuitive, easy-to-implement digital dermatopathology solutions that can speed the diagnostic process while reducing costs to clinics and enhancing patient care.PathologyWatch will utilize this series A funding to strengthen outreach to dermatology clinics nationwide. Over 12 months, it expects to triple its sales force while expanding marketing efforts and implementing a strong channel partner strategy. The funding also represents a continued investment in the development of technology and supervised artificial intelligence (AI) for various cancer lines.PathologyWatch differentiates itself from competitors by offering fully interfaced EMR (Electronic Medical Records) reporting and 24/7 access to digital slides. Clients also have access to top dermatopathologists and the option to interpret and bill for their cases. PathologyWatch is further distinct by its primary focus on outpatient clinics.Changing "How Pathology Operates by Transforming Biopsy Diagnostics" "We believe PathologyWatch will change how pathology operates by transforming biopsy diagnostics," said, principal at SpringTide Investments. "PathologyWatch has created a platform to digitize pathology workflows and is a leading developer of AI algorithms that detect and characterize cancers from biopsy samples. The quality and breadth of their solution, and their early success in dermatopathology, is why we're bullish on the future of this company; PathologyWatch is redefining biopsy diagnostics as we know it."First Live Clinical Implementation of Dermatopathology AI with Ability to Generate Complete Reports "We have the first live clinical implementation of dermatopathology AI that can generate a full report and make physicians significantly more efficient in, as we're working alongside physicians to better diagnose skin cancer," said PathologyWatch co-founder and CEO. "We provide dermatologists with a digital interface that lets them read their own cases. Heretofore, most of pathology has been done with a microscope. Our service offering is the first of its kind that can aid a dermatologist through digital tools and expert consultation."Benefits the Patient by Merging Clinical Observations with Pathology "PathologyWatch is a game changer," said, Dermatologist, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System. "Digital access to my cases, expert dermpath reads, and an EMR interface not to mention the time savings and increase in revenue for our hospital, all while keeping our patients in-network. Most importantly, this benefits the patient by merging clinical observations with pathology."The "Future of Dermatopathology for Dermatologists" "I believe PathologyWatch is the future of dermatopathology for dermatologists. The group combines academic expertise with the efficiency of a private lab. It is a huge timesaver for me and my staff," said, Dermatologist. "By reviewing my own cases, I am able to make better clinical decisions for my patients. It's a win-win for everybody."For more information on PathologyWatch, please visit pathologywatch.com.About PathologyWatch PathologyWatch is the groundbreaking leader of digital dermatopathology services. Through two programs, ValueWatch and BusinessWatch, dermatology clinics and hospitals can improve operational efficiency by speeding up workflow and improve patient outcomes by utilizing the PathologyWatch expert professional team and partner laboratory services. This can facilitate best-in-class reads and, in some cases, enable additional revenue to the practice by in-housing pathology. With an intuitive and easy-to-implement digital pathology solution that includes access to top-tier dermatopathologists and a streamlined clinical workflow that interfaces directly into the EMR, PathologyWatch brilliantly combines state-of-the-art technology and clinical decision making to deliver unprecedented patient care.About SpringTide Investments SpringTide is a network of experienced healthcare founders, operators, and investors in the healthcare space. With overin collective exits across 4 startup companies, our Managing Partners are driven to provide access and support for fellow entrepreneurs who are expanding access to quality healthcare.About Rock Creek Capital A venture and equity investment firm, Rock Creek Capital is a-based fund. Focused on growth equity, the fund helps entrepreneurs and founders of companies scale successfully.SOURCE PathologyWatch
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) - Five million more families are set to be included in the first tranche of the government's social amelioration program, while only those in areas under enhanced community quarantine will receive the second wave of subsidy, Malacanang said Tuesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed this during his press briefing where he gave updates on which areas will transition to new quarantine rules starting next week.

"Naaprubahan na po hindi lang 18 million ang mabibigyan ng SAP sa first tranche, nadagdagan na po ng limang milyon," Roque said.

[Translation: The government has approved not just the 18 million beneficiaries of the first tranche of SAP, five million more were added.]

That means a total of 23 million low-income households which may receive the first tranche of cash aid.

For the second wave of subsidy, Roque clarified beneficiaries will be limited to areas under enhanced community quarantine, citing limited funds approved by Congress.

"Dahil limitado lamang po ang pondong inaprubahan ng kongreso, yung mabibigyan lamang sa second tranche ay iyon lamang mga nananatili sa ECQ na idineklara noong pangalawang buwan ng ating Pangulo," he said.

[Translation: Because limited funds have been approved by Congress, those who will receive the second tranche are those from areas which are still under the ECQ on the second month, as declared by the President.]

Roque said 92.3 percent of beneficiaries have received the first wave of cash assistance to date.

Meanwhile, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said in a separate briefing that it will use the list submitted by LGUs on waitlisted families who were left out in the distribution.

"Nagpasa po ang ating lokal na pamahalaan ng waitlisted na kwalipikadong pamilya na hindi nabigyan ng social amelioration sa kanilang lugar. Ito po ang gagawing basis para sa karagdagang limang milyong pamilya," he said.

[Translation: Local government units have passed their list of waitlisted families qualified for social amelioration in their corresponding areas. This will be used by the agency as basis for the five million additional families.]

Bautista added that 16.3 million families have already received the aid, with 1,035 out of 1,634 LGUs that finished payouts. The Department of Interior and Local Government earlier said as of Sunday, 77.42 percent of 1,265 out of 1,634 LGUs have completed the rollout. It's unclear why there is a discrepancy in the numbers they cite of LGUs that have competed aid distribution.

A total of 92.1 billion has been released under the subsidy's first tranche so far. The DSWD said it will wait for a written directive from Malacanang on the implementation of the second tranche.

The DSWD is also studying the use of mobile phones and "digital wallets" to minimize health risks during distribution.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the national government has allotted 200-billion-worth of aid for those most affected by the pandemic. Subsidy ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 per household per tranche, depending on the minimum wage level in a region. The first tranche was originally scheduled in April and the second one in May.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts in a village of Xiping Township in Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has been seeking happiness for the Chinese people wholeheartedly, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said in his chat with villagers during an inspection tour in Shanxi Province.

Xi came to the Fangcheng new village in Xiping Township of Datong City, Shanxi, on Monday, visiting Bai Gaoshan and his family.

Bai told Xi that the life of his family has seen great changes after relocation amid local poverty alleviation efforts.

Xi stressed that the CPC has been wholeheartedly seeking happiness for the Chinese people, collecting no agricultural taxes and fees now, helping impoverished rural residents build their own houses, training them with skills and finding ways for them to live a better life.

"For our rural households, it's our top priority to build new houses," Bai said.

"Had it not been for the Party, I would not have lived a happy life now," Bai said. "We villagers sincerely thank the CPC."
A member of the NDCs COVID-19 Response Team, Dr. Pius Esandor says attempts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters' register in this era of Coronavirus is unreasonable.



According to him, the operation if conducted will worsen Ghanas cases of the pandemic across the country.



He, however, called on the Commission in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie to adhere to the Presidents directives of shunning all social gatherings as part of governments key measures to help at least curb the spread of the deadly virus.



Dr. Pius Esandor's comment follows the ECs statement that it is ready to compile a new voters register ahead of the December polls.



He maintained that the registration is not necessary  adding that why are they in the haste to do this?



We'll Compile New Register Under COVID-19 Protocols  EC



The Electoral Commission of Ghana has indicated that it will observe all the necessary safety measures to curb the spread of coronavirus when it begins compiling a new register of voters.



All stakeholders are hereby reminded that plans are far advanced for the compilation of a new voter register with a new voter management system for the upcoming 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, the EC said in a statement on Monday, 11 May 2020 signed by Acting Public Affairs Director Sylvia Annor.



The Commission said it is sensitive to the current state of affairs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will abide by the necessary precautions and safety protocols in the execution of its mandate when it deems it appropriate to begin the compilation of the register.



The exercise had been scheduled to start in April but has been put on ice indefinitely following the outbreak of coronavirus in Ghana.



The EC's statement was in response to a comment passed by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, who castigated the Chair as running the election management body like an NGO.







Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Detectives probing the death of a grandfather after a brawl at a Butlins holiday park have today charged a suspect with manslaughter.

'Beloved' grandfather Michael Loughlin died after he was punched once in the head during a fight at the resort in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

The brawl, said by police to involve 'several people', took place on June 14 last year.

Mr Loughlin, 52, from Bedfordshire, died four days later at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

'Beloved' grandfather Michael Loughlin suffered a fatal head injury after he was punched once during a fight in June last year

The brawl, said by police to involve 'several people', took place at Butlins in Bognor Regis, West Sussex

Police have now charged Billy Mongey, 32, of Wandsworth, south London, with manslaughter.

He will appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Mr Louhglin was a Luton Town FC season ticket holder Michael, from the village of Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire.

His family previously described him as a 'beloved partner, father, grandad, brother and uncle'.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Wolstenholme, of Sussex Police's Major Crime Team, previously said the bar was 'very busy' at the time of the incident.

In a statement, released at the time of the incident, he said: 'A fight at a holiday park, which involved several people, sadly resulted in the death of a man.

'We extend our sympathies to his family and friends at this difficult time, and are providing support with specialist officers.'
Chandrashekar Rao

New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Covid-19 vaccine could be ready in Hyderabad by July-August. He made the remarks in a video conference with PM Modi on Monday.

CoronavirusAccording to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office, Rao told the Prime Minister that work was underway to develop a vaccine for the corona virus. It is likely that the vaccine will be manufactured in India. Companies in Hyderabad are working hard for this. It is likely that the vaccine will be ready in Hyderabad by July-August.

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This will help change the situation if the vaccine becomes available. Bharat Biotech has recently informed the CM that work is underway on the Covid-19 vaccine. Some other companies are also involved in the exercise.

It may be recalled that the government had imposed a ban on railway traffic to stop the Corona. He said there was a risk of the virus spreading through train traffic as some passengers may be infected with the corona or has mild symptoms of the virus. The CM said in the meeting that the effects of corona virus have been seen in most of the major cities of the country.

CoronavirusThese include cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. These cities have the highest number of Covid-19 patients. He said that if there was such a movement of trains then people would move from one place to another which was like feasting on the threat of virus. Also, it is not possible to quarantine everyone who travels by train.

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In view of this, there should be no train traffic. Highlighting the impact of the corona virus on the state's economic situation, Rao demanded the Union government to fix the debts of the state governments increase the FRBM limit and allow migrant workers to return to their home states.
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The 25 Tunisian fishermen who were held in Libya since last Tuesday were released here Monday evening after negotiations with the Libyan parties, reliable sources said here
EQ will utilize proprietary data and technology to provide measurement, attribution and insights to the Company

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / EQ Inc. (TSXV:EQ) ("EQ Works", "EQ" or the "Corporation"), a leader in geospatial location data and intelligence, is proud to announce a multi-year engagement with one of Canada's largest out-of-home ("OOH") advertising companies (the "Company").

The engagement will utilize EQ's data and proprietary technology to enrich the OOH experience for advertisers by providing measurement statistics, attribution tools, and unique research, insights and re-targeting at scale.

EQ was selected after a rigorous evaluation process that involved multiple vendors from across North America. "The strength of EQ's unique data and its sophisticated location-oriented technology platform were the deciding factors in our partnership." said Mark Ditkofsky, VP Business Development and Strategic Partnerships of EQ Works. "We are excited to be working with such an iconic media company and will continue to innovate to provide even more value to OOH advertising companies."

EQ will also utilize its audience scaling and data export tools to enrich the Company's programmatic OOH offering. Combining these distribution sources along with a streamlined data set from EQ's location platform, will create an even stronger value proposition.

"It was clear that EQ had the expertise, scale and deep toolset we needed to drive value for our advertisers. We feel very confident in our selection and are excited about how EQ's technology solutions will enable our teams to work closer with brands and agencies." said Company's Director of Technology.

"Supporting OOH solutions is a natural progression for our proprietary data and technology platforms and this partnership is an important step." said Geoffrey Rotstein, President and CEO of EQ Works. "Measurement and attribution are essential tools for all businesses, and it's nice to have our technology and our team be recognized by one of the largest players in the country."

OOH is an advertising medium that reaches people outside of their homes through digital and static formats. It includes billboards, transit shelters, elevator monitors and other formats and represents approximately 10 billion dollars in ad spend annually in Canada and the US.

About EQ Works

EQ Works (www.eqworks.com) provides a smarter way to target customers. Using first-party, location-based behaviour signals, advanced data analytics, and proprietary software, EQ creates and targets customized, performance-boosting audience segments. Proprietary algorithms and data generate attribution models that connect consumer behaviour in the physical world to consumer behaviour in the digital world, solving complex challenges for brands and agencies.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward-looking statements. EQ Inc. is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: EQ Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589360/EQ-Works-Signs-Multi-Year-Deal-with-Leading-Out-of-Home-Company
Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins has asked Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to vacate the guilty pleas of 64 people facing drug charges after test results later showed the substances were not illegal, her office said on Monday.

The request was filed under the caption Commonwealth v. 64 Innocent Individuals, which states that the 64 formerly accused individuals pleaded guilty to a combined 91 drug charges without having actually possessed controlled substances and have, for more than a decade, suffered the consequences of a criminal record after serving their sentences.

These cases highlight the pernicious effect of mandatory minimums on plea deals, Rollins said in a statement. Defendants have no bargaining power in plea deals. Faced with long sentences if they go to trial and lose, as well as the threat of additional charges if the deal is not accepted, defendants very often accept a deal."

Rollins said the 64 people had engaged in pea bargaining without knowledge of evidence of their innocence or the gross misconduct in the Hinton Lab, the state drug lab in Boston that employed former drug chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak.

Dookhan had admitted to falsifying test results, and Farak to tampering with drugs samples in an effort to support her drug habit. Their misconduct has led to the dismissal of tens of thousands of drug charges in Massachusetts.

Rollins said the actions of Farak and Dookhan amounted to the biggest crime lab scandal in U.S. history.

Once the sentences are vacated, Rollinss office will enter nolle prosequi into the case files; if the individuals request that their records be expunged, her office will grant the requests.

The DAs office will review Board of Probation records to determine if individuals had subsequent convictions that resulted in harsher sentences because of their tainted pleas in these cases, and work to adjust those sentences, Rollinss office said.

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The family of East Derry MLA John Dallat said they had been overwhelmed by the tributes paid to him following his death last week.

The well-known local politician died after a period of illness.

Observing social distancing, many lined the roads leading to St Marys Church, Drumagarner as the cortege made its way into a church that parish priest John Cargan said should be full.

Many of his party colleagues were not able to attend due to the Covid-19 regulations and instead posted tributes online.

John was hugely admired and respected throughout the community in East Derry over the course of his 40-year political career.

He became the first nationalist mayor of the old Coleraine Council in 2001 and won the respect of fellow councillors with his forthright determination.

SDLP councillors on the current Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, where his daughter Helena serves, expressed their sadness at his passing.

They said: We have been privileged to have John as our mentor and role model. John worked tirelessly for everyone in our community and fought for justice for many.

He was a well-respected politician with very strong values and will be sadly missed by each and every one of us.

Our thoughts and prayers go to our colleague Helena her mum Anne and brothers Ronan and Diarmuid and the wider family circle.

A teacher by trade, he taught at St Pauls College in Kilrea for 23 years before being elected to serve in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998.

His commitment to the community was steadfast and he is widely credited with rejuvenating the Kilrea, Rasharkin and Dunloy Credit Union, which was in danger of closing.

John was a champion for the underdog, something he said was second nature to him while growing up.

When a young African student was due to be deported after her visa had run out, he took her into the family home and supported her in extending her stay for a further two years.

He was dogged in his pursuit of justice for what he described as the dreadful murder of Inga-Maria Hauser, the German backpacker whose body was found in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, near Ballycastle, Co Antrim.

When the family announced they would no longer be returning to mark her anniversary, John took up the mantle of remembering her every year at the forest park.

John held the post of Deputy Speaker in the Northern Ireland Assembly for ten years and also served on the Public Accounts Committee with what Colum Eastwood described as forensic skill.

As a public representative, John struck fear into the heart of anyone who dared misspend a penny of public money, said the SDLP leader.

I know I speak for everyone in the party when I say his good humour and wise advice will be sorely missed.

Following his death, tributes were paid across the political spectrum. First Minister Arlene Foster said he was always to the fore in speaking up for his constituents.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill also expressed condolences, saying she was a pleasant and witty man, while Alliance leader Naomi Long said his death was a genuine loss.

UUP MLA and Deputy Speaker Roy Beggs said he spoke for all the assembly when he said John would be sorely missed.

Family was fiercely important to John and Fr Cargan told his funeral that, despite the pressures he encountered, he never allowed it to affect them.

He said: He encountered those who preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil.

These threats put his family life under immense strain and it is to his credit that he never allowed this pressure to diminish the equality of life enjoyed by the family.

Johns family said they had been overwhelmed by the volume of the support they had received following his death.

They said: We would like to express sincere gratitude to the many people who have provided comfort to our family at this sad time.

We wish to thank the hundreds of local people who observed social distancing and lined the route of the funeral cortege to St Marys, Drumagarner, Kilrea. There are no words to adequately describe how moved we were.

These are unkind circumstances to lay anyone you love to rest but so many people made it a lot easier and more dignified than it could have been.

We have been overwhelmed at the volume of calls, messages, social media posts and touching tributes to him. We thank everyone for taking the time to express condolences and for sharing memories and anecdotes.

We are indebted to the dedicated healthcare workers. We will be eternally grateful to so many incredible people for their support, in particular, Ciara our amazing NI Hospice nurse, our GP Dr McCormack, consultants Dr Stewart & Dr Mullan from the NW Cancer Centre and Dr Diamond from the Mater.

Our selfless district nurses who provided craic as well as first-class treatment, the very appropriately named carers and the Marie Curie nurses. All of them somehow make each family in their care feel like they are their only priority.

He put up one of the bravest and most humbling fights, in much the same courageous, tenacious way that he lived his life. We are filled with pride at the number of people he has touched.

Described by Fr Cargan as a man of light, John Dallats determination and passion for helping others has left a lasting imprint on the community in East Derry and on all who knew him.
As families, educators, and community leaders wrestle with COVID-19, we will be trying to bring conversations to readers that will be helpful in confronting the challenge.

Mike Casserly has been the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools , a coalition of the nations large urban public school districts, for almost three decades. I talked with Mike back in March when schools were being shuttered across the land but thought it worth checking back in to see how where things stand and whats ahead for fall. Heres what he had to say.

Rick: Mike, when we spoke six weeks ago, districts were just starting to adjust. Now, close to two months after school closures, whats different?

Mike: For one, we are all a lot more tired than when we went into this pandemic. People are really working quadruple time to address all the complications that these shutdowns have brought. Several other things are different as wellsome good and some not so much. For instance, the logistics of meal deliveries have evolved over time, but they are now reasonably efficient and effective at meeting a very high volume of demand. Many districts started by delivering meals most every day, but most are now providing the same number of meals on a reduced number of days per week in order to reduce worker exposure to the virus. St. Louis is a good example where the school district shifted to a once-a-week distribution of kits with meals for seven days. We have also secured and distributed hundreds of thousandspossibly millionsof technology devices and hotspots to students. New York City alone has distributed some 430,000 devices. Ultimately, these logistical lessons we have learned in delivering meals and technology will put us in a better position going forward. The not so good side involves the unbudgeted expenses we are incurring for meals and devices. They are really piling up, and the scale of our longer-term revenue shortfalls is just now coming into view.

Rick: What have some states done that you have found especially helpful?

Mike: States are particularly helpful when they talk to us and do not spring decisions on us that they expect us to implement overnight. They have been the most unhelpful when they seek waivers to federal maintenance-of-effort rules and reduce their state funding allocations by the amounts that we receive in federal CARES aid.

Rick: What have federal policymakers gotten right and wrong during all this?

Mike: The initial down payment of some $13 billion in federal education aid will certainly help to offset some of the unbudgeted expenses we incurred this spring. That was something federal policymakers got right from our vantage point. There are several areas, however, where federal policymakers have made life more difficult. First, if Congress and the administration do not approve substantial additional funding, state and local revenue losses will result in teacher layoffs and cuts to other supports and services that will take a generation to recover from in terms of restoring district instructional and operational capacity. Second, federal policymakers did not do us any favors in the initial supplemental appropriations bills by not treating public school districtsor state and local governments for that matteras employers. In fact, school districts are among the largest employers in the country. But the legislation did not treat them as such when they excluded them from payroll tax credits for employee retention or emergency paid family and sick leave. Both the Family First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act prohibited school districts from offsetting our additional personnel costs against our employer share of Social Security payroll withholding payments, while granting that flexibility to private businesses. Third, the U.S. Department of Education was not very helpful in writing that there were no areas of additional flexibility needed in the Individuals with Disabilities Act after Congress invited them to submit suggestions. We think there are areas where reasonable people could agree on some temporary elasticity in the law to accommodate the special circumstances all schools are currently facing. Fourth, the department recently issued guidance that would have us spend funds on nonpoor, private school children that are not otherwise eligible for Title I services. The procedure could reduce our much-needed CARES Act allocations by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Rick: Where are districts at as far as planning for the summer and fall?

Mike: Most of our urban school districts will be holding summer school this year, but they are planning for online programming given the continuing uncertainty about how quickly states will allow schools to open (and the possibility of rolling school closures in the future). In some cases, like Boston, schools are considering limited, small-group instruction face to face with students who had not otherwise been engaged online or who are furthest behind. For the fall, districts are mostly weighing various structural or calendar options, costing them out, working on staffing issues, and articulating what high-quality instruction should look like now that we have some of the more obvious technology supply problems worked out. The complexities of the issues are mind-boggling. Everything from language screening for newly arriving immigrant students to labor negotiations over job descriptions for workers pulling multiple duties to how to assess and address the degree of unfinished learning to the cleaning of buses in between runs to accommodate staggered schedules. Many of these challenges are unprecedented, so districts are having to rethink traditional approaches and innovate in real time.

Rick: When it comes to remote learning, what do you see as a couple of real success stories?

Mike: One of our districts that is furthest along on remote learning is the 345,000-student Miami-Dade County public schools. They have distributed some 115,000 devices and trained over 20,000 teachers on a variety of instructional applications. The Florida district has been particularly aggressive in reaching out to students and has achieved a daily online student and teacher check-in rate of over 90 percent. Moreover, the district has launched a call center that is able to provide students and parents with assistance in three languages. And the district has been particularly attentive to the quality and alignment of the instructional software on the devices. They have a two-part summer school planned, and they have thought through the redeployment of underutilized buildings as part of their reopening plan. In the middle of all of this, they have also prepared and distributed some 1.5 million meals.

Rick: Can you talk a bit about what the budget picture looks like?

Mike: Based on our experience with the 2008-09 recession and the projections of many of our chief financial officers, we were estimating an average shortfall of local and state dollars of around 20 percent. That initial estimate may not be far off, as entities like the California Department of Finance have recently issued a letter to the governor warning of an $18 billion, or 22 percent, reduction to schools. Other school budgets in states like Florida expect to take a pounding because of the collapse of the tourism industry, and in Texas, revenues from oil and gas have dropped substantially. Sales-tax revenues have already taken a beating. Property taxes, usually a lagging revenue source, are also expected to drop over the next two years. Several districts, like Fresno (Calif.), are thinking about their finances according to three possible scenarios: an optimistic scenario where there are no cost-of-living increases and no revenue growth; a middle-of-the-road scenario that reflects what happened in the 2008-09 recession; and a severe scenario where the economy completely collapses and the downturn lasts for multiple years. Our 20 percent estimate is based on the second scenario, but that may be optimistic.

Rick: Have districts been able to save money at all with schools closed?

Mike: Yes, districts have saved some money because of the closures, but the savings are being more than offset by the unexpected spending on meal service and instructional devices. Areas where some savings have been realized include utilities and fuel, but the amounts are insufficient to compensate for new spending.

Rick: Are all staff still getting paid, or have districts started to furlough or lay off nonessential staff?

Mike: Staff in most districts are still being paid. Exceptions include many transportation workers, substitute teachers, and others. In addition, some districts are paying staff who are in direct contact with others, like food-service workers, at higher rates. Most cities have put into place hiring freezes at either the school or district levels as an initial step to control costs, and they will rely on regular staff attrition to realize cost savings in the short run.

Rick: How are you working with your districts now?

Mike: Essentially, we are reminding them that they do not have to reinvent everything on their own. Collaborating across districts helps. Under the aegis of the Council of the Great City Schools, urban districts are planning together and assembling working groups composed of school boards, superintendents, chief academic officers, chief information officers, chief financial and operations officers, and many others. These groups are sharing approaches and ideas, and together they are developing strategies for addressing the instructional and operational problems school districts will face in the coming months and years. The goal is to ensure that families and school and district staff will be confident returning to school either in person or online.

Rick: All right, last question. Two months in, what is the most heartening thing youve seen?

Mike: I am going to answer this question by showing you one of the many heartwarming signs that we see. This is of a young student in San Antonio whose family had just received their meal packets from the school district. In English, it reads, God bless you. Thank you for taking some of your time so that I can have some food on my table every day.

Young student in San Antonio whose family had just received their meal packets thanks the school district. In English, it reads, God bless you. Thank you for taking some of your time so that I can have some food on my table every day.

 Courtesy of the San Antonio Independent School District.

This post has been edited and condensed for clarity.
A recall has been issued for Imager II 5F catheters due to potential adverse reactions including death.

About the Class 1 Catheter Recalls

Boston Scientific is a corporation that manufactures medical aids and technology. Recently, they were forced to voluntarily recall their Imager II 5f angiographic catheters due to critical defects. According to Medscape, a portion of the catheters had the potential to break off within a patient's blood stream or vessels. These occurrences were most likely to happen during important procedures such as surgery.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quickly issued the catheters as a Class 1 recall with a total report of 9 injuries so far. A Class 1 recall is acknowledged for its high probability of causing adverse medical problems including death and should be taken seriously.

A summary of the recall notice from the FDA warned that the catheters could possibly attribute to prolonged time periods within a hospital due to emergency surgeries needed to remove the catheter. They also noted that more serious problems could occur such as strokes or even death from usage.

Boston Scientific has been desperately working to notify all affected medical facilities using their catheters to send them back to their company.

Description of the Recalled Boston Scientific Catheters

6130 single units (1226 five-packs) were recalled

The Imager II 5F angiographic catheters were distributed throughout the United States from July 16, 2018- November 26, 2019

Contact information: BSCFieldActionCenter@bsci.com

Contact an Experienced Defective Medical Device Attorney

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 22:46:47|Editor: huaxia

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LILONGWE, May 12 (Xinhua) -- When the Malawi Election Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Justice Jane Ansah, officially launched the campaign period for the July 2 fresh presidential poll on May 2, her message was clear.

Under normal circumstances, the official campaign period is a time when all contesting candidates and political parties are free to sell themselves to the electorate.

But the circumstances under which Malawi is going to hold election is not normal, given that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country is growing by day.

"Being a very critical period of our electoral calendar, I have some words to all candidates, registered voters and all stakeholders considering that campaign will be done at a time we have the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi and globally. With respect to the global pandemic on the coronavirus and various public health guidelines and restrictions in place, candidates will have to find other innovative ways of reaching out to the electorate," said the MEC chairperson.

Presidential candidates in the July 2 poll presented their nomination papers to MEC chairperson on May 6-7, stamping their will to contest in the race for the country's hottest seat.

On May 8, MEC and President Peter Mutharika lost the appeal case in which they wanted the Supreme Court to rule against the High Court's annulment of May 2019 presidential election.

The Supreme Court thus upheld the annulment and described the appeal as "embarrassing, hard to make sense from" and that the fresh election should be conducted as ordered by the High Court on Feb. 3.

With the campaign period officially launched and the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the fresh election, both ruling and political party leaders started steamy campaign trails across the country from May 9.

The crowds that the political leaders are pulling in their political campaigns are in thousands, with no adherence to one of the key COVID-19 measures of social distancing.

The development does not only contravene MEC chairperson's call for "innovative ways of reaching out to the electorate," but it also puts lives of Malawi's population of 18 million at risk of contracting the global pandemic.

Health authorities in the country have condemned the laxity that the public has taken in as far as social distancing is concerned and they have warned that the country could face an upsurge of COVID-19 cases.

"As health workers, we find the development very disheartening because we would have expected our political leaders to lead in embracing the health guidelines," Director of Health and Social Services for Blantyre District Hospital, Gift Kawalazira, told the local media Monday.

Kawalazira also called on individuals to make personal efforts in maintaining social distance and following all health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Global Health Specialist and Malawi's Director of Quality Management Department in the ministry of health, Andrew Likaka, has also emphasized on social distancing as paramount measure against the spread of COVID-19.

Likaka warned in his presentation to local broadcasters Monday that "if nothing serious is done to stop the spread of the pandemic, at least 1.5 million people will contract coronavirus with 30,000 people needing critical care by the end of the year."

The fears were also earlier raised in strong terms by the Secretary for Health, Dan Namarika, on April 23 when Malawi registered 10 confirmed cases in 24 hours.

"We are at war and the war continues, it's up to us Malawians to choose. We have the opportunity to control the disease," said Namarika, adding that "we already have volatile health situation in the country which is not found in many countries making us more disadvantaged."

According to Namarika, the model that the country is using to analyze the impact of COVID-19, the pandemic has the potential of causing 50,000 deaths, in Malawi with 5,000 of the deaths occurring in the capital, Lilongwe.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Population Services, Jappie Mhango, has condemned public gatherings organized by politicians in the wake of COVID-19, which has killed three and infected 57 people with 24 recoveries as of May 11.

Although public and private schools remain closed since March, church gatherings continue with strict social distance compliance while bars, central and mobile markets remain open with little compliance to social distancing.

The fresh election campaign trail is expected to run up to June 30. Therefore, Malawians are caught between two critical wars: the global pandemic and the presidential poll. Enditem
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Alex Quesada / Los Angeles Times)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, urged caution about reopening schools this fall.

Speaking at a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, Fauci was asked by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) whether colleges and schools could feel safe welcoming students back in the fall. Fauci said that would largely depend on the ability to do widespread testing and other factors.

The idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far, Fauci said. The drug that has shown some degree of efficacy was modest and was in hospitalized patients.

He sharply rebuffed Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who suggested that schools should be reopened because evidence suggests the virus does not seriously affect children.

I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects of the illness, Fauci said, noting that there is a lot unknown about the virus and its effects.

When and how to reopen schools has been a major issue in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would like some campuses to reopen by late summer.

Although the school year in Los Angeles is set to begin on Aug. 18, the prospect of opening 900 campuses will rely on solutions for daunting and costly problems  including whether half a million students and their families would be tested for COVID-19, Supt. Austin Beutner said.

There has been discussion about the need to have students with families tested, but no clear picture yet drawn as to where the tests would be provided and who will pay for them, Beutner said in an interview. His staff is working with state and local authorities and a team of UCLA experts on reopening protocols.

Two other major concerns include coming up with a plan  and funding  for supplying masks for students and staff, perhaps multiple masks a day for children, and sanitizing schools, he said.

Story continues

The top-to-bottom cleaning that will be necessary and appropriate is different than it might have been just a few months ago, Beutner said. Schools were cleaned every day, but not necessarily sanitized. Its two different things. Sanitizing is more intensive, costs more.

Beutner also spoke of the difficulty of managing students safely once they return to campus. He referenced research suggesting that a school environment ranks among the settings where infections would be more likely to spread, on par with college dorms and nightclubs.

As for masks: Where will those come from? Are we buying them? asked Beutner, who foresees difficult economic times.

The concern over finances is timely. Gov. Gavin Newsom this week is expected to release his revised budget proposal for next year  as measures to combat COVID-19 have decimated the state budget with a projected $54.3-billion deficit through the summer, the largest in state history. In a worst-case scenario, analysts forecast a 20% cut to education funding.
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Iraq Targets Iran-Aligned Militia Over Shooting Death Of Protester

By RFE/RL May 11, 2020

Iraqi security forces have raided the office of an Iran-aligned party in the southern province of Basra and arrested militiamen who fired on demonstrators, killing one protester and injuring several others outside the party building.

The May 11 dawn raid on the Thaar Allah party office led to the arrest of five members of the group and the confiscation of weapons and ammunition, Basra police chief Rashid Fleih said.

The arrests for the death of the protester, the first killed since anti-government demonstrations restarted during the weekend following a brief hiatus, is a rare response by authorities to violence by security forces and militia groups that has killed at least 600 protesters.

The government said the operation was directed by new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Protesters in Baghdad, Basra, and other cities in Iraq's predominately Shi'ite south restarted demonstrations on May 9, just days after Kadhimi was sworn in following a nearly six-month political crisis.

The new prime minister, Iraq's former intelligence chief, has stretched out an olive branch to the anti-government protesters who are demanding employment, better services, and an end to rampant corruption.

The cross-sectarian protest movement has also demanded an end to Iranian meddling in Iraqi politics and an end to the post-Saddam Hussein political order.

On May 10, the judiciary ordered the release of demonstrators arrested since the protests began on October 1. The move came after Kadhimi said demonstrators should be protected and that all protesters should be released.

Kadhimi also promoted Lieutenant General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi to lead counterterrorism operations.

Saadi, who led the military's campaign against the Islamic State extremist group, was demoted in September 2019 by former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. Widely considered a hero, his demotion caused outrage and sparked the protest movement.

Saadi is considered close to the United States. His demotion in 2019 has led to speculation that the move was forced upon the government by Iran-backed political factions and militia groups.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iraq-targets-iran -aligned-militia-over-shooting-death -of-protester/30606172.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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MESA, Ariz., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The state of Georgia should be a model for other states to follow when it comes to reopening businesses and jump-starting their economies, according to Citizens for Free Speech (CFFS). The non-profit group dedicated to preserving American citizens' constitutional liberties issued the statement after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp reported on May 9 the lowest number of hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the Peach State since tracking began in early April.

Kemp signed a statewide shelter-in-place order on April 3, following CDC guidelines in response to the global pandemic, forcing most businesses to close their doors and lay off or furlough their employees. Nearly 1.6 million Georgians have filed unemployment claims in recent weeks, accounting for over 31% of the state's work force. Kemp's lifting of the order for most residents has been viewed by many as a trial balloon for rebooting the economy while continuing the decline in infections.

"Governor Kemp made a courageous decision in the face of incessant public criticism from all corners," said CFFS Executive Director Patrick Wood. "In becoming the first state to reopen so-called non-essential businesses," he stated, "the governor put his trust in the business owners, employees and customers of Georgia to undertake good health and hygiene practices on their own, free of most government mandates. His trust was rewarded."

Local public health officials had warned that reopening businesses and public venues too soon would lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, and had encouraged Kemp to maintain the shelter-in-place orders that have denied Georgia residents many of their rights, including free assembly and the freedom to practice religion. That spike, much like the 2.2 million deaths nationwide predicted by CDC-trusted models, has not materialized, prompting Kemp to announce even more good news.

"Today also marks the lowest total of ventilators in use," the Governor declared on Twitter, following the virus' standard two-week incubation period since reopening most of his state to the majority of his constituents. "We will win this fight together!"

Just 897 of the state's 1,945 ventilators were being used at the time of the announcement.

While the governor has indicated there might still be a need for corrective action if a surge in cases does occur, CFFS was effusive in its praise for Kemp's proactive approach.

"We salute Governor Kemp for his decisive action in lifting the orders," Wood added. "In addition to the suspension of Constitutional protections afforded all citizens, the lockdown orders have been devastating to the Georgia economy, which now has a chance to recover more quickly. We encourage all state governors to follow suit. It's time to get America back to work."

For more information about CFFS please visit www.CitizensForFreeSpeech.org.

Contact:

Bob Frantz

National Director of Communications

[email protected]

480-526-0074

SOURCE Citizens for Free Speech
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The whole point of a cafe is a place for community, for a neighborhood to come together, says barista Veronica Arze Silvestro. That tenor guided her in the decision to shut gourmet coffee shop Duzers Local in Stapleton.

She closed the store March 19 with the intent of reopening on Friday for a potentially busy weekend. But her children were concerned over the comings and goings of patrons -- Veronica has asthma -- and encouraged her to close permanently.

Veronica sorely misses the rhythm of the business -- and the customers.

My vision is what I had at Duzers. I had a following. I was gaining momentum. People were asking me to do events. They were staying and getting hungry so I started with the soups, she said.

Veronica opened Duzers in the fall of 2016. With her from-scratch, flavored simple syrups for coffee drinks and distinct baked goods from Brooklyn outfits, she also built up a retail business with sundries, cocktail bitters, crackers, candies and other artisan eats for sale. Baked goods and stunning seasonal soups rounded out the comfort food menu served at a handful of tables in the sunny shop.

I have a lot of students that would come in to do group projects and study. How I can come back from this I dont know. Its just....we dont know. To dig a hole with the rent just didnt make sense, she lamented.

Its amazing what a little coffee shop can do. I couldnt wait to go to work. It was an extension of home. Id get my kids off to school and go to work. But it wasnt like work. It was like my other family -- all ages, all creeds, all religions. It was just everyone," Veronica said, adding, It was just so diverse. I grew up in Brooklyn and I was used to such diversity. It gave me such a homey feeling and I loved it from day one.

Duzer's on Van Duzer is no more.

Duzers became an important part of the neighborhoods fabric. Just a year ago the section of Van Duzer and Broad Streets boasted of five other thriving businesses on the block with The Coupe cocktail lounge, Vida Restaurant, Honor Wines, the latter relocated from St. George, and Pastry Lovers Choice plus The Hop Shoppe. Vida has since closed but for the pre-pandemic plan of pop-up style restaurants. The other businesses are open for take out and delivery.

Veronica said the pedestrian traffic in the budding restaurant row was a boon to her shop which was still taking root.

It really started to become a place for parties. On a Sunday people would come after church, have a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. In 2019 I saw an uptick in my business. I had regulars. It was a great feeling having that connection with people, said Veronica.

But shes staying positive and ponders the future. She said, I would definitely like to regroup down the road. This summers gone. But when school starts up in September. When theres no school it just throws everything off. I understand theres going to be safety practices in place. Im hoping school will be gearing up for September.

Said former patron Doris Basner, I certainly hope she can have a second chapter with her business. She was such a tremendous asset in our community, giving a venue to local Staten Island artists to display and sell their wares, providing high quality grocery and dairy items, and of course, making a great cup of coffee."

In the new rendition of Duzers shell start off small in a more modest spot, sell coffee by the pound, specialty items and signature, frothy coffee drinks.

If we could have people stay and sit then well look for a larger space. Even if that means sharing a space I would consider that, said Veronica. And the next time around shell call the place Veronicas Local."

Ill do something I can manage, get people their good coffees, good milks, she said. In the meantime shes keeping busy so people dont forget about me, she explained. Veronica sells coffee by the pound, the $14 Duzers Local blend for drip machines. She also carries espresso beans, decaf and Belgian Chocolate. Shes available for delivery or coffee fans can pick up from her personally.

Veronica can be reached at 646-479-5965.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
A Birmingham woman serving 20 years for aggravated child abuse died in custody Monday in Jefferson County.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office said Colony Nicole Wilson, 40, began feeling ill and was taken to a medical clinic. From there she was transported to the emergency room at St. Vincents Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:24 a.m.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the circumstances surrounding her death are being investigated by the Alabama Department of Corrections Investigations and Intelligence Division. Wilson was assigned to the Birmingham Womens Community Based Facility and Community Work Center on 25th Street North.

Colony Wilson (Alabama Department of Corrections)

ADOC spokeswoman Samantha Banks said no foul play is suspected at this time. "While Wilsons exact cause of death is pending the results of a full autopsy, at the time of her passing inmate Wilson was not exhibiting signs or symptoms of COVID-19, was not under quarantine following direct exposure to an inmate or staff member who previously had tested positive, and was not in medical isolation as a result of a positive COVID-19 test,'' Banks said. As she was not displaying symptoms, Wilson had not been tested for COVID-19. More information will be available upon the conclusion of the investigation into her death.

According to the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, Wilson was sentenced in 2005 to 20 years in prison after the child sustained more than a dozen broken bones in the first four years of her life, including her collarbone, skull, legs, arms, ribs and shoulders over just a two-month period.

Wilson had served more than 14 years of her sentence.
A customer sits at the bar to eat at Moe's Original BBQ restaurant amid the coronavirus pandemic in Atlanta, Ga., on April 27, 2020. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite Reopening, Georgia Sees Steady Decline in Virus Cases

Georgias governor came under heavy fire for easing lockdown restrictions and allowing some businesses to reopen on April 24. But state data continues to show steady drops in both new confirmed cases of the CCP virus, and in seven-day moving averages.

As businesses adjust, some owners told The Epoch Times they fully agreed with the actions made by Georgias Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp based his decision to re-ignite the economy on favorable data, enhanced testing, and approval of our health care professionals. He allowed a multitude of sectors to open up their doors nearly three weeks ago.

In April, virus cases peaked on April 20 with 927 confirmed cases in one day. By contrast, 258 new cases of the virus were confirmed on May 11, according to preliminary data from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The seven-day moving average for April 20 meanwhile was 749. For May 11, it was 368.4.

Under Kemps orders, gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians, their respective schools, and massage therapists could fully reopen on April 24.

Theaters, private social clubs, and restaurant dine-in services were also permitted to open on April 27, subject to specific social distancing and sanitation mandates, according to Kemp.

Overall, Georgia has seen 35,332 confirmed cases of the virus and 1,505 deaths, as of this writing. At the same time, tests for the virus have continued to ramp up, with 251,290 conducted so far.

The Epoch Times reached out to the governors office for comment but didnt hear back by press time.

Ready to Reopen

Some business owners in the state said theyre looking forward to life returning more and more to how it usually is.

Nancy Goodrich, restaurant owner of Southern Bistro located in Sandy Springs, said everything has been a learning experience, as she described adjusting to closing their doors and providing to-go services, to now having to relearn how to open their business again.

Im ready to reopen. Im ready to get on with my life, she told The Epoch Times. Im ready to get things back to normal and get to where everybody feels comfortable going out again.

Sales have plummeted, and the money theyve earned is on par with when they just started their business, she said.

But what has kept her afloat has been the support from her Sandy Springs community, with a population of 108,797.

The restaurant just recently opened its patio for customers and will fully reopen on May 18, as Goodrich noted that they have to rearrange the dining room, limit the seatings, and follow other guidelines.

The only reason I have survived is because the community Im in has really supported me and given me a lot of love and generous support, she said. Im really lucky in that respect  they really dont want me to go away.

Thats a good feeling. Weve all supported each other up here for 15 years.

Goodrich said the community supported her by ordering takeout from their restaurant and that they were happy when she opened up her patio. She said they largely agree with the state-wide reopening efforts.

We just need to get back to where we were [financially], she said. I dont know if well get back to the sales that we were at, but at least better than where we are now.

Some business owners told The Epoch Times previously that they were forced to defy lockdown measures in their state, citing their abysmal financial situations.

Catastrophic Shutdown

Rich Clark, co-owner of C&S Restaurant Group, said he fully reopened some of his restaurants locations on April 27, the day the governor said dine-in services were permitted. Under his group, Hugos Oyster Bar located in Roswell and C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar in Atlanta have reopened.

Clark said he fully shut down the C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar in early March.

It was catastrophic, he told The Epoch Times. The first day, I was pretty depressed about it. I sat here, and Im like, Ive worked my whole life for this company and is it gone now? But its not. Its different. Were gonna be viable.

On Kemps decision to reopen the economy, Clark said he stands behind it 100 percent, adding that hes happy to be back working again.

I dont have a doctorate in public health, he said. I trust the people that do, and theyre saying OK, this is what were going to do.

Clark acknowledged there are two different schools of thought when it comes to reopening or not. He described how he faced criticism on his Facebook account after announcing he was going to reopen, adding that he later took down his post.

Ultimately, he said the decision lies with himself.

Im not going to be bullied or ashamed into not openingthats not going to happen, he said.

The response from those who showed up in person to support his restaurant over the past few weeks has been overwhelmingly positive, Clark said.

The guests have been so grateful to come in and the gratuities, how much money that theyre giving the bartenders and the servers has just been really nice, he said. People seem to be in a good mood, but there is still a lot of apprehension to come out.

Those in the local community who showed up to eat have profusely expressed their gratitude to the restaurant for opening its doors. Clark said he wanted to thank them instead for spending their money. Many customers just want to go out and get away from this thing for a minute, he said.

Clark said he is fully following all state guidelines in opening the restaurant, adding that they have to pay attention to the safety measures. For the past few weeks, the restaurant has seen a 25 to 30 percent decrease in revenue, he said.

He said their company only had a handful of people who didnt feel like coming back to work, adding that he completely understood their sentiments.

Back in the 80s, we thought it was going to be a time of war, but now its this, he said. Were going to have to learn how to work because it [the virus] is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Australian health experts fear a mysterious coronavirus-linked illness that has killed children overseas could infect kids Down Under.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has commissioned urgent medical research into Kawasaki disease - a rare inflammatory illness that's been dubbed 'Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome' in the U.S.

Kawasaki disease is the closest known illness to PMSIS - which has developed in nearly 100 children in the United States and killed five in the past two months.

Professor Murphy called on Australia's top paediatric experts to prepare a report on the illness, which will be addressed at the next National Cabinet meeting on Friday.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy commissioned urgent medical research into Kawasaki disease - a rare inflammatory disease that's been dubbed 'Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome

Links between coronavirus and Kawasaki disease have sparked concerns across the globe, and doctors are exploring the possibility that the virus could trigger the inflammatory illness in children. Pictured: a baby from California with Kawasaki disease

The Australian Department of Health has been closely monitoring international reports and research into the mysterious disease.

United States authorities believe PMSIS is associated with COVID-19.

Overseas, the illness has been seen in children who have tested positive to coronavirus, as well as those who haven't contracted COVID-19.

In New York City alone, 15 children were hospitalised between April 17 and May 1, and five of them have required mechanical ventilation.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said Australia hasn't seen any cases of PMSIS yet.

'The Chief Medical Officer continues to engage with paediatric specialists nationally on this matter and Australia is in a good position to pick up an early signal of increased cases of Kawasaki disease over and above background seasonal variation,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Kawasaki disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels and affects mostly children under five years old.

The inflammation can weaken or damage the coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood.

This can lead to aneurysms, heart attacks or heart failure, which is why Kawasaki disease is known as one of the leading causes of heart disease in children, according to the American Heart Association.

Treatment usually comes in the form of aspirin for the fever and rash and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy - a treatment made from donated blood - to reduce the risk of coronary artery abnormalities from developing.
Mumbai, May 12 : Amitabh Bachchan's cult hit "Don" was release 42 years ago on this day, and the veteran actor took to social media to reminisce about the film. He recalled why the distributors were not happy with the films title.

The actor took to his blog to write about the Chandra Barot-directed film that was scripted by the hit writer-duo of the era, Salim-Javed. Big B had a double role, along with Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekar and Om Shivpuri in pivotal roles.

"When Chandra and Salim-Javed announced the name of the film as 'DON' .. no distributor was willing to accept the title .. they all thought it to be named after the DAWN underwear .. a popular brand during those times... The film 'Godfather' was just making a mark in film circles .. the word 'Don' was unknown till then," he wrote.

"But what a life the film has had and its music .. quite remarkable. Javed saheb sent me an sms this morning .. ' huzoor 42 saal ho gaye DON ko .. hadd ho gayee ..'" "Its 42 years of 'DON' .. Produced by Nariman Irani , the ace DOP of the times, venturing into Production, and Salim-Javed obliging him by writing the film for his benefit .. Directed by Chandra Barot, who was AD to Manoj Kumar ji in the film which had Jaya with Manoj ji .. the friendship grew and has remained close .. he directed the film his first," he added.

He also shared a few stills from the film, including one from the sets of the evergreen song, "Khaike paan Banaraswaala".

"After doing the other character shooting at Mehboob studios lawns , I was shooting for another film in Srinagar Kashmir and remember getting a telegram of praise from Salim-Javed, after they had seen the rushes of the pan chewing scene of the duplicate character. And the song 'khaike paan..' an after thought ..

"Chandra showed the film to Manoj ji after the shoot was over and he suggested that there should be a song in the second half .. thats how this moment was created." The 77-year-old shared that he was working in "two-three shifts per day" on "different films" in those days.

"I was shooting in the morning shift 7am-2 pm at China creek .. an outdoor location some miles our of the city." Amitabh shared he had to take anaesthesia injections to shoot for the song.

"It was an action sequence .. had injured my feet .. blisters all around .. and came to Mehboob Studios from China Creek to shoot this number .. had to dance bare feet .. blisters were impossible to walk on .. so what .. called the doc .. took anaesthesia injections in the feet and worked the four-five days that took to shoot it," he wrote.

The thespian shared he copied one dance step from his son Abishek Bachchan for the number.

"There is a dance move in the song where the steps are me moving sideways .. thats a copy of Abhishek .. as a little fellow whenever he heard music he would dance and do this side step .. I copied that from him for the song." "There is another shot of me dancing and I turn around, show my back and keep moving my hips and look back. that has a story too but of that some other time." "Don" would go on to be one of Amitabh Bachchan's most significant and iconic roles. He essayed a dual role, as a mob boss named Don, and his lookalike village bumpkin who is groomed by the police, in a secret mission, to infiltrate the underworld after Don is killed in an encounter.

The film was a big success, emerging as the third highest-grossing release of 1978. Although Big B's antihero avatar was considered outlandish by many upon the film's release, over the years "Don" has gone onto acquire a cult status among fans. The film's music (Kalyanji Anandji) continues to be popular to this day.

In 2006, Farhan Akhtar attempted a remake of the film with Shah Rukh Khan in the title role. SRK and Farhan also released a sequel, "Don 2", in 2011.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Police are searching for a Bangor man accused of dragging his girlfriend around a room and threatening to kill her with an ax.

Jason Lee Philback, 31, of the 200 block of South Main Street, is facing various charges in last weeks incident, including strangulation, simple assault, reckless endangerment, making terroristic threats and harassment.

Bangor police shortly before 6 p.m. this past Friday were called to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg campus in Bethlehem for a report of a female victim assaulted by her boyfriend. The victim reported to police at about 3 a.m. this past Thursday Philback grabbed her by her breasts, applied pressure and dragged her around the bedroom of the couples home, court records state.

Philback also allegedly shoved the woman against walls and unknown objects before choking her. The victim reported to police her breathing was impeded during the attack. An officer observed visible bruises on her neck and throughout her body, police said.

Where are you going?, Philback allegedly kept screaming as he choked the victim.

Philback then held an ax toward the victim and told her, Im going to kill you, according to court records.

Philback allegedly went on to break the victims cellphone and threw it at her ankle. He placed her into a chokehold at one point and also threw an approximate 8-inch blade knife toward the woman, which landed at her feet, police said.

Charges against Philback have been filed at the office of District Judge Jacqueline Taschner.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Virgin Atlantic has said it will fly to 24 destinations in 2021 after Sir Richard Branson sold 405million of shares in Virgin Galactic to save the under-pressure airline.

The aviation industry has suffered severe financial issues due to travel restrictions imposed by countries' trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

But many airlines are now planning for the future, with Wizz Air and Ryanair both announcing summer flights as the lockdown starts to ease across Europe.

However it comes as the Government admitted foreign summer holidays this year would have to be cancelled - and said international travellers into the UK will have to tell border officials where they will self-isolate for 14 days or face being quarantined.

Now, Sir Richard's airline has announced a raft of new flights from London Heathrow, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast from next summer - on sale from this Saturday.

Sir Richard Branson at Atlanta Airport next to a Virgin Atlantic 787 plane in October 2014

Virgin Atlantic planes on the runway at Glasgow Airport on March 21, just before the lockdown

Virgin Atlantic confirmed today it will operate the flights from UK airports to 24 destinations in summer 2021, using only twin-engine aircraft.

It expects to 'steadily increase' flights in the second half of this year, before a 'further, gradual recovery' in 2021.

Which destinations will Virgin fly to? Antigua

Atlanta

Barbados

Boston

Cape Town

Delhi

Grenada

Havana

Hong Kong

Johannesburg

Lagos

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The Heathrow to Tel Aviv service will increase to twice per day.

The airline announced last week that it will not resume Gatwick flights, will reduce its workforce by 3,150 people and will not return to using its seven Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which have four engines.

Chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said: 'As the Covid-19 crisis stabilises and demand gradually returns, we are looking forward to welcoming our customers back and flying them safely to their favourite destinations.

'We have taken the opportunity to pause, reflect and reshape our 2021 flying programme looking at efficiencies in our fleet and connectivity across our network, to ensure it is fit for the future, flying to the destinations we know our customers love to fly.

'We're delighted that our popular Tel Aviv service, which launched in September 2019, will now increase to double daily, whilst regional flying from Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast will continue to play an important part in offering choice to customers and connecting UK travellers to Orlando, Barbados, Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles.'

It emerged on Monday that Sir Richard is selling a 400million stake in his space exploration business to prop up the rest of his ailing empire.

Sir Richard Branson (pictured on the wing of a Virgin Atlantic 747-400 at Las Vegas Airport in June 2010) sold 405million of shares in Virgin Galactic space to save Virgin Atlantic

Sir Richard sold shares in his Virgin Galactic space business (pictured on May 1 in New Mexico)

The billionaire, who has already been slammed for seeking taxpayer support to save struggling airline Virgin Atlantic, plans to sell 25million shares or 12 per cent of New York-listed Virgin Galactic.

Foreign summer holidays are off, says Matt Hancock despite Ryanair planning to restore 40% of flights Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned that people are unlikely to be able to go on foreign holidays this summer, despite Ryanair planning to restore 40 per cent of its flights from July. Asked whether 'summer was cancelled', Mr Hancock told ITV's This Morning: 'I think that's likely to be the case.' He added: 'It is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer. I just think that's a reality of life.' The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since March 17, while domestic holidays are not allowed due to the Government's lockdown orders issued six days later. Mr Hancock's comments came just hours after Ryanair announced it will operate nearly 1,000 flights per day from July 1 subject to European countries lifting flight restrictions and 'effective public health measures' being put in place at airports. The plan involves 90 per cent of the airline's pre-Covid-19 route network being restored, but on reduced frequencies. Since mid-March it has operated a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights per day between the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe. Passengers and crew will be required to wear face masks or face coverings, and pass temperature checks. Queuing for toilets will be banned, but 'toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request', according to the airline. A limited range of refreshments will be sold on board, and no cash will be accepted. Ryanair said all surfaces in its cabins will be disinfected every night with chemicals which are effective for more than 24 hours. The carrier will require all passengers flying in July and August to complete a form when they check in, stating how long their visit will be and where they are staying. Advertisement

His company Virgin Group said it would use the proceeds 'to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of Covid-19'.

Virgin Atlantic, in which Branson owns a 51 per cent stake, is fighting for survival after the coronavirus pandemic caused it to cancel thousands of flights.

It has already cut 3,150 jobs and announced it will end its presence at Gatwick Airport, while its sister airline Virgin Australia has gone bust.

Sir Richard was hoping to secure a 500million government-backed loan for Virgin Atlantic and had even offered to put his luxury Caribbean retreat Necker Island up as security against the loan.

Though talks with the Government are ongoing, the chance of securing a bailout seemed slim after Chancellor Rishi Sunak wrote to airlines and airports in March saying the taxpayer would only step in 'as a last resort'.

A rescue package for the airline would have been politically toxic given its super-wealthy backer has not paid personal tax in the UK for 14 years after moving to the British Virgin Islands - a well-know tax haven.

Other potential investors include private equity firms Greybull Capital, which came under scrutiny for overseeing the collapse of troubled airline Monarch and British Steel, and Apollo Global Management.

Critics had called for Sir Richard, who is estimated to be worth around 4billion, to put in some of his own money.

His Virgin Group empire owns stakes in a slew of companies, from Virgin Wines and Virgin Money to social media giants such as Twitter and Pinterest.

The announcement on Monday that it would offload part of its stake in Virgin Galactic indicated Sir Richard had succumbed to the pressure.

But it will mean that the entrepreneur loses his controlling stake in the space exploration company, with his ownership falling below 43 per cent.

He will also have to relinquish one of Virgin Group's three seats on the eight-strong board.

Virgin Galactic was founded by Sir Richard in 2004 and had initially hoped to launch tourist flights into space by 2009.

But the mission has been beset by a series of delays, not least the death of co-pilot Michael Alsbury during a disastrous test flight of the VSS Enterprise craft in 2014.

Sir Richard was hoping to secure a 500million government-backed loan for Virgin Atlantic and had even offered to put his luxury Caribbean retreat Necker Island up as security against it

Tickets for the space flights first went on sale in 2004 for $200,000 each and the price was later raised to $250,000 (200,000).

Sir Richard owns 115million shares in Virgin Galactic, or 55 per cent, worth around 1.9billion before he announced his intention to sell.

Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 per cent owned by America's Delta Air Lines, has lined up insolvency experts Alvarez & Marsal in case rescue talks fall through.

The airline believes it needs 750million of funding, which could be met with a mixture of private investment and cash raised by Virgin Group.
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Published May 11, 2020

Watch the ULM Virtual Recognition Ceremony streaming live on ulm.edu/commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16. Join us in congratulating the ULM Spring 2020 graduates.

To honor the Spring 2020 graduates of the University of Louisiana Monroe, a Virtual Recognition Ceremony will be held online beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16. The event will be streaming live on ulm.edu/commencement.

The regular commencement ceremony has been rescheduled to Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, due to the COVID-19 health crisis. See the announcement here.

ULM President Nick J. Bruno, Ph.D., said the graduates should be celebrated for their accomplishments, especially in light of the courses in their final semester being moved from on-campus to online.

This is a trying time for all of us, and the graduates should be celebrated for rising to the challenge of completing their last semester at ULM despite the upheavals caused by the coronavirus, Bruno said.

In mid-March, the university moved all classes to online and allowed employees to work from home to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Soon-to-be graduates, students, faculty, and staff expressed interest in having some kind of recognition ceremony to mark the completion of a challenging semester.

Through technology we are able to come together and congratulate the graduates for their dedication and perseverance, said Bruno.

Brunos virtual address will be his final commencement speech at ULM before he retires at the end of June. He has served as president since Nov. 8, 2010.

University of Louisiana System President Jim Henderson, Ph.D., will also make remarks during the virtual event.

The names of each graduate will be scrolled during the ceremony. Before the final count, it is estimated ULM will have the largest number of graduates in its history, with more than 1,000 students completing their degrees.






CODY, Wyo. - Yellowstone cutthroat trout could finally make a recovery in Yellowstone Lake after data showed an invasive lake trout species has declined, experts said.

Nowhere else has seen the kind of adult lake trout collapse at the rate that has been achieved on Yellowstone Lake, not on the Great Lakes, not on Lake Pend Oreille (in Idaho), retired biologist Michael Hansen told The Cody Enterprise.

Hansen formerly worked for the Great Lakes Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey and was a longtime member of the Science Review Panel for the fisheries of Yellowstone National Park.

It was hard to contain my excitement, said Dave Sweet, special project manager for Wyoming Trout Unlimited. I have been working on Yellowstone Lake for 12 years volunteering on the system, fundraising and trying to spread the word about what was happening.

Intensive netting efforts have reduced adult lake trout to 10%, or about 10,000, he said. About 60,000 lived in the lake 10 years ago and were known to prey on cutthroats.

Literally for years, we thought we were losing the battle, Sweet said.

A sexually mature lake trout starts laying eggs at age 5-6 and can live as long as 50 years, while cutthroat, a native species to the lake, only live up to 5 years, he said.

There are still about 450,000 juvenile lake trout that are about 2 years old and under, but they are not expected to last, experts said.

The National Park Service spends about $2 million each year on netting.

This resource is at the top of my list for continued funding in these times of tightening budgets and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said.
Teams in the Spanish top division stepped up training on Tuesday in anticipation of the return to action in the LaLiga next month.

https://twitter.com/realmadriden/status/1260238465762983936

The two leading clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, both flashed pictures from their Tuesday training sessions on while some Super Eagles stars were also seen sweating it out with their respective teams.

The Super Eagles players in the La Liga include the Leganes duo of Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem.

Others are Villarreal superstar, Samuel Chukwueze, as well as the duo of Azeez Ramon and Ogenekaro Etebo, who are on the books of Granada and Getafe respectively.

After over 50 days in lockdown, the Nigerian players, like their other counterparts, expressed delight at their return first to the pitch for training and hopefully soon for matches proper.

https://twitter.com/etebo_karo/status/1259813125832036353

The Spanish league at the weekend reiterated the resolve not to renege on its resumption plan after five players from clubs in the first and second divisions tested positive for COVID-19.

President Javier Tebas on Sunday said he hoped it can restart on June 12.

Tebas said if everything continues to go according to plan in Spain, he expects the league to resume a month from now  depending on decisions by local authorities regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

Real-Madrid Trainning

We would like to start on June 12, but it will depend on a lot of things, Tebas said in an interview late Sunday with league broadcaster Movistar. If we all continue to comply with the health safety measures, I dont think we will have any problems.

All other players tested negative, and the league said only three staff members of clubs tested positive after nearly 2,500 total tests were conducted.
Oprah has reached out to Ahmaud Arbery's grieving mother.

The 66-year-old media titan rang Wanda Cooper-Jones on Friday, on what would have been her murdered son's 26th birthday.

And Wanda was 'in disbelief' when she realized it was the TV host on the other end of the line, TMZ reported on Tuesday.

Oprah [2L] called Ahmaud Arbery's mother on Friday for what would have been the murdered jogger's 26th birthday

The A Wrinkle in Time star also sent something in the mail, according to the gossip site, but just what that might be is unknown.

The details of the call come after Oprah herself posted about it on social media.

'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,' began Winfrey in the Instagram post which has been viewed 3.5 million times.

'I wonder what was he thinking in those last seconds of his life?'

Wanda Cooper-Jones [above] was 'in disbelief' when she realized it was the TV host on the other end of the line, TMZ reported on Tuesday

'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.

The OWN founder 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.

Ahmaud Arbery [pictured] was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23

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.

People around the country are dedicating their daily 2.23mile 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.

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.

'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
More than 50 progressive advocacy groups on Monday sent a letter to former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, urging him to make concession to the left on Middle East policy.

The groups, led by Demand Progress, are calling on Biden to return to the Iran nuclear deal, leverage military aid to Israel to secure concessions over its occupation of the West Bank and blockade on the Gaza Strip and repeal the 2001 military authorization that serves as the legal basis for most US counterterrorism operations throughout the world.

A failed post-9/11 agenda has resulted in global instability, countless lives lost and widespread violations of human rights, said Yasmine Taeb, the senior policy council at Demand Progress. By committing to prioritize serious diplomatic engagement and respecting congressional war powers, our leaders can end the forever wars and deliver an agenda more aligned with our values.

Why it matters: Biden has already committed to reentering the Iran deal and negotiating a follow-up agreement. However, he has not yet publicly disclosed his position on repealing the 2001 military authorization. (House Democrats attempted to repeal the 2001 authorization within eight months as part of a defense spending bill last year, but had to abandon the effort as part of a compromise with the Republican-held Senate.)

Furthermore, Biden has outright rejected growing pressure from the left to use Israels annual $3.8 billion in military aid as leverage to stop it from annexing its West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley  which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to move forward with in July. One major lobby group that has pushed for restrictions on Israeli military aid, J Street, did not sign onto the letter.

Thats a bad idea because youre giving Palestinians an effective veto, said Harley Lippman, an executive committee member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a J Street rival. If youre leveraging it, all they have to do is not show up to the negotiating table, and Israel will be denied aid. Youre giving them veto power, blackmail power, and theyd use it quite effectively to hold back aid to Israel.

Whats next: While theres largely consensus among Democrats on reentering the Iran deal, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is likely to be a subject of contention among pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions as the party hammers out its 2020 platform this summer.

Know more: Several of the groups who signed onto the letter have successfully lobbied Congress to pass a war powers resolution limiting the White Houses ability to pursue offensive military action against Iran, which President Donald Trump vetoed last week. Bryant Harris has the story here.
The Egyptian Supreme Council for Media Regulation has forbidden journalists or writers contributing articles to any newspaper or website from using a pseudonymous byline without first obtaining written consent from the council.

The decision, published in the official state gazette on Tuesday, obligates press institutions to submit a request clarifying the duration of and purpose behind using the nickname, as well as the authors real name.

The decision has been added to the code of conduct and ethics in media and journalism outlets created by the state-owned Egyptian media regulator last year.

The council last month fined the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper EGP 250,000 (approximately $16,000) and forced it to publish an apology for three op-ed pieces on Sinai, written under the byline Newton" in April.

The articles contained serious violations" according to the media regulator.

The council referred the incident to the country's prosecutor-general last month.

The paper's editor-in-chief had been referred to the disciplinary committee of the Egyptian press syndicate as well.

Newton's column is one of the most popular articles in Al-Masry Al-Youm. It first appeared in 2004. It is known to be written by founder of the paper Salah Diab.

Diab was banned from appearing in any mass medium for one month by the council on the back of the violations in his articles.

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New wave of unrest risks further sinking HK

Global Times

By Wang Wenwen and Leng Shumei Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/11 20:08:40

Illegal public gatherings are staging a comeback in Hong Kong, while experts warned that a resurgence of unrest would further damage the city's economy and social order, which had been showing signs of recovery after the double blow of month of riots followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protesters started to gather at 3 pm on Monday in shopping areas in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, singing anti-extradition bill songs and shouting pro-Hong Kong independence slogans.

As night fell, protesters moved and gathered on streets in Mong Kok, where some of them lit fires on the street and threw objects at the police, according to media reports.

Hong Kong police on Monday said they had issued penalty tickets to 19 people for violating the regulation that bans illegal group gatherings. Some 230 people between the ages of 12 and 65 were arrested for offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons or dangerous drugs, disorder in public places, and assaulting police officers.

Protests at this moment aim to disturb China's pace in resuming production and shaking off the impact of the COVID-19, Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Monday, noting that the gatherings must be the result of collusion of exterior and interior forces.

They are also a warm-up for the 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election scheduled in September. The protesters' aim is to enter the committee that elects the chief executive, according to Li.

Experts warned that a new wave of protests would destroy the hard-earned momentum of economic recovery in the city, which sustained a dual blow from months of riots in the second half of 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While the epidemic situation is improving, social issues are seemingly staging a comeback, which would hurdle Hong Kong's recovery," the city's Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in a signed article released on Sunday. Chan noted that the Hong Kong economy is facing unprecedented pressure.

According to Chan, Hong Kong's economy contracted 8.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, the city's worst quarter since 1974. Trade, investment and consumption, three major factors in Hong Kong's economic development, have all seriously stalled, Chan noted.

Wang Dan, a Beijing-based senior China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the Global Times on Monday that new protests may spread the virus and will hit consumption, which had just seen signs of revival.

Slack consumption and investment are caused by the pandemic as well as worries about Hong Kong's social order and its future, Wang said.

"Until Hong Kong's social order returns to normal, investors will diversify their investment destinations to places such as Singapore and Malaysia. Tourists, mainly from the Chinese mainland, will also choose other places, and retail, catering and hotels will take a hit," Wang said.

According to Wang, Hong Kong's exports are being hit mainly by sluggish Western economies and logistics problems caused by the epidemic. As the situation around the world may ease in the second half of the year, exports are expected to resume.

Hong Kong government announced Monday to provide HK$5.4 billion ($696.7 million) to support Hong Kong Ocean Park reeling under financial difficulties, as the park requested assistance in January. The park will face bankruptcy if it is not granted funding by June, reports said.

Chan said that Hong Kong's economy would revive in the third quarter as long as effective anti-epidemic measures guarantee the recovery of economic activities. Relief policies, after being approved by the Legislative Council, would also help to stabilize the economy. These policies include allocating HK$10,000 ($1,290) to each qualified Hong Kong resident and other stabilizing measures worth a total of HK$290 billion.

Tu Hai-ming, a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank Ltd., suggested that the post-epidemic focus of the Hong Kong government should be on the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which aims to offer affordable housing for Hong Kong people. That plan has remained on paper since being raised in 2018 due to the months of riots.

Tu said government investment should also go to public services such as smart city development and green buildings in the urban areas of Hong Kong.

"Such work can boost economic growth and provide jobs, and also ease the difficulties in people's livelihoods," Tu said.

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President Donald Trump congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi Monday on his confirmation by Iraqs Council of Representatives.

President Trump expressed the support of the United States for Iraq during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic and emphasized the shared interest with Iraq in achieving the enduring defeat of [the Islamic State], said White House spokesman Judd Deere. President Trump also encouraged the prime minister to address the Iraqi peoples demands for reform and legitimate early national elections.

Why it matters: Kadhimi is the first candidate to successfully form a government since former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in November amid protests targeting the Iraqi political elite over corruption and the governments failure to provide basic services throughout the country. Both the United States and Iran have publicly backed Kadhimis new government, and the Trump administration has extended a sanctions wavier for Iraq to continue importing Iranian natural gas to meet its electricity needs throughout the summer.

Whats next: Washington and Baghdad will convene a strategic dialogue next month to hammer out the future of US troop presence in Iraq. After Trumps January strike on Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the leader of Iraqs Popular Mobilization Units, the Iraqi Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of US forces from the country.

Know more: Ali Mamouri walks us through Iraqs new cabinet members.
Tesla's car factory in Fremont, Calif. (David Butow/For The Times)

The movement to jailbreak the economy out of COVID-19 quarantine has a new champion, for better or worse: Tesla Motors Chief Executive Elon Musk.

The mercurial tech billionaire escalated conflict with local officials on Monday when he declared  in a tweet, of course  that the company's Fremont, Calif., factory had resumed manufacturing operations in the face of standing orders to remain closed.

"Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules," Musk tweeted. "I will be on the line with everyone else."

The defiant pose  "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me," he added  earned him instant social media comparisons to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Not all were ironic.

Musk's move is the most striking instance to date of a powerful company pushing back on government-mandated COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, making him a de facto ally of the protesters who have rallied at sites from Huntington Beach to the Michigan statehouse to demand their end. Shutdowns have caused financial strain for many companies, and in a blog post on Saturday, Tesla said the county's position left it no choice but to take legal action to make sure Tesla employees can go back to work.

But in starting production without permission, the company has barreled past the legal process and skirted negotiations with the county. The parking lot at the massive plant in Fremont, which employs 10,000 workers, was nearly full Monday.

Musk suggested the public health order he ignored was itself unlawful, coming from "an unelected county official" who "illegally overrode" the reopening timeline laid down by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Legal and regulatory experts disputed that interpretation but said Musk's establishment of facts on the ground puts pressure on the county, and could inspire other businesses to challenge restrictions meant to protect workers and limit the spread of the virus.

Story continues

"The legal claims being raised by Musk, they do not have merit," said Jodi Short, a law professor studying government regulation of business at UC Hastings. "That said, this is creating an enormous political firestorm. That is clearly the strategy here."

Musk "only seems to believe in law and order if he writes the law and gives the order," said Matt Stoller, a researcher at the American Economic Liberties Project and author of " Goliath: The Hundred-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy."

Businesses that lack Musk's vast personal following and Tesla's status as a large employer face a different set of risks if they choose to reopen against legal mandates. "It would be a lot easier for a sheriff to come into a local bar and just shut that business down than it would be for a sheriff to march into the shop floor of Tesla," Short said.

Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020

Musk has resisted public health mandates throughout the coronavirus crisis.

After six Bay Area counties issued stay-at-home orders in mid-March, Musk kept the plant open nearly a week before Fremont police stepped in.

He came out against the orders publicly during a conference call to discuss Tesla's first-quarter earnings on April 29. He called the restrictions "fascist" and urged governments to stop taking peoples freedom. He threatened in a now-deleted tweet to move Tesla's headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada.

On Friday, the county issued a statement explicitly telling the company it "must not reopen" the plant.

The next day, Tesla filed a lawsuit against local authorities, calling the continued restrictions a power-grab by the county since Newsom had said on Thursday that manufacturers in the state would be permitted to reopen. The governor has said repeatedly that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders.

Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

The county said it has been working with Tesla to develop a safety plan allowing the Fremont plant to reopen. Alameda county spokesperson Neetu Balram said in a statement the county has collaborated "in good faith" with the company to create a plan that ensures safety for employees through screening procedures and by establishing processes for collecting feedback from front-line staff.

Balram said the county expected Tesla to submit a site-specific safety plan on Monday following state guidance on manufacturing businesses. But Balram said late Monday afternoon the county had not yet received a plan from Tesla.

State law allows a fine of as much as $1,000 per day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

Over the weekend, Tesla published a 38-page "return to work" playbook outlining safety procedures for its workers amid the pandemic. They include increased cleaning, enforcement of social distancing, providing face coverings and gloves where needed, installing barriers between workers when necessary and worker temperature checks at some locations.

Our employees are excited to get back to work, and were doing so with their health and safety in mind, Teslas Saturday statement said.

Musk previously wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.

It would be costly and difficult to quickly shift production from Fremont to Texas or Nevada. The Fremont facility, formerly run jointly by General Motors and Toyota, is Teslas only U.S. vehicle assembly plant, and the company would lose crucial production if it shut down the plant to move equipment.

But Musk plans another U.S. factory to increase output, possibly in Texas, and could move production once that plant is up and running.

At a news conference, Newsom sidestepped a question about Musks threat to move Tesla out of California, saying he was a supporter of innovative companies. He did say, however, that Tesla has benefited greatly by being in the state.

I have more confidence moving forward in our ability to support a company that this state has substantively supported for now many, many years, Newsom said. And in return, we have been beneficiaries of their incredible growth, ingenuity and innovative spirit. We look forward to many, many decades of that relationship and I know many of us are frustrated by where we are in this pandemic.

The lack of production in Fremont has cut off Teslas revenue and is a big financial strain. On a conference call last month, Musk said the Fremont facility produces the majority of its vehicles. He called the closure of the Fremont plant a serious risk.

Teslas moves come as competing automakers are starting to reopen factories in the U.S. Toyota also planned to restart production Monday, while General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all plan to restart their plants gradually on May 18. Tesla is the only major automaker with a factory in California.

Times staff writer Phil Willon and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Labour regulations such as 8 hours work days were brought in after years of protests against exploitation.

The Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat state governments have relaxed labour laws in a bid to attract investment and restart economic activity that was paralysed by the nationwide coronavirus-induced lockdown. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat have also amended their Factories Acts and increased the work hours from 8 to 12 hours a day or 72 hours per week.

The industry is divided over the new rules. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises who spoke with Firstpost chose to focus on the challenges they face as the government has begun lockdown relaxations and allowed certain industries to function.

Entrepreneurs said paying salaries, as mandated by the government when there was no production; getting back the workers who have left for their home towns; sanitising factories and workplaces besides getting raw materials and supply chain in placethese are among the various huge challenges for the sector, they said.

Industry points to challenges, need for ease of labour laws

The new rules are tough, but are needed as these are extraordinary circumstances," said Mahesh Singhi, founder, home-grown merger and advisory firm, Singhi Advisors. He terms the three state governments rules easing labour laws as a right step at the right time. Singhi said if more rules were formulated even as others were made redundant, it would hamper each states plan to resume economic activity.

Rules and laws are alright for normal times. But this is a war-like situation and the primary aim is to generate employment, create a demand for the products and services and narrow the demand-supply gap, he said. But should it come at the cost of workers health, their rights? Singhi said that any revolution calls for changes in rules. You have a right to earn and that comes from a responsibility to work. But would that mean stretching work hours to 12 instead of the ILO mandated 8 hours? The need of the hour is to ensure there is money flow in the system. Both the employer and employees need to go through some tough times before things ease back to normalcy, he said.

The work hours established in the ILO convention are 48 hours per week. Labour regulations such as 8 hour workdays were brought in after years of protests against exploitation. But, labour is a concurrent subject and states can amend certain labour laws for their regions.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industries said in a statement: The labour changes initiated in UP and MP, are both steps that will give huge flexibility to industry in their labour practices.

With a huge number of employees having left their workplaces due to coronavirus and lockdown measures, there is a need to reskill and map workers who have been displaced and re-employ them as per the needs of the industry, Banerjee said. The ordinance in UP and relaxations in norms in MP will help industry to adapt and rise to new economic realities swiftly, he said.

The other recourse is for government to pitch in with a relief package. Arjit Rawal, Director, Logistech India Private Ltd, suggested the government follow what the Canadian government is doing for industries. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy encourages employers to recruit workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus. The CEWS offers a subsidy of 75 percent of an eligible employees weekly earnings, to a maximum of $847 per employee per week to eligible employers, for up to 12 weeks. The funding is retroactive to 15 March.

Rawal wants the government to ease the pressure on employers by giving them some reliefs. Consider extending the financial year, he suggested. The industry has been demanding extension of fiscal year by three months in view of the economic impact caused by outbreak of COVID-19. But says Rawal, Companies still have to file annual income tax returns. Where will the entrepreneur who does minuscule business be able to do this in these circumstances? he asked.

Labour has migrated in huge numbers back to their villages and home towns, and to get them back will be a huge task, he said. The government should offer a holistic solution and incentivise industry till it comes to a normal curve, Rawal said.

The entire efforts of the government and the hardships borne by people for a 40-day lockdown has been somehow diluted by the talk on labour laws, absence of labour as they have migrated to their villages, said Siddharth Shenoy, president, Bombay Industries Association. He said the MSME sector is faced with challengesno transportation, disruption of supply chains, shortage of labour, among others. The large companies can take care of themselves as they have a lot of subsidiaries. But what about us, he asked.

Some believe the relaxation of labour laws are temporary as stated by the state governments. Conceding that labour is a very essential part of the ecosystem, Ashok Mohanani, Chairman Ekta World, Vice President, NAREDCO, said the laws are being relaxed as an emergency measure to give a much-needed boost to the economy. Availability of land, flexibility in labour laws and a welcoming administration will be attractive to global markets looking to rationalise supply chains. "However, it is also essential to ensure that the labour is not exploited and this is a positive move for them as well along with the businesses," he said.

Some industrial associations see the lockdown relaxations as the most crucial period. It is almost a COVID-19 Part 2 situation, said KR Gopi, president, TMIA-The TTC-MIDC Industries Association. With a significant percentage of labour in Maharashtra hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the TMIA now fears that the workers may prefer to stay back in their home states.

With a large base, second only to China, the MSME sector contributes over 28 percent of the GDP and more than 40 percent of India's exports, while creating employment for about 11 crore. The sector is called the backbone of the economy, but the government ignores the sector when it comes to stimulus packages, Gopi said. We have to pay wages for month of April and May during the lockdown when there was zero production. There is no relief on electricity bill payments, interest on loans taken for working capital."

He said labour laws can be relaxed temporarily but these cannot be made permanent and are best short-term solutions. The safety and health of workers have to be taken care of and it cannot be an either/or option, Gopi said.

On Monday, Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for MSME, and Road Transport and Highways said he expects the Centre to unveil a financial package in two-three days, observing that the situation "was very bad" despite the three-month moratorium on loan repayments announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

But some are unconvinced of these packages percolating to the ones who need it. The government announces reliefsbank loans for the MSME sector, for instance, but the banks are loathe to give it. Rules are made and passed by the Centre but nothing takes off on the ground level, said Siddharth Shenoy, President, Bombay Industries Association.

Whither workers rights?

In the frenzy to get investments and the economy going, the State governments have over-stepped on labour laws that have been painstakingly fought and mandated for the health and safety of workers. KR Shyam Sundar, labour economist and professor in Human Resource Management (HRM) Area, XLRI, Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur said it is unfathomable how a State Government can amend labour laws justifying labour shortages and the need to kickstart the economy. He termed this as labour market anarchy.

He said, these labour law changes are based on three key principles, viz., labour laws are not needed in the society which means no role for the State in the labour market; workers should solely rely on the goodwill of the employer, and labour rigidities are the principal irritants that halt investment and hence economic growth. He fears the UP Model will probably become the defining labour market governance norm.

Concurring with Sundar, Rama Kiran, assistant professor and head of the department of commerce, SK Somaiya College, Mumbai and a research scholar said the changes brought about in labour laws are a slap in the faces of workers who were forced to walk home hungry. Kiran has worked extensively on female labour working in garment factories. Around 90 percent of workers in garment factories are women. By relaxing labour rules and not providing them basic amenities like toilet facilities, canteen, drinking water, what is the management offering them? You want them to work for 12 hours, but you dont want to provide them with amenities, she asked.

Are the state government's action in sync with human rights and labour rights laws? But the goal is to kickstart the economy and in the present time, any action that meets with it is par for the course.

Maansi Parpiani, a researcher with Aavjeevika Bureau, a non-profit working with migrant labour in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, said terms like organized labour and migrant labour is a false binary. Only a very small fraction of workers have full rights in organisations. Many semi-permanent workers are employed in big industrial sectors, and MSMEs on short-term contracts. Parpiani said, contract labour has already diluted existing laws and limited the number of workers they actually protect.

The state governments by their latest move has, with its stated focus, brushed away labour's rights. It is time then for the government to step in before the remaining States take this route. Vishal Kumar, co-founder and Financial Advisor, MSMEx-an online micro advisory platform for small business owners, said labour reforms have been long-pending and much-needed for a densely populated country like India. The Uttar Pradesh government's striking down labour laws is a two-pronged decision, he said: "From a business angle, it would be welcome with easing of norms and compliances. But India cannot be seen as a country that exploits its labour, especially when health is the big challenge in these times," he said.

Do labour laws in India need amendments? Most of the peeople who spoke with Firstpost said, it was unnecesary. They said the BJP-ruled states have passed rules. "The BJP central government may support state governments that pass these rules," said advocate Saju Jakob, practising in Supreme Court and High Court, Delhi. He termed the easing of labour laws misguided and a new low. Capital will only flow where labour standards are good. Investment does not depend on cheap labour and potential investors will look at infrastructure. The focus should be on that, he said.

The easing of labour laws has thrown open the proverbial Pandora's Box for the labour in the country. They may have to trudge a long road before they can take back what they had until the rules were reversed.

However, all is not lost, said Gayathri Vasudevan,Executive Chairperson and Co-Founder, LabourNet Services. When the dice is cast against the favour of labour, it is better to focus on what can be prised away for the benefit of labour insted.

Gayathri said, the losses to industry due to the pandemic is 'massive' with resultant job losses, according to news reports. In the circumstances, she suggested it would be better for activists and others who fought for rights and protection of labour to ride this wave by focussing on employee health, safety and protection given that India has a 'miserable' record in this matter. A win-win proposition, perhaps, given that labour shortage would imply they have to be compensated, if not immediately but in the long-run. That could be a happy outcome of the amendment of labour laws. Perhaps.
Two members of a family were killed and three sustained serious injuries in Fatehpur when they were returning to Jaunpur from Mumbai in an auto-rickshaw and were hit by an unknown vehicle on Tuesday, police said.

Khaga Police Station SHO Satyendra Singh said that the accident took place in the morning near Mahicha Mandir police outpost.

"Due to the lockdown, a family of migrant labourers was returning from Mumbai to their home district Jaunpur, when they were hit by an unknown vehicle. Labourer Sanju Yadav (33) and 6-year-old daughter Nandini died, while three people sustained injuries. The injured have been hospitalised, while the bodies of the deceased have been sent for postmortem," Singh said.

He said a case has been registered in this regard, and efforts are on to nab the vehicle and its driver, adding that their family members have been informed about the accident.

Meanwhile, in Rae Bareli, a 25-year-old migrant labourer hailing from Bihar's Gaya district died in Harchandpur area of the district on Monday after being hit by a car, police said.

SHO Harchandpur Anil Kumar Singh said, "Shiv Kumar Das was returning to his hometown from Bulandshahr, where he worked as a labourer, when he was hit by a car near Didauli. Police took him to the district hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body has been sent to his hometown with two police jawans."



A case has been registered against the driver of the car following a complaint lodged by Rajesh Das, a friend of the deceased, police said.

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

Express News Service

PATNA: Ashok Kumar Choudhary of Bihar, who is affectionately called 'Mango Man' in the state, has named a new hybrid variety of Jardalu mango "lockdown" after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Choudhary, a 58-year-old law graduate-turned-farmer of Maheshi-Tilkapur village under Sultanganj PS in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, is popular among people for gifting baskets of Bhgalapur's famous 'Jardalu' variety of mango every year to the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister of India.

Earlier, he had named two varieties of mango developed by him after the PM - 'Modi-I' and 'Modi-II'.

Speaking to the New Indian Express, Choudhary, a recipient of over a hundred awards for his contribution in the development of mango since 1992, said: "The latest hybrid variety of 'Jardalu' mango has been developed amid the lockdown. That's why I have named it 'lockdown'."

Credited to have developed more than 80 varieties of mango so far since 1992, Choudhary has developed "Madhuban Farm", mango orchard where he grows many varieties of mango plants, some of which are brought from Florida in US and Thailand.

He develops the mango variety through grafting technology. The "lockdown" variety of mango was grafted before the outbreak of COVID-19 that got fully developed amid the lockdown. Choudhary has won many accolades for developing 72 varieties of mango from one tree through grafting.

"In 2019, I named a new variety of Jardalu mango after the PM when he returned to power second time as "Modi-II" after naming a variety of 'Maldah' mango as Modi-I in 2014", he said.

Another variety of mango, which is currently in the process of development at his farm , would be named after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in the coming days.

It was Choudhary's sheer efforts in the field of mango cultivation that fetched the prestigious Geographical Indicator (GI) tag to the Bhagalpur's famous Jardalu mango in 2018.

When asked why he quit the job of a teacher in a government school, Chowdhury said: "Mango is called the king of all fruits. I realised the need of doing something to save the fruit and dedicated my life for the preservation of the to-be-extinct varieties."
Governor Whitmer Statement on Passing of Former State Sen. Morris Hood III

Governor Whitmer Statement on Passing of Former State Sen. Morris Hood III

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 12, 2020

Media Contact: Press@michigan.gov

Governor Whitmer Statement on Passing of Former State Sen. Morris Hood III

LANSINS, Mich. -- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued the following statement on the passing of former State Senator Morris Hood III. Sen. Hood served the people of Michigans 3rd Senate District in Dearborn, Melvindale, and Detroit for eight years. Senator Hood also served three terms representing the people of Michigans 11th house district in the House of Representatives.

Morris was a dear friend. He was a proud Detroiter and continued the family commitment to the service of his community. There was not a more loyal friend, thoughtful advisor or quicker wit. Mo was the type of guy that lit up the room and made you glad to be there. He is doing that in his next life now and those of us left here are better having known him. May he rest in peace. My love and prayers go to his beloved family and many friends who grieve this tough loss.

###
Plante said hearing from friends about putting their ballots in the mail made her suspect there wouldn't be many people  if any  when she planned to vote.

"I always try to go in the morning, because even on regular days there's not many people there," she said.

Across town at Saratoga Elementary School in southwest Lincoln, another substitute polling place after Lancaster Rehabilitation Center was ruled out for the primary, Romeo Guerra said about a dozen voters had trickled in before 10:30 a.m.

"It's just been one at a time," he said. "Everybody's been able to find us so far, we haven't had any concerns."

Guerra, an election worker for more than 15 years, said he did not have any hesitation about working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county election commission clearly communicated the process and the safety precautions that would be in place on Election Day, he said, which instilled confidence.

He added moving the precinct to the gym at Saratoga  a second precinct that usually voted at Lancaster Rehabilitation Center was moved elsewhere  actually provided more space.

The 2020 Journal Star Voter's Guide: Primary edition Your guide to Lincoln-area and state races that will appear on the May 12 primary election ballot. Click on a race name to view candidates and
At an Hermes store on one of Pariss swankiest streets, shop assistants greeted customers through face masks on Monday with sanitiser gels and a polite refrain: May I refresh your hands?

As France began to exit its strict coronavirus lockdown, many of its luxury brands also opened their doors, giving sanitary protocols a makeover and testing peoples appetite for splurging after a shutdown that has rocked economies worldwide.

At Louis Vuittons store on Pariss grand Place Vendome square, which sells everything from 645 euro ($700) cocktail shakers to jewellery worth hundreds of thousands, a few local clients kept business ticking over.

Its a friends birthday and were buying her a wallet, said Paris resident Hajar. Itll be the first time weve seen each other in two months.

At the Hermes shop on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, there was even a semblance of business as usual.

A shop assistant discreetly kept count of the number of people milling around at any one time - around 50 at one point in early afternoon, across two floors.

And one shopper said she had been told to make an appointment if she wanted to discuss buying a pricey Kelly handbag.

They always make things difficult at Hermes, said Blessing Williams, a 23-year-old model from Nigeria who lives in Paris. She still came away with a pair of sandals.

But travel restrictions and the resulting dearth of international tourists will remain a major drag for months to come on luxury shopping capitals such as Paris, or Milan, where fashion firms are set to reopen stores on May 18.

Depending on the brand, foreign tourists usually make up between 35% and 55% of luxury labels revenue in Europe, according to Jefferies analyst Flavio Cereda.

HANDBAGS IN QUARANTINE

In Germany, where small stores have been open for three weeks, well-heeled shoppers looking for luxury are still few and far between, suit maker Hugo Boss said last week.

The plush changing cabins at Vuittons Vendome shop, now regularly disinfected, were a lot less busy than usual on Monday, assistants said on Monday.

A nearby Chanel store was quieter than before the crisis too, staff said. Hermes boss Axel Dumas, mingling with employees at the Faubourg Saint-Honore shop, declined to comment on how the first few hours of trade had gone.

Despite signs of recovery in China, the industrys biggest market, global sales of luxury goods are expected to slump by up to 50% this year, the consultancy Bain forecast last week.

For now, brands are focused on easing into new hygiene routines, including making the use of face masks compulsory.

At Vuitton in Paris, owned by the LVMH conglomerate, clothes that are tried on are set aside to be steamed, and handbags are put in a 48-hour quarantine.

Cleaning protocols for other items vary, depending on how close they come to peoples faces or the materials involved.

Christian Dior, another LVMH label, and Chanel, a privately owned group, have also erected plexiglass shields by the tills.

(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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Zarif: Iran-US prisoner swap needs no talk

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 11, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said prisoner swap between Iran and the US has no problem and "we do not need holding negotiations", adding that prisoner swap will be made with coordination of US' Interests Section in Tehran.

Rapporteur of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini elaborated on the details of Monday meeting of the commission and quoted Zarif as saying Iran's efforts are in line with establishing unity and reinforcing Afghanistan central government and the recent accident has been used as a tool by enemies of Iran and Afghanistan.

Referring to Sirus Asgari, Iranian scientist who was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was infected with COVID-19 in prison, Zarif said he has been exonerated and will return to Iran if his COVID19 test is negative.

He added that Asgari has been released but he has problem for living in the United States.

Asgari is a professor of metallurgy at Sharif University, Tehran, who was detained in the US and has been kept in Alexandria prison since March 10 though he suffers from acute respiratory disease.

He was charged with stealing the US Navy secrets and violating visa regulations of the US.

Zarif also expressed regret over recent accident in the Persian Gulf and condoled with families of the martyrs, he added.

Iranian foreign minister said Iran is after removing tensions in the region and will spare no efforts with this regard, Naqavi Hosseini said.

Zarif said his nine-page letter to UN Secretary General revealed violations and illegal acts of the Unites States and Europe.

Iran has always called for returning to nuclear deal and implementing P5+1 commitments, Zarif was quoted as saying.

Iran has made operational 36th article of the JCPOA and has announced that it will implement its commitments if other parties return to the deal, he added.

Americans are trying to block lifting arms embargo on Iran which is against international commitments, foreign minister said.

US cannot refer to JCPOA since it had withdrawn from the deal, Zarif said, adding that all efforts have been made to prevent US from creating problems for Iran.

Referring to the important role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Zarif said "we are slowly approaching the end of limitation", including the arms embargo after five years, Iran missile sanctions after eight years, and the end of monitoring nuclear activities after 10 years and Iran will achieve important privileges.

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Covid-19 continues to make a mockery of our plans for 2020. Few could have predicted a summer without the GAA or the Ploughing.

I've been working in farming media for 20 years and in this line of work, the week at the Ploughing is an annual highlight.

Despite the long days and traffic jams, the event brings home the scale and importance of our sector to the country.

There would have been some sighs of relief when the NPA announced the cancellation last week, but I suspect most of them would have emanated from Leinster House!

Even if you don't like the Ploughing, if you think it has become too big or lost its focus, one thing is for sure - it puts farming issues at the top of the political agenda for a week.

It's always worth seeing awkward politicians out of their comfort zone and pressing the flesh with the plain people of Ireland, and the whole event forces farming issues onto the desks of the most powerful people in the land.

From dawn to dusk, the national media broadcast from the site, while the event garners front-page attention in the national newspapers.

And it has also been no harm that the Ploughing comes just weeks before the Budget is announced.

There will be unprecedented demands on the public purse this year and it will be a loss to the farming and rural communities that they won't have the Ploughing to press home their priorities to the politicians this September.

One area where support is urgently needed is our livestock marts.

Social costs

As we report this week (see pages 8-9) the sector is facing a crisis the likes of which it never encountered before, and it's not just about finances.

While the overall economic loss to the country from this pandemic will run into the billions, we also need to consider the below-the-radar social costs.

The marts play a valuable social outlet for many in rural Ireland, and the cost of social isolation must be measured in more than just financial numbers.

Keeping marts open may not make sense on paper, but their importance from a social point of view should not be underestimated or devalued.
Dont ask me, ask China: Donald Trump ends press meet after spat with reporter

US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his press meeting over coronavirus on Monday after a reporter asked him a question about testing in the US. CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he insist that the US is doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus. They're losing their lives everywhere in the world, Trump replied. And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK?, he said. Trump called on another female reporter but then immediately called on someone else. When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump abruptly ended the press conference and walked back into the White House. ...read more
A Florida woman has been accused of beating her 14-year-old adopted son with a dog chain, chipping his teeth with pliers and forcing him to sleep on a concrete floor.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said the arrest of 47-year-old Patricia Hyler on Friday was after an investigation into the worst example of child abuse he had witnessed in his 38-year career.

Deputies said the mother-of-four beat the teenager, who the Florida Department of Children and Families described as a 'target child', with a dog lead, cracked his teeth with pliers and cut him on his head and arms.

Pictured: Patricia Hyler, 47, who was charged with aggravated child abuse in Santa Rosa, Florida on Friday

She also made the 14-year-old sleep on a filthy floor and washed him in the front yard with a hose, police said.

The three other children adopted by Hyler and her husband in Pace were also abused, police said.

Johnson said Hyler had a 'special interest' in the boy who the couple first took in when he was seven.

'I've seen a lot of bad things,' Johnson said. 'But this is pretty bad.'

'As a father it p****s me off,' the sheriff added. 'Somebody that can do that to another human is bad enough but you start doing that to a child? We take it personally.'

The sheriff added that Hyler removed the child from a school setting for two years to avoid being caught out.

Pictured: Santa Rosa Sheriff Bob Johnson said yesterday 'it really p*****s me off [...] Somebody that can do that to another human is bad enough but you start doing that to a child? We take it personally'

Further charges will be filed later this week but it's unknown whether these will relate to the 14-year-old or to Hyler's other children.

The husband worked long hours and is not thought to have been involved in the abuse, police said.

One of Hyler's children brought the case to the police's attention. Former adopted members of the household, who had since left, described similar episodes of abuse, the Miami Herald reported.

Hyler was arrested and charged Friday with aggravated child abuse. She is being held at Santa Rosa jail without bond.
ABBOTT PARK, Ill., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the company's molecular test for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for use on its new Alinity m molecular laboratory instrument. Abbott is in the process of launching the Alinity m system to U.S. customers.

The Alinity m system was cleared by the FDA for use with Abbott's HCV (hepatitis C) assay in late March. Abbott is working with hospitals and health systems in the U.S. to install this new instrument, which will help keep up with the growing demand for testing.

"Molecular lab tests play a critical role in detecting the virus for COVID-19. As a leader in diagnostics, we are pushing forward to develop high-performing tests across our platforms to help combat this pandemic," said Robert B. Ford, president and chief executive officer, Abbott. "As we continue to develop and improve our testing technologies, we want to ensure they are meeting the needs of our customers  and right now that means having reliable tests for COVID-19 on all of our diagnostic instruments."

The Alinity m system is Abbott's most advanced laboratory molecular instrument. It is an automated platform, which can run more tests in less time to give laboratories improved efficiency and flexibility when using the system. The Alinity m system is able to run up to 1,080 tests in 24 hours, and our m2000 RealTime system can run up to 480 tests in 24 hours.

With current systems, running different types of tests at the same time will slow down the time to results and/or volume throughput. Alinity m delivers true random access, allowing labs to run any test, any time for different types of infectious diseases while still providing results in less than two hours. This is especially critical during the COVID-19 pandemic when volume, speed and flexibility are needed.

Our contributions to bring broad scale access to reliable testing

As a leader in infectious disease testing, Abbott is working to bring as many tests as possible across our platforms to customers and patients around the world. This is Abbott's fifth COVID-19 test to receive FDA EUA, helping to provide hospitals and labs across the U.S. with broad, reliable molecular and antibody testing during this pandemic.

About Alinity

Abbott's Alinity family of harmonized solutions is unprecedented in the diagnostics industry, working together to address the challenges of using multiple diagnostic platforms and simplifying diagnostic testing. Alinity systems are designed to be more efficient  running more tests in less space and minimizing human errors  while continuing to provide quality results. The availability of the Alinity systems and tests varies by geography. More information is available at abbott.com/alinity.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

The Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 assay and the Alinity m SARS-CoV-2 assay have not been FDA cleared or approved. These tests have been authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization for use by authorized laboratories. These tests have been authorized only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens, and are only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostic tests for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.

SOURCE Abbott

Related Links

http://www.abbott.com


As consumer appetite to bring smart technologies into the home grows, Click is delivering innovative advancements to window technology that will truly transform the way we experience our connected homes in the future, said Curtis Berlinguette, CEO & co-founder of Click Materials.

Click Materials (Click), pioneer of a next-generation electrochromic glass technology, today announced a development partnership with leading glass producer Cardinal Glass Industries aimed at bringing Clicks smart window solution to the homes of millions across North America. Click has developed a patented technology that significantly reduces production costs of electrochromic glass by 60%, making smart windows more accessible for homeowners seeking ways to lessen energy consumption and costs.

Clicks electrochromic window technology will enable users to adjust the tint of a window between clear and dark states through an app, smart device or voice control, allowing for greater control over incoming solar heat and light levels that can lead to lower overall energy consumption and improved emotional well-being. Clicks partnership with Cardinal Glass, a top producer of premium windows, will help propel its smart windows into a multibillion-dollar market and bring significant energy savings to millions of North American households.

As consumer appetite to bring smart technologies into the home grows, Click is delivering innovative advancements to window technology that will truly transform the way we experience our connected homes in the future, said Curtis Berlinguette, CEO & co-founder of Click Materials. The opportunities here are immense; heating, cooling and lighting account for 35% of home energy consumption, half of which can be lost through windows. Studies have also shown that greater control over lighting can dramatically improve energy, mood and personal well-being. Our partnership with Cardinal Glass is a massive leap towards bringing the future of windows into the present, with just one Click.

Clicks novel spray coating approach to applying thin films used in electrochromic windows uses manufacturing equipment readily available in the industry and markets across the U.S., has high production yields, offers unique benefits including faster switching times than what is currently possible and can be applied to curved surfaces at a fraction of the cost of current production methods.

Click Materials proprietary deposition method enables uniform, optically-pure coatings that can be sprayed at ambient conditions and has the potential to disrupt the electrochromic window industry in the residential market and beyond, said Keith Burrows, Technology Scouting & IP Manager at Cardinal Glass. We are pleased to partner with the Click team to further their technology and accelerate their solution to market.

Congratulations to Click Materials on this new partnership that will bring green technology from B.C. to homes across North America, said Michelle Mungall, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness. People everywhere are facing the challenge of reducing their carbon footprint. Click Materials has been able to create solutions for international markets and this is a testament to B.C.s thriving innovation economy.

As individuals, corporations, communities and governments around the globe strive to implement smarter, greener and more resilient business practices, the market for smart technologies proven to conserve energy and reduce carbon footprints has never been greater. Click is poised to be first to offer an internet-of-things (IoT) integrated smart window solution for broad adoption across residential, commercial and automotive sectors.

-30-

Media Contact:

Tiffani Lee

tlee@national.ca

About Click Materials

Click Materials is developing a next-generation electrochromic window solution for the residential, commercial and automotive markets that offers dramatic cost reductions, unique performance benefits, significant energy savings and improves human wellness. The venture-backed advanced materials university spin-off is based in Vancouver, and its cutting-edge smart window technology leverages over 10 years of academic and industrial research on advanced thin films. In 2019, Click Materials received a TechConnect Innovation Award, was a recipient of Canadas Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) funding and one of 22 Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada finalists.

http://www.ClickMaterials.com

About Cardinal Glass Industries

Cardinal Glass Industries is a management-owned S-Corporation leading the industry in the development of residential glass for windows and doors. With heavy investments in research and development, Cardinal turns around fresh ideas into useful products that regular homeowners can use, turning around a turnkey solution to window manufacturers. Cardinal employs more than 7,000 people at 37 manufacturing locations across the United States.

http://www.cardinalcorp.com
MATTITUCK, NY  Sunday should have marked Carly Doorhy's graduation from Sacred Heart University in CT. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, Carly's Mother's Day graduation plans to walk across the stage and accept her degree were put on hold  like those of so many young people who have seen their dreams and memories deferred.

Nothing could stop her friends and family, however, from celebrating Carly's achievement. And she did so with a fervent desire not to mark just her own graduation, but that of her sister, Kaitlyn, who died in 2014 after she was struck by a car while also a student at Sacred Heart.





And so on Sunday, Carly celebrated graduation for them both. Her cap was adorned with the words, "Grad of SHU, For me and for you, KD," along with angel wings, the symbol for Kait's Angels, the not-for-profit group set up to honor her sister's memory with acts of kindness for others in the community.

A sea of firetrucks, police cars, friends and family drove by the Doorhy home, horns and sirens blaring, to honor Carly.

"On Mothers Day our child kept us all very busy," Darla Doorhy, Carly's mom, wrote Monday. "Carly should have graduated from Sacred Heart University yesterday, which would have been the best Mothers Day gift. But due to the pandemic we celebrated her and her accomplishments with a surprise drive-by graduation. We are so proud of you, Carly. Next up, grad school at Old Dominion University in Virginia for her masters degree in speech language pathology. You will move mountains!"





Courtesy Doorhy family.

Tim Bialeski, Darla said, arranged the parade of cars and first responder vehicles for Carly, along with the Mattituck Fire Department.

Not being able to accept her degree, her mother said, was difficult for Carly. "She wanted to walk for her and her sister. Neither of them got the chance while attending Sacred Heart University."

Virtual graduation, Darla said, "was a first and very sad," as was giving her daughter a cap and gown they had to purchase on Ebay. "But the way Carly decorated her cap brought tears to my eyes  always remembering her big sister Kait!"

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Carly, she said, graduated after earning honors all four years. "She did it for herself and for her sister," Darla said. "The best Mothers Day present to me was finally seeing our daughter smile and not being sad about not having a graduation. Literally, putting together a surprise drive-by graduation in less than 10 days was the highlight of this pandemic."

"Officially a SHU alum," Carly wrote on Facebook. "Such an amazing day, considering the circumstances. Ill never forget it. Thank you to everyone who made it so memorable and to all my Class of 2020 Pios. Were not going out like this. See you at actual graduation!"

Courtesy Doorhy family.





This article originally appeared on the North Fork Patch
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 16:28:15|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria will assess an herbal potion offered by Madagascar that may cure COVID-19 patients, a top official said Monday.

The possible herbal cure for COVID-19 patients had been sent to Equatorial Guinea from where it would be airlifted to Abuja, Nigeria's capital, Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 told a regular briefing.

Madagascar has in recent weeks touted the effectiveness of the potion, a kind of herbal tea, against the coronavirus, and offered it to other African countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a recent statement that it welcomes innovations around the world to repurpose drugs and traditional medicines to develop new therapies as potential treatments for COVID-19. The WHO also stressed that it is critical to establish efficacy and safety through rigorous clinical trials.

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control late Monday confirmed 242 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 4,641. Enditem
ASKER, NORWAY (11 May 2020) - TGS will release its Q1 2020 results at approximately 0700 CEST on 13 May 2020. A pre-recorded presentation of the results featuring CEO Kristian Johansen and CFO Fredrik Amundsen will be released at www.tgs.com at the same time.

The slides from the presentation will also be available in PDF format at both the TGS and Oslo Stock Exchange websites.

The same day at 1500 CEST CEO Kristian Johansen and CFO Fredrik Amundsen will host a conference call to go through the results and answer questions. We encourage attendees to call in 5-10 minutes before 1500 CEST to ensure registration and access.

Telephone conference dial-in details:

Norway: +47 23963688

United Kingdom: +44 3333009262

USA: +1 8338230589

Company summary

TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS) provides multi-client geoscience data to oil and gas Exploration and Production companies worldwide. In addition to extensive global geophysical and geological data libraries that include multi-client seismic data, magnetic and gravity data, digital well logs, production data and directional surveys, TGS also offers advanced processing and imaging services, interpretation products, and data integration solutions.

For more information visit TGS online at www.tgs.com .





Forward-looking statements and contact information

All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to several risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include TGS' reliance on a cyclical industry and principle customers, TGS' ability to continue to expand markets for licensing of data, and TGS' ability to acquire and process data products at costs commensurate with profitability. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

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TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSLO:TGS).

TGS sponsored American Depositary Shares trade on the U.S. over-the-counter market under the symbol "TGSGY.





This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
Posted by Jeremy on at 03:58 AM CST

Since the world was exposed to The Child, the break out star of, every licensee has been scrambling to catch up with the bandwagon - and LEGO, no doubt after seeing the plethora of custom builds on the Internet, got word out that not only would they have a minifigure of The Child included with 75292 The Razor Crest but a BrickHeadz version in 75317 The Mandalorian & The Child - both in time for's second season.It appears that there is also a larger scale version coming!The rumour mill started turning a week ago when word began to circulate that a display set similar to the recently released 75255 Yoda was in the works, and now Slovakian verified LEGO re-seller Modely has added a listing for 75318 LEGO Star Wars - Dite to their website. A quick trip to Google translate reveals that dite means baby or child in Slovak.Aside from the set number and this tidbit of info the only other piece of information is the Eurozone price of 75.42, which is roughly equivalent to $80. If this conversion is accurate it puts 75318 The Child piece count at around 1650.When this set - if it is real - is due out is a question that doesn't have an answer yet. If you can't wait then head over to Rebrickable.com and check out Allouryuen's alternate build (shown above) of 75255 Yoda , which is currently available through the LEGO website.
LONDON, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand's sought-after Thailand Elite Residence Program has seen a significant increase in applications from US citizens since the start of the year and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest sales figures reveal that the number of US applicants in the first three months of 2020 is already more than 50% of the total US applicants for the whole of 2019. This is due in part to coronavirus-induced travel restrictions, with US citizens currently in Thailand opting to stay and enjoy the benefits of living in Thailand on a more permanent basis. However, US application numbers from outside the country have also spiked, with Q1 2020 recording a 100% increase in US applicants compared to both Q1 2019 and Q4 2019.

Dominic Volek, Managing Partner and Head of Southeast Asia at leading international residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners, says Thailand continues to be the destination of choice for entrepreneurs and investors. "Entrepreneur investors remain the largest category of applicants for the Thailand Elite Residence Program thanks to Thailand's excellent global reputation as a business center and innovation hub."

A similar recent surge in demand to reside in Thailand can be seen in applicants from Australia, afflicted this summer by both devastating bush fires and the coronavirus. Compared to Q1 2019, there was a staggering increase of 228% in Australian applicants in Q1 2020, and 130% when compared to Q4 2019.

The Thailand Elite Residence Program has gone from strength to strength since Henley & Partners were appointed as the global concessionaire in 2017, with sales increasing by 70% over the past three years. According to Mr. Somchai Soongswang, President of Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd . , the operator of Thailand Elite Card, "Henley & Partners has contributed a tremendous effort to promote the program, and Thailand is seeing the benefits."

The Thailand Elite Residence Program now has over 8,600 members  a figure that is expected to cross the 10,000 mark this year. Over the past three years there has been significant uptake by certain nationalities in particular; the numbers of British and French applicants have increased by 75% and 73%, respectively, while the number of Japanese applicants has risen by a remarkable 161%.

Media Contact

Paddy Blewer

Group PR Director

[email protected]

SOURCE Henley & Partners
In the governments handling of coronavirus, the UK has effectively set a model for every other foreign country to avoid.

Boris Johnsons speech on Sunday made things ever confusing. Despite trying desperately to show some semblance of a plan for the pandemic, it ended up confirming nothing but widespread fears.

The measures have only highlighted that lockdown has not yet reduced the R-rate and that we need more time.

But the only thing exceptional about the UK right now, is the care homes death-rate crisis and how quickly it has become one of few countries that have let the virus put its territorial integrity under direct threat.

By the time Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, skewered Johnson into providing answers for the government's handling of the pandemic in the first Prime Minister's Questions, many foreign leaders had asked precisely the same question weeks before. As Starmer pointed out during that PMQs, it was being slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on tracing, slow on the supply of PPE that secured our fate. It's no wonder governments in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere understood the potential scale of disaster wed face long before the UK.

But I'd argue that it was the 2016 Brexit referendum that revealed exactly how divided, underfunded and ideologically driven the UK really is, thanks in large part to austerity and a decade under the Conservative Party. It's just that coronavirus helped lift the curtain on the government's true nature: amateurish, inept and slow.

As things stand, the coronavirus crisis devastating outcome is a natural result of the disastrous handling of Brexit. This goes for the countrys unity, the NHS, social care and the economy too.

As my colleague, Sean OGrady, pointed out in his column on Monday, Johnson is no longer a prime minister of the whole United Kingdom. While his Stay Alert message has fractured the should-be united, national response to Covid-19, this is not new. The kingdom has in reality, long been divided, it's just that most of us haven't accepted it yet.

Nicola Surgeons resistance, first to preventing Scotland from being dragged out of the EU, then again when British lives were put at risk by hesitating to ditch the Stay at Home message too early, is one such indicator. Sure, Johnson may have seen her simply as an anti-Brexit agitator with a wish to undermine his governments authority. Now, though, her ability to veto the government's messaging makes it a whole different story. By using such powers, together with Belfast and Cardiff, Sturgeon is inching closer to the image of the prime minister the UK needs. Rather than Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, it seems England is alienated, walking its own dangerous path.

In 2019, UK legislation on reforms to the NHS and social care had been shelved because Theresa Mays government was busy trying to find a way out of her Brexit quagmire, whether in chaotic negotiations with the EU or handling the mess in her own party. And throughout January and February, Johnson's government made the same mistake by not taking the WHO's coronavirus warnings seriously, instead, focusing on getting Brexit done.

Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Show all 19 1 /19 Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Two elderly people chat on a street in Valencia, Spain on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent People look at the city from Villa Borghese park in Rome during the first day of Italy's next phase in its coronavirus lockdown Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent An elderly couple who has not been outside for nearly two months enjoys the weather as they sit on a bench in a park in Athens on 4 May AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Henri de Chassey, wearing a protective face mask, kisses his partner Margaux Rebois, who is returning to Paris after spending two months in Brussels on 4 May REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A commuter in protective mask wears gloves at an underground station in Brussels as some companies are allowed to bring workers back to the office EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Paralympic swimmer Inigo Llopis prepares to swim in San Sebastian, Spain, for the first time since the lockdown began Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker wearing personal protective equipment disinfects a school in Athens as Greece relaxes its nationwide lockdown REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A Spanish National Police officer distributes protective masks in Melilla, Spain, on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent An employee poses in front of halfway-cured hams in a factory in Guijuelo, Salamanca, Spain, on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Workers in protective suits disinfect a high school in Athens as Greece moves to reopen schools for final-year students on 11 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker disinfects a bus as transport vehicles are disinfected several times a day as part of Belgium's lockdown exit strategy Belga/AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker from Textilia haberdashery in Brussels holds a fabric that can be used to make customised protective face masks as Belgium relaxes its lockdown measures REUTERS/Yves Herman Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A bride tries on a wedding dress at a bridal shop in Madrid on the first day that some small businesses are allowed to open during Spain's lockdown REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent People walk across the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in central Milan as Italy eases its lockdown AFP/Getty Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A couple kiss in the Duomo Square in Catania as Italy starts moving out of its lockdown Reuters Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Mirel Chetan organises the books of the Antonio Machado bookstore in Madrid after 51 days of closure Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A couple kiss in front of the sea in Catania as Italy begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus disease ANTONIO PARRINELLO/ REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A waiter at Caffe Cracco handles takeaway coffee in Milan on 4 May as Italy starts to ease its lockdown Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A woman holds a yoga posture as she exercises by the Colosseum monument in Rome on the first day of Italy relaxing its lockdown measures VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images

The PM may seem to have paid for Mays missteps and the obsession with going down in history as the leader who could get the UK out of the EU. But he made two huge blunders: first as a disastrous foreign secretary, giving an equally miserable performance in Mays government, then when he allowed his government to become lost in action in the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak. The result has been thousands of fatalities, with the very older people who enthusiastically voted for both Brexit and the Tories, sadly, likely to bear the brunt of the pandemic.

As irksome as the government's obsession with using the language of war to drive home the seriousness of coronavirus is, it's clear the other invisible enemy in this fight is indeed Brexit and its shambolic handling by the Tory party. We're being introduced to the repercussions of that leadership now, but the aftershocks will keep us reeling for generations.

Had we stayed in the EU, the UKs tottering economy wouldve stood a chance in the post-lockdown world. But given the news that the vaccine may never arrive, as the prime minister admitted on Monday, it's imperative that the government takes this seriously. The death toll will only exceed the 32,000 we already have. In the inevitable public inquiry into the governments strategy to deal with the pandemic, it's likely the government will be blamed  but austerity and Brexit are undoubtedly part of those failings too.

Though they'll never admit it, Brexit and coronavirus are the twin epidemics this country will need years, perhaps decades, to overcome.
Kameron Durkin (7)from from Dowra, Co Leitrim, with the letter he received from David Attenborough

A young Leitrim boy, who describes himself as David Attenborough's biggest fan, said he thought he "was going to explode with excitement" after receiving a letter from the iconic historian.

Such an animal lover is Kameron Durkin (7) from Dowra in Co Leitrim, that after learning where meat comes from at the age of three, he became a vegetarian and has stuck with it ever since.

The young farmer wants to help the preservation of animal species when he is older and said that since he was two, he has watched every Attenborough documentary.

"It felt like I was going to explode with excitement," he said of finding a letter from his idol in the post.

"David Attenbourough is my hero, I even had a dream about him one.

"I want to be a rehabilitate-animaler [sic], so I want to rehabilitate animals and one of my dreams is to stop poachers from poaching them.

"I only eat fish because I love the animals too much and I don't want to hurt them."

Expand Close Seven year old Kameron Durkin from from Dowra, Co Leitrim, with the letter he received from David Attenborough / Facebook

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Whatsapp Seven year old Kameron Durkin from from Dowra, Co Leitrim, with the letter he received from David Attenborough

Kameron's mother Carol said that within three weeks of her son writing to the 94-year-old broadcaster, he replied with a hand-written letter.

"Since our little boy could speak all he ever talked about was animals. He considers himself an animal expert and decided when he was three years old to become a vegetarian and still is to this day because of his love for animals," she said.

"He wrote a letter to David Attenborough about three weeks ago telling him how big a fan he is and he got a hand-written letter back today.

"Our little man cried for over an hour after he got it, he was so excited."

Expand Close The letter seven year old Kameron Durkin from from Dowra, Co Leitrim, received from David Attenborough / Facebook

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Whatsapp The letter seven year old Kameron Durkin from from Dowra, Co Leitrim, received from David Attenborough

Between the animals on the farm, and trying to catch insects, Kameron has been kept busy during lockdown, his mother said.

"We just got out first beehive yesterday and he loves helping out on the farm, he's not finding any problem with lockdown because he spends most days with his little sister trying to catch rare species of butterfly and the likes.

"He wants to be an animal scientist when he's older. He has a big interest in animals becoming extinct and human impact on the planet and he wants to look at that and bringing extinct animals back.

"For a seven year old, he's very unique."
TDT | Manama

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani received yesterday through a virtual meeting copy of credentials of a number of Ambassadors-Designate to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The meeting was attended by International Affairs undersecretary Dr Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Ministry of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Dr Shaikha Rana bint Isa bin Daij Al Khalifa.

The Minister received credentials copies of Ambassador Al-Haj Tahir Bimbali Damba as Ambassador-Designate of Ghana, residing in Riyadh; Ambassador Jean-Claude Adrienne as Ambassador-Designate of Seychelles, residing in Abu Dhabi; Ambassador Mher Mkrtumyan as Ambassador-Designate of Armenia, residing in Abu Dhabi; Ambassador Dusanka Jeknic as Ambassador-Designate of Montenegro too, residing in Abu Dhabi; and Ambassador Balazs Selmeci as Ambassador-Designate of Hungary, residing in Riyadh.

The Foreign Affairs Minister wished the Ambassadors continued success in their new diplomatic duties, praising the distinguished level of friendly relations between the Kingdom and their countries.

He affirmed Bahrains keenness to further develop those relations at all levels to meet the common interests of all. For their part, the ambassadors praised the strong relations of friendship and cooperation that link their countries with Bahrain, stressing their countries keenness to strengthen them in various fields.
A member of the communication and legal teams of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba says it was not surprising the minority voted against Supreme Court nominee, Justice Clement Honyenugas approval.



He told NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie, Tuesday, May 12, 2020, that Justice Honyenuga was not fully prepared for the committee, hence, his disapproval by the minority is justifiable.



He did not prepare. He took things for granted and wasnt serious. As a Judge, how can you go for a vetting without a constitution? For him to have boldly said he wasnt with his constitution was shocking, Lawyer Amaliba told host, Kwesi Aboagye



Adding that his responses to questions by the committee clearly indicated that he was far from ready for the committee before going there.



Vote Against Justice Clement Honyenuga



The Minority MPs overwhelmingly opposed the appointment of the Appeals Court Judges nomination as Justice of the Supreme Court.



They voted against him at the Appointment Committee level after accusing him of political bias after he as a Paramount Chief of Nyabo Traditional Area endorsed President Akufo-Addos second term bid when he visited his area in February 2020.



But the Chief appearing before Parliaments Appointment Committee during his vetting, Justice Clement Honyenuga apologized for endorsing President Akufo-Addo.



However, the Minority was not moved by his apology as the group voted against his approval, but the Majority overruled them my 10 to 7 votes.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Gordmans parent company files for bankruptcy, seeks to sell itself - Kansas City Business Journal Houston-based Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI), which owns several department store brands, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is looking to sell its business. The bankruptcy filing, which was anticipated as early as February, comes less than a year after the company went all-in on a strategy to convert all of its stores to the Gordmans brand, which itself was acquired out of bankruptcy just a few years ago.

The death of retail continues in Kansas City and across the nation . . .According to the store locator on Gordmans' website, the company still has three Kansas City-area stores that'll soon be out of biz:309 NE Englewood Road in Kansas City13500A E. U.S. Highway 40 in Independence155 Crown Hill Road in Excelsior SpringsHere's more info on the bad news for subscribers:
Meanwhile, a small country located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe has become a role model for the steps taken in the fight against the pandemic. How did Georgia manage to prevent the spread of the virus so effectively?

Two months after the first confirmed case in the country, there has only been 517 cases of infection, with 178 of those infected having already recovered. The six cases that resulted in deaths were among the elderly and those with chronic diseases.

"Although Georgia was quite far from the epicenter of this disease geographically, we were well aware that it was only a matter of time before the virus would reach the country," said the Minister of Health Ekaterine Tikaradze.

From the beginning of January, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, took concrete steps to mitigate the threat that the epidemic posed. An information campaign was launched at airports and borders. Upon arrival, passengers received information on how to recognize the symptoms of the virus and where to seek help if they think they are infected. Soon after, thermal screening began at the border. In addition, passengers from high-risk countries were taken directly into quarantine zones for surveillance.

Along with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), Georgia acted in accordance with its own protocol, which has become one of the most significant factors in preventing the spread of the virus in the country. Those entering the country with relatively low temperatures, such as 37.5 (99.5F), were taken to a local health facility and tested for the virus.

In addition to these measures, in late January, Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze issued a recommendation to restrict travel to China. A few days later, direct flights to China were suspended. Georgia soon closed its borders to high-risk countries and then to all countries.

A month before the virus was detected in the country, Georgia already had the capacity to identify and diagnose COVID-19.

The first case of coronavirus in the country was reported on February 26. Today, there are only 333 active cases.

The main strategy that prevented the spread of the virus in Georgia was the isolation of every confirmed or suspected case. In addition, campaigns to help raise public awareness about the importance of social distancing and staying at home have been helpful. In order to prevent the spread of the virus and to rapidly notify those who might have been in contact with someone who was infected, the Ministry of Health introduced the 'Stop COVID' mobile phone application. The role out of the app was in collaboration with the Austria-based NGO NOVID20 and Dolphin Technologies, a highly innovative software company.

According to the Minister of Health, the ministry's efforts aimed to flatten the curve of the virus while leveraging all resources of the healthcare system to attain this goal.

"Our goal is to avoid reaching a viral peak and to create a plateau, which will help the Georgian healthcare system withstand COVID-19's impact and allow us to treat all patients and ensure their recovery.

The COVID-19 virus is not expected to disappear anytime soon. Therefore, to ensure that the health response is properly managed and safe, it is important that each country and its citizens learn to coexist with the virus, until a vaccine can be found and more effective treatments are introduced," noted the Minister of Health of Georgia.

Georgia is already beginning to loosen the measures it took to contain the virus. However, as Tikaradze points out, lifting all restrictions and returning to normal life is dependent on the virus' reproduction rate (Rt).

"We all know very well that the most effective way to fight the virus is to maintain social distancing and to follow standard hygiene norms. The Rt rate is directly proportional to the observance of these rules. This is the only way we can manage the process and not break the critical threshold of our healthcare system. If the Rt indicator falls to less than one, the restrictions will be lifted one-by-one. However, if the rate increases, we will have to tighten our response measures immediately," noted Tikaradze.

Today's data is promising for the country, with an Rt indicator below one (R0 = 0.88 +/- 0.09). As a result, the first phase of lifting restrictions has already begun.

Georgia's pandemic response has been cited as one of the best and most effective examples in terms of controlling the epidemic. The pandemic has clearly shown that not only are a country's resources important during times of crisis, but also the effective and timely management.

Contact:

Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia

Tatia Tsereteli, PR Department

T: +995 599 499 004

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories of Georgia
A Look Inside a Key Partnership: The Lions Clubs International Foundation

For over 25 years, the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) has worked in tandem with The Carter Center to bring an end to preventable causes of blindness on a global scale, creating one of the most impactful partnerships in the Centers history. I have a feeling of gratitude for what Lions do throughout the world. Lions have changed my life. But I think even more gratifying to me is to go into a village in Africa or Latin America and see people who have suffered all their lives and know that they will never again go blind. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

Beginning with an initial donation to the Carter Centers river blindness work in Nigeria in 1996, the Lions Clubs International Foundation has become one of the Centers most significant partners. LCIF's mission is to support the efforts of Lions Clubs and partners in serving communities locally and globally, giving hope and impacting lives through humanitarian service projects and grants. These grants allow Lions to do large-scale service projects that would not be possible without financial assistance.

A Key Partnership By the Numbers The Lions Clubs International Foundation is a longstanding partner of The Carter Center in the fight to prevent disease and build hope in impoverished communities. 67 million dollars in total support from LCIF to date 191+ million trachoma treatments provided from 1999-2019 257+ million river blindness treatments provided from 1996-2019

In 1990, the Lions Clubs International Foundation established the SightFirst Program, an aggressive global blindness prevention initiative. From 1994 to present, the Foundation has supported The Carter Center in its fight against blinding trachoma and debilitating river blindness in 14 countries across Africa and Latin America. The Lions-Carter Center SightFirst Partnership programs are among the worlds most ambitious and successful sight initiatives and have led to significant impact in the lives of millions of people.

In each country, local Lions Clubs work in close coordination with Carter Center staff to mobilize communities to participate in mass drug distribution, sight-saving surgery campaigns, and latrine construction. Lions provide ongoing technical support, monitor progress, and meet with influential leaders in their countries to advocate for continued attention to river blindness and trachoma. As a result of this partnership, the World Health Organization has verified four countries in the Americas as free of river blindness (Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Guatemala). Further, transmission has been interrupted and mass drug administration halted for river blindness in many parts of Sudan, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

Jungle Airstrips Bring Medicine and Education to Fight River Blindness Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft deliver health teams deep in the Amazon rainforest to bring essential treatments to the Yanomami in the fight to eliminate river blindness.

In Mali, Niger and the Amhara region of Ethiopia, the local Lions Clubs are deeply involved in all aspects of the Trachoma Control Program  making these some of the most successful in the world! More than 820,000 people have received sight-saving surgery to treat trachomatous trichiasis (TT), the final stage of the blinding disease; and in Amhara, Ethiopia, which is the most known trachoma endemic region in the world, over 5 million people, 25% of the area population, no longer require mass drug administration to prevent the disease. To date, the partnership has led to the distribution of over 257 million treatments for river blindness and over 191 million treatments for trachoma.

Sight-saving Surgery Learn how thousands of free surgeries in the Amhara region of Ethiopia are helping people with advanced trachoma, known as trichiasis, which can lead to blindness if left untreated.

LCIF and The Carter Center share a belief in the power of partnership and collaborative impact. Millions are free from these diseases thanks to this partnership and Lions support. These accomplishments would not have occurred without the Foundations early investments and the constant support and advocacy of Lions Clubs in each country. The Carter Center is immensely grateful for its unwavering partnership with the Lions Clubs International Foundation. This partnership embodies the incredible impact that shared passion and true commitment can have on a global scale. The Partnership in Action
It was, Gerry Mullins recalls, "a little like getting a ticket aboard the Titanic". As an advisor to the Green Party he had helped them, for the first time in their 40-year history, to get into government.

The only problem was that the economic crash was imminent, and the Greens, along with their coalition partners Fianna Fail, would be left holding the baby. By the time the coalition was turfed out at the next election Mullins had already moved on to a PR firm. When he lost this job, with his wife expecting a baby, it was devastating.

"I felt like everything came down on me. I'd a kid on the way and a mortgage to pay. All the ways of getting back into the workplace seemed to be shut off because everyone was suffering."

Mullins bounced back - he headed up the Press Office at the Central Bank of Ireland and worked as a lobbyist for several private travel companies but his passion was always for writing. Now the Skerries man has written a novel, about a man who is drawn into into a criminal underworld. Its central character is a TV producer who starts taking anabolic steroids to restore the 'manliness' he has lost in a high-pressure career and unhappy marriage.

His plan works - a little too well. Soon he is a cocaine dealer, carving out a market in Dublin's more affluent suburbs. This draws him into conflict with two established drugs gangs.

Inspiration came from Gerry's own journey toward what he calls 'a kind of male HRT' - hormone replacement therapy.

"I wasn't feeling great, I was at a bit of a low ebb", he recalls. "I had a lack of ambition and drive and a low mood. There had also been a falloff in my libido though I wasn't especially worried about that. But I knew I had to do something."

A consultant he saw wanted to send him to a psychiatrist but his GP went a different route and prescribed him testosterone; his was found to be low.

"A man doesn't want to be told he has low testosterone - that goes to the very core of his being. At the same time, I could never remember anyone talking about this. I brought it up with friends to flush out if anyone had the same problem, but nobody had heard of it.

"I started researching the hormone and found it a very interesting area. Testosterone governs far more than muscular development: it gives us focus, ambition, competitiveness, drive, courage and spatial awareness. But there is another side to many of its positive attributes: it can cause ruthlessness, arrogance, anger, recklessness and of course aggression."

Video of the Day

Mullins illustrates the two sides of testosterone with a graphic analogy:

"If you see a person reverse a 12-wheel articulated truck around a corner and into a space barely wide enough for a family car, you can be sure the driver is a high-testosterone male. But if you are in the countryside and you come across a car that has smashed through a wall and landed in a field, killing the occupants, you can also be sure the driver is a high-testosterone male."

A lot of the problems Mullins was having might have also been solved in other ways. "Feeling that drive and ambition are worn out - those are also symptoms of depression and, partly, of anxiety. But taking the testosterone made sense to me. I was afraid that if I went on depression medication it would have an even more detrimental effect."

He began to notice an improvement in his mental health and an extra spring in his step - but cautions against putting this all down to testosterone.

"A short time after, I was in a triathlon and after a while I thought 'this is far easier than it would have been before', I was flying along but I felt there was an extra 10pc in the tank. If you do a hard session in the gym it helps to rebound better after. I think it's helped with motivation in terms of my work. I think it's 20pc testosterone and 80pc the wake-up call taking the testosterone gave me."

His wife, he says, was ambivalent:

"She felt it was all a bit strange. She was neither in favour of it nor against it; it was just there."

The drug served as a powerful inspiration for his just-published novel, Testosterone, Dublin 8, which has a Breaking Bad-like arc of a man who is feeling unmanly after a difficult period in his career and his marriage.

After taking testosterone the protagonist starts dealing in cocaine, setting off a feud between two Dublin gangs. The novel, Mullins's fourth book, is also a brilliant portrait of a changing Dublin. The central character, "a Blackrock-educated blow-in", feels superior to his Dublin 8 surroundings.

"In the book I say that he had expected to end up in one of the three Rs of the southside: Ranelagh, Rathmines or Rathgar. He hadn't contemplated the fourth R, Rialto," Mullins explains.

It's a beautifully written novel that deserves to do well, but Mullins acknowledges that the title, and the theme, makes it a hard sell for some.

"The majority of readers of crime novels are women. And by having a male name on the cover as well calling it after the male hormone, well that might be off-putting to someone. But testosterone is not all about men. It is something that gives men and women focus and drive. The baby girl born today in Holles Street will have testosterone in her body; it's in all of us."

Testosterone, Dublin 8 by Gerry Mullins is published by Liberties Press, priced 14.99
Rupert Resources Ltd ("Rupert" or "the Company") today reported results from its ongoing exploration programme at the 100% owned Pahtavaara Project in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, Finland.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005470/en/

Location of new Ikkari discovery at Area 1 situated along a major regional structure and 25km from the Pahtavaara mill. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Company has drilled a significant gold hosting structural zone at a newly identified target called Ikkari. The target was identified using base of till sampling at Area 1, a 5km long highly prospective section of a regional domain-bounding structure, 20km of which is contained within Rupert's contiguous land holding (see Figure 1).

Highlights

The Ikkari target is a linear anomaly extending over 500m of strike in base of till sampling. The first two drill holes into the target are located 100m apart (see Figure 2).

Hole 120042 intersected 137.2m grading 1.8g/t gold from 10.8m, the base of till surface including 7.1g/t gold over 14m from 23m and 10.6g/t over 3m from 27m Hole 120038 intersected 54m grading 1.5g/t gold from 25m including 4.7g/t over 1m from 35m, 5.2g/t over 2m from 65m and 5.7g/t over 1m from 71m

James Withall, CEO of Rupert Resources commented "These first two holes at Ikkari are the most significant intersections of our regional exploration program to date, showing continuity of grade, across a broad shear-zone structure. So far, we have only drilled 100m of the interpreted strike; the base of till anomaly has a strike extent over 500m and this is limited only by the current extent of our sampling. Our recent Saitta discovery is proximal to the same regional structure 5km to the east. Rupert's exploration team have demonstrated yet again the success of their systematic approach to exploration delivering a sixth new discovery in just over 12 months."

Summary

The 2019/20 regional exploration program has so far completed 13,712m with 77 holes drilled at Area 1. The Company has undertaken one of the most extensive base of till geochemical sampling programs ever conducted in this region of Finland, along with detailed ground gravity, magnetics and IP geophysical surveys, the combination of which continues to identify new gold anomalies under glacial till to drill test. Currently there is one diamond drill rig and a base of till rig operating at the project.

The Company is well funded following the $13.1m investment by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd in February this year and the regional exploration programs are planned to continue throughout 2020 with further information released as it becomes available. A detailed IP geophysical survey has just been completed at Ikkari and plans are being made to recommence drilling here in the coming months.

Table 1. Summary of significant intercepts at Ikkari

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Grade Au g/t 120038 25.0 79.0 54.0 1.5 including 35.0 36.0 1.0 4.7 including 65.0 67.0 2.0 5.2 including 71.0 72.0 1.0 5.7 including 75.0 76.0 1.0 3.8 81.0 82.0 1.0 0.4 83.0 84.0 1.0 0.6 92.1 103.0 10.9 0.6 including 96.0 98.0 2.1 1.8 120042 10.8 148.0 137.2 1.8 including 23.0 37.0 14.0 7.1 and including 23.0 24.0 1.0 25.1 and including 27.0 30.0 3.0 10.6 and including 34.0 35.0 1.0 8.4 and including 36.0 37.0 1.0 9.9 including 51.0 52.0 1.0 7.1 including 59.0 60.0 1.0 5.8 including 84.0 85.0 1.0 6.4 including 93.0 94.0 1.0 4.2 including 104.0 105.0 1.0 4.8 including 108.0 109.0 1.0 4.2 including 116.0 119.0 3.0 3.9 153.0 154.0 1.0 0.5

Notes to table: Highlighted intersections mentioned in commentary. Lower cut off grade of 0.4g/t. No upper cut-off grade was applied. Unless specified, intervals are drill indicated core length, true widths cannot be accurately determined from the information available. Full assay results for each hole are included in Appendix to this news release.

Table 2. Drill collar locations

Hole ID Zone Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip EOH (m) 120038 Ikkari 453797.3 7496814.3 224.60 179.10 -48.50 136.30 120042 Ikkari 453897.0 7496832.7 223.80 180.00 -49.30 156.95

Notes to table: The coordinates are in ETRS89 Z35 and all holes are surveyed at 3m intervals downhole and all core is orientated.

Mineralisation is hosted by sedimentary rocks and both holes demonstrate strong foliation, shearing, occurrences of visible gold associated with intensive albite-sericite alteration and finely disseminated pyrite throughout. The regional structural data collected so far suggest a subvertical broad and linear structure, within which, cross-cutting fractures and possibly folded bedding appear to have controlled the introduction of gold-bearing fluids and associated alteration zones.

About the Pahtavaara Project

The project is located in the heart of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, northern Finland where the company owns the permitted Pahtavaara mine that is on active care maintenance and 297km2. The company acquired the project for just USD $2.5m in 2016 and is undertaking exploration both at the existing mine and across the region to demonstrate the potential for significant economic mineralisation.

Area 1 comprises a large part of a structural corridor that lies between Kittila Group allocthon to the north and the younger Kumpu Group basin to the south. The zone is dominated by large E-W to ENE trending faults which have controlled broad to isoclinal folding within the sediment-dominated (Savukoski Group) rock package. A complex network of cross cutting structures has focused multi-stage fluid flow, with gold mineralisation associated with massive to fine-grained disseminated sulphides and concentrated at favourable structural intersections and fold hinges.

Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure

Mr. Mike Sutton, P.Geo. Director and Dr Charlotte Seabrook, MAIG are the Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the accuracy of scientific and technical information in this news release.

QA/QC and Sampling Protocols

Samples are prepared by ALS Finland in Sodankyla and assayed in ALS laboratories in Ireland, Romania or Sweden. All samples are under watch from the drill site to the storage facility. Samples are assayed using fire assay method with aqua regia digest and analysis by AAS for gold. Over limit analysis for >10 ppm Au is conducted using fire assay and gravimetric finish. For multi-element assays Ultra Trace Level Method by HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion, HCl leach and a combination of ICP-MS and ICP-AES is used. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at appropriate intervals. Approximately five percent (5%) of the pulps and rejects are sent for check assaying at a second lab.

Base of till samples are prepared in ALS Sodankyla by dry-sieving method prep-41, and assayed by fire assay with ICP-AES finish for gold. Multi-elements are assayed in ALS laboratories in either of Ireland, Romania or Sweden by aqua regia with ICP-MS finish. Rupert maintains a strict chain of custody procedure to manage the handling of all samples. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication.

About Rupert

Rupert is a Canadian based gold exploration and development company that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RUP". The Company owns the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits and concessions located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Northern Finland ("Pahtavaara"). Pahtavaara previously produced over 420koz of gold and 474koz remains in an Inferred mineral resource (4.6 Mt at a grade of 3.2 g/t Au at a 1.5 g/t Au cut-off grade, see the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report: Pahtavaara Project, Finland" with an effective date of April 16, 2018, prepared by Brian Wolfe, Principal Consultant, International Resource Solutions Pty Ltd., an independent qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). The Company also holds a 100% interest in two properties in Central Finland Hirsikangas and Osikonmaki; the Gold Centre property, which consists of mineral claims located in the Balmer Township, Red Lake, Ontario; and the Surf Inlet Property in British Columbia.

Rupert Resources Ltd

82 Richmond Street East, Suite 203, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1

Tel: +1 416-304-9004

Web: http://rupertresources.com/

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which, other than statements of historical fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to: results of exploration activities, mineral resources. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended February 28, 2019 available at www.sedar.com. 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, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

APPENDIX

Table 3. Drill Intercepts from DDH120038

From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 13.40 14.00 0.60 0.09 14.00 15.00 1.00 0.13 15.00 16.00 1.00 0.01 16.00 17.00 1.00 0.13 17.00 18.00 1.00 0.09 18.00 19.00 1.00 0.01 19.00 20.00 1.00 0.06 20.00 21.00 1.00 0.13 21.00 22.00 1.00 0.05 22.00 23.00 1.00 0.10 23.00 24.00 1.00 0.24 24.00 25.00 1.00 0.32 25.00 26.00 1.00 2.78 26.00 27.00 1.00 0.59 27.00 28.00 1.00 0.70 28.00 29.00 1.00 1.35 29.00 30.00 1.00 2.53 30.00 31.00 1.00 1.39 31.00 32.00 1.00 0.18 32.00 33.00 1.00 0.58 33.00 34.00 1.00 1.70 34.00 35.00 1.00 2.51 35.00 36.00 1.00 4.66 36.00 37.00 1.00 1.12 37.00 38.00 1.00 0.69 38.00 39.00 1.00 1.46 39.00 40.00 1.00 2.08 40.00 41.00 1.00 1.72 41.00 42.00 1.00 1.77 42.00 43.00 1.00 1.59 43.00 44.00 1.00 2.40 44.00 45.00 1.00 0.50 45.00 46.00 1.00 2.45 46.00 47.00 1.00 2.37 47.00 48.00 1.00 1.89 48.00 49.00 1.00 0.11 49.00 50.00 1.00 0.05 50.00 51.00 1.00 0.72 51.00 52.00 1.00 0.19 52.00 53.00 1.00 0.03 53.00 54.00 1.00 0.04 54.00 55.00 1.00 1.04 55.00 56.00 1.00 0.01 From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 56.00 57.00 1.00 0.01 57.00 58.00 1.00 0.04 58.00 59.00 1.00 0.04 59.00 60.00 1.00 0.02 60.00 61.00 1.00 0.61 61.00 62.00 1.00 0.59 62.00 63.00 1.00 0.59 63.00 64.00 1.00 0.37 64.00 65.00 1.00 0.37 65.00 66.00 1.00 3.98 66.00 67.00 1.00 6.33 67.00 68.00 1.00 1.35 68.00 69.00 1.00 0.29 69.00 70.00 1.00 2.97 70.00 71.00 1.00 1.40 71.00 72.00 1.00 5.70 72.00 73.00 1.00 3.44 73.00 74.00 1.00 1.66 74.00 75.00 1.00 2.36 75.00 76.00 1.00 3.79 76.00 77.00 1.00 1.08 77.00 78.00 1.00 0.25 78.00 79.00 1.00 0.97 79.00 80.00 1.00 0.05 80.00 81.00 1.00 0.37 81.00 82.00 1.00 0.44 82.00 83.00 1.00 0.08 83.00 84.00 1.00 0.59 84.00 85.00 1.00 0.06 85.00 86.00 1.00 0.01 86.00 87.00 1.00 0.23 87.00 88.00 1.00 0.06 88.00 89.00 1.00 0.04 89.00 90.00 1.00 0.11 90.00 91.00 1.00 0.01 91.00 91.70 0.70 0.02 91.70 92.10 0.40 NS 92.10 93.00 0.90 0.73 93.00 93.60 0.60 0.03 93.60 95.30 1.70 NS 95.30 95.40 0.10 0.07 95.40 95.95 0.55 NS 95.95 97.00 1.05 1.58

Table 3. Drill Intercepts from DDH120038 Continued

From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 97.00 98.00 1.00 2.01 98.00 99.00 1.00 0.20 99.00 100.00 1.00 0.10 101.00 102.00 1.00 0.21 102.00 103.00 1.00 0.58 103.00 104.00 1.00 0.08 104.00 105.00 1.00 0.18 105.00 106.00 1.00 0.05 106.00 107.00 1.00 0.05 107.00 108.00 1.00 0.04 108.00 109.00 1.00 0.05 109.00 110.20 1.20 0.01 110.20 110.30 0.10 NS 110.30 111.00 0.70 0.005 111.00 112.00 1.00 0.01 112.00 113.00 1.00 0.01 113.00 114.00 1.00 0.01 114.00 115.00 1.00 0.03 115.00 116.00 1.00 0.01 116.00 117.00 1.00 0.01 117.00 118.00 1.00 0.09 118.50 119.60 1.10 NS 119.60 119.9 0.30 0.01 119.90 120.7 0.80 NS 120.70 120.85 0.15 0.005 120.85 121.8 0.95 NS 121.80 122.10 0.30 0.01 122.10 122.90 0.80 NS From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 122.90 123.20 0.30 0.04 123.20 123.30 0.10 NS 123.30 123.80 0.50 0.03 123.80 124.00 0.20 NS 124.00 124.50 0.50 0.01 124.50 125.00 0.50 NS 125.00 125.90 0.90 0.05 125.90 126.00 0.10 NS 126.00 126.50 0.50 0.01 126.50 127.00 0.50 NS 127.00 127.30 0.30 0.01 127.30 127.70 0.40 NS 127.70 128.70 1.00 0.05 128.70 128.80 0.10 NS 128.80 130.10 1.30 0.11 130.10 130.70 0.60 NS 130.70 130.90 0.20 0.04 130.90 131.30 0.40 NS 131.30 132.65 1.35 0.14 132.65 133.00 0.35 NS 133.00 133.85 0.85 0.09 133.85 134.30 0.45 NS 134.30 134.55 0.25 0.04 134.55 135.50 0.95 NS 135.50 135.70 0.20 0.03 135.70 136.00 0.30 NS 136.00 136.30 0.30 0.09

Notes to table: Unless specified, true widths cannot be accurately determined from the information available. NS No sample (core loss)

Table 4. Drill Intercepts from DDH120042

From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 10.80 11.00 0.20 1.03 11.00 12.00 1.00 1.28 12.00 13.00 1.00 0.34 13.00 14.00 1.00 0.84 14.00 15.00 1.00 0.66 15.00 16.00 1.00 0.10 16.00 17.00 1.00 1.39 17.00 18.00 1.00 0.10 18.00 19.00 1.00 0.92 19.00 20.00 1.00 0.29 20.00 21.00 1.00 1.23 21.00 22.00 1.00 2.23 22.00 23.00 1.00 1.10 23.00 24.00 1.00 25.10 24.00 25.00 1.00 4.56 25.00 26.00 1.00 2.81 26.00 27.00 1.00 4.95 27.00 28.00 1.00 12.35 28.00 29.00 1.00 8.77 29.00 30.00 1.00 10.55 30.00 31.00 1.00 3.52 31.00 32.00 1.00 1.38 32.00 33.00 1.00 0.55 33.00 34.00 1.00 5.19 34.00 35.00 1.00 8.35 35.00 36.00 1.00 5.82 36.00 37.00 1.00 9.90 37.00 38.00 1.00 0.03 38.00 39.00 1.00 1.67 39.00 40.00 1.00 0.65 40.00 41.00 1.00 0.91 41.00 42.00 1.00 0.42 42.00 43.00 1.00 0.25 43.00 44.00 1.00 0.11 44.00 45.00 1.00 0.10 45.00 46.00 1.00 0.05 46.00 47.00 1.00 0.02 47.00 47.50 0.50 0.62 47.50 48.00 0.50 1.82 48.00 49.00 1.00 0.14 49.00 50.00 1.00 0.92 50.00 51.00 1.00 0.95 51.00 52.00 1.00 7.10 52.00 53.00 1.00 3.59 From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 53.00 54.00 1.00 0.47 54.00 55.00 1.00 1.24 55.00 56.00 1.00 0.38 56.00 57.00 1.00 2.17 57.00 58.00 1.00 1.32 58.00 59.00 1.00 0.63 59.00 60.00 1.00 5.80 60.00 61.00 1.00 2.72 61.00 62.00 1.00 0.78 62.00 63.00 1.00 0.43 63.00 64.00 1.00 2.39 64.00 65.00 1.00 3.39 65.00 66.00 1.00 0.94 66.00 67.00 1.00 0.13 67.00 67.50 0.50 5.39 67.50 68.00 0.50 2.45 68.00 69.00 1.00 3.09 69.00 70.00 1.00 1.07 70.00 71.00 1.00 2.85 71.00 72.00 1.00 1.83 72.00 73.00 1.00 0.03 73.00 74.00 1.00 0.17 74.00 75.00 1.00 0.03 75.00 76.00 1.00 0.10 76.00 77.00 1.00 0.15 77.00 78.00 1.00 0.10 78.00 79.00 1.00 0.35 79.00 80.00 1.00 0.18 80.00 81.00 1.00 0.07 81.00 82.00 1.00 0.03 82.00 83.00 1.00 0.10 83.00 84.00 1.00 0.08 84.00 85.00 1.00 6.42 85.00 86.00 1.00 1.47 86.00 87.00 1.00 2.57 87.00 88.00 1.00 1.31 88.00 89.00 1.00 0.08 89.00 90.00 1.00 0.32 90.00 91.00 1.00 2.00 91.00 92.00 1.00 0.21 92.00 93.00 1.00 1.98 93.00 94.00 1.00 4.23 94.00 95.00 1.00 0.69 95.00 96.00 1.00 0.52

Table 4. Drill Intercepts from DDH120042 Continued

From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 96.00 97.00 1.00 0.27 97.00 98.00 1.00 0.26 98.00 99.00 1.00 0.08 99.00 100.00 1.00 0.41 100.00 101.00 1.00 0.08 101.00 102.00 1.00 0.63 102.00 103.00 1.00 0.27 103.00 104.00 1.00 0.60 104.00 105.00 1.00 4.77 105.00 106.00 1.00 0.99 106.00 107.00 1.00 0.99 107.00 108.00 1.00 3.22 108.00 109.00 1.00 4.18 109.00 110.00 1.00 2.30 110.00 111.00 1.00 2.34 111.00 112.00 1.00 1.55 112.00 113.00 1.00 2.07 113.00 114.00 1.00 2.61 114.00 115.00 1.00 0.82 115.00 116.00 1.00 2.51 116.00 117.00 1.00 3.77 117.00 118.00 1.00 3.95 118.00 119.00 1.00 3.96 119.00 120.00 1.00 1.60 120.00 121.00 1.00 1.46 121.00 122.00 1.00 0.76 122.00 123.00 1.00 0.24 123.00 124.00 1.00 0.46 124.00 125.00 1.00 0.14 125.00 126.00 1.00 2.32 From (m) To (m) Int (m) Au (g/t) 126.00 127.00 1.00 1.06 127.00 128.00 1.00 1.42 128.00 129.00 1.00 0.46 129.00 130.00 1.00 0.63 130.00 131.00 1.00 0.01 131.00 132.00 1.00 0.01 132.00 133.00 1.00 0.12 133.00 134.00 1.00 0.36 134.00 135.00 1.00 0.28 135.00 136.00 1.00 0.02 136.00 137.00 1.00 0.07 137.00 138.00 1.00 0.27 138.00 139.00 1.00 1.49 139.00 140.00 1.00 0.90 140.00 141.00 1.00 0.90 141.00 142.00 1.00 0.07 142.00 143.00 1.00 0.04 143.00 144.00 1.00 0.19 144.00 145.00 1.00 0.38 145.00 146.00 1.00 0.02 146.00 147.00 1.00 0.23 147.00 148.00 1.00 2.03 148.00 149.00 1.00 0.12 149.00 150.00 1.00 0.01 150.00 151.00 1.00 0.01 151.00 152.00 1.00 0.01 152.00 153.00 1.00 0.10 153.00 154.00 1.00 0.52 154.00 155.00 1.00 0.01 155.00 156.00 1.00 0.01 156.00 156.95 0.95 0.01

Notes to table: Unless specified, true widths cannot be accurately determined from the information available.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005470/en/

Contacts:

James Withall

Chief Executive Officer

jwithall@rupertresources.com



Thomas Credland

Head of Corporate Development

tcredland@rupertresources.com
The Trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh: a bible-inspired detailing of the events that took place when the Israelites peaceful life took a hard turn when Josephs death paved the way for a new king. The Trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh is the creation of published author Phineas Nyabera, a life member of the International Economics Honor Society, the American Economist, and the Omicron Delta Epsilon. He is also a member of the Atlantic International Economics Society. He has since lectured Labor and Industrial Economics in several universities and also lectured Economics in several International Economic Conferences.

Nyabera shares, This joyous book came out of my love for teaching. It is the product of teaching and lecturing in schools, universities, and prestigious conferences. The trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh was a case of human rights violations. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, his officials, and the Egyptian people forced the Israel people into slavery and treated them with extreme cruelty.

They forced the Israelites to do hard labor and they mercilessly oppressed them and heavily exploited them. The Israelites cried to God and God agreed with them.

God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and sent him to Pharaoh to tell him to let the Israelites leave Egypt, the land of slavery, and go to Canaan, the promised land flowing with milk and honey.

God gave Moses two miraculous signs and wonders to perform before Pharaoh and his officials. God hoped that the two miraculous signs will convince Pharaoh and he will let the Israelite leave Egypt and go to Canaan. In his famous call to Pharaoh, God ordered, Let my people go.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh in Egypt and told him everything that God wanted him to do. Let the people go. But the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, refused to let the Israelites go out of Egypt. He refused to let Gods people go out of Egypt, the land of slavery.

Pharaoh, king of Egypt, adamantly asked Moses, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.

Then Moses left Pharaoh alone but God sent him back again. Moses and Aaron threw Mosess staff on the ground in front of Pharaoh and his official. Then Mosess staff turned into a great snake. Pharaoh watched the great snake crawl in front of him. Then Pharaoh summoned his wise men, and his sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians, and ordered them to do what Moses and Aaron did in front of him and his officials.

The wise men, the sorcerers, and the great magicians of Egypt threw their staffs in front of Pharaoh and his official, but their staffs turned into small snakes and Mosess great snake swallowed them all.

However, those miraculous signs and wonders did not deter or stop Pharaoh from his stubbornness. He refused to let Gods people go out of Egypt and God decided to take this case to a higher level.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Phineas Nyaberas new book is an illuminating read that is written to share the happenings of times past. This manuscript also helps the future generation in knowing and understanding the biblical events that took place before their time.

View a synopsis of The Trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase The Trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about The Trial of the Egyptian Pharaoh, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Germany's support for nuclear sharing is vital to protect peace and freedom

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Op-ed article by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

11 May. 2020

This op-ed article was originally published by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 11 May 2020.

The Coronavirus is among the greatest threats the world has faced since the Second World War. However, that does not mean that others have gone away. We face the most difficult security environment for a generation. Around the world, terrorism continues, authoritarian regimes challenge liberal democracies, and we see the proliferation of nuclear weapons to countries like North Korea, as well as the continuing aggressive actions by Russia.

In recent years, Russia has invested significantly in its military capabilities, and especially in its nuclear arsenal. While NATO views its own nuclear deterrent primarily as a political tool, Russia has firmly integrated its nuclear arsenal into its military strategy. It has placed nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, just 500km from Berlin. It has threatened Allies such as Denmark, Poland and Romania with nuclear strikes. Russia also forcibly and illegally annexed part of Ukraine, a country whose borders it had previously committed to respect in return for Ukraine giving up its own nuclear protection.

In stark contrast, NATO seeks a world without nuclear weapons through effective arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. And we have made great progress in achieving this. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has reduced the number of nuclear weapons in Europe by around 90%. That is significant.

Despite Russia's flagrant breach of the INF Treaty with the deployment of a new intermediate range missile, which can reach European capitals with little warning, NATO has made clear that we have no intention of pursuing our own land based nuclear missiles in Europe. We will maintain an effective deterrence and defence, including through our existing nuclear deterrent.

Therefore, I welcome Germany's clear commitment to NATO and our nuclear deterrent. This is even more significant since we have just marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Our Alliance was built on the ruins of that devastating war, to ensure peace and freedom for future generations. Germany joined our Alliance just 10 years after the war ended, on May 6 1955. Since then, you have been a valued member of the NATO family, with all the benefits and responsibilities that implies.

Our nuclear deterrence remains a vital part of keeping our peace and freedom. It is for the security of the whole alliance, for Germany, its neighbours, friends and Allies, who all have legitimate security concerns and who are all protected by NATO's nuclear deterrent.

An important part of our nuclear deterrence strategy is nuclear sharing. NATO's nuclear sharing is a multilateral arrangement that ensures the benefits, responsibilities and risks of nuclear deterrence are shared among Allies. Politically, this is significant. It means that participating Allies, like Germany, make joint decisions on nuclear policy and planning, and maintain appropriate equipment. It has also always been an important trust-building measure for Germany's neighbours. Our common procedures, doctrine and exercises give Allies a voice on nuclear matters that they would not otherwise have.

NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements also directly support non-proliferation. For many decades, it has provided European Allies with an effective nuclear umbrella. This was essential for the development of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prevents the spread of nuclear weapons, as it removed the incentive for nations to develop their own nuclear capability. If our nuclear sharing arrangements came to an end, more countries may again seek their own nuclear weapons. This would result in a world this is less safe, not more.

All Allies appreciate Germany's role in NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements. Germany has contributed dual-capable aircraft for NATO's nuclear mission since the beginning. It provides important leadership based on decades of experience working together with other Allies. To provide security for all our Allies it is essential that those who participate in nuclear sharing do so fully. This includes having capable aircraft that can support our nuclear deterrence mission.

NATO unites democratic nations in defence of our values - freedom, liberty and the rule of law. The commitment of NATO Allies to each other's security remains rock solid. Our solidarity is our strength and the ultimate expression of that solidarity remains our nuclear deterrent.

The purpose of NATO's nuclear weapons is not to provoke a conflict but to preserve peace, deter aggression and prevent coercion. Our Alliance seeks a world without nuclear weapons, sadly, these conditions do not exist today. A world where Russia, China and others have nuclear weapons but NATO has none, is simply not a safer world.

That is why all Allies have agreed that as long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear Alliance. To preserve peace and our freedom.

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South Korean President Moon Jae-In spoke on May 10 after a new cluster of coronavirus cases appeared in Seoul, South Korea. The new cases sparked fear of a second wave of infections in the country.

South Korea was among the first countries to deal with a major coronavirus epidemic, and it seemed to be on track to loosen restrictions after weeks of social distancing measures and careful surveillance. However, the new cluster seems to have put an end to that, with Moon warning Koreans that they must not lower their guards regarding coronavirus prevention.

Another country that has recorded new cases after easing their lockdown is China. Shulan, a place located in the far northeast of China, has been put under lockdown after 11 cases were discovered. Shulan is in Jilin province that borders both Russia and North Korea and there are concerns raised about the imported cases from overseas causing a renewed outbreak. In Wuhan, the province where the virus allegedly originated, reported five new cases on May 4.

Was it too early to lift the restrictions?

Although the numbers that South Korea and China reported are significantly lower than the numbers that were recorded during the height of the pandemic, it still shows that the virus can still infect people and it can still spread, thus raising concerns about the viability of reopening.

A spokesman for China's National Health Commission, Mi Feng, said on May 10 that people need to stay alert and step up personal protection against the virus. He added that the new clusters were a reminder to avoid social gatherings and seek medical advice or testing should anyone show any virus symptoms.

Also Read: 75,000 Americans At Risk of Dying from Suicide Due to Pandemic Despair

Coronavirus cases in Europe

There are also European countries that received praise for being able to handle the crisis well, and one of them is Germany. However, its reproduction number has increased to above one for the past two days in a row, according to its center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute, or RKI.

This means that one infected person is infecting more than one other person on an average scale. It was seen as a success story at first, thanks to a well-resourced health system and early mass testing. Germany's reproduction number was estimated to have fallen to 0.65 on May 7, and it had begun a slow reopening. According to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany could afford a bit of courage, while cautioning that they have to watch that this thing does not slip out of their hands.

According to RKI, there was still a degree of uncertainty with the latest estimates but the increase in reproduction rate makes it necessary to observe the development very closely over the next few weeks.

The German federal government and the states had agreed on a snap-back mechanism in case the virus returns for a second wave. If any county exceeds 50 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants, lockdown measures will be reintroduced in that country. Unfortunately, over the weekend, several counties across Germany exceeded that limit.

The new infections in China and South Korea, and the growing infections in Germany, has raised questions that if the said countries that appear to be on top of the disease still can't contain it, what can other countries with thousands of daily cases hope to do?

However, the said countries had the worst outbreaks in the world in February but still managed to get the crisis under control. They may be seeing new cases but it is a lesson about the risks of relaxing too soon and not a reason to give up the fight entirely.



Related Article: Hot Weather Dries Up COVID-19 Droplets, But Virus May Travel Farther in Windy Days

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over a chairpersons' meeting of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2020. The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will convene its 18th session on May 18 in Beijing, according to a statement issued after the chairpersons' meeting on Monday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will convene its 18th session on May 18 in Beijing, according to a statement issued after a chairpersons' meeting Monday.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the chairpersons' meeting of the 13th NPC Standing Committee.

A key task of the session on May 18 is to make preparations for the upcoming annual session of the NPC, the statement read.

The chairpersons' meeting suggested that the 18th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee review a work report by the NPC Standing Committee, which is to be submitted for deliberation to the annual session of the 13th NPC later this month.

The legislators will consider the draft agenda of the annual session, a draft name list of the presidium and secretary-general, and a draft name list of non-voting delegates for the upcoming annual session, it said.

The third annual session of the 13th NPC will begin in Beijing on May 22.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Keurig Dr Pepper has been fueling health care workers across the U.S., including at 21 locations in the commonwealth.

Through its Fueling the Frontline program, the Burlington, Massachusetts-based beverage company has already donated more than two million cups of coffee since the COVID-19 crisis began. Now its looking to expand that effort.

To celebrate National Hospital Week, Keurig Dr Pepper is asking people to share a social media post of gratitude between May 10  16. For each those posts that includes #FuelingTheFrontline, the company will provide a cup of coffee to a hospital worker, up to one million cups.

Let me just take a moment to say thank you to everyone on the frontlines of this COVID-19 battle. #FuelingtheFrontline pic.twitter.com/H8OquVON8r  Brittanie Ganai Thompson (@GanaiThompson) May 12, 2020

Thanks to all the hospital staff #FuelingtheFrontline  Matthew (@earltwomey) May 12, 2020

A special shout out to all the healthcare workers. Thank you so much for all youre doing to help others on the frontline. You are heroes and great people. #FuelingtheFrontline  Palmer Balke (@BalkePalmer) May 12, 2020

#FuelingtheFrontline we all know coffee is needed rn (hopefully they have time to take a break and drink it) thank you to all my fellow healthcare workers, lets keep pushing on #ThankYouHeroes  Shayla Flannery (@shayla1422) May 12, 2020

Thanks to all medical workers for #FuelingtheFrontline and want to make sure you get all coffee needed from Keurig during National Hospital week ! America loves each and everyone of you for all you do ! Hugs and prayers ! https://t.co/t5bXDrV5N1 pic.twitter.com/AESHgrSyqk  Lynn (@ConnieLynn6969) May 12, 2020

The company is also looking outside hospitals near its co-headquarters in Boston and Dallas Fort-Worth, targeting hard-hit communities such as New York, Los Angeles and Detroit.

Keurig Dr Pepper has kept its 26,000 workers employed, it said, and continues to hire with more than 100 positions currently open in Boston.

Related Content:
Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh took to her Instagram page to pen an appreciation post to the doctors and nurses who assisted in the birth of her son.

The single mum of one shared the photo of a female doctor named Maeowa as she wrote;

Woke up from a vivid/RAW dream about MY SON BIRTH DAY.beautiful relive

After countlessly celebrating Mothers Day

I realized I never celebrated one of the heros that birth my child OR EVEN ANY OF THEM AFTER WE Left..

.

.

Maeowa God used you and all the doctors and nurses to give me THE BEST LABOUR ROOM EXPERIENCE ANY WOMAN COULD EVER DREAM OF HAVING..

.

.

I have never told my child birth story but if I ever did YOU WILL BE CELEBRATED..

Thanks for all the lives including my sons live you all saved(Im not gonno go into it for privacy reasons but you know you know)

I JUST WANT TO SAY I AM GRATEFUL AND THANK YOU, my Love and Best regards to Doctor Khorn. And the whole Crew..

#I CELEBRATE YOU ALLLLLLLL

Advertisement

Read Also: If I Come To This World Again, I Will Pick Tonto Dikeh As My Bestie  Bobrisky

See her full post below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAEuSSzHjAr/?igshid=1eiodz1cwpy3o
Those who the church allows to enter are then sent to a breakout room known as the sanctuary, where they can view the service.

Part of the reason it was so bad from our perspective was that it was from human error, Cervantes said. One of our settings was not correctly set, and that allowed them to get in and post things so everybody could see what was posted. Jeff has been running Zoom meetings for MCC. He helped lead all of our leaders and tech folks through the best settings and best practices in terms of screening folks and other issues.

Martin-Moreno, who also has provided technical assistance for local recovery groups who also have been hit with inappropriate Zoom bombers, said he was shaken by the images.

I have seen a lot, he said. Never in my life have I ever seen anything like that. It was very jarring. My first impulse was to cover my screen so I couldnt see it.

After composing himself, he knew he had to help the church.
Liberty Insurance is offering every driver in Ireland a free vehicle disinfectant service at any car garage in the companys trusted network.

This service comes as a response to the coronavirus pandemic with the aim of ensuring all customers feel safe.

Customers will know that they can take their vehicles with complete peace of mind to any car garage in Libertys network, comforted that they will be thoroughly disinfected before the vehicle is returned. This Ozone Disinfectant Machine will also be available for use in any customers complimentary vehicle.

The Ozone Disinfectant Machine can kill 99.9% of microbes, bacteria, and viruses and is most commonly used in gas form to disinfect and sanitise vehicles.

There are 34 supporting car garages across Ireland. With this measure, Liberty will support the business of SMEs in its car garage network in Ireland who have been strategic partners for the insurer over the last 20 years.

Commenting, Maria Eugenia Muguerza, Operations Leader Liberty Europe said:

As a result of the coronavirus, nearly everyone has experienced a change in their daily habits and responsibilities, especially in terms of personal hygiene and disease prevention.

As people continue to travel on essential journeys, we want to ensure that their health and safety is protected and help reduce new infections.

The Ozone Disinfectant Machines are free of charge to any driver who brings their vehicle to any one of our 34 trusted network of garage partners across Ireland, regardless of whether they are a Liberty Insurance customer.

Liberty has launched the initiative in other European markets, including Spain and Portugal.
Formula 1 isnt back on the track yet but silly season has started very early this year. Its reported by Auto Motor Sport in Germany that four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari were unable to agree to a contract extension and Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2020 Formula 1 season. An official announcement could be announced as early as Tuesday.

Both Vettel and Ferrari were in a transitional period over the past five years. After winning for titles at Red Bull Racing, Vettel left for Ferrari right around the time of Mercedes dominance. While Mercedes dominated, Ferrari and Vettel were left picking up the scraps. Vettel still did well in his Ferrari career, but his 14 wins at Ferrari wasnt a match for Lewis Hamiltons 51 wins in that same time period. In fact, thats just two fewer wins than Vettel had in his entire career and Vettel is the third-winningest F1 driver in history.

In addition, the 32-year-old Vettel has transitioned into a more senior driver role. When he was at Red Bull, he had Mark Webber most of his Red Bull career and was regarded as the young upstart. Now, Charles Leclerc has stepped onto the scene and the 22-year-old from Monaco is being seen as the future. For the first time, Vettel isnt the clear #1 driver and quite frankly, Ferrari is backing Leclerc to be the next superstar.

As far as who could possibly step into the highly coveted Ferrari seat, the BBC is reporting that McLarens Carlos Sainz, Renaults Daniel Ricciardo or Alfa Romeos Antonio Giovinazzi, who is Italian, was a former Ferrari test driver, and is currently racing for a team who uses Ferrari power units. Some have suggested Red Bulls Max Verstappen and Ferrari Academy driver Mick Schumacher but Verstappen has signed with Red Bull through 2023 and Schumacher isnt ready for Formula 1 yet. One or both of them might be with Ferrari in the future but it wont happen in 2021.

Vettels F1 prospects are bleaker than Ferraris. Hes in a position where he demands a high amount of money but given the COVID-19 pandemic, teams arent interested in spending that kind of money, even for one of the best F1 drivers ever. Mercedes isnt a realistic option as long as Hamilton is there and Red Bull is a similar no-go with Verstappen. Those are the three best teams on the grid and they have won every F1 race since 2013. Its very difficult for the rest of the grid to close the gap and even someone as talented as Sebastian Vettel isnt going to do that.

For the McLarens and Renaults on the grid, why break the bank on Vettel when all hell be able to do is finish 7th instead of 9th? Just sign someone who might not be as talented but you can have for half the price and that person can still get you points. Even if Vettel accepts less money, its going to be a rough reality when the third winningest driver in F1 history is driving his brains out to finish just short of the podium.

[Auto Motor Sport/BBC]
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, in Washington.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that working in the "small, crowded" White House offices is "scary."

Despite many White House staffers' refusal to adhere to CDC guidelines concerning masks and social distancing, Hassett insisted he practices "aggressive social distancing."

Trump has refused to wear a face mask even after his valet and Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for the virus last week.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, said on Sunday that going work in the White House is "scary," given the West Wing is a "small, crowded place" with a risk of exposure to coronavirus-infected staffers.

"It is scary to go to work," Hassett said during a Sunday interview on CBS News' Face the Nation.

This comes as White House staffers, including most recently one of Trump's West Wing valets and Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump has refused to wear a mask in public and insists he's protected from being infected because he and those who come in contact with him are regularly tested for the virus. Hassett said those who interact with the president are tested daily. Other West Wing staffers are tested weekly.

But Trump contradicted his own logic by conceding last week that, even with regular testing, cases can fall through the cracks. Meanwhile, many White House officials similarly refuse to wear a mask or follow other social distancing guidelines.

The White House announced that Pence has tested negative since having sustained contact with his infected aide, Katie Miller, and will continue to work from the White House. Several staffers who were also in contact with Miller are also still going to work in the White House, rather than isolating at home.

Story continues

Miller spoke to reporters on Thursday without a mask or gloves on while standing within six feet of them. She tested positive for the virus the next day. Hassett insisted he practices "aggressive social distancing" in the White House and wears a mask "when I feel it's necessary."

As of last Thursday, 11 members of the Secret Service had tested positive for the virus.

And the rapid coronavirus testing the White House is using has been found by some hospitals to be less reliable than other forms of testing. Experts have found that the test  which returns results with 13 minutes  produces false negative results in some circumstances, including in patients with lower viral loads.

Meanwhile, two members of the White House coronavirus task force  CDC head Robert Redfield, Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn  announced over the weekend that they would begin two weeks of quarantining after coming in contact with Miller during a Situation Room meeting last week.

And Anthony Fauci, the prominent task force member and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is practicing a "modified quarantine" after being exposed to an infected aide.

Hassett called the virus' infectiousness, even in an environment with regular testing, "very scary."

"The interesting, sad thing about my dear colleague who was stricken with the coronavirus this week is that we were getting tested because we're close to the president every day," he said of Miller. "And even with that, you know, she tested negative one day and then positive the next day. And she's going to work at a community where people are being tested. And so this is a very, very scary virus."

Hassett, Trump's former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), was brought back into the administration recently to help manage the economic crisis. He sparked widespread controversy earlier this month over his creation of a model that shows daily US covid-19 deaths falling to zero by mid-May.

Former CEA chair Jason Furman called the model, which was released and defended by the Council, "the lowest point in the 74 year history of the Council of Economic Advisers."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Chinese NGO Foundation, part of the Life Preservation Initiative, has pledged a donation of $800,000 in personal protective equipment to health care facilities in an effort to assist front line medical staffers as they continue to treat and care for those who are battling the coronavirus.

The organizations New York volunteer team sent the first batch of PPEs, including masks and coveralls, to eight hospitals, five community service centers, two NYPD Patrol Borough Units and three FDNY station houses within two weeks.

Staten Island University Hospital receives personal protective equipment from the Chinese NGO Foundation, a division of Life Preservation Initiative. (Courtesy/Jillian O'Hara)Staten Island Advance

And the good news is Staten Island University Hospital is one of the health care facilities that has benefited.

Word of the donation comes via Frank Yao of the Chinese NGO Foundation, a division of the LPI, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, in an effort to help front line healthcare professionals fighting COVID-19.

Since word reached the organization that Staten Island University Hospital was in dire need of N95 masks, and the daily usage of PPEs was double the amount than in some other hospitals, LPI responded.

Because of the size of the hospital and expanded staff, there were more frontline medical workers in SIUH who needed to be protected during the pandemic. Volunteers followed by delivering 5,040 N95 masks to SIUH.

The Chinese NGO Foundation, a division of the Life Preservation Initiative delivers PPE's to Staten Island University Hospital. (Courtesy/Jillian O'Hara)Staten Island Advance

LPI has been there for Staten Island University Hospital from the very beginning. They have gone above and beyond to ensure that our staff has the PPE necessary to protect our employees and our patients," said Dr. Brahim Ardolic, executive director of SIUH. "We cannot thank them enough on behalf of all those we are privileged to serve.

The Chinese NGO Foundation, a division of the Life Preservation Initiative donated PPE's to Staten Island University. (Courtesy/Jillian O'Hara)Staten Island Advance

On March 23, four American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) partnered with three Chinese NGOs to form the COVID-19 Life Preservation Initiative, according to the LPI website. Together, we hope to fight the pandemic hand in hand with the rest of the US, by helping to protect healthcare workers, first responders, community volunteers and vulnerable populations. The effort is funded through sponsorships in the United States and China and individual donations.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

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Photo: Netflix

Before Joe Exotic became a household name, the genre of over-the-top tiger shows belonged pretty much exclusively to Siegfried & Roy, the illusionist duo whose Las Vegas big cat show made them celebrities in the 1980s. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the documentarians behind Tiger King are reportedly developing a new project about the 2003 attack that left the late Roy Horn severely injured, ended their show, and created controversy around what caused a white tiger named Mantacore to drag Horn off-stage mid-performance.

According to THR, wildlife veterinarian and field biologist Dr. James Liu, reportedly part of Tiger Kings production team, contacted their outlet to request contact information for Christopher Lawrence, the former tiger handler for Siegfried & Roy who, in 2019, denied the public narrative that Mantacore had merely overreacted to Horns having a stoke, alleging instead that human error lead to the incident.

Writes the Reporter, Liu wanted Lawrence to respond to Siegfried Fischbacher, who, months after declining to speak for THRs coverage, had rebuked his former employee during an interview with ABCs Good Morning America. Liu hoped that an upcoming episode under the Tiger King name from filmmakers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin would act as a higher-minded corrective to the more ridiculous human-focused elements of the Joe-heavy series, but when reached for comment, Goode Films told THR it is untrue that the direction is going in a more conservational route.
Click here to read the full article.

One of the fastest-expanding companies on the Spanish-language drama series scene, BTF Media, is teaming with Argentina-based author-historian Uki Goni on one of BFT Medias biggest titles ever, a small screen makeover of Gonis most celebrated work: The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Perons Argentina.

Based on Gonis research and access to Argentine, Swiss, American, British, and Belgian government archives, the series will double down of how Nazis found safe haven in Argentina. That came thanks to Argentine President Juan Peron and, most shockingly, as the incipient Cold War reshaped government priorities, the collusion of both the Catholic Church and Allied intelligence agencies who provided escape routes  ratlines  and sanctuary for war criminals.

More from Variety

We are extremely satisfied to announce this agreement. Uki is an extraordinary writer and his research has had wide repercussion in those countries that collaborated with Nazi criminals in their escape, said Ivonne Vela, head of communications at BTF Media.

The real story of how the Nazis escaped from Europe through Italy and across the Atlantic is one of the greatest historical dramas that yet remains to be told. I am very pleased that BTF has taken on this quest with such enthusiasm, Goni added.

Published in 2002, Gonis non-fiction book moved waves, encouraging authorities as disperse as Genoas curia and KLM to launch internal investigation into there role in facilitating Nazis escape from Europe.

Production on the project, now in development, will be led by BTF Media founder-partners Francisco Cordero and Ricardo Coeto. Producer of smash hit series Hasta que the conoci, which was nominated for an International Emmy, and El secreto de Selena, both produced with Disney Media Distribution, BTF Media signaled Tuesday in a statement that the project will be shot in different locations in Argentina and Europe, territories where BTF has production offices. BTF is also based out of the U.S. and Mexico.

Story continues

News of the The Real Odessa makover comes fast on the heels of the launch of a BTF Media production operation in Chile, headed by Cordero, Coeto and The Suspended Mourning creator Hernan Caffiero.

Rolling off the breakout success of its early bio/true crime series, BTF Media now has in development or production an extensive slate of new series spanning the whole of the Spanish-speaking world.

These take in Maradona: Sueno bendito, another of its biggest titles; a Mexican version of The Cleaning Lady, with Turner Latin America; and Pancho Villa life story Centauro del Norte, Cazadores de milagros and production out of Mexico of pan- Latin America gender crime series Femicidios, all three with Buena Vista Original Productions.

Also announced by BTF Media, and produced by BTF Media in Spain, are bioseries turning on Joaquin Sabina and Isabel Pantoja.

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By Trend

The Council of Europe underlines that in order to ensure mobility in a secure and well-managed environment, the successful implementation of existing visa liberalisation action plans through continuous fulfilment of relevant benchmarks, and of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements is essential, Trend reports citing the Council of Europe.

The possibility to launch new visa liberalization dialogues with the remaining countries, whose citizens require visas to travel to the EU, will be considered, in due course, if conditions allow, provided that well-managed and secure mobility conditions are in place, including through the satisfactory implementation of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements, reads the CoE document.

The Council recalls the mutual benefits and responsibilities from the visa suspension mechanism and notes that the high number of unfounded asylum applications by some Eastern partner countries nationals in the EU

Member States raises concerns.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU), its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Armenia.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - The Yuma Police Department is notifying the community that Arturo Corral, 47 is now residing at 1204 W. 1st Street, Yuma, Arizona 85364. He is described as 6 feet, 1 inches, 380 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

On October 31, 1997 Arturo Corral plead guilty to 1 count Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor where the minor is more than 3 years younger than the perpetrator.

On February 26, 2002 Arturo Corral plead guilty to 1 count Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child 14 or 15 years old.

Arturo Corral is a level 2 sex offender with a medium risk to re-offend.
Srinagar, May 12 : A second batch with 169 students from Bangladesh arrived in Srinagar by a special flight on Tuesday.

The process of bringing back Kashmiri medical students stranded in Bangladesh after the lockdown was imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic started last week.

On Friday, 167 medical students returned from Dhaka on the first flight.

The returning students are being screened and samples are collected. They will be moved to a quarantine facility till the test reports come in.

"After landing in Srinagar they will be moved to hotels," DC, Srinagar Shahid Choudhary said.

They will be tested for COVID-19. Any positive case will go to the hospital and the negative to home quarantine.

Kashmiri students stuck in Bangladesh have been repeatedly making pleas for bringing them back home by posting video messages on the social media.
Responsibility Battling COVID-19 as a volunteer EMT One of our colleagues finds a way to help directly combat the COVID-19 pandemic as a volunteer EMT.

In response to the pandemic, Merck has changed its volunteer policy to support employees like Tom with nursing and other medical backgrounds. Recognizing the need for additional health care professionals, including doctors, nurses and medical laboratory technicians, to assist in regions where COVID-19 is spreading, on March 21 the company deployed a new program to enable our medically trained employees to volunteer their time to aid their communities while maintaining their base pay.

With the COVID-19 pandemic making an unprecedented impact both globally and locally, many in our community are eagerly seeking ways to help.

One of our colleagues, Tom McGrew, associate director, business consulting for MMD Digital Strategy, has been a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with the Clinton, New Jersey, First Aid and Rescue Squad for four years. As the pandemic spread, Tom saw the expansion of our volunteerism program as an opportunity to help even more. The expanded program supports employees around the world who are uniquely qualified to provide medical services and wish to aid communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As soon as I saw that, I took it to my manager and said, Hey, what do you think? Id love to help out more, he recalls. And in no time, hed identified a daytime shift the Clinton team needed covered. Tom has been an EMT for nearly 14 years, starting as a volunteer in high school. But with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, the work has changed, from protocols for contact with patients to required gear when a call is suspected to be coronavirus-related.

Overall call volume is down, but the number of COVID calls is drastically increasing. Its been very different, Tom says. After a call with a suspected case, we have to put our ambulances out of service for a brief period of time as we disinfect and sanitize.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bolt Metals Corp. (CSE:BOLT) (NXFE.F) (PCRCF) (the Company or Bolt Metals) is pleased to announce that the Cyclops Project License is now registered in the database of the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia with related physical documentation expected shortly.



In spite of COVID-19 related challenges, the Cyclops project site is secure with no known cases in the direct project area. The Jakarta head office and the Sentani site camp and logistics base are operating at reduced levels and field activities will recommence once the nationwide lockdown is lifted.

The Company will continue to monitor the situation and act within the guidelines and recommendations of the provincial, territorial, and federal governments in which it operates.

While movement is temporarily restricted the Company continues to advance its business activities from offices in Vancouver, Jakarta and Shanghai. These include:

Evaluating and optimizing exploration data in preparation for an active upcoming field season on our flagship Cyclops nickel-cobalt project.

Preparations for the development of a pilot process test plant in Canada, which will contain an integrated circuit to produce high purity nickel and cobalt strip solutions, required to develop energy storage grade material.

Ongoing dialogue with key industry players in China, Indonesia and Korea with a focus on securing supply contracts with downstream users and commodity suppliers to the international energy storage and EV battery space.

Continued negotiations with Hunan Jinxin New Material Co., Ltd. (announced March 5, 2020) and Beijing Easpring, one of Chinas leading battery metals suppliers, with the goal of signing definitive offtake and/or investment agreements.

Indonesias leadership in nickel production, proximity to Asia, and its recent strategic moves to become a dominant player in the EV supply chain, has positioned the country as a primary global supplier of critical battery cathode material, specifically nickel.

Story continues

There are at least five nickel processing plants currently under construction in Indonesia (Reuters article January 8, 2020). Spending on new plants is expected to total $20-billion (U.S.) by 2024, supported by the Indonesian government's determination to create a world-leading EV supply chain.

The Companys flagship Cyclops laterite nickel-cobalt property, located on the north shores of Papua Province, Indonesia, features environmental and mining permits, comprehensive infrastructure including year-round sealed road access, close proximity to air and sea transport links, gentle topography and an experienced local workforce.

During 2019 the Company carried out an extensive exploration and development program at Cyclops, and achieved successful results outlining significant nickel mineralization in drilling and mini bulk sampling.

Ranjeet Sundher, CEO of Bolt Metals Corp., remarks While the pandemic has placed an enormous strain on the global economy, we are encouraged by Indonesias determination and plan to become a global hub for the production of material for the energy storage sector locally, and throughout Asia. The past 18 months of exploration and development on Cyclops has produced a robust project dataset, which will be used to advance our strategic initiatives in Indonesia, Asia and Canada. We are looking forward to resuming full operations with the ultimate goal of becoming a key player in the development of Asias battery materials supply chain.

About Bolt Metals

BOLT Metals is a Canadianbased exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of production grade nickel and cobalt deposits, key raw material inputs for the growing lithiumion battery industry. Visit https://boltmetals.com/ to find out more.

Bolt Metals Corp.

Ranjeet Sundher  President and CEO

(604) 922-8272

rsundher@boltmetals.com

Steve Vanry  CFO & Director

(604) 922-8272

steve@vanrycap.com

Sean Bromley  Director & Investor Contact

(778) 985-8934

sean@theparmargroup.com

Reader Advisory

This news release may contain statements which constitute forward-looking information that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company and with respect to the results of exploration and prospective plans in regards to the Cyclops project. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are based on reasonable assumptions, such information is not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Although Bolt Metals has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, success of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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Re: Train runs over migrant workers near Aurangabad; 16 dead Quote: gkveda Originally Posted by Why would anyone take the railway track route to travel from one city to another? Quote: vharihar Originally Posted by why in the world would anyone sleep on the tracks, beats me!



Also this



Quote: As an 8 year old I once walked 7km on a railway track after I missed a bus to my village -- about 12km from the coastal town of Nagapattinam. I had come to the town for a Taekwondo class and didn't have a way to return home. My friends convinced me to take the track with them.



Why rail path? It is harder to get lost following the tracks, safer from antisocial elements [usually better protected by the railways] and thus more likely to get home.



Why walk on tracks? It is on a level ground -- the ground nearby can be quite uneven, with thorns, can be marshy or sometimes even have quick sand and can have have snakes, scorpion & other dangers from the nearby fields. The track vibration pushes those creatures away. Snakes that keep coming to the tracks don't get to live long or reproduce. The ground near the track can be often 4-6 feet lower than the tracks and you might not always have the energy to go on and off the track if you are walking long.



If you had walked along a rail path, your body instinct would tell you to walk on the tracks as it takes less energy and when you are walking 100s of km that matters a lot. And if you were sleeping, you would worry about the snakes & insects, assuming the track doesn't get trains.



And in village routes where you don't see trains for more than once or twice a day, the danger is not as apparent as in busy urban routes.

Quote: rjainv Originally Posted by Tracks are connecting cities and always clean of any bushes or any uneven roads or potholes.

So easy to walk. When person falls asleep, again easiest place that fits the bill of relatively clean with place to put head on.



Quote: Theyota Originally Posted by Maybe they were afraid that police will stop them and turn them back to where they came from if they walked on the road. Maybe they thought, if everything is stopped, trains will be stopped too, so they probably thought it is safe to sleep on the tracks. Maybe they passed out while eating dinner due to tiredness Some of the points given by @rjainv and @theyota below hit the nail.Also this facebook post provides a similar viewpoint from someone who did the same (walk on tracks) in a different situation .+1+1
Blue Foundry Bank has partnered with ZSuite Technologies to provide digital security deposit account management, and automatic rent and condo fee payment solutions. Through these no-cost products, known as ZRent and ZDeposit, Blue Foundry can offer its landlord and real estate property management clients solutions to automate critical and time-sensitive initiatives.

We could not be more excited to enter the greater New Jersey metro area with the addition of Blue Foundry Bank as a partner financial institution, said Nathan Baumeister, CEO of ZSuite Technologies. Our whole mission is to partner with financial institutions so that they can provide greater value to important client verticals. Blue Foundry Bank is a leader and innovator in going above and beyond for its clients; we are proud to be their partner."

ZDeposit relieves the stress of opening and managing security deposit accounts for landlords and property managers. Customers have the ability to open security deposit accounts in seconds from their device of choice. Afterwards, rather than tracking and managing the accounting and compliance issues manually, landlords and property managers can rely on ZDeposit to generate disclosures, send annual interest payments directly to tenants, and facilitate other state mandated compliance.

ZRent works by automatically deducting rent payments from the tenants bank account and depositing them directly into the landlord or property managers account. Tenants can set and forget their monthly payments, and landlords will no longer have the hassle of collecting checks and making the trip to the bank. ZRent also provides peace of mind for the landlords, who will now receive one complete payment for each unit on the same day every month.

Real estate property managers and landlords have long been an integral customer segment to our bank, shared Vincent Micco, EVP and Chief Lending Officer at Blue Foundry Bank. We are always looking for ways to provide additional value to these important clients and we're excited to have found such innovative and effective tools with ZRent and ZDeposit.

Simple, secure, and cost-free, ZDeposit and ZRent are designed to make easy work of rental fianances for tenants, landlords, and property managers. To learn more about these cutting-edge products visit BlueFoundryBank.com/zrent and BlueFoundryBank.com/zdeposit or call (888) 931-BLUE.

About Blue Foundry Bank: Headquartered in Rutherford, NJ and maintaining 17 branch locations throughout Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, Blue Foundry Bank is a full-service, progressive bank serving the doers, movers and shakers in our communities. We are one of the areas largest savings banks offering individuals and businesses alike the tailored products and services they need to build their futures. Rebranded in 2019, Blue Foundry Bank (formerly Boiling Springs Savings Bank) has served our communities for over 80 years and our deep New Jersey roots will ensure we continue to do so in the years to come. All deposits are insured by the FDIC. To learn more about Blue Foundry Bank visit BlueFoundryBank.com or call (888) 931-BLUE.

About ZSuite Technologies: ZSuite Technologies is a financial technology company that aims to power banks and credit unions with differentiated banking solutions for profitable client segments. ZSuite's products ZRent (zrent.net) and ZDeposit (zdeposit.net) streamline rent and condo due payments, digitize security deposit account opening, and enable state-specific security deposit compliance.To learn more about ZSuite Technologies and how it can help your financial institution, please visit zsuitetech.com.
Brazil's biggest homeless population has begun succumbing to COVID-19, and activists warn the worst is yet to come as colder weather bears down and shelters risk becoming hotbeds for infection.

At least 22 homeless people in Sao Paulo have died from COVID-19 so far, according to City Hall, and there are hundreds of suspected cases throughout the state, both on the streets and in shelters.

Jlio Lancellotti, a 71-year-old priest, said nothing he's seen these people face in three decades compares to the hardship he expects from the new pandemic not economic turmoil, waves of violence nor dengue fever.

I have the feeling this will be our biggest challenge, and the most difficult part isn't even here yet, Lancellotti told The Associated Press.

Sao Paulo's homeless population exploded in recent years, with official figures soaring to nearly 25,000 last year, up 60% from 2015.

Brazil's long-lasting economic crisis and cuts to social programs pitched thousands into the streets of the country's richest city. Then came the coronavirus.

On Sunday, Lancellotti welcomed dozens of them into his parish in eastern Sao Paulo.

These are the most vulnerable people of all. No hygiene, social isolation or access to handouts, he said.

They go to shelters that have infected beds. City Hall's announcement of nearly two dozen deaths among those living on the streets drew outcry, but Lancellotti and other social workers believe those figures are underestimated as are Brazil's figures in general.

Latin America's hardest-hit nation officially counts more than 11,000 deaths by the virus.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, which can include fever and cough.

The risk of death is greater for older adults and people with other health problems.

Eight of the homeless victims had preexisting conditions and none died in shelters, local authorities said.

Sao Paulo has two shelters for suspected COVID-19 cases, with 40 residents in total. There are another 10 centers for the homeless in general with more than 4,400 beds, about one quarter of which are newly installed for use during the pandemic.

Marco Antonio, 45, said he won't be seeking refuge any time soon. He sells recyclables that he wheels around all day in a shopping cart and, since the outbreak began, he has been wearing gloves and a mask. And he'll share sleeping space with no more than four neighbors.

I used to stay at a shelter, but it is too many people, 400 people together. That is not viable. It is easier to get it (coronavirus) there, he said.

His concern about shelters isn't unfounded. In the city of Sao Jose do Rio Preto, 270 miles (440 kilometers) north, 27 homeless people tested positive for COVID-19 at the Casa do



Cirineu shelter for almost 100 residents.

Yet as winter draws near in the Southern Hemisphere, homeless people in Sao Paulo may have no choice but to move into shelters, said Robson Mendona, the head of a homeless movement. Once that happens, risk of contagion will grow substantially.

Most of them have nothing but one change of clothing, Mendona said. If they clean up, they will wear the same clothes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An earlier relief package, known as the Cares Act, took the rare step of treating the District like a U.S. territory instead of a state, as is usually the case with federal funding.

The District received $500 million in aid  less than half the minimum $1.25 billion guaranteed to each state  to the chagrin of lawmakers in the region who promised to fix what they called an intentional slight.

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Residents of the District pay federal taxes, and deserve the same resources as their fellow citizens in neighboring states. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement Tuesday. I urge my Republican colleagues to support this legislation and protect the health and safety of residents of the National Capital Region.

In addition to giving the District the $755 million its allies say it should have gotten earlier, the Democrats bill would allocate future funding according to the Districts city, county and state functions and make the city eligible to participate in a new Federal Reserve short-term borrowing program.

We felt special urgency to make sure the District fell back into line with how states are treated, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the Districts nonvoting representative in Congress, said in an interview.

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The Districts ultra-urban setting makes it more vulnerable to a longer pandemic than states that have suburban and rural areas to balance out the urban centers, she said.

Thats why you see the District not relaxing anything, she said, referring to efforts in parts of Virginia and Maryland to slowly begin reopening some businesses.

House Democrats $3 trillion rescue bill, known as the Heroes Act, includes funding for state and local governments, health systems and a second round of stimulus checks. It would increase food and housing assistance as well as unemployment insurance.

The legislation would be Congresss fifth coronavirus relief bill. But unlike earlier bipartisan efforts, Democrats and Republicans have not forged an agreement about what steps should be taken to bolster the nations struggling finances.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a floor speech that Senate Republicans would rather offer liability protection to businesses to prevent frivolous lawsuits.

D.C. statehood advocates applauded Democrats support, but noted funding fixes would not be necessary if Congress would make the District the 51st state.

Bo Shuff, executive director of DC Votes, said until then, residents must endure the whims of federal legislators.

Todays Heroes Act remedies the harm caused last month, he said in a statement. The 705,000 residents of D.C. deserve the same backing as every other American.

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Chief Justice of the US John Roberts and Patrick Strawbridge, an attorney for US President Donald Trump, speak via an audio feed of Supreme Court oral arguments in Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutche Bank AG, dealing with the subpoenas from the US Congress to obtain Trump's financial records, as the Court holds arguments via teleconference, due to COVID-19, known as coronavirus, as seen on a laptop in Washington, DC, May 12, 2020.

The Supreme Court appeared divided on Tuesday during arguments in a set of cases over whether President Donald Trump can shield his tax records from state and congressional investigators.

The justices considered subpoenas from Democratic-led congressional committees and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to Trump's banks and accounting firm for the president's personal and business financial records. Lower courts in Washington and New York have upheld the subpoenas.

Attorneys for the president faced skepticism from both liberals and conservatives over whether allowing Trump to keep his tax records shielded would unconstitutionally limit the power of Congress or put the president above the law.

The president's personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, who argued in the Vance case, said that Trump cannot be criminally charged by a state prosecutor while in office, much less subjected to a grand jury subpoena.

"The president isn't above the law," Justice Elena Kagan told him.

Several of the court's conservatives, though, expressed concern that rulings against Trump could open up the presidency to a wave of burdensome investigations and requests for documents.

Decisions are expected over the summer, in the midst of the bruising election battle between Trump and apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is the first major party candidate not to release his tax returns in four decades.

The nine-member court has a 5-4 conservative majority. The court's four Democratic appointees appeared skeptical of the president's arguments. The votes of Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, and Trump's two appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, could be key.

Arguments are being conducted over the phone and streamed live to the public as a result of health precautions taken to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

In the first argument of the day, over the congressional subpoenas, Roberts and Gorsuch joined the court's four Democratic appointees in pressing Trump's personal attorney Patrick Strawbridge and a Justice Department lawyer about their arguments for allowing Trump to keep the documents from investigators.

The cases involve subpoenas for Trump's financial records issued by Democratic-led congressional committees to the president's accounting firm, Mazars USA, and banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One.

The committees have said they are pursuing investigations into potential money laundering, foreign interference in U.S. politics and whether Trump has properly disclosed his assets. Attorneys for Trump have asked the Supreme Court to reject the subpoenas on the basis that House Democrats lack a legitimate reason for investigating him.

"The committees have not even tried to show any critical legislative need for the documents these subpoenas seek," Strawbridge told the justices in his opening statement.

But Gorsuch and Roberts pressed Strawbridge, as well as DOJ attorney Jeffrey Wall, on why the court should not defer to Congress on whether it has a valid reason for its subpoenas.

"Why should we not defer to the House's views about its own legislative purposes?" Gorsuch pointedly asked Strawbridge at one point. "Why is this subpoena not supported by a substantial legislative need?"

Roberts skeptically asked Wall whether the court should "be probing the mental processes of the legislators."

"Should members of House committees be subject to cross examination on why you were really seeking the documents?" Roberts asked.

Douglas Letter, an attorney for the House of Representatives, also faced skeptical questions from some of the justices over whether a loss for Trump could enable a flood of partisan investigations that could burden the presidency.

"How can we both protect the House's interest in obtaining information it needs to legislate, but also protect the presidency?" Kavanaugh, Trump's second appointee, asked at one point.

Letter emphasized that the subpoenas were not directed at the president, but instead to third parties.

"There's no way that these can interfere with the president, because he doesn't have to do anything" to respond to them, Letter said.

In its second argument of the day, the Supreme Court heard a case involving state prosecutors, rather than Congress.

Vance is investigating potential violations of state law related to hush-money payments made to two women who have alleged affairs with the president.

A federal appeals court in New York upheld the subpoenas, but Trump's attorneys argued that he is immune from criminal investigation while in office.

"No county district attorney in the nation's history has issued criminal process against the sitting president of the United States and for good reason," Sekulow said. "The Constitution does not allow it."

Roberts suggested in the case that the burden on state and local prosecutors seeking the president's records should be higher than the one imposed on Congress.

"Shouldn't there be a higher standard than in the separation of powers dispute?" Roberts asked.

The consolidated congressional cases are Trump v. Mazars, No. 19-715 and Trump v. Deutsche Bank, No. 19-760. The New York case is Trump v. Vance, No. 19-635.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed Prime Ministers Narendra Modis address on Tuesday even as the Congress said the country was disappointed speech because it failed to address the woes of millions of migrant workers.

20 Lakh crore package announced by PM Narendra Modi is biggest package India has ever seen. Aatmanirbharta (self reliance) is the new mantra, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP spokesperson said Modi motivated all Indians all to work hard to make India into a global economic power.

But the Congress disagreed.

Dear PM, What you said today gives the country and the media a HEADLINE. When the blank page is filled with Heartfelt Help of People, the Nation & Congress Party will respond, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

Dear PM, The mammoth heart breaking human tragedy of migrant workers walking back home needed compassion, care & safe return. India is deeply disappointed by your utter lack of empathy, sensitivity & failure to address the woes of millions of #MigrantWorkers! he said in another tweet.

Earlier, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi urged the Prime Minister to ensure safe return of lakhs of labourers to their homes and deposit at least Rs 7,500 in their accounts.

He also urged the Prime Minister to announce an economic package for the small and medium industry to ensure their livelihoods.

Prime Minister ji, I request you to announce steps on the safe return of lakhs of labourer brothers and sisters, who are walking on the streets, to their homes. Along with this, to give support to them in this time of crisis, ensure direct transfer of at least Rs 7,500 to the accounts of all of them, he tweeted in Hindi minutes before Modis address to the nation.

The Trinamool Congress demanded more details of the package and steps for migrant labourers. The partys Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O Brien said, We saw the wrapping paper but we dont know whats inside the package. Because he didnt announce the details. How will this money be raised, will the government borrow, will it raise taxes? The devil lies in the details of the package, for which we have to wait for one or two more days.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav dubbed the speech unfortunate and said the speech should have had addressed the distress of migrant workers.
Rio de Janeiro: Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

The movements of Brazilians have been completely restricted in fewer than two dozen cities scattered across the vast nation of 211 million - even though Brazil's death toll stands at more than 11,000, Latin America's highest.

A city worker puts face masks on the "Monumento as Bandeiras Bandeiras," a monument in honour of Brazil's colonisers by Italian-Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret, in Sao Paulo. Credit:AP

While public health experts are demanding bolder action, most governors and mayors have not imposed mandatory stay-at-home orders. Their apparent reluctance comes amid Bolsonaro's relentless message for Brazilians to defy regional and local public health efforts to stop the virus' spread.

Stricter lockdowns are needed because Brazilian doctors are now being forced to choose who lives and dies and triage situations could generate social unrest if they increase, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's non-profit Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials.
The furlough scheme to support workers through the coronavirus crisis is being extended to the end of October, but employers will be asked to bear a share of the cost of paying staff up to 80 per cent of wages while they are not working, chancellor Rishi Sunak has told the House of Commons.

Mr Sunak said that additional flexibility will be built into the scheme to allow a part-time return to work over the summer, but the Treasury is not planning to reveal precise details of how this will work and how much employers will have to pay until the end of May.

It raises the prospect that businesses like pubs and nightclubs could be told to contribute towards staff salaries despite being barred by the government from opening for business.

Labour demanded immediate clarity on the cost to employers, warning of the danger of mass redundancies at the start of August if they are suddenly required to pay substantial sums to keep on workers who they would otherwise have been laid off during the lockdown.

Mr Sunak said that the job-retention scheme had been a world-leading economic intervention, supporting 7.5 million jobs in almost 1 million businesses with payments totalling 10bn so far.

The scheme had been due to be wound down after four months in operation at the end of June, and todays announcement means employers will not be forced this week to send out mass redundancy notices for that date.

Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Show all 30 1 /30 Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Shoppers observe a minute's silence in Tescos in Shoreham Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Firefighters outside Godstone fire station PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute's silence at University College Hospital in London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A school children's poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A man holds a placard that reads "People's health before profit" outside St Thomas hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus University College Hospital, London Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute's silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London An NHS worker observes a minute's silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London AFP via Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Belfast, Northern Ireland NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Plymouth NHS workers hold a minute's silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Mater Infirmorum Hospital People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Waterloo Station, London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy's Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Royal Derby Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Leicester, NHS workers during a minute's silence outside Glenfield Hospital Getty

Treasury sources declined to put an estimate on the cost of extending the scheme by a further four months. But the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank said that it brought the total outlay up to 60bn by the end of July, with further costs beyond that date dependent on the exact design of the scheme in the following three months.

Mr Sunak told the House of Commons the scheme will continue unchanged to the end of July, adding: Then from August to October, the scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the UK, with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part time. And we will ask employers to start sharing with the government the cost of paying peoples salaries.

Full details will follow by the end of May, but I want to assure people today of one thing that wont change  workers will, through the combined efforts of government and employers, continue to receive the same level of overall support as they do now, at 80 per cent of their current salary up to 2,500 a month.

Mr Sunaks announcement was welcomed as a huge relief for businesses across the UK by the British Chambers of Commerce, while the Institute of Directors (IoD) said a part-time furlough will provide a much-needed launch ramp so businesses can start to get back up to speed.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said the job retention scheme had prevented as many as 4 million redundancies and allowing it to lapse at the end of June would have made it no more than a waiting room for unemployment.

But IoD director of policy Edwin Morgan said: We now need further clarity around employers contributions. Many firms that would normally be on strong footing are still in dire straits.

The extension puts yet more onus on helping those who have been left out in the cold. Countless small-company directors have found scant support, and government shouldnt turn a blind eye to them.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said Mr Sunak was right not to pull away the furlough scheme, which was a lifeline for millions.

But she warned: The government must clarify today when employers will be required to start making contributions, and how much theyll be asked to pay. If every business is suddenly required to make a substantial contribution from 1 August onwards, there is a very real risk that we will see mass redundancies.

TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said the extension of furlough would be a big relief for millions and maintaining payments at 80 per cent  rather than cutting them to 60 per cent, as many had expected  was a win for the pay packets of working families.

She added: As the economic consequences of Covid-19 become clear, unions will keep pushing for a job-guarantee scheme to make sure everyone has a decent job.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is significantly expanding public and private testing for deadly COVID-19 to include anyone who wants to be tested, even if theyre not showing any symptoms.

Dawn Emerick, Metro Health director, said the expansion will improve a local database being used to contain the disease. There are people in the community who are infected but dont know it, she said.

This is why we keep talking about masks, Emerick said at Mondays daily city-county briefing. Were doing it because this is a real situation, still. Pre-symptomatics who are exposing people and dont know it, and you have the asymptomatics who will never develop symptoms and could be exposing.

So please wear your masks, she said, in places where physical distancing is difficult. This is not about inconveniencing you. This is really about keeping our numbers down and keeping people safe, and keeping you safe.

On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County mulling best ways to spend federal COVID-19 aid

At the briefing, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said 1,920 people have now tested positive, up from 1,901 reported Sunday. More than 30,000 people have been tested countywide, Emerick said.

With the death Sunday of Dorothy Davis, 60, a nurse at Southeast Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, the number of area residents who have died because of COVID-19 rose to 57.

Those with COVID-19 in the hospital jumped from 61 on Sunday to 63 on Monday; of those, 44 were in intensive care Monday compared to 37 on Sunday and 26 were using ventilators compared to 22, the mayor said. That still left 77 percent of ventilators citywide available for use.

Emerick said people older than 60 and with underlying health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension are good candidates to be tested, even if theyre showing no symptoms. Metro Health has been testing healthcare workers and first responders without symptoms since the early days of the pandemic.

Metro Health also is randomly testing 385 families to study prevalence of COVID-positive individuals who show no symptoms, but has made expansion of testing to include asymptomatic people a priority.

Emerick noted that allowing for the testing of people without symptoms isnt a directive to private providers. Metro Health is giving guidance to doctors and clinics that if supplies are limited, testing should be prioritized based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clearly, if you can only do 25 tests a day in a providers office, maybe you dont want to test everyone, Emerick said.

Local health care providers, drive-thru locations and the San Antonio Fire Departments Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program (MIH) continue to partner to bring the community accessible testing at no cost, while prioritizing underserved communities, Metro Health said in a news release.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said hes glad Metro Health is making the asymptomatic testing available to risks groups, since its not feasible to test everyone in the county.

The fact of the matter is its impossible to test 2 million people, Wolff said.

On ExpressNews.com: No sign of respite from COVID-19 at Bexar County Jail

Although 978 people in Bexar County have been listed as recovered from COVID-19, Emerick cautioned against assuming all of those individuals are or will be just as healthy as they were before they were infected.

Media reports have stated some survivors of the disease have had at least temporary lung damage. But Emerick said Metro Health typically doesnt have much contact with patients once they have recovered.

I have read, and I have seen, some of the information that is coming out about the devastating long-term effects of COVID, she said Monday. Its still a little too soon to make any type of conclusions on that, but were clearly watching it.

Call 311 to arrange to be tested, or call the COVID-19 hotline for more information at 210-207-5779 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays; 8 a.m. and noon Saturday or Sunday.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth Analysis and Data-driven Insights on the Impact of COVID-19 Included in this Global Hospital Beds Market Report



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05893055/?utm_source=PRN



The global hospital beds market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during the period 20192025.



With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital admissions across the world are growing at an alarming rate, which is fueling the demand for hospital beds. The pandemic has affected more than 200 countries, with around 2 million infected across the globe. The number is growing at a rapid rate. Developed countries such as the US, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy with standard healthcare infrastructure are the worst hit with high infection and mortality rates. The hospital bed US market is witnessing a scarcity of beds due to the increase in coronavirus cases, which have increased admissions in the region. As the infection is highly contagious, patients need to be kept in isolation medical wards that are increasing the demand for medical beds. As the destruction caused by the virus has been growing unabatedly since its eruption, healthcare facilities are using advanced medical facilities for critically ill patients to monitors vital signs, provide mobility and comfort to the patient population, which is expected to drive the demand for hospital beds during the forecast period.



The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the hospital beds market during the forecast period:

 Increasing Demand for Hospital Beds in Home Care Settings

 Surge in Hospital Beds from COVID-19 affected Countries

 Favorable Government Initiatives & Establishment of New Hospitals



The study considers the present scenario of the hospital beds market and its market dynamics for the period 2019?2025. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The study offers both the demand and supply aspect of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the market.



HOSPITAL BEDS MARKET SEGMENTATION

The hospital beds research report includes detailed market segmentation by product, application, care, end-user, and geography. The electrical hospital beds market is dominating and growing at a significant rate during the forecast period. One of the major reasons for the growth of the segment is the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is boosting the demand to treat critically ill patients. Patients suffering from mobility challenges are increasingly using full-electrical hospital beds. Also, the availability of quick assistance with smart features is driving the demand in medical emergency rooms. While there is a surge in efforts to revamp the healthcare sector across the world, the development of increasing multi-specialty and private hospitals is aiding the demand for full-electric models as they are equipped with advanced easy handling features.



As hospital ICU beds are growing at a faster CAGR than non-intensive ones, the latter segment is likely to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. However, the tremendous growth opportunities for intensive care beds can be attributed to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and patient admissions in critical care settings. With the rise in admissions in critical care settings/ICUs, healthcare facilities across the world are prioritizing to increase the number of ICU beds. This segment accounted for a 73% share in the growth of the hospital beds market in 2019. As the world is struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has already pushed medical centers capacity to the breaking point in many countries. The availability of ICU beds varies substantially across countries, ranging from less than 1 to greater than 30 per 100,000 people. The French market is one of the major end-users in the European intensive care market on account of the growing elderly population and the increasing target patient population. Also, the smart hospital beds market size is witnessing an increase in the growing popularity of smart homes.



The curative segment accounted for 78% of the hospital bed market value in 2019. The increasing cancer prevalence is increasing hospital admissions, which in turn is boosting the demand for specialized beds in curative settings. Curative care aims to cure the patient and not reduce pain, discomfort, or anxiety. Also, curative care includes the treatment for bacterial infections, radiation therapy for cancer, cast for a broken limb, dialysis treatment, which require specialized hospital bed mattress, thereby increasing the preference for smart and automated models.



The availability of skilled healthcare professionals with knowledge and expertise in handling specialized hospital beds is driving the demand in the hospital segment. In Addition to it, the accessibility to advanced equipment in the intense care units and emergency departments, coupled with the increasing chronic disease prevalence globally, is also driving the demand. The home healthcare segment is experiencing growth due to the increasing elderly population, and other patient community that opts for home healthcare settings. The increasing facility of free hospital beds for elderly population is boosting the demand for home healthcare systems, as these patients require regular medical assistance.



Market Segmentation by Product

 Full-Electric Beds

 Semi-electric Beds

 Manual Beds

Market Segmentation by Application

 Intensive Care Beds

 Non-intensive Beds

Market Segmentation by Care

 Hospitals

 Curative

 Long-terms

 Rehabilitative

 Others

o Psychiatric care beds

o Palliative Care Beds

Market Segmentation by End-user

 Hospitals

 Home Healthcare Settings

 Nursing Homes

 Others

o Ambulatory Settings

o Academic Institutes

o Rehabilitation Centers



Insights by Geography



The market dominance of Europe is majorly due to the rising incidence of chronic diseases and the improvement in the healthcare infrastructure. The region is witnessing an increase in the average life expectancy rate, which is fueling the rise in the prevalence of various diseases, thereby contributing to the increase in hospital admissions. Owing to an increase in admissions, healthcare providers need a wide range of offerings ranging from ICU, general ward, home care, and rehabilitation & psychiatry beds. The North American region is majorly driven on account of the increase in the elderly population, moderate increase in the ICU admission, and availability of advanced technology for remote patient monitoring, and advanced home care technology. China is the most prominent market in the APAC region. The country is the major revenue contributor due to the presence of a large pool of patients that use technologically advanced hospital beds. Factors such as improvement in living standards, the prevalence of chronic ailments, and the growth in cardiovascular diseases in India and China are likely to boost hospital admissions.



Market Segmentation by Geography

 Europe

o Spain

o Germany

o Italy

o France

o UK

o Russia

 North America

o US

o Canada

 APAC

o South Korea

o China

o Japan

o Australia

o India

 Latin America

o Brazil

o Mexico

o Argentina

o Columbia

o Chile

 MEA

o Turkey

o South Africa

o Iran

o Saudi Arabia



INSIGHTS BY VENDORS



The global hospital beds market is moderately fragmented. Large corporations dominate the industry; however, there are significant growth opportunities for new entrants. Several investigational and small med-tech companies are entering the industry with their innovative products and technology. The market offers tremendous growth opportunities for existing as well as emerging market players due to the presence of a large pool of patients with chronic diseases. These hospital bed companies have a wide geographical reach, diversified product portfolio, and a strong focus on innovation and research activities. Stryker hospital bed market share is likely to increase as the company has taken a few measures/initiatives to enhance the supply chain and increase production capabilities due to the outbreak of COVID-19.



Key Vendors

 Stryker

 Invacare

 Paramount Bed Holdings

 Medline Industries

 LINET spol

 Hill-Rom Holdings

 Getinge

 Stiegelmeyer Group

Other Vendors

 Gendron

 Savion Industries

 Favero Health Projects

 Joerns Healthcare

 Malvestio Group

 MESPA

 Famed ?ywiec

 Antano Group

 HIDEMAR

 HEBEI PUKANG MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS

 Sichuan Yufeng Medical Equipment

 Jiangsu Saikang Medical Equipment

 Zhangjiagang Medi Medical Equipment

 PROMA REHA

 Besco Medical

 Missaglia Spa

 JMS - Mobiliario Hospitalar

 Tenko Group

 Timo d.o.o.

 Guangdong Kareway Medical Technology

 BiHealthcare (Zhangjiagang Braun Industry)

 HOSPIMETAL

 WUJIANG EVERGREEN EX/IM

 Strongman Medline

 Span-America

 Ningbo Hecai Medical Equipment

 Jiangsu Aegean Medical Group

 NITROCARE

 Dixion Vertrieb medizinischer Gerate

 Joson-Care Enterprise

 HI-LIFE TECHNOLOGY

 Hopefull Medical Equipment



KEY MARKET INSIGHTS

The hospital beds market report provides sizing and growth opportunities for the period 20192025.

 Offers size of hospital beds market and growth prospects for the forecast period 20202025.

 Provides comprehensive insights on the latest industry trends, forecast, and growth drivers in the market.

 Includes insights on the hospital bed market analysis, growth drivers, challenges, and investment opportunities.

 Delivers a complete overview of segments and the regional outlook of the market.

 Offers an exhaustive summary of the vendor landscape, competitive analysis, and key market strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the market.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05893055/?utm_source=PRN



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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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While Russian President Vladimir Putins face has  for now  been removed from a mosaic in the new Russian Defence Ministry Cathedral, mass murderer Joseph Stalin remains. This is our history, the Deputy Minister of Defence claims, and what is there to be ashamed of?

If you listen to Andrei Kartapolov and watch only Russian state-controlled media, then this would all seem quite normal. In Kartapolovs words, this was a man who took upon himself all the burden of the war, made the most important decisions. Yes, and in general reinstated religion. Why should we be ashamed of him? Because some people from abroad tell us to? We will decide ourselves who to honour, who to portray on frescos. They remove monuments to the victors because they are afraid of historical truth, they are afraid of dead Soviet marshals and soldiers. At the same time, they understand how disgustingly they are behaving and how great the feat of the fighters and commanders who perished so that they could now live. They are tormented by shame for their inadequacy because they are fighting memorials. We will not do this. We are a great nation and we have the right to our heroes.

The Deputy Defence Ministers interview was published two days before the Russian prosecutor in Tver ordered the dismantling of memorial plaques honouring the victims of Stalins Terror and of the Katyn Massacre, when the Soviet NKVD, on the orders of Stalins deputy, executed 22 thousand Polish officers and others, taken prisoner after the USSR invaded Poland on 17 September 1939. Those memorials, like the mass graves of victims of the Terror at Sandarmokh and the Gulag museum at Perm-36, are destroyed or the facts about them distorted in Putins Russia with impunity. It is the memorials, erected by force, in the countries that the Soviet Union liberated from the Nazis, only to subjugate, that Russia is now defending.

As the current regime is defending Stalin, a sadist, mass murderer and invader, who collaborated with Adolf Hitler for close on the first two years of World War II. Had it not been for crucial material, petrol, etc. that the USSR was supplying to Nazi Germany right up to the latters invasion of Soviet Ukraine on 22 June 1941, Hitler might have found it harder to overrun so much of Europe. Had it not been for Stalins insane, as well as evil, purges of the military on the eve of the War, and even after the Nazi invasion, far less Soviet soldiers and civilians would have perished in the War.

These are facts, however few Russian these days have much chance of learning them. It is the myth around the Soviet war effort under the wise command of Stalin that Russians learn about.

Nor is it particularly safe to try to establish the truth. Reposting a picture in which Putin is likened to Hitler because both began with the Olympics; both invaded Ukraine and both shamed their countries before the entire world can get you jailed for three days in Putins Russia, while reposting the correct statement that the USSR invaded Poland in 1939 can lead to a huge fine. Not to mention the fact that Yuri Dmitriev, historian of the Terror, has been in prison for three and a half years, as was Sergei Koltyrin, another historian, researching Stalins crimes, until his death on 2 April 2020.

Systematic rehabilitation of the bloody dictator began back in 2007. After a speech given by Putin to teachers in June 2007, a manual by Alexander Filippov appeared, describing Stalin as one of the most successful leaders of the USSR. Stalins aim in both domestic and foreign policy, it was stated, had been the restoration of the Russian Empire. The purges had led to the formation of a new governing class, able to cope with the task of modernization given the shortage of resources  unwaveringly loyal to the upper echelons of power and irreproachable from the point of view of executive discipline. It was material like this that by October that year made Putin welcome certain positive moves, noting that up till quite recently we read things in textbooks that made our hair stand on end

In July 2015, as a new Stalin museum and monument were unveiled in Tver, an article was published by Russias Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky in which he effectively defended Stalins role in the countrys history. In August 2016, Putin appointed Olga Vasilyeva, an apologist for Stalin, as Education Minister.

Now it seems clear that other apologists head the Russian Defence Ministry, since Katapolov would not be speaking like this if he did not have the support of his superiors. It is immensely disturbing that all of this monstrous lie has the support of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is tolerating the desecration of a Cathedral with images of Stalin and glorifying Russias invasion and annexation of Crimea. Although the publicity over the Crimea is ours! mosaic, with Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian invaders of Crimea, led to the mosaic being removed from the wall, this is likely only temporary, and another image, celebrating Russias illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, is to replace it.

Katapolovs assertion that Stalin reinstated religion is a cynical lie. Yes, in 1941, after understanding that his ally Hitler had treacherously betrayed him by invading the USSR, Stalin addressed the Soviet people he had been persecuting and murdering with the words Brothers and sisters, and he allowed churches to reopen. The churches that his regime had destroyed, while also murdering hundreds of thousands of religious figures, or sending them to labour camps.

While the Deputy Defence Minister claimed that the Cathedrals location (in Moscow region) marks the place where the Nazi advance on Moscow was stopped, the site is also linked with Russias annexation of Crimea. Kubinka is where the 46th paratroopers brigade which seized control of the Crimean parliament on 27 February 2014 is based.

Although there were always Crimean communists (in particular) who glorified Stalin, it is under Russian occupation that the mass murderer, guilty for the Deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar people, Holodomor and countless heinous crimes, is increasingly seen on posters, etc. Within a year of annexation, a monument to Stalin and the leaders of Great Britain and the USA had been erected in the place where the men signed the Yalta Agreement, and a memorial plaque had been established on a facade in Simferopol. This is while Crimean Tatars have been prohibited from holding remembrance events to honour the victims of the Deportation, a horrific act of genocide.

Read the full story here.
May 12, 2020





Software development companies handle a lot of things  they provide infrastructure (such as databases and more) and cloud computing services, and also develop applications and websites.

Outsourcing a software development company is better from the perspective of the head of a company than buying and maintaining databases and hiring a whole IT crew. What should be taken into consideration while deciding on "the one" software development company?







Reviews and recommendations

The ideal company you finally choose should offer professional services, have an experienced staff, be affordable while still being cost-efficient, and perfectly suit the needs of your company. But how to know all of those things about a company that we have never had contact with before? Well, that is when the reviews and recommendations come into play. Reviews should be sought on independent websites while the recommendations from previews customers can be sent to you by the company you are interested in.

Onshoring, offshoring, nearshoring

The choice of a software development company should be based also on the decision about where your partner would have their headquarters. Because software development is something that is done remotely, most of the time there is no need for the software development company to be near you. That is why you can outsource company:

- onshore, which means that the company would be placed within the borders of your country;

- nearshore, which means that the company would be located outside the country, but still near its borders;

- offshore, which means that the company can be even located on the other continent.

Offshoring can help to reduce the costs of software development services without deterioration in quality. But still, keeping that in mind, you need some knowledge about where to look for the best offshoring companies. Studies show that the best offshoring software development companies are located in Poland. So Poland should be the place to seek fine, cost-efficient services.

The importance of proper communication

Of course, when you decide to outsource an offshoring software development company, there is a possibility of misunderstandings occurring. That is why, before you make the final decision, you should talk to the representatives of the company to see whether they use comprehensive language to communicate with their customers. What that means is that not only should they use proper English, but also that they should avoid using too many technical phrases that are not understandable to people from outside the industry.

Customer service

The best software development companies do not only develop software but also offer expertise on the topic, keep in touch with their customers, and maintain the whole project even after it is finished, implemented and launched. People that, for example, wrote an application are the most qualified people to update it and improve it as time passes. That is why you should seek this kind of partnership with a software development company.

This article was written in collaboration with www.Polidea.com a software development company.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- New York City will extend health insurance coverage for families of essential city workers who died from the coronavirus for 45 days.

At least 260 public servants including police officers, correction officers, teachers, EMTs, doctors and nurses have died from the virus, de Blasio said over the weekend as he announced the citys health insurance extension.

The mayor said the extension would give families of municipal workers a piece of security right now as they're dealing with so much else.

But he called on the federal government to help the city provide death benefits to its essential municipal workers in the form of a new stimulus bill.

There is a much bigger effort that we hope to achieve with partners all over the city, all over the country in getting much deeper benefits for public employees and for all essential workers included in the next federal stimulus bill, he told reporters during a press conference Sunday.

I'm hearing some good signs that the Congress is moving in that direction, but we still need to see more and obviously we need to see that bill voted out, but I'm more hopeful that we're going to see something really significant in that stimulus legislation. In the meantime, we want to help these families right away with this health insurance extension, he said.

The citys latest decision to extend benefits to the surviving family members of city employees comes as Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) has been calling on the city to provide line of duty death benefits to anyone with a city contract who is deemed an essential worker.

At the same time, State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore) has been working in the state Legislature to secure benefits for surviving family members of essential workers in both the public and private sectors.

Savino said she thinks the measure is unlikely to pass before the state Legislature ends its legislative session in June because lawmakers are unclear about the full scope of the issue. She called de Blasios decision to extend health insurance the least he can do.

Until the state Legislature figures out a solution, Borelli had called on de Blasio to sign an executive order granting surviving family members health benefits.

I think it will be a couple of months before the state legislature acts so the real need is to do something until either the state Legislature acts or until the pension systems decides to award line of duty benefits on their own, Borelli said.

This is no new money thats being spent, Borelli said. These are families that would have been covered had their spouse not died. Had their spouse not had to work they probably would not be dead, theres no new money that needs to go to these families, these are families that we were already budgeting on paying their health benefits.

Correction: A previous version of this story said State Sen. Diane Savino predicted the measure she is working on would likely pass before the State Legislature ends its legislative session in June. However, she later said the measure is unlikely to pass before June. This story has been updated to reflect the change.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***
Maharashtra Health Minister



Rajesh Tope on Tuesday held a review meeting with officials of Maharashtra's Aurangabad district which has 653 COVID-19 cases.

Collector Uday Choudhuri said a team of doctors has been set up under the GMCH dean Dr K Yelikar to monitor the situation.

Among the other issues discussed at the meeting were the setting up of a super specialty wing of the Government Medical College and Hospital here, officials said.

While AIMIM Lok Sabha MP Imtiaz Jaleel demanded that private labs be allowed to test for coronavirus, BJP's Haribhau Bagade and Rajya Sabha MP Bhagwat Karat demanded stricter implementation of the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Photo credit: Kensington Palace

From Town & Country

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, members of the royal family have been making video calls and sending messages of support to frontline workers and charities. And today, they have joined forces to pay tribute to nurses on International Nurses Day, releasing a touching video featuring multiple family members.

The Queen led the tributes with a phone call to Professor Kathleen McCourt, President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing. This is rather an important day, the Queen said, describing the fact that nurses have had a very important part to play recently.

Prince Charles also provided a message for the video thanking nurses across the world alongside the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Anne, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Alexandra.

Kate and Sophie joined forces making video calls to nurses in seven Commonwealth countries. "Their Royal Highnesses dialled into a call with nurses in Queensland, Australia who provide culturally appropriate services to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and spoke to nurses at the Aberdeen Womens Centre in Sierra Leone and LV Prasad Eye Institute in India  both of which The Countess of Wessex has previously visited," a statement from Kensington Palace said.

It also noted how the royal duo "spoke with the Apollo Hospital in India, HIV and maternal health nurses in Malawi, mental health nurses in the Bahamas, Army nurses in Cyprus, and paediatric nurses from the UKs Evelina London Childrens Hospital and Community Services, of which The Duchess of Cambridge is Patron."

Photo credit: Kensington Palace

The Duchess of Cornwall recorded messages of support for nurses from the Royal Naval Medical Service and Roald Dahls Marvellous Children Charity; Prince William talked to nurses at The Royal Marsden; Princess Anne video called Tanzania to speak with the Programme Manager of a medical ship that provides facilities for those with little or no access to medical care; and Princess Alexandra spoke with the head of the Naval Nursing Service.



Story continues

Kate has also written a letter to Nursing Now thanking the campaign, of which she is patron, for what they are doing to raise the status and profile of nurses and support them at this difficult time.

This international crisis has brought into sharp focus how much the global community relies on nurses and all healthcare professionals and it is clear that we will need to continue to champion the nursing profession long after the pandemic has ended, the Duchess wrote. I am here to support you in the future.

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As Alabamas gyms, barbershops and dining rooms began to reopen on Monday, a UAB doctor was quarantining at his apartment after enduring COVID-19 symptoms the past few weeks.

Dr. Brandon White was walking out of UAB Hospital after contracting the coronavirus in April when Gov. Kay Ivey loosened safer at home restrictions to allow salons, churches and other businesses to reopen with some limits.

White, an ICU doctor at UAB Medical West in Bessemer who has also provided more than 4,280 meals for medical workers through his charity BHMCares, didnt think it was right to reopen the state. While White said he doesnt speak for UAB, Alabama reached 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases the same day it started to slowly reopen.

I think its a horrible idea. Its too soon. We are still seeing the number of cases go up. We arent seeing the number of cases go down, White said. As a person who is on the go almost 24/7, I understand it is miserable being at home. I had the unique experience of having the disease, and just seeing how severe it can be as someone who is pretty healthy, its a nightmare.

White admits he wants to be neutral, but it is hard.

He has a heart for healthcare and partners with a restaurant every day through BHMcares. Customers can call that restaurants number to donate funds that will be used to make meals for Birminghams medical workers. White said his friends have been operating the charity since he has been sick.

While he is no longer delivering meals for now, he is still endorsing the restaurants deciding to keep their dining room doors closed despite the governors announcement allowing dining rooms to open with restrictions.

Ive been promoting those places and saying, Thank you for being responsible and listening to the data and not just an angry mob saying we have to open, White said. Which, I get that. I understand. But what good does it do to open if half of the customers die?

As of Monday, the Alabama Department of Public Health, 1,390 healthcare workers at hospitals and doctors offices tested positive for the coronavirus, which is 30 more than Saturday.

White said he started feeling fatigued on Wednesday, April 22, but thought the exhaustion the result of working 16, 17 and sometimes 18-hour shifts. Fevers and chills set in the next day. He went to a drive-thru coronavirus testing site that Friday. As a doctor helps many COVID-19 patients before, he was aware of the virus symptoms, but he stayed at home because he didnt experience any breathing problems at first.

But that quickly changed the next few days, he said. He started experiencing fevers so high his sweat would frequently soak his clothes. He was then sent to the COVID-19 isolation unit at the same hospital where he works because it was becoming hard for him to walk short distances without struggling to breathe.

I had chills so bad that it felt like my teeth were going to crack sometimes from the shaking and shivering, White said. Ive had my share of medical problems in my life, but Ive never had anything like this.

After being admitted to UAB West, White said his oxygen levels continued to drop and his fever became progressively worse. He was transported to ICU at UAB Hospital in downtown Birmingham.

Im 42 and I have no chronic medical conditions. The fact that, despite getting treatment, I was getting worse was the most concerning to me, White said.

At UAB Hospital, White received convalescent plasma, which is a treatment using the blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients. This plasma already has antibodies that can help build up the immune system in a sick patient who has not yet developed the antibodies to fight the virus. He started to feel better about a day after receiving the plasma. He was moved from the ICU unit to UAB Hospitals COVID-19 isolation unit, where he remained until Friday.

White has been fever-free since Wednesday. His sense of smell is slowly coming back, but everything still tastes the same. His body is still sore from the virus and he is still getting used to knowing what day it is. Time gets blurry when you are in ICU, where there isnt any outside light, he said.

The florescent lights are always on and like most ICUs the rooms are mostly glass so the nurses can see you all the time. You never get a break from the light. Its just 70 degrees and florescent 24/7, White said. It was weird to be in the hospital where I work and being taken care of by my coworkers. Its not anything I would have expected.

White hopes to return to work sometime next week. The last time he spoke to AL.com concerning his work in starting BHMCares, White said he was wearing the same N-95 mask multiple times. While he still wishes he could get more flexibility when it comes to how long hospital staff uses masks, White doesnt feel like his life is in danger.

That can change if people dont continue to follow guidelines set by the Centers of Disease Control and prevention. White believes these actions could cause a second wave of coronavirus cases that could overburden health care facilities and strangle a strained medical supply chain.

If people dont continue to social distance or dont wear masks in public as the weather starts getting warm and people start to get out and the restrictions are being eased up, I am really concerned about that second wave. Thats when we will start to see troubles with supplies, White said.

BHMcares is still growing both in meals and partnerships. A charity that started with about seven restaurants has now partnered with about 73 restaurants which offered to donate food to medical workers in the Birmingham area. White said the charity will continue to go for as long as it can and will help all the restaurants on its list. But BHMcares will prioritize the restaurants deciding not to open their dining rooms, which White said is the right thing to do.

If they are going to make that extra effort to try to protect the public and their customers even when they dont have to, then I think those are the people we should be focusing our efforts on," White said.

"I want to help as many people as possible, He continued. But if those are the folks who are going to make the extra effort to keep everybody safe, then the healthcare side of me cant ignore that and say, Well, lets send our deliver person to this restaurant thats got 25 people in the dining room and they are doing business as usual. Lets help the people still doing curbside.
A top world health official Monday warned that countries are essentially driving blind in reopening their economies without setting up strong contact tracing to beat back flare-ups of the coronavirus.

The warning came as France and Belgium emerged from lockdowns, the Netherlands sent children back to school, and many US states pressed ahead by lifting business restrictions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the company's 10,000-worker electric car factory near San Francisco was operating Monday in defiance of coronavirus health orders that closed nonessential businesses.

Authorities have cautioned that the scourge could come back with a vengeance without widespread testing and tracing of infected people's contacts with others.

Fears of infection spikes in countries that have loosened up came true in recent days in Germany, where new clusters were linked to three slaughterhouses; in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the crisis started; and in South Korea, where 85 new cases were linked to nightclubs that reopened after anti-virus measures were eased.

The World Health Organization's emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said that robust contact tracing measures adopted by Germany and South Korea provide hope that those countries can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control.

But he said other nations exiting lockdowns have not effectively employed contact tracing investigators who contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.

The coronavirus can spread before people feel sick, making it important to act quickly. Ryan declined to name specific countries.

Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I've seen, Ryan said.

And I'm really concerned that certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.

At the White House, President Donald Trump declared: We have met the moment, and we have prevailed.

He said later that he was referring to virus testing and insisted all Americans who want tests can get them even though experts say that capacity does not exist.

Only on Monday did his administration say it believed it had enough tests for a nationwide testing campaign to address significant death rates in nursing homes and other senior care facilities.

Worldwide, the virus has infected a confirmed 4.1 million people and killed more than 285,000, including over 150,000 in Europe and 80,000 in the U.S., according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Experts believe those numbers understate the outbreak's true toll.

More than 10,000 people are involved in contact tracing in Germany, a country of 83 million, or about one-quarter the size of the United States.

Britain abandoned an initial contact-tracing effort in March when the virus's rapid spread made it impossible. Now it is recruiting 18,000 people.

France's health minister has promised robust contact tracing and pledged the country would test 700,000 people weekly.

On Monday, with progress unclear, the nation's highest court ordered the government to take extreme care in protecting privacy rights, casting doubt on how to proceed.

In the U.S., where health officials will watch closely in coming days for any resurgence of the virus two weeks after states began gradually reopening, contact tracing is a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels.

States are hiring and tracing contact tracers, and experts say hundreds of thousands will be needed across the country.

Apple, Google, some US states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone crossed paths with an infected person.

But the technology supplements and does not replace labour-intensive human work, experts say.

Massachusetts is training more than 1,000 contact tracers aided by software.

In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., New York, contact tracers began online training Monday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said some upstate areas can ease restrictions after Friday.

Meantime, a new study indicates that New York City's death toll from the coronavirus may be thousands of fatalities more than the official tally.

Between mid-March and early May, about 24,000 more people died in the city than researchers would ordinarily expect that time of year, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis said.

That's about 5,300 more deaths than previously attributed to the virus for the period.

The excess deaths could have been caused indirectly by the outbreak, in some cases by swamping the health care system and delaying lifesaving care for other health problems, the report said.

Another new CDC report showed how difficult and time-consuming it is to track virus cases.

The analysis of California efforts in the early days of the U.S. outbreak found that contacting travelers from China and Iran consumed nearly 1,700 hours of time by local authorities and still didn't stop the virus from entering the state.

In loosening up their country's lockdown, German authorities have spelled out a specific level of infection that could lead to the reimposition of local area restrictions.

Other countries and U.S. states have been vague about what would be enough to trigger another clampdown.

With Monday's partial reopening in France, crowds formed at some Paris Metro stations, but the city's notorious traffic jams were absent. Half the stores on the Champs-Elysees were open.

Parisian hairdressers planned to charge a fee for the disposable protective gear they must give customers.

Walk-ins will be a thing of the past, said Brigitte L'Hoste, manager of the Hair de Beaut salon.

The face of beauty will change, meaning clients won't come here to relax. Clients will come because they need to," said Aurelie Bollini, a beautician at the salon.

"They will come and aim at getting the maximum done in the shortest time possible.

Hair salons in Florida contended with tight regulations and pent-up demand as they reopened across much of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation once again addressed the nation as India headed toward the fourth phase of lockdown and relaxation of restrictions despite a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The speech, which began at 8 pm and went on till 8.30 pm, was much awaited by citizens across the country.

In his address, the Prime Minister announced a Rs 20 lakh crore relief package under "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan", aimed at helping the country become self-sufficient and get back on track following the coronavirus crisis.

However, many on Twitter objected to the fact that the entire speech was in Hindi. And extremely tough and verbose Hindi, at that.

In the course of the speech, the PM used several Hindi words that are not only obscure and used sparingly, but also tough to pronounce even for Hindi speakers.

Within minutes of the speech, Google was flooded with searches for Hindi words like "atmanirbhar" (self-reliant) and other jaw-breakers.

Twitter was flooded with jokes and memes with confused Indians turning to humour to express their woes. Many non-Hindi speaking netizens claimed they did not understand a word of the speech while others called it a lesson in Hindi.

me, every time modi ji addresses the nation pic.twitter.com/kpKQuf5sP1  Akshar (@AksharPathak) May 12, 2020

People in Tamil Nadu trying to understand this speech pic.twitter.com/Coc4HiW9Rm  Shridhar V (@iimcomic) May 12, 2020

In One speech, Modi ji already taught History Philosophy Economics Supply chain management Hindi  Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) May 12, 2020

What is the minimum level of Hindi Pracharasabha you need to have passed to understand this  Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) May 12, 2020

Aatma nirbhar is Hindi version of Make In India...hopefully it will not meet the same fate   :)  (@Komal_Indian) May 12, 2020

Either Modi ji is too Hindi or im too South Indian. Phew. Struggling to understand.  Danish Sait (@DanishSait) May 12, 2020
She is known for showing off her figure in sizzling snaps.

And Lauren Goodger proved her famous curves never have a day off as she stepped out in Essex in low-key black loungewear on Monday.

The TOWIE star, 33, was sure not to betray her beloved designer style as she paired her look with a 1,330 Louis Vuitton Multi Pochette Accessoires Monogram crossbody bag, 612 Yeezy trainers and her 150 Balenciaga phone case.

Hot stuff: Lauren Goodger proved her famous curves never have a day off as she stepped out in Essex in low-key black loungewear on Monday

Lauren has been enjoying some downtime at her Essex pad amid the UK's coronavirus lockdown yet took a break for her stroll.

Going casual, she donned loose-fitting black tracksuit bottoms with a tight, long-sleeved top layered beneath a particularly tight vest top.

Lauren scraped her hair into a high bun while shielding her face with a pair of over-sized sunglasses from the bright May sunshine.

Just two days before, Lauren appeared to pine for happier times as she shared a sizzling throwback snap to promote her new tanning range on Sunday.

Curve patrol! The TOWIE star, 33, was sure not to betray her beloved designer style as she paired her look with a 1,330 Louis Vuitton Multi Pochette Accessoires Monogram crossbody bag, 612 Yeezy trainers and her 150 Balenciaga phone case

Stunner: Going casual, she donned loose-fitting black tracksuit bottoms with a tight, long-sleeved top layered beneath a particularly tight vest top

Taking to Instagram, she was the picture of confidence as she sported clingy swimwear while posing by a pool in a sunny location.

The media personality accentuated her killer curves in a white one-piece, which flashed major sideboob.

With her tresses worn in a straight fashion, the columnist complemented her radiant complexion with matte make-up and her very own LG Beauty product.

The TV star ensured focus remained on her striking appearance by keeping accessories to a minimum as she rocked circular-framed shades.

Strutting her stuff: Lauren has been enjoying some downtime at her Essex pad amid the UK's coronavirus lockdown yet took a break for her stroll

Yummy: She appeared to be taking delivery of a box of vegetables

All black everything: Lauren scraped her hair into a high bun while shielding her face with a pair of over-sized sunglasses from the bright May sunshine

Plugging her new project, the Celebs Go Dating star captioned her posts: 'Life is so much better with a tan ! I feel like I can face the world its brand new and its better and my tan is back.

'and Im so happy with the results it makes my skin tanned smoothe and sunkissed! Its vegan and comes in 4 shades! We also supply the best mitts that are double lined so no streaks! Visit the website www.lgbeauty.com and check for yourself.' [sic]

Since being propelled to the spotlight on the ITVBe show in 2010, Lauren has openly admitted to undergoing a nose job, boob job, liposuction to rid her of 'lumps and bumps' and fillers in the past.

Happy days: She was looking casual as she walked along the street

Working it: Just two days before, Lauren appeared to pine for happier times as she shared a sizzling throwback snap to promote her new tanning range on Sunday

Turning heads: She was the picture of confidence as she sported clingy swimwear while posing by a pool in a sunny location

Last March, she vowed never to get facials fillers again after claiming jaw fillers left her looking like Jim Carrey's 1994 character The Mask, and insisted she was off the fillers having had her face drained.

During an appearance on This Morning, the brunette said: 'I don't have surgery on my face - I have had done, I've had things removed, I enhance my face with make-up and lip liner and things like that'.

It's been a tough time for the beautician, who was forced to shut her salon Lauren's Way as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sending temperatures soaring: The media personality accentuated her killer curves in a white one-piece, which flashed major sideboob
The son of a Russian billionaire businessman is fighting to stop detail of his personal financial information being made public after becoming embroiled in his divorced parents' battle over money.

A judge has analysed arguments about Temur Akhmedov's bid to limit was journalists can reveal about the latest round of litigation following the breakdown of Farkhad Akhmedov's marriage to Tatiana Akhmedova.

Mrs Justice Gwynneth Knowles, who is overseeing a, virtual, public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court, is due to deliver a ruling on his application in the near future.

Tatiana Akhmedova arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (in a previous hearing) where the latest round of Britain's biggest divorce case with her ex-husband, billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov happened today

Mr Akhmedov was branded a 'shadowy figure' by Mrs Justice Gwynneth Knowles today during the latest round Britain's biggest ever divorce case

Russian oligarch Akhmedov who has dodged paying his ex-wife a penny of the 450million she is owed has tried to 'thwart the English court', a judge has said.

Farkhad Akhmedov was branded a 'shadowy figure' by Mrs Justice Gwynneth Knowles today during the latest round Britain's biggest ever divorce case.

Tatiana Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5 per cent share of the oil baron's 1billion-plus fortune by another British judge in late 2016.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, who analysed the case at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London, said Ms Akhmedova should walk away with 453million.

Ms Akhmedova says Mr Akhmedov has tried to put assets, including a 346million yacht - the MV Luna (pictured) - and a modern art collection, beyond her reach

Mrs Justice Knowles is overseeing the latest stage of the dispute, which involves Mr Akhmedov's son, at a virtual hearing in the Family Division of the High Court.

She told lawyers: 'The real problem may well be Farkhad Akhmedov, who had deliberately sought to thwart the English court, and is therefore a shadowy figure in this litigation.'

Judges have heard that Ms Akhmedova has so far pocketed about 5million and that Mr Akhmedov has not 'voluntarily' paid a penny.

She is waged a legal war to get her hands on the money and has taken action in London and abroad.

Mr Akhmedov has said that because he and his ex-wife are not British, and were not married in the country, a British judge should not have made decisions.

Both were then Russian citizens and had divorced in Moscow 16 years earlier after an eight-year marriage.

In both the Moscow proceedings in 2000 and in the subsequent English hearings, Tatiana admitted her adultery with Mark Isle, a Surrey-based IT specialist and the brother of one of her son's school friends.

Ms Akhmedova says Mr Akhmedov has tried to put assets, including a 346million yacht - the MV Luna - and a modern art collection, beyond her reach.

Judges have heard that Ms Akhmedova (pictured) has so far pocketed about 5million and that Mr Akhmedov has not 'voluntarily' paid a penny

She is now taking legal action against son Temur Akhmedov, who she claims is 'heavily involved' in his father's affairs, 'including involvement' in moving assets beyond her reach.

Temur Akhmedov, a trader who lives in London and is in his mid-twenties, disputes allegations made against him.

He says his father said money would be available to invest on the financial market.

The hearing is due to end later this week and further hearings are scheduled for later in the year.

Lawyers representing Temur have asked the judge to limit what journalists can report.

They say confidential information relating to his personal financial affairs or business activities should not be disclosed.

'The reporting restriction sought by Temur is very limited in nature,' said Mr Howard, in a written case outline.

'He seeks only: (1) prohibition against publication of any of Temur's personal financial information (including but not limited to: tax returns, statements or details of bank accounts, assets or investment portfolios and trading activity) and (2) prohibition against disclosure of case papers (including all pleadings, orders, witness statements or affidavits, and their exhibits) to third parties, including but not limited to accredited representatives of the media.'

The oil baron's superyacht is worth an eyewatering 350million and is crewed by 50 sailors

Mr Howard added: 'The limited restriction sought is merely to preclude the media from providing details of Temur's personal financial affairs, e.g. his tax returns or trading figures and from reviewing the written case papers without leave of the court. It is submitted that this represents a very minor infringement upon media freedoms, and one that is both proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances.'

He told the judge: 'There is very limited restriction on open justice.'

Mr Howard said his client was not asking the judge to rule that any part of the case should be heard in private, or for journalists to be excluded or for anyone involved to be anonymised.

Lawyers representing Ms Akhmedova say she 'neither supports nor opposes' an order for reporting restrictions 'in principle'.

But Alan Gourgey QC, who leads her legal team, said the 'proposed restrictions' appeared unjustifiable 'based on the applicable legal principles'.

He added: 'Tatiana does oppose the proposed restriction on disclosure of documents in these proceedings not least because, as currently drafted, the order would interfere with her right to use such documents for legitimate purposes. '
Philippine shipping company pays $45,000 for sinking Vietnamese boat

May 12,2020 | Source: Hellenic Shipping News

The owner of a Philippine cargo ship has paid $45,000 in compensation to a Vietnamese fisherman for ramming and sinking his boat on May 1.



Vo Dinh Phuong, the owner of the fishing boat, said last Saturday he had received the money from the owner of the freighter White To Mony.



His boat with six crew members was fishing 13 nautical miles east-northeast of La Gi Town in the south central province of Binh Thuan when it was accidentally rammed by the ship. The crew members jumped overboard and were rescued by a boat that had been fishing nearby.



The ship did not stop after the collision, the Vietnam News Agency reported.



According to the Binh Thuan Province Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, through the automatic identification system installed on Phuongs boat, the White To Mony was found to have been sailing through the area at the time of the collision.



On May 5 the company owning the cargo ship contacted Phuong to negotiate compensation.

 2020 Copyright Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide All Rights Reserved.

Theme(s): Others.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan delivered opening remarks during the session of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers today.

In his remarks, the foreign minister congratulated everyone on the 75th anniversary of the common victory achieved in the Great Patriotic War and expressed gratitude to Abdulaziz Hafizi for taking the initiative to hold the session.

The foreign minister went on to talk about the coronavirus pandemic, the challenges, the number of cases in Armenia, the state of emergency and restrictions in the country and the governments social support programs.

Afterwards, Mnatsakanyan discussed the issues on the agenda of the session, including the strategies for international cooperation of youth, physical culture and sports, tourism and more.

In closing, Mnatsakanyan said he was compelled to respond to the issue that his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov raised in regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the settlement of which is being negotiated in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Im not going to talk long about the conflict. There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement, and Armenia is determined to continue its efforts for this. The use of force and the threats of use of force are rejected, and the emphasized statements made today are strictly inacceptable.

The settlement of the conflict is hinged on the principle of mutual concessions, meaning rejection of the maximalist positions of any one of the sides and synthesis of the obligations that the sides assume for balanced mutual concessions.

It is with this approach that the Armenian side will continue its efforts to achieve an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.
Five people were displaced Sunday when a fire broke out in a Carlisle row home, and now police believe the fire started with a deteriorating chimney.

Carlisle police and fire departments responded to the second alarm fire around 5:12 a.m. on Sunday, at 157 North East Street, according to police. The fire had extended to neighboring houses, affecting three homes in total.

An investigation found that the fire originated in the attic of 157 North East Street either at or near the chimney, police said. The chimney had deteriorated and ignited the wood frame roof supports.

There were no injuries reported, but at least five people were displaced, police said. Damage is estimated to be around $175,000 for all three residences.

Read more on PennLive:
A new photo of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark proves the royals are spending evenings in isolation just like everyone else - relaxing in front of the television in comfortable clothes.

The couple offered a rare glimpse into their personal life with an Instagram photo which shows them watching a televised performance of Hjskolesangbogen - the College Song Book - casually dressed in leggings and sneakers at home on Saturday night.

Theatres closed across Denmark at midnight on Wednesday, March 11, along with cinemas, gyms, universities and museums under social distancing restrictions as the Danish parliament moved to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Denmark's lockdown has been gradually lifted since April 14, but Mary, 48, and Frederik, 51, are still isolating with their four children at Fredensborg Palace, the family's spring and autumn residence on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark.

The future king and queen contrasted their cosy night-in with a photo from 2004 - the year they were married - which shows them in glamorous evening attire watching a production from the royal box at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre.

Scroll down for video

A collage of photos posted by Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik on Instagram. The top image shows the newly married royals at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre in 2004, while the bottom shows the couple watching a televised theatre production at home on May 9, 2020.

Princess Mary, 48, and Prince Frederik, 51, with their children Prince Christian, 14, (top left), Princess Isabella, 13, (top right) and nine-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine at Fredensborg Palace in eastern Denmark

The striking difference between the photos highlights how much life has changed since the outbreak began, with royalty forced to adapt to confinement just like the rest of us.

'A different and slightly more relaxed- well, yes - a much more relaxed way of going to the theatre,' the Crown Prince couple captioned the photo.

'Of course, sitting at home on the couch can never replace going to the theatre. But it is nevertheless wonderful that we can have a theatre experience at home during this time.'

Mary and Frederik glamorously dressed at a gala dinner at Town Hall in Paris, France on October 8, 2019 - a stark contrast to the comfy leggings and running shoes they're wearing in isolation

Princess Mary and Prince Frederik with Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Duda at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on November 25, 2019 - the Danish royals' last official overseas engagement before the coronavirus crisis began

A black and white photograph partially visible in the left of the shot appears to show a younger Frederik with Prince Christian, the couple's eldest child who was born on October 15, 2005.

Mary and Frederik are also parents to Princess Isabella, 13, and nine-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

The family celebrated Princess Isabella's 13th birthday on April 21 by sharing a series of previously unseen photos on Det Danske Kongehus, the Danish royal household's official Instagram account.

Princess Isabella of Denmark in an official photograph released on her 13th birthday on April 21, 2020

A six-month-old Isabella bundled against the cold in a pink hat in 2008 (left), and a two-year-old Princess Isabella in a dance costume in 2009 (right)

The teenage princess looks just like her Australian-born mother in a professional shot taken earlier this year, which shows Isabella smiling softly at the camera dressed in a blue puffer jacket.

The family also released images from their private photo album to mark the occasion, including a sweet snap of a newborn Isabella in April 2007.

Other photos show a a six-month-old Isabella bundled up against the Scandinavian cold in a pink knitted hat in 2008, and a two-year-old Isabella in a dancing costume in late 2009.
(Natural News) Official reports indicate that close to 1.4 million Americans have now been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, and over 80,000 have succumbed to the disease. Nonetheless, experts believe that these figures do not reflect the full extent of the epidemic in the United States. The true numbers are believed to be far higher.

Americans from every age, ethnicity and socio-economic status have been affected by COVID-19, but as has been the case worldwide, residents of long-term care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the disease in the United States.

Now, state officials in New Jersey have expressed alarm at the number of coronavirus patients and fatalities in such facilities in the state, and family members insist the problem is far worse than officials are revealing. (Related: US nursing homes devastated by coronavirus outbreak: Infection and death counts rise as vulnerable elderly get exposed to the virus.)

True mortality rate unknown

As reported by Patch, a shocking 17 percent of residents diagnosed with COVID-19 in New Jersey veterans homes, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have died  a mortality rate four times higher than the states overall percentage.

But health officials are now admitting that the true mortality rate in these facilities is likely far higher than 17 percent, and the loved ones of victims are demanding more transparency about the true levels of contamination their family members are being exposed to.

Frustrated family members and friends complain about a lack of information and communication from the directors of care facilities, and government officials have admitted that they are right to complain.

Theres no question theres an unevenness, and that would be charitable, of communication to loved ones, to next-of-kins about the state of play, Governor Phil Murphy recently acknowledged.

Weve heard far too many stories where (people say), I called and no one picked up, or, I called and no one answered. Its not just frustrating for us, but its crushing for a loved one, he added.

Patch reports that a doctor is demanding answers after her uncle died from COVID-19 complications in a Newark nursing home recently. Family members had tried to get through to the home to get information about the mans health status multiple times before he was moved from the facility to Saint Michaels Hospital, but never received a single response.

Overwhelmed staff members at New Jersey facilities report that they simply do not have capacity to care for the large number of infected residents and still keep in touch with loved ones. (Related: Thousands dying of coronavirus in nursing homes, but government isnt keeping track.)

Patch reported:

Some facilities such as Ocean Crest Pointe Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center initially reported nine cases and then doubled their numbers just hours later when they were reported on April 22. Now the facility is saying there are 55 cases and one death.

Then theres the Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus, where more than 80 percent of the residents have tested positive for the coronavirus. At the facility, at least 241 people have been diagnosed and more than 50 have died. But only days ago, the facility reported that there were fewer than 190 cases.

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli has promised to ramp up efforts to ensure nursing home staff have sufficient personal protective equipment and are properly equipped to handle infection control and other issues.

She has also repeatedly stressed the need for staff members, residents and their families to be kept informed about the number of fatalities in long-term care facilities, but there are concerns that this is still not taking place. Meanwhile, helpless family members continue to wait anxiously to hear if their loved ones are sick, terrified that they are not being properly protected against this deadly disease.

Stay informed, stay alive. Bookmark Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

Patch.com

Worldometers.info
A notice banning students who recently visited clubs in Itaewon, Seoul, from attending classes is posted on the entrance of a building at Sogang University, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



An increasing number of university students are calling on their schools to stop offering onsite classes for the spring semester amid growing fears of a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases as the result of a superspreader's visit to nightclubs in Itaewon, according to education officials Tuesday.



Korea University began onsite classes on the condition that both online and onsite classes are combined from Monday. Small classes with fewer than 30 students have been given approval to resume face-to-face lectures if students agree to abide by social distancing measures.



An official of Korea University said the school is closely monitoring the virus situation at the moment.



"Currently, face-to-face lectures are only carried out for classes requiring experimental projects and practical training. The decision to change the current policy will be under discussion depending on the situation with the virus," a Korea University official said.



Many students showed concern over the universities' moves to begin onsite classes, as a new wave of cases were confirmed in relation to infections at bars and clubs in Itaewon. Some students insist that there is a high possibility of the highly contagious virus spreading on university campuses because the majority of newly confirmed patients linked with the Itaewon clubs are in their 20s.



Uhm Jhoo-yung, a freshman at Korea University who just arrived in Seoul from South Chungcheong Province on Sunday, said her parents and friends in her hometown are worried about her safety.



"My parents were relieved when the virus showed no new infections last week, but the situation suddenly worsened. But it is not easy to go back to my hometown soon since I already came here," Uhm said.



She said she will discuss what to do with her parents when the school decides whether to resume onsite lectures or not.



The student council of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), which had also allowed limited face-to-face cases for lectures with fewer than 30 students from Monday, urged the school to switch all onsite classes to online ones.



"As the education ministry postponed the school reopening schedule by one more week to prevent the virus from spreading, university officials also have to decide to change the plan for face-to-face classes for students' safety," the HUFS student council said in a statement.



In response to concerns from students and parents, some schools decided to continue remote learning although they initially planned to reopen classrooms.



Kookmin University announced Tuesday that it has decided to continue online lectures for some subjects despite plans to resume in-person classes this Wednesday. The university initially tried to proceed with the reopening with the consent of students for some subjects as the number of new cases had stabilized.



"We pushed ahead for the onsite classes that require experiments and practical evaluation, but the decision to change the plan was inevitable due to the current situation in which the virus is apparently spreading again," a Kookmin University official said.



According to a survey conducted by the Korean Association of Private University Presidents, 145 public and private universities, or 75 percent, said they plan to continue online lectures for the rest of the semester. More than 70 universities have already decided to continue remote learning until the end of the semester, while another 74 decided to do so until the pandemic is over.


Hearst Connecticut Media / Tara O'Neill

NEW HAVEN  Detectives continue to investigate after a shooting that landed one man in the hospital Tuesday afternoon.

City police and firefighters responded for a report of a gunshot victim at a house on Bouchet Lane near Eastern Street just after 2 p.m., Police Capt. Anthony Duff said.
A northern Mexico border town across from Arizona is forcing travelers arriving from the United States to walk through a sanitizer tunnel in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

City government officials in Nogales, a municipality in the state of Sonora, installed several tent tunnels last week that are specifically designed to release a special vaporized sanitizer at three border entry ports.

Nogales mayor Jesus Pujol said that he hopes the tent setup will minimize the possibility of a massive COVID-19 outbreak due to the daily arrival of foreigners - mostly U.S. citizens - and Mexican nationals.

Motorists arriving from Arizona wait in traffic as they required to enter a sanitizing tunnel in the Sonora municipality of Nogales. Government officials installed the first of five tents that spray each foreign visitor and Mexican national with a special chemical that protects the skin and clothing from bacteria or viruses, including COVID-19, for a period of 24 hours

A visitor stops at one of the three Nogales, Mexico, border entry points and is sprayed with a vaporized sanitizer that protects the skin and clothing from bacteria or viruses, including COVID-19, for a period of 24 hours

The Nogales Mariposas, Nogales Deconcini and Nogales Morley Gate port of entries are each staffed with extra personnel to ensure that every person who arrives by foot or vehicle enter the tents.

According to Municipal Health Director, Jesus Alberto Dicochea Aguilar, each tunnel 'applies a quaternary, biodegradable and disinfectant water solution to people that, by means of vaporization, will be supplied to the exterior of the body of individuals when crossing to Nogales, Sonora.'

It protects the skin and clothing from bacteria or viruses, including COVID-19, for a period of 24 hours.

Dicochea Aguilar said that the solution is different from what is being released by other sanitizing tents that have been set up at other points in Mexico, including food markets, public buildings and the streets.

A law enforcement agent oversees a sanitizing tunnel that was set up last week at a border entry point in Nogales, Mexico

A male individual enters one of the five sanitizing tunnels that are being placed at three border entry stations in Nogales, Mexico, in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic

The Nogales city government plans to place five sanitizing tents at its port of entries, including one which can be accessed by pedestrians. It is also planning on installing other sanitizing tents at area hospitals.

The Nogales government plans to place five sanitizing tents at its port of entries, including one which can be accessed by pedestrians. It is also planning on installing other sanitizing tents at area hospitals.

Heath ministry data updated by the Mexican government Tuesday showed that the ravaging coronavirus has killed 3,573 people and infected 36,327 others.

As of Tuesday, Sonora government indicated there have been 48 deaths and 588 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. Officials reported five deaths and 50 positive cases in Nogales.

Arizona reported 11,736 cases and 562 deaths as of Tuesday.
At least 24 killed as attacker detonates explosives during funeral ceremony of a local commander in Nangarhar.

At least 24 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide blast claimed by ISIL (ISIS) at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan, according to the local government, in one of two attacks to hit the country on Tuesday.

The ISIL attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the funeral ceremony in Kuz Kunar district, according to Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.

Mourners had gathered for the funeral of the commander of the districts police force, Shaykh Akram, who died of a heart attack on Monday night, when the bomber struck, Khogyani said.

According to a provincial council member, dozens of people, including politicians, provincial council members and locals had gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, the militia commander.

Later on Tuesday night, ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.

The jihadist Abdallah al-Ansari hit Afghan security forces and militia allied to Nangarhar, exploding his [suicide] belt  [and] killing and wounding 100 non-believers, the armed group said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Battle-weary Nangarhar near the Pakistan border has long been a stronghold for both ISIL and the Taliban and has witnessed some of the hardest fighting in recent years.

Separately, attackers stormed a maternity hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing 16 people, including newborn babies and their mothers, setting off a gun battle with police, officials said.

The ISIL no mention of the attack in its statement.

The violence came just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child.

The bombings were also claimed by the ISIL, according to the SITE intelligence group.

In March, at least 25 people were killed by a gunman at a Sikh temple in Kabul, which was later claimed by the group.

A large crowd had gathered to attend the funeral ceremony when the attack took place [Parwiz/Reuters]

In recent months, the armed group has suffered mounting setbacks after being hunted by US and Afghan forces as well as Taliban offensives taking aim at their fighters, but it still retains the ability to launch large assaults on urban centres.

The Taliban has largely refrained from launching huge attacks on Afghan cities since February when they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US meant to pave the way for talks with the Kabul government.

Under the agreement, the Taliban promised not to target forces from the US-led coalition, but made no such pledge towards Afghan troops and has since stepped up attacks in the provinces.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 12:20:36|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Monday issued a Red Notice for the arrest of a U.S. diplomat's wife named Anne Sacoolas, who was charged over a car crash killing a young man in Britain last year.

Harry Dunn was killed when his motorbike and a car collided outside a U.S. military base in Northamptonshire on Aug. 27 last year. The driver of the car, Sacoolas, returned to the United States, claiming diplomatic immunity and was subsequently charged by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service with causing death by dangerous driving.

Sacoolas' husband is an American intelligence official working at a U.S. military base in central England, according to U.S. media. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later rejected an extradition request from the Home Office in January, triggering strong opposition from the British side.

Britain labelled the U.S. refusal a "denial of justice" and called the U.S. ambassador to Britain to express the government's disappointment.

"We feel this amounts to a denial of justice, and we believe Anne Sacoolas should return to the UK. We are now urgently considering our options," said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in an earlier statement.

Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, Interpol explained on its official website.

The case of Sacoolas has been a thorn in the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain, prompting debates over the limits of diplomatic immunity in cases unrelated to national security, according to local media. Enditem
Additional reporting: Eoin English

Cork does not need a Kildare Village-style centre, business leaders have told Cork County Council.

They have said the closure of Debenhams in Cork city centre is one reason why planning permission should not be given for a 100m tourist outlet village near Carrigtwohill.

The Cork Business Association (CBA) says the councils decision to change the 2014 County Development Plan to allow for the development of a 100,000sq m retail centre in the Cork region is against proper planning and sustainable development.

The decision should not, according to the CBA, have been made before both city and county councils updated their existing retail strategy for the Cork region as they are required to under retail planning guidelines.

The CBA is making these points in its submission to the county council about its decision to vary the county development plan.

It says in its submission that there is ample space within the city centre to accommodate the number of retail outlets that could fill the proposed Kildare Village-style outlet centre.

This is evidenced by the recent announcement that a major anchor store on St Patrick St (Debenhams) has closed, it said.

The CBA said there are also a number of vacant units in the Savoy Shopping Centre and Merchants Quay Shopping Centre as well as the entirety of the North Main St Shopping Centre.

Plans for the outlet centre suffered a setback last December when the States planning watchdog recommended Cork County Council should not vary its 2014 development plan to accommodate it.

The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) claimed a proposed change that would allow for the construction of the centre was inconsistent with the governments 2012 retail planning guidelines.

UK property firm Rioja Estates announced its 100m plans last November for the tourist outlet village on a site at Killacoyne outside Carrigtwohill.

It said it would create over 850 direct jobs and attract 220,000 additional tourists to the region annually.

It said it hoped to open the retail and tourist destination, selling heavily-discounted end-of-line clothing and other luxury items not normally found on the high street, by March 2024.

The OPR claimed the proposed change to the county councils development plan is not consistent with the 2012 retail planning guidelines. These recommend outlet centres should not be located in any more out-of-town locations.

A study by the council found there was capacity to accommodate a retail outlet centre of up to 100,000sq m in the Cork region and it would only affect up to 1% of existing business on retailers in the city centre.

The CBA said it will maintain a firm stance against a retail outlet centre if the retail sector and its members will be negatively affected.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 19:11:55|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported no new case of COVID-19 in Laos for 30 consecutive days, with the total number in the country unchanged at 19.

Director General of the Communicable Disease Control Department under Lao Ministry of Health, Rattanaxay Phetsavanh told a press conference on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases remained at 19, as no new case was confirmed.

The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Tuesday announced it had been monitoring 1,847 people at 60 accommodation centers across the country.

On Monday, the number of truck drivers bringing freight into Laos from Thailand was 978 people, from Vietnam 765 people and 10 people from China.

As of Tuesday, Laos tested 3,874 suspected cases with 19 cases tested positive, and 13 patients have recovered.

Another six infected cases are treated in designated hospital -- Mittaphab Hospital (Hospital 150) in Lao capital Vientiane.

Laos announced its first two COVID-19 confirmed cases on March 24. Enditem
In this Aug. 18, 2018 file photo man holds a sign that reads "Q-Nited We Stand" during a rally held by members of Patriot Prayer and other groups supporting gun rights near City Hall in Seattle. Facebook says it has removed several groups, accounts and pages linked to QAnon, taking action for the first time against the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory circulated among supporters of President Donald Trump. The social-media giant made the announcement Tuesday, May 5, 2020 as part of its monthly briefing on coordinated inauthentic behavior on its platforms. Thats Facebook's term for fake accounts run with the intent of disrupting politics elections and society. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file) (Ted S. Warren/AP)
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on May 12, as of 09:30, the roads across Armenia are mainly passable.

The ministry told Armenpress that only the road leading to the Amberd Fortress will be difficult to pass, and the road to Lake Kari will remain closed for uncertain time.

The Georgian side reported that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open only for trucks.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
In a sovereign manner as Alba Berlin has triumphed in the extraordinary final tournament of the Basketball Bundesliga, and his long-awaited ninth championship won. The capital club prevailed on Sunday in Munich with 75:74 (42:35) in the second final against MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and caught up for the first time since 2008 to regain the title. Already in the Final first leg, had opted Alba, 88:65 for, and solved the early failure of the defending Champions and hosts FC Bayern.

Best Alba-thrower in a largely spectator empty Audi Dome, Niels Giffey and Martin Hermannsson, each with 14 points. Thus, the Cup-winners-Team coach Aito Garcia Reneses remained in his tenth game of the tournament to Corona-times undefeated and celebrated for the first Time in 17 years, the Double. Outsider Ludwigsburg had to once again waive his at the foot of the injured Top players, Marcos Knight, and was put under in his first finals is clear.

"Alba is a worthy champion. You have generally played a strong season, the Cup brought. Alba was clearly the best Team in the tournament, said BBL chief Stefan wood of the German press Agency, and also congratulated the opponent in the final. "Ludwigsburg was more than an insider tip and has played a great season, maybe the best your history."

High claim of Alba

just Like in the Cup Triumph in front of a good four months, Alba was able to overcome his final trauma. In the last two seasons, the Berlin had failed each of the people in Munich, were awarded under the Aito, a total of five chances of winning the title in finals.

"We were in 30 years of Albanian competition across 34 times in final games  this shows our claim, which shows how we have invented time and time again. But, of course, the salt in the soup are the titles, said CEO Marco Baldi in Magenta sports. "It is a total pleasure to win a title. The development of Alba Berlin is not the influence but dramatically.

for example, it is unclear whether the 73-year-old Aito depends, perhaps, but still a season in Berlin on it. Service providers such as Peyton Siva and Luke Sikma also have a contract over the summer, the whereabouts of the strong Icelandic horse Martin Hermannsson, however, is unclear.

Updated Date: 28 June 2020, 11:19
The detention center's administration has not yet provided Buhaichuk with proper medical assistance.

Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova says Ukrainian political prisoner Serhiy Buhaichuk held in Russia may have contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); however, the Russian side has not provided any testing for him.

"In particular, Buhaichuk has symptoms of acute respiratory infection, namely a dry cough, a fever, a severe headache, and joint aches," she said on Facebook on May 12.

Read alsoRussia's FSB arrests train host from Ukraine  lawyer

Buhaichuk's condition significantly deteriorated after he had been transferred from the Bryansk pretrial detention center to Moscow. Following that, he was placed in a 14-day quarantine since doctors said the prisoner had been in contact with an infected person.

Denisova says the detention center's administration has not yet provided the Ukrainian citizen with proper medical assistance, as no tests have been done. In addition, Buhaichuk has not been provided with personal protective gear and a sanitizer.

"Senior officials of the penitentiary institution in the aggressor country deliberately violate the rights of the Ukrainian citizen stipulated in paragraph 22 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, approved by the UN Economic and Social Council and Article 17 of Federal Law No. 103-FZ 'On Detention of Citizens Suspected and Accused of Committing Crimes,'" she added.

The Ukrainian ombudsperson has already addressed her Russian counterpart, Tatiana Moskalkova, with the requirement to immediately provide the political prisoner with proper means of protection and adhere to WHO recommendations.

As was reported earlier, Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Buhaichuk, who worked as a train host, was arrested in Moscow, Russia, in July 2018. He is accused of arms trafficking across the Ukrainian-Russian border with two other persons: he allegedly wanted to sell, among other things, a Glock 19 handgun. His case is being investigated by Russia's FSB security service under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of Russia (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or possession of arms, its main parts, ammunition). The punishment under the article includes imprisonment from five to eight years and a fine. Buhaichuk pleaded not guilty.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia ranked second in terms of the number of COVID-19 patients worldwide, following the United States.
It looks like AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 2 days. You can purchase shares before the 15th of May in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of June.

AmerisourceBergen's next dividend payment will be US$0.42 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.68 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that AmerisourceBergen has a trailing yield of 1.9% on the current share price of $90.64. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether AmerisourceBergen's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether AmerisourceBergen can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for AmerisourceBergen

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. AmerisourceBergen is paying out just 21% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 17% of its cash flow last year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

NYSE:ABC Historical Dividend Yield May 12th 2020

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see AmerisourceBergen's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 44% per annum for the past five years. AmerisourceBergen earnings per share have been sprinting ahead like the Road Runner at a track and field day; scarcely stopping even for a cheeky "beep-beep". We also like that it is reinvesting most of its profits in its business.'

Story continues

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, ten years ago, AmerisourceBergen has lifted its dividend by approximately 21% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid AmerisourceBergen? We love that AmerisourceBergen is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for AmerisourceBergen you should know about.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
LOS ANGELES, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company ("Hamilton Beach Brands" or the "Company") (NYSE: HBB) investors that the firm has initiated an investigation into possible securities fraud.



Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy , by phone 310-692-8883 or email : lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case via www.portnoylaw.com.

On May 11, 2020, Hamilton Beach Brands disclosed that it could not timely file its first quarter 2020 quarterly report due to "certain accounting irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at its Mexican subsidiary." The Company also revealed that its "Audit Review Committee has commenced an internal investigation" regarding "the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary."

On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.03, or nearly 9%, to close at $10.43 per share on May 11, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information.

The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims against caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.

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lesley@portnoylaw.com

310-692-8883

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With prominent individuals and organizations displaying their outrage at the recent arrests of Muslim activists, the common public is no different to extend support to the student activists.

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A new petition has been created by the user Aazaad Lab targeting 2500+ signatures has challenged the governments harassment of protestors who were slapped with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The petition is addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi Police, highlighting that the government is acting through police for detaining Shifa Ur Rehman, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar in prison for their alleged involvement in the Delhi pogrom.

The petition involves common people as signatories who are enraged by the selective targeting of activists who participated in non-violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It is supported by a coalition of global student resources groups and associations like The Boston Coalition, Hindus for Human Rights, Council on Minority Rights in India, International Action Center, Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, Coalition Against Fascism in India, Students Against Hindutva Ideology and more.

The petitioners reflect that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged all countries to release every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, and those detained for critical, dissenting views in light of the Coronavirus pandemic and that the Indian government is exercising arbitrary powers by wrongfully arresting and imprisoning people while the people who actually incited violence and engaged in hate speech, such as Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, and Parvesh Verma, roam free.

Having received 1800+ signatures is less than 24 hours, the petition demands the immediate release of students booked under UAPA, challenging the government to charge the real culprits like BJP leaders who incited violence and made hate speeches. It has stated that Delhi Police must stop arresting and intimidating the peaceful and justice-minded activists, who have participated peacefully in the CAA protests.

Sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/delhi-police-delhi-police-immediately-stop-the-persecution-of-activists-and-protesters
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Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, May 14, 2020 13:19 615 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd7673e8 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,nurses Free

Ary Suryanti, 44, held onto Sugihartos hand as they entered the emergency room of Gatot Subroto Army Hospital at around 2 a.m. on April 1. Over the span of their 15 years of marriage, the two nurses had seen and handled all sorts of health emergency situations.

They knew, however, that this one was different.

Sugiharto had developed a cough after his last shift ended two days prior, and from there his condition continued to worsen. As time passed, even Ary could see that breathing was becoming increasingly difficult for him.

As the medical workers in hazmat suits began checking on him and prepared him for transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU), Sugiharto clenched his wifes hand and signaled for her to come closer.

Bu, he whispered.

Take care of Damar for me.

Ary nodded and whispered back a prayer into his ear, knowing in the depths of her heart that she had to muster a lot of courage to speak to their 14-year-old son very soon.

Those were Sugihartos last words to Ary. That night at around 8 p.m., he passed away due to a COVID-19 infection.

"It happened so fast, I lost him too fast. Sometimes I still wait for him to come back home; I still imagine that hes on his night shift and will return in the morning, Ary said over the phone, weeping. But then I realize that he is really gone. He really is no longer here and I miss him so much.

Sugiharto was a nurse at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD), one of the main referral hospitals for COVID-19 patients in Jakarta.

On that fateful day, the hospital and the community where the couple lived mourned the loss of a man they knew to be a hard-working nurse and helpful neighbor.

Read also: The faces behind the numbers: Remembering COVID-19 victims

But Ary, who had lost her husband and best friend, was unable to process her feelings.

I didnt really have time to properly grieve because Damar and I had to self-isolate immediately after his funeral, Ary told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

And even after a spell at home and their test results coming back negative, Ary quickly learned that the clinic where she worked for the past 20 years had asked her to continue to stay at home without as much as a hint of when she may come back to work.

Last Friday, May 1 was supposed to be Sugihartos 50th birthday. Ary bought the black forest cake that he loved and celebrated the special day with Damar in their living room, praying.

I want to continue on living my life and raise my son because that is what my husband would have wanted me to do, she said.

Without her husband and her job, Ary and Damar now live in their house in Sawangan, West Java and rely completely on the help of activists and organizations.

The governments lack of transparency on COVID-19 cases has made it challenging to find data on the number of health workers who had died of complications from the disease in Indonesia.

Read also: COVID-19 pandemic exposes problems in our health care, Jokowi says

As the world commemorates International Nurses Day on May 12, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has called on governments to reveal data on health care workers infection rates and deaths.

According to ICNs figures, at least 90,000 healthcare workers have been infected by the coronavirus disease and more than 260 nurses have died around the world.

In a press statement from April 6, the organization said the failure by governments to record the infection rates and deaths of men and women on the frontline constitutes a scandal that puts all hospital staffers at a higher risk of transmission and, more importantly, undervalues the true scale of the problem.

When the history of the 2020 pandemic is written, we will make sure that the names of the nurses who gave their lives are recorded and honored, so that their sacrifice is never forgotten, ICN CEO Howard Catton said. And if governments still fail to act, we will make sure that when the post COVID-19 inquiries take place, as they inevitably will, political leaders will be asked why that information was not collected.

Read also: Nurses Day: Awareness still low of grueling, noble profession

Nationally, Amnesty International Indonesia (AII) revealed that 59 health workers, including 38 doctors and 21 nurses, had succumbed to COVID-19 as of Monday.

AII director Usman Hamid said many medical personnel were struggling to get proper protection two months after the first case was reported in early March.

Health workers in a private hospital in Banten, West Java have, for instance, reported that they only get an allotment of one mask per week despite the long hours and intense workload.

"Public health is at stake if the protections and guarantees on their right to health have yet to be fulfilled, Usman said on Monday.

Nurses working on the frontline of COVID-19 response are prone and exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection. This may include exposure to pathogens, fatigue from working long hours, psychological distress, occupational burnout, social stigma and physical and psychological violence.

Read also: `I'm never going to be the same': Medics grapple with mental trauma on COVID-19 front line

The chairman of the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI), Harif Fadhillah, said nurses in some hospitals had also begun to report fears of losing their jobs as private hospitals moved to furlough them or reduce the length of their shifts due a loss of revenue from the viral outbreak.

We try to advocate for these kinds of cases to [...] to the Manpower Ministry. Hospitals cant act so arbitrarily, he said.

Harif also urged the government to review plans to ease restrictions in the midst of an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

We saw some of the highest increases in confirmed cases in the country these past few days, which means we have more cases each day, he said recently. The more cases we have, it is the medical workers that must work even harder.

Two peas in a pod: Nurse Syahrul Rahmadi (left) poses with his late wife, Ninuk, in this photo from their personal collection. In March, Ninuk was the first nurse to die in Indonesia of COVID-19, after treating patients at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta. (Courtesy of/Syahrul Rahmadi)

Meanwhile, it has been two months since Syahrul Rahmadi, 36, lost Ninuk, his wife and the mother of his two children, to COVID-19. The 37-year-old was the first nurse to die of the disease in Indonesia, having worked at Jakartas Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).

Neither Syahrul nor Ary have received compensation from the government.

We heard that they would help us but so far Ive only received help from activists and organizations, Syahrul said.

We have a WhatsApp [...] support group for the families of nurses who passed away while tending to COVID-19 patients. There are around 15 families in that group chat and none of us have received help from the government.

Much like Arys case, Syahrul was also asked to shelter at home when his company found out that his late wife suffered from the disease. It was initially promised that he would be able to return to work in May but had yet to be contacted by his employer.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo recently said the government would provide Rp 15 million (US$886.79) in incentives to medical specialists, Rp 10 million to physicians and dentists, Rp 7.5 million to nurses and Rp 5 million to other medical staffers, as well as a total of Rp 300 million in compensation in the case of a death.

The regulation stipulates, however, that the government will provide incentives and compensation only to medical workers who are employed at health facilities that accept referrals of COVID-19 cases. RSCM, where Ninuk worked, was not among those referral hospitals.

Read also: 'Why are we being treated like this?': Nurses handling COVID-19 evicted as landlord fears infection

Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) spokesperson Halik Malik said the group hoped the government would be more serious in planning sustainable protections for health workers, by using real time data collections from every health facility so that medical equipment was sent to the right people.

What we want is not compensation over our deaths. We want to be appreciated by affording us proper protection, Halik said.
Today we'll take a closer look at Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries S.A. (ATH:MOH) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful.

A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. Remember though, given the recent drop in its share price, Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's yield will look higher, even though the market may now be expecting a decline in its long-term prospects. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries for its dividend - read on to learn more.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries!

ATSE:MOH Historical Dividend Yield May 12th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. 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. Looking at the data, we can see that 56% of Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. 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.

In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's cash payout ratio in the last year was 45%, which suggests dividends were well covered by cash generated by the business. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Story continues

Consider getting our latest analysis on Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries 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 0.60 in 2010, compared to 1.15 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 6.7% per year over this time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame.

Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries has grown its earnings per share at 22% per annum over the past five years. Earnings per share are sharply up, but we wonder if paying out more than half its earnings (leaving less for reinvestment) is an implicit signal that Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's growth will be slower in the future.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries's payout ratios are within a normal range for the average corporation, and we like that its cashflow was stronger than reported profits. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, but it was concerning to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Overall we think Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries is an interesting dividend stock, although it could be better.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock.

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.
It was in the case from Manhattan that Mr. Trumps lawyers argued that he was beyond the reach of the criminal justice system so long as he remained in office.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, rejected Mr. Trumps request to block the subpoena in a narrow ruling, saying only that state prosecutors may require third parties to turn over a sitting presidents financial records for use in a grand jury investigation.

Mr. Trump has fought hard to shield his tax returns from scrutiny, for reasons that have been the subject of much speculation. In a footnote to the Second Circuits decision, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, said that Mr. Trumps break with his predecessors practice was significant.

We note that the past six presidents, dating back to President Carter, all voluntarily released their tax returns to the public, Judge Katzmann wrote. While we do not place dispositive weight on this fact, it reinforces our conclusion that the disclosure of personal financial information, standing alone, is unlikely to impair the president in performing the duties of his office.

The other subpoenas the Supreme Court will consider on Tuesday are from House committees seeking various kinds of financial information that they say will aid them in their oversight and legislative responsibilities.

One of them, from the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees, was addressed to two financial institutions that did business with Mr. Trump, Deutsche Bank and Capital One. The committees have sought an array of financial records related to the president, his companies and his family.
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, has developed Indias first low-cost testing equipment to assess the efficacy of masks.

Considering the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, for frontline health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, TIFR is also studying how N95 masks designed for 95% filtration efficiency for very small 0.3 micrometre (m) sized particles, can be reused after decontamination.

A team of scientists led by professors Arnab Bhattacharya and Shankar Ghosh of TIFR, along with Ronak Sutaria of air quality research group Respirer Living Sciences (RLS), built a prototype - mask integrity test resource (MITR) - using air quality measurement units and other components to develop a setup that measures fine particle (0.3m) filtration through N95 masks. This was built during the lockdown using items such as a vacuum cleaner, boxes, bottles, and a plastic ball (used as a mannequin).

We estimate that such a unit could be built for Rs. 30,000-50,000 ranging from the most basic one to a slightly advanced unit within the country, said Bhattacharya. Commercially available units that need to be imported cost over Rs. 10 lakh. At the same time, recent US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines restrict the export of PPEs, which will impact the availability in India.

For the project, different types of N95 and surgical masks being used by Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai were supplied to TIFR, and were tested using this equipment. The filtration efficiency could drop significantly if the mask was not well fitted, and allowed leaks from the side, Bhattacharya said while cautioning that these experiments were done using a rudimentary set up on a plastic ball. While we expect a better fit for the human face, we found that even if the best N95 masks are used unless the mask is worn properly or sealed well from the sides, it can be dangerous for frontline workers, he said.

The TIFR scientists also evaluated the filtration efficiency of several materials used at home for masks  from folded handkerchiefs to cotton T-shirts. Even home-made masks could have 50-60% filtration efficiency, comparable with surgical masks, and are good for everyday use by the public, said Bhattacharya.

The testing protocol plays a critical role in evaluating the efficiency of masks across intensive care units (ICUs) and health care facilities, said Sutaria. Many hospitals across India are currently facing a severe shortage of facemasks, leading to the manufacture of varying quality. The existing mask testing equipment available from the US costs upwards of Rs. 12 lakh up to Rs. 90 lakh. Masks are going to be required not only during Covid-19, but for all kinds of infections and epidemics, he said, adding that such a low-cost set up could also help in quickly comparing the quality of masks, with the risk of the market being flooded with inferior quality products.

The other aspect of TIFRs research looked at reusability of masks after disinfecting them.

According to N95decon.org, an international consortium of scientists and researchers for N95 mask decontamination, alcohol based disinfectants, soaps or detergents, bleach solutions, ethylene oxide etc. though effective in virus inactivation could degrade the filtration efficiency or leave hazardous residues. However, moist and dry heat treatment, hydrogen peroxide vapour, ozone, and ultraviolet radiation were useful.

A major contributing factor that enhances filtration efficiency was a layer of electrically charged fibres that trap particles in N95 masks, TIFR researchers found. The charge diminishes significantly when cleansed using alcohol based solutions. Researchers developed a procedure to recharge these N95 masks. We believe recharging could allow recovery of the filtration efficiency of used masks, allowing them to be reused for relatively longer periods than the current norm, said Ghosh.

Frontline Covid-19 warriors from private and municipal hospitals in Mumbai are following a procedure wherein four to five N95 masks are being provided for every 20 days to each person. A worker will use a mask a day, sterilise it after use, store it safely at the end of the shift, and reuse it again after five days. The same process is repeated for each mask until a new set is supplied, said a doctor from Nanavati Hospital.

A senior surgeon from King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Parel said, We get four masks for 20 days. We steam the mask before reusing it on the fifth day. Over the past week, health workers dealing with Covid-19 patients in the ICU are getting a new mask every day, and the used ones are discarded daily.

Researchers at TIFR and RLS managed the development of the mask testing technology in a matter of days amid restrictions during the lockdown. As TIFR was developing the mask testing prototype, they got in touch with RLS to use their low cost air pollution monitoring units, which were supplied within a day. Over just one weekend, TIFR researchers along with RLS managed to develop testing principles, completed their prototype, and were ready to do tests to evaluate filtration efficiency of masks for front-line health care workers.
Philadelphia tenants are organizing rent strikes. Here's how to get rent help. Read more

Having trouble paying your rent? You could get some much-needed financial assistance, thanks to a new program from the city.

Its called the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, and its supposed to help up to 3,000 families throughout Philadelphia. If youre selected, you will receive up to $2,500 in rent help over a three-month period. After three months, you can get reevaluated, and the help could continue for as long as one year. The money comes from the federal CARES Act.

Unprecedented job losses have placed financial pressure on both renters and landlords, Mayor Jim Kenney said. Keeping people in their homes is critical during this crisis.

However, not everyone is eligible, and there are some important things to know when applying.

Am I eligible?

To apply, you need to be a renter with an apartment or house in Philadelphia, have a current lease (in writing), and have lost income because of the coronavirus pandemic. You dont need to have gotten sick or diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The program is designed to help lower-income people. To qualify, your household earnings need to be less than half of the areas median income before the coronavirus pandemic. If there are four people in your house, for example, the maximum your household could have made last year is $48,300  and that number goes up for each additional person in your household. Not sure if you qualify? Check the citys income eligibility chart.

There are other limits. You dont qualify if you live in public housing, get other rental assistance from the government, have unpaid rent from before April, or are in the process of eviction, according to the city.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered

How do I apply?

The city is accepting applications from Tuesday, May 12, until Saturday, May 16, at 5 p.m. To apply, you must complete an online application, a Housing Condition Survey, and a document that confirms you have lost income because of the coronavirus pandemic.

You will also need to submit a copy of your current lease that your landlord has signed, proof of lost income for each adult in the household, and identification matching your name on your lease. If you dont have internet access, you can call 311.

 READ MORE: Do I have to pay my rent? Renters rights in Philadelphia during the coronavirus pandemic.

Does my landlord need to be involved?

In order to get help, the city says that your landlord has to have a rental license and be up to date on city taxes. If your landlord doesnt meet these requirements, the city will give them one week to fix any problems.

There are also a few other things to which landlords have to agree. They must agree to waive any late fees for unpaid rent from April and May, not evict you while youre in this program (and for six months after), and give you six months after the program ends to pay back any rent you owed from April.

Want to help someone else pay their rent? Heres how you can donate

If you want to help, you can donate money to the citys program online. Every dollar into the program goes to pay rent because the city covers other operating costs. And donations are tax-deductible.

Are there other ways to get help with my rent?

If you cant pay your rent, you should get in touch with your landlord immediately to explain the situation, and try to work out accommodations for payment. Kadeem Morris, a lawyer with Community Legal Services of Philadelphias housing unit, said that solutions include payment plans, getting your late fee waived, or paying what you can now. If you live in federally subsidized housing, you may be able to ask for a rent recalculation by contacting the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

But there are also other rent assistance programs and funds out there. PhillyTenant.org, which is run by several groups including CLS, recommends contacting organizations such as the Office of Homeless Services (215-686-7177), or the Utility Emergency Services Fund (215-972-5170).

Can I be evicted if I cant pay my rent?

Evictions and foreclosures are on hold in Pennsylvania until at least July 10 because of an executive order signed by Gov. Tom Wolf. Wolf announced the decision alongside Attorney General Josh Shapiro, saying that its much easier to wash your hands if you have a sink. Evictions in Philadelphia, meanwhile, are on hold through May 31.

The CARES Act protects people living in federally subsidized housing from eviction until July 25. And if your landlord has a federally backed mortgage, you are also protected until that date. That applies to about 40% of renters.

If you are locked out of your home during this period, Morris said, you should call the police. If youre facing eviction, he added, contact the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project tenant hotline for guidance at 267-443-2500. More information is available via PhillyTenant.org.

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.
Students in northeast Syria are currently learning online  a challenge for the Kurdish-led autonomous region where electricity and internet are weak and war continues. Yet the novel coronavirus is not the only reason local authorities chose to move classes to the internet.

Shirin Hemo, an education administrator in the Kurdish-led autonomous administration of north and east Syria, said the pandemic was only the latest calamity to result in school closures in the region.

When Turkey attacked, schools closed, and before some regions were occupied by Daesh, Hemo told Al-Monitor, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. Then with the coronavirus, we had to have an alternative.

In October, feeling threatened by enemy Kurdish groups near its territory, Turkey attacked positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along its border and clashes between the SDF and Turkeys Syrian rebel allies continue. In addition to these attacks, Turkey  which considers the SDF an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party  continues to cut off access to water in the region intermittently.

Children in northeast Syria are currently learning in their own languages online and on television. This new use of technology poses difficulties, but may continue to be in use beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

Northeast Syria, which many Kurds call Rojava, is a statelet controlled by the SDF, and the group has limited recognition from Damascus. The Kurdish political party the Democratic Union Party is the main political power there. The diverse area is home to Kurds, Syriac Christians, Yazidis, Arabs and Turkmens. Although the Kurdish-led administration doesn't have full ties with Damascus, negotiations under Russian auspices have led to an understanding of sorts.

The region achieved de facto autonomy early on in the civil war and autonomous administration authorities soon gave children the opportunity to study in Arabic, Kurdish or Syriac  a type of Aramaic spoken by Christians. The Syrian government had heavily repressed the use of Kurdish language in the country, making this the first time Syrian Kurds could study in Kurdish in modern times.

The autonomous administration imposed a lockdown to mitigate the virus spread in March. Schools have remained closed since.

There are now 4,317 schools under autonomous administration supervision in northeast Syria as well as 33 connected to the Syrian government, according to the Rojava Information Center  a research organization based in the areas capital, Qamishli.

Education has been difficult recently  and not only because of the coronavirus.

The war with Turkey forced many children to flee areas the autonomous administrations western areas such as Tel Tamr in the middle of the school year, with many going to the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli. Some schools were also not usable at the time because they were hosting displaced people. Before that, children left their home areas and schools due to the Islamic State.

Hemo is part of the schools committee in northeast Syrias Qamishli province. She is also the co-chair of its education planning and standards subcommittee. Northeast Syrian administrative bodies often have both a female and male chairperson for ideological reasons.

Weve always had difficult conditions. Theres been a big shadow, said Hemo.

When Turkey attacked Hasakah and Qamishli, her team began discussing alternatives to education in schools.

There were bombings and we had to think what to do with the lessons, she said.

The school closures due to the coronavirus were the impetus for finally moving the classes online.

The new online classes and classes on television program is called Dibistana Male, meaning school at home in Kurdish. Classes in autonomous administration schools are now on the local channel Rojava TV six days a week and on Dibistana Males YouTube channel. The channel is updated daily with videos in Kurdish and Arabic.

Each video has an animated introduction where a virtual teacher writes the lessons subject and number on the board. An Eastern melody plays while this is happening. The teacher then delivers a usually 15- to 30-minute lesson, speaking to the camera and writing on the board.

All basic school subjects are covered. Some of the history lessons have relevance to the modern political situation between the Kurds, Turkey and the Arab world. One history video is called resistance movements against the Ottoman occupation in Arab countries.

The program only has three cameras and they film six days a week, according to Hemo. Each teacher has 15-20 students and is in contact with them via WhatsApp in addition to delivering the video lectures. All grades of students before university receive these lessons except for small children in primary school, she said.

Some universities in northeast Syria are also using online education after the autonomous administrations decision, including the University of Rojava in Qamishli.

The endeavor is not without issues. Poor electricity and slow internet are the biggest difficulties. All of northeast Syria is without electricity for several hours a day, making people dependent on generators. The area also has relatively slow internet speeds, sometimes below 3G. Not everyone has consistent access to electricity and the internet.

Naman Osman teaches English language and translation at the University of Rojava. He said he teaches late into the night because the electricity cuts are less frequent at that time and the internet is somewhat faster.

I teach between 8 and 11 p.m. because there is electricity and the internet is good, Osman told Al-Monitor. The net is somewhat good at that time.

Osman teaches his students via Zoom, a video conference application people around the world are using due to the coronavirus-related shutdowns.

Northeast Syrias political isolation poses a problem here. The University of Rojava, for example, lacks international accreditation. This means the teachers do not have access to corporate Zoom accounts that allow for unlimited calls. Osman must therefore conduct several Zoom sessions over the three hours he teaches nightly.

We have no permission, so we stop and restart, he said. We have no such account.

Despite these difficulties, the administration saw the internet as the best solution, Hemo said.

Northeast Syrias coronavirus response faces a myriad of obstacles. The area lacks testing capabilities and its health care infrastructure is strained by the years of fighting. The UNs deferential relationship with the Syrian government has resulted in a limited amount of aid reaching the region.

Having to conduct classes online in the difficult context of the virus in a war-torn region has an upside, though. Osman said he has benefited from improving his PowerPoint skills during the universitys closure and will continue to incorporate the internet in the future.

When we return to our classes, I will continue to do online because its very helpful, he said.

Hemo said that the lessons online status will be a resource for years to come.

If in a year or five you need it, the education will be on the internet, she said. Its not only in these conditions."
Last week, the Chicago Park District announced it will offer an abbreviated summer camp season, with camp and other programs beginning July 6. But like other parks and recreation agencies across the region, the district is still waiting for additional guidelines to determine if pools can safely reopen at all this season.
Armenias jailed former President Robert Kocharian underwent surgery on Tuesday for the second time in seven months.

Kocharians office said that the operation went according to plan and that he is now in a satisfactory condition. It did not reveal the medical condition he suffered from.

Kocharian, who is standing trial on corruption and coup charges strongly denied by him, was already operated on at Yerevans Izmirlian Medical Center in October. He was again the taken to the private hospital on April 28 for what one of his lawyers described as a post-operative checkup.

Earlier this spring, Kocharian spent more than three weeks in another hospital after complaining of blood pressure fluctuations. He was sent back to prison on April 3.

Kocharians lawyers have since repeatedly demanded his release from custody on health grounds, saying that he risks being infected with coronavirus. They say that 65-year-old is in a COVID-19 high-risk group because of his age and health problems.

The lawyers reiterated their demands on Friday when a Yerevan court resumed the high-profile trial of Kocharian and three other former officials prosecuted on charges mostly stemming from the 2008 post-election unrest in the Armenian capital.

Three former Armenian prime ministers also attended the court hearing to ask the presiding judge, Anna Danibekian, to free Kocharian pending the outcome of the trial. Danibekian is scheduled to respond to these petitions on Wednesday.

Kocharian rejects all charges leveled against him as politically motivated.
An industrial dispute has erupted on Sydney's ferry service after a worker was dismissed for allegedly failing an alcohol test.

Harbour City ferry F1 services between Circular Quay and Manly were cancelled on Tuesday evening, with customers asked to use replacement buses or the Manly Fast Ferry.

Several ferry services between Circular Quay and Manly were cancelled after an industrial dispute on Tuesday. Credit:Ryan Stuart

The dispute was sparked after a crew member was dismissed for allegedly returning a positive alcohol test.

"The MUA and Transdev are in dispute following the dismissal of an employee who provided a positive alcohol test recently," a Transdev Sydney Ferries spokesman said in a statement.
WESTPORT  The Board of Education and district administration has appointed Michael Rizzo as the new assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services.

I am very, very excited to rejoin the Westport Public Schools in this role, Rizzo said following his unanimous approval at a BOE meeting Monday.

Rizzo steps in for Tina Mannarino who went on sick leave in the winter and then announced in April she would be leaving the district. He previously served as an administrator in Westport beginning in 2006, the last six years as director of pupil services in Westport, which was elevated to an assistant superintendent position after his departure in 2018.

He served as Westons assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services in the interim.

John Bayers, human resources director, said a committee comprised of administrators, school board members, parents and teachers recommended Rizzo to incoming Superintendent Thomas Scarice.

I couldnt be more pleased with the anticipated appointment of Mike Rizzo in this position, Scarice said. His credentials speak for themselves. His professional experiences are exemplary.

Kate Grijns, co-chair of the PTAs Special Education Committee, said the night was truly a dream come true for many special education parents.

Our district was so fortunate to have Mike Rizzo lead our pupil services department once, and now were over the moon to welcome him back to be our assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services, Grijns said.

Last year, Grijns and a number of parents voiced concern of the districts special education practices after a parent accused Mannarino, Bayers and former Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer of using retaliatory tactics against his family.

The school board declined comment at the time, stating federal and state laws limit what can be shared in any investigation regarding employees and students.

But Grijns, who sat on the search committee, gave a warm endorsement for Rizzo and said many special needs parents were also excited.

Mike is a hero and a mentor to parents and colleagues alike, she said.

The school board showed similar support in Rizzos approval.

Im thrilled to see Mike back here in Westport, BOE Chair Candice Savin said. I think hell really be able to hit the ground running because he has a lot of trust and love here in the community.

In other business, the school board reviewed a strategic entry plan for Scarice, who officially begins his role on July 1.

I do think the district is at a point right now where we have to position ourselves for the highest level of success during this transition, Scarice said.

He said he looks to devote time establishing relationships and learning more about the district before implementing any changes. Scarice said any changes would be systematic, transparent and public and take course over his first year.

Sometimes in order to go forward long term in a real, real measurable way, you to have pause and take things in and slow things down, he said.

The school board will review Scarices plan again at its meeting on June 1.

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com
A week after Ahmaud Arbery's fatal video became viral, people are coming after the man who stood by and filmed the whole incident. According to Glynn County police, William Roddy Bryan and his fiancee are getting death threats.

The authorities were told that Bryan unsuccessfully tried to block Ahmaud Arbery with his car before following the 25-year-old victim who was jogging away. He was driving behind when Arbery ran toward a stopped pickup truck and was recording the whole incident with his cellphone. The suspect, Travis McMichael, shot Arbery with a shotgun as the two struggled over McMichael's gun.

Accomplice or innocent bystander?

A defense attorney said that Bryan is now under investigation by police even though he turned over his video and cooperated with authorities from day one. Attorney Kevin Gough said that it was Bryan who videotaped the incident, disclosed the existence of the videotape, and invited a responding Glynn County Police Officer to sit with him in his truck where they both watched the video together.

In the video, it shows that Arbery and the McMichaels had a confrontation before the father and son shot Arbery and left him dead in Brunswick. The suspects, Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 64, were arrested on May 7 and they now face charges of murder and aggravated assault in Arbery's killing that happened on February 23, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to GBI Director Vic Reynolds, the footage was a very important piece of evidence. When asked whether Bryan will also be arrested, Reynolds said that the investigation is still active.

Also Read: California Beach Forced to Close After a Shark Attack Killed a Surfer

Death threats

The comments by authorities are not good enough for the public because Bryan's attorney said in a statement that Bryan's life is now in danger, along with his family, friends, and neighbors. He added that his client lost his job despite being innocent, volunteering to share his video with law enforcement, and fully cooperating with the investigation.

Amy Elrod, Bryan's fiancee, said that she knew something was wrong the day of the shooting, based on Bryan's demeanor when he got home. Elrod said that Bryan was so emotional. Since the video's release, she said that she and Bryan have only returned to the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the shooting happened to grab essential items.

Bryan and Elrod live near the McMichaels but they were not aware of the connections of the suspects to law enforcement and the District Attorney's office. Bryan said that he is scared for his life and that he and his fiancee are now living in their car because they can't go home.

Gough said that Bryan videotaped what was going on and because he did, there is a prosecution. If there was no videotape of the incident, the only person who could speak to what happened is the victim. Gough added that the video is the prosecution.

According to Elrod, even their family members and their neighbors have received death threats since the video surfaced. She expressed her concern that Bryan might end up in jail with the two men who murdered Arbery.



Related Article: Mom Who Stabbed 3-Year-Old Son in Cold-Blooded Murder Faces Multiple Charges

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The extreme persecution of North Korea toward Christians is beyond imagination. The country ranked #1 by Opendoors, as the most dangerous place for Christians, puts people in Prison camp when they follow Jesus and give back-breaking labor with intentionally brutal schedules-all in an effort to "break" prisoners. Death from starvation, harsh labor and beatings happen daily.

Hea Woo(not her real name), who lives in South Korea shared her experience in the North Korean prison Camp to Opendoors, "All the inmates were starving. Each person received one handful of rotten corn [and] there was nothing else to eat. We got something watery-it wasn't even a soup. We got those as food for the whole year. Nothing else."

With such treatment, people are obligated to work more than cows or animals. "Because everyone is forced to do labor, people die from malnutrition. People died from accidents while working, too," She added.

According to her, the typical day in a labor camp schedule starts at 5 a.m. by the guards' count of people. Whether it is hot summer or winter they work from 8 a.m. until 7p.m. and in the evening prisoners must take two hours long politics class. If anyone goes against it, he or she is locked up in a small room where people cannot lie down nor stand up straight. Soldiers are allowed to hit the inmates whenever they show disobedience. Hea's husband also died at this prison camp.

Hannah(not her real name) remembers how when their brothers and sisters' faith was discovered, she and her family were isolated from the other prisoners, forced to live in cells where they couldn't stand up or lie down.

"Shortly after we entered the camp, we saw guards force a prisoner to murder a baby. Almost every day, we were all called for interrogation and questions. They'd beat us so harshly. When there was no interrogation, we had to kneel in our cells from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. and not speak," Hannah reflected.

"After my husband saw what they did with the baby and the guards threatened to kill his family, he had to tell them the truth.[He knew it would be worse for all of his family if they found out about his faith later.] After his confession, all four of us were locked up in solitary confinement-a small cage. We didn't receive any food or water and were not able to sleep."

There are nearly 50,000 believers who are currently in prison and 300,000 underground church believers in North Korea according to report from Opendoors. Opendoors requested prayer and support for their safety and release.

Hea's prayer topic is this: "I pray that the idolatry persisting over generations would disappear and that people could repent. I prayed that the prison would break apart as well. I also prayed for the Christians all over the world to pray for us with sincerity."
The company veteran came onboard Zurich in 1958 and served as CEO from 1974 to 1991 as well as chair between 1977 and 1995. He had been honorary chairman ever since.

Paying tribute, current chair Michel M. Lies had this to say: Fritz Gerber was a remarkable leader and is rightly considered one of the greatest company managers in Switzerland.

At Zurich, his leadership was characterized by far-sightedness, a strategic mindset, and an ability to bring out the best in people. He significantly contributed to Zurichs strategic positioning and commercial success.

Greco, likewise, thanked the esteemed executive for everything he did for the firm.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought response of the Centre, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on a plea by the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) challenging the decision of the neighbouring states restricting the movement of advocates to visit their offices and attend courts in the national capital.

Justice Prateek Jalan, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, also asked the Delhi government to file its reply to the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on May 18.

While the Delhi government's counsel supported the petition, the Haryana government opposed the plea and the Uttar Pradesh government remained unrepresented during the hearing.

The plea, through BCD chairperson and advocate K C Mittal, referred to a May 1 order of the Central government permitting the use of private offices during the lockdown and contended that advocates, who are residing in neighbouring areas of Delhi, like Noida and Gurugram, are also entitled to travel to the national capital and use their offices.

During the hearing, the Centre's counsel assured the court that an endeavour would be made to resolve the grievances raised in the petition.

Mittal submitted that it was not an adversarial litigation and lawyers themselves were conscious and disciplined in the fight against COVID-19.

The petition, filed through advocate Amit Prakash Shahi, said that on May 8, the Delhi government has issued a statement according to which Chartered Accountants and advocates cannot be prevented from attending their private offices.

The advocates residing in different towns of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are entitled to enter Delhi and open their offices and respective governments, their officials and agents cannot prevent the advocates from crossing the border for Ingress and egress from their place of Residence to attend their offices.

The non-permitting of advocates to cross the border by the officials and authorities at the border of respondents no. 2 (UP government) and 3 (Haryana government) is in violation of fundamental rights under Article 19 (1)(d) (right to freedom of movement) and 301 (freedom of trade and commerce) of the Constitution and their action is highly arbitrary and illegal, the plea said.

It sought direction to ensure the ingress and egress of the advocates from various towns in NCR to attend to their private offices at Delhi on the basis of their Bar identity cards.

Recently, the Delhi High Court Bar Association had also written a letter to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to allow advocates from NCR region to cross Delhi border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) here on Tuesday demanded inquiry into the death of a 26-year-old Madhya Pradesh resident who was quarantined at Swarghat in Bilaspur district.

The party alleged that he was not given timely treatment after his health deteriorated at the quarantine centre, and his body was not kept at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH), Shimla, as per the rules. They have asked for stern action against those responsible for the alleged negligence.

CPI (M) leader Sanjay Chauhan said that as per information, the victim had sustained injuries after he fell in the quarantine centre. His life could have been saved had he been rushed to the hospital on time, Chauhan said.

This incident shows that the quarantine facilities set up by the state government are not up to the mark and hospitals and health institutions are not ready to deal with Covid-19 and other diseases, the CPI (M) leader said.

Stating that Bilaspur didnt have ample facilities for the MP mans treatment, Chauhan asked, Why was he referred to IGMCH only after his condition deteriorated and not before. He was treated inhumanely at IGMCH.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Syracuse police are looking for whoever shot at a truck Monday afternoon on the citys North Side.

At least three people called the Onondaga County 911 Center at about 3:25 p.m. to report hearing multiple gunshots in the area of Park and Oak streets, according to police dispatches. One caller heard about 10 gunshots, dispatchers said.

When officers arrived, they saw a truck parked partially in the roadway with multiple bullet holes fired into it, Syracuse police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Malinowski said. Police also found multiple shell casings at the scene, although they did not receive any reports of injuries, he said.

Syracuse police say they are continuing to investigate and ask anyone with information to call them at 315-442-5222.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
Republicans challenging Donald Trumps re-election bid have aired two new attack adverts on Fox News that claim the US president has abused the power of his office.

The conservative group, Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL), released the adverts that appeared on Monday during Fox News Fox & Friends, Tucker Carlson Tonight and Sean Hannity.

One 94-second spot, titled Donald Trump Acts Like Hes a King, told viewers that the president thinks our constitutional system doesnt apply to him.

He says he has an absolute right to do whatever he wants with law enforcement, it continued, alleging that the billionaire was going after his enemies and protecting his friends.

On Tuesday the US Supreme Court hear oral arguments against the president in three cases that could determine the shape of Congresss powers to hold presidents to account.

Mr Trump has tried to block subpoenas which demanded the release of his personal financial records.

The Supreme Court will decide whether or not Mr Trump could be indicted for financial crimes while in office, under Article II of the US constitution.

The president has maintained that the investigation is beyond the powers of Congress.

At its core, our constitution relies on the fundamental principle of checks and balances, said RRL chief of communications Carson Putnam and Protect Democracy policy advocate Justin Vail in a joint statement on Monday.

Neither the president, nor Congress, nor the courts can have unlimited power. But president Trump blatantly flouts that notion, abusing his power and then playing a dangerous shell game to avoid any accountability, the statement said.

President Trumps attorneys will tell the Supreme Court that the president is immune from all accountability, they added. The Supreme Court  and we the people  must defend the future of our democracy and reject the Presidents extreme arguments.

In a second RRL video, former Republican New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman says that the US was in a dangerous position when a president cannot be held to account.

Were in a very dangerous position because that means a president can do whatever they want, argued the advert.

Mondays advertisements were the latest in a series of RRL campaigns against Mr Trump.
Saint-Jean-de-Soudain, May 12, 2020, 8:00 am CEST - SergeFerrari Group (FR0011950682 - SEFER) designs, develops and manufactures innovative composite membranes for lightweight architectural and outdoor applications and is listed on Euronext Paris - Compartment C.

Today, the Serge Ferrari Group announces that it has successfully developed and patented a technology for composite membranes, which reduces viral load of coronaviruses by 95% after 15-minute contact time, and by 99.5% after one-hour contact time. This technology was tested by Virhealth, a laboratory specialising in virucidal and bactericidal testing of decontamination/disinfection technology.

When applied on membranes, this technology could contribute, along with other sanitary preventive measures, to make surfaces safer in facilities open to the public or with heavy footfall, including healthcare facilities, schools, day nurseries, as well as offices, retail businesses, cultural institutions, leisure facilities and public transport vehicles.

A technology based on silver particles

Relying on the properties of silver particles, the Serge Ferrari R&D teams have developed a technology capable of eliminating coronaviruses. To achieve this result, they have worked on and evaluated a variety of technologies applied to the Group's products to prevent fabrics from becoming propagation sources for viruses and bacteria, thereby contributing to reduce the risks and pace of contamination.

"We identified the antiviral properties of silver and used it to develop innovative formulations for coating our membranes, delivering effectiveness verified by the independent laboratory Virhealth. We drew on our vast expertise to determine the formulations of this treatment and its possible industrial applications," says Philippe Espiard, Director of R&D at Serge Ferrari Group. "With our capacity to deliver disruptive innovations to the market, Serge Ferrari hopes to contribute, however it can, to meet new needs arising from this pandemic, not only for hospitals and the healthcare industry, but for society as a whole."

Thanks to this new technology, the Serge Ferrari Group will market fabrics with antiviral properties for medical applications: modular structures for patient care (fully equipped field hospitals, rapid-deployment tents, etc.) or for temporarily increased storage capacity in hospitals, indoor fittings (partition screens, blinds for hospital room windows), medical equipment (washable mattresses, stretchers, upholstery for medical furnishings, etc.) and individual protective gear (jumpsuits).

In addition to these applications, Serge Ferrari's patented technology could also provide a valuable contribution for materials used in facilities open to the public or with high footfall, including schools, day nurseries, as well as offices, retail businesses, hospitality establishments, event venues and public transport vehicles.

"For a long time, the Serge Ferrari Group has developed composite fabrics to address challenges arising from public health crises. Consideration, concern and attention to others are values central to Serge Ferrari's caring philosophy, including - and especially - in difficult situations. Our teams are proud to have a chance to be instrumental in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to partake in something larger in social terms," explained Sebastien Ferrari, Serge Ferrari Group Chairman and CEO.

Financial Calendar

Annual General Meeting: Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 5:00 pm (in closed session)

(in closed session) Publication of H1 2020 revenues on Tuesday July 28, 2020 after market close

on after market close Publication of H1 2020 results on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, after market close.

ABOUT SERGE FERRARI

The Serge Ferrari Group designs, develops and manufactures innovative composite fabrics for lightweight architectural and outdoor applications in a global market estimated by the company at around 6 billion. The unique characteristics of these products make them ideal for technical applications in three fields: architecture, specialties for industry professionals, and composite membranes for the consumer market. Its main competitive advantage is based on the implementation of differentiating proprietary technologies and know-how. The Group has four production sites in Europe. Serge Ferrari operates in 80 countries via eight subsidiaries (USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, India, China, Turkey and Germany), two sales offices (Spain and Dubai), the distribution business of the Giofex Group in Europe, and a network of over 100 independent distributors world-wide.

At the end of 2019, Serge Ferrari posted consolidated revenues of 189 million of which 75% was achieved outside France. The company SergeFerrari Group is listed on Euronext Paris - Compartment C (ISIN code: FR0011950682). The SergeFerrari Group share is eligible for PEA-SME and FCPI Investment.

www.sergeferrari.com

Contacts

Serge Ferrari

Philippe Brun

Chief Financial Officer

investor@sergeferrari.com



NewCap

Investor Relations

Sandrine Boussard-Gallien

Theodora Xu

Tel.: +33(0) 1 44 71 94 94

sferrari@newcap.eu

NewCap

Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau

Tel.: +33(0) 1 44 71 94 98

nmerigeau@newcap.fr



NOTES TO EDITORS

Since its inception in 1973, the Serge Ferrari Group has supplied clients with flexible composite materials in a number of public health crises - related to natural catastrophes or otherwise - for building fully equipped field hospitals and humanitarian camps, manufacturing partition screens, hospital cubicle curtains, protective gear and washable mattresses.

Technologies developed by the Group provide a solution to improve working conditions for professionals of the healthcare and related industries, and to deliver more effective responses to challenges posed by public health crises. Already used across the world, these products have also shown their value in service of WHO and Doctors Without Borders, in the context of emergency situations caused by outbreaks of the Ebola virus in Africa.

4.5% OF REVENUES DEDICATED TO R&D

As a pillar of the Group's growth strategy, innovation is at the heart of Serge Ferrari's business model and constitutes a major differentiating factor. Our strategy aims to improve product formulations, manufacturing equipment and services offered to clients. It is the hallmark of our unique vision of the work we do and the service we provide worldwide.

The strategic choice to invest heavily on innovation has led the Group to allocate 4.5% of its revenues into our R&D activity, led by some forty experts (engineers, doctors of engineering) based in France (La Tour du Pin), Switzerland (Emmenbruck and Eglisau) and Italy.

The diversity of their scientific backgrounds and skills, spanning chemistry, chemical physics, composite materials, mechanics, processes and textiles, have provided the Group with the resources necessary to rapidly address all challenges.

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EAST LANSING, MI  Michigan State University is anticipating losses of up to $300 million for fiscal year 2021, President Samuel L. Stanley said in an email to the MSU community on Monday.

In response, the university is considering campus-wide salary reductions in a scaled manner for all non-executive employees, and proposing reducing MSUs above-the-match retirement plan contributions, Stanley said in the May 11 email.

These proposed cuts and reductions are for fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1, but given the scope and scale of the pandemic and its financial impact, we may need to employ them beyond that fiscal year, Stanley said.

Last month, MSU announced that revenue reductions and real costs are already in the $50 million to $60 million range for fiscal year 2202. A series of budget reductions were implemented in response to the losses, which include pay cuts for MSU executives and reducing travel expenditures and other discretionary expenses, such as outside services, consulting, conferences and purchases.

Michigan State University announces pay cuts after coronavirus outbreak causes $50M in losses

MSU will continue to examine all capital projects to determine which can be paused, briefly delayed or indefinitely postponed, Stanley said Monday. The university is also implementing a 3% budget reduction to academic and administrative units.

All of the implemented and proposed measures, if applied across the university, would address our estimated budget shortfall, estimated at nearly 11% of our general fund expenditures," Stanley said.

Stanley has been working with Interim Provost Teresa Sullivan and Norman Beauchamp, executive vice president for health sciences, to discuss and finalize the proposals. Discussions regarding unpaid furloughs with continued health care coverage are ongoing, as well as discussions with labor unions to address the financial challenges MSU faces, Stanley said.

Given all of the hard work you have been putting in during this time, both personally and professionally, it is very difficult for me to ask even more of you. But I do need to ask you for greater sacrifices to address the current situation and preserve the long-term strength of our great university, Stanley said to employees.

Stanley established the COVID-19 Reopening Campus Task Force last month to develop and review scenarios for when and how to resume on-campus activities. The task force is chaired by Beauchamp and university physician David Weismantel and is continuing to make recommendations and create implementation teams for a forecasted return to campus, Stanley said.

In a tele-town hall meeting with Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson and University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, Stanley said MSU is working on a plan to be prepared to be online again when students come back in the fall, but the university wants to remain prepared if students are allowed to return to campus.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

READ MORE:

Michigan State University freezing tuition rates amid coronavirus pandemic

Central Michigan University announces plans for face-to-face classes for fall semester

University of Michigan provost cautiously optimistic for in-person fall semester

Substantial layoffs still coming at Western Michigan University as budgets cut by 20%

GVSU in-person commencement now scheduled for October
Donald Smith & Co. recently announced its portfolio updates for the first quarter of 2020.

The firm, which was founded by Donald Smith (Trades, Portfolio) in 1980, specializes in out-of-favor stocks that are trading at a discount to their tangible book value. The portfolio managers look for stocks with good earnings expectations over the next two to four years and maintain concentrated funds in order to focus on their best ideas. After Smith passed away in late 2019, he was succeeded as CEO by Richard Greenberg, who is also the co-chief investment officer along with Jon Hartsel.





Based on the firm's investing criteria, its top buys for the first quarter were The Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS), Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX) and Domtar Corp. (NYSE:UFS).

The Mosaic Co.

The firm added 3,624,327 shares to its position in Mosaic, increasing the stake by 212.54% to a total of 5,329,551 shares and impacting the equity portfolio by 2.35%. Shares traded for an average price of $17.15 during the quarter.

Based in Tampa, Florida, Mosaic is the world's largest producer of potash and phosphate fertilizers. Mosaic mines phosphate from land in Florida and Peru and potash from New Mexico. It is also in the process of establishing a joint phosphate venture in Saudi Arabia, which, when complete, is expected to yield the company 25% of the annual mining volume of 3 million tons.

On May 12, shares of Mosaic traded around $11.01 for a market cap of $4.21 billion and a price-book ratio of 0.48. According to the Peter Lynch chart, shares may be undervalued compared to historical earnings, though the company earned a net loss in 2019.

be424d5a990707e5abff35b3a4447a38.png

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 4 out of 10, a profitability rating of 6 out of 10 and a business predictability rating of one out of five stars.

Story continues

The cash-debt ratio of 0.19 is lower than 68.14% of competitors. Both the interest coverage ratio of 0.47 and the Altman Z-Score of 1.22 indicate that the company could be in danger of bankruptcy if it cannot secure additional liquidity.

23cfb01276a9798bb0873a2debca8414.png

The operating margin of 1.12% is also low for the industry, but the three-year revenue growth rate of 4.4% shows positive top-line improvement. The company's weighted average cost of capital is higher than its return on invested capital, indicating a lack of profitability.

fb3775f2a1f9a0e68ae8edff04a50ce5.png

Equinox Gold Corp.

The firm also established a new position of 3,598,106 shares in Equinox Gold Corp., which had a 1.43% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $7.90.

Equinox Gold is a mining company based in Vancouver, Canada. It has six producing gold mines in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, as well as four growth projects and a gold reserve base.

On May 12, shares of Equinox Gold traded around $8.55 for a market cap of $1.89 billion and a price-book ratio of 2.57. During the company's publicly traded history, it has not returned positive net income.

9f956f5c2f7202f966dfbc507a88ecb2.png

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 5 out of 10, a profitability rating of 1 out of 10 and a business predictability rating of one out of five stars.

The cash-debt ratio of 0.26% is low for the industry, but the Altman Z-Score of 2.93 suggests that the company is safe from bankruptcy.

3f99a93acaccfbfdd8679039bc2d68bf.png

The operating margin of 28.21% is higher than 83.48% of competitors and ROIC recently exceeded WACC, indicating profitability. However, earnings per share without non-recurring items has declined at a rate of 30.8% per year over the past three years.

f76ff529c3bcb2de6b8235f179772313.png

Domtar Corp.

The firm invested in 947,181 shares of Domtar after selling out of its previous holding in the company in the second quarter of 2012. The trade had a 1.23% impact on the equity portfolio. Shares traded for an average price of $32.10 during the quarter.

Domtar is a paper mill company based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. It is the world's second-largest producer of uncoated free-sheet paper and produces a variety of other paper products as well, including specialty papers, market pulp and paper-based hygiene products.

On May 12, shares of Domtar traded around $21.13 for a market cap of $1.17 billion and a price-book ratio of 0.55. According to the Peter Lynch chart, the price is high compared to earnings for the previous two quarters but low compared to 2018 and early 2019 earnings.

471e7887fa874760f595ee5f087ce5be.png

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 5 out of 10, a profitability rating of 6 out of 10 and a business predictability rating of one out of five stars.

The cash-debt ratio of 0.13 is lower than 81.65% of competitors, but the interest coverage ratio of 3.12 and current ratio of 2.06 indicate sufficient liquidity to pay short-term creditors.

9c827596c0b99af5ee5e8f690e3251bd.png

The operating margin of 3.1% is below the industry median of 4.58%, while the three-year revenue growth rate of 1.6% is lower than 62.34% of competitors. The company's WACC is higher than its ROIC, suggesting low profitability.

1ffd3d3d665d8dd6b77e6540e6d26fb3.png

Portfolio overview

As of the quarter's end, the firm held 66 common stock positions for an equity portfolio valued at $1.67 billion. The top holdings were Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE:GFI) with 8.91% of the equity portfolio, Air France-KLM (AFLYY) with 7.2% and AerCap Holdings NV (NYSE:AER) with 6.72%.

The turnover for the quarter was 13%. In terms of sector weighting, the firm was most invested in basic materials, industrials and financial services.

54384ec99e593de3f82f8fcddf65b00c.png

Disclosure: Author owns no shares in any of the stocks mentioned. The mention of stocks in this article does not at any point constitute an investment recommendation. Portfolio updates reflect only common stock positions as per the regulatory filings for the quarter in question and may not include changes made after the quarter ended.

Read more here:

Top 1st-Quarter Buys of First Pacific Advisors

Warren Buffett: What You Know Can Change

Diamond Hill Capital's Top 1st-Quarter Buys







Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






Actor Michael Madsen has opened up about his experience of working with Harvey Weinstein, revealing that the disgraced movie producer never wanted him to be a part of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's films.

Madsen is one of the frequent collaborators of Tarantino, having worked with the filmmaker on movies such as "Reservoir Dogs", "Kill Bill" series and "The Hateful Eight".

Talking to The Independent, the 62-year-old actor said Tarantino fought with Weinstein whenever he was casting him in a movie.

"Harvey never liked me. I don't know if he ever liked anybody, but I know for a fact he didn't like me. He never wanted me in any of Quentin's movies. I think I'm only in them because Quentin stood up for me every single time and said I'm going to use Michael whether you like it or not," Madsen said.

"You think about people's dreams, you know, because Hollywood is a dream factory. The malevolence of it is the darkest part about it taking advantage of somebody's dream. It's monstrous," he added.

Madsen also opened up about how he has never been cast as a leading hero and he believes it is because of the lack of "imagination" on the part of filmmakers.

"I could have made a great son of Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood's film series). I could be Dirty Harry's son who just got out of prison, you know? I also think I would have made a great Batman, honestly. But nobody would let Michael Madsen play Batman because they don't have an imagination. Everyone wants to play it safe," he said.

The actor further said that for filmmakers, he is fit for a character who is not "perfect".

"The type of character I think I play really well is somebody who's not perfect, who's a little rough around the edges not out of aGQmagazine, and might have a cigarette now and then or need a shave, but you can bet your a** I'm gonna do the right thing. That's the real Michael more than anything, and I just wish it was captured on film," Madsen added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taliban Attack On Afghan Army Checkpoint Kills Six As Violence Threatens Peace Deal

By RFE/RL May 11, 2020

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says six soldiers were killed and five wounded in a Taliban attack on an army checkpoint in the eastern province of Laghman as a wave of violence threatens an accord aimed at ending fighting in the war-torn country.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement on May 11 that the troops repelled the attackers, adding that the Taliban also suffered casualties though it did not provide specific figures.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack that occurred late on May 10.

In a separate incident four bombs, one placed under a garbage bin and the other three by the side of the road, went off in northern Kabul on May 11, wounding four civilians, including a child, police said.

The roadside bombs were spaced within 10-20 meters of one another, said Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz. The wounded child is a 12-year-old girl, Faramarz added.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in Kabul and its surroundings.

The explosions in the Tahia Maskan area of Kabul city, targeted vehicles belonging to the National Directorate of Security (NDS), according to security officials.

In a meeting with Taliban representatives in Qatar last week, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad stressed the need for a cease-fire after an uptick in violence throughout the country.

The Taliban has not carried out any large attacks in the capital since it signed a landmark deal with Washington in February meant to pave the way for peace in the country after more than 18 years of war.

But the Afghan capital has been the scene of several smaller-scale attacks over the past week, including explosions from two hand grenades late on May 10 in the western part of Kabul.

There were no casualties in that attack, according to Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Meanwhile, an exchange of prisoners between the Afghan government and the Taliban has continued under the February deal, which stipulates that Kabul should 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the militants are to release 1,000 captives -- a move expected to lead to intra-Afghan negotiations.

The government says it has freed 1,000 Taliban prisoners.

The militants have confirmed the release of 300 Taliban members and said they have freed 225 Afghan soldiers -- a figure not confirmed by the government.

With reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and Tolonews.com

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/four-roadside-bombs -explode-in-kabul/30605218.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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It was time for Richard Beary to take his wife to work but a row of police cars were blocking their Missouri City driveway.

The couple asked the officers to move, and it wasnt until Beary got back that he realized a car belonging to his 35-year-old stepson, Joshua Johnson, was inside the crime scene at a neighbors home on East Ritter Circle. The police were there to investigate a fatal shooting involving an undercover Harris County Sheriffs Office deputy.

I saw this figure of a body on the ground, wrapped in a white sheet, Beary, 71, recalled of the April 22 shooting. I said, Thats my son.

Johnson lay under that sheet for at least five more hours, he said.

Police said that just before dawn that day, Johnson approached the undercover deputy as he sat in an unmarked vehicle parked under a street light. Johnson tapped on the deputys window around 6 a.m. with a BB gun in one hand and his phone with its light shining in the other.

Words were exchanged and the deputy asked Johnson to lower his weapon. He raised it instead, authorities said. The deputy opened fire  striking Johnson at least twice. He retreated to his vehicle, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiners office.

Assistant Chief Timothy Navarre said the BB gun looked like a more lethal weapon.

The plainclothes deputy had been working with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force to find a capital murder suspect from Mesquite, police said. The wanted suspect  20-year-old Jalynn Turner  was accused of gunning down a man who had been sitting in a car. Turner could not be found on that stretch of street, where a family member of his was believed to have lived.

About three hours after the Houston shooting, Turner surrendered to North Texas authorities, Mesquite police spokesman Lt. Stephen Biggs.

No video could be found of what happened during the East Ritter Circle shooting, the second in a string of recent Houston area officer-involved deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic. The deputy was not wearing a body camera and is not required to while working undercover, said Jason Spencer, spokesman for the sheriffs office.

Authorities said the deputy was wearing a tactical vest with sheriffs office lettering on it. It was not known if he identified himself to Johnson as law enforcement.

The pandemic has given hunkered down neighbors the time to look over the crime scene for themselves and think about what happened and why. A bullet hole in an out-of-the-way place makes them wonder about how it got there.

I know everybodys talking about what happened and of course well never know because Josh is dead, said Pat Roddy, who opened her garage door that morning to find his body on her lawn.

Johnsons mother, Wilhelmena Beary, 62, said Johnson had a BB gun but kept it in his car. He used it to ward off stray dogs, she said.

Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran, was laid off recently from his carpeting job because of the pandemic-fueled recession, his parents said. He volunteered to house-sit that night for a hospitalized neighbor. A window and door had recently been left ajar leading him to believe that someone had tried breaking in.

A neighbor, Robert Pringle, believes Johnson thought the deputy was a possible intruder and that the deputy mistook him for the North Texas suspect.

Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Maybe he thought he had his guy, Pringle said.

On the morning of the shooting, Pringle heard a metallic clang at his garage door and then what he believes was the second gunshot. Except for his cars, he saw an empty street outside his front window. Johnsons car was in the neighbors driveway and the door was open.

At least three black SUVs descended on the street and officers ordered Johnson to get out of the vehicle, Pringle said.

They were saying, Driver show your hands, Pringle said. He could only raise one hand. He tried to do that three times but then he stopped responding.

The officers pulled Johnson from the vehicle and tried to resuscitate him, Pringle said.

Since the shooting, Pringle has wondered how the bullet came to hit his garage. He said four cars were parked in his driveway at the time and the hole is out of sight from where police said the deputy opened fire. He also does not recall seeing a vehicle parked under the street light when he first looked out his window.

During the initial investigation, Pringle had to direct police to the damage. Investigators used a red marker to circle where the bullet hit and where they found the bullet on the pavement, he said.

In a statement, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg called officer-involved shootings complex matters that are investigated and sorted out based on the evidence.

We send Civil Rights Division prosecutors to the scene of every officer-involved shooting, and in every instance, we conduct an independent review and present all evidence to a grand jury so that the community has the ultimate say in whether criminal charges against the officer are warranted or the shooting was justified, Ogg said.

Regardless, Beary is doubtful of how the shooting is said to have happened.

We are Christian people, said Beary, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam as a police officer. We believe in forgiveness but we cant forget.

Dont cover it up because dont think I dont know. I was a police officer in California. I know what they do. The things that they said happened just doesnt match up.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
New Delhi, May 12 : Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on Tuesday evening, Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the PMs 'Vocal for Local' remark, saying that "while the local brands helped us in the times of crisis, we should pledge to use more and more local products and make our local global".

In a series of tweets, Shah said that it is time to make the sentence "the 21st century will be the century when India shines" true.

He added that this could only be achieved if 130 crore Indians unite to follow the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) pledge.

"Today, the Prime Minister made a special appeal. In this odd situation when everything was closed, the locals became our hard-time companions and supported us. Therefore, the time has come for us to pledge to use more and more local products and make our local global," Shah tweeted in Hindi.

Shah also hailed the Prime Minister's leadership amid the crisis, saying his leadership has given a new direction to the world.

"In this challenging time, the new India not only handled itself vigorously, but also helped the whole world, which changed the way the world views India today," Shah said.

He also praised the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced stimulus measures which will take the total amount announced by the Ministry of Finance and the RBI to Rs 20 lakh crore or 10 per cent of the GDP.

Shah said that the package will include interests of the poor, farmers, middle class and business class as well.

"The package will empower every section and make the country self-reliant," Shah said.

According to the Prime Minister, it is now the time to make India self-sufficient in every way and every Indian should buy and promote local goods.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 14:26 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd77727b 1 National Pertamina-Foundation,scholarship,Beasiswa-Pertamina-Sobat-Bumi,Dian-Sastrowardoyo,The-Jakarta-Post Free

Beasiswa Pertamina Sobat Bumi (Pertamina Friends of the Earth Grant) has shortlisted more than 500 candidates for this years Pertamina Foundation grants. The candidates are set to carry on with interviews in the next stage of the selection process.

Weve learned that many of the top achieving students, both academically and non-academically, are genuinely concerned about environmental and social issues. The high quality of most applications is due to such values.

We therefore did our best in shortlisting the candidates in order to deliver the grants to the most suitable ones, Pertamina Foundation president director Agus Mashud S. Asngari said in a statement on May 9.

Sobat Bumi is offering three types of financial support this year, with the shortlist consisting of 275 candidates for the regular bachelors degree grant, 222 candidates for the affirmation grant and 49 candidates for the vocational studies grant.

The aid falls under the PF Prestasi program, which belongs to the Pertamina Foundation, launched in 2011. This year, the scholarship received online applications from 6,848 students between April 18 and May 5.

Read also: COVID-19: Pertamina Foundation provides housing for medical workers at referral hospital

In the upcoming interview phase, the candidates are to make their cases before six judges.

The judges are Pertamina Foundation advisory board chief Heru Setiawan, supervisory board chief Narendra Widjayanto, advisory board member Syahrial Mukhtar, actress and education and womens empowerment activist Dian Sastrowardoyo, Tjitra and Associates founder and managing partner Hora Tjitra, HOPE Worldwide Indonesia senior adviser Charles Ham and The Jakarta Post editor-in-chief Nezar Patria.

Through the Pertamina Friends of the Earth Grant, we expect the students to become future leaders that are capable of collaborating to find solutions for social problems, said Heru.

Dian, who is passionate about equality in education for women, said she hoped the grants would help create wise and hard-working women.

The scholarship can contribute to the future of women. There are many women who do not have enough money for their education, but they do have dreams. They are the hidden gems [...]. I am looking for bright Indonesian women who are independent, talented and have the ability to bring themselves and Indonesia to a better place, Dian said.
The deadly African Swine Fever (ASF) has killed more than 14,000 pigs in Assam, the government announced today. The state government had decided against culling the pigs on Monday.

Till now, 14,465 pigs have died in 10 districts, due to African Swine Flu. The government is taking all possible steps to stop the spread of the disease. For prevention of the disease, we are advising farmers deep burial of dead pigs, Assams animal husbandry minister Atul Bora told news agency ANI on Tuesday.

On Monday, the states animal husbandry and veterinary department director Pulin Das had told news agency IANS that they have no plans to cull the pigs despite the central governments advice.

We have told the central government in case of culling we will have to pay huge amounts to farmers and firm owners as compensation. Thus, for culling we need huge financial support from the central government, IANS quoted Das as saying.

The Kaziranga National Park authority has dug a two-km long and six-feet deep trench to protect wild boars from the ASF infection.

According to the 2019 census, Assam had over 21 lakh pigs, which the authorities say could have increased to around 30 lakh now.

After the outbreak in Assam, all the North-East states have sounded high alert and asked people, especially owners of piggeries, to refrain from bringing pigs from other states.

The North-Easts annual pork business is worth around 8,000-10,000 crore, with Assam being the largest supplier.

What is African swine fever?

African swine fever (ASF) is a severe, highly-contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs. This transboundary animal disease (TAD) can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and pork products.

It is caused by a large DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family, which also infects ticks of the genus Ornithodoros.

Signs of African swine fever and classical swine fever (CSF) may be similar but the ASF virus is unrelated to the CSF virus.

African swine fever is a disease listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code and must be reported to the OIE.
A peacock which escaped from a zoo in Boston was lured back by a police officer who played a mating call on his phone.

Snowbank, a peacock who had fled Franklin Park Zoo, part of Zoo New England, was spotted by a concerned passer-by on Monday in the Roxbury section of Boston.

The zoo has been closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Additional officers arrived at the scene and were met by an extremely large, slightly intimidating, and quite beautiful, male peacock, the Boston Police Department said.

"An officer on scene relied on his quick wit to track down a peacock mating call on his cell phone, successfully luring the bird into a fenced-in yard where he waited patiently for the arrival of Boston Animal Control. 

Zoo officials said Snowbank, six, is now back home and healthy.

Snowbank is now back at the zoo and doing well / Boston Police Department

The peacocks at Franklin Park Zoo are free-roaming, Zoo New England told the New York Times.

And while they typically wander throughout the zoo, it is currently mating season, and its possible he ventured out looking for love in search of a peahen (female peacock).

The police said that a concerned passer-by had told officers about the wandering peacock about 6am on Monday morning.

YouTube has a selection of peacocks' mating calls, some of which have had hundreds of thousands of views.

Dennis Fett, co-founder of the Peacock Information Centre in Minden, told the New York Times he often tells people who have lost a peacock to use one of his recordings to bring the peacock back.

Mr Fett said the police officer was "very wise" to use the peacock's unmistakeable mating noise.

He makes a screeching sound  kind of like a whee sound, Mr Fett said.

Zoo officials said that Snowbank has lived at Franklin Park Zoo since 2013.

They added: We appreciate everyones help in bringing him back home and we look forward to welcoming guests back to the zoo to see these beautiful birds in person soon.
In addition to his fears about the panoply of foreign intelligence services that had an interest in stealing the documents in his possession, Gellman was also becoming alarmed by what was contained in the documents themselves. They revealed that the National Security Agency cast such a wide net with digital surveillance that it swept up data from American citizens, not just foreign nationals.

There are rules governing surveillance on American territory, but Gellman learns of an N.S.A. program that captured electronic address books as they passed through crossing points around the world; the data collection was therefore subject to minimal oversight, if any. Even if youre not necessarily being watched right now, your information can get stored for possible retrieval later  effectively becoming what the legal scholar Paul Ohm calls a database of ruin.

Gellmans reporting made him persona non grata among the members of the national security establishment who gathered in Aspen in July 2013, six weeks after the Snowden revelations broke. He recounts some supremely uncomfortable conversations. Some of the panelists werent just defensive but derisive.

Oh, potential, Admiral Dennis Blair, a former director of national intelligence, told Gellman in a whiny, mocking voice, doing his angry best to mimic critics of the governments enormous latent powers. Oh, gosh, this is big! Blair insisted that the bulk collection of data wasnt anything for Americans to fear. It was simply unthinkable that the people who held such power would ever abuse it, he said. They check themselves every step of the way.

Its a startling combination, this tough-guy belligerence with a seemingly innocent faith in the fundamental goodness and unshakable resilience of American institutions. Only with the ascendancy of Donald Trump to the White House, and his persistent disparagement of the intelligence community, do some of the hardened officials in Gellmans book concede how fragile and troubling the system might actually be.

The usual rationale given for accepting the governments vast, secretive surveillance powers is to say that it saves lives. We didnt have another 9/11, one irate general seethed at Gellman. Until youve had to bury your people, you dont have a clue. Its hard to read this now, in the face of so little government preparation for so many new deaths on American soil  more than 25 multiples of 9/11 and counting, to put it in the starkest terms  without wondering why the specter of terrorism always seemed to loom larger and more menacing than the specter of a deadly pandemic.

Toward the beginning of Dark Mirror, Gellman recounts an early exchange in which an irritated Snowden started lecturing him in a tone that was moralistic, peevish, confident in its own righteousness  what Gellman calls Snowdens high dudgeon mode.

That was before Gellman received the actual documents. When he read them, he realized what he would be willing to risk to get the story out. Game-changing rules had been written in secret, concealed from the public and even from judges with active cases before them, he writes. I was not immune to high dudgeon myself.
Egypt announced 347 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number to 10,093, the health ministry announced.

The ministry also reported 11 new deaths, bringing the number of fatalities to 544.

A daily record of 154 patients have been discharged, the ministry said, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,326.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in the statement that the number of people who have rested negative, including the 2,326 recoveries, has now reached 2,811.

Despite lockdown measures imposed in March to contain the spread of the virus, Egypts infections tally has continued to increase.

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 and three days to reach 10,000 from 9,000.

Measures applied by the government since March to contain the pandemic include closing schools and universities, mosques and churches and suspending international flights. The cabinet also imposed a nighttime curfew, which starts at 9pm.

The curfew was extended for two weeks on Thursday, until the end of Ramadan.

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, with the facilities requiring face masks and maintaining a distance between employees and the public as a mandatory preventive measure.

Egypt has signalled recently that it is looking to lift more 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.

Authorities have attributed the increases in the number of cases to peoples behaviour outside curfew hours.

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At a 75-minute video conference initiated by United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo, foreign ministers of seven countries including India, Israel and South Korea on Monday evening discussed the coronavirus pandemic, its fallout on the world economy and the way ahead.

The conference, which is being described as experimental online diplomacy, also discussed resilience in supply chains, diplomatese for dependence on only one country for supplies. In this case, China.

The Trump administration has spoken about plans to move industrial supply chains out of China for some time.

Beijings handling of the outbreak and the subsequent response appears to have amplified the urgency. As one US official recently described it, the pandemic has turned out to be the perfect storm that crystallised the worries that countries have had about dependence on China.

Mike Pompeo had alluded to Mondays video conference on April 29 when he declared that the US government was working with Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam to move the global economy forward and explore restructuring supply chains to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

Mondays video conference is seen to be the first big step, joined by Indias Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Australias Marise Payne, Israels Yisrael Katz, Japans Taro Kono, Brazils Ernesto Araujo and South Koreas Kang Kyung-wha.

Also Read: What does the US-China rift mean for the world? | Opinion

To be sure, the video conference wasnt a single-agenda initiative.

Jaishankar tweeted the conversation covered pandemic response, global health management, medical cooperation, economic recovery and travel norms. Look forward to continuing this engagement, he said.

People familiar with the development told Hindustan Times that more friendly countries were expected to join similar engagements in future.

At the Monday conference, they said each country shared its experience in handling the outbreak and how they could help. For instance, Israel talked about the vaccine that it believes is within its grasp, Pompeo about economic recovery.

The sentiment was that recovering from this pandemic - which was quite unlike previous virus outbreaks that were limited to particular parts of the world - is going to be a long haul. That the countries should prepare for long-term solutions and cooperation among friendly countries is going to be the essence of any recovery plan.

Also Read: Replace China: India looks to lure more than 1,000 US businesses

But China and its response to the pandemic may have been a recurring theme through the conversation.

A US state department readout of the video conference said the foreign ministers had discussed the importance of international cooperation, transparency and accountability in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes.

The United States has accused Beijing of suppressing early information about the outbreak of the virus first detected in the central city of Wuhan, and downplaying its risks. Last month, President Donald Trump also announced that Washington would hold back its $ 400 million funding to the World Health Organisation that has been blamed for playing along with Beijing.

The US decision to hold back the money - it funded 15% of the WHOs budget - has spotlighted the role of the World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and ignited calls from other countries for transparency and accountability for the pandemic.

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the seven leaders also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises and reaffirmed the importance of the rules-based international order.

The rule of law, transparency, and accountability will be key to our shared success, Pompeo later tweeted. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Paynes office also made the same point on transparency, underlining that learning the lessons of this pandemic are critical to prevent future global health crises.

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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- While this specific pandemic is new to every business owner, leading and finding success during a hard time is familiar ground for Amy Freeman and Penny Rehling, the CEO and COO of The Spice & Tea Exchange, respectively.

The franchise was founded in 2008, the middle of the Great Recession, with a vision to offer guests a more flavorful life with hand-mixed spice blends, exotic teas, sugars, salts and gourmet gifts. The two women grew as leaders and businesswomen while founding the retail franchise during a turbulent time, and that has led them to guide and inspire their 70+ franchise system during the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, the business partners are instilling in their franchisees a message that they weren't scared in 2008, and they aren't scared now. The Spice & Tea Exchange is doing everything in its power to keep money coming in for the franchisees, help franchisees with local government ordinances, and provide support at every step of this pandemic.

"Ninety seven percent of our stores have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, whether that's having to close doors completely, or reduce hours," said Freeman. "One of the first steps we took was having the executive team call every franchise operator in our system. We wanted them to hear straight from our leadership that The Spice & Tea Exchange is a nimble company, working tirelessly to pivot so they profit."

Here are just a few of the steps The Spice & Tea Exchange has taken to best support the franchise system:

While the company has always given 20 percent of its online sales back to franchisees, it has increased that to 30 percent. On top of the higher percentage going back in the pockets of franchisees, The Spice & Tea Exchange has been working around the clock to get customers to the website to drive online orders. The franchise is offering free shipping and specials through e-newsletters and Instagram/Facebook posts.

Leaders at the company immediately launched a COVID-19 team to provide guidance on the pandemic as well as new revenue channels including curbside pickup and local delivery to better serve their guests

The Executive Vice President of Franchise Development and the Central Operations Manager host frequent webinars to ensure all franchisees are aware of all current legislation and guidelines (including healthy and safety, the CARES Act, loans and grants, FMLA and more), and tips for running their business within these parameters.

The marketing and operations team have been consistently creating content for franchisees to use locally. This includes social media pieces, photos, and even short commercial video messages.

Both corporate and franchise owners are working to put together new product offerings that fit a customer who is primarily at home. Franchisees are working on bundling spice products for specific meals, and the corporate office introduced its Send a Little Sunshine gift box for customers looking to send some sunshine to family and loved ones.

"The past two months have been a roller coaster, but it's been immeasurably comforting to know all of the things that Amy, Penny and the corporate office have done behind the scenes," said Tami Brown, franchise owner of the Sioux Falls, SD location. "From the start, they had plans for events and conditions that no one else was thinking about yet. The way they've been calm, methodic, and planned everything has helped take stress and panic away from me and other franchisees."

As franchisees prepare to open their doors in select areas across the country, The Spice & Tea Exchange continues to provide guidance on safety measures and the "new normal" in the industry. "Retail is going to continue to look different for a while, but we look forward to planning a system-wide event in the future when we can all come together and celebrate our strength through this crisis," said Freeman.

For more information on The Spice & Tea Exchange, please visit https://www.spiceandtea.com/franchise.

About The Spice & Tea Exchange

The Spice & Tea Exchange was founded in 2008 with a vision to create a one-of-a-kind retail shopping experience. The company has 70+ franchise stores across the United States, providing guests with more than 140 spices, 85 exclusive hand-mixed blends, over 40 exotic teas, naturally-flavored sugars, salts from around the world, gourmet gifts and accessories. For more information, visit https://www.spiceandtea.com/franchise. For franchising information, visit https://www.spiceandtea.com/franchise.

Media Contact: Mandi Gualtieri, Fishman PR, 847-945-1300 or [email protected]

SOURCE The Spice & Tea Exchange
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and cybersecurity experts believe Chinese hackers are trying to steal research on developing a vaccine against coronavirus, two newspapers reported Monday. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are planning to release a warning about the Chinese hacking as governments and private firms race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported. The hackers are also targeting information and intellectual property on treatments and testing for COVID-19. US officials alleged that the hackers are linked to the Chinese government, the reports say. The official warning could come within days. In Beijing Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the allegation, saying China firmly opposes all cyber attacks. "We are leading the world in COVID-19 treatment and vaccine research. It is immoral to target China with rumors and slanders in the absence of any evidence," Zhao said. Asked about the reports, President Donald Trump did not confirm them, but said: "What else is new with China? What else is new? Tell me. I'm not happy with China." "We're watching it very closely," he added. A US warning would add to a series of alerts and reports accusing government-backed hackers in Iran, North Korea, Russia and China of malicious activity related to the pandemic, from pumping out false news to targeting workers and scientists. The New York Times said it could be a prelude to officially-sanctioned counterattacks by US agencies involved in cyber warfare, including the Pentagon's Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Last week in a joint message Britain and the United States warned of a rise in cyber attacks against health professionals involved in the coronavirus response by organised criminals "often linked with other state actors." Britain's National Cyber Security Centre and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they had detected large-scale "password spraying" tactics -- hackers trying to access accounts through commonly used passwords -- aimed at healthcare bodies and medical research organisations. US cybersecurity agencies are warning that Chinese hackers are trying to steal research on developing a vaccine against the coronavirus, US media report
Groundbreaking

12 May 2020

Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand's leading hotel operator, together with Taisei Corporation and Kanden Realty & Development, completed the official ground-breaking ceremony and sake dedication, known as "jichinsai", to mark the beginning of construction of the 34-storey Centara Grand Hotel Osaka. The ceremony took place recently at the Safety Prayer Festival at Namba Shrine near the Centara Grand Hotel Osaka site.

According to Japanese tradition, before any new construction can begin, a jichinsai ceremony must be held to purify the ground and seek the blessing of the local gods. Shinto priests lead the ceremony, and sake is used as one the main elements that will be sprinkled across the ground where the new construction is planned. Special sake bottles for each of the three partner companies were specially produced for the ceremony.

Centara Grand Hotel Osaka is Centara's first property in Japan and is scheduled to open in mid-2023. The newly built hotel is an upper upscale property with 515 keys that will occupy a gleaming 34-storey tower on a prime site in Osaka's Namba district, the centre of leisure tourism for the city and the wider Kansai region.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Senior IAS officer and principal secretary, labour department, P Manivannan was transferred late Monday evening. Manivannan, who was also holding the post of secretary, information department, was relieved without posting. Maheshwar Rao, another IAS officer, was posted in his place.

The announcement comes as a shocker for many COVID volunteers who were working as part of the Corona Warriors team he had established. We are stopping all this work with immediate effect, said Misbah, a volunteer. They have also started an online campaign #BringBackManivannan.

Manivannan was dealing with issues related to employers not paying workers during the lockdown, and had received over 700 complaints within 24 hours. He had tweeted that the government would issue notices to the employers. Sources said that ministers are not happy with the officer, which could have led to the transfer.
[May 11, 2020] Small Country, Big Effort: How Georgia Became Exemplary in the Fight Against COVID-19

TBILSI, Georgia, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 virus presents a great challenge to countries around the world - even those with strong healthcare systems. The number of deaths has been dramatic and the economic damage has been devastating. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8724451-georgia-fight-against-covid-19/ Meanwhile, a small country located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe has become a role model for the steps taken in the fight against the pandemic. How did Georgia manage to prevent the spread of the virus so effectively? Two months after the first confirmed case in the country, there has only been 517 cases of infection, with 178 of those infected having already recovered. The six cases that resulted in deaths were among the elderly and those with chronic diseases. "Although Georgia was quite far from the epicenter of this disease geographically, we were well aware that it was only a matter of time before the virus would reach the country," said the Minister of Health Ekaterine Tikaradze. From the beginning of January, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, took concrete steps to mitigate the threat that the epidemic posed. An information campaign was launched at airports and borders. Upon arrival, passengers received information on how to recognize the symptoms of the virus and where to seek help if they think they are infected. Soon after, thermal screening began at the border. In addition, passengers from high-risk countries were taken directly into quarantine zones for surveillance. Along with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), Georgia acted in accordance with its own protocl, which has become one of the most significant factors in preventing the spread of the virus in the country. Those entering the country with relatively low temperatures, such as 37.5? (99.5F), were taken to a local health facility and tested for the virus.



In addition to these measures, in late January, Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze issued a recommendation to restrict travel to China. A few days later, direct flights to China were suspended. Georgia soon closed its borders to high-risk countries and then to all countries. A month before the virus was detected in the country, Georgia already had the capacity to identify and diagnose COVID-19.

The first case of coronavirus in the country was reported on February 26. Today, there are only 333 active cases. The main strategy that prevented the spread of the virus in Georgia was the isolation of every confirmed or suspected case. In addition, campaigns to help raise public awareness about the importance of social distancing and staying at home have been helpful. In order to prevent the spread of the virus and to rapidly notify those who might have been in contact with someone who was infected, the Ministry of Health introduced the 'Stop COVID' mobile phone application. The role out of the app was in collaboration with the Austria-based NGO NOVID20 and Dolphin Technologies, a highly innovative software company. According to the Minister of Health, the ministry's efforts aimed to flatten the curve of the virus while leveraging all resources of the healthcare system to attain this goal. "Our goal is to avoid reaching a viral peak and to create a plateau, which will help the Georgian healthcare system withstand COVID-19's impact and allow us to treat all patients and ensure their recovery. The COVID-19 virus is not expected to disappear anytime soon. Therefore, to ensure that the health response is properly managed and safe, it is important that each country and its citizens learn to coexist with the virus, until a vaccine can be found and more effective treatments are introduced," noted the Minister of Health of Georgia. Georgia is already beginning to loosen the measures it took to contain the virus. However, as Tikaradze points out, lifting all restrictions and returning to normal life is dependent on the virus' reproduction rate (Rt). "We all know very well that the most effective way to fight the virus is to maintain social distancing and to follow standard hygiene norms. The Rt rate is directly proportional to the observance of these rules. This is the only way we can manage the process and not break the critical threshold of our healthcare system. If the Rt indicator falls to less than one, the restrictions will be lifted one-by-one. However, if the rate increases, we will have to tighten our response measures immediately," noted Tikaradze. Today's data is promising for the country, with an Rt indicator below one (R0 = 0.88 +/- 0.09). As a result, the first phase of lifting restrictions has already begun. Georgia's pandemic response has been cited as one of the best and most effective examples in terms of controlling the epidemic. The pandemic has clearly shown that not only are a country's resources important during times of crisis, but also the effective and timely management. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1164053/Georgia_Covid_19.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165315/MoH_Georgia_Logo.jpg Contact:

Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia

Tatia Tsereteli, PR Department

T: +995 599 499 004

E: [email protected]

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When Carrie Fisher died there was a tendency by many on the Internet to memorialize her death with some form of the words "Rest In Peace, Princess Leia," or "May the force be with you, Princess Leia." While those sentiments were sweet, there was also such an oversaturation of Star Wars remembrance that it felt as if Princess Leia the character had overshadowed Carrie Fisher the person. Others spoke up to remind us that Carrie Fisher was more than Princess Leia, as her accomplishments were numerous, and she was more than those accomplishments, as she was a person, and people are much more than the sum of their achievements. And so comes the delicate balance we strike as fans when trying best to memorialize an actor who played a beloved character.

With that in mind, I want to be careful when I say this next thing: Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza was funny as fuck. Of course Jerry Stiller amounts to more than the loud-mouthed, cantankerous Seinfeld character. He has had a long and storied career in Hollywood and was by all accounts, a beloved father, husband, and friend. But as a fan, I didn't know Jerry Stiller. I only knew Frank Costanza and seeing the cast of Seinfeld honor the man on Twitter and recount how much he made them laugh gave me more comfort than a brassiere for men ever could. So I hope you can forgive me in wanting to share with you these moments that absolutely wrecked me (and the Seinfeld cast) with laughter, and I promise I won't end this piece with some schmaltzy bullshit like "Frank Costanza finally found his serenity now."
The Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested three people for allegedly supplying weapons to gangsters and drug traffickers in the state, a senior officer said.

Gurpreet Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Sarabjit Singh were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the IPC and the Disaster Management Act, police said.

Some of the weapons recovered from them included a double barrel rifle and different types of pistols along with live rounds, they said.

According to police, Gurpreet Singh was allegedly in direct contact with several gangsters and drug smugglers lodged in different prisons of the state.

Gurpreet Singh's questioning revealed that he was in direct contact with Shubham, a Batala-based gangster and a prime accused in the case of armed robbery of nearly Rs 7 crores from a jewellery shop in Amritsar in 2018, state Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said.

He allegedly supplied weapons to Shubham's associates in Tarn Taran and Ferozepur areas, Gupta said in a release here.

The DGP further said Gurpreet Singh was also allegedly in direct contact with Kuldip Singh, brother of Ranjit Rana, the prime accused in the 532 kg heroin seizure drug case. Ranjit was arrested a few days ago from Sirsa in Haryana as part of a joint operation by Punjab and Haryana Police.

Gupta further stated Kuldip, facing charges under the NDPS Act, was currently lodged in Amritsar jail.

The DGP said in depth forensic and technical analysis of the mobile devices of Gurpreet Singh and his associates was being conducted.

Reiterating the firm commitment of Punjab Police to eliminate the scourge of drug trafficking and smuggling from the state, Gupta said that since enforcement of curfew on March 22, 15.802 kg heroin had been recovered from Tarn Taran district.

The district police has been rigorously pursuing cases of freezing and forfeiture of illegally acquired properties of major drug smugglers under provisions of NDPS Act.

Gupta said the properties of 12 drug smugglers worth around Rs 6.22 crore had been frozen by the district police since the imposition of curfew in the state.

Besides, 11 new cases of freezing of property, worth around Rs 17.42 crore, were recently sent to the competent authority at the finance ministry under the central government while another seven similar cases involving properties worth around Rs 5 crore would be sent this week.

Overall, illegally acquired properties of 51 major drug smugglers worth around Rs 54.46 crore have been frozen by the district police in the last nine months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Michael Flynn is out of legal limbo and back in the Trump administration's good graces, a dramatic change from the 2017 days of getting fired for lying to Mike Pence and twice pleading guilty to charges from the Mueller investigation.

Why it matters: Trump's allies view Attorney General Bill Barr's move to withdraw charges against Flynn as the first major step in exposing the Russia investigation as a political hit job. Democrats, most notably Barack Obama, fear Barr is weaponizing the Justice Department ahead of an election.

The story starts in the final days of 2016, with a call between Flynn  then the incoming national security adviser  and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Trumps transition team was concerned that Obamas sanctions on Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would spiral into a tit-for-tat just as Trump  who had promised warmer ties with Russia  took office.

Flynns message to Kislyak was that Russia should not escalate the situation. Thats the path President Putin ultimately chose.

Unbeknownst to them, Flynn and other Trump advisers were under investigation for possible coordination between the campaign and the Kremlin.

The lies

In an interview with the FBI on Jan. 24, just days after Trump took office, Flynn denied having made any request to Kislyak on sanctions.

He also lied to the FBI about his efforts to influence the outcome of a vote at the UN Security Council, and later lied on a government form about past work to promote Turkeys interests.

The ouster

On Feb. 13, Flynn was fired after just three weeks in the White House.

Then-press secretary Sean Spicer said the decision was not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue, because Flynn had lied to Pence.

That same day, Trump told James Comey he hoped the FBI would drop its investigation into Flynn, according to Comeys testimony. The investigation continued.

The plea

On Dec. 1, 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

That deal reportedly took more serious potential charges related to undisclosed foreign lobbying off the table, and shielded Flynns son from potential prosecution.

As part of the deal, Flynn agreed to cooperate with Muellers investigation and accepted full responsibility" for his actions.

Flynn cooperated for months, but prosecutors claim he grew less helpful over time. As a result, they later suggested he could face prison time, which Flynns lawyers called a "stunning and vindictive reversal," per NPR.

In Jan. 2020, as his sentencing approached, Flynn proclaimed his innocence and asked to withdraw his guilty plea.

The motion to dismiss

On May 7, the Justice Department moved to drop the charges against Flynn  a highly unusual move given Flynn had already pleaded guilty.

Lying to the FBI is not a crime, they argue in the filing, unless the statements are material  that is, harmful to an investigation. The Mueller report states that Flynn's lies "materially impaired the investigation of Russian election interference."

But the department contends that Flynn was not interviewed by the FBI in the context of any viable counterintelligence investigation, and thus any lies could not have been material.

The department's determinations were based in part on newly discovered and disclosed information, according to the filing.

[T]he Government has concluded that continued prosecution of Mr. Flynn would not serve the interests of justice.

 DOJ motion to dismiss

The new information

In early Jan. 2017, the FBI determined that its counterintelligence investigation into Flynn  part of the larger probe into the Trump campaign  should be closed.

The investigation was not formally closed, though, before the bureau learned of Flynns contacts with Kislyak.

The bureau saw the Kislyak call as an opportunity to continue investigating Flynn, with Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok texting FBI lawyer Lisa Page, our utter incompetence actually helps us, because the investigation could continue.

There was an internal debate over whether to interview Flynn about the call. The filing quotes the notes of the FBIs counterintelligence chief as saying: Whats our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?

Despite those doubts, Comey decided to go ahead with the interview without notifying the White House or DOJ leadership, per the filing.

Flynn voluntarily submitted to the Jan. 24 interview, and acknowledged in advance (based on his long career in intelligence) that the FBI likely knew the contents of his call with Kislyak, per the DOJ filing.

Still, he denied making a number of statements to Kislyak that a transcript showed he did, in fact, make.

Afterwards, the FBI was divided over whether Flynn had knowingly lied, with Comey himself saying, It is a close one, per the filing.

Worth noting: The DOJ case that Flynn may not have intentionally misled the FBI comes despite the fact that Flynn himself admitted in court to having lied.

The FBI interview also came after both Pence and Spicer had publicly denied that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak.

That prompted concerns that Flynn could have been vulnerable to blackmail from the Kremlin, which was obviously aware that sanctions had been discussed.

This posed a potential national security threat that defenders of the FBI say justified the interview and the continuation of the counterintelligence probe.

The pushback

The DOJ filing was signed by Timothy Shea, a longtime Barr ally and the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but not by any of the prosecutors who worked on the case against Flynn.

Legal experts note that the Justice Department does not argue that Flynn was coerced or had his rights violated  more common grounds on which to drop such charges.

Mary McCord, a former DOJ official whose concerns about the Flynn probe are cited more than 25 times in the filing as evidence that Flynn should not have been under investigation, writes in the NYT that her words were twisted in service of a contorted argument that does not stand up to scrutiny.

Senior Democrats, including Obama, have claimed that Barr and Trump are trampling the rule of law.

Trump, meanwhile, is pushing the theory that Obama knew in 2017 that the investigation into Flynn was baseless but directed the FBI to carry on anyways. There is no evidence for that claim.

The bottom line: Barr defended his decision in a recent interview with CBS, but acknowledged that it would be debated for some time.

"History is written by the winners, so it largely depends on whos writing the history.

 Bill Barr

What to watch: The prosecutor who reviewed the Flynn case is now working with U.S. Attorney John Durham on a sweeping investigation into the origins of the Russia probe.
In the tiny town of New Market, just 15 miles from Huntsville, the past has come to life once again  only this time, the buildings have been repurposed, honoring the past while celebrating the present. Thanks to an enterprising couple, Whitney and Bethany Dean, the town is, if not bustling, then at least filled with visitors staying in the formerly boarded-up buildings that line the main thoroughfare near the Flint River.

Were obsessed with salvaging things, says Whitney.

In 2013, when the Deans  hes from Huntsville, and shes from Madison County  first looked at Winchester Manor, a historic home on the corner of Winchester and New Market roads, they fell in love. Every corner we turned, we found something more interesting, Whitney says. And the property was next to the downtown area, which we thought was charming.

The home, which was built in 1910, came with a barn, a tiny cottage and a grove of trees behind it. Working together as professional photographers, they offered the whole package, literally, to couples who wanted to get married in the beautiful setting. Following an outside wedding in the grove, the wedding party would move to the barn for a reception, then the couple would honeymoon in the cottage, with its 100-year-old herringbone-patterned floors and shiplap walls.

The honeymoon cottage led us to think we could do more, says Whitney. One of his friends asked him if hed ever heard of Airbnb. I said, I doubt thatll work, but why not try? It was an immediate fire we couldnt put out." Before they knew it, he says, "we needed more spots to put people.

The couple already had practice flipping houses and owning rental properties. They started buying nearby homes and buildings in various states of disrepair and ruin, lovingly renovating them and listing them with Airbnb and Vrbo. Theres always a way, Whitney says. If the structure is there, it can be saved.

They started with The Cottage, the inspiration for their venture, which was named the most popular Airbnb listing in Alabama in 2018; and The Loft, the upstairs part of the barn behind the Deans home, which has two bedrooms, 14-foot ceilings and all-white decor.

Among the other buildings theyve acquired is The Bank, built in 1926 and now divided into two distinct spaces, The Vault in the front and The Tellers Quarters in the back. The Vault includes the original bank vault, now used as a dining room thats like a reverb chamber thanks to its 36-inch-thick walls. A former flat skylight is now a dramatic cupola that lets in natural light. Theres also a full kitchen and laundry room. The Tellers Quarters, meanwhile, is like a cozy studio apartment with a dramatically high ceiling and walls that look like abstract paintings courtesy of 100-year-old roof leaks and layers of paint.

At The Greenhouse, a former florists shop housed in a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a tin roof, the Deans scraped through several layers of wallpaper to reveal the raw wood on the ceiling. The Paint Shop was just that, a nondescript building with one crumbling brick wall, before the Deans bought and repaired it. Now its a comfy, wheelchair-accessible studio with a wall of old bricks that still bear scribbled signatures from decades past. Framed paint brushes on the wall hint at the buildings original purpose.

Bethanys a genius, Whitney says of his wifes decorating skills. We made the headboard by hand. We care about what were trying to do.

Each space is designed to feel like a luxurious getaway, Whitney says. When guests walk into any of the Deans properties, theyre greeted with relaxing, spa-like music to let them know that theyre somewhere interesting, and it feels good to be here, he says.

Down the street, the Deans even purchased a 1970s-era recording studio that does double duty as its original purpose as well as housing The Studio, yet another rentable space. When they bought that building, everything was pink and green and covered with paneling, says Whitney, who spent hours on his hands and knees staining the concrete floor.

And hes not just a rock star at renovating buildings and being a good host. Whitney is a legitimate rock star who sings in a folk-pop duo, The Sweeplings. He uses the studio space for his own band and for his work as a producer and engineer for other artists.

Were millennial-generation people, and we do a million things, he says. We work by and for ourselves. My wifes love language is Look what I did. Im the loose-cannon creative, and shes the business person.

Next door to the studio sits The Spartan Glamper, the most unique space of them all. The vintage camper is a 1949 Spartan Mansion built out of WWII airplane parts. Completely restored, it has new floors and a new electrical system, but everything else is old, says Whitney. The camper now has central heat and air, so its not as mobile as it once was, he says. Its like a little house now.

Conveniently for their guests, Picketts New Market Family Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner within easy walking distance of all the properties. And just down the road, New Market BBQ, open Friday through Sunday only, offers beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked macaroni and cheese, banana pudding and more in a rustic setting.

The couple has started renovating the building next door to the old bank. It will become The Grocery, with two bedrooms, sometime later this year  but that project is on hold now because they just became parents. Their son, Lorin James Dean, was born on March 18.

Most of their guests come from within an eight-hour radius of Huntsville. People are looking for an experience, Whitney says. They dont want to stay in a hotel. They want to eat dinner in a bank vault, stay in a weird downtown, in a place where you can get away but not go too far away from a major city. Its just 25 minutes from here to a spaceship. They can stay here, eat at a meat-and-three and have a Mayberry experience in this little bubble of time.
The irony of a parasitic pathogen upending the strong men of the western world is inescapable even as the Covid-19 has changed geopolitics and the global economy. A spicy outcome of a new world view is that the Chinese are quoting Abraham Lincoln to the free world as opposed to the old Western habit of reciting Tao or Sun Tzu in ongoing tussles with China. The gulf has now grown considerably bigger as the origin of the pandemic lies in the heart of a nation of which Napoleon once presciently said - "Let China sleep for when she wakes she will shake the world." No clearer sign of new equations there could be than in the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's confusing message suggesting something like Ready, Steady, Slow. Akin to pressing the accelerator while keeping a foot on the lockdown brakes, Boris left more questions than answers as UK seeks to grapple with the horns of a pointed dilemma in saving lives versus livelihoods. Doses of sunshine were recommended amid caveats against a second coronavirus wave even before the first is yet to subside.

There is, however, some ground to take a charitable view of a world leader who went to the brink with Covid-19 and lives to tell the tale.

Across the Atlantic, the man who defies all description shows it is possible to see victory in everything, including defeat, as a terrible mortality outnumbering that of a combined Europe plus Brexit-UK threatens to rise in USA.

The chutzpah of Donald Trump boasting of having fared better might have Republican admirers. Everyone else is quite confused on how to go about salvaging the economy even as epidemiologists and experts warn us that the virus threat is going to be around till at least 2022. Or, until a vaccine can promise to protect several billion people; perhaps, the billion-plus Chinese who seem to be better off after a tryst with a pandemic that is posing the biggest threat to the world since Adolf Hitler.
Healthcare workers at the AltaMed Health Services COVID-19 testing and medical evaluation site in Boyle Heights record the moment as they get a drive-by salute from the LAPD and members of the community during National Nurses Day in front of White Memorial Medical Center. ( Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Stay home, be healthy and provide more personal protective equipment. These are the requests nurses around the world are voicing for International Nurses Day on Tuesday.

This years recognition of nurses falls at a uniquely poignant time for the nursing field. It is the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is heralded as the mother of modern nursing, and it coincides with the World Health Organization-recognized Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

It is also the first time International Nurses Day falls during a pandemic. May 12 is usually commemorated with cards or cupcakes. This year, there will be a candlelight vigil.

Coronavirus came along and whilst none of us would have wished it, of course  all of the things that we wanted the Year of the Nurse to do have become palpably obvious and demonstrated in the most powerful way, said Howard Catton, chief executive of the Geneva-based International Council of Nurses, which helped establish the annual recognition day in the early 1970s. Yes, you are seeing nurses care and compassion, but youre seeing their bravery and their courage. Youre seeing the real human element of nursing.

Nurses are standing beside dying patients whose family members cant visit them. Theyre drawing creatively from their medical and technical skills to help patients who have a novel disease. Even nurses who are not in the thick of the outbreak bear the marks of the pandemic: N95 masks bruising their faces and alcohol-heavy sanitizer cracking their dry hands.

All the while, theyre dealing with a global shortage of personal protective equipment.

Yes, we take care of our patients, but we also need to make sure that were safe, because if we become ill ... whos going to take care of the patients? said Cathy Kennedy, 63, a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, near Sacramento. "I worry.

In her spare time, Kennedy has lobbied locally and nationally for better PPE. She also keeps track of the number of COVID-19-related nursing fatalities and will participate Tuesday evening in the National Nurses United online candlelight vigil to honor nurses who died caring for COVID-19 patients.

Story continues

Catton said the International Council of Nurses has counted 260 nurse deaths worldwide through imperfect data-gathering from individual nursing associations and media reports. But he emphasized the number is underrepresented and lamented the lack of a standardized tracking system. At UCLA alone, The Times reported a month ago more than 175 cases among medical workers  a conservative estimate.

USC Keck Medical Center's chief nursing officer Annette Sy said hospital administration is working hard to make sure all staff caring for COVID-19 patients are well protected and working reasonable hours. The hospital has also sought to keep up the spirit of the annual National Nurses Week, which kicked off Wednesday. Keck provided nurses with to-go breakfasts, transitioned their annual awards ceremony to teleconference and handed out scholarships, Sy said.

People can acknowledge International Nurses Day in myriad ways from home. Nurses from around the world offered suggestions:

For me, the best appreciation would be for people to stay home and be safe, said Deladem Woanyah, 28, a nurse at Korle Bu Teaching Hospitals plastic surgery unit in Accra, Ghanas capital city. Just do the right thing so that we are not overwhelmed, because we could really get to that stage.

Speaking out for others really does go a long way, said Lorene Pereira, 25, a registered nurse at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston. She said she especially feels appreciated when people advocate for the well-being of nurses in the same way they advocate for patients.

The best thing we can all do is try to stay healthy  follow social distancing, said Shivang Patel, 25, who will begin work at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., in July. It goes a long way when I see people wearing [a] mask or just using hand sanitizer and social distancing.
New Delhi, May 12 : The Congress has again questioned the PM Cares Fund and demanded an independent audit from CAG. The party questioned why the fund is not being spent on the Covid-19 patients.

Party Senior spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: "Our only worry with PM Cares Fund is that it's not being spent on the victims of Covid-19 which use can be both direct and incidental." "We only demand an independent audit by CAG or any other credible independent agency and daily updates. Not too much to ask from a public fund," added Singhvi.

According to pmindia.gov.in, the 'Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund' (PM CARES Fund)' was set up "keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust".

The Congress has been alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "hostile to the requirement" and "decisions to be taken during the Covid-19 pandemic for the welfare of the people".

The Congress further alleged that there are discrepancies in the PM-CARE fund as there is no transparency and "secrecy has always been the way of the wicked!" "History will remember PM Modi as the Prime Minister who didn't care about people's lives," the Congress tweeted on Monday.

The Congress also said that the Prime Minister is least concerned about PPE kits for health workers.

The party lashed out at the Prime Minister for the delay in providing a financial assistance package. The government hasn't planned anything before the announcement of the lockdown, the party alleged.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mitt Romney, the only Republican senator to vote for Donald Trump's impeachment, is warning that the president and his team are framing test data in a misleading way to score political points.

"I understand the politicians are going to frame data in a way that's most positive politically. Of course, I don't expect that from admirals," the Utah Republican said during a hearing Tuesday with members of the White House coronavirus task force.

"But yesterday, you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita even in South Korea," he told Admiral Brett Giroir, a top Department of Health and Human Services official. "I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever."

During a Monday White House press conference with the president, Admiral Giroir and Mr Trump said the United States has tested more people per capita than South Korea. The admiral added this: "Everybody who needs a test can get a test. We have plenty of tests for that."

But the next day, Mr Romney took umbrage.

"You ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak while we treaded water during February and March. And as a result, by 6 March, the US had completed just 2,000 tests, whereas South Korea had conducted more than 140,000 tests," he said before delivering this blistering assessment: "So, partially as a result of that, they have 256 deaths and we have almost 80,000 deaths."

The US has been testing around 250,000 people a day, according to the Covid Tracking Project, a nonprofit organisation.

But many public health experts and Democratic officials say that rate is much too low to reopen the entire US economy. For instance, Harvard University's Global Health Institute has called for the US to conduct 900,000 tests daily.

Experts and Democrats say the Trump administration was too slow to help states ramp up testing and laboratory capacities, and they are still calling for the White House to craft a national testing plan.
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Linkedin Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina (Reuters) Washington, United States  Tue, May 12, 2020 11:56 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd76e9d1 2 World Joe-Biden,Donald-Trump,campaign Free

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee said on Monday they jointly raised $61.7 million in April, just beating the month's haul for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his party.

A Trump campaign statement said the April sum was a record, bringing total cash on hand to $255 million. Biden said earlier in the day that his campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised $60.5 million combined in April.

The big fundraising figures came despite the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered the US economy and disrupted fundraising for politicians. Both presidential candidates and their allies are starting to ramp up paid advertising campaigns in battleground states ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

"Once again the Trump campaign's colossal fundraising haul reaffirms that President Trump will lead an unstoppable juggernaut this November," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement.

But Biden's fundraising figure followed a record total in March of $46.7 million for his campaign, more than three times the money that Trump managed that month.

"The trust you all have put in me as your presumptive nominee is humbling," Biden said in a statement emailed to supporters.

The average online donation was "only $32.63," Biden said, adding that contributors had made sacrifices despite the economic uncertainty wreaked by the pandemic.

Still, Biden has been playing catch-up to Trump, who has been amassing an election war chest since 2017, according to disclosures filed by the two campaigns to the Federal Election Commission.

Biden became the Democrats' de facto nominee in early April after his last remaining rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the race, making it the first month in which Biden was not competing in fundraising with a challenger from the same party.

His campaign struggled early to raise funds, but now hopes the party's united front will help him build his coffers, as Sanders and other former rivals have endorsed him, and several are helping him with fundraising.

The US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression, due to nationwide shutdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Fundraising events have largely moved online as the virus has upended American life, forcing millions of people to stay in their homes and leading presidential campaigns to cancel public events and fundraising dinners.

Biden, a classic retail politician whose social media following pales in comparison with Trump's, has expressed frustration with the limitations of communicating with voters remotely.

But the freeze on in-person campaigning during the pandemic has had an upside for the former vice president, giving him more time to court donors and shielding him from on-the-trail gaffes
MANILA, Philippines  Government agencies and offices may implement four work arrangements beginning May 16, 2020.

This is based on the revised interim guidelines issued by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

A government employee can return to work under one of the following work arrangements:

Work-from-home

Skeleton workforce

Four-day workweek

Staggered working hours.

Workers below 21-years-old and senior citizens are automatically part of the work-from-home arrangement.

Meanwhile, setting a skeleton workforce limits the number of workers in the office or workplace.

These employees, however, are entitled to hazard and overtime pay including other allowances.

Likewise, a 4-day work week may be advantageous to some while others may opt for shifting schedules which best fit staggered working hours.

These options also include limiting the number of workers in a work area.

Offices must also see to it that vehicles are disinfected.

A health status survey and a revision of workplace layout for the implementation of physical distancing must be done.

It is a must for employees and officials who enter the government office premises to wear face masks, and submit to temperature checks.

Finally, every workplace should make sanitation stations available for use, according to the CSC. MNP (with details from Rey Pelayo)

The post 4-day work week, staggered working hours among options for govt employees under new normal appeared first on UNTV News.
A former North Carolina trucking company co-owner was sentenced to 15 months in prison for orchestrating an elaborate $500,000 wire fraud scheme, according to federal prosecutors.

Nathaniel Brad Moffit, 40, of Statesville, North Carolina, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Statesville on Thursday, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in November.

He must serve two years of supervised release once he finishes his prison sentence. He also has been ordered to repay his former business partner, Brian Souther, more than $40,000, and loan company National Funding Inc. nearly $73,000.

According to court documents, Moffit and Souther were longtime friends and co-owned Piedmont Sales Service and Transport LLC (PSST), a small trucking company in Harmony, North Carolina. While running the day-to-day business operations, Moffit had access to the company's bank accounts as well as Souther's personal information. Federal prosecutors said Moffit engaged in a "Ponzi-style" scheme to defraud the company and his business partner by using Souther's identity to take out three loans totaling more than $500,000.

Court filings state that while some of the money was used to pay PSST's business expenses, Moffit also "used the proceeds for his own personal benefit."

The fraud was discovered when Moffit was unable to repay the loans to National Funding, which "ruthlessly pursued" Souther for repayment.

PSST, which had 11 trucks and 17 drivers, was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2018.

Read more articles by FreightWaves' Clarissa Hawes

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Jenna Ellis, the senior legal adviser for President Donald Trumps re-election campaign, dismissed criticism of Mondays showdown between Trump and two female journalists, saying POC liberal women have been present at every one of the coronavirus press conferences and have asked stupid questions.

This is coronavirus press conference number, what, probably somewhere in the 50s? POC liberal women have been present at every one of them and asked stupid questions. Sometimes for HOURS. This is the first time hes just walked off. Finally. You know nothing. Stop gaslighting, Ellis wrote on Twitter just past midnight Tuesday morning.

Ellis was responding to an academic who took issue with Trump abruptly walking out of his own coronavirus briefing, refusing to answer any more questions, after a tense exchange with CBS Weijia Jiang and CNNs Kaitlan Collins. Trumps exchange with Jiang was particularly buzzworthy, as he told her to ask China about the importance of coronavirus testing and she pushed back, questioning why he asked her specifically, to do that. Jiang, CBS News White House correspondent, was born in China and raised in West Virginia.

Also Read: MSNBC's 'Morning Joe': Trump Briefing a 'Blizzard of Lies' (Video)

No, she isnt his kind of woman who let the rich and powerful do what they want. When a bully is challenged they slink off. Trump can give but he cant take. He disliked women who stand up to him. The journalist was devastating in her politeness. Trump showed his racism, wrote Professor Carlyle A. Thayer after Ellis initially tweeted, GOOD for @realDonaldTrump for just walking away from the childish journalists sandbox.

CNNs chief media correspondent Brian Stelter noted her comments, posting a screenshot of her tweet that didnt include her direct shot at Thayer  You know nothing. Stop gaslighting.  which prompted Ellis to respond to him, too. She called Stelter among the most dishonest propagandists in the media.

Posting screenshots of tweets is a standard practice among reporters as it shows the tweet to those who may be blocked by the author and preserves it for posterity in the event of its deletion, whether automatic or manual.

Read original story Trump Campaign Official Objects to POC Liberal Women Asking Stupid Questions at White House Briefings At TheWrap
T wo rough sleepers have appeared in court charged with killing a man in a west London alleyway.

Baljit Singh, 37, was found collapsed off Station Road in Hayes, on April 25.

The victim, who was believed to live locally, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination found that he had suffered chest and abdominal injuries and compression of the neck.

On Tuesday, two Indian nationals, who were said to have slept rough under the M4 motorway, appeared at the Old Bailey accused of murder.

Manpreet Singh, 20, and Jaspreet Singh, 24, appeared by video-link from custody and were assisted by a Punjabi interpreter.

During the Skype hearing, Judge Nigel Lickely QC set a plea hearing for July 28, saying that, due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible to set a trial date until then.

Remanding the pair back into custody, Judge Lickley acknowledged the difficulties lawyers faced in contacting their clients in custody because of coronavirus and asked the defendants to be patient.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday that its unlikely the state will be able to test all of Ohios nursing home residents and staff for coronavirus within the next two weeks, something that the White House strongly recommended earlier in the day.

DeWine said the states coronavirus plan for nursing homes includes testing in response to suspected cases as a major component.

But the plan envisions doing testing only when patients or staff show COVID-19 symptoms, or when a facility otherwise shows signs of becoming a possible virus hotspot, DeWine said.

Health-care experts, including those in the nursing-home field, support expanded testing. But they say there are practical limitations, especially given scarce testing supplies. Theres also a competing state priority to provide tests to contact tracers" who investigate known cases, a key part of the states plan to re-open the general economy.

I think it would be unlikely that you would see us be able to test everybody in the nursing home, DeWine, a Republican, said Monday. There is, frankly, a lot of people in the medical field who would argue that the testing of everybody in that nursing home might not be the best protocol.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told governors in a conference call on Monday that its the White Houses strong recommendation that states perform universal testing in nursing homes, according to the Associated Press.

We really believe that all 1 million nursing home residents need to be tested within the next two weeks as well as the staff, added Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Associated Press.

Its unclear what prompted the Trump administration to make the recommendation. But nursing home residents and staff are perhaps the single most vulnerable population to coronavirus.

More than 26,000 residents and staff have died from outbreaks of the virus at the nations nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an Associated Press tally based on state health departments and media reports. That is about a third of all 80,200 deaths in the U.S. that have been attributed to the virus.

In Ohio, the state has recorded 499 deaths of residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, about 40% of the states 1,357 total recorded coronavirus deaths. But the number likely is incomplete, since the state only began breaking these cases out on April 15.

Pete Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, a professional association that represents the nursing-home industry in Ohio, said the state could do more to protect residents and staff, like provide more personal-protective equipment or money so they can buy it themselves.

But he also called the White House plan wishful thinking.

Because its not here or anyplace else that theres enough tests, he said. And even if we did, it merely offers a snapshot in time, and it doesnt mean that the next day you wouldnt have different results if you were to go back and test everybody again.

Dan Tierney, a DeWine spokesman, said the states plan takes into consideration the limited supply of available tests.

By the end of the week, Ohio has said its testing capacity will exceed 22,000 a day. An estimated 72,000 people live in certified nursing facilities in Ohio, although Van Runkle said that number likely has gone down due to the recent state ban on elective surgeries, leading fewer people to live in temporary rehab facilities.

The Ohio Department of Health last week updated its testing policies to give new, higher-priority to residents of congregate living facilities, including prisons, nursing homes and group homes, who show symptoms of COVID-19. Residents and staff of these facilities without symptoms will get higher priority for testing if theyre exposed to someone who did show symptoms.

The higher testing priority reflects whats increasingly become clear  people who live in close quarters are more likely to spread the coronavirus to each other, including many who dont show symptoms. In a proactive move to try to isolate coronavirus cases, a nursing home in Tallmadge in late April tested all its residents and staff.

Positive results came back for 59 of the 104 residents and several staff members, even though most people tested had previously shown no symptoms, a spokesman for the nursing home said. Some have since been hospitalized.

Residents of nursing homes and other skilled-nursing facilities are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, since they tend to be older and have underlying health conditions.

But the state also needs to set aside tests as part of its general plan to re-open the state economy. The Ohio Department of Health is hiring contact tracers  people tasked with interviewing people in contact with those who test positive for coronavirus.

And with testing supplies scarce, state officials need to decide how to allocate them.

Its important to test individuals who may be exposed to high-risked populations, because of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals who may be infectious, said Daniel Tisch, a public-health professor at Case Western Reserve University. Testing also identifies cases that allows contact tracing to identify individuals early before transmission occurs for individuals who may not know theyre infected yet.

Thats why, DeWine said, the state plan involves sending targeted testing teams to nursing homes where an outbreak is suspected. DeWine said more details of the states nursing home plan will come on Tuesday.

What were trying to do is trying to balance the needs of testing to open up the economy and open up other medical procedures with the available supply, said Tierney, the DeWine spokesman.

Larry Harris, CEO of Willow Brook Christian Communities, a non-profit nursing home in suburban Columbus, said expanded testing in nursing homes is needed so administrators can prevent patients infected with coronavirus from spreading it to others.

He said his facility got access to testing recently through a local industry partnership in Columbus, and found cases beyond those showing symptoms, allowing staff to separate infected people.

But they remain unavailable for many, he said.

Without it, youre flying blind, he said. "You dont have any idea. You may have two, three, four people with symptoms, but you don't know how many people there are out there without symptoms. That's the sleeper in this."

Read related coverage from cleveland.com:

More to get priority for coronavirus screening, including group home residents, as Ohio expands testing capacity

2,354 patients, staff from these Ohio nursing homes, long-term facilities have coronavirus; 499 patients have died

What happens when an entire nursing home is tested for coronavirus? More than half the patients positive at one Tallmadge facility

Ohio looking to hire contact tracers for coronavirus investigations
Depok, Indonesia: The global pandemic has left millions of Indonesians struggling to make ends meet. Now the authorities are rolling out rice ATMs in a bid to ensure greater access for those in need to the essential Asian staple.

This month Linda Syafri, a 28-year-old expectant mother was among the many who lined up in masks at a military base in Depok, on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, for their 1.5 kilogram (3.3 lb) rice ration.

I was laid off by my company last week and my husband was laid off too without severance pay, said Syafri. Although it (the rice subsidy) is not that much, it is very helpful in this situation.

The rice dispensary, one of 10 in and around Jakarta, is part of a government initiative to assist those worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak, which has caused millions to lose their jobs in Southeast Asias largest economy.

Stacked with kilos of good-quality rice and operated by magnetic cards, the tall automated teller machines look much like normal cashpoints, only that they pump out grain instead of banknotes.

Each day we prepare 1.5 tonnes (of rice]) for around 1,000 residents, said Ibrahim, an army official supervising distribution who uses one name like many Indonesians. We will continue doing it every day, without rest, even on weekends, we will distribute non-stop.

Indonesia announced a $25 billion stimulus package in March in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, pledging to provide social welfare for up to 10 million households, including food assistance and electricity tariff discounts.

In the sprawling developing nation where millions work in the informal sector, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told parliament last week the coronavirus had set efforts to eradicate poverty back a decade.

Residents eligible for the rice ration include daily wage earners, the unemployed, those who do not own a house and people who live below the poverty line.

More than 14,000 Indonesians have contracted the coronavirus since early March, with 991 killed by the disease, the highest death toll in East Asia outside China.

Despite a lack of evidence the government has flattened the COVID-19 curve, or slowed the rate of new infections, the administration of President Joko Widodo is eager to resume economic activity and ease social restrictions - a move critics have described as premature.
There has been some confusion that COVID-19 is the 19th coronavirus disease, but the 19 refers to the year the new virus jumped to humans, 2019. In fact, "of the millions, perhaps billions, of coronaviruses, six were previously known to infect humans," The Washington Post reports.

Four cause colds that spread easily each winter, barely noticed. Another was responsible for the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome that killed 774 people in 2003. Yet another sparked the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2012, which kills 34 percent of the people who contract it. But few do. SARS-CoV-2, the bad seed of the coronavirus family, is the seventh. It has managed to combine the infectiousness of its cold-causing cousins with some of the lethality of SARS and MERS. [The Washington Post]

"This is a virus that literally did not exist in humans six months ago," Geoffrey Barnes, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, told the Post. "We had to rapidly learn how this virus impacts the human body and identify ways to treat it literally in a time-scale of weeks."

But scientists do know that coronaviruses invade the body by breaking into ACE2 receptors, which regulate blood pressure and are plentiful in the lungs, intestines, and kidneys. And they suspect the "corona"  or spikes on the outside of the virus  in the COVID-19 virus are more effective at attaching to the receptors, making it easier for them to infiltrate the cells to replicate, as the Post explains in this video.

The coronavirus hijacking your cells "would be as if somebody walked into a car factory and snapped his fingers and said suddenly, 'You're making Twinkies!'" David Leib, chair of microbiology and immunology at Dartmouth College, told WGBH. "It takes the virus roughly 10 minutes to get inside that cell and then to begin its replication cycle," and within days "you are a walking bottle of virus."

The coronavirus had infected at least 4.1 million people around the world by early Monday, including 1.3 million in the U.S., and officially killed 282,727 people, including 79,528 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.

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Phyllis was born on Jan. 18, 1936, in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Starr and Esther (Morrison) Verge. She grew up in Derry, New Hampshire, and graduated from Pinkerton Academy High School in 1953. For a short time, Phyllis worked for New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company in Manchester, New Hampshire.

On July 23, 1955, Phyllis married her high school sweetheart, Raymond C. Bergeron, who was enlisted in the Air Force. As newlyweds, their first home was Hunstanton, England, where they lived for three years. During that time, Phyllis and Ray welcomed two daughters: Brenda Jean and Michelle Louise. In 1958, the family returned to the United States. They spent the next 18 years with the U.S. Air Force at military bases in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Spain, California, New Hampshire and Guam. The family also enjoyed visits to Taiwan and Okinawa. Their last assignment came in 1972 when they were transferred to Billings, which eventually became their permanent home.
Actor Simon Callow and author Stephen Fry are backing a poetry anthology for the NHS Covid-19 Emergency Fund which includes a poem by Dr Emma Halliday of Lancaster University.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said of the collection, 'Every ward and waiting room should have a copy' while author Stephen Fry called it "a wonderful anthology to celebrate the NHS, which is itself the best poem a country has ever written."

All proceeds from the book entitled "These are the hands - poems for the heart of the NHS" will go to the NHS Covid-19 Emergency Fund which supports over 135 official NHS Charities raising money for hospitals, ambulance services, community and mental health services across the UK.

Dr Halliday works at the Centre for Health Inequalities Research at the Faculty of Health and Medicine and recently completed a postgraduate qualification in creative writing.

I'm delighted to have my poem published in this unique anthology. In writing the poem, I was inspired by research highlighting the high levels of stress and burn out among doctors and medical students, and the impact on their mental health." Emma Halliday, Postgraduate, Lancaster University

Her poem 'Burnt out' sits alongside poems by leading UK poets including Michael Rosen, Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Wendy Cope and the estates of UA Fanthorpe, Dannie Abse and Julia Darling.

The anthology offers a unique insight into the real experiences of the people at the heart of the NHS - from the student nurse at the start of his career to the heart surgeon on the eve of her retirement. There are also stories of those whose vital work is often unseen and unsung from domestic cleaning staff to sign language interpreters.
New Delhi, May 12 : Investigations by the Enforcement Directorate into the business dealings of former Yes Bank CEO, Rana Kapoor and family has brought to light a web of questionable transactions hinging on hundreds of bank accounts, investment companies.

The ED investigations show that the family held as many as 168 bank accounts and 101 investment companies which led to Kapoor starting as a professional banker and becoming one of India's most high profile promoters with a lavish lifestyle. Kapoor is in jail facing multiple charges of financial wrongdoing.

Fond of a flamboyant lifestyle, Kapoor was a tenant of a palatial duplex owned by BJP leader Jyodiraditya Scindia in the Samudra Mahal complex in Worli in Mumbai. This was the address where parties were thrown by Kapoor regularly.

Kapoor and family had as many as 101 investments configured through three holding firms -- Morgan Credits (MCPL), Yes Capital India (YCPL) and RAB Enterprises, according to the ED.

Rana Kapoor, wife Bindu and their daughters Roshni, Radha and Rakhee Kapoor held a total of 168 bank accounts in different banks.

The family holding companies invested across 15 mutual funds and owned a collection of 59 paintings worth Rs 4 crore. There was a separate room at Samudra Mahal to keep these paintings. Among others, the paintings include a portrait of the late Rajiv Gandhi by celebrated artist M.F. Hussain.

According to ED investigations, the Kapoor family first began these investment companies from 1991. That was the year MCPL was formed.

YCPL, previously named DoIT Capital, was incorporated in May 2003. Later that year -- Yes Bank was formed in 2004 -- both these companies were approved by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as investment companies.

The main source of investment in Yes Bank was the funds Kapoor received from the sale of shares to Rabo Bank Holland in the joint venture company, Rabo India Finance.

In 2002-03, Rana Kapoor and partners Ashok Kapur and Harkirat Singh exited selling the stake to Rabo Bank. In 2004, Kapur and Kapoor launched Yes Bank.

The investigative agencies are also probing the transactions between Kappor family and the Wadhawans of DHFL.

DHFL is facing insolvency proceedings and owes creditors around Rs 36,000 crore.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said investigations by its economic offence wing into alleged deals worth Rs 5,050 crore found the Kapoor family received kickbacks in exchange for giving Yes Bank loans to the Wadhawans of DHFL through various channels and in gross violation of rules.

Kapoor is said to have used investment companies to get undue benefits from the Wadhawans after influencing Yes Bank to extend large loans to DHFL and other Wadhawan companies by flouting rules, according to the CBI.

According to ED officials, in April 2018, Yes Bank gave a loan of Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures to Wadhawan's DHFL. This money has not come back to Yes Bank yet.

Yes Bank also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to one of the companies, Belief Realty (BRPL), owned by DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan and their family members.

This funding is said to have been siphoned off by Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan through their shell companies.

The entire amount was transferred to DHFL without making any investment in Bandra Reclamation Project for which the loan had been originally sanctioned, according to ED officials.

A red flag had been raised by the loan risk team of Yes Bank which had pointed out multiple and serious issues in the proposal. This included the fact that a majority of the project approvals were not in place. Also, the Letter of Intent (Lol) issued by SRA was for a carpet area of 1.3 lakh square feet whereas the proposal from BRPL had considered an area of 6.3 lakh square feet.

Even after these warnings, the formal approval was given, no external rating o due diligence was called for on the BRPL. Immediately after disbursement of loan, the internal rating of the transaction was downgraded.

The standard process stipulated by the Yes Bank's risk management processes for valuation was waived and no end-use certificate was called for from BRPL. The loan was sanctioned at the insistence of Kapoor, officials have alleged.

"All along, Rana Kapoor knew that the Rs 750 crore sanctioned to Belief Realtors for its Bandra reclamation project was not going to be used for the declared purpose," the ED has alleged.

The investigators said this deal was to siphon off the money from Yes Bank. The Rs 750 crore was sanctioned to the Wadhawan company without a penny being spent for the stated use.

The other allegation is that the Wadhawans paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore to Rana Kapoor and family under the guise of loan of the same loan from DHFL, according to the ED.

This was given by DHFL to DoIT Urban Ventures, one of the investment companies owned by the family of Rana Kapoor. Kapoor's daughters are 100 percent shareholders in DoIT through MCPL.

The Rs 600-crore loan was given by DHFL to DoIT on the basis of mortgage of sub-standard properties including 7.79 acres of land at Alibaug and 91.63 acres at Raigad. These land parcels has low value and loan was valuated considering its future conversion from agriculture land to residential land. Besides, Radha Kapoor gave a personal guarantee showing a net worth of Rs 1,386 crore, according to ED documents.

Of the Rs 600 crore, DoIT used Rs 300 crore for repayment of an earlier loan. The remaining, the company said, is for general corporate purpose.

Against this loan, five properties were given as collateral to DHFL. At the Wadhawans' instruction, DHFL valued these properties at future value on becoming commercial land.

At the time of giving loan, the purchase value of this land was only Rs 39.66 crore while the valuation done by DHFL was Rs 735 crore. This plot remains an agricultural land, according to ED documents.

The ED investigation said Rajendra Mirashie, president (project finance) of DHFL did not interact at all with the three daughters of Kapoor, the owners of DUVPL. Marishie used to coordinate with Lata Dave, senior executive secretary of Rana Kapoor. Kapoor often talked to the Wadhawans directly and sometimes, with S Govindan, their executive assistant.
Iran's Zarif Again Raises The Issue Of Prisoner Exchange With US

Radio Farda May 11, 2020

Iran's foreign minister has said the United States has not yet responded to the Islamic Republic's two-year-old offer to exchange prisoners.

Referring to his proposal in 2018 to swap prisoners with the U.S., Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated, "Since then, the Americans have not responded to us and have not yet provided any answer in this regard."

Zarif made his statement at a meeting with parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on May 11.

In recent days senior Iranian officials have been raising the issue of swapping prisoners with Washington.

Zarif's assertion that his previous offer has remained unanswered comes after Iran in December released an American-Chinese, Xiyue Wang, in exchange for an Iranian scientist, Masoud Soleimani, held by the United States.

Following the swap, negotiated indirectly in neutral Switzerland, U.S. President Donald Trump thanked Tehran for what he called a "very fair negotiation".

Responding to President Trump's comment, Iranian spokesman Ali Rabiei asserted, "This was merely a swap and ... regarding exchanges, we are ready to act but there are no negotiations."

According to the spokesman of the parliamentary commission, Zarif said at the meeting that "we do not need to talk (to Washington) for the exchange of prisoners and the swaps could be done in coordination with the U.S. interest section at Switzerland's embassy in Iran."

The government spokesman Rabiei on Monday also repeated Zarif's proposal of two years ago. He insisted that the prisoners' exchange needed no "mediation" and could take place through the U.S. interest section at the Swiss embassy in Tehran.

Zarif also referred to Cyrus Askari (Asgari), a professor at Iran's Sharif University of Technology, who is behind bars in the U.S. and has been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Earlier, Reuters had quoted an Iranian diplomat and a U.S. official as saying on May 6 that the United States was expected to surrender Cyrus Askari to Iran as soon as he received his health permit.

Askari was recently acquitted of stealing trade secrets.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-s-zarif -again-raises-the-issue-of-prisoner- exchange-with-us/30606350.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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Sowmya Mani By

Express News Service

TIRUCHY: On Mother's Day on Sunday, two children had a special reason to be proud of their mothers. They told their mothers that their hearts swelled with pride because of the service they did by bringing back 177 Indian nationals from Malaysia to Tiruchy on Saturday. These mothers are Captain Kavitha Rajkumar and senior cabin crew Pushpavalli.

Kavitha has been a pilot for more than 15 years. She volunteered for this mission as she says it is her duty. In fact, her husband, too, volunteered for the mission. He is the chief of operations at Air India Express. As she landed in Kuala Lumpur and called her eight-year-old daughter, her daughter told her she was extremely proud of her. At that moment, wearing the hazmat suit and taking the risk all seemed worth it.

"When they asked who is available, I volunteered. It felt very nice Air India Express is taking part in this repatriation mission. We are all thankful to them for planning this flight. As a mother, I had mixed feelings as I was leaving my child behind but I also knew I had to do my duty. It is a good humanitarian cause," said Kavitha.

For Pushpavalli, whose husband is in Dubai, volunteering for the Vande Bharat Mission was a no-brainer. This Tiruchy woman chose to fly from her native place as 'there is no better feeling. "We are aware of the risks, but tell me, if my husband would be stranded, wouldn't I want someone to bring him back?

Similarly, I got the opportunity to bring back families of hundreds of people. We got the blessings of the families of so many people," said Pushpavalli.

The flight was not without its challenges. Wearing a hazmat suit for five to six hours is not an easy task. The special Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and guidelines by the airline helped, say the crew. "It was definitely challenging. When we initially entered, we kept thinking, should we sanitise our hand every time we touch a surface. It was a little difficult for the cabin crew to walk around in the hazmat suit. We were all a little worried and anxious. I am very proud of my first officer and four cabin crew members. We took all the precautions and followed the special procedures given by the airline," said Kavitha.

For the crew, they already had feedback about the suit from other members who flew. "I was scared initially. We heard that it was suffocating. However, we felt secure wearing the suit. The hard part was not going to the washroom. We did not eat or drink anything for around six hours to avoid going to the washroom. Passengers were very cooperative. Our captain also motivated us," said Pushpavalli.

What also helped give the crew confidence was the fact the first officer was a doctor. The crew says it was a 'different feeling'. Pushpavalli says her seven-year-old son's words were the biggest encouragement for her. "He came to the airport, gave me a hug and a kiss and said go carefully and rescue those people. I will be waiting for you. When I told him I would not be able to see him after coming back as I had to be in isolation, he said that it is okay, you do what you have to do," says Pushpavalli.

The crew also included Rajkumar, who is also from Tiruchy, Himanshu and Parvinder Kaur.
Sandra Oh has revealed that she is now 'specifically interested in roles that explore a character's race'.

The Killing Eve actress, 48, opened up in a candid tell-all interview with Elle Canada about her thoughts on how race is covered in film and television.

She said: 'I'm in a place in my career now where I am specifically interested in roles that explore a character's race. Because I can.

Success secret: Sandra Oh has revealed the secret to her success is only playing characters that are 'essential to the plot' and 'conduct the narrative'

'You can't just write a character without having the background of who she is.'

She added: 'Asian-Americans, particularly from my generation, almost recoil if we hear an accent onscreen because of how laden in racism and misunderstanding it is.'

The international superstar also revealed the secret to her success is playing characters that are 'essential to the plot' and 'conduct the narrative'.

Candid: The Killing Eve actress, 48, opened up in an interview with Elle Canada

She added that the crucial step was getting to a point in her career where she could afford to turn down certain roles.

Sandra studied ballet while growing up in Ottawa, Canada, and was certain she wanted to be an actress by the time she was in high school.

The former Grey's Anatomy actress even turned down a scholarship from Carleton University and instead paid her own tuition fees while attending Montreal's Nation Theatre School.

It's Sandra's commitment to the standard of her performance that led the creator and executive producer of Grey's Anatomy, which Sandra acted in as Cristina Yang, to grieve her leaving the show.

Grey's Anatomy producer Shonda Rhimes told Elle: 'There are plenty of actors who want to be nice or who want to be seen as romantic or who want to be seen as a hero, but Sandra's not interested in that. She's interested in playing the stuff of life.'

Sandra said: 'I decided that Im only going to play characters that are essential to the plot, that conduct the narrative and therefore cant be cut out.'

International stardom: And the actress recently revealed that as soon as she met Jodie, 27, she knew they would have amazing chemistry

Sandra has won further acclaim after appearing in Killing Eve alongside Jodie Comer.

And the actress recently revealed that as soon as she met Jodie, 27, she knew they would have amazing chemistry.

Before appearing on Friday's edition of The Graham Norton Show from her home, the actress, 48, explained: 'When we first met and had our first read together I knew we had good chemistry.

'I could just tell because of the way we were listening together and I could actually feel the way we were reacting to each other.'

Sandra said: 'I decided that Im only going to play characters that are essential to the plot, that conduct the narrative and therefore cant be cut out'

In March, Sandra revealed that it's the sense of mystery that drives her sexually-charged scenes with co-star Jodie.

Saying she had a 'profound' relationship with co-star Jodie she added that she felt the magic to their electric scenes together comes from a trust that's built over three series of working together.

Sandra told The Sun: 'We really dive into the relationship. We both understand there's a lot of mystery between Eve and Villanelle and we play it as such.

'Usually what happens is, story-wise, Eve and Villanelle are kept apart and at a certain point they crash into each other then have their storyline together.

'Jodie and I have a profound relationship. At this point, having done three seasons, we trust each other when the magic is happening. That's how we work it.'

In the Elle interview Sandra added that she and Jodie push each other to their limits on screen and trust the 'space of alchemy' between them.
Chicago Booth economists Randall S. Kroszner, Austan D. Goolsbee and Raghuram G. Rajan discussed COVID-19 during the April 30 debut of the virtual Economic Outlook series. Credit: Edwin Hooper on Unsplash

The worldwide economic landscape has changed dramatically over the past four months, as the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled activity in nearly every corner of the world.

With these dramatic changes in mind, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business has convened its inaugural virtual Economic Outlook, focusing on the U.S., Asia and Europe in three events over three weeks.

During the April 30 debut of the online series, Profs. Randall S. Kroszner, Austan D. Goolsbee and Raghuram G. Rajan discussed the critical economic questions facing the world amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Moderated by Kathleen Hays of Bloomberg, the conversation ranged from the possible paths and pitfalls for recovery, to how economic sectors such as manufacturing and hospitality will fare, to concerns about incurring debt.

While much uncertainty remains, the Chicago Booth economists shared their perspectives and concerns around key questions facing business leaders, policymakers, employees, and families worldwide. Portions of the first event are highlighted below.

How have stay-at-home orders affected economies?

With tens of millions of unemployment claims in the United States, as well as more than 100 million jobs lost in India, global economies are suffering.

"We sent everyone home. We didn't allow people to go out and buy anything," said Kroszner, a former governor of the Federal Reserve System who serves as Booth's deputy dean for executive programs and Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics. "So it's not a surprise that you get this astonishing contraction in demand and production."

Hoping for a 'reverse check mark'

A former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet, Goolsbee warned that a traditional recession recovery is a slow process.

"We could go from less than 4% unemployment to 15% in a short period of time. In a normal recovery, the unemployment rate only goes down 1 to 1.5 percentage points a year," said Goolsbee, the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics.

"Hopefully there is the possibility of a rapid recoverymaybe a reverse check mark where you went down, and then you came back at least part of the way at kind of a rapid pace. We absolutely have to do everything we can to go in that direction because the alternative is much more grim."

Profs. Raghuram Rajan, Austan Goolsbee and Randall Kroszner (counter-clockwise from top left) discuss the impacts of COVID-19 with Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays. Credit: Chicago Booth

Should the government bail out everyone?

Some sectors, such as manufacturing, can likely come back quickly, said Rajan, who previously served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the chief economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund. Others, however, will take much longer to fully recoverif they ever do at all. Those differences need to be taken into account when considering government interventions.

"One of the decisions we have to make soon is how the government spends that money," said Rajan, the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance. "It's going to be expensive to keep the hospitality industry alive for a year or more until people feel comfortable going out again."

Which sectors might expand or contract?

Kroszner said that an effective recovery strategy should consider which types of jobs will be available in the coming years and how to ensure that employees have the skills to fill them.

"Well-intentioned programs that are trying to freeze things as they were in February are going to make it more difficult for people to find new positions," Kroszner said. "At some point we're going to have to allow for a transition. We've got to get the support structures right to get people moving into new sectors."

Restarting regular economic activity

Goolsbee said that the shortest path to recovery is by spending on health care and testing.

"The most important thing you can do for the economy is slow the spread of the virus," he said. "That's how you stimulate the economy, because people have to feel safe leaving their homes. We've now got six countries that have gotten out of lockdown and are going back to normal. Each of them has done extensive testing to get the rate of the spread of the virus low enough that it peters itself out."

Paying off debt

Goolsbee said there's no alternative to adding to the debt, but we should be considering the long-term implications for paying off these debts.

"Nobody in June of 1944 questioned how to pay for D-Day and keep it revenue neutral," he said. "If you look post-World War II, we went through a period of heavy taxation to pay back the debts that we accumulated. It's what we should have done, and spreading that over time is better than trying to pay for it all at once. The same is true here."

Rajan added that these burdens could also affect future investment.

"This was the debt overhang problem that many emerging markets had," Rajan said. "We should be wary when we have lots of debt and potential taxation down the line. A lot of investors are going to be worrying about where it's going to fall, and that could be perhaps very damaging for investment and growth."

Explore further Economic recovery after shutdown could take up to three years
Angola, IN (46703)

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Cloudy skies. Morning high of 35F with temps falling to near 20. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

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Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 13F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
WASHINGTON  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, providing nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, hazard pay for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals.

The House is expected to vote on the package as soon as Friday, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there is no urgency. The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to act.

We must think big, for the people now, Pelosi said from the speakers office at the Capitol. She said, Not acting is the most expensive course.

Lines drawn, the pandemic response from Congress will test the House and Senate  and President Donald Trump  as Washington navigates the crisis with the nation's health and economic security at stake.

The so-called Heroes Act from Democrats is built around nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs, focused chiefly on $375 billion for smaller suburban and rural municipalities largely left out of earlier bills.

The bill will offer a fresh round of $1,200 direct cash aid to individuals, increased to up to $6,000 per household, and launches a $175 billion housing assistance fund to help pay rents and mortgages. There is $75 billion more for virus testing.

It would continue, through January, the $600-per-week boost to unemployment benefits. It adds a 15% increase for food stamps and new help for paying employer-backed health coverage. For businesses, it provides an employee retention tax credit.

Theres $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers the front lines of the crisis.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the bill will be ready to call lawmakers back to Washington for the vote.

But the 1,800-page package is heading straight into a Senate roadblock. Senate Republicans are not planning to vote on any new relief until June, after a Memorial Day recess.

Trump has already signed into law nearly $3 trillion in aid approved by Congress.

McConnell on Tuesday called the emerging Democratic bill a big laundry list of pet priorities. He said its not something that deals with reality.

The new package extends some provisions from previous aid packages, and adds new ones.

There are other new resources, including $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service. There is help for the 2020 Census. For the November election, the bill provides $3.6 billion to help local officials prepare for the challenges of voting during the pandemic.

The popular Payroll Protection Program, which has been boosted in past bills, would see another $10 billion to ensure under-served businesses and nonprofit organizations have access to grants through a disaster loan program.

For hospitals and other health care providers, theres another $100 billion infusion to help cover costs and additional help for hospitals serving low-income communities.

Theres another $600 million in funding to tackle the issue of rapid spread of the virus in state and federal prisons, along with $600 million in help to local police departments for salaries and equipment

McConnell said he is working with the White House on next steps. His priority is to ensure any new package includes liability protections for health care providers and businesses that are reopening. Trump is expected to meet Tuesday with a group of Senate Republicans.

I dont think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately, McConnell told reporters earlier this week at the Capitol.

As states weigh the health risks of re-opening, McConnell said Tuesday the nation needs to regroup and find a more sustainable middle ground between total lockdown and total normalcy.

Top GOP senators flatly rejected the House bill. What Nancy Pelosi is proposing will never pass the Senate, said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, I dont think theres a sense of urgency to do it now. He noted that already-approved money still hasnt gone out the door."

The Senate recently reopened its side of the Capitol while the House remains largely shuttered due the the health concerns.

Senators have been in session since last week, voting on Trump's nominees for judicial and executive branch positions and other issues. The Senate majority, the 53-member Senate Republican conference, is meeting for its regular luncheons most days, spread out three to a table for social distance. Democrats are convening by phone. Many senators, but not all, are wearing masks.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

At least a dozen Capitol police officers and other staff have tested positive for the virus, and at least one senator, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, is in isolation at home after exposure from a staff member who tested positive. Other lawmakers have cycled in and out of quarantine.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that if Trump and congressional Republicans slow walk more aid they will be repeating President Herbert Hoovers tepid response to the Great Depression.

Pelosi is dug in for a fight, believing the state governors and city mayors support the Democratic effort.

To those who would suggest a pause, I would say the hunger doesnt take a pause, the rent doesnt take a pause, Pelosi said late Monday on MSNBC. We have a big need. Its monumental.

Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Matthew Daly in Washington, and Nick Riccardi in Denver, Colo., contributed to this report.
As Red River College braces for an estimated $10 million shortfall amid the pandemic, college administration is warning about the potential for additional layoffs.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/5/2020 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Red River College braces for an estimated $10 million shortfall amid the pandemic, college administration is warning about the potential for additional layoffs.

In an email sent to faculty and staff Tuesday afternoon, interim president Christine Watson informed the college community that the province is expected to reduce Red River's funding by 3.75 per cent, which translates into nearly $4 million.

That sum is based on verbal communication provided to the college, Watson said, adding that its subject to change once the school receives written confirmation.

A provincial spokesperson told the Free Press Monday that written notices will be sent to post-secondary institutions with cost-cutting expectations in the near future.

Red River is projecting losses that surpass savings found from the suspension of in-person operations. A decline in revenue sources ranging from international tuition to parking fees pose a challenge, on top of increased costs for health and safety equipment, Watson said.

"These pandemic impacts are not yet even fully known, but are expected to be significant," she wrote in the email.

The college is currently working to revise its 2020-21 budget to take into account the combined shortfall of $10 million in revenue losses and funding restrictions linked to COVID-19, she said.

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"We will do our best to find reductions and savings that allow us to minimize job loss," she added.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union confirmed Tuesday that 23 college employees have already been laid off and 26 term positions have been terminated early. Employees in the print shop, campus store, food services and parking departments have been affected.

The college is developing a vacancy management policy that will limit hiring, while continuing to find savings in travel, conference fees, office supplies, equipment rentals and repairs and housekeeping and facilities costs, Watson said.

At present, the college spends upwards of $200 million annually on operations; instruction accounts for close to 60 per cent of its expenses.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Boeing 737 MAX airplanes, along with one Boeing 787 at top, are parked at Grant County International Airport October 23, 2019 in Moses Lake, Washington.

Boeing said Tuesday that customers canceled 108 more orders for 737 Max jetliners in April, further whittling down the company's backlog of planes as it faces the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on air travel and its customers.

The additional cancellations coupled with Boeing's move to take some orders off of its firm order tally, pushed the company's backlog down to 4,834 planes. Last month it had unfilled orders of 5,049 planes. Among the customers that canceled orders was General Electric's aircraft leasing arm, known as Gecas.

The backlog is the smallest since 2013, but Boeing said in 2018 that it implemented new accounting procedures under which it can take some orders off the tally if a purchaser doesn't meet certain criteria.

The pandemic has posed the greatest threat to the air travel demand in recent memory, industry executives have said. While off the lows, U.S. air passenger traffic is down more than 90% from a year ago as shelter-in-place orders, work-from-home setups and concerns about the virus in general keep most potential travelers home.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has said it could take three years for air travel demand to recover to 2019 levels and even longer to get back to growth mode.

Calhoun told NBC's "TODAY" show in an interview that aired Tuesday that the coronavirus will "likely" put a U.S. carrier out of business, but he didn't to go into specifics. A Boeing spokesman said Calhoun "was speaking in general about the uncertainty in the sector not about any one particular airline."

The pandemic is an additional problem for Boeing that was already struggling with the 737 Max crisis. Those planes have been grounded for the last 14 months worldwide after two fatal crashes  one in Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in March 2019  killed all 346 aboard the two flights.
[May 12, 2020] Adventure Links Launches CampCloudTM to Provide An Exciting Virtual Alternative to Its Physical Summer Camp

As the coronavirus has forced hundreds of thousands of U.S. parents to work from home, the issue of what to do with the kids while being productive has become a major challenge. With summer fast approaching, parents who would have sent their kids to camp in a pre-pandemic world are now faced with camps that are yet undecided or have opted not to open at all this year. "We are proud to offer CampCloud, a revolutionary new virtual solution for parents, employers, and even other camps that will not be opening their physical facilities this summer," say Anna and Austin Birch, CampCloud Founders. "The coronavirus pandemic is either closing kids' summer camps or creating uncertainty about their future. Parents who would normally enroll their kids in our day, residential and expedition camp programs are frantically searching for new ways to keep them active, happy, socially engaged, and challenged throughout the summer." The team at the American Camp Association (ACA) accredited Adventure Links, with 23 years in summer camp and experiential education, has found a way to not only replace its usual summer adventure camp programs with an online alternative, the company also plans to offer its new and exciting virtual camping programs to employers for the children of their employees and to other camps as a customizable online option for their usual camp families. CampCloud will be offering a wide variety of thoroughly engaging, age-appropriate programs for kids ages 6-17, consisting of hands-on and fun activities all day that kids can do themselves and/or with minor adult assistance at home or right in their neighborhoods, while social distancing if necessary. The instructors are thoroughly trained and reviewed with the same rigor of background and reference checks as an ACA accredited camp. More importantly, they are individuals who possess a love for kids and for teahing, and carry the creative and adventurous spirit that has always infused Adventure Links' programs.



Camps are available in Monday-Friday segments every day for a week, and camp connection is facilitated over Zoom. Each day, campers will engage in interactive experiences that put "some worthwhile wonder into a virtual life." Apart from a few predesignated supplies, all the camper needs are a good internet connection, a smart device, and a readiness to engage. Currently planned CampCloud offerings include:

Camp Adventure (ages 6-10), covering everything from ecology to shelter building to outdoor skills.

(ages 6-10), covering everything from ecology to shelter building to outdoor skills. STEAM (ages 8 -14), offering activities in science, technology, engineering, art, and math and honing critical thinking skills.

(ages 8 -14), offering activities in science, technology, engineering, art, and math and honing critical thinking skills. Pet Camp (ages 8 -14), with kids and their pets together learning pet behavior training, nutrition, vet-care tips, and how to make the bond even stronger.

(ages 8 -14), with kids and their pets together learning pet behavior training, nutrition, vet-care tips, and how to make the bond even stronger. Suburban Survival (ages 11-17), focused on the pillars of survival: navigation, tracking, trap making, fire safety and so much more.

(ages 11-17), focused on the pillars of survival: navigation, tracking, trap making, fire safety and so much more. Performing Arts (ages 8 -14), a theatrical camp excursion that concludes with a full-blown production edited and sent out to parents.

(ages 8 -14), a theatrical camp excursion that concludes with a full-blown production edited and sent out to parents. Humanity Island (ages 8 -14), a non-stop adventure with campers imaginatively stranded on a desert island where they must function as a society to succeed. CampCloud online camp programs are offered not only to parents directly, but also to corporate subscribers that may want to provide CampCloud as an employee benefit. Employees working from home are often stressed as they attempt to juggle keeping their kids entertained and engaged and getting their work done. Employers know that reducing employee stress will result in greater productivity, so CampCloud is offering companies the option to purchase a block of seats for their employees, allowing employees to select the right camp for their kids at no cost or a reduced cost to the employee. Further, because other traditional summer camps are wondering what they can do if their decision is to close, CampCloud is offering to customize and private-label CampCloud programs for these camps, allowing them to stay in business while the pandemic lasts and retain their counselors and staff - without them having to design their own platforms and programs from scratch. "In many ways, our kids have become victims of this pandemic, and we're hoping that this three-pronged approach will allow us to reach as many kids as possible while taking some of the burden of keeping their kids engaged all summer off parents," adds Birch. "Kids need to keep intellectually, physically and socially engaged, even while remaining at home. TV and video games are not the answer. CampCloud will have something to delight every kid and his or her parents." Founded in 1997, Adventure Links is accredited by the American Camp Association, the nationally recognized certifying body for summer camps. In addition to its adventure summer camp offered in Virginia when live camping was and will be available, Adventure Links provides children ages 6-10, 11-14 and 15-17 with a wide variety of engaging, educational and creative "camping" experiences online that will keep them fully engaged and delighted all day long. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005231/en/

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By Peter Nurse

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was marginally lower in early European trade Monday, consolidating after hitting a two-week high against its major peers overnight amid growing fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections.

At 2:55 AM ET (0655 GMT), the U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, stood at 100.248, essentially flat from late Monday, after earlier climbing to 100.513, a two-week high. EUR/USD rose 0.1% to 1.0817, after falling below $1.0800 for the first time in almost a week. GBP/USD edged 0.1% lower to 1.2323, and USD/JPY dropped 0.1% to 107.55.

As countries around the world gradually ease restrictions in an effort to restart their economies, investors are becoming anxious about a second wave of infections.

The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic originated, reported five new cases on Monday, its first new cases since its lockdown was lifted, while South Korea, the Asian poster child on how to deal with the virus, has had to combat a new spike in cases.

In Europe, Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported that the "reproduction rate" - the number of people each person infected with the coronavirus goes on to infect - had risen to 1.1. Any rate above 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially.

The greenback was also buoyed by a steepening U.S. yield curve, as Federal Reserve officials talked down the prospect of negative rates - St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Monday that negative rates stateside would be problematic. His counterparts from Atlanta and Chicago, Raphael Bostic and Charles Evans, were similarly dismissive.

Two more more Fed speakers are scheduled to talk late Tuesday - Philadelphia's Patrick Harker and Cleveland's Loretta Mester - and they are likely to weigh in on the issue..

One of the biggest losing currencies Tuesday was the Australian dollar, giving up its recent gains after China suspended meat imports from four Australian abattoirs, fueling concerns that escalating tensions between the two nations are damaging Australias most important trading relationship.

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At 2:55 AM ET, AUD/USD traded 0.3% lower at 0.6470.

We are hard pressed to see a strong case to buy the reflationary currencies just yet; on a short-term view, said analysts at Danske Bank, in a research note.

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Management of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, has strengthened its precautionary measures to prevent further spread of the coronavirus in the facility.



The facility has already recorded about two positive coronavirus cases involving some employees and the authorities are doing everything possible to prevent any such further spread.



Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso, Chief Executive Officer told newsmen in Kumasi that, the health workers who were confirmed positive had been treated and are doing well.



He said a screening point had been established in all entry points to the facility where everybody, be it an employee, patient or visitor was mandated to go through before accessing the facility.



Dr Owusu-Danso said canopies had also been erected in the OPD and other areas where more people converge to ensure that the social distancing protocols were observed.



He said management has scale up risk control measures to ensure that everybody complied with all the preventive protocols and restrictive measures outlined by the government to control the spread of the virus in the country.



Dr Owusu-Danso urged people who visit the facility not to be dismayed by the stringent measures put in place at the facility, but comply since they were in the interest of everybody.

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 Delhi: Chinese helicopters were spotted flying close to the undemarcated border between India and China in Eastern Ladakh after around 250 soldiers of both sides were engaged in a fierce face-off near Pangong Lake in the area last week. The situation in the area remained tense after the violent clashes between the troops on Tuesday evening.

The Indian Army, however, claimed that tensions between the two sides in the area have subsided.

The Chinese military helicopters were seen flying close to the Line of Actual Control on at least a couple of occasions after which a fleet of Su-30 fighters of the Indian Air Force too were sent to carry our sorties in the area. Additional troops were also rushed in to the site following the fracas.

In the face-off on May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake and even resorted to stone-pelting. The incident led to a number of soldiers on both sides receiving injuries.

Tensions between Indian and Chinese troops started in February this year on the banks of the 135-km-long Pangang Lake in eastern Ladakh when Chinese troops stopped Indian soldiers from patrolling the Finger 2 area. The Indian soldiers frequently patrol the area.

There are five hills leading to the lake, which are known as Finger 1 to Finger 5 The road up to Finger 2 is built on which Indian soldiers carts move easily.

In the last week of April, the presence of the troops on both sides increased and on the nights of May 5-6, a violent clash took place, leaving many troops injured. Indian soldiers tried setting up a cottage in the area which was strongly protested by Chinese soldiers. A scuffle took place between soldiers of two nations.

Early in August 2017, another incident of the two sides exchanging blows around the Pangong Lake was reported. In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday. At least 10 soldiers from both the sides sustained injuries in the incident.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.


Despite all the fanfare about Iran and the US backing its new Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraq will remain stuck in the middle

Shortly after the Iraqi parliament voted to endorse Mustafa Al-Kadhimi as the countrys new prime minister after midnight on 6 May, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo picked up the phone to congratulate the former chief spy on taking the new post.

Pompeo also joyfully broke the news to Al-Kadhimi of Washingtons decision to grant Iraq a 120-day sanctions waiver enabling the country to import gas and electricity from Iran to meet its dire power needs.

That was welcome news for the many who thought that Iraq would need the worlds support to leave its government deadlock behind and for others who feared that Iran was exploiting the political turmoil to consolidate its power in Iraq.

To many Iraq watchers in the US media and think-tanks, Pompeos gesture was an indication of support for the new Iraqi premier after hiccups in US-Iraqi relations caused by Al-Kadhimis predecessor Adil Abdul-Mahdi and his pro-Iran policies.

Some observers may even have assumed that Al-Kadhimis success in forming a new government could amount to a foreign policy victory for the US Trump administration over Iran amid a continued US-Iran standoff.

But these rosy assessments are without foundation. Contrary to such beliefs, Irans influence in Iraq may be increasingly challenged, but the Islamic Republic is still a dominant power in Iraq and the American ability to cause Irans influence in Iraq to wane is still in question.

What is obvious is that Iraqs new government will be entangled in the US-Iran conflict and that there will be a lot of questions as to whether it will be able to chart its way to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

In order to put things in perspective, one needs to assess the balance of power and influence between the US and Iran in Iraq and how that could impact Al-Kadhimis government and its ability to insulate the country from regional turmoil.

Nearly ten years after it pulled most of its combat troops out from Iraq following the 2003 invasion, the United States still maintains a powerful military and a leading political role in Iraqs institutions.

Iraq hosts a massive US force, with the official number of US troops in the country estimated at up to 5,000. They are deployed in military bases around the country with contingents of tanks, warplanes and military equipment.

After fighting the Islamic State (IS) group along with the Iraqi armed forces in the 2014-2017 war to expel the militants from Iraqi territory, the Americans have continued their mission which they have seen as ostensibly to prevent the groups resurgence.

Their counterterrorism mission has also included training the Iraqi armed forces and providing them with badly needed intelligence in deterring future attacks.

Yet, US military power in Iraq is about much more than the number of troops and equipment it has in the country and corresponds to the influence it can exercise in the fields of command, control and communication over Iraqs military.

Today, the United States maintains a remarkable political and diplomatic influence in Iraq with an unequaled network of domestic, regional and international partners.

With its numerous assets permanently or temporarily deployed to various spheres and sectors in the country, its advantages surpass Iraqs ability to disengage without paying a heavy political price.

A closer look at the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and other UN agencies and organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) whose help for Iraq is indispensable shows that US support for Iraq is unmatched by other international players.

In addition, the United States has the edge in influencing Iraqs economy through the power its oil companies can exercise in both production and marketing, thus impacting sales of the commodity.

Washington can also play a role in shaping Iraqs financial and monitory systems through its control of US-run petro-dollar mechanisms as well as its ability to engage the international finance institutions that are engaged with Iraq in providing loans and guarantees.

Moreover, the United States enjoys tremendous political influence among different Iraqi communities, political elites and social strata. It has maintained a strategic friendship with the Kurds in the north, and more recently it has consolidated ties with Sunni political leaders either directly or via its Arab Sunni allies.

Washington has also been able to reach out to large segments of the Shia community by making friends and influencing people in political, social, tribal and business elites, exploiting their needs to balance Irans influence.

It has dedicated enormous resources to build on its strengths of soft power in order to promote its interests in Iraq. Much of this soft power rests on thousands of people working in the bureaucracy, security forces, business community and civil society in Iraq.

Another source of American soft power can be found in members of the Iraqi community in the United States who are connected to US interest groups, think-tanks, the media and the academy and who network with political leaders and institutions in Iraq.

Reports and rumours have long suggested that activists among these expatriates have been involved in efforts to form previous Iraqi governments and probably this new one too.

However, this power should not be misunderstood. The United States does not have the upper hand in Iraq, or at least not yet. Iran also has significant political, security, economic and cultural assets in Iraq that it can mobilise to sabotage US efforts to win back Iraq.

In a sense, Iraq has become a pilot project for Irans attempts at regional hegemony. For 17 years, the Islamic Republic has had a free hand to experiment in Iraq on how to spread its influence in the region.

Since the fall of the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iran has been deeply immersed in its western neighbours affairs such that it is now being seen as the dominant force in Iraq.

Tehran has employed a variety of outrageous stratagems and canny tactics to consolidate its political, economic, religious, security and cultural interests in Iraq.

Over all these years, Iran has expanded its influence in Iraq, and it has effectively had free rein across the key institutions of the state, security forces, political leadership and civil society.

Soon after Saddams ouster, Iran began asserting itself in Iraq, using aggressive tactics and proxy groups to pave the way to trying to turn Iraq into its sphere of influence.

Through allied Iraqi Shia politicians and paramilitary groups and a range of anti-Saddam opposition groups it had hosted, Iran emerged as the dominant force after the US-led invasion.

Beyond its political and security efforts, perhaps the most visible consequences of Irans influence have been its commercial, business and investment ties to Iraq.

Iraq is now a major consumer of Iranian goods, as trade between the two countries reached $16 billion in 2019 and there are plans to boost bilateral trade to $20 billion. Tehran is also a major energy and power supplier to Iraq, with plans for the construction of a railroad network linking Iran and Iraq with Syria.

Irans influence peaked after the rapid advance across Iraq by the IS terrorist group, which threw the country into chaos and led Baghdad to seek Tehrans help to kick the group out of Iraqi cities.

In its attempts to play a non-zero-sum game with Washington, Tehran turned its support to Iraq in fighting IS in order to gain greater influence in the war-torn nation and advance the rise of its proxy Shia militias and turn them into a political force.

In addition to its hard-power geopolitical, military, security and economic instruments, the Islamic Republic has also utilised religious, social and cultural ties as important soft-power tools to intervene in Iraq.

If the election of Al-Kadhimi now somehow shifts the balance of power and reshapes the strategic environment in the country, with the new prime minister starting to clip Irans wings in his country, Iran will likely start to lose some of its influence and probably its supremacy in Iraq.

Hit by the raging coronavirus pandemic, US sanctions and cheap oil, Iran may now be much weaker than it was and less able to play the same game with the United States. There are increasing signs that its proxies in Iraq are losing ground, and many of them are facing an uncertain future.

Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled that the Islamic Republic may be ready for a compromise with the United States, which he has always dismissed as the Great Satan.

Imam Hassan acted in such a way that genuine Islam, which couldnt continue to be a government, moved on to be a great revolutionary movement, Khamenei tweeted on 9 May.

He was referring to the Shias second revered imam, who ceded the caliphate to a contender without a fight in a 7th-century peace treaty that many historians saw as a surrender but that the Shias have defended as a necessary protection of their faith and their lives.

Due to his actions, Islam remained a religion that is against oppression and is uncompromising, undistorted and genuine, Khamenei wrote.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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As statewide restrictions continue to loosen, Wyomings hospitals are beginning to offer the moneymaking elective procedures that were suspended to save resources for potential coronavirus surges.

The suspension of the procedures  designed to save equipment and hospital beds  has been in place for weeks. Its caused significant strain on facilities and clinics that rely on those services to subsidize less lucrative revenue streams. Eric Boley, the head of the Wyoming Hospital Association, told the Star-Tribune that facilities here were likely to lose $60 million in May, atop the tens of millions lost in April and March.

But the viruss spread has slowed  even stopped  in much of Wyoming. The majority of cases confirmed over the past week have been in Fremont County, which continues to be particularly hard hit. In the first weeks of the pandemic, there was significant concern  mirrored nationally  about hospitals running out of protective gear.

Those fears have thus far not been realized. A Wyoming Medical Center doctor told the Star-Tribune late last week that the facilitys intensive care unit didnt run out of gear, and many county health officers have told the state that they have necessary stores. The concern has not been fully alleviated  the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County wrote Monday that it still needed more equipment  but the preservation of equipment, paired with the viruss slowed spread, appears to have paid off.

The state  and, to a broader extent, most counties  have loosened restrictions placed on restaurants, bars, gyms, barbershops and other publicly accessible businesses. More people are being tested, and fewer are testing positive. The number of people hospitalized has also declined in recent weeks: There were 20 people hospitalized across Wyoming on April 20, compared to 12 as of Saturday.

Overall, 12.9 percent of coronavirus patients have required hospitalizations, or roughly 65 people.

Federal guidance now allows for elective procedures to begin coming back, and Wyoming hospitals are quickly availing themselves of the opportunity. A spokeswoman for Wyoming Medical Center said the states largest hospital began performing procedures last week. The CEO of St. Johns Health said in a statement last week that the hospital continues to bring more elective screenings and surgical procedures back online.

SageWest, the hospital system in Fremont County, said last week that it was taking the appropriate steps to safely resume some elective and non-urgent surgeries that were previously rescheduled out of an abundance of caution amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County announced Monday that it, too, would begin offering the elective procedures, beginning with some of the more serious cases  those intended to relieve pain and increase mobility.

If you had an elective surgery planned with one of the many specialists at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, its time to get in touch with them, the hospital said.

According to state guidance, which itself is based off of federal recommendations, hospitals that begin offering procedures again should proceed cautiously and in a step-wise fashion.

Before resuming elective procedures, hospitals and providers should ensure they have adequate (protective equipment), staffing, and capacity to care for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients, the state wrote. Hospitals and providers should ensure there is adequate COVID-19 testing capacity in the region to test symptomatic patients.

The guidance also prohibits the use of state-provided protective equipment on elective procedures.

Boley, the hospital associations president, said that all of the states hospitals are considering it and looking at it, and they all want to.

He said the facilities all needed the right amount of equipment and testing, as well as a stable situation with regards to the viruss spread.

Thats kind of the desire of everyone to be able to start doing those and by the end of the month theyll all be back in operation, but itll be a staggered approach, depending, he said.

The effects of not having the procedures have been significant on hospitals here. Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, for instance, said it lost $27 million in April. Campbell County Health experienced a nearly 50 percent drop in its volume last month. According to a financial disclosure document filed this month, Wyoming Medical Center also faced losses in the third quarter, which ended March 31.

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The anti-graft agency explains why another case against Hrymchak has in fact been dismissed.

The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) never closed its criminal investigation into massive fraud, targeting former Deputy Minister for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Hrymchak.

"In response to media inquiries, we inform that former Deputy Minister for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons still has a 'suspect' status in fraud and incitement to provide undue benefits. In early April, NABU completed an investigation into this fact, now the defense side is studying the case file, after which it will be forwarded to court, and the ex-official will be in the dock," NABU wrote on Facebook.

NABU also explained why the case against Hrymchak under Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (falsification of official documents) had been shut down.

"NABU detectives have probed into the possible commission of another abuse by the former deputy minister: filing false data in an asset e-declaration. That criminal case was opened in November 2019 based on the conclusion of the NACP [the National Agency on Corruption Prevention] following full verification of the deputy minister's declaration for 2016. As part of the investigation, detectives did not establish intent in the person's actions to enter knowingly false information, so the case was closed," NABU said.

Read alsoDeputy minister's fraud case dismissed

As UNIAN reported earlier, Hrymchak and his assistant, Ihor Ovdienko, were detained on August 14, 2019, on bribery charges.

The two officials allegedly demanded US$1.1 million from a representative of a legal entity for "exercising influence on decision-making by persons authorized to perform state functions." Hrymchak and his assistant were caught red-handed amid receiving part of the sum in the amount of US$480,000, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine said.

On November 14, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) extended Hrymchak's detention for another two months.

On December 20, an HACC judge reduced the amount of bail by almost 67%.

On January 30, 2020, Hrymchak was bailed out.

On May 12, Hrymchak claimed the investigation against him had been closed over the absence of corpus delicti.
When the Preakness is around, its like a Saturday night every night, said La Scala chef/owner Nino Germano, adding that two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert is a frequent guest at the Little Italy restaurant.

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For probably six days, its Saturday night because theres always stuff going on, Germano said. Theres parties all over Baltimore that week. Everybodys going to events, everybodys bringing friends, and it brings a lot of people to town. So not having those people, it hurts a lot.

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Last Wednesday, WBAL-TV reported that Oct. 3 was the new date for the second jewel of horse racings Triple Crown series, putting it after the rescheduled Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5. But owners of Pimlico Race Course did not confirm the NBC affiliates report.

The Stronach Group/The Maryland Jockey Club is aware of speculation about a potential date for Preakness 145, the Jockey Club said in a statement. At this point in time, there is no definitive date set and we continue to explore options. Once a date for Preakness 145 has been finalized, an official announcement will be made.

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As the Jockey Club considers its options, businesses that would have benefited from the race are feeling the financial pinch.

Tammie J. Monaco, owner of Beck-n-Call Event Services in Butler, said that she usually would staff the Preakness with about 130 servers and bartenders for the races corporate village, but the postponement has sapped her company of its largest single-day contract of the year, worth about $40,000.

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Its been a real blow, Monaco said. Besides it being the largest single-day contract, my crew loves working it. Its just a fun event to work. Its where everybody is in Baltimore on the third Saturday of May. The whole world is watching. So its a fun event to staff, a fun event to be part of.

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Larry Frank, partner at The Classic Catering People in Owings Mills, said his company would not have staffed the Preakness itself, but would have provided full-service catering for corporate parties and events during Preakness Week and premade meals for individual homeowners hosting watch parties. He estimated that Classic Catering would have done about $100,000 worth of business during Preakness Week.

Its one more reminder of why the event is important to the community, he said. Its just another day that will sting a little bit.

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Navin Dass, general manager of the Yellow/Checker Cab of Baltimore, also known as zTrip for the past 10 years, said that the company handles about 3,100 trips per day during a typical week. During Preakness Week, that number jumps above 4,000 as customers seek rides to Pimlico, restaurants, hotels and other destinations.

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Its a big hit for us because the Preakness to us is as important as New Years Eve is to us and everyone else, he said. Its like a ripple effect, a spider web that is all connected. . . . Its a stimulus in a time of the year when not much is going on. Its a nice shot in the arm.

Race day was profitable for WIN Family Services, a child placement and mental health agency that owns a house near the intersection of West Northern Parkway and Pimlico Road, across the street from the track. The land around the house is large enough to park a maximum of 74 vehicles, each charged $45.

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Although the advent of ride-hailing services such as Lyft and Uber has cut into the parking numbers, the revenue generated was used for summer trips to the National Aquarium or the Baltimore Museum of Art or carnival-like Christmas parties for the agencys foster youth, according to executive liaison Laura Mueller.

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Its a hit, but its one of the things that we just recognize, Mueller said. Were just grateful that were able to remain open during this time. So if it means that were not able to go to the aquarium with the kids this summer and thats the worst thats going to happen to the agency during this time, I think well just count ourselves lucky as we weather the storm a bit.

City leaders have said the Preakness generates $50 million to $55 million of annual economic impact, and revenue from the event fortifies the states horse-racing industry for the entire year. On Thursday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) permitted a bill facilitating reconstruction of the Pimlico Race Course to become law without his signature.

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The Jockey Club acknowledged the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the normal course for the many businesses and industries connected to thoroughbred racing in Maryland, and we are all working hard to adjust, the club said in a written statement. In the meantime, our priority continues to be the health and welfare of all our constituents, and we are working with state and local governments, our industry stakeholders, media and other affiliates to determine the most appropriate time to conduct Preakness 145.

A delayed Preakness also has affected charities that would benefit from the race.

The Foxie G Foundation, a horse rescue organization in Union Bridge, would have raised between $5,000 and $6,000 during Preakness Week with as many as three tables, a 49-inch topiary horse and a large arch adorned with horseshoes that spelled out the foundations name at Pimlico, estimated co-founder Laurie Calhoun.

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Just as important, though, was the face-to-face communication the organizations staff would have with potential donors, horse adopters and volunteers.

Whats hard to put a value on but becomes pretty invaluable is to get more people interested in what were doing because that then spreads out, Calhoun said. Someone becomes interested in adopting, someone is telling somebody else about us, someone volunteers, someone has items to donate, or someone wants to make a year-end donation. So then you can get up into somewhere around $10,000 by the time its said and done, and thats because of the far-reaching impact of the Preakness.

Stacie Clark, operations consultant for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which is affiliated with six horse rescue farms in Maryland, said the organization raised about $100,000 a few years ago during Preakness Week. That money was redistributed to help others care for and retrain retired horses for adoption.

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I think this is a loss for all of us in the industry, she said. This is a big race. Its important for people in Baltimore economically, but its the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Its a hopeful race, and its sad to not be planning.

Germano, the La Scala owner, said that the return of the Preakness would help revitalize Baltimore.

When the city is busy like that, its great for everybody, he said. Its just a lot of action, and its festive. Everybodys in a good mood, and in our business, thats what its all about. Everybody comes in, it gets crowded, and people are enjoying themselves.

 Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Sun reporter Childs Walker contributed to this report.
A Kansas man who sought legal permission in Iowa to engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife is not insane but merely angry over their child custody arrangement, according to a psychological evaluation.

David Ostrom, of Paola, Kansas, asked in a January 3 court filing to be allowed to fight his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, so that he can 'rend their souls' from their bodies.

An Iowa judge responded in March by temporarily suspending David Ostrom's child visitation and ordering the evaluation which found he is not troubled, but has 'adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features,' Ostrom, 40, told the Des Moines Register.

'It essentially says I'm not crazy, I just don't like being denied access to my children,' he said. 'They evaluated a man who did not have mental illness. My time was wasted as well as the court's.'

David Ostrom asked in a January 3 court filing to be allowed to sword fight his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson

He requested the battle so he could 'rend their souls' from their bodies and later claimed it was to get media attention for the custody dispute

The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues, as well as property tax payments.

He previously said the woman's lawyer, Matthew Hudson, could stand in her place if she wished.

Despite claiming that the evaluations diminish his parenting time and serve to destroy his relationship with his children, Ostrom asked the court to order psychological evaluations of his ex-wife and her attorney, according to a motion he filed Friday.

He contended that it was necessary in order to have fair treatment between both sides of the legal battle.

'This is an egregious failure of the family court system and judge in this matter,' David Ostrom wrote. 'This proceeding has devolved from a court of law into an arena where one attorney fuels discord and encourages parents to air their subjective, and often irrelevant, opinions about the other parent. Nothing could be further from the actual "best interests" of the children.'

He also suggested Hudson may not be fit for the job, alleging he was 'crazy' and 'threatening'.

A judge filed the court order for a psychological evaluation in January after Ostrom filed a motion for 'trial by combat'

'Mr. Hudson, with presumed mental illness, is in a position as a Family Law Attorney, where he is likely causing much discord, harm, and conflict in many other families caught up in the court system,' David Ostrom wrote in the motion.

Ostrom is representing himself in court.

He continued: 'This pathological behavior should be identified and curbed, post-haste, for the broader public good.'

Ostrom also filed a second motion Friday asking for parenting time with his children and that he be reimbursed $4,765 in legal fees and $2,200 for the psychological evaluation. The motion also seeks $255,000 for emotional damages.

Neither Bridgette Ostrom nor her attorney responded to the Register's requests for comment.

Bridgette Ostrom created a GoFundMe account in January asking for help covering her legal fees. As of Tuesday, she'd raised almost $3,000.

Bridgette Ostrom created a GoFundMe account in January asking for help covering her legal fees. She wrote: 'Prior to him filing a motion asking the courts for permission to kill me (because reallyhow else would one rend a soul from a body?), I had never refused him visits with the kids'

'Prior to him filing a motion asking the courts for permission to kill me (because reallyhow else would one rend a soul from a body?), I had never refused him visits with the kids,' she wrote.

David Ostrom had previously told the Register that he filed his 'trial by combat' motion to get media attention for his case.

Bridgette claimed that a week after the dissolution of their marriage, he moved four hours away from his children to Kansas City and told her it was because he needed a job to keep up with child support payments.

She noted that moving to Omaha would have been a closer option for a metropolitan area near Shelby County, where they lived.

'The truth is he got remarried two weeks after our divorce was finalto a woman who lives in Paola, KS,' Bridgette wrote.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A 39-year-old former investment manager in Georgia was already facing federal charges that he robbed hundreds of retirees of their savings through a Ponzi scheme when the rapid spread of COVID-19 presented an opportunity.

Christopher A. Parris started pitching himself as a broker of surgical masks amid the nationwide scramble for protective equipment in those first desperate weeks of the outbreak, federal authorities said. Within weeks, Parris was making millions of dollars on sales orders.

Except there were no masks.

Nationwide, investigators have turned up more than false purveyors of PPE. They have uncovered an array of counterfeit or adulterated products, from COVID-19 tests kits and treatments to masks and cleaning products.

Meanwhile, when workers around the world eventually return to their desks, theyll find many changes due to the pandemic. For a start, fewer people will go back to their offices as the coronavirus crisis makes working from home more accepted, health concerns linger and companies weigh up rent savings and productivity benefits.

For the rest, changes will begin with the commute as workers arrive in staggered shifts to avoid rush hour crowds. Staff might take turns working alternate days in the office to reduce crowding. Floor markings or digital sensors could remind people to stand apart and cubicles might even make a comeback.

Live coronavirus tracker

Coronavirus news in the U.S.

Companies are dropping big hints about the new normal once coronavirus lockdowns end (Yahoo)

White House directs West Wing to wear masks (CBS News)

Want to be a contact tracer? Johns Hopkins is offering a free course (ABC News)

The coronavirus pandemic has slashed US organ transplants in half, analysis shows (USA Today)

Poll: Negative ratings for government handling of coronavirus persist (CNN)

Inside Americas empty college towns (NBC News)

Coronavirus news around the globe

In this image provided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, this March 3, 2020, photo, shows counterfeit 3M masks that were confiscated at the Cincinnati LUK airport in Cincinnati. Federal officials say the COVID-19 outbreak has unleashed a wave of fraud. An arm of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, has opened more than 300 cases in recent weeks that include counterfeit products and medicines as well as fake tests for the virus. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP)AP

Wuhan records first new COVID cases since lockdown was lifted (ABC)

China plans city-wide testing over ten days (Reuters)

Russia reports over 10,000 new cases, surpassing UK tally (Reuters)

E-classes unveil Indias digital divide (Al Jazeera)

Latest local coronavirus news

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage.
The hit Netflix drama Dead to Me features a surprising cameo this season, and no we're not talking about James Marsden coming back to play his own twin.

In another casting masterstroke, Christina Applegate's Married With Children mom Katey Sagal appears in the second season playing the incarcerated mother of Judy (Linda Cardellini) who we meet in a prison waiting room.

Series creator Liz Feldman has spoken to TVLine about the character, hinting that season three of the show could include a Married With Children reunion, with Sagal and Applegate sharing the screen once again (as their characters in Dead to Me have yet to cross paths.)

Casting masterstroke: Christina Applegate's Married With Children mom Katey Sagal appears in the second season playing the incarcerated mother of Judy (Linda Cardellini)

Feldman also revealed that they decided on the role before Sagal - who is best known for her role as Peggy Bundy - was cast.

When Sagal's name came up in casting discussion, Feldman said she "just started laughing" saying: "I was like, 'Oh my God that's insane and I love it.' It was just wonderfully ironic."

Sagal, 66, played the sex-starved, lazy and free-spending wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy for 11 years in the series, while Applegate played her daughter Kelly Bundy.

Surprise: Applegate and Sagal do not yet share any scenes together on Dead to Me

Back for more? Creator Liz Feldman has teased that Sagal could be back from season three

Let her out: Feldman said she'd like to give fans hope that the pair could be reunited

In the interview, Feldman says she took the idea to Applegate who then "immediately put in a call to Katey to encourage her to come on board" adding that: "Theyre very close. She was absolutely thrilled. Christina adores Katey. She really is like a mother to her."

While Applegate and Sagal haven't shared any scenes yet, Feldman did tease a potential on-screen reunion of the pair for season three.

"At the very least I want to give you hope," Feldman said.

Close bond: The pair are said to be like a real-life mother and daughter act

Applegate and Sagal have remained friends for the past 23 years since Married With Children came to a close.

In 2014, they reunited along with the rest of the cast when Sagal received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014.

During the ceremony, Applegate gave a heartfelt speech honoring her TV mom.

Married With Children reunion: Christina Applegate, Ed O'Neill and David Faustino pose at the ceremony that honored Katey Sagal with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

"I met Katey when I was 15 years old, so, it's been about 10 years since we met," Applegate joked. "I'll never forget the day I met her: We walked into the rehearsal hall for Married With Children and I'd never seen someone look that good in a white T-shirt and jeans in my entire life."

"The fact that your body is better now than it was then makes me sick, because I'm wearing a Fitbit trying to get rid of all my baby weight."

Firm friends: Katey Sagal and Christina Applegate attend the 7th Annual TV Land Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre on April 19, 2009 in Universal City, California
Ryanair Holdings plans to resume almost 1,000 flights a day starting in July and institute temperature checks, require masks and prohibit queuing for toilets to reduce the chances of spreading the coronavirus.

The Irish low-cost carrier, which has grounded its fleet since late March, aims to restart with about 40% of its normal flight schedules. Toilets will be made available on request, Ryanair said Tuesday in a statement.

The comeback is dependent on government restrictions being lifted on flights within Europe. While the European Commission is preparing recommendations for removing border controls, there are signs that the reopening will be bumpy.

Within the European Union, each nation sets its own rules on entry. The U.K., which just left the bloc but remains a major hub for flights in the region, plans a 14-day quarantine on incoming travelers that executives have decried as tantamount to a ban. In an interview with ITV, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britons were unlikely to be able to travel abroad this summer.

"It is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to be possible this summer," Hancock said. "I think social distancing of some kind is going to to carry on."

Spain's tourism industry, a key driver of the economy, was also dealt a potential blow when the government decreed this week that all people arriving from abroad will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, under which they will be confined to "their homes or lodgings." The measure will stay in force until the current state of emergency is lifted -- the current timeline is for a stage reopening to be completed next month.

Ryanair gained 2.7% to 9.13 euros as of 11 a.m. in Dublin. The carrier said it would restart flights from most of its bases, and will offer seats starting from 20 euros ($21.60) one-way.

Service will feature fewer checked bags, online check-ins and boarding passes downloadable to smart phones, the airline said.

The U.K. quarantine casts doubt on a reopening of grounded European airlines that had planned to restart travel in coming months. British Airways owner IAG SA has said it will have to review its goal to gear back up starting in July.

The International Air Transport Association has called for a coordinated approach to reopening in Europe, while acknowledging the challenges given that different countries have different infection rates.

The EU recommendations, due Wednesday, are part of a "tourism package" of non-binding guidelines and the like covering everything from health measures to travel vouchers. The EU's digital chief, Margrethe Vestager, told lawmakers last week that digital contact tracing apps might "enable at least some traveling during the summer."

Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary, meanwhile, has railed against state-aid plans and this week challenged a French bailout of Air France-KLM.
Fake: This is not Indias strategy to exit the lockdown

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 12: There is a message circulating which says the government is planning five-phase exit to the lockdown.

"Government's roadmap to ease COVID-19 restrictions will be set out in five phases. These phases will be on a three week review process. Phase 1 would be on 18th May, while phase 2 would be on June 8th. Phase three and four would be on June 29 and July 20 respectively, while phase five would be on August 10, the message also says. It further says that if the coronavirus cases begin to increase, we will revert to the restrictions set out in the previous stage, the message also claims.

Fake: Centre has not designated Guwahati as a red zone

The government has claimed that this message is fake. It is the roadmap of some other country and not that of the Indian government, it has been clarified.
The true scope of the Obama administration's abuse of federal law enforcement and national security organs to spy on political enemies is going to come out as part of the Durham investigation. That's the implication of a move by Interim director of National Intelligence, Ric Grenell, late yesterday. Martha Raddatz reported for ABC News:

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declassified a list of former Obama administration officials who were allegedly involved in the so-called "unmasking" of former national security adviser Michael Flynn in his conversations with the former Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, a senior U.S. official tells ABC News. Grenell, who remains the U.S. ambassador to Germany along with being the acting DNI, visited the Justice Department last week and brought the list with him, according to the official. His visit indicates his focus on an issue previously highlighted in 2017 by skeptics of the investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia, specifically allegations that former officials improperly unveiled Flynn's identity from intercepts of his call with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

The key background factor to understand here, unmentioned by Raddatz, is that the NSA database includes all electronic communications  in other words, a universal wiretap mechanism. What she misses is that the unmasking was not of Flynn, but rather of the Trump campaign officials who communicated electronically with Flynn. As is so often the case, eagle-eyed Sundance of The Conservative Treehouse has closely read the evidence and explains in a post titled "Prepare to Discover That Michael Flynn WAS NOT Unmasked  But Everyone Else Was..."

It appears we are about to find out if one of my long-standing theories about surveillance of Michael Flynn is correct. Flynn was not "unmasked", because he was the direct target. For three years the official media account of how the intelligence community gained the transcript of incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn talking to Ambassador Sergey Kisliyak on December 29th, 2016, surrounded "incidental collection" as a result of contact with an agent of a foreign power. Meaning the Flynn call was picked up as the U.S. intelligence apparatus was conducting surveillance on Russian Ambassador Kisliyak. If this version of events were accurate (it's not), it would fall under FISA-702 collection: the monitoring of a foreign agent (Kislyak) who has contact with a U.S. person (Flynn). (snip) Back in 2017 Senator Lindsey Graham questioned former DAG Sally Yates and former DNI James Clapper. Within the questioning, Sally Yates tipped her hand. There was never an unmasking of Flynn because Flynn was a target; it was not incidental collection. (2 minute video)

(snip)

First, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok were watching that hearing where Senator Lindsey Graham was questioning Sally Yates and James Clapper. As they discussed in their text messages the issue of "unmasking" is irrelevant. "incidental collection" is the "incorrect narrative" The "incidental collection" is an "incorrect narrative" because the collection was not incidental. Flynn was actively being monitored. Flynn was an active target in an ongoing FBI counterintelligence investigation. Flynn was THE target. Second, more evidence of Flynn under active surveillance is found in the Mueller report where the special prosecutor outlines that Flynn was under an active investigation prior to the phone call with Ambassador Kislyak:

The key point is that since Flynn was under active investigation already, he would not have needed to be unmasked. But those campaign officials who were in touch with Flynn after he joined the Trump campaign in February 2016 and became a target of investigation could have their electronic communications spied upon if their identities were unmasked.

In other words, a vast spy operation on the campaign of a political enemy  dwarfing Watergate in scale and importance  apparently was underway.

The next question is when the investigation of Flynn began. Sources tell Adam Housely that it goes back six years:

There will be multiple releases Im told and as I reported and its now been confirmed...they started gathering intel on Flynn in 2014.  Adam Housley (@adamhousley) May 12, 2020

All of this explains why President Trump was somewhat coy yesterday as he responded to a reporter's question about the crimes he references when uses the term Obamagate. The crime is vast.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).
The state-run Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has managed to survive a decade-long financial crisis but the ongoing lockdown has once again taken a toll on PRTCs exchequer.

The PRTC has faced revenue loss of around Rs 36 crore in the 42-day long lockdown so far. The average per day loss is pegged at around Rs 85 lakh.

The PRTC only came back on track last year, both financially and institutionally, after it started recording operational profit for the first time in a decade.

Just before the state government disbanded the public transport service in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic on March 20, the corporation recorded a daily income of Rs 1.40 crore. Its monthly income has been estimated to be around 42 crore.

PRTCs deputy controller (finance) Prem Chand said since the lockdown, the corporation had incurred an estimated loss of Rs 80 lakh per day.

The figure is calculated after deducting the operational cost (including maintenance and expenses on diesel) from the last generated per day income of Rs 1.40 crore, he said.

The deputy controller said since they had not generated any income for the last 40 days, they had struggled to meet committed expenses, amounting Rs 46 crore per month, during the lockdown.

One of the officials, seeking anonymity, said the corporation had exhausted its savings and funds in paying salaries and pensions to its employees for the months of March and April.

The financial situation is so grim that the PRTC wil not be able to meet its committed liabilities in the coming months, the official said.

Meanwhile, PRTC chairperson KK Sharma said the current period could be termed as golden era of the PRTC, but there were some tough days ahead for the corporation due to the coronavirus pandemic.

We will chalk out a strategy once the situation has normalised. It will be a huge challenge to bring PRTCs finances back to where they were before the lockdown, he said.

Sharma said, at present, they were helping the government with logistics.

In the past two years, besides tapping an increase in daily receipt and monopoly routes, image-building had helped the corporation generate a sizeable profit.

For the first time, in past one decade, the PRTC was running its full fleet of 1,073 buses under its nine depots Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Chandigarh, Patiala, Bathinda, Budhlada, Barnala, Faridkot and Sangrur.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Navrajdeep Singh Navrajdeep Singh is a senior staff correspondent. He covers agriculture, crime, local bodies, health and education in the Patiala district of Punjab. ...view detail
A fire broke out at a six-storey



hotel in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city on Tuesday and no casualties were reported in the incident, police said.

The blaze erupted at Hotel President Park located on the city's bypass road, an official from Kanadia police station said.

The hotel was lying vacant because of the COVID-19 lockdown and no casualties were reported in the incident, he said.

The fire brigade was pressed into service to battle the blaze, which might have been triggered by a short circuit, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LONDON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Before the hurricane season starts in three weeks, 150 more families from the Commonwealth of Dominica will receive the keys to their new, safe homes. The hurricane-proof units were built as part of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Housing Revolution, fully funded by the island's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. The Dominican authorities reassure more families in need that they will have safe homes to live in before the start of the hurricane season, usually set for June.

Last week, PM Skerrit visited the Grand Fond, Riviere Cyrique and Delices sites which will soon welcome families previously displaced by previous hurricanes or storms. The first 33 families are due to receive their keys within the next two weeks, with the rest to follow shortly. Over 1,000 families have moved into their new homes, with a total of 5,000 units to be completed under the Housing Revolution initiative.

"The hurricane season is coming up and housing is very important for the safety and wellbeing of our citizens, which is why we have placed a lot of emphasis on housing," said Premier Skerrit during his visit. Housing Minister Reginald Austrie said: "What we are ensuring is that over 50 families from Grand Fond can rest easy and sleep properly in the event that we are visited by a hurricane during the hurricane season."

Geographically prone to weather challenges, Dominica has taken bold steps to counter their impact. After Hurricane Maria wiped 226% of the country's GDP in one night, PM Skerrit pledged to make the island "the world's first climate-resilient nation." Using funds largely from the Citizenship by Investment Programme, Dominica set to work and led with remarkable sustainability vision in all aspects of life on the island.

Today, bridges that cross Dominica's 365 river are sturdier than ever, the road network was transformed, while the hotels  including the ones that qualify for citizenship  are rooted in sustainability and support local communities. Known as the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean," Dominica even established an enviable ecotourism sector with plentiful natural wellness resources and facilities, which caught the eye of foreign investors as a top tourism destination of the future.

Investors can join the island's "global community" and contribute to its feat by becoming economic citizens of Dominica through the CBI Programme. They need not have resided there or take language or culture tests. They can legally obtain Dominica's citizenship if they pass all the due diligence checks and contribute a minimum US$100,000 to the Economic Diversification Fund or invest US$200,000 in a CBI-approved resort.

The process takes three months and starts by hiring an authorised agent. Due to the pandemic, Dominica has temporarily allowed agents to submit applications online to get a head start on the due diligence checks. The Unit will require the original documents at a later time, when there is a safer way to provide them.

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Asia Plastic Piles Up in Thailand as Pandemic Efforts Sideline Pollution Fight

A woman works in a recycling plant during the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand on May 11, 2020. / REUTERS

BANGKOKThailand began the year with a ban on single-use plastic bags that Bangkok office worker Nicha Singhanoi hoped would cut back the waste that puts her country among the worlds top five choking the oceans with plastic.

Then the coronavirus pandemic forced school closures and authorities told people to stay home, and far from falling, Bangkoks plastic waste has soared 62 percent in volume in April, as more people opt for food and goods to be delivered to homes.

There is so much bubble wrap and product packaging, or bags and containers from food deliveries, said Nicha, 27, an avid online shopper, who said that working from home deprived her of the time to cook.

Even if the pandemic eases, environmentalists fear Thailand is simply a pointer for the situation elsewhere in Southeast Asia, home to four of the worlds top five plastic polluters of the ocean. The biggest is China.

As much as 3,432 tonnes of plastic was thrown away in the Thai capital each day in April, up from last years average of 2,115 tonnes, city data shows.

Thailands experience serves as a warning for the region, said Wijarn Simachaya, president of the Thailand Environment Institute, a think tank.

The large increase is very concerning, Wijarn told Reuters. What progress weve made on the campaign against single-use plastic has gone back to square one.

Despite a smaller pile of general waste as the lockdown halted businesses, Thailand, which usually generates about 2 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, is likely to see a surge of 30 percent nationwide this year, Wijarn added.

Theres a lot of plastics in one order, whether hot food bags, sauce bags, or plastic utensils that also come individually wrapped in plastic.

Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa acknowledged a setback in the fight on plastic waste, but said he remained hopeful Thailand could still regain lost ground.

Dont fight many battles at a time, Varawut told Reuters. Now its COVID first, he added, referring to the respiratory disease caused by the virus, which brought 3,015 infections and 56 deaths in Thailand.

Food delivery growth

The food delivery sector is estimated to have grown 33 percent in just over a month to about 4.5 billion baht (US$139 million, 194 billion kyats), said Siwat Luangsomboon, deputy managing director of Kasikorn Research Center, a unit of the Thai bank.

Thailand was on track to slash single-use plastics by 30 percent this year with the bag ban, but with consumer behavior shifting towards food delivery, we may not be able to get back on that track, Siwat told Reuters.

Food delivery service Line Man, owned by Japanese chat app Line Corp, has seen order numbers grow 300 percent from the beginning of Bangkoks lockdown in March through the end of April, a company representative told Reuters.

Singapore-based Grab, another app, reported 400 percent growth in its food delivery business in the week after the lockdown, but said numbers later dropped to slightly above normal.

Foodpanda Thailand said it saw orders grow 50 percent in March from February, with a rise of 10 percent in April on the month, while weekly transactions hit a high in the first week of May.

Ocean pollution

Southeast Asia has long been a major contributor to land-based plastic waste leaking into the worlds oceans, say environmentalists.

A region already grappling with poor waste management stands to be hit hard by the sudden onslaught of plastic waste from the pandemic, said the US-based group Ocean Conservancy.

We expect the damage will be significant in places already vulnerable to ocean plastic pollution, like Southeast Asia, said Doug Cress, its vice president for conservation.

No pandemic-related plastic waste data has yet been made available in other countries besides Thailand.

Top polluter China and the Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam account for more than half of plastic pollution in the ocean, Ocean Conservancy said in 2015.

China has not released detailed data on plastic waste caused by more home deliveries, which were up by a quarter in March and April. Its environment ministry has focused on boosting capacity to tackle soaring volumes of medical waste.

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India Looks to Ease Lockdown Even as Coronavirus Infections Jump

Chinas Wuhan Reports First Coronavirus Cluster Since Lifting Lockdown
District health officials are worried over the growing corona cases among those associated with supply chain of essential items in Meerut.

The health officials claim that at least 64 of the total 260 Covid-19 cases in the district are of those associated with supply chain and their numbers are still rising.

The infected people are mainly fruit and vegetable vendors, grocery shop owners and those working in dairies and medicine shops.

The first corona case among supply chain people was of a fruit vendor in Naveen Mandi of T P Nagar area in first week of May. He later died during treatment in a Delhi hospital.

District surveillance officer Dr Vishwas Choudhary admitted that infection in people associated with supply chain is a matter of great concern.

Citing example of positive cases in Ravindrapuri of Sadar area here, he said Twenty-two members of a family got infected after coming in contact with the fruit seller who later died during treatment.

Moe than two dozen Covid-19 cases have been detected in Ravindrapuri alone so far. Dr Chowdhary said pool tests were conducted in Mandi and many vendors, shopkeepers and those who came in their contacts had tested positive and their numbers were still growing.

A vegetable vendor in Hastinapur and an employee in a medical shop in Daurala area were also found positive along with a constable of Lisari gate police station on Monday.

We are keeping a close watch on testing of samples those associated with supply chain and making them aware of following social distancing and also asking them to use masks at their workplace, Dr Choudhary said.

Taking note of the situation, the district administration has shifted retail vegetable market to two locations on the outskirts of the city where shopkeepers are observing social distancing. Shopkeepers and vendors have also been asked to frequently use sanitiser, wear masks and follow other lockdown norms to protect themselves from the deadly virus. So far, 14 people have died of corona in the district.

Dr Tanuraj Sirohi, former president, Indian Medical Associations Meerut unit, said tracing contacts of people in supply chain was a tedious task because they dealt with a number of people everyday.
In a news which is expected to bring a sense of relief to the Congress party, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been shifted out of an intensive care unit (ICU) to a private ward, while his Covid-19 test result has also returned negative.

On Sunday, Singh was admitted to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) after he complained of chest pain and breathlessness, sources said.





Singh was brought to the AIIMS at 8.45 p.m. on Saturday. The former Prime Minister was subjected to several medical tests, including the one to determine whether he was infected with the deadly coronavirus. He is under the supervision of Nitish Nayak.



In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery at AIIMS, a complex beating-heart operation that took nearly 14 hours.
WATERLOO REGION  Coronavirus poses the biggest challenge in the history of Conestoga College, and the schools president says layoffs could be coming.

In a letter sent to employees Monday, John Tibbits said falling revenues, declining student enrolment and a move toward electronic learning means it is clear that Conestoga will need to make further reductions in our full-time workforce to align with revised expectations in the post-pandemic culture.

He expects the action will result in layoffs to both support staff and administrative employees, but he doesnt anticipate faculty downsizing will extend beyond part-time employees at this time.

I understand that this is difficult news and comes at a time when all employees  indeed all Canadians  are struggling, Tibbits said in his letter. And while these changes are essential to securing Conestogas future, we sincerely regret the impact that layoffs will have on our employees and their families.

The letter did not say how many people could be laid off or when, but last week Vikki Poirier, president of the colleges support staff union, told The Record Conestoga is considering laying off up to 30 per cent of the unions 574 full-time members temporarily.

Temporary layoff notices have already been issued to 119 part-time employees, and all staff have been told to use their vacation time by early August.

In an interview with The Record Tuesday, Tibbits said it wouldnt be fair to employees for him to discuss how many layoffs the college is considering or when they might happen. Theyve offered buyouts to 43 employees, and he said both temporary and permanent layoffs are being considered.

Until we have a vaccine, I dont see how we can get back to normal, Tibbits said.

Vaccines can take years to develop, and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States, believes one could be ready within a year or 18 months.

What I have to do is paint an honest and accurate picture, Tibbits said Tuesday of why he wrote the letter. I dont want to give false hope.

Its unclear how many of the 23 other publicly funded colleges in Ontario are considering layoffs, but Tibbits said he speaks with the other presidents weekly and said job cuts are absolutely being considered by some.

In an interview Tuesday, Poirier said her union  part of the Ontario Public Services Employees Union  had not received formal layoff notices. Union members and the college will soon begin the confidential bargaining process.

This is step one, she said. Now well sit down and come up with recommendations.

Layoff negotiations are tough at any time, but this era of social distancing will make it even more challenging since negotiators cant even sit in the same room, the union president said.

This will be unlike anything thats ever been done before, Poirier said.

COVID-19 has hit the college hard in recent weeks. About 11,000 students, or roughly half of the schools total enrolment, are international and the reduction in travel due to COVID-19 poses a major financial risk for the college since they pay as much as $10,000 more per year in tuition than domestic students.

Conestoga likely isnt alone in feeling the pressure of fewer international students. A joint investigation by the Toronto Star and the St. Catharines Standard last year found post-secondary institutions across Canada have invested heavily in international student recruitment.

About 570,000 international students contributed more than $20 billion to Canadas economy in 2019.

And while the federal government has said it will allow international students to begin their studies while still in their home countries, Tibbits said he doesnt expect enrolment numbers will rebound in the near term.

We anticipate this trend will continue through fall 2020 and perhaps longer as international travel remains restricted and the world economy remains depressed, said Tibbits in his letter.

The president also believes many Grade 12 students could opt to repeat their final year of high school, rather than pay to come to college.

Last week, The Record reported there are 1,000 fewer foreign students starting spring term than the college expected, creating a tuition shortfall of $10 million. Tibbits said that number is still accurate, and it would have been even higher if the federal government hadnt allowed international students to complete classes while still abroad.

The University of Waterloo says it has had to lay off about 100 seasonal workers due to reduced demand as university staff and students work from home. Spokesperson Matthew Grant said its too soon to say what enrolment will be in the fall and therefore too early to predict whether we need to look at other employment issues.

Wilfrid Laurier University has not announced any layoffs and said in a statement the majority of its workforce continues to work from home.

In his letter, Tibbits said the era of uncertainty around COVID-19 will pass, but the world will likely look very different than it did prior to the pandemic  beset by high unemployment, economic uncertainty and near-crippling government deficits.

The four-page letter also addresses how Conestoga College will operate when the spring term resumes May 19. It will mainly be through a remote format, and includes exploring the use of high-end simulation tools to train apprentices and augmented or virtual reality technology to train health care students such as personal support workers.

Salaries have been frozen, tens of millions of dollars in repairs and upgrades to the schools new building on Reuter Drive in Cambridge will be put on hold, and the college is also bracing for a decline in post-secondary grants and funding as the pandemic eases and governments are faced with enormous deficits.
Vizsla Provides Drilling Update and Discovers High Grades in Outcrop Samples

Posted by Publisher Internet

Vizsla Resources Corp. (TSX-V: VZLA) (OTCQB: VIZSF) (Frankfurt: 0G3) (?Vizsla? or the ?Company?  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/vizsla-resources-consolidating-silver-district-in-mexico-fast-track-to-production/ ) is pleased to announce the latest results from the Company?s exploration program at the Panuco silver-gold district in Mexico. Seven holes have been completed on the Honduras Vein with high grade intercepts returned. Infill surface and underground sampling of the Animas, Cordon del Oro and Napoleon vein corridors are also reported. To date, the Company has completed 25% of its initial discovery drill campaign for 3,639 metres of a total 14,500 metre drilling program. Drilling is expected to restart at the Panuco project shortly.

Drilling continues to define sizeable widths and good grades on the veins, particularly on the northern section of the extensively mined Animas vein corridor. The Company is also highly encouraged by the results of sampling on the Cordon del Oro corridor, the next vein corridor to the west of Animas. Cordon del Oro has never been drilled and is essentially unexplored yet is demonstrating thick vein widths and high grades. Vizsla?s review of data generated over the past months has determined that this corridor offers an excellent opportunity to make significant discoveries. With more than $2.5 million in cash, Vizsla is well-funded for this work and looks forward to reporting results as soon as possible.

Drilling Highlights

35 metres at 275 g/t silver equivalent (208.5 grams per tonne (?g/t?) silver and 0.83 g/t gold) in hole AMS-20-08 ? Honduras Vein including;

556 g/t silver equivalent (432.0 g/t silver and 1.55 g/t gold) over 1.0 metres

6 metres at 232 g/t silver equivalent (150.6 g/t silver and 1.02 g/t gold) in hole AMS-20-12 ? Honduras Vein including;

461 g/t silver equivalent (294.0 g/t silver and 2.09 g/t gold) over 0.7 metres

Note: All numbers are rounded, and widths represent downhole lengths.? True widths are estimated at between 57-82% of downhole lengths.? Silver equivalent is calculated by multiplying the gold grade by 80 and adding it to the silver grade.? All calculations assume 100% metallurgical recovery.

Sampling Highlights

2 metres at 1,365 g/t silver equivalent (44.1 g/t silver and 16.52 g/t gold) at Mojocuan 2 prospect on Cordon del Oro Vein including;

3,131.8 g/t silver equivalent (75.8 g/t silver and 38.2 g/t gold) over 1.0 metres

9 metres at 273.4 g/t silver equivalent (140.0 g/t silver and 1.67 g/t gold) at Rosarito prospect ? Animas Vein including;

6 g/t silver equivalent (249.2 g/t silver and 3.84 g/t gold) over 2.9 metres

2 metres at 479.9 g/t silver equivalent (229.7 g/t silver and 3.13 g/t gold) at Napoleon 4 prospect ? Napoleon Vein including;

1,467.0 g/t silver equivalent (655.0 g/t silver and 10.15 g/t gold) over 1.2 metres

Note: All numbers are rounded and widths represent true widths.? Silver equivalent is calculated by multiplying the gold grade by 80 and adding it to the silver grade.? All calculations assume 100% metallurgical recovery.

Vizsla continues to aggressively explore the Panuco project with a systematic program of vein prospecting, detailed surface and underground mapping and sampling, and discovery-oriented drilling.? Drill holes AMS-20-08 and AMS-20-12 at the Honduras Vein show the continuation of high-grade mineralization from surface though the specific geometry of mineralization to depth is not yet well understood. Vein prospecting has generated several new areas requiring immediate follow up while detailed mapping has generated spectacular assays that upgrade targets along the Cordon del Oro and Napoleon vein corridors.

CEO Michael Konnert stated ?The Panuco silver district continues to offer excellent results and significant discovery potential. Detailed mapping has still only been completed on 19% of the cumulative vein strike length and both Vizsla and historical drilling on 10%, demonstrating the impressive scale of this silver district. The Cordon del Oro and Napoleon veins have never been drilled. These two veins will be the first targets drilled when drilling resumes. The Concordia district, where Panuco is located, is fortunate to have no COVID-19 cases. The Company is working with local authorities to recommence drilling in mid to late May if infection rates remain low?

Drilling Detail

Drill holes AMS-20-08 through AMS-20-14 were drilled from two drills pads to test the Honduras vein which is located just to the north of the town of Panuco. The Honduras vein is a near vertical vein that saw limited shallow mining in the late 1800?s. These drill holes tested beneath the northern part of those mines and further north along strike.?

Very encouraging surface values were reported in the Company?s press release on 9 March, 2020. AMS-20-08 was the first test hole and returned 4.35m at 275 g/t silver equivalent (208.5 g/t silver and 0.83 g/t gold). That intercept included 556 g/t silver equivalent (432.0 g/t silver and 1.55 g/t gold) over 1.0m approximately 70m below surface. The mineralization was in a massive quartz vein with irregular patches of very fine-grained argentite. AMS-20-09 was drilled 50m to the north and returned 86.2 g/t silver equivalent over 0.5m. Drill holes AMS-20-10 and 11 were drilled 50m to the south and down dip of the first hole and returned no significant intersections.

The next three holes were drilled from a pad 200m to the NNE of the first holes. AMS-20-12 returned 2.6m at 232 g/t silver equivalent (150.6 g/t silver and 1.02 g/t gold), including 461 g/t silver equivalent (294.0 g/t silver and 2.09 g/t gold) over 0.7m.? The mineralization in this hole was mainly massive white quartz with minor fine-grained argentite and minor bands of amethyst. Hole AMS-20-13 was drilled approximately 70m beneath this hole and intersected a wide (12.8m) vein though failed to return significant values. Hole AMS-20-14 was drilled 50m to the south and returned 143 g/t silver equivalent over 0.9m and 136.7 g/t silver equivalent over 0.4m.

Mineralization is open beneath the drilled areas and to the north and further drilling is required to understand the controls on higher grade mineralization.

Detailed Mapping and Sampling

Detailed mapping has continued at the Panuco project to follow-up initial prospecting results at the northern end of the Animas Vein, along Cordon del Oro and along Napoleon. The work has been undertaken to finalise drill targeting and prioritisation.

In the northern end of the Animas Vein Corridor, a number of narrow, but often high-grade, northeast trending veins have been sampled including the Pecari, Chiacates, La Gallina, El Aventurero and El Tiempo.? Some of these veins have seen significant underground development.?

Where the La Gallina vein intersects the main Animas vein a large mined out area known as the Rosarito mine has been sampled. That sampling has revealed a vein up to 11.9 metres wide with consistent mineralisation. Drilling this target beneath the lowest level of mine workings will be the next target along the Animas vein corridor.

The Cordon del Oro vein has never been drilled and presents as an over six-kilometre-long vein with locally significant widths. The vein dips steeply to the northeast and is interpreted to exploit the opposite side of a graben basin fault to the Animas Vein. Locally it has workings down to 50m below surface in at least three mines. The higher overall elevation and higher gold content indicate it could be a fully preserved analogue to the Animas vein.

Within the Cordon del Oro corridor the Mojocuan 2 prospect returned excellent gold results over a 1.4-5.9m wide vein in systematic sampling. ?It will be the first target drilled along the trend once man portable drill pads have been constructed. Further along the trend to the southeast zones of mineralization at Mojocuan 1, Cobriza, El Creston and Peralta have a regular periodicity along trend suggesting potential for repeated zones of dilation. In the far south very high grades from Peralta strongly upgrade this target.

Detailed mapping and the compilation of historic sampling from the Napoleon 7 mine have refined drill targets along the corridor. The Napoleon vein locally splits into two 0.5-2m wide veins with locally very high grades that remain open at the lowest level of the mine. Drilling at the Napoleon 7 and Napoleon 4 prospects has been prioritised and will be the first targets drilled on upon resumption of the program.

COVID-19 Update and Restart of Drilling Program

In compliance with government requirements, work on the Panuco project has been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government of Mexico has announced municipalities with no or a very low number of COVID-19 cases can transition back to work beginning on the 18th of May. The Concordia municipality has yet to record a COVID-19 case, and as such the Company is planning to recommence drilling next week. The Company will start with one drill rig and supporting crew and then will safely ramp up to prior levels.

The Company plans on adding a second rig to the Panuco project to complete the announced 14,500 metre program and is planning for a second drill rig to be operating at the beginning of June. With two drill rigs the Company expects to maintain its previously stated goal of completing its discovery-oriented drilling program in 2020. ?Resource drilling will be the 2021 focus.

About the Panuco project

Vizsla has an option to acquire 100% of the newly consolidated 9,386.5 Ha Panuco district in southern Sinaloa, Mexico, near the city of Mazatlan. The option allows for the acquisition of over 75 km of total vein extent, a 500 tpd mill, 35 kms of underground mines, tailings facilities, roads, power and permits.

The district contains intermediate to low sulfidation epithermal silver and gold deposits related to siliceous volcanism and crustal extension in the Oligocene and Miocene. Host rocks are mainly continental volcanic rocks correlated to the Tarahumara Formation.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Drill core and rock samples were shipped to ALS Limited in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico and in North Vancouver, B.C. Canada for sample preparation and for analysis at the ALS laboratory in North Vancouver. ?The ALS Zacatecas and North Vancouver facilities are ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 certified. Silver and base metals were analyzed using a four-acid digestion with an ICP finish and gold was assayed by 30-gram fire assay with atomic absorption (?AA?) spectroscopy finish. Overlimits analyses for silver, lead and zinc were re-assayed using an ore-grade four-acid digestion with AA finish.

Control samples comprising certified reference samples, duplicates and blank samples were systematically inserted into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Company?s quality assurance / quality control protocol.

Qualified Person

The technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Stewart Harris, P.Geo. for the Company. Mr. Harris serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

Investor Relations

Vizsla would also like to disclose that it has retained Peak Investor Marketing Corp. Peak provides full service marketing and consulting services focused on the junior mining sector.? Peak will assist Vizsla Resources Corp. with marketing strategy and planning, corporate communications and public relations, with the goal of increasing market awareness of the company.?Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company will compensate Peak Investor Marketing $10,000 per month on a month to month basis.?The Company has also issued Peak 175,000 stock options.

Contact Information: For more information and to sign-up to the mailing list, please contact:

Michael Konnert, President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: (604) 838-4327

Email: michael@vizslaresources.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

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.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes certain ?Forward?Looking Statements? within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and ?forward?looking information? under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words ?anticipate?, ?believe?, ?estimate?, ?expect?, ?target?, ?plan?, ?forecast?, ?may?, ?would?, ?could?, ?schedule? and similar words or expressions, identify forward?looking statements or information. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the development of Panuco, including potential drill targets; future mineral exploration, development and production including the identification of drill targets and commencement of drilling; and completion of a maiden drilling program

Forward?looking statements and forward?looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Vizsla, future growth potential for Vizsla and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management?s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of silver, gold and other metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Vizsla?s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

These statements reflect Vizsla?s respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward?looking statements or forward-looking information and Vizsla has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: satisfaction or waiver of all applicable conditions to closing of the Acquisition including, without limitation, receipt of all necessary approvals or consents and lack of material changes with respect to Vizsla and Canam and their respective businesses, all as more particularly set forth in the Acquisition agreement; the synergies expected from the Acquisition not being realized; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macro?economic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets and the market price of Vizsla?s common shares; and the factors identified under the caption ?Risk Factors? in Vizsla?s management discussion and analysis. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward?looking statements or forward-looking information. Although Vizsla 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 anticipated, estimated or intended. Vizsla does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward?looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.
Waving goodbye to a hellish life in Greek camps, dreams of a better life in Britain became a reality for these vulnerable migrants yesterday.

The group, which included lone children, could hardly contain their excitement as they boarded a special flight in Athens bound for London. One small boy jumped for joy as he clutched on to a minders hand.

Three hours later, the 52-strong group landed at Heathrow, where they were processed by Home Office officials before an emotional reunion with family members.

The Home Office has confirmed that all had tested negative for coronavirus before they entered the UK.

Migrants waved goodbye to a hellish life in Greek camps as a 52-strong group arrived at Heathrow airport on Monday on a UK government plane from Athens

The Mail highlighted the struggles the migrants, including many lone children, were facing during an expose on the Greek island of Lesbos

All of them had waited months to be reunited with relatives while enduring horrific conditions in the Greek camps, made even more agonising by a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Home Office laid on the flight, in collaboration with the Greek government, after lobbying from Labour peer Lord Dubs and the Safe Passage International charity.

It comes after the Mail highlighted the plight of lone children in squalid conditions on the Greek island of Lesbos, where some of the group came from.

Lord Dubs said last night: The conditions were awful. This is justice.

The minors in the group have moved to the UK under the Dublin Regulation, which allows migrant children to travel and live in countries where they have relatives

Labour peer, himself a child refugee in the UK during the 1930s, described the conditions in the Greek camps as disgusting

The migrants were moved from camps on the Greek Islands of Lesbos and Samos before being flown to London Heathrow by the Home Office

Ruth Holtom, of Safe Passage, added: Theres just a real sense of relief its finally happened. One of them told me how emotional it was to be reunited with their brother and its just a joy for them to be finally reunited with their loved ones after waiting so long.

The majority of the vulnerable group, who are not all minors, were from Syria and Afghanistan and had fled war and persecution.

They have been transferred to the UK under the Dublin Regulation, which allows for migrant children to be relocated to countries where they have relatives.

The migrants were processed by Home Office officials upon arrival at Heathrow and were reunited with family members

A Home Office spokesman said: The UK has a long and proud tradition of providing help and support to the vulnerable, and now more than ever it is important we honour that.

We have worked with Greece to complete these transfers of vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children. They can now be united with family members in the UK.

All of those people transferred tested negative for coronavirus before departing Greece.
New Delhi: With the number of coronavirus cases increasing with a high rate in the country and several asymptomatic cases getting reported the Health Ministry has decided to escalate testing at the district level.

The Ministry on Monday stated that testing will be done at district level country and they are given a target of conducting 200 tests weekly and 800 per month to know about the spread of the virus in the country.

These tests will be done on those who do not have any coronavirus symptoms which will help in detecting the asymptomatic cases.

To fulfill the target of testing the Health Ministry has told states to select 6 government and 4 private hospitals in every district to remain dedicated to conducting testing.

The Ministry has also categorized sample into two groups - high-risk group and low-risk group.

The high-risk group involves people like Health care workers and the testing plan aims to collect at least of 100 samples a week or 400 samples a month of people belonging to the high-risk groups.

On the other hand, pregnant women and those without cold cough and cold will be categorized under the low-risk group. The Ministry has set up a target of collecting 400 samples of this category every month.

With this plan of the Health Ministry, nearly 6 lakh people with no symptoms of the infection will be tested for coronavirus in a month.

RT-PCR test will be done for monitoring at the district level in which 25 samples tested at a time.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in India stands at 67,152 which includes 44,029 active cases and 2,206 deaths.
MADRID (dpa-AFX) - Amadeus IT Group SA (AMADY.PK, AMADF.PK), a Spanish IT provider for travel and tourism industry, reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit fell 60.5 percent to 117.8 million euros from last year's 298.5 million euros. Adjusted profit was 141.8 million euros, compared to 333.8 million euros a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 0.33 euros, compared to last year's 0.77 euros. EBITDA decreased 41.3 percent to 349.4 million euros from last year's 595.6 million euros. EBITDA margin was 34.2 percent, down from 42.4 percent a year ago. Revenue fell 27.3 percent to 1.02 billion euros from prior year's 1.41 billion euros. Distribution revenue plunged 45.5 percent, while IT Solutions revenue edged down 0.3 percent. In the first quarter of 2020, the travel agency air booking industry contracted 46.4 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic caused booking volumes to decline at a strong double-digit rate in all regions. Luis Maroto, President & CEO of Amadeus, said, 'We are closely monitoring the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and will adapt our response to it as needed. We are confident in the resilience of the travel sector and in the underlying strength of our company, but the coming months will remain challenging for the whole sector.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
In his November 1863 address at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the men who lost their lives on that battlefield had done so in order that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth. Lincoln was restating a principle first set forth in the Declaration of Independence, a principle essential to the preservation of our historically unique form of government.

Then and now, American political and cultural tensions have boiled down to an ever-escalating tug of war between those who believe in the power of government and those who believe in the Founders original vision. Exemplary of the former is Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet, quoted in a Harvard Magazine (May/June 2020) article titled The Risks of Homeschooling.

Bartholets animus toward homeschooling is palpable. She believes it exposes children to abuse, not to mention inferior educational standards, not to mention undemocratic values, not to mention authoritarian control exercised by parents who largely believe in female subservience, white supremacy, and a biblical view of creation. She wants it outlawed.

Bartholet opines, I think its always dangerous to put powerful people (parents, that is) in charge of the powerless (children), and to give the powerful ones total authority.

Yes, well, so do I. Every feature and expression of democracy is fraught with potential danger. Human nature is not a pretty thing, and the ugliest expressions of human nature are almost always committed by people in positions of power. But history teaches that the greatest abuses are perpetrated by those who deny the realities of our nature and harbor utopian visions. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Brandeis put it best: The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.

Bartholet essentially advances the proposition that government is a more trustworthy caretaker of children than their parents. It is dangerous, she says, for a child to spend his entire day, day after day, with his parents. With that absurd notion, she qualifies as a well-intentioned person of zeal who is dangerously lacking in understanding. On the basis of an uber-small number of homeschooling parents who abuse the right to direct their childrens education, she would assign all children to the vagaries of a government-run bureaucracy that is  as are all bureaucracies, ultimately  more interested in self-preservation than the preservation of our flawed but unsurpassed system of self-rule.

In a rebuttal to Bartholet, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly asks, Can fair-minded people not acknowledge that parents have every right to choose their childs educational route?

Indeed, fair-minded people can acknowledge what fair-minded jurists have affirmed, but people who believe in government of the bureaucracy, by the bureaucracy, and for the bureaucracy are not fair-minded. Their well-meaning zeal so narrows their point of view that, as in Bartholets case, the big picture ultimately disappears.

When all is said and done, the best regulator of the homeschooling parent is other homeschooling parents, motivated by desire to preserve their own and everyone elses freedoms. Long may they run.

Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, parentguru.com.
Bengaluru, May 12 : After a lull in emergence of new cases on Monday, coronavirus positive cases in Karnataka spiked again to breach the 900-mark to settle at 904, an official said on Tuesday.

A total of 42 more such cases were reported in the sourthern state in the past 19 hours. Thirty-four of the new patients are men and eight women.

Of the new cases, Bagalkote contributed 15, followed by Dharwad 9, Hassan 5, Bengaluru Urban 3, Yadagiri, Bidar and Dakshina Kannada 2 each, and Mandya, Ballari, Kalaburagi and Chakkaballapura 1 each. Ten of the new cases were contacts of earlier cases.

Only six new patients were above the age of 50. Twelve others are aged below 20.

"Till date, 904 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 31 deaths and 426 discharges," said the health official.

Cases spiked in Bagalkote and Dharwad as all cases reported from these two places have a travel history to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, a Covid hotspot.

A 55-year-old man from Bagalkote is suffering from Influenza-like illness (ILI).

Yadagiri, a northeastern district in the state with no cases until Monday, reported two cases, getting into the green zone for the first time. Both cases had a travel history to Ahmedabad.

Likewise, Hassan, another place with no positive cases until Monday, reported five cases to get the green zone status. All five cases from Hassan have a travel history to Mumbai in Maharashtra, India's biggest Covid hotspot. There were two girls below 7 from Hassan who tested corona positive.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Snakes and frogs appear to anticipate each other

Kyoto, Japan -- 'Like a frog stared down by a snake', goes an old Japanese expression, descrbing an animal petrified with fear.

However, it now seems that this freeze in action may not be about fear at all, but rather a delicate waiting game of life and death.

A new report from researchers at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science shows that this common interaction is all about patience, with each animal waiting for and anticipating its opponent's actions.

"When predator and prey face each other, it is generally thought that the initiator has the advantage that would mediate successful capture or escape," explains Nozomi Nishiumi, corresponding author of the report published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.

"However, in cases involving snakes and frogs, they occasionally move extremely slowly -- or almost not at all. It looks like they purposely avoid taking preemptive action."

Nishiumi, together with colleague Akira Mori, examined how the animals' behaviors affected the consequences of their interaction by focusing specifically on the kinematics of the snakes' strikes and the frogs' flight behavior.

The team analyzed the movement patterns of the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, and the black-spotted pond frog, Pelophylax nigromaculatus, both in the field and in staged encounter experiments.

"In the staged encounters we wanted to look at the disadvantages of preemptive actions by analyzing the kinematic characteristics of each animal's movements," explains Nishiumi.

"The field observations, on the other hand, were designed to follow the consequences of the animals' actions and survival."

The team found that the counteractions of each animal were often effective because the initiator's actions were difficult to change once started. For example, if the snake initiated a strike action first, the frog would evade the attack because the trajectory of the strike could not be changed mid-movement, allowing the frog to escape safely while the snake spent time resetting its lunge posture.

Alternatively, if the frog first attempted an escape, the snake would start lunging immediately, and occasionally be able to adjust its strike direction in anticipation of the frog's direction of movement.

"The efficacy of this waiting tactic depends on the distance between them: the closer they are the less likely the counteraction succeeds," continues Nishiumi.

"In this regard, when approaching this critical distance, the animals appropriately switch their behaviors from waiting to taking action."

These results suggest that a game of patience occurs between the animals, providing insight on predicting the decision-making of predators and prey.

###

Video Link

https://youtu.be/MBlKQ2-31P4

The paper "A game of patience between predator and prey: waiting for opponent's action determines successful capture or escape" appeared on 10 March 2020 in the Canadian Journal of Zoology, with doi:10.1139/cjz-2019-0164

About Kyoto University

Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. A broad curriculum across the arts and sciences at both undergraduate and graduate levels is complemented by numerous research centers, as well as facilities and offices around Japan and the world. For more information please see: http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en

Authors: Nozomi Nishiumi, Akira Mori

Contact: Nozomi Nishiumi PhD

National Institute for Basic Biology

5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaijichou, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan

ph +81-564-59-5596

nozo@nibb.ac.jp
As Virgin Australia took one last gulp before it plunged into administration, the rest of Australia looked on with bated-breath.

While satire mags took the piss (see: Just Tragic, Says Joyce), everyone else wondered: what could rise from Virgins ashes? A leaner and meaner version of the same company?

A foreign upstart?

A unionised behemoth?

Though the whole government-owned idea now appears unlikely (see: Friday deadline for Virgin Australias billion-dollar buyers) everything else is firmly on the table.

The big-name bidders at the moment are said to be: BGH Capital (a Melbourne based private equity firm), the Macquarie Group and Wesfarmers.

WA mining magnate Andrew Twiggy Forest, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Bain Capital and Indigo Partners are also reported to be in the mix.

Fridays initial bids will be coaxed into binding offers by mid-June, from which the winning bid (or potentially bidders) will be chosen.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Virgin Australia (@virginaustralia) on May 11, 2020 at 12:27am PDT

But what then? What will Virgin Australia look like in five years time? The answer depends on which investors walk away with Bransons baby.

There are, however, some constants, which give us anchor points to mount a few predictions.

For instance, no matter how this plays out, Qantas would, at least for some months, have a monopoly in what is expected to be a mostly domestic-flying market amid travel bans, (ABC).

It is also widely accepted Virgin (and all airlines) will have to become leaner and meaner to survive the coming years.

However, various aviation experts say Virgins situation is not as dire as you might think.

Indeed, some have predicted a number of intriguing silver linings to come out of Virgin Australias voluntary administration for domestic Australian flyers.

One among them is Professor Rico Merkert, Chair in Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Sydney (and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Air Transport Management).

Though Professor Merkert told DMARGE its way too early to say what a post-pandemic world will look like (while I see domestic aviation commencing operations in the not so distant future, I am less certain about international) he also told us what it would take, in his eyes, for Virgin Australia to soar to (or at least, get back on trajectory towards) the lofty heights they once envisioned.

If Virgin gets one strong holder and a clear strategy that focuses on a simplified domestic network then I would see them as a profitable, economy supporting and job generating enterprise in 5 years time.

Professor Merkert also said that administration may offer a smokescreen for hard (but smart) calls to be made.

As [Virgin Australia] had accumulated $1.6bn worth of negative equity and a too complex business model with an even more complex board room, they were in dire need for change.

COVID-19 may speed up that process and may in fact force one or two of the shareholders out, which may in fact not be a bad thing if the remaining shareholder has a clear strategy toward commercial viability.

Having the fleet currently grounded due to COVID-19 is actually good and potentially a perfect time for a take over as there would be no disruption to the operations and as it will take at least another 2-3 months before the skies are open again, there would also be some time for re-branding campaigns etc.

Not only that, but as The Sydney Morning Herald recently pointed out: Administration triggers the opportunity to renegotiate everything from the current enterprise bargaining agreements to fuel hedging contracts, lease rentals from the airport owners and catering.

It is not only the Virgin 2.0 balance sheet that will look much healthier having cut a swathe through the $5 billion debt pile, the resurrected airline will be able to establish a new cost base  one that will be significantly lower than that of Qantas, (SMH).

What happens then? After all: even if Virgin Australia is on the receiving end of some supposed silver linings, realistically, Qantas still has ample opportunity to establish dominance right now.

Here is Professor Merkerts prediction: I suppose the worst case scenario for Qantas would be if somehow Singapore Airlines [or similar] would be allowed to take over the VAH assets cheaply and without the dept (perhaps together with a strong capital partner and a financial injection but no other airline partner). This would put a re-emerged and simplified Virgin in a fairly strong position.

Qantas, however, even in this scenario, would still dominate the domestic market and would benefit from regional networks once we get to the other side of COVID-19.

A leaner Virgin Australia, however, would become a formidable competitor on the core domestic routes (operated by VAH) and also international (operated by SIA) in this hypothetical.

Tigerair would remain shut and potentially sold to another party as would Velocity or incorporated into Krisflyer. Whether that happens (and Singapore Airline has long been trying to get into such a position) remains to be seen though, as there are those other airlines (i.e. Etihad and HNA) still in the mix.

This could be great for Australians, potentially driving prices down without the associated race to the bottom that usually comes with it. Hopefully, it would even get Qantas focussing on refining Qantas, rather than stripping away services and trying to make Jetstar ever more profitable (assuming whoever takes over Virgin focuses on competing on that plane, rather than putting all their energy into Tigerair).

DMARGE also got in touch with the owner of Flight Hacks and points hacking expert Immanuel Debeer, to see what those who make a living flying flat are expecting from Virgin Australia 2.0.

I think Virgin Australia will be restructured, streamlined and be put back in action domestically if potential buyers can get it at the right price and have the right vision, this is probably the best scenario, Immanuel said.

Alternatively I would love to see foreign airlines move in to offer fifth freedom type routes connecting the east and west coast. It could be a logical move for players like Singapore Airlines to have flights with a stopover in Perth on the way to Sydney. This will probably never happen but one can dream!

As for the bricks and mortar ergonomic offering: Whoever buys Virgin Australia will probably keep their current seats for some time to come. VAs A330 business class product is the best domestic business class seat in the world (IMO) so I dont think this would change all too soon.

If another airline happens to buy Virgin Australia, its likely they will either keep the name or rebrand to something new.

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Five pilots of Air India along with two technical staff who had earlier tested positive for coronavirus have now tested negative for the infection, sources said on Monday.

According to sources, the new results were obtained after a re-test was conducted on the positive cases under Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the airline.



"The 5 pilots have tested negative for the virus during the re-testing," an airline source told IANS.



The pilots had tested coronavirus positive when 77 pilots of the airline were tested on a priority basis on Saturday.



All the five pilots didn't have any symptoms and would be home quarantined in Mumbai, people in the know said.





These pilots operated Boeing 787 Dreamliners aircraft, and were tested to be deployed for duty under the Vande Bharat Mission to ferry back Indians stranded abroad.



The national carrier has also been engaged in transport of essential medical supplies amid the pandemic.



Starting May 7, Air India has been engaged in one of the largest rescue operations in the world, whereby 64 flights would bring back over 14,000 people stranded in 12 countries in 7 days.



Many Indians have already arrived in several cities under the Mission.
Of the 2,293 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 868

New Delhi: The Covid rollercoaster is in full-on momentum right now, having As India registered on Monday the biggest daily jump yet in fresh cases of novel coronavrius in one day. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 on Tuesday, registering an increase of 87 fatalities and 3,604 cases in the last 24 hours since Monday 8 am, according to the Union health ministry.

While health ministry officials continue to deny community transmission of COVID-19 in India, they conceded that some relatively large outbreaks have been noticed in particular locations. They added that it is important to focus on containment efforts to ensure that the country does not reach the community transmission stage.

Officials urged people having COVID-19 symptoms not to hide them and come forward to report, get treated so that they do not spread the infection.

A total of 87 deaths were reported since Monday morning -- 36 in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, six each in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal and one each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the 2,293 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 868, followed by Gujarat (513), Madhya Pradesh (221), West Bengal (190), Rajasthan (113), Uttar Pradesh (80), Delhi (73), Tamil Nadu (53) and Andhra Pradesh (45).

The death toll climbed to 31 in Karnataka as well as in Punjab.

Telangana has reported 30 fatalities due to the respiratory disease, Haryana 11, Jammu and Kashmir 10, Bihar six and Kerala four.

Jharkhand and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each, while Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh have reported two deaths each.

Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the health ministry's website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

The total figure of 70,756 includes foreign nationals.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of 23,401 confirmed cases is from Maharashtra, followed by Gujarat (8,541), Tamil Nadu (8,002), Delhi (7,233), Rajasthan (3,988), Madhya Pradesh (3,785) and Uttar Pradesh (3,573).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,063 in West Bengal, 2,018 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,877 in Punjab.

It has risen to 1,275 in Telangana, 879 in Jammu and Kashmir, 862 in Karnataka, 747 in Bihar and 730 in Haryana.

Kerala has reported 519 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 414 cases. A total of 174 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 160 in Jharkhand.

Tripura has reported 152 cases, Uttarakhand 68, Assam 65, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have 55 cases each and Ladakh has registered 42 coronavirus cases so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has registered 13 cases, Puducherry 12 and Goa seven.

Manipur has two cases, while Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
Even though many experts are predicting international travel is still some time away, as lockdown restrictions start to ease in Australia and other countries, some airlines are starting to get back into gear already.

Etihad Airways for example will be begin to once again operate a regular scheduled service between Australia and the UK from as early as Friday.

Etihad is resuming flights to London. Photo: Getty

From May 15, on regular scheduled service will begin operating from Melbourne to London Heathrow, with the airline also introduce services from London Heathrow to Melbourne from May 21.

However, there will be one major difference to the flight that may not be ideal to those who already dislike long haul travel and tight spaces.

Your safety is always our main priority, but were taking extra steps to ensure the highest standards of hygiene at every point of your journey, the airline explains on its website.

You will remain on board when we land in Abu Dhabi.

On top of this, Etihad said it had implemented an extensive sanitisation and safety program.

We also recommend that you wear a face mask whilst you travel and wash your hands at regular intervals, the statement continues.

On board, well make sure you are seated with as much space as possible between every guest, and well offer our food and drinks service in line with important COVID-19 guidelines.

From May 15 Etihad will have a flight from Melbourne to London. Photo: Getty

Up until now the only flights from international carriers operating a service out of Australia to the UK were Cathay Pacific and Qatar, with United also operating a route via the US.

According to Skyscanner, London remained the top most searched trip from Sydney for the first two weeks of April, despite current travel restrictions.

And a recent survey also revealed that more than half of travellers from Australia and the Pacific region (52%) believe it will be safe to travel again internationally within six months.

Despite the uncertainty that still prevails around how and when travel will be possible again in many markets, our research shows that traveller optimism is increasing week on week, Paul Whiteway, Senior Director, APAC at Skyscanner said in a statement supplied to Yahoo Lifestyle.

Story continues

A large majority of travellers [82%] believe that it will be safe to travel again domestically within six months, and when it comes to international travel, more than half of the travellers in APAC are optimistic.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

Trend:

Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has sent a letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service.

In his letter, the director-general commended the government of Azerbaijan for taking preventive measures in the fight against COVID-19. He also described the Azerbaijani presidents support for multilateral diplomacy and solidarity at the national, regional and global levels as exemplary, and emphasized that this was clearly reflected in the series of events held under the leadership of President Aliyev.

The WHO director-general said that an extraordinary Summit of the Turkic Council in response to COVID-19 held through videoconference on April 10, 2020, under the chairmanship of President Aliyev strengthened cooperation even further and contributed to the strengthening of ties between the two organizations.

Touching upon an online Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group, Tedros Ghebreyesus congratulated the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan on successfully holding the event and described it as a perfect initiative.

He said that in accordance with the final declaration adopted at the event, a decision was made to establish the Non-Aligned Movement Task Force to work out a database that will include the basic needs of NAM member states, and expressed the WHOs readiness to support the NAM Task Forces efforts.

Tedros Ghebreyesus also affirmed the WHOs readiness to cooperate with Azerbaijan at the global, regional and national levels in combating the threats posed by COVID-19.

The WHO director-general conveyed his deep respect for the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
NEW YORK, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- INTRODUCTION

Among drug delivery devices, prefilled syringes represent one of the fastest growing primary packaging formats, which are also designed for dose administration. In fact, over the past ten years, there has been an evident increase in the development of parenteral drugs (especially with the introduction of several classes of biologics), which has resulted in an increased consumption of prefilled syringes, by approximately three fold. The sustained preference for such products can be attributed to the fact that prefilled syringes are safe and easy-to-use, and current variants are designed with provisions to reduce dosing errors, the risk of occlusions, extravasation and phlebitis. Owing to the aforementioned benefits, several injectable drugs (such as Humira, Enbrel, Avastin, PREVNAR 13, ALPROLIX and Benefix), diluents and other products requiring parenteral administration, are packaged in prefilled syringes. In fact, over the past seven years, around 90 drugs have been approved in combination with prefilled syringes across different geographies, including the North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Moreover, several clinical-stage drugs are being evaluated in combination with prefilled syringes, across different phases of development.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05893044/?utm_source=PRN



The filling of sterile drugs into prefilled syringes (and other primary drug containers) is considered to be one of the most crucial steps in the pharmaceutical production process. Proper fill / finish operations, carried out under aseptic conditions, is a necessity for not only maintaining pharmacological efficacy and quality, but also ensuring end user safety. The prefilled syringe filling operation is considered complex as it requires close monitoring of both the syringe fill volume as well as the headspace between the liquid in the syringe and the bottom of the plunger. Additionally, the rise in complexity of small molecule APIs and the increasing diversity of biologic drugs have also contributed towards the demand of advanced aseptic fill / finish operations. A number of small-sized companies and some large companies have outsourced their fill / finish operations to contract service providers. According to the 10th Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity and Production, biomanufacturers have been shown to outsource over 30% of their fill / finish operations. With the increase in the demand for prefilled syringes, along with the growing complexity of fill / finish processes, the outsourcing of these operations is likely to increase further in the future. Currently, over 100 companies are actively providing fill / finish services for prefilled syringes. In order to cope up with the current and future market demand, service providers are actively investing in expanding their existing infrastructure and capabilities; companies are also expanding their client reach through service agreements in the past few years. Given that around 55% of drug candidates in the global R&D pipeline are injectables, the opportunities for prefilled syringe developers / manufacturers and affiliated service providers is anticipated to continue to grow over the next decade.



SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The 'Prefilled Syringe Fill / Finish Service Providers, 2020-2030' report features an extensive study of the current market landscape and future opportunities for contract service providers offering fill finish services for prefilled syringes. The study features an in-depth analysis of the key drivers and trends related to this evolving domain. Amongst other elements, the report includes:

 A detailed review of the overall landscape of companies offering contract fill / finish services for prefilled syringes, along with analyses based on a number of relevant parameters, such as year of establishment, company size, scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), location of the headquarters, location of fill / finish facilities, type of drug molecule (small molecule and biologic), syringe barrel material (glass and plastic), syringe fill volume and additional services offered (drug formulation, regulatory support, labelling and packaging, terminal sterilization, quality control, storage and logistics). In addition, the chapter includes details on prefilled syringe fill / finish installed capacity of the service providers.

 Tabulated profiles of key players (shortlisted based on a proprietary criterion) across key geographies, such as North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Each profile provides an overview of the company, information on its overall service portfolio, fill / finish facilities, financial performance (if available), and details on recent developments as well as an informed future outlook.

 An analysis of the recent developments (since 2015) pertaining to contract fill / finish services, based on various parameters, such as year of development, type of activity / development (collaboration and expansions), scale of operation of the project, location of expanded facility, type of drug molecule involved, additional services offered and most active players (based on the number of instances of collaborations / expansions).

 An estimate of the global, contract fill / finish capacity of prefilled syringes, by taking into consideration the capacities of various fill / finish service providers (as available on respective company websites), collected via secondary and primary research. The study examines the distribution of number of prefilled syringe units and volume of drug filled, based on the company size of manufacturer (small-sized, mid-sized and large), scale of operation (preclinical / clinical and commercial), location of headquarters and fill / finish facilities (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and type of drug molecule (small molecule and biologics).

 An informed estimate of the annual demand for fill / finish of prefilled syringes (in number of units), taking into account the marketed drugs available in prefilled syringes and other relevant parameters, such as target patient population, dosing frequency and dose strength. The study provides the distribution of the annual demand, based on the geography (North America (US), Europe (UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and rest of Europe), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and rest of Latin America), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, South Korea and rest of Asia-Pacific), and the Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Africa and rest of the Middle East)), type of drug molecule (small molecule and biologics), therapeutic area (blood disorders, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, oncological disorders and others), syringe barrel material (glass and plastic) and number of barrel chambers (single chamber and dual chamber).

 A detailed demand and supply assessment of geographies, based on a number of parameters, such as the number of prefilled syringe combination product developers, number of prefilled syringe manufacturers, number of prefilled syringe fill / finish service providers, number of prefilled syringe fill / finish facilities, capacity and demand of prefilled syringes in that particular geographical region.

 An analysis presenting potential strategic partners (primarily drug developers) for prefilled syringe fill / finish service providers, based on different parameters, such as pipeline strength, number of target therapeutic indication(s), type of drug molecule, year of establishment, company size and location of the headquarters of the company.

 A discussion on the potential growth areas, such as growing injectable drugs pipeline, increasing fill / finish outsourcing operations, rising preference of self-medication, increasing popularity of prefilled syringes and technological advancements in aseptic fill / finish processes.

 A review of the landscape of prefilled syringe manufacturers, featuring a list of key prefilled syringes and their manufacturers, analyzed based on a number of relevant parameters, such as syringe barrel material (glass and plastic), number of barrel chambers (single chamber and dual chamber), type of needle system (fixed needle system, luer lock and luer cone) barrel volume, year of establishment, company size and location of the headquarters of manufacturers.



One of the key objectives of the report was to understand the primary growth drivers and estimate the future size of the market. Based on parameters, such as growth of the overall pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical market, cost of goods sold, direct manufacturing costs, share of drug product manufacturing costs, and outsourcing trends related to fill / finish operations, we have provided an informed estimate of the likely evolution of the market in the mid to long term, for the time period 2020-2030. Our year-wise projections of the current and future opportunity have further been segmented on the basis of [A] scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), [B] key geographical regions (North America (the US), Europe (the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and rest of Europe) and Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, South Korea and rest of Asia-Pacific), [C] type of drug molecule (small molecules and biologics), [D] key therapeutic areas (blood disorders, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, oncology disorders, neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and others), [E] syringe barrel material (glass and plastic) and [F] number of barrel chambers (single chamber and dual chamber). To account for the uncertainties associated with the fill / finish of prefilled syringes and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three forecast scenarios, portraying the conservative, base and optimistic tracks of the market's evolution.



The opinions and insights presented in the report were also influenced by discussions held with senior stakeholders in the industry. The report features detailed transcripts of interviews held with the following industry stakeholders:

 Kirti Maheshwari, Chief Technical Officer, Intas Pharmaceuticals

 Gregor Kawaletz, Chief Commercial Officer, IDT Biologika

 Jesse Fourt, Design Director, IDEO

 Purushottam Singnurkar, Research Director and Head of Formulation Development, Syngene

 Anonymous, Associate Director, Head of Process Sciences Formulation and Fill / Finish, a large CMO



All actual figures have been sourced and analysed from publicly available information forums and primary research discussions. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The data presented in this report has been gathered via secondary and primary research. For all our projects, we conduct interviews with experts in the area (academia, industry, medical practice and other associations) to solicit their opinions on emerging trends in the market. This is primarily useful for us to draw out our own opinion on how the market will evolve across different regions and technology segments. Where possible, the available data has been checked for accuracy from multiple sources of information.



The secondary sources of information include

 Annual reports

 Investor presentations

 SEC filings

 Industry databases

 News releases from company websites

 Government policy documents

 Industry analysts' views



While the focus has been on forecasting the market over the next decade, the report also provides our independent view on various technological and non-commercial trends emerging in the industry. This opinion is solely based on our knowledge, research and understanding of the relevant market gathered from various secondary and primary sources of information.



CHAPTER OUTLINES

Chapter 2 is an executive summary of the key insights captured in our research. It offers a high-level view on the current state of the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market and its likely evolution in the short-mid term and long term.



Chapter 3 provides a general introduction to HPAPIs and cytotoxic drugs, featuring information on the classification of APIs based on potency, types of HPAPIs, and challenges in associated with handling HPAPIs. Additionally, it includes a detailed description of specific containment requirements for handling HPAPIs and cytotoxic drugs, and provides details related to the growing need for outsourcing the manufacturing of such products.



Chapter 4 provides an overview of the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing landscape. It includes information on over 115 contract manufacturers that claim to offer HPAPI and cytotoxic drug manufacturing services. In addition, it features an in-depth analysis of the market, based on a number of parameters, such as year of establishment, company size, scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), location of headquarters, number and location of manufacturing facilities, facility size, type of service(s) offered (clinical manufacturing, commercial manufacturing, analytical testing, scale-up, process development / pre-formulation, formulation development, stability studies, regulatory support, fill / finish and packaging), type of product manufactured (HPAPIs and highly potent finished dosage forms), type of pharmacological molecule (biologics and small molecules), type of highly potent finished dosage form manufactured (capsules, granules, injectables, liquids and tablets), and type of primary packaging used (ampoules, blisters, prefilled syringes, conventional syringes, vials and others).



Chapter 5 features an insightful company competitiveness analysis of HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturers based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The analysis presents a comparison of the companies within each geography on the basis of supplier strength (based on company size and its experience in this field) and service strength (based on scale of operation, type of service(s) offered, type of product(s) manufactured, number and location of manufacturing facilities, type of highly potent finished dosage forms manufactured and type of primary packaging used).



Chapter 6 provides detailed profiles of the key players that are active in the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market in North America. Each profile includes a brief overview of the company, its year of establishment, location of headquarters, number of employees and financial information (if available). In addition to this, the profile includes information on the various HPAPIs / cytotoxic dugs manufacturing services offered by the company, along with the location of their manufacturing facilities. Further, we have provided the recent developments of the company and an informed future outlook.



Chapter 7 includes detailed profiles of some of the key players that are active in the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market in Europe. Each profile includes a brief overview of the company, its year of establishment, location of headquarters, number of employees and financial information (if available). In addition to this, the profile includes information on the various HPAPIs / cytotoxic dugs manufacturing services offered by the company, along with the location of their manufacturing facilities. Further, we have provided the recent developments of the company and an informed future outlook.



Chapter 8 includes detailed profiles of some of the key players that are active in the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market in Europe. Each profile includes a brief overview of the company, its year of establishment, location of headquarters, number of employees and financial information (if available). In addition to this, the profile includes information on the various HPAPIs / cytotoxic dugs manufacturing services offered by the company, along with the location of their manufacturing facilities. Further, we have provided the recent developments of the company and an informed future outlook.



Chapter 9 features an analysis of the various partnerships and collaborations that have been inked amongst players in this domain, in the time period 2014-2019. It provides a brief description on the various types of partnership models (which include acquisitions, manufacturing agreements, technology licensing, R&D agreements, facility acquisitions, product development and commercialization, service alliances, product licensing and others) that have been adopted by stakeholders in this domain. Further, it includes analyses based on year of agreement, scale of operation, company size, amount invested in acquisitions, and most active players. Furthermore, we have provided a world map representation of all the deals inked in this field, highlighting those that have been established within and across different continents.



Chapter 10 presents a detailed analysis of the expansions that have taken place in the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing industry, since 2014. It includes information on the expansions carried out for increasing existing capabilities, as well as those intended for setting-up a new facility by manufacturers engaged in this domain. The expansion instances that we came across were analyzed based on various parameters, including year of expansion, type of expansion (capacity expansion, facility expansion and new facility), scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), type of product manufactured (HPAPIs and highly potent finished dosage forms), and location of manufacturing facility.



Chapter 11 features a detailed analysis of the global / regional capacity of contract manufacturers that are engaged in the manufacturing of HPAPIs and cytotoxic drugs. The analysis takes into consideration the individual manufacturing capacities of various stakeholders (small-sized, mid-sized, large and very large CMOs) in the market, using data from both secondary and primary research. It also examines the likely distribution of the global HPAPIs and cytotoxic drugs manufacturing capacity available across different types of companies (small-sized, mid-sized, large and very large CMOs), scales of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), and key geographical regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world).



Chapter 12 presents a qualitative analysis that highlights the various factors that need to be taken into consideration by highly potent developers while deciding whether to manufacture their respective products in-house or engage the services of a CMOs.



Chapter 13 presents an insightful market forecast analysis, highlighting the likely growth of the HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market till the year 2030. In order to provide details on the future opportunity, our projections have been segmented on the basis of [A] type of product (HPAPIs and highly potent finished dosage forms), [B] company size (small, mid-sized and large / very large), [C] scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), [D] type of pharmacological molecule (small molecules and biologics), [E] type of highly potent finished dosage form (injectables, oral solids, creams and others), and [F] key geographical regions, covering North America (the US, Canada and Mexico), Europe (the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (India, China, and rest of Asia-Pacific), and rest of the world.



Chapter 14 provides a detailed analysis capturing the key parameters and trends that are likely to influence the future of HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturing market, under a comprehensive SWOT framework.



Chapter 15 presents a case study on the antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) manufacturing market, highlighting a list of contract service providers and in-house manufacturers that are currently active in this space. Additionally, it includes a detailed review of the overall landscape of companies offering contract services for the manufacturing of ADCs, along with information on year of establishment, company size, scale of operation (preclinical, clinical and commercial), location of headquarters, number and location of manufacturing facilities, and type of service(s) offered.



Chapter 16 is a summary of the entire report. It provides the key takeaways and presents our independent opinion of this market, based on the research and analysis described in the previous chapters. It also provides a recap of some of the upcoming future trends, which, we believe, are likely to influence the growth of HPAPI and cytotoxic drugs contract manufacturers.



Chapter 18 is a collection of interview transcripts of the discussions held with key stakeholders in the industry. We have presented details of interviews held with Antonella Mancuso and Maria Elena Guadagno (Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Business Director, BSP Pharmaceuticals), Stacy McDonald and Jennifer L. Mitcham (Group Product Manager and Director-Business Development, Catalent Pharma Solutions), Roberto Margarita (Business Development Director, CordenPharma), Allison Vavala (Senior Manager, Business Development, Helsinn), Javier E. Aznarez Araiz (Business Development, Idifarma), Dr. Mark Wright (Site Head, Grangemouth, Piramal Healthcare), Klaus Hellerbrand (Managing Director, ProJect Pharmaceutics), and Kevin Rosenthal (Business Head, Formulations and Finished Products, Alphora research).



Chapter 19 is an appendix that contains tabulated data for all the figures provided in the report.



Chapter 20 is an appendix that provides a list of companies and organizations mentioned in the report.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05893044/?utm_source=PRN



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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Lithuania's producer prices declined at a faster pace in April, figures from Statistics Lithuania showed on Tuesday. The producer price index decreased 15.5 percent year-on-year in April, following an 8.9 percent decrease in March. Excluding refined petroleum products, producer prices fell 2.4 percent annually in April, following a 1.1 percent decline in the preceding month. Producer prices for products sold on the Lithuanian market decreased by 10.2 percent annually in April. Prices for products sold on the foreign market fell by 19.1 percent from a year ago. On a month-on-month basis, producer prices fell 5.3 percent in April, following a 7.3 percent decrease in the prior month. The decline in prices was mainly due to lower prices for refined petroleum products, the agency said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Total number of COVID-19



infections in Karnataka has breached 900 mark, with the state reporting 42 new corona positive cases, the health department said on Tuesday.

Interestingly, Hassan that had not reported a single case so far, has confirmed five new infections.

"42 new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon.... Till date 904 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 31 deaths and 426 discharges," the department said in its bulletin.

Forty two new cases include- fifteen from Bagalkote, nine from Dharwad, five from Hassan, three from Bengaluru urban, two each from Dakshina Kannada, Yadgir and Bidar, and one each from Ballari, Chikkaballapura, Mandya and Kalaburagi.

Among the cases, 25 are with travel history to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, six are with travel history to Mumbai in Maharashtra, seven are contacts of patients already tested positive, two are from containment zone in Bidar, one with history of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and the others contact is under tracing.

At least four out of these 42 cases are children.

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

BENGALURU: A study by a group of researchers found that as many as 64 per cent of the vulnerable households (those households earning less than Rs 10,000 a month) did not possess a Jan Dhan account.



In a survey involving close to 3000 vulnerable households, researchers from Centre for Sustainable Employment (CSE) at Azim Premji University found the inefficacy of PM Jan Dhan Yojana, due to its failure to reach a large number of beneficiaries -- 64 percent of calculated vulnerable households.



In collaboration with civil society organizations across the country, the researchers conducted a

detailed phone survey with a spectrum of 4000 workers from informal and unorganized sectors.

They were across 12 states of India, to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on employment, livelihoods, and access to government relief schemes.



Of the respondents, about 80 percent earned less than Rs 10,000 per month or a sample size of 2923 households who the researcher called the 'Vulnerable Category'.



Among them, they found that 64 percent did not have a Jan Dhan account. And of the persons who did have one, just 30 percent received the transfers.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE



Jan Dhan was one of the measures to alleviate the economic crisis among the vulnerable sections owing to the lockdown - wherein Rs 500 was given to females with Jan Dhan accounts.



Furthermore, the study revealed that just half of the rural and a third of the urban poor households received any cash transfers at all under the different cash transfer schemes (state and central schemes that work in tandem).



The impact of other relief measures did not paint a rosy picture either.



While the government had announced the immediate release of Rs 2000 through the PM Kissan Yojana, in March, considering the COVID19 crisis, just 1/4 of the 688 landed farmers received transfers, said the researchers.



And these were respondents who were a little more aware of the government schemes, considering their association with rights organizations.



As an awareness measure, the team also sent out SMS of the central and state-level schemes to all respondents of the survey, added the researchers.



The team, however, found that among the slew of government measures, Public Distribution System had a greater efficacy, especially in urban areas. However, even there, 15 percent of the urban and 6 percent of rural poor were still unable to procure any ration.



They also found urban poor were more vulnerable from the crisis compared to their rural counterparts -- they depended highly on informal money lenders as a major source of loans, 8 out of 10 lost their jobs, and 45 days of earnings compensated with a paltry Rs 500 Jan Dhan deposit.



The team is working towards a sample size of 5000 and will continue to follow up with the respondents to check on their recovery process. Data is updated and available on their dashboard -- ttps://cse.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/ .



Recommendations

The team made a list of recommendations of effective measures to alleviate the situation for the vulnerable:
Those sharing #Obamagate hashtags on Twitter would do best to avoid the hysterics we saw from Russian-collusion believers, but they have no reason to ignore the mounting evidence that suggests the Obama administration engaged in serious corruption.

Democrats and their allies, who like to pretend that President Obamas only scandalous act was wearing a tan suit, are going spend the next few months gaslighting the public by focusing on the most feverish accusations against Obama. But the fact is that we already have more compelling evidence that the Obama administration engaged in misconduct than we ever did for opening the Russian-collusion investigation.

It is not conspiracy-mongering to note that the investigation into Trump was predicated on an opposition-research document filled with fabulism and, most likely, Russian disinformation. We know the DOJ withheld contradictory evidence when it began spying on those in Trumps orbit. We have proof that many of the relevant FISA-warrant applications  almost every one of them, actually  were based on fabricated evidence or riddled with errors. We know that members of the Obama administration, who had no genuine role in counterintelligence operations, repeatedly unmasked Trumps allies. And we now know that, despite a dearth of evidence, the FBI railroaded Michael Flynn into a guilty plea so it could keep the investigation going.

Whats more, the larger context only makes all of these facts more damning. By 2016, the Obama administrations intelligence community had normalized domestic spying. Obamas director of national intelligence, James Clapper, famously lied about snooping on American citizens to Congress. His CIA director, John Brennan, oversaw an agency that felt comfortable spying on the Senate, with at least five of his underlings breaking into congressional computer files. His attorney general, Eric Holder, invoked the Espionage Act to spy on a Fox News journalist, shopping his case to three judges until he found one who let him name the reporter as a co-conspirator. The Obama administration also spied on Associated Press reporters, which the news organization called a massive and unprecedented intrusion. And though its been long forgotten, Obama officials were caught monitoring the conversations of members of Congress who opposed the Iran nuclear deal.

Story continues

What makes anyone believe these people wouldnt create a pretext to spy on the opposition party? If anyone does, they shouldnt, because on top of everything else, we know that Barack Obama was keenly interested in the Russian-collusion investigations progress.

In her very last hour in office, national-security adviser Susan Rice wrote a self-preserving email to herself, noting that shed attended a meeting with the president, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, FBI director James Comey, and Vice President Joe Biden in which Obama stressed that everything in the investigation should proceed by the book.

Did high-ranking Obama-administration officials not always conduct such investigations by the book? It is curious that they would need to be specifically instructed to do so. It is also curious that the outgoing national-security adviser, 15 minutes after Trump had been sworn in as president, would need to mention this meeting.

None of this means that Obama committed some specific crime; he almost assuredly did not. In a healthy media environment, though, the mounting evidence of wrongdoing would spark an outpouring of journalistic curiosity.

But, you might ask, why does it matter, anymore? Well, for one thing, many of the same characters central to all this apparent malfeasance now want to retake power in Washington. Biden is the Democratic Partys presumptive presidential nominee, hes running as the heir to Obamas legacy, and he was at that meeting with Rice. He had denied even knowing anything about the FBI investigation into Flynn before being forced to correct himself after ABCs George Stephanopoulos pointed out that he was mentioned in Rices email. Its completely legitimate to wonder what he knew about the investigation.

Skeptics like to point out that the Obama administration had no motive to engage in abuse, because Democrats were sure they were going to win. Richard Nixon won 49 states in 1972. His cronies had no need to break into the DNCs offices and touch off Watergate. But as the FBI agents involved in the case noted, they wanted to have an insurance policy if the unthinkable happened.

In 2016, the unthinkable did happen, and were still dealing with the fallout four years later. We dont know where this scandal will end up, but one doesnt have to be a conspiracy theorist to wonder.

More from National Review
In view of possibility of circulation of fake amid coronavirus pandemic, Dholpur district administration banned channels and similar "journalistic activities" on social media platforms which were running without being registered with competent regulatory authorities.

District Collector RK Jaiswal, who issued the order on May 6, said that there are many unauthorised social media channels which are being run without registration from authorities.

"They have no permission from competent authority to run such news channel or journalistic activities on social media platforms, so a preemptive action was taken against such unauthorised channels," the collector said.

He said that it does not affect the mainstream media.

In the order, the collector has banned unauthorised news channel or similar journalistic activities on social medial platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram etc. till further orders.

"Using social media platforms as a news channel comes under journalist activities, so it is mandatory to obtain permission from the commissioner- Information and Public Relations, Government of Rajasthan and from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India," he said.

In Dholpur, he said, no social media news channel possesses permission from regulatory bodies, so they are working in an unauthorised manner.

"In the view of possibility of circulation of fake and unverified news on social media, it was necessary to put the ban on unauthorised channels or journalistic activities on social media," he said.

He said that action will be taken under section 188 and 505 (1) of the Indian Penal Code and section 1 and 2 of Disaster Management Act, 2005 in violation of the order and he also made a reference to a Supreme Court judgment about this.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Well, so much for the rule of law. Again.

In the nearly 40 months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the rule of law, so frequently held up as sacrosanct by Republicans, has bit the dust time and again. With nary a peep from Republicans in Congress or most so-called conservatives across the land. But never more so than with the Justice Departments move to drop the charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to having lied to the FBI.

In both Trump's White House and Attorney General Bill Barr's Justice Department, lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation is apparently just fine -- if The Donald thinks you are a good guy. It ought not need be said that this isn't how things are supposed to work in the constitutional republic that is the United States of America, a nation of laws and not of men. Or so it once was.

A couple of questions for Trump-Flynn defenders leap to mind: First, and foremost, if Flynn did nothing wrong, then why did he feel the need to lie to federal investigators who asked him about his possible contacts with Russian agents? It's

almost enough to make one believe that he had something to hide, don't you think?

Second, why did he admit freely to a federal judge that he had lied?

One might be tempted to answer both questions with the same, simple, straightforward reply: Because he'd been caught, red-handed.

The U.S. attorney general is our nation's top law-enforcement officer. He works for the citizens, defending and upholding the Constitution. At least he is supposed to. Barr, who from the first has behaved as though he sees himself as Trump's personal lawyer, has been a disgrace since he assumed the post in February 2019. Some have suggested, for good and obvious reasons, that Barr has been the worst attorney general in our nation's history, eclipsing even John Mitchell, whose efforts to aid President Richard Nixon rather than to serve justice can seem tame by comparison.

Flynn, it's important to remember, had lied to incoming Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States, weaving a false tale that Pence then restated publicly. This compromised Flynn, in real time. And Barr thinks this just fine.

Wheres the outrage?
Far too late and way too slow. My three daughters in years 9, 7 and 5 will have missed nearly three months of face-to-face school. They are each struggling with the emotional impact of this. The impact and toll on each of them is enormous. - Alice My husband and I have four kids. Come May 26, we will be sending our youngest, and most vulnerable family member back into public life, while the rest of us continue to work and learn from home. I understand the logic, but this just seems wrong. - Kristina Another month of juggling working full-time and two home-schooling. Then school for less than three weeks and then two weeks' holidays. Ridiculous. Don't think there is an understanding of the pressure and adverse impact this is having on everyone's mental health. - Anonymous Way to early for all students to be back to school. It makes sense to have year 11 and year 12 students back, but not for all other year levels, as its still too early to say children are safe from pandemic. Look at NY, reported 75 plus children contracted rare diseases linked to COVID-19 and at least three are dead. Very concerning! - Connie

Sign up to our Coronavirus Update newsletter Get our Coronavirus Update newsletter for the day's crucial developments at a glance, the numbers you need to know and what our readers are saying. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald's newsletter here and The Age's here. Why not wait for a week of no new cases before opening things up? How many countries that have eased restrictions have seen an increase in cases? - Bernie I'm a prep teacher and I am concerned how we can implement social distancing with 20 five-year-olds in the classroom. Will we be able to send students home who are showing symptoms? If one of the students in my class has the virus, it will spread to them all. No matter how many times you teach them about covering their mouths and about staying away from each other, you turn around and see one student cough onto a group of six, another is sticking pencils in his mouth and another has the door handle in her mouth. - Anonymous As a teacher, we were told to plan for the whole of Term 2 being on-line. This change has done nothing but undermine everything we've worked so hard to do. Just when remote-learning was getting traction, they pull the rug out. Very disappointed. - Anonymous We should have stayed the distance and kept kids home for the term like planned. - Anonymous

Loading Not happy to let my kid back to school while Victoria still has more cases everyday. - Anonymous I think sending kids back to school is not a good idea, particularly when there have been cases overseas which have seen children develop terrible complications and die. We have been very lucky here and it's inevitable that this will lead to a spike and more death. I think it's sad that people see school as a baby-sitting service and can't stand to have their children at home. This all says a lot about our society and culture, we do not really value family and education. It's sad that the Premier caved to pressure from [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison. - Anonymous I think its a fair and well-planned idea that will see students and teachers back before the finish of term. We already have new cases every day, and getting this wrong could be disastrous. - Heathcliff Fantastic. The right decision. The research is clear. Schools pose a very, very low risk for transmission. - Anonymous

It balances concern about the more vulnerable cohorts (years 11-12, prep-grade one) with the concern about school overcrowding and social distancing. Well played. Now to split myself and my family in half, as I teach year 12s, but I have a year 8 student at home. - Anonymous Very happy with the plan and in line with the rest of the country. To expect parents to home-school and work full-time at the same time is completely unrealistic. Learning remotely is a very poor option, but understand why it was done at the end of term one when there were grave health concerns. However, that time has now passed as per the recent testing and extremely low, almost non-existent community transmission, so its time for us to start letting our kids get the proper education they deserve. - Anonymous Firstly, I agree with the staged reopening. But strongly disagree with having to wait two weeks. Why not get started 19 not 26 May? Surely teachers already had term plans since start of year  just go back to them. Yes theyll need tweaking but why a two-week delay? Get students back ASAP. Secondly, 2020 term two holidays should be reduced to one week. Start term three a week earlier. No one has travel plans anyway. It will allow catch-up on curriculum, and helps working parents. - Carolyn If schools cant even control nits, why are we sending kids back to school? - Chao I would have preferred to wait till term three. The government should have provided computers and sim cards for mobile hot-spotting to kids without devices. It's a shame about all the impatient, selfish "kids" out there who kept harassing Dan Andrews and [chief health officer] Brett Sutton. Good job Dan for holding out this long, but you should have held firm and waited till term three. Our school was one of the earliest COVID cases, and a student who was a "casual" contact caught it from a teacher. So it's rubbish that only close contacts are at risk. - Johno




By Baek Byung-yeul







SK hynix has forged a partnership with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), a top-ranked science and engineering university here, to collaborate on a research and development project using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve the chip-making process, the company said Tuesday.







Song Chang-rock, leader of the data transformation division at SK hynix, met online with Park Hyun-wook, vice president for research at KAIST, and KAIST electrical engineering professor Moon Jae-kyun to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU).







Under the MOU, SK hynix will provide data generated in the semiconductor-making process to KAIST in real time via cloud computing and KAIST will analyze the data utilizing its AI technology to help advance the development of chip manufacturing processes.







"To aid in the cooperation, SK hynix launched a cloud computing system at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, in March," the company said. "To enable KAIST to store data provided by us, we also set up security deposit places at the university's Daejeon campus and at the Seongnam-KAIST next-generation ICT research center."







SK hynix has been actively strengthening partnerships with the country's prestigious universities in an effort to further improve its capabilities in the semiconductor sector.







"This is the first instance of a semiconductor company establishing access to its database, which means cybersecurity is the most important thing," professor Moon said. "For the consistent development of semiconductor technology, we will also put our full efforts into research activities and security management."







Song, who leads the data transformation division at SK hynix, said the company expects the partnership will help accelerate the development of chip-making technologies.







"We have set up a system that can apply the latest AI algorithms developed by the university to the industrial field immediately," Song said in a statement. "We hope the partnership can help cultivate more AI professionals who can significantly advance the semiconductor industry."


May 12 : When the lockdown was announced, superstar Salman Khan along with a few family members and close industry buddies were at his Panvel farmhouse. They have spent the last seven weeks at the farm, coming up with interesting ways to keep themselves productive and create content for the audience. Recently, Salman Khan launched his first music single Pyaar Karona that gives out a message of love, help and caring in times of corona. Now, he's ready with his next single - a romantic ballad titled Tere Bina.

Tere Bina, another in-house production, stars the lovely Jacqueline Fernandez opposite Salman Khan and is touted to be the romantic anthem of the year. The song has been readied with limited resources, following all rules and regulations of the lockdown. The music video has been completely filmed at Salman's Panvel farmhouse and captures the picturesque locales in and around. The beautiful video also shows how Salman Khan needs no fancy equipment or locations to pump out a hit. In fact, the actor has done it all - from singing to acting and even directing the video, it's incredible how Salman has pulled off a stunner without a back up or a team.

Talking about Tere Bina, Salman shares, "About seven weeks ago, when we came to the farm, we didn't know we will be here under a lockdown. So we wanted to do things to keep ourselves busy. That's when we decided to do these songs. We launched Pyaar Karona and now, we are launching Tere Bina."

Watch the song on YouTube

The superstar also reveals he had the song with him for 'sometime'. "We had a friend at Galaxy when we were kids, his name was Ajju Bhatia who lives on the fourth floor. He keeps asking if I could sing the song for him. I keep on indulging and I have sung four songs for him. Tere Bina is one of those songs. It wasn't fitting into a film of mine so we thought let's release it now," he further added.

Jackie and Salman have always been considered a great pairing on screen. They raised temperatures in films like Kick and Race 3, and now in Tere Bina, their chemistry is electrifying. In fact, their camaraderie in a homemade video is infectious and we thought only movies could make that happen! The soft and melodious track, sung by Salman himself, also takes you through an emotional journey that talks about eternal love and longing. Jacqueline shares, "I didn't think we would be able to pull this off. We are used to shooting songs on a large stage with grand production costs. There are costumes, hair and makeup. All of a sudden, we find ourselves with a team of three people. For the first time, I was checking lighting and moving props around. It was a great experience and it taught us how to make the most of what we have," she said flaunting her infectious smile.

Both Salman and Jacqueline had no other help and they took up the challenge of doing everything themselves efficiently. From the make-up to hair and even arranging the set, it was all done by them with no help. While Jacqueline had a natural look, Salman aced the broody, deep look like no other! Salman revealed that the song has been shot at the Panvel farmhouse in presence of just three people - him, Jackie and the DOP. "It's been hot out here. We have taken four days to shoot the song. We shot between 5.30pm in the evening to 6.30-7pm. Everything has been shot inside the Panvel farmhouse," he asserts. While many might find it difficult, but this team of three have pulled off a stunner, with Tere Bina being a visual treat for the audience.

The song, sung and directed by Salman himself features Jacqueline Fernandez opposite him and is composed by his friend Ajay Bhatia, written by Shabbir Ahmed. The music video is now live on Salman Khan's YouTube channel on May 12.
When Gov. Greg Abbott officially closed school for the year, districts organized times for their teachers to return their classes to get what they need. For some of them, May 12 was their first time back in the building since before spring break.

Kendra Meyers, a business and marketing teacher at The Woodlands High School, is pretending her students are on summer break, and thats why the halls are so empty as she walks to her second-floor computer lab. The reality that they are all at home as the COVID-19 pandemic continues is a difficult one to swallow. This crisis has changed the way teachers are educating and adapting in ways they never planned.

Being a marketing teacher who predominantly has her students turn things in online, the transition to distance learning was a little easier in that way. But in other ways, things have gotten a lot more complicated.

Complicated communications

There is no face to face communications, she said. We were recording the lectures and then the students were watching it. Theres no way for them to ask questions during the middle of the lecture.

Encouragement from her school administration has been helping her deal with this new reality. Its not hard for her to teach her classes online, but it is hard not to be able to see her students.

Its hard not getting to interact with your kids or your co-workers, she said.

Usually, the last nine weeks of her class are spent on one big final project (a 10-page marketing plan for a business) that the students tackle in groups. For the first few weeks of remote learning, Meyers tried to get her students to start their projects but realized quickly that it just wasnt going to work.

The majority of her students have access to the internet from home, only about eight out of 160 of her students have been using the paper packets for their lessons. Turning her lessons about social media marketing into packets has been a challenge.

Grasping concepts

Her biggest concern now is that her students wont grasp all of the concepts they need to know or learn the material they need to learn while doing remote education.

Its not that weve dumbed down our courses but weve tried to pick the easier lessons out of it all because theyre online and its harder to ask questions and to communicate different lessons throughout it, she said.

Had Kristen Gartner, animation teacher and student council adviser at TWHS, known she wouldnt be returning to her class after spring break she would have done things differently. She would have had a different send-off for her students, and she would have prepared her room differently.

As the animation teacher, her class is based on technology, which she has had to adapt a bit with remote learning. Instead of the software they use in class that takes a lot of computer space, her students are using free software they can access online.

Philosophy of kindness

Her student council class has changed dramatically. Typically, student council focuses on the activities and needs of the school.

So, all of a sudden, I had to come up with things for them to do that still spread our philosophy of kindness and thinking outside of ourselves, through distance learning, she said.

To this end, one week she asked her students to focus on what they were grateful for, another week to share random acts of kindness. Her students stepped up to the challenge and made her proud.

I consider myself beyond spoiled being able to teach a class of creativity  animation  and then go into a class of student leaders that are far more mature than I ever was at this age, Gartner said.

The biggest challenge for her this year is not being able to interact with, and check up on, her students. After months of building a relationship with them in the class, its hard not seeing them each day. She misses being able to see the excitement on their faces when they were successful at creating something new.

Missing recognition

Meyers feels the same way. Before the pandemic canceled it, 12 of her students were headed to the 2020 DECA International Career Development Conference in Nashville.

Theyve worked for the last three or four years on projects and doing this, and now they cant compete, Meyers said. They dont get the end result or the recognition for all their hard work.

Gartner knows this is a tough time for everyone but shes holding out hope that some good can come from a bad situation. She sees how her students have persevered and found ways to succeed and believes that this crisis will help shape her students.

I think this generation of kids that have gone through this, theyre going to be so much stronger and so much more resilient than we ever could have taught them as teachers or parents, she said.

For herself, Gartner thinks this crisis will change her teaching style to be more in the moment, and even more excited than she already is.

Do you want to know personally what its done? Its made me realize its my purpose. This is my purpose, she said of becoming a teacher. Im not going to teach for that much longer, but wow, the years I have left, Im going to cherish them.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
A struggling musician who felt like she was at deaths door due to coronavirus has told how receiving daily meals through the Help The Hungry campaign has been a real lifeline.

Shay Khan, 40, said she couldnt walk, felt weak and dizzy and had to remember to breathe at the height of her battle.

The Hackney-based artist, who lives alone with her two cats Suki and Kiki, said she felt like she was at deaths door and was really alone and scared in her flat during the illness.

She has been receiving daily hot meals through Made In Hackney, one of the charities supplied by The Felix Project, the partner of our Help The Hungry appeal, which we launched to help those going hungry in the pandemic.

Ms Khan, who has arthritis and has suffered from long bouts of anaemia in the past, said: It started six weeks ago when I had some symptoms. I was having a Zoom drink with a friend and it got to a stage where I was so exhausted. I thought maybe I was just a bit hungover or was in a weird mood but then it continued and I felt exhausted the next night on another Zoom call.

Recommended How to support our campaign

Her condition deteriorated rapidly. I was having to consciously remember to breathe, she added. My lungs hurt. It was really scary. I was an alien for a while, I could barely speak. I wasnt sure if I would make it.

Ms Khan rang 111, who told her to wait it out at home and see if she got worse. But within days, she said she couldnt even walk. I felt weak and dizzy. I couldnt move at all, I was just on the sofa, trying to remember to breathe. I thought I might be having a heart attack or a stroke. My left side felt numb.

A friend called 999 on her behalf and medics came to her home. Ms Khan said: They checked my vitals and they were happy enough with me. My oxygen levels were OK and they said it might be that I was fatigued.

Shay Khan has been using Made In Hackney for about three weeks (Shay Khan)

They said sometimes people get another blow when they are almost over the virus and that is what probably happened to me. It felt like an exorcism. At the peak of her illness, Ms Khan went online to seek help. The artist, whose mother is in her seventies and is isolating so could not provide support, found out about Help The Hungry via Facebook, where she was connected with Made In Hackney.

For the past three weeks, the musician has been receiving daily meals via the organisation. The service has made her life so much easier, she said.

When I got sick I had no one I could ask for help, she said. I found the Covid-19 Hackney Facebook support group and I messaged Made In Hackney. They have really helped. I am on universal credit as I am meant to be launching my music career, but that has taken a back seat now.

I have been using Made In Hackney for about three weeks. I have a daily meal, like tofu curry. I cant cook at the moment, I am not strong enough, especially with my arthritis my body is just not in a good way. I am still exhausted. It has been a real lifeline to know I will be fed once a day.

Ms Khan is slowly on the mend but says her previous conditions have worsened. However, she said the deliveries had helped alleviate the feeling of loneliness.

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry across the country  find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.
Michael Hummel, Max Muir, & Caleb Hellinger have today been recognized in the media and marketing industry as they continuously innovate branding and lead generation as a service. Experts in working and understanding local businesses inside out, they have shared their reflections and advice in an interview

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Right now, to say we are in an uncharted territory would be an understatement With a pandemic and talk of a recession heading our way, now is a crucial time for any business. What's the one thing you need now more than ever, you ask? Attention & Authority!

At Modern Media, Michael Hummel, Max Muir, & Caleb Hellinger have combined their industry expertise and knowledge to build a company that's creating everlasting change for business owners. The founders have now turned their entire focus to the Media Advertising and Marketing sphere to help business owners, influencers, and entrepreneurs; showcase their brand through leveraging big media outlets such as ABC, FOX, NBC, Yahoo!, Reuters and many more.

Modern Media has built relationships in a vast network of successful entrepreneurs, investors, and experts and have been managing marketing campaigns for a variety of niches. Like brand advocacy, thought leadership is a great way to build consumer trust. All these skills have helped them with implementing the winning formula from individuals to small and big businesses through their newest venture "Modern Media".

Up until Modern Media, Michael, Max and Caleb have been consistently delivering unparalleled results for their clients and have been helping businesses with their digital marketing to increase revenue. However, every time they had set up a new campaign, they used to run into the same problem where their clients did not have enough authority amongst their target market, hence businesses struggled to build trust with their prospects. They wanted to fix this issue from the roots and this is how Modern Media was born.

The founders are experts and understand digital marketing inside out. They have changed the old fashioned campaigns where clients invest thousands of dollars on sub-standard ads and unqualified leads to uncertain social media platforms. Most social media users log into their accounts at least once per day to multiple times per day, giving brands the opportunity to connect with them every time they log in. Here at Modern Media, they keep your featured story professional and informative, keeping you top of mind so you're their first stop when they're ready to make a purchase.

Modern Media offers an easy and low-commitment way for business owners to get featured in the online media. Through their Media and PR package, they position their clients as the authority within their niche, then utilize various Digital Marketing and Lead Generation strategies to generate leads for them much more efficiently. No matter what products or services your business offers, Modern Media can help you sell those much more efficiently.

Adding the PR campaign prior to running a Direct Response Marketing Campaign gives much better results. It builds a lot of credibility for the brand, businesses feel great about them being mentioned in the media, their prospects feel a lot more confident purchasing from them, they overall attract a much better quality of prospects and notice a much better overall ROI.

Modern Media partners with businesses who are worthy to be featured in the media. The immediate effect of this is that brands get to leverage the "As Seen On" badge across all their branding, whether it is social media, websites or more. Having social proof drives 50% to 70% of purchasing decisions. When people notice a product, service or company endorsed by big media outlets, your brand value and credibility increases multiple folds.

Modern Media shares their media and marketing expertise to succeed in this industry: First, they interview their clients to get featured. Consequently, they build their reputation, positioning them as the authority and building trust within their target market - resulting in their client's being perceived as an expert in their industry. Once the media campaign is executed, they will further assist them in growing their business by leveraging the power of the internet and social media. Their Media and PR story can also be repurposed as different forms of content:

They can run paid marketing campaigns with the content of the story They can display the "As seen on" badge on all of your social media accounts and website for their clients They are helping businesses to not lose any potential clients due to lack of trust Businesses that do not have many reviews or have negative reviews Businesses that are new and do not have many case studies Brand new business and startups They are helping their clients stand out from their competition and cornering the market

It is their passion for the industry, in general, which is the driving force behind their success. They just found a huge gap, and for them, if there is a gap and a problem, there is an impact that could be created. Three authentic people that genuinely want to add value and help other people. They always make sure to produce great results and not overcharge clients because they want every business and business owner to have financial freedom, help their family, and grow both personally and professionally.

In a recent one-to-one interview, the founders reminisced on other past achievements, which helped build momentum towards the present day. Notably, one of the proudest was one, out of their many clients who had tremendous positive feedback on having their business increase their sales by 5x after the article was published.

In the same interview, Michael, Max and Caleb stated their intentions for the future. The primary goal is to help 20,000 reputable business owners who are not getting the attention they deserve, get featured and grow during these uncertain times rather than contract. They want to be in three to five years time, working with the biggest names in the industry at the same time showcasing the smaller brands in the marketplace.

Michael, Max and Caleb closed the interview by sharing their recommendation for anybody who wants to follow in their footsteps in some fashion, perhaps, taking the achievements even further. According to them, the key to their success is the fact that they can generate results consistently and effectively. The fact that they were able to deliver results for the right people speaks volumes and will continue to do so for many more years to come.

CONTACT:

Contact Name: Michael Hummel, Max Muir, Caleb Hellinger

Business Name: Modern Media

Address: 21060 Pacific City Circle Huntington Beach California 92648

Phone Number: 360-480-9489

Website Link: www.modernmedia.ai

Email: Send Email

SOURCE: Modern Media

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589168/Michael-Hummel-Shares-How-Modern-Media-is-Taking-Unknown-Businesses-Helping-Them-Thrive-Financially-During-After-The-COVID-19-Pandemic
Arunava Roy, a 57-year-old railway official, did not remember when he last carried his own food and blanket during a train journey. Tuesday was different.

Wearing a pair of gloves, a mask and a face shield, Roy, the deputy superintendent of a special train leaving Howrah, sounded a bit anxious while he also pointed out that he had to respond to the call of duty.

I am a bit apprehensive as I will be travelling with more than a thousand passengers. But this is my duty and I am happy that I am among the few officials boarding one of the first special passenger trains that started during the lockdown, he said.

On Tuesday, the Howrah station, built in 1854 and having 24 platforms, flagged off its first passenger train since March 22, the day the government prohibited the service as part of a strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The train left Howrah at 5:05pm with full capacity  1,028 passengers were on board  and is scheduled to reach New Delhi around 10 am on Wednesday..

The station  Indias oldest and busiest  slowly began coming back to life around 2pm on Tuesday. Federal guidelines have asked passengers to reach stations at least 90 minutes prior to the journey for thermal screening and security clearance.

The station complex, which usually registers an average footfall of one million passengers every day, fell silent within minutes of the train leaving for its destination. No stalls or booths on platforms were open, and vending activity was not permitted.

Among the passengers was 80-year-old PB Verma, who boarded the train with his wife, 75-year-old Prema Verma.

We came from Allahabad to stay with our son during Holi. We were supposed to return on April 24, but we got stuck. Our house in Allahabad is lying vacant as the tenant has left for his home. Today, I am relieved, but at the same time apprehensive that Covid-19 is spreading fast...I have to travel with other passengers, said Verma.

The train will stop at Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Junction (Mughal Sarai), Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Kanpur stations.

Instead of the usual chaotic scenes and the never-ending rush of passengers, commuters could be seen standing in queues, wearing masks. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the police could be seen constantly reminding people to maintain social distancing.

Only those who had confirmed tickets were allowed. First, we were screened with thermal guns. If anyone had above-normal temperature, he was checked by doctors. Face masks were made mandatory and every passenger had to use hand sanitiser before boarding the train, said Bunty Singh, a passenger who was heading for Mughal Sarai.

The constant buzz of announcements about arrival and departure of trains was missing. Instead, only four messages were repeated constantly: that the special train will leave from platform number 9; social distancing must be maintained; tickets have to be shown to officials; and the Arogya Setu app should be downloaded.

I have never seen Howrah station like this before. Usually, 455 local trains and around 130 mail and express trains arrive and depart every day. Out of this, around eight leave for Delhi. But now we have only one train leaving for Delhi. Today, another train (a Shramik Special that is ferrying migrant workers and others stuck due to the lockdown ) came from Vellore with around 1,100 stranded citizens who had gone there for treatment, said I Khan, divisional railway manager of Howrah.

The last train to have arrived at Howrah before the 51-day interruption was the 12937 Garbha Express on March 23. It left Gandhidham junction in Gujarat on March 21.

On Tuesday, there were people who tried to enter the station in the hope of boarding the train, but were turned back since authorities are allowing only those with confirmed tickets.

I needed to go back to Gaya. My employer and landlord have dumped me. I have no money left. I came to the station when I heard that a train was leaving, but then I came to know that only those who had confirmed tickets can board, said Deepak Kumar Singh, who came to Howrah with his pregnant wife and two children.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joydeep Thakur Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues. ...view detail
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Children suffering from sickness and diarrhea, coupled with a fever or history of exposure to coronavirus, should be suspected of being infected with COVID-19, recommends a new study published in Frontiers in Pediatrics.

The research also suggests that the gastrointestinal symptoms first suffered by some children hints at potential infection through the digestive tract, as the type of receptors in cells in the lungs targeted by the virus can also be found in the intestines.

"Most children are only mildly affected by COVID-19 and the few severe cases often have underlying health issues. It is easy to miss its diagnosis in the early stage, when a child has non-respiratory symptoms or suffers from another illness," says author of this study, Dr. Wenbin Li, who works at the Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China.

He continues, "Based on our experience of dealing with COVID-19, in regions where this virus is epidemic, children suffering from digestive tract symptoms, especially with fever and/or a history of exposure to this disease, should be suspected of being infected with this virus."

In this study, Li and his colleagues detail the clinical features of children admitted to hospital with non-respiratory symptoms, which were subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia and COVID-19.

"These children were seeking medical advice in the emergency department for unrelated problems, for example, one had a kidney stone, another a head trauma. All had pneumonia confirmed by chest CT scan before or soon after admission and then confirmed to have COVID-19. While their initial symptoms may have been unrelated, or their COVID-19 symptoms were initially mild or relatively hidden before their admission to hospital, importantly, 4 of the 5 cases had digestive tract symptoms as the first manifestation of this disease."

By highlighting these cases, Li hopes that doctors will use this information to quickly diagnose and isolate patients with similar symptoms, which will aid early treatment and reduce transmission.

The researchers also link the children's gastrointestinal symptoms, which have been recorded in adult patients, to an additional potential route of infection.

Li explains, "The gastro-intestinal symptoms experienced by these children may be related to the distribution of receptors and the transmission pathway associated with COVID-19 infection in humans. The virus infects people via the ACE2 receptor, which can be found in certain cells in the lungs as well as the intestines. This suggests that COVID-19 might infect patients not only through the respiratory tract in the form of air droplets, but also through the digestive tract by contact or fecal-oral transmission."

While COVID-19 tests can occasionally produce false positive readings, Li is certain all these five children were infected with the disease, but he cautions that more research is needed to confirm their findings.

"We report five cases of COVID-19 in children showing non-respiratory symptoms as the first manifestation after admission to hospital. The incidence and clinical features of similar cases needs further study in more patients."
Many prominent South African business executives are calling for the lockdown to end to save the economy and peoples lives.

The lockdown has already claimed many businesses, including Time Freight, Rebel Tech, Associated Media Publishing, and Caxton Magazines.

Many prominent South African companies have also applied for business rescue, including Edcon and Comair.

These companies were impacted by the strict lockdown regulations which made it difficult, or in some cases impossible, to operate.

Economist Mike Schussler said while the slightly-relaxed level 4 rules had some positive economic impact, it is not as significant as many people think.

He said the BankservAfrica point-of-sale data shows that the number of transactions increased by 20% between level 5 and level 4, but is still well below normal levels.

Schussler said the country is looking at a very desperate GDP situation, which is aggravated by the absence of sin-tax collections.

He highlighted that the economic impact of the lockdown will also lead to the loss of lives. It is not the economy versus lives, but lives versus lives, Schussler said.

Nick Hudson from Pandemic Data and Analytics (Panda) echoed Schussler views. He warned the COVID-19 lockdown may cause 29-times more deaths in the long run than the virus.

Businesses calling for urgent end to South Africas lockdown

Many business executives are now calling for the end of the lockdown, including Allan Gray CIO Andrew Lapping and Accelerate Cape Town CEO Ryan Ravens.

Speaking to CNBC Africa, Lapping said even with the lockdown it is not possible to stop the spread of the virus.

He said the spread will continue for the next few months until it hits a peak. This gives the government a choice:

They can let the people die from COVID-19.

They can let the same number of people die from COVID-19 and destroy the economy.

We are urging the government to look at the big picture and see just how many lives are lost through poverty and hardship which is caused by the lockdown, he said.

Ravens agreed with Lapping, saying the lockdown will not eradicate the virus and no country can maintain a lockdown for 18 months until there is a vaccine.

We already know we have to open up the economy while the virus is still at play, said Ravens.

He said the country is losing money daily with the extended lockdown, without any clear guidance on moving out of it.

Lapping added that the government has given no reason for the extended lockdown and what it wants to achieve.

The first lockdown, he said, was clearly aimed at preparing hospitals for the expected influx of COVID-19 cases. This is now complete.

There has subsequently been no reason given for carrying on the lockdown. No one knows what the reason is behind the governments thinking, he said.

Additionally, Ravens said social distancing is simply not possible in disadvantaged communities.

You have to question, why are we continuing to destroy the economy when we know that social distancing is already not happening, he said.

Interview with Andrew Lapping and Ryan Ravens
As Gov. Greg Abbott has relaxed many of the orders implemented by local municipalities in Texas in defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, people have also been visibly starting to relax their usage of facemasks.

In late March, Laredo gained national recognition as one of the toughest cities in the country and the world for creating an ordinance requiring all local residents to use facemasks while out in public or face legal fines of up to $1,000. The city is no longer allowed to issue fines for not wearing them in public, but many people are still wearing them.

We are still in a very serious pandemic, and this is the best prevention and it is the responsible action, City of Laredo Health Department Director Hector F. Gonzalez said.

As businesses continue to reopen slowly in phases, Dr. Victor Trevino, who is a medical adviser to the city, laid out how facemasks must always be used by employees and patrons in all businesses to make sure people are protected.

Everyone needs to wear facemasks including workers and patrons, except when they are going to be shaved, Trevino said.

Although the majority of Laredoans continue to use facemasks, some have opted to stop. That was the prevailing trend as citizens around the city recently discussed their mask habits with LMT.

The CDC recommendation is that only if you are sick or caring for those that are sick you should wear a mask, Laredoan Rick Mendez said. Facemasks restrict natural breathing as well as forcing you to breathe your expelled CO2, which is also a health hazard. People are allowing fear to lower the bodys vibration which effects your immune system. The mask represents a sign of submission to tyrants in office. But the sheep will follow instructions because they say, Its for your health.

Others, however, believe that not wearing them has to do with the fact that they are not effective at all.

I rarely used a facemask when it was mandatory and just carried one when I felt that I could be fined for it, because I never thought it was something responsible as many health experts at first stated to not use one and then backtracked saying that they could be helpful, local Gustavo Cisneros said.

If facemasks were so effective, then I doubt that there would be so many local healthcare workers getting sick from the virus as they always wear that protective gear but still get sick, and some have even died from such condition, he added.

While the majority of Laredoans continue to wear facemasks, many of those people take them off when they are alone such as when they are driving. Carlos J. Enriquez Jr. said he uses facemasks for 85% of the time, but 100% in public buildings and areas. Other people tend to have similar usages for their facemasks.

Not driving alone, but as soon as I get out of car, my mask is on, Laredoan Cathy Postell said.

Some people are going beyond using facemasks as they utilize additional protective gear to fight off the virus.

I not only wear masks but wear gloves too until we hear the virus is dead, local Amelia Rocky Martinez said.

Many continue to use masks for the safety of their families and others as long as there is no cure or vaccine in sight to treat COVID-19.

I do because I have little kids, and one of my daughters has a blood disease and it affects her immune system, said Angie Vallejo, another local citizen. I disliked the fact that they removed that order due to yesterday someone was coughing on the cart and wasnt wearing a facemask in Walmart, and another person was walking and was having trouble breathing. As things are opening back up, I think it wouldve been best if they kept the facemask to protect everyone. Hopefully this doesnt make the cases go up more.

Others continue to use the facemask as a preventive method against any legal action as well. While no fines can be issued, officers can still issue symbolic citations to stress the importance of wearing masks.

(I wear one) except when Im driving so I dont give to cops a motive to harass me and in respect for those who are in fear of the virus, Laredos Pedro Cortez said.

Finally, one local individual said her continued usage is related to the sacrifice that frontline workers continue to make.

As a mask maker and someone living with an immune-compromised person at home, thank you all so much for wearing your masks, Elizabeth Huber said. No matter how hot and uncomfortable I might get in my mask, I always think about the healthcare workers who have no choice but to wear a mask their entire 8-12 hour shift. If they can endure it for all that time, I can put up with it for the little time I have it on.
Ive heard of Muslim women in America being taunted for wearing hijabs, Ive heard of Jewish men being mocked for wearing yarmulkes and now Ive heard it all: A friend of mine was cursed by a passing stranger the other day for wearing a protective mask.

There is, of course, a rather nasty virus going around, and one way to lessen the chance of its spread, especially from you to someone else, is to cover your nose and mouth. Call it civic responsibility. Call it science.

But science is no match for tribalism in this dysfunctional country. Truth is whatever validates your prejudices, feeds your sense of grievance and fuels your antipathy toward the people youve decided are on some other side.

And protective masks, God help us, are tribal totems. With soul-crushing inevitably, these common-sense precautions morphed into controversial declarations of identity. Whats next? Band-Aids?
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The Conference of Catholic Churches in Burundi (CECAB) on Tuesday called on the people to respect the verdict of the ballot boxes as Burundians go to the polls on 20 May for the presidential, legislative and communal election, against a backdrop of political and security tensions
The state government informed the Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday that it has entered into a deal with 11 states, allowing migrants to port their ration cards issued by their respective states rather than getting a new ration card in Maharashtra. The government, however, said that it could not give rations to wandering tribals as they do not have ration cards.

The affidavit filed by the state was in response to a petition filed by social activist Vanita Chavan from Pune to provide rations to wandering tribals during the lockdown period. The state said the petition could not be fulfilled as there was a system in place for the distribution of food grain and oil under the ration system. To avail of the same, an individual has to have a ration card issued by the local ration office or any other ration office.

As the wandering tribals do not have ration cards, during the lockdown the state is providing cooked meals for migrants, homeless and needy at specified food camps in each district, which the tribals can benefit from, said assistant government pleader Bhupesh Samant.

Samant further informed the division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice AA Sayed that the state of Maharashtra was implementing the National Food Security Act diligently. The Act stipulates that anyone holding a valid ration card is eligible to get rations. Samant said that the state had entered into an agreement with 11 states which allowed people from these states living in Maharashtra to get rations based on ration cards issued to them by their respective states.

After hearing the submissions, the bench directed the petitioner to file her rejoinder to the affidavit of the state and posted the matter for hearing on May 18.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Coronavirus arrived in Ohio more than a month before the previous estimates, with six cases in five counties showing up in January, according to health officials.

The revelation becomes a new puzzling piece of data in the states response to the COVID-19 coronavirus as Gov. Mike DeWine steers Ohio out of shutdown. Meanwhile, the state will also begin random antibody sampling of 1,200 Ohioans to get a better idea of just how prevalent the virus has been in the state.

Cleveland.coms Seth Richardson discussed the new data and what it means for the states reopening with Spectrum News 1s Curtis Jackson in a Tuesday segment highlighting Capitol Letter  our daily Ohio politics and government newsletter.

You can watch the segment below. And you can subscribe to Capitol Letter here.

Read more cleveland.com politics coverage:

Poll: Majority of Ohioans say theyre comfortable visiting bars and restaurants with spacing requirements

DeWine: Ohio unlikely to be able to follow White House recommendation on coronavirus testing in nursing homes

Mapping Ohios 24,777 coronavirus cases, updates and trends

Gov. Mike DeWine delays announcement on re-opening daycare centers in Ohio
A 39-year-old former funding manager in Georgia faces federal charges that he robbed hundreds of retirees of their financial savings through a Ponzi scheme amid coronavirus scare.

Federal authorities said Christopher A. Parris introduced himself as a supplier of surgical masks amid the scramble for protective equipment during the first weeks of the outbreak. Within weeks, Parris made thousands and thousands of dollars on sales orders.

Except there had been no mask. Law enforcement officers say Parris is part of what they're calling a wave of fraud tied to the outbreak.

ALSO READ: Don't Fall For This Coronavirus Relief Scam; IRS Shares Tips on How to Protect Your Stimulus Check, Launches App Get My Payment

Ponzi scheme

Associated Press (AP) said Parris was on the pretrial launch for the alleged Ponzi scheme. He was arrested last month while attempting to secure an order for more than $750 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs for 125 million face masks.

"He was trying to sell something he didn't even have," said Jere Miles, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans office of Homeland Security Investigations.

Nationwide, investigators have tracked up more than fake purveyors of PPE. They have exposed an array of counterfeit or adulterated products, from COVID-19 test kits and cures to mask and cleaning products.

Steve Francis, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, says the government has tracked counterfeits flowing in the U.S. from 20 countries and on the market through websites.

"[People are popping up] who have never been in the business of securing equipment on a large scale," Francis told AP. Add Parris.

From his home outside Atlanta, he claimed to represent an agency, the Encore Health Group, that had three million surgical masks and personal protective equipment. At the time, there has been a mad scramble for resources that pitted kingdom and neighborhood governments against each other.

PPE scam

As mentioned in court files and interviews, his pitch reached an organization in Louisiana, that previously had done business with the state and helps government groups buy PPE. In late March, it contacted the VA, which was then handling a scarcity of protective devices.

The VA was suspicious of the price, about 15 times what it was paying amid the shortage, and alerted its inspector general, which delivered in Homeland Security. That led to a string that brought about Parris.

"He had no means of producing any PPE," Albence said. He added his business was just a scam.

But it had some takers. Federal authorities say a Parris-controlled bank account had more than $7.4 million. Most transactions came from unknown entities trying to shop for PPEs in March and April, court files wrote. He wired some of the cash to bills overseas, including more than $1.1 million to a Swiss organization's financial institution that authorities may be a shell corporation.

The U.S. government seized more than $3.2 million from his bills.

The move "is sufficiently similar to [ponzi scheme] in this example that it applies to his plan, intent, and modus operandi," according to a seek warrant affidavit.

Miles said a person running a Ponzi scheme "is a special kind of criminal, to begin with." He added a person "that will run a completely fraudulent scheme amid a pandemic "rises to a whole other level of special criminal."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Killing Eve Are You From Pinner? Season 3 Episode 5 Editors Rating 3 stars * * *  Previous Next  Photo: Des Willie/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle

When I was a child I noticed a stark difference in my mothers actions. When we were alone she was never physically affectionate. If anything she could be distant and cold, a question I was always trying to find an answer for. But when we were around her friends shed be the mother I always wanted. She was warm, gregarious, enveloping. But it was a performance, one whose ebbs and flows I studied with intensity to understand her. There is something about this schism that rooted itself in my mind. Vestiges of it continue to affect the story I tell myself about who my mother is and how she fits into my life. Im reminded of that by this weeks episode, Are You From Pinner?, in which Villanelle seeks answers for the long held questions shes had about her mother, her family, and what their history says about her present.

Written by Suzanne Heathcote and directed by Shannon Murphy, Are You From Pinner? searches for answers about Villanelles beginnings and what they say about who she is now. And while the answers found feel too pat, too final, Jodie Comers performance is a masterclass in portraying conflicted emotions.

In rural Russia, Villanelle walks down a sun-dappled stretch of road, blaring music from her headphones, heading to her familys home. Finding the door open, she tentatively enters the home surveying the detritus of familial life: photographs of her mother and stepfather punctuate the walls, food is being cooked on the stove, a television hums with life in the living room. Shes found by her very young half brother, Borka, who asks who she is in Russian. Villanelle pointedly replies in English even as other family members pour into the room wondering about this stranger. Its only when her brother Pyotr enters that the truth comes to light: shes Oksana, his sister they long thought dead of a fire in an orphanage.

While the older family members discuss this shock, Villanelle spends time with Borka, who is obsessed with Elton John. He asks her what food Elton would eat in Athens, Istanbul, and Vienna, as hes delighted by the scope of her life outside of their familial bond. When Villanelle hears her mother, Tatiana (Evgenia Dodina), is coming home, she rushes into a panic trying to escape. When Tatiana sees Villanelle she drops her bags on the floor and embraces her tearfully, whispering her birth name, Oksana. Comer maximizes Villanelles discomfort with such affection. Her body stiff, her face flickering through emotional states. She seems frozen in her mothers embrace, unsure of how to proceed or make sense of what shes experiencing.

As Villanelle spends more time with her family, playing card games, looking through scrapbooks at her childhood pictures (she did have a bulbous head as a baby, apparently), a picture rises to the surface of a family that lives by silence. Or at least they remain silent when it comes to Villanelles dead father. But this is exactly whose memory she seeks to dredge up. She asks about him when she notices the scrapbook is absent of any picture of him, only for her mother to change the subject.

Villanelle clearly carries two primary familial wounds: the loss of her father and her animosity and outright distrust toward her mother. Its understandable why she reserves her ire for her mother. Shes not only the person Villanelle holds responsible for putting her in the orphanage, shes all Villanelle has left. She cant reckon with who her father really was, only make him into a golden-hued figure who can do no wrong, even as the episodes closing argument suggests he was worried Villanelle would do something to the family. But theres something frustratingly basic about the psychology underlying this episode. Consider the exchange between Pyotr and Villanelle when she happens upon him beating the hell out of a stray couch, which he tells her he does so he doesnt beat up people. Villanelle, like the devil on his shoulder, suggests he just beat up people. Hell feel better.

Villanelle: You really dont remember dad?

Pyotr: What was he like?

Villanelle: Funny. Strong., Taught me how to fight. He was much better.

Pyotr: Than what?

Villanelle: She was mean.

Where this episode fails is properly unpacking statements such as this. We get a sense of how her mother is mean at the Harvest Festival that gathers together nearby towns, although directorial choices obfuscate the gravity of her cruelty, making it hard to make sense of Villanelles perspective at times.

The Harvest Festival is stitched together with food and games  target practice, balancing pails of water, carnival-like challenges made to trick the player, which Villanelle wins handily to the chagrin of the booth owner. She also excels at dung throwing, crushing the competition and vaulting toward first place, which comes with the prize of a standing fan. Pyotr and the family warmly cheer her on, but theres a sense that Tatiana is uncomfortable with this, a miniscule hesitation in her clapping and a strained look that crosses her face that speaks to what happens at the end of the episode. When Borka loses a baking competition at the festival, Tatiana sits down next to him and whispers to him solemnly. We cant hear what shes saying to him, its obscured by the jaunty music playing over the scene. Later, when the festival plays music and features an absurd dance troupe, Villanelle has to stop Borka from hitting himself. When she tries to figure out why hes doing that, he admits their mother told him he was stupid and embarassed the family for losing. Is this when Villanelle decides on the violence she will mete out later in the episode?

Back at home, Villanelle chops tomatoes only to turn around with what looks like blood under her eyes. She makes a strange croaking noise, trying to scare her mother. But Tatiana isnt amused.

Tatiana: Clean your face.

Villanelle: Can you do it?

Tatiana: You are not a child.

Villanelle: I want to feel like one. Please.

Theres something about this exchange that feels a bit on the nose, but it is also a starkly emotional moment where Villanelle reveals the truth about herself and her desires. Her mother cleans her face, gently and slowly. Villanelle leans into the grooves of her touch, Comers face lighting up with childlike awe and care. But the moment is quickly dashed when her mother says, I want you to leave the house. I dont want you to be here anymore.

Villanelle may think shes a part of this family but she isnt. Shes an interloper, trying to craft years of trust and connection in a few days. Youre not part of this family. You do not belong here, Tatiana says, to which Villanelle counters, What are you going to do? Take me to the orphanage? Villanelle isnt the child she once was. She has a power her mother isnt fully aware of. What follows is a tense exchange between these two women. You will not bring your darkness into this house, Tatiana says, standing firmly. You are the darkness. Youve always been the darkness, Villanelle replies in kind.

This scene illuminates as much as it obscures. Why does Tatiana believe Villanelle ruined her? How did this darkness manifest when she was a child, beyond burning down a floor or two of the orphanage? Theres something frustratingly rote about pinning Villanelles complexity on her simply always being bad, about her having an inner darkness even as a child that led her to be the assassin she is now. I think its more intriguing to consider the ways opportunities and tragedies shaped Villanelle, that she wasnt made this way but became who she is now.

Their conversation ends with Villanelle kneeling in front of her mother, unable to finish her sentences, eyes filled with tears, only to choke up saying, I think I need to kill you, Mama. They stare each other down, mother and daughter, mirroring each others animosity and emotional raggedness. We dont get to see Villanelle kill her mother. Shes only seen as a dead body strewn on the floor after Villanelle turns on the gas stove, spills gasoline on the floor, and leaves a flaming lighter nearby. To get Borka out of the house, Villanelle leaves him a letter encouraging him to go to the barn for a surprise. When he arrives, waking up Pyotr who sleeps in there, he finds an envelope bursting with cash and a note urging him to see Elton John as he so desires. The house explodes behind him, remaking his family and life in the process.

In many ways, this episode raises a lot of questions about the shows outlook on what drives a person to do bad things. Its psychology is too neat, its answers only half illuminating. But the episode is a great showcase for Comer, who demonstrates the complexity of emotion and thinking of her character even as the script comes up with simplistic answers as to why she is the way she is. The final image of Villanelle, which mirrors her entrance in some ways, is an emotional gut punch. Villanelle wears the 80s jumpsuit her mother altered for her. Shes bobbing her head, shaking more than dancing to the music in her seat on the train. When she opens her eyes, they are full of tears. Comers performance in this brief scene runs a gamut of emotions: sorrow, manic joy, confusion. Villanelles heartbroken, and Comer wrings this moment for all its worth. She overcomes the episodes issues to speak to the ways Villanelle narrativized her own childhood in a way thats more complex than the script itself. But beyond Comers tremendous performance, Are You From Pinner? proves to be a lackluster diversion, leaving me anxious to return to the wider world of Killing Eve next week.
Washington: The Trump administrations top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has warned the US does not yet have the coronavirus under control and that American states face "really serious" consequences if they reopen their economies too quickly.

Fauci and other top health officials were testifying before the Senate for the first major hearings since the pandemic began.

At the hearings former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also hit out at the Trump administration for boasting about its rollout of coronavirus testing, saying: "I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever."

In a contrast with President Donald Trump, who has urged governors to quickly end their stay-at-home orders, Fauci said it was vital for governors to follow the phased guidelines recommended by the White House.
Photo: @space2place

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry doesnt share the concern of the finger waggers on social media, who flooded social media last weekend with photos of busy beaches and parks.

I had the pleasure of getting outside a few times myself this weekend, and I did see lots of people, but you know what? The vast majority of them were in small groups and were sitting apart from each other, they were socializing and out in the sun, she said during Monday's press conference.

I think the vast majority of people are doing the right thing and are taking this to heart, and I thank them, Dr. Henry added. I think we can sometimes get caught up with the small minority of people who are maybe having too much fun.

Health Minister Adrian Dix echoed her sentiments, there was a significant effort by everyone to follow the rules.

Both Dix and Henry, however, urged the public to keep up the physical distance through the May Long weekend, after which the province is expected to enter phase two of its reopening plan, which will see some businesses start to reopen.

The Vancouver Park Board said rangers issued 1,880 warnings to park and beach-goers who were not in compliance of social distancing rules in that city.

Dr. Henry suggested those figures show the matter is already being well policed.

A landscape architecture firm in Vancouver also took to Twitter to provide drone footage of beaches in the city to show how physical distancing guidelines were generally being followed and to note out how a telephoto lens can distort how a scene is perceived.
They both began families after launching their careers on MTV together.

And Whitney Port has revealed her heart goes out to her former Hills co-star Kristin Cavallari, who is the middle of a painful divorce from Jay Cutler.

'I definitely feel for her,' Whitney, 35, told Us Weekly.

'I definitely feel for her': Whitney Port has revealed her heart goes out to her former Hills co-star Kristin Cavallari, who is the middle of a difficult divorce from Jay Cutler (pictured 2019 in Hollywood)

Whitney admitted she hadn't contacted Kristin since news of the divorce broke, since they hadn't remained close ever since their days on The Hills.

'I don't know that it would make much sense for me to reach out,' she admitted.

It's safe to say their careers definitely took them in different directions.

Whitney remained in Los Angeles and joined the cast of the recent Hills reboot, whereas Kristin decided not to return as she continued filming her own reality series, Very Cavallari, in Nashville.

Splitsville: Cavallari is divorcing Jay Cutler after seven years of marriage and three children together

While the pair haven't been in contact, Whitney has been in touch with her Hills co-stars.

Whitney periodically checks in with Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Ashley Wahler, and Jen Delgado, but is perhaps closest to Kaitlynn Carter, whom she has been speaking to on a daily basis.

'I talk to Kaitlynn all the time. We actually did a live [chat] together, checking in,' she explained.

Getting their foot in the door! Port interned at Teen Vogue with her Hills co-star, Lauren Conrad

Making their mark: Cavallari starred on The Hills after getting her MTV start on Laguna Beach

Meanwhile, the future of The Hills: New Beginnings remains in limbo.

Whitney said filming the next season is 'all very much in the air' as a result of the health crisis.

The first season of the Hills reboot aired last year, and saw many familiar faces return minus Kristen and Lauren Conrad.

Whitney rose to fame as a Teen Vogue intern on The Hills, followed by the star of her own spin-off, The City.

It was there she met her husband Tim Rosenman, a producer on The City.

The couple married in 2015 and share two-year-old son Sonny.
A stunning Instagram model who earns $60,000 per month from sharing raunchy snaps online has claimed that she lost multiple office jobs for being 'too pretty.'

Stephanie Villagomez, 29, who is known as @tiff08 on Instagram, revealed that she turned to adults-only subscription service, OnlyFans, to make an income after being forced to leave her previous waitressing role due to jealous colleagues.

Florida-based Villagomez, who is mom to an 11-year old daughter, Destiny, said things at one job got so bad that her boss was forced to let her go from the company because his wife became so jealous of the young girl's good looks.

Under fire: Instagram model and mother-of-one Stephanie Villagomez claims that she lost multiple jobs for being 'too pretty'

Jealousy: The 29-year-old Florida native recalled one incident when her boss was forced to fire her from her waitressing job because his wife was jealous of her looks

Mean: Villagomez says that she had to quit another waitressing job because the other staff members were so cruel to her

Moving on: The model now earns a staggering $60,000 a month from posting sexy photos of herself online

'I worked at a restaurant as a waitress and the co-workers hated me because the guys that would go and eat in there always requested me to help them out and I would always take home more tips than them,' the model explained.

'The girls working there wouldn't even want to talk to me because they were so mad that everyone liked me. They made it difficult for me to work because they were always gossiping about me or not cleaning up.'

Villagomez said she ended up quitting the job because she was 'tired of [her co-workers] always talking about me or doing things to make my job harder,' and instead took up another waitressing role at a different restaurant.

However, again her good looks backfired she says, revealing: 'The owner liked me so much, he moved me right away to being a server because they made so much more money in tips, but the other girls I worked with were mad about that as it takes a while to get that position, often months, and I got it in the first week of working there.

'When the other girls working there found out, they wouldn't even talk to me or help me with anything, it was so hard for me to learn the job because usually on your first day, your co-workers help you but in my case, they were so mean.'

Eventually, the stunner decided enough was enough and quit the job before taking up a new role working in a dispensary, providing customers with medical marijuana, which is legal in some parts of America.

Hiding: Villagomez says she would often go into work wearing baggy clothes in an attempt to cover up her curves so that other staff members wouldn't pay attention to her

Confident: After struggling to hold down a job, Villagomez was desperate to find another way to make money so she could support herself and her 11-year-old daughter

Helping hand: She was approached by a photographer who told her that she could make money by posting images of herself online

New role: Although she was nervous, Villagomez agreed to start shooting with the photographer, and she set up a premium Snapchat account where she posted the snaps

But again, Villagomez found her co-workers to be jealous of her striking looks, while many customers entering the store would specifically request her help, promoting further envy among her colleagues.

'I would even go to work without wearing makeup and in baggy clothes so I wouldn't catch people's attention but I guess it was my great customer service that they liked,' she said.

Finally, the model mom, was moved to another dispensary where things went from bad to worse as the owner's wife allegedly developed a dislike for her too.

Villagomez explained, 'The wife hated me because the husband (my boss) was extra friendly and would give me extra hours and pay me extra.

'The wife would make me do things I didn't have to do and would talk to me like I was stupid. One time she even mixed up the weed and my boss thought it was me. It got to the point where the wife told my boss, 'It's me or her' so he had to let me go.'

Thankfully, the young mom's luck turned around when she was contacted by a photographer who promised she could make a lot of money with her mega curves and gorgeous looks.

Raking it in! Villagomez quickly amassed a dedicated following, and began earning thousands of dollars from her fans, who would pay her for exclusive content

Upsetting: The model faced backlash from her family when she started posting the raunchy content online, however she insists that the work has turned her life around

Taking control: Villagomez says she loves being her own boss and making her own rules

Success: The mother-of-one now has an OnlyFans site, where her followers can pay her for her pictures, and she is currently earning a whopping $60,000 a month

'I was scared and nervous but willing to try because at that point, I had no job and needed to pay my rent and bills, Villagomez explained. 'So I started up a premium Snapchat and it went so well, I made $20,000 in one night.

'Then the photographer suggested we start an OnlyFans so I did and my life has completely changed because I'm now my own boss and set my own rules.'

However, the stunner admits she found it hard at first to flash the flesh, and faced backlash from her family, particularly her father, who questioned her new-found career.

Ultimately though, her new online job has turned her life around.

'This has helped in so many ways like being able to travel, take my daughter anywhere she wants to go, pay my bills on time and I'm almost a homeowner,' she said.

'I'm very proud of my work and how far I've come. I'm now at two million followers and I'm a small business owner.'
The Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata has penned down a note for entrepreneurs advising them to adapt and create to get over the COVID-19 pandemic.

He wrote about how the current crisis will drive businesses to find creative ways in order to survive.

Instagram/Ratan Tata

This crisis will force entrepreneurs to adapt and create, Tata wrote in an Instagram post.

Tata who had been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Manchester for his contribution to innovation and philanthropy spoke of the impact coronavirus pandemic will have in the future.

'In past difficult times, entrepreneurs have displayed farsightedness and creativity that could not have been believed to exist. These became the flagpoles of innovation and new technology today. I hope that the ability to find another way to build a product, run a company, run operations a better way, will emerge as an outcome of the current crisis," Tata wrote.

The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons reiterated that he is confident in the inventive nature and creativity of entrepreneurs to find ways to modify businesses amidst lockdown.

The billionaire is known for the faith he reposes on startups. He recently invested an undisclosed amount in an 18-year-old entrepreneur's pharma start-up Generic Aadhaar.



His other investments include various startups like Ola, Paytm, Snapdeal, CureFit, Urban Ladder and Avanti Finance.



The Tata Trust had earlier 500 crore to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the country which will be used to purchase personal protective equipment for the medical personnel, respiratory systems for treating increasing cases, purchase of testing kits, setting up modular treatment facilities.


A Pakistani man called Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Monday and warned him to stop showing Jihad related news or face the consequences. The man-made a Whatsapp call to intimidate and abused Sudhir Chaudhary. He also sent anti-India photos and messages later.

His call was followed by more threats on Whatsapp from other Pakistani numbers which have been reported to Delhi and Gautam Buddh Nagar police for necessary action. Several Pakistani twitter handles too tried to threaten Sudhir Chaudhary by posting hate messages.

While the Pakistani caller did not identify himself and refused to confirm if he was from Pakistani spy agency ISI, he claimed that he knew all the details related to Sudhir Chaudhary. During his abusive rant, the man said that just like the FIR filed in Kerala over the DNA show exposing Zameen Jihad in Jammu and Kashmir, more such complaints would be lodged in others places to harass the Zee News Editor-in-Chief.

The man claimed that it was his team which was behind the Kerala FIR. He also shared a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to claim that Indian media was being targeted from within the he country too.

He threatened that Zee News reporting against Jihad would not stop the extremists as even the United States of America was now talking to the Taliban and seeking Pakistan's help in ending the war in Afghanistan.


How many "nature is returning to its natural state" and "it's almost like we were the virus" memes have we seen floating around lately? Enough, surely.

The problem is that memes aside, nature's "return to natural" state seems to be a beautiful thing, like bears running around Yosemite or whatever, while humanity's natural state seems to be garbage. It's literal garbage too -- people just left over 13,000 pounds of it on Cocoa Beach in Florida. Global pandemic or not, the normal thing -- the normal thing! -- to do is pack your trash out after a trip to the beach. Despite what they might have you believe, seagulls can't eat every dropped Dorito. (That's Phil's job. Give them to him.)

That's after the issues with people going to the beach with no regard for safety in the first place. Miami Police issued thousands of specific warnings to people to be safe at the beach, and people weren't complying. We know it was thousands because apparently Miami PD counted.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled House votes for Friday on a new coronavirus response package worth more than $3trn, as tensions with progressives continue to simmer over whether the legislation goes far enough.

The package unveiled on Tuesday, which Ms Pelosi has variably dubbed "CARES 2" as a follow-up to the $2.2trn so-called CARES Act passed in March but is also being touted as the "Heroes Act," has virtually no chance of being signed into law with the Republican majority in the Senate and the Trump administration both opposing it.

Still, Ms Pelosi is moving forward with the 1,800-page proposal that includes billions of dollars for state and local governments, help for people struggling with rent and mortgage payments, expanded mail-in voting for the elections this November, and an infrastructure package that includes a plan to expand broadband internet access.

"Members are advised that first votes are expected as early as 10:00 a.m. on Friday," states an advisory from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent around to lawmakers on Tuesday.

"Members are further advised that due to the accommodations being made for the health fo all Members and staff and to limit the number of people on the House Floor, last votes of the day are expected to occur into the evening," the message from Mr Hoyer reads.

The House is also expected to vote on a rule change to make it easier for the chamber to work remotely.

While the Democratic bill released on Tuesday includes progressive priorities such as expanded mail-in voting and an increase in food stamp benefits, it does not incorporate a $600bn plan from Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington that would use federal money to guarantee struggling businesses' payroll expenses.

Ms Jayapal's "Paycheck Guarantee" proposal has earned the endorsement of more than 60 House Democrats, as well as the AFL-CIO, former Clinton Labour Secretary Robert Reich, and renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz.

But moderate Democrats quashed that proposal and opted for extending the so-called Employee Retention Tax Credit, a $200bn programme.

Democrats did not dismiss Ms Jayapal's proposal out of hand, however. In a virtual pen-and-pad on Tuesday, Mr Hoyer told reporters the congresswoman's bill "has great merit to it" and indicated it could wend its way into future legislation.

While freshman New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been the only Democrat to vote against any of the previous four coronavirus bills that, together, have cost the federal government north of $2.7trn, progressive have been far from happy with the final products.

Several progressive outside groups actively lobbied for CPC members to reject the $2.2trn CARES Act and a $484bn "interim" bill passed in April, arguing that neither went far enough to advance their agenda.

House Republicans uniformly oppose the new $3trn bill released on Tuesday, with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise branding it a "partisan spending bill full of liberal wish list items that [Ms Pelosi] wrote completely in secret."

Republicans have mostly declined for the time being to take part in negotiations on the next bill, adopting a wait-and-see approach as many of the funds from previous legislation is still being rolled out.
As per sources, China is eyeing Bhutan as a part of its expansionist policy. It is being seen as an attempt to pose a threat to the Chicken's Neck corridor which is a narrow passage to the northeastern states. Sources informed Republic TV that there has been a concerted attempt to create a pro-China sentiment in Bhutan by brainwashing the youth. This comes in the wake of Chinese military helicopters flying close to the border between India and China in eastern Ladakh after a clash between soldiers from both sides took place on two occasions. Thereafter, a fleet of Su-30 fighters of the Indian Air Force carried out sorties in the area.

According to reports, Indian and Chinese Army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh on May 5. 4 days later, a face-off between the two sides was witnessed near Naku La Pass in Sikkim. Earlier in 2017, India and China were engaged in a 73-day standoff in the Doklam tri-junction between India, China, and Bhutan which triggered fears of an escalation. However, both PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged diplomatically to end the standoff.

Read: Trump Walks Out Of Press Brief After Engaging In 'China' Showdown With Asian-origin Scribe

'China has been acting in a highly irrational manner'

Speaking exclusively to Republic TV on this issue, Major General (retd.) GD Bakshi contended that China had been behaving in a highly irrational manner since January 2020. He cited the military exercises carried out by China. According to him, this was a defensive reaction to the fact that the novel coronavirus emerged from China.

Major General (retd.) GD Bakshi stated, "Since January this year, China has been acting in a highly irrational manner. In January itself, it had started major exercises in the South China Sea. Then the PLA Air Force and PLA Navy carried out exercises off the coast of Taiwan in which they paraded their aircraft carrier battle group with two destroyers, two brigades, and a supply ship. You are aware that they sank a boat of the Vietnamese in the South China Sea. So, they have been acting extremely aggressive in a defensive reaction to the fact that the coronavirus has spread from there."

Read: Donald Trump Says He Is 'not Interested' In Renegotiating US-China 'Phase 1' Deal

Meanwhile, the Indian Army observed that incidents of aggressive behaviour do occur on the Line of Actual Control. However, it noted that such incidents are resolved after local level dialogue as per established protocols. It rejected the speculation pertaining to a face-off between Indian and Chinese Army personnel.

Read the Indian Army statement here:

Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on LAC. Patrols disengage after local level interaction and dialogue. Temporary and short duration faceoffs occur as boundary not resolved. Troops resolve mutually as per established protocols: Indian Army  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

Read: Subramanian Swamy Slams Congress As Adhir Ranjan Deletes 'harsh Abusive' Tweet About China

This is to clarify that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake. There is no build up of armed troops in the area: Indian Army https://t.co/tEkSfho5R4  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

Read: China Reports 16 New Covid Cases As Fresh Wuhan Cluster Emerges Amid Fears Of Second Wave
This, the Unions noted, would prevent the recurrence of mass infection in companies operating in the industrial cum harbour city.

The unions called for the mass testing in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after 533 out of 1,300 workers of a well-known international fish processing company located in the Tema Fishing harbour enclave tested positive to COVID-19.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a state address on Sunday night disclosed that it is important to stress that 533 out of the 921 new cases recorded between last Wednesday and Thursday are factory workers from a fish processing factory located in Tema. All 533 persons were infected by one person.

Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the GFL, said companies must urgently embark on such testing to avoid having a large number of their workers contracting the virus unknowingly.

Mr Koomson said the Ministry of Health must initiate such testing as most of the companies were not in a position logistically to carry out such a test.

He added that it was unfortunate that his outfit's call for a total lockdown did not materialize adding that such a measure would have prevented such mass infections in one company.

The leadership of the TDCL on its part, said they were devastated to hear that 533 workers of the said company tested positive to the virus, indicating that mass testing in companies would help nib the spread in the bud.

Mr Ebenezer Kodwo-Taylor and Mr Emmanuel Addo-Kumi, Chairman and Secretary for the Tema District Council of Labour respectively, appealed to the government to conduct massive test in the industries in the Tema Metropolis and its environs.

They reminded companies within the hub to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 protocols adding that the Ghana Employers Association must also ensure that their members followed the procedures.

Again, Inspectorate Department of Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations must ensure that industries within the enclave follow the COVID-19 protocols to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Mr Frank Asante, Public Relations Officer, Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), on his part, said the Metropolitan Chief Executive was engaging leadership of companies on the strict adherence on COVID-19 protocols in their premises.

Mr Asante also appealed to companies to review some of their employees' time management system such as the clocking timers and finger print scanners which had the potential of spreading the virus quickly among staff.

---GNA
Urmila Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, granddaughter of Vizianagarams last crowned king Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapathi Raju, had proposed a statue of her father Anand Gajapathi Raju, hoping to inaugurate it on his birthday on July 17.

However, Urmila is yet to receive the required permissions from the Municipal Corporation authorities. She is hopeful to install the statue at least by the next year, though.

Urmila, who was recently appointed as the board member of the Maharaja Alak Narayana Society of Arts and Science (MANSAS) Trust by the Andhra Pradesh Government, is the daughter of Sudha and Anand Gajapathi Raju.

Anand had married Sudha after divorcing his first wife Uma. Incidentally, Umas daughter Sanchaita has been made the chairperson of the above mentioned trust!

Reportedly, the step siblings are not on the best of terms. Very little is known about Urmila and her mother as they stay away from publicity. She is currently pursuing graduation at Loughborough University in the UK. Soon after her graduation, she hopes to relocate to India, where she plans to deep-dive into social work full-time.

Recently, Urmila visited Vizag to take oath as the board member of MANSAS Trust as well as the chairperson of Simhachalam Devasthanam on a rotation basis  an event that was, however, postponed for some reason.

In an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle, she talks about her interests in continuing her familys legacy of social work and to address the key issues in rural areas. She refuses to talk about the family disputes.

Excerpts from the interview:

Had you anticipated on becoming a board member of the MANSAS Trust?

Honestly, being the daughter of Anand Gajapathi Raju, who was the MANSAS Trust founder, PVG Rajus eldest son and former chairman, I always believed its my duty and right to be a part of the trust and Simhachalam Devasthanam.

Im incredibly proud of the social service my grandfather initiated by setting up the trust for creating and managing educational institutions. My father carried forward his efforts by establishing the MVGR College of Engineering at Chintalavalasa in Vizianagaram.

To make that happen, my dad had taken a loan against his personal properties. He also made numerous other initiatives and dedicated himself towards the development of society. I hope to continue that legacy.

My father, always upheld the integrity of the MANSAS Trust and Simhachalam Devasthanam. He opposed the proposed digging of a tunnel through the mountain where the Simhachalam temple is located on because religious leaders stated that the feet of Lord Varaha Narsimha Swamy are located underground.

He ensured transparency and sincerity in every project related to the trust and Simhachalam Devasthanam, and I plan to do the same.

How do you view the state governments decision on appointing Ms Sanchita Gajapathi Raju as chairperson of the trust?

I believe in the Government of AP, and I hope they will look into the matter of appointing the right chairperson.

The former chairman, your uncle, Ashok Gajapathi Raju went to court against this appointment. Are you also planning to challenge the government order?

Definitely, I will be a part of it once the case gets impleaded after the lockdown is lifted. I strongly feel Sanchaita is not the right person for that position.

What are your future plans? Does joining the state political affairs like your family members do feature anywhere in your plans?

I have been involved in social work since my school days, and I was awarded for the best social service two years in a row. I also make yearly donations to old age homes and orphanages.

My aim is to continue the social work set forth by my grandfather and my father. After my graduation, I plan on addressing the key issues faced in rural areas in and around Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam.

The ongoing lockdown situation is unprecedented, and we find ourselves stuck in difficult times. We have donated monthly supplies and masks to households.

As for politics, if I were to enter it later on, it would only be to continue with the social work.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 01:15:06|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Finland has passed 6,000, said the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Tuesday.

According to THL, as of Tuesday afternoon, Finland has confirmed 6,003 infections with COVID-19, of which the number of new confirmed cases was 19. The death toll reached 275, four more than on the previous day. According to a preliminary estimate, at least 4,300 people have recovered from the disease.

A total of 126,500 people have been tested in Finland so far. In relation to Finland's population, it suggests that the prevalence of 108 cases per 100,000 people. As the peak of the pandemic in the country has likely passed with declined numbers both in the confirmed cases and in hospitalized patients, the government has decided to gradually lift the anti-pandemic restrictions.

Primary and lower secondary schools in Finland will reopen on Thursday this week, after nearly two months of closure to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Nevertheless, Finnish Education Minister Li Andersson said on Tuesday that schools will be re-closed once infections appear in a school.

Besides, with the return of air traffic to normal in the near future, both the Finnish airports' authority Finavia and the national carrier Finnair announced mask rule for their employees and passengers on Tuesday.

Finavia requires all employees working with the public to wear face masks, and strongly recommends passengers use face masks while passing through airports. Finnair requires its staff and passengers to wear face masks compulsorily to protect from droplet infections. Enditem
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain ordered a two-week quarantine for all travellers arriving from abroad from this Friday in a bid to curb the coronavirus as the country emerges from a national lockdown, a move that will further harm a tourist industry already reeling from the epidemic.

Health ministry data showed the daily death toll rising to 176 on Tuesday from Mondays seven-week low of 123 and bringing the total to 26,920. But the number of diagnosed cases rose by just 594 overnight to 228,030 - its smallest daily rise in about two months.

Health emergency coordinator Fernando Simon said now that Spain had managed to bring the outbreak under control and was relaxing its internal restrictions on movements, it was time to control people coming from other countries.

In many countries globally transmission will continue, the greatest risk will be the importation of cases. We would be back in the situation we had in February. We have to do prevention efforts until other countries reach the level of control that we have achieved, he said.

On official order published on Tuesday said incoming travellers would have to remain locked in and will only be allowed to go out for grocery shopping, to visit health centres, or in case of situation of need.

Prior to the new rules, arriving travellers had to abide by the general restrictions, which kept people largely confined to their homes.

The quarantine will be enforced for all people coming to Spain between May 15 and at least May 24, when the state of emergency is due to end.

The order can be extended jointly with possible state of emergency extensions. Spain, which is just emerging from one of Europes strictest coronavirus lockdowns, has so far extended its restrictions four times since mid-March.

An extension of the order would severely hurt Spains tourism industry which represents about 12% of gross domestic product.

About 80 million tourists visit every year, enjoying a range of attractions from beach holidays on coastal resorts to exploring historic cities such as Toledo and Granada.

A quarantine maintained into the summer will have dire consequences on Spanish tourism. Shares of companies related to the Spanish tourism industry plummeted on Tuesday morning.

Shares of International Consolidated Airlines, which owns Iberia airline, were down 2.6%, in morning trading, while shares of Melia Hotels, whose largest market is Spain, were down 4.7%. Airlines booking tech company Amadeus was falling 2.6%.

The measures applies to all travellers, including Spanish citizens returning to the country. Only truck drivers, airplane and ship crews, cross-border workers and health staff who are entering Spain to work are exempt from the quarantine.

The government had imposed restrictions on travelling from outside the open-border Schengen Area which includes most of the European Union countries and other European states such as Norway.

Prior to the new rules, travellers had to abide by the general restrictions, which kept people largely confined to their homes.

Spain has now started phasing out restrictions in the past 10 days with a view to a return to normality by the end of June, with about half of the population moving into the so-called Phase 1 on Monday when cafes and bars were allowed to reopen with capacity restrictions.

The move did not go smoothly everywhere, however, as small crowds formed on Monday outside some bars, from Seville in the south to Santander in the north, in an infringement of social distancing rules, forcing police to shut down the establishments in some cases.
Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 (11:14 am) - Score 1,411

The European Commission (EC) has published a dedicated handbook for rural policy makers and broadband project managers who plan to roll-out new ISP networks into remote areas, which uses examples from the UK (e.g. B4RN etc.) and other EU countries to show how the job can be done both effectively and efficiently.

The broadband handbook (PDF) itself is over 22MB (MegaBytes) in size and 46 pages long. The overview it provides is a fairly general one, although it should offer a useful starting off point for anybody who might be considering their own network. In fact its definitely one of the more readable examples of such a guide.

The first part of the handbook makes the case for rural and remote area broadband investment and outlines the technological solutions, the European broadband targets and progress, and sources of EU funding and support for broadband (it should be mentioned that funding for related projects has also come from communities, the private sector and other public funding sources etc.).

Finally, the second part presents examples of good practices that rural and remote communities have used to solve the issue of broadband connectivity. It outlines the solutions implemented, taking into account social, territorial and economic aspects. It also addresses lessons learned from unsuccessful cases and defines a simple framework covering the key issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 18:11:51|Editor: huaxia

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Security force members stand guard at the site of an attack in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, May 12, 2020. Four civilians and an assailant were killed and five civilians were wounded after two explosions rocked a maternity hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in western part of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed. (Xinhua/Rahmatullah Alizadah)

KABUL, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Four civilians and an assailant were killed and five civilians were wounded after two explosions rocked a maternity hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in western part of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed.

"Three armed assailants stormed the hospital building roughly at 10:00 a.m. (local time). One assailant was shot and killed by Crisis Response Unit (CRU) of Afghan National Police. The CRU is clearing the building during an ongoing counter-attack," the ministry said in a statement.

Sporadic firing still could be heard in the area as of Tuesday afternoon in the populated neighborhood.

The killed included two women and two children.

More than 80 patients and medical personnel were rescued from the building shortly after the CRU forces arrive in the area, the statement added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Over the past months, the capital city with a population of nearly five million has been hit by a series of terror attacks by Taliban insurgents.
The BJP Jharkhand unit has



provided food and ration to 22,69,815 needy people in the state since the lockdown was imposed, a senior party leader claimed on Tuesday.

BJP Jharkhand unit vice president Pradeep Verma said till Monday a total of 22,69,815 people were provided food and ration in the state under "Modi Aahaar and Modi Ration" scheme by the party.

He said 54,580 BJP workers reached out and served the needy people during the lockdown period.

The womens wing of the party had made 13.4 lakh masks, which were distributed among the poor, he claimed, adding that 2.35 lakh soap pieces and sanitizer bottles were also distributed among the people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DALEVILLE  The Botetourt County Planning Commission endorsed a plan Monday for wind turbines atop North Mountain that could be as tall as a 50-story skyscraper.

However, the proposed renewable energy project faced more opposition and questions than it did four years ago, when smaller turbines were approved but never built.

A final decision rests with the Board of Supervisors, which could act as soon as its May 26 meeting.

We need to send it on  and let the board take a hard look at it, commission member Brandon Nicely said.

The commission recommended that the supervisors change a county ordinance that had limited the height of the turbines to 550 feet, increasing the maximum height to 680 feet.

On a second unanimous vote, the commission then recommended approval of an amended special exception permit for Apex Clean Energy, a Charlottesville company that plans to build what would be the first on-shore wind farm in Virginia.

When plans were first approved for the Rocky Forge wind farm in 2016, Apex said it would build up to 25 turbines at a maximum height of 550 feet. But the site sat largely untouched as Apex searched for a buyer of the 75 megawatts of electricity to be produced from winds sweeping over the ridge.

Last year, Dominion Energy agreed to purchase the power, which it will then sell to the state of Virginia as part of a green energy package. By then, technology had advanced to allow Apex to build fewer  but taller  turbines to meet its energy production goals.

Apex then asked the county to change its ordinance and amend the permit, restarting the countys approval process and drawing comments such as the ones made Monday by Tenney Mudge of Rockbridge County.

The making of a turbine is not at all green, she said, referring to how the giant turbines mar scenic views, make noise and harm wildlife. All the negative impact of the turbines just got a whole lot worse with the 680-foot height.

Of 19 people who spoke either in person or by phone at the remote meeting, 11 were opposed to the higher turbines. The county also has received written comments from 23 people opposed to changing the ordinance, and 16 in support. Fifty-five people opposed and 43 supported a new permit for Apex.

To comply with social distancing brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, members of the planning commission and county staff were located in separate rooms of the Greenfield Education and Training Center. Video of the proceedings was transmitted to the centers auditorium, where members of the public watched and made comments.

According to an independent review by a consultant, the increased turbine height is consistent with industry trends. However, the study by ANTARES Group Inc. found that the 550-foot height was not obsolete technology; more than half of the wind turbine applications filed with the Federal Aviation Administration for the first part of 2019 were for heights less than 500 feet.

Planning director Nicole Pendleton told the commission that Apex plans to build a maximum of 22 turbines, at no higher than 680 feet.

But in its application, Apex presented multiple variables, with the number of turbines reduced  from 22 to 13  as their heights were increased. Its tough to nail it down at this point, project manager Charlie Johnson said when asked by the planning commission for an exact count.

Botetourt Countys planning staff expressed concerns about the lack of specificity of Apex plans. But it proposed to the commission a draft ordinance with Apexs request of a maximum height of 680 feet  without endorsing the concept.

But there was support from some of the speakers Monday.

You have heard and will hear a lot of negative propaganda, said Matt Cooper of Fincastle, who called the wind farm a very positive step for Botetourt County.

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CANTON, Mass., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of National Nurses Week, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the "International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife," and the unprecedented challenges facing nurses and healthcare professionals, the Massachusetts Nurses Association has issued "A Nurse's Pledge for the 21st Century."

The pledge  written by MNA nurses and recited in a newly release video  is meant to modernize the Nightingale Pledge, created in the late 19th century in honor of Florence Nightingale. She is considered the founder of modern nursing and her birthdate of May 12 marks the last day of National Nurses Week each year. For decades, nurses have recited the statement of ethics and principles named after Nightingale when they enter the profession.

"With 'A Nurse's Pledge for the 21st Century,' we honor our past and fight for the future of safe and ethical patient care," said RN and MNA President Donna Kelly-Williams. "The pitfalls of corporate healthcare and the failure to prepare for a global health crisis has placed patients, nurses and healthcare professionals at greater risk than ever before. This extraordinary moment calls for a new ethical foundation for our profession."

Watch and share a video of MNA nurses reciting the pledge: https://youtu.be/KmELegy2B4k

"A Nurse's Pledge for the 21st Century"

In fellowship with the Nurses here joined, with respect and gratitude for those who have served before me, and in faith with those who will follow, I make these promises:

I commit to Nursing as a healing profession. I will use the Science and Art of Nursing to improve functioning, alleviate suffering, and promote wholeness and integrity of being, whether cure is anticipated or not.

I will honor the Nurse-Patient relationship as the locus for healing, and enter into it unreservedly while maintaining boundaries that respect privacy and foster trust. I will maintain the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity and veracity, guarding the patient's right to autonomy and seeking justice for all in my care. I claim the same duties and rights for myself as a condition of our common humanity.

I will collaborate with all team members to deliver the highest quality care possible, assuming and delegating tasks responsibly, observing, assessing, and evaluating the patient's response in order to guide and revise the plan of care.

I will use technology mindfully, never forgetting that I am the primary and ultimate vehicle for assuring the patient's safety.

I will protect Planet Earth as our home, knowing that fresh air, clean water, sunlight, nutritious food and companionship are the birthright of all and essential to the maintenance of our collective and individual health.

I will work for social justice and equity, opposing systems that support disparities and structural inequalities, and seeking to identify and eliminate my own implicit biases.

I will endeavor to mentor even as I continue to learn, to grow, and to share in the advancement of the profession I love.

And I will hold hope for the future. Above all I will heed the admonition of our Sister, Florence Nightingale, "Live life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift  there is nothing small about it."

The original version of the pledge can be found at https://nursing.vanderbilt.edu/news/florence-nightingale-pledge.

MNA National Nurses Week PSA Videos

At the beginning of National Nurses Week, nurses on the front lines of the pandemic in every region of the Commonwealth launched a video public service announcement campaign to thank the public for their support and to urge the continuation of social distancing during this unprecedented public health crisis.

Links to these videos can be found at www.massnurses.org/NursesWeekPSA or on the MNA YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/35IYgmr.

MNA Retirees for Safe PPE

Retired nurses and healthcare professionals represented by the MNA released a video message during National Nurses Week calling for improved personal protection equipment (PPE) to keep caregivers safe on the front lines of the pandemic and safeguard their families and communities from the spread of COVID-19.

More information: www.massnurses.org/RetireesforPPE.

See MNA COVID-19 information, including letters to Gov. Baker, position statements, videos and more at www.massnurses.org/COVID-19.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

https://www.massnurses.org/


Spanish Man Dies After Being Stung by Murder Hornet

A Spanish man reportedly died after an encounter with a giant Asian hornet near his home in northern Spain on May 10.

The 54-year-old man from Villestro in the Spanish region of Galicia was apparently stung on the eyebrow by a murder hornet.

The man was stung while tending a wasps nest that was near to a beehive he owned, according to the report. Emergency services were called to the mans home after a fellow beekeeper found him lying on the floor next to his beehive. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

This is the first report of someone being fatally stung by the invasive species in Spain. The killer bee recently made headlines after it was spotted for the first time in the United States, according to Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).

Some experts say that the man was stung by a Vespa Velutina, which is the giant Asian hornets little brother and has been in Spain since 2010, TheOlivePress reported.

The two species are very different, both is size and potency, deputy director at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) Joan Pino told the outlet.

These hornets do not pose a direct threat to humans and any deaths caused by the vespa velutina has to be treated with suspicion of underlying conditions or allergies.

A size comparison of the Asian giant hornet and several other insects. (Courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture)

Giant Asian Hornet

The giant Asian hornet is the worlds largest species of hornet, which can wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours.

Asian giant hornetsalso known as murder hornets, the Giant Sparrow Bee, and the yak killermeasure up to 2 inches long and prey on large insects, such as praying mantises, wasps, other hornets, and bees.

They are so lethal that just one can kill 40 European honey bees in one minute, while a small group of them can decimate an entire bee colony, decapitating them and taking the hive as their own and using the bodies of the dead bees to feed their young.

Their stingers are also long and strong enough to puncture beekeeping suits, and as a result, can be deadly to humans, as a group of them can expose victims to doses of toxic venom equivalent to that of a venomous snake. The venom can destroy red blood cells, resulting in kidney failure and eventual death.

The stinger of a dead Asian giant hornet is photographed in a lab in Olympia, Wash., on Dec. 30, 2019. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture/AP)

Over a three-month period in 2013, Asian giant hornets killed 42 people and injured 1,675 more in China, while Japan reports that the deadly hornets kill 50 people a year.

Despite the killer hornets being native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia, in December 2019, the WSDA received and verified four reports of Asian giant hornets near Blaine and Bellingham in Washington, the first sightings in the United States. Canada had also discovered Asian giant hornets in two locations in British Columbia in the fall of 2019. Scientists dont know how the hornets entered North America.

The New York Times described the hornets distinctive look as having a cartoonishly fierce face featuring teardrop eyes like Spider-Man, orange and black stripes that extend down its body like a tiger, and broad, wispy wings like a small dragonfly.

The WSDA recently published a poster showing what the Asian giant hornet looks like and its notable difference in size compared to several other insects.

Researchers, eager to stop the hornets from establishing a home in the United States and decimating bee populations, have begun a full-scale hunt.

This is our window to keep it from establishing, Chris Looney, a WSDA entomologist, told The New York Times. If we cant do it in the next couple of years, it probably cant be done.

Epoch Times reporter Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.

From NTD News
In 2011, Simon Thomson was appointed CEO of Cairn Energy PLC (LON:CNE). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

View our latest analysis for Cairn Energy

How Does Simon Thomson's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Cairn Energy PLC has a market capitalization of UK658m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK1.2m over the year to December 2019. That's less than last year. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK577k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK322m to UK1.3b, and the median CEO total compensation was UK969k.

Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where Cairn Energy stands. On an industry level, roughly 62% of total compensation represents salary and 38% is other remuneration. Cairn Energy does not set aside a larger portion of remuneration in the form of salary, maintaining the same rate as the wider market.

So Simon Thomson receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Cairn Energy, below.

LSE:CNE CEO Compensation May 12th 2020

Is Cairn Energy PLC Growing?

Cairn Energy PLC has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 61% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 30% over last year.

The reduction in earnings per share, over three years, is arguably concerning. But on the other hand, revenue growth is strong, suggesting a brighter future. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Story continues

Has Cairn Energy PLC Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 43% over three years, some Cairn Energy PLC shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Simon Thomson is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

The company cannot boast particularly strong per share growth. And we think the shareholder returns - over three years - have been underwhelming. So suffice it to say we don't think the compensation is modest. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Cairn Energy you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

Important note: Cairn Energy may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.
The Road to 270 is a weekly column leading up to the presidential election. Each installment is dedicated to understanding one states political landscape and how that might influence which party will win its electoral votes in 2020. Well do these roughly in order of expected competitiveness, moving toward the most intensely contested battlegrounds as election day nears.

The Road to 270 will be published every Monday. The column is written by Drew Savicki, a 270toWin elections and politics contributor. Contact Drew via email or on Twitter @DrewSav.

According to the Almanac of American Politics, Montanas first white settlers were prospectors looking to mine the mountainous western part of the state for gold, silver, and copper. Later arrivals to the state were ranchers and wheat farmers, who made their homes in the flatter eastern part of the state. Politically, miners favored Democrats -- and would eventually organize into unions -- while farmers in the east voted Republican, like their counterparts in other Great Plains states. From the onset, this geographic tug-of-war produced a state with a vibrant political scene.

While these previous divisions have given way to a more modern urban/rural polarization, there are traces of history in the states political landscape. Montana is just one of three states west of the Mississippi River that supported Donald Trump in 2016 but lack right to work laws, a reflection of its pro-labor history (the other two are Alaska and Missouri).

At the presidential level, Big Sky Country is thoroughly Republican territory -- the last Democrat to carry its 3 Electoral College votes, Bill Clinton in 1992, did so with just 38% of the vote.

In the final weeks of the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama made an aggressive push for The Big Sky State. The McCain campaign never considered Montana a battleground state but the Democrats made a serious push for it. Montana was an unusual target for Democrats, with the state having voted Republican in the past several presidential elections but the presence of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on the ballot made it a target. The arch libertarian conservative Paul was on the ballot as the Constitution party's nominee, despite not actually campaigning for the nomination. Montana was an unlikely battleground in 2008. The state is heavily white, rural, and gun friendly but Obama's message powered him to a remarkable 47% of the vote. Looking down the ballot, though, Montana has been more open to supporting Democratic candidates than its neighboring states. As a result, this red state should feature several competitive contests this year.

Down ballot: a flattop hero and prairie populism

Throughout the last century, Montanans have made clear distinctions between their presidential and senatorial preferences. Since the 17th Amendment established the direct election of senators -- beginning with the 1914 congressional elections -- Montana has only elected three Republicans to the Senate. In the 26 presidential elections that have taken place since then, it favored Republican nominees in 18 contests.

Of the states current roster of elected leaders, perhaps the career of Sen. Jon Tester (D) best exemplifies the moods and character of state politics. Literally level-headed (thanks to his trademark flattop haircut), Tester grew up on his family farm and lost three fingers in a meat-grinding accident. He was elected to the State Senate in 1998 and by 2005, had risen to become its President. Though President Bush carried the state twice by easy margins, his popularity had slipped by the 2006 midterms.

With his time in the state senate, Tester was well-positioned to challenge then-Sen. Conrad Burns (R), who was seeking a fourth term. Despite some liabilities, Burns was no pushover -- in fact, as of this writing, he is the only GOP senator Montanans have ever popularly reelected. In an expensive race, Tester emphasized his rural background and accused the septuagenarian Burns of losing touch with the state. Tester won that race by fewer than 3,600 votes out of the over 406,000 cast -- it was the closest raw-vote margin of any senatorial race that year, and ultimately helped flip control of the chamber to Democrats.

If Tester was running against an unpopular president in 2006, Republicans were hoping to flip that dynamic in 2012. That year, the GOP was optimistic about beating him and landed a top recruit in Rep. Denny Rehberg, who had represented the state in the House since 2001. Rehberg emphasized the unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act, and most polls gave him the lead. On Election Day, Testers down-to-home image seemed to endure: as Mitt Romney carried the state 55%-42%, he was reelected by four percentage points.

In 2018, Tester was running as a senator from the party out of power, but another close race seemed in the cards. His voting record was more liberal than other red state Democrats up that year. After making multiple visits to Big Sky Country that cycle, it was clear Trump was on something of a personal mission to beat Tester. In this small state where local connections are paramount, what may have saved Tester is that he was still able to out-Montana his opposition. He faced state Auditor Matt Rosendale (R), who had moved to Montana in 2002 from Maryland; questions about his residency played prominently into Democratic attacks. In the end, Tester was reelected with 50.3% -- the first of his three races that he earned a majority of the vote in.

Tester's success over the years exemplifies how Montana sometimes behaves more like a purple state than a solidly red one. Representing a state with the third highest proportion of veterans in the nation, Jon Tester has made veterans issues a key priority during his time in Congress. Two of Tester's committee assignments -- Indian and Veterans' Affairs, reflect the needs of his state well. A living embodiment of Prairie Populism, Jon Tester should serve as a model to other red state Democrats.

Geography

As with Montanas early days, the east/west divide is dominant. Though the state today has a sole at-Large congressional district (MT-AL), it had two from 1913 to 1993: one covering the western half of the state and the other the eastern half. Some projections have it regaining its second seat after the 2020 Census. If Montana secures its second seat, the familiar east-west split seems likely to emerge.

Western Montana. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, western Montana is home to three of the five largest cities in the state (Missoula, Bozeman, and Butte) as well as the state capital of Helena. The bulk of the growth in the state has been in the western half, particularly Gallatin County (Bozeman), the sole Romney -> Clinton county in the state. Missoula County, which houses the University of Montana, often gives Democratic candidates their largest raw vote margin of any county. Lake County -- just north of Missoula -- is one of the states prime political bellwethers.

Eastern Montana. Though mostly rural, this region is home to the states largest city, Billings, as well as the bulk of the state's Native American population. Still, as with the Great Plains states, eastern Montana is dominated by sparsely-populated but strongly Republican counties -- the reddest county in the state, Garfield, gave Trump 91% in 2016, but cast just 718 votes. In fact, if the states old eastern-based Second District were in place, it would have given Trump a 63%-30% vote.

Congressional politics

In a state thats produced more than its fair share of consequential lawmakers, its worth pointing out that Tester holds the seat of the most prominent senator in state history: Democrat Mike Mansfield. Mansfield was the longest-serving Majority Leader ever, leading the chamber from 1961 to 1977. As Majority Leader, he was charged with passing Lyndon Johnsons civil rights and Great Society bills through Congress. On foreign policy, though, Mansfield would emerge as a critic of LBJs efforts in the Vietnam War. His pacifist tendencies seemed reminiscent of another prominent Montanan: Jeannette Rankin. The first woman elected to Congress, Rankin was the only member of Congress to have voted against U.S. entry into both World Wars. Another popular figure in Montana politics in recent years was the longtime Senator Max Baucus (D). Baucus, a conservative Democrat was known as a champion of Montana's industries. Baucus was ideologically to the right of his caucus on guns and environmental issues but he proved to be a solid fit for his state.

In 2014, Sen. Steve Daines became the first Republican ever to be popularly-elected to the states other seat. A conservative Republican, Daines served one term as the representative for Montana's At-Large Congressional District (MT-AL) before he was elected to the Senate. Like Alaska's Dan Sullivan, Daines lacks the distinct political identity of his state's senior Senator. As a Congressman and now Senator, Daines has a been a reliable vote for the Republican majority and closely tied himself to the President. Although he easily won the open seat in 2014, Daines won't be sailing smoothly this time. He faces a competitive race from Governor Steve Bullock (D). Although polling suggests the race is a tossup, the partisan lean of Montana in a Presidential year warrants caution. No doubt Bullock will run ahead of the Democratic presidential nominee (almost certainly Joe Biden) and is a strong candidate in his own right, but hed still need a significant chunk of Trump voters to defect. In this increasingly polarized era, voters aren't splitting their tickets as much as they used to -- this is why Sabatos Crystal Ball is keeping the race at Leans Republican.

First elected to the House in a 2017 special election is the controversial businessman Greg Gianforte. Most known for his assault on The Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, Gianforte has kept a low profile during his time in the House. In 2016, Gianforte was the Republican nominee for Governor against Steve Bullock and is running for Governor again this year. The founder of a customer relationship software company, Gianforte was heavily targeted by Democrats in the 2018 midterms. The Bozeman native was ultimately successful in his reelection bid despite the millions in spending by outside groups. Despite the success Democrats have found at the Senate level, the state's sole US House seat has proven elusive since Rep. Pat Williams (D) retired in 1997.

Even if Democrats lose the House race this year, they may have hope in 2022. As discussed earlier, Montana seems posted to regain its 2nd Congressional District following the 2020 Census. The redistricting process is controlled by a five-member independent commission, consisting of two members from each party and a Chair elected by the four members. Redistricting is likely to result in another east/west split -- Republicans will undoubtedly keep the eastern seat, while the western district will likely be only light red, giving Democrats an opening.

State level politics

At the state level, the GOP controls both chambers of the legislature and most statewide offices. 2016 proved to be something of a breakout year for statewide Republicans. Going into that cycle, Republicans only had one row office, the Attorney General; currently they have everything but the governor and lieutenant governors offices. Democrats have actually won the last four gubernatorial elections, with Brian Schweitzer (2005-2013) and Steve Bullock (2013-present).

Montana is a relatively insular state, making authenticity a key factor in state races. To that end, Democratic success at the gubernatorial level has relied on genuine candidates. A modern prairie populist (and at times controversial), Schweitzer is a lively character with a penchant for sporting bolo ties. The more low-key cowboy-esque Bullock is a former state Attorney General who first ran for Governor in 2012, promising a continuation of Schweitzer's policies. The GOP nominated a capable candidate in former Rep. Rick Hill that year, but Bullock narrowly prevailed. Bullocks reelection in 2016 was especially impressive, considering Trumps 56%-35% margin in the state. This year, the Montana gubernatorial contest is looking like a true toss-up, with competitive primaries on both sides.

Presidential outlook

Montana's three electoral votes seem safe for President Trump, but don't be surprised if the margin of victory is narrower than in 2016. As political science professor Jacob Smith has documented, Montana consistently swings against the incumbent President. The Big Sky state is home to one of the nation's most reliable bellwether counties: Blaine County. Home to the Fort Belknap reservation, the county is split evenly between Native Americans and whites. Blaine County has voted for the winner of presidential elections all but twice in its entire history (its only misses being 1912 and 1988). In 2018, Sen. Tester improved on Gov. Bullocks 2016 showing there, illustrating the importance of Native Americans to the Democratic coalition in the state. Likely Democratic nominee Joe Biden is unlikely to make a major push for this ruby red state but it will see a great deal of spending downballot. With competitive US Senate, US House, Gubernatorial, and state legislative races there's a lot to look at in the Big Sky Country this year.

Next Week: Delaware


NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is refusing to repeat earlier support for front-line healthcare workers to be exempt from a public sector pay freeze.

Speaking in the NSW Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Perrottet said no decision had been made on the government's wages policy.

The easing of the treasurer's support comes amid a brewing stoush over the decision to give Police Commissioner Mick Fuller an $87,000 pay rise in March, as the Greens announced they would move a motion in the upper house to reverse the decision.

In April, Mr Perrottet said that he would recommend to cabinet that public servants forgo a 2.5 per cent pay rise this year, with the exception of front-line healthcare workers.
Details have been published on the impact of COVID-19 on applications submitted under the Ontario Express Entry, Employer Job Offer, and Entrepreneur streams

Ontario provides PNP update Details have been published on the impact of COVID-19 on applications submitted under the Ontario Express Entry, Employer Job Offer, and Entrepreneur streams

Ontario provides PNP update Details have been published on the impact of COVID-19 on applications submitted under the Ontario Express Entry, Employer Job Offer, and Entrepreneur streams

Ontario provides PNP update Details have been published on the impact of COVID-19 on applications submitted under the Ontario Express Entry, Employer Job Offer, and Entrepreneur streams Alexandra Miekus Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Ontario has released an update related to the impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on several key streams of its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).



Ontario is Canadas largest province with nearly 14.5 million people. It attracted 45 per cent of new permanent resident visa holders that arrived to Canada in 2019.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is a popular pathway for immigration candidates as Ontario issued a record-breaking 7,350 provincial nominations last year. The province has held seven draws so far in 2020 including three OINP draws since the start of the pandemic.

The OINP will continue to process applications and issue nominations as well as notifications of interest (NOIs) under its Express Entry streams, despite special coronavirus measures being in place.

The province is asking applicants to continue with their submission process even if they are unable to obtain required supporting documents, though they are asked to include a detailed explanation letter explaining the reasons for the missing information.

Employers should also keep in mind that candidates in the Employer Job Offer category, which includes foreign workers, international students and in-demand skills candidates, are still required to have a permanent, full-time job offer approved by the OINP.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Applications submitted to the OINP will be assessed upon confirmation of employment

Applicants and employers are required to promptly inform the OINP of any significant changes to their application, including changes in employment positions at the basis of job offer streams.

The OINP intends to contact all employers to confirm that job offers, or positions continue to meet program criteria. Applications will be processed depending on the response given by employers about the status of the employment.

The OINP will continue to process applications if employers indicate that there has been no change in position. If an applicants employment has been affected by a temporary layoff, such as an extended start date or reduced hours of work, the application will be held for up to 90 days. If the position has been eliminated or if the employer has terminated the employment, the application will be considered incomplete and the application fee will be refunded.

The OINP will continue to support those who received provincial nominations but are affected by layoffs

Candidates and employers are asked to notify the OINP of any changes to their approved employment positions. The conditions of employment must remain consistent throughout the period of appointment or until they obtain permanent residence. These conditions include:

the employer

job title and duties

salary

work shift

working area

Approval of the nominees employment could be revoked if conditions or restrictions are not met and employment has been terminated.

Candidates whose job offers have been withdrawn or who have lost their jobs are requested to inform the OINP.

The OINP will continue to support the nomination of candidates whose employment has been affected by a temporary layoff related to COVID-19 if they continue to meet the criteria of the program.

In the event of a permanent layoff, nominees will be given 90 days to obtain support from another employer and will be given the opportunity to submit a new application to the OINP.

OINP Entrepreneur Stream applications

Those applicants who have received an invitation to apply under the OINP Entrepreneur Stream will receive a temporary extension of 90 days and will be contacted by e-mail.

In addition, applicants are asked to contact the OINP if they have already submitted a full application under the Entrepreneur Stream and are encountering difficulties such as:

delays in obtaining information relating to the follow-up of your application

temporary closures, suspension or substantial changes in business activities

temporarily inability to meet hiring or employer requirements

According to the May 11 program update, No application will be denied, and no approvals will be cancelled without notifying the applicant and employer. The OINP will review responses to these notices before making a final decision.

On March 17, 2020, the Ontario government declared a state of emergency to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of Ontarians. This state of emergency was extended on April 14 and remains in effect, although the province has recently begun to take steps to re-open its economy following a decline in its COVID-19 growth rate.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
Premier Investmentsis to reopen the rest of its Australian stores on Friday, excluding airports and some CBD stores.The company had already reopened all of its Queensland and Northern Territory stores (except airports and some CBD stores) on Thursday 7 May following government direction in those states and territories.Global sales have been hit by the store closures which began on 22nd April with total sales down 74 per cent for the 6 weeks to 6 May 2020 vs the prior year comparable period.However, online sales have surged by 99 per cent.Premiers largest online brand in Australia, sleepwear brand Peter Alexander, has consistently broken its own weekly records during this period, with online sales up 295 per cent.New Zealand stores will reopen from Thursday. Smiggle stores in the UK and Ireland will remain closed until at least June 1.Shares in Premier Investmentsare trading 1.4 per cent higher at $15.64.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 12:54:35|Editor: huaxia

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Two satellites, Xingyun-2 01 and 02, are launched by a Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 12, 2020. China on Tuesday sent two satellites into orbit to test the space-based Internet of Things (IoT) communications technology. The satellites were launched here at 9:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They have successfully entered their planned orbit. (Photo by Shan Biao/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday sent two satellites into orbit to test the space-based Internet of Things (IoT) communications technology.

The satellites, Xingyun-2 01 and 02, were launched by a Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket at 9:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. They have successfully entered their planned orbit.

Developed by the Xingyun Satellite Co., the satellites will conduct tests on technologies including space-based IoT communications, inter-satellite laser communications and a low-cost commercial satellite platform.

They will also carry out initial pilot IoT applications, according to the company.

KZ-1A is a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket featuring high orbit precision and a short preparation period. The rocket, developed by a company affiliated with Sanjiang Group under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), is mainly used to launch low-orbit small satellites.

Tuesday's launch was the ninth mission of the KZ-1A carrier rocket. Enditem
Two recent lawsuits that alleged political censorship by the Google-owned YouTube internet video service could have the unintended consequence of opening up the worlds second-most heavily trafficked site to porn videos, according to a new analysis published in the June edition of the libertarian magazine Reason.

YouTube ranks behind only the search engine site run by its parent company, Google, in global popularity. In fact, both sites are so big, that they should be regulated as if they are public utilitiesat least according to the lawsuits filed by conservative talk radio host Dennis Pragers nonprofit Prager University, and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, a congressional rep from Hawaii.

Prager sued YouTube last year, claiming that the site flagged his videos, in which he expresses his views on topics ranging from abortion rights to terrorism, as restricted, which had the effect of blocking advertising attached to the videos. Without advertising, YouTube videos cannot be monetized; that is, they cannot make money for their producers.

Gabbard sued the parent company, Google, alleging that the search engine giant blocked her campaign advertising account for several hours in the aftermath of a presidential debate in which she put on a noteworthy performance. Google claimed that the problem was simply the result of an accidental technical glitch.

Both Prager and Gabbard argued that Google and YouTube are such dominant forces on the internet that they must be regulated as if they are public utilities, and prohibited from favoring certain points of view and content over others. But federal courts earlier this year dismissed both lawsuits.

In each case, the courts ruled that because Google and YouTube are, in fact, private companies, their users do not have the free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment, which prohibits only governmental restrictions on speech.

But both Prager nor Gabbard seem not to have considered the deleterious effects they might have had on the open internet if they had prevailed in court, according to Reason assistant editor Billy Binion. In fact, Binion wrote, if they had won their cases, both Prager and Gabbard might change their mind once companies lose the ability to remove porn.

Why would decisions going the other way lead to porn on YouTube?

It's possible that companies would start scrubbing more content in an effort to avoid lawsuits alleging preferential treatment for certain viewpoints, he wrote. Conversely, they might also forfeit their right to moderate content at all.

In other words, if the sites could be sued for alleged political censorship, they might find it easier simply to allow any content to be uploaded, rather that risk lawsuits by engaging in content monitoringclearing the way for porn to hit YouTube.

YouTubes rules currently state that explicit content meant to be sexually gratifying (like pornography) is prohibited, and fetish content may also be banned or, like Pragers content, placed in restricted mode.

Photo By Irfan Ahmad / Pixabay
US president ends news conference on coronavirus after what was described as racist incident with CBS journalist.

US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his coronavirus press briefing on Monday after getting into a testy exchange with an Asian-American reporter  an incident denounced by several observers, including other journalists, as racist.

TV network CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus.

Why does that matter? she asked. Why is this a global competition when, every day, Americans are still losing their lives?

Theyre losing their lives everywhere in the world, Trump replied. And maybe thats a question you should ask China. Dont ask me, ask China that question, OK?

Jiang, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as a Chinese born West Virginian, pushed back.





Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically? she said, implying it was due to her race.

Im saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that, Trump said.

Its not a nasty question, Jiang replied. Why does that matter?

Sickening

Trump then asked for another question from other journalists present, pointing to CNN media outlet reporter Kaitlan Collins, who said she was giving Jiang the time to finish her questioning, to which the president replied, Nah, thats OK and waved off the CNN reporter as she approached the microphone.

According to a third female reporter working for PBS TV network, Trump called her next, but she motioned for Collins to ask her question, and that was the moment the president walked off the podium.





CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said the exchange between Trump and Jiang was something that has racial overtones. Its racist to look at an Asian-American White House correspondent and say, Ask China.'

Peter Maer, a retired White House correspondent for CBS, wrote on social media that Stelter nails it when describing Trumps behaviour as racist.

The internet was also quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

I #StandWithWeijiaJiang against Trumps racist tantrums, tweeted Star Trek actor and prominent Asian-American activist George Takei.

Reporter and CNN political analyst April Ryan, who has also been on the receiving end of Trumps words, tweeted: Welcome to the club! This is sickening! It is his habit!

I #StandWithWeijiaJiang against Trump's racist tantrums.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 11, 2020

Trump, who has never been shy about his dislike for the news media, has often locked horns with journalists during his coronavirus press briefings.

More than 80,000 people have died in the US from the coronavirus and the country has reported more than 1.3 million cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, by far the highest death toll of any country.
Juan Figueroa, The Dallas Morning News / Staff Photographer

Remember how Texas was going to go slow in reopening businesses? Well that's over. Gov. Abbott this week said hair salons can open ahead of schedule after conservatives were outraged over the case of one salon owner who was briefly jailed in Dallas for contempt of court.

That's after Abbott earlier said people could be jailed for violating his orders. Join the conversation featuring Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report and Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace.
WASHINGTON - At least two oil and gas firms that boosted investors' portfolios by buying back stock in 2019 received $15.5 million this year from a program designed to rescue small businesses gutted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those petroleum companies are among several across the U.S. economy that critics say inflated the value of their shares in recent years with buybacks and other measures that ultimately left less cash on hand to pay employees and deal with the unforseen pandemic.

The Trump administration and Congress are facing a broader backlash over the effectiveness of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to aid companies during the pandemic with fewer than 500 workers by offering loans that are forgivable if employers keep workers on the payroll.

But the Small Business Administration's emergency program has been plagued by funding shortfalls and bureaucratic snafus. One of the emerging concerns around it is that companies that put short-term returns for investors over the long-term health of their businesses are being rewarded with low-interest loans.

Such actions "greatly benefit executives whose compensations are tied to share price," said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, an advocacy group that tracks corporate subsidies. "That also means you're giving yourself less flexibility to respond to a crisis or hire more people."

While recipients are banned from engaging in stock buybacks with the proceeds of the PPP loans, companies that have relied on the practice in the past are free to apply for the money - and have been getting it.

One of the biggest PPP loans went to Houston-based Independence Contract Drilling.

The drilling rig operator, which works in the Permian Basin and elsewhere in Texas, received $10 million in stimulus money.

Yet in the second quarter of last year, the company's board of directors approved buying back up to that same amount - $10 million - in stock, even though the company posted a loss in 2018.

By the end of December, the company had completed the repurchase of around $480,000 in stock.

Similarly, Amplify Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas producer also based in Houston, got a $5.5 million small-business loan last month. That company, too, has a history of stock buybacks. In 2019, it spent $26.2 million to take nearly 4.4 million shares off the market.

A third firm, Ohio-based oil producer Everflow Eastern Partners, received a $327,000 small-business loan after spending $129,582 last year to purchase equity from investors.

Everflow President Bill Siskovic said the company was not buying back stock. In Everflow's case, he said, investors can compel it once a year to repurchase equity at a certain price. Everflow is structured as a master limited partnership, a legal form often used by oil and gas firms to lighten their tax loads.

"This is required annually by the partnership agreement and is not initiated by the company with any intention to buy back units," Siskovic wrote by email.

Independence Contract Drilling and Amplify Energy did not reply to requests for comment.

The hotel giant Hilton, for one, announced a $2 billion stock buyback on March 3, even as the global spread of the novel coronavirus became clear. A month later the hotel industry was lobbying hard for access to the coronavirus aid.

Airlines, too, have also used the practice to boost their stocks. United Airlines has approved $5 billion in buybacks since 2016, while American Airlines spent $13 billion on buybacks over the past decade. The airline industry, like the petroleum sector, has been devastated by the downturn in travel. But unlike for the oil industry, Congress set aside more than $60 billion last month specifically to keep airlines and airports aloft.

And Ruth's Chris Steak House, a $250 million restaurant chain that repurchased shares in 2019, received $20 million in emergency small-businesses loans.

Funding for the PPP program quickly hit its $349 billion limit in mid-April; Congress quickly gave it another $310 billion infusion.

According to Accountable.US, another nonprofit watchdog group, the sector received about $100 million from the PPP. According to an analysis by Vice News, oil and gas companies received at least $72 million.

"It's insulting to hard-working Americans who are still waiting for economic relief that this administration is giving loans meant to help small businesses to big oil corporations," Accountable.US president Kyle Herrig said.

Oil and gas companies with too many employees to qualify for small-business loans are seeking aid elsewhere - mainly from the Federal Reserve, which is preparing to launch its own emergency lending and bond-buying programs.

GOP lawmakers from petroleum-producing states have pushed the central bank to make sure oil and gas firms can have access to the Fed-backed money. In response, a group of six Democratic senators called on Federal Reserve in a letter last week to reconsider recent changes that will make it easier for some oil companies to get emergency loans and to take climate-related financial risks into account when lending.

"This pandemic was not the source of the oil and gas industry's dire financial condition, as is the case for countless small businesses with an urgent need for the Fed's assistance," read the letter led by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. "That makes it all the more troubling that the Fed is prepared to lower the standards of the Main Street program to accommodate an industry that poses both a credit risk and a more profound climate transition risk to taxpayers."
The Franklin County School Board approved a scaled-down budget Monday night that anticipates about $2 million less in revenue projections as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget no longer includes salary increases for employees, which Superintendent Mark Church cited as the top priority when the proposed 2020-21 budget first passed in March.

Essentially it is level funding, said David Terry, the school systems director of business and finance, during the regular school board meeting, which was conducted remotely via Zoom software and live-streamed. All of the new initiatives from local and state revenues were basically dropped from next years budget.

Originally proposed at $94 million, the 2020-21 schools budget had since been adjusted to $91 million in consultation with county officials and state authorities. The budget approved Monday shrank further to $89 million, about $400,000 more than the $88.6 million budget for 2019-20.

In some ways, school officials counted their blessings. For example,school officials expect health insurance costs to stay the same in the new fiscal year, so no additional monies were needed for that. They do not expect to have to cut personnel or programs.

Hopefully, the state has left the door open, that they could come back and if revenue conditions improve, they could re-allot some of those moneys back to school divisions, Terry said. We could be making other changes as those funds may become available, but we wanted to present to you this evening a pretty conservative view of what will need to be done in order for us to weather the storm and maintain continuity of operations for next year.

Monday, the school board also heard plans for how Franklin Countys current school year will wrap up  with a drive-through high school graduation, similar to whats being done in Montgomery County. Our seniors really want this, said Franklin County High School Principal Jon Crutchfield.

I had really held out hope that there would be a graduation held in Cy Dillon Stadium, Crutchfield said. As time passed, I realized that would not happen. After consulting with senior class officers and high school principals in other parts of the state, he came away with a feeling that virtual graduations lacked a necessary personal touch that a drive-through graduation could provide.

Were going to divide our graduating class, which will be close to 500 again, into groups of 10, where we will invite a graduate and a carload of their parents, grandparents, whoever might be able to physically get in a car with them, and drive to the high school, Crutchfield said.

Were going to start this graduation ceremony on Monday, June 8, and the students will drive through, and one carload at a time well allow them to come into the auditorium, where theyll walk across the stage and receive a diploma. Then theyll leave and get back in their vehicle and exit campus, Crutchfield said.

Im anticipating that this is going to take about five days, with the ceremony taking place from 4 to 9 p.m. each day, he said. I think this graduation will take about 25 hours.

All the typical graduation ceremony elements, such as diploma walks and speeches, will be edited into a single DVD.

There are still some social distancing specifics to work out. Are you limiting the size of the vehicle? Snow Creek representative G. B. Washburn asked with a laugh, while member-at-large Penny Blue suggested restricting the number of people who could arrive with each graduate. Crutchfield said hes talking to other principals about how theyre handling it.

In a discussion of how school will reopen again in the fall, Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Rogers brought up the challenges Franklin County has faced with online classes. Because we did not have a districtwide learning management system, parents are having to use multiple platforms for multiple classrooms, so if they have a child in high school, a child in middle school, a child in elementary, they dont access one thing, they have to go in many directions.

After looking into several providers, the school system is now partnering with Virtual Virginia, the states online learning system, and providing spring and summer training for staff, so that we have one platform for our families to access. Rogers said. Virtual Virginia uses the platforms school officials were most interested in, and fortunately its coming in at zero cost, so thats a win-win for us.

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Dynamo Kiev's Ukraine forward Artem Besedin was banned on Tuesday for a year after failing a drugs test at a Europa League match, UEFA announced.

The 24-year-old had in his system traces of the prohibited stimulant Fonturacetam, originally produced in 1983 to help astronauts from the former Soviet Union combat tiredness in space.

Besedin was tested after Dynamo's November 28 loss to Malmo in the Europa League group stage.

The UEFA suspension runs until December 19 with the player opting not to appeal the sanction.

Besedin, who joined Dynamo in 2015, has 13 international caps to his name.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Navys ship INS Magar, carrying 202 Indian nationals from Maldives, will reach Kerala on Tuesday evening. The vessel is likely to dock at Kochi at 6 pm.

It had departed from Malvies capital Male on Sunday.

INS Magar, designed for landing operations, had made all necessary logistic, medical and administrative preparations at her base port in Kochi to comfortably accommodate civilians before setting sail towards Maldives.

The 202 passengers onboard include 24 women - two of them pregnant - and two children, the Navy said in a statement.

An entirely separate section of the ship with essential facilities like food and washrooms has been prepared to accommodate the evacuees, and a separate mess has been allotted for ladies, infants and senior citizens, it further said in the statement.

The evacuees have been divided into groups to avoid crowding at common areas like the dining hall and bathrooms, the Navy noted.

Meanwhile, another naval ship INS Jalashwa will be evacuating approximately 700 Indian nationals from Male to Kochi on May 15, during her second repatriation sortie.

The ship has already repatriated 698 citizens to India on May 10 during its first sortie.

Both the ships are engaged in the repatriation mission as part of Operation Samudra Setu, the governments plan to bring back stranded Indians through the sea route during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Representative Image

A quintessential trailer of the protracted exit from national lockdown began playing out, quite appropriately, on May Day. The curtain-raiser has been about 1,200 migrant workers being allowed the first special train from Telengana to Jharkhand. As the third extension of the lockdown got underway, many other states followed suit.

The southern state of Kerala too is seeing a bulk of migrant workers leaving for their home states. This mass exodus will leave a big void in the state which predominantly depends on outside labour. In the weeks and months to come, when the economy slowly opens up and tries to get back to the old normal, this missing workforce could be the first of the four predominant problems the state will face.

A second is the return of a large number of expatriates, a good majority of them from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Many will be returning after losing their jobs, and the State will have to find ways to open avenues that could probably employ them.

A third concern would be the long-term slump in tourism, which accounted for about 10 percent of Keralas revenue. A fourth would be on how the State plans to revive its economy, and the role agriculture will play in it.

The Great Return

In the first phase of the evacuation will see 80,000 Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) returning back to the state. Once the travel restrictions are lifted, the number of returning NRKs could easily double as there are a minimum 2.5 million Keralites in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. With GCC economies slipping on low oil prices and a large number of expats likely to return, remittances from the Gulf is expected to fall. Inward remittances play an important part in injecting life into the economy, especially Keralas where it is about one-third of the states GDP. Cautious estimates predict a 15-20 percent fall in remittances this year.

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government has put in place a massive quarantine infrastructure that will take care of the thousands of home-bound NRKs  the challenge will be to gainfully employ them.

What the state desperately needs is a plan that will lead in a new direction. Kerala needs to snip off all emotional baggage that drags it down  the prime one being the white elephant called rubber cultivation.

Worn Out Rubber

For decades rubber-cultivating states in India reaped the benefits of high rubber prices; but, now the time has come for a reality check. Today rubber produced and imported from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia at much lower prices has made widespread rubber cultivation in India non-viable. Thus, the small planters need to move and leave it to the big players who have high acreage and low overheads working to their advantage.

Presently, there are over 1.2 million small scale rubber planters in India, with an average holding of one acre, and over 85 percent of them are in Kerala. Many of those would belong to the NRKs returning home with no other means of livelihood.

According to the Rubber Board, the total area under rubber cultivation across India in 2018-19 was 822,000 hectares. Of this, the tapped area of 640,000 hectares produced 651,000 tonnes. The national requirement was 1,211,940 tonnes, necessitating the import of 582,351 tonnes.

The gradual erosion in productivity over the decade should give a clearer picture as to why rubber cultivation needs a relook. If in 2008-09 the productivity was at 1,867 kg/hectare, it plummeted to 1,453 kg/hectare by 2018-19 (See table below).

Adding to this dipping price is the decrease in crop yield and cultivable area. In 2018-19, actual tapping took place in 78 percent of the cultivable land. Last year, this was 70 percent.

In addition to this, rubber trees past their lifespan are a concern. Not many farmers can afford to replant rubber as there is a gestation period of 8-9 years before the trees can be tapped again. If the focus was to remain on rubber and replanting was to go about, it would mean that about 40 percent of the land said to be under rubber cultivation, most of it in Kerala which would come to about 280,000 hectares, would remain unutilised.

It is here that the Kerala governments decision to develop 109,000 hectares of waste land, with a stress on 25,000 hectares of fallow land, for cultivating food crops is missing the fine print. Why focus on waste land when there is ready-to-be-farmed 280,000 hectares of fertile land? It is important that the Left government has a vision for this 280,000 hectares because it could be the lifeline for the thousands of returning NRKs.

Archaic Land Laws

Keralas plantation sector goes beyond rubber. About 719,686 hectares of cultivable land in Kerala is divided between rubber (550,840 ha), coffee (84,987 ha), tea (30,205 ha), cardamom (39,730 ha), and cocoa (13,924 ha). A focus on these crops is yielding diminishing returns: In 2011, if the revenue was Rs 23,000 crore, last fiscal it went down to Rs 8,000 crore.

The culprit is the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, wherein the government has decreed what is to be grown where. This needs to change.

Reviving The Plantation Sector

Expert speak is that one-third of the land currently under the plantation sector is ripe to be brought under horticulture and the aggregate production will be none the worse for it. The high ranges are geographically suited for growing an assortment of cash crops, such as the litchi, passion fruit, avocado, etc.

Accompanying this could be the setting up of a range of food processing units. The horticulture sector is growing nationally at 17 percent, while in Kerala it is 24 percent.

To facilitate these initiatives the State could turn to a PPP-modelled Plantation Land Bank and open a lucrative FDI window in this sector.

Recalibrating Human Resource

At a time when governments around the world are busy figuring out ways to restart collapsed economies, the Kerala government needs to be focus on what appears to be a no-brainer of a solution to provide employment and revive the agriculture sector. This will make the economy less reliant on remittances, make it more robust and prepare it for future exigencies.

The state can no longer pamper itself by paying astronomical daily wages at Rs 800 for unskilled workers and Rs 1,200 upwards for skilled workers. The disparity is quite unreal, as, in most other states it would read Rs 300-400 (unskilled) and Rs 600-700 (skilled). This has meant that Kerala has priced itself out of the competitive market for farm produce, manufacturing and construction cost. A revision of daily wages would also mean that guest workers may not find it lucrative to return to Kerala. This gap can be filled by returnee NRKs.

An Agrarian Future

The thrust would have to be on a modern, scientific, planned and profitable agriculture sector that will gainfully employ not only the present but the coming generations as well. Only this will herald the onset of an agrarian economy with allied value-addition leading to earning valuable foreign exchange.

For many decades, the mantra describing the work ethos of Keralites has been: a hardworking lot outside the state, but a lethargic bunch on home turf. If Kerala has to come out of this pandemic and stand tall, it will have to rewrite this axiom.
Kerala on Tuesday sought opening of domestic air travel, intra-state passenger trains and metro rail services in a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the time was not ripe to commence inter-state railway services.

The state submitted the suggestions as instructed by the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conference with all the Chief Ministers on Monday.

"However, we have sought special non-stop trains from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai,

Bengaluru and other major cities," Vijayan told reporters here.

The state has suggested intra-district bus service with limited number of passengers and strict health protocols including practice of social distancing.

"The state has suggested intra-district bus service but not inter-district services. The bus service can be

allowed by strictly following social distancing. Since the buses will have to ply with limited number of passengers, the fares can be hiked to compensate the loss," Vijayan suggested.

The memorandum also sought to open hospitality services maintaining strict social distancing inside the

restaurants with the seats arranged accordingly.

"Industrial and commercial activities should be allowed in rural and urban areas except in the Containment

Zones. The government is of the view that the construction work should proceed at a rapid pace and steps to be taken to procure necessary materials. Construction work needs to be completed before the rains," Vijayan said.

The Chief Minister had on Monday suggested to the Prime Minister that states should have the "flexibility" in

changing lockdown guidelines and allowing public and Metro rail services by following social distancing norms, except in red zones.

Vijayan, who spoke during the video conference held by Modi with state Chief Ministers, had also suggested that anti-body test be conducted on expatriates before they arrive here from various countries.
The global economy is reeling under coronavirus-induced uncertainties since mid-January. The economic devastation has led to the collapse of stock markets and Wall Street is no exception. Although, U.S. stock markets have recovered a large-chunk of the lost ground during the past one and half month, major stock indexes are still far from their all-time highs recorded in mid-February.



Meanwhile, the retail sector turned out one of the worst affected as coronavirus spread across the world. Despite difficulties, a handful of retail stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank, have popped more than 30% in the past month.



Retail Sector Suffers Due to Pandemic



On Apr 15, the Commerce Department stated that U.S. retail and food services sales in March fell 8.7% to $483.1 billion, following a revised reading of 0.4% decline in February. Year over year, retail sales plunged 6.2% in March. The unprecedented fall in March sales marked the largest monthly decline since the time of economic recession in November 2008.



The coronavirus pandemic has brought economic activities to a standstill leading to skyrocketing job losses and massive pay cuts. This has resulted in sinking consumer confidence and dwindling household income, which have severely impacted spending activities and taken a toll on retailers. Notably, consumer spending constitutes 67% of the U.S. GDP.



Prolonged store closures, supply-chain disruptions, lower traffic trends and limited store operating hours in the wake of the pandemic significantly impacted retail businesses. People avoided public places like restaurants, theaters and malls as social distancing became the order of the day.



Not All Retailers Are Pandemic Stricken



As social distancing became the new buzz word, demand for essentials like toilet paper, disinfectants, masks, gloves, packaged water, infant supplies medicines, groceries and related staples started to steadily rise.



As a result of this situation, several retail stores, including supermarkets, grocery chains, medical and pharmacy stores and take-away restaurants are hiring people, refuting several economists and financial experts' warning of massive job cut owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.



Moreover, social distancing has led to higher e-commerce influx. Retailers are witnessing a flurry of orders on account of customers unwillingness to visit stores. Give the scenario, rapid deliveries have become the need of the hour.



Players in the industry are focusing on bolstering omni-channel operations and ramping up delivery services to meet needs of customers who are spending more time at home to minimize the risk of infection.



Our Top Picks



We have narrowed down our search to five retail stocks that have gained more than 30% in the past month. Each of these stocks has strong growth potential and witnessed upward earnings estimates revision in the past seven days. These stocks also sport either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past month.

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Wayfair Inc. W is one of the world's leading online sellers of home goods products, consisting of furniture and home decor. The Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 34.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 39.3% over the past seven days. The stock has jumped 133.5% in the past month.



1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. FLWS provides gourmet food and floral gifts for various occasions in the United States. It operates in three segments: Consumer Floral, Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets and BloomNet Wire Service. The Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 19.2% for the current year (ending June 2020). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 19.2% over the past seven days. The stock has climbed 57.9% in the past month.



MercadoLibre Inc. MELI is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America. The company is a market leader in e-commerce in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela and Uruguay based on unique visitors and page views. The Zacks Rank #2 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 62.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 11.4% over the past seven days. The stock has soared 43.9% in the past month.



Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. SFM is a healthy grocery store that provides fresh, natural and organic food products in the United States. It has a unique model that features fresh produce at the center of the store, an expansive bulk food section and a vitamin department focused on overall wellness. The Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 25.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 12.9% over the past seven days. The stock has surged 41% in the past month.



SpartanNash Co. SPTN is a food distributor serving military commissaries and exchanges in the United States. It operates in three segments: Food Distribution, Military, and Retail. The Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 26.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 13% over the past 30 days. The stock has gained 30.8% in the past month.



Just Released: Zacks 7 Best Stocks for Today



Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.1% per year.



These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.



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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



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Zacks Investment Research
Mexican police have seized a personalized gold-plated AR-15 assault rifle from a boss of the fearsome Las Bigotonas gang.

Victor Ivan N., known as 'El Yori', was captured last week in Tehuacan, in the central Puebla state. He was allegedly in possession of 38 dime bags of crystal meth as well as the ostentatious assault rifle.

Officers also found 20 cartridges for the weapon during the arrest. Cops say the suspect has masterminded robbery, drug smuggling, arms dealing and is also linked with several murder cases.

El Yori's assault rifle was decorated with a carving of Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death), an icon in Mexico's traditional 'Day of the Dead' celebrations which is worshipped by many drug traffickers for the safe delivery of illicit cargo.

One of the gang's captains Victor Ivan N., known as 'El Yori', was captured last week in Tehuacan, in the central Puebla state. He was allegedly in possession of 38 doses of crystal meth (methamphetamine) as well as the ostentatious assault rifle

El Yori is flanked by state police as they display his absurd assault rifle and packets of crystal meth

El Yori is being held in custody. It is unclear if he has been charged yet.

The seizure of the weapon comes after the slaying of a 21-year-old female gang leader at the beginning of the year who toted a gold-plated AK-47.

Maria Guadalupe Lopez Esquivel, known as 'La Catrina', was suspected of being one of the leading figures of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and was well known for flaunting social media posts.

Maria Guadalupe Lopez Esquivel, alias 'La Catrina', was suspected of being one of the leading figures of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and was well known for flaunting social media posts, including the above, holding a gold-plated AK-47

Esquivel's body was decorated with tattoos, including one of a 'Catrina' icon on her thigh - a skeletal female figure with a wide hat that has become associated with Mexico's Day of the Dead.

She was allegedly responsible for managing a team of cartel hitmen and was fatally shot through the neck during a police raid in the municipality of Aguililla on January 10.

Esquivel's body was decorated with tattoos, including one of a 'Catrina' icon on her thigh - a skeletal female figure with a wide hat that has become associated with Mexico's Day of the Dead.

Women have sometimes occupied high-level positions as money launderers in drug cartels in the past, but it is rare for them to command or coordinate hit squads.
Slowly and steadily, MG is earning a reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the local automotive industry. With the backing of The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI), its easy to say that the British car brands success is pretty much expected.

For sure, impressive releases such as the ZS, RX5, and MG6 fastback sedan have solidified MGs reputation for building stylish, practical cars. Now, MG gives its fans a chance to profess their love for the brand with three custom online video conference backgrounds proudly bearing the MG name.

TCCCI understands the COVID-19 pandemic all too well, itself halting operations at its Luzon dealerships beginning March 17 to comply with the governments enhanced community quarantine measures. The situation has, among others things, compelled a lot of employees to work from home, a setup that invites a lot of teleconferencing calls. Thanks to this technology, employees and companies are able to remain productive despite lockdown and quarantine orders by government.

With online video conferences becoming part of what is being referred to as the new normal, MG Philippines decided to give everyone the option to spruce up their video chat screens with these MG-themed custom backgrounds, MG said. Imagine yourself in an official MG press conference, visit an MG dealership, or even take part in an MG Live! concert with these backgrounds!

The three hi-resolution custom backgrounds each offer a unique take on the MG brand including a view of an MG dealership showroom, a simulated MG press event, and finally, an MG Live concert stage. Check out the backgrounds below.

mg press release

mg press release

mg press release

Like what you see? The three custom backgrounds are free to download from the MG Philippines website as well as the companys Facebook and Instagram pages.

Earlier, MG also released a set of coloring sheets that included its current crop of vehicles sold locally. These sheets, MG stated, offer an alternative way for families and children to entertain themselves while on lockdown, and for the more serious artists out there, a chance to flex their creative muscles.

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The coloring sheets are also downloadable from the aforementioned sources.

Photos from MG Philippines

Also read:

MIAS 2019: MG PH Launches MG 6 Fastback Sedan (with VIDEO)

Auto Expo 2020: MG Shows off New RC6 Sedan
There is no substitute for the real-life experience these two bring to the table - making this partnership a key differentiator for AKA going forward.

Jason Vargas and Scott Moller have joined Chicago-based strategic communications company, AKA. As CMO, Vargas will continue to expand the companys capabilities to solve marketing communications challenges for clients with brand awareness and brand experience campaigns. Moller will act as Principal, providing senior-level counsel for the companys roster of blue-chip clients.

This is both a challenging and exciting time for our clients as they navigate contemporary communications challenges for their brands, their products, their employees and their stakeholders, said Andrew Krause, Founder and CEO of AKA.

The addition of Scott and Jason allows AKA to offer more impactful solutions to its clients. For example, the agency can now engage customers with memorable experiences, capture those moments on video, create and edit the activity into a compelling story, and deliver it via paid and earned media to achieve results for clients.

Krause acknowledges, There is no substitute for the real-life experience these two bring to the table - making this partnership a key differentiator for AKA going forward.

AKAs tailored approach to projects and scopes works to uncover the root cause of specific challenges. The agency begins by falling in love with the problem in order to identify the correct solution. Effective campaigns must be designed to solve the issue, not merely consist of clever tactics.

We learned at Marketing Werks that most businesses experience some type of communications challenge, said Moller. The solution to those challenges usually involves getting the attention of the right people and persuading those people to do the right thing. How you do that effectively is where experience matters.

As co-founder and co-CEO of Marketing Werks, Moller grew the company to become the largest privately-owned experiential marketing agency in the US. His dynamic leadership inspired top talent and attracted well-known brands including PlayStation, Walgreens, Char-Broil, Chase, UnitedHealth Group, IndyCar, Bridgestone and Sony. With over $100 million in annual revenue, Marketing Werks was sold to Dallas-based Crossmark in 2013.

Vargas helped pioneer experiential marketing tied to brand-driven experiences at Marketing Werks, leading award-winning teams for clients including Verizon, Discover and LEGO. Prior to joining Marketing Werks, Vargas worked for GMR Marketing and later served for eight years as Adjunct Professor of Experiential Marketing at The University of Chicago.

Krause founded AKA in 1998 producing and distributing earned media campaigns with celebrities, athletes and CEOs. Hes assembled teams of creatives, content producers, social and media relations experts and digital campaign managers recognized for results-driven, best-in-class service across brand and corporate communications. The boutique shop executes end-to-end project work for companies and brands including Mondelez, PepsiCo/Gatorade, Kraft/Oscar Mayer, Kraft/Planters, Ace Hardware and McDonalds.

About AKA

AKA is an award-winning strategic communications company recognized worldwide for solving marketing and communications challenges across brand and corporate communications and agency support categories. Learn more at http://www.akapartners.co.

Follow AKA on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/AKApartnersllc and on all other social handles at @AKApartnersllc.
SPRINGFIELD  The City Council voted unanimously on Monday to explore options for keeping residents safe in the fall elections during the coronavirus including a proposal for a citywide vote-by-mail system.

Councilors voted to schedule a hearing to prepare for the Sept. 1, and Nov. 3 elections, by conferring with city and state officials, advocacy groups and city voters on best procedures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Councilors said the changes are also being pursued to expand voting in Springfield.

If we can mail the Census Package to our residents, we can mail them a ballot! said Ward 1 Councilor Adam Gomez, the lead sponsor, in a Tuesday statement. It is time to make access for voting easier and more attainable to the American people. To dangle their constitutional right over the risk of their well being is unfathomable.

The council resolution is non-binding.

The state Legislature is also considering bills in the House and Senate aimed at safety for voters in the fall election including the option of mail-in ballots.

The council resolution states in part that "having voters and workers at polling stations for hours is dangerous and runs counter to social distancing and best practices aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.

The council said that the states of Oregon, Washington and Colorado conduct elections by mail. A group of councilors that was visiting Denver, Colorado in 2018, to explore the marijuana industry, saw voting activity that included mailed ballots, and can mail it back or hand to an attendant at a voting location, Councilor Orlando Ramos said.

Ramos said with the current pandemic the issue of safe, convenient voting is urgent because were talking about democracy.

The ability of people in our city to be able to voice their opinion and elect leaders that are not only going to get them through this pandemic but also potentially get them through the recovery once we eventually go back to some normalcy, Ramos said.

The council resolution states that Massachusetts should plan on "increased absentee ballot requests, increased polling locations, staffing levels,, and potentially the implementation and management of an emergency all vote-by-mail election.

Gomez said the voters deserve the opportunity to vote without risk to the deadly virus. He urged the legislators to adopt safe protocals for the 2020 elections, and to consider a scenario of if it being their mother or child standing beside an asymptomatic person.

The in-person voting in Wisconsin in April occurred while there was a shelter-in-place order. In Milwaukee, a shortage of poll workers resulted in just five of the 180 polling locations being open, where the average wait time was 90 minutes to two hours, the council resolution stated.

At-large Councilor Jesse Lederman said the vote shows how seriously members of the City Council take the fact that voting is essential.

Residents shoiuld never be asked to choose to stay healthy or exercise their right to vote, Lederman said.

At-large Councilor Kateri Walsh, who joined in praising the system seen by her and others in Denver, said it is an idea whose time has come.

Ramos said he hopes there will eventually be a permanent vote by mail in the state for all elections, He would also favor expanded early voting for all elections, same-day voter registration, and more accessible polling locations.

Some communities in Colorado have voting locations at Dunkin Donuts and Walmarts, he said.
C ountdown star Rachel Riley has criticised Eamonn Holmes for his comments on coronavirus and 5G technology during an episode of This Morning.

Holmes was branded irresponsible for remarks regular broadcasting watchdog Ofcom labelled ambiguous.

During an episode in April he cast doubt on media outlets that had dismissed the conspiracy theory saying 5G causes coronavirus.

Holmes later attempted to clarify his comments, saying he was misinterpreted.

Rachel Riley - In pictures 1 /36 Rachel Riley - In pictures Rachel Riley brings baby Maven Aria and husband Pasha Kovalev to Countdown studios as she returns to work three months after giving birth @rachelrileyrr Strictly Come Dancing 2013 BBC The Countdown star posted an image of herself sporting the controversial t-shirt @rachelrileyrr 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Rachel Riyley welcomes her newborn baby Miss Maven Aria Riley Kovaleva @rachelrileyrr Rachel Riley marries Strictly lover Pasha Kovalev @rachelrileyrr Rachel Riley on Countdown Channel 4 Rachel Riley on Countdown Channel 4 Countdown star Rachel Riley has said the stress she felt receiving hate from online trolls led her unborn baby to stop kicking for two days @rachelrileyrr Rachel Riley at the World Wide Web's 30th birthday in 2019 Dave Benett Countdown presenter Rachel Riley delivers a petition of 35,000 signatures calling for more government funding into dementia in 2019 PA Rachel Riley attends the Cirque du Soleil Premiere Of "TOTEM" at Royal Albert Hall in 2019 Dave Benett Rachel Riley takes a selfie with fans prior to The Emirates FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley in 2018 Getty Images Rachel Riley at the British Takeaway Awards 2018 Dave Benett Rachel Riley attends the Manchester United and Unicef 2017 Gala at Old Trafford in Manchester PA Rachel Riley attending the 2017 Television and Radio Industries Club Awards PA Rachel Riley and David Beckham attend the World Aids Day Charity Gala in 2017 Dave Benett GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2016 Getty Images Rachel Riley at the 'Tomorrowland' film premiere in 2015 James Shaw/Rex Rachel Riley at the 'Self Esteem' book launch party in 2015 Rex Kimberley Walsh, Tess Daly and Rachel Riley attend the Special K Bring Colour Back launch in 2015 Dave Benett Rachel Riley attends the 2015 ITV Gala Dave Benett Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev for Strictly Come Dancing 2013 BBC GQ Men of the Year Award 2016 Rex Features Strictly Come Dancing 2013 Rachel Riley on Countdown Channel 4 Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev arriving at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2016 PA

Riley told the Radio Times she had previously fallen out with Holmes when he invited conspiracy theorist David Icke on his radio show and said she did not expect to see ridiculous theories repeated on This Morning.

She told the magazine: And Ive also been working on some anti-misinformation campaigns for Stop Funding Fake News.

There are a lot of people trying to make money by spreading lies about coronavirus, whether its quack remedies or stupid conspiracy theories about 5G. Its dangerous, especially when these things get repeated on shows that youre expected to trust.

Ive fallen out with Eamonn Holmes before, when he had David Icke on his radio show, but you dont expect to see ridiculous theories about 5G being repeated on This Morning.

Eamonn Holmes makes statement on This Morning 5G remarks

Riley and husband Pasha Kovalev welcomed her first child, a daughter named Maven, in December. The TV presenter had just returned to Countdown filming when the pandemic stalled production.

Riley, 34, said the couple were enjoying the extra time with the baby.

Maven is such a gorgeous little thing and every day we put her in the sling and go for a walk, she said.

Shes at an age where everythings interesting, so even staring at a tree for five minutes is great. Also, my mother-in-law was over from Russia when all this started and got stranded here, which means we have an extra pair of hands.

Read the full interview in Radio Times.

Additional reporting by Press Association
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-11 22:56:40

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2020 / Theralase Technologies Inc. ("Theralase" or "Company") (TSXV:TLT)(OTCQB:TLTFF), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of light activated Photo Dynamic Compounds ("PDCs") and their associated drug formulations intended to safely and effectively destroy various cancers, announces that the Company proposes to extend the expiry date of 3,159,000 share purchase warrants, all of which are exercisable at $0.30 per share (collectively, the "Warrants").The Warrants were issued on May 14, 2018 pursuant to a private placement involving the issuance of 5,104,000 units of the Company. The Company proposes to extend the expiry date of the Warrants that remain outstanding from the original expiry date of May 14, 2020 to May 14, 2022.All other terms and conditions of the Warrants will remain unchanged. The Warrant expiry date extension is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.About Theralase Technologies Inc.Theralase is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light activated Photo Dynamic Compounds and their associated drug formulations intended to safely and effectively destroy various cancers.Additional information is available at www.theralase.com and www.sedar.com Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains information and statements that are considered to be "forward-looking statements" in accordance with applicable securities legislation. Words such as "propose", "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements, which reflect the current expectations of management of the Company, including, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's proposed extension of the expiry date of its May 2018 common share purchase warrants. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions including with respect to the ability of the Company to obtain the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange for the extension of the warrant expiry date. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the press release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of advising investors of the Company's intention to extend the expiry date of its May 2018 warrants and may not be suitable for other purposes. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update forward-looking except as required by law.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchanges) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.For More Information:1.866. THE.LASE (843-5273)416.699.LASE (5273)Kristina Hachey, Chief Financial Officerkhachey@ theralase.com SOURCE: Theralase Technologies Inc.
WASHINGTON -- A new type of coronavirus test offers a cheaper, quicker way to screen for infections, moving the U.S. toward the kind of mass screening that experts say is essential to returning millions of Americans to school and work.

But the first so-called antigen test  announced Saturday by the Food and Drug Administration  is not quite the kind sought by top government health officials. It is less accurate than the current gold standard for testing and can only be run on specialized equipment.

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It is too early to tell, said lab researcher Patricia Simner of Johns Hopkins University, assessing the test's impact. It certainly has the potential to aid in more widespread testing.

Some questions and answers about the new test:

WHATS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS TEST?

The test from Quidel Corp. screens for new infections but in a different way. It looks for protein traces of the virus  known as antigens. The same approach is used in rapid tests for flu, strep throat and other infections that are run at the hospital or doctor's office. They represent a trade-off, sacrificing some of the accuracy of more rigorous tests for quicker results at a lower cost.

They allow you to dramatically expand testing and theyre very cheap, said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, in an interview Sunday with CBS. But he acknowledged antigen testings reduced accuracy: Theyre going to miss some patients who have COVID.

Previously, the only way to diagnose active infections was a test that detects the genetic material of the virus. While highly accurate, most of those tests take hours to develop on machines mainly found at commercial labs, hospitals or universities. Abbott Laboratories makes a 15-minute version of the genetic test that runs on its portable machine, but it only does one sample at a time.

WHY IS ANTIGEN TESTING IMPORTANT?

The U.S. is still struggling to increase testing to the levels that most public health experts say are essential. Harvard researchers have projected that the nation needs to be able to do 900,000 daily tests to be able to track new cases and contain new outbreaks as the country reopens. Thats more than three times the countrys current daily testing rate of about 275,000.

White House adviser Dr. Deborah Birx and other federal officials have said a breakthrough in antigen testing could open the way to daily testing before going to back to work or school.

The National Institutes of Health is pouring $1.5 billion into efforts to develop highly accurate, easy-to-use tests that could be performed without professional oversight or special equipment. While an important stepping stone, the Quidel test isn't there yet.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The new test uses a nasal swab like other screening tests, and delivers results in about 15 minutes.

The sample is put in a tube with testing chemicals and then into a cassette that goes into the companys electronic reading device. There, its exposed to a testing strip embedded with laboratory-made antibodies, the specific blood proteins made by the bodys immune system when it detects an infection. If the antigens and antibodies interact, the test is positive.

HOW ACCURATE IS THE TEST?

The new test is expected to detect about 80% of active COVID-19 infections, according to the FDA. That accuracy rate is similar to other rapid antigen tests for seasonal flu.

They are going to pick up fewer people that are infected, said Simner of Johns Hopkins. So thats where you see a lot of skepticism around using antigen tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

For now, Simner and other experts say negative test results for people showing symptoms should be confirmed with the more accurate genetic test.

But as you might imagine, thats not a perfect scenario because you have to do twice as many tests when the result isnt positive, said Dr. Robin Patel of the Mayo Clinic.

WHATS NEXT?

Many companies are working on versions that would be more accurate, easier to use and more suitable for mass screenings.

OraSure Technologies has a $700 million federal contract to develop a saliva-based antigen test that could be performed at home. The company has antigen tests for other viruses  including HIV and Ebola  and those have accuracy rates of over 95%. Along with accuracy, the company is focused on speed, aiming to delivers results in 20 to 30 minutes.

"If you are going to test people coming into work you cant make them line up at 3 a.m. OraSure CEO Stephen Tang said. You need to be able to get their results quickly.

-- The Associated Press
Retailers around the world are adjusting their business models in the face of COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Two consumer reports on shopping pattern changes during the pandemic offer two main findings: a) It is crucial for merchants to create ways to connect with new and long-term customers; and b) Consumers can not fully solve the empty shelf problem through buying online.

Consumers worldwide continued to purchase nonessential items in March, such as clothing, according to a CGS report on purchasing trends released last week.

In response to growing delivery delays, consumers were willing to adjust their service expectations, as long as companies communicated disruptions and rewarded their loyalty, according to the survey results.

While so much of the retail and wholesale industry has been upended, consumers are continuing to purchase clothing for their everyday lives, said Paul Magel, president of the business applications and technology outsourcing division at CGS. The survey confirms that the abrupt change to work from home and social distancing requires a different type of wardrobe  less spending on luxury items and accessories.

U.S. consumers prepared last month to stay home for the long haul, found an ongoing Bazaarvoice study, which is updated weekly. Page views and order counts increased 25 percent and 21percent, respectively.

The month-by-month consumer activity report shows significant increases in shopping occurred when social distancing and shelter-in-place advisories started to become widely adopted. In addition, the top 10 days with the most orders on Bazaarvoices network this year were in March.

Order counts began to surge on March 11. That was the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the U.S.-Europe travel ban was announced.

In the Bazaarvoice survey, which queried more than 3,000 members of the Influenster community, 41 percent of respondents said they were shopping online for things they normally would have shopped for in a store, said Suzin Wold, senior vice president of marketing at Bazaarvoice.

This is especially apparent in verticals such as grocery. Our network of over 6,200 brand and retailer websites saw an 85 percent year-over-year increase in online orders in March, she told the E-Commerce Times.

Casual Everyday

With most of the world moving to a work-at-home environment, consumer demand reflected in the latest survey probably will become the new normal even when the pandemic recedes, suggested CGS Magel.

I do feel that coming out of stay-home orders and social distancing regulations  while the spike will level off  the overall demand for more casual business attire will continue to rise as both companies and employees come to the realization that todays technology allows for work from home to be a bigger part a companys standard operating procedures, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Even when employees return to the office, he predicts they will adopt more casual and relaxed work attire. Although Americans are extremely focused on the health and safety of their loved ones, they still are finding ways to treat themselves and others, the survey results suggest. One example is by making updates to their closet.

Almost half (49 percent) of the consumers polled were purchasing everyday clothing. That percentage increased to almost 60 percent of respondents who had full-time employment.

Pattern Persistence

In response to COVID-19, an unprecedented number of shoppers have made purchases online for the first time. As consumers experience seamless and convenient online shopping, many likely will maintain those new habits in a post-pandemic world, Bazaarvoices Wold suggested.

The large shift of shoppers to online shopping will also accelerate innovation in e-commerce across a variety of industries. These necessary advancements will benefit brands, and their shoppers, going forward, she predicted.

On the other hand, some of the survey respondents said that once they could return to physical locations, they would appreciate the in-store experience even more than they did before. One individual mentioned the excitement of going back to favorite stores, restaurants, and other businesses to make human connections and share experiences, said Wold.

While 43 percent of respondents said that once the crisis is over they will return to shopping the way they did before, 41 percent said that it was too soon to tell, she added.

Online Shopping to the Rescue

Of the 1,000 consumers CGS surveyed, 46 percent were employed full-time, and another 17 percent were retired. Access to a stable income likely factored into purchasing habits, but age also played a major role, according to the survey analysis.

Sixty-four percent of millennials (25-34-year olds) purchased everyday clothing. Older consumers were much less likely to make fashion purchases, suggesting retailers should focus their targeting efforts on younger buyers.

Consumers shopped online both to obtain items not readily available in physical stores and to avoid having to go to physical stores for both convenience and safety reasons, noted Magel.

But the majority of the rise in online purchases for nonessentials is the result of it being the only channel available to them, he said. This includes making updates to their closet. I do see the spike in e-commerce being just that  a spike.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

However, an acceleration of the growth of e-commerce across all product categories is expected, he added. Grocery shopping will be a very big beneficiary of that growth, as people become more comfortable with the online/delivery model.

The Bazaarvoice survey concurred with CGSs findings about consumers shopping online because of both convenience and necessity. Almost one-third (31 percent) of the Bazaarvoice surveys respondents said their shopping behavior changed when their government established strict guidelines about staying at home.

Online Shopping Outperforming 2019

The Bazaarvoice Network tracks worldwide shopping and sales patterns on a weekly basis. The ongoing report reveals how the pandemic is influencing consumers and impacting shopping behaviors, and it is identifying patterns as trends emerge.

Among the key takeaways leading into the worldwide shutdown the pandemic caused in March 2020:

A 21 percent year-over-year increase in order count from March 2019 to March 2020;

Order count surged on March 11, the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic;

Food, beverage and tobacco products order count increased 85 percent, as more consumers bought groceries online; there was a 66 percent increase in page views in the category, and review submissions increased by 87 percent;

Sporting goods experienced an 86 percent increase in order count and a 47 percent increase in page views;

The toys and games category increased 90 percent in page views and 60 percent in order count;

Apparel and accessories increased 4 percent in page views, but decreased 4 percent in order count.

Strong Consumer Support

CGS commissioned Dynata to survey 1,000 consumers across the U.S. about their current spending for nonessential items. For the purposes of the survey, nonessential purchases were items other than food, medicine and hygiene products.

Notable findings:

Consumers were not upset about service disruptions but transparency was essential;

Loyalty programs were a must-have for retailers;

Consumers continued to make nonessential wardrobe purchases.

A combination of production delays and reduced staff kept many companies from maintaining the level of service they offered earlier in the year.

However, most consumers said they were not affected by those operational strains. More than half of the respondents (53 percent) said they were not experiencing service disruptions. Those responses could have been influenced in large part by the proactive communications they received about service disruptions.

More than one-third of the responding consumers said they experienced shipping delays but received adequate notice from the merchants. Another 28 percent reported experiencing no delays.

If companies were proactive about remedying delays and making customers aware of longer fulfillment timelines, consumers were less likely to feel any significant service disruptions, according to the report.

Loyalty Programs Essential for Retailers

Many businesses are using rewards and loyalty perks as a way to maintain their customer base with growing success.

More than 90 percent of consumers said free shipping and product discounts/promotions would win them over, according to CGS. For small and local retailers, it was even more crucial to maintain their in-store customer base.

Sixty-nine percent of consumers utilized Amazon and other marketplace websites for their nonessential purchases. Another 13 percent shopped at department store websites, with less than 10 percent going directly to a brands website or a local store.

Rewarding customers through promotions, membership benefits and individual perks is a way of maintaining business through these difficult times and beyond, noted CGS.

Supply Chains and Consumers Adapting

There are indications that inventories to meet online consumer buying are starting to keep up with consumer demand, based on the CGS survey. Thirty-one percent of consumers were disappointed with retailers because products were unavailable.

Fifty-eight percent of the Bazaarvoice survey respondents said they experienced product shortages at stores. Forty-four percent felt they had access both to essential and nonessential supplies, but that getting them was tricky. Only 24 percent said they were able to get everything they needed quite easily, according to Wold.

The shortages stemmed in large part from the supply chain crisis that started in Chinas manufacturing base, noted Magel. Another factor is that e-commerce platforms began allocating more warehouse space to essentials to meet the growing demand during the pandemic.

We are starting to see retailers look to the inventory currently stuck in their closed retail stores as a source for e-commerce fulfillment, he said.

Exactly when or how the current crisis state will end remains unknown. What is certain is that we will not return to pre-crisis norms, according to Magel. A new normal will emerge, embracing e-commerce across all product categories and all consumer demographics.

Retailers that had not embraced an e-commerce channel as a material source of their revenue are now looking at that as a model moving forward, he added.

Surprising Results Revealed

The biggest surprise in the latest research was not the 21 percent increase in online orders in March. It was seeing order increases across almost all categories in the network, said Wold.

Many people suddenly began working from home and setting up home offices. That resulted in sales of office supplies increasing 45 percent, hardware purchases increasing 65 percent, and software sales increasing 61 percent. All categories saw major spikes in March orders.

With adults and children homebound, sporting goods orders have increased 86 percent, and toys and games have increased 60 percent.

Consumers increasingly have been turning to online shopping for groceries, many for the first time. Food, beverages and tobacco orders increased 85 percent, the Bazaarvoice survey found.

The only verticals with decreases in orders were apparel and accessories (-4 percent), as consumers mostly are staying at home; religious and ceremonial (-32 percent), due to large gatherings being canceled globally; and luggage and bags (-39 percent), as airline travel has all but ceased.

Consumers purchase priorities have shifted as a result of COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, consumers main priorities when making purchases were quality (48 percent), price (47 percent) and brand (24 percent). Now they are focused mostly on availability (49 percent), price (36 percent), and quality (34 percent), according to Bazaarvoices survey.

Pandemic Shopping Influences

The survey results exposed a few significant or potentially problematic issues if the trends continue. For Wold, the most significant findings from her companys data is the increase in the grocery vertical.

Food, beverages and tobacco saw an 85 percent increase in orders on the Bazaarvoice Network in March. Groceries were the No. 1 category that survey takers said they were buying more of right now, garnering 76 percent of responses.

This is an industry that had slower adoption of e-commerce before the pandemic began, and now it has been forced to the forefront, Wold pointed out.

It will be interesting to see which brands can be successful, she continued, as well as which could not innovate quickly enough, and how consumer behavior will change again (or not) in post-pandemic times.
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Chandigarh: The Punjab Police has busted a major narco-gangster module with the arrest of three persons, allegedly linked to the 532 kg Attari drug haul.

Six illegal weapons have been seized from the accused and a case against them has been registered at Police Station Bhikiwind, under sections 27 of NDPS Act, 25, 54, 59 of Arms Act, 188, 269, 270, 506 of IPC and 51B of Disaster Management Act, DGP Dinkar Gupta said on Tuesday.

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ArrestGupta said that a team of DSP/Detective and In-charge CIA, Tarn Taran arrested Gurpreet Singh s/o Jaswant Singh, r/o vill. Bhikiwind, PS Bhikiwind; Sukhdev Singh s/o Lakhvir Singh, r/o vill. Jeoneke, PS Harike; and Sarabjit Singh s/o Sukhdev Singh, r/o vill. Wara, PS Bhikiwind.

The weapons recovered from them included a 12 bore double barrel rifle, a 32 bore Beretta pistol, two 32 bore pistols, a 12 bore pistol and a 315 bore pistol, along with 2 live rounds of 315 bore and 2 live rounds of 32 bore.

Gurpreet was reportedly in direct contact with several gangsters and drug smugglers currently in prison.

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Giving details, the DGP said that Gurpreet Singhs questioning had revealed that he was in direct contact with Shubham, a Batala based gangster and a prime accused in the case of armed robbery of nearly Rs. 7 crores from a jewellery shop in Amritsar in 2018. He was arrested in 2019 and is currently lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar.

Based on the forensic and technical investigation conducted so far, it has been found that Gurpreet Singh was in contact with Shubham, and supplied weapons to his associates in Tarn Taran and Ferozepur areas.

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The DGP further said that on the basis of investigation done by the team led by SSP Dhruv Dhaiya, three other associates of the gang, all resident of Ferozepur, had been identified. They were found to be actively involved in supply of weapons into Harike, Patti and Bhikiwind areas of Tarn Taran.

He said Surya, r/o village Katora under police station Arifke, Ferozepur , had been identified as another key associate of Shubham, who was involved in the illegal weapons supply, in coordination with Gurpreet Singh.

Investigation revealed that Gurpreet Singh was in direct contact with Kuldip Singh @ Babbu s/o Harbhajan Singh r/o vill. Havelian, PS Sarai Amanat Khan, Tarn Taran, who is the brother of Ranjit Rana, the prime accused in the 532 kg heroin Attari drug haul case, and arrested recently by Punjab Police.

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Gupta further stated that Kuldip Singh, an accused in three cases of NDPS Act, including a case of 22 kg heroin registered in 2014 by SSOC, Amritsar, is currently lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar.

Links of Gurpreet Singh had also been traced to Sarabjit Singh @ Saaba s/o Sukhdev Singh r/o Lahore Chowk, PS City Patti, Tarn Taran, who is an accused in a case of 13 kg heroin and is also now lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar. Gurpreet Singh has repeatedly procured commercial scale heroin consignments from the above smugglers.

The DGP said that in-depth forensic and technical analysis of the mobile devices of Gurpreet Singh and his associates was being conducted. The links of the gang with gangster Shubham and major drug smugglers, including the accused of the 532 kg heroin haul from Attari border, was also being investigated further.

Reiterating the firm commitment of Punjab Police to eliminate the scourge of drug trafficking and smuggling from the state, Gupta said that since enforcement of curfew on March 22, 15.802 kg heroin had been recovered in the Tarn Taran district.

Further, the district police had been rigorously pursuing cases of freezing and forfeiture of illegally acquired properties of major NDPS drug smugglers, under provisions of NDPS Act.

Gupta said the properties of 12 NDPS drug smugglers worth around Rs. 6.22 crores had been frozen by the district police since the imposition of curfew in the state. Besides, 11 new cases of freezing of property, worth around Rs. 17.42 crores, had been recently prepared and sent to the Competent Authority, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, while 7 new cases worth around Rs. 5 crores would be sent during this week.

Overall, illegally acquired properties of 51 major NDPS drug smugglers, worth around Rs. 54.46 crores, have been frozen by the district police in the past nine months, upon receipt of confirmation orders from the Competent Authority in New Delhi, said Gupta, adding that further cases are being actively identified and pursued expeditiously.

Apart from the action against drugs, 13 illegal weapons have also been recovered by the district police since the curfew was clamped and action against gangsters and illegal weapons smuggling was being pursued vigorously with a zero tolerance approach by the district police, added the DGP.
As the EU prepares to tomorrow issue new guidelines for member states on travel, quarantine and health and safety measures, Irish MEPs have called for mandatory health checks at Irish airports and border entry points.

Brussels will tomorrow publish further parts for a roadmap for the bloc on lifting Covid-19 containment measures. But states will not be told when to lift border controls.

The EU recommendations are part of a tourism package for the bloc with non-binding guidelines covering health and safety measures for hotels and other accommodation and for transport users and providers to try and minimise infections.

They will address the use of travel vouchers - announced by the government here last week - where passengers can get refunds or future bookings with travel providers. The idea, EU sources say, will be for airlines, transport providers and tour operators to incentivise passengers to purchase, thereby reducing financial liquidity problems for companies.

A key part of the document will be the EU's advice on member states lifting internal borders. EU officials will set out how the bloc can lift quarantine measures for incoming travellers, lift border controls and come back to what is being described as a new normal.

There are suggestions that the EU could go as far as proposing that travellers may have to pass a test, such as a temperature check, or live in a so-called green zone or non-virus community in order to be allowed cross into other states. But this does not take account of the fact that states have independent control of borders.

EU chiefs will outline different phases and say how countries with low infection rates can start those sooner. It is also understood that the EU document says travel restrictions could be lifted first for some modes of transport and some types of tourism activities, in view of planning summer holiday travel".

Meanwhile, a number of Irish MEPs have called for mandatory health checkpoints at Irish airports for all incoming travellers.

Fianna Fail Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher said: Let's start with temperature checks. The reality is, if they have one [a temperature], they may have to turn around and go home. What of the idea of people walking around Dublin in a few weeks from the UK or elsewhere who have this?

We don't want that, it will only set things back and the progress being made.

Fine Gael Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune agreed, saying that some checks should take place at airports and clearer guidelines were needed on this.
File photo of a restaurant as seen on April 15, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Indian restaurants, like other small businesses with narrow profit margins, have been forced to reinvent their business model almost overnight due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)
The SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is the most significant small-business relief effort in modern history. A key component of the $600 billion-plus (and counting) stimulus rollout is that beneficiaries can have their loans forgiven so long as they use the funds for qualifying expenses, which can include payroll, rent, mortgage interest and utility payments.

The program was extremely popular in round one, and the initial $350 billion in funding was claimed in only 13 days. The SBA began approving an additional $310 billion from the second round on April 27, but as of May 10, only $120 billion in funding remained. (A good chunk of which is owed to dozens of publicly traded companies having returned multi-million-dollar loans.)

Related: Should I Return My Small-Business Loan?

Only $120 Billion in Round-Two PPP Funding Left

Here's a quick table summary of PPP round-two data as of 5 p.m. EST on May 10.

Banks have been reporting that thousands of applications remain in their internal ques. In fact, many large banks are no longer taking new applications, as they are uncertain if they will be able to get their current inventory of applications funded before round-two money is allocated. Larger banks have told customers that they may be better off working with a smaller bank. Chase alone has said they have received more than 300,000 applications.

Forgiveness Rule Updates

The most enticing feature of the PPP loan is the ability to qualify for forgiveness. A small business that receives a PPP loan has eight weeks to use it for the qualifying expenses of payroll, rent, mortgage interest and utilities. However, as small-business owners begin to use their PPP funds, many have found that the rules governing whether those funds will be forgiven are more complex than they first thought. (For a detailed outline of the forgiveness rules, please refer to my prior article here.)

The SBAs rulemaking relating to loan forgiveness created a requirement whereby a loan-forgiveness request must contain 75 percent payroll costs. The remaining 25 percent can be approved non-payroll costs, such as the aforementioned rent, mortgage interest and utilities. So, for example, if you received a $150,000 PPP loan and spent $70,000 on payroll costs and $30,000 on rent, mortgage interest and utilities  such that you had a $100,000 forgiveness request  your loan forgiveness request would fail the 75 percent test, as payroll costs in the forgiveness request were only 70 percent.

The forgiveness request would be reduced until payroll costs equal 75 percent of the total amount. In this example, that would be a reduction of approved non-payroll costs from $30,000 to $23,333. The other $56,667 not spent on approved costs would generally be returned to the bank or kept as a loan and paid back later under a two-year term at 1 percent interest.

Related: You Now Have An Extra Week to Return Your SBA PPP Loan

FTE Reduction Rule

The 75 percent payroll-cost provision seems easy enough on the surface, but there is an additional rule that has caught many small-business owners by surprise and is one for which the SBA has recently provided relief. Under this rule, you are penalized if you do not bring back the same number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees you had pre-pandemic. (Please refer to my prior article here for more details on the FTE rule.)

So, for example, if you had 10 FTE employees pre-pandemic, but you only bring back six during the eight-week period that you have the PPP loan, you must reduce your forgiveness request by a multiple of the percent of FTE employees you have brought back. If you had a $100,000 forgiveness request, assuming it first met the 75 percent payroll cost test, that request would be reduced to $60,000. The effect of this rule is that small businesses are punished for not bringing back the same number of employees or more when it comes to loan forgiveness.

In many cases, re-hiring employees has proven to be difficult for small businesses, many of which remain restricted by shelter-in-place orders and may not be able to utilize their employees in a remote work environment. Others are finding it difficult to hire back workers who are receiving generous unemployment compensation, or who are worried about health conditions at the workplace.

Its important to note that there is a workaround built into the law that says you can use the total number of FTE employees you have on June 30, 2020, instead of the number of FTE employees you have during the eight weeks. This rule will help small businesses that are unable to open entirely or otherwise unable to maintain their FTE staff now, as they are receiving their PPP loan funds, but that will be back up to their regular workforce by June 30, 2020.

Favorable SBA Guidance Will Help

The SBA recently issued favorable guidance addressing problems small-business owners have faced in bringing back workers. The guidance, issued last week, states that if a small business makes a written offer to re-hire a worker and that worker chooses not to accept, then the employee will not be counted against the small business for purposes of the FTE forgiveness-reduction rule.

This guidance is significant for small businesses that are struggling to recover and are counting on loan forgiveness. For most small businesses, obtaining loan forgiveness, as opposed to debt that must be re-paid in two years, will be critical to their future and whether they can stay in business and maintain their payroll.

Tax Pitfall

A recent IRS Notice will have the effect of a tax on small businesses that have their PPP loan forgiven. The CARES Act itself states that a forgiven PPP loan will not be considered taxable income to the small business. In essence, when you are forgiven debt by a bank or other party, the lender will typically issue the borrower a 1099-C for the amount forgiven, and the business or its owner will end up having to include that 1099 on their tax return and will have to pay tax on the amount forgiven as if it was income. Congress didnt want this outcome, and as a result the CARES Act clearly states that forgiven loan amounts will not be considered forgiveness of debt income.

Despite this provision in the CARES Act itself, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32 and stated that while the forgiven loan is not income, the business cannot expense the use of those funds if the funds are later forgiven because of tax rules already in existence regarding loan forgiveness and business expenses. The net effect of this is that small businesses will be taxed on their PPP loan forgiveness, as they will not be able to write off those expenses (payroll costs, rent, mortgage interest, utilities).

This issue is still developing and is one that has been a surprise for small-business owners and their accountants and lawyers. There are already bipartisan bills pending in Congress to overrule the IRS interpretation, and leading lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee  including Sen. Grassley (R) of Iowa and Sen. Wyden (D) of Oregon  as well as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Rep. Neal (D) of Massachusetts, have been working with the IRS to try to correct the guidance so that a bill would become unnecessary.

Its unclear how this will play out, but there appears to be clear bipartisan support to overturn the IRS Notice so that small businesses are not taxed on their PPP loan amounts.

Related: Self-Employed With No Employees? You Can Still Get a PPP Loan

The PPP forgiveness rules will be the critical issues on the minds of small-business owners as PPP loans are being funded and put to work. Owners need to stay on top of the rules and guidance from the SBA and Treasury, and we all hope to see the SBA pivot more towards forgiveness rule issues and guidance as the second round of PPP funding is winding down.

Related:

Fight for Your Franchise Challenge, Week 6: How to Hire and Manage for Explosive Growth

5 Tips for Recognizing a Meaningful Business Opportunity When You See One

PPP Loan Developments: Only $120 Billion Left, Favorable Forgiveness Guidance from SBA and IRS Tax Pitfall



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As the rate of Coronavirus-related deaths and infections continue to fall in the United States, the total death toll in the country crossed the 80,000 mark.



With 836 new deaths and 17776 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of deaths increased to 80684, and total cases rose to 1,347,936, as of John Hopkins' 6:00 a.m. ET update on Tuesday.



The number of casualties reached 26,988 and infections rose to 337055 in New York, the epicenter of the deadly virus in the country.



The number of states that have reported more than 1000 deaths due to the deadly virus has increased to 15. In four of them, the number of deaths exceeded 4000.



New Jersey (9340 deaths and 140206 infections), Michigan (4584 deaths, 47552 infections), Massachusetts (5108 deaths and 78462 infections), Louisiana (2308 deaths, 31815 infections), Illinois (3459 death, 79007 infections), Pennsylvania (3832 deaths, 60459 infections), California (2779 deaths, 69347 infections) Connecticut (3008 deaths, 33765 infections) Texas (1118 deaths, 40590 infections), Georgia (1444 deaths, 34002 infections), Maryland (1683 deaths, 33373 infections), and Florida (1735 deaths, 40982), Indiana (1540 deaths, 24627 infections) and Ohio (1357 deaths, 24777 infections) are the worst-affected states.



In White House, as ordered by President Donald Trump, all staff are required to wear face masks after two aides were tested positive in recent days. However, when asked during a routine briefing why he doesn't cover his face, the president replied that he doesn't need one because he keeps 'far away from everyone.'



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all people cover their face while in public.



Coronavirus cases continue to rise around Washington, D.C., as the federal government presses for thousands of employees to return to work.



Even as a second wave of infection is predicted to return by autumn, several states are lifting restrictions.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Andrew McCabe arrives for a meeting with members of the Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

McCabe Said FBI Vetting Boosted Steele Dossier Credibility, IG Report Tells Otherwise

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told lawmakers that the FBIs efforts to verify the infamous Steele dossier generally made the dossier more credible, in his belief. However, the efforts uncovered much information that undermined the dossiers credibility.

The dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated claims about collusion between Russia and the 2016 campaign of Donald Trump, was put together by former British spy Christopher Steele. It was paid, through intermediaries, by the campaign of Trumps opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.

The FBI used the dossier to obtain a highly intrusive spying warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

The FBI exerted significant resources to try to verify the dossiers claims, but either contradicted or came up empty-handed on all the flagship allegations.

McCabe, however, claimed the dossiers credibility had increased with the vetting when he was interviewed by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Dec. 19, 2017. At the time, he was still the second in command at the bureau.

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) asked McCabe, whether he was more comfortable with the credibility of the dossier at the time of the interview than he was in early January 2017.

Do you think its more credible now than you believed it was at that time? he asked.

I think that our folks have done a fair amount of work on trying to track down and vet the information in the Steele reporting since the time, McCabe replied.

Has that work made you more comfortable and more believing in its credibility? Stewart jumped in.

I think generally, yes, but I cant speak to the specifics, McCabe said.

Later he added: I think that our folks have done a solid job in shedding light [redacted]. And I think that that work has not exposed any weaknesses or failures in the reporting [by Steele].

In fact, the more the FBI looked into the dossier, the more it fell apart.

Steele claimed all his information was coming from a single source, which had a network of further sub-sources.

When the FBI finally got to interviewing the primary source, he (or she) said he never expected Steele to put his statements in reports or present them as facts, said the Dec. 9 report (pdf) by the Justice Departments Inspector General (IG), who reviewed some aspects of the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign.

The source made it clear to Steele that he/she had no proof to support the statements from his/her sub-sources and that it was just talk, the IG learned from the FBI agent who interviewed the source.

The information was word of mouth and hearsay; conversation that [he/she] had with friends over beers; and some was made in jest, the source said, according to the agent.

Based on what the source said, Steele exaggerated much of the information that was provided. Some of the information the source couldnt recognize at all.

Some of the most explosive allegations, according to the source, were actually not explosive at all and were conveyed to him or her in one 10-15 minute anonymous phone call. The source said he guessed who the caller was based on finding a YouTube video of a certain person speaking that sounded like the person on the telephone call, the IG said.

The interview with the source revealed that his or her network didnt really have the level of access Steele was attributing to it, and it could have been multiple layers of hearsay upon hearsay, the IG said.

Moreover, on Jan. 12, 2017, the FBI received a report that a part of the Steele dossier may have contained Russian disinformation. A person named in that part of the dossier denied the truthfulness of the information presented in the dossier and the denials were assessed as truthful, says a more recently declassified footnote (pdf) in the IG report.

Even after the source interview, the FBI kept using the dossier to renew the Page spying warrant. It even used the interview as an example of corroborating the dossier, saying the bureau found the source to be truthful and cooperative, while leaving out all the denials and qualifications the source voiced.

The FBI has since acknowledged that at least the last two renewals of the Page warrant were not justified and resulted in illegal spying on Page.

Correction: A previous version of this article featured a headline that didnt accurately reflect the grist of the story. The Epoch Times regrets the error.




Haiti - Security : The Group Phantom 509 soon reported as an terrorist group to international





Monday at a press conference, Lucmane Delile, the Minister of Justice threatened to report the organization "Phantom 509" to embassies whose countries are actively fighting against terrorism, saying that far from being a simple threat of intimidation, this decision will not take time to materialize https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30644-haiti-politic-the-group-phantom-509-target-of-the-justice.html



He doubts that these hooded and destructive and violent individuals wearing for the most part police uniforms belong to the National Police of Haiti as they claim, ensuring they hold documents relating to the identity of several of these individuals who claim to be carriers of police demands. Individuals who could find themselves unable to travel to Haitis friendly countries.



He recalled that for the Government, the action of the members of this organization is comparable to terrorism, urging the Haitian national police union to distance itself from the "Phantom 509" group.



He warned members of this Task Force who may be considering further action in the coming days that they "[...] will be hunted down like wild beasts."



Recall that during their last demonstration on April 27, these individuals were responsible for significant damage, acts of vandalism, violence and threats to civil servants https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30641-haiti-flash-violent-demonstration-of-police-officers-of-the-group-phantom-509.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30644-haiti-politic-the-group-phantom-509-target-of-the-justice.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30641-haiti-flash-violent-demonstration-of-police-officers-of-the-group-phantom-509.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















By Trend





The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) held a foreign exchange auction with the participation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $49.7 million, Trend reports citing the CBA.

According to CBA, demand from the banks at the auction declined by 15.2 percent or by $8.6 million compared to the previous auction, amounting to $49.7 million.

Considering the number of days remaining before the next scheduled auction, as well as with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted currency trading by the banks, the demand of banks at the auction will be fully provided on weekends.

The first foreign exchange auction in a long time was held with the participation of SOFAZ on March 10, 2020, during which Azerbaijani banks acquired 323.2 million manat ($190.1 million).

The CBA began to hold foreign exchange auctions through unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017. In March 2020, it was decided to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency amid the failed deal OPEC+, which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 12)
Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Papa Owusu Ankomah has recovered after being infected with Covid-19.

Making the announcement today, Tuesday, May 12, Mr. Ankomah described his recovery as a blessing from the horrific effects of COVID-19.

Papa Owusu Ankomah was in April 2020 diagnosed with the virus and was said to be in stable condition despite reports that he was receiving treatment at the intensive care unit at a hospital.

But a statement from the diplomat said he is now free from the virus.

I am reaching out to you today as the world fights a significant battle against the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). As most of you are aware, I tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital, London, in April 2020. I count myself blessed to be counted among the living today based on my recovery from the horrific effects of the virus. Appreciation

Papa Owusu Ankomah also expressed appreciation to the government and President Nana Akufo-Addo for what he said was the compassion shown towards him during the trying moments

I extend my deepest gratitude to the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who continued to show compassion during those difficult times. I am also humbled to know that I can count on the continued support of the Minister for Foreign Affairs 86 Regional Integration of Ghana, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP), in many ways, particularly for the direction she gave to the High Commission to manage matters.

He also extended similar appreciation to well-meaning Ghanaians who through thick and thin expressed concerns and poured out their well-wishes to him.

I am grateful to all for the prayers and well wishes to me, my family, and staff of the High Commission during the difficult moment of recovery. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude and I am fortunate to know that I have the concern of each and every one of you.

After it was reported that Papa Owusu Ankomah had contracted COVID-19, former British High Commissioner to Ghana and Director of COVID-19 operations at the UK's Foreign Office, Jon Benjamin sent out a message to wish Mr. Ankomah a speedy and complete recovery.

The High Commission of Caribbean country Belize, in London also tweeted on Sunday wishing the Ghanaian diplomat a full and speedy recovery.

Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Mac Manu also took to Twitter to extend his well-wishes to the former Minister of State and Attorney General. He also called for prayers for him.

---citinewsroom
Inmates in an LA County jail reportedly tried to infect themselves with the coronavirus pandemic in hopes it could grant them early release.

A video and evidence from within the facilities were published online. The footage showed the inmates drinking from a container that was reportedly contaminated by an inmate who tested positive for COVID-19. They were also seen hiding the infected container as part of their scheme to get an early release.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he was dismayed when he realized the prisoners intentionally infected themselves with the deadly virus.

A trustee inmate reportedly discovered the infected container. The prisoner came across a stash of items they believe would give them the respiratory virus.

According to law enforcement officials, the prisoners attacked a trustee who disrupted their coronavirus scheme by removing the items they claim was tainted with the disease.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 350 inmates were confirmed to be infected with the virus. The tally tripled since the end of April when health officials reported 115 additional cases.

Of the 357 prisoners who tested positive for the coronavirus, 117 have made a full recovery and over 222 other remain sick. The court allowed the early release of eighteen inmates after they were infected with the virus. However, they were granted freedom before meeting the US federal health agency's standards for being fully recovered.

Villanueva has made significant changes that greatly reduced the jail's population. As of Friday, the jails held 11,723 inmates-5,277 less than the number of inmates the prisons typically house.

Most of the infected individuals were placed at the Twin Towers, which is known as the world's largest jail and the United States' largest mental health facility. According to reports from the Sheriff's Department, 205 inmates tested positive inside the facility.

Inside the LA County jails, over 4,500 prisoners are currently placed under quarantine-2,000 of which are housed in the North County facility in Castaic.

Critics have continuously called out the LA County for "not doing enough" amid the rapid spread of the pandemic. A recent class-action lawsuit claims the corrections officials refused inmates access to coronavirus tests despite showing symptoms. They also said the prisoners lacked sufficient space to observe proper social distancing protocols. The lawsuit also claims inmates were denied soap and other hygiene products essential in fighting the COVID-19 infection.

Inspector General Max Huntsman said one dorm at the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail saw over a hundred people clustered and housed in bunks that were only one metre apart. He also received complaints of an overwhelming number of inmates who are still waiting to be tested despite showing symptoms related to the coronavirus. Huntsman said 43 people were eligible for early release.

New York, California, and Ohio were among the first states to issue an early release to incarcerated people to prevent a devastating outbreak within the federal enclosures.

The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission is planning to subpoena Villanueva to discuss how he handled the coronavirus outbreak in the state's jails.

Catch up on the latest news from the Americas here:




Haiti - FLASH : More than 200 confirmed cases in the country





The Ministry of Public Health informs that 27 new cases have been confirmed, or a total of 209 cases (40.7% women and 59.3% men) since the start of the epidemic (March 19, 2020) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html . A 16th death hasq been reported.



The number of active cases in Haiti (excluding death and recovery) now stands at 176 cases (+ 17.33%) or +26 since the last report of the Ministry https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30747-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-may-11-2020.html



166 people hospitalized and 807 quarantined at home.



Number of suspected cases followed : 1,311 (+ 1.16%) or +15 cases since the last Ministry report https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30747-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-may-11-2020.html



All the details in the 11h00am daily report



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30747-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-may-11-2020.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 17:36:08|Editor: huaxia

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NANGARHAR, Afghanistan, May 12 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed and 56 others were wounded after a suicide bomb explosion hit a funeral in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar province on Tuesday, a local official confirmed.

"The funeral was underway for a former Afghan local police official in Kuz Kunar district Tuesday morning. A suspected suicide bomb blast went off roughly at 11:00 a.m. (local time), leaving the casualties," a security source told Xinhua anonymously.

Those among the killed was Abdullah Malakzai, a member of the provincial council, and a member of the national parliament sustained injuries in the incident, the source said.

Many of the wounded received life-threatening wounds and were sent to hospitals in Kuz Kunar and provincial capital Jalalabad city.

Further details about the incident are still forthcoming amid the absence of any official statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Militants of the Taliban outfit and Islamic State (IS) group both have presence in the mountainous province. Enditem
"Its important to me that future leaders understand how critical it is to provide safe food to billions throughout the world, which is why Im thrilled to be part of this innovative program, said Jared Willbergh, Director of Food Safety at Specialtys Cafe & Bakery.

The University of Minnesotas Integrated Food Systems Leadership (IFSL) program is pleased to announce the addition of three new food system industry experts to its roster of cross-disciplinary advisors who provide insight, guidance and support for the program, as well as cohort mentoring.

Designed for working food professionals, the IFSL graduate certificate program expands emerging food system leaders knowledge, and exposes them to new and different approaches that help them be more effective in their professions and enables them to have a greater impact on helping address overall food system challenges.

The IFSL program has a robust roster of cross-disciplinary advisors as well as professors from three of the University of Minnesotas colleges  the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, the School of Public Health, and the College of Veterinary Medicine  have collaborated to form this unique program, providing a multifaceted and robust learning opportunity for its participants.

The newest IFSL program advisors include:



Keith Cole, Vice President of Sales, CMX Technology

Jeanine Flaherty, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance, Legal Sea Foods

Jared Willbergh, Director of Food Safety at Specialtys Cafe & Bakery

"Its important to me that future leaders understand how critical it is to provide safe food to billions throughout the world, which is why Im thrilled to be part of this innovative program, said Jared Willbergh, Director of Food Safety at Specialtys Cafe & Bakery. Im excited to play a role in the IFSL program that will open up new perspectives for the cohort, showing them how their expanded knowledge and leadership skills will have an impact on helping address the challenges in our food system, and in turn, advance their careers.

Throughout my career, Ive learned the importance of working across teams and with a variety of industry stakeholders to ensure safe and clean food is delivered, said Jeanine Flaherty, VP of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance, Legal Sea Foods. Im passionate about breaking down silos within our food system, so Im excited to share the knowledge and skills Ive gained with future leaders.

For twenty-five years, Ive had a rewarding career working extensively with the worlds largest food producers, growers, and retailers, said Keith Cole, VP of Sales, CMX Technology. I look forward to giving back to the food industry, and helping the IFSL program grow their participants knowledge and understanding of the impact sales, marketing and technologies have on our food system. 

The growing list of industry experts from top food and beverage companies involved in the IFSL program include:



Dan Belina, Senior Scientist, Land O Lakes

Courtney Bidney, Director, Global Regulatory Affairs & International Nutrition, General Mills

Keith Cole, Vice President of Sales, CMX Technology

Jeanine Flaherty, Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance, Legal Sea Foods

Rolando Gonzalez, Vice President of Public Health, The Acheson Group

Gabe Gusmini, President & CEO, The Plant Pathways Company

Nicole Neeser, Division Director Dairy and Meat Inspection, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Tamara Nelsen, Executive Director, AgriGrowth

Melanie Neumann, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Matrix Sciences

Steve Olson, Food System Strategist

Ruth Petran, Vice President Food Safety and Public Health, Ecolab

Joe Scimeca, Senior Vice President & Scientific Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association

Matt Surdick, Safety Manager, CHS, Inc.

Jared Willbergh, Director of Food Safety at Specialtys Cafe & Bakery

We are grateful for the role and contributions of our IFSL industry advisors, in both shaping the program curriculum and contributing to the growth and mentorship of our cohort, said Dr. Jennifer van de Ligt, IFSL program Director. We are delighted to welcome the newest industry advisors, as they bring additional expertise and roles to our advisor community.

Applications are now being accepted for the next cohort that begins in September 2020. The IFSL 13-month program is primarily online with leadership sessions on-campus at the beginning and end of the program.

About the University of Minnesotas Integrated Food Systems Leadership Program

Delivering a comprehensive and actionable educational experience, the University of Minnesotas Integrated Food Systems Leadership Program (IFSL) broadens the knowledge and understanding of the global food supply chain and interdependencies across the food system, while promoting critical thinking and problem solving across disciplines. IFSL is a Post-Baccalaureate Regents Certificate program designed for working professionals and bridges the gap between traditional food system education and a professional leadership program.

For more information, visit https://ifsl.umn.edu/.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested MPI to build a scenario for economic recovery after Covid-19.

Experts believe that its necessary to figure out a roadmap for re-opening business fields at suitable moments. The principle for now is developing the economy while fighting the epidemic at the same time.





To Trung Thanh from the Hanoi Economics University stressed that the government needs to choose the right economic sectors to gather strength for economic recovery.



The foreign invested sector makes up 20 percent of GDP, SOEs 30 percent, and the remaining 40 percent comes from private enterprises.

The foreign invested sector has suffered heavily from Covid-19 because the enterprises are deeply involved in global value chains. Meanwhile, both upstream and downstream chains have been hit hard by the epidemic.

The foreign invested sector has suffered heavily from Covid-19 because the enterprises are deeply involved in global value chains. Meanwhile, both upstream and downstream chains have been hit hard by the epidemic.



Thanh believes that Covid-19 will increase protectionism and anti-globalization sentiment triggered some years ago.



The state-invested sector mostly comprises large enterprises. A report shows that though the number of SOEs just account for 0.8 percent of total enterprises, their operation scale accounts for 72 percent.



Large enterprises have also been hit hard by Covid-19, while their capability of adapting to difficult conditions is lower than others. The recovery of the sector will go more slowly.



Meanwhile, private enterprises are mostly small and medium enterprises and business households, which make the greatest contribution to GDP. The typical characteristic of the economic sector is that they are very small in scale and can easily adapt to shocks.



Since the enterprises are not involved deeply in the global value chains, their recovery wont heavily depend on the epidemic situation in the world.



Therefore, Thanh believes that the government needs to create more favorable conditions in terms of finance, business environment and development policies to speed up the recovery of the private sector.



Dinh The Hien, director of the Institute of Applied Informatics and Economics, thinks that production for export needs to be the focus.

He said after Covid-19, countries will relocate production to other countries and Vietnam needs to maintain exports to be able to catch the trend.



The expert has also suggested allowing the re-opening of restaurants and eateries. This will consume big amounts of farm produce and stimulate demand. Besides, this will help create jobs for a high number of workers, especially freelancers.



He also said it is necessary to resume passenger and cargo transport soon. As for night services and crowded gatherings, Hien believes that they will still have to wait more time to reopen.

Le Ha

VN businesses redirect production to adapt to Covid-19 Some large corporations have shifted to making products that can be useful in the fight against Covid-19. Vingroup has promised to make ventilators, and garment companies are making face masks from antibacterial fabric.
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MANISTEE  The Manistee County Fair is still slated for Aug. 16-22  with some differences.

Most notably, 4-H will not be participating at this year's fair due to concerns about the coronavirus. Michigan 4-H canceled or postponed all face-to-face youth events until at least Sept. 1.

"At this point, due to the novel coronavirus, we will not be having a 4-H presence at the fair this year in person," said Jennifer Berkey of the MSU Extension Service. "We are not encouraging any of our 4-H youth or leaders to participate in an in-person fair event because of health-related concerns. The fair is proceeding as they would like to proceed."

The Manistee County Fair will offer a youth open show. There will be livestock and still-exhibit judging, special activities and an auction. The fair will mirror and follow all 4-H rules as closely as possible.

"4-H withdrew from anything until Sept. 1, so the kids who have market projects have to make the decision either to show with 4-H virtually or come to the fair for an open youth showing. It's a difficult situation," said fair board member Elaine Bossingham. "We are backing the kids in the community who choose to go with the open format. We have to restructure how we're doing things, as the fair board will be taking over the auction and we will open up classes for the kids to show in an open format. I think that will really benefit the kids, and we're looking forward to that."

4-H is currently coming up with a way for its members to show their projects virtually.

"This year, we're going to be offering our 4-H youth an option to participate through a virtual fair or an online-based fair experience," Berkey said. "Right now, we're investigating what those platforms would look like, but as it stands right now, our intention is to provide a virtual or online fair showing and market experience for our 4-H youth.

"We want to make sure we keep our communities, our 4-H youths and our 4-H leaders safe during the COVID-19 concerns," she continued. "Our intentions are to offer this virtual or online platform so that we can keep our community members safe and healthy as we proceed with caution this summer."

The Manistee County Fair will feature the carnival and grandstand events typical of years past, while also taking necessary precautions to keep everyone safe.

"We are still going ahead with our grandstand shows and we have our carnival company coming. So far, everything is a go," Bossingham said. "Carnival companies are having a very difficult time with all of the orders as far as sanitation and whatnot  understanding how all that works. We have been in contact with our MAFE (Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions) association and we had a Zoom meeting with all of the carnival companies.

"Everyone is just working together to make it a safe and fun environment, so everybody can come and feel relaxed and comfortable and enjoy a fair which has been a tradition for well over 100 years," she continued. "It gives everybody something to look forward to. We haven't had much in sight as far as that goes, lately."

Special care is being taken to make sure all the necessary protocols are in place to keep everyone involved safe and healthy.

"The carnival company went the extra mile to educate us on the things that they have learned. There are a lot of things that everyone is working on," Bossingham said. "People think you just walk into the fair and it's there, but they have no idea the countless hours that are in place to plan this event that go on throughout the entire year.

"We have a great staff, with MAFE keeping us informed every step of the way," she continued. "They're working with our government here in Michigan to make sure all the guidelines are being met and keeping us updated right to the minute on new happenings so everybody can make an informed decision."

Bossingham said the fair is important to the community and a lot of hard work is going into ensuring the Manistee County Fair goes off without a hitch.

"I think that when you cancel things prematurely, it really hurts the community. A lot of these communities rely on tourist dollars, and we're just trying to do our best to make sure we're going in the right direction and to give everybody a venue to come to," she said. "... Anything we can do to support our community. That's what it's all about."

Those seeking more information can visit the Manistee County Fair's Facebook page or go to https://www.manisteecountyfair.org.
Production on big budget films has been suspended as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe.

And now Kiwi star Sam Neil has discussed the future of his upcoming blockbuster, Jurassic World 3.

The movie was just two weeks into filming in London when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, grinding production to a halt.

Sam, who has starred in the first two installments of the popular trilogy, has suggested that filming should be relocated from London to Australia.

'I'd like to think that maybe we can start or restart in this part of the world,' the 72-year-old actor said during an interview with Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa.

'Well, we're in the fridge for the time being': Veteran actor Sam Neill says filming for Jurassic World 3 should be relocated to Australia after production in London was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic

He went on to suggest that outdoor scenes could be filmed in either Australia or New Zealand, and then finish up in the London studio.

'I'd like to think we're supposed to be in London, but it's a complete mess at the moment,' he added.

'We're using the (James) Bond stage. They built these enormous sets of the Bond stage in London, so they'd like to use those ideally.'

Sam is currently is waiting for filming to resume.

'Well, we're in the fridge for the time being,' he said.

'I'd like to think that maybe we can start or restart in this part of the world,' the 72-year-old actor said during an interview with Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa

'Yes, they got two weeks done. I was waiting in London for my stuff to start. Then it became apparent where it was going to be.'

He said when production was closed, all cast and crew to return to their homes and the city went into lockdown.

It comes after newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard revealed all three actors Sam, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, who led the cast of the 1993's original movie, Jurassic Park, would be appearing in the 2021 film.

Record it in Australia! The New Zealand film icon said he is hoping the studio will consider his suggestion of relocating the London film set Down Under. 'I'd like to think that maybe we can start or restart in this part of the world'
Domestic violence hearings which relate to incidents that ocurred during the Covid-19 emergency lockdown will be able to be brought before judges from May 18 in District Courts.

The resumption of such hearings is among measures to be implemented at District Courts around Ireland on the day when the lockdown restrictions begin to be eased.

However, non-urgent matters will not resume and there will be restrictions on how courts operate and who can attend.

Non-urgent motoring offences will have to be rescheduled.

Apart from domestic violence criminal matters, some Family Law and Child care mattters have been added to the list of cases that are now regarded as urgent issues for local courts to begin dealing with from May 18.

The President of the District Court, Judge Colin Daly, in consultation with the Chief Justice and other Court Presidents has decided on the additional measures concerning the business of the Court will be implemented on May 18.

A statement said these measures are a necessary response to the developing COVID-19 situation and the continued need to focus on prevention of community spread of COVID-19 while ensuring access to justice in a manner fully respecting public safety and considering Government public health advice.

The following is an outline of the amended measures.

1. Parties with non-urgent cases are not required to attend court at this time.

2. The District Court will continue to hear urgent matters in all District Court Districts throughout the country and will resume hearings of certain urgent matters.

3. Urgent matters are now extended to include:

(i) Criminal Law

Attendance for Service of Books of Evidence and sending forward for trial on indictment; matters for sentencing where a guilty plea is indicated; the hearing of cases where an accused person is in custody on the charges before the court; resuming and concluding part-heard cases; prosecutions for alleged breaches of Domestic Violence Orders which have occurred during the emergency period; and hearing cases where there are garda witnesses only.

The statement says remands where the accused is in custody should be dealt with by video-link wherever possible.

(ii)Family Law.

New applications for protection orders or interim barring orders and return hearings of interim barring order cases. If safety order hearings are being adjourned interim protection orders will be extended to the new date.

Applications and hearings for breach of maintenance or access that have occurred during the emergency period or applications and hearings for temporary guardianship orders.

Remote call-overs and hearings may be conducted in some courts.

Consent orders that do not require the hearing of evidence may be applied for by email by the applicants solicitor exhibiting consent in writing from the respondents solicitor. Following consideration by an assigned Judge orders will issue from the Court Office as appropriate without the need for the parties or their legal representatives to attend court.

(iii) Child Care Law.

Extension of care orders and interim care orders and emergency care orders and interim care orders.

Applications to regulate access, After-Care Reviews, part-heard Care Order Hearings and certain Care Order Hearings.

Remote call-overs and hearings may be conducted in some courts.

Consent orders that do not require the hearing of evidence may be applied for by email by the applicants solicitor exhibiting consent in writing from the respondents solicitors and the support of other participants on notice. Following consideration by an assigned Judge orders will issue from the Court Office as appropriate without the need for the parties or their legal representatives to attend court.

The statement says that if your case is not included in the description of urgent matters above, then it is a non-urgent matter and parties do not need to attend court.

The statement says solicitors are to inform clients that they do not need to attend where their case is a non-urgent matter.

It adds that non-urgent cases will be adjourned, and parties will be informed of their new court dates by the Court Service by ordinary post or by their solicitor.

Civil Matters are also addressed in the measures.

All District Court Civil matters are at present considered to be non-urgent and will be adjourned generally with liberty to re-enter either on consent or on notice to the other party.

Exceptions include a case which does not come within the defined urgent category can be treated as urgent if a good case can be made. A party can email the relevant court office setting out the reasons why the case should be considered urgent. This should be on notice to the other side who must be given an opportunity to set out their position. An assigned Judge will assess if the matter may be treated as urgent.

Public Safety Measures

The statement says matters will be scheduled where the presiding judge is satisfied that there are proper measures in place in court rooms and at courthouses to ensure that social distances can be maintained and that the court environment is safe for witnesses and all court users to attend.

It says the Health Act Temporary Restrictions COVID-19 Regulations at Regulation 4 (l) permits members of the public to leave their homes to fulfil a legal obligation such as attending a court office or court. Schedule 2 of the Regulations at parts 10 and 14 recognises legal services and courts as essential services.

The statement says scheduling may be conducted by call-over of lists requiring legal representatives and prosecutors only to attend, and may in some courts include remote call-over of lists,. Indications of pleas/consent at call-over and the avoidance of requiring witnessed to attend will be given the appropriate credit.

The statement adds thay cases will be managed to ensure that numbers coming to courts will be minimised wherever possible.

This may include staggered lists, where smaller numbers of cases are required to be in courts at allocated times, or scheduled lists/hearings, where cases are scheduled according to time slots. Practioners and Court users are expected to exercise social distancing and other public health guidelines.

The statement says these measures will be constantly reviewed to ensure that the business of the District Court is being conducted safely. It is hoped that we will be able to incrementally increase the amount of work that can be safely carried out in the District Court in accordance with Government guidelines and the roadmap for reopening society and business.

The statement replaces in full the updated statement published on 16th March 2020.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, welcomed statements by the Chief Justice, the Court Presidents and the Courts Service outlining the next steps being taken

"I appreciate the difficulties that the public health emergency is causing for the many people who both rely on and work in providing critical court services.

"The business of the courts is of fundamental importance and therefore I welcome the announcement of these important measures to ensure continuity of access to justice during the current public health emergency. I welcome the statements by the Presidents, which show that the right balance has been struck in providing essential frontline services and access to justice, while ensuring the safety of service users and essential staff.

"The continued expansion of remote hearings and physical distancing measure is welcome. It is particularly important that maintenance, domestic abuse and insolvency matters can now be dealt with as a matter of urgency for those experiencing these difficult matters.

"I know that for many people, issues in respect of Court Orders for access and custody have been of particular concern and I believe that the new measures in respect of family law and child care cases will provide greater clarity and reassurance to many people.

"I believe that the measures announced today will ensure that the courts continue to respond to the current health emergency in an agile, innovative and sustained manner for the people who both use and deliver their services," concluded the Laois Offaly TD.

The full statements are available at https://beta.courts.ie/latest_news
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont speaks at SiriusXM Studios in New York City on Dec. 20, 2019. (Bonnie Biess/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Connecticut Governor Fires Health Commissioner

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont fired state Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lamont didnt say why he fired the states top health official.

I appreciate Commissioner Coleman-Mitchells willingness to join my administration and lead one of our most vital state agencies, which is responsible for overseeing so many critical public health needs, the Democrat said in a statement.

Her service over the last year has been a great deal of help, particularly in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic that has brought disruption to many throughout the world. I thank her for her advocacy on behalf of the health and safety of our residents, and for being a dedicated partner in service to the State of Connecticut.

Deidre Gifford, the commissioner of the Department of Social Services, was shifted to become the acting commissioner of the Department of Public Health.

A statement from Gifford was released by the governors office.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required every state agency to even more closely align with each other and sync our operations to deliver a coordinated response for the people of Connecticut. I am determined to continue these efforts for the duration of our emergency response and beyond, she said.

The announcement included no statement from Coleman-Mitchell, who recently clashed with a top health official, Susan Roman.

Roman said in a March 6 resignation letter that she was subjected to racial discrimination and abusive behavior.

Working for Commissioner Coleman-Mitchell has been an incredible disappointment for me, Roman said.

Coleman-Mitchell became Connecticuts health commissioner last year after working for the Department of Public Health for 17 years.
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With the news of COVID-19 choking our email in-boxes and our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok pages, you probably missed the recent news about the death of marriage in American culture. It looks like this glorious institution of marriage is going the way of 8-track tapes and typewriters.

On April 29, 2020, a flurry of headlines declared U.S. Marriage Rate Hits Historic Low. Sadly, this is no surprise for those of us who love marriage and who examine American culture and its downward spiral related to marriage, family, and sexuality.

The bad news came out of a federal agency that we have been hearing much about, unrelated to marriage, however. The news came from a report published by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report revealed that in 2017-2018 the marriage rate dropped 6%, from 6.9 per 1,000 population to 6.5. This rate is lower than at any point in over a century. In other words, marriage is dead. If not dead, then it has been intubated on life support and the peak oxygen flow volume on the respirator dial is on its highest level ever.

Culture watchers, prognosticators, and futurists were predicting the death of marriage since the late 1960s. Remember the sexual revolution? Those of us who bring attention to this dismal data about the death of marriage  and thus life-long committed heterosexual partnerships and the benefit of sexual relations only in the context of monogamy  are criticized as being judgmental and ridiculed as cultural Neanderthals and sociological Luddites.

Not being a prophet nor the son of one, I co-wrote a Christian Post column at the end of January 2020 along with business-owner and pro-life advocate Carla DAddesi (she is the mother of three home-schooled daughters and the wife of an esteemed surgeon) about the selfishness and narcissism of the current generation of millennials. By the comments section, you would have thought we were calling for the extinction of bacon and lattes. Mean, nasty, sarcastic would be even-tempered words to describe the vitriol in response to our column.

The column was written, not as a judgment, but as a warning and as an evaluation. We should have added that the generation before millennials was the one that gloried no-fault divorce, contraception, the pill, sex without children and consequences, and the like. But the mistakes of previous generations do not have to be repeated in subsequent generations. For example, friends with benefits hasnt worked for Gen-Xers and it wont work for any generation.

Eight years ago, an article written by Derek Thompson and published in The Atlantic (no friend to dusty, musty, moldy old-school monogamy) commented on the alarming drop in marriage rates. Thompson stated:

At first blush, the institution of marriage is crumbling. In 1960, 72% of all adults over 18 were married. By 2010, the number fell to 51%. You can fault the increase in divorces that peaked in the 1970s. Or you could just blame the twentysomethings. The share of married adults 18-29 plunged from 59% in 1960 to 20% in 2010. Twenty percent!

As a pastor of urban New York City churches (think Washington Heights and the South Bronx) since 2008, Ive counseled scores of cohabitating couples. During my counseling sessions, I frequently ask the young woman what she gets out of a non-committed relationship. The question is frequently met with a blank stare or a look at the floor of the pastors office.

Young men enjoy all the benefits without any of the commitment. Sounds harsh, right? But ask any family lawyer what legal rights benefit the young woman and her children, if any, in a court of law. You might as well be looking for alligator fur or chicken teeth. In the current non-committed, shacked-up, cohabitating, marriage-is-only-a-piece-of-paper mindset, children are most at risk and little kids always suffer the worst of consequences. Dont believe it? I invite you to come to my pastoral sessions and hear the heartbreak of cohabitation, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially.

The solution to the pollution? To those of us who are married, lets work it out. If we are not working on our marriage, we are working on our divorce (divorce rate is the same in the church as it is in the popular culture). Obviously, if there is domestic violence of any sort, that must be dealt with immediately. And if we are living with someone who we are not married to but committed to, by all means, get married. Provide a safety net for yourselves and for children.

To pastors and clergy, teach about the benefits of marriage (it is in The Good Book). After many conversations with seminary students and young adult pastors, it is clear that many of these guys are cowards when it comes to teaching young people that marriage is a gift, just as singleness is a gift.

Your choice. Put another dose of morphine in the vein of marriage and allow it to go into the dustbin of history or dust off your CPR manual and get to work reviving the honorable institution of marriage. You will be saving a culture if you commit to the latter.

Pastor William Devlin is the Missions Pastor of Infinity Bible Church and travels the globe bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to hard and dangerous places like Gaza, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Cuba. The rest of his time is spent in Philadelphia with his wife of 35 years, Nancy. They have five children and five grandchildren. He is president of REDEEM and co-chair of Right to Worship NYC.
Estonian English

On 12 May 2020, AS Merko Ehitus Eesti, part of AS Merko Ehitus group, and AS GRK Infra entered into a contract with Estonian Police and Border Guard Board to design and construct the infrastructure of the Republic of Estonias southeast land border. On 23 March 2020, AS Merko Ehitus released a separate stock exchange announcement regarding the preferred bidder status ( https://www.nasdaqbaltic.com/statistics/et/news/311906 ).

The contract includes infrastructure construction works on a 23.5-kilometre border segment in Voru County. The border segment will be built from the meeting point of the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Russia until Tserebi village on the south shore of Lake Vanigojarv, 3.5 kilometres north of Luhamaa border inspection point. AS Merko Ehitus Eesti will be the leading partner in the contract.

The contract value is approximately EUR 14.7 million, plus value added tax. The works are scheduled to be completed in April 2023.

AS Merko Ehitus Eesti ( merko.ee ) is Estonian leading construction company, which offers construction services in general construction, civil engineering, road, electrical and residential construction.

Additional information: AS Merko Ehitus Eesti, Member of Management Board, Mr. Veljo Viitmann, phone: +372 680 5105.

Priit Roosimagi

Head of Group Finance Unit

AS Merko Ehitus

+372 650 1250

priit.roosimagi@merko.ee

AS Merko Ehitus (group.merko.ee) group consists of AS Merko Ehitus Eesti in Estonia, SIA Merks in Latvia, UAB Merko Statyba in Lithuania and Peritus Entreprenr AS in Norway. Besides providing construction service as a main contractor, the groups other major area of activity is apartment development. As at the end of 2019, the group employed 694 people, and the groups revenue for 2019 was EUR 327 million.
THE ISSUE:

The attorney general once again puts loyalty to the president over the rule of law.

THE STAKES:

Will Congress, and Americans, fix the law to guard against this abuse?

---

For the second time now, career employees of the Justice Department are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign. A leading good-government group says he should be impeached.

They're right.

And yet their demands will go nowhere.

The checks and balances that once made this nation a shining example of democratic governance to the world are too broken to hold Mr. Barr to account for his corrupt service to the president whose interests he shamelessly serves above all other considerations.

Mr. Barr is to our system of justice what climate change deniers are to science: a dissembler who divines through a narrow and highly selective lens that a lie is not a lie and a crime is not a crime - even when the evidence is undeniable and the suspect in question confesses.

In Mr. Barr's revisionist history, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, committed no crime when he lied to the FBI during the agency's investigation into the Trump campaign's possible collusion with Russia in that country's interference with the 2016 election. No matter that Mr. Flynn admitted that he lied about, among other things, discussing U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador, and his own work as an unregistered foreign agent of the government of Turkey - lies that "materially impaired the investigation," according to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mr. Barr brushes all that aside with the help of a hand-picked investigator, concluding that the lies weren't material after all and that the investigation of Mr. Flynn was improper to begin with. He relies significantly on statements of Mary McCord, a career employee who had left the department and now says Mr. Barr is twisting her words to turn some internal disputes about procedure into a legal basis for dropping the case against Mr. Flynn.

And so a man who once called for Mr. Trump's political rival Hillary Clinton to be locked up over allegations that never rose to the level of a crime, involving the Benghazi embassy attack and violations of email policies  policies that the Trump administration itself has disregarded  will walk free for behavior that would send most people to jail for years.

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This is not, of course, the first time Mr. Barr has thrown himself, and his reputation, onto a grenade for Mr. Trump. When the Mueller report was done, he held it up for weeks to give himself and Mr. Trump time to misrepresent it as a full exoneration of the president  when in fact it found multiple instances of obstruction of justice. Under Mr. Barr, the Justice Department tried to bury the whistleblower complaint over Mr. Trump's strong-arming of the leader of Ukraine to investigate his presumptive 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. Mr. Barr has gone around the world trying to dig up dirt himself for the president. And three months ago he overruled prosecutors in their sentencing request for Roger Stone, a political operative and friend of the president, who was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering in the Russia investigation. All four prosecutors in that case resigned, and more than 1,000 former career employees of the Justice Department called for Mr. Barr to quit.

This time, more than 2,000 are doing so, almost surely to no avail. Mr. Barr has shown himself to have no shame, nor any ethical compass. And while the House of Representatives can and should pursue an inquiry into his possible and certainly justifiable impeachment, it is all but certain that Senate Republicans would give him a pass, just as they did Mr. Trump in the well-documented and fully proven Ukraine scandal.

And there lies the greater problem: the flaws in our Constitution and body of laws that Mr. Trump's presidency has so clearly exposed -- that a corrupt president is only as accountable as the men and women in Congress will hold him to be, and that nothing can be done in the face of a wholly partisan refusal to do so. Our system is only as good, in both the mechanical and the moral sense, as the people entrusted to run it.

If there's a path forward, other than trying to end this nightmare of a presidency at the polls, it's to move beyond Mr. Trump's and Mr. Barr's legal contortion of the week. It's for Republicans to realize that the abuses they tolerate today for the sake of power lay the groundwork for similar Democratic abuses in the future. It's for today's caretakers of America - we, the people of this moment  to recognize the damage that's being done to the rule of law and this republic. Whether it's a Congress mindful of its duty or a respected nongovernmental organization, it's time to look at our laws, and even our Constitution, to see what can be done to shore up our increasingly fragile republic.

That is, in pursuit of the high ideals of our founders, it's time to find new ways to protect America against the worst impulses of its leaders.
An appeal to open the states first LGBTQ-affirming charter school has been denied.

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission denied the appeal for the Magic City Acceptance Academy (MCAA) with a 6-2 vote during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday. The vote upholds Birmingham City School Boards decision to deny MCAAs application in January.

Birmingham Aids Outreach, an organization that has provided multiple services to the LGBTQ-community and those living with HIV and AIDS for 35 years, turned in the application to Birmingham City Schools in December.

MCAA Principal Michael Wilson said BAO is disappointed about the vote, but the staff is planning to reapply to Birmingham City Schools in November. The organization can go outside the Birminghams city limits and apply with the Alabama State Department of Education. But Wilson said they want to keep the school close to the organizations other resources, the Magic City Wellness Center and the Magic City Acceptance Center. Both centers are located in Birminghams Lakeview neighborhood.

The academy wanted to open with 250 LGBTQ students and their allies in August 2021. Reapplying with Birmingham City Schools this year means the schools opening will be postponed if approved.

The goal is to be where all of our services are together, Wilson said. It pushes us back a year, but the kids need what we can provide educationally, emotionally, and in regard to wellness. We are determined to make that happen.

Commission President Henry Nelson and David Marshall voted for it. The commission also denied Breakthrough Charter School in Perry County and Ivy Classical Academy in Prattville based on external evaluation.

Commissioner Allison Haygood said she voted against the charters because it didnt satisfy the commissions rubric.

There were a lot of outstanding things that all the applicants have, and there are just small things that need to be addressed, Haygood said.

Wilson said all the charter school applicants partially met the commissions rubric. He said BAO will work on the application so that it exceeds the commissions expectation because the organization believes MCAA is needed. During the organizations presentation to Birmingham school board members earlier this year, speakers supporting school came forward and said LGBTQ students are being bullied and harassed at school. Some of them have died by suicide.

Its really a shame we have to wait another six months to a year to let kids know we are going to be there for them, Wilson said. But we are going to do whatever it takes.
NORTHAMPTON  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will address the graduating Smith College class of 2020 Sunday at noon in a virtual ceremony through a link on its graduation page and the online meeting platform Zoom

Smith had previously announced that Pelosi, a Democrat representing California and the first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, would be its 2020 commencement speaker.

But back then, the college was counting on an in-person ceremony on the campus quadrangle.

Since the coronavirus emergency, Smith, like most colleges, have adjusted plans and hosted online commencements. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst hosted its commencement on Friday.

Smith College said Tuesday that it plans to host an in-person ceremony sometime during the 2020-2021 academic year. But that the date is not set.

I look forward to welcoming you back to Smith to celebrate in person. I want to make sure you have the chance to spend time with one another, on this beautiful campus, enjoying traditions you missed., wrote college president Kathleen McCartney in an emailed letter released Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Washington. She will deliver the virtual commencement address Sunday to Smith College. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP

Smith promised that Sunday's online commencement will be personal and interactive. Each graduates' name will be read aloud. Graduates will be able to choose a photo of themselves that will be displayed.

Speakers will include McCartney, senior class President Toula Sierros, Student Government Association President Rosalie Toupin and Pelosi.

Graduating seniors are asked to register ahead of time through Zoom. The public can watch over a link at smith.edu

Smith graduates will get their diplomas later in the mail. The college expects to graduate a class of 635 undergraduates. Fifty-one students are expected to receive graduate degrees.

Past Smith College commencement speakers have included Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem and Toni Morrison. Last year Pelosi was the commencement speaker at San Francisco State University.
State closes most jobsites, including WSDOT projects

Exemptions include construction necessary for essential businesses such as grocery stores, for public purposes and to preserve existing assets.





Journal Construction Editor By BENJAMIN MINNICK Journal Construction Editor

Photos by Benjamin Minnick [enlarge] Crews were absent yesterday at the $455 million Colman Dock project in Seattle. A joint venture of Hoffman-Pacific is building the project for Washington State Ferries, which is part of WSDOT.





[enlarge] Gary Merlino Construction was on the job yesterday for the new Alaskan Way corridor project for the city of Seattle. It was unclear if workers were shutting down the site or continuing operations.





Gov. Jay Inslee removed most of the gray area from what comprises an essential workforce  putting most construction projects on hold as the COVID-19 outbreak continues.

In a memorandum issued Wednesday night on construction guidance, Inslee wrote: In general, commercial and residential construction is not authorized under the Proclamation because construction is not considered to be an essential activity.

A big blow came when the Washington State Department of Transportation also announced Wednesday night it was closing all of its projects due to the virus. The few exceptions for WSDOT include fish passage projects and those needed for safety.

A memo that followed from the Associated General Contractors of Washington said its members were planning to proceed with all WSDOT projects, but apparently this was subsequently overruled by the Governor.

David D'Hondt, AGC of Washington executive vice president, said his group was working with WSDOT on Tuesday and all indications were that construction would continue for those projects.

The biggest surprise was that WSDOT was going to shut down, he said. They did a 180 and I think even WSDOT was caught off guard.

D'Hondt said a substantial number of AGC members have been idled from this. He said the last-minute notice coming late Wednesday night had contractors scrambling on Thursday to button up their jobsites.

Some of those jobsites can be secured in a day, but others will take several days, according to D'Hondt, who added that shutting down jobsites doesn't violate the proclamation.

Washington State Construction Engineer Chris Christopher sent a bulletin to pre-qualified WSDOT contractors, informing them to shut down their jobs.

It read: While transportation is an essential function during a National Emergency, WSDOT's priority at this time is to ensure the safety of its employees, partners, and the public while continuing to deliver an essential service to the public. We have worked very closely with our contractor, labor, and industry partners to ensure safety measures are met and maintain them as best possible, though despite these efforts, COVID-19 continues to impact construction throughout the state.

Consistent with the Governor's Stay Home, Stay Healthy proclamation, WSDOT is temporarily suspending all construction projects, effective immediately. This suspension broadly covers all of our projects with a small number of exceptions that will be clarified on project specific basis.

Christopher said the state will consider allowing certain administrative or design-related activities that conform to the proclamation.

In a press conference on Thursday, Inslee reiterated that the exemptions include construction necessary for essential businesses such as grocery stores, for public purposes and to preserve existing assets.

There's going to be some gray areas here, Inslee admitted.

Inslee said the state is seeing some signs of progress on fighting COVID-19, with the infection rate curve slightly flattening for the Puget Sound area, though not for other parts of the state.

For now, the state is working on boosting hospital capacity and is getting federal assistance for that. For example, there is a 146-bed Army field hospital coming from Colorado.

Inslee said they are looking at several locations for portable hospitals, with the initial deployments in the Puget Sound area because that's where the bulk of coronavirus cases currently are.

Inslee said we have not turned the corner and are not near the end of the outbreak, but closing businesses and prohibiting gatherings has apparently reduced the spread.

The two-week, work-from-home order is in effect until April 6, but would likely be extended if the outbreak continues.

We've got to pound it and pound it until it's done, Inslee said.

As of Wednesday evening, there were 3,207 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 147 deaths.





Benjamin Minnick can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 07:08:01

Hexagon Composites ASA today signed a term sheet for a strategic cooperation and joint venture agreement with CIMC ENRIC, a leading Chinese manufacturer of energy equipment (3899.HK), headquartered in Shenzhen, People`s Republic of China and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. CIMC ENRIC is a subsidiary of China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. (CIMC), a global leading supplier of transportation solutions headquartered in Shenzhen and listed on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges (000038 SZ and 2039 HK). The Parties will now proceed towards a final agreement.

This alliance will serve the fast-growing demand of the Chinese market for safe, lightweight and cost-efficient compressed Hydrogen storage solutions. The strategic cooperation will support the transition to zero emission transportation also in Southeast Asia. The Parties intend to jointly establish facilities for manufacturing of cylinders and assembly of systems to serve the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.

About the market

China, the world's largest auto market with over 28 million vehicles sold annually, has set its sights on creating a world-leading market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) within a decade. Chinese policymakers expect the market to grow from 5,000 vehicles by the end of next year, to 50,000 by 2025, and 1 million by 2030. The initial focus is on fuel cell electric buses and commercial vehicles. This will improve public awareness and showcase the safety of hydrogen. The Alliance of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) announced its collective ambition to achieve 23% renewable energy integration into its energy system by 2025, and even more by 2030.

The shift to zero emissions vehicles is driven by the desire to improve air quality and reduce CO2 emissions, as well as to increase energy independence by utilizing large amounts of hydrogen already available in China. Additionally, hydrogen provides a cost-efficient storage for surplus renewable energy from wind and solar.

Powerful alliance

China is on its way to becoming the largest market globally for hydrogen mobility and distribution, says Jon Erik Engeset, CEO of Hexagon. We wanted to team up with a strong Chinese industrial partner to secure the leading role in this development. Together we can become the largest provider of hydrogen storage and distribution solutions in China and Southeast Asia.

"CIMC ENRIC has a long history of remarkable performance and breakthroughs in alternative fuel storage and transportation. And now hydrogen will take the lead as the ultimate solution for the future needs of the mobility sector in China and on global scale. As a clean energy enterprise, our strategic alliance with Hexagon will accelerate the adoption of zero-emission transportation by fast tracking the introduction of all-composite Type 4 Hydrogen storage and transportation in China, says Mr. Xiaohu Yang, General Manager and Executive Director of CIMC ENRIC

Timing



The companies aim to sign the Joint Venture Agreement in the 3rd quarter 2020 after board approval and final due diligence, based on a structure that allows both parties to consolidate their contribution to the business. Production in the new venture structure is expected as early as 2021.

Live video webcast

Hexagon will host a webcast to present the alliance on Tuesday, May 12 at 0900 CET. Interested investors/analysts/media can access the live video presentation through this link: https://players.brightcove.net/2335723899001/experience_5eb538b44707d50023700b59/share.html

A recording of the presentation, the presentation and a press kit will be archived in the emobility section of Hexagons website: https://hexagongroup.com/emobility-hydrogen/



Interviews

Following the webcast:

Investors/analysts are invited to contact David Bandele for arrange one-to-one sessions

are invited to contact for arrange one-to-one sessions Media are invited to contact Karen Romer to schedule interviews with CEO Jon Erik Engeset and Morten Holum, President Hexagon Purus

(See contact details below)

Contacts:

Karen Romer, SVP Communications, Hexagon Composites

Telephone: +47 950 74 950 | karen.romer@hexagongroup.com

David Bandele, CFO, Hexagon Composites

Telephone: +47 920 91 483 | david.bandele@hexagongroup.com

About Hexagon Composites

Hexagon delivers safe and innovative solutions for a cleaner energy future. Our solutions enable storage, transportation and conversion to clean energy in a wide range of mobility, industrial and consumer applications including light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, ground storage, distribution, marine, rail and backup power solutions.

With extensive experience in pressure vessel development since the early 1960s, our long and proud history is rooted in innovation and change. We have a strong international presence with facilities in Norway, Germany, USA and Canada, and sales representation in some of the worlds most important clean energy markets in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Learn more at www.hexagongroup.com and follow @HexagonASA on Twitter and LinkedIn

About CIMC ENRIC

Founded in 2004, CIMC ENRIC Holdings Limited (Stock code: 3899.HK) is one of the companies listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is a subsidiary of China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd (000039.SZ). CIMC ENRIC is principally engaged in design, development, manufacturing, engineering, sales and operation of, and the provision of technical maintenance services for a wide spectrum of transportation, storage and processing equipment that is widely used for the clean energy, chemical and environmental and liquid food industries. We have built a global marketing network and have over 20 subsidiaries located in China, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom and Canada that operate production bases and internationally advanced R&D centers. CIMC ENRIC has 10000 employees and achieved an annual revenue of RMB 13.74 billion in 2019.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
A 40-year-old American missionary pilot delivering COVID-19 supplies to remote villages died in a plane crash in Indonesia on Tuesday.

Joyce Lin, a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), was transporting rapid test kits and school supplies to a village in Papua, the easternmost province in the far-flung island chain. She took off from the city of Sentani at 6:27 a.m. and made a distress call two minutes later, MAF spokesman Brad Hoaglun said. A search-and-rescue team found her Kodiak 100 airplane crashed into nearby Lake Sentani and recovered her body from about 40 feet under the water, according to local police.

Lin was an experienced pilot and a certified flight instructor. She completed her first solo flight for MAF in March. Approved to fly to 20 villages (of about 150 served by MAF), she led the drive to procure soap for missionaries and aid workers dealing with the threat of coronavirus and transported medicine, COVID-19 tests, and personal protective equipment across the area.

We feel a great sense of loss but a great sense of comfort as well, because Joyce was doing what she loved to do and she was faithful to the calling that God had placed on her life, David Holsten, president of MAF, told Christianity Today. She gave her life serving the Lord in a way that was impacting others.

MAF has not had a fatal accident in 23 years, Holsten said. Civil aviation authorities are investigating the cause of the crash. There were no other passengers on board because of coronavirus flight restrictions, according to Hoaglun. Travel remains restricted in Indonesia, but MAF has permission to fly cargo and people facing medical emergencies.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Lin had planned and trained to become a missionary pilot for a decade. She first interned with MAF in 2010, earned her commercial license in 2015, and moved to Papua in 2019.

It felt amazing to land the Kodiak on my own for the first time, she wrote in a support-raising letter in December. This has been my dream airplane ever since I found out about mission aviation. I landed the Kodiak at both paved and unpaved airstrips and practiced emergency procedures.

Lin was raised in Colorado and Maryland, the daughter of Taiwanese Christian immigrants. She became a Christian as a child through an outreach program at a local evangelical church. After earning a degree in computer science from MIT and working in IT for a decade, Lin felt called to ministry. At Gordon-Conwell, she discovered missionary aviation: a job that combined her interests in flying, her computer skills, and her call to Christian service.

She was immediately convinced of Gods calling and reoriented her life around the goal of becoming a missionary pilot. In addition to flying supplies to missionaries and humanitarian aid workers in Papua, she helped set up and maintained a computer system to give them access to the internet.

In December, Lin defended the work of the missionaries in a letter to her friends and family back in the United States.

Before anyone objects to Christians or Westerners changing the way other people live, she wrote, its important to know that Papua was not a tropical paradise before the arrival of Christian missionaries. Papuan tribes lived to kill one another.  People lived in constant fear of other tribes and the spirit world.

On one of her first flights for MAF, Lin had to divert to Wamenathe largest town in the Papua highlandsbecause of bad weather. At the airport, she discovered a woman in need of an emergency evacuation flight for major surgery. All flights were canceled because of the COVID-19 lockdown, but Lin was allowed to fly the woman to Sentani.

Lin saw this as evidence God was using her.

There is a famous verse that Christians like to quote from Romans 8:28, she wrote, which says God is able to work all things together for the good of those he called according to his purpose. As Ive looked back on my life, it has been cool to see the many ways in which this verse has been true in this calling to serve in Indonesia.

On Tuesday, a small memorial of red roses was left on the runway in the highlands village where Lin was scheduled to land. Pilot Joyce Lin, one card read, till we meet again.

Lin is survived by her parents and two sisters.

[ This article is also available in espanol, Portugues, Francais, , , Indonesian, and . ]
And when the survivors of the attack on the Ganj-i-Sawai finally arrived in Surat, the enraged Universe Conqueror and his myrmidons held the companys local agents directly responsible for the atrocities of the pirate Every and the rogue Englishmen under his command. The governor of Surat had the company managers thrown in irons, and cut off their communication with the outside world: Not only their lives but the future of their commercial enterprise in India was threatened with extinction. It was the response to the crisis improvised by these men, and by the government back in London, that set the stage for British hegemony on the subcontinent for the next 200 years. A royal proclamation declared Every and his crew hostis humani generis  enemies of all mankind  a legal formulation that allowed the English crown to extend its jurisdiction across the high seas and launch a worldwide manhunt for the pirates. This act and the show trial that followed were among the most significant steps in the establishment of an empire built on global trade.

Deploying a structure that echoes that of his 2006 book, The Ghost Map, which was built around the tale of how one Victorian physician helped solve the mystery of a cholera epidemic in 1850s London, Johnson is here less interested in the story of Henry Every than in its implications, and its part in a wider meta-narrative. As a result, we are treated to often fascinating digressions on the origins of terrorism, celebrity and the tabloid media; the tricky physics of cannon manufacture; and the miserable living conditions of the average 17th-century seaman. At times, this approach proves a hindrance to being swept away by the tale of the worlds most wanted man, and is complicated by the thinness of the historical record and disagreement about what really happened and to whom: Much of the book is given over to debate and conjecture about what did occur. Johnson admits that we may not know where or when Every was born, what he looked like or even his real name.
It has been clear throughout this litigation that plaintiffs counsel lack appreciation for the complexities of jail operations in ordinary times, to say nothing of these times of uncertainty, the sheriffs filing stated. They have persisted in this litigation with no understanding of the tremendous burden it places on the sheriffs office staff and for minimal gain, as nearly all of the relief theyve pursued as long been in place at the jail.
Etihad Airways has announced it will begin a weekly service between Melbourne and London.

The airline said flights would resume between Melbourne and London, via Abu Dhabi, on a weekly basis.

Flights out of Melbourne to the UK will start from May 15, while flights from London will begin on May 21.

Etihad Airways have announced international flights between Melbourne and London will begin again from Friday, May 15, but every flight will be subject to strict hygiene protocols

Flights out of Melbourne are set to start from May 15 while flights from London to Melbourne are scheduled to start from May 21 (Melbourne International Airport terminal pictured)

The airline also announced each flight would be subject to strict hygiene protocols.

'In addition to our already stringent procedures, weve implemented an extensive sanitisation and safety programme on board, at the airport and across our complimentary airport transfer services,' an Etihad Airways statement read.

In another statement the airline said it will continue to follow regulatory health directives.

'Etihad continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of COVID-19,' the statement read.

'The airline has implemented an extensive sanitisation and customer safety program and is practising the highest standards of hygiene at every part of the customer journey.

'This includes catering, aircraft and cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, in-flight, crew interaction, meal service, disembarkation and ground transportation, among others.'

The airline will also endeavour to keep passengers sitting as far from each other as possible in the fuselage.

The airline shared information about travelling between Australia and England.

The UK's Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential international travel.

Anyone flying on these international flights will also have to undergo strict quarantine and during the Abu Dhabi stop over they will not be allowed to leave the plane.

'When you arrive at your final destination, additional safety and security measures may be in place, and we ask that you follow these carefully,' the statement continued.

'You will be required to self-quarantine, and should check this before you travel.'
New Delhi, May 12 : Within a few hours of demanding suggestions from the capital's residents on lockdown relaxations post May 17, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal received about three lakh messages, 5,000 emails and about 25,000 recorded calls as of Tuesday evening.

According to the Delhi government, the responses were received even as the deadline is Wednesday.

"About three lakh WhatsApp messages, 5,000 emails and about 25,000 recorded calls were received till 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The Chief Minister had demanded the suggestions at noon," it said.

Asserting that the ongoing lockdown cannot be lifted completely after May 17, Kejriwal on Tuesday sought suggestions from the city residents on the relaxations in the lockdown 4.0 for sending it to the central government.

Kejriwal said he wanted to reach out to the people of Delhi and want their suggestions regarding the removal of lockdown."The Covid-19 infection is indeed spreading and full removal of lockdown would not be a good idea. But I want your suggestions on the relaxation of lockdown, about the tenure and gravity of the relaxation, on the sectors that should get the relaxation, and whether the public transport system should begin or whether buses, autos, metros ply. I also want your suggestions on whether markets and industrial areas should reopen." Kejriwal also said that if the relaxations come into play, people will have to maintain social distancing, wear masks, and follow all the other norms.

The Chief Minister said that the Delhi government will consider these suggestions and forward them to the Centre on Thursday. Not just the public, he said, he will also solicit suggestions from experts and doctors. People could send their suggestions on the lockdown relaxation by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in three ways -- dial 1031 and record their message; on WhatsApp at 8800007722; and email to delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com.

The lockdown was imposed by the Centre for 21 days from March 25. However, it was extended till May 3 and later till May 17.

Due to the lockdown, the national capital has reported a revenue loss of about Rs 3,200 crore in April as compared to the previous year.
Planes across the globe have been grounded, although most people have been repatriated by their countries - Toby Melville/Reuters

A 40-year-old German fugitive has spent a remarkable 54 days in the transit area of a New Delhi airport, after becoming stranded due to the coronavirus lockdown.

In scenes reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster The Terminal, Edgard Ziebat is using the bathrooms to wash while airport security staff are providing him with food.

The person looks physically fine and psychologically he is perfect, he hasnt asked us for anything, said a bemused official from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

On March 18, Mr. Ziebat was waiting to catch a connecting flight from New Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport to Istanbul - where he has family - after a trip to Vietnam.

India suddenly cancelled all flights to and from Turkey in the wake of the pandemic and Mr. Ziebat refused to travel to Germany on remaining commercial flights or subsequent relief flights because he is wanted there on criminal charges, according to the MEA official.

There is a lookout notice against him and as soon as he reaches there [Germany], he would be arrested, the official said.

Details of his arrest warrant have not been made public. Mr. Ziebat refused offers to be flown to a third-country or to apply for a temporary entry visa for India.

It is believed that the German Embassy in New Delhi has refused to accept custody of Mr. Ziebat because of his criminal record, which would make it a law enforcement matter.

Officials said Mr. Ziebat has spent the last 54 days reading magazines and newspapers and catching up with family and friends outside the terminal on his mobile phone, which he is able to use through the airport wifi.

He has also been interacting with airport housekeeping staff and taking regular walks around the transit area.

Indians took to social media to express their amazement at the story, as the airport is hardly renowned for its cleanliness.

Is this human? Show some empathy and ensure he gets back to home, wrote one.

Story continues

A source within German foreign ministry circles said it was working on Mr Ziebats situation.

The case is known to the foreign ministry, our embassy in New Delhi is in contact with the Indian authorities about this and the individual concerned has been informed about the possibilities of return to Germany, said the source.

We cannot provide further details about individual consular cases for reasons of personal rights and data protection.
Will A New Parliament Change Iran For Better? Insiders Are Pessimistic

Radio Farda May 11, 2020

Amir Mohebbian, a prominent analyst in Iran, says the young conservatives who have won the parliament are more likely to serve the interests of the country's rulers than trying to meet the demands of the people.

Expressing his views about the future of politics in Iran and the role of the new parliament in an interview with reformist newspaper Arman Melli on Monday May 11, Mohebbian says: "Because of understandable reasons that have their roots in Iran's political history and the nature of power in this country, all political groups align their agenda with the will of the ruling power" rather than the people.

"Both conservatives and reformists in Iran have failed to see the real demands of the people. As a result, the people have turned their backs to them," he said.

Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, an outspoken Iranian lawmaker warned the country's hardliners, including the Guardian Council members who barred him from running for parliament, that the young members of the new parliament will not obey the party line.

Ali Motahari who says he was disqualified by the Guardian Council before the election in February because of his criticism of powerful hardliners, warned them that their dream of having an "obedient Majles" will not come true.

Explaining the impact of the takeover of the legislative body by conservatives Amir Mohebbian, who is a conservative himself predicted, "This can certainly bring about some changes, but what they do will not necessarily improve the situation", in comparison to the performance of the current parliament with its reformist-moderate majority.

Mohebbian does not believe that the newcomers can improve the country's situation: "I do not see any change of approach [to domestic and international policies] among the new MPs in comparison to their predecessors. They will try to make a fuss in the short run, but they will calm down soon because their behavior has no sustainable political backing," as serving the people's interests is not on their agenda.

Asked whether the new Majles would decide to pull Iran out of the nuclear deal with the world powers or whether it will impeach Rouhani, Mohebbian said: The new Majles has two options: It can either follow the path of the current Majles and drown itself in political games and hate-speech, or it can try to put the country back on the right track. I hope that the latter would be the case, but my pessimism leads me to believe that the former option is more likely to occur."

On the other hand, "The current administration (president) has turned everyone against it. No one will mourn for such an administration. This situation encourages everyone to attack the administration, unless the President would accept to play the part of a victim and bow in the hope of ensuring a silent survival by not causing much trouble in its final days," he said.

Mohebbian added: "Although the reformists might encourage Rouhani to resist, but he will prefer his own interests to standing by the promises he made to his supporters."

Asked about his views on Ahmadinejad supporters, Paydari Front and Pro-Qalibaf neoconservatives, Mohebbian said: "All of them want to take over political power, but they do not know what they are going to do next."

He said this is evident in the way all three groups, that collectively hold the majority in the Majles, are competing with each other over winning the post of the speaker of parliament.

Mohebbian said "Ahmadinejad is more focused on the people, but his supporters wish to take advantage of his social capital among the underprivileged people. As soon as they take over, they will distance themselves from Ahmadinejad and throw stones at him," stressing that "The smaller they are, they will throw bigger stones."

On the Paydari Front members, Mohebbian said: "They are obedient soldiers who are focused on the interests and ideas of powerful people. Their main characteristic is anger and bad temper as well as radicalism. However, I doubt that the Majles will put them in a position of power. If they do, the reality of politics in Iran will silence them although at times they can make the arena of politics turbulent."

Meanwhile, the press on Monday quoted a conservative former lawmaker Shamseddin Hosseini, a figure close to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as having said that some of the new lawmakers are going to settle their accounts with President Hassan Rouhani's administration.

Speaking of the former mayor of Tehran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (Ghalibaf) and one of the leading contestants for the post of Majles Speaker, Mohebbia believes, "Qalibaf, has too many die-hard outspoken enemies among both conservatives and reformists. We need to see how he controls himself in the middle of sham fights at the Majles."

Mohebbian also explained his views about some of the older politicians. On the future of outgoing Majles Speaker Larijani and his clan, Mohebbian said, "They are too deep-rooted in the system to leave the scene altogether. They will move from one basket to another."

On the other hand, "Ahmadinejad can get very close to red lines, but he never crosses them. He is well-connected to the people and does not care about what others say about him. He tries to determine his own future but I doubt if he could succeed. Nevertheless, he can surprise everyone. His story is one to continue."

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/will-a-new- parliament-change-iran-for-better-insiders -are-pessimistic/30606040.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 50-year-old man was produced before a UK court on Tuesday charged with threatening and abusive behaviour in relation to an Indian-origin reporter for the BBC facing racist abuse just before she was to go on air from Leicester city centre.

Sima Kotecha was lining up her guests to comment on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's televised address to the nation on the gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown on Sunday evening when she had to cancel the broadcast amid the abuse.

"While preparing to broadcast, our reporter, her production team and guests were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour. We will not tolerate racism or abuse of our staff," a BBC spokesperson said.

The incident was reported to Leicestershire Police, which launched an investigation and arrested Russell Rawlingson at an address in Leicester on Monday.

A 50-year-old man has been charged with using threatening/abusive/insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm/distress following an incident in which a television crew were verbally abused in Leicester city centre on Sunday evening, a Leicestershire Police statement said.

Rawlingson was produced before Leicester Magistrates' Court for a remand hearing on Tuesday.

Taking to social media soon after the incident, Kotecha said the racist abuse meant that their filming wasn't able to go ahead.

"Apologies but man shouting terrible things at me has ruined it for everyone. I'm afraid not going to make it on the special programme, she said on Twitter on Sunday.

"Apologies to our guests who we had to send home without putting on air after myself and team were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour. Sad obstruction of reporting of a national crisis. Yes I'm furious," she said.

She was flooded with messages of support and later thanked her 17,800 followers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Oby Ezekwesili, a former Vice-President (Africa) at the World Bank, has told China that they must pay damages to Nigeria and other African n...





Oby Ezekwesili, a former Vice-President (Africa) at the World Bank, has told China that they must pay damages to Nigeria and other African nations.

She made the initial demand in an April article on the coronavirus global crisis.

On Monday, the former Minister of Education, released another piece in reaction to Chinas counter.

China, had in its response, asked if the United States offered compensation for the 2009 H1N1 flu, which spread to 214 countries and regions.

The worlds most populous nation recalled that the outbreak killed nearly 200,000 people.

China further pointed out that AIDS was also first reported in the U.S. in the 1980s and then swept across the world.

The country sought answers from Ezekwesili on whether America was asked to compensate countries for flu and AIDS diseases.

The finance expert noted that China must know that where lives and livelihoods are concerned, no country, regardless of how powerful, can intimidate Africans again.

Ezekwesili urged Beijing to do the right thing now and accept the debt it owes Africa as a result of its failures on COVID-19.

The Bring Back Our Girls co-convener posited that world powers should behave responsibly in the 21st Century if they are to be taken seriously.

Ezekwesili stated that the Government of China through their Embassy in Nigeria missed the opportunity to responsibly address the serious issues raised.

She insisted that Africa deserves to be paid a compensation for the damages COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting on lives and livelihoods.

The rights activist declared that since China failed to adhere to basic scientific and research transparency in the critical early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, it must accept responsibility with humility.

In her rejoinder entitled Yes, I Insist That #ChinaMustPay Africa Damages for COVID-19, Ezekwesili outlined six points that authorities in Beijing should consider.

She wrote: First, it is now clear to the world that Chinas opaque handling of the pandemic is costing my country, our continent and people too much in lost lives and livelihoods. The unjustified suffering of the poor and vulnerable brought on by the actions of a comparatively rich and powerful country demands a new system for addressing global inequities.
Judges in England and America are becoming infected with the politically correct theory that transgenderism is real  that is, a person who thinks he is a member of the opposite sex is a member of the opposite sex. This notion will cause damage to real women who find themselves before judges who have substituted politically espoused mental illness over biological reality.

Transgenderism is not real. The science of sex is simple: among mammals, including humans, there are two sexes, male and female. Within each mammalian species, the sex differences are strong, both physically and mentally. Only in rare cases are kids born with tangled sex genes.

The "science" of "gender," as opposed to the biological reality about human sex, is a make-believe 21st-century construct. Examining a recent statement about so-called transgenderism from the American Academy of Pediatrics, America's pre-eminent pediatric organization, reveals that while the AAP has all sorts of theories predicated upon accepting that transgenderism is real, you will find nothing proving that through the scientific method.

So-called transgenderism is just another form of body dysmorphia (people's feeling that their bodies do not align with their sense of self). It's a tragic condition, and sufferers deserve sympathy. Nevertheless, in a functioning society, sympathy cannot transmute into a legal system that accepts delusions as reality. That's why what's happening in English and American courts is so dangerous.

In England, there's a battle between feminists and judges over the Equal Treatment Bench Book, which tells judges how to handle people who claim to be "transgender":

Guidance for judges on transgender issues has come under fire from solicitors in the wake of controversial court rulings. Feminist lawyers say the guidance, in the Equal Treatment Bench Book, fails to highlight conflicts between transgender and women's rights. The Bench Book advises that transgender defendants should be addressed by the pronouns of their choice and that 'self-definition is the most important criteria' (sic). At least one victim of violence by a transgender woman [sic] has been reprimanded in court for using male pronouns while describing the attack. Finding the defendant guilty, the judge refused the victim compensation, saying that when asked to refer to the defendant as 'she', the victim had done so with 'bad grace' or continued to use 'he'. Solicitor Harriet Wistrich, head of the Centre for Women's Justice, has raised concerns about pronoun use in cases involving violence against women. 'Here there is a conflict between the right of self-definition and the right of a victim, who may have been violated in the most horrendous way, to describe her material reality as she perceives it,' she said. 'Why is the victim's right less important?'

For those who think what's happening in England can't happen here, think again. Three girls in Connecticut sued after two fake girls competed in state track trails and locked the real girls out of the winning slots. Unfortunately for them, the judge, a Bill Clinton appointee, has already embraced the so-called "transgender" narrative (emphasis added):

During a phone call to discuss an ongoing suit filed by three jilted female athletes in Connecticut, Senior Judge Robert Chatigny of the District Court of Connecticut stopped the conversation to correct the plaintiff's counsel on their choice to say "biologically male" in the complaint rather than "transgender female." [snip] I don't think we should be referring to the proposed intervenors as "male athletes." I understand that you prefer to use those words, but they're very provocative, and I think needlessly so. I don't think that you surrender any legitimate interest or position if you refer to them as transgender females. That is what the case is about. This isn't a case involving males who have decided that they want to run in girls' events. This is a case about girls who say that transgender girls should not be allowed to run in girls' events. So going forward, we will not refer to the proposed intervenors as "males"; understood? [snip] Referring to these individuals as "transgender females" is consistent with science, common practice and perhaps human decency. To refer to them as "males," period, is not accurate, certainly not as accurate, and I think it's needlessly provocative; and, for me, civility is a very important value, especially in litigation. So if you feel strongly that you and your clients have a right to refer to these individuals as "males" and that you therefore do not want to comply with my order, then that's unfortunate. But I'll give you some time to think about it and you can let me know if it's a problem. If it is, gosh, maybe we'll need to do something. I don't want to bully you, but at the same time, I don't want you to be bullying anybody else. Maybe you might need to take an application to the Court of Appeals. I don't know. But I certainly don't want to put civility at risk in this case.

There is nothing "uncivil" about identifying a male accurately. This is especially true in a case revolving around the harm done to females when they are forced to compete for accolades and scholarships with males who have muscle mass and reflexes that have been biologically coded for greater speed and power. In a case that revolves around men racing women for real prizes, any judge who, as the trial begins, accepts delusional individuals' reality should automatically be recused from the case.
Additional reporting by Michael Clifford

Health bosses are concerned by the growing number of people who think that Ireland is over the worst of Covid-19, warning instead that the worst might be yet to come.

With the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths slowing in recent days, a Department of Health survey found that 43% of the Irish public now feel that the worst of the pandemic has been and gone.

There is still a challenge for us in getting the message across of the risk of a second spike in cases both in terms of public health but also in terms of the impact on the health services if we get this wrong, Dr Tony Holohan, the chief medical officer, said.

That 43% is a high percentage of people who believe that this is over and that the work is done. That is a cause for concern, he said.

Just 17% of those surveyed said that the worst of the coronavirus crisis is still yet to come.

Meanwhile, the latest briefing by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) revealed that 15 people have died from the virus leading to an overall death toll to date of 1,467.

A further 139 new confirmed cases meanwhile means that incidences of the disease in an Irish context now number 23,135. However, that number is the lowest seen since last Thursday, and represents a return to the low levels of positive test results last seen in late March.

Meanwhile, Sundays figure of 236 new cases, which appeared to represent a resurgence of sorts on the part of the illness, had been incorrectly reported, Dr Holohan said.

He added that, as things stand, he is hopeful of delivering a positive recommendation to the Government regarding the pending first relaxation of restrictions on May 18.

Meanwhile, more than one third of children with special needs are not getting proper educational support since the closure of schools, according to a new survey.

[timgcapimported=]b297aabb-b64a-41cd-99fb-aa9fdbd2456d__806a862d-adea-4e5f-819c-973271523eb1[/timgcapimported]

Parents have also complained about the lack of access to suitable educational materials and no clarity of what is expected from them, the poll for Inclusion Ireland has found.

It also found some children have had hardly any contact from their school since March 12 when they closed. Nearly four in five parents said their child is not motivated to learn at home, while more than half said returning to school will be difficult.

Among the supports that parents feel are most needed for their children are speech therapy (43%), occupational therapy (40%) and behavioural psychologist (40%).

One mother who featured anonymously in the report she has had no contact from her sons school since the lockdown even though she has actively sought it out.

The only people in his life apart from immediate family are educators and health professionals and it would be very important to see those people from a human point of view apart from learning. He hasnt seen sight nor sound from anybody in the school. Its appalling on his behalf in terms of his needs. And parents are not equipped to deal with the stress that comes from the withdrawal of supports," the mother said.

CEO of Inclusion Ireland, Enda Egan, said home education is not working well for most families who have a child with an intellectual disability or autism: There are huge barriers to educating at home for parents, who are not teachers in most cases. Some parents state that their child presents with behaviours that can be a challenge or have poor attention skills that require the support of a skilled teacher and not a parent.

The survey also found that just over 10% of children have no access to any technology at all for schoolwork.

Other organisations have reported mixed results in terms of educational services for children with disabilities. Adam Harris, CEO of the As I Am autism charity said the quality of engagement from schools for children is a postcode lottery.
Highlights The Poco F2 Pro has been launched in Europe at a starting price of Euro 499.

The F2 Pro is essentially a rebadged Redmi K30 Pro from China.

Poco is yet to announce anything about the standard Poco F2.

You have been asking for it since more than a year and Poco obliged. The Poco F2 series is here and this time, it has spawned a Pro variant. In fact, Poco has only announced the Pro variant of the Poco F2 and as we knew since a couple of months, it is just another rebranded Redmi K30 Pro. It carries the same specifications as the K30 Pro but manages to keep the pricing affordable for Europe. Don't convert these prices to Rupees yet as Xiaomi devices are usually a couple of thousands cheaper than the global prices.

Before we reiterate the specifications of this rebranded Redmi K30 Pro, let's have a look at all the prices. The Poco F2 Pro comes in four colour variants, namely Neon Blue, Electric Purple, Phantom White and Cyber Grey. You get the base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage at a price of Euro 499 (approx Rs 40,700). The top-end variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage will set you back by Euro 599 (approx Rs 49,000).

The prices still put the Poco F2 Pro in the flagship-killer territory. Similar to its predecessor, the Poco F2 Pro has an impressive feature list. You get the highly almighty Snapdragon 865 that has its 5G connectivity enabled. Since Poco is all about performance, the F2 Pro uses a UFS 3.1 type storage and LPDDR5 RAM, both of which among the fastest smartphone hardware in the industry. There's also a bigger liquid cooling system on the F2 Pro that Poco says will ensure sustained high performance.

Rest of the specifications are identical to the Redmi K30 Pro. There's the same 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of Full HD+, surrounded by narrow bezels. There's no notch or a display cutout for the front camera as it sits on a pop-up mechanism. This front camera uses a 20-megapixel sensor and Poco says it will deliver highly in selfies as well as slow motion videos.

Poco F2 Pro

The main cameras are also the same, which is a mega upgrade from the Poco F1. The F2 Pro has a swanky quad-camera setup, with the main unit being a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 sensor that we have seen on the Poco X2 as well. This is accompanied by a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera and a depth camera joining as the fourth one.

Similar to the Poco F1, the F2 Pro runs on MIUI based on Android 10 and it comes with its Poco Launcher 2.0 pre-installed. There's also Wi-Fi 6 and Super Bluetooth on the list, if you care.

Poco has not said anything about the standard Poco F1. According to rumours, the regular model will debut at a later date in India at a much cheaper price tag than the Poco F2 Pro. As for the F2 Pro, it is most likely not coming to India, although you could get the same phone as the Redmi K30 Pro in a few months.


OU professor examines the fifty shades phenomenon by exploring the leather community and attitudes toward women in Deviant Behavior journal

In a new study, Meredith G. F. Worthen, professor of sociology at the University of Oklahoma, and Trenton M. Haltom (Ph.D. candidate, University of Nebraska and OU alumnus) investigate how identifying as a member of the leather community is related to attitudes toward women.

"Because of the widespread attention and misconceptions that came about along with the Fifty Shades books and films, we wanted to better understand the leather/BDSM (bondage, discipline, submission and sadomasochism) community, especially in regards to the treatment of women," said Worthen.

Specifically, they explore leather identity as it relates to the support of laws and policies helping women, non-feminist identity, patriarchal gender norms and the stigmatization of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LBTQ) women among both hetero and non-hetero (gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual) leathermen.

Overall, their findings indicated a robust relationship between these anti-woman perspectives and leatherman identity that is especially pronounced among hetero leathermen and demonstrate the importance of continuing to consider how leather identity shapes misogyny among leathermen.

"The leather/BDSM community is often deviantized and marginalized, so it is important to better understand its inner workings, especially because there are so many false and sometimes dangerous perspectives out there," said Haltom. "More research is needed to better cultivate a culture of consent that can encourage the appropriate emotional and psychological pre-negotiations necessary in healthy BDSM relationships that may be newly forming as a result of interest in the Fifty Shades series."

Worthen and Haltom use a nationally representative sample of U.S. adult men ages 18-64 stratified by U.S. Census categories of age, race/ethnicity, and census region (N = 1474) and a subsample of leathermen (n = 65; 58% hetero-leather identified and 42% non-hetero-leather identified). The data were collected using a Faculty Investment Program grant from the OU Vice President for Research that Worthen received in 2018.

To read the full study in Deviant Behavior, visit: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2020.1762454.

In addition to being a professor at OU, Worthen (@MeredithWorthen) is a researcher and activist who focuses on sociological constructions of deviance and stigma, gender, sexuality and LGBTQ identities, as well as feminist and queer criminology. Her work dissects multiple dimensions of prejudice in an effort to cultivate understanding, empathy and social change.

Haltom (@TMHaltom) is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research focuses on men's crises of gender and sexuality across media, occupations, health or sports. His dissertation is a mixed-methods content analysis of representations of men's bodies in popular U.S. magazines over time. His research has been published in Gender & Society, Sociology of Sport Journal and in edited volumes.

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A driver who killed a motorcyclist because he failed to look at his mirrors has been jailed for seven months.

Zdenek Pulko, 27, who failed to look in his wing mirrors as he pulled out into the path of Ian Stewart, 63, fled to the Czech Republic in an 8,000 car he had not paid for following the fatal collision near Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire.

The Czech national was tracked down and extradited under a European arrest warrant back to Manchester Airport where he was arrested, York Crown Court heard.

Police investigators concluded the motorcyclist, Mr Stewart, a grandfather and father of two, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, would have been in view for a mile in Pulko's rear mirror before the crash.

Zdenek Pulko (pictured), 27, failed to look in his wing mirrors as he pulled out into the path of Ian Stewart, 63, on October 2018

The collision happened on Coldhill Lane, on the outskirts of Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire, at around 1.45pm, October 18, 2018.

Mr Stewart, who was an experienced motorcyclist, died at Leeds General Infirmary on the night of October 19, 2018, when his life support machine was switched off.

Pulko had been driving a beige Skoda Octavia towards Sherburn when he crashed into Mr Stewart who was riding a blue and white BMW motorcycle in the same direction.

His widow Fiona told the court: 'I will never forget the car driver for taking my husband from me.'

The couple, who had been married for 32 years and had run a business together, had returned from safari in Africa 12 days before Mr Stewart's death.

Pulko, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and the theft of a car he bought on credit on November 8. He did not pay any instalments.

He was jailed for seven months and banned from driving for 15 months.

Glenn Parsons, defending, said Pulko's concentration had only lapsed momentarily.

He had left the UK because his grandmother was ill and because he had lost his UK job.

He was planning to return when he was extradited and regretted causing Mr Stewart's death.

The fatal collision happened on Coldhill Lane, on the outskirts of Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire, on October 18, 2018. Pictured: General view of Coldhill lane as it approaches Sherburn-in-Elmet

Prosecutor James Bourne-Arton said Mr Stewart was a very experienced motorcyclist and had been riding correctly.

He was on his way to meet a friend at Squires Cafe near Sherburn-in-Elmet.

He had indicated to overtake in a safe place and was overtaking, when Pulko, travelling at 50mph, moved out.

Pulko told police he was avoiding a pothole but police said there were none in the road.

The two vehicles collided in the opposite lane and the motorbike skidded over the far verge and into a tree.
After the arrest on Tuesday, the police, as is their usual practice, did not say what had led them to the suspect, whom they did not identify, though the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster, identified him as Scott White. Mr. Johnson said the authorities had pieced together some of the clues from people coming forward after the announcement of an increased reward.

Mick Fuller, the police commissioner of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, said he had personally notified Steve Johnson of the arrest.

Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight  Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honor to be part of his fight for justice, Mr. Fuller said.

While we have a long way to go in the legal process, it must be acknowledged that if it wasnt for the determination of the Johnson family, the commissioner added, we wouldnt be where we are today.

Mr. Johnson, who was critical of the police earlier in the case, said that the detectives had pulled off a miraculous task with passion and persistence. To celebrate the news of the arrest, Mr. Johnson gathered family, including his children  some online because of the pandemic  who have heard stories about the talented uncle they never met.

He said he hoped to soon find out more about his brothers final hours, which have haunted him over the years. Scott was a prince, he said. And what happened, he didnt ask for it. He didnt deserve it.

His brother, he added, would be grateful that the family did not give up on finding out what had happened. Now we have an answer, we have a lesson for others who would commit more crimes  that they will be caught, he said.
ORANGE, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MegaMex Foods, a leader in the Mexican foods category, has announced donations of cash and products totaling $100,000 to help with COVID-19 relief efforts. Among the beneficiaries is World Central Kitchen (WCK) in support of its community feeding programs. Founded in 2010 by Chef Jose Andres, WCK uses the power of food to heal and strengthen communities through times of crisis and beyond. To help those impacted by COVID-19, WCK is activating hundreds of restaurants and kitchens to feed vulnerable communities and brave medical professionals on the front lines and to support the distressed restaurant industry.

In Orange County, home to the company's corporate office, MegaMex Foods is committed to purchasing 300 meals per week from area restaurants, which are being donated and distributed to people in need through the Waste Not OC Coalition (a public/private effort aimed at helping to alleviate hunger). In addition, MegaMex Foods worked with I am A Hero LA to deliver over 2,200 taco meals to hospital staff and first responders in the Greater Los Angeles area.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, home to the company's WHOLLY GUACAMOLE distribution center and sales/corporate office and Don Miguel Foods manufacturing facility, MegaMex Foods is partnering with Chef Tim Love, who is using his restaurants to provide approximately 10,000 meals to families in need.

"MegaMex Foods is committed to the health and safety of our employees as well as helping others during this unprecedented time," said Ryan Michaelis, president and chief executive officer of MegaMex Foods. "We are proud to support incredible organizations like these while helping local restaurants to ease the burden within our communities and make a meaningful difference for those who are facing food insecurity."

ABOUT MEGAMEX FOODS

MegaMex Foods, one of the fastest growing Mexican foods companies in the world, is reimaging Mexican Flavor in restaurants and home kitchens across the country. Leading the way with fresh ideas, MegaMex Foods is committed to the authentic ingredients and foods that bring families together with trusted brands found in homes across Mexico and the United States like HERDEZ products, America's No. 1 selling salsa verde and WHOLLY Guacamole, the No. 1 branded refrigerated guacamole in the United States, CHI-CHI'S, LA VICTORIA, EMBASA, DON MIGUEL and DONA MARIA brands. Founded by Herdez Del Fuerte and Hormel Foods, MegaMex Foods is headquartered in Orange, Calif., with offices in Texas and Mexico and has nine operating plants, numerous manufacturing partners, and over 4,100 employees.

SOURCE MegaMex Foods
Even though restrictions for street foods, such as doubles, may have been lifted as of today, it is no longer back to business as usual.

In fact, many doubles vendors, speaking with the Express yesterday, noted that they will be having a call-in order system for their businesses.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

SC directs states to reach out to 10,000 kids orphaned due to Covid-19, pay compensation

COVID-19 vaccine: Glenmark starts clinical trials for potential drug in India

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 12: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday it has initiated clinical trials in India of antiviral drug favipiravir. This is believed to be a potential treatment for the coronavirus pandemic.

Glenmark said clinical trials have begun and more than 10 leading government and private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. It estimates the study completion by July or August this year.

The company received approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct clinical trials of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in April.

Coronavirus outbreak: India breaches 70,000-mark, records 87 new deaths due to COVID-19

Having internally developed the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and the formulations for the product, the company filed the product for clinical trials with the DCGI and has received approval for conducting the trial on mild to moderate patients, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.

The Mumbai-based company is the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given approval by the regulator to start the trial on COVID-19 patients in the country, it added.

Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses and has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections, it added.

As per the clinical trial protocol approved, 150 subjects with mild to moderate COVID-19 will be randomised in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care, the company said.

Treatment duration is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum for 28 days from randomisation, it added.

In the past few months, following the outbreak of COVID-19, multiple clinical trials have been initiated on such patients in China, Japan and in the US.

The drug firm said its product is a generic version of Japan-based Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Ltd's Avigan tablets.
For homeowners who are looking for clean energy solutions, solar power is utterly essential. But what is solar energy, exactly, and how does solar power work?

Solar energy is the energy emitted by the sun that reaches the earths surface. In this article, well cover how its converted into electricity that we use to power our lives, as well as discuss the biggest advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy.

The U.S. has one of the best climates for solar power in the world and is home to some of the best solar companies and manufacturers. So how should we take advantage of this natural, renewable energy we enjoy in such abundance? Lets dive in.

Solar Energy Definition

In its simplest form, solar energy is the heat and light released by the sun. Individual particles of sunlight are known as photons, and they carry high amounts of the suns energy to Earth. In fact, during any given hour, the Earth receives enough solar energy to theoretically fuel our entire populations energy needs for one full year.

But where does all of this solar power actually come from? Well, like any other star, the sun is basically one big nuclear reactor. There are nuclear fusion reactions happening in the suns core all the time, a process through which hydrogen atoms collide and fuse to create helium atoms.

This process produces an enormous amount of energy, as the sun fuses about 620 million metric tons of hydrogen every second.

Nuclear fusion is the process through which hydrogen atoms collide and fuse to create helium atoms. MARK GARLICK / Getty Images

That solar energy can be collected here on Earth via photovoltaic technology, which converts solar energy into electricity that can be used to supply power to a home or a business. Solar power currently represents 18% of the global energy economy, and its rapidly gaining in popularity (and necessity), largely thanks to the falling costs of solar and a desire among governments and homeowners alike to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.

Using Solar Power

Youve likely heard the term PV associated with solar power, which as weve mentioned refers to photovoltaic technology used in most solar cells. Most commonly, PV cells are made with a silicon semiconductor due to its cost and abundance. Generally used for small-scale applications, such as residential solar systems or portable solar generators, PV represents the most common method of harnessing solar energy.

Another option, called solar thermal capture, is typically better suited to produce solar electricity on a larger scale, like in a power plant.

Well focus more on the former, as its the most common method.

Converting Solar Energy via Solar Panels

By installing solar energy systems made with solar photovoltaic cells, or PV cells, home and business owners can collect solar energy and convert it into electricity. Heres a breakdown of that process:

The suns photons reach the surface area of the solar panel, and through the photovoltaic effect, those photons excite and displace loose electrons within a solar cell. Solar panels are designed so that these displaced electrons flow toward metal plates that line the outside of the panel. This creates an energy current. This electric current within the solar panel is a direct current (DC), which has to be converted into an alternating current (AC) in order to be used as electricity for a home. Inverters convert the current from each panel. This AC electricity can then be channeled to the primary circuit board of your home, where it can be directed either into the homes electrical system as power or into a battery to be stored for later use. If your utility company has a net metering program, you can also send excess energy to your local power grid in exchange for energy credits.

Usable sunlight hits a solar cell, which sets off the photovoltaic effect. Alejomiranda / Getty Images

Solar PV is one of the best methods we have today for generating power on a large scale with a renewable, clean resource like solar energy.

Why Switch to Solar Energy?

The benefits of solar power go beyond just saving money on your energy bills; you can take complete control of your electricity use and energy efficiency, reducing or even eliminating your reliance on utility companies. Even more impactful, you can directly lower greenhouse gas emissions and your reliance on fossil fuels, which provides a number of tangible environmental benefits.

But are solar panels really worth it for homes and businesses? Lets walk through the pros and cons of solar energy.

Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy

The environmental benefits surrounding solar energy are perhaps the most well known:

Being a clean and renewable energy resource, collecting solar energy directly offsets carbon emissions and air pollution associated with burning fossil fuels like oil and gas.

Though not as well publicized, mining and burning coal, as well as fracking natural gas, require an extremely high volume of freshwater. Using solar energy rather than non-renewable resources contributes to healthier water systems by fighting water scarcity and acidification.

No matter which way you look at it, solar technology helps us reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and the companies that profit off of environmental degradation. Every single home that goes solar gives a small slice of power back to the people.

Financial Benefits of Solar Energy

There are also a number of financial perks that come with solar, including:

Solar energy use can reduce your monthly electric bills and, in some cases, eliminate those bills completely. This produces big cost savings over time.

When you buy solar panels, there are a number of tax credits, incentives and rebates available to offset startup costs, including some available at the federal level and some that are state-specific. More companies are adopting solar financing to increase accessibility.

Most residential and commercial solar systems will produce electricity for 20 to 30 years and require very little maintenance. This allows you to reliably budget your energy costs decades in advance rather than relying on power plants and public infrastructure, which is far less predictable.

Challenges of Solar Energy

Solar power is one of the best renewable energy sources available to us, but that doesnt mean its perfect. Some of the most significant challenges to solar energy include:

The initial cost of solar panels is fairly significant, typically ranging between $10,000 and $20,000. Tax incentives and monthly utility savings can offset this cost, but paying these upfront costs just isnt an option for every homeowner.

Some homes arent suited for solar. If your house is shaded by trees or other buildings, or you dont get enough exposure to the sun, then a home solar system may not work out.

If you live in an area where electricity is inexpensive, then the savings you get from a solar system may not be worth the cost and the hassle.

Its much better to deal with a broken solar panel than a leaky oil rig, but even solar panels have an impact. With well over a million panels in use nationwide, well have to address the system for recycling solar panels.

Is My Home Suitable for a Residential Solar Energy System?

The best way to determine whether your home is a good fit for solar electricity is to contact a solar installer in your area. A solar energy specialist can come to take a look at your home and give you a custom recommendation.

Generally speaking, solar energy is best suited for those who live in sunny areas, have plenty of surface area on a south- or west-facing roof and whose homes are unobstructed by trees or neighboring buildings.

What to Look for in a Solar Energy System

As you shop around for home solar systems, make sure to keep the following factors in mind (read our guide to purchasing solar panels for more information):

The efficiency of your solar panels, or how much sunlight they actually turn into electricity (the most efficient solar panels convert over 20%).

The capacity of your solar battery storage system.

Warranties and other protections for your home solar system.

The total number of panels you need to get the desired results.

The services offered by your solar installer (such as individual system design).

If youre interested in solar, it only takes 30 seconds to get a free, no-obligation quote. You could save up to $2,500 per year on utility bills and get a tax rebate all while reducing your carbon footprint. Use this tool or fill out the form below to get started.

Get Free Quotes From EcoWatch Approved Solar Installers

FAQ: What is Solar Energy?

What is solar energy in simple words?

Solar energy, in simple words, is the light and heat radiated by the sun. Here on Earth, we can collect that solar energy with solar panels and convert it into electricity we can use to power our homes.

What are five advantages of solar energy?

Five advantages of solar energy include:

Its a truly renewable energy source that directly offsets carbon emissions and air pollution. It helps homeowners save money on power bills. There are low maintenance costs for homeowners. Solar can be used in remote applications to power homes or shelters that arent connected to an energy grid. Solar panel manufacturing and installation creates thousands of green jobs per year.

How do you explain solar energy to a child?

Heres how we would explain solar energy to a child: You know how when you step into the sun, you feel hot? That heat is a form of energy. Solar panels are a way of catching that energy, and using it to power your home.

Karsten Neumeister is a writer and renewable energy specialist with a background in writing and the humanities. Before joining EcoWatch, Karsten worked in the energy sector of New Orleans, focusing on renewable energy policy and technology. A lover of music and the outdoors, Karsten might be found rock climbing, canoeing or writing songs when away from the workplace.
Reliance Industries announced the proposed issuance of 42,26,26,894 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of the company on rights basis.

The details for the rights issue are as follows:

Ratio: 1 (one) Rights Equity Share for every 15 (fifteen) fully paid-up equity shares held by the eligible equity shareholders of the Company on the Record Date

Record Date: 14 May 2020

Issue Price: Rs 1,257 per Rights Equity Share

Issue Size: Amount aggregating Rs 53124,20,05,758/-

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MEDINA, Ohio -- Four more Medina County parks have been reopened to the public after having been temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

They join a host of other businesses and public areas to reopen this week as part of Ohios shift from a stay-at-home to a stay-safe approach to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

On Friday (May 8), Green Leaf Park, Killbuck Lakes, Medina Marsh Nature Preserve and Plum Creek Park were opened to the public.

Other sites remaining open include Allardale; Brunswick Lake Park; Buckeye Woods Park; Chippewa Inlet Trail North; Chippewa Lake; Hubbard Valley Park; Lake Medina; Letha House Park East; Letha House Park West; River Styx Park; Schleman Nature Preserve; and the Lester Rail, Chippewa Inlet, Chippewa Rail and Montville multipurpose trails.

Medina County Park District Director Nate Eppink said the openings have been based on a number of factors, including a particular areas location within the county and its proximity to other parks.

And honestly, which areas people have asked about the most, Eppink said. Initially, closing areas to protect staff and visitors was very purposeful and deliberate. Theres no formula for reopening, other than doing so slowly.

Some areas will remain closed to the public until further notice, however. These include Carolyn Ludwig Mugrage Park, including the dog park; Princess Ledges Nature Preserve; Wolf Creek Environmental Center; Alderfer-Oenslager Wildlife Sanctuary; Susan Hambley Nature Center; and park district headquarters.

In some cases, the reason for keeping an area closed seems contradictory.

Mugrage Park will be reopening later than most sites because of its popularity, Eppink said. I realize that sounds counterintuitive, but social distancing is still very important. When Mugrage reopens, the dog park will remain locked, and were placing snow fencing around the playground."

All programs and reservations will also remain canceled through at least June 30, Eppink said. New facility reservations for 2020 are not being accepted at this time, and the park districts young naturalist camps and youth fishing camps have been canceled for this summer. All playgrounds and drinking fountains also remain closed.

The Medina County Health District asks park visitors to stay home if they feel ill, to keep a 6-foot distance between themselves and others, and to cover their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.

Visitors utilizing the park districts open-air shelters must adhere to public health orders issued by Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health, which limit gatherings to fewer than 10 people. Park district rangers will enforce these orders and require larger groups to disperse.

Read more news from the Medina Sun.
With travel restrictions in place worldwide, weve launched a new series, The World Through a Lens, in which photojournalists help transport you, virtually, to some of our planets most beautiful and intriguing places. This week, Susan Wright shares a collection of photographs from a saffron harvest in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Italys Abruzzo region, although remote, has not been spared from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. The area has reported thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths.
She is patiently awaiting the arrival of her first child.

And Danielle Armstrong is clearly keen to capture the final days of her pregnancy as she shared a sweet snap from bed with her fiance Tom Edney on Tuesday before taking to Twitter to post a solo selfie.

The former TOWIE star, 32, displayed her growing baby bump in the snap, which was adorned with the words 'Quarantine Baby' while she penned in her tweet: 'How is Everyone? Baby Girl Is Still Very Comfortable #nearlytime #eeek'.

Bloom: Danielle Armstrong is clearly keen to capture the final days of her pregnancy as she shared a sweet snap from bed with her fiance Tom Edney on Tuesday

Danielle was boasting the fabled expectant mum glow in the pretty snap as she cosied up to her beau ahead of their exciting arrival.

Last week, heavily pregnant Danielle revealed she believes her baby girl will arrive this weekend as she shared a pregnancy update on Thursday as proof she had not given birth while chatting to fans on Instagram.

The blonde beauty said: 'Hello my lovelies, I have still not given birth. It's so funny, if I have one or two days not posting on social media, my DMs are like, "have you gone into labour?"'

'Even people I know are messaging my mum, messaging me saying "you've gone quiet, have you gone into labour?"'

Blooming: She penned in her tweet: 'How is Everyone? Baby Girl Is Still Very Comfortable #nearlytime #eeek'.

Cradling her bump, she continued: 'No I haven't given birth, she's still here, I think she's gonna be really comfortable in there.'

Danielle then revealed she had a feeling the birth was just days away, saying: 'I think she's gonna come this weekend though.

She then asked fiance Tom Edney what his thoughts were on their daughter's arrival date. He responded: 'I've always said the 20th.'

Bumping along: Last week, heavily pregnant Danielle revealed she believes her baby girl will arrive this weekend as she shared a pregnancy update on Thursday as proof she had not given birth while chatting to fans on Instagram

Coming soon: She then asked fiance Tom what his thoughts were on their daughter's arrival date. He responded: 'I've always said the 20th'

It comes after the star told fans her 'lips feel huge' as she shared a pregnancy update at the end of last month.

Danielle was relaxing at home in Essex as she took to her Instagram Story to share how some followers thought she had gone into early labour.

She said: 'Hello my lovelies, I've had everyone messaging me... Well not everyone maybe four people saying I've been quiet on social media and asking if I've gone into labour.

Excited: Danielle then revealed she had a feeling the birth was just days away, saying: ' I think she's gonna come this weekend though'

'No, I am sitting here I'm just working from home. I've just been putting my feet up, literally.'

The reality star donned a pale grey bodycon dress and looked gorgeous with her blonde tresses styled in bouncy blow-dried curls.

She continued: 'Relaxing and working from home. And getting ready for baby girl to arrive.

Prediction: She then asked fiance Tom Edney what his thoughts were on their daughter's arrival date. He responded: 'I've always said the 20th'

'I am not actually due until May, so I've got a couple of weeks. She could come early but I'm not going to reveal my exact due date.'

Moving the camera closer to her face, Danielle shared: 'I am all good, my lips feel huge and I've actually got a bit of pigmentation going on. The joys!'

The reality star first announced she is expecting back in November 2019 and revealed her due date is in May.

She and Tommy have been long-term friends for 22 years and first went public with their relationship in September, after he 'swept Danielle off her feet' following her split from her ex-boyfriend Daniel Spiller.

Tommy proposed to Danielle during a trip to Dubai at the beginning of March. Announcing the news on Instagram, Danielle gushed: 'Feel Like The Luckiest Girl In The World Right Now... I SAID YES #imengaged.'
P lans to reopen schools for a month before the summer holidays have been branded "wildly optimistic, to the point of being irresponsible" and "reckless" by teaching unions.

New Government guidance from the Department for Education says primary school class sizes should be limited to 15 pupils when some classes returns to school in June, with desks spaced as far apart as possible.

Young children also face the prospect of being sent to a different school, the guidance says, if limited classroom space or staff numbers mean children can't be placed in small groups.

Speaking in a televised address on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if the level of coronavirus infections remained low enough, children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in primary schools could begin to return from 1 June "at the earliest".

Europe takes it's first steps out of Coronavirus lockdown 1 /25 Europe takes it's first steps out of Coronavirus lockdown People queue at a hardware store during a partial reopening after the Austrian government eased lockdown restrictions Reuters A worker checks the temperature of a customer at the entrance of a supermarket in Itay Reuters Customers hold flowers in front of a DIY store in Graz, Austria, after it re-opened on April 14, 2020, following a "shutdown" in a measure to limit the spread of the new coronavirus APA/AFP via Getty Images People wearing protective face masks and gloves walk in the streets as the Italian government allows the reopening of some shops while a nationwide lockdown continues following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Venice, Italy, Reuters People queue to enter a hardware store during a partial reopening after the Austrian government eased restrictions following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Eisenstadt, Austria Reuters Camilla Cocchi wears a face mask and gloves as she sorts out clothing in her children's clothes shop after it was allowed to reopen following lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, in Rome AP A man wearing a face mask shops in a hardware store during a partial reopening after the Austrian government eased restrictions following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Eisenstadt, Austria Reuters "Respect the 2 meters distance" banner is seen at a fish stand as the Italian government allows the reopening of some shops while a nationwide lockdown continues following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Venice, Italy, Reuters Customers wearing face masks push shopping carts in front of a DIY store in Vienna, Austria, after it re-opened on April 14, 2020, following a "shutdown" in a measure to limit the spread of the new coronavirus APA/AFP via Getty Images A worker checks the temperature of a customer at the entrance of a supermarket, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Turin, Italy Reuters Customers line up in front of a DIY store in Graz, Austria APA/AFP via Getty Images Gianfranco Mandas wears a face mask as he sorts out clothing in his children's clothes shop after it was allowed to opens following restriction measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, in Rome AP Customers wearing face masks push shopping carts in front of a DIY store in Vienna, Austria, after it re-opened on April 14, 2020, following a "shutdown" in a measure to limit the spread of the new coronavirus APA/AFP via Getty Images Customers queue at the Trastevere market, as new restrictions for open-air markets are implemented to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy, Reuters Customers wearing face masks push shopping carts in front of a DIY store in Vienna, Austria, after it re-opened on April 14, 2020, following a "shutdown" in a measure to limit the spread of the new coronavirus APA/AFP via Getty Images A man wears a protective face mask and gloves at the newsstand as the Italian government allows the reopening of some shops while a nationwide lockdown continues following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Venice, Italy Reuters People wearing face masks work in a hardware store during a partial reopening after the Austrian government eased restrictions following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Eisenstadt, Austria Reuters Customers queue at the Trastevere market, as new restrictions for open-air markets are implemented to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy Reuters A general view of the parking area of a hardware store during the partial reopening of shops after the Austrian government loosens its lockdown restrictions during the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna Reuters

Guidelines issued on Monday advise schools to utilise outdoor space, stagger lunch and break times, as well as drop-off and pick-up times, to reduce the number of pupils moving around.

Schools should also consider introducing one-way circulation, or placing a divider down the middle of the corridor, to keep young people apart, the guidance says.

The advice suggests that nurseries and schools should remove soft furnishings and toys that are hard to clean  and try to keep children in the same small groups at all times each day.

But teaching unions have branded the plans "reckless" and said schools must stay closed until a raft of health and safety measures had been addressed.

Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that some pupils could return to school on June 1 / 10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty

"This timetable is reckless. This timetable is simply not safe," says Dr Mary Bousted, co-leader of the biggest teachers' union, the National Education Union.

She added: "Education staff do not feel reassured that the Government is taking these steps with public health in mind.

"Heads have been inundated with questions and queries from their staff and from parents.

"The Government has stoked teachers' anxiety and triggered real confusion because the announcement is inconsistent on the importance of social distancing and how or whether it can be achieved in schools.

"This is not fair to anyone and it is not safe to put out a timeline until the public safety test has been met."

Unions have warned that the plans to reopen schools are "reckless" and "irresponsible" / PA

Dr Bousted said the plans must be "immediately re-drawn", with the help of unions and the profession.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT, said the Governments aim for all primary school children to return to school for a month before the summer was not a feasible scenario.

He said: The availability of school staff, the sheer number of pupils and the sizes of school classrooms and corridors combined with the need for social distancing measures mean that the Governments calculations simply dont add up.

It seems wildly optimistic, to the point of being irresponsible, to suggest that we will be in a position to return all primary children to school within the next seven weeks.

A poll held by the national Education Union on Monday showed 85 per cent of teachers are opposed to the Prime Minister's plans.

Before and during Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures 1 /44 Before and during Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures AP Buckingham Palace AP Piccadilly Line tube AP Big Ben AP Millennium bridge AP Wembley Stadium AP St Pancras International train station AP Downing Street AP Victoria Station AP Regent Street AP The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace AP London's National Gallery in Trafalgar Square PA Edinburgh's Royal Mile PA Barry Island, South Wales PA Bath PA Bath PA London's Waterloo station PA London Bridge PA London's Canary Wharf Jubilee Line platform PA London's Canary Wharf Station PA London's Buckingham Palace PA London's Tower Bridge PA London's Leicester Square PA London's Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral PA London's Criterion Theatre PA London's Palace Theatre PA London's Phoenix Theatre PA London's Canary Wharf Station PA Bournemouth beach PA Bath PA Bath PA Barry Island, South Wales PA Bournemouth beach PA

More than 440,000 people have also signed a petition urging the Government to give parents a choice on sending their children back to school if they reopen.

When they reopen, children and staff are not required to wear a face covering or face mask in schools and early years settings, the Government advice says.

The Government guidance acknowledges that young pupils will not be able to remain two metres apart from each other and staff.

Instead, primary school classes should be split into groups of no more than 15 pupils per group, which will be kept from mixing with other pupils during the day.

The advice says that demand for childcare is likely to be lower than usual and so staff-to-child ratios should allow for small group working.

UK coronavirus death toll hits 32,065

For secondary school pupils, the Governments 50-page Covid-19 recovery strategy said that schools and colleges should prepare to begin some face-to-face contact with Year 10 and 12 students.

Now guidance from the DfE says that alternative provision settings should also offer face-to-face support for students in Year 11 as well as Year 10.

The DfE has also said pupils eligible to return to school on June 1 will have access to testing if they display symptoms, alongside symptomatic members of their household.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the latest scientific advice suggests it is safe for children to return to school, but numbers will be limited.

He said: I know how hard schools, colleges, early years settings and parents are working to make sure children and young people can continue to learn at home, and I cannot thank them enough for that.

But nothing can replace being in the classroom, which is why I want to get children back to school as soon as it is safe to do so.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools will open in a staggered approach / PA

He added: The latest scientific advice indicates it will be safe for more children to return to school from June 1, but we will continue to limit the overall numbers in school and introduce protective measures to prevent transmission.

This marks the first step towards having all young people back where they belong  in nurseries, schools and colleges  but we will continue to be led by the scientific evidence and will only take further steps when the time is right.

The Government has said families who choose to keep their children at home when schools reopen will not face fines.

But parents will be strongly encouraged to take up these places  unless the child or a family member is shielding, or the child is particularly vulnerable.
A garda investigation file is being prepared against a 20-year-old Dublin man who is wanted in the United States for the alleged hacking theft of more than $2 million dollars in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the High Court has heard.

Conor Freeman was arrested at his home address in Glenageary Court, Dun Laoghaire, in May 2019 on foot of a warrant issued by US authorities.

Mr Freemans surrender is being sought on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and four counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. If convicted in the US, Mr Freeman is facing up to 108 years in prison.

US authorities allege that members of an online group calling itself The Community conspired to hack numerous targets with the objective of stealing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, between February 2018 and May 2018. The others are US residents.

According to a warrant issued by the US Department of Justice, authorities have identified four attacks in which Mr Freeman allegedly participated that resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency valued at $2,187,977.

Siobhan Ni Chulachain BL, for the Minister for Justice, told the High Court today that the State was seeking a further adjournment in the case of six weeks due to a domestic prosecution file being prepared against Mr Freeman. "We are awaiting developments on that front before a decision is taken regarding the substantive case before the court," she outlined.

Mr Justice Paul Burns granted the State's request for more time and listed the case for mention again on June 22.

Mr Freeman was not present in court for today's list management procedure and was remanded on continuing bail until next month.

The warrant states that Mr Freeman and five others were indicted by a Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Michigan on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft on April 18, 2019.

Members of the group calling itself The Community allegedly specialised in a technique called SIM Hijacking or SIM Swapping, according to the warrant. This technique involves stealing identities by compromising a targets mobile phone provider or gaining control of the targets mobile phone number, it adds.

Once these individuals controlled a targets mobile phone number, they leveraged it to compromise the targets email and other online accounts, with the goal of eventually gaining control - and stealing - the targets cryptocurrency, the warrant states.

In May 2018, a member of The Community involved in these attacks was arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan. This individual cooperated with US authorities, who gained access to his computers, including records of online chats between this subject and others.

Review of the chats revealed an individual identifying himself as Conor who allegedly played a significant role in numerous attacks by The Community, the warrant states.

US authorities have identified four attacks in which Conor participated that resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency valued at $2,187,977, according to the warrant.

Further investigations revealed that Conor is Conor Freeman, according to the warrant. It was substantiated by linking IP addresses used by Conor to Irish mobile phone and residential internet service providers, it adds.

The first five counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per count while the final four counts carry a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, consecutive to the underlying felony.
Law enforcement officers accuse pro-democracy protesters of pretending to be reporters. Protests in the shopping district have been the most impressive since the outbreak of the pandemic. For Journalists associations, the right to report cannot be repressed. Police violence will only cause more resistance.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Hong Kong police have come under fire after a 12-year-old student journalist was detained at a pro-democracy rally on Sunday in Mong Kok. The student was later released.

On Sunday, police arrested a total of 230 people, including a Democratic Party lawmaker, accusing some protesters, mostly high school students, of pretending to be reporters to hamper their operations.

The protest in Mong Kok, on Mother's Day, was the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in January.

For months, Hong Kongs chief executive, Carrie Lam, and her government have been the target of pro-democracy protesters who accuse them of letting mainland China interfere in local affairs.

Protests began in June 2019 in opposition to a proposed extradition bill (later withdrawn), subsequently turning into a broader movement in favour of democratic freedoms.

Anti-government protests spawned many online student newspapers. As a result, pro-Beijing members of Hong Kongs Legislative Council (LegCo) have called on the government to introduce a press accreditation system to prevent phoney reporters from participating in protests.

Journalists associations are against such a proposal, saying that it would violate freedom of speech and freedom of the press guaranteed under Hong Kongs Basic Law, which underpins the territorys autonomy vis-a-vis China.

In their view, students have the right to create their own newspapers and tell what happens during protests.

Although student journalists must understand the risks they face, they should not be demonised. The real issue is violent police behaviour towards the media.

Law enforcement claim that their tactics are justified because they prevent large gatherings, currently banned to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Newspapers and television organisations instead accuse police of abuse of power in Mong Kok, using pepper spray, insulting reporters and searching their bags.

Various charges were used to carry out mass arrests in the shopping district: ban on gatherings, disturbing the peace, and weapon possession.

Many believe that police repression, like the constant pressure from Beijing, will have a boomerang effect, generating more resistance among protesters.
Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, in commemoration of the International Nurses Day, has commended nurses across the country for their immense contributions in Ghana's health care system.



International Nurses Day is a day observed around the world on May 12 each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.



Mr Oppong-Nkrumah speaking at a media briefing in Accra to update on Ghana's case situation of the COVID-19 pandemic said the role of the nurse needed no further highlighting.



"As you are aware we are in the midst of a pandemic and the nurse is an instrumental figure in this fight. From contact tracing, to care for the sick and follow up on those who have recovered, the Ghanaian nurse has been a strong soldier in this battle.



"We dedicate today's briefing to the celebration of the thousands of nurses Nationwide, who continue to serve as part of the Frontline health workers in the battle against COVID-19.Your efforts, sacrifices and dedication is immeasurable," he stated.



He said the President, the government and the people of Ghana were appreciative of their hard work and would continue to provide the needed support to lighten their burden.



The Minister said this year's celebration was on the theme "Nursing the World to Health" and therefore expected that the nurses continue with the hard work, support the Frontline health workers to nurse the Ghanaian population and the few who tested positive to COVID-19.



Mr Oppong-Nkrumah at the briefing also dedicated 30 seconds to applaud the nurses for their hard work and dedication and urged them to keep up the pace adding that, government would provide them with needed support.



Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo, on Sunday during his televised address to the nation wished nurses a happy "International Nurses Day" in advance.



"In advance I say a hearty ayekoo to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, which celebrates its 60th anniversary for their contribution to the nation".



The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), formerly Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) is a Professional Association for all categories of Nurses in Ghana.



The Association was founded in March 1960 as a result of a merger of two professional nursing Associations; the Qualified Nurses Association headed by Mr. Mettle-Nunoo and the State Registered Nurses Association led by Dr. Docial Kisseih with the mission to provide a central organization that would advance the interest of the nursing profession in Ghana and internationally.



The purpose of the merger was to present on the Nursing/Midwifery Association to represent the country at the International Council of Nurses.



As a result of the merger, Dr. Docia Kisseih became the first president and Mr. Mettle Nunoo became the first General Secretary.



It is a Professional Association independent and non-partisan and is the exclusive mouthpiece for all nurses in matters affecting them.



The Association exists as a professional body, incorporated under the NRC Decree 143. Professional Bodies Registration with Registration number PB-13.



Its headquarters is at Accra with branches all over the country with its motto as unity is strength.

Source: GNA









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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 01:57:10|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to stand together with its African brothers, including Ethiopia, till the defeat of COVID-19 in the African continent, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday in a phone talk with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew.

Wang said that since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, Ethiopia has been voicing support for China's fight against the epidemic.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is the first African leader to hold phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping to convey his support and sympathy, Wang said.

With the spread of COVID-19 throughout Africa, Wang said, China has stepped up to offer multiple batches of supplies in active support to African nations' combat against the pandemic.

The Ethiopian side has helped China greatly with supplies transfer and distribution, which shows Ethiopia's leadership and sense of responsibility as a major African country and demonstrates the solidarity and coordination between China and Africa in the joint fight against the pandemic, Wang said.

Noting that China has been a trustworthy good friend and good partner of Ethiopia, Wang said that China has offered large quantities of urgently-needed supplies to Ethiopia through various channels and fully supported Ethiopia's fight against the pandemic.

The medical expert team sent by the Chinese government has finished its work in Ethiopia and received wide acclaims, Wang added.

The Chinese side believes that the Ethiopian side would ensure the health and the legitimate rights of Chinese workers in Ethiopia, Wang also said.

China is willing to take the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of the China-Ethiopia diplomatic relationship this year to push the all-round cooperation between the two countries to higher levels, Wang said.

Wang pointed out that the China-Africa friendship has weathered the tests of vicissitudes in the international arena, saying that China's friendly policy towards Africa has never changed and will never change.

In the fight against the pandemic, China and Africa need solidarity and mutual understanding more than ever, he said.

He also said that some countries are trying to blame China for their own mishandling of the outbreak, adding that those moves will surely be resisted and opposed by the international community, African countries included.

Andargachew, for his part, said that the development of the Ethiopia-China relationship has maintained sound momentum and there is always mutual support and understanding between the two peoples.

He congratulated China on its successful handling of the outbreak and expressed appreciation over the generous help by the Chinese government and enterprises to African countries, including Ethiopia, which fully demonstrates the solidarity and friendship between China and Africa, he said.

Noting that the World Health Organization and its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have been playing an important leading role in the fight against the pandemic, he said that they deserve broad support from the international community.

He added that the Ethiopian side firmly observes the one-China policy, and will continue to stand with China on the world stage. Enditem
President Donald Trump tosses a hat into the crowd as he arrives for a campaign rally in Montoursville, Pa., on May 20, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump Campaign Tops Biden in April Fundraising

The Republican National Committee and President Donald Trumps reelection campaign announced Monday that they raised more than $61.7 million in April in their bid for the incumbents second term in the White House.

This brings the total haul cycle to date to over $742 million, $288 million more than the Obama reelection effort had at this same point, the Trump campaign said in a statement.

As the nation has been battered by the outbreak of COVID-19, the illness caused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan late last year, Trumps fundraising pace has slowed slightly. The campaign raised $63 million in March, down from the $86 million raised in February.

While day-to-day life may have slowed this past month, enthusiasm and support for this president has not. With their time, resources, and ultimately their vote, Americans across this country continue to put their faith in President Trump, said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in a statement.

While Trumps pace of raising funds for his reelection may have slowed, his fundraising remains far ahead of likely Democratic contender Joe Biden. On Monday, Bidens presidential campaign said that it and the Democratic National Committee jointly raised $60.5 million in April. This is Bidens first monthly fundraising announcement since he became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden thanked supporters in an email Monday, which mentioned that his average online donation was $32.63.

I am especially humbled because I know what a sacrifice it is to give in economic times as difficult as the one were in. When staring down the face of economic uncertainty, you chose to put your money behind me. For that, I will always be eternally thankful, he wrote, according to CBS.

These numbers prove immense grassroots enthusiasm for Joe Biden, The DNC wrote in a tweet about the fundraising numbers. Were proud to be working together to mobilize supporters and elect Democrats nationwide.

Trumps campaign manager Brad Parscale said Aprils fundraising figures show strong support for the presidents reelection effort, which he called an unstoppable juggernaut.

Once again the Trump campaigns colossal fundraising haul reaffirms that President Trump will lead an unstoppable juggernaut this November. While the do-nothing Democrats have recklessly held up funds for our nations small businesses and played political games with the lives of the American people, President Trumps consistent record of unprecedented action is met with overwhelming enthusiasm and support, he said.

Bidens campaign struggled early to raise funds, but he now hopes the partys united front will help him build his coffers.
HOWELL, MI - Officers arriving at Larry Mikinkas home in Howell on Sunday found the mans home destroyed and found him fighting through severe facial burns to tell them what happened, police said.

Officers responded to a report of an explosion around 4:45 p.m., May 10 in the 100 block of Orleans Street, the Howell Police Department said.

Mikinka suffered second- and third-degree burns to his face, arms and legs, said his son Anthony. The elder Mikinkas mobile home is destroyed, police said.

Mikinka told officers he was working on a furnace when it exploded, police said. The incident remains under investigation.

Livingston County paramedics transported Mikinka to the University of Michigan Hospital in critical condition, police said. He is in stable condition as of Monday, May 11, police said.

Anthony Mikinka credited the University of Michigans burn ward for saving his fathers life. With medical personnel performing skin graft operations and more, he said, the family may not be able to afford the ensuing bills.

It takes months to years for burns to heal so he will be out of work, Anthony Mikinka said.

His sister and Larrys daughter Alannah have set up a GoFundMe with a fundraising goal of $100,000 to help cover medical bills. So far, the Mikinkas have raised more than $1,300.

With his life being completely torn a part from this disastrous explosion, it would mean the world for...the public to help with the payments, Anthony Mikinka said.

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AS GERMANY took its first cautious steps out of a stringent lockdown, Chancellor Angela Merkel dialled into the biweekly video conference with her party's innermost circle. The dozen or so participants had a touchy subject to broach.

A week earlier, the German constitutional court in Karlsruhe had stunned political and legal circles with a ruling that identified alleged flaws in the European Central Bank's quantitative-easing policy and called on its own executive and legislature to monitor the ECB's progress.

The verdict came with a three-month ultimatum to fix the shortcomings, causing an outcry in Brussels. The court was seen overstepping its authority by conflicting with a higher instance that had previously sanctioned the ECB's behaviour: the European Court of Justice.

The conflict has left Ms Merkel and her party leadership in a bind. In this case, she could not afford to ignore the view of her country's highest legal authority. Nor could she be seen undermining key institutions of the European Union.

Ms Merkel had quickly grasped the implications of the verdict when it hit on May 5. By yesterday, with the potential fallout widening far beyond Berlin and Brussels, Ms Merkel had grown even more concerned. The Karlsruhe ruling would have far-reaching reverberations and required a response, Ms Merkel told the closed-door meeting.

The Chancellor proposed a workaround: The ECB could offer an explanation of its asset-purchase programme via the Bundesbank, which would serve as an intermediary to the German parliament. Publicly, her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, let it be known that Berlin didn't consider the German judges questioned in principle the authority of the European Court of Justice.

The Karlsruhe court has told the government and parliament to demand the ECB performs a so-called economic proportionality review. Such a letter of request to ECB President Christine Lagarde is now being considered both by the finance ministry and lawmakers, people familiar with the talks said.

While that would make the government comply with the ruling, it complicates the ECB's premise of political independence.

Bloomberg
Global alarm was sounded on Monday over a potential second wave of coronavirus cases after Germany, relatively successful in slowing the outbreak, reported that infections had accelerated again

Berlin: Global alarm was sounded on Monday over a potential second wave of coronavirus cases after Germany, relatively successful in slowing the outbreak, reported that infections had accelerated again after the first tentative steps to ease a lockdown.

But in the United States, which has by far the highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, President Donald Trump accused Democrats of reopening states too slowly, for political advantage, albeit without providing evidence.

News that the reproduction rate - the number of people each person with the disease goes on to infect - had surged back to 1.1 in Germany cast a shadow over the reopening of businesses ranging from Paris hair salons to Shanghai Disneyland. A rate that stays above 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially.

Fears that a second wave of infections could thwart the reopening of the global economy helped send share prices lower across the world, and pushed depressed oil prices down still further. The past month has seen investors bet strongly on a rapid economic recovery in spite of data far worse than any in living memory. That has opened a rift between soaring stock markets and the freefalling economies they are meant to reflect.

Trump, now running for re-election in November against the background of a crippled economy, is pushing US states for a rapid reopening, against the recommendations of health experts to move more cautiously to avoid a resurgence of the virus, which has killed more than 80,000 people in the United States.

Some of the hardest-hit states are led by Democratic governors, such as Pennsylvania; the Republican president has encouraged reopening in those states in defiance of their governors with tweets urging people to liberate them.

The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails, he tweeted on Monday. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes.

Europe reopens slowly

In Europe, Spain and France took major new steps to ease strict lockdowns, while Britain, second only to the United States in its death toll, unveiled cautious moves that critics said sent mixed messages.

In Paris, traffic flowed along the Champs Elysees as workers cleaned shopfronts to reopen for the first time since March. Everyones a little bit nervous. Wow! We dont know where were headed but were off, said Marc Mauny, a hair stylist who opened his salon in western France at the stroke of midnight.

Mickey Mouse welcomed thinned-out crowds in Shanghai, the first Disney theme park to reopen, with a strict limit on tickets. Parades and fireworks were cancelled, and workers and guests had to wear face masks and have their temperatures screened. I think (these measures) make tourists feel at ease, said Kay Yu, a 29-year-old pass holder wearing a Minnie Mouse hat.

However, the city of Wuhan in central China, origin of the global outbreak, reported its first cluster of infections since its severe lockdown was lifted a month ago.

Germany is being watched worldwide as the most successful large European country in halting the spread of the virus, thanks to a massive testing programme. It is gradually reopening shops and factories, with restaurants and cafes expected to open their doors soon.

After a rise in the estimated reproduction rate or R to 1.13 at the weekend, Monday saw new cases fall back, but the R value at 1.07 was still above the critical threshold of 1.00. German officials say that R becomes more volatile as the overall number of infections declines, and a brief spike is not necessarily dangerous.

But Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was crucial that people stick to the basic rules on keeping their distance, wearing masks and showing consideration for others.

'It's not over until it's over'

In South Korea, which largely avoided a lockdown with a massive early testing and contact-tracing programme, authorities were rushing to contain a new outbreak traced to night clubs. Its not over until its over. We must never lower our guard, President Moon Jae-In said on Sunday.

Britains government offered ministerial briefings and documents to expand on Prime Minister Boris Johnsons 13-minute television address on Sunday setting out a phased path towards reopening the economy. The plan includes advice on avoiding public transport and wearing face coverings as well as a 14-day quarantine for most international arrivals, and detailed guidance for employers.

Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organizations (WHO) emergencies programme, urged extreme vigilance in the form of testing and contact tracing as countries loosened restrictions. If the disease persists at a low level without the possibility to investigate clusters, theres always the possibility that the virus takes off again, he told an online news briefing.

The WHO noted that Germany, South Korea and China all had such programmes. Some of the countries and territories that are opening up their economies are not waiting for sustained falls in the spread of the virus.

Russia overtook Italy and Britain to report the worlds highest tally of cases after the United States and Spain. Nevertheless, President Vladimir Putin announced plans to ease nationwide lockdown measures from Tuesday.

India, which has locked down its 1.3 billion people since March, reported a record daily rise in cases, yet said it would begin to restart passenger railway services, with 15 special trains, from Tuesday.

In an effort to provide better information worldwide on the pandemic, Twitter said it would add labels and warning messages to some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19.
New Delhi, May 12 : Giving a taste of the hard truth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Tuesday that coronavirus will continue to remain a reality for some time to come. However, the next lockdown is less likely to be the same as the previous lockdowns. While he refused to divulge more details, stating that the fine print will be announced before May 18, Modi hinted that lockdown 4.0 will be "totally new, totally different".

It is believed there is likely to be more relaxation in public movement to be given in the forthcoming lockdown with adherence to norms of social distancing and personal hygiene.

However, the focus of the PM's much-awaited televised address to the nation was his thrust on the economy. Modi announced an economic package, which along with previous packages and RBI reprieves, will amount to Rs 20 lakh crore and which he claimed will address issues pertaining to land, labour, liquidity and loss. The total economic package, Modi claimed, will be approximately 10 per cent of India's GDP.

According to the Prime Minister, the package will help India get to its ultimate goal of being "self-reliant". "This package is for the farmers, for our middle class who honestly pay taxes and our industry who are determined to take India to heights," he said.

He termed economy, infrastructure, technology-driven system, vibrant demography and demand the five pillars which need to be used by India.

Jan Dhan, Aaadhaar and mobile technology helped the poor and the marginalised during this lockdown and the ambit of reforms needs to be widened so that the impact in future is minimal on individuals, he said.

Modi on Tuesday stressed the need for a self-sufficient India while talking specifically about production of PPE kits, N95 masks and medicines that have come to aid the world. He has been consistently harping on this theme for some time now. But the Prime Minister asserted that India can and will use this crisis as an opportunity to make this century as that of India's. The economic package is dedicated for that purpose, he said.

He said that the package has special focus on the marginalised, poor, fishermen, and migrant labourers. In a significant statement, Modi said the local business came to rescue of people during the lockdown and India needs to recognize its worth.

"From today onwards, all Indians should be vocal about local. They shouldn't only buy local products but should equally advertise them with pride," he said. Referring to India's response to his appeal to buy khadi products, he suggested that it's time to buy local.

He passingly referred to the Kutch earthquake to stress Indians' resolve. "We never thought Kutch could never stand on its feet. But it did. If we Indians determine to do so, nothing stops us," he said.

While no specifics were given either terms of the economic package or the next lockdown, PM Modi gave some macro points - that Indians will have to learn to live with this virus and use this crisis as an opportunity to once again go local from global, giving the domestic market an impetus. In the meanwhile, the government will stand by not just the poor and marginalised but even the middle class and those from the industry.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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William 'Roddy' Bryan filmed Ahmaud Arbery's killing in Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23

The neighbor who filmed Ahmaud Arbery's killing said on Tuesday that he is 'not proud' of recording it on his cell phone but that without his video, there may never be justice for the unarmed 25-year-old's death as he insisted again that he is not a vigilante and just happened to be there.

William 'Roddy' Bryan captured the moment Arbery was shot dead by Travis McMichael, 34, on February 23 while his former cop father, Gregory, watched from the cargo load of their pick-up truck with his own shotgun poised.

The McMichaels had followed Arbery - whose family says he was out for a jog - down their street in Brunswick, Georgia, allegedly because they thought he was a burglary suspect.

They told police there had been a number of break-ins in their neighborhood and that Arbery had been caught on surveillance cameras entering homes. Footage has since emerged of the 25-year-old walking into an under-construction home shortly before he was killed then leaving empty handed. While he had prior arrests for shoplifting and assault, there is no proof he ever broke into homes.

After a botched handling of the case over three months, during which time it has been passed between four prosecutors - some of whom used to work with Gregory McMichael - the father and son vigilante duo were last week arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault. Now, the Department of Justice is weighing federal hate crimes against them.

The arrests came after Bryan's cellphone video of the incident went viral.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot dead by Travis McMichael, 34 (center), as his father, Gregory McMichael, a 64-year-old retired cop, watched. They claimed Arbery was a burglary suspect and that they were trying to make a citizen's arrest

In a still from the video filmed by William 'Roddy' Bryan, Ahmaud Arbery stumbles and falls to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23

On Tuesday, he appeared on Good Morning America to insist that he does not know the McMichaels and that he was not part of a vigilante mob going after Arbery.

His house is not on the same street as the McMichaels' but sits along the intersection where Arbery was killed. He says he saw the commotion happening near him and decided to film it.

'I wish I hadn't have been there but if I hadn't have been there, there wouldn't have been no video. I

'If the video wasn't there, I don't think there would be an outcome that anybody would be satisfied with.

'I'm not proud that I shot the video but maybe it helps in the end,' he said.

He went on to say he had 'tons' of regrets, including that Arbery died.

'Tons of regrets, yes. Can I sit here and tell you what they are? No. I regret that family lost a loved one.

'That's just not something that should have happened,' Bryan told Good Morning America on Tuesday.

Ahmaud Arbery inside the under-construction home on February 23, the day he was killed. He walked into the house then left empty handed and was later shot dead by Travis McMichael who had chased him with his father, Gregory, a former cop

Ahmaud was killed while out jogging on February 23. It is unclear if he had come from his mother's house, which is just under two miles from where the shooting unfolded. The McMichaels said they saw him 'hauling a**' down Satilla Drive and that he'd been seen on surveillance cameras inside homes near them but it's unclear which homes they were referring to. He was shot and killed at an intersection not far from the houses

Gregory McMichael is believed to be the only person who called 911. Two calls were placed to dispatchers before Arbery was shot dead, including one where the caller described a 'black guy running down the street' claiming he'd been caught on surveillance cameras entering homes in the neighborhood.

TIMELINE OF BOTCHED HANDLING OF THE CASE February 23: Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead in the street in Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael had gone out in their car with guns to chase him because they mistook him for a burglar. When they caught up to him, Travis got out of the car. Jackie Johnson recused herself because McMichael used to work in her office Gregory says they told Arbery that they wanted to talk to him and that he attacked Travis. A struggle ensued and Travis fired his gun twice, killing Ahmaud, 25. Late February - First prosecutor recuses herself Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney, stepped down from the case because Gregory used to work in her office as an investigator. Mid-April - Second prosecutor says he won't press charges, then recuses himself George Barnhill said Ahmaud initiated the fight George Barnhill was given the case. He at first said he did not think it merited charges because the McMichaels were acting lawfully by trying to carry out a citizen's arrest, which is legal in Georgia. He also said that the video 'shows' Arbery reaching for Travis' gun. Barnhill recused himself because his son, also called George Barnhill, works in the office where McMichael used to The first shot is fired however when the pair are out of frame. When the camera panned back to them, they were struggling again to the side of the vehicle. Barnhill said Travis was standing his ground by firing three shots which hit Arbery. He later had to recuse himself after it emerged that his son works in the Brunswick District Attorney's Office, where Gregory served. May 5 - Third prosecutor passes it on to grand jury Tom Durden is the third prosecutor to have the case come across his desk. He said that his office would approach it without prior prejudice. This week, he announced that he would not make a decision on whether or not to charge, and that he wants to convene a grand jury to take it on. May 7 - Georgia Bureau of Investigation files charges The GBI announced that it was bringing charges of murder and aggravated assault against the Gregory and Travis on May 7. Joyette Holmes May 11 - Department of Justice says it is weighing hate crime charges against the McMichaels Georgia's Attorney General Chris Carr orders the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct a federal probe into why it took 74 days for the men to be arrested. The case is also given to Joyette Holmes, a black prosecutor . Advertisement

Bryan's own lawyer tried to stop him from answering questions on the incident on Monday night during a joint appearance on Chris Cuomo's CNN show.

He told Cuomo, who is a licensed attorney: 'This man cannot be answering substantive questions about the case.

''With all due respect, I'm not afraid of you, I respect you. You're a brilliant, a very good prosecutor. And my client is a mechanic with a high school education and if you've ever been to the high schools around here, that's not necessarily saying much. Okay? And I don't mind if the board of education doesn't like it.'

President Trump on Monday suggested that there could have been another portion of the incident that was not caught on tape.

'Well I saw the tape and when they moved left  I don't believe when they moved left, outside of the tape  nobody saw what was going on. Nobody saw,' Trump said at the White House when asked about the killing of Arbery, who is black.

'It's an empty spot on the tape, I guess. Now, do they have additional tapes, I hope?' Trump said.

Previously, he said that the footage was 'very disturbing'.

Yesterday it was revealed an autopsy had found Arbery was killed by two close-range gunshot wounds to the chest and that he was also shot through the hand while being chased down by the McMichaels.

TMZ obtained Ahmaud's autopsy on Monday. The 25-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system, and was carrying two tan bandannas which were soaked with blood.

It has taken nearly three months and three different prosecutors for Travis and Gregory McMichael to be arrested and charged with his killing.

Georgia's Attorney General is now investigating the handling of the case amid claims that prosecutors passed it off to protect 64-year-old Gregory, a former police detective who recently worked in the local district attorney's office.

The case has sparked outrage around the world and some say it is proof of persistent racism in the South. Over the weekend, people ran to honor what would have been Arbery's 26th birthday and armed protesters took to the street.

On Monday, DoJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said: 'The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia have been supporting and will continue fully to support and participate in the state investigation. We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate'.

The McMichaels have both been charged by the state of Georgia with murder and aggravated assault which carry maximum prison sentences of life.

Georgia has no hate crimes as a state but the federal charge carries a maximum prison sentence of life when the hate crime results in death. A federal prosecution would supersede a state case and could negate it if the defendants were found guilty and the need for a state prosecution reduced.

It comes as new surveillance video Arbery walking into a construction site on the day of his death, looking around the property and then leaving empty handed the day he was gunned down emerged.

But the new video obtained by News4Jax appears to undermine their shaky burglary suspect claim. It shows Ahmaud walking into an under-construction house in Brunswick, looking around and then leaving without taking anything.

In the two months before Ahmaud's killing, there were no reports of suspected burglaries in the area, and the owner of the under-construction property has spoken out to say they have no links to the McMichaels whatsoever.

The video was shared by the property owner who said they had never had any contact with the McMichaels let alone did they call for them to investigate any break-ins.

The attorney representing Ahmaud's family says the video shows that at most, Ahmaud would have been guilty of trespassing.

It's unclear what time the video on the construction site was taken.

According to the police report into his death, Ahmaud was shot dead at 1.46pm.

A time stamp on a different surveillance camera video says he entered the construction site at 2.13pm. It's possible that camera was inaccurately running an hour fast.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it is now investigating the video along with the cellphone footage of Ahmaud's killing that went viral.

The property is owned by Larry English.

Over the weekend, he released a statement through an attorney to say he neither called for the McMichaels to go after Ahmaud, nor did he condone in any way how they killed him.

'First, and most important, the English family -- the homeowners -- want Ahmaud Arbery's parents to know that they are very sorry for the loss of their son and they are praying for them.

'Second, it is crucial to understand that the English family -- the homeowners -- were not part of what the McMichaels did.

Kevin Gough (right), Bryan's attorney, wouldn't let Chris Cuomo question him about the case on Monday night claiming Cuomo was too good a lawyer and his client only had a high school education

'The first accounts suggested a link between the McMichaels and the homeowners, but there is none.

'The English family had no relationship with the McMichaels and did not even know what had occurred until after Mr. Arbery's death was reported to them.

'After seeing Mr. Arbery's photo in news reports, Larry English did not even think Mr. Arbery was the person that appears in this video.

'Even if it had been, however, Mr. English would never have sought a vigilante response, much less one resulting in a tragic death,' his attorney, Elizabeth Graddy, told First Coast News.

Ahmaud's parents' lawyer confirmed that it is him in the video.

'This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us.

'Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period.

'Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property,' Lee Merritt said.

Some of the protesters held up signs which read 'Our lives matter too!' and 'Dear white people, when you don't call out racism you are upholding white supremacy by default!'

Hundreds of people alongside some 300 bikers gathered in Brunswick to honor Arbery on Saturday

Last week, after growing global outrage, the case was taken out of local prosecutors' hands to be investigated by the state.

Gregory and Travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Greg McMichael had investigated Arbery before when he worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office.

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill said that his own son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Arbery had previously been sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

George E. Barnhill was the second DA to recuse himself in mid-April following pressure from Arbery's family. He claims he only learned of his son's link to the victim 'three or four weeks' ago.

In his letter, Barnhill added that criminal charges against the McMichaels was unwarranted, citing the criminal history of Arbery's brother and cousin
The TTC is facing a budget shortfall from the COVID-19 crisis that could grow to more than half a billion dollars by Labour Day, and the agency will be unable to continue providing vital transit service unless it gets financial help from the provincial and federal governments, according to a new report.

The document, which was authored by TTC staff and will be discussed at a special virtual meeting of the agencys board Wednesday, estimates the agency is facing $520 million in losses and increased costs as a result of the pandemic, which has sent transit ridership and fare revenue plummeting to a fraction of pre-crisis levels.

The figure is significantly higher than previous estimates and represents a staggering fiscal hit for a transit agency whose year-long operating budget was set at $2.1 billion.

TTC staff are seeking approval from the board for a suite of cost-saving measures including reducing service, cancelling service improvements, deferring some capital work, and a workforce realignment strategy that will incorporate previously announced plans to lay off 1,200 employees.

Even with those efforts in place however, the TTC predicts that by September it will still be facing a shortfall of more than $297 million.

The savings from these actions do not provide fiscal relief, warns the report, which is signed by TTC interim chief financial officer Josie La Vita.

Support will be needed from the provincial and federal governments to enable the TTC to continually provide essential transit services to the City of Toronto.

That support has yet to materialize, and on Tuesday the federal Liberals and Ontario PCs each described transit funding as primarily the other governments responsibility.

Chantalle Aubertin, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, said in a statement that while the minister is working with provinces, municipalities and transit agencies to assess their immediate needs and priorities, the operation of transit is a municipal and provincial responsibility.

We encourage provincial governments to step up and support this essential service, Aubertin said, echoing remarks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made last week.

Premier Doug Ford said on March 18 his government was prepared to support the TTC and provincial transit agency Metrolinx through the crisis, but since then has said little on the subject and not committed funding.

Christina Salituro, spokesperson for Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said in a statement Tuesday that ultimately, this problem is national in scope and demands federal action.

We expect the federal government to do their part in providing financial support for municipal transit agencies in Ontario, she said.

At his daily new conference Tuesday, Mayor John Tory decried the intergovernmental wrangling that he warned could get in the way of hard-hit cities receiving necessary funding for transit and other services during the crisis.

But he said it was his and other regional mayors expectation that the province will step forward first to initiate discussions with cities and the federal government about transit funding, because cities are the responsibility under the constitution of the province.

Tory said Toronto is the economic engine of this province and this country and a functional TTC will be vital to the citys and nations economic recovery. The notion of letting the TTC to kind of become a shadow of itself is not an option, he said.

Even before Tuesdays report, it was clear the TTC was facing its most serious financial crisis in living memory. City staff projected last month the agency could lose $439 million over nine months as a result of the pandemic, a number overshadowed by the agencys new estimate.

TTC ridership began falling steeply in mid-March and has stabilized at about 15 per cent of normal levels. As of April 30 the TTC had already lost $123.4 million due to the crisis, and it now estimates its losing about $20 million a week in fare revenue.

In addition to $504.7 million in revenue losses from fares and other sources like commuter parking lots, the TTC is also projecting increased costs of $15.4 million in unforeseen pandemic-related expenditures by Labour Day. The extra spending is on items like a spike in employee overtime early in the crisis, higher than usual absenteeism, enhanced vehicle cleaning protocols, and the purchase of masks, hand wipes and other personal protective equipment.

The biggest single cost-saving measure in the TTCs plan is cutting $117.5 million worth of projects from its 10-year, $12-billion capital budget, which will make $116 million in provincial gas tax proceeds available for a city fund that will be used to offset the agencys losses.

Capital programs affected by the cuts include capacity improvements for the Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) subway, track work and fire ventilation upgrades. TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said deferred work will be considered during next years budget process.

The agency projects it can save an additional $106.4 million through reduced Presto commission fees as a result of lower ridership, reducing service for its conventional system and Wheel-Trans to match lower demand, eliminating overtime for work not related to COVID-19 and other initiatives.

The workforce realignment strategy alone is expected to save $15.6 million. The TTC hasnt released details of the plan, but according to the report it will allow the agency to focus on critical tasks and redeploy resources where needed. A controversial plan to hire 50 fare enforcement personnel will be delayed to start later this year, but not cancelled.

Although TTC ridership is at about 15 per cent of pre-crisis levels, the agency is currently operating about 80 per cent of its regular service, a standard agency officials say allows riders to practise safe social distancing on vehicles.

The agency predicts ridership will only slowly recover as the COVID-19 crisis eases, and financial pressures could extend into next year as measures like physical distancing and more people working from home are expected to continue into 2021.
Christopher Nolans gamble with his new film Tenet is one step closer to paying off following the latest update from Vue cinemas.

It was revealed last week that the Inception director was fighting for the 17 July release date of his expensive new thriller to remain unchanged despite other Warner Bros films being delayed until 2021 due to strict lockdown guidelines.

Chris really would like to be coming out with the film that opens theatres, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond said in a company conference call, adding: I dont know anyone in America who is pushing harder than Chris Nolan to have the theatres open and to have his movie released in July when its scheduled for."

At the time of the reports, it was unclear whether quarantine rules would be lifted anytime soon meaning that Nolan was merely keeping his fingers crossed that cinemas would re-open in time for the release date.

He will undoubtedly be relieved to read the news that the head of Vue cinemas, one of the UKs biggest cinema chains, has said he is hopeful that cinemas will reopen in time.

Tim Richards, Vues chief executive, told the BBC that he is currently in the process of discussing social distancing measures with UK authorities, which may mean a smaller number of audiences will be permitted for each film screening.

For this to happen, the government would need to officially relax the current lockdown measures, but it certainly is one step in the right direction for Tenet, which would make history by becoming the first new film to be released in cinemas in a post-coronavirus world.

Disneys delayed live-action Mulan film is expected to follow one week later.

As it stands, Tenet  which stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson  will be released in cinemas on 17 July 2020.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins speaks to Congress on May 7.

Reuters

A top US public health official told Business Insider it's possible that we'll have not just one but several effective coronavirus vaccines this year.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said his "best-case scenario" is that four or five vaccines will get through clinical trials, and at least one will be ready for emergency use by the fall

Collins has led the NIH, the top US agency for biomedical research, since 2009. Previously, the physician-geneticist led the Human Genome Project in the late-1990s, successfully sequencing the human genome for the first time.

In a wide-ranging interview on vaccines, Collins discussed how the NIH plans to quickly test candidates, realistic timelines, the "underappreciated" manufacturing challenge, and the threat of the antivax movement.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Having an effective coronavirus vaccine is possible by the end of 2020, but achieving a goal of 300 million doses by January will be "a heck of a stretch," Dr. Francis Collins, the leader of the National Institutes of Health, told Business Insider.

In a Monday evening phone interview, Collins explained how health officials plan to test vaccines quickly. He cautioned that finding one that works is only part of the challenge. Manufacturing the huge number of doses needed to inoculate the world will require tremendous investment, starting now, he said.

Since 2009, Collins has been director of the NIH, the top US agency for biomedical research with an annual budget exceeding $40 billion. Previously, he oversaw the Human Genome Project, a historic scientific achievement that successfully sequenced the human genome for the first time.

Now, he is helping lead perhaps an even bigger task: ending this pandemic. Last month, the NIH launched a sweeping partnership bringing together government agencies, nonprofits and the drug industry. Called Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines, or ACTIV for short, the group includes some of the largest vaccine drugmakers in the world, including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Merck.

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On Monday, Collins along with other NIH officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci and a vaccine expert at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published a roadmap for testing vaccines quickly by having biotech and pharma companies design late-stage vaccine trials that are similar to one another. That would make it easy to compare their results, speeding up research.

"My best-case scenario is that we will see four or five of these vaccines run through very effective, well-designed trials in the course of the coming months, and we will by the fall have at least one and maybe more of those that has been granted emergency use authorization by FDA," Collins said.

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 hair stands up on the back of my neck" thinking about this ambitious timeline, he said, given all the potential uncertainties these vaccines will face.

The challenge of scaling up manufacturing for a coronavirus vaccine is underappreciated by many people, Collins said. Building this production capacity has to happen now, and Collins said the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is prepared to spend at least $3 billion on this.

That means "a lot of money's going to get wasted," Collins said, likely resulting in some manufacturing capacity built for vaccines that wind up not working. But that's the only way to prevent a time gap between knowing a vaccine works and mass-producing it, he said.

The antivax movement is a real threat, Collins said, but he said he's optimistic science can win over some vaccine skeptics with transparency and openness.

He called the next eight months "a national adventure of a scientific sort" as researchers progress toward a widely available vaccine. It will be critical to be transparent and open about what we know and don't know he said.

Read more: Here's how 13 top drugmakers are sprinting to develop a coronavirus vaccine or treatment that can halt this pandemic

Here's the full transcript of Collins interview with Business Insider's Andrew Dunn. Collins discussed how the NIH plans to test vaccines with historic speed, what a realistic timeline is for having a vaccine, the manufacturing challenge and the threat of the antivax movement. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

The NIH is seeking a radically different way to test vaccines. Collins says he's seen 'no resistance' so far between industry rivals now working together.

A volunteer is vaccinated in a UK clinical trial for the coronavirus.

Associated Press

Andrew Dunn: The ACTIV partnership strikes me as radically different than traditional vaccine development. What do you see as the key benefits from this plan compared to traditional vaccine testing testing?

Francis Collins: The goals are to be sure we're sharing information as openly as possible, which has not traditionally been the case with competitive vaccine platform development.

We want to make sure that every lesson that can be learned is learned. We want to actually make some of these steps more efficient by not having them duplicated. If we have a shared database, that we have a shared [data and safety monitoring board], we could potentially move these whole enterprises along a lot more quickly.

And I think also organizing the way in which the clinical trials are put together so that you can take maximum benefit of where the patients are and get them signed up is also something we can do together better than doing it separately.

There may be as many as five different vaccines that are promising for COVID-19. They won't all come onboard at exactly the same point in terms of when they're ready for Phase 3 trials, but they will occur within a certain time interval and the more that we can learn from each of those in terms of how they generate an immune response and what kind of safety signals pop up, the faster we'll get to the answers the public is waiting for.

And I've seen no resistance to that concept from any of the involved parties. My hat is off to the industry partners. They have been very willing to say this is not business as usual and to put aside what traditionally would have been some firewalls and say, let's do it together.

Dunn: Global collaboration is a big part of ACTIV with plans for working with international partners. Do you think it's a mistake for the US to step back from the WHO in terms of funding and official participation, thinking of the US not participating in a global collaboration on vaccines ran by the WHO?

Collins: We may not have been involved in the fundraising that they did back on May 4, but I can assure you that we have multiple contacts with the global community about vaccine developments with WHO, with GAVI, with the Wellcome Trust, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The scientific community has always figured out that if we are going to be successful, it needs to be successful on a global scale. And that will be true here as well.

Why we don't need to expose people to the coronavirus to test potential vaccines

Dunn: On trial designs, what are your thoughts on human challenge studies? Do you think those could play a role in COVID-19?

Collins: I think they probably won't, to be honest.

First of all, the idea of starting a human challenge study requires you to have [Good Manufacturing Practice] material that's ready to go. None of these vaccine platforms are there yet.

When they get there, they will be ready also to start a standard efficacy trial enrolling thousands of patients, which is a much more compelling way to show whether the vaccine actually works in the real world.

For a challenge trial, traditionally, you're picking young healthy people, you're vaccinating them, and then you're exposing them to the virus and looking to see if they get sick.

How predictive is that actually? Really what we need to know is what happens to somebody with chronic illnesses or an elderly person. It's not clear that it tells you the efficacy question that you really need the answer to.

And of course there are profound ethical questions about whether it is justifiable to put a healthy person at risk when we don't have a cure for this disease that they happen to get sick anyway. So I think at the present time, the case for it is pretty weak. The case against it is pretty strong.

Dunn: Ring vaccination designs worked for Ebola recently and smallpox a few decades ago. But those studies require resources for contact tracing. Do you think a ring vaccination study would help fight COVID-19, and is the US in a position to run such a study given the need for contact tracing?

Collins: I think it would be enormously complicated. Why don't we just do this the way that would be most straightforward, which is to enroll tens of thousands of participants in areas where the virus is still circulating with an appropriate placebo control and see whether it works or not.

Dunn: Would ACTIV have one design to test five vaccines simultaneously, or would each of these companies still craft their own Phase 3 designs but with some level of harmony between the designs to compare the results with each other?

Collins: The latter seems to be the model that is the best fit for all the contingencies that are going to be necessary to think about.

What you call a harmonized master protocol, where each company has their own particular design, but they have agreed to utilize a common database, common laboratory assays and hopefully a common [data and safety monitoring board] as well, although that's still somewhat under discussion.

Let's not actually slow down the process by demanding one monolithic master protocol with multiple arms, because that could be quite complicated and it might actually slow down that fast horses. You don't want that to happen. And let's make sure we're doing everything we can to share information and learn from each of these studies simultaneously.

Collins is optimistic that one or more vaccines will be safe and effective. Mass-producing them this year will be 'a heck of a stretch.'

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins puts on his face mask after a Senate hearing.

Associated Press

Dunn: President Trump has said he's "very confident" about having a vaccine by the end of this year. How confident are you in that timeline?

Collins: This is science and there's a lot about what's going to be tested in these trials that we can't predict the answer of.

I am optimistic that among these trials on four or five different platforms, we are going to find one or more that actually shows benefit that safe and effective. That is going to be a heck of a stretch to get there by the timetable that's been put forward, where we might have 10 million doses by October and 100 million by November and 300 million by January.

That is a mark that's been put out there. I know the team that's working on ACTIV will do everything in their power to achieve that. But the skeptics will say, you don't really know whether this is going to work. You don't actually even know for sure whether immunity to coronavirus lasts more than two weeks because we don't have the data to show that people who've had natural infection are immune for long periods of time.

So there's a lot of unknowns here, but I think we are doing the best we can with what we do know and a lot of resources and a lot of talents to try to achieve that very ambitious goal.

Dunn: Realistically, what do you see as the best case scenario by the end of 2020? How far along are these vaccines and what level of manufacturing should could there be by year's end if everything goes right?

Collins: We're not going to wait until the fall to gear up the manufacturing. This has got to be a circumstance where we do that at-risk. The resources to help with that from BARDA are substantial. At least $3 billion and maybe more.

So we want to be sure that we don't end up with a long lag after we see that a particular vaccine turns out to be safe and effective.

My best-case scenario is that we will see four or five of these vaccines run through very effective, well-designed trials in the course of the coming months, and we will by the fall have at least one and maybe more of those that has been granted emergency use authorization by FDA.

And that the manufacturing capabilities will have been thought about ahead of time and will at that point be scalable aiming for exactly what's been put out there is this very ambitious mark of having 300 million doses by January.

When I say that, that the hair stands up on the back of my neck because there's a lot of uncertainties that could knock this off of its hoped-for trajectory. But that's what we're going to do with everything in our power to achieve.

Dunn: Bill Gates has spoken about the need to invest billions in manufacturing at-risk right now. Do you think the manufacturing challenges are underappreciated in the broader dialogue about a vaccine?

Collins: I think they are underappreciated by most people, including me.

Hey, I'm a scientist who ran the Human Genome Project and now oversees NIH, but I never had to think about manufacturing a vaccine, 300 million doses before.

There are all these things that I'm learning about that cause me some anxiety in terms of exactly where's this going to get done? How are you going to be sure of the supply chain? Even for things like medical glass, are you going to have enough vials to put the vaccine in once you've prepared it? How are you going to make sure that the vaccine is working, can be manufactured in a plant that is already prepared to do that, even if it happens to be a different company than the one that has designed the vaccine. There's a lot of things that have to be paid attention to.

I am reassured that people who know more about this seem to believe that those are surmountable. But it's going to take a heck of a lot of planning and a lot of money.

And let's be clear, a lot of money's going to get wasted because if we are going to be prepared for a vaccine that succeeds to already have manufacturing capacity in place, that means we will have also done that for some vaccines that fail and that will have all gone down the drain. But it is the only solution we have to be sure there's not a long gap as many lost lives from next fall.

Collins agrees that the antivax movement is a real threat. But he sees an opportunity to give skeptics a second look at the science behind vaccines and is optimistic some can be convinced.

People protest at Washington's capitol building against the state's extended stay-at-home order.

Reuters/Lindsey Wasson

Dunn: Throughout your career, you've been a preeminent communicator in explaining science clearly to the public. With the antivax movement, given how fast-moving this research is, are you concerned at all that parts of the public might not trust a resulting vaccine. They might believe the testing is too rushed. Do you take that threat seriously?

Collins: I do, and I think already you can see some evidence that those forces are beginning to appear, because I would not have expected those who had strong objections to vaccines for other things would suddenly decide that vaccines are fine for COVID-19.

We hope to win them over. We hope to be as transparent as we possibly can about what we know and what we don't know. My colleague Tony Fauci is probably the best communicator that the world has seen in this space. And I hope he continues to be out there in every way explaining all of this.

I will do what I can in the same vein, but ultimately people will have to decide when the vaccine becomes available. Are you going to fall into the kind of conspiracy arguments which are still out there about vaccines and what their motivation is, or are you going to see this as a way to save lives because we've lost already more than 80,000 lives in the United States and we don't want to keep losing anymore.

Dunn: If there is a level of resistance to a vaccine, would that impact the timeline that everyone wants on ending the pandemic and reaching a level of herd immunity?

Collins: It could if that resistance is allowed to really take root and become widespread.

But I think this might be a great moment for the scientific basis of vaccines to get a second look by people who may have been a little on the fence about whether this is risky or not because many people have taken the antivax approach because what the immunizations were for didn't seem all that present in their personal life.

If you've never seen a child with measles, you might have a more comfortable time saying maybe the natural infection is just fine.

When you've seen 80,000 people die all around you of COVID-19, it's harder to say that the natural infection is just fine and if you have a vaccine that could save lives, I think people are going to look at very carefully. We have the science to put forward and this is our moment maybe for a scientific basis of vaccines and immunology to be better understood by more people. We should not squander that opportunity either.

Dunn: So how do you build that trust with the public, as far as someone who might be skeptical? I'm hearing from you the idea of transparency being key. Is that fair?

Collins: Absolutely, and admitting the things that we're not sure about and helping people all the way along.

We've got a great opportunity here as a national adventure of a scientific sort. Here we are in May looking forward to what we will be an end to this pandemic once and for all because of a widely available vaccine in something like eight months from now.

If we could figure out a way to use that adventure over those eight months to raise everybody's consciousness about what the science is behind the development of a vaccine and what we know and what we don't know. When the ultimate data comes out that says it's safe and effective, how safe and how effective, that would be a great moment to really raise consciousness about an issue that I think is still pretty blurry in a lot of people's minds.

Read the original article on Business Insider
College students who had to leave campus and shift to online classes could receive a partial tuition refund under a new bill introduced in the state Legislature.

But schools say providing such refunds could break the bank, rendering them unable to offer some aid and services to their students going forward.

The bill (S2411), introduced last week in the state Senate by Sen. Joseph Cryan, D-Union, would require higher education institutions to refund students 25% of the tuition and fees they paid for the spring semester.

Colleges began moving courses online in March, with the hopes students would return to campus before the academic years end. Instead, Gov. Phil Murphy closed all public and private schools through June as the coronavirus outbreak worsened and banned large gatherings, leading to the cancellation of graduations and other campus events.

As students lament that an online education is not worth the steep price of tuition, colleges prepare to tighten their budgets for the fall semester in response to the economic fallout of the crisis. Forecasting state and federal aid is tricky, but schools expect large cuts in funding and more middle class students who will need financial aid as they and parents have lost jobs during the stay-at-home order.

Joel Bloom, the president of New Jersey Institute of Technology and chair of the New Jersey Presidents Council, said the university is already facing a $16 million budget shortfall that must close by June 30. The state has pulled funding, and the school has already given rebates for parking and room and board.

The commitment to public higher education in the state continues to recede. Where is all of this money to come from to write additional checks for additional refunds? Im confounded by it, Bloom said. Im sure many of [Cryans] constituents are hurting, as our students are. But we cant print money.

Pivoting to a remote learning model was not a money saver for schools, nor something they had the chance to avoid. They had to outfit some students and faculty with the proper technology, all while continuing to pay bills to maintain empty campuses, he said.

Bloom said requiring tuition refunds could result in layoffs as well as reductions in financial aid, course offerings and campus services as the states colleges face an uncertain 2020-2021 academic year.

If the students arent there, that doesnt mean I dont pay those other bills, he said. We still have a lot of fixed costs to pay. An added giveback is almost untenable.

Some schools have even said enrollment numbers for the fall are lagging, as students contemplate delaying their acceptance or attending a community college to save money until they know campuses can offer a traditional and safe college experience.

Most schools have three plans in place for reopening in the fall, depending on how many coronavirus cases unfold over the next few months and how well the state can implement contact tracing and expanded testing. They will choose from among these options: open their campuses fully, again hold classes online or offer a hybrid of remote and in-person instruction.

Under the bill, the refund would apply not only to out-of-pocket payments, but to loans students took on to cover the costs. The bill also requires schools to prorate room and board and meal plan payments for the semester. Many colleges did so on their own by April.

Prior to Governor Murphys executive order ceasing in-person education, the colleges and universities took steps to ensure that faculty and students had the resources they needed to teach and learn remotely, a spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges & Universities said in a statement.

All NJASCU colleges and universities voluntarily committed to pro rata refunds and credits for room and board, which includes meal plans. The institutions continue to provide instruction and support to their students, who will receive credit for Spring courses and remain on track for graduation.

The bill would have to pass a committee vote before the full Senate could consider it. The state Assembly would have to take it up and do the same. To become law, the bill would then need Murphys signature.

Cryan could not be reached for comment on this story.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.
Villagers along the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand say their fish catch has dwindled as dams have come online

Environmentalists have criticised Laos for pressing ahead with plans for another "destructive dam" on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes.

The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia's longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in Chinawhere it is called the Lancang.

Two downstream damsthe Xayaburi and Don Sahonghave been built in Laos, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the "Battery of Asia".

Water levels have dropped to record lows over the last year, exposing rocks and killing fish, a phenomenon blamed by villagers in Thailand and Laos on the operations of dams.

On Monday, Laos' communist government submitted proposals for the Sanakham damclose to the northeastern border with Thailandto the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

The MRC is a dam consultation body for Mekong nations, but has been accused of being toothless in stopping river projects sponsored by governments and big business.

The consultation process is in fact a "rubber stamp" to get work started on the Sanakham this year in time for a 2028 completion, according to International Rivers, a key campaign group against damming.

"What the Mekong needs immediately is the moratorium on large-scale hydropower dams... not more destructive dams that will benefit a few at the expense of communities in the Mekong basin," Paiporn Deetes of International Rivers told AFP.

Laos' communist government has submitted proposals for the Sanakham damclose to the northeastern border with Thailandto a consultation commission

The MRC says the Sanakham dam consultation includes an environmental impact assessment on the waterway and its communities.

Landlocked, corrupt and poor, Laos has turned to billion-dollar hydropower schemes for investment, hoping to sell the electricity for a profit to its neighbours as well as provide energy to its remote populations.

But critics say dams have been railroaded through despite mounting evidence of ecological damage to one of the world's most biodiverse waterways.

Villagers along the Mekong in Laos and Thailand say their fish catch has dwindled as the dams have come online.

Studies show sediment flow has thinned, leaving the river increasingly anaemic as it winds towards the Vietnamese delta.

The Mekong feeds around 60 million people.

Explore further Thais spike China-led plan to dredge Mekong river

 2020 AFP
Prince William and Kate Middleton are one of the worlds most famous couples  and the romance between the two goes way back. But through the years, the two did have their share of speed bumps. And it turns out Kate almost didnt take William back when he broke up with her briefly in 2004. But thanks to one condition, she gave him another chance.

Prince William and Kate Middleton | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press/Getty Images

Prince William and Kate Middleton started dating in 2002

William and Kate first met at University of St. Andrews in Scotland back in 2001. The two clicked instantly, but they were both seeing other people, so their relationship wasnt romantic. They spent plenty of time together, though, and after William saw Kate walking in a campus fashion show in 2002, he was determined to win her over.

William reportedly confessed his love for Kate at a party shortly after the fashion show, and the two kissed. Kate ended things with the man shed be dating, and the two started an official relationship.

William and Kate dated for nearly 10 years before getting engaged. | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The two briefly split in 2004

For a while, things were going well. At the start of William and Kates sophomore year, several months after they made things official, they moved in together with two other friends. According to Vanity Fair, royal biographer Katie Nicholl wrote in her book that the two had largely kept their relationship a secret, which allowed it to flourish. Since the press didnt know, William and Kate had plenty of privacy.

By 2004, the two were living together  alone. But William started to feel a bit claustrophobic in the relationship, and as his claustrophobia grew, his wild side started to show. William went to Greece with friends, and Kate was not invited. He later accepted an invitation to visit American heiress Anna Sloan, and it all proved too much for their relationship. The two broke up in 2004.

Kate took William back on the condition he wouldnt contact a former love interest

Though the two needed the time apart, they couldnt stay apart for long. William eventually came crawling back, and though Kate wanted to take him back, she had heard that hed been in touch with his former love interest, Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe. According to Nicholl, Kate took William back on one condition: He would never contact Isabella again. The two rekindled their romance, vowing to take things slowly.

The two split briefly again in 2007

For a while, everything was great. But in late 2006, when William declined an invitation to spend the holidays with Kates family, it foreshadowed the couples downfall once more. With William away at military training, the two could hardly see each other. That, combined with the onslaught of engagement rumors and Williams rowdy behavior, caused the couple to split for a second time.

Of course, in a matter of months, they were back together. William once again realized his mistake. And this time, the two would not break up again. They continued to date for about three more years before announcing their engagement in November 2010. The couple tied the knot in April 2011.
Facebook has announced it will pay $52m in total to its content moderators who have developed PTSD while working for the social media platform as part of a preliminary court settlement, according to a report.

The company was embroiled in controversy after The Verge published a detailed report about Facebook content moderators facing trauma and developing PTSD with severely limited mental resources last year.

As part of the settlement, Facebook will provide moderators with more counselling, as well at at least $1,000 to all eligible current and former content moderators with diagnosed PTSD or other conditions, the news outlet reported on Tuesday.

A reported 11,250 moderators qualify to receive a share of the settlement funds, with some eligible to receive additional money if they have developed other mental health issues as a result of their time working for Facebook.

Steve Williams, an attorney representing the content moderators who sued Facebook, celebrated the preliminary settlement in a statement.

We are so pleased that Facebook worked with us to create an unprecedented program to help people performing work that was unimaginable even a few years ago, he told The Verge.

The harm that can be suffered from this work is real and severe, he added.

Tasked with ensuring every post across the social media platform adheres to its content policies, Facebook moderators often view disturbing, graphic and otherwise explicit videos and photographs they are then forced to remove from the site.

The moderators make as little as $28,800 in some cases, and The Verge reported last year they faced extreme work conditions.

Facebook will also adopt new measures as part of the settlement surrounding its content moderation services, like screening potential employees for emotional resiliency and rolling out expanded capabilities to reduce the impact of certain content on moderators who view it, like muting audio and making flagged videos black and white.

Facebook also released a statement after the settlement was announced expressing its commitment to its moderators.

We are grateful to the people who do this important work to make Facebook a safe environment for everyone, the company said. Were committed to providing them additional support through this settlement and in the future.
As Gov. Greg Abbott begins to slowly reopen Texas from the coronavirus, his orders are covering various activities from dining out to getting a tattoo. One important thing being left out, however, is voting by mail.

Texas is one of the few states that requires most voters to give a reason for voting by mail, such as travel plans around Election Day. Fear of catching a potentially deadly virus during a pandemic does not qualify, unfortunately.

That should change during this unprecedented crisis, but Abbott and other top Republican officials are pushing the partisan belief that mail voting will increase voter fraud among Democrats. Theres no evidence to support that, and only a few cases of voter fraud have been uncovered in Texas or any other states.

Many states, including ones like Utah and Ohio that have often voted for Republican candidates, allow unrestricted voting by mail. And if its true that older people tend to be more conservative, those are the kinds of voters Republicans should want casting ballots for them by mail  not staying at home because they cant vote in person.

The issue saw glimmer of hope recently when Austin state District Judge Tim Sulak ruled in a Democratic lawsuit that Texans could vote by mail under the current disability provision if they were afraid of contracting the coronavirus.

Yet Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has appealed that ruling, saying that state law allows only Texans who are currently disabled to request a mail ballot. But without a vaccine for the coronavirus, something that probably wont be available until 2021, its hardly unreasonable for any Texan to be leery about mixing with large numbers of people.

When Wisconsin tried to conduct an election on April 7 when the coronavirus was so prevalent, turnout was spotty and many election judges also stayed away, forcing some polling sites to close.

Texas has pushed back runoff elections for the March primary to July 14. Local elections for school boards and city councils that were originally scheduled for May 2 have also been postponed. No one knows if the virus will have receded enough for these future elections to allow in-person voting  or whether Texans will be confident enough to do so even if it is permitted.

The obvious solution is for state officials to support mail voting for at least this year, with the Legislature able to discuss the issue in greater detail when it convenes in January. The goal here should be to do everything to encourage greater turnout, not to promote barriers to this vital part of our democracy.
During the first few years of Donald Trumps presidency, the presidents defenders frequently invoked a quote attributed to Lavrentiy Beria, the infamous Stalin-era Soviet Secret Police Chief, to describe the myriad investigations into him conducted by the Department of Justice, the House of Representatives, and the City and State of New York: Show me the man, and Ill show you the crime.

Of course, unlike Berias targets, a series of investigations have revealed information about Trumps conduct before and after assuming the presidency. that  but for his status as president  would almost certainly have resulted in a criminal case against him.

Many of Trumps critics are also fond of drawing comparisons between the 45th President of the United States and a host of historys most infamous dictators, including but not limited to Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and of course, Josef Stalin.

But those comparisons are unfair as well. Unlike Stalin (or Beria), Trump cant even show us the crime.

In the five days since the Department of Justice filed a motion to drop the criminal case against retired Army General Michael Flynn  Trumps first national security adviser  for lying to the FBI, the president has once again become fixated on what he describes as the biggest political crime in American history. This was somehow revealed by the Justice Departments unprecedented decision to release FBI agents notes to Flynns attorneys, despite a judges order that such documents fell outside the category of exculpatory evidence that the state must turn over to a defendant.

Trump and his allies have also chosen to play up a series of transcripts of interviews conducted by the House Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russias attack on the 2016 election. In particular, theyve glommed onto a section of the committees interview with former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, in which she describes a meeting that took place in the Oval Office during the last days of the Obama administration, as particularly scandalous.

Yates told investigators that Barack Obama, then the sitting President of the United States, knew about a highly classified surveillance intercept of then-Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyaks phone call with Flynn, then Trumps National Security Adviser-designate.

To Trump, who famously does not read his daily intelligence briefings, the idea that the president would be fully informed about the communications of a foreign adversary represents a scandal which he has named Obamagate.

Yet when The Washington Posts Philip Rucker asked him to explain what crimes he believes his predecessor committed, he couldnt, because he cant, though a troika of Trump-appointed federal prosecutors are combing through records from the DOJs Trump-Russia investigation and the waning days of the Obama administration to find material that can be used in the same way FBI agents notes were used to undermine the Justice Departments case against Flynn.

But what Trump calls Obamagate, the ongoing investigation into the Russia investigation, and the DOJs move to drop charges against Flynn are neither examples of the usual Trumpian bluster or projection against a political enemy. Nor are they yet another flagrant violation of longstanding norms governing the presidents relationship with the Justice Department.

Its much worse than that.

Jason Stanley, a Yale University professor who studies authoritarianism and propaganda, posits that the endgame for Trumpworld is to bring many of the baseless conspiracy theories about Obama, Trump, and other prominent Democrats that fall under the umbrella of QAnon into real life.

They are reverse-engineering reality to fit their crazy conspiracy theories, he explained. They're trying to find any possible story that they can tell by taking things out of context and fitting them into their conspiracy theory.

Stanley said Trumps manic tweeting about Obamagate and the Justice Departments actions in the Flynn case are clear statements of their intentions.

This is a known feature of authoritarian governments  they create the reality of their lies, he said. They're telling people the story that they're going to manufacture, and to reverse-engineer reality to make true their vision of it, and that will require cherry-picking things because reality is just not convenient  and any counter-evidence is just evidence that there was a conspiracy against them to begin with.

They're looking through all the documents for a few piece of pieces of data that they're gonna say are really the smoking gun, and then all the massive evidence against their conspiracy theory is all going to be discounted  in fact, it's going to be treated as evidence for the conspiracy theory, since it's supposedly written by the conspirators, he continued, adding that Trumps invocation of Obamas name was a way to racialize the 2020 election by making it about his predecessors perceived corruption rather than his own record.

But Trumps ghostwriter for The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, said Trumps claims about Obama arise not from any political calculation, but from a profoundly disordered mind.

I think the underlying explanation is that he is he has the traits of a psychopath  he is unrestrained by a sense of any conscience, Schwartz said. If you don't have a conscience, you don't make a distinction between what's true and what's false. You invent reality  as you go to suit your immediate needs.

It's not material to him whether it's true or false. Its: Will I get over with this thing? Will this advance my interests? which are the only questions that he has ever asked.

Schwartz is not the only person who knows the president to suggest that Trump suffers from such a personality disorder.

Attorney George Conway, who is also known as the husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, argued last year in The Atlantic that Trump suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and has more recently argued that he suffers from malignant narcissisism. Malignant narcissism is a term coined by social psychologist Erich Fromm, who described it as "severe mental sickness" representing "the quintessence of evil" and "the most severe pathology and the root of the most vicious destructiveness and inhumanity."

But one ex-White House official who asked to remain anonymous to protect their political consulting business said Trumps embrace of conspiracy theories is not made out of calculation or rooted in some deeper lack of moral center, but because they bolster his self-esteem.

He believes every word of this bulls**t because hes a crackpot who wants to feel good about himself and the crackpots who talk about it make him feel good about himself by talking about it, the former official said. Now President Crackpot has other crackpots running investigations to support the crackpot theories he sees on Fox News and OAN. Were living in a crackpotcracy.
[May 11, 2020] Hexion Inc. Announces First Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call

Hexion Inc. ("Hexion" or the "Company") will host a teleconference to discuss First Quarter 2020 results on Thursday, May 14, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Company will issue a press release announcing its financial results for the First Quarter 2020 ended March 31, 2020 prior to the opening of the market on May 14, 2020. Interested parties are asked to dial-in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins at the following numbers: U.S. Participants: (844) 492-6045

International Participants: (574) 990-2716

Participant Passcode: 5384408 Live internet access to the call and presentation materials will be available through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website: www.hexion.com. A replay of the call will be available for one week following the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S.) and (404) 537-3406 (International). The passcode is 5384408.



About the Company Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Inc. is a global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion Inc. serves the global adhesive, coatings, composites and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Additional information about Hexion Inc. and its products is available at www.hexion.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005975/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's close aide said on Tuesday that the government could not enforce an indefinite lockdown due to the absence of any timeline about the end of novel coronavirus crisis, as the number of COVID-19 patients in the country jumped to nearly 33,000.

Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Khan, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the government resources were not enough to sustain the pressure of an indefinite lockdown.

"Given the situation, if we can do both protect our lives and keep businesses running that would be the best; we don't have any other options, the minister said.

Faraz also expressed concern at the large number of people coming out after lockdown was relaxed but warned that the people should follow guidelines and maintain social distancing.

"If people continue getting ill, then it will have a bad effect on our hospital capacity and limitations," he said.

He said that Planning Minister Asad Umar briefed the Cabinet meeting about the COVID-19 crisis and the efforts of the government to deal with the situation after easing of the lockdown.

Earlier, Umar chaired the meeting of National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) which discussed the safety of the health workers and the situation after easing of lockdown.

Prime Minister Khan tweeted that the NCOC was also apprised by officials of the health ministry about a plan to launch the campaign WE CARE' for the protection of the healthcare workers.

The move comes after at least 440 healthcare workers across Pakistan, including 70 nurses, tested COVID-19 positive and eight health workers died.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus cases in Pakistan jumped to 32,916. Punjab province registered 11,868 patients, Sindh 12,610, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 5,021, Balochistan 2,158, Islamabad 716, Gilgit-Baltistan 457 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 86 patients.

A total of 57 more people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death tally to 724. So far 8,555 patients have recovered.

The Peshawar High Court has decided to close down its major offices from May 13 to 31 after several employees tested positive for the virus. However, two single benches will be functional during this period.

Pakistan has also reduced the quarantine period before COVID-19 tests for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to the earliest possible, a move aimed at bringing home more citizens stranded abroad.

Following Prime Minister Khan's directive to bring stranded citizens back home, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), in coordination with the provinces and health professionals, reduced the quarantine period before testing for inbound air passengers from 48 hours to earliest possible.

This strategy will allow to raise the weekly cap for inbound passengers from 7,000-8,000 to 11,000-12,000 under the current policy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Northwest Indiana lawmakers are condemning a Facebook post by state Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, that features an image of a nearly naked dancing African child and the words, "We gon' get free money!"

On his social media feed, Lucas claimed the meme, which he admitted creating Monday night, was intended to mock people celebrating recent assistance payments made by the federal government amid the coronavirus pandemic. In his posts, Lucas noted he believes the government is overstepping its authority with those payments.

The four-term state lawmaker from southern Indiana insisted the image was not racist, and, in a subsequent Facebook post, suggested those who viewed the image as racist were, in fact, the real racists.

"I phrased it in a celebratory way and have danced and mocked things in that exact same manner myself. I'm white," Lucas said. "But hey, it's a picture of a black kid, so I guess that makes it different, WHICH IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF RACISM!!!!!!"

"THIS is the kind of garbage that divides us. I don't see nor look at the color of a person's skin, and I find it repugnant of those that do. I apologize for nothing, and the meme stays."
OMAHA, Neb. - Nebraskas primary voters mostly steered clear of polling sites Tuesday while shattering the state record for absentee voting with nearly 400,000 mail-in ballots in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Republican President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic challenger Joe Biden sailed to easy victories in the election, the first in-person primary since a heavily criticized election in Wisconsin five weeks ago in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. So did Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, who faced a GOP primary challenge because of his previous criticism of Trump. Sasse will face Chris Janicek, the owner of an Omaha cake-baking company, who won a nine-way Democratic primary Tuesday night.

In a closely watched Democratic primary for an Omaha-based congressional district, voters chose progressive Kara Eastman over a more conservative candidate. Eastman will once again face Republican Rep. Don Bacon, as she did in 2018.

In Nebraskas Republican-dominated 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Adrian Smith easily won the GOP nomination for an eighth term. Smith will face Democrat Mark Elworth Jr., who was uncontested for his partys nod.

Officials had encouraged people to vote by mail, though Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts and Secretary of State Bob Evnen both pledged to forge ahead with an in-person primary even though many other states have rescheduled theirs or switched to all-mail voting. Voters easily broke the previous mail-in voting record of around 70,000 in 2018, which includes people who requested early ballots and voters in early rural counties who receive them automatically.

Polling sites in the Omaha suburb of Papillion reported lower in-person turnout than normal. At First Lutheran Church, voters who walked into the basement polling station had plenty of space to cast their ballots.

Michael Rabe, 68, of Papillion, said he wanted to vote in person because he doesnt trust mail-in voting but believes he has a civic duty to cast a ballot. Rabe wore a mask into the polling site, only to realize he was the only voter there at the time. The self-described hardcore Republican said he was most interested in voting for Matt Innis, the long-shot primary challenger to Sasse.

I didnt like that when President Trump got into office, Sasse opposed him, Rabe said after voting. I was not a Trump supporter when he was running, but now that hes our president, I am.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse, who oversees polling sites in Omaha, said in-person turnout was unusually low. He said overall turnout was still strong because of the huge number of mail-in ballots received, but polls saw very few in-person voters.

A possible shortage of poll workers prompted Ricketts ordered members of the Nebraska National Guard to provide on-call help at short-staffed polling sites in eight counties, including the Omaha and Lincoln areas. He said Guard members would be dressed in civilian clothes, not their normal uniforms.

Ricketts also waived a state law that requires poll workers to live in the county where they serve, largely because of a poll worker shortage.

This years primary was fairly low-key but included a high-profile race among Democrats who want to unseat Bacon of Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District. The Omaha-area district is one of the few in Republican-led Nebraska where Democrats are competitive.

Eastman defeated Omaha lawyer Ann Ashford and Omaha business owner Gladys Harrison to win the Democratic primary. Eastman had positioned herself as a progressive, while Ashford pitched herself as a moderate. Harrison touted herself as a unifying voice but hasnt raised nearly as much money or gotten as much attention.

Randall Crutcher, 45, voted at Papillion Middle School Tuesday morning because he and his wife forgot to request early, mail-in ballots. He wore a mask as he walked inside, only to find the polling site virtually empty except for poll workers.

Crutcher said he had been an independent for most of his adult life and holds conservative views on spending, but re-registered as a Democrat two years ago because of the GOPs support of President Donald Trump.

He said he liked both Democratic candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race, but voted for Eastman because of her life story, including her struggles to care for her ailing mother. On the campaign trail, Eastman often discusses her mothers inability to afford prescription drugs to fight her cancer.

She has built-in empathy, Crutcher said. Thats something we all need right now.

___

Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte

___

Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Today, in two historic cases on Tuesday, the Supreme Court debated the nature of presidential power, and who is entitled to Donald Trumps personal records. My colleague, Adam Liptak, listened in. Its Wednesday, May 13.

adam liptak

Hello, Michael.

michael barbaro

Adam in a t-shirt  good lord.

adam liptak

What has the pandemic wrought? If I went to court, Id be wearing a suit.

michael barbaro

Of course, of course. But like, the justices themselves, youre wearing god knows what 

adam liptak

I have the distinct suspicion that there were no robes on the justices today.

[music]

michael barbaro

Adam, set the scene for us on Tuesday at the Supreme Court. Im not even sure it was at the Supreme Court, but set the scene.

adam liptak

The court has been hearing arguments by telephone conference call, which is a new experiment. This is only the second week of it. This was the fifth time they did it. So at 10 o clock in the morning, I dialed in.

archived recording (court marshal) The honorable, the chief justice, and the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.

adam liptak

I listened to the marshal of the court announce Oyez, oyez, oyez 

archived recording (court marshal) Oyez, oyez, oyez.

adam liptak

And then she usually has a script admonishing people to draw near.

archived recording (court marshal) Supreme Court of the United States are admonished to give their attention, for the court is now sitting. God save the United States and this honorable court. [GAVEL]

adam liptak

But she omitted that from the script because theres nothing to draw near to. We were just listening in on a telephone conference call. Now, at the same time, this was quite a radical departure for the court, because there was live audio.

michael barbaro

Right.

adam liptak

Which everyone in the country could listen to in real time.

michael barbaro

Right. Usually, we have to wait days to get that audio?

adam liptak

Yeah, typically it comes out the Friday after the arguments which happen on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So if we were still living in the pre-pandemic world, they would have not released audio till Friday. And that allowed us to listen into two cases, both involving subpoenas to President Trump, one from congressional committees, the other from prosecutors in Manhattan, both seeking his tax returns and all kinds of records concerning his business affairs. And that clash gave the public an opportunity, in real time, to see the justices in action.

michael barbaro

OK, tell us about the first of these two cases. Whats the background?

archived recording (john roberts) The first case we will argue today is case 19-715, Donald Trump v. Mazars U.S.A.

adam liptak

The first case concerns three different sets of subpoenas from House committees  the House of Representatives of course controlled by Democrats  seeking a variety of business records about President Trump, his children, his dealings with his bank, his accountants, his tax returns. You know, large troves of information that the president is fighting hard to protect.

michael barbaro

And what was the original rationale from these congressional committees in seeking these very sensitive documents?

adam liptak

They say they have oversight responsibilities. And they say that gathering this information will allow them to propose legislation on things like conflicts of interest.

archived recording (john roberts) Mr. Strawbridge  archived recording (patrick strawbridge) Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court 

michael barbaro

So how do the oral arguments unfold?

adam liptak

Well, the first thing that happens, and this is also a recent innovation, the lawyers are given a couple of minutes of uninterrupted time to lay out their case.

archived recording (patrick strawbridge) The subpoenas at issue here are unprecedented in every sense. Before these cases, no court had ever upheld the use of Congresss subpoena power to demand the personal records of a sitting president.

adam liptak

So President Trumps lawyer in the House subpoenas case, Patrick Strawbridge, starts by saying that these are unprecedented subpoenas, and the court should block them.

archived recording (patrick strawbridge) The rule that the court applies here will affect not only this president but the presidency itself. The court should deny the committees the blank check they seek and reverse the decisions below.

adam liptak

His argument is that theres no link between congressional responsibilities and what is being sought here.

archived recording (patrick strawbridge) The presidents personal papers are not related to anything having to do with the workings of government. And to empower the committees, to simply declare him a useful case study, is to open the door to all sorts of oppressive requests you could have.

adam liptak

That, sure, Congress has some power to investigate in order to enact wise legislation. But that this was partisan harassment, that they dont need President Trumps tax records to make tax law  they wouldnt need his medical records to decide how to reform the Affordable Care Act  and that this is a kind of dragnet fishing expedition.

archived recording (patrick strawbridge) The threat, in this case, of subpoenaing decades worth of papers, not only of the president, but of the presidents family members, of his children, of his grandchildren, as the House has done in this case, poses an obvious problem with respect to harassment and infringement upon the ability of the executive to discharge his duties.

michael barbaro

So the argument here from Trumps lawyer is that the idea that these documents are needed for legislative affairs and legislative production is basically a fancy cover for just wanting embarrassing documents about the president.

adam liptak

Thats the argument, yeah.

michael barbaro

And what is the response from the justices?

adam liptak

Well, the justices respond one by one. In this new way of questioning, the justices ask a couple questions each, in order of seniority.

archived recording (john roberts) Justice Ginsberg? archived recording (ruth bader ginsberg) Counsel, in so many of these prior cases, there was a cooperation. For example, tax returns. Every president voluntarily turned over his tax returns.

adam liptak

The liberal justices are mostly skeptical of the presidents argument, and they point out that for most of our history, when there have been these kinds of clashes, the Congress and the president have worked things out, have found a way to accommodate one another. The president would turn over some, but not all, information. And Justice Elena Kagan says that what the president is asking for here 

archived recording (elena kagan) What it seems to me youre asking us to do is to throw a 10 ton weight on the scales between the president and Congress.

adam liptak

 and avoid that kind of accommodation.

archived recording (sonia sotomayor) And some of the subpoenas that Congress  through history, as far back as 1792, have asked for personal papers of the president while being president.

adam liptak

Justice Sonia Sotomayor points out that there have been congressional subpoenas throughout our history, going back as far as Thomas Jefferson. This, she says, is different. This is easier.

archived recording (sonia sotomayor) Were asking for his personal tax returns before he became president.

adam liptak

Shes saying that the current case doesnt even ask for the documents of the official duties of a sitting president. This is old news. This is what the president, as a private citizen, did.

michael barbaro

So thats the liberal justices, who seem to be skeptical of the presidents arguments. What are the conservative justices getting at in their questioning?

archived recording Thank you, counsellor. Justice Thomas? archived recording (clarence thomas) Following up on the chief justices question, what if it was clear from those statements that you reviewed that their intention was actually to remove the president from office?

adam liptak

The conservatives say that there have to be some limits. We cant live in a world where every committee of Congress can, on a whim, require the custodians of a presidents records  his business records, his medical records  to turn them over for no good reason. And there have to be limits. There has to be a connection between legislative responsibilities and why the information is sought. So Justice Kavanaugh, for instance, said 

archived recording (brett kavanaugh) But I think everyone has explored with you that just about everything can be characterized, in terms of a subpoena, as pertinent to a legislative purpose.

adam liptak

 that just about all information can somehow be said to be relevant to some piece of legislation.

archived recording (brett kavanaugh) And the question then boils down to, how can we both protect the Houses interests in obtaining information it needs to legislate, but also protect the presidency? How can the court balance those interests?

adam liptak

And so the conservative side of the court was sensitive  and not only the conservative side of the court, because Justice Breyer also had some qualms in this area  about whether these very broad, some say dragnet, subpoenas go too far in what could be said to be harassment of the president.

michael barbaro

And what about the lawyer for Congress, for the people seeking these records? What is his argument for the legitimacy of these subpoenas?

archived recording (john roberts) Mr. Letter? archived recording (doug letter) Yes, Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court 

adam liptak

So Doug Letter, the lawyer for the House, the Houses general counsel, says that theyve laid out in great detail why they need these records. They say theyre investigating, for instance, President Trumps foreign entanglements that might shed light on election interference.

archived recording (doug letter) Theres an obvious need to focus on the presidents financial records to determine if the president is subject to foreign leverage.

adam liptak

They say that the presidents business records and tax records could inform what kind of conflicts of interest legislation the House might want to propose.

archived recording (doug letter) Do we need better laws about conflicts of interests? Do we need better laws about, for example, a president dealing in contracts with government agencies?

adam liptak

And they say that they have general oversight responsibilities over the executive, including the president.

michael barbaro

So at this point, there seem to be two debates going on. One argues that historical patterns show that these requests have happened all the time, and presidents have handed over these documents. The other is that Congress needs to really show that theres a legislative purpose to have these documents. And I wonder if either of those questions is resolved, and what they tell us about the nature of the presidents power versus Congresss?

adam liptak

So I dont think we had anything like a resolution of the question. And I think there are multiple outcomes that are possible in the House subpoenas case. But it does illustrate just how important these questions are, because its quite rare for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the responsibilities, duties of the other two branches. So this is a big separation of powers case, where on the one hand, you have Congress saying, we need this information to do our job, to make laws and move society forward. And on the other hand, you have the president, who says, Im the head of a branch of the federal government, and I cant be made to cooperate in handing over all kinds of sensitive material from my private business affairs for what looks to me to be like a partisan witch hunt.

michael barbaro

And from what you could gather during these oral arguments, how eager, or uneager, are these justices to resolve that major question between those two branches of our government?

adam liptak

You know, some are more eager than others. But the court as a whole didnt seem to coalesce around any particular theory and may be looking for some kind of exit ramp. A likely scenario could be for the court to send it back down to the lower courts, to say, Were not sure whos right, but we think you lower courts were too sympathetic to Congress. Why dont you have another cut at this using a stricter standard about whether Congress really needs these records?

michael barbaro

Kicking it down to a lower court would be pretty anticlimactic for a major constitutional clash between Congress and the executive.

adam liptak

Yes, speaking only as a journalist, thats not my preferred outcome. But whatever happens on the House subpoenas, theres a second case also argued on Tuesday and there, the coalitions look quite different.

[music]

michael barbaro

Well be right back.

[music]

archived recording (john roberts) Well hear argument next in case 19-635, Donald Trump vs. Cyrus Vance.

michael barbaro

So Adam, tell us about this second case that was heard by the justices via conference call on Tuesday.

adam liptak

Well, they concern the same kinds of documents, but the subpoena comes from a different source. It comes from the Manhattan D.A., Cyrus Vance Jr., which is conducting a criminal inquiry. And its looking into the hush money payments that President Trump, through his lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, paid to two women who said they had affairs with him, affairs he denies. Its a more straightforward case.

michael barbaro

And why is it more straightforward than a congressional subpoena?

adam liptak

Theres not a lot of precedent on congressional subpoenas, and particularly congressional subpoenas to the president. But there are leading precedents on criminal inquiries and civil lawsuits seeking information from the president.

michael barbaro

I feel like you have mentioned those precedent cases in the past, and that they include, correct me if Im wrong, President Clinton and President Nixon.

adam liptak

Thats right. And so in two cases, the Supreme Court, and both of them unanimously, ruled against presidents seeking to withhold information. And in many ways, those cases were more intrusive than what was at issue here. President Nixon was required to turn over Oval Office tapes about his official conduct. President Clinton was made to sit for a deposition in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones. Here, the records sought are in the hands of third parties, and dont seem to impose anything like the same kind of burden as those other two cases.

michael barbaro

And a third party in the Trump case would be an accounting firm, for example?

adam liptak

Thats right, yeah.

michael barbaro

So how did the oral arguments unfold in this case?

archived recording (john roberts) Mr. Sekulow? archived recording (jay sekulow) Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court 

adam liptak

The presidents lawyer, Jay Sekulow, makes a very broad argument.

archived recording (jay sekulow) This court has long recognized that the president is not to be treated as an ordinary citizen. He has responsibilities. He is himself a branch of government. He is the only individual that is a branch of government in our federal system.

adam liptak

He says that the president enjoys temporary immunity from even being investigated.

archived recording (jay sekulow) Our position is that the Constitution itself, both in structure and text, supports the position that the president would be temporarily immune from this activity, from a state proceeding, while he is the president of the United States.

adam liptak

And Justice Thomas, the courts most conservative member, seems unconvinced.

archived recording (clarence thomas) Yes. Im interested in whether or not you can point us to some express language you think, at the founding, or during the ratification process, that provides for this immunity.

adam liptak

 asking Sekulow where that immunity appears in the Constitution.

michael barbaro

And what is Sekulows answer?

archived recording (jay sekulow) Well, theres a couple 

adam liptak

Sekulow cites some materials from the founding era.

archived recording (jay sekulow) There was a colloquy between Vice President Adams and Senator Ellsworth where they talked about process against the president, and they took the position that any process against the president would be constitutionally problematic. But the concern 

adam liptak

But they dont seem to get him very far down the road.

archived recording (john roberts) Justice Ginsburg?

adam liptak

So the more liberal justices really have no patience for Sekulows arguments.

archived recording (ruth bader ginsberg) We have said, in the grand jury context, that the public has a right to every mans evidence. Is it your position that the grand jury right to every mans evidence is exclusive of the president? archived recording (jay sekulow) Justice Ginsburg, its not that it excludes the president. The president is not to be treated as an ordinary citizen. And this is a temporary immunity. This is for while the presidents in office. And we think that 

michael barbaro

OK, so that argument does not seem to be succeeding. So what other defenses is Sekulow are making here?

adam liptak

Well, the fallback argument is that you should apply a really strict standard to subpoenas directed at the presidents records. And that you should only be able to do this if the information cant be obtained any other way, if its critical to your decision about whether youre going to charge the president or someone else with a crime. So that backup argument is almost certainly the ground on which the Supreme Court will decide the case, not the absolute immunity argument.

archived recording (jay sekulow) The decision would allow any D.A. to harass, distract, and interfere with a sitting president. It subjects the president to local prejudice that can influence prosecutorial decisions. At the 

michael barbaro

I listened to this hearing, and I recall Sekulow basically saying, if were not careful, every local prosecutor in the country might start coming at the president of an opposite party. And that would be a nightmare.

archived recording (jay sekulow) You cant just look at the one subpoena. It is the potential for 2,300 D.A.s, or just 1 percent of them, 23 D.A.s, issuing process against the president. But the concern 

adam liptak

Right, but we do have some evidence that it hasnt happened yet. The president has been in office for three years, and this is the one grand jury subpoena of this kind that I know of. And that local prosecutor in Nebraska would need to have some kind of jurisdiction over the president. But the Trump organization was not headquartered in Nebraska, it was headquartered in Manhattan.

michael barbaro

So youre saying, almost by definition, there will be very few local prosecutors with grounds to bring a case that involves a subpoena of the president.

adam liptak

Right. But Sekulow says that the presidents time is really valuable, and we shouldnt lightly impinge on it.

archived recording (jay sekulow) To require the president to have to respond to each and every state district attorney  that  archived recording (stephen breyer) No he would hire you. And hed hire a lawyer to list what the burdens are. That wouldnt take a lot of time. And then he wouldnt be burdened, because youd go in and say what the burdens are. And if youre right, you win that case. They are saying, the other side, there are no burdens here. Well send it back and let them figure out what they are. archived recording (jay sekulow) I think that doing that establishes the problem with an analysis of a case by case analysis. For instance, in this very case, in this subpoena  found on page 118a and 19 of the petition appendix is a list of documents that are extensive. You would have to meet with the president of the United States. I mean, could you imagine, just for a moment, Justice Breyer, that I  and you said, lets assume the president wanted to hire me. Then, Im going to call the president of the United States today, and say, I know youre handling a pandemic right now for the United States, but I need to spend a couple of  two to three hours with you going over a subpoena of documents that are wanted by, here, the New York County district attorney. I know youre busy 

michael barbaro

So hes now making a very practical argument, not so much a constitutional one, that if the president is required to answer subpoenas from a prosecutor in Manhattan, that that could take up a lot of his time.

adam liptak

Yeah, so its both a practical and constitutional argument. The president, as the head of the executive branch, should deserve some protection so that his time is not wasted on nonsense. But the Bill Clinton case, in which he was made to sit for a deposition, certainly suggests that some impingement on the presidents time is allowed, where the justice system cant work otherwise. Justice Gorsuch makes pretty much this exact point.

archived recording (neil gorsuch) How is this more burdensome, though, than what took place in Clinton vs. Jones? I guess  Im not sure I understand. archived recording (jay sekulow) Well, I mean, theres a big distinction between a defendant in a civil case, and a principal in a criminal case, here by the state district  archived recording (neil gorsuch) Let me stop you there. Yes, there, they sought the deposition of the president while he was serving. Here, theyre seeking records from third parties.

michael barbaro

So Im hearing a lot of skepticism, from all the justices, to these arguments. It doesnt seem like the lawyer for Cy Vance in Manhattan had a ton of work to do, but what was his argument?

adam liptak

He said, yes, we recognize the president has important duties 

archived recording (carey dunne)  important duties. The other principle is that under our constitution, when a president acts as a private individual, he or she has responsibilities like every other citizen, including compliance with legal process.

adam liptak

But its also true that no person is above the law. And you balance these things out. And a focused subpoena directed to, not the president himself, but to his accountants, in a legitimate criminal inquiry, is appropriate. And that message seemed to resonate with many of the justices.

archived recording (carey dunne) Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. archived recording Thank you, counsel. The case is submitted. [GAVEL]

michael barbaro

It sounds like the court is leaning towards a ruling in this case, where Cy Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, will likely get the records hes seeking from the president.

adam liptak

I think a split decision, Michael, is fairly likely, so that Trump loses the Manhattan D.A. case, wins or at least gets a timeout in the House subpoenas case. And that has implications, because interestingly, if the Manhattan D.A. wins, its a grand jury subpoena. It goes to a grand jury. Grand juries are secret. So it could be that although Trump has to turn over the records, theyll be shielded from public view even so.

michael barbaro

And in that case you just outlined, Adam, the presidents tax records would remain secret.

adam liptak

Yes, at least in the short term, yeah.

michael barbaro

Adam, on a slightly more practical note, it occurs to me that the justices are going to be ruling in both of these cases at the end of their term. Typically, its June, July, which happens to be the height of the presidential campaign. And the presidential campaign involves the person at the center of these two cases, President Trump. If they side against the president, that would mean public release of pretty embarrassing documents. If they side for him, it means those documents are largely going to be shielded. I have to imagine the justices understand the context in which theyre going to be making these rulings.

adam liptak

Oh, I think theyre well aware of it, and they might have some reason to want to duck the issue in order not to be playing a role in the presidential election. I also think the court will be sensitive to charges that its acting in a partisan way, so it might like to have a split decision in which Trump wins one and loses one. And there are ways in which you could do that and send a message about the independence of the court, and hand Trump a loss in the grand jury case, but does not deliver to the American public information that some voters would like to have in deciding whether to vote for or against President Trump.

[music]

michael barbaro

A really, potentially, very interesting outcome.

adam liptak

Yeah, its one of many, one of many. Well see in June or July how right these predictions proved to be.

michael barbaro

Well, we really do enjoy holding you accountable for these predictions, so we will do that.

adam liptak

Well, you know what I hope to be? Right.

michael barbaro

Well, Adam, thank you very much.

adam liptak

Thank you, Michael.

[music]

michael barbaro

Well be right back.

[music]

michael barbaro

Heres what else you need to know today.

archived recording (elizabeth warren) So Id just like to hear your honest opinion. Do we have the coronavirus contained? archived recording (anthony fauci) Senator, thank you for the question. Right now, it depends on what you mean by containment. If you think that we have it completely under control, we dont. If you look 

michael barbaro

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, two of the federal governments top health officials painted a grim picture of the months ahead, warning that the U.S. has not contained the pandemic, and that reopening the country too quickly could lead to a new wave of infections.

archived recording (anthony fauci) If we do not respond in an adequate way when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that the infections will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence.

michael barbaro

The two men, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Robert Redfield of the C.D.C., offered a far bleaker diagnosis than President Trump, who has called for a swift reopening, and has predicted a quick victory over the virus.

archived recording (rand paul) So I think we ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know whats best for the economy. And as much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I dont think youre the end all. I dont think youre the one person that gets to make a decision.

michael barbaro

During the hearing, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky pressed Fauci on why the country should trust his judgment.

archived recording (anthony fauci) I have never made myself out to be the end all and only voice in this. Im a scientist, a physician, and a public health official. I give advice according to the best scientific evidence. I dont give advice about economic things. I dont get advice about anything other than public health.

[music]

michael barbaro
As the U.S. travel industry remains mostly shutdown, one industry remains set to be hit the hardest. While airlines continue to fly drastically reduced schedules, the cruise lines are shutdown with major questions on future demand.

As the coronavirus swept through parts of Asia, the Diamond Princess cruise ship was hit with tons of cases and numerous deaths. The way passengers were quarantined on the ship and subsequent events should really question the legitimate demand for cruising in the near-term. Long-term, passengers have always come back from other virus outbreaks and initial signs for 2021 demand are already positive.

Even worse, the cruise lines werent considered essential by the U.S. government and failed to obtain financial aid. The best way to value these cruise lines stocks is based on liquidity to survive a weak 2020 with positioning towards a stronger time in 2021.

Unlike the airlines that have maintained operations and kept employees, the cruise lines have cut expenses to only ongoing ship operating expenses, administrative operating expenses and interest expenses. This industry doesnt have the billion-dollar monthly losses such as the airlines reducing the dire outcomes in the short term.

With this in mind, weve delved into these cruise line stocks with two stocks to consider here and one to avoid. Using TipRanks Stock Comparison tool, we lined up the three alongside each other to get the lowdown on what the near-term holds for these cruise line players.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)

Unlike the airline industry, Royal Caribbean Cruises has halted services. The cruise line has extended a global shutdown of their 61 ships on global brands including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea Cruises through June 11.

The company entered the year with a 2025 program for generating $20 in adjusted EPS. Royal Caribbean had a plan to double 2019 earnings of $9.54 per share in six years. Hence, the stock was up at $135 on the back on those strong projections only back in early February.

Story continues

The story here is survival in 2020 with a rebound forecast for 2021. Royal Caribbean has already laid off or furloughed a large portion of their 65,000-employee base, but the cruise line hasnt provided monthly cash burn rates. The cruise line did confirm strong 2021 bookings with prices up from 2020 levels.

Royal Caribbean started 2020 with over $10 billion in net debt, but Royal Caribbean was able to pull down $2.2 billion in term loans to provide total liquidity of $3.6 billion. The cruise lines all have around 10 months of cash to survive a zero-revenue period per analysis by UBS. Royal Caribbean is the best positioned and least damaged of the major cruise lines to thrive in 2021.

Wells Fargo analyst Tim Conder reviewed RCL for Wells Fargo, and took a clearly bullish position. The analyst opined, "We believe RCL had ~$300MM of secured borrowing capacity left, but feel the company will leave some asset base cushion for potential writedowns which are reasonably likely for the industry in the current environment. Therefore, we feel any additional RCL capital raise would likely take the form of (1) limited secured bonds, and (2) convertible bonds, all potentially supplemented by private equity placement. We continue to view RCL as best in class and needing the least amount of capital, within an industry that admittedly will likely see an elongated recovery to preCOVID19 levels."

Supporting his bullish stance on RCL, Conder rates Royal Caribbean shares an Overweight (i.e. Buy). (To watch Conder's track record, click here)

Overall, Wall Street is not convinced just yet on this cruise giant, but cautious optimism is circling, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate RCL as a Buy. Based on 12 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 6 rate Royal Caribbean a Buy, 6 say Hold and only 1 suggests Sell. The 12-month average price target stands tall at $68.33, marking a 79% upside from where the stock is currently trading. (See Royal Caribbean stock analysis on TipRanks)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH)

The smallest of the major cruise lines, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has seen their stock fall over $45 from the highs to below $12 now due to bankruptcy fears that popped up this week. The company operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises with travel suspended through June 30.

The company quickly took down $1.55 billion from credit facilities in early March to provide liquidity during the shutdown. Like the other cruise lines, Norwegian had $8.6 billion in debt at the end of March, but the company recently raised $2.4 billion in new funds to provide plenty of liquidity to survive an extended week period for the sector.

During the suspension of operations, Norwegian is only burning cash from $110 million to $150 million per month. With operations not restarting until Q3, one should assume the company loses in the range of $400 million during the quarter with ultimate cash flows based on booking and refund levels going forward.

Even with the issuance of 41 million shares and shareholders diluted 20%, Norwegian has strong upside potential here.

Covering NCLH for Wedbush, analyst James Hardiman writes: "While we have been relatively bearish with respect to our assumptions as to when the industry is likely to open back up much less go back to normal, the liquidity recently added by NCLH would seem to put the company in a sound position under the majority of plausible scenarios, no small feat given the gauntlet that they needed to run through in recent months to ensure the companys survival."

In line with this bullish stance, Hardiman gives NCLH a Buy rating. His $26 price target implies a strong upside potential here of 122%. (To watch Hardiman's track record, click here)

Overall, Wall Street almost evenly split between the bulls and those choosing to play it safe. Based on 12 analysts tracked by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 5 rate Norwegian Cruise shares a Buy, 6 suggest Hold, while only 1 says Sell. Notably, the 12-month average price target stands at $23.60, marking a 101% potential upside from current levels. (See NCLH stock analysis on TipRanks)

Carnival Corporation (CCL)

As FY20 started, Carnival Corporation was forecasting a solid year with an EPS of $4.50. The company had plans for annual cash from operations of $5.5 billion to cover capital spending for new ships

With operations shut until August 1, Carnival faces the unfortunate uncertainty of brand damage with their Diamond Princess ship the center of the COVID-19 outbreak. The cruise ship was forced to dock in Japan for an extended period causing unknown damage to the brand.

Carnival has already outlined how FQ1 results missed expectations even with the limited COVID-19 impact through the end of February. The difficult numbers required the company to raise a substantial amount of cash while the cruise line already had net debt of $11 billion.

On April 1, Carnival raised a massive combined $6.25 billion of equity and debt funding. The company was forced to dilute shareholders at $8 per share, or nearly 50% below current prices. The equity offering of 71.88 million shares diluted existing shareholders by over 10% with 688 million shares outstanding at the end of November when the cruise line reported FY19 results.

The bond offering wasnt much better with a $4 billion aggregate senior secured note due 2023 at 11.5% and a $1.75 billion 5.75% senior convertible notes due 2023.

The potential damage to the brand with Diamond Princess and even Pacific Princess being part of the initial outbreaks and the massive dilution at the lows makes Carnival the least appealing of the major cruise lines on a rebound.

Carnivals current price target implies double-digit upside, but based on all the ratings received over the past three months, Carnival is actually a Hold consensus. While 3 analysts say Buy, six recommend Hold, while 3 advise investors to abandon ship. (See NCLH stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
A business lobbying group is calling for the Uluru climb to reopen to boost tourism amid the coronavirus downturn.

The popular tourist activity was permanently shutdown in October last year at the request of the traditional land owners.

But Alice Springs Major Business Group chairman Dave Batic said there has been talk of reopening the climb to re-build Northern Territory tourism when border restrictions are lifted, potentially in August.

Traditional custodians of the land (pictured) pose with the closure sign after the activity was shutdown in October last year

'There's three iconic destinations in Australia that we talk about: The reef, the rock and the Sydney Opera House. The rock is actually going to be our saviour from a tourism perspective,' he told ABC News.

Mr Batic, who is also the general manager of Alice Springs airport, said a 'bold' plan is needed to draw in travellers, as all Australian states and territories are competing for the tourism dollar.

He referred to the proposition as a 'grand opening' or 'grand reopening' of the Northern Territory and said allowing access to Uluru for two-to-three three years, in partnership with the traditional owners, would be a windfall for local tourism.

'The concept there is that the traditional owners would provide tours for paying climbers and have a safety harness system in place just like the Sydney Harbour Bridge,' he said.

Mr Batic said the closure had an immediate effect on tourism, with 10,000 less travellers passing through the airport in the following months.

While he acknowledged the management of such an initiative lies with the traditional land owners, Mr Batic said it was important to be discussed.

But former Uluru Kata-Tjuta Board chairman Sammy Wilson said the idea was off the cards.

'No. Enough is enough. The word is no,' said Mr Wilson, who was head of the board when the decision to close was made in 2017.

The sandstone monolith is an iconic Australian tourist attraction for worldwide visitors. Aussie Actress Margot Robbie (pictured) visited the site in May, 2019

Uluru is a sacred site and of great spiritual significance to local Aboriginal groups, including the Pitjantjatjara Anangu traditional owners who live in nearby Mutitjulu.

Traditional owners say the closure has sparked a new opportunity for visitors to learn about the Anangu people and culture and experience the spectacular country surrounding Uluru.

In October, tourists flocked to the red monolith for their last chance to ascend the 550million-year-old rock, with pictures of the packed crowds drawing worldwide coverage.

The closure of the sandstone natural wonder of the world coincided with the 34th anniversary of the park being returned to its traditional owners.

A Parks Australia spokesperson said the closure represents the long-held wishes of the park's traditional owners.

Climbers can now be fined up to $10,000 for attempting to summit Uluru

When the climb was active, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park had around 300,000 visitors to the rock and its surrounds annually.

The park will reopen on June 18 when the Commonwealth Biosecurity Act is due to expire.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged the English to stay away from the country's beauty spots. Credit:Getty Images

He argued that increased security would be prudent, noting that police already conducted checks among passengers on ferries to Scotland's islands to ensure the journeys were essential.

Angus MacNeil, the Western Isles MP, called for checks at the border to stop people in England [who] think they can go everywhere travelling to Scotland and spreading the coronavirus.

Edinburgh: Police should check traffic at the Scottish border after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon refused to follow British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to loosen lockdown, a senior Scottish Nationalist MP has said.

But Sturgeon insisted there was no need for any additional controls, arguing that Police Scotland was used to overseeing different rules north of the border, such as the drink-drive limit.

However, she urged the English to stay away from Scottish beauty spots after Johnson relaxed rules south of the border, allowing people to drive to other destinations for exercise.

In addition, the First Minister said Scots who normally travelled to England for their jobs should ignore demands to start back at work.

The row emerged the day after Johnson told the nation that people who cannot do their jobs from home should return to work, as part of a three-step road map to recovery.

But Sturgeon said pretty much everything Johnson announced  other than the quarantining rules for international arrivals  applied in England only and he had not been clear enough about this.
Emotions are running high in our city right now," Taylor, the police chief, said during the news conference with Hogsett, adding that he understands the frustration over the pace of the body camera program.

Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said the department has implemented technology to support the cameras in the past 18 months, and the necessary upgrades delayed the introduction of the cameras on the force.

Trying to cram a bunch of new technology in at the same time really sets you on a path to disaster if you dont do it in the correct way, Bailey said.

The cameras will automatically start recording via a computer-aided dispatch program that assesses what officers are doing, he said.

Taylor and Hogsett also announced the planned creation of a police use-of-force review board staffed by merit-ranked officers and civilians appointed by the police chief. That panel, which is expected to be in place within the next few months, will replace an existing police firearms review board that has no civilian members, Wishner said.
A new machine learning tool can calculate the energy required to make -- or break -- a molecule with higher accuracy than conventional methods. While the tool can currently only handle simple molecules, it paves the way for future insights in quantum chemistry.

"Using machine learning to solve the fundamental equations governing quantum chemistry has been an open problem for several years, and there's a lot of excitement around it right now," says co-creator Giuseppe Carleo, a research scientist at the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Quantum Physics in New York City. A better understanding of the formation and destruction of molecules, he says, could reveal the inner workings of the chemical reactions vital to life.

Carleo and collaborators Kenny Choo of the University of Zurich and Antonio Mezzacapo of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, present their work May 12 in Nature Communications.

The team's tool estimates the amount of energy needed to assemble or pull apart a molecule, such as water or ammonia. That calculation requires determining the molecule's electronic structure, which consists of the collective behavior of the electrons that bind the molecule together.

A molecule's electronic structure is a tricky thing to calculate, requiring the determination of all the potential states the molecule's electrons could be in, plus each state's probability.

Since electrons interact and become quantum mechanically entangled with one another, scientists can't treat them individually. With more electrons, more entanglements crop up, and the problem gets exponentially harder. Exact solutions don't exist for molecules more complex than the two electrons found in a pair of hydrogen atoms. Even approximations struggle with accuracy when they involve more than a few electrons.

One of the challenges is that a molecule's electronic structure includes states for an infinite number of orbitals going farther and farther from the atoms. Additionally, one electron is indistinguishable from another, and two electrons can't occupy the same state. The latter rule is a consequence of exchange symmetry, which governs what happens when identical particles switch states.

Mezzacapo and colleagues at IBM Quantum developed a method for constraining the number of orbitals considered and imposing exchange symmetry. This approach, based on methods developed for quantum computing applications, makes the problem more akin to scenarios where electrons are confined to preset locations, such as in a rigid lattice.

The similarity to rigid lattices was the key to making the problem more manageable. Carleo previously trained neural networks to reconstruct the behavior of electrons confined to the sites of a lattice. By extending those methods, the researchers could estimate solutions to Mezzacapo's compacted problems. The team's neural network calculates the probability of each state. Using this probability, the researchers can estimate the energy of a given state. The lowest energy level, dubbed the equilibrium energy, is where the molecule is the most stable.

The team's innovations made calculating a basic molecule's electronic structure simpler and faster. The researchers demonstrated the accuracy of their methods by estimating how much energy it would take to pull a real-world molecule apart, breaking its bonds. They ran calculations for dihydrogen (H2), lithium hydride (LiH), ammonia (NH3), water (H2O), diatomic carbon (C2) and dinitrogen (N2). For all the molecules, the team's estimates proved highly accurate even in ranges where existing methods struggle.

In the future, the researchers aim to tackle larger and more complex molecules by using more sophisticated neural networks. One goal is to handle chemicals like those found in the nitrogen cycle, in which biological processes build and break nitrogen-based molecules to make them usable for life. "We want this to be a tool that could be used by chemists to process these problems," Carleo says.

Carleo, Choo and Mezzacapo aren't alone in tapping machine learning to tackle problems in quantum chemistry. The researchers first presented their work on arXiv.org in September 2019. In that same month, a group in Germany and another at Google's DeepMind in London each released research using machine learning to reconstruct the electronic structure of molecules.

The other two groups use a similar approach to one another that doesn't limit the number of orbitals considered. This inclusiveness, however, is more computationally taxing, a drawback that will only worsen with more complex molecules. With the same computational resources, the approach by Carleo, Choo and Mezzacapo yields higher accuracy, but the simplifications made to obtain this accuracy could introduce biases.

"Overall, it's a trade-off between bias and accuracy, and it's unclear which of the two approaches has more potential for the future," Carleo says. "Only time will tell us which of these approaches can be scaled up to the challenging open problems in chemistry."

###

ABOUT THE FLATIRON INSTITUTE

The Flatiron Institute is the research division of the Simons Foundation. The institute's mission is to advance scientific research through computational methods, including data analysis, theory, modeling and simulation. The institute's Center for Computational Quantum Physics aims to develop the concepts, theories, algorithms and codes needed to solve the quantum many-body problem and to use the solutions to predict the behavior of materials and molecules of scientific and technological interest.
- Most of KQ passenger planes were grounded in March 2020 following air travel restrictions across the world sparked by the coronavirus pandemic

- It costs the national carrier KSh 2,650 daily to park large planes at airports like the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)

- National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani said the state was considering KQ's application as it had been bailed out recently

Debt ridden Kenya Airways is seeking another KSh 7 billion bailout from the government as it hopes to recover from the coronavirus storm that has halted its operations.

Most of KQ passenger planes were grounded in March 2020 following air travel restrictions across the world sparked by the pandemic that has so far infected over four million people and killed at least 287,000 others.

READ ALSO: Its shameful, embarrassing for Uhuru to engage in political battles amid pandemic - Oscar Sudi

A Kenya Airways plane on air. Photo: Kenya Airways.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Muthaiga woman on the spot for diverting Rui-Ruaka river to neighbours land, colluding with police to evade justice

According to Business Daily, the national carrier is also seeking other incentives like tax breaks and waivers of navigation and landing fees.

The loss-making airline which was once the pride of Africa risks collapsing without aid given it would run out of money to maintain planes, pay staff salaries and settle utility bills like water, security, parking fees and electricity.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka speaking at a past event. Photo: The Standard.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Akothee ahuzinika baada ya mwanawe wa kuasili kupigwa na kuvunjwa mguu na walevi

It costs KQ KSh 2,650 daily to park large planes at airports like the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and on the other hand, it costs KSh 62,010 and KSh 74,412 to land during the day and night respectively.

National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani said the state was considering KQ's application as it had been bailed out recently.

We are looking into KQs Sh7 billion request during this difficult time. The request will be reviewed against the background that the airline recently received KSh 5 billion from the government," Yatani said.

KQ's rival Ethiopian Airlines recently bagged a deal to fly COVID-19 medical supplies across Africa as the Kenya's flag carrier protested.

We have objected the move to have Ethiopian Airlines use their passenger flights for cargo business in Kenya because we were not consulted on the impact that this would have on our business," KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka 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
CarTrawler-sponsored report offers recovery advice for the travel industry with examples from Emirates, Etihad, Hilton, Korean Air, United, and Xiamen Airlines

SHOREWOOD, Wis. and DUBLIN, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This report is written to help those working at airlines and in the travel industry sort through the issue of traveller confidence and how it can be restored. Individual airlines, hotels, vacation rentals, car hire, airport transfers, and sightseeing companies are already making decisions to ensure the safety of their customers, which will also increase traveller confidence in the industry. This confidence will be built in layers, and here are some of the examples provided in the report:

Emirates prohibits large carry-on bags in an effort to reduce congestion in the aisles while boarding and deplaning, and to speed the process.

prohibits large carry-on bags in an effort to reduce congestion in the aisles while boarding and deplaning, and to speed the process. Etihad Airways is trialling new passenger screening kiosks to help identify travellers at the early phases of COVID-19 infection.

Airways is trialling new passenger screening kiosks to help identify travellers at the early phases of COVID-19 infection. Hilton introduced an exceptional branding and operations platform in partnership with Lysol and the Mayo Clinic to boost guest confidence in hotel accommodations.

introduced an exceptional branding and operations platform in partnership with Lysol and the Mayo Clinic to boost guest confidence in hotel accommodations. Korean Air has implemented temperature checks for all passengers boarding aircraft at Seoul Incheon Airport.

has implemented temperature checks for all passengers boarding aircraft at Seoul Incheon Airport. United is integrating electrostatic spraying into its cleaning procedures on all flights.

is integrating electrostatic spraying into its cleaning procedures on all flights. Xiamen Airlines has an inflight separation zone for ill passengers in the aft cabin.

Flight Plan 2020: Creating Traveller Confidence in the Time of COVID was released today as a free 17-page report sponsored by CarTrawler. The full report is available at https://bit.ly/2yLpa0O

"We are starting to see more positive signs across the travel industry and countries accounting for 85% of world GDP are now past their peak of new cases, this in itself is a precursor to easing restrictions on travel bans. At CarTrawler, our focus is to work with our airline & travel partners to ensure we are supporting them in their preparations for the return of travel - with their customers being at the core of these arrangements," said Aileen McCormack, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler, speaking in Dublin today. "Regaining consumer confidence in travel is the key to regenerating the industry, be that business or leisure. Travel is certainly facing turbulent times, but our industry will get through this. The innovations we see within the report set us apart from other industries, alongside our ability to change to support our customers during the pandemic."

About CarTrawler

CarTrawler is the leading B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the global travel industry. CarTrawler brings opportunities to life through an online marketplace connecting their partners, customers and mobility suppliers. CarTrawler's end-to-end technology platform expands our airline and travel partners' offering to their customers, creating substantial ancillary revenue opportunities. CarTrawler provide unrivalled breadth and depth of content worldwide, including car rental, private airport transfer and ride-hailing services. CarTrawler creates innovative, data-led solutions for some of the largest travel brands in the world, including American Express, Alaska Airlines, easyJet, eDreams ODIGEO, Hotels.com, KLM, TravelStart and Emirates. As a B2B company CarTrawler focus solely on helping their airline and travel partners build their brands, not our own.

CarTrawler was established in 2004. Our headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in New York and Melbourne. For more information visit www.cartrawler.com.

About IdeaWorksCompany

IdeaWorksCompany boosts airline profits through innovations in ancillary revenue, a la carte pricing, and loyalty marketing. The firm was founded in 1996 and has an international client list of airlines and other travel industry firms in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. IdeaWorksCompany enjoys a reputation as a global resource for ancillary revenue strategy, on-site executive workshops, and research reports. Learn more at IdeaWorksCompany.com.
Were going to be communicating over and over again over the course of this week. I understand that people are getting anxious. But defying common sense and public health guidance only puts their congregations at physical risk, Lightfoot said. We dont want to see a cluster break out because faith leaders believe they have only one way of showing their reverence to the God that they worship. The Bible tells us, where two or more are gathered in my name, there will I be also. Theres lots of ways in which we show our devotion to our faith that dont include physically putting people at risk.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Tusk Resources Inc. (Black Tusk or the Company) (C: TUSK, OTC: BTKRF, Frankfurt: 0NB) is pleased to announce that the company has received a permit to conduct diamond drilling on the McKenzie East Gold Project, located 30 kilometres north of Val dOr, Quebec.



The McKenzie East drill permit will allow for the construction of 18 drill pads with supporting water supply stations and access trails. Black Tusk plans to conduct the drill program during the Summer 2020 exploration season.

Prior to conducting diamond drilling on the McKenzie Gold Property, Black Tusk plans to undertake surface prospecting, mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling. Black Tusks exploration team, based in the Val dOr area, is expected to begin that exploration work this month. Areas of interest were determined from the results of the companys drone-supported magnetic survey over the property completed earlier this year, combined with the results from historic exploration work.

Black Tusk Resources' McKenzie East gold project is located approximately two kilometres east of Monarch Gold's McKenzie Break Project. At the McKenzie break, gold mineralization is reported as visually distinctive white quartz-carbonate ribbon veins and sheeted veinlet complexes in places containing free gold. Shear zones hosting the veins range from two metres to 10 metres in thickness. A Monarch Gold news release dated Feb. 26, 2020, states that drill hole MK-18-205 returned 20.12 g/t Au over 2.6 metres, with the hole being extended in 2019. Hole extension MK-18-205ext continued to intersect mineralization at depth, returning 32.3 g/t Au over 7.1 metres, including 142.8 g/t Au over 1.2 metres, 26.97 g/t Au over 1.3 metres and 24.6 g/t Au over 0.7 metre. This high-grade intersection is considered one of the best on the property to date. The reader is cautioned that results obtained from McKenzie Break Gold Project is not necessarily indicative of potential on the Black Tusk-McKenzie East Gold Project.

Now that the Quebec Government has given the green light for exploration companies to go back to work, Black Tusk Resources is extremely excited to commence our exploration season at the McKenzie East Gold Project in Val-dOr, stated CEO, Richard Penn.

About Black Tusk Resources Inc.

Black Tusk Resources is a gold-focused Canadian exploration company with operations primarily based in the world class Abitibi Greenstone-belt region of Quebec. Black Tusk currently holds 100% ownership in 5 separate Gold and Palladium projects in Canada.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development; the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing; the Companys limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; fluctuations in the prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Companys Prospectus dated September 8, 2017 available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions, and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.



On behalf of the Board of Directors

Richard Penn

CEO

(778) 384-8923
Parking metres that were switched off in major Australian cities amid coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being switched back on and fines reinstated.

Brisbane City Council said on Tuesday that from Monday May 18 parking metres across the city would be switched on.

Meanwhile, further south, Melbourne has told parking inspectors that fines will apply again from Monday May 11.

In Sydney, the inner city councils of Waverley, which includes Bondi, and Woollahra told Daily Mail Australia they had not decided when they would turn metres back on.

While on the other side of the country in Perth motorists were told that from May 4 council would be issuing cautions for overstaying parking limits and fines for repeated breaches.

Parking metres that were switched off in major Australian cities amid coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being switched back on and fines reinstated

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said from 7am on May 11 more than 1,000 parking metres across the city would be working again.

'With free or very cheap parking, there is little turnover of car park spaces as many of the people parking are commuters, not necessarily there to spend money at local businesses,' Mr Schrinner said, according to Pine River Express.

'Turnover of car parks is vital for businesses relying on a stream of shoppers, diners and clients.'

Residents in Brisbane were estimated to have saved about $2.55 million in parking fees in the weeks since the parking metres were switched off in March.

Two council run car parks at King George Square and Wickham Tce in the CBD were reduced to $5 per day but this will also be raised from Monday.

'We need to have turnover of car parks to ensure there is a flow of customers to our struggling city businesses and we are announcing this measure now, so commuters have time to find alternative means of transport into the city,' Cr Schrinner said.

He said while council officers would take a sympathetic view when issuing infringement notices, those parking in strict clearways such as bus stops, and loading zones could expect a fine.

The City of Melbourne had waived parking restrictions for more than 8,700 spaces with green signs to assist key workers during the crisis.

The decision slashed a key source of revenue for the council, with Melbourne normally recording a million parking payments every month.

'Parking enforcement is a necessary and important service to ensure that all drivers have fair access to car parks,' Lord Mayor Sally Capp said.

'While nobody likes to pay for parking or receive a fine, our experience tells us that most people understand the need for this system.'

'We are issuing green dashboard stickers for up to 8,000 frontline workers to recognise their role in responding to COVID-19,' Ms Capp said.

'From Monday May 11, you will need to pay to park in the city if you haven't been issued with one of these permits.'

Frontline workers from Victoria Police, Melbourne Assessment Centre and eight inner-city hospitals will be able to claim the permits with their employers.
The Province of Ontario has cancelled plans to build a state-of-the-art courthouse in Oakville.

On Friday, May 8 Attorney General Doug Downey released a statement noting the government had made a decision not to proceed with the Halton Region Consolidated Courthouse construction project, which was in the procurement phase before the coronavirus outbreak.

This investment will be repurposed to transform and update Ontarios severely antiquated justice system and address immediate infrastructure needs at the courthouses in Milton and Burlington, said Downey.

Shifting traditional investments toward innovation and new technology will move more services online and position Ontario at the forefront of building the modern justice system of the future.

The attorney general said the province will engage with justice sector partners, leaders and innovators to develop investment priorities that support new ways of delivering and increasing access to justice that spans the entire sector and province.

The courthouse plan had called for the seven-storey, 45,000-square-metre courthouse to be built on provincially-owned land near the intersection of William Halton Parkway and Third Line, just north of Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital.

It would have featured 25 courtrooms, with space to expand to 32 courtrooms over time, and 1,200 parking spaces.

Infrastructure Ontario previously said the new courthouse would offer a broad range of justice, family, social and victim services, bringing the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario court of justice operations in Milton and Burlington together at one accessible location.

The province had said the new building would feature new technology to make the court run more efficiently to help speed up the criminal justice system in Halton Region.

According to Infrastructure Ontario the capital costs for the project would have been somewhere between $200 million and $499 million.

Proponents of the new courthouse were hopeful construction would begin in the fall of 2020 with the grand opening taking place in 2023 or 2024.

News of the projects cancellation was not well received by Halton County Law Association President Ken Kelertas who said he was shocked by the provinces decision.

This news came as a complete surprise to me and to members of the Halton bar, as we had been given assurances as recently as Feb. 20 that the project was still on track, he said.

Words cannot express our disappointment.

Kelertas said he has sent a letter to the attorney general calling on him to reconsider what Kelertas called a short-sighted decision.

He said the law association was given no prior notice of the public announcement, and no opportunity to engage with the attorney general or his staff to canvass alternatives to a full cancellation of the project.

Halton is in dire need of modern infrastructure through which the citizens of Halton can obtain meaningful access to justice, reads Kelertas letter.

Halton is one of the fastest growing regions in the province and our courts have been hard pressed to keep up with that growth.

He described the Milton and Burlington courthouses as chronically dysfunctional noting there is an inadequate number of courtrooms in the region to address demand with only two courtrooms in Milton that can accommodate jury trials.

Kelertas said holding cells at both facilities are wholly inadequate. He also said there is not enough meeting space for defence attorneys and their clients and limited public parking at both courthouses.

Given the age and physical condition of the buildings and the limited footprint of the properties that they sit on, no plan to renovate or expand these two facilities will address these issues, said Kelertas.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton also weighed in on the provinces decision suggesting that they merely postpone the courthouse so it is ready to go as a federal-provincial infrastructure stimulus project.

It would be unfortunate for the recovery of the Halton and Oakville economy for the province to completely cancel the shovel-ready Halton Region Consolidated Courthouse project, said Burton.

Our community was looking forward to both an improvement in access to justice and for the economic stimulus and growth the project promisedThe loss of creation of 600 jobs will harm our local recovery from the pandemics disruption of our lives and our businesses. The costs of cancelling the new courthouse will further reduce the governments ability to promote economic stimulus and recovery.

Infrastructure Ontario said proponent teams who were bidding on the project at the time of its cancellation will receive compensation for their efforts, however, no additional details were provided regarding that compensation.

Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos said the new investments the province will make in innovation and new technology will move more services online, expanding access to justice and helping to build a more modern justice system for Halton and the entire province.

RELATED:

Ontario courts remain in technology's dark ages, chief justice says

The government has worked with its justice partners to keep people safe by conducting matters remotely and online during COVID-19. The lessons learned have reinforced the urgent need for investment in transformational technology, modernized processes and expanded access to justice, said Triantafilopoulos.

Both government and its partners recognize that Ontarios justice system is slow and paper based. And they agree that we cannot go back to the way the system was before.

Read more about:
What you need to know:

NaN What are the cases?

There are three. All involve Trumps effort to stop his longtime accounting firm and two banks from handing over his financial information to Democratic-led House committees and the Manhattan district attorney. The timing means the high courts rulings will likely land this summer  in the heat of Trumps reelection campaign.

Trumps bid to shield his tax returns and finances head to Supreme Court

NaN How did the cases reach the Supreme Court?

Leading up to Tuesdays arguments, Trump was on the losing side of a series of lower-court decisions. Judges in New York and Washington, D.C., rejected the presidents sweeping assertions of executive power and upheld the investigative powers of Congress and local prosecutors.

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The high court now includes two Trump nominees, Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh. Listeners can expect to hear questions that draw comparisons to other major decisions on presidential power, rulings that went against Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. In those cases, justices who had been put on the court by the two former presidents did not side with them.

NaN Why did House Democrats subpoena Trump's accounting firm and banks?

Up first on Tuesday are the combined congressional cases  Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutsche Bank. These cases involve attempts by three House committees to access the presidents business records from his accounting firm and financial institutions. Unlike past presidents, Trump has refused to make public his tax returns.

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The House subpoenas followed testimony from Trumps former fixer, attorney Michael Cohen, who alleged the Trump Organization exaggerated its assets to obtain better terms from its lenders and insurers. Two committees also subpoenaed Capital One and Deutsche Bank as part of their investigation into Russian money laundering and potential foreign influence involving Trump.

NaN Why is a New York prosecutor trying to obtain similar information?

In the third case, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is also seeking records from the Mazars firm. Vance has said he is investigating payoffs that Cohen testified he made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 election. Both women have alleged having affairs with Trump years ago, claims the president denies.

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Cohen has already pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to those payoffs, but Vances office says it wants to know if any state laws were also broken.

NaN What is the format for Supreme Court hearings conducted via teleconference ?

Because the justices are not together and cant see each other, they have abandoned their usual free-for-all approach to oral arguments. Instead, each justice is afforded time to ask questions, and each has taken advantage.

Justice Clarence Thomas, for instance, has asked questions at all six of the teleconferenced arguments. He once went for a decade under the old system without asking a question.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is much more active in his new role, shutting down advocates  and very rarely, a justice  when they get too wordy. Some have been surprised at how abruptly Roberts has cut off an advocate, but he is trying to make the train run on time.

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Still, the new form takes longer: The two arguments Monday were scheduled for a combined two hours, and yet the sessions stretched for three hours, fifteen minutes.

The format goes like this: The advocate for the losing party in the lower courts goes first and has two minutes of uninterrupted time. Roberts then questions the lawyer, and the order for the rest of the questioning follows seniority: Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

So far, only Breyer has passed up the chance to question a lawyer, and only once. The process is repeated for the other side. Then the initial lawyer has a few minutes for rebuttal.

Supreme Court hears arguments on Trumps tax returns, personal financial records

NaN Who are the lawyers?

The first lawyer up will be Patrick Strawbridge of Boston, a member of Trumps team of private lawyers who have argued the congressional subpoenas are politically motivated, unprecedented attacks on the presidency.

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Also arguing on Trumps behalf will be Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall.

After they are finished, the court will call on Douglas N. Letter, general counsel of the House of Representatives. Letter is a former longtime Justice Department appellate attorney who was recruited by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

House lawyers have warned that Trumps broad claims of absolute immunity, if upheld by the court, would upend the Constitutions system of checks and balances and essentially put Trump above the law.

After Letter, Strawbridge will have a few moments for rebuttal.

In Trump v. Vance, the presidents private lawyer Jay Sekulow of Washington will go first. Sekulow was Trumps lead private attorney during the Senate impeachment trial that ended with Trumps acquittal in February.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco will present Justice Departments view.

When they are finished, Roberts will call on Carey R. Dunne, general counsel for Vance. Then Sekulow will have time for rebuttal.
The last time the world confronted a pandemic on this scale, the so-called "Spanish influenza", its first major wave hit in March, April and May of 1918.

As Australia and countries around the world have in recent days announced the easing of restrictions on movement and work, it will have been pointed out to officials that it was the second wave of that virus  which raged across the globe between September and November  which caused more deaths. Its progress was accelerated by countries that refused to lock down for fear of harming their war effort.

Leaders today are having to walk an unenviable tightrope between the severe social and economic effects of lockdown and the medicine, which tells them that there are still plenty of people susceptible to infection, shown most clearly in countries such as Britain and Russia which have seen no significant flattening of the infection curve.

Germany, like Australia, has made significant progress in combating the spread of COVID-19 and is governed under a federal system. It has also in the past week seen "hygiene demonstrations" against the government's lockdown measures in major cities, attracting a cross-section of disaffected citizens similar to Melbourne's recent protest.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:47:52|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Fighting between Yemen's government forces and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) intensified on Tuesday despite the coronavirus crisis that is affecting the impoverished Arab country.

The surge in violence came just one day after Yemen's local health authorities declared the southern port city of Aden as an "endemic area" following coronavirus spread and mosquito-borne diseases among the city's citizens.

In the country's southern province of Abyan, pro-government Yemeni forces engaged in intense armed confrontations with the STC's military units that are controlling Aden and other neighboring provinces.

A military source confirmed to Xinhua that fighting heavily intensified when Yemen's government forces attempted to advance from the coastal town of Shuqrah in Abyan into other areas controlled by the STC's military units.

The source said on condition of anonymity that the STC's military units confronted the government's attack with stiff resistance following hours of fighting near Shuqrah.

Yemen's foreign minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami said on his official Twitter account that the STC refused calls by Yemen's government, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, and the international community for reversing its declaration for "self-rule of the south."

He said that "the STC has also continued to destabilize security and stability in Socotra island and recently in Abyan by carrying out provocative military mobilization."

The Yemeni minister accused the Aden-based southern council of "undermining the government's institutions, and disrupted work of the Ministry of Health's team concerned with addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Aden."

He added that "the responsibility of Yemen's National Army is to defend the homeland, protect its security and territorial integrity, and confront every armed rebellion undermining government institutions and their legitimate authority."

He concluded by vowing that his country's "army will do everything necessary to preserve the state, its institutions, and the safety of its citizens against the STC."

Both sides dispatched well-armed military units to the neighboring southern province of Abyan despite appeals for de-escalation from the UN to enable the war-torn Arab country to confront coronavirus.

Leader of the Aden-based STC Aidarous Zubaidi appeared on Monday in a televised speech directing his military units and the southern people to defend their gains.

Zubaidi's office said in a statement "due to the conflicting political agendas of the Yemeni government and its failures in all fronts, it has deliberately sparked a new conflict, through attacking our forces stationed in Abyan without justification."

The statement said "we have been patient throughout the previous period, and avoided responding to all violations committed by the government due to our respect to the agreement sponsored by Saudi Arabia."

Earlier in the day, the STC made a decision and directed all of its military units in Aden and neighboring southern provinces to raise the level of combat readiness to confront any imminent attack aimed at invading Aden militarily.

Heavy forces backed by armored vehicles of the STC were deployed in different locations of Aden while other military units were left to participate in the fighting taking place in the neighboring province of Abyan.

On April 25, the STC declared a plan to establish self-rule in Aden and other areas under its control, blaming the Yemeni government of intransigence and refusing to implement the Saudi-brokered agreement on southern Yemen.

The Riyadh Agreement was signed in November last year between the elected Yemeni government and the STC, ending months of stand-off between the two sides in Aden.

The main points of the deal include the unification of all military forces under the ministries of interior and defense, and the formation of an efficient government made up equally between the north and south of Yemen.
In the midst of a nationwide lockdown, after the success of Hizbul Mujahideen chief and militant Riyaz Naiku killed in Kashmir, these terrorist organizations in Pakistan have started to lose their hands. One proof of this is the speech of Hizbul Chief Syed Salahuddin that he recently gave in a condolence meeting in Naiku in Rawalpindi. In this, he claimed responsibility for the attack on army personnel in the Rajwar forest of North Kashmir. Now that the army has achieved great success by killing Naiku, Pakistan is fearing that India may execute a false flag operation against him.

Two people drowned in Yamuna river, dead body missing

After its operation, Pakistan has started to think that India can carry out an operation to eliminate the terrorists in Kashmir, along with their bosses sitting in Pakistan and the terrorist camps there. After the Uri attack, India entered the border of Pakistan and carried out the surgical strike. Even after the terror attack in Pulwama, India had destroyed many terrorist targets by air strike in Pakistan. As far as the attack on the army in North Kashmir is concerned, after a long time, a Colonel rank officer has died in such attacks in Kashmir.

Delhi Kejriwal government to transfer 5000 rs to construction workers' accounts

The false flag operation is called that, where the identity of the person who carried out any operation is completely hidden. Not only this, if the person who is carrying out such operation is caught, then he / she is completely turned away from his / her role in it. Those who carried out this kind of operation are fully aware that if they are caught, the government will not accept them in any way. This type of operation is also called a cover operation.

Air India aircraft reaches India carrying 320 Indians from London
Sukhoi-30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force were flying in Eastern Ladakh in the midst of escalating tension between Indian and Chinese troops following their violent face-off at Pangong Tso lake area that left many of them injured, sources have confirmed.

Image used for representational purposes only. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

The situation in the region remained tense as troops of the two countries maintained a close watch on each other, demonstrating an aggressive posturing even seven days after the violent clash involving 250 soldiers from both sides, they said.

The troops held on to their respective positions and even reinforcements were brought in an apprehension of further escalation in tension, the sources said when asked about the face-off which began on the evening of May 5.

The front-line combat jets were carrying out sorties on May 6, the day a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border area after the confrontation between the troops the previous evening, they said.

It is not clear whether the jets were deployed in view of the face-off or due to the spotting of the Chinese choppers.

IAF sources said its aircraft have been carrying out routine sorties in the region.

"The situation remains tense notwithstanding the two sides agreeing to disengage during a meeting of local commanders on May 6," said a source adding some troops are being kept by both sides in the area.

When asked, an army spokesperson said: "Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on the Line of Actual Control. Patrols disengage after local level interaction and dialogue. Temporary and short duration face-offs occur as boundary is not resolved."

"I clarify that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake. There is no build-up of armed troops in the area," he said.

The sources said the spotting of Chinese helicopters in the area was nothing unusual as India too flies a fleet of military choppers in the area from three bases in the region.

IAF sources said a range of its aircraft, which also comprises Sukhoi-30 jets, have been carrying out routine sorties in the region including on May 6, adding there was no violation of Indian airspace in the area by the Chinese side.

The IAF conducts routine sorties in the region from Leh and Thoise airbases.

On May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting, sources said, adding a number of soldiers on both sides sustained injuries in the incident.

In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector of the Sino-India border on Saturday.

At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.

In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding.

Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening bilateral ties.
Newcomer settlement organizations say fear of the novel coronavirus is fuelling racism and discriminatory behaviours against minority groups in Manitoba.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Newcomer settlement organizations say fear of the novel coronavirus is fuelling racism and discriminatory behaviours against minority groups in Manitoba.

Immigration Partnership Winnipeg will launch an anti-discrimination campaign Tuesday following increased reports of racist incidents related to COVID-19 toward people of Asian heritage.

Project director Hani Ataan said people have shared numerous stories with IPW and its partner organizations detailing experiences of xenophobia and discrimination during the pandemic.

Members of Winnipegs Asian community have reported being verbally harassed on public transit, shunned in public spaces, refused tenancy by property managers, and the subject of workplace gossip and derogatory social media posts, Ataan said.

"It seems to be once you look at these anecdotal or personal examples, it really reflects a fear-driven type of racist behaviour, or racism based on pure ignorance and scapegoating, and neither of them should be tolerated," he said in an interview Monday.

"I dont think we can do our work in the midst of this type of atmosphere. This is not an atmosphere that encourages integration nor is it a welcoming behaviour that can create a cohesive society."

Ataan said a recent survey of 1,877 provincial health care workers by Canadian Union of Public Employees Manitoba backs up the community reports. According to CUPE Manitoba, one in five respondents who self-identified as Asian had experienced racism at work throughout March and April.

Public opinion polling conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies early in the pandemic indicated 32 per cent of Manitobans expressed worry about being in contact with people from Asia or Iran.

Perla Javate, co-chair of the Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba-Stronger Together, said members of the Chinese community have been targeted simply because the contagion was first identified in China.

Shes also aware of Filipino-Manitobans experiencing harassment after local arrivals on a flight from the Philippines had tested positive for COVID-19. In Manitoba, arrivals from more than a dozen international destinations have tested positive for the virus since early March, according to the province.

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.

"Even without a complete report they will jump into it and use it as an excuse to discriminate against people," said Javate, who is also president of the Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba.

"I personally feel very sad about people who are discriminating at this time because if theres any one clear lesson everybody should learn from this experience, being a global one, is we are all equal," she said. "We are bound together by this and Im hoping people will come out of it kinder and more loving of each other knowing were all in it together."

The three-pronged "Manitobans: COVID-19 Doesn't Discriminate. Nor Should You" campaign focuses on bringing attention to discrimination experienced by racialized communities during the pandemic and condemning racist behaviours; equipping people with tools to respond to discrimination in-person and online; and highlighting newcomers working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.

"We need to dissociate the COVID-19 as a pandemic with any of those groups," Ataan said.

The effort is also supported by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations, Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership, Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba-Stronger Together, Reseau en Immigration Francophone du Manitoba, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties, and CUPE Manitoba.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
US President Donald Trump is famous for losing his temper every now and then and on Monday (May 11) he did it again as he abruptly ended his coronavirus news briefing after getting into a spat with an Asian American reporter.

CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he kept on saying that the US was doing far better than other countries when it came to testing coronavirus patients.

Why does that matter? she asked. Why is this a global competition when, every day, Americans are still losing their lives?

Theyre losing their lives everywhere in the world, Trump replied. And maybe thats a question you should ask China. Dont ask me, ask China that question, OK?

Jiang, who calls herself in her Twitter bio as a Chinese born West Virginian, pushed back.

Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically? she said, implying that President Trump was targeting her due to her race.

Im saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that, Trump said.

President Trump tried to end the topic by moving on to another reporter but Jiang kept seeking his response.

Trump called on another reporter but then called on someone else.

When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump ended the news briefing abruptly and went inside the White House.

The internet was quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

It is to be noted that Trump has been vocal about his dislike for the news media and has often into heated argument with journalists during his coronavirus briefings.

Notably, US have lost over 80,000 lives due to the coronavirus pandemic, out of more than 1.3 million cases, according to the latest figures on Monday from Johns Hopkins University.
DENVER, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Donor Alliance, the federally designated non-profit organization that facilitates organ and tissue donation in Colorado and most of Wyoming, has been recognized as a 2020 Top Workplace by The Denver Post for the sixth year. The non-profit was recognized amongst Colorado's top 150 workplaces, however exact rankings will not be posted until September 6 following a rescheduled premier event.

The Top Workplaces rankings are based solely on the results of an anonymous employee feedback survey measuring several aspects of workplace culture including Alignment, Execution and Connection. The organization boasted a 93 percent response rate from staff with no participation incentives.

Last year Donor Alliance placed 16th in the small companies category, its highest ranking on record and earned designation for Best at Making Work Meaningful.

"Our employees are the heart of our organization and paramount in the achievement of our mission to save lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation," said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. "With the number of incredible organizations in Colorado, we are very proud to be among the state's best employers for the sixth year. It is a testament to the team we have built and the relationships we strive to foster."

A recognized leader in organ and tissue donation, Donor Alliance fosters a mission-driven culture through its core values: Integrity, Leadership, Excellence, Accountability and People First. In addition to traditional employee benefits like wellness programs, tuition and health club reimbursement and a charitable contribution program, the organization offers employees something much more extraordinary: the opportunity to help save lives every day.

In addition to achieving Top Workplace status for the six consecutive years, Donor Alliance won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as well as Quantum's Employee Voice Award, honoring organizations for outstanding work in employee engagement, in 2018.

Visit DonorAlliance.org/Careers for more information on careers at Donor Alliance.

About Donor Alliance

Donor Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. As the organ and tissue procurement agency for Colorado and most of Wyoming, Donor Alliance serves more than 5.8 million residents and more than 100 hospitals.

Donor Alliance adheres to the highest medical, regulatory and ethical standards, and meets every performance standard. By respectfully working with the families of organ and tissue donors, maintaining partnerships with hospitals, educating residents on the life-saving benefits of donation and inspiring them to sign up on the state's donor registry, Donor Alliance is able to save lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Colorado and Wyoming boast some of the highest rates of donor registration in the country, which directly translates to more lives saved and healed through organ and tissue transplantation. Donor Alliance is one of 58 federally designated organizations of its kind in the United States. For more information visit DonorAlliance.org or the Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages.

Media Contacts:

Courtney Brunkow Andrea Smith The Fletcher Group Donor Alliance 303.717.9575 303.329.4747 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Donor Alliance

Related Links

http://DonorAlliance.org


It is no exaggeration to say that there is now no guaranteed safe place in Trinidad and Tobago.

We have moved from the stage of being prisoners in our homes behind metal bars to being afraid to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and even to sleep, for fear that if crime comes knocking we may have no recourse but to cower and beg for our lives. The society is being overpowered by the force of the criminal will with insufficient resources to resist and break that power.
aimee stephens

My name is Aimee Stephens. Im 58 years old, and I live in Redford, Mich.

michael barbaro

Aimee, I wonder if you could read from the letter that you handed your boss.

aimee stephens

Sure. Dear friends and co-workers. I have known many of you for some time now, and I count you all as my friends. What I must tell you is very difficult for me and is taking all the courage I can muster. I am writing this both to inform you of a significant change in my life and to ask for your patience, understanding, and support, which I would treasure greatly. I have a gender identity disorder that I have struggled with my entire life. I have felt imprisoned in a body that does not match my mind, and this has caused me great despair and loneliness. With the support of my loving wife, I have decided to become the person that my mind already is. At the end of my vacation, on Aug. 26, 2013, I will return to work as my true self, Aimee Australia Stephens, in appropriate business attire. I realize that some of you may have trouble understanding this. In truth, I have had to live with it every day of my life, and even I do not fully understand it myself. It is my wish that I can continue my work at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes doing what I have always done, which is my best.

[music]

aimee stephens

I gave it to the boss. And then two weeks later, he came back with his own letter, which was my letter of dismissal. Basically, his letter to me was that, your services are no longer needed. This is what were offering. You have 21 days to make up your mind. But if you accept severance package, you will have to agree to keep your mouth shut and not ever talk about this to anyone. And I didnt think I could live with that the rest of my life. At that point, I knew I had to do something. After all, this was not only happening to me, but to thousands of others. And the only thing I knew to do was basically to take it to court. Thats what I did.

[music]

[crowd chanting]

archived recording Were coming on the air because of a major civil rights decision out of the United States Supreme Court.

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

archived recording The decision now is clear from the Supreme Court 

michael barbaro

Today 

archived recording  they have issued a ruling that now bans discrimination by employers against transgender individuals and gay individuals. crowd chanting Trans lives matter! Trans lives matter! Trans lives matter!

michael barbaro

Adam Liptak on the surprise majority that decided the case. Its Tuesday, June 16. Adam, tell us about this ruling on Monday.

adam liptak

The Supreme Court issued a huge ruling, a very consequential ruling. It said that all across the nation, its no longer permissible for employers to fire people simply for being gay or transgender. Now, you might think thats already the state of the world. But in 27 states, theres no federal protection for gay and transgender workers. Gay people have a constitutional right to get married. They have since 2015. They can get married on a Monday morning, and when their employer found out about it Monday afternoon, they could be fired without consequence, simply for being gay. Until Mondays ruling from the Supreme Court.

michael barbaro

So in the national debate over the rights for gay and transgender people, this was a kind of untouched area  employment.

adam liptak

Right, its sort of surprising. I mean, most people I think, think its unlawful to discriminate against them for being gay or transgender. But until this Supreme Court ruling on Monday, people were without protection in about half the nation.

michael barbaro

And Adam, remind us of the specific cases that are involved in this ruling. I know weve talked about them in the past on the show.

adam liptak

Yeah, so there are actually three separate cases, two of them involving gay men, one involving a transgender woman. The cases involving gay men were a government worker in Georgia and a skydiving instructor, both of whom alleged in their lawsuits that theyd been fired for being gay. And the third was a transgender woman named Aimee Stephens, who, Michael, your listeners may remember, because 

michael barbaro

Right.

adam liptak

 you had a conversation with her and she described how, when she announced she was going to assume the gender identity that she believed was hers, the reaction of the funeral home for whom she worked was to fire her.

michael barbaro

Right, this letter that she had spent years composing in her head and on paper that told her friends and her colleagues and her boss who she was, was actually what ended up getting her fired.

adam liptak

Thats right.

michael barbaro

And, Adam, what was the central legal question posed in these three different cases?

adam liptak

The question in the case is whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  a landmark piece of civil rights legislation which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, and sex  applies to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. And drilling down just a little bit more, the key question is whether the phrase discrimination because of sex covers sexual orientation and gender identity.

michael barbaro

Right, and as I recall from talking about these oral arguments with you many months ago, the case very much rested, not just on what the entire court thought of the phrase because of sex and what it meant, but specifically what the conservative justices on the court, who are now in the majority  what they thought that that phrase meant.

adam liptak

Thats right. I mean, you have a court where the four more liberal votes are pretty much locked in. You know what theyre going to do, and they have to pick up a conservative vote. And the question with this court was, the conservative vote they would ordinarily be sure of picking up was that of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote all four of the major gay rights decisions before this one. But he retired in 2018, replaced by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. And so the court has a five justice conservative majority. And for the liberals to win, theyd have to pick off at least one of them.

michael barbaro

And it sounds like they did that.

adam liptak

Oh, yeah, in fact they got two, Justice Gorsuch, President Trumps first appointee, and they also picked up Chief Justice John G. Roberts. So you got a 6-3 decision in the end. And, Michael, just to put that in context, this is a very conservative court. This is a court that gay rights advocates were terrified of. So to get a 6-3 victory from this court on a consequential, stunning, vastly important decision is really something.

michael barbaro

So lets talk about these two conservative justices who sided with the liberal justices in this case.

adam liptak

Well, the key justice is Justice Gorsuch. He writes the majority opinion. Hes the only one whose language we have in front of us and whose reasoning we know for certain. And he says it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex. Consider, for example, an employer with two employees, both of whom are attracted to men. The two individuals are, to the employers mind, materially identical in all respects, except that one is a man and the other a woman. If the employer fires the male employee for no reason other than the fact he is attracted to men, the employer discriminates against him for traits or actions it tolerates in his female colleague.

michael barbaro

So Gorsuch is arguing, you cant divorce discrimination based on sexual identity, sexual orientation, from gender, and perhaps cultural expectations of gender.

adam liptak

Thats right. He says, listen, it may not be the only factor, but its a factor and thats good enough for this law.

michael barbaro

Right, and therefore, by his logic, that word, that phrase, because of sex in 1964, clearly applies to gay and transgender people today.

adam liptak

Exactly right.

michael barbaro

And so what explanation do the other conservative justices who did not join Gorsuch in the majority give for breaking with him, and with Roberts, if Gorsuch and Roberts found a pretty conservative justification for extending these rights to gay and transgender people?

adam liptak

So there are two separate dissents, but the theme that runs through both of them, Michael, is that its just not a natural way to read this set of words. That in 1964, nobody thought that they were prohibiting discrimination against gay people and transgender people. And Justice Kavanaugh in his dissent says, even today, when you ask people what because of sex means to them, they will not typically say oh, that means because of sexual orientation, because of gender identity. Then Alito and Thomas, but not Kavanaugh, go on to talk about what they view as the very pernicious consequences of the majority decision, which they say will have an impact on restrooms and locker rooms and college sports and maybe professional sports and religious employers and freedom of speech. Justice Alito even says it might prohibit people from using anything other than the preferred pronouns of the people to whom they talk.

michael barbaro

Right, but of course in the end, those three justices were outvoted. And two of their conservative allies went in the other direction. And I have to say, and I dont know if this is the case for you, it seems surprising that the majority opinion in this landmark gay and transgender rights case was written by a conservative member of the court.

adam liptak

Oh, yeah. No, I think its a big surprise to me, big surprise to gay rights advocates, big surprise to the L.G.B.T. community. I will say this, Michael, that if youd asked me in September what the outcome of this case was going to be, I would have said its classic 5-4, conservatives against liberals.

michael barbaro

You said that on our show. You said this was 

adam liptak

Right, but once it was argued, once we saw Gorsuch struggling with this textual question at the argument in September, I started to think that there was a live possibility it would be 5-4, the liberals plus Gorsuch. And I guess the chief justice came along for the ride.

michael barbaro

But that makes me wonder, does a ruling like this, and the composition of the majority, does that make you conclude that ultimately, we dont really know this relatively new Supreme Court, this conservative majority court, as well as perhaps, everyone thinks that they do?

adam liptak

Thats a really important point. People on the left are very unhappy that President Trump got to appoint two people to the Supreme Court. But those two people dont vote together all that often. Overall, their voting will be conservative. But theyre individual people with individual jurisprudential commitments, and they will from time to time surprise you as Justice Gorsuch surprised us in this one.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Adam, how is this ruling being received by those who are champions of religious liberty? Because I have to imagine that they are not looking favorably on a ruling that says every employer, including employers run by people whose religion says that being homosexual is wrong, would welcome this ruling.

adam liptak

Sure, theyre nervous about this ruling. And in dissent, Justice Alito said theyre right to be nervous, that this ruling can make religious people and religious employers on the hook for employment discrimination if they just follow the dictates of their faith. Justice Gorsuch, who is ordinarily very sympathetic to those kinds of claims of religion said, listen, thats not this case. Well deal with that case down the line. But he did say, let me tell you, first of all, Title VII itself has an exemption for religious employers. There are other laws and constitutional provisions which can protect religious people and religious employers. So his basic answer is, well get back to you on that.

michael barbaro

Hm, so this ruling may leave open the possibility that an employer could bring future cases that could make it all the way up to the Supreme Court challenging this ruling on the grounds of religious liberty, saying this ruling infringes on my right to practice my religion the way I see fit.

adam liptak

Yeah, clashes between religious employers and their employees are commonplace, and were waiting, even in this term, for a decision on whether employment discrimination laws apply to Catholic school teachers. So that clash is something thats very much on the front burner at the court, but we dont have an answer yet.

michael barbaro

Adam, youve been covering the Supreme Court for The Times for more than a decade. And you have watched this debate over L.G.B.T.Q. rights play out before the justices on many occasions. Where does this decision stack up in that history of the decisions that they have made?

adam liptak

Well, for gay rights, it easily ranks with the top three. It ranks with the decisions in which the court struck down a Texas law making gay sex a crime. It stands with the decision establishing a constitutional right to same sex marriage. And now for gay people, we have this enormously consequential decision protecting them from employment discrimination. And lets not forget, for transgender people, we have the first major transgender rights case from the Supreme Court ever.

michael barbaro

So by definition, this is a historic case when it comes to rights.

adam liptak

Some historic cases are symbolic only. This historic case will have a real-world impact for lots and lots of people.

michael barbaro

Its interesting that this decision comes three and a half years into an administration, the Trump administration, that has repeatedly taken actions to restrict the rights of transgender Americans, in particular. You know, banning them from serving in the military, telling the military to stop paying for gender confirmation surgery. And just about a week ago, narrowing the definition of sex discrimination in the Affordable Care Act to omit protections for transgender people. So how does Mondays decision affect those? Because after all, the United States government is a major employer, right?

adam liptak

Yeah, so as an employer, its subject to Title VII like other kinds of employers. When its talking about health care, when its talking about the military, those are different statutes, and whether it has the power or not to disadvantage transgender people is an open question. This decision of course, gives you some sense that challenges to Trump administration actions would meet with positive reception at the court. But theyre different statutes in different settings, and the president gets a lot of deference when its the military whos involved. We do have a quick sense that President Trump is prepared to accept the Supreme Courts decision on Monday. He was asked about it at a press availability and he said, they ruled, and we live with their decision, a very powerful decision.

michael barbaro

Speaking of that kind of atmospheric change, I have noticed that in the protests that weve been seeing all over the United States for the past few weeks, that in addition to protesting against racism, demonstrators have taken up the issue of trans rights and calling for the protection of black trans people, for example.

adam liptak

Yeah, so society is moving very fast on these issues. The protests reflect that. One thing that struck me that also reflects it is that more than 200 major corporations filed briefs in these cases saying, please subject us to these laws, please make it possible to sue us. Because the commitment among very large parts of society to equality for black people, gay people, trans people is moving quite quickly in the direction of equality. And the Supreme Court, which is seldom very far out of step with the American public, as reflected in this decision, seems to agree.

michael barbaro

Adam, what has been the response from the plaintiffs in this case? I remember speaking with Aimee Stephens after the oral arguments, and she had some real doubts about whether the court was going to ultimately rule in her favor.

adam liptak

Yeah, thats right, Michael. There are three plaintiffs in the three cases, two of them have sadly died, including Aimee Stephens, who died just a few weeks ago. So she didnt see the result of her lawsuit. But she did sketch out some thoughts in anticipation that the court might rule in her favor. So she wrote these words. Firing me because Im transgender was discrimination, plain and simple. And I am glad the court recognized that what happened to me is wrong and illegal. I am thankful that the court said my transgender siblings and I have a place in our laws. It made me feel safer and more included in society.

michael barbaro

Thank you, Adam.

adam liptak

Thank you, Michael.

[music]

aimee stephens

They asked me a question. And that question was, are you willing to see this through to the end? And I told them then that I was raised on a farm, that I was used to hard work, and that I didnt give up so easily. Theyve had people, I guess, in the past, who started this process, and it can get to you to the point that you just want it to be over. And you say well, Im done. Im not going any further. Or perhaps they try to settle out of court. I had in my mind what I needed to do, and it wasnt to really settle out of court. It wasnt to just give up and walk away. And that yes, I would see this to the end.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today.

archived recording (dermot shea) Good afternoon, everyone. Its been a tough few weeks for the N.Y.P.D., for the city, really, for the whole country.

michael barbaro

In a major reform by the nations largest police force, New York City is disbanding its anti-crime unit, a team of 600 officers who patrol the city in plain clothes that has been involved in some of the citys most notorious police shootings.

archived recording (dermot shea) Make no mistake, this is a seismic shift in the culture of how the N.Y.P.D. polices this great city. It will be felt immediately in the communities that we protect.

michael barbaro

The decision makes the N.Y.P.D. one of the first police departments in the country to begin defunding and dismantling its operations in the wake of nationwide protests.

archived recording (dermot shea) We can do it better. We can do it smarter. And we will.

michael barbaro
Vote-by-mail ballots sit in a box after being sorted at the San Francisco Department of Elections in 2008. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

To the editor: Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order requiring all California counties to send vote-by-mail ballots to all eligible voters is a recognition that voting is fundamental to the rule of law, even (or especially) in times of crisis.

In a nationally representative survey released earlier this month, the American Bar Assn. found strong public support for allowing voting before Election Day. The ABA believes that all registered voters should be allowed to vote by absentee ballot, regardless of cause.

Clearly, Americans want easier access to voting in these challenging times while ensuring that the election is secure. Newsom's order will help. All people who are eligible to vote should be able to vote, safely and securely, as long as there are procedures in place to ensure public confidence in the results.

Judy Perry Martinez, Washington

The writer is president of the American Bar Assn.

..

To the editor: Being a traditionalist, for the past 50 years, I have always voted at my local polling place. Having said that, the gravity of the current coronavirus pandemic necessitates a change to mail-in ballots for all California voters, as per Newsom's recent order.

However, California should suspend its overly permissive ballot harvesting law, which allows anyone to collect and return a voter's ballot.

Not only does ballot harvesting lend itself to fraud, but given that social distancing rules may still be in place in November, it is also no time to be sending strangers out to people's homes to pick up their mail-in ballots.

Jim Redhead, San Diego
MUMBAI: Maharashtras ruling party Shiv Sena has warned of widespread chaos in the country if the Centre fails to take immediate steps to bring the economy on track after the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown ends on May 17. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the party posed serious questions before the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state led by Chief Minister and party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

In a Saamana editorial titled What next post lockdown, the party warned of serious consequences if immediate steps were not taken to bring the economy on track post lockdown.

Shiv Sena warned of public outburst against the Maharashtra government, saying that the people are running out of patience now after over two months of restrictions and lockdown. The Maharashtra-based party said that it was time to restart the economic activities after nearly two months of lockdown with adequate precautions. This will infuse new energy in the system and boost the economy.

The party said that many top political leaders including Rahul Gandhi had been asking the Centre to share its exit plan, but it has no clear roadmap for the way forward.

The Sena editorial said that both the Narendra Modi and Uddhav Thackeray led governments in Centre and Maharashtra are powerful but they need to chalk out a strategy to deal with the post lockdown situation.

The Saamana editorial said that the revenue earned in the last three months has been spent on fighting coronavirus pandemic and the state's coffers are empty now. For treating coronavirus patients post lockdown and running the state, economic activities need to start at the earliest which will instill confidence in people about the government.

Shiv Sena had on Monday targeted the Centre for not making enough transport facility for migrant labourers to return home in the coronavirus-enforced lockdown but arranging special flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took potshots, through a cartoon, at the BJP-led government at the Centre over its 'Vande Bharat' mission and wondered if domestic migrant workers are paying the price for staying back in the country. The senior Sena leader in the evening tweeted the cartoon where migrant labourers walking on railway tracks look frustrated as they do not have state-provided means to return home.

A person in the cartoon looking at an aircraft bringing back stranded Indians from abroad says, "Our only fault was that we continued working here in our country."

'Vande Bharat' mission is written on the plane. The mega mission is aimed at evacuating stranded Indians from abroad.

Raut, who has been very critical about the Centres response to coronavirus COVID-19, had 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.

Shiv Sena head and chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has been demanding arrangement of an adequate number of special trains for the safe return of migrant labourers to their home states.
Mumbai, May 12 : A sub inspector of Madhya Pradesh Police has been penalised for recreating Ajay Devgn's "Phool Aur Kante" stunt with two cars. His video performing the stunt has gone viral on social media.

Sub inspector Manoj Yadav has reportedly been fined Rs 5,000 and given a warning for his behaviour. Yadav is in charge of Narsinghgarh police station in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district.

In the video, which has gone viral on social media, the sub inspector can be seen standing with two feet on top of two cars that are moving very slowly. This is exactly what Ajay Devgn did in his 1991 debut flick "Phool Aur Kante" with two bikes. The scene marked his entry in the film.

The cop is in uniform, and he wears a pair of trendy shades, reminiscent of Ajay Devgn's tough cop avatar in the movie "Singham". The title track of the film "Singham" plays in the background while the SI can be seen performing the stunt! He can also be seen waving his hand and throwing a flying kiss in the air just as Ajay Devgn did in the "Phool Aur Kante" scene! As per reports, an enquiry has been initiated into the matter while the cop has already been fined and warned for his behaviour which might encourage youngsters to try such dangerous stunts.

Devgn likes to recreate the stunt in his films, and has notably done so in "Son Of Sardaar" on two horses, and in "Golmaal Again" on a pair of cars.
HIGHLIGHTS

*Rights issue available at Rs 1,257 per share, 25% discount to CMP

*For each existing 15 shares, RIL investors can get 1 more share

*Stock outlook positive as RIL aims to become a net zero debt firm by FY21

*The stock price already reflects most of the upside for the near term

*Promoters to buy not only their share of equity but also the unsubscribed portion

*If you don't participate, your equity will get diluted post-issue

*If uninterested, existing investors can sell their rights in the secondary market

*The issue appears attractive for existing investors at 25% discount and only for 25% upfront payment

*Resist your urge to buy RIL share as a new investor and wait for a suitable secondary market opportunity

Reliance Industries' rights issue, the biggest ever in India, is just round the corner with the record date being fixed as May 14. The record date is the cut-off date at the end of which investors must own RIL shares to be eligible to participate in the rights issue. The dates to subscribe to rights issue are yet to be announced.

Rights issue, like an IPO, is executed to raise public money, with the only difference of it being open to merely existing shareholders. RIL has announced a rights issue of Rs 53,125 crore in a ratio of 1:15, that is, for every 15 shares, you'll get one RIL share. The price has been fixed at Rs 1,257 per share, 25.43 per cent discount to current market price of Rs 1576.75 as on May 11.

The rights issue is coming at a time when RIL is in the news for all the right reasons. The company targets to become a net zero debt company by March 2021. The rights issue is aimed towards it, besides a spate of stake sale announcements it made recently. After the much talked about Rs 43,574 crore Reliance Jio-Facebook deal in April, private equity giant Silver Lake Partners bought 1 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for $750 million in a deal that valued the unit at $65 billion. They are also in talks with Saudi sovereign wealth fund and General Atlantic to sell some stakes in Jio Platforms. Last year in December, Jio had announced the deal to sell tower assets into InvIT at Rs 25,500 crore with Brookfield of Canada. The company expects to conclude the deal by the current quarter of FY21. They are also looking for an investor to buy into the Fiber business.

Promoters' inclination in rights issue

One of the major positives that makes the RIL rights issue attractive is promoters' inclination to buy more shares of their company. Promoters have committed to subscribe to not only their share of equity but also the unsubscribed portion of public shareholders.

"Founders hold 50.5 per cent stake in the company and through this process, they may end up increasing their stake in the company to high 50 % levels. With promoters buying shares at Rs 1257/ share under the rights issue, it is bound to result in attracting global investors too," says a report by KR Choksey Institutional Research. The promoter's commitment shows both conviction and confidence towards the company's future prospects.

How to subscribe?

The process to apply for a rights issue is similar to how you do it for the IPO that is, through ASBA (Applications Supported by Blocked Amount). If your bank supports it, you can apply online. Once the dates are announced, the company will send you the rights issue form to explain the process clearly.

At the time of exercising the right an existing investor has to pay only 25% of the money at the time of application while the rest of the amount will be needed to pay as per the calls by the company.

What if you don't subscribe?

Although a rights issue gives you a right not an obligation to buy extra shares, investors should not ignore this corporate action, as post-issue, the value of shares that you hold get diluted, due to new shares being issued. If you don't participate, your equity will be diluted even more as post-issue, the return on equity (RoE), earnings per share (EPS) and dividends reduce for each shareholder since there are now more shares for the same earnings. The reduction will be sharper for those who let their rights lapse. If uninterested, existing investors can sell their rights in the secondary market to willing buyers at a mutually acceptable price.

What should you do?

The recent announcements have reflected well on the stock. RIL stock price has risen 78 per cent against the recent low of Rs 883.85 hit on March 23, 2020. With such steep gains already built in the stock, does it make sense to add more shares via rights issue?

Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist at Angel Broking nods in affirmative. "We would advise investors to participate in the rights issues as we are positive on the long term prospects of the company. The company has built a dominant position in both it's telecom and retail business which are expected to drive growth for the company while the hydrocarbon business is expected to be a stable low growth business for the company. Recent investments by Facebook and other large marquee investors into Jio platforms will also help the company deleverage its balance sheet which is leading to rerating for the company," he says.

However, one should not expect attractive gains at least in the near term. "Investors would do well to understand that there are a few listed companies that are worthy of investment at this point and Reliance seems to be one of them. But, the rights subscription may not result in a big appreciation as the recent rise in the stock price captures most of the upside for the near term, unless we see more large stake sales in Jio Platforms to well known investors or see a speeding up of stake sale process in oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities says.

To be fair, the company's petrochemical and refining business may underperform in the near term due to steep crash in the crude oil price and weak demand amid recessionary fears across the globe due to coronavirus pandemic. But, strong performance in its digital and retail businesses may offset the underperformance, say experts.

However, RIL after roping in big names as potential investors, which are subject to regulatory approval, on one hand has mitigated the risk of any approval shock and at the same time has demonstrated that its future roadmap has many serious buyers.

If you are an existing investor, it may make sense for you to subscribe to the rights issue which is coming at an upfront 25 per cent discount. However, the current discount should not be the only factor for you to apply for it. You should also have a long-term horizon if you are willing to subscribe to the issue.

If you are a new investor, buying RIL shares just to enable yourself for a right issue may not be the right idea. The upfront 25 per cent discount, which is available for existing investors, will turn out to be less than 2 per cent as you will have to incur a higher cost of buying 15 RIL shares to get one discounted right. It would be better for you to wait for an appropriate opportunity in the secondary market to invest in RIL shares.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: PM Modi address at 8 pm; may extend lockdown with ease in restrictions, cases-70,756

Coronavirus: Delhi Metro to resume operations soon? Special staff deployed to clean stations
A 32-year-old man infected with coronavirus died in Punjab on Tuesday as the state reported 37 new cases, 14 of them railway police personnel.

The death of the Amritsar man, who was also diagnosed with HIV and tuberculosis, took the COVID-19 toll in the state to 32, a health bulletin said.

So far, the state has reported 1,914 virus cases.

A health bulletin said, 14 Railway Protection Force jawans were among the 16 testing positive for the infection in Ludhiana.

Nine cases were detected in Jalandhar, eight in Fatehgarh Sahib and one each in Patiala, Fazilka, Amritsar and Kapurthala, the bulletin said.

Three coronavirus patientstwo in Jalandhar and one in Mohaliwere discharged after they were fully cured of the virus, taking the total number of recovered people to 171, the bulletin said.

Amritsar continued to lead the COVID-19 tally in the state with 297 coronavirus cases; followed by 197 in Jalandhar; 158 in Tarn Taran; 143 in Ludhiana; 122 in Gurdaspur; 103 in SBS Nagar; 102 in Mohali; 99 in Patiala; 91 in Hoshiarpur; 88 in Sangrur; 65 in Muktsar; 59 in Moga; 56 in Rupnagar; 55 in Fatehgarh Sahib; 46 in Faridkot; 44 in Ferozepur; 41 in Fazilka; 40 in Bathinda; 32 in Mansa; 29 in Pathankot; 26 in Kapurthala; and 21 in Barnala.

One patient is critical and on ventilator support, the bulletin said, adding that till now 43,999 samples have been taken, of which 39,060 were declared negative while reports of 3,025 are awaited.

There are 1,711 active cases in the state now, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
University staffers grow anxious about their employment status, as administrators hint at pandemic-related cuts ahead and the province remains mum on specifics.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

University staffers grow anxious about their employment status, as administrators hint at pandemic-related cuts ahead and the province remains mum on specifics.

On Monday afternoon, University of Winnipeg president Annette Trimbee announced the post-secondary schools provincial operating grant for 2020-21 would be cut by $2.3 million  the equivalent of a 3.7 per cent reduction.

SHANNON VANRAES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES David Barnard, President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba.

That brings the facility's total expected COVID-19 losses to $6.3 million, an almost six per cent cut in revenue compared to figures in this years $144-million budget.

"Our focus is on non-salary reductions. At the same time, we are pivoting to meet the growing demand for educational programs  we know post-secondary education will be on the front lines of the post-COVID-19 recovery," Trimbee wrote in an email to faculty and staff.

She said the school has been preparing to deal with several budget scenarios, but did not get into specifics about what they might mean for U of Ws future; its board of regents is expected to review the draft budget in June.

"Everybodys on pins and needles, expecting the cuts to come down soon," said Scott Forbes, president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations. "This is just making it impossible for the universities to function. This whole thing has been mishandled from the start."

In mid-April, the Pallister government gave post-secondary institutes less than a week to draw up staff reduction blueprints for four months, ending in August. Last week, the province revealed the group of reporting entities in which universities and colleges fall under would be asked to find $175 million in total savings  what it deemed was a one per cent reduction for the group, to redirect to the COVID-19 response.

It has since provided post-secondary schools with verbal feedback and, according to a government spokesperson, will provide "written letters to reflect the direction that has been given in the near future."

Among the "directions" being delivered, adjusting the workforce in areas affected by limited in-person interactions, such as cafeteria rosters, and reducing executive salaries and travel expenses, the spokesperson said.

University of Manitoba president David Barnard has said administrators are waiting on written confirmation from the province before sharing details.

"I was clear in my conversation with government, as I have consistently been, that post-secondary is an investment  not a cost," Barnard wrote in an email dated Friday. "Indeed, the economic and social success of this province depends on the success of its largest and only research-intensive university."

Janet Morrill, president of U of M Faculty Association, said Monday members "are pretty much in the dark, as much as anybody else is."

While many remain uncertain of what lies ahead, dozens of precarious school employees have already lost their jobs amid the shift to e-learning and subsequent pandemic-emptied campuses.

Upwards of 50 U of M members of the Association of Employees Supporting Education Services have received temporary layoff notices in recent weeks. The layoffs have mostly taken place in the areas of kinesiology and recreation management, external relations and extended education.

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That figure doesnt include the number of seasonal employees whose terms were ended early or contract positions that have no longer been assigned further hours at either U of M or U of W.

"Cutting staffing resources will leave the universities unable to meet the additional student demands and will only result in a reduction in the quality of student services," said union president Laurie Morris, adding remaining staff are also being affected negatively by increased workloads.

Forbes said Monday many teaching assistants have also already lost their jobs in cost-cutting measures.

Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3909, which represents graders, teaching assistants, lab demonstrators, seminar leaders, tutors, lecturers and instructors, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Hundreds of migrant workers



on Tuesday briefly blocked a section of the Mumbai-Agra national highway here on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border alleging mismanagement by authorities in arranging transport.

A senior official said the government has arranged buses to shift migrants who are arriving in the inter-state border town from Maharashtra and other areas.

While a bulk of these migrants are on their way to their home states in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, many belonged to various districts in Madhya Pradesh.

Eye-witnesses said a large number of vehicles queued up on both sides of the road due to the blockade in afternoon, which was cleared later.

Gangadhar, one of the migrants coming from Maharashtra, said Barwani administration had promised to drop people up to the UP border, but no arrangement was seen on the ground, prompting people to block vehicular traffic on the highway.

On the other hand, district panchayat CEO Manoj Sareyam said nearly 100 buses were arranged for dropping migrants to the UP border.

"We have also arranged for their food and water," he said, adding that desperation and lack of awareness among migrant workers is creating problems.

According to eye-witnesses, several migrants were seen sitting on roofs of buses.

When asked about crowding on buses, Sareyam denied any knowledge.

Meanwhile, the state government has issued directives to all the bordering districts to arrange buses for ferrying migrants to the UP border.

"The state government has made arrangements for temporary stay, food, drinking water, first-aid and medicines for all those workers walking down to the border districts of Madhya Pradesh from different states," a public relations department official said in Bhopal.

He said 375 more buses have been arranged to transport the migrants to their respective districts in the state and for those to the inter-state borders.

From various transit points, migrant workers will be transported to their hometowns or villages (in MP) with the help of local administration, he said, adding that similarly various routes are finalised for migrants from UP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MIRAMAR BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Today, real estate brokers Nathan and Erin Abbott along with their top producing team, are announcing the opening of Abbott Realty Services, a family-owned and operated independent brokerage company in Northwest Florida.

Since the 1950s, the Abbott family name has been synonymous with real estate along the Emerald Coast, starting with the original Abbott Realtor, William W. Abbott, Sr.. Today, Nathan, his wife Erin, his sister Amanda, carry on the real estate tradition as the third generation of Abbott Realtors. "Choosing Abbott Realty Services to buy or sell your next home or investment property means you'll get a team of experts who can provide a true local connection with native real estate experience that is three generations deep within our Abbott family," said Nathan Abbott, Broker and Owner of Abbott Realty Services. "We have an amazing network of business partners and contacts in Northwest Florida who can provide trusted services for anything you may need."

The Abbott Family started one of the first real estate companies in Destin in the early 70's and became the largest employer in Northwest Florida between the 80's to the late 90's. Nathan and Erin Abbott started their real estate careers in 2002 as a husband and wife team. They started expanding their team in 2010 as the Nathan Abbott Team before opening Abbott Realty Services. Their team of local experts continues to perform within the top 1% in real estate sales throughout Northwest Florida and they take pride in Raising a Higher Standard of Expectation for the industry and their customers.

In addition, Nathan also launched Abbott Builder Consultants with TJ Martin, providing a proven track record of success in new home and condo sales throughout the Florida Panhandle. Developers who are looking to successfully launch and sell out their new and upcoming community should schedule a consultation with TJ and Nathan for a unique and results oriented sales process for new constructions.

Abbott Realty currently serves the Emerald Coast from Pensacola to Destin, Santa Rosa Beach and Panama City Beach, and would be honored to serve all of your real estate needs.

About Nathan Abbott Team

The Nathan Abbott Team at Abbott Realty Services specializes in real estate services along Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast. They are natives to the area and would be honored to serve you. For more information, please call (850) 460-2900, or visit http://www.NathanAbbottTeam.com. The office is located at 9657 Highway 98 West, Miramar Beach, FL 32550. For media inquiries, please call the NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.

SOURCE: Nathan Abbott Team

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589406/Abbott-Realty-Services-Family-Owned-and-Operated-Independent-Brokerage-Company-Opens-in-Northwest-Florida
Dentist, Dr. Amir HagShenas, Offers Full Mouth Dental Implants in Los Gatos, CA If youre missing a number of teeth or all your teeth, full mouth dental implants may be for you.

Dr. Amir HagShenas lends his 30 years of dental experience to help patients seeking full mouth dental implants in Los Gatos, CA restore their mouth from missing teeth to a complete and beautiful smile. Full mouth dental implants are used to restore function and aesthetics to a smile that suffers from extensive tooth failure or multiple missing teeth. As a full-service dental implant practice, patients can receive all steps of their care in one convenient location at Silicon Valley Smile Solutions in San Jose, CA.

Dental implants are basically root replacements that get embedded within the jawbone and allow you to have teeth on top of them. Those teeth get locked into the dental implants and that allows you to have a very beautiful, natural looking smile, says Dr. HagShenas. If youre missing a number of teeth or all your teeth, full mouth dental implants may be for you.

Full mouth dental implants are an advanced surgical procedure that can give patients with multiple failing or missing teeth a complete new smile. After extracting any remaining failing teeth, dental implants that mimic natural tooth roots are placed within the jawbone. This provides a strong support to hold a lifelike bridge of teeth. Full mouth dental implants replace all the teeth in the mouth and allow patients to chew, smile, speak and enjoy life as they would with healthy teeth.

The procedure typically involves the placement of four to six dental implants in each arch and utilizes cutting-edge dental technology to ensure accuracy, safety and predictability. Dr. HagShenas has invested in the latest Cone Beam CT scanner to capture highly detailed digital images of a patients bone, mouth and position of nerves. These images are then used to create dental implant guides which direct Dr. HagShenas to the proper position, angle and depth for each implant. Essentially, all guesswork is removed, and patients experience successful, gentle and long-lasting results.

Silicon Valley Smile Solutions is a full-service dental implant practice, which means that patients can get every step of their care in one location. Dr. HagShenas can extract failing teeth, provide bone grafting, place dental implants and restore them, all at his own practice. Patients affected by gum disease can also have their gum disease treated before receiving implant care to ensure maximum longevity of their smile.

Those interested in receiving full mouth dental implants in Los Gatos, CA or surrounding areas are encouraged to contact Silicon Valley Smile Solutions in San Jose, CA and schedule a consultation with Dr. HagShenas. The practice can be reached at http://www.svsmilesolutions.com or by calling 408-377-5134 to schedule an appointment.

About the Dentist

Silicon Valley Smile Solutions offers full-service dentistry in San Jose, CA. Dr. Amir HagShenas has been practicing dentistry for nearly 30 years. Dr. HagShenas received his doctorate in dental surgery degree from the University of Minnesota, where he has since been honored with the Irwin A. Epstein Award for Excellence in Endodontics, among other numerous accomplishments. Every year, Dr. HagShenas completes many hours of continuing education in implant and surgical dentistry, far above the requirements mandated by the Dental State Board of California. His motive: I am committed to help my patients to receive the very best in dentistry. Dr. HagShenas and his team at Silicon Valley Smile Solutions are dedicated to staying up-to-date on the latest dental technologies in order to provide the highest quality of care for patients undergoing treatments like full arch dental implants. Skilled in numerous areas of dental treatments, Dr. HagShenas is particularly passionate about providing long-lasting, full arch dental implant treatments that are, in many cases, available in just one office visit. It is Dr. HagShenas goal to form lasting connections with every patient built on trust, partnership, and compassion. To learn more about Dr. HagShenas and the services offered at Silicon Valley Smile Solutions visit http://www.svsmilesolutions.com or call 408-377-5134 to schedule a consultation.
Mayor Joe Hogsett and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Chief Randal Taylor held a press conference May 12 to discuss police reforms after IMPD officers were involved in three fatal incidents last week. The pair did not provide an update on the investigations of those deaths.

IMPD plans to start using body and dashboard cameras this summer and is creating a new board to ensure officers follow guidelines created by the Police Merit Board.

Every resident of Indianapolis should feel they can depend on our police to protect and serve residents equally under the law, Hogsett said. And our commitment to accountability and transparency will protect good policing as much as it helps uncover abuses should they occur.

On May 6, 21-year-old Sean Reed was killed by an unidentified IMPD officer following a car chase on the citys northwest side. According to police, Reed was armed at the time of the incident and his weapon was reportedly fired. After being tased, which IMPD Deputy Chief Chris Bailey said was ineffective, Reed was shot at over a dozen times and was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer involved is on administrative leave, and the incident was streamed live  by Reed  on Facebook. The Marion County prosecutors office is currently investigating this incident.

Just six hours later, at 1:30 a.m. May 7, McHale Rose, 19, was shot and killed by four IMPD officers after opening fire at Dogwood Glen apartments. Rose was identifiedby Vop Osili, president of the city-county council, during the May 12 press conference. Officers were responding to a burglary-in-progress, which IMPD now believes was called in by Rose to ambush them.

It appears that it could have been an ambush situation on the officers, Taylor said during a May 7 press conference. The man initiated the call  and may have intended to initiate an ambush-style attack on the officers when they arrived.

All four officers returned fire and hit Rose, who died at the scene.

At roughly 9:45 a.m. May 7, IMPD Officer Jonathon Henderson struck and killed Ashlynn Lisby near South Harding Street and the eastbound ramp of I-465. Lisby, who has been identified only through social media at the time of publication, was pregnant with her third child. She was allegedly walking down an unlit street in dark clothing when she was struck. She and her unborn child were pronounced dead at Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital.

None of the officers involved in last weeks incidents were wearing body cameras or using dashboard cameras.

According to both Hogsett and Taylor, however, all IMPD officers will have body cameras and dashboard cameras installed by the end of the summer, five years after a pilot program failed to result in the development of a permanent program.

Taylor, who became chief of police in December 2019, said the initial pilot program failed, in part, due to insufficient technology. Since then, he said the city has invested millions of dollars in upgrading public safety technology infrastructure, and the cost of body cameras has decreased. After a second pilot program in 2019, Hogsett said the city-county council approved a request in the 2020 budget to implement a permanent body camera program this year, making it the first time all IMPD officers will have access to body and dashboard cameras. The cameras will have automatic recording triggers so officers wont have to manually turn cameras on and off.

The program, which is set to start in July, will be fully implemented by September, Taylor said.

The mayor also will establish a Use of Force Review Board for IMPD officers, including physical altercations and the use of a taser or a firearm. Made up of merit-ranked officers as well as civilians appointed by Taylor, Hogsett, Osili and IMPD members, the board will determine whether or not an officers actions were within the departments protocol. The board will not determine disciplinary action.

All six officers involved in the two shootings are on administrative leave pending investigation, and Taylor said he will wait until the investigations are finished to determine whether or not officers were justified in using deadly force.

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.
[May 11, 2020] Life360 Announces Russell Burke as Chief Financial Officer

Life360, Inc. (ASX:360), the leading safety and coordination service for families across the globe, today announced global business executive Russell Burke as its chief financial officer. In the CFO role, Burke will reinforce Life360's commitment to family safety by focusing on the effectiveness of the business model and supporting the company as they move to the next level. "Russell's broad experience in the U.S. and Australian markets will be extremely valuable as we continue to expand our product offerings globally," said Chris Hulls, CEO of Life360. "We're confident that he'll be a major asset to our team as we redefine how safety is delivered to families around the world." Burke, an experienced financial executive having worked with both public and private companies, has extensive experience in management and business leadership. Prior to joining Life360, he held roles as chief financial officer of Mandalay Media Inc., chief executive officer of Weight Watchers Australia and New Zealand, as well as senior leadership positions at numerous high-growth early stage companies, including digita media subscription service Pressplay, and mixed-reality ecosystem and platform Magic Leap. In these roles, Burke successfully led international business and finance operations, as well as building high-performing global finance, HR, legal and IT teams in dynamic and challenging environments.



"I was immediately attracted to the flexibility and effectiveness of Life360's business model and the opportunity for growth; and am thrilled to support the company at a time of such rapid expansion," said Burke. "As an added bonus, I've been using Life360 to keep my own family safe and connected for years. Being part of the Life360 family now has even more meaning." About Life360

Life360 operates a platform for today's busy families, bringing them closer together by helping them better know, communicate with and protect the people they care about most. The company's core offering, the Life360 mobile app, is a market leading app for families, with features that range from communications to driving safety and location sharing. Life360 is based in San Francisco and has more than 28 million MAU located in more than 195 countries. Life360's CDIs are issued in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for offers of securities which are made outside the US. Accordingly, the CDIs, have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the laws of any state or other jurisdiction in the US. As a result of relying on the Regulation S exemption, the CDIs are 'restricted securities' under Rule 144 of the Securities Act. This means that you are unable to sell the CDIs into the US or to a US person who is not a QIB for the foreseeable future except in very limited circumstances until after the end of the restricted period, unless the re-sale of the CDIs is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption is available. To enforce the above transfer restrictions, all CDIs issued bear a FOR Financial Product designation on the ASX. This designation restricts any CDIs from being sold on ASX to US persons excluding QIBs. However, you are still able to freely transfer your CDIs on ASX to any person other than a US person who is not a QIB. In addition, hedging transactions with regard to the CDIs may only be conducted in accordance with the Securities Act. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005965/en/

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Cadet overcomes odds to earn local and national honors

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 9:30 AM

People and Society, News

Pittsburg, KS

With only a few dollars to his name, Cadet Derrick Sumner, of Pittsburg, battled homelessness coming into his freshman year of college. On Friday, hell be commissioned as a second lieutenant alongside eight fellow cadets and will have completed his bachelor's degree in psychology. And next month, hell be recognized in a national ceremony.

Hes a prime example of someone who succeeded against all odds, said 1st Lt. Taylor Wiebe, assistant professor of military science at PSU. Not too many people can say they have a 600 on their Army Physical Fitness Test or ruck a 12-mile under two hours. People tend to see Sumner as someone with a lot of natural ability. But when you look closer, you can see the only thing separating him from his peers is his drive for success.

Sumner said he was drawn to ROTC because he understood that cadets gained strong leadership abilities, and because he felt his values matched that of what was needed for an Army officer.

I wanted to be in an organization where things that I do can change the lives of more than just those around me," he said.

When he joined the program, he felt so flustered, he said, that he didnt know if he was supposed to salute a sergeant, let alone take charge. By his senior year, Sumner was leading the program as the cadet commander of the Gorilla Battalion.

He took every opportunity to develop mental agility, leadership skills, and physical fitness, including finishing the Range Challenge  a 25-mile ruck, obstacle course, and technical activities  all four years. He competed for the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, ran and rucked in the Bataan Memorial Death March three times, and consistently earned perfect scores on the APFT.

During his summers, he attended Cadet Basic Camp, Airborne School, and completed advanced camp with the highest score possible. He volunteered in the community in his free time, and pushed himself more academically than he had previously, finishing with a 3.7  a full letter grade higher than high school.

His work paid off: he was chosen as the cadet battalion commander, a Distinguished Military Graduate, and the winner of the national George C. Marshal Award. And, he was nominated for Homecoming King; riding in the parade down Broadway in an armored personnel carrier ranks among his top memories.

I am so proud to say I was part of the Pitt State ROTC Battalion and I will hold on to the memories I have made here throughout my life, he said.

At 1:30 p.m. on June 12  the U.S. Armys birthday  hell take part in the National ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, to be conducted virtually. Hell be commissioning as an active duty quartermaster officer and will attend Basic Officer Leaders Course at Fort Lee, Virginia.

Jared Page, of Hutchison, Kansas, will join him in the national ceremony. Page will graduate with his degree in exercise science and will be commissioning as an active duty infantry officer. Hell attend BOLC at Fort Benning, Georgia.

At 10 a.m. this Friday, they'll be among nine new second lieutenants to be commissioned by Pittsburg State ROTC in a virtual ceremony streamed on the ROTC Facebook page at @PSUROTC.

Other cadets to be commissioned as second lieutenants on Friday:

Zaw Aung, a plastics engineering technology major and a native of Myanmar who was raised in Pittsburg. Hell be commissioning into the medical services branch of the Illinois National Guard and will attend BOLC at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Autumn Crist, a psychology major from Webb City, Missouri, who will commission into the medical service branch of the Kansas National Guard and will attend BOLC at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Justice Hylton, a physical education major from Carl Junction, Missouri, and a Distinguished Military Graduate ranking in the top 10 percent of cadets nationwide in his class. Hell be commissioning into the Aviation Branch of the Oklahoma National Guard and will attend BOLC at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Johnathan Gonzalez, a nursing major from Goshen, Indiana, will be commissioning into the Active Duty Nurse Corp and will attend BOLC at Fort Sam Houston.

Ethan Jewell, a history major from Pittsburg and a Distinguished Military Graduate ranking in the top 10 percent of cadets nationwide in his class, will be commissioning as an active duty infantry second lieutenant and will attend BOLC at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Brody Russell, a plastics engineering technology major from Osawatomie, Kansas, will be commissioning into the Kansas National Guard as a transportation officer and will attend BOLC at Fort Lee, Virginia.

Skylar Schupbach, a business management major from Girard, Kansas, will be commissioning into the Kansas National Guard as an armor officer and will attend BOLC at Fort Benning, Georgia.
As many as 41.2 % of Delhi University (DU) students have not been able to attend online classes at all amid the nationwide lockdown, found a survey by a students group.

The survey conducted by the DU unit of All India Students Association (AISA) also found that the major reason behind students not being able to attend classes online regularly was poor internet connectivity. The survey recovered was conducted over the last two weeks and covered more than 1,500 students.

The University had started online classes in the last week of March, soon after the lockdown was imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Only 22.4 % of students are attending online classes regularly. While 41.2% of students said they are not being able to attend classes at all, the remaining 42.4 % said that they have managed to attend a few classes, stated the survey report released on Tuesday.

As many as 72.2 % of students said poor internet connectivity is the main reason behind them not being able to attend classes online classes regularly,11.6% of students cited financial incapability as the reason, and 7.6% said that household chores are not letting them attend online classes. The remaining 8.3% cited other reasons, the report stated.

While the DU administration is thinking about conducting online exams for its final year students, around 74 percent of the surveyed students responded against the idea. Around 32.4% of students said that they dont even have devices such as smartphones or laptops to appear in the online exams, said the survey report.

Abhigyan (single name), member AISA (DU unit) and a student at Ramjas College, said the students organisation was approached by many DU students who were finding it difficult to attend online classes. The students were also worried about the University administrations idea of conducting online exams. So we thought we should conduct a survey to get a clear picture of students opinions on online exams and classes and send it to the university administration, he said.

Several students across the University are finding it difficult to attend online classes. Sandeep Kumar, a third-year student at Hindu College, said he had left for his village in Uttarakhand before the lockdown was announced and now faces connectivity issues while attending online classes. Some of my friends who are in northeastern states have not been able to attend any classes at all until now because of poor internet connectivity. In such a situation, one cannot even think about taking online exams, Kunar said.

The University administration had recently invited suggestions from various stakeholders on how exams should be conducted in the prevailing situation.

Rajesh Jha, member of Universitys executive council, said the council has written to the DU administration several times against conducting online exams. When we take an online class, usually 20 out of 45 students attend at a time. Many students call and text us explaining difficulties in attending online classes because of various reasons, he said.

A member of Universitys special task force constituted to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, requesting anonymity, said, We are closely monitoring the situation and also accessing the number of students who are equipped with technology. Any decision on exams will be taken keeping in mind the interest of students.

The University is also considering launching voice conferencing to help the students who do not have smartphones or other devices. We are planning to start classes via audio conferencing which needs no internet or smart devices the member added.
12 injured personnel of an Iranian Navy frigate hospitalized following incident

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Chabahar, May 11, IRNA -- Some 12 personnel of an Iranian Navy frigate which had an accident in southern Iranian waters on Sunday were hospitalized, according to head of Iranshahr University of Medical Sciences and Health Services.

Mehran Amini told IRNA that soon after the incident 10 ambulances were dispatched to Haft-e Tir dock to take the injured personnel to hospital.

He said that one of the Navy personnel died and three of 16 personnel hospitalized were discharged.

Two of the injured personnel were admitted to the ICU of the hospital, Amini said.

According to the Public Relations of the 1st Maritime District of Navy of Iranian Army in Bandar Abbas, one Iranian was martyred and a number of others injured during a military drill in Iran's territorial waters on Sunday.

The accident happened to the "Konarak" vessel in this area in the waters of Jask Port in southern Iran, according to a statement release.

An investigation has been launched to explore the cause of the accident by experts.

More details of the accident will follow, the statement said.

9341**1416

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National flags represent a lot more than national pride and identity. It is easy to see one travel far, for instance, during the Olympics. They have been fought for, and therefore they represent freedom and the citizens' resilience. For that reason, a silent war continues even today regarding the most beautiful flags in the world. Do not beat yourself if you find your favourite one missing from the list because beauty is and will forever be subjective.

Photo: canva.com (modified by author)

Source: UGC

Most of us are naturally patriotic without even knowing it, and that is why we will not think twice before selecting our national flags as the most beautiful, even if they might not be. This may be because of the colours and symbols embedded in them. How then would it be that the ideals, history, pride and even struggle of a country not be beautiful to the natives of that country?

What is the most beautiful flag in the world in 2022?

Throughout history, nations have changed their flags to symbolize the people's resilience who identify with the standard. They serve as a token of pride, especially when their citizens are in an international setting. While most countries would argue that they have the most beautiful flag, we have compiled the top 15 countries with the most beautiful flags.

What country has the most beautiful flag? Check out these details. You will also understand why these countries feature in the list.

The most beautiful flag in Africa

Best believe African countries made it to this list. These are the countries with the most beautiful flags in Africa:

1. Kenya

Kenya. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

The Kenyan flag has been in use since 1963 and could easily pass as the best flag in Africa. A shield in front of two crossed spears is at the flag's centre. These are embedded in a horizontal tricolour of black, red, white, and green. The green colour represents the natural landscape and wealth of the country.

The black colour represents the Kenyan people and the African continent. Red is a representation of the bloodshed witnessed in the struggle for independence. White signified peace and unity, while the shield and spears are symbols of Kenyas defence of all the other elements represented.

2. South Africa

South Africa. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Adopted and used since 1994, the South African flag condenses centuries of the countrys history. Though beautifully designed, the symbolism of the its colours has not been explained officially, but it still is one of the best looking flags. It is believed that the black, green and yellow colours were taken from Nelson Mandelas African National Congress banner.

On the other hand, red, white and blue used to be the colours of the Transvaal flag. The Y design of the colours is believed to be about the convergence of several cultures under one nation.

READ ALSO: Diaspora Story: High Costs of Death Abroad, Benefits of Taking Insurance

3. Mozambique

Mozambique. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

The flag of Mozambique is famous because it features an AK-47 to symbolize and remind citizens of the bloodshed during the struggle through which the country attained independence. Nonetheless, this does not stop it from being probably the prettiest flag in the world. It started being used officially in 1983. On the hoist side is a hoe, AK-47, book and star.

The book symbolizes the importance of education. The hoe represents the value of agriculture as the backbone of the country's economy. The green colour represents Mozambique's land riches; white for peace, black for the African continent, yellow for the countrys minerals and red the bloodshed during the struggle for independence.

The most beautiful flag in Asia

These are the Asian countries with the most beautiful flags in the world:

4. Malaysia

Malaysia. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Malaysias flag, popularly known as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory), has been used since 1963. It features 14 alternating stripes of white and red. It also has a blue canton with a crescent, and a fourteen-pointed star referred to as the Bintang Persekutuan (Federal Star).

The white and red stripes represent the 13 states and federal territories of Malaysia. The 14 points of the star symbolize the unity between the states. Its crescent is a nod to Islam, the country's official religion. Lastly, yellow signifies the royal colour of the rulers of Malay.

5. Nepal

Nepal. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Which is the most unique flag in the world? Nepals flag is beautiful and unique due to its unusual shape. Therefore, it features among the coolest flags in history. It is not a rectangle. The peaks of Everest inspired its design.

There are two motifs, moon and sun, as representations of calm and resolve. Its colour is majorly crimson red, the colour of the countrys national flower- the rhododendron. The outer margins of are blue, which is a symbol of peace.

READ ALSO: List of all January global holidays and festivals in 2022

6. Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Kyrgyzstan was formerly a member of the Soviet Union before the collapse. This country never used its flag until 1992, six months after declaring its independence. It features a bold red background to represent the bravery of the people of the country.

At the core is a yellow symbol of a scorching sun to represent peace and wealth. The forty rays around the sun are symbols of the Kyrgyz tribes that formed a union to fight against the Mongols. The inner lines on the sun represent a tunduk, the top part of the Kyrgyz yurt and family home.

The most beautiful flag in the world 2022

These countries which come to mind when discussions about the country with the best flags in the world come up:

7. Australia

Australia. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Australias flag is beautiful both in appearance and symbolism. It features a strong acknowledgement of the commonwealth through the Union Jack in the canton to the upper-left side.

Below the Union Jack is a large seven-pointed star like the commonwealth one. The right-side half are five stars of different sizes to represent the Southern Cross constellation that can be seen from Australia.

8. Argentina

Argentina. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Argentina has one of the most beautiful flags in the world and is one of the most beloved by the people it represents. It comprises two light blue (or celeste) bands on the top and bottom, with one white band in the middle. A beautiful golden Sun of May stands out in the middle.

READ ALSO: Who is the most powerful person in the world in 2022? Top 15 list

9. Brazil

Brazil. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Auriverde has been the official flag of Brazil since 1889 and is one of the pretty country flags with lots of hidden symbolism. Its green colour represents the countrys fields and forests. On the other hand, Yellow reminds the people of their countrys wealth in gold.

At the heart is a blue colour in the shape of a celestial globe representing the night sky, as seen from Rio de Janeiro. There are tiny white stars that correspond to a Brazilian Federative Unit within the globe. Lastly, the motto Ordem e Progresso (Order and progress) runs across the globe and is an inspiration from French Philosopher Auguste Comtes motto of positivism.

10. Cuba

Cuba. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

The Cuban flag was designed long before the country attained liberty. The idea of a free Cuba influenced its design. It was designed in 1849 by Narsico Lopez. Even though he never got to see it fly over Cuba, his work is an everlasting symbol of the country's resilience and the struggle for independence.

Its white stripes represent the purity of ideas, while the matching blue stripes represent the three administrative departments of Cuba. The red on the far end represents courage, while the star in the red triangle symbolizes the crown of the newly created country.

11. Greece

Greece. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

The Greece flag evokes scenes of the country's magical blue waters and scenic coastlines. Even though it might not seem too intricate, its symbolism runs deep. It is more than one of the countries with the most beautiful flags in the world in 2022.

The blue represents the sea and the sky. The white symbolizes the purity of the struggle for independence apart from the iconic buildings surrounding the shorelines. The alternating nine blue and white stripes represent the country's motto, Eleftheria I Thanatos  meaning freedom or death.

The cross at the furthest corner represents the country's official religion, Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

READ ALSO: Best Norway universities for international students in 2021

12. Canada

Canada. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Canada has one of the coolest flags in the world. It is known for its signature red maple leaf displayed at the centre. What do you think the leaf symbolizes?

The British empire colonized Canada. It attained its flag in 1965. Initially, three designs had been shortlisted, but the current Canadian one was chosen as the best option. Two colours, white and red, characterize it.

The maple leaf is an emblem of Canadian identity, representing courage, loyalty and pride. It also features 11 points, 10 of which represent the Canadian provinces, while one represents the country's three territories.

13. New Zealand

New Zealand. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

New Zealand flew the Union Jack flag for the better part of its history, making it a British colony and dominion. However, in 1902, it launched its new and current flag. However, it still sports the British flag on the upper left canton.

The flag comprises three colours, royal blue, red and white. The royal blue matches the ensign of the Royal Navys Blue Squadron. The red stars symbolize the country's geographical location in the southern hemisphere. They also pay homage to ancient Maori mythology.

As recently as 2016, New Zealand citizens were able to vote between the current flag design and a new one featuring their iconic silver fern  but the original won and remains the national standard to this day.

14. Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bosnia & Herzegovina. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

Bosnia & Herzegovina might not be the most popular country in the world but probably have the best flag in the world. The beautiful design of the Bosnia & Herzegovina flag is coupled with simultaneous symbolism. It has three colours which are yellow, blue, and white.

The points of the yellow triangle represent the three major ethnic groups: the Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. The white stars that run diagonally represent the many countries in Europe and thus Bosnia & Herzegovinas place among good neighbours.

15. The United States of America

The USA. Photo: gettyimages.com

Source: Getty Images

USAs flag is iconic and rich in history. It is a first among the most popular flags in the world. It has been in existence since 1960, when Hawaii became a US state. It has 50 stars as symbols of the current 50 states in the USA. The 13 red and white stripes represent the initial 13 British colonies that joined to be the first states of the USA.

There is no telling whether the flag may change in the future with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico keen on becoming US states. In that eventuality, its design will have to change to accommodate new stars representing the new states.

What country is the most beautiful flag?

Greece has the most beautiful. It comprises two dominant colours, blue and white. The blue represents the country's beautiful skies and the sea, while white represents the purity in the country's struggle for independence.

Which is the most unique flag in the world?

Nepal has the most unique flag. It is not rectangular like the rest. Instead, it is a simplified combination of two single pennants.

Flags are an important part of a country as they unite people and inspire patriotism. They are a symbol of pride and unity and is often revered as something that countries can go into war for. Due to their importance, they are not just pieces of cloth, but they are designed carefully in line with the history of their respective countries. The top 15 most beautiful flags in the world capture aesthetics and deep symbolism.

READ ALSO: Top 10 most powerful African countries ranked 2020

Tuko.co.ke recently published details about the top 10 most powerful countries in Africa in 2020. You should check the list out.

The power index determines how powerful a nation is. Therefore, countries with the highest power index feature in this list. Read on for more details.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Frustrated at being cooped up in hotel quarantine in Garvebhavipalya, 132 cured COVID-19 patients and their contacts protested at the site, asking to be allowed to go home.

Nearly all of the people who mounted the peaceful protest are members of the infamous Hongasandra cluster and natives of Bihar or Odisha. Among them is Patient 419, a 54-year-old Bihari scrap metal worker who was patient zero of the cluster.

Speaking to DH, BBMP Additional Commissioner Anbukumar V said arrangements were underway to repatriate the individuals to their home states. Two days ago, we wrote to the police asking that tickets be booked, and we expect they will be shortly, Anbukumar said.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

When asked why the protest had taken place, the additional commissioner described the mood of those being quarantined as restless.

They have told us frequently that they are tired of being cooped up in the hotel all the time. They have expressed their interest in going for walks...etc. Naturally, them being under quarantine, we could not allow them to do so, he said.

Hounded out

The return of the first batch of COVID-cured patients to Hongasandra for 14 days of home quarantine on May 8 had created a stir, Begur police said.

One of the patients was still in his hospital gowns and that created an uproar. Local residents demanded that they are moved to a different area. This is when they were moved to the hotel in the neighbouring ward, a police constable said.

A total of 190 quarantiners are currently residents of the hotel, including about 25 Kannadigas, five Assamese and 10 auto-rickshaw drivers of Tamil ethnicity.

Anbukumar pointed out that five people at the hotel, who had been discharged from a COVID-19 hospital, had tested positive once again two days ago, and had been re-admitted to hospital care.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 12

Protest at Rachenahalli

Similarly, residents in and around Rachenahalli in Northeast Bengaluru resorted to protests after learning that the BBMP officials have identified an apartment complex in the vicinity behind the Manyata Tech Park to quarantine the medical staff of North Bangalore Hospital which has been shut now. The residents demanded that no person shall be allowed in their area for quarantine.

Sampigehalli police rushed to the spot and pacified the protesting crowd. We controlled the situation and now it is up to the BBMP to take an appropriate decision, a police official said.
Two out of three illegal miners who were trapped in a mining pit at Manso Datano in the Manso Edubiase District of the Ashanti Region have died.

The two unidentified persons believed to be in their 30s, who were rescued from the pit on Monday, May 11, at about 11:50am were pronounced dead on arrival at the Tontokrom Health Centre.

Their bodies have since been deposited at the St Martins Catholic Hospitals Morgue at Manso Agroyesum for preservation, identification and post mortem.

Chief Inspector Christian O. Amartey, Station Officer for the Manso Dataso Police, told the Ghana News Agency that the third person who was very weak at the time of rescue is receiving treatment.

The Station Officer said at about 12:20 pm on that fateful day, Yaw Akowuah and Kwadwo Asanfo, both Committee Members of Manso Tontokrom brought the deceased in a taxi cab with the registration number GT 8906- 18, to lodge a formal complainant.

Chief Inspector Amartey said the complainants said they had a call that three of the illegal miners had been trapped at a galamsey site in a pit they were working in.

He said when the complainants arrived at the site, they realised that their colleagues had rescued them with the two being unconscious and the other weak.

He said they rushed them to a health centre, where the two were pronounced dead by a medical officer.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  May 11, 2020  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Sempra Energy SRE, Prevail Therapeutics PRVL and Sprouts Farmers Market SFM.

Here are highlights from Fridays Analyst Blog:

The World vs. a Virus: Zacks May Strategy

The following is an excerpt from Zacks Chief Strategist John Blanks full May Market Strategy reportTo access the full PDF, click here

There are a variety of facets to the worlds COVID19 battle scenes. Take them all in at the same time to see most clearly where COVID19 matters stand.

(1) On May 1st, Cambridge, MA-based biotech Moderna announced an agreement with Swiss drug maker Lonza Group to manufacture up to a billion doses per year of mRNA-1273, Moderna's vaccine candidate for the novel coronavirus.

The two companies initially plan to establish manufacturing capabilities at Lonza's facilities in the U.S. and Switzerland to make the vaccine at both locations, with additional production suites to be established across Lonza's worldwide facilities under a 10-year agreement.

The companies expect to produce the first batches of mRNA-1273 at Lonza's U.S. facility in July 2020.

A portion of the funding for the manufacturing operations in the U.S. will come from Moderna's contract with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

(2) Sir John Bell, the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said on Sunday May 3rd that researchers at that major U.K. university  who are working on a potential vaccine for the coronavirus  would likely have an idea of its efficacy by June.

The Oxford researchers hope to generate enough data from Phase Two trials to get evidence that the vaccine has efficacy by the beginning of June.

Story continues

Bell called the chances of success in developing a vaccine pretty good, adding We are gradually reeling it in, bit by bit and as every day goes by, the likelihood of success goes up.

(3) COVID-19 shutdowns are still in place, but many European countries are getting ready to test post-lockdown life.

 Italian factories and building sites reopen from Monday May 4th, after Europes longest lockdown

 So will German schools, museums and churches, following the reopening of small shops

 Britain will lay out its exit strategy in the first weeks of May



Slowly does it seem to be the message coming from European governments wary of a renewed spike in infections.

But with the ECB predicting the euro-area economy to shrink by as much as 15% in Q1, the authorities are also keen to get activity going again. The authorities will watch April trade and industrial output data for clues on how Q2 might shape up.

The stricken country of Italy faces a sovereign bond rating review from Moodys on Friday May 8th. At a notch above junk, the rating is very likely safe. An unexpected downgrade from Fitch would jangle nerves.

(4) After two months of intensive social distancing, South Korea is about to open up too.

According to the Wall Street Journal, South Korea has a rule for everything.

When meeting in an office, people will wear masks. At meals, diners will sit next to each other or in a zigzag pattern, not directly across. Hotel rooms will be ventilated for 15 minutes after travelers check out. Visitors at zoos and aquariums must stand 6 feet apart. Shouting and hugging will be discouraged at sporting events. So will high-fives.

(5) In China, their enormous and globally-connected industrial sector probably comes back to life before the more domestic services side.

Chinas policymakers appear cautious about allowing service businesses such as movie theaters and gyms to reopen.

That means that theres still some way to go before that country returns to a situation thats close to normal.

(6) The operating capacity of Brazilian industry dropped to 57.5% in April, the lowest in a time series going back to January 2001.

While the Brazilian industry overall is using just over half of its productive capacity, the impact varies among sectors:

 Car manufacturers have been hit the hardest, using only 12.5% of their overall capacity

 Other areas, such as apparel and leather goods & shoes are down to 20.5% and 24.5%, respectively

 On the other hand, paper & pulp manufacturing is the positive highlight, with 90% of its capacity in use

On May 4th, the city of Sao Paulo (Brazils biggest metro area) began blocking major avenues, aiming at reducing the number of people breaking social isolation.

(7) The Russian National Guard said it is using drones and a helicopter to enforce self-isolation rules in Moscow and the Moscow region over that countrys May holidays.

The drones and helicopter will send information about violations to officers on the ground, who will then issue fines to violators.

(8) Despite grim virus statistics, India allowed most businesses and services to reopen on Monday May 4th, entering a third phase in the national lockdown strategy.

Indians were warned it was time to learn to "live with the virus."

(9) Japan's prime minister extended a state of emergency over the corona virus until the end of May. That government warned it was too soon to lift restrictions.

Zacks May Sector/Industry/Company Telescope

The Zacks Industry Rank pattern in Early May is very Stay-at-Home directive driven.

As May to June leads to more reopened sectors, in more and more big U.S. states, this ranking may be dated. Be careful this month.

The best groups are Utilities, Health Care, and Staples. Those are the obvious Stay-at-Home plays.

Info Tech and Communication Services retain some status, and also imply Stay-at-Home plays. Drugs are a top-notch area, as COVID19 vaccines, treatments, and frankly stable dividends make the group tops.

Financials Energy and Industrials feel the most stress. But Investment Funds stunningly outperform. Alternates in Energy can be held at Market Weight.

(1) Utilities went back to Very Attractive. Utilities-Gas Distribution looks excellent. Electric Power is looking good.

Zacks #2 Rank (BUY): Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy is a southern California-based energy services holding company involved in the sale, distribution, storage and transportation of electricity and natural gas.

The company has recently reorganized its subsidiaries under two operating groups: Sempra Utilities and Sempra Infrastructure.

The Sempra Utilities group includes the companys utility operations: Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Sempra South American Utilities.

(2) Health Careis Attractive. Only Drugs lead now, and by a wide margin.

Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY): Prevail Therapeutics

Prevail Therapeutics is a gene therapy company. It focuses on developing and commercializing disease-modifying AAV-based gene therapies for patients with devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

The company's product candidate consists of PR001, PR006 and PR004 which are in clinical stage.

Prevail Therapeutics is based in New York.

(3) Consumer Staplesrise to Attractive. Cons. Products Misc. Staples and Food/Drug Retail are the strongest industry groups. That makes shut-in sense.

Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY): Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market operates in a highly fragmented grocery store industry. But it has a unique model that features fresh produce at the center of the store, an expansive bulk foods section, and a vitamin department focused on overall wellness.

Moreover, the company has been diversifying its offerings to meet changing preferences of consumers, who are looking for more health and wellness products.

(4) Info Techremains a Market Weight. Semis are best, followed by Computer- Software Services.

(5) Communications Servicesis Market Weight. Telco Equipment and Telco Services are about equal now. Utility-Telephone still looks poor.

(6) Materialsare Market Weight. What helped? Same as last month. Containers & Glass (packaged goods in grocery stores) look good. Ditto Metals Non-ferrous (gold).

(7) Consumer Discretionaryis Very Unattractive. The Other Consumer Discretionary group is all that looks good. Lots of poor industry groups here.



(8) Financials stay Very Unattractive. Investment Funds look best.

(9) Energyremains Very Unattractive. But Bifurcated. Coal, Drillers, and Alternates are OK.

(10) Industrialsremains Very Unattractive. CEOs are pessimistic. Conglomerates are the sole spot above a Market Weight.

Conclusion

We are now observing a staggered opening of economies, both stateside and abroad.

Carry on with substantial, regularly-spaced, equity market asset allocations. This is an event-driven regime. The Fed and the other major central banks of the world have share buyers backs.

Prices on the most respected stocks are still oftentimes better than six or eight months ago. But be ready to see core elements of a worst-case scenario materialize. The return of shutdowns in selected places can create stock market volatility again.

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When Mayor Ivy Taylor lost her re-election bid to the current mayor, Ron Nirenberg, in June 2017, she didnt really have a Plan B, but the self-described governance nerd knew she wanted to somehow work with the nations historically black colleges and universities.

Taylor had served on the board of one such school, Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, and began pursuing a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania  her dissertation focused on the boards of trustees at HBCUs. Then she got a call from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, 56 miles southeast of Memphis. They needed a new president.

After an eight-month national search, Taylor won out over some 73 applicants for the position and will start her job June 1. She will succeed David Beckley, who has led the a small, liberal arts college for 27 years.

Rust College made a very good choice, said another former San Antonio mayor, Henry Cisneros, who had recommended Taylor earlier to the Penn program leaders. Shes got great people skills. Shell motivate young people, and she has a spirituality to her that will speak to families and their hopes for their children.

Taylor, who will turn 50 in June, said she was attracted to Rusts supportive family environment among the board and faculty.

More Information Ivy Taylor key dates June 17, 1970: Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in Queens, N.Y. 1992: Earns bachelor of arts from Yale University. 1998: Earns masters degree in regional planning from the University of North Carolina. 1999-2004: Community development coordinator for the city of San Antonio. 2004 - 2009: Vice president at Merced Housing Texas. 2009: Becomes a lecturer in public administration at UTSA. June 13, 2009: Wins the City Council District 2 seat in a runoff election. July 22, 2014: Appointed by city council as interim mayor to replace the departing Julian Castro. Feb. 16, 2015: Announces candidacy for mayor; previously had said she would not seek the office. May 9, 2015: Earns 28.4 percent of vote, heads for runoff vs. former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who had 30.4 percent. June 13, 2015: Wins runoff with Van de Putte. May 6, 2017: In re-election bid, has 43.7 percent vs. challenger Ron Nirenberg's 36.1 percent. June 10, 2017: Loses runoff to Nirenberg. Aug. 20, 2020: due to receive doctorate degree, University of Pennsylvania See More Collapse

When I was that little black girl at Yale, I made friends, she said of the college where she earned a bachelors in American Studies in 1992. But I never really had anyone on the faculty or in the administration who took an interest in me or my future. I want to develop that sort of mentoring environment at Rust.

Founded in 1866 by the Freedmans Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church and named after a pre-Civil War abolitionist, Rust last year enrolled just under 800 students, many of whom, like Taylor, were the first in their families to attend college. Taylor was born in Brooklyn and raised in Cambria Heights, Queens, a 90-percent black neighborhood in New York City, but her parents came from North Carolina, instilling, she allows, some Southern roots.

Retaining those students would be difficult at any time for any college, said Taylor, but getting them to return in the time of COVID-19, when they and their families might be experiencing life-altering hardship, will be one of her pressing challenges. The Niche website says a year at Rust costs about $10,000 and that 98 percent of students receive aid averaging about $6,155 per year.

Required Reading: Ivy Taylor becomes mayor

However, Taylor said, Rusts endowment of about $40 million is substantially larger than similar-sized HBCUs. It has an impressive perk for its president - a Gothic Revival mansion built in 1858, in which Ulysses S. Grant is reported to have lived during his campaign in northern Mississippi early in the war. Taylor will live there with her husband, Rodney, and their teenage daughter.

We love historical homes, she said. We lived in a 100-plus year-old home in Dignowity Hill in San Antonio. Its a great neighborhood and were excited.

Among Taylors priorities at Rust will be evaluating faculty and staff salaries, nurturing the colleges radio station and TV program, encouraging more black men to become teachers and instilling a greater sense of social justice history among the students.

For example, everyone should know about a former alumnus named Ida B. Wells, an investigative reporter and one of the founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) who made her mark documenting lynching in the 1890s, Taylor said.

Wells had been born into slavery in Holly Springs in 1862 and by the turn of the century was among the most famous black women in America. She died in Chicago in 1931.

On ExpressNews.com: Nirenberg defeats Taylor

Taylors road to Rust was hardly a foregone conclusion.

When I left the mayors office, I looked at that as my first opportunity to just take a breath and re-engage with my family, she said. My daughter was in 8th grade and it would now be my turn to bring her to school and be a more present parent and spouse.

Taylor did some consulting and then got accepted to the two-year doctoral program at Penn. Cisneros considers it a training ground for future college presidents. I want to stress, said Taylor, this was not any remote learning computer degree. I flew to Philly once a month. The degree will be conferred in August.

Taylor, who led the largest city in America ever to elect a black female as mayor, was asked if she will bring any specific insights from city politics in San Antonio to her new position. She laughed and said, Do I have to answer that?

During her tenure, Taylor was the target of bitter attacks from the San Antonio Police Officers Association as it engaged in a standoff over a new contract with the city. The union endorsed her 2015 mayoral opponent, Leticia Van de Putte, a liberal Democrat and former state senator. Taylor said she found the local TV stations pretty superficial on important issues, and added, without rancor, that she had no allies at the Express-News.

I guess I learned that in politics you sometimes have to toot your own horn, and I was not good at that, she said. During my time, we passed the largest bond in the citys history, we got a police contract signed, got pay for city council members, passed annexation that helped suburban communities, passed a comprehensive plan and got revitalization projects for the East Side.

There is, of course, context to go with the history of each issue she mentioned, and some she omitted. Though she voted Democratic, Taylor said she was comfortable maintaining the non-partisan stance of a mayor. She got irritated at times, she said, not by white conservatives but by liberals and some black interest groups that she believes assumed her support was guaranteed, particularly when tested by police shootings of African-Americans that occurred while she was mayor.

I didnt like being pigeonholed. I wanted the conversation to go beyond my being black and female, Taylor said. Some people were actually offended when I had my own ideas.

At Rust College, she expects to have to navigate issues that have entrenched constituencies, as does any community, but shes hoping there will be more sustained and serious discussion of big societal topics, perhaps without as much constant public scrutiny as what a San Antonio mayor receives.

And I want to keep things light, Taylor said. If you talk to anyone who has worked for me theyll say that we laughed. Im excited to engage all those students. This should be a very fun gig.

Bruce Selcraig is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Bruce, become a subscriber. BSelcraig@express-news.net
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The AAP government in the national capital on Monday appraised the Delhi High Court that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has issued a show cause notice to the Chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission Zafarul Islam Khan.

An FIR has been lodged against Khan for making alleged seditious statements on social media. Delhi government counsel Anupam Srivastava made the submissions while a division bench of the high court presided over by Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal heard the plea seeking the removal of Khan from the post of DMC chief.

Srivastava said that Baijal wrote a letter to CM Kejriwal on April 30 to initiate action against Khan. He also submitted that Baijal had issued a show cause notice to Khan on May 8. Following the submissions, the court disposed of the petition saying, The authorities shall decide the matter in reasonable time.

On April 28, Khan had posted controversial post on his Facebook page. Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face an avalanche, it read.

With agency inputs
An autopsy report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation obtained by ABC News determined that Ahmaud Arbery died of multiple shotgun wounds.

The report, which was issued by the Glenn County coroner's office on April 1, provided more details into the injuries the 25-year-old sustained during the incident with two men on Feb. 23. Eleven shotgun pellets were removed from Arbery's chest, according to the report, and there were several injuries throughout his body.

PHOTO: Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed in Brunswick, Ga., on Feb. 23, 2020, is seen in an undated photo provided by Marcus Arbery. (Handout via Reuters)

"This 25-year-old black male, Ahmaud Arbery, died of multiple shotgun wounds sustained during a struggle for the shotgun," the coroner said.

MORE: 'I have a sense of hope,' Ahmaud Arbery's mother says of arrests in son's slaying

Toxicology reports submitted in March came back negative for traces of drugs and alcohol in his body.

MORE: The events leading up to the arrest of 2 men for murder of Ahmaud Arbery

The investigation into Arbery's death quickly ramped up after a cellphone video was released last week that showed him jogging on the street and accosted by two armed white men, Gregory McMichael, 64, a former Glynn County police officer, and his son, Travis, 34, who were waiting for him in their truck. The video then showed a struggle and one of the men shooting Arbery.

PHOTO: People hold a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga., May 8, 2020. (John Bazemore/AP)

Local prosecutors initially didn't press charges because they said there was "insufficient probable cause." The McMichaels told investigators that when they saw Arbery running through their neighborhood they thought he resembled a man suspected of burglarizing homes in the area.

PHOTO: Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, right, in a photos released on May 7, 2020, after their arrest in Georgia. (Glynn County Sheriff's Office)

After the video went online, Arbery's family, activists and leaders from around the country demanded that officials launch an investigation. Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested on Thursday night and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

On Monday, the Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr appointed Joyette Holmes of the Cobb County, Georgia Judicial Circuit to take over as prosecutor after two prosecutors recused themselves from the case.

Story continues

MORE: Georgia authorities seek DOJ's help in jogger's slaying

Carr also requested the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the investigation.

Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who initially handled the case, said she is confident any investigation into her office's handling of the case will show that it had acted appropriately.

"There is a public misconception about this case due to false allegations against our office by those with an agenda. Our obligation has been, and will always be, to honor, protect, and abide by the law," she said in a statement.

ABC News' Kate Hodgson contributed to this report.

Ahmaud Arbery died from multiple gunshot wounds, autopsy finds originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Press Release

May 12, 2020 Villar Supports BSP Chief's Reco of Providing 'Emergency Employment' to Filipinos Senator Cynthia Villar expresses support to the recommendation of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno for the government to provide 'emergency employment' to Filipinos to stimulate the country's so-called 'new economy' and to ease the effects of the pandemic to people. According to Diokno, as the government moves into the next phase of the road to the 'New Economy' it should focus on a quick disbursing, employment- creating program. The former budget secretary said the budget can be increased by a percentage or two, equivalent to ?200 billion to ?400 billion that could be used for emergency employment and create two million jobs. "I agree with BSP Chief Diokno that our next priority after the health and safety of our people is providing employment to as many Filipinos as possible. That's what people need right now to feed their families," said Villar. The senator has earlier recommended the opening of labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture, construction and manufacturing to avoid social unrest since many Filipinos are getting agitated due to lack of income or livelihood. Diokno said the two million jobs will be dispersed throughout the country. And the workers can get involved in green project such as cleaning of rivers, tree-planting, etc.), public works project (road maintenance, fortifying sea walls, social housing) agriculture or health projects (contact tracing, maintenance work in COVID-19 facilities, etc.). The workers will be paid 10 percent lower than the minimum wage rate in the region, will work for eight hours, five days a week, for seven months (June to December 2020). "Most Filipinos would really rather go back to work than to wait for aid or relief goods. It is more empowering for them if we let them earn their upkeep. I agree with Diokno that it provides a greater sense of self respect," added Villar. Known as Misis Hanepbuhay, Villar has always advocated job creation and livelihood generation to empower Filipinos especially the poor. Emergency employment according to her is a very timely solution as more employees or workers may be displaced due to the ongoing pandemic. "We will be hitting two birds with one stone with this recommendation--provide employment and provide the needed impetus to our economy, both are urgently needed with the prolonged Covid-19 infection. Jobs have a multiplier effect to the economy," the senator added.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee revised the stay-at-home order that forbids religious gathering of any size in response to the COVID-19 pandemic after one man sued the State last month.

On March 23, Governor Inslee issued a stay-at-home order that required every Washingtonian to stay at home except for essential business. Bible gathering wasn't recognized as essential and proclamation 20-25 prohibited spiritual gatherings of any size due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

First Liberty Institute and the North Creek Law Firm represented Joshua Freed at a hearing to challenge Washington Governor Jay Inslee's ban. During that hearing, before the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, attorneys for Governor Inslee notified Joshua Freed that he may have a home Bible study on a one-on-one basis.

For the previous two times, Governor Inslee refused to respond to requests seeking a one-on-one Bible study exemption, and finally, his lawyers yielded in open court.

"The Governor conceded that Mr. Freed can have a one-on-one Bible study and that he will not enforce the rules against home Bible studies on a one-on-one basis," said Hiram Sasser, Executive General Counsel at First Liberty. "The Governor's attorneys, during the proceeding, made various statements that indicate the Governor may not take any steps to enforce any shut down orders that affect religious activities even beyond the Bible study at issue."

"Religious community, even one-on-one Bible study, is essential to many people of faith. We are grateful that, in this challenging time for our country, Governor Inslee was willing to concede that the ban does not apply to Joshua Freed's home Bible study," said Mark Lamb, Owner and Founder of The North Creek Law Firm.

Freed and his wife have hosted Bible studies in their home weekly for the past two and a half years. And they made an effort to host virtual remote Bible studies, but privacy issues and technical glitches held them back. With this amendment, they are now able to hold one-on-one Bible studies.

Mr. Freed will only have one Bible study per day and follow guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention with additional safety. This includes wearing protective equipment, including a mask and gloves, and prohibiting handshaking or physical contact.
Connecticut health officials want to test residents and staff members for coronavirus at all 215 nursing homes by June, a spokesman for the office of Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.

We want to have every nursing home resident and staff member tested by June  and continually tested, spokesman Max Reiss said.

The governors office and the state Department of Public Health have not said how frequent the testing will be at the nursing homes.

We are working our way through the nursing homes Josh Geballe, the governors chief operating officer, said Monday.

He said the state has used 2,400 tests at 20 nursing homes. Exactly how long that takes to get through all the nursing homes, were looking at that based on the testing volumes and the availability of swabs and so forth, but were moving quickly now, Geballe said.

Nursing homes throughout the tri-state area have seen large outbreaks of the disease. Data released by the governors office Thursday shows COVID-19-related deaths among nursing home residents make up nearly 60 percent of the total fatalities in the state reported.

On Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to require nursing home staff to be tested twice a week for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He also said hospitals will be unable to discharge recuperating patients into nursing homes unless the patients have tested negative for the disease.

Reiss said New Yorks plan to keep hospitals from discharging COVID-19 patients into nursing homes is a page out of Connecticuts playbook.

They were mandatoraly discharging COVID patients back to their nursing homes, he said.

Reiss believes discharging COVID-positive residents to nursing home recovery centers is wise and effective.

We are proud of the program we put in place, Reiss said. Theyre getting the level of care necessary in the recovery centers.

On Monday, the governors office released new data showing the deaths associated with coronavirus had climbed above 3,000.

I know weve learned something about this, weve learned particular how it afflicts in older people, Lamont said. We know particularly how it afflicts people in congregant settings like nursing homes, and were not going to let this happen again.
Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

The movements of Brazilians have been completely restricted in fewer than two dozen cities scattered across the vast nation of 211 million even though Brazil's death toll stands at more than 11,000, Latin America's highest.

While public health experts are demanding bolder action, most governors and mayors have not imposed mandatory stay-at-home orders.

Their apparent reluctance comes amid Bolsonaro's relentless message for Brazilians to defy regional and local public health efforts to stop the virus' spread.

Stricter lockdowns are needed because Brazilian doctors are now being forced to choose who lives and dies and triage situations could generate social unrest if they increase, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's non-profit Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials.

We need to avoid a total disaster," he said.

Lago said mandatory lockdowns across much of the country would help: It is late in terms of avoiding hospital collapse, but certainly it isn't too late to avoid a bigger catastrophe."



Brazil had more than 165,000 confirmed cases on Tuesday, with the actual figure believed to be much higher because of limited testing. Many intensive care hospital units are full and cemeteries are increasingly overwhelmed with bodies.

Bolsonaro, who called the virus a little flu, has insisted for more than a month that governors are stoking economic carnage with voluntary quarantine recommendations and urges Brazilians to go about their everyday lives.

He also encouraged protests against the Supreme Court after it affirmed that local governments can impose lockdowns and coronavirus roadblocks and constantly flouts public health recommendations by shaking hands with supporters.

Amid Bolsonaro's rejection of coronavirus danger, most of the country's 27 governors have criticized his stance but none have imposed mandatory statewide lockdown measures recommended by experts. Instead, the governors have either applied selective lockdowns in cities or deferred to mayors to make those decisions.

Governors had been hoping the virus would not spread in Brazil's warm climate, but the response is also a reflection of Brazil's political landscape because governors depend on mayors to endorse their re-election campaigns.

Many worry that imposing mandatory lockdowns could hurt local leaders in this year's municipal election, decreasing support for incumbent governors in their 2022 campaigns, said Thiago de Arago, director of strategy of the Arko Advice political consultancy.

But as the death toll rose from less than 7,000 to more than 10,000 last week, local authorities began adopting stricter anti-virus measures.

The riverside community of Tefe in the Amazon region was among the first, with a lockdown decree specifying criminal charges for residents leaving home except for visits to hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets.

The mayor imposed it because only about half of Tefe's 60,000 residents complied with an earlier recommendation by the governor of Amazonas state to take virus precautions.

Those who did not comply "think they're immortal, that they won't get it, Tefe Mayor Normando Bessa de S said on Facebook.

Over the next three days, the governors of the northern and northeastern states of Maranhao, Para and Ceara decreed lockdowns for their capital cities as intensive-care units filled with COVID-19 patients.

Despite the new lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo still don't have mandatory stay-at-home-orders at the state or city level even though they are the hardest hit places in Brazil.

Lockdowns should have been imposed at least three weeks ago, when the epidemic was already increasing, but not at this speed that it is now, said Margareth Dalcolmo, a respiratory physician and researcher with the widely respected Oswaldo Cruz Foundation biological research group.

I gave that recommendation more than once, said Dalcolmo, among the experts on a COVID-19 panel that advises Rio's governor.

Rio Gov. Wilson Witzel has decreed non-binding quarantine recommendations and commerce restrictions through the end of May. He pledged to make police available so the state's 92 mayors can enact lockdowns, instead of imposing them himself.

In another example of Brazil's scattershot local lockdowns, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella on Monday prohibited non-residents from entering 11 neighborhoods and ordered the closure of all businesses except supermarkets and pharmacies in the teeming slums called favelas.

People still haven't perceived the need to avoid gatherings, stay home, Crivella complained.

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

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Overworked and stressed by the lockdown enforcement and contact tracing of Covid-19 cases, Odisha Police is all set to get additional forces to assist them during the pandemic as the State Government has approved re-engagement of 2,394 retired personnel as Special Police Officers (SPOs).Sources at the Home department said the SPOs will be deployed for a period of three months or actual filling of existing vacancies, whichever is earlier.

The SPOs will be engaged against the vacancies in different districts. The monthly consolidated remuneration of the personnel will be guided by the Finance departments 2018 order, an official told The Express.The personnel would be drawn from those retired from State Police or central armed police force. The official said, care will be taken to ensure that persons suffering from any co-morbidities are not deployed.

Odisha Police had earlier moved the Government seeking re-engagement of retired personnel following extension of lockdown last month as large-scale vacancies took a toll on the workforce. The police not only stood guard 24x7 amid extreme conditions and came to the rescue of people at the time of their need, they contributed majorly in tracing of contacts of Covid positive cases.

Of the 26,709 sanctioned posts in different districts and urban police districts, 2,394 posts in the rank of Inspector, Sub-Inspector (SI), Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) and Constables are lying vacant. Of the sanctioned 748 posts of Inspectors, 25 are lying vacant, 2,065 SIs and 573 Constables are in position against the sanctioned strength of 2,736 and 19,789 respectively. More than 30 per cent posts are lying vacant in the rank of ASIs as 2,311 are posted in place of 3,436.

The State Police is facing difficulties for deployment of adequate manpower at different containment zones and quarantine centres due to large-scale vacancies. Uninterrupted round-the-clock deployment on roads and containment zones is adversely affecting the sensitiveness and moral of the existing manpower, said a police officer.

The Government has also given its nod for contractual engagement of additional 470 Ex-Servicemen in Odisha Special Striking Force (OSSF) for a period of six months to assist police during the pandemic.

The engagement of 470 personnel is over and above the existing sanctioned strength of OSSF. The State Police Headquarters will review their performance after three months and they will continue for next three months if found satisfactory, the Home department official added.
Grandfather Stephen Hall, 83, has led police on a 20-minute chase after allegedly speeding through a COVID-19 checkpoint

A grandfather who led police on a 20-minute chase after allegedly speeding through a COVID-19 checkpoint has insisted he is innocent.

Stephen Hall, 83, allegedly sped through an army road stop at Morangup, north-west of Perth on Monday afternoon.

Mr Hall said officers pursued him for an hour and a half through the town of Toodyay before they finally punctured his tyres using a stinger.

The grandfather, who said he was on his way to see a friend in the town, claimed he had stopped for police at the checkpoint and given them his licence.

Police allege the driver was told he was not allowed to pass through, but accelerated through the checkpoint regardless.

Scroll down for video

Mr Hall's jeep has been impounded in the nearby town of Northam after all four of its tyres were punctured

'An officer at the far end of the checkpoint also signalled for the driver to stop, however the vehicle continued,' a Western Australia police spokesperson said.

The state has been split up into nine different regions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus - with fines of $50,000 in place for crossing their borders without an essential reason.

'I gave him everything. [They said] "where are you going" and I said "Toodyay - I'm coming back in an hour or so,"' Mr Hall told 9News.

'When they found out I was 83 years of age, there was a young girl who said "you're joking" and I said "no I'm not."'

Mr Hall's jeep has been impounded in the nearby town of Northam after all four of its tyres were punctured.

He believes police owe him a new set of tyres and he did nothing wrong.

Officers pursued him for an hour and a half through the town of Toodyay before they finally punctured his tyres using a stinger on rural Lovers Lane

'I gave them a run for their money - they've never had a run like that I don't think,' he said.

'I've done nothing wrong - I just put my foot down.'

Mr Hall said he plans to fight the charges in court, where he will appear at a later date.
More than 100 MEPs have written to the European Commission president calling for a formal investigation into the death of a Pakistani man on Turkey's border with Greece in March.

The letter, to Ursula von der Leyen, was prompted by a probe into the death of Muhammad Gulzar by open-source investigators at Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports and Forensic Architecture, which was contributed to by Sky News and German magazine Der Spiegel.

The letter says: "We... expect that the European Commission takes its responsibility to undertake a thorough investigation to the findings revealed by the reconstruction, which give rise to grave concerns, and to report its findings to the European Parliament.

"If both the Greek government and the European Commission remain unresponsive to these allegations, we would witness an impunity which cannot be tolerated in a union that is based on respect for the rule of law."

Muhammad Gulzar was shot dead in an incident on 4 March as thousands of migrants gathered at the European Union's southern frontier at Edirne on the Turkey-Greece border.

The migrants had been encouraged to the border over a period of several days after Turkey stood down guards on its side of the frontier.

The Turkish government was attempting to pressure European Union nations to take in more migrants and to take a more active role in the Syrian conflict.

As thousands of migrants gathered at the border, and pressure mounted, the Greek authorities reinforced their side with soldiers to maintain the frontier's integrity.

Mr Gulzar was among seven men hit with live rounds near the border fence on the morning of 4 March. The Turkish authorities accused the Greek side of firing the bullets .

Greece swiftly issued a denial, dismissing the incident as "fake news" .

Sky News probed the background of the victim, putting a name and a face to the dead man .

We obtained documents revealing that Muhammad Gulzar, 42, had actually lived in Greece since 2008. He had returned to Pakistan in January to see family and to get married.

Story continues

We spoke to his son, from a first marriage, who explained that he had been on the border that day because he thought, like thousands of others, that it had been opened.

Mr Gulzar did not have residency in Greece but is thought to have been in the process of trying to obtain it. He was known to immigration officials.

In parallel to the Sky News probe, a joint Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Forensic Architecture investigation found that it was likely that the bullets which hit Mr Gulzar and the other men came from the direction of the Greek side of the border.

The Greek government has repeated its insistence that no live rounds were fired on the border at that time. However, no alternative explanation has been provided for the shootings or the death.

The MEPs ask: "Did the commission receive any counter evidence or investigative reports from the Greek government that legitimise this position and the categorisation of these allegations as 'fake news'?"

Read the full letter here .
'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.'

'To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar,' suggests Virendra Kapoor.

IMAGE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the chief ministers's conference with the prime minister, May 11, 2020.

It is now certain that the coronavirus will not end on May 17. And even if the lockdown is finally lifted at some stage, the virus may still be around to torment large sections of the population.

In other words, we have to try and live with the virus till a vaccine is found.

But we cannot keep the economy shut waiting for the vaccine. Therefore, governments should begin to prepare themselves, and the people, about the drill to be followed while living with the virus.

However, given the haphazard manner in which partial opening was botched by a lack of clarity and poor coordination between various authorities, central and state, the reopening too is likely to be a chaotic affair.

To illustrate, what use is permission to industrial units in Gurgaon and Noida to reopen if there is no movement out is allowed.

People are keen to resume economic activity even risking infection, but the government has to first remove hurdles in their path.

The relaxations given thus far indicate the government itself was not sure if it was doing the right thing by partially lifting the lockdown. A gradual, calibrated opening of the economy is bound to pose more hassles than keeping it shut down, a point made by a number of industrialists.

There can be nothing more pressing in favour of a full exit from the lockdown than the plight of the poor and the daily wagers. They cannot survive without daily income.

Not that they are assured of food and work back home. Desperation forced them to head for the city in order to feed their families. When the pandemic forced the city to forsake them, they are headed home.

At least, there will be a roof over their heads while they can somehow rustle up something to fill their empty stomachs with. More importantly, a social anchor to share common sorrows and minor reliefs is available only in their villages.

Besides, a number of welfare schemes directed specially at the rural poor will benefit the returning migrants.

IMAGE: A family from Madhya Pradesh walks along a road in Navi Mumbai to reach their village, May 11, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

Modi 1.0 focused almost exclusively on welfare schemes for the rural poor, causing his urban middle class base to protest the neglect. Once they are back home, migrants can always benefit from the Jana Dhan scheme, subsidised cooking gas, rural toilets, cash payments to farmers, etc.

Admittedly, for the migrants this is a necessary but temporary return to their villages. Sooner than later, they have to return to the cities and towns to help restart the economic engine.

However, for that economic engine to spring back to life sooner than later, the government needs to shed ideological blinkers and undertake urgent structural reforms in labour, finance and land.

Without removing the shackles on growth in these key sectors, India cannot profit from the exodus of foreign businesses from China.

Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.

To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar. China, a closed society, opened its doors to foreign money and enterprise.

In sharp contrast, we are an open society, but we hate to keep our doors even slightly ajar for foreign investment and manufacturing.

IMAGE: Migrants from various northern states walk towards their villages in the searing heat along the Mumbai-Nashik highway in Thane, May 11, 2020. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo

Given that India is headed for a deep recession along with all other major global economies, given that the costs of fighting the pandemic and the resulting disruption of economic activity threatens to push growth into the negative territory, reforms in labour, land and capital alone can once again fire the animal spirits of investors.

Neither piecemeal labaour reforms by state governments nor myriad inducements by the RBI for fresh credit off-take by industry and commerce will work when overall sentiment is pessimistic.

The onus to create conducive conditions for growth lies with the prime minister. Any more hesitation and self-doubt will hurt the national cause.

Meanwhile, he can ignore the critics who are widely known to be hostile. The Opposition will oppose robotically whatever he does. So, if he is holding back on carrying out the long-delayed second set of reforms for fear that he will be accused of a 'sell-out,' he is wrong.

Those who have made it their business to abuse, will abuse, regardless of what he does.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi at the conference call with chief ministers, May 11, 2020.

Whether or not he undertakes reforms which will provide a much-needed spurt to growth, attracting businesses leaving China by the droves in the wake of its more assertive foreign and defence stance, Modi cannot expect to win brownie points from those who are viscerally hostile to him.

What then is keeping him from doing the right thing by the economy?

Or is it that the purveyors of the voodoo economics in the Swadeshi Jagran Manch insist on continuing with the current control-and-command order?

These backwoodsmen were wrong when P V Narasimha Rao unleashed the reforms in 1991. Modi now has a golden opportunity to prove them wrong yet again.

Pandemic-hit India does not need a band-aid of tiny, incremental, reforms, but a comprehensive package to pave the way for robust double-digit growth in the next couple of years.

Absent these reforms, we will be fortunate if we can return to the 'Hindu rate of growth,' and thus further bloat the numbers of people below the poverty-line.

Virendra Kapoor is a veteran political commentator.
Former congressman Trey Gowdy admitted during a Monday appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight that he had been wrong in relying on the word of the FBI and the DOJ during hearings on the Trump-Russia probe, saying he realized his mistake after reviewing the documents related to the opening of the investigation.

Carlson played Gowdy a clip of the former South Carolina Republican saying in May 2018 that after being briefed, he was more convinced the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got, and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.

When Carlson then asked do you still feel that way? Gowdy replied oh gosh, no.

I made a lot of mistakes in life  relying on briefings, and not insisting on the documents, Gowdy explained, saying he changed his mind about three weeks after his public comments.

I went to the Department of Justice. I sat there for four hours. Thats when I saw that Peter Strzok actually initiated and approved Crossfire Hurricane. Thats when I saw the exculpatory information on George Papadopoulos. Thats when I saw for the very first time that it was the Trump campaign mentioned in that predicate document, Gowdy elaborated, adding that the officials called to testify had been telling us all along, Trumps not the target, the campaigns not the target.

So yes, my mistake was relying on the word of the FBI and the DOJ and not insisting on the documents. Luckily it took me three weeks to correct that mistake, Gowdy stated.

Tucker Carlson presses Trey Gowdy on his defense of the FBI's actions during the Russia investigation: "My mistake was relying on the word of the FBI and the DOJ and not insisting on all of the documents. Luckily, it took me about three weeks to correct that mistake." pic.twitter.com/nsAXL1lb8g  Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 12, 2020

Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) released the 53 probes transcripts after House Republicans accused him of blocking their release. The documents showed that former Obama administration officials repeatedly denied having evidence of collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

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I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting [or] conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election, said former director of national intelligence James Clapper.

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The Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanyin Agyekum has condemned the stigmatization of persons infected with Coronavirus in the country.



Professor Agyekum resented the character of some Ghanaians towards infected people and those who have recovered from the disease saying it utterly unhelpful to the social fabric of the economy.



He questioned the logic in stigmatizing people when the prayer of the nation should be to have more recovering cases and not deaths.



According to Professor Agyekum, it should be good news for Ghanaians to know that people are recovering from the disease.



''It is an abomination to stigmatize someone who tests positive and recovers from positive to negative meaning they don't have the disease'', he said on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''.



Listen to his submission in the video below:





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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By Express News Service

PATNA: In the past nine days, the number of migrant labourers turning positive for COVID-19 is higher for retuness from New Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra in Bihar.

With the mass return of migrant workers by the special trains, the health department prepared for data for the period of May 4 to May 12 till 10 am.

The data has been prepared first nine days after the positive cases started getting reported from rural areas in particular w.r.t return of migrant workers by trains.

According to official data, 55 migrant labourers infected with the COVID-19 have returned from New Delhi between May 4 and May 12 by trains to Bihar.

Gujarat followed New Delhi with 46 migrant workers infected positive with COVID-19.

After Gujarat has been followed by Maharashtra from where 44 migrants have returned carrying COVID-19 infection. Out of the 44, two of them, aged about 60 and 45, were among the six positive patients who have died so far in the state.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE

The neighbouring state West Bengal stands as the fourth state from where 16 migrant labourers have returned carrying infection including a group of six in Samastipur.

Compared to West Bengal, another neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh repatriated only 11 migrant labourers infected with COVID-19 followed by six from Rajasthan,3 from Telangana, 3 from Haryana and 1 from Kerala and 1 from Jharkhand.

Among all the 190 COVID-19 positive cases, infection trails of four migrants are still not being ascertained as to from where or whom they have been infected with.

Among Bihar's 37 affected districts, Begusarai has witnessed the highest number of 26 COVID- 19 positive migrant labourers followed by 15 in Nalanda, 13 in each Bhagalpur and Munger, 11 in Saharsa, 10 in Khagaria, 8 in Samastipur, 7 each in Sheikhpura, Darbhanga and Madhepura, 6 each in Muzaffarpur and Arwal and rest in other districts.

Principal Secretary of Health Department, Sanjay Kumar said that all these migrants have been placed under institutional quarantine centers across the concerned areas. He said that the total count of Covid-19 positive reached 830 on Tuesday with 52 fresh cases reported positive.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the manifest incompetence of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency is destroying Nigeria.

PDP said Buharis lack of visibility and failure to personally lead from the front is responsible for the failure to check the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, says commercial bus drivers and their conductors are culpable in the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, he accused them of aiding the spread of the disease by sharing facemasks to their passengers who dont have and also retrieving it back when they alight only to give out same to another sets of passengers.

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The chief nursing officer at a family health care provider in Oke-Ilewo area of Abeokuta has raised the alarm that there could be population surge in Ogun state when the lockdown on the state is finally relaxed.

The chief nurse said this might be so because women who use various contraceptive method in family planning have not been able to access health cares in the state as a result of the lockdown.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has donated all its 425 health facilities across the country as isolation centers for COVID-19.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), said state governments can now take advantage of the facilities.

Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Onueze Okocha (SAN) says measures taken by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike to fight coronavirus pandemic are appropriate.

According to Okocha (SAN), anyone who is uncomfortable with the Executive Orders should approach the courts.

A new report has indicated that Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia state is still in Kuje prison, despite the Supreme court ruling that ordered a fresh trial for him.

According to the report, this is so because he did not include a release clause in the application he filed.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has dismissed rumours that the telecoms industry will switch to fifth-generation (5G) network on May 12.

There have been claims from various quarters that 5G radiation is linked to the COVID-19 pandemic  one that has left many people apprehensive of the technological advancement.

Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to lift the ban on domestic flights.

He said lifting the ban is necessary as the economic loss being incurred is be too much for the country to bear.

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Senior Pastor of Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC)  formerly known as The Latter Rain Assembly, has called on Nigerian church leaders to offer their church halls as Isolation centers to the government as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Bakares advice comes days after Bishop David Oyedepo and Chris Oyakhilome kicked against the federal governments Continuous ban on religious gatherings.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has accused his counterparts in the North of playing politics with the evacuation of Almajiri and their COVID-19 status.

Some of the Almajiris had tested positive to COVID-19 upon arrival in their States of origin.

Former Nigeria President, Goodluck Jonathan, has said he has cut down on his involvement in politics since 2015, so he can concentrate on his Foundation.

Jonathan stated this during the inauguration of the Bayelsa State executive council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by Governor Douye Diri on Sunday.
Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has advised the President Muhammadu Buhari government against express consumption of the Madagascan Coronavirus remedy, known as COVID Organic when it arrives in Nigeria.

Recall that on Monday, President Buhari directed the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 to pick up the Coronavirus remedy.

Also Read: Shehu Sani Queries FG Plans To Feed Primary School Pupils

Reacting to the development, the former lawmaker from Kaduna, advised that the drug must first go through a scientific test to determine its effectiveness and side effects before being given to coronavirus patients in the country.

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See his tweet below:
Holcim Philippines continues to improve health and safety controls against Covid-19 at its sites to protect the well-being of people, partners, and the community as the company prepares to resume operations following the governments easing of enhanced community quarantines.

The company has installed additional hand washing stations in all its sites to further strengthen protections of workers against Covid-19

The company closed sites and facilities in Luzon in compliance with the national government directive of an enhanced community quarantine on 16 March 2020. The company also shut down its plant in Davao City following a similar action by the local government on 2 April 2020.

Holcim Philippines President and CEO John Stull expressed confidence that the companys strong health and safety culture and well-thought-out plans enable it to protect people from Covid-19 when operations resume. Initiatives will draw from best practices across the LafargeHolcim Group and focus on social distancing, personal hygiene and health checks.

In Lugait, Misamis Oriental our plant continues to run without any Covid-related incident further proving that our strength in Health and Safety enables us to properly manage these risks. Lugait also provides a model on how we can protect the well-being of people when we restart operations of our other sites, Stull added.

The companys skeleton teams in all its sites have installed markers to guide people in staying two meters apart as prescribed for social distancing and built hand washing stations. Holcim Philippines also continues to share information to employees and partners on Covid-19 to help them be more aware and mindful on protecting themselves against the disease.

Stull said the company welcomes the governments measured efforts to ensure business activities can resume safely. He added that Holcim Philippines will continue to strictly adhere to the guidance of health authorities on this matter and be ready to share such best practices to partners, industry groups, and government agencies to help in the safe resumption of building activity in the country.

Holcim has also shifted its corporate citizenship budget to provide medical supplies to hospitals treating coronavirus patients and food and hygiene products to communities hosting its facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Manila, Batangas, Iloilo, Misamis Oriental and Davao City. Approximately 1,500 families and government front line workers have benefitted from the first batch of relief operations completed as of April 14.
Over 230 Indians were repatriated from Manila, Philippines by a special Air India flight under the 'Vande Bharat' mission which landed here at the IGI Airport on late Tuesday night.

During the fifth day of the Vande Bharat Mission, both Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express brought back passengers from the UK, US, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and the Gulf states to several cities in the country.

On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement that over 6,000 stranded citizens abroad have been flown back to India on 31 flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission in five days beginning from May 7.

The Centre has initiated the mission - one of the largest initiatives to repatriate Indian nationals, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs and state governments.

"Air India, along with its subsidiary Air India Express, are operating a total of 64 flights (42 by Air India & 24 by AI Express) to 12 countries viz. USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase," the ministry said in a statement.

"Each and every function in this massive air evacuation mission strictly adheres to the safety and hygiene protocol laid down by the Government and DGCA. MoCA, AAI and Air India leave no stone unturned to prioritise the safety of passengers, the crew and ground handling staff in these sensitive medical evacuation missions," it added.

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Hundreds of couples have presented themselves to be examined at the Lattakia Prenuptial Clinic before getting married writes Al-Watan.

The Director of the Lattakia Prenuptial Clinic, Dr. Aghnar Abdellatif, told Al-Watan that 460 people (230 couples) had been examined in the past two days.

Since the clinics reopening last Sunday, 95 couples were examined on the first day, followed by 135 pairs the following day, that Monday, indicating a large daily increase in examinations, Abdellatif said.

She stressed that the center is taking new measures due to the heavy traffic, following general health and safety rules, including setting aside one floorpreviously the headquarters of the Doctors Syndicateas a waiting room, and only allowing five couples into the clinic at a time to reduce crowding. Staff are also distributing masks to everyone and taking precautions to sterilize hands and immediately sterilize surfaces touched by the patients.

The clinic carries out all the necessary medical tests and lab analyses for prenuptials, including the census and tests for genetic diseases, hepatitis, and AIDS, Abdellatif said. The results of the tests are ready between 48-72 hours later.

She denied that there is an increase of 10,200 Syrian pounds in the cost of testing, noting that the reporting period is valid for three months after the test results.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The BJP on Tuesday hit out at



West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her comments that the lockdown was "poorly planned" and said she is trying to shift the blame on the Central government in order to "hide her own failures".

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said in order to "escape from the COVID mess that the chief minister herself has created, the health secretary was made the scapegoat. She has a habit of blaming the Centre for everything. This time too there is no difference."



Ghosh claimed that the situation in Bengal would have been much better today had she followed and imposed the lockdown in a better way.

His comments come in the backdrop of Banerjee on Monday terming the lockdown as "poorly planned" during a video conferencing the Prime Minister had with the chief ministers of all states.

Ghosh claimed the removal of the health secretary proves that there was "something seriously wrong with the state's handling of the pandemic".

"Earlier when questions were raised over the PDS system, the state had removed its food secretary, now when questions are being raised over the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, the health secretary has been shunted. This proves that the allegations were correct and the state government is now trying to clean the mess by using scapegoats," he said.

"All the decisions are taken after a nod by the chief minister, then how can she deny her responsibility?" Ghosh asked.

Amid raging controversy over alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, Banerjee on Tuesday cracked the whip on Health Secretary Vivek Kumar by transferring him from the post, prompting the opposition to claim the removal only proves "something was seriously wrong".

The state BJP president demanded that the state government should preserve the ashes of Hindu patients who died of COVID, so that their family members can conduct the last rites with the ashes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The collision of U.S.-China rivalry with a global pandemic seems to vindicate the argument that globalization has peaked  supply chains will shrink, multilateralism will fade, and human connections across oceans and borders will fray.

The big picture: This narrative holds that globalization took root after World War II, accelerated after the fall of the Soviet Union, and is now under threat as nationalism rises in the West and China rises in the East. But thats just a sliver of the story.

In a forthcoming book, Jeffrey Sachs traces globalization back to the very beginning  some 70,000 years ago.

Sachs demonstrates in "The Ages of Globalization" that since the great dispersal from Africa, humanity has been on an unceasing trajectory toward deeper linkages between more people across greater distances.

In the 14th century, it took 16 years for the bubonic plague to spread from China to Italy.

"In our time, the pathogen arrived within days by nonstop flight from Wuhan to Rome," Sachs writes.

The talk of "peak globalization" is "mostly noise," Sachs tells Axios.

As what Sachs considers the seventh age of globalization (the Digital Age ) dawns, "we are intensely interconnected and we are going to remain that way."

) dawns, "we are intensely interconnected and we are going to remain that way." We may bemoan the dangers of globalization, Sachs argues, but we're unwilling to give up its fruits. Over Zoom, he holds up his morning coffee, harvested in Indonesia.

Sachs believes we are at a "hinge moment" geopolitically, however, as the COVID-19 crisis heralds the end of American global leadership.

Sachs traces the global balance of power across millennia in his book, and he finds it unsurprising that China  which was for centuries the most advanced civilization on Earth  is once again a leading power.

More worryingly, the book demonstrates that both shifts in power and major technological breakthroughs often lead to war.

Zoom out: Sachs divides human history into seven "ages of globalization."

The Paleolithic Age (70,00010,000 BCE) gives way to the Neolithic Age (10,0003,000 BCE) with the arrival of agriculture and trade between villages.

(70,00010,000 BCE) gives way to the (10,0003,000 BCE) with the arrival of agriculture and trade between villages. In the Equestrian Age (3,0001,000 BCE), the domestication of the horse allows for long-distance overland travel. In the Classical Age (1,000 BCE1,500 CE), vast empires form and compete.

(3,0001,000 BCE), the domestication of the horse allows for long-distance overland travel. In the (1,000 BCE1,500 CE), vast empires form and compete. The Ocean Age (1,5001,800) brings genuinely global conquest and commerce, which accelerates as the Industrial Age (18002000) ushers in new technologies and the first truly global powers  the U.K. and then the U.S.

The bottom line: Sachs' unstated argument is that the histories of humanity and of globalization are one and the same.

Just as knowledge and culture spread through globalization, so too did slavery and disease.

"Globalization has always created risks," Sachs says. "The bad spreads very quickly, along with the good."

What to watch: Globalization allowed COVID-19 to spread to every country on Earth. Now humanity must hope an intense international effort will yield a vaccine, and that it will spread globally too.
BA pilots who face losing their jobs because of the coronavirus lockdown could be given temporary RAF roles.

The pilots' union BALPA is in talks with the air force to send pilots into RAF roles for up to four years.

BA and the RAF have had a working relationship for years where military pilots have joined the commercial airline.

But the devastation that the coronavirus lockdown has caused the travel industry has reversed these roles.

'The RAF will select individuals based on suitability, including background, relevant experience, and qualifications,' BAPLA said in a memo sent to BA pilots.

BA pilots who are facing losing their jobs could do secondments with the RAF if the BA agrees to welcome them back afterwards. Pictured: RAF T2 two-seat trainer aircrafts

The memo also said that, unlike before, the RAF would also at pilots without any military background.

They have discussed secondments between 18 and 48 months but any final plans depend on BA's willingness to welcome pilots back to the commercial airline after secondments are completed.

'BALPA has entered urgent negotiations with British Airways about its proposed job losses and the company has yet to justify the scale of its planned cuts. We will fight to save as many of those jobs as we can,' said BAPLA.

In April BA said it might have to make 12,000 employees redundant including more than 1,100 BA pilots which is why the union is looking at other options.

BA is looking at making 12,000 employees redundant including over 1,100 pilots which is why the union is looking at other options. Pictured: Stock photo of a BA commercial plane

'BALPA is exploring all avenues to ensure its members are not dumped by the company and left with no options, the union said.

BALPA and the RAF have discussed both flying jobs and jobs on the ground for suitable BA pilots.

'The success of any scheme like this will be dependent on BA's willingness to negotiate suitable terms with BALPA,' they said.

As well as BALPA the RAF are also in talks with other aviation firms like GKN Aerospace, British Aerospace and Ascent about potential secondments.

The RAF said: 'The Royal Air Force are always interested in recruiting high quality people and are currently in initial discussions with the UK aviation industry on the possibility of employing suitable available personnel.'

BA did not wish to comment.

A BA pilot got a new job as a Tesco delivery driver By Rory Tingle A British Airways pilot out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic has started a new job as a Tesco delivery driver. Peter Login was saluted for his temporary change of career as he ditched Boeing 747s for a Mercedes Sprinter to drop off food to Britons in coronavirus lockdown. BA has grounded all flights at Gatwick and dramatically cut its services at Heathrow, while pilots have been hit with a 50% pay cut for three months and told to take two weeks of unpaid leave in both April and May. British Airways pilot Peter Login with his partner, Marianne Whiston. They met while working for Thomas Cook, which is when they are pictured Mr Login behind the wheel of his Tesco delivery van (left) and while still working as a pilot (right) BA has furloughed 36,000 of its 45,000-strong workforce, including cabin and ground crew, engineers and office staff, who will now receive 80% of their pay from the government. The airline has axed all its flights to and from Gatwick Airport and London City - with a severely reduced schedule from Heathrow's Terminal 5. BA boss Alex Cruz also revealed that he won't take a salary for two months. Advertisement
Unmasking is a routine practice used to identify a U.S. person who is anonymously referred to in an intelligence document  in this case the intercepted conversations of Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador, who was a target of U.S. surveillance. Current and former officials said unmasking can be a vital tool for identifying potential spies or terrorists.

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Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, made the decision to declassify the list of officials involved, an action first reported by ABC News. Grenell provided the names to the Justice Department the day after it filed a motion to drop charges against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak. Flynn was also fired as national security adviser for lying to Vice President Pence about those communications, the White House said at the time.

Justice Dept. moves to drop case against Michael Flynn

Flynns communications with Kislyak were scrutinized as part of the FBIs investigation of Russian election interference and possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Last year, Attorney General William P. Barr appointed a career federal prosecutor, John H. Durham, to investigate the probes origins. Separately, the Justice Department inspector general found that the investigation was properly started and not influenced by political bias, but also found broad and serious performance failures requiring major changes.

A Justice Department official said the department had been reviewing unmasking as part of our broader review of 2016 and 2017. That would seem to refer to the investigation being conducted by Durham, and perhaps a related inquiry by U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen into high-profile cases in the D.C. U.S. attorneys office. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, declined to be more specific.

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On May 7, Attorney General William P. Barr defended dropping criminal charges against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. (Reuters)

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Grenells office delivered information related to unmasking to the department, and to the extent its relevant to any investigation, the department will take a look at it, the official said, adding that the Justice Department does not intend to release the list of those who directed unmaskings.

It was not clear if Grenell would release the names on his own. A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred questions on the matter to the Justice Department.

Releasing the names would be an unprecedented action and risk turning powerful authorities to declassify intelligence toward political ends, current and former intelligence officials said.

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Unmasking is common  literally hundreds of times a year across multiple administrations, said Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA and host of the Intelligence Matters podcast.

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In general, senior officials make the requests when necessary to understand the underlying intelligence, Morell said. I myself did it several times a month. You cant do your job without it.

Current and former officials defended the decision to unmask Flynn as vital to understanding if the Trump campaign, to which Flynn was a senior adviser, was seeking to undermine the Obama administrations foreign policy.

This is politics corrupting intelligence, said one former senior official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fears of retaliation by the Trump administration.

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The Trump administration has offered no evidence that the unmasking in Flynns case was improper or didnt follow standard rules.

FBI agents interviewed Flynn about his communications with Kislyak in an effort to advance their broader Russia probe, though the Justice Department indicated in a court filing last week seeking to undo Flynns plea that it has since decided the interview should not have been conducted.

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Legal analysts have lambasted that decision, which Jensen recommended and Barr ultimately made, asserting it seemed to be an example of the attorney general working to assist an associate of Trump.

A federal judge on Tuesday signaled he wouldnt immediately acquiesce to the departments request, indicating on the courts docket that he would accept filings from independent groups and legal experts who want to weigh in on the matter. That could preface more aggressive steps that the judge could take, including  as many outside observers have called for  holding a hearing to consider what to do.

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It wasnt immediately clear why Grenell chose to declassify the names. Trump has already granted Barr extraordinary authority to declassify intelligence as part of the Russia probe investigation.

When Trump appointed Grenell to replace former DNI Daniel Coats, intelligence veterans worried about putting an outspoken political loyalist and defender of the president in charge of U.S. spy agencies. Grenell frequently tweets in support of Trump and his policies and attacks journalists he believes are treating the administration unfairly.

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Grenell is also the U.S. ambassador to Germany.

The president has nominated Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) as the permanent DNI. He is not expected to get a Senate vote for at least a few weeks, congressional aides have said.

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The unmasking issue has been central to allegations by other presidential supporters that the Obama administration tried to harm Trumps campaign and undermine his presidency.

Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has long described the use of the authority as abusive.

But in late 2016, when Nunes served as chairman, the committee engaged in the same practice, asking U.S. intelligence agencies to reveal the names of U.S. individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russias election interference, The Washington Post has previously reported.

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This week, Trump again returned to his claims that the Obama administration had tried to undermine his campaign and his administration.

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Obamagate, its been going on for a long time, Trump said at a news conference about the coronavirus on Monday, indicating that more information was forthcoming.

Its been going on from before I even got elected. And its a disgrace that it happened. And if you look at whats gone on, and if you look at, now, all of this information thats being released  and from what I understand, thats only the beginning  some terrible things happened, and it should never be allowed to happen in our country again.

This story has been updated to make clear that Michael Flynn was the national security adviser-designate at the time of his phone calls with the Russian ambassador in 2016.

Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.
A policy adviser to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner was arrested Monday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly leaving her 4-year-old daughter unattended in her car for more than a half-hour.

Dana Lynn Bazelon, 40, was taken into custody about 3:30 p.m. on Rittenhouse Street near Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy, according to Mark Shade, a spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office, which is handling the matter.

Bazelon joined the District Attorneys Office when Krasner took over in January 2018 after running her own law practice and working for the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Her arrest was first reported by BigTrial.net.

Bazelon took her 6-year-old son for a walk and left her sleeping daughter in the backseat of her Ford Fusion with all four windows cracked but not enough for a person to be able to reach inside, a law-enforcement source said.

According to court records  which misspell Bazelons name as Bazemore  she was formally arrested Tuesday and released without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 22 in Family Court, according to the records.

The endangerment charge is a felony because of the childs age, said Bazelons attorney, James Funt, who spoke in her defense Tuesday.

Dana Bazelon has spent her life and career caring for and protecting people, Funt said. Since before this pandemic began and especially during these last few trying months, Ms. Bazelon has worked tirelessly to protect victims of crime as well as all the citizens of Philadelphia.

What is alleged today does not reflect the kind, caring, and loving mother she is. We are confident that when all of the facts are revealed, her true nature will be vindicated.
The outbreak of deadly coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the globe. Amid this entire crisis, India has been playing an important role at both the domestic and the diplomatic level. Here we are talking about our countrys assistance to other countries, especially in the strategically important Indian Ocean Region (IOR), amid the global health crisis. On Sunday, India launched the Mission Sagar initiative to provide assistance to the five island nations amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Mission Sagar is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR -- Security and Growth for All in the Region.

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India launched Mission Sagar on May 10 as part of the governments outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently said in a statement, "Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams embarked."



This is a great feat for India to build up goodwill in the global arena, which could result in elevated status in the post-COVID-19 period. Meanwhile on May 12, INS Kesari reached Male Port in Maldives, the first destination under Mission Sagar to provide 580 tonnes of essential food items.

#WATCH Indian Naval Ship Kesari docks at Male port in Maldives, the first destination under #MissionSagar. It will discharge 580 tonnes of essential food items here pic.twitter.com/SUtPGVhIY7  ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2020

India continues to be at the forefront in providing assistance to other countries during this testing time. The INS Kesari is carrying on board two medical assistance teams, medicines and essential food items, to countries in the southern Indian Ocean as part of this initiative.The countries including Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles had requested India for assistance in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time like this, India's gesture is being widely appreciated.

 PTI

Not just essential food items, India has also sent a huge consignment of medicines to a number of countries. Earlier, India sent a consignment of life-saving drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, to Mauritius and the Seychelles.



Besides, the medical assistance teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with COVID-19 emergency and dengue fever (in case of Comoros), the Ministry of External Affairs recently said.

 ANI

Heres how some of the people on Twitter reacted to Indias generous efforts:



Thank you India!  Hussain Mohamed (@HunuboliHussain) May 12, 2020

India for world  Sanjay Dugar  (@dugarsanjays) May 12, 2020

Thank you India! A friend in need is a friend in deed! And finally relieved to witness some actual action being taken after a series of hollow promises by our neighbours  Irfan Didi (@IrfanDidi3) May 12, 2020

Thank You India! You have shown who our real ally's are! Maldives would be grateful for the help...  Ahmed Nasheed (@AhmedNasheed16) May 12, 2020

Salute Indian navy  Rakesh (@rakeshbhaddi) May 12, 2020

This is a wonderful initiative and we salue the spirit of The Indian Navy.
The family of a black EMT are suing police after they say she was shot at least eight times in her Kentucky apartment by officers during a 'botched' drugs raid.

Breonna Taylor, 26, died in the early hours of March 13 after cops raided the home she shared with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker in Louisville.

Police say the search was part of a drugs investigation, but the suit says none were found at the home. Taylor's lawyers say the main suspect, Jamarcus Glover, was already in custody at the time of the raid.

Now Taylor's loved ones have launched wrongful death lawsuit against officers, hiring the civil rights lawyer also representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, the black jogger killed in Georgia in February.

The couple had been sleeping in bed when police raided their home and thought they were being broken in to, the suit says.

It claims that LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove entered their apartment shortly before 1am, without announcing themselves.

Breonna Taylor, 26, pictured, died in the early hours of March 13 after cops raided the home she shared with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker in Louisville

Walker, who has a license to carry, fired his gun thinking they were being robbed, his attorneys say. He now faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer after Sgt. Mattingly was hit.

The suit claims that LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, pictured, and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove entered their apartment without announcing themselves

Taylor - who had no criminal record and worked for two local hospitals - was killed after police fired at least 20 rounds into the home, according to the lawsuit. No police body cam is available.

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump called Taylor's death a 'senseless killing'.

He said in a statement: 'We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department.

'Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the department has not provided any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they taken responsibility for her senseless killing.'

He added: 'They're killing our sisters just like they're killing our brothers, but for whatever reason, we have not given our sisters the same attention that we have given to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, Terence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald.

'Breonna's name should be known by everybody in America who said those other names, because she was in her own home, doing absolutely nothing wrong.'

Taylor - who had no criminal record and worked for two local hospitals - was killed after police fired at least 20 rounds into the home, according to the lawsuit. No police body cam is available. Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump said Taylor's death a 'senseless killing'

Kenneth Walker, pictured, who has a license to carry, fired his gun thinking they were being robbed, his attorneys say. He now faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer after Sgt. Mattingly was hit

The suit adds: 'Neither of the two of them had any criminal history for drugs or violence.

'Breonna had committed no crime, posed no immediate threat to the safety of the defendants and did not actively resist or attempt to evade arrest prior to being repeatedly shot and killed by the defendants.

'The officers failed to use any sound reasonable judgement whatsover when firing more than 25 blind shots into multiple homes and causing the wrongful death of Breonna.'

Her family are seeking unspecified damages, alleging wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence from the officers.

Taylor's mom Tamika Palmer said: 'Not one person has talked to me. Not one person has explained anything to me. I want justice for her. I want them to say her name. There's no reason Breonna should be dead at all.

'She was an essential worker. She had to go to work. She didnt have a problem with that. To not be able to sleep in her own bed without someone busting down her door and taking her life. I was just like, Make sure you wash your hands!'

'The officers failed to use any sound reasonable judgement whatsover when firing more than 25 blind shots into multiple homes and causing the wrongful death of Breonna', the suit says

'This was clearly a botched execution of a warrant.' Attorney Sam Aguiar, who is also working with Taylor's family said. Activist Shaun King said: 'For weeks the city treated Breonna like she was a criminal. Police literally called her a 'suspect,' and said they killed a suspect for weeks, until finally being forced to admit they got the whole the wrong.' Guns shot marks in the home

Attorney Sam Aguiar, who is also working with Taylor's family, told The Courier Journal: 'LMPD has tried to sweep this under the rug. The family right now has a very understandable desire to know the full circumstances of what went on that night.

'This was clearly a botched execution of a warrant.'

Taylor's aunt, Bianca Austin, said: 'She really did not deserve to end her life so horrifically.'

Activist Shaun King wrote on Instagram: 'For weeks the city treated Breonna like she was a criminal. Police literally called her a 'suspect,' and said they killed a suspect for weeks, until finally being forced to admit they got the whole the wrong.

'They had no drugs. And they got the wrong people. She did EVERYTHING right. Everything.'

An LMPD spokesman said: 'We held a press conference about this shooting when it occurred to detail what we were able. The Public Integrity investigation remains ongoing, therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment.'
Washington, May 12 : US President Donald Trump said that America has beaten the coronavirus battle and that the number of those affected was falling, despite the country accounting for the highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the world.

At a press conference on Monday, Trump said his country has saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the fight against COVID-19, reports Efe news.

He said the US has accepted the task and the country had lived up to the task.

The claim drew comparisons on Twitter to the "mission accomplished" statement proclaimed in May 2003 by then-President George W. Bush, referring to the invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that the war would still last for many more years.

The US currently accounts for the world's highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at 1,347,388 and 80,397, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In addition, the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Assessments, whose projections the White House has drawn heavily on, estimates that the US will have topped 137,000 deaths in early August.

Asked about that projection, Trump opined that "many of those models are wrong", and at the same press conference he stressed that "the numbers are falling a lot throughout the country", something that does not agree with the data.

Although the daily increase in the number of deaths has stabilized and the University of Washington expects that indicator to drop until August, the number of infections continues to rise and this Sunday alone registered 20,000 new cases in the United States.

Trump also announced that he expects the US to pass the 10 million tests carried out this week and boasted that his country is the one that has carried out the most tests for coronavirus so far, although, when examined in terms of per capita, it lags behind less than Italy, Germany and Canada.

The President repeatedly insisted people can get tested in the US if they wish to, despite the number of tests carried out so far barely covers 3 per cent of the population and are only being done for those who show symptoms.

Trump also stressed that he was unhappy with China and not interested in renegotiating the terms of a partial trade agreement with the country in light of the economic effect of the pandemic.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
NEW YORK - Lawyers for President Donald Trump this week reiterated their argument that a defamation lawsuit from a woman who says Trump groped and kissed her without consent should be halted because the president is immune from lawsuits filed in state courts while serving in office.

A new 28-page court brief, filed Monday and released publicly by the New York Court of Appeals on Tuesday, is Trump's latest salvo in a multi-front legal battle to limit the ability of private citizens, Congress and even law enforcement to investigate him as a sitting president.

The release came on the same day Trump's lawyers argued to the United States Supreme Court that the president should be able to shield his tax returns and private business records from subpoenas issued by Democratic-led House congressional committees and the Manhattan district attorney. They argued that the president should be immune from requests he believed were political attempts to harass.

The filing in New York was also a pointed reminder that Trump continues to quietly battle two women in court who say he sexually assaulted them, fighting their efforts to obtain testimony and documents that could shed light on their accusations. The women, Summer Zervos and Jean Carroll, are among more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of unwanted physical contact in the years before he was elected.

Trump's efforts to fend off their legal claims come as his allies have sought to spotlight allegations that his likely Democratic rival in the general election, former vice president Joe Biden, sexually assaulted a Senate aide in 1993, a claim Biden has denied.

Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, declined to comment on the Zervos and Carroll cases.

This week's filing came in a defamation case brought by Zervos, a former contestant on the reality show "The Apprentice," who alleges that Trump aggressively groped and kissed her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007, at what she thought would be a meeting to discuss a job opportunity at the Trump Organization.

She first made the allegations in October 2016 after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women's genitals.

Trump denied her claims, calling her and other women who accused him of sexual misconduct liars who are motivated by politics and money. In 2017, Zervos filed suit against the president, arguing that Trump defamed her by accusing her of lying about the episode.

Since then, the case has been making its way through the New York court system. Lower-level state courts have rejected Trump's immunity arguments and allowed evidence to be gathered.

Phone records released as part of the case last year showed that Trump and Zervos exchanged six telephone calls over a three-month period around the time when she said the assault took place, including on a day when Trump's calendar showed that he was visiting Los Angeles.

A judge had ordered that Trump be deposed in the case, and he had been scheduled to give sworn testimony about his interactions with the California restaurant owner by Jan. 31.

But the deposition was put on hold when a panel of New York judges agreed that Trump's immunity argument should be heard by the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. Both sides have filed written briefs in advance of oral arguments before the court.

It is not expected to be heard until early 2021, though the coronavirus pandemic may delay proceedings further, according to a spokesperson for the court - meaning that the litigation is on hold until after the November election.

Arguments in the case have centered on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Clinton v. Jones, which found that a sitting president has no immunity against civil litigation. As a result, then-President Bill Clinton sat for testimony in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones.

The deposition later figured in Clinton's impeachment after he lied in his sworn testimony about his relationship with a White House intern.

Trump's lawyers have argued that the Clinton ruling should only apply to civil lawsuits filed in federal court, like the Jones case was. They argue that presidents should not face lawsuits from private individuals in state courts while in office, and so Zervos' litigation should be either dismissed or put on hold until Trump leaves office.

In the latest filing, Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz argued that state judges can't "exercise any control . . . over the President while he or she is in office."

Trump has also been fighting a lawsuit brought by longtime advice columnist and author Carroll, who last year accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s, which he has denied. The case is likewise in a holding pattern while a trial court judge in Manhattan determines how the Zervos case could affect it.

Carroll sued Trump in 2019 after writing in her book "What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal" that she was raped by Trump in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a New York department store, in 1995 or 1996.

Trump said that he'd never met Carroll, though they were photographed at the same event in the late 1980s.

In a statement to The Washington Post this month, Carroll said Trump had "damaged a reputation it took me decades of hard work to build."

In addition to denying her claims, Trump had derided the now-76-year-old Carroll as not his "type."

"I have been mocked and doubted, harassed and threatened, and am now seen by many as some crazy old bat who is 'not his type' and who made up a story of rape in order to sell more books," she said. "Every day that goes by with me unable to prove that I was telling the truth and that Donald Trump was not - is another day of waiting to obtain the justice that I deserve."

Carroll's lawyers have said the president's lawyers have imposed delay tactics from the start, writing in a February court filing that Trump "has done everything he can to stop the truth from ever coming out."

The president sought a dismissal on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that he couldn't be sued in New York because he is a resident of Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago residence was declared his official home.

Carroll's attorneys have also sought to collect Trump's DNA so it can be compared to material found on the dress she says she was wearing the day she says she was attacked, a request that is pending the judge's decision about whether Carroll's suit could be determined by Zervos' arguments.

At one point, Trump's team argued that the Carroll and Zervos cases were so different that they could not be handled by the same judge. Later, his attorneys argued that the cases were so similar that Carroll's needed to be on pause until the Court of Appeals ruling in the Zervos matter.

Carroll lawyer Roberta Kaplan wrote that the president's "takes on this case and Zervos have been remarkably inconsistent (even contradictory)," but that he "deserves credit for consistently doing everything possible" to avoid proceeding.

Kasowitz, Trump's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump's position in court stands in contrast with the political arguments being made against Biden by the president's GOP allies. In recent weeks, they have pressed Democratic lawmakers to answer whether they believe Reade, the former Biden aide, and demanded that the presumed Democratic nominee do more to answer the claim against him.

In an appearance on Fox News this month, Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and a campaign adviser, suggested that people innocent of sexual assault charges would engage in radical transparency to prove the allegations false.

"I would think if you were being accused of something and you were totally innocent you would go to any length possible . . . to try and clear your name including allowing people to open up files like that and make sure you've turned over every single leaf to prove your innocence," she said.

Biden requested that the secretary of the Senate search for and release any records related to a harassment complaint that Reade has said she filed against Biden's office. The Senate secretary replied that federal law would not allow for such documents, if they exist, to be released.

Reade's attorney this week sent Biden a letter asking him to open up his Senate office archives, maintained at the University of Delaware, and authorize a search any relevant records.

Trump himself has sounded more sympathetic to his Democratic rival, saying on Fox & Friends last week that Biden is "is going to have to be able to prove whatever he has to prove, or she has to prove it, but that's a battle he has to fight."

"I've had many false accusations made, I can tell you that," Trump added. "Many. And maybe it is a false accusation. Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake."
I can find no less restrictive means to protect the community, Acosta said, especially with the allegation that this is the second time Mr. Tran has been involved in a homicide.

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Tran is accused of stabbing three in the Monday incident: a 23-year-old woman who died at the scene, a 19-year-old woman who was still hospitalized in serious condition Tuesday and a 30-year-old man treated at the scene by paramedics.

Tran had gotten into an argument with the 30-year-old about unpaid rent, authorities said.

Police did not release the victims names Tuesday and said the deceased womans relatives had not been formally notified of her death.

Tran was born in Vietnam, came to the United States about 40 years ago and has lived in Maryland for the last 20 years, said Allen Wolf, Montgomery Countys head public defender who represented him in court Tuesday.

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Tran worked as a carpenter, building display cases for museums, Wolf said. He reportedly lost his job two weeks ago because of the coronavirus pandemic, a jail official said during Tuesdays court hearing.

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Authorities said he shared a home with his longtime girlfriend, who recently had moved into a nursing home. The womans son had come from Florida to help with her care and had moved into the home, Assistant States Attorney Donna Fenton said.

An argument arose apparently yesterday regarding the rent or the mortgage that was due at the home, Fenton said during the hearing Tuesday.

She alleged that Tran attacked the Florida man with the knife and chased him outside, before returning back to the home. Also inside the home, at the time, was the Florida mans girlfriend and another woman. Tran then attacked them, Fenton said, inflicting more serious wounds. A short time later, according to charging documents, he called 911.

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Tran stated he killed someone and asked for officers to respond to take him to jail, Detective Michael Carin wrote in an affidavit to support criminal charges.

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The woman who was not killed was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery.

Our best information, at this point in time, is that that young woman will survive, Fenton said.

During the video court hearing, Fenton held up a photo of the alleged murder weapon, noting visible blood would be forensically tested.

Also Monday in Montgomery County in a separate homicide, a 26-year-old called 911 just after 10 p.m. to report a shooting inside his apartment on February Circle.

Arriving officers met him outside the apartment building in the White Oak area and observed several visible injuries to his body, police said.

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Inside the apartment, they found a 21-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound. Authorities identified him as Marcus Ahmed Jordan of an unconfirmed address in Georgia.

The decedent was visiting and staying with his 26-year-old family member, police said in a statement. The two became involved in a physical altercation and during the altercation, the 26-year-old male shot Marcus Jordan.

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Detectives collected evidence, consulted with prosectors and released the alleged shooter without filing charges, police said. Authorities said they are continuing to investigate.

Tracking D.C.-area homicides.

12 jurors perform civic duty as coronavirus shuts down world around them

Prince Georges jail must plan to test more inmates for covid-19, federal judge orders

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[KTM-mot1954] souped up its SuperMoto-tastic 690 SMC R for a 2019 return with more of everything that made its predecessor a success. Thats right, a new powerplant drives KTMs newest version of its popular jackass bike, and it comes with new control and ride-quality electronics that helps you safely get the most out of the machine. Whether youre into drifting around turns or trick-riding shenanigans, this hooligan bike has something to offer.

KTM 690 SMC R Design

* Classic hooligan bike

* Rubber-mounted handlebar

* Slim design

* Short, slim footpegs for maximum lean

You could argue that all bikes are built for a purpose, maybe even more than one, but its difficult to find a more function-driven form than that of the KTM 690 SMC R. It still looks much like a classic hooligan bike, which is to say, essentially a dirtbike with street tires. The long suspension travel inherent in the design plays right into its acrobatic nature.

Its evident right off the bat with a pair of inverted front forks that hide an awful lot of exposed inner fork tube behind the splashguards, but actually carries the fender proper up on the lower tripleclamp, dirt-bike style. A cyclops headlight lights the way and sprouts a pair of small standoff turn signals to finish out the forward lighting, and I cant help but think KTM missed an opportunity by not locating the front blinkers in the stock handguards. Oh well, aftermarket parts makers kids need to eat, too.

A short-rise, tapered, rubber-mounted handlebar puts the pilots hands right right in line with the steering stem for the leverage and fine control it provides in that configuration. The flyline is made rather unusual looking by the boomerang-shaped bench seat that dominates the design and displaces the fuel tank so it covers almost all the way up to the steering head. A set of cheek fairings shroud the radiator, but to the factorys credit, it didnt try to simulate the fuel-tank bump but instead let the cowling flow aft to tie in with the subframe enclosure that hides a little surprise, but more on that later.

The saddle allows the rider to slide fore and aft to the extremes for technical work and trick-riding; just the thing for your hooliganery. Out back, another pair of short standoff blinkers bracket the underslung taillight over a short mudguard extension that uses the license plate as part of the coverage. I reckon the blinkers are kept short to prevent damage when you drop it, not if you drop it, cause lets face it; if you use this bike as its intended, youre liable to wind up busting your ass, and that right soon. Protip: dress for the slide, not for the ride.

KTM 690 SMC R Chassis

* Adjustable-offset tripletree

* WP APEX suspension

* fully adjustable rebound and compression

* Disengageable Bosch ABS

Tubular, variable-thickness, Chro-Moly members on the 690 SMC R make up the Trellis-type perimeter frame that just sort of hangs the engine and leaves the better part of it exposed where it dangles clear of the bones and body panels. Oh, and the hidden part of the subframe? Yeah, thats actually a load-bearing fuel tank.

The steering head rides at 26.4 degrees from the vertical with an adjustable offset in the tripletree that can be set to 22 mm or 24 mm. Out back, a cast swingarm articulates the rear wheel and runs a monolithic construction that is superior to a welded one, with a coil-over, WP APEX shock to tame the motion and support the rear end. The monoshock is fully adjustable with a total of four variables instead of the usual three since the compression damping comes with both a high- and low-speed setting. WP covers the front forks as well with a set of usd, APEX 48 stems. Theyre single-function forks that carry the compression damper on one side and the rebound damper on the other with a 30-click dial on each for easy adjustments.

A set of 17-inch, laced rims round out the rolling chassis. They rock CNC-milled hubs and what looks like stainless spokes, though that last is speculative since the factory doesnt exactly advertise its metallurgy in that area, but we do know they mount Bridgestone S21 hoops for cornering and stunt performance.

A single, 320 mm disc and four-bore, Brembo anchor slow the front wheel, and out back, another Brembo caliper bites a 240 mm disc with a dual-channel Bosch ABS feature. You can disable the new ABS entirely, set it to Supermoto mode that allows the rear wheel alone to break loose with reduced intervention at the front wheel, or go with the full-on, corner-sensitive anti-lock setting.

Frame: Chrome-moly tubular space frame, powder-coated Front Suspension: WP USD  48 mm Rear Suspension: WP shock absorber with Pro-Lever linkage Rake: 26.4 Suspension Travel Front/ Rear: 8.5 in (215 mm)/ 9.4 in (240 mm) Front Brake: 320 mm disc, Brembo four-piston radial fixed caliper Rear Brake: 240 mm disc, Single-piston floating caliper ABS: Two-channel Bosch 9.1 MP ABS (incl. Cornering ABS and Supermoto mode Disengegable)

KTM 690 SMC R Drivetrain

* 690 cc LC4 engine

* Power Assist Clutch

* Ride Modes

* Corner-sensitive traction control

* Quickshifter+

A new 690 LC4 plant drives the KTM 690 SMC R. Sure, its still a liquid-cooled thumper with a 105 mm bore and 80 mm stroke to give it  you guessed it  690 cc in total displacement. The fandanglery is strong with this one, and it starts out with a ride-by-wire throttle control that communicates with the Keihin Engine Management System. Theres a traction-control feature that, like the ABS, is also of the corner-sensitive variety, and a pair of Ride Modes to manage both the TC and the power delivery with a street and a sport setting.

The head mounts a quartet of poppets with a single over-head cam and a balancer that helps deal with the fore-and-aft rocking-couple forces generated by that big piston and con-rod. Down below, a second balancer counters the vibrations generated by the crankshaft, and thats a good thing cause a super-single like this is capable of delivering some pretty wicked vibes. Not in the good way, either.

Engine power flows through a Power Assist Clutch (slipper clutch) and a six-speed transmission with a Quick-shift feature that is a real marvel. Not only does it kill injection then goose the engine on upshifts, it helps smooth out downshifts by matching engine rpm to that of the new gear, all sans clutch. What does this get you? Well, it generates 74 horsepower and 54 pound-feet of torque that delivers around 124 mph at the top end, though thats certainly not the most important performance metric for this kind of machine.

Engine: single-cylinder, 4-stroke engine Displacement: 693 cc Bore x Stroke: 105 mm x 80 mm Power: 74 hp (55 kW) Torque: 54 lb-ft (73.5 Nm) Starter: Electric starter Lubrication: Forced oil lubrication with 2 oil pumps Transmission: 6-speed Cooling: Liquid cooled Clutch: PASC (TM) slipper clutch, hydraulically actuated EMS: Keihin EMS with RBW, twin ignition Chain: X-Ring 5/8 x 1/4"

KTM 690 SMC R Pricing

It looks like the MSRP is $12,499 for 2022. Naturally, the factory offers plenty of opportunities to boost that sticker with luggage and other accessories along with O.E.M. performance parts.

Color: Its a KTM. Take a guess. Price: $12,499

KTM 690 SMC R Competitors

Italian giant Ducati makes a dandy competitor for the KTM 690 SMC R with its Hypermotard 950. Sure, its a skosh larger in the engine department, but not everyone wants the biggest possible mill, so I figured this way you have a choice.

Ducati Hypermotard 950

The Duc carries itself in much the same way as the KTM. It runs a birds beak fairing for the same sort of high coverage as the SMC R but doubles down with a half-fender mounted with splashguard-style supports for a little lagniappe. Duc sticks the blinkers in the handguards, and of course, Im a fan.

While the 950 stores its fuel in the usual place, it maintains a low profile so its seat provides almost the same range of motion. Almost, but not quite since there has to be room for the filler and cap. Ducatis usual sense of style is somewhat subdued on its Hypermotard; the minimal body panels and ample exposed framing gives it an almost utilitarian look compared to its more sensual models.

Dual front brakes help haul down the Hypermotard and deal with the extra weight of its L-Twin engine, and it comes with cornering ABS, as well, to break even with the Austrian. Duc brings the alphabet soup with traction control and wheelie control on top of the ABS and the Riding Modes feature that binds them with a trio of preset profiles.

Naturally, the 937 cc plant brings a bit more mustard to the table with 114 ponies and 71 pounds o grunt against 74/54, and thats to be expected. Youll pay for that extra power of course, to the tune of $13,295, and with all other things so equal, I reckon it comes down to whether you can live without it or not.

Read our full review of the Ducati Hypermotard 950.

He Said

They call it power and comfort, though the Austrians persist in using, shall we say firm saddles that are not very comfortable, at least not to my bony butt. That said, the 690 SMC R delivers just what you need for your wheelies, endos, drifts, and whatever else you crazy folks do nowadays. If someone has to do it, Im glad its you instead of me.

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, Theres not really a lot of competition in this displacement range, but that doesnt stop KTM from making the 690 SMC R better than it was before. It has more power  about 10 percent more  and more torque as well as less vibration by adding a second balancer shaft to make the ride better. The torque curve is smoother so you get reliable power delivery. The factory outfitted the bike with some nice electronics that I just dont expect to see on a SuperMoto. I can see this bike being an awesome commuter as well as an all-around weekend fun bike.

KTM 690 SMC R Specifications

Engine & Drivetrain: Engine: single-cylinder, 4-stroke engine Displacement: 693 cc Bore x Stroke: 105 mm x 80 mm Power: 74 hp (55 kW) Torque: 54 lb-ft (73.5 Nm) Starter: Electric starter Lubrication: Forced oil lubrication with 2 oil pumps Transmission: 6-speed Cooling: Liquid cooled Clutch: PASC (TM) slipper clutch, hydraulically actuated EMS: Keihin EMS with RBW, twin ignition Chain: X-Ring 5/8 x 1/4" Chassis: Frame: Chrome-moly tubular space frame, powder-coated Front Suspension: WP USD  48 mm Rear Suspension: WP shock absorber with Pro-Lever linkage Rake: 26.4 Suspension Travel Front/ Rear: 8.5 in (215 mm)/ 9.4 in (240 mm) Front Brake: 320 mm disc, Brembo four-piston radial fixed caliper Rear Brake: 240 mm disc, Single-piston floating caliper ABS: Two-channel Bosch 9.1 MP ABS (incl. Cornering ABS and Supermoto mode Disengegable) Dimensions & Capacities: Seat Height: 35 in (890 mm) Tank Capacity (Approx.): 3.6 gal. (13.5 l) Dry Weight: 324 lbs (147 kg) Fuel Consumption: 60.8 mpg (3.87 l/100 km) Top Speed: 124 mph (est) Details: Color: Its a KTM. Take a guess. Price: $12,499

Further Reading

KTM

Read more KTM news.

Source: 2019 KTM 690 SMC R  Challenge Convention | KTM
The delayed imposition of the coronavirus lockdown led to a high death toll, a leading expert has said. Photo Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press

The delayed imposition of the coronavirus lockdown led to a high death toll, a leading expert has said.

Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman said the government followed public opinion rather than shaped it in the early days of the outbreak, before announcing the lockdown restrictions on March 23. But Sir Lawrence, a leading expert in strategic studies, insisted the government achieved its objective of not having the NHS overwhelmed. However, the threat to care homes was not given enough attention.

In an article for Survival, the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, he wrote in his assessment of the UK's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in March: "With government following rather than leading public opinion, a graduated approach was abandoned.

"The collective effort to suppress the spread of the coronavirus began before government announcements and had an effect before March 23.

"After March 23, the measures enjoyed wide public support and compliance was good.

"The government met its main target. The NHS was not overwhelmed. Yet the death toll is high. One reason for this, hard to quantify, was the delayed moving to lockdown. Another was simply that London is a global city and Europe's largest.

"But it is now clear that while preparing the NHS for an influx of cases, the threat to care homes was not only given insufficient attention, but even aggravated.

"The initial advice may have fitted the government's preference to avoid the social and economic costs of more stringent measures, but it is always the responsibility of ministers to interrogate advice and also to read movements in public opinion, in this case becoming anxious and impatient with half-measures."

Department of Health figures show that a total of 32,065 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, up by 210 from 31,855 the day before.

However, the number of deaths involving Covid-19 that have been registered across the UK currently stands at 33,021.

This includes 29,710 deaths that occurred in England and Wales up to April 24 - and which had been registered up to May - according to the Office for National Statistics.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, May 12 2020

Ori Kurniawan, the first Indonesian patient who has been reportedly reinfected with the virus causing COVID-19, has said that he generally feels well but had developed anxiety during his second round of treatment at a hospital in Medan.

I feel healthy, but I feel stressed out, Ori told North Sumatra COVID-19 task force spokesman Whiko Irwan during a teleconference on Saturday.

Ori, 25, who is an aide to North Sumatra Deputy Governor Musa Rajekshah, said that he had not developed any symptoms after he tested positive for the virus for a second time.

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The Oireachtas special committee on Covid-19 will hear from the Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan next Tuesday.

The new committee, which met for the first time today, will be chaired by Independent TD Michael McNamara, after beating Sinn Fein's David Cullinane in a ballot for the position.

The committee is to review the Government's response to the pandemic, and how Ireland will re-emerge from the Covid-19 lockdown and restart the economy.

The 19-strong committee met in a socially distanced Dail chamber to nominate the chair, before going into private session which lasted a number of hours, and did not reopen to the public.

Some who attended the committee described the early stages as "a revolving door" with " continual differences of opinion" but eventually landed on a general consensus on three sectors that need to be examined: Testing and tracing, nursing homes and residential facilities, and reopening the economy.

In the first session which will be carried out in two, two-hour long blocs next Tuesday, they will hear from Paul Reid, Chief Executive Officer of the HSE, as well as CMO Dr Tony Holohan and Jim Breslin secretary general from the Department of Health to discuss testing and tracing.

Testing and tracing were chosen due to the "urgency" the situation requires, People Before Profit TD Brid Smith said that the "reopening the economy and getting people back to work will be dangerous and pointless" if the State does not have the ability to readily identify those with the virus, and those who may have come into contact with them.

David Cullinane added that the group want to hear directly from the CMO about the capacity needed to reopen the economy safely.

"We will be focusing on the testing and tracing capacity and immediate issues facing us in those sectors in the here and now," he said.

Central to the issue will be the capacity of the State to test, trace and isolate, we need to find out if our capacity is adequate, have they capacity to carry out what we should be, and if we don't have that capacity, how damaging will that be?

"There will also be more scoping out of what they need in order to manage phased reopening."

The second session will cover the response to the outbreak in nursing homes and other residential settings, with representatives from Nursing Homes Ireland as well as the HSE coming before the committee.

The third will focus on re-opening the economy, with a focus on the construction sector, in which representatives from the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), the Construction Industry Federation, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, will appear.

It's understood the representatives will be asked how they plan to get staff back to work safely, and how these new working protocols will be monitored.

Only two nominations for chair were put forward in Mr McNamara, nominated by Green Party TD Ossian Smyth and David Cullinane, despite previous rumours that Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall and Fianna Fail's John McGuinness would also be nominated.

The committee went to a vote for the position, with Mr Cullinane receiving six votes in his favour, 12 against, and Mr McNamara abstaining.

Mr McNamara, a former Labour TD, said it was a "great honor" to be elected to the position and wanted proceedings to be as "collegiate a manner as possible".
Rishi Kapoor Had Accepted Alia Wholeheartedly

In a recent interaction with Bangalore Mirror, biographer Meena Iyer recalled her last meeting with Rishi Kapoor at his house during Holi and revealed that Mr Kapoor had accepted Ranbir Kapoor's girlfriend, Alia Bhatt, wholeheartedly.

Rishi Kapoors Last Birthday Present For Alia Bhatt

If you're wondering that it's a materialistic thing, let us tell you that it's beyond that! Meena Iyer revealed that despite undergoing chemotherapy, Rishi Kapoor was keen to take Ranbir and Alia out for a dinner, on the latter's birthday.

Heres What Meena Iyer Said..

"That evening (March 10), I learnt that the couple (Neetu and Rishi Kapoor) and Ranbir were likely to celebrate Alia Bhatt's birthday (March 15) together. Though he was in the middle of chemotherapy, Chintu told Neetu that he wanted to take his son and Alia out for a meal," said Meena Iyer.

Rishi Kapor Had Also Spoken About Ranbir-Alias Wedding

Meena Iyer had also revealed how Rishi Kapoor was looking forward to Ranbir-Alia's intimate wedding. She revealed, "Rishi Kapoor said to me that he would be okay if Ranbir wanted an intimate wedding. It's their call. I am okay with 45-odd people too. I will tell my friends, well-wishers to bless them. I will apologise and explain that everyone couldn't be invited because Ranbir is a private person. I respect his privacy,' he said."

For The Unversed..

From visiting Rishi Kapoor in the hospital to attending his last rites, Alia Bhatt stood firm as rock with her beau, Ranbir Kapoor and his mom, Neetu Kapoor.

Rishi Kapoor's LAST WISH When He Realised He Won't Be Able To Make It Will Leave You In Tears!

She also shared a heartfelt note on her Instagram page and wrote, "I thank the universe for giving me this opportunity to know him... today probably most of us can say he is like family - because that's how he made you feel! The love I've received from him is like a warm hug I'll always cherish."

We're sure Alia will cherish Kapoor Saab's memories in her heart!
While the Ohio Department of Health and Gov. Mike DeWine have classified churches as an essential operation during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Lake County General Health District stated that local religious leaders are seeking best practices to ensure the protection of their membership and the Lake County community.

The health district has recommended the following universal essential protective measures for services/weddings/funerals, noting that it is subject to change as the Stay Safe Ohio directives evolve:

Clean and sanitize the facility and all high touch point surfaces such as door handles, restrooms and water fountains between services.

Prop doors open if possible to reduce contact with common touch points.

Ensure a minimum of six-foot distance between families and/or individuals.

Promote hand washing and provide proper hygiene education/reminders.

Encourage individuals to conduct a self-assessment of their health each morning (anyone with a 100.4 degrees or higher temperature, or other flu-like symptoms should not attend services).

Continue to utilize social media to broadcast services to encourage at-risk members to stay at home.

Provide hand sanitizer or other hand washing supplies.

Face masks, face coverings, or face shields should be worn to protect others.

All physical contact should be avoided.

The health district also recommends the following best practices and modifications:

Outdoor services, when Northeast Ohio weather allows, is the preferred way to provide services to help ensure that individuals are maintaining a six-foot distance between families or members. Indoor services are permissible and additional steps should be considered to ensure safe distancing can be achieved.

Restrict the number of individuals to 50 percent of the maximum as determined by the fire code. Groups may want to utilize known pew/chair space and determine how many families and members can safely distance themselves for count at each service.

While at a church gathering, families should enter, sit, stand and exit as a group. No one should wander away from their family group.

Provide ushers to help facilitate social distancing for seating.

Dismissal should be controlled and attendees should be instructed to exit row by row to ensure no unnecessary crowding or congregating at the exits. If possible have one way to enter and exit to avoid contact.

Services may be conducted in parking lots where members are encouraged to remain in their cars. Cars can be spaced out.

Churches with multiple rooms/wings may consider conducting live or streaming sermons with maintaining groups of 10 or fewer placed in separate rooms throughout the facility.

Consider additional services to reduce the number of people at each service.

Whenever possible, have ministry groups meet in groups of 10 or fewer or in spaces that can accommodate sufficient social distancing.

Consider and utilize alternative methods of administering church offerings, communion, baptisms, and the Lords Supper that do not require physical contact. Avoid sharing cups and other commonly shared items.

Individuals with chronic disease or age 55 or older should be encouraged to not attend, and join via social media if available.

Maintain a log of attendees to help facilitate COVID-19 tracing should an individual later be identified as COVID-19 positive and/or having had a known exposure.

Encourage families and members to avoid parking next to each other in the parking lot and to leave quickly after services to avoid large gatherings to form in the lot.

Forgo serving foods, coffee stations and donut fellowships, as these are places where people will gather.

Forgo using hymnals, missals and physical church bulletins to limit hand-to-hand exposure.

Do not utilize nurseries, Sunday school, childrens church, or bus ministries at this time.

As the Stay Safe Ohio guidance evolves over the next year, LCGHD will still recommend following universal essential protective measures for funerals/weddings/church services stated above, the health district stated. We believe following these measures will ensure groups do the best job possible in keeping families and membership safe and healthy.

The health district stated that it is willing to review any plans developed by churches.

Church and faith-based organizational operations are not subject to approval by the health district, the agency stated. The health districts recommendations are intended to guide you in the right direction.

Those with questions can contact the health districts COVID-19 hotline at 440-350-2188.

Reopenings

DeWine announced during his May 7 press conference plans to reopen restaurants, bars and personal care services. Outdoor dining can resume May 15 and din-in service can resume May 21. Personal care services such as hair salons, barbershops, day spas, nail salons, and tanning facilities are also permitted to reopen on May 15.

The Lake County General Health District stated in its May 11 daily COVID-19 report that business owners can submit questions regarding the reopening to www.lcghd.org/2019-novel-coronavirus-ncov/. Business owners were told to expect a response within 48 hours of submission.

The health district also stated that it is continuing to enforce the amended stay at home order. The health district has received more than 1,000 complaints regarding local business compliance since the order went into effect. Roughly 3/4 of those complaints (743) have come since March 30.
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday during National Nurses Week and the World Health Organization's Year of the Nurse, the Emergency Nurses Association proudly joined forces with the Resilient Project to celebrate our nation's health care workers through Tuesday's world premiere of the song "Resilient."

The video  which debuts at 7 p.m. Eastern time in conjunction with the nightly clap out for health care workers in New York City  unites nurses and physicians with more than 60 award-winning Broadway artists. Created by Dave Ogrin and Jay Berkow for their new musical Mata Hari, the song carries a message of strength and inspiration.

"I think our song 'Resilient' captures today's pandemic struggle. It was our dream to unite the Broadway community and the extraordinary work of Broadway Cares with the courageous nurses and doctors on the COVID-19 front lines," Ogrin said.

Added Berkow, "Given the unprecedented impact of this crisis, which is still unfolding, our goal was to salute the true heroes who are at the forefront of the battle for human lives  the tireless health care professionals who are literally risking their lives every day to take care of all of us."

The Resilient Project brought together ENA, Broadway Cares and the American College of Emergency Physicians. In addition to the Broadway talent, nurses and physicians from across the country lent their voices to the video. The video also raises awareness for the ENA Foundation's COVID-19 Relief Fund, as well as ACEP's Emergency Medicine Foundation and Broadway Cares' COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.

"Resilient" video world premiere details:

When: Tuesday, May 12  7 p.m. Eastern time

Where: Watch at www.resilient-project.com or on social media by following @resilientprojec

About the Emergency Nurses Association

The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With 46,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines, and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

ENA Media Contact:

Dan Campana

Senior Manager, Communications

847-460-4017

[email protected]

Additional Media Contacts:

Resilient Project

Katie Rosin

Kampfire PR

917-562-5670

[email protected]

Broadway Cares

Tom Viola

[email protected]

American College of Emergency Physicians

Maggie McGillick

[email protected]

SOURCE Emergency Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.ena.org


By Express News Service

For Nabha Natesh, the Pataka girl of Sandalwood, it was the Telugu film, iSmart Shankar, which provided an u-turn in the actors career. Now, the Vajrakaya heroine, who is currently working on two Telugu films is happy about the work coming her way.

Apart from starring opposite Sai Dharam Tej in director Subbus Solo Brathuke So Better, Nabha will also play te lead in Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas Alludu Ahurs, which is directed by Santhosh Srinivas. Although both films were supposed to hit theatres this May, the COVID 19 pandemic has altered these plans.

Nabha, who is currently in Bengaluru, says she is waiting to get back to work but at the same time is aware that there are bigger problems than work.

For the first couple of weeks, I was happy because it was four months since I had taken a single day off. What was initially a holiday of sorts for me, is now gradually getting on to my nerves, says Nabha.

However, she adds, Coronavirus has shut the entire earth. Everyone across the globe is waiting to see what is going to happen next. When it comes to films, I am confident that everything will be nicer. People are waiting to get out and will want to rush to theatres. That has been our culture.

Meanwhile, the actor has not read any scripts, and her reason is filmmakers who approach her prefer to narrate their projects. I have heard summaries of a few, and I will have to wait until things get back to normal before I can hear the narrations, she says.

The Kannada heroine who has now made her mark in Telugu also hints of making her debut in Tamil soon. I have been bombarded with a lot of Tamil films. But I am waiting to make the right debut, and figuring out which one to choose, says Nabha, adding, Today, the film industries are interconnected, and the South industry has become one. What you do in one language gets reflected on another. Thats why I am taking time to choose the right script to place myself properly in Tamil cinema, she says.

Nabha, who was last seen in a cameo in Manoranjan-starrer Saheba hasnt signed a Kannada film in almost four years.

Yes, I am aware, and this is one question, I feel most sad to answer. I have no idea why filmmakers here have not been thinking about casting me, she says. However, it is also speculated that the Kannada industry is unable to match Nabhas current salary expectations.

Oh is it? asks Nabha, adding, I do not discuss money till Im interested in a project, and that has been the case with any language. No producer begins by asking my price. I dont deal like that. I first like to know the details of the story, and if everything works out, then the money negotiation starts. In my knowledge, I have not quoted a high price in recent times. What I charge in Telugu depends on that market, and for my success there. I have absolutely no idea who the filmmakers are approaching from my end, and who is negotiating remuneration on my behalf. If Im keen on a project, and I want to get on board, I will take that first step. Not all should be considered in commercial terms.

Nabha further says, I am in touch with a lot of people in the Kannada industry. I also heard about people in Kannada cinema thinking I wasnt interested in doing Kannada films. All I want to say is that these are all just assumptions, she says.Having said that Nabha admits she is currently in a happy space. Coming from a theatre background, I always craved good roles, and the kind of subjects Im getting is working out for me. I have no complaints. I am sure things will work out for me in Kannada too, she signs off.
Its been a wild few months for the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Its been a wild few months for the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

At the beginning of March, the Winnipeg zoo (founded in 1904, when the citys parks board purchased native animals such as deer, bison and elk) was preparing for its regular slate of spring break camps and programming. By March 18, most front-of-house employees were laid off and the centre closed  though it was never empty as employees tended to the nearly 200 species living there.

On Wednesday, another species will be reintroduced: the paying customer.

Weeks before the province announced the first phase of its reopening plan, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy was theorizing what the zoo experience might look like amid the realities of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The zoos COVID-19 response plan, released Monday, details the local institutions plan to contain a different beast entirely.

Occupancy will be capped well-below provincial requirements, with all entry directed through the main gate on Roblin Boulevard and all exits funnelling through a separate door. Outdoor areas will be open to patrons, but several exhibits, including the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre, McFeetors Heavy Horse Centre, and Toucan Ridge, will be closed or restricted.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / FREE PRESS FILES Gateway to the Arctic, the underwater tunnels where polar bears swim, will be open with capacity-management in place. One-way pedestrian traffic is being encouraged throughout.

Other exhibits, such as Gateway to the Arctic, the underwater tunnels where polar bears swim, are open with capacity-management in place. One-way pedestrian traffic is being encouraged throughout.

To discourage entrance logjams and physical contact with zoo staff, guests are being encouraged to buy tickets online, and before visiting, to use the provincial COVID-19 online screening tool.

Sanitation will be ramped up. High-touch activities such as wagon rides, interpretive exhibits, play structures, and the zoo tram wont be running. Neither will the exhibit that allows guests to touch and feed stingrays. Wagon or stroller rentals are suspended.

Bruce Keats, the conservancys chief operating officer, said the reopening is meant to be "slow and methodical" to ensure public health guidelines are met.

"Were fortunate in that we have an outdoor space that allows for distancing, and were unique in that regard," he said.

Zoos are also unique in they have a responsibility not just to protect staff and guests during a pandemic, but the animals in their care as well, said Jim Facette, executive director of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums.

JOE BRYKSA / FREE PRESS FILES High-touch activities such as wagon rides, interpretive exhibits, play structures, and the zoo tram wont be running.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures veterinary service laboratories confirmed last month a tiger at New York Citys Bronx Zoo had been infected with the virus; through fecal analysis, several other cats tested positive. Its believed the animals, which showed mild symptoms, were infected by a zoo employee.

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"All eight cats continue to do well," the U.S. zoo said in an April 22 update.

Facette said no animal in an accredited zoo in Canada has tested positive, and the World Organisation for Animal Health says there is no evidence animals infected by humans are contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.

Of CAZA's 30 members, Assiniboine Park will be the first to add the public back into its equation.

Keats said the Winnipeg plan was done in close collaboration with zoos elsewhere.

"Our decision wasnt to move fast, but to make sure our visitors and guests feel comfortable," he said.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
The oil market bulls may have as much cabin fever as road users. The first sign of positive news and oil prices jumped over $10/barrel in a week in lockstep with drivers getting into their cars as some travel restrictions ease. But the road to recovery is likely to be long and bumpy.

Gasoline consumption is a proxy for oil demand in many key countries  from the US to India  and there are tentative signals offering encouragement as some lockdown measures loosen. In the US, gasoline demand has climbed more than a third since its low at the start of April. Meanwhile, in ...
It has been linked to dozens of murders and acts of violence, but this was the first time the Kinahan cartel was mentioned by name in court by gardai.

The involvement of a 31-year-old petty criminal in a plot to murder Patrick Hutch helped reveal some of the inner workings of the shadowy international crime gang.

The Special Criminal Court heard yesterday that Mark Capper of Cappagh Green, Finglas, "poured cold water on" and withdrew from a plan to murder The Monk's brother 'Patsy' Hutch three days before it was due to take place.

The non-jury court heard how the Kinahan gang operates a hierarchical structure, with compartmentalised "sub-cells" acting independently from one another.

Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher told the Special Criminal Court he was satisfied the criminal organisation that targeted Hutch was the Kinahan gang.

This was the first time the murderous international gang has been named publicly by gardai in court.

Murderous

He said the Kinahan gang was a criminal organisation involved in serious offences, including murderous feuds, and drug and firearms trafficking.

He explained how the gang developed sub-cells with members who were given activities to carry out by the higher level.

He said there were further hierarchical structures within the different cells, while each group would not be aware of what the other sub-cells were doing.

Det Gallagher added that the sub-cells operate to "benefit and enhance the capabilities" of the criminal organisation.

The cell assigned to murder Patrick Hutch involved up to 10 people, the detective told the court.

The plan to murder Mr Hutch involved a ruse to lure him from his home and included participants such as a spotter to give the hit team a signal when he did and the gunman, who would be taken to the scene on a motorbike.

The arrival of Storm Emma scuppered the gang's first bid to murder Mr Hutch, the court also heard.

Capper (31) has pleaded guilty to having knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation and participating in activities intended to facilitate the commission of a serious offence by that criminal organisation, or any of its members, to wit the murder of Patrick Hutch within the State between February 1 and March 10, 2018, both dates inclusive.

Capper is closely linked with associates of another notorious criminal known as 'Mr Flashy' and is suspected of becoming involved in the plot through these connections.

"He isn't a serious criminal by any means and would have been enlisted because he was completely broke and down on his luck, but also because his links to Flashy's crew meant he could be trusted," a source said.

"Mark Capper has 65 previous convictions but they are mainly for minor offences and despite being a big lad, he was never known for involvement in violence.

"This is a fella who loved horses but could never give them proper attention because he was always having to go to court appearances.

"In fact, before Capper pulled out of the murder plot, other criminals involved in it were raising serious concerns about his capabilities in relation to it," the source explained.

Det Gallagher agreed with counsel for the defence, Mr Seamus Clarke SC, that Capper was a "foot soldier" in the organisation and had financial problems.

He was one of a number of cell operatives put under surveillance by the Garda's Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the court heard.

Audio surveillance of a vehicle recorded Capper asking Michael Burns - who has also pleaded guilty to the same offence - for a loan of 50, which he was refused. Capper was heard telling Burns he wouldn't be sitting in the back of the car if he had any money, the court heard.

Det Supt Gallagher told the court that this shed light on Capper's financial motivation as he was struggling to obtain 50.

On February 27, 2018, Capper was heard on audio surveillance expressing concerns about the plan and also about the Garda protection post located at Champions Avenue in Dublin, near Patrick Hutch's home.

Det Gallagher told Mr Gillane that Capper expressed a reluctance to carry out the murder on February 28, 2018 and said he wanted more time.

Mr Burns is heard telling Capper, "I don't think you are up for this pal, I genuinely don't".

The original plan was scuppered because of Storm Emma and the attempted murder was postponed until March 10, 2018, the court heard.

Counsel for the Defence Mr Clarke told the court that Capper poured cold water on the plan and Det Gallagher agreed that the defendant had challenged the plan.

Det Gallagher also agreed that he expressed concerns about feeling it was a bit rushed.

Mr Clarke said another member of the gang referred to Mr Capper as an "eejit".

Capper pulled out of the attempted murder plans three days before the plot was foiled by gardai, who swooped on the gang on March 10, 2018.
House Democrats released their latest bill Tuesday designed to blunt the coronavirus pandemic's devastating effects on the economy and health-care system.

Party leaders expect to vote on the more-than-1,800-page package on Friday, along with a plan to allow proxy voting on legislation during the crisis. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said Congress had a "momentous opportunity" to meet people's needs, contending that "not acting is the most expensive course" as the GOP grows weary of taxpayer spending.

It includes, according to a summary:

Nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments

A second round of direct payments of $1,200 per person, and up to $6,000 for a household

About $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers who face heightened health risks during the crisis

$75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing  a key effort to restart businesses

An extension of the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit through January (the provision approved in March is set to expire after July)

$175 billion in rent, mortgage and utility assistance

Subsidies and a special Affordable Care Act enrollment period to people who lose their employer-sponsored health coverage

More money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including a 15% increase in the maximum benefit

Measures designed to buoy small businesses and help them keep employees on payroll, such as $10 billion in emergency disaster assistance grants and a strengthened employee retention tax credit

Money for election safety during the pandemic and provisions to make voting by mail easier

Relief for the U.S. Postal Service

Democrats say rising Covid-19 infection rates and an unemployment rate unseen since the Great Depression require adding to an already unprecedented emergency government response. The new bill is set to cost more than $3 trillion, which easily tops the $2 trillion cost of the late March stimulus package  the biggest emergency spending measure in U.S. history.

If it passes the House, the Democratic-written plan will face roadblocks in the Senate. It is unclear when both Democrats and Republicans would sign off on a proposal for more relief, as the GOP downplays the need to spend more federal money on a rescue bill now.
The Health Minister wants to see new laws introduced to regulate people travelling into our ports and airports.

It follows reports gardai may call to passengers' homes to make sure they are in self-isolation for two weeks.

It's after a third of people arriving at Dublin Airport recently did not fill in forms properly about where they were staying.

Simon Harris says legislation could be needed.

"I do think we need to take further measures to toughen up at our airports and ports," said Minister Harris.

"We already have the form that you have to fill in, you can be contacted to check if you are self-isolating.

"But I would like to underpin this by regulation so that it is the law of the land.

"It is tricky, it's not easy but I don't think it's impossible."

Minister Helen McEntee says they are looking at ways to enforce those laws.

"We are taking specific measures to try and put in place regulations to try and make it compulsary for people to provide these details so that they can be followed up on," said Minister McEntee.

"But I would stress that the numbers of people coming in are absolutely minimal and the vast majority of people are Irish citizens returning home and I do believe the vast majority of people are adhering to these guidelines."

Sinn Fein's justice spokesman, Martin Kenny, says the plans are "heavy-handed" but justified.

"The idea that the gardai would check on people who have come into the country from abroad and make sure that they are self-isolating and that they would adhere to the rules which have been set down for everyone's benefit, I think is probably a positive thing.

"At the same time there is a little part of me thinking it is a bit heavy-handed but in the context of the circumstances we're in right now I think that every precaution needs to be taken."
Behavioral Health Services Market Research Report - Global Forecast till 2025

Behavior health services provide services to patients with mental health disorders, substance abuse disorders, and other mental disorders. Behavioral health includes conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and others. Around 83% people in the US are suffering from behavioral health issues. According to Japanese study around 298 people were suffering from various behavioral disorders in 2018. The growth of the global behavioral health services market is driven by various factors such as an increasing global geriatric population, rising prevalence of the depressive disorder, and poor fitness levels. However, high costs of treatment are expected to curb the growth of the global behavioral health services market.

CAGR of 3.4% during the forecast period of 2019 to 2025 and was valued at USD 146.3 Billion by 2025. According to MRFR analysis, Behavioral Health Services Market is expected to register aduring the forecast period ofand was valued at

Segmentation

The Global Behavioral Health Services Market has been segmented based on services type, disorder type, and end user.

The market, based on services type, has been divided into inpatient hospital treatment, outpatient counseling, home-based treatment services, emergency mental health services, and others. The inpatient hospital treatment segment is likely to be the largest during the review period due to a growing aging population globally. Around 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with various behavioral disorders every year. The outpatient counseling segment is predicted to be the fastest-growing due to the rising prevalence of the disorder in the elderly population.

The global behavioral health services market has been segmented on the basis of disorder type, into anxiety disorder, bipolar disorders, depression, eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), substance abuse disorder, and others. The anxiety disorder segment is expected to hold the majority share of the market. Rising prevalence of anxiety disorder in most commonly seen in US. Around 40 million adults are diagnosed with anxiety disorder every year. The bipolar disorder segment is expected to be the fastest-growing due to its rising prevalence globally. It was estimated that around 7 million people in US were suffering through bipolar disorder in 2018.

The end user segments of the market are providers, patients, and others. The providers segment is expected to hold the largest share of the market as these centers are the primary locations for patients receiving treatment and services.





Key Players





Some of the key players in the global Behavioral Health Services market are Acadia Healthcare (US), National Mentor Holdings Inc (US), Behavioral Health Services Inc (US), Ocean Mental Health Services Inc (US), The MENTOR Network (US), Universal Health Services, Inc (US), Behavioral Health Network, Inc (US), CareTech Holdings PLC (UK), Strategic Behavioral Health (US), North Range Behavioral Health (US), Pyramid Healthcare (US), Promises Behavioral Health (US), and others.





Regional Analysis





The market has been divided, by region, into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas is expected to be the largest market owing to the increasing prevalence of behavioral disorders and rising per capita healthcare expenditure. The behavioral health services market in the Americas has further been branched into North America and Latin America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada. The European behavioral health services market has been categorized as Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The Western European market has further been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe. The behavioral health services market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. Due to the increasing patient pool of depression disorder and raising awareness about the behavioral health services methods, the market in Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing. The behavioral health services market in the Middle East & Africa has been divided into the Middle East and Africa.





Get full report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/behavioral-health-services-market-8433





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Sales Layer, a Valencia, Spain-based product information management company, raised 3.5m in Series A financing.

The round was led by SONAE IM, the tech investment arm of Portuguese listed company SONAE (SON.LS), accompanied by venture capital investment firm Swanlaab Venture Factory and Valencia-based corporate investor Global Omnium.

The funding will enable the company to scale international operations and expand its operational infrastructure.

Founded in 2013 by Alvaro Verdoy and Iban Borras, Sales Layer is a provider of PIM solutions, enabling brands and retailers to transform their catalogs into a digital and multichannel control centre. The companys technology uses a cloud-based catalog management platform to connect the information to hundreds of channels throughout the supply chain, both for brands and retailers. With this round, Sales Layer has raised 5m in total venture funding.

The company expects to almost triple the size of its team to 80 in the next few months.

FinSMEs

12/05/2020
(CNN) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has ordered the Armed Forces to return to the streets for the next five years, to tackle worsening crime in the country.

The decree, signed last week, comes after 2,585 murders were recorded in March, the deadliest month since Lopez Obrador took office in Dec. 2018.

The arrangement will end on March 27, 2024 and, according to the document, is designed to stay in place until the National Guard can improve its capabilities.

Lopez Obrador created the National Guard shortly after he took office in 2018 as a way to combat Mexico's historic levels of violence, pulling its members from various units of the armed forces. Its mandate was to reduce violence by primarily targeting organized criminal groups.

But after pressure from the United States, Lopez Obrador deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Mexico's southern and northern borders in an attempt to control the flow of migrants who pass through Mexico on their way to the United States.

Meanwhile, the number of homicides continued to rise, with 22,059 murders recorded in the first nine months of 2019, compared to 21,581 in the same period the previous year.

His decision to put the military back on the streets is likely to generate controversy in Mexico, as Lopez Obrador won the presidency on a platform of demilitarizing the country's long-running war against drug cartels.

"The fact is that the National Guard is simply insufficient as a response to the violence in Mexico," said Duncan Wood, Director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. "That was always going to be the case but with all the extra migration-related tasks being forced on the Guard, there is a desperate shortage of manpower."

Wood noted that "Mexico's homicide numbers just keep going up despite the [Covid-19] pandemic, and the president's approval rating is suffering." But he didn't see widespread changes as a result. "This will be a Band-Aid solution at best, but it may have temporary success in calming certain hotpots in the country "

Previous administrations also deployed the military to fight drug cartels. The resulting violence has left hundreds of thousands of dead in Mexico since 2006.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Mexico's president orders military back on the streets to tackle rising violence."
The Yemeni army will do everything necessary to thwart a separatist insurrection in the countrys south, the government said on Tuesday.

In April, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared a state of emergency and autonomous rule in the key port city of Aden and other southern provinces. The separatists, who are supported by the United Arab Emirates, accused Yemen's internationally recognized government based in Aden of corruption and mismanagement.

The government then accused the UAE of sending an armed unit of separatists to Socotra, a remote island located off the coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea. Abu Dhabi, which backs the separatists, is also nominal allies with the government and is part of the Saudi-led military coalition that is fighting Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

Fighting in Socotras provincial capital between government forces and the separatist militia ended with a de-escalation agreement reached in early May between the two sides.

Yemens National Army will maintain firm posture & heavy deployments to respond to attacks from insurgent [STC] militias, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdo Majali said Tuesday.

In a statement, Yemens Foreign Ministry described the separatists recent declaration of self-rule as a reckless move that has destabilized the strategic Socotra, as well as Abyan province.

The responsibility of a national army is to defend its homeland, to protect its security and territorial integrity, to confront every armed rebellion and to restore any undermined government institutions and their legitimate authority, the ministry said. The National Army of Yemen will do everything necessary to preserve the state, its institutions and the security of its citizens.

The southern rebellion threatens to unravel a Saudi-brokered power-sharing agreement signed in Riyadh between the Yemeni government and the separatists in November 2019 that ended months of fighting in Aden. Al-Hadhrami called on the STC to adhere to the agreement, or bear responsibility for everything that will follow.

The Foreign Ministry also accused the separatists of undermining government institutions, including the Ministry of Health as it attempts to combat a deadly coronavirus outbreak. The Arab worlds poorest country has so far registered at least 65 cases and 10 deaths.

Yemens health infrastructure is already stretched thin after more than five years of war between the Houthis and the coalition. Since Saudi Arabia intervened on behalf of the government in 2015, Yemen has become the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.
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Inside Hook

John Krasinski has devoted himself to bringing us some good news during the pandemic with his aptly titled YouTube show, Some Good News, and for Sundays installment, he enlisted the help of some famous friends to help make a Zoom wedding extra special.

Krasinski, who of course played Jim on The Office, brought on a couple of the shows superfans  John and Susan from Maryland  to talk about their Office-inspired gas-station proposal before surprising them with the revelation that he got ordained and would be marrying them right then and there, over Zoom. He brought in the couples parents and best friends and surprised them with Jenna Fischer, who would serve as the brides maid of honor, and a performance by Zac Brown. (Brown performed his new song The Man Who Loves You Most, which led to plenty of tears.)
In particular, there is a real need to revise quotas on supplies of Ukrainian goods to the European Union

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Slovoidilo

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vadym Prystaiko believes that the terms of the Association Agreement with the European Union should be revised. He said this in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

"Now is a very good time because the historical time has come when we can review the terms (of Association Agreement with the EU  112 International.), and our producers are waiting for a reappraisal of the terms," Prystaiko stated.

It is about the need to revise quotas on supplies of Ukrainian goods to the European Union most of which no longer suit Ukraine.

"We have reached the stage of the first contacts with the European Union in the framework of the tariff-free trade agreement. I hope the reconsideration will take place," Vice Prime Minister added.

As we reported earlier, Ukraine will start preparing for a new EFF cooperation program with the IMF next summer.

"... and then, when the economy restores, the accent of IFM support could shift back to solving problems of long-term structure reforms in Ukraine so as to help a stronger and more inclusive growth," Vladyslav Rashkovan, Ukraine's representative in the IMF, stated.
Rachel Hawkinsons brooches inspired by birds are more than just adornment. The abstract works of art represent physical features and behaviors of various bird species with colorful stones, metal and feathers. They perch on pieces of wood in her Flying Frippery show through June on the walls of Scarlows Gallery in downtown Casper. Those who cant make it there can check out the Casper artists Flying Frippery catalog at her website, thawkstudio.com.

People often think of jewelry as just personal adornment. You wear a piece of jewelry and then put in a box, where it stays in the dark. But Hawkinson wants these pieces to stay out display.

People pick jewelry because of personal things and personal stories, Hawkinson said. And theres so much that goes into picking a piece of jewelry that you want to buy. And I just felt like I wanted to elevate that from personal adornment into visual art.

Aerial inspiration

Flying Frippery began nearly a year ago with a Crow Springs turquoise stone Hawkinson ordered from an eco-friendly seller. Shed been in an artistic funk, unable to come up with artistic jewelry ideas, she said.

The yellow stone had an aerial feel. She taped it into her sketchbook and as she contemplated and sketched, the image of a swallow-tailed kite came to her mind. She created a brooch inspired by the bird. That project led to a few more, she and decided to create an series that became Flying Frippery.

She asks in her artist statement what makes personal adornment more than a simple accessory. Jewelry can be a talisman, a totem and an expression of who we are; and the brooches, coupled with their displays can ascend from personal adornment into visual art.

What if, while not being worn, jewelry had a place to be, a purpose? Flying Frippery dives into that concept, she said in the statement.

The show is a about expressing oneself and fighting misconceptions about jewelry, art or anything else.

And so this show is really just about being free to be who you are and to have a little fun and to not take things too seriously, Hawkinson said. And thats why some of these brooches are really outrageous. You know, theyre big and theyre full of life.

The pieces are abstracted to accentuate features and behaviors of various types of birds. She created Canada Goose with a mokume gane technique on one side to represent downy feathers, and the brooch is shaped like a the V because of the birds flying pattern.

Sage Grouse features lemon quartz to denote the yellow air sacks on the male birds chests that they use to draw mates. A cabling pattern on the metal signifies their symmetrical feather pattern. She incorporated real feathers from the species in many of the pieces, although she had to use a pheasant feather for the sage grouse brooch since theyre a threatened species.

She placed Long-tailed Sylph on a larger piece of wood than the others to represent the hummingbirds small size.

The brooches can be worn with or without the feathers, which easily attach or detach. She created the brooches to come off and on their displays with as much ease while theyre not being worn. They can be transported in handmade boxes she made for each, which contain care instructions and the hanging hardware.

So I really tried to think about whoever ends up putting these in their homes, Hawkinson said. I want it to be easy for them to put them up and to enjoy those pieces.

One piece in the show isnt for sale but will be raffled with all money going to Make-A-Wish Wyoming in honor of artist Shawn Rivett, who died in March and often donated his art and time to the organization. Raffle tickets are $10 each. She created brooch, Nicobar Pigeon, with Wyoming jade, which Rivett loved, and colorful feathers of the social bird she felt fit his personality.

Its just a way for me to pay tribute to somebody who did so much for the Casper art community, Hawkinson said.

About the artist

Hawkinson studied art at Casper College and earned her bachelors degree in fine art and humanities at the University of Wyoming, where her passion sparked for metal work in advanced jewelry classes. She studied under art instructor Linda Ryan at Casper College.

In her classes, it was about making sure that what you were doing expressed who you were as an artist or as a person, she said. And for some reason, that really stuck with me.

At her T. Hawk Studio, she uses traditional bench techniques and incorporates complex wire fabrication into her work, according to her website. She focuses on unique works, so each piece is one of a kind. Hawkinson draws inspiration from nature and incorporates natural elements like found objects, wood, leather and eco-friendly materials.

Hawkinson re-purposes everything she can and has become diligent in where she gets her stones and metals, she said.

And so Im really mindful of how I go about making things, in that I really want to make sure that I am being as kind to the earth as I possibly can and at the same time, making things that are going to last a really long time, she said.

The past year has been one of milestones in her art, with moments of disappointment as well as breakthrough and accomplishment, Hawkinson said. She took a workshop this year with her favorite jewelry artist of all time, Andy Cooperman, and learned techniques she didnt know were possible.

Sometimes a new experiment or technique works, and pieces come together as if on their own, and other times shes had to start over. But as she always tells her children, you learn more from your mistakes than successes. Through moments of struggle and doubt, she strives to keep working and learning, she said.

And, you know, some of the disappointments come with things like the COVID crisis, where you plan for a year and then, you know, life hits, she said.

The Flying Frippery show date neared amid uncertainty, and an opening reception wasnt possible. Thats why she made the online catalog for people to see the show virtually. Its a time when everyones lives have been flipped upside down, she said.

But art is really important to kind of keep your morale up and to help you fight through those days where you dont know whats coming next, Hawkinson said. And I think art gives us kind of a break to take a minute for ourselves and to not take things too seriously all the time. And thats pretty much what this show was about, is really about fun; and its about being free and kind of fighting those misconceptions of what people think, whether its jewelry or whatever. Its just an expression of who we are.

Follow arts & culture reporter Elysia Conner on twitter @erconner

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- A reporter asked President Trump why he viewed testing of Americans as a global competition when many of them were losing their lives to COVID-19

- An exasperated Trump told the reporter, an Asian-American, to direct her question to China and further termed her question "nasty"

- Trump left the presser before its end after the exchange which has so far left many people with a bad taste in their mouth

United States President Donald Trump's Monday, May 11, COVID-19 press briefing had an ugly ending after the president told a reporter to direct her "nasty" question to China.

Weijia Jiang, a reporter with CBS News asked the US president why he had viewed the testing exercise as a global competition while Americans were losing their lives each and every day.

READ ALSO: Emotional Murkomen accuses Uhuru of political conmanship as Senate confirms leadership changes

President Trump had an exchange with reporters during a press briefing. Photo: Getty Images.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: 6 major problems facing European leagues ahead of anticipated restart

The question agitated the head of state and in his typical abrasive style told off the correspondent, who is an Asian-American, and said her question was "nasty" and should be asked to China.

"Maybe that's a question you should ask China," Trump responded.

READ ALSO: Tumbo la Murkomen laona nafuu kiasi kufuatia yaliyomkuta, wenzake wakimbilia mahakama kumshtaki Uhuru

The startled media personality demanded to know why Trump had responded to her question in such a manner and Trump said he was giving that answer to anyone who asked him such a query.

"I'm telling you, I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. I'm saying it to anybody that asks a nasty question," an exasperated Trump said.

He cut her short and chose another correspondent who took a moment before airing a question which vexed the global leader and he ended up leaving the presser before its end.

This is not very new in Trump's briefings since a few weeks ago, he had another meltdown with a White House correspondent after she questioned him on why he was referring to the disease as the "Wuhan virus".

Trump has been very categorical in apportioning blame to China for the spread of COVID-19.

However, China officials said he was doing saw to deflect his own failures of failing to combat the disease which has so far infected more than one million people in America.

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A migrant from Eritrea, East Africa, has been arrested after he was found in the back of a lorry at a Surrey petrol station.

Police received a call from the driver of a lorry at around 10am on Monday morning reporting that he could hear 'what appeared to be clandestine migrants on board'.

A police statement adds: 'Further enquiries established the lorry's location and it was stopped at the BP petrol station on the A31 Farnham bypass.

'One clandestine migrant, a male believed to be in his 20s from Eritrea, was located within the vehicle and arrested at the scene. No other persons were found during the search.

A migrant from Eritrea has been found in the back of a lorry at the BP petrol station off the Farnham bypass Surrey. (Pictured police searched the lorry at the BP petrol station off the A31)

'Enquiries are under way to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.'

Pictures from the scene show officers searching a large, blue and yellow Waberer's lorry.

Waberer's is a Hungarian haulage company, which according to its website is one of Europe's biggest 'full truckload' transportation service providers.

The man will be interviewed by Immigration Enforcement and his case dealt with according to the immigration rules (pictured the BP petrol station on the A31 Farnham bypass)

A spokesman for Immigration Enforcement said that the department was contacted by Surrey Police at around 10.55am on Monday. Police had arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of entering the UK illegally who presented himself as an Eritrean national.

He will be interviewed by Immigration Enforcement and his case dealt with according to the immigration rules.

Eritrea is in East Africa, on the Red Sea coast neighbouring Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti.

SurreyLive has contacted Waberer's for a comment on the incident. Any update will be added to this article.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have discussed the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program in Turkmenistan, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The discussions were held between the representatives of UNESCO and members of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, education, finance and economy of Turkmenistan, as well as the State Committee on Statistics of Turkmenistan via videoconference on May 11, 2020.

Ensuring fair and quality education, as well as equality and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for everyone, were stressed during the discussion.

Turkmenistans educational system is undergoing reforms aimed at improving education, as well as improving conditions for students. The country follows international standards of education in the country.

Turkmenistan and UNESCO signed a Framework agreement on the establishment of the Turkmenistan-UNESCO rust Fund on July 16, 2015. Under this agreement, peace and intercultural dialogue, education, cultural heritage, rapprochement of cultures are the major areas of cooperation.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
Demand for Egyptian fruit and vegetables has been on the rise recently, despite the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on global markets.



According to the Central Administration for Agricultural Quarantine (CAAQ), an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, exports of Egyptian fruit and vegetables has reached 2.77 million tons since the beginning of 2020, and the number is expected to hit 5.5 million tons by the end of the year.



Total exports of fruit and vegetables in 2019 were 5.4 million tons.



Ahmed Al-Attar, head of the CAAQ, said in a press statement earlier this week that the exports mainly included citrus fruit, potatoes, and onions. He added that Egypt is the current leader in the worldwide exports of citrus fruit, mainly oranges, with annual exports of 1.8 million tons and accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the global exports of oranges.



He explained that since January Egypt had exported 1.2 million tons of citrus fruit, 550,000 tons of potatoes, and about 400,000 tons of onions. Egypt has been able to impose itself strongly in the field of exporting oranges globally despite intense competition from Spain, Al-Attar said.



He also announced that Egypt had managed to open up four new markets for the first time despite the coronavirus crisis, namely Australia for the export of dates, New Zealand for oranges, Brazil for various citrus fruit, and Mauritius for potatoes.



This was done despite the difficulty of opening up new markets and the length of the negotiations that can come with such a process, he said. Egypt is now even exporting oranges to Spain, the second largest exporter of citrus fruit, he added.



He said that Egyptian citrus fruit had a solid global reputation, especially oranges. The country had careful control systems for agricultural quarantine according to the specifications of each country.



Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Mohamed Al-Kersh said that every effort had been made to apply quality standards to the products, notably through a coding system tracking every product until it reached the consumer. He said 5,000 people had been trained to apply the new system.



He added that the ministry had increased the number of citrus-fruit trees in Egypt by 5.1 per cent in 2019, contributing to increasing production by about 10 per cent. This had helped Egypt to export to more than 140 countries, including those in the European Union, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Serbia, he added.



Mohsen Al-Beltagi, head of the Horticultural Export Improvement Association, attributed the increase in agricultural exports to the fact that many countries, especially in the European Union, were suffering from shortages of agricultural products due to lockdowns introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus and these had provided opportunities for the Egyptian market.



He expected exports of vegetables and fruit to increase by five to 10 per cent by the end of the year, driven by increased demand from Arab and European countries.



Egypt has about 12.3 million orange trees with a production capacity of 3.45 million tons. Revenues from exporting the fruit totaled $662 million in 2019, Al-Beltagi stated, adding that Egypt had increased its number of orange trees by 44 per cent over the past 10 years.



Russia tops the list of countries importing oranges grown in Egypt, with Russian imports of Egyptian oranges reaching 284,000 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia at 271,000 tons, China at 214,000 tons, and the Netherlands at 130,000 tons.



The Industry Committee of parliament called on Sunday for the development of an integrated strategy to take advantage of the global recession that has emerged as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the need of many countries to find ways of meeting their consumption needs, especially of agricultural products.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 14 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Kean University could reduce staff, eliminate academic programs and furlough workers to offset a humongous financial blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, President Dawood Farahi said Monday.

Farahi told the universitys Board of Trustees he estimates a $20 million setback for the current school year following the switch to remote learning, a freeze of some state funding and the cancellation of university events. The deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, could grow as high as $15 million, he said.

These are very difficult, very unpleasant and very unexpected events, Farahi told the board during a virtual meeting. But if we focus on what is good for the university, what is good for the students and put in place a fair system of determining where the cuts are to occur, that would be the best way of doing it."

The budget crisis comes as colleges nationwide are grappling with the colossal economic fallout from the coronavirus, which forced courses online and turned bustling campuses into ghost towns. In New Jersey, Rutgers University has estimated at least a $150 million financial blow.

Kean did not offer specifics about which programs could be eliminated or how many jobs might be cut, but the Board of Trustees approved a resolution to take action to reduce operating costs in response to the pandemic. Those moves could have a major impact on students and staff, while setting up a final clash between Farahi, who steps down July 1, and the faculty union hes often sparred against.

Kean Federation of Teachers President James Castiglione urged the administration to use financial reserves as much as possible, work with the faculty to determine possible cost-saving measures and allow the incoming president  state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, whose appointment was announced Monday night  to make decisions about budget cuts.

Sweeping decisions to cut programs and lay off staff could force the union to take legal action, said Robert Fagella, attorney for the union.

The kinds of things the board is talking about doing right now are pretty momentous decisions that, regardless of our past experiences, the KFT would like to work with the board and most importantly with the new president," he said.

Farahi said the university has a responsibility to balance its budget for 2020-21 and shouldnt expect finances to return to normal for two or three years. Kean expects its enrollment to drop by about 500 full-time equivalent students this fall. The university is doubtful it can resume typical in-person classes and activities by August, Farahi said.

Universities are designed around crowding, he said. There are crowds in the classroom. There are crowds in the auditorium. There are crowds all over the place.

The university can offset some of the deficit with its reserves or by delaying other expenses, Farahi said. But difficult decisions must be made, said the outgoing president, who often clashed with the faculty union during his 17-year tenure and survived no-confidence votes and calls for his resignation.

I was hoping in the last two months of my administration, I would have an easier job and maybe a more pleasant departure," Farahi said.

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Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com.
Dogs become less obedient to commands from their carer during adolescence just like teenage kids, according to British researchers.

In experiments, dogs were more likely to ignore commands given by their caregiver and were harder to train at the age of eight months, during puberty.

Despite being less mature, prepubescent dogs around the age of five months were more obedient to their owner than the older dogs.

The research team, which claims to be the first to find evidence of adolescent behaviour in dogs, reassures owners of pubescent dogs that they are going through a passing phase.

Pubescent dogs are often put up for adoption due to their lack of obedience, but if owners can keep showing love and patience their pet will bounce back  much like difficult teenagers who go on to become well-rounded adults.

As in humans, disobedience around puberty onset is often just a phase, but many dogs are abandoned or rehomed during this period

Many dog owners and professionals have long known or suspected that dog behaviour can become more difficult when they go through puberty, but until now there has been no empirical record of this, said Dr Naomi Harvey, co-author of the research from the University of Nottinghams School of Veterinary Medicine and Science.

Our results show that the behaviour changes seen in dogs closely parallel that of parent-child relationships, as dog-owner conflict is specific to the dogs primary caregiver and just as with human teenagers, this is a passing phase.

The research team say its important not to punish pubescent dogs for disobedience or start to pull away from them emotionally at this time.

This would be likely to make any problem behaviour worse, as it does in human teens, said lead author of the study Dr Lucy Asher from Newcastle University.

A young labrador retriever. Researchers monitored obedience in the Labradors, Golden Retrievers and cross breeds of the two, at the ages of five months  before adolescence  and eight months- during adolescence

Dr Asher said adolescence can be a vulnerable time for dogs as many are taken to shelters at this age due to behavioural difficulties  especially those bought as presents for children.

This is when dogs are often rehomed because they are no longer a cute little puppy and suddenly, their owners find they are more challenging and they can no longer control them or train them, Dr Asher said.

Working with charity Guide Dogs, the research team, which also included researchers from the University of Edinburgh, looked at a group of 69 dogs to investigate behaviour in adolescence.

They monitored obedience in the labradors, golden retrievers and cross breeds of the two, at the ages of five months (before adolescence) and eight months (during adolescence).

The odds of repeatedly not responding to a command to sit from a caregiver was higher at eight months compared to five months, they found.

Disobedience was more pronounced in dogs with an insecure attachment to their owner, defined by higher questionnaire scores for attention-seeking behaviour such as following their owners from room to room and seeking contact when their owners sat down.

The researchers also found that dogs took longer to respond to the sit command during adolescence, but only when the command was given by their caregiver, not a stranger.

Dr Lucy Asher and her dog Martha, a jack russell cross breed. Labradors and Golden Retrievers were used in the experiments

This suggests that pubescent dogs are generally less obedient with their owner than a random person theyve never seen before  again allowing a comparison with human teenagers.

Its interesting that the sit response is better for the stranger and if I were to speculate I think this could be explained by a dog testing the bond with their owner, said Dr Asher.

Conflict in human teenagers is thought to be an attempt to test or re-establish their bond with their parental figures.

Female dogs were found to hit puberty earlier and be more disobedient during puberty if they have less secure attachments to their caregiver.

This is similar to girls, who often hit puberty early if they have insecure parental relationships, previous research suggests.

Further evidence by the team was found when they looked a larger group of 285 labradors, golden retrievers and German shepherds, as well as cross breeds.

Both owners and a trainer less familiar with each dog filled in a questionnaire looking at trainability.

It asked them to rate statements including refuses to obey commands, which in the past it was proven it has learned and responds immediately to the recall command when off lead.

Caregivers gave lower scores of trainability to dogs around adolescence, compared to when they were aged five months or 12 months.

However, again trainers reported an increase in a trainability between the ages of five and eight months.

The results indicate a possibility for cross-species influence on reproductive development  meaning more of a comparison can be drawn between humans and dogs in a behavioural and biological sense, despite completely different evolutionary paths.

The study has been published in Biology Letters.
Who should be the CM face of AAP in Punjab? Arvind Kejriwal asks people

Goa Election 2022: Kejriwal hits back on Chidambaram, says Stop crying, Cong is hope for BJP, not Goans'

Kejriwal asks Delhiites for suggestions on relaxations post May 17

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 12: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked for suggestions on lockdown post-May 17, a day after crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I want to ask the people of Delhi to send their suggestions on what they want post May 17. You can send in your suggestions by 5 pm tomorrow on the number 1031, WhatsApp no. 8800007722 or e-mail at delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com," said Kejriwal.

"I want to ask whether there should be relaxations in lockdown (post May 17). How much relaxations should be given and in which areas?" the chief minister sought to know from Delhiites.

He also asked whether buses, metro, taxis and auto-rickshaw should now be allowed to operate in Delhi and if schools, markets and industrial areas should be opened after May 17, when the lockdown 3.0 ends.

He said it was clear that social-distancing norms will have to be strictly followed post-May 17, and wearing masks for everyone in the city will be compulsory.

The Chief Minister had on Monday appealed to PM Modi to allow economic activities in the national capital, barring containment zones.

The government has already demanded from the Centre that all 11 districts of Delhi be not treated as 'red zones' so that more economic activities are allowed in the national capital.

Air Indias Delhi office sealed as staffer tests positive for COVID-19

They said that the government wants that in Delhi 'red zones' be identified as per municipal wards instead of districts. Recently, the Union Health Ministry classified the entire national capital, which has 11 districts, as red zone.

Delhi recorded 13 fresh deaths due to COVID-19, the highest single-day spike in coronavirus fatalities for the city, authorities said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the total number of cases rose by 406 to reach 7,639.
Two new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the southwest Prairie Mountain Health region.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/5/2020 (617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the southwest Prairie Mountain Health region.

Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer noted Monday the cases are unrelated to a small cluster recently identified at a Brandon-area business, and said they are not cause for public concern.

"The initial investigation doesnt show us (a new cluster) at this point," Dr. Brent Roussin said. "Certainly, with any case we do a contact investigation, we dont have all the details on how many contacts there have been, but its a little early to consider this a cluster or anything like such.

"These cases were linked and close contact, so, so far, its contained."

One of the two new cases has been identified as an instance of community spread, meaning the case has no known links to travel or previously identified cases; the other is considered close contact to the initial case.

The province's most recent cases of the novel coronavirus have appeared in Prairie Mountain, with the majority linked to an outbreak among staff at Paul's Hauling Ltd. in Brandon, first identified April 27.

The province confirmed Monday an additional two cases were added to the Brandon cluster over the weekend, raising the total to ten.

"These latest cases were identified as close contact of existing cases, and were not employees of that workforce," said Roussin. "Affected staff and their close contacts are isolating, and again we do not feel there is any exposure to the public."

The new cases announced Monday bring the province's total to 289 probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases.

There are currently four people in hospitalized, and one in intensive care. To date, 247 people are listed as recovered, and 35 cases are active. Seven Manitobans have died due to COVID-19 complications.

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The province has conducted a totally of 31,029 lab tests, including 374 on Sunday, and public health officials are encouraging all Manitobans exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 get tested.

For those who can't leave home, the province has launched its first mobile testing resource in Winnipeg, which will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, for homebound residents.

Health officials said Manitoba is on track to enter Phase 2 of its reopening plan by late May or early June, noting the province will continue to evaluate each phase over 28-day spans  the estimated length of two incubation periods.

"Were going to watch our numbers closely," Roussin said. "Certainly, right now, our numbers are all in a good range as we pass this first week of loosening restrictions.

"Its natural as we start to loosen things up that people are happy to get out, the weathers starting to get nice to get out  but I think Manitobans have to realize, and most do, that were not done with this virus and that we could turn things around with this virus really quickly if were not careful."

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca
This year, Missoula County will be holding the June 2 primary election by mail. Return postage is paid and each ballot will contain an I Voted sticker.

Democrats strongly believe in the right to vote, including access to voting. We also believe in supporting public health measures. We strongly support the decision by Missoula County to allow Missoula County voters to cast their votes without needlessly putting election workers and voters at risk for the novel coronavirus or COVID-19.

On May 8 the first primary ballots will go in the mail. You can register via mail until May 26. May 27 through June 1 you can register or update your information in person at the Elections Center on Russell Street. Same-day registration is available on June 2 with special consideration but must be returned by 8 p.m.  postmarks are not sufficient. Social distancing will be enforced. For your health and safety, as well as the health of the community, we strongly urge you to register to vote before May 26.

Montana primaries are open, meaning you do not have to register for a party and will receive all eligible party ballots in the mail. You should vote and just return one partys ballot. If you vote more than one ballot, your votes will not be counted.

Montana Democrats fight every day for quality affordable health care, strong public education and continued access to our public lands.

Democrats have delivered for Montanas working families, and are leading the way to a more prosperous, equitable Montana.

In this last legislative session alone, Democrats renewed Medicaid expansion (securing health coverage for over 80,000 Montanans), invested in public education, froze college tuition, and passed the first infrastructure package in a decade, creating good paying jobs across the state.

We urge you to vote Democrat and place the Democratic ballot in the secrecy envelope, place the secrecy envelope in the large envelope, sign the large envelope and return it in person or by mail. You can throw the unvoted ballot in the trash  there is no need to return them.

For more information about Democrats running in our area, visit www.missoulademocrats.org or find us on Facebook.

For more information about the all-mail primary: visit Missoula County Elections Office: 258-4751 or www.missoulavotes.com

To check the status of your registration and the address on file: State of Montana page to check registration and address: www.myvoterpagemt.com.

Karen Wickersham is chair of the Missoula County Democrats.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: The High-Power Committee (HPC) constituted to probe the cause behind the LG Polymers gas leak and suggest steps, which till now had elicited the opinion of various stakeholders, said it will have an interaction with the affected group in the next few days.

The State government constituted the HPC on May 8 headed by Special Chief Secretary (environment and forests) Neerabh Kumar Prasad and four other members including Special Chief Secretary (Industries & Commerce Department) R Karikal Valaven, Visakhapatnam District Collector Vinay Chand and Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner RK Meena as members and AP Pollution Control Board member-secretary Vivek Yadav as the member-convenor to probe the reasons for the mishap which killed 12 persons.

The committee till now held discussions with Director, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Visakhapatnam and several others.

The committee visited the mishap site and closely examined the industry premises along with the Director, IIP, Dehradun and industry experts.

The HPC also conducted a detailed examination at the storage tank site, control room and factory premises.

Discussions were also held with the top officials at the factory covering all aspects of the accident and the subsequent events.

On Monday, the HPC elicited the views of NDRF and the health teams who were involved in the relief operations and also with three environmental and scientific experts in the field.

Meanwhile, taking serious note of the gas leak from LG Polymers, which claimed 12 lives besides affecting hundreds of people and animals, the State government deployed four teams to inspect safety norms in all the 20 hazardous industries in Visakhapatnam district.

Speaking to TNIE, HPC member R Karikal Valaven said the team comprising officials from industries, factories, boilers and pollution control board and two professors (experts) would inspect five hazardous industries each.

Starting Monday, each team would inspect five industries and submit a report to the government on Thursday. On Friday, we will go through the reports and take a decision, he added.

Asserting that the situation at LG Polymers is out of danger, he said the temperature of the tank from where the leak occurred was brought down to below 70 degree Celsius.

Send them your inputs

Stating that it is planning to hold interactions with the affected people, HPC Chairman Neerabh Kumar Prasad said those who are interested can send their inputs to the HPC through email to convenorhpc@gmail.com.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said he has twice tested negative for coronavirus, but has refused a judges request to see the actual results.

The surreal standoff is the latest flashpoint in a broader battle between a president who has repeatedly tested the limits of his power and democratic institutions.

Mr Bolsonaro has consistently downplayed the coronavirus pandemic and has fiercely criticised efforts by governors and mayors to impose measures to control the spread of the virus, instead advocating for most people to get back to work.

But the courts have repeatedly curtailed him.

Mr Bolsonaros core support is nearly unshakeable (Eraldo Peres/AP)

They ruled that governors and mayors have the power to determine shutdown measures, overturned the presidents decree allowing religious gatherings and are trying to force the release of his Covid-19 test results to end speculation he may have lied.

Mr Bolsonaros supporters have denounced the decisions as part of a plot to derail his presidency, and the president himself said he is a victim of meddling by obstructionist judges.

He said: Enough with the interference. Were not going to allow any more interference.

Patience has run out. Were going to take Brazil forward.

The fight over his coronavirus test results has produced a particularly unusual chapter.

Concerns about Mr Bolsonaros health began in March, when the president returned from the US, and local media reported in the weeks that followed that more than a dozen members of his delegation tested positive for the coronavirus.

Initial unconfirmed reports indicated Mr Bolsonaro had tested positive himself but then he announced on social media that his results had come back negative.

He has refused to produce the actual document, citing medical privacy.

Last week, a federal judge in Sao Paulo ordered Mr Bolsonaro to present the results in response to a request from the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

 Um abraco de esperanca. Ciente da MISSAO. Deus, Patria, Familia. pic.twitter.com/1AXOGgBFOH  Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) May 5, 2020

Mr Bolsonaros attorney-general instead sent a summary of the results, the office said in a statement.

Story continues

The judge again insisted on the actual results, and a separate judge on Saturday gave Mr Bolsonaros team five days to comply.

Mr Bolsonaro has also further muddied the waters recently. Following the lawsuits, he said last week he had perhaps contracted the virus without knowing it.

However, he has kept appearing in public without a mask, addressing crowds and shaking well-wishers hands  on one occasion, after wiping his nose.

His support among a core base has long seemed nearly unshakable.

While a positive result might not challenge that, it would likely erode support from moderates  the portion of people who are not die-hard but believe his policies are reasonable, said Lucas de Aragao, partner at the Brasilia-based consultancy Arko Advice.

He said: This is why he is bashing the governors and judiciary.

The Bolsonaro government and his most influential advocates are always looking for a common enemy, because this creates a sense of community among supporters.
Uncertainty about the extent of any annexation has set off a scramble by officials and activists from Washington to the West Bank to influence the process. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected during a visit here Wednesday to discuss annexation with Netanyahu and former army chief Benny Gantz, his rival-turned-governing partner, who will serve as alternate prime minister and defense minister.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's indictment on corruption charges does not disqualify him from forming a government, the High Court said on May 7. (Reuters)

The move to incorporate the settlements could upend regional peace accords reached during decades of delicate diplomacy and thwart the possibility of a two-state solution. European Union foreign ministers said this week that they will meet to discuss possible sanctions as a response to annexation steps.

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But if Netanyahu backs off his campaign pledge, he could alienate some of his most fervent supporters. Extending Israeli rule over the biblical land that many here refer to as Judea and Samaria is a longtime dream of right-wing Zionists.

Analysts say Netanyahu must decide between keeping his promise and avoiding diplomatic upheaval.

Netanyahu is inherently cautious, he values the strategic relationship with Jordan and sees that this move has not been considered wise for the last 50 years, said Yohanan Plesner, a former lawmaker who is president of the Israel Democracy Institute. It could be that he decides a symbolic annexation is best after all.

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The swearing-in of the new coalition government starts the clock ticking toward a summer showdown of some kind on annexation, one of the only non-coronavirus initiatives allowed to proceed under a complex power-sharing deal between Netanyahu and Gantz. Under that deal, Netanyahu cannot bring up an annexation proposal until July 1. That could still allow time to declare sovereignty over the disputed territory before the U.S. presidential election in November and the prospect of new a president. President Trumps Middle East plan, released in January, endorsed Israeli sovereignty on 30 percent of the West Bank in a departure from long-standing U.S. policy.

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It remains unclear what annexation would look like  how deeply it would reach into the West Bank and whether any of the more far-reaching proposals could win government approval.

What people mean by the term annexation is so wide and ambiguous, this could end up taking 30 percent of the West Bank or it could be a symbolic extension of sovereignty over just one or two settlements, Plesner said. It isnt yet possible to make a serious estimate of what they are going to try.

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Israels coalition agreement stipulates that annexation can be enacted by a vote of either the cabinet or the parliament, called the Knesset, and each option presents Netanyahu with challenges.

In the cabinet, Gantz may have the power to block a proposal not to the liking of his faction. During the campaign, Gantz embraced annexation only within the context of the overall Trump plan, which also provided for a limited Palestinian state.

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If the proposal were taken to the Knesset, that could require striking a difficult compromise between lawmakers who prefer a more limited form of annexation and those who would go even further than the Trump plan.

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Naftali Bennett, the defense minister and chairman of the ultranationalist Yamina party, made clear he will pressure the prime minister not to compromise, regardless of threats from Europe or the risk of violence.

In 100 years, no one will remember what happened to achieve annexation, Bennett said Monday. We know the Palestinians do not want us to be in this land, but Netanyahu must not be deterred.

The settler movement itself isnt unified. For some settlers, particularly those who have been drawn by lower housing prices to West Bank communities close to Israeli cities, even limited annexation would be welcome. The move would further integrate the settlements into Israels economy and bring them more fully under Israeli law. One compromise possibility would annex only such settlements as Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim, which sit close to Jerusalem, and Ariel, east of Tel Aviv.

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For other settlers, including many who live deeper in the West Bank, annexation of any kind would be unacceptable if the price was the establishment of a Palestinian state on other West Bank territory. They also chafe at the Trump plans call for a freeze on settlement expansion.

We cannot accept this bear hug that will end up strangling us, said Yochai Damri, head of the Har Hebron Regional Council in the southern West Bank, where he lives with four generations of his family.

The Trump plan includes a provisional map delineating areas the United States would recognize as part of Israel and those reserved for a future Palestinian state. U.S. officials have publicly said that Trumps preferred outcome is two states. Privately, the administration has stressed to both Israeli officials and Israels U.S. backers that the new government should not rush toward anything that looks like a land grab, said people familiar with some of those discussions.

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A joint U.S.-Israeli mapping committee has worked to translate the conceptual map produced by Trump adviser Jared Kushner into a more practical one, which the Israeli government could use to make annexation decisions and draft legislation. The idea, according to officials familiar with process, has been in part to create a consensus that Israel would not encroach on land that could form a future Palestinian state.

The joint document is unlikely to make recommendations about timing for any annexation decisions, although in practice U.S. officials know it will be viewed as a starting gun for Israeli action.

Although Kushner has been largely preoccupied with the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, both he and Trump have sought to reassure Arab governments that any annexation can be managed thoughtfully and without unleashing violence or unrest by those who oppose the action.

U.S. and Israeli officials have frequently pointed to the lack of wide Arab violence following Trumps 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital as one example.

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Some Arab diplomats say their concerns have been ignored.

We heard about the annexation plan and possible timeline. Weve voiced our worries to the U.S. government, but it doesnt seem to change anything, said an Arab official in the region, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters.

To date, Palestinian officials have refused to engage with the U.S. efforts, saying they are hopelessly biased toward Israel and that annexation is unlikely to encourage further talks.

They are hallucinating in the White House, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in an interview.

Danny Danon, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, said the Palestinians had a history of rejecting all offers. Speaking to reporters last week, he said, Now they are also rejecting the Trump peace plan, and every time they reject the plan, they face a harder situation on their end. I recommend they come back.

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The Trump plan relies on Netanyahus pledge to Trump, in January, that the prime minister would negotiate with the Palestinians on the basis of the plan and commit to the status quo in parts of the West Bank where Palestinians would govern themselves under a future agreement.

David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, told Israeli media last week that Netanyahus expressed willingness to negotiate with the Palestinians over the next four years was sufficient to make Washington ready to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the settlements.

Gearan and Mekhennet reported from Washington. Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr is wondering how government is going to inject Gh18billion into the economy as being suggested by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).



The TUC is urging the government to pump GH18 billion, into the economy to reduce the impact of COVID-19.



In a statement, the union said the countrys GDP growth was expected to decline from 6.5 to 1.5 percent in 2020 and would translate into output loss of more than GH18 billion, equivalent of $3.1 billion and that "the national economic response must be proportionate to the scale of the human, economic and social costs arising out of the pandemic. We expect the stimulus package to match the magnitude of the projected decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).



However, Kwesi Pratt is wondering where government is going to find such an amount.



In a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', he queried, "How much do we have as a country? How much is our total tax revenue; how much of that is used to construct hospitals and how much is used for free SHS . . . we wish we have so much to inject into our economy but where are we going to get the money?"



Meanwhile, Ghana has already acquired a US$1 billion loan facility from the IMF under the Rapid Credit Facility to address the COVID-19 pandemic.



Listen to Kwesi Pratt in the video below





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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Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, on Tuesday, announced the release of 17,000 out of over 35,000 prisoners in the state. The decision was taken after 185 inmates of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai tested positive for Covid-19. An 82-year-old convicts death was also reported inside Yerawada jail in Pune after testing positive for Covid-19.

We have also put eight jails in Maharashtra under lockdown to ensure that no new inmates will come in and neither will jail authorities from outside will go inside. The officials and inmates who are in these eight jails will also remain inside, said Anil Deshmukh in a video released on Twitter.

Out of the 17,000, around 5,000 will be under-trials; they have been released on a personal bond over the past four weeks.

The under-trials were those who fit three criteria - arrested in cases that invite 7-year jail time upon conviction, residency in Maharashtra, and not named in serious crimes. This process began in March and concluded on May 2 after the release of 5,105 under-trials.

This decision was taken based on suggestions by a high-power committee in March. In March, the Supreme Court had directed states on the formation of state-level committees comprising of chairman of the state legal services authority, the principal secretary of the prison department and the states director-general of prisons.

Of the remaining 12,000 inmates, around 3,000 will be those convicted in cases with less than a 7-year jail term. An order to this effect was issued on May 8, 2020, and the process of release began on May 9 in all jails in Maharashtra.

For convicted prisoners whose maximum punishment is 7 years or less, on their application shall be favourably considered for release on emergency parole by the superintendent of prison for a period of 45 days or till such time that the state government withdraws the notification issued under the epidemics diseases act, 1897, whichever is earlier, read the order issued by the office of Maharashtra governor.

In three days between May 9 and May 11, a total of 695 convicts were released.

The remaining 9,000 releases will be those of convicts named in cases with more than 7-year of jail term but not serious cases.

The people booked in serious offences including rape, economic offence, bank fraud, under Maharashtra control of organised crime act (MCOCA), under the terrorist and disruptive activities (prevention) act (TADA), under the Maharashtra protection of interest of depositors act (MPID), and unlawful activities prevention act (UAPA) will not be considered for release.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 12, 2020 21:29 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd79754a 1 National humanitarian-aid,aircraft-crash,plane-crash,Papua,united-states Free

A small Kodiak aircraft operated by United States-based Christian and humanitarian aid organization Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) crashed into Lake Sentani in Papua on Tuesday morning, killing its American pilot.

The plane took off from Sentani airport in Jayapura at 6:27 a.m. local time and the pilot made a distress call two minutes later.

The Search and Rescue (SAR) team recovered the body of the pilot, the only person aboard the aircraft, at a depth of 13 meters in the lake at 8:30 a.m. local time.

"The body was immediately taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital, Jayapura SAR chief Zainul Thahar said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

Papua Police spokesperson Comr. Sr. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal identified the pilot as Joyce Chaisin Lin, a 40-year-old US national.

Tolikara Regent Usman Wanimbo said the utility aircraft had likely been transporting books and school supplies from Jayapura to the Papua Harapan Foundation in Mamit village, Tolikara regency.

Air transportation is vital in Papua because road networks are limited. MAF provides aviation services to inaccessible locations to transport medicine, doctors, disaster relief, education, evangelists, food supplies and clean water for community development.

According to MAF's official site, maf.org, Lin was a pilot and an IT specialist who obtained her private pilot's license during university.

As a MAF missionary pilot, she also helped set up and maintain computer networks to allow missionaries and humanitarian workers in remote areas to contact their supporters and access resources on the internet. (aly)
You are here: Business

China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. has delivered the country's largest hard rock tunnel boring machine, which will be commissioned in the construction of a water diversion project in Yunnan Province.

The Zhengzhou-headquartered equipment manufacturer said its independently developed machine named "Yunling" has a tunneling diameter of 9.83 meters.

The machine is 235 meters long and weighs about 2,050 tonnes. It is equipped with geological prediction and harmful gas detection devices and an emergency shelter in case of accidents such as rock bursts, geological deformations and fault fractures.

The company has secured the largest market share in China since 2012, and topped the world in 2017 and 2018 in terms of shield tunneling machine production and sales volume.

The company has exported its products to 20 countries and regions including Italy, Denmark, Singapore, Australia and Algeria.
Panaji, May 12 : Goa, which is already a designated green zone with no active COVID-19 case, is ready to welcome tourists, but considering the situation in many parts of the country re-starting tourism activities will take some time, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

In his live interaction on Facebook organised by the state government's Directorate of Information and Publicity, Sawant said that efforts need to be made by the residents of the state to nip rumour-mongering about fake COVID-19 cases in the bud.

Sawant said tourism-related standard operating procedures would be in place by the time the country reaches the lockdown 4.0 stage.

"We are ready to welcome tourists. But if one takes note of the situation in the country, it appears that we will have to wait for sometime. We are willing to say welcome to tourists, but they should be willing to come," Sawant said during the live interaction.

The Chief Minister said that Goa, which is one of the few designated green zones in the country with no single active COVID-19 case in the state, was "wary" about the possible entry of positive coronavirus cases.

He added that a SOP would be formulated soon by the state and said the Goa government was looking forward to the release of a similar SOP dealing with protocol related to inbound tourists, by the Union Tourism Ministry.

The Chief Minister said that out of the 14,000 odd foreign tourists who had been repatriated from the country during the pandemic, nearly 7,000 flew out of India from Goa alone.

Commenting on several rumours doing the rounds on social media, fuelling speculation about fake COVID-19 cases, Sawant said: "I urge people not to start rumours. They should think about the veracity of the messages before forwarding them. When a disaster is ongoing such rumours should not be spread." The Chief Minister urged the people to follow the instructions of the State Executive Committee, which oversees the management and relief work related to the pandemic, instead of criticising every decision.

"People should follow instructions which are being given for the good of the state and people at large. Do not pick holes in them and ask 'why' every time," Sawant said.

"Many people believe in simply criticising (decisions), rather than co-operating with them. Instead of criticising, there is a need to co-operate with the government," the Chief Minister said.
Latest News New head of retail broker at Pepper Money Broker favourite promoted to head of retail mortgages

Small businesses want the SME Recovery Scheme replaced The proposed scheme is patterned after the HECS terms on loan repayment

The ACCC has announced the new proposed date for its decision regarding the AFG-Connective merger is set for 18 June 2020.

The original date was scheduled for 7 May, but was postponed following a request from AFG for more time in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connective CEO Glenn Lees yesterday welcomed the updated timeline.

We are looking forward to the outcome of the decision and are confident we can satisfy the ACCC's requirements, he said.

We believe the merged business will be in a unique position to offer brokers greater choice, and the benefits of improved efficiency in times of uncertainty."

News first broke that AFG and Connective were set to merge in a deal valued at $120m in August 2019.

Many brokers were shocked by the announcement, which was confirmed by the ASX just ahead of official communications being sent to brokers.

Six months later, the ACCC voiced concerns that the proposed acquisition of Connective by AFG could stymie market competition in Australia.

Combining AFG and Connective would create the largest mortgage aggregator in Australia by a significant margin, accounting for almost 40% of all mortgage brokers operating in Australia, ACCC chair Rod Sims said in February 2020.

The ACCC is concerned there will be limited similar alternatives for brokers to switch to. This may negatively impact the services offered to brokers.

However, from the beginning, Connective has maintained there would be no "substantial lessening of competition" from the proposed merger.
While Pakistans opposition parties have questioned the permission given to import medicines and raw materials from India, pharmaceutical companies say that if such imports are stopped, the countrys local drug production would be adversely affected.

Last week, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif criticised the import in Parliament. According to a report presented by the Health Ministry to the government, manufacturers and importers had imported 429 active pharmaceutical ingredients, 12 different kinds of vaccines and 59 medicines from India under a special permission.

However, the imported drugs included vitamin tablets as well as medicines which are being produced in Pakistan also, the report said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had last week ordered a probe into the misuse of permission for the import of life-saving drugs from India.

However, the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has said that the import of raw material is crucial to local production of a number of drugs.

Pakistan had resumed import of Indian drugs in September 2019, one month after it had announced it would stop imports after India scrapped Jammu and Kashmirs special status.

After pressure from local producers, the government had allowed the import of life-saving drugs as well as raw material from India.
A high-speed chase from Mobile to the Florida state line Tuesday injured two law enforcement officers.

The chase began when a suspect allegedly stole a vehicle from the Dean McCrary Kia dealership in West Mobile, according to the Mobile Police Department. The multi-agency chase led officers toward the Florida State Line on the I-10 where a crash took place.

An Alabama State Trooper was in pursuit of the stolen vehicle when it crashed into a semi on the Florida side of the border, near to a rest stop. The suspect then fled the scene and was captured soon after. The unnamed suspect was unhurt.

During the incident, a Florida State Trooper vehicle was also hit, resulting in two officers sustaining injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. One of the officers had to be extricated from the vehicle. Neither of the injuries were life threatening.
BRISBANE, Australia - More than 30 years after American mathematician Scott Johnson died after falling off a cliff in Sydney, a man has been charged with his death in an apparent gay hate crime that police believe was one of many over several decades in Australias largest city.

New South Wales state police said Tuesday that a 49-year-old man who they did not name has been charged with murdering the 27-year-old Sydney-based Johnson in 1988.

They said the man was arrested at a property in Sydneys northern suburbs. He was taken to a local police station for questioning, and was later charged with murder. He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Three inquests were held into Johnsons death after he was found at the base of a cliff near Manlys North Head on Dec. 10, 1988. In the first inquest, his death was ruled a suicide. The second inquest, in June 2012, returned an open finding.

However, the third inquest, in 2017, found that Johnson fell from the clifftop as the result of violence by an unidentified attacker who perceived him to be gay.

A 1 million Australian dollar ($647,000) reward for information leading to an arrest in the case was offered in 2018, and Johnsons family in March pledged to match that amount.

New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said in a statement Tuesday that he had been in contact with Johnsons brother Steve in Boston to inform him of the arrest.

Making that phone call this morning is a career highlight  Steve has fought so hard for so many years, and it has been an honour be part of his fight for justice, Fuller said.

Steve Johnson said in a statement that his brother symbolizes those who lost their lives to homophobic-inspired violence.

Its emotional for me, emotional for my family, my two sisters and brother who loved Scott dearly, my wife and three kids who never got to know their uncle, Johnson said.

He courageously lived his life as he wanted to. I hope the friends and families of the other dozens of gay men who lost their lives find solace in whats happened today and hope it opens the door to resolve some of the other mysterious deaths of men who have not yet received justice, he said.

Johnson said his brother graduated at the top of his class at CalTech and later studied at Cambridge and Harvard universities before moving to Australia.

A 2018 police review of 88 suspicious deaths from 1976 to 2000 revealed that 27 men were likely murdered for their homosexuality by gangs, with cases peaking in the late 1980s and early 90s.

ACON, New South Wales leading sexuality and gender-diverse health organization, said it has been a long and difficult process for Johnsons family and friends.

While this is a significant development in this particular case, it highlights the need for ongoing investigation, truth-telling and the delivery of justice for so many other gay men and trans people, who were murdered or bashed in similar cases, ACONs chief executive, Nicolas Parkhill, said in a statement.
Easing the lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland, even in the slightest way, requires the wisdom of Solomon, the foresight of a clairvoyant and the ability to balance of a high wire daredevil. Every deviation from the current stay at home, stay safe advice will have consequences but the province cannot be preserved in aspic for ever.

Today the Executive at Stormont will unveil its roadmap for the months ahead. It will not be a precise route - for example, there will be no dates to signpost when changes will come into force - and it has been made clear that lockdown, apart from nuanced changes, will remain in force until the end of this month.

The compelling necessity to protect health as much as possible is obvious, but it is becoming clear that there are also compelling economic reasons why some kind of normality has to return as soon as the scientific advice gives a possible the green light.

Of course, every relaxation will come with the caveat that if the infection and death rate starts to spike again, then the lockdown clamps go back on.

While there will be a lot of competing demands of the Executive, there is one common necessity. Whatever the five parties agree to do must be spelled out in crystal clear terms. This is no time for imprecision in language or loopholes that could be exploited and lead to serious problems.

The Executive, like the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, has diverged from England in keeping the stay home, stay safe message but its reliance on the Treasury in London to underwrite economic support funding means it cannot ignore the plight of industry and commerce.

Westminster is making it clear such funding in the UK must end sooner rather than later and that can only lead in one direction - a return to work where at all possible.

Northern Ireland's economy - always imbalanced by over-reliance on the public sector - has suffered more and fallen further than any other region, according to an Ulster Bank expert.

Our report highlighting what those working in various sectors feel must be done to kick start the economy shows the depth of the problem and why it could take years to get back to 2019's levels of activity.

But the death of an employee at the Moy Park poultry processing factory from coronavirus shows the dangers that still exist in the community and the dilemmas the Executive faces.
In its third participation, WALLIX is rated as a "Big One" & " Market Champion" and recognized as a leader in all categories including product, innovation, market and technology

WALLIX is the only European vendor listed in the top 7 leaders' worldwide players

Paris, 12th May 2020 - WALLIX (Euronext ALLIX), European cybersecurity software vendor and expert in privileged access management (PAM), today announced that it has been named among the leaders of the KuppingerCole 2020 Leadership Compass for Privileged Access Management. This new report supports and confirms the development strategy announced by WALLIX in its "Ambition 21" plan to become a European leader in the cybersecurity market.

The KuppingerCole Compass describes Privileged Access Management (PAM) as one of the most important areas of risk management and security in any organization. "This has largely been driven by changes in business computing practices and compliance demands from governments and trading bodies, as well as increased levels of cybercrime. Digital transformation, regulations such as GDPR, the shift to the cloud and, most recently, the growth of DevOps in organizations looking to accelerate their application development processes" explained Paul Fisher, Lead Analyst at KuppingerCole.

Within the evaluation of 24 vendors and their products, WALLIX is recognized as a leader in all segments due to the successful execution of its Ambition21 strategy and investment in new products, "having a broad set of features and innovative features". In 2019 WALLIX introduced new capabilities of its WALLIX Bastion PAM solution, for which Paul Fisher highlights WALLIX's product strategy in stating: "WALLIX has been steadily improving its product" in particular with new product features for Controlled Privilege Escalation and Delegation Management (CEPDM) and Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM). The report also confirms WALLIX's strengths with "leading privilege session management (PSM) capabilities" and "proven in multiple operating environments including OT, industrial and SCADA" driving WALLIX towards new business market opportunities. Another factor in WALLIX's position as a market leader is the fact that the WALLIX Bastion suite "supports a broad range of targets for on-premise systems and cloud environments" and can be deployed in a variety of ways according to customer environment, budget, and risk profile: public cloud platforms, virtual infrastructure, or on-premise options are available to best fit the need. WALLIX Bastion also simplifies DevOps and any automatic administrator activities by eliminating hard-coded passwords and providing secured credentials to DevOps tools. The KuppingerCole PAM Compass illustrates WALLIX's advanced position, supporting its customers in their digital transformation, whether it concerns secrets or privilege management for a more secure digital future.

The report ranks players and account management solutions according to 5 criteria, for which KuppingerCole placed WALLIX as "strong positive" for security and functionality and as "positive" for usability, deployment and interoperability.

"As a European company, WALLIX is honored to be named as an overall leader in the 2020 KuppingerCole Analysts Leadership Compass for Privileged Access Management," said Jean-Noel De Galzain, CEO at WALLIX. "It affirms our product strategy which includes cloud deployment, as well as innovative least privilege management for applications with endpoint security. We also have great business opportunities for Industrial and secure IT to OT/iIOT network convergence in a highly efficient project implementation."

A complimentary copy of the KuppingerCole Leadership 2020 Compass for Privileged Access Management can be downloaded at https://www.wallix.com/

About KuppingerCole

KuppingerCole, founded in 2004, is a global Analyst Company headquartered in Europe focusing on Information Security and Identity and Access Management (IAM). KuppingerCole stands for expertise, thought leadership, outstanding practical relevance, and a vendor-neutral view on the information security market segments, covering all relevant aspects like: Identity and Access Management (IAM), Governance & Auditing Tools, Cloud and Virtualization Security, Information Protection, Mobile as well as Software Security, System and Network Security, Security Monitoring, Analytics & Reporting, Governance, and Organization & Policies.

For further information, please contact clients@kuppingercole.com

ABOUT WALLIX

A software company providing cybersecurity solutions, WALLIX Group is the European specialist in privileged account governance. In response to recent regulatory changes and the cybersecurity threats affecting all companies today, WALLIX's solutions help users defend against cyber-attacks, theft and data leaks linked to stolen credentials and abused privileges. It is the first market solution to have been awarded first-level security certification (CSPN) by France's National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) and thus meet all of the criteria for regulatory compliance. Listed on the Euronext under ALLIX and distributed by a network of more than 170 resellers and trained and accredited integrators, WALLIX accompanies more than 1000 companies in securing their digital future.

More information: www.wallix.com | info@wallix.com

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A Life Time location.

Courtesy of Life Time

Oklahoma recently began phase one of its coronavirus reopening plan, which includes allowing gyms and fitness centers to open up.

The national gym chain Life Time opted to reopen its first location in Oklahoma City.

The company has implemented extensive new procedures for post-coronavirus-lockdown gym life, including spacing out equipment, limiting class sizes, checking the temperatures of employees and guests, and following a cleaning protocol that's more than 400 pages long.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

As cities and states consider how people might return to business as usual, the fitness industry presents a quandary: How can people return to the gym safely, considering the close contact and shared surface touching that a typical sweat session involves?

For Life Time, a US health-and-fitness chain, the beginning of Oklahoma's coronavirus reopening plan provided an opportunity to test the waters: Life Time is reopening the first of its US gyms in Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma City location is opening in part because of the easing of local restrictions  many states are still under lockdowns, and gyms there may not reopen for months.

But the decision to reopen this Life Time location is also based on customer feedback, said Jeff Zwiefel, the company's chief operating officer. In a survey, over two-thirds of members at that location said they were interested in coming back to the gym, Life Time said.

Here are the changes Life Time says it's making to help keep the gym safe.

The company has a 400-page cleaning protocol

Zwiefel said the top priority was a strict disinfecting and sanitizing protocol, particularly for high-touch surfaces like exercise machines, weights, railings, and lockers.

In addition to seeing shortened hours to allow time for deep-cleaning, customers will be asked to use spray and wipes to sanitize equipment before and after using it. Zwiefel said group fitness classes would be scheduled to allow time between sessions for deep cleaning.

Story continues

In total, the club has more than 400 pages' worth of cleaning protocols outlined in a manual that's been shared with staff and management, he said.

fitness health pushup abs squats weights resistance bands workout home workout exercise

Julian Howard for Insider

Equipment has been spaced out to allow for social distancing

The gym says it's implementing social distancing from personal training sessions to the weight racks and cardio machines.

Zwiefel said equipment was spaced out so gymgoers could stay 6 feet apart during their workouts.

The gym's capacity will be monitored to make sure it doesn't exceed the space requirement. Zwiefel said that peak hours were being closely recorded and that information on when the gym is busiest would be available online so people could plan to work out when it isn't as crowded.

In the locker rooms, shower use will be limited to every other stall, lockers will be spaced out, and access to saunas and steam rooms will be limited, Life Time said.

Personal training sessions will also be held at a distance. Any one-on-one training will be hands-off, with the trainer and the member staying 6 feet apart, according to Life Time's website.

Group fitness studio empty

Courtesy of Life Time

Fitness classes will be distanced

Group classes will require at least 6 feet between participants and will limit contact as much as possible, Life Time said.

People will need a reservation to attend a class, and attendance will be capped to prevent overcrowding. On the bright side, attendees will no longer have to get out or put away weights  everything needed for a class will be laid out in advance, in spaced-out stations in the room, Life Time said.

"We understand members may not want to carry through on all the etiquette, but we will be strongly encouraging it," Zwiefel said. "If it comes down to it, we will remove members from the club if they're creating a situation that has negative repercussions for our member or team member."

medical coronavirus wfh work from home working office computer laptop quarantine face mask apt breathe cox 2

Crystal Cox/Insider

Staff members will undergo regular temperature checks and wear masks

Everyone working at Life Time's gym will have to take precautions too. Staff members will be required to wear masks and have their temperature taken regularly, either at home or before their shifts, Life Time said.

Employees and members are strongly encouraged to stay home if they are ill or have any symptoms. Zwiefel said Life Time was working on thermal panels for temperature screening as people enter the club.

Though Life Time is beginning to reopen, Zwiefel acknowledged that there are a lot of unknowns about what the US will look like in the near term.

The company plans to open its locations in South Tulsa, Oklahoma, and South Jordan, Utah, on Friday. Locations in Texas and Alabama are set to reopen the following week.

The locations' reopenings will depend on how receptive local customers are and what local governments advise, Zwiefel said.

"We don't have any objective to be first in the market to reopen," Zwiefel said.

Life Time has also discussed a contingency plan in case there's a second wave of coronavirus cases, as some experts have predicted, he said.

"Where and how consumers are managing outside of our space, I can't control," he said. "What we can control is that we are steadfast and relentless in protocols on cleaning, distancing, and spacing."

Read the original article on Insider
Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday reopened its San Antonio plant and 12 others in the U.S. and Canada after a seven-week hiatus, making it one of the first major automakers to resume production amid the coronavirus outbreak and slumping vehicle sales.

Detroits Big Three  General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles  have said they will reopen their North American factories May 18.

It is paramount that auto manufacturers get the restarts right the first time because their cash burn has accelerated greatly since the shutdowns began, and they cannot afford to shut them down again and send workers back home, said Garrett Nelson, senior analyst at New York-based CFRA, an investment research firm.

Honda Motor Co. also restarted its U.S. and Canadian factories Monday.

At Toyotas South Side plant, returning workers were greeted with a new routine  answering health and travel-related questions on an app on their cellphones, regular temperature checks and new social distancing guidelines inside the plant.

If any Tacoma or Tundra pickups rolled off the production line, the company wasnt saying.

This week is not about production, Toyota spokeswoman Melissa Sparks said. Our team members have been out for seven weeks, so they are reconditioning and figuring out the new normal.

Only one-third of Toyotas local workers  about 1,000 of its nearly 3,000 employees  returned Monday. The company plans to resume its normal two-shift production schedule Thursday.

Company officials have said the new guidelines are designed to ensure worker safety.

Toyota employs more than 20,000 workers in North America. Its reopening is the first large-scale test of whether an automaker can protect the health of its workers during the pandemic.

Toyota plants have been shut since March 23.

The big question remains if automakers have the appropriate measures in place to guarantee safety for all of their workers as they ramp up production during this new phase, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at automotive website Edmunds.com. This is completely uncharted territory.

Caldwell said assembly line tasks usually require employees to work close to one another and are difficult to reconfigure to comply with social distancing rules.

No one has ever had to configure an auto plant with COVID-19 in mind, she said.

At Toyotas U.S. and Canadian plants, the manufacturer has installed protective barriers for employees who work close to one another and is requiring workers to wear face shields, masks and gloves.

Sparks said company officials have developed a plan in case an employee tests positive for COVID-19.

Toyota will respond quickly and urgently to help mitigate the spread and slow the infection rate for our team members, she said. This includes sanitization of the work area and rapidly notifying all team members who may have been impacted.

Weeks before its reopening, Toyota reported that two of its San Antonio employees had caught the coronavirus, among about two dozen across its North American operations. None of the workers died from COVID-19, according to the company.

United Auto Workers officials have said more than two dozen workers at plants run by the Big Three have died, including 15 who worked at Fiat Chrysler plants. Their North American auto plants, however, have been closed since mid-March.

Toyotas North American workers are nonunionized.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the automaker plans to slash vehicle production by nearly a third in North America through October because of the plunge in demand brought about by travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders.

Toyota officials did not respond to questions about the reported production cuts.

Caldwell said the move makes sense, but she added that the situation remains fluid.

The amount of production will likely shift depending on the pace of the economic recovery, she said.

The Tundra and the Tacoma, the two pickups produced at the San Antonio plant, saw plummeting sales in April from a year earlier  but they easily outperformed the rest of Toyotas vehicle lineup.

The manufacturers overall vehicle sales dropped 53.9 percent in April. Sales of the Tundra fell 19.4 percent and the Tacoma 30.4 percent.

Auto analysts say the demand for pickups is stronger than other vehicles. However, the San Antonio plant is scheduled to relinquish production of the Tacoma, the best-selling midsize pickup in the U.S., by the end of next year.

Its production will shift to Toyotas two plants in Mexico. In its place, the San Antonio plant will start producing the Sequoia SUV, which posted sales of about 10,000 in the U.S. last year.

Randy Diamond covers energy and manufacturing in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Randy, become a subscriber. randy.diamond@express-news.net
A trip to the mailbox has, perhaps, never been so exciting.

Oregonians selected for a new yearlong coronavirus study can expect to receive postcards in the mail this week, officials for Oregon Health & Science University said Monday.

The postcards themselves dont say much: Please watch your mail for an important envelope with an invite from the Key to Oregon study.

But receiving one means youve been invited to participate in the massive study, which Oregon Gov. Kate Brown this month said would be a game changer.

OHSU is partnering with the state to conduct voluntary surveillance of 100,000 Oregonians for the next year. Participating residents will be asked to monitor and self-report their symptoms on a daily basis, including temperature and other indicators, such as a cough. People who develop coronavirus symptoms will be eligible for testing.

OHSU is also planning to regularly provide tests to up to 10,000 people without symptoms within the broader group. Those self-administered tests would enable participants to learn if theyre infected and would help public health officials better understand how the virus can spread among those without symptoms.

Researchers expect to contact 150,000 randomly selected households across Oregon, with a goal to enroll 100,000 participants. The study is being structured to ensure geographic, socioeconomic and racial and ethnic diversity.

OHSU said postcards would be mailed Monday night to selected households. Letters with additional details will be sent at a later time. A spokeswoman declined to specify when those letters would be mailed, other than to say it would be later this week.

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
 Flash

Russia will end its COVID-19-related restrictions nationwide from Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

Putin said he had signed a decree ending nationwide paid leave beginning Tuesday and called on regional heads to ease restrictions where possible.

"From tomorrow, May 12, the period of non-working days ends for the whole country and for all sectors of the economy," Putin said in a televised address to the nation.

"But the fight against the pandemic is not over. Its danger persists, even in territories where the situation is relatively favorable," he added.

He said Russia is starting to exit "gradually and very carefully" from coronavirus-related restrictions, some of which will be maintained for some territories and enterprises.

Putin asked heads of the country's regions, wherever it is possible, to give people an opportunity to leave home, go out for walks with children, and engage in individual sports.

Putin called for sectors of the economy - including construction, industry, agriculture, communications, energy and mining - to begin the process of returning to normal starting Tuesday.

Putin said such sectors do not involve direct contact with consumers.

But given that the epidemiological situation is uneven in such a big country, regional leaders should take flexible measures depending on the local situation, he said.

"The exit or relaxation of restrictions should take place under strict observance of all conditions and sanitary requirements that guarantee people's safety," Putin stressed.

In particular, mass events will not be allowed throughout the country, Putin said, adding that the self-isolation regime should be maintained for people over 65 and those with chronic diseases.

The president said that work restrictions have negatively affected many sectors of the economy.

The number of officially registered unemployed in Russia reached 1.4 million, twice as many as in early April, Putin said.

He asked the government to begin stabilizing the labor market, supporting the unemployed, and minimizing the risks of further unemployment.

The Russian authorities have formed and are constantly expanding a list of affected sectors and enterprises and provide them with support at the federal level, so that small and medium-sized businesses and system-forming companies keep their jobs and work teams and do not accumulate wage arrears, Putin said.
An executive order by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week is the most aggressive yet among the directives issued by 13 states that require workers compensation insurers to pay at least some COVID-19 claims.

Pressure is growing on workers compensation systems across the country to cover the cost of treating and supporting workers caught up in the pandemic. In light of mandated social distancing, theres a strong argument to be made that work is the cause of any COVID-19 infection suffered by a front-line worker, said Jennifer Wolf, who heads an international organization of work comp regulators.

But employers and insurers did not set aside reserves counting on paying for a pandemic, creating what Wolf calls a work comp Catch 22. That is leading to pressure by some business and insurance groups to call for creation of a federal backstop, similar to the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act, to take a share of the costs off of overburdened workers compensation systems.

It needs to be a part of the national conversation, said Wolf, who is executive director of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). I think this is a situation that is truly a national concern. There have been incidents in the past where there have been federal solutions.

Presumptions cost billions

For the moment, state regulators have been focusing on easing the path to workers comp benefits for those who have to work with the public during the outbreak.

Up to now, governors have created presumptions that favor claims by first responders, health care workers and some front-line employees in specified occupations. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear pushed the envelope furthest  decreeing a presumption for workers in grocery stores, child care centers and domestic violence shelters and other occupations.

Newsoms order applies to every worker in California who was required to work at a place away from home. Any of those workers who is sickened by COVID-19 from the day Newsom issued a stay-at-home order on March 19 until July 5 will get the benefit of the doubt when filing a workers compensation claim.

The governor may have handed California employers and insurers a $33.6 billion workers compensation bill. That is the worst-case scenario projected by the states ratemaking agency, the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, if every essential worker who is diagnosed with COVID-19 files a claim and is paid benefits. The WCIRBs mid-range projection was for $11.2 billion in losses, but even that equals 61 percent of current workers comp costs in the state.

The bureau also included an optimistic projection that calculated $2.2 billion in losses for California. In that scenario, only 4 percent of health care workers and less than 1 percent of other workers file COVID-19 claims.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance released its own projection of potential costs for the 38 states and the District of Columbia, where it collects claims data: Worst case: Losses of $81 billion. Best case $2 billon.

There are several reasons one might bet on less than the worst-case outcome projected by the WCIRB.

For one thing, Newsoms order expires after 60 days, while the bureaus estimate presumes the presumption will apply throughout 2020, said WCIRB Chief Actuary David Bellusci.

Further, the bureau assumed the presumption would be conclusive while Newsoms directive allows employers to rebut the presumption by presenting evidence that the worker contracted the virus elsewhere, Bellusci said.

Whats more, Californias efforts to control the spread of the virus through social distancing and business closures appear to have been effective. As of Friday, the state had an infection rate of 1,608 out of 1 million, less than half the national infection rate, according to The COVID Tracking Project. The number of new cases reported each day had been holding steady for the past two weeks at about 1,500 to 2,000.

Bellusci said only one thing is clear about the new coronavirus impact on workers comp: Premiums are going to plummet because of unprecedented unemployment. Claims will initially decline as a natural course of those layoffs, but Bellusci said the state may have an uptick later because of post-termination claims. California statutes generally prohibit any claims for injury after a worker is terminated, but cumulative trauma claims are allowed.

Alex Swedlow, president of the California Workers Compensation Institute, said Newsoms order may cover 85% of the states workforce. He pointed to two areas of concern in emails.

The requirement that workers file claims within 14 days of their last possible work exposure may prove problematic if testing remains limited, he said.

The order also requires employers to decide whether to accept or deny a COVID-19 claim within 30 days. Normally the deadline is 90 days.

The 30-day window makes it easier to file a claim so you can expect more low end severity claims, Swedlow said in an email. That said, California is doing relatively well in terms of COVID cases. The accepted claim can still be challenged after the 30 day window if new evidence emerges or with a negative test result.

Essential workers

Californias residual market insurer, State Compensation Insurance Fund, decided on it own to pay COVID-19 claims for essential workers identified in the governors stay-at-home order on April 20, long before Newsom ordered a presumption. The carrier projects those claims will cost $115 million, a relative trifle when compared to State Funds $6.5 billion policyholder surplus.

State Fund President Vern Steiner explained in a blog post that State Funds insured book of business has far fewer first responders and health care workers than the insured population that the WCIRB examined. The bureaus analysis projected much higher infection rates for that population.

Further, State Funds estimate envisioned the carrier dropping the presumption once the governor lifts stay-at-home orders that continue to restrict businesses. Steiner said State Fund projects that the order will be lifted in June, while WCIRB projected a presumption continuing for the entire year.

Steiner said as of April 27, State Fund had received only 21 claims from its insured book of business, which represents 10.5 percent of the states insured exposure. (The carrier also administers self-insured claims by state government employees.)

More than half of those claims has come from one bankrupt hospital system that came to us in January because of their bankruptcy, Steiner said. The majority of those claims are showing a positive COVID-19 test result. The majority of the other claims we have received are showing a negative test result. Sometimes multiple negative results.

The State Fund president closed by saying suggesting that with stay-at-home orders in place, there is little grounds to deny claims from workers who were not sent home.

From my point of view as soon as the shelter-in-place orders started differentiating exposure for essential workers and the general population I believed that these claims would be compensable unless there was evidence that the exposure came from a non-work related source, Steiner said. I hope the rest of the insurance and self-insured community see this as well.

Jennifer Wolf made much the same point in one of her Accidentally podcasts that she posts on the IAIABC website.

The public has been asked to stay at home to limit exposure and the spread of disease, she said. It seems difficult to argue that essential workers are not exposed to COVID-19 by the very act of going to work.

Wolf went on to say that workers comp loss reserves are built on actuarial projections that did not include a pandemic. Generally, workers compensation is not asked to pay for disability caused by illnesses to which the general public is exposed.

Wolf noted that Risk Insurance Management Society on April 20 sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for legislation to create a federal backstop that would allow businesses to recoup unprecedented business-interruption losses. She said a similar mechanism could be employed for workers comp.

The Pandemic Risk Insurance Act, a draft bill introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., would provide a federal loss-sharing program for insurance claims relating to losses resulting from a certified pandemic or epidemic, according to RIMS, which supports the legislation.

Footing the bill

While some wait for Congress to come to the rescue, California employers are unhappy that the governor is forcing them to foot the bill for more worker claims.

The California Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that Congress has already expanded the safety net for workers sickened by COVID-19 through emergency legislation that expands unemployment benefits and mandates 10 work days of paid sick leave, with the cost reimbursed by the U.S. Treasury.

It seems that the governors goals can be achieved using federal dollars without placing even more financial strain on California employers, the Chamber said in a statement. Imposing a legal presumption that any employee who contracts the coronavirus is covered by workers compensation benefits shifts the cost of this pandemic to employers.

The Workers Compensation Action network, which advocates for California employers, acknowledged that Newsom had mitigated the cost of his presumption order by limiting its duration to 60 days and requiring workers to present a confirmed diagnosed within 14 days of work.

Our fundamental concern with a broad suspension of the work-causation standard is that it distorts the basic bargain of workers comp and makes employers responsible for COVID-19 cases contracted outside of work, said WCAN spokesman Jerry Azevedo in a prepared statement.

Even rebuttable presumptions undermine the ability of employers to determine whether the illness is related to work. The practical result is that employers will pay workers comp benefits for COVID-19 even where there is no evidence it was related to work.

Diana Rich, a public member representing California employers on the WCIRBs board of directors, said the impact of the pandemic on Californias workers is mitigated somewhat by the states best-in-the-state disability insurance plan. She said shes not in favor of Newsoms directive, as presumptions are another step toward socialized medicine.

But Rich said she agreed with Wolf that national lawmakers should start planning for a federal backstop for workers comp. She said she doesnt know of anything can be passed soon enough to take care of this years batch of COVID claims, but that doesnt mean the nation cannot prepare for another pandemic.

This is a good effort, to look to the future, she Rich said. Im glad to see people looking ahead and making plans now.

The original story appeared earlier this week in Claims Journal.

Topics Carriers California Legislation Claims Workers' Compensation
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-13 03:04:58|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to continue providing assistance within its capability to help Spain combat the COVID-19 epidemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.

In a phone talk with Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of sympathy to Spanish King Felipe VI and held a phone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, conveying his firm support to the Spanish government and people in their fight against COVID-19.

For a period of time, China has been actively providing anti-epidemic supplies to Spain and shared with it without reservation diagnosis and treatment scheme for COVID-19 as well as experience in COVID-19 prevention and control, Wang said.

He added that the Chinese side is glad to see that the epidemic situation in Spain has continued to improve, and expressed his belief that Spain will keep the epidemic under its full control at an early date.

Wang said China hopes that Spain will continue to ensure the health and safety of Chinese nationals in the country.

He pointed out that China's provision of support and assistance to countries including Spain demonstrated the international humanitarian spirit and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, with no extra political conditions or geopolitical private interests.

Noting that some politicians from a certain country have been politicizing the pandemic and labeling the virus to attack and stigmatize China in a bid to shift responsibilities for their botched handling of the pandemic, Wang said that such actions will neither help with the prevention and control efforts in their own country, nor contribute to the global efforts to fight the pandemic.

Wang expressed his belief that Spain can uphold an objective and fair stance to promote international anti-epidemic cooperation, especially the leading and coordinating role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in this global fight against the virus.

Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU), Wang voiced his hope for Spain, an important EU country, to push for the deepening of mutual trust between China and Europe in the anti-epidemic fight, expand their cooperation, and open up a new prospect for China-EU relations.

Gonzalez, for her part, said that the Spanish king, prime minister and herself have repeatedly and publicly thanked the Chinese government and people for their support and assistance to Spain's fight against COVID-19.

With consistent confidence in the quality of the Chinese products, Spain has purchased a large amount of anti-epidemic supplies in China, Gonzalez said, adding that her country is willing to stay in solidarity with China, and strengthen cooperation in their joint combat against COVID-19 to secure an early victory.

She said that Spain supports the WHO in continuing to play its due role in the global anti-virus fight, expressing the hope that the EU and China will accelerate negotiations on bilateral investment agreement, deepen trade and economic cooperation, and constantly strengthen their relations in the joint fight against COVID-19. Enditem
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed public schools and most of the economy, has not yet claimed the city of Albuquerques summer youth programs.

City officials said Monday that they are prepared to move forward with some programming, though they warned that opportunities are far more limited than usual and still hinge on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration moving New Mexico to the next stage  Phase 1  of a reopening plan.

Should the state enter Phase 1, the city is ready to offer a scaled-back version of its popular community center-based summer recreation program. The city has already launched a lottery to determine which students will get slots; parents have until May 20 to enter their children in the lottery at play.cabq.gov.

With Phase 1, the city also plans to allow lap swimming at its pools, reopen portions of the ABQ BioPark and resume some library services, although most city programs will require reservations and other measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Tim Keller said metering will be routine as the city restarts nonessential services. He said the city will rely on registration and sign-up sheets to enable contract tracing should a COVID-19 case be discovered at a city facility.

Although the city normally serves 30,000 to 40,000 kids with its summer programs, curbing large groups may mean the number dwindles to 10,000 in 2020.

But Keller said making some level of child care available is vital for a community looking to reopen its economy, because many parents may have no other options when they return to work.

In fact, Bernalillo County said last week that it was canceling its traditional summer community center programs and keeping its outdoor pools closed.

The city of Albuquerque, Keller said, really is child care during the summer for basically half of central New Mexico, and needs to proceed even in a reduced capacity.

Summer rec programs will take several measures to limit the spread of coronavirus, such as lowering child-to-staff ratios, conducting daily temperature checks and grouping participants into small cohorts.

Kids will stay in their groups all day and all summer, said Cristin Chavez-Smith of the citys Family & Community Services Department. There wont be a lot of intermingling between groups.

While the city has prepared to offer the programs, Keller cautioned that there are no guarantees, because state officials will decide when Phase 1 can begin.

New Mexico currently remains in a preparation phase and will evaluate COVID-19 transmission rates, testing capacity and other factors before moving forward.

To get to any of (the city programs), we have to continue doing what were doing, Keller said. The state will make the flag-fall call on when we can move to Phase 1, and well be ready to do so with all our programs.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Ransater, Sweden  Tue, May 12, 2020 22:06 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd798359 2 Food Sweden,pop-up-restaurant,coronavirus,COVID-19,pandemic,restaurant Free

A coronavirus-resistant restaurant in a meadow in Sweden with just one table and one chair has welcomed its first guest.

The pop-up restaurant named Bord for En - Table for One in English - has no waiters and the food is delivered to the table in a basket from the kitchen window via a pulley system.

Upon arrival, the guest is guided to the table by another rope that leads into the meadow. "Once the rope ends, there's the chair and the table," chef Rasmus Persson said, adding that the first basket to arrive at the table would carry a drink.

Persson, who founded the restaurant with his partner Linda Karlsson, said they had the idea when her parents came to visit in March and he prepared a table for them outside and served a meal through a window.

Read also: List of Jakarta restaurants, bars offering delivery services during self-quarantine

"I think one of the things many of us miss the most in these times is travelling," Persson said. "Since we can't geographically travel far I think at least by our minds we can travel and one of the best methods of having an inner travel, at least I think so, is by food and nature."

Restaurants in Sweden have, unlike in many other countries, been allowed to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic provided they observe social distancing guidelines.

The solo restaurant is fully booked through May while some slots are still available in June and July and they have weather protection for rainy days, Karlsson said.
Dakota Johnson has spoken out on the depression and anxiety which she has lived with since she was 15-years-old.

In a candid interview for the new issue of Marie Claire Magazine, the actress opens up on how she has learned to accept her mental health issues as she's grown older.

The actress also features in a glam retro style cover shoot for the magazine, looking full of confidence in an array of sizzling looks.

Cover star: Dakota Johnson has spoken out on the depression and anxiety which she has lived with since she was 15-years-old in a new cover story for Marie Claire magazine

The shoot sees the Fifty Shades of Grey actress wow in a plunging mint green cocktail dress and racy black gloves.

While the chic cover shot shows Dakota, 30, reclining in bed, styled into a sixties siren.

The accompanying interview sees the actress, who is the daughter of Hollywood stars Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, talk about her 15-year battle with depression.

'I've struggled with depression since I was youngsince I was 15 or 14,' she explained. 'That was when, with the help of professionals, I was like, Oh, this is a thing I can fall into.'

Candid: In a candid interview for the new issue of Marie Claire Magazine, the actress opens up on how she has learned to accept her mental health issues as she's grown older

Strike a pose: The actress also features in a glam retro style cover shoot for the magazine, looking full of confidence in an array of sizzling looks

Retro style: The accompanying interview sees the actress, who is the daughter of Hollywood stars Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, talk about her 15-year battle with depression

'But I've learned to find it beautiful because I feel the world. I guess I have a lot of complexities, but they don't pour out of me. I don't make it anyone else's problem.'

Dakota is gearing up for the release of her latest film, The High Note, in which she co-stars alongside Tracee Ellis Ross.

Dakota stars as the overworked personal assistant to Ross' character in the dazzling world of the LA music scene.

Say cheese: 'I've struggled with depression since I was youngsince I was 15 or 14,' she explained in the candid interview

Movie star looks: Dakota is gearing up for the release of her latest film, The High Note, in which she co-stars alongside Tracee Ellis Ross

Working hard: Dakota stars as the overworked personal assistant to Ross' character in the dazzling world of the LA music scene

Read the full interview in the May issue of Marie Claire - on sale now

'Maggie is so emotional and so open, but I didn't want her to get totally blown over by the wind,' she explained of her character.

'I think, especially for women, it's such a hustle all the time. Maggie's vulnerable, but it never stops her from going for the thing that is the most important to her.'

As for her own sense of hustle, Dakota added that she has learned to stand up for her ideas on set.

'For a long time, I'd do a movie and have no say. I could go into something, and it'll be one thing, and then it comes out as a totally different thing. As an artist, you're like, "What the f**k"' she said.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesperson has said that all countries need to ramp up their Covid-19 testing and contact tracing as they are essential parts of the puzzle of coping with the virus.

Dr Margaret Harris said that masks were not the chief protection against the virus and the WHO had not said that they should be compulsory.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-12 07:47:02





Sale of part of Agfa HealthCares IT business

Sale to the Dedalus Group successfully closed in May, 2020 at an enterprise value of 975 million Euro

Agfa HealthCares state-of-the-art Imaging IT software business is not included in the sale and will be a key source of future value creation for the Agfa-Gevaert Group





Financial highlights

Solid results due to gross margin improvements and cost saving measures

Radiology Solutions and HealthCare IT resilient

Specific segments of printing industry started to be impacted by COVID-19

Strong cash generation, driven by a substantial decrease in working capital  net financial debt decreased to 69 million Euro (excluding IFRS 16 impact)





Mortsel (Belgium), May 12, 2020 - Agfa-Gevaert today commented on its results in the first quarter of 2020.

SALE OF PART OF AGFA HEALTHCARES IT BUSINESS

In May, the Agfa-Gevaert Group has successfully completed the sale of part of Agfa HealthCares IT business to the Dedalus Group at an enterprise value of 975 million Euro. The part that has been sold consists of the Healthcare Information Solutions activities (Electronic Health Record, the ORBIS platform) and the Integrated Care activities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Brazil as well as the Imaging IT activities to the extent that these activities are tightly integrated into the Healthcare Information Solutions activities in these geographies. In North America and all other international markets, Agfa HealthCare pursues its Imaging IT software business, which is not included in the sale.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Thanks to its program to reduce working capital, the Agfa-Gevaert Group succeeded in generating strong cash flows in the first quarter of 2020. Excluding the impact of IFRS 16, net financial debt decreased to 69 million Euro.

On the one hand, the Radiology Solutions and HealthCare IT divisions showed resilience in the uncertain global economic conditions. Certain activities in the printing industry on the other hand, were starting to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new challenge adds to the already tough conditions in this industry.

Thanks to gross margin improvements and cost saving measures, the Group was able to post strong results. Excluding the impact of the fading effects of the Siegwerk alliance in the Digital Print and Chemicals division, the Groups adjusted EBITDA would have been in line with the first quarter of 2019.

We feel deeply committed to our customers and the communities they serve. As many of our customers are operating in critical industries, we are taking all measures necessary to guarantee that we can continue supplying and supporting them during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as always our utmost priority is protecting the health and safety of our employees. Furthermore, we are controlling our working capital levels, capital expenditure, and costs even more rigorously to mitigate as much as possible the impact of the pandemic on our liquidity and bottom-line result. As the printing industry  which was already under pressure  is being impacted by the pandemic, we are adapting our production capacity to the worsened market conditions, resorting to temporary unemployment where applicable.

Despite some impact of COVID-19 on our activities in the printing industry, we delivered a solid set of results and we generated strong cash flows. Our program to reduce working capital continues to be successful. It allowed us to further lower our net financial debt to a very healthy level, said Pascal Juery, President and CEO of the Agfa-Gevaert Group.

Statement on restated profit and loss numbers

As from 2019, the Agfa-Gevaert Group has adopted the IFRS 16 accounting rules. The tables below present the profit and loss numbers including the impact of IFRS 16.

In August 2019, the Group terminated its inkjet media reseller activities in the USA. To allow correct comparison, the Q1 2019 numbers have been restated.





Agfa-Gevaert Group  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019

Restated



% change

(excl.

FX effects) Revenue 501 524 -4.4% (-5.0%) Gross profit (*) 170 172 -1.0% % of revenue 33.9% 32.7% Adjusted EBITDA (*) 39 43 -9.7% % of revenue 7.8% 8.2% Adjusted EBIT (*) 18 20 -11.1% % of revenue 3.6% 3.9%

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

The Agfa-Gevaert Groups top line decreased by 4.4% due to the issues in the offset printing industry, the refocus on higher margin activities in several business areas and the first effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Groups gross profit margin improved from 32.7% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 33.9% of revenue due to the above mentioned refocus on quality turnover and improved service and manufacturing efficiencies.

Selling and General Administration expenses decreased significantly from 22.6% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 21.5%.

R&D expenses remained almost stable at 36 million Euro.

Due to the impact of the fading effects of the Siegwerk alliance, adjusted EBITDA decreased from 43 million Euro (8.2% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019 to 39 million Euro (7.8% of revenue). Excluding the 4.5 million Euro Siegwerk impact, adjusted EBITDA would have been in line with last year. Adjusted EBIT reached 18 million Euro (3.6% of revenue), versus 20 million Euro (3.9% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019.

Restructuring and non-recurring items resulted in an expense of 2 million Euro, versus an expense of 4 million Euro in the first quarter of 2019.

The net finance costs amounted to 8 million Euro.



Income tax expenses amounted to 8 million Euro, versus 6 million Euro in the first quarter of 2019.

As a result of the elements mentioned above, the Agfa-Gevaert Group posted a net profit of 1 million Euro.

Financial position and cash flow

At the end of March 2020, total assets were 2,386 million Euro (comprising right-of-use assets compliant with the new accounting standard on leases: 107 million Euro at the end of March 2020), compared to 2,294 million Euro at the end of 2019.

Trade working capital decreased significantly from 579 million Euro (26% of sales) at the end of 2019 to 515 million Euro (23% of sales) at the end of March 2020.

Excluding the impact of IFRS 16, net financial debt decreased from 106 million Euro at the end of 2019 to 69 million Euro.

Net cash from operating activities amounted to 66 million Euro.

Outlook

It is impossible to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic will evolve and the timing of government decisions to ease restrictions is still very uncertain. Furthermore, it is currently unclear how strongly the Agfa-Gevaert Groups various markets will be affected. However, in the coming quarters a significant COVID-19 impact on the printing industry is to be expected. Todays situation does not allow the Group to assess a quantified impact of the pandemic on its 2020 financial performance and to provide a full year outlook for 2020. Management intends to give more guidance when it reports the second quarter results in August 2020.





HealthCare IT  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019







% change

(excl.

FX effects) Revenue 122 122 -0.4% (-1.0%) Adjusted EBITDA (*) 19.7 15.6 26.1% % of revenue 16.1% 12.8% Adjusted EBIT (*) 12.7 8.8 45.6% % of revenue 10.5% 7.2%

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

The HealthCare IT divisions top line remained stable compared to the first quarter of 2019. The gross profit margin improved from 45.4% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 48.2%. Significant service efficiency improvements, and the decision to refocus the Imaging IT Solutions business had a positive effect on profitability. Adjusted EBITDA increased from 15.6 million Euro (12.8% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019 to 19.7 million Euro (16.1% of revenue). Adjusted EBIT reached 12.7 million Euro (10.5% of revenue), versus 8.8 million Euro (7.2% of revenue) in the previous year.

For the Imaging IT Solutions business that is not included in the sale to the Dedalus Group, the division continues to execute its successful plan to improve profitability by focusing on generating quality turnover in selected geographies and segments. As a result, this business posted a significant increase in margins versus the previous year. However, as some hospitals are now postponing investments in comprehensive software solutions, there is a risk that a COVID-19 impact will become visible in the next quarters.

The HealthCare IT division is deeply committed to support care providers and the communities they serve, in addressing current COVID-19 challenges. Under the hashtag #StrongerTogether, the division shares how its customers are making use of its software to efficiently triage, report and collaborate on COVID-19 cases.

In addition, specific configurations are being designed together with care providers. Those are subsequently published on the divisions website, so that others can benefit as well.

Radiology Solutions  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019







% change

(excl.

FX effects) Revenue 118 117 1.3% (0.4%) Adjusted EBITDA (*) 16.4 17.1 -4.3% % of revenue 13.9% 14.7% Adjusted EBIT (*) 10.1 11.5 -12.0% % of revenue 8.5% 9.8%

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

In the Radiology Solutions division, the Direct Radiography range posted strong revenue growth. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many hospitals are speeding up their investments in mobile Direct Radiography solutions. These devices can be used to perform high-quality bed-side X-ray examinations, even in intensive care units.

The top line of the Computed Radiography range continued to decline. This is partly market-driven and partly due to COVID-19 related effects, as private practices in India, Latin America and other geographies are postponing their investments in CR equipment.

The hardcopy product range posted a limited revenue decrease, which is entirely due to the impact of COVID-19 on the activities in China and India. Due to the outbreak, hospital visits not related to COVID-19 were postponed, resulting in a lower demand for hardcopy film.

Partly due to improved service efficiencies, the divisions gross profit margin increased from 36.5% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 38.2%. Mainly due to adverse currency effects, adjusted EBITDA decreased from 17.1 million Euro (14.7% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019 to 16.4 million Euro (13.9% of revenue). Adjusted EBIT reached 10.1 million Euro (8.5% of revenue), versus 11.5 million Euro (9.8% of revenue) in the previous year.

Since Radiology Solutions delivers products and solutions that are critical to hospitals in their fight against COVID-19, the divisions main focus is to ensure business continuity and to make sure that customers can continue to count on the knowhow of the service teams. Furthermore, the division supports hospitals all over the world with extra services, such as free software tools that help them to get faster and more accurate X-ray images. Examples on how Agfa and its employees support care providers in their battle against COVID-19 can be found in the dedicated #CountOnUs section of the divisions website.

Digital Print & Chemicals  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019

Restated



% change

(excl.

FX effects) Revenue 74.3 86.6 -14.2% (-14.5%) Adjusted EBITDA (*) 3.5 11.4 -69.1% % of revenue 4.7% 13.1% Adjusted EBIT (*) 0.9 8.5 -89.6% % of revenue 1.2% 9.9%

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

In August 2019, the Group terminated its inkjet media reseller activities in the USA. To allow correct comparison, the Q1 2019 numbers have been restated. Other scope changes  such as the fade-out of the effects of the strategic alliance for UV digital packaging inks with Siegwerk Druckfarben  also influenced the divisions top line.

In inkjet, the ink product ranges performed well. On the other hand, many companies are postponing investments in high-end large-format printing equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As this market almost came to a standstill in March, a strong COVID-19 impact will also be visible in the coming quarters.

In spite of these adverse conditions, Agfa still considers inkjet as an important growth engine. The company continues to explore promising business opportunities in new market segments. In the first quarter, Agfa entered into a strategic partnership with TFL for the development of Alussa, a dedicated inkjet printing solution to decorate high-quality genuine leathers used by the fashion, upholstery, automotive, aviation and nautical industries. Furthermore, Agfa introduced the Oberon RTR3300, a dedicated 3.3m high-end roll-to-roll machine that combines extreme productivity and quality with an extensive media scope and a unique ease of use.

The Industrial Films and Foils segment started to feel a limited COVID-19 impact due to the slowdown in industrial activities, whereas the businesses in the Electronic Print segment resisted well in the first quarter.

The divisions gross profit margin improved slightly from 29.4% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 29.5%. Aside from COVID-19 related elements, the fade-out of the effects of the strategic alliance for UV digital packaging inks with Siegwerk Druckfarben had a 4.5 million Euro impact on the divisions results. The divisions adjusted EBITDA reached 3.5 million Euro (4.7% of revenue), versus 11.4 million Euro (13.1% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBIT amounted to 0.9 million Euro (1.2% of revenue), versus 8.5 million Euro (9.9% of revenue).

Offset Solutions  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019



% change

(excl.

FX effects) Revenue 187 199 -5.8% (-6.4%) Adjusted EBITDA (*) 3.7 3.9 -5.2% % of revenue 2.0% 2.0% Adjusted EBIT (*) (1.4) (3.6) % of revenue (0.7%) (1.8%)

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

The Offset Solutions divisions revenue decreased by 5.8% to 187 million Euro. The sales coming from the alliance with Lucky HuaGuang Graphics were not able to compensate for the structural decline of the offset markets and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, which in the first quarter had an impact on the business in China. The pandemic causes a decrease in advertising and commercial activities, which in the coming quarters will lead to lower print volumes and a lower demand for printing plates.

The Offset Solutions divisions gross profit margin decreased slightly from 24.1% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to 23.6%. Due to improved manufacturing efficiencies and savings on operating expenditures, adjusted EBIT improved to minus 1.4 million Euro (minus 0.7% of revenue), from minus 3.6 million Euro (minus 1.8% of revenue) in the first quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA remained almost stable at 3.7 million Euro (2.0% of revenue).

The Offset Solutions division has implemented cost containment plans, working capital measures and other actions to improve profitability and to adapt its activities to the worsened market situation. In the first quarter, the division temporarily stopped the production of printing plates in its plants in Leeds (UK) and Pont-a-Marcq (France) to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The production activities in the Wiesbaden plant (Germany) have also been temporarily scaled back.

Corporate Services  Q1 2020

in million Euro Q1 2020



Q1 2019



Adjusted EBITDA (*) (4.3) (4.8) Adjusted EBIT (*) (4.3) (4.9)

(*) before restructuring and non-recurring items

End of message

Management Certification of Financial Statements and Quarterly Report

This statement is made in order to comply with new European transparency regulation enforced by the Belgian Royal Decree of November 14, 2007 and in effect as of 2008.

"The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Agfa-Gevaert NV, represented by Mr. Klaus Rohrig, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Pascal Juery, President and CEO, and Mr. Dirk De Man, CFO, jointly certify that, to the best of their knowledge, the consolidated financial statements included in the report and based on the relevant accounting standards, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition and results of Agfa-Gevaert NV, including its consolidated subsidiaries. Based on our knowledge, the report includes all information that is required to be included in such document and does not omit to state all necessary material facts.

Statement of risk

This statement is made in order to comply with new European transparency regulation enforced by the Belgian Royal Decree of November 14, 2007 and in effect as of 2008.

"As with any company, Agfa is continually confronted with  but not exclusively - a number of market and competition risks or more specific risks related to the cost of raw materials, product liability, environmental matters, proprietary technology or litigation."

Key risk management data is provided in the annual report available on www.agfa.com.

Contact:

Viviane Dictus

Director Corporate Communication

Septestraat 27

2640 Mortsel - Belgium

T +32 (0) 3 444 71 24

E viviane.dictus@agfa.com

Johan Jacobs

Corporate Press Relations Manager

T +32 (0)3/444 80 15

E johan.jacobs@agfa.com

The full press release and financial information is also available on the company's website: www.agfa.com





Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss (in million Euro)

Consolidated figures following IFRS accounting policies.

Q1 2020



Q1 2019

Restated Continuing operations Revenue 501 524 Cost of sales (332) (352) Gross profit 170 172 Selling expenses (70) (76) Administrative expenses (41) (44) R&D expenses (36) (37) Net impairment loss on trade and other receivables, including contract assets (2) (1) Other operating income 6 14 Other operating expenses (11) (12) Results from operating activities 16 16 Interest income (expense) - net (2) (2) Interest income - - Interest expense (2) (3) Other finance income (expense) - net (7) (8) Other finance income 3 2 Other finance expense (9) (11) Net finance costs (8) (11) Share of profit of associates, net of tax - - Profit (loss) before income taxes 7 5 Income tax expenses (6) (8) Profit from continuing operations 1 (3) Profit (loss) from discontinued operation, net of tax - (1) Profit (loss) for the period 1 (3) Profit (loss) attributable to: Owners of the Company 2 (4) Non-controlling interests - - Results from operating activities 16 16 Restructuring and non-recurring items (2) (4) Adjusted EBIT 18 20 Earnings per share (Euro) 0.01 (0.02)







Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for quarter ending March 2019 / March 2020 (in million Euro)

Consolidated figures following IFRS accounting policies
Against the backdrop of the Queen Mary, socially distanced exercisers made their way along a Long Beach path that reopened Monday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Amid a growing clamor to further reopen a California economy devastated by the novel coronavirus, the state is facing one major obstacle that officials say has made swifter progress difficult.

The rate of COVID-19 deaths in California remains at a stubborn plateau. Mirroring a trend seen nationally, California has not seen a dramatic and sustained decline in deaths over the past month, a Los Angeles Times analysis has found. During the seven-day period that ended Sunday, 503 people in California died from the virus  the second-highest weekly death toll in the course of the pandemic and a 1.6% increase from the previous week's toll.

The average of about 500 fatalities each week has continued over the past month. COVID-19 cases shot up to a weekly record last week, with more than 13,000 new infections reported. Increased testing may partly explain the increase.

Other indicators show that the coronavirus is exhibiting staying power. Hospitalizations have persisted statewide, fueled by the situation in Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley and San Diego County.

The figures have state and local officials warning that it might take some time to significantly relax stay-at-home rules, especially in hot spots like Los Angeles County, which reported 39 more deaths Monday, for a total of 1,570. L.A. County has accounted for more than half of all COVID-19 deaths and nearly half of the cases in California.

Even as Gov. Gavin Newsom has signaled a steady process for reopening the state, he has repeatedly emphasized that the death toll continues to climb.

"I'll remind people that think the big emergency is over ... [that] we can go back to the way things used to be. ... Tell that to 92 families that were destroyed because they lost a loved one to this virus in the last 24 hours. This, by no stretch of the imagination, is over," Newsom said last week.

The states death toll  which sits at more than 2,770  is markedly lower than New Yorks, with more than 26,000 dead, or New Jerseys, with more than 9,000.

Story continues

But experts said there are many Californians who havent been infected yet, and that it would be a mistake to assume the state is out of the woods. UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Dr. George Rutherford, a former epidemic intelligence service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said California hasnt overcome its first wave of cases.

As long as its going up, it has not ended, he said. Its got to come down for it to end.

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears different so far from the first wave of the 1918 flu pandemic, which lasted only a month in the early summer and, according to Rutherford, faded as U.S. troops headed to Europe to fight in World War I. The second wave, many times more deadly, started in the fall and continued as troops came home.

Today, experts say, a significant part of the population has chosen not to stay home or has been unable to do so because they're essential workers.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study estimated that by April 1, about two weeks into a regional stay-at-home order, 47% of residents in five San Francisco Bay Area counties were still leaving their homes, down from 80% in late February.

With California in the eighth week of its stay-at-home order, Newsom on Friday allowed some retail businesses to reopen for curbside service, as long as such activity didn't violate stricter local health orders. And local governments have allowed many beaches and trails to reopen, while requiring social distancing.

Los Angeles County beaches are expected to reopen with social distancing rules Wednesday, allowing surfing, swimming, running and walking but banning biking, playing volleyball, sitting, sunbathing and picnicking. Parking lots, bike paths, piers and boardwalks will remain closed. Everyone will be required to wear masks and stay at least six feet away from others, officials said.

But local officials in the hardest-hit counties suggested a broader reopening would be slow in L.A. and the Bay Area.

Its safer to stay at home, Barbara Ferrer, the L.A. County director of public health, said Monday. This is our new normal. It will go on for a while.

With summer approaching, health officials on Monday urged the public to not take leisure trips, including weekend trips, while the pandemic continues.

We are, in fact, asking people in our health officer order to avoid nonessential travel, and we would ask that our neighbors across the state and across the country do the same, Ferrer said. Theres probably very few places in the world right now that would like to see travel into their communities.

Its best for people to limit their travel to essential travel," added Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco's director of public health. "This is not the time to go on a trip for recreation or vacation, even to visit family and friends."

There is no mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors coming to California, as is the case in Hawaii, where violations are punishable by a $5,000 fine and a year in prison. But Ferrer requested that people coming to L.A. County do self-quarantine when you come in [and] you do keep yourself away from other people  for that 14-day period.

On Sunday, an influential coronavirus forecast projected a worsening death toll by early August. The University of Washingtons Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation now forecasts a California death toll of more than 6,000 by early August, up from the forecast of 4,600 that was issued a week ago.

The state is among eight predicted to see the largest increases in projected cumulative deaths, according to a forecast issued May 4 and updated Sunday. This group also included Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri and Connecticut. As a whole, the U.S. is now projected to record more than 137,000 deaths by early August, up from a forecast of 134,000 issued last week. The national death toll on Monday topped 80,600.

Experts expect the number of fatalities to grow nationally.

Were headed for potentially a very large outbreak in the fall, which will make whatever weve seen pale in comparison, Rutherford said. Its possible, he said, that children could further spread the disease when they return to school.

Rutherford says theres a risk that some states that are opening up too quickly will see a rising death toll  and the effects of the pandemic will disproportionately hit Latinos and blacks .

Rutherford says society does need to reopen  its too destructive to continue to be closed  but it needs to be done carefully.

If we have a prolonged depression, that has tremendous costs in morbidity and mortality as well. So its a trade-off: Just understand that were trading economy for lives, Rutherford said.

Make no mistake  the more the economy opens up, the more people are going to die, he added. You have to be really careful to minimize that number and make sure its not on the backs of all the poor people who are doing the front-line jobs who are going to get the most exposed.

Lin reported from San Francisco; Lee and Shalby from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Phil Willon and Laura J. Nelson contributed to this report.




Cognizant has delayed joining dates of students who had secured campus placements to the second half of 2020 amid ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, the IT services provider has said that it will honour all outstanding accepted offers, Mint reported. "We remain committed to growth and plan to honour the more than 20,000 campus offers we have made. The timing of our trainees' start date in India will be deferred to Q3 (July-September). This will continue to be dependent on lockdowns and school schedules across India," Brian Humphries, CEO, Cognizant told Mint. The company is also planning to freeze most of its lateral hirings except in sales roles.

Cognizant reported a 3.5 per cent rise in revenue in constant currency in the first quarter of the calendar year 2020. However, the company had indicated that the succeeding quarter would be muted due to coronavirus pandemic and a ransomware attack last month. The company had also said that it would "significantly decrease" costs including corporate overhead, travel, marketing, relocations, and non-commercial lateral hires.

On Monday, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) expressed concerns about large-scale job losses due to economic distress amid coronavirus pandemic. The industry body also urged the government to announce a stimulus package of Rs 9 to 10 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the total count of confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 70,756 on Tuesday, according to the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. The total count includes 46,008 active cases, 22,454 recoveries, and 2,293 deaths. India has been under a coronavirus lockdown since March 25.

Also read: Coronavirus Live Updates: PM Modi address at 8 pm; may extend lockdown with ease in restrictions, cases-70,756

Also read: Coronavirus: Delhi Metro to resume operations soon? Special staff deployed to clean stations
Minorities are "flourishing" in India and have been an equal partner in development without discrimination under the Modi government, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday, dismissing allegations of Islamophobia as an attempt to defame the country.

The "Narendra Modi phobia club has been unable to digest the inclusive growth under the prime minister and is engaged in a "nefarious campaign" in India and abroad through fake propaganda alleging "intolerance, communalism and discrimination" against minorities in India, Naqvi said.

In a blog titled "Islamophobia -- Bogey of Bogus Bashing Brigade", the minority affairs minister argued that the "Modi phobia club" is playing the Islamophobia card" to harm the pluralistic fabric of India, but will not succeed.

Naqvi's remarks come days after a wave of angry reactions on Twitter by citizens and rights activists from various Arab countries following allegations that Muslims are being blamed for spreading COVID-19 in parts of India. Also, the 57-member prominent international Muslim grouping, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, recently accused India of "Islamophobia".

India has dismissed all such allegations.

"Minorities in India are flourishing equally with all the citizens with a sense of equality, security and prosperity. Misinformation against such a gracious and tolerant country and its effective leadership is nothing but the height of ignorance and mental bankruptcy," Naqvi said.

He claimed that no riot took place in the last 5 years of the Modi government and it was after "nefarious preaching" by those who were irked by this that the Delhi riots happened. Naqvi said the women who sat on protests at Shaheen Bagh cannot be termed "anti-national" but they had been "misguided by the bogus bashing brigade.

This brigade pushed these women on a path which had an entry gate but no exit gate, the minister said. This was a calculated conspiracy by the brigade that wants to defame and disgrace Modi and India, Naqvi said.

He also argued that for the "first time since Independence", India has forged close and strong ties with nearly all Islamic nations and countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Afghanistan, Russia, Palestine, Mauritius and the Maldives have conferred Modi with their highest civilian awards.

"The United Nations has also conferred Narendra Modi with the prestigious 'Champions of the Earth Award'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's global acceptance and popularity don't need any certificate," Naqvi said.

The Modi government never planned development on the basis of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or on region and caste, and its priority has been the poor and deprived, Naqvi, said, adding that still some people with a prejudiced mindset are trying to defame India by raising the bogey of Islamophobia.

There is not a single incident of discrimination against any section of the society, including minorities under the Modi government, the minister asserted. All sections, including minorities, are strongly moving forward on the path of development with dignity under the Modi government, he said.

When the challenges due to the coronavirus were in initial stages across the world in early January and several countries, including Pakistan, had not taken care of their people abroad, it was the Modi government that brought back thousands of Indians stranded in Wuhan (China), Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries, Naqvi said, adding that a majority of these people were Muslims.

In the recent Vande Bharat Mission also, the Indian government is bringing back thousands of Indians from countries such as the Maldives, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and other countries which include a large number of Muslims, he pointed out.

"Strong eternal commitment of my country will defeat and demolish the fake and fabricated Islamophobia card of the 'India bashing brigade'," Naqvi said in his blog.
Maintaining The Seed: a powerful and insightful guide to self-realization through living the Word of God. Maintaining The Seed is the creation of published author, Joyce G. Cherry Joyce G. Cherry, B.Th., M.Div., D.Min., the Founder and Senior Pastor of Greater Beulah Land International Fellowship in Conway, North Carolina, and also a registered nurse, biblical workshop facilitator, conference speaker, and founder of JAELS Womens Fellowship.

Cherry states: Am I bleeding to death right in the house of God? Is my seed stillborn (no more Word in me)? Have I been seduced and allowed Satan to induce (take my seed) before God has finished with me? Am I failing to thrive and have not reached spiritual maturity yet? Am I a careless carrier of His Word (His seed in me). If any of these questions concern you, then it is Gods will to forgive you and heal you. I want you to know that it is crucial to maintain His wordit is your bloodline to eternal life.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Joyce G. Cherrys new book is a comprehensive, thought-provoking guide to spiritual realization that invites its readers to embark on a journey of deep self-examination that will ultimately lead to their discovery of the life intended for each of them in Gods plan.

In addition to practical, easy-to-follow instructions on how to avoid spiritual abortion, the vitiation of seducing spirits, and failure to thrive spiritually, the book includes a workbook section and journal to assist each reader on the path to abounding grace.

View a synopsis of Maintaining The Seed on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Maintaining The Seed at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Maintaining The Seed, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
College official apologizes for attacks against prof. over Islamic terrorism questions on quiz

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An Arizona-based community college district has apologized for the mistreatment of a professor who garnered controversy over test questions considered by some, including a student, to be an anti-Islamic.

Nicholas Damask, a political science professor at Scottsdale Community College and chair of the colleges political science department, has received criticism and even death threats over questions he put on a quiz about terrorism for his world politics course.

He was accused by a Muslim student of asking questions that were in distaste of Islam. Initially, the school sided with the student and said in early May that the professor's questions were insensitive and not reflective of the inclusive nature of our college.

But after pressure from the free speech legal advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the head of Maricopa County Community College District released a statement Monday offering an apology to Damask.

MCCCD Interim Chancellor Steven R. Gonzales said the questions were taken out of context, especially by people not involved in the course. Gonzales stressed that Scottsdales actions against Damask were a point of concern.

I am troubled by what appears to be a rush to judgment in how the college responded to the controversy and the apparent failure to follow policy and procedure in addressing both the students concerns and the faculty members rights, Gonzales stated.

I apologize, personally, and on behalf of the Maricopa Community Colleges, for the uneven manner in which this was handled and for our lack of full consideration for our professors right of academic freedom.

According to The Arizona Republic, one question on the quiz reads: "Where is terrorism encouraged in Islamic doctrine and law. Another reads: "Who do Islamic terrorists strive to emulate?"

The correct answer for the latter question, the newspaper reported, was the Islamic prophet, Muhammed.

Another question on the quiz also suggested that Terrorism is justified within the context of jihad in Islam.

Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the Center for American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim activist group, confirmed that the student who complained about the quiz is a Muslim.



Gonzales also announced the creation of an immediate independent investigation of the facts related to this situation and pointed out that Damask is not in jeopardy of losing his position.

He also noted that a Committee on Academic Freedom was going to be created to support academic freedom education and training and to resolve academic freedom disputes in the hope of ensuring this fundamental academic value is better understood and realized alongside our longstanding commitment to the value of inclusion."

FIRE, which sent a complaint letter to Scottsdale over the Damasks treatment on May 7, expressed support for Gonzaless announcement.

Were pleased that the district is not only taking responsibility for SCCs failure to respect professors academic autonomy, but is also actively working to identify missteps to ensure this doesnt happen in the future, said FIRE Program Officer Katlyn Patton in a statement released Monday.

FIRE will continue monitoring the situation, but were heartened that professor Damask can now focus on his teaching instead of defending his basic rights from his own institution.
Google's sister firm Sidewalk Labs has scrapped a plan to build a smart city in Canada, citing complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

For several years it had pursued ambitions to build a digital-first city in Toronto "from the internet up".

Chief executive Dan Doctoroff blamed "unprecedented economic uncertainty" for abandoning the plan.

The project had proved controversial and Sidewalk Labs had already been forced to scale back its ambitions.

In a blog post, Mr Doctoroff said: "As unprecedented economic uncertainty has set in around the world, and in the Toronto real estate market, it has become too difficult to make the 12-acre project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan we had developed together with Waterfront Toronto to build a truly inclusive, sustainable community.

"I believe the ideas we have developed over the last two-and-a-half years will represent a meaningful contribution to the work of tackling big urban problems, particularly in the areas of affordability and sustainability."
Social services fear some of their funding sources are about to dry up, just as more people need help amid the fallout from COVID-19.

Since the alert level four lockdown, foodbanks across the country have been busier than ever, but community organisations are anticipating many more months of increased demand for food and other services, as unemployment worsens.

After years of under-funding, they are pleading with the government for more help in Thursday's Budget.

General manager of Empowerment New Zealand, a one-stop shop for social services in Te Puke, Scott Nicholson says they would usually hand out between 30 and 50 food parcels a month.

But over the last six weeks, they have handed out about 330.

"This is usually a fairly quiet time for us during the kiwifruit harvest, but what we have been seeing is we've been doing a week's worth of parcels every day."

"A lot of the people seeking help at this time are first-time users of any social services and many of them are just overwhelmed with that - they've never had to seek help before and they don't even know where to begin."

With unemployment expected to grow, social services are bracing for even more people needing help.

But that comes as strain is being put on their finances.

A recent survey of organisations in Western Bay of Plenty found just more than half of them were already experiencing, or were anticipating, a reduction in funding because of COVID-19.

Umbrella group Social Link general manager Liz Davies says that was because they could not fundraise as normal, or rely on their usual grants from gaming trusts and other sources.

"It's a bit of a perfect storm really, facing reduced revenue and increased demand and that's on top of the fact that the sector is already under-funded."

An independent report commissioned last year by Social Service Providers Aotearoa found they were already under-funded to the tune of $630 million a year.

Liz says when you factor in the impact of Covid-19, it was crucial the government stepped in with more support.

"While we have got to look at economic recovery, we need to look at how do we support the people who have become unemployed to stay connected in their community, to get education and training, to get the income support that they need to be able to live.

"It's going to be hugely important that they're able to access these services."

While some government funding has been announced during the lockdown to help get food and other essentials to people in need, Council of Christian Social Services executive officer Trevor McGlinchey says that is really only enough to keep up with the short-term spike in demand.

"We're going to see such a huge increase in numbers of people on benefits, and the numbers of people that perhaps used to have two incomes and they're now reduced to one income, and others who have their over time and other things docked as well."

As the pressure mounts on those people in the coming months, many of them will need help from social services for things like counselling and budget advice, says Trevor.

Back in Te Puke, Scott says a drop in funding would make it difficult for them to maintain their usual services, let alone cope with an increase in demand.

"It will change the face and the nature of what we do and obviously depending on how bad things get, it may affect staffing levels as well."

Social service providers from across the country have already written to government ministers outlining their case for increased funding.

Sarah Robson/RNZ.
Haryana Agriculture Minister J P Dalal on Tuesday charged the opposition parties, especially the Congress, with trying to fail the crop procurement process and instigate farmers.

The minister said the opposition levelled baseless accusations with Congress leaders claiming that it would take three months to complete the procurement process.

The reality is that the opposition is worried that farmers are giving full support and are satisfied with our policies and schemes. The opposition is feeling frustrated, he said.

The state had started the procurement of mustard on April 15 and wheat from April 20.

When the mandis were set up, we said we will procure every single grain of farmers, but the opposition parties, especially the Congress, tried to fail the procurement process and instigate farmers and arhitiyas (commission agents), the minister told reporters at his residence here.

He said this time, the government increased the number of 'mandis' to prevent crowding due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Despite the challenges posed by coronavirus and the weather playing truant, farmers and arhitiyas cooperated with the government, he said, adding that so far, six lakh metric tonne of mustard and 63 lakh MT of wheat has been procured.

The minister also hit out at the Congress for allegedly misleading farmers on the recently announced 'Mera Pani, Meri Virasat' scheme.

The Congress, which is the main opposition, has claimed the crop diversification scheme will deprive a large number of farmers from cultivating paddy.

Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja have claimed that their party was not against water conservation efforts of the state government, but they cannot impose any decision on farmers against their will without giving them a viable alternative.

On Tuesday, a group of farmers too held a protest in Fatehabad' Ratia against the scheme, claiming that they have no option but to grow paddy as the land in their area was not suitable for other crops like maize and bajra which the government wants them to grow.

Dalal asserted that farmers are aware about the and are supportive of water conservation efforts being made by the state government.

He said many blocks in the state fall in dark zone where water levels have depleted and growing water-guzzling paddy will lead to further depletion.

Farmers know that we are taking steps now so that future generations do not face a crisis. Many of our areas are in dark zone and even tubewells have failed at some places (due to over exploitation of groundwater), he said, adding that many panchayats have themselves said they will not sow paddy.

Dalal said the state government had consulted experts before rolling out the scheme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UN chief Antonio Guterres has extended the telecommuting arrangements at the world body's headquarters through June 30 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and said the situation will continue to be reviewed to decide on a phased reopening of the premises.

Globally, the death toll due to COVID-19 has gone up to 287,158 with over four million infections reported so far. The US is the worst affected country, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.

UN Secretary General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing that Guterres has informed staff at the world body that after consulting with senior management in UN medical services, he is extending the telecommuting arrangements at the headquarters through June 30.

These arrangements will continue to be reviewed. The Secretary General said that a plan is also being finalized for gradual and phased return to the building, whenever it is considered safe for us to do so, Dujarric said, adding that the staff's health and safety are the priorities guiding this process.

In April, the UN chief had said that telecommuting for all staff, diplomats and personnel at the UN headquarters, put in place due to COVID19, will continue till May 31. He had said that telecommuting arrangements would be constantly reviewed as subsequent extensions may be necessary.

Telecommuting was implemented in the UN headquarters with effect from March 16 till April 12. All UN staff was required to work from home unless their physical presence in the workplace was needed to carry out essential services.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to hold elections for five non-permanent Security Council seats on June 17 but the 193-body is now looking at options on how to conduct the elections without having diplomats and envoys of all member states present in the UN General Assembly hall for the secret ballot.

President of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande is discussing options, including online voting, to conduct the UNSC elections, Muhamad-Bande's spokesperson Reem Abaza has said.

Abaza had said that the options being prepared include elections requiring secret ballots where Member States can cast their votes at a specific venue, taking into account requirements of social distancing, or by electronic means.

Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term were scheduled for June 17.

India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the elections this year and its victory is a given following the unanimous endorsement of its candidature by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan.

Canada, Ireland and Norway are vying for two seats in the Western Europe and Other countries category, Mexico is the only candidate for the one Latin America and Caribbean seat and Kenya and Djibouti will contest the seat available for the African group.

The General Assembly is not holding meetings in person as UN staff and diplomats telecommute due to the pandemic. Resolutions are being adopted by the UN body through a silence procedure, under which if no Member State raises any objections to the draft within a specified time period, the President of the General Assembly will circulate a letter confirming adoption of the text.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Healthcare Minister of Armenia Arsen Torosyan addressed a congratulatory message on the International Nurses Day.

Armenpress presents the message:

Today the International Nurses Day is celebrated in several countries of the world. May 12 was chosen in honor of the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of the nursing service, and since 1974 this occasion is used to congratulate and again express words of gratitude to the persons holding this humanitarian profession.

Dear nurses, your mission is very important, especially these days, in such a difficult and responsible work. Accept my warm congratulations and be aware that you are appreciated. Its difficult to imagine the work of doctors without nurses because you are the ones who directly work with the patients during the whole treatment process. This dedication saves lives.

Be sure that your care and smile are more than demanded during the whole recovery process of the patients.

Stay firm, and let optimism and patience always be with you during these difficult days.

I wish you good health, peaceful sky, family warmth and new achievements.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal expects that Ukraine will sign a memorandum of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of May.

He said this during a virtual meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 12, the press service of the head of the Ukrainian government reported.

"Denys Shmyhal expressed hope that the Memorandum of Cooperation with the IMF would be signed by the end of May," the report reads.

According to Shmyhal, cooperation with the IMF under the Stand-By Arrangement, which is currently under discussion, will make it possible to receive USD 5 billion, of which USD 3.5 billion will replenish the State Budget 2020 reserves.

This is not just financial support. This is a guarantee of receiving funding from other international financial organizations and an indicator that we are pursuing the policy of systemic reforms," the prime minister said.

On May 7, IMF Spokesperson Gerry Rice said that negotiations between the IMF and Kyiv were aimed not at securing a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine, but at achieving the conditions for launching a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which provides for smaller volumes and will last for 18 months.

ish
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the American economy into deep waters, forcing hundreds of businesses to close and many employees laid off. One of the groups that suffered greatly during the crisis is the vast Latin community.

The U.S. government acknowledge that many within the undocumented community make up a big part of the 'essential' workforce. However, it has denied helping the undocumented migrants directly.

Many within the Latin community were excluded in the government's recent stimulus bill. The financial relief is not accessible to immigrants without social security numbers. U.S. citizens with at least one undocumented family members were also denied access to the stimulus package.

According to a report released by the Center for Migration Studies of New York, there are over 19 million immigrant laborers employed in 'critical infrastructure' in the country.

All findings were based on data from the 2018 Census Bureau. The report also highlighted the role undocumented employees play in "keeping America safe, healthy, and fed."

mmigrants make up 31 percent of the country's farmworkers and agricultural employees. They make up 26 percent of workers in the food and beverage industry. Twenty-six percent of workers in grocery wholesalers, and 17 percent of those employed in retail groceries are also undocumented immigrants.

In New York, undocumented migrants make up one-third of their health care sector workers. This includes home health care workers, aides, workers in medical equipment manufacturing and employees in pharmaceuticals manufacturing. Many are also employed as janitors and building cleaners.

A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll, showed members of the Hispanic community are almost twice as likely as whites to have been let go or furloughed amid the coronavirus lockdown. Unemployment among Hispanics surged to 18.9 percent.

Hispanics also reported receiving unemployment benefits that were 10 percent less than their white counterparts and 5 percent less than African Americans. However, only 47 percent of all Latin workers were given the federal stimulus-a stark difference to the 67 percent of whites.

The coronavirus pandemic has been cruel to the many undocumented people living in the United States. Many were deported, carrying the virus with them. They were sent back to countries that did not have adequate resources to deal with the virus.

Advocates are now calling for the government officials to include the immigrants in future relief packages as the Congress weighs another federal stimulus bill.

The New York Immigration Coalition launched an ad on Monday where they urged lawmakers to take action and give aid to undocumented residents who have been excluded from previous relief packages.

The group believes the immigrants who are "risking their lives to pick, cook, and deliver food and clean our hospitals and more" should be given access to the upcoming coronavirus financial package.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to announce the parameters of the new bill in the coming days. The upcoming stimulus relief will reportedly be in the $3 trillion range.

Previous stimulus packages, such as the CARES Act worth $2 trillion and included $1,200 cash payments to taxpayers, did not assist the immigrant communities.

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The University of Oregon pushed back Tuesday on a Diamond League announcement that the Prefontaine Classic would take place on Oct. 4 at the new Hayward Field.

The Diamond League is an elite series of international track meets featuring Olympic-level athletes. The Prefontaine Classic had been scheduled for June 6-7 at Hayward Field, but was postponed because of restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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

The Diamond League announced a revised provisional schedule in the wee hours on Tuesday, with the Pre Classic slotted into the Oct. 4 date at Hayward, the iconic track stadium located on the UO campus. The Pre Classic is the only meet in the series staged in North or South America.

The UO issued a release Tuesday, saying it was surprised by the decision to schedule the meet on Oct. 4.

The release reads in part: In light of of guidelines issued last week by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and continued efforts to safely reopen the state, we cannot confirm the availability of Hayward Field.

Pre Classic meet director Tom Jordan said UO officials were notified in the early hours Tuesday, before the Diamond League schedule was announced.

Jordan said the early-morning message to the university noted the dates are provisional, and if Oct. 4 wasnt acceptable to the university it could be changed.

The whole idea behind Oct. 4 was to be kind of a placeholder because things are changing so dramatically, Jordan said. Its not that Oct. 4 is our steadfast date.

The university indicated it is wiling to host the meet at Hayward Field if it can be done safely, and within the universitys phased reopening in the fall.

The UO release goes on to read:

The health and safety of our community is our top priority as we adhere to guidance from the governor, the Oregon Healthy Authority and Lane County. ... While the University of Oregon was not consulted on the provisional date announced by the event organizers, we will work with them to determine whether there is an avenue for the event to take place within the broader reopening framework."

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe

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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, May 12, 2020 20:53 617 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd79553e 1 National Chinese-fishing-vessel,Indonesian-sailors,Foreign-Ministry Free

The mourning family of EP, an Indonesian crew member of a Chinese fishing vessel who died after receiving treatment in South Korea, has called on the government to probe his death after findings some bruises on his body.

EP was among four Indonesian sailors registered to Chinese fishing vessel Long Xin 629 who died between December 2019 and April this year after allegedly enduring poor working conditions aboard the ship.

He died on April 27 at the Busan Medical Center in South Korea after days of treatment. Another sailor, identified as AR, died after being moved to Chinese fishing vessel Tian Yu 8 on March 30, while two other sailors died on Long Xin 629 in December 2019.

"This [case] must be thoroughly investigated. I want to know what really happened to my son," EP's mother, Kelentina Silaban, said after the funeral of the 21-year-old on Monday at the Desa Pahieme public cemetery in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra.

A viral video, which was first featured on South Korea's Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's (MBC) news segment last week, shows what appears to be an orange body bag being thrown off a fishing vessel by a group of men. The bag is believed to contain a dead Indonesian crew member.

Two unidentified Indonesian sailors who worked on the vessel told MBC that those aboard the ship had endured poor living conditions, as they were only allowed to take short breaks every six hours and had almost no time to sleep.

They were also made to drink filtered seawater during work, which eventually took a toll on their health as they became nauseated and to some extend experienced breathing difficulties.

Kelentina said the last time she made a video call with her son she saw his face swollen.

Read also: Sailors deaths highlight lack of legal protections for migrant workers

"He did not say much, other than saying that he was sick."

Two days later, she said, EP informed her that he was going home and was preparing the required documents to return to Indonesia. But it turned out to be the last phone call she had with her son.

"The next thing I knew, my son was dead."

EP worked on the Long Xing 629 for one year and two months, after four months of training in Jakarta, Kalentina said. She went on to express her hope for the Indonesian government to investigate the death of her son.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi previously confirmed the death of four Indonesian sailors registered to the Chinese fishing vessel, one of whom was EP.

On April 26, the Indonesian Embassy [in Seoul] was informed that a citizen with the initials EP was sick. When they contacted him, he said that he had long suffered from difficulty breathing and had coughed up blood, Retno said. The Busan Medical Center said he died from pneumonia.

Investigations are underway to determine whether the Indonesian sailors were treated well or exploited while they were on board. (vny)
It has already been a year since the Soldier coordinating council for cooperation of non-governmental organizations addressed the government with the expectation for increase of the AMD 30,000 bonuses granted to the families of deceased freedom fighters. This is what President of Mother of Soldier NGO Margarita Khachatryan told reporters today.

The government hasnt responded to any one of the ten applications that have been sent throughout the past year. I have never seen the government or the parliament express condolences to expecting mothers. Perhaps we were wrong to send our boys to defend the homeland, she said.

Margarita Khachatryan touched upon the fact that the relatives of the victims of the events of March 1, 2008 have sued her for offense. I received a letter stating that the victims of the events of March 1 have sued me for stating that the government paid them AMD 30,000,000 and didnt pay them anything. Im not afraid of being sentenced. I am now certain that our government is hinged on lies, falsehood, bonuses, institution of criminal cases against each other, no protection of the borders of the homeland and leading the country to perdition. What is the government going to achieve? Perhaps it has an allergy from the families of deceased soldiers and of freedom fighters, she said.
24 churches to serve as COVID-19 testing sites in NY amid signs of racial disparity

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NEW YORK  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a partnership with the states largest healthcare provider, Northwell Health, to establish 24 temporary coronavirus testing sites at churches in predominantly minority communities.

In a press conference Saturday, Cuomo announced that some of the new church testing sites will open this week while some will open next week.

The partnership comes as preliminary data released by New York City suggests that the coronavirus is killing black and Latino people at about twice the rate that it is killing white people. Nationwide data also reflects a similar trend.

"It is a cruel fact that when you look at disasters and emergencies, the poorest and most disadvantaged people often pay the highest price, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different," said Cuomo during his update on the pandemic.

"The fact is that low-income and minority communities are suffering the most. It is not right and we have to address it. In New York, we are working to break this cycle and actually resolve these disparities.

Cuomo said that aggressive actions have been taken to help the impacted communities. The church testing sites will join what the governor calls an extensive network of drive-through and walk-in testing sites.

[W]e are going to partner with Northwell Health to set up additional testing sites at churches in predominately minority communities, Cuomo explained. And I want to thank our Congressional partners and the church groups who have been working with us on this issue."

All testing at the churches will be done by appointment only. To find a location and make an appointment, residents should call 833-4CARENY.

Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling said in a statement during the launch of the initiative that the crisis demanded quick action.

"Given the prevalence of the coronavirus within communities of color, it's imperative that we act quickly to prevent further spread of the virus. Among the ways we can protect our communities  beyond social distancing, wearing face masks, avoiding group gatherings and basic hand hygiene  is through testing, Dowling said.

Northwell is pleased to partner with Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health to offer antibody and diagnostic testing to churches throughout the city and Long Island."

The Christian Post has reported on how congregants from a few predominantly black and Hispanic congregations in New York City have died after getting infected by the virus.

Pastor Fabian Arias of Saint Peters Lutheran Church in Midtown Manhattan recently told CP that since March, at least 39 people connected to the diverse, predominantly Latino church congregation have died due to the coronavirus.

The number equates to about 5% of his 250-member congregation. 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 said.

Reacting to the partnership between the state and Northwell Health on Saturday, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., praised Cuomos leadership.

"We know that the houses of worship, the spiritual community, has always been there to help the community get through the storm, Jeffries said in a statement.

So, now at this moment, thanks to their continued engagement and the Governor's leadership and willingness to partner, we can address this COVID-19 pandemic with these houses of worship and religious leaders who have the credibility, the authenticity and the capacity to reach those in the community who need to be tested.

At the end of the day, this is not over for any of us until it's over for all of us, Jeffries continued. We know that communities of color have been hit particularly hard. This testing initiative will be incredibly essential to ensure we can turn the corner in communities of color such as those that I represent as well as those represented, of course, by great members of the delegation like Nydia Velazquez, Yvette Clarke, Greg Meeks, Adriano Espaillat and so many others.

Before the announcement from Cuomo, a group of black pastors and researchers called on the Trump administration to address the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on minority communities.

Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, the senior pastor of the 12,000-member Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, said in April that pastors have come together to "issue a moral appeal to the conscience of the nation in a state of emergency in the tradition of the biblical prophets."

We appeal to those in power on behalf of communities in pain and in grief," Haynes said. "We appeal to you to channel treatment and resources to those areas in our body politic that have suffered the most from this national infection that has allowed this virus to spread disproportionately.
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh has issued a statement on the 26th Anniversary of the Agreement on the Full Cessation of Fire and Hostilities. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh, the statement runs as follows,

On May 12, 1994, the trilateral agreement on the full cessation of fire and hostilities signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia, under the mediation of Russia, entered into force.

The ceasefire agreement has been the only tangible achievement in the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement process, which resulted from the full-fledged trilateral negotiations, with the direct and equal participation of one of the main parties to the conflict - the Republic of Artsakh.

The path to the termless ceasefire was not easy. The previous attempts to put an end to the war were undermined due to the position of Azerbaijan, which, being confident of its military-technical superiority, hoped to solve the conflict by force. Diplomatic success was possible only after the Defense Army of Artsakh had repelled the armed aggression of Azerbaijan, ensured the safe borders of the Republic and thereby seriously undermined the potential of Baku aimed at resolving the conflict by military force.

Another obstacle on the path to the agreement on the establishment of termless ceasefire was the unwillingness of Azerbaijan to conduct direct negotiations with the Republic of Artsakh. However, after a significant weakening of its military potential, the Azerbaijani leadership not only stopped hindering the full involvement of official Stepanakert in the negotiation process, but on numerous occasions initiated direct contacts with the authorities of Artsakh, including at the highest level. Removing the main obstacle to the direct negotiations allowed to concentrate on issues of substance, thereby laying the foundation for the subsequent diplomatic achievement  establishment of full cessation of fire and hostilities.

It is difficult to overestimate the full significance of the Agreement of May 12, 1994, which allowed to transfer the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict to the political-diplomatic track and to create conditions for the parties, with the support of the mediators, to focus their efforts solely on finding ways to the final settlement of the conflict through negotiations.

Unfortunately, this achievement was not developed in the subsequent years, due to the return of Azerbaijan to its previous policy of confrontation, threats and refusal to negotiate directly with Artsakh.

The agreement of May 12, 1994 demonstrates that the progress in the conflict settlement process depends on two key conditions: exclusion of any illusions for the possibility of resolving the conflict by force and organization of full-fledged trilateral negotiations, in which each of the parties to the conflict negotiates on its own behalf and on the issues within its competence.

The Republic of Artsakh reiterates its commitment to the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict and exerts consistent efforts to fully maintain the ceasefire, while being ready to decisively prevent any attempt by Azerbaijan to unleash another aggression.
By Adam Marles

Times Guest Columnist

Like most Pennsylvanians, our commonwealths nursing home providers watch Secretary of Health Rachel Levines daily updates with hope, but also with concern as we hear the latest numbers of nursing facility and personal care home residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. As this battle for the health of Pennsylvania continues, we think its important to provide an update on what our members are doing- and how state lawmakers and the Wolf administration can help.

Were proud of the professionals working around the clock to care for older adults. Theyre giving everything and risking their lives to help people. Their bravery is inspiring, and their work has been effective.

Their success has gone largely unnoticed. More than 75% of our nursing and personal care home facilities have yet to have a positive test for COVID-19. Thats remarkable considering this virus thrives in communal settings and among those with weakened immune systems and underlying conditions.

LeadingAge PA recently took its own step to help providers, forming a partnership with fellow nonprofit ECRI Institute to help protect and improve the safety of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to bring actionable, trusted educational guidance to leaders of nonprofit continuing care, skilled nursing, and home care organizations to minimize risk and protect the safety of seniors and staff.

For decades, ECRI has worked closely with aging care communities in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation on emergency preparedness, disaster planning and resident safety. In fact, its well known to the Wolf administration. Earlier this month, the administration announced ECRI was selected to support the Pennsylvania Department of Health with individualized infection control and prevention assistance for Pennsylvanias aging care facilities.

As we continue to battle this pandemic on the front lines, our partners in state government can do several things to help.

We applaud the support of hospitals by Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly. The governor is providing $774 million in aid, while members of the General Assembly are introducing various proposals to increase support.

For nursing facilities, the much-anticipated surge already exists and has shown no signs of slowing. Its important to remember and acknowledge that medical care doesnt just happen in our hospitals. Its happening every day in hundreds of Pennsylvanias long-term care facilities. Caring for Pennsylvanias most vulnerable population, our facilities are the epicenter of this pandemic.

As weve detailed for the last several years, the commonwealths support of nursing facilities with appropriate Medicaid funding has not kept up with expenses. Over the past 15 years, Pennsylvania has averaged less than a 1% annual increase in nursing facility Medicaid funding, yet the cost to provide care has gone up a staggering 33%. That means that nonprofits are losing $80 dollars, every day, for every person they serve who relies on Medicaid. These are real dollars that couldve been invested in additional staff, resident care, and supplies.

But the past is past. We need to do the right things now because lives depend on it.

It was right to support hospitals, and its right to support our nursing facilities with $290 million in immediate financial support because they are at the epicenter of this struggle in Pennsylvania. This is a nonpartisan issue that could be done relatively quickly so we can get dollars flowing to improve care and safety. Thankfully, state Sen. Pat Browne has introduced legislation to provide $200 million in emergency funding toward this goal.

The funding would help nursing facilities hire more staff, acquire test kits, and purchase critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and other resources necessary to defeat COVID-19 in communities- and prevent it from appearing in others. The state has worked hard to provide facilities with PPE, but the demand is overwhelming. Our staff has done a remarkable job cleaning and reusing supplies when possible. Some, unfortunately, have had to resort to wearing ponchos and garbage bags. Thats why new investments in PPE to protect our staff  and residents  are a must.

Without this funding support we can say without hesitation:

Pennsylvanias nursing facilities will not have the capacity, test kits, PPE, or staffing to handle the long-term demands this historic COVID-19 pandemic requires. They cannot be afterthought in our commonwealths health care system.

Gov. Wolf also should take an important step right now to protect Pennsylvania health care professionals by issuing an executive order to provide civil immunity during this pandemic. Theyre putting their lives at risk every day, and some have tested positive for the virus. They shouldnt have to worry about lawsuits as they provide care to residents.

Without emergency funding and protection, the reality is that some of our highest quality nursing facilities will be forced to close, and the skilled staff caring for those residents will join the astoundingly high unemployment rate in Pennsylvania. Even more critical are all of the lives that will be lost as a result of inadequate funding to provide the necessary care and safety to these facilities.

Adam Marles is the president and CEO of LeadingAge PA.
Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel is set to quit Ferrari at the end of the year after contract talks broke down, German media reported late on Monday.

London: Four- times world champion Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2020 Formula One season, the Italian team said on Tuesday.

This is a decision taken jointly by ourselves and Sebastian, one which both parties feel is for the best, said team principal Mattia Binotto in a statement.

Vettel also confirmed the news and said that that financial matters have played no part in the decision.

"My relationship with Scuderia Ferrari will finish at the end of 2020. In order to get the best possible results in this sport, its vital for all parties to work in perfect harmony," Vettel said in statement on F1 website.

The team and I have realised that there is no longer a common desire to stay together beyond the end of this season. Financial matters have played no part in this joint decision. Thats not the way I think when it comes to making certain choices and it never will be," Vettel added.

Whats been happening in these past few months has led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life. One needs to use ones imagination and to adopt a new approach to a situation that has changed. I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future," the statement read.

Scuderia Ferrari occupies a special place in Formula 1 and I hope it gets all the success it deserves. Finally, I want to thank the whole Ferrari family and above all its tifosi all around the world, for the support they have given me over the years.

My immediate goal is to finish my long stint with Ferrari, in the hope of sharing some more beautiful moments together, to add to all those we have enjoyed so far."

Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015 after winning all his titles with Red Bull and dreaming of emulating his boyhood hero Michael Schumacher, who took five of his seven titles with the Maranello-based team.

The father of three told reporters last month that he could have a new deal done before the start of a season delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ferrari have said the German was their first choice to partner Charles Leclerc but reports in Italy said they wanted an answer by the end of April to ensure potential replacements were still available.

Leclerc, who won two races last year and is only 22, has a contract until 2024 and is seen as Ferraris future and likely first champion since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

The Monegasque outperformed Vettel in his first season at Ferrari last year, finishing ahead of him overall and taking more points, poles, podiums and wins.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, at Renault, and McLarens Spaniard Carlos Sainz have both been mentioned in media reports as leading candidates to take one of the most coveted seats on the grid.

Both are also out of contract at the end of 2020.

Six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton has also been linked to Ferrari but has repeatedly indicated he intends to stay with Mercedes.

Formula One has deferred to 2022 a major technical rule change planned for 2021, meaning teams will use the same cars next year as this.

Ferrari appeared to be behind Mercedes on pace in pre-season testing but have not been able to run their car in race conditions due to the 15 March Australian opener being cancelled.

The sport hopes to get going behind closed doors in Austria in July.

With inputs from Reuters
A Belfast academic has criticised the Government for failing to heed warnings about the danger a pandemic posed to care homes.

A report based on Exercise Cygnus, a national pandemic flu exercise in October 2016, concluded that care homes could suffer most from a virus.

Dave Archard, Emeritus Professor at Queen's University, said that in light of an unacceptable number of deaths here and in Britain, the leaked report was prescient and damning for the officials who failed to act on it. Figures from Northern Ireland's statistics agency (Nisra) on Friday show that 45% of virus-linked deaths here have occurred in care homes.

Of the 516 deaths recorded by May 1, 232 were in care homes. And in the week to May 1, over 60% of Covid-19 deaths (71 of 115) occurred there.

Prof Archard told the Belfast Telegraph that the warning signs had been there since late 2016.

He added: "One of the bottom line lessons from that exercise was the extreme problem of central care provision in the UK and in particular the lack of adequate resources within care homes.

"Firstly, it was already predicted three to four years ago that, were there to be a serious pandemic, there would be a serious problem with care homes.

"That extends to things like the provision of PPE to care workers and the provision of adequate support to those homes should there be an outbreak within them.

"Secondly, clearly, for too long the Government did not reveal the extent of the problem in care homes. It was not publicising the number of deaths within care homes. It clearly was trying to rely only on hospital deaths.

"We now know that a very large percentage of the overall deaths from Covid-19 are in fact within care homes."

Care home operators have been beset by shortages of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff and limit the spread of the virus among residents who are by definition the most vulnerable to the disease.

Prof Archard said the Government has questions to answer in terms of its approach.

"It seems to me that you might think the Government knew very well what it was doing in failing to offer support to care homes," he said. "But, if you offer the most generous interpretation, that they simply didn't notice that this might be a problem, then that seems to me astonishingly negligent on their behalf."

Another issue, Prof Archard said, is the "stigmatising or neglect of old people within our population".

"Now we're hearing about the full extent of care home deaths I think we've become all too well aware of that," he added.

The 2017 report, which contained 26 key recommendations, is likely to raise questions over whether ministers ever implemented any of those pertaining to the care home sector.

The key recommendations included boosting the capacity of care homes and the numbers of staff available to work in them. It also warned of the challenge facing homes asked to take in patients from hospitals. When he was recently asked about the report on Exercise Cygnus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had been assured by Department of Health officials that "everything that was recommended was done".

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Older People and the Commissioner for Human Rights in Northern Ireland have said advice provided to the Government to protect care home residents here "was not actioned to the extent it should have been". In a stinging attack, Eddie Lynch and Les Allamby said officials "should have created a ring of steel to protect care homes" and added that "even now, the Government could do more".

Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his remorse to Parliament over the care home situation.

"There is an epidemic going on in care homes, which is something I bitterly regret," he said.

The Government has kept the Exercise Cygnus report secret since it was first circulated in Whitehall three years ago. It has also resisted growing calls for more transparency, which culminated in the announcement of a legal case to force ministers to release the findings.
Buckingham Palace won't open during the summer as usual. (Getty Images)

Buckingham Palace will not open to visitors this summer amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it has been confirmed.

The Queens London residence usually opens in the summer for tours, giving visitors a glimpse inside the workings of the palace.

But even though the Queen will stay in Windsor Castle for the foreseeable future, the palace will not open, the Royal Collection Trust (RCT) has confirmed.

Frogmore House and Clarence House will also stay closed.

In a statement, the RCT said: Because of the operational challenges of social distancing, unfortunately we have had to take the decision not to open the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace to the public this summer, and Frogmore House and Clarence House will not open in August 2020. Those who have booked tickets will be refunded.

Read more: Buckingham Palace floor plans revealed: Exactly what's inside the Queen's main residence

Clarence House, the London home of Prince Charles, is usually open in the summer. (Getty Images)

Virtual tours can be done online of Buckingham Palace, allowing people to see the unique objects and art.

The state rooms at Buckingham Palace have been opened to visitors over the summer for several years, while the Queen is traditionally in her Scottish home in Balmoral.

This year, the Queen looks likely to stay in Windsor, where she has been since mid-March after leaving London early for Easter Court.

The palace openings first began after the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, as the Queen faced a large bill for repair work.

Read more: Duchess of Cambridge working more during coronavirus pandemic as Royal Family adjusts to lockdown

The palace usually opens a few weeks after Trooping the Colour. (Getty Images)

It cost 8 for adults to visit in the summer of 1993. According to the BBC, all advance booking slots for palace visits booked up in a week  for the next three years.

The plan originally was just for the palace to open until 1997, but the RCT, which was set up to look after tourism at the London palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, continued the summer events.

Read more: Lockdown rules could spell end of Princess Beatrice's wedding plans

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Exhibitions in the palace usually take on a theme each year. The gardens have also been opened and the RCT invested in the Queens Gallery in London, which visitors see along with the palace.

Clarence House, where the Queen Mother lived, has been opened to the public since 2003.
Massachusetts Mayflower Academys wide array of courses prepares students for college and careers. The academys AP catalog exceeds what most traditional schools offer with 24 College Board-approved courses.

Massachusetts Mayflower Academy (MMA) is currently accepting applications for the 2020-2021 school year. High school students interested in learning from home can opt for more than 220 online courses designed by subject matter experts and taught by certified teachers at the accredited online private high school powered by nonprofit VHS Learning (VHS, Inc.). The academys myriad of courses enable students to earn their high school diploma online, prepare for college majors of all types, and earn college credit through dual-credit options or by choosing from 24 different Advanced Placement courses.

For students interested in STEM learning, Massachusetts Mayflower Academy offers more than 40 science courses, over 20 math courses, and 14 computer science and technology courses, including the popular AP Computer Science Principles. This course helps students develop computational thinking skills vital for success across all disciplines, such as using computational tools to analyze and study data and working with large data sets to analyze, visualize, and draw conclusions from trends. It is designed to foster logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity in students with diverse backgrounds and interests.

Another unique STEM course offered at Massachusetts Mayflower Academy is Climate Science, an honors course that helps students better understand Earth as a dynamic system and then challenges them to evaluate how certain factors impact Earths delicate systems. Students research and evaluate a specific climate change impact story of their choice and learn how to communicate about climate issues in meaningful ways.

Massachusetts Mayflower Academys wide array of courses prepares students for college and careers, said Carol Ribeiro, President & CEO of VHS Learning. The academys AP catalog exceeds what most traditional schools offer with 24 College Board-approved courses. Because classes at Massachusetts Mayflower Academy are small, on average 22 students to 1 teacher, families can be assured that students receive the support they need to be successful.

Additionally, all academy courses are taught by certified teachers who undergo a rigorous training and professional development program to ensure they can effectively teach in an online environment. School administrators work with students and parents and the students guidance counselor and academic liaison, to personalize each students learning plan.

While learning from home, Massachusetts Mayflower Academy students receive instruction that enables them to collaborate with their teachers and peers from around the world, said Ribeiro. Academy students, although not together in the traditional sense, are connected academically and interpersonally, in ways that prepare them for future success.

For more information on admissions or to secure an application please visit https://vhslearning.org/mma/admissions-and-application.

About Massachusetts Mayflower Academy and The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.)

Massachusetts Mayflower Academy (http://vhslearning.org/mma/massachusetts-mayflower-academy) is an accredited full-time online private school. The school enrolls students from across the United States and around the world in its college preparatory diploma-granting high school program. Through VHS Learning, the school offers more than 220 unique teacher-led online courses taught by certified teachers, including 24 AP courses. VHS Learning, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, has provided supportive and enriching online education to students and schools for more than 24 years.

# # #
PHILADELPHIA -- France and the United States, two countries hit hard by the novel coronavirus, have experienced a tremendous reduction in the number of organ donations and solid organ (kidney, liver, heart, and lung) transplant procedures since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. By early April, transplant centers in both countries were conducting far fewer deceased donor transplants compared to just one month earlier, with the number of procedures dropping by 91 percent in France and 50 percent in the United States.

The international team of transplant scientists, including experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Paris Transplant Group, attribute much of the overall decline to a steep reduction in the number of kidney transplants specifically. However, they also reported a substantial drop in the number of heart, lung and liver transplants. The analysis was published today in The Lancet.

"Our findings point to the far-reaching and severe ripple effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on health care, including life-saving organ transplants," said study co-author Peter Reese, MD, MSCE, an associate professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Penn. "Organs from deceased donors represent a time-limited opportunity, as they must be procured and used rapidly. However, in order to protect the safety of their patients, centers must now carefully vet all donors to ensure there is minimal risk of COVID-19."

The steep reduction in organ donations and transplant procedures exacerbates the worldwide shortage of transplantable organs and need for transplants. In the United States, there are more than 112,000 people on the national transplant waiting list. While the number of living donor kidney and liver transplants continues to increase, the vast majority of organ transplant procedures involve organs from deceased donors. Of the nearly 40,000 transplants performed in the United States in 2019, more than 32,000 involved organs from deceased donors.

Many transplant centers, including the Penn Transplant Institute (PTI), continue to perform many life-saving organ transplants during the pandemic, but the outbreak has posed unique challenges for both organ procurement and transplantation. A number of centers nationwide, including the PTI, are not using organs from deceased donors with evidence of recent infection or exposure.

To quantify the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on organ donation and transplantation, investigators analyzed validated national data from three federal agencies, including the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), to study trends in France and the United States.

The team observed a strong link between the surge of COVID-19 infections and significant decline in donated organs and overall solid organ transplants. In the United States, the number of recovered organs dropped from more than 110 a day on March 6 to fewer than 60 per day on April 5, investigators found. During the same timeframe, the number of transplanted kidneys dropped from nearly 65 a day to about 35 per day. Researchers also observed that regions with fewer COVID-19 cases, or limited exposure to the disease, also experienced a significant reduction in transplant rates--suggesting a global and nationwide effect beyond the local infection prevalence.

The investigators hypothesize that France may have experienced a larger drop in transplants because of a coordinated national effort to reduce clinical and commercial activity. Whereas, in the United States, individual states had discretion to impose restrictions and hospital practice may have varied to a greater degree.

"These international comparisons of transplant activity will be very important as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves," said co-author Alexandre Loupy, MD, PhD, a nephrologist at the Department of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation at Necker Hospital in Paris and Head of the Paris Transplant Group. "Some transplant systems may develop best practices to support organ procurement and transplant that can be shared across borders. We have a lot of work ahead to restore our invaluable infrastructure of donation and transplant surgery."

The team suggests these findings could be useful for public health agencies, professional societies and patient advocacy organizations in their planning and risk mitigation. Researchers also say that specific mapping of local trends in organ donation and transplant activity will enable public health leaders to identify areas where the number of donations and transplants continues to remain lower than normal.

###

Editor's Note: Correspondence pieces represent the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of The Lancet or any Lancet specialty journal. Unlike Articles containing original research, this Correspondence was not externally peer reviewed.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $7.8 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top medical schools in the United States for more than 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $425 million awarded in the 2018 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center--which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report--Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; and Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Home Care and Hospice Services, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is powered by a talented and dedicated workforce of more than 40,000 people. The organization also has alliances with top community health systems across both Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, creating more options for patients no matter where they live.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2018, Penn Medicine provided more than $525 million to benefit our community.
By Rajendra Jadhav and Aftab Ahmed

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has suspended 39 licences to import 452,303 tonnes of refined palm oil after a surge in duty-free purchases from neighbours such as Nepal and Bangladesh which are not key producers, government and trade sources told Reuters.

The suspension could reduce India's palm oil imports in the next few months and pressure Malaysian palm oil futures, but could lift shipments of soyoil and sunflower oil.

"All these 39 licences for import of refined palm oil will be immediately put under suspension," the government said in circular seen by Reuters on Monday.

India, the world's biggest importer of edible oil, put refined palm oil and palmolein on a list of restricted items on Jan. 8, although New Delhi later issued licences to import refined palmolein.

Palm oil imports from Nepal jumped 314% to 189,078 tonnes in the fiscal year ending on March 31, while purchases from Bangladesh jumped 500%, the government said in the circular.

The shipments did not attract import tax as both nations are signatories, along with India, of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) that created a free-trade zone in the region.

A rising flow of duty-free edible oils was disrupting trade in India and undermining government efforts to boost oilseed prices with higher import taxes, said Atul Chaturvedi, president of trade body the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA).

Of the suspended licences, 37 were issued to source the commodity from Bangladesh and Nepal, while two were issued for Indonesian origin, the government added.

Palm oil accounts for nearly two-thirds of India's total imports of edible oil, mainly sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indian refiners have long opposed imports of refined palm oil, saying they hurt domestic refiners and oilseed growers.

The suspension is unlikely to cause a shortage of palm oil in Indian markets as consumption has fallen as much as 40% after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, said Sudhakar Desai, president of the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA).

Story continues

India's palm oil imports fell 46% in April from a year ago, provisional data from the SEA shows.

New Delhi received dozens of applications for licences to import refined palm oil after tweaking rules in April, said a government official, who declined to be identified as he was not allowed to speak to the media.

"The market has enough palm oil," the official added. "We have decided not to allow any import of palm oil and not to give new licences."

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Aftab Ahmed; Additional reporting by Subrata Nagchoudhury; Editing by Alexander Smith and Clarence Fernandez)
Samsung continues to lead the global 5G smartphone shipments chart. According to a report from The Korea Herald, the South Korean company shipped 8.3 million 5G smartphones globally in the first quarter of 2020, more than any other vendor in the world.

The figures account for 34.4 percent of the global market share in Q1 2020. Chinese phone maker Huawei was a close second with around 8 million phones and a 33.2 percent market share.

Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo make up the top five. The three Chinese companies shipped 2.9 million, 2.5 million, and 1.2 million 5G smartphones respectively during the first quarter.

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Samsung has several 5G smartphones under its belt. In fact, it has the biggest 5G smartphone lineup as of now. Not only flagships but the company offers 5G variants of select mid-range phones as well, like the Galaxy A51 5G and the Galaxy A71 5G. The Exynos 980 chipset, which comes with an integrated 5G modem, powers Samsungs current mid-range 5G phones.

Overall, a total of 24.1 million 5G smartphones were shipped globally during the first three months of this year.

If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, we could have well seen a several-fold increase in those numbers by the end of this year. The global health crisis caused by the pandemic has created a financial uncertainty and limited the growth of 5G adoption.

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Mid-range 5G smartphones could help Samsung drive sales further

5G finally became a reality in 2019 and Samsung welcomed the revolution with its Galaxy S10 5G.

The company then added four more smartphones to its 5G portfolio last year, including the Galaxy Note 10 5G, Note 10 Plus 5G, Galaxy A90 5G, and the Galaxy Fold 5G.

These devices gave the Korean giant a big head start in the global 5G smartphone race last year, as it captured more than 50 percent of the market. In the US, Samsung grabbed a whopping 74 percent share of the 5G smartphone market in 2019.

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In Q1 2020, Samsung added the Galaxy S20 series to its 5G smartphone lineup. The company is now looking to expand its portfolio to mid-range phones as well. It already has two mid-range 5G-capable phones and is likely to add more in the coming months.

Mid-range phones often drive sales and help secure a bigger market share. So if Samsung does things right, it may see a substantial increase in sales of 5G smartphones in the coming months.

Thats once the ongoing coronavirus situation settles down and the global smartphone market regains its shape, of course.
The "UK Catheters Market 2019-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

UK catheters market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.2% during the forecast period.

Increasing incidences of various urinary disorders such as cancers of the urinary tract, incontinence, interstitial cystitis, kidney stones, kidney failure, and urinary tract infections, and aging population is major factors contributing in the growth of the market. As per the Age UK, there are nearly 3.2 million people aged over 65 suffering from urinary incontinence in UK, and the majority is women. 1 in 10 people is affected by faecal incontinence. Fecal incontinence is more common in women than in men. This results in the emerging demand for urinary catheters to drain and collect urine from the bladder.

The significant prevalence of CVD is further encouraging the demand for cardiac catheters in the country. As per the data published by the British Heart Foundation in January 2020, in UK, 7.4 million people are living with a heart or circulatory disease. An ageing and growing population and improved survival rates from heart and circulatory events could see these numbers rise still further. Heart and circulatory diseases cause more than a quarter (27%) of all deaths in the UK; that's nearly 170,000 deaths each year, an average of 460 people each day or one death every three minutes. This results in the demand for cardiac catheterization to perform coronary angioplasty and coronary stenting.

The major companies operating in the region include Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., and Johnson Johnson Services, Inc. To survive in the market, these players are adopting crucial strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, product launches, and partnerships and collaborations. This enables the company to increase its competitiveness and attract significant share in the market. For instance, in January 2018, Abbott Laboratories, Inc. declared the European launch of the Advisor HD Grid Mapping Catheter, Sensor Enabled. The purpose to develop this product was to offer innovative solutions to the physicians to accurately and quickly map complex cardiac arrhythmias among patients.

This report covers:

A comprehensive research methodology of the UK catheters market.

A detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.

Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.

Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the UK catheters market.

Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the UK catheters market.

Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecast revenues.

Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.

Key Topics Covered

1. Report Summary

1.1. Research Methods and Tools

1.2. Market Breakdown

1.2.1. By Segment

2. Market Overview and Insights

2.1. Scope of the Report

2.2. Analyst Insight Current Market Trends

2.2.1. Key Findings

2.2.2. Recommendations

2.2.3. Conclusion

2.3. Rules Regulations

3. Competitive Landscape

3.1. Company Share Analysis

3.2. Key Strategy Analysis

3.3. Key Company Analysis

3.3.1. Overview

3.3.2. Financial Analysis

3.3.3. SWOT Analysis

3.3.4. Recent Developments

4. Market Determinants

4.1. Motivators

4.2. Restraints

4.3. Opportunities

5. Market Segmentation

5.1. UK Catheters Market by Product Type

5.1.1. Cardiovascular Catheters

5.1.2. Urological Catheters

5.1.3. Intravenous Catheters

5.1.4. Specialty Catheters

5.1.5. Neurovascular Catheters

6. Company Profiles

6.1. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

6.2. Becton Dickinson and Co.

6.3. Boston Scientific Corp.

6.4. Edwards Lifesciences Corp.

6.5. Integra LifeSciences Corp.

6.6. Johnson Johnson Services, Inc.

6.7. Medtronic plc

6.8. Stryker Corp.

6.9. Teleflex, Inc.

6.10. Terumo Medical Corp.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/u4ifd7

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005394/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
In the run-up to the 23rd Prism Awards to be announced virtually on Friday, 15 May, we chatted to this year's cohort of 'young voices' about their fresh approach to the judging process.

Candice Marescia

What does this recognition and opportunity mean to you?

Briefly tell us about your experience in the industry.

Comment on the judging process.

What has the response been to this years entries?

What makes winning work stand out?

What do you think young minds bring to the table?

What have you learnt working alongside the cluster judges?

What would the title of Prisms Young Judge for the 2020 awards mean to you?

Comment on the current state of PR.

In this series of interviews, we find out what they've learnt working alongside the cluster judges (albeit remotely) and what their young minds bring to the virtual table.Being a Prisms Young Voice for the first time was a bit of a thump to the heart, but we cannot ignore the impact and seriousness of Covid-19. We all must do our part. Covid-19 has already impacted so much more than just our industry, but we are being forced to be innovative as an industry and in our everyday lives, we will get to be a part of a new wave of thinking.  Candice Marescia, senior account manager at Vuma Reputation Management, commenting on the cancellation of the physical Awards and the general impact of the pandemic on the industry.Here, our interview with Marescia...Being selected as a young judge is an opportunity to engage with like-minded peers and seniors in the industry to broaden my knowledge and thinking. This also means I have an opportunity to have my voice heard at the table and for it to actually be considered.Ive been in public relations for just over eight years, and had been lucky to be exposed to the digital, traditional, marketing and reputation side of the industry. It has been amazing seeing the industry become fully integrated, although we're still a far way from brands and corporates realising the importance of the industry in the every-day function of their business.I have been privileged enough to be mentored and trained by some of the great minds in the industry, however, transformation was something that was often a conversation that couldnt be had out loud or meant younger employees had to sit back and be silent even though their idea was non-traditional and could see a huge success. Gone are those days. It is amazing being part of a generation in the industry that have been trained to be leaders and take charge. One of my mentors once said, 'Being heard is not raising your voice, but leaning in and making sure your seat at the table is not in vein', and the Prism Awards is this and so much more, giving the younger generation in the industry an opportunity to be heard.The judging process was tough and fun, from the debates, emerging myself in some of the campaigns put forward and being open to different perspectives.Interesting. Some solutions to campaigns were interesting while others were not so clear.The thought-through process. Does the submitted campaign show a clear path in their objectives and achieve this?Fresh thinking or opinion and enthusiasm to learn new ways.Do not be afraid to challenge what may look like a clear yes.Being a Prism Young Judge for the 2020 Awards means making sure my seat at the table is not in vein.PR is getting its recognition amongst other key industries, however, it's time for PR to embrace its own purpose. We are so much more than press releases and media coverage.
The second Shramik Special train



with 1,083 migrants left for Unnao in Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra's Jalna city on Tuesday evening, an official said.

The district administration bore the travel expenses of 1,083 workers, who were heading to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Passengers were screen and brought to the station in buses, he said, adding that a local NGO distributed water and food for the journey.

The first train, carrying 1,200 migrants to Unnao, departed from Jalna on May 10.

District collector Ravindra Binwade said the authorities will also arrange two trains to Bihar for 2,700 workers after getting due permission from the Bihar government.

Meanwhile, a jawan from the State Reserve police tested positive for COVID-19 in Jalna, taking the count in the district to 14, a senior health official said on Tuesday.

The jawan, who had recently returned from his posting at Malegaon in Nashik district, tested positive on Monday, district civil surgeon Dr Madhukar Rathod said.

The authorities have sealed MHADA colony, where the infected jawan lives, he said, adding that his close contacts, including his family, will be tested.

With this, the number of COVID-19 cases in Jalna stands at now 14, of which two patients have recovered from the infection, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The Prefontaine Classic track meet has a new date.

The meet now is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4 at Hayward Field in Eugene, the Diamond League announced Tuesday. No starting time has been set.

The Prefontaine Classic is part of the Diamond League, a series of elite track meets featuring Olympic-level athletes. Its the only Diamond League meet in North or South America.

The Pre Classic had been scheduled for June 6-7, but was postponed because of coronavirus restrictions.

The format is to be determined, Pre meet director Tom Jordan said. It will depend on travel restrictions and how virulent the virus is at that point.

It also hinges on Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who has banned large gatherings such as sporting events with spectators through September. The meets new date falls outside that window, although that could change depending on the progress of the pandemic.

We will follow all state guidelines, Jordan said. If that means no spectators, we will not have spectators.

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

The Pre Classic is one of 11 meets on a new, provisional Diamond League schedule that is slated to begin Aug. 14 and conclude in China on Oct. 17 at a place to be determined.

The Diamond League meet on June 11 in Oslo, Norway has been recast as the Impossible Games, and is being billed as an exhibition.

At this point, an Oct. 4 Pre Classic would be the first meet in the new Hayward Field. A two-year reconstruction of the University of Oregons historic track stadium is nearing completion.

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
She's been candid about her battle with body confidence after trolls criticised her appearance in the past.

And Amy Hart has detailed overcoming her 'insecurities' as she shared bikini snaps from her trip to Dubai last year on Instagram on Tuesday.

The Love Island star, 27, reflected on 'wasting time on deciding whether her hips looked too big' as she encouraged her social media followers to 'stop worrying and enjoy life' amid the UK's coronavirus lockdown.

Candid: Amy Hart has detailed overcoming her 'insecurities' as she shared bikini snaps from her trip to Dubai last year on Instagram on Tuesday

Catching the eye, the former British Airways employee stunned as she went paddleboarding with her pals in a neon green two-piece, which highlighted her incredible figure.

Admitting she's come a long way from struggling with body image, the Celebs Go Dating star captioned the images: 'Is anyone else using this time to think back on all the time theyve wasted in the past?

'I took this picture in the bathroom in Dubai to send to the holiday group chat. Id gone to change bikinis for paddle boarding and spent a good 15 mins deciding wether or not my hips looked too big.

'sent this to the girls to get their opinion on wether or not I was safe to venture out or if I should go back to the room and get something else.

Uplifting message: The Love Island star, 27, reflected on 'wasting time on deciding whether her hips looked too big' as she encouraged her social media followers to 'stop worrying'

'Now when I scroll through our Dubai pictures all I think of is how much fun we had and how I wish we could go again, not the insecurities I felt that day. So what Im saying is...enjoy your life, drink the wine and try to stop worrying.' [sic]

In March, Amy took a break from social media after being sent nasty messages from trolls.

The former flight attendant decided to take the step back after critics took aim at her veneers, with one telling her that her 'pony had better teeth' than her.

Amy shared a message on Twitter saying she no longer wanted to read the comments and said that the 'be kind' message - which emerged shortly after host Caroline Flack's tragic death - only lasted 'two days'.

Stepping back: In March (pictured), Amy took a break from social media after being sent nasty messages from trolls

The blonde wrote on Twitter: 'Well after a day of really positive messages about helping each other and being kind, I think I'm gonna take a break from social media.

'I don't need to read stuff like this everyday. The whole be kind thing literally lasted 2 days. [sic]'

Underneath the message, the TV star shared a selection of the comments she had received both underneath her Instagram pictures and private.

Twitter: Underneath the message, the blonde shared a selection of the comments she had received both underneath her Instagram pictures and private
GCB Bank Ltd has donated 40 jumbo water storage tanks to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for distribution to markets in Accra, Tema, and other parts of the country.

The Ministry will distribute the tanks among selected Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies for allocation to the beneficiary market centres.

The Rambo 1000 tanks will serve as alternative source/storage of water for traders and commuters as well as members of the public for hand washing and other uses in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the market centres and communities.

The donation of the tanks was in response to a request to the Bank by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development some Metropolitan Assemblies especially the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) as part of the efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Managing Director of GCB Bank, Mr. Anselm Ray Sowah, at a short ceremony handed over the tanks to the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Osei Bonsu Amoah, at the premises of the AMA in Accra.

The MD said the Bank has partnered the Government of Ghana and other state agencies in the fight to contain this canker called coronavirus (COVID-19).

We have donated cash to the National COVID-19/MOH Response Team, Veronica Buckets, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to various health facilities across the country, he said.

Mr Sowah indicated that the Bank had made substantial contributions in the fight against the pandemic but felt this was special because of the need to address the congestion in the markets and ensure social distancing.

The Deputy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Akuapem South (Aburi) Constituency, expressed the Governments appreciation to GCB Bank and promised that the donation to the markets would lead to better arrangements and provision of water in our major markets.

Mr Amoah urged other corporate institutions and individuals to emulate the example of GCB.

The Chief Executive of the AMA, Mohammed Nii Adjei-Sowah, praised the Bank for being a good neighbor and philanthropic organisation.
Oslo, Norway - May 12, 2020: The Annual General Meeting of the shareholders of REC Silicon ASA (REC Silicon) was held on May 12, 2020 at 12:00 CEST.

The minutes from the Annual General Meeting recording the resolutions made are enclosed hereto and are also available on REC Silicon's website www.recsilicon.com.

100,502,293 shares were represented at the general meeting. Thus, approximately 35.92% of the Company's total share were represented at the Annual General Meeting.

Further to the Notice of the Annual General Meeting issued on April 21, 2020, the Annual General Meeting approved, as follows from the minutes, all resolutions as proposed by the Board.

For further information, please contact:

James A. May II, Chief Financial Officer

Phone: +1 509 989 1023

Email: james.may@recsilicon.com

Nils O. Kjerstad, IR Contact

Phone: +47 9135 6659

Email: nils.kjerstad@crux.no

About REC Silicon

REC Silicon is a leading producer of advanced silicon materials, delivering high-purity polysilicon and silicon gas to the solar and electronics industries worldwide. We combine 30 years of experience and proprietary technology with the needs of our customers, with annual production capacity of more than 20,000 MT of polysilicon from our two US-based manufacturing plants. Listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: REC), the company is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.

For more information, go to: www.recsilicon.com



This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Attachment
South African smokers rejoiced last month as President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted a ban on tobacco sales imposed as part of draconian measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

But less than a week later, one of his cabinet ministers reversed the decision for "health-related" reasons -- specifically, that many smokers roll their cigarettes, then share them.

"When people zol, they put saliva on the paper, and then they share that zol," said cabinet minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, referring to a South African word for hand-rolled cigarettes.

Dlamini-Zuma, a medical doctor, is a key member of a special cabinet task force handling the health crisis, which has seen South Africans go under one of the world's most stringent lockdowns.

"The way tobacco is shared does not allow for social distancing," said Dlamini-Zuma, adding it "actually encourages the spread of the virus."

The U-turn prompted some half a million people to sign a petition demanding the resumption of cigarette sales.

The tobacco industry is also livid.

The Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA), which represents some cigarette makers, said it was baffled by government's about-face and is taking legal action.

"Public comments have been limited to the ills of smoking (but) have not been adequately linked to the fight against COVID-19," FITA president Sinenhlanhla Mnguni said in court papers.

The ban "is causing unnecessary increased stress" for smokers under the lockdown, he argued.

At least 10,652 people have been infected by the virus which causes COVID-19, and 206 of those have died.

Illicit trade

The moratorium on cigarette sales has driven the market underground.

According to a government-commissioned study by the Human Sciences Research Council, nearly a quarter of smokers in informal settlements and 16 percent of township residents are now able to buy cigarettes during the lockdown.

"Illicit traders are the only beneficiaries," said the British America Tobacco South Africa (BATSA).

The ban has also divided medical experts.

Salim Abdool Karim, a leading epidemiologist and the government's chief technical advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic, says the impact of tobacco on the crisis is outside his remit.

But for Mosa Moshabela, dean of the University of KwaZulu-Natal's public health faculty, the government's decision is perfectly justified.

South Africa's 11 million smokers "are among the high-risk groups," especially older patients and those with chronic diseases, Moshabela told AFP.

But he criticised the government for its lack of communication on the issue.

Politics

On the political front, the smoking ban has fuelled speculation about recurrent infighting within the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has told lawmakers he "didn't like the continuous ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco, but I lost the debate and therefore I have to toe the line."

The ban has cost the treasury 300 million rand (US$16 million) in lost taxes, according to Edward Kieswetter, the head of the revenue collection agency.

Analysts suggest the government flip-flops point to lingering divisions from the last ANC conference which elected Ramaphosa in 2017.

"The finance minister is giving the picture that there is still that machination... and is almost giving us the impression that being in this cabinet is horrible, like drinking Dettol (disinfectant) every morning," commented political analyst Ralph Mathekga.

It took Ramaphosa five days to publicly clear up the confusion created over the off-again, on-again tobacco ban.

"This was a collective decision and the public statements by both myself and the minister were done on behalf of, and mandated by, the collective I lead," Ramaphosa said.

"It is wrong to suggest that there are ministers or a president doing and saying whatever they want on this matter," he said.

But according to Mathekga, the president's long silence showed "that the political differences that have existed within the ANC before corona(virus) did not take too much time to... resurface."

The ANC has been divided for several years between supporters and opponents of Jacob Zuma, Ramaphosa's predecessor.

Zuma was forced to resign in 2018 over corruption scandals.

At the end of 2017, the two camps were locked in a bitter struggle for the control of the party, with Ramaphosa narrowly defeating Dlamini-Zuma.

The tobacco ban rancour has reopened those political fault lines.

"The Zuma faction has more reasons now to say that they still exist," Mathekga said.
Besides regular buyers, there is lot of interest among those in essential services, such as health, banking, and IT. The sales will be helped by social distancing becoming the new normal in both urban and rural regions as people will be averse to using public transport.

Two-wheeler makers expect to benefit from personal transportation needs arising out of the COVID crisis, despite the rising number of cases.

They, however, remain cautious given the regulated operations at dealerships and factories.

Top executives at two-wheeler makers said they have seen an encouraging response, with a steady increase in inquiries and sales.

Y S Guleria, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), said: Close to 40 per cent of those who inquired about our products in the last one month were keen on the purchase.

The second-largest two-wheeler maker by sales has retailed 10,000-plus units from its 1,200 sales touch points in a week, after the lockdown was eased, said Guleria, adding that the opening would be staggered.

HMSI has a total of 6,200 touch points, including service centres. Besides regular buyers, there is lot of interest among those in essential services, such as health, banking, and IT, he said.

Guleria added that HMSI had worked out an attractive finance package, based on lower down-payments, to make the purchase more attractive.

It will be launched across its sales points very soon.

He doesnt see firms offering discounts or freebies to lure buyers.

On Sunday, Hero MotoCorp, the market leader, said it had commenced its retail operations with the re-opening of more than 1,500 customer touch-points, including authorised dealerships and service centres.

These outlets contribute to 30 per cent of its total domestic retail sales.

In a stock exchange filing on Sunday, it said that 10,000 units of motorcycles and scooters had been sold since the re-opening of these touch points.

Pune based Bajaj Auto on Monday said it has commenced re-opening of its dealerships.

The company did not disclose the number of operational touch points or initial sales response.

India is gearing up for the new normal post the COVID19 pandemic and so are we at Bajaj Auto.

"The opening of workshops and dealerships is another step towards making a fresh start.

"To ensure safety, speed and efficiency with minimal contact, a new workflow processes has been put in place for both Sales & Service, said Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto in a statement.

Meanwhile, an uncertainty on whether they will be able to open the outlets the next day amid raging number of cases, have kept them on toes, said dealers.

Auto dealerships have resumed operations in select regions in line with the protocols and standard operating procedure laid by the manufacturers.

While we are all for resuming business, it is coming at a huge cost, said Nikunj Sanghi, managing director at JS Four Wheels, an Alwar based dealership for Hero MotoCorp and Mahindra and Mahindra.

In the last one week, his dealership has spent Rs 23,000 just on sanitization.

If tomorrow, the authorities decide to shutter the outlets due to spike in number of COVID-19 cases, all this expenditure goes in vain as we have to do all this all over again.

Both inquiries and actual sales is less than 20 per cent of the normal sales.

There is fear in staff and customers and an uncertainty about the next day.

We will have to live with Corona. Even if there is a risk of infection, we have to take it. Its just that we need to take all precautions, said Sanghi.

Mitul Shah, vice president at Reliance Securities said the wheeler segment would be the first one to recover within auto space attributing it to the high exposure it has to rural India.

Rural markets have witnessed lower impact of COVID19, while healthy Rabi output has kept its economy going, he said.

The sales will also be helped by the social distancing becoming the new normal in both urban and rural regions as people will be averse to using public transport.

Shah however, cautioned recovery would take few months due to ongoing uncertainty and COVID led disruption.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
A retired diplomat, Ibrahim Gambari, has been appointed Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to presidential sources and the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

The appointment has not been officially announced by the president.

Mr Gambari, 75, who was the first United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa, is said to be awaiting an official letter of confirmation as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to multiple sources.

In a statement by his aide, Abdulazeez Arowona, the Ilorin emir thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Professor Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff.

The emir described the appointment as a great honour to the entire people of Ilorin Emirate and Kwarans at large.

The diplomat, Mr Gambari, is from Ilorin.

An aide to Mr Gambari also told PREMIUM TIMES that we are awaiting the official letter of confirmation, after confirming his principal had been notified.

Mr Gambari, from Kwara State, north-central Nigeria, is replacing Abba Kyari, the powerful presidential aide who died, aged 67, last month following COVID-19 complications.

Femi Adesina, a spokesperson for Mr Buhari, did not answer calls placed to get an official comment for this report.

Mr Gambari was also not picking calls for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Sources familiar with the development told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Gambari had been vetted for the role and he would be officially announced barring any change.

The Chief of Staff is the Nigerian presidents gate-keeper and topmost executive aide. The office became enormously influential like never before with late Mr Kyari, empowered by Mr Buhari to coordinate virtually all aspects of governance.

Mr Gambari was the external affairs minister (1984-1985) under Mr Buharis spell as a military head of state.

Previous Appointment

In 2008, Mr Gambari resigned as the head of a committee organising peace talks between Nigerias government under late Umaru YarAdua and the Niger Delta militants, following opposition from the oil-rich region.

He was Nigerias envoy to the UN in 1995 when Ogoni leader, writer and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight others, were hanged by the junta of late kleptocrat Sani Abacha after leading protests against international oil companies, most notably Shell.

Niger Delta leaders and the militant group MEND rejected Mr Gambaris headship of the proposed peace talks, saying he had defended Mr Abachas actions against international condemnation at the time of the execution of Sar-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists.

Foremost diplomat

After his role advising the UNs Secretary-General on Africa, he held another senior role at the global body, becoming the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs in 2005.

In that period, he also operated as UN Secretary-Generals Special Envoy on Cyprus, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, reads a biography of the diplomat on the UN website. On 22 May 2007, the Secretary-General entrusted him with the Good Offices Mandate on Myanmar. He was also appointed in 2007 by the Secretary-General as Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Iraq Compact and Other Issues, positions he held until 2009.

He had earlier served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission to Angola, from September 2002 to February 2003, while advising the Secretary-General on Africa.

In January 2010, he resumed another role as the head of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, which became the worlds largest peacekeeping mission. Mr Gambari left that role in July 2012.

Before joining the UN secretariat in 1999, he had served as Nigerias external affairs minister and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and he was twice a president of the UN Security Council.

Mr Gambari is also a scholar. He became a professor at Ahmadu Bello University in 1983 and holds a PhD from Columbia University, New York.

He is currently chairman of Abuja-based thinktank, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, which he founded.

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(TNS)  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, confirmed details of the deal, which is one of the largest made by California in its scramble for protective equipment. Former Alabama Attorney General Troy King is listed on Bear Mountains 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 toThose records identify the companys 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 masks and fewer than 9.7 million surgical masks, said Monica Hassan, deputy director of the Department of General Services.State officials did not provide details about why the company didnt 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 Californias coronavirus emergency order that had never done business with the state before, according to aanalysis.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.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 Newsoms 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 states 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.Newsoms 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 afterreported 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.
A senior professor of the



Assam Agricultural University (AAU), who was recently accused of harassing female students, was found hanging in his office chamber here on Tuesday, police said.

Dr Abhijit Sharma, faculty of Agriculture in the Department of Agronomy, committed suicide and investigations are on, a police official said.

AAU Dean Dr Jayanta Deka said Sharma had left a note saying he was falsely accused of causing harassment to senior female students.

The note was found on the office table of Sharma who hailed from Amguri in neighbouring Sivasagar district.

A special enquiry committee has been formed by the university to enquire into the incident, the dean said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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A Queensland specialist cleaner has lifted the lid on the filthy homes he has been tasked with tidying, where hoarders had turned houses into virtual junkyards and where the squalor had been allowed to grow to dangerous levels, creating infestations.

Cleaning and property maintenance specialist Martijn Van Lith has recalled being confronted with putrid stenches, rooms so crammed they could no longer be entered and colonies of insects, rats and cockroaches growing inside the homes.

He said that such hovels were serious health risks not only to the residents but also the cleaners, who faced all manner of hidden dangers when entering the properties.

Mr Van Lith said one of the worst properties he had seen was a job he quoted but never went ahead with due to funding issues in Fairfield, Brisbane.

'Outside the house, at the back for example, off the top of my head there was one or two trucks, a caravan, lots of metal out the front that was filled with other stuff, a shipping container,' he said.

'Physically you couldn't walk through the yard.'

'Inside there was just enough clearance to walk in a path along the hallway, but if you're not careful you can knock things over and multiple rooms you can't even get into.'

The amount of mess in the home was creating extreme fire danger and could also trap mice, rats and snakes.

'At the end of the day when you're walking through there, you don't know what there is, you don't know if there's any fragile chemical bombs, someone could have explosives,' he said.

'You don't know because there's so much covered up.'

Scroll down for video

A million dollar suburban home in Teringa (pictured) looks like any other property from the outside but the inside is riddled with faeces and rotting trash and creepy crawlies

Queensland cleaning and property maintenance specialist, Martijn Van Lith, says mental health and other problems are often the root of most compulsive hoarding problems (inside the property in Teringa)

Not only does the house exude a putrid stench but it also poses multiple safety risks, from fire to health (inside the same property in Teringa)

Mr Van Lith also described the process of having to go clear a home of a dead complusive hoarder in Morningside.

The three bedroom estate was owned by a senior professional worker.

'One of her colleagues was waiting in the car for her, she didn't come back to the car and the colleague found her dead in the house,' he said.

There was only an 80cm wide path between all the junk in the house and 5cm of dog faeces covering the floor between the front door and the main bedroom.

The kitchen, toilet and bathroom could not be accessed and baby wipe containers were used by the worker to go to the toilet.

'I kid you not that's what we call squalor, from the front door down the hallway to one bedroom I had about 80 centimetre width to walk through and it had gone right up to my shoulders and above,' he said.

The deceased person's father used to be a chemist and under the house there was a hidden chemistry where Mr Van Lith found chemicals hidden amongst the rubbish.

'Luckily I noticed a 2.5 litre bottle of nitric acid, 95 per cent pure. I was lucky that we actually noticed that because as you can appreciate if you're not careful if that knocks over you're gone,' he said.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are given to people suffering from hoarding who are living in squalor (different hoarding house in Morningside pictured)

Mr Van Lith has had to clean multiple properties where he has seen faeces covering the floor throughout (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

In some houses there have been people still living there, posing health and safety risks such as syringes and broken glass (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

Post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, anxiety or psychiatric illnesses are other common causes of compulsive hoarding (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

The amount of mess in some homes can create extreme fire danger and could also trap mice, rats and snakes (A hoarding house in Morningside pictured)

Mr Van Lith told Daily Mail Australia that hoarding is 'a diagnosed mental health issue'.

'It can occur for many reasons too, due to depression or anxiety, disability, children, or they might have grown up with nothing and all of a sudden they have things.'

Post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, anxiety or psychiatric illnesses are other common causes.

'People think that in general you're just getting stuff out but you're not,' Mr Van Lith said.

'You don't know what chemicals are there, body fluids, there could be syringes, broken glass that could be part of the floor boarding which could be damaged.'

In a Karalee property that Mr Van Lith described as a 'huge squalor job', there junk 1-1.5metres high throughout the home that took seven people three weeks to remove.

'The house in Karalee had that much termite damage in it the engineer told us that one gust of wind could cause the whole house to collapse,' he said.

Mr Van Lith inspected a property that had so much trash and rotting garbage it was attracting pests and insects (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

Mr Van Lith said his job involves a lot more than cleaning houses, he has to help people come to terms parting with their belongings (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

People who own their home are less likely to trash it (an owner-occupier house in Morningside) with rentals being more likely to be vandalised

An ex-police force officer was living in the house at the time with Mr Van Lith saying she ended up in her position because when her husband died she fell into a deep depression and started drinking.

The engineer said Mr Van Lith and his workers were lucky a storm had not hit during the operation as the house was close to collapsing.

'In that house you were walking through cobwebs, everything was black, we were sliding on bottles, everything like that,' Mr Van Lith said.

'Because of the way that it was built and the squalor inside the home the termites just had a field day.

'You touch a wall it's like pushing a piece of paper.'

Mr Van Lith then had to contact the council and condemn the home because it was in such a bad state.

'Hoarding at the moment is a diagnosed mental health issue,' Mr Van Lith told Daily Mail Australia (A trashed investment property in the Gold Coast)

In this home Mr Van Lith only had 80cm wide walking space from the door to the living area and could not access some rooms (a hoarding house in Morningside pictured)

Mr Van Lith said people trash their homes because they feel they have no control over their life (a hoarding house in Morningside pictured)

Even going to quote a property can pose safety risks with syringes, chemicals and other objects strewn across the floor (A trashed investment property pictured)

While hoarding and squalor can cause a lot of physical dangers he said the biggest issue is mental health.

'You've got to be so sensitive with how you work with the clients because to even be in their home... it took them a lot of trust to let you in there and it took them a lot of effort to even ask for that help,' Mr Van Lith said.

'People can get really upset because you're taking things from them while trying to give them life back into their homes... and it comes across as invasive.'

A Gold Coast property that Mr Van Lith was helping clean out belonged to a woman who was on lots of medication and also had a son with mental health issues.

The woman told him she was in the situation because she had come home from school one day to find her mother was shot, and she went upstairs to find her father had shot himself.

'It ruined my life. And this is why I'm this way,' the woman told Mr Van Lith.

'I can't control my loss. I'm too depressed now. And I'm on so much medication.'

Mr Van Lith said every job he goes to is different and he has a 99.8 per cent success rate with more than 14 years of experience.

He and his company has helped thousands of clients either directly, through non-government organisation or Queensland Health.

Mr Van Lith and his company has helped thousands of clients either directly, through non-government organisation or Queensland Health (A trashed investment property pictured)

There was only an 80cm wide path between all the junk in the house and 5cm of dog faeces covering the floor between the front door and the main bedroom (Morningside property pictured)

Some of the junk pictured at this property even went as high as Mr Van Lith's shoulders
Sydney, May 12 : Police in Australia on Tuesday charged and arrested a man for the murder of a gay student in Sydney in 1988.

Scott Price, 49, was arrested at his Sydney home on Tuesday. He was refused bail and will face a court on Wednesday, reports the BBC.

The body of Scott Johnson, the 27-year-old American victim, was found dead at the bottom of the North Head cliffs in Manly in 1988.

The police ruled it a suicide.

However, later inquiries concluded he had been killed in a hate crime.

The New South Wales (NSW) police force had previously apologised to the victim's family for not investigating the case properly in the 1980s and failing to protect the gay community.

"While we have a long way to go in the legal process, it must be acknowledged that if it wasn't for the determination of the Johnson family... We wouldn't be where we are today," the BBC quoted NSW Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

Scott, a University of Cambridge maths student, had moved from the US to Sydney to be with his partner in 1986.

He had been close to completing his PhD when he died.

His brother Steve campaigned for decades for the case to be re-investigated.

He told the BBC in 2018 it was "inconceivable" that his brother had jumped off a cliff.

"This is a very emotional day," he said in a video message on Tuesday.

"He was my best friend and he really needed me to do this."
A 40-year-old German, who lived in the transit area of Delhis Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for 55 days as he could not fly out amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) lockdown, left for Amsterdam on Tuesday in a special relief flight after turning down offers to be taken to his home country, officials said.

HT reported on Monday that Ziebat was living at the airport since March 18 after he arrived in New Delhi from Hanoi as a transit passenger on his way to Istanbul. March 18 was the day India banned all flights to Turkey to contain the spread of Covid-19. Four days later, India stopped all international flights.

Before he flew out of Delhi at 3am on Tuesday, Zeibat was screened for Covid-19 and did not show any symptoms. He was recently served a Leave India notice by authorities. In the paperwork before taking the flight with 291 other people, Ziebat mentioned Terminal 3 as his house in India and the Indira Gandhi International airport as the place of his stay in the country, an airport official said on condition of anonymity.

Another senior official of the Delhi airport said Ziebart told them on Monday he planned to leave India as soon as a flight was available. Around 3am, he boarded Flight KL872. There were total 292 passengers onboard that flight. It was a special flight being operated from Delhi to Amsterdam. Because he was eligible to go to Europe, he was allowed to leave. His tickets cost him around Rs 43,000. He paid for his tickets on his own, he added, asking not to be named.

In his self-reporting form, which has been mandated by the ministry of health and family welfare for all international passengers, Ziebart mentioned Terminal 3 as his house and Delhis IGI Airport as his place of stay in India. His body temperature was checked and he told the medical staff that he did not have fever, coughing or any respiratory disorder, the officer added.

An airport official earlier indicated that Ziebat, who has not applied for an Indian visa, was unlikely to get one even if he did because of a prior criminal record in Germany.

A spokesperson for the German embassy in New Delhi told HT on Monday that Ziebat was offered a passage back to Germany, but he declined the offer.

Another airport official said Ziebat was issued a Leave India notice and he was asked to make arrangements for his departure from the country. The notice was served because an international passenger can normally stay in transit for just one day according to Indian laws.
BANGKOK - A group of political activists in Thailand has taken credit for staging nighttime light shows marking the anniversary of the armys violent quashing of an anti-government uprising in 2010.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, asked Tuesday about the action, said that as the country battles the spread of the coronavirus, people should work together and not start any campaigns that could spread havoc and confusion.

Police said they are investigating if any law was broken.

The action, carried out Sunday night by a group called the Progressive Movement, came ahead of the May 19 anniversary of the armys final clearance of demonstrators.

Around 50 people died when troops, firing live rounds and backed by armoured vehicles, stormed barricades to drive out thousands of protesters known as the Red Shirts. They had occupied part of the citys central business district to try to force out a government they considered illegitimate.

More than 90 people were killed and almost 2,000 injured during the nine weeks of protests. Most casualties were caused by the security forces. Prayuth, then a senior army general, was involved in the crackdown.

Pannika Wanich, a former lawmaker who is an executive committee member of the Progressive Movement, said she hopes its campaign will prompt people to explore what actually happened, not only in 2010 but in several previous mass killings of civilians.

We have faced too many massacres in Thailand and thats because no one has been made responsible for the massacre and enough is enough, we dont need this to repeat itself again in the near future, she said.

Sundays light projections from a van avoided breaching rules against gatherings that were enacted to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Their ephemeral nature also skirted laws covering trespassing, vandalism and illegal online content.

The activists projected the slogan Seeking The Truth on five structures. They included a monument to democracy in the old part of the city, a mass transit station beside the site of the 2010 protest, and a temple where six people, including a nurse, were fatally shot during the dispersal.

The message This place has truths that the soldiers swept under the carpet was also flashed across the temples walls. At the Defence Ministry, the activists projected video clips showing troops preparing to open fire on the morning of the operation.

Projecting text, pictures and video on public spaces is known as projection mapping, and was originally popular with artists and later adopted for political purposes.

Because it is during the COVID-19 quarantine, it is not easy to communicate to the masses. We are a movement. but you cannot hold any protest or you cannot gather many people to communicate with them, so you have only online channels left, Pannika said. You need to find some interesting tools to call for attention from them.

News of the exploit was the major trending topic on Twitter in Thailand on Monday and Tuesday.

-

Associated Press journalists Jerry Harmer and Grant Peck contributed to this story.
By PTI

AMBALA: A migrant labourer was killed while another seriously injured when a car hit them on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway near Ambala Cantonment on Tuesday morning, police said.

A group of migrant labourers told the police that they were headed towards their native village in Bihar's Purnia district from Punjab's Ludhiana on foot when the incident occurred.

The driver of the car fled the spot along with the vehicle after the incident, the police said, adding that they have got inputs about the vehicle and the driver would be nabbed soon.

The deceased was identified as Ashok Kumar (25) while the injured labourer was admitted to the civil hospital at Ambala Cantonment, they said.

One of the labourers, who was part of the group, said around a dozen of them had commenced the journey on foot from Ludhiana two days ago as they were not able to register themselves for boarding one of the special trains of the Indian Railways.

The railways is running "Shramik" trains from various places for migrant labourers who want to go back to their native states.

One of the labourers said they decided to go back to their village in Bihar as the owner of the factory where they worked removed them from their jobs and there was no arrangement for their accommodation or food.

After the post-mortem examination, the body of the deceased will be kept in the mortuary at the civil hospital, the police said, adding that his relatives were being informed.
Protesters carry the Iraqi national flag as they gather on the Al-Jumhuriya bridge, which leads to the headquarters of the Iraqi government inside the high security Green Zone area - Shutterstock

The killers of a 20-year-old protester in Iraq have been unmasked as members of a pro-Iran militia group named Thar Allah, in the latest sign that Tehran is using proxies to expand its influence in the fragile nation.

Thousands returned to the streets of Iraq this week to mount protests against the Iraqi government, as they demanded an end to corruption and Iranian interference in their country.

But within hours of the protests resuming, a 20-year-old was shot dead in Basra and several others were injured by gunfire.

A source in the Iraqi protest movement said the youth was killed by fighters from the Thar Allah movement, which they described as a new Shia militia seeking to advance Iranian interests in Iraq.

A second source in Iraq said Thar Allah was an Iranian proxy with links to the regime's intelligence services, adding that the group was more like a "mafia" than a militia.

Little else is known about Thar Allah, which means "God's Revenge" in Arabic, though according to news website Al-Monitor it once fought against Saddam Hussein and has been dismantled and reactivated several times since the 1990s.

The group has a political wing with an office in Basra guarded by militiamen, who according to some reports responded with gunfire because protesters had tried to attack the building.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqs new prime minister who hopes to restore stability to Iraq, confirmed that the office was raided by security forces after the shooting.

Iraqi demonstrators gather at Tahrir Square and Jumhuriya (Republic) Bridge to stage an anti government protest in Baghdad - Anadolu

With direct oversight by Commander-in-Chief PM @MAKadhimi, Iraqi security forces today conducted a dawn raid on a building in Basra Province from which bullets were fired earlier at demonstrators, killing one protester and injuring others, a spokesman said on the prime ministers official Twitter account.

Five members of Thar Allah were arrested in the raid.

Iran has long been suspected of using proxy groups to export its values to neighbouring Middle Eastern countries, such as hostility to the United States.

Story continues

Two other prominent groups accused of being proxies for Iran are Lebanons Hizbollah, which last month was designated a terrorist organisation by Germany, and the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

Several pro-Iran militias in Iraq have clashed violently with US forces. In March, the United States bombed a PMF base in retaliation for a rocket attack on Camp Taji.

On Tuesday Dominic Raab, welcomed Mr Khadimis appointment as prime minister.

The UK is a committed partner of Iraq. I spoke to new Prime Minister @MAKadhim today to congratulate him and pledge to work with his government to tackle coronavirus, counter Daesh and support political and economic stability, he wrote on Twitter.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 14:42:15|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the United States in 2019, hitting the highest annual tally in over four decades, a New York City-based Jewish civil right group reported on Tuesday.

Out of the counted anti-Semitic attacks, 61 were physical assault cases, 1,127 were harassment instances and 919 were acts of vandalism, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said in a report quoted by the Washington Post.

The 2019 data increased by 12 percent from the 2018 record of 1,879 cases, the report said.

The severe attacks in 2019 listed by the ADL include a fatal shooting in California by a white supremacist on April 27, a fatal shooting at a supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey on Dec. 10, and stabbings at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York, on Dec. 28.

Last year's record high of anti-Semitic incidents was due to a normalization of anti-Semitic tropes, the politics of the day and social media, ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt was quoted as saying.

Calling anti-Semitism "a virus" and "like a disease," he also said the COVID-19 pandemic this year is fueling anti-Semitic theories.

The ADL started to count the anti-Semitic incidents in 1979. According to an ADL survey on Jewish encounters with anti-Semitism in the United States released on April 21, nearly two-thirds of American Jews believe that they are less safe today than they were a decade ago. Enditem
Travel and travel planning are being disrupted by the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. This column looks at the companies and organizations that have stood out during this time.

Too often in the pandemic, travelers seeking refunds for vacations theyve been forced to cancel are instead offered credit for a future trip, whether they want it or not. When The New York Times travel section asked readers to submit their travel cancellation stories, hundreds of email screeds poured in from frustrated customers who were trying to get their money back but have been unable to do so. One reader even did the research to cite which law she believed her travel provider had broken.

A bright light in the sea of frustrated missives is Road Scholar, a Boston-based nonprofit travel organization that offers educational trips for travelers 50 and older. Road Scholar began 45 years ago as Elderhostel, offering not-for-credit classes at a handful of universities where the attendees stayed in student dorms. Road Scholar now has 420 employees and organizes 5,500 trips annually for more than 100,000 participants worldwide. Two readers, one scheduled to go to South Korea and another to Greece, wrote in to say how proactively, quickly and generously Road Scholar had acted to offer them a complete refund.

Heres how the company did it.

It moved quickly

Carol Christensen of San Jose, Calif., who is closer to eighty than seventy, had planned to accompany five friends on a Road Scholar program in the Greek Islands beginning April 6. With news of the pandemic spreading, the group discussed canceling. Ms. Christensen, who had been on three previous Road Scholar trips, decided to wait and see what the organization would do.
THESSALONIKI, Greece - Greek officials said Tuesday they have registered the first cases of the new coronavirus in two migrants on an eastern island after they arrived from Turkey last week and were placed in a special quarantine facility.

They said the two asylum seekers have not developed symptoms of COVID-19, while tests are being conducted among the other 68 migrants in the secluded facility on Lesbos, and among people who came into contact with them. All 70 had been placed in two-week quarantine when they arrived on Lesbos.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, pending an official statement.

Close to 40,000 people live in camps on Lesbos and other eastern Aegean Sea islands, where human rights groups have warned that heavy overcrowding could lead to a quick spread of the disease should it reach the facilities. No cases had been registered up to now on the islands.

The quarantine camp at Eftalou, on the northern coast, is far from the countrys biggest camp at Moria on Lesbos, where nearly 18,000 people live in facilities designed for fewer than 3,000.

The 70 asylum-seekers, who arrived in two boats on May 6 and May 10, were the first to reach Greece by sea in more than a month, as Greek authorities stepped up border surveillance due to the pandemic and departures from Turkey slackened.

Earlier Tuesday, police in northern Greece arrested 25 people during a protest at a migrant processing centre that damaged converted shipping containers used as living quarters and other facilities but caused no reported injuries.

Authorities said officers intervened to stop several hours of rioting at the centre, located near Greeces border with Turkey. People who enter Greece illegally are registered there and temporarily detained until they apply for asylum.

The protest occurred following weeks of delays in processing asylum claims due to the coronavirus pandemic. The centre currently houses 250 asylum-seekers, including unaccompanied minors, the Evros Police Department said.

The Greek asylum services operations have been scaled back, like many public services, amid restrictions on travel and movement the government set in response to the pandemic.

Greece has struggled to cope with illegal immigration from Turkey, both at the land border and on the Greek islands, that spiked before the countrys virus outbreak.

A dispute between Turkey and the European Union led to a standoff at the Turkey-Greece land border in late February and early March. Thousands of Europe-bound asylum-seekers flocked to Turkeys side of the border after the Turkish government said it would no longer prevent migrants from trying to cross over to Greece.

Human rights groups have frequently criticized the Greek government for holding migrants under age 18 and travelling without guardians at detention camps.

Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, a European affairs minister, said finding appropriate placements within the European Union for children and teenagers remains a priority.

As you know, our capacity has been exhausted, so our initiatives are being taken on a European level, and we have already had some success with Luxembourg and Germany, he said. ___ Paphitis reported from Athens. Derek Gatopoulos in Athens also contributed. ___ Follow Kantouris at http://www.twitter.com/CostasKantouris
Artiste Manager Bulldog is putting his money on female rapper Eno Barony to defeat any male rapper who dares to face her in a battle.



According to him, none of the current crop of rappers has the fortitude to face the rap prowess of Eno.



For some days now, Sista Afia has ignited a lot of controversy after the release of her song WMT on April 22.



While Sista Afia did not mention names, some people have concluded that she took jabs at Sister Derby, Wendy Shay, and Efia Odo in the song.



The song saw counter jabs and reactions from Freda Rhymz (released KMT), and Eno (released Rap Goddess).



Sista Afia released You Got Nerves after that, prompting Eno to also drop Argument Done. Freda Rhymz, who didnt want to be left out of the beef party, also released Point of Correction.



While the females are having a go at each other, Bulldog, who manages dancehall act Shatta Wale, has stressed that the female rappers are not Enos competition.



Speaking on Showbiz 927 on 3FM with MzGee, the artiste manager noted that the female rapper is even better than 97% of male rappers in Ghana currently.



Eno, I have said countless times, she is better than 97% of the boys. Dont even bring the women to start with he said.



Bulldog explained that with the exception of Obrafour, Okyeame Kwame, Lord Kenya, Tinny, and Kwad3e, Eno is better than the rest.



Somebody will say oh me I be guy so I no go battle girl but you try bring your head, the girl will end your career, he dared any male rapper.





To prove his confidence in the female rapper, Bulldog placed a GH50,000 bet on Eno to beat any male rapper who faces her in a battle.



I can put money on it so they battleI have my money on Eno.



Born Lawrence Nana Asiamah-Hanson, Bulldog noted that Eno has been more consistent with her rap than male rappers today and his only worry is that the males wont be clean when they face her in a beef.



If Eno went head-to-head with somebody like M.anifest, M.anifest will be clean [unlike other rappers.

Source: 3 News









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Employees in the food sector wait outside a market in Lima, Peru (AFP or licensors)

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Peru is seeking to unite the country's society, to tackle the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the way that lives and the economy can be rebuilt.

By James Blears

Peru's Bishops are calling it the "United Solidarity Pact", aimed at focusing attention on zero hunger.

Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos, President of the Latin American Bishops' Conference, and Bishop Norberto Strottman of Chosica are stressing that there must be economic regeneration after the pandemic. But, they say, it can't lose sight of people.

Combatting after-effects

The goal is to try and moderate the shockwave after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which is causing death and leaving a trail of economic ruin and displacement.

The Church is working with Peru's business sector, civil society, and government to produce a cohesive and humane response to one the huge disasters of our time. Fears are growing that it's impact will be so severe that it could effect future generations.

The "United Solidarity Pact" calls on all sectors of society to create "a balance between economy and health".

As the economy restarts, stimulous won't be enough. People who rely on the informal economy will need to be given better worker's rights, say the Bishops.

Far from over

Peru has been especially hard-hit. The pandemic has already infected more than 68,000 people, killing nearly 2,000.

Brazil is the worst-affected country in the Americas, with 170,000 infected and 11,000 dead.

None of these are final figures in the death toll, because this global tragedy is far from over.
A man has been arrested after crashing into a number of police vehicles

A 36-year-old man arrested after a number of police were injured during a pursuit through Belfast has been released.

A car crashed into five police vehicles leaving officers with a number of minor injuries during the incident which began in north Belfast in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Shortly after 5am it was reported to police that a white Volkswagen Passat estate was being driven dangerously in the Ardilea Street area.

Police patrols were alerted and the vehicle detected on the Oldpark Road just after 5.30am.

Officers signalled for the vehicle to stop but it failed to do so and a pursuit was then authorised by specially trained officers, police said.

The car travelled through north Belfast before entering the Westlink and then onto the M1 motorway.

The vehicle left the motorway at the Blacks Road turn off and collided with a traffic light, before continuing on towards the Stewartstown Road.

Expand Close A man has been arrested after crashing into a number of police vehicles / Facebook

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During the police pursuit, the car also stuck a street light, which became lodged under the vehicle.

The driver of the car then drove at police vehicles damaging them.

Police officers then positioned their vehicle around the car blocking it in.

A man was then arrested on suspicion of a number of offences.

He was later released pending further investigation.

It comes after four police officers were injured during a similar incident in Londonderry on Monday evening.
In the Dutch systems integration market BTO is something of a specialist, building high-end custom systems. Along with most shops, BTO closed its showroom during the crisis, but while doing so, figured out a way to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus.

BTO left the showroom computers on, to be put to good use by the distributed computing software Folding@Home, calculating possible protein shapes that can help determine a possible medicine to combat the virus.

The coronavirus has been met with a large uptake in use of distributed computing software, which was popular in the early years of the first decade of this century for such varied purposes as finding extra-terrestrial life, cures for diseases, calculating prime numbers or breaking encryption. Folding@Home has been focused on targeting proteins related to diseases, Ebola amongst others.

During the pandemic, Folding@Home has turned its attention to the coronavirus, enlisting as many people and businesses as possible to contribute computing power to its efforts. For BTO, this meant its showroom computers, which are primarily laptops.

Whenever Intel introduces a new top-model processor, it's usually only a matter of time before BTO offers it in a portable system. Even though the company's bread and butter consists of more modest systems, the brand is probably best known for the boutique, powerful systems that gave the company its name.

While most of its business is conducted online  customers can specify their desired orders in great detail  the company does maintain a showroom at its offices and assembly line in IJsselstein, in the province of Utrecht. Here customers can examine the various types of chassis on order for the range of laptops on offer  at least, until March 15, when the Dutch government announced the "intelligent lockdown" that put shelter-at-home regulations into effect. That happened to be the day that Folding@Home issued an appeal for help in its fight against the coronavirus.

Distributed computing power for coronavirus analysis

"Downloading Folding@Home and helping us run simulations is the primary way to contribute. These calculations are enormous and every little bit helps!" said Folding@Home director Greg Bowman in a blog.

Powerful as the typical BTO laptop is, the systems running in the IJsselstein showroom will only make up a very small segment of the total Folding@Home compute power (which exceeded 1.5 exaFLOPs earlier this year), as company spokesperson Ben Visser readily admits: "When it comes to processing power, this is not the world's strongest, but that is not the point. We want to have as many people as possible participate and show that every effort helps." For BTO, this means not just running a showroom full of laptops day and night in support of the COVID-19 research, but also directly calling on its close to 10,000 newsletter subscribers to join the effort. One of them, Veejays.com, the biggest Dutch collective of VJs, already is contributing more computing power to the new Folding@Home project than BTO.

"We hope as many people as possible will join us, as literally every computer can contribute" says BTO CEO Remco van Doorn.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus has given a new purpose to Folding@Home. By 2020 the software had become a niche application, though still running on around 30,000 computers. In late February of this year however, the organization behind it announced it would start researching the new coronavirus, which brought a dramatic increase in users, with 400,000 systems added in March alone. By now the organisation's statistics page shows that well over 3.5 million CPUs are running the application, along with over half a million GPUs. The total compute power exceeded 1.5 exaFLOPs. To put that into perspective, this is about seven times faster than Summit at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, currently the world's fastest supercomputer.

Users who want to help and join the team can download the application directly from www.bto.eu/folding.
The opening of Shanghai Disneyland in China on Monday showed the major changes that will most likely be coming to Disney World and Disneyland when the popular U.S. theme parks in Florida and California eventually reopen.

Guests and employees at the Disney theme park in Shanghai, which had been closed since Jan. 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic, were required to wear face coverings and had their temperature taken at the entrance to the park.

Disney Shanghai Reopens To Limited Visitors As China Recovers From Coronavirus Pandemic (Hu Chengwei / Getty Images)

Social distancing was enforced on lines waiting for rides by having markings on the ground indicating where guests should stand. Photos from the reopening also show rides with rows of seats blocked off and rides with only one person per car or vehicle unless they are from the same group. Gloves were also required for any rides requiring people to use their hands.

Touch-free sanitizing stations were set up outside rides and ticket areas, and Disney employees regularly wiped down surfaces.

Disney Shanghai Reopens To Limited Visitors As China Recovers From Coronavirus Pandemic (Hu Chengwei / Getty Images)

The Chinese government also mandated that the park operate at a maximum of 30% capacity, or 24,000 visitors, but Disney CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC on Monday that it was operating below that capacity. The entry of guests was also staggered to avoid people waiting in large groups together to enter the park.

"I look at this as a stair step,'' Chapek told CNBC. "Were going to be very conservative, were going to be very prudent, were going to be very disciplined about how we open up. And then were going to ramp up and increase."

Disney Shanghai Reopens To Limited Visitors As China Recovers From Coronavirus Pandemic (China News Service / Getty Images)

Chapek also said to expect similar safety measures at its U.S. parks to the ones used in Shanghai.

"Along with social distancing, one of the things that we're likely going to require is masks for both the cast and the guests," he said.

Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is now accepting reservations beginning on July 1, according to its website, but has not given a firm date for when it is reopening. The location has been closed along with Disneyland in California since March 27 because of the pandemic.

Story continues

Disney Shanghai Reopens To Limited Visitors As China Recovers From Coronavirus Pandemic (Hu Chengwei / Getty Images)

The company announced on its blog last week that it will have a phased reopening of the Disney Springs shopping area adjacent to the park in Orlando starting on May 20 with new safety measures, including face coverings for shoppers and employees.

Disney's chief medical officer, Dr. Pam Hymel, outlined the expected new safety measures in a blog post, writing that physical distancing guidelines, limiting the amount of visitors, increased cleanings and screenings and masks for visitors are being planned as part of the phased reopenings of all the parks.

Disney has been hit hard by closures related to the coronavirus outbreak, reporting a 58% drop in income from parks and cruises in its most recent earnings report. The company estimated it lost about $1 billion due to the closures.
WASHINGTON - The White House press room turned out to be a more dangerous place than anyone realized. And the reporters who work there started getting nervous about it.

The news Friday about an outbreak of coronavirus infections among White House employees - including Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary - has raised further concerns among journalists about working in the cramped confines of the West Wing's press briefing room.

It also raised frustrations: Almost every reporter in the building began wearing masks last week as a precaution against spreading or catching the virus, even while President Donald Trump's press staffers went without.

On Monday, after some reporters made their agitation clear, the White House ordered staffers to wear masks in semi-public parts of the complex, such as the briefing room. The edict does not apply to individual offices or to Trump or Pence. The White House did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Even before Friday's developments, some correspondents had stopped accepting offers to join pool assignments, which provide reporting for the entire press corps in areas with limited access, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One. And some news organizations had started sending younger staff members to cover the briefings, apparently a strategy to protect those with unavoidable exposure to spouses and children.

A veteran White House reporter said the press corps was "rattled" by the news that Katie Miller, Pence's press secretary, tested positive for the virus, as did an unidentified White House valet. Miller has worked closely with reporters, though she did not accompany Pence and a pool of reporters on a tour last week of a General Motors factory in Indiana.

"The press corps isn't looking to the White House to take precautions," said the reporter, who, like several others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because his employer does not permit him to speak publicly without authorization. "We are doing more than they are out of an abundance of caution."

Trump, he said, "is definitely setting the tone" in declining to wear a mask.

Miller's diagnosis got the attention of Debra Saunders, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's White House correspondent. Saunders spoke face-to-face with Miller just before Miller's positive test.

Saunders said the conversation lasted less than 10 minutes and was outside, so "my risk was very low." She took a test for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and it turned out to be negative. Nevertheless, Saunders said she is working from home for the next two weeks, following the example set by Trump's science advisers Anthony Fauci, Stephen Hahn and Robert Redfield, who took the same precaution after Miller's test.

No one on the vice president's staff wore a mask on Air Force Two during the Indiana trip, including Pence, who held an off-the-record session with reporters on the flight back. A reporter who covered the visit said there was "absolutely no social distancing" during the Q and A.

The outbound portion of the trip was delayed for about an hour, and six Pence staffers who had been in contact with Miller got off the plane to avoid potentially infecting others.

Some news organizations have left it up to reporters to decide whether to cover events at the White House. "My nervous bosses have . . . [made] it clear we should feel under no pressure to travel or work out of the White House," said another reporter.

The White House Correspondents Association, which represents reporters in discussions with the president's press staff, is "strongly recommending" its members wear masks when inside the White House, said Jonathan Karl, the group's president and an ABC News reporter.

"We have a responsibility to protect ourselves and to protect the White House's staff," Karl said. The news about Miller and the White House employee "certainly drove home the need to take precautions."

At Friday's press briefing, all of the journalists wore masks, he said. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not. During a presidential pool "spray" - a brief photo op - in the Cabinet Room on Saturday, journalists also wore masks, but Trump and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not.

Since mid-March, the WHCA has twice reduced the number of reporters permitted in the briefing room to maintain social distancing. Karl said he has asked press officials whether they should be wearing masks, too, without resolution. "I have had that conversation every day," he said, with some frustration.

He called Monday's announcement about mask-wearing by White House staff "a welcome development."

The WHCA has asked for the White House to set up remote-conferencing facilities to enable reporters outside the building to ask questions during briefings, but so far "they have not responded," said Karl.

Despite the increasingly risky conditions, Karl and other journalists say in-person reporting is important, and they'll keep showing up.

"I look forward to returning" when it's his turn in the rotation, said Zeke Miller, a White House reporter for The Associated Press. The pool exists to inform the public with an "up-to-the-minute independent account of what their government is doing on their behalf," he said. "That is more critical than ever in times of crisis and confusion, both in terms of accurately filling the public's need for information and - sometimes equally important - its ability to debunk disinformation."
A 70-year-old eatery that serves rice in stone pots instead of the typical porcelain pots is located on 65-67 Ton That Dam Street in HCM Citys District 1.

A 70-year-old eatery that serves rice in stone pots is located at 65-67 Ton That Dam Street in HCM Citys District 1.

The stone pot gives the rice more fragrance and the right amount of softness, and keeps it warm longer. The pots have a traditional design, said Tran My My, 50, the onwer of Chuyen Ky, who inherited the shop from her grandmother.

Her grandmothers cooking method involves putting the rice in the pot first before adding water and placing it in a multi-level cooking steamer.

The rice in stone pots comes with chicken, red sausage or beef and costs VND60,000 (US$2.6). Chuyen Ky also serves regular rice with a wide variety of dishes such as chicken stew with Chinese herbs and sweet and sour pork. Each costs around VND100,000 ($4.3) for two to three people.

The restaurant is open from 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm every day. VNS

Young green rice  flavor of autumn For over a century, people of Me Tri village in Tu Liem, Hanoi, have been making com. Visiting Me Tri in autumn, one can enjoy the scent of com (young milky rice) being dried all over the village.




President Muhammadu Buhari

Senior Pastor of Awaiting The Second Coming Of Jesus Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa has again called on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow churches to open.

Giwa made this known in a statement on Tuesday, said only the lukewarm Christians would support the closure of churches.

He said, I write in my continued effort to recommend that President Muhammadu Buhari should reopen churches across the country.

It is very unfortunate that most Nigerian Pastors, as well as Pastors around the globe have misused and abused Gods sheep to their selfish and wicked gains.

This explains why most Nigerians are against reopening churches. I empathize with the poor whose last pennies have been sucked out of their pockets by mercenaries in the name of Pastors. I want to believe that God allowed this man and devil imposed pandemic to occur to expose agents of the devil found in His House.

That said, Gods church still houses true and faithful Christians who fellowship to worship Jehovah, the creator of you, me and the entire universe. He is way bigger than COVID-19 and we need the church open to enable us come together to plead for His mercy and healing.

There is power in numbers and even a fool understands this very basic tenet. The demons behind COVID-19 understand this basic principle and that is why their first line of action was to clamp down on the church.

When you scatter Gods sheep, you weaken their ability to jointly call on their father. Creators of COVID-19 use divide and conquer principle to maintain control of people and establish fear in them.

Not only are Gods sheep denied the opportunity to praise and worship together, they are isolated with no money on which to fend.

How come the president and his cabinet still meet? How come presidential pets who join in looting the nations money still meet with their colleagues to generate rules that are designed to hurt the weak and the poor? Are they immune to coronavirus?

The House of God remains Holy even when there are thieves called Pastors in them. God is all seeing and all powerful and there is no doubt that He will judge fake Pastors at His appointed time.

Make no mistake about that! Christians, on the other hand, should know better than giving their money to Pastors who buy private jets, fancy cars, houses, etc. Please review my previous statements against such pastors.

Again, the House of God is Holy and cannot be compared to individuals. Because this is not a book, I cease this moment to direct those against the opening of Gods church to the old and new Testaments where Our Father and His son explain the essence of Jehovahs Church.

Gods House comes first before schools, hospitals, and what have you. President John Magufuli of Tanzania knows this little secret and he refuses to close churches and mosques in his country. If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed you can move any mountain.

That grain of mustard seed-faith is nurtured and nourished in the House of God. Unfortunately, human treachery believes that schools and other human inventions dont need God to function (How ridiculous).

This explains my emphasis on wanting the house of God open for true believers of God. The Psalmist says in 84:10 and I quote,, Better is one day in your court than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a door keeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked 

Also, Abraham was able to persuade God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if only he could find ten righteous people in the city. Additionally, the only time Jesus visibly displayed anger in the Bible was when he went to Jerusalem in the temple Court and found people selling and buying goods. In John 2:16, Jesus emphatically said, Stop turning my Fathers House into a market place.

I say to you, please keep the House of God open for true believers to go in and worship. It was at the temple of God that Jesus made his debut appearance at the age of 12 and He subsequently moved about to other regions.

I will not banter words with people who have traded their souls for money. Neither will I back down because of the damage caused by fake Pastors.

I am not fake and will not be bullied into silence. I am able to share my thoughts with you because of Gods Grace. I live because God lives and because He lives, I hope to face tomorrow. Keep the House of God open and the unjustified isolation centers will have no need for existence!.
Currently, justice is stalled and displaced. Covid-19 has hindered the course of justice; and, as with many other pressing social issues, it has nearly banished the needed attention to combat the impunity of human rights perpetrators. Major redirection and promotion must take place for justice to not be lost. As the pandemic seems grander than life and fear takes over rationality, room for arbitrariness and injustice grows. Public and private agendas are being captivated increasingly by the spiraling logic of Covid-19.

Adaptation and response to the hardships resulting from Coronavirus crisis should not imply that we put other pressing social issues on the backburner. The current tendency to shift or pivot all or most attention to the Coronavirus crisis ignores the fact that structural social problems will not disappear but will rather (likely) worsen over time. The humanitarian and economic responses to Covid-19 are peremptory. However, those responses should not dislodge or completely supersede important social goals, such as the quest for human rights accountability.

Loss of momentum and of available resources

Promotion-of-justice initiatives and transitional justice processes have been hard hit by Covid-19. In addition to loosing momentum  caused by the consequential slowdown of judicial case loads, the halting of public hearings, and the cooling of social demands following from social distancing orders, amongst others  community-based groups and national human rights advocates, which we witnessed throughout Latin America, warn that the sustained support for these initiatives is dwindling and donors are shifting their attention to humanitarian effects of the Coronavirus. Representatives of private and public funders have, in confidence, voiced concern over drastic shifts in priorities and loss of available resources to support the promotion of justice in the near future.

Accountability for atrocities of the past was already a strongly resisted quest; the Coronavirus epidemic adds yet another obstacle. Temporary displacement of the centrality of justice initiatives can turn permanent if disregarded. Perpetrators and their backers will take any opportunity to rollback the advances of justice. The establishment of responsibilities is contentious business. Any factor favoring one of the sides can quickly alter the justice equation: in the current situation, Covid-19 weighs in favor of postponement; and postponement tends to lead to justice lost.

The Coronavirus crisis: an informational shield?

The viral epidemic is serving as an informational shield or a denial mechanism in relation to atrocity crimes committed in various parts of the world. The overload of Coronavirus-related stories has led to informative neglect of ongoing dynamics of repression and violence, for example in relation to political dissent in Nicaragua or the attacks against the Rhakine Buddhist communities in Myanmar. Likewise, armed conflicts, such as those experienced in Nigeria, Colombia, Libya and Yemen, have lost public attention; as many of the atrocities committed are not registered, denial can turn plausible.

The initial registry of a violent act by the news media is often the first bit of information that substantiates a criminal complaint in cases addressing atrocity crimes. Whether intentional or not, the current lack of exposure of ongoing torture and killings facilitates denial or obliviousness, both of which hinder the possibilities of future accountability.

This short list of situations is merely illustrative of many others that are being suppressed or smothered by the information overload of the Covid-19 crisis  another manifestation of justice displaced.

The limits of virtual hearings

After the initial shock and the passage of some time, national systems, such as in Colombia, Argentina, Singapore and the United States of America, have started to react and turn to the formulaic solution of using virtual communication to jump start judicial proceedings or transitional justice processes. However, the virtual courtroom or hearing solution is loaded with problems and does not provide an easy fix, even in simple cases. In relation to atrocity crimes and crimes of the powerful, the virtual solution might not be a solution at all.

Cases related to crimes of state or crimes of powerful are very contentious and litigious. These cases tend to be charged with high political and symbolic value. The virtual courtroom does little to support the magnificence and impressiveness of justice being done, or to evoke the grandeur and awe inspired by a true judicial stage. Virtual hearings suck the humanity of the justice being done, for all parties and the public.

The virtual setting is not a proper forum for complex evidentiary debates, strong procedural contention or the likely use of delay or blocking tactics that accompany this type of proceedings. Legally, at the very least, in complex cases, the virtual medium is likely to get in the way of legitimate due process concerns by all parties, and introduce prejudice. This hasty repackaging of justice runs counter to many cultural values and expectations. For example, ritualism and formality that accompany justice cannot be replicated in virtual form.

Though apparently a go-to-fix, virtual hearings are not going to cut it in cases that require that symbolism accompany the delivery of justice. In Colombia, some victims and human rights advocates have already manifested their dissatisfaction with the announcement of virtual proceedings in the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. Before the increased use of virtual means to conduct justice proceedings is embraced in places like Colombia, other alternatives should be explored, for example the physical adaptations (including spacing and transparent shields) used in the courtroom in which the German criminal case is advancing against Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Syria.

Hearings and proceedings that are not appropriate for virtual transmission need to be clearly identified and conducted in person with needed adjustments. Moreover, given that some virtual hearings seem inevitable, proper preparation, implementation and monitoring techniques need to be devised, in order to ensure that the proceedings, at the very least, do not cause harm and properly safeguard due process-related rights.

Recommended reading Truth on pause in Gambia, Seychelles and Colombia

The example of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The tensions arising from the quick introduction of virtual tools to keep justice moving are becoming evident at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Pressed by a growing backlog of cases, the human rights tribunal has decided to move forward by adopting the go-to solution: the virtual courtroom. Though practical, this type of measure clashes with the conception of justice that persons who have been pursuing truth and accountability for decades are expecting. Seeing their symbolic day in court reduced to a fleeting virtual moment is not acceptable to many victims. Additionally, this measure appears to run counter to the grandiloquent rhetoric that presents that proceedings before a court of human rights as a form of reparations for victims of human rights violations.

Though convenient, the resort to virtual means can turn into an affront to the dignity of the persons that have waited decades for justice delayed.

In Chile, the attempted use of Covid-19 to get out of jail

Covid-19 has also shed light on the systemic  though grossly ignored  pattern of human rights violations that take place in prisons. Sudden concern for prisoners rights, for example in Latin American countries, stems not from a renewed official commitment to humanity and dignity in relation to the conditions of detention, but rather from the fact that authorities want to avoid the responsibility of deaths foretold. None of the measures announced, for example in Argentina or Colombia, are tackling the structural issue: punitive expansion and absolute disregard for the conditions of deprivation of liberty.

In Chile, powerful prisoners, not exactly the ones held in crammed slammers, quickly resorted to humanitarian considerations to try to get out of jail, as all other attempts to condone their criminal convictions related to human rights violations committed during the dictatorship had failed. These convicted felons are held in a specially maintained detention facility  just for them, away from the overcrowded facilities where social distancing is simply impossible  and have access to special military hospitals.

There are no easy answers, as Covid-19 is a real threat. However, its instrumental use to grant state criminals a get-out-of-jail-free card without showing a direct link to a health- or life-threatening situation is manipulative and appeals to the irrational sense of fear that hovers close by in these Covid-filled days. In this case, some of the victims that opposed such early release attempt were accused of inhumanity  illustrating a strange twist to the bit of justice that has been procured in Chile after decades of persistent demands by victims, who also grow old and die.

This particular attempt at manipulating the Covid-crisis was averted in Chile, at least for now. However, it presents complex (ethical, political and legal) dilemmas that will arise elsewhere  for example, in the context of the Colombian transitional justice process. Consequently, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace is grappling with the early humanitarian-release for Covid-related reasons of some detainees (both, convicted and preventively held). This prospect comes at a time when detainees have not yet collaborated with the transitional justice mechanisms; thus, some victims manifest a sense of injustice. Furthermore, others have complained that early releases are not being applied evenly to members of the insurgency, generally held in degraded and inhumane conditions, and more exposed to Covid-19 risks than their military counterparts detained in special holding facilities.

Recommended reading Covid-19: should we release vulnerable convicts?

Again, no easy answers!



Covid-19 responses are impacting the course of justice and the struggle against impunity. The problems and dilemmas cursorily addressed in this piece (and many more) are not going to go away. The crisis environment is fostering exceptionality and backsliding in relation to the administration of justice. Contention, adaptation and controls need to be devised to prevent the Covid-19 fevers from annulling the effects of hard-fought victories and the clearing of many obstacles found in the quest for accountability. For now, justice is stalled and displaced. We can avoid justice lost; however, we must, first, recognize and reasonably understand the occurrences and, accordingly, act strategically and determinedly to counter unwarranted changes.
Joes Crab Shack, the seafood-focused restaurant with locations across the country, will not reopen its location on the Vancouver waterfront, The Columbian newspaper reports.

The restaurant, known for its crab legs, brightly colored drinks and dramatic views of the Interstate Bridge, becomes the latest restaurant in Oregon and Southwest Washington to close for good due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to COVID-19 and the citys elimination of dine-in services, we have decided to enforce our lease provisions and terminate our lease, Beitler said in a statement given to The Columbian. We are grateful for the support of our community throughout the years.

The 2010s were a rocky decade for Joes Crab Shack. In 2016, the company drew national scorn after a Minnesota location embedded an infamous photo of a black mans lynching into a table as decor. Former owner Ignite Restaurant Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017, closing some struggling Joes Crab Shack locations in the process. Landrys Inc., the giant restaurant group from current Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, bought the remaining locations at auction that year.

Landrys also owns Jakes Crawfish, Mortons The Steakhouse, Chart House, McCormick & Schmicks and Portland City Grill in the Portland area.

The Columbian reports that the buildings that house Joes Crab Shack and its neighbor, Who Song and Larrys, were slated to be demolished this year as part of a new nine-story development headed for the waterfront. Who Song and Larrys remains open for takeout, including to-go chips and guac, enchiladas and pre-mixed margaritas.

Other Joes Crab Shack locations have begun reopening across the United States, but Vancouver was the only location in the Portland metro area.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

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A group of 15 people who confronted a state trooper at a South Jersey mobile home park last month were there to attack the daughter of a woman beaten in an earlier home invasion, prosecutors revealed this week.

New Jersey State Police Detective Richard Hershey was shot and wounded in the April 25 incident at Harding Woods mobile home park in Pittsgrove Township and 18 people have now been charged in the case, which apparently began over disparaging comments made by the home invasion victim.

Hershey required surgery for his injuries and was released from the hospital last week, but the three men charged with attempted murder in the case wont be going home any time soon.

During a virtual detention hearing Monday afternoon, Tremaine M. Hadden, 27, of Bridgeton, was ordered jailed pending trial.

Trouble began around 6 p.m. on April 25 when five women forced their way into a mobile home, assaulted a woman and stole her iPhone, according to investigators. The victim suffered a broken rib and lacerated lung. The assault allegedly stemmed from derogatory comments the victim had made about the family of one of those involved in the assault.

As Hershey investigated the case that evening, he was confronted by a group of 15 people who pulled up in five cars. They were there to finish what had started earlier, prosecutors allege.

New Jersey State Police Detective Richard Hershey was wounded in a shooting at a mobile home park in Salem County last month.

The woman they were going to attack was the daughter of the victim of the initial home invasion, Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks said during Mondays hearing. They were going back to attack somebody who would have been a witness against them.

Hershey was in plainclothes and driving an unmarked vehicle at the time of the shooting, but officials have repeatedly stressed that he identified himself to the group as he ordered them to disperse.

As the group drove away, three people allegedly fired on the trooper, striking him in the leg. He returned fire. A woman in the caravan suffered a minor wound in the exchange of gunfire.

Hadden and co-defendants Najzeir J. Naz Hutchings, 21, and Kareen Kai Warner Jr., 19, also of Bridgeton, are each charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault on a police officer and weapons offenses. Hutchings and Warner were already ordered held pending trial. They face potential life sentences for the attempted murder charges.

Ten others in the caravan were charged last week with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and rioting, while five woman were previously charged with aggravated assault, robbery and burglary in the home invasion.

Hadden admitted driving a Chevy Malibu at the scene and Weeks described evidence of gunshot residue found on the drivers seat of that car.

This defendant made statements to witnesses about having unloaded a clip through the window of his car, Weeks said. He made statements regarding collecting shell casings.

Hadden allegedly paid someone $10 to clean out the shattered glass from the backseat of the Malibu, the apparent result of Hershey returning fire, Weeks said.

Defense attorney Ronald Thompson challenged probable cause for Haddens charges, arguing that the states case consisted of blanket, broad statements from unidentified witnesses.

If Mr. Hadden did this, who said he did that? Thompson asked, while also questioning whether what was found in the car was gunshot residue.

Several witnesses stated under oath that Hadden shot at Hershey, Weeks responded, and she clarified that lead was found in the vehicle, which was consistent with a firearm being fired by someone in the car.

In addition to handguns, weapons carried by caravan members included a knife and bottle, Weeks said.

There is surveillance footage of them before they drove to this location, where theyre talking about how theyre going to attack this woman, she said. One of the women had a knife and was making motions out in the street that she was going to stab the woman.

In arguing for Haddens pre-trial detention, Weeks called him a danger to the community, law enforcement and witnesses in the case. He has prior convictions for unlawful possession of a weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery and was on parole at the time of the shooting.

Thompson argued that his client has cooperated with investigators.

Hadden wasnt involved in whatever dispute had taken place at the mobile home park and was only there to give someone a ride, according to his attorney.

He has cooperated as much as he possibly can, Thompson said.

He argued for Haddens pretrial release, saying he could be monitored electronically and was not a flight risk. The lifelong Bridgeton residents parents vowed that their son would appear for all hearings, Thompson added.

After hearing the arguments, Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson ordered Haddens pre-trial detention.

As Hadden stood up to leave the room at the Salem County Correctional Facility where he appeared via video because of coronavirus-related changes to court procedures, he turned back to the camera and proclaimed, I aint had no gun.

He will return to court June 18 for a pre-indictment hearing.

Five woman were charged in the home invasion at a Pittsgrove mobile home park that occurred hours before a state police detective was wounded while investigating that incident.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
This report is part of an ongoing series focused on remote learning and special education during COVID-19 pandemic.

Special education students are disproportionately challenged by school building closures during the coronavirus pandemic. Their needs include speech therapy, behavior therapy and assistance with learning disabilities, and they rely on one-on-one time with educators. More than 170,000 Indiana students, or 15%, receive some type of special education accommodation.

Kim Dodson, executive director of The ARC of Indiana, says families anxiety right now is very high. Parents and caregivers fear their children will fall behind in academics or ability while learning remotely. She says families should take a deep breath and focus on the health and safety of their child.

So if you look into your childs eyes and you know that they are being fed, that they are healthy, theyre not outside catching the virus or anything like that. Thats a good place to start. Is it good that they are not making educational progress right now? Or that they might regress? No, its not. But at the end of the day, those are things that we are going to be able to make strides towards in the future, Dodson says.

Dodson and other advocates say educators and districts are working hard to pivot in difficult circumstances. They also say, moving forward, families should advocate for and expect that students will get the help and support they need.

Here are five things to know.

One: Federal Laws Are Unchanged

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos previously said she may ask Congress to suspend parts of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in response to the coronavirus. DeVos now says she will not do that. But there could still be other changes that impact families.

Margaret A. Jones, executive director of Disability Legal Services of Indiana, says DeVos could ask Congress to waive the timelines for evaluating students who are turning three and aging out of First Steps, Indianas early intervention program. That evaluation determines if they are eligible for special education through their local public school.

Two: IEPs Are To Be Followed

State and federal laws still require schools to follow individualized education plans (IEP) and all 504 Plans. The IEP is a document agreed upon by the teacher of record and parent that explains what specialized instruction and services a student gets. A 504 plan details what accommodations a student needs to be academically successful.

Some examples from those plans could include: a student needs directions read to them aloud; a student needs more time when taking a test; and a student needs speech therapy twice a week.

A students school must do all it can to follow these plans, Jones says. As an example, following the IEP could mean more phone calls or video conferences with a students teacher.

We just need to figure out how those are going to be implemented during this time. The services might look a little different: Instructional telephone calls or curriculum-based instructional activities. It will look different. Parents should reach out if they havent heard from their classroom teacher or their teacher of record, Jones says. You need to reach out to the school and say, Hey, whats going on with this? And how, how is my child going to be getting these extra services?

Dodson says there are some Indiana schools that are not providing all services students need, but it does not appear intentional.

Its because of lack of technology, lack of broadband, that type of stuff, Dodson says about a technology gap school districts across the state face. So certainly its not being followed to the extent that it should.

Three: Keep Your Annual Case Conference Committee On Schedule

The annual meeting about your child  called a case conference committee  should still happen. The case conference committee is a time for a students teacher of record, parent and others involved in the students services to set new goals in the IEP  evaluate what is working, and what is not.

Every student who receives special education services must have at least one case conference meeting during a 12 month period. The Indiana Department of Education explains how to do this remotely, on a video or phone conference.

Mimi Huybers, an attorney with Disability Legal Services of Indiana, says this could also be the time to consider adding contingent plans in an IEP to reflect what is happening now, such as how to provide services in an alternate location or for online or virtual instruction.

The Department of Education is really requiring the schools to still try, as best as possible, to meet those timelines and those requirements, Huybers says, adding that so much is in flux right now. But we can try our best to help serve the kids who need these extra special education services and not just throw away everything that weve been working on.

Four: Know Your Schools Continuous Learning Plan

Parents and caregivers should know their school districts continuous learning plan. This is the document Gov. Eric Holcomb requires all schools to submit to the state education department. It explains how learning is happening  like if students will use paper packets or Google Classroom. It should also address special education.

If physical therapy for your child is needed  make sure you have a packet or video or phone call to explain how its done.

Jones says if a caregiver does not have the right resources at home  like a laptop computer  tell the school. The Indiana Department of Education posted information about students assistive technology needs and e-learning guidance.

Can you provide that technology? Can you provide something or we have limited internet access? Jones suggested asking. Schools are encouraged to be providing those things.

Advocates also say a students teacher of record, or general education teacher should know what is working and what isnt during remote learning. Stay in touch.

Five: Resources Are Available From The State Monitoring your students goals is not going to be easy. And it might not be possible to truly assess a students growth. Were facing a global pandemic. Families are stressed out. Home life is different, and it can be tense. Again, keep in contact with your teacher of record and let them know how it is going.

Everyone agrees  this is not easy.

Jennifer McCormick, Indianas school superintendent and a former special education teacher, recently said: Im not going to try to sugarcoat  its very tricky.

Advocates say McCormick and her department are on top of the many issues special education families face. The Indiana Department of Education has a website of documents and recommendations to help special ed families navigate learning and accommodations during the pandemic. Some of it is updated daily.
Journalist Pawan Yadav was attacked by thugs in Bara district after on May 10, 2020. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Nepal affiliate, the Nepal Press Union (NPU), condemn the attack and call on authorities to punish the guilty.

Yadav, a journalist with Terai Madhesh daily was punched and kicked by a group of young thugs in Kalaiya, Hanuman Mandir after he tried to stop them abusing a priest in the temple. While I was returning my home in Uttarjitgaiya from the office at around 8:30 pm, I saw a gang misbehaving and insulting a priest, and I tried to stop them from misbehaving. To my surprise, they attacked me, Yadav said to IFJ. Yadav received serious injury on his face.

The attackers also broke Yadavs camera and laptop. Locals rescued the journalist from further attacks and took him to Kalaiya hospital. He was discharged the same night.

Following the incident, Yadav filed case to the District Police office Bara on May 11. The police are still searching for the young attackers.

Attacks on journalists and media rights violations are on rise in Nepal, particularly during the Covid-19 lockdown. Since the lockdown began in March 24, FNJ has recorded a total of 20 cases of media rights violations.

NPU said: The incident is a symbol of the increased impunity for crimes against journalists in Nepal. NPU calls on fair investigation, for the guilty to be punished and for compensation for the destroyed laptop and mobile phone.

IFJ said: IFJ is always concerned about attacks on journalists and urges authorities to conduct a transparent and fair investigation into these appalling attacks on Pawan Yadav. Impunity is not an option.
National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi says President Akufo-Addos 9th address to the nation over the weekend is deceptive.

He said the President's address was full of deliberate distortions that did not reflect the countrys true state of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.

President Akufo-Addo on Sunday, May 10, addressed the country to give an update on the situation of the global pandemic in the country and interventions by the government so far in fighting the disease.

According to the NDC Communications Officer, Ghanas Covid-19 situation is very bleak contrary to the picture the President sought to pain in the eyes of the citizenry.

The President's speech was full of deliberate distortions and doesnt reflect Ghanas true COVID situation. Contrary to what the President would have us believe, Ghanas current COVID-19 situation is very bleak. We have recorded a total of 4,700 positive cases with 22 deaths, making us the number one country with more COVID-19 cases in the whole of West Africa, Sammy Gyamfi has stated.

He believes the government was very slow in adopting aggressive preventive and containment measures from the onset and that has contributed to the huge number of confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Sammy Gyamfi explains, It is worth emphasizing that several countries were proactive in adopting aggressive preventive and containment measures early, thereby reducing community infections. Hence, they have lower numbers of contacts to trace and test.

Ghana was sloppy from the outset, as we delayed in closing our borders and airport and allowed an influx of people from abroad into the country. This is why we have more contacts to trace and test than most African countries. Simply put, we are in this mess because President Akufo-Addo failed to adopt aggressive preventive and containment measures on time.

Ghana as of Tuesday, May 12, 2020, has recorded 5,127 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus disease. Out of that number, there have been 22 deaths and 494 recoveries.

Read Sammy Gyamfi's post on his Facebook page below:

EXPOSING THE DELIBERATE DISTORTIONS IN PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO'S 9TH ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON OUR COVID-19 SITUATION

12th May, 2020.

Friends, President Akufo-Addo "came to our homes" again on Sunday night, as he himself always puts it. This time, the President appeared so much in a hurry to mislead, that he even forgot to wish his beautiful Rebecca and Ghanaian mothers in general a Happy Mothers Day.

To aver for starters, the President's speech was full of deliberate distortions and doesnt reflect Ghanas true COVID situation. Contrary to what the President would have us believe, Ghanas current COVID-19 situation is very bleak. We have recorded a total of 4,700 positive cases with 22 deaths, making us the number one country with more COVID-19 cases in the whole of West Africa.

This fact becomes even more glaring when Ghanas situation is juxtaposed with that of developing countries like Rwanda (284 cases with no deaths) and Vietnam (288 cases with no deaths, even though Vietnam shares a vast land border with China, with a population of 97 million).

The President's claim that Ghana has done better in the COVID fight because we have tested more persons is untenable. It must be understood, that a higher number of tests based on contacts traced, is no proof that a country is doing better than a country with a lower number of tests. For instance, the UK has conducted more coronavirus tests than Taiwan. However, It cannot be said that the UK has performed better in the COVID fight than Taiwan who are internationally acclaimed as a shining light in the containment of pandemic.

It is worth emphasising that several countries were proactive in adopting aggressive preventive and containment measures early, thereby reducing community infections. Hence, they have lower numbers of contacts to trace and test. Ghana was sloppy from the outset, as we delayed in closing our borders and airport and allowed an influx of people from abroad into the country. This is why we have more contacts to trace and test than most African countries. Simply put, we are in this mess because President Akufo-Addo failed to adopt aggressive preventive and containment measures on time.

This feat cannot be an achievement but rather, a monumental failure on the part of President Akufo-Addo to protect Ghanaians in the first place.

To make this point much lucid, our numbers arent high because we are doing aggressive testing as claimed by President Akufo-Addo. There is no better way to illustrate it than this scenario - fishing with a Bigger Net in an empty river doesnt increase your Catch. Vietnam has conducted more than 261,000 tests but has recorded only 288 positive cases. Hence, it cannot be said that Ghana has recorded 4,700 positive cases because we have conducted just about 160,000 tests. Our numbers are high because of increased community spread in the country and not necessarily because we have tested more persons.

This government cannot run away from the fact that we are here because of Akufo-Addos needless tour of Europe including Norway; where one of the first 2 confirmed cases came from. The President's failure to release GHS35 million to bolster our preparation and response plan as was recommended by the WHO right from the outset, and his subsequent foot-dragging delays in closing our borders constitute a punishable failure.

Secondly, the trajectory of our positive cases within the last week shows that governments claim to the effect that we were near our peak, is a blatant falsehood, and the contravention of same by other astute health experts has only further deepened the dishonesty of the Akufo-Addo government in handling this COVID-19 situation.

Friends, our alarmingly increasing positive case count, particularly community infections, in the last one week, shows that our situation is rather worsening and government must be honest about that. Claims by Akufo-Addo and his government that the WHO has applauded Ghana's efforts in managing the COVID-19 crises is not factual, as no such evidence exists on the WHOs website or anywhere. We challenge government to buttress this claim with verifiable evidence. In any case, the reality on the ground bears out this claim as a spurious one.

Again, the sheer inconsistency in communicating our case situation by government, does little to aid the integrity of this whole process, which many have questioned. For instance President Akufo-Addo said in his address yesterday that All 533 workers who tested positive for COVID-19 at a fish processing facility in Tema were infected by one person, and further claimed that the 921 new cases which took the case count to 4,012 were from backlogs dating as far back as April 26, 2020.

However, Prof. Ampofo of Noguchi (the President's own relative) made it clear on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 that they had cleared all test backlogs with the only backlog being 1,982 samples at KCCR to be cleared by Thursday, May 7. Question is, between President Akufo-Addo and Prof. Ampofo, who is telling the truth and who should Ghanaians believe?

Finally, and most perfidious, is President Akufo-Addos claim that those criticizing his shambolic handling of COVID-19 are doing so for political survival. This claim is most unfortunate and speaks to his crass intolerance for dissent.

If I may ask, was he not the same person who called for an all-hands on deck approach to Ghanas COVID fight? Or was he expecting all of us to line up and sing his praises when he did so?

Contrary to Akufo-Addo's paranoid disposition to criticism, the facts show that President Mahama and the NDC have been very supportive and responsible in Ghanas fight against the pandemic. The NDC's Technical COVID Response Team has presented two documents on alternative solutions to government. And President Mahama continues to provide invaluable support and suggestions for our collective fight against the pandemic. He has distributed PPEs (close to 1000 PPE so far) to health workers in hospitals across the country and food to thousands of deprived households to help the COVID fight. What else does Akufo-Addo expect from the opposition?

How many opposition leaders in the world have done this to support the governments of their countries? And when will President Akufo-Addo rise above petty partisanship and commend John Mahama for his unparalleled contributions to Ghanas COVID fight like President Buhari of Nigeria commended APCs Atiku?

If we may ask, can same exemplary conduct be said of Akufo-Addo during the Ebola crises? Has he forgotten how he fiercely criticized the Mahama government and in some cases, engaged in shameful doomsaying on Ebola? Has he forgotten how he formed a shadow cabinet while in opposition? Was he seeking political survival or relevance then?

More importantly, beyond the empty rhetorics, President Akufo-Addo failed to address the critical challenges confronting Ghanas COVID-19 fight in his latest address. Ghanas COVID-19 testing regime still remains very slow and inefficient. Tests are still based solely on contact tracing. When will we begin mass testing to comprehensively check community infections and ascertain our true rate of infection?

Public education is still poor. With the NCCE starved of needed funds and a promise to provide them with just face masks, we can only pray and hope for good public conduct.

Non-availability of PPE for our health professionals still remains a huge challenge. Over 20 doctors and nurses have been infected by the virus so far, amidst loud complaints from the GMA and health professionals about the lack of basic protective gear. Yet, President Akufo-Addo has found it expedient to resource the Jean Mensah-led EC to procure PPE for EC officials for the purposes of the needless new voters.

On yet another grandiose, "419", recycled promise to build 94 hospitals in one (1) year, the least said about it the better. This President has failed to fulfill the one district, one hospital promise he made to Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2016 general elections, found on Page 34, paragraph (g) of NPPs 2016 manifesto. That promise has not crystallized into a single hospital in almost four years of this government despite the fact that they have had access to over GHS260 billion in total resources since 2017.

President Akufo-Addo will do his reputation some good by first completing the hundreds of abandoned Mahama health infrastructure projects across the country, before he decides to waste the tax payers money on fraudulent sod-cuttings for votes. Ghanaians will not be hoodwinked by his deceptive "Agenda 88 and for that matter any of his corny deceptions again.

One thing President Akufo-Addo must understand is that the 2020 elections will not just be about promises but also a comparison of records. What the Ghanaian people want to see is action, not words.

Mr. President, wake up and work!

#StopTheSpread

#ActionNotWords

Sammy Gyamfi Esq
The reality of the Coronavirus forces a largely spiritually apathetic Western world and church to face an uncomfortable truth: the prosperity we thought was so invincible suddenly appears shakeable, even transient.

For all our cultural pride and great achievements, noble and not-so-noble pursuits, we now live in a time when even the strongest and most secure amongst us are nervous.

Even Christians are realising they need to reflect on what really matters and what the future may holdas well they should.

For too long weve relaxed in the prosperous present with little concern for the future. This despite God warning for years that a stormy season like this was approaching, and that the current worldwide pandemic is just the beginning.

A prophetic voice

One such prophecy was from David Wilkerson, a past American evangelist who wrote The Cross and the Switch Blade and pastored New Yorks Times Square Church.

33 years before Coronavirus hit the world and New York city with a fury and reach unparalleled in the modern era, David prophesied its coming:

I see a plague coming over the world, and bars, churches and government will close. The plague will hit New York and shake it like she was never shaken. Every house will be closed, no one can come in and out. All sales will end. The day will come when sport wont be in the minds of people. All entrances and exits of cities will be blocked. All civil activities will stop. When this judgment falls, it will devastate the economy. (David Wilkerson prophecy excerpt 1986)

In 1986 he prophesied with 100% accuracy because God knew what was coming and tried to warn us. Some may call this incredible, and while it is, God has been prophetically warning about this season for years.

Whats next?

This brings us to an important question. If God revealed Coronavirus was coming decades ago, what else will take place in the coming years?

Jesus himself warned us of whats coming in the Bible:

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Luke chapter 21, verse 11

The Bible also says God warns his prophets of whats coming through dreams and visions. Over the years God showed me great war is on its way, the likes of which the world may never have seen before. Russia will attack America and there will be worldwide tribulation.

In one dream I saw darkness at noon day and the stars shaken in the sky and vanish from sight. In others I saw mighty tornados arise, and violent storms and great fires take place across Australia. Recently that was fulfilled in our nations worst fire season in its history.

In another dream I saw a nuclear explosion off of our nations central East Coast. In another, which couldve been symbolic or actual, I saw some of our land break up. This will lead much of this nation to believe God is real.

In others Ive seen asteroid strikes, a tsunami that will hit Australias East Coast if there isnt widescale repentance in this nation and amongst its Christians, and massive UFOs which will stay and make their presence known for all to see.

Proven track record

If you doubt my believability, years ago God showed me future events that have since come to pass, just like the Australia fire prophecy. I posted about these revelations on my social media sites and a public blog years before they happened.

I was shown that planes would again be involved in terrorist incidents and tragedies after the 9/11 attacks. Multiple incidents occurred after that time, including the 2014 downing of the Malaysian flight MH17 where 298 people lost their lives and a 2015 Egyptian flight where 224 were killed when it broke up over the Sinai (Timeline of airliner bombing Attacks, Wikipedia 2019). The mysterious disappearance of Malaysians airlines Flight 370 was also presumed to have killed the 239 on board.

Another dream revealed the global airline industry would suffer a major blow which would ground it. Fast forward to the Coronavirus crisis and now most countries have shut down all international flight and heavily reduced domestic travel. The World Economic Forum estimates this has cost the industry $880 billion so far.

In other dreams I saw terrorist attacks would become a new reality in the West, at a time when 9/11 was still a shocking, virtually unprecedented event for a country like America. Since then various attacks have taken place around the world, especially in England, France and Germany.

In England the 2005 Islamic bombings and Manchester arena bombings in 2017 combined to kill 79 people and injure 907. The nation has suffered a staggering 20 terrorist attacks since 9/11*.

Before things got worse in France, especially in 2015 and 2016 where terrorist attacks took a total of 802 lives and injured around 808, I had a vision of a man bowed over in a position of sorrow with a French flag draped over his body.

Even our nation hasnt been immune, with the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis being the most shocking of ten terrorist incidents here since 2001.

Prophecy with a purpose

God prophetically warns about times like were now in to warn the world hes real, and that one day well meet our Maker and go to Heaven or Hell. He warns us now so well choose to believe, avoid Hell and instead be with him forever.

For Christians hes warning of whats coming to encourage us to follow him no matter how bad things get while on the earth. Jesus said that those who endure to the end will be saved, and he will make good on his promise and see us through even the worst of the times to come if we hang on to him.
Howard Fisher, left, has written a letter to parents about his fears of reopening schools to early, while the government could have some year groups go back from 1 June. (St George's/PA)

A primary headteacher has warned schools cannot eliminate the risk of coronavirus spreading between children if Boris Johnson restarts classes next month.

Howard Fisher, the headteacher of a Church of England school in Kent, said he would rather have pupils restart an academic year than risk having to lose a child, he wrote to parents in a frank letter.

He has warned there is no such thing as social distancing in a school and saw no solutions yet for how they can reopen safely.

As part of the prime ministers plan to ease the country out of the coronavirus lockdown, reception, year one and year six classes could be back in school by 1 June at the earliest, if safe to do so.

Johnson made his speech to the nation on Sunday outlining a step-by-step approach to get employees back to work and reduce restrictions on people and businesses.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said the scientific advice indicates that more children can return to school.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how coronavirus is spreading

But Fisher, the headteacher of St Georges C of E Primary School in Sheerness, insisted that even by introducing precautions, the risk of the virus spreading will remain.

He said sensible, rational debate about better solutions is missing.

Fisher proposed returning to classes when there is more science to support us. Children of key workers are allowed to attend school but the governments plan would represent many more returning.

Believe me, I would rather any child repeats a year than go back too soon and have to lose a child; why is this not in the national debate; because it will cost money! Fisher wrote.

The full letter to parents, in which Howard Fisher sets out his fears over plans to resume classes.

In a brutally honest letter to parents, he said he was not going to sit here and write to you to say we can achieve social distancing in a school.

Story continues

He went on: We can always make things safer, we could perhaps reduce slightly the risk, but as soon as you open the school as far as my many years can tell you, the risk will be there.

The headteacher of 15 years, who said he has taught since the nineties, said in the letter dated to Monday that we have no plans sent from the government but expected them to arrive during this week.

Government advice has said that class sizes should be limited to 15 pupils and staggered lunch and break times, as well as varied drop off and pick up times, should be implemented.

One way travel in school corridors should be considered, or a divider could be placed to help limit contact.

Primary pupils may also be sent to other schools, but families will not be penalised if they decide against taking up a place, the government has said.

I can be truthful here and categorically tell you there is no such thing as social distancing in a school; it does not exist and would never exist, Fisher wrote.

The reason childhood illnesses spread in a school is surprise, surprise, we are all in contact with each other.

I can put two children in opposite classrooms and they will still get chicken pox because thats how it is in a school.

He added that the school was left in a quandary and he had heard no answers, I heard no solutions and nothing he had been told put his mind at rest.

The Department for Education has been contacted by Yahoo News UK for comment.

Speaking to Yahoo News UK, Fisher envisioned children coming back in bubbles of about 10, which would not be able to interact with other groups.

He said that would be disappointing for the children when they come back and said reception and year one would be the hardest groups to explain social distancing too.

Fisher reiterated that it is too soon to reopen in July, in his opinion, and proposed September as a much safer time to bring back teaching in classrooms.

Boris Johnson has said schools could bring back some age groups as early as 1 June, but head Howard Fisher expressed doubts over the safety of that timeframe. (PA)

You can start the children in a class with a teacher with a curriculum that youve actually got some sort of handle on, he said, discussing opening in the autumn.

Dont forget these children have missed March all the way through to July.

Getting a handle on that is going to be quite a hard task to do, and it isnt a task we are going to achieve in the next six weeks.

The next six weeks is around bubbles of children moving around school enjoying some form of schooling but it wont be standardised lessons towards a goal or an aim.

Gavin Williamson said: The latest scientific advice indicates it will be safe for more children to return to school from 1 June, but we will continue to limit the overall numbers in school and introduce protective measures to prevent transmission.

This marks the first step towards having all young people back where they belong  in nurseries, schools and colleges  but we will continue to be led by the scientific evidence and will only take further steps when the time is right.

The joint general secretary of the National Education Union described the governments plans as reckless.

Coronavirus: what happened today
DES PLAINES, Ill., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Central Insurance Companies has joined the Geospatial Intelligence Center program (GIC), an insurance industry consortium spearheaded by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), to help combat fraud using advanced aerial imagery.

"Insurers are always looking to adapt to change, and the GIC showcases how the industry is ready to help policyholders by allowing adjusters to handle claims remotely," said Central's Vice President of Claims Paul Edwards. "In this current climate, it's essential to keep our customers safe, but still assist in the aftermath of catastrophe."

"This advanced imagery allows our fraud investigators to conduct an investigation remotely; without GIC imagery, that would not be possible," said Central's Director of Anti-Fraud & Recovery Jeff Lieberman.

As the GIC's newest member, Central now has access to advanced aerial imagery and detailed property data to better serve its policyholders. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to maintain business continuity is a crucial goal for insurance carriers like Central Insurance. Geospatial data from GIC provides additional resources to be used by desk adjusters and reduces the need for on-site visits by allowing field teams to conduct remote inspections using ultra-high-resolution imagery.

"Having access to the value proposition offered by the GIC program is especially important as companies face the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Central recognizes the value and efficiencies that are achieved by having the GIC's high-resolution imagery available with a click of a button on the desktops of their claims team," said NICB Chief Operating Officer Jim Schweitzer.

Within the first several hours or days following a major disaster, the GIC fleet of fixed-wing aircraft will fly over impacted areas to capture and assess damage to provide members with unprecedented ultra-high-resolution imagery and data on affected properties. The NICB, working with law enforcement and disaster scene commanders, has provided the GIC program with access to disaster areas as soon as it is safe to fly. The GIC program provides imagery and data to members within 24-36 hours of the aircraft touching down.

REPORT FRAUD: Anyone with information concerning insurance fraud or vehicle theft can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 800.TEL.NICB (800.835.6422) or submitting a form on our website.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU: Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs and public affairs. The NICB is supported by more than 1,300 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $525 billion in insurance premiums in 2019, or more than 82% of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 95% ($253 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

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SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau

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The rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive has reached another milestone, Michigan health officials reported Tuesday.

Of the tests conducted Sunday, May 10, only 6.3 percent came back positive for the respiratory virus that has infected more than 48,000 Michiganders since mid-March. Sunday marked the first time the percentage of positive tests dipped below 7 percent since March 11 when it was 0 percent.

State health officials announced 469 new confirmed cases of the virus and 90 more deaths Tuesday, May 12, bringing Michigans totals to 48,021 confirmed cases and 4,674 deaths. Nineteen of the deaths were late additions that didnt occur in the last 24 hours.

Tuesday was the fourth consecutive day with fewer than 500 new cases. However, the increase in deaths snapped a seven-day streak of declines in the states average deaths per day.

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State officials encourage looking at weekly averages to determine trends in COVID-19 data. In the last week, Michigan has averaged 518 new cases and 71 deaths per day. Both are declines from the week prior, when the average was 734 cases and 87.4 deaths a day.

Of 90 deaths reported Tuesday, 19 were the result of a review conducted three times a week by the Department of Health and Human Services to add individuals whose death certificates said COVID-19 contributed to their death and who had a positive test for COVID-19 in the Michigan Disease Surveillance System, but hadnt been reported as deceased.

Michigan still ranks seventh in the nation in confirmed cases and fourth in deaths despite being the 10th-most populated state. It sits behind New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in both categories, and Illinois, California and Pennsylvania for its total number of confirmed cases.

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While statewide testing continues to increase from week to week, Sundays 9,534 tests was a dip from more than 12,000 tests conducted each of the four days prior.

As testing has become more widely available, the rate of positive tests for COVID-19 has gone down. Its important to note, front-line workers who arent showing symptoms of the virus have been eligible to get tested since April 21, which could play a role in the decline in positive test results.

More than 290,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in Michigan. In recent weeks, testing has ramped up in prisons and jails, long-term care facilities and among homeless populations.

State health officials are aiming to test 30,000 people per day by mid-June.

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The highest number of cases remains in Southeast Michigan, where Metro Detroit has been hit the hardest by the virus. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties still account for 67 percent of the states confirmed cases and almost 80 percent of the states COVID-19 deaths.

Of Michigans 83 counties, 79 have had at least one person test positive and 60 counties have reported at least one death from the virus.

Heres a look at the Michigan counties with the most confirmed cases:

1. Wayne County: 18,274 cases (2,140 deaths)

2. Oakland County: 7,784 cases (872 deaths)

3. Macomb County: 6,097 cases (710 deaths)

4. Kent County: 2,416 cases (45 deaths)

5. Genesee County: 1,782 cases (225 deaths)

6. Washtenaw County: 1,206 cases (82 deaths)

7. Saginaw County: 829 cases (87 deaths)

8. Kalamazoo County: 636 cases (36 deaths)

9. Ingham County: 594 cases (17 deaths)

10. Ottawa County: 430 (20 deaths)

For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page, here.

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.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library seeking submissions to document COVID-19 pandemic

Brighton-area gym owner reopens MMA training facility against Whitmers shutdown order

Former Michigan lawmaker Morris Hood III, conscience of the Senate,' dies from coronavirus

Kalamazoo County sets 3-phase plan to reopen business, institutions post-pandemic
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USA/Global: Contesting Health and Workers' Rights

AfricaFocus Bulletin

May 12, 2020 (2020-05-12)

(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor's Note The global Covid-19 pandemic has made clear that the right to health is not just an aspirational value. Suddenly, its a matter of desperate self-interest for everyone, except, perhaps, those insulated by enormous wealth. The same is true for the rights of workers in the United States and worldwide: their work and their consumer power are indispensable to a global economy facing recession. The current crisis thus presents an opportunity to expand the recognition and exercise of these pivotal rights, accelerating efforts that were already underway before the virus hit. But all too predictably, these efforts are running up against stubborn resistance from forces that benefit (or think they benefit) from the status quo. This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the latest essay in the series Beyond Eurocentrism and U.S. Exceptionalism: Starting Points for a Paradigm Shift from Foreign Policy to Global Policy, by William Minter and Imani Countess. The first three essays, in January and February, were followed in March by a special shorter essay Can Coronavirus be a Catalyst for Thinking Globally?. The latest essay takes up the theme of economic rights, particularly the right to health and workers' rights. The urgency of these rights, both within countries and globally, is being underlined with a vengeance by the pandemic. But while self- interest as well as moral values demand universal application of rights, the legacy of profound inequalities mean that the immediate consequences are to ratchet up the differential application of rights. Today, May 12, is International Nurses Day, and the global Public Services International, which includes 700 trade unions representing 30 million workers in 154 countries, has issued a manifesto calling for universal public health for all. Under the existing order, some lives matter more than others. And those holding the greatest power in many countries and global institutions are willing to sacrifice millions of lives around the world, including many of their own political supporters, to preserve their privilege. For a related commentary on this point, particularly in the context of the United States, see The Race-Class Narrative and Eroding the Racist Right by William Minter and Prexy Nesbitt, reviewing two new books relevant to the potential for change, Merge Left and Dying of Whiteness. ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++

Making Rights Universal: The Contested Cases of Health and Workers' Rights

by William Minter and Imani Countess*

* William Minter is the editor of AfricaFocus Bulletin. Imani Countess is an Open Society Fellow focusing on economic inequality. This essay is part of a multipart series beginning in January 2020. Thanks to Catherine Sunshine for editing the essays in this series.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has made clear that the right to health is not just an aspirational value. Suddenly, its a matter of desperate self-interest for everyone, except, perhaps, those insulated by enormous wealth. The same is true for the rights of workers in the United States and worldwide: their work and their consumer power are indispensable to a global economy facing recession. The current crisis thus presents an opportunity to expand the recognition and exercise of these pivotal rights, accelerating efforts that were already underway before the virus hit. But all too predictably, these efforts are running up against stubborn resistance from forces that benefit (or think they benefit) from the status quo.

In the 20th century, World Wars I and II spurred the formation of global organizations whose mandates included expanding universal social justice and human rights. Yet implementation lagged far behind formal commitments, and even those commitments limited both the rights that were included and the people to whom they were presumed to apply. Thus the International Labour Organization, founded in 1919, opened its constitution with the claim that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice. But the covenant of the League of Nations, founded the next year, failed to include the right of self-determination for all nations. Only two African countries, Liberia and Ethiopia, were members of the League. And campaigners for the rights of women, Blacks, and indigenous and colonial peoples found little sympathy among the architects of these new global organizations.

The interwar period saw the growth of right-wing authoritarian movements and states, and eventually the return to war. But at the same time, anti-colonial, civil rights, and labor movements around the world gained new momentum after World War I. Among the protagonists were war veterans of color who had been mobilized to fight overseas even though they lacked political rights at home. President Franklin Roosevelt also took steps toward expanding rights, although his New Deal was marred by the restriction of many of its programs to white men. An executive order in 1941 barred discrimination in the defense industry. And in his 1944 State of the Union message, President Roosevelt laid out a second bill of rights to apply to all, regardless of station, race, or creed.

After World War II, the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodied a similarly expansive view of human rights. But the commitment to these principles by member countries, including the United States, was hedged by many limitations.

A Liberal International Order

Fresh from the Allied victory over Nazism in World War II, the United States was a moving force in creation of the United Nations in 1945. The UNs initial membership of 51 nations included Ethiopia and Liberia in Africa, China, India, and the Philippines in Asia, and almost all the Latin American countries. Ironically, white-ruled South Africa was also a member, and its leader, Jan Smuts, played a prominent role as statesman, even though the state he led was based on white supremacy. Indeed, white supremacy at home and abroad continued to be the de facto norm for the United States and other Western powers.

The liberal international order, according to Brookings Institution scholar Thomas Wright, is generally defined as the alliances, institutions, and rules the United States created and upheld after World War II. Its pillars are the security order centered in NATO and the UN Security Council, and the economic order defined by the Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and International Monetary Fund). In all of these, the United States and its Western allies have played and still play dominant roles. Whether this order can be preserved or adapted, in the face of the Trumpian onslaught, is a point of current debate among the U.S. foreign policy establishment.1

Human rights is generally included as only a minor theme in establishment discussion of this postwar order. Nonetheless, international human rights law and associated United Nations institutions have outlined a global agenda encompassing social, cultural, and economic rights as well as civil and political rights. This agenda is buttressed by a host of international agreements on womens rights, workers rights, and more.2 It forms a framework for global consensus and an inspiration for civil society activists around the world. Yet in most aspects of this movement, the United States is at best a reluctant participant.

This was not always so. The negotiations toward the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 were led by Eleanor Roosevelt. Much of the language echoed lofty ideals from the Atlantic Charter and the Four Freedoms speech of President Roosevelt, both in 1941, which had inspired people around the world during World War II.3

Subsequent decades featured more hypocrisy than dedication to human rights ideals, both globally and in the United States. At the same time, the rapidly expanding membership of the United Nations provided a sympathetic forum for advocacy of universal ideals. The U.S. civil rights struggle and global anti-colonial struggles both reinforced and paralleled each other in demanding that the freedoms fought for during World War II should apply to all human beings without exception.

Yet it took decades of struggle before the landmark expansion of political rights in the 1960s was achieved in the United States and Africa. White-minority resistance remained a powerful force, delaying the fall of white-minority regimes in Southern Africa to the last decade of the 20th century. In the United States, determined campaigns of voter suppression never stopped, despite the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Subsequent decades saw the Republican Party's transformation into a white-minority bastion. The most extreme opponents of human rights for all, though they are a minority even among white Americans, now have a firm grip on political power in the Trump era.

A spectrum of rights affirmed in principle

The rights in the Universal Declaration were enumerated in 30 articles with a wide scope, including political, social, cultural, and economic rights. Although the generality of the language allows for diverse interpretations, subsequent international conventions have fleshed out the details of international human rights norms. Specialized international agencies offer guidance and coordination, although implementation is up to the signatory states.

The right to health, for example, is spelled out in many international agreements, including those mandating the responsibilities of the World Health Organization (WHO). The International Labour Organization (ILO), made up of representatives of governments, businesses, and trade unions, provides guidance on workers' rights, based on eight fundamental conventions and a host of other conventions and recommendations. The United States has only ratified two of the eight fundamental conventions and 12 of the other 182 conventions. Although ILO conventions are separate from the UN human rights framework, a 2016 UN Special Rapporteur's report spelled out how workers' rights are also inescapably human rights.

As documented by recent historians,4 human rights activists as well as states have been selective in choosing which rights to prioritize and what standards to use to judge compliance by states. In part, this is normal human hypocrisy, visible in the foreign policies of all countries. It is far easier to stress the faults of others than to apply the same standards to oneself. During the Cold War, the United States and its allies emphasized the lack of political rights in the Soviet bloc, while the Soviet Union and its allies pointed to the United States denial of civil rights to African Americans. For the U.S. government, tolerance of gross rights abuses in allied states of strategic importance has been standard practice since World War II.

What kind of rights?

Yet there are also substantive ideological disagreements in rankings of different human rights, by human rights activists as well as by governments, and these are apparent in the different levels of support for the international treaties that have been added to human rights law over time. A key distinction is between civil/political and economic rights. The United States is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, along with 172 other countries. However, it has signed but never ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which has 170 countries as full parties to the treaty. It has also not ratified the majority of additional international human rights treaties adopted by the international community.

Thus, while according a modicum of formal recognition to civil and political rights, the United States has been an outlier in failing to support economic, social, and cultural rights, and specifically workers' rights, even in theory. In contrast to civil and political rights, where the main need is to protect against abuses by the state, the second set of rights requires proactive state responsibility for their fulfillment. Strikingly, the most prominent international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also generally limited their portfolios to civil and political rights.

In recent decades, the principal challenge to a broad concept of human rights has come from the right, as a well-orchestrated intellectual and political campaign has elevated the rights of property ownership above all other rights.5 Instead of expanding the U.S. debate on human rights to meet international standards, the trend has been to roll back the limited achievements of the 20th century that expanded, however tentatively, the states responsibility to protect citizens rights. This retrogressive campaign has reached new heights under Trump, and resistance has had limited success. Yet this may be changing, for structural and demographic reasons and, most recently, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

New focus on health and workers rights

The shifting landscape is most visible in revived demands for the right to health and for workers rights. Both fall under the category of social and economic rights, and both offer the potential to link domestic struggles for human rights to a global agenda. The potential for shaping public opinion is well illustrated by the role of National Nurses United (NNU), one of the most politically engaged unions in the United States today.

With some 150,000 members, NNU represents only a small fraction of the 12.5 million workers in AFL-CIOaffiliated unions. But nurses consistently rank first among professionals in respect from the public. The NNU has strategically maximized its impact, not only by actively organizing in the workplace, but also by targeting key public policy issues. Working with the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, it has spearheaded the campaign for Medicare for All. And it has successfully campaigned for state-level standards for safe staffing ratios of nurses to patients. The NNU has played a key role in changing the public debate on the right to health to make this a fundamental commitment for Democratic politicians.

Accepting health and workers rights in principle, including the assumption that government action is necessary to implement these rights, is the foundation for applying these rights globally. Civil and political rights often receive attention in foreign policy because extreme cases of abuse are highly visible, particularly when spotlighted by media coverage and by local and international activists working in tandem to raise the issue.

In some cases, workers laboring in the same industry on different continents have been able to build solidarity and confront multinational corporations. But the majority of workers worldwide are now service workers, many in the health and education sectors, or precarious workers in the informal sector. Government action, both national and international, is fundamental to any effective action to ensure their rights. Global union networks, such as Global Nurses United as well as Public Services International, which includes 700 trade unions representing 30 million workers in 154 countries, provide a framework for campaigning for the implementation of global standards. Such campaigns can stress the dual objective of serving public needs and ensuring the welfare of public service workers.

U.S. campaigns for implementation of human rights at home should begin to break from U.S. exceptionalism and draw inspiration from global standards developed through international collaboration. While implementation of rights always depends on mobilization to influence national governments, participation in the international dialogue provides access to new thinking about changes that are taking place at a global level. Thus, the recent Global Commission on the Future of Work lays out a human-centred agenda for the future of work to meet the challenges of globalization, automation, and rise of precarious labor. The goal of decent and sustainable work for all requires both public investment in peoples capabilities and changes in the institutions that manage work, in both rich and poor countries.

The first prerequisite for government action, in turn, is a strong union movement. And despite the low rate of unionization in the United States, compared to most other developed countries, there are some encouraging signs of revival. In 2019 a Gallup Poll showed the percentage of Americans approving of unions rising to 64%, the highest rate in 50 years. Although union strength is still at a low ebb, new energy is visible in the autoworkers strike, campaigns such as the Fight for $15 minimum-wage campaign, and the wave of teacher strikes in both blue and red states. Within the Democratic Party, notably, political support for unions has been reviving, with increased attention from presidential candidates. And there is recognition that changing the legal framework to support workers rights is a high priority.

A key factor behind these changing attitudes is the demographic and occupational transformation of the working class. While the white male manufacturing worker remains the iconic image favored by pollsters and the media, it is nurses, teachers, and other service workers who are becoming the visible face of working-class activism. And that face is diverse. Some blue-collar occupations are now predominantly female,6 and almost all include large numbers of people of color and immigrants. The three largest unions in the country are all composed of service workers, and the trend toward more service jobs is sure to continue. Moreover, to the extent that programs such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All advance domestically, there will be a further boost in service jobs, including those in public service, from local governments to federal agencies.

This changing workforce can potentially provide a growing constituency for global perspectives. The trade union movement faces many internal issues, including with hierarchy, patriarchy, and racism. But progressive unions such as the NNU, the Chicago Teachers Union, and others, as well as parallel campaigns such as Fight for $15 and Jobs with Justice, are having a grassroots impact. Many of their leaders and members are also open to a transnational perspective, influenced by shared objectives with workers in other countries and by the increasing numbers of recent immigrants in their ranks.

April 20 - Nurses in South Korea, one of the countries with the most successful response to Covid-19, send a video message of solidarity to the National Nurses Union.

What difference does a pandemic make?

Even as these changes reshape the U.S. workforce and labor movement, the Covid-19 pandemic has shined a harsh light on U.S. denial of the right to health and workers rightsand the impacts of this denial on the whole society.

At this writing in May 2020, the need for massive government action to address the pandemic is widely recognized, except by those at the top levels of the Trump administration. The crisis has shocked many Americans into a new awareness of the inequalities of race, class, occupation, and place, factors that to a large extent determine who bears the greatest burden and greatest risk. Front-line medical workers and essential workers in meatpacking plants and in agriculture, for example, are disproportionately people of color, many of them from immigrant communities.

Around the world, many nations and multilateral institutions are mobilizing to respond to the virus. Promising experiences can be found in countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, and others, and in breakthroughs such as the rapid testing kits developed in Senegal. Africa overall, despite many vulnerabilities, has had excellent leadership from multilateral institutions such as WHO and Africa CDC, as well as from some governments such as South Africa and Senegal. African countries have so far managed to stay ahead of the virus curve, although the continent, like other developing regions, is hit hard by the economic impact of national shutdowns, as well as by fallout from the global recession.

Yet the Trump administration, instead of learning from other countries and advancing plans for controlling the virus and expanding stimulus and recovery measures, is ramping up denial. It is shifting responsibility to the states while denying them needed resources. It casts blame on China and on the World Health Organization, seizing the opportunity to further weaken global institutions. Fortunately, other nations are stepping up to support WHO, and the organizations Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund has raised over $200 million from almost 300,000 donors.

While some U.S. states, particularly the early responders on the West Coast, may have flattened the curve, most have not. And by prematurely reopening their economies, some are courting renewed exponential growth of the virus, egged on by President Trump and by protesters mobilized by far-right networks. While no one can accurately project the future, most experts expect that the national toll of the pandemic will remain at the current level or even continue escalation into next year.

Democratic members of Congress can propose actions, such as additional stimulus bills to aid states and local governments and even more ambitious plans such as an essential workers bill of rights. But further action also depends on concessions by the Republican-controlled Senate and the administration. And even implementation of measures passed is limited by incompetence and by ideology and built-in bias.

It is clear that neither confronting the virus nor absorbing the lessons it can teach can rely on the White House. Instead, leadership is falling to state, city, and local governments, along with an outpouring of mutual aid efforts. These responses, shaped by politics, are highly uneven, with Republican-controlled states less likely to take strong action. But as the virus spreads in red and rural states over the coming months, mounting deaths in these areas may eventually convince some skeptics that government has a role to play.

The toll of Covid-19 deaths is revealing in real time the deadly effect of right-wing Republican policies. As the impact continues to mount in red states as well as blue, the impact will still be unequal by race and class. But whites who have supported the right-wing agenda will not be spared by the virus.

The contrast between governors and mayors who act to protect their population and those who do not will be inescapable. Despite efforts to divert the blame to foreigners and minorities, the virus will continue to expose the failures of the anti-government message and enhance the case for inclusive government responsibility.7

Changing minds to accept the right to health and workers rights as fundamental principles, and even more changing government policies, still face enormous obstacles. But accepting these rights at home, in the context of a global pandemic, should be and hopefully can be, a first step toward accepting its application to the entire human community living on one planet.

Note: Links to books in this essay are to the new nonprofit http://bookshop.org, which provides support to local independent bookstores, as well as providing an affiliate option for others who want to promote books without reinforcing Amazons monopoly power. Disclosure: AfricaFocus Bulletin is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Notes

AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.

AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org
A woman who was 'never careful in the sun' has revealed how she could lose the 'whole right side' of her nose after the lump on its side turned out to be skin cancer.

Lauren Coathup, 27, from Chelmsford, Essex, was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma on Christmas Eve 2018, after noticing the small lump on her nose gradually growing in size.

Speaking to FEMAIL, she said that while doctors couldn't tell her exactly how much of her nose she would lose, she was told it could be the 'whole right side' of her nose and some cartilage.

Admitting that she 'barely wore sun cream' even while on holiday, Lauren confessed she was 'really lucky' that her cancer, which is the most common form in the UK, did not manage to spread underneath her skin where it would not be visible.

Lauren Coathup, 27, from Chelmsford, Essex found that she had been diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma on Christmas Eve 2018. Pictured, with boyfriend Ross after her diagnosis

Lauren first noticed a lump on the side of her nose in January 2018, but never considered its severity until she noticed the skin around it darkening while the lump stayed fair

'I'm very embarrassed to admit this now, knowing what I know, but I barely wore sun cream,' said Lauren.

'The only time I would was on holiday and it was after I'd already caught the sun and was already a bit burnt.'

'I wasn't careful in the sun because I always wanted to have a natural tan and never did it sensibly.'

She added: 'The most shocking thing I found was the uncertainty, although the lump was visible and it was only small, I was told that it could spread under my skin, which wouldn't be visible.

Admitting that she 'barely wore sun cream' even while on holiday, Lauren confessed she was 'really lucky' that her cancer didn't spread underneath her skin. Pictured, after her diagnosis

Lauren admitted that the only time she would wear sun cream was when her skin had already burnt. Pictured, with boyfriend Ross after her diagnosis

'So the amount of skin I might lose could be a lot bigger than what I first thought. Thankfully I was really lucky and it hadn't spread further as I caught it early enough'.

Lauren first noticed a lump on the side of her nose in January 2018, but never considered its severity.

It was only when she was on holiday in Italy, six months later, that she realised its colour had stayed fair while her skin had darkened, and its size had increased significantly.

After visiting her GP she was referred to various dermatologists and eventually, after months of confusion and non-diagnosis, Lauren was referred for a biopsy.

On Christmas Eve in 2018, she received a letter with her devastating diagnosis of Basal Cell Carcinoma - a type of skin cancer that develops slowly in the upper layers of the skin.

While doctors couldn't tell her exactly how much of her nose she would lose, she was was advised it could be the 'whole right side of her nose.' Pictured, before her surgeries

On Christmas Eve in 2018, Lauren received a letter with her devastating diagnosis of Basal Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer that develops slowly in the upper layers of the skin

'It was a complete shock', said Lauren. 'I was only 27 when I got my diagnosis and I only had the lump checked out just in case and because I had noticed it visibly change and get bigger. I never thought it could actually be something to worry about. '

Doctors were concerned that Lauren's cancer could spread further into her nose cartilage, but said they wouldn't know until they started her Mohs surgery - a technique used to remove skin cancer.

WHAT IS BASAL CELL CARCINOMA? Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer. Non-melanoma means it does not involve skin pigment cells. BCC often appears as scabs that bleed BCC makes up more than 80 per cent of all forms of skin cancer in the UK, with over 100,000 new cases being diagnosed every year. It is mainly caused by overexposure to UV light from the sun or tanning beds. BCC can occur anywhere on the body but is most common on areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, neck and ears. The following people are most at risk: People with fair skin or hair

Those who work outdoors

People who use sunbeds

Those with a personal history of the condition BCC is usually painless. Early symptoms often only include a scab that bleeds occasionally and does not heal. Some appear as flat, red, scaly marks or have a pearl-like rim. The latter can then erode into a ulcer. Others are lumpy with shiny nodules crossed by blood vessels. Most BCCs can be cured, however, treatment is complex if they are left for a long time. Treatment usually involves removing the cancerous tumour and some of the surrounding skin. Source: British Skin Foundation and NHS Choices Advertisement

In August 2019, Lauren had her removal and reconstructive plastic surgeries and, to both her and her surgeon's delight, discovered that the cancer hadn't spread.

'I was feeling extremely anxious,' she said. 'I had two surgeries - one for removing the skin cancer and the other for my reconstructive plastic surgery.

'No one could tell me exactly how much of my nose I would loose and I was advised it could be the whole right side of my nose and some of my cartilage.'

While Lauren was left cancer free after her surgeries, she admitted that for a while it left her 'paranoid' about going out in the sun. Pictured, with boyfriend Ross after her diagnosis

In August 2019, Lauren had her removal and reconstructive plastic surgeries and, to both her and her surgeon's delight, discovered that the cancer hadn't spread. Pictured, her nose following her operations

Lauren says she was 'never careful in the sun' and 'always wanted a tan naturally'. Pictured, before her diagnosis

'So it was a really scary time, but I had such wonderful support around me it really did get me through'.

While Lauren was left cancer free after her surgeries, she admitted that for a while it left her 'paranoid.'

'I'm extremely lucky to have a strong support system of friends, family and boyfriend', said Lauren. 'But I never anticipated the mental struggles following on from this. For a while, I was paranoid about going outside in the daytime sun'.

However, Lauren was recommended the SunSense range of sunscreens with SPF50+ by her plastic surgeon.

She claims that after using the product - one of five sunscreens available on prescription here in the UK - she now feels comfortable going out in the sun again.

'The SunSense products have a 50+ SPF rating, they protect against UVA and UVB rays, both of which cause skin damage,' she said. ''Also the fact that the product is Australian and has the highest protection level for Australian sun protection means that I feel extremely safe outside when I have it on.'
I have heard the saying that, in every adversity there is an opportunity to capitalize on.



This quote is making sense to me now in the wake of the global COVID-19 as some fortunes, human-centred policies, behavioural change, innovative ideas and appreciation of our shortfalls as a country can be achieved irrespective of the deaths recorded as a result of the pandemic.



Even though by now a lot of people have heard about the new Coronavirus, popularly called COVID-19, for the purposes of emphasis, I will share some information about this deadly virus which has claimed millions of lives globally, including the myth about the virus in order to create public awareness.



Upon second thought, I think by now Ghanaians are aware of the virus (COVID-19) but I am not sure they are educated by the media enough to know the seriousness of the virus and I am tempted to blame it on the fact that a myth has been attached to the facts about the virus via social media users.



Again, I can blame the lack of education on COVID-19 on the authorities who at the initial stage were supposed to have educated the masses about it. Maybe they can also be pardoned simply because they didnt have much information to educate the public on.



The media couldnt help either with the education because they were not privy to information on which they would educate their audiences as authorities only shared with the media houses scanty information or those that they deemed fit to be shared with the public by the media and such delay in accurate reportage on the virus paved way for speculations and fairytales on social media.



Our medical experts and its allies who are suppose to engage the already frightened public with timeous and accurate discourse were themselves caught in the web of uncertainty and were unsure of the genetic mutation of the virus owing to its novelty and were heavily relying on medical literature by other biochemists.



In fact, the Special Advisor to President Akufo-Addo who doubles as the former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare said on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show that the scientists are challenged to ascertain the lifespan and the behaviour of the virus on the surface of the earth, making it difficult for the medical team and researchers find vaccine for the virus.



He revealed that scientists are still engaging in several trials, trying hard to establish if the HIV vaccine can be an alternative for the treatment of COVID-19 as several vaccines have failed to work. Scientists have professed that SARS 2 Virus behaves differently in different countries and continents in terms of symptoms. This makes the virus the most complex of all viruses. It also makes it difficult to find one-fit-all vaccine to deal with the new coronavirus and to the scientists it may take a long while to win the fight against the virus.



Having shared this information about COVID-19, it is prudent for me to add to the precautionary protocols expertly outlined by the WHO linking it to the myth surrounding the virus in the public space.



Basic protective measures against the new coronavirus



We need to be aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through the national and local public health authority. COVID-19 is still ravaging through countries worldwide. Most people who became infected experience mild illness and recover, but it can be more severe for others depending on their immune system architecture. Take care of your health and protect others by doing the following:



Wash your hands frequently



Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap under running water.



Why? Washing your hands with soap under running water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.



Maintain social distancing



Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.



Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain viruses. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has it.



Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth



Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body through your respiratory system and can make you sick.



Practice respiratory hygiene



Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.



Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.



We have been advised by the health experts to use nose or face masks in public places and In fact, it has become mandatory for everyone to use the nose or face masks before engaging in any transaction.



In all of these preventive measures, taking a hot bath does not prevent the new coronavirus. Again, the new coronavirus cannot be transmitted through goods manufactured in China or any other country reporting COVID-19 cases.



We should note that hand dryers are not effective in killing the new coronavirus and also UV lamps should not be used to sterilize hands or any other other part of the skin as UV radiation can cause skin irritation.



We have to note that spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will not kill viruses that have already entered your body. Again, there is no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected anybody from the infection of the virus.



In all of these challenges which we are confronted with as a country as a result of COVID-19, we can begin to count our blessings and name them one by one. We will appreciate the fact that, since the confirmation of COVID-19, the usual lifestyle of Ghanaians has not been the same. When was the first time you heard that there has been mass disinfection in the entire country, especially at our market places? Ghanaians have seen the need to keep our environment very clean since the outbreak of the COVID-19 without any enforcement from any authority. I am certain that after the COVID-19, Ghanaians will continue to adhere to the personal hygiene protocols and we will be able to achieve the dream of making Ghana, one of the cleanest countries is Africa.



At this point, Hon. Inusah Fuseini, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central is right to say that at the end of the COVID-19, Ghana and the rest of the world will not be the same again because it has exposed humanity in diverse ways.



The COVID-19 has given birth to a behavioural change in the country where personal hygiene has become topmost priority of every Ghanaian. They go about their work ovserving the precautionary measures wherever they find themselves.



If for nothing at all, the outbreak of COVID-19 has made us realised that some Ghanaian institutions are very innovative. We have been forced to think outside the box as we are seeing the relevance and the mandate of some institutions in the country as scientists at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Incas Diagnostics, both based in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, are currently optimising the kit for Covid-19 testing.



Scientists from the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), one of the major testing centres for Covid-19 in Ghana, made significant inputs into the development. Some extensive research was also done by some medical folks at the University of Ghana in the area of sampling.



The new RDT kit for Covid-19 is a boost for Ghanas efforts at curbing the virus that at its last count  claimed 11 lives and puts the life of some 1,550 at risk because it is consistent with the governments strategy in dealing with the pandemic: containing spread, inspire the expansion of domestic capability and deepen self-reliance.



The KNUST-Incas Diagnostic technology uses a finger-prick blood  just like blood glucose test or home pregnancy test  to detect two different types of antibodies produced by the body when it is fighting off Covid-19 infection at least seven days after infection  whether the person is showing symptoms or not.



The Ghana Institution of Surveyors has developed an app that will help trace suspected COVID-19 affected persons in real time. The President of the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, Dr John Amaglo, said the application is also able to help with the monitoring and evaluation of the disease situation in the country.



He added that the Institute together with environmental protection professionals have developed a system that will allow health authorities to easily find densely populated areas where the disease is spreading horizontally.



This will help health officials to restrict entry and exit points and also create makeshift medical facilities to treat the affected people in the community; awesome innovation coming out as a result of the COVID-19. So, our experts could be that innovative here on Ghana?



Every government's desire is to see the growth of the economy and this can be achieved through the human resource in the country and so it means that the health of Ghanaians is significant but yet, little attention has been given to the health sector until the outbreak of COVID-19. We are now realising the loopholes in the health sector to the extent that the Vice President Dr. Alhaji Bawumia at the launch of the COVID-19 Tracker said that, we need to invest heavily in the health sector in order not to be taken by surprise in the future.



In view of the COVID-19, President Akufo-Addo has announced that 88 district hospitals will be built across the country within the next one year and again the six new regions will have regional hospitals as part of the countrys preparedness for future occurrence of a virus in this nature. I really dont know if I am safe to say Thank You to the COVID-19.



We witnessed how some Ghanaians had a bite of our national cake as the government gave freebies to the vulnerable and needy in the lockdown areas during the partial lockdown to stop the rapid rate at which the virus was spreading. We are currently enjoying three months ex-gratia in terms of free water supply and 50 percent cut of our electricity bill.



Aside from the fact that the COVID-19 is claiming lives and our scientists are trying to find antidote for the virus, we have realised how vulnerable we all are. It has exposed our limitations (weakness), strength and the opportunities to us as a country.



The opportunities are that, we can now boost of our local textile industry producing more PPEs for the whole country and even export some as I hear it is on going .It is a wakeup call for the country to promote our local industries. We need to now think of depending on our locally produced foods, goods and other things that make life easy and comfortable. China is what it is today because of a deliberate decision by authority to empower their local industries and it is time we do same.



Without mincing words, I will say that the arrival of COVID-19 has shaped our way of life and going forward, we will not remain the same as a country. Will you share the same thought with me that the COVID-19 is a blessing in disguise for Ghana and by extension the rest of the world?

Source: Daniel Adu Darko, Weekend Student of GIJ









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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a COVID-19 response meeting at the White House in Washington on April 29, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Fauci Hopeful COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be in Advanced Trials by Late Fall, Early Winter

Dr. Anthony Fauci, top infectious disease expert and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said Tuesday he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.

Fauci told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee by video conference that the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19. He is in self-quarantine after a White House staffer testified positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from China late last year and causes the respiratory disease.

We have many candidates and hope to have many winners, he told the committee. In other words, it is many shots on goal, Fauci said, noting that the government has at least eight candidate vaccines in clinical development.

He outlined the work on vaccines carried out so far, noting that on Jan. 14, work began on vaccine development, and now, 62 days later, we are now in a phase-one clinical trial with the two doses fully enrolled.

Referring specifically to a vaccine being developed with Moderna, Fauci said he expects a transition to phases two and three in late spring, early summer. If we are successful, we hope to know that in the late fall and early winter, he added.

But despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees that the ones currently being evaluated in clinical trials will prove effective.

We also, as the Chairman mentioned, will be producing vaccine at-risk, which means well be investing considerable resources in developing doses even before we know any given candidate or candidates work, Fauci said.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate committee, is also undergoing self-quarantine for two weeks in his home state after a member of his staff tested positive. Alexander chaired the hearing virtually.

Fauci also warned that not only might some candidate vaccines under evaluation prove ineffective, the clinical trials might show them to be counterproductive.

I must warn that theres also the possibility of negative consequences, where certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection, Fauci told the committee, adding that fundamental question the vaccine trials must answer is whether any of the candidates are actually effective.

Will it be presence or absence, and how durable will it be? Fauci said of the possible impacts of the vaccines under review.

Fauci also outlined the four-part strategic plan that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) follows in its COVID-19 response: improving the fundamental understanding of the virus and the disease it causes, developing new point-of-care diagnostics, characterizing and testing therapeutics, and developing safe and effective vaccines.

But while the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine continues apace, polls show that when scientists do finally deliver, millions of Americans will refuse to take it.

Around 14 percent of Americans said they wont get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a poll by Morning Consult, conducted May 1-3 on a sample of 2,200 U.S. adults. The survey shows that 64 percent of Americans said they would get the vaccine, while 22 percent said they didnt have an opinion on the subject or were undecided.
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Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander's pooch Rufus became the unexpected star of Tuesday's coronavirus-themed hearing.

Rufus, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was spotted lounging on a table-top - and was heard occasionally barking - in the Tennessee Republican's home office, which the senator used as his backdrop for the hearing.

Alexander announced that he would self-quarantine 'out of the abundance of caution' after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive of COVID-19.

Sen. Lamar Alexander's dog Rufus became the unexpected star of Tuesday's HELP Committee hearing on the coronavirus

The Tennessee Republican first introduced baby Rufus to his Twitter following back in November 2014

A 'camera shy' Rufus was also featured in this May 2018 post, standing alongside his senator dad

The senator was tested on Thursday and the test came back negative, a spokesperson said.

Alexander does not have any COVID-19 symptoms.

All the witnesses at the Tuesday hearing participated in the hearing from home or from their offices.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of Food and Drugs and Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are all self-quarantining due to exposure with an individual at the White House who tested positive for COVID-19.

Adm. Brett Giroir, the fourth witness, beamed into the Senate hearing room from his office, having not been exposed at the White House. Giroir also attended President Trump's press conference at the White House on Monday.

Katie Miller, the wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, and a White House Navy valet both tested positive for the virus.

A majority of senators also participated in the hearing from home, showing off interesting decor like Sen. Bernie Sanders' Red Hot Chili Peppers poster.

But the chairman one-upped them all, with a slumbering pooch in the background.

Tuesday didn't mark Rufus' on-camera debut, as the dog also slept through Alexander's appearance on 'Meet the Press' this Sunday.

Rufus has occasionally been featured on Twitter as well.

Alexander introduced 'new friend' Rufus the puppy to the world by tweet on November 2, 2014.

The tweet quoted President Harry Truman: 'If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.'

A 'camera shy' Rufus was also shown out and about in Cookeville, Tennessee with his dad in a post from May 2018.
Author Stephanie Danler at home in Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Stephanie Danler has been harboring secrets for a long time, but they may not be the ones youd imagine.

In 2016, when Danler published Sweetbitter, a debut novel capturing New York City through the eyes of a young woman hungry for experience and belonging, many readers assumed it was autobiographical. Danlers life story coincided with that of her sensuous, self-destructive heroine, Tess, in one enticing particular: Both worked in a landmark Manhattan restaurant described in meticulous detail (Danler drew heavily on the Union Square Cafe). The author pointed out that she was not Tess, but few believed her. Surely it was too passionately lived in to be fiction?

At the time, Danler says, she was having a little chuckle to myself. In public she was diplomatic; in her head, she answered, You dont even know what autobiography is.

On her book tour for Sweetbitter, encountering ample praise (Gabrielle Hamilton called it the Kitchen Confidential of our time) and envy (a six-figure, two-book deal for a young blonde white woman; say no more), Danler was working on a real autobiography. Published next week, the slim and elliptical Stray is a darker affair. Centered on her childhood in and around Long Beach, the time-skipping memoir is shaped by two addicts: Danlers mother, an alcoholic, with whom she had a contentious and at times physically violent relationship, and her charismatic father, whose meth addiction she wrote about for Vogue in 2016, kicking open the door to her past.

When we talk in early April, Danler, like all of us, is gripped by more immediate troubles. We considered taking a physically distant walk, but since Danler is pregnant with her second child, weve settled for Zoom. From the bedroom of the Silver Lake apartment she shares with her husband, Matt, and their 15-month-old son, Julian, she calls Stray a love story  something she realized only once she began: I was actually going to have to write about how much I love my parents.

Story continues

Writing "Stray" lanced and drained Danler. The prospect of airing her trauma felt like "losing a large part of my identity." (Knopf)

Just as Sweetbitter was published, Danler returned to California to write her second book for Knopf, which she hoped would be another novel. Then the Santa Anas stirred, whipping up palm fronds and sunbaked dust. She calls it her Proustian madeleine moment.

I couldnt stop writing about childhood, she says. For a while she resisted; then she composed what she thought were essays  trying on, and then shrugging off, all the labels used for narrative nonfiction. She shied away from calling it a memoir, because she didnt want to manufacture a journey ending in catharsis  not for a life still very much in progress. Now, she says, I dont care anymore. Call it whatever.

It wasnt easy to drop the cover of fiction. Children of alcoholics tend to be really excellent secret keepers, says Danler. I was so scared. But I felt that if youre going to write that someone hit you, someone overdosed or behaved in a frightful, hurtful way, then I owed it to my readers and my parents that it be true, that it not be an emotional manipulation.

A core theme in Stray is the entanglement of love and disappointment. The narrator, as an adult, tries to take her recalcitrant mother to a doctors appointment. Nancy, still heavily drinking five years after she suffered a brain aneurysm, drives Danler to tears: Its the resigned, accidental crying of a child who knows no one is coming. I dont look at my mother. I try, I really do, to keep myself tiny, silent and numb. But I feel it coming and then it has arrived, my hurt; it is massive, I cant see beyond it.

This is a starkly different Danler than the one who toured with Sweetbitter. That toast-of-the-town young novelist was well-studied in this performance of the upbeat, optimistic, ambitious young woman. In private, puzzling out a dark memoir freed her from the pressures of being the publishing equivalent of a wide-eyed ingenue.

"I owed it to my readers and my parents that it be true, that it not be an emotional manipulation." (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

There was something a little rebellious in working on Stray during the tour, she says, to kind of cheat on that project with a voice that was a lot harder  my nonfiction voice. Not that it was pleasant exactly. Writing "Sweetbitter" had been fun; to get in the mood she would throw on LCD Soundsystem and be like, Oh, cocaine is awesome. Being young is so liberating.' Stray, in contrast, lanced and drained her. The prospect of making her traumatic childhood public felt like losing a large part of my identity.

Danler wrote the first draft in two months at a residency in Spain. There were very famous writers sitting around, and Im just, with my box of tissues  she pantomimes gasping sobs, then bursts into laughter. She is not a sentimentalist or a cradler of her pain. She examines it, unflinching, writing at one point, My grandmother was the first person to confirm my vague feeling that I had a power: I could separate from my sadness. Alchemize it.

The early gestation of Stray appeared in the Sewanee Review, edited by Adam Ross. He and Danler had met at a Knopf party right before Sweetbitter came out. Ross, whod had his own celebrated debut, Mr. Peanut, in 2010, warned her how hard it could be to fan the flames of publicity while writing something new.

Hed soon learn firsthand about Danlers prodigious work ethic, honed during her restaurant days. Ross found the first draft of Stray inspiring  it was dripping with amniotic fluid, but there was a baby in there. Already present was an absolute fearlessness about dwelling in the gray areas of life.

The book opens with Danler back in Southern California, equally repelled and magnetized. She lives in a Laurel Canyon cottage that Fleetwood Mac may or may not have lived in. (Its an unspoken rule: Your first L.A. apartment must harbor at least one celebrity ghost, unconfirmed.) While shes anticipating the publication of her first novel, her family and her love life implode.

When asked if "Sweetbitter" was based on her life, Danler wanted to answer, "You don't even know what autobiography is." (Knopf)

Danlers sister, Christina Mannatt Strauss, helped her summon up and gut-check memories and impressions. We were talking almost every day, Strauss recalls. We would be texting about one topic and then hop on the phone and then just fully relive it together. Though they didnt share every memory  the two were split up when Danler was 16 and sent to live with her father in Colorado Strauss affirms Danlers experience, as well as the fact that theyd kept their mothers drinking a secret from the rest of the family.

Inextricably tied to these familial complications in Stray are Danlers romantic struggles  first with a married man she cant shake, known as the Monster, and then with the Love Interest, a.k.a. Matt, who would become her husband. As she falls for him in a slow, steady way that she questions for its lack of drama, they road-trip and camp around the state. The lapsed Californian falls back in love with the West, especially the ruinous, arid parts  Death Valley, Joshua Tree, the Salton Sea  seeing them afresh through Matts desert eyes. As he explains in the book, of Joshua Tree: When I first get here, all I can see is the brown. Then after a day or two, I get my eyes and the nuances come. The faded colors, wildlife, all the flora.

By the end of Stray, Danler has learned to take care of myself: I stopped losing my jewelry, wallets, cell phones. I had health insurance (most of the time), paid my taxes on time (most of the time.) Not only is she becoming her own parent, shes a parent-to-be. And now that Stray is out in the world, the author has finally laid claim to her biggest secret: her story of origin. No performances, other than the ones used to craft a story with a beginning, middle and end. Just her feelings on the surface, in something as intricate as lace but much more durable.

Initially, I was just so ashamed that I had written all this down, that it would be the record of these deeply complicated, very sad people that I have no ill will towards. Her parents are both still alive, and Danlers relationships with them are fraught, to say the least. And yet she doesnt feel the shame so acutely anymore: Im growing more and more proud of the book every day.

Wappler is a writer in Los Angeles.
Many UK businesses have been put into suspended animation until they can safely reopen. (Getty)

The coronavirus pandemic could saddle small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in the UK with more than 100bn ($124bn) in unsustainable debt by March 2021, the Bank of England has been warned.

A preliminary assessment revealed that UK private, non-financial businesses could be forced to contend with an unruly debt pile of between 90bn and 105bn within a matter of months, financial services industry lobby group TheCityUK said.

In a letter to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, the group warned that businesses could require wide-ranging debt recapitalisation so that they can counteract the blow to employment resulting from the crisis.

READ MORE: European stocks rise after uptick in cases dents Asian markets

Loans handed out under the governments Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which provides financial support to smaller firms who have lost revenue during the crisis, could account for as much as 20bn of that debt pile, according to the analysis.

The economic lockdown created by the pandemic has required unprecedented interventions. Businesses have been put into suspended animation until they can safely reopen, said Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK.

These businesses employ over 16 million people and account for revenues of more than 2tn, Celic told Bailey.

Firms may also need to raise new equity to address the unsustainable debt levels, the group said.

The levels of unsustainable debt, if left unresolved, could inhibit employment, research and development, and investment, and delay the countrys economic recovery, it warned.

READ MORE: 7.6 million UK jobs are at risk because of the coronavirus lockdown

Noting that private equity investment into SMEs was 6.7bn in 2018 and that bank lending flow to such firms was 57bn last year, TheCityUK said that significant volumes of new, appropriately structured capital would likely be required to support UK businesses.

More work is required to identify the extent of the capital that the private sector can provide, and its suitability in the current circumstances for the different sectors and types of company in the economy, Celic wrote.

Our industry is, simply, determined to do what it can to further and support the national response to this crisis.
Third evacuation flight to K'taka lands in Mangaluru from Dubai. Image Source: IANS News

Third evacuation flight to K'taka lands in Mangaluru from Dubai. Image Source: IANS News

Third evacuation flight to K'taka lands in Mangaluru from Dubai. Image Source: IANS News

Third evacuation flight to K'taka lands in Mangaluru from Dubai. Image Source: IANS News

Mangaluru, May 13 : The third evacuation flight to Karnataka landed in this port city, with 177 foreign returnees from Dubai in the UAE, an official said on Tuesday.

"The Air India Express IX 384 Boeing 737-8HG landed safely at the Bajpe airport on the outskirts of Mangaluru at 10.04 p.m., with 177 passengers from Dubai," an airline official told IANS.

Mangaluru is about 360 km west of Bengaluru in the southern state off the Arabian Sea.

The state-run A-I Express is a subsidiary of national carrier Air-India airline.

Of the 177 returnees, 88 are men, 84 women, 5 children and 2 infants.

Among the women, 45 are pregnant while 25 are medical emergency cases.

"The passengers also included distressed expatriates, migrant workers, tourists and relatives who were stranded in the UAE for over 50 days since March 23 after international flights to and from India were suspended and the lockdown was extended twice till May 17 to contain the coronavirus pandemic," said the official.

The Dakshina Kannada district administration officials and the A-I subsidiary staff received the returnees on entering the arrival lounge.

"All the passengers were given santizer to wash hands and told to wear the mask all the time and keep physical distancing as per the protocols," said the official.

As per the standard operating procedure to be observed by all foreign returnees, the passengers were screened and tested to ensure they were asymptomatic and free from the Covid-19 virus.

After completing the formalities, including immigration check and filling the self-declaration form, the returnees were taken in state-run buses in batches for 14-day institutional quarantine in hotels and other places in the coastal city.

Passengers were told to download the mandatory Quarantine app, the Aroygya Sethu app and Apthamitra app before leaving the airport for contact tracing later.

The Dubai repatriation flight was the second to land on Tuesday night in the southern state over an hour after another A-I Express aircraft landed at Bengaluru airport at 8.56 p.m., with 177 returnees, including 42 belonging to Karnataka and 133 to Kochi in the neighbouring coastal state of Kerala.

The first evacuation flight to Karnataka from London landed in Bengaluru on early Monday, with 326 returnees, including three infants.

As part of the government's evacuation programme 'Vande Bharat Mission', three more repatriation A-I flights are due to land in Bengaluru from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, San Francisco in the US and Singapore on May 13-15 with over 700 state citizens.

"Another A-I Express flight is due to land in Mangaluru from Doha in Qatar in a day or two with about 180 foreign returnees," the official added.
- Angel Locsin expressed her sentiments over the controversial closure of ABS-CBN

- She aired a strong message for Solicitor General Jose Calida and the National Telecommunications Commission

- The actress did not fail to recognize the good contributions of the said person and agency to the country

- However, she claimed that people will go down in history as the killers of the Kapamilya network

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Angel Locsin recently expressed her honest and serious thoughts about the controversial closure of ABS-CBN.

KAMI learned that the award-winning actress also aired an intense message for Solicitor General Jose Calida and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The said government agency was the one who issued a cease and desist" order against the media giant, and the decision was supported by the long-time friend of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Angel initially stated in her video that she believes that the Solicitor General and the NTC have done so many great things for the country.

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However, she claimed that their achievements, brilliance, and positions are not the ones that will be embedded in the minds of many Filipinos.

If they will not reconsider their decision to close down ABS-CBN, the celebrity said that their names will go down in history as killers of the giant network.

To SolGen Calida, to NTC, how do you expect us to heal as one kung kayo po mismo ang susugat sa amin? Naniniwala ho ako sir na marami kayong nagawang maganda para sa bayang ito she quipped.

Pero sir, pag tinuloy niyo po itong desisyon na to, kahit na ano pong degree niyo, talino, posisyon, achievements, hindi po yun ang matatandaan ng tao. Matatandaan po nila, and you will go down in history, bilang kayo po ang pumatay sa ABS-CBN at dumurog sa napakaraming tao sa gitna ng pandemic she added.

In a previous article by , Coco Martin vented out on social media after knowing that the Kapamilya network was ordered to stop its broadcast operations.

Angel Locsin is a well-known showbiz personality in the Philippines. She is acclaimed by many critics for her excellent acting skill in movies and action-drama series.

POPULAR: Read more news about Angel Locsin!

Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts!

Filipino nurse: "We actually don't want to become heroes Si Kimberly ay isang nurse sa Bacolod, isa siya sa mga frontliners na binubuwis ang buhay araw-araw. Narito ang kanyang masasabi sa nararamdaman ng mga frontliners tulad niya.  on HumanMeter!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Princess Diana is best known for being the Princess of Wales, but one of her trusted employees revealed that she had plans to eventually become Queen. Patrick Jephson, who worked as Dianas private secretary, claims that she had her sights set on becoming Queen once Prince Charles sat on the throne. But once their marriage unraveled in the 1990s, Diana shifted her focus to a life outside of the royal spotlight.

Prince Charles And Princess Diana | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Did Princess Diana want to divorce Prince Charles?

When Diana, Princess of Wales, tied the knot with Prince Charles in 1981, she was thought to be the perfect match for the future King of the United Kingdom. Not only was she raised in the same social circle as the royals, but she also hadnt dated anyone serious prior to Charles.

According to Express, in his book from 2007 titled Charles: The Man who will be King, Howard Hodgson wrote that Diana quickly fell in love with Charles and was ready to marry him after their third date.

Moreover, she had made up her mind, in a most bizarre way, that she wishes to marry him despite the fact that she hardly knew him and, even worse, had  unlike most of her rivals  given little or no thought to the consequences of this action, Hodgson shared.

Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles | Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Princess Diana may have had her heart set on Charles, but their marriage quickly unraveled. By the early 1990s, the pair separated, and Diana revealed to the world that Charles had been having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

The two did not finalize their divorce until 1996, a year before Dianas tragic death in Paris. In the years leading up to the divorce, Hodgson says that Diana wanted to fix her marriage and that it was Queen Elizabeth who urged them to make their breakup official.

Diana wanted to be Queen

In an interview back in 2013, Dianas former secretary, Jephson, revealed that she had grand plans for her future in the monarchy. Jephson explained how Diana married Charles with the notion that she would become Queen once he inherited the crown.

You must remember that she didnt join the Royal Family to be Princess, he shared. She joined the Royal Family to be Queen.

Princess Dianas split from Charles in 1992, of course, changed her plans. With her future now uncertain, Jephson says that Diana found herself yearning for normality and that her actions in those days were a reaction to the trauma of her failed marriage.

Princess Diana, Princess of Wales | Anwar Hussein/WireImage

To deal with her struggles, Diana sought to have a normal relationship with Hasnat Khan, who was a heart surgeon from Pakistan. Jephson says that Diana hoped to live outside of the royal spotlight and had come to terms with her new role.

Although it sounds like Dianas plans were derailed by her failed marriage, her comments from a 1995 interview seemingly contradict Jephsons argument.

Did Princess Diana think she would be Queen someday?

A year before she finalized her divorce, Diana famously said that she would rather be the queen of peoples hearts instead of the Queen of the United Kingdom.

I dont see myself being queen of this country, Diana added. I dont think many people will want me to be queen.

Diana added that her comment about many people was meant to refer to the royal family, many of whom concluded that she was a non-starter.

Prince Charles And Princess Diana During A Royal Tour In Toronto, Canada | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Writing in his 1992 book, Princess Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words, Andrew Morton said that Diana never thought she would sit beside Charles on the throne. She reportedly said that she knew things would not work out from the very start.

As a counter, Jephson argued that Diana already knew that she was going to finalize her divorce in 1995, which explains her comments about being the queen of peoples hearts.

Did Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle because of his mom?

From her work in the charitable world to her influence on the fashion industry, Dianas legacy extended well beyond her years. While Diana really did become the queen of peoples hearts, people have compared her to Prince Harrys wife, Meghan Markle.

Before she married Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had already done a lot of charitable work. After they got married, Meghans influence grew more substantial, and the couples recent decision to leave the royal family mirrors Dianas exit in some ways.

Diana, Princess Of Wales, watched by President Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy, dances with John Travolta at the White House | Anwar Hussein/WireImage

According to Marie Claire, Paul Burrell, Princess Dianas butler, believes that the similarities between Meghan and Diana is what attracted Harry in the first place.

Harry went for and married Meghan because shes like Diana, he shared. Both women who would always stand up for what they believe in and wouldnt be pushovers.

Burrell added that there is one big difference between Meghan and Diana. When Meghan tied the knot with Harry in 2018, she already had experience in the spotlight. Princess Diana, on the other hand, had to learn how to live in the royal spotlight after she exchanged vows.
Recently, however, we have seen a change both in business attitudes and government policy.

Many companies have realized that offshoring creates risks that often outweigh the incremental efficiencies. Long supply lines flow at the whim of local politics, labor unrest and corruption. In some countries, like China, there have been governmentwide efforts to steal intellectual property for the benefit of domestic companies that become the main competitors for the victims of the theft.

At the same time, the trend in trade policy was also shifting rapidly. Businesses have seen that President Trump did not support their blind pursuit of efficiency in the global economy  manifest in the policy of theological free trade unconstrained by competing societal imperatives. Instead, his focus was on jobs, particularly in manufacturing, because he recognized the importance of productive work not only to our G.D.P., but also to the health and happiness of our citizens. Business success and economic efficiency, of course, remained important considerations. But they were no longer the be-all and end-all of trade policy.

The new policy consisted of aggressive enforcement of prior trade commitments, renegotiating job-destroying trade deals like NAFTA and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and taking on Chinas predatory trade and economic policies.

Many businesses protested that this policy shift created uncertainty. President Trumps response was simple: If you want certainty, bring your plants back to America. If you want the benefits of being a U.S. company, and the protection of the U.S. legal system, then bring back the jobs.

As a result of these developments, the offshoring frenzy started to abate. Since the administration first imposed duties on Chinese imports in July 2018, American companies including Apple, Whirlpool and Stanley Black & Decker have either scrapped offshoring plans or announced decisions to move production to the United States. Automotive companies have announced $34 billion in new U.S. investment as a result of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The Kearney Reshoring Index, which measures companies global production strategies, shifted significantly in 2019: Reversing a five-year trend, imports of manufactured goods from low-wage Asian countries fell while U.S. domestic manufacturing output remained strong.

Our experience of the past two months will only accelerate this reversal. As companies prepare to reopen their U.S. operations, many have found themselves held hostage to decisions made by foreign governments about whether their suppliers are essential or not. Every day I talk to business leaders who now acknowledge they underestimated the risk in decisions to move jobs overseas or to rely on the production of small but crucial parts in some far-off and often unstable country.
Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike has announced a two-day temporary lifting of the total lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas from Tuesday May 12 2020 to Wednesday May 13, 2020.

Governor Wike made this announcement on Sunday May 10th during a statewide broadcast.

According to his excellency, the temporary lift on the lockdown is for residents to restock foodstuffs and medicines in their homes. He said the lockdown will be reinstated on Thursday May 14.

Consequently, we have given due consideration to the propositions on the way forward by well-meaning citizens of the State, and after a cautious review of the situation, decided to implement a partial relaxation of the lockdown measures, to enable residents to have some fresh air and replenish their foodstuffs and medicines. To this end, I hereby announce the temporary lifting of the total lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Governments Areas for two days only, with effect from Tuesday 12th May 2020. All shops, supermarkets, and malls can open to the public for Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 and 13 May 2020. Similarly, all hospitals and banks can also open and provide full services to the public. While oil and gas companies are required to submit the list of their staff on essential duties to Government, note that there is no ban on the lifting of petroleum products from depots and other receptacles. The total lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas will be reinstated on Thursday 14th May 2020 and remain until further notice. Compulsory wearing of face mask or scarfs in vehicles and public places; Closure of all land, sea and air borders and entry routes into the State; and Closure of all open markets, including slaughters, hotels, guest houses, cinemas, bars and restaurants; and Ban on gathering, including public burials, weddings, and religious gathering of more than 50 persons. Once again, thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Please note that our enemy is invisible. Stay at home, maintain social distancing, wash your hands regularly and stay safe he said

Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local government areas has been on total lock down since Thursday May 7, 2020.

On Sunday May 10, the governor supervised the demolition of two hotels for flouting the lockdown order in the state.
With more than 25 years of experience in life science and healthcare, Dan brings comprehensive operational expertise to Azzur COD's San Diego location. Dan joins Azzur from Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. in San Diego. There, he served as General Manager of West Coast Operations for 14 years after nearly a decade of progressive roles of increasing responsibility at the company's Coralville, IA site.

During that time, he oversaw all operations for two manufacturing sites, including manufacturing, facilities, logistics, engineering maintenance, and quality assurance. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and biochemistry from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

"I'm excited to join Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand San Diego. I believe Azzur's COD concept is incredibly innovative and fills a niche currently untapped in the pharmaceutical development market. I look forward to working with our customers to progress their research and development and enable them to get their products into the hands of end-users as efficiently as possible," said Dan Dernbach.

According to Ravi Samavedam, President of Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand, "This is indeed an exciting time for Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand. By introducing COD in San Diego, we will enable early-phase manufacturing partners in this region to bring their innovations to market faster than ever before. We are excited to have Dan lead the San Diego operation and join us in our journey to accelerate critical therapies to the clinic and subsequently to the market."

Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand San Diego is the firm's second major location. Originally founded in Waltham, MA., in 2018, Azzur COD's hybrid model includes on-demand cleanrooms and related services for materials management, asset management, and supply chain. Along with all the other service areas in the Azzur Group portfolio, including Azzur Labs, Azzur Consulting, Azzur Technical Services, and Azzur IT Advisory Services, Azzur COD enables companies to focus on groundbreaking science and early-phase cGMP manufacturing without the burden of facility ownership and maintenance.

For more information about Azzur Cleanrooms On Demand, visit Azzur.com/cleanrooms .

About Azzur Group

A nationwide network of experts delivering professional services across the life sciences industry, Azzur Group is dedicated to providing clients with efficient, innovative quality and compliance solutions from Discovery to Delivery. With more than 250 industry partners, including 80% of the top pharma/biotech manufacturers in the U.S., Azzur Group provides carefully calibrated and efficiently executed project management, process engineering, and compliance services. As one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, Azzur Group provides clients with the consulting, facility solutions, engineering, validation, IT, technical, training, and laboratory services and solutions they need to remain innovative and competitive. Learn more at Azzur.com . Follow us on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook .

SOURCE Azzur Group, LLC

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(Newser)  Guy Fieri has somehow morphed into a scapegoat of sorts over the years: The affable celebrity chef has been the butt of existential jokes, the recipient of bad restaurant reviews, and the subject of some odd headlines. But we've got the 52-year-old foodie all wrong, writes Scaachi Koul for BuzzFeed. Koul gets the impulse thatquoting comedian Shane Torres"because [Fieri's] hair looks like he was electrocuted while drinking Mountain Dew, people act like we need to saw his head off and put it on the internet." But, she adds, "in a world where everyone's struggling through the quicksand of reality, Fieri is a king among slugs" who seems to be a "deeply non-awful human being."

story continues below

To back up this claim, Koul goes down the list of praiseworthy Fieri feats: He officiated at the 2015 weddings of more than 100 same-sex couples as a tribute to his late sister, fed evacuees from the California wildfires in 2017 and 2018, and most recently raised money for restaurant workers affected by the coronavirus (at least $20 million so far). He also seems to be a generally nice guy overall, with "remarkably few stories" suggesting otherwise, Koul writes. As for his decidedly non-gourmet fare, which often gets panned? "It's big, it's flavorful, it's easy to make, and it's dumb as hell," Koul writes. "Is any other chef making food so perfectly attuned to this current moment?" In short, Koul writes, Guy Fieri is "the hero we need." Read the full column. (Read more Guy Fieri stories.)
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Indian electrical gear makers have reportedly demanded the government to put a ban on Chinese firms from critical power equipment contracts citing security reasons. This comes a week after a similar order was issued in the United States.

The gear making industry has been critical of the government signing contracts with Chinese companies. These include smart meters, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, transmission and distribution components, etc.

The US invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergency Act to issue the order. Similar options are available in India and thus, the local body is seeking a ban on Chinese firms citing cybersecurity reasons, says a report by The Economic Times.

Sunil Misra, director-general of the Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) said the electrical grid is the most critical component of national security and any lapse can bring the nation to grinding halt. We dont give away defence contracts to China. Electric grid is even more critical in nature than defence contracts. India can bar Chinese firms from critical components on reciprocity basis or security reasons. Right now sentiments are also against China, he added.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu received criticism for recognising two equipment labs in China, the report stated.
President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, May 11, 2020.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended Tesla CEO Elon Musk's calls to resume production at the company's Fremont, California, plant.

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Musk has been pushing to restart its California production that had stopped March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.Though attempts to return have been met with heavy resistance from local authorities.

On Monday, local TV broadcasters showed employees' cars streaming into the company's parking lots. Musk also tweeted a confirmation that Tesla had resumed production Monday afternoon, and dared the local sheriff's office to arrest him.

On Monday afternoon, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and Alameda County Public Health Care Services Agency said in a statement: "Today, May 11, we learned that the Tesla factory in Fremont had opened beyond Minimum Basic Operations. We have notified Tesla that they can only maintain Minimum Basic Operations until we have an approved plan that can be implemented in accordance with the local public health Order."

Musk threatened Saturday to pull Tesla out of California amid a dispute with Alameda County, where Fremont is located, over the shutdown. Tesla also filed a lawsuit against the county, asking a federal court to invalidate orders by local authorities that have prevented the automaker from resuming production.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin backed Musk on Monday, telling CNBC that California should help the company reopen its plant there amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I agree with Elon Musk. He's one of the biggest employers and manufacturers in California, and California should prioritize doing whatever they need to do to solve those health issues so that he can open quickly and safely," Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

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36 years after its release, Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon said he will no longer perform the memorable dance moves from the teen movie that launched his career, Footloose.

When Access Hollywood asked the Philadelphia-born 61-year-old on Monday if he'd ever recreate Ren McCormack's angry warehouse dance, he shook his head: 'No, I'm not that angry anymore, no.'

'But yeah I do get a lot of requests for that,' Kevin stressed.

Retired: 36 years after its release, Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon said he will no longer perform the memorable dance moves from the teen movie that launched his career, Footloose (pictured in 1983)

'No, I'm not that angry anymore, no': Access Hollywood asked the Philadelphia-born 61-year-old on Monday if he'd ever recreate Ren McCormack's angry warehouse dance

'Of course, yeah, it's a thing! People will come up and they'll sort of do a little dancing. There was a time when I was kind of over it, but now I'm happy to embrace it - not that I can dance that well.'

Bacon last 'cut loose' for a 2014 segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Herbert Ross' flick about a Utah town banning dancing.

Like a lot of dance movies from the eighties, four doubles were hired to help make up for any lack of the Animal House alum's own physicality.

'I had a stunt double, a dance double and two gymnastics doubles. There were five of us in the f***ing outfit, and I felt horrible,' Kevin recalled to People in 2011.

Kevin stressed: 'But yeah I do get a lot of requests for that...There was a time when I was kind of over it, but now I'm happy to embrace it - not that I can dance that well'

Six years ago: Bacon last 'cut loose' for a 2014 segment on The Tonight Show to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Herbert Ross' flick about a Utah town banning dancing

'I was furious. It's like a starting pitcher getting taken out of a game  no one wants to be told they can't get the guy out...When the movie came out, the studio told me to never mention that they used a double. While I was in no position to do this, I told them, "You are out of your f***ing mind!"'

Footloose went on to earn 10 times its $8.2M budget, put out an iconic soundtrack, as well as Craig Brewer's forgettable 2011 remake starring professional dancers.

Bacon also does not recite dialogue from his old movies, even though fans approach him remembering the script better than him.

'I definitely can't recite the lines for anything because I can't think of it like a hard drive. You know, it fills up and then you dump everything off the back end,' the City on a Hill actor explained.

'I was furious': Like a lot of dance movies from the eighties, four doubles were hired to help make up for any lack of the Animal House alum's own physicality

Kevin recalled to People in 2011: 'I had a stunt double, a dance double and two gymnastics doubles. There were five of us in the f***ing outfit, and I felt horrible'

Everybody cut! Footloose went on to earn 10 times its $8.2M budget, put out an iconic soundtrack, as well as Craig Brewer's forgettable 2011 remake starring professional dancers

'It's weird because there are movies that you remember because the movie itself you were proud of or proud to be apart of but then there's also movies that become a template for a certain time in your life.'

Kevin and his wife of 31 years Kyra Sedgwick - who happen to be ninth cousins once removed - have been focusing on their #IFeedTheFront initiative by his charity Six Degrees.

'Obviously, we want to support our frontline workers as much as we possibly can. It's been said so many times, but they are the heroes of this [coronavirus] situation,' Bacon said.

'What's really cool about it is the money raised not only supports the healthcare workers but it also supports these local restaurants that are struggling. Obviously, they had to close down, a lot of them. The restaurants are providing the food and dropping it at the hospitals and healthcare centers.'

Ninth cousins once removed: Bacon and his wife of 31 years Kyra Sedgwick (R) have been focusing on their #IFeedTheFront initiative by his charity Six Degrees (pictured Wednesday)

The City on a Hill actor said: 'The money raised not only supports the healthcare workers but it also supports these local restaurants that are struggling...The restaurants are providing the food and dropping it at the hospitals and healthcare centers'

Family affair: Kevin and the 54-year-old Golden Globe winner have even enlisted help with #IFeedTheFront from their 28-year-old daughter Sosie (L) and 30-year-old son Travis (R, pictured September 21)

The Last Degree podcaster and the 54-year-old Golden Globe winner have even enlisted help with #IFeedTheFront from their 28-year-old daughter Sosie and 30-year-old son Travis.

'Kyra reminded me that I talked about having kids pretty early on in our relationship. She was only 22, so she was kind of like, "What? Really?"' Kevin recalled.

'And I had real delusions of grandeur, because I was thinking we'd have four and then adopt four. I'm the youngest of six, so that was something that I thought was kind of doable. That changed. But we got pregnant on our honeymoon. It was the greatest thing. It's a cliche but it's the gift that keeps on giving.'
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh Arshavir Gharamyan ha submitted a resignation letter, ARMENPRESS reports Gharamyan wrote on his Facebook page.

Dear compatriots, I want to inform you that I have submitted a letter of resignation from the post of the Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, which, of course, does not mean that I free myself from my personal responsibility for ensuring the security of Artsakh. I have devoted my entire life to the to the national liberation fight and used all possible opportunities to have my moderate contribution to ensure our security. I assure you that irrespective of my position and status I will continue my mission. I have said a number of times that nothing can hamper someone to be useful to his motherland, irrespective of what kind of capabilities he has, which sphere he can contribute to or what kind of status he has, Gharamyan wrote.

Arshavir Gharamyan was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh on September 26, 2019.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: If one problem ends, another begins. For migrant workers who are returning from the Gulf countries, there seems to be no end to the agony they are going through. Most of the Gulf returnees, who are being put up in city hotels to undergo a quarantine period, are being asked to move to Gandhi Hospital by the management if they are not in a position to pay the accommodation fee in advance.

Around 160 such workers, who arrived in Hyderabad from Kuwait on May 9, were shifted to different hotels in the city with three different price slabs. At the time of check-in, they were asked to pay the money in advance. Unfortunately, these migrants neither had the time nor the facilities to convert the foreign currency into Indian money due to the lockdown restrictions.

Srinivas, a Sircilla resident who returned from Kuwait, was asked to stay in a city hotel by paying `15,000 for the quarantine period. When we were dropped at the hotel, the management insisted that we should first pay the amount. But none of us had Indian currency.

Then we approached the police who were posted at the hotel. But that was of no help. The hotel management as well as the police said that we will be shifted to Gandhi Hospital if we cannot pay the money, he told Express.

Then Srinivas contacted his family in Sircilla, and only after they electronically transferred the money to the hotel, he was allowed to check in. Some exemptions or facilities should be given and hotels should accept foreign currency, he added.

Speaking about his stay at the hotel, Srinivas said, As of now, we are being given food three times a day. A nurse comes daily to check our temperature. When Srinivas and others landed at the airport, they were subjected to an elaborate health check up by airport officials.
In a recent breakthrough, it was found that an experimental vaccine for the novel coronavirus in macaque monkeys safely induced antibodies that blocked several different SARS-CoV-2 strains. Reported in the journal Science last week, Chinese researchers say tests of their vaccine candidate, "PiCoVacc," in humans will likely begin later this year.

Here are some of the other latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus:

New coronavirus is adapting to different populations A genetic analysis of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests that as the new coronavirus spreads quickly around the world, it is adapting to its human hosts, researchers reported on Tuesday in the medical journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution. They found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - that show how it may be evolving as it spreads in people.

"All viruses naturally mutate," Francois Balloux of University College London, who co-led the research, told Reuters. "Mutations in themselves are not a bad thing and there is nothing to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster or slower than expected. So far, we cannot say whether SARS-CoV-2 is becoming more or less lethal and contagious."

Blood thinners may improve survival of hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Blood thinners may improve survival odds for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, a study from New York City suggests. Researchers looked back at 2,773 patients, about one in four of whom had received a high dose of blood clot preventers. Patients who got this treatment were more likely to survive, the researchers reported on Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The difference was most pronounced among the 395 patients who needed mechanical ventilation. In this group, the death rate was 63% without anticoagulants and 29% when patients did get blood thinners.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The researchers note that because the study was not randomized, it cannot prove the drugs directly led to better survival. Large randomized trials are needed to confirm a benefit, researchers said, and any potential benefit needs to be weighed against the increased risk of bleeding with these drugs.

COVID-19 antibodies may not predict speed of recovery

The immune system does not always respond to SARS-CoV-2 infection the way doctors might expect, unpublished data suggest. Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston found that having antibodies to two important structures on the surface of the virus does not necessarily mean patients' recovery will be faster or smoother.

Dr. Raghu Kalluri, who coauthored the study, told Reuters that patients with severe COVID-19 disease being treated in intensive care units had varying levels of antibodies. In fact, some recovered patients did not have these antibodies at all, which, he said, suggests that their immune systems fought off the virus in some unknown way. The study, posted on Tuesday on the preprint server medRxiv, has not yet been peer reviewed or published in a medical journal.

]

Coronavirus link to loss of smell and taste may be underestimated

The true prevalence of problems with smell and taste among patients infected with the novel coronavirus may be higher than doctors realize, according to researchers who reviewed 10 studies published earlier this year. Among a total of more than 1,600 infected patients in North America, Asia and Europe, nearly 53% had diminished or loss of sense of smell, and nearly 44% had problems with taste. In the subset of studies that used particularly reliable tests to evaluate patients' ability to smell and taste, rates of dysfunction were even higher, suggesting "that the true prevalence of dysfunction in COVID-19 patients may remain underestimated," the research team wrote on Tuesday in the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Increased awareness "may encourage earlier diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, as well as heighten vigilance for viral spread."

Researchers list ways to ease stress of frontline caregivers

There are many well documented methods hospitals could use to help ease frontline caregivers' emotional stress, according to researchers who reviewed dozens of studies of healthcare staff working during outbreaks of emerging viruses. Broadly, they say, interventions fall into the categories of clear communication, access to adequate personal protection, adequate rest, and practical and psychological support.

Among their specific recommendations are changes to practice, such as screening stations to funnel infected patients to specific areas, redesigning of procedures that pose high risks for spread of infection, and reducing the density of patients on wards. They wrote on Tuesday in The BMJ that interventions shown to be helpful in the earlier studies "were similar despite the wide range of settings and types of outbreaks ... and thus could be applicable to the current COVID-19 outbreak."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) speaks at a press conference about COVID-19 and the closing of K-12 public schools in New York City.

New York City health officials are worried about a rising number of cases of a potentially fatal inflammatory syndrome that's causing heart and kidney failure in children with Covid-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday.

"This was not something that the health-care community saw on their radar, and then in the last week or two, suddenly, we're seeing something that's very troubling," de Blasio said at his daily press briefing.

There are 52 confirmed cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, and 10 cases pending. Of those cases, 25 children have tested positive for Covid-19 and 22 others had antibodies against the disease, suggesting they previously had the coronavirus and recovered. One child in the city has died from the disease, officials said.

Health officials are still struggling to understand how the virus impacts people of different ages. Scientists originally thought kids couldn't become severely ill from the coronavirus, but they have recently identified a rare inflammatory syndrome similar to Kawasaki disease in children that have Covid-19 or the antibodies to the disease.

City officials said the symptoms in children differ from the most common coronavirus symptoms in adults, which include a sore throat, fever, dry cough and trouble breathing. They advised parents to immediately call their doctor if their child has a persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting.

"Prolonged fever, a rash, having really red bright lips, swollen hands and feet, they could have abdominal pains, all of these symptoms, especially if they come together, are concerning indications that these children need to be evaluated for in-patient treatments," Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said.

Most of the kids who have developed the inflammatory syndrome are between 5 and 9 years old, she previously said.

"This is something where the quicker a parent reports, then the quicker a health-care professional can evaluate, the more chance of protecting the child and seeing them through this challenge safely," de Blasio said.

Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory syndrome in young children, causes high fever and swelling in blood vessels.

De Blasio said parents who don't have access to a pediatrician can call the city's 311 line and be connected to a medical professional to discuss their child's health.

"Early detection, early action makes all the difference here," he said.

New York state is investigating how Covid-19 impacts children after a 5-year-old boy in New York City died last week from coronavirus-related complications, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. He said there have been 73 cases in the state of children falling severely ill with similar symptoms.

"Caution to all people who again may have believed that their child couldn't be affected by Covid," Cuomo said at a press conference on Friday. "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."
A 'friendly and polite' cannibal who put out an advert for 'a man to slaughter' in a gay magazine before murdering and eating him has been going for 'walks around town'.

Murderer Armin Meiwes, 58, was given 'sunglasses and a cap' to hide his identity and then driven to another state in Germany for walks.

'Two officers accompany him. We always drive him to another state for security reasons. There he can walk around town,' an investigator told BILD.

In March 2001 Meiwes stabbed Bernd Brandes, 43, in the heart after amputating his penis and frying it in a pan with 'salt, pepper garlic and nutmeg', the murderer revealed in a televised interview in 2007.

Murderer Armin Meiwes (left), 58, was given 'sunglasses and a cap' to hide his identity and then driven to another state in Germany for walks. In March 2001 Meiwes stabbed Bernd Brandes (right), 43, in the heart after amputating his appendage and frying it in a pan

The pair met online after Meiwes put out an advertisement for someone who was willing to be killed and eaten.

Two earlier respondents were turned down because there was no sexual chemistry with the first, and the second wanted to be nailed down and beaten to death - which Meiwes thought was 'weird'.

Mr Brandes met Meiwes, a former computer technician, at his Rotenburg farmhouse in the western state of Hesse.

The timber-beamed mock Tudor house had belonged to his mother. During the murder, in a pre-prepared killing room, both men tried to eat part of Mr Brandes, who had taken 20 sleeping pills to numb the pain.

When Mr Brandes was dead he was chopped to pieces on a butcher's block and kept in a freezer as Meiwes gradually ate meal-sized portions over a period of months.

Meiwes was convicted in 2006 for murder and disturbance of the peace and sentenced to life imprisonment, overturning a 2004 conviction (pictured during the first trial) for manslaughter and a lesser sentence of eight-and-a-half years

After putting out an advertisement for a second victim he was finally caught by police when an Austrian student reported him in 2002.

Meiwes used website The Cannibal Cafe, whose disclaimer mentions the distinction between reality and fantasy, to find his victim.

His post stated that he was 'looking for a well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed'.

Meiwes was convicted in 2006 for murder and disturbance of the peace and sentenced to life imprisonment, overturning a 2004 conviction for manslaughter and a lesser sentence of eight-and-a-half years.

Mr Brandes met Meiwes at his Rotenburg farmhouse in the western state of Hesse. The timber-beamed mock Tudor house had belonged to his mother. During the murder, in a pre-prepared killing room, both men tried to eat part of Mr Brandes

Meiwes (then 42, right) talks to his lawyer Harald Ermel as he faces trial for murder at the regional court in Kassel, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003

At his retrial a psychologist stated that Meiwes could re-offend and still 'had fantasies about devouring the flesh of young people'.

There had been a legal argument over whether killing a willing victim counted as murder.

Now Meiwes has been described as a 'friendly, outgoing, polite' prisoner who reads, helps other prisoners with the typewriter, goes to church services and works in the laundry.

He unsuccessfully applied for probation in December 2017. An investigator at the time told BILD: 'Armin Meiwes shows no kind of crime processing in detention. He has a special need for validity and shows no sense of guilt. And he feels confirmed in his position that he hasn't done anything wrong.'

At the time of his original conviction a psychological analysis revealed Meiwes was sane, but had a 'severely disturbed soul'.

At trial Meiwes said he had always dreamt of having a younger brother 'to be part of me' and thought of cannibalism as a way to fulfill that obsession.

The Kassel regional court is considering a second application for probation.

But in January the Frankfurt state prosecutor's office filed a request urging the court to refuse parole 'due to the lack of a favourable social prognosis'.

Harald Ermel, his lawyer, disagreed. He said: 'Prison officials say that theoretically his door could be left open all day and nothing would happen.'
Gov. Phil Murphy was expected Tuesday to outline the states plan for increased testing and contact tracing as the states near-lockdown orders appear to have slowed the coronavirus outbreak.

Murphy said during a press briefing on Monday that he will unveil the strategy for two key metrics to our reopening strategy. He has said the state may need to have an army of up to 7,000 contact tracers. New Jersey is soliciting applications for both paid and volunteer workers. Heres how to apply.

Noting the efforts will be costly, Murphy said he is working with the federal government to obtain sources of funding.

The number of new cases has shown continuing moderation, Murphy said, noting slower rates of spread across the state.

The governor also said New Jersey residents should expect hard dates in the coming days on when the state can begin to reopen from the restrictions that have been in place for many weeks.

We are getting data that is making us more comfortable and confident that we will soon give some hard dates as to when we can truly begin our road back through restart and recovery, Murphy said. Im hoping to put dates on the schedule very soon.

As of Tuesday morning, 9,340 people in New Jersey have died from coronavirus and the total number of cases in the state was at more than 139,900, according to state officials and Johns Hopkins University.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

More Coronavirus News:

Three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst will conduct a flyover of New Jersey on Tuesday to salute frontline workers in the coronavirus pandemic.

How to see Air National Guard N.J. flyover today to salute frontline coronavirus workers. Route, times, locations. The 177th Fighter Wing of the state Air National Guard plans to fly over 14 sites around the state Tuesday. The aircraft will include three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst.

N.J. financial disaster from coronavirus will be on our doorstep in just a few weeks, Murphy says: New Jersey and other states are in for a fiscal disaster in response to the coronavirus outbreak unless the federal government sends direct aid, Gov. Phil Murphy said. He has warned of the potential of massive public worker layoffs.

Stop leaving feces, bottles of urine at reopened N.J. parks! There is zero tolerance for that,' cops say: The second weekend of New Jerseys county and state parks being reopened after weeks of coronavirus closures was met with a foul problem as visitors left urine-filled bottles and feces behind, officials said Monday.

Murphy said during Mondays press briefing that police will crackdown on anyone caught leaving bodily waste in public. Youre not going to get a warning if we catch you leaving something that behind. So folks please dont do that, he said.

Drive-by wave parades dont violate coronavirus rules if you stay in cars, dont congregate: Acting Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan clarified on Monday that graduation, birthday and other drive-by wave parades are permitted under New Jerseys coronavirus outbreak lockdown rules, but schools cant organize central meeting points where people may get out of cars.

Callahan said a wave parade that does not summon students or individuals to one location" is fine.

N.J. university faces major cuts from humongous COVID-19 deficit: Kean University President Dawood Farahi said the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a $20 million setback for the current school year due to remote learning and result in reduced staff, furlough of workers and the elimination of academic programs.

The deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, could grow as high as $15 million, he said.

Police officer known as unofficial mayor of N.J. town he patrolled succumbs to coronavirus: Glen Ridge police officer Charles Rob Roberts, a cop so popular in town that people called him Mr. Glen Ridge or the unofficial mayor, died Monday from the coronavirus. He was 45.

Historic N.J. tavern could lose liquor license for serving patrons inside during coronavirus shutdown: The state Attorney Generals office has filed a petition to have the Mount Royal Inns liquor license revoked after the business violated Murphys executive order twice, serving patrons inside the restaurant, according to court documents. Officials say the violations occurred on March 21 and April 4.

Ruby Tuesday permanently closes 3 N.J. restaurants: The casual-dining chain Ruby Tuesday is permanently closing restaurants in Freehold, Neptune and Lakewood amid the coronavirus pandemic. All three restaurants have been removed from Ruby Tuesdays website and telephone numbers for those locations are out of service.

NJ Transit expanding coronavirus testing for its workers with site in South Jersey: NJ Transit employees will get a South Jersey location to be tested for the coronavirus. The site, located at Rowan College of South Jersey in Deptford, is now open to all NJ Transit employees from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Engaged Eagles fans impacted by coronavirus can get married at Lincoln Financial Field for free (sort of): The Philadelphia Eagles are offering a free wedding ceremony on the sidelines of Lincoln Financial Field to frontline workers and couples who had their wedding canceled because of COVID-19. The stadium would normally cost $30,000.

Worldwide coronavirus cases: There have been more than 286,615 deaths among the approximately 4.19 million infected in 187 counties as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.46 million have recovered.

U.S. cases: More than 80,000 have died in the U.S. among the roughly 1.34 million who have tested positive for the virus as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the center says.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.
Some Fako lawyers Facebook

The Fako Lawyers Association, FAKLA has called on the government and all Cameroonians of good will to decry political intrusion into the management of the University of Buea (UB) following the May 6, 2020 decision to terminate the contract of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor alias Agbor Balla, Instructor at the English Law Department.

Barristers Benjamin Enow Agbor and Nji Aben Valentine, respectively President and Secretary General of FAKLA in a press release Tuesday, May 12, 2020 said the reason advanced for the termination of Agbor Ballas contract is untenable as no factual breaches have been raised.

Indeed, a disciplinary panel unanimously agreed that Agbor Ballas contract be terminated at the end of a Disciplinary Hearing Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at the Board Room of the Central Administrative Block despite Agbor Nkonghos boycott.

The rights activist is said to have breached professional obligations when he set an exam question on the Anglophone Crisis in a first semester level one course titled Political and Constitutional History of Cameroon. The question read: The Anglophone crisis since 2016 was caused by lawyers and teachers strikes. Assess the validity of this statement. (40 marks).

The Disciplinary Panel resolved that the question violates Article 40 and 42 (paragraph 1) of decree no. 93/027 of 19 January 1993, modified and completed by decree no. 2005/342 of 10 September 2005, to define provisions common to all university institutions.

Expected to enter appearance in defense, Human Rights Lawyer Agbor Balla rather sought the services of Sheriff-Bailiff Tapa Justin Lebrin to serve the Vice-Chancellor his Appearance Under Protest. In the four-page protest, Agbor Balla picked holes in the disciplinary hearing, positing that it fell short of due process.

Based on the outcome of the Disciplinary Panel, UB Vice-Chancellor Professor Ngomo Horace Manga decided to terminate with immediate effect the Contract of Mr. Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla recruited as Instructor in the Department of Law through decision No. 2015/0514/UB/AcA/TTSD/TSS of June 2, 2015.

Fako Lawyers says while it is not their concern to interfere with the labour relationship between the University of Buea and its employees, the circumstances of the said dismissal which was ventilated on social media platforms raises pertinent human rights concerns which the Mandate of the Fako Lawyers Association obliges it to deplore.

FAKLA holds strongly that the reason advanced for the dismissal of the learned gentleman is untenable as no factual breaches have been raised. This amounts to an attempt at the censorship of the assessment procedure in a University that was created as an Anglo-Saxon University, the lawyers maintain.

They fault UB for failing to provide an explanation as to how such an innocent question violates the universitys rules.

FAKLA further notes that, at the time learned Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla was indicted for setting the said question in the University of Buea in 2020, the same and similar questions were set by other lecturers in the University of Yaounde II  Soa.

One such question read: The Anglophone problem in Cameroon in its new developments since 2016, is it nationalism or ethnicity? Discuss.

Fako Lawyers observe that the lecturer who set the above question has not been sanctioned and indeed should not be sanctioned because there is no travesty in both questions.

They however submit that: The circumstances preceding this spectacle and the speed with which the events unfolded on social media, leaves no one in doubt that the allegations and subsequent dismissal of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla was not only politically motivated but he was in fact discriminatorily targeted and slayed. We therefore view the dismissal of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla as political victimisation and an infringement of his human rights.

FAKLA considers it anathema that in a University, the sphere of knowledge should be limited by the nature of questions asked in an examination. Neither does it condone the politicisation of the University.

FAKLA weeps for the University of Buea, that in spite of the fact that it was created to operate as an Anglo-Saxon University  one of whose cardinal characteristics should be its autonomy and independence, the administration of the University now allows itself to be manipulated by politicians and political considerations.

Agbor Balla has previously served as President of the Fako Lawyers Association. He is founder/president of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA. He says he has briefed his lawyer and will meet with UB in court following his dismissal. Cameroon-Info.Net understands that Agbor Ballas contract dated June 2, 2015 was due to expire in April 2021.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 12 : Two of Kerala's leading personalities, presently engaged in tackling the Covid-19, since January, on the occasion of Nurses Day, paid glowing tributes to the selfless service rendered by Kerala nurses, not just in the state, but across the globe.

It was in January 1974, May 12 was chosen to celebrate the day as it is the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing and since then, not a year has passed without anyone remembering the yeoman service Kerala nurses have rendered.

Kerala nurses are found in huge numbers in the West, East, the Middle East, Down Under and several other countries, for many years.

And during Covid-19 crisis, the role played by Kerala nurses, in these countries and not to mention in India, has become the cynosure of all eyes.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on the forefront of the war world is fighting against the invisible enemy is the nurses.

"By now we have heard the role played by our Kerala nurses across the world. Full credit to their deep commitment and they are doing this service to the humanity, even while risking their own lives. It's this commitment and dedication that is our strength," said Vijayan.

"On this day we fondly remember our own nurse -- Lini, who lost her life after tackling many patients affected with Nipah. This day we all feel so proud of our own nurses and all of us should be deeply indebted to them," added Vijayan.

According to figures every year around 25,000 new nurses pass out from Kerala and the neighbouring states.

Studies done on the Kerala diaspora by the Centre for Development Studies, here, over the years reveal that 15 per cent of the migrants (above 23 lakhs) from Kerala are women, of which a huge majority are nurses.

The total remittances of non-resident Keralites are around Rs 90,000 crore.

The study also points out that with regard to remittances also the pattern is the same and 20 per cent of the annual remittances is made by women and here again it is the nurses which contribute the maximum.

State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said the only reason why our own nurses have huge respect all over the world is because of their proven ability and selfless service and this has been proven again as the world battles Covid-19.

"These services by nurses will never ever be forgotten by anyone. Such is the dedication and commitment. During Covid times by now their role has become the cynosure of all eyes, as they take care of patients, risking their own lives. Full kudos to each and every one of them," said Shailaja.

Reshma Mohandas, a senior nurse at the state run Kottayam Medical College hospital who treated the country's oldest coronavirus patient at her ward - included a 93-year-old and his 88-year-old wife, but she turned positive.

"It was the support of my husband and my colleagues that I could face the hardships as a Covid-19 patient with a smile. Now our ward has no positive cases and if there are going to be, I will again return to take care of them," said Mohandas.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Police officers ask motorists to present their quarantine passes at a checkpoint in the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro, April 29, 2020.

The Philippine government on Tuesday announced the gradual lifting of a 2-month-old coronavirus lockdown in selected areas of the country to open up business and spur the slowing economy, despite increasing deaths caused by the virus.

But in announcing the easing of stay-at-home orders, President Rodrigo Duterte also extended the lockdown until the end of May.

Duterte, who met on Monday night with cabinet officials in charge of the crisis, ordered the implementation of a modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and in Laguna province south of the capital and central Cebu City, the areas in the country considered high-risk in the spread of COVID-19.

For those that would be allowed to go out and work and for those who are still barred, just remember this  the easing up of the restrictions does not mean that COVID is gone, Duterte said during the meeting, portions of which were broadcast on television Tuesday.

We cannot afford a second wave, or third wave to happen, he said, emphasizing that despite relaxing the quarantine, the public must strictly follow rules set by the government. COVID is very lethal.

He said that anyone allowed to go out must wear a mask, and social distancing rules would remain in force until such a time that a vaccine is found.

Under a modified lockdown, peoples movement would be allowed though limited, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque. Essential services and work would resume in a bid to spur the economy, while select industries would be allowed to resume operations by up to 50 percent, he said, adding that limited transportation would also be allowed.

The modified enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will take effect on May 16, and would be in place until the end of the month, he said.

It is still ECQ but we are opening more businesses to help the economy, Roque told reporters. But we remain under ECQ because the threat of COVID-19 is still present.

Quarantine rules had been lifted in areas with low risk of virus transmissions, he said.

The list of businesses allowed to reopen will be released Wednesday, Roque said, adding that most likely these would include transportation services, as well as indispensable industries involved in food, hospitals and other services.

Authorities imposed a lockdown, restricting travel and gatherings, including business establishments all over Metro Manila on March 12. Movement restrictions were expanded throughout the main Luzon Island until April 30, before the government imposed another extension for 15 more days due to increasing cases of coronavirus. Security forces were deployed to man checkpoints, and the country were closed to all except repatriated Filipinos

Luzon, the most populous of the countrys three major islands is home to some 60 million Filipinos. Most of the countrys major businesses are also headquartered in the region.

Last week, the National Economic Development Authority reported that the economy had slowed down for the first time in 22 years, contracting 0.2 percent in the first quarter from a 5.6 percent growth in the same period last year.

Roque said the health crisis had bludgeoned the economy, putting government funds under tremendous strain.

Government resources are limited, and we need to generate resources for a longer fight against COVID, he said. We need to balance safety with the economy.

The decision to ease the lockdown came as health authorities reported 25 more coronavirus deaths, bringing the nations toll to 751. Infections also surged to 11,350 after officials confirmed 264 new cases during the past 24 hours.

Taking that decision into consideration, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters that standards such as physical distancing, temperature checks, and observing hygienic measures must still be followed.

We are not saying we already controlled the transmission. Thats why there must be minimum health standards in areas under low risk, she said. We want to avoid the second wave.

Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato contributed to this report.
WESTPORT  The Planning and Zoning Commission continued its preparation for the governors anticipated executive order that will allow restaurants to offer outdoor dining.

My understanding is that the governor is going to issue an executive order that will basically suspend the existing requirements that we and everybody else has in connection with outdoor dining and allow a lot more flexibility, Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Danielle Dobin said at a meeting on Monday.

One of the changes the state may put in place is allowing restaurants to use adjacent lots and parking lots for outdoor dining, she said.

However, Dobin said, one of her concerns was setbacks in residential areas because of a number of Post Road businesses that back up against neighborhoods. She said she would be comfortable having tables within 15 feet of a residential zone

I do think its appropriate to create some setback relief, she said.

Currently, restaurants with outdoor dining approvals have 50-foot setbacks, but Dobin said the executive order would largely set these limitations aside. She added the commission would have limited authority because of the order.

What we do have the authority to do is to create a framework that the administrative process  or whoever is effectuating the administrative process  uses in order to look at what they want, Dobin said.

Commissioner Chip Stephens said noise will have to be addressed. He said the commission could write a letter to local businesses stating they have the commissions support, but ask for sensitivity to neighbors.

I think we have to get some understanding there, Stephens said.

Commissioner Paul Lebowitz said Gov. Ned Lamonts reopen strategy already asks for limited capacity and reduced patronage in restaurants.

If you add collectively all of that and then throw a setback on top of it, you could technically eliminate a lot of restaurants from being able to open up at all, Lebowitz said.

Commissioners largely showed support for allowing flexibility for restaurant owners but supported having town hall staff in place to review neighbor complaints if necessary.

Dobin said a simple application would be helpful for restaurant owners because of the temporary nature of the governors executive order.

Restaurant owners who apply for outdoor dining would also have to present approvals from the police and fire departments, as well as the Westport-Weston Health District.

Dobin said beside considering a setback requirement for properties abutting residential properties, the commission should be open-minded.

Obviously, this is only temporary, she said. But this really allows the restaurateurs the most amount of flexibility to work with each other, with other people and have their applications evaluated contextually on a case-by-case basis. That way, there are no broad rules setting forth what they can or cant do.

The zoning commission will continue the discussion at its meeting on Thursday.

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com
The Congress on Tuesday demanded a judicial inquiry into the deaths of two people who were admitted in the isolation ward of Goa Medical College and Hospital, the state's designated COVID-19 facility.

Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar said the two people, including a woman who died on Monday, were in the isolation ward meant for persons with suspected exposure to novel coronavirus. "The two persons were declared coronavirus negative.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should make public the autopsy reports of all those who died of respiratory ailments since March 1 this year and clear doubts of people. He should tell us if protocols for COVID-19 deaths are being followed in Goa," Chodankar said.

"We demand an impartial judicial inquiry into the mysterious deaths in the isolation ward since lockdown was

announced," Chodankar said. He said GMCH authorities should explain why people with respiratory illnesses are dying soon after being brought to the facility, and also explain in detail the line of treatment given to such patients.

"The CM should also clear if nasopharyngeal (NP) swab specimen was taken for COVID-19 test and a separate NP swab

for testing of other respiratory pathogens as is the standard procedure globally," the Congress leader said.

A senior GMCH official said the samples of a person who had died in the isolation ward last month tested negative

for coronavirus. "As far as the new case is concerned, the samples have been sent for testing," he added.
[May 12, 2020] $400 Million New Jersey Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund Named Clearbrook as Portfolio Consultant

Clearbrook Investment Consulting, LLC ("Clearbrook") named Portfolio Consultant for the $400 million New Jersey Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (MEL). Trust, track record and flexibility were the key criteria for the MEL in selecting a Portfolio Consultant. Fernando Garip, the Managing Director of Portfolio Strategy for Clearbrook, has worked with the MEL for over two decades in various capacities, so he knows them well. His track record and Clearbrook's depth of global investment experience, flexibility to create customized solutions and cost-effective structure makes Clearbrook the best partner for the MEL to trust as Portfolio Consultant. "Trust is the only currency we have to trade," said Garip. "Expanding the ability to protect MEL fund's assets and mitigate risk is a critical aspect of Clearbrook's overall strategy and obligation to MEL. This partnership allows the MEL to keep its promises to its members and protect the state's taxpayers." For Clearbrook, mitigating downside risk is as important as upside return in ensuring tat public plans have the income and assets to meet their obligations. The firm focuses on long-term performance and is dedicated to forward-thinking analysis and risk mitigation strategies which is critical in today's volatile climate.



Clearbrook's investment acumen and portfolio experience doesn't just benefit investors, it positively impacts the beneficiaries of public funds, endowments, foundations, and pension plans. The firm prides itself in offering the independence and open architecture which enables the firm to tailor Rightsourced? investment solutions for each of their clients. "We are proud that MEL entrusted Clearbrook with the role of Portfolio Consultant. We understand the obligation of putting the interest of MEL and its members before any competing interest or agenda," said Elliott Wislar, CEO & Founder, Clearbrook. "Our 'best ideas' investment process ensures that every client benefits from the full depth and breadth of our firm's research capabilities. Our relationship with the MEL and the Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) Program clearly demonstrates Clearbrook's capabilities in the public funds industry."

ABOUT: MEL - New Jersey's MEL system is the largest municipal property-casualty pool in the country with an annual budget of over $200 million and a statutory surplus of almost $200 million dollars. For over three decades, JIFs have modernized risk management for New Jersey local government. JIFs' affiliation with MEL has saved taxpayers over $3 billion. Clearbrook is a privately held, SEC (News - Alert) registered, advisory firm that fully embraced the "transparency revolution" in the advisory space 14 years ago. Clearbrook's vision to re-invent the advisory industry by working collaboratively with investment managers, treating clients as partners and providing an unbiased oversight of client's portfolios, utilizing open architecture and a forward-looking capital markets approach to manager selection and asset allocation, has proven successful. The firm provides comprehensive, objective investment advice and solutions to clients which include Public Funds, Endowments & Foundations, Corporate Pensions and Family Offices.

www.ClearbrookGlobal.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005258/en/

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Christian Geyer, Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Active Navigation Christians steady hand at the operational and financial helm, combined with his experience scaling high-growth companies is exactly what we need at this exciting juncture of our company.

Active Navigation, the data privacy and governance software provider, has appointed Christian Geyer as its new Chief Financial and Operations Officer. Geyer is based at the companys U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C. His appointment comes on the heels of Active Navigations first round of institutional funding, an $11 million Series A led by Mobeus in November 2019. Geyer will strengthen the companys leadership team and oversee its continued growth and geographic expansion.

I am very pleased to welcome Christian on board, said Peter Baumann, Active Navigation CEO. Christians steady hand at the operational and financial helm, combined with his experience scaling high-growth companies is exactly what we need at this exciting juncture of our company.

Geyer said, Im delighted to join Active Navigation and to contribute to the next phase of the companys growth. Over the years, they have invested in becoming the premier data mapping solution, a strategic capability that has moved to the top of the list of priorities for organizations as they evaluate their data privacy posture.

Christians proven strengths in strategy, management and analytics will provide a timely boost to our efforts during this difficult period, Baumann added. We will find immediate value with his leadership as our team continues to work non-stop amid the current COVID-19 crisis to ensure there is minimal disruption for our employees, our partners and our customers.

Over a 20-year career that has taken Geyer from supporting the Intelligence Community to SMB Government Integrators and now an acclaimed leader in the data mapping sector, Geyer has built a reputation for success in driving rapid and sustainable growth in various industries.

Prior to joining Active Navigation, Geyer oversaw the financial planning, reporting, contracts, and credit & collections groups at information security consulting organization ZP Group. Before that, Geyer oversaw the FP&A and Business Analytics functions at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), where his teams focused on supporting strategic decision making, growth initiatives, and business strategy. Before joining CNA, Geyer held positions of increasing responsibility at QinetiQ North America and the Office of Naval Research.

Geyer holds a dual B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting as well as a Masters in Business Administration  both from Liberty University.

About Active Navigation

Active Navigation is a data privacy and governance software company. Its flagship product, Discovery Center, enables enterprises and government entities to map, clean, classify, quarantine and delete redundant, obsolete and trivial data. Hundreds of companies and government agencies trust Active Navigation to help them control sensitive data and support compliance with various data privacy regulations such as CCPA and GDPR. Active Navigation Inc. is headquartered in the DC metro area and has offices in Europe and Australia. For more information, please visit ActiveNavigation.com or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Reflecting tough seesaw battle ahead, Kasaragod in Kerala, one of the first coronavirus hotspots in the country, is bracing for second round of infections barely a day after it became free of COVID-19 cases as four people who travelled from Maharashtra tested positive in the district.

From a high of 164 coronavirus cases early last month, the northern district achieved nil infections on Sunday with the three-lock containment strategy of the police paying rich dividends, but the joy turned out to be short-lived with the fresh cases being reported the very next day.

However, IPS officer Vijay Sakhare, the brain behind the strategy, is confident of repeating the success story if the three-lock system was scaled up in view of the new cases and also taking into view the rush of returnees stranded abroad and elsewhere in the country.

Kasaragod, which lacked speciality healthcare infrastructure compared to other districts in the state, had so far witnessed zero COVID-19 deaths though it emerged a hotspot after a three-member family which returned from Italy tested positive in March.

Four people who had arrived from Maharashtra were found infected with the deadly virus on Monday, signalling start of a possible second wave in the district.

Sharing his experience as the COVID-19 officer in Kasaragod district, Sakhare said the results of the triple lock strategy have demonstrated it was extremely successful in containing the contagion.

'Triple lock' involves a combination of technology and human surveillance and restricting movement of people in three stages.

Lock-I envisages broader restriction of movement of all people residing in the district, while Lock-II created a Geographical Information System, mapping all positive cases, while the third stage involved targeted effort to keep primary and secondary contacts of COVID-19 patient in their homes.

The IG rank officer, who was deputed by Chief Minister Pianarayi Vijayan as COVID-19 special officer for Kasaragod in March, ensured effective implementation of the triple lock, prompting the government to expand it to neighbouring Kannur which too then appeared heading towards becoming a hotspot.

In a note on "triple lock strategy", Sakhare spoke of the new challenges after people returning through inter-state land borders, including those from red-zones and permitted to undergo 14 day quarantine at their homes.

The overseas returnees have been asked to observe mandatory quarantine in institutional centres or hotels.

"Many of these evacuated persons may turn Covid positive after returning home. Some of them may be symptomatic carriers and a few may be asymptomatic."



"In order to meet these challenges and prevent spread of infection in community, triple-lock strategy has to be scaled up," the officer said in the note.

"The new returnees to Kasaragod have to be brought under the umbrella of Lock-III," Sakhare, Kochi City Police Commissioner who returned from Kasaragod last week after completion of his special assignment, said.

Talking to PTI, he said the residences of the returnees should be monitored continuously by stationing police guards in front of select houses, by covering houses of home quarantined people with mobile patrols, which check physical presence of the person at least twice a day.

Drones and Covid-Safety app, developed by the state police, would also be deployed for this purpose.

Legal action should be initiated against the violators and their family members for endangering the lives of others in the society, the senior IPS officer said.

Another challenge is to ensure that those people who stay at 'institutional quarantine centres' observe it properly and do not socialise with each other.

An officer at least of the rank of Sub-Inspector should be made in-charge of the centre. He should ensure no person visited any of the inmates or none stepped out at any point of time.

The Covid-Safety app should be installed in every inmate's phone to ensure the person does not violate the quarantine, Sakhare said.

Similar system should be in place in hotels as well.

The hotel staff have to be trained in maintaining quarantine and ensuring that it was observed by the returnees.

"The success of strategy can be gauged from the fact that it has brought weekly reporting of cases from 64 to barely 5 with in the span of three weeks-a reduction of 92 per cent.

In succeeding three weeks, only 5,4 and 2 positive cases were reported and in last 11 days since 1st May, no positive case was reported (in Kasaragod)- which demonstrates the resounding success of the containment strategy," he claimed.

The last coronavirus positive patient of the first wave in the district recovered on Sunday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Auburn, N.Y.  Auburn police on Monday released a surveillance image of a masked man they say shoved a Walmart employee during a robbery at the store last month.

Officers were called to the Walmart Supercenter, at 297 Grant Ave. in the city of Auburn, at 7:56 p.m. April 26 for a reported robbery.

During their investigation, police learned that a man wearing a mask shoved a Walmart employee and took jewelry during the robbery, then ran out of the store, Auburn police Sgt. James Smith said at the time. The man did not show any weapons and no injuries were reported, Smith said.

On Monday, Auburn police Detective Meagan Kalet released a surveillance image showing the suspect in the robbery investigation. The suspect is described as a white male with shoulder-length dark hair and a burgundy hat and sweatshirt, she said.

After the man took jewelry, police say he shoved the employee and ran out of the store using a rear exit.

Auburn police ask anyone who recognizes the man in the surveillance image to call them at 315-255-4702 or 315-253-3231.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian nurse Nikki Hillis-Walters was asked to choose between her two healthcare jobs -- one in Canada, and one in the United States. She picked the latter, telling AFP: "It just felt like I was needed there." She and 2,000 other healthcare professionals live in Windsor, Ontario but work in hospitals across the border in Detroit, Michigan. Dozens like her, with split work in both jurisdictions, were similarly pressured by employers to quit one job to focus on the other. Canadian hospital administrators feared they might pick up the coronavirus in the United States -- where the pandemic has hit hardest -- and pass it to patients or others in this country. Hillis-Walters until recently had worked weekdays in Canada and weekends in the United States, but decided to stay in the intensive care unit at Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe, just east of Detroit. The hospital was overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases and needed her most. "It was already pretty bad," said the 38-year-old nurse. "We already had a lot of staff getting sick, a lot of patients coming in." The ultimatum given to healthcare workers has been criticized by some as an ineffective way of containing the virus, while creating financial hardships for frontline workers with split jobs facing a loss of income. It's not about "picking sides," said Hillis-Walters, whose husband is American. Her efforts to "get people better" and contain infections in the United States helps prevent the spread of the coronavirus, she explained. "It just felt like it was the best thing to do for both countries," she said. It's a short commute across the Detroit River that separates the two cities. Canadians nurses are drawn to higher wages and greater opportunities in Detroit -- with its population of roughly four million being 10 times that of its sister city. - 'Border an imaginary line' - The Canada-US border was ordered closed to all non-essential travel in March. Canadian healthcare workers, who are exempt from the travel restriction, are today at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus in the United States where 80,000 people have died from COVID-19, making it the most infected country in the world. With just over 4,000 coronavirus fatalities, Michigan alone has almost the same number as all of Canada. But in early April healthcare professionals with one foot on both sides of the longest border in the world, at 8,900 kilometers (5,500 miles), found themselves unwittingly caught in the middle of diplomat spat between Ottawa and Washington. The spat was triggered when President Donald Trump ordered American N95 masks supplier 3M not to ship them abroad. The company is a major supplier of the medical masks to Canada and South America. The dispute was quickly settled but the damage was done -- Trump's protectionist stance outraged Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who reminded that several Detroit hospitals relied on their Canadian staff. Although dismayed by Trump's actions, Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens has continued to campaign for crossborder cooperation in the pandemic fight. "It's hard to turn your back on your neighbors at the time when there's a deep crisis," he told AFP. "People in my community just consider Detroit to be an extension of their backyard. The border for us is just an imaginary line," he said. And if the roles were reversed, he added, "I know for a fact that... the city of Detroit would be there for us if we needed them." "This isn't really the time to cause (a) divide between our two countries," commented Steve Homick, a Canadian who works in the emergency room of another Detroit-area Beaumont hospital. Currently living through the most intense weeks of his career, the 30-year-old nurse points to the friendly greetings he gets from American customs officials each time he drives from Windsor through a now almost empty tunnel to Detroit for work. "A lot of the times they say 'Thank you for your service,' which isn't really necessary (because) it's my job, but they're very appreciative that you're coming across to help," he said. Nurse Nikki Hillis-Walters had two jobs -- one on either side of the US-Canada border Canadian nurse Steve Homick outside of the Emergency Entrance at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan
Most COVID-19 patients in NSW recover in just over two weeks, the states first comprehensive surveillance report shows.

The release of NSW Healths first weekly COVID-19 surveillance report comes as the state recorded its first day with no new COVID-19 cases since February 29.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the public not to be lulled into a false sense of security.

"We know unfortunately there are people currently in NSW walking around with the virus who don't know they have it, Ms Berejiklian said.
Lawmakers will consider a bill Tuesday capping the fees delivery services like Grubhub and Uber Eats can charge restaurants, for whom takeout and delivery are their only lifeline during this public health crisis.

The bill (S2437) would permit these third-party sites that coordinate takeout and delivery services to charge eateries no more than 20% of the cost of an individual online order and no more than 10% when that third-party company isnt actually making the delivery.

While some companies have provided meaningful support to the restaurant community, other companies offering third-party food takeout or delivery services may charge restaurants a service fee exceeding 30% of the order price, thereby compounding the current financial strain on restaurants, the bill says. The caps would remain effective during any state of emergency longer than seven days and would supersede any local caps already in place.

New Jersey restaurants have been forced to dramatically scale back their services to takeout and delivery only as part of the states social distancing mandates to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

A spokesperson for DoorDash said Monday the company opposes commission caps because of the impacts they will likely have on New Jersey Dashers, customers and restaurants."

Were disappointed that elected officials are choosing to impose commission caps at a time when many of their constituents depend on delivery as an essential service, the company said, adding it is spending $100 million across the country to market restaurants and halve commissions for 150,000 restaurants.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The legislation comes on the heels of efforts by major U.S. cities to independently limit how much delivery companies can charge restaurants in commissions. Last week, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop issued an executive order barring companies like DoorDash and Postmates from charging more than 10%, to help reduce hardships during a time of great economic uncertainty for many local small businesses, according to a news release.

For all their hard work to stay afloat and achieve profitability, these third-party fees are hindering local restaurants chances of survival which is simply unfair and unethical amid this health and economic crisis, Fulop said in a statement. Many of the restaurants have had to make a shift to relying solely on delivery and takeout under the circumstances, and this cap is our latest effort to identify any available options to provide relief to our local businesses.

Uber Eats responded by tacking a $3 surcharge onto customers bills when they order from Jersey City restaurants. An Uber Eats spokesman told The Jersey Journal the 10% commission permitted by the city is not enough to cover fair pay for its employees, credit card processing fees and operations.

A few Republican state lawmakers last week also called upon third-party delivery services to voluntarily cap their fees at 17.5%.

In a statement, Sen. Declan OScanlon, R-Monmouth, Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, R-Monmouth, and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, R-Monmouth, cautioned fees in excess of 30% of an order are taking advantage of vulnerable restaurants.

Right now fees running as high as 30 percent are crushing our restaurants who essentially have no choice but to pay," they said.

The bill before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday would levy fines up to $10,000 for an initial violation of the cap and $20,000 for subsequent offenses, with additional potential damages.

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Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com.
Ever since the day he was born, Prince William has attracted a large amount of publicity. His mother, the late Princess Diana, was one of the most famous women in the world. Meanwhile, his father, Prince Charles, was the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom. As a result, Prince William has lived most of his life in the public eye.

However, things were a bit different when Prince William went to college. As it turns out, he managed to have quite a bit of privacy when he was living at school.

Prince William | Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images

Prince William attended the University of St. Andrews

In 2001, Prince William began attending the University of St. Andrews near Edinburgh, Scotland. He actually broke a 150-year-old tradition in the royal family, where members often went to either Oxford University or Cambridge University. Prince William initially wanted to obtain a degree in Art History, and he chose St. Andrews for its prestigious art program. (He later would change his major to Geography.)

It was at St. Andrews that Prince William met his future wife, Kate Middleton. The two of them lived in the same residence hall and had several mutual friends, which led them to eventually date each other.

The media left Prince William alone when he was in college

Baby joy for Fife graduates  #congrats to Catherine Middleton, art history Class of 2005 & William Wales, geography Class of 2005, on the birth of their 3rd child. #RoyalBaby pic.twitter.com/v7VlJd6faR  University of St Andrews (@univofstandrews) April 23, 2018

St. Andrews attracted a lot of attention after it was announced that Prince William had chosen to attend the school. However, the press and the palace had an agreement that he was not to be bothered at St. Andrews provided he talked to journalists for a bit before embarking on his college journey. On his first day at the school, Prince William had a short interview and photocall. Afterward, he was left alone by the media.

He could walk down the street without being bothered and shop at the local Tesco grocery store, royal expert Katie Nicholl noted.

Additionally, Prince William started dating Kate Middleton in 2003 without all the press frenzy that followed most royal relationships. One friend of theirs shared with CNN in 2011 that, while their buddies at St. Andrews knew what was going on, it took the media a while to uncover the story.

Prince William was called Steve in college

To further protect his privacy, Prince William did not always go by Prince William or William around his friends and classmates. According to Hello!, he was actually known as Steve at St. Andrews. This seemed to allow him to slip under the radar and not be detected by journalists.

Aliases also look to be a common thing among young royals. Prince Williams brother, Prince Harry, was said to have a Facebook profile from 2008 to 2012 under the name Spike Wells.

In any case, Prince William is now living his life in the public eye more comfortably. He regularly takes on royal engagements and works to promote various charity organizations in the UK.
 Flash

China on Monday urged New Zealand to strictly abide by the one-China principle and immediately stop its wrong actions on Taiwan-related issues to avoid damaging bilateral relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the call at a press briefing when commenting on New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters' recent remarks saying New Zealand would support Taiwan's request for an observer role at the World Health Assembly (WHA).

"Such erroneous remarks on the New Zealand side severely violate the one-China principle. China deplores and opposes them and has lodged representations with the New Zealand side," said Zhao.

Zhao stated that on the Taiwan region's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) activities, China's position is clear and consistent.

"The one-China principle must be observed. Based on this principle, the central government of China has made proper arrangements for Taiwan region's participation in global health events, which ensures that the Taiwan region can promptly and effectively respond to local and global public health incidents," Zhao said.

Zhao said the Taiwan authorities chose to play up its so-called participation in WHO events and return to the WHA at this moment. "The timing reveals its true motive, which is to use the current epidemic outbreak to seek 'Taiwan independence.' It is out-and-out political manipulation."

The one-China principle is the political foundation of China-New Zealand relations. It is the fundamental underpinning of the progress achieved in bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties, said Zhao.

"I want to point out that China is committed to developing friendly cooperative relations with New Zealand based on mutual respect and equality. But we are firmly resolved to uphold our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," said Zhao, adding that no one should entertain any illusion when it comes to matters concerning China's core interests.

"We hope that certain people in New Zealand will stop spreading rumors and creating trouble and work to enhance instead of undermining bilateral mutual trust and cooperation," he said.
Within one month, more than 300 people have contacted Caritas Luxembourg for help after struggling to make ends meet.

Caritas published a statement on Tuesday morning confirming that an increased number of people contacted the humanitarian organisation to request financial help in the wake of coronavirus. The majority of requests came from individuals who, before the crisis, mainly relied on occasional odd jobs or temporary work. According to Caritas, these people can no longer make ends meet due to the current restrictive measures.

The organisation explained that the majority of the applicants were unable to cover rent and bills. They still had enough funds to purchase food. A minority had no resources at all to fall back on. While all industries are represented among those in need of assistance, the majority come from construction, catering or temporary work.

Caritas is able to provide emergency financial assistance in conjunction with social care offered by local municipalities, helping struggling individuals to pay for housing and to purchase food from social grocery shops. However, the organisation has warned there is a risk of even more people falling below the poverty line as the health crisis continues to unfold. It is likely that more requests for help will pour in.

Marie-Josee Jacobs, president of Caritas Luxembourg, explained that in many of the cases, the people concerned had relied on savings to get them through the crisis, and were forced to contact Caritas when these were exhausted. Jacobs said Caritas were expecting to see more cases as companies struggled to keep employees over the next few months.

The Caritas coronavirus helpline is 402131  999 or they can be reached via email at helpline@caritas.lu
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Study suggests terrestrial life unlikely to contaminate Mars

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): A Southwest Research Institute scientist has modelled the atmosphere of Mars to help determine that salty pockets of water present on the Red Planet are likely not habitable by life as we know it on the Earth. A team that also included scientists from Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the University of Arkansas helped allay planetary protection concerns about contaminating potential Martian ecosystems. These results were published this month in Nature Astronomy. Due to Mars' low temperatures and extremely dry conditions, a droplet of liquid water on its surface would instantly freeze, boil or evaporate, unless the droplet had dissolved salts in it.

This brine would have a lower freezing temperature and would evaporate more slowly than pure liquid water. Salts are found across Mars, so brines could form there.

While pure liquid water is unstable on the Martian surface, models showed that stable brines can form and persist from the equator to hi
The Madras High Court on Tuesday



issued notice to Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu police on a petition which alleged over 400 migrant workers from the southern state were illegally detained in Sangli district in the western state in view of the coronavirus lockdown and seeking steps to set them free.

A bench comprising Justices N.Kirubakaran and R Hemalatha, hearing the petition through video conference, issued notice the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police and Superintendent of Police of the Sangli district.

In his habeas corpus petition (filed in cases of alleged illegal detention), petitioner A P Suryaprakasam, an advocate, citing a Tamil TV channel report, said the workers from different parts of Tamil Nadu were detained in Kupwa village under inhospitable conditions.

Government authorities there were demanding Rs 3,500 each from them to permit them to return home, the report said quoting one of the workers, he submitted.

He sought a direction from the court to the police to produce all the workers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WWE star and Hollywood actor John Cena has again shown his love for Bollywood as he posted an old picture of Jackie Chan and Jean-Claude Van Damme with Shah Rukh Khan.

The picture shared by John of the three actors is from October 2019, when SRK attended a common film event with Van Damme and Jackie in Riyadh. SRK had then shared the epic pic on his social media handle saying he got a chance to meet his heroes. Now, Cena has re-shared the image on his profile although it is unclear why. Let us also remind you that this is not the first time that John has posted a picture of Bollywood star Shah Rukh on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Cena (@johncena) on May 12, 2020 at 5:34am PDT

On the work front, Shah Rukh-produced Netflix series Betaal will premiere on the streaming site on May 24. The actor is yet to announce his next in a starring role. Meanwhile, reports keep doing the rounds that SRK has confirmed his next movie with Rajkumar Hirani or director duo Raj and DK. Some even claim that SRK's next with be with director Atlee. However, SRK has rubbished all rumours of collaborations with the aforementioned directors till now.

Follow @News18Movies for more
Shillong, May 12 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said COVID-19 might be a crisis but it is also the opportunity for us as we can utilize this time to make new policies, take decisions and do things which were not done when the situation was normal.

Sangma was addressing a video conference organised by the industry body ASSOCHAM to discuss "Vision Meghalaya, Mission North East, India-Bangladesh Partnership" late on Monday.

During the video conference, he said his government has recently formed an economic task force for the improvement of certain key areas including agriculture, horticulture, food processing and trade with Bangladesh.

"With regard to export of minerals to Bangladesh, Meghalaya government is very much keen to set up a conveyor belt between Bangladesh and India for smoother movement of boulders without any disruption," he added.

Sangma invited industrialists stating that Meghalaya has the high end products like turmeric, ginger, black pepper and a very high variety of mushrooms.

Participating in the discussion, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said there should be more engagement with business on both side so that appropriate policies can be designed and suggested more business dialogues by business CEOs.

ASSOCHAM Secretary General Deepak Sood in conversation with Bangladesh Commerce Minister said the ASSOCHAM shall work towards creating a North-East CEOs forum together with CEOs of Bangladesh to work towards greater cooperation with the region of India.

India's DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) Minister Jitendra Singh said that there are huge opportunities exists in tourism, hydro power where North-East region can collaborate with Bangladesh.

He said the NE region has huge potential, but it is important to equip self well before one engages with the neighbours, this means NER need to develop itself and also tap new sources which can be the major sources of economy for northeast, Bangladesh and the whole region.
What are the issues in the cases?

Broadly speaking, they concern whether Mr. Trump can block subpoenas to his accountants and bankers from House committees and New York prosecutors.

What happens if Mr. Trump loses?

The accounting firm and the banks have indicated that they will comply with the subpoenas. Had the subpoenas sought evidence from Mr. Trump himself, there was at least a possibility that he would try to defy a ruling against him, prompting a constitutional crisis.

What information do the House committees seek?

The House Oversight and Reform Committee is investigating hush-money payments to a pornographic film actress and whether Mr. Trump inflated and deflated descriptions of his assets on financial statements to obtain loans and reduce his taxes. The House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees have sought an array of financial records related to the president, his companies and his family.

What have Mr. Trumps lawyers said?

They contend that the committees have no legitimate need for the information.

What is the Houses response?

Lawyers for the House say the information is needed to allow it to conduct oversight and to draft legislation.

What information does Mr. Vance seek?

He wants eight years of business and personal tax records in connection with an investigation of the role that Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization played in hush-money payments made in the run-up to the 2016 election. Mr. Trump and his company reimbursed the presidents former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, for payments made to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, who said that she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 11, 2020 | 06:19 PM | MURRAY





According to Carver, the initial decision to shut down the restaurant was painful.







He said, "With the employees, they do become family. It's like the rug got pulled out from under all of us. Everything was going so well. Employees were doing great, customers were happy, everything was great."







After the fact, Carver says they stayed in contact with their employees and worked to help all of them get set up on unemployment.







"We were there for them, and they were there for us," He said.







The restaurant reopened for curbside delivery on May 4, and although not all of their crew has returned, the majority of the team is back. Carver says they are gearing up and hopeful that things will continue moving in a positive direction.





"It was so exciting just to get back in there." Carver continued, "Being back in there and taking food orders, putting food on the shelves, preparing the food, seeing the customers pick up the food and talk about how great the food is."







He says it's wonderful to be in the hospitality industry. "You have an opportunity to make people happy, and to hopefully improve their day. We've always treasured that opportunity."







According to Carver, there are many challenges when the entirety of a business is carry-out, there is a level of chaos that comes with it. Although, with each passing day they are making adjustments, things are smoothing out, and feedback from customers is helping to push them in the right direction.







Information on how to order from Sirloin Stockade can be found at the link below. They are also offering limited delivery.

Adam Carver with Sirloin Stockade spoke with West Kentucky Star about the challenges they've faced in the midst of the pandemic, and the joy of reopening.

On the Net:
SHELTON, CT / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE American:NNVC) (the "Company") a leader in the development of highly effective antiviral therapies based on a novel nanomedicines platform, announced today that it has developed drug candidates that have demonstrated very high anti-viral effectiveness in cell culture studies against multiple coronaviruses.

Two of the tested nanoviricides drug candidates were highly effective in cell culture assays against multiple coronaviruses that infect humans. In particular, they were several-fold more effective than favipravir (aka T-705), against the tested viruses. Favirpravir is a broad-spectrum nucleoside-like analog drug that is in clinical testing against SARS-CoV-2, originally developed by Fujifilm.

The Company has tested its drug candidates for anti-viral effectiveness against two distinctly different, unrelated coronaviruses that cause human disease, namely hCoV-NL63, and hCoV-229E. The assays evaluated the reduction caused by the drug candidate in cell death upon viral infection, formally known as cytopathic effects (CPE) assays.

Human coronavirus NL63 (hCoV-NL63) uses the same ACE2 receptor as the SARS-CoV-2 that causes CoVID-19. Both in terms of its clinical pathology, and its receptor usage, it is known to be very similar to SARS-CoV-2, except much milder. Therefore the Company believes hCoV-NL63 is a good surrogate model for therapeutics development against SARS-CoV-2. H-CoV-NL63 can be studied in a BSL2 lab whereas SARS-CoV-2 currently requires a BSL3 or BSL4 facility.

The Company also found that the same two nanoviricides drug candidates were highly effective against another coronavirus, namely hCoV-229E, that causes seasonal common colds in humans. These nanoviricides drug candidates were several-fold more effective than favipravir in this human common colds coronavirus as well. hCoV-229E uses the APN (Aminopeptidase-N) membrane protein on human cells as its receptor to enter cells, different from hCoV-NL63 and SARS-CoV-2.

The Company believes the fact that these nanoviricides anti-coronavirus drug candidates are highly effective against two distinctly different coronaviruses that use different cellular receptors is very significant. Specifically, it provides confidence to the Company and rational basis to scientists that even if the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus mutates, the nanoviricides can be expected to continue to remain effective.

Importantly, nanoviricides are designed to act by a novel mechanism of action, trapping the virus particle like the "Venus-fly-trap" flower does for insects. Antibodies, in contrast, only label the virus for other components of the immune system to take care of. It is well known that the immune system is not functioning properly at least in severe COVID-19 patients.

In addition, it is generally thought that SARS-CoV-2 may be able to escape antibodies being developed as drugs. Antibodies are known to become ineffective upon viral mutations.

Moreover, there is a significant scientific debate about whether vaccines may be able to produce protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

Thus, the Company believes that the nanoviricides drug candidates it has developed are potentially superior to favipravir and are expected to warrant human clinical studies. Oral favipravir and infusion of remdesivir are two anti-viral drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

Prior to filing for human clinical studies, NanoViricides plans on conducting studies to further determine the effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, and perform certain animal studies for safety/toxicology.

The Company believes that broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus drugs such as its nanoviricides drug candidates are expected to provide the ideal solution for combatting COVID-19, provided that the candidates show effectiveness in human clinical trials.

The various receptors used by different coronaviruses all appear to fall in the broad family of membrane-associated serine proteases. As a family, they share several structural features. Their substrate specificities are dictated by specific amino acid residues and their positions. However, the coronaviruses do not appear to insert into the specific substrate sites on their receptors as can be broadly deduced from limited, available knowledge of these interactions. NanoViricides believes that this has made it possible for the Company to develop receptor-mimetic virus-binding ligands that have broad-spectrum effectiveness against multiple coronaviruses that use different receptors.

HCoV-NL63 is known to cause severe lower respiratory tract infections in young children leading to hospitalization. The symptoms are generally less severe than SARS-CoV-2 but are similar. In most cases, hCoV-NL63 causes relatively mild disease, often associated with croup, bronchiolitis, and lower respiratory tract disease in children, and is considered to cause some of the common colds in adults. Thus, the clinical manifestation of hCoV-NL63 infection in pediatric patients is similar to that of SARS-CoV-2, although much less severe. SARS-CoV-2 causes clinically similar milder forms of disease in most patients, but moderate to severe disease requiring hospitalizations in about 15-20% of infected persons. These similarities imply that hCoV-NL63 should be a reasonable model virus for antiviral cell culture and animal studies in BSL2 environment in the course of antiviral drug development for SARS-CoV-2.

About NanoViricides

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for antiviral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. Our lead drug candidate is NV-HHV-101 with its first indication as dermal topical cream for the treatment of shingles rash. The Company is also developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others. The Company's technology is based on broad, exclusive, sub-licensable, field licenses to drugs developed in these areas from TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company does not currently have a license to the coronavirus field, however, TheraCour has not denied any licenses to the Company. The Company typically begins the licensing process only after demonstrating effectiveness of some candidates in optimization stage.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in preclinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.

As with any drug development efforts, there can be no assurance that any of these candidates would show sufficient effectiveness and safety for human clinical development at this time.

There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in establishing the necessary collaborations, although the Company has been successful at establishing necessary collaborations for its drug programs in the past.

FDA refers to US Food and Drug Administration. IND application refers to "Investigational New Drug" application. CMC refers to "Chemistry, Manufacture, and Controls".

Contact:

NanoViricides, Inc.

info@nanoviricides.com

Public Relations Contact:

MJ Clyburn

TraDigital IR

clyburn@tradigitalir.com

SOURCE: NanoViricides, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589472/NanoViricides-Develops-Highly-Effective-Broad-Spectrum-Drug-Candidates-Against-Coronaviruses
Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow arrives to speak to the media at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 6, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Trump Administration Moves to Block US Pension Fund Investment in Chinese Equities

Leading Trump administration officials on May 11 moved to block further investment by U.S. federal retirement funds into Chinese equities that present significant national security and humanitarian concerns, reported FOX Business.

National Economic Council Chair Larry Kudlow and national security adviser Robert OBrien addressed a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia on May 11 detailing the Trump administrations wishes.

The letter obtained by FOX Business outlined the Trump administrations objections to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)the federal governments retirement savings fundinvesting in Chinese companies. According to the news outlet, the funds total some $4 billion in assets.

The letter stated, Departing from the [Federal Retirement Thrift Investment] Boards established index for the International Stock Investment Fund (I Fund) to track one that maintains Chinese equities is risky and unjustified.

Kudlow and OBrien in their letter made reference to the Chinese regimes handling of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, commonly known as the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The investment of TSP funds in Chinese companies would expose the retirement funds to significant and unnecessary economic risk, the letter stated.

The move would channel federal employees money to companies that present significant national security and humanitarian concerns because they operate in violation of U.S. sanction laws and assist the Chinese Governments [CCP] efforts to build its military and oppress religious minorities, Kudlow and OBrien said.

The TSP was set to transfer some $50 billion of its international fund to track an index that includes some China-based stocks of companies currently under scrutiny in Washington.

Among the Chinese companies in the index that have drawn the ire of some in Washington is surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, which was placed on a trade blacklist last year because its technology is used in detention camps for Chinas Uyghur minorities.

The fund would also invest in telecoms equipment company ZTE, which was penalized by the U.S. government for violating American sanctions, as well as aircraft and avionics company Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which provides weapons for the Chinese military.

Kudlow and OBrien said that the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which oversees the fund, is set to implement these plans during a time of mounting uncertainty concerning Chinas relations with the rest of the world.

This includes the possibility that future sanctions will result from the culpable actions of the Chinese Government with respect to the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In view of these considerations, we do not believe that proceeding with the investment of the retirement savings of hardworking federal workers in Chinese companies is prudent, Kudlow and OBrien note.

Sec Scalia to Chairman Kenn by FOX Business on Scribd

In a separate letter obtained by FOX Business, Labor Secretary Scalia later ordered Michael Kennedy, the chairman of the FRTIB, to halt all steps related to the investing of the TSP in Chinese equities, at the direction of President Trump.

Kudlow and OBrien have grave concerns with the planned investment on grounds of both investment risk and national security, Scalia told Kennedy in his letter, asking that the FRTIB respond by close of business on Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Altoida Inc., a Houston-based predictive digital biomarker company, secured financing from Hikma Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The additional financing will be used to further expand Altoidas presence in the US, Japan, Europe and Brazil and follows the companys $6.3 million Series A round that closed early 2019. The financing comes at a time of rapid growth for Altoida, as the companys -FDA cleared and CE Mark-approved medical device and brain health data platform is being used by researchers, patients and physicians across the globe to detect Alzheimers Disease (AD) up to ten years prior to onset.

Led by Dr. Richard Fischer, President & CEO, Altoida leverages predictive digital biomarkers to drive better clinical outcomes for brain disease. By leveraging the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Augmented Reality (AR), Altoida collects functional and cognitive biomarkers to help detect Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimers disease prior to its onset  with accuracy.

Using Smart Device sensors, Altoida analyzes visuospatial and executive function during complex activities of daily living by asking patients to hide and seek virtual objects in a physical space. Altoida is able to detect micro-errors as both a prognostic and diagnostic digital biomarker, allowing medical professionals to detect Alzheimers disease in patients 62+ years old between six and ten years prior to the onset of symptoms  and before irreversible damage occurs. The company has validated its platform and methodology in more than 12 peer-reviewed journal publications and in more than 200 independent studies. The company is supported by the current investor syndicate of M-Ventures (lead investor), GreySky Venture Partners, FYRFLY, VI Partners. Altoida has offices in Houston, San Diego, and Lucerne, Switzerland.

FinSMEs

12/05/2020
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April 2018. (Thomas Coex / Pool)

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo headed to Jerusalem on Tuesday to bolster besieged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and bestow a U.S. blessing on his country's proposed de facto annexation of West Bank land claimed by Palestinians.

The visit coincides with Netanyahus formation of a new coalition government following his indictment on criminal corruption charges and several inconclusive Israeli elections that failed to deliver power to either Netanyahu or his rival.

It is the first high-level U.S. visit to Israel since President Trump in January unveiled his long-anticipated plan for settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  a pro-Israel proposal that was roundly rejected by Palestinians, who were not included in its drafting, as well as most of the Arab world.

To avoid what would have been the fourth national election in a little over a year, Netanyahu and his chief rival, retired army Gen. Benny Gantz, agreed to share power for the next several years. The agreement could clear the way for the new government to extend Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want for a future independent state.

Israel seized the land during the 1967 Middle East War and proceeded to build scores of Jewish settlements, now housing hundreds of thousands of Israelis. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.

Were glad that there is a now fully formed government in Israel, Pompeo said ahead of the trip. As for the annexation in the West Bank, the Israelis will ultimately make those decisions.

Many believe annexation will be the final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution, the long-cherished notion that creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel would be the best formula for a peaceful end to one of the most intractable conflicts in the Middle East. It would make it much harder to dismantle some Jewish settlements, as had been envisioned in some past peace plans.

Story continues

The Trump administration, reversing decades of U.S. foreign policy, is ready to welcome Israel's unilateral annexation of the Jewish settlements, despite fierce opposition by Palestinians, senior U.S. officials said. Pompeos visit seems designed to give that approval.

Theres always a lot to talk about with the Israelis, assistant secretary of State for the Near East, David Schenker, said when asked about the timing of the trip. I think its fortuitous timing, but this was something that was in the works before we learned of the date of the government formation.

Under the Trump plan, Israel would also be allowed to take control of the Jordan Valley, the section of the West Bank along the Jordan River and abutting Jordan.

Critics, including many Israelis and U.S. lawmakers, say unilateral annexation will have numerous dangerous ramifications, including damage to long-standing peace treaties that Israel has with Jordan and Egypt, the only neighbors who recognize its existence.

It could also undermine the already-weak Palestinian Authority, the leadership of West Bank Palestinians that has refused to even speak to the Trump administration after its various pro-Israel moves, including the transfer of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a city also claimed by the Palestinians as their capital.

The Trump plan would leave a Swiss-cheese patchwork of Palestinian villages that most experts say could not form a viable state. Critics say annexation would also accentuate the inequities between Jewish settlers and Palestinians, all of whom will continue to live under Israeli control in the West Bank.

This will be the end of the idea of Israel as a Jewish democratic state and it will be an apartheid state, said Shaul Arieli, a retired Israeli army colonel and part of a group of former military officials who seek peace with the Palestinians.

The Trump administration has provided a good umbrella for Netanyahu and pro-settlement advocates to push away from compromise with the Palestinians, he said.

Israel can do almost everything it wants, said Arieli, also a senior advisor to two-state advocate Israel Policy Forum. Only the U.S. has leverage on Israel, and if they are on [Israel's] side, the right wing can do everything it wants to cancel the viability of a two-state solution.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has said that the U.S. would recognize annexation "within weeks."

Pompeo will also use his brief time in Israel to discuss Iran. Since Trump pulled out of the international Iran nuclear deal, Iran has continued to build up its proxies in the region, some of which, like Hezbollah in Lebanon, are seen by Israel as particular threats.

Pompeo "is making this trip because he recognizes the United States and Israel have much to learn from each other as we address current threats, whether those threats stem from a global pandemic or from Irans malign regional influence," Schenker said.

Pompeo will spend barely eight hours on the ground in Israel. His only other international travel since the coronavirus outbreak was a similarly brief trip to Afghanistan in February when the U.S., the Afghan government and the Taliban were attempting to reach agreement on a cease-fire in the United States' longest war.
The Mining Engineers' Association of India on Tuesday urged the Goa government to immediately resume mining in the state, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has added to the miseries of the state were mining activities are already stalled.

Mining has been banned in Goa for over two years.

"The Goa chapter of the Mining Engineers' Association of India (MEAI) appeals to the Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, for immediate resurrection of mining in the state," it said in a statement.

It added that with the other mainstay of Goa's economy, the tourism sector may face severe downturn for at least 12-18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The same, coupled with the likely migration of many migrant labours, would also lead to a delay of various private as well as public infrastructure works."



Mining industry has been helping Goa's economy for more than 70 years and has been supporting the livelihood of almost three lakh people.

"We, therefore, request the chief minister to kindly intervene and impress upon the authorities at the Centre and in Judiciary the need for immediate resumption of mining operations in the state," Cletus D'Souza, chairman, MEAI (Goa Chapter), said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than a year and half after Monica Chisar was last seen in an east Hamilton parking lot, the 29-year-old woman is no longer a considered a missing person, but a homicide victim.

Her body was discovered in a rural area north of Mount Forest  about an hour north of Kitchener  by a father and son out for a walk last Christmas Eve. But it would take some time for investigators to identify the 29-year-old victim.

On Tuesday, May 12, Ontario Provincial Police released a video confirming it was Chisars body found in the wooded area and that her death is officially a homicide investigation.

Chisar was last seen just after midnight July 11, 2018, when she was dropped off in the Beer Store parking lot at the corner of Barton Street East and Parkdale Avenue North. She was supposed to be going to stay with a friend on nearby Melvin Avenue.

Instead, she disappeared.

Little is known about where she went or what happened to her after that, until her body was discovered about 140 kilometres away from where she was last seen  in the wooded area north of Mount Forest, just east of Highway 6 and Southgate Road 10.

The father and son who found the body called police right away, said Det. Insp. Scott Moore of the OPP criminal investigation branch.

He would not comment on details of the crime scene or cause of death, but his provincial criminal investigation branch was called in immediately because foul play was suspected.

Police  including the OPPs emergency response team, forensics and criminal investigations detectives  did an extensive search of the area.

In late December, the remains were sent to the forensic complex in Toronto where an autopsy was conducted. There were some forensic challenges, Moore said, not elaborating on what those were.

It would take some time, piecing together information from the autopsy and the police investigation, for the team to identify Chisar.

Moore said he would not comment on when or where investigators believe Chisar was killed.

I cant speak to the timelines publicly ... when and where the murder took place, he said.

However, he confirmed police do not have another crime scene. OPP are working with Hamilton police, who had been investigating Chisars disappearance before her body was discovered.

Det. Sgt. Jim Callender of the Hamilton police major crime unit said Chisar didnt have an extensive history in Hamilton, but did have a wide circle of associates in the Greater Toronto Area and Kitchener.

Family, concerned after she stopped posting on social media, reported her missing in September 2018.

By March 2019, the case was sent to the major crime unit, which investigates homicides, over concern about foul play.

In 2019, her half-sister, Amanda Chisar, told The Spectator that no one in the family heard from her after she disappeared and they were desperate for information.

You think of the craziest scenarios, and have bad dreams. I havent been able to sleep properly in quite a while, she said at the time.

She believed her sister had just returned from a trip to England and Portugal and had been working as a server at a bar on King Street.

She was known to have a drug problem and lived an unconventional lifestyle where she travelled often and stayed with friends.

Police had said there was a possibility she may have owed someone money.

OPP would not comment on any possible motive.

Investigators are asking for anyone with any information, even if they think its small, to come forward.

Ontario Provincial Police have set up a dedicated tip line that goes directly to the detectives in the case: 1-855-677-4636.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
President Trump's acting chief of national intelligence has declassified a list of former Obama administration officials said to be involved in the 'unmasking' of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Richard Grenell, the acting Director of National Intelligence, paid a visit to the Justice Department headquarters last week in Washington, DC, and brought a list of former Obama aides with him, ABC News is reporting.

'Unmasking' is the revelation that an American citizen's name appears in intelligence gathering like eavesdropping or wiretaps that are initially aimed at suspected foreign agents.

Supporters of Trump allege that members of the Obama administration improperly sought to investigate Flynn over contacts he had with the ambassador to Russia.
For the past few days, social media has been flooded with viral posts which suggest that seven districts of Assam, which include Guwahati, have been declared a red zone by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). However, that claim is false.

The Press Bureau of India, which has been actively debunking fake news surrounding Covid-19 on Twitter, explained that the decision of categorizing districts under red, green and orange zones is taken by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW) and not the MHA. In the same tweet, PIB said that Assam currently does not have any red zones.

The coronavirus tracker on News18, which relies on data provided by the state governments and the MOHFW states that as of now, there are a total of 29 active cases in Assam while 34 patients have been cured. The total number of deaths in Assam, at the time of writing this, is 2.

PIB Assam also tweeted saying that as per the list by MOHFW, Assam has only three districts under the orange zone. The rest are green and there are no red zones.

So, the claim that Guwahati falls under a red zone is false.
Survivor: Helen Cuddigan urged people not to ignore any signs of cancer. Photo: Brian Lougheed

A breast cancer survivor has urged people not to ignore symptoms and to seek medical help immediately.

Alarming figures show the HSE has seen a drop of over 70pc in GP referrals for suspected cases of cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lung cancer referrals have dropped by 61pc, breast cancers by 55pc, prostate by 50pc and pigmented skin lesions by 72.3pc.

Thousands of patients are facing a delayed diagnosis when time is critical to their treatment and survival.

Helen Cuddigan (50) today implores people not to delay getting treatment.

The mother of two is the marketing manager of Ballymaloe House in Cork.

She is recovering and cocooning at home with her children, Louis (15) and Matilda (13), and her partner Michael in Ballycotton.

"Early diagnosis and treatment is essential. Your life might depend on it," she said.

"I'm a very lucky person. I've two wonderful children and a partner and we live happily and simply together. Then cancer struck.

"In early July 2019, I found a lump in my left breast.

"I immediately went to my GP, who referred me to the rapid access clinic in the CUH [Cork University Hospital]. Within two weeks, I was diagnosed with ductal breast cancer and started chemotherapy two weeks later.

"We are so blessed in Cork with our cancer service. When you are in the system it is quite unbelievably impressive how they manage your treatment.

"One of the first things I had to deal with was losing my hair. I've always had long, red, curly hair.

"In a funny sort of a way, I thought my hair defined me, but not at all actually. Being bald was all right and now it's growing back completely different - curly, black and soft.

"And that's all right too."

In November, Helen was declared cancer-free and underwent a double mastectomy in January.

"It felt like life was getting back on track again, and I was healing well inside and out," she said.

Ordeal

Sadly, during her recovery, Helen suffered a blood clot in her lung and a subsequent infection led to the removal of one of her implants.

While Helen has endured a life-changing ordeal, she feels lucky.

"The fact the referrals for cancer are so low worries me," she said.

"Early detection is key to how successful your treatment will be.

"Even if you think it's nothing, you still need to get it checked out."

Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said delay can have dreadful consequences.

"When it comes to cancer, early detection is key and can be the difference between life or death in some cases," she said. "Ordinarily, an average of 800 people are diagnosed with cancer each week in Ireland."

The Irish Cancer Society's support line is open every day to help anyone worried or affected by cancer, you can contact freephone 1800 200700.
A high powered committee in Maharashtra has decided to release 50% of the 35,239 prisoners in jails across the state on temporary bail as part of measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

The order, which came a week after 184 prisoners at Arthur Road Central Prison in Mumbai tested positive for Covid-19, doesnt give a timeframe for the release or state which category of prisoners will be sent home.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

The committee, headed by Justice AA Sayed and comprising additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Chahande and director general of prisons SN Pandey, has said due process will be followed and the prisoners being released will have to secure bail.

No prisoners either charged or convicted under provisions of special laws, such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) of 1999, the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), will be released on temporary bail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chahande said, They (prisoners) will have to get bail. That means the due process of law will have to be followed.

For temporary bail, eligible prisoners will have to approach the concerned court and obtain an order. Parole leave can be secured at the prisons, he said.

While deciding to release 50% of the states prison population, the committee on Monday rejected a representation by advocate SB Talekar, which contended the decision to not release prisoners charged or convicted under special statutes was discriminatory.

Talekar argued that blanket exclusion of the prisoners charged or convicted for offences under the special acts was arbitrary and defeated the thrust of the Supreme Courts March 23 order to decongest prisons in the wake of the pandemic.

In any event, the prisoners charged/convicted under the special acts including MPID Act cannot claim to be released from prison as of right. It is required to be noted that the offences under MPID Act are against large number of victims who are mostly poor depositors, and whose interests are required to be safeguarded and recoveries made from properties. The MPID Act is enacted to protect the interest of the depositors and the prisoners charged/convicted for offences under the MPID Act cannot be treated as belonging to the same class of prisoners who are to be released on interim bail or parole, the committee said.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

The Supreme Court had left it to the discretion of the high powered committee to determine which class or category of prisoners can be released on interim bail or parole, depending on the nature and severity of the offence or any other relevant factor, the Committee said while rejecting Talekars representation.

The Supreme Court, in its order, said, We direct that each State/Union Territory shall constitute a High Powered Committee comprising of (I) Chairman of the State Legal Services Committee, (ii) the Principal Secretary (Home/Prison) by whatever designation is known as, (ii) Director General of Prison(s), to determine which class of prisoners can be released on parole or an interim bail for such period as may be thought appropriate.

The apex court had cited an instance and said, For instance, the State/Union Territory could consider the release of prisoners who have been convicted or are under-trial for offences for which prescribed punishment is up to 7 years or less, with or without fine and the prisoner has been convicted for a lesser number of years than the maximum.

In a subsequent order dated April 13, the Supreme Court clarified it had not directed states or union territories to compulsorily release prisoners from their prisons.

Justice BN Srikrishna, former Supreme Court judge said, If this is what the high-powered committee has stated then its absurd. If prisoners have to follow the due process of law, then why was the high-powered committee made. How can the committee distinguish between prisoners booked for special Acts and others. It is like distinguishing between the rich and the poor prisoners. If this is how it is, the Supreme Court has done nothing to fight the pandemic.


Amit Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hailed the role of the nurses on the occasion of the International Nurses Day and called them unsung heroes fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as the first line of defence. Amit Shah took to twitter and said, "On International Nurses Day, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of Covid-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts." On #InternationalNursesDay, I express my gratitude towards all the nurses serving humanity across the world. Nurses are the backbone of our medical sector. Their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 is truly remarkable. India salutes our nurses for their tireless efforts.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 12, 2020 Rahul Gandhi also hailed the effort of the nurses saying they are unsung heroes and they are working tirelessly amid the Covid-19 pandemic crisis to help save lives. "Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid-19 virus. On International Nurses Day I thank and salute each and every one of them for their hard work and dedication," the Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad said in a tweet. Across India our nurses are working tirelessly, around the clock, to help save lives. They are our unsung heroes, our first line of defence against the Covid19 virus.



On #InternationalNursesDay I thank & salute each & every one of them for their hard work & dedication.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 12, 2020




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Consumer prices in the U.S. decreased in line with economist estimates in the month of April, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. The Labor Department said its consumer price index slid by 0.8 percent in April after falling by 0.4 percent in March. The drop by the index, which matched economist estimates, reflects the largest monthly decline since December of 2008. Gasoline prices led the way lower, plummeting by 20.6 percent, although the nosedive was partly offset by a sharp increase in food prices. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices fell by 0.4 percent in April after edging down by 0.1 percent in March. Economists had expected core prices to dip by 0.2 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
912B As Kevin Kaufman, Vice President of U.S. Government Sales, explains the 912B, 0.04% basic accuracy, 2000 hours of battery life, and MIL-spec construction of the 912B gives our Navy technicians a level of confidence not available in the past.

***US Navy Contracts with TEGAM, Inc.***

In 2017, the US Navy requested a proposal for a Temperature Meter to fulfill the technical requirements of their SCAT 4213. While application details were not disclosed for the temperature device, the Navy specifications were complete and demanded a great deal in precision, accuracy, durability, and price. TEGAM responded to this solicitation with the new 912B Dual Channel Handheld Digital Thermometer  part of TEGAMs line of handheld thermocouple thermometers.

As Kevin Kaufman, Vice President of U.S. Government Sales, explains the 912B, 0.04% basic accuracy, 2000 hours of battery life, and MIL-spec construction of the 912B gives our Navy technicians a level of confidence not available in the past. TEGAM works hard to not only meet but to exceed those requirements, because we understand what is on the line.

TEGAM was awarded the 5-year contract to supply these digital instruments to the United States Navy. The solution, a TEGAM Model 912B Thermocouple Thermometer outfitted with a foam-filled, hard-shell carry case met every specification sought by the Navy. TEGAM is currently processing orders.

TEGAMs reputation for quality and commitment to delivering world-class Test, Measurement & Calibration products are an integral part of the companys core values and what the TEGAM brand is built upon. The contract award with the US Navy further solidifies a pledge to provide instruments that meet the most stringent standards in the world. Mission critical measurements in demanding environments.

About TEGAM

Headquartered just east of Cleveland, Ohio, TEGAM, Inc. designs, manufactures and calibrates instrumentation that impacts your daily life in surprising ways. Our goal is to make your measurement task easier, faster and more accurate. We continuously invest in R&D of products and calibration techniques that allow you to make your critical measurements with unparalleled certainty. Our electrical measuring capabilities include temperature, RF power, and micro-Ohms. In addition to the Geneva, Ohio Headquarters, TEGAM operates a sales office in Beijing, China which provides regional support to our customers in Asia. A cohesive network of strong technical distributors extends our representation to over 40 other countries throughout the world. For more information, visit TEGAMs site or contact Sales at mailto:Sales@tegam.com. See all our digital thermometer categories here.
It was the summer of 1983 when Henry Wills family first joined Ocean Groves tent colony, a collection of more than 100 canvases attached to small wooden cottages that are set up each spring in a tradition that dates back 151 years.

The living quarters are close. So close, Will said, that you could easily listen in on the television show your neighbor is watching if the volume is right.

You cant have a TV on in your tent and have it playing really loud because other people are gonna be bothered by that. We have to learn to be flexible because youre living in close proximity to each other, said Will, a trustee of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns and rents out the lodgings each year for around $7,000.

As the summer of 2020 approaches, the yearly ritual (a sure sign of summer) is moving forward despite uncertainty surrounding coronavirus closures and as Jersey Shore towns grapple with how to enforce social distancing on typically crowded beaches and boardwalks.

On Monday, about a half dozen workers from Jack Green Construction were raising the wooden structures while donning masks and gloves under sunny skies. All 114 tents are rented out, and about 250 people are coming this summer, said Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association President Mike Badger.

The tents, each about three feet apart and equipped with bathrooms and kitchens, are normally set up in late April on the streets surrounding the famous Great Auditorium for a May 15 move-in date, Badger said. Two workers tested positive for COVID-19 and were quarantined, pushing the opening back two weeks.

While space is tight, Badger said hes confident dwellers will be safe vacationing at the shore for four months.

The governors guidance is when you cant be more than six feet socially distant, that you should be wearing a mask. And certainly the canvas is a sturdier material and is more of a membrane than a mask, he said. Its the equivalent of sheltering in place. Theyll be here for a four month period. Theyll be coming out of their homes at their discretion.

We will encourage people to practice the healthiest guidelines that are coming from the CDC, the Monmouth County Board of Health and of course the state, Badger said.

Workers raise some of the 114 tent structures in Ocean Grove on Monday, May 11, 2020. The tent colony, located around the Great Auditorium, has been a way of summertime life here since 1870.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Part of the lure for returning tenters is the tight-knit community that develops between neighbors. Friends often sit together on their porches sipping wine and chatting into the evening, or playing cards under the canopy.

Will, who rents a larger tent on Carmel Way, said that sense of togetherness will remain this year, but he may tweak some of his plans. He and his wife may retreat back to their North Jersey home when his children and grandchildren visit the tent, instead of all cramming into the tiny space.

Every year, Will and a group of other tenters throw a picnic, bringing individual dishes to share. This year, Will said, each person might bring a meal for themself and they may push the tables and chairs further apart.

Well have to modify some things, Will said. But I think well still have community.

Ocean Grove is a largely religious community of about 4,200 year-round residents founded by a group of Methodists in 1869 looking for a permanent camp meeting site along the Jersey Shore. The camp meeting association manages the boardwalk and beach.

Ocean Grove is one of the few shore towns in the state that kept its beach and boardwalk open throughout the outbreak. Summer events also havent been canceled.

Others are now beginning to welcome people back to the sand, but awaiting guidance from Gov. Phil Murphy on how the summer of 2020 might proceed. At a press conference earlier this month, the governor said optimism is high that New Jersey beaches will be open by Memorial Day with strict measures in place.

We will be giving guidelines to folks as it relates to being on the beach and how close you should put your towel to somebody else and how closely we recommend you walk alongside other people on the boardwalk, Badger said. The tents will be no exception.

People leave the beach at the south end of Ocean Grove on a beautiful spring afternoon at the Jersey Shore on Sunday, May 3, 2020. Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-12 20:30:13|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's upcoming economic data for April is expected to further improve on recovering production and demand, institutional analysts said.

The industrial output is projected to reverse its contraction with a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percent in April, Huang Wentao, an analyst with the China Securities, said in an interview with the Economic Information Daily.

Li Chao, an analyst with the Zheshang Securities, forecast a 1-percent rise in industrial output, after seeing several indicators for April improving from the previous month and approaching or exceeding the levels of the previous year.

The year-on-year fall in coal consumption for power generation narrowed in April while the rate of operation for blast furnaces rose further from March, Huang noted.

On the demand side, consumption is getting better as more shopping malls reopen and consumers spend more when going out.

Li projected a 7.6-percent year-on-year contraction in the retail sales of consumer goods in April, narrowing from a 15.8-percent decline in March.

Analysts were optimistic about the country's auto consumption. Thanks to unleashed pent-up demand and encouraging policies, automobile sales increased by 4.4 percent year on year to 2.07 million units in April, ending a contraction streak over the past 21 months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

"Consumption is in the process of gradual recovery. The release of consumption demand depends on the stimulation of pro-consumption policies in the short term, and on higher expected income from economic and job recovery in the medium and long term," said Zhang Jiqiang, an analyst with Huatai Securities.

Investment, especially that in the infrastructure sector, is expected to recover at a faster pace as construction companies have largely got back to work in March and been well funded.

Improving signs could already be seen from several leading indicators such as the purchasing managers' index for civil engineering, steel demand and the sales of excavators, Zhang noted.

China's statistics authority will release data on retail sales of consumer goods and industrial output on Friday. Enditem
Police in Texas have released dashcam footage that shows the moment hundreds of people fled from a park after a gunman opened fire and injured five people.

Video footage posted to Twitter showed approximately 400 people running from Village Creek Park in Fort Worth on Sunday after an estimated 30 shots rang out.

But a new clip offers a look inside the scene of terror where police had arrived around 5.45pm to address city ordinance violations, such as people riding ATVs and drinking alcohol in the park.

Officers had begun addressing the crowd, which was previously estimated to be 600-strong but has now been decreased to an estimation of 400, requesting via a speaker phone and sirens that they disperse.

A new video shows 40 people flee Village Creek Park in Fort Worth on Sunday after gunshots rang out and five people were injured

Police dashcam footage shows some people dropping to the ground and hiding behind cars

One man who has lived near the park for 24 years said the people at the party looked between 18 and 20 years old.

There were approximately five Fort Worth officers in the park in marked police vehicles when the gunshots rang out and people fled the scene.

The moment was captured by a police vehicle in-car camera system and just moments before some opened fire, young people were seen dancing on cars and playing with water guns.

When the suspect opened fire, many people hid behind cars and screams pierced the air.

Officers quickly ran to the aid of those wounded and summoned emergency medical attention while other officers began searching for those involved.

Two people were critically wounded and three injured in the shooting, Officer Buddy Calzada revealed. All five are expected to recover, police said on Monday.

FWPD said Monday that it is working closely with members of the community to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

A second shooting was reported at a convenience store less than a mile away from the park at 7pm.

Cops had arrived on the scene to address people riding ATVs (pictured) and drinking alcohol

They were using a public speaker system and sirens to get them to disperse when gunshots were heard. 'When you have somebody that just doesn't respect the police, doesn't respect that neighborhood, it's a very sad situation,' Officer Buddy Calzada said

An employee at the store was shot in the hand, according to a police incident report, and officers are investigating whether the two incidents are linked.

The Fort Worth Police Department Gang Unit is taking the lead on the investigation.

'When you have somebody that just doesn't respect the police, doesn't respect that neighborhood, it's a very sad situation,' Calzada told NBC 5.

On March 19, state Governor Greg Abbott ordered people not to participate in social gatherings of more than ten people.

State parks reopened on April 20 but people have been told to wear face coverings and masks and adhere to social distancing. People are also not allowed to visit in groups of five or more.

'Its absolutely ridiculous to me that in a situation like this that folks are that irresponsible,' Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said about the large crowd gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Tuesday, there were more than 40,000 cases of coronavirus in Texas and 1,119 deaths. Dallas is the worst affected with 6,123 COVID-19 cases and 145 deaths.

Jesse Taylor, who lives near the park and is a precinct chair for the Tarrant County Republican Party, said: 'Something has to be put in place to stop what happened last night because if not, it will happen again.'

The man who is a former gang member, added: 'Not if, but when.'

Anyone with information concerning this incident is encouraged to contact the FWPD non-emergency number at 817-392-4222 or contact Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.
WASHINGTON  The White House is increasingly looking like an imperfect microcosm of the challenges that all Americans face in keeping the coronavirus at bay as huge swaths of the nation move to reopen.

Two aides who work in the White House complex are known to have tested positive in the past week for the coronavirus despite layers of security there, including access to rapid testing, temperature checks for all who enter and social distancing protocols.

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

President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters that in terms of testing, we have met the moment and we have prevailed. But the ability of the virus to infiltrate the White House underscores the risks for Americans at workplaces, schools and elsewhere.

Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University, described the White House as demonstrating the best and worst of virus mitigation.

Even with great availability of testing and the presence of the top public health experts in the world, the virus has found its way into the White House, Gostin said. Whats worse is theyve shown the rest of the country the guidelines they want the rest of America to follow, but they are unable to do it themselves.

Here's a look at some of the ways the White House efforts to stem the virus illustrate the rough road ahead for all Americans as they try to return to work with the virus lurking in the background:

TESTING LIMITS

Throughout the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly boasted that the U.S. has the best testing. Thats true at the White House. Anyone who comes into close contact with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence must take a test before meeting with them.

But even with robust testing, the virus still managed to reach the West Wing. White House officials said one of the aides who tested positive, Pence press secretary Katie Miller, tested negative one day before she got a positive test result on Friday.

Ordinary Americans being expected to go back to work -- like those laboring at meatpacking plants that Trump has ordered to remain open  wont have that kind of access to testing.

And testing, even when you have it, isnt perfect. Dr. Francis Collins, director for the National Institutes of Health, said during congressional testimony last week that the Abbott ID Now machine, which is used to perform rapid coronavirus tests, can sometimes fail to detect a patient who is positive. The incubation period for the virus is dayslong, so it is possible that a person who had contracted coronavirus could initially test negative.

SOCIAL DISTANCING CHALLENGES

Just as in many workplaces that are open, there is no shortage of reminders at the White House complex to practice social distancing and practice good hygiene. A directive was issued to White House staffers on Monday requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask.

Some aides say they already wear masks when they cant maintain 6 feet of distance from their colleagues, and signage reminding staffers to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, including frequent hand-washing, is posted around the White House.

But the White House complex is packed with hundreds of workers during normal times. In parts of the complex, aides and workers are shoulder-to-shoulder when walking through narrow hallways and share crowded work spaces.

Its a small, crowded place, Trump senior adviser Kevin Hassett acknowledged in a CBS Face the Nation interview. Its a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.

CONTRACT TRACING

After Miller, the Pence aide, tested positive last week, White House officials moved quickly to track down six of her colleagues who had been in close contact with her in recent days, just as they were getting ready to fly with the vice president to Iowa.

Her colleagues deplaned and were tested -- and all came back negative. In the days since the positive tests of Miller and a military aide to Trump, the White House Medical Unit and CDC tracing experts have sought out for testing individuals who have had contact with the White House employees.

For cities and states, the process of identifying and testing those who may have unwittingly come in contact with infected people will be a huge undertaking. Its one that cant be skipped if reopening is going to happen before a vaccine becomes available, officials in some of the hardest-hit cities say.

On Friday, New York City -- the area hardest hit by the virus -- announced the launch of a 1,000 person test-and-trace corps that is set to be up and running by May 25. The city has set a goal of testing 20,000 people per day by the end of May and 50,000 per day by Aug. 1, benchmarks it sees as crucial to lowering transmissions.

TOO SOON?

Trumps drastically reduced and uncertain travel schedule shows how even the White House has struggled with the prospect of getting the president back into a regular routine.

Hes made only two trips outside Washington since calling on Americans on March 13 to heed to federal guidelines to stem the virus -- a trip to an Arizona Honeywell face mask plant last week and a visit to Virginia to see off a U.S. Naval hospital ship bound for New York to serve as a backstop for the areas hospitals.

The president said he was planning on heading to Ohio last week, but that trip was scrapped. He is expected to travel to Pennsylvania later this week.

On Monday, he fumed on Twitter that the great people of Pennsylvania -- a critical battleground for Trump in November -- want their freedom now," a not-so-subtle dig at the states Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to relax virus-related restrictions.

Rep. Dwight Evans, a Pennsylvania Democrat, clapped back that his constituents want the same sort of tools readily available at the White House to minimize their risk.

What people want is freedom FROM THE VIRUS, Evans tweeted. And well only get it if we have #UniversalTesting + tracing + isolating.

-- The Associated Press
The Indian Railways on Monday issued reservation to more than 54,000 passengers within three hours of commencement of booking.

On Sunday, the Indian Railways had announced that 15 pairs of ispecial air-conditioned' trains will depart from New Delhi to several parts of the country.



"By 9.15 p.m., approximately 30,000 PNRs had been generated and reservations were issued to more than 54,000 passengers," Indian Railways said in a statement.



The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) had started taking bookings at 4 p.m. on Monday, but within minutes its website crashed due to heavy online traffic as passengers waiting for over a month-and-a-half immediately started logging into it.





The railways quickly issued a statement, saying, "Data pertaining to special trains is being fed in the IRCTC website. Train ticket bookings will be available in a short while. Please wait."



After a delay of two hours, the bookings commenced.



The railways had suspended passenger, mail and express train services on March 25 in the wake of the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.



Since then, the railways has been running freight and special parcel trains to ensure the supply of essential items.



The railways has started to run Shramik Special trains from May 1 onwards to transport stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists.
A record number of anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the United States last year, more than in any year since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking them four decades ago, the civil rights group said Tuesday.

In its annual audit, the A.D.L. identified 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents in 2019, an increase of 12 percent from the 1,879 that were recorded in 2018.

The surge in reports, grouped in the categories of assault, harassment and vandalism, came as Jewish communities in Monsey, N.Y., Jersey City, N.J., and Poway, Calif., were the targets of deadly attacks last year.

This was a year of unprecedented anti-Semitic activity, a time when many Jewish communities across the country had direct encounters with hate, the A.D.L.s chief executive, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his coronavirus press briefing on Monday after getting into a testy exchange with an Asian-American reporter.

CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the virus.

"Why does that matter?" she asked. "Why is this a global competition when, every day, Americans are still losing their lives?"

"They're losing their lives everywhere in the world," Trump replied. "And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK?"

Jiang, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as a "Chinese born West Virginian," pushed back. "Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?" she said, implying it was due to her race. "I'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that," Trump said.

He then attempted to move on to another reporter as Jiang continued to press him about his response.

Trump called on another female reporter but then immediately called on someone else.

When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump abruptly ended the press conference and walked back into the White House.

The internet was quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

"I #StandWithWeijiaJiang against Trump's racist tantrums," tweeted "Star Trek" actor and prominent Asian-American activist George Takei.

Reporter and CNN political analyst April Ryan, who has also been on the receiving end of Trump's words, tweeted: "Welcome to the club! This is sickening! It is his habit!"

Trump, who has never been shy about his dislike for the news media, has often locked horns with journalists during his coronavirus press briefings.

More than 80,000 people have died in the US from the coronavirus pandemic, out of more than 1.3 million cases, according to the latest figures on Monday from Johns Hopkins University, by far the highest death toll of any country.
The United States government says it is working on fulfilling its promise to send ventilators to Nigeria as part of its assistance to help the country contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Mary Leonard, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, said during a telephonic press conference with Nigerian journalists Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested ventilators at a recent meeting with his American counterpart, Donald Trump.

We already have a very robust U.S. government financial and tactical response to COVID, the two presidents talked in particular about what other equipment needs we might be able to address, Ms Leonard said.

In particular there is a talk about ventilators, and so there is a national security council and USAID group back in Washington that is working on fulfilling that request.

In April, Nigerias information minister, Lai Mohammed, revealed that Mr Trump during a phone call with President Buhari promised to send the ventilators to support Nigerias fight against the virus.

I dont have an arrival date or specifics about it, Ms Leonard said during Tuesdays press conference.

More dollars for Nigeria

Ms Leonard also said the U.S. financial assistance to Nigeria for the fight against COVID -19 is now $32.8 million, up from $21.4 million in April.

She said the figure is part of the about $237 million the U.S. had spent in Africa during the pandemic.

In Nigeria, thats up to $32.8 million, theres more in the pipeline, almost a comparable sum as we think about the different ways that we can partner with Nigeria.

This, of course, is in addition to our regular assistance portfolio here which tends to be very heavily weighted towards health, whether PEPFAR or maternal/child health or other things.

Ms Leonard noted that over the years, of the more than $8 billion the United States has given to Nigeria, $5.2 billion of that had gone to the health sector.

The support weve been giving to COVID is a lot in the health sector, but its not only the health sector, we are dealing with economic impacts and other things.

And worldwide I think we estimate that the U.S government is spending about $2.4 billion on COVID response. If you add in the U.S private and philanthropic sector, universities, faith-based organisations, charitable organisations, NGOs the total is almost three times that, its $6.5 billion.